I started this Blog –
CarolinaFamilyRoots – on 1 January 2012 hoping to break down the “brick wall”
that has shrouded the life of my 2nd Great Grandfather William A.
Purvis.
I posted two articles on William
A. Purvis and his wife Sarah Jane Graves at the start of the year as the introductory
articles for this blog.
In the first article, I posted a
Purvis timeline that documented every piece of data that I have found in those
years about William A. Purvis.
In the second installment we covered
some data on his only son, two step-daughters or maybe daughters and a second
wife.
Then the end of last month I did a
“Who are” and a “data analysis” series
on all that is known about William A. Purvis, his wife Sarah Jane Purvis, his
only son William James Purvis. We also covered what appeared to be a second
Wife Elizabeth “Betsy” Prevett Purvis and her two daughters, Mary Jane and Ella
Frances who may also be William A. Purvis daughters or step-daughters.
Conclusion:
1.
As a result of this review a real light-bulb
popping moment came when I realized that the land William A. Purvis sold in 1866
to William James Purvis could not possibly William A. Purvis' son because William A. Purvis' son William James was
born 23 September 1863. In 1866, he would have only been 3 years old.
2.
Another bright moment came with the purchase of
25 acres of land from the Gardner's sisters, Mary, Martha (Patsy) and Sarah. The Gardner's are also related/connected to a
Purvis line from Chesterfield County, SC.
So off to the Chesterfield County Court
House we go.
Findings:
Number 1 – Land Deed to William James
Purvis.
What was thought to be a breakthrough
was in fact just a clean-up of records so that the land could be sold.
It’s
possible that this loss was a result of the torching of the Courthouse by Gen.
Sherman’s troops in 1865. If so it was indirectly due to lack of a courthouse. After the Courthouse was burned, a new one was not built until about 1879.
The two land deeds in question are valid and are between Father
and Son. After reading the two deeds it's obvious that the original land deeds
were lost, misplaced or destroyed and the two were being recorded in 1885 and
1887 at which time William James Purvis would have been (1885-1863 =22) 22
years of age.
In Land Deed (DB 8: 421-423) the Court Clerk is citing the
original date (6 Dec 1866) that William A. Purvis purchased this 30 acres land
from Joseph P. Smith. This deed DB
8:421-423 was recorded 19th December 1885.
Then William James Purvis sells the 30 acre land parcel on
the 7th day of January 1888 to T. F. Meisenheimer for ninety ($90.00)
dollars. (DB 9:284-285)
Number 2 – The Gardner’s sister – Mary,
Martha (Patsy) and Sarah Gardner
The Gardner sisters were found in
the 1880 Census for Chesterfield County.[1]
C. B. Gardner married Sarah Jane
Purvis about 1899 in Chesterfield County. She was the daughter of Stephen David
Purvis, son of John “Jack” Purvis.
A lack of records, pre-Civil War, will
require DNA testing as the immediate means of determining if the various
Purvis lines in Chesterfield County and the surrounding area are related.
The best single clue out of this entire review is the 1870 Purvis family living next door to William A and Sarah Jane Purvis. I think Elizabeth "Betsy in the 1870 household could be the Betsy in the William A. Purvis household in 1880. Elizabeth "Betsy" is all over the planet with her age. It definitely warrants further research which I will accomplish over the next few months.[2][3]
Any help, suggestions or comments are
welcomed on this line. You can contact me here.
[1] 1880 U S
Census, Chesterfield County, South Carolina, population schedule, Court House,
Chesterfield County, South Carolina, enumeration district (ED) 005, Page 326A;
Line 39, Dwelling 280, Family 280, Household of Mary GARDNER; digital images, Ancestry.com
(http://www.ancestry.com : viewed 1 December 2012); citing National Archives
Microfilm T9-1225.
[3] 1870 U S
Census, Anson County, North Carolina, population schedule, Morven Twp, Anson
County, North Carolina, Page 403A, Line 1, Dwelling 179, Family 179, Household
of S.[arah] PERVIS; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com
: viewed 22 November 2012); citing National Archive Microfilm M593, Roll 1122.
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