Marty and Karla Grant
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Shenandoah River Catheys
[Cathey Home] - [Table of Contents] - Shenandoah River Catheys
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The Shenandoah River begins where the North Fork and South Fork join at Front Royal, Virginia. It then flows north easterly eventually joining the Potomac at Harper’s Ferry, Virginia.
The river, including the North and South Forks, flows through several modern counties. However, at the time the first Catheys arrived in the Shenandoah Valley, it was almost entirely within Orange County (formed 1734 from Spotsylvania).
James Cathey and his family as well as a sibling or two lived upon land near present day Staunton, Virginia in Augusta County. Augusta was created in 1738 from Orange, but didn’t become effective until 1745. They lived near what is now known as Middle River but was then known as Cathey’s River (or Creek), named for him. James had land surveyed in 1738. That same year his son William Cathey purchased 466 acres from William Beverley within“Beverley Manor.” His land was in the general vicinity of the modern communities of Swoope and Trimbles Mill which is south east of Staunton. I believe James lived north east of Staunton, though I’m not certain of that.
In 1740, James Cathey registered with the Orange Co., VA for the purposes of establishing a headright grant. He stated that he imported his wife Ann and children William, Elizabeth, Andrew, George, Margaret and Ann from Ireland into Philadelphia, then into this colony (Virginia). This record establishes James’s family fairly well. He left out that they spent a little time in Maryland, but it wasn’t necessary for him to report that.
There are baptism records in Augusta in the 1740s for children of Andrew Cathey (William-1741, Mary 1742, James-1745 and Margaret-1746), John Cathey (Jean-1744), George Cathey (Ann-1743, Margaret-1744, James-1746 and George-1747).
Around 1748 James Cathey moved his family to the frontier of North Carolina. His sons John and William remained in Virginia a short while, William dying there unmarried shortly after this. In 1751 John, as his eldest surviving brother, sold his land. John stated in the deed he was about to move to North Carolina himself, and he did just afterwards.
(See James Cathey’s page for more on him and his family.)
When John Cathey moved to NC in 1751, there were still some family members left in Virginia. Sarah Cathey Givens Allen (c1701-c1765), generally thought to be James Cathey’s sister, was still there. Her first husband, Samuel Givens, died in 1740. She married Robert Allen ca 1744 and they remained in Virginia, though they moved up the Shenandoah to what was then Frederick Co., VA before her death in the 1760s.
Frederick, like Augusta, was formed in 1738 from Orange. It became effective in 1743.
Charles McDowell (c1688-1754) and wife Rachel Cathey (c1690-aft 1754) were also in Frederick during the 1740s, though they moved to NC in the early 1750s, perhaps at the same time as John Cathey.
We don’t know who it was precisely, but one or more other Cathey’s were also in Virginia in the 1750s and 1760s. There were several Cathey children born in that time period in the Frederick/Shenandoah County region that are generally associated with each other, thus the likelihood they are all siblings or at least 1st cousins. To date their parents have not been positively identified, though I suspect the John Cathey found on the 1748 Lunenburg Co., VA tax list might be the one, or at least the father of some of them. I can’t prove that of course. There was also a William Cathey on that tax list, but I think he also went to NC.
John Cathey and William Cathey are listed on the 1748 tax list in Lunenburg Co., VA just six entries from one another. There was a Robert Allen listed in the same district with them, but I don’t know if that is Sarah Cathey Givens Allen’s husband of that name or a different man.
Lunenburg, at that time, was a very large county and actually bordered Augusta on it’s western end. It’s impossible to say which part of the county William and John lived in. However, they were in Cpt. Phelps District which was described as covering the area “from the Falling River to the extent of the county upwards.” That means they could have been in present day Bedford (formed 1753/54 from western Lunenburg) or present day Campbell formed 1781/82 from Bedford. Botetourt County was formed from Augusta in 1769 and bordered western Bedford, so it’s possible the Catheys lived very near Botetourt if they were that far west in old Lunenburg in 1748.
Neither William or John are listed on the 1749 or subsequent Lunenburg tax lists. I think that William joined his kin in North Carolina around that time, whereas John remained in Virginia, but moved to the Shenandoah River in what was then either Augusta or Frederick Co., VA (now Shenandoah County). John, as far as I can tell, was the only Cathey to remain in Virginia, though it is possible he made a foray into NC as well, but was back in Virginia before too long.
John Cathey married someone, name unknown, perhaps before 1748 or at least by ca 1750. Although none of his children are proven, I think he’s a good candidate to be the father of those Catheys born ca 1750 through ca 1762.
Some researchers speak of a William Cathey and wife Elizabeth (perhaps Blair) as the parents of some of the Shenandoah Catheys. This could be correct, but I’ve found no record for this William Cathey in the region unless he’s the one from the 1748 tax list. That could be him of course, but it would help if I knew where they got his name from and the name of his wife Elizabeth. I have yet to see any records at all for them.
There was a William Cathey in Shenandoah Co., VA in the 1770s, but he is positively identified as my ancestor William Cathey (c1750/54-1812) who married Rebecca Holeman. See their page for more on them. He is the same age as the other Catheys of that area, so certainly not their father, but definitely related as the records prove.
