Hugh Lavender 1754-1834 (not a son of E. Probert)

This is the original Geni Profile on Hugh Lavender 1754-1834 and is based on historical documents researched in the locations involved.

The mother of HUGH LAVENDER b. 1754 and his brother WILLIAM LAVENDER b. 1761 was not Elizabeth Probart, as indicated on another Geni tree by Eric H. Christianson, nor was Hugh b. 1754 married to Jane Hopper. His son Hugh Levi Lavender was.

Hugh's three oldest sons had daughters named Anna Montgomery Lavender.

Hugh Lavender:

• Lived 1786-1788: Newberry Co., SC [Court case involving debt, wrongful conversion of property, Newberry County SC, Minutes of County Court, 1785-1798, Newberry probate office]
• Lived 1789: served on Newberry Co. pettit jury [Newberry County SC, Minutes of County Court, 1785-1798, p. 84, Newberry probate office]
• Lived 1791-1793: court cases involving property [Newberry County SC, Minutes of County Court, 1785-1798, p. 152, 182, 194, Newberry probate office]
• Lived 1796: member of pettit jury for the July term [Newberry County SC, Minutes of County Court, 1785-1798, p. 273, Newberry probate office]

In Revolutionary Soldiers in Alabama, Hugh "gave a brief history of his life," claiming "to have been born in Bollyneana" (known as Ballymena) "in County Antrim, Ireland and to have emigrated as a boy of seventeen to South Carolina in 1771. ...After leaving Ireland, Hugh Lavender settled on Wateree Creek in Camden District, which became Fairfield District of South Carolina in 1785. The area ... was a center for the 'Regulators," a vigilante group which was organized to bring 'law and order' to the wilderness and to give the settlers more control over their own lives, but which frequently meant turbulent times with the British. In fact, from October 1780 to January 1781 Cornwallis had headquarters in Fairfield." --Judy Jacobson, Alabama and Mississippi Connections: Historical and Biographical Sketches of Families Who Settled on Both Sides of the Tombigbee River (1999), pp. 129-130. The account of Hugh Lavender, giving his descendants to 1944, appears in Alabama Historical Quarterly, Winter 1944; scroll to p. 594 of the journal text.

"In the 18th century it was considered uncivilized to conduct warfare in the wintertime, but there was nothing civilized about the vicious guerilla war in the South Carolina back country in 1780-1781." (Narrative History of Union County, SC; not online).

In the family Bible of Hugh's son John Levi Lavender, JLL lists his parents as Hugh Lavender and Rebecca Smith, born 1759 in Ireland, married 1777 (Greene Co., Ala. historian Franklin Mosely in Alabama Historical Quarterly, Winter 1944, p. 595; he had seen the JLL family Bible).

Hugh Lavender is Patriot #A067029 per the Daughters of the American Revolution genealogical research system.

His record is listed in the Roster of South Carolina Patriots in the American Revolution, page 556 (see in MEDIA). He was at the siege of Ninety-Six under General Greene.

Sons of the American Revolution Membership Applications, 1889-1970 cites birth and death dates for Hugh and his wife Rebecca.

DAR: LAVENDER, HUGH Ancestor #: A067029

• Service: SOUTH CAROLINA Rank: PRIVATE
• Birth: 11-11-1754 CO ANTRIM IRELAND
• Death: POST 9-8-1834 GREENE CO ALABAMA
• Pension Number: *S10972
• Service Source: *S10972
• Service Description: 1) CAPT ROBERT ALLISON 2) COL JOHN WINN

He arrived in South Carolina at Wateree Creek, Camden District in 1771 (see Hugh Lavender Revolutionary War pension application in Hale / Greene Co. Alabama).

