Marty and Karla Grant
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James Cathey (1740-1820s) and Isabella Sloan (1742-1837) of NC (Rowan, Ireland)
[Cathey Home] - [Table of Contents] - James Cathey (c1740-1801)
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James Cathey is my 1st cousin, 8 times removed.
Special thanks to Boyt H. Cathey (1927-2011) (referred to herein as BHC). His book Cathey Family History And Genealogy Volume I 1700-1900, 1993 has proven very helpful. Various articles and studies published in the Cathey Reunion Newsletters (1951-2009) were also quite helpful with various branches of the Cathey family, though not with this one, unfortunately.
Refer to this page for quick outline of the various 18th century James Catheys.
James Cathey was born 1 Aug 1740, though the source for that date isn’t known. We don’t know where he was born. His father John was in Augusta Co., VA by 1744, but may have been elsewhere in 1740, possibly Ireland or Pennsylvania. James was almost certainly named for his paternal grandfather James Cathey.
James (1740) is a proven child of John Cathey and Jean as named in John’s 1764 Will wherein he named his as “My eldest son James” and left him one half of “my land whereon I now live.”
James would have gone to Rowan Co., NC with his parents ca 1751.
James Cathey and his brother Hugh are listed with their widowed mother Jane Cathey on the 1768 Rowan Co., NC tax list. James would have been 28 then.
On 14 Feb 1770, James Cathey obtained a marriage bond in Rowan Co., NC to marry Isabel Sloan. Archibald Sloan and Robert Gordon were the bondsmen. Isabel Sloan was born 10 Jul 1742 (original source for date unknown). BHC lists her as a child of Archibald Sloan (c1719-c1788) and Margaret (—). The marriage bond listed her as “Isabell” but at least one other record shows her as Isabella.
James Cathey would have been 29 at the time of his marriage which is rather late in life to marry for the first time, but not unheard of.
On 7 Mar 1771, James Cathey and wife Isabella of Rowan sold 340 acres to Moses Linster for L122. This was part of the 687 acre grant to John Cathey that he willed to James Cathey in his 1764 Will. (“half of his land”). It was described as on the Popplar Branch of Grants Creek. James and Isabella signed the deed. Witnesses were Samuel Young and Benjamin Robison. (Rowan Co., NC Deed Book 7, p. 305).
There were two James Catheys listed on the 1778 Rowan Co., NC Tax list. One was in Cpt Brandon’s district (probably Alexander’s son), the other in Cpt. Morrison’s district. I believe the second one is our James. He was the only Cathey in that district. (Thanks to Kyle Wear for finding these records.)
The 1782 tax list, which is incomplete, shows only one James Cathey which is probably Alexander’s son and not John’s son. (Thanks to Kyle Wear for finding these records.)
Iredell County was formed from western Rowan in 1788. James and Isabella either moved to that area around then or already lived in that section. It’s entirely possible they lived in the western most part of Iredell in the section that later became Alexander County in 1847 for that’s where we find their daughter Isabella on the 1850 census.
I checked the Iredell County deeds (1788-1850) and found no record for either James or Isabel(la) there, nor any land grants in their names. Margaret and Agnes Cathey entered land in 1794 that had originally been entered by William McCleary transferred to James Cathey, who apparently transferred it to those two, presumably his daughters. According to the 1800 tax list (see below), James had 50 acres. Where did he get it?
James Cathey is listed on the 1790 census in Iredell Co., NC. His was the only Cathey household in that county. The census was alphabetical so we can’t determine who his neighbors might have been.
1790 Census, Iredell Co., NC
Pg |
Name |
Males 16+ |
Males under 16 |
Females |
Others |
Slaves |
395 |
1 |
1 |
5 |
- |
- |
My analysis (who each person *might* be)
1m 16+ (before 1790) James Cathey (1740)
1m -16 (1774/1790) James Cathey (1784/1790) son
5f (before 1790) 1. Isabel Sloan Cathey (1742) wife
2. Margaret Cathey
3. Agnes Cathey
4. Daughter?
5. Isabella Cathey (1785)
They are in Iredell for the 1800 census, again alphabetical.
1800 Census - Iredell County, North Carolina
Page |
Name |
M0-9
|
M10-15
|
M16-25
|
M26-44
|
M45+
|
F0-9
|
F10-15
|
F16-25
|
F26-44
|
F45+
|
FPC
|
Slaves
|
609 |
James Cathey |
~ |
1 |
~ |
~ |
1 |
1 |
~ |
3 |
~ |
1 |
~ |
~ |
My analysis (who each person *might* be)
1m 45+ (before 1755) James Cathey (1740)
1m 10-15 (1784/1790) James Cathey (1784/1790) son
1f 45+ (before 1755) Isabel Sloan Cathey (1742) wife
3f 16-25 (1774/1784) 1. Margaret Cathey daughter
2. Agnes Cathey
3. Isabella Cathey (c1785) daughter
1f 0-9 (1790/1800) Jincy Cathey (c1798) d/o Agnes?
