Warren County, Georgia & The Ivy Family

It appears that English families having the surname of Ivy were some of the earliest inhabitants in the colonies established in the New World, arriving in the early 1600's.  Ever since the first year 1790, the US Government began taking a census of the population, white Ivy families have been enumerated.  The first Ivys were enumerated in Maryland, NC, & SC in 1790 and in 1800.  In the 1810 census Ivys were counted in the additional states of VA, and KY.  In the 1820 census they were found in the additional states of Connecticut, Mass., Vermont, PA, NY, GA, TN, & Illinois.  In the 1830 census, Ivys had migrated to FL, AL, LA, Arkansas, Ohio, Missouri, TX and RI; by the 1840 census, Ivy families had reached Maine, Delaware, New Hampshire, NJ, DC, Indiana, Ohio Territory, MI, Wisconsin Territory and Mississippi. By 1850-60, Minnesota, Utah, New Mexico, Oregon, Nebraska, Kansas and Dakotas. 

                            THOMAS IVY
Thomas Ivy, an immigrant born in England in 1604, came to America in 1635, with his wife and arrived at one of the early english colonies in Norfolk County, VA.  There they had 5 children.  From the census one can maintain that they owned slaves traditionally while in VA and forward. 

Sampson Ivy, a 5th generation descendents of Thomas (above) Ivy, married, followed two older brothers to GA bringing their Ivy slaves with them.  Sampson fathered his five children in Warren County, GA and brought forth the 6th generation descending from his English ancestors. 

Thomas Byrd Ivy - born in Warren County, GA in 1793, the second child and only son, married to Margaret (Peggy) Gibson in 1810.  Their two children - Margaret Ivy and Byrd Ivy. 
Margaret Peggy Gibson died in 1814.  Thomas moved with two children from Warren Co., GA to Old Memphis (Pickens, Co., AL) and took his slaves with him. 

He traveled back to Warren County, Alabama and married 2nd wife Drucilla Pryor Gardner, 1818.  She was 20 years old and he was 35.  He brought Drucilla back to Alabama and they lived in Pickens and Tuscaloosa counties until 1835.  Drucilla was from a prosperous slave owning family, with a countenance to match, and undoubtedly brought with her a Gardner slave or two of her own to Alabama.

Thomas & Drucilla were the parents of Henry Moss Ivy, Sterling Gardner Ivy, Calvin Ivy, and six other children; nine all together.  They were also the grandparents of Thomas Gates Ivy and others.  Henry was born in Tuscaloosa County in 1822 and Sterling was born in Pickens County in 1823.  The 1830 Tuscaloosa Co., AL census enumerated Thomas Ivy there, but another opportunity to acquire more land in nearby Mississippi enticed him to move soon after that. 

Chickasaw, Mississippi

William Petty (circa 1840) was the maternal grandfather of Ben A. Ivy (Pop).  He was married three times, his third wife (still alive at his death, Virginia Petty).  William Petty was the son of Katie Petty (Katie was born in Mississippi circa 1810-1820).  {Rebecca believed to be Katie, was listed on the same slave enumeration schedule in 1870, on the Petty farm}.

You can read about the Ivy and Petty families in the book: