The “Aunts & Uncles” series of biographical sketches are Artificial Intelligence (AI) compiled narratives of selected individuals from my Genealogical database. The selected AI will used the RootsMagic Individual Summary from my Genealogical Software, Roots Magic. All genealogical data is my research material acquired over the past 48+ years of research. Today's Biography of Samuel W. Brock (1796-1884) was compiled with the assistance of Claude Sonnett 5 Median.
Samuel W. Brock (1796–1884)
A Chesterfield County, South Carolina farmer, father of nine, and our 3rd great-granduncle
Full Name | Samuel W. Brock |
Born | 1796, Chesterfield, South Carolina (year calculated from his age of 54 in the 1850 census) |
Died | 22 March 1884, Chesterfield County, South Carolina (Coroner's Inquest #4168, believed to be his) |
Burial | Not yet recorded |
Father | James Valentin Brock (1749–1847) |
Mother | Not yet identified |
Spouse | Martha (called "Marcia" in the 1850 census), born 1808 in Chesterfield; died before 1880. Married about 1825. |
Children | Nine: seven sons and two daughters |
Occupation | Farmer |
Lived In | Chesterfield District (later Chesterfield County), South Carolina. Every record we have places him there. |
Relationship | Our 3rd great-granduncle |
Meet Samuel
Samuel W. Brock spent his whole life in Chesterfield, South Carolina. Born in the closing years of the 1700s, he lived long enough to watch the young United States grow up, split in two, and slowly stitch itself back together. He is our 3rd great-granduncle, and thanks to a nice trail of census pages, deeds, probate files, and family stories, we can follow him from the 1850 farm census all the way to his death in 1884.
This little biography pulls together what our family group sheet tells us about Samuel, his wife Martha, and their nine children. Where the records agree, we say so plainly. Where they don't, we point it out rather than guess. Those puzzles are gathered in the Research Notes near the end.
Life at a Glance
When | What Happened |
1796 | Samuel is born in Chesterfield, SC (year calculated from the 1850 census) |
About 1825 | Marries Martha (year calculated from the birth of their oldest known child) |
1826 | Daughter Sarah Ann, the oldest known child, is born |
1850 | Census and agricultural census: a household of eleven on a 200-acre farm |
20 Jan 1855 | Buys 100 acres on Westfield Creek from Archibald Blue for $200 |
1860 | Census: Samuel (61) and Martha (52) with seven grown and nearly grown children still at home |
17 Oct 1863 | Son Thomas dies of typhoid fever in Columbia, SC |
29–30 Nov 1864 | Sons Joel and Samuel Jr. die at Mt. Pleasant, SC (Civil War) |
9 Feb 1865 | Son Calvin dies at the Camp Chase prison camp in Ohio (Civil War) |
4 Mar 1867 | Sheriff's sale of land belonging to "Saml W. & Eli Brock"; son James P. Brock is the buyer |
1870 | Census: Samuel (70) and Martha (68) at Chesterfield Court House |
1871 | Deeds land to six grandchildren (28 Feb) and to his daughter Sarah Davis (8 Aug) |
Before 1880 | Martha dies |
1880 | Census: Samuel (80) living with his daughter and three granddaughters |
22 Mar 1884 | Samuel dies; Coroner's Inquest #4168 is believed to be his, and family tradition says it was a house fire |
6 Nov 1885 | His 1871 deed to Sarah Davis is finally recorded |
Roots: Parents and Family Background
Our sheet names Samuel's father as James Valentin Brock (1749–1847). If those dates hold up, James lived to be almost 98 and was a young man in his twenties and thirties during the American Revolution, so Samuel was born to a man who had lived through the founding of the country.
That is as far back as this sheet goes. Samuel's mother is not recorded, and no brothers or sisters are listed for him, so those remain open questions for future digging.
South Carolina in 1796 The year Samuel was born, George Washington was finishing his second term as president, and John Adams won the election to succeed him. Tennessee had just become the 16th state. Eli Whitney's cotton gin had been patented only two years earlier, and the cotton boom it helped set off would shape farming across South Carolina for the rest of Samuel's life. You can even see it in his own 1850 farm records.
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Marrying Martha
Samuel married a woman named Martha around 1825. We do not have a marriage record; the year is calculated from the birth of their oldest known child, Sarah Ann, in 1826. Martha was born in 1808 in Chesterfield, which makes her about twelve years younger than Samuel.
