RESEARCH QUESTIONS
Current 2002 researchers are trying to answer questions about SAMPSON BOBO having served in the American Revolution from South Carolina. A few genealogical books (secondary sources) record that Sampson Bobo (ca 1737) of Spartanburg Co., SC was the one who served in the Revolutionary War and cite sources at the South Carolina State Archives. Unfortunately there were many Bobo sons who were named "Sampson," but only two of them appear as probable candidates to have served in the militia. They are Sampson Bobo (1735) and his nephew, Sampson Bobo (1759), son of brother Lewis Bobo, who lived nearby. Current attempts have been made to acquire copies of primary source data but in spite of this the question remains. Which Sampson Bobo served in the Revolutionary War?
RESEARCH QUESTION 1: Did Sampson Bobo (ca 1737) serve as a private in Col. Brandon's Regiment from Union Co., SC and not his nephew, Sampson Bobo (1759)?
RESEARCH QUESTION 2: Did Sampson Bobo (1759) serve as a private in Col. Brandon's Regiment from Union Co., SC and not his uncle, Sampson Bobo (ca 1737)?
RESEARCH QUESTION 3: Did both Sampson Bobo (ca 1737) and Sampson Bobo (1759) serve in the Revolutionary War?
RESEARCH FACTS:
Documents: (Primary sources)
The Department of Archives & History, Columbia, SC sent data on "SAMPSON BOWBO" December, 2002.
Item-1: Stub Entries 70 for Dents Bk X, pt. 2, #2753, p. 59.
Item-2: A pay stub return for 11 May 86 for Sampson Bowbo. Brandon's Regiment, Anderson's return.
It reads: "11 May 86, Sampson Bowbo. For Militia duty from the fall of Charleston in Brandons Regiment by Anderson Return. . . . 33. pounds. . . 4: 14. 3 1/4. . . . Four Pounds, fourteen Shillings and three pence farthing [signature]."
Item-3: ACCTS Aud., AA567, Fr. 365-367
It reads: "State of So. Carolina to Sampson Bobo, For Milita Duty in Bransons Regt -- Since the fall of Charlestown , Anderson Return amt of Currency - - - - 33 pounds/4. 14. 3/4."
Books: (secondary sources)
(1) Ettie T. McCall was probably one of the earlier researchers to publish a family history where she listed both Sampson & Lewis Bobo of S.C. as having served in the American Revolution, in her McCall-Tidwell & Allied Families.1
(2) Bobby G. Moss, listed "Bobo, Sampson (S.C.)" as one of those who 'possibly' served at Cowpens in his book, The Patriots at Cowpens. This list was placed at the end of the book and not with those who definitely served because he couldn't find "one official source or more than one secondary source that stated they were definately in the battle."2
(3) Myra L. Howell wrote in a privately published book in 1978: "Sampson Bobo, Sr., b c. 1734 . . . served as a Private in the S.C. Militia commanded by Colonel Brandon (Records of Historical Commission of S.C.). . . . Spencer Bobo was the brother of Sampson and Louis Bobo, who later moved to the Union District of South Carolina. . . . Both Sampson and Louis Bobo were Revolutionary War soldiers and the records of South Carolina confirm this."3
(4) George Summer in his book, Newberry Co., SC Historical & Genealogical, listed both Absalom Bobo (data not included) who married Mary Sims and Sampson:
"Sampson Bobo was born 1738 and died in 1804; married Sarah Simpson, who was born 1743 and died in 1816. They lived in Laurens County. His son, Barham, father of Dr. William J. Bobo, lived in Union County, S.C."4
(5) The Daughters of the American Revolution listed in their 1994 DAR Patriot Index - Centennial Edition, listed:
"Bobo:
Lewis: b a 1765 SC d a 10-12-1793 GA m Mary Parks Sol GA
Lewis: b c 1736 VA d 1805-08 SC m Sarah --- Capt PS SC
Sampson: b c 1738 FR d 1804 SC m Sarah (Sally) Simpson Pvt SC"5
(6) Bobby G. Moss wrote in his 1983 book, Roster of South Carolina Patriots in the American Revolution on the following:
"Bobo, Absolom (R980) b. 1764, Albemarle County, Va. While residing in Spartanburg District, he was drafted during February or March 1781 under Col. Benjamin Roebuck and Capt. George Roebuck. He guarded prisoners at the Orangeburg gaol.
