W.D. Bostick

Last Rev. 3/2003

CATHEY

The earlier generations of the CATHEY family in America is well-researched and documented. One major source for the Cathey family is: Cathey Family History and Genealogy Volume I (1700-1900) by Boyt Henderson Cathey (BHC), 1993. This brief annotation of information is drawn from this source, “Cathey Kith and Kin” (Cathey Reunion Organization Newsletter), and other sources as noted.

Note: this summary only includes detailed information for the direct descent for our branch of the family.

Early history of the Catheys, from “Maury County TN History and Families” (Turner Publ., 1998), pp 221-2: The ancestry of the Maury County Cathey family goes back to the ancestral home on the island of Colonsay and Oronsay off the western coast of Scotland. In 1493, the Cathey family, members of the McFie clan, were driven from the islands to Galloway and Carrick in the lowlands of Scotland after their land was taken away by the Scottish Crown. Between 1611-1618, the Cathey’s migrated to Ulster, North Ireland, after powerful landlords confiscated their lands. Mary Cathie Gillis, of Glasgow, Scotland, wrote: “The process was aided by the English Crown persecution, killing and banishment of many who would not deny their Presbyterian beliefs.. the Cathey’s took to Ireland and to America, their religion, their firm belief in a good education, and a character to work and to prosper..” The Catheys remained in Ireland 90-100 years before migrating to America.

Edna Carson Cathey Trotter (Columbia “Daily Herald”, 29-Jul-1971; reprint 1972 “Cathey Kith and Kin”, p. 4) writes: “Tradition says that the Catheys lived on an island off the coast of Scotland, that they owned two islands and used one for a burying ground. Later they lived on the Scottish mainland. They went from Scotland to Ireland, didn’t remain there long and came to this country soon after 1700. There were possibly four brothers and their families who came together and settled in Pennsylvania. The one that we are directly descended from is John Cathey.”

The Catheys came to County Monaghan, Ireland, from Isle of Colonsay, Scotland, after the chief of their Clan MacPhie was killed in 1623. Archibald Cathey b. 1660, John Cathey b. 1668, and Alexander Cathey b. 1675, were all born in Monaghan. William Moorhead, John May, and Samuel Given married some of the children of Arch, John and Alex. The Catheys emigrated to Lancaster, Pennsylvania about 1720, many of them moving south to Virginia and North Carolina by 1740. So they could have lived in Monaghan from about 1625 to 1720.

James Leyburn wrote an excellent social history, entitled “The Scotch Irish” (UNC press, 1962). He describes the abject poverty and lawlessness prevailing in Scotland in the seventeenth century and earlier. There was much then to induce the tenent farmers of the Scottish lowlands to emigrate to the Ulster “Plantation,” established in northern Ireland after 1610. Later religious and poltical turmoil induced further migration of the Scots Irish to America, beginning in 1717/8. A second, larger wave of Scots Irish migrated during 1725-1729.

From: http://www.cagenweb.com/mariposa/cathey.htm

CATHEY FAMILY CHRONICLE

The Origins of the Cathey Family Family Name: The derivation of the Cathey family name is believed to be from the Clan McAfie (Scotland). The Gaelic spelling is MacDubhSithe" meaning 'Son of the Dark Fairy or Elf'. The ancestral home of the Macfies was on the Island of Colonsay, off the coast of Scotland. They were descendants of “low land Scots.” In a rebellion against King Malcomb of Scotland in 1615, the Chief of the Clan was killed. He was murdered at the Standing Stone. The lordship of the Isles changed in the fifteenth century. The name “Macfie” was changed into many different spellings over the years. Our family kept the Anglo spelling of “Cathey”.

It is believed many of the Catheys emigrated to Monaghan County, Ulster, Northern Ireland, perhaps as early as 1611-1618. The Catheys lived there approximately ninety to one hundred years before immigrating to America. The earliest known “Cathey” descendant in America was James Cathey, born in Ulster, North Ireland in 1685. He was a millwright. At the age of thirty-three, he married a woman known only as “Ann” in 1708. James’ records show that he purchased land in Cecil, Maryland in 1718 and remained there until 1724.

