South Carolina Rudds ~ Part 1

2nd Generation

As I wrote in The Rudd Boys of Anson County, NC we don’t really know how many sons Burlingham 1st had, nor do we know how many wives he had. But we do know that back in the 18th century if was not uncommon for a wife to die before her husband and for that husband to remarry a younger women of child bearing age, and then start another family. I’ve often wondered if that was the case with our progenitor, Burlingham Rudd, because as I discussed in Burlingham vs Burlingham, both of those Burlingham Rudds say they are old enough to have been born by 1755, so one of them is possibly Burlingham 2nd but the other one isn’t clearly identifiable based on the records we can point to that name the second generation. It sure would be easier if we were to discover that Burlingham 1st had at least two marriages and two family groups and in each one he named a son Burlingham. But alas, we don’t have that evidence.

For now, we can establish based on the Prince Frederick Parish baptism record that Burlingham 1st had a son named Burlingham (2nd) and a son named Walter (as well as a daughter named Martha). We do have evidence of George Lounsdell in Anson and based on his proximity we can assume he was also a son. And as I showed to you HERE, we do have a land survey for George Lounsdell dated February 1787 in Anson that states that William Rudd along with Burlingham Rudd were the chain carriers. It is possible that Walter and William were the same person, but there is no evidence of Walter in Anson and only the one mention of William in Anson. It’s also possible that William is a child of the third generation making him a son of Burlingham 2nd, Walter, George Lounsdell or an unknown son of Burlingham 1st.

If you’ve done any research of the Rudd family in South Carolina, you’ve come across a cluster of Rudds in 1810 Newberry County. Well, those aren’t ours. But the other Rudds in the 1790 Fairfield, 1800 Charleston and Barnwell, 1810 Charleston, Colleton and Barnwell, 1820 Charleston, Barnwell and Beaufort, 1830 Charleston and Barnwell, 1840 Charleston can be identified as belonging to the Burlingham Rudd family. After 1840 the lines down get pretty confused. And just a note so you’re not confused, when you try to use a search engine to locate the Barnwell and Beaufort groups, they won’t show up because they are indexed as Reed, but I’ve looked at the films line by line and they are without a doubt Rud.

I’m not entirely sure about how each one’s individual line goes back through the generations, as in who actually begat whom, but slowly the pieces are coming together. That’s been one of the great benefits of publishing the research I’ve done in this fashion, as narratives rather than in generational charts. If I tried to use charts, I’d have a bunch of blanks between the first and third generation or I’d have to list all the options and explain them! But as more Rudd descendants become involved in researching their lines, they will hopefully locate me and we can work together to piece the lines backwards.

By the 1800 census there are two clusters of our Rudd family in South Carolina; one cluster is in the Charleston/Colleton area of St. James Goose Creek at Four Holes Swamp and the other is the Barnwell cluster in the area of the Lower Three Runs River near the Savannah River at the Georgia border. The reason that the Four Holes Swamp group appears in both Charleston and Colleton in some of the census is because they are located on both sides of the swamp and the swamp is the border between the two counties. Actually, as the decades move along and that family expands, they appear to pretty much circle the Four Holes Swamp area as is indicated in the land surveys at the time.

Based on the land records in Anson Co., NC, we can surmise that George Lounsdell sold out his lands in December 1787.

The deed of sale to Michael Crawford for several parcels of land includes Lounsdell’s Folley (sic) which most likely was his homestead. And as I stated in The Rudd Boys of Anson County, NC, I find it remarkable that George Lounsdell sold so much land for so little money at the time. Was Michael Crawford a son-in-law?

We can’t be sure where George Lounsdell migrated to after leaving Anson, but we do know he is recorded in the 1790 census for Fairfield County, Camden District, SC. There is a March 1792 survey for an 88 acre parcel of land on Dutchman’s Creek in Fairfield County, Camden District, SC that is a certification of land for a William Bryan that was surveyed for George Rudd.

This appears to be land being sold by George Lounsdell and could indicate he was moving once again.

Also in March 1792 we see that Burlingham Rudd sells what seems to be the last 100 acres of the original grant of Burlingham 1st to James Lanford (sic). This appears to be Burlingham 2nd and could indicate his move out of Anson. Burlingham 2nd had already sold to Lewis Lanier in 1788 the 200 acres of the original grant that was sold to him by his father in 1757.

