Janis:
I assume you already know that the Leonard Calvert that married Roxey
Morley was a grandson of the elusive William Calvert and Elizabeth Nodding.
Leonard's father John Calvert, the oldest son of William and Elizabeth.
WILLIAM CALVERT:
As far as I am aware, no one has yet connected William to any of the other
Calvert lines. I have found a few interesting tidbits on William over the
years, but nothing substantial. He seems to have had some relationship with a
John Calvert (or Calvit) who had a wife named Jane, and with a Frederick
Calvert (Calvit, Calvatt), who was scalped by either the Cherokee or Creek
Indians, "but is yet living."[State Records of North Carolina, Vol XI-1776, and
Supplement, Broadfoot Publishing Co., 1993, p.458]. The North Carolina
Revolutionary Army Accounts, Vol I, Book 3, , p. 211 show Will Calvit, Fredk.
Calvert, and John Calvit grouped together as they receive their specie
certificates for land in Washington Co., TN. And in the "Entry Taker' Report,
1778-1783, Washington County, Tennessee and Sullivan County, Tennessee
[Transcribed by Oveda Meier, Salt Lake City, Utah, Family History Library Call
# 976.89 R2m, Fiche# 6101579], we find John Calvert, Federick Calvit, and
William Calvert mentioned numerous times. A few times Federick Calvit or
Colvitt and William Calvert or Calvitt are listed right together.
(Variations on the spelling of the name that I have encountered include
Calvit, Calvitt, Calvatt, Calvett, Colvet, Colvert, Colvitt, Calbert, Colbert,
Calveret, Calverth, etc.)
The early settlers of East Tennessee (the "Wataugans") petitioned various
times to both Virginia and North Carolina to be admitted to those states. One
such petition was dated 5 July 1776 and signed by numerous men, including
Frederick Calvert and Joseph Calvit [History of Washington Co., TN, 1988,
Watauga Association of Genealogists, Upper East Tennessee, p. 15]. Another
petition was signed in November or December 1776, and contains the name of
Frederick Calvit [p. 16].
There are all sorts of John and William Calverts appearing in early East
Tennessee Records. For example John and William Calveret appear on the 1804 Tax
List for Wilson County, and a John and Joseph Calvert appear on the 1812 Tax
List for Beford County. Curiously, both a William Calvert and a Leonard Calvert
appear on the 1814 Tax List for Washington County, but no John. Because William
Calvert Jr., who married Elizabeth Fine, was born in 1783, these later lists
could be of either William Sr. or William Jr. (or maybe neither?)
Curiously, the name of Frederick Calvert does not appear in any of the
earliest Washington Co., TN records that I have searched.
The above is by no means an exhaustive listing of the clues or sources that
I have considered in trying to track our William Calvert. In fact, another
researcher has suggested that there were at least two William Calverts who were
in Washington Co., TN very early. I'm not sure I buy this idea yet, but of
course it is possible.
NODDING:
Elizabeth Nodding was the daughter of William Nodding and Mary ________?
Some researchers have suggested that William Nodding was the son of John
Nodding and Priscilla Brewster. (I have even suggested such to this list
previously) I am now convinced that John was the SON of William Nodding, and
NOT his father! Others have suggested that the maiden name of William's wife
Mary ____, was Brewster or Bruester. This conclusion is based on the fact that
in the will of Thomas Brewster (Fairfax Co, VA, 1755) he mentions his daughter
Mary, but a portion of the will is missing at that point. One of the witnesses
to the will was Mary Nodding (Nodin) and William Nodin was appointed executor.
However, from a later deed (Loudoun Co, VA deeds, 1795-1796, 5 Feb 1796, pp.
351-353) we find that Mary Brewster's married name was FINCH. I believe William
and Mary Nodding were involved in this will because there son John had married
into the Brewster family, but more importantly, the Brewsters were "next door"
neighbors to the Noddings in Loudoun Co.
I have hit a dead end on the ancestry of William Nodding. I have been
unable to track him out of Loudoun or Fairfax Counties, Virginia. I have also
not been able to determine the maiden name of Mary.
William Nodding died in Washington Co., TN and his will was probated there.
In the will, (dated in 1804 but probated in 1812) he mentions his wife Mary. It
seems probable that this is the same Mary that was the witness to the Brewster
will in 1755, which means she survived him, and was also the mother of all of
the children.
For a history of the involvment of the Noddings, and other related
families, in the early Baptist settlements in Washington Co., TN, see the
History of Washington Co., TN 1988, referenced above, pp. 69, 97, 167, 211.
Curiously, William Calvert is also listed as one of the early Baptist members.
Did he convert after his marriage to Elizabeth Nodding? And how did William
Calvert and Elizabeth Nodding come to be married in Montgomery County, MD in
1780 if she was living in Loudoun Co. VA at the time? Hmmmm. Still lots of
unanswered questions on these lines.
Well, I have rambled on a bit in hopes that those on the list interested in
William Calvert and Elizabeth Nodding will have something to contribute.
Hopefully, someday soon I will get a William Nodding and a William Calvert page
up and flying on the Net.
Robert Fillerup