Ivey Notes
I have been stuck on the ancestry of my Robert Ivey (c1730-c1803), who shows up in Dobbs County, NC (later Wayne and Lenoir) in 1759. Although I have some theories, I don’t know where he came from. One useful way of dealing with this sort of situation is to work “tops down” to trace the descendants of immigrants in the hope of uncovering possible ancestors. Having done this work, it makes sense to share it with others. It appears that there were at least four important Ivey immigrants to Virginia in the 1600s: Thomas Ivey, Thomas Vicesimus Ivey, John Ivey, and Adam Ivey. (Two other Iveys are named as headrights in the mid-1600s but left no other trace.) These four men were probably distantly related in some way, but it’s uncertain how. I have tried to track descendants of all four of these men to the mid-1750s in the hope of discovering the ancestry of my Robert Ivey Sr.
Published Genealogies – Some Comments:
I have tried to work from original records wherever possible, and from transcripts otherwise. I want to let the facts speak for themselves, and to reach conclusions supported by them. Many of my conclusions are significantly different than those in most published genealogies of this family. Six of these genealogies, which seem to be the key sources for most Ivey descendants, are listed
below. The first two publications, in particular, have numerous errors with regard to the first few generations of Iveys. This is not meant to be especially critical of the authors. At the time they were writing, they lacked access to important records that would have altered their conclusions. I have tried to check as many of their sources as possible, and have tried in these documents to correct the errors I found.
1. The Ivey Family in the United States, George Franks Ivey (Southern Publishing Co., 1941) This book, which includes virtually no source citations, essentially consists of a large number of highly abbreviated family group sheets. Mr. Ivey compiled most of the material from correspondence with Ivey descendants. It is therefore only as accurate as his sources, and appears to have several editing errors as well. This book is probably reasonably accurate with regard to 19th and 20th century Iveys, but has numerous errors in the first several generations. In part, these are apparently due to a reliance by Mr. Ivey on the paper listed below.
2. “The Ivey Family”, W. Mac Jones, William and Mary College Quarterly Historical Magazine, 2nd Ser., Vol. 7, No. 2. (April 1927), pp92-96 and “Notes on the Ivey Family”, W. Mac Jones, William and Mary College Quarterly Historical Magazine, 2nd Ser., Vol. 7, No. 3. (July 1927), pp181-192
This paper has much good material, but far too many inaccuracies and faulty assumptions to be reliable. I’m not knocking Mr. Jones, whose reputation as a competent researcher was quite good. In part, the errors are probably due to his not having as much information available to him as we have today. As a result, he made several faulty assumptions that we can now correct. I also strongly suspect Mr. Jones was publishing correspondence from others rather than his own research. There are several significant editing and/or typographical errors.
3. “Ivey of Prince George and Surry”, Historical Southern Families, Volume 6, John Bennett Boddie, editor (self-published, 1962) pp32
The author is not identified. It was not Mr. Boddie, who published papers by others in this series. This paper deals with the descendants of Adam Ivey. There are several editing errors, and the paper deals mainly with the immigrant Adam Ivey and his six children. It is generally accurate as far as it goes, but there are a few truly significant errors.
4. “Ive, Ivie, Ivey of Wiltshire, Somerset, England and Princess Anne County, Virginia”, Historical Southern Families, Volume 6, John Bennett Boddie, editor (self-published, 1962) pp21. The author of this paper is not identified. It was not Mr. Boddie. The paper is generally accurate with regard to the family of Thomas Vicesimus Ivey.
5. “The Ivy-Ivey Family of Norfolk Co., Virginia”, Historical Southern Families, Volume 16, Mrs. John Bennett Boddie, editor (Genealogical Publishing Co., 1971) pp158. This paper was written by Benjamin Holtzclaw, author of an excellent Outlaw genealogy, and appears to be generally accurate with regard to the Iveys it covers.
6. A History Of The Adam Ivey Family Of Charles City (now Prince George) County, Virginia, Robert Allison Ivey (electronically published, 1995) This is by far the most extensive of the published works of the Ivey family, though it deals with one specific line. It seems to be generally accurate, but contains virtually no source citations.
There are a number of faulty conclusions in the early generations which I’ve attempted to correct in the paper on this family. Sources of Colonial-Era Research: There are a number of excellent secondary sources for Virginia and North Carolina. However, we all learn over time that abstracted records occasionally have errors and, by their nature, sometimes omit information that may be useful. Therefore, although I made heavy use of abstracts, I tried to check the original record whenever it appeared to be crucial to some
genealogical conclusion. I believe I have read nearly every source that has appeared in print, as well as many that have never been published. I may have overlooked some important records, but I will leave it up to others to continue past the mid 18th century. The level of detail in these papers may be too much for the taste of many readers. Part of my objective was to gain a sense of the lives and times of the immigrants, and that requires attentionto detail. I also wanted to be sure to state all the facts that led to my conclusions.
