The Bobbitt Family In America

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William Bobbitt and his wife Susannah James Bobbitt lived in Chester County and York County. The family seemingly went back and forth between the two counties. Their children married families from both counties. William Bobbitt and his descendants are the only Bobbitt families that can be considered as being from South Carolina. Several of his sons and daughters were born in North Carolina but through some error by census takers, members of the family, or just plain thoughtlessness some of these sons and daughters were listed as being born in South Carolina when in fact they were born in North Carolina.

South Carolina research depends largely on the census records. No marriages were recorded in South Carolina until after 1907. No births were recorded but several deaths were recorded. There are few tax lists available and land deeds are complicated by the jurisdictions they are supposed to be recorded in.

A study of the census records of South Carolina from 1790 to 1900 indicate that one is studying the descendants of a single family. The military records of South Carolina list only two members of the Bobbitt family, both from Company H, 18th Regiment, S. C. infantry, John IV. Bobbitt and William J. Bobbitt, privates in the Confederate Army.

Several of the Bobbitt family members who were born in South Carolina moved to Alabama, Tennessee, and Georgia. Most of those who moved can be traced as descendants of William and Susannah Bobbitt.

Since South Carolina did not record marriages it is virtually impossible to know what became of the Bobbitt daughters. There was a large number of Bobbitt daughters born in South Carolina and they have presumably become members of other family names. I have not had a single correspondent who knew of their ancestry in South Carolina, with connections to the Bobbitt family.

Although Bobbitt families lived in Spartanburg, Lancaster, York, Edgefield, Chester and Charleston Counties, the history of the Bobbitt families in South Carolina is in Chester and York counties. In the census records there was a Bobbitt named family in York County from 1820 to and including 1900.

William Bobbitt died in Chester County in 1839 and his wife Susannah Bobbitt died in Chester County in 1844. Their sons were named Lemuel Bobbitt, John Bobbitt, James Bobbitt, William Bobbitt, and Stephen Bobbitt, and Thomas Bobbitt. Their daughters were named, Sarah, Temperance, Susannah, and Martha.