These are not my lines, just an interesting puzzle I ran across. Also, I am not the first person to find these records, but I may be the first to link them and interpret them correctly (IMHO).
I believe these records will prove:
Thomas Boykin Jr, who died circa 1749 in Northampton Co, NC married Martha LNU (maiden/last name unknown) and had 3 daughters before he died:
- Celia Boykin who married Michael Rogers
- Winifred Boykin who married Drury Cade
- Lurana Boykin who married James Alford
Northampton Co, NC Deed Book 7:77 - (LDS Film # 007517523, image 233) 27 June 1781, Michael Rogers, James Alford, Drury Cade of Wake Co, NC who married "Celia Boykin, Winefred Boykin and Susannah Boykin co-heirs with Thomas Boykin". 420 acres to Benjamin Branch.
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-8983-X3Z8?cat=296804
This would have been easier had the deed said: "Celia Boykin, Lurannah Boykin and Winefred Boykin co-heirs of Thomas Boykin".
There are at least three odd things with this deed:
- The wives, who are only named once in the deed, aren't in the same order as the husbands are listed.
- When the clerk copied the original deed into the deed book, he apparently mistook Lurannah, a spelling variation of Lurana, for Susannah.
- The deed says the women were co-heirs with Thomas Boykin, when I will show below, they were heirs of him.
The deed describes the land as 420 acres on Meherren river, and mentions Rebecca Braswell's corner and Thomas Moye's line.
This same land was sold in 1722 to Thomas Boykin Sr.
Bertie Co, NC Deed Book A:102 (LDS Film # 007510477, image 105)- John Bryan Junr for 11 pounds to Thomas Boyken of Chowan precinct, 23 May 1722, witness Henry[?] Roads, John Gray. May Court 1723 acknowledged by John Bryan. John Sutton Clerk. 420 acres in Chowan Precinct on south side of Meherren river.
The description of the land is almost verbatim the same as the description from the 1781 deed. It was common to copy the "metes and bounds" of a property from an earlier document, even if the neighbors from the earlier deed were all gone. It was cheaper than paying for a new survey. Other than the usage of "the" rather than "ye", there were just two differences, likely copying errors: "his line" rather than "her line" (for Rebecca Braswell's line), and "No 58 Wt 68 pole" was "No 38 Wt 68 pole" in the earlier deed.
Notably, this deed was written when this land was part of Chowan Precinct, shortly before Bertie County was formed 2 Oct 1722. The deed was proved and recorded in Bertie Co, and the land fell into Northampton Co, which was formed 31 Dec 1741 from Bertie.
Thomas Boykin Sr of Northampton Co, NC made his will 13 Apr 1748 (LDS Film # 007640346, image 372), in which he mentions wife Mildred, son Thomas Jr, and the following women, presumably his daughters: Ann Craford, Martha Thornton, Eliz[abeth] Strickland and Patience Strickland. The deed gave 1/3 of the estate to wife Mildred, and 2/3 to son Thomas, he to pay one shilling each to the above mentioned women. Wife Mildred and son Thomas were named as executors. One of the witness was Joseph Rogers, father of the Michael Rogers, above, who married Celia Boykin.
However, tragedy struck, because the will was presented in Northampton Co, NC Feb 1750 Court by "Martha Boykin relict widow of Thomas Boykin Junr who praying administration with the will annexed which was granted, both ye Executors nominated in ye sd [said] Will being dead..."
Since Thomas Boykin's Jr mother died, he inherited her 1/3 of the estate as eldest son by primogeniture. So, Thomas Boykin Jr had all 420 acres his father bought in 1722. Then Thomas Boykin Jr died, and since he had only daughters, they were co-heirs. Had Thomas Boykin Jr had a son, the son would have inherited all the land. Thomas Boykin Jr and wife Martha LNU were the parents of the three Boykin women in the 1781 deed.
Who married whom?
Michael Rogers married Celia Boykin - his 1793 will in Wake Co, NC names his wife as "Cele".
Drury Cade married Winifred Boykin. Drury died intestate in Wilkes Co, GA, but on 2 Dec 1796, his heirs made 'article of agreement' to split his estate.
Sorry, this record is on Ancestry (paid site) rather than FamilySearcch.
The articles of agreement name the heirs, and state Robert Cade and Drewry B Cade "to give their mother a good and reasonable maintenance during her natural life".
Though not named, their mother was Winifred Boykin Cade. She signed her will in 1812, Wilkes Co, GA, naming my "two youngest sons namely Robert Cade and Drewry B Cade".
Since Robert and Drury B Cade must have been adults to enter into the article of agreement in 1796, they were born before the 1781 deed above, and from the 1781 deed, and Winifred Cade's will, she was the Boykin sister who married Drury Cade.
Which leaves us with "Susannah Boykin" - in the original deed given to the county to record, I am certain this was something like Lurannah, Some people wrote cursive capital L like an S, and lower case r similar to n. This is similar to the problem of distinguishing the names Samuel and Lemuel in old hand-written records.
James Alford made his will (Hancock Co, GA WB H:57) in 1812 naming wife 'Luraner'.
James Alford's wife was never Winifred Boykin, or Lurana Winifred Boykin. It was just Lurana Boykin, mistaken for Susannah.
Also, Drury Cade who married Winifred Boykin was NOT Drury Boykin Cade, as seen in many trees. The use of Boykin as a middle name by Drury's descendant comes from Winifred's maiden name.
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