Chat
|
Daily Search
|
My GenForum
|
Community Standards
|
Terms of Service
|
|
|
I am interested in discussing with others the ambiguities and inconsistencies involved in researching John Haile, son of George Haile and Elizabeth Chaffinch (Chawfinch) of Baltimore County, Maryland, who married Ann Kellam of Somerset County, Maryland, and moved to the Horse Creek area of the Watauga Settlements of (now) uppereast Tennessee approximately 1770. Part of what makes him such an elusive character to nail down is the lack of enough written records from a frontier era. The other has to do with familial confusion. There were just too many John Hailes (virtually all related) in that time period.
I’m still in the middle of my research, but here are some of the common issues I have encountered.
1) Confusion with his cousin John (son of Nicholas Haile and Ann Long) in birth dates, death dates, and military service. September 13, 1743 is frequently listed as John Haile’s (s/o George) birth date, but the records of St. Paul’s Parish indicate that this was Nicholas’ son John’s birth date. St. Paul does not list George’s son John.
2) Confusion with another as yet unidentified (by me at least) John Haile who married a woman by the name of Ruth Mitchell. The identities of these two John Hailes seem to blend and be interchangeable at times in some of the family histories I have read. Yet, I believe these two to be separate individuals. There are different children attributed to each union. John and Ruth are said to have moved to Union, SC where he later died. While John and Ann purchased at least two large tracks of land in what became Jefferson County, and settled in the Bent Creek/Whitesburg area. The descendents of John and Ruth assert their John’s military rank in the Revolutionary War as that of a captain. While the John Haile who married Ann was a private in North Carolina via Watauga and the Washington District, serving at the Battle of Kings Mountain. I have written NARA for his complete military record but it hasn’t arrived yet. Also, the DAR has separate listings for these two John Hailes – see the DAR Patriot Index Centennial Edition.
3) Some documents where John Haile is mentioned by name:
a. The Watauga Petition
b. The Colonial and State Records of North Carolina
c. The Sullivan County Deed Book, Vol 1-2
d. The Bent Creek Baptist Church Records (he was a founding member)
4) Facts without substantiation:
a. Birth date: The two most often cited are 1734 and 1743, but thus far, I have found no record to back up either.
b. Death date: 1798 and 1816 are often cited, but again no proof. Also, no place of burial in Tennessee is listed for John or Ann. (Given John’s affiliation with Bent Creek Church and the number of early-unmarked graves in the cemetery, it could be a likely place of burial.)
c. Marriage: The year of John and Ann’s marriage seems commonly agreed upon as 1765, but not where. Some cite Baltimore, while others cite Tennessee. Tennessee is very unlikely. In searching for possible marriage records in Somerset County, Maryland, I came across an Ann Kellam of the same time period – but she married a Joseph Cord. I wonder how many Ann Kellams lived in Somerset County at this time? Proof of John and Ann’s marriage is hard to come by.
5) John Haile and Ann Kellam are listed together in:
a. The DAR Patriot Index Centennial Edition
b. The First Families of Tennessee
There are more issues involved in researching this particular John Haile, but I think I’ve thrown out the ones that are the more difficult. I look forward to hearing from other Hale/Hail/Haile researchers who have or are working on this subject.
To contact me directly for further discussion, my e-mail address is: stephen.rhodes@comcast.net.
Stephen Rhodes
Notify Administrator about this message?
Followups:
|
| http://genforum.genealogy.com/haile/messages/454.html | ||
 |
Link to GenForum Add Forum |
|