James McCarrell, weaver from Ireland: conversations with cousins

1/17/22 Dwight talked to Margaret McCarrell---

A professor from University of Tennessee came to the house and found holes in the door that James McCarrell used for the loom. Margaret has also seen a diary that James kept which included the bills he had for yarn that he bought to use in the loom. "In his own hand", he states in that diary that he was born in Ireland. Being of Scottish descent, many mistakenly have him listed as being born in Scotland.

From Cousin Dwight, the grandson of Margaret Viola Graham-Blake..

 1/16/2022

I think the loom was integrated onto the fireplace mantle and walls, with a series of hooks. That is, if I remember correctly.

 

Actually, this was the time period when England was taking over India, and also the first beginings of mechanization that would lead to the Industrial Revolution. They were making weaving more efficient, and also had cheaper labor in India. This lead to a gradual and long decline in the weaving industry of Northern Ireland. Jobs became harder and harder to find, as the same out put required less workers. So, the McCarrells and McKibbens, and presumable the Caswell Grahams, migrated to find new economic opportunties.

 

James McCarrell was also a minister. But, he found his calling in choir and singing. He lead the church in singing and music.

 

James McCarrell’s first wife died when he was about 45. People usually did not live that long in the 1750s-1760s. He then bravely started a 2^nd family. He married the 19 year old daughter of his neighbor and fellow Irish Immigrant James McKibbens. I guessed that re-energized him, because he would live another 40years. He would go on at that age to move to the frontier of Fincastle, have another batch of many children, and then migrate them down to Knoxville. He worked hard until near his old age death. When he got older, the family made him the weaving ability in the house, so he could sit there and do something useful with his time. They did not have much space, so need to be creative to build it for him.

 

I think most genealogist would never have caught that it was James McCarrell Sr. (b. 1728) who was the father of all those young children. However, it was all recorded in the Bible [which Margaret McCarrell had at one time]. The only record that survived to prove this all.

 

There are alot of legends that I need to write down… There was another. He got the deed to his land in Knoxville in about 1800. He had to ride a horse all the way to Nashville to get it, as that was the only place where the deeds were issued. He then rode back by horse, and the very next day he took that original deed to the Knox County Court house and made sure that it was entered there also. There is a record of this special effort that he took. He must have been 75 years old when he made those journeys by himself… 

For more on the McCarrell Bible, click here

All these photos of the McCarroll/McKibbon Homestead: Somewhere when I put these all on Ancestry.com I told that they are all courtesy of Marcy Carter Lovick......

McCarrell Bible

Dwight received a note from Margaret McCarrell who owned the Bible which helped us break through our brick wall of Margaret Carroll (Margaret McCarroll Graham).  Click here for information from that Bible.  Here are photos of that note and a transcription.

Hi Cousin

On 10/13/16 I donated the James McCarrell Bible to:  The E. Tenn. Historical Society located @ 601 Gay St. in downtown Knoxville---It's just blocks from Interstate 40. From I-40 follow Downtown/local traffic signs to downtown Knoxville---P.O. Box 1629 Knoxville, TN 37902 www.easttnhistorycenter.org 865-215-8824
[Steve Cotham accepted the Bible]

It's right across from the Tennessee Theater on Gay St.  They have the Bible Room in the basement.  In order to see it (along with all of the loose papers found in the Bible) call them before you arrive.  They are on the 3rd floor.  They will get the Bible, and it will be on the 3rd floor when you arrive.  I believe I did the right thing.  I took it out of the Bank's lock Box and carried it to the McClung Historical Collection on same day.

I copied those direction from I-40 from a pamphlet I read in 2009 " The East Tennessee History Center Bringing History to Life".  They have security at the door (When I got off the elevator on the 3rd floor--I have to put my pocketbook in a locked box---when you leave, you get your pocket book back)

They are open:  Mon Tues 9Am-8:30 PM   Wed-Fri 9 AM-5:30 PM  Sat. 9AM-5PM  Sun. 1-5PM

The first floor has a gift shop, the last street car that went down Gay St, Ellis and Ernest Drug Store that closed on Cumberland Ave. many years ago etc. 

Now, I don't worry about it. The front cover (made for me) reads:
McCarrell Bible
James McCarrell Sr. Bible
Edington: Printed by Mark and Charles Kerr. His Majesty's

Printers
MDCCLXXXIX (1789)
and loose papers from the Bible
The original Bible was donated to the McClung Historical Collection in 10/16. It is very fragile and the title page is missing pages with family entries and the loose pages were scanned.  A copy of all scans was placed in the McCarrell Genealogy vertical file in 2016.  Use these copies to make copies from.  (This is the front page to me)

Steve Cotham has been a friend a long time.  He had some info on the McCarrell Bible already on file.  And they copied all of the hand written minutes of our Mt. Olive Baptist Church.  I did alot of copying of records years ago for my brother Jack.  At that time, records were in the basement of our local library 4 or 5 blocks from Gay St.  This new building is attached to our Old Post Office Building.  TVA at one time was in this old Post Office Building.  This new building cost several millions in 2004.

