Tracing the Souther Generations ~ Some Who Stayed Behind in NC

I have written much in these pages about five siblings who came to Georgia in the 1830s and settled in Union County, Georgia, at least for awhile until two of them (Joseph and Kizziah) moved on elsewhere. These were sons and a daughter of Jesse Souther (1784-1858) and Jane Combs Souther (1782-d. before 1858), namely Joseph Souther (wife Sarah Davis), John Jesse Souther (wife Mary Combs), Kizziah Souther (husband John Humphries), Jesse Souther (wife Malinda Nix), and Hix Souther (wife Malinda Burgess). If you desire to review information on any of these five siblings, please refer to their stories in past articles in this “Through Mountain Mists” series. We now begin with a series on those in this Souther family who remained behind in North Carolina or who moved elsewhere other than Union County, Georgia. It is this writer’s hope that you will find this further information about the Jesse Souther family of interest.

Jesse Souther was born on June 6, 1784, only eight years after America declared its independence from England. He was a son of Stephen Souther (1742-ca 1780) and Mary Bussey Souther (ca. 1745-after 1790). Family legend holds strongly to the story that Stephen Souther enlisted with the soldiers from Wilkes County, North Carolina who were launching an attack against the British and Tories at the famous Battle of King’s Mountain. However, either due to a wound or from some other calamity, Stephen Souther developed a severe nosebleed (he was believed to be a hemophiliac) on the way to or in the battle and bled to death. Descendants of Stephen Souther (of whom I am one) have done much research to try to certify his Revolutionary War service, but we have not been able to go beyond the story passed down in our family concerning his joining the Wilkes County soldiers. No trace of his service has been clearly documented. However, Mary Bussey Souther was living on a 200-acre land grant which seems to have been given to Stephen Souther and recorded first in 1778, and again in 1782 (after Stephen’s death). Could this have been a grant for his Revolutionary War service? The description of the land in each entry (# 234, July 4, 1778 and # 482, October 23, 1782, Wilkes County records) were the same, reading: “Grant Stephen Souther 200 acres both sides Hunting Creek above William Carnes improvement…between Souther and Osborne Keeling.” With no proof of ancestor Stephen Souther’s enlistment in the Revolutionary Army, we who would like to claim him as a patriot have not been able to prove his service registration.

Mary Bussey Souther seemed to be a good wife and mother. Stories come to us of her having driven an ox cart herself, after her husband Stephen’s death, “to the west” (probably to settlements in Kentucky or Tennessee on the frontier) to visit her relatives, and the report was that “she was gone a long time.” She and Stephen had these known children: Michael (1760) who married Elinor (maiden name unknown) who lived in Buncombe County, NC; Elizabeth (1765) who married Alexander Gilreath; Jesse Souther (1774) who married Jane Combs [her name is also given as Joan in some records] and reared their family in Wilkes County, NC near Old Fort, with five of them migrating to Union County, Georgia and the others remaining in NC; Joshua Souther (1777 ?) who married Libby Profitt; he served in the War of 1812; Joel Souther (17?) married Patsy Brown; and Sarah Souther (17?) married Elijah Hampton. In the 1782 tax list of Wilkes County, Mary (Bussey) Souther was listed as head-of-household. In the 1790 census, she was again listed as head-of-household with two males under sixteen, two males over 16, and 3 females. It is not known if some of these were Mary’s married children and grandchildren. Stephen Souther may have died intestate, since no will is listed signed by him in Wilkes Court records.

Stephen’s son, Jesse Souther, is the ancestor whom we want to trace. Since we know that his children Joseph, John, Kizziah, Jesse, and Hix migrated to Union County, Georgia, and since these “Mountain Mists” articles have traced those stories, we will concentrate on those who remained behind in North Carolina. Jesse Souther’s will probated in 1858 gives insights into how he distributed his property.

Our next entry will examine his will and some of his children who remained in North Carolina.

[Resource: Dyer, Watson Benjamin. Souther Family History, Self-published, 1988. Pp. 45-60]

cFebruary 1, 2012 by Ethelene Dyer Jones; published online by permission of author at
GaGenWebProject All rights reserved.

Appreciating Revolutionary War Patriots--Stephen Souther and William Souther

The annual Dyer-Souther Heritage Association Reunion will be held Saturday, July 18, 2009 beginning at 11:00 a. m. at Choestoe Baptist Church, eight miles south of Blairsville just off Highway 180 ("The Micajah Clark Dyer Parkway).

