USA > South Carolina > Marion County > A history of Marion county, South Carolina, from its earliest times to the present, 1901 > Part 36
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them may be grown; they live in Marlborough. Florence, the younger daughter, married Robert McPherson, of West Marion, now in Florence County, and had one child, a boy. Mc- Pherson Easterling is a capital and progressive citizen of that county. Henry Easterling was a very excellent man, full of good hard sense, sober and industrious, and was making a good living, when he went into the war; he was killed in Virginia, in 1864-it was said he was literally cut in two by a shell or piece of shell ; he was greatly missed not only by his family but by his community. James F. Easterling, the youngest son of old "Jimmy," never married; he went into the war early, and was killed during the same. Of the daughters of "Jimmy," one married a Fletcher-John Fletcher, I believe, of Marlborough. Another daughter, Celia, married the late Matthew Watson, who has already been noticed in or among the Watson family. The youngest daughter, Sallie, a very pretty girl, went to Ala- bama with one of her brothers, Enos or Silas, and married in that State, near a town called Benton, on the Alabama River, a man by the name of Melton. The writer passed through Ben- ton on a stage in 1854, and on inquiry, heard of her four miles away, and was told she was doing well and had four children. Think old "Jimmy" had another daughter or two, but it is not remembered what became of her or them. Old "Jimmy" was a model citizen, very social in his disposition, a farmer, lived at home, and lived as well, perhaps, as any man in the State; he raised from his nursery fruit trees, apples, pears, peaches, &c., very extensively, and sold them; he had a fine vineyard and grew all kind of grapes, made wine and sold it ; also a fine apple and peach orchard, from which he made cider and brandy, and sold that, and yet with all these drinkables about him, all his sons together with himself were sober, temperate men.
LANE .- The Lane family, with its many connections, will now be noticed. They all came from old Osborne Lane, on Buck Swamp. He was here, and a man grown, with, perhaps, a family, in the Revolutionary War, and was a Tory ; he died in 1840. Bishop Gregg, in his history, page 359, says: "Nothing of importance occurred until they reached 'Hulin's Mill.'" Note-"This was the site of the mill owned by the late Joseph
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Bass, ten or twelve miles above Marion Court House." "Here they surprised two notorious Tories, John Deer and Osborne Lane. The latter was shot in attempting to make his escape into Catfish Swamp, and got off with a broken arm. Deer was overtaken as he reached the swamp, and killed. It was on this occasion, or shortly before, that Caleb Williams, a desper- ate marauder, noted especially for house burning, was taken by Kolb's party and hung. After proceeding further, captur- ing other guilty parties, and punishing or discharging them on promise of good behavior, Colonel Kolb returned home and dismissed his party, feeling secure for a time at least in the thought that the Tories had been overawed, and would not soon renew their depredations. In this, however, he was most sadly deceived," &c. The division line between Whig and Tory as made during the Revolution, and kept up for many years after- ward, should be forever obliterated-in fact, our late Confede- rate War knocked that line into smithereens; some of the best soldiers we had in the army from Marion County were descend- ants of Tories ; were it necessary to do so, numbers of them could be named, hence it is no longer an opprobrium to be called a Tory or the descendant of a Tory. Many of the de- scendants of this very Osborne Lane, mentioned by Bishop Gregg above, were and are among our best people, and were among the best soldiers in the Southern army. Many of the old Tories, and perhaps a majority of them, were Tories from conviction, and thought it would be treason-the highest crime known to the law-to take up arms against the king and his government ; that by so doing, in the event of the king's success, that they would all 'be hanged as rebels. They were honest in it. The consequence was, they were under the ban of the local provincial government. They were compelled to take a stand, and forced to leave their homes and families, and lie out in the woods and swamps, or be carried into a war, the end of which might make them amenable to all the penalties of high treason ; and being thus compelled to lie out, they could not pursue their several vocations in life for the support of them- selves and families. In these circumstances, they were forced to steal and plunder or starve themselves and families. They became thieves, marauders, from compulsion, from high
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necessity, and not from choice. There was no moral turpitude in it, because they were forced to it by the powers that be. So it was in our war from 1861 to 1865. It is true, that many were Tories, not from conviction but from a desire to be in a position to live upon the labor of others; were rogues at heart, and only wanted an opportunity to exercise and gratify their thievish inclinations. With all such, the writer nor any honest man sympathizes-they became thieves and marauders from choice. Osborne Lane lived here till 1840, an honest, good citizen, and had the respect of all who knew him.