In a peace agreement with the Indians, James Cathey was issued 200 acres of land that was recorded in the Samuel Blunston Register under Thomas Penn in 1732. It did not take long for the Catheys to learn Virginia and North Carolina were where they wanted to settle--there was better and cheaper land. They moved their belongings by wagon and oxen over the Great Wagon Road to the great valley of Virginia, along the Shenandoah River near Staunton, where they lived between 1730-1743. James was deeded 1,350 acres by King George II for the sum of “sixteen pounds, 15 shillings.”

After leaving Augusta County, West Virginia, a road crosses the Yadkin River leading to the Irish settlement near Mills Bridge, Salisbury, North Carolina. By 1760, Salisbury had been settled. James Cathey’s deed shows the Cathey household in Anson County colony of North Carolina. It was known as the “Cathey Settlement,” an Irish enclave of fourteen families, ten miles west of Salisbury. The Catheys were the first English-speaking settlement. Here in the Cathey Settlement, James was granted 3,752 acres. Soon thereafter, he became ill, and left one-half of his plantation to his wife, Ann, and one-half to a nephew, John Branden. Records show that later, his two grandsons were deeded the original mill site. James knew how important it was for the people of the wilderness to be able to mill and grind their own grain.

E. H. Cathey, in the year 2000 edition of “Cathey Kith and Kin Newsletter,” makes a case that the brothers John and James Cathey (sons of Alexander and Margaret Cathey), of Clones Parish in western County Monahan, Ireland, were in this first or second wave of emigration. If so, the John Cathey listed in Generation 2 (below) [RN = 301 in the Boyt Cathey enumeration] would have been about 66 years old when he settled on the frontier at Conodoguinet Creek in present day Cumberland County, PA, in 1733. He would have been the patriarch of the American Catheys.

Boyt Cathey writes (Sept. 2000):

“James Cathey born c. 1685 Ulster died c. 1757 Rowan Co., NC. Recently we have concluded that he was the son of Alexander Cathey and wife Margaret who never came to America.

“John Cathey b. 1667 Ulster died 1743 in PA was his (James') older brother. John's second wife was Ann ???? who apparently had a Cathey husband prior to marriage to John. John had a will that has been a great help.

“There was a George Cathey b. c. 1700 who was a son of Ann by her first husband. This George came to America & died in Rowan Co., NC (we think). His widow Jean and grown sons moved to Mecklenberg Co., NC where Jean died in 1777. She is buried at Steele Creek Pres. Ch. near Charlotte Airport.”

M. R. Long (1942), in “General Griffith Rutherford & Allied families,” writes that King George II granted a tract of land in Mecklenburg, NC, to John Alexander Cathey. The Catheys, among the first settlers of North carolina, received grants of land as early as 1742.

Much of the summary information for Generations 1-4, presented below (exclusive of NOTES), is taken from the CATHEY Genealogy prepared by Marty Gant[1], and retains his Record Number (RN) annotation. Also given are Boyt H. Cathey’s reference number (BHC RN).

Generation 1

1. ¹ Cathey [10270], born in Ireland. He married unknown.

Children of CATHEY were as follows:

+ 2 i John² Cathey [8502] (BHC RN=403), born in Ulster, Ireland. He married Ann (---) [7378].

+ 3 ii James² Cathey [6437] (BHC RN=401), born 1680/89 in Ulster, Ireland. He married Ann (---) [6438].

?{+ 4 iii Sarah² Cathey [10341] (BHC RN = 7566), born abt. 1700 in Ulster, Ireland. She married (1) Samuel Givens [10340]. She married (2) Robert Allen [10329]}.

+ 5 iv Elizabeth² Cathey [16652], born abt. 1691 in Ulster, Ireland. She married John Brandon [16653]. (John Brandon, Sr, b. abt 1691)

+ 6 v Mary² Cathey [16659] married John Brandon (Captain) [33817].

+ 7 vi ² Cathey [33834] married Ann (---) [7378].

Notes:

Boyt Cathey lists Sarah [his RN = 7566] as the daughter of John Cathey in Generation #2. (Q.v.).

E. H. Cathey lists as children of Alexander and Margaret Cathey (of Clones Parish; both died in 1698):

Jean, b. Abt 1665;

John, b. Abt 1667;

Margaret, b. Abt 1677;

Katherine; b. Abt 1677;

Ann, b. Abt 1679;

{Mary Elizabeth, b. Abt 1684, married a John Brandon}

James, CHR 3-Jul-1694.

