The Family › Woodall–Ramsay › RAMSAY
Thomas Samuel RAMSAY
1839–1906
✦ direct ancestor — my children's 3×-great-grandfather
· Ramsay line, the Woodall–Ramsay side
— their mother's people
Life
- Born
- 2 Feb 1839 · ., Oconee Co., South Carolina
- Died
- 12 Jul 1906 · Livingston, Polk Co., Texas
Parents
Marriage & children
Timeline
- 23 May 1872MarriedSallie Fisher DAVIS — ., Oconee Co., South Carolina
Records behind this page
1850 United States Federal Census
Year: 1850; Census Place: Eastern Division, Pickens, South Carolina; Roll: 857; Page: 524b; dwelling 1088, Alexander Ramsey household
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[1850 U.S. census, Eastern Division, Pickens Dist., S.C.; M432 roll 857, p. 524b; dwelling and family 1088; line 26 = Samuel. Read from the Ancestry index (coll. 8054 rec. 5865715) 29 Sep 2026.] Alexander Ramsey 51; Sarah Ramsey 46; J Reid Ramsey 22; Andrew Ramsey 18; Mary Ramsey 14; Alexander Ramsey 12; Samuel Ramsey 10 (b. S.C., attended school); Margaret Ramsey 8; Isabell Ramsey 6; Wm Ramsey 4; Julius Ramsey 1.
1860 United States Federal Census
Year: 1860; Census Place: Regiment 5, Pickens, South Carolina; Roll: M653_1225; Page: 167; FHL 805225; dwelling 941, Alexander E Ramsey household
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[1860 U.S. census, Regiment 5, Pickens Dist., S.C., post office Wolf Creek; M653 roll 1225, p. 167; dwelling 941, family 919; FHL 805225. Read from the Ancestry index (coll. 7667 rec. 18846579) 29 Sep 2026.] Alexander E Ramsey 60, b. S.C., real estate 25100, personal estate 41240; Sarah H Ramsey 55; Andrew Ramsey 28; Alexander Ramsey 23; Thomas S Ramsey 21; Martha H Ramsey 19; Margaret J Ramsey 19; Bella R Ramsey 16; William J Ramsey 13; George J Ramsey 11.
Ancestry.com and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1880 United States Federal Census
Year: 1880; Census Place: Tugaloo, Oconee, South Carolina; Roll: 1236; Page: 434a; Enumeration District: 126; dwelling 3, Samuel Ramsay household
[1880 U.S. census, Tugaloo, Oconee Co., S.C.; Year 1880, Roll 1236, Page 434a, ED 126; dwelling 3. Read from the Ancestry index (coll. 6742 rec. 18392105) 29 Sep 2026; image not opened.] Samuel Ramsay, 41, head; Sallie Ramsay, 37, wife; Henry Ramsay, 7, son, b. S.C., father b. S.C., mother b. S.C.; Fannie Ramsay, 5, daughter; William Ramsay, 2, son.
Keowee Courier (Walhalla, S.C.), weekly newspaper -- Chronicling America sn84026912 (Library of Congress / University of South Carolina); images via Newspapers.com
17 Mar 1871, p. 2 - obituary of Alexander Ramsay, Sen. (d. 20 Jan 1871)
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[Keowee Courier (Walhalla, S.C.), Friday 17 Mar 1871, p. 2, col. 2, 'OBITUARY.' Read on the image (Newspapers.com image 76754665, from Chronicling America sn84026912) 29 Sep 2026; text checked against the LOC OCR.] DIED, on the 20th of January, 1871, ALEXANDER RAMSAY, SEN. The 30th of September last completed his 71st year. He was born in Old Pendleton, that part now Oconee County, and within the bounds of the old Stone Church, where his mortal remains were deposited, among so many of the hallowed dead, whose memories we love to cherish. The most of his earthly life was spent in the county of his birth ... and for the large and respectable family, which he raised and provided for abundantly. ... A few years ago, he presented himself ... as a candidate for membership in the Tugalo Presbyterian Church ... May God sanctify his departure to the bereaved widow, the many children, the church of which he was a member ... W. P. G. [No child is named.]
