Above: The Massingberd-Mundy family monument in South Ormsby Church and (below) a close up of the coat of arms which adorn it.
Below: the Massingberd Hyrne family tree
An incidental Genealogical List:
The following names are mentioned in the Hyrne letters:
If any of these are of interest, get in touch giving the name, and I will send the extract.
1705, Edward Byrche, Governor of New Providence.
1706, William Moore (landowner).
1706, Captain George Smith (landowner).
1710, Mr Holland, Chief Justice of Carolina.
1725, Mr Hammerton of Horncastle (a young man).
1725, Mr George Atchinson (landowner).
1740 Col. Palmer, an account of his death.
1744 Mrs Fushee and her 12 year old son.
1744 Mr George Abell (died possibly 1740) and his brother in Birmingham, Capt Thomas Abell.
1744 Jonah Collins (landowner)
1744 Stephen Beauchamp of George Town.
1744 Captain Frankland, his wife and son Henry.
1744 Mr Rhetts, and Sally Rhetts (‘that was’).
1744 Agricola, alias Charles Pinkney, Esq.
1745 William (Billy) Bellinger, aged 12 years old (youngest brother of Henry Hyrne’s first wife).
Of the many slaves the Hyrnes owned (as many as 25 on Tugudoo in 1725) sadly few are named in the letters. The only two mentioned by name are:
1740 A ‘Negro girl called Mary’, probably a teenager at the time.
1740 A ‘Negro woman named Maria’.
© Pauline M Loven, B.A., 2010
May be reproduced for academic purposes. Please acknowledge source. If you have any information relevant to this, please leave a message below:
Hyrne Family Letters, 1699-1757 
Hi,
I am a descendant of this family thru Henry Hyrne. I am interested in the Mrs Webb, who is a neighbor. I also have Webb’s at this same time in my family tree. Any help would be appreciatted. Thanks.
Terry Etheridge-Wilson
Terry, my name is Gloria Johnston Ward. My grandfather was Dudley Etheridge. My mother is Gladys Etheridge Johnston, Dudley Etheridge’s daughter. I am very interested in the Etheridge family tree. You can e-mail me at gloriadec1@aol.com. Thank you. I am also on facebook.
Hi Gloria, I would be interested in finding more out about your side of the family. I am also on FB. Look for Terry Wilson. Look forward to hearing from you.
Mrs Webb is mentioned in a letter from Burrell Hyrne written on December 21st 1742 from his plantation Tugudoo. This is part of an account of the illnesses of six year old Nancy and two year old Neddy, two of Burrell’s brother Henry’s (Harry) children, at their plantation of Ashepoo. Mrs Webb, a neighbour at Ashepoo, was at Nancy’s sickbed.
December 21st 1742
Of Nancy Burrell writes:
‘I used to think she was a cross girl, I don’t know if she was or not, but on most accounts she answered far beyond expectation. She was well made and of good complexion, and had the most handsome hand and arm I think I ever see, & very cleanly & handy in everything she did, she was a lively and sensible child, & came on soe well with her book that I am certain in three years time she would have read better than Harry at that time… in short she was admired by all that knew her, and my brother was very fond of her’.
Burrell then goes on to describe the events:
‘The most affecting scene that I was ever at was when she was near expiring, & I hope I shall never see another , about half an hour before, for she continued sensible, she desired to be moved to a bed she used to sleep in, which was warmed and she put in it , soon after my brother at the head of the bed close by her, my sister on the other side towards the foot, myself at the foot, Mrs Webb a neighbour at the head, the same side as my sister, and a young white woman who lived in the house at the same side with my brother. Fata says she my hands are dead, dead with heat, they burn, on which my brother seeing that she was near her end began to fondle and make much of her,& my sister fell into tears, don’t cry Mama says she, goe away Mamma’s don’t cry, on which my sister went downstairs, Fata says she my foots are dead, on which second warning, he began to shed tears and fondle her as before, goe away Fata says she, at which he left the room, soon after Mrs Webb told me she believed she would not die till about three in the morning, I went away, as soon as I was gone she [Nancy] says to that young woman (who had her hands upon her legs to keep them warm)take away your great heavy hands and to Mrs Webb my sides hurt more, lift my head upon the pillow, and turned herself about on both her hands, Mrs Webb put the pillows in her lap &took her in her hands and laid her head upon the pillow after which she gave only two small groans and expired.’
‘On the 26th of October between seven and eight she died, being six years and two days old, to the irreparable loss of her parents’.
This poignant scene brought tears to my eyes when I read it in the archive office. Sadly, little Neddy lived less than three weeks more and died on his second birthday.
Do you know anything more about Mrs Webb who so tenderly cared for Nancy? Also, from which of Henry’s surviving children do you decend?
I descend from Col. Henry Hyrne who married Susannah Bellinger. I descend from their son Henry Hyrne Jr. who married Mary Ann Girardeau. I was interested in the Mrs Webb, because Henry Jr’s son Henry Hyrne married Ann Pinkney Webb who’s father was Dr William Webb who was married to Deborah Jones. Do you have any information on any of these people?
What documented information do you have on the Giradeau’s?
