Cardwell Family Research - John Cardwell of Claiborne County, TN

John Cardwell
of Claiborne County, Tennessee
by Rand Cardwell - 17NOV03 updated 05Dec06

Thomas Cardwell & John Cardwell were early settlers in Claiborne County, Tennessee. Research indicates that they were the sons of George Cardwell and Leticia (Last Name Unknown) of Goochland and Cumberland Counties, VA. George Cardwell died in 1767 and his minor children were bound to John Netherland. Rev. Perrin Cardwell of Knox County, Tennessee appears to be the brother of the two Claiborne County men. Their names are found in a Powhatan County, Virginia document in which they are ordered to be bound out. Francis Cardwell, their apparent older brother, is known to be living in Powhatan County during this time and the record does not state to whom they were bound. This is the only record of Perrin, John and Thomas Cardwell being mentioned as the children of George Cardwell. Powhatan County, Virginia Order Book 1, page 80 - Feb. 18, 1779 - "It is ordered that the Church wardens of Southam Parish bind out John Cardwell, Perrin Cardwell and Thomas Cardwell orphans of George Cardwell according to Law." We next can establish that Perrin Cardwell served in the Revolutionary War. This is documented in his Revolutionary Pension Application. Those records are extremely detailed and can be found in Rev. Perrin Cardwell (1764-1854) by Rand Cardwell. Perrin Cardwell married Elizabeth Worsham on Aug. 27, 1785 in Ameila County, VA. It appears that Thomas Cardwell married Mary A. Freeman on Sept. 11, 1787 in the same county. Every effort has been to determine that this "Thomas Cardwell" is the Thomas that ends up in Claiborne County, TN. He appears to be the same man, but additional research is needed in finding proof. John Cardwell is reported to have married Mary Royal, but there is no known document that proves that marriage. The given name of Royal is passed down through his descendants and verbal family history states that John married a Royal, but again there is no proof of the marriage. Of the two early Claiborne County settlers, John Cardwell has proven to be the easiest from a research perspective. All the information that I have accumulated concerning these two families is outlined below. Hopefully, other researchers will view this information and contact me with additional details.

See new article by Dorothy Bray concerning Mary Royall, wife of John Cardwell - click here

John Cardwell appears to be the first of the three brothers to have ventured to East Tennessee from Virginia. He is found in the minutes of Claiborne County, TN court records as early as 1801. It appears that he moved to the area with a large family and that at least one of his sons, Perrin Cardwell, is an adult when they arrive in Claiborne County. John Cardwell was reportedly married to Mary Royal. This is confirmed from family verbal history and the fact that the given name of Royal is found in his descendants. John Cardwell was probably born around 1760 in Cumberland County, VA. He appears to have died by 1824 in Claiborne County, Tennessee. Family tradition states that he was a soldier in the Revolutionary War, but he died prior to filing for a pension, which would have established solid documentation. In reviewing the Revolutionary War rosters for Virginia there are several entries for a John Cardwell. Some of these have been attributed to John Cardwell of Mercer County, Kentucky. He was the son of John Cardwell & Keziah Lowe and a cousin to John Cardwell of Claiborne. See details in John Cardwell (1715-1795) by Rand Cardwell. John is reported to have married Mary Royall, but as of yet there is no documentation to support that claim. A combination of Claiborne County, TN Deed records and the notes of P.G. Fulkerson (click his name for a copy of his notes concerning John Cardwell), an early Claiborne County historian, are used in establishing the children of John Cardwell and his wife, which will be presume as Mary Royal. P.G. Fulkerson stated that John Cardwell came from North Carolina in 1810 and settled on Lone Mountain in Claiborne County, TN. This appears to be wrong as there is no record of this man being in North Carolina. John Cardwell appears to have lived in Virginia until his migration to Claiborne County, TN.

