STROTHER KAY FAMILY CEMETERY, Anderson County, SC
a.k.a. >

Version: 3.0   Effective: 15-Aug-2005   Text File: A133.TXT   Image Folder: A133


********************************************************************************

It's believed that the usage of any original work submittals contained within 
these webpages such as articles, compiling, photographs or graphics, conform to 
Fair Use Doctrine & Copyright Guidelines.  
 
COPYRIGHT NOTE: (1.) Works published before 1923, are considered to be public-
domain. (2.) Works published 1923-1977 without a copyright notice, are 
considered to be public-domain. (3.) Unpublished non-copyrighted works will have 
Author permission for public-domain.  Facts, names, dates, events, places & data 
can not be copyrighted. Narration, compilations and creative works can be 
copyrighted.  Copyright law in the U.S. does not protect facts or data, just the 
presentation of this data. 

REPRODUCING NOTICE: These electronic pages may only be reproduced for personal 
or 501(c) Not-For-Profit Society use. Use the following names, if, you would 
like to give any author compiling credit.

AUTHORS: Paul M. Kankula-NN8NN & Gary L. Flynn-KE8FD

*********************************************************************** 05-01-15


CEMETERY LOCATION:
------------------

Strother Kay Cemetery - From Anderson, take US-76 east toward Belton five miles, 
then bear right onto SC-252 another one mile to Edney Road, where you turn left 
and park. The small cemetery is 50 yards into the woods on the right. Of the several 
burials here, only four stones are inscribed. Difficult to reach in summer.  Per Don 
Kay of Mount Pleasant, SC.

4m SW of Belton 

GPS = N34 28.940 x W82 33.039


CEMETERY HISTORY:
------------------------

From Anderson take US-76 east toward Belton five miles, then bear right on SC-
252 toward Honea Path, passing Patrick Harris Hospital, then the next house on 
the right is the old Wm Pinckney Kay house (s/o Strother), passing Jule Martin 
Road on right, next a two-story house on right (Elgin), then a small brick ranch 
on right, then you will be going down a slope toward Neals Creek, passing some 
mobile homes, then on left you will see Edney Road (but don't turn there). Just 
past Edney Road, pull off the highway (SC-252) on right where there is a paved 
wide shoulder for parking. Walk down another 20 yards, cross the road to left 
and enter the woods at where you see the best ditch crossing. Go straight up 
into the woods about 30 yards, perhaps slightly to the right. I was there two 
weeks ago with Becky Griffin and Joel Kay from WRIX. While scratching around 
Joel found the "J E Kay" stone, which we were very excited to find, it surely 
being the Jesse E. Kay who was a 5 year-old son in Strother's 1850 census, but 
not in 1860. All 15-20 burials there are marked by field rocks, only four of 
which have been found to be inscribed. One says, "S KAY" which we think is 
Strother's (died 1861). Two others have initials which end in "H" which we think 
are children of Strother's daughter, Jemima, who married a Holland and who are 
shown at that site on the 1877 map. This was part of a 400 acre tract Strother 
bought in 1835.

Five years ago a crew of descendants met there and cleared away the 
underbrush, and we hope to go back soon with rakes to see if we can find more 
inscriptions.
 
Don Kay at donkay800@earthlink.net, 2-Feb-2005

o----------o

My ancestors were slaves of Strother and I have researched their genealogy.
 
Directions to the family's gravesites: Go Highway # 76 approx. five miles east 
of Anderson towards Belton. Bear right on Highway # 252 towards Honea Path. Go 
approx. one mile and turn left onto Edney Road and park your car. Cemetery is in 
the woods on the right side of the road. A few graves are marked by fieldstones 
while others are unmarked. my slave ancestors are believe to share the cemetery 
prior to 1868 when my ex-slave ancestors founded and are subsequently buried in 
the Welfare Baptist Church cemetery. Welfare is located on the corner of Amity 
Drive and Bolt Drive.
 
As you may be aware, some of Strother Kay's decendants are buried in the Neals 
Creek Baptist Church cemetery. Others are buried at the Broadmouth Creek Baptist 
Church and the little Rock Baptist Church near Honea Path. Neals Creek is 
located on the corner of # 76 and Amity Drive.
 