Before they accepted the bible and made the above notes for me, Steve sad it was printed in 1782 in 10/9/16.  On 10/13/16 the notes say it is dated 1789. Steve said he couldn't believe the Bible still had the cover.

Margaret (over)

In 2009 I picked up this pamphlet "Bringing History to Live"  East Tennessee History Center (has no date).  I wish you had a copy and wonder if you could order one on the internet.  If not, I can make you a copy.  This center was founded in 1834.  This pamphlet has so much information----not very big----M

James McCarrell and family

James McCarrell (b. 1728, d. 1813) came to Knox County TN in about 1798, where he purchased

150acres of land along the Tennessee River (near where today the University of Tennessee lies) and built a log cabin. He had traveled a long ways from his native Northern Ireland and settling in the Cumberland Valley of Pennsylvania as a young man. After the loss of his first wife in mid-life, he remarried to Margaret McKibbens (b. 1758, d. 1819) whom was a daughter of one of his friends and neighbors in Lurgan township. Together, they moved first to Fincastle-Virginia where 11 childern were born to this couple. The family finally moved to Knoxville-Tennessee, where descendants of James McCarrell have preserved his cabin and bible, and whom have taken care of the family cemetery where James and Margaret are laid to rest near the banks of the Tennessee River.

McCarrell Cabin at bottom

In Knoxville, the family would finally make a permanent home. This information is but a short compilation of the history of this family, and how it branched out across the entire Nation in subsequent generations. The information is compiled from many sources from original to internet ones. Please be aware to double check any information that you are interested in, as this small effort is meant to serve as a guide only.

What I know about the legacy of the McCarrell family comes through a sequence of Margarets that have blessed the family with richness and kindness. From my great grandmother Margaret Viola Graham-Blake (granddaughter of Margaret Ann McCarrell-Graham) whom was diagnosed with incurable cancer in 1909 and given but a few months to live, she had many young children and asked that everyone pray that she could live only but to see her young 2 year old son graduate from high school. Her cancer went dormant and she left this life 2 weeks after her youngest son graduated from College in 1932. Her son, my uncle Edgar Blake, went on to establish Missouri Baptist Children’s home, in honor of his mother. He stayed there the rest of his life as its director, until his passing in 1995. I know from learning about this McCarrell family that there have been many other Margarets whom have passed great things on to the family members, one only has to see how many of the grandchildren and great grandchildren of James McCarrell are named Margaret McCarrell to appreciate this.

I am grateful to Margaret Ann McCarrell whom still lives at McCarrell Drive in Knoxville and her brother the late Ray “Jack” McCarrell, whom have so carefully preserved the family bible and information. The bible turned out to be the only information linking our Margaret McCarrell and William Graham back to the family – all other sources were lost. I am equally grateful to my cousin Jaclyn Morgan whom has worked with me through the many years to reconstruct our McCarrell-Graham family history. Let us all remember a simpler time in American History, when our Nation was forming and the family clans were the back bone of our Country. To James McCarrell and Margaret McKibbens, and the legacy they created, we must be grateful. Let us all know that we can always go home again to the Banks of the Tennessee River to remember those simpler times.

Cousin Dwight

Newport, Rhode Island

March 25, 2014

William Graham's signatures

Cousin Dwight has been communicating with one of our McCarrell relatives who had a document with William Graham's signature as well as our ancestor James McCarrell (William's father-in-law).  "The document settles a lawsuit. On "our side" was James McCarrell, William Graham and B(arclay) McGee. On the other side was William McClellan. Our side won, and McClellan paid 250$ in settlement to end the dispute. If I remember correctly from Margaret McCarrell talking with me that this was a dispute over land.... Barclay McGee from what I had seen always signed his name B. McGee..."

Although it is very hard to read what this is about, it was Jan. 7, 1805 in Blount Co TN which pre-dates William Graham and Margaret McCarrell marriage but establishes a relationship of the Graham and McCarrell families. Those witnessing this document are James McCarrell, William Graham, B. McGhee and Enoch Parsons.

We know this is the same William Graham because we have his signature on a Jefferson County Missouri document (along with other relatives).  His is on the upper right side with Mothershead, Bakers and Browns.  Notice how similar the signature below is to the one above.  Samuel Graham (not sure how he is related) is shown as a comparison.


http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~mojchs/Courts/PetitionList_1826.htm

William McClellan also sold property in Pennsylvania to a John Graham (whom we believe to be a relative).  It is also possible that a McClellan in St. Charles Co. married a Graham.  Not sure if all of these are of the same McClellan family.

Another name was B. McGhee which we believe to be Barclay McGhee who was an Indian agent.  Which is interesting since we believe the John Graham family was associated with Ft. Bellefontaine near the confluence of Missouri and Mississippi Rivers
http://wardepartmentpapers.org/searchresults.php?searchClass=fulltextSearch&fulltextQuery=Barclay+McGhee

Finally Enoch Parsons was one of the first lawyers in Tennessee and ran for governor in 1819.  So, although I can't read all of the details of the document, there is a lot of history in just the names.

