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