Bob Baird has given me permission to post this "article" on the two Jesse Bynums.--Thank you, Bob.
The Two Mysterious Jesse Bynums
Bob Baird
This is a lengthy post attempting to differentiate the two Jesse Bynums. My motivation is mainly to correct what I think was the biggest mistake I made in my 1983 Bynum book. At that time, I wrote that Jesse Bynum of Blount was “probably” a son of William Bynum. Since then, I have changed my mind. I now think the Jesse Bynum of Jackson County was more likely to have been William’s son. I strongly suspect that the Jesse Bynum of Blount was a son of James Bynum, and a nephew of William Bynum. That’s consistent with Jasper Bynum’s statement that the Jesse of Blount was a “relative” of Isaac’s sons (rather than an “uncle”). The two Jesse Bynums are, I think, fairly easy to differentiate. The question is their parentage.
As a disclaimer, I am not related to either of the Jesse Bynums, so I have no axe to grind either way. I have by no means done a thorough job. There is plenty of research left to be done. Further, this post is based on notes I made 15-20 years ago and I may overlook citations or crucial facts.
LetÂ’s start by backing up just a bit. In Chatham County, NC we have three pre-Revolutionary Bynums who appear to have been brothers: Luke, William, and James. Luke BynumÂ’s line is well documented because he stayed in Chatham County. James Bynum, a prosecuted Regulator, has his property confiscated and sold in 1772; he disappears after witnessing a deed with James Bell (a relative) on 10 December 1774. William Bynum and his children remove to Pendleton District, SC beginning about 1792, joining the Murphrees who were already there. Nearly all the Bynums of Blount and Jackson Counties, Alabama are descended from this William Bynum. OK, now on to the two Jesse Bynums.
JESSE BYNUM #1 – Jesse Bynum (c1772-1848) of Jackson County
This Jesse Bynum #1 seems likely to be a son of William Bynum and a brother of Isaac Bynum. Jesse Bynum #1 first appears in the records on 1 November 1794 when he and James Powell, his brother-in-law, witness Isaac Bynum’s sale of land in Chatham County [Book G:333]. Isaac is already “of Pendleton”, and his father William is there as well [Plat Bk 32:265]. Both witnesses, Jesse Bynum and James Powell, are either already in Pendleton or will shortly move there. On 21 August 1797 Jesse Bynum “of Pendleton” buys 640a on Rice’s Creek in Pendleton, adjacent William Bynum [Book F:85]. He later sells this land in three parcels: 58a to James Bynum in 1804 [Book H:25], 300a to Asa Bynum in 1804 [Book M:65], and 262a to Solomon Murphree ca1814 [Book M:321, undated but recorded 1814]. His wife Elizabeth relinquishes dower in the first of these sales, thus was presumably his wife when he bought the land. Since we know Jesse #2 was married to Sarah at this time, this must be Jesse #1.
That means he must be the Jesse Bynum who appears consecutive with William Bynum, his father, in the 1800 census of Pendleton with one male 26-45, two males under 10, and one female 16-26. In 1810 he is one of the two Jesse Bynums in the Pendleton census, undoubtedly the one adjacent Asa Bynum with a household of one male 26-45, two males under 10, one female 26-45, three females 10-16, and one female under 10. These two censuses fit nicely with his known children.
No Jesse Bynums are in the 1820 census of SC. Jesse #1 had apparently removed to Tennessee about 1814, probably to the area of Warren and Franklin Counties where the Bynums and several Pendleton families appeared on the 1812 tax lists. Years later, two of his children deposed [War of 1812 WidowÂ’s Pension File #1222] that they were personally acquainted with James and Susannah Bynum in 1814. We know that this James and Susannah were married in Warren County in 1810 (Jones & Gandrud, Vol 229:34-36, were on the 1812 tax list of Warren, and that he enlisted in Lincoln County in 1814 [Same ref]. The two children of Jesse were minors at the time, so they must have been living with him in or around Warren County in 1814. He must have then moved into Alabama around 1820. He is not in the 1820 Tennessee census, and the 1820 Jackson census is destroyed.
By 1830 and 1831 we find him entering three claims in Jackson County, Alabama along with two of his sons, Isaac Bynum Sr. and several other related people. Jesse #1 is in the 1830 census there with a household of one male 50-60, one male 20-30, one male 15-20, and one female 40-50. His son William Bynum is next door, and Isaac and the other Bynums are nearby. (I canÂ’t find the 1840 census, but he may not have been a head of household.) The Sarah Bynum in the 1850 (age 65) and 1860 (age 73) census seems to be his widow, obviously a second or third wife.
