Thirty Fathers in Thirty Days: Mathias Marriott

 

The Old Mill by Jacob Alfred Miller

The surname of Marriott entered my family tree with the marriage of Henry Davis and Mary Marriott, who became my 7th Great Grandparents. Mary was the daughter of  William Marriott and Sarah Collier Marriott, daughter of Thomas Collier, my 8th Great Grandparents. William was the son of Mathias Marriott and his wife, Alice, my 9th Great Grand parents and Matthias is the subject of this post.

The name has French origins and means literally "Little Mary" or "son of Mary". It originated with French Huguenots, a group of Protestants who held to Calvinist, or Reformed, Protestant values and traditions. They arrived in England by the 12th Century, when the first recorded Marriott (in its varying forms) was Hervicus Mariot who was found in a listed in the Register of Knight Templar for Warwickshire.

The clip above was shared anonymously on Find-A-Grave from a list of Surry County individuals receiving acreage for the transportation of British settlers to Virginia. Mathias Marriott and his partner, Thomas Hart, received 338 acres of the north side of Blackwater Swamp for transporting seven people from England to Virginia. The land bordered the property of George Blow.

Blackwater Swamp is in the headwater section of the Blackwater River. It begins in Prince George County, flows southeast through Surry and forms borders with Sussex and Isle of Wight, Virginia before crossing into North Carolina. It's a beautiful, but not particularly navigable or profitable area for the early colonists to plant farms. Mathias Marriott became a miller.

From "Early Virginia Families Along the James River: Their Deep Roots and Tangled Branches Vol. III  Louise Pledge Heath Foley

These were the first generations spreading south, west and north out of Jamestown, in someways still inextricably tied to Jamestown. The growth spread like wildfire. Mathias Marriott and his partner Thomas Hart had received that first tract of land in 1672 for transporting William Jellett or Gilette, John and Richard Booth, an unnamed African couple, and two women, Ann January and Alice Price.  Ten years later, in 1782, Robert Caufiled was granted a parcel of 2250 acres, with record of a trail of cadaster from George Blow in 1664 to Mathias Marriott and Thomas Hart in 1672, those before and said 'deserted', meaning they no longer were in possession of this particular property. Why had Marriott & Hart deserted this particular parcel?  Was it dangerous or untamed? Caufield had transported 26 people including "Jacob, an Indian" and "James, a negro" and  Thomas Turner, someone I'm looking at to see if he is the same possible ancestor in another line. 

Mathias Marriott was the son of a William Marriott of Swan's Point, Surry County, Virginia, and I elaborate a little more later on. His date of birth is given as anywhere from 1641 to 1645, with 1644 being given the most often. Sometime during the 1660's, most likely the latter part of the decade, he married Alice Warren, daughter of Col. Thomas Warren, Esquire. I have Warren ancestry through Henry Davis who married Mary Marriott, Mathias's granddaughter, and also, this line through Mary, herself. Whatever the actual marriage, date, we know it preceded 1670.

In the above record from 'Surry County Records" compiled by Eliza Timberlake Davis, Baltimore, on page 377, is found a September 1670 record of an indenture by Mrs. Jane Warren, the widow (seen as 'relict') of Thomas Warren, "late of Surry County, Virginia, deceased, " and "Mathais" Marriott, who had married their daughter, Alice (Alyse) Warren, "ye only sister by ye whole blood unto Wm. (William) Warren, deceased and sonne (son) To ye aforesaid Thos. (Thomas) Warren.'  Apparently Mathias and his mother-in-law, Jane, were not in agreement on the division of property after the death of Thomas Warren Senior. "controversie and variance" the document called it.  Jane was given her due and a stipulation was made that if she or Thomas Jr. (sonne of above said Thomas Warren and Jane his wife) should die before Thomas reached the age of maturity, twenty-one, their portions are to go to the youngest son, named William, and when he died to the heirs of Mathias and his wife, Alice Warren Marriott.

The inheritance was listed as 1667 pounds of legal tobacco, casks, a white mare and her foal, a bed, a gold ring, a castor hat from the estate of William and the full share of a child. Jane, the widow. was given one third of the value of the house, orchards, and estate and Mathias was allowed his own share of the crop of wheat. It was signed Jane Warren, Mathias Marriott, George and Gertrude Watkins, neighbors.

The above clip from the same book, just down the page, leads in with an entry that mentions a Major Marriott on the west side of Besse's Swamp. I don't believe this is Mathias, but his father, William. However, two entries later, we see that on February 24, 1670, John Hunnicutt and Elizabeth Warren had contracted to enter marriage. Witnesses were John Corker and Jane Warren. This was the sister of Alice Warren, and the Jane signing as witness, the widow of Thomas Warren. Elizabeth, who'd received a small inheritance from her father, had suddenly became more marriageable and John Hunnicutt was an opportunist. The Hunnicutt family was an early and expansive one. I don't know it the descendants of this couple were among those who would populate our area of North Carolina, but it is certainly possible. The river of migration flowed in the right direction.

At the bottom of the page is a mention of James Stradling being indebted to William Marriott, father of Mathias. He owed 755 lbs. of tobacco. There were also some random, yet interesting entries that simply told of the details of life at the time in early Virginia. A 19 year old boy testified of the hogs on Hog Island. Had they been placed there for keeping, or were they wild hogs? Also, the body of a man, who had been dead a long time was found in the river. Who was he? Was he English? Had foul play been involved?

On the next page, which ventures into the year 1671, we find the entry stating John Hunnicutt, brother-in-law now of Mathias Marriott, had been given Elizabeth's 'due portion' of the estate of her father, Thomas Warren Sr. by Mathias. Jane Warren is mentioned and George Watkins was witness. The lead in was concerning a Hannah Davis, servant to 'ye Watkins', maybe or maybe not, George. She came to court to testify about her child. What issue about the child was not explained.

