Identifying the Wives of James Wyatt Jr. of Spartanburg District, South Carolina

James Wyatt Jr. (1752-c.1818), a native of Northumberland County, Virginia, migrated with his documented parents, James (c.1726-c.1795) and Bethlehem Wyatt to Tryon County, North Carolina, where his father was granted 392 acres in October 1767. The family seems to have moved to Spartanburg District, South Carolina by 1788, when James Jr. appears in a juror list.

James Wyatt Jr.'s wife is called Mary or Molly in various deeds beginning in June 1790, with her final appearance in a September 1795 sale to Job Sosbree in Spartanburg District. She doesn't seem to appear in any wills and there don't seem to be any strong clues as to her parents.

Some genealogists believe her father was Thomas Massingale, who named a daughter Mary in a deed witnessed by James Wyatt on January 2, 1794 in Spartanburg District. While this is certainly possible, the evidence is thin. Just because James Wyatt witnessed the deed doesn't mean Massingale was his father-in-law. Massingale doesn't give last names for any of his children, so it isn't clear if his daughter Mary was Mary Wyatt. Furthermore, there are no Massingales in the deed books of Tryon and Lincoln County, North Carolina in the 1770s and 1780s, when the Wyatts and Massingales should have been acquainted.

Often overlooked is a marriage bond in Lincoln County, North Carolina between James Wyatt and Mary "Wyrim" (possibly Wyman), dated March 19, 1787. James Wyatt's wife isn't named in deeds prior to 1790 and there doesn't seem to be any other James Wyatt in this generation in either Lincoln County, North Carolina or Spartanburg District, South Carolina, so this is almost certainly the same James and Mary Wyatt.

Census records indicate however that James Wyatt Jr. married and had children long before 1787... and so he must have had a wife before Mary Wyrim.

Interestingly, the identity of this first wife may have been hinted at in a deed from James Wyatt Jr. to his son, dated March 29, 1815. James Wyatt "to son Elisha Jones Wyatt... for love and affection... give... at James death and not before...", 200 acres, border Peg's Old Field (in Lincoln County, NC).

That name "Elisha Jones Wyatt" is pretty specific. He was almost certainly named in honor of someone named Elisha Jones.

Fortunately, its no mystery who Elisha Jones (c.1765-aft.1830) was. He was constable of Lincoln County, North Carolina, where the Wyatts lived from 1779 (when the county was formed from old Tryon County) to 1788. He didn't migrated into South Carolina with the Wyatts, but remained in Lincoln County through at least the 1830 US census and likely died there.

While its possible Elisha Jones was simply a beloved family friend, there is a strong possibility that he was a younger brother of Mary Wyatt. The fact that the Wyatts left the state while Elisha Jones was still very young, possibly a teenager, and named a child after him years later strongly suggests he was a relative.

There is no question that the Wyatts knew him. In fact, James Wyatt and his son John Wyatt were buyers at the estate sale of Thomas Hawkins in Lincoln County, North Carolina in February 1793, which was administered by none other than Elisha Jones.

While it doesn't prove Jones was Wyatt's brother-in-law, it may be the best clue we have to the identity of his wife.

So who were Elisha Jones's parents? A thorough analysis of the Joneses of Tryon and Lincoln Counties don't reveal any relevant deeds or wills that might shed light on this question. But we do have a couple of decent clues:

1. Elisha Jones appears next door to a Charles Jones (born before 1755) in the 1800 US census of Lincoln County, North Carolina. Charles is at least a decade older than Elisha (who married in 1794, and was probably born in the late 1760s or early 1770s) and could be either his father or older brother.

2. Elisha Jones's papers for the estate of Thomas Hawkins reveal a note dated October 8, 1795 where Jones informs the court that he could not locate an important account book pertaining to a John Whiteford but noted he believed Benjamin Jones of Maryland also had the right of administration.

3. Zachariah Spencer granted security for Elisha Jones for the administration of the Hawkins estate.

Zachariah Spencer (1761-1835) of Lincoln County, North Carolina, was born in Baltimore County, Maryland, the son of a senior Zachariah Spencer (1732-1789), who also migrated to Lincoln County; this Zachariah was the son of another Zachariah Spencer (c.1705-c.1783) and his wife Christina Cobb of Maryland.

Christina Cobb was sister-in-law to Charles Jones of Baltimore County (1703-1767), who had sons Benjamin Jones (1728-1797), likely the Benjamin Jones mentioned in the above note; and Charles Jones (1731-aft.1752), who disappears from Maryland records after 1752, and is likely father of the Lincoln and Rutherford County Jones families, which may include Benjamin Jones (bef.1755-1809), Charles Jones Jr. (d. aft.1830), James Lee Jones (d.bef.1790) and Littleberry Jones (d. aft.1810), all of Rutherford County, North Carolina.

The Hawkins family likewise migrated with the Spencer and Jones families from Baltimore County, Maryland to North Carolina and the families show repeated intermarriages through the generations.

This makes Elisha Jones of North Carolina a second cousin of Zachariah Spencer, and a nephew of "Benjamin Jones of Maryland." 

Interestingly, "Zechariah Spencer of Delaware County, Maryland" was deeded land by James Wyatt Sr. in Tryon County, North Carolina in a deed dated December 26, 1772, showing another link between the Wyatts and this Jones-Spencer-Hawkins family group.

So if Elisha Jones was a younger son of Charles Jones and Hannah Nichols of Baltimore County, Maryland who married on December 26, 1752, it seems possible that James Wyatt's first wife was one of their older children, born c.1753-54.

Research and documentation by Jason M. Farrell

Identifying the Lost Suttons of Albemarle County, North Carolina, Part II

In Part I, I laid out the case that Samuel Sutton (c.1722-1764) of Perquimans County, North Carolina was an undocumented son of Nathaniel Sutton (1681-c.1743) by an unknown first wife. Samuel is one of four Sutton men of his generation who seem likely to be brothers. The other three are:

John Sutton (c.1702-aft.1741) appears in Bertie County 1723-1741, wife Mary;

James Sutton (c.1712-1770) married Anne Penrice (Perquimans, Granville & Bertie County 1753-1770);

Ephraim Sutton (c.1720-bef.1772) was a neighbor of James Sutton in Perquimans County.

There is further circumstantial evidence that these men are potentially brothers, and further evidence that James's descendants migrated west into what is now Rutherford County, North Carolina.

JOHN SUTTON (c.1702-aft.1741)

An unidentified John Sutton was the Clerk of Court in Bertie County, North Carolina from at least August 1723 and was a witness to about a third of the deed written over the next two decades. John was himself  recorded buying land in Bertie County in 1725, 1726 and 1739. A 1737 deed identifies his wife as Mary. 

Not much else is known about this John Sutton, who disappears from Bertie County after 1741. Given his status as a local clerk, it seems unlikely that he died around then with no mention in court records. It seems more likely that he simply moved away, though where to isn't clear.

He could be the John Sutton who appears in the records of Dobbs County, North Carolina in 1748 and died there in 1773. No wife was recorded, but he had three documented sons: Benjamin Sutton (born about 1752; died 1837); John Sutton, Jr. (born about 1758; died 1820-1830); and William Sutton (born about 1760; died 1813-1820). All three sons were born and lived in Bucklesberry, which is about 100 miles southwest of Perquimans County. 

There were four other possible sons living in the county as well: Thomas Sutton (born before 1758; death year unknown); James Sutton (born 1755-1767; death year unknown); Richard Sutton (born 1755-1773; died 1800-1810); and Simon Sutton (born 1765-1767; died before 1813). John likely had daughters, too, but no document evidence to date has emerged to identify their names.

Given the age difference between John Sutton of Bertie County and the children born to John Sutton of Dobbs, it is possible that John of Bertie was the father of John of Dobbs; or they may be unrelated. For further information on the Dobbs County John Sutton, see https://suttonancestry.com/john-sutton-first-in-bucklesberry/

JAMES SUTTON (c.1712-1770)

James was extensively documented in Perquimans County, beginning with a deed of 100 acres from Francis Penrice in April 1753.

The following year, James appears in tax list of Perquimans County, with just 1 tithable (himself). On this same list are Samuel Sutton (5), Joseph Sutton Esq., Joseph Sutton Jr. and Edward Penrice, indicating they lived in the same part of the county.

Sometime during that year, James seems to have moved to Granville County, North Carolina, being named along with a John Sutton in a muster roll of the Granville County militia in October 1754. The following year he appears in the Granville County tax rolls, again claiming only himself as tithable. James disappears from Granville County after 1755, but appears in Bertie County beginning in the tax census of 1757.

While these could be different men named James Sutton, the scarcity of the name in this Sutton clan suggest they are the same man. Also, Robert Allen appears with James Sutton in the Granville County 1755 tax census just 11 households away from Sutton. In the 1757 tax list of Bertie County, James Sutton shared a household with Robert Allen, indicating co-migration among these eastern counties.

James Sutton seems to appear in no further records until April 15, 1770, when his estate entered into probate in Perquimans County. Samuel Penrice, his brother-in-law, was administrator and a James Sutton was the only Sutton at his estate sale. This is his son. Evidently there was a will but it doesn't seem to have been recorded.

James Sutton Jr. appears in a 1771 deed clarifying some of the relationships in this family:

Oct. 21, 1771 - James Sutton to Benj Scarbrough - 15 pds for 30 acres - NW Yeopin Creek near bend of a swamp out of Franks Creek - sd land given by my grandfather Francis Penrice to my father James Sutton Sr and by his will to me. (Perquimans Co. NC deeds, Book H, #183)

And in a further deed he shows a relation to the late Ephraim Sutton, probable brother of James Sr.:

Feb. 6, 1772 - James Sutton to Joshua Skinner - 25 pds for 50 acres - NS Yeopim Creek adj to land belonging to orphans of Ephraim Sutton to a branch issuing out of Albemarle Sounty. Witnesses Samuel Penrice, Elizabeth Penrice. (Perquimans Co. NC deeds, Book H #198)

James Sutton and Ann Penrice (named daughter in the will of Francis Penrice of Perquimans County, in April 1756) had four likely sons who migrated into western North Carolina:

1. John Sutton (c.1734-1817), who appears in the Granville County militia rolls in 1754 and was noted "absent" in rolls of 1771. He appears in court in Granville County in 1755 and 1757. He is likely the same John Sutton who begins appearing in deeds in Anson County, North Carolina in 1768 and evidently married Eleanor Ashley, daughter of John Ashley of Anson County, who names a daughter "Elianer Sutton" in his 1759 will. In 1772, John Sutton was a witness for John Ashley (Jr., son of above John Ashley) in a deed in Tryon County, North Carolina; by 1779, he had been granted 50 acres on Floyd's Creek in Rutherford County, North Carolina, where he would remain the rest of his life. He sealed his will in March 1814 naming children Elizabeth Sutton, Robert Sutton, William Sutton, John Sutton, Sarah Sutton and James Sutton, among other legatees. His will was recorded July 6, 1817.

2. James Sutton (1751-aft.1834), a Revolutionary War veteran who self-reported being born in Granville County, North Carolina in April 1751 in his veteran's pension application. In 1771-1772, he sold off his father's property and (by his own account) removed to Halifax County, North Carolina where he lived until 1780, though contemporary records actually place him back in Granville County during this period, serving under Capt. William Gill during the Revolutionary War. James reported living in Rutherford County, North Carolina from 1780 to 1805, when he finally settled in Lincoln County, North Carolina. He reported being poor and illiterate and evidently wrote no will. No wife is known, but he seems to be father to James Sutton, William Sutton, Colby Sutton and others who later migrated from Rutherford County, North Carolina to Smith County, Tennessee. Colby was named legatee in the will of the above John Sutton.

3. Samuel Sutton (1750s-aft.1800), about whom little is known. In 1788 he appears with John Sutton in a suit against James Kincaid in Lincoln County, North Carolina. Samuel, who was likely named for Samuel Sutton (d.1764) of Perquimans County, North Carolina, appears in census records of Lincoln County through 1800. He may be the father of William and James Sutton who appear in Lincoln County marriage bonds in 1818 and 1832, respectively.

4. Dempsey Sutton (bef.1765-aft.1820), another brother about whom little is known. He does appear to have initially migrated with the other Suttons to Lincoln County, North Carolina where he appears as "Densy Sutton" in a suit by the state of North Carolina in January 1788. After being found guilty, he seems to have returned to Granville County where he was sold property near Low Ground Creek by David Blalock in 1801. He last appears in the 1820 census of Granville County. No name found for his wife. He may be the father of Edward Sutton, a War of 1812 veteran who also appears in Granville County in the 1820 census.

EPHRAIM SUTTON (c.1720-c.1772)

Ephraim Sutton is only mentioned in three deeds between 1757 and 1772, the earliest of these confirming he was more likely to be a brother than a son of James Sutton (c.1712-1770). In February 1757, Ephraim bought 100 acres in Perquimans County on Franks Creek, "adjacent James Sutton." In a final deed of October 1772 the "orphans of Ephraim Sutton" were mentioned, but there appears to be no record of their names. It is possible he is the father or grandfather of another Ephraim Sutton (1768-1819) who genealogists believe was from Chowan County, North Carolina.

Research and documentation by Jason M. Farrell

Identifying the Lost Suttons of Albemarle County, North Carolina, Part I

George Sutton (c.1613-1669) and his wife Sarah Tilden (1613-1677) were immigrants to Massachusetts (1634) and later became among the earliest colonial inhabitants of North Carolina in 1668, settling in a quaker community in Perquimans Precinct, part of old Albemarle County, Carolina. Many of their descendants appear in Quaker records and they are widely believed to have been Quakers themselves.

The records identifying members of this family are unusually robust for the colonial south of this time period, and they have been thoroughly dissected by various genealogical works, most notably Marjorie Sutton Oliver’s The Suttons of England and North Carolina, U.S.A. 1620-1974 and History of Perquimans County by Ellen Good Rawlings Winslow.

While the study on this family has been extensive, every genealogical study has found itself with a handful of unidentified Suttons from the record period of approximately 1723 to 1770. They are:

John Sutton (c.1702-aft.1741) appears in Bertie County 1723-1741, wife Mary;

James Sutton (c.1712-1770) married Anne Penrice (Perquimans & Bertie County 1753-1770);

Ephraim Sutton (c.1720-bef.1772) is closely associated with James Sutton;

Samuel Sutton (c.1722-1764) (Perquimans 1752-1764); wife Sarah Robbins

Given the isolation of this particular Sutton family and the close proximity to known George Sutton descendants, it is very likely that these men fit into the descendants of George Sutton and Sarah Tilden somewhere; they are unlikely to have been other colonists of the same name who found themselves in tiny Perquimans Precinct and its surrounding coastal counties.

A careful examination of colonial-era documents shows these Suttons can be placed within the family by means of an often-overlooked provision of the will of Nathaniel Sutton (c.1643-1682), documented son of George Sutton and Sarah Tilden, and places these “lost” Suttons as sons of Nathaniel’s son, also named Nathaniel Sutton (1681-c.1743). There is some other circumstantial evidence supporting this theory, which will be addressed below.

IDENTIFYING THE CORRECT SUTTON LINE IN PERQUIMANS

John, James, Ephraim and Samuel Sutton show some evidence of relation to each other and don't fit into other Sutton family groups in the northeastern North Carolina coastal counties (Perquimans, Currituck, Pasquotank, Chowan, Tyrrell).

As I'll demonstrate here, they are likely sons of the only Sutton of the previous generation to not have a will, Nathaniel Sutton (1681-c.1743), who has only two confirmed children via his probate and orphan records: Deborah Sutton and Joseph “Riverside Joe” Sutton.

The first major clue is the will of Samuel Sutton (c.1722-1764) of Perquimans County, the abstract being as follows:

1764 SUTTON, SAMUEL; Sarah, Samuel, George, John
Written Jan 30, 1764 (recorded in 1764, no date)

Loving wife Sarah, 3 Negros, livestock etc, "use of part of my plantation and land that I now live on which is that part my grandfather gave to my father in his last will and testament until my son Samuel Sutton comes of age" then he to have 1/3 part and my son George when he comes of age to have 1/3 part, daughter Mary when she comes of age, son John Sutton land I bought of Sarah Jones of 405 acres from 2 patents, "give to my son Samuel Sutton the land I hold which was patented by my grandfather by estimation one hundred and fifty acres also 15 acres to son Samuel which Uncle Joseph Sutton is duty bound to make a deed for and I hope he will keep his promise, also to son Samuel 25 acres out of a new patent, son George rest of my land which came from a new patent, lot of negros, brother William Robbins my best beaver hat and suit of clothes, and to "continue to be overseer for my wife as long as she continues a widow." Execs Charles Blount, Tulle Williams, and William Robbins. WIT John Clayton, Joseph Sutton, John Whedbee

There are some vital clues here as to his immediate family, which are as follows:

1. The 150-acre patent by his grandfather bequeathed to his father in his grandfather's will.
2. He had a close relative named "uncle Joseph Sutton", a legal adult in 1764.

What Sutton genealogists seem to have missed is the 150-acre patent that was bequeathed from Nathaniel Sutton (1643-1682), son of George Sutton, to his son Nathaniel Sutton (1681-c.1743) in his will of 1682, per the following abstract:

Sutton, Nathaniel (1), died Dec 29, 1682. (His will Grimes, p Mar 12, 1682.) He left to son George, "plantation where I now live," to Joseph plantation where Edward Poulter lives, son Nathaniel 150a of land "belonging in the forks between his two brothers," d Rebeckah, cousin John Godby (Gosby). Wife not named, but she survived him, & m 2d John Whedby, May 10, 1685, who died leaving her a widow, when she m for her 3d husband, Dennis Macclenden.     https://ncgenweb.us/perquimans/sutton/

The patent in question:

GRANT: Sutton, Nathaniel. 150a "in ye precinct of Perq, on ye East side of Suttons Creek, by a Branch, called 'Eye branch' along Joseph Suttons, line." (No date; bef. 1682)

This will is the key to understanding where these “lost” Sutton men belong because there is no other will in the Sutton family that shows a 150-acre tract being handed down from father to son in these early generations.

Samuel Sutton seems to have lived at Fork Creek, and sold a small parcel adjacent George Sutton and Nathaniel Sutton; while "George" named in the deed below could be the George Sutton who was then living (1696-aft.1763), there was no living Nathaniel Sutton in 1760 aside from Nathaniel, the son of "Riverside Joe", who was not older than 13; this suggests the George and Nathaniel referenced in the deed were George (1669-1700) and his brother Nathaniel Sutton (1681-c.1743), both of whom were long deceased:

BOOK F
#382 - 19 Sept 1760 - Lord Prop to Samuel Sutton - 340 acres on ES Sutton's Creek at mouth of Fork Creek to line of Richard & Nathan Sutton on Bridge Branch

#389 - 4 Oct 1760 - Samuel Sutton to John Clayton - 3 pd for 8 acres - adj George Sutton & Nathaniel Sutton. WIT Sarah Sutton, William Robins

Th weight of this evidence establishes Samuel Sutton as a son of Nathaniel Sutton (1681-c.1743), son of Nathaniel (1643-1682). So the "Uncle Joseph Sutton" who is uncle to his son Samuel is probably "Riverside Joe" Sutton (1727-1789).

While there is no dispute that Nathaniel Sutton (d.1682) had a son Nathaniel born in 1681, most genealogies you'll see online claim that Nathaniel Sutton (b.1681) is called Nathaniel Sutton Sr. and died in February 1724. They also say that Nathaniel, son of Joseph Sutton (c.1637-1695), married Elizabeth Chancey in 1726 and had children Joseph and Deborah.

Put more simply, the most popular theory is:

1. Nathaniel Sutton Sr. (1681-1724) son of Nathaniel Sutton (1643-1682) died leaving a will but naming no wife or children.

2. Nathaniel Sutton Jr. (c.1689-c.1743), son of Joseph Sutton (c.1637-1695), died intestate, two children Joseph and Deborah known from birth records.

If this were true, Samuel could not be a son of Nathaniel Sutton (b.1681) and grandson of Nathaniel Sutton (d.1682), because the "Nathaniel Sutton Sr." who died in February 1724 left a will naming no wife or children and leaving only "cousins" as legatees.

His abstracted will:

Nathaniel Sutton. Will dated Feb. 23, 1724, probated March 30, 1725. Legatees: "John Cave of Chowan"; Ruth Gloster; brother Joseph Sutton's son Joseph; Elizabeth Whedbee, daughter of Richard Whedbee; cousin Parthena Sutton; James Anderson; cousin Thomas Sutton; cousin George Sutton; Richard Whedbee's children "exceping" Christopher and Elizabeth Sutton; Rebecca Cores children "exceping" her "holes?" on John. Brother Richard Whedbee and cousin Thomas Sutton executors.

On the contrary, there is sufficient evidence that Nathaniel (b.1681), son of Nathaniel (1643-1682), died c.1743 and Nathaniel, son of Joseph (1637-1695), died in 1724, allowing Nathaniel, son of Nathaniel, to be father to the "lost" Suttons.

What has thrown genealogists off for several decades is a confounding vital record that confuses two contemporary Nathaniel Suttons. You can see it below. It reads: "Nathaniell Sutton Senr: Departed this life the 23d of Feb'y 1724/5."

The "Senr" is unmistakable.

I contend that the Nathaniel Sutton in this record was not "senior" (i.e. born in 1681, making him the oldest Nathaniel Sutton then living) but was actually "junior," born right around 1689 and the younger of the two Nathaniel Suttons in Albemarle.

In case there is any confusion, it is important to note that during the colonial period Sr. and Jr. didn't just refer to fathers and sons; it was a way to distinguish any two men of the same name living in the same jurisdiction in legal documents.

PROVING “SR.” WAS ACTUALLY “JR.”

Note that in the 1694 will of Joseph Sutton Sr. (c.1637-1695), Nathaniel is twice mentioned last in the list of his younger sons ("sons Christopher, George, Nathaniel"), suggesting he was the youngest of the family. Christopher and George were born in 1685 and 1687 according to parish records, placing Nathaniel's birth around 1689. This is also true for the will of Joseph Sutton Jr., which bequeaths items to brothers "George Sutton and Nathaniel Sutton." This suggests that the “Nathaniel Sutton Sr.” who died in 1724, the son of Joseph, was actually Jr., being almost a decade younger than his cousin that was born in 1681.

This later birth is supported by an entry from the orphan's court:

Apr. 14, 1702: Upon A peticon of Georg Sutten and Nathanell Sutten to Chuse thare Garden ordered that Nathanell Nicholson take Care of George Sutten he Haven Chosen Him for his garden And that Joseph Sutten Juner take Nathanell Sutten Into his Care He Haven Chosen him for his garden. (Perquimans Co. NC)

This proves that Nathaniel Sutton, son of Joseph, was not only still a minor in April 1702, but that was so young he was only then old enough to choose his guardian-- seven years after being orphaned. So its clear that he is likely the youngest in the family. He also cannot properly be called "Senr" as his death record indicates, since he is clearly younger than Nathaniel Sutton, son of Nathaniel, b. Aug. 1681, who turned 21 in 1702 and would have had no need of a guardian.

Evidence from tax lists supports this conclusion: "Nathaniel Sutton Jr." is grouped by household with the definite sons of Joseph Sutton Sr. (c.1637-1694), while Sr. isn't close to any Sutton family:

1713: Nathaniel Sutton Jr. (1), Joseph Sutton Jr. (2) and George Sutton (1) appear as next-door neighbors in poll tax. It's clear these are the sons of Joseph Sutton Sr. (1637-1695) because George the son of Nathaniel was dead by 1700. Joseph Sutton Sr. (4) Nathaniel Sutton Sr. (1) appear elsewhere.

1715: Poll tax has entries "Jo. Sutton sons" (4) and "Nath: Sutton sons" (1) as well as "Nath: Sutton Jun" (1) who lives far away. Also "Jo. Sutton Jun" (2), George Sutton (1) and "Richard Sutter" (x). Evidently Nathaniel Sr. had sons over 16 at this point, while Jr. did not. Both Joseph Suttons had extra tithables, but evidently the census taker wanted to differentiate between one that had sons and one that did not. The one with sons lived next door to Deborah Sutton McKlendon, widow of Nathaniel Sutton (1643-1682) and mother of Nathaniel Sutton (b.1681).

