Reid Family


Researcher
Robert Hardin Reid 

Here is my case for believing that my gggrandfather, John Reid, who died in 1818 in Anderson County, SC, was the son of John Reid, Sr., son of Alexander and Margaret Reid FAMILY TRADITION: According to written testimonials left by my great grandfather Rev. Robert Hardin Reid, his father, Andrew Reid, was born 20 September 1791 in Iredell County, NC, and was brought to Anderson County---then Pendleton District---SC, by his parents John Reid and Mary Hardin about 1800. Our branch of the family lost all record of Andrew's siblings and details of his parents and it has taken me years to rediscover them. However, the "History of Gwinnett County" states that Mary Hardin Reid moved with some of her children to that part of north Georgia following the death of her husband John in South Carolina. the book states that Joh Reid was buried in the Good Hope Presbyterian Church cemetery in Iva, SC. Although the grave is no longer marked, members of my family have been connected to that small rural church for at least 75 years. Mary Hardin Reid is listed as a charter member of the Fairview Presbyterian Church in Lawrenceville, GA, which was established in 1823. You can find this information in the church's website. PUBLIC RECORDS:Through records in Gwinnett County, I was able to contact some descendants through Andrew Reid's siblings. From them, I have obtained a testimonial from John and Mary's grandson, John Washington Inzer, who in 1920 stated that John and Mary married in 1790 in Iredell County, NC. As corroborating evidence I have a copy of a letter written 20 Nov 1920 by the Bureau of Land Management, Department of the Interior, to a genealogical researcher stating that the information about the 1790 marriage came from Mary Hardin Reid's application for bounty land, based on her husband's service in the War of 1812, and submitted to the US government a short time before her death on 11 Dec 1851. The couple is listed in the census of 1790 under "John Reid, jr." of Iredell County with one (1) male, one (1) female and one (1) slave. According to the Gwinnett County history, Andrew was the firstborn, coming toward the end of the following year. The 1790 census lists only one other John Reid in Iredell County. This John Reid was living three homesteads away in a household with 4 males over age 16, 1 male under age 16, and 4 females under 16. I believe the latter John Reid was the father of John Jr. FINDING JOHN: For four generations, my family has carried the name "Robert Hardin Reid". It's my own name. According to records of Rowan County, NC, Robert Hardin was the name of man who lived in that area for 40 years, having moved from Talbot County, Maryland in 1753. Land records show he lived along with the Reids in the part of western Rowan County which became Iredell County in 1788. Robert Hardin died in 1785 leaving among others, unmarried daughters Margaret, Mary and Phoebe. Mary was willed one slave, probably the one held by John Reid Jr., in 1790. Although a fire in the Iredell County courthouse destroyed records of marriages made between 1788-1854, some earlier records survived, including the marriage on 30 Sept 1786 between "Thomas Beaty and Margaret Hardin" with William Hardin as the bondsman. William Hardin was the only son listed in Robert Hardin's will. Thomas and Margaret Hardin Beaty are also listed as charter members of the Fairview Presbyterian Church in Lawrenceville, GA (Gwinnett County) where Mary Hardin Reid was a charter member. Thomas Beaty, according to the Fairview history, had been an elder in the Good Hope Church in Iva, where Mary' husband John was said to have been buried. Records on file at the South Carolina state archives show that in Nov 1811, John Reid of Pendleton District gave personal belongings to "my beloved son James Reid." The transaction was witnessed by Andrew Reid and Phoebe Hardin. Despite absence of a marriage record, all these "coincidences" clearly suggest that John's wife Mary Hardin Reid was the daughter of Robert Hardin. THE JOHN REID CONNECTION: Now to establish whether my ggggrandfather, hereafter known as John Reid, Jr., was in fact the son of John Reid, Sr. Again, we have to rely on circumstantial evidence. The history of Bethany Presbyterian Church, which is located in Iredell County, N.C., very close to the homes of John Reid (Sr.) and Robert Hardin, lists among others the