Nathaniel Randolph Berryman was born about 1805 in Surry County, Virginia, a son of Joseph Berryman (1774-1819) and Keziah (Holt) Berryman (1776-1830). Eliza Ridley Williams was born in Surry County on 10 May 1822, a daughter of John M Wiliams (c.1785-1850) and Mary Thomas.(c.1787-c.1842). Despite a 17 year age gap, John M Williams gave his consent to the marriage on 26 December 1842.[1] Shortly thereafter, 37 year old Nat and 20 year old Eliza were married although the date is uncertain.
John M Williams consents to the marriage of Nathaniel R Berryman and his daughter Eliza R Williams 26 December 1842.
Nathaniel Randolph Berryman
When Nathaniel’s father Joseph Berryman died in 1819, he left a widow and eight children ranging in age from 21 to 3 years old. Nathaniel, the fourth child, was about 14 years old. The following year when the 1820 census was taken, Joseph’s widow Keziah Berryman is head of a Surry County household. While the only name listed is the head of household, we can determine who was living with her. With eldest daughter Sally Berryman having married John Wilkins Judkins in 1817 and living on their own in 1820, the rest of the Berryman children were still at home.[2]
1820
Females – 26 thru 44 1 [Keziah (Holt) Berryman]
Males – 16 thru 25 2 [William Holt Berryman, Joseph Davis Berryman]
Males – 16 thru 18 1 [Joseph Davis Berryman]
Males – 10 thru 15 1 [Nathaniel Randolph Berryman]
Males – Under 10 1 [George Francis Berryman]
Females – Under 10 2 [Keziah Catherine Berryman, Lucy Ann Berryman]
Females [enslaved] – 14 thru 25 1
1820 Surry County Census- Keziah Berryman underlined in red.
During the early 1820s a Surry County Chancery suit was filed to divide Joseph Berryman’s estate. The suit reveals that he owned 100 acres, which the heirs agreed should be sold subject to Keziah Berryman’s dower or life interest in one third of the property. Eldest son William Holt Berryman [also my ancestor] bought the land for $200. In lieu of payment, he issued bonds to his siblings for $28.57 each. Joseph Berryman also held an enslaved man named Peter who was sold to John W Judkins who had married eldest daughter Sally Berryman. Judkins issued each sibling a bond for $59.67 each. The suit concluded in 1826 when Nathaniel was just about 21 years old. This he started adulthood with two IOUs totaling $88.24 and no land.[3]
Portion of the chancery suit to divide Josph Berryman’s estate
Nathaniel R Berryman, 25, is unaccounted for in the 1830 census. Given he owned no property, he was probably living with his brother Joseph D Berryman (c.1802-c.1870) who is listed as head of household with two males age 20-29.[4] How Nathaniel R Berryman received his own education and when he became a teacher is not known, but it was certainly by 1837 when he received $12.64 for the quarter ended 30 September. Specifically, he was paid for teaching poor children for 316 days at a daily rate of 4 cents. He was only paid when the student actually attended class, which ranged that quarter from 41 days to 17 days.[5]
An Antebellum Education in Virginia
During the antebellum period [1812-1861], a white person’s education largely depended on social class. While the children of the wealthy may have attended a college or had private tutors, most people could not afford that. Some middle class children attended so called field schools, which was a joint endeavor by neighbors to hire a teacher and perhaps provide a small school house built in someone’s field. And poor children?
In 1811, the Virginia legislature created the Literary Fund, one of the earliest statewide publicly funded efforts to educate the poor in the United States:
“Be it enacted; that all escheats, confiscations, fines, penalties and forfeitures, and all rights in personal property accruing to the Commonwealth, as derelict, and having no rightful proprietor, be, and the same are hereby appropriated to the encouragement of learning. That the aforesaid fund shall be appropriated to the sole benefit of a school or schools, to be kept in each and every county within this Commonwealth.”