Another page over, in 1672, Mathias Marriott sold to George Watkins a man named "Kie". This shows that slavery had began. There were two types of servants, slaves and bond servants. The lead-in mentioned a servant boy with two and a half years remaining in servitude to the Allen family name Edward Welbanks. I hope Edward made it. Only one in ten child servants made it to adulthood and freedom. They were worked hard and fed poorly, sometimes abused. If they fell sick, their recovery was rare, due to lack of treatment, cleanliness, and nutrition. A few were treated like family, and those were the most likely to survive. 

A preserved Colonial Sawmill

In a list of Surry County Proprietors of Surry County is found the name of Mathias Marriott. It was located, "within one mile of the courthouse on the head of Grey's Creek.'  Marriott's Mill was located at Wier Neck, Gray's Creek, Surry County. 

Location of Gray's Creek across from Jamestown

- From the Virginia Gazette (Dixon) October 23, 1779:

"To commence from the first day of Jany 1780, at which time possession will be given, the plantation whereupon the late Mr. Mathias Marriott formerly lived, lying in Surry County, within one mile of the courthouse on the head of Gray's Creek...The sawmill with her appurtenances and a 25 hogshead flat for the use of the sawmill will be included in the lease of his plantation. "Virginia Gazette (Dixon), 23 October 1779, 1:2

His sawmill was so sturdy it would survive him for decades.

While Mathias's year of birth is assumed to have been between 1641 and 1645, that of his wife Alice is known to have been 1645, as she gave her age as 32 in a 1677 deposition. 

Mathias and Alice were the parents of five known (some debatable) children:

Margaret Marriott Flake (1673-1722) Married Robert Flake III

Elizabeth Marriott Mizell Hill (1676-1738) Married Luke Mizell 1st, then Robert Hill, son of Sion Hill

"Marion" Marriott Cripps (1679-1767) Married William Cripps (Matthias's Will names her as "Marriott Cripps, not Marion). 

Rachel Marriott Browning (abt. 1680-?) Married Francis Browning

William Marriott (1688-1767) Married Sarah Collier

William (my line) was the only son.

Some include a daughter, Alice, who married a William Gwaltney. She was instead a granddaughter, daughter of Margaret Marriott Flake. (See lineage at end of post)

Among appearing in other lists of early Virginia colonists, and Surry County records, the family Matthias Marriott and Alice Warren Marriott are also among the descendants of Charlemagne. 

While interesting, this is not rare among anyone who can trace their family lines back to Jamestown. Charlemagne currently has an army of descendants, and any Warren line carries this honor. This brings us to face with a few horrifically sad facts. Many poor families came to unfruitful ends, not having the ways and means to support growing, healthy children who would grow up to propagate. Many of the settlers in the new world, and Jamestown in particular, were the families of younger sons of the landed gentry. Oldest brothers were heirs to the estate, and the younger sons had to seek their fortunes elsewhere. They were, however, not without resources. Many would transport servants and the indentured and endured the same harsh winters, Native attacks and diseases that the disenfranchised and bonded servants did, but they had better accommodations, skills and education, and they ate better, so their offspring were the more abundant and viable. 

One of the earliest records of Matthias in Surry was when he was called to serve on a jury in 1665.  He was called for an inquisition into the death of a young boy, an indentured servant of a man named Ralph Coats. In the end they found that the child had died a natural death. Mathias would have had to have been over 21 at the time to serve on the Jury or born before 1644.

In a timeline of Matthias Marriott's name appearing in court record we next find:

1669- He appears on the list of tithable or taxable citizens with himself and two other people, one of which was a slave.

1670- Matthias was in court in an argument with his mother-in-law, Jane. Jane was an incredible woman. One must keep in mind that women often married very early in these days. Life expectancy was brief, childbirth was dangerous and marriage was often a game played by the parents of a couple that involved inheritances and fortunes and associations. It was not uncommon for a 15-year-old girl to be married to a 48-year-old man. Widows still in their child-bearing years were encouraged to remarry quickly and men with young children often sought a wife to aid in their care quickly, as well.  

Jane Allen had first married a man named John King. After he died, she married Thomas Warren, Sr. on January 1, 1659, at the age of 29.  She married a third time to Samuel Plaw in 1669 at the age of 39. She had three sons, all of them with Thomas Warren: Thomas Jr., Robert Sr. and Allen Warren. Some attribute Elizabeth Plaw, daughter of her third husband, Samuel Plaw, to Jane, but that would be a little disgusting. Elizabeth Plaw would become the wife of Thomas Warren Jr. While stepsibling marriages were not uncommon, as life was short and women were few in those days, but not half-sibling marriages. I would then propose that Elizabeth Plaw was the daughter of a previous marriage of Samuel Plaws, not Jane's child. 

Jane was not Alice's mother. She was Thomas Warren's second wife, as he was her second in exchange. His first wife was Elizabeth Spencer, daughter of William Spencer and Alice Lightfoot. Elizabeth had been previously married to a Robert Shepherd but had married Thomas Warren on September 23, 1654. She was the mother of Alice Warren Marriott, William Warren and Elizabeth Warren Hunnicutt. Also, by her first husband, Anne, John, Robert and William Shepherd. 

In 1670, Jane Allen Warren Plaw and Matthias Marriott had a dispute involving the division of the estate of Thomas Warren, which had been burdened with a number of stipulations, one that had also involved the estate of William Warren, son of Thomas Sr. To solve the issue, a slave or servant by the name of Thomas was to remain in the servitude and home of the Marriotts. The next year, 1671, is when Matthias sold the slave he was likely taxed for in 1669, named "Kie", or in some transcriptions, "Kid", to his friend, George Watkins.

1672- September 4th - Matthias Marriot was found in Contempt of Court. The "Act of the Assembly" was awash with inane rules, one of which forbid servants from walking willy-nilly about town, or anywhere really, on Sunday, typically their only day off. He had given his man, "Thomas", a note, "to go abroad on Sunday, he having no business, also he rendered scurrilous language (Matthias) to the Court both yesterday and to-day". Boy, I'm sourcing the renowned Davis temper that our genomes still carry to this day further and further back. Matthias was fined 200 lbs. of tobacco, the favored currency of the time, and costs. 

1673- Matthias and his wife, Alice sold to John Salway on Jul 23rd, a tract of land that had been inherited by her brother, William, from their father, Thomas, and upon William's death, to her.

1674- Mathias again appears in the list of Tithables, with someone named N. Witherington and one slave, probably Thomas. 

Now, here is where it gets a little confusing.

1675- Matthias Marriott barters the services of one Thomas Boggs, his "manservant" , as security, to Nicholas Meriwether for a debt owed. Now, from previous records, we know Matt had a slave named Thomas. We know from the tax list, that Thomas had to have been black, as his slave was referred to as "Negro", a Spanish word for black, that was used archaically to refer to someone of African origin. In later records, it appears that Thomas Boggs was freed from services and lived as a white man, so there must have been two Thomas's, Thomas Boggs, an indentured servant and an English or Irishman, and Thomas, an enslaved man of African origin.

In 1679, Mathias is listed with two taxables, the other being Thomas Boggs, above.

In 1680, Thomas Boggs is a free man and responsible for his own tithes, or taxes. There is a Mizell next to him, whereas Matthias's daughter would marry a Luke Mizell, and a Charles Marriott, relation unknown, showing up in the household of Walther Flood (later Floyd).

Matthias Marriott is also one of the enumerators that year.

1683, Matthias is in a list of debtors to George Proctor. He is probably 40, or close to it by then.

This document also lists John Hunnicutt as a debtor to the same estate. 

It also mentions the estate of Major Marriott, which refers to Major William Marriott. While there is not one particular document that names Matthias as a son of Major William, there is a weight of circumstantial evidence that implies as much. There was about a three-decade age difference, multiple connections, and locational proximity, for the support of it. 

1688 Matthias is alone as a taxable. No more slaves or indentured servants in his home. His children and in-laws may have been able to provide labor by then, the oldest entering their twenties. 

1695- Things were quite for a number of years until Matthias received a small stipend for some service from the estate of Mary Ironmonger.

1696- Matthias must have been a good boss.

In July of 1696, he purchased land in Southwark Parish in conjunction with Thomas Boggs, his former servant. The land was from the estate of Christopher Lewis, consisted of 200 acres, and part of a grant to Christopher Lawson. James Stanton and Richard Hargrave were witnesses.

As an example of how small this community really was, and how interconnected its people, Jane Plaw, widow of Thomas Warren, Sr., is also mentioned on the same page.

As was Robert Flake (Flacke), who married the Marriotts daughter, Margaret.

The two entries also connect Alice Gwaltney with the Flakes, her parents.

Mathias Marriott died in 1707. He knew the end was near when he wrote his Will on June 12, 1707. It was probated on September 2, 1707, so he passed away sometime that summer between those two dates. Probably in August. He would have been around 65-66 years old. Life was hard.

1707

He left his soul (written 'soule') to God and named Alice, his wife as Executrix.

He required his debts to be paid and wanted all of his 'profits and commodities' to go to Alice, and upon her death or remarriage to go to his son, William. He left his land to William Marriott, his only son, with the stipulation that if William should die without issue, (heirs/children), then his share to go to his grandson Thomas Flake, son of Robert and Margaret Marriott Flake.

Everything else, not before stated to go to William, exceptions listed below that statement. He left a book of 'Deniry" to each of three listed daughters, Margaret Flake, Elizabeth Hill and Marriott Cripps.  Some have her as 'Marion' but it is clear to me in her father's will that it was Marriott. He also left for Elizabeth Marriott Hill a spotted rug, to go to her after the death of her mother. Witnesses were Samuel Thompson, William Humuford and Roger Williams.

One of the coolest things to me when I began climbing my family tree was to be able to see the actual signatures of these long-ago ancestors on the ancient documents. This is Matthias's signature from 319 years ago. 

Inventory of the estate of Matthias Marriott, November 1707.

 Matthias's estate was not much compared to today's capitalistic standards, which is a blessing to us all. But for these early years of scrapping the Virginia swamps, he did pretty well.  Listed was 4 cows, three heifers and one young steer, three calves and one small yearling. He had 32 old books, that must have been shipped over from England. There was the standard amount of furniture, beds, blankets and such, a pallet of pewter, candlesticks, mortar, pallets of wool and cotton, cookware, farming utensils, bridles and other horse-riding apparatus, three sheep, shearing utensils and pottery and poultry and one breeding cock. And several mules.

Descent from William Warren to Mary Marriott Davis

Below is the lineage of Alice Gwaltney to Thomas Warren.

The Order of Americans of Armorial Ancestry. Lineage of Members

Mathias was one of my earliest Virginian ancestors, and an ancestor of Job Davis

The Heirs of George Cagle

 

David S. Cagle, Son of George W. Cagle

The heirs of George Washington Cagle are a story of their own. The question presented is who exactly were they? Some daughters had protean names, never seen as the same incarnation twice. Others, assumed dead before 1870, are listed in estate papers dated 1887, as alive. Some children were born out of wedlock, and which of these offspring by a promiscuous paramour were his and which were not? Who were some of the mysterious heirs listed twenty years past his death. I will attempt to answer that question in this post.

What is known is that George Washington Cagle had been born along the Rocky River in what is now Stanly County to Charles R. Cage, Senior and wife, Maranda Elizabeth Springer. He was the oldest son and came into the world around 1813, or thereabouts. He married around 1830 to Elizabeth Rose Whitley, daughter of Needham Whitley and Sarah Sides, she being about a year older than he. His family was sufficiently entangled with the Whitelys, and not only the Whitelys, but the Hinsons, Huneycutt's, Thomas's and Smiths.

George W. Cagle was murdered on February 27, 1876, as a result of his nefarious and wanton ways. That shocking end does not encapsulate the life of George W. Cagle at all. He was a farmer, a businessman, a husband and father and a humanitarian as well. Things seemed an easy and steady road for him, as long as he had Elizabeth. She passed away between late 1850 and early 1852. She was fully alive when counted in the 1850 census on October 3, 1850 and passed away before George remarried on January 4, 1852. Elizabeth was still a young woman when she passed, around 39 years old. She may have passed from complications of pregnancy or childbirth. Her youngest, daughter Lucy Catherine, was born in 1848.

