Darden Family History, with Notes on Ancestry of Allied Families
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Gc 929.2 D2454d 1281113 i i. genealogy rou action DARDEN FAMILY HISTORY with notes on ANCESTRY OF ALLIED FAMILIES Washington, Lanier, Burch, Strozier, Dodson, Pyles, McNair, Barnett A Memorial of Dearden-Durden-Dardens of the United States of America, particularly in Virginia, Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, and Texas Compiled by Newton Jasper Darden Washington, D.C. 1953 Edited, Revised, and Enlarged by Leroy W. Tilton Literary Trustee and Executor of the Estate of Newton Jasper Darden 1957 1281113 / COLONEL STEPHEN HEARD DARDEN (1816-1902) / $ LL (Reproduced from steel engraving, circa 1880) See PART TWO, Branch F, Section 2 FOREWORD This family history is written primarily to record the ancestry of the children of Samuel Conazine Darden (1840-1927) of Union County, Mississippi. This is given in PART ONE for the direct Darden line (A), and in PART TWO the collateral Darden branch lines (B to J) are given in order to interrelate almost all Darden descendants of George Dearden (cal705-cal748) and his wife Anne of Brunswick County, Virginia. In PARTS ONE and TWO each Darden descendant is designated by at least two num¬ bers (usually of one digit each) and a capital letter in order to distinguish among those of like given names and to show interrelationships. The first number indicates the order of birth in a particular family. The last number shows the generation in descent from Richard Dearden as "AO." The capital letter "A" is used for direct ancestors and near relatives of Newton Jasper Darden. Other capital letters designate various collateral branches on which data were collec¬ ted. The addition of lower case "a", "b", or "c" indicates descent through first, second, or third marriage. This notation is a simple application of an elaborate system called the "Differential Index", devised by Mr. Newton Jasper Darden, the Compiler, for genealogies in particular but applicable to all forms of classification and differentiation. The separation of the branch or collateral lineages of PART TWO from the pri¬ mary lineage of PART ONE follows the plan outlined by Mr. Darden for this genealogy. In a history covering relatively few generations, it has the merit of keeping closely together the accounts of nearly related families. PART THREE, giving notes on maternal lines, relates to the primary Darden lin¬ eage in PART ONE and to the branches in PART TWO. Like PARTS ONE and TWO, the results seem based on careful study by the Compiler. PART FOUR contrasts with preceding portions of the volume in that (1) it indicates a possible unified early colonial ancestry for all Dardens and Durdens, and (2) it freely accepts numerous unsupported statements made to the Compiler, utilizes circumstancial evidence in numerous cases, and even gives weight to tradition (wherever record evidence seems lacking) in order to present tentative relationships that may stimulate further search and study. In PART FOUR, and indeed throughout the volume, no claims are made for completeness. All results rest chiefly on data collected by the Compiler because limitations are imposed on further searches. The Editor has endeavored to present conflicting evidence fairly, but the division of work and responsibility has probably resulted in some error. Mr. Newton J, Darden, the Compiler, expresses in his notes, written during the course of over half a century, some varied and partially conflicting opinions concerning the antecedents of the Dardens in America. After a study of the data, the Editor endorses some of the views expressed by Mr. Darden on page 39 of his MSS Book CC, where, under date of November 16, 1928, he says, "Information gleaned from many sources .... leads to the conclusion that all Virginia Durden-Deardens were of the same family .... others called Dardens appear to be related to the Durdens of Isle of Wight and Nansemond Counties, Virginia, .... It is believed that all Virginia and Maryland Durdens before 1700 .... probably belonged to the same emigrant family." The abbreviations used will be readily understood by context except DGA, DGB, etc., which refer to bound volumes A, B, etc., in the Compiler's collection of Darden Genealogica filed in the Washington, D.C., offices of the national socie¬ ties of the D.A.R. and S.A.R. Editor v ' CONTENTS Page English Origins . ±x Early Colonial Records of Dardens in America . x Richard Dearden and Mary (Jones) Williams . xi PART ONE. Primary Lineage of Dardens of Union County, Mississippi Generation I George Dearden (1A1) and Anne Brunswick County, Virginia . 1 Generation II George Deardin-Darden (1A2) and Martha Burch Virginia, Georgia, and Kentucky . 4 Generation III George Darden (1A3) and Elizabeth Strozier Georgia and Alabama.12 Generation IV Simeon Darden (10A4) and Essie Dotson Alabama and Mississippi . 19 Generation V Samuel Conazine Darden (8A5) and Martha Jane Barnett Alabama and Mississippi. 