USGENWEB NOTICE: In keeping with our policy of providing free information on the Internet, material may be freely used by non-commercial entities, as long as this message remains on all copied material, AND permission is obtained from the contributor of the file. These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by other organizations. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material for non-commercial purposes, MUST obtain the written consent of the contributor, OR the legal representative of the submitter, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. Made available to The USGenWeb Archives by James K. Harrison, submitted through Betty Casey, MSGenWeb County Coordinater. JAMES CASTLEBERRY Born in Georgia: 1793 Died in Mississippi: 1859 James K. Harrison 104 Mountainwood Drive Huntsville, Alabama 35801 (205) 536-8580 April 22, 1997 Table of Contents Chapter 1 - Introduction and Summary 3 Chapter 2 - Heinrich Kesselberg 5 Chapter 3 - William Castleberry (Who was twice married) 5 Chapter 4 - Lucretia Castleberry 7 Chapter 5 - William Nesbit 8 Chapter 6 - Some Related Castleberry's in 10 Alabama and Tennessee Chapter 7 - James Castleberry 11 Chapter 8 - Elizabeth Carroll Castleberry 12 Chapter 9 - Eastport, Mississippi 13 Chapter 10 - James Castleberry's Land Transactions 15 Chapter 11 - Children of James and Elizabeth 16 Castleberry Chapter 12 - William Castleberry (Who Moved to 18 Pontotoc, MS) Chapter 13 - Annie R. Coleman Castleberry 19 Chapter 14 - Daniel T. Coleman (Father of Annie 20 Coleman Castleberry) Chapter 15 - Children of William and Annie 22 Coleman Castleberry Chapter 16 - Castleberry's in the Civil War 23 Chapter 17 - James C. Castleberry 24 of Yalobusha County, Mississippi Chapter 1 Introduction and Summary This genealogical account is centered mainly on my great-great grandfather, James Castleberry, the most distant and proven ancestor on my mother's side. He migrated from Georgia to Tishomingo County, MS, in 1840 when he was 47 years old bringing with him his wife and thirteen children. Why he chose to settle in this particular spot in Mississippi can only be guessed at but it is likely that he was influenced by relatives living nearby in McNairy County, TN. My relationship to James Castleberry is as follows: My mother was Annie Frances Castleberry (1909 -1969); her father was Charles Rufus Castleberry (1878-1963); his father was William Castleberry (1833-1882); and his father was James Castleberry (1793-1859). James Castleberry's father is thought to be Thomas Castleberry (ca 1770 - ca 1820). Thomas' father was William Castlberry (ca 1737 - 1813) and his father was also a William Castleberry. This William's father was Henry Castleberry (1661 - 1729) who came to America in 1683 from Germany. His name, which he soon changed after arriving in Pennsylvania, was Heinrich Kesselberg. James Castleberry was born on the 23 December 1793 in Jackson County, GA, (now Gwinnett County) and died on 13 July 1859 in Tishomingo County, MS. Who his ancestors were has not been determined for certain. However, it is likely that he descended from Heinrich Kesselberg, a Mennonite, who immigrated to Germantown, PA, from Bachersdorf, Germany, arriving in 1683 on-board the Concord. The English spelling of his name later became Henry Castleberry. Henry married Catherine Levering. He died in March 1729 and she died in 1767 or 1768, both in Germantown, PA. Henry and Catherine Castleberry, if indeed they are my ancestors, are seven generations removed. Henry and Catherine had eight children. One was William who married Margaret Davis and migrated south living in Virginia, North Carolina, and winding up in Georgia in 1769. One of William and Margaret's children was also a William who was twice married. His first wife was Sarah Martin and his second wife was Lucretia __?__. This William was born in the 1730's and died in Jackson County, GA, in 1813. One of his children by his first wife was Thomas, born ca 1770, probably in Orange County, N.C. Thomas grew up during the Revolutionary War in Richmond County, GA. One of Thomas' children was my great-great grandfather, James Castleberry, born in Jackson County, GA, on 23 December 1793. James Castleberry grew up in Jackson County, GA. He is in the 1820 census in Gwinnett County, which was formed in 1818 from Jackson County. He married Elizabeth Carroll there ca 1816. She arrived in Jackson County from York District, S. C., around 1812. Her father was James Carroll and her mother was Sarah Miller. The 1830 and 1840 Georgia census lists James Castleberry in DeKalb County adjacent to Gwinnett County. According to a Gwinnett County notice in an Athens, GA, newspaper in January 1837, a letter for James Castleberry in the Lawrenceville Post Office had not been picked-up. James and Elizabeth Castleberry had at least thirteen children born to them during their first twenty years of married life in Georgia. In 1840 James and Elizabeth Castleberry moved to Tishomingo County, MS. The family members and their approximate ages in 1840 were as follows: Family Members Age in 1840 James 47 Elizabeth 39 Sarah 22 James, Jr. 21 John Thomas 17 Cenith (?) 