There’s also another parcel of land that appears to have been brought by Burlingham 2nd in 1790 that is sold to who appears to be Burlingham 3rd in July 1793 for one pound. That deed disposes of what we can determine to be the land holdings by Burlingham 2nd in Anson Co., NC.

When we look at the 1790 census for Anson Co., NC we see Burlingham Rudd, Sr. on page 189 and Burlingham Rudd, Jr. on page 196 living next to William Vaughn. So it does look like Burlingham 2nd remained in Anson until about March of 1792 but George Lounsdell had relocated to Fairfield by 1790. By March of 1792 George Lounsdell was on the move as was Burlingham 2nd. They both would have been about fifty years old at the time. But where did they move to?

George Lounsdell Rudd

The earliest mention of land in South Carolina belonging to George Rudd appears in “Historic Ramblin's Through Berkeley" by Mr. J. Russell Cross that says:

500 a. to George Rudd in 1781, 500 a. to Eli Rudd in 1798, 500 a. to Eli Rudd in 1808

Of those mentions, I’ve only found a record of the 1798 grant to Ely Rudd in the South Carolina Archives. But I don’t doubt the other records do exist or did exist at one time. Based on my experience in reading the South Carolina land surveys, I would guess that the mention of George Rudd land twice on the 1798 survey for Ely indicates two parcels of land on either side of a road (not identified by name) running through Ely's tract. In other instances when I've seen land divided by a road or a waterway the name of the owner is written across the entire area. So one of those parcels might be the 1781 grant and the other is probably the 1797 grant.

Mr. Cross also says:

The Rudds were among early settlers. Eli (Ely) and George both had large grants here. In 1818, when the Rev. West Williams left the traveling ministry of the Methodist Church and located here, he bought 500 acres from Eli Rudd, to which he added later purchases from Burlingham Rudd and others.

I’ve not found any record of sale of land by any of the Rudds to the Reverend West Williams, but I don’t doubt they too exist(ed). If we could find these records they might shed some light on the relationship between the Rudd and Whaley families.

Based on this entry by Mr. Cross in “Historic Ramblin's Through Berkeley", in 1781 George Rudd acquired a grant of 500 acres in South Carolina, but we know that George Lounsdell was still residing in Anson until 1787 and later in Fairfield in the 1790 census where it’s indicated he sold out his land in 1792 according to the land survey. In addition during 1782 and 1783 George Lounsdell acquired three additional parcels of land in Anson. So this entry is a strange development and raises the question of why would he be acquiring land in that area of South Carolina, does he have a relationship with someone in that area?

Another interesting aspect of this entry in Mr. Cross’ book is the date of 1781. The Revolution didn’t end until 1782. In February that year there was a move underfoot by the South Carolina Assembly to confiscate lands from Loyalists at the end of the War.

If this is our George Lounsdell, was he trying to get ahead of what would surely become a land rush after the Revolution?

Next we have a record of George Lounsdell with the Deed of Gift Forwarding Stock in Screven Co., GA that was registered on August 30, 1797. In the deed George Lounsdell refers to himself as “planter” and states that he and his sons are “of the county”. The deed lists cattle, horses and moveable property to be divided between four sons, George Jr., Ely, James and Lias, so I think we can safely assume there was land in Georgia previous to 1797. It’s peculiar to me that there is no mention of the land in this deed. That leaves us with the possibilities that 1) the land was given or sold in a separate deed when the family moved, 2) someone remained on the land and kept the property in their possession, 3) George Lounsdell didn’t have deed to the land.

In this Deed of Gift we see that George Lounsdell set his hand to it on January 30, 1797 then it is registered in Georgia on August 30, 1797, but this Deed of Gift is recorded on in May 4, 1804 in the State Papers of South Carolina in the Will Index indicating that George Lounsdell had died about seven years later. Thus, it created a lot of confusion for researchers for several years that took this deed as the Last Will of George Lounsdell and, therefore, inclusive of all of his sons. When I found the entry in the Georgia records and compared it to the entry in the South Carolina records, I noticed the South Carolina copy did not include the header, "Deed of Gift Forwarding Stock", therefore it is understandable that the South Carolina entry would be assumed to be a Last Will since it was found in the Will Index. The only point I would like to make about this is that we can't assume the four sons listed in this Deed are inclusive of all of George Lounsdell's sons. There could be other sons who he had already given property to. Unfortunately, the records in Georgia are sketchy at best, so I’ve not found any record of the land being transferred.

As I referenced above, the first document I’ve found of land issued to George Lounsdell is a January 1797 grant to for 500 acres in Charleston.

