James Orr Ryburn1

b. 30 May 1820, d. 12 January 1881
FatherMathew Ryburn2,3 b. 25 Jun 1797, d. 16 Jun 1836
MotherMartha Orr2,3 b. 29 May 1800, d. 16 Feb 1865
Birth30 May 1820 James Orr Ryburn was born on 30 May 1820.1 
Marriage22 Sep 1842 He married his second cousin Margaret J. Beattie, daughter of David Beattie and Nancy Clark, on 22 Sep 1842.4,5 
22 Sep 1842 He was 22 and she was 20. 
 The date of James and Margaret's marriage is not recorded in the Washington Co. records, but was probably Sept. 22, 1842, which is incorrectly listed in Early Southwest Virginia Families as the date of James's second marriage to Margaret's cousin, Elizabeth Clark. James and Margaret's marriage date is also listed as September 22, 1842 in unsourced Ryburn notes on file at the Historical Society of Washington County and in a manuscript titled Ryburn History authored by Peggie Shugart. 
Cens-18509 Aug 1850 James and Margaret were recorded on the 1850 census living next to his uncle, Beatie Ryburn. James's father, Mathew Ryburn Jr., had died in 1836 and James was most likely living on the land Mathew and Beatie had inherited from Mathew Ryburn Sr. James and Margaret were also providing a home for James's two youngest brothers, Mathew and William, who moved in with them after their mother remarried in 1846. James and Margaret's three children, David 7, Martha 5 and Nancy 3, were also enumerated that year.6 
Cens-18607 Jul 1860 By 1860 James reported that his real estate had risen in value to $10,000. He also listed personal property worth $4,000. This included one 22 year old male slave. James and Margaret were enumerated with five children in 1860: David, Martha, Nancy, William and Isabella. Two other children, Mary Elizabeth and Mathew, were born in the 1850s but died as young children.7,8 
WidowedOct 1867  James was widowed by Margaret's death in Oct. 1867. Two of their children were adults, but three were still quite young. 
Marriage27 May 1869 He married second Elizabeth Armstrong Clark, daughter of Capt. John B. Clark and Mary Beattie, on 27 May 1869.9 
27 May 1869 He was 48 and she was 36. They were also second cousins. 
Cens-1870Oct 1870 A year after their marriage, James and Elizabeth were enumerated on the 1870 census with the three youngest children from his first marriage: William 10, Isabella 8 and Ellen, six. William Ryburn, James's younger brother, was also living with them.10 
Cens-18801880  Ten years later James and Elizabeth were again recorded on the federal census, now with four children of their own: Margaret, Lucy, James and John. Elizabeth's sister Ellen Clark, was living with them, as was a servant.11 
Death12 Jan 1881 James died on 12 Jan 1881 at age 60.1 
Burial He was buried in the Shugart-Ryburn square at Old Glade Spring Cemetery in Washington County, Virginia, with his second wife Elizabeth, his daughter Isabella (from his first marriage) and Isabella's husband Mathew Ryburn Shugart. Two of Mathew and Isabella's children are also buried in the square as is Ellen G. Clark, Elizabeth (Clark) Ryburn's sister.12 

Related Links and Images:

James's headstone
Other interments in Old Glade Spring Cemetery
The 1850 Washington Co., Virginia census listed James as the head of household number 357. Follow the link to see who lived nearby.

Family 1

Margaret J. Beattie b. 11 Apr 1822, d. 9 Oct 1867
Children

Family 2

Elizabeth Armstrong Clark b. 5 Apr 1833, d. 1 Jul 1919
Children
ChartsDescendants of Mathew Ryburn and Jane Beattie
Last Edited1 Dec 2013

