Elisha, H, son of William Paschal(c1704-1774)
of the NC Land Grants
by Clarence McDaniel July 2013
Elisha was born about 1735 probably in Middlesex County, New Jersey. He first appears on the 1755 tax list of Granville County with his father and five brothers. He is listed with the quaint spelling of "Elizer". fig 1
Elisha has been the subject of a large printed work by Mrs. Mary Johnston of Katy, Texas. This volume was printed and distributed by Mary and her husband, Allen, in 1973. The work consisted of about 1200 pages of mimeographed family sheets of notebook size bound in a soft cover. The principal coverage was of two sons of Elisha, William, H1, and Jesse, H8. Very little information was given concerning Elisha, H, or his other children. Approximately half of the work concerned allied families of the two sons. We will provide additional information gathered since that works publication.
Warren Co, NC, has a series of tax lists that provide a yearly presence of Elisha. This series of Tax lists are a bit confusing but Elisha did not move until he appears in Caswell Co, NC in 1791. County and districts were changed and named, etc. fig 1a fig 1b fig 1c fig 1d
The handwrtten lists were done by Betty Jo Paschall of Puryear TN,from the microfilm.
Elisha was given 845 acres of land by his father in 1763 on the west and south end of the Paschall grants. fig 2
This land was the entire 4th grant of NC to his father and 160 acres of the 700 acre grant of NC to Isaiah,F. Isaiah had deeded the entire 700 acres to his father. The amount of land seems large compared to what was given the other sons but it was the value and not the amount of land. In the deed books we find a duplication of Elisha's deed; the first deed was apparently defective for some cause.
Elisha had several deed conveyances, two or more being with his brother Dennis. In one of these deeds of 1771 we note the naming of Elisha's wife as Ann. fig 3
This deed may be a clue to her maiden name. Many times when the wife's name appears on these records it is due to her family interest, i.e. some land or debt on her side, most likely her father, and the inclusion of her name signifies her consent to the sale. Some states had laws requiring a separate statement or questioning of the wife for this purpose. So far as the author knows this is the only document that named her. Elisha traditionally married about 1756 but no record has been preserved. We note that in the 1762 tax list of Granville County, Elisha is listed at home with his father and brother, Dennis. This tends to imply he was as yet unmarried. We suspect he married c1763.
Elisha's land was located in Granville County, Nutbush District. In 1786 this district was transferred to Warren County and subsequently Elisha appears on tax lists of that county. William Buchannon sold his wife's, Sarah, L, bequest from her father to Elisha in 1777. I take interpret this to mean that Sarah was deceased. fig 4 The 1786 state census shows Elisha with 6 sons,2 daus and wife. fig 5
The tax list of Warren County for 1789 shows Elisha as having acquired 269 acres of land in Caswell County.
A deed of 1788 in Caswell confirms the purchase.
Elisha appears on the 1790 census of Warren County, however, the printed census of Warren County contains an error in the family data. The original census is correct.
After 1790, Elisha appears on tax lists of Caswell County, St. David District, and on the 1800 and 1810 censuses there. He was listed as Elijah on the 1800 census. Elisha, H, had his farm in Caswell County located on the waters of Hogan's Creek. The property extended into Rockingham County on the west. Elisha bought, sold and traded land devising some to his sons and naming them in the deeds. Elisha apparently died sometime after the 1810 census. No will or estate proceeding has been located. In 1917 a descendant of Ezekiel,Hb, the youngest son of Elisha, wrote a family history consisting of fourteen typewritten pages. This was Ezekiel, Hb93. This history constitutes the primary document available to establish the family of Elisha, H. It more than likely contains errors of memory. The document is quite good in naming the descendants of Ezekiel, Hb, but must be used with caution for the prior information.
Tradition has set the birth year of Elisha's oldest child, William,H1, as about 1757. The youngest, Ezekiel, was born in 1788. Tradition also names Nancy Ann as the mother of Elisha's children. Assuming Nancy was about 18 years of age at marriage we note she would have borne children over a span of 31 years which is an age span of 18 to 49. While this is not impossible it does appear unlikely. There are two common possibilities. Either there was more than one wife or the children were born a few years later than tradition gives. In looking to the evidence we see that the two oldest sons did not marry until after 30 years of age as given by tradition. Further no records of these sons were made before 1800; Elisha was only listed with a single poll in Warren County tax lists. This tends to reinforce the idea that they were a few years younger than the dates given by tradition. Unfortunately there does not appear to be other information to verify this finding.
