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What we know about James

Changed 3/9/20065; changes are in red.

 

Some facts about James   

·                     Property location, from Mark Phelps, Snow Hill, NC 2006:    James Phelps Land was on the East side of the Country Line Creek in Caswell County just across the Creek from the future Town of Milton, N.C. His property was bordered on the West by the lands of Anne Smith, on the East, by Shadrack Hudson, on the South by Nathaniel Pass Sr. and on the North by the Virginia Line. To the East of Shadrack Hudson were the lands of John Warren, whose daughter Jane married James Phelps' son William. James's son Thomas, married Nathaniel Pass Sr.'s daughter Mary and James Phelps' daughter Lucy married Willis Buckingham Smith, the son or grandson of Anne Smith. Anne Smith acquired her property in the year 1760 from "the Right Honourable John, Earl of Granville by deed bearing date the second day of August in the year of our Lord, One Thousand Seven Hundred and Sixty & registered in the Registers Office in Caswell County aforesaid in Book E Page( blank)”. This passage is from a Deed from James and Anne Reiley (Anne Smith's daughter and son-in-law) of Caswell County, N.C. to William Thomas Sr. of Pittsylvania County, Va., in 1779 (Caswell Co. Deed Book A--Page 115). Ironically, This Deed was witnessed by my 6th Great-Grandfather Andrew Haddock, as well as by Charles and John Boulton. This property consisted of 50 acres "Beginning at Benjamin Merritt's corner White Oak on the Virginia Line, and on the West side Country Line Creek".

William Thomas Sr. of Pittsylvania County, Va. had a son, Asa Thomas who is widely credited as being the Father of Milton, N.C. Quoted from The Caswell County Historical Association's (CCHA) website. " The town of Milton in northeast Caswell County was incorporated in 1796 as a center for warehousing and inspecting tobacco and flour. It was a natural site with a fine location on the Dan River. The property of Asa Thomas was selected. Because the new town was to have been located near the mill owned by Asa Thomas, it naturally was named Milltown or Milton." This mill was originally built by Benjamin Merrit and later sold to Anne Smith. If Asa Thomas was the Father of Milton, N.C., Then Anne Smith was the Grandmother of the town of Milton as it is situated on the land previously owned by her. Below is the transcription of Ane Smith's Will.

 

·                     Date born: Between 1729-1734.  James' eldest son was William (b.1754- d.1824)[1] so James was b. bet. 1729-1736 assuming James was 20-25 years old or more at Williams birth.

 

·                     First recorded appearance in NC was his land entry in 1778: " Land entry #781. James Phelps enters 320 acres of land joining the line of Ann Smith of the Virginia line of the north side of Mill Creek including his improvement.  20th Nov 1778"  It was entered by James and Nathaniel Pass (NC Archive Land Entry Book CR020.404.1)  He was on the 1784 Caswell Tax List - Richmond District 292 Mill Creek 2.    His land grant  of  1779, December 20 was NC #277,  292A on "County Line Creek adj. Province Line of Virginia, Nathaniel Pass and Ann Smith."  (Caswell was formed in 1777.)  Based on later sales of inherited property of Obediah, a son, his land was on or near Mill Creek.      

 

·         Died 4/19/1786. The estate inventory of the January 1787 Caswell court states he was deceased 4-19-1786 Caswell Court Will Book B, p 175.  His will was signed 3/5/1785.  recorded  10/1788.  Was not in the first Caswell census of 1787.

 

·         Married to a Mary, based on his will. Some researchers (probably using the unsourced LDS records) have named Mary Bateman of Perquimans Co, NC or Mary C Bateman as his wife.   The LDS records for the Mary C Bateman marriage show 1765 as the marriage date and a birth of 1735 for James' birth - both of which are quite reasonable.  The other Bateman-Phelps entry shows a marriage of 1786 - clearly invalid.  Perhaps more suggestive is the evidence, presented in "other clues" below, that James came from Anne Arundel Co, MD - where there were Batemans.  But since there is no evidence for this marriage and there is evidence that the Phelps-Bateman marriage has been incorrectly assumed I contend that we cannot assume that Bateman was Mary's last name. In Perquimans Co., NC there was a Mary Bateman who married a Phelps as documented in two Bateman wills of 1750 and 1753, but the James who has been assumed to have married that Mary, died before ours. See Samuel Phelps of Perquimans Co ( Candidates for James' Father )

 

·         Caswell formed in 1777 from Orange.  Orange formed in 1752 from Johnston.  Johnston formed in 1746 from Craven which was formed in 1705.