John Cathey didn’t leave many records as far as I’ve been able to find. The next record found for him after the 1748 tax list was a court record dated 1773.
On 23 Nov 1773, Henry Cathey and John Cathey were both jurors of the Dunmore (now Shenandoah) Court and sat for several cases.
p. 250 23 Nov 1773. Thomas Allen, Foreman, Cuthbert Harrison, Henry Farvell, William Wood, Abraham Denton, Valentine Smith, Reubin Paget Sr, Henry Cathey, John Cathey, Joseph Baker, Joseph Hopewell, William Thomas, William Nelson, Darby McCarty, Reubin Paget, Junr and Henry Nelson, Jun. were sworn a Grand Jury of inquest of this county ... made presentments against John McDonald for retailing liquors ... against Adam Cunningham for same (and many others, various charges).
Shenandoah Co., VA Order Book 1771-1774, p. 250
Also published version abstracted by Amelia C. Gilreath, 1986, p. 166
Upon reading more of the transcribed court records I discovered there was a reference to John and Henry Calfee that same year, as well as several other references to John Calfee and a William Calfee, the latter sometimes spelled Calfey. That made me concerned that the jury duty record I found was actually for members of that family and not Catheys and was transcribed wrong. However, I found the original court order book at FamilySearch.org and read it for myself. It very clearly lists Henry Cathey and John Cathey as the jurors. If this is an error, it was made in 1773 by the clerk who recorded it. Thus, I’m concluding it’s not a transcription error and that the jurors really were Catheys. There is room for doubt though. I don’t believe there is anyway to prove it one way or the other. However, if this is really a John Calfee, then that means we have no records of a John Cathey in the region other than the 1748 tax list, which isn’t actually in the region.
That is the last record I’ve seen for John Cathey which means he died shortly after 1773 or left for parts unknown.
There are records for a John Carthrae in neighboring Rockingham Co., VA in the late 1700s. He was there through 1820 at least. His wife was Mary or Molly. They had a son named John Carthrae “Jr” (b. 1760s) who had a wife Sophia. They were in Rockingham through the 1840s. Their names were always listed as Carthrae or some variant spelling of that except for one instance where both John Sr and Jr were listed as Cathey on the 1787 tax list which is the only reason I mention them here. I don’t think Carthrae is an alternate version of Cathey, though I have seen actual Catheys listed as Carthey or Cartha or similar. My point is that I don’t believe John Carthrae of Rockingham is related to the Cathey family. I could be wrong of course. I also don’t believe there is any connection to the Calfee family.
I found an interesting notation on a document from many years later that might be relevant. It is i the Virginia Chancery Court case of William Cathey vs Charles Brown, etc. which was filed ca 1812. The case involves William Cathey, who is one of those Catheys I suspect is a son of the John Cathey we’re studying here. William married Margaret, widow of Jacob Holeman in 1784 in Shenandoah, and as such took in some of her children. The case names the heirs of Jacob and Margaret, so that is very helpful for Holeman research (though they are also proven elsewhere), but very little is given on the Catheys except for one interesting tidbit. It is stated in an affidavit by Charles Brown, the defendant, that in 1799, John Cathey Jr, son of William, overtook Charles Brown near the Kentucky state line in order to stop him from selling slaves that were the subject of the lawsuit. The interesting part, for our purposes, is that John was listed as John Cathey Jr. several times throughout the statement. Why was he listed as Jr? Was it possible that William’s father John was still alive in 1799 and thus his own son needed the “Jr” added to distinguish the two men?
Or, if it wasn’t William’s father, then who was the older John Cathey that necessitated the need for William’s son to be listed as Jr? Normally no one bothered with suffixes like that if the two men of the same name didn’t live in the same county. William Cathey was a resident of Kanawha Co., VA (now WV) when the case was made, so was there an older John Cathey there with him? I’ve checked the tax lists for that county and there were no Catheys at all there in 1792, 1793 and 1796. There are no tax lists for 1799 unfortunately. In 1801, William was listed and also in 1802 and in 1807. In 1807 there was also a John Cathey listed, but only one, and I’m reasonably sure that is William’s son, not his father. In 1808, that same John sold a house in Charleston to William Baker. He was listed as John H. Cathey on the deed. In those days there was no reason to use a middle initial unless you’re trying to distinguish yourself from someone else with a similar name, though that isn’t always the case.
William Cathey himself signed a deed as a witness in 1796 as William Cathey Jr when he was the only William Cathey in all of Virginia at the time (as far as I’m aware). This may have been force of habit so he wouldn’t be confused with his cousin William Cathey Sr who had been in Shenandoah earlier though gone for about 9 years by that time. This may explain why William’s son John Cathey was listed as a “Jr” even though the elder John was long gone, just to avoid confusion? Then again, if that was the reason, it’s not helping!
My point of course is that John Cathey (bef 1727) might still have been alive as late as 1799 or even 1808. However, lacking any solid evidence, I’m going to stick with him dying sometime after 1773 until we can find something more substantial to prove he was the reason William’s son John H. Cathey was listed as a “Jr” in 1799 and was using a middle initial in 1808.