17 Mar 1871, p. 2 - Executor's Notice, estate of Alexander Ramsay Sr. (Andrew H. Ramsay, Alexander Ramsay Jr., executors)
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[Keowee Courier (Walhalla, S.C.), Friday 17 Mar 1871, p. 2, 'Executor's Notice.' Read on the image (Newspapers.com image 76754665) 29 Sep 2026. The same notice appears in the issues of 31 Mar 1871 p. 3 and 7 Apr 1871 p. 3 (LOC OCR, sn84026912).] ALL PERSONS indebted to the Estate of ALEXANDER RAMSAY Sr., deceased, will make payment; and all persons having demands against said Estate, will present them, to the undersigned, attested as the law directs. ANDREW H. RAMSAY, ALEXANDER RAMSAY, Jr., } Ex'ors. March 21, 1871. [date as printed in the 17 Mar issue; later issues' OCR reads 'March 12'] 15 4
Oconee County, South Carolina, Probate Court - estate file of Alexander Ramsay Sr. (d. 1871), Apartment 16, Package 177: will 1869, warrant of appraisement 1871, suit papers 1895-1900. Scans supplied by the Probate Court clerk, 30 Sep 2026
Will of Alexander Ramsay Senr., 24 Apr 1869, signed original, 2 pp.; Apartment 16, Package 177; court scan 20260930122540, pp. 3-4
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[Read on the images of the signed original 30 Sep 2026 (register K936), in full. Spelling as written.] State of South Carolina } Oconee County } In the name of God Amen. I Alexander Ramsay Senr of the State and County aforesaid, being of sound and disposing mind and memory, calling to mind the frailty and uncertainty of human life, and being desirous of setling my worldly affairs, and directing how the estate with which God has blessed me, shall be disposed of after my decease, while I have strength and capacity so to do, do make and publish this my last will and testament: First, I hereby constitute and appoint my sons Andrew H. Ramsay and Alexander Ramsay to be the executors of this my last will and testament, directing the said executors to pay all my just debts and funeral expences, within one year after my decease; and the Legacies hereinafter given out of my estate, within one year after the decease or marriage of my wife Sarah H. Ramsay. Second, After the payment of my said debts and funeral expences, I give to my beloved wife Sarah H. Ramsay, all the rest and residue of my real and personal estates, to remain in the full enjoyment and peaceable and quiet possession of the same, so long as she shall remain unmarried and my widow, with the remainder thereof; on her decease or marriage, I give to my children and their heirs respectively as follows: viz. to Elizabeth R. Jarratt in addition to what she has already received at her marriage, One Hundred Dollars, to be paid by my executors out of my estate: to Joseph R. Ramsay in addition to what he has already received, the plantation in Mississippi Lauderdale Co. and One Hundred Dollars: to Mary E. Doyle in addition to what she has already received Three Hundred Dollars: to Margaret J. Rankin in addition to what she has already received, Eight Hundred Dollars to Isabella Rose Davis, One Thousand Dollars: to Andrew H Ramsay, Alexander Ramsay, Thomas S. Ramsay, William J. Ramsay, and George J. Ramsay so much of my estate as remains after the aforesaid amounts and expences are paid, and to be among them equally divided. In case one or more of my children should die without bodily heirs, the share or shares of such deceased shall be equally divided among the remainder of my children or their heirs respectively. In testimony whereof I hereunto set my hand and seal, and publish and declare this to be my last will and testament, in the presence of the witnesses named below this the Twenty Fourth day of April in the year of our Lord One Thousand Eight Hundred and Sixty Nine. Alexander Ramsay Senr [seal]. || This instrument, consisting of two pages was now here subscribed by Alexander Ramsay Senr, the testator in the presence of each of us, and was at the same time declared by him to be his last will and testament, and we at his request sign our names hereunto as attesting witnesses. This April the 24th 1869. Witnesses: C. S. Hollingsworth, O. L. Walker [reading uncertain], W. B. Dickson.
