Clark: State Records of North Carolina, Volume 10, pg 204, 207, 505, 522, 523
| Date Approved | Society | ACN | SAR Member Info | Lineage via Child | View Application Detail | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012-11-01 | DC | 49387 | John Douglas Sinks Ph.D. (121743) | Cynthia | ||
| 2012-11-01 | TN | 49388 | Jeffrey Doley Sinks (182418) | Cynthia |
There was no entry for this patriot found at Find-a-Grave as of August 2021
Mothers of the Children of Elisha Cain
John D. Sinks
District of Columbia Society, SAR
15 August 2021
Introduction.
Elisha Cain was the son of William Cane or Cain, who signed his will in Edgecombe County, North Carolina in 1757 (Original Will, NC State Archives). Elisha Cane patented 514 acres of land in Johnston County on 21 July 1761, placing his year of birth no later than 1740 (North Carolina Sec. of State Patent Bk. 14, p. 197). He resided in Orange County, North Carolina in 1762 when sold that land (Johnston Deed B1, pp. 225-226). Chatham County formed from the southern part of Orange County in 1771 and Elisha is found in Chatham County through 1804, when he vanishes. His activities during the American Revolution include service as sheriff of Chatham County, a delegate to the 4th Provincial Convention of North Carolina, major of the minutemen, and justice of the Chatham court. These are well documented. His children have been identified from the 1802 Kershaw District, South Carolina will of one of his sons, Dempsey Cain (Kershaw Estate Record Bk. C, p. 434). Dempsey names his siblings as James, Rebekah, William, Christin, Hardy, Absalom, Sarah, and Cinthy. He does not distinguish between full and half-siblings and no surnames for the sisters are given.
Less well-established is information about his wives. That is the focus of this paper.
The challenges are to:
Many researchers have identified only Martha Blake as a wife of Elisha Cain, but apparently not realized that she was the second of three wives. The identity of the first and the third wife needs to be established. Because many researchers have identified only the second wife, they have erroneously assumed that all of the children of Elisha were by that wife. Which children were born of which woman was the wife of Elisha needs to be determined.
Probate records, land records, court records, vital records, and census records are all necessary in addressing these problems, as well as some other documents. Records of Chatham County and Orange County, North Carolina, Kershaw District, South Carolina, and Robertson County, Tennessee are especially important in addressing these problems.
An effort has been made to preserved spelling in original documents when they are being discussed. This has resulted in many different spellings of what is clearly the same name, such as Sinthy, Sintha, Cinthy, and Cynthia.
Mary (--?--) Cain and her children.
Elisha Cain and his wife Mary sold two contiguous tracts of land in Chatham County, North Carolina to Zachariah Harmon on 9 November 1779 (Chatham Deed Bk. B, pp. 375-376). Mary’s name is clear in the recorded deed in four separate locations, although three times it is spelled with two r’s. No information has been found of Mary’s maiden name. Evidence shows that the four sons of Elisha Cain were born no later than 1779:
Hardy Cain appointed Constable and posted bond with Elisha Cain, Aug. 1790 (Chatham Court of Pleas & Quarter Sessions Minutes 1790-1794, pp. 30, 31).
Dempsey Cain appointed Constable in Chatham Co. and posted bond with Elisha Cain, May 1791 (Chatham Court of Pleas & Quarter Sessions Minutes 1790-1794, p. 84).
William Cain empaneled and sworn to the grand jury, February 1794 (Chatham Court of Pleas & Quarter Sessions Minutes 1790-1794, p. 304).
James Cain from Elisha Cain bill of sale, Feb. 1794 (Chatham Court of Pleas & Quarter Sessions Minutes 1790-1794, pp. 304, 325).
Serving in positions of trust, posting bonds for serving in such positions, and buying and selling property require a person to have attained the age of 21. (Additional documents establish that these men were born prior to 1779, but only the earliest for each man was cited.)
No evidence has been found that Elisha was married before his union with Mary. Hardy, Dempsey, James, and William were children of his first wife, Mary.
Martha (Blake) Cain and her children.
