Boyds, Corbins and Bradberrys

This week I’m going to address Tim Turner’s letter about his Boyds, Corbins and Bradberrys of Gwinnett County, but first I want to say something about our new Web site.

Several of you wrote last week when you couldn’t find the column online and I appreciate all your letters.

The Web site is being revamped to make it easier to load every week and some things are being switched around. My column last week was under “Opinion,” and then “Staff Opinions,” but we have changed this. If you’ll look down on the left under "Navigation," you’ll see a link for “Genealogy” which will take you to the current column. Previous columns will not be available for a while, but will eventually be put back on the Web site.

Also, with the new format, the site will be searchable (without using Google), so if you type in “genealogy,” all the columns will come up. You also will be able to search the columns by surname, by typing in “genealogy” and the specific name you’re looking for. I hope you’ll be patient. A lot of people are working very hard to improve the site. You will note that also the site name has been changed from “thecitizennews.com” to “thecitizen.com.” A heck of a lot easier to type.

Now, for Tim’s Boyds, Corbins and Bradberrys.

One of his Boyd families, you will remember, connected to the Boyds who are buried at Bethany UMC in Fayette County — families we covered thoroughly in previous columns. Tim’s connection was through Jane or Janetta Boyd who married Ira Corbin in Newberry and moved to Gwinnett County. Jane (or Janetta) was the younger sister of our James Boyd whose family is at Bethany. I really didn’t bother to give any details on her family because we were concentrating on the Fayette folks.

But, since someone has written me about the Boyd-Corbin family, I’ll give you a few more details. Most of this I have researched myself with censuses and other records, since they connect to my own family — and not just through the Boyds, as you will see later.

Jane Boyd was born about 1811 and, even though her census reports say she was born in South Carolina, we know that her father didn’t return to South Carolina from Kentucky until about 1814, so it is likely that she, like her brother James, was born in Kentucky.

She married Ira Corbin about 1827, probably in Newberry, and they moved to Georgia shortly after that, settling in Gwinnett.

I have seven children for Ira and Jane Boyd Corbin, but there may be more: (1) Matilda b. abt 1828, m. William Jasper Bradberry (more about them in a minute); (2) James C. b. 1831, m. Frances Davis; (3) Rhoda b. abt 1835, m. Unknown Adams; (4) Ira A. Jr. b. 1836, m. Nancy Jane C. Pharr; (5) Mary b. abt. 1840, may have married H.M. Gunter; (6) Phebee b. abt 1841, m. Berry Smith; and (7) Frances b. abt 1844. Some of these children moved to Alabama. Ira Corbin died in 1888 and Jane died in 1895. Both are buried at Rock Springs Methodist Church Cemetery in Gwinnett County, as are James, Ira Jr. and Phebee.

Matilda Corbin married William Jasper Bradberry in 1851 in Gwinnett and had 10 children: (1) Susan, b. abt 1852; (2) Asena E.F. b. abt 1853; (3) Ira James b. 1855; (4) Mary Evaline b. 1857;(5) Roda F. J. b. 1860, m. William R. Thomas; (6) William Jefferson b. abt 1862, m. Susanna Ellender Doss, dau. of James Doss and Rebecca Tinney; (7) John M. b. abt 1866; (8) Nancy Clementine b. abt 1868, m. Leviah Jackson Thompson (this is Tim’s ancestor); (9) Joseph S.H. b. abt 1871; and (10) Jerusha Amelia b. 1873, m. John Emmett Walker, son of John Pierce Walker and Nancy Elizabeth Fowler (my great-grandfather’s sister).

Two of the children of William Jefferson Bradberry and Susannah Doss also married into my Fowler family, after they moved to Cleburne County, Ala. James Edward Bradberry married Mamie Sarah Elizabeth Fowler, daughter of Joel Fowler and Eliza Ballenger, and Eunice Adele Bradberry married John Fowler, my grandfather’s brother.

There is an amusing family story about Jeff Bradberry and Susan Doss which was passed on to me by my cousin Randall Smith, a descendant. It appears Jeff’s mother (Matilda Corbin Bradberry) didn’t exactly care for Jeff’s wife and Jeff got so mad at her he changed the spelling of his last name to Bradbary instead of Bradberry. I have no idea whether there is any truth to the story or not. Randall has a picture of Jeff and Susan. She had only one eye as a result of a childhood accident.

Another amusing Bradberry story came from my own aunt. She said when her mother (Lula Blake Fowler, my grandmother) was growing up in Cleburne County, her job every morning was to go out and feed the hogs. The Bradberry farm adjoined the Blake farm and the Bradberry boys were said to have gone out every morning when my grandmother was doing her chores and teased her. I think the exact word my aunt used was "aggravate." From the stories Randall has told me, I get the feeling the Bradberry boys were full of mischief.

I have run out of space for this week but I definitely want to address Tim’s other Boyd family from Laurens County, S.C. They ended up in our area also and some are buried in Coweta County. But we’ll save their story for next week.

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@thecitizen.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!