This is a family history web page for descendants of the David, Macon and Brunson families that lived in and around Sumter, S.C. in the nineteenth century.

Index

1.00 Welcome (home page).
1.01 Index (home page).

2.00 David Family (home page: scroll below).
2.01 Descendants of George B. David (1793-1849) and Lucy C. (K?) Macon (1807/1809-1853) (home page: scroll below).
2.02 Descendants of Leah N. David (Capell) (click here) (d-2).
2.03 Descendants of Ellen Jane David (1832-1908) and Thomas Vardelle Walsh (1833-
1903) (click here) (d-3).
2.04 Descendants of Isaac Macon David and Sarah Ann Burkett David (click here) (d-1).
2.05 DAVID BIBLIOGRAPHY (home page: scroll below).

3.00.00 Brunson Family (home page: scroll below)
3.01.00 Brunson Relation to Davids (home page: scroll below).
3.01.01 Brunson Generational Chronology (click here) (d-5).
3.01.02 Some Historical Information Copied from Various Historians about Brunson Generations Third to Ninth (click here) (d-23).
3.02.00 Eighth Generation: David Brunson, Sr. (1729-1784) and Elizabeth Cantey (1739-1791) (home page: scroll below).
3.02.01 Eighth Generation: Ancestry of Elizabeth Cantey (Brunson) (click here) (d-6)
3.02.02 Eighth Generation: Ancestors and Siblings of David Brunson Sr. (1729-1784) (click here) (d-4).
3.02.03 Ninth Generation: Letters from William Brunson (1754-1803) in the 1790s (click here) (d-11).
3.02.04 Ninth Generation: Summary of Margaret Brunson (David)’s (1766-after 1846) Earlier Ancestors in England, Connecticut and Early South Carolina (home page: scroll below).
3.02.05 Tenth Generation: Descendants of William L. Brunson (1789-1868) (click here) (d-12).
3.02.06 Eleventh Generation: Descendants of Mary Marsena Brunson (Loring) and Lucius Loring (click here) (d-22).
3.02.07 Twelfth Generation: Descendants of George Washington Loring (1852-1920), including David Worth Loring’s (1887-1918) Life and Death in World War I. (click here) (d-21).
3.03.01 First Generation (click here) (d-4).
3.03.02 Second Generation (click here) (d-4).
3.03.03 Third Generation (click here) (d-4).
3.04.00 Fourth Generation: John Brownson, Jr. Migrant to New England (home page: scroll below).
3.04.01 Fourth Generation: Alternative Version of John Brownson, Jr. (1602-1680) (click here) (d-8). 3.04.02 Fourth Generation (click here) (d-4).
3.05.00 Fifth Generation: John Brownson Migrant to South Carolina (home page: scroll below).
3.05.01 Fifth Generation: Parents and Siblings of Hannah Scott (click here) (d-7).
3.05.02 Fifth Generation (click here) (d-4).
3.05.03 Sixth Generation (click here) (d-4).
3.06.00 Seventh Generation: Isaac Brunson, Jr. and Mary Neilson, Up-Country Migrants (home page: scroll below).
3.06.01 Seventh Generation: Parents and Siblings of Mary Neilson (Brownson) (click here) (d-9).
3.07.00 BRUNSON BIBLIOGRAPHY (home page: scroll below).
3.08.00 Notes about the Brunson-David Connection (click here) (d-10).
3.08.01 Notes about the Relation of Amos Bronson Alcott and Louisa May Alcott to some of their South Carolina Relatives (click here) (Brunson-2).

4.00 Macon Family (home page: scroll below).
4.01 Macon Relation to Davids (home page: scroll below).
4.02 Fourth Macon Generation: Hartwell Macon, Jr. (home page: scroll below).
4.03 Summary of Lucy K. Macon David's Earlier Ancestors in Virginia and South Carolina (home page: scroll below).
4.04 First Generation: Gideon Macon Sr. (1648-1702) (home page: scroll below).
4.05 Second Generation: William Macon Sr. (1693-1773) (home page: scroll below).
4.06 Third Macon Generation: Hartwell Macon, Sr. (1741-1824) (home page: scroll below).
4.07 Descendants of John Macon, Sr. (1695-1752) (click here) (d-14).
4.08 Hamblin Eppes Macon’s (1788-1834) Descendants (click here) (d-13).
4.09 Speculation on Ancestors of Gideon Macon (1648-1702).
4.10 MACON BIBLIOGRAPHY (home page: scroll below).
5.00 PURPOSE (home page: scroll below).
6.0 LINKS (home page: scroll below).

2.00 David Family

Click on the photos/maps/diagrams to view larger photos/maps/diagrams.

The earliest David we know of in the Sumter area was Isaac David (b. 1756-1765). A family tradition repeated by a number of his descendants says that he was of Jewish origin. If that is accurate, he may have been a Sephardic Jew (from Spain via France) and connected to the Jews that lived in Charleston, South Carolina. There seems to be no mention of Isaac in the Jewish records of Charleston or Sumter. If he was Jewish, he assimilated into the non-Jewish community. This included marrying a Methodist wife. Isaac’s last will, which still exists, is dated 1827. He died in November 1832 in Sumter County.

(d-13) Click on the pedigree chart to the left to enlarge it. It illustrates the relation of the Davids, Brunsons and Macons. Isaac David married Margaret Brunson (b. August 22, 1766). Margaret was born in South Carolina, the daughter of David Brunson, Sr. and Elizabeth Cantey. She died after Isaac but before 1846. (www.angelfire.com/david-macon/jpg/d-13_Thumb.jpg)

Isaac and Margaret David had five children, all born in South Carolina. In 1807 Isaac and Margaret owned 106 acres on Crow Bay in the fork of the Black River. This land bordered land owned by Major Prescott, General Sumter and William Taylor. The five children of Isaac and Margaret were:

George B. David (1793-1849). He married Lucy K. Macon.

