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My Edwards FamilyEastern North Carolina and Horry Co, SC Introduction - A History of my research on this family My Edwards Family - Data on my Edwards ancestors IntroductionI first learned of my Edwards ancestry shortly after I began my genealogy quest in 1980. My mother told me about her grandmother Henrietta Edwards Campbell (1893-1963) who had resided with her for several years. My mom didn't know anything about Henrietta's family, but did know her maiden name was Edwards. My first job after finding out she was an Edwards, was to scour the Marion County, SC records for data on her. I started with the earliest families (always a mistake!) and found that there was only one Edwards family in Marion early on, and that most were descended from that group. In W. W. Sellers book "A History of Marion County" he outlined this Edwards family in great detail, but not to Henrietta's generation, so I didn't know where she fit in, nor could I figure it out. I checked the 1900 census for Marion County and did not find her at all, though found many Edwards' residing in Marion County at that time. I asked several relatives about her. My Great Uncle Durham Campbell told me that she was from Horry County which explains why I couldn't find her in the Marion records! (Never start at the beginning when you do research, always start with the most recent and work your way back! That is the only way to avoid such problems, and always speak to your elder relatives first!). Uncle Durham also told me that Henrietta's father was named Gabriel Edwards. I checked the 1900 census for Horry County and found Henrietta right away. She was home with her parents Gabriel and Celia Edwards in Gallivants Ferry Township. An interesting revelation was that her father was born in North Carolina. I traced them back to the 1880 census in Horry, and found them still in the same area, and then back to 1870 where I found that Gabriel had a different wife then, one named Louisa, thus making Celia his second wife. I traced them back to 1860 and found that Gabriel was home with his parents William and Rachel Edwards, both born in North Carolina. They were in Horry then, and some of their children born in the late 1840's and early to mid 1850's were born in NC, so this meant they migrated to Horry ca 1855 or so. I had no clue where to look in North Carolina for them, but I assumed they had to be from Eastern North Carolina somewhere (which, coincidentally was where I was living). I checked the 1850 census index for "William Edwards" and found several. I knew that William and Rachel of Horry had two children born before 1850, which was my ancestor Gabriel (1849) and his older brother Barnabas (c1848). I figured I'd check out all the William Edwards families until I found one with a wife named "Rachel" and two sons with those names. I got very lucky, for I found them the first place I looked. I checked the Wayne Co, NC census first for some reason (I think mainly because they had a published abstract of it at the library), and there they were! No doubt, it was the same family, as all the names and ages were perfect matches. I also noticed that there were lots of other Edwards listed in Wayne Co, NC including an older Gabriel Edwards, who I assumed was the namesake for my Gabriel. At a family reunion in Conway, My Great Uncle Ira Campbell and some other relatives told me more about the Edwards family. He and several of those present knew Gabriel personally, and said he was known as "Gabe", and when I asked what his wife Celia's maiden name was, he told me it was "Floyd". I searched for years trying to track her family down, and never could. It turns out that her maiden name was not Floyd, but "Johnson" instead. I think Uncle Ira was confused because Gabriel's first wife Louisa was a Floyd, so he was half right anyway, and also to add to the confusion, Celia Johnson's mother was also a Floyd, so he was correct about us having a Floyd connection. Of course Celia died in 1910, before Ira was born, so it isn't unusual him not knowing her maiden name. After this reunion, I tried to find more about William Edwards in Wayne County, NC records. I found no record proving who his parents were, nor anything proving (or suggesting) who any of his siblings might have been. He lived in the Town of Mount Olive which was on the Wayne County - Duplin County border, and there were no other Edwards there in 1850, except for Gabriel Edwards (the elder one). This elder Gabriel was about 10 years older than William, so I assumed they were brothers, but had no proof of that. I found that in previous records there had been a Barnabas Edwards in the same area as William, and since William named his oldest son "Barnabas", I suspected a connection. A check of the 1830 census showed that Barnabas