History of the Boyd-Wright Family
The Boyd-Wright Reunion was formally organized on Saturday, August 27, 1966, at the home of Deacon Ernest and Sis. Eula Wright Boyd of Ludowici, Georgia. The purpose of such a union was to join together in a harmonious and joyous fellowship the descendants of Mr. Louis and Christine Middleton-Boyd and Mr. George and Mrs. Maggie Stevens-Wright.
From information secured from family members and from research conducted by William Burley and others, we have been able to produce the following account of our genealogy:
BOYD
Mr. Louis Boyd was born in Newton, North Carolina, to Mr. and Mrs. H. William Boyd. His father was William H. Boyd, a slave. Louis spent his youth in Newton but moved to Beaufort, South Carolina, at an early age. There he met and married Ms. A. Frink. After her demise, Louis migrated to Georgia, where he married Ms. Christine Middleton. The couple had twelve children. They and their spouses are listed:
Ocilla Boyd married E.R. Quarterman of Liberty County. There were no children. Ocilla died in 2005.
Annie Boyd Dekel married Joe Dekel. They had no biological children but helped to rear several nieces and nephews.
Ruby Boyd Sheldon married Charles Henry of Eulonia. Their children are: Charles J. Henry and Mae Henry Tippins.
Mattie Boyd Fleming married Tom Fleming. Their children are: Bernice, Chrisdell, Essie Mae. Albertha Boyd Langston Married Sam Anderson. She later married George Langston. She had no children. Minnie Boyd Wright married George Washington “Son” Wright, Sr. Their children are: Odessa, Earnestine, Hubert an adopted son.
Lonnie Boyd married Nora Smith. Their children are Elnora, Nora, Teddy. He later married Lucille Scott.
Cecil Boyd married Ms. Vera Cook. Their children are: Mabel, Eli, Mary, Mamie, James Milton, Verna Mae and E.C.
Lester Boyd married Ms. Effie Johnson. Their children are: Lawrence, Joseph, Rudolph, and Horace.
Ernest Boyd married Eula Wright. Their children are: William, Beatrice, Rita, Jesse, Lorraine, Carlene, Clyde Sr., Horace Clinton, Mildred, Verdelle.
Sidney Boyd did not marry and had no known children.
Louis had two brothers: Elonza and William; two sisters: Nancy and Anna.
MIDDLETON
Mrs. Christine Middleton Boyd was born in Liberty County to Moses and Mirah Middleton. She had six brothers: George, Dave, Walter, Perry, James, and Luscious; and five sisters: Alena, Maggie, Nancy, Sula, and Georgia.
In 1970, our reunion was further enhanced with the addition of members of the Middleton family who live in Florida. They traced their roots to George Middleton, Sr. and Mirah Middleton who are natives of Georgia. They bore thirteen boys and thirteen girls, including seven sets of twins. Leo Harris, Sr. is the son of Aucilla and Joe Harris.
George Middleton, Jr. is the uncle of Leo Harris and the brother of Aucilla Middleton Harris. Their heirs include: Margaret Bracey, Beverly and Clifford Jordan, their son Jonathan and Nancy Harris.
In 1993, we had other family members, living in Jacksonville, Florida, to become a part of the Boyd-Wright Reunion. Vondale Dingle and Carolyn Colson are the grandchildren of Nancy Middleton Cooper and the great-grandchildren of Moses and Mirah Middleton.
Nancy is the sister of Christine Middleton Boyd and George Middleton, Jr. She was born in Lyons, Georgia, and gave birth to three children: Maggie Vondale, Carolyn Mamie and James.
WRIGHT
Little is known of the early years of George Wright. He reportedly came to this area from the state of Virginia as an itinerant laborer.
Maggie Stevens the one of the daughters of Abram and Annie, married George Wright.
The children of George and Maggie and spouses are listed:
Pearl Wright Winn married William Winn, Sr. Their children are: Albertha Winn West. William “Boy” Winn.
