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New Evidence Settles a Chisolm Family Controversy

**Originally published in The Georgia Genealogical Society Journal Volume 1, Issue 1, 2026**[1]

Thomas Chisolm[2] 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.[3] He was a commissioned officer of the Georgia Continental Line.[4]  In 1776, he married Mary Butler, Joseph Butler’s daughter and Thomas Spencer’s widow.[5] Thomas and Mary had one son, George Washington Chisolm, the progenitor of Chisolms who migrated to Mississippi.[6]  Thomas Chisolm died on his plantation in Burke County in 1789.[7]

For 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 Parish, Inverness-shire, Scotland. Over a decade ago, a genealogist discovered a marriage record in Scotland that challenged the claim and sparked controversy amongst descendants.[8] Now, the argument can be settled thanks to the discovery of unexploited records previously unavailable online.

 THOMAS CHISHOLM IN SCOTLAND

Rev. Thomas Chisholm of Kilmorack married Magdalen Cuthbert.[9] He had at least nine children, all 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.

Magdalen Cuthbert’s sister, Ann Cuthbert,[11] immigrated to Georgia and married Dr. Patrick Graham there in 1740.[12] After Dr. Graham died in 1755, Ann Cuthbert married James Bulloch[13] and made a will in Georgia in 1762 that 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 have been the son of Rev. Thomas Chisholm of Teawig. Colket cited Ann Cuthbert’s will. He said 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 subsequently commissioned as a Captain in Georgia’s Continental Line, and he was appointed a member of the Executive Council when James Bulloch’s son Archibald Bulloch was elected Governor.[19] John Houstoun was a fellow council member and the son of Sir Patrick Houstoun. Ann Cuthbert’s cousin, George Cuthbert[20], was one of the appraisers of Sir Patrick’s estate.[21] Thomas Chisolm served as Justice of the Peace and was appointed Surveyor General in 1777. In documents, Thomas Chisolm was consistently identified as “Esquire” or “Gentleman,” indicating his position amongst Georgia’s elite.

THE MYTH DISPELLED

Several years ago, a genealogist discovered a 1764 marriage in Scotland between Rev. Thomas Chisholm’s son, Thomas Chisholm, and Ann McLean, the daughter of John McLean, minister at Kintail.[22] Ann Cuthbert’s will did not identify where her nephews lived; however, the 1764 marriage proved Rev. Thomas Chisholm’s son was still in Scotland when Ann Cuthbert signed her will in 1762 and remained there at least through 1764. 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 incorrect.

Thomas Chisholm continued to reside in Kilmorack parish as a tenant farmer. In 1765, John MacKenzie petitioned that he be granted, as a soldier’s lot, “the farm of Lannacy,” part of the annexed estate of Simon Fraser, 11th Lord Lovat.[23] Thomas Chisholm responded in a letter dated 25 January 1766 from “Linasie” asserting his rightful possession of the farm as the son of the minister of Kilmorack and requesting permission to remain there with his wife and children.[24] Possession was granted that same year to “Thomas Chisholm the present tacksman of that farm.”[25] A tacksman was a person who leased land in the distinctive land-tenure arrangements of the Scottish Highlands.[26]Parish records further confirmed Thomas Chisholm’s continued presence in Kilmorack. Two birth register entries were located for children named Jean and Duncan, born to “Thomas Chisholm taksman of Linassie” in 1765 and 1767.[27] Although the mother is not named, the births were registered in Kilmorack, and align with Thomas Chisholm’s occupation and marriage date.

Thomas died shortly thereafter. In 1769, Roderick MacKenzie petitioned for the same farm, noting “a small opening by the death of Thomas Chisholm late tennant [sic] in Leanasy” and stated that “his widow is not able to maintain the possession.”[28]

Almost two decades later, legal records confirmed the identity of the widow. In a case file related to a debt owed by Ann Chisholm’s brother Alexander McLean[29], a reply filed in 1787 reads,

…Ann Maclean residenter at Bridge-end of Beuly relict of Thomas Chisholm tacksman of Lenzie…[30]

 The place name Lenzie appears to be a phonetic variant of Leanassie (also recorded as Lennacy, Linasie, Leanasy, Leinassie, Lenassie, and Linassie), a farm located near Kilmorack parish and the Beauly River on the Lovat estate.[31] As researchers know, there were often variations in how a name or place was spelled during the 18th century.