I have no primary evidence that the following children belong to John Cathey or even that they are all siblings to one another. However, they are all of the same general age group and all lived in the same general area at the same time (with the possible exception of Edward Cathey). That does strongly suggest they are siblings or at least somehow closely related. Whether they were children of John or some other Cathey might never be proven considering these Catheys left us very few records.
I noted earlier that some researchers have assigned a few of these as children of a William Cathey and Elizabeth Blair (maiden name speculative), but I think they are basing that on the 1780s tax lists records that show a William Sr and Jr in the county at the same time. I can certainly understand why they might assume that William Sr is the father of William Jr and some of the other Catheys. However, William “Sr” is my ancestor and was actually a cousin to these other Catheys and about the same age as most of them, though older than John’s son William, who was thus called William “Jr” to distinguish him from his slightly older cousin.
1. Henry Cathey (bef 1752-aft 1779) was listed as a juror in Shenandoah in 1773 along with John Cathey. It’s entirely possible the 1773 record, which clearly lists him as a Cathey, meant to say Calfee instead, for there is also a John and Henry Calfee in the area at this time who appeared in many records. There is a 1779 court record where the court appointed someone to replace Henry Cathey as overseer of a road. I never found a record of Henry Cathey being appointed in the first place, but did see several instances of Henry Calfee being assigned such duties. Unfortunately the road order listing him as Cathey didn’t describe the district so I can’t compare it to those that were assigned to Henry Calfee. However, my gut tells me that the 1779 record is probably for Henry Calfee. I could be wrong of course. The 1773 record is debatable.
2. Elizabeth Cathey (c1752-1819) and Cpt. John Sehorn of VA (Shenandoah) and TN (Jefferson).
3. Edward Cathey (bef 1755-aft 1776). I only have one record for Edward Cathey, which puts him in either Augusta or Botetourt Co., VA in 1776. Augusta bordered Shenandoah at that time, but Botetourt was much further away. It’s possible he isn’t one of the Shenandoah Catheys, but I’m attaching him here pending evidence to the contrary. The record is found in The Preston and Virginia Papers of the Draper Collection of Manuscripts, p. 173.
12 Sep 1776 John Johnson, receipt to Thomas Madison for L3, 15s for linen for Cherokee expedition. Witnessed by Edward Cathey, D.S.
I believe “D.S.” means Deputy Sheriff in this case.
The Cherokee Expedition was in 1776. Col. William Christian commanded the Virginia volunteers. He was born in Augusta Co., VA and resided in Fincastle (Botetourt county seat) in 1776. Thomas Madison (1746-1798) also resided in Botetourt Co., VA in 1776 and was supposedly Sheriff of Augusta Co., VA in 1776 per his wikipedia page. That is probably an error since he was a resident of Botetourt then. Furthermore, he isn’t found on the list of Sheriff’s for Augusta.
Botetourt is in the same general area with the Shenandoah Catheys, but I don’t know if he was one of them.
It seems reasonable to assume that Edward was named for the Edward Cathey who died in Lancaster Co., PA in 1745. Was Edward his father? Grandfather? Uncle?
I haven’t found any other records for Edward Cathey yet. There are no Catheys listed in the Grantor or Grantee indexes of Deeds through 1800 for that county.
4. Archibald Cathey (c1755-1810). I don’t have anything to directly link Archibald to Frederick or Shenandoah Co., VA, however, he was born somewhere in VA and the Shenandoah Catheys were the only Catheys in Virginia at that time (as far as we know) so it seems likely he’s one of them. Archibald is first found in Union Dist., SC in 1776 and in Burke Co., NC a very short time later where George Cathey (c1725-1790) was living. George is a son of James Cathey. See Archibald Cathey’s own page for more on him.
5. George Cathey (Bef 1758-aft 1798) m Christiana Smith. George served in Cpt Jonathan Clark’s Company of the 8th Regiment of Virginia in 1777 for the Revolutionary War. Information is scarce on this family.
6. William Cathey (bef 1762-aft 1826) m Margaret —. Margaret was the widow of Jacob Holeman whose sister Rebecca Holeman married William Cathey “Sr” (1750/54-1812) ca 1772. That made the two William’s brothers-in-law, in-law, as well as 1st cousins. In the 1780s they went by Sr and Jr to distinguish themselves from one another. William and Rebecca returned to NC ca 1788, while William and Margaret remained in Shenandoah until 1796 when they moved to Kanawha Co., VA (now WV). He lived there until 1826, though was missing from a few of the tax lists perhaps having temporarily moved away a few times. He was found in neighboring Cabell Co., VA (now WV) one of those years but not the others.
7. Jacob Cathey is named in a 1771 Frederick Co., VA deed as a neighboring land owner. However, upon studying that deed I determined it didn’t actually say Cathey. He is actually a Cockley, not a Cathey. See his own page for more details.
For Family Group Sheet and other notes see my database pages for The Shenandoah Cathey’s.
Revised: September 23, 2023
Copyright © 1996-2023 Marvin A. Grant, Jr. All Rights Reserved.
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