Osborne Lane often told the story afterwards: That when he was shot by Colonel Kolb's party, he got off into the swamp with his broken arm; that he crawled into a hollow log and lay there whilst they were hunting him, and after a while they came and sat down on the log into which he had secreted himself; that he was so agitated and so much frightened that he was afraid they would hear his heart beat. If Osborne Lane was like his sons, he, although a Tory from conviction, was no marauder from choice. We have not any people within our bounds more honest and law-abiding than the descendants of Osborne Lane, nor did the Confederacy have any better sol- diers or truer patriots in its armies than the descendants of old Osborne. The many Lanes, Smiths and, more than all, the late John Blackman (Jack), went into the Southern army and stood shoulder to shoulder with the descendants of the Whigs of the Revolution, and do not deserve to be taunted with the Toryism of their ancestors. "Jack" Blackman, as we called him, was a grand-son by his mother of old Osborne Lane, and a grand-son by his father of the Blackman (Tory), whom Colo- nel Maurice Murphy tied up and gave him fifty lashes, and this was repeated several times, because Blackman said and stuck to it to the last, that he was for King George (Gregg's History, P. 354). If Toryism in the Revolution was odious, and still odious, then the late Jack Blackman was doubly odious-for he had it on both sides. The whole South might be challenged to produce a parallel to Jack Blackman for unquestioned patriot- ism and cool courage. He volunteered in the Southern cause at the age of fifty-nine; he went into the army in Virginia, and after staying in service, was discharged on account of his age.
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He knocked around the camp for three or four days, with a discharge in his pocket. In the meantime, a battle occurred. Jack went back to his company, took his gun and went into the fight, was shot through the abdomen, the ball passing out at the rear-it happened not to cut any of his intestines, and Jack sur- vived it; he lay in the hospital for two or three months, and then returned home. I will say nothing of his future services in the war. Here is a descendant of Tories on both sides. Was he odious? Blot out the line between the Whigs and Tories of the Revolution and never mention it again. Jack Blackman lived to be ninety years of age; in many respects, he was the noblest man of his day. I think this has already been men- tioned herein, but it is so appropriate to the purpose just here, with the Lane family, that I cannot forbear repeating. Jack Blackman ought to have a monument erected to his memory --- it is already erected in the hearts of all who knew him and knew of him.
Osborne Lane married a Miss Crawford, a sister of old James Crawford, of Spring Branch-I suppose, older than her brother. The Crawfords were quite respectable in that day and have continued to be so down to the present time. The fruits of the marriage, as known, were eight sons, John, Thomas, Alexander, James, Robert, David, Stephen and Wil- liam, and two daughters, Kesiah and Elizabeth. Of the daugh- ters, one, Elizabeth, married old John Blackman, a son of the old Tory John, that Colonel Murphy tied and whipped ; by this marriage were three children born and raised, as known to the writer-Stephen Blackman and John, called Jack; the name of the daughter was Elizabeth, or Betsey ; when an old maid, she became the second wife of Rev. John D. Coleman, below Marion; both are dead; don't know whether she left any chil- dren or not. Stephen Blackman married some one, to the writer not known ; he died many years ago, and left a son, Wil- liam, called Billy Blackman, and is now a middle-aged man and lives somewhere in the Latta neighborhood ; married, and has a family. John (Jack) Blackman married a Miss Bird, a sister of the late Hugh and Joe Bird, of the Toby's Creek section ; by her he raised two sons, Joseph A. and Hamilton, who, like their father, were good soldiers in the war. Hamilton was killed
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about Charleston, S. C. Joe died since the war, leaving several children; his widow married again, Robert C. Rogers, of Wahee Township; know nothing of Joseph A. Blackman's chil- dren, suppose some or all of them are grown. John (Jack) Blackman was married a second time, late in life, to Caroline Mears, and by her had and raised one or two sons-one, named John, is as much like old John as it is possible for a young man to favor an old man ; these sons are in the Mullins section. Old John (Jack) died in 1895, in June, and was ninety years of age in December before he died, as brave and patriotic as any man that ever lived in the county, and as honest as the days were long. The other daughter, Kesiah, of old Osborne Lane, mar- ried old Samuel Smith (three junior), of Buck Swamp; the results of the marriage were two sons, John L. and Stephen Smith, born, respectively, in 1811 and 1813, when she died; and old man Samuel, Jr., married a second time, Miss Sallie Hays, daughter of old Ben Hays, of Hillsboro Township (now), and who has already been noticed herein among the Hays family. Two better citizens than John L. Smith and Stephen Smith are hard to find anywhere. John L. Smith became a Methodist traveling preacher, and after traveling three or four years, mar- ried a Miss Wannamaker, of Orangeburg County, and located, but continued to preach in a local position up to a short time before his death; he was an exemplary, pious, Christian gen- tleman. John L. Smith settled in the Fork, on Buck