following charter members in 1778: Robert Hardin, George Reid, John Reid and Andrew Reid. At that time there were only 49 families in the entire congregation. Andrew and George Reid, as you know, moved to Georgia. There are no other Reid families listed on surviving membership rolls except for those who bear the names of Alexander Reid's sons. As further evidence that the Hardin and Reid families were in close proximity, the 1768 Rowan County Tax Digest lists John Reid and Robert Hardin as neighbors. John Reid and Robert Hardin were listed in the same militia company in 1778 and 1784. Considering the small population, Scotch-Irish prejudices against non-Scotch-Irish and the frontier quality of the area in the late 1700s, I feel it quite likely that young people would have limited the search for mates to people within the same church congregation. SO CONVINCE ME THAT JOHN REID SR AND JOHN REID JR WERE FATHER AND SON: In the 18th century, "senior" and "junior" were often used to designate older and younger men who carried the same name, regardless of their relationship. (They didn't have to be father and son.) However, these two John Reids clearly knew one another and had close dealings with one another. Rowan County land records show the following transaction on 14 May 1786: "Thomas Bell, blacksmith, to John Green, for 75 pounds sterling, 100 acres adjacent to George Lock and John Reid, part of a tract where Bell now lives. Witnesses: Thomas Prather, John Reid, John Reid, jr." You will recall that the census of 1790 shows only two John Reids living in the county. And they were living only a few households apart. Tax records for John Reid, Sr., before 1784 show that he had no males in his household over the age of 21. In other words, he had no sons born before 1763. However, in order for John Reid, jr., to have witnesses the deed in 1786, he would have to have been at least 21 years of age. This would suggest that John Reid, jr., was probably around 1765, which would have been compatible with a marriage in 1790. It also calls into question any genealogy which shows sons of this John Reid born before 1763. The 1800 Iredell County census shows only one John Reid, listed over age 45. This must be the one I call John reid Sr. There are simply no other possibilities. What happened to John Reid, jr? Family tradition says that my ggggrandfather left the state of North Carolina in 1800 and settled in South Carolina, along with the Beatys mentioned above. The census of 1800 in Pendleton District, SC, shows a John Reid, aged 26 to 45, with four children under the age of 10, a wife and one slave. This information is consistent with the 1790 Iredell County entry of a man who had probably recently married. The name John Reid, jr., cannot be found in any existing Iredell County records after 1800. MORE ON JOHN REID SR: As I said earlier, there appear to have been no Reids in the Bethany Presbyterian Church except the children and grandchildren of Alexander Reid, the immigrant. In the churchyard cemetery, next to a fir tree, is the grave of a husband and wife, John and Mary Reid. The tombstone states that John Reid "departed this life 19 Nov 1816, aged 70 years." This means that he was probably born in 1745/6. Clearly any genealogies which show this man as having fathered children born before the early 1760s cannot be accurate. (I also doubt Mary was a Woods. John would have had to have married after the family arrived in North Carolina and I simply cannot find any Woods family in the area or in the same church.) (Addendum: Some published genealogies show that Alexander Reid's son John marrying Mary "Polly" Woods. I think these have confused the John Reid of Iredell/Rowan with a contemporary John Reid in Virginia. To make matters worse, this John Reid was also the son of an Alexander Reid but I am convinced they are two different people) John Reid (Sr.) signed a will on 9 Nov 1816 listing his wife, Mary, and sons John, Alexander, James, David, Samuel and George, as well as daughters, Mary Beggarly, and Margaret Dobbins. Any genealogy which shows this man as having a son named Samuel who died in 1816 must be in doubt since the year 1816 was almost over when John Reid Sr.'s will was executed. The will was not cleared by probate until the middle of 1817 and had Samuel died in late November or early December of 1816, the law required an addendum to strike him from the list of