112 West Washington Street – David Aiken House

City Directories and History:  The historic David Aiken home stood on this lot, where the Sion Presbyterian Church now stands. The outstanding piece of architecture was destroyed by a major downtown fire in circa 1910. Following the fire, the home was razed and the church acquired the entire block for use as their new sanctuary. Pictured below are a few of the images of the Aiken house and family members. Also take time to visit 116 West Washington Street for more information on the church.

This 1908 Fairfield Co., Dist. Map shows the location of the Town of Winnsboro as the central economic, educational and social center of Fairfield County, S.C.

“Aiken, David of five non-resident plantations and Winnsboro. Born June 17, 1786 (Ireland); married Feb. 25, 1812, Nancy Kerr (Feb. 18, 1794-Dec. 18, 1859); died Dec. 18, 1860. Church: Presbyterian (late in life). Other: Member and Trustee, Mt. Zion Society; Trustee, Mt. Zion Academy. Slaves: 254 (Fairfield District).”    The Last Foray, C. Gaston Davidson, SC Press – 1971

A BRIEF GENEALOGY OF THE REID FAMILY OF YORK CO., S. C. by William B. White, Jr. This family of Reids settled in Fairfield County, S. C., just after the American Revolution, when a number of Scotch-Irish immigrants who had landed in Charleston, S. C., moved to Fairfield County, in the Up Country of South Carolina. The progenitor of the Aiken family was James Aiken, who settled in Fairfield County about the same time as the Reids. Interestingly enough, James Aiken’s wife was Elizabeth Reid. The date of arrival of these two families, the place of residence, and the dates of birth would indicate that there is probably a close relationship between Elizabeth (Reid) Aiken and Robert Reid, progenitor of the Reid family.
The earliest known public record of the Reids is a deed recorded in York County, S. C. (Deed Book C, p. 426). On January 10, 1787, James Martin, of York County, executor of the estate of Major Francis Ross, deceased, deeded Robert Reid, of Fairfield County, 300 acres on a branch of Turkey Creek, in York County, for £100, A witness to this instrument was James Craig (or Gregg), Esq., of Fairfield County.

Next, Deed Book F, page 333, York County, shows Robert Reid (aforesaid), then living in York-District (formerly County), selling the same 300 acres to Thomas Reid, Robert Gregg Reid, and James Reid, doubtless his sons. The date is August 2, 1802, and the consideration is $300. Between 1787 and 1802 the Reids had moved north from Fairfield and settled in York. (Information courtesy of and from: YCGHS – The Quarterly Magazine, March 97)

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R&R HISTORY LINK: the 1854 Fairfield Co., Map by Colton

R&R HISTORY LINK: the Aiken Family connection to the Fairfield Bank

R&R HISTORY LINK: the Aiken Family connection to Historic Stony Point (Greenwood Co SC)

R&R HISTORY LINK: the MT. ZION INSTITUTE / WINNSBORO, S.C.

R&R HISTORY LINK: North Congress Street

Please enjoy this structure and all those listed in Roots and Recall. But remember each is private property. So view them from a distance or from a public area such as the sidewalk or public road.

Do you have information to share and preserve? Family, school, church, or other older photos and stories are welcome. Send them digitally through the “Share Your Story” link, so they too might be posted on Roots and Recall.

Aiken Family History:

Two Aiken brothers married young ladies of Greenwood County and spent most of their adult lives in the home communities of their wives. The brothers were David Wyatt and Augustus Milton Aiken, sons of David and Ann Agnes (Nancy) Kerr Aiken who were both born in County Antrim, Ireland, and emigrated to Winnsboro.

David Wyatt Aiken, 1828-1887, married first Mattie DuBose Gaillard, and they had one daughter, Ella Gaillard Aiken who married the Rev. Richard Davis Smart, Methodist minister, six children.

In 1857 D. Wyatt Aiken married second Virginia Carolina Smith, daughter of Joel Smith of Stony Point , Greenwood County, S.C. Mr. Aiken bought land in that community and was a farmer. He enlisted in the Confederate army as a private and rose to the rank of colonel. He served 10 years in Congress, 1876-86, was a national officer in the Grange farm organization, edited the Rural Carolinian for several years and was a zealous advocate of progressive farming methods. The D. Wyatt Aiken Grange in Greenwood County is named for him.

1. Wyatt and Virginia Carolina Smith Aiken had 11 children of whom eight married:
2. David Aiken, 1857-1901, married Annie Mary Connor 1859-1940, four children: (1) Frances Aiken married Robert Foster McCaslan*; (2) Virginia Smith Aiken married Judge Arthur L. Gaston, one son; (3) Annie Connor Aiken, unmarried; and (4) Rebecca Connor Aiken married Charles Webb, lived in Greenwood, two sons, Alison and David Webb.
3. Eliza Miles Aiken, born 1859, married George Washington Taylor, four children.
4. Virginia Aiken, 1861-1943, married the Rev. W. Gordon Neville, minister and president of Presbyterian College 1904-07. They had eight children.
5. Wyatt Aiken, 1863-1923, represented this district in Congress, 1903-17, married first Mary Sue Barnwell, four children, and married second Adair Monroe Taylor, four children.
6. Mary Aiken married Samuel Reynolds Pritchard, three children.
7. Augustus Marshall Aiken married Mayme Agars, no children.
8. Joel Smith Aiken, Greenwood merchant, married first Alma Wickliffe, married second Annie Aunspaugh, no children by either marriage.
9. Nancy Aiken married John Walter Stull, four children.

Augustus (Gus) Milton Aiken, bom 1834, was a farmer at Stony Point. He married first Emma Eliza Smith, daughter of Joel Smith*. They had no children and two years after her death he married Mary Ann Chapman Gillam, daughter of Robert Gillam*. In 1867 Aiken bought “Sunnyside,” the home of his wife’s father in Greenwood. He later lived at Cokesbury and Coronaca.

Gus and Mary Ann Gillam Aiken had three children: (1) Hugh Kerr Aiken married Mamie Thames, two children; (2) James Gillam Aiken, unmarried; and (3) Jessie Glenn Aiken married Fletcher Dantzler Hodges.

Information from: Greenwood County Sketches by Margaret Watson, 1982, p. 133-134

R&R HISTORY LINK: the S.C. Encyclopedia – David Wyatt Aiken of Abbeville, S.C.