Harriot (Harriet) David. She married William G. Windham. She died while living in the Sumter area.

Charlotte David. She also married William G. Windham.

Amelia F. David. She married William R. Bently.

Leah (Leona) N. David (b. 1807). She married first Jacob C. Caton and then Carter G. Capell. For a listing of Leah's children click here . (2.02: www.angelfire.com/david-macon/david/d-2.html).

2.01 Descendants of George B. David (1793-1849) and
Lucy C. (K?) Macon (1807/1809-1852)

The oldest child of Isaac and Margaret David was George B. (Brunson?) David (1793-1849). About 1830 George married Lucy C. Macon. She was born on April 28, 1807 according to the bible record of Mary Marsena Brunson Loring. She died at Sumter in the early part of 1852. Her middle initial as listed in court records is “K” (Kennon) not “C”. Lucy was the daughter of Hartwell Macon, Jr. In the 1850 census George is listed as being worth $1,200. He owned 520 acres inherited from his father in the fork of the Black River. Neighboring it was the land of Sam Plowden, Dr. R. Durant, J. Mack, J. Nelsen, and Chandler. When George died at age 60, he left eight children (aged 2 to 20), along with large debts and his 527-acre farm with 22 slaves worth $7840. Much of George's estate had been inherited from his father, Isaac. George had gone insane by 1846 and was incapable of doing business. His wife, Lucy, age 38 at the time, ran the farm. George and Lucy David lived in Sumterville, where they had eight children. These were:

24.2 Elizabeth “Lizzie” Margaret David (Jones) (1831- September 13, 1887) was the oldest child of George and Lucy David. Some of her descendants called her a "Jewess". But she was a member of the Methodist Church. Lizzie married Charles H. Jones about 1856. She is buried at the Sumter City Cemetery. Charlie Jones was a Civil War soldier and had a part in the rank-and-file stand made by Sumter, South Carolina citizens againt the federals in April 1865. Click here to see the monument erected for Charlie at the Sumter Cemetery by the General P.G.T. Beauregard Camp 1458 of the Sons of the Confederate Veterans. They also awared him the Confederate Medal of Honor. (https://www.angelfire.com/un/joneshistory/ch-jpg/J24-2.jpg). Click here for a history of the descendants of Lizzie David Jones, which is contained on the web page titled Jones Family History in Dalzell and Sumter, South Carolina, Marengo County, Alabama and Amherst County, Virginia 1760s-2000s. (www.angelfire.com/un/joneshistory)

d-1.jpg Mary Ellen (Ellenora) David (Walsh) (August 7, 1832-August 15, 1908) was the second child of George and Lucy David. Ellen married Thomas Vardelle Walsh and is buried in Sumter. Ellen David Walsh and Thomas Walsh (1833/1838-1903/1906)(had twelve children. Pictured to the left about 1900 are three of their children. These are left to right, Bartow Walsh (1861-1925), Charles Travis Walsh (1854-1926) and Thomas Vardelle Walsh (1871-1959). Charles Travis Walsh moved to Texas and married Anna Louisianna Babbit (1859-1915/1926) in 1878. They had nine children, including Byron Travis Walsh (1884-1917), who was the grandfather of Jerry (Walsh) Jenkins (b. 1939), the co-author of this web page. Click here for more on the children and descendants of Ellen David Walsh and Tom Walsh. (2.03: david-macon/david/d-3.html).

Isaac Macon David was the third child of George and Lucy David. He was born on St. Patricks Day, March 17, 1834. He worked as a tailor. During the Civil War he was the guideon (flag bearer) in Culpeper’s Battery. After the war he married Sarah Ann Burkett. Sarah Ann was born in Sumter on October 4, 1844. Isaac died on October 27, 1882 and is buried at the Sumter City Cemetery. Isaac and Sarah Ann had five children. Click here for a listing of these children. (2.04: david-macon/david/d-1.html)

Manley J. David (b. 1836). During the Civil War he served along with his older brother in Culpeper’s Battery.

Loisa David (b. 1840).

William Henry David (b. 1842). He was born a normal child, but during his early childhood days he had a serious illness, known in those days as brain fever. After this illness he was mentally unbalanced. He was called Henry. In 1870 he was living his sister and her family (the Thomas Vardelle Walsh family).

George Hartwell David (b. 1848). He was called Hartwell.

Ellerbe David never married and died in Sumter. Lena Hill mentioned that he moved to California as a young man. He had four children.

Click here for Family History Information about Charles H. Jones (1833-1891) and Elizabeth Margaret David Jones (1831-1887) and Related Watts/David/Stafford/Macon/ Brown/Benson Families in Sumter County, South Carolina, (1988, 51pp.), by Toby Terrar. (un/joneshistory/H2-1-JON.html).

Click here for "Charity Begins at Home: Some Beliefs of Antebellum South Carolina Laboring People," Southern Studies: An Interdisciplinary Journal of the South (Natchitoches, Louisiana), vol. 6, no. 4 (Winter 1999), pp. 1-42. This is an account of the history of some of our nineteenth-century David descendants.

On the 1800 Sumter Census in Clarendon, one Daniel Brunson was enumerated with the following in his household: 2 males under 10, 1 male 10-16, 1 male 26-44, 3 females under 10, 1 female 26-44, 3 slaves. This Daniel was at # 8; at # 7 was Isaac David, husband of Daniel’s sister Margaret; at # 5 was George Brunson, Daniel’s brother; at # 4 was John Webb, husband of Daniel’s sister Susanna.

Ray Brunson (1926-2000) and Jean Brunson along with Elizabeth (Bet) Girardeau document not only the relation between the Davids and Brunsons, but also the more ancient Brunson ancestors. The Brunsons came to America in the first part of the seventeenth century. They settled in New England. The ancestor of the Sumter County Brunsons came South in the 1690s. One of his descendants was David Brunson, Sr. (1729-1784), who was the father of Margaret Brunson (David) (1766-before 1846). David Brunson, Sr. was the eighth generation down from the first documented Brunson progenitor. He was born in 1729 (1739?) in Dorchester County, S.C. Click here for a listing of David Brunson, Sr.'s ancestors going back seven generations and siblings. (3.02.04, 3.03.01, 3.03.02, 3.03.03, 3.04.02, 3.05.02, 3.05.03: www.angelfire.com/david-macon/david/d-4.html).