The records are a little inconsistent about her name. The 1850 census lists her as "Marcia," while the 1860 and 1870 censuses give "Martha" (and "M[artha]"). Her maiden name is unknown. Our sheet jots down the surname White with a string of question marks, so treat that as a hunch worth testing, not a conclusion.
Martha last shows up in the 1870 census, where she is listed as keeping house. By 1880 Samuel is living in a household without her, and the sheet records her death as sometime before 1880.
Samuel and Martha's Nine Children
The 1850 census shows all nine children at home, ranging from age 24 down to age 6. Here is the whole crew at a glance:
Child | Born | Died | Spouse |
Sarah Ann Brock | 1826, Chesterfield, SC | After 1880, Chesterfield, SC | Leonard Davis (b. 1837), m. 1868 |
William P. Brock | About 1827, Chesterfield, SC | Before 1880, Chesterfield County, SC | Esther E. Copeland (b. 1837), m. about 1853 |
Joel Washington Brock | 1829, Chesterfield, SC | 29 Nov 1864, Mt. Pleasant, SC | None recorded |
Samuel W. Brock Jr. | About 1830, Chesterfield, SC | 30 Nov 1864, Mt. Pleasant, SC | M. Ann (surname unknown, 1840–1896), m. about Jan 1860 |
Calvin Brock | 22 Feb 1832, Chesterfield, SC | 9 Feb 1865, Camp Chase, Columbus, Franklin Co., Ohio | None recorded |
Eli W. Brock | 1832 (tombstone) or Feb 1836 (1900 census), Chesterfield, SC | Feb 1905, Chesterfield, SC | Mary Jane White (1844–1917), m. about 1862 |
Thomas Brock | About 1839, Chesterfield, SC | 17 Oct 1863, Columbia, SC | None recorded |
Margaret Elizabeth Brock | 1840, Chesterfield, SC | Before 23 Aug 1890, Chesterfield, SC | (1) Eli Whittington (1840–1876), m. about 1868; (2) Joseph Baxter Sellers (1815–1898), m. after 1880 |
James Paul Brock | 28 Feb 1845, Chesterfield, SC | 2 Feb 1919, Chesterfield, SC | Catherine Josephine Smith (1853–1928), m. 2 Sep 1869 |
Now let's get to know each of them a little better.
Sarah Ann Brock (1826 – after 1880)
Sarah Ann was the oldest, and she was still living in her parents' household in both the 1850 and 1860 censuses. She married Leonard Davis in 1868. In the 1869 court papers about her brother Joel's land, the parties include "Leonard Davis and wife Sarah." In 1871 her father deeded her about 100 acres. By 1880 the couple was living in Cheraw, where the census lists Leonard (44, born in North Carolina), Sarah, and a daughter named Massie, age 11. Sarah died sometime after that census.
William P. Brock (about 1827 – before 1880)
William married Esther E. Copeland about 1853. In 1860 he was farming on his own, living just a few dwellings away from his parents, with Esther and three little ones: Wincy E. (4), Peter (3), and a baby of five months. By 1870 the household at Court House Township included Wincy, Peter, Thomas, Jackson, Ardelia, and Joel. William died before 1880. His children were the six grandchildren Samuel deeded land to in 1871.
Joel Washington Brock (1829 – 1864)
Joel appears in a household of his own in 1860 at age 25, living near Hezekiah and Alexander Brock, and he was a witness when his father bought land in 1855. No wife is recorded for him. He died at Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina, on 29 November 1864 while serving in the Confederate army (more on that below). Samuel stepped in as the administrator of Joel's estate (Estate Folder #55). In 1869 James P. Brock petitioned the probate court to divide Joel's land, and the court ordered it sold. At a public auction on 3 January 1870, Joel's roughly 270 acres on Big Westfield Creek brought $355. Jesse C. Smith was the high bidder and the deed went to John T. Lee.
Samuel W. Brock Jr. (about 1830 – 1864/65)
Samuel Jr. married M. Ann (her surname isn't known) about January 1860. She lived from 1840 to 1896. He served in the 1st South Carolina Artillery and died at Mt. Pleasant on 30 November 1864, one day after his brother Joel. A second record gives his death as 15 June 1865 at Charleston. His estate is Estate Folder #191.
Calvin Brock (1832 – 1865)
Calvin was born on 22 February 1832 and, like his brothers, was still at home in the 1850 and 1860 censuses. No wife or children are recorded. His story is a hard one: he was captured in Virginia in September 1864 and died as a prisoner of war in Ohio in February 1865. Calvin is remembered on Find A Grave, and you'll find the details in the Civil War section below.