Thanks,
The above extract is a letter from Burrell about his brother Henry, sister (sister-in-law) Susannah and the death of their daughter Nancy.
Many of the letters are from Henry himself and include much about their lives and families. I must find the time to do an update on them.
PS As I have another 32 years of letter writting to cover there is much more to convey – all of the letters are transcribed, but by hand. I need to type up and publish edited highlights. I shall try to set aside some time…
Good luck to you. I look forword to reading them in the future. 🙂
I am descended from Mary Hyrne Smith, daughter of second Landgrave Thomas Smith and Mary Hyrne. She was born in 1717 and married James Screven, born 1706, who was the son of Samuel Screven and grandson of the Rev. William Screven. William Screven was born in Somerseshire, England. He later left England because of his Anabaptist views. He married Bridget Cutt(s) in Kittery, Maine, 3 July, 1674. They and some followers sailed to Charleston, South Carolina, where The Rev. Screven was one of the founders of the Southern Baptist Church. Much of this information is found on the gravestone inscription located at May River Plantations near Bluffton, SC, in DAR records, and in a book by Leah Townsend, South Carolina Baptists, published by Genealogical Pub. Co., Inc., Baltimore, 1974. May River Plantations is now known as Palmetto Bluff, and the tomb is in a fenced area near the swimming pool.
Please tell me how you are related to the Screvens, etc. Are you descended from John or Brig. Gen. James Screven?
Thanks,
A Screven descendant.
I have traced my line back to a preacher, James Scriven (Screven?) of Westerly, RI in the early 1700’s. Do you suppose the James you mention, son of Samual, is the same person? I had assumed my James was an immigrant, since I could not place his father.
John Screven is my ancestor. Dr. Richard Bedon Screven married Alice Pendarvis, a cousin. Their daughter Alice P. Screven married Jacob DeVeaux Guerard, MD. Their daughter Anna Richardson Guerard married James Douglas Robertson on 20 July 1869, in Bluffton, SC. John Screven is buried at the site of his Montpelior Plantation on the May River near Bluffton, SC. Jacob DeVeaux Guerard and his wife are buried in the church cemetery of St. Luke’s Methodist Church(formerly Episcopal) 3 miles north of Pritchardsville, SC, on SC Hwy 170, in the Guerard family plot. Rev. James D. Robertson and his wife are also buried in the Guerard plot. My grandfather Charles E. Robertson was the youngest child of JD Robertson and Anna Guerard Robertson. He was born in Bluffton, SC. All of the above mentioned locations are near Bluffton. I have visited and photographed all. My mother and I joined the DAR on this lineage.
Documentation on Guerard (not Girardeau, although it may link up further back):
1)1850 Census, St. Helen’s Parish, Town of Beaufort, Beaufort District, South Carolina–lists Jacob D. Girard, MD, age 57 with his wife Alice, age 46, and nine children.
2)Will of Anna G. Robertson, wife of James Douglas Robertson, executor–Agnes G. Weatherson
It leaves her property to her daughter Anna G. Weatherson since the “rest of her children will have sufficient property and income without receiving any of my estate.”
3)Family tree chart compiled by the Rev. Robert Wilson, DD, in 1901. It goes back to Jacques Guerard (ca 1640-1703), Sieur de Boschean du Bourg, Department de Gaudebec, Normandie. It states that said Jacques Guerard went to London about 1667 and with Rene Petit in 1679 brought a colony of French Protestants to Charles Town, each of the leaders receiving a grant of 4,000 acres.
4) Family Genealogy books;
A)The Genealogy of the Pendarvis-Bedon Families of South Carolina, 1670-1900 (also Screven, Bryan, Guerard, Perry,etc.) compiled by James Barnwell Heyward tothe memory of Josiah Pendarvis, Junior who changed his name to Bedon. printed in 1905.
B) The Story of an American Family by Stephen B. Barnwell, Marquette publishing, 1969.
C) A History and Genealogy of the Guerard Family of South Carolina, by George C. Guerard, Savannah, 1900.
I have been to Bluffton, SC, and am rehashing my work on the Screven family. Back in those days some spelling variations did exist. I am now not certain that Samuel Screven was the father of my James, but James was definitely the grandson of the Rev. William Screven. Even some of my source books admit to some confusion. My tree is on Ancestry.com.
According to The Collections of the Maine Historical Society, Series II, Vol.5; Rev. William Screven had the following children: Samuel (died 3 Dec 1771),Mary, Sarah, Bridget, Elizabeth (m. robert Elliot),Robert, Patience, Joshua, William (m. Catherine Stoll), Joseph, Elisha (b.1 Sep 1698; m. Hannah Johnson; d.3 Dec1757). In 1704, the son Robert Screven was given power of attorney by Rev. William Screven to sell land and settle debts in Maine, so it would be possible that he had a sibling that had children by that time. I also read that william Screven and his new bride were entrusted to the care of Robert Cutt(s), age 1, after they were married only a short time. William Screven also is known to have taken in an orphan named Joseph Atwell, whom he later adopted.
