James Caudill Jr (1753 - 1840)

Born 1753 in Lunenburg County, Virginia

Ancestors

Descendants

Died 30 May 1840 at about age 87 in Blackey, Letcher County, Kentucky, United States

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Biography

Private James Caudill Jr served with North Carolina during the American Revolution.

James Caudill Jr is a DAR Patriot Ancestor, A023691.

James Caudill Jr is an NSSAR Patriot Ancestor.
NSSAR Ancestor #: P-130425
Rank: Private

Note I have removed the reference to a first wife for James Caudill Jr. This link was made to make Abigail (Caudill) Pennington the daughter of James Jr. The source of this info is from Oven Fork Church records in which Abigail states she was the daughter of James Caudill. What was not recorded, was she the daughter of James Sr. or James Jr. Records indicate Abigail's birth year is pretty accurate. James Jr. is probably as much as 10 years younger than he is recorded on the Censuses with his son William C. Caudill. This would clearly eliminate him as being Abigail's father and make the more likely link as her brother.

History of Elliott County, Kentucky, 1869-1990, Vol. II

Vet. Revolutionary War Kings Mountain. Left Virginia ca. 1780 to Wilkes County, NC. James and his family eventually settled in Perry County, KY (now Letcher County). A Kentucky Highway Marker honoring James was erected on Kentucky Route 7, near the small cemetery where he is buried. The Marker reads as follows: "James Caudill, born in Virginia in 1753, first came to Big Cowen Creek in 1781. Because of Indians, he took his family back to North Carolina. Returning here in 1792 with his family, he built a cabin, stayed several years then went back to North Carolina. They settled here permanently in 1811. He was progenitor to a large widespread mountain family. He died in 1840." He died saying that he did not want his dust to mingle with another's soil. He was buried on his own land on Rockhouse Creek, in Perry County, KY (now Letcher County).

Copied from the Cordell Clippings (a semi annual newsletter of the Cordell Association), No. 10, Jan. 1994, Page 13 & 14:

Listed with DAR Library as Codill, James # A023691 ^[1]

Per Robin Caudill: James, Jr. is the s/o James, Sr. and Mary Yarborough. He first married Sarah Elizabeth (James), (Primary Source for this "first" Marriage?) then married to Mary (Adams)-d/o Benjamin and Henrietta "Henny" (Caudill) Adams on 9 Feb 1785

Information taken from US Headstone Applications for Military Veterans

N.C. Troops Revolutionary War Soldier

It states he is in the Rich Whitaker Cemetery in Blackey Kentucky. I assume this cemetery is the right one.

Headstone was to be shipped to R.B. Caudill

James Caudill Jr was an Appalachian.

Per Morrison-4392 : The Mountain Eagle WHITESBURG, LETCHER COUNTY, KENTUCKY.Tab THURSDAY, MAY 28, 1931 The Caudill Family Biographical and Historical Account of One of the Oldest, Most Numerous Influential and Popular Families in Eastern Kentucky, : " The year was 1803. It was spring-time and the sun had climbed over the fog-capped brow of the Black Mountains and was sending golden beams through the deep forests of the very headwaters of Cumberland river. The indistinct sound of an axe broke on the ears of a stray trio of hunters from Virginia. They mustered courage for they feared Indians and peered through the thick trees to know more about it. A man was cutting logs into certain lengths and building a cabin. He had no idea there was a white man in many miles from him. They inquired his name and found it to be James Caudill, lately arrived from the border states of North Carolina or Georgia. He finished his temporary cabin and returned to the southland for his wife and family. And this woodsman was the pioneer James Caudill, Revolutionary soldier, Indian fighter, patriot and progenator of the first and largest family of this name to ever come into the hills of Kentucky. Tab A bigoraphical sketch of this old pioneer of the hills and his family would, if written fully, read like romance, would make a many page book, and therefore details here for want of space can only deal lightly with a few of the families, referring only slightly to the others." (Jimmy also has a highway historical marker plaque commemoriating him as a Pioneer of Kentucky.)

Research Notes

He states in his pension application that he was born in Lunenburg County. He was 80 at the time of the application, putting his birth year at 1753.^[2]

James was born in 1753. He passed away in 1840.