1718-19: Nathaniel Sutton Jr. (1) is again next door to Joseph Sutton Jr. (3) and George Sutton (2) in 1718; Nathaniel has only one tithable both years (himself), Joseph has 3 both years (himself and sons George and Thomas) and George has 2 in 1718 and 3 in 1719 (undocumented older sons). "Nathaniel Sutton Senr" has two tithables, probably himself and a son over age 16. Though court records show he was charged with being guardian of Richard Sutton in 1705, this son cannot be Richard, who has his own household nearby.

It is also important to note there are no children named in the 1724 will of Nathaniel Sutton "Senr" (b. c.1689, Jr. in the tax list), son of Joseph (d.1695), which corresponds to his lack of tithables besides himself in 1718-19. He left everything to his two brothers, Joseph, son of Joseph, and his named "cousins," also sons of his brother Joseph Jr. (c.1674-1723).

By contrast “Nathaniel Sutton Sr.” (b.1681) shows 2 tithables in both 1718 and 1719, indicating a son born around 1702, (possibly the John Sutton who first appears in Bertie County in 1723); this shows he had sons long before his first documented marriage in 1726. 

We know this because the Nathaniel who was next door neighbors with the sons of Joseph (d.1695) is called "Nathaniel Sutton Jr." in the 1713, 1715, 1718 and 1719 tax lists. Therefore, the death record calling him "Sr." in 1724 is a mistake; Nathaniel Sutton b. c.1689, son of Joseph, is the younger of the two Nathaniels of his generation, and properly called "Jr."

Circling back to the will of Nathaniel Sutton in 1724: taking note of his naming Parthenia Sutton a "cousin" and Richard Whedbee a "brother" (i.e. brother-in-law) shows he followed the typical naming conventions of his time, with brother/sister indicating actual siblings or their spouses and "cousin" indicating any relative outside the nuclear family. We know Parthenia was married to Joseph Sutton who died between January and March 1723/4.

According to deeds, wills, parish records and tax records:

Joseph Sutton Jr. is husband of Bennett
Jr. bought land of Richard Sutton
Jr. mentions land bought of Richard Sutton in his will, wf. Rebecca executrix
Jr. died Jan. 18, 1723/4
Jr. grouped with sons of Joseph Sutton (d.1695). in tax lists

Joseph Sutton Sr. is son of Nathaniel (d.1682) and wife Deborah
Sr. was born Aug. 6, 1673
Sr. married Parthena (since Jr. married Bennett/Rebecca) 

So it seems clear that Parthenia Sutton being "cousin" rather than "sister" to the Nathaniel Sutton who died in 1724, and her husband Joseph being a definite son of Nathaniel (d.1682), that makes it even clearer that the Nathaniel Sutton who died in 1724 was a son of Joseph (d.1695), not a son of Nathaniel (d.1682).

Now there is a single confounding factor: the will of Nathaniel Sutton in 1724 names "my brother Joseph's son Joseph Sutton." The will of Joseph Jr. (c.1674-1723) husband of Bennett Stipney and son of Joseph Sutton (1637-1695) in 1723 doesn't name any sons named Joseph; however it is known that Joseph Sr. (1673-1723) husband of Parthenia Durant and son of Nathaniel (1643-1682) did have a son named Joseph (1707-1771). This is a troubling fact that has to be acknowledged. However a will omission is not uncommon, especially if an older son is already established and has been deeded property. It is also possible he is the Joseph Sutton who married Rachel Lee in January 1732. I'll leave it for readers to decide which theory is correct.

The bottom line is that John, James, Samuel and Ephraim Sutton of Perquimans County, all born c.1700-1730 have to fit in somewhere. The early generations of the family are so well documented with wills that the Nathaniel Sutton (d.1743) is the only Sutton who could be their father. And the only way that makes sense, considering the facts of Samuel Sutton's will, is if the Nathaniel Sutton who died c.1743 was the son of Nathaniel Sutton (d.1682). Considering Nathaniel Sutton (d.c.1743) doesn't have a documented marriage until he was 45 years old strongly suggests there was an earlier one, along with older undocumented children. The tithables in his household in the tax lists seem to bear this out.

Research and documentation by Jason M. Farrell

Identifying the Parents of Elizabeth Coleman Cannon

 

Any genealogist familiar with the Ellis Cannon (1748-1833) family has assuredly read that his wife (charmingly called "Ailsabeth" in Ellis's Revolutionary War pension application) has been identified as Elizabeth Coleman. If she was a Coleman, she was almost certainly from the wealthy Coleman family of King & Queen County, Virginia that migrated into Spotsylvania and Culpeper Counties, Virginia in the 1730s.

Though I haven't been able to ascertain exactly where this tradition came from, it struck me as more likely to be an authentic tradition than an assumption made by a genealogist (which is unfortunately common). As I began researching this claim I found near zero relationship between the Cannons and Colemans in either Virginia or South Carolina, so a genealogist making an assumption from records seems unlikely. Though in-laws commonly migrated together, the Colemans did not migrate with the Cannons to South Carolina. There is a small Coleman family that appears in the records of Spartanburg, Union and Fairfield Counties but they are an unrelated family from Amelia County, Virginia.

No parents have ever been identified for Mrs. Cannon, but if you know where to look, sometimes the evidence just falls together.

Assuming the identification credible, we can start our research with the established facts.

• In deeds and other records, she was identified as "Ailsabeth" Cannon, which is clearly a phonetic spelling of "Elizabeth" based on her husband's unique pronunciation.
  

• In his Revolutionary War pension application statement dated March 6, 1829, Ellis Cannon noted that his wife was 79 years old, so we can ascertain that she was born in 1749 or early 1750.

• We know that between 1769 and 1788 she gave birth to several children and that she migrated with her husband's family from Culpeper County, Virginia to Spartanburg District, South Carolina in 1784.

That's about it. With no identified gravestone, family bible, census records or anything else shedding light on Mrs. Cannon, we don't have much to go on.

But I think it's enough. In fact, I believe I've been able to correctly identify her parents.

The best place to start looking for her origins is where records show the Cannons would have first intersected with the Colemans: Culpeper County, Virginia.

We can surmise based on the birth of her first son in Culpeper County in October 1769 (per his tombstone, which gives the county of his birth) that the marriage of Ellis Cannon and Elizabeth Coleman likely ocurred in Culpeper around 1768. Unfortunately, Culpeper is a burned county and no pre-Revolutionary court records survive aside from a single minute book from 1763-64, which does not mention any Cannons or reveal much about the few Colemans it mentions. The will book of 1749-70 isn't helpful either. And of course, no marriage bond has been found.

There is one small clue: In the Culpeper County tax list of 1783, "Robin Coleman" is shown with John Cannon in the list of Benjamin Lillard. "Robin" was probably a nickname for Robert. This is the closest the Cannons get to the Colemans in any Culpeper record. Unfortunately, the list is alphabetical so it isn't possible to tell how close together their households were. There were a number of Robert Colemans associated with Culpeper County at this time, from different branches of the family and we don't have enough information to positively identify this particular one.

Adding to the complexity, the Coleman family of Culpeper/Spotsylvania was large and used many of the same given names over and over again across generations; they also spread out across several counties and interacted with each other in complex ways, making tracking individual members difficult. Being wealthy landowners however, they were extensively documented and most of them had wills, even if they died young.

It's a daunting task. But the key to cracking this mystery is a little body of water seen in a handful of deeds in the mid-18th century: something called Gourd Vine Fork. It is also sometimes called Gourdvine Branch, or Gourdvine River. Its a small tributary of the Rappahannock River in the northernmost section of Culpeper County near what is now Rixeyville.

If you've read my earlier post about the origins of the Cannons, you know that John Cannon (c.1720-c.1788) of Spartanburg District's likely father, James Cannon, patented 552 acres on Gourdvine Fork in October 1727:

1726-1730 Cavaliers and Pioneers, Patent Book No. 13; [Nell Marion Nugent]; Page 16. JAMES CANNON, 552 acs. (N. L.), Spotsyl. Co., in St. George's Par; by the North River of the Goardvine River on the N. side; crossing Cattail Mountain Run; 13 Oct, 1727, p. 167.

James Cannon bought more land in the same area the following year. By 1732, he had his own namesake tributary, which is still called "Cannon's Run."

April 27, 1728: James Cannon, planter, of St. Margaret Parish, Spotsylvania County, VA to John Thompson of same 100 acres in Spotsylvania County on the north side of the North River of the Guard Vine fork. Wit: Thomas Duncomb, Thomas Little. Signed James Cannon and wife Mary Cannon.

