What is a myth?
A Myth is “a traditional story, especially one concerning the early history of a
people…”
In the late
1920’s a young lady by the name of Minnie Sanders Rivers created a Family
Booklet of the Rivers Family of Chesterfield County, South Carolina.
The
booklet began by introducing William Rivers and his wife Temple Dempsey, no
birth or death dates for either continuing with “Tradition tells us that Wm.
was born in England and came to America with other brothers and landed on James
Island, Charleston Harbor in 1760. Came on same ship with the Pegues.”
Temple
Dempsey, b.
Had known children:
2. Mark [Rivers],
b. abt 1735
3. Wm. [Rivers],Jr.; b. abt. 1737; No further
record.
4. Frederick
[Rivers], b. abt 1739; d. 1810.
5. Nancy [Rivers];
b. abt 1753; d. abt 1835.
Another researcher on their
internet web site has these comments listed.
Born, some say, in England.
Born, some say, in Chesterfield
County, SC.
Married, some say, in 1830 in SC, possibly at James Island. [Not possible as
William died in 1785. 1730 is also not a possibility as William would only be
12 years old.]
Children, some say, are Frederick, Mark, Mary, and Sarah. Frederick had sons:
William and Frederick Jr.; and a daughter: Nancy, who married Thomas Davis.
Frederick Sr., some say, married Mary Boatwright. [William and Temple did
indeed have 4 children: William II., Frederick Sr., Mark and Nancy. Frederick
Sr., who married Sarah Purvis had a son; Frederick Jr., who married __________
Boatwright. The Nancy who married Thomas Davis is the daughter of William and
Temple (Dempsey) Rivers. Obviously, there is considerable confusion about this
family line. More documentation is needed.]
Conflicts & Problems
There
are a lot of problems and misdirection with this family history. Nancy (Rivers)
Davis is my 4th Great Grandmother. There is no proof of her
parentage. The Revolutionary Pension of her husband, Thomas Davis, contains an
affidavit signed by a William Rivers who made the following statement:
State of
South Carolina}
Chesterfield
District}
Before me personally appeared William Rivers Sr. a resident of Chesterfield District aged 76 years the 25th last month, who being first duly sworn according to law says that he was intimately and personally acquainted with Thomas and Nancy Davis. Since his first recollection, that he was raised within one fourth of a mile from the said Nancy Davis, then Nancy Rivers, deponents aunt and well recollects the time they were married but was not present at the marriage and to the best of his knowledge and belief would say they were married about the year seventeen hundred and seventy seven or eight (1787 or 1788) that the said Thomas Davis lived the year before he was married with his deponents’ father and has known them as husband and wife ever since in which relation they were respectable members of the Methodist Church up to the time of his said Thomas Davis death and lived within two miles of deponent where his widow is still living and raises nine children and had ten issue of their said marriage the youngest of whom was born in the month of December 1812 which fact he knows from the birth of his own son Malachi who was born the 22nd day of August 1812 which record is now before him.
Sworn to and subscribed this 16th day of February 1852 in Open Court.
s/William Rivers
J.C. Craig
Judge of
the Court of Ordinary
[AFFIDAVIT
from Thomas Davis Revolutionary War Pension File, W-8655.]
This Affidavit was signed by William Rivers, born 1776 (1852-76=1776), which would be William Rivers son of Frederick Rivers. It would also indicate that Frederick Rivers and Nancy Rivers were siblings.
In
46 years of research, No document has been found that names or mentions Temple
Dempsey. Two Rivers biographies can be found in Yates Snowden, History of
South Carolina. In Volume 4 on page 171 & 172 is the biography of Robert
Edward Rivers. In the same Volume on
pages 222-223 can be found the biography of Jesse Clifton Rivers. Jesse
Clifton Rivers went so far as to say that Frederick Rivers was a son of John B.
Rivers NOT William Rivers.
Excerpt from Jesse Clifton Rivers Biography:
JESSE CLIFTON RIVERS, is the present state
warehouse commissioner of South Carolina, being a unanimous choice of the
legislature for that office and beginning his service on March 1, 1930. He
resigned his seat in the Legislature, where he has sat for six continuous years
representing Chesterfield County, where Mr. Rivers has long been identified
with farming and business affairs.
He was born in
Chesterfield County at Mount Croghan, January 29, 1876. The Rivers family is of
the oldest in South Carolina. It was founded by three brothers; John B.,
William and Thomas who came from England about 1750 and settled near what
is now the city of Charleston. They owned
large estates on the Islands and were planters and slave owners. The head of this particular branch of the family was John B. Rivers. His son, Frederick
Rivers, was a patriotic soldier, and
many of his descendants have participated in the various wars of the country. Frederick Rivers was with
Marion and his men, and was granted land in Chesterfield County for his services in the Revolution. These lands were in
Chesterfield County, where the Rivers family
were original settlers about 1765.