Elizabeth seems to have been George's imperturbable, serene influence, his Eupraxia, his muse. George lived large, he gambled high on business deals, he bought and sold real estate and tried his hand at several industries, some successful, others, not so much. He ended up fairly wealthy in terms of comparison with many of his neighbors and seems to have kept a level head, until he lost Elizabeth.

Name	George Cagle
Gender	Male
Marriage Date	4 Jan 1852
Marriage Place	Stanly, North Carolina, USA
Spouse	Nancy Speight
Spouse Gender	Female
Event Type	Marriage

George married Nancy Hinson Speight on January 4. 1852. Nancy was a widow and the daughter of Charles Sampson Hinson and wife, Milly, or Amelia, Clark Hinson. In the estate papers, there are mentions of "the Estate of Charles Hinson". George was an heir of Charles Hinson via his marriage to Nancy, and that inheritance comes into play in the probate. 

Name	Nancy Hinson
Gender	Female
Spouse	Joseph Spate
Spouse Gender	Male
Marriage Date	7 Dec 1847
Marriage County	Union
Marriage State	North Carolina

Nancy did not have the same effect on George as Elizabeth had. Just the opposite, of course, she was a Hinson. If the Cagle's were fire, the Hinson's were gasoline, just a sense of things I've felt going through the old records and lives of these Big Lick citizens.  Nancy had married a Joseph Speights, or 'Spates'. on December 7, 1847, in Union County. 

Name	Nancy Speight
Gender	Female
Race	White
Residence Age	30
Birth Date	abt 1820
Birthplace	North Carolina
Residence Date	1850
Home in 1850	Smiths, Stanly, North Carolina, USA
Cannot Read, Write	Yes
Line Number	37
Dwelling Number	688
Family Number	693
Inferred Spouse	Joseph Speight
Inferred Child	Martha Speight; William A Speight

Household members

Name	Age
Joseph Speight	24
Nancy Speight	30
Martha Speight	2
William A Speight	0

Joseph and Nancy were living in Smith's District, in Stanly County, in 1850, the same as George Cagle. Joseph Speight, the son of John Speight and Martha Jane Austin Speight, would die on September 28, 1850. The couple had two children: 

Daniel Cicero Huneycutt and Martha Jane Speight Huneycutt

A) Martha Jane Speight, born April 10, 1848 and married Daniel Cicero Huneycutt. 

William Alexander Speight

B) William Alexander Speight, born October 15, 1849, married Sarah Rebecca Harkey.

George Cagle does not appear to have taken the Speight children in after the marriage to their mother. The why's and ways to this fact may not have anything to do with the character of George or Nancy. Women didn't have the rights they do at present. Children without a father were considered orphans and were normally appointed a guardian by the court. The guardian could be family or not. 

Name	William A Spight
Age	11
Birth Year	1849
Gender	Male
Race	White
Home in 1860	Stanly, North Carolina
Post Office	Albemarle
Dwelling Number	1002
Family Number	1017
Household Members	Household Members Name Age Alexr M McLester 55 Lydia McLester 35 Daniel McLester 22 William A Spight 11 Edmond McLester 71

In 1860, William is found in the home of  Alexander McLester.

Name	Elizabeth Spight
Age	43
Birth Year	1817
Gender	Female
Race	White
Birth Place	North Carolina
Home in 1860	Stanly, North Carolina
Post Office	Albemarle
Dwelling Number	969
Family Number	984
Real Estate Value	75
Cannot Read, Write	Y
Inferred Child	Martha Spight

Martha is found in the home of her Aunt, Joseph's unmarried sister, Elizabeth. This may have been due to Joseph dying insolvent, and Elizabeth in possession of property. 

Nancy Hinson Speight Cagle would have two daughters with George Cagle, Anna Jane in 1854 and Frances Laura in 1857. All three of them would be among those who moved to Iredell County after George's death, with Anna Janes husband, Joseph "Joe" Hartsell in the lead.

Name	Nancy Cagle
Age	60
Birth Date	Abt 1820
Birthplace	North Carolina
Home in 1880	Coddle Creek, Iredell, North Carolina, USA
Dwelling Number	170
Race	White
Gender	Female
Relation to Head of House	Mother-in-law
Marital Status	Widowed
Father's Birthplace	North Carolina
Mother's Birthplace	North Carolina
Occupation	Housekeeper
Maimed, Crippled, or Bedridden	Y
Cannot Write	Y
Neighbors	View others on page

Household members

Name	Age
Joe Hartsell	33
A. J. Hartsell	23
Geo. B. Hartsell	9
W. H. Hartsell	7
Etta Hartsell	5
E. F. Hartsell	3
May Hartsell	9/12
Laura Cagle	22
Nancy Cagle	60

Nancy Hinson Cagle died March 5, 1892 in Coddle Creek, Iredell County, NC, at the age of 74.

She was buried at Pleasant Hill Primitive Baptist Church. Several members of this family are buried there, along with others from Stanly County, primarily the Big Lick area who moved there. Some of them would move on to Mecklenburg County, NC.

Name	Nancy Caroline Cagle
Maiden Name	Hinson
Gender	Female
Birth Date	15 Mar 1817
Birth Place	Montgomery County, North Carolina, United States of America
Death Date	5 Mar 1892
Death Place	Iredell County, North Carolina, United States of America
Cemetery	Pleasant Hill Primitive Baptist Church Cemetery
Burial or Cremation Place	Statesville, Iredell County, North Carolina, United States of America
Has Bio?	Y
Father	Charles Sampson Hinson
Mother	Milly Hinson
Children	Annie Jane Hartsell; Sion Speight; Martha Jane Honeycutt; William Alexander Speight

In the Find-A-Grave profile for Nancy Hinson Cagle, I discovered an error. Sion Speight is included as a child of Nancy and Joseph. He was not. Sion "Bud" Speight (1851-1922), was the son of Alexander Speight (1824-1851) and Winny Hinson. They also married in 1847 in Union County. Winny was the daughter of Sampson Hinson and Sarah Cagle. Sarah was the daughter of Benjamin Franklin Cagle and Susannah Rebecca Lowder Cagle. Alexander Speight was he son of John Speight and Martha Austin and a brother of Joseph Speight who married Nancy Hinson. So, they were all related in a multitude of ways but were different people.

