There is a lot of misinformation on Ancestry and elsewhere on the Web about the parents of William H. H. Purvis.
The truth is, at present, the parents of William H. H. Purvis are not known.
I have circumstantial evidence that suggests he is a brother to James P. J. Purvis and thus is a son of James Purvis, deceased son of Gilbert Purvis.
Gilbert Johnson Purvis, son of Gilbert Purvis, stated in his will[1] that "the estate of my deceased parents to which I am entitled insisting upon the advance made by my deceased father the said Gilbert Purvis to James Purvis the father of the said James P. J. Purvis in the lifetime of them both,".
If William H. H. Purvis is a brother to James P. J. Purvis then his father would be James Purvis, son of Gilbert Purvis & Effica Howell Purvis.
Within the estate file of Efficia Howell Purvis[2], wife of Gilbert Purvis, there is a request for letters of administration from James P. J. Purvis. Within that letter we have this statement "That your petitioner is the grandson of the said deceased, being the oldest son of her oldest son. That no other person has applied or seems willing to apply for letters of administrations on said estate"
Also from Effica Purvis estate we have an unnumbered page that I refer to as page 7 (it was the seventh page I copied) that reads in part
"Milly & her children, John, Frances and her child to J.P.J. Purvis & William Purvis, Jr. which said negroes we valued to the sum of $3100, upon the said William Purvis, John Purvis paying to the said JPJ Purvis & William Purvis, Jr. each the sum of $150, it being equal half of the difference in the valuations of the afs'd negroes when divided between said heirs. All of which is respectfully submitted to the Hon. Henry" [3]
Close examination of the estate documents shows that the estate was left two groups of men:
William Jr. & J. P. J. Purvis
and
William (1796) & John Purvis (1795)
J. P. J. Purvis in the above document is James P. J. Purvis. James P. J. Purvis married Elizabeth Rose Campbell. James P. J. Purvis died at a very young age in 1836, Rankin County Mississippi.
I believe that James P. J. Purvis & William H. H. Purvis are brothers. I have no document proving this but I have researched this line for 35 years and I base my conclusions on all the data and research I have done in those 35 years. There are two clues pointing to the FATHER of James P. J. Purvis. In the WILL of his Uncle, Gilbert Johnson Purvis, son of Gilbert & Efficia Howell Purvis; Gilbert Johnson Purvis made the following 2 statement:
"all of my property is now in dispute between myself & James P. I. [or J.] Purvis and William Purvis and in consequence thereof upon the advance made by my deceased father the said Gilbert Purvis to James Purvis the father of the said James P. I. [or J.] Purvis in the lifetime of them both, and after my Executors" [4]
In the first statement above, I believe Gilbert Johnson is referring to James P. J. Purvis and William H. H. Purvis.
In the second statement; Gilbert Johnson Purvis clearly states that his father is Gilbert and that the father of James P. J. Purvis is James Purvis.
Then at the conclusion of the WILL, Gilbert Johnson states:
"my friends and relatives John Purvis & William Purvis of Hinds County my executors to this my"
(note: William & John are two sons of James F. Purvis, Sr. Note also James F. Purvis has 4 other sons not listed one of which is deceased).
If you will notice, these names are grouped, in distinct grouping just as they were in the Effica Howell Estate document. Effica is the mother of Gilbert Johnson Purvis.
Effica Howell Purvis died about August 1834.
Gilbert Johnson Purvis died in November 1835.
We have a document that says that the FATHER of James P. J. Purvis is James Purvis; so who is this James Purvis?
There are multiple lines here using the same names so attention must be paid to names. James Purvis, Sr., b. 1760, brother to Gilbert Purvis also had sons and grandsons named James, William, John and other common names that run through each of these lines.
To sort this out you have to go back to South Carolina. The Purvis families (Gilbert, James, John, Joseph and maybe others) left Chesterfield, South Carolina, prior to the 1820 Cesus, about 1818. They migrated through Georgia and westward to Clarke County, Alabama. We know they stopped and stayed for a while in Alabama before migrating on to Mississippi, Hinds, Rankin and Smith Counties.
While in Alabama, Rebecca Purvis married Henry Howell and John Purvis married Mary Parks. There are several land deeds in Gilbert Purvis name within the Clarke County, Alabama deed books.
If you look at the 1810 Chesterfield County Census[5] you will find that there is a newly married James Purvis listed in the Census.
James Purvis, Jr.
1 Male 16-25
1 Female 16-25
1 Slave
He is listed as James Purvis, Jr., only because there is an older James Purvis, who is his Uncle.