beneficiaries. There is no such addendum. Census records show that most of John and Mary Reid's children were living in Iredell County, NC, at the time of his death in 1816. John is notably absent. John was left no property in the will except for his share of profits from the sale of slaves and household goods. To me, this suggests that John Reid, was living out of the state. This is in line with my theory that this John was my ancestor in South Carolina. WAS JOHN REID SR. BURIED AT BETHANY CHURCH REALLY ALEXANDER REID'S SON: The "Heritage of Iredell County" book has an extensive section on the family of Alexander Reid. It states that Alexander Reid was born about 1698 in Northern Ireland, immigrated to Pennsylvania by 1748, and bought land in 1753 in the part of Rowan County that became Iredell County about 33 years later. The book also lists his children. The list -- including Samuel, Andrew, George and all the rest -- is identical to family traditions of all the major Alexander Reid branches. The book further states that Alexander's son, John, was born in Northern Ireland or Pennsylvania, died in 1816 in Iredell County and is buried at Bethany Church. It states that he married Mary, surname unknown, about 1764 and that his first son was named John. This would be consistent with the information I have about the possible birthdate of my gggrandfather. The Heritage book also states, "John Reid is the only son of Alexander Reid who remained in the county. His land was on both sides of the South Yadkin River near his brother George." Sound familiar? I am confident of this information because among other things John Reid's descendants were rather prominent in the county for a long, long time and some were still living on his old property well into the 19th century. The book does not have any information on John's son John pther than his name -- presumably because John left the area and in a few decades no one was around with information about him or his family. The book does state, however, that John Sr.'s son Samuel moved after his father's death to Lincoln County, TN (and not that he died in 1816). Son James moved to Steward County, TN. In summary, I feel the evidence for my theory is compelling. However, I want to get to the bottom of this and would welcome any challenges based on first-hand research. I want to trace an ancestry not defend a misconception. It does seem clear, however, that other theories about the family of John Reid, Sr., simply do not stand up against surviving records, or in some cases, simple mathematics. I think it is possible that due to the similarity of names, some people have confused the Reid family of Rowan/Iredell County with a contemporary Reid family of Rockbridge County, VA, and have blended the two. Careful study is needed to sort it out. Bob Descendants of John Reid Generation No. 1 1. JOHN2 REID (ALEXANDER1) was born 1746, and died 1816 in Iredell County, NC. He married MARY ????. Child of JOHN REID and MARY ???? is: 2. i. JOHN3 REID, b. Abt. 1765, Probably Rowan co., N. C.; d. November 14, 1818, Pendleton District, now Anderson Co., SC. (link between generation 1 and 2 unproven but strong circumstantial evidence exists) Generation No. 2 2. JOHN3 REID (JOHN2, ALEXANDER1) was born Abt. 1765 in Probably Rowan co., N. C., and died November 14, 1818 in Pendleton District, now Anderson Co., SC. He married MARY HARDEN/HARDIN September 1790 in Iredell Co., NC, daughter of ROBERT HARDIN and JANE**. She was born Bet. 1767 - 1769 in North Carolina, and died 1851 in Gwinnett Co., Georgia. Children of JOHN REID and MARY HARDEN/HARDIN are: 3. i. ANDREW4 REID, b. September 20, 1791, Iredell Co., N.C,; d. October 22, 1876, Anderson Co., South Carolina. 4. ii. PHEBE H. REID, b. February 14, 1805, Pendelton District S. C.; d. August 26, 1874, Coal City , Clair Co., Alabama. iii. ROBERT REID, b. Abt. 1797. 5. iv. DAVID REID, b. Abt. 1799; d. Abt. 1829. v. JOHN REID, b. Abt. 1801; d. Abt. 1825, Decatur, DeKalb Co., Georgia. vi. HIRAM REID, b. Abt. 1802; d. Abt. 1825. vii. JAMES REID, b. Abt. 1803; d. Limestone Co. Texas. viii. JANE REID, b. Abt. 1808; m. ISSAC BLONT. Generation No. 3 3. ANDREW4 REID (JOHN3, JOHN2, ALEXANDER1) was born September 20, 1791 in Iredell Co., N.C,, and died October 22, 1876 in Anderson Co., South Carolina. He married (1) MARY HAMILTON March 05, 1816 in Pendelton District Now Anderson Co., South Carolina, daughter of LUKE HAMILTON. She was born 1795, and died Bef. 1851 Children of ANDREW REID and MARY HAMILTON are: 6. i. JOHN HAMILTON DR.5 REID, b. March 09, 1817, Anderson Co., South Carolina; d. December 01, 1885. ii. JAMES M. REID, b. October 23, 1819; d. July 09, 1821. 