land grants – Descendants of Rebellion https://descendantsofrebellion.com Discovering who made us who we are Tue, 17 Dec 2024 00:31:12 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.7.1 https://i0.wp.com/descendantsofrebellion.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Untitled-2.png?fit=32%2C32&ssl=1 land grants – Descendants of Rebellion https://descendantsofrebellion.com 32 32 149595850 Thomas Chisolm of Burke County, Georgia https://descendantsofrebellion.com/2024/12/17/thomas-chisolm-of-burke-county-georgia/ https://descendantsofrebellion.com/2024/12/17/thomas-chisolm-of-burke-county-georgia/#comments Tue, 17 Dec 2024 00:30:33 +0000 https://descendantsofrebellion.com/?p=824

Thomas Chisolm[1] of Burke County, Georgia, was appointed Georgia’s first Surveyor General by the Executive Council in 1777, following Georgia’s transition from a province to a state after the Declaration of Independence and the start of the American Revolution. [2] He was a commissioned officer of the Georgia Continental Line.[3]  In 1776, he married Mary Butler, the daughter of Joseph Butler and widow of Thomas Spencer.[4] Thomas and Mary had one son, George Washington Chisolm, who was the progenitor of Chisolms who migrated to Mississippi. [5]  Thomas Chisolm died on his plantation in Burke County in 1789.[6] John Milton and William Few were the executors of his estate.[7]

For the past several decades, it was thought that Thomas Chisolm of Burke County was the same individual as Thomas Chisholm born to Reverend Thomas Chisholm of Teawig in Kilmorack, Inverness-shire, Scotland. A recent article in Clan Chisholm Journal by Robert Chisholm challenged the claim, sparking controversy amongst Chisolm descendants.[8] Thanks newly discovered evidence, the argument can be settled.

The Origin of the Thomas Chisolm Myth

Rev. Thomas Chisholm of Teawig married Magdalen Cuthbert.[9] He had at least nine children, all of whom were born in Scotland between 1719 and 1736, including a son Thomas Chisholm baptized in 1730.[10] The baptism records identified the children’s father as Thomas Chisholm, minister of the gospel at Kilmorack, so there is no dispute about the identity of the father amongst individuals of the same name in Scotland.

Magdalen Cuthbert’s sister Ann Cuthbert[11] immigrated to Georgia and married Dr. Patrick Graham there in 1740. [12] After Dr. Graham’s death in 1755, Ann Cuthbert married James Bulloch[13] and made a will in Georgia in 1762, which left a bequest “to my two nephews John and Thomas Chisolm sons of the Rev’d Mr. Thomas Chisolm late minister of the gospel at Kilmorack…”.[14] 

In 1984, genealogist Meredith B. Colket, Jr. published an article in the National Genealogical Society Quarterly titled “Chisholm Families in the American Colonies.”[15] Colket suggested that Thomas Chisolm of Burke County may be the son of Rev. Thomas Chisholm of Teawig. Colket cited Ann Cuthbert’s will. He suggested it was “plausible that the wife of the Rev. Thomas died or some other situation induced Ann to bring his two youngest sons to this country to bring them up herself.”[16]

Thomas Chisolm in Georgia Society

The link between Thomas Chisolm of Burke County and associates of Ann Cuthbert, who were members of Georgia’s elite and ruling class, supported the assumption that he was Ann Cuthbert’s nephew.  Thomas Chisolm was first documented in Savannah, Georgia, in 1770 when he was recorded as a deputy surveyor under Henry Yonge who married James Bulloch’s daughter Christiana.[17] Henry Yonge succeeded Noble Wimberly Jones whose daughter Mary married James Bulloch after Ann Cuthbert died.[18]

Thomas Chisolm was commissioned as a Captain in Georgia’s Continental Line[19] in 5th Company with Second Lieutenant Daniel Cuthbert.[20] He was appointed a member of the Executive Council when James Bulloch’s son Archibald Bulloch was elected Governor.[21] John Houstoun was a fellow council member and the son of Sir Patrick Houstoun. Ann Cuthbert’s cousin George Cuthbert was one of the appraisers of Sir Patrick’s estate.[22] Thomas Chisolm served as Justice of the Peace and appointed Surveyor General in 1777.[23] In documents, Thomas Chisolm was consistently identified as “Esquire” or “Gentleman,” indicating his position amongst Georgia’s elite.

