Hello CARTY researchers,
I have a problem with a fellow who's name is William CARTY. I don't
know where he was born, but it was most likely Virginia sometime between
1880-1890. I am pasting a message that I sent to the CARTER list -
PLEASE READ IT... somebody out there might know something about this
guy??
I have a CARTER mystery that I'm hoping somebody has run across before
and will be able to help me out with. I've been trying to solve this
forever, it seems. First, I'll give y'all the info I have on my line
and then the problem.
I have my CARTER line back to a Landon CARTER. He was born in 1826 in
Tennessee (Carter Co, I assume). Landon died in 1896 in Carter County,
TN. He was married three times: 1) Deborah ELLIS 01 Feb 1846 / 2)
Elizabeth A Cameron 19 Jun 1866 / 3) Rebecca Garland 30 July 1877. All
of these marriages took place in Carter Co, TN. Landon served in the
13th Regiment, TN Volunteer Cavalry, where he was Capt. of Company H,
during the Civil War. Landon had five children, of which I will spare
the names at this time for lack of relevance.
Now, on to the mystery: In 1850, Landon is living in Carter Co, TN,
with his wife and small child. Also living with him, is a Mary CARTER,
aged 73 years (born ca. 1777) and born in PA. I presume this to be his
mother. The mystery lies in finding his father. I had narrowed it down
to a William Carter, for various reasons, but was unable to find any
information in regards to William's past. This led me to contact the
Carter County genealogist to see if she had any information. She knew
who my Landon was right off the top of her head, and was quick to tell
me that his father, William CARTER, is believed to have been a CARTY in
Virginia. She stated that at some point in time, it is believed that
William changed the family name from CARTY to CARTER, but that nobody
has been able to prove this. In her notes, she had an abstract from
Frederick County, Virginia, marriages which listed a William CARTY wed
to Polly WEAVER 09 Nov 1799.
Recently, I have begun to research Polly (Mary) WEAVER... both names in
the marriage abstract from Virginia match correctly with the names of
Landon's parents. I have discovered that the Polly (Mary) WEAVER, who
married William CARTY, was born in PA around 1777. She is the daughter
of Adam WEAVER. So, it is a safe conclusion that this marriage between
William and Polly, is the marriage of Landon's parents. The mystery now
lies in the last name of his father, William.
I have run across a will from Frederick Co, VA, from a Benjamin CARTER.
The will is dated 13 Dec 1795, and was proved 07 Apr 1796. This
Benjamin CARTER was born ca. 1751 in VA, and as mentioned earlier, died
in 1796 in Frederick Co, VA. Benjamin had the following male children:
Joseph, William, Isaac, Benjamin Jr., James, Jonathan, David, & Edmund.
In referring back to the marriages of Frederick Co, VA - all of these
males were married in Frederick Co, shortly before or after 1800 - with
the exception of Isaac and William. But, keep in mind, there was a
William CARTY (the only CARTY marriage listed) in the records. It is my
hypothesis, that this William CARTY is actually William CARTER. It is
very possible, given the circumstances of the time, that his name was
misspelled.
I know what most of you are thinking, for I have heard it a million
times - the name Landon belongs to the family line of John and Landon
CARTER, of which the county of Carter, Tennessee, was named. Family
lore has it, that we are descendants of this line - but I have been
unable to make any connection - at least in Tennessee. If, William
CARTY is actually William CARTER, then the line would connect to the
line after which the county was named - just much further back than we
had expected. I don't feel it is just a mere coincidence that William
and Polly decided to name their child Landon. During that time period,
the Carters were not a family rich in history, as they are now.
I apologize for such a lengthy message, but I wanted to make sure that
my story was understood. I thank you all in advance for your time and I
hope that somebody, somewhere, can provide me some assistance.
Best regards,
Morgan H Courtney
npugeda(a)earthlink.net