David Brunson, Sr. (1729-1784), the eighth generation down from the first documented Brunson, married Elizabeth Cantey (August 29, 1739-January 3, 1791) before 1754 in Prince William, South Carolina. Elizabeth Cantey was the daughter of William Cantey and Elizabeth Nelson. Click here for more on the ancestry of Elizabeth Cantey (Brunson). (3.02.01: www.angelfire.com/david-macon/david/d-6.html). David Brunson, Sr. was a rice grower. Marion Bailey Brunson in A History of the Brunson Family (Enterprise, Alabama: Self-Published, 1963), p. 13, describes the farm of David Brunson, Sr. as a tract of three hundred acres in the High Hills of Santee, originally granted to his grandmother, Margaret Bronson on July 4, 1749. This same author also mentions that David Brunson, Sr. bought a hundred acres of land from Josiah Cantey, which was originally granted him in 1768, and situated on Lynch’s Creek. (Charleston Deeds, R-4, p. 54). Finally, David memoralized several grants along Black River, between 1770-1775. Ray and Jean Brunson in their book Four Generations of Brunson and Allied Families (Lafayette, LA: Self-published: 1988), section VII offer a more extensive, multiple-page account of David Brunson, Sr.’s farming, land-holding and others activities. At some future time this should be copied onto this web page. Ray and Jean mention that Salem Black River Presbyterian Church may have been a part of David Brunson, Sr.’s life. When he died at age 55 on October 24, 1784 in St. Mark’s Parish, S.C., the citation concerning his estate was read at the Salem Black River Presbyterian Church in what is now Sumter County, S.C. on November 27, 1784. His estate papers are at the courthouse in Camden, S.C.

(d-2.jpg) Pictured to the left is a copy of David Brunson, Sr.'s audited Revolutionary War account at the South Carolina State Archives in Columbia, S.C. He provided 600 pounds of clean rice and six cows for Continental and militia use in 1781 and 1783.

David Brunson, Sr. and Elizabeth (Cantey) Brunson had eight children. They were:

William Brunson (called Captain) (December 29, 1754-May 11, 1803) was the first child of David and Elizabeth (Cantey) Brunson. He was also the ninth generation down from the first documented Brunson. William was born near present-day Sumter city in Sumter District. On January 25, 1785 he married Elizabeth Powell (Powel) (b. between 1766-1775, d. 1827) at Sumter, S.C. In 1796 Captain William and Elizabeth (Powell) Brunson, along with their children, moved from Sumter to Lewisville, Georgia. William Brunson, like many involved in the capitalist system, had economic problems. These problems were described in a number of letters that he wrote to his sister. Click here to view excerpts from these letters. (3.02.02: www.angelfire.com/david-macon/david/d-11.html). William Brunson and his family eventually moved back to Sumter. He is buried there. After William Brunson died, his widow, Elizabeth Powell Brunson, married Hartwell Macon, Jr.. One of their two children was Lucy K. Macon, who married George B. David. Elizabeth Powell Brunson’s marriage to Hartwell Macon, Jr. is discussed below in the Macon section of this web page. William and Elizabeth Powell Brunson had six children. These were:

(1) Charlotte Brunson (April 23, 1786-before 1850). Born in S.C., she married Henry Casselo (or Capel) before 1823.
(2) Elizabeth Brunson (b. October 23, 1787). She married twice, first to Richard Bradford and then before July 1815 to Warner Macon. She is buried at LaPlace, Macon County, Alabama.
(3) William Leonard Brunson (October 6, 1789-October 29, 1868) was the third child of William and Elizabeth Powell Brunson. He was born in Sumter District. He married twice. In 1812 he married Dorothy Pearce (d. 1816). Then in 1819 he married Elizabeth Ann Brown (1800-1864).

From William Leonard Brunson's two wives came eight children, including Marsena Brunson (1820-1898). She married Captain Lucius Loring. From that marriage descends Brunson family historian Elizabeth (Bet) Girardeau. Pictured to the left is a copy of the “Brunson Family Tree” drawn by Mary Marsena Brunson Loring in the nineteenth century. Click on the picture to enlarge it. (angelfire.com/david-macon/jpg/d-20.jpg). Click here for a listing of the descendants of William L. Bruson and how Bet Girardeau descends from them, as well as for more views of Mary Marsena’s “Brunson Family Tree”. (3.02.03: https://www.angelfire.com/david-macon/david/d-12.html).

(4) James Brunson (December 5, 1793-December 27, 1793) was the fourth child of William and Elizabeth (Powell) Brunson. James was born in S.C.
(5) Sarah Ann Brunson (January 13, 1801-February 27, 1840) was the fifth child of William and Elizabeth (Powell) Brunson. Sarah Ann was born in Georgia and before 1823 she married Rev. James Parsons (1795-1859). They had nine children, according to the Southern Christian Advocate. James Parsons was a preacher who had a distinctive way of leading the congregation in worship. His leadership is described in James Burgess’ Chronicles of St. Mark’s Parish, Santee Circuit, and Williamsburg Township, South Carolina 1731-1885 (1888), p. 78:

James Parsons was also a local preacher and lived in the town of Sumter, or Sumterville as it was then called. He was Clerk of the Court for Sumter District for many years, and frequently preached at Oak Grove. It is not remembered that he ever preached on any other subject than the cities of refuge, or that he ever conducted service without using the Hymn “Blow Ye the Trumpet, Blow.” He afterwards removed to Mississippi and the Author last saw him on a camp ground near his residence in DeSoto County in 1859. His son, Rev. Hilliard C. Parsons, was a member of the South Carolina Conference.

