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July 1995
Dear Family Member:
This paper is prepared to establish the correct ancestry for James Richey (1821) as there is some disagreement in this matter. I, Ramona Bethene Richey Hall, will state here what I believe is correct. I will include some additional research that I have done to prove my belief that James Richey, my great grandfather, born 13 August 1821 in Pickens County, Alabama, was the son of William Richey, born 1 February 1796 in Laurens County, South Carolina. William was the son of Robert Richey, born about 1772 on the Atlantic Ocean aboard the James and Mary, and Robert was the son of John Richey, born about 1727 in Ireland.
I will not attempt to prove the supposition that James Richey, born 13 August 1821, son of William Richey, born 1 February, son of Robert Richey, born 1775, son of Robert Richey, born 1754, son of James Richey, born 1722. The Genealogical Society wrote to the people who submitted this information informing them that it was incorrect. A copy of this letter, dated Dec. 4, 1961, is included and supports my belief.
William Richey requested that the Temple Ordinances be done for his father, Robert Richey; his grandfather, John Richey; and his great-grandfather, Gr. Grandfather Richey (no first name given) in the St. George (Utah) temple. (St.Geo. Temple Bapt, Bk B p 34, Bk D p 25, Bk E p 131; St. Geo. Sealings Bk AP, 54, 60, 64, 322, 324.) If there was anyone living at that time, 1877, who knew the correct name of William Richey's grandfather, it would have been William Richey himself. These microfilm records of the St. George Temple are available to anyone who would like to see them at the Salt Lake City Family History Center or can be sent to a local Family History Center.
Other names were also presented to the St. George Temple at that time "at the instance" (request) of William Richey and they included relatives, friends and neighbors. Whether William went to the St. George Temple himself or had these names delivered by post or someone else is unknown. William was, in 1877, eighty-one years of age and passed away 21 October 1879 in Parowan, Iron Co. Utah. These records are also on microfilm and are available.
Another letter on file, which I have a copy, is one written to a Robert M. Ditty in Belfast, Ireland on 25 January 1964 by members of the Sheranian/Goates family now requesting research on John Richey (abt. 1727) as the father of Robert Richey (1772). They had apparently realized their mistake and wanted to pursue the correct line of ancestry. But it seems that in the last thirty years some are still pursuing the wrong line.
I have read thoroughly the book SCOTCH-IRISH MIGRATION TO SOUTH CAROLINA, 1772 (Rev. William Martin And His Five Shiploads Of Settlers) by JEAN STEPHENSON and have been able to establish that John Richey arrived on the snow (a two-masted square-rigged vessel) JAMES AND MARY. (Not on the brigantine FREE MASON as the John Richey on this ship sailed without any family, he was granted only 100 acres when he applied for his land grant therefore he had no family with him [pg 95], but may have been a relative.) The JAMES AND MARY sailed from Larne, Co. Antrim, Ireland August 25, 1772. She arrived at Charleston, South Carolina on October 22, 1772. Because of small-pox on board some of five ships they were quarantined for several weeks. Land grants were issued on 6 January 1773 to John Richey, Senior (250 acres) and to his three adult children, Mary Richey (100 acres); John Richey, Junior 100 acres; and Eleanor Richey (100 acres). (Notes and excerpts are included in this paper.)
I also took the complete list of surnames of those on the JAMES AND MARY and did two surveys of (1) Griffiths Valuation and (2) Tithe Applotment Books (1824-1860) trying to establish which city these settlers on this particular ship might have emigrated from. The city which appears most likely is Ballymena because of the surnames and its proximity to port of Larne.
I have since found another reference containing a list that I will need to check: 1740 "Protestant Householders in Parishes of Aghoghill, Armoy, Ballintoy, Ballymena, Ballymoney, Bellewillen, Billy, Clogh, Drumaul, Duncan, Dunkegan, Dunluce, Finvoy, Kilraghts, Loghall, Manybrooke, Rasharkin, Rathlin, and Ramoan. GO 539; SLC film 100249; RCB Library."
According to the land grants of South Carolina, John Richey (abt. 1727), received 250 acres of land and his oldest 3 children, Mary, John, and Eleanor, all being "of age" received 100 acres each. John, Sr's. 250 acres would have included: 100 acres for him, 50 acres for his wife, 50 acres each for two not "of age" children.
We have in our records John's children listed as: John Richey (abt. 1753 - Ireland); Mary Richey (abt. 1755 - Ireland); Eleanor Richey (abt. 1760); Robert Richey (abt. 1772 - Atlantic Ocean); Martha Richey (abt. 1770 - So. Carolina). Since John Richey arrived with two children not "of age" and Martha's birth year is listed as (abt. 1770) it would seem that she may have been born in Ireland instead of So. Carolina.
Another interesting idea is that Margaret, wife of John (abt. 1727), who survived giving birth to a child aboard a ship in that time (1772), would have to have been young, strong and had already had at least one other child. Usually, the mother and or the baby did not survive these primitive conditions.
