My Boyd family from Pickens County, South Carolina is an interesting group, to say the least. I’ve never been satisfied with the small amount of information I had gathered about them. While I’ve used the FamilySearch catalog to research ancestors in my Tennessee counties, I had not looked up my South Carolina Boyds. I regret that now and have been doing some intense research on this family. It all started last week when I received an email from a fellow researcher, Catherine McClanahan Seiler. She told me about an equity document collection of loose records on FamilySearch. (Link is here.) I was shocked, to say the least. The Boyd documents are on pages 8 through 55. It changed most of what I “thought” I knew about that side of my tree. Most of that will be in another more detailed article, but I couldn’t wait to share the list of Robert’s children named in this equity collection.

After Robert’s death in September 1851, Jacob Elrod and wife (Linney / Livina Boyd, Robert’s daughter from his first marriage) made a claim against Rachel Hinton for land she received from Robert in 1841. I encourage you to read the whole document at the link above because this is only a brief summary.

Robert was married twice. First wife’s name is unknown. They had sixteen children. Robert then married Milly Fowler and had one son, Jeter Boyd. Milly took Jeter and moved out of state to Georgia then Tennessee. Soon after she left, Rachel Hinton came to live with Robert and they had seven children together. He became unable to walk without assistance and she helped take care of him. They were never officially married. They are on the 1850 census, with their children using the last name Hinton. Robert’s children are named the equity paperwork minus Jeter, but he is referred to as Milly’s child who she left with.

Robert’s children with his first wife:
*Daughters were listed with husband’s names. Locations as of 1852 also included. 

1. Elizabeth Ann Boyd, married Basil Woolley, Alabama
2. Alston Boyd (no children and died before 1852)
3. Erby / Irby Boyd, Tennessee
4. Mary Boyd, married Joseph Prater, Hall County, Georgia
5. Robert Boyd Jr., (married Mary Polly Atkinson), one son: John H. Boyd
6. Thomas Boyd, Cal.?
7. Livinia “Linney” Boyd, married Jacob Elrod, Georgia
8. William Boyd, Alabama
9. Huldah Mahulda Boyd, married Benjamin Green “B.G.” McCleskey, Hall County, Georgia
10. Nancy Boyd, married Green Cain, Forsyth County, Georgia
11. Harrison Boyd, (perhaps died young, as a son by Rachel was also named Harrison)
12. Sarah Boyd, married Thomas Barton, Alabama
13. Dicey Boyd, married Thomas Norvall (? unsure of last name spelling), Cass, Georgia
14. Susan Boyd, married Jonathan Cannon, died in 1849, left at least two sons: James (in Alabama) & Robert Cannon (in Georgia)
15. Margaret Boyd, married William Graham, Alabama
16. Lucy Boyd, married John Langley (literally a blank in the document, but this is likely John Langley, early Missouri settler)

Robert’s child with Milly Fowler, second wife: 

Jeter Boyd (settled in Wayne County, Tennessee)

Robert’s children with Rachel Hinton, never married:

1. Harrison Boyd
2. Warren Boyd
3. John Boyd
4. Robert Asbury Boyd
5. Amanda Boyd
6. Ann Boyd
7. Unknown Boyd (literally named as a blank line in the document)

Robert had at least 24 children! Wow!

DNA

I have DNA tested my mother, Jeter Boyd’s third-great-granddaughter. I also DNA tested Jeter’s second-great-granddaughter. They have clear links to these children of Robert’s: Elizabeth Boyd Woolley, Mary Boyd Prater, Warren Boyd and John Boyd. (And likely others I will discover in time.)

A big thank you to Catherine McClanahan Seiler for passing along the equity document link. It was just the info I needed!

Originally posted January 29, 2019