The Puryear family is a well known family of the Armuchee Valley area. While I do not descend from the Puryears directly, they do (like the Suttles) connect in my tree through marriage. Nancy Elizabeth Ward is my 3rd great grand aunt and she married Hamilton Young Puryear (1841-1903). Hamilton is a son of William Marcellus Puryear (1810-1866), and grandson of John Puryear (1786-1836). William Marcellus had a brother named John “Jack” Puryear (1822-1907).
Jack Puryear is among those old time settlers of East Armuchee.
His homestead was located on lots 80 and 81 of Walker County District 26, Section 3 (Will; Property Tax Digests). In laymans terms, this is located on the north side of Highway 136 around where Dicks Creek Road crosses the highway. Clements Pond is a feature on the map that is on this land (presumably named for C.A. Clements who, according to the Walker County Tax Assessor, later owned this land). It is interesting to note that these lots (80 and 81) are directly north of lots 101 and 100–the plots that made up my 3rd great grandfather Micajah Pope‘s (1808-1867) home place. So Micajah Pope and John Puryear were neighbors and certainly would have known each other (Deed). Jacob Goodson‘s (1808-1882, another 3rd great grandfather) home place was just to the east of these Puryear lots.
The picutre I’m sharing here today shows a fine group of young Villanoians, presumably enjoying a nice outing and dressed to the nines! According to Evelyn Morgan Shahan’s notes, the photo was taken in the first decade of the 20th century in an area called the Puryear Woods on Jack Puryear’s home place.
Evelyn identified the people in this photo as follows (left to right):
Unfortunately I don’t know exactly where this spot known as Puryear Woods was located. Could it have been near what was later called Clements Pond? Is it even accessible today? I would love to learn more about Puryear Woods but so far history has seen fit to keep this a mystery.
If anyone out there has information about Puryear Woods, or anyone in this photo, please leave a comment below to get in touch.
SOURCES
Ancestry.com. Georgia, Property Tax Digests, 1793-1893. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011. Web. Accessed 15 Sep 2012.
Deed of sale from estate of Micajah Pope, administered by M.F. Pope, to J.A. Clements, 2 Feb 1878, Walker County, Georgia, Deed Record 1, 37-8. County Clerk’s Office, LaFayette, Georgia. Retrieved by Michael, Rhonda, & Jordan Scoggins in Feb 2012.
Walker County, GA. Walker County Tax Assessor. Web. Accessed 15 Sep 2012.
Will of John Puryear, 15 Jul 1897, Walker County, Georgia. Probate Office, LaFayette, Georgia. Retrieved by Michael, Rhonda, & Jordan Scoggins in Feb 2012.
I am confused about Nancy Elizabeth Ward being your third great grandmother.
Sorry, I misread. You said aunt rather than grandmother. Could the picture have been near the Puryear Cemetery?
According to Evelyn Morgan Shahan’s notes, it was on the home place of John “Jack” Puryear… which was, as described, on land lots 80 and 81 (the two lots on the other side of Highway 136 directly north of Micajah Pope’s lots). Before I figured that out I had wondered the same thing about Puryear Cemetery. It would be worth finding out *why* Puryear Cemetery is located where it is… maybe a different Puryear lived on that land?
Jordan,
I am a descendant of Stephen
I am a descendant of Stephen Washington Puryear. He is my great great grandfather. He is buried in the Pocket Cemetery just a few miles away from the Puryear cemetery. I am searching for more Puryear information.
I am a descendant of Stephen Washington Puryear. I’m pretty sure he was a descendant of Hamilton Young Please. “S.W.” is my great great grandfather. He is buried in the Pocket Cemetery just a few miles away from the Puryear cemetery. I am searching for more Puryear information.