* Richard Braswell II, Elinor & Ann Carver

This information contributed by Walter S. and Maxine C. Gabennesch is based primarily on the research of William C. Fields III & Betty Kirkland-Schledensky.

William C. Fields III is the editor of three Cumberland County deed book covering the period 1754 through about 1790 and two Cumberland County Court Minutes Books covering approximately the same period. Bill and Betty did extensive research together during the periods of 1960 and 1970. Both are Braswell/Carver descendants.

My wife Maxine Cashwell Gabennesch is a Braswell/Carver descendant and a double cousin to William C. Fields III.

We will focus primarily on the relationship of Ann Carver, born about 1695 in Isle of Wight, VA and died after 1760 in Bladen County NC, to Richard Braswell II the grandson of the Reverend Robert Bracewell. Bill Fields, Carey Bracewell, Eunice Young and others collaborated on Braswell research starting long ago and are the experts along with some others. They know far more than we about the Bracewell/Braswell Genealogy.

The Carver’s and the Bracewell’s lived in Isle of Wight County, Virginia from the mid to late 1600’s, according to records Maxine and I found in the book “Seventeenth Century Isle of Wight County Virginia Volumes I and II” written by John Bennett Boddie.

William Carver & Jane Moore = Ann Carver
No one knows where William Carver came from or when he arrived in the Isle of Wight, VA. It is assumed, since no other evidence exists, that he was not a person of means. He appears to have been of common stock and only came into property through his marriage to Jane Moore.

This entry was found by Marilyn Rousseau, an excellent researcher, in the Charles City County, VA Court Orders 1661-1664, Page 526 and may or may not apply to this William Carver. "William Carver servant to Thomas Blackbird is adjudged by this Court tenn yeares of age." We believe it is a good possibility of being "OUR William Carver".

Seventeenth Century Isle of Wight Deed Book 1----Boddie: Indenture, 8 June 1692 wetnesseth that Wm. Carver of Lower Par. intermarrying with the daughter and heir of John Moore dec., with consent of Jane his wife sells to Wm. Crumpler 100 acres on Blackwater. Wm. Karle, Bridgeman Joyner

Seventeenth Century Isle of Wight Deed Book 1 ---Boddie: Wm. (X) Carver and wife Jane sell to Wm. Crumpler, 100 acres sold Phillip Bayford out of a patent taken up by Jon. More, shoemaker, for 350 acres. He died without will or child saving Jane, his dau., now joined in lawful matrimony with Wm. Carver, who with his wife Jane sell to Wm. Crumpler, 11 October 1700.

W. L. Hopkins (1993) Isle of Wight Co. Va. Deeds 1647-1719 (page 113) Wm. Carver and wife Jane sold land of her dec'd. father John Moore in 1710.

Richard Braswell II & Elinor = Richard Braswell III & Elizabeth Bryant
Richard Braswell II was the son of Richard Bracewell I and the grandson of the Reverend Robert Bracewell of London, England. Richard Braswell II was born about 1678 in Isle of Wight Co., Virginia; moved to Chowan Co., North Carolina about 1712 (called later Bertie Co.). Richard II moved to Edgecombe Co. North Carolina about 1730 and on to Bladen Co. (later Cumberland Co.) about 1750 where he died in 1758. It appears he was married to Elinor -------, the mother of Richard III and possibly other children, while living with his paramour Ann Carver. Several Braswell's appeared in Edgecombe Co. that could have been offspring of Richard II and brothers to Richard III. The name Jacob that appears in Wimberly’s will along with "young Rich" who we believe is Richard III is a strong possibility. There is no way of being sure there were others or how many.

One of the last times we have a record of Elinor is her signing off on a sale of property deed dated 1727. Richard Senr. sold property in 1728 and Elinor did not sign off. Elinor also was a witness to Thomas Wimberly's will in Feb. 1732.

Ann Carver, David, Sarah, Robert, William –
Richard Braswell II fathered four children by Ann Carver as he so stated in Halifax County Deed Book 3, pp. 177/178: on the date of 18 November 1747. No record of a marriage between Ann and Richard has been found. On some later documents she is styled as his wife or widow. No will or estate papers for this Richard II has been found. It appears he died suddenly and probably intestate. There is also a strong probability that he had deeded all of his property to his children well in advance his death.

David Braswell-Carver and his father Richard Braswell II must have died very close to the same time in the year of 1758.

