Arthur Philip Byrd
North Carolina, 1738
Our branch of the family remained in North Carolina for some time. By the time of William John Byrd (1704-1777, Dad’s 5th great grandfather) the Byrd clan was of some note in the Chowan and Halifax county areas of North Carolina. Both John Byrd Sr. (1732-1791, Dad’s 4th great grandfather) and George William Byrd (1730-1825, Dad’s 4th great uncle) served as officers in the Revolutionary War.
John Byrd Sr. moved to what is now Marion, South Carolina around 1800. His eldest son Arthur Samuel Byrd (1755-1835, Dad’s 3rd great grandfather) had at least five children who all moved to the Monroe county area of Alabama, the entire family being there and established by 1830 at the latest. Lured by the promise of cheap land, the whole family set up homesteads in this area of Alabama and all had sizeable farms, decent income, and most had between 5 and 20 slaves.
The five who can be proven made the move from South Carolina to Alabama are:
- Arthur Byrd (1790-1868)
- Stephen Byrd (1795-1871)
- Jeptha Byrd (1795-1871)
- Martha Byrd (1800-1860)
- Moses Myles Byrd (c. 1802-1868)
…and here’s where the branches of the tree get a little weird. See the post on collapsed trees for more.