BOYT/E - BOYET/T/TE NEWSLETTER ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Volume I. Number 1 Jan/Feb/Mar 1985 Published and edited by Wendy L. Elliott, C. G.,4808 E. Garland St., Anaheim, CA 92807 EDITOR'S MESSAGE It is this editor's intention to record documents and data of the numerous southern BOYT/E and BOYET/T/TE families in an effort to sort out and identify the spreading branches of the family. Over twenty years of research has been completed by myself on this specific family, and other family historians and genealogists have worked even longer to sort out the various lines. Many have contributed their findings and helped in piecing together some of the branches, but much more needs to be done on many of the lines. It is hoped that many will be able to use the materials included within the BOYT/E-BOYET/T/TE NEWSLETTER and continue research to further document and record the history of our family. A few have submitted materials to be included in the NEWSLETTER and these will be used as soon as possible. Corrections, additions, and correspondence with the editor will be gladly welcomed and published when applicable. PUBLICATION SCHEDULE The BOYT/E - BOYET/T/TE NEWSLETTER will be published on the following schedule: Jan/Feb/Mar Number One Apr/May/June Number Two July/Aug/Sept Number Three Oct/Nov/Dec Number Four COMMENTS ABOUT THE VARIOUS SPELLINGS OF THE SURNAME The family name now most often found as BOYETT was first recorded in America in 1697 in Nansemond Co., VA as Thomas BOYLE. A careful reading of this Headright Land Grant shows that the clerk did not cross his "t"throughout the document. South was written as "Soulh", Worth as "Worlh", Samuel Watson as "Samuel Walson", etc. A comparison of the names of adjacent land owners listed within this land grant and the neighbors of Thomas BOYT in the published 1704 Quit Rent list for Nansemond Co., VA gives additional verification that the headright was granted to Thomas BOYTE. This record is the first documentation that has been located for any BOYET person in America. The name has gradually undergone differences in spelling. In colonial Virginia the name most commonly found was written "BOYT", yet by the mid 1800s the families in Virginia had altered the early spelling by adding both an "e" and a 't" to the name, thus producing BOYETT. Most men could not read and/or write prior to the 1800s, therefore the clerks and custodians of records would record the names as they sounded. The early variety of spellings (in the same county in the same years) attest to the fact that each recorder used his own interpretation of the sound of a name. The early records in North Carolina show BOYET to be the predominantly used spelling prior to 1850, and it is this spelling that will be used in general references to the family within the NEWSLETTER. As various branches of the family moved away from the earlier settlements, they established themselves in areas separated by many miles, and in so doing often maintained a distinct spelling of their surname. A very brief history as I know it follows: The very first BOYET/BOYTE record that has been located was in the above mentioned grant in 1697 in Nansemond Co., VA, for Thomas BOYTE. I believe that it was from him, that most, if not all, of the southern BOYET families descended. Thomas and his descendants lived on land adjacent to the Somerton river in Nansemond Co., VA for many years. Eventually the sons and grandsons began moving across the state line into North Carolina, and records of early and mid 1700 BOYETs have been found in Bertie, Hereford, and adjacent counties. About 1750 some of these BOYETs also moved farther south into Dobbs and Johnston Counties in North Carolina. From here they really began to branch out. There was a large family in Wayne County, vith others in several other North Carolina counties. Before 1790 there were BOYETs of various spellings in only four southern states: Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. (There is no 1790 census for Virginia or Georgia, but land and tax records have provided the information.) Tax records for Tennessee show that BOYET families wera residing there prior to 1810. The 1820 census proves that BOYET families had migrated into Mississippi, and by 1830 some families were recorded in Alabama. By 1840 additional families were enumerated in Arkansas and Louisiana, and by 1850 BOYT/E or BOYET/T families were recorded in all of the then extant southern states as well as in southern Illinois. 