E. H. Cathey writes in the 2002 edition of “Cathey Kith and Kin”: James Cathey (BHC RN 401) and family (about 8 individuals total) arrived first, perhaps with the Brandons. The earliest documented date for a Cathey in America was October 1, 1720. According to record, James landed at Philadelphia. He lived first, as far as known, in Milford Hundred, Cecil County, Maryland and then East Tottingham Township, Chester County PA. Later, other groups would arrive. It is likely that many of the Cathey’s (including John Cathey’s daughters, Hannah and Maley) arrived in America as indentured servants, to pay for their transportation. EHC estimates that about half of the Scotch-Irish immigrants came to America indentured.

Billy Kennedy, "The Scots-Irish in the Carolinas, Causeway Press (1997), p. 162 : The Catheys.

This family moved from C. Monagham in Ireland about 1718 and settled in south western Pennsylvania. James Cathey is recorded in 1719 as owning land on the Delaware River in Cecil County, Maryland; by 1724 he resided in Chester County, Pennsylvania and in 1733 held 200 acres at Lancaster Co., Pennsylvania. Five years later his son William owned 466 acres in the Beverly Manor of the Shenadoah Valley and by 1743 the Cathey Virginian land holdings (at Beverly Manor and Orange County) had reached 2,350 acres. James and George Cathey moved to Rowan County, North Carolina in 1749, settling west of the Yadkin River in the area known as the "Irish Settlement". The Catheys were a typical Scots-Irish Presbyterian family whose prosperity came about through sheer determination and hard work.

R.W. Ramsey, “Carolina Cradle” (UNC Press, 1964). Pages 37-8 (see also “Cathey Kith and Kin”, 1969); “By the spring of 1749, the Irish settlement consisted of at least fourteen families, including those of James Cathey, George Cathey, ..” “with respect to the settlement process, few names carry more significance than that of James Cathey. He and his son George were the leaders in what was probably the first English-speaking settlement to be established in North Carolina (or, indeed, in the entire South, exclusive of Virginia) so far from a navigable river. .. it was on George Cathey’s land that the settlers constructed the earliest known religious edifice west of the Yadkin - Thyatira Presbyterian church.” By 1736, James and George were in Lancaster Co., the home of John Cathey (brother of James and father of Alexander Cathey). John Cathey died in Lancaster county in 1743, whereupon his son Alexander joined the other Catheys in Virginia. .. Sometime prior to 1751, William Cathey died, leaving his land in the Shenandoah to an older brother (John) still living in Ireland. The latter came to America to claim the land, but moved to North Carolina upon discovering that the rest of the family had done so.

Re: James Cathey, from http://www.martygrant.com/gen/cathey.htm

“My Cathey line begins with James Cathey, born ca 1680 in Ulster, Ireland. He and several of his siblings came to Pennsylvania (Lancaster and Chester Counties) before ca 1724. He and his wife Ann left there for Orange (later Augusta) Co, VA in the 1730's. They remained there until ca 1750 or so when they moved to Rowan Co, NC where he died in 1757, and Ann shortly afterwards”.

Generation 2

2. John² Cathey [8502] (Cathey¹), born in Ulster, Ireland; died 1743 in Lancaster Co, PA. He married abt. 1700 in Ulster, Ireland, Ann (---) [7378].

Children of John CATHEY and Ann (---) were as follows:

+ 8 i Alexander³ Cathey [Grant: 6455; BCH RN = 303], born 1707 in Ulster, Ireland. He married Elizabeth Pinkney [6456].

+ 9 ii Eleanor³ Cathey [7366], born in Ulster, Ireland. She married (1) William Moorhead [7359]. She married (2) John May [5714].

+ 10 iii Hannah³ Cathey [10326] married Richard Graham [10325].

+ 11 iv ?³ Cathey [10327] married Brendle [10323].

Notes:

Boyt Cathey includes as children of John Cathey:

Sarah, b. Abt 1700, m. Samuel Givens (b. Abt 1693) in 1718;

Alexander, b. Abt 1707, m. Mary Elizabeth Pinkney;

Eleanor, b. Abt 1711, m. (1729) William Moorhead;

Hanna, b. Abt 1718, m. (1736) Richard Graham;

Maley (Mary?), b. Abt 1721, m. John Brandon, Jr., in 1739; and

unk female, m. ?? Trindle.

