Note: Local lover of history Roger Allen continues a monthly column looking at the genealogy of a longtime Bulloch County family.
The Wise family is truly one of the founding families of Bulloch County, but it doesn’t stop there: the family line has extended all the way to Bryan and other surrounding counties as well. Their ancestral heritage can be traced back to a time long ago in Europe when the ancient warrior chieftains Gewiss, Woden, and Wyt held sway. These kings, in turn, trace their own family lines back to the Trojan and Thrace kingdoms, which controlled large areas of what is now Bulgaria, Turkey, and Greece.
The current family name has undergone many changes over the passage of time, starting with Wyse or Wyseman for the Scottish lines, and Wise for their English cousins. Most of the Bulloch clan is linked to the patriarch Alexander Wyse of Bogton Farms. He married matriarch Martha Low of Maryculter Parish, located also in Kincardineshire (in the modern day city of Aberdeen, Scotland). Hence began the Wise family.
Born in 1620, Alexander had a son named George (born in 1648). George married Kathleen Dollace. They, in turn had a son named David. David married Jean Young, and they had a son John who was born on July 25, 1721. John Wise Sr. (as he became known) married Margaret Tait in Arbuthnot in 1740.
At least one “expert” genealogist disagrees with the way the lineage goes from here, choosing instead to believe that John actually comes from the line descending from the English House of Sydenham, and that his son William was born in Clifton, Accomack County of the English Province of Virginia.
Nevertheless, most believe that John Wise Jr. and Margaret Tait did indeed have three sons: John Jr, born in 1742; William, born in 1744. The first two were born in Old Bladen County in the English Province of North Carolina. Their third son, Jacob, was born in 1753 in the Old Craven County in the English Province of South Carolina. John Jr. had two children: Elizabeth and Lewis. Jacob had one son: Jared William, on the other hand, married twice, first to Sarah Margaret Denmark, and then to Elizabeth Cade, and had a total of nine children. They were: Henry, Elizabeth, Susannah, Preston, Lavinia, Rebecca, John, Zilpha, and Jane, who was also called Jincy. William raised his children at first in the Scottish settlement on the Great Pee Dee River in Old Craven County (now Marion) South Carolina. He and his family moved twice more. At first they moved to the Beaufort District, also in South Carolina.
After a while, William and his family moved for the last time, this time to what he referred to as his “Beaulah Land” in Northeastern Georgia. Once this area was divided up into counties, it fell into the area first known as Effingham County, pieces of which were then divided up further into Scriven (later changed to Screven), Burke, and then into Bulloch Counties. William served very proudly with the forces under the command of General Elijah Clarke of the new American Continental Army fighting the British regulars at the Battles of Kettle Creek, Augusta, and many more. William died on the family plantation near Belcher, on Mill Creek, on the Old Mill Road in Bulloch County on May 15, 1816. Here, his children started the Wise clan.
His oldest son Henry married Elizabeth Groover, and they had an unknown number of children; Elizabeth married Solomon Groover and had five children. Susannah married twice, first to James Denmark and then to Willoughby Williams. Their children are apparently unknown. Preston married twice, first to Margaret Lee and then to Mary Ann Jones. They had a total of nine children.
His daughter Lavinia married twice, first to Redden Moye (his last name was changed to Denmark) and then to William McNealy. She had a total of eight children. His son John married Rachel Jones, and they had eight children. Daughter Zilpha married twice, first to Aaron Everett and then to Jesse Goodman. She had a total of 13 children.
Daughter Jane married Malachi Moye (his last name was changed to Denmark). They had 11 children.
His youngest child, daughter Rebecca, married twice, first to Berry Nobel Jones and then to James H. Wilkinson. She had a total of 12 children.
William’s children had given him a total of (at least) 66 grandchildren, ensuring that the Wise family would be in Bulloch County to stay.
The Wise family is truly one of the founding families of Bulloch County, but it doesn’t stop there: the family line has extended all the way to Bryan and other surrounding counties as well. Their ancestral heritage can be traced back to a time long ago in Europe when the ancient warrior chieftains Gewiss, Woden, and Wyt held sway. These kings, in turn, trace their own family lines back to the Trojan and Thrace kingdoms, which controlled large areas of what is now Bulgaria, Turkey, and Greece.
The current family name has undergone many changes over the passage of time, starting with Wyse or Wyseman for the Scottish lines, and Wise for their English cousins. Most of the Bulloch clan is linked to the patriarch Alexander Wyse of Bogton Farms. He married matriarch Martha Low of Maryculter Parish, located also in Kincardineshire (in the modern day city of Aberdeen, Scotland). Hence began the Wise family.
Born in 1620, Alexander had a son named George (born in 1648). George married Kathleen Dollace. They, in turn had a son named David. David married Jean Young, and they had a son John who was born on July 25, 1721. John Wise Sr. (as he became known) married Margaret Tait in Arbuthnot in 1740.
At least one “expert” genealogist disagrees with the way the lineage goes from here, choosing instead to believe that John actually comes from the line descending from the English House of Sydenham, and that his son William was born in Clifton, Accomack County of the English Province of Virginia.
Nevertheless, most believe that John Wise Jr. and Margaret Tait did indeed have three sons: John Jr, born in 1742; William, born in 1744. The first two were born in Old Bladen County in the English Province of North Carolina. Their third son, Jacob, was born in 1753 in the Old Craven County in the English Province of South Carolina. John Jr. had two children: Elizabeth and Lewis. Jacob had one son: Jared William, on the other hand, married twice, first to Sarah Margaret Denmark, and then to Elizabeth Cade, and had a total of nine children. They were: Henry, Elizabeth, Susannah, Preston, Lavinia, Rebecca, John, Zilpha, and Jane, who was also called Jincy. William raised his children at first in the Scottish settlement on the Great Pee Dee River in Old Craven County (now Marion) South Carolina. He and his family moved twice more. At first they moved to the Beaufort District, also in South Carolina.
After a while, William and his family moved for the last time, this time to what he referred to as his “Beaulah Land” in Northeastern Georgia. Once this area was divided up into counties, it fell into the area first known as Effingham County, pieces of which were then divided up further into Scriven (later changed to Screven), Burke, and then into Bulloch Counties. William served very proudly with the forces under the command of General Elijah Clarke of the new American Continental Army fighting the British regulars at the Battles of Kettle Creek, Augusta, and many more. William died on the family plantation near Belcher, on Mill Creek, on the Old Mill Road in Bulloch County on May 15, 1816. Here, his children started the Wise clan.
His oldest son Henry married Elizabeth Groover, and they had an unknown number of children; Elizabeth married Solomon Groover and had five children. Susannah married twice, first to James Denmark and then to Willoughby Williams. Their children are apparently unknown. Preston married twice, first to Margaret Lee and then to Mary Ann Jones. They had a total of nine children.
His daughter Lavinia married twice, first to Redden Moye (his last name was changed to Denmark) and then to William McNealy. She had a total of eight children. His son John married Rachel Jones, and they had eight children. Daughter Zilpha married twice, first to Aaron Everett and then to Jesse Goodman. She had a total of 13 children.
Daughter Jane married Malachi Moye (his last name was changed to Denmark). They had 11 children.
His youngest child, daughter Rebecca, married twice, first to Berry Nobel Jones and then to James H. Wilkinson. She had a total of 12 children.
William’s children had given him a total of (at least) 66 grandchildren, ensuring that the Wise family would be in Bulloch County to stay.