Benjamin Blake of Orange County, North Carolina named Martha Cain as his daughter (Orange Co., Will Bk. A, pp. 275-276). He explicitly identified Sarah and Absalom as his grandchildren and children of Elisha Cain. Benjamin signed is will on 2 April 1783 and it was proved at the May term. The marriage would have taken place after Mary Cain signed a deed with Elisha on 9 November 1779 and in time for two children to have been born by 2 April 1783. The earliest record providing evidence that Absalom had attained the age of 21 are deeds from his father Elisha “for the love and good will I bare for my son Absalom” dated 13 September 1803 followed by a similar deed ten days later (Chatham Deed Bk. N, pp. 260-261, 254). A year of birth no later than 1782 is consistent with the time period in which the second marriage would have taken place.
--?-- (Willis) and her children.
William Willis and his wife Honour were latecomers to Chatham County. William was certainly old enough to have daughters old enough to marry when he arrived. He, along with Richard Willis, patented the Brunswick this land that in 1755 (Virginia Patent Bk. 33, p. 341). On 27 May 1779 with wife Honour sold that land in Brunswick County, Virginia (Deed Bk. 13, pp. 380-381). William first appears in Chatham County records on 30 December 1778 when land entries #552 and #553 were filed in his name (Chatham County Land Entries). On 7 August 1784 William Willis purchased land from William Rhoades adjacent to a tract owned by Elisha Cain (Chatham Deed C, pp. 370-371). Elisha Cain witnessed that deed. Elisha Cain certainly had the opportunity in Chatham County to meet and marry a daughter of William Willis. Such a marriage would have occurred after 2 April 1783, when Benjamin Blake signed his will, and daughter Martha (Blake) Cain was alive. To establish when the marriage took place, and even that there was a third marriage, it will be necessary to examine the life of one of the daughters of Elisha in detail: Cintha.
William Willis signed his will on 20 February 1801, leaving his estate to his wife Honour (Chatham Original Wills, William Willis, 1891). Upon Honour’s death Rebeccah Cain was to receive £5 and Sinthy Cain one negro girl named Mimey purchased from Elisha Cain. The balance of the estate was to be divided between Sinthy Cain and Irey Olive. William Willis named Abel Olive to be executor, but he declined to qualify (Chatham Will Bk. A, p. 58). Abel had posted bond to marry Betty Ann Willis (Wake County Marriage Bonds, 1785) but she was evidently deceased before William Willis wrote his will leaving bequests to Nancy and Irey Olive. The only female in Abel’s household on the 1800 census of Chatham County 10 to 16, too young to have married in 1785 (p. 226). This was presumably Nancy Olive, who also received bequest. Emsley Beasley was named as the executor of William Willis’ estate on 13 August 1806 (North Carolina Estate Papers, Chatham County, William Willis, 1806). Indirect evidence is available showing that Emsley married Cintha Cain prior to 1806 and Cintha was of age to be a granddaughter rather than a daughter of William Willis.
Elisha Cain had daughters named Rebekah and Cinthy, established in the 1802 will of Dempsey Cain (above). There were three females in Elisha’s household at the time of the 1800 federal census in Chatham County, one aged 26 to 25 and two aged 16 to 26 (p. 205). Cyntha Cain (spelled “Cynthia” on the first deed) witnessed three deeds in which Elisha Cain sold land in 1800 and 1802 (Chatham Deed Bk. L, p. 71, Bk. N, pp. 27-29, 490-491). Cyntha witnessed the third deed of Elisha’s on 8 June 1802. Three sons of Elisha Cain were living in Chatham County about this time. Could Cyntha, Rebeccah, or both have been the wife of one of these sons? Hardy Cain’s wife was named Polly (Chatham Deed K, pp. 74-74). Absalom’s wife was named Sealy or Celia (Chatham Deed N, pp. 248-250). The DAR GRS lists William Cain’s wife as Lucy Rhodes, but the Covid pandemic has prevented the examination of the supporting documentation. This is plausible. William Rhodes made a bequest to his daughter Lucy Willis Cane in 1794 (Chatham Wills, Inventories, Sales of Estates, and Deeds, pp. 18-19). The evidence leads to the conclusion that Cyntha Cain was living with her father, Elisha, and unmarried as late as 8 June 1802.