Another source (Bbrown6575@aol.com) lists additional children of John and Ann Cathey including Mary and George (the latter b. 1692 in “Managham”(sic), Ulster, Northern Ireland). Ann is likely the second wife of John Cathey. E.H. Cathey lists children of John of Clones: Mary (CHR 1685), Ann (CHR 1695), and Katherine (CHR 1703)

Edna Cathey Trotter writes that after the death of John Cathey, Alexander, the other members of the family left PA and moved to the Shenandoah Valley in VA, and later to Salisbury, Rowen Co., NC. The middle branch of the Shenandoah was at one time called Cathey’s Creek.

Col. John Cathey’s widow later married Tom DeArmond, who was not considered the equal to the family into which he married. The older children soon married and took the younger children to live with them.

Generation 3

8. Alexander³ Cathey [6455] (John², Cathey¹), born 1707 in Ulster, Ireland; died 7 Apr 1766 in Rowan Co, NC. He married bef. 1740 in DE, Elizabeth Pinkney [6456], died aft. 1768 in Rowan Co, NC.

Children of Alexander CATHEY and Elizabeth PINKNEY were as follows:

+ 48 i Alice⁴ Cathey [6462], born bef. 13 Sep 1742 in PA. She married (1) John Locke [8505]. She married (2) Benjamin Robinson [6463].

+ 49 ii John⁴ Cathey [6458], born bef. 13 Sep 1742 in PA. He married Mary Erwin [5704].

+ 50 iii William⁴ Cathey (Major) [6457], born 16 Jan 1747 in Anson Co, NC. He married Alice "Else" Hagan [6436]. He died 1827 in Sumner Co., TN.

51 iv Margaret⁴ Cathey [6461], born bef. 6 Apr 1766 in Rowan Co, NC.

+ 52 v James⁴ Cathey (Captain) [4350], born 1750 in Anson Co, NC. He married Jane Rutherford [4349].

+ 53 vi Richard Alexander⁴ Cathey [6460], born abt. 1745/50 in Anson Co, NC. He married Elizabeth Giles [6464]. (R.A. CATHEY was a gunsmith and soldier)

NOTES:

E. H. Cathey (2002) writes that Alexander Cathey, born 1707, married Elizabeth Pinkney. He appears in the Cumberland Valley in 1734. EHC speculates that Alexander, an indentured servant, met and married Ms Pinkney when he and his master were located near Annapolis, MD. Later, in the McFarland neighborhood on Conodoguinet Creek (near the present day Pennsylvania Turnpike, I-76), Alexander lived across the creek from his uncle James Cathey. It is believed that Alexander left Lancaster Co., PA, for Virginia after his father’s death.

In 1753 Alexander Cathey was a Justice of the Peace in Salisbury, NC. He presided over the first courts of Rowan County which were held in 1755. He was a friend and neighbor of Squire Boone, father of the famous Daniel Boone. He is buried near Salisbury in the Thyatira Cemetery, formerly Catheys Meeting House; his monument states “Alexander Cathey who died 1766, age 59 years.” Most of the Cathey clan migrated from Rowan to Mecklenburg County, NC, before the American Revolution.

Heritage of Rowan County, NC, Vol. 1, 1991: Alexander Cathey is described as “a typical Scots; he was loud, rowdy, hard-working, loved his family and liked a good drink and a good fight.”

“Maury County TN History and Families” (Turner Publ., 1998), p. 222: John Cathey, born in Ulster, Ireland, came with his family to Lancaster County, PA, where his will was recorded in 1742. His son, Alexander, is the progenitor of the Maury County branch of the Cathey family. Alexander (b. 1707 in Ulster, Ire.) married Mary Elizabeth Pinckney. After his father’s death, his family traveled down the Great Wagon Road, stopping for a short time in Augusta County, VA, before they journeyed on to Rowan county, NC. .. Alexander was a leader of the Cathey (Scots-Irish) settlement in Rowan County. He died in 1766 and is buried in the Thyatira (Old Cathey Meeting House) Church cemetery in Rowan County.

