HUMPHREYS GENEALOGY Some descendants of John Humphreys, of Chester County, Pennsylvania, ten generations of whom have made their home in the Southern States. By ALLAN SPARROW HUMPHREYS FAYETTEVILLE.ARKANSAS TRADITIONS CONCERNING THE ORIGIN OF THE HUMPHREYS FAMILY All branches of the family believe that they are WELSH. Tradition recorded by Rebecca (Humphreys) Parker, born 23 July 1853, Anderson Co., S. C. "Col. Humphreys was an officer who was with William the Con­ queror in all his wars in England. For his service William gave him a large land grant in Sussex. From this man all Humphreys in America are descended. Following our branch, Daniel Humphreys, a Presby­ terian preacher came over and settled at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He raised six children-bavid, Solomon, Elijah, Benjamin, Katie and Polly. David was our great grandfather. He came to North Carolina and there married Martha Word. Solomon and Elijah never married. They moved to Tennessee where Solomon was a physician of great fame. Benjamin married and moved to Tennessee and was lost sight of all the others. Katie married Drury McGee and Polly married a Halbert." Tradition recorded by Sally (Humphreys) Boyett, born 5 Feb. 1844, Pickens County, S. C. "The Humphreys family came to America from Wales ten years before the Revolutionary War. Coming over were David, Daniel, and Benjamin, and they were the only Humphreys in America at that time. David settled in North Carolina, Daniel in Virginia, and Benjamin in Baltimore, Maryland. They were pure Welsh." Tradition printed in MEMORIAL AND GENEALOGICAL REC­ ORD OF SOUTHWEST TEXAS, Goodspeed, 1894. Taken from biography of Benjamin Wayne Humphreys, born 27 Nov. 1816, Williamson Co., Tennessee. "The Humphreys family was founded in this country by Humphrey Jones (with a handle to it), who left Wales on account of some political trouble in the time of Cromwell and the Charleses. For some reason he had his name reversed. The Southern branch has added the letter "s." To the hundreds of HUMPHREYS DAUGHTERS whose thousands of descendants bearing other surnames we have not found it possible to trace and To those HUMPHREYS SONS who left no descendants to be traced because as young men they gave their lives in defense of .their homeland, we Respectfully Dedicate This Book. PREFACE In 1883 Frederick Humphreys, M.D., published THE HUMPH­ REYS FAA11LY IN AMERICA. This large excellent volume covered thoroughly those branches of the HUMPHREYS family living in the Northern States. It also gave a good summary of the HUMPHREYS who were Quakers and lived in the \X1elsh Tract in Pennsylvania. In addition there were many helpful records concerning scattered HUM­ PHREYS families in the Southern States. In preparing the material included in this book, use has been made of data and suggestions given in THE HU1\1PHREYS FAMILY /,'\­ AMERICA as it relates to families in the Southern States. This data has been verified and extended. Research has disclosed many addi­ tional families of HUMPHREYS in the Southern States who are not included in THE HUJ\1PHREYS FAMILY Ii\' AMERICA and who have no verified connection with the family co,·ered in this book. The family we shall attempt to trace descends from John Humph­ reys who died in Pennsylvania in 1723. It has been found to include, from THE HUMPHREYS FAMILY IN AMERICA .. the Tennessee and Kentucky families listed on pages 1048-1052 and the Chester County, Pennsylvania, and Virginia families listed on pages 1012-1013. In THE HUMPHREYS FAMILY fl\- AMERICA the suggestion was made that the HUMPHREYS family of Chester County was a part ofthe HUMPHREYS family of the \X1elsh Tract. There are many reasons for thinking that the two families may be connected but the independent research of Mr. Cass K. Shelby, Hollidaysburg, Pennsyl­ vania, Dr. Arthur E. James, West Chester, Pennsylvania, and the author of this book has failed to show any connection since the two families came to America. A C K N O W L E D G E M E N TS About l 905 Mrs. Martha (Humphreys) Maltby began collecting records of her ancestors and relatives. In 1919 the author of this book became interested in family history and started the exchange of family records with Mrs. Maltby. Ir was her intention to publish a book that would include all her early ancestors but she passed away in 1939 without having completed her work. This book makes no attempt to cover records of all the early families with which the HUMPHREYS intermarried. Rather it is an attempt to record all branches of the family that descend from John Humphreys who died in Pennsylvania in 1723. Records of descendants are usually carried but one generation after the name has changed from HUMPHREYS, because they are then included under other family names. While credit is given throughout the book