Moses Splawn (c.1777-c.1828) of Rutherford County, North Carolina

It's been well established that Moses Splawn, who appears in the deeds and census records of Rutherford County, North Carolina from 1807 to 1824, was a son of John Splawn (c.1744-c.1794) and Sebara Helms (d.aft.1800) of Fairfield County, South Carolina. What has been less thoroughly documented online are Moses Splawn's own wife and children so that's what I'm setting out to do here with the best documentation available.

Moses evidently co-migrated from South Carolina to Rutherford County with his presumed brother James Splawn ( c.1765-aft.1830), who begins appearing there in the 1810 census and Peggy Splawn (d.1830s), evident widow of his brother John Splawn (c.1767-bef.1810), Peggy having bought property in the county in 1815.

Census records indicate that Moses was born some time between 1776 and 1784. He enters the historic record with a land purchase on Floyd's Creek on December 8, 1807. He appears in only a handful of deeds and two census records. He died sometime between June 6, 1824, when he witnessed the will of Larken Lee, and October 24, 1828 when Nancy Splawn, his presumed widow, bought land from Isham Cook in Rutherford County.

Nancy Splawn begins appearing as a head of household in the 1830 U.S. census and makes her final appearance in the household of Lathy Splawn near Floyd's Creek in 1850. At the time Nancy was enumerated as seventy years of age, born in North Carolina. She makes her final recorded appearance in a deed to her son James Splawn on February 9, 1853 where she seems to have unloaded her real estate.

There are several clues as to Nancy's children: the most obvious being the Lathy Splawn she lived with in 1850. Nancy also appeared on the same page as a Nathan Splawn in the 1840 census and sold her property to the above James Splawn. An 1860 deed shows Nathan Splawn sold land to "Lithia" Splawn. So right off the bat we have three obvious children identified.

Deed from Nathan Splawn to Litha Splawn, 1860.

So how many are missing? The 1820 census shows us that altogether Moses and Nancy had four sons and five daughters. Possibly more were born after 1820. So that leaves at least two more sons and four daughters to identify.

Despite this family's almost complete lack of wills or probate records, there is one incredible document that tells us basically what the rest of the family looked like: the October 1867 deed of sale from the "heirs at law" of Henry Splawn (c.1831-1863), eldest son of Nathan Splawn (c.1802-1860), to William Splawn (c.1820-aft.1881) of Rutherford County.

Henry Splawn was a childless, unmarried man when he died a prisoner of war in January 1863. Being an only child, he had inherited the entirety of his parents' estate following the death of his father in September 1860. With no siblings, parents or descendants to leave his estate to, it ended up in the hands of his "heirs at law" as named below:

Wow, that's a lot of heirs. They can't all be his aunts and uncles, right? As it turns out, they're not. More on this later.

There is an additional document: an estate account for Henry Splawn from March 1872 that states a few of the same names above and a few new ones:

Notice that everyone on this list is getting an equal portion of the estate. We know via Henry's parents' marriage bond in 1829 that his mother was Susannah McDaniel. So the first five on the list were his mother's relatives, the second five were his father's.

We can see from the settlement that William Splawn, who bought the above land from Henry's heirs at law was himself an heir; this places him as one of Henry's probable uncles. We can see the "Lathy Splawn" from the 1850 census -- clearly a daughter of Nancy -- signed in 1867 as "Lithia Splawn" and was listed in the settlement account as "Telitha Splawn" which was probably her full name. Between the two documents we can also identify James Splawn, Hosea Splawn, "Amila" Splawn and Anna Splawn.

But wait -- there's more information hiding in here. In 1867 we have signatures for what looks to be A. S. Green, W. P. Green, Manly Green, Pinkney Green and Artilda Green. Census records show these are children of Thomas Green (c.1808-1882) and Elizabeth Green (c.1807-aft.1860). Interestingly, in the 1860 census this couple had a tenant named Anna Splawn living in their household. Its clear that Elizabeth is another Splawn daughter, evidently not living as of 1867, so five of her children showed up in court to sell their share of the estate.

