McCarty Family:Information about James McCarty


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View Tree for James McCartyJames McCarty (b. July 04, 1736, d. Bef. February 15, 1802)

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James McCarty (son of Darby McCarty and Hannah Richardson)248 was born July 04, 1736 in PA249, and died Bef. February 15, 1802 in Graigner County, TN250.He married (1) Martha Fugate.He married (2) Fain.
 Includes NotesNotes for James McCarty:
James McCarty, according to his Bible, was born July 4, 1736, this is the same day his parents were married. His Bible, now in the Lawson McGhee Library, is the only known source for his date of birth. It is so unlikely that both of these events happened on the same day that it has lead many people to believe his date of birth is wrong, some have even gone as far as to change it to July 1737, his younger sister Mary, was born in December 1738. Other people believe his parents were married by a civil marriage until a minister could marry them and the Reverand Andrews made it to where Darby and Hannah lived on the same day James was born. The Bible was printed in England in 1762 and it would have taken some time for it to reach James in Virginia. It is unknown when James married, but William, his first born, was born April 1, 1764 and the Bible may have been given to James as a wedding present in 1763. The Bible was printed about 25 years after James was born and it is Offen questioned as to where James got the information on his siblings. Was it copied from his parents Bible? Did one of his Parrent tell him the dates from memory? Or did James know the birth dates of all his brothers and sisters by heart? I think it is worth mentioning that James' date is not the only one in question, Enoch was born April 29, 1753, Jonathan, April 29, 1756 and Lydia April 30, 1756, these similar dates have made some people question them, twins born on differ ant days? But there is nothing here that is impossible. The only date of birth really in question is that of James himself and only because it is the same day his parents were married. If it was copied from his parents Bible then James date of birth was listed as July 4, 1736 or it was hard to read and Darby and Hannah's date of marriage was mistaken for that of James birth. If one of his parents gave him the information verbally it may not have included his own birthday. If James did it from memory then it would seem unlikely that the only date he would get wrong would be is own birthday, unless he believed it was his birthday. One last theory is that James lied about his age so he wouldn't have to pay a poll tax for a year or two. I find it unbelievable myself that anyone would write a lie into their own Bible. Maybe someday another Bible or birth record will be found that will give us more information. Until then we must use what we have with James being born on the same day his parents were married.
James is believed to have been born on the frontier of Bucks County, PA because that was where is father lived before moving to the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia and his parents were married by a circuit minister. Then in the spring of 1774 his parents moved to the wilderness of the Shenandoah Valley were they were the first settlers in what is now the Browntown area and were James grew up.
Family lore has it that James was a long hunter and he owned a long rifle. It wound be hard to believe he lived in the wilderness and wasn't a hunter. In Oct. 1774 James appraised 6 beeves for his Captain, Daniel Smith. Wisconsin Historical Society 6XX106 and this is written proof he knew the value of bevers. It is no surprise that he moves west when he was old enough too. It is not known what year he moved west but he was in southwest Virginia by 2 March 1774 when he is mentioned in a Fincastle County road order concerning a road from the Town House on Holston to Castlewood on Clinch. Castlewood is in Plesant day Russel County, VA and the Holston River in now in Tennessee. While there is no written record to indicate it it is believed by many that James moves down the valley of Virginia a little at a time.During Lord Dunmore's War, James was stationed for 62 days at the Glade Hollow Fort, 29 August 1774 to 6 November 1774and it is assumed he was at The Battle of Point Pleasent on 10 October 1774 because he was stationed at the fort at that time. The battle was called "The bloodiest battle ever waged with the Indians in Virginia" A seed-bed of the republic page 57. In all he was under Commander Capt. Daniel Smith for 82 days, under Commander Lt. William Edmundson for 13 days, 2 days as HH, I don't know what that is, and 7 days as a scout. Soldiers of Fincastle County, VA. 1774 by Mary B. Kegley. Load Dunmore's War was fought between the white settles, Colonial troops, and the Indians and is often considered as the beginning of the American Revolution. When it was over, with the Colonial troops as victors, it was believed there would be no trouble with the Indain for some time. President Theodore Roosevelt wrote in his Winning of the West, Vol. 1, p. 240; "It kept the northwestern tribes quiet for the first three years of the Revolutionary struggle; and above all it rendered possible the settlement of Kentucky and, therefore, the winning of the west". With this winning of the west people like James McCarty felt safe to move even farther west.
By far the most misunderstood, misquoted and controversial document pertaining to James and his son John is the letter of Roy Sunderland to P. H. McCarty dated Aug. 28, 1938. It is understandable that Uncle Frank, Isaac Franklin McCarty, would not remember every detail of the stories his father, Isaac Froman McCarty, told him. Stories of his grandfather John McCarty and the events that had happen to him 160 before 1938. Events John was to young to have remembered and would have learned from his father, James McCarty. So by the time Roy Sunderland rakes Uncle Frank, at the age of 90, for all the information he can remember, interprets it and tires to Write down what he believed Uncle Frank meant it is understandable that there could be some deviation in the details. So when Roy writes that James moves to Mitchell springs about 1777 it's not to far of a stretch to believe they moved in 1776 and when he writes John was about it's not to big of a stretch it to 6 months, not that we need too.
Children of James McCarty and Martha Fugate are:
  1. +William McCarty, b. April 01, 1764, d. December 02, 1818, Hawkins County, TN.
  2. Isaac McCarty, b. March 02, 1766, d. date unknown.
  3. +Sarah McCarty, b. October 29, 1767, d. 1838, Fairfeild, OH.
  4. Hannah McCarty, b. October 05, 1769, Fincastle County, VA, d. April 30, 1872, Brooksville, Blount, AL.
  5. +James McCarty, b. July 03, 1773, d. date unknown.
  6. +John McCarty, b. September 27, 1775, Fincastle County, VA251, d. Bet. February - March 1843, Greene County, MO252.