You can refer to the Colonial Records of North Carolina. Saunders, Vol. V, pg. 995:
At a council held at Wilmington, 29 November 1758: Upon motion of Robt. Jones, Esqr. Attorney General, it is ordered that the Letters of Administration granted to Benjamin Willis on the Estate of David Braswell be revoked and that letters ad colligend issue to ANN BRASWELL als Carver on the estate of DAVID BRASWELL.

Ordered that the Depositions of Witnesses on both sides be taken at the next Court at Enfield, touching the legitimacy of the said David Braswell and that all parties have notice thereof and that a commission Issue to the Chief Justice for that purpose, and the said Ann do give security in the sum of One Thousand Pounds for the due performance of said Letters.

Ordered that the Consideration of the Caveat entered agt Letters of Admn being granted to RICHd Braswell, son of RICHARD BRASWELL deced be deferred until the return of the Depositions of the witnesses above mentioned and that Letters ad colligend be issued to ANN BRASWELL als Carver showing Security in the sum of Two hundred pounds.

We take this to mean that David and his father Richard II both were dead by 29 November 1758. David was not married nor did he have any issue. Therefore his heirs were his brothers or reverted back to his deceased father’s estate to be distributed by the “Law of Primogeniture”. Note that at the time of his death David was using the surname Braswell.

Land Grants-- Book 18, page 432
George the second &c Know ye that we in consideration of five shillings paid to our receiver genl. have
given & granted to Richd. Braswell, Robt. Carver & Wm. Carver fourteen negroe slaves male & female forty head of Black Cattle & one feather bed & furniture which were of the Estate of David Carver, Decd. an IIlegitimate son of Richd. Braswell Deceased & all the other goods and chattles, rights and Credits of said David Carver Decd. To hold to said Richd. Braswell, Robert Carver & Wm. Carver their Heirs, Executors Administrators and assigns forever.
Dated 16 May 1759 Arthur Dobbs

It is apparent, by the above Land Grants entry, that the Court at Enfield declared David to be illegitimate. It then follows that his siblings fell into that same status.

There was no such category as "Common Law Marriage" under the Colonial Laws. This form of marriage was not recognized; it did not exist.

Why did Robert and William take the name Carver instead of Braswell?
ANSWER??? - The name Carver was their legal name and their 1/2 brother Richard III Braswell made them use their legal name in all legal proceedings, to show that as Bastards, they had absolutely no legal status. They used their legal name, Carver, from that time forward.

The only information we are aware of regarding Sarah is in the Halifax Co. NC deed book 3; pg. 180 dated 18 November 1747. Richard Braswell Sr., of Edgecombe Co., deeded for love to "my daughter SARAH BRASWELL" slaves Ann and Peter, feather bed and furniture, iron pot, 6 cows with calves, 6 pewter dishes and 6 spoons. Wit: Thomas Barker, William Magee.

Robert Carver wrote his will on 11 November 1766 and was probated in Cumberland Co.,
North Carolina Court in May of 1767. It is thought that Robert and his brother William succumbed to the same fever epidemic that swept through Southeastern NC. in 1766/67. All of Robert’s children are named in his will as well as his wife.

William Carver left a will written on 10 December 1766 in that he named his children and wife Mary. His will was proven in May Court of 1767. His children were also named as orphans in a Court Document dated July 30, 1772. This would indicate that there were only eight children since they were confirmed by this court document appointing guardians. All eight children had to be under 21 years of age at that time. Their mother may or may not have been deceased by 1772. It is believed that William and his brother Robert succumbed to a fever epidemic that swept through Southeastern NC. in 1766/67.



It is our belief that Ann Carver and Richard II Braswell never married. This is based on the Land Grants Book 18, page 432, which I have detailed under David Braswell-Carver. We also use this information to conclude that Richard III Braswell forced the remaining two Braswell-Carvers, Robert and William, to give up the Braswell name and use their legal surname of Carver.

It can also be concluded, based on the Halifax deeds of acknowledgment by Richard Braswell II of his children by Ann Carver that he wanted his children by her to use the Braswell surname.

THE DESCENDANTS OF RICHARD, ELINOR AND ANN CARVER

We have done quite a bit of research on the children of Richard Braswell III, to be quite honest it was almost by accident. We were looking for another Carver – Braswell connection and thought it occurred with the Wayne County NC Braswells. We could never find one so our search was futile, but informative.

It is apparent that we also had all of the Carver research done by Bill Fields and Betty Kirkland-Schledensky. Betty was a descendant of Sampson Carver who went to GA about 1795.

Perhaps it is just wishful thinking on our part, but our conclusion was that if there were any hard feelings between the Braswell’s and Carver’s it was only between Richard Braswell III and his half brothers Robert and William Carver. We believe that a lot that went on with the Braswell’s and Carver’s was much more common than most people would like to recognize or believe. Perhaps it was not always so out in the open, but things did happen. In fact the recent Braswell Family DNA program seems to bear that out.

We believe that the Carvers were very proud of their ancestor the Reverend Robert Bracewell. They named a son Robert in every generation. They were proud to be Braswell’s. Maxine’s “third great-grandfather” was named Brazil Carver. They named a lot of the girls Ann after their ancestor Ann Carver. I have always thought there was somehow another Braswell-Carver connection between Sampson Carver who went to GA and the Braswell descendants of Richard III.

The one thing that jumps out at you when you research the Carver Family of NC is that they never named a male Richard. We are sure that tells a story.

The Braswell and Carver grandsons of Richard Braswell II were great Patriots and most if not all served in the different NC County Militia’s during the Revolutionary War. Many served in the War of 1812. The list of Braswell’s and Carver’s from NC that served the Confederacy during “The Great War” is long. Some gave their lives for “The Cause”.

ANN CARVER and RICHARD BRASWELL II/Court Record
From the Research of William C. Fields III
Chowan County Court Minutes (C. R. 024.401.5, Archives, Raleigh NC)

Pg. 39, folio 4
18 January 1714/15 – ANN CARVER prays letters of administration on estate of her father, Wm. CARVER, dec’d; granted; ordered that Jno. Dew, Jams. Bryant Jr., Thos. Boon & Wm. Boon or any three of them be appointed to appraise said estate and return an inventory to next court.

Pg. 40, folio 4
Timo. McCarty proves an account against the estate of Wm. CARVER dec’d for #11/4/0.

Pg. 41, folio 1
19 April 1715 – RICHARD BRASSWELL proves an account against the estate of Wm. CARVER dec’d for #6/15/4.
ANN CARVER proves an account against the estate of Wm. CARVER dec’d for #4/0/0.
Thos. Boon proves an account against the estate of Wm. CARVER dec’d for 900 (?lbs. or Bu.?) of Indian corn; ordered that the same be paid by the administratrix.
Halifax County NC Deed Book 4, pg. 399:
1728 – Richard Braswell Senr. Patented 445a. on Fishing Creek & Crooked Branch in what became Edgecombe Co., Robert Carver alias Braswell to Wm. Bryant.

Halifax County NC Deed Book 3, pp. 177/178:
18 November 1747 – RICHARD BRASWELL Sr. of Edgecombe Co., deeded for #5.0.0 Sterling money of Great Britain to “ROBERT born of the body of ANNE CARVER and commonly known by the name of ROBERT BRASWELL”and “for and in consideration of the natural love & affection I have & bear to the sd ROBERT BRASWELL”, nine slaves, one still and “the plantation whereon I now dwell and all the land belonging to the same in Edgecombe County containing in the whole four hundred & forty four acres”.
Wit: Thomas Barker, William Magee

Ibid, p. 178:
18 November 1747 – RICHARD BRASWELL Sr. of Edgecombe Co., deeded for #5.0.0 Sterling money of Great Britain to “my son William the son of ANNE CARVER commonly known by the name of WILLIAM BRASWELL” and “for and in consideration of the natural love & affection I have & bear to the sd. WILLIAM BRASWELL”, eleven slaves, a bed & furniture, iron pot, gray mare and horse colt; also to him a plantation of 300 acres on White Oak Swamp “whereon my negroe Jack now lives”.
Wit: Thomas Barker, William Magee

Ibid, p. 179:
18 November 1747 – RICHARD BRASWELL Sr. of Edgecombe Co., deeded to “my son DAVID BRASWELL” for love and for #5.0.0 Sterling money of Great Britain a plantation of 200 acres on Maple Swamp, nine slaves, all cattle and hogs “mark’d with a crop & two slits in the right ear”, feather bed and furniture, iron pot and gray mare.
Wit: Thomas Barker, William Magee

Ibid p. 180:
18 November 1747 – RICHARD BRASWELL Sr. of Edgecombe Co., deeded for love to “my daughter SARAH BRASWELL” slaves Ann & Peter, feather bed and furniture, iron pot, 6 cows with calves, 6 pewter dishes and 6 spoons.
Wit: Thomas Barker, William Magee

Cumberland County North Carolina Deed Book 3 Pg. 297; 7 August 1756
Richard (X) Braswell to his son, William Carver, both planters, of Bladen Co., deed of gift for 5 s. proc., Negro slave named Joe, 17 or 18 yrs. of age.
Wit: David Braswell, Benjamin Cooper,
Proved by affirmation of Benj. Cooper Oct. 1768

Colonial Records of North Carolina, Saunders, Vol. V, p. 995;
At a Council held at Wilmington, 29 November 1758:-
Upon motion of Robt. Jones, Esqr, Attorney General, it is ordered that the Letters of Administration granted to Benjamin Willis on the Estate of DAVID BRASWELL be revoked and that Letters ad colligend issue to ANN BRASWELL als CARVER on the Estate of DAVID BRASWELL.

