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Hi again, understanding those early TN Casteels is an ambitious goal. I’ve been working on it for a few years now and still can’t put it all together. However, I’m a lot further along than when I started. Here’s a sketch of what I’ve been able to put together -
The earliest Casteel settlements in Tennessee that I know of were in Greene County, where Casteels are mentioned in that first 1783 tax list [http://www.rootsweb.com/~tngreene/tax001.htm]. Listed in that year were a John Casteel, a John Casteel Jr., and a William Casteel. My inclination is to see this as a father John and two sons – John Jr. and William (more support for this later). I believe the older of these two Johns is the John Casteel Sr. who purchased 311 acres in Greene County on Puncheons Camp Creek (NC Grant #308) on Sep 20, 1787 (Greene DB G, p. 97).
Not included on this 1783 tax list but still in Greene County very early were a Zachariah Casteel, who is named on a road crew for the area around Puncheons Camp Creek in May, 1786, and a Francis Casteel, who was sued (successfully) by a Jacob Carter on Aug 22, 1784 (Green County Court Minutes, p.22). While Francis isn’t specifically located around Puncheons Camp Creek in this reference, the Jacob Carter definitely lived there.
So, what we appear to have is three nuclear Casteel families who show up in the same part of Greene County at around the same time (though John may have come first). Of these three families, Zachariah and Francis are relatively easy – they both left wills naming their children. However, trying to figure out the family of John Sr. is a nightmare. I’ll do Zachariah and Francis first:
Zachariah stayed in Greene County until his death in 1821, where his will has probated. He shows up in several Greene County records such as tax lists and for jury duty. Children of Zachariah and Elizabeth:
1.John was born c1770 in PA (taken from 1850 Greene census). He appears to have remained in Greene County his whole life. I believe this is the John Casteel mentioned on the 1805 Greene tax list, some court records of the 1820’s, a land grant from 1837, and the 1840 & 1850 census.
2.Peter was born sometime during the 1770’s, married to Susanna Richardson on May 8, 1800. He also appears to have remained in Greene County his whole life, where he died in 1833. His will names his children:
3.Jeremiah was born c1786 in TN (taken from 1850 Greene census) and was married Feb 17, 1813 to Susanna Jones. He also appears to have spent his life in Greene County.
4.Rachel (m: 02/17/1798 in Greene Co. to Zachariah Melone)
5.Naomi (m: 12/30/1797 in Greene Co. to Abner Ayers/Acres)
6.Marjey (m: 08/08/1800 in Greene Co. to John Melone)
7.Ruth (m: Brown)
8.Mary
9.Margaret (*m: 10/09/1821 in Washington Co. to Edward Malon)
Francis probably settled first in Greene County with John and Zachariah, but by 1792 had crossed the French Broad and settled in Knox County. In a 1792 deed Francis is described as a former inhabitant of Greene County, when he buys some land from Joseph Carter. When Francis sells this land in 1796 he is referred to as a resident of Knox County. He is mentioned in several Knox County records, including the 1830 census which shows he was 70-80 years old. He died in 1833, and probated a will in Knox County. Children of Francis and Mary:
1.Abraham
2.Isaac
3.Jacob [b: 1797 in Knox Co., TN; m: 1818 Madison Co., IL to Sarah Nowlin; d: May 1860 San Bernandino, CA]
4.Elijah
5.Rebecca
6.Mary
7.Charity
So that leaves us with the family of John Casteel Sr. I’ve worked under the assumption that the other John mentioned in the 1783 tax list was his son, and the William may also have been. I also think this may be the same John who had a son Henry back in 1765 in Prince Georges County, MD (however I’ve found no mention of this Henry anywhere). Anyway, this John Sr. lived for a while in Greene County, where in 1792 he sold part of his original land grant. By 1796, John had left Greene County and settled in Blount County. In that year John Sr. (now specified as of Blount County) sold the remainder of his grant on Puncheons Camp Creek. Over the next several years several John Casteel’s are called for jury duty in Blount County, but I don’t know if they were all John Sr. or whether his son John Jr. could account for some of these. I do know that John Jr. married a girl named Jemima and moved to St. Francis County, AR during the 1820’s. I believe that John Sr. could have had several more sons and that many of the mystery men we can’t place may be sons of his. For example, there is an Edward/Edmund Casteel that performed jury duty in Blount County going all the way back to 1795 that could have been one of John Sr’s sons….
OK, I know that’s not everyone, but it’s a good way to get started. So where did these guys come from? I believe a very strong case can be made that each of these men – John Sr., Zachariah, and Francis came from Washington County, PA, which is a story for another day. However, I will say that I believe they all came originally from Prince Georges County, MD and are descendents of Edmund du Chastal.
What do you think?
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