Summons for Relief, Probate Court, Oconee Co., 29 Mar 1895, A. H. & Alex. Ramsay Exors v. Joseph Reid Ramsay and others, with affidavit of service 18 Apr 1895; court scan 20260930122540, pp. 1-2
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[Read on the images 30 Sep 2026 (register K937): caption, defendants, attorneys, wrapper, affidavit of service.] State of South Carolina, County of Oconee, Court of Probate. Andrew H. Ramsay and Alexander Ramsay, Executors, Plaintiffs, against Joseph Reid Ramsay, G. Julius Ramsay, as administrator of the personal estate of Elizabeth R. Jarrett deceased and in his own right, Oliver M. Doyle as administrator of the personal estate of Mary E. Doyle deceased, T. Samuel Ramsay, William J. Ramsay, Margaret J. Rankin & Belle R. Davis, Defendants. Summons for Relief (Complaint Served). Dated 29th March A.D. 1895. E. L. Herndon, Judge of Probate for Oconee County; Norton & Stribling, Plaintiffs' Attorneys, Walhalla. Wrapper: Apartment No. 16 - Package No. 177; filed in office of Judge of Probate 29 March 1895; Recorded in Real Estate Book pages 307, 308 & 309. Affidavit of personal service: Campbell P. Jones served William J. Ramsay personally at Toccoa, Habersham County, Georgia, on the sixteenth day of April 1895; sworn 18th April 1895.
Sworn statement of A. H. Ramsay, executor, 11 Dec 1900, A. H. Ramsay, Alex. Ramsay Jr. Exors v. Thos. S. Ramsay et al.; court scan 20260930122753, pp. 1-2
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[Read on the images 30 Sep 2026 (register K938), in full. Spelling as written.] The State of South Carolina, County of Oconee. In the Court of Probate. A. H. Ramsay, Alexr. Ramsay, Jr. Exors, Plaintiffs, against Thos. S. Ramsay, Et. al., Defendants. Andrew H. Ramsay being duly sworn in this case, says: That he is one of the Executors of the last will and testament of his father, Alexr. Ramsay, Senior, deceased. My father died 20th January 1871. My mother died Decr. 24, 1894. My mother had a life estate in the Estate of my father, and enjoyed it until her death. The Estate of my father has been duly administered, and we are now making application in this Court for a discharge from further responsibility as Executors. The personal property of testator has been sold, and all the debts, taxes, &c., have been paid. All the Legacies have been paid as directed by the will. My father conveyed his old home tract of land, on Keowee River, in Pickens County, to Alexr. Ramsay, Jr. and myself, appraising the same at Three Thousand Dollars. We gave him our receipts for fifteen hundred dollars each. He conveyed the land to us by Deed. I sold my interest in the tract to my brother Alexander, & conveyed same to him by Deed. The balance of Testator's Real Estate was devised to Thos. S. Ramsay, Wm. J. Ramsay, Geo. J. Ramsay. A. H. Ramsay and Geo. J. Ramsay purchased the interest of Thos. S. Ramsay and Wm. J. Ramsay in these lands. We have the Deed of Thos. S. Ramsay for his interest therein. The interest of Wm. J. Ramsay passed to A. H. Ramsay in a land suit in which Moore, Marsh & Co. were Plaintiffs and A. H. Ramsay & others were Defendants - the records in this case are on record in Oconee County. A. H. Ramsay and Geo. J. Ramsay have divided these lands, & made conveyances of the same to each other. Sworn to before me this 11th day of December 1900, D. A. Smith, Judge of Probate. A H Ramsay. || We believe the statements made above are true, and swear to them, severally. Alex Ramsay, G J Ramsay. Sworn 11th December 1900 before D. A. Smith, Judge of Probate.
