James
Poe
Following is an examination
of records pertaining to men named James Poe who are mentioned in various
First is the man called “Major James
Poe.” He is listed in government records as a Revolutionary War
veteran.
Second is James Poe,
married to Sarah, who died in
We know from the 1793 will
of Simon Poe
SR that he had a son named James Poe.
We also know from various
records that, Stephen Poe, another son of Simon Poe SR, died in 1773 leaving an
orphan son named James Poe. This James Poe was raised in the home of William Howard
who also took in Hastin and Larkin, also orphans of
Stephen Poe. The sons under guardianship of William Howard appear still to be
minors (under 21) in 1785. The relationship of William Howard to the Poe family
is not known.
Tradition assigns the
identify of James Poe, son of Simon Poe SR to the James Poe who married a woman
named Mary. It is said this James Poe moved to
But the historical record is
not clear.
There seems also to be other
men named James Poe in the vicinity of
Hopefully, this examination
will shed some light on which James Poe is associated with the various records.
Records from:
http://www.mindspring.com/~poefamily4/PoeNorthCarolina.htm
http://www.mindspring.com/~poefamily5/PoeNorthCarolinaAnsonCo.htm
http://www.mindspring.com/~poefamily5/PoeNorthCarolinaCaswellCo.htm
PART I
1761 - 1782
James Poe born before 1740 and who appears to be the son of Simon Poe SR (1707 – 1793).
NOTE: The first mention of a James Poe is one that
indicates a man born before 1740 and who is associated with two known sons of
Simon Poe SR. Tradition holds that the man buried in
August 1761
Ordered that Argulus Henderson*,
Simon Fooshe, Thomas Shields, John Stuart and
his tythables, William Marsh Junr. Simon Poe Junr. Stephen Poe, James Poe, Joseph Fooshe, Cornelius Roe,
William Tucker, Elathan
Davis, Charles Clanton, Benjamin Clanton, Robert Colley, Samuel Marsh,
William McDaniel? (sic) and his Tythables, Zachariah Martin Junr.
Robert Martin, Thomas North, John Books, John Crow, John Cullis,
John Webster and Charles Webster do work
on the road from
NOTE: Mary, daughter of Simon Poe, SR married a
23 November
1772
Nimrod Burk (Burc) to Prettyman Berry - 20 pds.
100 a. on the East side of Beaver
Dam Creek - joins Peter Sullinger
Wit: James Poe Nimrod
(X) Burc
John
Hand Sarah
(X) Burc
NOTE:
The James Poe in the next record was
well enough established to be “appointed Constable.” If he was born in 1840 and
is the man of the 1761 record above, he would be in his thirties, which seems
more appropriate for this position that if he were 23 or 24 as tradition makes
the age of the James Poe of Anson Co, NC /
It
is important to note that these “associations” can be misleading as Zachariah
Harman was a county official at various points, and we see James Poe was
appointed constable the day before this estate record. Any administrator would
have given bond to Harman and Poe if they were both officials on this day.
It
is possible these records represent more than one James Poe, but doubtful to my
reading. They seem to identify James Poe, son of Simon Poe SR and brother of
Stephen Poe and Simon Poe JR.
10 May 1774
Page
5
James Poe appointed Constable he having given Benjamin
Watts Security.
11
May 1774
Administration on the Estate of Thomas Watts, dec'd., granted to Benjamin
Watts., he having given bond with Zachariah
Harman & James Poe in 500
pounds.
page
10:
Will
of Stephen Poe, dec'd
proved by James Poe. NC, Chatham Co.
Executors: Hannah Poe, William Howard &
Robert Rutherford,.
NOTE: this record is included to show that John Berry
was a close neighbor to the Simon Poe SR family and perhaps married to Simon
Poe SR’s daughter (Mary Poe did marry a
1775
p.39
Order'd that the following hands be added to work the road
whereof Richard Straughn* is overseer Viz: Hannah Poe, John Berry,
Pretteman Berry, John Morton, Joseph
Stewart, Simon Fooshe, Charles Morgan, Benjamin Watts, William Sanders & William
Dillard.