Ordered that the Depositions of Witnesses on both sides be taken as the next Court at Enfield, touching the legitimacy of the said DAVID BRASWELL and that all parties have notice thereof and that a Commission Issue to the Chief Justice for that purpose, and that the said ANN do give security in the sum of One thousand pounds for the due performance of said Letters.

Ordered that the Consideration of the Caveat entered agt Letters of Admn being granted to RICHd BRASWELL, son of RICHARD BRASWELL deced be deferred until the return of the Depositions of the witnesses above mentioned and that Letters ad colligend be issued to ANN BRASWELL als CARVER she giving Security in the sum of Two hundred pounds.
THESE COURT RECORDS EXTRACTED AND COMPILED BY WILLIAM C. FIELDS about 1970-1975 [W.S.G.]

S. S. 3, Secretary of State, Administrator’s Bonds, 1716—1774 (Archives, Raleigh)

Bond by ANNE BRASSWELL of Bladen County WIDOW and ROBERT CARVER & WILLIAM CARVER, 2 December 1758, pursuant to “an order of Council passed at Edenton the Twenty ninth day of November Letters ad Colligendum bona were ordered to the said ANNE BRASSWELL on the Estate of DAVID BRASSWELL deceased now in Case she the said ANNE BRASSWELL shall use her best endeavours to Collect and get into her Possession the Personall Estate of the said DAVID BRASSWELL and the same Carefully Preserve and Keep till administration shall be granted to some person on the said Estate. . . . .” One thousand pds.

Wit: Ann + Bracewell
Richd Lyon (signed) Her mark
Benjn Ellwell (B) Robt Carver (signed)
William Carver (signed)



Ibid:
Bond by ANNE BRASSWELL of Bladen County WIDOW and Robert Carver & William Carver, 2 December
1758, pursuant to “an Order of Council passed at Edenton the Twenty ninth day of November Letters ad Colligedum bona were ordered to the said ANNE BRASSWELL on the Estate of RICHARD BRASWELL deceased (sic) now in Case &c, &c, the Personall Estate of the said RICHARD BRASWELL (sic) …..” Two hundred pounds.
Her
Wit: Ann + Bracewell
Richd Lyon (signed) mark
Benjn Ellwell (B) Robt Carver (signed)
William Carver (signed)

North Carolina Land Grants Book 18, p. 432: (Secretary of State, Raleigh)
George the second &c Know ye that we in consideration of five shillings paid to our receiver genl have given & granted to RICHd BRASWELL, ROBt CARVER & Wm CARVER, fourteen negroe slaves male & female forty head of Black Cattle & one feather bed & furniture which are of the Estate of DAVID CARVER decd, an Illegitimate son of RICHd BRASWELL Deceased & all other goods and chattels, rights and Credits of said DAVID CARVER Decd. To hold to said RICHd BRASWELL, ROBERT CARVER & Wm CARVER their Heirs, Executors, Administrators and Assigns forever.
16 May 1759 Arthur Dobbs

Ibid, Vol. VI, p. 80:-
At a Council held at New Bern, 17 May 1759:-
Ordered that Letters of Administration formerly granted to Benjamin Willis on the Estate of DAVID BRASWELL be revoked and that Letters of Administration on said Estate be granted to RICHd BRASWELL and ROBt CARVER.
THESE ABOVE COURT RECORDS WERE ABSTRACTED AND COMPILED BY WILLIAM C. FIELDS about 1960. [W.S.G.]


The Ann Carver – Richard II Braswell Family-----By William C. Fields III
The below letter was written by Bill Fields in 1965 and was updated, with his permission in 1999, by Walter S. Gabennesch to contain additional information concerning Ann Carver and her family of Isle of Wight VA.
It is being used in this way (with an update) because it is the best most concise account of the Carver Family ever written.

The Cumberland County Carvers are somewhat more complicated. They all are descended from brothers, Robert and William (Braswell) Carver. Both of who died very early in 1767 and left wills.

