Sally's great-great-great-great-Uncle:

Amos Rayner 1760 - 1843  |  his parents
& ca 1802 Hannah Holladay ca 1778 - bef 1838 |  her parents
& 1795 Thomas Collins d. 1800  |  his parents
of Bertie and Hertford Counties NC

Amos Rayner  8 Jan 1760 -  (tax payer 1781) died May 4, 1843 (Fran Bennett)  
     married ca 1803 Hannah Holladay
        (widow of Thomas Collins who died 1800)

Thos. Collins & Hannah Holladay, 31 Mar. 1795; John (x) Drizzle, Bm. 
  Bertie Co Marriage Bonds (Fousts)  

Hannah Holladay and Thomas Collins had:
Thos. Collins & Hannah Holladay, 31 Mar. 1795; John (x) Drizzle, Bm. [Bertie Co Marriage Bonds (Fouts)]
1. Harriet Collins ca 1799 -
    married ca 1819 Joseph J Williams
           [Bertie County Estate Papers (Gammon) ]

1777 Petition pledging allegiance to the state of NC and against King George III was signed by Samuel Rayner, William Rayner,  Amos Ranar, and John Raner. 
NC Archives -- Rev War File

Rev.  War Pension Files p2824  
Rayner, Amos NC Line, S7355, sol was son of John Rayner & was born 8 Jan 1760 in Bertie County NC & he lived there at enl. He appl 27 Aug 1838 in Hertford Co, NC, in 1838 a son Kenneth was referred to.

State of North Carolina, Hertford County. On this the 27^th  day of August, personally appeared in open court, before the Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions for Hertford County, now sitting, Amos Rayner a resident of said County and State of North Carolina, aged seventy eight years, who being first duly sworn according to law, doth on his oath make the following declaration, in order to obtain the benefit of the act of Congress, passed June 7^th 1832.

            That he entered the service of the United States, under the following named officers and served as herein stated: “That he was born in the county of Bertie, state of North Carolina, on January 8, 1760. That at the age of nineteen he was drafted in the Militia Service in the early part of March 1779 and that he was then living in said County of Bertie. That the following were the officers commanding the company to which he belonged - viz. - Charles Rhodes, Captain, William Rascoe, Lieutenant, --and William Goodman Ensign---. That the following were the officers commanding the regiment to which he was attached - viz. -----Johnston, Colonel, ---Lawrence Baker, Lieutenant Colonel & ----- Dixon, Major. ---that the company to which he belonged left home sd March 1779 – and marched on through the counties of Martin, Edgecombe, Lenoir, Duplin, etc --- ? passed into South Carolina where about the month of April 1779—They joined the Southern Army then under the command of Gen. Lincoln who was established near the Savannah River ---There under the organization of the army which took place the company to which he belonged was placed under the field officer of the Regiment before mentioned.—All of which was under the command of Gen. Butler who had immediate command of the Militia ---that toward the end of April he crossed over the Savannah River, with the main army under Gen. Lincoln into Georgia – but soon recrossed  the same river into South Carolina.—that on the 20^th June following he, together with his company formed a part of the army which was detached to attack the British post at Storio where he was engaged and partook of the dangers of that battle---