Swamp, and accumulated a good property, which he left unincumbered to his widow by a second marriage and his children ; he raised five sons and three daughters; his sons were Daniel Asbury, Marcus L., Jacob W., John A. and Wilbur F. Smith, each and every one of whom, except, perhaps, Wilbur and Albert, who was too young, went into the war early and remained in it to the end. Marcus L. was badly wounded, and carries the evi- dence of it in his person every day since. Daniel Asbury came out of the war as a Captain ; married, after the war, Miss Alice Bethea, a daughter of Captain E. C. Bethea; by the marriage four sons were born and raised, of whom Dr. Maxcy Smith, the eldest, now at Page's Mill, is one and the only one in the State. The other three, with their mother, are in Birmingham, Ala., all doing well. Dr. Maxcy Smith married an Alabama lady,
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and has three or four children (small). Daniel Asbury Smith died some years ago. Marcus L. Smith married Miss Mary Smith, a daughter of Reddin W. Smith, east of Marion; they have some children; don't know how many; has one or two married daughters. Jacob W. Smith, the third son, married Miss Fannie Nichols, who has already been noticed in or among the Nichols family. John Albert Smith, the fourth son, married a widow, Jennie Smith, of Mississippi; had and raised three daughters and one son, Henry Smith, now at Mul- lins, and has a family (small). The three daughters are mar- ried-the eldest to John Wilcox, of Marion, already mentioned among the Wayne family. Another daughter married Dennis Berry, of Marion; they have some children, how many is un- known. The youngest daughter, Laura, married Chalmers Rogers, of Mullins, and resides there. John Albert Smith was first appointed County Auditor, which place he held with suc- cess for three or four years, when he was elected Clerk of the Court in 1880, as successor to R. K. Clark; he held that office for two years, when he died, and was succeeded by John Wil- cox, as hereinbefore stated. The three daughters of John L. Smith were Anna M., Jane and Hettie. Anna M. married Philip W. Bethea; by the marriage, three sons and three daughters have been raised-George C., L. Asbury and Pickett ; the daughters are Bettie, Nannie and Lilian. George married Julia Wayne, the only daughter of Gabriel I. Wayne; they had no offspring, and he died a few years ago. L. Asbury never married, and died two years ago. Pickett Bethea, the third son, married a daughter of Captain R. H. Rogers, of the Gaddy's Mill section; they have, perhaps, two or three children (small) ; Pickett is a graduate of Wofford College, and has successfully followed teaching ever since his graduation-has been teaching in the same school in Darlington County for four or five years, which evidences his popularity as a teacher. Bettie, the eldest daughter, married David E. Allen, and has already been noticed among the Watson or Allen family. Nannie and Lilian recently married two Mr. Williams, brothers, saw mill men; may have a child each. The second daughter of John L. Smith, Jane, became the second wife of Dr. John J. Bethea, of Mullins; by this marriage, two sons,
26
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Lawrence and Julian, and one daughter, Minnie, were born. Lawrence Bethea married a lady in Mississippi, first, and by her had three or four children-a son grown, named John; a daughter, Ruth, who married a Mr. West, from Augusta, Ga., and who is now at Mullins, merchandising ; and one daughter, Pearl, who died before maturity. The first wife died, and Lawrence married a Miss Rogers, daughter of David S. Rogers, of the "Free State" section ; he is farming. Julian M. Bethea, the second son of Dr. John J. Bethea, married a lady in Mississippi ; has only one child, a daughter ; he is merchan- dising at Mullins. Hettie Smith, the youngest daughter of John L. Smith, married Pinckney C. Page, who was killed in the war or died of disease, and left three children, who has already been noticed herein or among the Page family. Wil- bur F. Smith, the youngest son of John L. Smith, graduated at Wofford College, in 1875, and soon afterwards emigrated to Mississippi, where he still remains ; I suppose he has a family. Minnie Bethea, the daughter of Dr. John J. Bethea, married Robert M. Daniel, son of W. H. Daniel, of Mullins; she died in two or three years after marriage, childless. Stephen Smith, brother of John L. and a grand-son of old Osborne L'ane, married Polly Huggins, a daughter of old John Huggins, of Huggins Bridge, on Little Pee Dee; by this marriage seven sons and four daughters were born and raised; the sons were George W., Ebenezer, B. Gause, S. Elmore, S. W. Smith, J. Emory (all gallant soldiers in the war), and another killed on the railroad, near Florence, during the war; these, together with their sisters, have already been mentioned in or among the Huggins family, the Martin family and the Harrelson family. Of the sons of old Osborne Lane, it is not known which of the eight was the older-I think, however, John, who was a very old man in 1840 (the year old man Osborne died). John Lane had but one son, John G. Lane; don't know who his mother was; John G. Lane married, I think, a Miss Johnson ; they had but one child, a daughter; don't know what became of her ; John G. Lane died years ago, was an excellent man and good citizen. The next son of old Osborne, Thomas, and whom the writer never saw, married and settled, lived and died on a place near Sellers Depot, on the "Short Cut" Railroad, now owned
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A HISTORY OF MARION COUNTY.
