Marty and Karla Grant
[Home] [What’s New?] [Books for Sale] [Christian] [Genealogy] [Search] [Support] [About] [Contact]
George Genealogy - VA, NC, TN and more
Welcome to my George genealogy pages. I am interested in the George surname in Virginia, North Carolina and Tennessee. My own ancestors came from Virginia into eastern Tennessee, then into western North Carolina. I am interested in all Georges in the states above to some extent.
As of the 2000 census, George was 227th most popular surname in the United States. By 2010 it had dropped to 235th. The 2020 data is not yet available.
I have written and published a two volume history of my George family which is available for purchase from this link.
I had the distinct honor of knowing many of my George kin, including my grandmother, Luella George (1924-1990) who was born and raised in Cherokee Co., NC. She married Garland S. Grant (1922-2000) in 1941. They lived in 40 (!) different places over the next 50 years, though always in the south. They are both buried at Red Marble Baptist Church Cemetery in Topton, Cherokee Co., NC. Luella was a daughter of:
Charles Noten George, born 1890 in Graham Co., NC. He was named for his great grandfather, Charles Noden George (1791-1869). He married 1st in 1914 to Nora Modenia Nichols, which marriage was quickly annulled, then 2nd in 1918 to Della Christmas Wright Conley, a young widow, her 1st husband, Albert Conley, having been killed in a train accident 4 years earlier. Noten and Della made their home in Cherokee Co., NC at Topton where he died in 1952. She remained there until in her 80s, spending her last days at a nursing home in Blue Ridge, Fannin Co., GA where she died. They are both buried at Red Marble Baptist Church Cemetery in Topton, Cherokee Co., NC. Noten was a son of:
Thomas Jefferson George, born 1862 in Cherokee (now Graham) Co., NC. He wasn’t only named after President Thomas Jefferson, but also after his uncles Jefferson George (1836-1887) and Thomas Hensley (1847-1854). Jeff married Sarah Elvira Carpenter in Graham Co., NC in 1882. She died there in 1939, and he in 1945. They are buried at Cheoah Church Cemetery, more commonly known as Old Mother Church. T. J. George was a son of:
Lafayette George, born 1830 in Blount Co., TN, named for General Lafayette, of Revolutionary War fame. Lafayette (also known as “Fate”) married Rachel Burnette Hensley in 1851 in Monroe Co., TN. They soon moved to what was then Cherokee Co., NC but is now Graham County where they remained. Lafayette, serving as a Lieutenant during the Civil War, died from injuries sustained at the Battle of Winchester, Virginia in 1864 and is buried somewhere in that area. Rachel Hensley George remained a widow until 1873 when she married James C. Cooper (1814-1904) in Graham Co., NC. She died in 1909 and is buried beside her 2nd husband at the Old Mother Cemetery in Robbinsville, Graham Co., NC. Lafayette George is a son of:
Charles Noden George, born 1791 in Sullivan Co., TN. He was named for his great uncle, Charles Noden (c1722-1765). Noden George married Celia Smith in 1816 in Carter Co., TN where they lived a few years before moving to Blount Co., TN, then later to Monroe Co., TN, then finally to Cherokee (now Graham) Co., NC. Noden George served in the War of 1812 with Andrew Jackson as his quartermaster. Even though he was 70 years old he enlisted for the Civil War as a sergeant in 1861! He was discharged a year later for disability. He died in Cherokee (now Graham) Co., NC in 1869. He was buried near his house on Tulula Creek. The house has since been moved away, but his grave remains. His widow remained there awhile, but eventually moved to Cherokee Co., NC and resided with her son Jefferson George until she died in 1885. She is buried at Peachtree Memorial Baptist Church near Murphy. Charles Noden George is a son of:
James Jordan George, born 1761 in Caroline Co., VA. James was named after his father James George, and his grandmother, Mary Jordan. James J. spent his first few years in Caroline Co., VA, but soon moved south to Pittsylvania Co., VA with his parents where he remained until ca 1788 when he moved west to Sullivan Co., TN where he married Elizabeth Pemberton. Elizabeth bore him seven children then died in 1802. He married a 2nd time in 1805 to Nancy Dugger with whom he had eight children. James Jordan George died in 1824 in Sullivan Co., TN. His 2nd wife, Nancy, died in 1835 either in Sullivan or Carter Co., TN. James Jordan George is a son of:
James George, born ca 1734 in Essex Co., VA. James went to Caroline Co., VA with his parents while still young. He married Elizabeth Noden there ca 1758. They remained there until the late 1760s when they moved to Pittsylvania Co., VA. James died in 1799 and Elizabeth ca 1802. They had five children. James George is a son of:
John George, born 1704 in Middlesex Co., VA. John married Mary Jordan ca 1724 in Essex Co., VA. They lived in Caroline Co., VA the remainder of their lives having ten children before her death ca 1750/1755. John married a 2nd time to Ursula Dudley with whom he had three children. In an unusual event for their time, John and Ursula divorced in the 1770s. He died in Caroline in 1784. Ursula there in 1799. John George is a son of:
Robert George, born 1666 in Isle of Wight Co., VA. Robert married widow Sarah (—) Elliott in 1687 in Middlesex Co., VA. We have not been able to determine her maiden name. Her first husband was Thomas Elliott. She had one child with Mr. Elliott, and eight with Mr. George. Robert George died in Middlesex in 1734, and Sarah just a few months later the same year. Robert George is a son of:
Isaac George, born 1635 in Charles City Co., VA. Isaac married Hester Fawdon ca 1654 in Isle of Wight Co., VA. They had three known children. Both Isaac and Hester died sometime between 1685 and 1696 in Isle of Wight, or possibly in Middlesex Co., VA. Isaac is a son of:
Col. John George, born 1603 in England. John George married Jane (—) before 1635 in England. Her maiden name is unknown though you’ll see many list her as Jane Cole. That is incorrect. John and Jane came to Virginia in 1635 and settled first in Charles City County, then to Isle of Wight County where they remained. Jane died sometime prior to 1679. John George married 2nd to Ann (—), maiden name unknown. John George died in 1679 in Isle of Wight. Ann married Col. John Lear before 1681. She died in the 1680s. Col. Lear died in 1695 in Nansemond Co., VA. It is possible Ann also died in Nansemond.
John George’s parents are unknown, nor is it known what part of England he came from. You will find online trees that list him with varying parents, but none of those are proven.
It was long thought that John was a brother to Nicholas George (c1610-1661) of Lancaster Co., VA due to he and John appearing on one record together in 1653. That suggests they knew each other, but doesn’t prove a relationship. Furthermore, Y-Chromosome DNA evidence has proven conclusively that John and Nicholas are not brothers or even related, at least not on their father’s side. They could certainly be related on their mother’s sides though, but that doesn’t seem all that likely either. They seem to be from two distinctly different George families.
Revised: May 11, 2023
Copyright © 1996-2023 Marvin A. Grant, Jr. All Rights Reserved.
[Home] [What’s New?] [Books for Sale] [Christian] [Genealogy] [Search] [Support] [About] [Contact]