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The Steele Creek Historical and Genealogical Society
Of the Old Steele Creek Township
Mecklenburg County, North Carolina
Families of Steele Creek:
Byrum
| Family of Upton Byrum | Robert Franklin Byrum Family |
Upton Byrum was born in 1770, probably in Virginia, and died in Mecklenburg County, NC on December 30, 1840. He came to Mecklenburg County in 1784 with his uncle, James Byrum who received his Revolutionary War pension in this county, but had been in the Virginia Cont'l Line and they settled in the Steele Creek community. He married 1793 in Mecklenburg County first to Dorothy (Dolly) McDowell, daughter of Wm and Esther McDowell. They had children Jenny, b. 1794; Sarah Byrum, b. 1799 who married 1st to Wm. Herron and 2nd to Alexander McLeod, and possibly Cynthia Byrum who married to Robert M. Kerr.
Upton Byrum married 2nd to Margaret (Peggy) Porter on 15 Jun 1807. Upton and Peggy Byrum had children: (1) Dorothy (Dolly) McDowell Byrum (1810-1880), never married. She first lived with her sister Mary Martha Grier and after her death, Dolly lived with sister, Caroline Robinson. (2) John Porter Byrum, (1813-1877) married Katherine L. Kerr; (3) James, b. 1815, married Margaret Hannon; (4) Mary Martha, b. 1822, married James H. Grier and (5) Caroline E., (1824-1889), married Matthew R. Robinson. (Caroline Byrum Robinson was a great aunt of Billy Graham).
John Porter Byrum, (1813-1877) son of Upton Byrum, married in 1838 to Catherine L. Kerr and had children: (1) Margaret J., b. 1839, never married; (2) Annie (1841-1924) m. John C. McLean; (3) Mary L.(1843-1887) m. Jerry Clontz; (4) Thomas J. (1845-1908) m. Elizabeth Bigham; (5) John M. (1848-1916) m. Minerva Hoover; (6) Catherine L. (1849-1863), died young; (7) Robert Franklin (1853-1925) m. Janie Porter; (8) William K (1855-1926), m. 1st Mary Marsh and 2nd Maude Robinson; and Jennie (Virginia) Agnes (1858-1899) m. 1st to an Alexander and 2nd to James Crump.
James Byrum, b. 1815, son of Upton Byrum, married in 1844 to Margaret Hannon. Their children were: (1) Laura, did not marry; (2) Susan Kate, did not marry; (3) William J., b. 1854 m. Susan Idelia ; (4) Amanda, b. 1856 m. David P. Todd.
Mary Martha Grier, b. 1822, daughter of Upton Byrum, married in 1846 to James H. Grier. Their children were (1) Lawrence b. 1847; (2) Margaret Jane, b. 1850 m. Allen Shepard; (3) Wallace, b. 1856 and (4) William E. b. 1859, died young.
Caroline Eliz. Byrum, b. 1824, daughter of Upton Byrum, married in 1848 to Mathew Rufus Robinson. Their children: (1) Martha Lucinda. A., b. 1849, m. Benjamin Morrow Coffey; (2) Calvin, unknown (3) Lawrence W., b. 1852, m. Ellen Sledge; (4) Margaret, b. 1854, nothing known; (5) Samuel Pink, b. 1956, unknown; (6) Caroline A., b. 1858 m. N. E. ?; (7) John b. 1860; (8) Mary, b. 1862; Dora, b. 1862 m. R. M. Hovis; and Sallie, b. 1869, unknown.