The similarities do not end there. Alexander and Wincy or Winnie also had a daughter named Martha, also born in 1848, except theirs was Martha Elizabeth and Nancy and Joseph's was Marth Jane. I can see where confusion could ensue. To make matters even worse, both Speight brothers died young.

Alexander died July 9, 1851 at the Rocky River. Joseph would die January 28, 1850. It gets even spookier. Their brother John Speight, would marry Mary Jane Hinson on Christmas Day, 1848. He would die November 6, 1850 at 29 years old. Alexander was only 27 and Joseph only 24.

It gets worse. They had two other brothers named Manasseh and Sion who died in 1850, as young men. The three sisters lived a bit longer, but none grew old, a mysterious family kismet.

The above page is from the estate file of George Cagle titled 'D S Cagle and others against A.G. Morton admin of Geo Cagle decd.'. Dated the Fall Term, 1893, this page tells us the percentage of each heir and also, which children were still living in 1893. The names who received one eleventh were:

Menece A. Hartsell  (Adeline)

Lithana Hinson (aka Ithama Barthena)

D. S. Cagle (David)

Sara Jones

Elizabeth (marked through)

Catherine Baker (Lucy Catherine)

Luthina Hartsell (Beadie Luthina Mathene etc.)

Anna J Hartsell

Laura Cagle (Frances Laura)

Malinda Crisco

The above were all legitimate children of George Cagle. The name of Elizabeth was struck through because she was deceased. This also shows that Adeline was living in 1893. I've not been able to locate her in 1900, or find out when or where she died. Signs point to Mecklenburg County. 

The next two names received one- twenty-second share, or one-half of a child's share each.

Wlm Honeycutt (William)

Bell Baker (Isabelle)

These were the two children of Elizabeth Cagle, by two different husbands. William was mentioned in George's Will, as his Grandfather raised him.

The next names following were under a heading of one seventh-seventh. They were descendants of a lesser degree, grandchildren or great-grandchildren of other deceased children, perhaps.

Susan Thomas

Anna Honeycutt

M. J. Whitley

Ellen Caldwell

James Smith

George Smith

Ila Smith

The next page is similar, but is dated Fall Term of 1887, or about 6 years earlier. Things could have changed in those six years.

It names: D.S Cagle, Sarah Jones, Malinda Crisco, Catherine Baker, Luthina Cagle, Laura Cagle, Ann J. Hartsell, William Honeycutt, 

not of age - Isabell Baker, minor child of Elizabeth, who appears by their next friend William Honeycutt. This statement clarifies two things, Isabell, who was under 21, was the daughter of Elizabeth Cagle, not Catherine, whom she always seems attached to, as Catherine did raise her, and that she was represented in court by her half-brother, William. It continues: Susan Thomas, E.A. Huneycutt, M.J. Whitley, Ellen Caldwell, not of age - James Smith, George Smith and Ila Smith, the last three being minors and appear by their next friend J. A. Crisco, Adeline Hartsell and I. M. Hinson.

vs A.G. Morton admin of George Cagle, deasd., William Parker, J. C. Burris and Evan Morgan.

These were the business partners and executor of George Cagle and the heirs claimed he left a valuable estate, to which they were entitled a part. My next puzzle to solve was, who were the Seventy-sevenths?

There were two known legitimate children who were not named in the papers above, Martha and Mary. Martha was last seen in the 1870 census. at age 29, living in the home of her sister, Malinda Cagle Crisco. Unmarried, she appears to have died as a young woman, leaving no heirs. Her sister, Mary, also seen as Polly, did marry, to Alfred Smith, son of Richard and Susan. They were among those Big Lick citizens who had removed to Iredell County, where Mary died on Marh 11, 1885.

Her tombstone survives. Alfred and Polly had seven children: Susan Adeline, Elizabeth Ann, Mary Jane, Eliza Ellen, James Richard, George W. and Ila. At the time of the probate, Susan had married Jacob Thomas, the brother of David S. Cagle's wife, Sarah. Elizabeth Ann aka "Betsy" had married Calvin Arenas Honeycutt. Mary Jane had married Titus Hillman Whitley and Ellen had married James F. Caldwell, the only one, despite living in Iredell County, had married outside of the western Stanly County gene pool. The younger three were still underage and had not married. But they were not "seventy-sevenths", as the paper stated. They were seven grandchildren, heirs of one child, one of the eleven legitimate children of George W. Cagle. I stress legitimate because George had other children, born from affairs outside of marriage. By law, they had no claim, unless named in the Will, as one had been. However, the shares of Polly Cagle Smith's children should have read as seven-elevenths, as the two children of Elizabeth Cagle shared two-elevenths.

The above page, included in the George Cagle estate papers is titled "D.S. Cagle admin. of Martha Cagle dec. against George Cagle".  It was stated s served against George Cagle on the 26th day of January 1876. David was the administrator of the estate of Martha Cagle, who was named in her father's will, but had predeceased him by months, it appears, and he sued their fathers' estate to cover her expenses, medical and burial.

 George Cagle had his fingers in many endeavors, and when he died, folks from all around wanted a little piece of the pie, so his estate file is massive, consisting mostly of of ragged receipts and affidavits. One interesting one was dated 1876 and was for $7.52 to M. A. Honeycutt on March 27th for the work of her son. The particular son was not named. This was Maniza Honeycutt and she was a mistress of George Cagle. Her children are said to have been his, or at least some of them. Maniza went before a Justice in June of that year and made oath to it, that she was due the money. The receipt that followed was dated November of 1876 and was received by C. A. Honeycutt for Maniza.

Then there was the Baker mystery. The probate papers show Isabella Baker as heir of George Cagle through her mother, Elizabeth. Most have Elizabeth dying as a Honeycutt, after the birth of her son, William. Obviously, that did not happen. Above, I located the marriage certificate of Elizabeth, under her married name of Honeycutt, marrying James T Baker on August 31,1865, in Cabarrus County, after her first husband, John W. Honeycutt, was killed in the Civil War. What cinches it is her brother, D. S. Cagle, signing as a witness. This is the correct Elizabeth. 