(Click here) to view the lyrics of Charles Wesley’s “Blow Ye the Trumpet, Blow.” This hymn was composed in 1750. It along with the “cities of refuge” theme were also favorites of both Rev. William Henry Brisbane (1803-1878) and John Brown. Brisbane was a Charleston, S.C. preacher who in 1837 became an abolitionist. John Brown was a revolutionary against the slave system. Both Brisbane and Brown were contempoaries of James Parsons. Was Parsons an abolitionist? It would be good to do further study. On Brown’s love of “Blow Ye the Trumpet, Blow,” see Louis A. DeCaro’s John Brown--The Cost of Freedom: Selections from His Life & Letters (New York: International Publishers, 2002). (www.angelfire.com/david-macon/david/d-20.html).

(6) Jane Hartwell Brunson (October 30, 1802-1875) was the sixth child of William and Elizabeth (Powell) Brunson. Jane Hartwell was born in Georgia and married William Webb before 1823.

David Brunson (December 1, 1758-February 24, 1778) was the second child of David and Elizabeth (Cantey) Brunson.

Daniel Brunson (January 27, 1761-before 1831) was the third child of David and Elizabeth (Cantey) Brunson. He was born in St. Mark’s Parish in Craven County (later Camden County and still later Sumter County). He is buried in Houston County, Georgia.

Joseph (Jesse) Brunson (February 6, 1764-September 1767) was the fourth child of David and Elizabeth (Cantey) Brunson. He is buried at Nelson’s Old Place in South Carolina.

Margaret Brunson (August 22, 1766-after 1846) was the fifth child of David and Elizabeth (Cantey) Brunson. She married Isaac David.

Susannah Brunson (September 27, 1768-after 1850) was the sixth child of David and Elizabeth (Cantey) Brunson. She married first John Webb and then Richard Smith.

George Brunson (January 6, 1773-(1850) was the seventh child of David and Elizabeth (Cantey) Brunson. He married Elizabeth in 1800 (1801). He is buried in Sumter County, S.C.

Elizabeth “Betsy” Cantey Brunson (January 19, 1777-after 1796) was the eighth child of David and Elizabeth (Cantey) Brunson.

(d-7.jpg) Pictured to the left is a map of Earls Colne. Cornelius Brownson was born in 1525 at Earl’s Colne, Essex, England. This area is described as in the Union of Halstead, Witham division of the hundred of Lexden, northern division of Essex, three and one-half miles east south east of the town of Halstead.

1st generation: Cornelius Brownson (b. 1525).
2nd generation: John Brownson, Sr. (1550-1622)
3rd generation: Roger Brownson (1576-1635)
4th generation: John Brownson, Jr. (1602-1680)
5th generation: John Brownson (1642-1711)
6th generation: Isaac Brownson, Sr. (1680-1733)
7th generation: Isaac Brownson, Jr. (1706-1770)
8th generation: David Brunson, Sr. (1729-1784)
9th generation: Margaret Brunson (David) (1766-after 1846)

(d-6.jpg) Pictured to the left is a map of Connecticut in the early days of European colonization. About 1635 John Brownson, Jr. (1602-1680) and Francis Hills Brownson came from England to Hartford, Connecticut with their first three children. They had nine children in all.

(d-8.jpg) Pictured to the left is a 1640 map of Hartford, Connecticut. It is copied from Albert Van Dusen's Connecticut (New York: Random House, 1961), p. 25. John Brownson served in the Pequot War of 1637. As a result he was granted a lot on Soldier’s Field in the part of Hartford on Neck Road. The pastor in Hartford was Thomas Hooker. Hooker left Newton, Massachusetts in 1635 for Hartford. John Brownson and family were still living in Hartford in 1640. But they soon moved from Hartford to Farmington, Connecticut, which they helped establish in 1641. At Farmington they ran a sawmill. They were Puritans. John was a deputy to the Connecticut General Court in the 1650s, a constable, and he helped establish the First Congregational Church of Farmington and was one of the seven pillars of the Farmington Church in 1652.

Click here for a listing of the children of John Brownson (1602-1680). (3.04.02: www.angelfire.com/david-macon/david/d-4.html).

Click here for an Alternative Version of John Brownson, Jr. (1602-1680) and the Fourth Generation. (3.04.01: www.angelfire.com/david-macon/david/d-8.html).

Click here for information about Orestes A. Brownson (1803-1876). Orestes was a much-published nineteenth-century Catholic apologist and a fifth cousin, three-times removed to the present-day South Carolina Brownson descendants. (www.angelfire.com/david-macon/david/orestes.html).

The youngest child of John and Hannah Brownson was Isaac Brunson, Sr. (1680-1733). He was Margaret Brunson David’s great grandfather. It was his generation, which was sixth down from Cornelius, that spelt the name variously as Brunson, Brownson and Brunston. Isaac was born at Wethersford, Connecticut. He was a carpenter. He married Margaret in 1704 in South Carolina. They had eight children and helped form the Congregational Church for Dorchester, South Carolina. He died at St. John’s Parish, South Carolina.

Ray Brunson (1926-2000) and Jean Brunson in their book Four Generations of Brunson and Allied Families (Lafayette, LA: Self-published: 1988), section V-p.1, mention that Isaac Brownson, Jr. (1680-1733) went to South Carolina in his teens, and it was there he married Margaret. The above book summarizes the lawsuits and deeds that mention Isaac. It also mentions a 1725 census taken by Francis Varnod, minister of the Episcopal church in the parish of St. George in Dorchester, S.C. Isaac Brunson, Jr. and his family are described as “dissenters”.

