James Boyd's Parents
I spent most of this weekend trying to connect my personal genealogy, which generally goes back to the late 1700s, to earlier documented lineages.My Boyd ancestor is James Boyd, b. abt. 1768 in SC, died 24 May 1821.He married Nancy Gentry abt. 1793 in Nashville, TN.Their children’s names were Abner [my line], Elizabeth, Mary Polly, George, Linai, John, James Washington, Nancy, Nicholas, and Myra.I am pretty sure that James was from SC.I also know that Nancy’s father was a Revolutionary war vet, which suggest that James' father may also have been one.I have narrowed things down to two possibily Revolutionary vets: James [1] who was married to Martha Burns and James [2] who was married to Sarah Gunter.
#1 has going for him that he had moved to SC.He also died when James, Jr. was a youngster.On the negative side only two of this James’ children’s names match the names of my James’ 10 children.
#2 has five children’s names [including Abner my relative]that match.On the negative side this James was still alive in 1815 and in his will gives six shillings to his son James’ heirs.This implies that son James predeceased his father which does not fit the facts I have.
Given these facts I am inclined to believe that James Boyd and Martha Burns are the parents of my James Boyd.Does anyone have any information [or can you direct me to someone] who can definitively answer this question?