Contributed by
John O. Hawkins Lenoir, North Carolina
Originally published in "Bunches of Barlows, 1991
Who is willing to do the work to find
out the truth about Thomas Barlow who married Susannah
Isbell in Wilkes County North Carolina,
with the marriage bond dated January 23, 1794, with Ambrose
Parks as bondsman?
Logic would have it since Reverend --Elder--
John Barlow, Sr. and his son, John Barlow, Jr., who married
Nancy Rash, are the only
two fo the name in Wilkes County in the 1790 census that
Thomas would be son of John Sr. The 1785-1787 State Census
of North Carolina
lists -- Elder -- John Barlow with three males besides
himself. Although they are not listed by name, it would
certainly indicate that these three males are John Jr.,
Thomas and Eliphalet. The 1790 census indicates two males
in the household of John, Sr. over 16, besides John,
i.e., Thomas and
Eliphalet. John Jr., having married about 1789, is a
householder with one male over sixteen --himself-- and
two females --his wife, Nancy, and their oldest daughter,
Elizabeth. Living near John is Nancy Isbell, widow of
Livingston Isbell
and her four daughters. Researchers seem to agree unanimously
that one of these daughters is Susannah, but researchers
disagree as to whether Thomas is the son of John Sr.,
or of Henry, of Albemarle County, and later of Scott
County Kentucky.
The arguments for Thomas being the son
of Henry seem to rest on two things: first is a history
of the Land family which states that
the Thomas Barlow who married Susannah Chiles Isbell
is the son of Henry Barlow, but the compiler
does not cite a source. Having seen only the copy of
the page which gives this information and not knowing
what else may be covered elsewhere in the book, and since
no serious genealogist takes another compiler's word
unless proof is
shown, one may assume that the compiler may have made
a mistake. Elizabeth H. Michaels of Morganton, North
Carolina, whose husband is a Barlow descendant, contributed
to Barlow of Barlow, Volume I, Issue 4, a list of children
believed to be those of John Barlow,
Sr., only to have the editor make the following note
beside the name of Thomas Barlow: "No, his father
was HENRY." Again, nothing was shown to indicate
how the editor knows this Thomas is the son of Henry.
The second basis for saying that Thomas
Barlow, who married Susannah Chiles Isbell, is the son
of Henry Barlow is based on
a fragmet of a will found in Scott County Kentucky. Even
though the will cannot be read in its entirety, it does
indicate that Henry had a son named Thomas. However,
there is nothing in the will to indicate that Henry's
Thomas is the one who married Susannah Isbell. One researcher
states
that Thomas, son of Henry, born about 1760, received
bounty land for his service in the Revolutionary War.
Thomas would be the correct age to have served in the
war and receive recompense for his military duty. Is
there a petition with biographical information as so
often accompanies such requests? If
so, does it state that this Thomas married Susannah Isbell
in Wilkes County North Carolina, in 1794? A tracing of
the disposition of the bounty land might yield some clues
regarding this Thomas Barlow.
A researcher cites a Power of Attorney
from Thomas Barlow, son of Henry, of Scott County, Kentucky,
to Lewis Carlton which states
that Lewis is a brother-in-law. Lewis Carlton married
Elizabeth Eve in Wilkes Co North Carolina, with the bond
dated 13 January 1781,
with John Carlton as a bondsman. Both the Eves and the
Carltons are from Albemarle County and were aquainted
with the Barlows in Virginia. The power of attorney dated
05 November 1808 and recorded in Wilkes County North
Carolina, in
January 1809, does not identify Lewis Carlton as a relative
at all. Apparently someone assumed the Thomas Barlow
who gave the power of attorney to Lewis Carlton was the
same Thomas who married Elizabeth Carlton.
Questions that need to be answered are:
What did Thomas, son of Henry, receive as an inheritance
from his father's will? Nothing
can be determined from the fragment. If his inheritance
is property, what disposition was made of the property?
Did he live on it for any period of time? Is there a
deed conveying it to someone else? (Could
he possibly have sold the land to Thomas Barlow of Wilkes
Co North Carolina?) Does Susanna, wife of Thomas, release
her dower right to the property if there is a deed? Did
Thomas leave a will naming Susanna? The fragmented will
of Henry Barlow makes a reference to Ohio only a line
or two before Thomas is identified as a son. It is not
clear whether the Ohio reference relates to Thomas or
not. Could it possibly be that Thomas, son of Henry,
moved to Ohio? If Thomas, son of Henry, did receive property
and sold it almost immediately, or if he received something
other than property such as mney or personal possessions,
it could be an indication that he is no longer a resident
of Scott County Kentucky.