Washington “Son”, Sr. married Minnie B. Boyd. Their children have been listed under Minnie Boyd Wright. After her death, he married Emma Lee Hines. Their children are:
Washington “Billy”, Bobby, Birdie F., Doris Irvine, Lois, Alice.
Eula Wright married Ernest Franklin Boyd. Their children have been listed under Ernest Franklin Boyd.
STEVENS
Maggie Stevens’ ancestors were members of the West African tribe. They were among the slaves who were captured and brought to coastal Georgia to work in the rice fields of Sunbury, Georgia.
Nyua is believed to be a slave who was given to Mary and was sold to Elliot Plantation which stretched from Richmond Hill to the McIntosh County line. In 1775, Mary gave birth to Caesar, son of a Nigerian chieftain. In 1780, Caesar and his mother were sold to the Dunwoody Plantation in Bainbridge, Georgia. Mary and Caesar were skilled in the art of healing, gathering and brewing medicinal portions from Mother Nature. They were unhappy, however, they later escaped and returned to the Stevens’ Plantation in Riceboro, Georgia. Because they were fugitive slaves, Mary and Caesar were hid for almost a year before Josh Stevens discovered the pair. Mary used the name Stevens, but Caesar retained the name Dunwoody. His children, however, kept the name Stevens. He fathered 20+ children.
Mary became a housemaid on the Roberts Plantation south of what we know as the Sandhill today. Caesar worked as a blacksmith. In 1805, he moved to Richmond Hill where he worked for General Pulaski. Mary died in 1877. She is buried in the slave cemetery at Daniel Siding.
Caesar Dunwoody married Emma James. Their son Abram was reared by a slave, Idola Singleton. Abram married Annie Harris Monroe in February 21, 1872. Abram, Annie, and William, their eldest of four sons, was sold to the Parker Plantation and Still in Ludowici, Georgia. The couple had four daughters: Maggie, Cassie, Mary, and Addie; and four sons: William, Enoch, Benjamin, and Edward. Abram was skilled as a worker and highly regarded for his leadership skills. He learned everything he could about the turpentine business. By the time he was thirteen years old, he was a very valuable slave.
According to court documents, Abram became the first slave to own land in Long County. He, in turn, sold land to other newly-freed slaves after the Civil War. At the time of his death, Abram owned 142 acres of land valued at $220, a mule, 6 head of stock cattle, 13 stock hogs, plow, and several other items he willed to his wife and some of his children, including a dictionary. These freed slaves organized what is now known as the Broad Level Community. Abram, Annie, and Joe Frazier helped to found the Macedonia Missionary Baptist Church in 1885. Louis Boyd was elected as the first clerk of the church.
The children of Abram and Annie Harris Monroe Stevens are William (Adolphus), Enoch, Edward, Benjamin, Maggie, Cassie, Mary and Adeline (Addie).
William, the eldest of Abram and Annie, and his family lived in the Broadlevel community, now known as the Macedonia community. Lillian Harris was William’s first wife. They had one daughter, Retta Mae Stevens. William later married Emma Edenfield and from this union they had five daughters. Maggie Stevens, Vianne Stevens, Anna Bell (Ernest) Cooper, Mary A. (Woodrow) Mitchell, and Naomi (Wallace) Glover.
Viannie Stevens, the daughter of William and Emma Edenfield, had one daughter, Lillie Mae (Roger Williams), Lillie Mae and Roger had four children Derrick, Fay, Lisa and Robin Derrick married Lisa Starks; they have three children Derrick II, Jeremy and Darya. Jeremy married Chivonne Soto they have no children at this time. Fay is married to Edward Childs and they have three children: Qadia, Yahmia and Delia Lisa is married to Ronald Andrews; they have three children, Symone, Natasha and Caleb. Robin doesn’t have any children at this time.
Annie Bell (Ernest Cooper), they had eight children: William, Willie, Larcenia, Lonnie, James, Mary Ellen, Rose Marie, and David
William (Sonny) married Christine Baggs, they had two daughters Debra had two children, Keeron and Daaiyah. Keeron has five children: Rahmir, Essance, Jayda, Andrew and Fayth.
