Richard Ratliff of Sumter SC late 1700s
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In reply to:
Re: Nathan/Polly/Martha Ratliff
kenneth dyer 1/08/00
Hello all. I have been busily working on the ancestry of Arnold R. Perry, who married to Nathan Ratliff's daughter, Mary "Polly" Ratliff, in Floyd County KY in 1816. I found a great clue the other day, and think this is the appropriate spot for bringing out this clue.
I know now that Arnold Perry's grandparents, John and Sarah Perry, were in Bertie County, North Carolina from about 1720 when they were born until the year 1772, at which time they moved to present-day Sumter County, South Carolina. John and Sarah Perry joined several other Bertie County families in relocating along the Wateree River in South Carolina. John's brothers, Benjamin Perry and James Perry, also left Bertie at the same time for the Wateree River, with Benjamin and James settling further upriver in the area of present-day Kershaw Co. and Lancaster Co..
I went to Sumter County last week to copy the records of John and Sarah Perry (which I happily found in abundance), and also found several references (land deeds, estates) to a Richard Ratliff and a William Ratliff in the late 1700s in the same location. Now, what makes this even more interesting is they were in close proximity to a Samuel Nelson and an Isaac Nelson of St. Mark's Parish, Craven Co., SC. Descendants of Arnold Perry married into the Nelson family in Wayne County, WV, and, although these are all common surnames, I think it is at least worth noting the existance of these people in the same proximity of Arnold Perry's grandparents. Certainly families sometimes migrated together in those days.
For what it is worth, I have found the Ratliffs in Bertie County, too. Before the 1700s, this branch of Perrys migrated from Nansemond County, Virginia into North Carolina, and prior to that may have been in Maryland for a while, as well as in Accomac County, Virginia -- and I have found Ratliffs in all of those locations.
Regardless, I know this isn't much, but perhaps if someone is spending some time looking for Ratliff clues they may want to at least peruse the old Sumter County files. Word of warning: Sumter used to be in St. Mark's Parish of Craven County, South Carolina, and there is no one central repository for Craven County records. St. Mark's Parish was considered the "Backcountry" until at least the 1780s, and prior to the 1770s had no sheriff or law -- it was ruled by a vigilante group known as the "Regulators". Many of the Regulators were Bertie County natives. Some old Craven records are in Sumter, while, oddly enough, the older records are in the Charleston County records (even though Sumter was never a part of Charleston County). According to an Archivist named Mr. Don Johnson of Sumter County, SC, the colonial capital of SC, Charleston, was the site of many land deed transactions, and the original records were filed there. After Charleston was removed from Berkeley County and got it's own county, the records were put there. According to Mr. Johnson, the Charleston records are really worth looking at. I went on to Columbia last Saturday to see if I could find more info at the State Archives, but struck out. I believe if there really is a tie between the Richard Ratliff and William Ratliff of present-day Sumter County, SC and the Ratliffs of Montgomery County, VA and Floyd Co., KY the records will have to be reviewed in either Charleston or Sumter.
Just because Arnold Perry's grandparents were in St. Mark's Parish of Craven County, SC in the 1770s doesn't mean that his future wife's family was there, either. Crazier things have happened in my research, however, and I can't pass up the clue.
Perhaps Kenneth Dyer or another industrious Ratliff researcher can investigate the Sumter County, SC records? Please let me know directly via e-mail what you find. I will help all I can. I plan to return to Sumter in the spring, so maybe I could copy the records at that time.
Sincerely,
Zane D. Perry, Virginia Beach, Virginia
~GGGGgrandson of Arnold R. and Mary "Polly" Ratliff Perry