There is always truth in family tradition, but as a story is handed down orally from generation to generation, facts are certain to get changed a little. And so it was with tradition in the Poston family.
The tradition in this family was that two brothers, John and Andrew Poston, left their home in England, came to America, landing at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and settled in Buncombe County, North Carolina. Sometime later, they moved to South Carolina and settled in what was then Marion District, now Florence County.
In vain did the compiler search the records of both North and South Carolina for the two brothers. Many Postons were found in North Carolina named John, but not one of them had a brother named Andrew. The North Carolina Postons, even to the present generation, are descendants of a John Poston associated with Maryland. The
Pennsylvania family of Postons did come through North Carolina, but they did not settle there.
Just as the compiler was about to give up in despair, she received from Mrs. W. H. Poston the following item copied from a paper written September 29, 1936, by her husband, the late Dr. W. H. Poston of Pamplico, South Carolina:
“J. Helon Poston says that it is common knowledge in his family, handed down by his father, James Harbert Poston, who died about 20 years ago at the age of 76 years, that all the Postons in South Carolina are the descendants of two brothers who came to this country from Buncombe County, North Carolina, by the names of John and Antney Poston. It is also common knowledge that they came from England, either directly, or were descendants of immigrants from that country.”[4]
The riddle was solved. John’s brother was not named Andrew. His name was Anthony (“Antney”). Both John and Anthony had been found in the South Carolina census records in the Marion District, but the compiler had heard no tradition of an Anthony in the family.
So the two brothers had been found. But had they come directly from England, or were they descendants of an immigrant from that country? Since tradition was that they had come through the port of Philadelphia, early Pennsylvania records were searched and it was learned that they were the grandsons of a John Poston who migrated from England to Pennsylvania early in the eighteenth century. Chapter 2 tells what has been learned about the immigrant, John Poston.
Citations in this section
References used in this section are linked to the book’s source layer. Source descriptions preserve the published wording and evidence cautions.
- Endnote 4 — Family tradition source described in compilation: paper dated September 29, 1936 by Dr. W. H. Poston of Pamplico, South Carolina, transmitted via Mrs. W. H. Poston.