There's another interesting couple in there: William and Nancy Dills. There would have been no reason for Nancy to show up in court if her husband was the heir, so Nancy is clearly the relevant signatory. William and Nancy lived right next door to James Splawn in the 1860 census. The 1850 census indicates she was 23 years old and recently married, so she could fit as a last child for Moses and Nancy. 

So now we can take these inferences and assemble a list of the likey children of Moses and Nancy Splawn:

1. Nathan Splawn (c.1802 - Sep. 1860) married Susannah McDaniel in 1829.

2. Elizabeth Splawn (c.1806 - bef. Oct. 1867) m. Thomas Green c. 1827.

3. Artilda Splawn (c.1807 - aft. Dec. 28, 1888) m. William Martin by 1840.

4. James Splawn (c.1808 - aft. 1870) m. Artie M. Smith by 1846.

5. Amila Splawn (c.1810 - aft. Oct. 1867) not known to have married.

6. Telitha Splawn (c.1815 - aft. 1880) not known to have married.

7. William Splawn (c.1820 - aft. Dec. 6, 1881) married Jane Waldrop in 1840.

8. Hosea Splawn (c.1822 - aft. Dec. 6, 1878) married Mary Perry by 1854.

9. Anna Splawn (c.1825 - 1905) not known to have married.

10. Nancy Splawn (c.1827 - aft. 1880) married William Dills by 1847.

There may have been others, possibly children who died young and never made it into the historical record. But these are the children we can positively identify. You'll notice Artilda Splawn here -- I found her accidentally searching for Artilda Green. William and Artilda Martin appear in several deeds and census records in Rutherford County and the 1930 death certificate for their son, William gives his parents as William Martin and "Tillie Splawn."

NANCY SPLAWN (1780 - aft.1853)

Now that we've identified the children of Moses and Nancy Splawn, we can turn to Nancy's origins. From census records, we only know that she claimed to have been born in North Carolina in 1780 or thereabouts. Whoever her parents were, they must have been in Rutherford County by the time of her marriage around 1801.

After researching several neighboring families: McClure, McDaniel, Hinson, Robbins, Twitty, Owens, Briscoe and more, I've found only one family that fits: Watkins.

Interestingly, the first tract of land Moses Splawn bought in Rutherford County in 1807 was adjacent Ambrose Watkins. In an unusual move, the deed stated that Moses had Joel Watkins deliver the payment to the land owner in his stead. This shows a high level of trust in someone he must have been very close to, indicating a possible in-law relationship. Moses later witnessed a deed for Joel in 1811.

1807 deed to Moses Splawn, payment made by Joel Watkins for land near Ambrose Watkins

Joel Watkins, who married Elizabeth Dills, moved out of state a few years later and died in Christian County, Illinois in 1839. Census records indicate that Joel had a son named Nathan Watkins, named for his wife's step-father, Nathan Briscoe (d.1807). Moses and Nancy Splawn named their first son Nathan and we know the name didn't come from the Splawn side. Joel Watkins also had a daughter named Nancy and women named Nancy Watkins appear in marriage bonds in early 19th century Rutherford County, probably daughters of Ambrose Watkins Jr. and Isaiah Watkins, among possible others.

There's other inferential evidence as well: the two families stuck together like glue. In the 1830 census, Ambrose Watkins Jr. lived right next door to Nathan Splawn, eldest son of Moses and Nancy. In the 1850 census, J. J. Watkins lived next door to William Splawn, another of their sons. Since Watkins does not appear in the deed books of Rutherford County, he may have lived on William Splawn's land.

Nancy Splawn had two grandsons named Henry, despite the name not appearing anywhere else in the Splawn family. Oddly enough, her son Nathan named his only child Henry. Ambrose Watkins had a likely older brother named Henry Watkins (c.1748-1820s) who lived in Surry County, North Carolina and several nephews named Henry as well.

And finally, the rare given name "Telitha" looks like it might have come from the Watkins family as well, with Stephen Watkins, a cousin of the above Ambrose, having married a Telitha "Lithy" Stewman in 1809 according to their marriage bond, several years before Telitha Splawn was born.