Eli W. Brock (1832 or 1836 – 1905)
Eli enlisted on 2 June 1862, age 25, in Company D of the 6th South Carolina Cavalry, which became part of the 1st Regiment South Carolina Partisan Rangers. He later appears in Company I of the 1st South Carolina Artillery. He came home from the war and, about 1862, married Mary Jane White (1844–1917). The 1880 and 1900 censuses find the family in Cheraw. The 1880 household lists Catharine, Mary, Emma, Daniel, Lucy, and Sarah. In 1900 the census notes that Eli and Mary Jane had been married 38 years and had 8 children, 7 of them living. Eli died in February 1905 without a will and was buried at the Brock cemetery near Brocks Mill. In January 1907 his heirs worked out a division of his land without going to court. The heirs named are his widow Mary Jane and children Katie McLaurin, Emma Brock, Hattie Bivens, Sarah Ann Brock, J. C. Brock, D. F. Brock, and Lucy Rivers. The agreement gave the 80-acre "house place" to Sarah Ann, J. C., and Lucy, and promised Mary Jane the personal property plus ten dollars a year from each heir for the rest of her life.
Thomas Brock (about 1839 – 1863)
Thomas was 12 when the 1850 census was taken and 19 in 1860. He joined the Confederate army and was the first of the four Brock sons to die, on 17 October 1863 in Columbia, South Carolina, of typhoid fever. No wife is recorded.
Margaret Elizabeth Brock (1840 – before 1890)
Elizabeth, as she appears in the census and on her tombstone, married Eli Whittington (1840–1876) about 1868. The 1870 census shows them at Court House with a baby daughter. Eli Whittington died in 1876, and by 1880 Elizabeth was back in her father's household. That census lists "E. Whittington" (age 40) along with granddaughters Lugenia (9), Anna (8), and Sarah (6) living with 80-year-old Samuel. Our sheet also lists a second husband, Joseph Baxter Sellers (1815–1898), married after 1880. Elizabeth died before 23 August 1890, the date of a petition to appoint guardians for two Whittington children, R. A. and S. A. Her tombstone at Old Brock's Mill Baptist Church Cemetery reads Elizabeth Brock Whittington, 1840–1890.
James Paul Brock (1845 – 1919)
The baby of the family, James Paul was born on 28 February 1845 and was only six at the 1850 census. He served in the Confederate army (Company I or J of the 1st South Carolina Artillery) and came home to Chesterfield. On 2 September 1869 he married Catherine Josephine Smith (1853–1928), and the two raised a big family. James turns up all over his father's paperwork: he bought the Mill tract at the 1867 sheriff's sale, petitioned for the division of Joel's land in 1869, and witnessed his father's 1871 deed to Sarah. In 1900 the census lists him with Catherine and five of their children at home, and notes that Catherine had given birth to nine children, six of them living. James died on 2 February 1919 and was buried the next day at the Brock cemetery near Brocks Mill. Catherine applied for a Confederate widow's pension later that year.
Their children were:
An infant (1870)
Jesse Franklin Brock (1871–1935)
Charles W. Brock (1873–1937)
Sara Ella Brock Sellers (1875–1949)
James C. Brock (1878–1952)
Willie T. Brock (1881–1883)
Carrie Josephine Brock Rivers (1884–1945)
Benjamin Asbury Brock (1888–1977)
Dewitt G. Brock (1890–1897)
A Farmer on Westfield Creek
Our best peek into Samuel's working life is the 1850 agricultural census, which counted what a farm owned and produced. Samuel owned or managed a farm with 45 improved acres and 155 unimproved acres, worth $800. Here's the rest of the picture:
What | 1850 Count |
Land | 45 improved acres, 155 unimproved acres (cash value $800) |
Tools and machinery | $60 |
Livestock (total value $335) | 2 horses, 8 milk cows, 2 working oxen, 15 other cattle, 40 swine |
Corn | 300 bushels |
Sweet potatoes | 150 bushels |
Cotton | 3 bales of 400 pounds each |
Wheat | 10 bushels |
Peas and beans | 10 bushels |
Butter | 100 pounds |
Hay | 2 tons |
Corn was the biggest crop by far, with sweet potatoes second. Three bales of cotton gave the farm a little cash crop, and 40 hogs, 8 milk cows, and 100 pounds of butter tell us this was a working farm supporting a household of eleven people.