He was, in that battle transferred from the infantry, to the artillery, and served at one of the big guns during the engagements----He does not recollect any of the officers of the Continental  Line---beside those mentioned except ---Pulaski, the commander of the Polish cavalry who belonged to the main army at the same time ----- He also was after he joined the main army after the engagement at Storio he became afflicted with an affection of the eyes supposed to have been caused by the smoke of the cannon. --- that his health  soon became very bad –So as to unfit him for service, and that he obtained his discharge and started home, but his sickness increasing he was confined on the road for two months or more and never reached home until the 28^th September following. He received a discharge about the 7^th August preceeding--- which has been long since lost or mislaid, so that he cannot now procure it----The Discharge was signet in Capt Laniu who was sent from the main army with the sick who had been discharged to provide provision for them & overwise provide for their wants. –He further states that he remained at home til about the first of May he does not distinctly recollect the date –in the year 1783—he was again drafted in the Militia Service, -- under the following company officers viz --- William Morris, Captain –William Rascoe (the same  who had commanded his company as Lieut. in the first tour) –Lieutenant was soon promoted to Captain on the discharge of Morris – The Ensign he does not recollect – that the regiment to which he belonged was commanded by ----- Dozier Colonel. The other field officers  of the regiment he does not now recollect except General Gregory. Who commanded the American forces.—that his company marched through the counties of Chowan & Pasquotank in North Carolina & crossed into Virginia and joined the American forces at Kempsville near the British Fort at The Great Bridge,--- that he then remained until the middle of August following  when upon the abandonment of their position by the British all the American forces there stationed were discharged.--- He received a regular discharge signed by Capt. Rascoe. Which has long been lost or mislaid. ---This Declarant further states that from that time he continued to live in the county of Bertie until the year 1792 –When he removed into County of Hertford where he lived until the year 1802 –When he again removed to Bertie, where he continued to reside ‘til 1813 when he resided in Hertford County where he has since continued to reside and where he now resides.—The Declarant further states he knows of no Documentary evidence by which he can prove his service.

He hereby relinquishes every claim whatsoever to a pension or annuity except the present. Declared that his name not on the pension roll or agency  . . . . my state.

Sworn to & subscribed the day and year aforesaid          signed A Rayner

We John Nowell a Baptist Clergyman residing in the County of Hertford and Jess D Askew residing in the same county hereby certify that they are well acquainted with Amos Rayner who has subscribed and sworn to the above declaration that we believe him to be seventy-eight years of age as he has declared that he is a regular ordained minister for the Baptist church that he is reputed and believed  in the neighborhood where he resides to have been a soldier of the Revolution and on it we concur in that opinion.  
Signed John Nowell, Jess D Askew  
Winton, Hertford County - North Carolina   October 18, 1838

 J D Edwards, Esq. – Commission of Pensions  
Dear Sir, Enclosed you will find the papers relative to the petition of my father, Amos Rayner for a pension – I believe they are properly authenticated agreeable to act of Congress. In addition to his own declaration you will find the deposition of Winefred Doughtie, certefying to his leaving home for the service – and of his returning home sick –and also Wm P Britton certifying that he had often heard his father who is dead declare that he and the said Amos Rayner were in the Revolutionary service together and served in the same company. I believe this is all the proof we can obtain at this time.—By Examining  the dates of the declaration you will see that the applicant states he left home in March & arrived at home the 28 Sept following in the first tour --- and that he left home about the first of May & returned home about the middle of the following August in the Second tour.—Which would make better than nine months service in all if he could receive allowance for the time until he returned home – as it would seem he ought when he was left sick on the road, and then remained for some time.             How are application for pensions, pas  

Deposition: State of North Carolina: Hertford County: 
This day appeared before me Thomas B Sharp, being the Justice of Peace for the county and state aforesaid Winefred Doughtie a sister of Amos Rayner who is an applicant for a pension who being duly sworn deposet as follows: --- That she distinctly recollects the Revolutionary War that during that period though she does not recollect the date her brother Amos Rayner the same who is now an applicant for a pension, left home with a gun and knapsack I . . . .for the war that he was gone from home several months, that at length word reached home that he was on the road and unable to travel from sickness—that their father John Rayner hired a man by the name of Jacob Thomas to go after him the said Amos Rayner that after being gone for some time they returned home together that she said Amos was then is very bad health and that he was for a long time confined by sickness at home after his return. –The said Winefred Doughtie further states that during the time the said Amos Rayner was gone news reached home that he had been in a battle with the British and had to attend to the great guns during the engagement.
Sworn to and subscribed before me this being the 17th day of October 1838.
      Signed with her X     Winfred Doughtie                    Thos. B Sharp JP