A Note on the “Ivey” Name:
This is a difficult name to research because it can be read so many ways in old handwriting. Abstracted records are particularly prone to the abstractor’s interpretation. Besides the obvious “Ivie”, “Ive”, “Ivy”, and “Ivey”, and occasionally “Eivy”, I have seen “Ivy” and “Ivey”transcribed in secondary sources as “Joy”, “Jay”, “Jury”, Juie”, and similar variants (and even “Hog” and “Gree” once or twice). Usually, a check of the original record will suggest that the abstractor read the “I” as a “J”, which are quite difficult to distinguish in old handwriting, and tried to make sense of the result. Another frustration is the presence of persons named “Ives”, which is a different name entirely, in the same locations as some of the Iveys. “Ives” is sometimes found in original and abstracted records as “Ive” or “Ivyes” so that it is unclear which name is meant. In these papers I will spell the name as “Ivey” except where quoting an original source.
With regard to the “correct” spelling of the name, “Ivey” appears to be by far the most prevalent form and that is the form I have chosen to use throughout. There is really no difference between “Ivey” and “Ivy” (or even “Ivie”), and people can choose to spell the name however they wish.
Bob’s Genealogy Filing Cabinet II – Robert Ivey (c1730? – c1800-1804)
At this time, I don’t know where Robert Ivey came from, or who his parents were, only that he appears in the late 1750s in present-day Wayne County, North Carolina. I suspect, though, that he was the brother of a John Ivey who died in Halifax County in 1773 leaving a son named Robert. There were no Iveys on the partial 1750 or 1751 quit rent roll of Johnston County, nor on any of the surviving militia rosters, and the first record of him there is in 1759, suggesting he moved into the area sometime in the late 1750s. It seems likely he was the Robert “Ive” who appeared in the 1758 tax list of Granville County with John “Ive”. Robert Ivey must have been a young man in 1759, perhaps unmarried, because he evidently had no children born before the early 1760s. I find it interesting that he had enough money at a young age to acquire significant amounts of land.
The first certain record of Robert Ivey is in the area of Johnston County, North Carolina that became Dobbs County, then Wayne and Lenoir Counties. Unfortunately, nearly all records of these counties were destroyed. When Dobbs County was formed in 1759, it inherited both the Johnston County courthouse and its records from 1746-1759. When Lenoir County was carved out of Dobbs in 1791, all these records were moved to the Lenoir County courthouse, where they were destroyed by fires in 1878 and 1880. Thus we have only fragmentary records from Johnston, Dobbs, and Lenoir during the time Robert Ivey lived there. Luckily, the deed index to grantees and grantors from 1746 through 1878 was salvaged from thefires. In that index, we find a deed from John Spann to Robert Ivey recorded in the late 1750s.[1] A second deed from John Spann to Robert Ivey, and one deed from Robert Ivey to John Spann, were recorded about 1758-1762.[2] [3]
In the North Carolina Archives there is a small collection of loose papers containing several original deeds which were kept by the family of Richard Ivey, one of Robert Ivey’s grandsons.[4] This collection includes both deeds from John Spann to Robert Ivey mentioned in the Johnston County grantee/grantor indices. The first is a deed from John Spann to Robert Ivey, both of Dobbs County, dated 30 April 1759 for 440 acres north of the Neuse River and south of Nahunta Creek, in present-day eastern Wayne County. The second is dated 13 April 1762, also from John Spann to Robert Ivey, for 50 acres on the north side of the Neuse and east of Bogue Marsh. Both parcels appear to be near one another in the part of Dobbs County that became Wayne County, and they were probably contiguous since they were both kept in the family for several decades. The second purchase, on Bogue Marsh, can be more precisely located nearly on the border of present Lenoir and Wayne counties. John Spann had bought this land from Robert Parks; a deed in Anson County references the purchase, which is among the lost deeds of Johnston County.[5]
Robert Ivey added to this land with a patent on 26 October 1767 for 310 acres on Bear Pocoson on the north side of the Neuse.[6] From patents to neighbors, we can locate this land on or near the north bank of the Neuse River, between Bear Creek and Bogue Marsh, just east of Walnut Creek.[7] This is in Wayne County, but near the present border of Wayne and Lenoir counties; Walnut Creek and Bogue Marsh are in Wayne, while Bear Creek is a couple miles east in Lenoir. In the 1769 tax list of Dobbs County, he is listed as “Robert Eivy” with one male (himself) 21 or older. Around him are his neighbors William Whitfield, Moses Stanley, John Spann, John Roach, Richard Sarsnet, William Wiggins, and others. Robert Ivey continued to add to his land on Bogue Marsh. The old Dobbs grantor/grantee index shows a deed from Richard Sarsnet to Robert Ivey recorded about 1770 and another deed from Robert Ivey to John Roach recorded about 1774.[8] The former appears to be a purchase of 100a on Bogue Marsh implied by the Ivey Papers. It is not clear what land was sold in the latter deed.
He patented an additional 300 acres on the Neuse riverbank between Walnut Creek and Bogue Marsh on 13 January 1778[9]. A few days earlier, on 9 January, he patented 150 acres on the south side of the Neuse in present-day Lenoir County adjoining “his own line”.[10] This implies a prior purchase south of the Neuse, but when he acquired this land south of the Neuse is unknown. Another lost deed, from Griffin Jones to Robert Ivey recorded sometime in the 1780s, may have been a purchase of this land south of the river.[11] That deed was recorded in Dobbs County well after the formation of Wayne County, implying that the land was in what is now Lenoir. Robert Ivey qualifies as a DAR patriot, though he apparently did not serve in the military.