Robert and William were the sons of Ann Carver and Richard II Braswell. No one knows whether Ann and Richard were ever married. A deed of Isham Carver, son of Robert, refers to land conveyed to Robert Carver by “Richard II Braswell and wife Ann”. However, when David, brother to William and Robert, died his estate was the object of a legal contest with Richard III Braswell, son of Richard II and half-brother to the Carvers. This court action took place in 1758-59 and the result was that David was declared an illegitimate son of Richard II Braswell.

Ann Carver, mother of Robert and William, was daughter and probably only child of William Carver of Isle of Wight County, Virginia. William Carver married Jane Moore, daughter of John Moore, of Isle of Wight in about 1690. Between 1692 and 1710 William and Jane sold land that she has inherited from her father John Moore. At some time before January 1714/15 William and his daughter Ann moved to Chowan County, North Carolina. We know this because the Chowan County Court minutes show, as of that date, she qualified as administratrix of her father’s estate. Presumably Jane had died because, if alive, she would have been named as administratrix. Ann would necessarily have attained her majority in order to qualify for that duty as it may be conjectured that she was born in the very early 1690’s.

The Carvers and Braswells had been neighbors in the Isle of Wight and may have very well known each other before moving to North Carolina. In any case Richard II Braswell was named as one of the creditors of William Carver’s estate and the association between him and Ann may have begun at that time. Richard’s wife, Eleanor, by whom he had the son Richard III, was still alive so marriage with Ann was out of the question. Whether they married later, after Eleanor’s death, is unknown and very doubtful as shown in the court action of 1758-59.

Richard II Braswell and Ann Carver had four children: Robert, William, David and Sarah, (we refer to them as the Braswell-Carver generation) identified by deeds and gifts to them in 1747, Halifax Co. NC. It is clear from the wording of these deeds that Richard II not only acknowledged the children as his but also wanted them to use the surname Braswell and for the most part they did so until his death. In all known records of David he is identified as David Bracewell. Robert and William, on the other hand, sometimes appear as Carver and sometimes as Braswell. However after the legal battle with their half-brother Richard III over the estates of Richard II Sr. and David, which must have been rather acrimonious, they ceased using the name Braswell altogether.

The family moved from Edgecombe County in about 1750 to what was then Bladen, later Cumberland, County. There David, who evidently was unmarried and without issue, and their father Richard II died in late 1758. Nothing more is known to this day of Sarah. The two surviving Braswell-Carver sons, Robert and William, were the progenitors of the Cumberland County Carvers.

Robert and William the two eldest children were certainly born after 1716 and probably about the middle of the 1720’s. They had seven and eight children respectively by their deaths in very early 1767. Robert’s son Isham was born about 1748. William’s eldest son Sampson was born in about 1752 his next son William was born in April of 1753.

Robert Braswell-Carver named no wife in his will so she evidently predeceased him. She was named Mary according to a deed of 25 Feb. 1765 in which Robert and his wife Mary sold land to Ann Nesfield. Robert Braswell-Carver named in his will of 1766 the following children:

Isham (Isom) Carver---married Elizabeth Baldwin.
Ann Carver
Milley (Amelia) Carver
Susannah Carver-------married Theophilus Evans
Elizabeth Carver
Mary Carver
Marget (Margaret, Peggy) Carver

Isham Carver (son of Robert), born abt. 1748 died 1789, married Elizabeth Baldwin she names in her will the following children:

1. Robert Carver, born abt. 1780
2. William Carver, born abt. 1782, died 1848
3. Isham Carver, born 1784, died 13 August 1863 (tombstone)
4. Mary Carver, married ---- Baldwin
5. Sidney Carver (female) never married, died 1860
6. Julia Carver married William Rutledge Carman, marriage bond dated 15 April 1828, she died 19 January 1844,
according to the inscription on the tombstone.

The date of Isham Carver’s death was established as 1789 by court dockets. His death occurred during a lawsuit he was engaged in and was noted in the docket. His birth date is the result of shrewd guesswork. The Elizabeth Carver in the 1790 census was his widow. She died in 1837 and left a will. The date on her tombstone is 5 Feb. 1837. The daughter, Sidney Carver, died unmarried in 1860 (year her will was probated) and in this will she names brother-in-law William R. Carman, brother William Carver, the child of brother Robert Carver and children of sister Mary Baldwin. The will was made 13 Dec. 1852.

Robert Carver, son of Isham, had one son, John Mullington Carver.

Isham Carver, son of Isham, married Lucy Ann Winslow Evans Watts, daughter of George Washington Evans by his first wife, Margaret Elwell, and widow of Thomas D. Watts; marriage bond dated 16 May 1844. If he was married before there is no record of it. They had one son, John Isham Carver, who died in infancy (13 April 1848, aged 2 years, 3 months, according to the tombstone).