The children of Alexander and Mary Elizabeth Pinckney were: John, James, William, Richard, Margaret, and Alice. Nine years after the death of Alexander Cathey, the Revolutionary War started. This writer has not documented a service record for John, but William served as a Major and James served as a Captain during the war. Richard served in the NC Militia. William received a land grant for 4,000 acres of land on the south side of Duck River in Tennessee Territory, and James received 2,000 acres of land in West Tennessee. Richard was also granted land in Tennessee. Before James died in NC in 1791, he traded his land to his brother, William, for 2,000 acres of land on Duck River so that their children could be neighbors in the new land. The Cathey brothers started disposing the land their father had left them and looked westward to Tennessee Territory. By 1800 there was but one Cathey family on the Federal Census for Rowan County. {Much of the Cathey data came from Boyt H. Cathey}”

Abstr. Of Wills & Estates Records of Rowan Co., NC (1980), p. 3: ALEXANDER CATHEY. 6 Apr. 1766. Prb. July 1766. Wife, Elizabeth. Youngest sons, James Cathey and Richard Cathey, to have homeplace at death or remarriage of their mother. Son James to have negro wench Sal after mother’s death or remarriage. Son Richard to have negro boy Tom after mother’s death or remarriage. Sons William and John. Daughter Margaret Cathey to have note on Richard Lyon at cross creek. Once beloved daughter Alei Robinson, wife of Benjamin Robinson. Grandson, Alexander Lock. Grist mill, tract adjoining John Brandon, tract at Fair Forest, entry & survey of land on the Cataba River near Quaker Meadows -- all to be sold. Exrs: son John and Francis Lock. Wit: John Frohock, Jno Brandon, Fergus Graham.

Generation 4

50. William⁴ Cathey (Major) [6457] (Alexander³, John², Cathey¹), born 16 Jan 1747 in Anson Co, NC; died 1799 in Sumner Co, TN. He married on 7 Dec 1772 in Rowan Co, NC, Alice "Else" Hagan [6436], born 10-Apr-1747 (Note: Cathey Bible[2] lists her birth as 10-Apr-1754); died 6-Mar-1822 in Maury Co, TN, daughter of John Hagan [4283] .

Children of William CATHEY (Major) and Alice "Else" HAGAN were as follows:

116 i Alexander⁵ Cathey [10314], born 9 Nov 1774 in Rowan Co, NC; died 1861 in Marshall Co, MS.

117 ii Elizabeth⁵ Cathey [10309], born abt. 1775 in Rowan Co, NC.

118 iii William⁵ Cathey [10313], born 16 Jan 1779 in Rowan Co, NC; died 1844 in Marshall Co, MS.

119 iv James⁵ Cathey [10312], born Nov 1782 in Sumner Co, TN; died 18 Apr 1832 in Maury Co, TN.

120 v Matthew Brandon⁵ Cathey [10311], born abt. 1782 in Sumner Co, TN; died 1854 in Marshall Co, MS.

121 vi Thomas Dickey⁵ Cathey [10310], born 15 Mar 1795 in Sumner Co, TN; died 16 Jun 1872 in Maury Co, TN.

122 vii John⁵ Cathey [10308]

123 viii Martha⁵ Cathey [11487]

NOTES:

Boyt Cathey (1993): William Cathey (RN = 309) - Treasurer and Elder

On 12-May-1779. William was elected Treasurer of the Salisbury District for the state of NC and served 1779-1781. He was an elder of the Thyatira Presbyterian Church of the Cathey Settlement located west of Salisbury, Rowan Co., NC. He was elected State senator and served in the 1794-1795 assembly. During the period 1795-1799, he moved his family to Sumner Co., TN. He died intestate there in 1799. About 1805, William's widow Alice and her sons moved from Sumner Co. to what is now Maury Co., TN

Holcomb, Marriages of Rowan Co., NC 1753-1868: CATHEY, William and Else HAGAN, 24-Oct-1772; John Hagin, bondsman.

M. R. Long (1942): The Catheys went with General Rutherford’s party to Tennessee in 1792.

Edna Cathey Trotter writes that William Cathey was a Major during the American Revolution and afterward a civil officer in Salisbury, NC. As a result of this service, he was given grants of land in what is now Tennessee. He and his brothers, who also had land grants, moved overland to the present site of Nashville, TN with Gen. James Robertson. The Catheys owned land in Davidson, Williamson, Rutherford, and Sumner Counties. He died in Sumner County, TN, and is buried there. After his death, his widow and his sons claimed the grant[3] of 4,000 acres of land on what is now known as Cathey’s Creek in Maury County, TN, named for William Cathey. Alice (Else) Hagan Cathey lived on the property until her death in 1822; she is buried in the Old Cathey cemetery.

