My Great Great Grandfather was Abraham Carns, b 28 Jul 1770 in Ulster,
North Ireland. At the age of 19 he came to this country and the first
records that can be proven are when he purchased land from Andrew
Thompson in the Scotch-Irish settlement in Augusta Co., Va. in 1794.
Prior to that,it looks like he had to work off his indenture for ships
passage. At that time the usual length of time was five years. In 1795
he married Elizabeth Thompson, d of Andrew Thompson.
The name was originally spelled CAIRNES. Abraham, being highly
efficient, dropped all unnecessary letters, winding up with Carns.
However, Abraham's oldest son spelled it Carnes. In the State of Ill.
where Abraham was a member of the 2nd territorial legislature, his name
was spelled Cairns. Kearnes or Kearins was used. even though Kearnes
was found in N. Ireland in the early days. I've noted the same family
spelling it both ways. It was used interchangeably.
My stumbling blocks continue to be - the names of Abraham's parents and
the location of his birth in N. Ireland. I have worked on this for 35
years and prior to that my Gr Aunt worked on it for 25 years. Both of
us,with exactly zero results.
IS THERE ANYONE OUT THERE THAT CAN ASSIST ME?
My email address until April is jlcarns(a)swbell.net
After that, it will be my summer address jcarns(a)mhtc.net
Thank You James L. Carns