This raises the question: Were the first three children, John (1753), Mary (1755), and Eleanor/Elinor (1760) all declared "of age" in 1772 born to another mother, John's first wife, possibly deceased? This would then make Margaret the second wife and she would be young and strong enough to survive giving birth during this harrowing journey and second birth's are always easier than the first. Martha (1770) would be her first child and Robert (1772) her second.
It has also been brought to my attention that when people traveled to board a ship the longest distance, in those days, they might come would have been about forty miles and Ballymena is about twenty "Irish" miles from the port of Larne.
I was given two names and addresses of LDS genealogists in Antrim, Ireland about eight years ago by a returned missionary. I could not afford to hire them but I still have their addresses. I hope I have given some more information and if anyone has other information and/or ideas I would be very interested.
Sincerely,
Ramona R. Hall
San Diego, CA
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GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY
=============== of the ==============
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
50 North Main Street
P. O. Box 740
Salt Lake City, Utah
Dec. 4, 1961
in your reply please refer to: NMH
Marie Sheranian,
702 N. Elm Drive,
Beverly Hills, Calif.
Dear Sister Sheranian;
Further investigation has been made into your Richey and Belton lines at this time, and we are pleased to report we have gained considerable information. It may be recalled that it was worked on a number of years ago for yourself and sister Mary C. Richey. At that time, there were almost no records in our library from South Carolina, and those who employed in the South to assist in the search did not do thorough work.
A pedigree was submitted to us, compiled from doubtful sources, of which you may have a copy, carrying the Richey line back several generations. Lacking original source material to verify it, or to disprove it, nothing much has been done on it in the interim. It was tentatively accepted, but we have now proved that it is erroneous.
Sufficient importance was not attached to the early Temple Baptisms preformed by William Richey and others of his family and friends. In brief, he gave his parents as Robert Richey and Rebecca Belton, and his grandparents as John Richey and wife and William Belton and wife. He also performed the baptism for uncles Adam Gordon, David McClure and some of their families, and for uncles John, Jesse and William Belton. His father Robert is stated to have been born on the ocean while his parents were enroute from Ireland to America about 1770-75. Disregarding this information more or less, the researchers established the father of Robert as another Robert Richey of Abbeville Co., who made his will in 1824.
Using the early Temple baptisms as a basis, we at this time begun the work anew in Laurens Co., S.C. where William stated he was born. A great deal of microfilming has been done in S.Car. and is now accessible to us. Enclosed is a copy of our notes, showing the sources we consulted and the information obtained therefrom, and our summary of the material follows.
RICHEY LINE: A careful study of censuses was made from 1790 on. In 1790 in Laurens Co. there was a John Richey, seemingly a young man with children all under 16, and Robert Richey and wife with no children, so probably he was newly married. By 1800 Robert has three children, all under age ten, John has in increased family, and was himself over age 45, and a Samuel Richey is newly married. By 1810 these three are still there, and another John in addition. By 1820 Robert is gone, and there remains a young John with one child under ten, Samuel, a William (not your ancestor), and a widow Margaret over 45, living by herself. We can place all of these in proper perspective as will later show. It is evident there were Roberts and Johns in other counties, but we have concerned our search mostly with Laurens Co. We know from other material that William Belton was in South Carolina and alive at the time of the 1790 census, but he is not listed. Why, we do not know, unless his enumeration was somehow missed, but he and two sons John and Jesse are all heads of families in Newberry Co. by 1800.
It is known of course that your William went to Pickins Co.,
Ala. And thence on to Noxubee Co., Miss. We have no records of
these localities in our library, except census records, so will
need to have some searches made by correspondence. However, not
finding any of Robert's family Laurens Co., after 1820, we
checked the 1830 census of Pickins Co., Ala., where we found
Robert, age 50-60 and his wife the same age, one daughter 15-20
and one male child under 5, perhaps a grandson. Also noted was
William and his family and a John.
On the chance that some of them might have remained in this count until 1850, which census would give names, ages and birthplaces, we checked this, but found nothing. In Noxubee Co., Miss. in 1850, however we found some or them again, but unfortunately Robert and Rebecca seem to de deceased before this time, so we could get no enlightenment as to his birthplace. Their sons David age 45, James, age 33 and families were there, and there is a George Richey, age 40 whom we think is probably another son. We watched also for the married daughters but there seemed to be none of them unless it was Nancy, and her husband Rodison Williams. One J.R. Williams 28, born S.Car. and wife Nancy, age 26, born S.C. are listed, and also a Nancy Williams widow, age 50, born S.C. is listed, but whether either one is the one we need, we do not yet know.
The birth of Robert can be approximated as between 1770-80, but we know he was married by 1790, so it is likely closer to 1770. There is no John Richey in Laurens Co. in 1790 old enough to be his father, but before considering Johns in other counties, we decided to finish the records in Laurens Co. We were very pleased to fine the will of John Richey in 1776, which had not previously been reported in former searches. The names of some of his children were not readable, as they had been printed at the edge of the page which was bound into the book, but they are probably distinguishable in the original copy, so we will have a check made of that, but in any case the deeds and other material give us the complete family.