Isaac Rivers, a son of Frederick
Rivers, served with Jackson in the War of 1812, and was in the final battle of
that war at New Orleans when the British were defeated. Frederick Rivers, a son
of Isaac, was also a soldier, being a member of the Palmetto Regiment in South
Carolina in the Mexican war.
Creating further conflict
and misdirection is the biographic sketch for Jesse Clifton Rivers
when he swears that the “head of this
particular branch of the family was
John B. Rivers. His son, Frederick Rivers, was a patriotic soldier.
So is Frederick the son of William
and Temple (Dempsey) Rivers
Or
Is Frederick the son of John B.
Rivers.
Excerpt from Robert Edward Rivers Biography:
"ROBERT EDWARD RIVERS,
who for many years has been immersed in affairs as a planter, banker and
business man of Chesterfield, is a great-great-grand-son
of William Rivers, a native of England, who came to the American
colonies in time to join in the struggle for independence, and served with the
rank of lieutenant in Marion's army in South Carolina.
The family was thus
established at a very early day in Chesterfield County, where Frederick Rivers
spent his active career as a planter. Robert Edward Rivers was born in
Chesterfield, March 2, 1861. His father, Calvin Rivers, a native of the same
county, became a Confederate soldier, was on duty for a time, in Battery Wagner
at Charleston Harbor and at the close of the war was paroled at Macon, Georgia.
Except for the period of the war, he gave his time to planting, and lived to
the age of seventy-five. He married Louise Gatewood, a daughter of Philip
Gatewood of Anson County, North Carolina. She died when about sixty-seven years
of age."
Another conflict is the statement “that Wm. was born in England and came to America with other brothers and landed on James Island, Charleston Harbor in 1760. Came on same ship with the Pegues.”
My research shows that “Claudius Pegues was a Hugenot, who fled France after the Edict of Nates was revoked in 1685. In 1719, in London, his son and namesake, Claudius Pegues, was born.
Claudius
Pegues, at about 16 years of age, came to the colony of South Carolina,
arriving about December 1736 in Charleston aboard the ship, CHARLES.
He
met his future wife, Henrietta Butler on this Ship.
So, we see that Claudius Pegues arrived in the Colony of South Carolina in December 1736 long before the said landing of William Rivers in 1760 on James Island.
Claudius Pegues did not leave Charleston until shortly before the birth of his daughter, Henrietta Pegues, on June 2, 1758, at that time he relocated to Cheraw District on the Pee Dee River in what is now the northwestern corner of Marlboro County, SC. So Claudius Pegues wasn’t even in Charleston in 1760; he was in upstate South Carolina, Marlboro County.
We already said that not a single document has been found naming Temple Dempsey. So, let’s talk about William Rivers. There is several William Rivers in upstate South Carolina. But you will see in the documents that there is absolutely no way that anyone can say which, if any, of the William Rivers are related to the Rivers of Chesterfield County.
William Rivers Notes:
October 1759-January 1760 -- The name William Rivers appears on Capt. Lide's payroll under Col. Powell for the Expedition to Fort Prince George Oct 1759 - Jan 1760. The 5 after his name shows that he (5) “Served in the Cherokee War under Col. George Gabriel Powell whose men were mainly from Cheraw and Georgetown Districts of old Craven County.” http://genealogytrails.com/scar/patriots.htm
6 April 1785 -- "Stub Entries to Indents" No. 347, Lib. N, Issued the 6th of April 1785 to Mr. William Rivers say Rives for Two hundred and twenty four Pounds thirteen Shillings and Ten Pence farthing Sterling for Sundries for Continents and Militia in 1781 and 1782 as p*. three Accounts Audited.
Principal L224-13-10
1/4 annual Interest L15-14-6.
Double click to enlarge
29 August 1785--"Stub Entries to Indents" No. 648, Lib. W, page 109, Issued 29 Aug 1785 To: for the Estn of Wm Rivers for Thirty four pound two Schillings for 2088 lbs. Pork for militia in 1780 per a/.c from the Commissioners
Principal
L31-2-0 annual Interest L2-7-8.
2 October 1786 -- William Rivers name is Indexed in a PLAT FOR 3,885 ACRES ON THOMPSONS AND BEAR CREEKS, CHERAWS DISTRICT, SURVEYED BY ALEXANDER CRAIG for Calvin SPENCER.
Series: S213212; Volume: 0001; Page: 00131; Item: 020
NO DATE: Plat of Land Belonging To William Chapman, William Rivers, Isaac Rivers And Vardell. (C.454)
Date: No date
People in this record: Rivers, William
Also: Chapman, William; Rivers,
Isaac; Vardell
Series: Plat Collection of John McCrady (L10005)
Available at SCDAH building or by order.