The weight of the evidence suggests Nancy Splawn was likely a daughter of Ambrose Watkins (c.1754-aft.1824) and his wife Martha from Rowan County, North Carolina. While the name Ambrose didn't seem to make its way through many Watkins or Splawn lines, the name Martha appears in both. 

Its an inferential case, but its the best I have given the lack of will and probate records for both the Splawn and Watkins families.

 

Research by Jason M. Farrell

Who Were the Parents of Polly Capshaw Splawn?

Death certificate of Margaret Elizabeth Splawn Ponder, 1914.

William Splawn (1806-1884) and Polly Capshaw of Rutherford County, North Carolina were named as the parents of Margaret Elizabeth Ponder (1831-1914) and Sarah Lithia Davis (1844-1914) in their respective death certificates. A Splawn family bible referenced online gives their mother's name as Mary Capshaw and her date of birth as January 4, 1806. For the sake of this post, we'll assume that date is correct.

Mary Capshaw's father is widely believed to be James Capshaw (c.1773-aft.1830) and his wife Margaret Tabor, but this is improbable. Rutherford County, North Carolina deeds show James Capshaw left the state in 1814 or 1815 and relocated to Tennessee, when Mary would have only been eight or nine years old. Because the 1810 and 1820 census show James Capshaw had the same number of daughters born after 1800, it isn't possible that he left a pre-teen daughter behind in North Carolina, which would be absurd anyway.

James Capshaw's brothers, Josiah, William W., David and Daniel Capshaw had also all left North Carolina by 1815. William W. can be eliminated entirely as a possible father because he had no daughters under age 10 in the 1810 US census. Josiah has 4 girls under age 10, but deeds and grant records show Josiah was already living in Warren County, Tennessee by November 1815. She cannot be a daughter of David Capshaw, who is said by a family account written in the 1880s to have had a daughter named Mary in 1823. And Daniel Capshaw was born in the 1790s according to the 1830 census and seems to be far too young to have had a daughter in 1806. Thomas Capshaw, whose father is unknown, was out of North Carolina by 1813; Essex Capshaw (bef.1748-1827), uncle of the above James, was gone by 1796. Records are clear that the entire Capshaw clan was out of the state of North Carolina by 1815.

This is confounding because we have reliable documentation that Mary was a Capshaw and we know she married in North Carolina around 1826 and lived there until her death, so there MUST have been a Capshaw to remain behind in North Carolina after 1815. To find him, we have to examine post-1815 deeds.

First, in 1822, the sheriff of Rutherford County, North Carolina seized land in the county owned by James Capshaw and sold it at auction to pay off debts Capshaw left when he moved to Tennessee. It is clear that James did not returned to the state for this event and his name never again appears in North Carolina records.

Second, on August 31, 1831, Alexander Capshaw was named in a Rutherford County survey order for Christopher Huntington and Jonathan Blackwell on the waters of White Oak Creek as an adjoining landowner along with Benjamin Edwards and Daniel Edwards.

This tract was referenced again in a deed of January 13, 1844 when Elizabeth Muster, relict of George Jones, bought 330 acres including a "mansion house on the south bank of the north fork of White Oak Creek... to Daniel Edwards corner... corner of John Webb's tract... to Neiles gap to a pine knot, also now William Splawn's corner... to Watson Abrams line... to the old... line of the Blackwell or Capshaw tract of 300 acres to their line..."

Note that both the 1844 deed and the 1831 survey order indicate that Daniel Edwards, Jonathan Blackwell and Alexander Capshaw are neighbors on White Oak Creek, but shows that William Splawn lives there as well. This leaves zero doubt that William Splawn lived in close proximity to Alexander Capshaw.

There are two further references to Capshaws in North Carolina records after 1815, one of which also involves the above William Splawn, husband of Mary Capshaw.

A North Carolina Supreme Court case dated November 11, 1850 records that a 278-acre tract in Rutherford (later Polk) County was "on both sides of the middle fork of White Oak Creek in two surveys joining the William Capshaw land" and "including the Jinkins improvement" and running to "Sharp's line" was claimed title to by William Splawn according to a notice sent to Splawn to enter himself as defendant in the ejectment suit of Fanny Blalock and others v. William Splawn.