Wills of Amos Rayner Hertford County, North Carolina 23 Nov 1841 - Aug Ct 1843 Hertford Co NC
State of North Carolina, Hertford County. 
I Amos Rayner, of the County and state aforesaid do make constitute and declare the following to be my last Will and testament in manner and form as follows.  
1^st I give and bequeath to my son William S Rayner now living in the state of Mississippi  
all the negroes I gave to him several years since to wit, Arthur, Isaac, Barsheba, and her two children Frank and Henry, and Andrew, with all the other personal property I then gave him to him and his heirs forever.  
2^nd I give and bequeath to my son Thomas A Rayner now living in the state of Tennessee two negroes to wit Dave and  Anna  which he now has in his possession and their offspring and increase now living or which my be hereafter with all the other personal property which I have heretofore given  to him to him and his heirs forever.
 3^rd I give and bequeath unto my son Kenneth Rayner of the County and State aforesaid the Land and Plantation in which he now lives lying in said County of Hertford and known by the name of Little town, Containing Twelve hundred and Fifty six acres, more or less and also another tract of land adjoining the aforesaid tract known by the name of the flat pocosin Tract and containing three hundred and Twenty Six acres, more or less to him and his heirs forever.  
I further give and bequeath unto my said son Kenneth Rayner the following negroes to wit, Abraham, Mourning, Lewis, Flora, Phillis, Mary & child Stephen, Noah, Cynthia, and her children Robin, Amy, Bryant, & Margaret, Jenney and her children Caroline and Penney which said negroes, he now has in his possession to him and his heirs forever, with their increase or offspring, heretofore or here after.  
4^th I further bequeath unto my said son Kenneth Rayner all the lands which I own in the County of Bertie and State aforesaid consisting of a track which I purchased of Nebuchadnezza Monk and adjoining the tract on which my son Henry A Rayner deceased lately lived; also several other tracts of land lying and being in the low grounds of Roanoke which I hold under several deeds from William Gardner and others, to him and his heirs forever. I further give unto my said son Kenneth Rayner the following negroes to wit Bob, Isam, Tom (senior) Peter, Lydia, Celia and her children Caroline, Frank, Charlotte, Cyrus, Ben and Washington, Cate, and Hager which said negroes except the last were in the possession of my late son Henry A Rayner at his death with their increase heretofore and hereafter The property hereby given to my said son Kenneth Rayner in this forth clause of my will is the same which by a former will (now made void) I had given unto my late son Henry A Rayner and which in conformity with the last Will and testament of my late Son Henry A Rayner I now give and bequeath unto my Son Kenneth Rayner to him and his heirs forever.  
5^th  I give and bequeath unto my daughter Ann Eliza Scull, one hundred dollars per annum to be paid to her annually during her natural life or as long as the property hereafter to be secured for that purpose shall annually yeald that amount to be paid to her by my Executor hereafter to be appointed her receipt annually to my Executor for the same, to be to him a full discharge for the amount, for which any receipt or Recipts of hers may be given.  
6^th It is my Will and desire and I so ordain and appoint that the ballance of my estate consisting of the tract of land on which I now live and another tract adjoining thereto known by the name of the Evans tract and following negroes to wit Simon, Cherry, and her children Toby, Isaac, Josiah, Frances, Henry, & Simon (Juner) shall be annually rented and hired out by my Executor and from the annual income arising there from shall first be paid the one hundred dollars heretofore secured to my daughter Ann Eliza Scull and the balance of the Annual net proceeds arising from the rents and hire as aforesaid shall be divided between my son Kenneth Rayner and my son Thomas A Rayner in the following manner to wit: one third to Thomas A Rayner and the ballance or residue of the net income of said land & negroes to my said son Kenneth Rayner. And at the death of my said daughter Ann Eliza Scull the whole of said property to descend to and be divided between my said son Kenneth Rayner and Thomas A Rayner in the proportion aforesaid that is to Say one third to Thomas A Rayner and the ballance or Residue to Kenneth Rayner to them and their heirs forever, in Case they should be living at her death but in case they, or either of them should not be living at her death, then to their lawful representatives or legatees in the like proportion.  
7^th It is my will and desire that the residue of my estate of every description whatsoever not heretofore named shall be appropriated by my Executor to the payment of my debts and the ballance if any I give and bequeath unto my son Kenneth Rayner his heirs and assigns forever.  
8^th I hereby appoint my said son Kenneth Rayner my true and lawfull executor to this my last will and Testament In witness whereoff I have hereunto set my hand & seal this the 23^rd day of November A. D. 1841. Signed and acknowledged in presence of John A Anderson, W J Moore.               A. Rayner (seal)  
August Court 1843: proved by John A Anderson; Kenneth Rayner executor-qualified.  