Funding came from the sale of land forfeited to the state, various fines such as failing to show up for a militia muster or the sale of captured runaway enslaved people who were not claimed within the prescribed time period. Virginia counties created school commissions to oversee the effort, to make reports to the state and secure funding to pay teachers.
Virginia’s Literary Fund still exists today providing loans for school construction, debt service for technology funding and support for the state’s share of teacher retirement required by the Standards of Quality.[6]
Nathaniel R Berryman receives payment from the Literary Fund for teaching indigent students in 1837.
Nathaniel’s 30 September 1837 account includes the names of each student and their parent or guardian. Students were aged 8-15 and included nine boys and two girls. Four students were taught reading and writing using two books entitled Introduction to the Reader and Murray’s Reader. Two students were taught arithmetic using a book entitled Pike’s Arithmetic. Lastly, five students were taught orthography using Murray’s Spelling Book.
At left Pike’s Arithmetic[7] and at right Murray’s Reader[8]
The 1840 census for Surry County lists Nathaniel R Berryman age 30-39 [he was 35], living by himself, and in the profession of “Primary and Common School.” He had 12 students, three of whom were “at Public Charge.”[9]Nathaniel was teaching nine students whose parents could afford the tuition and three students who received benefit of the Literary Fund.
Eliza Ridley Williams
As we mentioned at the outset, Nathaniel R Berryman, 37 and Elizabeth Ridley Williams, 20 were married shortly after their marriage bond was issued on 26 December 1842. Eliza, as she was called, grew up in a home with her parents John M and Mary (Thomas) Williams who were married in Surry County on 2 February 1812.[10] and had six children. They lived on 87+/- acres that John M Williams bought from the estate of his uncle William Mitchell.[11]
Her father John M Williams was also a teacher – or school master – in Surry County. On 30 September 1832, Surry County reported that nine common schools were operating within the county, that there were 120-150 poor children entitled to benefit of the Literary Fund, and that 80 poor children had been educated at different periods at four cents per day attendance for tuition.
The Commissioners also noted that “there have been no common schools in a very populous and poor neighborhood in the upper part of the county the present year – and that they see no probability of a school the ensuing year, owning to the inability of the people in the said neighborhood with the aid of the school fund to pay a competent teacher a sufficient sum to induce or justify his attention to a school.”
Lastly the report noted that eleven school masters were paid $354.40. These school masters included George W Lane, John E Cocks, Matilda Scammell, Thomas Rowell, Matilda V Lunsford, Benjamin W Elensworth, John M Williams [my 4x great grandfather], Augustine B Cocks, John L Maynard, John L White and Thomas Harris.[12]
School masters including John M Williams in Surry County in 1832
About the time Eliza and Nat were married in late 1842 or early 1843, her mother Mary (Thomas) Williams died. Her father married Martha Delk in 1843; however their marriage was short lived as another marriage bond was issued on 29 October 1846 for John M William’s marriage to his third wife Elizabeth Pitman.[13] Three children resulted from this marriage including Rebecca E Williams, b.c. 1847, Margaret E Williams, b.c. 1849 and Jeremiah Thomas Williams, b.c. 1850. [14] John M Williams died in late 1850; his inventory and appraisal taken on 13 December 1850 and filed with the court in 24 March 1851.[15]
Nat and Eliza Have a Family
Nat and Eliza started a family and by 1850 were living in Southwark Parish with their children Elmira R Berryman, 6 [1843], John R Berryman, 5 [1845], Henry R Berryman, 3 [1847] and Walter R Berryman, 1 [1849].[16] Over the next decade they added four more children including Nancy R Berryman [1852]. Lucy R Berryman [1853], William R Berryman [1856] and Frank R Berryman [1858].[17] Finally they had Nathaniel R Berryman [1864] when Nat was 58 years old and Eliza was 43![18] They were a relatively poor family with no real estate and in 1860 a personal estate worth just $50. All three censuses list Nat’s occupation as “teacher.”
There are a few records about Nathaniel related to his teaching. On 31 November 1846 Nathaniel R Berryman was one of dozens of men who were fined for failing to report for the county militia muster on 3 October 1846.[19] No doubt these fines made their way into the Literary Fund.