So who was this William Capshaw? The above referenced tract, with the exact same metes and bounds, appears in a memorial from William Capshaw to Benjamin Jenkins written December 3, 1791 and recorded May 23, 1795 in Rutherford County, whereby Jenkins' heirs claimed the original deed dated June 1779 had never been recorded and was destroyed in a house fire in 1780.

Given the 1779 sale date, this William Capshaw referenced in 1850 can only be William Capshaw Sr. (c.1740-aft.1813), who was long dead by 1850. Mary Capshaw Splawn cannot be his daughter because the 1810 census shows his final daughters were born in the 1790s. Even assuming the Splawn family bible birth date was wrong, Mary Capshaw Splawn could not have been born that early if, as census records show, she had her last child in 1848.

There are no further references to Capshaws owning land in Rutherford County after 1815. So by process of elimination, Alexander Capshaw is the likeliest father of Polly Capshaw Splawn.

Alexander Capshaw seems to have only been documented in two records, the second being the above 1831 survey order. In fact, he may have only been recorded in the 1799 tax list of Christian County, Kentucky; it is possible he died a few years later, leaving his widow to return to Rutherford County, North Carolina so that her family could help raise her children. 

It would make sense then, that the Alexander Capshaw who appears in the 1831 survey order may have actually been a younger Alexander Capshaw (1804-aft.1860) who census records show was the last Capshaw in North Carolina, with his twin sons having been born there in 1832 and his daughter Sarah being born in Alabama in 1834, per the 1850 U.S. census. Being the last Capshaw in North Carolina, only two years older than Mary Capshaw Splawn and living nearly adjacent to William Splawn on White Oak Creek, its virtually certain that Alexander was her brother.

This theory could explain why one of Mary Capshaw Splawn's sons was named Alexander; this would be in honor of her likely father and brother.

It remains possible that her son Alexander was only named in honor of her brother Alexander, and that they are not the children of Alexander Capshaw of the 1799 tax list in Kentucky; the only other possible fathers in the entire Capshaw clan would be William Capshaw (bef.1776-aft.1825), who was adjudged insane by a Kentucky court in 1810 and left to the care of his father, Essex Capshaw Sr.; and Essex Capshaw Jr., who was last confirmed living in 1796 but may have been alive in Missouri as late as 1817. All other documented Capshaw men of this generation seem to have lived beyond 1830 and remained in Tennessee, Alabama, Arkansas, Missouri or Mississippi. As a final note, Polly cannot be a daughter of Essex Capshaw Sr. (d.1827) because he reported no daughters born after 1800 in the 1810 US census.

There seems to be no evidence that the insane William Capshaw mentioned above married or had children. He never appears in a census record and evidently lived with his parents his whole life. After his father became too infirm to take care of him in 1824, he was left in the charge of his brother-in-law, Peyton Tucker. Family lore written in the 1880s claims Essex Capshaw Jr. died shortly after his marriage. In both cases, there seems to be no contemporary or later census evidence that they had children. By elimination, the evidence points back to Alexander Capshaw as the father of Alexander and Mary "Polly" Capshaw.

So who was Alexander Capshaw? He had only two possible fathers. Family lore from the 19th century indicates that only two of the Capshaw men who migrated to North Carolina in the 1760s had children: William Capshaw (c.1740-aft.1813) and Essex Capshaw (bef.1748-1827). William Capshaw's children were listed by his grandson, Dr. Preston Capshaw, in his book Concerning the Origin of the Capshaw Family in America in the 1880s. There is no Alexander. Therefore, Alexander can only be the son of Essex Capshaw, whose children have never been fully documented.

Research by Jason M. Farrell

The Parents of William Splawn (1806-1884) of Rutherford County, North Carolina

William Splawn (May 27, 1806 - July 10, 1884) was a farmer in Rutherford and (after 1855) Polk County, North Carolina, where he lived on White Oak Creek. Marriage bonds show he married Jane Waldrop in December 1850, but census records show he had numerous children before then; death certificates of two of his older children show their mother was named Polly Capshaw.

