George Cathey RN=5355

George Cathey RN=5355 in Cathey book.

 

This information was created on  28 Apr 2008  by Marty Grant, a 7^th great grandson of George Cathey with special thanks to Boyt Cathey for sharing information on this family. His lineage can be found on  martygrant.com.

 

I am the 5^th great grandson of George Cathey and Ann Price.

George Cathey was probably born in the 1730’s. A birth date of 14 Sep 1735 is floating around for him, but where did it come from? What is the source for it? His birth place is listed as Dublin, Ireland by some, but again, what is the source for that?

If he was born in Dublin, then he probably isn’t related to the other Catheys in North Carolina for none of them came from Dublin as far as is known. I suspect he wasn’t born in Dublin at all, but probably in Northern Ireland or perhaps in Pennsylvania.

How is George related to the other Catheys of the United States? Since the name “George Cathey” is pretty common among the other Catheys it is difficult to know which George is being referred to on any particular record. What we do know for sure is that this George lived in NC\

and had land in TN and was dead before 1819.

The undocumented birth date and birth place is joined by another undocumented item: the name of his wife as Ann Price. Where did her name come from? I’ve found nothing so far to prove her name was Ann, much less Ann Price. However, that doesn’t mean it is incorrect. It must have come from somewhere!

As I mentioned earlier there were many George Catheys around in the 1700’s, so how can we know which record belongs to this George Cathey? I don’t think there is an easy way to do it other than to list all the records and eliminate those that are unlikely matches. Here is an outline of documented early George Catheys. The “RN” numbers are the ID numbers used in Boyt Cathey’s book and used by the Cathey Reunion Association:

•        RN=18 George Cathey (c1700 – ca 1765 NC), wife Jean (d 1777 Mecklenburg Co., NC).

•        RN=407 George Cathey (c1717 – bef 1790 NC), wife Margaret. Often referred to as George, Esquire.

•        RN=86 George Cathey (c1724 PA – 1801 Mecklenburg Co., NC), wife Frances Henry; he is a son of George Cathey (RN=18) and wife Jean.

•        RN=5355 George Cathey (1735), the one we are studying now, wife Ann Price. Parents unknown.

•        RN=134 George Cathey (c1743), son of Andrew Cathey (RN=84) and Martha of Mecklenburg Co., NC.

•        RN=?? George Cathey baptized 15 Nov 1747 Augusta Stone Presbyterian Church, Augusta Co., VA, a son of George Cathey (RN=407). Nothing else known of this George.

We know our George was in North Carolina at some point, but we don’t know when he arrived or where he lived early on. Anson County was formed in 1750 from Bladen; and Rowan County was formed in 1753 from Anson. These two counties were the homes of several Catheys. These counties were also carved up over the years into smaller counties.

Some Anson County deeds of interest from the book Anson Co, NC Deed Abstracts 1749-1766, Abstracts of Wills and Estates 1749-1795:

1.      24 Jun 1750 Earl of Granville to George Cathey, 312 acres on north side of James Cathey’s land. (Book B, page 174)

2.      6 Feb 1752 George Cathey and wife Jane of Anson County to John Lynn, 312 acres. (Book B page 178).

was filed against his estate:

Wilson Co., TN Robert Neill, Complt vs. George Cathey et al (long list of heirs).

William Neil, complainants father sometime in the month of Oct 1783 gave to George Cathey L65 10s, 6p to securing land in Western Country, now state of TN. Obtained 640a with William Campbell on 26 Jun 1795 grant was issued on south side of Cumberland River on Spencers Creek.

William Neil gave to his son John Niel the above tract who sold it to brother Robert Neill.

William Cathey and George Cathey, sons of George, and his executors, conveyed said land to John Neil. Violet Cathey on of the daughters of George Cathey, decd, and John Reed who married Esther another of the daughters, executed a deed of relinq.

 

Alexander Neil and James Neil, brothers to the complainant dated 24 Aug 1819 relinq all their rights to the land. Another deed of relinq dated 1 aug 1821 John Neil, James Neil, Sarah Neil, John Plumley, William Plumley, Archibald Plumley, Jacob Howes, Hannah Howes, Benjamin Howes, and William Howes.

“That George Cathey, Violet Cathey, Jane Adkins, Samuel Lusk and his wife Betsy, Benjamin Burgen and his wife Mary are the children & heirs of said George Cathey decd. that George Patton, John Logan and his wife Rebecca are grand children of said George Cathey Senr decd. by his daughter Margaret who intermarried with Elija Paton and who are both deceased. Also Robert Cain & Daniel Cain are grand children of said George decd by his daughter Elizabeth who intermarrired first with Robert Cain, also James Reed grand child of said George decd by his daughter Elizabeth by her second husband Robert Reed, the same Robert Cain, Robert Reed and Elizabeth being now all dead. Also Robert Patton and his wife Rebecca who is a daughter of said George decd. John Reed and his wife Esther, who is also a daughter of said George decd. Also Andrew Neil and his wife Mary the said Andrew being a son of William Neil decd. and his wife Mary a daughter of said George decd. Also Robert Gillespie and his wife Anne grand daughter of said George decd. by his son William Cathey and George Cathey, James Cathey, and Andrew Cathey and William Mahafy and his wife Betsey grand sons and daughter of said George deceased by his son William Cathey now decd.”

The above court case proves the family of George Cathey quite thoroughly, but of course it doesn’t answer some critical questions, such as when and where did George die, who was his wife, where did they come from, etc.

Children of George Cathey and Ann Price. The 1823 court case names nine children and numerous grandchildren. The age difference between the oldest and youngest children strongly suggests that George was married more than once.

+    M         i.    Major William Cathey was born before 1755. He died on 23 Dec         1812.

+    F          ii.    Elizabeth Cathey was born before 1755. She died in 1810/1820.

+    F         iii.    Rebecca Cathey was born before 1765.

+   F          iv.    Margaret Cathey was born in 1755/1765. She died on 13 Jan 1813.

+  F            v.    Mary Cathey.

+  F          vi.    Violet Cathey was born in 1761. She died on 28 Oct 1848.

+F           vii.    Esther Cathey was born on 8 Apr 1767. She died on 28 Sep 1840.

+F       viii.    Ann Cathey was born about 1773 in NC. She died in 1852 in Marshall  Co, TN. Ann married Alexander Neill, son of William Neill. Alexander died before May 1823.

+ M        ix.    George Cathey was born in Oct 1784. He died on 3 Dec 1866.