Although there is no record of the distribution of property from the William Willis estate, Emsley Beasley owned a lot in Pittsborough that had been purchased by William Willis on 1 August 1786 and witnessed by Elisha Cain: lot #32 (Chatham Deed D, p. 213). Emsley Beasley sold this lot on 11 November 1815 (Chatham Deed U, p. 163). Consent of wives for the sale of land in Chatham County was unusual in this time period. The absence of a deed for Emsley’s acquisition of this lot is the consistent acquisition by inheritance.
Emsley Beasley sold his other land holdings in Wake and Chatham in November of 1815. He purchased land in Robertson County, Tennessee in 1816 (Deed Bk. Z, pp. 305-306). It is in Robertson County where evidence can be found of his wife’s given name, the approximate year of her birth, her maiden name, and further information about when they were married.
Emsley Beasley was the only Beasley of his generation heading a household in Robertson County census records through the time of his death in 1838 and beyond. He is listed in Robertson County in 1820 (p. 21). He and the eldest female in the household were both 26 to 45. One male and one female child were 10 to 16, born about 1804 to 1810. Three males and two females were under 10. In 1830 Emsley was 50 to 60, the eldest female 40 to 50, and all children under 20 (p. 420). The two children 10 to 16 in the household in 1820 are not listed in the Emsley household in 1830, but they can be identified given the absence of other Beasley men of Emsley’s generation. John W. Beasley, aged 20 to 30, headed a household in the county (p. 417). He is not found on subsequent census records. Nancy Beasley was born in 1803 in North Carolina and married Simpson Dorris, according to a biographical sketch of one of their sons, Smith Hale Dorris (Goodspeed History of Gallatin, Saline, Hamilton, Franklin, and Williamson Counties, Illinois (1887), p. 778). Simpson Dorris is also listed on the 1830 census of Robertson County with Emsley and the eldest female both 20 to 30 (p. 400). Nancy Dorris is listed on the 1850 and 1860 Robertson County censuses (pp. 26, 24), aged 46 and 56, placing her birth in 1803 or 1804, at least two years before Emsley was appointed executor of William Willis’ estate. This is also consistent with Cyntha’s marriage being after 8 June 1802, a date when she was still single.
Emsley Beasley signed his will in Robertson County on 1 January 1838 (Robertson Co., TN Will Bk 10, pp. 269-270). He made a bequest to his wife but did not name her. He made provision for his three youngest children, Rebeccka, Malinda, and Elisha. He stated, “...after the above portions are given off my desire is at my wife’s death or marriage my whole Estate be sold and equally divided amongst all my children….” Sons Fanning J. and James H[enderson] Beasley were named as executors. Other children over 21 were not named, although the 1820 and 1830 census records show there were at least four.
Malinda Beasley, one of the three youngest children named in the will, married Thomas G. Sprouse in Robertson County on 26 December 1841 (Marriage Record 1, 44). In 1860 census shows that T.G. Sprouse was aged 38, female M.B. Sprouse was aged 36 and born in Tennessee, and 74-year-old Cintha Beasley was born in North Carolina (p. 26). This is strong evidence that Emsley’s wife was named Cintha or some variant. The name also matches the name of a daughter of Elisha Cain as established in the will of Dempsey Cain, the name of one of two Cain women who were legatees of William Willis, and the name of the woman who witnessed three Elisha Cain deeds in 1800 and 1802. The state of birth and age is right for Cintha to be a child of a third wife of Elisha Cain.
Emsley named another daughter as one of his youngest children in his will: Rebeccka (above). Rebecca Beasley married Robertson T. Dorris in Robertson County on 8 August 1839 (Marriage Record 1, p. 20). Rebecca’s tombstone in the Ebenezer Baptist Church Cemetery gives her middle name as “Cane.”