Elizabeth was not the first wife of James Tanner Baker, as he had married Mary Sims in July of 1840, in Cabarrus County, again, as he was from Rowan. He had entered the marriage with Elizabeth with his own children. This may be the reason that George took custody of his grandson, William Honeycutt.

What happens after that is a bit tricky. 

On June 9, 1868, James T. Baker comes to Stanly County to marry Elizabeth's younger sister, Lucy Catherine Cagle. 

The next census, 1870, shows 53 year old James, 22 year old Catherine, his youngest daughters by his first marriage, Florence and Dixie, his daughter with Elizabeth, Isabella, age 4 and Vanhoy, his first child with Catherine. Did he divorce Elizabeth, or did she pass away? 

Isabella Baker was born about 1867, the year before James married Catherine. Elizabeth and Catherine are both named as Bakers in one list. I believe this was in error. Elizabeth appears to have passed away after the birth of Isabella. Catherine stepped on and raised her niece. I've not found Elizabeth in 1870, or any documentation suggesting there was a divorce, or that she remarried a third time. One man appears to have married one sister after the death of another.

In addition to the nine children by his first wife, Elizabeth Rose Whitley, and two by his second wife, Nancy Caroline Hinson Speight, George W Cagle had children outside of marriage, possibly five by Maniza A. Honeycutt and maybe one by his other mistress, Mariah Myers Meggs. Only one is mentioned in his Will, shown above, and that was his son, Eli or Ely. 

In the Spring Term of Superior Court, 1889, an addendum to the case of D. J. Cagle and others vs A. G. Morton admin. of George Cagle was included as the Affidavit of Eli Huneycutt.

My transcription of the above page: 

Eli Huneycutt, complaining says, That George Cagle died in the year 1876 and that the Defendants above named administration upon said estate and that the said George Cagle made and published his last Will and testament before his death which has been duly probated and recorded in the Office of the clerk of the Superior Court of Stanly County. That under said will this affiant is entitled as one of the legacies of said will and is not a party to said action. 

II That if the proceeds of said estate which is left for distribution Viz the sum of eight hundred and seventy-three & 29/100 dollars arise from the sale of real estate? by said administration to pay debts which real estate "Vis" the home plantation was devised to this affiant Eli Huneycutt which alleges that he is entitled to .. cont. 

cont. "same. 

III That affiant is entitled to be made a party plaintiff to this one him to the end that an around sixty to taken of his interest in said estate and to have .....paid....order....the provision of the will. (This part is extremely dim and difficult to read). 

He therefore prays the court that he may be made a party Plaintiff and he ..judgement... signed by Eli Huneycutt and S. H. Milton. 

Above, the names of George's surviving,  married daughter were included into a suite, where previously, only their husbands were named, along with the widowed and single sisters, and surviving children of the deceased sisters.

Some of George Cagle's daughters bore unusual names, like Ithama Luthena Barthena, that evolved with time.

Ithama may have been a family name passed down the Cagle line from far back ancestors. Above is the Salisbury announcement of the marriage of Ithamey Cagle, (1826-1902), daughter of James Cagle, a son of Benjamin Franklin Cagle and semi-distant relative of George W. Cagle, who married George Sides. 

In conclusinon, I've compiled a list of the definitive heirs of George Washington Cagle. His two mistresses have their own, very unique stories, and I want to give a closer look at their lives, and if there is any proof to the parentage of their children.

George Washington Cagle was born about 1813 to Charles Robert Cagle, Sr. and wife, Miranda Elizabeth Springer. He died on Februay 27, 1876. His death is a story of its own. He first married Elizabeth Rose Whitley (1812-1860), daughter of Needham Whitley and wife, Sarah Sides.

Ten children:

1) Menece Adelin Cagle, (1832 - unknown) Her father's estate records suggest she was alive until at least 1897. She is not to be found in 1900, and the locattion of her daughter suggests she may have relocated to Mecklenburg County and could possibly be found in a City Directory there in 1898.

Married: Tillman Coley (1827-1856)

Married second: Holden Hartsell (1816-1865) One son: Adam Hartsell born 1864, last seen at age 18.

Daughter, Nelie "Nealie" A. Hartsell, born in 1872, could not have been the daughter of Holden Hartsell. She married Elhannon Mack Ferrell and became the mother of six children: Alberta Lee Ferrell Beam, Addie L. Ferrell Baxter, Tillman Allen Ferrell, Lura M. Ferrell, Inez Iva Ferrell Brown, Delola Neely Ferrell Holshouser. Nealie Hartsell was born in Big Lick, where she is found in 1880 and is in Huntersville, Mecklenburg County, NC in 1900, they then move to Coddle Creek in Iredell, where many of her relatives had relocated to, then to Cleveland County, then to Lincolnton in Lincoln County, then to Hickory in Catawba County, then finally to North Kannapolis in Rowan County, where she died in 1951, and was buried in Mooresville, Iredell County.

2) Ithama Lithana Barthena Cagle (24 Oct 1833-25 March 1812) 

Married William B. Hinson (1830- between 1878-1880). Eight children:

     George LaFayette Hinson (1851-1897) , Nathaniel L. Hinson (1851-1908), Doctor Hinson (1857-1870), Harriett Hinson (1864-1960), John I Hinson, (1874-1923), James Alfred Hinson (1874-1950), Millie Arnette Hinson Crayton (1876-1943). 

The Hinsons moved from Stanly County to Olive Branch in Union County, which was just across the river, then became one of the Big Lick area families who moved to Iredell County, living in Coddle Creek and Davidson, where Ithama was buried. Referred to as Lithana in her father's estate papers, she is seen as Barthena in 1850, Isama in 1860, Lythama in 1870, Lithania in 1880, but Ithamia, or Ithama on most of her childrens documents. As Ithama was a family name, I believe that is actually what her first name must have been.