Kenneth Rayner was born in Bertie County, NC 20 June 1808 son of Amos Rayner and his wife Hannah Holladay.
- attended Tarborough Academy; studied law, and was admitted to the bar in 1829.
- moved to Hertford County and practiced.
- was a member of the NC state constitutional convention in 1835.
- was a member of the NC State house of commons in 1835, 1836, 1846, 1848, and 1850
- was elected as a Whig to the Twenty-sixth, Twenty-seventh, and Twenty-eighth Congresses 
(March 4 1839-March 3, 1845)
was not a candidate for renomination in 1844
Kenneth Rayner married 12 July 1842 Susan Polk youngest of fifteen children of Col William Polk & wife Sarah Hawkins. Kenneth Rayner joined the Episcopal church after his marriage.
Whig presidential Elector 1848
member of the NC State senate in 1854
mem grand-council Am. (Know-Nothing) Party; wrote, secured adoption 3d (or Union) degree (which was designed to protect, maintain, defend Union under all circumstances). 
1855; member Secession Convention 
1861; secretly joined peace movement led by William J Holden
 1863; advocated Pres Andrew Johnson’s reconstrn policy 1865;
Author: Life and Times of Andrew Johnson, published anonymously, 1866.
appointed by President Grant as court commissioner of Alabama claims at its organization and served until its dissolution 1874-84
Solicitor of the United States Treasury 1877-1884
He died in Washington DC March 4, 1884 [stroke] and was buried in the Old City Cemetery Raleigh, NC 
Source: 
Biographical Directory of the United States Congress 1774-1989   Bibliography: DAB.  
Who Was Who in America 1607-1896
Susan Spratt Polk was born 25 May 1822 in Raleigh NC . She married 12 July 1842 Kenneth Rayner of Hertford Co NC. She died 10 July 1909 in San Antonio Texas and was buried in Oakwood Cemetery, Fort Worth, Texas.

Kenneth Rayner and wife Susan Spratt Polk had:
1.  Mary Brown Rayner 5 June 1843 - 16 July 1844
2.  Sallie Polk Rayner 30 Mar 1845 - 1905
    married 13 Nov 1867 Joseph Henry Hyman 
                   24 Mar 1835 Edgecombe Co, NC - 6 Feb 1901 Stephenville TX
3.  Henry Albert Rayner  1847 - 1859
4.  Kenneth Rayner 1849  - 1885 Dallas, TX
         [chair of the county's Republican party in 1884]
       married 16 Dec 1868 Eugenia Leach
5.  Fanny Rayner   1851 - 28 May 1855 Raleigh NC
6.  Susan Polk Rayner  26 Mar 1855 - 1910
        married 1st Mr. McMillan
        married 2nd A L Silling
        married 1881 Arthur H Glennan, Washington City
7.  William Polk Rayner 10 Dec 1857 Raleigh NC - 1885 El Paso, TX
            [ while deputy US revenue collector in Fort Worth killed the proprietor of a gambling hall in a conflict over a woman of dubious character. He pleaded self-defence at his trial and was acquitted. He was a Deputy US Marchal in Dallas, then moved to El Paso where late one night in 1885 while he was gambling in a saloon with Wyatt Earp, a brawl erupted among the patrons during which Rayner was shot in the arm and abdomen. He died over a month later of his wounds. -
       married 30 Jan 1879 Lulu Ragsdale
8. Hamilton Polk Rayner 1860 - 1932
        appointed the town marshal of Hunnewell, Kansas, a rough cattle town where at the age of 23 he cleared out a gang of ruffians, six-guns blazing. Later served as deputy sheriff in Tarrant and Hood counties, Texas. 
 Moved to El Paso to be special agent for the Southern Pacific Railroad and a Texas Ranger. Cantrell
    married Desota MS 24 Nov 1887  Eliza Nelms ca 1863 -
      a. Kenneth Nelms Rayner 30 Sept 1889 MS -  Jan 1966 Ark 
                           Memphis lawyer, served one term in the Tennessee state legislature.  
    married New Orlean LA 14 Dec 1899 Anna W Amand 15 Jun 1864 New Orleans LA - 1 May 1922 El Paso TX 
      b. Anna [Doucette] Rayner ca 1903 -   [only child?]
          married Sam Blackham 26 June 1887 England - 11 Feb 1948 El Paso TX
               1. Jack F Blackham 1923 -2000
                                       Jackie's Line 
               2. Samuel Rayner Blackham, lawyer El Paso TX 1928 - 1999

