| Anecdote | Anecdote: Tilman Potter was present when John Marmaduke Cantrell following information is edited from a note provided by Mamie Marie Cantrell.
Duke was born in 1797 in Spartanburg District SC. He accompanied his parents to Warren Co. TN in 1806. There he married Elizabeth Linder about 1814. Elizabeth was also born in 1797 in North Carolina.
Duke joined a caravan to Indiana in 1815. The caravan included his parents. In 1820 Duke and Elizabeth were recorded as living in Orange Co. IN. Two sons were born there, but by December 1822 they had returned to Warren Co. TN. Duke became a member of Old Bilidad Baptist church on Sink Creek.
In 1823 Duke moved his family to western Tennessee to join his father and brother Isaac. In Ray's 'Tennessee Cousins' we find reference to Duke as one of the first settlers in Weakley County. He settled between the middle and south fork of the Obion River in the vicinity of the present town of Greenfield. On 24 Nov 1824 he filed a land grant as the assignee of Thomas Ingraham for 20 acres in Carroll Co. TN.
In 1830 Duke and his family were recorded in Weakely Co. TN. At that time there were 6 sons in the family. In 1840 Duke was again recorded in Weakely County. One son was now married and two more children were listed. In 1841 Duke moved his family across the Mississippi to Barry Co. MO where his sister Marilly Fly had moved in 1837. They lived there until after 1844 when they moved to the western part of Wright Co. MO. Here, Duke built a house above a stream that still bears his name - Cantrell Creek. In 1850 Duke was recorded as a farmer in the Wright Co. census. He was not recorded in later census reports in Missouri.
It is believed that Duke died in the new county of Webster and is buried in the Old Sixteenth cemetery.
Taken from FindAGrave.com:
CANTRELL CREEK'S FIRST WHITE SETTLER by J. R. Cantrell.
There were three main branches of the Cantrell family who settled on Cantrell Creek in Webster Co., Missouri. Yet, I think there was none more interesting than Duke Cantrell, the first settler.
He was born circa 1793 in South Carolina. During the early settlement of middle Tennessee, he removed to Warren Co. and thereafter married Elizabeth Linder(?), who was born about 1793 in North Carolina. Between August, 1812 and May, 1816.
Duke Cantrell was received, by experience, into membership at the Old Bildad Baptist Church there. The records fail to show it, but he was evidently dismissed or excluded from the church shorly, as he removed to Indiana. However, he soon returned to Warren Co., and the church restored his membership between June, 1816 and May, 1823.
During this term of membership, the records add the first bit of color, or, that is recorded color, to his life. "Dec., 1822-Tilman Potter and Benjamin Cantrell site Duke Cantrell to answer in the case of stripping to fight." In this case, Duke suffered the possiblity of exclusion from the church. However, he managed to give satisfaction, avoiding exclusion, which is indicated by an entry, dated January, 1823.
The Old Bildad Church records, covering the period from June, 1823 to March, 1825 are missing, but at this time, Duke again was apparently dismissed or excluded. No later mention is found of him in the church or county for that matter.
In my research, I had tracked this elusive pioneer from South Carolina to Warren Co., Tenn., then to Indiana and finally back to Warren Co. Once again he had disappeared though, and I asked myself where did he go now? My answer came one day, when quite by accident, I picked up a copy of Tennessee Cousins, by Ray. Inside, I found Duke Cantrell listed as an early comer between the Middle and South Forks of the Obion River in Weakeley Co., Tenn And sure enough, the census of Weakeley Co. for 1830 and 1840, materialized him.
About 1840-41, he had removed to Wright Co., Mo., with at least part of his family. There he settled upon a small stream which still bears his name. He built his house upon a high bank which afforded a lovely view of the area. There was a fine spring near, and in generall, the place was ideal for a home.
Duke Cantrell had more children than the four listed below, but unfortunately I have been unable to find any data on them. They evidently remained in Tennessee.