Alabama Soldiers: Revolution, War of 1812, and Indian Wars, Pauline Gandrud and Bobbie Jones McLane, vol. 16, p. 35 -- Hugh Lavender, Revolutionary War, [lived in] Greene Co. [Ala.]:

"Served in Dragoon SC Militia, enrolled Feb. 10 1834 (for pension) for an annual allowance of $66.21 (Revolutionary Pension Roll in Vol. XIV, Sen. Doc. 514, 23rd Congress, 1st Sess. 1833-34) . . . Volunteered in 1774 and served under Col. John Winn, Capt. Robt. Allison, Lt. John Allison. Served several tours against the Indians and Tories. He folunteered in 1775 and served under Capt. John Mullen. In 1776, he was with Capt. Casey, late General. Resided in Camden Dist. (now Fairfield Dist.), then in Newberry Dist., SC, until 1822, when he removed to Greene Co., Ala. Refers to John Elliott, David Campbell, James Campbell for veracity and character. Test[ators]: James Monett, Clergyman, and David Campbell (David Campbell is not on GENI, but he came to Greene County, Ala. around 1818 and founded Havana, now in Hale County. In Fairfield Co., SC on the 1800 census, he appears one page ahead of Hugh Lavender and a couple of other Campbells).

Last payment of pension to Hugh Lavender (Records of Comptroller General, GAO, Washington DC, Cert. #29009): covering the period March 4, 1831 to March 4, 1834, made on August 9, 1834 at the Pension Agency in Mobile, Ala., to William Walton, as attorney for the pensioner. On July 21, 1834 the pensioner certified that he had resided in Greene County, Ala., for a period of 11 years, and previous thereto he resided in Fairfield District, SC."

Revolutionary War pension file is #S10972 (Records of Veterans Affairs, Group 15, Nat'l Archives, Washington DC: Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files for service in South Carolina. Military service listed as "1775, conducted prisoners in SC".

Alabama Historical Quarterly of Winter 1944 (p. 594) prints Hugh's Revolutionary War pension application, stating he was born Nov. 11, 1754 in County Antrim, Ireland, near Ballymena; landed 1771 in South Carolina and settled on Wateree Creek in Camden District near Fairfield. Volunteered service in the Revolution and served at various times until the end of the war, about two years in all. It lists where he served, says he died in 1834, and is buried at Concord Cemetery, Greene Co., with no marker to his grave. The piece is available online via archive.org. The AHQ piece states, "An interesting account from Margaret "Margaritte" Emiline Lavender Elliott (1861-1938; daughter of Thomas Lavender & Mariah Davis) told that cousins of Hugh Lavender (1754-1834) (father of John L. of this page) settled in the area of present-day Moundville at the time Hugh settled nearer Havana [then Greene County, later Hale County]. Mrs. Annie [Dominick m. Francis Marion] Lavender says Cousin Mag told her "several brothers came from South Carolina and settled first near Moundville, but because of chills and fevers, moved out near Liberty and Havana. Some of the brothers moved into Pickens County, near Ethelsville. There are many Lavenders in that county today. These Lavenders stayed only one year because of the mosquitoes. They were thought to be descendants of William Lavender. The descendants of Hugh and William Lavender used many of the same first names. They moved westward toward and into Pickens County." Cousin Mag also said that to get supplies the Hugh Lavenders went back to South Carolina, stating that they went due North to Pulaski, Tennessee, then east to South Carolina. Several had to go in a group because there were robbers along the route." (See map in MEDIA). Source: John Dorrell Lavender (b. 1927) of Eutaw, Greene Co., Alabama, great-grandson of John Dorrell Lavender (b. 1827) and a descendant of John L. and Hugh, in Hale County Heritage Book (~1990s).