On 23 June James S Clarke, guardian of Theophilus J N Berryman, son of Nat’s brother Joseph D Berryman, filed an account of his ward’s estate that included two payments to Nathaniel R Berryman:
26 March 1855 – Cash paid Nat R Berryman books, tuition, &c $18.29
21 January 1856 – Cash paid Nat R Berryman for board tuition & books last year $58.72[20]
In 1875 Nathaniel R Berryman is listed in the Surry County Land Estate Records including what and how much he was taxed:
Nathaniel R Berryman – 3 cows valued at $45, 5 hogs $8, vehicle [i.e., several types from Gigg to wagon] $5, seven farming implements, one clock $1. Aggregate value of all household and kitchen furniture $50, value of all personal property $116, state tax owed $1.59, total county tax, 19 cents, total Blackwater township levy 12 cents, county free school levy 12 cents.[21] The last ‘county free school levy being a tax to fund the now public schools available to all white children in Virginia.
1875 personal property tax records for Nathaniel R Berryman. His son Walter R Berryman is adjacent.
Nathaniel Randolph Berryman died in 1878.[22] His widow moved in with their eldest daughter Elmira who married James Decatur Edwards and is where she was living in 1880.[23] Elizabeth Ridley (Williams) Berryman died in 1899.[24] I have found no record of either of their burials.
Closing Thoughts
While many of my Virginia ancestors were farmers – and all certainly grew crops and raised livestock for their own use – some did other things. I have discovered ancestors who were surveyors, blacksmiths, carpenters, coopers, sawyers, general store owners, and in this installment – teachers.
While John M Williams did manage to acquire 87 +/- acres of land, teaching was apparently no more lucrative than it is today. Nathaniel R Berryman never owned any land. Nonetheless, both men along with dozens of Surry County men and women chose teacher as a profession. No doubt they did what teachers do, which is to help children learn and prepare for adulthood. Like the teachers I know in the present, I imagine most of these Surry County folks loved teaching and making a difference in their community.
To the teachers in my family – past and present – thank you for making that choice.
The charts below show my Berryman and Williams decent. Not only were my great grandparents second cousins through the Berrymans, my 3x great grandparents Nathaniel R Berryman and Eliza Ridley Williams were third cousins through the Williams line.
[1] Surry County Virginia Marriage Bonds 1842, Image 58 of 63; “Surry, Virginia, United States records,” images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:9396-ZY8L-8?view=explore : Jun 26, 2025), image 58 of 63; Virginia. Register of Deeds (Surry County), Image Group Number: 004131968
[2] 1820 United States Federal Census, Surry County, Virginia; Online publication – Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2004.Original data – United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Fourth Census of the United States, 1820. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1820. M33, 14, Ancestry.com
[3] Surry County, Virginia Court Orders 1826, p. 48; “Surry, Virginia, United States records,” images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSL6-T349-L?view=explore : Jun 27, 2025), image 42 of 85; Image Group Number: 008191623
[4] 1830 U.S. Census, Surry County, Virginia, Census Place: Surry, Virginia; Series: M19; Roll: 201; Page: 180; Family History Library Film: 0029680; Ancestry.com
[5] Surry County Virginia School Records 1828-1838, Image 82 of 100; “Surry, Virginia, United States records,” images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L96K-J29B?view=explore : Jul 14, 2025), image 82 of 100; Image Group Number: 004129805
[6] “ . . .To the Encouragement of Learning”: Virginia’s Literary Fund, 23 November 2022, The Uncommonwealth, Voices from the Library of Virginia; https://uncommonwealth.virginiamemory.com/blog/2022/11/23/to-the-encouragement-of-learning-virginias-literary-fund/
[7] Pike, Stephen. The Teachers’ Assistant or a System of Practical Arithmetic (Philadelphia: 1835), National Museum of American History, https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746a9-3136-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa
[8] Murray, L., Alger, I., ed. (1838) Murray’s English exercises … With which the corresponding notes, rules, and observations in Murray’s grammar are incorporated; also references in promiscuous exercises to the rules by which the errors are to be corrected. [Boston, R. S. Davis et] [Pdf] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/10025537/.
