Sibyl (Odom) Kirkland (abt. 1730 - aft. 1770)

Born about 1730 in North Carolina [uncertain]

Ancestors

Descendants

Died after 1770 after about age 40 in Edgefield, South Carolina [uncertain]

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Biography

Her parentage is unknown. However, land records and the family association between the Kirkland and Odom families lead to a strong supposition that she was a daughter of Abraham Odom and his wife Sibyl.

The compilers of KSB II provided good Odom Family information on pages 228-231 and suggested that a connection existed between the Snowden Kirkland Family and the Odom Family. This research sought additional information on the Odom Family. Records to prove a Kirkland-Odom connection in a definitive manner were not located. However, records were located to support the claim, offered here, that the wife of Snowden Kirkland, named Sybil, was a daughter of Abraham and Sybil (?) Odom. An overview of the appropriate records follows. Richard Odom relocated his family from Nansemond County, Virginia to Chowan County, North Carolina by 1715, Chowan Deed Book B, page 282. He acquired several tracts of land, including 200 acres on the River Pocasin. He wrote his will 12 August 1727. It was presented for probate 24 January 1728, North Carolina Wills 1690-1760: Grimes. The will identified his sons: Richard, John, Abraham, Jacob and Aaron. The sons Richard and Abraham were appointed executors of the estate, an indication that both had reached maturity. Various published resources for this area of North Carolina contain numerous records on the sons of this Richard. Richard Odom devised land on Cutawitsky Creek, a tributary of the Meherrin River, to his son Abraham, North Carolina Historical and Genealogical Register: Hathaway Vol. I, page 113. Abraham sold this land to Walter Brown on 14 May 1735, Chowan Deed Book D, page 196, and relocated to land on Beech Creek and Swift Creek of the Tar River. The creeks are located northwest of present-day Tarboro, North Carolina and became part of Edgecombe County. Some knowledge of the formation of counties in this area is of value to the report. Chowan was formed in 1672 from old Albermarle County and encompassed the northeastern area of the colony. Bertie County was formed in 1722 from the western area of Chowan. Further division of the western lands occurred as Edgecombe County was formed in 1735. Edgecombe gave up western lands to form Granville County in 1746. Readers will recall the activity of the Kirkland Family in Granville County.

Chowan records document the relocation of Richard Barnes and Mary Barnes from Nansemond County, Virginia to Chowan by 1716, Deed Book B, page 378. One of the witnesses to this deed was John Odom, brother of Abraham Odom, an indication of the association of these families. The land Barnes purchased had originally been granted to Treddell Keef, 100 acres on the north side of the Meherrin River. Readers will recall the Keeife Family was associated with the Kirkland Family on the Occaquan River in old Stafford County, Virginia. The assumption is offered that the spellings of Keef and Keeife represent variant spellings of the same surname. Families other than Kirkland appear to have been migrating from Virginia to the northeast area of North Carolina. The estates of Richard Barnes and Mary Barnes were probated in January 1759, KSB II, page 228. The published abstract of these records has been verified in this research. Mary Barnes had four daughters who were not heirs of Richard Barnes. This is interpreted to mean the daughters were heirs of a previous marriage for Mary, husband unknown. The daughters were Mary- the wife of Edward Vann; Ann- the wife of Alexander Carter; Sybil- the wife of Abraham Odom; Sarah- the wife of John Thompson. The Vann, Carter and Thompson Families continued an association with Odom and Kirkland Families in South Carolina in later years. Note is made that landmarks in deeds of Chowan County place the Odom and Barnes Families in close proximity on the Meherrin River, Pocosin River, Mill Creek, Cutawitsky Creek and Beaver Dam Creek. An old map of the area in Colonial Bertie County Deed Books: Mary B. Bell, identify these landmarks near “Meherrin Indian Town”.