 

Other clues

 

  • Based on the following items, we know that James had close friends in Halifax and it is very likely that John Phelps of Halifax, d. 1794 or his son, John, proved James' will.

1.    A likely relative to James, Thomas Phelps of Caswell, born 1727, possibly from Wales (see the letter discussed elsewhere), first appeared in Caswell in 1777 on the tax list.

2.    A John Phelps proved James' will in 1788.  He is in the 1782 Halifax VA Heads of Household list - with 7  whites and 9 slaves.  He also is in the 1785 Halifax VA Heads of Household list - with 5  whites. 1 dwelling and 11 other buildings.  A John Phelps is named in a Person Co. sale of an estate of James Farquhar Sen. in the 1814 August court.   A John Fleps was in the 1790 Caswell Census,  St Lawrence District  Series: M637 Roll: 7 Page:.7  

(Based on the extensive genealogy records I now have on the line John Phelps of Halifax Co, VA, d. 1749, and the John Phelps line of Bedford Co, VA d 1772 I feel it is very likely that the John of Halifax was the one who proved James' will.)

3.     William Cromwell, who proved James' will in 1788 is in the 1785 Halifax VA Heads of Household list - with 4 whites. 

4.    Shadrack Hudson, who proved James' will in 1788 is in the 1782 Halifax VA Tax list.

5.    James Williamson also proved James' will.

6.    There were no Phelps listed in the Pittsylvania 1782 Heads of Households or First List of Titheables - 1767.

 

  • William Cromwell, who proved his will, may have come from the Maryland area.  The following is from E R Niles,  ernabode@znet.com :    He was born Abt. 1740 in Anne Arundel Co., Baltimore, MD, and died aft 1796. He was the son of Alexander Cromwell born 1712,  South Patapsco Hundred, Baltimore Co., MD ; died 1790 in Edgecombe, North Carolina ; Wife Sarah Dorsey ; Married April 17, 1733 at Westminster Parish, Anne Arundel, Baltimore MD.   He says this line of Cromwells came over from England to the Baltimore area, drifted south and then north up through the southern part of West VA.   Source: Eugene Niles ernabode@znet.com

 

 

  • William was James' oldest son (see above). Old naming patterns among English was to name the 1st son after the father's father, so perhaps James' father was named William.  Alternatively, since in the early colonies the law gave exclusive right of the eldest son to inherit the father's estate. To ensure that the eldest son inherited it, in the event the father died intestate, the eldest son was generally given the same name as his father, meaning that James’ father might be named James IF James had been the eldest.. The second son was often given the first name of one of his uncles, generally the father's oldest brother.

 

  • Based on nickname conventions, I have decided to give James' daughters a possible proper name.  Therefore, the names in the will of Betty, Patty, and Lucy may well be Elizabeth, Martha and Lucinda, respectively.

 

·         James' mother is with him in 3/1785, based on his will. Old naming patterns among English was to name the 2nd daughter after the father's mother, so perhaps James' mother was named either Betty (a nickname for Elizabeth), Patty (a nickname for Martha) or Lucy (a nickname for Lucinda).   Alternatively, in the early colonies, women's names follow the same practices as men's names, but generally follow the maternal line: The eldest daughter is often named for her maternal grandmother.

 

·         Since James' mother was with him at his death, it would seem that he was born in America.  Otherwise, his aging mother would have had to make the arduous voyage to America.

 

  • Thomas Phelps, Sr (son of James) likely was James’ fourth son. Often the fourth son was named after the father’s oldest brother.[2]  So perhaps the older Thomas Phelps living in Caswell was James’ brother.

 

  • Thomas Phelps (abt 1767-1849) of Caswell/Person counties, son of James Phelps (Caswell Co) sold two properties in Caswell County NC to an Isham Phelps (b.1790-1793) of Halifax Co, VA - 1831 & 1832. Isham moved to Caswell by 1840. James' land grant was near the Va border of Halifax County, Va, so perhaps James Phelps was from Halifax county, Va.

 

·         Since William was born in 1754 (see above) when James was at least 20 then we should look for adult records of James between 1754 and 1779 and of William between 1774 and 1779.  James should have married around 1753.

 

 


[1] Based on Caswell census records of 1810 and 1820 for William and that William Phelps died in Caswell in 1824 at age 70 as reported by the Raleigh Star. He was a Rev. War veteran.

[2] See D Phelps’ age deductions based on census and other data.