Ray and Jean Brunson in their book Four Generations of Brunson and Allied Families (Lafayette, LA: Self-published: 1988), section VI-p.1, have, among other things, the following about Isaac Brunson (1706-1770):

Isaac married Mary, whose surname has not been proven. She was more than likely Mary Neilson, the daughter of Matthew Neilson, whose Will dated 8-26-1742 named a daughter Mary. (Footnote 4, Charleston Wills 1740-1747, p. 177; Microfilm #023458; S.C. Archives). The Will of Matthew Neilson’s son, George was witnessed by a Mary Brunson on 9-15-1742. (Footnote 5, Caroline T. Moore, Abstracts of Wills of the State of South Carolina 1740-1760, 1964, p. 16). It is with generation that the given name of Matthew came into the Brunson family.

Isaac was early into the “up country” of South Carolina. He was enumerated among the names of “these Baptist and Presbyterian Dissenters who settled in Winyaw along the Black River and Black Mingo from 1700 to 1736”. (Footnote 6, William W. Boddie, History of Williamsburg, 1923, pp. 24-25). This is supported by the fact that Isaac Brunson was a Petit Juror for Prince Frederick Parish in 1737. (Footnote 7, omitted).

In a history of the area which became Sumter County, S.C.: “One of the first settlers on record to settle east of the Wateree was Isaac Brunson”. (Footnote 8, omitted). The land this has reference to was a survey for 200 acres in Craven County dated 1-17-1740. (Footnote 9, omitted). He was of Craven County on 5-28-1739 when he (& 3 of his 4 brothers) gave up his rights in Connecticut to land of his grandfather John Brunson in Wethersfield and land of his great grandfather John Brownson in Farmington. (Footnote 10, The American Genealogist, Vol. XI, p. 112, Farmington Land Records, Vol. 6, p. 206).

On 1-19-1742, Isaac Brunson and George Nelson drew an order on the South Carolina Commons House of Assembly in favor of James Brunson (Isaac’s brother) for provisions for 16 men in pursuit of a Negro murderer. (Footnote 11, Colonial Records of South Carolina, Journal of the Commons House of Assembly 1741-1742; South Carolina Historical Society, Fireproof Bldg., Charleston).

The second child of Isaac Brunson, Jr. and Mary Neilson Brunson was David Brunson (1729-1784). His wife Elizabeth Cantey and eight children are listed above. David was the eighth generation down from the first documented Brunson progenitor and the father of Margaret Brunson (David) (1766-after 1846). In turn Margaret Brunson David was the ninth generation down from the first documented Brunson progenitor.

Brunson, Marion, A History of the Brunson Family (Enterprise, Alabama: Self-published, 1963) (178 pages).
Brunson, Marion B. and Nancy Cowart, A History of our Cowart Family (Self-published, 1967) (217 pages).
Brunson, Ray and Jean, Brunson Descendents of John and Hannah Brunson of South Carolina (105 Donald Dr., Lafayette, LA 70503: Self-published, 1991) (218 pages).
Brunson, Ray and Jean, Four Generations of Brunson and Allied Families (Self-published, 1988) (300 pages) (this has much good material).
Brunson, Jean, Four Centuries of Brunson and Allied Families and Brunson Descendants of John and Hannah Brownson of South Carolina: Addenda and Errata (Lafayette, LA: Self-published: 2004) (148 pages).
Brownson, Ernest Ray, Genealogy of one branch of the Richard Brownson family, 1631-1951 (Mayville, N.D.: 1951) (335 pages).
Hall, Marjory Cory (ed.), Brownson Branches (Sultan, WA: 1994-).
Hinman, Royal R. A Catalogue of the Names of the First Puritan Settlers of the Colony of Connecticut ... in the Colony and Their Standing in Society (Hartford: E. Gleason, 1846). First Puritan Settlers.
Nicholes, Cassie, The Brunsons of South Carolina (Columbia, South Carolina: R. L. Bryan Company, 1973) (89 pages).
Sibley, Harriet Bronson, Bronson Lineage, 1636-1917 (Dallas, OR: Self-published, 1917) (63 pages).
Stell, Judith M., Brunson and Allied Families: John Brunson and Frances Hills, Connecticut. . . (DAR, Self-published, 1995).
Tracy, Elsie Howlett, Bronson, Brownson, Brunson: Some Descendents of John Bronson of Hartford (1636) . . . (La Jolla, California: Self-published, 1973) (36 pages)

Census, land and other records establish George B. David’s (1793-1849) wife as “Lucy”. That Lucy’s maiden name was Macon, daughter of Hartwell Macon, Jr. comes from family tradition, including:

Mary Marsena Brunson Loring’s (1820-1898) “Brunson Tree”. This is in the Loring Family Bible (in possession of Elizabeth “Bet” Lee Girardeau in 2000). This Loring Bible “Brunson Tree” states that Lucy Macon married George David.

In tracing the history of Hartwell Macon, Jr. in Virginia, South Carolina and Mississippi, and in tracing how he is connected to his Virginia ancestors, the best source is the anonymously donated material contained in World Family Tree . . . pre-1600 to present (electronic source, CD-ROM) (Novato, California: Broderbund Software, Inc. 1995?), vol. 2, Tree 3548. Unfortunately, in addition to being anonymous, the World Family Tree material does not list sources. But where the World Family Tree facts have been checked against sources as at the court house in Noxubee, Mississippi and the census and bible records in Sumter, the World Family Tree material has proved to be accurate.

The first generation of documented Macons came to Virginia in 1670. The third generation, Hartwell Macon, Sr. who was the grandfather of Lucy K. Macon (David) (1807-1852), wife of George B. David, came to Fairfield County, South Carolina in the 1770s.