See new article by Dorothy Bray concerning Mary Royall, wife of John Cardwell - click here

The Children of John Cardwell & Mary Royall

1. Perrin Cardwell - born between 1780-1790 in Virginia. He appears to the oldest child of John Cardwell of Claiborne County, TN. Perrin Cardwell "removed" to West Tennessee according to Fulkerson. He is listed in the 1830 census of Claiborne County, TN with what appears to be his mother in his home. Click here for an article on Perrin Cardwell.

2. Royal Cardwell - born about 1795 in Virginia. He married Anna Claypole around 1815 in Claiborne County, Tennessee. Anna Claypole was born about 1796 according to the 1850 census of Claiborne County, TN. Royal dies between 1837 and 1840 in Claiborne County, TN. Anna Claypole was the daughter of David Claypole and Ann Dunbar. Her brother, John Claypole, married Royal's sister, Mary Cardwell. At Ann’s death in the early 1850s, the children liquidate the families assests and the majority of the children move to Franklin County, Missouri. Only sons, David and William, appear to have stayed in Claiborne County. Click here for an article on the Royal Cardwell family and his many descendants.

3. Francis Cardwell - born between 1790-1800 in Virginia. He married Judah Lebo, daughter of Henry Leabow, in about 1815 probably in Claiborne County, Tennessee. [Note: The pre-1840 marriage records were destroyed by fire in Claiborne County, Tennessee in the 1890s. Many of Cardwells of Claiborne County can be found in the records of neighboring Grainger County, but this marriage does not exist in those records.] . Francis Cardwell moves to Warren County, Tennessee with Henry Lebo in the 1820s. Fulkerson's note state that Francis Cardwell married Judah Lebo and "removed" to West Tennessee. Francis Cardwell died in 1844. His son, Henry Jefferson Cardwell, was the administator of his estate and guardian of the minor children in 1844 Franics Cardwell died in 1844 according to various court documents in Warren County, Tennessee. Judah is listed in the 1850 and 1860 Warren County, Tennessee census records. Click here for an article on Francis Cardwell and his descendants..

4. James L. Cardwell - probable - born in 1797 in Virginia. Fulkerson did not list James Cardwell among the children of John Cardwell of Claiborne County, TN, but evidence points in that direction. James Cardwell married Leah Saunders and migrated to McNairy County, TN with the Saunders family and William Cardwell, his brother. (William is listed below) Descendants of the Saunders family state that James Cardwell's wife, Leah Saunders, was the sister of the wife of Hiram Cardwell. Hiram Cardwell is listed as James' nephew and is the highly probable son of William Cardwell. That link is the only evidence that confirms that William and James are brothers. It is possible that they are the sons of Thomas Cardwell (1760->1840), probably brother of John Cardwell, or Perrin Cardwell, oldest son of John Cardwell, of Claiborne County, TN. If that theory is correct then the William Cardwell that Fulkerson listed as a son of John Cardwell moved west and has not been found in any records yet. More research is needed on this line. Check out the NEW article by Dorothy Bray on this branch - click here. James L. Cardwell migrated to Franklin County, Illinois in the winter of 1852. More details in the above mention article. Click here for an article on James L. Cardwell and his descendants.

5. John Cardwell, Jr. - born about 1799 in Virginia. He married first a Ms. Wallace. After her death he married Rebecca "Becca" Jennings (Fulkerson Notes). He is listed in the 1860 census of Claiborne County, Tennessee as being born in about 1802, but that appears to be an error. Also in that record Sarah Jennings, born in 1765, is listed with the family. She is probably the mother of Rebecca Jennings Cardwell. Click here for an article on John Cardwell, Jr. and his descendants.

6. William Cardwell - born about 1801 in Virginia. He appears to have married Celia Harper on Jan. 7, 1820 in Grainger County, TN. She was the daughter of Richard Harper and Anne Forrest. Fulkerson stated that he "removed" to the west. They migrate to McNairy County, Tennessee by 1834. He is listed in the 1840 and 1850 census of McNairy County, TN. It appears that William died between the 1850 and 1860 census, as no further record of him has been located. Click here for an article on William Cardwell and his descendants.

