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July 17, 2011.

ANSELLS FROM CURRITUCK COUNTY AND BEYOND by Burness Ansell Jr and Rebecca Ansell Rose.

THE 18th CENTURY.

James ANSELL (1680-1740) had two children Sarah and John (1700-1755). Sarah married (?) ROBERTS and they had at least one child, James ROBERTS who was mentioned in his grandfather’s will. John (1700-1755) was known as “John ANSELL of Netsiland” because of the transcription of his will recorded in Currituck County.” However, the will was also recorded in Chowan County and does not contain this error. In the Chowan will he is “John ANSELL of Nots lsland. Moreover, when that portion of the Currituck will is enlarged, it looks as though “Netsiland” may not have been part of the original document. John (1700-1755) was probably the “John ANCEL” who was appointed tobacco counter for “Knots Island” in 1727.

John (1700-1755) married Mary (?)(?-1771) in 1730 and they raised at least seven children: John (l730- 1796), William (?-?), Nathan (before 1734- ?), Mary (?-?), Sarah (?- before 1753), Caleb (1732-1780) and Letessha (?-?). The order of birth of John and Mary’s children is unknown, so they are listed in the order they are mentioned in their father’s will. Following John ANSELL’s death, Mary married John MACKIE. She died in 1771. Her will was written 28 October 1770 and proved 23 November 1771. Mary mentioned her grandson, James, son of John, and all of the children, except Sarah.

Caleb’s brother, John (1730-1796), was probably the eldest as he was mentioned first and was appointed executor of both his father’s and his mother’s estate. John (1730-1796) served on a jury in Currituck County in 1766, and was probably the John ANSELL from North Carolina who enlisted in the army during the Revolutionary War as a private and rose to rank of sergeant. John (1730-1796) married Dinah (?), and they had at least one son, James (1750-1821). James was mentioned in both of his grandparents’ wills. John’s will was dated 9 September 1795 and was proved 12 January 1796. He lent the use of his land to his son, James (1750-1821), and his wife, Jolon, during their lifetime. After their deaths the land was to be divided equally between two of his grandsons, John (1780-before 1840) and James (1780-1826). If either died without lawful issue, his half was to go to grandson Henry (1780-before 1850). James (1750-after 1821) and Julon did not leave wills that have been found.

Grandson John (1780-1840) appears in the 1810 census but not in 1830 (the 1820 census for Curritick County has been lost). No children were listed in the 1810 census; however, in 1818 John’s land bordering James’ land had descended and was sold to Dennis Simmons. On 27 May 1836 Jonathan ANSELL, son of John, sold land formerly owned by James ANSELL to Dennis SIMMONS. Henry (1780-1840) appears only in the 1830 census with his wife, Mary (?), and four children. Real estate transactions reveal the names of three of Henry and Mary’s children: Malachi, Mary and Elizabeth. In 1825 James (1780-1826) made a deed of gift to his sons, Caleb (1801-1866) and Samuel (1803-1859). In the 1830 census Caleb, Samuel and Henry show up on adjacent farms. Henry sold his farm to Samuel in 1827.

According to the family history, William ANSELL (?-?),son of John (1700-1755) of “Netsiland,” married Harriet (?) and they had three children: John (Jonathan) (1812-1865), William (1816-1872) and Andrew J. (1818-1888). This is difficult to believe. William (?-?) must have been near adulthood in 1753 when John (1700-1755) wrote his will leaving his son, William, a slave, cattle, sheep and another slave after the death his wife, Mary. lf this bit of family history is true, William (?-?) would have sired his three children well into his eighties. There must be missing a generation. It is more likely that the William ANSELL who bought land in Norfolk County in 1832 was the son of William (?-?) and the father of John (Jonathan) (1812-1865), William (1816-1872) and Andrew J. (1818-1888).

Little is known about John (1700-1755) and Mary’s third child, Nathan. He was mentioned in both of his parents’ wills and was listed in the Taxtables of Currituck County, 1779. Nathan married and had at least one son, James. Mary ANSELL married (?) COX before 1770. Sarah married, had children and died before 1753, when her father’s will was written.

John (1700-1755) and Mary’s son, Caleb (1732-1780), and Caleb’s son, Caleb (1750-1798), were probably the most controversial ANSELLS. Caleb ANSELL was a Captain in the North Carolina Militia and became a Revolutionary War hero when, with his militia troop, he saved the grounded schooner, Liberty, from recapture by British privateers. He was mentioned in the Journals of the Continental Congress. The story has an interesting twist. The commander of the Liberty, Captain Middleton BELT, and the owner, John HARPER of Virginia, opposed Captain ANSELL’s claim that the Liberty was a lawful prize. The North Carolina Admiralty Court found in favor of the militiamen and awarded them one-eighth of the value of the ship and her cargo. Captain BELT and the ship’s owner tried to appeal the decision to Congress, but soon after the court adjourned the schooner and the cargo were stolen. It was assumed that North Carolinians with the help of Captain ANSELL’s militiamen were the perpetrators.

The first Caleb ANSELL, son of John, was probably born circa 1732 and married Lydia (?) circa 1750. They had five children: John, Caleb, Robert, Mary and Frederick. Caleb, son of John (1700-1755), died in 1780, and his will points out one of the many problems with which the genealogist has to contend. His will is not listed in any of the indices, and was found in the initial Will Book 1, but not in the recopied Will Book 1. The transcription of his will was in bad shape and was only about fifty per cent readable. It looked like it had been stepped on by a horse; but how on earth a horse got into the Cunituck County Clerk’s Office is a difficult question to fathom. The best guess is that, during the War Between the States, some of the records were taken from the courthouse and stored elsewhere to protect them from the Union invaders.

Caleb, son of Caleb (1732- 1780) was probably born circa 1750, and this author believes he was the Captain Caleb ANSELL who has been mentioned so frequently by the ANSELL historians and genealogists. He died in 1797/98 but did not leave a will. A probate inventory was found in Norfolk County. His estate consisted of a note from John ANSELL (probably his brother) for eighteen pounds and cash amounting to fourteen pounds, nine shillings and four pence. Although both of the other researchers have placed Captain Caleb in our direct line, no evidence, to date, has been found in the Norfolk, Princess Anne or Currituck County records that he ever married or had any children.

The evidence supports the following bloodline through the eighteenth century: James (1680-1740), John (1700-1755), John (1730-1796), James (1750-1821), James (1780-1826) to Caleb (1801-1866). Caleb and Bethany lead the family into the nineteenth century.