A chronology of significant events for the life of William Cathey - Soldier, Planter, Statesman and Frontiersman - (1747-1799) is presented in the 1991 edition of “Cathey Kith and Kin” , pp. 4-5. The first U.S. census in 1790 shows the following household (Salisbury District, Rowan Co., NC): 2 free white males age 16 and above (William, head of household, and son, Alexander), 3 free white males under 16 (James, Matthew, and ?), 2 free white females (wife, Alice, & dau. Elizabeth), and 6 slaves. In 1794, William served in the NC State Senate.

L.M. Bates, “Roster of Soldiers and Partiots in the American Revolution Buried in Tennessee,” Tennessee Soc. NSDAR (1974): “CATHEY, William (b. 1747 Rowan Co., NC/ d 1827 Sumner Co.). Patriot. Auditor, Treas., Justice of the Peace. M. 10-7-1772 to Alice HOGAN (HAGIN) b. 4-10-1754 Rowan co., NC/d 3-6-1822 Sumner Co., TN. Ch.: Alexander b 1774 m Nancy Sanders; William b 1779 m Elizabeth Gale; James b 1782 m Honor B. Carson; John m Jane Rutherford; Thomas D.; Martha B.; Elizabeth b 1775 m Thomas Walker; Matthew Brandon m Matilda Dalton. Ref.: DAR # 447550; NC Col. Record vol 19 p. 364, vol. 24 p. 387-322, vol. 18 pp 804-06, vol. 29 p. 22, NC Booklet.”

W.S. Ray, Tennessee Cousins” (1971), p. 675: One of the first land warrents issued in Davidson Co. Was to Wm. Cathey, 640 acres on Richland Creek, 27-Dec-1784.

B.G.C. Cartwright & L.J. Gardiner, “North Carolina Land Grants in Tennessee, 1778-1791 “ (Memphis, 1958): p. 61: to Wm. Cathey: military warrent #2934 - 4,00 acres on the south side of Duck River on Cathey’s creek”; p. 102: #1029 - 640 acres on the east fork of Stones River.

"War of 1812: Soldiers of Maury Co. TN"

CATHEY: Alex, Matthew B.; Wm. Alexander

Wm. A.: Jusice of Peace, Maury Co., 1810-11.

Matthew Brandon Cathey: b. 1782, son of Wm and Alice Hagen Cathey, m. Matilda Dalton, moved to MS in 1836 and died there;

Wm. Cathey: two contemporaries of this name:

1. Wm. Cathey , one of 5 sons of Wm. Cathey {1747-1799}; these sons were: Jas. {Father of A.B. Cathey}; Dickey; Wm; Alexander; Matthew.

2. Wm. Cathey, son of Griffith Cathey (1776-1854), who married his cousin Susannah Cathey (d. 1833) and Rebecca Finley. Griffith Cathey's childern were: Rutherford; Wm; John G.; Jas.; Polly; Alice A. (1836-1855). Children of this Wm. Cathey were: Jethro; Rutherford; Jim A. (m. L. Worley); Olivia; Sara Jane; and Billie.

A. B. Cathey (Maury Democrat, 16-Apr-1908) wrote: In 1836 Alexander Cathey moved to Mississipi. He had been a Justice of the Peace in Maury County for about 25 years; he died in 1836, about 88 years of age. (The death date given is apparently in error; if born in 1774, Alexander would have been age 88 about 1862).

J. Garrett, "Maury Co. TN Historic Sketches"

p. 28: Matthew B. CATHEY was in the Battle of New Orleans (8-Jan-1815).

p. 115: Thos. D. (Uncle Dickey) Cathey (abt 1796-1872); b. in a fort near Nashville.

p. 27: Cathey's Creek named after Wm. (rec'd 4,000 acre land grant in 1785); Wm. d. in Sumner Co. TN - his sons: Alex., Wm., Matt B.; Thos. D. (p.31: "a fine scholar"), and dau. Eliz.

J. Garrett, Columbia, TN, “Daily Herald” (27-Apr-1974): “History Comes by the Inch on Cathey’s Creek.” (Reprinted in 1974 “Cathey Kith and Kin”, pp 10-11): The land was surveyed in March, 1784. Alice Hagan Cathey, widow of William Cathey, and four of their sons, Alexander, William, James, and Thomas Dickey Cathey, settled there. Griffith R. Cathey, William’s nephew, was also an early settler and signed the petition to form Maury Co. (From Williamson Co. And Indian Territory) in August 1807. The Cathey boys all built homes along the creek - Alexander near Taylor’s store; William, now the Fred Kennedy home; James, near the present Kittrell Cemetery; and Thomas, the present Brown Cathey Grimmett home. (James’ house was one of the handsomest in the county, boasting a staircase of solid cherry, stained glass windows and some very beautiful furniture).