I suggest that you verify it with Col. William D. Kay. He is Archivist for the 
Kay Family Association. His address is: 1052 North Shem Mt. Pleasant, SC 29464. 
I have not personally visited that site. 
 
My paternal surname is Geer, a name adopted from slave owner, Solomon Geer. My 
mother maiden name is Kay, a name adopted from Strother Kay. Both owned small 
farms nearby. I have traced both sides of my family back to their last slave 
owners.

Strother Kay was a grandson Robert Kay. Grandfather, Robert, Sr., owned a large 
compound on the Anderson County side  Broadmouth Creek. However, his family 
spilled over to the Abbeville County side.
 
Strother bought  449 acres on Neals Creek in 1835. He and his family were re-
locating from the Broadmouth Creek area. 

Columbus Geer, Hetsvet@aol.com    

o----------o

ROBERT KAY, SR., planter and one of the early settlers of Pendleton District 
(now Anderson County), South Carolina, has been called the father of the Kay 
family of the South. His descendants, both within the Kay family and through 
collateral lines of the many Kay daughters, number in the thousands, and include 
a U.S. Senator and the Thirty-Ninth President.

He was probably born about 1725 in King George County, Virginia. In 1731, it is 
believed Robert's father moved the family to Prince William County, VA and 
settled on 100 acres gifted to them by William Bland, Robert's uncle. The first 
written evidence of a Robert Kay in Prince William County is in 1746 when he 
purchased 100 acres located between the Occoquan River and Bull Run. In 1747, 
Robert Kay was working as an overseer at Edward Berry's estate located between 
Cedar Run and the Occoquan River. In 1779, Robert Kay of South Carolina is 
positively identified in Prince Willliam County, VA. On 5 Sep 1779, Robert Kay 
and his wife, Priscilla, transferred ownership of 117 1/2 acres in Dittengen 
Parish, Prince William County to William Calvert. This land sale is the first 
known record of Priscilla, Robert's wife. After 1783, Robert and Priscilla Kay 
moved their family to Frederick County, Virginia. Both Robert and his oldest 
son, James, are included in the 1787 tithable list in Frederick County. On 
September 22 of that year, Robert's son James signed a lease for 100 acres 
located near Mt. Weather in Frederick County. On 29 Sep 1792, Robert signed a 
similar lease for 19 acres on Mt. Weather. But, Robert's attention soon turned 
toward the newly opened lands in South Carolina.

In 1794, Robert Kay, Sr., acquired a tract on Broadmouth Creek, in what is now 
Anderson County, South Carolina. He paid one hundred pounds sterling to Caleb 
Conaway for the six hundred thirty acre tract, which was described as being 200 
acres from a 1784 grant to John Hallum and 430 acres from a 640 acre grant to 
Francis Bremar and James Martin. This tract became the Robert Kay homestead, 
east of Broadmouth Creek and on both sides of a road now designated as US-76.
This was obviously a close-knit family, as Robert Kay's children settled nearby, 
most on their father's property. In his will, Robert set forth that he had five 
sons and two daughters. He further stated that a certain portion of his estate 
was to be divided into seven parts. Both daughters, Grace and Elizabeth, were 
mentioned by name, as were sons Robert Jr., Charles, William and John. The son 
not mentioned by name was James Kay, the oldest son and administrator of the 
estate.

Robert Kay died in late l807, or very early l808. He was buried, most certainly, 
on a hill which overlooked Broadmouth Creek and the rest of his property. This 
spot later became a cemetery for the Kay family and eventually contained some 
fifty markers, mostly uninscribed field stones. Robert's wife, Priscilla, died 
before 25 April l808 and was presumably buried near her husband.
Children

JAMES KAY, the eldest son of Robert Kay, Sr., was born between 1755 and 1765, 
probably in Prince William County, Virginia. The earliest known documentation of 
James Kay is his marriage to Grace Elgin on 1 Jan 1781, in Montgomery County, 
Maryland. In 1787, James Kay and his father, Robert Kay, Sr., were recorded in 
the Frederick County, Virginia, tax or tithable list. On 22 September of that 
same year, James Kay leased 100 acres of land from the Proprietors of the 
Northern Neck of Virginia. This land was located in Frederick County, Virginia, 
on the western slope of Mt. Weather. Later this land fell into Clarke County, 
VA.