Ann’s residence at 1787 Bridge-end of Beauly is in the same neighborhood.[32] A map surveyed between 1798 and 1800 identified the location of “Croft of Bridge end Widw. [sic] Chisolm,”[33] and a Lovat estate map shows Lenassie adjacent to Kilmorack and Bridgend.[34]

Together, the marriage record, tenancy documents, parish birth registers, and widow identification establish a consistent identity for Thomas Chisholm, son of Rev. Thomas Chisholm of Kilmorack, in Scotland, married to Ann McLean, from 1764 and until his death before 1769.

Additional evidence further proves Rev. Thomas Chisholm’s son remained in Scotland. Before his marriage to Ann, Thomas Chisholm was the surety for his father and brother in a 1755 bond that contains the original signatures of Rev. Thomas Chisholm and his two sons, Thomas and David. A certified forensic document examiner was retained to analyze Thomas Chisholm’s signature on the Scottish bond and compare it to the original signature by Thomas Chisolm of Burke County found in Georgia records.[35] Expert opinion is that the signatures do not match.[36]

A snippet of the son Thomas Chisholm’s signature from Thomas and David Chisholm vs. Hugh Fraser[37]

Courtesy of National Library of Scotland

 

Snippet of Thomas Chisolm’s signature from Georgia Bond of Nehemiah Wade [38]

Courtesy of Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library, University of Georgia Libraries

 

CONCLUSION

Despite the mention in Ann Cuthbert’s Georgia will and the documented associations between Thomas Chisolm of Burke County and members of Ann Cuthbert’s social and political circle, evidence discovered in Scottish records demonstrates that Thomas Chisholm, son of Rev. Thomas Chisholm of Kilmorack, remained in Scotland until his death no later than 1769. Parish registers recorded the births of two children to Thomas Chisholm, tacksman of Linassie, in 1765 and 1767, and tenancy records show him in possession of the farm at Leanassie in January 1766. By 1769, Mackenzie’s petition referred to “the death of Thomas Chisholm late tennant [sic] in Leanasy” and to his widow’s inability to maintain possession. A later document filed in 1787 identified Ann McLean as the widow of Thomas Chisholm, tacksman of the same farm.

Records in Georgia prove Thomas Chisolm of Burke County was alive and well in America from at least 1770 and lived there continually until his death in 1789.  A comparison of original signatures on documents created in Scotland with those of Thomas Chisolm in Georgia further proves the two men are not the same individual.

Documentary and forensic evidence establishes that Thomas Chisholm, son of Rev. Thomas Chisholm of Kilmorack parish, lived and died in Scotland, and he is not the same man as Thomas Chisolm, of Burke County, Georgia. The long-standing assumption that the two men were the same person must therefore be rejected. The origin of Thomas Chisolm before his appearance in Georgia remains unknown.

 

[1] Georgia Genealogical Society publications can be found here: https://gagensociety.org/

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

[3] 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.

[4] 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), 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 –.”

[5] 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, Georgia Archives. Also, “Colonial Wills,” University System of Georgia, Virtual Vault, (https://vault.georgiaarchives.org : accessed 7 November 2023), image copy, “Butler, Joseph.”

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

[7] “Mortuary Notice,” Georgia Gazette, 24 May 1764; imaged, GenealogyBank (https://www.genealogybank.com : accessed 18 October 2023).

