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RN=411 in Cathey book Special thanks to Lawrence Wood, deceased,
Dottie Jackson and others for data shared on this family. Also thanks to
Boyt Cathey and his book "The Cathey Family History and Genealogy,
Volume I (1700-1900)", 1993.
NOTICE: For many years it has been thought, and generally accepted,
that William Cathey who died in 1812 in Haywood Co., NC is the son of
Andrew Cathey. Andrew had a son named William who was baptized on 26
Apr 1741 in Augusta Co., VA. New information has come to light that
shows this is probably wrong and that William Cathey (d 1812) is a son
of
George Cathey (1735-1805) instead. Court records show that George
Cathey died leaving many heirs and they were named regarding land in
Wilson Co., TN. Among those heirs were a son William Cathey, already
deceased by then, so his children were named. Those names match the
children of our William Cathey (d 1812) to such an extent that it must
indeed be the same William formerly thought to be Andrew’s son.
William Cathey was born before 1755 per his age on the 1800
census (45 and up). The other William (son of Andrew) was born ca April
1741 for he was baptized on 26 Apr 1741 at the Augusta Stone
Presbyterian Church in Augusta Co, VA. The baptismal record shows
William as a child of Andrew Cathey. As noted above, we no longer
believe that William son of Andrew is the same William we are interested
in. Therefore we have no exact birth date for our William.
William is a son of
George Cathey (1735-1805) and wife Ann Price. This is proven by a
court case in Wilson Co., TN dated 1 May 1823 naming George’s heirs.
William was listed as his son, but as being deceased, so his own
children were named as being his heirs.
Sometime prior to ca 1774, William Cathey married Rebecca —
probably in Rowan or Burke County, North Carolina. Family tradition (or
an earlier family researcher) stated that Rebecca’s maiden name was "Holeman".
To date, no researcher has been able to confirm this. There were
Holemans in the area at the time, so it is certainly possible.
A big problem is that we don’t know the origin of this theory or
claim, for if it was Family Tradition, then it could certainly be
accurate. However, many have speculated that it is a case of mistaken
identity, for there is a different William Cathey who did marry a
"Rebecca Holeman", and this family is well documented. That William
Cathey and wife Rebecca were of Shenandoah County, Virginia and was a
son of a William Cathey and wife Elizabeth —. This William (Jr) married
Rebecca Holeman in Shenandoah County before 1772, and she was a proven
daughter of Daniel Holeman who died in 1772.
I have not found much data on this other William Cathey and wife
Rebecca Holeman of Shenandoah County, Virginia. The 1785 tax list for
Shenandoah County shows both William Sr and William Jr living there at
that time. It should be noted that William Sr was still there for the
1787 census, but William Jr was not. In any event, it deserves some
additional research. So that leaves the question of our Rebecca’s maiden
name wide open. Did an earlier researcher find this Shenandoah County
couple and assume it was our William and Rebecca, and start that theory
that ours was a "Holeman", or is that the same couple as ours, or is
ours a different couple. I’d like to get an answer to this question. The
fact that our William and Rebecca named one of their sons "Daniel H.
Cathey" is interesting. Could he be named after Daniel Holeman?
The only provable facts we have on our Rebecca is that she was born
ca 1750/55 (per census analysis). Almost all of Rebecca’s children named
one of their own children "Rebecca", but two of her sons (James and
William Cathey) both named daughters "Rebecca H. Cathey". What was the
"H" middle initial for? Was it "Holeman"? It certainly works.
In the 1770's or before, William Cathey built "Cathey’s Fort" in what
was then Burke County. This Fort is located in Turkey Cove which is
north of Marion, NC in present McDowell County.
On 23 Feb 1778, William Cathey received a State Land Grant of 100
acres on the North Fork of Catawba River in Burke County, adjoining
George Cathey (his father?).
On 8 Jul 1778, William Cathey received a State Land Grant of 640
acres on Turkey Cove in Burke County, the same land formerly entered
(claimed) by George Cathey.