This is important. Because the ONLY Colemans who can be placed near the Cannons are found in a series of deeds referring to Gourd Vine Fork in the 1740s through the 1780s. One of them is likely to be the father of Elizabeth Coleman Cannon.

First we have this deed between Robert Coleman Sr. (1701-1793) of Culpeper County, and a distant relative, Richard Lort Coleman (c.1725-1783) of King & Queen County, Virginia:

1745-1747 Orange County, Virginia Deed Book 10; [Antient Press]; Page 438
Indenture 25 Sept 1745 between Robert Coleman and Sarah, his wife, of St. Mark's Parish, Orange County, and Richard Lort Coleman of St. Stephen's Par., County of King & Queen .. to Farm, lett land in the Gourd Vine Fork containing 900 acres pattent granted Robert Coleman 28 Sept 1730 and bounded .. Francis Brown's .. line .. Wm. Lobb's line .. in possession of Joseph Abel .. for five shillings ..
Witnesses: P. Clayton, J. Pendleton, John Campbell
Recorded Orange County 25 September 1746.

Richard Lort Coleman sold a third of this tract to another relative, Robert Spilsbe Coleman, in 1752:

1757-1762 Culpeper County, Virginia Deed Book C; [John Frederick Dorman]; Page 274-77.
20 Nov. 1752. Richard Lort Coleman of St. Stevens Parish, King and Queen County, to Robert Spilsby Coleman of Drisdale Parish in county aforesaid. For £35 current money. 300 acres on the Gourd Vine Fork being part of a patent granted to Robert Coleman 28 Sept. 1732 and by Robert. Coleman conveyed to Richard-Lort Coleman by deeds of lease and release 24 Sept. 1746 ... in Francis Browning's line corner to William Lobb now in possession of Joseph Abell ... on Black Water. Run side.... a small rock near a rock of stones at the head of a small branch corner to the land in the possession of Abell Richd. Lo. Coleman
Wit: Joseph Wood, N. Pendleton, Betty Pendleton, Mary Pendleton.
18 Jan. 1753. Proved by Nathaniel Pendleton.
15 March 1753. Proved by Betty Pendleton.
[n.d.] Fully proved by Mary Williams another witness thereto.
] Nov. 1752. Bond of Richard Lort Coleman of St. Stephen's Parish, King. and Queen County, unto Rob.. Spilsby Coleman of Drisdale Parish, King and Queen County. For £70 current money. To keep the covenants mentioned in the indenture.
Richd. Lo. Coleman
Wit: Joseph Wood, N. Pendleton, Betty Pendleton Mary Pendleton.
18 Jan. 1753. Proved; by. Nathaniel Pendleton.
15 March 1753.. Proved by Betty Pendleton.
21 Feb. 1760. Fully proved by Mary Williams another witness.

Throughout the Coleman clan, there are a few men named Robert Spilsbe/Spilsby Coleman. But there is only one who was an adult in the 1750s -- Robert Spilsbe Coleman (c.1710-1761) of Essex County, Virginia, who frequently bought land in Spotsylvania County, Virginia in the 1740s and this one tract in Culpeper in 1752. He and his wife Sarah were the proprietors of an ordinary in Tappahannock, Virginia, which is still standing.

Despite the fact that almost every record of his life places him in South Farnham Parish in Essex County, we know this Robert Spilsbe Coleman is the same as the above man, said to be "of Drisdale Parish, King and Queen County" because he appears there in a merchant's account ledger book there around the same time, along with two of his sons John and Thomas. 

He was also said to be from King & Queen County in one other deed of 1750, when he was sold property in his native Essex County:

21-22 Dec 1750, p. 178, Fleet: Hugh Wilson & Catherine his wife of S. Farnham Parish, Essex Co. sell Robert Spilsbe Coleman of Drisdel (sic) Parish King & Queen Co. for L56., 112 acres in S. Farnham Parish, Essex Co. being part of 340 acres left by the will of James Taylor, late of King & Queen Co. to Ann his daughter...

These appear to be the only two references to Robert living in King & Queen County, so he evidently lived there only briefly in the early 1750s. 

Robert's will was sealed in Essex County on December 8, 1760, naming his wife Sarah and children Richard, James, Sarah, Whitehead and Elizabeth Coleman and a married daughter named Susannah Richards. These children were born in the 1730s and 1740s.

Importantly, the will states that he was to leave land owned in "Spotsylvania, Orange and Culpepper Countys" to his son Whitehead Coleman. He also left to his son James a 400 acre tract "bought of Francis Taylor, Nathaniel Pendleton and Hugh Wilson." Though it isn't the same tract, note above that Nathaniel Pendleton was a witness on his 1752 purchase in Culpeper County. He also left to his daughter Susanna Richards land in King & Queen County, further indicating he is the man from the 1752 deed.

So it is clear that Robert Spilsbe Coleman of Essex County, Virginia bought property in 1752 on Gourd Vine Fork in Culpeper County where James Cannon (d. aft.1748) lived; property inherited by his son John Cannon (c.1720-c.1788), who later migrated to South Carolina and left it to his own son, John (1750-aft.1806), who remained in Virginia. 

This makes Robert the only Coleman that shows any proximity or association with the Cannons of Culpeper who could be her father. Robert Coleman Sr. (1701-1793) who was originally granted the Gourd Vine tract left a will but named no daughter Elizabeth; Richard Lort Coleman (c.1725-1783) evidently only had a son named Francis. Robert Coleman Jr. (c.1740-1817), son of the above Robert Coleman Sr., was too young to be father of Elizabeth.

And its also clear that Robert Spilsbe Coleman had a young, unmarried daughter in 1760 named Elizabeth, who would be the perfect age to be the Elizabeth Coleman who married Ellis Cannon c.1768. This Elizabeth has never been identified by Coleman genealogists in any records of her adult years.

But wait -- there's more.

Because two of Robert Spilsbe Coleman's children -- his son John (c.1730-aft.1775) and his daughter Susanna Richards (c.1735-1778) -- migrated into Stafford County, Virginia in 1753. John, whose eldest son Spencer Coleman reported in 1832 that he was born in King & Queen County in 1752, had children baptized in Stafford County's Overwharton Parish church in 1753, 1755 and 1757 before departing for the Shenandoah Valley. His sister remained in Stafford the remainder of her life, with her husband, Capt. John Richards, serving as a tobacco inspector at Falmouth.

Stafford County's Overwharton Parish is of course where John and Sarah Cannon married in 1745 and where Ellis Cannon was born on January 3, 1748.

Interestingly, these are the only families of the Cannons and Colemans alike who lived in Stafford County; none of their kinfolk seem to have settled there in the 18th century.

One would assume their acquaintance began as close neighbors in Culpeper in 1752, but its hard to say. As congregates of the same church, they could have also met in Stafford in 1753 and realized they had neighboring properties in Culpeper. In any case, Ellis Cannon and Elizabeth Coleman probably met as young children around this time.

What is clear is that the circumstantial evidence lines up very clearly on Robert Spilsbe Coleman, who died in early 1761 in Essex County, Virginia, as the father of Elizabeth Coleman Cannon. He was the son of Spilsbe Coleman (c.1690-1727) and his wife Mary and the rest of the Colemans are very well documented.

 

Research and documentation by Jason M. Farrell

Origins of the Cannons of Spartanburg District, South Carolina

The Cannons of Cannon's Campground have been extensively documented over the years by a number of genealogists. Its widely known that they started a Methodist church in what is now Spartanburg County, South Carolina on land donated by minister and Revolutionary War veteran Ellis Cannon in 1789, with membership continuing to this day.

We know that Rev. Ellis Cannon (1748-1833) and his siblings were children of John Cannon and Sarah Hammett, whose marriage was recorded in the pages of the Overwharton Parish Register of Stafford County, Virginia in July 1745. John Cannon relocated the family to Culpeper County, Virginia by 1765, and in February 1784 sold his land and moved to Ninety-Six District, South Carolina, in a section that is now part of Spartanburg County. He sealed his will in 1787 and was deceased by June 1788.