This land was surveyed for Benjamin Singletary in 1791. My reading of the language in this grant indicates to me that the land had been surveyed by Benjamin Singletary and he had clear title to the land. Therefore, another survey was not necessary for the land to be regranted (commutated) to George Lounsdell on January 5, 1797. George Lounsdell probably paid Singletary for the survey he had done in 1791 and then paid the other fees to the State of South Carolina to acquire the land. You’ll see on this plat that Benjamin Singletary is a neighbor.

We know from the 1800 Charleston Co., SC census that George Lounsdell is living in St. James Goose Creek at Four Holes Swamp but he does not appear in the 1810 Charleston census and as I said before, we can assume that the filing of the Screven Co., GA Deed of Gift in the SC State Papers under the Will Index indicates his real property was being probated by 1804.

There are at least two other land records related to George Lounsdell before he died. One is for the purchase of 300 acres from Gilbert Crosswell in February 1800 and the other is for the sell of these same 300 acres in February 1803 to Jacob Danciller.

Notice on this last document that George Lounsdell uses the mark “X” instead of his usual “L” which might indicate he was too incapacitated to make his usual mark. Also note that on this document, we find his wife’s name is Margaret, she makes her mark “M” and waives her right to any dower on the property. This could indicate there was other property where she lived on a homestead. I’ve not found any record of a deed for sale of the 500 acres granted to George Lounsdell in 1797 (or the 1781 land grant), this land was most likely retained by Margaret until her death. Nor have I found any record of a probate for George Lounsdell that would constitute an actual estate probate by a court.

On March 4, 1808 we find a land survey for Burlingham Rudd for 606 acres that list one of the boundaries as “the late George Lounsdell Rudd”. Since this is about four years since George Lounsdell died (1804), this might be an indication that his widow, Margaret, was still alive and living on this land. As a matter of fact, when we look at the 1810 SC census we see in Colleton, a Margaret Rudd who reports her age as 45+ living between Elias Rudd and Elijah Rudd with what looks like O’reily Rudd to his side. Now look back at this plat and notice that one of George Lounsdell’s parcel of land is on the south side of Four Holes Swamp and like I mentioned earlier this was the boundary between Charleston and Colleton counties. Therefore, in 1810 these Rudds are in Colleton, not Charleston. This is George Lounsdell’s widow, Margaret.

So the timeline for George Lounsdell based on documentation goes something like this:

His first mention is the June 6, 1759 land survey in Anson Co., NC. If he was at least 16 years old when this land was surveyed for a land grant, he is born the same year as Walter (1743), but since he is not mentioned in the Prince Frederick Parish register, he's likely born before Martha (1739) and therefore, before Burlingham 2nd.

On December 30, 1787 he sells the remainder of his land holdings to Michael Crawford (520 acres for 160 pounds) that indicates his migration out of Anson.

There is a mention in Historic Ramblin’s Through Berkeley of a 1781 land grant to George Rudd for 500 acres in Berkeley (Old Berkeley District), SC where he may have lived between 1787 and 1790. I’ve not found the record of the grant but there is a land plat almost seventeen years later to Ely Rudd in 1798 that seems to support that mention.

We have a 1790 census for Camden District, Fairfield Co., SC documenting his residence.

That is followed by a March 7, 1792 land survey for William Bryan by George Rudd at Dutchman’s Creek, Fairfield Co., SC indicating he was once again moving. That appears to be the same property he was living on in the 1790 census.

On January 30, 1797 he authored a Deed of Gift in Screven Co., GA to four sons. That would indicate he was living in Screven Co., GA after leaving Fairfield Co., SC and before going to Charleston Co., SC. Noting that the Deed of Gift does not include land and was filed in May 1804 in Charleston Co., SC indicating he had died.

Then on January 5, 1797 he acquired 500 acres in Charleston Co., SC. The land is granted on February 6, 1797 which is likely the location of his residence in the 1800 Charleston census.

The main impression I am left with about George Lounsdell is that he was very aggressive in land acquisition, especially in Anson Co., NC where he bought multiple parcels of land, but also evidently owned land in Fairfield Co., SC, Screven Co., GA and Charleston Co., SC. As someone who evidently appreciated the value of land, I find it strange that when he left Anson he sold a bundle of land to Michael Crawford for what would appear to be a lot less than the land was worth, 520 acres for 160 pounds. I question if there is a family relationship between them. In his last land transaction in St. James Goose Creek in 1803, he had bought 300 acres for forty-three dollars and turned it for eight hundred dollars just three years later. I find that impressive! When we take a look at the next generation of Rudds in St. James Goose Creek we will see the same aggressiveness in land acquisition. Those surely do seem to be his sons who learned from their father not only the value of land but also the value of its location.