William Cathey was listed on the 1790 census in Burke County, North
Carolina in the 1st Company. His neighbors on either side
were James McDowell and Andrew McClure. As best as I can tell, he seems
to be in the Turkey Cove area of present McDowell County.
1790 census analysis (based on available evidence): (Explanation
of this census)
1790 Burke Co, NC pg 106 William Cathey 3-4-5-0-3
Analysis:
3 Male(s) 16 and Up (before 1774) William CATHEY (bef 1755)
Son? (bef 1774) --> gone by 1800
George CATHEY (1774) son --> hd 1800
4 Male(s) under 16 (1774/1790) Daniel H. CATHEY (1774/84) son
William CATHEY (1782) son
James CATHEY (1784) son
Andrew D. CATHEY (1784/90) son
5 Female(s) any age (before 1790) Rebecca HOLEMAN Cathey (1750/55) wife
Daughter? Sister? Sister-in-law? (bef 1755)
Ann CATHEY (bef 1790) dau --> m by 1800
Elizabeth CATHEY (1774/75) dau -> m by 1800
Margaret CATHEY (1789/90) daughter
On 18 Oct 1797, William Cathey purchased 640 acres from John Carson
in Buncombe County. The land was described as being on Richland’s Creek.
This is probably about the time the Cathey’s moved to that area. This is
present day Haywood County around the town of Waynesville. (Buncombe Co,
NC Deed Book 4 page 262).
Around this time (ca 1798), the other
William Cathey (1777) came of age. That means that there may be some
confusion in the records as to which William was which. Generally,
William (bef 1755) used "Sr" and William (1777) used "Jr", but not
always.
William Cathey was listed on the 1800 census in Buncombe County. This
census was alphabetical, so I can’t determine who his neighbors were,
but he was most certainly on Richlands Creek at that time.
1800 census analysis (based on available evidence): (Explanation
of this census)
1800 Buncombe Co, NC pg 165 William Cathey 32201-11002-0-0
Analysis:
1 Male(s) 45 & up (before 1755) William CATHEY (bef 1755)
2 Male(s) 16-25 (1774-1784) Daniel H. CATHEY (1774/84) son -> m by 1804
William CATHEY (1782) son --> m by 1808
2 Male(s) 10-15 (1784-1790) James CATHEY (1784) son --> m by 1810
Andrew D. CATHEY (1774/84) son --> d 1808
3 Male(s) 0-9 (1790-1800) Jacob CATHEY (1790/94) son
John CATHEY (1794/1800) son
Thomas CATHEY (1797) son
2 Female(s) 45 & up (before 1755) Rebecca HOLEMAN Cathey (1750/55) wife
Sister? (bef 1755) -> gone by 1810
1 Female(s) 10-15 (1784-1790) Margaret CATHEY (1789/90) daughter
1 Female(s) 0-9 (1790-1800) Sarah CATHEY (1790/94) daughter
On 17 Apr 1800, Richard Lewis sold William Cathey 640 acres on the
Pigeon River. Richlands Creek flows into Pigeon River, so this is
probably near where William lived. (Buncombe Co, NC Deed Book 5 page
230).
On 28 Oct 1800, William Cathey sold 140 acres of his Pigeon River
land to John Gooch. (Buncombe Co, NC Deed Book 7 page 357).
On 1 Dec 1800, William Cathey Sr sold 3 acres of his Pigeon River
land to Spencer Rice. (Buncombe Co, NC Deed Book 3 page 328).
On 31 Dec 1800, William Cathey sold 73 acres of his Pigeon River land
to his son-in-law William Meheffy (Mahaffey). (Buncombe Co, NC
Deed Book 5 page 222).
On 10 Oct 1802, William Cathey sold 230 acres of his Pigeon River
land to Robert Gillespie. (Buncombe Co, NC Deed Book 4 page 689).