[8] Robert Chisholm, “DNA Project Report 2022,” Clan Chisholm Journal, no. 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”; imaged, 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] Kilmorack Parish (Inverness, Scotland), baptism of Robert Chisholm (1719); imaged, “Old Parish Registers – Births,” Scotland’s People (https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk : accessed 20 September 2022). Kilmorack Parish (Inverness, Scotland), baptism of Alexander Chisholm (1721); imaged, “Old Parish Registers – Births,” Scotland’s People (https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk : accessed 20 September 2022). Kilmorack Parish (Inverness, Scotland), baptism of David Chisholm (1723); imaged, “Old Parish Registers – Births,” Scotland’s People (https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk : accessed 20 September 2022). Kilmorack Parish (Inverness, Scotland), baptism of James Chisholm (1725); imaged, “Old Parish Registers – Births,” Scotland’s People (https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk : accessed 20 September 2022). Kilmorack Parish (Inverness, Scotland), baptism of John Chisholm (1727); imaged, “Old Parish Registers – Births,” Scotland’s People (https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk : accessed 20 September 2022). Kilmorack Parish (Inverness, Scotland), baptism of Anna Chisholm (1729); imaged, “Old Parish Registers – Births,” Scotland’s People (https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk : accessed 20 September 2022). Kilmorack Parish (Inverness, Scotland), baptism of Thomas Chisholm (1730); imaged, “Old Parish Registers – Births,” Scotland’s People (https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk : accessed 20 September 2022). Kilmorack Parish (Inverness, Scotland), baptism of Jean Chisholm (1733); imaged, “Old Parish Registers – Births,” Scotland’s People (https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk : accessed 20 September 2022). Kilmorack Parish (Inverness, Scotland), baptism of Primrose Chisholm (1736); imaged, “Old Parish Registers – Births,” Scotland’s People (https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk : accessed 20 September 2022).

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

[12] Allen D. Candler, The Colonial Records of the State of Georgia, vol. IV, “Stephens Journal” (Atlanta: The Franklin-Turner Company, 1906), 526–27; imaged, Internet Archive (https://archive.org : accessed 1 June 2024). Also, Merton E. Coulter and Albert B. Saye, editors, A List of the Early Settlers of Georgia (Athens: The University of Georgia Press, 1949), 76.

[13] Will of Patrick Graham (1755); imaged, “Colony of Georgia – Will Books,” 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, Georgia Archives, Morrow.

[14] Will of Ann Bulloch (1762).

[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., 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. Also, 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.

[19] Thomas was later promoted to Major and possibly Lieutenant-Colonel. George White, Historical Collections of Georgia (New York: Pudney & Russell, 1855), 94. Also, 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.

[20] Will of Ann Bulloch, 1762.

[21] Allen D. Candler, The Colonial Records of the State of Georgia, vol. IV, “Stephens Journal” (Atlanta: The Franklin-Turner Company, 1906), 526–27; imaged, Internet Archive (https://archive.org : accessed 1 June 2024).

[22] Robert Chisholm, “DNA Project Report 2022,” Clan Chisholm Journal, No. 65: 54. See Parish of Kilmorack, Inverness, Scotland, marriage of Thomas Chisholm and Ann McLean, 31 January 1764: imaged, “Old Parish Registers (OPR),” National Records of Scotland, 100/ 10 563 Kilmorack (https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk : accessed 20 September 2022). 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.

[23] “Petition for John Mackenzie,” E769/91/144(1), “Forfeited Estates: Lovat: Petitions and memorials from tenants, tacksmen and wadsetters and those desiring to settle on the estate, with relative papers and reports” scanned image of original document, National Records of Scotland.

[24] “Letter Thomas Chisholm,” E769/81/7, “Forfeited Estates: Lovat: Letters from tenants and their agents” scanned image of original document, National Records of Scotland.

[25] “Report Upon the Petition of John McKenzie,” E769/91/144(2), “Forfeited Estates: Lovat: Petitions and memorials from tenants, tacksmen and wadsetters and those desiring to settle on the estate, with relative papers and reports” scanned image of original document, National Records of Scotland.

[26] T. C. Smout, A History of the Scottish People, 1560–1830 (Bungay, Suffolk: William Collins Sons & Co., 1969) 128 – 29; Internet Archive (www.archive.org).