Sources

1. ↑ Daughters of the American Revolution, DAR Genealogical Research Databases, database online, (http://www.dar.org/ : accessed 18 Feb 2022), "Record of CODILL, JAMES", Ancestor # A023691.
2. ↑ Pension application of James Cordill, #S30344 (pdf), transcribed by Will Graves.

• Pension applications of brothers Stephen Cordill, #R2315 (pdf) and James Cordill, #S30344 (pdf), transcribed by Will Graves, posted by Southern Campaigns Revolutionary War Pension Statements & Rosters, accessed 22 June 2021.
• "The Kentucky Explorer" November 2019, Page 76.
• "The Mountain Eagle" WHITESBURG, LETCHER COUNTY, KENTUCKY. THURSDAY, MAY 28, 1931, "The Caudill Family: Biographical and Historical Account of One of the Oldest, Most NumerousInfluential and Popular Families in Eastern Kentucky", Newspaper full text : http://sites.rootsweb.com/~kyletch/articles/caudill_family.htm
• James Caudill, Jr
• Absher, W. O., Mrs., 1915; The Heritage of Wilkes County - The Wars and Wilkes - Revolutionary War Men of Wilkes; North Wilkesboro, N.C. : Wilkes Genealogical Society in cooperation with Hunter Pub. Co., Winston-Salem, N.C.; p62.

Birth: 1753-1763, Lunenburg County, Virginia, USA Death: 1838, Perry County, Kentucky, US Lay pastor after 1784 Roaring River, Walks, NC 1784 moved to Rowan, NC

1784 Acquired deed to a 250 ac farm on Middle Creek Form, NC Feb 23, 1795 acquired deed from George Payne Roaring River, NC also acquired deed on 50 acres on school house branch from George Payne

History of Elliott County, Kentucky, 1869-1990, Vol. II

Vet. Revolutionary War Kings Mountain. Left Virginia ca. 1780 to Wilkes County, NC. James and his family eventually settled in Perry County, KY (now Letcher County). A Kentucky Highway Marker honoring James was erected on Kentucky Route 7, near the small cemetery where he is buried. The Marker reads as follows: "James Caudill, born in Virginia in 1753, first came to Big Cowen Creek in 1781. Because of Indians, he took his family back to North Carolina. Returning here in 1792 with his family, he built a cabin, stayed several years then went back to North Carolina. They settled here permanently in 1811. He was progenitor to a large widespread mountain family. He died in 1840." He died saying that he did not want his dust to mingle with another's soil. He was buried on his own land on Rockhouse Creek, in Perry County, KY (now Letcher County).

Copied from the Cordell Clippings (a semi annual newsletter of the Cordell Association), No. 10, Jan. 1994, Page 13 & 14:

Listed with DAR Library as Codill, James # A023691

Per Robin Caudill: James, Jr. is the s/o James, Sr. and Mary Yarborough. He married to Mary (Adams)-d/o Benjamin and Henrietta "Henny" (Caudill) Adams on 9 Feb 1785

Family links: Parents: James Caudill (1720 - ____) Mary Yarborough Caudill (1730 - ____)

Spouse: Mary Adams Caudill (1753 - 1815)*

Children: William C. "Billy" Caudill (1779 - 1880)* Elizabeth Caudill Adams (1782 - ____)* Sampson Caudill (1784 - 1863)* Henry H. Caudill (1785 - 1856)* Thomas Caudill (1786 - ____)* Isom Caudill (1789 - 1892)* Stephen Caudill (1793 - ____)* Jesse P. Caudill (1795 - 1891)* Sarah Caudill Caudill (1795 - ____)*

Siblings: David Caudill (1750 - ____)* John Caudill (1751 - ____)* James Caudill (1753 - 1838) Benjamin Caudill (1755 - ____)* Thomas Aaron Caudill (1757 - 1848)* Matthew Caudill (1760 - ____)* Stephen Caudill (1763 - 1839)* William Caudill (1765 - ____)* Jesse Caudill (1770 - ____)* Abner Caudill (1775 - ____)*

Burial: Rich Whitaker Cemetery, Letcher, Letcher County, Kentucky, USA Find A Grave: Memorial #35992457

• https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/35992457/james-caudill

Information taken from US Headstone Applications for Military Veterans

N.C. Troops Revolutionary War Soldier

It states he is in the Rich Whitaker Cemetery in Blackey Kentucky.

