The Conundrum of Sorting John Lindseys, Spartanburg County, South Carolina, Latter Half of 1700s and Early 1800s

South Carolina Colonial Plat Bk. 9, p. 1

Or, Subtitled: “’Curiouser and curiouser!’ Cried Alice”

These notes about the challenge of sorting men named John Lindsey in records of Spartanburg County, South Carolina, in the latter part of the 1700s and early part of the 1800s begin with the conundrum of a 20 March 1817 deed of William Lindsey to Spencer Bobo, both of Spartanburg County.[1] I discussed this deed in detail in a previous posting. As that posting notes, William Lindsey deeded to Spencer Bobo 200 acres on which William was then living, stating that he was selling “all the plantation and tract of Land where I now live supposed 200 acres more or less with every appurtenance thereunto belonging N. adjoining said Bobo’s land, E. joining Brewton, S. joining John Lindsey, and W. joining John Crocker.” The witnesses to this deed were John Lindsey and James Brewton/Bruton.

The Children of William Lindsey (abt. 1733-abt. 1806): William Lindsey (1760/1770 – 1840) (2)

Coroner’s inquisition report for William Lindsey, Spartanburg County Quorum Court, “The State vs. the Dead Body of William Lindsey,” Coroner’s Inquisition, online at the CSI: Dixie site of the Center for Virtual History at University of Georgia (p. 1)

Or, Subtitled: “The Unkindest Cut of All — It Were Well It Had Slept in the Inventive Brain of the Aforesaid William Halbert

This posting, which examines the life of William Lindsey (1760/1770 – 1840) of Spartanburg County, South Carolina, from 1830 up to William’s death in 1840 (and beyond that date, in the case of his wife Rachel) is the second in a series of postings about William and his family. The first posting in the series is here.

The Children of William Lindsey (abt. 1733-abt. 1806): Dennis Lindsey (abt. 1755-1795) (4)

Dennis Lindsey Probate File 1
12 January 1795 bond of Mary Lindsey with Nathaniel Woodruff and William Moore, in loose-papers estate file of Dennis Lindsey, Spartanburg County, South Carolina, Probate Court, estate file 1111

Or, Subtitled: Cittles, Chears, Coffy Pots, and Canters: What Can Be Gleaned from an Estate File

Dennis Lindsey’s Estate Documents: Prefatory Comments

Estate or probate files (or, in Louisiana, they’re called succession files) can, in my experience, run the gamut from genealogically astonishing — they can name all the heirs of the decedent and identify them as full or half-siblings, for instance — to disappointing. Too many of my ancestors left wills naming “my wife and all my children,” and estate files that show their estate being inventoried, appraised, and sold, without including any division of the proceeds of the estate naming the heirs of the decedent. Continue reading “The Children of William Lindsey (abt. 1733-abt. 1806): Dennis Lindsey (abt. 1755-1795) (4)”

The Children of Dennis Linchey/Lindsey (abt. 1700-1762): William Lindsey (abt. 1733-abt. 1806) (2)

Spartanburg County 1825 Mills Atlas Map, Library of Congress
Robert Mills, “Spartanburgh District, South Carolina,” from Mills’ Atlas of the State of South Carolina (Baltimore: F. Lucas, Jr., 1825); in the Library of Congress, call number G3913.S7 1820.M5, and digitized at the LOC website

Or, Subtitled: A Reminder of How Much We Can Learn from Migration Patterns and Land Records

Settling in South Carolina

By July 1768, William Lindsey was claiming land north of the Enoree River in what would later become Spartanburg County, South Carolina. For those interested in the currents of migration that brought early settlers to Spartanburg County, a good research aid is Frank Scott’s essay entitled “Migrations into Spartanburg Co.” at the SCGenweb site for Spartanburg County. As Scott notes, “After the French and Indian War, the Snow Campaign and a treaty that ceded the Cherokees’ claim to Spartanburg County, the area was finally opened to permanent settlement.” This brought an influx of settlers to the area between 1765-1770. Continue reading “The Children of Dennis Linchey/Lindsey (abt. 1700-1762): William Lindsey (abt. 1733-abt. 1806) (2)”