Mary Virginia Hagerman was born about 1882, a daughter of Barton Campbell Hagerman and Mary Ann “Mamie” Campbell. Mary Virginia married Halford Adams Watson on 29 December 1906 She was also the 3rd Great Granddaughter of Gilbert Purvis, Revolutionary Soldier.
On 28 September 1914, Mary Virginia submitted an application for DAR membership based on her 3rd Great Grandfather Gilbert Purvis service in the Revolutionary War. The application was approved in 1915 and assigned DAR #115797. She is the only applicant to be approved for DAR membership based on Gilbert Purvis’ service. 1
The application, submitted by Mary Virginia (Hagerman) Watson shows that her 2nd Great Grandfather was Johnson Purvis. A copy of this application was my first encounter or exposure to Johnson Purvis.
To put this in perspective let me say that I have been researching the Purvis surname in Chesterfield County since October 1976. I have not found a single document in South Carolina with this man’s name on it. My first thought was did this man really exist or is this just folklore.
Then on 11 November 2010, I sent this e-mail to a lady named Karen. Karen is also a direct descendant of Gilbert Purvis.
Karen,
We are corresponding on GENFORUM.
I'm using the e-mail CPurvis1@gmail.com
Please take a few minutes and tell me the story about Mary Ann Purvis
and William R. Purvis and the info you have that been passed down in
your Campbell Family.
I have a theory; but I need the full story as passed down.
THANKS,
Charlie
This e-mail led to an extensive search that filled in a lot of gaps in Karen’s direct line and in my research of the Purvis of Chesterfield County, South Carolina.
Still it took many months to find additional info on Johnson Purvis and again the documents are very spare and limited in information. Since November 2010, these three documents have been found.
1831 Simpson County , MS Tax List 2
1832 Simpson County , MS Tax List 3
1833 Simpson County , MS Tax List 4
So now there is no doubt that Johnson or Johnston Purvis existed. But, Gilbert Purvis, Sr. also had a son known as Gilbert Johnson Purvis. Would he name another son Johnson James or James Johnson? In other words, could Johnson J. and G. Johnson be the same individual? James P. J. Purvis is the said son of this Johnson J. Purvis first referred to in DAR app 115795 above. All the evidence I found about Gilbert Johnson Purvis including his Will suggests that he remained a single man. James P. J. Purvis is believed to have one brother named William H. H. Purvis. When William H. H. Purvis moved to Polk County, TX in the late 1840’s he took with him an older woman named Sarah Purvis.
Is Sarah Purvis the wife of Johnson Purvis and the mother of James P. J. Purvis and William H. H. Purvis?
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| 1850 Census, Polk Co., TX |
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| 1850 Actual Census page |
If we go back to the DAR App 115797 we see that Mary Virginia listed James P. J. parents as Johnson and Sarah.
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| DAR App 115797 |
Who is Johnson J. Purvis; four documents does not provided very much helpful information. As you can see I have more questions than answers with this line. If you have any comments or recommendations I would love to hear from you.
Related articles:
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[1] Mary Virginia Hagerman Watson, "DAR ANCESTOR DATABASE," DAR Application, Daughters of the American Revolution (http://services.dar.org/Public/DAR_Research/search/?Tab_ID=1 : Viewed & Download 23 October 2014), DAR APP 115797; Ancestor: Gilbert Purvis.
[2] 1831 Tax List, Simpson County, Mississippi; James P. J. PURVIS and Johnson J. PURVIS, are listed on the Tax roll.
"Mississippi, State Archives, Various Records, 1820-1951," images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1951-21381-30365-21?cc=1919687&wc=M6J9-YWL:211953101,211963301 : accessed 27 Apr 2014), Simpson > County tax rolls 1824-1845, Box 3764 > image 57 of 276; citing Government Records, Jackson.
[3] 1832 Tax List, Simpson County, Mississippi; Pender J. PURVIS and Johnson J. PURVIS, are listed on the Tax roll. www.Familysearch.org; "Mississippi, State Archives, Various Records, 1820-1951," images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1951-21381-30272-71?cc=1919687&wc=M6J9-YWL:211953101,211963301 : accessed 27 Apr 2014), Simpson > County tax rolls 1824-1845, Box 3764 > image 70 of 276; citing Government Records, Jackson.
[4] 1833 Tax List - Simpson County, Mississippi, Purviff, Johnson J.
"Mississippi, State Archives, Various Records, 1820-1951," images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1942-21381-31596-87?cc=1919687&wc=M6J9-YWL:211953101,211963301 : accessed 27 Apr 2014), Simpson > County tax rolls 1824-1845, Box 3764 > image 86 of 276; citing Government Records, Jackson
Charlie, I wish I could give you a tip to send you in the right direction. Things like this puzzle bother all of us.
ReplyDeleteThanks Colleen. Another problem is that very few people are researching this Purvis line.
ReplyDelete