Call for Descendants: The Henyard Family of Mississipp and Mexico

Inspired by the traditional "Call for Papers", I've decided to create a monthly "Call for Descendants" column on the Family Griot blog. Each month a family surname that I have been able to research will be featured on the blog along with their family and the call to their descendants to respond or comment on the family.

The first family I will "Call for Descendants" is that of Thomas and Edward (Ned) Henyard and their sister Milly (Henyard) McFarland. All three siblings were born in Mexico and settled in Wilkinson County, Mississippi after the Civil War.

Thomas married Rosanna and had children Josephine, Daniel, Emily, Thomas Jr. Milly, Mary, William and George.

Edward (Ned) married Margaret and had children Henry, Jeff, Ned Jr., Stephen, Jim, Matilda, Lizzie, Mary and Abe Lincoln.

Milly maried Peter McFarland and had children Roxana, Albert, Julius, Thomas and Mary.


These descendants migrated to Louisiana, Illinois and many remained in Mississippi.

The Hinyards of Mexico

I want to thank all of the readers who have been coming to my blog from all over the United States. I appreciate you all reading my blog and following my journey into discovering my ancestry.

My latest discovery in my genealogy has been the Hinyard family of Mexico. I discovered them in my research of my great-great grandmother Roxie McFarland-Earls. She is the paternal grandmother of my maternal grandmother Saint Arby Washington-Thompson. As I indicated in my two previous postings on Roxie Earls, not much was known about her or her family.

I began to take a closer examination at the census records where Roxie's family appeared in Wilkinson County, Mississippi. I took what some genealogists call "a walk around the neighborhood". Using Family Search and Heritage Quest Online, I began to scan through each household grouping listed as a family who were living close to the McFarlands. As I looked at the vital information I noticed that there were other people who were listed as being born in Mexico who lived close to Roxie Earls parents, Peter and Milly McFarland.

I discovered that Thomas Hinyard b. 1836 and Ned Hinyard b.1842 and their families lived in Beat 1, Wilkinson county near Peter and Milly on the 1880 and 1900 census records. Both were born in Mexico as well. Having this information leads me to the conclusion that Milly McFarland may have been their sister. They are the only Blacks born in Mexico on the 1880 census in Beat 1, Wilkinson County.

Thomas Hinyard and Family as they appear on the 1880 Census Beat 1, Wilkinson Co.,MS

Thomas HINYARD Self M Male B 30 MEXICO Farmer MEXICO MEXICO
Rosanna HINYARD Wife M Female MU 34 MS Keeping House MS MS
Ellen HINYARD Dau S Female B 16 MS Farm Laborer MEXICO MS
Thomas HINYARD Son S Male B 12 MS Farm Laborer MEXICO MS
Milly HINYARD Dau S Female B 8 MS MEXICO MS
Mary HINYARD Dau S Female B 5 MS MEXICO MS
William HINYARD Son S Male B 4 MS MEXICO MS
George HINYARD Son S Male B 3 MS MEXICO MS


Ned Hinyard and Family as they appear on the 1880 Census Beat 1, Wilkinson Co.,MS

Ned HINYARD Self M Male B 38 MEXICO Farmer MEXICO MEXICO
Matilda HINYARD Wife M Female B 28 MS Keeping House MS MS
Henry HINYARD Son S Male B 21 MS Farm Laborer MEXICO MS
Jeff HINYARD Son S Male B 18 MS Farm Laborer MEXICO MS
Ned HINYARD JR. Son S Male B 17 MS Farm Laborer MEXICO MS
Stephen HINYARD Son S Male B 15 MS Farm Laborer MEXICO MS
Jim HINYARD Son S Male B 13 MS Farm Laborer MEXICO MS
Matilda HINYARD Dau S Female B 9 MS MEXICO MS
Lizzie HINYARD Dau S Female B 7 MS MEXICO MS
Mary HINYARD Dau S Female B 3 MS MEXICO MS
Abe Lincoln HINYARD Son S Male B 1 MS MEXICO MS


I am so grateful to have been able to make this find and this connection to the Hinyards. This information has opened up the doors to discovering key information about someone in my ancestry whom I knew was named Earls and had four children.

The McFarland Family of Wilkinson County, MS

As many of you who may be into genealogical research understand, each familial connection uncovered leads to a domino effect of wanting to know as much as you can about that family and its members. Since I have uncovered the family of my great-great grandmother Roxana (Roxie) McFarland-Earls and the unique information about her family, I have been spending the last couple of weeks trying to find out about this branch of the family. I made it a mission to discover more about the family of Peter and Milly McFarland. During that research, I also came across some surprising possibilities.

Further research into the McFarland Family led to this information:

From the 1880 Census reports the entire McFarland family with the exception of daughter Roxie, who married John Earls in 1876.

Peter McFarland b. abt 1805 in Virginia
Milly McFarland b. abt 1837 in Mexico
Albert McFarland b. abt 1860 in Mississippi
Julius McFarland b. abt 1862 in Mississippi
Thomas McFarland b. abt 1863 in Mississippi
Mary McFarland b. abt 1866 in Mississippi

I followed each child from the McFarland family, with the exception of Mary and was able to obtain the following information about their families:

Roxana McFarland married John Earls on 17 Feb 1876 and had the following children:
Daughter Kate was born in September 1876 in Wilkinson County, Mississippi
Daughter Millie was born in abt 1877
Daughter Lucy was born in about 1879
Daughter Mary was born in about 1880
Daughter Jane was born in about 1886

Roxie had the following children with Scott Washington:
Son Will Washington born in December 1888
Son Elijah born in about 1892

Albert McFarland married Jane Clayton on 20 June 1884 and had the following children:
Son Leon McFarland born May 1891
Daughter Addie McFarland born October 1892
Son Albert McFarland Jr. born January 1895
Daughther Janie McFarland born May 1896
Daughter Anna McFarland born July 1899

Julius McFarland married Ella Scott on 4 April 1888 and had the following children:
Daughter Sarah McFarland born April 1889
Daughter Milly McFarland born November 1891
Daughter Betty McFarland born September 1894
Son Isadore McFarland born 1897
Daughter Marie McFarland born January 1898

I was able to locate a Tom McFarland in Hinds County, Mississippi who married a Sarah in about 1882 in the 1900 Mississippi census. I'm still investigating this lead on what happened to Thomas McFarland. He appears to have disappeared from any census records in Wilkinson County, Mississipi. There are also city directories, military service records, land deeds and other public records I haven't looked over just yet.