THOMAS COUCH, JR.

By Paul David Couch

Thomas Couch, Jr. was born between 1705 and 1714 most likely in Virginia.  His parents were Thomas Couch, Sr. (born: ca. 1685) and Elizabeth of Prince George and Brunswick Counties, Virginia.  Thomas Couch, Sr. received a 566 acre royal land grant in Brunswick County, Virginia, the plat for which was filed in Williamsburg, Virginia in 1720.   In 1736 Thomas Couch, Sr. sold a portion of the 566 acres to his son, Thomas, Jr. when he came of age (Deed Record: Brunswick County, Virginia, Court Order Book One, 1736- Thomas Couch Sr. (his Mark) to Thomas Couch Jr. (His Mark) for 5 lbs. 150 Acres in St. Andrews Parish.)  Then on 2 August 1739 Thomas Couch, Sr. and Thomas Couch, Jr. sold the entire 566 acres to their neighbor and the Clerk of Brunswick County, Virginia, British Lt. Colonel Drury Stith for 30 pounds Sterling.  The sale of the land is shown in the partial deed recording below.

1739- “Indenture made the 2^nd day of August, 1739, between Thomas Couch, Sr., Thomas Couch, Jr., and Drury Stith, Gentlemen, for 30 pounds, conveying 566 acres on the Pine Lick Branch (John Stroud’s corner, Thomas Lloyd’s line, Talbott’s line, Morris’s corner), same being granted to the said Thomas Couch, Sr., by Letters of Patent at Williamsburgh, 1720.

Witnesses:                               

M. Cadet Young                     Presented in court and acknowledged on August 2, 1739.

William Edwards”

(Source: Brunswick County, Virginia, Deed Book 1, page 530)

The entire Couch family relocated to Orange County, North Carolina, and the children of Thomas Couch, Sr. (born: ca. 1685) and his wife, Elizabeth, can be found in Orange County, North Carolina on various land and court documents in the early 1750’s.  Known and projected children of Thomas Couch, Sr. & Elizabeth were: (1) Thomas Couch, Jr. [b: ca. 1705 to 1714], (2) William Couch [b: ca. 1709 to 1714], (3) James Couch [b: ca. 1707-1714], (4) Mathew Couch [b: 24 July 1725 in Prince George, Bristol Parish, Virginia], and John Couch, Sr. [b: after 1725].

THOMAS COUCH, JR. [born 1705 to 1714] was married to a woman with the first name of “MARY.”  Their children were: THOMAS COUCH III (born abt. 1739), JUDITH COUCH (born 1740 to 1741), JOHN COUCH (born close to 1745), ELIZABETH COUCH (b: abt 1746), MARTHA "PATTY" COUCH (b: abt 1748), JOSEPH COUCH (b: 1751), POSSIBLE DECEASED CHILD (b: abt 1753), DRURY COUCH (b: abt. 1756) and WILLIAM COUCH (born in 1758).  It is projected that Thomas Couch, Jr. and Mary married about 1738 in Brunswick County, Virginia.  Their son, William Couch (born in 1758), has been confirmed to be a Revolutionary War Veteran (Rev. War Pension Application # R2361).

Land had been ceded by the Cherokee Indians in the back country of South Carolina, and in 1767, Thomas Couch, Jr. received a royal land grant for 300 acres along the Enoree River, just a few miles to the southeast of present-day Enoree, South Carolina. The 300 acre grant was surveyed and platted on 20 October 1766.  Word was being sent out from the South Carolina back country that it was “the land of milk and honey” because the land was “virgin” and had never been farmed.  The Couch families moved, in covered wagons, along the old Indian Trading Path that was called, “The Old Road” or “Big Road,” from Orange County, North Carolina, down to the Old Ninety-six District, South Carolina, to an area that later became Spartanburg County, South Carolina.   Thomas Couch, Jr.’s brothers, James, Mathew, and John Couch, Sr. also moved from Orange County, North Carolina, in the same time period and settled near their brother.  James Couch and Mathew Couch received royal land grants in 1772 and 1773, respectively.  The only Couches to remain behind in Orange County, North Carolina were Thomas Couch, Jr.’s brother, William Couch, and Thomas Couch Jr.’s son, Thomas Couch III (known as Thomas Jr. in North Carolina.)

The Couch families prospered while living along the Enoree River, not to far upstream from Musgrove’s Mill.  They intermarried with the Stroud, Waldrop, and Rhodes families.  The Couches, Strouds, Waldrops, and Rhodes were neighbors in both Orange County, North Carolina and the Old Ninety-Six District, South Carolina.

On 12 February 1776, Thomas Couch, Jr. made his will.  He is buried, along with a child, in the Couch-Stroud Cemetery, which is located on his 300 acre royal land grant property.  The Cemetery is currently designated as the Stroud Cemetery, but it has been proven that it is the 1 acre that Thomas Couch, Jr. set aside to be buried on; thus, a more appropriate designation would be the Couch-Stroud Cemetery.

According to genealogy researcher, Joseph Henry Hightower Moore, Clark Howell, writing in 1920, described the Couch Family as “one of the South’s great industrial and manufacturing families, who were instrumental in the development of many southern towns and cities.”  Joseph Henry Hightower Moore wrote, “The family is of English origin and immigrated to Virginia in the 17^th Century.  They were living in Brunswick County, Virginia, in 1731, and by 1755 had moved to Orange County, North Carolina, from which in 1766 they continued to Spartanburg County (Old Ninety-Six District), South Carolina, where they had Colonial land grants on and near the Enoree River.”

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NOTE:  2010 COUCH SUMMIT:  A conference of the descendants of Thomas Couch, Sr. and Elizabeth will be held in the Old Ninety-Six District, South Carolina, on 6 through 9 June, 2010.  Parties interested in information should contact Summit Coordinators, Jinny Hopp or Kathryn Hopkins at:  mailto:couchsummit2010@live.com