From Virginia Through the Southwest:Information about John Cantrell
John Cantrell (b. October 06, 1724, d. February 1803)
Notes for John Cantrell:John Cantrell was born in New Castle Co. Pennsylvania (now Delaware), October 1724, and baptized in Holy Trinity (Old Swedes) church March 25, 1726.He was married twice.His first wife was Miss Brittian, by whom it is said he had seventeen sons; his second wife was Jane -----, by whom he had four sons and two daughters. Reportedly there were a number of twins in this large family.John is shown to be the father of 21 sons and 2 daughters, but research indicates that a number of children attributed to John were nephews, sons of brother Isaac
John became associated with the Welsh Tract Baptist Church, which had been established in the early 1700s in the New Castle area.After the birth of some of their children in New Castle County, John and his family joined with others in the movement southward. They moved down through the Great Valley of Virginia to the Piedmont Plateau of the Carolinas.They settled there in the "Land of Eden", Granville County, North Carolina, (which became Orange County in September 1752).In 1752 John Cantrell purchased land north of the Haw River and south of the Dan River.The land was on Wolf Island Creek, a tributary of the Dan.There are many traditions in this family regarding John Cantrell and his family and their moving to the Carolinas, but the exact date of his leaving New Castle county is not known.
The list of taxables collected in the years of 1752 and 1753 as submitted by the Sheriff to the County Court in 1754 contains the name of John Cantrell with two white polls.John purchased land north of the Haw River and south of the Dan River in 1758.The land was on Wolf Island Creek, a tributary of the Dan River.John was appointed to many juries in the next 15 years.
The Wolf Island Baptist Church was formed in 1777 by John's brother, Isaac Cantrell, on part of Isaac's 770 acre farm.Isaac's second wife, Talitha Cloud, had died in 1772, and she was probably buried on his land and it later became the Wolf Island Baptist Church Cemetery.John's first wife, Miss Brittain, may also be buried there.
John married his second wife Jane about 1770.John and Jane had four sons and two daughters.
Guilford County, North Carolina was formed in 1771 from the western part of Orange County.John and his family lived in the northern part of this new county.This area became Rockingham County in 1785, but by that time, John and his family had moved southwest down the Piedmont Plateau to the Ninety Six District of South Carolina, now part of Spartanburg County, South Carolina where he owned over 800 acres of land on Buck Creek, a tributary of the Pacolet River.This move was made soon after the close of the Revolutionary War.There he farmed and worked with the Buck Creek Baptist Church. Some of his descendants still attend this old church.
In 1790, John was listed in the census of the Ninety Six District of South Carolina.He had one son under sixteen and two daughters living at home.Many of the names on this census were familiar names from the Court Records of Orange County, North Carolina.It should be noted that this was the first record found in America where the family name was spelled Cantrell.The same census in Kentucky, Virginia, and North Carolina listed families as Cantrall, Cantrel, Cantril, and Cantwell.John appears to be the first to use the Cantrell spelling in America.
LAND RECORD--Thomas Warren of Spartanburg to Isaac Young of Spartanburg for 70 pounds sterling sold 200 acres on North side of Pacolet River, grant August 23, 1774 to Hugh Warren who sold to Thomas Warren on February 16, 1787.Witnessed Samson Bethel, John Cantrell, and Richard Turner.Signed-- Thomas Warren. Recorded 14 December 1791.
John Cantrell and his family were devoted and active workers in the Buck Creek Baptist Church. Three of the Cantrell children were baptised at the Buck Creek Baptist Church.John's brother Isaac Cantrell served there as minister in 1796 and 1797, and a John Cantrell served in 1800 as minister.Another member of Buck Creek Church was Sampson Bethel, whose wife was Mary Cantrell, was a daughter of Isaac Cantrell".
In the 1800 census of South Carolina, John Cantrell is listed in the household of his son Moses, age 36.The household listed a male and female over 45 years (John and Jane Cantrell) and three slaves.It is known that John Cantrell owned three slaves.
John died before February 1803 (the date of the will probate) and three of his sons, Abraham, Stephen, and Moses were the administrators of his estate.John Cantrell was probably buried at the Buck Creek Baptist Church Cemetery in South Carolina's Ninety Six District.The center of the cemetery has at least one hundred graves marked by fieldstones.Widow Jane Cantrell received a dower settlement.
More About John Cantrell:
Burial: Buck Creek Baptist Church Cemetery.
More About John Cantrell and Miss Brittain:
Marriage: 1743
Children of John Cantrell and Miss Brittain are:
- +Abraham Cantrell, b. 1744, Newcastle Co. Pennsylvania (now Delaware), d. 1814, Spartanburg, South Carolina.
- +Isaac Cantrell, b. Abt. 1745, Orange Co. North Carolina (now Rockingham Co.), d. 1804, Warren Co. Tennessee.
- Joseph Cantrell, b. 1747, Orange Co. North Carolina (now Rockingham Co.), d. 1804, Hillsboro, North Carolina.
- Jacob Cantrell, b. Abt. 1748, Orange Co. North Carolina (now Rockingham Co.), d. August 1790, Orange Co. North Carolina.
- Stephen Cantrell, b. Abt. 1749, Orange Co. North Carolina (now Rockingham Co.), d. Aft. 1790.
- Susan Cantrell, b. Abt. 1750, Orange Co. North Carolina (now Rockingham Co.).
- Charles Cantrell, b. 1750, Orange Co. North Carolina (now Rockingham Co.),d., DeKalb Co. Tennessee.
- +John Miller Cantrell, b. August 18, 1751, Orange Co. North Carolina (now Rockingham Co.), d. October 17, 1825, Spartanburg, South Carolina.
- William Cantrell, b. Abt. 1752, Orange Co. North Carolina (now Rockingham Co.).
- Aaron Cantrell, b. 1755, Orange Co. North Carolina (now Rockingham Co.).
- Simon Cantrell, b. Abt. 1757, Orange Co. North Carolina (now Rockingham Co.).
- Peter Cantrell, b. 1759, New Castle , Lawrence Co. Pennsylvania.
- Thomas J. Cantrell, b. January 23, 1761, Rockingham Co. North Carolina, d. September 25, 1830, Grady, McMinn Co. Tennessee.
- Moses Cantrell, b. Abt. 1764, Rockingham Co. North Carolina.
- Benjamin Cantrell, b. 1768, Rockingham Co. North Carolina, d. 1843, Warren Co. Tennessee.