(Submitted photo)
We’ve made it back to Mississippi now, but goodness did we love Newberry! For years, my sister Lee Anne and I have wanted to travel to Newberry, South Carolina, where we knew that our Livingston ancestors had originated. All of our older family members have passed on now, but we used to hear stories of how our family began when one of our ancestors made his way to Smith County, Mississippi, from Newberry. My paternal aunt, Eva Grace Livingston Noblin, was even a member of the Old Newberry Genealogical Society. Her meticulous papers helped us on this trip. We knew there was an actual Livingston Family Cemetery, but we had no idea just how many Livingstons we’d see in various cemeteries around the county.
What we do know is this: Johann Bernard Livingston (1705-1790), who was born in Baden, Germany, and died in Newberry, South Carolina, is our great-great-great-great-great-great-grandfather. From him eventually came our great-great-grandfather, John Phillip Livingston, who was born in Newberry in 1818 but died in Smith County, Mississippi, in 1862. For some reason, John Phillip decided to head west while his siblings apparently (Malinda Ann, Elizabeth Polly, Frances Ellender, and Jacob Henry) decided to stay put. We did find Elizabeth Polly Kinard’s grave; we knew that Kinard kept showing up in our genealogy. Presumably, she stayed because she had married. Our first official thing to get done was to visit the Livingston Family Cemetery, which we did. Sadly, some of the graves are unmarked. We continued onto Strauss Road, looking for the Old Martin Livingston Cemetery, but we couldn’t find it. The most frustrating part of our trip, however, was our attempt to find the Dickert-Livingston Cemetery, where we knew some of our ancestors were buried. We drove to the site using the GPS directions several times over the course of two days. Even asking people near the Dollar General at the corner of Oxner Road was fruitless since no one could remember a cemetery being there. (The man I asked happened to be a Livingston – small world) Lee Anne and I deduced that this cemetery must be on private land off the road, a good distance. We did see many Livingston graves at St. Paul Lutheran Church, where we believe our ancestor John L. Livingston may have attended. Our great-great-great-uncle Jacob Henry Livingston (among many others) is buried there. I found it interesting that many Wickers and Boozers are also buried here; that name is commonly found in Smith County, Mississippi. It makes me wonder if the Livingstons, Wickers, and Boozers didn’t all travel to Mississippi together years ago.
One of the most interesting rural and nostalgic sites I have ever seen was the old Cannon’s Creek Cemetery. Cannon’s Creek comes up time and time again in our family history, and just to be driving down that old path was so poignant. I thought about my father and his father and how they would have so loved to have made this trip with us. As we came upon one of the oldest burial sites that I have ever seen, I soon realized that it would be hard to read the gravestones. Nevertheless, I walked carefully through the weeds. Although I never saw one with the Livingston name, there could have been many
of my relatives out there, with a different name due to marriage. As we were walking back to our car, a young man cutting grass nearby showed us where an old church used to be and chatted with us about the graveyard. We told him our story about our genealogical journey from Mississippi and our last name. To our surprise, he was also a Livingston, Skipper Livingston. I told him that we were probably related.
Later, we drove into Camden, South Carolina, where we toured the Battle of Camden Battlefield, where our ancestor Martin Livingston had been killed. The historical and archaeological treasures there were amazing, and my history-loving father would have been enthralled with that place. While in Newberry proper, we had so many great interactions with the friendly townspeople. While looking up land deeds at the courthouse, we met a local abstractor, a Mr. Bedenbaugh, who entertained us with stories while my sister Lee Anne, a former Scott County Chancery Clerk, real estate broker, appraiser, and legal abstractor herself, handled the records with ease. The staff there were so friendly, as was the lady at the visitors’ center. The friendly man in The Gallery gave us directions to a historic cemetery. And our tour guide for the Newberry Opera House was wonderful as well. The Newberry Museum was so educational, and your town is so blessed to have this.
In our area of central Mississippi, the Livingston legacy runs deep. Our father, the late state representative Richard L. “Dick” Livingston, and his father, the late Elwin Burns Livingston, were legends in the Mississippi State Legislature. Cancer took our precious father in 2000, and Daddy never had the chance to come to South Carolina to see the things we have now seen. But his past was so important to him and his family. It’s because of him and his love of American history, his own personal history, and his awareness that where we came from matters that created a longing in all five of his children to make us want to make this journey while we were young enough to do it. We two girls were able to come, and we did it for him. I felt as if he was with us all the way. In my heart, he knew we were back where the Livingstons first came to the South to settle into this vast new country, a country he loved dearly. I think we made Daddy and our entire Livingston family proud.
Thank you, Newberry.
Reach Marsha Barnes at [email protected].