Agatha Carlton

Notes:

John Carlton of Brunswick County is the first family member who has been documented. He first appears as a witness for William Lindsey in May 1756. He was a neighbor of William Lindsey in Brunswick Co, VA in the 1750's. He was a young man, with wife Agatha and a daughter, Mary, born in 1753 or 1754.
John Carlton received a grant of 130 acres of land from William Lindsey in 1757, on Wildcat Creek, in an area where William Lindsey had patented or bought much land, and sold parcels at a nominal rate to his sons and sons-in-law. The grant to John Carlton is the basis for supposing that he was also a son-in-law of William Lindsey. There was clearly a family connection--John and Agatha Carlton named a son Lindsey Carlton.

John Carlton sold this land to Thomas Holcombe in 1760, but he, together with his wife "Agga," is found a few miles away in Lunenberg County betwen 1760 and 1768. In 1774, he appears as a taxpayer in Surry County, North Carolina.

From 1757 to 1768 John Carlton owned farmland in Brunswick and later just across the line in Lunenburg County. A 1766 lawsuit initiated by John Carlton in Lunenburg County was discharged by "his not being an inhabitant of this colony," suggesting that he was already moving back and forth between Virginia and North Carolina. He and his family were settled in Surry Co NC by 1774.

There are many records of John Carlton in Surry County, where he was a substantial farmer and owned land in the Deep Creek area, near Yadkinville in what is today Yadkin County. There were eleven in his household in 1787 and eight in 1790. In 1791 or 1792, he moved to Spartanburg County, South Carolina and lived near his son-in-law John Durham in the southern part of the county. There he and his wife are found, living alone, in the census of 1810. Both would have been about 80 years old--not an unusual age for members of this family.

John and Agatha Carlton may have had seven or eight sons and at least four daughters, although some in the household by 1787 may have been grandchildren or other relatives. Two daughters of John and Agatha Carlton can be identified, most likely the oldest and youngest. Family members in Spartanburg County in the 19th century knew that Mary Durham and Rebecca Fowler were sisters, and that their maiden name was Carlton. Three sons can also be identified. Others are "lost", or may have died young.

John Carlton and his wife Agatha had a large family. Elijah and Lindsey Carlton, who are consistently associated with John in the records, must be his sons. They stayed in Surry County, along with a John Carlton (John Carlton II) of the same age, who must be another son. Two of the daughters of John and Agatha Carlton can be identified, most likely the oldest and the youngest. Both went to Spartanburg County, where it was known in the 19th century that Mary Durham and Rebecca Fowler were sisters, and that their maiden name was Carlton*.

• From personal recollections of Matilda Durham Hoy, written in 1901, courtesy of Mary Benson Maxwell. The Durhams in Georgia referred to the Fowlers as "cousins."

Records:

1757 - Brunswick Co. deed, William Lindsey and Jane, his wife, to John Carlton, 130 Acres East side Little Wildcat Creek, adjoining William Lindsey. (6-175) 1760 - Brunswick Co, John Carlton and Agatha, his wife, sell above land to Thomas Holcombe. "Brunswick county, Virginia - Deeds (Book 6) Indenture made the 26th day of July, 1760, between John CARLTON and Aggatha CARLTON, parties of the first part, and Thomas HOLCOMB, for 20 pounds, conveying 130 acres on East side of Little Wildcat Creek, adjoining lands of William LINDSEY. Signed by John CARLTON (his mark) and Agatha CARLTON (her mark). Witnesses were Joshua DRAPER, William FETCH, and Abraham MARTIN. Indenture and Receipt were proved in Court on July 28, 1760, by the oaths of the witnesses. Deed Book 6, page 554." 1774 - On the Surry County, NC tax list. 1775 - Ditto 1778 - Court records show John Carlton owned land on Deep Creek. 1782-89 - On Surry Co tax lists, for acreage on Deep Creek. 1786 - NC State Census, John Carlton with 7 men, 4 women. 1790 - US Census, Surry Co, with 5 men, 3 women. 1793 - Surry Co deed, John Carlton "of Spartanburg Co, SC" sells land.

According to the book "Virginia Colonial Militia" by Crozier, there was a John Calton in the Militia in Brunswick county, Virginia in September, 1758. There is no evidence that this is our John Calton, but our John's son, Elijah, was born in 1763 in Virginia. This would put John in the right time and place to be the John Calton that served in the militia.

References

• http://freepages.rootsweb.com/~pattiejo/genealogy/ged/g191.html#I01996