Neither Elisha nor any of his sons except Alexander and Elisha,Jr., could write and most seem to have held to the trade of farming. Elisha,Jr., could sign his name and may have poorly written his will but this is not certain.
As we now have it, Elisha and Nancy Ann had eight sons and five daughters. After William, H1, died in 1823 most of the older descendants moved to west Tennessee. The two younger sons, Isaiah and Ezekiel remained in Caswell County. The following is a brief description of the children.
William,H1
The traditional date of birth for William is November 14, 1757, and the place would have been Granville County. As has been noted above this birth year may be too early and William could have been several years younger. We guess at about 1765.
William married Ann Tuggle, about 1787 in Caswell. To them were born six daughters and two sons. William was listed in the 1800, 1810 and 1820 censuses of Caswell. He had records of several deed transactions. William died October 10, 1823, and there were estate proceedings involving the heirs that identify his widow and children. William's son, Elisha, H14, moved to Weakley County, TN, then after his mother and sisters arrived, to northwest Henry County, TN, where they settled on a tract of land she bought. She appears there on the 1840 and 1850 censuses. Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of their descendants are to be found today in Henry and the surrounding counties. This area marks the largest concentration of persons in the U.S. who bear the Paschall name.
Samuel,H2
Samuel was born about two years after William, which by tradition would be 1759, in Granville County. Samuel apparently married before 1800 and appears on the 1800 census of Caswell County with wife and a son under 10. Samuel's last record in Caswell County occured 1806. Recent reseach,with evidence, has concluded Samuel and family moved to Morgan Co, GA, about 1807 and died there with a will.
Elizabeth,H3
Elizabeth was born about 1761? and married Thomas Sartain after the Revolutionary War.
Reliance,H4
Reliance was born about 1785, and married William Morgan in Caswell Co. on the 17th of January, 1806. William was the son of William and Susannah Morgan. They moved to Allen Co, KY, and had a large family.
Jerusha,H5
Jerusha was born about 1767 and married William Berry in Caswell County on the 9th of January, 1785. She apparently lived and had 3 daughters and a son. Several of these moving to Henry County, TN.
John,H6
John was born, about 1774, in Granville County. He is one of the sons of Elisha about whom some question has arisen. We find, virtually without question, that the John who first appeared in 1803 in Rockingham County and purchased a tract of land there(Db I, p30) to be the son of Elisha. We shall give our reasons and conclusions.
For a young man to purchase a sizeable tract of land(100 acres) he would need to have the means. This could be and usually was the local estabishment of his family, that is, his father. My presumption is that John married Martha(Patty) Nance about 1799 in Caswell County and his father Elisha either gave or provided credit for John to purchase his farm in nearby Rockingham County. John remained on this farm until 1821 when he sold the land. He appeared in the 1810 and 1820 censuses of Rockingham County. In the 1810 census he was listed twice, both times as the junior John; the senior being John, D4. John, H6, moved to Henry County, TN, and appears there on the 1830 and 1840 censuses. He died there in 1846 and had an estate proceeding. John had at least seven daughters and two sons. We have records of four daughters and one son. John had a lifelong association and nearness to his immediate siblings which is the strongest evidence for the conclusion that he was a son of Elisha.
Recent evidence from the Lick Fork Primitive Baptist Church of Rockingham County, NC, indicates that John's wife was Martha Nance, daughter of John Nance. Patty is the common nickname given for Martha and it appears she was known as Patty.
Elisha,H7
Elisha was born in 1775 in Granville County, and he never married. He seems to have been able to write a little, but the degree is uncertain. He died in 1857 in Caswell County and left a very poorly written will. This will has caused considerable confusion. In one passage he warned against would be "will breakers". This tends to indicate that he may have been aware that he was writing a will that stood a chance of being contested. He used the terminology "sister" in devising to women who were actually nieces. We wonder if perhaps he wasn't regarding these, as was common, in a religious sense. One of the devisees was evidently Nancy Poynor, daughter of his brother, Alexander, who had married Jesse Poynor. At the time the will was written she was a widow and had moved to Weakley County, TN.
