Tim, have you found any source showing when/where William Cato of Wilkes County was born?
How early do you find him in Georgia? And have you found any deeds?
Do any of William's children live 'till the 1880 census showing birthplace of
parents? Were the children all born in GA?
What I have found is that the William Cato, "refugee soldier" of GA (as shown in
Bockstruck's book "Revolutionary Bounty Land Grants awarded by State
Governments" is also found in the book "Georgia's Roster of the Revolution
compiled under the authority of the Legislature from various sources..." compiler
Lucian Lamar Knight. This book is online at google books:
http://books.google.ie/books?id=K1sOVG7SfrAC&dq=lucian+lamar+knight+g...
The entry says:
"CATO, William. Certificate of Capt. Jas. McCay. 1 July 1784. Refugee soldier and
is entitled to bounty land, and prays for same in Washington County, GA."
I wonder if these certificates are filed somewhere in the Georgia Archives, and whether
there is such a thing as a "surrendered certificate" file for this William?
Have you found any deeds for William of Wilkes or his family, which make mention of any
acreage?
A Refugee private was entitled to 287 1/2 acres of land. There is an excellent website
explaining the bounty lands of GA, here:
http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/s/t/a/Larry-R-Stanley/FILE/002...
So I have been able to trace some soldiers in other lines by their later land
transactions. But I have not tracked down this William Cato .
Have also been researching the "Captain James McCay" aka McKay (later a Colonel)
who signed William Cato's certificate. He is associated in some revolutionary war
pension applications with Colonel Elijah Clarke, whose service is very well documented in
the pension apps. Colonel Elijah Clarke was from Wilkes County GA and so were many of his
men. When the British took over the state, Clarke and his men left and fought in SC and
NC.
It seems to me that there are lots of potential records that could help identify William
Cato the refugee. And it seems at least possible that William Cato of Wilkes is associated
with him.
Am happy to discuss this,
Best,
Cynthia
From: Way8458(a)aol.com
Date: Sun, 27 Sep 2009 19:58:40 -0400
To: cato(a)rootsweb.com
Subject: Re: [CATO] William Cato the GA refugee soldier c 1784
My William Cato lived in Wilkes Co. Ga in the late 1700's. His family
came to Rome, Ga in the mid 1800's. Id love to see what you have found.
Tim
This list is complimented by the CATO research page at
http://www.genealogybuff.com/data.htm#Cato
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