James is thought to have been the first of his family to come to South Carolina. 
The first documentation of James Kay's presence in South Carolina appears in the 
State Grant Book (Volume 29, page 311). Recorded therein is a grant signed on 2 
Jan 1792 for "One Hundred and two acres surveyed for him the 27th December 1791, 
Situate in the District of Ninety Six in Abbeville County on Broad Mouth Creek, 
Bounded Northwardly and Westwardly on Land belonging to said James Key [sic] and 
all other sides by old Surveys." The description of the  tract would locate it 
near old Ghentsville, some two miles from the present town of Honea Path, SC, on 
the Ware Shoals road. It is believed that James eventually owned several hundred 
acres on Broadmouth Creek, where he operated a stagecoach stop and blacksmith 
shop on the old Charleston Road (see Mills Atlas of 1820).

James Kay's last appearance in any official record is the 1820 US Census of 
Abbeville District, SC. James and Grace are both listed as being over age 45. 
James Kay and Grace Elgin do not appear in the 1830 census of Anderson or 
Abbeville. No record of a will or an administration of his estate has been found 
at either Abbeville or Anderson. The date and place of their deaths are unknown. 
If James and Grace died after 1820, perhaps they rest among those fifty buried 
on the Broadmouth plantation of his father, Robert Kay, Sr.

The children of James Kay and Grace Elgin:
* Rev. William Kay
* Catherine Kay
* Rev. James Kay
* Robert Kay
* Charles Kay
* Gabriel Kay
* Nancy Kay
* Elizabeth Kay
* Alexander Kay 

GRACE KAY, daughter of Robert Kay, Sr., was probably born about 1765 in Prince 
William County, Virginia. Very little is known about Grace's childhood. Her 
parents lived in Prince William County through at least 1783. By 1787, they had 
moved to Frederick County, Virginia. Like two of her siblings, Grace married 
into the Trussell family. Her husband was Amos Trussell. There is speculation 
that his real name was Rhodam Amos Trussell who was born ca 1751, the son of 
John Trussell and Mary (?). The Kay family has long been associated with the 
Trussell family. In 1782, Robert Kay was listed in the Prince William County, 
Virginia tax rolls. Also listed were Thomas Trussell, Rhody Trussell, and 
William Trussell. In the 1787 Virginia tax rolls, Rhodam Trussell and William 
Trussell were still residing in Prince William County. Robert Kay, Sr. and his 
son James Kay were found in Frederick County (now Clarke County), Virginia. The 
property the Kays lived on was situated near the border of Loudoun County, 
Virginia. A Thomas Trussell family had settled just across the border from the 
Kays in Loudoun County. Trussells also lived on Broadmouth Creek in Abbeville 
County, SC, on land adjoining the Kays.

Grace was named in her father's will in 1804. When her parents died in 1808, 
Grace was present at the estate sale in April 1808, purchasing several items. In 
June 1808, four of her brothers received their share of the estate of their 
father, each receiving 478 dollars. It was not until March of 1811 that Grace 
Trussell signed a receipt acknowledging acceptance of 350 dollars.

The 1810 census of Pendleton District lists an Amos Trussell in household #950 
with one male under age 10 and one male between the ages of 26 and 44. Also 
listed are two females under the age of 10 and one female between the ages of 26 
and 44. The estate papers of Amos Trussell are located in Anderson County, South 
Carolina in Roll 726. One paper, dated 1 Sept 1830, stated Gracy Trussell, 
widow, was sickly and unable to administer the estate of Amos and asked that 
Samuel B. Evans be appointed in her place.

No evidence has been found concerning the death date or place of burial of Grace 
(Kay) Trussell nor if she had any children.
 
