Most if not all fellow citizens of Chesterfield County know that pre-civil war records were destroyed by fire when the forces of Gen. Sherman marched through Chesterfield County in March 1865. The Courthouse was set fire by the Union force and all contents destroyed except for one “partial” deed book which was recovered from the fire. Some have heard this story but many Chesterfield County researchers today are unaware of the “Burnt” Deed Book.
The Burnt Deed Book contains over 200 pages most with the corners or entire section of pages illegible and unreadable. But, there are some hidden genealogy gems within these burnt pages. It was from the “Burnt” Book that I learned that James Rivers was married before he left for the Civil War from which he never returned. The readable portions of a land deed within this “Book” told me who he had married.
BURNT DEED BOOK: Chesterfield County , SC; Page 50, Land Deed between John C. Davis to Thomas C. Davis Deed: Parts illegible, Burnt. Visible names and comments are: John C. Davis to Thomas C. Davis Deed; Wm. A. Rivers, Estate Lands of Britton Dozier, laid off to Nancy A. [Dozier] Rivers the wife of James Rivers, dated 22nd Day of December 1859.
“conveyed to me by Wm. A. Rivers, by deed bearing date 10th Dec 1858. Said
Tract of land being a portion of the real Estate of Britton Dozier, laid off
To Nancy A. Rivers the wife of James Rivers, reference being had to a …”
James Rivers,age 23, married Nancy A. Dozier, daughter of James and Britten Dozier sometime before 10 December 1858
After learning of the Death of James Rivers, Nancy A. (Dozier) Rivers joined her Mother and brothers in Sumter County, Georgia.
There she married Noah Meeks on 16 Jan 1862. This tells us that James Rivers lost his life in the Civil War sometime before 16 January 1862. I have spent a lot of time looking for a death date for James Rivers without success. The National Parks Service (NPS) Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System,- http://www.itd.nps.gov/cwss/ -- has 4 James Rivers listed but I have been unable to determine if either of these 4 men is our James Rivers.
I have found other genealogical Gems within this book and I highly recommend you spend some time browsing through this Deed Book. The missing data and burnt sections are heart-wrenching especially since many missing sections contain essential data.
The “Burnt” Deed Book of Chesterfield County, South Carolina is LDS Film#1449103.
The URL for the “Burnt” Deed Book is -- https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSR8-L3RT-F?mode=g&cat=377727
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[1] https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSR8-L3TS-N?i=77&cat=377727 (Image 78 of 254)
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