Duke Cantrell's children were:
1. A. Cantrell-born circa 1820, in Indiana. He married Jane....., who was born circa 1823 in Tennessee. Nothing else is known of this family, as they seemed to have disappeared from Wright Co. before 1860.
2. David Dial Cantrell, born circa 1824 in Tennessee. He married Mary Ann(Polly) Hyde(?) in Wright Co., Mo. He was a blacksmith by profession, and a very close friend to my great-grandfather John James Cantrell. Dial, as he was called, died on February 1, 1858 in Webster Co., Mo. His wife died about 1863. The death dates were found in the probate records of Webster Co.
3. Oliver Cantrell, born circa 1828, in Tennessee. In 1850 he was living with his brother Dial, unmarried, and afterward there is no record of him.
4. Alford Cantrell, born circa 1833, in Tennessee. He died about 1854, before ever marrying. It seems that he suffered with epilepsy, and as the story goes he fell into Cantrell Creek and drowned. He had been to visit my great-great-grandfather Abraham Cantrell, and this occurred on his way home. They found his hat floating in the creek, and some time afterwards recovered his body. He was buried in the 16th Cemetery in an unmarked grave.
Duke Cantrell is enumerated on the Wright Co. census of 1850, but after that, there is no record. Once I pondered the idea that again he had removed. But my grandfather Woodson Collins Cantrell came to my rescue, ending my search of three years. "Duke Cantrell was a venturer," he said." "But after he came to Missouri, he grew too old to roam. He died on Cantrell Creek and was buried in the old 16th Cemetery. A field stone marks his grave."
The following are the footnotes of the article;
Cantrell Creek seems to have been a meeting place for the Cantrells. Duke Cantrell came there about 1840-41, from Weakeley Co., Tenn. Then about 1850, my great-great-grandfather Abraham Cantrell came to the area from Warren Co., Tenn. About 1855, Nancy Smith Cantrell, the widow of Gabriel Cantrell came there. These were the early arrivals, and in my opinion the main branches of the family to settle there. However, as the years rolled by, other Cantrells came there, but they were few in number and closely related to the ones who had preceded them.
Practically the whole Cantrell population of the United States are descended from John Cantrell (born 1724) who had 21 sons and 2 daughters.
The original records of the Old Bildad Baptist Church were copied by Thomas G. Webb, of Smithville, Tenn., as they pertained to the Cantrell family, et al. Mr. Webb was kind enough to place the records at my disposal for a time. Therefore, all mention of the church comes from this source.
Duke's son A. Cantrell was born circa 1820 in Ind., according to the Wright Co., Mo. census of 1850.
The part of Warren Co. where Duke lived was incorporated into the county of DeKalb when formed in 1838.
The part of Wright Co., in which Duke settled, was added to the newly formed county of Webster in 1855.
Part of a statement given to me in September, 1964, by Woodson Collins Cantrell, age 89, of Springfield, Mo. He explains that he knows of Duke through his father. "My father and grandfather were both good friends with Duke, his children and grandchildren. I personally knew, two of Duke's granddaughters," he states.
The 16th Cemetery is located in High Prairie Township, near Cantrell Creek, Webster Co., Mo. This cemetery is situated on about four acres of land which was deeded by my great-grandfather John James Cantrell for the purpose of a graveyard.
There also was a Church of Christ there, but over years of disuse, the building came into such ill repair that it finally was destroyed in a storm.
As to the time of Duke Cantrell's death, there is no certain way of knowing, but it is believed to have occured between 1850 and 1858.
Others were: John Cantrell, Sarah Shed, Elizabeth Linder, Rizedon Robinson Cantrell, Aphraim Jackson Cantrell, Isaac Cantrell, David DYAL Cantrell, (?) Cantrell, Oliver W. Cantrell, (?) Cantrell, Alfred Cantrell, Marilly Cantrell, Woodson Collins Cantrell and Mamie Marie Cantrell.7,8 |
Mostly Angels in the Sky