[27] Parish of Kilmorack, Inverness, birth of Duncan Chisholm, 28 December 1765; imaged, “Old Parish Registers (OPR),” , Scotland’s People, (https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/ : accessed 28 August 2024). Also, Parish of Kilmorack, Inverness, birth of Jean Chisholm, 4 January 1767; imaged, “Old Parish Registers (OPR),” Scotland’s People, (https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/ : accessed 28 August 2024). 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. See Parish of Kilmorack, Inverness, Barbara Chisholm, 22 April 1808; Donald Chisholm, 4 November 1809; Hugh Chisholm, 6 September 1812; William Chisholm, 21 August 1814; Ann Chisholm, 6 March 1817, “Old Parish Registers – Births,” Scotland’s People (https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/ : accessed 20 September 2022).

[28] “Petition for Lieutenant Roderick Mackenzie for the farm of Leanasy Lovat,” E769/91/144(2), “Forfeited Estates: Lovat: Petitions and memorials from tenants, tacksmen and wadsetters and those desiring to settle on the estate, with relative papers and reports” scanned image of original document, National Records of Scotland.

[29] The children of John McLean minister at Kintail are listed  in Hew Scott, Fasti ecclesiae scoticanae; the succession of ministers in the Church of Scotland from the reformation, (Edinburgh: Tweeddale Court, 1928), 39.

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

[31] George Brown, Map of Leinassie, Fairly, Torrin Auchtin, Knock-Bain & Kyle-na-Clea, circa 1798; imaged, National Records of Scotland, (https://maps.nls.uk/view/188056163/ : accessed 28 August 2024). Also spelled Leanassie and Linassie.

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

[33] “Tywick & Bridge End,” map; imaged, National Library of Scotland (https://maps.nls.uk/view/188056139 : accessed 15 December 2024).

[34] “A Plan of that Part of the Annexed Estate of Lovat, Lying in the Parish of Kilmorack, and County of Inverness,” map; imaged, National Library of Scotland (https://maps.nls.uk/view/188105992 : accessed December 15, 2024).

[35] Thomas Chisolm’s original signature appears on several documents:. Georgia, bond of Thomas Chisolm and Joseph Goldwire, 13 February 1778; imaged, “Telamon Cuyler Historical Manuscripts, 1609-1942,” Digital Library of Georgia (https://dlg.usg.edu/record/guan_1170_harg1170-038d-048 : accessed 18 February 2026); citing Hargrett Library, Athens. Also, Georgia, Warrant of appraisement for estate of John Goldwire, 8 March 1775; imaged, “Telamon Cuyler Historical Manuscripts, 1609-1942,” Digital Library of Georgia (https://dlg.usg.edu/record/guan_1170_harg1170-038c-052 : accessed 18 February 2026); citing Hargrett Library, Athens. Also, Georgia, bond of John Hazard and Samuel Jack, December 1776; imaged, “Telamon Cuyler Historical Manuscripts, 1609-1942,” Digital Library of Georgia (https://dlg.usg.edu/record/guan_1170_harg1170-038d-015 : accessed 18 February 2026); citing Hargrett Library, Athens. Also, Georgia, bond of John Torrence, William Farrell, William Few, and Thomas Chisholm, 7 June 1777; imaged, “Telamon Cuyler Historical Manuscripts, 1609-1942,” Digital Library of Georgia (https://dlg.usg.edu/record/guan_1170_harg1170-038d-035 : accessed 18 February 2026); citing Hargrett Library, Athens. Also, Georgia, bond of Samuel Lanier, Thomas Chisholm, and Edward Jones, January 1778; imaged, “Telamon Cuyler Historical Manuscripts, 1609-1942,” Digital Library of Georgia (https://dlg.usg.edu/record/guan_1170_harg1170-038d-047, : accessed 7 November 2023); citing Hargrett Library, Athens.

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

[37] “Bond of Caution,” CS271/12605, “Thomas & David Chisholm (Chisholme) v Hugh Fraser” scanned image of original document, National Records of Scotland.

[38] Georgia, bond of Nehemiah Wade, 19 May 1777; imaged, “Telamon Cuyler Historical Manuscripts, 1609-1942,” Digital Library of Georgia (https://dlg.usg.edu/record/guan_1170_harg1170-038d-034 : accessed 7 November 2023); citing Hargrett Library, Athens.

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