Thomas (“Uncle Dickey) never married, but built a roomy log cabin; his nephew A.B. Cathey moved in when he married. The home had several famous visitors, including Davy Crockett (a former neighbor in NC), and later Susan B. Anthony (famed suffrage reformer and a Cathey relation).

Cathey’s Creek Church of Christ is one of the oldest congregations in the County; Alice Hagen Cathey was baptized at the first meetings held there. (A.B. Cathey wrote a brief history of the Congregation).

Boyt Cathey (“Cathey Family History and Genealogy”) gives a history of the Old Cathey Homeplace at Cathey’s Creek (pp. 121-2): 1087 - Alice Hagen Cathey, widow of William, arrived at Cathey’s creek where she lived with 3 of her sons (James, Matthew, and Thomas Dickey). 1810: James married Honor Biggs Carson; they built a house on the land at Cathey’s creek. 1822: Alice Hagan Cathey died, leaving Thomas Dickey Cathey (a bachelor called “Uncle Dickey”) as the sole occupant of the homeplace. 1849: the James Cathey land was sold; it belonged to Alexander Blair Cathey and Nancy Elizabeth Isom. Alexander B. Moved to the “Uncle Dickey Place”. In 1872, Uncle Dickey died, and the place became the Alexander B. Cathey home (1872-1923). In 1923, the homeplace became the home of Everett Grimmitt and his wife Susan Walker Cathey. In 1950, it became the home of Brown Cathey Grimmitt.

Generation 5

James Alexander CATHEY (BHC RN = 337), born Nov 1782 in Sumner Co, TN; died 18 Apr 1832 in Maury Co, TN. He married Honor Biggs Carson on 18-Jan-1810. James and Honor Cathey are buried at the Old Cathey Cemetery, near Isom community.

Their Children:

1. William Stuart Carson Cathey (b. 1810; d. 17-Aug-1827; BHC gives death 1826)

2. James Decatur Cathey (b. 9-Nov-1815; d. 26-Feb-1849; BHC gives “James Dickey Cathey”).

3. Alice A. Cathey (b. 16-Sep-1823; d. 21-Aug-1844); m. Thomas MOORE.

4. Alexander Blair Cathey (b. 25-Jun-1826; d. 18-Jan-1916); m. Tennessee Ella SMITH.

5. Rachel T. Cathey (b. 28-Oct-1834; d. 28-Oct-1834); m. Oct-1831 to Jesse HART.

6. Nancy (or Mary) Elizabeth Cathey (b. Nov-1827; d. 3-Aug-1863); m. 28-Sep-1845 to Newton A. ISOM.

Notes:

“Maury Co., Cousins - Bible & Family Records,” MCHS (1967), p. 317-8: “Cathey Bible” (Publ. 1814): Records birth/death dates; e.g., Honor B. Cathey d. 23-Sep-1844.

Edna Cathey Trotter writes "James (Cathey) married Honor Biggs Carson in 1810. From her name and that of her niece whom she raised, Harriet Blair, we get the names of Honor, Carson, and Blair.[4],[5] These names are found in every Cathey family today. James died in 1832 when his son, Alexander Blair, was only six years old. His widow lived until 1844. They are both buried in the old Cathey cemetery. Their tombs are still there but this cemetery is being so constantly destroyed that our family put a marker in our lot in Kittrell Cemetery giving their dates and telling where they are buried (“Cathey Bible”: Hariett, b. 27-Sep-1819, was the daughter of A. Blair). Ms Trotter (on the occasion of the 1971 Cathey Family Reunion; Daily Herald, 29-Jul-1971) writes that a true Cathey “has a high forehead, steel gray eyes that are so dark they are often considered brown, a long waist, and straight, strong backs that refuse to bend even in adversity or illness. The Cathey’s are intellegent and usually have mathematical minds. They are honest. Don’t ever call one of them a liar. They are unasssuming. If he’s bragging, he’s not a Cathey. They are procrastinators, which is a polite way of saying that they are just a little bit lazy. They are all absent-minded. It is been said that no Cathey has ever made a million dollars and that no Cathey ever went to jail.”