William Carver, son of Isham, is, I believe, the William R. (Red) Carver who married his cousin, Clarissa Carver, daughter of William, the Revolutionary soldier. William R. Carver is sometimes referred to as William Jr. in the census records.

Ann Carver, daughter of Robert Braswell-Carver, is supposed to have married John Elwell. Her tombstone gives her dates as 15 Dec. 1787, aged 38 years (therefore born 1749). John Elwell died 8 Jan. 1835, aged 91 years. This marriage is “Family History” in my family, who always claimed kin with the Elwell descendants on this basis.
Amelia (Milley) Carver, daughter of Robert Braswell-Carver, probably married Charles Baldwin after 1771. In the estate records of her father there is one item concerning her: Account of Mill Amelia Carver with Robert Rowan, including hire of two Negroes, July 1771.
Susannah Carver, daughter of Robert Braswell-Carver, married Theophilus Evans, born 10 Nov. 1746 (according to the Evans Family Bible), died 16 March 1822 (as reported in the Raleigh Register of 29 March 1822. They were the parents of 13 children, born between 1774 and 1799, including George Washington Evan’s. These dates suggest that Susannah be born in the 1750’s, probably about 1755. There is no mention of her in his will, made 19 August 1821, probated April 1822.
Elizabeth Carver, daughter of Robert Braswell-Carver, born 24 October 1759, married 16 January 1780 John Estes of Hillsboro, N. C., who was born 24 December 1745, died 11 September 1799. Eliza Estes died 16 April 1845. These dates are from John Estes’ Prayer Book (except for Eliza’s death date). The Prayer Book is included in the Revolutionary Pension Records of John Estes and Eliza’s death date is also in these records.
Mary Carver, daughter of Robert Braswell-Carver, married Thomas Sewell. She is mentioned in the will of her sister, Eliza Estes, made 26 October 1841, probated May 1845, in Orange County, North Carolina.
Margaret Carver, daughter of Robert Braswell-Carver, married first John Kinchen (Orange Co. marriage bond dated 24 September 1788), second William Nash (Orange Co. marriage bond dated 1 September 1795). Margaret was also mentioned in her sister Eliza Estes’ will.

According to the actual dates we have I believe that Robert Braswell-Carver named his children by order of birth in his will. This is one of the means by which I arrived at approximate dates for the others.

William Braswell-Carver named in his will wife Mary and the following children:
Sampson Carver
William Carver
Robert Carver
Samuel Carver
Jesse Carver
James Carver
John Carver
Mary Carver

Sampson Carver was born about 1752 and appears in the 1790 Cumberland Co. census with 3 males under 16 and 3 females no age designation. There is no record in the State of North Carolina that I know of that gives the names of his wife or any of his children. The census record suggests that he had three sons and at least two daughters born before 1790. There are numerous deeds on record here showing that he sold land all through the 1790’s, his signature alone appears on these deeds. He disappears from all records here by mid 1798. He is undoubtedly the Sampson Carver who lived later in Georgia, although I am yet to find any documentary evidence of this move. It is possible that one or more of his children remained behind in North Carolina but I don’t believe they did; or if they did they evidently went on to Georgia later. For one thing they can not be identified as appearing in the census records. A Sampson Carver appears in the 1810 census of Cumberland Co. age 26-45 (i. e. born between 1765 and 1784), one female same age (wife, no doubt), two males under 10 and three females under 10 years. There is no other record of him here as far as I know. He may have been Sampson’s son who returned here briefly for whatever reason.

William Carver, born April 1753, died 29 March 1836. These dates and the list of his children are from his Pension Records, Revolutionary War. He was one of the three Carver brothers who signed the Cumberland County Resolutions, June 1775 (the other two brothers were Robert and Samuel). The name of his wife is unknown. She died before 1830, per census records. The following were his children:

David Carver
Brasel (Brazil) Carver (corruption of Braswell)
Clarissa Carver (Clary, Clara)
Elizabeth Carver (Lizy)
Peggy Carver
John Carver
James Carver
Nelly Carver

The pension record states, in 1837, that three of these children: David, Brasil and Clary, wife of William R. Carver, all of lawful age, now reside in this county (Cumberland), and five: Lisy, Peggy, John, James, and Nelly “removed many years ago to the Western Country, parts unknown”.

David Carver, son of William (2.), born abt. 1783, per census of 1850, made his will 16 January 1852, naming nephew William Henry Carver and Sister Clara Carver. What progeny he had, if any, is not known.