ELIZABETH KAY, daughter of Robert Kay, Sr., is assumed to have been born in 
Prince William County, Virginia. Her parents lived there until 1787 when they 
moved to Frederick County, Virginia (present day Clarke County). Her brother, 
James Kay, lived on the western slope of Mt. Weather in Frederick County. Her 
parents lived on top of Mt. Weather in Frederick County very near the Loudoun 
County line. Just across that line in Loudoun County was the Thomas Trussell 
household. Elizabeth married a Thomas Trussell, but it is not known what her 
husband's relationship was to the Thomas Trussell of Loudon County.

There is no clear evidence Elizabeth moved to South Carolina with her parents 
and siblings. In her father's will it was indicated that Elizabeth had already 
received her full share of his estate prior to 1804. Whether this bequest took 
place in Virginia, South Carolina, or elsewhere is not known. Elizabeth was 
evidently absent when her parents died in 1808, as she participated neither in 
the estate sale nor in the division of the pantry items. Among the estate papers 
of her father is a receipt for her portion of the estate signed 3 December 1812 
by one Matthew Foster:

No information regarding any children she might have had nor information 
regarding her death has been found.
 
ROBERT KAY, JR., second son of Robert Kay, Sr., was born 13 May 1767. His date 
of birth was recorded in a family Bible. His place of birth is presumed to be 
Prince William County, Virginia. On 2 Jan 1792, Governor Charles Pinckney 
granted a tract of land in old Pendleton County to one Robert Kay. It is not 
certain whether the recipient of the tract was Robert Kay, Sr., or Robert Kay, 
Jr. Robert Kay, Jr., would have been 24 years old at the time.

It is believed Robert Kay, Jr., married after arriving in South Carolina. His 
wife, Katherine 'Caty' Ball, was born 10 August 1777 in South Carolina. Caty 
Ball was perhaps the widow of Mark Ball who died in Abbeville County in 1795 and 
whose estate is on file in the Abbeville records. Robert and Caty's first child 
was born in 1797. In 1804 Robert Kay, Sr. bequeathed "to my son, Robert Kay, the 
plantation whereon he now lives..." This land was located on Broadmouth Creek 
and was part of the six hundred thirty acre tract Robert Kay, Sr. purchased from 
Caleb Conaway in 1794. Robert Kay, Jr. made other purchases of land now recorded 
in the index to Anderson County deeds.

Robert Kay, Jr. died 3 Nov 1818,  at the age of fifty-one. He was probably 
buried in the nearby Kay cemetery on Broadmouth Creek. His estate papers are 
found in Roll #356, Anderson County, SC, intermixed with his father's estate 
papers and with those of a nephew, also named Robert Kay. Catherine (Ball) Kay 
died on 7 June 1851. She is thought to be buried with her husband in the 
destroyed Kay cemetery on the original land of Robert Kay, Sr., located 
northwest of the Broadmouth Baptist Church.

Robert and Caty's children: 
* John Kay
* Jesse Kay
* Martin Kay
* Mildred Kay
* Asa Kay
* Priscilla Kay
* Lyddia Kay
* Mason Kay
* Bailey Kay
* Cynthia Kay
* Mahala Kay
* Chloe Kay
* Joel Kay 
 
CHARLES KAY, third son of Robert Kay, Sr., was born ca. 1771, probably in Prince 
William County, Virginia. His date of birth was determined by the 1850 census of 
Abbeville County, SC, which listed him as 79 years old. Although his place of 
birth was reported in that census as South Carolina, he is thought to have been 
born in Virginia, as his two younger brothers, William and John, were born 
there. His family is known to be in Prince William County, Virginia, until at 
least 1783. 

Charles Kay married Annie Elgin, thought to be the sister of Grace Elgin, wife 
of his brother James. It is also thought Annie was the daughter of John Elgin 
and Mary Elizabeth Adams. It is possible that Charles and Annie were married in 
Virginia prior to the Kays moving to South Carolina in the early 1790s, but it 
is more likely they were married in South Carolina. Annie Elgin is estimated to 
have been born between 1760 and 1765, at least six years before her husband. 
Charles and Annie spent the early years of their marriage on Broadmouth Creek. 
On 7 Jan 1799, he purchased 145 acres on Turkey Creek for $171.44 from Catherine 
Elgin. On 17 March 1803, he bought an additional 72 acres from William Davis. By 
1810, Charles Kay was enumerated in Abbeville County with a wife and four 
children.