There is a second Robertson County source of evidence of Cintha Beasley’s maiden name. Jana Beasley Astles and her mother interviewed Maude Emma (Beasley) Orchard in 1972 and sketched a family tree at the time from the information they received. Information about the interview and a copy of the family tree was provided in an affidavit (Astles Affidavit). Maude identified her paternal grandfather as Henderson Beasley and his mother as a Kane. James H. Beasley was named as a son and co-executor in the will of Emsley (above). Maude Beasley was born in July 1879, according to the 1880 Robertson County census (p. 41). Although she did not know her Cynthia Cain Beasley personally, she was in a position to learn of her from people who did, including one of the three youngest children of Cynthia who was named in Emsley’s will. Elisha C. Beasley was living in Robertson County, Tennessee in 1880 (p. 29). He was born on 13 May 1826 and died on 25 August 1899 (Tombstone, Orlinda Cemetery, Robertson County). Elisha Beasley would have been over 34 when his mother died and Maude would have been 20 years old when Elisha Beasley died.
A coherent picture of the third marriage emerges. Elisha married a daughter of William Willis sometime after the death of Martha (Blake) Cain after April 1783 and before the birth of Cyntha about 1786. The third wife died before William signed his will on 20 February 1801 leaving two daughters who received bequests in William’s will: Rebeccha and Santha. Cintha was born about 1786 in North Carolina and was one of two young women 16 to 25 listed in Elisha Cain’s household in 1800, a minor discrepancy. She was still single as late as 8 June 1802 but married Emsley Beasley in time to have a daughter born in North Carolina about 1803 or 1804. On 13 August 1806 Emsley was appointed executor of the estate of William Willis, William’s son-in-law Abel Olive having declined to serve. No record of the distribution of William Willis’s of the estate has been found, but in 1815 Emsley Beasley sold a town lot that William Willis had purchased. The absence of a deed is consistent with Emsley’s possession by inheritance. In Robertson County evidence has been found that Emsley’s wife was Cintha, that her maiden name was Cane has been found, and that she was born in North Carolina about 1786.
Summation.
The children of Elisha Cain are named by Dempsey Cain as his siblings in his 1802 Kershaw District, South Carolina will. He does not distinguish full siblings from half-siblings. The mother of all but one child has been identified.
The first wife of Elisha Cain was Mary, named Elisha’s wife in a deed when Elisha sold land on 9 November 1779. Her name is clearly written in the deed four times. Chatham County court minutes show that four sons were born prior to 1779:
Elisha’s second wife was Martha Blake. She was living and the wife of Elisha Cain when Benjamin Blake signed his will on 2 April 1783. Benjamin Blake made bequests to two grandchildren whom he identified as children of Elisha Cain.
The marriage would have taken place after 9 November 1779 and long enough before 2 April 1783 for two children to be born.
Elisha Cain’s third wife was a daughter of William Willis. Her given name was unknown. She was evidently deceased when William signed his will on 20 February 1801. He made bequests to Rebeccah and Sinthy Cain, both named by Dempsey Cain as his sisters.
Information about Cinthy helps determine the third marriage that would have occurred. She was the widow of Emsley Beasley, executor of the William Willis estate. She is listed on the 1860 Robertson County, Tennessee census as Cinthy Beasley, aged 74 and born in North Carolina. The marriage would have occurred subsequent to 2 April 1783 when the second wife was known to be alive and no later than about 1786.
The mother of one child remains undetermined:
Elisha Cain of Chatham County, North Carolina
John D. Sinks
District of Columbia Society, SAR
26 March 2021
Elisha Cain was born by 1740. He purchased 514 acres of land in Johnston County, North Carolina on 21 July 1761 (North Carolina Patent Bk. 14, p. 197), establishing that he was over 21 at the time. He was the son of William and Sarah Cain. William signed his will on 13 August 1757 in Edgefield County, North Carolina and it was proved in the June term of 1761.[1] Archy and William Cain were also named as sons in the will of William Cain. William named Sarah as his wife. James Braswell made a bequest to Sarah Cain, whom he identified as his daughter in is 27 September 1760 Edgewood County will, proved January Term 1765.[2] In all likelihood Elisha was born in Bertie County, from which Edgecombe formed in 1741. His father was in Bertie during the time period when Elisha would have been born.[3]
Elisha Cain moved westward in North Carolina. Johnston County, where he purchased land in 1761, was adjacent to Edgefield County on the south and extended openly on the west. In 1762 while living in Orange County, which was established immediately to the west of Johnston County in 1752, he sold land in Johnston County (Bk. B-1, pp. 225-226). Chatham County formed from the southern part of Orange County in 1771. In 1771 he sold land in Chatham that, according the deed for the sale, he had purchased on 28 October 1764 when the land was in Orange County (Bk. A, p. 81-82). In 1772 Elisha Cain of Chatham County purchased land in Edgecombe County from William Cain of Chatham (Bk. 2, pp. 18-19), evidently Elisha’s brother. The remaining brother, Archibald, was also in Chatham County in its early years, having an entry for 400 acres of state land filed on 20 February 1778 (#52), selling land with his wife, Patty, on 20 August 1779 (Bk. B, pp. 341-342), buying land on the same day (Bk. B, pp. 364-365).