7. iii. ROBERT HARDIN REV. REID, b. July 17, 1821, Anderson Co., South Carolina; d. February 09, 1907, Reidville, near Spartanburg, SC. 8. iv. NANCY ELIZABETH5 REID, b. March 24, 1827, Anderson Co., South Carolina; d. January 09, 1907. 4. PHEBE H.4 REID (JOHN3, JOHN2, ALEXANDER1) was born February 14, 1805 in Pendelton District S. C., and died August 26, 1874 in Coal City , Clair Co., Alabama. She married HENRY WHITE INZER August 19, 1823 in Near Lawrenceville, Georgia, son of JOHN INZER and MARY DOWDY. He was born June 22, 1799 in Cross Creek, Moore Co. North Carolina, and died April 25, 1880 in Eden, St. Clair Co., Alabama. Children of PHEBE REID and HENRY INZER are: i. LOUISA WICKLIFFE5 INZER, b. 1821; d. 1929; m. JOHN HENDERSON. ii. MARY CAROLINE INZER, b. 1824; m. DAVID B. MOORE. iii. JANE CATHERINE INZER, b. 1828; d. 1877; m. SANFORD S. KELLEY. 9. iv. JOHN WASHINGTON INZER, b. January 09, 1834, Gwinnett Co., Georgia; d. January 02, 1928, Ashville, Alabama. 5. DAVID4 REID (JOHN3, JOHN2, ALEXANDER1) was born Abt. 1799, and died Abt. 1829. He married BETSIE REID Abt. 1820. She died Abt. 1829. Children of DAVID REID and BETSIE REID are: i. BERRIAN J.5 REID, b. Abt. 1821. ii. AMERICUS R. REID, b. Abt. 1822. iii. SON REID, b. Abt. 1823. iv. SON REID, b. Abt. 1825. v. SON REID, b. Abt. 1827. vi. DAUGTHER REID, b. Abt. 1828. Generation No. 4 6. JOHN HAMILTON DR.5 REID (ANDREW4, JOHN3, JOHN2, ALEXANDER1) was born March 09, 1817 in Anderson Co., South Carolina, and died December 01, 1885. He married LOUISA ELIZABETH SIMPSON January 12, 1847. Children of JOHN REID and LOUISA SIMPSON are: i. JAMES MILLS6 REID, b. January 28, 1848; d. July 25, 1893; m. OBIE MCALISTER, February 24, 1881. ii. ROBERT ANDREW DR. REID, b. April 20, 1849; d. November 20, 1889; m. ELLA DEAN, April 02, 1884. iii. ARCHIBALD SIMPSON REID, b. January 24, 1853; d. October 16, 1863. iv. EPAMINONDAS REID, b. September 11, 1861; d. October 19, 1863. 7. ROBERT HARDIN REV.5 REID (ANDREW4, JOHN3, JOHN2, ALEXANDER1) was born July 17, 1821 in Anderson Co., South Carolina, and died February 09, 1907 in Reidville, near Spartanburg, SC. He married MARY JULIA ANDERSON November 25, 1851 in Anderson Co., South Carolina, daughter of WILLIAM DR. ANDERSON. She was born March 19, 1831, and died May 27, 1906 in Spartanburg Co.. Children of ROBERT REID and MARY ANDERSON are: i. ELLA LOUISE6 REID, b. July 04, 1853, Spartanburg Co., SC; m. ROBERT P. REV. SMITH, September 18, 1876. ii. MARY HAMILTON REID, b. May 05, 1855; d. August 13, 1857. iii. BENJAMIN PALMER REV. REID, b. August 07, 1860; d. December 04, 1913, Spartanburg Co. South Carolina; m. LEILA JANE TEASLEY, December 12, 1906, Spartanburg, South Carolina. iv. JOSEPH WHITNER REID, b. August 11, 1862; m. ??? BEECHAM, October 08, 1913. 8. NANCY ELIZABETH5 REID (ANDREW4, JOHN3, JOHN2, ALEXANDER1) was born March 24, 1827 in Anderson Co., South Carolina, and died January 09, 1907. She married JOHN A. MCALISTER. Children of NANCY REID and JOHN MCALISTER are: i. LENORA6 MCALISTER, b. December 10, 1856; d. February 18, 1904; m. JOHN TEASLEY, November 02, 1874, Anderson Co., South Carolina; b. August 07, 1851. ii. ROBERT REID MCALISTER, b. 1858; d. 1863. iii. AMERICUS MCALISTER, b. September 20, 1860; d. January 12, 1936; m. NEVER MARRIED. 9. JOHN WASHINGTON5 INZER (PHEBE H.4 REID, JOHN3, JOHN2, ALEXANDER1) was born January 09, 1834 in Gwinnett Co., Georgia, and died January 02, 1928 in Ashville, Alabama. He married SARAH ELIZABETH "SALLIE" POPE August 02, 1866 in Ashville, Alabama, daughter of WYLIE POPE and CAROLINE HALE. She was born October 25, 1847 in Columbiana, Shelby Co., Alabama, and died July 29, 1921 in Ashville, Alabama. Children of JOHN INZER and SARAH POPE are: i.i. CLARA ESTELLE6 INZER, b. January 23, 1872, Ashville, Alabama; d. September 08, 1950, Ashville, Alabama; m. JAMES PENDLETON MONTGOMERY; b. September 10, 1860, Ashville, Alabama; d. March 01, 1930, Ashville, Alabama. ii. LILA BOWDEN INZER, b. Abt. 1875, Ashville, Alabama; d. Ashville, Alabama. iii. JOHN MANLEY INZER, b. December 31, 1878; d. September 21, 1941, Ashville, Alabama.


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