7. Mary "Polly" Cardwell - she married John Claypole. The couple migrate to Indiana according to the records of P.G. Fulkerson. John Claypole was born on May 30, 1786 in Virginia. He was the son of David Claypole and Ann Dunbar. John Cardwell, Mary's father, sold land to John Claypole in 1821 in Claiborne County, TN. It appears that during the 1820s that the couple migrated to Hendricks County, Indiana. John Claypole died there around 1845. The following is for research purposes only! Click here for an article on Mary Cardwell Claypole and her descendants.

8. Sarah Cardwell - she appears in the records of the sale of John Cardwell's estate in 1824/5 in Claiborne County, Tennessee. She appears to have moved to Warren County, Tennessee afterwards and lived near her brother Francis in the 1840 census of that county. Click here for an article on Sarah Cardwell.

Thomas Cardwell is first mentioned in the records of Claiborne County, TN in 1810. In that year John Cardwell, his probable brother, buys land near Lone Mountain. Thomas Cardwell is mentioned in that records as living on the said land "at the mouth of Ball Creek". Allen Pendergraft, an early Cardwell family researcher, placed William Cardwell of Claiborne County, TN as a son of Thomas, but there has been no supporting documentation to validate that claim. It appears that there are several Cardwell ancestors in Claiborne County, TN that do not link into the family of John Cardwell (see above). Those ancestors are covered in detail in the article on the Unsolved Cardwell Family of Grainger County, TN. Additionally, it appears that William Cardwell of Claiborne County, TN is connected with Thomas Cardwell, but no solid documentation has been found to establish kinship.

Thomas Cardwell of Claiborne County, Tennessee is found in the 1840 census listed near Layton Romines and Joseph Naramore. He appears to be in the same community as William Cardwell was in 1830. Pendergraft, among others, have grouped William Cardwell as the son of Thomas Cardwell. It appears that in the 1830 census that Thomas Cardwell is listed in the home of William.

1840 Claiborne County, Tennessee Census – page 11
Thomas Cardwell 0000000001-00100001

1830 Claiborne County, Tennessee Census – page 113
William Cardwell 020001001-110001

Thomas Cardwell of Claiborne and Grainger Counties, TN is the highly probable brother of John Cardwell of Claiborne County, TN and Rev. Perrin Cardwell of Knox Co., TN. There is no solid documentation to prove that assumption, but the fact that John of Claiborne County bought land "where Thomas Cardwell now lives" illustrates some form of family association. William Cardwell, that is found in the 1830 census of Claiborne County, TN, might be the son of John Cardwell, rather than the son of Thomas as assumed by Pendergraft. The fact that William Cardwell shows up in the records of McNairy County, TN by 1834 and disappears from the records of Claiborne County after the 1830 census makes that a strong possibility that needs to be explored. An examination of William's age that is listed in the 1830 Claiborne census and the 1840 McNairy census, makes that a possibility. Some of the children appear to be missing in the 1840 census, but that can be attributed to death and marriage. Regardless, there is a distinct link between John and Thomas Cardwell of Claiborne County, TN. Additional research is needed on this line.

The study of Thomas and John Cardwell of Claiborne County, TN is plagued by one major problem... many of the early records of that county were destroyed by fire in the late 1800s. Almost all of the pre-1840 marriage records were lost. The remaining documents have been researched for any clues that would help establish the families, but the information is limited. I hope that by publishing the information that I have researched on these two Cardwell families that other researchers will come forward with additional details.

P.G. Fulkerson's Notes

John Cardwell came from N.C. to Lone Mountain in 1810. His children were: Royal, who married Ann Claypole; John, married 1st a Wallace, 2nd Becca Jennings; Polly, married John Claypole, removed to Ind.;Frank, married Julia Leabow, removed to West Tenn.; Parin, removed to West Tenn.; William, removed to the West; Sarah.

Green Cardwell was a descendant of John Cardwell, Jr., and David Cardwell, for may years Register of this county, was a son of Royal.

*Note: Fulkerson did not mention any information concerning Thomas Cardwell or descendants.

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