4.02 Fourth Macon Generation: Hartwell Macon, Jr.

Lucy K. Macon (David)’s father was Hartwell (Heartwell) Macon, Jr. (called captain) (January 26, 1769-November 5, 1860). He was born in Virginia and died at Macon, Noxube County, Mississippi. Anne Gregorie in her History of Sumter County, South Carolina (Sumter: Library Board, 1954), p. 92, says that Hartwell Macon was a veteran of the Revolutionary War. (Toby Terrar could find no records of this). Hartwell Macon, Jr. married Elizabeth Powell (Powel) (b. between 1766-1775, d. 1827) at Sumter, S.C. Elizabeth Powell was the widow of William Brunson (called captain) (1754-1803). The marriage of Elizabeth to William Brunson and her six children by him were discussed above in the Brunson section of this web page. Besides her six children by William Brunson, Elizabeth had two children by Hartwell Macon, Jr. These were:

Lucy Kennon Macon (April 27, 1807-1852). She married George B. David in 1833. To the left is a picture of the “Brunson Family Tree” drawn by Brunson descendant Mary Marsena Brunson Loring (1820-1898) in the nineteenth century. On it is included Lucy Macon as marrying George David. Brunson family historian Elizabeth (Bet) Girardeau supplied the picture. Click on the picture to enlarge it. (angelfire.com/david-macon/jpg/d-22.jpg). Click here for more information about Mary Marsena’s “Brunson Family Tree.” (3.02.03: https://www.angelfire.com/david-macon/david/d-12.html).

Francis Eleanor (Ellenor) Macon (April 6, 1809-December 11, 1876) was the second child of Hartwell and Elizabeth Powell Brunson Macon. She was born in Sumter and on July 25, 1825 she married James Harvey Dingle. She is buried at Sumter, S.C.

Elizabeth Powell Brunson Macon’s first husband, William Brunson, had a younger sister named Margaret Brunson (1766-after 1846). Margaret Brunson married Isaac David. This created an especially close inter-family relationship when the oldest son of Isaac and Margaret Brunson David, who was George B. David, married Lucy Macon David. Lucy’s half-sisters and brothers by William Brunson were her husband’s first cousins. Lucy’s mother, Elizabeth Powell Brunson Macon was not only George David’s mother-in-law, but his aunt. However, Lucy herself was not a blood relation to George because Lucy’s father was Hartwell Macon, Jr. and not William Brunson. The three generations can be outlined as follows:

David Brunson, Sr. = Elizabeth Cantey
William Brunson (Elizabeth Powell/ Hartwell Macon)	Margaret Brunson (Isaac David)
6 Brunson Children/ Lucy Macon	George David

Lucy Macon David’s father, Hartwell Macon, Jr. was the Sumter sheriff in 1812 and 1827. In 1812 Hartwell Macon had 480 acres of land on Big Branch of the Black River. He had 268 acres of land in 1815 near the head of Raffin Creek, waters of Wateree River, which is near Bradford Springs. He also had 900 acres on Mulberry Branch of Rocky Bluff on the Black River at the head of Turkey Creek. Hartwell Macon, Jr. along with his step-son William Leonard Brunson (1789-1868) were stewards of the circuit. See James M. Burgess, Chronicles of St. Marks Parish, Santee Circuit and Williamsburg Township, South Carolina, 1731-1885 (Greenville, S.C.: Southern Historical Press , 1888, reprint 1991).

After Elizabeth Powell Brunson Macon died in 1827, Hartwell Macon, Jr. married at Columbia, S.C. in February 1828 as his second wife, Eliza D. Russell (b. 1779). She was born in Virginia. They were living in Columbia, S.C. in 1829. Hartwell Macon, Jr. died in 1860 at Macon (Noxube County), Mississippi. (TT's "Family Group Sheets," p. 298).

4.03 Summary of Lucy K. Macon David's Earlier Ancestors
in Vigrinia and South Carolina

The five Macon generations from the most ancient down to Lucy K. Macon, wife of George B. David, can be summarized as:

1st generation: Gideon Macon Sr. (1648-1702).
2nd generation: William Macon Sr. (1693-1773).
3rd generation: Hartwell Macon, Sr. (1741-1824).
4th generation: Hartwell Macon, Jr. 1769-1860).
5th generation: Lucy K. Macon (David) (1808-1852).

The five Macon generations can be described more generally as follows.

4.04 First Generation: Gideon Macon Sr. (1648-1702)

Click on the photos/maps/diagrams to view larger photos/maps/diagrams. Gideon Macon Sr. (1648-1702), was the first generation of our documented Macons. Where he was born is unknown. He married Martha Woodward in 1681.

Pictured to the left is a map of New Kent County, Virginia where Gideon Macon settled about 1670. (d-11.jpg). He was a lawyer and represented New Kent County in the Burgesses (1693-1702). He was a colonel in the county militia. He was an early vestryman of Bruton parish, Williamsburg, Virginia, which was established in 1674. There is a bronze tablet on his pew with his name on it. For several pictures of Gideon's pew at the Bruton parish church click here . (d-18.html).

Gideon Macon was buried at the family cemetery, Macon Island, Virginia. But his grave was destroyed by federal troops in the Peninsula Campaign (1862) and it cannot be identified. (p. 315). Another source states that he was buried in the chancel of the Bruton Parish church. On the left is a Memorial Plaque for Gideon Macon. It reads: Huguenot Gideon Macon (1648 - 1702) Forfather of Martha Washington and Countless Thousands of French Protestant Blood. His memory is a light unto our feet, A chart to enrich our lives, and A heritage to cherish in our hearts. Society of the founders of Manakin In the Colony of Virginia 1973. (d-17).

Gideon Macon Sr. and Martha Woodward Macon had nine children, all born in St. Peters Parish, New Kent, Virginia. They were:

Gideon Macon, Jr. (1682-1708). He is buried at Henrico, Virginia. He died young and unmarried.

Anne Macon (1685-after 1728). She married James Christian.