Generation 6

Alexander Blair CATHEY (BHC RN = 341)

Born: 25-Jun-1826 on Cathey’s Creek, Maury County, Tennessee.

Married: 27-Sep-1859 to Tennessee Ella Smith (12-May-1838 to 8-Feb-1923). Tennie was the daughter of Mumford Smith and Elizabeth R. Bynum.

Died: 18-Jan-1916 (buried in Kittrell Cemetery, Isom community, Maury Co., TN)

Children:

1. William Alexander CATHEY (26-Sep-1860 to 26-Jan-1942); m. (1) 28-Dec-1882 to Margaret Caroline SHANNON; m. (2) Apr-1900 to Ida Ethel WILLIAMS.

2. Elizabeth Blair CATHEY (26-May-1862 to 23-Nov-1951); m. 19-Nov-1879 to R. A. KENNEDY.

3. James Dickey CATHEY (21-Aug-1865 to 23-May-1945); m. 4-Nov-1894 to Martha P. GALLOWAY.

4. Mary Alice CATHEY (29-Apr-1867 to 10-Mar-1945); m. 6-Dec-1894 to John A. DELK.

5. Margaret Ella CATHEY (8-Jan-1869 to 17-Jan-1972); m. 1-Sep-1887 to Thomas Jefferson KIRK.

6. Candace Smith CATHEY (14-Jul-1870 to 15-Dec-1940); never married.

7. Ida Hatcher CATHEY (7-Feb-1872 to 9-Oct-1958); m. 14-Feb-1892 to Dick WHITE.

8. Tennie Carson CATHEY (9-Feb-1874 to 9-Oct-1958); m. 23-May-1909 to Robert KIRK.

9. Honor Biggs CATHEY (1-Jun-1876 to 11-Dec-1879).

10. Annie Mai CATHEY (11-Apr-1878 to 18-Nov-1947); m. 30-Oct-1901 to Edward TARPLEY.

11. Thomas Decatur CATHEY (29-Feb-1880 to 24-Oct-1966); m. 18-Apr-1911 to Ophelia BLACKBURN.

12. Susan Walker CATHEY (11-Apr-1883 to 22-Jul-1956); m. 9-Dec-1906 to Everett GRIMETT.

13. Mumford CATHEY (4-Nov-1885 to Jun-1975); m. 10-Jun-1917 to Willie Matt SPARKMEN.

In the 1870 Census for Maury Co., Tenn., A.B. and family are enumerated in the household of his uncle, Thomas Dickey Cathey: Household #102: CATHEY, T.D. 73 M, farmer b. TN; A.B. 40 M, farmer b. TN; T.E. 30 F, keeps house; W.A. 10 M, student; E, 8, student; JD 6 M; MA 4 F; EC 1 F.

1880 Census for Maury Co., TN (LDS transcription)

Name Relation Marital Status Gender Race Age Birthplace Occupation Father's Birthplace Mother's Birthplace

A. B. CATHEY Self M <Married> Male W <White> 53 TN Farmer NC NC

Tennie E. CATHEY Wife M Female W 42 TN Keeps House TN TN

Willie A. CATHEY Son S Male W 19 TN Farm Laborer TN TN

Jimmie CATHEY Son S Male W 14 TN Farm Laborer TN TN

Mary A. CATHEY Dau S Female W 13 TN At Home TN TN

Margaret E. CATHEY Dau S Female W 11 TN At Home TN TN

Candis S. CATHEY Dau S Female W 9 TN TN TN

Ida H. CATHEY Dau S Female W 8 TN TN TN

Tennessee CATHEY Dau S Female W 6 TN TN TN

Anna May CATHEY Dau S Female W 2 TN TN TN

Thos. D. CATHEY Son S Male W 3M TN TN TN

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Source Information:

Census Place District 16, Maury, Tennessee

Family History Library Film 1255271

NA Film Number T9-1271

Page Number 405D

Above: scan from B.H. Cathey, “Cathey Family History and Genealogy. Volume I” (courtesy Lou Midgett, 2000).

NOTES:

A.B. (age 34, farmer) and new wife T.E. Cathey (age 23) first appear in the 1860 Census for Maury County, TN (Household # 1686; adjacent at household # 1687 is T. D. (“Uncle Dickie”) Cathey (age 60, farmer).