3) David S. "Dave" Cagle (31 March, 1835 - 11 April 1915) As the only son of George Washington Cagle born within the bonds of Holy Matrimony, Dave was the de facto head of the Cagle family after the death of his father. He seemed stable and steadfast, perhaps only due to the responsibilities thrust upon him, but he was nothing like his father. The settlement of his estate was even more arguementive and expansive than that of his father. William Alfred Cagle was the Administrator of his father's estate and Dave had outlived a few of his adult children, which made involving grandchildren and their spouses neccesary.     

    

The above and below lists are the names of the surviving children and grandchildren whose Cagle parent predeceased their grandfather. 

David S. Cagle married Sarah Thomas on January 10, 1854. Sarah was the daughter of  Jacob Thomas and Betsy Baucom of the Rocky River area. She was born on September 23, 1835 and passed away on April 7, 1908. The 1900 census had reported that she had been the mother of 7 children with 5 living. All seven are known. 

Sarah Thomas Cagle

Sarah's younger brother, Jacob Thomas Jr. married David's neice, Susan Smith, daughter of his sister, Mary, who married Alfred Smith. Their 7 children were James David Cagle (1854-1897), William Alfred Cagle (1856-1933), Alexander A. Cagle (1858-1943), Eliza J. Cagle Nance (1861-1918), Mary Jane Cagle Teeter Turner (married twice) , (1865-1941), Margaret E. Cagle Honeycutt (1870-1901), Rosanna Cagle Edwards (1877-1951). Rosanna would be the child who took care of her aging father after her mother passed. 

Above is part of the distribution to heirs in the estate of David S. Cagle. Dave died on April 11, 1915. He had survived several of his own children. The first four names above are the children who survived him; William Alfred Cagle (W A), Mary Jane Cagle Teeter, Alexander A. Cagle, and Rosanna Cagle Edwards (Rose Ann Edwards). These recieved a full one seventh share of his seven children. The next group recieved one eight of one seventh, meaning they were one of eight children of one of David's chidren. 

James David Cagle

Those eight were the children of James David Cagle, who passed away on December 30, 1897. Sam would have been Samuel Prince Cagle, next is Emma Cagle who married Victor Widenhouse, Travis James Cagle, Ida B Cagle Cagle, who married George Franklin Cagle, a son of Robert Lindsay Cagle and wife Francis Caroline Robbins, and a great-nephew of George W. Cagle. Next is Connie Lee Cagle who married James Seabron Joyner, Daniel Webster Cagle (Dan) , William David Cagle (W.D). The one child of James David Cagle not listed was Walter L K Cagle. He traveled a bit, but would settle back in North Carolina. His obituary states when he passed, he was only survived by two brothers, Sam and Travis. This may have been in error that his name was excluded from being one of the eight.

Above, the continuation of the list shows first, three of sevens, or one third share of a child's seventh. These were the children of Margaret "Maggie" Cagle Honeycutt; Thomas Dewitt "Dee" Honeycutt, Arabella Honeycutt Thomas and Lillie Mae Huneycutt (will be Burris). The final group is one seventh of one seventh and those were the children of  Elizabeth "Eliza" J. Cagle. She had married William Jacob Nance and although she had outlived her father by three years, passing away on March 1, 1918 in New Salem, Union County, by the time of this action, she was deceased. The heirs to her one seventh share were John David Nance, William Alfred Nance, Loretta Emaline "Lou Rettie" Nance Austin, Sarah Elizabeth "Bettie" Nance Austin, Callie E. Nance Mask, Lillie Maggie Nance and James Benjamin Nance.

The Turners came into play in the estate when Mary Jane Cagle Teeter was widowed and chose a second husband in the form of  James Thomas Turner and have one more child, Minnie. 

The above shows distributions.

Actions like these could drag on for years until nothing was left, or any proceeds were held in escrow. Sometimes the government and attorneys just ate it all. 

This shows the case taking until at least 1919. Compare this to the distributions from the estate of George W. Cagle, below.

The fouth child of  George Washington Cagle and first wife, Elizabeth Rose Whitley was:

4) Sarah P Cagle (13 Dec 1836 - 6 August 1905) Note: the middle initials of Sarah and her brother, David are only known by letter. It has been proposed that David's was either Stanly or Sampson and that Sarah's "P" stood for Priscilla. This could be true, but I've found no documentation for that, so I leave them as a simple initial that is documented. As I've mentioned before in other posts, Sarah married Wiley Allen Jones in Stanly County, on June 5, 1853. Three years after his marriage to Sarah, he fathered a daughter, Ellen M. Safely by Sarah Frances Safely. Sarah apparently endured that indiscretion with grace and forgiveness, and gave wily Wiley six legitimate children : James Franklin Jones (1855-1914), Tillman Allen Jones (1858-1942), Margaret Ann Jones Cashion, (1850-1960), Wiley Alexander Jones (1862-1943), Elizabeth Ellen Jones Mills (1867-1947) and Sarah L. Jones (1868-1879). 

Little Sarah and her father both died of Typhoid Fever about the same time. They were buried together at Centre Presbyterian Church Cemetery in Mooresville, Iredell County, North Carolina.

Sarah P. Cagle Jones spent the remainder of her years, 26 of them, living with her children, first with son James F. Jones in Coddle Creek and later with daughter Eliza Mills in Davidson. She died on August 6, 1905, and was buried at Davidson College Cemetery in Mecklenburg County.

5) Mary "Polly" Cagle (16 Jun 1838-11 Mar 1885) Married Alfred Smith, son of Richard and Susan Smith. They lived in the New Salem Community of Union County, just across the river from Big Lick in Stanly County, at first, before moving to Coddle Creek in Iredell County, along with many others of the family and the community. Polly died a young woman in March of 1885, at 46. She and Alfred Smith had seven children, as was seen in the above Probate papers. They were Susan "Sis" Smith Thomas (1858-1898) Sis was married to Jacob C. Thomas, the brother of Sarah Thomas who was married to Polly's brother, David S. Cagle. The others were Elizabeth Ann "Betsy" Smith Honeycutt (1859-1931), Mary Jane Smith Whitley (1863-1930), Eliza Ellen Smith Caldwell (1865-1921), James Richard Smith (1867-1950), George Washington Smith (1868-1937), Ila Smith Honeycutt (1873-1942). Polly Cagle Smith was buried at Willow Valley Cemetery in Mooresville, Iredell County, NC. Her husband, Alfred Smith, outlived her by about 20 years. He lived until January 31, 1905, and was buried at the Fairview United Methodist Church Cemetery in Mooresville. 

