Chatham County GaArchives Biographies.....Heyward, George Cuthbert 1846 - living in 1913 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/ga/gafiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Joy Fisher http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00001.html#0000031 October 15, 2004, 9:57 am Author: William Harden p. 687 GEORGE CUTHBERT HEYWARD, engaged in the cotton industry at Savannah, Georgia, is descended from Thomas Heyward, Jr., the South Carolina signer of the Declaration of Independence, and belongs to one of the most distinguished families of the South. Mr. Heyward was born in South Carolina, December 24, 1846, son of Capt. George Cuthbert Heyward and wife, Elizabeth Martha (Guerard) Heyward, both natives of Beaufort county, South Carolina, her family, like his, being a prominent one. The Heywards for several generations had a residence in Beaufort county, also a residence in Charleston, and it was at the plantation home in Beaufort county, in 1822, that Mr. Heyward's father was born and reared. At the outbreak of Civil war between the states, he became captain of Company H, known as the Ashley Dragoons, a part of the Third South Carolina Cavalry, and as such served from the beginning to the close of the war, principally in the vicinity of Charleston and Savannah. His command fought Sherman's army both before it entered Savannah and afterward, while it was on the expedition through South Carolina. After the war he resumed operations on his plantation in Beaufort county, and died there on March 1, 1867. He was a citizen of sterling worth, and his soldier record was that of a brave, efficient Confederate officer. Mr. Heyward's mother was the daughter of Dr. Jacob De Veaux and Alice (Screven) Guerard of Beaufort county, South. Carolina; both of which, like the Heywards, were representatives of historic families in South Carolina. Shortly after her husband's death, Mrs. Hey-ward removed with her remaining family to Savannah, where she spent the rest of her life, and died in 1875. Of the grandparents of the subject of this sketch, it is recorded that his paternal grandfather, Thomas Heyward, married Ann Eliza Cuthbert, daughter of Gen. John Alexander Cuthbert, of South Carolina, and granddaughter of Dr. James Cuthbert, of Castle Hill, Scotland, a member of a distinguished family there. Mr. Heyward's great-grandfather was Judge Thomas Heyward, Jr., so called because his uncle was known as Thomas Heyward, Sr. Thomas Heyward, Jr., was one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence from South Carolina. In his youth he was sent to London to be educated, and while there he took up the profession of law. Returning to South Carolina just before the beginning of the Revolutionary war, he espoused the Continental cause, to the aid of which he devoted his time, his talents and his means. When the British took Charleston he was one of the seventy that were sent as prisoners to St. Augustine. Later, he was elected to the first Continental congress, which assembled in Philadelphia, and, as above indicated, subscribed his name to the most important American document. He served actively also with the continental troops, became a captain of artillery, crossed the Savannah river with his command during the siege of Savannah, and rendered efficient aid in the efforts to retake the city from the British. He was a friend of Washington, and upon the latter's visit to the South, after the war closed, he was a guest at White Hall, in Beaufort county at the home of Thomas Heyward, Jr. From White Hall, Washington was escorted by Thomas Heyward, Jr., to Purysburg, South Carolina, on the Savannah river, where the distinguished general was received by an escort from Savannah. Later in life, Thomas Heyward, Jr., became a judge of the circuit court in South Carolina. He died in April, 1809, at the age of sixty-three years. His grave is at "Old House" cemetery near Grahamville, South Carolina. The portrait of this distinguished man hangs in Independence Hall, Philadelphia. Thomas Heyward, Jr., married Elizabeth Savage for his second wife, eldest daughter of Col. Thomas and Mary Elliott (Butler) Savage, and in this way the Heywards are connected with the well known Savage family. Through this marriage, also, is brought in a large circle of relatives, including the Elliott, De Renne, Noble, Jones, Clay and other families of note in South Carolina and Georgia colonial history. Tracing back still further along the ancestral line, we find that Mr. Heyward's great-great-grandfather, Daniel Heyward, a wealthy planter, was a son of Capt. Thomas Heyward, of the British army, who for a time was stationed at Fort Johnson on James Island, and who, for his distinguished service in the army, particularly in fighting the Indians in America, was granted large tracts of land in St. Luke's parish, Beaufort district, South Carolina, in which was included the "Old House" tract, the family homestead. He also owned land on James Island; and in Charleston, from the corner of Meeting street to King street, on the south, side, where the guard house once stood, was all the property of the Heyward family. Thus it is seen from the above brief outline that the Heyward family from its early identity with America was one of wealth and influence. Coming now to the direct subject of this review, George Cuthbert Heyward, following in the footsteps of his distinguished forefathers, he was ready when the call came to take up arms. He joined the Confederate army in the fall of 1863, and became a member of his father's command, Company H, Third South Carolina Cavalry. As recorded above, they were in service along the coast in South Carolina and Georgia, in the vicinity of Charleston and Savannah, were active in fighting in front of Sherman's army, and surrendered at Union Court House, South Carolina, in April, 1865. Mr. Heyward has lived in Savannah since October, 1868, when he came to this city with his mother and other members of the family. Here he engaged in the cotton business, with which he has been actively connected ever since. On June 22, 1875, Mr. Heyward was married to Miss Margaret E. Doar, daughter of Stephen D. Doar of St. James, Santee, South Carolina; and their children are as follows: George Cuthbert Heyward, Jr., Stephen Doar Heyward, Edward Lee Heyward, Arthur Smith Heyward, and Miss Elizabeth Heyward. The eldest son, named in honor of his father, is a lawyer in Savannah and is also engaged in the cotton business. He is a graduate of the law department of the University of Georgia at Athens, and is captain of Company A of the Savannah Volunteer Guards. November 8, 1911, he was "married at Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Miss Alice Stuart Hunter of that place, daughter .of Mr. and Mrs. Allan Hunter. The second son, Stephen Doar, now a resident of Cleburne, Texas, married Miss Eleanor Blanche Allen of that place. The two other sons and the daughter are at home. Mr. Heyward's eldest brother, the late J. Guerard Heyward, who died in Savannah in 1888, was a Confederate soldier in the war and was a prisoner on Johnson's Island, also at Moore's Island. He is survived by a widow, who before her marriage was Miss Pauline de Caradeue, and children, viz.: Mrs. Elise Howkins and Mrs. Arthur Overton and Miss Maud Heyward and Frank de C. and Walter Screven Heyward. Another brother is Thomas Savage Heyward, who married Miss Mary Seabrook. They have two children, Clifford and Mary H. Another of Mr. Heyward's brothers is T. Daniel Heyward who married Miss Selina Johnstone of North Santee, South Carolina, and they have five daughters: Selina, Isabelle, Elizabeth, Dorothy, Helen Hazel. Additional Comments: A HISTORY OF SAVANNAH AND SOUTH GEORGIA BY WILLIAM HARDEN VOLUME I ILLUSTRATED THE LEWIS PUBLISHING COMPANY CHICAGO AND NEW YORK 1913 File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/ga/chatham/bios/gbs223heyward.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/gafiles/ File size: 8.1 Kb