Brazil Carver, son of William (2.), born abt. 1785 per 1850 census, married Betsy Reeves (marriage bond dated 24 January 1809). They had a number of children.

Clarissa Carver, daughter of William (2.), born abt. 1787, per 1860 census, married her cousin, William R. Carver (marriage bond dated 23 October 1809). He was, I am sure, the son of Isham and Elizabeth Carver. She names a son William in her will of 1832-37 and there was no other William Carver on record here for many years except of course William Sr. his father-in-law. He appears in the census first in 1810 and continued there through 1840, known as William Carver, Jr., as long as his father-in-law was alive. He died in 1848. (Division of Estates, 1808-1860, states that Mrs. Clarissa Carver was awarded her dower and third in land of William Carver, dec’d, 1 September 1848.) They had a number of children.

Robert Carver, son of William Braswell-Carver, married Elizabeth Newberry. He died in 1797 and left a will naming his children. All of the children remained here in Cumberland County. The records of Robert Carver’s estate are remarkably complete and all the daughters had married by the time the estate was settled so we have the names of all their husbands. The son, Marshal Carver, appears in only one census, that of 1820, so if he left this county it was after that year. Robert was also one of the signers of the Cumberland Resolutions.

Samuel Carver, son of William Braswell-Carver, the third of these brothers to sign the Cumberland Resolutions, had died before 1790, that I am convinced. He does not appear in the 1790 census and his brother Robert, refers in his will to disposing of the property of his brother Samuel’s. A case in the Superior Court Minutes of October 1791 involved Samuel Hollingsworth vs. Administrator of Samuel Carver. I think he died unmarried, else there would have been a reference to his widow and children, if any, in the court minutes, which I have studied thoroughly.

Jesse Carver son of William Braswell-Carver married twice. By his first wife, name unknown, he had two daughters: Susannah, who married Cornelius Thames (marriage bond dated 8 July 1805) and Elizabeth, who married George Washington Evans as his second wife (marriage bond has date obliterated). Jesse Carver had, by his second wife Mary Kirkpatrick, daughters Sarah, Maria, Rebecca, Mary and one son William E. Carver. Maria married Jonathan Evans Jr. and they were my great great grandparents. This Jonathan Evans was a son of Josiah Evans II and grandson of Josiah Evans and Sarah Carver Evans – see data on Bladen Carvers.

And - -7. James and John are the unknowns in this family. Court Minutes show that they had guardians as late as 1785 indicating that the youngest child was born in 1764. The Court Minutes for April 1785 show that Sampson Carver was appointed Guardian to John on that date so he may have been born even a year later; the father’s will is dated 10 December 1766. In the will he leaves no land to James and John. He leaves them only slaves and other personal property to be held in trust for them by Sampson and William until they were of age. I believe William Braswell-Carver in his will, as in the case of Robert Braswell-Carver, named his children in order of age. The exception perhaps would be the daughter Mary. She was probably born about 1760. There are no records, that I’ve found, that indicate anything about the fate of James or John. I feel it is likely that they moved away or died very young. They inherited no land by their father’s will so either event could have taken place without creating much stir. There were a John and James Carver, of Cumberland Co., who bought land in Bladen from Jesse Newberry and wife Deborah, of Bladen Co., in 1771(Bladen Co. Deed Bk. 23, p. 296). However, by the above line of reasoning as to their ages it seems to me out of the question that they were sons of William Braswell-Carver. I have no idea to there identity. And, except for a lawsuit in July 1774, Alexander McPherson vs. John Carver, no other references to this earlier John and James has turned up in the records to give us a clue. Samuel Carver, who may have been the son of William Braswell-Carver, witnessed the deed of 1771. I doubt that, even he was not old enough at that time. This Samuel was more likely the son of Samuel Carver of Bladen Co., will 1758. At any rate there are these miscellaneous, as yet unidentified Carvers who may be responsible for some of the later generations that migrated south, or may themselves be the migrants.

Mary Carver, daughter of William Braswell-Carver, married David Evans, brother to Josiah, Ann and Theophilus previously mentioned. According to the Evan’s Family Bible David was born 23 December 1753, died 2 October 1812. They had three children, only one of who lived to maturity, a son Jonathan (1784-1859), which was another great-great grandfather of mine. He was a first cousin once removed to Jonathan Evans, Jr., who married Maria Carver, daughter of Jesse. My maternal grandparents were cousins through three Carver-Evans intermarriages, which is the reason for this confusion – and my keen interest in these two families.

Following footnote: by W.S.G.