John Cannon's origins, however, have remained mysterious since he seems to pop up out of nowhere in 1745, with no other Cannons or obvious relations appearing in Stafford County. To answer questions pertaining to his origin, genealogists have joined the Cannon Y-DNA project, which unfortunately hasn't yielded much insight. Descendants of John Cannon of Spartanburg District, South Carolina place into haplogroups as diverse as R-M269 (the most common European haplogroup), R-Z72 and I-M223. John Cannon has been grouped into group 13C with Richard Kennon (c.1650-1696) Burgess of Henrico County, Virginia (also I-M223), said to be an "Englishman of Fortune" and a "constant visitor to London." The other Cannon families (unrelated to Kennon) of Henrico County fall into this same haplogroup, as do others who descend from Irish Cannons, notably from County Leitrim.

It seems some genealogists have interpreted the results to mean that John Cannon (c.1720-c.1788) descended from the Henrico County, Virginia Cannons. Commonly, you see John Cannon named as the son of John Cannon Sr. of Henrico County (c.1684-1735) and his wife Mary Price, there being a John Cannon Jr. named in his will. The fact that there is no evidence they are one and the same John Cannon doesn't seem to have deterred people from attaching our Spartanburg John Cannon to the Henrico trees.

Fortunately, I believe there is evidence that John Cannon's correct parents can be identified much closer to his known point of origin than Henrico County, although it takes some careful interpretation of cursory evidence found in colonial Virginia deeds.

Remember, Overwharton Parish records show John Cannon (c.1720-c.1788) had a son named John Cannon Jr. in February 1750 who we know married Sarah Harrison Brazier in September 1782 per a Fauquier County, Virginia marriage bond. This younger John Cannon was living in Culpeper County during Revolution and after the war evidently removed to Fauquier County. But he does appear much later in the deed books of Culpeper County, Virginia (where our Spartanburg Cannons came from) once for a very important transaction:

AA-294: 12 Jan. 1806, John Cannon and Sarah his wife to James Duncan, for £3.17.6, 3-3/4 acres on little fork of Rappahannock on both sides of Cannon's Run, line of John Little. No Wit. (FHL film 30,954)

It may not look like much, but this is the most important document in the search for the parents of John Cannon (c.1720-c.1788). It confirms an inheritance by John Cannon of a fork of the Rappahannock River called "Cannon's Run."

Cannon's Run is still extant today. It sits approximately on the modern border of Rappahannock and Culpeper Counties, about 19 miles north of the town of Culpeper. You can see it at the red marker below:

So we have a confirmed connection between John Cannon Jr. and a "Cannon's Run" in the same county that the Spartanburg Cannons called home for more than twenty years. This inheritance likely came to John Jr. through the death of his father in 1787-88, being the only family member remaining in Virginia. But we have no record of John Cannon having bought Cannon's Run or having any association with it during his time in Culpeper. So who is it named for?

The deeds of Culpeper County and its parent county (Orange) make it clear that Cannon's Run was named for James Cannon (c.1690-aft.1748) an early settler who first patented land in Spotsylvania County, Virginia in 1727. James and his wife Mary are the likeliest parents for both Luke Cannon of Prince William County, Virginia and John Cannon of Culpeper, later Spartanburg County. 

James Cannon is found in Spotsylvania County deeds as far back as 1723 and his first patent appears in Cavaliers & Pioneers Vol. 3:

1726-1730 Cavaliers and Pioneers, Patent Book No. 13; [Nell Marion Nugent]; Page 16. JAMES CANNON, 552 acs. (N. L.), Spotsyl. Co., in St. George's Par; by the North River of the Goardvine River on the N. side; crossing Cattail Mountain Run; 13 Oct, 1727, p. 167.

This initial patent sits on the site that will later become known as "Cannon's Run" or "Cannon's River" by 1732.

His wife is named in a deed in 1728 when James sold a portion of his 1727 patent:

April 27, 1728: James Cannon, planter, of St. Margaret Parish, Spotsylvania County, VA to John Thompson of same 100 acres in Spotsylvania County on the north side of the North River of the Guard Vine fork. Wit: Thomas Duncomb, Thomas Little. Signed James Cannon and wife Mary Cannon.

 By 1734, James is already associated with Cannon's Run:

Nov. 21, 1734: (p. 367) JAMES CANNON, 50a, Spotsylvania Co. in the Little Fork of Rappahannock R.; mouth of a fork of Cannons R. 21 Nov. 1734.

In 1740, James Cannon sold a portion of this land to his son, James Cannon Jr. in Orange County (parent county to Culpeper):

1740-1741 Orange County, Virginia Deed Book 4; [John Frederick Dorman]; Pages 221-24. James Cannon of Orange County to James Cannon Junr, of same. Lease and release; for £10 current money. 50 acres in the little fork of Rapahanock River ... at the mouth of a fork of Cannon's River ... up the north fork. James Canon. Wit: John Newport, George Utz. 28 Aug. 1740. Acknowledged by James Cannon.

This James Cannon Jr. is likely the same James Cannon who appears in a deed of Culpeper County in 1764, right around the same time John Cannon was living there:

1762-1765 Culpeper County, Virginia Deed Book D; [John Frederick Dorman]; Page 690-92.
21 March 1764. James Compton, Esqr., of the Kingdom of Great Britain to William Lighfoot (Lightfoot) of Culpeper County. For £43.9.- current money. 869 acres in Bromfield Parish in the litle fork of Rapahannock River joyning on the Rush River, it being part of 10,000 acres granted James Compton, Esqr., by the Right Honorable Thomas Lord Fairfax, Proprietor of the Northern Neck in Virginia ... on the Rush River side corner to James Cannon ... on a steep hill ... line made for William Presl [sic?] at the head of a branch ... in Peyton's line ... corner to Francis Slaughter ... on the long mountain a corner made for Slaughter ... to the Rush River ...
James Compton
by Fielding Lewis his attorney
Wit: Frans. Tyler, Alexd. Wright, Henry Mitchell., Danl. (X) Brown.
20 June 1765. Proved by Alexander Wright, Henry Mitchell, Fras. Tylor and Danl. Brown.

James Cannon was named a landowner in deeds of 1771 and 1783 in Culpeper County, Virginia. Either he or a son of the same name served in the Revolutionary War from Culpeper County as well.

To show that John Cannon of Culpeper County, who sold the Cannon's Run tract in 1806, is in fact from the Cannon family of Spartanburg, we can turn to a deed by William Hammett (1706-c.1777), the documented father-in-law of John Cannon (c.1720-c.1788) of Spartanburg District, South Carolina. Hammett patented land right on Cannon's Run in Culpeper County in 1748:

27 May 1748 (Prince William - NN Pat Bk F:289) William HAMMET of Pr. William Co. 270 A. in said Co. Surv. Mr. George BYRN. Adj. Mr. John SAVAGE dec'd, Cannon's Run, Dorrell's Run, Taylor Brentown Road. 27 May 1748. (Virginia North Neck Land Grants, 1694-1742, compiled by Gertrude E. Gray, GPC 1987, hereinafter NNLG) 

For good measure, here is a mention of a deed of gift between William Hammett and his son-in-law, John Cannon in Culpeper County court in 1784, right before the Cannons departed for South Carolina:

1783-1785 Culpeper County, Virginia Deed Book M; [Antient Press]; Page 135-139
THIS INDENTURE made the Twenty fourth day of February in year of our Lord One thousand seven hundred and Eighty four Between JOHN CANNON and SARAH his Wife of County of Culpeper and Commonwealth of Virginia of one part & DANIEL CLARK of the same County and Commonwealth of other part Witnesseth that JOHN CANNON & SARAH his Wife in consideration of sum of Sixty five pounds current money of Virginia to them in hand paid by these presents do bargain and sell unto DANIEL CLARK his heirs a certain tract of land lying in County aforesaid in the Little Fork of RAPPHANNOCK RIVER on the East side of a Branch called HENRY'S BRANCH containing One hundred and two acres and a half (the said JOHN CANNON hold the same by Virtue of a Deed of Gift from WILLIAM HAMMET SENR deced) And is part of a greater tract and bounded Begining at a parcel of Pines on the East side of HENRY'S BRANCH and runing thence binding on THOS. UNDERWOODs line One hundred and thirty five poles to a Poplar by side of Branch in DETHERAGE's Line, thence Sixteen poles to two red Oaks near a Branch, thence South thirty five degrees East One hundred and two poles to two white Oaks in the line of said DETHERAGE by a Branch of INDIAN RUN, thence binding with WILLIS's line North seventy nine degrees West to said HENRY's BRANCH, thence runing up the Branch the several Courses thereof to the Begining containing One hundred and two and a half acres be the same more or less Together with all houses, profits &Emoluments whatsoever to the same belonging To have and to hold the said One hundred and two and a half acres of land and all appurtenances unto DANIEL CLARK his heirs and JOHN CANNON and SARAH his Wife will warrant and forever defend by these presents against any person 'whatsoever In Witness whereof the parties to these presents have Interchangeably set their hands & Seals the day & year first above written
in presence of us WM. FARGASON, JOHN CANNON
JOHN. H. FARGASON, JOHN WIGGINTON SARAH CANNON
WM. McCLANAHAN
The Commonwealth of Virginia to JAMES PENDLETON, WILLIAM McCLANAHAN & JOHN WIGGINTON Gentlemen Greeting (The Commission for the private Examination of SARAH, Wife of JOHN CANNON, dated at the Courthouse the Fourth day of February 1784 and in the 8 year of the Commonwealth) (The return of the private Examination of SARAH CANNON dated the 24th day of February 1784 and signed by WM. McCLANAHAN and JOHN WIGGINTON)
At a Court held for Culpeper County the 19th day of April 1784
This Indenture was proved by the Oaths of WILLIAM FARGUSON, JOHN WIGGINTON & WILLIAM McCLANAHAN Witnesses thereto and ordered to be recorded, with Commission thereto annexed and Certificate thereon

This proves conclusively a direct family connection between John Cannon (c.1720-c.1788) of Spartanburg County, South Carolina and "Cannon's Run," founder James Cannon (c.1690-aft.1748), both of Culpeper County, Virginia.

No need to look 115 miles away in Henrico County.

So who was James Cannon? He was likely an immigrant from Ireland. He does not seem to appear in Virginia records prior to 1723, nor have I ever found him in the parent counties of Spotsylvania County. Given that the 1720s coincides with the beginning of Scotch-Irish immigration to the colonies, he probably immigrated shortly before his first appearance in deeds in 1723. This suggests that his likely sons James, Luke and John Cannon may have all been born in Ireland as well.

 

Research and documentation 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

The Ashleys of Albemarle County, North Carolina

The surname Ashley was relatively common in colonial America, making untangling lines difficult. Fortunately DNA testing has shed light on the various Ashley lines of Virginia and North Carolina and has been an enormous aid in determining who is related and who isn't.

Within the borders of old Albemarle County, North Carolina, which now encompasses Perquimans and Chowan counties, three early Ashley progenitors begin appearing in records in the late 17th and early 18th centuries.

They are:

Joseph Ashley (d. after 1741) transported to North Carolina in 1693; married Mary __, lived in Chowan County, North Carolina. Had children Joseph and probably Sarah Ashley of Perquimans County; others possible.

Thomas Ashley (d.1760-61) first appears in Chowan County, North Carolina in 1708, died in Bertie County. Married Ann Hicks, had children John and Thomas, others possible.

William Ashley Sr. (d. after 1733) married Eleanor Tyner, daughter of Nicholas Tyner (c.1650-c.1708) by 1711; settled in Chowan County, North Carolina. Had children William and Margaret; others possible.

Despite earlier theories to the contrary, a combination of the Ashley DNA project and documentation has shown us that all three of these colonial lines are very likely unrelated to each other. 

We'll go through the documentation for their origins one by one.

***

JOSEPH ASHLEY (c.1670-aft.1741)

Joseph Ashley's origins are affirmed by a headright grant to Francis Tomes (1633-1712) of Perquimans County, North Carolina on Jan. 5, 1693: Albemarle Co., NC, Francis Tomes granted headright of 510 acres for transport of Mary Tomes, Mary Fitzgarrett, a servant, Joseph Ashley, Charles, two Indians, three negroes, Elizabeth, a servant.

Since Joseph and these others were imported to live in North Carolina in 1693, they must have been from outside the colony. So where were they from?

The key to the identity of these people is the above Mary Tomes, who is the third wife of Francis Tomes.

The first big clue comes from the will of Francis Tomes, Sr. in Perquimans County, 6 day, 10 month, 1709; it names wife Mary, sons Francis and Joshua, daughter Priscilla Nicholson; daughter Mary married Gabriel Newby, grandson Francis Newby. Witness, Wm. Boyd, Matthew Alberson, John Stepney, and father-in-law John Nicholson.

The second clue is from his wife Mary's will, sealed in March 1713, making bequests to Vesty Lewis, Rachel Laurence, and Elizabeth "daughter of my brother William Nicholson."

So we know she was a daughter of John Nicholson and sister to William Nicholson, the latter of whom died in Currituck, Albemarle County, North Carolina in 1723.

If we can find the origin for John and William Nicholson, then we have a place of origin for Mary Tomes and by extension, Joseph Ashley.

As it turns out, John and William Nicholson were from right over the border in Lower Norfolk County, Virginia, and are found in records there between at least 1694 and 1705.

Apr. 20, 1694: William Nicholson witnessed the will of Henry Nicklis (Lower Norfolk Co., VA wills)

May 12, 1696: Theodore Taylor sold a 1686 patent to John Nicholson (Lower Norfolk Co., VA deeds)

[c.1700]: John Nicholson bequeathed land in will of Theodore Taylor, Lower Norfolk Co., VA

Jan. 5, 1705: William Nicholson witnessed the will of Richard Church (Lower Norfolk Co., VA wills)

According to some great research I found online, this is evidently the same Taylor/Nicholson family that appears in Currituck County, North Carolina:

Thomas Taylor was probably living in Currituck Co. by the late 1690s. He was probably the same Thomas Taylor who was granted 1000 acres in Norfolk Co. by Richford Swamp with Thomas Edwards on 20 Oct. 1689... Currituck Co. records show in 1716 "one levie paid for Luke Whit by Mr. Tayler." A Currituck Co. tax list from 1720 whose location was given as Currituck Shoar lists, among others, Thomas Vince, Luke White, William Nicholson, William Bell, and Thomas Taylor, Sr. The facts that Thomas Taylor evidently had owned land on Richford Swamp in Norfolk. Co., and that the White, Taylor and Nicholson names occurred at both Richford Swamp and Currituck Shore seem to show a connection of these families. Also, the fact that Luke White was listed as a headright on a grant to John Manning suppports the idea that the Whites living in Norfolk and Currituck Counties in the 1700's were related to the earlier family of Thomas White.

So it is clear that Mary Nicholson Tomes and Joseph Ashley were from Lower Norfolk County, Virginia. There is an Ashley family there, evidently descended from Dennis Ashley, a transportee to Maryland by 1664 who was granted land in Lower Norfolk with Edward Outlaw in 1677. This makes Dennis the likely father of Joseph Ashley of Perquimans County, North Carolina.

***

THOMAS ASHLEY (1682-1760)

Thomas Ashley of Chowan County, North Carolina gave his age in affidavit of 1739 as fifty years:

13 February 1739/40: Thomas Ashley, aged 50 ... deposed that William West possessed land in the fork of Casshoke Creek since 1718 until his decease; left by will to Robert West, son of Col. Robert West. signed by Cullen Pollock. (Source: NCGSJ xii -162 abstract by William Doub Bennett from Land Grant Record Book 9)

This would place his birth as 1689 or thereabouts. However, because nothing in colonial southern genealogy can ever be simple, there is solid evidence that he was actually born seven years earlier, in 1682.

Thomas is very likely to be the Thomas Ashley who was born on December 3, 1682 in Boston, Massachusetts. The "Book of Eastern Claims" (which contains claims for lands in Maine that had been abandoned decades earlier due to Indian wars) contains a claim by "Mary Spikes of Boston in behalf of her Selfe and Brother Thomas Ashley now of North Carolina and Sister Anna Mansfield of Marblehead" for land on the eastern shore of the Kennebec River in Maine. 

Since the claims in the "The Book of Eastern Claims" were filed during 1714-1720, this record definitively places Thomas Ashley, son of Thomas Ashley of Boston, in North Carolina in 1714-1720. In those early days, North Carolina consisted of just seven coastal counties with no other Thomas Ashleys having been recorded, so the Thomas in Chowan County must be the same man.

