Bob Hembree 11819 Maple st. Whittier, ca. 90601
A Family Newsletter
3rd Edition Winter 1990
SOUTH CAROLINA: To the Hembree families, S. Carolina was first a group encounter, and second a dividing point. The group encounter was a necessity as safety required families to live in areas where they knew and could trust their neighbors. It was a time period beginning 30 years before the American Revolution. The subject of loyalty to the King would be a decision they would make later, their first problem was to survive in a country, which was sparsely settled, Indians were less than friendly, and they had to conquer a frontier. Historians talk of old ninety-six as wild country. The people that moved there had not only Indians to deal with, but also raiders and marauders to keep them always on the alert. It may account for the clustering of families, as numbers provided security. Whether or not they first resided in forts and farmed their lands from there, we do not know for certain, but we do know that John Hembree was a Fort builder, and as late as the start of the Revolution, he and Joshua Pettit were in the process of building a fort in nearby Union Co., thus to say the least, living in the area was unsettled. To arrive there they had likely followed the great road or Indian Warpath that wound from Philadelphia, down through the Shenandoah Valley of old Lunenburg Co., VA. And the Yadkin country of N. Carolina, to what was the trading area of Northwestern South Carolina, or old ninety-six as it was known. Later it would become Pendleton, Greenville, Pickens, Anderson, Spartanburg and Union Counties.
The groups located in 4 different sections of the area. Today this area (See map) consists of Spartanburg, Pickens, Anderson & Chester Counties. 1. The Anderson group nears the borderline between GA. & S. Caro., but most of this group is later found in central GA. This is David Hembree’s line and since he had only one son, Rev. (James #3) Hembree, we need only to tract a small group to be current to the year of about 1810 for David’s line under the Hembree name. 2. This group, which I call the Pickens group still requires a lot of research before I can make positive statements, but the head of this group was most likely a brother of David and James #2. 3. The family in Chester of Craven Co. as it was then known, was William’s. There was also a William in Pickens, and 2 (father & son) in Spartanburg so it is necessary to number them, and I call the one in Chester Co., William #2. 4. The last group was in Spartanburg, and the family head here was James #2 who had a least 2 sons, Joel and William #3. From later Census records we know of others born in S. Caro. between 1750 and 1810, which aids somewhat in listing, other lines which I believe were Hembree’s but are listed under variant spellings, in the 1790 and 1800 census. The one variant spelling that I do not believe was part of our family was Hamby. There is simply too much evidence that this was another family, and the spelling is repeatedly Hamby. Although the 1790 Census is of little help in itself, one thing it does provide, is the approximate location to each other, from the order given in the census. The ages on the census are wide ranges, but they at least give us the family head. By itself, any one of the early census is of little help for a family makeup, however when two or three are studied together we learn a lot. Combine this information with land records, Court records, etc, and we get a family makeup in some instances. While, I could list other possible family groupings, I prefer to stay with what I feel certain of, even though I recognize this is very incomplete data as respects the entire family in S. Caro.
South Carolina became the dividing point of the family about 1800 to 1810 as we find Joel, Joseph, Abraham, Drury, John et al from Spartanburg, all heading west toward Tenn., while Rev. (James #3) descendents were heading for central GA., and the Edward and Isaac families from Pickens Co. were moving across river to northeastern GA. The opening of new lands for settlement meant cheap or free land available and the family moved on, but it is necessary to correctly set the family makeup in S. Caro. Since the breakup and family movement followed the branch patriarch in the westward movement, thus later census will show his birthplace only as S. Caro. And we need to know which part of S. Caro. In order to properly place the family group to whom they belong.
It may or may not have been part of the consideration for leaving South Carolina, but the time period was just after the founding of this country into a nation, and the lands being offered for service in the Revolutionary Patriot.
THINGS WE KNOW: That James Hem who filed the revolutionary claim and James Hembree #2 were the same person, is almost certain, because the claim number is the same. WE also know that the country needed and did have some iron forges in the area at the time, and one of the Deeds to the land that Joel and Hannah sold refer specifically to the “Briarwood Iron Works” on the Tyger River which contained 68 acres, thus we can be sure it played some part in the war, how big or how small is just a guess. We also know Joel was later paid for a horse taken for use in the Stono Expedition. Anyway when your grandchildren study about the Revolutionary War that knowledge might mike it more personal. A few other little tidbits about the family: William, Joel, David and James were slave owners, and Joel & Hannah owned in excess of 1200 acres along Cain Cr. North of the Tyger River. We know that Hannah & family, Abraham his wife and daughter, and other Hembree’s attended the Friendship Baptist Ch. Which is still an active fellowship, and that Joel and Abraham were reimbursed by the county for aid to the poor. That Isaac and John served on Jury duty, that one John was accused of fathering a child out of wedlock, and that all of the above occurred before 1800. We also know that David’s son James was a Baptist minister at a small church in Anderson Co. for most of his adult life, although most of his family migrated into GA.