Charles Kay was enumerated in Abbeville County census records in1810, 1820, 
1830, 1840 and 1850. His wife, Annie Elgin, last appeared in the 1840 census, 
and apparently died prior to 1850. The minutes of the Barkers Creek Baptist 
Church state, "Sister Anna Kay departed this life on Sept 18th 1843." This, we 
believe, is Anna Elgin Kay.  Charles died in 1858 at the age of 87 at the home 
of his daughter, Elizabeth Ann Kay. Elizabeth Ann's husband, Jesse Kay, acted as 
administrator of the estate (Roll 1572, Anderson Co., SC, dated 26 April 1858). 
It was at their home that the personal effects of Charles Kay were inventoried 
and sold.

It is not known where Charles and Annie are buried, but the most likely site is 
an old Kay cemetery overlooking a deep cut on the P&N Railroad outside Honea 
Path, near the Robert Henson Kay cemetery. At one time some inscriptions could 
be read, but by 1985 they were no longer legible. It is said there were seven or 
eight, perhaps more graves in the old burial area.

The children of Charles Kay and Annie Elgin:
* Robert Henson Kay
* James Warren Kay
* Elizabeth Ann Kay
* Alexander Elgin Kay  
 
WILLIAM KAY, SR., fourth son of Robert Kay, Sr., was born about 1775 in 
Virginia, according to the 1850 US Census of Anderson County, SC. He married 
Sallie Trussell, evidently after arriving in South Carolina. The marriage 
perhaps occurred about 1799, as their first child was born about 1800. William 
and Sallie began farming on 145 acres on Broadmouth Creek on part of his 
father's plantation. This tract was subsequently bequeathed to him by Robert 
Kay, Sr., in 1804. William eventually bought several other tracts on Broadmouth 
Creek, increasing his holdings to several hundred acres.

The 1840 US Census of Anderson Co., S.C. listed William Kay, Sr., as head of a 
household containing one male age 60 to 70, one female age 15 to 20, and one 
female age 60 to 70. Sallie evidently died before 1850, as she was not 
enumerated in that census. William Kay was listed in 1850 as 75 years of age and 
born in Virginia. His daughter, Cynthia, was living with him. William Kay's name 
appears on many documents, both on his or as a witness to others. He kept 
careful records of his land transactions many of which have been preserved by 
Mr. Milton Alden Kay, Jr. of Honea Path, SC. The records have recently been 
deposited with the South Caroliniana Library in Columbia, SC.

William Kay, Sr., died about 1854. On 10 May 1854, a 145 acre tract was sold by 
his heirs to a son, William Pleasant Kay. According to a great-grandson, Minos 
Luther Kay of Honea Path, SC, he was buried in the Kay cemetery on Broadmouth 
Creek in Anderson County. Of the approximately fifty people buried in that now 
obliterated cemetery, only the knowledge that William Kay, Sr., was positively 
buried there has survived to the present generation.

The children of William Kay and Sallie Trussell:
* Elizabeth Kay
* Strother Kay
* Dorothy Delilah Kay
* Louisa Kay
* Mary Kay
* Catherine Kay
* William Pleasant Kay
* Jane Kay
* Sallie Kay
* Mahuldah Kay
* Cynthia Ann Kay 
 
JOHN KAY, youngest son of Robert Kay, Sr., and his wife, Priscilla, was born 21 
Sep 1777, in Virginia, probably in Prince William County. His parents lived 
there until at least 1787. In 1792, they leased land in Frederick County (now 
Clarke County), Virginia. The lease of this land was for the natural lives of 
Robert, Priscilla, and John. John is buried with his wife Rosannah (perhaps 
McDavid) at Little River Baptist Cemetery in Abbeville County, South Carolina. 
John was only about seventeen years old when his parents settled on the 
Broadmouth Creek in South Carolina. By 1798, at the age of 22, he was married to 
Rosannah, thought to be the daughter of Patrick McDavid.

In the 1800 US Census of Pendleton District, SC, both John Kay and his father, 
Robert, were enumerated in close proximity to each other. They may very well 
have been on the same plantation. In 1804, Robert stated in his will that at his 
death his other children would inherit certain parcels of land, and that John 
would inherit "the plantation where he and myself now live, at his mother's 
death."

