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| Notes for Alexander DALE | ||||||||||||||
| PLACEMENT TENTATIVE AND UNPROVED, but see discussion below: PREVIOUS GENERATIONS: At the moment (November 2008), I don't have any direct evidence of who Alexander Dale's parents may have been. There are at least three separate lines of Dales in VA and TN in the late 1700s and early 1800s. These are: (1) descendants of the Irish Dales of the "Eastern Shore", Worcester Co., Maryland; (2) descendants of JOHN ALEXANDER DALE out of Rockbridge Co., VA; and (3) descendants of NICHOLAS DALE out of the tidewater area of Richmond Co., VA (e.g. North Farnham Parish, etc.). There is an abundance of circumstantial evidence that my Alexander is most closely related to (or at least linked to) the Nicholas Dale clan; that information is detailed below after reviewing the first two lines. (1) THE DALES OF THE EASTERN SHORE, WORCESTER CO., MARYLAND. Clarice Neal wrote a book about this Irish lineage.678 Although some of the line came to Middle Tennessee in the 1790s and settled the area around Liberty in Smith (future DeKalb) Co., there is relatively little overlap with the geography, given names, and related families of my Alexander/Joshua Dale clan. There are however at least three Isaac Alexander Dale's and one Joshua Dale in this clan that occasionally create confusion in public records in Middle Tennessee. Nonetheless, this is the least likely Dale line to be the source of my family. (2) JOHN ALEXANDER DALE was born in 1720 in Ireland. He was of Scot-Irish descent; his ancestors reportedly came from the Borders area of southern Scotland. He was one of four brothers who grew up in Lough Brickland, N. Ireland. The circumstances of who in the family came to America and when they arrived are a little confused at the moment. By 1738, his family had emigrated to the Colonies and settled into Kerr's Creek, Rockbridge Co., VA, not far from modern day Lexington, VA. Author Don Wright has the best information about this line of Dale's. In about 1745, John Alexander Dale married ISABELLA GILMORE, daughter of James Gilmore and Martha C. Dennison. They eventually had about 13 to 15 children. I have the names of 11 of them. I have little family information for most of the children of John Alexander Dale. I have the names of some of their spouses, but I only have descendants for one son, Thomas Dale. John Alexander Dale's oldest four sons were John William, Peter Robert, Alexander, and Joseph, born during the period 1746 to the early 1750s. Among these brothers, Alexander (Jr.) was born in about 1750 and thus is too old to be my ggg gf. As well, Thomas Dale named one son Alexander but the latter was born in 1784 and thus is too young to be my ggg gf. I believe that some of John Alexander Dale's clan moved to Middle TN (e.g. early Smith County), but other than that geographic connection and the prevalence of the name "Alexander" in this clan, there is little or no other overlap with the later history of my Dales. (3) NICHOLAS DALE: Nicholas Dale was born in York, ENGLAND, in 1604 and emigrated to York Co., VA, in 1624. His descendants settled in the Charles River area of Virginia in Lancaster and Richmond Counties. At least one line of this clan (the widow and children of William Sr.) removed to Bedford Co., VA, in about 1766 and at least two brothers of this line relocated to the upper East TN in about 1778-1780 (James and William 2nd). After William 2nd died in Washington Co. in early 1792, James moved for few years to Knox County (1794-1798) and by 1800 to the Smith/Jackson/Overton County area. Based on Tom McNeill's web page679, the Nicholas Dale clan also gave rise to another Dale group (which I term the Abraham/Reuben lineage) which came through KY and eventually wound up in Harrison Co., MO, where my Dale's also settled. There are many ties between my Alexander/Joshua Dale group and the William/James lineage of the Nicholas Dale clan--more than to any other Dale lineage I've investigated. The earliest overlap is in Knox Co., TN, where an Alexander Dale was the bondsman for the marriage of PEGGY DALE (sister of William Dale 3rd who married Rachel Irons; parents of James Alfred Dale) and ENOCH FOX on 9 January 1797.675,680 Then "my" Alexander