Some Tatum Families
of Pickens County and Pendleton District, South Carolina;
Edgecombe County and Halifax County, North Carolina;
Prince George, Surry, and Charles City Counties, Virginia;
and London, England
Updated June 16, 2017
What's New: See note below about Martha Bynum, wife of Edward Tatum. Further, information has been added for William Tatum, father of the immigrant, Nathaniel Tatum I, including the name of a second wife and names of additional children. Pdf's for William's two wives and a timeline for them are provided at top, left. Also see information added, beginning in seventh paragraph below. In addition, a Samuel Tatum/Tatem, who came to Bermuda by 1626, may be the Samuel Tatum born in 1594 to William Tatum and presumably his first wife, Ellen. Family group sheets and timelines have been added for Samuel of London and Samuel of Bermuda. It is interesting to note that Samuel of Bermuda had sons named Nathaniel, Nehemiah, and Samuel. Nehemiah was the name of a brother of the Virginia immigrant Nathaniel I. Nathaniel I the immigrant named two of his known sons Samuel and Nathaniel.
After learning that my ancestor, Sarah, who married Carter Cannon, was a Tatum, I began to research Sarah's Tatum ancestry. She was born about 1794 in Pendleton District, South Carolina, and died before 1874 in Tarrant County, Texas. Incidentally, many researchers have been confused by the "genealogy" of the area where Sarah, nicknamed "Sally," was born. Many give Pickens County, South Carolina, as her birthplace; however, Pickens County did not exist until much later. Pendleton District was carved out of former Indian lands in 1789, surrendered by the Indians because they had fought on the side of the British in the American Revolutionary War. In 1826 Pendleton District was divided into Pickens District and Anderson District, which were called counties by the 1860s. Before the Indians lost their lands white people were not allowed to settle in that area. There is a separate web page for Carter Cannon's ancestry here: simcockcannongenealogy.com.
Sarah's parents were John Tatum (born about 1758 in Edgecombe County, North Carolina; died in 1824 in Pendleton District, South Carolina) and an unknown wife. Although no record of John's wife's name has surfaced, I have wondered if it was Parthena because so many females in this family were named Parthena. Many people confuse this John Tatum with another one, born about 1762 in Spotsylvania County, Virginia, and died in 1824 in Dickson County, Tennessee. That John Tatum married (1) Peggy Phillips and (2) Mary Wright, and is well documented.
The South Carolina John's parents were Edward Tatum (born about 1726 in Prince George County, Virginia; died in 1810 in Pendleton District, South Carolina) and Martha Bynum. Many people confuse this couple with another Edward Tatum and Martha. That Edward was born about 1750 in Brunswick County, Virginia, and he died in 1835 in Jefferson County, Alabama. His wife was Martha Daniel. Similarity of names in these typically large families makes genealogy very challenging. Now, for an update on "my" Martha, Martha Bynum. I cannot prove that Martha was a Bynum and a daughter of William Bynum, Sr., and Mary Fort; however, I have matched DNA results with several people who claim descent from William Bynum, Jr., and Luke Bynum, both men who are hypothesized to descend from William Bynum, Sr., and Mary Fort. Martha was very likely their sister. By the way, Mary's maiden name is not proved, but an argument was made that it was Fort by Robert W. Baird, "Bob's Genealogy Filing Cabinet," www.genfiles.com, which states: 'William's wife, Mary Bynum, was probably the daughter of John Fort and Elizabeth Jordan. John Fort's will, dated 21 October 1724 in Surry County and proved on 10 March 1724/5 named his children, among them a daughter Mary, and was witnessed by John Phillips, a son-in-law, and William Bynum.' He cited "Surry County Wills & Deeds" Book 7, p. 632. This is from his chapter, "The Line of William Bynum (c1690-1746), grandson of John Bynum," page 3. James Bynum, described below as husband of Edward Tatum's sister, Rebecca, was a likely brother of Martha, Luke, and William, Jr.