The 1855 Purchase
On 20 January 1855, Samuel bought 100 acres on the waters of Westfield Creek from Archibald Blue for $200. The deed traces the land back through a string of owners. It was originally part of two grants dated 7 October 1799 (to Elizabeth Brooks and William Brooks), passed from James Brock to James A. Brock in 1830 and from James A. Brock to Stephen Brock in January 1853, was sold at a sheriff's sale as Stephen's property, and was bought by Blue before it came to Samuel.
The witnesses were Henry McIver and Samuel's son Joel W. Brock. Because Blue was married, his wife Margaret C. Blue also appeared privately before a magistrate to confirm that she gave up her dower rights (the legal claim a wife had on her husband's land) freely and without pressure. The deed was recorded on 24 January 1855 in Book R, page 194, and again on 11 February 1892 in Deed Book 11, pages 346–348.
Four Sons Lost
Six of Samuel's seven sons appear in Confederate service records, and four of them did not come home. William P. has no military service recorded on our sheet. In a stretch of about sixteen months, Samuel and Martha lost four sons:
Son | Unit | Died | Place and Cause |
Thomas | Co. D, 21st SC Volunteer Infantry | 17 Oct 1863 | Columbia, SC; typhoid fever |
Joel W. | 1st SC Artillery | 29 Nov 1864 | Mt. Pleasant, SC; disease |
Samuel W. Jr. | Co. J, 1st SC Artillery | 30 Nov 1864 | Mt. Pleasant, SC |
Calvin | Co. B, 8th SC Infantry | 9 Feb 1865 | Camp Chase, Columbus, Ohio; chronic diarrhea |
Eli and James Paul both served and came home, and both lived to raise families in Chesterfield County.
Calvin's story. Calvin was captured near Opequan Creek, near Winchester, Virginia, on 13 September 1864 and was received at Camp Chase, Ohio, between 16 and 20 September. He died there on 9 February 1865 and was buried in Grave 1141 at Camp Chase Confederate Cemetery. The cemetery marker reads "Pvt. Calvin Brock Co. B 8th S.C. Inf. CSA."
A note on the other two records: the Roll of the Dead gives Joel's death as 1 March 1865 in Charleston, and the service card for Samuel Jr. gives 15 June 1865 in Charleston. We've listed the Mt. Pleasant dates in the table, and the Research Notes mention the differences.
Disease, Not Bullets Across the Civil War, far more soldiers died of disease than in combat, and the Brock brothers fit that sad pattern. Typhoid fever, "disease," and chronic diarrhea in a prison camp are the causes given in our records. Camp Chase was a Union prison camp at Columbus, Ohio, and its Confederate cemetery holds the graves of many of the men who died there. |
After the War: Debts and Deeds
The 1867 Sheriff's Sale
The postwar years were hard on many Southern farm families, and the Brocks were no exception. A court judgment in favor of Peter Barrentine against "Saml W. & Eli Brock" for $244.75 in debt and costs led Sheriff Daniel Douglass to levy on their land (the writ is dated 5 March 1866). On 4 March 1867, at the Chesterfield Court House, the land was sold to James P. Brock, the high bidder, for $25. Two deeds came out of the sale. The first covers a 146-acre tract on Westfield Creek known as the "Mill tract," and the second covers two 64-acre tracts. Both were recorded on 27 November 1867 and handed over to James P. Brock.
Eli's 1907 estate deed later refers to "the James P. Brock land," which may point back to this sale. Since Samuel Jr. died in 1864/65, the "Saml W." named in the judgment would most likely be Samuel Sr., alongside his son Eli.
Land for the Family, 1871
Two deeds from 1871 show Samuel, in his mid-seventies, passing land to family. On 28 February 1871 (Deed Book 5, page 520) he deeded land to six grandchildren: Wincy E., Peter P., W. T., S. S. J., Ardelia, and Joel W. Brock. The deed identifies them as the children of his son W. P. Brock and Esther E. Brock. The land was part of older tracts tied to the White family, including a 1817 sale from Wm. Pegues to Samuel White and 18 acres set aside in 1850 by John White to Samuel P. White.
On 8 August 1871 (Deed Book 8, pages 358–359) he deeded Sarah Davis "and her bodily heirs" about 100 acres on both sides of the Woolf (Wolf) Branch for $50. The land was bounded on the north by Squire H. Brock, on the west by Samuel's own land, and on the east by Capt. Pollock. "Bodily heirs" is old legal language for the person's own children and descendants. Samuel signed with his mark, an X. James P. Brock and S. P. White witnessed it, and James swore to the signature on 30 November 1871. The deed wasn't recorded until 6 November 1885, about twenty months after Samuel died.
