----- Forwarded Message -----
From: Josette Maxwell <josettemaxwell(a)bellsouth.net>
To: Josette Maxwell <josettemaxwell(a)bellsouth.net>
Sent: Saturday, February 22, 2014 5:38 PM
Subject: Facts: Walter and Agnes Carson
There is so very much on the internet about Walter and Agnes Carson
which is in error that I thought I'd write up something which presents
what is known and documented.
Josette
WALTER CARSON m. AGNES UNK
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: There exists no documentation that proves from where
Walter or Agnes originated. The only circumstantial evidence comes from letters
of the grandson of Samuel Carson m. Jane Patterson. Samuel and Walter are
blood relatives according to these letters. YDNA testing shows a 100% match
between descendants of Samuel and Walter. They are, therefore, cousins or
brothers. Secondly, Samuel m. Jane had three sons, oldest named William,
second son named Walter and last son, Francis (he names
daughter Agnes).
Walter m. Agnes has three known sons, William, John and
Walter. We don't
have ages, but it is possible William is the oldest. The likelihood that they
are brothers is greater than that they are cousins.
These letters from the grandson of Samuel include a story
about the father of
Samuel, and state that he fought in the Siege of
Londonderry, 1689. It is, therefore,
highly probable that Walter came from Ireland
to the U.S. It is possible that
the father of Samuel m. Jane Patterson and Walter m. Agnes was named
William.
William was the oldest son of Samuel and Jane. Walter and Agnes have a son
named William.
We do not know the last name of Agnes and have absolutely no
indications
of her country of origin. A Maxwell myth is that her last name was Maxwell
and that Henry Maxwell who married Walter's daughter Agnes
was brought
with them to the U.S. This just isn't possible given information
known about
Henry Maxwell.
MARRIAGE: We do not
know whether they married in Ireland
or in the U.S.
.
IMMIGRATION: Samuel
Carson appears on the Tax List as a landowner
in New London , Chester County , PA in 1725. Walter appears as a landowner
in 1729 in the same town. If Walter had been of age (16 years old) and come
with Samuel in 1725 or before, he would have been listed as
a Freeman in the
1725 Tax List. Either
he was underage in 1725 or did not come to the U.S.
with
Samuel.
There are all kinds of stories on the internet about three
brothers or four brothers
coming together to the U.S. . There is absolutely no documentation of this.
There are no Carsons
other than Samuel and Walter in Chester
county before 1730
on Tax Lists.
BIRTH/DEATH DATES: There is absolutely no documentation on the ages of
Walter and Agnes. We
do not have any documentation on the birthdates of their
known children. The
only clue we have is that Walter and Agnes Carson
plus Elen Carson appear as "signers" at a Quaker
wedding in what became
Adams County PA (town of bride Menallen) 7 month
4 1751. Non-Quakers
often signed at Quaker weddings and one did not have to be
of legal age
to sign. If the known
children of Walter and Agnes (three sons and two
daughters) were still living at home, they too would have been
signers.
Thus, one might suggest that Elen was the youngest and
unmarried in
1751. This suggests
the other children were born late 1720s/early 1730s.
This in turn suggests that Walter and Agnes were born circa 1700.
Walter was on the first Tax List of York County in 1762 but
not on the next
surviving one in 1772. There is a record of a land transaction in 1767, so he
died perhaps between 1767 and 1772. Agnes is on this land record in 1767.
No other documentation establishes Walter and Agnes in what
became Adams
County PA
after 1767.
TAX LISTS: Walter
first appears on the Tax List for New London , Chester
County PA in 1729 as a landowner. He
subsequently appears on surviving Tax
Lists for 1730, 1732, 1734/35, 1736/37, 1738/1739, 1740 (note: calendar changed)
The first Tax List from what is now Adams County PA
was in 1762 and Walter
was on that list in Menallen but not on the next available
List in 1772.
LAND: We know Walter
had land in 1729 in Chester County PA. And,
we know that on July 21, 1741 , Walter secured a warrant for 100 acres
but there is no record of a survey or patent. On March 1, 1743 , Walter Carson
secured a warrant for 300 acres, then released his claim
because the land
turned out to be within the Manor of Mansk.
On February 18, 1744 , Walter secured a warrant for 200 acres.
The land appears to be in northwest Adams County PA
but it cannot be
established exactly where any of the land was located in
this area.
On June 30, 1763 ,
Walter sold 150 acres to Hance Hamilton., which seems
to be the land acquired by Walter March 1, 1743 . On September 7, 1767 Walter
and Agnes sold to Robert McIhenny land which came into his
possession
June 9, 1767 .
There appears to be no way to find out what happened to the 200
acres he still
owned because the land isn't identified by landmarks.