Abraham Odom relocated to Swift Creek and Beech Creek of the Tar River, northeast of present-day Tarboro, in Edgecombe County. He acquired grants to several tracts of land from 1738-1745, North Carolina Abstracts of Land Patents 1735-1764: Margaret Hoffman. He and his wife, Sybil, sold these lands 1743-1748, Deed Book 3, pages 165, 305 and Deed Book 5,pages 61, 138, 273. No further record was found for him in North Carolina. He did not appear in South Carolina records found in this research until 1754. Abraham Odom submitted several petitions for land in South Carolina, Petitions for Land, South Carolina Council Journals, Vol. IV: Brent Holcomb, pages 107, 119, 223, 265, 282. He submitted three on 18 December 1754. Two of these identified his family living at home; himself, his wife, sons named David, Abraham, Jacob, John and Denisio (spelled Demsey later), and daughters named Mary and Sarah. It is important to note he did not identify a daughter named Nancy, who he recognized in his will, to be cited. Further, the son named John in this petition was not recognized in the will. Nor did he recognize a daughter named Sybil. These daughters were married and in their own homes. The absence of a son named John in the will is to be addressed later. All petitions filed at this time were for land on the Wateree River. Abraham and Sybil began to sell the Wateree River land by 06 March 1760, Charleston Deed Book W.W., page 255. Additional sales were executed later. Abraham was in Georgia by 09 May 1764, KSB II, page 229, and later acquired at least two additional tracts of land in South Carolina, probably three. One was 200 acres on old Three Runs, Waters of the Savannah River. South Carolina Colonial Plats show this land was surveyed for Odom 19 March 1767, indicating he had returned from Georgia. James Collins sold the same tract 30 December 1786 and identified it as land originally granted to Abraham Odom, Barnwell Deed Abstracts.

The second tract acquired by Abraham Odom is proved in his will, written 30 January 1771, and proved in court 13 March 1771, Charleston Will Book R.R., page 594. He devised land located on, “.... Pipe Creek from the out line to the River” (Savannah River) and identified it as “...the land whereon I now live“. The Narrative on Robert Kirkland identified several surveys for land, located on the Savannah River in the Pipe Creek-Mathews Bluff area, for Kirklands and persons associated with the Kirkland Family. The persons include: Joshua Kirkland, Robert Kirkland, Snowden Kirkland, Edward Kirkland, John Clayton, Andrew Mitchell and Isaac Lewis. The will of Abraham proves he acquired land that was of these surveys, or was in close proximity to these surveys.

The third tract acquired by Odom is implied in a deed executed by Snowden Kirkland 24 January 1770. The fact that Abraham Odom and Snowden Kirkland had presence in the Granville/Edgecombe area of North Carolina, traveled long distances over some two decades, and then lived onadjacent property on a waterway as small as Pipe Creek, seems to be more than coincidence. The given name of the wife of Odom, Sybil, was the same as that of the wife of Snowden Kirkland. It will be proved later that Snowden and Sybil had a daughter of the same given name. Again, more than coincidence is suggested. The two men were a generation apart in age. Abraham Odom had reached maturity when his father’s will was written in 1727; the birth year for Snowden Kirkland was ca. 1728.

Note has been made of a land survey for John Clayton, the Seventh-Day Baptist preacher who associated with Robert Kirkland in Georgia, in the Pipe Creek area. This survey was run 20September 1763. The field notes show the tract contained 300 acres, fronted on the Savannah River, was crossed by Pipe Creek and joined the land of Snowden Kirkland on the northwest. Clayton did not acquire the grant for this land, it was certified for Andrew Mitchell 05 March 1765. Andrew Mitchell had another survey run on 250 acres 11 October 1763. These records can be found in South Carolina Colonial Plats, State Archives. Pipe Creek crossed both of the Mitchell surveys and they adjoined the land granted to Snowden Kirkland 17 April 1764.

Extant records fail to provide any method for the disposal of the tracts by Andrew Mitchell. One of the tracts became the property of Snowden Kirkland. He and his wife, Sybil, sold it 24 January 1770 to Abraham Odom, Junior, Charleston Deed Book P-3, pages 103-107. The assumption is offered that the other Mitchell survey became the home place of Abraham Odom, Senior and was the land he devised to his sons David and Demsey. It is important to note, again, that Snowden Kirkland and Abraham Odom lived on adjacent property, at Pipe Creek on the Savannah River.

The assumption is offered that the association of Snowden Kirkland and Abraham Odom that terminated with the death of Odom at Pipe Creek, in 1771, actually began in Edgecombe/Granville Counties of North Carolina in the late 1740s. Snowden Kirkland married Sybil Odom, a daughter of Abraham and Sybil (?) Odom. Readers are cautioned that this research failed to find record of this marriage. In fact, definitive proof that Odom had a daughter named Sybil is lacking. Further support for the claim follows.