Sometime early in the Revolution, Robert Ivey lent a “man and horse” to the cause. The Committee of Safety in Kinston (later in Lenoir County) paid him 10 shillings in 1776 for the “hire of a man and a horse”.[12]
In 1779 Wayne County was formed from the western half of Dobbs. Robert Ivey’s land on the north side of the Neuse fell into the eastern portion of Wayne County. His land south of the Neuse was still in Dobbs. He was not on the 1780 Dobbs tax list, so he probably lived on the land in Wayne County. Because Wayne County’s records are well preserved, we have more citations for him after 1779. In fact, there are three references to his Bogue Marsh land in 1780 deeds by others. Then on 12 January 1782 he entered two NC grants for 100 acres adjoining his own lines and 50 acres nearby.[13] On 14 October 1784 he added to his land with a purchase of 150 acres from John Spann (the son of the earlier John Spann).[14] A year later, on 21 September 1785, he bought another 50 acres from another neighbor, Moses Stanley.[15] On 25 April 1786, he entered claims for three NC Grants adjoining or near his land in Wayne County. All three warrants were filed on 11 July 1788.[16] Two grants, totaling 82 acres, adjoined his own land. The third, for 19 acres, was nearby but not adjoining. At about this time, both he and a number of Wayne County neighbors began to buy land just to the south in Duplin County. On 31 December 1785, as Robert Ivey “of Wayne County”, he bought 250 acres on Cow Hole Branch of Burncoat Swamp in Duplin County from George Smith Jr.[17] This land was just over the border near the corner formed by Wayne, Lenoir and Duplin. In fact, in a later sale it was later described as lying “along the Dobbs County line”. He added at least another 450 acres adjoining this tract over the next few years. He clearly never lived on this land, and it appears one or more sons-in-law were actually occupying it.
At this point Robert Ivey had acquired more than 1500 acres in Wayne County that we can account for, more than 150 acres in Lenoir (still Dobbs at this time), and 250 acres in Duplin County, all of which was in the general area where the three counties meet. He had probably sold a portion of the land in Wayne in missing deeds, because we find him on the 1786 Wayne County tax list with one white poll, two black polls, and only 850 acres of land (though we know he had owned at least 300 additional acres). His son John was separately listed with one white poll and no land. His son-in-law Josiah Stafford was listed in Duplin County, apparently living on Robert Ivey’s land there.
In 1789 he sold land to his eldest son John and to his apparent son-in-law Josiah Stafford. On 10 January 1789, Robert Ivey “of Wayne County” sold 250 acres of his land in Duplin County “being where the said Stafford now lives” to Josiah Stafford [18] Just nine days later, on 19 January 1789, as Robert Ivey “of Dobbs County” he sold a total of 747 acres in Wayne County to John Ivey.[19] This land included the separate 19 acre tract patented in 1786 and a 728 acre contiguous tract on Bogue Marsh comprised of several parcels he had patented and purchased. Both deeds were signed with his mark. He apparently retained at least 300 acres in Wayne which he sold in 1791, but clearly moved at this time onto his land in Dobbs County, only a mile or so
from his son John in Wayne County.
He is listed in the 1790 census of Dobbs, with three males over 16, one male under 16, one female and three slaves. His sons Robert, Turner and Charles are evidently in his household. His son John Ivey, along with another male over 16, is listed in the 1790 census for Wayne County consecutively with his father’s former neighbors. The daughters were evidently married by this time, and all three sons-in-law were residing in northeastern Duplin County just a few miles away.
On 20 October 1791 his purchase of 450 acres in Duplin County, was proved on the oath of Josiah Stafford. The deed itself was not found, though it is listed in the grantee index. Robert Ivey sold this land to Josiah Stafford in 1797.[20] In December 1791, the remaining part of Dobbs County was abolished. The southern part, where Robert Ivey’s land lay, became Lenoir County and the northern part became Greene County (initially called Glascow). As Robert Ivey of Lenoir County, he sold the 300 acres in Wayne County he had patented in 1778 to Lewis Whitfield on 8 July 1794. In September that year, still as Robert Ivey of Lenoir County, he made deeds of gift to two daughters in Duplin County, Mary Herring and Chloe Hines, each receiving a negro woman.[21] In 1797 he sold his remaining land in Duplin County to Josiah Stafford and his land in Lenoir to Robert Ivey Jr. I might note at this point that every deed by Robert Ivey was signed with his mark, which helps to distinguish him from his son and nephew, who were also named Robert Ivey, but who signed with their names.