Alfred Smith

 6) Martha Cagle (1838- bet 1880 and 1887) Unmarried, burial location unknown. 

7) Elizabeth Cagle (26 June 1842 - bet 1868 and 1870) David S. Cagle recorded his siblings' births in his Family Bible, which may have started with his parents, but not their dates of death. Elizabeth married first, John W. Honeycutt, who perished in the Civil War. One child, William Alfred Honeycutt (1859-1889). She married second to James Tanner Baker. One child, Isabella Baker Huffman. 

8) Malinda Ellen Cagle (2 Aug. 1844- 6 Feb 1917) Married Jacob A. Crisco on July 20, 1858 in Stanly County. They would move to Coddle Creek / Mooresville in Iredell County before 1880, where they raised a family of 8 children: William Crisco (1856-1860), Adam Dawson Crisco (1860-1927),

Araminta "Minty" Evelyn Crisco Russ (1866-1925), Dolly Lupine Crisco Cook (1869-1942), John C. Crisco, (1879-1945), King David Crisco (1872-1945), Mary Magdalen Crisco Christenbury (1878 -1955) and Bingham Caldwell Crisco (1880 -1938) Melinda was buried at the Coddle Creek ARP Church Cemetery in Mooresville. Jacob outlived her by two years and is buried beside her. 

9) Beadie Luthenia Mathene Cagle (26 Sept 1846 - 25 Mar 1912). Never married. One child: Effie Cumi Cagle Wilson (1883-1970). Beadie Luthenia's daughter was supposedly fathered by her brother-in-law, Jacob A. Chrisco. Beadie was living with her sister Malinda's family at the time, and after leaving Big Lick for Iredell County. She was buried at McKendree Chapel UMC in Iredell County. 

Beadie Luthenia Mathene Cagle

10) Lucy Catherine Cagle (3 July 1848- 4 Sept 1899) Lucy became the third wife of James Tanner Baker on June 9, 1868, three years after her sister Elizabeth had married him. It can be assumed that Elizabeth passed away. Catherine raised Isabella Baker, born in 1867, but Elizabeth was her mother. Lucy Catherine and J. T. Baker had four known children: Osbourne Vaughn Baker (1869-1937), David Council Baker (1872-1943). These first two moved to Texas and raised their faimly there. Dominic Baker (1877 -?) Dominic may have died as a child. Nothing else is known about him and I've not been able to locate his burial location. Deborah D. Baker ( 1881-1920) Married William Holden Hartsell, son of Lucy Catherine's half-sister, Anna Jane Cagle Hartsell and grandson of Holden Hartsell, son of her sister Menece Adaline Hartsell's second husband, Holden Hartsell. They remained in Fallstown, Iredell County. 

Lucy Catherine Cagle Baker married second to Jacob Monroe Eudy on December 22, 1887 in Iredell County, both with Stanly County roots. She would pass away two years later on September 4, 1889 and was buried at Willow Valley Cemetery in Mooresville. Jacob M. Eudy would join her on September 4, 1896, seven years later. Lucy was the youngest child of George Washington Cagle with his first wife, Elizabeth Rose Whitley.

George had married his second wife, Nancy Hinson Speight in 1854. Their children were:

11) Anna Jane Cagle ( 7 September 1854- 24 November 1931). Annie married on March 20, 1870, to Joseph Monroe Hartsell, son of her sister Adaline's husband, Holden Hartsell. Joe and Annie raised their family of ten children in Iredell County, moving from Fallstown to Coddle Creek to Davidson. Later in life, they moved to Concord, Cabarrus County. Anna Jane, sometimes called Annie, died on November 24, 1931 and was buried at Pleasant Hill Primitive Baptist Church in Trountman, Iredell County, where her mother was buried. This must have been the families home church when they lived n that area.

The ten children of Anna Jane Cagle and Joseph Monroe Hartsell, who died in 1923, were: George Benton Hartsell (1871-1907), William Holden Hartsell (1872-1943), Etta Roxie Hartsell Smith (1875-1954), Lottie Mae Hartsell Overcash (1878-1957),  Eli Franklin Hartsell (1879-1933), Anna Hartsell Gilbert (1881 - ?), Virginia Alice Hartsell Byers (1883-1956), Olaa Ann Hartsell Thompson (1884-1957), Rufus Reid Hartsell (1886 -1944), Doke Monroe Hartsell (1889-1934).

12) Frances "Fanny" Laura Cagle (1857-1897) Never married, died in Troutman, NC.

Some people attribute an Eli Cagle to Nancy Hinson Cagle, but he was not her child. Eli Cagle and Eli Honeycutt was one person. 

George's children by Maniza Honeycutt. George had a relationship with Maniza Honeycutt outside of marriage. I will explore this relationship closer in a future post as we look at the question of who the fathers of Maniza Huneycutt were. I so believe several of them were the children of George Cagle, but the one we can definately attribute to George Washington Cagle was Eli, as he was named in George's Will.

13) Ellison "Eli" F. Honeycutt/Cagle (3 June 1856-Jan 7 1940). Eli, who is seen by both surnames at varioud times of his life, married Frona  Alice Thomas, daughter of William Green Thomas and Lydia Dry. We will look more closely at Eli's family in a future post, but they had a family of about five children. Eli remarried later in life to Jennie Yow Huneycutt and died in Charlotte, Mecklenburg County, NC. 

The boisterous, industrious and lusty life of Geoge W. Cagle tinted the color of the 19th century town and community of Big Lick. He left a large family, perhaps larger than the 13 children mentioned. We will later explore the lives of his mistresses and perhaps add some children to the list above. My next post will take a closer look at the death of George W. Cagle. Was it murder or self-defense?