2 SERVICE INDEX-- WAR OF 1812 BOYET,Ezekiel (Private) Major K. Felder's Batt'n SC Mil BOYET, John (Private) Capt Cox's Co. NC Mil. BOYET, Joseph (Private) Maj. John M. Felders' Batt'n SC Mil BOYET, William (Private) 1st Reg. Wynne' a W. TN Mil (note: originally filed under BYET, William) BOYETT, John (Private) Capt Lanier's Co. NC Mil BOYETT, John (Private) 1st Reg. Pipkin's W. TN Mil (note: originally filed under BARKLEY, James) BOYETT, Lemuel (Sergeant) Batt'n 3, Woodfolks TN Mil (note: originally filed under BOYT, Lemuel) BOYT, Arthur (Private) 8th Reg, Magnien 'a VA Mil (note: originally filed under BOIT, Arthur) BOYT, Benjamin (Sergeant) 26th Reg W. TN Mil BOYT, David (Private) 59th Reg, Reddick, Jr's VA Mil BOYT, James (Private) Bowling's Detachment GA Mil BOYT, James (Private) Coffee's Reg Cavalry W. TN Vol BOYT, Jesse (Private) Dyer's Reg Cav & Mtd Gunmen TN Vol BOYT, Lemuel (Sergeant) Batt'n 3, Woodfolk's TN Mil BOYTE, Thomas (Private) 1 Reg, Mtd Gunmen, Dyer's TN Vol LOUISIANA FEDERAL CENSUS OF 1840 Union parish 344 BOYT James 1M,20-30; 2F,0-5; 1F, 5-10 344BOYT Durdin 1M, 5-10; 1 M, 10-15; 1 M, 15-20; 1 M, 40-50 343 BOYD(T) John 2 M, 5-10; 1 M, 20-30; 1 F, 0-5; 1 F, 20-30 St. Tamany Parish 149 BOYETTE John 1 M, 20-30; 1 F, 0-5; 1 F, 20-30; 1 F, 60-70, 1 slave No BOYET (any spelling) was found prior to 1840 in Louisiana. 3 REVOLUTIONARY DUPLIN AND ADJACENT COUNTIES IN NORTH CAROLINA Notes by Robert Browder 206 E. Boney St. Wallace, NC 28466 There was considerable Tory activity in Duplin and concerning Duplin Citizens before, during and after the Revolutionary War. "Most Revolutionary veterans of Duplin, who lived long enough to file pension applications, stated that much of their time (in the militia) was occupied with searching for groups of Tory raiders...".1 The roads to Kinston and New Bern were bad but the Boyetts covered incredible distances. The traffic to Wilmington was heavier via the Northeast Cape Fear river. Men who served during the Revolutionary War enlisted with officers who were traveling through or at forts or with units where they wanted serve. So Duplin soldiers can be found listed from most any county. If transferred he might be listed in the County or State of his new post. When Duplin was settled, the main crops were lumber and Naval stores. The first settlement was on the Northeast Cape Fear liver near Sarecta and logs were raf ted to the Wilmington area, with barrels of tar, pitch and turpentine aboard and tied behind. Most of these Naval stores were shipped to England. With the Revolution this business declined, but turpentine stills and tar kiln. were still in operation in the 1930s. The early rafters ususally walked back on Indian trails beside the river. Later they did it by shifts; one crew would raft "a day's walk" and turn the job over to the next crew. At one time a steamboat came up the river as far as Chinquapin. Today, a flat bottom fishing boat or a two man canoe would have a tough job (and a lot of lifting) getting down some of the creeks that once carried log rafts. Duplin, Wayne, Jones, Sampson, and Johnston Counties were created out of area that once was in Craven County. Records were mixed up across county lines. The Wayne and Duplin County line was redefined in the 19th century. Records for Duplin can be found in Sampson County records and visa versa. Records for Sampson can also be found in Johnston County. Some Duplin records are also in the files for Dobbs County. When Sampson County was formed from Duplin in 1784, eight deed books covering Duplin land were taken to Sampson County. Duplin County's present Register of Deeds had copies made of these records. 1. Fussell, Horace Jr. Tory Activity in Duplin. 4 The following was sent by Gwen (BOYETT) WHITE of Beaumont, TX. The information is from Nicholas R. Nurray, President - Hunting for Bears, Inc. P.O. Box 278, Hammond, LA: MISSISSIPPI MARRIAGES 1819 - 1900 02 31 1938 BOYETT, C. E. MOTT, Lois Kemper 25035 08 13 1885 BOYETT, Jones COCK, Christiana Lee 25041 0l 20 1899 BOYETT, Lizzie ADAMS, William Holmes 25026 11 27 1909 BOYETT, Magella JORDAN, Fred H. Greene 25021 GEORGIA MARRIAGES 1750 - 1900 Apr 29 1841 BOYETT, George WALDON, Martha Decatur 11043 Apr 12 1863 BOYETT, Joseph A. GEORGE, Belinda Decatur 11043 Jan 28 1879 BOYETT, Julia BRUNSON, Samuel Decatur 11043 09 09 1827 BOYETT, Julian PITMAN, Jeremiah Fayette 11056 Nov 17 1842 BOYETT, Luarela ENGLAND, William H. Coweta 11038 0l 25 1874 BOYETT, Mary BARRS, J. N. Brooks 11014 Jan 05 1865 BOYETT, William T. YAWN, Rebecca A. Decatur 11043 Note: no explanation is given for the numbers in the far right column, but in the last set, it seems to indicate county.