Since asking the question, "Is there anyone out there?" I have been
contacted by several people. I can safely report that there is an
"anyone" or two out there.
My interest is in William Kallam, who was born sometime between 1740
and 1744 in what was at the time Penn's Colony. He is my "furthest
back" person of this line and the progenitor of almost everyone of this
surname in north central North Carolina and south central Virginia.
Some of his children moved to Tennessee, Indiana, and other parts of
the west. His grandchildren, who finally left North Carolina, moved to
Minnesota, Missouri, Kentucky, and the Indian Nations.
One of you expressed puzzlement over why I was on this list since it
is for "Callam." After a lifetime of having to spell my name and going
back to the oldest records that exist for this family I can assure you
that spelling is just a condition that has to be endured and worked
around. The oldest documents of my family have spellings of Callam,
Kellam, and literally 26 other variations within these first 3
generations.
I inherited a pile of "stuff" that had been accumulated about this
family, which had been handed down for what now amounts to 105 years.
But no one to date has been able to break the barrier of William Kallam,
who settled in the portion of Guilford Co., NC that became the
northwestern edge of Rockingham Co. prior to 1770.
I can find historical families of similar surname in 2 parts of
England, 2 Scots of the same name who were forcibly removed to Salem
after being on the losing side of a battle where they found an English
family of similar surname, and a Canadian family that moved from Canada
to Indiana and changed the spelling of their surname, as well as some
other miscellaneous folks who all share a common pronunciation.
I've spent over 30 years trying to figure these folks out and move
it back in time and would love to hear from any of you inclined to share
the known origins of your respective lines. I share a secret belief
that there could be an English village in Northumberland where all these
folks originated at about the last millenium, but they were forced to
moved when the village was destroyed ... and probably not a one of them
could spell.
Any takers? Shall we put this list to use and try a bit of sharing?