In late 1797 Robert Ivey began acquiring land in Bladen County. On 2 November 1797, as Robert Ivey of Lenoir County, he bought 100 acres on both sides of Brown Marsh Swamp from William Ward “above the Main road adjoining Sarah’s Branch, John Campbell, and William Ward’s rice field”.[22] On 28 November, still as Robert Ivey of Lenoir County, he bought two adjoining parcels totaling 150 acres on Brown Marsh Swamp from William Ward and John Ward.[23] He apparently moved onto this land at about this time, for a year later, on 9 November 1798, he received a grant for another 100 acres on Brown Marsh Swamp. By 1 June 1799, when he bought another 50 acres on Brown Marsh Swamp, he was Robert Ivey of Bladen County. As Robert Ivey Senior, he sold what was apparently his remaining land in Lenoir county to his son Robert Ivey Jr. about 1797-8.[24] Two other lost Lenoir County deeds by Robert Ivey in the same timeframe are to Jean Herring and Sarah Harper.[25]
In 1800 we find him in the Bladen County census. He and his wife were both over 45, with one male 16-26 and one male 26-45. These two males were probably Turner and Charles Ivey, who had both witnessed a sale of land by a neighbor in Bladen County in 1799.[26]
Robert Ivey appears to have died shortly after the 1800 census. Nearly all of Bladen County’s records were destroyed in a series of fires, so there are no records at all of his death or estate. Only some deeds and some wills exist for the period, none of which mention him. However, all 350 acres in Bladen which he had acquired were sold by Charles Ivey to Josiah Stafford on 19 November 1804.[27] Stafford later sold this land to Robert Ivey (Jr.) of Lenoir, who then sold it to Turner Ivey. By 1810, Elizabeth Ivey, apparently the widow of Robert Ivey, is a single head of household in the Bladen census. Turner Ivey, presumably his son, is nearby in his own household. Elizabeth Ivey’s household contains a younger woman (aged 26-45) and two small children, likely the widow and children of a son – possibly those of Charles Ivey.
Elizabeth Ivey’s identity is unknown. It seems likely that the mother of Robert Ivey’s children was a Turner, but I have only one clue to her identity. Stafford descendants have reported to me that there is a Quaker record for the marriage of his daughter to Josiah Stafford which identifies her as the daughter of “Robert Ivey and Elizabeth Turner”, but I have not been able to verify this.
The children seem to be:
1. John Ivey (c1760? – August 1811) He was evidently the eldest son. He first appears on 28
December 1785 as a witness to a Duplin County deed to William Whitfield.[28] He was on the
1786 tax list of Wayne County with one poll and no land. On 6 October 1787 he witnessed a
deed from James Forehand of Duplin County to Lewis Whitfield.[29] On 19 January 1789,
Robert Ivey of Dobbs sold to John Ivey of Wayne County a total of 747 acres comprised of
several of the parcels purchased or patented between 1759 and 1788.[30] John Ivey added to this
land with 100 acres purchased from William Forehand in 1789[31], another 100 acres from
Forehand in 1793[32], 203 acres from Sarsnet Roach in 1796[33], and 100 acres from Joseph
Green in 1797[34]. He sold only one parcel, the 19 acre grant from his father[35], although there
is a lost deed from Lenoir County from John Ivey to Robert Argoe.[36] He owned considerably
more land at his death than can be accounted for by these purchases, thus probably inherited his
father’s remaining Lenoir County land. (A verification would likely be among the lost records of
Lenoir County.) John Ivey was in the 1790 census of Wayne County, with a household of two
males over 16, three males under 16, and three females. He is in the 1800 and 1810 censuses of
Wayne County with a wife and several children, apparently including the Miller children of his
second wife.
He died intestate in August 1811 according to a petition filed by the heirs in October 1812.[37]
His brother Robert Ivey and Graddy Herring were appointed his administrators, filed an inventory
in November 1811, a final accounting in 1814, and were guardians of four of his children.[38]
Only two of the children were of age in 1812, the others being assigned to guardians. His estate
included 1447 acres in Wayne County and 872 acres in Lenoir County, which were divided
among his eight children.[39] Several of the children later sold their shares as residents of other
states.
John Ivey clearly had two wives, one probably the mother of the first six children, the other
mother of the last two, but we have conflicting records of the identity of the first wife. A
great-granddaughter, Mrs. Alice Simkins, stated in a 1937 letter that his wife was a “Miss
Mosely”.[40] However, a contradictory record indicates that she was the daughter of Richard
Hart. General Richard McKinne deposed in 1798 that he knew Richard Hart of Wayne County
until his death in 1791 and that Hart was supported by his son-in-law John Ivey for “some time”
before his death.[41] This would seem to conveniently explain the two eldest sons being named
for their grandfathers. Whoever she was, the first wife must have died around 1805. Sometime
before 1810 John Ivey married a widow named Elizabeth Miller, with three children of her own,
and had two more children by her. The estate papers and guardian records make it clear that
Elizabeth Miller was the mother of the two youngest children, Turner and John. Elizabeth Miller
was likely the widow of Hezekiah Miller, as the final accounting of John Ivey’s estate paid the
guardians of the heirs of Hezekiah Miller for maintenance of the Miller children. Elizabeth Ivey
later married James Skipper[42] and had two more children by him, Kelsey and Elizabeth.[43]
She was paid by the John Ivey estate for boarding and schooling Turner and John Ivey through
the early 1830s. The Ivey seven children named in estate records were the following.
