Summary of circumstantial evidence suggesting William was the son of Thomas Poythress (c. 1775 – aft. 1820)

• William married Ann Bentley in 1802 in the same county both Meredith and Lewis were married.
• William evidently lived in Mecklenburg County with members of both Meredith’s and Lewis’ families.
• There is no other record of him in Virginia.
• In 1803, he showed up in Screven County with Meredith in connection with a land lottery.
• In 1820, he showed up in the Screven County, Georgia census with wife and children.
• This evidence places William with this branch of the Poythress family for a long period of time.

Family History

William Poythress (c. 1775-aft. 1820), husband of Ann Bentley. Affiliations suggest he may be the son of Thomas Poythress (1729-1800). 

William Poythress and Ann Bently, November 10, 1802, Thomas Rogers, Sec. (married 6½ months after Lewis & Rebecca in Mecklenburg County, Virginia. Meredith, Sr., Lewis and William all got married in Mecklenburg County. Lewis married two wives in the county. No other record can be located for William and Ann in Virginia after their marriage in 1802.

In 1803, Martha, George, Meredith, William and Edward Poythress registered as did Francis for the 1805 (1st) Georgia land lottery. The 1805 lottery listed the names of every person who entered. Registration in 1803 for this drawing was a fairly good, although incomplete “proxy” for an 1803 census of Georgia. In the later lotteries, with a few exceptions, only the winners were listed. Land awarded in the 1805 lottery was then Baldwin and Wilkinson County. Name Reg.# Prize or Blank Registrant’s County

Poythress, Edward 47 B B Burke Poythress, George 65 B Burke Poythress, Martha 50 B B Burke Poythress, Francis 613 B B Hancock Poythress, Meredith 968 B B Screven Poythress, William 967 B B Screven

Martha, George and Edward were listed for Burke County, Georgia, while Meredith and William were listed for Screven County. Might William Poythress and Ann Bentley have gone to Georgia after their marriage? Was William Poythress the youngest brother of Meredith, George and Edward?

1820 Screven Co., GA. William Poythress

0-0-0-2-0-1-1-0-1-0-1-0-1

2m 16-<26, 1m 45-45+, 1f <10, 1f 16-<26, 1f 45-45+, 1 in agriculture [Virtual census]

William Poythress	~45
Ann Bentley	~45
(male)	(1794-1804)
(male)	(1794-1804)
(female)	(1794-1804)
(female)	(1810-1820)

William Poythress lived with his wife and four children, two boys and two girls in 1820 in Screven County, Georgia.