William Carroll (abt. 1803 - 1857)

Born about 1803 in Lincoln, North Carolina, United States

Ancestors

Husband of Malinda A (Postell) Carroll — married about 1825 in North Carolina, United States

Died Jul 1857 at about age 54 in Weakley, Tennessee, United States

Biography

William was born about 1803, probably in Lincoln County, North Carolina. He was the son of William Carroll and Polly Moore. He passed away in July 1857 in Weakley County, Tennessee. He and his wife Malinda were buried on the family farm in Weakley County. The cemetery no longer exists as it was covered over by a later owner of the land. ^[1]

William married Malinda Postell about 1824 in North Carolina. In 1830 they are living in Macon County, North Carolina near William's father, William Carroll Senr. In his household on the census are:

• Males age 20-30 - 1 [William, Jnr]
• Females age 0-4 - 1 [Lucinda]
• Females age 15-20 - 1 [Malinda]^[2]

Sometime about 1831/32 the family left North Carolina and headed for Tennessee. It was a long journey by wagon train. According to research by a Carroll family member, they joined a group of families who started west together from Johnson [Johnston?] County, North Carolina, traveling through the Yadkin Valley toward the mountains and crossing at the Cumberland Gap.

Melinda [Carroll] told Grandma that while she was cooking over a camp fire, the stars fell. We know now that on that night in 1832 it was Haley’s Comet they saw in the night sky. ... Once they reached Tennessee, they settled in Weakley County, near the Obion River. They bought 250 acres, plus or minus. It was on the north bank of the Obion river, about 15 miles northeast of Dresden, in Weakley Co., Tennessee. The farm was on the county road that ran from the Kentucky border at Boydsville by way of Elm Tree to Palmersville and onto Dresden. They built a home on a ridge ½ mile from the Obion River. The house was surrounded by Beech trees, so they called it Beech Ridge.

There is a very long, detailed and quite interesting history of this family in Ansearchin' News, a publication of The Tennessee Genealogical Society, Inc.^[3]

Wm Carroll and family are listed on the 1840 census in Weakley County, Tennessee. In their household are:

• Males age 5-10 - 1 [William Albert]
• Males age 30-40 - 1 [William]
• Females age 0-4 - 2 [Melvina, Paralee]
• Females age 5-10 - 2 [Molly, Martha Jane]
• Females age 10-15 - 1 [Lucinda]
• Females age 20-30 - 1 [Malinda]

The 1850 census in Weakley County, Tennessee lists William and Malinda and their children:

1. William Carroll Male 20 North Carolina
2. Mary Carroll Female 18 North Carolina
3. Martha Carroll Female 15 Tennessee
4. Malvina Carroll Female 12 Tennessee
5. Paralee Carroll Female 10 Tennessee
6. Alfred Carroll Male 8 Tennessee
7. Rosina Carroll Female 6 Tennessee
8. Daniel Carroll Male 4 Tennessee
9. Araminta Carroll Female 4 mos Tennessee^[4]

In 1850 William owned three slaves:

• Female, age 30, B, Tutta
• Male, age 10, B, Calvin
• Female, age 5, M, Harriett^[3][5]

Death & Legacy

William wrote his will dated 9 May 1857 and it was recorded on the first Monday in July 1857 in Weakley County, Tennessee. An inventory of his estate was recorded on 27 October 1857. His wife, Malinda Carroll, was appointed Executor with their two sons-in-law, Roberton Burton and William Webb, to be Executors following Malinda's death. The oldest son, William Albert Carroll, purchased the shares of family property which had been left to the other children. Malinda and her children stayed in Weakley County until after 1860 when Malinda and daughter Melvina moved to Henry County, Tennessee.^[3]

Sources

1. ↑ Find A Grave: Memorial #97712149
2. ↑ 1830 census
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2} Ansearchin’ News -- Spring, 2007, p 38 ff; The William Carroll Family of Weakley County
4. ↑ 1850 census
5. ↑ "United States Census (Slave Schedule), 1850 ", database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:HRWF-7LMM : 15 February 2020), W Caroll in entry for MM9.1.1/MVHF-JCH:, 1850.

• United States Census, 1830," database with images, Internet Archive, William Carrell Senr, Macon County, North Carolina, United States; Series: M19; Roll: 123; Page: 32; Family History Library Film: 0018089.
• "United States Census, 1840," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XHYG-KPX : 18 August 2017), Wm Carroll, Weakley, Tennessee, United States; citing p. 277, NARA microfilm publication M704, (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 530; FHL microfilm 24,547.
• "United States Census, 1850," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MC63-8KK : 27 February 2020), W Carroll, Weakley county, part of, Weakley, Tennessee, United States; citing family 25, NARA microfilm publication M432 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).

• Find A Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 22 March 2020), memorial page for William Carroll (1803–Jul 1857), Find A Grave Memorial no. 97712149, ; Maintained by Our Whitaker Families©1990-2020 (contributor 47098946) Non-Cemetery Burial.

• Ansearchin’ News, published quarterly by and for The Tennessee Genealogical Society, Inc., a non-profit organization. 7779 Poplar Pike, Germantown, TN 38138