Jesse,H8
Jesse was born June 17, 1781, in Granville County. He married Rebecca Wilson about 1803 but no bond survives. Jesse's name appears on the 1810 and 1820 censuses of Caswell County. Jesse moved with his brother's widow and their children to Henry County, TN, and is listed on the 1830-1860 censuses there. Jesse died April 1, 1860. He had a large family of seven daughters and seven sons. Jesse's descendants abound today in Henry County and the surrounding areas.
Rachel,H9
Rachel was born about 1784 and never married. She lived most of her life in the care of the county. The 1850 and 1860 censuses of Caswell County have her listed as living in the county poorhouse. The county, in 1837, comdemmed a small plot of land she had evidently inherited from her father.
Isaiah,Ha
Isaiah was born about 1786, in Granville or perhaps Warren County and died, 1839, in Caswell County. He married Patsy Sanders on January 13, 1813, in Caswell County and the bond has survived. He is carried on the 1820 and 1830 census schedules of Caswell County and from this data we ascertain he was the father of six daughters and one son. Isaiah did not leave a will and only slight indications of an estate proceeding are to be found. We find no record of a son and assume he died. Four of his daughters have been determined from the marriage bonds of Caswell County by the process of association and elimination. This is an unsatisfactory process but the only means yet devised. We assume that when Isaiah died the daughters, by necessity of the times, would be pressed into quick marriage. So those marriages of Caswell County for the period 1837-1842, not known to belong to other lines, have been assigned as those of Isaiah's daughters.
Ezekiel,Hb
Ezekiel was the youngest son of Elisha and was born, June 20, 1787, in Warren County. Due to a history written by a grandson in 1917, we have quite a bit of information about Ezekiel. Ezekiel married Thursa Ann Cannady in Caswell County in the year 1812. They had a family of six daughters and five sons.
Ezekiel is listed on the 1820, 1830 and 1850 census returns of Caswell County. He died on October 18, 1856, and was buried in the Paschall Cemetery which was located on his farm. There was an estate proceeding and some letters by his daughter, Eliza, living in Henry County, TN, that add to our knowledge of this son.
Post script - Ezekiel,Hb93, in his history named Alexander, born 1763, as a son of Elisha, H. No further information was given. The Alexander who went to Weakley County, TN, was about ten years younger and could write well. We believe he was the Alexander named by Ezekiel.
Alexander,Hx
Tradition has claimed for many years that Alexander Paschall of Caswell County, NC, and Weakley County, TN, was the son of a William Paschall, born about 1754. This tradition further claimed that Alexander had a brother, John, and was thought to be in some way related to the Paschalls of Oglethorpe County, GA...then Person Co, NC... then Phila...changing to fit the circumstances...
From the records we find Alexander was born about 1772. Alexander first appeared in Rockingham County in the year 1792 on a deed record. This Alexander could write and highly stylized his first name. He seems to have been in a retail business (whiskey?) with David Poyner. Alexander left many records in Caswell and Weakley counties and had a large family, naming his oldest son, William. Alexander was highly involved with the H-line of Caswell and there have been claims that he was a son of Elisha, H.
The author first believed that this Alexander was the son of William, F1, and he left his home in Franklin County about 1792 probably with David Poyner to start a business in the Caswell area. Again we run into the problem that prior searchers have connected Alexander to William, G, but the records do not support this finding.
No records have been located that would directly connect Alexander to either William, F1, or William, G.
Alexander's father is a problem but several new items have been found that tend to indicate a closer association to the H-line than previously thought.
The Lick Fork Primitive Baptist Church Minutes of Rockingham county have been read. In 1817 a record has " Nanny", as the mother of Alexander. Note: The name Nancy is pronounced as nan cee. I notice Lick Cr church members surnamed NANCE; a co-incidence?