ID: Series: L10005 Reel: 0011 Plat: 05927 ignore: 000
11 Jan 1797 – A Land Deed between Frederick Rivers and his son, William Rivers. Also mentioned is Mark Rivers.
DAR INDEX, Volume III, page 2476 --- William Rivers, Patriotic service. Born about 1718 in England. Landed at James Island, Charleston Harbor, SC. Came on the same ship as the PEGUES family. Ship "CHARLES"
BURIED: Old Rivers Graveyard, Chesterfield, SC.
(The DAR stopped accepting the Application for William
Rivers in 1999 because proof was lacking).
 |
| Double click to enlarge |
The above list details the documents found relating to William Rivers. There were no birth or marriage dates mentioned in these documents and only one alluded to a death date. All birth, death and marriage dates have been arbitrarily created by individuals’ family historian mostly copies of bad data from someone else on-line tree. I have researched the Chesterfield Rivers for 46 years, 28 of those years in the Family History Library at Salt Lake City. Other areas of research were the Charleston Library, the SC Archives; Marion County Archives and the South Carolina State Libray. In those 46 years I have networked with Rivers researcher all over the United States.
In addition, in August 1990 a group of BYU Co-eds were given an assignment by a Certified Genealogist to “determine the parents of William Rivers and Temple Dempsey and their possible linkage to the Rivers family from Charleston via Barbados and England. They were UNSUCCESSFUL. I have a partial copy of their research.
The BIG question in this family history is – Where did all of these dates come from, what is their Source.
Minnie
Sanders Rivers in her booklet only alleged that William Rivers and Temple
Dempsey were the parents of Mark, William Rivers, Jr, Frederick and Nancy.
There was no Birth or Death date listed for William & Temple. The only
source given for William and Temple is Family Tradition. What if Family
Tradition is Wrong. Without any mention of Sources, she alleged they came from
England. England is a big country. Who decided they came from Droxford and
Hampshire. What is the Source of this information. If the data came from a real
period document or source, why can it not be re-discovered?
One
of those dates was a specific Marriage Date of 20 May 1730 in Droxford,
England. So, I wrote the Hampshire Records Office for a copy of the marriage
document of William Rivers and Temple Dempsey on 20 May 1730. Here is their
response:
My primary goal in researching my family lineage is to ensure it meets the 5 tenets of the Genealogical Proof Standard. The Genealogical Proof standard was implemented in 2000 (https://bcgcertification.org/ethics-standards/). I'm researching and building a Family History built on facts and documented sources. I'm not interested in creating a work of fiction.
1.
Making as wide a search as possible for sources that
could help establish the identity, event or relationship under investigation.
2.
Recording in proper, acceptable format the source
citation and/or the provider of the information.
3.
Analyzing and correlating the collected information—evaluating
the quality of sources and the reliability of information within them.
4.
Resolving any conflicting, contradictory evidence with reasoned
argument.
5.
Stating your conclusion convincingly (more than a “balance of
probability”).
There is no doubt that
an exhaustive search has been made to find the parents of Frederick Rivers said
be to William Rivers and Temple Dempsey. However, none of the other 4 tenets of
the Genealogical Proof standard has been met.
Looking at Tenet 3 it shows we need to analyze and correlate the information while evaluating the quality of sources and the reliability of information.
When the only data you
have is modern day information posted on a website without any explanation, it’s
easy to evaluate. Data without source information is just plain fiction.
That brings us to
Tenet#2 - Recording in proper, acceptable format the source citation and/or
the provider of the information. If you don’t have a source there is no way to
create a source citation.
Finally, in the Rivers family research there is so much conflicting information without any sources that none of it is believable because none of it came from the time period of our ancestors. It’s on the internet and copied by all every day, the Good, the Bad and the Ugly.
There’s an old saying “A con fools one mark, a scam fools a whole school of them”. [author unknown] If you don’t believe this to be true, look at the 1196 Trees on Ancestry for William Rivers & Temple Dempsey.
The ultimate question is:
Is there a real Temple Dempsey, wife of the progenitor of this Rivers Lineage, or was she created by Family Historian?
Related Blog Post:
·
https://carolinafamilyroots.blogspot.com/2014/12/52-ancestors-51-frederick-f-rivers.html
·
https://carolinafamilyroots.blogspot.com/2015/01/was-there-two-frederick-rivers-in.html
I know there are individuals who will emphatically reject the thesis of this Blog Post. My question to them is – Are you spending your time creating a Family History based on facts and backed up with source citations or are you creating a work of fiction by copying on-line trees.
Researching a family history takes time. If you are not documenting your sources and creating a proper source citation for each of them, you are wasting your time. Copying data from other trees, that haven’t been sourced is a waste of time.
Is
your research based on the Genealogical Proof Standard? If not I suggest you start here with your research: https://bcgcertification.org/product/bcg-genealogy-standards/
_________________________
1. Oxford Dictionary, myth defined.
2. https://www.fold3.com/image/15484620
Charlie, I appreciate your documented extensive research and I appreciate your sharing attitude. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteIn my past 46 years of research I have had a lot of help along the way. I want to give back as much or more than I received.
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