SOUTH CAROLINA RECORDS

Abstracts of the Wills of the State of South Carolina 1670-1740

Vol. 1 Compiled and edited by Caroline T. Moore and Agatha A. Simmons includes the following information.

Will Book 1736-1740

Peter Stanley and wife Elizabeth

written 6 Dec 1736

proved 14 July 1737

recorded 23 Aug 1738

Will Book 1729-1731

Peter Stanley witness to John Nicholson's will. 1730.

Automated Archives, Inc., South Carolina Marriages -- no locations cited

1718, Aug 15: Elizabeth Stanley and Thomas Witten

1727, May 30: Anna Stanley and Solomon June

1736, June 10: Peter Stanley and Elizabeth Ward

South Carolina Marriages 1688-1799. Compiled by Brent H. Holcomb, Gen. Pub. Co. Inc. Baltimore 1983

1727, May 30: Solomon June and Ann Stanley

St. Thomas and St. Denis Parish

1736, June 10: Peter Stanley and Elizabeth Ward

By Mr. Garden, St. Phillips Parish

1718, Aug 15: Thomas Witten and Elizabeth Stanley

St. Thomas and St. Denis Parish

South Carolina Census of 1790

CHARLESTON DISTRICT, CHRIST CHURCH PARISH

Name of head of family: Stanley, Thos
Free white males of 16 years and upward, including heads of families: 1
Free white males under 16 years: 2
Free white females, including heads of families: 2

CHERAW DISTRICT

Name of head of family: Stanley, Sans
Free white males of 16 years and upward, including heads of families: 3
Free white males under 16 years: 1
Free white females, including heads of families: 3

Name of head of family: Stanley, William
Free white males of 16 years and upward, including heads of families: 1
Free white males under 16 years: 1
Free white females, including heads of families: 2

Name of head of family: Stanley, Shadrach
Free white males of 16 years and upward, including heads of families: 1
Free white males under 16 years: 6
Free white females, including heads of families: 3

Name of head of family: Stanley, Samuel
Free white males of 16 years and upward, including heads of families: 1
Free white females, including heads of families: 3

GEORGETOWN DISTRICT, ALL SAINTS PARISH

Name of head of family: Stanley, Jacob
Free white males of 16 years and upward, including heads of families: 1
Free white females, including heads of families: 8
All other free persons: 1

Name of head of family: Stanley, James
Free white males of 16 years and upward, including heads of families: 1
Free white females, including heads of families: 3

NINETY-SIX DISTRICT, PENDLETON COUNTY

Name of head of family: Stanley, William
Free white males of 16 years and upward, including heads of families: 1
Free white males under 16 years: 2
Free white females, including heads of families: 4

Name of head of family: Stanley, Lewis
Free white males of 16 years and upward, including heads of families: 4
Free white males under 16 years: 4
Free white females, including heads of families: 5

ORANGEBURGH DISTRICT (NORTH PART)

Name of head of family: Stanley, Richard
Free white males of 16 years and upward, including heads of families: 1
Free white males under 16 years: 1
Free white females, including heads of families: 1

An Index to South Carolina Land Grants listed (partial):

Standley, Benjamin 274 Vol. 13 1786

Benjamin 046 14 Class 02 1786

John 350 35 Class 02 1793

Sand 106 21 1788

Sand 251 22 Class 02 1788

Sands 298 11 Class 02 1786

Sands 239 09 1786

Shadrack 075 41 Class 02 1795

Thomas 163 40 Class 02 1794

Stanley, Benjamin 441 Vol. 13 1786

John 396 12 1786

Sans 499 10 1786

Sans 423 12 Class 01 1786

Shadrick 210 11 Class 02 1786

Shadrick 151 09 1786

A Roster of South Carolina Patriots in the Revolutionary War included:

· George Standley, born about 1737. He served as a sergeant in the Rangers under Captain John L. P. Imoff and Colonel Thomson during 1775. His service records stated he was from Orangeburg County.

· Benjamin Stanley enlisted on 30 October 1775 I the Volunteer Company of the Colleton County Regiment of Foot under captain Andrew Cummins.

· George Stanley served in the Fifth Regiment and transferred to the First Regiment in February 1780.

· Shadrack Stanley served thirty days in the militia during 1782.

· Joshua Stanley served in the Saltcatcher Volunteer Company under Captain James Jones during 1775.

· William Stanley served in the Saltcatcher Volunteer Company under Captain James Jones during 1775.