ADDITIONAL DOCUMENTATION: Walter Carson of Menallan Township
signed a petition in April 1751, asked for a road to be built
in April 1752, was
a "viewer" for a road in July 1754 and was a
supervisor, Menallan Township
in 1762,
RELIGION: Some claim
Walter and Agnes to be Quakers because they signed
at a Quaker wedding in Menallan in 1751. It was common to have non-Quakers
sign. Records
indicate that their children were all Presbyterians, some identified
as Seceder Presbyterians; there was an Associate
Presbyterian Church (Seceder)
in Adams County PA. John Carson, son of Walter and Agnes, sold land to
Rev. Dobson of that church when he moved to the Carolinas .
WILLS: There are no
wills for Walter or Agnes Carson. Mention is made of an
Agnes Carson being a cousin of John McCall because she is mentioned in his
will of 1780. That
Agnes Carson was the daughter of Samuel Carson m.
Jane Patterson, married and living at that time in North Carolina
LOCATIONS: Initially
in New London , Chester County then probably moved
to Menallan Township
in what became Adams County
circa 1739/40. He appears
to have moved from Menallan Township to Straban Township by 1763.
CHILDREN:
1. John Carson
b. UNK
d. 1789
m. Mary UNK
- many report that her last name was
McFarland and cite a marriage date,
but
no one has come up with documentation to prove this
John is
established as a son of Walter and Agnes by virtue of a letter written by
Walter
Maxwell (then living in Franklin County PA near the Maryland
border)
which
identifies John and Mary Carson of Rutherford as his
Aunt and Uncle.
He is
established as a son of Henry and Agnes ( Carson )
Maxwell in a land deed
which
identifies him as having come to Washington County from Franklin
county. His will identifies his six brothers.
There are
too many John Carsons in Adams County
to know whether he
acquired
land there or land in what became Franklin County PA
at some point
before 1765,
which is the year he acquired the land sold to Rev. Dobson.
He was in Adams County when he left for the Carolinas . John Carson was
appointed
Sub-Lt of York County
militia 12 March 1777 . He sold this office
according
to the records prior to 14 May 1779
in order to "remove to the
Carolinas ". He sold land to Rev. Alexander Dobson in 1779
(land he had
acquired by
1765), the land believed to be within the borough of Gettysburg .
There is
documentation that John Carson "came to the Carolina "
from somewhere
proximate
to Gettysburg - undoubtedly in Straban Township where his parents
resided.
He moved
initially to York South Carolina
where his brother Walter had located
and then to Rutherford County NC by 1783 (letter from Walter
Maxwell to his
Aunt and
Uncle was dated 1783).
CHILDREN: Names of children and their spouses in part
comes from the will of
their
father and in part from a letter from Gen. John C. Carson (his son) to
his brother
Walter Carson in Jennings , Indiana
in which he identifies other
siblings
dated Aug 30, 1821 .
(1) Jean
Carson m. John Gordon and/or Lasley or Lasly. (will of father calls
her Jean Lasly in 1789 and Gen. John
Carson refers to her as Gordon in
1821.
(2) Elizabeth Carson m. John Oliver
(3). Mary Carson m. Lewis Lively
(4). Isabel Carson m. William McCarton
(5). Agnes Carson m. William Gettys
(6). John C. Carson (Gen. war of 1812) b. 1766
(tombstone), died 1846 and
m. Martha Withrow 2 Feb 1789 Rutherford County NC
(7). Walter Carson b. 1758 (pension record) d. 3 Mar 1834 ( Jennings ,
Indiana )
m. Mary UNK.
(8). Daniel Carson m. Mary Watson
(9). William Carson m. Dorcas Hughey.
2. Agnes Carson
b. unknown
d. before 1790 (probably Adams County PA )
m. Henry Maxwell
Henry
Maxwell is related by blood to Robert Maxwell died 1752 in Lancaster
County and
is a witness to his will. He paid taxes
in Lurgan Franklin County
in 1753 and
in Letterkennny (carved out of Lurgan) in 1763 and 1764.
Given that
Walter Carson and perhaps brothers John and William Carson, sons of
Walter and
Agnes, were in Franklin County PA living in the same area where
Henry
Maxwell had land, this may be how Henry Maxwell met his wife Agnes
Carson
CHILDREN: Children and parents moved from York County to Washington County ,
by 1790 (except
for son Walter Maxwell who remained in Franklin County PA
until 1807
when he moved to Brooke County WV ), then some but not all moved
to Brooke County West Virginia and all
but one (James died in Washington
County
but his family moved to Ohio )
ended up in Harrison County , Ohio .
(1). Samuel Maxwell m. Miss Durbar, then Jennie
Edie..
