The Fryer Family So. Carolina - Kentucky - Illinois Reason Fryer was born Nov. 14, 1787 in Spartinburg, So. Carolina and died April 27, 1856 in Caldwell Co., KY. He was the son of Richard and Rachel (Holland) Fryer. Richard was also a Revolutionary War Veteran and Reason may have inherited his father's bounty land and this would account for the vast land holdings in Caldwell Co., KY. Reason Fryer married Oct. 19, 1815 in Spartinburg, S. C., to Delilah A. Calvert born Jan. 15, 1790 and died March 5, 1850 in Caldwell County. She was the daughter of Spencer and Nancy (Leatherwood) Calvert the same Spencer mentioned earlier as a veteran of the Revolution. Reason and Delilah (Calvert) Fryer had 5 known children including Richard H. and William Sanford Fryer, and are buried at the Calvert Cemetery across from Union Grove Church, Hwy 1119 just off Hwy 293. In "Kentucky Name Places" it states Fryer, a hamlet, was named for a Fryer (Reason Fryer) who owned a large plantation across the road from where Barnes Store now sits. This plantation consisted it is said of 1,200 acres and as anyone that has ever lived in the area knows it is prime farmland. Fryer is still the official name of the area, although most people recognize it more readily as Barnes Store, and at one time was called "Peach". It was served by the Quin Post Office, 2 miles N N/W. Mr. Ed Barnes had the post office moved to the store in 1909 and it was closed in 1913. The store is still at the junction of Hwy. 293 and Hwy 70., although Arnold Barnes retired and closed the store several years ago. According to a Fryer family history by Norma J. Henry, when Reason Fryer died in Caldwell Co., KY., on April 27, 1856, much of his personal property including slaves were put up for sale to settle the estate. Reason's son, William Sanford Fryer, spent $4,200.00, to buy slaves to keep them together. He had been an overseer on his father's plantation and had known many of them since childhood, although he was a northern sympathizer, and believed in freeing the slaves. Because of his feelings about this, he along with others, were harassed, captured, starved and some even killed by what was called the Broadfoot or Mosby's Guerrillas. Finally, William Sanford Fryer and his family moved to Illinois and helped secure farms for the other families that wanted to leave the Guerrilla's harassment in Caldwell County and move to Illinois. The 1870 Caldwell Co., KY census lists hh 95-90, Williams Mill Pct., Richard H. Fryer, 46, wm farmer, with his wife Mildred, daughters Margaret and Paulina. Richard is William Sanford Fryer's brother and the next dwelling place from Richard is Jacob Fryer, 31 m mu farm laborer, his wife Mollie and their children. Jacob (Jake) and Richard had grown up together, worked together and now after the Civil War had ended and the country had been so torn apart, they were working together on farms side by side trying to make a living for their families. There was a period of time when William S. Fryer and some of the family had come back to the Caldwell Co., farm and tried to raise a crop. Feelings and emotions still ran high over the events during and after the Civil War and William; his family soon left to return to Illinois. In northern Caldwell Co., off 293, across the road from Liberty Church there is a cemetery that some call the Drennan Cemetery and some call the Fryer Cemetery (black). Many of the black Fryers are buried in this cemetery.
 |