Martha Macon (1687-1716). She married Orlando Jones (1681-1719) of King William County, Virginia in 1701. Orlando Jones was the son of Reverend Rowland Jones and Elizabeth Buckner (d. 1678). Rev. Roland Jones was the first rector of Bruton Church and a Burgess for King William County in 1718. Martha Macon Jones was buried at the Macon burial ground, Macon Island, Virginia. In 1906 her remains were removed to the chancel at Bruton Parish church, Williamsburg. One of the two children of Martha and Orland Jones was Frances Jones (1710-1785). Frances married Col. John Dandridge (1700-1756) in 1730. John was a younger brother of William Dandridge, who married Unity West, half sister of Martha Macon Jones. Col. John Dandridge and Frances Jones Dandridge had eight children. They were:

Martha Dandridge (1731-1802). She married first Daniel Park Custis in 1759. Martha and Daniel Park Custis had four children. These were: Daniel Parke Custis (1751-1754), born at Mt. Airy, Maryland, Francis Parke Custis (1753-1757), John “Jacky” Parke Custis (1755-1781), and Martha Parke “Patsy” Custis (1757-1773). They lived at Abingdon, Virginia, which was up the Potomac River from Mount Vernon. After Daniel Park Custis died, Martha married George Washington (1732-1799) in 1759 at St. Peters Church, New Kent, Virginia. George Washington was the son of Augustine Washington and Mary Ball Washington. Martha Dandridge Custis Washington died at Mount Vernon. Martha’s son John “Jacky” Parke Custis (1755-1781) married Eleanor Calvert in 1774. One of Jacky and Eleanor Custis’ two children was George Washington Parke Custis (1781-1857). He married Mary Lee Fitzhugh in 1806 and built the mansion at Arlington Cemetery. The daughter of George Washington Parke Custis and Mary Lee Fitzhugh Custis was Mary Ann Randolph Custis (b. 1808). She married Robert E. Lee. That makes the present-day descendants of Lucy Macon David second cousins, six times removed to Martha Dandridge Washington and fifth cousins, twice removed to Robert E. Lee. (p. 308).

John Dandridge (1732-1749). He was in the Royal Navy.

William Dandridge (1734-1776). He drowned in the Royal Navy.

Bartholomew Dandridge Sr. (1737-1789). He was a burgess from New Kent County from 1772 to 1775. He was a member of the Conventions of 1775 and 1776 and secretary to George Washington, his brother-in-law. He married Elizabeth Macon, who was a first cousin and then Mary Burbidge. Bartholomew had two children by his first wife and six by his second wife.

Anna Maria Dandridge (1739-1777). She married Burwell Bassett, Sr. in 1757. They lived at Bassett Hall Williamsburg, Virginia. He was a burgess from New Kent in 1762 and 1775. He was a member of the Williamsburg Convention in 1776. They had three children. One of their children was Frances “Fanny” Bassett (d. 1796). She married George Augustine Washington (d. 1793) in 1785, who was the manager of his uncle’s estate. When he died, Fanny married Tobias Lear in 1795. Tobias Lear was George Washington secretary until 1794, when Bartholomew Dandridge took over. Lear was then tutor at Mr. Vernon until 1799. Next he came to Washington, D.C. where he engaged in consular service. Both Fanny Bassett (Washington Lear) and George Augustine Washington died from tuberculosis. Tobias Lear committed suicide in 1816.

Frances Dandridge (1744-1758).

Elizabeth Dandridge (1749-1776). She married John Aylett and then Leonard Henley. She had two children by her first husband and eight by her second husband.

Mary Dandridge (1756-1763).

? Macon (b. 1690).

William Macon, Sr. (1693-1773) was the fifth child of Gideon Macon Sr. and Martha Woodward Macon. He married Mary Hartwell in 1719. He is buried at St. Peters parish, New Kent, Virginia. This is the ancestor of Lucy Macon David. There is more information about him below.

John Macon, Sr. (1695-1752) was the sixth child of Gideon Macon Sr. and Martha Woodward Macon. He married Ann Hunt. He is buried at St. Peters parish, New Kent, Virginia. From this couple descend the politician Nathaniel Macon (1758-1837) for whom various towns and counties were named. Among other things, he had no use for the U.S. Constitution. He was a second cousin, six times removed from the present descendants of Lucy Macon David. From John Macon, Sr. also descends Joseph Seawell Jones (1806-1855), who was a politician, historian and author of several books. Another descendant was John T. Macon (1755-1829). As a delegate to the North Carolina state convention he voted in 1789 to reject the U.S. Constitution.

Finally David Harrison Macon (1870-1952) descends from John Macon, Sr. As "Uncle Dave Macon" he was a star on the Grand Old Opera. It is his picture that is to the left. Click here for more information about John Macon, Sr. and his descendants. (david-macon/david/d-14.html).

? Macon (b. 1698).

James Macon (1701-1768) was the eighth child of Gideon Macon Sr. and Martha Woodward Macon. He married Elizabeth Moore Lloyd in 1740. She was the daughter of Colonel Augustine Moore and Elizabeth Todd Seaton. Augustine Moore was a lineal descendant of Sir Thomas Moore. James Macon is buried at King William County, Virginia. (TT, "Family Group Sheet," p. 331). James Macon and Elizabeth had two children. These were:

Elizabeth Macon. She married Bartholomew Dandridge.

Mary Macon. She married first, Colonel William Aylett (1742-1781) in 1766 and then Minnis Callowhill. William Aylett was the son of Phillip Aylett and Martha Dandridge. Mary Macon and William Aylett had three children. Their first child was Philip Aylett (1767-1835). He married Elizabeth Henry, daughter of Patrick Henry, the Patriot. The second child of Mary Macon and William Aylett was Elizabeth Aylett. She was the grandmother of historian Charles Campbell. From Mary Macon and William Aylett also descends Helen Keller.

Unity West (b. 1703). After Gideon Macon Sr. died, his widow, Martha Woodward married Nathaniel West in 1702. Unity is by that marriage. Unity married William Dandridge in 1719.

4.05 Second Generation: William Macon Sr. (1693-1773)

Click on the photos/maps/diagrams to view larger photos/maps/diagrams. William Macon, Sr. was the second generation down from our first documented Macon. He was born at St. Peters Parish, New Kent, Virginia on November 12, 1693. He married Mary Hartwell (1703-1770) on September 24, 1719 at New Kent, Virginia. She was the daughter of William and Ann Hartwell.