James McCarrell

Our Ancestress Margaret McCarrell Graham has many descendants who are active in their respective churches, and we believe she was probably one of the organizers of the Bethlehem Baptist Church.  Dwight found a notation about her nephew Pleasant Baker McCarrell, which included an interesting tidbit about her father (my 5 great grandfather). For a photo of P.B.McCarrell, click here.

Pleasant Baker McCarrell was the son of Joseph G. and Jane McCarrell, being one of a family of eleven children. His paternal grandfather, James McCarrell, was born in Scotland. but, coming to this country, settled first in Virginia, then moved to Tennessee, settling in Knox County. His grandmother came from Pennsylvania, but was of Irish descent, hence the Scotch-Irish characteristics of our subject. P. B. McCarrell belongs to a family of singers, and was himself a fine singer. His grandfather was educated for a preacher. but discovering his real gift, decided to be a singer. When Dr. J. R. Graves lectured and preached in Blount County he lead Brother McCarrell associated with him as his singer. They were so well suited to each other, Dr. Graves said, "When I get to be bloody, `Bake' McCarrell shall be my Sankey."

http://knoxcotn.org/old_site/tnbaptists/McCarrell_pb.htm

We also know that James McCarrell originally settled in Virginia.

Bethlehem Baptist Blog

I haven't totally neglected this blog, but I did want to finish posting photos and documents for this blog.  This lovely country church in Jefferson County, Missouri has been the worship place for many of my ancestors.  Although the early records are lost, I feel very deeply that I have ancestors buried here going back to my g-g-g-g grandmother Margaret McCarroll Graham.  Someday, I hope to find some evidence of this. 

Her husband William Graham died in the St. Louis area---we can't find any evidence of his burial either, but click here for a really good possibility.  He died near here, Carondolet,  in 1835.

The Quest to Find William Graham's Land

Looking west toward Big River near Highway H in Missouri

On genealogy web-sites William Graham and Margaret [Mc] Carroll (my 4 greats) were said to live in Fremont which is supposed to be Frumet Missouri. But, we never really knew where they lived until Dwight carefully read an article on the Jefferson County Historical Society web site. Scroll down to the Dugan Cemetery and begin reading on the second page:

28th June 1825 we find deed from William Graham to Stephen Lamarque of Washington County, 640 acres, for $426.26, being the settlement right of Elijah Benton and by him conveyed to Burnell J. Thompson who sold it to William Clinton who sold it to William Graham, as recorded in Book B Page 214.

Scroll down a bit more to see where the red crosses are on the maps which Dave Halleman has provided. Independently, Dwight and I agreed where the land was on a Google map. With the GPS co-ordinates, my husband and I headed to Frumet, Missouri.

I was concerned that I might not be able to find a place to explore on the west side of Big River, so my first plan was to go down Hidden Valley Ranch Lane to see if I could photograph the hill side across the river.

I met two young men who were "processing" a deer they'd just shot. They told me that Norm Valle owned the land---they warmed up a bit when I told them I was related to Norm and had talked to his aunt a few months ago. So, they looked at my maps and pointed me in the right direction.

McCarroll-McKibben

Someone (LM) on Ancestry.com contacted me with information on Margaret McCarroll, my g-g-g-g grandmother. We had thought for many years that her maiden name was Carroll, but another cousin(LL) had information it was really McCarroll or McCarrell. Here is what LM wrote me:

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Jaclyn: I began to research my McCarroll ancestry back in the seventies, knowing only that my GGGrandfather John McCarroll came to Louisiana in the early 1800s from Tennessee and in my search I exchange letters with one Margaret McCarroll-McCarrell of McCarrell Lane Rt. 3, Knoxville Tennessee. She wrote the following:

Catherine Brown Long

Milton Long and Catherine Brown Long

Catherine Brown Long was my great-great grandmother---Thomas Henry Long's mother (her other children were Jeptha Long , Milton Martin Long, Nora Long Couch, Sarah Jane Long Maness, Susan Long Wallace, Mary Evaline Long Hughes, and James C. Long). This page of the 1898 Atlas has Maness, Couch, Long, Brown, Graham farms---they sure didn't go far to find spouses back then, did they?
Catherine Caroline Brown Long was the daughter of Henry G. Brown and Mary Polly Graham---both names are "old" Jefferson County names. Henry G. Brown was apparently the constable of the Big River Township (click here to see---on the document with guardianship of Thomas's children)

60th Anniversary of Jefferson County Baptist Association 1913

I think the original photo hangs in Bethlehem Baptist Church in Jefferson County, MO. Rick Gannon, a cousin of mine, gave me a copy of the photo. It is a huge photo which I have photographed in sections. Double click on the photos to make them larger. Several of us have put our heads together to try to identify family members. We welcome corrections and more identifications.
We are fortunate to have a family reunion photo (1931)which has many of the same people in it. The man 2nd from the left in the front row is William Barber Ingalls who was married to Amanda Reiter (daughter of Louis Reiter, sister of Mary Reiter Long). She is also in the photo---one of the women above the upright fence post)