Winifred Starling, Wife of Thomas Camp of Rutherford County, North Carolina

The wife of Thomas Camp (1717 - 1798) of Rutherford County, North Carolina is named in the John Camp (1743 - c.1818) family bible as his mother "Winniford Starling." (Source: Genealogical Records Committee, Arkansas DAR, Vol. IX, pgs. 137-140, NSDAR Library, Washington D.C. "Bible owned by Mrs. E. H. Abington, Beebe, Arkansas." Camp-Kemp Family History by Mann)

This seems to be partially corroborated by an old claim by W. A. Camp (1852 - 1906) that one of the children of Thomas Camp was named "Starling Camp" and that his wife was named Winifred Starling. Winifred appears in multiple SAR applications in the early to mid-twentieth century, with her name is given in full, her dates as 1720 - 1761, and marriage as 1738. The SAR application of Wilfred Camp Moon in 1924 additionally gives her place of death as Halifax County, Virginia.

Since these sources seem to be quite old and probably credible, we can theorize that Winfred was almost certainly descended from a Starling family of Virginia. Our only traditional clue is that she is said to have been "of Welsh descent" by W. A. Camp. The identity of her father is given as Richard Starling by Robert Mann in his Camp-Kemp Family History, but does not appear to be based on records. A Richard Starling died testate in Accomack County, Virginia before Aug. 10, 1710, but he seems to have died too early to have been her father.

Online family trees almost always give her father as a Richard Starling who lived from 1694 to 1720; he even (unfortunately) has a memorial on Findagrave. There's just one problem: he doesn't seem to exist. He appears to have been a creation of genealogist Russ Williams. As told on Elroy Christensen's old genealogy site on the Camp/Kemp family "this record is a conjecture of Russ Williams who deduced that there had to have been another son of Richard Starling since Richard Sterling/Starling was to have died ten years prior to the birth of Winifred Starling." The 1720 "death date" appears to refer simply to Winifred Starling's presumed birth date.

So this fictitious Richard Starling was a stop-gap measure designed to explain the ten year difference between the death of Richard Starling and the birth of Winifred. This has been copied and pasted across the internet for decades, with no evidence.

Given the scarcity of the name in the early 18th century records, it seems the only Starling in Virginia who could be her father is John Starling (c.1695 - 1770) of Accomack County, Virginia, a likely son of Richard Starling (1669 - 1710).  

The two men do have a bit of a connection via the Booth family of Accomack County. Richard Starling witnessed the will of John Booth in 1706 wherein John Booth names an under-aged son as George Booth. George wrote his own will in 1762 naming his godson "William Sterling, son of John Sterling." This shows a strong familial connection, and suggests that Richard Starling did in fact have children and the Starlings of Virginia and North Carolina may descend from him.

Richard's children may have been John Starling, Ann Starling Robbins and Isaac Starling. 

John Starling's estate was probated by his wife Rachel on January 30, 1770. No heirs were named, but he is known to have had at least one proven son, William Starling (c.1725 - 1775) and one likely son, Isaac Starling (d. aft.1778), both of Accomack County. The family name is also frequently written as "Sterling."

"My daughter Ann Starling Robbins" was named in the will of William Robbins of Accomack County, Virginia on Nov. 27, 1718, suggesting another early Starling relative.

Isaac Starling Jr. (d.1764), of Chowan and Northampton County, North Carolina had children named Abraham, John, Sarah, Rachel, Ann, Mary, Elizabeth, Thomas and Isaac in his will, dated May 3, 1760. He was called "Isaac Starling Jr." in a North Carolina land grant of 1723. Winifred Starling is not likely a child of Isaac (she is not named in his will), but his presence shows that there were Starlings that migrated into North Carolina, as the Thomas Camp family did. There is an Isaac Starling that was transported to Virginia in 1663 (headright grant), and though he's much too old to be Winifred's father, he could perhaps have been a brother of Richard, having no known descendants himself.

=JMF

A Genealogical Study of Edmund Waldrop of Rutherford County, North Carolina

The task of identifying the parents of Edmund Waldrop (1778-1846) of Rutherford County, North Carolina has vexed genealogists for quite a few years, despite dedicated researchers having thoroughly mapped out the Waldrop family of North and South Carolina. 