***

WILLIAM ASHLEY (1674?-aft.1733)

It's already well-established that Thomas Ashley came from Boston right around 1708.

William Ashley may have come from Boston as well. 

Capt. Edward Ashley of Boston, a mariner, made repeated appearances in Chowan and Perquimans County, North Carolina in the late 17th century. He is known to have been present in the late 1670s and again in the mid-1690s, when he appears in the following court record: 

A true and just account of what Vessels has been cleared ye Honble Dep. Govr. has given Richard Plater a Commission for Compr & Drur which was in Novr., 1695, as will be made appearing, Dan'l Johnston, Capt. Ranking, John Truett, Mounr Rathe, Edward Ashley, Xathn Bell, Ross Bell. In 1696 Abram Dill, Ross Bell, John Blount, Edward Ashley, James P Kilbrooks, John Triuett, John Gilbert, Rich'd Bently, Abra Lewis, John Oowley. (Chowan Co., NC Court)

After Edward died around 1698, his widow hired a lawyer in North Carolina, evidently to deal with his affairs in the colony. 

Boston records show that Edward Ashley had a son named William on June 24, 1674, who never appears in records in Massachusetts. So it is a strong possibility that William Ashley of Chowan was a son of Capt. Edward Ashley.

Joseph and William Ashley appeared in Chowan County court as witnesses together in a deed of 1719 (Chowan County Colonial Records., Vol. 2 p.364). So naturally absent information to the contrary, genealogists have assumed they were related; being the same generation, likely brothers. However, as we'll see below, DNA suggests they are probably not related at all.

 ***

DNA EVIDENCE

We have Y-DNA tests done for descendants of Benbury Ashley of Chowan County and John Ashley of Anson County, North Carolina that could shed light on who these families are.

John Ashley of Anson is almost certainly from one of these Albemarle County, North Carolina lines. We know from Anson County records he had a (likely) brother named Robert Ashley, who petitioned Anson County court in 1761 that he was aged and infirm and should be exempted from paying taxes. Probably the same Robert Ashley appeared much further east in a 1754 militia roll of Granville County, North Carolina, indicating the Anson Ashleys had likely been part of the Perquimans/Chowan Ashley clans. According to his will, John Ashley's daughter Eleanor married a Sutton, another family from Perquimans that had migrated to Granville County.

John Ashley cannot be a son of Thomas, who had a son named John who was still in Bertie County in 1761. A theory that can be found online claims he is "John Plowman Ashley" the above son of Thomas, suggesting that in the will of John Ashley of Anson County there is named a daughter Mary Ann Franks, with this daughter suggested as the wife of a Joseph Franks who appeared in records with John Plowman Ashley -- this is false. The name in the will is not Franks but Francis, with the long letter after the N clearly being a medial S rather than a K. Someone unfortunately put this erroneous theory on a tombstone, ensuring confusion will carry on innumerable generations.

John Ashley also cannot be a son of William Ashley Sr. William is proven to be a son-in-law of Nicholas Tyner via a deed in Isle of Wight County, VA in February 1711 which his wife "Elinor" signed and the will of Nicholas Tyner in 1709 which names a daughter Elinor. William had a son named William (c.1712-1782) and spinster granddaughters named Mary and Eleanor via his daughter Margaret. Mary's will was sealed in 1759 and William Jr. was executor; John Jordan provided bond. John Ashley of Anson County named children William, Eleanor and Jordan, possibly for these family members. However, he doesn't really fit into this family chronologically -- it seems that Elinor and William were married between her father's will in 1708 and a deed of 1711; given that John's son John Jr. was already buying land in 1749, and so was born 1728 or earlier, it's quite a squeeze to fit him in here. Furthermore, Y-DNA testing has shown that Jordan Ashley (1737-1817), son of John (d.1759) and Benbury Ashley of Chowan (b.1814), great grandson of William Ashley Jr. (1712-1782), are unrelated.

John Ashley of Anson County, North Carolina's son, Jordan Ashley's descendants appear in GROUP 4 (R-M269), so this is where all John Ashley descendants belong. According to Chase Ashley, the DNA test administrator:

Common ancestry of Group 4 members established; relationship with other members of the project highly unlikely - The results for the members of Group 4 indicate that they all probably share a common male ancestor within the genealogical time frame; however, further genealogical research will be needed to determine the the relationship between the group's members. The results also indicate that it is highly unlikely that any member of Group 4 is has a common male ancestor with any project member outside of Group 4 within the genealogical time frame (15 generations). The closest any kit in Group 4 comes to any kit in the project outside of Group 4 is a genetic distance of 13 on a comparison of 37, while a genetic distance of 6 on a comparison of 37 is enough to make it highly unlikely that test takers share a common ancestor within the genealogical time frame.

GROUP 4 is unrelated to:

John Ashley of Mecklenburg Co., NC b. 1755
"Papa John" Ashley of Coffee Co., TN, b.1752
Thomas Ashley of Lancaster Co., VA b.1660
"James Jordan Ashley" of SC b. 1780 (fake middle name suspected)
Joseph Ashley (c.1675-1757) of Rochester, MA
Robert Ashley b.1797 SC
Thomas Atchley (1695-1775) of UK
Phillip Ashley of Shropshire, UK
Edward Ashley b.1652 of Somerset, UK
John Astley of Wellington, Shropshire, UK
Benbury Ashley b.1814 of Chowan Co., NC
Moses Ashley b.1801 of Abbeville Co. SC (Kent, MD line)
All Ashleys of Kent, MD
Robert Ashley of Orange Co., NC

This basically eliminates John's potential descent from almost every other Ashley family during the colonial period, including the Kent County, Maryland, Lancaster County, Virginia and Orange County, North Carolina families.

Benbury Ashley of Chowan County, North Carolina b. 1814 is haplogroup R-BY73511 and matches only to a descendant of Thomas Atchley (1695-1775). (Group 9).

This means Benbury Ashley of Chowan cannot be related to John Ashley of Anson County, North Carolina.

Benbury Ashley appears in Edenton, North Carolina in the 1850 census near Baker Ashley, Anna Ashley, Delia Ashley, Elizabeth Ashley, Mary Ashley, Mead Ashley, Miles Ashley, Richard Ashley and Sarah Ashley.

More specifically, in 1850 Baker Ashley, who is next door to Benbury Ashley, has a "Nancy Deverson" in his household, age 64 (b.1786) -- this is Nancy Bacchus, widow of Mead Ashley Jr. (m.1808), who remarried to Isaac Daverson Feb. 26, 1835 (per Chowan County marriage bonds). Mead's father, also named Mead Ashley (bef.1757-1814), was named in the will of William Ashley Jr. (c.1712-1782) finalizing that Benbury is a descendant of William Ashley and Elinor Tyner. Because of the Y-DNA discrepancy, this eliminates the possibility that John Ashley of Anson is a descendant of William Ashley Sr. (1674?-aft.1733) of Chowan.

Mead Ashley's children were according to his 1818 estate papers: William Ashley, Mead Ashley, Sarah Stacey, Elizabeth Stacey (m. Wm. Stacy 1791), Margaret Stacey, Mary Stacey, Deborah Stacey, John Stacey, Jonathan Ashley, Milley Ashley, Sally Ashley, Edy Ashley and John Davison.

***

CONCLUSION

John Ashley of Anson County, North Carolina cannot be a son of William Ashley of Chowan County, because William's descendants are haplogroup R-BY73511 and John's are R-M269.

John Ashley can't be a son of Thomas Ashley, because he had a son named John Ashley who administered his estate in 1761 in Bertie County, North Carolina, more than a decade after John Ashley of Anson had left the North Carolina shore and moved hundreds of miles to the western part of the state.

By elimination, he has to be a son of Joseph Ashley of Chowan County.

This places Joseph in haplogroup R-M269, William in R-BY73511 and Thomas, unknown.

So it appears that William and Joseph Ashley of Chowan County are unrelated, despite appearing in a document together.

This also means John Ashley is a likely descendant of the immigrant Dennis Ashley of Virginia.

Special thanks to the research of Chase Ashley, Kevin Ashley and Mike Ashley, who have spent countless years documenting and analyzing volumes of colonial evidence. Though I have drawn heavily on their research, this conclusion about John Ashley is my own. I am always open to discussion and debate.

=JMF