Charity H. Loyd, Family Matriarch

Happy Birthday, Charity!

Regular readers of this blog may remember previous posts about the Loyd family. The matriarch of the Alabama and Mississippi Loyds was Charity Loyd who was newly widowed when she packed up her nine children and her worldly possessions in Tennessee and left for Alabama, settling around 1842 in the Pine Springs community of what was then Marion County. Quite an amazing thing for her to do, in my opinion, considering she left behind the safety net of her mother and several brothers. I believe that Charity must have been a strong woman, well-loved and well-respected by her family. Many of her descendants were named after her, but beyond her name as a legacy she also left her descendants with a can-do spirit and attitude. From my research of this family of Loyds, I've discovered that they were an adventuresome lot with many interesting characters. The females particularly were ahead of their time, serving as postmasters, teachers, and 'sales ladies' in the early 1900s.

Charity's mother, also named Charity, was an independent woman as well. Like her daughter, Charity Payne was widowed at a young age. Land deed records in Lincoln County, Tennessee indicate she purchased a couple of tracts of land there, a 54 acre tract in 1823 and a 10 acre tract in 1833. In addition, the probate records include references to Charity Payne buying items at estate sales such as "17 head geese and ganders" and "1 spinning wheel."

Old records tell wonderful stories, but sometimes you have to 'listen' carefully to what they are telling you and look beyond your direct lines to gather a 'feel' for the family.

Charity Loyd died in 1858 in Alabama, one year before her mother Charity Payne died in Tennessee. Wonder if the two ever saw each other again after daughter Charity moved away? Wonder if they have any idea of the impact they had on later generations of Loyds? Wonder what they would think of their great-great-great granddaughters today? Wonder if the Charities would have been professors or accountants or lawyers today?

Charity Loyd is buried in the Pine Springs Cemetery in Lamar County. Her grave marker, pictured above, was made by one of her potter sons. At some point, the pottery marker was encased in concrete to provide protection and stability. The verse on the marker reads:

A Mother reposes underneath this sod,
A Mother to memory dear, and dear to God,
Rejoice, yet shed a sympathizing tear,
Our Angel Mother, lies buried here.