William Splawn was granted a 125-acre tract in Rutherford County on June 20, 1829 on the head waters of Nancy Wilson's fork, adjoining an older woman, Margaret "Peggy" Splawn. Peggy had herself bought land in the county in November 1815. William and Peggy Splawn appeared in court together when they were sued for trespass along with an Anna Mase in July 1833. The close association and significant age difference suggests that Peggy was likely his mother.

Peggy appeared in Rutherford County the 1810 census and had one male in her household, a boy under 10 who was exactly the right age to be William. She is no longer a head of household in the 1830 census and is likely the woman in William Splawn's household who was born in the 1760s. Peggy Splawn appears to have died before the 1840 census.

So its clear that Peggy was William's mother, and we know she was widowed at some point before 1810. Knowing her origins can help us identify her late husband. Peggy came from Fairfield District, South Carolina, where she was named in a court case of 1791 as "Margaret Splawn" and was clearly related to the Splawn family there, as some of them are known to have co-migrated to Rutherford County and there is only one other Splawn family in the entire South at this time, that of Thomas Splawn who came from Prince William County, Virginia and shows no relation to North Carolina.

Peggy and William Splawn's deeds both name an adjoining neighbor as Aspasio Earle (1785-1874). Aspasio Earle's father, Baylis Earle (1734-1823) a prominent judge, was next door neighbor to John Splawn of Spartanburg District, South Carolina in the 1800 US census. Splawn also witnessed a deed for Earle in October 1800. John Splawn appears in no further records in either North or South Carolina and Peggy begins showing up as a head of household in the very next census. This shows sufficient connection to suggest that John Splawn of Spartanburg District who evidently died before 1810 was the father of William.

The 1800, 1810 and 1820 census shows John and Peggy seem to have had several daughters in the 1790s but only one son, evidently William Splawn of Rutherford County. William had children named John and Margaret but none named Moses, James, Stephen or others that would imply he was a son of one of the other sons of John Splawn Sr. (c.1740-1794) of Fairfield County, South Carolina. The evidence is circumstantial, but points firmly toward John and Margaret Splawn being his parents.

Note: The above photo of William Splawn's gravestone appears to show his birth date as May 27, 1800. However, the 1860, 1870 and 1880 census as well as his 1884 obituary all agree that he was born in 1806. I think its more likely that the gravestone was incorrectly carved than that every record from his lifetime was consistently wrong by six years, so I'll be referring to his birth date as May 27, 1806 in my blog posts.

 

Research by Jason M. Farrell

DAR Ancestor A111309 Confuses THREE Separate Men Named James Sutton

 

An entry in the Daughters of the American Revolution patriot index gives the following information for DAR Patriot Ancestor #A111309:

SUTTON, JAMES
Service: NORTH CAROLINA    
Rank(s): SECOND LIEUTENANT
Birth: 1747 GUILFORD CO NORTH CAROLINA
Death: 1815 SMITH CO TENNESSEE
Service Description: 1) 2ND REGT

The entry also names his wife as "Martha Elizabeth Brown" and lists children named Dempsey Sutton and James Sutton whom descendants have joined the DAR through. It's important to note that this is not the James Sutton of Lincoln County, North Carolina (1834) who served as a drummer in the 5th regiment in Halifax County, North Carolina c.1780. More on him later.

There was indeed a James Sutton who served in the 2nd North Carolina regiment which was mustered in 1775 in Salisbury, Edenton and New Bern, North Carolina. Salisbury is northeast of Charlotte, while the other two cities are on the eastern shoreline. This James Sutton received a pay voucher for his service in Edenton dated July 24, 1784 and appears in the records of Chowan County (in which Edenton sits) from 1785 until his death in 1826. Without a doubt, he did not die in Tennessee in 1815 as the DAR entry suggests.

So where did this DAR information come from?

Looking at Smith County, Tennessee records, there doesn't seem to be any evidence of a James Sutton who died in 1815; there is however one who died in 1835. This James Sutton was from North Carolina and first patented land in Smith County, Tennessee on April 27, 1814. He bought more land in 1817, 1818, 1827 and 1830. The 1814 patent was actually awarded to Joseph Randolph for military service in 1797, but Randolph declared James Sutton "assignee."