Typically, Edmund, who begins appearing in deeds in Laurens County, South Carolina in 1800 but removed to Rutherford County, North Carolina by 1804, is usually logged as a son of Luke Waldrop Jr. (c.1750-c.1829) who migrated from Laurens County, South Carolina to Rutherford County, North Carolina in 1796. Since Edmund followed him to Rutherford eight years later and none of Luke's brothers had done the same, it would see to fit.

However, there are serious problems with placing Edmund Waldrop as a child of any of the sons of Luke Waldrop Sr. (c.1710-c.1780). As I'll try to illustrate below, circumstantial evidence suggests he is actually from the Michael Waldrop (c.1700-c.1771) line.

PARENT PROBLEMS

We don't know much for certain about Edmund's origins, but there are some strong clues that show us his immediate family. He is likely to have had two brothers, Harmon Waldrop (c.1775-aft.1840) and James Searcy Waldrop (c.1780-1859) who appear in the following deeds:

Jan 11, 1801, 34$ was received of Administrator of estate of Samuel Waldrop, it being in full of all demands against said estate. Signed James Cersey Waldrop for Harmond Waldrop. On 31 Mar 1800, received of administrator of the estate of Samuel Waldrop, the sum of $42.00 part of account for one brown mare and signed by Harmon (X) Waldrop. (Laurens Co. SC deeds) 

Deed Book "G" p. 260, Laurens Co., SC. "Indenture made the 16th day of May 1800 between George Rose, and Tamer, his wife, of the state of SC. and County of Laurens on of the one part and Harmon Waldrop of the same... tract of 100 acres... Signed George Rose, Tamer X Rose. Witnesses: Edmund Waldrop, William Rose. Confirmed by oath of Edmund Waldrop 9 Feb 1801.

Laurens Co., SC. Deed Book H, page 215. 28 Sep 1801. Recorded 7 Apr 1807 - James Waldrop and wife Elizabeth to James Moss for $550, 150 acres borders on Cheek, James Brown, Spencer Brown, said James Waldrop. Witnesses - Augustin Bumpass, James Cersy Waldrop, Edmond Waldrop. Starlin Tucker, J.P.

We can infer that James Searcy Waldrop was a brother of Edmund because he named a son Edmund--the only other Edmund to appear in the entire Waldrop clan. These three Waldrop men appear in these deeds together and show obvious association; neither Edmund nor James Searcy show Waldrop associations in Laurens County outside of these deeds; only Harmon Waldrop appears to show familiarity with the James Waldrop (c.1740-1799) clan, being administrator of his son, Samuel (also died in 1799).

This would seem to place Harmon (and by extention, probably James Searcy and Edmund) as potential sons of James Waldrop. However, James's 1798 will names an enormous family of twelve children (Solomon, Richard, David, John, Elisha, Elijah, Isaac, Samuel, Abraham, Mary, Rita and James), with a whopping ten of them being boys, leaving no room for Harmon, James Searcy and Edmund.

None of the three "brothers" (Harmon, James Searcy, Edmund) appear in the wills of any Waldrop men in North or South Carolina, so there is no easy way to infer who their father was.

But it's even worse than that. Upon careful analysis, these three unplaced sons-- Harmon, James Searcy and Edmund-- do not seem to fit anywhere among the grandsons of Luke Waldrop Sr. (c.1710-c.1780).

Luke Sr. had six documented sons: John, James, Joseph, Michael, Luke and Jechonias Waldrop. We've already eliminated James as a potential father, but we're going to go through the rest of them one by one just to get all our cards on the table.

LUKE WALDROP ELIMINATED

As previously noted, many researchers have tried to fit Edmund among the children of Luke Waldrop Jr. (c.1750-c.1829) of Rutherford County, NC. 

Unfortunately, this really doesn't work. Luke Waldrop Jr. names three children, Sarah, Mary and Asa Waldrop in his will in Rutherford County, NC in 1828. It was witnessed by his son, also named Luke Waldrop. And in 1809 Luke sold all of his land except 30 acres "where Daniel Waldrop lives," indicating another likely son. He and his wife attended a church in Greenville and were named congregants along with Amos, Sary and Nancy Waldrop in 1809, with Amos and Nancy being two more. So we have documentation for children named Asa, Daniel, Amos, Luke, Sarah, Mary and Nancy.

That's seven children, four sons and three daughters. In the 1790 US census of Laurens County, SC he had seven kids (four sons and three daughters). In 1800, he had four sons and two daughters. So that lines up perfectly. There's no room for Harmon, Edmund or James Searcy Waldrop. Luke can be ruled out.