Burlingham Rudd 2nd

When we look at the 1800 South Carolina census we see that there is a Burlingham Rud in Barnwell Co. and there is also a Burlingham Rudd in Charleston Co. at St. James Goose Creek.

Both of these men state their age as 45+ which means they are born by 1755 and therefore, gives us the impression they are both in the second generation. How is that possible? 1) Burlingham 1st named two sons after himself. 2) Burlingham 1st had a brother who also named a son Burlingham. I can’t think of any other way it’s possible to have two second generation males, both named Burlingham Rudd.

When we go back to the Prince Frederick Parish register we see that Burlingham 1st baptized three children; Martha b. 1739, Burlingham (2nd) b. 1741, Walter b. 1743. As I discussed in Burlingham Rudd vs Burlingham Rudd if the census records are correct and unless Burlingham 1st named two sons after himself or he had a brother, then one of these men is the likely Burlingham 2nd, born in 1741, and the other is a son of a son of Burlingham 1st who is born before Martha in 1739. That would mean one of these Burlinghams is second generation and the other is third generation. Personally, I think there is a strong possibility that one of these Burlinghams is the son of George Lounsdell, but I don’t have any evidence of that, just an impression. He could also be a nephew. The other possibility is that these two Burlinghams are the same man and perhaps he moved or maintained two households. But when you look at the two households side by side in the 1800 census, the makeup of those households are too different to be the same. Of course, there’s no guarantee that the people in either household are reflective of the immediate family of the head of the household.


As I mentioned earlier, we can deduce by the 1792 Anson Co., NC land deed to James Lanford that Burlingham 2nd left Anson about 1792. Based on this land deed, George Lounsdell had already left Anson in late 1787 or early 1788 and was in Fairfield Co., SC according to the 1790 census. But in 1792 they both appear to be on the move.

The next record of George Lounsdell in the Screven Co., GA Deed of Gift but we have no evidence of the whereabouts of Burlingham 2nd. Is it likely that since both were moving at the same time that they both went to Screven Co., GA? The only evidence we have that George Lounsdell was in Screven Co., GA is the Deed of Gift. And it appears he was there for only about five years at most. I have looked and looked for evidence of our Rudd family in Georgia during those years and I’ve not found anything to document either man’s presence. But they would have been there for such a brief period of time and records for that time period of Georgia are so scarce, that I’m not inclined to rule out that Burlingham 2nd wasn’t there too.

Another consideration is the location of this Barnwell group at the Lower Three Runs River which happens to be right across Screven Co., GA border. Based on the pattern we’ve seen in Anson of acquiring land along waterways, my guess is the land in Screven Co. was on the Savannah River bank or a close by creek that flowed into the Savannah River. I don’t think it’s unreasonable to theorize that the Barnwell group grew out of a migration from Screven Co., GA. And if that’s the case, the missing pieces to our puzzle might be in finding the answer to the question why one group developed at the Lower Three Runs in Barnwell while the other group developed at Four Holes Swamp in Charleston.


In the 1810 Barnwell census we see Burrel H. Rud who reports that he is 45+ years old. I’d like to be able to clearly claim this is same man as in the 1800 census but the age progression of the households to the next decade won’t fit! However, we have to wonder where he came from? His reported age places him as possible second generation but no later than third generation, born by 1765. If he is not the same man as in the 1800 census then he could possibility be a son of a second generation son, but that would mean we had offsring of yet another unknown second generation male! However, if he is the same man, I have to say the name change is a strange thing.