Dale married Leah Harner less than a year later on 30 Dec 1797 in the same county. IF these two Alexander's are the same person, this would place (my) Alexander Dale not only in the same county at the same general time, but also as a close relative (perhaps brother) to Peggy. In the early 1800's, my Alexander Dale bought land on Ashburn's Creek, a tributary of the Wolf River, where Dale Hollow Reservoir now sits. I noticed that just 3 or 4 miles to the west of Ashburn's Creek is another tributary of the Wolf River named Irons Creek. This seems likely to have been named after the family of Rachel IRONS who married William DALE, and--if my placement is correct--Rachel Irons Dale would be a sister-in-law of Alexander. The later ties of Joshua Dale with the James Alfred Dale family in Harrison Co., MO, are too numerous to detail here, but they include several shared families (particularly the SHIPLEY's) and their co-occurrence in/near De Witt Co., IL, and Bethany, Harrison Co., MO, and burials in the Dale family cemetery in the latter county226,358. If Alexander and Joshua Dale were *not* closely related to James Alfred Dale, the patterns in Harrison Co., MO, would be just too much of a coincidence to occur by chance.681 Based on the shared geography and many shared family links, I tentatively placed Alexander DALE as a son of William (b. 1737) DALE. | ||||||||||||||
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| To the extent that we can tell, Alexander Dale appears to be of the same generation as Peggy Dale (m. Enoch Fox) and William Dale (m. Rachel Irons). William and Alexander were both born in the 1770s and that is approximately when Peggy is likely to have been born. In addition, Alexander's son Joshua Dale (b. ca 1809, TN) is a close contemporary of James Alfred Dale (b. Feb 1809, Overton Co., TN). If my current hypothesis is correct, namely that Alexander Dale is a brother of William Dale (m. Rachel Irons), then that would make Joshua and James Alfred Dale first cousins of very similar age, perhaps both born in Overton County and perhaps originally living not far apart as young children before their families migrated in different directions, a good justification for their close ties later in their lives. CHRONOLOGY OF LOCATIONS AND MOVES: Below is a chronology for Alexander Dale in TN and IL. In a few cases, where the evidence cannot be ascribed to "my" Alexander Dale (i.e. the father of Joshua), I add that notation. 9 January 1797. Marriage of Enoch FOX to Peggy DALE in Knox Co., TN.675,677,682 Alexander Dale was bondsman for that marriage.680 This may end up being a critical document linking Alexander to the Nicholas Dale clan. 20 December 1797. Marriage of Alexander DALE to Lea HARNER in Knox Co., TN. Bondsman was William BELTON.675,677,682,680 [See my notes on the confusion over Alexander's wife's name, under the Misc. Notes for Leah Harner.] 1799: Alexander DALE is on a tax list in Grainger Co., TN.683 Note: In 1799 both Grainger and Knox counties were substantially larger than their present day configurations. Grainger included portions of future Campbell, Claiborne, Hamblen, and Union Counties. 1802: Alexander DALE is on a tax list for Jackson Co., TN,684 which, if it refers to the same Alexander, would indicate the timing of his move from East TN to Middle TN. Note also that his possible brother William married Rachel IRONS in early Smith Co., TN, in October 1800, suggesting that some of these Dale kinsmen may have moved to the Cumberland Plateau by then. [1806: Overton Co. formed out of part of Jackson Co. and Indian Lands.] 1 February 1808. Alexander Dale bought 100 acres on the west fork of Ashburn's Creek, Overton Co., TN. Purchased from Henry Carter* for $200. Witnesses: William Chilton*, James Paris, and John Hutton. Proved in County Court in August Session 1808; registered 25 August 1808. Reference: Overton Co. Deeds, Book A, page 318-319. [* Note: There is a possibility that this Henry Carter is a distant in-law. A compilation of marriages in VA has the following: "Carter, Henry Skipwith B 9 June 1676, son of Capt Thomas Sr and Katherine (Dale) m Anne Harris. She the dau of Gainey." While this Henry Carter would be of an earlier generation, the Overton Co. Henry may be a descendant. I'm still unclear as to which Dale group the Katherine Dale who m. Capt. Thomas Carter belongs. Also: "Carter, Thomas Sr Capt b 1634 England d 22 Oct 1700 Lancaster Co; m 4 May 1703 Katherine Dale b 1652 Lancaster Co d there 10 May 1703 dau of Maj Edward and Lady Diana (Skipwith)." The Carter's also married into the Chilton's in Lancaster Co., VA.] 28 November 1808. Alexander Dale sold the same 100 acres on Ashburn's Creek to Cornelius Bilyen (or "Bilyeu") for $300. Witnesses: John Hulton [sic], William Walker, and Samuel Forrest. Proved in court in May Term 1811; recorded, 3 Sep 1811. Ref: Overton Co. Deeds, Book B, page 247. 