James
Poe who lives on Harland’s Creek
NOTE: This man lives in a different area of
1775
John Poe Sr be appt overseer of the road from Harlands Creek to Evan's Mill & that the following
hands work thereon, Viz: his own hands, James Poe's, Thomas Griffin's, John Griffens,
William Haley's, Richard Haley's, Benj. Harris', Aaron Evan's, the hands living on Henry Bagley's plantation, &
Charles Harrington's.
Simon
Poe again seeming to be the son of Simon Poe, SR
17th July,
1777
Chatham County Court Records in
To all People to Whome the
presents shall come, know ye that Stephen Herndon and Sophia Herndon my wife and administratricks
to the Estate of Simon Poe Deceased of Chatham County for and in
consideration of the Sum of Two Hundred Pounds Current Money to us in hand paid
by Richd. Kennon of the
Test. James Poe
Stephen Herndon (his mark)
Prettyman
Sophia Herndon
James
Poe (born around 1770) son of Stephen Poe (d. 1773)
Feb., 1778
pg. 132 -
WILLIAM HOWARD appointed Guardian to HASTIN POE, LARKIN POE and JAMES POE, he
giving bond with ROB'T RUTHERFORD, Esq. in the amount of 1000 pounds each.
16 February
1778
William Howard, “gaudn” of James Poe orphan of Stephen Poe decd, enters 450 ac; border: Berry’s line on Haw
R., runs up the river to the mouth of Brooks
Cr, up the “break” opposite James Herndon’s line, up his line W to Poe’s line,
along Poe’s line to Berry’s line
& along Berry’s line to the beginning; James William caveated;
proceedings returned to May Court; discontinued by “ J W” ; warrant issued to
“W H” Jul. 25.
Simon
Poe again seeming to be the son of Simon Poe, SR. James Massey was married to daughter of Simon
Poe, SR. We also saw William Petty in the 1761 record above. Another daughter
of Simon Poe SR was married to a George.
May 14, 1778
p.
105
William
Petty enters 640 ac on Green Br, Meadow
Br, & Petty's Br; border: Jer. George's corner, runs along said
George's line to Jas Stewart's corner, along Stewart's lIne
to Petty's corner, along Petty's
line to Meadow Br, up said branch to the foot of "the" pine hill to (James Poe)
Jas Poe's Br, to "his" line formerly Mullis's, N to the corner of
said line, W to "the" road, & joins (James Massey) Jas Massey and then down [blank] to
beginning; warrant issued Aug. 15; grant delivered.
This
must be Simon Poe SR, and James his son. The December record mentions William
Poe, another son of Simon Poe SR mentioned in the 1793 will.
page
31
Jul.
13, 1778 James
Poe enters 50 ac on Crooked Cr; border: Simon Poe, Charles Stewart,
& Alexr Clark; warrant issued Oct. 19; grant
delivered.
December 29, 1778
James Massey enters 600 ac on W side of
Haw R; border: James
Poe's corner, runs "round by" Chas Stewart, Geo Dismuck (George Dismukes),
Richard Kennon, & Wm Poe; (William Poe); Wm Howard (William
Howard) caveated; Alexander Clark caveated;
proceedIngs returned to May Court: verdict in favor
of Clark; no warrant issued money returned to Massey
p. 186 –
Registered 1 November 1779 – State of North Carolina
to James Poe – 50 sh.
for every 100 a. – 25 a. on the Crooked
Branch – joins Simon Poe’s
line, Clarks corner and Stewarts line.
James
Poe, son of Stephen Poe, son of Simon Poe, SR could
not be born too long before 1773 when Stephen Poe died..
p. 20
30 March 1780
State of
State of
This
must be James Poe, son of Simon SR
David Poe is the son of Simon Poe JR who died in
1773. David must be over 21 in this record. William Poe JR is probably the son
of the William Poe SR mentioned, and he must be James Poe’s brother, sons of
Simon Poe SR. Hannah Poe is of course
the widow of Stephen Poe (d. 1773). “Road Orders” were normally issued in
regard to people who lived adjacent to each other so all sections of the road
cold be maintained. All these families were already, or will soon, marry a Poe
(not sure about Gilliam and Thomas).