did have a son the same age was William!. However, this wasn't proof that he was William's father, but it did make him a prime suspect. Barnabas disappeared from Wayne Co, NC after 1830, and later I found that he had moved to Madison Co, TN in the 1830's, and was listed there on the 1840 and 1850 census. The 1850 census record for Barnabas Edwards (and wife Catherine) in Madison Co, TN shows them both born in NC, and they had no son with them who matched in age with their apparent son from the 1830 census (who was a match in age to William), nor were there any likely suspects for that soon near them in Madison Co, TN. This helped connect my William to Barnabas, mainly by not disproving the connection. To date, I have found no concrete evidence that Barnabas is the father of William, but I strongly suspect that he is his father. However, for this to be correct, this means that Barnabas Edwards left Wayne Co, NC ca 1830/34 for Madison Co, TN (which is on the Mississippi River in West TN) and either left William behind (he was born ca 1826, so very young then), or else William returned when he was older. It is hard to imagine parents leaving a small child behind when they move away, but it did happen, especially if the child's mother had died, and the child was being raised by maternal (or paternal) grandparents. This is just a theory though, with no data found so far to indicate that Catherine wasn't Barnabas' first wife. Although the link between William (c1826) and Barnabas Edwards (c1806) is tentative, the link from Barnabas to his ancestors is well documented. Barnabas was a son of David and Lydia Edwards, as proven by David's Will. David was born ca 1764, and was a Revolutionary War Soldier. He received patent land in West TN, and that is where Barnabas moved to in the 1830's. David Edwards is a proven son of John Edwards who died in 1810 in Wayne Co, NC. I have not yet found any record of John Edwards' ancestry. Since getting connected to the Internet, I have been in touch with a small number of cousins from the Edwards line, each of whom has been helpful in varying degrees. Thanks to all of them for data shared. My Edwards ancestorsJohn Edwards was born ca 1748 or before, probably somewhere in Eastern North Carolina, or perhaps in Virginia. I have no clue where he was from, but he did settle in what is now Lenoir County, near Kingston (now Kinston) and was there in the 1760's. Sometime after that, he moved to what is now Wayne Co, NC and settled southwest of the present City of Goldsboro. He died there in 1810, leaving a Will naming several children, and step-children, but not his wife, who's name I still have not found. John Edwards was the father of David Edwards, born ca 1763/64, presumably in Dobbs (now Lenoir) Co, NC. David was a Revolutionary War soldier and served as a Private. David Edwards married Lydia --- (no clue on her maiden name) and they had only three children, and they apparently separated in the 1820's and were divorced in 1831. David Edwards died in 1839 in Wayne Co, NC leaving a Will naming three children, all sons. One of David and Lydia's sons was Barnabas Edwards, born ca 1806 in Wayne Co, NC. Barnabas married Catherine --- before ca 1826 in Wayne Co, NC. He lived near the Town of Mount Olive for several years, and then ca 1833 he moved to Madison County, Tennessee where he was listed on the 1840 and 1850 census. I've not followed up on them after that yet. I've never found any direct proof, but I believe that Barnabas is the father of William Edwards, born ca 1826 in Wayne Co, NC (mainly because William named his oldest son "Barnabas" and that the elder Barnabas did have a son William's age, per the 1830 census). William either remained in Wayne County after his parents left, or else he returned there when of age. He married Rachel Roberts in Wayne County ca 1848. They moved to Horry Co, SC in the mid 1850's where they remained a number of years. Rachel Roberts Edwards died ca 1870/73, and he moved to what is now Florence Co, SC ca 1874 and married Martha E. Parker as a second wife. William died in Florence Co, SC ca 1897. William and Rachel were the parents of Gabriel E. Edwards (1849-1938) who married first Louisa Floyd, and 2nd, Celia C. Johnson in Horry Co, SC. Gabriel and Celia were parents of Henrietta Edwards (1893-1963) who married Willie S. Campbell. These two were my Great Grandparents. For information on other Edwards families within my area of interest (Eastern North Carolina and Horry and Marion Co, SC only) but who are not known to be related to my Edwards family, go to my Documented Edwards Families page My Edwards Family:Last Updated January 16, 2006 Edwards Page (Main) | Edwards Families | What's New? Home | Surnames | Christian Pages | Search this Site | Contact Me
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