As historian for the organization, it has been my privilege to delve into the ancestral history of our known Revolutionary War patriots. Telling their stories will be the focus of the afternoon program at the reunion. Those with ties to early settlers Bluford Elisha Dyer and Elizabeth Clark Dyer and John Souther and Mary Combs Souther are invited to attend. Friends of these descendants are also welcome. We will have a grand time of renewing acquaintances and remembering our ancestors and their contributions to America's freedom.

The historical focus of this column will be two of several honored patriots, Stephen Souther (1742-1780) and William Souther (about 1732- 1784).

Stephen was a son of Henry Souther (about 1712-May, 1784) and Juliann (last name unknown - about 1715- about 1783). William Souther was Stephen's uncle, brother to Stephen's father, Henry. Both were born in Culpepper County, Virginia. The Choestoe early settler, John Souther, was a grandson of Stephen Souther.

The five known children of Henry and Juliann Souther migrated from Virginia to Surrey County, North Carolina (from which Wilkes County was formed). So did William Souther, Stephen's uncle and Henry's brother, who was only ten years older than Stephen. William's wife was Magdalena Vernon whom he had married in 1755.

We will examine first, our ancestor, Stephen Souther, first son of Henry, and trace what we know of the story of his service to his country. It is unrecorded (yet) in annals of patriot history, mainly because he may have died before his volunteer service was recorded. A story well-founded in Souther family history and recorded by historian Watson Benjamin Dyer states that Stephen Souther (1742-1782) married Mary Bussey (1745-1790) before they left Culpepper County, Virginia to move to Surrey (later Wilkes) County, NC in 1778. At the time, much unrest brewed as Tories (those loyal to the British) attacked settlers in the remote mountain areas, led on by the British Captain Ferguson who promoted their loyalties and attacks.

Stephen Souther signed on with the militia led by Benjamin Stephens. The story of Stephen's military service, passed down in family stories from that time, is that Stephen Souther, suffering from severe nosebleed, for he was afflicted with the disease of hemophilia, died in 1780. It is not known definitely whether his death occurred at the Battle of King's Mountain where he may have suffered a wound and the bleeding could not be stopped or whether he died somewhere enroute to the Battle. His widow, Mary Bussey Souther, was granted 200 acres of land on Hunting Creek in Wilkes County on October 23, 1782 in appreciation of his service to the country. Already, Stephen had received a grant previous to his death on February 5, 1780.

Stephen and Mary Bussey Souther had seven known children, Elizabeth, Jesse, Michael, Joshua, Joel, Sarah and Frank. The second-born, Jesse Souther (about 1775-1858) who married Joan Combs, was the father of John Souther, first Souther settler in the Choestoe District of Union County, and for most in the Souther kinship line, our link back to Stephen, whose Revolutionary Service is not proven through records. Even though there is not yet an official documentation of Stephen Souther's patriotic service, we his descendants hold confidently to the belief that he lost his life at King's Mountain where the British leader Patrick Ferguson and his army were defeated by hill country militia in late 1780. Stephen's widow, Mary Bussey Souther did not apply for a pension but accepted the land grant as recompense in recognition of her husband's service.

Documentation for the service of William Souther (1732 -1794) is clear, found in his application for pension which was made September 14, 1833. It was approved and payment made retroactive to March 4, 1831 of $27.00 per year.

In his application for pension William Souther (# S-7575) stated he volunteered for the militia in Surrey County, NC under Captain William Merritt. In his first three months tour he was at Salisbury under General Rutherford, at Rutgers Mill near Camden, SC, and with General Compton at the rout of British soldiers, Tories and Indians at the Catawba River. Then, joining General Gates at the Catawba, they were defeated in August, 1780 at the Battle of Camden and returned home.

His next term of service was by draft in Surrey County. He was at Richmond, NC under Captain Arthur Scott, at Haw River, where he became sick and was discharged to go home and recover. His next draft was under Captain David Humphries at Old Richmond in Surrey County. The unit went to Guilford Court House in March, 1781, and won a decisive victory against the British. He joined with Colonel James Martin's forces and went to Wilmington, NC in November of 1781. There they were ordered to line up for a proclamation. William Souther and his fellow soldiers heard the grand news that Cornwallis had surrendered at Yorktown in Virginia and that General Washington was victorious in battle on October 17, 1781. The British officially surrendered on October 19 and asked for terms.

These brave ancestors gave time, energy, courage and loyalty to winning of America's freedom.

c 2009 by Ethelene Dyer Jones; published July 16, 2009 in The Union Sentinel, Blairsville, GA. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.