Since John Barlow left Albemarle County,
Virginia, in 1778, (Thomas Barlow [Jr.], appeared later
that year
in Bedford County Virginia), it seems that the Thomas
Barlow, Sr. who died on Priddy's Creek, Albemarle County,
in early 1778 is their father. (The will for Thomas [Sr]
cannot be located but the estate settlement calls him
Mr. Thomas
Barlow, with the Mister probably being a title of respect
because of advanced age. The 1785 State Census of Albemarle
County Virginia, shows a Henry and a James Barlow. Thomas
Barlow of Priddy's Creek is certainly associated with
Henry
and James Barlow, leading to the conclusion that Thomas
is the father of Elder John, Thomas of Bedford County,
and Henry (who died in Scott County Kentucky, in 1811)
and James of Albemarle County. (It is not impossible
that James is the son of Henry.) It is conceiveable that
some of the family may have been in the adjoining Orange
County.
If the assumption is true that Thomas
is the father of both Henry and John, as well as Thomas
and James,
then it is probable that both men did name sons Thomas
for their father. The one attributed to John seems to
have been born about 1775, fitting the pattern of the
births of John's other children, making him about twenty
years of age in 1794. The Land genealogy give the birthdate
for Thomas as 1760, which would mean he was about thirty-four
years of age, if he is the one who married Susanna Isbell.
While not written in stone, thirty-four years of age
is a little
old for a man to be marrying for the first time.
Then we have the following Wilkes County,
North Carolina records to deal with: Thomas Barlow is
not listed as a householder in
the 1800 census. However, a deed from Livingston Isbell's
heirs dated 18 February 1800 is signed by Ambrose Parks
for Thomas Barlow, acting under a Power of Attorney which
is apparently not registered in Wilkes County. This would
indicate that Thomas was absent from Wilkes County in
1800, perhaps in Kentucky, since his brother, Eliphalet,
left Wilkes about this time and married in Kentucky in
1801. However, on 06 November 1806, Ambrose Parks,
James Brown, Thomas Barlow, and William Brown, all of
Wilkes County, deed Richard Crouch 100 acres which was
part of the Livingston Isbell
estate on Beaver Creek. (The four men mentioned are all
sons-in-laws of Livingston and Nancy Isbell.) On 27 October
1808, John Barlow Sr. of Wilkes sold to Thomas Knight
120 acres on Beaver Creek adjoining Thomas Carlton "...including
the plantation whereon Thomas Barlow now liveth." On
05 November 1808, Thomas Barlow of Scott County Kentucky
gives Power of Attorney to Lewis Carlton, Esq., to receive
moneys from James Brown, Esq., James Davidson, Ambrose
Parks, and William Brown, all of Wilkes County. [James
Davidson
married the widow Nancy Isbell] Thomas' name appears
on the Sheriff's
list of insolvents and removals from
Wilkes County for the year 1808. It is likely that he
gave the Power of Attorney to Lewis Carlton as he was
leaving Wilkes but described himself as "of Scott
County, Kentucky" knowing that was his destination.
It is possible that Thomas Barlow was in Kentucky in
1800, but came back to Wilkes in 1806, then moved permanently
to Kentucky in November 1808. With the connection to
the Livingston Isbell estate, this is the Thomas who
married Susannah Isbell. The fact that Thomas is living
on the property of John Barlow, Sr. would indicate that
he is the latter's son. Is the Thomas living on John's
property the same Thomas who married Susannah
Isbell? If so, the return to Kentucky in 1808 may have
been partly the result of the deaths of both Thomas'
and Susannah's mothers. Both of the elderly ladies died
about 1806, thus eliminating a strong tie that might
otherwise have inclined the young couple to remain in
Wilkes. Elder John's remarriage to Susanna
Benge Roswell or Boswell in 1808 could be another contributing
factor, if Thomas were unhappy about that marriage.
It is reasonable assumption that there are two Thomas
Barlow's--one the son of Henry, and one the son of Elder
John Barlow. Were they in Scott County at the same time?
If so, are there two sets of records indicating two Thomas
Barlows?
Did both men marry women named Susannah? Since the
Isbell famil is closely associated with the Barlow
family in
Virginia, and in North Carolina, could both men have
married women named Susannah Isbell? The answers to
the mystery of Thomas Barlow or two Thomas Barlows
probably
lies in Scott County Kentucky.