The Thomas Chisolm Myth is Dispelled

Several years ago, a 1764 marriage in Scotland was discovered between Rev. Thomas Chisholm’s son Thomas Chisholm and Ann McLean the daughter of John McLean minister at Kintail.[24] Ann Cuthbert’s will did not identify where her nephews lived; however, the 1764 marriage proved Thomas Chisholm was still in Scotland when Ann Cuthbert signed her will. The marriage also proved that if Rev. Thomas Chisolm’s son immigrated to America, he did so as an adult after Ann Cuthbert died, rendering Colket’s assumption about the nephews’ immigration as children incorrect. Although the 1764 marriage did not preclude a later immigration to America.

This author then located previously unexploited Scottish records, which revealed a case file about a debt of Ann McLean’s brother Alexander.[25] The first page of a reply filed in 1787 reads:

“…Ann Maclean [sic] residenter at Bridge-end of Beuly [sic] relict[26] of Thomas Chisholm tacksman of Lenzie [sic]…”[27]

Scottish genealogist, Lorna Kinnaird, was consulted to provide historical context, geographical knowledge, and explanations of Scottish terminology.[28] “Lenzie” in the 1787 document is believed to be “Leinassie,” which was near Kilmorack and Beauly in the 18th century.[29] The document states Ann McLean lived in Bridge-end of Beauly, which is in the same neighborhood as Teawig, Kilmorack, and Leinassie.[30]

Two birth register entries from Kilmorack were located for children born to “Thomas Chisholm taksman [sic] of Lenassie [sic]” in 1765 and 1767.[31] The mother is not identified. The birth registers, considered together with the marriage record and the 1787 reply, placed Thomas Chisholm in Scotland married to Ann McLean at least between 1764 and 1787.[32]

A 1755 bond was discovered whereby Thomas Chisholm was the surety for his father and brother. The bond contains the original signatures of Rev. Thomas Chisholm and his two sons Thomas Chisholm and David Chisholm. Certified forensic document examiner Brenda Petty[33] was retained to analyze these signatures and compare them to original signatures by Thomas Chisolm of Burke County.[34] Brenda Petty’s expert opinion is that the signatures do not match.[35]

Snippet of the son Thomas Chisholm’s signature from Thomas and David Chisholm vs. Hugh Fraser[36]

Courtesy of National Library of Scotland

Snippet of Thomas Chisolm’s signature from Georgia Bond of Nehemiah Wade [37]

Courtesy of Digital Library of Georgia and Hargrett Library

The Truth About Thomas Chisolm

Despite the mention in Ann Cuthbert’s Georgia will, and the connection between Thomas Chisolm of Burke County and Ann Cuthbert’s associates, new evidence discovered in Scotland exposed that Thomas Chisholm son of Rev. Thomas Chisholm died in Scotland sometime between 1766 and 1787, indicated by the time of his wife’s second pregnancy and the 1787 document identifying Ann McLean as his widow. Records in Georgia prove Thomas Chisolm of Burke County was alive and well between 1770 and 1789. Additionally, signatures on original documents created in Georgia and Scotland do not match.

Thomas Chisholm son of Rev. Thomas Chisholm of Teawig is not the same man as Thomas Chisolm of Burke County, Georgia.

[1] Surname spellings vary, including: Chisholm, Chisolm, Chism, Cheesom, Chissom. In Scotland, Chisholm was used most often. Thomas Chisolm in Georgia is almost always recorded as Chisolm.

[2] Georgia Surveyor General Department Archives and Records Building, Georgia Surveyor General Department, pamphlet (Georgia: Ben W. Fortson, Jr.), p. 1. Also, Allen D. Candler, The Revolutionary Records of the State of Georgia, 3 vols. (Atlanta: The Franklin-Turner Company, 1908), 2:28, digital images, FamilySearch.org

[3] Francis Bernard Heitman, Historical Register of Officers of the Continental Army During the War of the Revolution, April, 1775, to December 1783, (Washington D.C.: W.H. Lowdermilk & Co., 1893), p. 123. In Heitman’s earlier edition of this work published in 1914, the entry for Thomas Chisolm is “Captain 1st Georgia, 7th January, 1776; Major 4th Georgia, 1st February 1777; Lieutenant-Colonel – Regiment, 21st March, 1778, to –.”

