Person:Margaret Smith (348)

About Margaret Parham

Margaret Smith first married Isaac Edmundson; second, was married for a few years to John Duncan of Newberry County, South Carolina; and third to John Parham. She is listed in court records in Newberry County as leaving two heirs, John Edmundson and Sarah (her name not specifically noted), the wife of Daniel Stewart.

Records in South Carolina

State: South Carolina Year: 1837

Location: Newberry Location Type: District

Abstract: John Shealy, administrator of the estate of the late Lydia Dunkin [Duncan] Stephens, seeks the court's assistance in securing a slave belonging to the estate of Lydia's late father, John Dunkin [Duncan], who died around 1805. Shealy explains that the executor of Dunkin's will, Abel Dunkin, arranged with Dunkin's widow, Margaret, to give the widow $200 worth of estate property and a life estate in a slave named Ned in exchange for her promise not to contest Dunkin's will. The will directed that Dunkin's property be sold and the residue be divided equally among his nine children. Most of the children have "removed from this State many years since," and many of them are presumed dead. Margaret Dunkin recently passed away, leaving two sons as her only heirs. The boys have "divided her property among them without obtaining any grant of administration on her estate." Shealy, who recently learned that they permit Ned "to go at large without exerting any control over him," fears that, if the heirs will not safely "keep and take care of the said negro until he can be properly delivered over for the use of your orator and the other persons entitled in remainder," then Ned may be "carried without the limits of the State to the detriment of your orator." He asks the court to intervene so that Ned can be sold "according to the directions of the said will and the profits of his labour" will not be lost to the heirs.

1. ↑ ^1.0 1.1 Ancestry.com. Public Member Trees: (Note: not considered a reliable primary source).

   http://person.ancestry.com/tree/62310950/person/30505693884/facts

2. ↑ Find A Grave.

   Margaret Parham
   Birth: 1763
   Death: Jul. 27, 1836
   
   Family links:
   Children:
   John Edmundson (1782 - 1854)*
   
   Inscription: In Memory of MARGARET PARHAM who died July 27th, 1836 aged 73 years
   
   http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=13783800

3. ↑ U.S., Quaker Meeting Records, 1681-1935 [database]. (Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, 2014).

   Name: Margaret Smith
   Birth Date: 6 Sep 1763
   Birth Date on Image: 06 Ninth 1763
   Birth Place: Bucks County, Pensylvania
   Father: David Smith
   Mother: Hannah Smith
   Event Type: Birth
   Monthly Meeting: Bush River Monthly Meeting
   Yearly Meeting: North Carolina Yearly Meeting
   Meeting State: South Carolina
   Meeting County: Newberry

4.   Rootsweb Message Boards.

   Margaret Smith Edmundson Duncan Parham (1763 – 1836), by Judith F. Russell
   
   Margaret (she usually signed as Marget) Smith, born in 1763 in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, to David Smith and Hannah Hibbs,[5] was married three times. Her first husband was Isaac Edmundson, her second was John Duncan, and her third was John Parham. Her successive marriages and name changes can be traced through a series of SouthCarolina court cases, several of which contain two of her married names. During the years she was legally “Margaret Duncan,” Marget stated in one court action that her maiden name was Smith and, in another, that herson by her previous marriage was John Edmundson. Later, while she was using the name “Margaret Parham,” she stated that she was formerly Margaret Duncan. In that very acrimonious case she was assisted by her “next friend,” John Edmundson, whose daughter Hester was the wife of David Gilbert the son of Rebecca Gauntt and Thomas Gilbert.
   
   http://www.genealogy.com/ftm/r/u/s/Judith-F-Russell/FILE/0045page.html

5.   United States. 1830 U.S. Census Population Schedule. (National Archives Microfilm Publication M19).

   Name: Margaret Parham
   Home in 1830 (City, County, State): Newberry, South Carolina
   Free White Persons - Males - 60 thru 69: 1 [b. bet. 1761-1770]
   Free Colored Persons - Females - Under 10: 1
   Free Colored Persons - Females - 24 thru 35: 1
   Slaves - Males - 24 thru 35: 1
   Total Free White Persons: 1
   Total Slaves: 1
   Total Free Colored Persons: 2
   Total - All Persons (Free White, Slaves, Free Colored): 4
   
   - in examining the actual 1830 census record, it only lists Margaret Parham, but lists a "male, age 60 but under 70 years", which is likely a mistake by the census taker, and should have been entered in the "females" section. There are NO OTHER persons listed as living with her in the Census record.