Arromanus and Mary Lyles Bible
Written by an unnamed Lyles descendant
I have tried
to read some of the information below from the images below, which were copied
by Lyles descendant and genealogist Robert MARTIN from a Bible now possessed by
"Brother" LYLES of Winnsboro, Fairfield County, SC. "Brother"
Lyles said a person thought "Brother" could care for the Bible better
than a museum and gave it to him. "Brother" keeps this Bible locked
in a safe at his hardware store and generously displayed it and his extraordinary
collection of Indian artifacts at the Lyles family reunion held in the year
2000.
Most of the
handwritten information contained in this Bible seems to have been carelessly
scribbled with the same pen and ink and in the same beautiful hand writing (ink
bled through some pages). Birth years seem to have been calculated from the
ages of family members when the Bible was new (about 1845 when Arromanus would
have been almost 60 years old and had seven grown children) by someone
(possibly Arromanus or one of his children) who seems to have tried to remember
the birthdays, etc. of each member of the family.
The Bible
says Arromanus Lyles was born April 11, 1786 and married Mary (the name of two
of his wives) December 8, 1808. If the entry which says that Mary Lyles, a wife
of A. Lyles died February 11, 1822 refers to Mary WOODWARD Lyles, she died at
age 34 and had just delivered her last child Mary.
Most of the
information I wrote below was obtained from other genealogists: I wish I could
provide their sources because some of it is inconsistent with information found
on the images of the Bible below, etc.
Arromanus
Lyles II (1786 - ?) was the son of Arromanus (Col.) Lyles (1748 - 1817) and his
second wife Rebecca VALENTINE (~1750 - ?), and the grandson of Ephraim Lyles,
Sr. (~1720 - ~1755) and Ann (1725 - ?).
Arromanus
Lyles II's wife Mary Woodward (~1788 - ?) was the daughter of Reverend William
Woodward and Nancy BARRETT (~1767 - 8/10/1829). Her father William
"Preacher Billy" Woodward was one of the boldest fighters of South
Carolina's FIRST Revolution, and the son of a historically famous Fairfield
soldier killed in battle during the same Revolution named Thomas "the
Regulator" Woodward (? - 5/12/1779) and Jemima COLLINS and the grandson of
Thomas WOODWARD (born
near Annapolis, Maryland) and Mary SIMPSON of Fairfax county, VA.
Nancy B.
(Barrett?) LYLES (tombstone says born 6/13/1812 in Fairfield - died 5/20/1895
and buried at Beaver Creek Baptist Church in Fairfield) was the daughter of
Arromanus Lyles and Mary WOODWARD. Nancy B. LYLES married William E. TRAYLOR (born 1817 -
probably buried in Mississippi where he died).
Nancy may have named her children after her siblings and
ancestors because she loved and was proud of her family. Even Nancy's
grandchild Carrie Lyles TRAYLOR Stewart (born 4/21/1891 - died 9/21/1980)
remembered her ancestor "Manus" and named a child Julian Lyles
STEWART.
William E.
TRAYLOR and Nancy LYLES Traylor had a daughter Mary. Their son William Henry
TRAYLOR (born 6/15/1847 - died 4/25/1920) married Alice WIX, and their son
Thomas Woodward TRAYLOR became the largest landowner in Fairfield County and established what is now the Bank of
Fairfield (according to his newspaper obituary).
Both sons of
William E. and Nancy LYLES TRAYLOR were beloved soldiers of South Carolina's
SECOND Revolution (not yet won and still sorely needed) against imperialism:
Thomas returned from the war with only a quarter in his pocket and declared
that one day he would own a mansion like one he saw: two of his old maid
descendants inherited it. "Brother" Lyles now owns and lives in it. I
have thought it to be architecturally the most beautiful house in America since I first saw it, long before I
realized my kinsmen owned it. I would like to
have a photograph of it so I could post it here.
According to
Mr. Ballew, a descendant of Thomas, descendants of Nancy B. Lyles' brother
Thomas Valentine LYLES (born 1822 in SC - died 20 May 1860 in Fayette, AL) and
William E. TRAYLOR's sister Isabella TRAYLOR (born 15 April, 1822 in VA and
died in 1895) were also named Nancy, Thomas, Henry, and William, possibly after
their Lyles kin.
Woodland House
Arromanus Lyle Bible