This Jesse Bynum apparently died in 1848 in the part of Jackson County that had been added to DeKalb. Solomon Easley, husband of his daughter Martha Bynum, is appointed administrator and an inventory is ordered on 5 October 1848 [Min. Bk:46]. I have not seen other estate records other than the final settlement in 1850 [Min. Bk:143] which distributes shares to the widow Sarah Bynum, William Bynum, John William Bynum, Alexander Riddle, Solomon Easley, Samuel Potter, and Elizabeth Gattis. For reasons I canÂ’t explain, his son Jesse G. Bynum seems to be missing from this settlement, as is Kezziah Mitchell, another daughter. Both were identified as children by descendants.
JESSE BYNUM #2 – Jesse Bynum (c1760–1837) of Blount County
This Jesse never appears in NC records. His older children all give SC as their birthplace, suggesting that he was in SC by 1786. This predates by several years the migration of William Bynum and his family. There is a Jesse Bynum in Abbeville, SC in both the 1790 and 1800 censuses who seems to fit the profile. Could he be Jesse Bynum #2?
Well, remember the James Bynum who disappears from Chatham County after 1774? A James Bynum appears in Abbeville, SC filing land grants in 1787, 1790, and 1798 [SC Grants Vol 27:78, 15:310, 16:598, 44:341, 19:425] who also appears In a few other records. By elimination of other James Bynums, we can conjecture that this James Bynum could be the brother of William Bynum. Since John Bynum, WilliamÂ’s son, left NC temporarily to serve in a Wilkes County, Ga. militia unit during the Revolution [Pension S-3111], and James Bell and Daniel Murphree were there too, itÂ’s possible that James Bynum also went to Wilkes or to the 96 District of SC (later Abbeville), which were separated by the Savannah River. This James Bynum is head of a single-person household in 1790 and 1800 (when he is over 45), and thereafter does not appear in the census or in any other records IÂ’ve found.
Living near him in Abbeville is a Jesse Bynum, the only one in SC. His 1790 household is one male over 16 (himself), two males under 16 (James and who?), and three females (Pheraby, who?, and a wife?). Possibly some of the elder children died.
There were only two Jesse Bynums in South CarolinaÂ’s census in 1800. Since weÂ’ve decided that Jesse Bynum #1 is the one in Pendleton, Jesse Bynum #2 is probably the other one. We know that by 1800 he has at least two sons and at least two daughters still at home. The Jesse Bynum of Abbeville has a household with two males 10-16 (James and William?), one female 10-16 (Pheraby?) and one female under 10 (Martha?). The third female is 16-26, probably a second wife (or Sarah if the age is understated). This certainly fits the known children. Abbeville is plausible, since at that time it bordered Pendleton to the south and Wilkes County, Georgia to the east.
Neither Bynum appears in Abbeville in 1810. But a second Jesse Bynum shows up in Pendleton, a few miles away. He buys 120 acres on Wolf Creek on 1 November 1802 from Jesse Tatum, with William Bynum a witness [Book H:422]. The same person buys 113 acres on Wolf Creek in Feb 1808 adjoining himself, Jesse Ellis and Daniel Murphree, son of Solomon (remember who marries Jesse's children)[ In this latter purchase, he is “Jesse Bynum Sr.”, evidently to distinguish himself from the younger Jesse Bynum #1. I did not find a record of the sale of this land, but it seems likely that he joined the migration and went to Tennessee at some point.
Assuming this is him, he should be in the Pendleton census for 1810, and indeed there are now only two JesseÂ’s in SC, both in Pendleton. Jesse #2 has a household of one male over 45, two males 16-26 (James and William?), one male under 10 (Tapley?), one female 10-16 (Martha?), one female under 10 (Polly?), and one female 16-26 (a third wife? a daughter? the same wife, but a very young one?) plus himself. Pheraby is by now married. To strengthen this case, note that the Jesse Bynum of 1800 Abbeville has 6 slaves, the only Bynum in western SC who owns slaves. In 1810 the Jesse Bynum of Pendleton owns 5 slaves, the only Bynum other than Asa who owns slaves.
I think it would be worthwhile to look hard at the records of Wilkes County and Abbeville District. I would also urge someone to check the minute book of the Secona Baptist Church in Pickens, SC. The minutes begin in 1797 and mention Solomon Murphree and other Murphrees frequently, even noting a letter of recommendation given to Solomon when he left for Tennessee. These minutes may mention Bynums as well. I haven't checked them.