[4] Georgia, Colonial Register of Records Bonds, Deeds of Gift, Bills of Sale, Powers of Attorney, book Y-2, Indenture Tripartite between Mary Spencer, Thomas Chisolm, Esq., and Shem Butler, Esq., microfilm drawer 40, box 36. Also, “Colonial Wills,” University System of Georgia, Virtual Vault, (https://vault.georgiaarchives.org : accessed 7 November 2023), image copy, “Butler, Joseph.”

[5] “File II Names Collection,” University System of Georgia, Virtual Vault, (https://vault.georgiaarchives.org : accessed 7 November 2023), image copy, “Butler, James,” p. 1-4; documents removed from original files in the 1930s and placed in alphabetical files, provenance unknown.

[6] “Mortuary Notice,” Georgia Gazette, 24 may 1764; image copy, GenealogyBank (https://www.genealogybank.com : accessed 18 October 2023) Historical Obituaries.

[7] “Advertisement,” Georgia Gazette, 7 January 1792; image copy, Newspaper Arvhive (https://www.newspaperarchive.com/ : accessed 28 August 2024).

[8] Robert Chisholm, “DNA Project Report 2022,” Clan Chisholm Journal (Number 65): 54.

[9] Thomas Chisholm Instrument of Sasine, Inverness, RS003800011, p. 58, 324, 326, “Secretary’s and Particular Registers of Sasines For Sheriffdoms of Inverness, Ross, Cromarty and Sutherland,” scanned image of original document, National Records of Scotland. Teawig was also called Boghouse. A sasine is a Scottish deed of conveyance document for the transfer of feudal lands. In Scottish records, women were recorded with their maiden name, even after marriage.

[10] Robert, Alexander, David, James, John, Anna, Thomas, Jean, and Primrose Chisholm, baptisms, Old Parish Registers (OPR), Parish of Kilmorack, Inverness, National Records of Scotland (https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/ : accessed 20 September 2022), digital images of original documents.

[11] Scottish birth records were inconclusive to prove Magdalen Cuthbert and Ann Cuthbert were sisters. Magdalen Cuthbert was identified as Rev. Thomas Chisholm’s wife in the sasine cited above. Ann’s will identified Rev. Thomas Chisholm’s sons as Ann Cuthbert’s nephews, which suggests Rev. Thomas Chisholm’s wife Magdalen Cuthbert was Ann Cuthbert’s sister.

[12] Allen D. Candler, The Colonial Records of the State of Georgia, vol. IV “Stephens Journal”, (Atlanta: The Franklin-Turner Company, 1906), 526; digital images, Internet Archive (https://archive.org : accessed 1 June 2024). Merton E. Coulter and Albert B. Saye, editors, A List of the Early Settlers of Georgia. (Athens: The University of Georgia Press, 1949), p. 76.

[13] Will of Patrick Graham (1755); “Colony of Georgia – Will Books,” database with images, University System of Geogia, Virtual Vault (https://vault.georgiaarchives.org/: accessed 7 November 2023). Also, Georgia, Colonial Register of Records Bonds, Deeds of Gift, Bills of Sale, Powers of Attorney, book O-180, marriage contract between James Bulloch, of Granville Co., S.C., and Mrs. Ann Graham, of Savannah, Georgia; microfilm drawer 40, box 36.

[14] Will of Ann Bulloch (1762); “Colony of Georgia – Will Books,” database with images, University System of Geogia, Virtual Vault (https://vault.georgiaarchives.org/: accessed 7 November 2023).

[15] Meredith B. Colket, Jr., F.A.S.G., “Chisholm Families in the American Colonies,” National Genealogical Society Quarterly, Vol. 72, No. 2 (1984): 83-112.

[16] Ibid., Meredith B. Colket, Jr., p. 86.

[17] Dr. J.G.B. Bulloch, A History and Genealogy of the Families of Bulloch and Stobo and of Irvine of Cults (Washington D.C.: Press of Byron S. Adams), 14. George White, Historical Collections of Georgia (New York: Pudney & Russell, 1855), 40. The reference to Thomas Chisolm on page 40 is part of the chapter “Georgia Roll,” which is a list of names and related data the author transcribed from a privately held original document that recorded men with their occupation.

[18] Ibid., Dr. J.G.B. Bulloch.

[19] Later promoted to Major and possibly Lieutenant-Colonel.

[20] George White, Historical Collections of Georgia (New York: Pudney & Russell, 1855), 94.

