Sunday, January 20, 2013

A tangle of relationships "William Forgey"

Abbeville, South Carolina 1800

William Forgey came up as a distant DNA match to a cousin (Nan Harvey). This man is a mystery I hadn't run across before. He was born, according to one tree, in 1753 in South Carolina and married Mary Gouge in 1778 in North Carolina. They have him dying in 1796. Much of this seems to be wrong. If he was the same man who lived in Pike County, Mississippi in 1820 he didn't die in 1796. Someone has a letter stating that William Forgey relocated to Pike County, Mississippi from Abbeville, South Carolina in the early 1800's.
Looking around the area I see several possible lines he may relate to. If he was in fact married in North Carolina he could be another son of Samuel Forgey.
Another possibility is he was an immigrant to South Carolina and not born there at all as suggested in one of the Census records? There was a William Forgey in Gloucester, New Jersey in 1795?
Elbert, Abeville and Laurens (where Samuels descedants lived)
He may also be related to John Forgey who was a Justice of the Peace in Elbert County, Georgia in the 1790's?  I believe this John also went by the name Fergus and Forgus and had a brother named James, and may also have had a brother William? These men fought in the Revolutionary War in South Carolina. It's interesting that John's name was spelled Forgey several times? I do now wonder if they are related to my family since they lived in Cumberland and Chester County, PA? Elbert, Georgia is not far from Abbeville, South Carolina. 
Here is what I've collected about James and John Fergus sometimes Forgey. According to this James has a brother who resided in South Carolina. He went to join his unnamed brother during the Revolutionary War.

He gives his parents as John and Martha of Chester County, PA ( James Forgey also lived in Chester County, PA).

Residences of John Fergus (Forgey). He later lived in Monroe County, Tennessee.

John Fergus was born in 1752 Chester County, PA. 




2 comments:

Nan Harvey said...

Wow. Great detective work, Annette!

Annette Kapple said...

Thanks Nan! A lot to think about.