[9] 1840 United States Federal Census, Surry County, Virginia, Ancesftry.com; http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=1840usfedcenancestry&h=1924574&ti=0&indiv=try&gss=pt
[10] John M Williams & Mary Thomas married 2 February 1812 by Rev. Nathaniel Berryman, Methodist Minister, Surry County Virginia Marriage Records 1785-1820; “Surry, Virginia, United States records,” images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:9396-ZYG2-X?view=explore : Jul 14, 2025), image 17 of 22; Virginia. Register of Deeds (Surry County), Image Group Number: 004131987
[11] Surry County Virginia Chancery Suit 1810-008, Elizabeth Mitchell Virginia Chancery Court Records, Virginia Memory, Library of Virginia Digital Collections; https://old.lva.virginia.gov/chancery/case_detail.asp?CFN=181-1810-008
[12] Surry County School Records, 1828-1838, Image 89 of 100; “Surry, Virginia, United States records,” images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QSQ-G96K-JVDB?view=explore : Jun 30, 2025), image 89 of 100; Image Group Number: 004129805
[13] Surry County, Virginia Marriage Register 1768-1853, p. 198; “Surry, Virginia, United States records,” images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QSQ-G9XF-2YDP?view=explore: Jul 14, 2025), image 202 of 286; Image Group Number: 007579167
[14] 1850 U.S. Census, Surry County, Virginia, Census Place: Southwark Parish, Surry, Virginia; Roll: 978; Page: 86B; 1860 U.S. Census, Census Place: Surry, Virginia; Page: 926; Family History Library Film: 805379; Ancestry.com
[15] Surry County, Virginia Wills, etc. 9, 1845-1852, p. 501; “Surry, Virginia, United States records,” images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C9TC-N92S-1?view=explore : Jul 14, 2025), image 266 of 333; Image Group Number: 007676312
[16] 1850 U.S. Census, Surry County, Virginia, Census Place: Southwark Parish, Surry, Virginia; Roll: M432_978; Page: 91A; Image: 179; Ancestry.com
[17] 1860 U.S. Census, Surry County, Virginia, Census Place: Surry, Virginia; Roll: M653_1379; Page: 916; Family History Library Film: 805379; Ancestry.com
[18] 1870 U.S. Census, Surry County, Virginia, Online publication – Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2003.Original data – 1870. United States. Ninth Census of the United States, 1870. Washington, D.C. National Archives and Records Administration. M593, RG29, 1,761 rolls. Minnesota. Minnes; Ancestry.com
[19][19] Virginia Governor’s Office Militia Commission Papers 1841-1846, Surry County, Virginia; “Surry, Virginia, United States records,” images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QHV-J36T-KZCQ?view=explore : Jun 27, 2025), image 49 of 131; Image Group Number: 008742677
[20] Surry County Virginia Guardians Accounts 1847-1865, p. 313; “Surry, Virginia, United States records,” images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C9PX-V9JB-H?view=explore : Jun 27, 2025), image 168 of 294; Image Group Number: 007645844
[21] Surry County Virginia Land Estate Records, 1875; “Surry, Virginia, United States records,” images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-896K-N9MZ-7?view=explore : Jun 27, 2025), image 7 of 40; Image Group Number: 004128043
[22] Application of grandson Frank Gwaltney Berryman, Virginia Society, Sons of the American Revolution; Ancestry.com
[23] 1880 U.S. Census, Surry County, Virginia, Year: 1880; Census Place: Blackwater, Surry, Virginia; Roll: 1392; Family History Film: 1255392; Page: 5B; Enumeration District: 106; Ancestry.com
[24] Application of grandson Frank Gwaltney Berryman, Virginia Society, Sons of the American Revolution; Ancestry.com
A Son of Virginia 