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"The decade beginning in 1750 brought a great influx of Scots-Irish to this part of the Carolinas. The Scots-Irish were descendants of the Scots that had been transplanted to Ireland’s Ulster Province in the seventeenth century in an attempt by the English king to establish Protestant domination over Roman Catholicism in Ireland. Religious persecution and discriminatory legislation that restricted their personal and religious freedom drove the Scots-Irish Calvinist Presbyterians to leave Ireland, and most of them immigrated to western Pennsylvania, settling between the Quakers in central Pennsylvania and the Iroquois Indians on the frontier. There they suffered attacks by the Indians, but the Quakers refused to lend military aid. This led many Scots-Irish to move south along the Occaneechi Trail, later known as the Great Wagon Road, seeking new lands to settle. [Notes: For a through discussion of the Scots-Irish see David Hackett Fischer, Albion’s Seed: Four British Folkways in America (New York: Oxford Univ. Press, 1989), and Patrick Griffin, The People with No Name: Ireland’s Ulster Scots, America’s Scots Irish, and the Creation of a British Atlantic World, 1689-1764 (Princeton Univ. Press, 2001). Largely Presbyterian, these settlers soon established churches." Architectural History Survey, City of York SC.

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Hugh Lavender in the Census

In 1790 census for Newberry District, South Carolina:

• Free White Persons - Males - Under 16: 3
• Free White Persons - Males - 16 and over: 1
• Free White Persons - Females: 4
• Number of Household Members: 8

Newberry County was the new home of a group of immigrants from County Antrim, Ireland, who journeyed to America under the leadership of Reverend John Renwick of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church. They were part of the massive (25,000) group of landless Scots-Irish who left Ulster in the period 1771-1775 searching for religious freedom and economic opportunity. See more below.

Hugh Lavender in the 1800 census for Fairfield, South Carolina (see image in MEDIA)

• Free White Persons - Males - Under 10: 2
• Free White Persons - Males - 16 thru 25: 1
• Free White Persons - Males - 45 and over: 1. Hugh would have been 46 years old.
• Free White Persons - Females - Under 10: 3
• Free White Persons - Females - 10 thru 15: 2
• Free White Persons - Females - 45 and over: 1
• Number of Household Members Under 16: 7
• Number of Household Members Over 25: 2
• Number of Household Members: 10

Hugh Lavender in 1810 census for Fairfield County (borders on Newberry), SC (see in MEDIA).

• Free White Persons - Males - Under 10: 0
• Free White Persons - Males - 10-16: 1
• Free White Persons - Males - 16 thru 25: 1
• Free White Persons - Males - 26-45: 0
• Free White Persons - Males - 45 and over: 1. Hugh would have been 56 years old.
• Free White Persons - Females - Under 10: 0
• Free White Persons - Females - 10 thru 15: 2
• Free White Persons - Females - 16-26: 3
• Free White Persons - Females - 26-45: 0
• Free White Persons - Females - 45 and over: 1
• Slaves (total): 0

The neighbor on the line above Hugh -- Reuben Harrison -- owned 85 slaves; the one below owned 7.

Hugh Lavander in the 1820 census for Fairfield, South Carolina (see image in MEDIA).

• Enumeration Date: August 7, 1820
• Free White Persons - Males - 10 thru 15: 1
• Free White Persons - Males - 16 thru 25: 1
• Free White Persons - Males - 26 thru 44: 2
• Free White Persons - Males - 45 and over: 1
• Free White Persons - Females - 10 thru 15: 2
• Free White Persons - Females - 16 thru 25: 3
• Free White Persons - Females - 45 and over : 1. Hugh would have been 66 years old.
• Slaves - Females - Under 14: 1
• Number of Persons - Engaged in Agriculture: 5
• Number of Persons - Engaged in Manufactures: 1
• Free White Persons - Under 16: 3
• Free White Persons - Over 25: 4
• Total Free White Persons: 11
• Total Slaves: 1
• Total All Persons - White, Slaves, "Colored," Other: 12

In around 1822, Hugh's sons Hugh Levi Lavender and John L. Lavender moved to Greene County, Alabama, which was opening up following expulsion of Indian tribes to further west. (Oldest son David Lavender remained in Fairfield County, SC.)

