| Both Samuel Floyd and his wife, Susan Dixon Floyd died at the same time in 1752 or at the very beginning of 1753 and are buried in the same grave in Northampton County, Virginia. According to the research notes of Alice C. Tonge,
two stories circulate regarding their deaths: One, that they were slain by Indians. Or, that they were thrown from their cart when a horse suddenly bolted while going at a fast pace. The outcome was that Elizabeth and Charles
(ages four and six when their parents died), went to live with relatives. Charles Floyd lived with an uncle - exactly which one is not known. However, an appraisement and inventory in Northampton County on 13 March 1753 (Wills, Inventories, Divisions 1750-1754 Vol. XXVIII-R p. 391-397) of Samuel Floyd's effects show many items were purchased by Dixon family members, and one source suggested that he may have gone to live with them. At the age of nine, his uncle sent Charles
to sea indentured as a cabin boy. He spent fourteen years at sea, mainly on trading vessels sailing to ports in Europe, Africa and elsewhere. Once, he was shipwrecked off the coast of Massachusetts but was rescued. When this seafaring ordeal was over, he settled in Charleston, South Carolina, where he managed an indigo plantation. During the Revolutionary War in South Carolina, Charles Floyd was a member of the First Council of Safety. They raised a volunteer
militia, the St. Helena Guards, whose motto was "Liberty or Death." Captain Floyd distinguished himself in forays against the British and their colonial policies. In reprisal, his home was plundered and burned several times by the Tories. He was captured by the British in Savannah and held prisoner aboard a ship. The English Commodore was so impressed by Captain Floyd's expression of deeply held principles and his staunch patriotism that he allowed him to
walk the quarterdeck of the gun ship. CHARLES FLOYD born 04 March 1747 in Northampton County, VA, was the son of Samuel Floyd & Susan Dixon. Married MARY FENDIN in 1768 in Charleston, SC. She was born 15 April 1746/47 in St. Helena Parish, SC, the daughter of JOHN FENDIN,JR. of Beaufort Dist., SC (b. 22 September 1721 in St. Helena Parish, SC; d. 03 September 1767 in St. Helena Parish, SC = son of John Fendin
& Martha Waight) & ELIZABETH THOMAS (b. ca. 1725 in SC; marr. 07 August 1744 in St. Helena Parish, SC; d. aft. 29 Aug. 1770 in St. Helena Parish, SC = dau. of Jonathan Thomas & Ann Green). NOTE: Martha Waight b. ca. 1695; d. bef. 15 October 1766 in Colleton Co., SC; marr. John Fendin
ca. 1720 in SC; he owned land on the Wadlamaw River on Johns Island in SC. He was b. ca. 1699 in SC; d. bef. 25 October 1758 in St. Helena Parish, SC, son of Henry Fendin of the Stono River area in SC & Sarah. Martha Waight was the dau. of Abraham Waight
(b. London, England; settled in Colleton Co., SC & served as a member of the Second SC Assembly in 1695 & represented Colleton Co. in the Fourth Assembly 1698-1699 of the Commons House; d. 21 July 1718 in Colleton Co., SC) & Tabitha Nichols (marr. bef. 10 April 1684 in SC; d. Colleton Co., SC).
Mary Fendin Floyd died 18 September 1804 at Bellevue Plantation. Charles Floyd
died 09 September 1820 at Bellevue; both buried in the Floyd Family Cemetery near the site of Fairfield Plantation, Camden County, GA. Charles & Mary Floyd had one son = JOHN FLOYD
born 03 October 1769 at Hilton Head Island, Beaufort Co., SC. He attended school in SC. At age sixteen was apprenticed to a house carpenter for five years. He became so proficient at this work, he was offered an early release from the contract but refused, preferring to work the entire period. At night he received basic educational instruction from a private tutor. Married ISABELLA MARIA HAZZARD
on 12 December 1793 in Beaufort District, SC. They had twelve children (1. Charles,2. Mary Hazzard, 3. Charles Rinaldo, 4. Sarah Catherine Wigg,5. John Fendin, 6. Susan Lodviski Dixon, 7. Caroline/Carolina Eliza Louisa, 8. William Henry, 9. Richard Ferdinand, 10. Melinda Isabella, 11. Samuel Augustus, 12. Henry Hamilton). She was born 03 January 1773 in St. Marys, GA, the daughter of RICHARD HAZZARD
of Beaufort District, SC (son of Richard Hazzard & Elizabeth) & PHOEBE LOFTEN/ LOFTIN/ LOFTAIN/ LOFTON of FL (d. bef. 1784; dau. of John Loften). A few years after her mother died, Isabella Maria Hazzard was adopted by her father's cousin, Sarah Hazzard Waight, of Beaufort, SC. "Mrs. Sarah Waight was a very wealthy and aristocratic lady of Beaufort, SC ... When [Isabella Maria was] but a school girl, he
[John Floyd] met her as she was returning home from school and he from his work. The attachment between them being mutual, and rather romantic, they were married, though not without opposition from Mrs. Waight, who wished her to accept some more wealthy offers ..." (A Little Family History, by Mary Hazzard Floyd Hamilton). Sarah Hazzard Waight had no children of her own. NOTE: Sarah Hazzard
(b. 20 August 1752-1753; d. 03 January 1843 St. Simons Island, GA = the dau. of Capt. William Hazzard III & Catherine Wigg). She marr. Isaac Waight III (b. 30 May 1746 St. Helena Parish, SC; d. aft. 1790 = son of Isaac Waight Jr. (II) & Martha Fripp). Isaac Waight Jr. (or II), was the son of Isaac Waight & Mary Jones & grandson of Abraham Waight & Tabitha Nichols. John Floyd
died 24 June 1839 at Bellevue Plantation & is buried in the Floyd Family Cemetery near the site of Fairfield Plantation in Camden Co., GA. A typed copy of the Will of General John Floyd is found in A Little Family History, by Mary Hazzard Floyd Hamilton. No original Will exists for John Floyd among Camden County, GA Courthouse records. Possibly a will was filed, but Camden County Will Book B (1829-1852) is lost. Many authors cite his
bequests, individual dispositions and property distributions from typewritten copies of his Will, which was written on the "16th day of October, and of the Independence of the United States of America, the fifty-seventh year" - six years before his death. Isabella Maria Hazzard Floyd died 18 August 1859 at Bellevue Plantation & presumably is buried at the Floyd Family Cemetery - her grave is unmarked.