The documented presence of Snowden in Granville County, North Carolina in the early 1750s is cited in the narration on his father, Robert Kirkland. His documented association with William Holston in Granville County, North Carolina and his documented association with William Holston on Clouds Creek in Edgefield District is sufficient to say the men treated here had presence in both locales, and in the proper time frames. Granville County, North Carolina was formed from the westernmost area of the original Chowan County. Edgecombe and, later, Granville Counties were formed as settlers moved west. Kirkland settlers lived on Island Creek, of the area of Edgecombe that became Granville County. They would have followed one of three rivers eastward for supplies - the Tar, the Meherrin, or the Roanoke. The Meherrin would have placed them near the home site of Abraham Odom on Cutawitsky Creek. Travel on the Tar River would have placed them near the Odom Family home site on Beech Creek and Swift Creek. Perhaps such travels offered Snowden and Sybil the opportunity to meet. It is possible that this couple met years earlier. The Narrative on the father of Snowden, Robert Kirkland, reports on an official petition signed by one Robert Kirkland in North Carolina in 1733. While available records do not prove this man was the Robert of this report, research has not introduced another man, so named, in this area and time frame. Records cited earlier prove the Keef Family surname, associated with the Kirkland Family in Virginia, appears in the Chowan area of North Carolina as early as 1716. The possibility that the man of this report was the signer of the petition in 1733 becomes more acceptable when one recognizes that other Virginia families were looking at North Carolina. His brother, John, was old enough to have joined Robert for the trip in 1733. John would have been under the age of maturity, about 15 years, and was not eligible to document his presence by signing the petition. Note is made in the Narrative on John Kirkland d. 1773 that this brother may have settled in North Carolina before his father died. John, and Robert, may have discovered the western area of Chowan County, which became Granville County, on this trip. The Kirkland and Odom association may have originated in this trip.

Abraham Odom gave a partial listing of his children on two occasions. The first was the petition for South Carolina lands 18 December 1754. The system in effect at that time awarded settlers with land, the acreage based on the number of persons in the household. He petitioned for land based on seven children and named them: David, Abraham, Jacob, John, Demsey (Denisio), Mary and Sarah. The will of Abraham, written 30 January 1771 (cited earlier) recognized six of these, plus a daughter named Nancy Delote (DeLoach?). Mary was Mary Carradine and Sarah was Sarah Rooks, when the will was written, Charleston Will Book B, page 594. The son John, in the petition, was not recognized in the will. The assumption is offered that the petition of 1754 omitted Nancy because she was married and not residing in the household of her father. Also, the claim is made that a daughter named Sybil was omitted because she was married to Snowden Kirkland. It is not known if the son named John preceded his father in death, or was omitted from the will. The absence of a daughter named Sybil from the will of Abraham Odom is cause for concern.

Old wills did omit children on occasion. In fact, it was often the practice to recognize children only when a legacy was due them. Testators frequently failed to recognize children who had received their fair share of the estate. Sometimes a close review will suggest that an earlier distribution had been made to some children. The will of Abraham Odom is of that nature.Odom recognized four sons in the will: David, Abraham, Jacob and Demsey. He devised one or two slaves to each son and gave generous tracts of land to David, Jacob and Demsey. In so far as a son named John was not recognized in the will and was identified as a son in the land petition of 1754, this son probably preceded his father in death. This assumption is supported by the absence of John in available records, as a mature person, and the presence of the other sons in records as mature persons. Abraham, Junior received two slaves as his legacy, no land. Further, this son was omitted from the distribution of his father’s remaining personal estate, which was devised to David, Jacob and Demsey. These three brothers were the executors of the estate, Abraham, Junior had no role in the execution of his father’s estate.

The will seems to direct attention to the land sale by Snowden to Abraham Odom, Junior on 24 January 1770, Charleston Deed Book P-3, pages 103-107. Note is made that this deed was executed just one year before Abraham wrote his will, on 30 January 1771. Legacies in the will could reflect a previous gift. The deed in question may represent a previous gift. It is worth noting, for background, that this was a 300 acre tract bounding on the Savannah River and was crossed by Pipe Creek. The land had originally been surveyed for Andrew Mitchell 28 September 1763. Extant records found in this research fail to disclose how Snowden and Sybil acquired this land. Some speculation is offered. A very confusing shadow is cast over this deed in that Parker Carradine released all his right, title, claim and demand to the land involved, three days later, 27 January 1770. He was a witness to the will of Abraham Odom, Senior, written a year later, and is assumed to have been the husband of Odom’s daughter, Mary Carradine.