MICHAEL WALDROP ELIMINATED

Michael Waldrop (c.1748-1807) had no will. He had two documented sons, John and Michael Jr. (both born bef.1775) who sold his land in January 1807. John lived next door in 1800; Michael Jr. does not appear in census records, unless he's the Michael Waldrop in Spartanburg County, SC.

1790: Laurens Co., SC. U. S. Census. Michael Waldrop - 2 Males over age 16; 2 males under age 16 and 3 females. Michael b. ca. 1748 would have been age 42.

1800: Laurens Co., SC. U. S. Census. Michael Waldrop - 1 male under 10; 1 male 10-16; 1 male 16-26; 1 male 45 +; 2 females 16-26; 1 female 45+. Michael born ca. 1748 would have been age 52. John Waldrop next door (Son)

Michael has a son in his household that is the correct age to be Edmund. However, we can't place Michael's documented children (John, Michael Jr., both b. bef.1775) as well as Harmon (b.1770s) Edmund (b.1778) and James Searcy (b.1780ish) ALL in Michael's household because in the 1790 US census he only had one son over 16 (b.bef.1774) and two under 16. So besides his two proven sons, there's only room in Michael's family for one extra son. This rules out Michael as well.

JOSEPH WALDROP ELIMINATED

In 1803, Joseph Waldrop (c.1745-aft.1817) took two sons, William and John to Kentucky and later settled in Illinois where he died with no will circa 1818. He may have had other daughters as well. His family does not seem to be particularly well documented, and it is possible he left other sons behind.

Unfortunately, Joseph cannot be the father of Harmon, James S. and Edmund. He simply has too few sons in the 1790 and 1800 US census:

1790 US census, Laurens Co., SC: Joseph Waldrop 2 wm +16; 2 wm -16; 5 females. So he has one son born bef.1774 (William) and two sons born 1774-1790 (William and James?)

1800 US census, Laurens Co., SC: Joseph Waldrop 3m -10; 1m 16-25; 1m +45; 1f 10-15; 1f 26-44; 1f +45. So he has 3 sons born after 1790 and only 1 born 1775-84 (John).

So Joseph is eliminated as well.

JOHN WALDROP ELIMINATED

John Waldrop (c.1733-1794) left Granville County, North Carolina and moved to Newberry County, South Carolina in 1772. There is no evidence he ever set foot in Laurens County. He also had 13 children born between 1760-1780 or so, and zero room in his family for three more boys. So this theory is DOA.

JECHONIAS WALDROP ELIMINATED

Edmund Waldrop married Mary Ann, daughter of Jechonias Waldrop (c.1754-1826) as his second wife (marriage bond Oct. 23, 1840, Rutherford Co., NC) so unless they were horrifyingly incestuous he cannot be a son of Jechonias.

***

SO WHO WERE THE PARENTS OF HARMON, JAMES SEARCY AND EDMUND WALDROP?

Their parents were likely James and Elizabeth Waldrop of Laurens County, South Carolina, cousins of the Luke Waldrop families. James (c.1735-aft.1801) was a probable son of Michael Waldrop (c.1705-aft.1766), likely brother to Luke Waldrop Sr. (c.1710-c.1780). 

To make things as confusing as possible, this older James Waldrop (called Sr. in the following deed) can be directly associated with James Waldrop, son of Luke, of Laurens. No less than three James Waldrops took part in the following deed, one as grantor, two as witnesses: James Waldrop, son of Luke (c.1740-1799), his son James (c.1763-1799) and "James Waldrop Sr.", son of Michael (c.1735-aft.1801). However, this helps to explain why Harmon Waldrop was administrator of Samuel Waldrop, brother and son of the above Jameses from the Luke line; these two families appear to have been close:

Laurens Co., SC. Deed Book "B", p. 183-185. Dated 23 Jan 1787. James Waldrop Sr., late of Laurens Co., to John Waldrop for 40 pds sterling, 100 acres on the South side of the Enoree River. Original patent to James Waldrop 19 Jun 1772. Bounded by Luke Waldrop. Witnesses - James Waldrop, James Waldrop and David McElroy.