From Districts to Counties If you've noticed that the 1855 and 1867 papers say "District" while the 1871 papers say "County," that's a real change. South Carolina's 1868 constitution replaced the old districts with counties, so Chesterfield District officially became Chesterfield County while Samuel was in his seventies. Same ground, new name. |
The Later Years
The 1870 census finds Samuel (70, farmer) and Martha (68, keeping house) at Chesterfield Court House. By 1880 Martha had passed away, and 80-year-old Sam was living at Court House with his daughter Elizabeth Whittington and three granddaughters, Lugenia, Anna, and Sarah. It is a quiet portrait of a long-lived farmer being looked after by family in his last years.
His Death in 1884
Samuel's death was a tragic one. Our sheet points to Coroner's Inquest #4168 (the inquest index is online at csidixie.org) as the record for Samuel W. Brock, who died on 22 March 1884. The inquest notes that a Mrs. Sarah Jane Lee tried to rescue him and believed him to be 86 or 87 years old.
A Family Story In November 2019, P. Leviner emailed Charlie a story passed down from Marselle Brock Rivers, who married C. M. Rivers, a son of Charlie Rivers. According to her, Charlie Rivers (who married Minnie Brock) stayed with Samuel and looked after him in his old age. Samuel had arthritis and was lying on a pallet on the floor in front of the fireplace when a spark flew out and set his quilt on fire. His family, who were working in a nearby field, rushed to the house, but the fire was already too fierce for them to get inside. Someone called out for him to crawl out, but he answered that he could not. He did not survive. In the family's telling he was 99 years old. That story fits nicely with the inquest, even though some of the details, such as his age, don't line up exactly. Details can shift over a century of retelling, but the heart of the story is the same. |
Our sheet does not record where Samuel was buried.the site is unknown today and has been lost over time.
Legacy
Samuel and Martha raised nine children in one corner of South Carolina, held on to their land through war and hard times, and saw four sons fall in the Confederate service. Their descendants carried the family forward through the Brock name and through marriages into other families. Their grandchildren's married names included McLaurin, Bivens, Rivers, Teal, and Sellers. Generations of the family are buried in the Brock cemetery near Brocks Mill. Samuel's life shows how much can be learned about an ordinary farmer from the paper trail he left behind, and it gives us plenty of threads to keep pulling.
Samuel W. Brock is my 3rd Great GrandUncle.
Research Notes
Puzzles and To-Dos
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Sources
1850 U.S. Census and 1850 Agricultural Census, Chesterfield County, SC (household of Samuel Brock)
1860, 1870, and 1880 U.S. Censuses, Chesterfield County, SC
Deed Book R, p. 194 (24 Jan 1855), recorded again in Deed Book 11, pp. 346–348: Archibald Blue to Samuel Brock
Deed Book 1, pp. 171–173 (4 Mar 1867): Sheriff Daniel Douglass to J. P. Brock
Deed Book 5, p. 520 (28 Feb 1871): Samuel Brock to Wincy E. Brock and others
Deed Book 8, pp. 358–359 (8 Aug 1871; Sales Book C, p. 222): Samuel Brock to Sarah Davis
Deed Book 2, pp. 323–324 (3 Jan 1870): Hugh Craig, Judge of Probate, to John T. Lee (Joel W. Brock land)
Deed Book 15, pp. 174–177 (Redfearn to Samuel W. Brock); Misc. Book 4, pp. 9–11 (Eli Brock estate, 21 Jan 1907)
Estate Folders #55 (Joel W. Brock), #191 (Samuel W. Brock Jr.), and #200 (guardians for R. A. and S. A. Whittington), Chesterfield County Probate Court, SC Probate Records and Loose Papers, 1732–1964
William J. Rivers, Roll of the Dead: South Carolina Troops, Confederate States Service (1994)
Randolph W. Kirkland Jr., Broken Fortunes (1997), p. 39
James C. Pigg, Chesterfield County Cemetery Survey (1995), pp. 148–149
Confederate service records (Fold3) and Confederate pension application of Catherine J. Brock, SC Department of Archives and History
Find A Grave memorials for Calvin Brock, Eli Brock, Elizabeth Brock Whittington, and James P. Brock
Coroner's Inquest #4168 (csidixie.org); email from P. Leviner, 20 Nov 2019
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Eli_Whitney's_cotton_gin.jpgAnonymousUnknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Prepared by Charles Purvis
CPurvis1@gmail.com
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