Guardianship records exist for the five children who were minors in 1812.[44]
1.1. Robert Ivey (c1787 – 6 June 1870) The eldest child, he was of age when his father died and
was guardian of his infant brothers John and Turner. He appears in the 1810 census of Wayne
County, probably with a brother in the household.[45] He sold his inherited land on 30
September 1820[46] and relinquished the guardianship in January 1821.[47] According to Mrs.
Simkins, he moved to Alabama.[48] He may have been the Robert Ivey in the 1830 census of
Monroe County in 1830, whose household seems to be consistent.[49] He is in neighboring
Conecuh County by 1835, receiving the first of several grants[50] and appearing in the 1840
census.[51] In 1850 and 1860, he is age 65 and age 72, respectively, born in North Carolina.
These censuses show a wife named Rachel (born c1797 in North Carolina) and children named
Jane (c1827), Martha (c1831), Mary (c1834), Serena (c1837), Robert (c1840), and Joshua
(c1842) all born in Alabama. Next door in 1850 is a Turner Ivey (25 October 1817 – 13 May
1871), born in North Carolina, who is probably his eldest son.[52] His gravestone is in the Old
Ivey Cemetery. A family record identifies two older daughters named Ada (c1819) and Nancy
(c1816), both born in North Carolina, the wives of James T. Higdon and Royal Bennett
Higdon.[53] It seems highly likely that another child was John Ivey (c1821), located next door to
James Higdon in 1850.[54] Perhaps Richard Ivey (c1825) was the final son suggested by the
1830-40 census. At least one more daughters born 1820-1825 is suggested by census records.
1.2. Richard Ivey (c1789 – Feb 1832) married Alice West and remained in Wayne County. His
will is dated 2 February 1832 in Wayne County.[55] The will leaves his estate to his wife Alice
providing she raise and educate all the children until they reached 21 or married. The children
named were Edith, Mary, Nancy (Herring), Elizabeth, Richard, Robert, Jeanette, and John.
1.3. Joshua Ivey (c1794 – ?) He was not yet 21 at his father’s death, for he was represented by
his guardian in the 1812 petition. He sold his inherited land in 1820 jointly with his brother
Robert. He appears in the 1820 Wayne County census, apparently newly married with two young
females, but is in no records thereafter. He evidently moved elsewhere, perhaps to Alabama with
his brother Robert. He may be the Joshua Ivey who appears in the 1830 census of Lowndes
County, Alabama as age 30-40 with a household consistent with that of 1820. He was not found
in 1840 or 1950.
1.4. Edith Ivey (c1800? – ?) married Gregory Thomas and remained in the Lenoir/Wayne area,
according to Mrs. Simkins.
1.5. Elizabeth Ivey (c1798 – ?) Her uncle Robert Ivey was her guardian through early 1817,
when Graddy Herring became her guardian, It appears she married a son of Philip Miller, was
widowed and then remarried to her first cousin Furnifold Ivey, son of her uncle Robert Ivey.
(See separate page on ten family of Robert Ivey Jr.)
1.6. Sarah Ivey (10 May 1804 – 4 Nov 1889) Her guardian Graddy Herring filed accounts for
her through early 1823. She married Benajah Herring, son of Benjamin and Ann Williams
Herring, and remained in the Lenoir/Wayne area.
1.7. John E. Ivey (c1810 – 5 February 1873) John’s guardian was his brother Robert, but his
guardianship records show annual payments to Elizabeth Skipper for his maintenance, indicating
he actually lived with his mother. After Robert Ivey moved to Alabama, Major Stanley became
his guardian until January 1826, when Benajah Herring became his guardian. Annual accountings
were filed through 1829. On 8 June 1832 he sold the land he had inherited and disappeared from
Wayne records.[56] He is probably the same John Ivey who moved to Haywood County,
Tennessee with Turner Ivey about that time. He appears in the 1850, 1860, and 1870 censuses
with the middle initial “E.” and a wife named Sarah. (There was evidently a first wife named
Sarah who died in 1856, and a second wife named Sarah who died in 1884.[57]) According to a
church record, he died on the above date.[58] His children, according to censuses, were: Robert
(c1833), Narcissa (c1836), Harriet (c1838), John (c1840), James W. (c1842), Mary (c1844),
Turner (c1846), Nancy E. (c1847), Sarah A. (c1850), Edith B. (c1851), and Thomas E. (June
1860).
1.8. Turner Ivey (c1811 – aft 1880) Like John, he also lived with his mother according to his
guardian accounts. Richard Ivey became his guardian and filed annual accountings through 1833.
On 18 September 1833, as Turner Ivey of Haywood County, Tennessee he sold his inherited land
in Wayne County to his aunt Alice Ivey.[59] He is in the 1840 Haywood County census, but
apparently moved to nearby Yell County, Arkansas by 1845. [At least one member of the Herring
family followed the same migration path through Haywood, then Yell County.] The 1850 Yell
County census shows the three eldest children born in Tennessee, the next three in Arkansas. He
also appears in the 1860 through 1880 censuses of Yell County. His wife’s name is Mary in
census records, though she evidently died before 1880. From censuses, his children were: Sarah
(c1836), John (c1839), Charles (c1840), Robert (c1845), Elizabeth (c1846), Hillary H. (May
1850[60]), Julia (c1852), Susan (c1854), Joseph (c1855), and George (c1858).