10 Nancy B. 10 Thomas C. 9 Elizabeth 8 Rufus 7 William Dan (my great grandfather) 6 Winchester 4 Nina 4 Permilia (?) 3 Riley 2 In Mississippi, James settled about five miles from the bustling little town of Eastport on the Tennessee River in the extreme northeast part of the state. He and his son-in-law, Jackson Akers, were listed on the Tishomingo County records as new residents in 1840. On November 13, 1840, he bought 480 acres of land from Wade Blasingame for $800.00. He continued to buy and sell land in the vicinity of Eastport for the next eleven years. Some of these transactions are listed in Chapter 10. Three more children were born to James and Elizabeth after their arrival in Mississippi. They were: Charles C. (b. 1841) John W. (b. 1846) Georgia A. (b. 1846) On 1 September 1851 James deeded what apparently was all of his property to his wife. This amounted to 800 acres of land valued at $4000.00. James Castleberry died on 13 July 1859. He is buried in Mt. Evergreen Cemetery (also called Mt. Pleasant and Toenail) on County Road No. 956 between Iuka and Eastport, MS. Elizabeth died in July 1879 and she is buried beside her husband. Chapter 2 Heinrich Kesselberg (1661 - 1729) Heinrich Kesselberg was baptized on 1 Oct. 1661 in the Evangelical Reformed Church at Mulheim on the Ruhr in Baakendorf, County of Broich (Burgee), Germany. His father was Heinrich Kesselberg and his mother was __?__ Keinburch [1,2]. Heinrich Kesselberg arrived in Pennsylvania on-board the Concord in 1683 at the age of twenty-two. He was naturalized on 7 March 1691 and again, for some technical reason, in 1708. His Anglicized name became Henry Castleberry. He purchased 89 acres of land on 22 June 1709 from Edward Farmer in Farmerstown, PA, which is in the vicinity of the present Whitemarsh Post Office in Whitemarsh Township, Montgomery County, about eight miles northwest of Germantown, PA. He married Catherine Levering sometime between 1695 and 1698. Henry died in March 1729 and Catherine died in 1767 or 1768, both in Germantown, PA. The children of Henry and Catherine Castleberry were: 1. Derrick: b_?_, d 1765 2. Paul: b_?_, d April 1748 (descendants founded Castleberry, AL, in 1830) 3. John: 4.William: (married Margaret Davis; probable direct ancestor of James Castleberry and perhaps my great-great-great-great grandfather) 5. Eve: (married John Bassett 20 Feb. 1723 in Christ Church, Philadelphia, PA) 6. Mary: (married Philip Schrack) 7. Katherine: (married Hugh Hamilton) 8. Elizabeth: (married _?_ Davis) The fourth child, William, married Margaret Davis and migrated south. He was in Bucks County, PA, in 1730 and 1750; in Augusta County, VA, in 1755 and 1757; in Orange County, N.C., in 1757 and 1764; and in Richmond County, GA, in 1769 [1]. Chapter 3 William Castleberry (ca 1737 - 1813) (who was twice married) The oldest son of William and Margaret was William who was twice married[1]. He was born ca 1737, died in Jackson County, GA, in July 1813; fought against the Regulators at the Battle of Alamauc in 1771. He married Sarah Martin and, after her death, Lucretia __?__. His will was probated in Jackson County, GA, in 1813 before William Nesbit (the half-brother of Elizabeth Carroll). He is probably the grandfather of James Castleberry. His first wife was Sarah Martin, daughter of Ralph Martin of Londoun County, VA; his second wife was Lucretia _?_. This William bought land in Richmond County, VA, in 1769 (north side of Germany Creek). He had three children according to the land grant. His will in 1813 was witnessed by Odean, probably a son, and by Mark, probably a nephew raised by William after Mark's father, John, was killed by Tories. This will was probated in Jackson County, GA, before Justice of the Peace William Nesbit, the half-brother of Elizabeth Carroll (wife of James Castleberry). The children of William and Sarah Martin were[1]: 1. William Martin: b 1755, d 1837 in Hopkins County, KY. He married, first Elizabeth Smith and second Keziah Nations. William Martin was a Revolutionary War soldier and pensioner. He lived in Spartanburg County, S.C., in 1790. His children were: Fleming Smith, William Martin, Jr., Anna, James S., Elizabeth, Nathaniel, Dorcas, and David. 