Willie married Mary and they have two sons: Everette and Myron Everette has two son, Everette Jr. and Anthony. Everette Jr. Has one daughter. Myron married Kim and they have one daughter, Jasmin Larcenia married Peter Walthour and they had one son Marlon.
Lonnie married Edna Berry and they had one son, Craig, he later married Susan and they had two children, Lonnie D II and Shanika. Shanika has four daughters: Jytaija, Jakiyah, Jakalyn and Jennaya James married Cynthia Rodgers and they have one son, James.
Mary married Johnnie Hamilton and they had two daughters, Reva and Tynetta. Reva married Tirrell McGrone, and they have three girls, Tierra, Kierra and Alaitra Tynetta has two children, Tanielle and Tyree.
Rose Marie married Robert L Harris and they have no children at this time.
David married Darlene Walcott and they have one son David Jr.
Retta Mae (Alexander Brown) they had two sons, Jimmy and Samuel. Jimmy Lee Brown married Dorothy and they had 4 children. Samuel married Sallie and lived in Ohio and was a double amputee. He lost both his legs in WWII.
Mary married Woodrow Mitchell they had two daughters: Thelma (Jeannie) married Wesley Worthy and they have three children, Markitta, Dante and Wesley Jr. Markitta Platt has two sons, Zacory and Deshawn Dante’ Dante married Annette Hernandez and they have one daughter Malinda Flores. Wesley Worthy Jr. has no children at this time.
Carla married William Harrington and they have three children, William, Brandon, and Asia
Naomi (Wallace Glover, Sr.), They had seven children:
Levi married Betty Williams and they have 2 daughters, Tamara and Candace. Tamara (Dawn) married Arthur Sikes and they have two children, Devin, Tylus. Candace married Marcus Bullock and they have two children, Cameron and Anaiyah Wallace married Carolyn and they had three daughters.
Shannon married Darryl Sheppard Sr., they have two children, Darryl Jr. and Makenzie April married Terrance Lambert, they have one son, Jamison
Ebony has one daughter Zoey, and later he married Darcia Hylton and they had one daughter, Ashley.
Willie married Josephine Kelly and they had five children
Eric has three children, Kameron, Kendrell and Kaiden.
Willie Jr. has two children Niela, Donte, and he later married Jalonda
Michael, Jamie and Endia, who has three children, Sean, Ka’Shiah and Jasmine Bonnie had two daughters
Brittany and Starlet who has one daughter Dennisha Lauren, Isaac and Charles have no children.
Cassie Stevens, the daughter of Abram and Annie Stevens, married Joseph Smith. Joseph Smith was the son of Margaret Smith from the Berry/Sandhill community. They had 7 children, Nathan, Leona, Vernie, Fred, Rosannah, Lillie, and Lula.
Vernie Smith was married to Andrew Richardson. They had two daughters, Inez and Maime
LEWIS
After the death of George Wright, Maggie Stevens married Arthur Lewis. Arthur Lewis was the eldest son of Mr. Frank and Rachel Branch Lewis who were also the parents of Eddie, Alonzo, Maimie, Johnson, Joanna, Frank H., Rosca, and Sarah Lewis.
The children of Arthur and Maggie and spouses are listed:
Ellen Wright-Lewis married William Johnson. They had no children.
Thomas Jefferson married Minnie Mae Dawson. Their children are Dorothy Mae, Juanita, Thomas, Jr. Maggie D., Samuel, Hoover, Norma Jean, Gloria.
Mack married Queen Townsend. Their children are: Annie, Pearlie Mae, Mary, Kaiser. Elnora married Joe Davis. They had one daughter, Elnora.
Ossie and Luther died in their youth. Neither was married.
Slater married Mary from Bowling Green, Kentucky. Their children are Mary Ann, Henry James, Ronald,
Louvella and Wayne. After her death, Slater married Jean. They had no children.