Spruill, William

William SPRUILL (1770 - 1846) and Elizabeth ROBERGSON (1775 - 1850)

probably my 5g-grandparents

William SPRUILL was probably the father of Stephen SPRUILL (1786 - 1869) of Abbeville, SC. Records from this region are sparse, and the evidence that William was the father of Stephen is somewhat apocryphal. The best evidence I have comes from a tourist pamphlet distributed by the Spruill Center!

William's parents were John Read SPRUILL (1745 - 1808) and Sarah CURRELL (1748 - 1798), who first appeared in Abbeville in 1784. John wrote his will in 1808, naming his 13 children, 12 still living. William was first named, hence probably the eldest. It seems very likely that Stephen SPRUILL was a grandson of John Read SPRUILL, and many researchers have settled on William as Stephen's father.

John Read SPRUILL was undoubtedly a descendant of Dr. Godfrey SPRUILL, who was in VA as early as 1684, and lived in Henrico County, VA. Dr. Godfrey SPRUILL was the progenitor of a large extended SPRUILL family in Tyrrell and Albemarle Counties, NC. The possible link between John Read SPRUILL of Abbeville, SC and the SPRUILLs of NC is explored at length in [CC, p. 725].

It appears that William married Elizabeth ROBERGSON/ROBERTSON, in Abbeville. The record below is not helpful regarding the date, and both surnames seem to be misspelled, so I don't know if we can trust that the middle initial was S.

Nothing more seems to be known about Elizabeth. She probably died before 1850, as she doesn't seem to be in the 1850 US Census.

William and Elizabeth had at least 5 children, in Abbeville, and moved to De Kalb County, GA with their son Stephen, by 1830. Their 3 youngest children ended up in Cleburne County, AL.

The 1790 US Census has 2 SPRUILL households in Abbeville County, which appear to be the families of William and his father, John. It appears that William and Elizabeth have a son and a daughter, while John has a larger family.

The 1800 US Census had 3 SPRUILL households in Abbeville County. George and William are both in the 26-44 age group, so they were born between 1756 and 1774. They both have wives between 16 and 25, born between 1775 and 1784. George has 2 boys under 10 and 1 boy 10 to 15. William has 1 boy 10 to 15 (must be Stephen), and 4 girls under 10. John and his wife are both over 44, so born before 1756, and they have 7 children, all under 16, and 2 slaves.

In 1810 we find William SPRUIELL in Pendleton District (now Anderson and Pickens Counties), just north of Abbeville. William is still in the 26-44 age group, so he was born between 1766 and 1784. Combining this with the 1800 Census, he was born between 1766 and 1774. They now have 6 children at home, and only 1 of the 5 who were present in 1800 are still here. In particular, Stephen is not at home, and he can be found still in Abbeville County - see the Stephen SPRUILL page. So William and Elizabeth have had at least 10 children, and Stephen is the oldest.

In 1820 William and family are back in Abbeville. They have 7 children, including 3 boys under 10, so only 4 of the children were among the 6 present in 1810.

We know that William's son Stephen SPRUILL lived in Abbeville County, SC in 1810, then Jackson County, GA in 1820, and DeKalb County, GA in 1830. The 1830 Census also has William SPRUILL in DeKalb County, GA.

Also in the 1830 US Census for De Kalb County was the Stephen SPRUILL household. Stephen was my 4g-grandfather, and probably the eldest son of William and Elizabeth.

In 1832 William SPRUILL was awarded land in Fayette County, GA, in the Georgia Land Lottery.

I'm not sure if this land record is for the right William SPRUILL. At any rate, I have not found any record of William or Elizabeth after 1832. Some researchers have claimed that William died on 7 Mar 1846 in DeKalb County, GA, and Elizabeth died in 1850, daughter of John ROBERTSON and Elizabeth OWINGS. I don't have any evidence to support this. In fact, the only record that gives Elizabeth's maiden name spells it ROBERGSON.

The 1840 US Census does have the Stephen SPRUELL household, probably the Stephen SPRUILL who was the eldest son of William and Elizabeth. It also has two households with head William SPUELL. These families look very similar, and it may be that the same family was recorded twice. However, neither has anyone over 39. This William is probably another son of William and Elizabeth.

From [SH] we know that William's father was John SPRUILL, who died in 1808. There has been some confusion between John Read SPRUILL and another John SPRUILL, and I will try to sort that out on another page.

Descendants

Several researchers have the following data for this family. There seems to be very little supporting evidence, so I look at these as clues to be investigated. It seems that the 2 eldest children stayed in GA, while the 3 youngest went to Cleburne County, AL.

1 William SPRUILL b: 1770 in Abbeville, SC, d: 07 Mar 1846 in Cross Keys, DeKalb, GA
+ Elizabeth ROBERTSON b: 1775 in Abbeville, SC, m: 1786 in Abbeville, SC, d: 1850 in DeKalb, GA
......2 Stephen E. SPRUILL b: 1787 in Abbeville, SC, d: Aug 1869 in DeKalb, GA
...... + Margaret LORD b: 1786 in VA, m: 1808 in Abbeville, Abbeville, SC, d: Dec 1857 in Oak Grove, Fulton, GA
......2 (female) SPRUILL b: 1798 in Abbeville, Abbeville, SC, d: 1830 in De Kalb, GA
......2 John A. SPRUILL b: 1810 in Abbeville, Abbeville, SC, d: aft. 1880 in Cleburne, AL
...... + Ann R. MANN b: 1816 in Cumberland, NC, m: 27 Feb 1832 in Fayette, GA, d: aft. 1880 in Cleburne, AL
......2 Gabriel SPRUILL b: 1811 in Abbeville, Abbeville, SC, d: 23 Apr 1883 in Cleburne, AL
...... + Susannah MANN b: 1812 in Cumberland, NC, m: 20 Nov 1834 in Fayette, GA, d: Sep 1868 in Fayette, GA
...... + Isabella BEARD b: 1833 in GA, m: 01 Sep 1867 in Carroll, GA, d: 1876 in Cleburne, AL
...... + Clarissa Jane PITCHFORD b: 10 Sep 1835, Habersham, GA, m: 18 Jan 1877, Cleburne, AL, d: 05 Jan 1930, Five Points, Lawrence, TN
......2 William John SPRUILL b: 1815 or 1803 in Abbeville, SC, d: 23 Apr 1883 in Cleburne, AL
...... + Arena JOHNSON m: 29 Mar 1833 in Dougherty, GA