2. Paul: b 1 March 1761 on the Tar River in N.C. (or VA), d 16 June 1841. First wife was Mary, second wife was Nancy Gillespie. He lived in Orange County, N.C., Newberry District, S.C., and later in Richmond County, GA, where he enlisted in the Revolutionary War. He moved to Spartanburg County, S. C. before 1790 where he died 16 June 1841. He married Nancy Gillespie on 15 Feb 1824 in Spartanburg District, S.C. She died 20 Nov 1865. His children were: Jane, Thomas, Henry, Jermina, Paul, Jr., Richard who moved to Mississippi in 1844, Lavina, Charlote, John, William, Agnes, Sarah, Martin Tabitha, James Anderson, Elizabeth, Julian, Malinda, Nancy Ann, and Rosenna or Rosa. 3. John: b ca 1762. Lived in Spartanburg County, S. C. Left widow Mary who was in 1800 census with four daughters and in 1790 census with one son. 4. Henry: d in 1806 in Clarke County, GA, (will probated in 1807). He was in Jackson County, GA, in 1801 according to a Clarke County, GA, deed. His will named wife Sarah and daughter Rachel. 5. Thomas: b ca 1770. Was in the Jackson County, GA, land lottery in 1805; in Clarke County, GA, in 1807 and 1808; in Gwinnett County, GA, in the 1820 census; and in DeKalb County, GA, in 1826. He is thought to be the father of James Castleberry[1]. 6. David, Sr.: b 1771 in N. C. He was in the 1805 land lottery of Jackson County, GA. A Revolutionary War pension application was made out on him by Mrs. Mary Barnes, widow of Jones Hill, a Revolutionary War soldier from TN. She was 51 years old on 3 March 1846 when she married David Castleberry, age 75. He died 12 June 1856 in Van Buren County, AR. He probably had a son, David [1]. 7. Odean: The children of William and his second wife, Lucretia were: 1. Odum: b ca 1800 and d 1838, he married Jane Henry in Lawrence County, AL, on 12 Aug 1823. They later moved to McNairy County, TN, where at least two sons and four daughters were born before 1840. Odum died in McNairy County before 1840. He is in the 1830 McNairy County census. Jane is listed in the 1840 census but not in the 1850 census. 2. Mark: Born ca 1803, he was probably living in Lawrence County, AL, in 1820 with his mother. He is in the McNairy County, TN, census in 1830 and 1840 and in Tishomingo County, MS, in the 1850 census. He had four sons and four daughters born between 1825 and 1840. Some of them were: Thomas, Lucretia, Jane, Joseph, and Mark . William, age 20, in the 1850 Tishomingo County, MS, census may be an older son[1]. Mark's first wife died. He married Rhoda Smith in Tishomingo County on 10 Mar 1850. Her brother, John S. Smith, married Nancy B. Castleberry in Tishomingo County on 25 July 1849. Nancy was the daughter of James and Elizabeth Castleberry making Mark's father, William, her great grandfather! 3. Isaac: Born ca 1814. Was also undoubtley in Lawrence County, AL, in 1820 with his mother. He migrated to McNairy County, TN, with his mother's family ca 1828. He is not listed separtely in the 1830 McNairy County census meaning that he is still in his mothers' household. He is listed in the 1840 census and has his wife, Elizabeth House (?), two daughters, and his mother, Lucretia, living with him. The 1850 census list Isaac 36, his wife, Elizabeth 26, his mother, Lucretia 75, and his children, Tennessee A. 9, William W. 8, Samuel M. 6, Sarah M. 3, and Caroline House 15 (?) and Jefferson Castleberry (?) 9 months. In the 1860 census Lucretia' name does not show up. In the 1870 census Issac occupation is given as physician. Additional children in 1870 are: Leona Allice 16, Mary B. 14, George C. 8. Other Castleberry relatives residing with Issac in 1870 are: John H. 12, John D. 15, and James J. 12. 4. Lucretia: Born ca 1811. Married Joseph Burks in Lawrence County, AL, on 22 Nov 1825. They moved to McNairy County, TN, soon thereafter. He died before 1860. She was still living there in 1870. Chapter 4 Lucretia Castleberry (1775 - after 1850) (Second Wife of twice married William Castleberry) Lucretia Castleberry's maiden name is unknown. She was born in 1775 and died after 1850 in McNairy County, TN. She married William Castleberry ca 1800 and was his second wife. He died in Jackson County, GA, in 1813 at the age of 76. Not long after his death Lucretia and her children migrated to Lawrence County, AL, which is in the north central part of the state. She is listed there in the 1820 census with six children in her household, four males and two females. Four of these were: Odum b. ca 1800, d. ca 1838, Mark b. 1803 d. ?, Lucretia b. 1811 d. ?, and Issac b. 1814 d. ?. Living near by Lucretia and her family in 1820 is William Castleberry with a wife and three children, two males and one female. This William may be the brother of James Castleberry [1]. If so he would be Lucretia' step grandson. He undoubtly had quite a lot to do with Lucretia' move to Lawrence County, AL, having arrived earlier or perhaps migrating from Georgia with her. Chapter 5 William Nesbit (1788 - 1863) William Nesbit (b. 20 Oct. 1788, d. 27 June 1863) was the half-brother of Elizabeth Carroll. He moved to the Hog Mountain