26 May 1782
Pg. 14A. The
Following hands appointed to work on the Road under Richard Strawn
(Viz.) Prettyman Berry, David Poe, John Gilliam, John Thomas,
PART II
1783 - 1800
James
Poe (SR) born c. 1740, son of Simon Poe, SR
James
Poe (JR) his son, born c. 1761
If James Poe was born in 1740 (as the 1761 records
implies), then he could have this grown son, James Poe JR, who would just now
be starting a family. This may be the nature of the following set of
transactions -- to provide James Poe JR a parcel of land. The relationship of
Benjamin Watts to the Poe and
A bit later the names James Poe and John Berry appear
in
12 November
1783
Pg.
51A
A
Deed from John Stewart to James Williams proved by the Oath of James Massey.
A Deed from Benjamin Watts and Wife to James Poe Jr. proved by the Oath of John Berry, Jr.
A
Deed from the Same to the Same
proved by the Oath of the Same.
Deed
from Benjamin Watts to John.
Pg.
51B - Deed from James
Poe to John Berry ack'd.
James Poe of
Few records identify this James Poe.
10 May 1784
–
Cornaless
(later spelled Carneless) Boyel,
Yeoman to William Toode, Tanar
– 30 pds. – 150 a. on the Waters of Rocky
River (Rockey) on the East side – joins James
McCarroll – it being a tract of land granted to Corneleas Boyel by this present
Authority bearing date the 31st March 1780.
Wit.
Sol.
Stuart Corneles (c) Boyel
James Poe Mary (o) Boyel
James Poe, son of Simon Poe SR
NOTE:
The connection to Benjamin Watts and the Cashatts
Creek lands seems to confirm this.
11 August 1784
Pg.
81A
James Poe appointed
Overseer of the road from Cashatts Creek to Luttrell’s Branch
James Poe son of Simon Poe SR (or
possibly his son James)
We saw
Straughan and Neal as well as Dismukes
above in connection to this James Poe.
30
November 1784
Account
of Sales of Estate of Younger Neal
includes:
Christopher
Straughn - 2 hides leather
James Poe - 2 sides
leather
Zach.
Harman - 1 bed
Richard
Staughn 2 head of hoggs
George
Dismukes - 1 -------
James
Poe of the Simon Poe SR family (either James Poe SR or James Poe JR. )
16
February 1785
Pg.
100B
In
the Suit Nathan Bryant against Nicholas Nall
the following Jury Sworn Viz – William Moody, William Poe, Vincent Self, Richard Straughan (Strawan), Joel Patterson,
Richard Straughan (Strawan),
Thomas Stone, Thomas Lassiter,
Parish Self, Robert Thompson, James Poe
and James Willitt.
James Poe who signed by MARK.
This
man is in the area of other Simon Poe SR family. There can be little doubt
there are “of” the Simon Poe SR family. The fact that this James Poe signs by
mark is what stands out, this and the mention of Robert Poe who is not
mentioned in very many records. He does however seem to be of the Simon Poe Sr family. But he may be a grandson, or even a son of the
younger Samuel Poe of
p. 23
6
August 1785 – Lewis Braswell to Robert Poe
– 30 pds. Specie 100 a. on Wilkinsons Creek – joins Peter Bray, Gideon
Kirksey** and Robert Poes own corner.
Wit
David Williams Lewis
Brassell
James Poe (X) Rebecker (X) Brassell
James
Poe son of Stephen Poe == although this record (or transcription) is confused.
One presumes this means all the children, so James
Poe must be a minor still.
23
September 1785 – State of North Carolina to George Dismukes – 50 sh. for every 100 a. – 39 a. on the Waters of Haw River –
joins a Branch in his Own line and a conditional line with William Howard Guardian to James Poes* children,
crosses Morgans Creek.
W.
Williams Sec Rd.
Caswell
This is the moment when the historical
record raises a huge question about the identity of this James
Poe.
James Poe with wife name Mary
Part
of the problem here is identifying the location of “Cain Creek” or as it is
spelled a few times, “Cane Creek.” The old
map I scanned at the link below shows that “Cain Creek” was on the Haw River
near
http://www.mindspring.com/~poefamilyresearch/CainCreek1770map.jpg
In
Note
these Caswell County, NC records before reading on. Perhaps, the Culpeper and
Caroline County Poe families met up at this point either by chance or design.