(2). Robert Maxwell m. Mary Edie
(3). Henry Maxwell m. Elizabeth Dixon
(4). Thomas Maxwell m. Jane Meek
(5) Walter Maxwell m. Rachael UNK (perhaps Morrison or Abel)
(6) John Maxwell m. Mary UNK
(7) James Maxwell m. Agnes UNK
3. Elen Carson
b. unknown
d. unknown (resident in Franklin County PA )
m. Andrew Morrison
Our
knowledge of Elen comes from the Quaker record which means that she
wasn't
married in 1751 and the letter of Walter Maxwell to his Aunt and Uncle
John and
Mary Carson of Rutherford County NC dated 1783 in which he
mentions that he lives near his uncle
Andrew Morrison who lives in Franklin
County..
Henry
Maxwell and Andrew Morrison were witnesses to a will of William
Dunbar
(Tyrone township, York County ). Andrew Morrison is on the tax list
for Peters
township, in what became Franklin County
in 1751 and bought land
in
1767. In 1778, same place, Andrew, John,
Robert and William were on the tax
list. Andrew Morrison was on a Tax List in Franklin County in 1751 and
shows
up on later
Tax Lists as residing in Peters, Montgomery Township (near the
Maryland
border).
CHILDREN There is a
will dated 1804 (he died 1807) which does not mention wife but
lists children:
1. Robert
2. William
3. John
4. Jean (deceased)
5. Agnes
6. Mary
7. Elizabeth
8. Sarah
9. Margaret
10. Quinn (with notation "if she is
alive")
There is
information available on some of the children but more research is
needed. Son William was in the Rev. War and moved
across the border
into Maryland .
4. William Carson
The only record
we have of William is from the letter of Walter Maxwell to
John and
Mary Carson in Rutherford County ,
his aunt and uncle, referring to
his Uncle
William Carson who went to the Carolinas perhaps late
1770s. He
has not
been identified in the Carolinas . It's difficult to interpret from the
letter
whether William had recently left. There
is a William Carson and
his wife
Mary (William, son of Samuel m. Jane Patterson married Suzanne)
of Mecklenburgh County NC
who acquired land 6 April 1765
proximate to the
land Walter
and Mary Carson who also obtained 6 April 1765 . William Carson
sold yhe land in 1768 and Walter and
Mary Carson's names appears on the deed.
5. Walter Carson
b. unknown
d. before 1790
m. Mary Carson (daughter of Samuel m. Jane
Patterson)
Walter is
recorded in several records as having first moved to Guilford
County NC and then "during the Rev.
War, moved to York County SC where
most of the
children of Samuel m. Jane Patterson migrated.
The first
record for Walter Carson is when he witnessed a deed in 1764
in Mecklenburgh County NC
which didn't exist at that time. It is
probable
that they
originally settled in an area that eventually became Guilford
County NC , then bought land on the NC/SC
border area which ended up
being
located in York County SC. It is possible that, while Walter bought
land in Mecklenburgh County , they didn't move to this
area from Guilford
County
until sometime during the war.
There is
confusion about the Walter Carsons because Walter, son of Agnes
and Walter
Carson married a Mary, his son Walter Carson married a Mary
and Walter, son of John and Mary
Carson of Rutherford NC, also married
a
Mary.
CHILDREN:
(1). Walter Carson
b. Apr 15, 1751 (Rev War pension application)
d. Jan 8, 1829
m.
Mary Carson (daughter of William Carson who was a son of Samuel
m. Jane
Patterson and married to a Suzanne UNK) 24 Mar 1780 .
This
Walter Carson grandson of Walter and Agnes became known in SC
and
family records as Walter Sn. while the great grandson Walter became
known
as Walter Jr. In the 1790 Census of York
SC, there are two
Walters
listed, so, therefore, Walter, son of Walter and Agnes, had died.
Served
in the Revolutionary War and received a pension. After his death,
the
family moved to Georgia ,
(2). Agnes Carson
b. 1747 York County PA
(grave supposedly says this)
d. 23 Feb 1826 Anderson
County SC
m. Matthew Dickson
Only
circumstantial evidence suggests that Matthew Dickson married
Agnes
Carson, daughter of Walter Carson m. Mary Carson.
There
is a record of Katherine Agnes Carson born c. 1747 Straben Twp.
Adams County PA.
m. Mathew Henry Dickson. They have a son
named
Walter
Carson Dickson documented in a deed and named a daughter
Agnes
(unverified) plus ten additional children (only six identified in
father's
will written 1827).
There
are records of Agnes and Matthew both living in the same area.
and
supposedly some children were born in York County SC.
Josette
Maxwell
February 22, 2014
josettemaxwell(a)bellsouth.net