[21] Allen D. Candler, The Revolutionary Records of the State of Georgia, 1: 306. Bulloch died 22 Feb 1777, the same day he was elected. A.E. Sholes, compiler, A Chronological History of Savannah (Savannah, Georgia: The Morning News Print, 1900), 57.

[22] Ibid., Allen D. Candler.

[23] Ibid., Georgia Surveyor General Department.

[24] Thomas Chisholm, marriage, Scotland, Old Parish Registers (OPR), Parish of Kilmorack, Inverness, National Records of Scotland, 100/ 10 563 Kilmorack (https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/ : accessed 20 September 2022), digital image of original document. The marriage record identified Thomas Chisholm as the son of Rev. Thomas Chisholm, and it identified Ann McLean as the daughter of John McLean, minister at Kintail, Ross-shire, Scotland.

[25] Three of Ann McLean’s brothers are named in the 1787 document: Alexander, Kenneth, and Hugh. Vital records could not be located for any of the brothers; however, the children of John McLean minister at Kintail are listed by Hew Scott in Fasti ecclesiae scoticanae; the succession of ministers in the Church of Scotland from the reformation. Scott omits a brother named Hugh but Alexander, Kenneth, and Ann are recorded by Scott as children of John McLean. Hew Scott, Fasti ecclesiae scoticanae; the succession of ministers in the Church of Scotland from the reformation, (Edinburgh: Tweeddale Court, 1928), 39.

[26] Relict means widow.

[27] Ann McLean vs. Colin MacLaren, CS271/44161, “Court of Session: Bill Chamber Processes, Old Series” scanned image of original document, National Records of Scotland.

[28] Lorna Kinnaird is an accredited member of the Association of Scottish Genealogists & Researchers, Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, member of Register of Qualified Genealogists; she holds a postgraduate diploma in Palaeographic, Heraldic & Genealogical Studies from Strathclyde University and a Higher Certificate in heraldic & Genealogical Studies from the Institute of Heraldic & Genealogical Studies in Canterbury.

[29] Map of Leinassie, Fairly, Torrin Auchtin, Knock-Bain & Kyle-na-Clea, National Records of Scotland, (https://maps.nls.uk/view/188056163/ : accessed 28 Augsut 2024), digital image of original document.

[30] Lorna Kinnaird, Scotland, to Sherrie Cork, email, 26 July 2024.

[31] Duncan Chisholm 28 December 1765 and Jean Chisholm 4 January 1767, births, Old Parish Registers (OPR), Parish of Kilmorack, Inverness, National Records of Scotland, (https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/ : accessed 28 August 2024), digital images of original documents. Also, Scottish birth records reveal another Ann McLean and Thomas Chisholm pair in Scotland who are the parents of five children born in Kiltarlity parish between 1808 and 1817. This couple can be ruled out as Thomas Chisholm the son of Rev. Thomas Chisholm and Ann McLean the daughter of John McLean minister at Kintail because Ann would be over 70 years old in 1817, too old to bear a child. Barbara Chisholm, birth, 22 April 1808; Donald Chisholm, birth, 4 November 1809; Hugh Chisholm, birth, 6 September 1812; William Chisholm, birth, 21 August 1814; Ann Chisholm, birth, 6 March 1817, Old Parish Registers (OPR), Parish of Kilmorack, Inverness, National Records of Scotland (https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/ : accessed 20 September 2022), digital images of original documents.

[32] Thomas Chisolm died sometime before the 1787 document was written, as evinced by Ann McLean’s being identified as his widow.

[33] Brenda Petty is a Certified Questioned Document Examiner with more than 15 years of experience and has reviewed over 43,890 signatures and handwritings, including historical documents; she is qualified to provide expert testimony in 13 states.

[34] Thomas Chisolm’s original signature appears on several documents held by the Georgia Archives.

[35] Brenda Petty Unlimited LLC “Handwriting Identification Information and Forensic Document Report: Thomas Chisholm aka Thomas Chisolm,” p. 5, report to Sherrie Cork, Fair Oaks, California, 3 July 2024; privately held.

[36] Ibid., Ann McLean vs. Colin MacLaren.

[37] “Telamon Cuyler Historical Manuscripts, 1609-1942,” University System of Georgia, Digital Library of Georgia (https://dlg.usg.edu/record/guan_1170_harg1170-038d-034 : accessed 7 November 2023), scanned image of original document, “Georgia. Governor John Adam Treutlen.”

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