29 Generation VI Children of Samuel Conazine Darden (8A5) . 32 Generation VII Grandchildren of Samuel Conazine Darden (8A5) . 39 PART TWO. Darden Branches of Primary Lineage Branch B John Darden (2A3) of Georgia, and Descendants . 45 Branch C David Darden (6A3) of Georgia and Mississippi, and Descendants.49 Branch D Buckner Darden (7A3) of Georgia and Mississippi, and Descendants.61 Branch E James Darden (8A3) of Virginia and Georgia, and Descendants.67 Branch F Washington Darden (10A3) of Georgia, Mississippi, and Texas, and Descendants.75 Branch G Burch Darden (2A4) of Georgia and Alabama, and Descendants ... 81 Branch H Lemuel Darden (4A4) of Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and Texas, and Descendants.87 Branch I David Darden (9A4) of Georgia and Alabama, and Descendants ... 95 Branch J James Lanier Darden (12A4) of Alabama and Mississippi, and Descendants.99 PART THREE. Maternal Lines and Allied Families Line I Washington Ancestry of Elizabeth (Washington) Lanier . 101 Line II Lanier Ancestry of Eliza (Lanier) Burch . 105 Line III Burch Ancestry of Martha (Burch) Darden . 107 Line IV Strozier Ancestry of Elizabeth (Strozier) Darden . 115 Line V Dodson Ancestry of Esse (Dotson) Darden.117 Line VI Pyles Ancestry of Sarah (Pyles) Dotson . 123 Line VII McNair Ancestry of Margaret (McNair) Barnett . 125 Line VIII Barnett Ancestry of Martha Jane (Barnett) Darden . 127 3ART FOUR. Tentative Interrelation of Darden Families of America Group I Six Generations of Durden-Dardens in Virginia.131 Group II Early Dardens in Maryland.155 Group III Dardens in North Carolina.157 Group IV Darden Settlers in South Carolina . 161 Group V Migrations of Dardens to Tennessee.163 Group VI Migrations of Dardens to Georgia.167 VX1 ENGLISH ORIGINS DARDEN is a fairly common name in the United States of America. It is derived from the Welsh "Dearden" or the English "Durden.” These names were brought to America by emigrants from Great Britain. The following are opinions concerning the name: Dearden, Darden.—Local of Dearden, or Duerden, or Durden. The precise spot seems to be Dearden, near Edenfield, Bury, co. Lancaster. The surname clung for a long time to the immediate district, as will be seen from the subjoined references: 1646, Robert Durden of Whitfield; 1640, George Durden of Love Clough, Wilts at Chester; 1631, Edward Duerden of Castleton; 1630, Elizabeth Dearden of Middletown; 1599, Thomas Dearden was Rector of Bury, Bains, Lancaster. (Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, by Charles Waring Bardsley, M.A., London, 1901.) Dearden.—Evidently local, perhaps from a place so called near Edenfield, in Bury, co. Lancaster. The Deardens of Rochdale Manor claim descent from Elias de Duerden, temp., Henry VI, but so early as the sixteenth century the name of Durden, Durdent, or Duredent is variously applied to a certain Knight who may have been a progenitor of the family. (Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom, by Mark Antony Lower, M.A.; F.S.A.) Dearden of the Orchard.—The ancient and modern pronunciation of the name of this family by natives of Lancashire, is Du-er-den; and Jacob in his Law Dictionary interprets it as a "thicket of wood" in a valley, giving Cowell as his authority. (Landed Gentry, by J. Bernard Burke, 1851.) Elias de Dureden was the lineal ancestor of Ottivell Deurden, of Whitfield in the parish of Roachdale, who is mentioned in a lease of lands granted to his son, Oliver Deurden, living at Whitfield in the tenth year of Henry VIII. Richard Deurden succeeded to lands at Whitfield and resigned them to his son James by deed in 1574. This Richard, buried at Roachdale in 1586, left issue (1) James, his heir, and (2) Thomas, Curate of Rochdale Manor, who in his will of 1621 names 4 sons and 2 daughters. An interesting and very different possible origin of some American Durdens is suggested by Herbert Robertson's account of the English name Durdin (p. 62 of his Stemmata Robertson et Durdin). A Norman family of De Verdon settled at an early date in Essex where Durdins are found—at least as early as the 16th century. John Durdin, born in Essex circa 1590, migrated to Ireland in 1639 with a son Michael (b. in Essex cal615) and probably other children, and settled at Glanmire in co. Cork. When the Rebellion broke out, John and his family fled, in 1641 or 1642, to Norwich where his youngest child Mary was born in 1649 and baptised in St. George's Church. Michael returned to Cork and married Mary (or Anne) Cotten and their grandson Richard Durdin (b. 1746/7) settled at Huntingdon, Pennsylvania. It is evident that Stephen Durden or Dardon, who received his first grant in Virginia in 1649, could have been a son of John Durdin of Cork and Norwich and brother to Michael who was born in Essex circa 1615. The given names among the early families in Virginia seem in better accord with this Norman origin in Essex than with a Welsh tradition in Lancaster.