A Federal Land Patent there is deeded to Hugh L. Lavender of Greene County, Feb. 18, 1825, for Greene County T22N - R5E, the W½NW¼ Sec. 4. In Bureau of Land Management records (see link above), it is indexed as Hale County, which was later carved out of Greene. In BLM Tract Books, which record payment of taxes, it is listed in Greene Col. (Image 222 of 269).

Son John [L.] Lavender (1780-1861) filed for land as John Lavender of Tuskaloosa County, with Federal Land Patent dated Jan. 1, 1822 for Greene County T22N - R5E, the E½NE¼ Sec. 5.

The older Hugh Lavender appears in the 1830 census for Greene County, Alabama, in his 70s; also living on his place is a female in her 30s. The name Hugh Lavender also appears in the Newberry Co., SC 1830 census, but that person is Hugh Sr.'s nephew, son of his brother William (Wm. had died 1826 in Newberry Co., SC).

The older Hugh Lavender's Will was filed in Greene Co., Ala. (Will Book B, p. 153-54), dated September 8, 1834; the estate was probated there and documents are available online. There were 6 enslaved people named in the Will (see below for their ages):

Will of Hugh Lavender, 1834:

I, Hugh Lavender, do make and ordain this my last Will and Testament in manner and form following (viz)

• I give and bequeath to my daughter, Margaret Lavender one negro boy named George, one hundred dollars in money, two beds and their furniture, also all household furniture and one wagon. {This would exempt Hugh's home furnishings from the inevitable Estate Sale, indicating that Margaret, unmarried, would be staying on the home place.} {At the sale of Margaret's Estate (January 1844, Sumter County), "one Negro man" went to her brother Robert S. Lavender ($738), along with Margaret's barouche and considerable bedding/furnishings. Probate is in Alabama, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1753-1999 for Margaret Lavender Sumter Estate Papers, Lavender, Hugh L to Lawson, James R, Image 579, via Ancestry.com}.
• I give and bequeath to my daughter Sarah Bennett (married to Kinard Bennett) forty dollars in money. Hugh leaves out three of his other married daughters, Ruth Barbour, Nancy McDaniel/McDonald and Mary Torbert.
• I give and bequeath to my son [Hugh] Levi Lavender one negro boy named Bob, also fifty nine dollars and fifty nine cents, which is now in his possession. {At the sale of Hugh Levi Lavender's Estate in 1844 (he had died in 1836), "Negro man Robbin" went with the widow, Jane Hopper Lavender ($600). Five other individuals including Robbin's probable wife, Hannah, went with other family members or neighbors; see on Hugh Levi Lavender Profile. Hugh Levi Lavender Probate is in Alabama, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1753-1999 for Hugh L. Lavender Sumter Estate Papers, Lavender, Hugh L to Lawson, James R, Image 593, via Ancestry.com}.
• I give and bequeath to Lucy Lavender twenty five dollars in money.
• I give and bequeath to James Campbell seventy five dollars in money.

It is my will and desire that the following negroes (viz) Nace, Matilda, Nick and Eliza, with my lands, stock and present crop shall be [sold and the proceeds] equally divided between the following children after paying all my just debts and above named sums of money (viz) Robert S. Lavender, John Lavender, Ruth Barbour, Mary Torbert and Nancy McDaniel and I nominate and appoint Robert S. Lavender and Kinard Bennet executors of this, my last will and testament, hereby revoking all other and former wills by me at any time heretofore made.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal the 8th day of September in the year of our Lord 1834. /s/ Hugh Lavender; Witnesses James Camak, Willis Pope, Alexis D. Pope.