by B. B. Sellers and Mrs. Lucy B. Watson. Thomas Lane had and raised one son only, Bryant Lane, who married, in 1827, Miss Henrietta Dew; when his father died is not known. Since writing the above, the writer has learned that Thomas Lane had another son, named Frederic, who married and set- tled within 100 feet of where the depot at Sellers now stands ; that he afterwards emigrated to Alabama ; that his descendants are there now ; that some of Frederic's family came out here a few years ago, to visit their relatives, and that subsequently the late Captain Stephen D. Lane went to Alabama to see his rela- tives in that State; that Frederic's family and descendants are doing well. Thomas Lane may have had a daughter or daughters-if so, where she or they are is unknown. Bryant Lane's family have already been noticed in or among the Dew families, to which the reader is referred. Alexander Lane, the third son of Osborne, I think, married a Miss Blackman (in this I may be mistaken) ; he lived and died on upper Buck Swamp, below Latta, and near where his father lived and died. Alexander Lane had and raised a numerous family of sons and daughters, only a few of whom are known to the writer. Samuel Lane, the oldest son, as I suppose, now a very old man, married, first, Sarah Coward, a daughter of Wilson Coward, who owned the lands whereon Dillon now is situated, and by her had six or seven children, two of whom only were sons, William B. and Lane. One of these emigrated to Texas some years ago, having a family (increasing) when he left. Joseph Lane, another son of old Alexander, married twice (don't know to whom), and had several sons; those known are Alexander, William and Elisha-there are, perhaps, other sons and daughters; he died some years ago; was an honest, hard-working man, a good soldier in the war. Osborne Lane, another son of Alexander, married a Christmas, and lives near Mallory, on Little Reedy Creek ; he has several sons, the names of whom are unknown; he is an honest, hard-working man and a good citizen. Another son of Alexander married a Miss Hensey, and has several sons-has removed to Florence County, and it is said is well to do. Another son of old Alex- ander, Robert Lane, married a Miss Rogers, and has a family, about whom the writer knows nothing. Another son of old
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Alexander, Leonard, was killed in the war. They were all good soldiers in the Confederate war. James C. Lane, I think, the youngest son of old Osborne, was a most excellent man and a good citizen ; he married a Miss Lee, daughter of old John Lee, on the north side of Buck Swamp, and settled on Catfish, just opposite Latta ; he had and raised four sons, James C., Jr., Crawford, John O. and Stephen L. Lane, and four daughters, Hapsey, Sarah Anne, Orphea and Priscilla. Of the sons, James C., Jr., married a daughter of old William Bryant, a sis- ter of the late John M. Bryant; he had and raised one son, David, and one daughter. The son married some one to the writer unknown; he has a large family of sons and daughters, several grown; he lives in Kirby Township. The daughter married Peter Mclellan, and had several children; Peter and she (Rebecca, I think, was her name), are both dead; don't know what has become of the children-suppose they are all grown. Crawford Lane, second son of James C., Sr., married a Miss Perritt, daughter of David Perritt, and settled down on the Maiden Down and Ten Mile Bays ; he raised a large fam- ily of sons and daughters; the names of two sons only are known-Addison and James. Addison married a daughter of John M. Bryant, and has several sons, two of whom are mar- ried, and several daughters, some grown. James Lane, son of Crawford Lane, married a daughter of the late Samuel Camp- bell, and has a family, how many are not known. Stephen L. Lane, the youngest son of James C., Sr., married Miss Flora Campbell, a daughter of the late William S. Campbell; he was killed in the last battle of the war, just before Johnston's sur- render, after having gone through the whole war ; he left his widow, Flora, and several sons and daughters, none of them personally known to the writer ; one son is named William, and one daughter became the second wife of Merideth Watson. There are several other children. Another son of James C. Lane, Sr., was John O. Lane; he married a Miss Sweat, daugh- ter of old George Sweat; they had and raised a family, none of them known to the writer-both are dead. Of the daughters of James C., Sr., Hapsey married the late James Porter ; they had and raised a large family of sons and daughters, none of whom are known to the writer, except Robert P. Porter, in
