Hey Gang,
I ask you to put your collective heads together and think about
something for a minute or two.
From my research and recent info provided to me by Frank Moffett I'm
starting to get a better picture of Thomas Cardwell of Claiborne Co.,TN.
What we know about him....
Thomas Cardwell - born ca 1760-70 (per 1830 census living with son
William)
wife name unknown - born 1770-80 (per 1840 census living with poss. son
or grandson Perrin)
Note: there are several Cardwell males that are a shadow group in
Claiborne. Their names occur in a few documents, but they don not tie
into the family of the better known John Cardwell, the Rev. War vet that
also settled in the area. They may be the sons and/or grandsons of
Thomas. They include;
James Cardwell born in 1797 married a Sanders girl (a claiborne county
family) and moved to McNairy County, Tn. William Cardwell married a
Harper (claiborne county family) and moved with the Sanders to McNairy
(had son that was listed as cuz to above James). Highly probable son or
grandson is Perrin Cardwell born 1808 married a Norris girl.. it appears
that old Thomas is living with him in 1840. Edward Cardwell shows up in
a few Claiborne county records... nothing else. Daniel J. Cardwell born
1820 - probably son of William - married a Norris girl - was a close
friend of Richard M. Cardwell, son of Peter, son of Richard and Susannah
LeGrand Cardwell. MAry Cardwell - born 1822 married a Popejoy and lived
close to Daniel - prob daughter of William.
In addition to all that there are precious few documents that speak of
ole Thomas. He sure didn't pull juror duty like the rest of the
Cardwells in Claiborne. He rarely worked as a roadhand like the rest of
the Cardwells of Claiborne. It appears that ole Thomas kept a pretty low
profile for some reason!!!
Frank sent me some info about ole Thomas being involved in a criminal
case in Claiborne in 1814.. it mentions Stokes and Surry County
specifically! Hummmmmmm. Looks like Thomas kept a low profile for a good
reason.. that he may have been running from the law.
If you've done much cardwell research in this area of the country ....
that fits the East Tennessee Cardwell profile to a "T". Just ask Kay!!!!
So, we have a Thomas Cardwell that is born 1760-70. He has links to
Stokes and Surry Co.,NC. It appears that he spent a good amount of his
life "on the sly".
Maybe... just maybe... this is what I need your help with.... that this
is the Thomas Cardwell that was born on 7 June 1761 to Richard A.
Cardwell (1719-1780) and Susannah LeGrand (1721-1813). The Daybook that
was kept by Richard states "my son Thomas Cardwell went into the servis
the 26th of May, 1779". Thomas is also mentioned in the will of Richard.
There is reference to Thomas Cardwell being the husband of Mary Joyce in
the will of Thomas Joyce in charolette Co.VA.
Some have this son of Richard and Susannah as having died aboard a
British POW ship having been captured at the battle of 96 in South
Carolina. I'm not so sure!!! In my notes I have a reference to the Joyce
family that mentions a Thomas Cardwell (brother-in-law) had moved away
from in NC in the early 1800s. Branches of the sons of Richard A
Cardwell. and the Joyces moved to the Stokes, Surry area of NC. This son
of Richard A. Cardwell is usually a blank spot on most research that
I've seen done about that family.
Any comments or suggestions?
Later,
Rand Cardwell