Hi CANNON Researchers!
Things have been going very s..l..o..w with the list so I thought it would
be a good time to put in my annual plea for help! Please, please read this
entire message before deleting it! I promise, I'm not deranged, just
looking for help.
I'm still looking for my missing link -- my 4GGF and the Father of John
Cannon. You can visit John at:
http://www.metronet.com/~jrc/html/d0005/I925.html. I now have placed John
squarely in Wilkes Co., GA., around the Newford Creek area. John and his
family live in close proximity to John Richardson, also, my 3GGF. John
Richardson has 2 brothers, William Jr., and Thomas, in the same area along
with their father, William Sr. All were landowners.
I doubt that there are only a few Cannon researchers of NC, SC, GA, or TN
that hasn't run upon the name Pugh Cannon. Because of the unusual name,
you would think that he would be relatively easy to research. IT AIN'T
NECESSARILY SO! I have collected quite a bit of data on Pugh, but it
doesn't tell me a whole lot! Something that I have turned up is Pugh's
penchant for turning up wherever my John goes. I have a copy of a land
transaction that Pugh Cannon witnessed. This transaction was the sale of
land by Abel Anderson to Azariah Anderson. John Richardson, my 3GGF, also
witnessed it. John Richardson owns land adjacent to my John Cannon. Pugh
also witnessed the sale of land from this same Abel Anderson to Thomas
Richardson, brother to John. From these transactions, I firmly believe
that Pugh and John Cannon must have known each other! Since these 2 men
lived near each other in two different states (GA & TN), there may be a
blood relationship between them. However, I'm still looking for it.
Something else about Pugh that I've concluded. There were TWO Pugh Cannons
-- the one that I'm chasing and another that was the son of Lewis Cannon of
Pitt Co., NC. I have seen too many things that suggest this was the case.
Another Cannon researcher once sent me an index of Pitt Co. land
transactions by Cannons. One Pugh Cannon is listed as having his first
land dealing in 1818 upon the death of his father, Lewis. Based on other
documents I have on my Pugh shows him in TN by 1817. The last land dealing
of Pugh, son of Lewis, was in 1836. (I started to write that SOL for 'son
of Lewis', then I realized that would sound more like the mess I'm in!) In
1836, Pugh can be shown to be in TN, 65 years old, and having only 1 leg.
I find it hard to believe that this man would travel hundreds of miles
between McNairy Co., TN and Pitt Co., NC to engage in land dealings.
Also, there's the Census listing for Pugh Cannon which tell me that there
are 2 of them. How would you interpret the following table with respect to
the number of Pughs?
Name State County Year Page Misc
Cannon, Pugh NC Wilkes Co. 1793 293 Tax List
Cannon, Pugh SC Pendleton Dist. 1800 20 21100-1001000
Cannon, Pugh NC Pitt Co. 1820 554
Cannon, Pugh NC Pitt Co. 1830 47
Cannon, Pugh NC Pitt Co. 1830 52
Cannon, Pugh TN McNairy Co. 1830 19
Cannon, Pugh TN McNairy Co. 1832 Tax List
Remember from above, Pugh was in TN by 1817. In 1823 he witnessed a bill
of sale in which his daughter, Sarah (Sally) purchased household goods from
Bryant Brangus in Maury Co., TN. In 1794, Pugh was a landowner and
taxpayer in Wilkes Go., GA.
Now it may be that the two Pugh's are one and the same. Notice the ages in
the 1800 Pendleton Dist. Census above. This tells me there are 4 males and
2 females. By 1800, Pugh would have been 39 years old. The ages from this
break down to: 2 males 0-10, 1 male 10-16, 1 male 16-26. Where is Pugh?
Recorded as a 16-26? That's possible. However, I've never seen names put
to ANY of Pugh's children except for 2 daughters - Lucy and Sarah (Sally).
Could one of these boys been a Pugh Jr.? I think that is very plausible.
However, it's all speculation at this point!
Now for something completely different! Another 2 Cannons men also seem to
follow my John Cannon (or vise versa). They are Howard and Horatio Cannon.
All three of these men are listed as drawing lots in the 1805 Wilkes Co.,
Land lottery. They all drew blanks. Another researcher that I've
contacted is a descendant of Horatio. He tells me that Horatio went by the
names Rasha and Rashey. He has given be documents that bear this out.
When these men left GA the migrated to TN (along with the Richardsons).
Horatio moved to Wilson Co., TN and John and Howard Cannon, and the
Richardsons, moved to Maury Co. Pugh already had left GA and was in Maury
Co. by this time. Sounds kinda like 'blood kin' to me!
Now to the name Lucy Cannon. The earliest document that I have on John
Cannon is a land transaction in 1795 where a Lucy Cannon bought land. John
Cannon AND John Richardson witnessed the deed. Lucy bought the land in
March 1795 and sold it in November 1795. This may indicated that she was
up in years and not able to properly tend the land. The fact that a woman
was buying land tells me she is probably widowed. John Cannon, Pugh
Cannon, Howard Cannon and Horatio Cannon all had daughters named Lucy!
Could the Lucy Cannon that bought land in 1795 Wilkes Co. be the mother of
my John Cannon? Howard Cannon? Horatio Cannon? Pugh Cannon? Help me
prove it!
J. R. Cannon
jrc(a)metronet.com