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Genealogy: Finding Your Folks

The family of James and Millie Boyd of Bethany - Part 3

By JUDY FOWLER KILGORE
jkilgore@thecitizennews.com

I’m going to have to back up a bit before I continue this story because I left out a tiny fact which could be construed as misleading.

If we go back to the time frame when John (Buckles) Boyd (son of John Boyd of Ballymena) moved from Newberry, S.C. to Pulaski Co., Ky. we need to clarify that most, if not all, of his immediate family went with him. This would include his son, another John Boyd, who was called “Wagonner Jack” and who married Nancy Chambers sometime before 1800 in Newberry. Wagonner Jack was the father of our James who later came to Fayette County. This is why James’ birthplace in all the later censuses is given as Kentucky.

About 1814, some members of this Boyd family, including James, his father Wagonner Jack, and his grandfather Johnny Buckles, returned to Newberry and that is where our James spent his childhood.

In 1827, when our James was about 17, his grandfather (Johnny Buckles) died and left that wonderful will naming all his children — and grandchildren — who had been born before that date. Those children were:

(1) Elizabeth Boyd who married Hugh Park and had John B., James, Margaret, Agnes, Mary, Hugh, Elizabeth and Nancy Park.

(2) Jane Boyd who married Anthony Hall and had John, William, Wilson, Joseph, Elizabeth and Anthony Hall.

(3) John (Wagonner Jack) Boyd who married Nancy Chambers and had Sarah, Margaret, James, Janetta (Jane), and Nancy Boyd. (I have two more daughters for this family, Elizabeth and Mary which I tentatively added as “possibles” after doing research in Newberry and Meriwether records.)

(4) Janetta Boyd who married Joseph Campbell and had Margaret, Jane, John, Mary, Wilson, Elizabeth, Agnes and Rachel Campbell.

(5) Hugh Boyd, who was deceased at the time his father died and who married Anna Caldwell and had John, James, Elizabeth, William and Agnes Boyd.

(6) Margaret Boyd who married James Dick and had Janetta, Hugh, Alexander, William, John, James and Joseph Dick (descendants of Margaret and James lived in Kentucky and Tennessee).

(7) Wilson Boyd who married Sarah Wilson and had John Kennedy, Benjamin, Martha E., Margaret, Elizabeth, Hugh M., Jincy and James Boyd.

(8) James Boyd who married Ann Unknown and had Mary, Spencer and James Boyd.

The estate took six years to settle and the last annual returns were recorded in Newberry in 1833. Interestingly enough, it was within that time frame (1827-1833) that most of our Newberry Boyds started moving from Newberry to Georgia, many of them to Meriwether County.

I have an abstract of Johnny Buckles Boyd’s estate which gives many details of who received what and how much, who appraised the estate and when, and who made purchases at the estate sale. I would be happy to share this with any who may be interested. It was taken from a book on Newberry wills and estates compiled by Glenda Bundrick and Andy Suber.

But, back to our story. In the 1830 census of Meriwether County, the first census taken after Meriwether was formed from Troup County, many of our Boyds are shown living there. Although the 1830 census only listed heads of households and the ages and sexes of those who lived in the home, land records show much Boyd activity and, with a map showing land lots, one can see exactly where they lived. All were in the Upper Ninth District which borders on Pike, Coweta, and Spalding counties. The southern tip of Fayette County is just a short distance away, if you travel north through Coweta or Spalding counties.

The 1830 census shows five Boyd families — two Johns, Hugh, William and Joseph. One of the Johns was from Abbeville, S.C. and I have not been able to find any connection between him and our Boyds. He did not live in the Upper Ninth District and did not do any business with our Boyds.

However, the other John is our Wagonner Jack, shown only with one other male in the household, and that was our James. Wagonner Jack and his wife, Nancy, had experienced marital difficulties and, when Jack came to Georgia, Nancy didn’t appear to be with him. The other Boyds are mine — Hugh, William and Joseph are all sons of my Robert Boyd and his wife, Rosannah Stewart, and they lived only a few households away from Wagonner Jack and James.

By 1840, more Boyds had come to Meriwether and purchased land. The number more than doubled, with 11 Boyds shown as heads of household: Milton, Nathan, Alexander, two Johns, D.B. (David Barton), Hugh, James, Joseph, Robert and William. Of those, Nathan, Alexander and one of the Johns are not ours and, probably, neither is Milton. However, the other Boyds are all descendants of John Boyd of Ballymena: one of the John Boyds was our Wagonner Jack, James Boyd was his son (James had married Millie Tidwell in 1831), David Barton, Hugh, Joseph and William were all sons of my Robert, and the one Robert Boyd was the son of Hugh and Jennet (Jane) Boyd, the grandson of John B of B and first cousin to Wagonner Jack. They all lived in adjacent land lots in the Upper Ninth District, a stone’s throw from Pike County and the Flint River.

Getting interesting, isn’t it? Next week, I’ll conclude this story with James’ mother’s appearance in Meriwether and his move to Fayette.

I welcome all letters and e-mails about genealogy and info on south metro Atlanta families. Send them to The Citizen, P.O. Drawer 1719, Fayetteville, GA 30214; e-mail jkilgore@thecitizennews.com or jodiek444@aol.com. Any letters and/or e-mails I receive are subject to being used in the column.

Until next week, happy hunting!