The South Carolina Edward's parents were Nathaniel Tatum, Sr. (born about 1705 in Charles City County, Virginia; died in 1750 in Edgecombe County, North Carolina), and Elizabeth, very likely Hawthorn. Nathaniel's parents were Edward Tatum (born about 1679 in Charles City County, Virginia; died about 1739 in Surry County, Virginia) and Rebecca (unknown). That Edward's parents were Nathaniel Tatum II (b. 1635 Charles City County, Virginia; d. 1719 Prince George County, Virginia) and Marie, very likely Robertson or Robinson. Nathaniel II was the son of Nathaniel Tatum I (born about 1599 London, England; died after 1675 VA) and Ann unknown. I have included family group sheets and timelines for most of these couples.
In addition, this page includes family group sheets and timelines for other children of Nathaniel Tatum, Sr., and Elizabeth, perhaps Hawthorn, especially because little has been known about them. Their son, Peter, died in 1782 in Chatham County, North Carolina. Their son, Jesse, appears to have died before about 1764, perhaps in Edgecombe County, North Carolina. Their daughter, Rebecca, very clearly appears to have married James Bynum. Their son, Nathaniel Jr., appears to be the Nathaniel Tatum who died in Hancock County, Georgia, about 1815. Nathaniel Jr.'s son, Nathaniel III, married Agnes B. Dent, and died in Hancock County, Georgia, in 1808, before his father died. His brother, William, then married Nathaniel's widow, Agnes. Some people confuse Nathaniel Tatum, Jr., with the Nathaniel Tatum who married Phoebe Fort; however, that Nathaniel died in Rockingham County, North Carolina, before 1796, which was 12 years before Nathaniel III died in Hancock County, Georgia, leaving a will referring to his father as still alive in 1808.
Nathaniel Tatum I was sent by Bridewell Royal Prison and Hospital in London with 99 other children and youths, of whom 75 were males and 25 were "wenches," to the Virginia Colonies. According to "London Lives 1690 to 1800: Crime, Poverty and Social Policy in the Metropolis" at: www.londonlives.org/static/Bridewell.jsp: Bridewell Prison and Hospital was established in a former royal palace in 1553 with two purposes: the punishment of the disorderly poor and housing of homeless children in the City of London. Located on the banks of the Fleet River in the City, it was both the first house of correction in the country and a major charitable institution (reflecting the early modern definition of a "hospital").
A baptismal record for a Nathaniel Tatum in 1599 at Holy Trinity the Less Church in London is believed to be for this Nathaniel Tatum. It appears that his father, William Tatum, married (1) Ellen Kerke, in London in 1589 at St. Benet Gracechurch, and (2) Anne (unknown surname) about 1595. It appears that William Tatum and Ellen Kerke had three children (Samuel #1, Anne, and Samuel #2), of whom two died (Samuel #1 and Anne), with these records being from St. Michael, Crooked Lane, which parish is very close to St. Benet Gracechurch parish. William baptized Jeremiah on 27 February 1596, Nathaniel on 18 Nov 1599, and Nehemiah on 25 April 1602 at Holy Trinity the Less. Anne, William, Jeremiah, and Nehemiah were buried within a few days of each other in 1603, a year known for numerous deaths because of bubonic plague.
James R. Murphy maintains an excellent website with Tatum genealogy at www.planetmurphy.org. Numerous research contributions have been made to that website by Ed Tatum, tatume@verizon.net and Ronnie Tatum,
rontatum@swbell.net, co-administrators of the Tatum DNA Project through Family Tree DNA, www.worldfamilies.net/surnames/tatum. Also notable is a website by Robert W. Baird, "Bob's Genealogy Filing Cabinet," www.genfiles.com, which has both Tatum and Bynum data. Others who have helped me with Tatum research include Jean Jones of Longview, Texas; the late Steve Mays of Duncanville, Texas; Dianne Doyle Stevens of North Andover, Massachusetts; and professional genealogist, Brent H. Holcomb, of Columbia, South Carolina. Additional information is included in the family trees I have posted at Ancestry.com a database called "Famconnections8" or versions of this name with a higher number.
If you use any of the research on this website, please give appropriate credit. If you find errors or new information, please let me know. Many times I have been the only proofreader and may have missed errors. You can contact me at:
Cecilie Gaziano, 4511 Fremont Avenue So., Minneapolis, MN 55419-4744, USA; cgaziano@prodigy.net OR cgaziano1@gmail.com