John Miller (1724-1803)

Thomas E (1761-1830)

Jacob (1782-abt 1845)

Francis Marion (1826-1894)

Jacob Franklin(1866-1949)

Horace Francis (1905-1974)

James Richard (1931-)

James Aaron (1954-)

John Miller Cantrell was the third generation of New World Cantrells. His father, Joseph, was the first of our chain to be born in the new country. Jo-

seph’s father, Richard, was born in Derbyshire, England.

John Miller was born October 6, 1724, in New Castle County, Pennsylvania, (which

is now in Delaware). New Castle is just south west of Philadelphia.

New Castle County’s first permanent set-

tlement was Fort Christina, resulting from a Swedish vessel’s exploration in 1638. The Dutch and the Swedes had several disputes over the land in this area. Eventually, the land was claimed by the Duke of York (1674) and then granted

to William Penn in 1682, who established the Colony of Delaware. In 1790, the census listed the population of the county as 19,688.

John was baptized

March 25, 1726 at

Old Swedes, (now Holy

Trinity Church) in Wilmington, Delaware. -

Historically, in the 18th century, families moved from Pennsylvania down thru the Great Valley of Virginia and then on to Piedmont Plateau of Carolina. This basically followed a line south, keeping to the East of the Appalachian Moun-

tains. John and his family followed this path.

John’s father, (Joseph), moved the family to the Big Valley of Virginia before John reached his teens. In 1738, the family was living in Orange County, VA.

John spent his whole life as a farmer. He was married twice. His first wife, Hannah Brittain, was born around 1725-1726 in New Castle, PA. They were married in 1743 in New Castle, PA. She died in 1769 in Granville, NC. She

was probably buried at the Wolf Island Baptist Church Cemetery. Little is known of his second wife, other than her first name, Jane.

He had between 16 and 21 children with these two different wives. There is some confusion about how many children John actually had. Best thoughts say

he had sixteen sons and two daughters with his first wife, Hannah. It is thought he had 3 daughters and one son with his second wife, Jane. He fathered three sets of twins.

John’s family settled in the “Land of Eden,” Granville County, NC, which

later became Orange county. John was first listed on the tax records in this county in 1754.

John’s brother Issac received a land grant for 202 acres in Orange County on November 13, 1756. On March 13,

1759, Isaac sold the acreage to John. The land was on a ridge between County Line Creek and Jordon’s Creek, about seven miles north of the Upper Branch of

the Haw River, on the waters of Wolf Island Creek, (a branch of the Dan River to the north). It is about two miles north of the present town of Reidsville, Rockingham County, NC.

John was sued by James Cary Jr. for an outstanding debt in 1758 in Orange County. No details of this suit were found, but I assume it was just a misunder-

standing, (ha!). In September, 1759, John and his brother Joseph were on a road jury to lay out a road from Hogna’s Creek to the county courthouse. John was appointed one of the overseers of the road. John was also involved in the

development and overseeing of other roads in the county.

On November 12th, 1765, John sold his 202 acres of land in North Carolina.

John Miller was 51 when the Revolutionary War began, but it is thought that

at least six of his sons fought in the war.

Three of John’s sons, (Aaron, Simon, Peter), are said to have joined General Francis Marion, (the “Swamp Fox”) in 1780-1781. They functioned as scouts. Family tradition says that all three were taken prisoner by the British (said to be

Colonel Tarleton’s men) while on scout duty and were condemned to be shot. They were bound and lead to a lonely spot. Some traditions say Aaron and Pe-

ter escaped. Other traditions say only Peter escaped and Simon was bound to a stake. Simon asked for time to pray, but while praying, his body was riddled with bullets.

General Francis Marion was used as the major source for the Mel Gibson

movie “The Patriot.” Colonel Tarleton is also shown in the movie. He was the bad British officer. It is said that the movie was quite liberal in their interpreta-tion of the historical facts, but it was entertaining.

We are not sure exactly when John took his family down the Piedmont Pla-

teau to 96th District of South Carolina, but it appears to be shortly after the end of the Revolutionary War (1775–1783).

There is a famous hat story involving John Miller and his sons.

“A story is handed down in the Cantrell family that the father of this army of

boys went into a new country store of the neighborhood and the proprietor of which was a stranger and asked to see some boys hats. The storekeeper politely handed down a dozen hats in a box from which his new customer might make a

selection, and laying the dozen hats to one side said he would like another box full.'Well!' said the surprised merchant, 'How many hats do you want?' Where-

upon Mr. Cantrell stepped to the door where his family was waiting in wagons and said: 'Boys, come in here!' In marched 21 boys and lining up by the counter, the surprised merchant said, 'Are these boys all yours?' When assured they

were, he replied, 'Well, you can beat me in being clever, so I'll just give you 21 hats.' This he did, each boy made his selection and marched out.”

While it is thought that several of these boys were actually John’s nephews, it still must have been quite a site.

Once in the 96th

District, South Carolina (Spartan-burg County),

John acquired 800 acres of land on

Buck Creek (which flows into the Pa-colet River).

John was listed in the 1790 census in the 96th District as head of household, with one son under 16

and two daughters at home. He was 66 that year.

John, and his brother Isaac, were active in the Buck Creek Baptist Church.

This church began in 1779 and is near the Pacolet River, about 12 miles north-east of Spartanburg, South Carolina. Isaac became a minister there in 1796. In

1800, John was listed as a minister. Descendants of these families attend the church today. John is listed as one of the first deacons, as well as his son Char-les. In 1823, Jacob Cantrell (John Miller’s grandson and our direct ancestor) is

listed as licensed to preach at this church.

John was not listed as head of household in the 1800 census. Instead, he ap-pears in the household of his son Moses. John owned three slaves at this time.

John died before February, 1803. He was 78. He was probably buried in the Buck Creek Baptist Church Cemetery.

John Miller Cantrell was my fifth-great grandfather. As you can tell, he must

have been an amazing man. He journeyed from Delaware, down through Vir-

ginia and North Carolina into South Carolina. He either loved children, or loved producing them. At least three, and more likely six of his sons fought in the Revolutionary War. He was instrumental in road development and was very

involved in the local church where ever he was living at the time. Obviously our family was heavy into the Baptist church during this time. Maybe it was when they moved to Tennessee that they saw the light and moved over to the Method-

ist church. But that’s a different story.

John is definitely an ancestor to be proud of.