In 1795, Charles Floyd, with
his wife Mary, and John Floyd, with his wife Isabella Maria, moved from South Carolina to McIntosh County, GA. They settled on adjoining farms called "The Thickets," located near Darien. In 1800, they again moved, this time to Camden County, GA. They purchased large tracts of land located on the south side of the Satilla River, north of the Crooked River and west of the marshes and the Cumberland River. Here, in this area now known as Floyd's Neck, they built
two plantations one mile apart - "Fairfield" and "Bellevue." John Floyd built Bellevue within view of the marshes leading to Todd's Creek for his father, Charles. He built Fairfield on Floyd's Creek for himself. After his father died, he moved into Bellevue, enlarging it with an upper story (or stories) made of cypress. Both plantations were noted for their landscaping and gardens. The curved billiard room at Bellevue overlooked a picturesque
crescent-shaped garden, from which roses extended to a half acre. Flowering bulbs and myrtles were dotted beneath the mile-long avenue of moss-draped live oaks and cedar trees connecting the two plantations. Two hundred acres south of Bellevue were set aside as parade grounds. The land became so compressed from military drills and horse's hooves that nothing grew on it for over a hundred years - until it was plowed and planted by the seventh owners. Traditionally, it
is known in this family that the Floyds built Bellevue Plantation in the shape of an anchor to symbolize their fortunes provided by the sea. Today, all that remains of this once-grand antebellum structure are the tabby ruins. Fairfield Plantation became the residence of John Floyd's son, Charles Rinaldo Floyd. During the Civil War, both structures, including the outbuildings, were destroyed by intermittent incursions from raiding parties sent ashore off of a blockading
vessel anchored in St. Andrews Sound. Not a trace of Fairfield is to be seen. In 1806, John Floyd was commissioned Brigadier-General, 1st Brigade, 1st Division, Georgia State Militia. At the beginning of the War of 1812, he commanded a force at Point Peter near St. Marys, Georgia. He was then ordered to command troops levied by the Federal Government who were assembled at Camp Hope on the Ocmulgee River. His forces constructed forts in a defensive
line along the Federal Road from the Ocmulgee River to the Alabama River; a stronghold, Ft. Mitchell, was erected on the west bank of the Chattahoochee River. In November 1813, he and his men waged an overwhelming offensive, the battle of Autossee, where he sustained a serious wound to his knee. He recuperated over the Christmas holidays at Ft. Mitchell. In January 1814, he commanded the battle of Challibee. His campaigns to subdue the hostile Creek and Choctaw Indians
were so effective, he was promoted to the rank of Major-General. He led troops into the Okefenokee Swamp to drive out the intractable Seminoles only to discover that they had fled into Florida. At the close of the war (1814-1815), he was sent to defend Savannah against the presumed attack by the British. Because coastal plantations were defenseless against invaders he requested that his family temporarily settle in Savannah. Before it was extended, a portion of
Abercorn Street in Savannah was named Floyd Street in recognition of the General. Camden County, GA tax returns in 1809 show the combined land holdings owned by Charles & John Floyd amounted to 5,825 acres. John & Charles Floyd bought Little Cumberland Island from the heirs of Gen. Nathaniel Greene. In 1838, John sold six acres on the north end of Little Cumberland to the US Government for a lighthouse on St. Andrews Sound. (The Little Cumberland Island
Lighthouse has been placed on the National Historic Register). The Floyds became extremely successful planters cultivating rice, indigo, and cotton; they also engaged in boat-building. John Floyd, a civil engineer as well as a master builder, used his workers and his expertise to construct schooners and merchant vessels for shipping and trade. The family had over two hundred slaves; held hunts, competitive shooting, horse and boat racing; hosted sports club parties; held
exclusive dress balls and hosted dinner dances at Bellevue; owned town houses in St. Marys. John Floyd was one of three men appointed to survey the Georgia-Florida line. He was chairman of the committee who reported the survey results to the Executive Committee in Washington, DC. He was presidential elector for Andrew Jackson. He became a founder and a leader of the States Rights Party of Georgia. For several years he served as a Justice of Inferior Court of
Camden County. He was a Representative and a Senator from Camden County in the Georgia Legislature and served in the US Congress. He was honored when Floyd County in Georgia was given his name. |