On 13 Dec 1802, William Cathey sold 200 acres of his Richland Creek
land to John Hide. (Buncombe Co, NC Deed Book 8 page 272).
Around this time (c1803), William Cathey (1782) came of age, so that
means there were now three adult men named William Cathey in the area,
further complicating the public records.
On 17 Jul 1804, Joseph Dobson sold 100 acres on Hominy Creek to
William Cathey. I'm not sure if this is William (1741) or William
(1777). or William (1782). He sold this land less than a year
later. (Buncombe Co, NC Deed Book 10 page 120).
On 19 Jan 1805, William Cathey (whichever one) sold his 100 acres on
Hominy Creek to George Hall. (Buncombe Co, NC Deed Book 10 page 50).
On 13 May 1806, William Cathey Sr sold 7 acres of his Richland
Creek land to William Allen. (Buncombe Co, NC Deed Book A page 468).
On 5 Apr 1808, John McFarland sold 150 acres on Pigeon River to
William Cathey et al. (This means there were others Grantees involved in
the deed, but the abstract did not list them). I don't know which
William Cathey this was yet. (Buncombe Co, NC Deed Book B page 10).
In 1808 Haywood County was created from western Buncombe, including
Richland Creek and Pigeon River areas.
William Cathey was listed on the 1810 census in Haywood County.
Unfortunately, this census was alphabetical, but I’m sure he was at home
on Richlands Creek.
1810 census analysis (based on available evidence): (Explanation
of this census)
1810 Haywood Co, NC pg 61 William Cathy Sr 02101-00201
Analysis:
1 Male(s) 45 and up (bef 1765) William CATHEY (bef 1755)
1 Male(s) 16-25 (1784-1794) Jacob CATHEY (1790/94) son
2 Male(s) 10-15 (1794-1800) John CATHEY (1794/1800) son
Thomas CATHEY (1797) son
1 Female(s) 45 & up (before 1765) Rebecca HOLEMAN Cathey (1750/55) wife
2 Female(s) 16-25 (1784-1794) Margaret CATHEY (1789/90) daughter
Sarah CATHEY (1790/94) daughter
An entry in the Family Bible shows that William Cathey died on 23 Dec
1812.
An Inventory of his Estate was made in September 1813 by Rebecca
Cathey and Thomas Love, Administrators. Several household items were
mentioned including two "testaments" and one "Explanatory of a
testament", which of course is a Biblical commentary. I mention this
because it is this Biblical commentary that the family record was
written on.
An Estate sale dated 23 Oct 1813 shows several familiar names
purchasing estate items including: Rebecca Cathey (widow) John Bryson,
Mimey Cathey (Jemima Cathey), and William Cathey.
Rebecca Cathey was not listed on the 1820 census, but it appears she
may have been home with her son Thomas Cathey, for he had two females
with him aged 45 and up (born before 1775). One of them is certainly his
widowed mother.
In 1823 Robert Neill sued the estate of George Cathey (William’s
father) over some property in Wilson Co., TN. The case named the heirs
of George Cathey including son William Cathey who was also deceased by
then.
In the 1820's, Rebecca and several of her children moved into
neighboring Macon County settling on Tellico Creek or near there. This
is just a mile or so south of the present Swain County line.
Rebecca was listed as head of household on the 1830 census in Macon
County. She seems to have some possible grandsons with her, or
other relatives.
1830 census analysis (based on available evidence): (Explanation
of this census)
1830 Macon Co, NC pg 17 Rebecca Cathey 0002010000000-0000000001000
Analysis:
1 Male(s) 30-39 (1790-1800) Thomas CATHEY (1797) son
2 Male(s) 15-19 (1810-1815) Grandson?
Grandson?
1 Female(s) 70-79 (1750-1760) Rebecca HOLEMAN Cathey (c1741) wd/o William
I did not find Rebecca on the 1840 census, nor did she seem to be
listed at home with any of her children. This probably means that she
died in the 1830-1840 time-frame, probably in Macon County, North
Carolina. |