James Callon (abt. 1768 - 1857)

This all starts from the reference that “James Callon was born in Pennsylvania in 1768 of Irish immigrant parents”. The problem in resolving the question is an inability to identify the names of his parents. Multiple endeavors to find them have ended in frustration and given the lack of any necessary records seems to be a dead issue. The following is offered as supporting evidence of the Scot-Irish question. Important premises are: 1) Religious lines were extremely strong in those days. 2) Patterns of immigration in terms of times and where they located. 3) Personal characteristics of the people. Many of the Scot-Irish had lived in Ireland for as long as a century so they thought of themselves as Irish. In Ireland you were either Catholic, Presbyterian (Scot-Irish) or Church of England (Episcopalian). Legislation, secret societies and battle grounds were dictated by religion in Ireland during the 16th and 17th centuries. Based on our ancestors in that time frame I do not believe that James Callon was Catholic. If he had been Church of England he would probably have gone to Virginia where the Church of England was the only allowed religion. The Scot-Irish immigrated to America starting around 1620 and a large number of them came to America up to the beginning of the Revolutionary War. Many of the Scot-Irish from Ireland went to Pennsylvania as they were recruited by an agent of William Penn to help protect Philadelphia against the Indians and they were not all that welcome in other colonies. It is well documented that Pennsylvania had three distinct groups of people: Quakers, Pennsylvania Dutch (Germans) and Scot-Irish. James Webb in his book Born to Fight emphasized that the Scot-Irish came to America as families and family units. He also stressed that they were fighters. James Callon was a drummer boy in the Revolutionary War with a unit from Pennsylvania near Pittsburgh. He served in a mounted battalion, a company of mounted spies and guides from Kentucky under Major General Scott from July 10, 1794 to Oct. 26, 1794. This included The Battle of Fallen Timbers on August 20, 1794 under Major General Anthony Wayne. Another characteristic was their tendency to move on to other places. James Callon went from Penn. to Kentucky to Ohio although the distance of the move was relatively short as Mason, Kentucky is just across the Ohio River from where he settled in Ohio. He moved from Pennsylvania to Kentucky (1788) and then to Ohio (1808) where he died in 1857 at the age of 89. They also intermarried. Anna Wells was of Welsh ancestry. Unconfirmed parents: Edward Callen who married Jane McIllroy in Pennsylvania on Dec. 18, 1766 Another possibility was a relationship to four Calland families who immigrated to America in the same time frame. A contradiction is that Samuel Calland went to North Carolina and was known to be well read and an astute businessman. The other brothers were Patrick, William and Charles. He signed his will On July 6, 1857 with an X so it seems safe to conclude that he could not read or write which seems to be another characteristic of the Scot-Irish in this time frame. Posted by Jack Callon who has confirmed that James Callon was his great, great, great grandfather