This James Sutton sealed his will on January 6, 1835, naming wife Alsey Sutton and children George Sutton, Edmund Sutton, James Sutton, Dempsey Sutton and Milly Williams. Note that the name Dempsey among his children is consistent with DAR records, so this appears to be the James Sutton the DAR is referring to.

Some more light is shed on this James Sutton by a family legend as told in a letter in 1940, transcribed below.

Transcribed By Vada Sutton

March 9, 1950
 
The Sutton Family

Below is a letter we write to Mrs. H. A. Russell, wife of Elder Henry A. Russell, of Murfreesboro, Tennessee, about ten years ago.  Since it is already written and as time is limited, we are taking the liberty of publishing it as it was written, for the benefit of others who might be interested in the history of the family, even though there are several personal matters contained in the letter, which is as follows:

Lafayette, Tenn., Aug. 3, 1940

Mrs. H. A. Russell

Murfreesboro, Tenn.

Dear Mrs. Russell:

At last I have found that record I made from information given me by your late father James M. Sutton, relative to the history of his family.  I put down what he told me largely in the form of a diagram and from it, I will give you most of the information I received from him.  If any part of it is not plain, please write me and I will do my best to make it all clear.  He told me that the first James Sutton of whom he had any knowledge was a native of Wales, coming to North Carolina about 1650.  Four brothers, names unknown, came with him.  

This James Sutton had a son, named James, a grandson bearing the same name, a great-grandson named James and a great-great-grandson, James, all in a direct line of descent from the first James Sutton.  With this great-great-grandson the record becomes a little more detailed.  

The great-great-grandson, born in 1736, was a second Lieutenant in the Revolutionary War, married Elizabeth Brown, weighed 550 pounds when last weighed and died on Defeated Creek in Smith County in 1836.  Three of his brothers are mentioned, although the name of one of them is unknown.  He left Tennessee for Scottsville, later moving to Indiana where one of his sons became Governor of that State. Another brother, Will Sutton, settled in Putnam County, Tennessee. The fourth brother, John Sutton, had two children, George Sutton and Ann, who married a Cooper.  

This is the entire record I have of the family up to this point except the family record of the large man, James Sutton, whose date of birth was in 1736.  He married Elizabeth Brown, and the record shows that he was twice married; but the name of the other wife is not given, nor is the order of his marriage.  However, the children of his first marriage appear to have been: Colby, George, Abner, Logan Jonathan, Joel and Oneida.  His children by the second marriage were: Edmund Sutton, James Sutton, Demps Sutton, Mellie and Nellie Sutton.

I have nothing as to the wives or husbands of any of the children of the first marriage except George Sutton, who married a Cartwright, an aunt of Clark Cartwright, a Confederate soldier who died on the head of Defeated Creek about 25 years ago.  George went to Dade County, Georgia, where he died as a very old man in 1878.  He had one son, Leroy Sutton, who married an aunt of Judge Sam Young, for many years a prominent citizen of Dixon Springs.  Leroy's children were, Howard Sutton, a Christian Preacher; James Sutton, another son whose name is believed to have been Will, and a daughter, Harriet.

Logan Sutton never married, but was a bachelor farmer on Peyton's Creek, owning six slaves and 1,000 acres of land.  He left home with a drove of horses and was never heard from again.  Colby is the only one whose descendants were given to me by your father.  He had two children.  Wilkerson and Bernettie Sutton.  Wilkerson married Barbara Wix, and Bernettie married the father of Aunt Bide Russell.  Wilkerson's children were: James, married a daughter of Levi Shoulder; David Colby Sutton, married Celia J. Austin; Jane Sutton, married Sherd Bailey; Mary Sutton, married Sam Shoulders; and one daughter whose name I do not have.  The offspring of James Sutton and the Shoulders woman, if any, is unknown to me.  David Colby and Celia J. Austin were the parents of Christian, Sallie, Eveline, James D., Clark, Philander and Cora Sutton.   Jane became the mother of two sons, Joe and Thomas Bailey.  Mary became the mother of one son, Matthew Shoulders.