2. Robert Ivey (15 Feb 1769 – 5 April 1847) He married Elizabeth West, daughter of John
West, by bond dated 9 August 1793 in Craven County. He was deeded land by his father in
Lenoir County in 1797-8 (see above) and resided in Lenoir through early 1817. He appears in
both Craven and Wayne County records as a resident of Lenoir County from 1800 through early
1817, mainly as administrator of his brother John Ivey’s estate, and guardian of Edith and
Elizabeth Ivey, his nieces. In early 1817 he relinquished guardianship to Graddy Herring, sold his
land, and removed to Baldwin County, Georgia. His son Barna’s family Bible contains birth and
death dates for both him and his wife. (See separate page on Robert Ivey Jr.)
3. Turner Ivey (c1775 – late 1830s) Turner and Charles Ivey both first appear witnessing a
deed in Bladen County for land near Robert Ivey in 1799.[61] He was probably the male aged
26-45 in Robert Ivey’s household in 1800. Turner appears to have married about that time, as his
eldest child was born about 1800. In 1809, Josiah Stafford sold him the former lands of Robert
Ivey Sr. which Stafford had purchased from Charles Ivey.[62] Turner was head of a Bladen
household in 1810, he and his wife both 26-45, with one male under 10. His other children may
have been those in the household of Elizabeth Ivey. In 1814, Josiah Stafford deeded Robert Ivey
of Lenoir 175 acres on Thomas Bryans Bay in Bladen, and the following day Robert Ivey deeded
the land to Turner Ivey.[63] Turner appears in the 1820 and 1830 censuses of Bladen, with three
children. He appears in Bladen deed records during this period, but apparently died in the late
1830s. Although there are no records of his death remaining in Bladen, in 1839 his daughter
Elizabeth sold her interest in “my part of all the land my father Turner Ivey was in possession of at
the time of his death” to her brothers Charles and John Ivey.[64] The widow, Alice, appeared in
both the 1840 and 1850 censuses, aged 70 in 1850. The sons John Ivey (born ca1800) and
Charles (born ca1802) did not marry, but were partners together in numerous ventures. Both
died in Bladen County at advanced ages in the late 1800s. The daughter Elizabeth (born ca 1815)
married Hillary Pate and also remained in Bladen County.
3.1. John Ivey (c1808 – 1887) He never married, and lived with his sister Elizabeth in his old
age.
3.2. Charles Ivey (c1812 – c1890) Also unmarried, he lived with Elizabeth as well.
3.3. Elizabeth Ivey (? – ?) Married Hillary Pate, remained in Bladen County.
4. Charles Ivey (c1775 – ?) He was probably the youngest child, the male under 16 in his
father’s 1790 household. Charles Ivey witnessed two deeds in Bladen County in 1799: the first
mentioned above and the second his father’s purchase from John McKay. He was probably the
male aged 18-26 in Robert Ivey’s household in 1800. He witnessed another deed in 1800 for land
on Brown Marsh Swamp. In 1804 he sold Robert Ivey’s Bladen County land to Josiah Stafford,
and apparently moved to Lenoir county. In 1810 Turner Ivey sold a slave to Charles Ivey of
Lenoir County, with John Ivey a witness.[65] It appears that Charles, and possibly a wife, were
residing in Robert Ivey Jr.’s household in 1810, but there are no further records of him that I have
found.
5. Chloe Ivey (c1765? – ?) On 26 September 1794 Robert Ivey of Lenoir County made a
deed of gift of a female slave to his daughter Chloe Hines of Duplin County.[66] She was the
wife of Daniel Hines, according to the family Bible of their son Lewis Hines[67], apparently
married in the mid 1780s from the ages of the children. Daniel Hines was in the 1790 census of
Duplin County with one male under 16, two males over 16, and three females. Chloe may have
died in the 1820s, if it was the same Daniel Hines who married Nancy McCurdy in Duplin County
on 20 January 1829.
6. Mary Ivey (c1770? – ?) On 6 September 1794 Robert Ivey of Lenoir County made a deed
of gift of a female slave to his daughter Mary Herring of Duplin County.[68] The deed was
proved by Lewis Herring, though he was not a witness to it and therefore presumably the husband
of the recipient. Mary was indeed the wife of Lewis Herring, who was born about 1765,
according to descendants. They must have been married before 1790, as she was not in her
father’s household in 1790, and Lewis Herring had his own household in 1790 (with two males
under 16 and two females) in Duplin County. Their children included at least Ivey Herring,
William Herring, and John Herring. John Herring, who was born 2 February 1789, joined Barna
Ivey in Barbour County, Alabama where he died.