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Kenneth's  child by his slave Mary Ricks
1. John Baptis Rayner 1850 - 1918 Calvert, TX
         [all his sons moved to Chicago and became Undertakers - Cantrell]
 another mulatto child of Kenneth's
2. Cornelia Rayner  of  New York City
source - Kenneth and John B Rayner and the Limits of Southern Dissent by Gregg Cantrell

An Account of The 1843 Election for U S Congressman from Albemarle District 
Kenneth Rayner vs. Godwin C Moore                The August election in Rayner’s district was an exceedingly bitter one. The Democratic nominee, Godwin C Moore, was also a native of Rayner’s own Hertford County and had been elected to the state legislature two years earlier. . .. Early in the campaign Rayner “found the tide settling strongly against me,” but after the opponents met in two debates, Moore refused to make any more joint appearances. Rayner and the Whig press accused the Democrat of cowardice, a charge that could be costly in North Carolina politics. 
     The contest quickly degenerated into name-calling and accusation, with Moore harping on Rayner’s numerous absences from the House. Rayner indeed had missed a considerable number of roll calls due to his near-chronic ill health, but it was not considered gentlemanly to attack a political opponent on those grounds. The race was further complicated by the fact that Moore, as moderator of the Chowan Baptist Association, was considered “a great favorite with his church brethren.” With his “immense Baptist connection” he apparently tried to appeal to Rayner’s constituents on religious grounds, but the strategy bore little fruit. After the election, Rayner described Moore as “one of the meanest dogs that ever barked.....one of your psalm-singing pharisees....who went whining through the district begging his brethen to vote for him on consideration of church membership.” After Moore’s refusal to debate, Rayner reported that he “put the lash to him so severely, that he would not meet me again, and went whimpering through the district with the cry of persecution. He will not forget me for the balance of his life.” 
            Rayner’s 840-vote majority surprised even him.....In North Carolina the two-party system was alive and well. (Gregg Cantrell ) Kenneth and John B Rayner and the Limits of Southern Dissent pages 40-41.  

  The fall out of ill feeling was still evident a hundred years later when it happened that two of my father's uncles a Moore and a Rayner dropped by for dinner at the same time.  Sally

Joseph Henry Hyman 1835 - 1901  |  his parents
& 1867 Sallie Polk Rayner 1845 - 1905  |  her parents
of North Carolina and Texas

Joseph Henry Hyman was born 24 March 1835 in Edgecombe Co North Carolina. 
- son of Henry Hyman [4 July 1806 - 27 Dec 1856 Tarboro NC] and Martha Porter [5 Dec 1811 - 11 Jan 1846 Tarboro NC]
He graduated from the University of North Carolina in 1855 in Chapel Hill.
Captain, Company G, NC reg CSA 1 May 1861
Major, CSA 15 Oct 1862
Battle of Gettysburg, wounded in foot 1863.
Lt. Col, CSA, 2 March 1863, Col, CSA 13 June 1863.
Surrendered Conf. Brigade to Union Army April 1865 in Appomatox, Virginia.
 Married 13 November 1867 Sallie Polk Rayner
Applied for Conf. pension from State of Texas 21 June 1899 in Stephenville Texas
Died 6 Feb 1901 in Stephenville.
Buried 14 July 1906 in Oakwood Cemetery, Fort Worth, Texas.