7 September 1809. Land entry #460, Survey #254 (9 October 1809); by Lewis DEVALL on Wolf River in Overton Co., TN. Alexander "Dail" is an adjacent landowner. 42-3/4 acres on the main fork of Wolf River. Beginning corner to Bright Turman. SCC: William Atkinson, Alexander Dail.685 [Note: The abbreviation "SCC" is from the compilation by Mable Thornton in Ansearchin' News. I don't know its literal meaning but it seems to indicate adjacent property owners.] 25 October 1809. Land entry #487, Survey #269 (no date); by Alexander "Dail" in Overton Co., TN. 27 acres on waters of Wolf River including the improvement whereon he now lives. Beginning at Ross's and Wats corner. SCC: Joshua Hunter, Thomas Brown**. Recorded 8 Mar 1810. Lifted 27 Dec 1811 by Atkinson. 685 See also grant #2400, below. [**Note: I wonder if this neighbor Thomas Brown is related to Millington Brown, fellow Tennessean, who migrated to central IL about the same time as the Dale's and is probably the namesake of Joshua Dale's eldest son, Millington B. Dale. See further info in the notes for Joshua Dale.] 14 September 1810. Land entry #639, Survey #321 (13 October 1810); by Strother Frogg in Overton Co., TN. Alexander "Dail" is an adjacent landowner. 80 acres on Beaver Spring of Wolf River. Beginning corner of his entry #637...line of Jo. Huff's 23 acre survey...near Dail's line. SCC: Robert Richardson, Samuel Brown. Recorded 7 Nov 1810. Lifted 2 Jul 1812 by Joshua Cox.685 24 June 1812. Grant #2400 to Alexander Dale from Willie Blount, Governor of Tennessee, for 27 acres on the waters of the Wolf River, Overton Co., TN. "In consideration of an entry #487, dated 25 October 1809, founded on a certificate #279 issued by Anthony Foster [and] John Gray Blount for 507 acres dated 22 July 1809. The 557 acres [sic] was assigned by Blount to Henry Adkins and 40 acres by Adkins to Alexander Dale, the enterer." Registered, 4 Dec 1813. Reference: Overton Co. Deeds, Book C, page 168-169. 24 September 1812. Land entry #1325, Survey #628 (9 October 1812); by Alexander "Dail" in Overton Co., TN. 30 acres on both sides of Piles Turnpike on northwest side of Cumberland Mountain on waters of Wolf River where said Dail now lives. SCC: M. W. McClellan, Jas. Dearmond. Recorded 14 Nov 1812.685 6 March 1813. Alexander Dale sold the 27 acres on Wolf Creek, Overton Co., TN, to James Wright for $170. Meets and bounds mentions the names Ross and Watts and adjacent tracts. Witnesses: John C. Richardson, Strother Frogg. Proved in court in June Term 1813; registered 5 August 1813. Ref: Overton Co. Deeds, Book C, page 151-152. 1820: An Alexander Dale was enumerated in the Federal Census in Smith Co., TN. Although Smith was one of the parent counties of Overton Co., the latter had already been organized (in ca. 1806), so *if* this is my ggg gf, it would represent an actual move out of Overton County. In that 1820 census, the eldest male (presumably Alexander) is "45 and older". Also in the household are eleven children: 4 males under 10 yrs, 1 male 16-18 yrs, 1 male 16-26 yrs; 2 females under 10 yrs, 1 female 10-16 yrs, 2 females 16-26 yrs, and 1 female 45 yrs and older. This array of children lacks a male in the appropriate age class (10-16) for Joshua Dale. Too little is known about the other children of Alexander Dale (i.e. Joshua's presumed siblings) to confirm if this is the same person.673 We know that Tyre Harp married Catherine Dale, a daughter of Alexander Dale.436 Jim McAdams, in describing the family of Tyre Harp, mentioned that his line of Harps "intermarried about 1820 or so with the family of Alexander Dale of Wolf River and the Dale Hollow Dam