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Marion ; he married a Miss Johnson, and has a family of several children, none grown. The second daughter of old James C., Sr., Sarah Ann, married a Mr. Jones, who either died or left the country, leaving her one child, a daughter-what has become of the daughter is unknown; Mrs. Jones is long since dead. The third daughter of James C. Lane, Sr., Orphea, married a Mr. Turbeville; they had and raised a family, and have grand-children, but none of them are known. The youngest daughter of James, Sr., Priscilla, married "Sandy" Norton, who was killed or died in the war ; they had and raised three sons, Woodberry, Houston and Holland Norton, who are now among us and good citizens-especially Houston Nor- ton, of Latta ; there may have been daughters-if any, they are unknown to the writer. Another son of old Osborne Lane, William, married, don't know to whom, and from whom are many descendants in the county. Think Rev. William and James Lane and the late Henry J. Lane are or were descend- ants of old William; there are other descendants of this old man, but they are unknown to the writer. Of the three other sons of old Osborne Lane, Robert moved to Barnwell; David moved to Union, and Stephen went to Georgia in the long past, and no tidings from them.
BETHEA .- The Bethea family will next be noticed. This very large and extensive family, both in name and in its vast network of connections, all sprang from one common stock, John Bethea, who emigrated from England to Virginia, at what precise time is not known, but supposed to be in the latter part of the seventeenth or early part of the eighteenth century. The name was originally spelled Berthier, and is supposed to be of French origin. The writer has been furnished, by Philip Y. Bethea, of Marion, with a family tree, and chart of the fam- ily from old "English John" up to date-at least, so far as Marion County is concerned, and I suppose generally, so far as can be ascertained. This chart only gives the names of males, no females-for the reason that they generally lost their identity by marriage; yet the females transmit the blood just as much as the males do-hence the writer will hereinafter notice the females as well as the males, in every instance where
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they are known. Old "English John" had two sons, John and Tristram. John settled in Nansemond County, Virginia, and Tristram settled on Cape Fear River, in North Carolina, as is supposed, in the early part of the eighteenth century. John, the second, had two sons, John, third, and William. John, third, emigrated to South Carolina, about the middle of the eighteenth century, or a little later, and settled on Buck Swamp, about two miles above the present town of Latta. His brother, William, about the same time, came to South Carolina (or they may have come together), and settled on Sweat Swamp, three or four miles above Harlleesville. These were the progenitors of all the Betheas and their numerous connections in Marion County, and, I suppose, throughout the Western States. Here- inafter these two families will be referred to as the "Buck Swamp family or set," and the "Sweat Swamp family or set." The wife of "Buck Swamp John" was Absala Parker, hence their youngest son was named "Parker." "Buck Swamp John" settled on the plantation now owned by one of his de- scendants, John C. Bethea, of Dillon; he was a prosperous man-took up and owned at the time of his death, in 1821, six or eight thousand acres of land around him and in near by parts, the most of which is now owned by some one or another of his descendants; he farmed and raised stock, drove it to Charleston ; had and raised large orchards, raised fruit ; made cider and brandy, and sold it, in his day, without let or hin- drance; he accumulated a large estate for his day and time, which he gave almost entirely to his five sons, William, James, Philip, Elisha and Parker-giving nothing, comparatively, to his four daughters, Sallie, Pattie, Mollie and Absala (I think, was the name of the latter). Sallie married Levi Odom, of Revolutionary fame; two of them, Absala and Mollie, married a Mr. Owens; and Pattie married another Mr. Owens. None of them except Pattie have descendants in this State-as Sallie and Absala died childless, and Mollie and her Mr. Owens emi- grated to Natchez, Miss. The five sons all settled, lived and died in Marion County. William, the eldest, married, first, a Miss Crawford; had one child, a son, John C. Bethea; his second wife was Mary (Polly) Sheckelford; the fruits of the marriage were five sons, Levi, Willam S., Frank, George J.
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