Elisha Cain married three times. Elisha and his wife Mary on 9 November 1779 sold two contiguous tracts of land in Chatham County to Zachariah Harmon (Bk. B, pp. 375-376). Elisha’s second wife was Martha, daughter of Benjamin Blake. Benjamin named Martha Cain as his daughter in his Orange County will, signed 2 April 1783 and proved in the May term of the court that year (Bk. A, pp. 275-276). He also made bequests to his grandchildren, Sarah and Absalom Cain, whom he identified as children of Elisha Cain.[4] The given name of the third wife is unknown, but she was a daughter of William[5] and Honour Willis. William made bequests to Rebecca Cain and Sinthy Cain in his Chatham County will, signed 20 February 1801 (Bk. A, p. 58). More about this relationship is found below.
Elisha Cain was a delegate from Chatham County to the Third North Carolina Provincial Congress, which met at the Hillsboro Presbyterian Church from 20 August through 10 September 1775.[6] The Congress acknowledged the election and certification of delegates representing counties and towns in a General Congress to be held at Hillsborough on 20 August 1775. Elisha Cain was among the delegates listed. On 23 August the Association entered into by the Continental Congress on 20 October 1773 was read and signed by those present, including Elisha Cain (pp 171-172). This was an oath or Test. The Test affirmed allegiance to the King but denied the authority of Parliament to impose taxes on or regulate the internal police of the colonies. The Test ended with a pledge to support the acts, resolutions, and regulations of the Continental and provincial congresses. The Congress then set about establishing a governmental framework with the ability to resist British tyranny. Decisions of the Congress included:
On 9 September the Congress named field officers for the Minute Men (pp. 204-206). Elisha Cain was named First Major for Chatham County.[8] The Congress established a Provincial Council to govern when Congress was not in session. North Carolina congresses were to be annually in November, delegates to be elected, and delegates to take a Test oath (pp. 212-213). Acting as committee of the whole the delegates decided it was premature to consider a general confederation of the colonies. Although the Third Provincial Convention did not advocate independence, it took clear steps to establish a workable Revolutionary government and to resist British tyranny with force of arms if necessary.
Elisha Cain was also a delegate from Chatham County to the Fourth North Carolina Provincial Congress, which met at Halifax from 4 April to 14 May 1776.[9] He was one of a dozen delegates who did not arrive until 8 April (p. 505). Those men took the Test and assumed their seats. On 12 April the Congress made a major decision. The select committee for taking into consideration the usurpations and violence attempted and committed by the King and Parliament of Britain against America, and the further measures to be taken for frustrating the same, and for the better defence of this Province, reported. They said, in part,
…whereas the moderation hitherto manifested by the United Colonies and their sincere desire to be reconciled to the mother country on constitutional principles, have procured no mitigation of the aforesaid wrongs and usurpations, and no hopes remain of obtaining redress by those means alone which have been hitherto tried, your committee are of opinion that the House should enter into the following resolve, to wit:
Resolved, That the delegates for this Colony in the Continental Congress be impowered to concur with the delegates of the other Colonies in declaring Independency, and forming foreign alliances, reserving to this Colony the sole and exclusive right of forming a Constitution and laws for this Colony, and of appointing delegates from time to time (under the direction of a general representation thereof), to meet the delegates of the other Colonies for such purposes as shall be hereafter pointed out. [emphasis added]
The Fourth Provincial Congress approved the Resolution unanimously. North Carolina had made a commitment for independence. This resolution has come to be known as the Halifax Resolves.