Affidavit of Robt. A. Thompson listing the family of Alexander Ramsay Sr., with order of D. A. Smith, Judge of Probate, 12 Sep 1900; court scan 20260930122753, pp. 4-5
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[Read on the images 30 Sep 2026 (register K939), in full; the list read again at 200 dpi. Numbers are superscripts in the original. Spelling as written.] The State of South Carolina, County of Oconee, In the Court of Probate. A. H. Ramsay & Alex. Ramsay, Jr. Exors, Plffs, against Thos. S. Ramsay & others, Defts. Personally appeared before me, Robt. A. Thompson, who being duly sworn, says: That he is familiar with the history of the family of Alexander Ramsay Sr., deceased, and believes the following to be a correct list of its members, to wit: (1) Andrew H. Ramsay, residence at Tugaloo, Ga.; (2) Alex. Ramsay, Jr., address Newry, S.C.; (3) Heirs at law of Elizabeth R. Jarratt, nee Ramsay, deceased: Devereaux Jarratt, Tugaloo, Ga.; Mamie B. Simpson nee Jarratt, Toccoa, Ga.; A. R. Jarratt, Acton, Texas; (4) Heirs at law of Mary E. Doyle, nee Ramsay, deceased: O. Ramsay [reading uncertain] Doyle, Calhoun, S.C.; Wm. R. Doyle, Seneca, S.C.; E. Clay Doyle, Seneca, S.C.; Virginia Jones, Greenville, S.C.; (5) Margaret J. Rankin nee Ramsay, Calhoun, Ga.; (6) Belle R. Davis nee Ramsay, Toccoa, Ga.; (7) Thos. S. Ramsay, Mount Vernon, Texas; (8) Wm. J. Ramsay, Toccoa, Ga.; (9) Geo. J. Ramsay, Fort Madison, S.C.; (10) Heirs at law of J. Reid Ramsay, deceased: Sallie Smith, Epes, Ala.; James W. Ramsay, Geo. Ramsay, Reid Ramsay, John P. Ramsay, Wm. Ramsay, Bessie Ramsay, Maggie Burrell, Reid Burrell, [blank] Burrell, Sumterville, Ala.; the places named are also their post office addresses. Sworn to before me, 12th September 1900, D. A. Smith, Judge of Probate, Oconee County, S.C. Robt. A. Thompson. || Order: On hearing the foregoing affidavit - It is ordered, That the Summons and Petition in this action, or copies of the same, be forwarded by mail to each one of the persons named in this affidavit, the postage to be paid thereon. Witness my hand and seal of office at Walhalla, S.C., Sept. 12th 1900. D. A. Smith, Judge of Probate, Oconee County, S.C.
South Carolina Deaths, 1915-1973 (South Carolina State Board of Health, Bureau of Vital Statistics, certificates of death) -- FamilySearch collection 1417492, images
Certificate of death of George Julius Ramsey, 24 Mar 1926, Tugaloo Twp., Oconee Co.; state file 5092; Death Certificates March 1926, image 1211
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[South Carolina Certificate of Death, Registration District 3505, Registered No. 19, State File No. 5092. FamilySearch 'South Carolina Deaths, 1915-1973' (coll. 1417492), 'South Carolina. Death Certificates March 1926' image 1211 of 1843; person ark 61903/1:1:N9DC-1B4. Read on the image 29 Sep 2026.] 1. Place of death: County Oconee, Township Tugaloo. 2. Full name: George Julius Ramsey. Sex male; white; married. Date of birth July 12th 1850. Age 75 yrs 8 mos 12 ds. Occupation farming. Birthplace S.C. Name of father: Alexander Ramsey. Birthplace of father: S.C. Maiden name of mother: Sallie Reid. Birthplace of mother: S.C. Informant: Mrs. Lula [surname unclear, Gilligan?], Westminster, S.C. Date of death March 24th 1926. Place of burial: Tugaloo Ch., March 25 1926.
