Marion County, MS – Royals/Ryall Family History

ROYALS ROOTS

The Road to Mississippi

THOMAS RYALL: c1640-1709 The Royals road to Mississippi began in 1666 when Thomas Ryall immigrated to this country and Isle of Wight County Virginia. The International Genealogical Index (IGI) does not identify him and where in England that he came from. Most likely Thomas was in his twenties when he arrived and 43 years later, he died. Posted on the IOW Genweb site is one of the most unusual Wills that I have ever read. It is the 1709 will of Thomas Ryall. It is not easy to decipher this will. It took me and a professional genealogist nearly one month to fully decipher and understand this will. Thomas' wife was Isabel Ryall and his five children were George Ryall, Charles Ryall, John Ryall, Thomas Ryall Jr. and Isabel Ryall Brown, The spelling of the name Royall or Ryall is different, even in the Will. Charles Royal settled in Onslow Co. and his family moved to Bruke Co. GA about 1760. The full transcription of this will is posted on the IOW Co. VA site at this address: http://files.usgwarchives.org/va/isleofwight/wills/willbk2.txt It is likely you would not be able to read the original will. For this essay, the name Royals in spelled as found in the records used. It must also be noted that the county records of Duplin (and Sampson) Co. NC were buried during the Rev. War in 1781 as Duplin Co. NC was invaded twice by the British, and due to a squabble about ownership, the court records that contained court minutes from 1750 to 1783, were never dug up. Thus 33 years of Duplin-Sampson history was lost. Deeds were not buried or lost. JOHN ROYALL: c1668-c1728 This John Royall is a weak link. He patented 136 acres of land in NE NC on 3 Feb 1717. He also owned a Tuscarora Indian Slave named "March". He filed a petition concerning this Indian on 28 Oct 1824 in Edenton NC. The Indian had been illegally detained from him in a Tuscarora Town by their Chief, King Blount. Indian Slaves to white men was not common in colonial days. But Indian bondage to other Indian Tribes was not new. The Tuscarora War started with the 1711 Indian massacre at New Bern NC and later the captured Indians were sold as slaves to help pay for the war. Circumstantial evidence indicates that John married a lady named Hardy. Hardy Royal is a name common to Sampson County and to the families of William, and John Royal who moved to Sampson Co. NC about 1760. The first land patent to a John Royal in Duplin was 1755. My belief is that John had two sons, one was named Cornelius Royal and one named Owen Royal Sr. George Hardy, an early resident of IOW, had two daughters named Mary and Margaret Hardy, they were about the right age to have married John Royall. "Mary" was used as a given name several times in the early Royal families but Margaret was not used but twice. Hardy was used many times. CORNELIUS RYALL: c1688-c1745 Cornelius Ryall married Elizabeth Barnesfeld and had the following four children, Cornelius Ryall Jr., Elizabeth Ryall West, John Ryall, and William Ryall. Cornelius Ryall patented 300 acres of land on 30 March 1719 and deeded it to Cornelius Ryall Jr. and Elizabeth Ryall in 1725. Cornelius Ryall Jr. died as a young man, likely about 1730. The above Elizabeth Barnesfeld was the daughter of Anne and William Barnesfeld. William disappears after 1711 and likely died in the Tuscarora Indian War of 1711-1715. JOHN ROYALL OF COLONIAL SAMPSON CO. NC c1719-1795. John Royal of Sampson County was the son of Cornelius Royall Sr. and Elizabeth Barnesfeld. He was also the brother of William Royall of Pasquotank County and later of Sampson County. The family is identified in two documents. In the 1752 Pasquotank County petite court complaint filed by John against brother William Royall. And lastly, the 1721 Pasquotank Co. Will of Anne Barnesfeld, the mother of Elizabeth Barnesfeld Royall. John and William Royal were in the Militia in 1755 for Pasquotank. John patented 300 acres of land in Edgecombe Co. NC in 1742 and lived in Edgecombe about 20 years before moving to Duplin, now Sampson County. John was a Patriot Soldier during the Revolutionary War (RW) and drew three RS pay vouchers. A son of John Royal of Sampson County was Marmaduke Royal b. 1750 in Edgecombe Co. NC. Marmaduke ROYAL (Ryal), Private, NC Line and Duplin Militia Soldier is listed in NC RW Army Accounts, Vol. V, Bk 180, # 40 M as receiving a pay voucher for 30/12/0 pounds. In 1781 Marmaduke gave Henry Holland 100 acres of land for serving on the NC Line for him. See deed 7-394. Soldier had two pay RW pay vouchers. Marmaduke owned 600 Acres of land in 1784 and was a big farmer or planter as they were called. Son Hardy was a soldier in the War of 1812 and was in the 4th NC Regiment and 5th Company. He must have served with Andrew Jackson in the Battle of the Creek Indian Nation and Horseshoe Bend near Auburn AL and later the Battle of New Orleans. Coming back from New Orleans, General Jackson took his army through Marion Co. MS and north to TN. When Hardy returned home he had stories of a beautiful new land in MS that no one owned. His father Marmaduke was soon ready to move to this new land. Marmaduke sold all his property in Sampson County and started on a move in 1815 that ended in Marion County, Mississippi. He took his four youngest sons with him. His children we know of were: 1 Lewis 1772 1855, 2 Simon Sr. (1775 1817), 3 William (1777 1810) moved to MS, 4 Mary who married Thomas Carroll as his second wife, 5 Gideon (1785 1872) who served in the 1817-18 FL Indian Wars with Andrew Jackson and later settled in Simpson and then Smith Co. MS, 6 Hardy (1791 1866) who was in Marion County, MS in 1820, and 7 Willoughby 'Willaba' (1793 1840) who was in Marion County in 1820 and he married Mary Magee. He too was in the War of 1812 with Hardy. Marmaduke wrote his will in Marion County MS, on 26 Feb 1820. Two Sampson County men who also moved to MS, Fleet Magee and Willis Magee, witnessed the will. The will left all the property to the two youngest children, Willaba and Hardy. GIDEON Royals 1785-1872 Born Sampson Co. NC, married in Sampson Co. NC, moved to Marion Co. MS, then Simpson Co. (Rials) and then settled in Smith Co. MS. Gideon was married twice. 1. Jane Royals 21 Aug 1811 NC -1877 m:1829 Francis Boykin 1805-1862 Smith Co. MS 2. Nathan Brance Royals 1816-1880+ 3. Rankin Royals 1818-1870+ 4. Lewis Royals 1820-c1848 Smith Co. MS. Hardy Ryalls 9 Jan 1792-12 Feb 1866 was a son of Marmaduke Royal and married Belza Fortenberry. Hardy and family can be found in the 1850 US Census for MS. Willoughby Royals, 1793-1840 family lived in Pike Co. MS in 1850. Willoughby had married Mary McGee in 1820. Three of his children are listed in the 1850 US Census. Many of these grandchildren of Marmaduke Royals served in the CSA during the Civil War and some died.

This file was contributed by Jerome Tew and Bob Royals