The Congress adopted further measures to establish a working Revolutionary government and more effective measures to resist the British:
On 18 April delegates pledged to keep their deliberations secret unless a determination is made to release the information. Elisha Cain signed this pledge.
Although Elisha Cain is not listed as a member of the House of Delegates or Senate in 1782, he was compensated £45 for attending sessions.[10] Several Revolutionary Pay Vouchers in the North Carolina State Archives were issued to Elisha Cain. For example, voucher #727 was issued by the State of North Carolina on 1 July 1781 for £504. Revolutionary Army Account Bk. B shows that this was for providing beef (p. 294).
Elisha Cain also was actively supported the Revolution at the county level. He had risen quickly in Chatham County civil affairs after it was formed in 1771 and continued to be active during and after the Revolution. The website of the Office of the Sheriff of Chatham County credits Elisha Cain with service as the first sheriff of Chatham starting in 1771 and serving until May 1776.[11] On 16 September 1773 Elisha Cain as Sheriff of Chatham sold land to the highest bidder (Bk. A, p. 261). In the May term, 1774 he produced his commission for appointment as sheriff of Chatham County to the court and was qualified (Bk. 1774-1779, pp. 1, 14). The Court Trial Docket Book #5 and Reference Docket Book #7 show he received fees as sheriff in November 1775. Service as sheriff is the first of many Elisha Cain’s civil positions during the Revolution documented in the Court Minute Bk. 1774-1779 and Minute Bk. 1781-1785:
pp. 55, 67. May Term 1775. Processioner for Capt. Cain’s District (his own);
pp. 71, 76. August Term 1775. Juror to settle and divide an estate;
pp. 81, 82. November Term 1775. End of term as road overseer;
pp. 91, 97. May 1777. Appointed grand juror;
pp. 99, 101, 106. August Term 1777. Commissioner for contracting to repair the New Hope Bridge;
Assessor for District 2;
pp. 121, 123. February Term 1778. Foreman of grand jury;
pp. 135, 144. May Term 1778. Summoned to jury service.
pp. 148, 150, 152. August Term 1778. Grand juror and summoned as juror for next session;
Juror of laying out road;
Recommended to General Assembly as qualified to be added a justice;
pp. 162, 168, 170. November Term 1778. Commissioner for replacing New Hope Bridge;
Summoned to jury service;
pp. 171, 182. February Term, 1779. Commissioner for construction of the New Hope Bridge;
pp. 183, 189. May Term 1779. Summoned to jury service;
pp. 194, 202. August Term 1779. Summoned to Superior Court jury service;
pp. 1, 2B. November Term 1781. A presiding Justice of the County Court;
pp. 3A, 4A, 5A. February Term 1782. Presiding as Justice, Assessor in 1781;
p. 7A, 11B. May Term 23 May 1782. Assessor of taxable property for District 4;
pp. 27A, 29B. February 1783. Summoned for superior court jury service;
pp. 31A, 33A, 34A, 35A. February Term 1783. Juror to value one acre of land;
Juror to appraise an estate;
Assessor; and
pp. 38A, 45A. August Term 1783. Superior Court juror.
