Cathey Genealogy - VA, NC, GA, TN

Marty and Karla Grant

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Welcome to my Cathey genealogy pages. I am interested in the Cathey surname in various states, primarily in the 1700s and 1800s.

This name is alternately spelled Cathy. On older records it might also appear as Cathie, Carthy, Carthey, etc., though today it is usually only Cathey or Cathy.

My most recent Cathey ancestor is my three time Great Grandmother, Lavina Elizabeth Cathey, born 1844 in Union (now Towns) Co., GA. She married Carroll Moore Patterson in 1861, and, after the civil war, moved to what is now Swain Co., NC where both died, he in 1914, she in 1917. She is a proven child of:

William H. Cathey was born 1815 in Haywood Co., NC where he spent his youth. He, with his family, moved to northern Georgia in the 1830s where he married Nancy Matilda Carter in 1837 (Rabun Co., GA). They remained in Union and Towns Co., GA until the 1860s when they moved to what is now Swain Co., NC where they both died, he ca 1878, she in 1890. William H. Cathey is a proven child of:

William Cathey was born 1782 in Shenandoah Co., VA. The family moved back to NC by 1787. He grew up in what is now Haywood Co., NC going back to when the area was part of Burke County, then later Buncombe, then finally Haywood. William married Elizabeth Bryson ca 1808 in Haywood. They remained in Haywood until the 1830s when they moved to Union (now Towns) Co., GA where he died in the 1850s. Elizabeth moved to what is now Swain Co., NC in the 1860s and died there ca 1872. William Cathey is a proven child of:

Cpt William Cathey was born before 1755 probably in what was then Anson Co., NC but later became Mecklenburg. He married Rebecca Holeman before ca 1772 in Shenandoah Co., VA. They resided in Burke Co., NC in the 1770s, then back to VA for a few years in the 1780s then back to NC where they lived in Burke, Buncombe and Haywood Counties. William died in Haywood in 1812. Rebecca died after 1830 in Macon Co., NC. William Cathey is a proven child of:

Cpt George Cathey was born ca 1725 (though an early family history has it 1735, but that can’t be correct). He may have had a first wife named Ann Price (from the same early undocumented family history), however actual sources show his wife was named Margaret. It’s possible Ann was a first wife. Margaret outlived him by a decade at least. George Cathey is a proven son of:

James and Ann Cathey of Ireland, MD, PA, VA and NC. James was born ca 1700 or before, likely in Ireland, and died in 1757 in Rowan Co., NC. His parents are unknown, but it seems likely he’s a brother to John Cathey (d 1742) and George Cathey (c1690s-c1760s) and Elizabeth Cathey Brandon and Sarah Cathey Givens.

Revised: April 20, 2025

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