Most of the Bynums left for Tennessee after 1810, but there are precious few records available. There are no Jesse Bynums in the 1820 SC census, nor are there any in the 1820 Tennessee census. He is probably in Alabama by 1820, but most of its 1820 census was destroyed. Indeed, I was told years ago that he appears in the Blount deed index in 1818, though I have not checked this myself. He next shows up in the 1830 census of Blount County. One male 60-70, one male 15-20 (Eli), one male 10-15 (Green), one male 5-10 (Stephen), two females 10-15 (Dicy & Rebecca), and no wife.
This Jesse Bynum evidently dies in Blount County in 1837. I vaguely recall a Huntsville newspaper (J&G?) reference that Caleb Murphree was his administrator. I heard secondhand from June Taylor ten years ago that there was an estate sale in 1837 and a settlement in 1839. Also apparently a settlement as late as early 1846 [Min. Bk 1845-51:19-26]. These identify the heirs as: William Bynum, Stephen Bynum, Ely (sic) Bynum, James Bynum, Green Bynum, all sons of the deceased; Sally Faust (wife of William Faust), Jacob C. Brooks (husb. Of Rebecca Brooks decd), William Brown (husb. of Dicy Brown decd), all daughters of the deceased; children of Tapley Bynum, decd., and children of Polly Box (wife of John Box), decd.
Now the question of his wives. The Bible of Daniel Murphree (husband of Pheraby Bynum, daughter of Jesse #2) contains an entry reading "Marthy Bynum the daughter of Jesse Bynum and Sarah his wife was born the 6th of March 1798." That tells us Jesse was married to a Sarah in 1798. Indeed we have a lease & release in Abbeville dated 5 January 1784, from Jesse Bynum and Sarah Ann Bynum of District of Ninety-Six to Roger Martin of same, 100 acres on Savannah River "granted to Henry Bedinfield 22 January 1759, and by said Bedinfield's death fell to his son and by his son's death fell to said Sarah Ann which is married to said Jesse Bynum." [Book V-5:416]
So it appears that Jesse Bynum was married to Sarah Ann Bedinfield by early 1784 and was still married to her in 1798. And we know our Jesse Bynum #2 had a child in January 1786. So presumably all his children born between 1786 and 1798 are by this wife. Whether Sarah Ann Bedinfield was the widow or sister of Henry BedinfieldÂ’s son is unclear. (Bedinfield is spelled variously in these records, including as Benefield. I might mention that a Charles Bedinfield, John Bynum, and David Murphree were all debtors of Richard Auston in Wilkes County, GA. in 1778.)
Jasper Bynum wrote in 1916 that Jesse Bynum’s wife was “Jane”, but clearly there had to have been at least two wives. Jasper must be referring to the second (or third) wife. Mrs. Howard’s book in 1958 calls her “Jane Benefield”, the only place that name appears. From the children’s ages, it appears that the final wife was the mother of the last six children. She must have died prior to the 1830 census. Perhaps she was “Jane”, but surely not a “Benefield”. Remember that Jasper Bynum’s information came from three specific children’s lines: Pheraby, James, and Eli. And Mrs. Howard’s info came from descendants of the same three. Two of these were children of Sarah Bedingfield and Eli was evidently a son of Jane. Easy to see how the two women might have been combined into one mythical “Jane Benefield”
Those concerned might want to look at the widows in Pendleton. I’ll just note that a few households away from Jesse in 1810 there’s a “Widow Green”, as well as a 30-ish “Widow Wylie” whose first name happens to be Jane.
His children seem to have been:
Pheraby (30 January 1786) married Daniel Murphree
James (c1787) married Delilah Murphree (“Silver Jimmy”)
William (c1794) married Cynthia
Martha (6 March 1798) married Caleb Murphree
Tapley (c1800)married Sinah Glover
Polly (c1805?) married John Box
Sally (c1812) married William Faust
Eli (13 July 1813)married Marinda Pace
Green (c1816) married Sally Newton?
Rebecca (c1818?) married Jacob C. Brooks
Dicy (c1820?) married William Brown
Stephen (c1823) married Jane Brooks
The ballÂ’s now in your court!
Bob Baird
rwbaird@aol.comBob Baird is the author of:
William Robert Baird. Bynum and Baynham Families of America: 1616-1850 Baltimore, MD: Gateway Press, Inc.: 1983 call # LC 83-82272