Hugh Lavender's Will lists his children as:

1. Margaret Lavender (inherited George). She died in Sumter County, Alabama in 1843 (her Probate file is on Ancestry.com / Sumter Co., Ala.)
2. Sarah Bennett (m. Kinard Bennett). (Nace, a negro man [age 45 in 1834; b. ~1789], $680 recorded). Not yet clear what became of this couple.
3. Robert S. Lavender (Nick / Nicholaus, a boy [age 6 in 1834; b. ~1828], $386 recorded). Robert S. ended up in Sumter Co., Ala.
4. John [L.] Lavender. In Estate documents, appears as John Lavender. (Married Rebecca Sant, b. Mar 15, 1784-d. May 15, 1860, Havana, Greene Co., Ala. [Alabama Soldiers]. A Thomas Sant lived in Fairfield District, SC in 1810, same page as Hugh Lavender.) John L. did not acquire any of the family's slaves in this Estate Sale; in the 1850 Slave Census he and his son Thomas owned a total of four (younger).
5. Ruth Barbour (m. John Barbour; (Eliza a girl [age 4 in 1834; b. ~1830], $256 recorded). The Barbours ended up in Choctaw Co., Ala.
6. Mary Torbett or Torbert (m. Hugh Torbert; Matilda, a woman [age 36 in 1834; b. ~1798], $584 recorded). The Torberts both died around 1837 in Sumter Co.,Ala.; their son Hugh Torbert/Torbett went to live with his mother's cousin Robert "Robbin" Lavender in Mantua, Pickens Co.-Southern Division (Greene).
7. Nancy McDaniel (or McDonald)
8. [Hugh] Levi Lavender (m. Jane Hopper). Inherited Bob. Hugh L. died in 1838 in Sumter County, Ala.
9. David Lavender b. 1778-d. 1831 in Fairfield County, SC, had never moved to Ala., and had predeceased Hugh.

Hugh left money to James Campbell and Lucy Lavender, but does not state their relationship to him. However:

• James Campbell was the widower of Hugh's daughter Jane; he is listed as an heir of Jane's sister Margaret Lavender 'in right of his wife Jane Campbell' in a Margaret Lavender Estate document; Images 151-52 in Margaret Lavender Probate in Sumter Co., Ala. on Ancestry.com). James Campbell and Jane Lavender m. Campbell had at least five children also named as heirs of Margaret Lavender.
• Lucy Lavender was the widow of Hugh's son David Lavender (he died 1831); in 1834 Lucy was still living in Fairfield County, SC (Fairfield Co., SC, Will Books).

The Hugh Lavender Estate papers online include a final General Store bill including copious amounts of whiskey, gin, rum (and castor oil). Another store tab from 1834, shows many visits "at the bar" as well as purchase of much alcohol.

The male heirs (including sons-in-law representing daughters) signed an agreement for sale of assets in October 1834.

A Property Appraisal dated Sept. 19th, 1834 and an Inventory, dated October 4, 1834, gives names and ages of Nace (45), Matilda (36), Nick (6), and Eliza (4). George and Bob were young boys (see in MEDIA).

The Sale took place October 30, 1834, and the four enslaved people mentioned remained with family members:

From Greene Co., Ala. Orphans Court Book D., p. 207 (quoted in Alabama Soldiers, Vol. 16, p. 38): "Hugh Lavender, dec'd June 13, 1836, Kinnard Bennet and Sarah Bennet be allowed $37.37. Robert S. Lavender, one of the executors; Margaret Lavender, $100; Lucy Lavender $25; James Campbell $75; Robt S. Lavender $441; John Barber in right of wife Ruth Barber $440.21. Hugh Torbett in right of wife Mary Torbett $440.21; Samuel McDaniel in right of wife Nancy McDaniel $440.21."

Hugh Lavender is buried in Concord Cemetery, Havana, Ala. His grave is marked and appears on FindAGrave. A stone was ordered in 1946 from the U.S. War Department by W.P. Lavender of Moundville, Hale Co., Alabama (Hale County was formerly a section of Greene County). W.P. is either (1) Walter Pierce Lavender (27 September 1894-8 July 1970; FindAGrave), who was a son of Thomas M. Lavender and Mary Ella ___, and a grandson of Martha Lavender Willborn (b. 1848), per the 1900 census for Hale County, Ala., or (2) Walter Pierce Lavender's son born 1921 (per 1940 census for Hale County). Martha Lavender was the daughter of Thomas & Mariah; Thomas was the son of John Levi Lavender, who was the son of Hugh Lavender 1754-1834.