Community of Jackson County, GA, (now Gwinnett County) as a young man from York District, S.C. [4, page 568]. He married Mary Lollis of Virginia (b. 27 Nov. 1789, d. 3 Jan 1849). In 1813 he assisted in constructing a road from Hog Mountain to Fort Gilmer at the Standing Peachtree thirty miles west of Hog Mountain. It was called the Peachtree Road and eventually, after being extended to Marthasville (Atlanta), became the famous Peachtree Street[11, page 847]. In December 1818, when Gwinnett County was created, partly out of Jackson County, his home was made a part of the new county. He was a Justice of the Peace and the second sheriff of Gwinnett County serving off-and-on from 1820 to 1830. His farm was near the Gwinnett-DeKalb county line on the Lawrenceville-Atlanta highway (Hwy 29). He, his wife, and several members of his family are buried in the family graveyard which is located in Lilburn, GA, at the southwest corner of the intersection of Hwy 29 and Jimmy Carter Blvd. An extremely glowing account of William Nesbit is given in James C. Flanagan' s book [4, page 374] and is reproduced below: William Nesbit was the second sheriff of Gwinnett County and held the office consecutively as sheriff and deputy sheriff for fourteen years. It has been said, and it was universally conceded by the old citizens, that he was the most efficient sheriff the county ever had. As an arresting officer especially, he has had no equal with my knowledge so far as this county is concerned. In his day as sheriff, the county was new, the population to a great extent wild and lawless, and it had within its limits many desperadoes as is common in all new countries. It was once said by William Brogdon that North and South Carolina had boiled over and the scum had run over into the new part of Georgia. Many of these desperate men had at various times resisted successfully the constables, but when Nesbit got after them, if they could not outrun him, they were sure to be taken. I still remember his clear shrill voice in calling parties and witnesses into court. That clarion voice is still upon my ear as he would open court with with his "Oyes! Oyes! Oyes! The Superior Court of Gwinnett County is now opened according to adjournment. God save the state and the honorable court." It was said with as much grace and dignity as it is said in England by one of the high sheriffs of the realm. Those were my Robin Hood days, the days of the log cabin and the sanded floor, of pewter plates and basins displayed in the sun and to passers-by on a shelf at the front door and to visitors in the cupboard in the principal room in the house; of tinkers with packs on their backs to mend such wares as might be broken, or to mould new ones from the old for the thrifty housewives. Those were the days when the land was fresh from the hand of God. No sedge or old pine fields; and the country was covered with magnificent forests, and the streams were full of fish. If a young man wished to marry, he went on the other side of the spring, or to the other side of his fathers's virgin soil, built his log cabin, cleared a turnip patch and cowpen, married and went to multiplying and replenishing the earth according to law. Since then, alas! The country is scarred with red gullies and old wornout fields, the forests are gone, and if a young man marries, there is little assurance but that he will become a profligate and a debaucher, and procuring an emigrant ticket, elope with another woman to the distant West, leaving his wife in wretchedness and his children in want. Mr. Nesbit served two sessions in the state senate, first in 1829 and again in 1833. He was born in York District, South Carolina, and in early life came to Jackson County and afterwards moved to this county and died June 27, 1863, at the age of 76. He lived for many years near the DeKalb County line on the Hightower trail, the dividing line between the counties of Gwinnett and DeKalb. He was a man of striking appearance, full six feet high, of well-rounded proportions, evincing strength and activity, a remarkable walk indicating independence and resolution. His face was of the finest type, bespeaking manliness but kindness and benevolence. Upon a recent visit by the writer to his son, Hon. John Nesbit, of Milton County, he showed me a photograph of his father. It was a perfect facsimile of William Nesbit, with his peculiar form, handsome face and determined contour of the mouth that had so often excited my admiration of the original when in life. It was in his domestic life that the nobler and kinder traits of the man were displayed. When his married daughter would reach that point in married life, woman's greatest extremity, when all the affections of the father are drawn out and his keenest solicitude aroused for the safe passage through the