On 11 November 1783 some justices of the Chatham County Court signed a certificate for Hillary Henricks (S-7000), certifying that he was a good whig so he would be accepted when he moved to Georgia. This shows that Elisha Cain held a civil position in the last week of the Revolution as well as at the beginning of the Revolution.[12]
Elisha Cain acquired land in Chatham County that required taking the oath of allegiance to North Carolina. When the land office was established in 1777, the requirement that those entering a claim for state land was established.[13] Seven land entries for state land totaling 1,575 acres are recorded in his name from 16 February 1778 through 28 September 1779: #24 for 400 acres; #244 400 acres; #349 350 acres; #779 25 acres; #836 300 acres; #854 300 acres; and #954 100 acres. The entry was the first step in acquiring state land. Land was subsequently surveyed and granted after the state received payment. The subsequent steps were not always completed. In some cases, the right to take the subsequent steps was sold to others. Five grants totaling to Elisha 1,508 acres are recorded in Chatham County Deed Bk. C (pp. 268-269, 271-272), four made on 31 March 1780 and one on 1 April 1780. Also in 1777 North Carolina required that the oath of allegiance be taken in order to buy, sell, inherit, or lease for more than one year land.[14] On 20 August 1779 Elisha purchased 375 acres of land from Archibald and Patty Cain (Bk. B, pp. 341-342). On 9 November 1779 Elisha and Mary Cain sold two contiguous tracts of Land to Zachariah Harmon (Bk. B, pp. 375-376).[15]
Elisha Cain continued to be active in civil business of the county after the Revolution. He is listed on the 1800 census of Chatham, with no males other than himself (over 45) in the household and three females, one 26 to 45 and two 16 to 26. In 1803 he conveyed land to his son Absalom Cain for love and friendship and for love and good will (Bk. N, pp. 254, 260-261). Both of these deeds were acknowledged in open court in the February term, 1804. This is the last record found showing that Elisha was still alive. An 1802 sale of land by Elisha was proved in the November 1804 term by William Cain, Jr., one of the witnesses. This was a departure from Elisha’s practice of acknowledging his sales of land in person. On 15 May 1804 the sheriff sold at auction two tract of land belonging to Elisha for debt (Bk. M, pp. 552-554; Bk. O, pp. 15-16).
The will of Dempsey Cain is the key to identifying the children of Elisha Cain (Kershaw District South Carolina Record Bk. C, p. 434). Two records link Dempsey to Chatham County when he was living in South Carolina. On 17 September 1799 while living in Lexington County, South Carolina he purchased a town lot in Chatham County from Elisha Cain (Bk. K, pp. 520-521). Dempsey made specific reference in his will to a deed in possession of a Chatham County resident for land in Pittsborough. Pittsboro is the county seat of Chatham County, North Carolina. The siblings named by Dempsey were: James, Rebekah, William, Cristin, Hardy, Absalom, Sarah, and Cinthy.[16] Two siblings names are known to be children of Elisha through the Orange County will of Benjamin Blake: Absalom and Sarah. In addition, Elisha conveyed to tracts of land to Absalom love and friendship/good will. Others, such as Cynthia Cain, witnessed deeds for Elisha (Bk. L, 71; Bk. N, pp. 490-491).
Elisha Cain’s third wife evidently died before her father. William Willis signed his will in 1801. Rebecca and Sinthy were among the legatees. It is likely that that Rebekah and Cinthy were the only children of this marriage who lived to 1801, given the absence of other Cains in the will. Mary Cain, Elisha’s first wife, was living in 1779 when she and Elisha sold land. No evidence has been found that Elisha was married before he wed Mary. Children born by 1779 are presumably children of Mary. There is now a basis for identifying which wife was the mother of some of the children.
The 1790 and 1800 census provide information about the identity of three sons of Elisha Cain who would have been children by his first wife. In 1790 Elisha is listed on the Chatham census with 3 males 16 and over in his household (p. 235). Hardy Cain headed a Chatham household with 1 male over 16 that year (p. 234). Hardy died testate in Amite County, Mississippi in 1814 (Wills & Administrations Bk. 1, pp. 142-143; WS 1 July 1814; WP 17 October 1818). He provided for his wife, Mary, during her widowhood. Benjamin Foreman signed his will in Chatham County on 24 August 1795 and it was proved in the February Term, 1796.[17] He made a bequest to Mary Cain, whom he identified as a daughter, and named Hardy Cain as executor. Hardy Cain would have been over 21 to be named as executor, placing his birth no later than 1774. He was a son of Mary Cain.
James Cain is listed on the 1800 Kershaw County, South Carolina census. He was 26 to 44—born no later than 1774. James and Elizabeth Cain witnessed the will, an irregularity given that James was a legatee. They did not prove the will, however. Robert Dow testified that the will was in Dempsy’s handwriting. Dempsey left James a slave named “John.” Dempsey said that if his father moved to “this country” that he wished for his brother James to let that his father have the slave or help from the slave. James would have been a second son of Elisha born by his first wife.
William Cain is listed on the 1810 Chatham census, both he and the eldest female aged 26 to 45 (image 51 at ancestry.com). William Cain, Jr. is the only William Cain on the 1820 Chatham census (p. 318). He was over 45, placing his birth no later than 1775. He too would have been a child of Mary.
