Clover Family Research Compendium
Created, Edited, and Maintained By June Clover Byrne
For the Clover Family Historical Society
The Cathcart
Family
All
of the
following Cathcart information was sent to me by Deb Ciroli.
According to the paper, it was originally created by Marion E.
Cathcart, of Boulder, Colorado. It appears to have been created a few
years back. Initials refer to sources which are found at the end of the
article. Two Cathcart females married into the Clover family.
Isabella was the second wife of Philip, son of Philip.
His
son, John Clugh Clover, married Roseann Cathcart who was likely a neice
of Isabella.Deb also sent me the following family group sheets on the Cathcart Family. Group Sheets
She also sent these copies of County History articles from Armstrong County. One of them states that Isabell Cathcart married Philip Clover.
The following article was sent to me:
Cathcart History has been hard to find, so much of what I have to offer
has been compiled by Helen Cathcart
(Robert–Clark–“Big
Joe”--Walter– Helen)
about 1936. It is my intention to continue the search and, if
sufficient material of interest is found to issue a
supplement. I
did find a Margaret Cathcart of Edenton, North Carolina who was active
as a patriot during the Revolutionary War, but at that time
migration from Scotland would probably have been at a standstill, so it
seems likely a prior location in the colonies is indicated.
If he
served in the war, as family tradition indicates, he must have either
been born in America or come as a very small boy. MC
I quote from Helen Cathcart Sears:
“This is a partial list of the descendants of one Robert Cathcart and his wife, Jane Thom, who supposedly came to Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, about 1785. Robert Cathcart was supposed to have been born in Dublin, Ireland, where his parents emigrated from Scotland during Revolutionary Wars. Jane Thom is supposed to have been born in Glasgow, Scotland.
Armstrong County, Pennsylvania, history says Robert Cathcart settled in Red Bank Township, in 1805. He was the father of Alex who lived on the same farm. The wife of Alex was Martha and their children as given are: William, Jane, John, Tillie, Jemima, Josiah. It would appear from this information that this is the Robert Cathcart we wish to trace as our ancestor.
Although the information in the first paragraph was given to me in good faith, I must in honesty, put down my findings in the first census, 1790. There was no Cathcarts in Pennsylvania at all, but there were families by that name in seven of the 13 states, mainly in Massachusetts.”
Robert D. Cathcart (Robert–Robert A. –Grant–Robert L.– Robert D.) Writes from Charleston, SC where Robert S. Cathcart III is compiling a book on Cathcarts. The families of these two have still not been tied together. Robert III believes eventually they will be and that the families will be traced back to the Norman Conquest when the name was Fitzalan rather than Cathcart. RDC says, “It seems the first Cathcarts to come to this country were sons of Samuel Cathcart. What branch we are from is not quite certain. However, there is a very strong possibility that our branch settles in Hinnsboro, SC and later moved to Pennsylvania.
The thing that is very significant is the first names of the Cathcarts. There are scads of Williams, Samuels, Roberts, Matthew, and Johns mentioned in all the information gathered thus far. Before I go any further let me tell you that the Cathcarts were well thought of in Scotland in the United States when they first arrived and I hope they still are. May of our relatives were war heroes and it seems they were represented in every war.”
There are bits of history Robert D. Cathcart has sent regarding the Scottish end, to which family we may or may not be attached, which is interesting. “Cathcart” is derived from “caeth’ which is a straight or narrows, and “cart” from the river Cart where the Cathcart family lived in Scotland. A suburb of Glasgow is named Cathcart. A Cathcart castle (only one tower remains) is now a part of a state park near Glasgow. [Linn Park]
The most interesting phase of family history to me is the reason for migration from one country to another, from one section of the United States to another. We can only guess at the contributing factors. With today’s ease of transportation and communication, cross-country and round the world treks do not require the fortitude that must have been present in the 1600 or 1700's when an ocean or a wilderness crossing meant a final goodbye to family and security of a sort.
The settling of America was, history tells us, done large by those who desired religious freedom, to escape from persecution, imprisonment, or military service, and of course, there was then as now, the itchy foot of the adventurous.
Upon their arrival, those who settled in the original colonies often failed to find the religious freedom they sought unless they chose of one of their own particular sect. It was to be nearly two centuries later when there was written in the constitution of the United States the basic principle of freedom of religion. Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, and the southern colonies were the more tolerant and even there it was quite customary to push the non conformists to the outer edge.
In the later 1600s, England began demanding religious conformity to the Church of England from the people of Scotland. It was something many of the stubborn Scots would not give, and migration to Northern Ireland began. The Scots retained their national individuality and remained Scots-living-in-Ireland, and did not mingle with the Irish, either in religion, customs, or intermarriage. Thus the term Scotch-Irish is a misnomer. The Irish only indicates a term of residence in most instances rather than a blending of nationalities. Another common example is German-Austrians, or German-Russians, the added name largely indicates a term of exile rather than an absorption into the new land.