And perhaps the simplest bit of evidence, a sale by James and Elizabeth Waldrop, witnessed by two of their likely sons, James Searcy and Edmund Waldrop:

Laurens Co., SC. Deed Book H, page 215. 28 Sep 1801. Recorded 7 Apr 1807 - James Waldrop and wife Elizabeth to James Moss for $550, 150 acres borders on Cheek, James Brown, Spencer Brown, said James Waldrop. Witnesses - Augustin Bumpass, James Cersy Waldrop, Edmond Waldrop. Starlin Tucker, J.P. 

In the 1800 US census of Laurens County, SC there is James Waldrop Sr. (b. bef.1755), James Waldrop (b.1755-1774) and another James in Spartanburg (b.1755-1774). None of these Jameses could be James (c.1740-1799) or his son James (d.1799), both of whom are deceased. "James Waldrop Sr." in Laurens has in his household two males b.1774-84, who are likely to be Edmund (b.1778) and James Searcy (b.1780). Harmon Waldrop (b.1775-1784) is a head of household in Laurens, just one page over from James Waldrop Sr. So now we finally have a good fit for Harmon, Edmund and James Searcy in terms of both deeds and census records.

Aside from a probable son named Matthew (his next door neighbor in the 1800 US census), there are no other proven sons for James and Elizabeth Waldrop, so there is ample room in this family for the three Waldrop brothers as well as a clearly documented association. The only traditional Waldrop name that Edmund gave one of his own sons was "James."
 

***

WIFE OF EDMUND WALDROP

The family bible of Asbury Waldrop, also known as J. E. A. Waldrop gives a date of death for Edmund's first wife, "Nancy Waldrep" as September 8, 1828. It also gives Edmund Waldrop's death as August 3, 1846, at age 68 years.

She is often called Nancy or Sarah McGregor in online family trees. This is false. According to information found in a PDF research report called Modified Register for Luke Waldrop by Howard and Carol Ann Waldrop, it appears to be a mistake loosely based on the research of Mrs. Jewll Minor Wallace from 1997 or earlier which named Sarah, wife of Luke Waldrop (c.1781-1854) of Rutherford County, North Carolina as "Sarah McGregor", which was evidently a misremembering of his wife's correct name "Sarah McBrayer." Somehow this erroneous information was attached to Edmund Waldrop and has stuck for more then twenty years.

Nancy, the first wife of Edmund Waldrop was born Nancy Pettypool, daughter of John Pettypool (later John Pool) of Laurens County, South Carolina. The will of John Pool, sealed in Greenville County, South Carolina on January 13, 1837, names "Edmund Waldrope my son-in-law." He gave Waldrop one dollar "for I consider that I have given him part before this date."

The Pettypools and Waldrops first show association back in 1788, when John Waldrop, possibly older brother or uncle of Edmund, leased land to "Seth Petty Pool," (grandfather of Edmund's wife Nancy) that he had recently bought of James Waldrop Sr. (Laurens Co., SC Deed  Book B p. 399)

***

I am indebted to Howard and Carol Ann Waldrop's extensive documentation of the Waldrop family of South Carolina.

=JMF

Genealogical Study of James Middleton of Rutherford County, North Carolina

I've been assembling information from various sources and a picture is starting to emerge about James Middleton of Rutherford County, North Carolina, who appears in records there from at least 1785 (when he first appears in a local tax census) to July 9, 1794, when he received a state land grant. 

James Middleton evidently died young, probably not long after receiving his land grant. He's the only Middleton who appears in the county in the 1790 census; he doesn't appear in the 1800 census or any thereafter.

PARENTAGE 

The most significant clue to James's origin is the presence of men named Robert and Smallwood Middleton in the 1800 US census of Rutherford County, North Carolina, who seem likely to be his sons. Robert is age 16-25 (b.1775-1784) and Smallwood is 26-44 (b.1755-1774). Given that he doesn't appear in the 1790 census or any early records, Smallwood was probably born in the early 1770s.

If Smallwood Middleton was his son, it suggests James Middleton was almost certainly an undocumented son of William Middleton (d.1755) and Mary Coghill (whose mother was Ann Smallwood) of Charles County, Maryland. William died intestate and we have no formal record of his children aside from the 1769 will of his own father, William Middleton Sr., which mentions William Jr.'s sons Isaac Smallwood Middleton and Hugh Middleton. This is evidently the only place the given name "Smallwood" appears in this (or any) Middleton family.