There is no doubt but this is the Alexander who married Susannah Morgan. William, F1, died 1818 and left widow, Martha or Patsy. This seems to negate William, F1, as the father of Alexander. Furthermore, in 1925, in a letter, a statement was made that Alexander and his sister, Reliance, had married brothers and sisters. Thus Susannah Morgan and her brother William married Alexander and Reliance Paschall. The marriage of William Morgan to Reliance, the daughter of Elisha, H, has long been known. In 1925 no evidence of Susannah's parents and thus her brother was found. That evidence is available now and it appears she had a brother, William, who married Reliance Paschall. A 1927 letter states that a son of Alexander had his cousin Elisha Morgan visit him c1860.
The Alexander line and the H-line were known to belong to the Primative Baptist Church whereas the F-line belonged to the Methodist Church.
The 1917 family history by Ezekiel,Hb9, indicated a belief that Elisha, H, had a son named, Alexander, b 1763.
Alexander went to western Tennessee first and was followed later by Elisha,H14, and his mother. They went to the homeplace of Alexander in Weakley county upon their arrival, later buying in Henry county and removing there. This tends to support the close relationship.
In 1925, Walter Bearden Paschall,H1444, insisted that Alexander was closely related to his line via the Humphries family.
Mrs. Sarah Agnes Paschall Smith, was the opposed party to the H-line connection giving only vague ideas of Philadelphia, AL and GA connections. Much later evidence has been found that refutes most of her claims. Her DAR application was a poor attempt but was supported by an expensive genealogist so accepted by 1925 standards.
There are several deeds of Caswell county that show a close association between Alexander and William, H1; they had adjacent homeplaces and each gave 1 acre for a 2 acre school property. It may even be that Alexander was living on homeplace of Elisha in 1817.
Conclusion
From the evidence it would appear that a better case can be made for Alexander as the son of Elisha, H, than as a son of William, F1.
Insistence, by descendants, has always been made that Alexander's father was named William and no one named Elisha ever occurred in his line. Also it appears that Elisha's wife was named Ann, even though later claims say her name was Nancy Ann. No evidence has been found for this. It would seem that Alexander had a business of distilling spirts and became relatively rich with a fine home in Weakley Co. The author finds, almost without doubt, that Alexander was the son of Elisha.
Source notes for Elisha Paschall(not up to date)
1755 Gran/NC TL father and six sons named; as Elizer, over 16 1762 Gran/NC TL Smith's Cr, with father and brother, Dennis 1765 Gran/NC DB G313, J6 from father, 845a (4th Gt + 160a of Isaiah's Gt) 1769 Gran/NC TL poll, also brothers, John, Isaiah 1771 Gran/NC TL 1 poll 1771 Gran/NC DB J228; also M138, M143 1777 Gran/NC DB L88 Elisha & Ann, his wife, to Dennis, 200a; May 5 1777 Gran/NC DB L135 fr Wm Buchannon (sister Sarah's 150a); Nov 5 1780 Gran/NC TL Nutbush dist 1579 pounds(war inflation) 1782 Gran/NC TL Nutbush dist 650a 1 poll 1785 Gran/NC TL 550a 1 poll; also 1786, ditto 1786 Gran/NC State census 1-6-3 Nutbush (sons are <21) 1787 Casw/NC DB F45, F64, H382 to 1791; bought land 1787 Warr/NC TL Smith Cr 550a; his dist now in Warr Co. 1788 Warr/NC TL Nutbush dist 550a 1 poll; now called Nutbush dist 1789 Warr/NC DB 11-1, sold 528a; 11-119, sold 100a 1790 Warr/NC TL Nutbush, had 263a in Caswell Co 1790 Warr/NC 3-5-5 original, printed census has error 1791 Casw/NC TL St David dist 2 polls, 260a 1793 Casw/NC TL also 1794/95/95 1800 Casw/NC 01301-01101 p735 as Elijah 1802 Rock/NC DB M75 bought fr John Nance, 30a; 2 sons witnesses 1805 Casw/NC TL 1 poll, 100a; also 1806 1807 Casw/NC DB P43 to Elisha, Jr 1810 Casw/NC 00111-00001 p495 1810 Casw/NC DB Q78 to son, Jesse 1812 Casw/NC DB Q565 to son, Isaiah, last record found 1973 Elisha Paschall Gene by Mary Johnston; many names of descendants; errors Note: Seems to have marr c1763; later than traditional date Note: he may have marr Ann Nance(pronounced: nan-cee); a guessEnd of H-line