The older and wealthier colonists tended to settle close to the coast, along the tidewaters, largely because of the ease of transportation where the rivers took the place of non existent roads. Above the fall line of the rives came the middle class economic-wise, and the newer or the poorer colonists were pushed to the high plains at the base of the mountains. Here they acted as a buffer between the Indians and the coastal settlements. Many of these plains were fertile and well watered, and desirable communities were developed. As populations grew on the coastal areas, those settlers expanded inland, and the fringe areas in turn crossed the Appalachian Mountains, and eventually for much the same reasons, continued further west. It seems unfair that much of the same group did most of the pioneer ground work but rather than land deeds, most had only squatter’s rights.
Deb
Ciroli tells me that
although none of this family
appears in the 1790 census, the surname Cathcart appears earlier in tax
records. I quote from Helen Cathcart Sears:
“This is a partial list of the descendants of one Robert Cathcart and his wife, Jane Thom, who supposedly came to Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, about 1785. Robert Cathcart was supposed to have been born in Dublin, Ireland, where his parents emigrated from Scotland during Revolutionary Wars. Jane Thom is supposed to have been born in Glasgow, Scotland.
Armstrong County, Pennsylvania, history says Robert Cathcart settled in Red Bank Township, in 1805. He was the father of Alex who lived on the same farm. The wife of Alex was Martha and their children as given are: William, Jane, John, Tillie, Jemima, Josiah. It would appear from this information that this is the Robert Cathcart we wish to trace as our ancestor.
Although the information in the first paragraph was given to me in good faith, I must in honesty, put down my findings in the first census, 1790. There was no Cathcarts in Pennsylvania at all, but there were families by that name in seven of the 13 states, mainly in Massachusetts.”
Robert D. Cathcart (Robert–Robert A. –Grant–Robert L.– Robert D.) Writes from Charleston, SC where Robert S. Cathcart III is compiling a book on Cathcarts. The families of these two have still not been tied together. Robert III believes eventually they will be and that the families will be traced back to the Norman Conquest when the name was Fitzalan rather than Cathcart. RDC says, “It seems the first Cathcarts to come to this country were sons of Samuel Cathcart. What branch we are from is not quite certain. However, there is a very strong possibility that our branch settles in Hinnsboro, SC and later moved to Pennsylvania.
The thing that is very significant is the first names of the Cathcarts. There are scads of Williams, Samuels, Roberts, Matthew, and Johns mentioned in all the information gathered thus far. Before I go any further let me tell you that the Cathcarts were well thought of in Scotland in the United States when they first arrived and I hope they still are. May of our relatives were war heroes and it seems they were represented in every war.”
There are bits of history Robert D. Cathcart has sent regarding the Scottish end, to which family we may or may not be attached, which is interesting. “Cathcart” is derived from “caeth’ which is a straight or narrows, and “cart” from the river Cart where the Cathcart family lived in Scotland. A suburb of Glasgow is named Cathcart. A Cathcart castle (only one tower remains) is now a part of a state park near Glasgow. [Linn Park]
The most interesting phase of family history to me is the reason for migration from one country to another, from one section of the United States to another. We can only guess at the contributing factors. With today’s ease of transportation and communication, cross-country and round the world treks do not require the fortitude that must have been present in the 1600 or 1700's when an ocean or a wilderness crossing meant a final goodbye to family and security of a sort.
The settling of America was, history tells us, done large by those who desired religious freedom, to escape from persecution, imprisonment, or military service, and of course, there was then as now, the itchy foot of the adventurous.
Upon their arrival, those who settled in the original colonies often failed to find the religious freedom they sought unless they chose of one of their own particular sect. It was to be nearly two centuries later when there was written in the constitution of the United States the basic principle of freedom of religion. Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, and the southern colonies were the more tolerant and even there it was quite customary to push the non conformists to the outer edge.
In the later 1600s, England began demanding religious conformity to the Church of England from the people of Scotland. It was something many of the stubborn Scots would not give, and migration to Northern Ireland began. The Scots retained their national individuality and remained Scots-living-in-Ireland, and did not mingle with the Irish, either in religion, customs, or intermarriage. Thus the term Scotch-Irish is a misnomer. The Irish only indicates a term of residence in most instances rather than a blending of nationalities. Another common example is German-Austrians, or German-Russians, the added name largely indicates a term of exile rather than an absorption into the new land.
The older and wealthier colonists tended to settle close to the coast, along the tidewaters, largely because of the ease of transportation where the rivers took the place of non existent roads. Above the fall line of the rives came the middle class economic-wise, and the newer or the poorer colonists were pushed to the high plains at the base of the mountains. Here they acted as a buffer between the Indians and the coastal settlements. Many of these plains were fertile and well watered, and desirable communities were developed. As populations grew on the coastal areas, those settlers expanded inland, and the fringe areas in turn crossed the Appalachian Mountains, and eventually for much the same reasons, continued further west. It seems unfair that much of the same group did most of the pioneer ground work but rather than land deeds, most had only squatter’s rights.
An internet search yielded this picture. The Cathcart Castle is just outside of Glasgow in what is now Linn Park. This is a postcard from 1913. The cottages were taken down when the local authority took it over in 1927 but the tower is still there.
http://www.theglasgowstory.com/image.php?inum=TGSA00606
Deb Ciroli says that her mother believes this to be the Cathcart Plaid. It is not, however, a registered trademark.
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Copyright 2007 June Clover Byrne
Page last updated 28 September 2009
Contact me at junebyr@yahoo.com