Research notes
Working notes from the research, kept verbatim — what was read, what it proved, what stays open. Many open with a line grading the parentage; what the grades mean.
Research note · 30 Sep 2026
PROOF CLASS: FATHER = DIRECT (Owen, 30 Sep 2026) - the will of Alexander Ramsay Senr., 24 Apr 1869, names "Thomas S. Ramsay" among "my children". Register K936.
PROOF CLASS: MOTHER = ARGUMENT (Owen graded 30 Sep 2026) - Sarah H. (Reid) Ramsay, the only recorded wife of Alexander Ramsay Sr.; he was born between children she is shown to have borne. K936-K939, K900-K902.
AUDITED 30 Sep 2026 - BOTH PARENTS ENTERED: Alexander Ramsay Sr. (30 Sep 1799 - 20 Jan 1871) and Sarah H. (Reid) Ramsay (died 24 Dec 1894), of Tugaloo, Oconee Co., S.C. He is 'Samuel' in 1850 and 1880, 'Thomas S.' in 1860 and in his father's will, and 'T. Samuel' in 1895.
HIS FATHER'S WILL. Oconee County Probate Court, estate of Alexander Ramsay Sr., Apartment 16, Package 177, read on the images of the signed original 30 Sep 2026 (register K936). "I Alexander Ramsay Senr" appoints "my sons Andrew H. Ramsay and Alexander Ramsay" executors, leaves the residue to "my beloved wife Sarah H. Ramsay" for her life or widowhood, and then: "I give to my children and their heirs respectively as follows" - legacies to Elizabeth R. Jarratt, Joseph R. Ramsay (a plantation in Lauderdale Co., Mississippi), Mary E. Doyle, Margaret J. Rankin and Isabella Rose Davis, and the remainder "to Andrew H Ramsay, Alexander Ramsay, Thomas S. Ramsay, William J. Ramsay, and George J. Ramsay", equally divided. Dated 24 Apr 1869.
THAT THIS IS HIM. The same file, read on the images (K937-K939): the executors' suit of 29 Mar 1895 names "T. Samuel Ramsay" among the defendants. On 12 Sep 1900 Robt. A. Thompson swore to a numbered list of the members of "the family of Alexander Ramsay Sr., deceased" with their post offices; number 7 is "Thos. S. Ramsay, Mount Vernon, Texas", the town where his wife Sallie was buried in 1899. On 11 Dec 1900 his brother Andrew H. Ramsay swore that the land had been devised to "Thos. S. Ramsay, Wm. J. Ramsay, Geo. J. Ramsay" and that "We have the Deed of Thos. S. Ramsay for his interest therein." The censuses below carry him from his parents' house (Samuel, 10, in 1850; Thomas S, 21, in 1860, with the brothers and sisters the will names) to his own (Samuel, 41, with his wife Sallie and their children in 1880).
HIS MOTHER - graded on the evidence together, since no record read states it. The will names Sarah H. only as the testator's wife and says "my children", not "our children". She is the wife in 1850 (Sarah, 46), in 1860 (Sarah H, 55) and in the 1869 will, and the widow until 24 Dec 1894: her son Andrew swore in 1900, "My mother died Decr. 24, 1894. My mother had a life estate in the Estate of my father" (K938). The youngest son, George Julius, born 1850, has a 1926 death certificate naming his mother "Sallie Reid" (K902); the eldest son was J. Reid Ramsay, and two daughters were Elizabeth R. and Isabella Rose. Thomas, born 1839, falls between Andrew (born about 1832) and George Julius, both shown to be hers, and no record read names any other wife. WHAT WOULD OVERTURN IT: a record of an earlier or second wife of Alexander Ramsay Sr. who could have borne a child about 1839. Working paper: ancestry/proof-summary-428-ramsay-parents-2026-09-30.md.