7. Sarah Ivey (c1760? – after 1800) Almost certainly another daughter, she was the first wife
of Josiah Stafford (see above). The records of the Quaker Meeting in Pasquotank County show
that a Sarah Ivy was received by request into membership on 21 March 1781 and was reported as
married to Josiah Stafford on 16 May 1781.[69] This appears to be the same Josiah Stafford of
Dobbs County, who evidently reported the marriage to his parents’ Quaker meeting. In 1820, he
applied for a Revolutionary war pension in Giles County, Tennessee in which he stated he was
born in North Carolina in 1757, enlisted from Dobbs County in 1777 and served three years.[70]
He died 16 May 1835 in Bedford County, Tennessee. A son named Ivey Stafford was born
ca1788. Josiah Stafford seems to have been an active member of the Ivey family. He witnessed
deeds to Robert Ivey in Duplin County, and apparently lived on Robert Ivey’s land there, which
Robert Ivey later deeded to him 1789. He was evidently in Duplin County through 1800, but by
1804 he was residing in Bladen County, when Charles Ivey deeded him land. The last record I
found for him in Bladen is the 1814 deed to Robert Ivey Jr. Although his son Ivey Stafford left
many descendants who trace the Stafford family back to a Pasquotank Quaker family, the other
children of Sarah Ivey and Josiah Stafford are uncertain. Only Merrill (age 20), Polly (age 18)
and Joel (age 16) were living with him when he applied for his pension in 1820.
8. Jean Ivey? (c1770? – ?) There may have been another daughter, possibly the wife of
Graddy Herring. Graddy Herring was the brother of the Lewis Herring who married Mary Ivey,
both sons of Michael Herring and Charity Graddy. There was certainly some connection with the
Ivey family, as Graddy Herring, with Robert Ivey, was administrator of the estate of John Ivey,
and was guardian of two of John Ivey’s children. I have found no mention of his wife’s name in
any record. She may have been Jean Herring, as there is a lost deed recorded about 1797-8 in
Lenoir County from Robert Ivey to Jean Herring.[71] Robert Ivey had made deeds of gift to two
of his three known daughters in 1794. It is possible that the deed to Jean Herring was another
such gift. Graddy Herring moved to Barbour County, Alabama sometime in the early 1830s. One
of his sons, Ichabod Herring, married Nancy Ivey, daughter of Richard Ivey and Alice West, and
is later found in Haywood County, Tennessee. Note that a son of Robert Ivey Jr. and
descendants of the Lenoir County Davis family were in Barbour County at about the same time as
Graddy Herring, and that both John and Turner Ivey were in Haywood County at about the same
time as Ichabod Herring.
[1] Recorded in lost Deed Book 5, p129 according to grantee index and p295 according to
grantor index. This is probably a single deed.
[2] Recorded in lost Deed Book 6, p129 and p100, respectively. Both deeds appear in both the
grantee and grantor indices.
[3] It’s not clear which of two John Spanns this was. The Spanns were from Northampton
County.
[4] Filed at NC Archives as PC 1828.1, a manila folder of 18 loose original papers, mostly deeds.
This collection was apparently in the possession of the family of Richard Ivey, as it contains his
original will. Richard Ivey was a son of John Ivey, who was the son of this Robert Ivey.
[5] The 1750 Quit Rent roll of Johnston County shows William Stanley and Robert Parks
occupying a 560 acre parcel which was evidently patented by Robert Parks. John Spann bought
this land from Robert Parks – a deed in Anson County Book 1, p326 indicates that John Spann
had bought “other lands in Johnston County” from Robert Parks. The 490 acres John Spann sold
to Robert Ivey was evidently part of this 560 acre parcel. This John Spann was the son of John
Spann of Bertie County.
[6] Colony of NC Abstracts of Land Patents 1734-1764, Volume II, Margaret M. Hofman, (The
Roanoke News Company, 1982), p 446.
[7] NC Patent Book 23, p178 (Richard Sarsnet, 26 Oct 1767) and Patent Book 20, p421
(Jonathon Stanley, 4 May 1769) both patents described as adjoining Robert Ivey.
[8] Recorded in lost Deed Book 8, p 289 and Book 10, p 408, respectively
[9] Dobbs County Patent Entry Book 1, p170 (Patent #170).
[10] Dobbs County Patent Entry Book 4, p144 (Patent #935).
[11] Recorded in lost Deed Book 13, p 355. (Recorded ca1780-89)
[12] North Carolina Revolutionary Army Accounts, Volume IX, Book B, #5322. Another
mention of the same item is in Book A, p2. The item appears among a list of accounts for the
Committee of Safety of Kinston (then called Kingston), apparently approved for payment in May
and June 1776.
[13] Wayne County, NC Grant entries #85 and #86
[14] Wayne County Deed Book 2, p77.
[15] Wayne County Deed Book 3, p62.
[16] Wayne County Deed Book 4, p299-303.
[17] Duplin County Deed Book 1A, p331.
[18] Duplin County Deed Book E, p162.
[19] Wayne County Deed Book 4, p501.
[20] Duplin County Deed Book K-19, p375.
[21] Duplin County Deed Book 3A, p123 and p125, respectively.
[22] Bladen County Deed Book 7, p78.
[23] Bladen County Deed Book 7, p76 and p77.
