Dansby brothers John B., Daniel Monroe, and Isham M. were among the earliest settlers of Barbour County. Daniel Monroe patented land near Pea River, in 1827, in what would become southwestern Barbour County. John patented land in 1834, and Isham in 1835. These brothers were the great-grandsons of Daniel Dansby, (1690-1750) of Edgecombe County, North Carolina. Daniel Dansby married Elizabeth Rozar about 1739, in Northampton County, North Carolina.
Isham Dansby, son of Daniel Dansby and Elizabeth Rozar, was born about 1740 in Northampton County, North Carolina. He married Martha Noble about 1763. He purchased land in Fairfield County, South Carolina in 1771. During the Revolutionary War, he served with the 3rd Regiment of the South Carolina Militia. He enlisted 24 July 1776 and was killed about 1780. Children of Isham Dansby and Martha Noble were: Elizabeth, (1763-1827); Daniel, (1767-1789); Nancy, (1771-1829); Jacob, (1772-1834); Charles M., (1773-1850); William, (1774-1852); Isham, (1775-1814); Isaac, (1776-1858); and Sara (1777-?). The oldest son Daniel, also joined the Revolution and in May of 1785, was paid thirty-eight pounds for 272 days of military service.
Isham Dansby and Martha Noble had a son named Isham, born about 1775 in Fairfield District, South Carolina. He married Winza Barker or Oyster, about 1800. Isham Dansby died 14 April 1814 in Fairfield County. Children of Isham Dansby and Winza Barker were: Daniel Monroe, (1802-1879); John B., (1808-1896); Isham M., (1810-1880); Catherine, (1814-?); and Mary Elizabeth, (1817-?).
Winza Dansby moved to Alabama where her sons had migrated to, by way of Georgia and later to Cass County, Texas, where son Daniel Monroe had relocated. While in Barbour County, Daniel Monroe Dansby served with WellbornÂ’s Alabama Mounted Volunteers during the Creek War. He was a schoolteacher by profession. He was on the first Grand Jury empanelled in Barbour County, held in Louisville 25 March 1833. He moved to Cass County, Texas by 1857.
John B. Dansby, the second son of Isham Dansby and Winza Barker, was born 8 May 1808 in South Carolina. He had moved to Oglethorpe County, Georgia by 1830 where he married Sara Marndia Price. It has been rumored that Sara was a spy for the South during the Civil War. John is believed to have first moved to Eufaula, but finding it too crowded for his liking, relocated near Pea River. John served in McInisÂ’s Co., 42nd Alabama Militia during the Creek War. Sara died April 1895 and John died 18 January 1896. They are buried in unmarked graves, in the Dansby Family Cemetery, near Elamville. Children of John Dansby and Sara Price were: Hiram, (1832-1920); Martha, (1833-1921); Elizabeth, (1836-?); Betsy, (1837-?); Daniel Monroe, (1838-1914); John, (1839-1864); Winzey, (1840-?); Emanuel George W., (1842-1901); Catherine, (1843- after 1860); Jane, (1844 - before1850); Mary Hasten, (1845-died young); Harmon Monroe, (1845-died young); Mahala, (1853-1919); and Isham Beal, (1855-1945).
Dansby brothers Hiram Daniel, Daniel Monroe, John, and George W. Dansby, sons of John and Sarah Dansby, all enlisted with the Confederate Army, Co. C, 39th Alabama Infantry Regiment, during the Civil War. John Dansby received the “Badge of Distinction” for acts of individual bravery during the battle of Murfreesboro, bestowed upon him by a vote of his peers. Daniel Monroe Dansby’s gravesite in the Dansby Family Cemetery is identified with a Confederate grave marker. Late in the war, these brothers deserted the Confederate Army and joined the Union’s 1st Florida Calvary Regiment.
Isham Beal “Nick” Dansby, the youngest son of John and Sara Dansby, was born 5 September 1855 near Elamville. Isham and Daniel Monroe married sisters, Mary and Louisiana Joiner respectively. Isham married Mary Joiner, 20 June 1872. She died by 1884 and is buried in the Dansby Family Cemetery. He married Ida P. Miles, daughter of Francis Andrew Miles and Jane Lucrettia Faulk, 14 June 1884. Isham Beal Dansby died 28 October 1945. He and Ida are buried at Elam Baptist Church Cemetery.
The children of Isham Dansby and Mary Joiner were: Alto Beal, (1875-1970); Dora Belle, (1880-1975); and John Bishop “Bish”, (1881-1966). The children of Isham Dansby and Ida Miles were: Maude, (1885-1902); Eugenia “Jean”, (1886-1969); Jennie, (1890-1984); Charles D., (1892-1905); Daniel, (1894-1974); Sara “Sallie” Jane, (1897-1975); Lula, 1898-?); Dewey H., (1901-1942); Mattie, (1903-?); and Raymond, (1906-1929).
Even though some of the DansbyÂ’s migrated on to Texas, Florida and other areas, during and after the Civil War, there are still many Dansby descendents in or near Barbour County today including the surnames of Phillips, Pelham, Pugh, Teal, Ketcham, and Price, among others.
Sara Jane "Sallie" Dansby, (1897-1975), daughter of Isham Beal Dansby and Ida Miles was born 17 March 1897 near Elamville. She married Phate Thomas Pugh, son of Reverend William Washington Pugh and Eugenia Reeves, 17 May 1913. Children of Phate Pugh and Sallie Dansby were: Charlie Clyde, (1914-1921); Edna Gladys, (1918-2000); Phate Thomas Jr.; and Gene Lomax.