The Family of

Rachel Egerton Bobbitt, wife of  Jesse Myrick,

And some of her descendants

As told by her great, great granddaughter, Marilyn Myrick Human

 

 

            Rachel was the daughter of John Bobbitt and Patience Harris. Because there are many John Bobbitts, making tracing difficult, we are grateful that this line has been well documented in the first book of “The Bobbitt Family in America” by John W. Bobbitt

          Our John is the son of Miles Bobbitt and Mary Powell, and the first Book does an excellent job of tracing this line back to William, the Immigrant, therefore we have no need to pursue it further here.

          Rachel’s mother, Patience Harris, born in 1765, was the daughter of Charles Harris and Rachel Egerton, our Rachel being named for her grandmother.

          In the first Bobbitt Book there is confusion over the name of Rachel Egerton Bobbitt’s brother-in-law, Hardy Myrick, and her son, also named Hardy Myrick, leading to some mistakes in the first Book.

          In order to clarify how this confusion came about and thus correct the mistakes it caused, it becomes necessary to step back a generation on the Myrick line.

          Charles Myrick, born April 18, 1769, in Granville County, N. Carolina, son of James Myrick and Elizabeth James, married Martha “Patty” Ray.¹ Charles and Martha were the parents of 8 children, but here we will deal with only the two sons who married Bobbitts.

          Charles Myrick’s first two sons, Jesse, born 1796, and Hardy, born about 1799/1800, married Bobbitt sisters.

          Jesse Myrick, our great, great grandfather married Rachel Egerton Bobbitt, April 2, 1821 in Warren County, N. Carolina.² Jesse Myrick’s brother, Hardy Myrick, married Rachel’s sister, Ann Frances Hill, January 22, 1831. Ann Frances was a widow.³   

          This is very significant because in the first Book this Hardy Myrick becomes confused with his nephew, Hardy, son of his brother, Jesse. Jesse’s son, Hardy, died young in the Civil War, never Married.¹

          Jesse and Rachel had 11 children, which, of course, are also the grandchildren of Patience Harris Bobbitt.  (Important in future references to her grandchildren) They are:  Benjamin Myrick, born about 1822,  Finetta S. A. Winifred Myrick born ?,  Jesse Myrick Jr., born ?, killed in the Civil War,  George Myrick, born about 1827,  Robert A. Myrick, born about 1830,  Louisa Myrick, born about 1832,  Lafayette Myrick, born about 1834,  Fletcher Myrick, born about 1836, killed in the Civil War,  Alexander Myrick, born about 1838, killed in the Civil War,  John Charles Myrick, born about 1840,  and Hardy Myrick, born about 1843, killed in the Civil War. This Hardy Myrick was 7 years old on the 1850 census.⁴ The Hardy Myrick that married Ann Bobbitt, sister of Rachel Bobbitt was born about 1799/1800.⁵

          So, we find here that Rachel, wife of Jesse, is the mother of both Robert A. Myrick and his brother, Hardy Myrick.⁶  Obviously, Rachel did not marry her son Robert, as reported in the first Book on page 359 and on the 3^rd page  of the Warren County, N.C. census of 1850, in the Book. ( The Book page was unavailable on line). Remember, she is Jesse’s wife.

          The Hardy Myrick that Patience Harris Bobbitt is living with on the 1850 census, page 360 in the first Book, is her son-in-law, husband of her daughter, Ann, and brother of Jesse Myrick, both sons of Charles Myrick, definitely not her grandson, Hardy, brother of her grandson, Robert A. Myrick as this Hardy was only 7 on the 1850 census.

          Also, on page 360 of the Book, it was reported that Patience’s son-in-law, Robert A. Myrick was administrator of her estate. As stated before, Robert was Patience Harris Bobbitt’s grandson, not her son-in-law.⁶

          Jesse Myrick Sr. died in 1845 leaving Rachel with a house full of children. She had 8 sons in the Civil War and lost 4 of them. “The Myrick Book” by Allie Goodwin Myrick Bowden, states that “Rachel wrote many letters to her sons during the course of the war and those letters are still in the possession of members of the family”.

          Of the descendants of the Bobbitt family through Rachel Egerton Bobbitt, we will follow only one line here, that of her son, Robert Algernon Myrick.

          Robert Married Sarah “Sallie” T. Hilliard Beckham January 15, 1867⁷

She was the daughter of Moses Knight Beckham and Martha Bowden Hilliard. She was born July 30, 1832.

          Robert and Sallie Myrick were the parents of 7 children but only 2 of them lived⁸. These two grandsons of Rachel Egerton Bobbitt were Robert A. Myrick Jr. and William Lafayette Myrick. Like his father, Jesse, Robert Senior died young, about 1881/82⁹, leaving Sally with her two young sons and a broken heart over the loss of 5 babies and her husband.

          Although times were very hard for her, she managed to send Robert Jr. to college at Trinity (now Duke University). Marilyn Myrick Human has in her possession, many letters written by Sallie to Robert Junior, between 1891 and 1893. In one of her letters Sallie mentions that “your father has been gone nearly ten years now”. ( This letter helps to establish approximate death date) copies of parts of two of her letters are included.