It is probable that George Stanley, who died in Wilkes County, Georgia in 1783, due to his age and residence in the region was father to at least two sons who also resided in Georgia and South Carolina:

Ezekiel Stanley, Sr. Subject of “Greene County” section

Lewis Stanley, Sr. Owned land in South Carolina until 1818

Research by several people indicates that the above named George Stanley was a son of Jonathan Stanley, Sr. George was born in Bertie County, North Carolina about 1720. About 1772, he

relocated to northwest South Carolina, where he resided on Fishing Creek from 1772 until 1775. He married Ader ___ and was father to Lewis Stanley and others. George moved into Georgia sometime after 1775. From Wilkes County, Georgia records, Page 41 Volume I, Folio 20 from small book of mixed records, Wills, Administrations and Deeds, 1781-1783 not indexed: Standley, George, dec'd Inventory 27 July 1784 Household goods only. Jacob McLendon, Jacob Bobbett, Hugh Gillmore, appraisers. On page 42, Folio 27: Standley, Ader, widow, letters of Administration granted to her 20 May 1784.

Lewis Stanley was born in Bertie County, North Carolina in 1750. He married Adah Martin. He owned property near Gaffney, South Carolina. In about 1772 he relocated to Cherokee Creek in the Spartanburg District. He was father to

· George Washington Stanley

· Benjamin Stanley

· Jesse Stanley

· Lewis Stanley, Jr.

George W. Stanley was born in 1786 in the Spartanburg District. He married Elizabeth Smith there in 1809. She was born about 1789 in South Carolina. They had thirteen children, most of whom relocated to Indiana and Iowa by 1813. His brothers and sisters moved into Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, and Texas.

Benjamin Stanley was born about 1791 in South Carolina. He married Nancy Thomas in Jasper County, Georgia in 1814. By 1816 he had relocated to Clarke County, Alabama. He lived in Wilcox County, Alabama in 1818. He died in Tuscaloosa County, Alabama in 1867.

Jesse Stanley was born about 1793 in South Carolina. He married Diana Gallman in Baldwin County, Georgia in 1810. He moved into Henry County, Georgia, where he resided between 1827 and 1833. He relocated to Alabama and on to Arkansas.

Joshua David Stanley, born about 1791, was also found in the Spartanburg District of South Carolina. Land deed records prove that his father was Lewis Stanley, who gave him property in 1814. Joshua married Delilah Johns. Delilah died in Tennessee in 1823, leaving four children: Eliza Ann, Sarah Emaline, Martha Clementine, and Felix Robert. Joshua married second to Fatima Thomas (1827) in Alabama and had many more children.

Another Stanley family is recorded in the Spartanburg District during the late 1700s. Ezekiel Stanley is related by some to be the son of Lewis Stanley, Sr. But research by Ivan Maurer points out that Lewis also had a brother named Ezekiel. From his Last Will the family of this Ezekiel Stanley is enumerated:

Ezekiel Stanley died in South Carolina in 1805. His

children were

· Winnifred

· William A. moved to Meriwether Co., Georgia, then

relocated to Alabama

· Isham relocated to Chambers Co., Alabama

· Elizabeth

This elder Ezekiel Stanley is the same man outlined in, "Greene County." He was present in Spartanburg County in 1792. There he purchased property on Thickety Creek from John Foster of Rutherford County, North Carolina.

The names of Lewis and Ezekiel Stanley appear together in a Camden District, South Carolina Revolutionary War roster. Also, the name of George Stanley is listed on a roll of the First Regiment of the Continental Line as a private, with a notation, "Fifth Regiment.”

The research of Ivan Maurer correlates work done by descendants of at least three Stanley families tracing their ancestry into South Carolina during the 1770s. The families of Lewis Stanley, William Stanley, Ezekiel Stanley (son of Lewis), and Ezekiel Stanley of Greene County, Georgia can be traced to the Pendleton and Greenville Districts of South Carolina.

William Stanley drew a royal land grant in St. Paul Parish, Georgia in 1773. William Stanley died in St. Paul Parish in 1786, leaving no Last Will. Whether there is a connection between this William and the other Stanleys found in South Carolina is not proven. A William Stanley immigrated into South Carolina just prior to the Revolution.

William Stanley died in St. Paul Parish, Georgia (now Richmond County) in 1786. William Standley signed letter or petition of protest that was printed in the Georgia Gazette, 12 October 1774. He stated his opposition to disloyal American actions against the King of England.

William Stanley was born about 1750, place unknown. His ownership of property In St. Paul Parish (now Richmond County) is the

first real record of him. He married Winnifred Ann about 1773.

After his death, Winnifred remarried to Charles Ferguson.

Winnifred and Charles Ferguson bought some three hundred acres

from William's estate in March 1794.

Winnifred did not administer William's estate. John and Charlotte Sutherland were granted administration in 1786. Charlotte was no doubt, William's daughter. There were probably several children born to William and Winnifred.

