This page was created about 1998, and many "lowcountry" Raysor researchers have participated over the years.  I am  trying to update contact information and links,  as well as make this site a little more mobile friendly. If you find a bad email address or broken link, please let me know! I believe the next challenges for Raysor researchers is to establish firm connections with the Raysors of Pennsylvania, and African American Raysors in lowcountry South Carolina.  

PLEASE NOTE:  In July 2017, we heard  rumors that the the Ancestry.com product, RootsWeb Freepages, was affected by a security breach. As of February 3, 2018, it looks probable that RootsWeb will be discontinued. 

I am in the process of relocating the Raysor Family Gathering files to the web address below:

http://www.oldplaces.org/raysorfamilygathering/
It will take awhile. Please check back in a few days.

Pat Sabin, Webmaster
patriciasabin2012@gmail.com
or patricia.sabin@comcast.net

(Please put RAYSOR in your subject line)  

Was Hannah Raysor the sister of Michael Raysor, Jr,
and daughter of Michael Raysor, Sr.?

MORE INFO

2017:  I have heard from a Raysor - Boyett researcher, Brenda Antal  ( bjantal@cfl.rr.com ) , whose research indicates that a Hannah Raysor married Josiah Boyett around 1788. Hannah and Josiah Boyett had children in Barnwell County, South Carolina. Hannah Raysor is mentioned by a witness in a  Barnwell County Court Case in 1855.   
 

     The Raysor and Risher families are believed to have migrated from New Bern, Craven County, North Carolina, to the Red Bank area of Colleton County, South Carolina. A Michael Razor appears in early South Carolina documents as early as 1772 (There also is a Michal Razor on an 1810 tax list for Lee County, Virginia, so this may or may not be our Michael "Raysor", Sr.)  

     However, there is little doubt that land plats in the Colleton and Charleston Districts of South Carolina as early as 1786 mention our Michael Raysor, also spelled Rasor and Razor. It is very likely that the S.C. Raysors are distantly related to the early Pennsylvania Raysors.

    "Michel Razor" appears in the 1790 Census index for Charleston District, St. Bartholomew's Parish, South Carolina.  Michael Raysor's tavern appears on an 1824 map of the area.   Abstracts of some early documents are on this page.  The names of Michael and Eleanor Raysor's children are linked below to a brief outline of each family group. Please scroll down the page for much more information & photographs.

     The children of Michael and Eleanor Raysor:

James M. Raysor
b. Colleton District, SC; m. Elizabeth Sophia Chalmers; he died August 7, 1845 in Randolph County, Georgia. (Elizabeth returned to Colleton County SC with the children).

Thomas M. Raysor, Sr 
b. December 23, 1797, Colleton District, SC; married (1st) Hannah Stokes; married (2nd) Mary Ayer; he died January 14, 1858 in Barnwell County, South Carolina.

Alfred Raysor
b. Nov. 22, 1801 in Colleton County;  married Barbara Mary Inabinet; they migrated to Jefferson County Florida between 1850-1860.  According to a published obituary, he died Nov. 27, 1874 in Jefferson Co., FL. 

Ann Raysor
b. August 13, 1805; m. Joseph Kinsey Stokes; They remained in lower Colleton County, South Carolina

Rebecca Raysor
b. September 15, 1806;  m. David Walker.  They appear with their children in the Colleton County, SC census of 1850, and approximately 1854, they migrated to Jefferson County, Florida.

George Raysor
b. July 19, 1808; m. 1st Anne Sisson Stokes and, 2nd, Jane Stokes Walker (sister of Anne); he died in South Carolina.  

John M. Raysor
b. May 23, 1812 in Colleton District;  m. Mary Ann Walker; they migrated to Jefferson County, Florida in 1846;  he died in Jefferson County, Florida on September 10, 1863.

If you are a descendant, or if you have information or old photos to share, we welcome your participation!

NOTE:  RAYSOR FAMILY GATHERING  is a private group of researchers not affiliated with any organization.  We appreciate the free web space provided by RootsWeb/Ancestry.Com.

NOTE:   I have included some information about African American Raysors who lived in "Lowcountry" South Carolina.  Your information would be welcome here.

• Alfred Raysor, Sr. and Barbara Mary Inabinet Family Bible

• David Walker - Rebecca Raysor Family Bible

• George Raysor, Sr.- John May Family Bible

• Thomas Raysor, Sr. Family Record
  

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MARRIAGES

Michael Razor, Sr. to Marion Hover, 1774

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BIOGRAPHIES,  OBITUARIES & LETTERS

• George D. Raysor Obituary

• David Walker Biography by Charles A. G. Walker, II

• James M. Raysor, Sr. Biography

• Alfred Raysor, Sr. Obituary and Will

• Civil War Letter from Michael O. Raysor to His Wife

• John M. Raysor Obituaries

• John M. Raysor, Jr. Obituary

• Senator Thomas Raysor, Sr.  Biography

• Rev. Dr. Thomas Raysor Biography

• Sen. Thomas Middleton Raysor, Biography

• Thomas Middleton Raysor, II,  Biography

• Chalmers Raysor Obituary- Ocala, FL

• Henry C. Raysor Obituary- Allendale, SC

• George Washington Raysor Obituary- Walterboro, SC

• Michael O. Raysor Obituary

• Elizabeth Raysor Risher Obituary

• Roy Miller Lilly Obituary

• Mary Raysor Bellamy Obituary

• Miscellaneous Marriages and Deaths

• Early South Carolina Document Indexes for Raysor, Rasor, and Razor

• 1850 Census - Colleton County South Carolina

• Image 1
• Image 2
• Image 3

• Clemson University Alumni Tribute to Harry A. Raysor, Class of 1939, died in Italy WWII

• [Raysor] Bryan, David M. "Charleston Lady to Frontier Widow ... and Back!: The Saga of Elizabeth Chalmers Raysor," The South Carolina Magazine of Ancestral Research, Vol. 37, No. 4 (Fall 2009):187-194. FHL Book 975.7 B2sc v. 37
  

• 1856 Will and Slave Inventory of Thomas M. Raysor, Sr. (scanned documents)  

• Tom Blake's Site:  LARGEST SLAVEHOLDERS FROM 1860 SLAVE CENSUS SCHEDULES and SURNAME MATCHES FOR AFRICAN AMERICANS ON 1870 CENSUS. Includes many counties in Alabama, Arkansas,  Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia

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Many THANKS to family members who have contributed to this page, and a very special thank you to my grandmother's cousin,  the late Frank Wannamaker Raysor, who made an enormous contribution to Raysor family genealogy!  I hope he's pleased with our continued efforts to reconstruct and preserve Raysor family history.

The Raysor message board/and email list at RootsWeb has been closed by Ancestry.Com.  If any descendants of Michael and Eleanor Risher Raysor would be interested, I'm thinking of creating a Raysor Research Facebook page.

Pat - Last update: 1/14/18