Three years ago, I wrote about Saymore/Seymour/Saymour Scott who died in Cumberland County, VA by 12 May 1788. My interest in this family stems from his association with Samuel Williams, also of Cumberland County and part of my husband’s very extended Williams family that migrated to eastern Tennessee by 1805.

Previously, I shared several proven facts about Saymer and his family and, thanks to the terrific Virginia Chancery Court records, I am able to add a few updates of proven knowledge about this family. was probably born c1735 in Virginia, possibly in the area of what became Cumberland County in 1749.

Given the ages of his children, it is safe to assume that Saymer was likely born c1735 or possibly even a bit earlier. Although no marriage record has been found for him, his wife at the time of his death was Hannah; there is no evidence of an earlier marriage so Hannah seems to be the mother of all of his children.

Here are several more tidbits of facts I’ve recently uncovered:

FACT: Although Saymore died by 20 May 1788, when Samuel Williams and David Low were granted letters of administration on Saymore’s estate, there is a one line statement in court records that says he died in February 1788.

FACT: In November 1790, Samuel Williams was named as guardian to Hannah’s children.

FACT: Saymore left a widow, Hannah, and infant children: Sarah, Samuel, Nancy, Benjamin, Hannah and Saymour Jr.

FACT: Saymore was the father of the following children, but their BIRTH ORDER is unproven, except that Samuel, Nancy, Benjamin, Hannah and Saymore were all under the age of 21 in 1793:

1. Mary/Molly, born c1761; married John Morrow Jr., 12 September 1781, Prince Edward County, VA
2. Patty,born c1765,  who married Daniel Lowe, before 1793
3. Judith, born c1768, who married Joseph Byrd, before 1793: Judith may have died by 1798, with no surviving children, as no Byrds are included in any of the court actions between 1798-1807.
4. Sally, born c1771, who married Benjamin Whitehead, possibly around 1793 as a court record indicates that Hannah Scott agrees that the couple was married by that time.
5. Samuel, born c1773, generally mentally unable to care for himself as an adult and who died unmarried by 1807
6. Nancy, born c1775, who married Robert Beasley between 1793-1798
7. Benjamin, born c1776, who married Sarah Legrand, 8 March 1798, Prince Edward County, VA.
8. Hannah, born c1778, who married Stephen Hooper between 1799-1802
9. Saymore, born c1780

With all these missing marriage records, I have to wonder if they married in Buckingham County, which shares an eastern and southern border with Cumberland and Prince Edward Counties and is a severely burned county, having lost most of its records in an 1869 fire.

FACT: Hannah Scott died before March 1798 when Samuel Williams was appointed to appraise Hannah’s estate. The inventory was returned to the court on 12 April 1798.

FACT: Benjamin Scott was over the age of 21 years by 12 April 1798 when he was appointed administrator of his mother’s estate.

Who was Hannah? I believe she was a sister of Samuel Williams for three reasons, all found in the chancery court records of Cumberland County.

#1 – Samuel became the guardian of Saymer’s children who were still not of legal age when he died (Nancy, Hannah, Saymore, Samuel and Benjamin).

#2 – When the chancery court approved the division of lands to Saymer’s heirs, the land bordered that of Samuel Williams.

#3 – Samuel stated that he agreed to care for Hannah in her old age, which he did until her death in 1798. He was also assigned by the court to appraise her estate.

That is a lot of responsibility to take on for a casual acquaintance. I believe that Hannah was Samuel’s sister and that both were children of Thomas Williams and Susannah Anderson. Hannah was probably older than Samuel, who was born c1740 and died in Cumberland County in 1823.

Samuel Williams was most likely the son of Thomas Williams and Susannah Anderson. Thomas was born in 1712 in Wales according to an old family Bible. Samuel was born 18 September 1744, so Hannah is certainly of an age to be his sister.

Clues are sparse for this family. I have no idea of the birth years for these children, except that Mary, mentioned first in court papers,  was probably the oldest and she married in 1781. Because her father is named on that marriage record, I doubt that she was of legal age, so born no earlier than 1761 and, if only, say 16, when she married, she might have been born as late as 1765.

Land deeds will be my first stop, as each child inherited a portion of their father’s land holdings.

I have some probate work to do – there are Cumberland County wills for John Morrow filed in 1834, Ewing Morrow in 1842 and Ewing’s estate settlement in 1848. Those are the only Morrows listed in the index. Whether this is the same John, I have no idea.

I also need to check the personal property tax lists for Cumberland County and Prince Edward County to see if any of the entries are for Hannah Scott, Robert Beasley, Benjamin Whitehead, John Morrow or the male children of Saymour and Hannah.

Many families headed out of Virginia for westward lands in the early 1800s. The Williams family migrated en masse about 1805 to Tennessee. Perhaps some of the Scott relations went with them.

I also need to check Prince Edward County deeds, probate and tax records on the chance that any of these couples moved over the county line. Since Mary and brother Benjamin Scott both married in Prince Edward County, it is very possible.

Unfortunately, no one seems to have done much work on this family. The few mentions I see online are very questionable clues – one has a man marrying at the age of 1. I won’t waste anytime following up on that!

Perhaps I will have a detailed update in the near future if more documented records turn up. In the meantime, if you have suggestions to offer, please do so in the comments.