Following the death of his parents, John Kay moved some six miles to Abbeville 
County, near Little River, a tributary of the Savannah. Exactly when he moved 
there has not been determined, but he sold his 145 acre tract on Broadmouth 
Creek in 1813, so it may have been at that time. The 1820 census recorded him in 
Abbeville County at the location where he apparently spent the rest of his life.
After almost fifty-six years of marriage, Rosannah Kay died 25 April 1854, and 
was buried at Little River Cemetery. Of her ten children, only Larkin, Malinda 
and Lucinda survived her. When Rosannah died, John, at age seventy-seven, went 
to live with his daughter, Lucinda (Kay) Green. He died 23 April 1855, and was 
buried at Little River Cemetery. John and Rosannah's stones are still there to 
mark the location.

Rosannah's gravestone states that she was the mother of ten children. Two of 
John and Rosannah's children evidently died young, as only eight were mentioned 
in the settlement of John Kay's estate. 

Their children:
* Reuben Kay
* Matilda Kay
* Asenath Kay
* Ann Kay
* Larkin Kay
* Thurza Ann Kay
* Malinda Kay
* Lucinda Caroline Kay 
 
Colonial Ancestors
It is ironic that Robert Kay has been identified as the progenitor of so many, 
but his own parents have not been absolutely proven. There is, however, 
considerable circumstantial evidence linking him to a particular Kay family line 
in Virginia and England. Research regarding the Virginia lineage of Robert Kay 
of South Carolina was published in "The Ancestors of Robert Kay of South 
Carolina" in 1991.

That research concludes, though does not prove, that Robert Kay of South 
Carolina was the son of James Kay and Mary Steward of King George County, 
Virginia. Robert's presumed father, James Kay, lived from approximately 1694 to 
1743, and was the third generation of this Kay family in Virginia. Both his 
father and grandfather were also named James. James of the second generation was 
born about 1662, married Mary Pannell, and died as a young man about 1698. James 
of the first generation was born in 1634 in Bury, England. He immigrated to 
Colonial Virginia by 1665. Before his death around 1679, he married Sarah 
Iveson, fathered five children, and gained title to 2000 acres of virgin land on 
the banks of the Rappahannock River.

British Ancestors
As mentioned above, it is believed that Robert Kay of South Carolina descends 
from James Kay, the immigrant to Colonial Virginia. In "The English Heritage of 
James Kay of the Colony of Virginia", James the immigrant is traced back through 
English records to Robert Kay De Wedell of the fifteenth century. ("The English 
Heritage of James Kay of the Colony of Virginia", by Franklin Spearman, is 
included as an addendum to "The Kay Chronicles", written by Kenneth Kay in 1909, 
and published by the Kay Family Association in 1992). The primary evidence that 
we have as proof of James Kay's origin in the village of Bury, Lancashire, 
England, is the very detailed will of his sister, Susan Kay Meadowcroft. Through 
settlement of the Meadowcroft estate, James Kay, the immigrant to Virginia, is 
proven to be the brother of Susan Kay Meadowcroft.

As detailed in "The English Heritage of James Kay of the Colony of Virginia", 
James Kay, the immigrant, descends from the Kays of Birdhole, Bury, England. His 
father was James Kay (b. 1599 - d. after 1653); his grandfather was John Kay (b. 
ca. 1577 - d. 1653); his great-grandfather was Arthur Kay (b. ca. 1540- d. 
1617). Arthur Kay of Birdhole descends from Roger Kay of Widdell (b. ? - d. 
1563), Roger Kay of Widdell (Woodhill) (b. 1500 - d. ?), and Robert Kay de 
Wedell (living in 1491). This Robert Kay de Wedell probably descended from 
William Kay who was listed in the Subsidy Roll of 1332 as living in the Bury 
District.

by: Kay Family Association http://www.robertkayfamily.org/geneal.htm


TOMBSTONE TRANSCRIPTION NOTES:
------------------------------

a. = age at death
b. = date-of-birth
d. = date-of-death
h. = husband
m. = married
p. = parents
w. = wife


>