Sallie Polk Rayner was born 30 March 1845 in Raleigh NC. 
- daughter of Kenneth Rayner and Susan Spratt Polk
She died 10 Feb 1905 in Fort Worth TX 
and was buried 17 Feb 1905 in Oakwood Cemetery, Fort Worth, Texas.

Children of Joseph Henry Hyman & Sallie Polk Rayner:
1. Susan Polk Hyman 19 Aug 1868 Memphis TN - 2 Feb 1960 San Antonio TX of stroke
    married Ft Worth 1903 [3rd wife] Avery Lenoir Matlock 
            22 April 1852 Roane Co TN - 13 July 1933 San Antonio TX 
          son of Avery Matlock and Margaret Russell
        he had married 1st 1877 Annie S Herbert and 2nd 1881 Alice Hyatt 
     children adopted  by Susan & Avery ..
     a. Sally King Matlock aft 1903 -
     b. Ruth Russell Matlock 22 July 1907 - 9 Oct 1997 Dallas TX
          married Alphonse Joseph Rebecca 29 Nov 1893 LA - 31 Jan 1964 San Antonio TX
          married 2nd 21 Jan 1967 Hilmer Louis Schmidt ca 1889 -
2. Harry Hyman 2 Jan 1872 Forrest Home MS - 2 Dec 1934 San Antonion TX
      grad Columbian Law School in Washington DC [now George Washington University]
       donated 1923 with Sarah Minna Chalk land for school in Hyman Texas
        buried 4 Dec 1934 Oakwood Cemetery Ft Worth
    married 22 March 1906 Sarah Minna Chalk 29 March 1871 Elk Falls KS - 20 Dec 1948 San Antonio
      a. Harry Hyman 23 June 1911 San Antonio -
3. Mary Rayner Hyman 30 May 1875 Stephenville TX -
    married 30 Nov 1898 Silas Lee King 1870 - 22 Feb 1917 El Paso TX
      a. Joseph Henry King 17 Feb 1900 Stanton TX - Sept 1980 NY City
      b. Kenneth Rayner King 13 April 1902 Stephenville TX -16 Sept 1992 San Antonio TX
      c. Mary [Sallie] Rayner King 8 Jan 1907 Stephenville TX - 1967
      d. William Polk King 26 Jan 1909 - 21 Dec 1987 Pinellas FL
      e. Lee Marion King 1 Apr 1912 - 12 Mar 1956 San Francisco CA
4. Sallie Josephine Hyman 2 Feb 1878 Stephenville TX - 26 May 1948 Weslaco TX heart attack
    married Stanton TX 22 March 1910 Leroy Kirkpatrick 6 Nov 1861 Shelby Co TX - 10 Dec 1938 Weslaco
         son of Lewis Albert Kirkpatrick & Elizabeth Bower of TN
      a. Mary Lee Kirkpatrick 8 Sept 1911 Stanton TX - 8 Sept 1911 Stanton TX
      b. Harry Hyman Kirkpatrick 3 June 1913 Stanton TX - 12 Aug 1988 Weslaco TX
          married 24 Dec 1939 Eugenia Lucille Markowsky 22 Feb 1910 - 14 Feb 1992 Weslaco TX  2 children
      c. Joseph Rayner Kirkkpatrick 9 Dec 1917 Stanton TX - 21 Nov 1991 McAllen
          married 18 Aug 1940 Elnora Marion Anderson    2 grandchildren [line of Jerry]
5. Kenneth Rayner Hyman 5 Dec 1881 Stephenville TX - 22 March 1950 San Antonio TX
       1910 Wholesale Grocer Ft Worth; 1920 Real Estate Agent San Antonio; 1930 Deliviery Man for Lee factory San Antonio
    married 29 April 1908 Meletona Benavides ca 1892 Laredo TX - 8 Aug 1908 Laredo TX
       a. Kenneth Rayner Hyman Jr 14 Oct 1909 - 3 Nov 1991 2 children
           married Gladys Pearl Sohn
       b. Harry Hyman 23 Jun 1911 - 29 Mar 1990
6. Joseph Henry Hyman Jr 19 March 1883 Stephenville TX - 15 Oct 1953 San Antonio TX
    married Minnie

27 May, 2011