The surname Purvis/Pervis was not a major surname in the early history of this United States yet, it has been one of my more difficult surnames to research.
For 38+ years I have searched for my 2nd Great Grandfather William A. Purvis, born between 1823-1827 in either NC or SC (date & place represents variation in the 3 census he appears in 1860-1870-1880 Anson County, North Carolina).Source: Dictionary of American Family Names ©2013, Oxford University Press 2
- Purvis Name Meaning
- Scottish and northern English (Northumberland and Durham): probably from Middle English purveys ‘provisions’, ‘supplies’ (from Middle English purvey(en), Old French porveoir ‘to provide, supply’), hence a metonymic occupational name for an official responsible for obtaining supplies for a monastery or manor house.
In 1790 there were only 17 Heads of household in the entire united states; 13 Purvis and 4 Pervis families.
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Just across the state line from Anson County is Chesterfield County South Carolina. Anson County, NC and Chesterfield County, SC have a common shared border – the state line. Also in Chesterfield County in 1790 was a Gilbert Purvis, head of household.
In 1800, the Purvis/Pervis surname has grown a little and spread from the Carolinas and Pennsylvania to Delaware and Maine
There was also 3 Pervis families in Delaware.
Back in South Carolina the heads of Households in nearby Chesterfield County has grown to 8 families. This represents a significant increase in families in just 10 years.
The potential for finding William A. Purvis parents are increasing expeditiously; however, there is one small problem. General William T. Sherman and his Union forces felt it was necessary to burn all public records in the County of Chesterfield to teach it’s citizens a lesson. Thus there are little to no documents to proved or reject a lineage.
By 1810, There has been another increased of the Purvis/Pervis surname and now they have spread out to Louisiana, New York and Virginia. There were 17 Purvis heads of Household and 3 Pervis located in Delaware
In Chesterfield County, SC the families had slightly decreased from 8 families to 5 families.
In 1820, we find 30 Purvis families located in the following states – Indiana (1); Kentucky (2); Louisiana(2); Maryland (1); Michigan(1); New York(2); North Carolina(4); Ohio(1); Pennsylvania(3); South Carolina(5); Tennessee(3) and Virginia(5).
There was also 11 Pervis families located in Georgia(4); Indiana(1); Kentucky(4); Mississippi (1) and North Carolina (1). The combined total is 41 Purvis/Pervis families enumerated in the Census in 1820.
In South Carolina we have 5 families and it’s reasonable to say that one of these 5 families could be the parents of William A. Purvis, born between 1823 and 1827 in one of the Carolinas. These 5 families are:
Of the 5 families in South Carolina in 1820; only two are enumerated in Chesterfield County.
- John Purvis
- Samuel Purvis
- Ann Purvis (located next door in Darlington County, SC)
In April of this year I migrated my result over to FTDNA Family Family and immediately had what I consider a significant match. I have also tested with 23andMe.
For years I have an intuition that somehow my line was connected to the Chesterfield County Purvis primarily due to proximity. Family Finder confirmed that a “MILEY” descendant of James Purvis, Sr. born 1760 and myself are projected to be 5th cousins to remote. Jerry is a direct descendant of James Purvis, Sr., born 1760. James Purvis, Sr. is a brother to Gilbert Purvis and both are sons of John Purvis and Sarah Johnson married 2 April 1746, Prince Frederick,Craven County, South Carolina.4
The biggest challenge I am facing today is getting descendant's to have their DNA tested. There is still a large segment of our present day society that is fearful of having these DNA tested and kept on file someplace.
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[1] Special Thanks to “Heritage Quest” for the census surname lists used throughout this article.
[2] http://www.ancestry.com/name-origin?surname=purvis
[3] http://www.worldfamilies.net/surnames/purvis/results
[4] National Society of the Colonial Dames of America, The Regster Book of Parish Prince Frederick Winyaw (Baltimore, Maryland: William & Wilkins Company, 1916), page 55.
