WILLIAM LEWIS of Horry County, South Carolina By MARY LEWIS STEVENSON CONTENTS PREFACE TO THE DIGTIAL EDITION .......................................................................... iii FOREWORD ..........................................................................................................................iv INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................vi Chapter I — William Lewis of Horry County ..................................................................... 1 Chapter II — The Eleven Children of William Lewis ....................................................... 13 Chapter III — Descendants of William Lewis .................................................................... 27 Chapter IV — Descendants of James Lewis ........................................................................ 30 Chapter V — Descendants of Isaac Lewis ........................................................................... 31 Chapter VI — Descendants of Hardy Lewis ....................................................................... 36 Chapter VII — Descendants of Jonathan Lewis ................................................................. 60 Chapter VIII — Descendants of Joel Lewis ........................................................................ 74 Chapter IX — Descendants of Patrick Lewis ................................................................ 86 Chapter X —Descendants of Polly Lewis and Averitt Nichols ........................................ 134 Chapter XI — Descendants of Zilpha Lewis and William Gerrald ................................. 147 Chapter XII — Descendants of Sally Lewis and Elias Nichols ........................................ 152 Appendix I ............................................................................................................................ 154 PREFACE TO THE DIGITAL EDITION In the fifty-plus years since my Aunt Lottie (Charlotte Lewis Stevenson) published her mother’s research, the digital age of the internet has spurred new revelations regarding the origins of the Lewis families in Horry County. Several years ago, I scanned the original book, added some corrections and a few additions that my Aunt Foy had assembled, and now make it accessible to all who want a digital copy. As discussed in the Foreword, the challenge of preparing a truly updated version is compounded by the use of present tense in so many places, based on the original work done by my grandmother, Mary Lewis Stevenson, circa 1942. Much of the color and quaintness of her expressions would be lost if the narrative were filtered and replaced by cold names and dates. So for now, only a few corrections and updates have been inserted. It is hoped that making this available again to the wider family will spur suggestions for improvements. Any who can provide suggestions, corrections and additions are welcome to forward them to me, and I will assemble new revisions as needed. I did add new chapters on the descendants of William Lewis, Jr., James Lewis, and Sally Lewis Nichols, based on internet research. When I could locate missing names and dates using simple internet searches, I added them. But for the most part the book is still as it was written, poised for input from those who want to help keep it up to date. Recently available research by J. D. Lewis1 and Sally Moore Koestler2 have uncovered a more complete understanding of the family of William Lewis of Horry County and his father, also William Lewis, of North Carolina. Also a careful genealogical study3 was published by members of the family. It summarizes some still unanswered questions and discusses how some mistakes may have crept into the record. Rather than editing the original Chapter I, an Addendum is attached which includes information from these and other sources. Also an Appendix was added with both old and modern maps of the Lewis lands and home place at Sandy Bluff, Horry County, South Carolina. William Lewis Johnson 207 Village Lane New Wilmington, Pennsylvania 16142 [email protected] April, 2010 1 My Neck of the Woods: The Lewis Families of Southeastern North Carolina and Northeastern South Carolina by J. D. Lewis, Genealogical Publishing, 2005 2 http://www.sallysfamilyplace.com/Neighbors/vanpelt2.htm 3 The Ancestors and Descendants of Olin Lewis of Horry County, South Carolina by Fred Herbert Lewis and Alice Milligan Marlowe, 1987, updated 1996 (self published). iii FOREWORD My mother, Mary Lewis Stevenson, the writer of this volume, about 1938 began recording her family recollections and collecting data on her Lewis kin- dred. Her manuscript was complete and almost ready for publication some years before her death on November 18, 1949. However, because of publica- tion costs and lack of opportunity at that time for final preparation of the ma- terial for printing, her notes were stored to await editing and publishing at a more convenient time. Only now, eleven years later, has the opportunity come to me to ready her work for publication. Most of the material remains as she herself wrote it, unchanged and unre- vised as to the time element. Hence, the use of the present tense in her narra- tive will involve many present-day discrepancies as to occupation, residence, offspring, and other elements subject to change. It should be clear that she is speaking of persons, facts, and conditions as they existed at the time of writ- ing, about 1942. To revise the entire book, trace all branches of the family up to the present time, and rewrite the history from a 1960 viewpoint would have been a time-consuming and involved undertaking. Besides, the work is the product of my mother's thought and effort, already long overdue for publish- ing. I have attempted to add current data relating only to descendants of the Daniel Lewis line, since that information was more readily available than any other and obtaining it occasioned little delay. With other lines of descendancy traced to a point within readers' ready knowledge and memory, it will not be difficult for each branch to supply sufficient supplemental data to constitute complete and current individual family records. James Daniel Lewis, who inherited the land records of William, Patrick, Daniel, and William Patrick Lewis, found among them a deed which shows that the father of William Lewis was William Lewis of Albemarle County, Bertie precinct, North Carolina, a leather worker, who married the daughter of Thomas Banks, also of Bertie precinct, sometime before 1736. The area of North Carolina was originally included in Virginia. Bertie precinct was estab- lished in 1722 from part of Albemarle County, which extended from Virginia to the Cape Fear River and Clarendon County. Thomas Banks on Nov. 10, 1736, issued a deed of gift which reads in part as follows: iv ". Greetings. Know ye that I Thomas Banks of the Precinct of Bertie for sundry good causes and considerations me hereunto moving but more particular for the good will and Effection which I have & do bear to my son in Law William Lewis of Bertie Precinct Cordwainer4 I have and hereby do give, grant, transfer, assign, and set over unto my said son in law William Lewis and his heirs and assigns forever one certain Plantation & Tract of Land lyeing & being in Bertie prect aforesaid Chinckapen Neck Containing by Estimation two hundred acres (more or lefs) Bounded thus Viz Beginning at a marked Oak Thence running along a line of mark trees to John Vanpelt's land it being my Plantation in Plum tree Neck formerly Conveyed to Abraham Bewlet from William Bush as Records will appear." This deed was registered at the November Court in 1736, entered with I. W. Wynns, C. M., May 7, 1739. The document was witnessed by Thos. Lee, Jurat, and Isaac Lewis. The reference to the Van Pelt property is interesting, as it may furnish a clue to the ancestry of Mourning Van Pelt Lewis. Had this information been at hand earlier, research could have been done on the parents of the South Carolina pioneers. CHARLOTTE STEVENSON 309 Wateree Avenue Columbia, S. C. March, 1960 4 A cordwainer is a leather worker or shoemaker v INTRODUCTION As the senior member of my immediate family, many inquiries have been directed to me about the family history. Older persons who had interested themselves in family relationships had passed away and, though this subject had never held particular interest for me, I realized a chronicle of this sort was needed. I regret that those more competent to make this study did not make a written record before this time. My father, Daniel Lewis, about 1880, wrote a rather long account at the request of one of the relatives "in the West," which would have been invaluable. He was told that it was to become a part of a book on the family history. Though I had opportunity to see his paper, I did not take advantage of it, for my interest had never been in genealogy until I realized a few years ago that as the only surviving great-granddaughter of the pioneer, the little knowledge I possessed about his family would perish with me. My brother, William Patrick Lewis, has been helpful, and I acknowledge indebtedness to those who have informed me about their families. After I dictated my own recollections, I wrote present-day representatives of the various branches of the family for their records, and then my daughters gave such time as they could spare to search old South Carolina records, where these were available. In the course of research, others of the