***

There is a second source, possibly written around the same time, as follows:

The fifth family to settle on Defeated Creek was that of James Sutton, who was a soldier of the Revolution. He was a very large man, his vest being large enough to button around two average sized men. We have seen the big vest and know about its size from our own observation. He settled on a tract of land now a part of the old Lon Knight farm, and built a house toward the creek from the present Knight home. James moved to Smith County Tennessee with much of his family probably between 1800 and 1811. He settled on Defeated Creek. Defeated Creek was named after a battle where Indian Warrior, Hanging Maw, attacked and defeated a survey party in 1786. We are not sure how the town of Difficult was named.

***

Given that it names him as father of several of the children who appear in his 1835 will, the above letter appears to refer to the documented James Sutton of Smith County who died in 1835, a supposed Revolutionary War veteran. However, census records indicate he could not have fought in the Revolution. In the 1830 US Census of Smith County, Tennessee, James Sutton is listed as age 60-69 (b.1770s), as is his wife. Since the 1820 census shows he was born before 1775, we can place his birth between 1770 and 1775. He was not born in 1747 as the DAR states, nor was he 100 years old as family lore stated, and several of the older children attributed to him in the above letter are probably not his. Since his son George (named in his will) was born in 1790 per both family tradition and census accounts, James Sutton was likely born right around 1770.

This makes him too young to be the father of Colby Sutton, who was married in 1805 in Rutherford County, North Carolina (with James Sutton as bondsman, per county marriage bonds) before moving to Smith County, Tennessee. And of course, it makes him far too young to have fought in the Revolutionary War, calling his "patriot ancestor" status into question.

The evidence suggests that the above family lore confused James Sutton of Tennessee (c.1770-1835) with his likely father, James Sutton (1751-aft.1834) of Lincoln County, North Carolina.

This senior James Sutton evidently served in the Revolution, and gave an affidavit to that end as an 83-year-old man living in Lincoln County, North Carolina in 1834. This may be where the lore about James Sutton in the Revolution came from in the above letter.

In his Revolutionary War pension application, James Sutton of Lincoln County, North Carolina gave his birth as occurring in April 1751 in Granville County, North Carolina. He self-reported living in Halifax County, North Carolina from before 1776 to 1780 and Rutherford County, North Carolina from 1780 to 1805, when he finally settled in Lincoln County.

He testified that between 1778 and 1780 he served in the Granville County regiment under Capt. William Gill. Evidently, there was indeed a James Sutton who appears in Capt. Gill's muster during this period, but he was listed as a deserter shortly after his service began; James claimed he did not desert but was taken prisoner by loyalists. Regardless, the government was unimpressed by his application and he was not approved for a pension.

The crucial link between James Sutton of Lincoln County, North Carolina and the one in Smith County, Tennessee is Colby Sutton (c.1785-c.1838), who is likely son of the former and brother of the latter, given that he married in Rutherford County in 1805, which is where the senior James Sutton lived at the time, and later appears in the 1820 and 1830 US census in Smith County, Tennessee. Colby also appears with Abner Sutton (1770s-1848) in the 1820 US census of Smith County, who is likewise named as a son of James Sutton "by his first marriage" in the above family letter.

The DAR seems to have accepted flawed information that genealogists sourced from this letter of 1940, naming a Revolutionary War ancestor James Sutton with wife Elizabeth Brown (having evolved into Martha Elizabeth Brown by the time the DAR application was made) and a son named Dempsey Sutton. We know the DAR record of his death (1815) is false because James Sutton named a son Dempsey in his will 20 years later, and there is no evidence of a second Dempsey Sutton in Tennessee (there was a Dempsey Sutton in Lincoln County, North Carolina, but he was a whole generation older). Rather than one 100-year-old, 550-pound beast of a man with two wives and two sets of children born over thirty or more years, the above family lore likely refers to father-and-son James Suttons from North Carolina.

It is clear that the Lt. James Sutton of the 2nd NC regiment is not the ancestor of the Smith County, Tennessee Suttons, although descendants may still qualify for the DAR given that they probably do still descend from a James Sutton who served during the war. In any case, they should take a second look at patriot ancestor A111309.

=JMF