This James Purvis died in July 1818 prior to the migration of the Purvis families westward. His death is recorded in a Horry District Administration Bonds 1803-1818.[6]
One specific quote from this bond reads:
The condition of the above obligation is such that if the above bound John Johnston and Gilbert Purvis administrators of the goods, chattels and credits of James Purvis deceased do make a true and perfect inventory of all and singular, the goods, chattels, credits of the said deceased, [7]
I think by July 1818 when young James Purvis dies that we have a young wife left with two sons, William H. H. and James P. J. Purvis. This young widower along with her two children joined her Father-in-law Gilbert Purvis and moves to Mississippi. The 1830 Census for Gilbert Purvis, Rankin County, MS has these two young boys in his household. Don't be confused, this is Gilbert Johnson Purvis, the son, not the Old Man-Gilbert Purvis. By 1830 Gilbert Purvis, Sr. is already deceased. He last appeared in the 1828 Tax list for Simpson County, Mississippi.
I THINK THAT THE SARAH Purvis, age 60 in William H. H. Purvis household in 1850 Polk County[8], Texas is his Mother and the wife of James Purvis that died in July 1818 in South Carolina.
1850 CENSUS: Polk County, Texas; Roll: M432_914; Page: 188B; Line 3, Household 178/178; W. H. PURVIS, male, age 36 [1814], born in SC; Jemima PURVIS, female, age 39 [1811], born in MS; William PURVIS, male, age 17 [1833], born in MS; Mary PURVIS, female, age 14 [1836], born in MS; Purdy PURVIS, male, age 8 [1842], born in MS; Gabrian PURVIS, female, age 3 [1847], born in TX; Jemima PURVIS, female, age 6 mo. [1850], born in TX and Sarah PURVIS, Female, (widow), age 60 [1790], born in SC.
Based on the following documentation, the foregoing conclusion has been made. If you have information contrary to what is presented here, I would love to correspond with you. Contact me at (CPurvis1@gmail.com).
Conclusion:
James P. J. Purvis & William H. H. Purvis are sons of James Purvis and grandsons of Gilbert & Effica Howell Purvis.
Additional Comments:
For the family researchers that insist William H. H. Purvis is the son of William & Millie Purvis please consider the comments above and the following.
While William Purvis is living in Rankin County, Mississippi, as a single man, with his father William Purvis and mother Millie Cook Purvis; William H. H. Purvis is married has small children, has moved and is living in Polk County, Texas. No record has been found to suggest that William James Purvis, son of William & Millie was ever married.
And if that's not enough proof, William H. H. Purvis died shortly after March 1855 and the other William Purvis is still living at home, single, in 1860.
Disclaimer:
The conclusions I have reached are by no means "proof" that James P. J. Purvis and William H. H. Purvis are in fact brothers. I know they are related and the circumstantial evidence suggests they are brothers. This document DOES NOT meet the Genealogical Proof Standard.
[1] Hinds County, Mississippi, Will Book 1: page 48, Gilbert Johnson Purvis; Family History Library, Film #878728, Salt Lake City, Utah.
[2] Hinds County, MS, Probate Court Estates, Old Series, Raymond, MS, MDAH Microfilm #10392, Family History Library Film #1064400, Estate #321, Effica Purvis, Dec 1834.
[3] Ibid.
[4] Hinds County, Mississippi, Will Book 1: page 48, Gilbert Johnson Purvis; Family History Library, Film #878728, Salt Lake City, Utah.
[5] 1810 U S Census, Chesterfield, Chesterfield, South Carolina, population schedule, Chesterfield County, South Carolina, enumeration district(ED) No ED, Page: 553, Household of James Purvis, Jr.; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : viewed 2011); citing Family History Number: 0181419., page 553.
[6] Horry County, South Carolina, Horry County Administrator's Bond 1803-1818, Administrative Bond for John Johnston, Gilbert Purvis, admrs. of James Purvis; Bond $10,000; Moses Harrelson, Felix Powell, sec. Richard Singleton, Levi Moore, wit., 17 July 1818, Probate Office, Conway.
[The South Carolina Magazine of Ancestral Research, SCMAR,
Volume X, Winter 1982, No. 1, p.10]
[7] Horry County, South Carolina, Horry County Administrator's Bond 1803-1818, Administrative Bond for John Johnston, Gilbert Purvis, admrs. of James Purvis; Bond $10,000; Moses Harrelson, Felix Powell, sec. Richard Singleton, Levi Moore, wit. , 17 July 1818, Probate Office, Conway.
[8] 1850 U. S. Census, Polk County, Texas, population schedule, Polk County, Texas, Page 188B, Line 3, Dwelling 178, Family 178, Household of W. H. H. PURVIS; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : viewed May 2011); citing National Archives Microfilm M432_914.
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