The original letter was written in 1965, as a response to Sibyl Rousseau Christie’s letter in which she was searching for a lost grandmother with the first name Mary who she believed was a Carver. Mrs. Christie had strongly suspected that her grandmother was in the household of William Carver born in 1782, the son of Sampson Carver, on the Georgia Appling Co. census of 1820. She was trying to prove that Mary was the daughter of William Carver. The Rousseau family had been searching diligently for many years prior to the original date of this letter. Their lost grandmother was found in May of 1999 when a Florida cousin discovered pages copied from the Family Bible of William Carver the son of Sampson. Mary was, in reality, Mary Clements daughter of Anny Wilson Clements Carver who was a widow and married William Carver in 1807.


What ever happened to Peggy, John and James Carver??
Maxine and I think that since this is the Bicentennial year 2004 of Lewis and Clarks expedition through the Northwest Territory to explore the Louisiana Purchase we should end this with a little story about two of the great grandsons of Ann Carver and Richard Braswell II.

As was noted above, William Carver the grandson of Ann and Richard had his two sons John and James named in his 1835 RS pension papers. Their siblings stated that they along with sister’s Peggy, Lizzie and Nelly had left for point’s west a long time ago.

Nelly found out about her inheritance of a share of the last pension payment and collected it. She was in Columbia, SC with her third husband.

We have found no record of what happened to Peggy and Lizzy, gone and soon forgotten.

The story with John and James was quite different. We found them when researching the “Bureau of Land Management Records” in 1999. We doubt if they received their inheritance, but yet that possibility does exist. They had enlisted together in the United States Army at Cumberland County, NC in 1814 for a period of 5 years. They were really “out West” and very early.

James Carver served as a Private in Capt. William Lord's Co. of Riflemen, Company C, Rowland's 4 Reg't North Carolina Detached Militia in the War of 1812. He was mustered in on 19 July 1813 and discharged on 19 August 1813. He received $8.53and1/2 cents for his time served. Record in NC Archives.

James Carver reenlisted in the Army of the United States on the 31st day of August 1814 to serve five years. He served as a private in Capt. Jas. McGunnigles Company United States Regiment of Riflemen. The Certificate of Discharge states: "Said James Carver was born in Cumberland County in the state of North Carolina is twenty six years of age, five feet eight inches high, fair complexion, blue eyes, light hair and by occupation when enlisted, a farmer. Given at Fort Osage this 9th day of August 1819 to take effect on the thirty first day of August 1819". This would indicate that he was born before the month of August in the year of 1793.

Fort Osage Missouri was established in 1808 as the first US Fort built in the new Louisiana Purchase. Meriweather Lewis built Fort Osage for trading furs with the Osage Indians. The fort was abandon in 1822.

James Carver received a Land Bounty Grant of 160 acres in Arkansas. He and his brother John applied for this Land Bounty on the same day, November 27, 1820. This would indicate that they met and went to apply together. The brothers were issued consecutive Land Bounty Numbers John #23039 and James #23040. The 160 acres each were adjoining. James, on May 22, 1858 traded his original 160 acres of land for another 160 acres in Arkansas. These brothers Carver served in the same Capt. Jas. Mcgunnigles Company United States Regiment of Riflemen.

James Carver appears on the 1850 census records of Illinois as being 67 years old and born in North Carolina. He does not appear on the 1830-40 census records of Illinois.

John Carver enlisted in the Army of the United States 31 August 1814 at Fayettevile, North Carolina for a duration of 5 years. He was discharged in Franklin, Missouri 5 July 1819. John Carver was born in Cumberland Co. NC. At the date of his discharge he stated his age as 27 years. This would mean he was born in 1792. He was said to be 5 feet 9 inches high, dark complexion, blue eyes, light hair, a farmer at the time of enlistment. John Carver received a 160 acres Land Bounty in Arkansas on November 27, 1820 for his service in the Army. The land patent number was 23039. I believe, for whatever reason, the age on his discharge is in error.

Affidavit 4 January 1851, Jefferson Co., Mo. age 57 years.
Affidavit 25 April 1855, Jefferson Co., Mo. age 61 years.
The Jefferson Co. Missouri Federal Census which was enumerated, at his household #1056, on October 31, 1850 he states his age as 56 years. Other census information shows he was a farmer and had real estate valued a $1000.

John and his brother James enlisted together in the Army of the United States and served their five years together in the same Regiment of Rifles. They stuck together until about 1830 as far as we can tell. James disappears much earlier than John.

This brings us back to the reality of DNA. How many Carver/Braswell’s are there in Illinois, Missouri, Arkansas and other western states?

The Braswell’s, to include their Carver branch, were a part of the people that created this country. They should be given credit for that. It is their due.