Isaac Smallwood Middleton (c.1741-1789) settled in Fairfax County, Virginia in the 1770s and had sons named James Middleton and Smallwood Coghill Middleton (among others) who remained in Virginia and are well documented.

James could also be an undocumented son of Robert Middleton (c.1720-c.1803), brother to the above William Middleton (c.1718-1755). Robert lived a long life but had only one documented son, Robert Middleton Jr., but is likely to have had several others who appear near him in Augusta and Columbia County, Georgia from c.1770 through the time he moved to Fayette County, Kentucky (c.1782) and finally settled in Natchez County, Mississippi. Robert Middleton, Smallwood Middleton (probably the same man from Fairfax County, Virginia), Bennett Middleton, Hatton Middleton and others were awarded land in Franklin County, Georgia in 1784 for service in the Revolutionary War.

CLUES TO IDENTITY OF HIS WIFE

Clue #1: In the 1790 census (and earlier tax lists) James Middleton appears next door to the household of Jones Williams (1720s-1807). Jones Williams had no recorded will and his children are only partially documented. However, the written family history compiled by the late Roy D. Stubbs of Georgia reveals a tantalizing clue: "James Middleton, the progenitor of all the Georgia Middletons, came originally from Rutherford County, North Carolina. He married Zillah Williams." This came from Ancestry.com user "StubbsBarrettTree." This family tradition points at Jones Williams as the probable father-in-law of James Middleton.

Clue #2: William Middleton and Jones Middleton appeared in court in Walton County, Georgia on September 19, 1822 to appoint a power of attorney in order to obtain their share of the estate of their grandfather, Jones Williams in Rutherford County, North Carolina. (Walton Co., GA Deed Book C, pg. 130.)

Clue #3: A man named Haynes Payne died in Jackson County, Alabama in 1836 and his estate probate names his wife as Zillah Payne. G. B. Middleton bought property from Payne's estate sale and via other sources the Paynes had sons named James Middleton Payne and Jones William(s) Payne. Judging by the name congruence, this seems to be a likely daughter of James and Zillah Middleton.

These three sources seemed unaware of each other, and paint a pretty clear picture that Zillah Williams was evidently a daughter of Jones Williams and Elizabeth Ledbetter of Rutherford County, North Carolina. If you're researching the Jones Williams family you'll find excellent documentation by Effie Williams on the Familysearch.org public tree. Most of the stuff you see on the Williams-Ledbetter family on Findagrave is nonsense. Beware fake middle names, they're everywhere.

CLUES TO OTHER RELATIVES

There are a number of families in Rutherford County who may have also been related by marriage to James Middleton:

Middleton Sutton (c.1800-1870s), likely son of William Sutton and an unidentified first wife who died prior to 1807. She may have been a daughter of James and Zillah Middleton. Middleton Sutton had a grandson named James Middleton Sutton (1878-1943).

Josiah Ashlock (1760s-aft.1814) of Rutherford County, North Carolina m. Elizabeth, probably born Sutton, since Josiah is a legatee of the will of John Sutton of Rutherford County in March 1814. They had a son named James, who descendants swear was named James Middleton Ashlock. No record of his life gives him a middle name, but he does have a son named James M. Ashlock and a nephew (son of his brother Josiah Ashlock 1807-52) who is called in his death certificate "Joshua Middleton Ashlock." (Jack Co. TX, Mar. 17, 1923).

William Williams (d.1834) of Rutherford County, North Carolina, who was kin to Jones Williams, m.1782-83 Nancy, whose last name is undocumented, but descendants apparently have a tradition that she was a Middleton.

LIST OF PROBABLE CHILDREN

Taken the information all together, here is what the family of James Middleton (c.1750-aft.1794) and Zillah Williams (c.1756-bef.1822) probably looked like:

1. Smallwood Middleton (c.1773-1824) died in Jefferson Co., Tennessee
2. unknown Middleton (c.1775-bef.1807) m. William Sutton of Rutherford Co., North Carolina
3. Robert Middleton (c.1778-aft.1800) of Rutherford Co., North Carolina
4. Hanson Middleton (c.1780-18??) appears in Rutherford Co., North Carolina records
5. Zillah Middleton (c.1782-bef.1860) of Titus Co., Texas, m. Haynes Payne of Alabama
6. Jones Middleton (c.1785-aft.1845) of Pontotoc, Mississippi
7. William Middleton (c.1790-aft.1830) of Putnam Co., Georgia

=JMF