and Reservoir. It [the reservoir] sits on top of Alexander Dale's land....Tyre built a cabin there (we have stood in its ashes) in 1821 (burned in 1832)."686 In 1829, Alexander Dale migrated from TN to De Witt Co., IL.436 From a biographical sketch of Thomas HARP436 written in 1891, we have this: "Alexander DALE, native of TN; came from there [to IL] in 1829. He was a farmer, settled on the North Fork of Salt Creek, where he farmed until his demise. [Alexander and Leah Dale were] zealous members of Methodist Episcopal Church." Without listing a specific source, Mary Lewis recites "1831-32, Alex. Dale (& Josiah Harp) among 1st settlers of a settlement called Fork Prairie (vicinity of present Marion or DeWitt)."357 1830 Fed Census: Alexander Dale is enumerated in Tazewell Co. (later = De Witt Co.), IL, where he is in the 50-60 yr old category (thus b. 1770-1780). His wife (presumably Leah) along with 3 boys and 1 girl are in his household (no children younger than 10 yrs old).359 The oldest son is of the right age class to be Joshua Dale (20-30 yrs). A couple of different histories of Macon County (e.g. Smith 1876687,688) and De Witt Co. (e.g. 1882 History, p. 44689) quote or paraphrase an account of the early settlement of that area written by W. L. Glessner of Clinton who prepared an article for the 4th of July celebration in 1876 that was published in the Clinton Register on 7 July 1876. Glessner wrote: "Another settlement was made in what was called Fork Prairie, in the vicinity of the present town of Marion, in 1831 or '32, the first settlers being THOMAS R. DAVIS, JAMES MORRIS, JOHN MILLER, BENJAMIN LISENBY, ALEXANDER DALE, JOSIAH HARP, CHARLES McCORD, and HUGH DAVENPORT." Apprently this refers to the area of prairie inbetween Salt Creek and the North Fork of Salt Creek. (See land entries below.) [IMPORTANT RESEARCH NOTE: (October 2005) I have recently compiled evidence that the present Alexander Dale probably had a son named Alexander Martin Dale who married Mary "Polly" CROSS. (This AMD should not be confused with two other Dale's of the same name in later generations--one a son of Joshua Dale and the other a grandson of Joshua Dale, son of Millington Brown Dale and Amy J. Branson.) See the entry for this hypothetical son in the next generation. GIVEN this possibility, some of the land and legal records listed below may *not* refer to Joshua Dale's father, but rather to his brother! It also puts into question the middle initial of the present Alexander Dale; the official records from which I obtained the middle initial "M." may refer to his son. A future research need will be to sort out all of the "Alexander Dale" records in central IL as to their applicability to father or (probable) son.] In the Sept Term 1832 of the Macon Co. Commissioners Court, Alexander DALE was ordered to be a Grand Juror on 24 Sept 1832690. On the typed transcript of those court notes, his name has been typed through, without explanation. Perhaps he was not qualified or otherwise unable to serve. In Feb 1835, an Alexander Dale is listed as having bought land in Cook Co. but it is uncertain if he ever farmed there or even if that purchaser is the present Alexander Dale (see below regarding suit by Durley).363 26 Feb 1835: J. Harp and "A. Dails" entered 161 acres which appears to read "N2 Lot2 SW" of Sec 31 in T21N R4E (Rutledge twp).362 This is very close to the Dale land in Sec. 1 of the Harp twp. The original penned entry in the De Witt Co. land book is quite sloppy and has a number of corrections and over-writes. There is ambiguity in both of the names as written. This entry is listed under "Dale, Alex M" in the online database.363 IF the database listing is correct, then I suspect this entry may have been made by the son Alexander Martin Dale and not the father (who has never been confirmed to have a middle name or initial). 27 Dec 1835 (or 1834?): Alexander Dale and "Josiah" [= Joshua] Dale bought and entered 160 ac (from Federal sales) (SE 1/4) in Sec 1 of Harp twp. This was adjacent to Isaac SWISHER and William and Rachel SWISHER. The original book of land entries in De Witt Co. has the date Dec 27, 1835, for this land362, while the online Illinois Public Domain Land Tract Sales Database lists it as "12/27/1834".363 That database correctly lists the entries of the other 3 quarters of that section by the Swishers on 19 Dec 1835, so the correct year is probably 1835. The latter database also lists Alexander Dale's acreage in error as "80 ac". 