James Cathey is on the 1800 land tax list in Iredell with 50 acres. No description is given. Margaret Cathey is also listed. She has 150 acres. This would be the land entered in 1794, granted in 1800.
There are many who show that James Cathey died in 1801. However, he continues to appear on the census records for a few years, so perhaps it was James Jr who died in 1801? I don’t yet know the source for this date. Perhaps it’s in the Iredell court records?
They are on the 1810 census in Iredell, again alphabetically.
1810 Census - Iredell County, North Carolina
Page |
Name |
M0-9
|
M10-15
|
M16-25
|
M26-44
|
M45+
|
F0-9
|
F10-15
|
F16-25
|
F26-44
|
F45+
|
FPC
|
Slaves
|
168 |
James Cathy |
1 |
~ |
~ |
~ |
1 |
~ |
1 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
~ |
~ |
My analysis (who each person *might* be)
1m 45+ (before 1765) James Cathey (1740)
1m 0-9 (1800/1810) Silas M. Cathey (1800/10) s/o Agnes?
1f 45+ (before 1765) Isabel Sloan Cathey (1742) wife
1f 25-44 (1765/1784) Margaret Cathey daughter
2f 16-25 (1784/1794) 1. Agnes Cathey daughter
2. Isabella Cathey (c1785) daughter
1f 10-15 (1794/1800) Jincy Cathey (c1798) d/o Agnes?
James is listed on the 1820 census in Iredell, again the only Cathey household in that county, and again alphabetically.
1820 Census - Iredell County, North Carolina
Page |
Name |
M0-9
|
M10-15
|
M16-17
|
M16-25
|
M26-44
|
M45+
|
F0-9
|
F10-15
|
F16-25
|
F26-44
|
F45+
|
9/237 |
James Cathey |
1 |
~ |
~ |
~ |
~ |
1 |
~ |
1 |
1 |
~ |
1 |
My analysis (who each person *might* be)
1m 45+ (before 1775) James Cathey (1740)
1m 0-9 (1810/1820) Azel Cathey Sharpe (1810) s/o Isabella
1f 45+ (before 1775) Isabel Sloan Cathey (1742) wife
1f 16-25 (1794/1804) Daughter? Isabella Cathey (c1785) age is off
1f 10-15 (1804/1810) Granddaughter?
James Cathey apparently died in the 1820s in Iredell. He would have been in his 70s. There is an online tree that lists his death on 28 Jun 1829. That works, but what is the source for it?
His daughter Isabella is listed as head of household on the 1830 census. It appears that her mother Isabel is with her. There is a “B” in front of her mark in the 90s column (she should have been in the 80s column, though). On the next page, one household member is listed as blind, so that must be Isabel and the explanation for the “B” next to her number.
1830 Census - Iredell County, North Carolina
Page |
Name (Males first row, females on second) |
0-4
|
5-9
|
10-14
|
15-19
|
20-29
|
30-39
|
40-49
|
50-59
|
60-69
|
70-79
|
80-89
|
90-99
|
100+
|
42-44 |
Isabella Cathey |
~ |
~ |
~ |
~ |
1 |
~ |
~ |
~ |
~ |
~ |
~ |
~ |
~ |
|
|
~ |
~ |
~ |
~ |
~ |
1 |
1 |
~ |
~ |
~ |
~ |
1 |
~ |
My analysis (who each person *might* be)
1m 20-29 (1800/1810) Azel Cathey Sharpe (1810) son
1f 90-99 (1730/1740) Isabel Sloan Cathey (1742) mother
1f 40-49 (1780/1790) Isabella Cathey (c1785) daughter
1f 30-39 (1790/1800) Sister? Daughter-in-law?
Isabel Sloan Cathey died on 19 Sep 1837 in Iredell Co., NC. I don’t know the source for that date. She was 95.
James and Isabel Cathey have five children, but I don’t yet know the proof for any of them. Margaret and Agnes both had a land entry dated 1794 which was transferred from William McCreary to James Cathey. It didn’t state how they got it from James, but it does connect them to him.
