Judy,
I think this sounds accurate, it's too bad we do not have anything other
than circumstantial evidence. Maybe Agnes and Mary Ann can add to this
and/or give us their opinions as well.
thanks,
dale
-----Original Message-----
From: Judy French [mailto:judyschool@ezl.com]
Sent: Wednesday, January 06, 1999 2:49 AM
To: CARMACK-L(a)rootsweb.com
Subject: The Search for Lewis Carmack's Father
Dale,
I'm been meaning to put this in writing for some time. When I began the
search for Lewis' father, all I knew about Lewis was that he was born in
Tennessee and according to numerous family members his parents crossed
the Cumberland Gap and settled at the foot of the mountains, where he
was born.
At that time I did not know that the 1820 Census Records for East
Tennessee did not exist. There were seven Carmacks in Middle Tennessee
and of those seven there were only two that had sons in the age bracket
of Lewis. They were Cornelius Carmack and James Carmack, both in
Overton County. Since that time I have acquired the families of all 7
of the men in that Census and Lewis wasn't one of their children.
Then I happened to find the "Early East Tennessee Taxpayers" by
Pollyanna Creekmore and "Index to Early Tennessee Tax Lists". These two
books were written to compensate for the loss of the 1820 East Tennessee
Census. "Early East Tennessee Taxpayers" listed a John Carmack,
Cornelius Carmack and William Carmack all in Hawkins County, Tennessee.
This John Carmack was the son of Cornelius Carmack who was born in 1681
in Maryland. The other two men were his descendants. Also, Hawkins
County is on the east side of the mountain and Lewis was born on the
west side. In the "Index to Early Tennessee Tax Lists" there were three
more Carmacks, Aquilla in Davidson County, John in Sullivan County, and
John in Bledsoe County. Of these, Davidson and Bledsoe are both on the
west side of the mountain where Lewis was born. I had the children of
Aquilla, so I knew it wasn't him. That left John in Bledsoe County,
which perfectly fit the family story of Lewis being born at the foot of
the mountains. John lived on the Cumberland Plateau. You can't get
much closer to the foot of the mountains than that.
I began to search Bledsoe County and found "Bledsoe County, Tennessee-A
History" by Elizabeth Parham Robnett. In the appendix under "Indain
Wars-Cherokees and Seminoles 1836-38" it lists Lewis Carmack and his
brother-in-law David Cagle, associating Lewis with Bledsoe County.
It is an accepted fact, that at that period in time, people married
someone within five miles of where they lived and most of the time
married a neighbor or a first cousin. Since Charles Cagle, Rebecca's
(Lewis' wife) father was a neighbor of Jesse Carmack (who I believe is
Lewis' brother) and also lived very close to John Carmack, it made it
possible for Lewis and Rebecca to met.
With the new information concerning William and Sarah Carmack, it
further convinces me that Lewis is John's son. (William and Sarah both
fit two of the children of John in the 1830 Census.
Also, it would seem that Lewis followed the naming practices of the
time. His first son was named John (which would have been after his
father), his second son was named Charles (after his Wife's father who
was named Charles) and his next son was named Jesse (after his oldest
brother).
My feelings are that unless there was a Carmack in Tennessee in the
early 1800's that hasn't been found (and that doesn't seem very likely)
there doesn't seem to be any other conclusion than that Lewis is John's
son.
The early records that were found in the Bledsoe County Courthouse attic
are almost cataloged and ready to be microfilmed. It would be wonderful
if there would be a document found that links Lewis to John. If not,
then the only other proof (if there is any) has to be somewhere in the
family. It would be great to have documented evidence, however I
personally believe there is enough circumstantial evidence to accept as
fact that John is Lewis' father.
I'd love to hear what everyone else thinks.
Judy Carmack French
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