Ephraim Guffey Jr. (1740 - 1805)

Born 1740 in Pittsylvania, Colony of Virginia

Ancestors

Husband of Nancy (UNKNOWN) Guffey — married about 1762 in Colony of Virginia [uncertain]

Descendants

Died 1805 at about age 65 in Jackson County, Alabama, United States

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Elaine Goodner [send private message]

Biography

Ephraim Guffey Jr. was a Virginia colonist.

Ephraim was born in 1740 in Pittsylvania, Colony of Virginia. He was the son of Ephraim Guffey and Lucy.^[1]

Ephraim was in a tax record in 1799 in Cumberland, Kentucky^[2]

Ephraim died in 1805 and was buried in Davis Chapel Cemetery, Alpha, Clinton County, Kentucky, United States.^[1] The Memorial Stone was placed by Guffey family members. The Memorial stone was unveiled Saturday, August 9, 2003. The exact burial location is not known. It has also been noted that their burial may have been in the Guffey Cemetery.

The surname "GUFFEY" has its origins in Scottish antiquity where it evolved from the name which was first spelled Phee and Fie. The patronymic designator "Mac" is used in Scotland to designate "son of," so Phee and Fie next became "MacFie". As years passed, the surname began to be pronounced in various ways and spelled "MacPhee", "MacFie" and "MacAfie" among others. (Repeat the names aloud and listen to their sound). The spelling of surnames was not generally a family preference but depended upon the whim of the recorder who wrote it for civic or ecclesiastic purposes. To create the GUFFEY Line, MacAphee or MacAfie easily became recorded as MacGuffie, as well as other spellings in other lines. (Americans tend to pronounce quite differently than Scots. Today we say "mack-guffey", they pronounced it "ma-guffey").

The Clan MacFie which inhabited basically the isle of Colonsay just off the west coast of Scotland became over run and dispossessed of its lands on Colonsay ca. 1623. At that time the MacGuffies scattered to various locations. Some went to Ireland, some went south to England, and others merely settled on the mainland of Scotland. The surname, however, has its origins in Scotland.

Please bear in mind that our ancestors generally were illiterate, and the spelling of their surnames really didn't matter to them since they couldn't tell one spelling from the other. Recorders attempted to record surnames phonetically, hence the wide variety of spellings in different localities.

Arrival on the North American continent in the mid-1600s found recorders spelling our surname as Maguffie, Maguffe, Meguffey, Maguffey and later as McGuffie and McGuffey. As the family with this surname moved into the frontier lands of Pennsylvania, Virginia, Kentucky and Tennessee, the patronymic designator "Mc" was dropped to make our surname appear more "Anglicized", and Guffy, Guffee and Guffey began to be used.^[3]

This information was posted by Joe Guffey. It was excerpted from Rootsweb Message Board for surname Guffey. There is additional explanation that may be accessible when the web site is restored.

"The brothers, who were born in Virginia and had lived in Wayne and Clinton Counties, Kentucky, Morgan County, Tennessee, and Putnam County, Missouri, were the sons of Ephraim McGUFFEY/GUFFEY, Junr. and his wife, Nancy (nee unknown), who had lived in Pittsylvania, Patrick and Henry Counties, Virginia."

"GUFFEY researchers need to be aware when dealing with the name of Ephraim Guffey in Wayne County, Kentucky that there were several of them. Wayne & Clinton County, Kentucky is the area to which many present-day GUFFEY's can trace our roots. The oldest known Ephraim GUFFEY (I'll identify as "elder") in Wayne County had migrated there in the late 1790s and came from and had lived in Pittsylvania, Patrick and Henry Counties, Virginia--the property was on the same location, it simply came to be in different counties as those counties were created. The elder Ephraim GUFFEY was b. ca. 1740, and relocated to Wayne County, Kentucky. (late 1790s) as an elderly man with his wife, Nancy, and their children, many of whom were adults at the time (see list below). The oldest son of the elder Ephraim and his wife, Nancy, was also named Ephraim, and he was b. 1765, and he married Sarah Denny. Of the elder Ephraim GUFFEY b. ca.1740, we find this IMPORTANT record dated 1802 in the Wayne County Court House Order Book A 1801-1822, page 32"

"Ephraim Guffey, Jr. and his negro man Sam are exempted from the payment of County levies in future on account of age and Infirmity."

"He was exempted because of age and infirmity--that doesn't identify the conditions of his son, Ephraim Guffey b. 1765 who would have been only about 37 years old in 1802. It definitely refers to the father, the elder Ephraim b. ca. 1740. The father, the elder Ephraim, called himself Jr. and was recorded as such at times as reflected above, apparently because his father was Ephraim, too. The son, Ephraim b. 1765, had married Sarah "Sally" DENNY."^[4]

"Further, an IMPORTANT record for one of the elder Ephraim's children was recorded in the adjoining Clinton County, Kentucky Vital Records as photocopied by Latter Day Saints on micro film roll #216.821. We find

"18 Mar 1852 Rich'd Guffey 76 male b. Virginia parents: E. & Nancy Guffey.^[5]

"Guffey researchers are typically in agreement that at least the following were siblings, and we now know that Ephraim and Nancy Guffey were their parents, (Some dates appear to conflict with other dates found. This posting doesn't claim that these below are necessarily the correct dates.)"

