The Wife of James F. Purvis is not Sarah Garrard James

Sarah Garrard James Does not Exist but there is a Sarah Garrard that married James Purvis thus becoming Sarah Garrard Purvis.

This marriage took place in Fleming County, Kentucky on 31 March 1808.

Today there are hundreds of on-line trees showing Sarah Garrard James married to James F. Purvis of Chesterfield, South Carolina. 

The Wife of James F. Purvis, born 1760 in Chesterfield, SC; died abt Nov 1836 in Mississippi is Unknown.

Back in May 2011 I posted the following post on GenForum an active Genealogy message board at that time:
https://www.genealogy.com/forum/surnames/topics/purvis/2047/

There is a lot of misinformation on the Wife of James F. Purvis. Most of this is caused by sloppy research and posting of misinformation on-line.
There is a Kentucky marriage licensee for a James Purvis to a Sarah Garrard.
Spouse 1:       Garrard, Sarah
Spouse 2:       Purvis, James
Marriage Date:       31 Mar 1808
Marriage Location:       Kentucky
Fleming County
       

Source Information:
Dodd, Jordan. Kentucky Marriages, 1802-1850 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 1997. Original data: Electronic transcription of marriage records held by the individual counties in Kentucky.

James F. Purvis, Sr. b. abt 1760 DID NOT marry Sarah Garrard James

The KY Marriage Licensee shows A SARAH GARRARD marrying a JAMES PURVIS; but he was not the James F. Purvis, Sr. that migrated from Chesterfield County, SC to Clarke County, Alabama and then on to Rankin County, MS where he died in November 1836. [Probate File; Probate Court, Rankin County, MS and RANKIN COUNTY, MS BOND AND WILL BOOK I, Page 52: Estate of James Purvis, dec'd. John Purvis, W. Purvis, W.B. Word, Charles A. Fulsom, bond $1,400.00.28 Nov. 1836. Condition:John Purvis and George W. Purvis, Admr's. make an inventory of estate].

James F. Purvis, born about 1760 in SC and Died in November 1836 was the son of John Purvis and Sarah Johnston/Johnson. THE NAME OF HIS WIFE IS NOT KNOWN. His brother was Gilbert Purvis who married Effica Howell. James, Gilbert and several other Purvis families migrated from Chesterfield, SC about 1818. They are not listed in the 1820 Census for Chesterfield County, SC. James and his family are listed in 1800 and 1810 and I can assure you he was married long before the 1808 Kentucky Marriage.

1800 Census;

James PURVIS, age 26-44

3 Male 0-10      
1 Male 10-15
1 Male 26-44 (James)
2 Female 0-10
1 Female 16-25
4 Slaves

1810 Census:
James PURVIS Sr., age 26-44

2 Male 0-10      
1 Male 16-25
1 Male 26-44 (James, Sr)
2 Female 0-10
1 Female 10-15
1 Female 26-44

Based on these two censuses we can see that James was married and had 6 children prior to 1800 and statistics points to a likely marriage date of about 1788-89. This is based on the assumption that the oldest female in the household is James Purvis wife.

Again we know that James is in SC and that he is married much earlier that 1808 and has a growing family in both 1800 and 1810. There is no record of James Purvis leaving South Carolina until he migrated with his brother about 1818-1820

Just a short look on the Internet shows that Sarah Garrard married James Purvis on March 31, 1808 in Fleming county, Kentucky, son of William Purvis and Jane Burk. These Purvis were from Culpepper County, Virginia.

http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/a/c/r/Charles-A-Acree/WEBSITE-0001/UHP-0165.html
Another website showing basically same information.

http://www.vangundy.net/familytree/GP/fam/fam01003.html [NO LONGER ACTIVE]

And I have no idea how SARAH GARRARD became SARAH GARRARD JAMES. I would suggest contacting one of the individuals posting this information. There are at least 7 public trees out there with this wrong information. [End of GenForum Post]. 

These 7 trees in 2011 have now morphed into hundreds. For the life of me I don't understand placing such misinformation in a personal tree. If you are not going to abide by the Genealogical Proof Standard (GPS) when creating and maintaining a tree; why do it at all? Your time could be better used doing something for your community. 

If your line is William Purvis and Jane Burk of Virginia then James Purvis and Sarah Garrard belongs in your tree.

If your line is James F. Purvis, b. 1760 Chesterfield County South Carolina; parents John Purvis and Sarah Johnston then  please remove Sarah Garrard as the wife of James; his wife is unknown. If you have PROOF otherwise, I’m all ears. Send me an email.