Based on information presently available, the children of Elisha Cain were by his wives as follows:
1st Wife—Mary 2nd Wife—Martha Blake 3rd Wife—--?-- Willis Not determined
Hardy Absalom Rebeka Christin
James Sarah Cinthy Dempsey
William
Summary. Elisha Cain provided services to the American Revolution that one would expect of a man with a large family. He took the oath of allegiance, provided supplies, and served on juries. His service in civil offices at the county level went well beyond the norm and included sheriff, justice of the court, commissioner for work on a bridge, and assessor. As a delegate for Chatham County to the Third and Fourth Provincial Congresses of North Carolina he was involved in critical decisions that shaped the Revolutionary government of North Carolina. Those Congresses established military forces to resist the British, established six districts in the state which were instrumental in raising troops and carrying out administrative functions such as paying for supplies, authorized bills of credit necessary to fund the Revolution, and set principles of fairness for dealing with religious minorities who would not bear arms. As a member of the Fourth Provincial Congress he participated in a very important decision: to authorize the North Carolina Delegates to the Continental Congress to vote for independence.
For a prominent man, Elisha Cain’s disappearance from Chatham County records iss unusual. Dempsey Cain indicated in his will that consideration was being given to his father moving to South Carolina. Many South Carolina records are no longer extant. Perhaps that explains his disappearance.
[1] Original will, Edgecombe County Probate Records, North Carolina State Archives. The will is recorded in Edgecombe Count Will Bk. A, pp. 59-60, but page 59 is torn and only the “E” is Elisha’s name can be read.
[2] Original will, Edgecombe County Probate Records, North Carolina State Archives.
[3] For example, the Bertie Court considered a petition on 7 February 1736 from William Cain and William Clery about a delay in paying legacies (Bk. 1, pp. 98, 101).
[4] Benjamin Blake was issued three Revolutionary Pay Vouchers by the Hillsborough Auditor’s Office: #534 for £24.10 specie; #1862 on 10 June 1783; and #2844 on 10 June 1783. The Auditor’s Office presumably considered evidence that Blake had provided goods and/or services to support the Revolution prior to his death.
[5] Chatham County land entries #552 and #553 were filed for William Willis on 27 September 1779.
[6] Minutes of the Third North Carolina Provincial Congress are in Saunders, William L.: Colonial Records of North Carolina, Vol. 10, (1890), pp. 164-220.
[7] These districts also became the structure for administrative functions such as accounting for supplies and services rendered to North Carolina once independence was declared. The Hillsborough District covered the counties of Orange, Chatham, Granville, and Wake in 1775, and Caswell and Randolph after they were established during the Revolution.
[8] No evidence has been found that Elisha Cain served tours of active duty as an officer of the minute men.
[9] Minutes of the 4th North Carolina Provincial Congress are in Saunders, William L.: Colonial Records of North Carolina, Vol. 10, (1890), pp. 499-590.
[10] Saunders, William L.: Colonial Records of North Carolina, Vol. 19, (1901), pp. 369, 394.
[11] See (http://www.chathamnc.org/Index.aspx?page=1049). From email correspondence with the Office of the Sheriff I learned that they relied on secondary sources for their information.
[12] For unknown reasons, Fold3 shows two files for (S-7000). The certificate is found in the longer of the two files.
[13] Clark, Walter (ed.), The State Records of North Carolina, Vol. 24, (1905), pp. 43-44. Land office officials were authorized to administer the oath of allegiance. The land office did not keep separate records of oaths administered. A successful entry is evidence that the state acknowledged that the oath was taken.
[14] Ibid., p. 89.
[15] Elisha was the grantor in nine Chatham deeds from 1792 through 1803. Four of the conveyances were to three of his sons.
[16] Cynthia married Henry Beasley, Jr. and moved to Robertson County, Tennessee. For further information, see documentation filed with SAR #121743, supplemental applications on Henry Beasley, Jr. and Elisha Cain.
[17] The will is apparently not recorded in an extant will book. A photocopy of the original will can be found in Ezell, Mildred Seab: Cain, (1988), p.C-107-108.