Sybil had no role in the original deed. Snowden executed the deed alone. Sybil, like Parker Carradine, released her claim to the land later. She executed her dower release a month later, 24 February 1770. This leads to the assumption that Snowden was not selling his home site, but he was selling another tract of land in which someone decided Sybil and Parker Carradine may have held a vested interest. Extant records are insufficient to provide a clear answer to this issue. The writer offers the assumption that Abraham Odom, Senior acquired the two surveys controlled by Andrew Mitchell. He made his home site on the 250 acre tract, and devised that land to his sons David, and Demsey. The 300 acre tract was conveyed, in some manner, to Snowden Kirkland. In so far as Sybil executed a dower release as an “afterthought”, one month later, the land may have been conveyed to her, or some interest may have been conveyed to her by her father. The record of a release by Parker Carradine indicates he also had a family interest in the land. Note needs to be made that Parker Carradine was a Justice of the Peace, and later became a higher public official. Consideration must be given that this land may have been given to his son, Abraham, Junior and his son-in-law, Snowden Kirkland, jointly. By this deed, Snowden sold his interest in the land to his brother-in-law. The other parties released interests that may have been implied by the family connection. The writer does not pretend to have answered the question raised by this deed. However, there is enough evidence to say Snowden Kirkland, Sybil Kirkland and Parker Carradine had vested interests in the land. They sold these interests to Abraham Odom, Junior. The evidence suggests they derived this interest from Abraham Odom, Senior, who is assumed to have been the father-in-law of Snowden Kirkland and Parker Carradine. The problem is typical of the frustration searchers face in this area and in this time frame. The failure of early generations to record records under the old Charleston court system is real. Also, the loss of records for this area in the Civil War is real. The record cited is the only land purchase, or sale, recorded by Snowden, in existing records, in his lifetime. We have no record of how he disposed of the land granted to him on Pipe Creek. Records, to be cited, prove he owned land in Edgefield District but we find no record of the purchase of such, nor of the disposal of this land by him, or his heirs.

The following is offered in summary of the preceding information. Abraham Odom, Senior acquired two tracts of land on Pipe Creek, originally controlled by Andrew Mitchell. The land adjoined land owned by several members of the Kirkland Family, including Snowden Kirkland. The tract of 250 acres became the home site of Abraham Odom, Senior and was devised to his sons David and Demsey at his death. The 300 acre tract was conveyed to family members and was sold to Abraham Odom, Junior 24 January 1770 by Snowden Kirkland. Parker Carradine released his interests in this land three days later, 27 January 1770. The wife of Snowden Kirkland, Sybil, released her dower rights to the land a month later, 24 February 1770. Perhaps Abraham Odom, Junior held an interest in the land earlier and, by this deed, purchased the interest of other family members.

The preceding seems to identify the wife of Snowden Kirkland, and to account for her origin, in the most definitive manner permitted by available records. She will be listed in the report as Sybil (Odom?) Kirkland, to add emphasis to the lack of proof for her maiden surname. This research failed to find record of Sybil after the deed cited here. The time or place of her death is unknown.

Research Notes

Earlier researchers reported a Native American Indian background for Sybil, the wife of Snowden Kirkland. None have recorded any proof, and it is common knowledge among experienced family searchers that Indian ancestry claims are often unfounded. No record has been observed in this research to support the claim of such ancestry for Sybil. The tradition may originate in the typescript report on the Kirkland Family of Henry County, Alabama by Charles Hascal Kirkland, written in the 1930s. This report listed three brothers who settled in Henry County. The father was unknown, but his mother (also unknown by name) was reported to have been “...full blood Indian....”. No source for the claim was given, but implication points to a family tradition. This research identifies the father of the brothers in that report as Benjamin Kirkland d. 1805. The mother of Benjamin was the Sybil of this report.

We should not encourage the perpetuation of unfounded traditions. Enough of these arise and they often present obstacles to good research. However, one item of interest needs to be recognized when giving consideration to the reported Indian ancestry for Sybil. Note was made earlier of a map of Chowan County, North Carolina, as the area appeared in the early 1700s, when the Odom, Barnes and Kirkland Families arrived. A landmark on the map was noted, “Meherrin Indian Town”. It was in close proximity to the lands owned by young Abraham Odom and his father, and to the land of his mother-in-law, Mary Barnes.

Three minor (in numbers) Indian tribes lived in the area of Virginia and North Carolina drained by the Nottaway and Meherrin Rivers, Nottaways, Meherrins and Weanocks. The writer chanced on to some unusual research in past years and proved a Skipper Family ancestry to the Nottaway Indians before 1700. The tribes were doomed to extinction, primarily because the more industrious of their members assimilated into the English society of the area. Information in the files of the writer reports women of these tribes frequently became wives of Englishmen in the area and moved to other areas. The opinion is offered that if Sybil had an Indian background (available records do not support this), it probably resulted from one of these tribes. The nearness of a Meherrin Indian town to the homes of the Odom and Barnes Families is cause for consideration of the tradition.

Note must be made that the mother of Sybil was married to one with a European name, Richard Barnes. Her mother had daughters from an earlier marriage and they had English given names. Readers may form their own conclusions on this issue...

Sources

• Kirkland Family Roots, by James Peacock, publ. privately in 2002.
• Kirkland Source Book of Records, Vols. I and II
• Petitions for Land, South Carolina Council Journals, Vol. IV: Brent Holcomb, pages 107, 119, 223, 265, 282
• South Carolina deed abstracts