One of Lewis’s children was Ezekiel, born about 1774 in Georgia. He died in July 1805 in Spartanburg County, South Carolina. He married Rhoda Ledbetter about 1797. She was born 1776, probably in South Carolina. Her parents were Daniel and Nancy Ledbetter. Their children were

· Winnifred Ann born 1797 in South Carolina

died 1860‑70, Big Shanty District

‑ now Acworth, Georgia.

Married Elijah Gibson 1817 in

Pendleton District South Carolina.

Elijah was born 1794 in SC; died

after 1870 in Acworth, Cobb County,

Georgia.

· William Augusten born 1799 in Georgia. died 1/31/1873, Elmore Co.,Alabama.

Married Malinda 1818 in Georgia. Malinda died about 1822 in Georgia.

Married Lucinda Holcomb 1823 in Jasper

County, Georgia. Lucinda was born 1804

in GA, and died after 1880 in Alabama.

· Isham born 1801 in South Carolina.

died 1848 Chambers County, Alabama.

Married Nancy Caroline McKinley in 1827.

Nancy was born 1811 in SC, and died

1891 in Chambers Co., AL.

· Elizabeth born 1803 in South Carolina.

died 1855 in Cobb County, Georgia.

Married Churchill Mason 1824 in Jasper

County, Georgia. Mason was born 1794 in

Georgia, and died 1880 in Cobb County.

Both are buried at Mars Hill Cemetery,

three miles south of Acworth, Georgia.

· Ezekiel, Jr. born 1805 in South Carolina.

died 1889 in Cobb County, Georgia.

Married Peggy Holland 1834 in SO Peggy

was born 1816 in SC, and died in GA.

Both are buried at Mars Hill Cemetery.

After Ezekiel's death, the widow Rhoda (Ledbetter) Stanley married Jacob Gorden before December 1808 in South Carolina. The 1810 Federal Census for Spartanburg County lists them on page 201.

Rhoda and Jacob Gorden had four children: Jacob (b. 1810), Rhoda (b. 1812), William (b. 1815) and Tempe (b. 1821). The Gorden family lived in Pendleton District, South Carolina during the 1820 census. There was no indication the Stanley children were with them in 1820. However, the 1810 census indicates that Isham and Ezekiel, Jr. as well as the girls were living with them. There is no evidence of William A. Stanley with the family.

Probate action on the estate of Ezekiel Stanley, Sr. indicates that Rhoda could not post the necessary bond toward administration. The court finally appointed a local farmer, Charles Hester, as administrator in 1809. Joseph Taylor had previously been appointed guardian for the minor children. Apparently the eldest child, Winnifred Ann, was pledged to Elijah Gibson whom she later married.

The abstract of Will and Probate Action on the estate of Daniel Ledbetter was also interesting. The Will was dated August 6, 1824, and was probated in Anderson County, South Carolina. It listed:

His wife, Nancy

Rhoda Gorden ‑ first wife of Ezekiel Stanley

Abner Ledbetter

Ede Russell

Leah Tippen

William ‑ married Ann Stanley, a daughter of Lewis Stanley.

Lived in Greene County, Georgia.

Nancy Calhoun

Jenny Ledbetter / Lavena Ledbetter ‑ the 1900 Floyd County, Georgia census listed a Lavina Stanley. It is not known if this was the same person.

The 1830 federal census for Anderson County, South Carolina listed:

· Wiley Roberts and Rhoda (Stanley Roberts Daughter of Lewis Stanley)

· Daniel McCay (deceased) and widow, Elizabeth Stanley Daughter of Lewis Stanley

· Isham Stanley and Nancy (McKinley Stanley Son of Ezekiel Stanley

· Elijah Gibson and Winnifred (Stanley)

Daughter of Ezekiel Stanley

· Abner Ledbetter ‑ son of Daniel Ledbetter

Between 1834 and 1852 there were land dealings concerning the children of Ezekiel and Lewis Stanley.

· In 1834 Ezekiel, Jr. sold 170 acres in Anderson County, on Big Beaverdam Creek, to George Newell. Martin McCay, son of Daniel and Elizabeth (Stanley) McCay, and Hugh P. Holland were witnesses.

· Hugh Holland was probably a brother of Peggy Holland, the wife of Ezekiel, Jr.

· In 1837 Isham sold 708 acres in Pickens County, on Perkins Creek, to Ezekiel, Jr. These men were brothers.

· Thomas Holland and John Kilpatrick sold land to Ezekiel Stanley, Jr. Thomas Holland was a merchant in the city of Gainesville, Georgia. He was probably Ezekiel's brother‑

in‑law. Kilpatrick then lived in Pickens County, South

Carolina.

· In 1852 Ezekiel, Jr. sold 708 acres in Pickens County, SC on Perkins Creek, to A. J. Lowry and then moved to Cobb County, Georgia.