The “Other” Minyard Family
Two Families
One of the more challenging aspects of tracing my family tree is the existence of another Colonial Minyard family. Before I discovered that my paternal lineage came from Scotland/France, I spent countless hours going down rabbit holes, all the while investigating a family I am not related to. The “other” Minyard family came from England. The earliest record is from the 17th century, when Kingsmill Minyard arrived in Virginia as an indentured servant. In the 18th century, a Minyard family appears in Isle of Wight, Virginia.
Some members of this family migrated from Isle of Wight to the northern part of North Carolina, which caused confusion because my family also hails from North Carolina. Sorting out the two families became easier once I knew which Minyards I was not related to. I can understand why most researchers would mix up the two, as I see multiple family trees with members of both families.
To make things more interesting, both families also used the same given names. The English line features the male names James, John, William and Thomas, and the female names Mary, Elizabeth and Sarah.
Three James Minyards
Two men from the English line were born in the late 1700s and were named James. One was born c. 1785 in Virginia and the other c. 1799 in Tennessee. What makes it challenging for researchers is the fact that the Virginia-born James lived in Franklin County, Georgia during the same time as my direct ancestor James Minyard. Many family trees understandably have the two men as the same person.
In addition, both families were in Franklin County during the same time period. A third Minyard family settled in Jackson County, Georgia, which was at one time part of Franklin County before it was divided.
Later Census records would reveal where James Minyard’s children were born:
Mary c. 1794 – Georgia (And later North Carolina)
John c. 1795 – Georgia
William c. 1798 – Georgia
James Jr. c. 1804 – Georgia
Elizabeth c. 1805 – Georgia
Charity c. 1806 – Georgia
Celia c. 1807 – Georgia
Thomas c. 1815 – Mississippi (And later South Carolina)
Delaney c. 1817 – Mississippi
This tells us that, at least on paper, James Minyard/Joseph Miniere left Georgia between 1807 and 1813, when he first appears on the Lawrence County, Mississippi tax list. I can therefore say for certain that the Franklin County tax records after 1813 only feature the “other” James Minyard.
This begs the question: How did James Minyard have time to father nine children across two decades while simultaneously operating as a spy for George Washington? If you analyze his heirs’ birth years, it starts to become clearer. There was a six-year gap between William and James Junior, and an eight-year gap between Celia and Thomas.
The gap between 1798 – 1804 is when Jospeh Miniere was in Manhattan and Charleston. The gap between 1807 – 1815 is when he was in Charleston and New Orleans. Also, James Minyard fathered his nine children with two different spouses. I am of the opinion that he fathered Mary, John, William and James Jr. with the first wife and Charity, Celia, Thomas and Delaney with the second wife. I cannot confidently determine Elizabeth’s mother, but if I had to guess I would say it was the second wife.