From the Blue Ridges to the Sandhills: The History of 4 North Carolina Families

The Pryor May and Sarah Puckett Family

The parents of Mary Ann May were Pryor May and Sarah Puckett, who married on the 18th of May 1828 in Patrick County, Virginia.[1]

Sarah Puckett's parents were Laban Puckett and Elizabeth Overby, daughter of Anthony and Mary Overby of Patrick County Virginia. [2] Military Records indicate that Laban Puckett served in the War of 1812 in the 7th Regiment, Saunders, as a Private. [3] Laban and Elizabeth were married in Halifax County on May 27th of 1801.[4]

In 1840 Pryor (Prior) May is shown in the Patrick County Virginia census with two males under the age of 5, one male of age 20 to 30, presumably himself, two females under the age of 5, one female between 5 and 10 years, one female between 10 and 15, and one female between 30 and 40. This is presumably Sarah. [5]

In 1850 Pryor May is in the Southern District of the Patrick County Virginia Census, recorded on the 19th of September 1850. His occupation is listed as farmer. His age is listed as 48 and the following members are in his household: Mary, age 21; Elizabeth, age 19; Susan, age 17; Joseph, age 12; William C., age 9; and Martha, age 8. Sarah is not listed and it is assumed that she died between the years 1840 and 1850. Their neighbors, if the census was taken in house by house inventory, were the High family, the Hooker family, and the Allen Overby family. Allen Overby was a farmer whose wife's name was Didy, [Collins] age 45.[6] In 1854, Mary Ann married Joseph White in Stokes County, North Carolina.

In 1860 Pryor May is shown in the South District of Patrick County Virginia, which was recorded on the 28th day of June 1860. The post office listed is Arrarat Virginia. He is listed as a farmer, age 55, who cannot read or write. His personal estate is listed at a value of $30. In the household are Elizabeth C., age 28, personal estate valued at 20; Susan F., age 26, personal estate valued at 20; Joseph T., age 22, farmer, estate valued at 30; William C. age 20; and Martha V., age 17.[7]

In 1860 Dida Overby is in the South District of Patrick County Virigina. She is listed as a midwife with a real estate value of $1000 and a personal estate value of $900, and she is listed as cannot read or write. In her household is Susan F. Overby, age 16, with real estate valued at $500 and personal estate, at $500. Both are listed as being born in Virginia.[8]

In the 1860 census, Joseph and Mary A. White are living in the South District of Patrick County Virginia. He is listed as age 35, a farmer with a personal estate value of $25, born in Virginia. Mary A. is age 31, born in Virigina, and cannot read or write. Also in the household are John W., age 4, who was born in North Carolina, Clara E., age 3, and Sarah E., age 8 1/2 months. Both daughters were born in Virginia.[9]

June 22, 1861, at the age of 21, William C. May of Patrick County Virginia enlisted in the Confederate Army as a part of the 50th Virginia Infantry, also known as the Patrick Boys. He was hospitalized on October 20, 1861, at Raleigh Court House, returned to duty on November 1st, 1861, and died in Wytheville, Virginia on May 25th, 1862.[10] Click here to read a letter written by William to his family, used with permission of Pam Bullins. [11]

May 1st, 1862, Joseph T. May enlisted as a private in the Confederate Army with Company E, 6th Infantry Regiment. He was wounded on 14 September 1862 at Crampton's Gap, Maryland and imprisoned April 29th, 1863 at Germanna Ford, Virginia. He was wounded in the left arm on July 30th, 1864 in Petersburg, Virginia.[12]

In 1863 Pryor May filed a claim to receive moneys due him from the Confederate States of America for services rendered by his son William. William C. May was a private in Captain Lawson's Company, Fiftieth Regiment, Virginia Volunteers.[13]

In 1864 on May 13th, Pryor May married Didy (Dida) Collins Overby. On August 22nd, 1865, in Stokes County, North Carolina, Martha May married G.H. Manring.[14]

