Lydia (?)

Female, #26134, (say 1725 - after 1775)

Birth*say 1725 Lydia was born say 1725. 
Marriage*say 1745 She married Benjamin Culpepper son of Joseph say 1745. 
Married Namesay 1745 As of say 1745, her married name was Culpepper. 
Death*after 1775 She died at South Carolina after 1775. 
Biography* Lydia has been suggested as the mother of Joseph, John and Benjamin Culpepper of South Carolina since she appears to have been a widowed woman who owned land near Joseph in South Carolina. 22 Aug 1771, Lydia or "Liddy Cullpeper" received a royal land grant (Royal Grants Vol. 24, p. 199) "on the Fork of Wateree and Congaree River on a Branch Called Griffins Creek. Bounding North Westwardly part on John Griffin and part Vacant land - Southeastward on lands unknown and all other Sides on Vacant land." Since Lydia was granted land in her own name, this suggests that she was a widow at the time the land was granted. Since her presumed son, Joseph, held land in his own right and her other presumed sons, John and Benjamin, have not been identified in pre-Revolutionary land records, it is possible that they were living together on Lydia's land as an extended family.
Lydia's maiden name and place of birth are unknown, however, based on a study of extant records of Culpepper's in South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia, and known migration patterns of other families in South Carolina about this time, Lydia was probably born and married in North Carolina. The names John, Joseph, and Benjamin Culpepper were used in several Culpepper families that appear to trace back to Robert Culpepper of Norfolk Co., VA. While some members of the line remained in Norfolk Co., VA, other members of the line appear to have moved across the North Carolina border to Northampton and later Edgecombe County. From there various branches moved to Anson Co., NC, South Carolina and Georgia.
Lydia may have been related to one of the families that were living near the Culpepper's in Edgecombe / Granville County on Fishing Creek, Sandy Creek, Mocassin Creek, or Peach Tree Creek, such as the Strothers, Richardson's, Masons, Thompsons, Powell's, Ward's, Wilders, Foreman's, and Rowell's, to mention a few.
Since no will has been found, there is only circumstantial evidence based on extant records to suggest that Lydia's husband was Benjamin Culpepper, Jr. and that they married around 1741 on Fishing Creek in Edgecombe County, North Carolina.
Sometime between 1754 and 1767, Lydia and her sons, and possibly her husband Benjamin Jr., as well, moved to South Carolina, either Orangeburg or Camden District. By 1771, Lydia was in Camden District where, as noted, she was granted 350 acres on Griffin's Creek in 1771. She was mentioned on a tax record there in 1775 (Leon Hollingsworth Collection). Her date of death is not known. She did not appear as a head-of-household in the first U. S. census in 1790 although she might have been one of three women noted living with her probable son, Joseph Culpepper.
For a plot of Lydia's land near current day Eastover, SC, and nearby land owners, see "Land Plats" in the SC Archives, Richland District, at this web site (gen.culpepper.com)

(Names referenced above: Lydia (?) Lydia (?)). 

Family

Benjamin Culpepper son of Joseph (say 1724 - before 1771)
Marriage*say 1745 She married Benjamin Culpepper son of Joseph say 1745. 
Children

Charts Lew Griffin's Culpepper Ancestry Chart (Great-grandmother Clarissa Eugenia Culpepper Griffin)
Last Edited 5 Jan 2008