Robert Franklin Byrum, b. 1853, son of John Porter and Catherine Byrum, m. in 1876 to Janie Porter. Their children: (1) Frances E. died young; (2) William Lester, never married. Lester owned the store at Shopton in Steele Creek which is still in the Byrum family today; (3) Virginia Irene m. John F. Youngblood; (4) John Erskine m. Margaret Wilson; (5) Fred Kerr m. Margaret Rudisill; (6) Kate Alice m. Samuel Knox; and (7) Frankie Porter m. Paul Jackson Brown. Edgar Byrum, son of Thomas Jefferson Byrum was the principal at old Dixie School until the consolidation of several schools in the area. His family lived on Byrum Drive and has recently been displaced by the airport expansion. It is thought that the property he lived on was where the original property of Upton Byrum was located. Robert Franklin Byrum and his wife, Janie purchased the old Col. William Grier home at Shopton in 1883. His son, Lester, purchased the Shopton store from Mr. Hays and ran it until his death in 1952. Both the home and store remain in the Byrum family today. Most of Upton Byrum's children and grandchildren are buried in the old Steele Creek Presbyterian cemetery. The records indicate that Upton Byrum, during his first marriage, lived on Kings Branch in the 1790s on property inherited by his wife, Dolly McDowell from her mother, Esther McDowell. He and Dolly sold that property in 1803. He was a tanner by trade and after he purchased 111 acres in 1803 on Little Rocky Sugar Creek (now Coffey Creek) from Zaccheus Wilson near the Byrum Drive area, he made leather for saddles, and other items. Many descendants of the Byrum family still remain in the Steele Creek community and related families of the Robinsons, Hoovers, Herrons, Porters, Coffeys, Dixons, Youngbloods, Blackwelders, Tevepaugh and others are scattered throughout Mecklenburg County. (774) Submitted by: Linda L. Blackwelder, 12103 Regent Ridge Ln, Charlotte, NC 28278 Source: Personal research of Linda Blackwelder
Robert Franklin Byrum, (1853-1925), was the son of John Porter Byrum (1813-1877) and his wife, Catherine L. Kerr. John Porter Byrum (1813-1877) was the son of Upton Byrum and his second wife, Margaret (Peggy) Porter. He married 23 March 1838 (bond) to Catherine L. Kerr, daughter of William Kerr and Anna McKnight. Robert Franklin Byrum married 20 December 1876 to Janie Emily Porter, (1854-1939) the daughter of John Meshack Porter and Sara V. Prather. After they had several children in Steele Creek, Robert F. Byrum moved to Huntersville for five years where he was a constable. He returned to Steele Creek around 1883 and purchased the old Col. William Grier home at Shopton. It was there that the rest of his children were born and he remained at that home until his death in 1925. The children of Robert Franklin and Janie E. Porter Byrum were: (1) Frances Estelle, (1877-1885); (2) William Lester (1879-1952), never married. Lester purchased the Shopton General Store and the house next door. (3) Virginia Irene (1882-1970) married John Franklin Youngblood and they lived on the Catawba River at the end of Youngblood Road until their property was purchased in the 1920s by Duke Power Company to make Lake Wylie. (4) John Erskine (1885 - 1946) married Margaret Wilson. Some of the children of this couple, Erskine, Oren, Wilson and Query Byrum lived in the Shopton area also. (5) Fred Kerr (1887-1936) married Margaret Rudisill. This couple lived in the old Grier/Byrum house after the death of Robert Franklin with children; Nancy, Robert Franklin and William. (6) Kate Alice (1891-1983) married Sam Knox and lived on Shopton Road West with children, Sambo, Alice and Emily; and (7) Frankie Porter (1894-1966) married Paul Jackson Brown and lived on Steele Creek Road. The new airport expansion recently purchased their home place where they raised their six sons: Paul, Jr., Calvin, Joe, Robert Oliver (Hap), Elbert and William and one daughter, Nancy. Virginia Irene Byrum, daughter of Robert Franklin, married 17 Dec 1902 to John Franklin Youngblood, son of T. T. Youngblood. Their children were: (1) Lucy Mildred m. Thomas M. Blackwelder; (2) Aaron Quay m. Lucille Whitesides; (3) John Franklin, Jr. m. Lillian Eplee; (4) Frel m. Martha (Peggy) Penninger; (5) William Lester m. Martha Stoner; (6) Emma Jane m. B. Franklin Hager; (7) Robert Lathan m. Frances Rimmer; (8) Virginia Pauline (Polly) m. Monroe Neel and (9) Margaret Hannah m. Edward Carmody. After leaving the river, John and Irene built a home on York Road (now John Price Road) and their family attended Central Steele Creek Presbyterian church. During World War II, all five of their sons served around the world along with most of their sons-in-law and they boarded workers at the Naval Shell Plant, (now Arrowood Industrial Park) the entrance to the plant being only about ½ mile from their home. John Franklin Youngblood died in 1952 and Irene Byrum Youngblood d. in 1970. Both are buried at Pleasant Hill Presbyterian Church cemetery. (502) Sources: Irene Byrum Youngblood Bible; Interview with Irene Youngblood in 1963; Mecklenburg County Marriage Records; Various Byrum family members; Submitted by: Linda L. Blackwelder, 12103 Regent Ridge Ln, Charlotte, NC 28278 (704) 588-6575
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