On August 23rd, 1865, in Patrick County, Virginia, Joseph T. May married Martha J. Bennett. In 1868, on December 29, Elizabeth C. May married Andrew Bullin or Bullard in Stokes County, North Carolina. He was a miller and the son of Samuel and Sallie Bullard.[15]

In 1870, Pryor May is listed in the Dan River Township of Patrick County, Virginia. The census was taken on the 18th day of August. He is listed as a farmer, age 65, cannot write. In the household are Dida, age 62, who is listed as keeping house, with a personal estate value of $260, cannot write. Also in the household is America Edwards, age 22, who cannot read or write.[16]

According to the census of 1870 in Patrick County, Virginia, Joseph White, a farmer, was born about 1825 in Virginia. He died sometime before the 1880 census, when his wife and three of his children were in Quaker Gap in Stokes County, North Carolina.

Mary was born in April, 1829, in Virginia, the daughter of Pryor May and Sarah Puckett. When the 1900 census was taken, Mary was a widow and lived with her son, John, in Stewarts Creek in Surry County, North Carolina. Throughout their history, the family remained in the area near the borders of Patrick County, Virginia, and Surry and Stokes County, North Carolina.

Footnotes

[1] Lela C. Adams, Marriages of Patrick County, Virginia, 1791-1850 (Bassett Va.: Lela C. Adams, 1972) p. 81.; Virginia Marriages 1740 -1850 [database on-line], Ancestry.com, Original Data: Dodd, Jordan R., et al. Early American Marriages: Virginia to 1850 (Bountiful, UT, USA: Precision Indexing Publishers)

[2] "Overby Family," The Heritage of Stokes County North Carolina, Vol II, 1990, pp 356-357.

[3] War of 1812 Service Records[database on-line], Ancestry.com, Roll Box 169, Roll Exct 602.

[4] Marian Dodson Chiarito, Marriages of Halifax County Virginia 1801-1831 (Nathalie VA: The Clarkton Press, 1985), p. 47; Virginia Marriages 1740 -1850 [database on-line], Ancestry.com, Original Data: Dodd, Jordan R., et al.. Early American Marriages: Virginia to 1850. (Bountiful, UT, USA: Precision Indexing Publishers)

[5] 1840 United States Federal Census, Patrick County Virginia: Roll 573; Page 34; image available

[6] 1850 United States Federal Census, Southern District, Patrick County Virginia, Roll M432_967; Page 377; Image 320

[7] 1860 United States Federal Census, South District, Patrick County, Virginia, Roll:M653_1369: Page:971; Image 407

[8] 1860 United States Federal Census, South District, Patrick County, Virginia, Roll:M653_1369: Page:988; Image 424

[9] 1860 United States Federal Census, South District, Patrick County, Virginia, Roll:M653_1369: Page:972; Image 408

[10] American Civil War Soldiers [database on-line], Ancestry.com

[11] Correspondence, e-mail dated March 6 2007, Pam Bullins; pamelajunesizemore@yahoo.com

[12] American Civil War Soldiers [database on-line], Ancestry.com; Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System of the National Park Service; www.itd.nps.gov/cwss/soldiers.cfm

[13] Patrick County (va.) Power of Attorney, 1863, Local Government Records Collection, Patrick County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Va. 23219

[14] Copy of Stokes County Marriage License; Jimmie Martin Steele, Patrick County, Virginia Marriages 1854-1874, published by author, after 1972, p. 60.

[15] Copy of Patrick County Marriage License; Jimmie Martin Steele, Patrick County, Virginia Marriages 1854-1874, published by author, after 1972, p. 11.

[16] 1870 United States Federal Census, Dan River District, Patrick County, Virginia, Roll M593_1670, p. 455.

From the Blue Ridges to the Sandhills: The History of 4 NC Families / The Pryor May and Sarah Puckett Family
© 2001 by Glenda Alexander, updated December 2007 by Dawn and Glenda Alexander
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