to the person who submitted the records for each individual family, special thanks are due to certain individuals for extensi\'e and continued interest in many different ways. Mr. Cass K. Shelby, Mrs. Margaret Shepard, Miss Grace Humphreys, Mrs. Louise (Maltby) McNellis, Mrs. Dorothy (Carter) Broughton, Mrs. Claire (Humphreys) Sutton, Mrs. Mary (Humphreys) James, Mr. Thomas H. Humphreys, Miss Lois Humph­ reys, Mr. Walter S. Humphreys, Mr. Allison Battle Humphreys, Mrs. R. H. Boyett, Mrs. Ruby (Humphreys) Foster, Mrs. Charles J. Hum­ phreys, Mrs. J. E. Woods, _Mr. Cary N. Weisiger, Mrs. Hattie Celestia (Humphreys) Parker, Miss Mary Lee Humphreys, Mrs. Queenie Humphreys (Morton) Stout, all are connected with the family under consideration. Dr. Arthur E. Jones, Dr. Millard K. Bushong, Mrs. Thomas J. Pearson, Miss Sarah B. Crown, Mrs. R. Y. Jones, Mrs. Sarah H. J. Adams, Mr. Alfred W. Humphreys, Mr. Robert M. Hum­ phreys, Mrs. M. E. Thrower, Mr. Edwin Humphrey, and Mrs. Grace Lodder have all assisted in many ways. The author has on file an extensive collection of records for fami­ lies of Humphrey, Humphries, and Humphreys, that have not been included in this book because no connection has been established as yet. Whatever corrections and additions any reader may be able to make will be greatly appreciated. Fayetteville, Arkansas Allan S. Humphreys 1954 200 copies of thi~ book haw been printed. This is copy number .., East Pikel<J.nd to'lmship ,,., David Humphreys sold to / Yost Smith / ~ To Phoenixville \ \ \ \ \ \ Schuylkill township ~ Charl'!!stown resbyteria.n township :;hurch \ \ \ \ Penna. \ E?.R. CHESTER CO~ITY P E N N S Y L V A N I A \ \ N HUlHPHREYS GENEALOGY JOHN' HUMPHREYS, the earliest known of this 2. 1. David, b. 1694 line, was of Welsh blood, as is attes.ted by family tra­ 3. 11. Morgan dition and by his surname. His birth date and marriage 111. Ann date are unknown. He died 18 December 1723, in 1v. Elizabeth. Believed to be Elizabeth, widow of Charlestown township, Chester Co., Pa. His wife was Jacob Wayne, who was granted letters of ad­ Catherine and she was still living in June 1726 when m1mstration 15 Sept. 1736 in Philadelphia. her son David made final settlement of his father's \X1ayne was used in later years as a middle name estate. in two widely separated branches of the Hum­ The earliest authentic record of John Humphreys is in phreys family and in both branches the tradition the office of the Recorder of Deeds in Philadelphia, Pa. persists that they were related to General An­ Here we learn that he purchased from Joseph Richards thony \X1ayne, a nephew of Jacob Wayne above. of that city, on 24 Nov. 1716, three hundred and forty (U'/ay11e Family of Pe111zsyfra11ia, by Edwin J. acres of land in Charlestown township, Chester Co., Pa. Sellers, p. 27) This parcel was a part of the large tract called "Picker­ 4. v. Thomas ing :Mines," formerly owned by Charles Pickering, one v1. Catherine, married 8 June 1744, in First Pres­ of the party that had come over with William Penn in byterian Church, Philadelphia, to Gunnar Swan­ 1682. son. (Peun. Arcbfres. 2nd Ser. Vol. IX, p. 35 In the deed covering the transfer, John Humphreys and 68) was designated as "of Philadelphia County, yoeman," 5. n1. Daniel, b. ca. 1714 which raises the question as to whether he had been living in America for some time, or was a Welsh farmer 6. v111. John recently arrived and looking for a place on which to 1x. Esther settle. Just when the family moved to this land is un­ certain. REFERENCES: The Humphreys tract was rectangular in shape, ex­ l. From ''Phoenixi·ille and Its Vicinity" by Samuel Whitaker tending lengthwise for about a mile and a quarter along Pennypacker, (later governor of Pennsylvania), Philadelphia: the northwest side of the road to the present Charles­ 187 2, pgs. 13-17, 180, we learn that Charles Pickering was from Asmore, county Chester, England, He made an exploring trip town village and for nearly half a mile in width along up the Schuylkill Ri,er and on reaching the site of Phoenix,ille the Pot House Road. Schuylkill township was taken off discovered in the nearby hills of the west side evidence of silver and lead ore. He formed a partnership or company with sixtet.1 of the northwest end of Charlestown township in 1826 prominent men of Philadelphia to exploit the territory, among and the boundary between them now divides the original whom were Edward Shippen, Joseph Richards, Samuel Car­ penter, and Griffith Jones, and they obtained a patent for 5368 Humphreys tract crossways and nearly in the middle. acres on which mining operations were begun. This grant was Most of the tract can be seen from the observatory tower known as "Pickering Mines." It was practically square in out­ line except for an extension running over the bank of the river.