Considering the stories of the half-siblings of Burrell and Henry and the considerable fortunes these families inherited and made for themselves, there is little here about the rest of the family. If there is any way to help get all the letters uploaded or copies in the hands of interested people to help transcribe them, it would be a great addition to early South Carolina history.
I have never seen any report on what happened to Edward after he returned to England to face his debts but his children by his first marriage did very well for themselves as did the sons mentioned here. Mary Hyrne, Elizabth’s step-daughter and half sister to Elizabeth’s sons, was mother to the second 10 of Second Landgrave Thomas Smith’s 20 children. She lived a long life and ruled over the Smith family plantation and the home base for a family that inherited land from Cape Fear, NC to Beaufort, SC. The last Smith to own this place changed the name to Yeamans Hall and after nearly two hundred years in the family, it was turned into an exclusive hunt club, which still exists. Unfortunately, they tore down the original brick mansion. Medway was sold early on. Mary was also step- mother to her sister-in-law when her brother Edward Hyrne, Elizabeth M. Hyrne’s step- son, married Barbara Smith, the Second Landgrave’s daughter by his first marriage. Of course, much of the family history is incorrect and unsubstantiated that is found in books and on the web. I have spent a great deal of time working on unraveling a group who loved to name their children after family members and had no qualms about marrying a 3rd cousin. I am trying to get as much as possible supported with wills, land grants and gravestones and other “proof” such as these letters. The Screvens discussed above know their branch of the family. There is a Screven St. in Georgetown, SC and one branch established the Baptist Church there. This fit well with the inheritance left to Smith’s numerous grandchildren because the 2cnd Landgrave tried to start a town closer to the ocean below Georgetown and he left every grandchild a lot in the town and 2000 acres in the country nearby, as a “quiet retreat.” Mary Hyrne Smith was Smith’s 13th child, the third child and first daughter for Mary. She married James Screven and one of the dynasties of the Hyrne/Smith unions began. I am not sure if they produced more ministers or military officers but there is no question that they went forth and prospered both in offspring but in building the Baptist Church and defending us from enemies of all sorts. They also seem to be excellent planters as well. Mary Hyrne Smith was one of the 14 children of Smith to survive to adulthood and have children. Barbara Smith Hyrne was another and she had 4 children but only two daughters survived to marry. Her grandchildren and great grandchildren produced large families. Much of what we know about the family comes from the letters published by Miss Weber decades ago and the ones published by our friend in England with the exciting job of producing period cloths for movies. Perhaps her son will consider the amazing story of the Hyrnes for a movie and all the letters will then become available. If a third of the American descendants buy a ticket, they are insured a huge box office hit. Rick
Hi Rick – We had long thought that we would like to make a film of the letters, but had never seriously considered it as the costs would be immense. However, with the development of crowd-funding platforms, such as Kickstarter and support from America, it might at last be possible. My son (Nick Loven) suggested that we could initially aim to create a pilot funded through Kickstarter and see how it goes from there. We will give it some thought.
Thank you yes, if we are able to embark on the project we will need plenty of help! We are currently making a film about the First World War to mark the anniversary of its outbreak next year. But for today, I am off to South Ormsby to re photograph the village and the Massingberd Mundy memorial. Thank you for your comments on my costumes.
I know nothing about the movie business and can only admire the cloths you create but I do know about the family once settled in Carolina and the history of the colony. If I can be of any help, let me know. Did you know a Hyrne was a Major in the Contenintal Army during the American Revolution. He was with Wasington at the beginning of the war and in 1780 became an aide to General Greene when Washinton appointed Greene to command the Southern army? His name was Edmund Massingbred Hyrne.
Hi,
I am descended from Mary Hyrne, the step-daughter of Elizabeth Massingberd. Would you have any information (or guesses) as to who her mother was? Great website, by the way!
Courtney Ross
Prague, Czech Republic
I am a descendant of Mary Humphreys Parry Smith of Philadelphia whose second husband was Dr. George Smith, son of Landgrave Thomas Smith. Mary Smith was the best friend of Benjamin Franklin’s common law wife Deborah and is mentioned several times in his letters as “Goody Smith.” I am trying to find out more information about Dr. George Smith and what brought him from Charlestown to Philadelphia. His first wife (well documented) was Dorothy Archer, the mother of his children. Some internet sources refer to a second wife Sarah who died in Philadelphia who might have previously been married to a Screven. Am hoping the extract of the “1706, Captain George Smith (landowner)” letter could shed some light on this! Betty Symington, Maryland
William Pert/Peart was a Baptist minister who was ordained in England. He and his wife Sarah appear in records in Charleston, South Carolina, about 1720. William Pert served as minister of the First Baptist Church of Charleston from 1718-1722, published by the Particular Baptist Press, Springfield, Missouri.. According to the History of the First Baptist church of Charleston, they had one son–Joshua ( -1741).
Sarah Pert, widow of William Pert (died 1721) married Thomas Grimball, a member of the same church. He died, and she then married Samuel Screven, a widower and son of the church’s founder. He died in 1731. Sarah Pert Grimball Screven then married George Smith, a Screven relative. I have not found her maiden name, but would look in England. Be careful not to confuse her with Samuel Screven’s first wife, Sarah Witter.