Stephen SPRUILL and Margaret LORD were my 4g-grandparents, so that's my main interest here. I have been reluctant to research Stephen's siblings, because the connection is tenuous. Maybe if I start to find out about the Alabama SPRUILLs, I will find a connection.

Stephen SPRUILL was born about 1787 in Abbeville, SC. He married Margaret LORD about 1808 in Abbeville. Stephen and Margaret were my 4g-grandparents.

See the Stephen SPRUILL page.

Gabriel SPRUILL was born in SC, around 1810 to 1815, according to the 1860, 1870 and 1880 Censuses. Some researchers have claimed that he was born as early as 1804, in Abbeville County, SC. It seems that he married 3 times. He married (1) Susan MANN on 20 Nov 1834 in Fayette County, GA. Susan MANN was born about 1812 in Cumberland County, NC. They had at least 11 children in GA.

The 1850 US Census has the family in Carroll County, GA. The census taker has been very sloppy, and there are several mistakes. The children were not born in NC. Gabriel was not 44 in 1850, unless the other censuses are all wrong. The value of Gabriel's farm was either $200 or $500. John, age 13, is the only one who had attended school within the year, and Susannah was illiterate.

The 1860 census seems to say that Susan was born in Delaware, although the writing is very sloppy. Gabriel owned a fair amount of real estate, so he was not a poor farmer, before the Civil War. I don't know why 13-year-old Martha was singled out as illiterate.

William J. M. SPRUILL, eldest son of Gabriel and Susan, born about 1835, served in Company C, 56th Georgia regiment. He died of measles on 24 Oct 1862 in Bardstown, Nelson, KY. His gravestone is in the Bardstown City Cemetery.

Susan (MANN) SPRUILL died in Sep 1868 in Fayette, GA, age about 56. Her gravestone in the Bowdon First United Methodist Cemetery says she "DIED CA 1868". I suspect that she died earlier, before her husband remarried.

Gabriel SPRUILL married (2) Isabella BEARD on 1 Sep 1867 in Carroll, GA. Isabella was born about 1833 in GA, so she was more than 20 years younger than Gabriel. They don't seem to have had any children.

Between 1870 and 1875, the family moved across the state line, to Cleburne County, AL, which shares a border with Carroll County, GA. Isabella (BEARD) SPRUILL probably died about 1876, in Cleburne County, AL. Gabriel SPRUILL married (3) Clarissa Jane PITCHFORD Habersham on 18 Jan 1877, in Cleburne, AL. Clarissa was born 10 Sep 1835, in Habersham, GA, and died 5 Jan 1930, in Five Points, Lawrence, TN. Gabriel was the 3rd of her 4 husbands. I don't know if she had any children.

The 1860, 187o and 1880 census records for Gabriel are tied together because of the appearance of his son, Fletcher SPRUILL.

John F. SPRUILL, 2nd son of Gabriel and Susan, was a Private in Company C, 56th Georgia Infantry, the same company as his older brother, who died of measles. John was born in 1837, and died in 1882, according to his gravestone in the Bowdon First United Methodist Cemetery.

Gabriel SPRUILL died on 23 Apr 1883 in Cleburne, AL, age about 72.

John A. SPRUILL was born about 1811, in SC, probably Abbeville. Whether he was older, younger, or a twin to Gabriel, is unclear. On 27 Feb 1832 in Fayette County, GA he married Ann R. MANN, sister of Susan MANN, who was Gabriel's wife. Ann was born about 1816 in Cumberland, NC, about 4 years after her sister. Their parents were Jonathan MANN and Rebecca DAVIS, of Cumberland.

The family appeared in St Clair County, AL in 1860. The name looks more like SPREWELL than SPRUIELL. John and 2 of his sons were mechanics. I'm not sure what that meant in 1860 Alabama.

Since all the children listed in the 1860 Census were born in GA, it looks like the family moved to AL between 1856 and 1860.

The 1880 Census record is in bad shape. The 3 younger children are probably grandchildren of John and Ann. The list of father's and mother's birthplaces don't make sense. John is a Carpenter, as he was in 1850. He keeps aging more than 10 years between censuses. He is sick with "Broncites" and Ann has "Groves Clidilch".

Sources

[1775] Map of South Carolina, 1775

[1865] Map of North and South Carolina 1865

[CC] Spruill family colonial chronology, 1684-1800, by William Kenneth Spruill [968 pages. Click where it says "here" for the pdf.]

[DD] The Spruills--a Family of Colonial Notables, from Our State magazine, August 1, 1964 by David E. Davis

[JS] Information from James Spruell (2001)

[SC] Evolution of South Carolina Districts and Counties

[SH] A History of the Spruill Homeplace, a brochure from the Spruill Center for the Arts in Atlanta, GA, by Emily Pogue Henry

[W] Several of the SPRUILLs have Wikipedia pages.

[WFT] Stephen E SPRUILL on the World Family Tree

[WT] William SPRUILL on WikiTree

Page last updated on 14 Jan 2022 by William Haloupek. Contact haloupek at gmail dot com.