Christopher Calvert/ James Logan Colbert

[Richard A. Colbert]

I am a descendant of Christopher Calvert. He arrived in Accomack County, VA in the summer of 1636 from Northamptonshire, England.

My 5th great-grandfather, Joseph Calvert, was the father of James Logan Colbert of the Chickasaws.  JLC was born ca. 1722 on Plumtree Island in the Roanoke River and near the NC/VA border.

James' mother was Amy Beeson. She married four times.  First to Francis Vernon. Then to Joseph Calvert.  They were married approximately 25 years. After Joseph died she married Phillip Smith, then a man named Catlin. She moved to London and was alive in 1775 when she came back to Halifax County, NC to settle estate problem re: Plumtree Island.

James' twin brother, Thomas, was my 4th great-grandfather. He was indentured to be a blacksmith and lived in the town of Halifax (8 miles south of Plumtree Island) for over twenty years.  He and his family later moved to Bute (Franklin County), NC.

James was indentured to Abraham Colson to be a tanner and Indian trader.  Abe Colson was a registered Chickasaw trader. His brother, Joseph Colson, lived on Plumtree Island and bought land on the island the same day as Joseph Calvert.

In 1736 Abraham Colson,  William Turbeville, Gideon Gibson, and the Mulkey family moved to Sandy Bluff, S.C. The Turbeville and Mulkey family also lived on Plumtree Island and all of the above families were related by marriage.

Gideon Gibson was also a Chickasaw Indian trader. Before moving to Sandy Bluff he lived on land near Plumtree Island. This land he bought from Robert Lang/Long/Longo who also lived on Plumtree Island.  Robert Long was a descendant of Anthony Longo of Accomack County, VA. and lived there the same time as Christopher Calvert.

(The Colson's also lived in Accomack County, VA during the mid-1600's).

In 1750 James Logan Colbert, James Adair, Abraham Colson, and Johathan Mulkey all bought land in Bladen County, NC (now Robeson County) on the same day.

Abe Colson later died in 1750. He had been scalped by Indians in 1745 and never recovered from his injuries.

Christopher Calvert II and his wife Elinor had five children: Christopher III, Charles,
John, George, and Mary.  Mary married Garrett Sipple in 1675.  I am trying to track down the brothers of Christopher II.

Christopher III married Ann _____. They had son Reuben b. Nov. 5, 1682 in Richmond County, VA.  (Christopher III is believed the father of Joseph Calvert of Plumtree Island).

Whereabouts of sons Charles, John, and George after 1680 unknown. Does anyone know where they moved to?

Richard

[Barbara B]

Dear Richard,

Thank you for your research.   I have a copy of the first part of the NCGSJ article, and am hoping to find a copy of the Vol. XXI second part.   

My interest comes from the association of this group with James Adair, the trader and author.    I am descended from a James Addair who shows up in written records in Virginia in 1772 as a settler on the New River.    Recently a lawsuit turned up in which, like James Colbert, he states he was a resident "since my nativity."     All known descendants of this James Addair share a tradition of Indian ancestry (most claim Cherokee, with no details!).    I have been unable to trace him any earlier.   

Names you may find familiar:   one of the first mentions of James Addair comes in a Fincastle County complaint from a William Kavennagh that he has blocked the path with his fence.  Charles, William and Philemon Kavenaugh made land claims in the same area in 1775 (on New River near the mouth of the East River, presently Giles County, VA).

Later, in 1789, James was reported as surety for the marriage bond of John Hix (also spelled Hicks) and Elizabeth Brown.     

I am intrigued by your report of land purchased in Bladen County, NC, in 1750 by James Colbert, James Adair, Abraham Colson and Johnathan Mulkey.     This site, listing various James Adair dates:

http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Valley/9708/marj.html

records :
"23 Mar 1775 Benjamin Fuller of SC to JAMES ADAIR of Dobbs Co, NC, 20pd, 200ac on both sides of Wilkesons Swamp on Little Pedee.
Witt John Cade & Edward Hughes.
Bladen Co, NC DB 1738\1804, 373"

Would this land appear to lie in the same area?

Do you have any other clues about James Adair's involvement in the mixed race trader community of this part of North Carolina?     

Thanks,

Barbara Bauer

[Hugh Cobb]

Can't help but be curious, Richard, as to how the Colberts came by that name if their father was a Calvert.  Any thoughts?  And, by the way, I am descended from James Logan.

Hugh Cobb