Citations

  1. [S1830] Typed notes on Ryburn family, "R" Misc. File (folder #82), The Redmond S. and Mary Cole Collection, Family History Library. Sheet includes data credited to John Clark Ryburn of Glade Spring which was reported to be copied from an old bible on Aug. 21, 1930. A bible in the possession of John's sister Maggie Ryburn is also mentioned. It is inferred, but not specifically stated, that this is the bible from which the data was taken. The data pertains to Mathew Ryburn, Martha Orr, and their children.
  2. [S6] Thomas Colley, Washington Co. VA Marriages 1853-1880, p. 318. Parents listed as Mathew and Margaret Ryburn. However, this is an error; his mother was Martha Orr Ryburn.
  3. [S10] "Journal of Mary Jane Beaty (Davis) Moffett", p. 9. Mathew Ryburn Jr. married Patsy Orr, lived & died on the homestead had 5 children: James, Jane, Mary, Mathew, William.
  4. [S5] Elizabeth Kelly Allison, Early Southwest Virginia Families, p. 104. This source incorrectly lists 22 Sept 1842 as the date of James's marriage to his second wife Elizabeth Armstrong Clark.
  5. [S140] "Ryburn History," compiled by P. Shugart, p. 3.
  6. [S367] Jas Ryburn household, 1850 U.S. Census, Washington Co., VA, pop. sched., 67th District, p. 92 (stamped), dwelling 357, family 357, viewed online at Ancestry.com, May 2003, image 49 of 289. Jas Ryburn, 30, farmer, owns property valued at $4,200; Margaret 27; Mathew 19; William 14; David 7; Martha 5; Nancy 3; all b. VA.
  7. [S234] James O. Ryburn household, 1860 U.S. cens, Washington Co., VA, pop. sched., Western District, p. 454 (added script), dwelling 640, family 625, viewed online at Ancestry.com, June 2003, image 92 of 361. Reported data includes: James O. Ryburn, 40, farmer, owns real estate valued at $10,000, personal property at $4,000; Margaret 38; David 17; Martha 15; Nancy 13; William 3; Isabella 6/12; all b. VA.
  8. [S1308] James O. Ryburn, owner, 1860 U.S. census, Washington Co., Virginia, slave schedule, p. 8 (original script), line 24, viewed online at Ancestry.com.
  9. [S6] Thomas Colley, Washington Co. VA Marriages 1853-1880, p. 318. James O. Ryburn, 25y, wid, b. & resid Washington Co. VA, farmer, s/o Mathew & Mgt Ryburn AND Elizabeth Clark, 23y, sgl, b. & resid WCV, d/o John & Mary Clark; 27 May 1869. [The ages given for both James (25) and Elizabeth (23) on the marriage record cannot be correct].
  10. [S635] James Ryburn household, 1870 U.S. cens, Washington Co., Virginia, pop. sched., 1st Division, p. 203 (stamped), dwelling 271, family 288, viewed online at Ancestry.com, Jul 2003, image 405 of 426. Recorded data includes: James Ryburn, 50, farmer, owns real estate valued at $5,000; Elizabeth 38, keeping house; William 10; Isabella 8; Ellen 6; William 36, farmer; all b. VA.
  11. [S165] James Ryburn household, 1880 U.S. Census, Washington Co., VA, pop. sched., Glade Spring District, ED 94, page 51 (78A stamped), dwelling 442, family 445, viewed online at www.Ancestry.com, April 2003, image 51 of 54. James Ryburn, 60, farmer; Elizabeth, wife, 45; Jennie, 19, dau; Margaret, 9, dau; Lucy, 7, dau; James, 5, son; John, 4/12, son; Thomas Smith, 12, servant; Ellen Clark, sister-in-law, 35; all b. VA; all parents b. VA.
  12. [S2] Catherine McConnell, High On A Windy Hill, p. 187. James O. Ryburn, 30 May 1820-12 Jan 1881 (Redmond Cole record).
  13. [S5] Elizabeth Kelly Allison, Early Southwest Virginia Families, p. 102-6.
  14. [S6] Thomas Colley, Washington Co. VA Marriages 1853-1880, p. 178. Transcription reads: Samuel J. Hutton, 28y, sgl, b. & resid WCV, s/o Arthur & Ellen Hutton AND Martha Orr Ryburn, 22y, sgl, b. & resid WCV, d/o James O. & Mgt J. Ryburne; marr 12 Dec. 1867.
  15. [S6] Thomas Colley, Washington Co. VA Marriages 1853-1880, p. 235. Record reported as: D.B. McNew, 26y, sgl, b. & resid WCV, engineer, s/o James and Sally McNew AND N.C. Ryburn, 22y, sgl, b. & resid WCV, d/o James O. & M. Ryburn; marr 23 Feb. 1870.
  16. [S29] Leonidas Littleton Papers titled "Ryburn Family."
  17. [S3] Moore and Stephens, Washington Co., VA Birth and Death Records, p. 126. Mathew Ryburn, b. 21 March 1854 to James O. & Margaret Ryburn.
  18. [S6] Thomas Colley, Washington Co. VA Marriages 1853-1880, p. 318. Transcription reads: William A. Ryburn, 20y, sgl, b. & resid Washington Co., VA, s/o James O. & Mary Ryburn AND Margaret A. McCready, 21y, sgl, b. Smyth Co., res WCV, d/o Joseph & Lucinda; marr: 5 Sept 1877. Note: mother's name should be Margaret, not Mary.
  19. [S3] Moore and Stephens, Washington Co., VA Birth and Death Records, p. 126. Isabella J. Ryburn, b. 10 Dec. 1859, parents: James O. & Margaret Ryburn.