[24] Lost deed from Lenoir County Deed Book 17, p 363 according to grantor index (recorded
c1797-98).
[25] Lost deeds from Lenoir County Deed Book 18, p265 & 382 according to grantor index
(recorded c1798-99). Sarah Harper was evidently the wife of Jesse Harper Sr. She was dead by
1803-5. Jean Herring is unknown.
[26] Bladen County Deed Book 7, p208 (sale by Frances Lawson, who had previously owned
Ivey’s land.)
[27] Bladen County Deed Book 27, p235.
[28] Duplin County Deed Book 1A, p412. (Other witnesses were John Barfield and Bryan
Whitfield, neighbors of Robert Ivey Sr.)
[29] Wayne County Deed Book 4, p5.
[30] Wayne County Deed Book 4, p501.
[31] Wayne County Deed Book 4, p499.
[32] Ivey Family Papers, dated 27 Jan 1793
[33] Ivey Family Papers, dated 15 Jan 1796.
[34] Ivey Family Papers, dated 28 Jan 1797.
[35] Wayne County DB 5E, p247 On 7 August 1795, to Lewis Whitfield.
[36] Lenoir County Grantor Index, Deed Book 23, page 80. Recorded ca 1806, as book has 485
pages.
[37] NC Archives, Loose Papers, Box CR 103.508.xxx “I”
[38] Ibid. All records filed as loose papers in the same box.
[39] Ibid., division of real estate dated 7 December 1812
[40] Colonists of Carolina in the Lineage of W. D. Humphrey, Blanche Humphrey Abee (Byrd
Press, 1938). This information was later repeated in George Franks Ivey’s book.
[41] American Loyalist Claims Files in NC Archives under call #Z5.139N
[42] Wayne County Deed Book 11, p219 “Elizabeth Skipper,widow of John Ivey”
[43] Wayne County Deed Book 11, p219.
[44] Found among John Ivey’s loose estate records at the NC Archives
[45] 110010 – 20100. The male 10-16 is likely his brother John Ivey.
[46] Wayne County Deed Book 12, p202. (Robert and Joshua Ivey jointly sold their lands to
Jesse Wood.)
[47] Loose papers, John Ivey estate, NC Archives.
[48] Mrs. Alice Simkins, mentioned earlier, writing in 1937 of the children of John Ivey, includes
“Robert Ivey, who married and moved to Alabama.” This was published in Colonists of Carolina
in the Lineage of W. D. Humphrey (Blanche Humphrey Abee, Byrd Press, 1938). Mrs. Simkins
separately identified Robert Ivey as being of Conecuh County, Alabama and named the children.
Whether this was a guess on her part or came from some family record is unknown. However,
she was related closely enough that she might be presumed to have some first-hand knowledge.
[49] Household: 0210001-211001. This is a near-perfect fit with 1840 and later. Note that a
Josiah Ivy, age 50-60, appears in Monroe County in 1830 as well. He does not appear to be
related.
[50] BLM Records, Cert. No. 18276
[51] Household: 10020001-2130001
[52] The 1850 census actually gives Turner Ivey’s birthplace as South Carolina, but later censuses
are consistently North Carolina. By 1860 he had named a son Robert.
[53] Records of Rachael Margaret Higdon, Mobile Genealogical Society, courtesy of Doris
Fleming. These records included a family Bible.
[54] I also note that John Ivey and his wife Mary Ann had one child in 1850, Rachel, apparently
named for his mother.
[55] Ivey Family Papers (NC Archives, PC 1828.1)
[56] Wayne County Deed Book 15, p405.
[57] Zion Baptist Church records, as summarized on Haywood County Rootsweb website.
[58] Ibid.
[59] Wayne County Deed Book 16, p60.
[60] His birth in 1900 is given as May 1851, but he appears as age 1 in the 1850 census, 11 in
1860 and 21 in 1870. I conclude his birth year was either 1849 or 1850, but not 1851.
[61] Bladen County Deed Book 7, p208 (4 Jan 1799, Frances Lawson to Joseph Screws.)
[62] Bladen County Deed Book 12, p239 and Deed Book 29, p240. (Recorded twice.)
[63] Bladen County Deed Book 7, p544 and Deed Book 30, p508, respectively. The latter
recorded 1832.
[64] Bladen County Deed Book 14, p473.
[65] Wayne County Deed Book 9, p216.
[66] Duplin County Deed Book 3A, p125. (Proved by Daniel Hines, who was not a witness.)
[67] Bible in the possession of Art Chambers of Liddell, Lenoir Co., NC records the parents of
Lewis Hines (born 22 May 1802) as “Dan” and “Cloey” Hines.
[68] Duplin County Deed Book 3A, p123.
[69] Encyclopedia of American Quaker Genealogy, Vol. 1, William Wade Henshaw (Genealogical
Publishing Co., 1978), both entries on page 143.
[70] Rev. Pension file #S39091.
[71] The grantee/grantor index shows this deed recorded in Lenoir County Deed Book 18, p265.
The deed book itself is destroyed, but it must have been recorded 1798-1799 from the location in
the index.