Headstone was to be shipped to R.B. Caudill

Written on Caudill marker:

~ James Caudill born in Virginia in 1753, first came to Big Cowan Creek in 1787. Because of Indians, he took his family back to North Carolina, Returning here in 1792 with his family, he built a cabin, stayed several years, went back to North Carolina. They settled here permanently in 1811. He was progenitor of a large, widespread mountain family. He died in 1840 ~

James Caudill, was born in the old state of North Carolina in the year 1753, and when quite young, enlisted in the American army for service in the Revolutionary War. Like all those who suffered, struggled and fought in this war for independence, he had a colorful part. In the early days of the war he was captured by the British, suffered the brunt of many indignities and was marched through the forests three whole days without food.

Finally, with those captured with him, he escaped and rejoined his comrades. He was on many of the battlefields of the South, King's Mountain, in 1780, being one that impressed his memory greatest, King's Mountain is in North Carolina, but the great battle was fought seven miles from this place over in South Carolina. Soon after this battle the one at Guilford Courthouse was fought, which was an indecisive one. From here Lord Cornwallis, the British general, marched to Wilmington and thence to Yorktown, where he surrendered.

Returning to his native section of the country after our country was declared free and independent, he engaged in hunting, trapping, breaking bunches of Indian marauders and farming till the spirit of go west entered his mind. On hunting trips he had invaded sections many miles away from his home would often be away for many months. On his hunting trips it is believed he even invaded the hills of Southwest Virginia and probably entered the Sandy river sections of what was then Kentucky County, Virginia. It was on one of these trips that he invaded the Black and Pine Mountain sections and determined when the opportunity came to settle in them.

In his early manhood he married the daughter of a Revolutionary soldier, before settling in Eastern Kentucky had three sons, all three of whom were born back in North Carolina and soon followed the head to its new location. As soon as the skies of hope in the new land began to clear James Caudill with his three sons, William, Henry and Isom, and others who migrated with him began to make themselves felt in hewing out the forests, building homes, erecting church and school houses and otherwise clearing the way for progress and civilization.

The first the records now in existence show of James Caudill was in 1820 when he became a charter member of the old Oven Fork Church, organized on Cumberland river in what was then Harlan County. In the same old record is found the names of William Caudill, specified as one of the deacons of the church, and his wife, Nancy Caudill, is recorded as one of the deaconesses. Henry, the oldest of the family, had seven sons and two daughters.

These were Stephen, born 1810; James, 1816; Henry H., 1818; Billie, 1820; Isom, 1822; Ben, 1824; Jesse, 1826 and David, 1828. James Caudill's daughter, Abagail, and William Pennington, her husband, are also mentioned in the old Oven Fork record as among the first deaconesses and deacons of that church.

The first William Caudill married Nancy Craft and they had 13 children. Henry married Phoebe Strailer and became the mother of ten children.

Isom, another son of the pioneer, finally settled on Little Cowan creek where he resided till his death at the age of only a few days less than 100 years. By his first marriage his children were, Della, who married Joe Musselwhite; Amanda who became the wife of _____ Sturgill; twins, Billie and Henry, James, Alford and John. At the age of seventy-two he married a rather young woman, Mary Miller, and to him she bore three children, Martha, who married Thos. Johnson; Hiram, who married a daughter of the late Wm. S. Vermillion, and Hannah, the wife of Andrew J. Adams who now resides at Fleming.

Henry, who before coming to Kentucky married Phoebe Strailer in South Carolina and had the following sons and daughters: Steve, born 1810 and married Betsy Fields; Terry, born 1812, wife of Mathew Caudill; Phoebe, 1814, wife of Wilburn Hampton; Henry (Tush), 1818, who married Susan Back; Benj. 1824, (died 1878) married Polly Bowling; James (Froggy) 1816, married Jenny Gilly; Davy, 1828, married Betsy Fields; Jesse, 1826, (Limber Jet) married Sallie Caudill; and Isom, 1822, married Lizzie Back. James, mentioned the second time, married Abby Hampton, William’s girl.

James was a Revolution War Veteran. A road side marker honoring his service is located on Rte 7, Blackey, Kentucky, USA across the road from Rich Whitaker Cemetery where he and his wife Mary are buried.

Listed with DAR Library as Codill, James # A023691 James Caudill (son of James Caudill and Mary Yarbrough) was born 1753 in Wilkes Co., NC and died May 30, 1840 in Blackey, Letcher, KY. He married Mary Adams.