Bobo, Lewis He served as a captain under Col. Brandon. (Young, William, S4782)
Bobo, Sampson b c. 1735, France d. 17 April 1804 m. Sarah (Sally) Simpson, 1762 After moving from Virginia, he served in the Union District militia under Col. Brandon. (A.A.567; X753; McCall, II, 14)"6
(7) I've also listed two references to Bobo's having served in Georgia (next to SC). In the 1985 book, Records of Washington County Georgia, "Bobo, Sampson 1787 and Bobough, Lewis 1786" are listed. In the preface they also commented that any soldier with proof of Rev. War service could receive bounty land in Georgia.7 Also, in Lucian L. Knight's book, Georgia's Roster of the Revolution, has listed "Boubough, Lewis. 287 1/2 acres, Washington Co., bounded N. Fred Brown, S. Richard Call, other side unknown. Dec 17, 1784. Warrant 2975, p. 4."8
1. McCall, Ettie Tidwell, McCall - Tidwell and Allied Families, "List of Rev. Soldiers," (Atlanta, GA, 1931; reprnted 1996 Gen. Publ. Co.), pg. 328.
2. Moss, Bobby Gilmer, The Patriots at the Cowpens (Rev. ed., Scotia Press), p 335. "Men who were Possibly at Cowpens."
3. Howell, Myra Lake, Genealogy of the Sampson Bobo Family of South Carolina (Los Angeles, CA, 1978), pg. 3A, 5, 8. (A couple of her sources in her bibliography wereby James McCall in his Index Book showing The Rev. Claims filed in SC (1969) and Ettie T. McCall in her McCall-Tidwell & Allied Families (1931).)
4. Summer, George L., Sr., Newberry County South Carolina Historical and Genealogical (SC, 1950), pg. 316.
5. DAR, DAR Patriot Index - Centennial Edition (Washington D.C., Part I, 1994), pg. 293.
6. Moss, Bobby Gilmer, Roster of South Carolina Patriots in the American Revolution (Baltimore, Gen. Publ. Co., 1983), pg. 79.
7. De Lamar, Marie & Rothstein, Elisabeth, comp., Records of Washington County Georgia (Baltimore, Gen. Publ. Co., 1985), pg. 4.
8. Knight, Lucian Lamar, Georgia's Roster of the Revolution (Baltimore, Gen. Publ. Co., 1967), pg. 242.
DISCUSSION
From the Data section above, we can see two Bobo names appeared in the Revolution: "SAMPSON BOWBO" for SC (1780-1786) & "SAMPSON BOBO" for GA (1787-). There was also a Lewis Bobo who served for SC and a Lewis Bobough who served for GA. Phonetically, these surname spellings are pronounced the same -- Bobo, Bowbo & Bobough. The names may have represented one man or two men. We also have a variety of approximate birth years for Sampson Sr. -- 1735 (from Robert G. Bobo's database), 1737 and 1738. His birth place was erroneously stated as France, instead of VA, for a number of years and it appears that this error was continued. Another interesting item to note is the occurence of two Lewis Bobo's, one born in 1736 and the other 1765. The former served with SC as a captain and the latter as a soldier in GA. The latter is S. Lewis Bobo, son of Sampson Bobo (1759) and grandson of Capt. Lewis Bobo of SC. [Current genealogy records Sampson, Sr., as younger than brother Lewis.]
It appears that possibly Sampson Bobo, Sr. (ca 1737) served as a private in the Union Co., SC Militia with Col. Brandon's regiment. If he did, he was recorded in 1780 (the Fall of Charleston, SC to the British) as "Sampson Bowbo." His payroll records indicate he was paid through 11 May 1786. Then, he most likely did serve at Cowpens in 1781, assuming he wasn't injured. Granted, in those years he would be considered elderly (approximately 45 - 48). One thing that supports this conclusion is that his older brother Lewis was about 46 years old and a captain in Col. Brandon's regiment.
Sampson Bobo (1759), the nephew of Sampson, Sr., and the son of Capt. Lewis Bobo, obviously would have been a prime candidate for being a soldier at the age of 21 in 1780. A "Sampson Bobo" was also later recorded as having served for Georgia in 1787.
