Hi, Janet! I'm hoping that you might have some information on one of the
Carters you mentioned in your recent e-mail to the list. I have been
searching for several years for the origins of my ancestor, Thornton Carter
(1778-VA) who eventually moved to North Carolina and then to Claiborne
County, TN. What has always intrigued me is that he named one of his sons
Josiah Pennell Carter. For a long time, I have been suspicious that there
might be some link to Daniel Carter who married Elizabeth Pannil . It just
seems an unusual enough name -- Pannil/Pennell -- that one wouldn't select it
for one's child's middle name without having some sort of specific reason for
doing so, such as having an actual family connection to that name. However,
so far, I haven't been able to find any mention of Thornton's name with
regard to this family. Additionally, the name "Thornton" is clearly a
surname -- often linked to the Carter family as they frequently married each
other -- which has been used as a first name for my ancestor. To confuse
matters further, there is a second Thornton Carter who was also born in VA
and who passed through NC and TN just about the same time mine did. This
second Thornton Carter was born about twenty years later and was related to
Presley Carter...
It took me a long time to get to my fairly obvious question: does your book
make any reference to a Thornton Carter, 1778, VA, who is connected to the
Daniel Carter/Elizabeth Pannil family? If not, does anyone out there have a
clue as to which Carter family from VA this poor unclaimed soul may belong?
Thanks for any help you might be able to give... Carolyn