My name is George Speir, I am trying to find the parents of my great grandfather, John J Speir. I do not know when or where he was born, but he married Emily Amanda May on 3 May 1858 in Craven County and died on 14 July 1858 in Craven County. They were together just long enough for her to become pregnant with my grand father. He died without a will and there is a good bit of estate settlement papers in the North Carolina, Wills and Probate Records, 1665 to 1998 as posted by Ancestry.
I have seen some mention of him as being John "F" Speir and some times I have seen his last name spelled "Spier" but after seeing the estate settlement papers, I am sure his name is John J Speir and the middle initial may stand for "Jasper" as my great grandmother named my grandfather who was born on 26 Feb 1859, John Jasper Speir.
I am wondering if my great grandfather might be kin to Scott Speir and/or James Speir who died in 1825. Thanks, any help will be appreciated.
There is a John Speir in the household of Scott Speir in the 1850 Craven County Census.
Could this be your John? 🙂
You may also want to check Pitt County. There is a small estate file in that county, just 8 pages, for J. J. Speir. I've also found a deed there, Deed Book NN, page 141, dated 1 January 1852, wherein William S. Speir, John J. Speir, Reuben Speir, Joseph B. Speir and Churchill C. & Elizabeth Moore sell to Robert M. Speir their undivided interests (1/7th each) in "a certain tract or parcel of Land which descended to us together with the said Robert M. Spier and James Spier who is a resident of the state of Georgia as Tenants in common and heirs at Law of Lewis Speir, decd...."
The Robert Montgomery Speir Bible Records mention a John Jasper Speir, B. 22 Feb 1825 as being the third son/child of Lewis Speir and Ann Speir (no mention of her maiden name). Since my grandfather’s name was John Jasper Speir, I am certain I have found my great grandfather’s family. Also the names of his siblings pretty much match those in the 1852 deed mentioned in the posting above.
I am assuming James Scot (maybe Scott) Speir, the oldest brother, at some time moved to Georgia. William S. Speir is not mentioned as a sibling in the Bible, so I don’t know where he fits in. Maybe he is the Scott Speir who appears in the 1850 Craven County census and might be Lewis Speir’s brother. If so, at the time of the 1852 deed, Scott would have been 73 years old. OK, maybe this explains it, the property was owned by brothers, Scott and Lewis and when Lewis died on 19 Feb 1849, he left his share to his children and one child, Robert Montgomery Speir, agreed to purchase it from his siblings and uncle. But, how would this explain the 1/7th each undivided interest. One would think the uncle owned 50% of it and the siblings had the other 50% as undivided.
I am very new at genealogy research and have not been able to figure out how to access the Pitt County records to look at the actual deed, but maybe it will pop up today. I will appreciate any information anyone might have as to the parents of both Lewis and Ann Speir and thank you so much for the information in the postings above.
