*J.Hicks Byers
In the info I received, J. Hicks Byers is listed as John Hicks Byers.
Apparently there is a family legend that Hicks Byers was named after John O. Hicks that started the Hicksville/Hayesville School
A hamlet grew up around Fort Hembree, one of Winfield Scott's
corrals. It became a post office in 1843, and by 1850 had a small
academy, run by John O. Hicks from Rutherford County. Both the
post office and Hicks Academy later removed to Hayesville, just
a mile away.
The first potential problem with that being, when John O. Hicks was teaching school in Cherokee Co, NC in 1850, David M. Byers' sons were being born in Haywood County, about 100 miles north.
John O. Hicks stated in census records he was born in McDowell Co, NC, and history notes that he came from Rutherford County, NC.
It's not impossible that in his travels he spent some time in Haywood County, and met David M. Byers and left such an impression that he would name his future son(s) after the man.
Even if, there's the problem that the info states David M. Byers only had one son, and his name was John Hicks Byers.
Sometime after 1852, prior to 1860, David M. Byers moved with his son(s) to Cherokee County, and is residing in the household of J.A. Roberson (relationship unknown).
The 10 year old, John, is the one being claimed to be John Hicks Byers. I'm told it's believed that Joseph's last name is Hicks, due to there being no ditto (") marks after his name, that would indicate that he's also a Byers.
If you look at the name, Robert, four lines below, you can see John's middle initial is clearly an "R". If you look at the "H" in Hicks, you can see John's middle initial is clearly not "H".
Also, J.Hicks Byers was born in 1852, so he should be 8 years old in 1860. This Joseph Hicks is listed as a 7 year old. John is listed as 10 years old.
The sender of the info told me his info was correct, and I couldn't go by the census because census takers were often uneducated and made mistakes.
This census taker doesn't appear all that uneducated to me. You can actually read his handwriting. I've seen much, much worse.
If the census taker made a mistake here, I think it was leaving off the ditto (") mark indicating that Joseph Hicks was a Byers.
Otherwise, what are the astronomical odds that some kid named Joseph Hicks, born in Haywood County in 1952-3, just happened to be living in the same household as David M. Byers, who had a son his age, named J. Hicks....but the "uneducated" census taker got John's middle initial and age wrong?
No.
IF David M. Byers named his son after John O. Hicks the school teacher, then at best he named one of each after the guy.
There were two sons. The youngest was named Joseph Hicks Byers.
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