Lewis Bobo (ca 1736), who married Sarah, was a captain in the Union Co., SC militia under Col. Brandon. His grandson, S. Lewis Bobo (ca 1765-1793) son of Sampson Bobo (1759), was reported by the DAR as having married Mary Parks (?) and was a soldier in GA, A Lewis "Bobough" was awarded bounty land in Washington Co., GA in 1784.
So, the above clarifies a little and also implies some truth along with the many repeated research errors included by various authors/researchers over time. We have three generations of Bobos who may have served in the American Revolution. Capt. Lewis Bobo and possibly his younger brother Samson Bobo (1737) may have served for SC. The two who served in the GA portion of the war were most likely Sampson Bobo (1759), Capt. Lewis Bobo's son, and Sampson Bobo's (1759) son, S. Lewis Bobo/Bobough.
If we use the three hypotheses to sort out what we have and may have in the future, we may begin to determine which Sampson served where.
RESEARCHER THEORIES
Sampson Bobo (ca 1737) served:
"I was researching the Fall of Charleston and copied the following:
(http://sciway3.net/clark/revolutionarywar/battleoutline.html)
"Fall of Charleston to British, 12 May 1780.
Cowpens, 17 January 1781, General Morgan defeated Banistre Tarleton."
So it appears that this "Sampson Bowbo" served in Col. Brandon's Regt from 12 May 1780 thru 11 May 1786. His last pay voucher was made by Anderson ("Anderson's return").
The name, "Bobo, Sampson (S.C.)," and others were researched by McCall who described this group as may have possibly served at the Battle of Cowpens but was not included with the list of those who actually fought because of the lack of official primary or secondary sources.
Bobby G. Moss, in his book Roster of SC Patriots in the American Revolution, 1983 (Gen. Pub. Co., Baltimore), listed on page 79 three Bobo's:
"Bobo, Absolom; Bobo, Lewis; & Bobo, Sampson, b c. 1735. . . ."
So, we are not positive which "Sampson Bobo" is the one (s) who served in the Rev. War. It appears that several believed it to have been our Sampson Bobo (c1735-1804) of Spartanburg, SC but we are not positive as to how they concluded this.
It's true that he was an older man of means and many would think he should have been an officer, rather than a private, as was his brother Lewis. My understanding of the times was that if one didn't pay a fee, have leadership skills and raise a number of men for a company, most likely one didn't become an officer." Another consideration is that Sampson was a younger brother to Lewis who was an officer. As a younger brother, was Sampson more of a follower?
I tend to lean towards Research theory/hypothesis 3, the theory that both Sampsons served in the Revolutionary War. The older Sampson may have served in the earlier part of the war and the younger one may have also served for both SC and GA or just GA. Later on, both Sampson (1759) and his son, S. Lewis Bobo, lived in GA. All we need is more information and facts for clarification.
[by Bob Addleman, bobadleman@aol.com]
Sampson Bobo (1759) served:
Subject: All the Sampsons
Thanks for the info. I show 6 Sampson Bobos, but only 3 of them were of age to have been in the Rev. War -- (1) Sampson, Sr. h/o Sara Simpson, (2) Sampson, Jr. s/o Sampson/Sara Simpson, and (3) Sampson s/o Lewis. I only show (3) as having gone to Georgia, and I cannot identify his wife. (3) is of the best 'fit' to have served in the Rev. War, but (1) could have even though he was a bit old. Sampson, Jr. could have, but he was a bit too young, certainly for the earlier years of the War.
I tend to agree that (1) and (3) probably were in the War, but (1) is still a bit questionable in my mind. If indeed his two brothers Lewis and Absolom were in the War, it is reasonable to think that he probably was also, but I cannot see any of them being what I would call "active participants" -- that is, actually on a battlefield shooting at someone.
I do not know if (3) actually lived in GA when he was in the War or moved there afterwards to get bounty land. I tend to think the later; records show he went to GA during the War.
Incidentally, I can offer no proof, but I am convinced that their (3 brothers) mother was Jane Wofford, d/o William Wofford, III, and Mary LNU.
[David Bishop,December 7, 2002, dnbishop@bellsouth.net]