12 Mar 1838: James Vandeventer of McLean Co. bought the Dale's land and agreed to another complicated transaction. Basically, what appears to have happened is that Vandeventer bought the several farms owned by the Dales in the Swisher Hill area east of North Fork Salt Creek and as paymeent, he agreed to pay off the notes for overdue loans from Lewis Durley, along with cash payments to Joshua and Welcome Dale. The details: Joshua and Rachael Dale (of Macon Co.) sold their 40 ac (SE SE Sec 36 T21N R3E, Wilson twp) to James Vandievener [sic] (De Witt Co. Deed Rec. Bk P, p. 258; McLean Co. Deed Rec. Bk E, p. 518) and also sold their 42-5/100 ac in Sec 1 of Harp twp to Vendeventer (De Witt Co. Deed Rec. Bk O, p. 167; Macon Co. Bk A, p. 571). Also on the same day, Alexander and Leah Dale and Joshua and Rachel Dale sold theiir 160 ac farm (NE Sec 1 of T20N R3E, Harp twp) to Vendeventer (De Witt Co. Deed Rec. Bk. O, p. 166; Macon Co. Bk A, p. 570). Note: Also on the same day, Margaret (Dale) Johnson sold her 18-1/2 ac in Sec. 6 of the De Witt twp (adjacent to other Dale lands) to Vendeventer (Macon Co. Deed Rec. Bk A, p. 572, probably also recorded in De Witt Co. but I missed this item there). Lastly on that same March day, Vendeventer mortgaged 160 ac of land in the SE 1/4 of Sec 1 of Harp twp to Joshua and Welcome K. Dale for $600 under the condition that he pay $140 notes each to Joshua Dale and Welcome K. Dale, and pay off the two $100 promisory notes of Alexander and Joshua Dale to Lewis Durley which were (over) due on 19 June 1836 (Macon Co. Deed Rec. Bk A, p. 523) (see item below). In 1838, a gentleman named Lewis Durley sued Alexander Dale and Joshua Dale in the Macon Co. (IL) Circuit Court. This apparently was about two loans of $100 (each) which Durley advanced them in order to purchase land (80 acres each) in a public domain land sale in Oct 1834. The two adjacent 80-acre tracts were in Cook Co. The notes were to be repaid by Nov 1836. In Mar 1838, the loans were apparently in default and Durley filed suit in Macon Co. Circuit Court. A judgement was eventually entered against Alexander Dale on 13 May 1838. Alexander Dale was served with the court's decision (in favor of Durley) on 22 May 1838; some land and assets were seized and Durley was repaid from the sale of those assets. What was seized or sold in that matter is not listed in the court record. A second summons was issued on 25 Jun 1838 for Joshua Dale to appear in his related case on the defaulted loan but he was never found to be served with the suit. James Stevens, Sheriff of Macon Co., made the following annotation on the latter summons on 24 Sep 1838, "The within named Joshua Dale not in the County." The court record contains no other family history information.364 1840 Fed Census: Alexander Dale is living in De Witt Co., IL (adjacent to Joshua Dale) with one male 20-30 yrs old, and one female in the same age category.237 They are enumerated around several other familiar families including several Hoblits, Benjamin Shipley (3rd), Isaac Dunnegan, James Shipley, and William Bonine, all of which suggest that this was an enumeration of the Atlanta twp which was at the time in De Witt Co., but would be added to Logan Co. in 1845. See also the sale of land from Benjamin Shipley to William Bonine in the Oran twp (T20N R1W) on 22 June 1840. The 1882 History of De Witt County has both Joshua Dale and Alexander Dale present in a county census (Clinton Precinct) in 1844 but they are both listed as 'now no more' as of December 1881.689 Alexander Dale is not encountered in the 1850 IL census nor subsequently. He is presumed to have died between 1842 and 1850, perhaps in the Atlanta twp, Logan Co. where son Joshua and family were apparently living (see addresses for Joshua Dale), or perhaps in De Witt Co., IL. In both counties, cemetery records are fairly good, but there are many cemeteries in which the oldest graves (e.g. pre-Civil War) are unreadible. | ||||||||||||||
| Last Modified 9 Nov 2008 | Created 1 Feb 2009 by Reunion for Macintosh |