To the left is another map of early Virginia and New Kent County where William Macon, Sr. lived until 1725 on the Gideon Macon Estate. (d-12.jpg). This farm was on “Macon’s Island” in the Pamunkey River. Then he built a mansion, Mount Prospect on the mainland, which was still in New Kent County.

To the left is a view of Mount Prospect on the Kent County mainland, which William Macon, Sr. built in 1725. It was the second home of the Macons in America. The place was torn down in the 1950s because it was in disrepair. William Macon, Sr. served in the Burgesses (1735-1740). He was a vestryman in St. Peters Church and a justice of the peace of New Kent in 1729. He died at New Kent, Virginia on November 1, 1773. (david-macon/jpg/d-15.jpg).

William Macon, Sr. and Mary Hartwell Macon had eleven children, all born at St. Peters Parish, New Kent, Virginia. They were:

Anne Macon (1720-1736). She is buried at New Kent.

Martha Macon (1722-1759). She married William Massie (1713-1751) in 1740. He was a Burgess from New Kent County in 1748-1749. Martha and William Massie had two children. These were William Massie and Thomas Massie (1747-1834). Thomas Massie married a woman with the surname of Cocke, daughter of Rowler Cocke, Jr. This Rowler Cocke, Jr. was a major in the Revolutionary War and crossed the Delaware with George Washington. Martha Macon also married Colonel Richard Bland. Martha is buried at New Kent, Virginia.

Mary Macon (1723-1733).

William Macon, Jr. , (1725-1813). He married Lucy Scott (1737-1802) in 1753. Her parents were John and Elizabeth Scott. William and Lucy Macon lived at Fairfield, Hanover County, Virginia and later at Mount Prospect, New Kent, Virginia. William engaged in a duel with Colonel William Fountain. William and Lucy had four children. They were

William Hartwell Macon, called colonel (1759-1843). He married Sarah Amber in 1779. He also married Hannah Selden and Sarah Smith Dabney. He served in the House of Delegates and entertained General Lafayette in the Yorktown campaign of 1781. He was an officer in the War of 1812. He had thirteen children. (At some future point they will be added to this page). The seventh child of Colonel William Hartwell Macon was Miles Carey Macon (1791-1860), whose son was William Hartwell Macon, Sr. This William Hartwell Macon, Sr. inherited Mount Prospect, which was two and one-half miles above the White House plantation. This was not the White House in Washington, D.C., but the plantation which was built for Martha Dandridge Custis Washington and which later belonged to Mrs. Robert E. Lee. William Hartwell Macon, Sr. married Nora Criena Braxton and had two children. These were Mary Sayre Macon (b. 1850). She married Nathaniel Burwell Johnson in 1881. The other child was William Hartwell Macon, Sr. (b. 1852). He married Mary Galt Webb in 1885. The ninth child of Colonel William Hartwell Macon was Thomas Seldon Macon (1797-1851). He married Virginia Savage. He bought in 1833 the 1043 acre Albemarle County estate of Thomas Jefferson, which was named Somerset. Thomas Seldon Macon’s son was George William Macon (b. 1827). This child married Mildred N. Meriwether in 1856. The twelfth child of Colonel William Hartwell Macon was Mary Smith Macon (b. 1805). She married Hugh Nelson and then Joseph Mutter. She wrote a story about the Macon family in the William and Mary Quarterly.

Thomas Macon (1761-1762).

Thomas Macon (1765-1838). He married Sarah Catlett Madison in 1790 in Orange County, Virginia. She was the sister of President James Madison. Thomas and Sarah Catlett Macon had six children between 1791 and 1808. For a listing of the children and biographical summary of the Presidential in-laws click here . (www.angelfire.com/david-macon/david/d-19.html).

Elizabeth Macon (1768-1802). She married William Waller in 1786. William Waller died in 1799. She then married George Nicholson in 1800.

Henry Macon (b. 1727).

Elizabeth Macon (1729-1763). She married Werner Washington (1722-1790) in 1747. Werner was the son of John Washington, who was a first cousin of George Washington. Werner and Elizabeth Macon Washington had four children between 1748 and 1851).

Sarah Macon (1731-1818). She is buried at Louisa, Virginia.

Mary Macon (b. 1734)

Judy Macon (1737-1768).

Hartwell Macon, Sr. (1741-1824). This was the grandfather of our Lucy Macon David.

Anne Macon (1747-1813). She married John Fox.

4.06 Third Macon Generation: Hartwell Macon, Sr. (1741-1824)

Hartwell Macon, Sr. (1741-1824) was the third generation down from our first documented Macon. (TT's "Family Group Sheet," p. 305). His parents were William Macon, Sr. and Mary Hartwell. He was born on June 30, 1741 at New Kent, Virginia. The Williamsburg Gazette on March 24, 1771 ran an advertisement by William Macon, Sr. in which warned that he was not responsible for the debts of his son Hartwell Macon. By the 1770s Hartwell Macon, Sr. moved to Fairfield County, S.C. According to World Family Tree, vol. 2, Tree 3548, Hartwell Macon, Sr. married a woman named Lucy K. (b. 1744). Hartwell Macon, Sr. had two children. They were:

Gideon Macon was born between 1756 and 1777. According to World Family Tree, vol. 2, Tree 3548, he was born in Fairfield County, S.C. and he also died there before 1800. He married in 1788 and had one son, Hamblin Eppes Macon (1788-1834). Click here for information about Hamblin’s wife and descendants. (https://www.angelfire.com/david-macon/david/d-13.html).

Hartwell Macon, Jr. (1769-1860). See the fourth generation discussion above.

Macon Connection (National Gideon Macon Society webpage, maintained by Rusty Macon Weber in Louisville, KY).
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Last Updated August 9, 2007