Cain Creek mentioned in
16 July 1784
Archibald Murphy of CC to Reubin
Taylor of same, for 50 lbs, 150 A on Cain & Wynn Creeks adj John Warren, Reubin Taylor,
James Hamlett (Hamblett). 16 July 1784.
Wit: Litt Stokes, Will Williams, James Hamlett
Country Line Creek is
on the far north of
Deed Book L
p. 303
10 March 1786.
Rebecca Berry of CC to
son John Berry, for love & affection, 211 A on Toms Cr and Country Line Cr adj Hart old line, being part of tract
granted to her. Wit: Robert Mitchell, James Poe
Thomas SIMMONS 1794 page 97
http://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/usgenweb/nc/caswell/wills/indexc-e.txt
Book C. Acct. estate of Thomas Simmons, decd.
Accounts paid to . . . . James Poe. ..
NOTE:
This is the first time we see the name Mary Poe in association. Since “JR” is
not used here, it probably refers to James Poe, son of Simon Poe SR, but that
is open to question. It could be James Poe JUNIOR. However, it appears that
James is divesting of his
James Poe to Christopher Hornaday – 6 pd. Specie (no a.
given) on the Head of the South fork of
Cain Creek – being a tract of land granted to the sd.
James Poe
by this present authority dated 3 September 1787
Wit:
John Beray (
John
(X) Dowdey Mary (X) Poe
P.
417
3
September 1787
James Poe, Planter to
Christopher Hornaday,
Planter – 50 pds. Specie - `175 a. on the South side
of Cain Creek – joins his own line and James Poe’s other land – it being a tract of land
granted to the sd. James Poe by this present
authority dated 3 September 1787
Wit:
John
(X) Dowdy Mary (X) Poe
Note
that the 1790 census for
1790
Only
one James Poe mentioned.
James Poe (6) 1m>16, 1m<16, 4 f
This
seems to be the James Poe who signs by Mark. Again, Wilkersons
Creek. None of these “neighbors” can easily be associated with the Simon Poe SR
family.
November 1790William Kirkcey appointed overseer of the Road from Morgans old Mill to Wilkersons Creek and the following Hands work under him, To Wit, James Powell, Wm. Powell, Roling Man, Thomas Ledbetter, Ephraim Ledbetter, Gidion Kirkcey, James Poe, David Williams, John Pearson. Absolam Smith, John Edwards, John Trip, Wm. Brewer. Oliver Brewer, Wm. Edwards, John Kirkcey. Geo. Blalock. Sam Hurns, Geo. Mosley. 14 February 1791 session
(Red Field Ford was on the
p. 69
James Poe
appointed overseer of the Road in the Room of James Gunter from the Red
field foard on
February 1792 Mr. Thomas Patterson
vs James Poe - Tresspass.
The following Jury Sworn, to wit, James Patterson, John Petty, Spencer Stewart, William Hackney. John Minter, Mathew Ramsey. Charles Mash. James Scurlock. John
Pike, Charles Morgan. Thomas Stone,
Edward Bray, Who say they find for
the Defendant. Pltf, moves for a new trial.
May 1792
p. 167
Hosea Heathcock appointed
overseer of the Road in Room of James Poe from the Red field foard on
August 1792
p. 191
No. 5 - Thomas Patterson vs James Poe Tresspass - plea Gen'l issue
justification.
James
Poe SR or James Poe JR. At this point it could be James Poe, son of Stephen
Poe.
Estate Sale August 1793 Top of the list
Robert
Thompson bought a negro woman
"Fan" and 5 hogsheads
James Massey bought negroes Jesse, and Daniel and a "lot" of corn
William Poe bought negro Moses and a "lot" of flax
Stephen Poe 4 Ceers [ have no idea what these are, possibly meant "shears"], 2 mugs and tumbler, 1 tray, 2 "lots" of corn and 3 "lots" of tobacco.
William Poe, Jr.& bell, Flatt irons, 1 Rundlet, 3 pewter basons
John Morton bought 1 Heiffer, 2 Hogs,
James Poe bought 1 Heiffer