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On the Irish immigration, from the extensive and thoroughly-researched history of the Caldwell family (also of Newberry County, SC) at rcaldwellfamily.net, which is accessible only via membership & login.

Many . . . Irish families came to America under what was known as the "Bounty Act. " This act was passed by the General Assembly of South Carolina on July 25, 1761, to encourage poor European Protestants to colonize South Carolina. The large majority of the immigrants coming into South Carolina from 1761 to 1773 were Presbyterians from [Northern] Ireland. Applicants under this act had to certify that they were Protestants and thus entitled to the benefits of the act. The benefits of the act were free ship's passage plus the right to petition for a grant of land from the Colony of South Carolina. Also each person who received a land grant was given a cash allowance for the purchase of tools, supplies, and materials for constructing a dwelling. The exact amount of the allowance is unclear in the history records but one source reports that it was ten pounds in gold coin. The formula or method of distributing the land is not clearly described in the Council Journal entries, but it seems that a man and his wife were granted as much as 150 acres plus 50 acres for each child under the age of 15. Single persons over the age of 15 were considered adults and were usually granted 100 acres. The ship's manifest listed by name only the head of the household and single persons over 15 .

With the members of his church facing rising rents, poor crops, and a constant struggle to provide for their families, the Rev. William Martin, a Presbyterian Minister, gave a sermon urging his flock to leave Ireland and accompany him to South Carolina. The Rev. Martin explained to them the provisions of the "Bounty Act " passed by South Carolina in 1761 and over 400 families decided to seize this opportunity to own land. In 1772 a group of five ships, organized by Rev. Martin, left the seaport town of Larne, Ireland, with 1200 passengers bound for South Carolina. These ships were the James and Mary, Pennsylvania Farmer, Lord Dunluce, Hopewell, and Free Mason. The James and Mary sailed first, in August, and arrived in Charles Town, South Carolina, in October 1772. When the James and Mary arrived an outbreak of smallpox on board the ship resulted in the entire ship's passengers and crew being quarantined aboard ship anchored off Sullivan's Island in the Charles Town Harbor until early December. . . The other four ships did not sail until October 1772 to allow the farmers time to harvest their crops. These four ships did not arrive until late December 1772.

[Families aboard the ships were] listed in Jane Revill's book Original List of Protestant Immigrants to South Carolina 1763-1773.

. . . Our ancestors lived in the County Antrim area of Northern Ireland. They were simple farmers or sheep herders, who did not own any land and most probably could not read or write. This area of Northern Ireland, called the Glens of Antrim, is a hilly region with beautiful lush green valleys and cloud-covered hills. It must have been extremely difficult for [people to leave] this beautiful area for a 3000 mile trip to a new land, a land they knew very little about . . . They and their ancestors before them had been servant farmers, little more than slaves of the land owner and here was a chance for a new start and the opportunity to own their own land. [The farmer] received a land grant of 450 acres which by Irish standards was an extremely large farm. To be free and to own their own land was probably a dream that they never thought would happen.

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DL's work on Hugh Lavender (1754-1834) and his clan -- which includes many descendants and cousins also named Hugh -- has been summarized at Wiki Lavender-664 by Rob Jacobson. The one exception is the assertions about a Richard Lavinder from Normandy in France. While it is highly likely that the Lavenders who came from N. Ireland to SC in the 1770s were Huguenot descendants, there is no solid evidence they had an ancestor called Richard, nor does that name appear in the Hugh Lavender/William Lavender clan of SC and later Ala.