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| Pariss and Keziah Sims's tombstone, erected by descendants in 1974, Giles County, Tennessee |
My Ulster-Scots ancestor Pariss Sims was as perplexing in genealogy as he was in life.
Some genealogies maintain his name was Pariss while others insist it was Parish, disputing whom he married, who his parents were, and where he was born and died. There are verifiable records that back up both accounts -- and sometimes at different locations at the same time.
Who was Pariss/Parish Sims?
Clearly, they are two individuals because of the records. But their narrative lives are complicated by several similarities:
- Pariss had a father named James Barlett Sims, born in Belfast, Antrim County, Province of Ulster, Northern Ireland.
- Parish also had a father named James Barlett Sims, born in Belfast, Antrim County, Province of Ulster, Northern Ireland.
- Pariss had a wife named Keziah.
- Parish had a wife named Grizel Kessiah.
- Both emigrated to Tennessee from North Carolina.
- Both found their final homes in 1807.
It took me months to sort out Pariss from Parish, and it turns out the two were related: Pariss Sims's brother was James Bartlett Sims Jr, whose first-born son was named Parish Sims. What follows are snapshot sketches of each of their lives, piecing together how these two individuals became so entangled.
Pariss Sims (1740-1833)
Pariss
Sims (my fifth great-grandfather) was born between 1740 and 1750 in
Belfast, Antrim County, Province of Ulster, Northern Ireland, to James
Barlett Sims Sr.
Pariss and his brother James Bartlett Sims Jr
were both born and grew up in a region where state-sponsored
settlements were part of the Plantation (colonization) of the Province
of Ulster in Northern Ireland, which had begun in 1609. This scheme,
instituted by James VI of Scotland when he became King of England, was
intended to confiscate all the lands of the Catholic Irish nobility in
Ulster and to settle the province with Protestant Scottish and English
colonists on confiscated land.Ulster-Scots weathered the turbulent relocation and colonization, but throughout the 18th century, considerable numbers of these Plantation settlers began immigrating to the North American colonies.
Pariss's older brother, James Bartlett Sims Jr, emigrated to British Colonial America in the early 1760s, and Pariss followed with two younger brothers in 1765, settling first in Pennsylvania, but with Pariss later moving near Salem, North Carolina.
According to Continental Army pay vouchers, Pariss enlisted during the American War of Independence. Family tradition claims he served in Gen. George Washington's personal body guard, wintering at Valley Forge and even crossing the Delaware with the commander-in-chief.
He married Keziah Royster of Granville County, North Carolina, in 1782. The family moved from North Carolina to Tennessee in the summer of 1807: "With all their possessions loaded into a covered wagon, drawn by oxen, Pariss Sims and his family set out on a rugged trek," a trip that took some 40 days, and settled in what is now Giles County, Tennessee, according to Almon Sims.
Pariss Sims died in 1833 and is buried in English Cemetery, Campbellsville, Giles County, Tennessee.
Parish Sims (1762-1808)
Pariss's
older brother James Bartlett Jr, had come to the Colonies in the early
1760s and married Elizabeth Parrish, who gave birth to their son Parish
on in Patrick
County, Virginia Colony. Presumably, Parish (sometimes spelled Parrish)
was named for his mother's family. That birth occurred three years
before Pariss Sims arrived in the New World.James's family moved from Patrick County to Hawkins County, Territory of North Carolina (later to become Hawkins County, Tennessee), and Parish married Grizel Kessiah on
According to Almon Sims, "Both Parish and his father were large land owners, had slaves, and were active in the early development of Hawkins County which in the early days included Claiborne, Hancock and Grainger counties, all in North Carolina territory."
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| Sims Settlement, Alabama |
Later that same year, on 26 Nov 1807, Parish wrote his last will and testament, stating, "I, Parrish [sic] Simes . . . give to my beloved wife, Grizel, all of my estate." He died only a few months later in Sims Settlement, Limestone County, Alabama.
A Tale of Two Sims's
Uncle
Pariss and nephew Parish were both sources for multiple generations of
namesakes in the lines of both Pariss and his brother James. Not too
surprisingly, confusion and conflation of the different lives of Pariss
and Parish persist to this day -- not only for genealogists but even
through the hand-me-down stories of their descendants.But I know I'm on the right track: Through diligent research and comparisons made by my third cousin Patty Sims (or maybe third cousin once removed -- it's complicated) and me using GEDmatch, we've confirmed we share DNA -- Patty through Parish and me through Pariss. It never hurts to have a little bit of scientific corroboration to back up our genealogical digging!
(Click here for the next article, "Pioneering Women--Juliana King and Grizel Sims Cocke.")
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Mark and Kym Todd are volunteers on WikiTree, a project to create the entire human tree.Profiles, sources, and documents for the individuals described above are on WikiTree:
I don't think that my Grandmother Sims (later Cocke) was a Royster and I don't think she was a Keziah. I think she was just Grizel--unsure of last name. I think Almon can be very misleading!
ReplyDeleteAgreed, Hershel, and my point exactly. Glad to learn your assessment accords with mine in assigning the Royster wife to Pariss Sims, who died in Giles County, TN, rather than the Parish Sims, who died in Limestone County, Alabama.
DeleteIs there an early document giving Keziah as a name for the Grizel who was at the Sims Settlement and later married William Cocke? I think the Keziah goes with the Royster woman--. How reliable is that tombstone? It was erected in 1974 so it may be OK and may be wrong.
ReplyDeleteHershel, the tombstone was for Pariss Sims, who died in Tennessee (my direct relative) rather than the Parish Sims, who died in Alabama (your direct relative). But I agree nonetheless, the tombstone inscription is only as good as the records held by the family who erected it much later.
ReplyDeleteIn response to your query about documentation for the Kessiah maiden name, see the dialogue thread under Parish's profile on WikiTree, where I've responded to you in more depth.
Cheers,
Mark
Glad it was useful to you, Kat. We're all in this together, eh? :)
ReplyDelete