dreaded ordeal, he would be there at her bedside to administer comfort and assurance; and amid all his noble traits of character, this was the noblest and kindest, the best of them all. Of all the men of whom I have or may write, the subject of this sketch has claims upon me hardly equaled by any. He was for a long series of years the fast friend and companion of my father and the devoted friend of his family, agreeing in all their views, especially in politics in which they were in harmony through a long life with uninterrupted friendship and cordiality. Being of the first settlers of the new county, they went, shoulder to shoulder, in efforts to suppress crime and rascality, thereby contracting an intimacy that terminated only with their lives. I would that I was competent to pronounce a suitable eulogy of his private life and public services. I feel my inability for the task. He, with his associates and compeers of early times and history "wrapped the drapery of their couch about them and laid down to pleasant dreams." It is left to me, in a feeble way, to call-up their memories. This task is agreeable but the service is lame. "I name them over one by one And weep o'er days forever gone O'er friends whose suns of life have set And voices thrilling memory yet. "They vanished like a morning beam Of sunlight on the rippling stream; And gloom lurks in the web of years And hope of youth all disappears. "Now when the moon her chariot drives And night, the jeweled maid, arrives, I think upon departed hours With hush of moon and blush of flowers." Chapter 6 Some Related Castleberrys in Alabama and Tennessee In 1820 Lucretia Castleberry and her family were residents of Lawrence County, AL, according to the census. She moved from Gwinnett County, GA, where she had been married to William Castleberry who died in 1813. Sometime after 1813 she and her four children, Odum, Mark, Lucretia, and Isaac made the big move west to the newly created state of Alabama. Living close to Lucretia in 1820 was a William Castleberry who was undoubtedly a relative, perhaps a grandson, of her husband by his first marriage. He had a wife and three children. NOTE: There is a William Castleberry, born in Alabama ca 1824, and living in Monroe County, MS, in 1850. Could he be one of the three children of this William Castleberry? Later, in 1830, William is living in McNairy County, TN, near Lucretia and her family. No trace of William has been discovered after 1830. If he is the grandson of Lucretia' husband he may be a brother of the James Castleberry that moved to Tishomingo County, MS, in 1840 with his family. Tishomingo County is just south of McNairy County, TN. The migration from north Georgia to Alabama by Castleberry's was apparently not uncommon. In the 1820 Conecuh County, AL, census there is a Job Castleberry listed. And there were others, as well. In the 1820 Tennessee census there are a Joseph Caselberry family and a John Caselberry family listed in Robertson County (on the Kentucky line almost due north of Nashville). In the 1830 Tennessee census Lucretia and William, mentioned above, are listed in McNairy County. Also listed is Odum and his family, Odum being Lucretia's oldest son; Mark and his family, Mark being another son; and Joseph Burks who married Lucretia's daughter, Lucretia, in Lawrence County, AL, in 1825. In nearby Maury County there is a John Castleberry family listed. In the 1840 Tennessee census Lucretia has moved into the household of her youngest son, Isaac and his wife Elizabeth. Odum has died and his wife Jane is the head of that household. Mark and his family and Joseph and Lucretia Burks are also listed. They are all residing in McNairy County. In Tishomingo County, MS, just a few miles south, James Castleberry and his family are new homesteaders. James Castleberry is Lucretia's step-grandson, i.e., Lucretia's deceased husband, William Castleberry, is James' grandfather. This family connection must have contributed to James Castleberry's decision to move to Tishomingo County. Making the move with him was his wife and thirteen children, plus a son-in-law. About 65 miles due west of McNairy County in Giles County, TN, two Castleberry families are listed in the 1840 census. They are J. Castleberry and Susan Castleberry. In the 1850 Tennessee census the Joseph Burks and Isaac Castleberry families are listed in McNairy County. Lucretia is 75 and still living with Isaac. Mark has moved to Tishomingo County, MS. His wife, Jane, died and he married Rhoda Smith there on 10 March 1850. A new family in McNairy County is that of William Castleberry, age 26 and born in Alabama. In Giles County are Susan Castleberry, age 53 and born in Alabama, W. Castleberry, age 26 and born in Tennessee. In St. Clair County is Franklin Castleberry, age 31, and born in Tennessee.