CONFLICTS, NOT CHANGED. The 1850, 1860 and 1880 censuses give his birthplace as South Carolina; the Texas death certificates of his son Henry (1953) and his daughter Fannie (Ancestry index) give Georgia. This tree gives his death place as Livingston, Polk Co., Texas; Find a Grave memorial 116465595, a compiled source, gives burial at Providence Cemetery, Mount Vernon, Franklin Co., Texas, with the same dates, and the 1900 affidavit places him at Mount Vernon. Neither is resolved.
IDENTITY. 1880 U.S. census, Tugaloo, Oconee Co., S.C. (T9 roll 1236, p. 434a, ED 126, dwelling 3; index read, image not yet opened): "Samuel Ramsay" 41, Sallie 37 wife, Henry 7 son, Fannie 5 daughter, William 2 son. These are his wife Sallie Fisher Davis and their children Henry Fisher, Fannie Henrietta and William T. Ramsay, as this tree has them.
THE HOUSEHOLD HE GREW UP IN. 1850 U.S. census, Eastern Division, Pickens District, S.C. (M432 roll 857, p. 524b, dwelling 1088; index read): Alexander 51, Sarah 46, J Reid 22, Andrew 18, Mary 14, Alexander 12, Samuel 10, Margaret 8, Isabell 6, Wm 4, Julius 1. 1860 U.S. census, Regiment 5, Pickens District, post office Wolf Creek (M653 roll 1225, p. 167, dwelling 941; index read): Alexander E 60, Sarah H 55, Andrew 28, Alexander 23, Thomas S 21, Martha H 19, Margaret J 19, Bella R 16, William J 13, George J 11. The same brothers and sisters appear in both years, so the Samuel aged 10 in 1850 is the Thomas S. aged 21 in 1860. Neither census states relationships. Pickens District is the area that became Oconee County in 1868.
HIS BROTHER'S DEATH CERTIFICATE. South Carolina death certificate of George Julius Ramsey, state file 5092, died 24 Mar 1926 in Tugaloo Township, Oconee, born 12 Jul 1850, read on the image: father "Alexander Ramsey", mother "Sallie Reid", both born S.C. George is the Julius aged 1 in 1850 and the George J. aged 11 in 1860. The eldest son in 1850 is named J Reid.
HIS FATHER'S DEATH AND WILL (added 29 Sep 2026). Keowee Courier (Walhalla, S.C.), 17 Mar 1871, p. 2, read on the image: obituary, "DIED, on the 20th of January, 1871, ALEXANDER RAMSAY, SEN. The 30th of September last completed his 71st year. He was born in Old Pendleton, that part now Oconee County, and within the bounds of the old Stone Church, where his mortal remains were deposited"; a member of the Tugaloo Presbyterian Church; it names no child, but mourns "the bereaved widow, the many children." The same page carries an Executor's Notice for "the Estate of ALEXANDER RAMSAY Sr., deceased," signed "ANDREW H. RAMSAY, ALEXANDER RAMSAY, Jr., Ex'ors" - the Andrew and Alexander of the 1850 household - so he left a will. The notice ran again on 31 Mar and 7 Apr 1871 (Library of Congress copies). The 1870 census of Tugaloo (FamilySearch index) has Alexander 70 and Sarah 65 with William 22 and Julius 21.
CAUTION. Online trees and Find a Grave memorial 10490877 call him "Alexander Edgar Ramsay Jr" (1799-1871). The dates and the burial (Old Stone Church Cemetery, Clemson, S.C.) match the obituary exactly, so this is the same man; but the 1871 notices call him "Sen." and "Sr.", and no record read gives the middle name Edgar. (Corrected 29 Sep 2026: an earlier version of this note wrongly placed that memorial's burial outside South Carolina.) The Thomas Ramsay aged 22 in York Co., S.C. in 1860 is a different man.
Elsewhere
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