But I don’t think there is any doubt that the Burrel H. Rud in the 1810 census is the same man in this 1820 Last Will for Burrelham Rudd of Barnwell Co., SC. When you look at the dates on this document it appears this was pretty close to a deathbed proclamation. It was authored on April 5, 1820, filed with the Justice on May 16, 1820 and recorded on June 9, 1820. That might indicate that Burrelham died about 2 months from the date this Last Will was written. Notice that Burrelham’s mark is “BR”. That’s a unique mark and we’ve not seen it before. Also notice that the witnesses on this document are Talton Brown, his second wife Judith Brown, and his daughter Francis Brown. Were these Burrelham’s neighbors? Col. Brown, who is Talton Brown, will show up on a land survey that matches a land grant issued to George Rudd in 1811 in Barnwell. I have concluded without any doubt this George Rudd is George Washington Rudd who is reported to be the brother of Elias David Rudd. Also notice that on the George Rudd land survey there is adjoining land belonging to Thomas Morris. And when George Rudd sells this land in 1831 he sells it to Moses Sanders. Now look at this 1803 land survey that includes adjoining property owned by William Rud. Both Thomas Morris and Moses Sanders own adjoining lands based on this survey. Of course, land surveys are reflective of land owners not residents, but they can give us a good indication of the general area in the county where the families lived and most often they add to their lands by extending the boundaries. For example Moses Sanders expanded his boundary when he purchased George Rudd’s land.

We don’t yet have enough information to determine which Burlingham is the 2nd or who is the father of the other Burlingham but it appears to me that Burlingham 2nd migrated with his brother, George Lounsdell in 1792. I think we can determine three possibilities:

1) He went with George Lounsdell to Screven Co., GA and then relocated to Barnwell Co., SC.

2) He went with George Lounsdell to Screven Co., GA and relocated again with George Lounsdell to Charleston Co., SC.

3) He migrated at the same time as George Lounsdell but went directly to Barnwell Co., SC and lived across the Savannah River from his brother.

My impression of Burlingham 2nd is that he is just the opposite of George Lounsdell. Where as, George Lounsdell was very land aggressive in his younger days, especially when he lived in Anson, Burlingham 2nd was not. Burlingham 2nd purchased 200 acres of his father’s original grant in 1757 (at the age of 15 years and 3 months!). He evidently had power of attorney or was legally in possession of the remaining 100 acres because he sold both parcels. The only other record of land acquisition I’ve found was the 1790 purchase of two tracts of 150 acres each that he sold to his son Burlingham 3rd for one pound in 1793. If Burlingham 2nd indeed is the one in the 1800 Charleston census, then it’s not likely to me that he is also the same Burlingham with the several land grants in Charleston. That just doesn’t fit his style. On the other hand, if he is the Burlingham in the 1800 Barnwell census and the same Burrel H. Rudd as well as Burrelham Rud, then why did he change his name? Or maybe he didn’t, but rather it was just recorded that way because he couldn’t spell it. I find it interesting that Burrelham Rudd doesn’t mention any land in his Last Will, but he does list quite a bit of stock that he leaves to his daughter. Maybe he didn’t own the land. Maybe he was living in a separate residence on land owned by a son, perhaps that William Rudd we see in the Barnwell census.

Walter Rudd

Lastly, other than his name appearing in the Prince Frederick Parish register we have no evidence of Walter Rudd in Anson Co., NC unless as I said at the beginning of this narrative, he and William Rudd are the same person.

There is a record of a Walter Rudd who married Sarah Campbell in Charleston in 1793. We have no way of knowing if this is the son of Burlingham 1st but I doubt it. And that is the only record of that Walter Rudd I have found.

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That is the extent of our knowledge of the second generation of Rudd males. In a time when families were large and women had children from the time they were married until they could no longer reproduce I find it curious that we don’t have more males. But we don’t know how old Burlingham 1st and Elizabeth were when they married. And we don't know when they died. We only know that Burlingham 1st lived at least until July 11, 1771 when he is recorded as being "aged" by the Anson Co., NC Assembly and exempted from taxes. Interesting, Burlingham 2nd would have been just 30 years old. That might give us an indication that Burlingham 1st was older than normal for the times when he married Elizabeth and began his family.

We’re fortunate that George Lounsdell left us the Deed of Gift from Screven Co., GA and listed the names of four sons. That at least gives us a starting point for the third generation. As for Burlingham 2nd, we do know that it’s very likely that Burlingham 3rd is his son and based on the Revolutionary War Pension Application for the 3rd, we know that he was born about 1760. We can determine that Burlingham 2nd was fifty-one years old when he left Anson. He was about seven years old when Burlingham 1st relocated with his family. George Lounsdell left Anson about four years earlier, Therefore, the family lived in Anson about forty years before migration began. And since Burlingham 3rd was about 32 years old when Burlingham 2nd left Anson, there are likely more children fathered by Burlingham 2nd.

The challenge for the third generation is both in identifying them and then connecting them to their father! I’ll give it my best shot in the next narrative!!