The purpose of this post is to look at land dealings of Dionysius Blakely to see what light they can shed on my theory that he's my sixth great-grandfather.
Part 1
EXCITING NEWS!
I found a piece of solid gold evidence on the latest research trip to AL! The genealogy books in Gadsden's Public Library are arranged by the Dewey Decimal System and author. Because of this, I found a book by distinguished researcher Brent Holcomb that I'd never seen before. And it was a beaut. It's what lead me to DB as a candidate for my gggggggrandfather. The books at the Birmingham Public library are organized differently.
Never underestimate luck and serendipity.
It's the first time ever I've seen the "Eddins" and "Blakely" names connected in the same entry! Here's the source and the item:
Some South Carolina County Records, Vol. 1, by Brent Holcomb & Silas E. Lucas, Southern Historical Press, 1976. The pertinent entry is from the Lexington District Deed Book M, p. 121 - 123 (p. 56 in H & L book):
"SC: A. H. Fort of Lexington District, for $100 paid by Mary Wing & Elizabeth Wing of same...100 acres on waters of Twelve Mile Creek adj. Martin Lybrand, Widow Warren and others...granted to Dionasious Blakely and conveyed to John Eddings, who died intestate, after whose death the widow, who had intermarried with David Winchel, petitioned the Court of Ordinary to affect partition, and J. A. Fort was the purchaser...
A. H. Fort (LS), Witnesses: Wm Fort, Lydia Fort. Lexington District, Proven by William Fort July 3 1840. Deed dated 14 Jan 1840.
Lexington District: Mrs. Phebe Fort, wife of A. H. Fort, relinquished dower on 3 July 1840 before L. Boozer. Recorded 3 July 1840.
(Plat included in deed showing land adj. to George Souter, West Caughman, Martin Lybrand. Plat dated 17 Feb 1837, John D. Sharp, Dep. Sur.
Woot! Woot!
Part 2
PROXIMITY CONNECTIONS
• In the 1790 US Census for AL, Dionysius lives in Lexington County. George Turner, who was married to Mary Eddins, was a neighbor.
• In the 1800 US Census for SC, Dionysius lives a few doors from Silvia/Zilpha Eddins and George Turner.
• In the 1810 Census for SC, Dionysius has moved to adjoining Edgefield County, and so has John S. Eddins.
Part 3
DIONYSIUS'S LAND DEALS
This is basically a list of land deals from the SC Archives online databases. They start in 1785, when DB was 25 - 30, and they continue until 1806, when DB was 45 - 50. Most of them are plats. They are listed chronologically. You can see each transaction by going to the following website and plugging in some variation of Dionysius's name. If you don't care about all of them, the most important information to my search is at the end.
http://www.archivesindex.sc.gov/onlinearchives/search.aspx
3/1/1785
• BLAKELEY, DIONYSUS, PLAT FOR 100 ACRES ON TWELVE MILE CREEK, ORANGEBURGH DISTRICT
6/9/1786
• JOHNSON, JOHN, PLAT FOR 100 ACRES ON SALUDA RIVER, ORANGEBURGH DISTRICT...FOR DIONATIOUS BLACKLEY.
12/12/1786
• BLACKLEY, DIONATIOUS, PLAT FOR 500 ACRES ON CONGAREE CREEK, ORANGEBURGH DISTRICT
5/1/1787:
• HAMPTON, RICHARD, PLAT FOR 6,820 ACRES ON CONGAREE CREEK, ORANGEBURGH DISTRICT...100 ACRES FOUND TO BE GRANTED TO DIANATIOUS BLACKLEY.
8/12/1793
• BLACKLEY, DYONISUS, PLAT FOR 101.5 ACRES ON TWELVE MILE CREEK, ORANGEBURGH DISTRICT
• BLACKLEY, DYONISUS, PLAT FOR 716 ACRES ON LONG BRANCH, ORANGEBURGH DISTRICT
• BLACKLEY, DYONISUS, PLAT FOR 55 ACRES ON FOURTEEN MILE CREEK, ORANGEBURGH DISTRICT
4/18/1801
• BLACKLEY, DIONYSIUS, PLAT FOR 264 ACRES ON SHOTTS BRANCH OF 12 MILE CREEK, LEXINGTON COUNTY, ORANGEBURGH DISTRICT,
2/17/1806
• JOHNSON, HENRY, PLAT FOR 967 ACRES ON TWELVE MILE AND CONGAREE CREEKS, LEXINGTON COUNTY, ORANGEBURGH DISTRICT
• WILLIAMS, JOSEPH, PLAT FOR 935 ACRES ON LICK FORK OF RED BANK CREEK, LEXINGTON COUNTY, ORANGEBURGH DISTRICT...
• BYNUM, GRAY, PLAT FOR 1,000 ACRES ON SAVANNA BRANCH, LEXINGTON COUNTY, ORANGEBURGH DISTRICT
5/30/1806
• HARMAN, JOHN, PLAT FOR 229 ACRES ON BRANCHES OF TWELVE MILE CREEK, ORANGEBURGH DISTRICT
The one that interests me most is the one from February 17, 1806, because names indexed are:
BELOO, RICHARD; BLACKLEY, DYONISIUS; BYNUM, GRAY; CURLEY, LAWRENCE; EDDINS, JOHN; EDDINS, SYLVIA; JOHNSON, HENRY; ROFF; ROFF, MRS.; STARK, ALEXANDER B.; THURMAN, PHIL; WILLIAMS, JOSEPH
Now, John and Sylvia Eddins are my fifth great-grandparents. And here they're listed with Dionysus Blakely, which indicates a connection of some sort. But there's a discrepancy here: John and Sylvia ARE my ggggggrandparents, but John died about 1795, and the year of the transaction is 1806.
Awkward.
The discrepancy can be explained in one of four ways:
1. The transfer happened between 1795 and 1806 but wasn't recorded until 1806. Lots of precedence for this.
2. The transfer happened around 1806 between (among?) Dionysius Blakely, Sylvia Eddins, and her son John Eddins. This son usually went by "John S. Eddins," but not always.
3. Zilpha disinterred hubby John 10 years after his death and went ahead with the deal. Not likely, but stranger things have happened.
4. Any combination of the above.
Talk about awkward!!!
Part 4
CONCLUSIONS FROM LAND DEALINGS
1. The Eddins family lived in close proximity to Dionysius Blakely for at least 20 years. Probably longer.
2. Dionysius Blakely conveyed land to John and/or Zilpha Eddins, though we don't know exactly when. Probably between 1806 and 1840. Probably 1806, since Dionysius died in 1815.
3. The two families lived near each other in at least two SC counties: Edgefield and Lexington.
PART 5
ACTION PLAN
• Travel to SC asap.
• Find the document by which DB conveyed land to JE & ZE. That will tell us a lot about their relationship.
Can't wait!!
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