After running away from Francis Brown in July of 1746, some records exist of Percival working in Virginia as a blacksmith. One such record appears to be from 1751 in Culpepper County, VA where Percival was paid for making “two hilling hoes.” This was typical work for a blacksmith.
Eventually, Percival migrates down to North Carolina. A fragment of a deed book from around 1757-1758 in Johnston County, NC shows Percival acquiring a tract of land from Nicholas Tyner.
Based upon the presumed dates of birth of the known children of Percival, this would be about the time where Percival would get married and begin his family. We do not know anything about the marriage, who, where, when, etc. The only thing we know is that after Percival’s death a Sarah Clay sells his last known piece of land in Georgia.
The approximate dates of birth for the known children of Percival are:
- Percival “Pearce” Clay, Jr. – circa 1757
- David Clay – circa 1759
- Sarah Clay – circa 1761
- Chalender Clay – circa 1763
We know these dates are approximately correct because of later records about these children. For instance, in December of 1781, David Clay, Chalender Clay, and their friend, Henry Holland are all paid for militia service in the North Carolina state militia. This has implications for their ages as you generally had to be at least 16 years old to serve in the militia. In September of 1783, Henry Holland takes out a marriage bond to marry Sarah Clay.
Percival’s property was in the part of Duplin County, NC which would become Sampson County in 1784. Percival appears in the initial 1784 tax list for Sampson County, but that may have been an error. A careful analysis of known records says that Percival had sold all of his North Carolina land before 1784. Still, he could have owned or rented something that caused him to appear on that tax list.
Subsequent records for Percival and his family appear in Georgia.