John names his daughter Mary, giving her $1.00, which suggests she was married or had otherwise received consideration; his daughter Eleanor; a son whose name was unreadable, but whom we are sure was John Jr.; and his son Robert, who was at that time under age. Proof that this John is your ancestor is adequate. He was deceased by 1776, hence does not show up in the 1790 census, but his two sons John and Robert do. In 1788 Adam Gordon deeds some land "which had originally been granted to Mary Richey, the said Gordon's wife" in 1775. This substantiates the early baptisms and places Adam Gordon as an uncle of William Richey. In 1799 David McClure and Eleanor his wife deed to Robert Richey, part of a tract of land granted to John Williams in 1774 and later conveyed to Margaret Richey by Alexander McNary, and by her conveyed to said Eleanor Richey, now Eleanor McClure. This further substantiates the family record and places David McClure as an uncle of William Richey.
The deed form Margaret Richey, widow to Eleanor is dated 1789, so Eleanor married between 1789 and 1799. We could not locate the deed from Alexander McNary to Margaret Richey, widow in 1785, but county deeds begin in 1785, and it is likely some of the early ones are not recorded in the county. Margaret the widow seems to be still living at the 1820 census, but this in not she, but the widow of John Jr. who died in 1819.
Now, inasmuch as a number land grants are mentioned in the deeds records, we examined all grants for South Carolina, and the land plats in order to get an exact location. Originally S.C. had three districts, Craven, Berkley and Colleton. No records were kept in these districts and their boundaries were rather undefined. Carteret was added and later changed to Granville. By 1768 new districts were formed and named, including the 96 district, but still no records were except at Charleston, which was the seat of government. From this 96 district were formed the counties of abbeville, Edgefield, Newberry, Pendelton, Greenville, Laurens, Spartanburg and Union. Deeds, etc. begin to be kept in the counties in 1785. We make this explanation in order that you will understand the land grants.
The Richeys in Laurens Co. owned land on Raeburn's Creek on Reedy River. This was encompassed in what was early known as Craven Co, but they seem to have owned some land in some of the other districts also. Notice in the land plats that on the 11th of Dec. 1772 land was measured out on Raeburn's Creek to John Richey, Sr, to Eleanor Richey, to John Richey Jr. and to Mary Richey, all the children of John and Margaret, except Robert who would have been only a year or two old. There was a James and a John received grants in Granville Co. in 1772 also, but they no doubt related to some of the other families.
It is difficult to ascertain with accuracy the ages of the children of John and Margaret. It would seem quite unusual for them to have received land grants at a time when they were under age, especially the girls. Mary was not married in 1772, but may have been by 1776, and we know she was by 1788, so her birth may be between 1756-70. Elinor was not married before 1789 but was by 1799, so her birth would be between 1765- 80. John Jr. would be the oldest as he had four young children by 1790, so he could be born 1750-56. If the girls were of age when they got the land grants, they would be somewhat older the usual when they married.
John Jr. made his will in 1819, mentioning a wife Margaret and children John, Samuel, William and Jane Harris. This family remained in S.C. and Adam Gordon and David McClure did also, at least for some years, but found no wills or probates for them. We followed John Mahaffey to some extent as he is mentioned in the will of John Richey, Sr. and we thought he may have been a relative, but we could prove nothing.
Now, as to the ancestry of John Richey, we have no information, except that one John emigrated from Ireland in 1773. Scotch-Irish emigration was common, and it is our opinion that John arrived in America only shortly before the date of his land grants, and that it is entirely possible that his son Robert was born on the voyage. Whether or not he is connected with the Richeys in Abberville Co. we are not sure, as we have not as yet gone into that branch thoroughly, but if they came in from Penn., descending from Richeys who were in America much earlier, there is great doubt that they would be related. The land grants show no Richeys earlier the your John, except the John and James above mentioned who got grants in Granville in the same year.
One John seems to have had a Revolutionary pension, but your ancestor was dead by 1776, so it is not he, though it could be his son. We will obtain a copy of that record, a check of the will of John 1776, and a search of Pickins Co., Ala, and of Noxubee Co., Miss. for further information.
BELTON LINE: William Belton got a grant of land in 1771 on Bush Creek in Craven Co., which must have encompassed what later became Newberry Co. The family were baptists, belonging to the Bush River Baptist church. We are not sure who his wife was, but she may have been the Susanna who died there in 1809. Note that William was still "of Newberry Co." in 1820, but that he or his won William died intestate in Laurens Co. in 1830. Various mention is given of his son Jesse who ha a wife Elizabeth, his son John who had a wife Charity, and some other females are listed in the church records, but we have been unable to compile a good record on them. Whether William was the emigrant we do not know, there were Beltons earlier in S.C. than he. We have read all Belton wills from ever county, but found none naming a son William.
If you have any questions, we shall be glad to hear from you. We will follow through on the projects outlined, and as quickly as other information is at hand we will notify you. New family group sheets will be prepared later, correcting the previous errors in the Archives.
It is a pleasure to assist you.
Sincerely,
GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY
Research Department
Frank Smith, Supt.
Encl: report
nmh
This a copy of the original letter.
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