Probably some of the best use of this space is to give some of the land record information. Permit me to include a few tips on how to quickly research an area, via land ownership, since many of you say you are beginners in doing family research. Most of the early settlers were either agriculturists of made profits from land loans or sales, thus we can reach a very high percentage of the population by using land records. Also, land and church records may be about your only source for pre 1800. Even if a Courthouse burned down, the land records were reconstructed, at least to some extent. Even under the old English laws, land records were recorded. Without going into lengthy explanation, the fact that the recording provided the basis to levy and collect taxes, a fairly common system developed for the record keeping. In short, most counties maintain a Grantor and a Grantee Index by family name. (See Spartanburg Co. Grantor Index herein) From that we can go direct to the Deeds, etc. by which the land was transferred. The Deeds are not a foolproof system by any means, but they do tell you a lot of things if you use them correctly. One of the most important things to know is that before women’s lib, most land was deeded to the man and by law he had the right of management, including sale of same. However, the law also protected the wife through what was known as the Dower’s Right. That is, she had to freely consent to the sale of the property, even though her name did not appear in the title. Basically, the law provided for a cooling off period of seven days, where after the wife had to go before a third party, notary, judge, etc., and swear that she was not under duress, and freely approved the sale. Sometimes she did this by signing the Deed. Some counties do it different and have a separate book for recording the Dower Releases. To better understand some of the value of the Deed Index, look at items number 4, 11 & 18. Here we find Abraham Emery, Abraham Hembree and we know his wife’s name is Winnefred that they were in S. Caro. by at least 1794 the date of their first listed sale of land, and they were still there by 1810, when they sold the land on the Pacolet River. We also know they owned land on the Pacolet, Tyger, and Keowe Rivers, but where did he live? The top of the page told us this was Spartanburg Co., so we can bet it was the Tyger River, since the other two locations were in other counties. The fact that he recorded the Deeds in Spartanburg Co. means he recorded where convenient to him. Today of course he would need to record in the county where the land is situated. One of the most important facts is that the recording at the time listed him under the Hembree family group, despite the variant spelling. The Grantor Index also told us he owned a total of 476 acres, but as I said earlier the Hembree’s were in S. Caro. before this was a nation, so he probably owned land under the Land Grant system prior to the forming of this country. (Other records prove this to be so, and from military records we know Abraham was born in S.C. in 1757) Also since these are public records and the index gives us the Book and page number we can quickly look at the Deed itself to see if it discloses anything. In this case both Abraham and Winnefred signed with a X mark, witnessed by others, so we know they were illiterate, which is also important in tracing family groups. A quick check on the 1790 Census and we know he was the family head, age 16 or above, with 6 females in the family, presumably his wife Winnifred and 5 daughters.
For whatever interest it might be to anyone, I either have copies of or have examined and recorded info from all of the deeds shown on the enclosed Grantor Index. (Item #15 was inserted by me from other sources, and of course the addition of the Comments).
It should be pointed out that most of the land grants to the family were issued under what was a headright for the opening of S. Caro. – 50 acres for each member of the family who paid their own passage here from Europe – however we know from records the land claim sometimes occurred many years after the person’s arrival in this country. We therefore should not take their arrival as immediately proceeding the land grant. To accept that would mean an entirely different family group had arrived from Europe, when in fact we know they migrated south through VA. & N. Caro. There is too much evidence to accept otherwise.
There is no charge for the above bits of wisdom, so to get on with this, one page herein shows some of the South Carolina families to approximately 1800, and while I could add to several of the families, space does not allow me to name spouses, etc. in a newsletter, but I believe this will help you to realize how large a family group was located in northwestern South Carolina. As yet no one has sought to employ my services as a mapmaker, but I include a couple anyway.
OLD BUSINESS: Following mailing of the last newsletter I received a letter from Eula Nickols enclosing court documents regarding Zachariah which state “his brother Benjamin” thus eliminating any doubt as to their relationship. I believe that most of us possess some document, which will prove out something somebody is working on if we only share the knowledge. Double check the Queries herein, and advise what you’re seeking. Space limitations require rewrite or stop. More next time.
CONGRATULATIONS: To William Linn upon your retirement 29 Dec. 1989. No more excuses for not doing all the things you wanted to achieve.