1. Anne Guffey. b. Mar 1, 1758. d. 1849. married. Yelverton Peyton.
2. Alexander Guffey 1759-?
3. Ephraim Guffey b. Sept 20, 1765. d. Feb 15, 1843. married. Sarah "Sally" Denny.
4. Mourning Guffey b. ca. 1768. d. ca. 1804. married. John Davis.
5. John Guffey 1770-1834
6. Henry "Hal" Guffey b. 1771. d. Jan 22, 1874. married. Elizabeth "Betsy" Adams.
7. Phoebe Guffey b. abt. 1775. d. 1852-60. married. Gabriel H. Choate.
8. Richard Guffey b. 1782. d. Mar 18, 1853. married. Phoebe Adams.
9. Constantine Guffey b. 1780. d. 1860-70. not married.
10. William Guffey b. 1786. d. Oct 7, l866. married. Elizabeth Willis.

"In view of the above item regarding Richard GUFFEY's death and parents' names, it is assumed, rightly or wrongly, that if Richard's parents were Ephraim GUFFEY, Jr. and his wife, Nancy, that the other GUFFEY brothers share the same parents. Those brothers had lived in Wayne and Clinton County, Kentucky. and then they all moved to Morgan County, Tennessee. and from there they separated and one went to Putnam County, Missouri. (Henry "Hal" GUFFEY b. ca. 1766-71); one returned to Clinton County, Kentucky (Richard GUFFEY b. 1782 identified above) and two remained in Morgan Co., TN. (William GUFFEY b. 1786 and brother, Constantine GUFFEY b. ca. 1780 who lived his last 30 years in the household of William). The above named Henry "Hal" GUFFEY and Richard GUFFEY married ADAMS sisters, Elizabeth and Phoebe, respectively. They were the daughters of Joshua ADAMS and Phebe EASLEY ADAMS."

"Because the elder Ephraim b. ca. 1740 was recorded in VA. with the name "McGUFFEY" and dropped the patronymic designator when he relocated in Wayne County, Kentucky, I have frequently recorded his name as "Ephraim McGUFFEY/GUFFEY, Junr.""Elaine Walling-681 16

35, 17 June 2023 (UTC)

Research Notes

• Looking for evidence that Nancy, who married Ephraim Guffey, was born Nancy Stockton. Jerry J. Stockton, August 10, 2021.

M. Bruno: Looking for evidence of military service. Ephraim Guffey (1740-1805) is my 5th Great-Grandfather [Richard Guffey/Keziah Guffey/William Birdine Guffey/James Henry Guffey/William Sydney Guffey/Doretta Guffey Bruno]. Ephraim is the brother of my Patriot ancestor Henry Guffey and Patriot uncle John Guffey. I have not been able to find him listed in the Archives “Compiled Records of Soldiers Who Served in the Revolutionary War” or Virginia Militia records on line, as his brothers are. He moved into Kentucky with his brother Henry. They are both on the 1799 tax rolls of Cumberland County.

Ephraim may be a Revolutionary War Patriot. Ephraim “Guffy” was awarded a land grant of 200 acres on the Otter Creek, Green County, Kentucky, survey completed 27 February 1799. (See Book No. 23, Kentucky Land Grants, 1782-1924.) This is the type of grant awarded for service in the Revolution. A noncommissioned officer who had served three years was entitled to 200 acres. (See “Researching Revolutionary War Veterans Who Settled in Kentucky,” Sons of the American Revolution, sar.org.) Green Co. was within the tract of land set aside for Revolutionary War Veterans. More research may find a connection. Both Henry Guffey and John Guffey were also awarded smaller land grants for their service.

My apologies, but I am new to this, and I cannot quite figure out how to make correct entiries, Michael Bruno

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} Burial: "U.S., Find a Grave® Index, 1600s-Current," database, Find a Grave. Find a Grave®. http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi; URL: Find A Grave: Memorial #203214545, Ancestry Record 60525 #167630842 (accessed 10 June 2023), Ephraim McGuffy/Guffey burial (died in 1805) in Davis Chapel Cemetery, Alpha, Clinton County, Kentucky, United States of America.
2. ↑ Tax: "Kentucky Tax Lists, 1799-1801," database with images, Clift, G. Glenn. Second Census of Kentucky, 1800. Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Publishing Co., 2005, Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 3720 #11248 (accessed 13 June 2023), Name: Ephraim Guffey; Residence County: Cumberland; Residence Year: 1799.
3. ↑ Origin of Name McGuffey & Guffey​
4. ↑ Marriage: "Kentucky County Marriage Records, 1783-1965," database with images, Marriage Records. Kentucky Marriages. Madison County Courthouse, Richmond, Kentucky, Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 61372 #2314979 (accessed 13 June 2023), Ephraim Guffee marriage to Salley Denny on 20 Jul 1803 in Wayne, Kentucky.
5. ↑ Death: "Kentucky, U.S., Death Records, 1852-1965," database with images, Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives; Frankfort, Kentucky, Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 1222 #1362793 (accessed 13 June 2023), Richd Guffey death 18 Mar 1853 (age 76), son of E Guffey & Nancy Guffey, in Clinton, Kentucky.

Acknowledgements

• dmmc72040.FTW Date of Import: Aug 25, 2004