1. Mary Cathey born ca 1770/1774. I don’t what evidence there is for it, but she is listed by BHC as married to George Gordon. I found two contemporary men of that name in Iredell Co., NC, relationship to each other unknown. Only one was on the 1790 census there, but there were two in 1800 and 1810, and just one in 1820. I believe Mary’s husband was the one born ca 1750/1760 who moved to Jennings Co., IN ca 1820 where he may have died in the 1840s. I suspect Mary was his 2nd wife, and that she predeceased him and he married again after her. I can’t be certain of any of that. I read the George Gordon deeds in Iredell Co., NC and none of them were helpful, though one of the Georges had a wife named “Flery” per the signature on one of the deeds. I double checked to make sure that wasn’t an oddly written “Mary” but it wasn’t. BHC lists George and Mary with quite a few children, though I suspect many of those are by other wives. I do think these are hers: George (c1796) (married Jincy Cathey), William (c1798), James (1794/1804-1820/25) and Nancy (c1802) who married Silas M. Cathey (see Agnes below). More research is needed on the Gordon family. When did Mary and George marry? I think by ca 1795. When did she die? Was it Iredell Co., NC or after the move to Indiana?
2. Margaret Cathey (d aft 1810). I have no information on her at all. She is listed by BHC a as child of James and Isabella with no other data or any proof for including her. Census analysis of James’s family suggests she was still at home until after 1810.
3. Nancy Agnes Cathey was born ca 1776. First, her name is listed as “Agnes” on a 1794 land entry where she and sister Margaret entered land in Iredell Co., NC. That is the last record I’ve found in that name other than when the land was granted to them in 1800. Next, it should be noted that the names “Agnes” and “Nancy” were often used interchangeably in those days. This leads me to believe that Agnes is the same person as Nancy Cathey who is found on the 1850 census in Ripley Co., IN with daughter Jincy Cathey Gordon (c1798 NC) wife of George Gordon. Others have assumed that this Nancy is a widow of some Cathey who died before 1850, and that could be true but I’ve not seen any evidence of who she could have been married to. (Someone let me know if there is such evidence.) I think Agnes is also the mother of Silas M. Cathey (1800/10) who married Nancy Gordon (c1802 NC) sister of George who married Jincy Cathey. Note that George and Nancy Gordon are supposedly children of George Gordon and Mary Cathey, Agnes’s sister. That would make Jincy and Silas Cathey first cousins to their Gordon spouses. More research is needed to determine if in fact, Agnes Cathey and Nancy Cathey are the same person as I’ve theorized here.
4. Isabella Cathey was born ca 1784/85 in Rowan Co., NC probably in the part that became Iredell in 1788. She seems to be home with her parents for the 1790, 1800 and 1810 censuses. On 23 Nov 1810 she gave birth to a son named Azel Cathey Sharpe, supposedly born out of wedlock with her first cousin Azel Sharpe (Isabella and Azel shared the same Sloan grandparents). I don’t know what the proof of this relationship is, but her son did use the Sharpe surname instead of Cathey, so the senior Azel must have legally acknowledged him as his own son. Either that or he and Isabella were in fact married but later divorced and she went back to her maiden name. Either scenario could explain the situation because legally speaking, an out of wedlock child had to take his mother’s legal surname at the time of his birth. The only way he could take his father’s surname was if the father officially acknowledged he was the father or if he married the mother. The issue might be that Azel Sharpe was already married at the time. I’m not sure of that. However, he was head of household in Iredell Co., NC on the 1810, 1820, 1830 and 1840 censuses. That last year, his father Joseph Sharpe, 88 was living with him. We know that because he was listed by name being a Revolutionary War Pensioner. Azel Sharpe, 66 and an apparent wife Martha, 59, are residing with the A. R. and Caroline Laurence family on the 1850 census in Iredell. Caroline was born ca 1811. She could be Azel’s daughter, though I don’t know that for certain.
Isabella Cathey meanwhile, didn’t seem to be listed on the 1820 census with her parents. She was head of household in 1830 though, with her now blind mother living with her. By 1840 she seems to be with her son Azel Sharpe Jr in Iredell Co., NC. They were in Alexander Co., NC in 1850 (formed from Iredell in 1847). She was listed as Isabella Cathey, 65. She apparently died 10 Dec 1858 though I don’t know the source for that date. She might be buried at the Hiddenite Cemetery where her son is buried.
5. James Cathey was born ca 1784/1790 per census analysis. He seems to be with his parents for the 1790 and 1800 censuses, but is gone after that. He may have died in 1801 for that is the year his father is often listed as having died. However, there is the distinct possibility it was James Jr who died that year instead since James Sr seems to be still living as late as the 1820s. It would help if we knew the source for the 1801 date.
For Family Group Sheet and other notes see my database pages for James and Isabel Cathey.
Revised: October 4, 2023
Copyright © 1996-2023 Marvin A. Grant, Jr. All Rights Reserved.
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