          After college, Robert Jr. became a professor at Duke U. for a short while. Duke U. has a collection of Robert’s papers in their Archives. Like his father and grandfather before him, Robert Junior died young, and he never married. His brother, William Lafayette Myrick, our grandfather, was somewhat of a nomad, always looking for that “greener grass”

          He and his family moved around North Carolina and Virginia several times. They were living in Charlotte, N. Carolina when Sallie Beckham Myrick came to live out her last years with them. That is where she died in her sleep, January 31, 1910¹⁰

          After a few more moves, “Willie” moved his family to Florida. They arrived at their destination in September of 1910¹¹.

 

Rachel’s grandson, William “Willie” Lafayette Myrick, born April 23, 1871, married Mamie Rux, born April 8, 1869 in Lunenburg County, Virginia. They were the parents of 3 children: Robert Andrew Myrick, born Sept 12, 1896,  Aldah Myrick, born September 25, 1898,  and Joseph Herwald Myrick, my father, born May 13, 1900 in Princess Ann County, Virginia.

 

 

My Lineage

 

Descending from

Rachel E. Bobbitt and Jesse Myrick

 

Generation 1

 

Robert Algernon Myrick Sr., born about 1830, married Sarah T. Hilliard Beckham, born in 1832

 

Their Children

 

Generation 2

 

Robert Algernon Myrick Jr., born in 1869, died young, never married

 

William Lafayette Myrick, born April 23, 1871, married Mary “Mamie” Rux, born April 8, 1869 in Lunenburg County, Virginia

 

 

Their Children

 

Generation 3

 

Robert Andrew Myrick, born September 12, 1896, married (1) Thelma Alice Coley, born December 21, 1902, married (2) Inez Boatright Morgan

 

Aldah Myrick, born September 25, 1898, married Leroy Blan Overstreet

 

Joseph Herwald Myrick, born May 13, 1900, married (1) Cecial Virginia Carter. Married (2) Bernadeane “Dutch” Rowe

 

 

Generation 4

My Generation

 

The fourth generation of Bobbitt descendants through their Great, Great Grandmother, Rachel Egerton Bobbitt are as follows:

 

Children of Robert Andrew Myrick and Thelma Alice Coley

 

Margaret Rosalie Myrick, born August 19, 1925 and Dorothy Louise Myrick, born October 27, 1927

 

Children of Aldah Myrick and Leroy Blan Overstreet

Mary Aldah Overstreet, born in 1924,  Leroy Blan Overstreet Jr., born in 1925,  Sarah Beckham Overstreet, born in 1926,  John Wesley Overstreet, born in 1928,  and Charles William Overstreet, born in 1930

 

Children of Joseph Herwald Myrick and Cecial Virginia Carter

 

Joseph Clyde Myrick, born September 30, 1924,  Marilyn Jean Myrick, born September 23, 1926  and Lucien Lafayette “Sonny” Myrick, born March 23, 1930

 

Child of Joseph Herwald Myrick and Bernadeane Rowe

 

Barbara Jo Myrick

   

 

 

             Robert Algernon Myrick Sr.                          Sarah “Sallie” T. Hilliard Beckham  

          Son of Jesse Myrick and Rachel                                          Myrick

          Bobbitt. Grandson of Patience

          Harris Bobbitt

 

 

                                   Sarah is buried in Sunset Hill Cemetery

                                                    Littleton, North Carolina

 

 

 

 

 

Sources

# 1. The Myrick Book by Allie Goodwin Myrick Bowden

 

# 2.  North Carolina Marriage Bonds,  1741-1868

 

# 3.  The Book states that Hardy Myrick married Ann Frances Bobbitt, However, North Carolina Marriage bonds, 1741-1868  has only one marriage bond for Hardy Myrick and that is with Ann F. Hill (bond # 000161954),

Bond date: January 22, 1831.  Bondsman, Jesse Myrick.

The Myrick Book states, on page 142, That this is Rachel Bobbitt’s sister and that she was a widow.

 

# 4.  The 1850 census was the source for estimating the birth date of most of these children.

 

# 5.  The 1850 census. Patience Harris Bobbitt was living with Hardy Myrick’s family. He was 50 years old on that census, his nephew namesake, Hardy Myrick, son of his brother, Jesse, was 7 years old on the 1850 census. 

 

# 6. The 1850 census establishes that Rachel E. Myrick was living with 8 of her children including Robert A. Myrick and Hardy Myrick.

 

# 7.  North Carolina Marriage Bonds,  1741-1868, family pictures, family letters. 

 

# 8.  A letter From Sarah Myrick to her son, Robert A. Jr. A copy of that letter is included.

 

# 9.  Sarah’s letter to Robert Jr. remarking how long his father has been gone.

 

# 10. Sarah’s death certificate and obituary.

 

# 11.  From the Memoirs of Aldah Myrick Overstreet, born in 1898, written for her family in 1984.

         

 

 

The following are excerpts from two of Sallie Myrick’s letters to Robert A. Myrick Jr., her son in college.

 

 

 

 

 

End.