Family of Peter Daniel and Mary Cantrell Bethel

Peter Daniel and Mary Cantrell Bethel


Our Tennessee Roots: Peter Daniel and Mary Cantrell Bethel

Peter Daniel, son of John and Nancy Daniel, was born 22 May 1811 in Cannon County, Tennessee.   By the time he was 15, his father had purchased a large tract of land near Mountain Creek which they proceeded to farm.  

02 February 1837, the 25 year-old Peter Daniel married 21 year-old Mary Cantrell Bethel, daughter of Tilmon Bethel and Sarah Root Daughtery.   Mary's family has an interesting history of its own that extends back to the 1600s in America.   Her great-grandfather Isaac Cantrell is reported to have founded the Wolf Island Primative Baptist Church in Rockingham, North Carolina.   And her uncle Cantrell Bethel founded the Salem Baptist Church in Liberty, DeKalb County, Tennessee.  

Family of Mary Cantrell Bethel

Tilmon BETHEL, born December 05, 1788 in Spartanburg, South Carolina; died September 06, 1865 in Liberty, Dekalb County, Tennessee. He was the son of Sampson BETHEL and Mary CANTRELL. He married Sarah Root DAUGHERTY September 02, 1813 in Dekalb County, Tennessee. She was the daughter of John DAUGHERTY and Nancy DAVIDSON.

Children of Tilmon BETHEL and Sarah DAUGHERTY are:

  1. Mary-Cantrell BETHEL, born January 04, 1816 in DeKalb, Tennessee; died October 15, 1895 in Dade County, Missouri; married Peter DANIEL February 02, 1837.
  2. John N. Bethell, born 1820 in Dekalb, Tennessee; married (1) ----- (Bethel) Abt. 1845; married (2) Sarah L. Abt. 1859.
  3. Greene W. Bethell, born 1823 in Dekalb, Tennessee; married Eliza ----- (Bethell) Abt. 1851.
  4. Chester R. Bethell, born 1825 in Dekalb, Tennessee; married Martha Ann Daugherty September 29, 1848.
  5. Eliza J. Bethel, born 1829 in Dekalb, Tennessee; married ----- Mercer Abt. 1846.
  6. Bluford Bethell, born 1831 in Dekalb, Tennessee; married Sarah J. ----- (Bethell) Abt. 1858.
  7. Madora M. Bethel, born 1834 in Dekalb, Tennessee.
  8. Sarah P. Bethel, born 1836 in Dekalb, Tennessee.
  9. Woodford L. Bethel, born 1838 in Dekalb, Tennessee.
  10. LaFayette Bethell, born Abt. 1840.

Peter and Mary Daniel had ten children who lived to adulthood, and it's possible that there were a couple more who did not.   One outstanding trait of this family was the naming of the children after their ancestors.   The uniqueness of these given names has been a big aid to family historians.  

Pulling up Stakes

Possibly it was the death of his mother that triggered the next set of events.   22 September 1859, Peter Daniel sold the land that he had purchased from his father in 1846.   According to the terms of his father's will, Peter inherited his parents' farm, now consisting of 105 acres, upon the death of his mother, Nancy.   About the same time another daughter was born to Mary and Peter and she was named Nancy.   From this, it appears that Peter's mother Nancy died about 1858 at the age of 83.  

We don't know what made the Daniel family suddenly leave Tennessee.   Possibly they wanted to leave before the conflict between the northern states and the southern states began.   Mary Cantrell Bethel's grandfather Isaac Cantrell had owned 4 slaves in 1800, but their is no record of the Daniels owning slaves.   Perhaps with military aged sons, they thought they'd have a better chance of keeping them out of the conflict when it did come.   Whatever the reasons, Peter, Mary and their children left Tennessee behind and relocated to southwest Missouri and settled in Dade County where many of their descendants still live.  

The Civil War reaches Dade

Two of the Daniel sons, Green and Chester, fought for the Union in the Civil War.   The 1890 Special Census lists Green W. Daniel but no additional information.   He may have been in the cavalry.   Chester's record indicates that he served from February until May 1865 in Company H, 7th regiment of the Missouri State Militia.  

After the war, the children of Peter and Mary Daniel began to marry and start their own families.   By 1880, all the children had married.   Son Blueford Allen Daniel, had separated from his wife, Sophia Davis.   He and his son, Hugh, were living with Peter and Mary when the census was taken.  

Peter Daniel passed away on 21 October 1890 and Mary Cantrell Bethel Daniel followed him on 15 October 1895.   Both of them are buried in Dade County, Missouri.  

Children of Peter Daniel and Mary Cantrell Bethel

Peter DANIEL, born May 22, 1811 in Warren County, Tennessee; died October 21, 1890 in Dade County, Missouri. He was the son of John and Nancy A. DANIEL. He married Mary Cantrell BETHEL February 02, 1837. She was the daughter of Tilmon BETHEL and Sarah Root DAUGHERTY. Children of Peter DANIEL and Mary Cantrell BETHEL are:

  1. John W. Daniel, born August 21, 1840 in Tennessee; died May 18, 1897 in Dade County , Missouri; married Martha E. Hampton July 20, 1865.
    Oldest son, John W. Daniel was probably named for Peter's father, John Daniel.  
  2. Sarah Elizabeth Daniel, born April 09, 1842 in Tennessee; died January 1924 in Dade, Missouri; married Samuel E. Rogers May 09, 1866.
    Daughter Sarah Elizabeth Daniel was probably named for Mary's mother, Sarah Root Daughtery.  
  3. Green W. Daniel, born March 02, 1844 in Cannon County, Tennessee; died March 25, 1913 in Dade County, Missouri; married Amelia McBride February 10, 1868 in Dade County, Missouri.
    Son Green Daniel was named for Mary's brother.  
  4. Chester Lafayette Daniel, born November 29, 1845 in Tennessee; died July 11, 1890 in Lockwood, Dade County, Missouri; married Eliza Frances Medlin November 01, 1870 in Dade County, Missouri.
    Son Chester Lafayette Daniel was named for two of Mary's brothers.  
  5. Blueford Allen DANIEL, born November 25, 1847 in Cannon County, Tennessee; died September 07, 1930 in Weiser, Washington, Idaho; married Sophia DAVIS February 02, 1871 in Dade County, Missouri.  They had two children: Hugh and Effie DANIEL.
    Son Blueford Allen Daniel was named for Mary's brother.  
  6. Octavia F. Daniel, born August 05, 1853 in Tennessee; died August 06, 1902 in Lockwood, Dade County, Missouri; married James W.Vanlandingham January 31, 1874 in Dade County, Missouri.
  7. Mary-Victoria Daniel, born August 17, 1855 in Tennessee; married Calvin R. Courtney November 21, 1875 in Dade County, Missouri.
  8. James Daniel, born September 27, 1856; married Sarah M. Bowles December 16, 1875.
  9. Martha Cumi Daniel, born January 29, 1858 in Tennessee; died December 24, 1925 in Montague, Texas; married William Rawley Martin February 17, 1878 in Dade, Missouri.
  10. Nancy Daniel, born Abt. 1860.
    Youngest daughter Nancy Daniel, born in 1860, was probably named for Peter's mother Nancy (who was recently deceased).  

Daniel Family Pages



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