Haston-Stickley-Pruitt-Creely & Other Family Relationships

CREELY, Isbel -- Married Christian Stickley in Knox Co, TN on October 5, 1802. Abraham Pruit, probably the son of Martin, was the bondsman. Christian signed with a mark. The 1850 Van Buren Co, TN census (for Christopher Steakly household) indicates that she ("Isabellen") was born in Virginia; she was 67 years old at the time of this census. One unknown source says that she was born in 1783 in Shenandoah Co, VA.

CREELEY, Polly -- Married Joseph Smith in Knox Co, TN on June 17, 1800. Matthew Smith and Michael Foster were bondsmen. On May 13, 1812 the sale of a slave, from William Brown & Samuel White to Isaac Midkiff, was recorded in White Co, TN. Joseph Smith & Mary ("Polly") Smith were the legal witnesses to that transaction. (Source: Page 5 White Co, TN Deed Book E, microfilm Roll # 61) Joseph, apparently, signed with his own handwriting; Mary ("Polly") signed with a mark.

CREELY (CRIELY), Sarah -- Married Joseph Haston, but place and date are unknown to us. There is no documentation to prove that Sarah was a sister to Isbel Creely or Polly Creeley, but circumstantial evidence would strongly suggest that she was a sister to both of them. Sarah indicated on her 1850 Van Buren county census that she was born in Tennessee; she was 65 years old at the time of this census (but TN was not organized until 1796, so perhaps she was born in a part of NC that later became TN).

CREELY, William -- A "Wm. Creely" appears on a jury list for the March 1802 sessions in Anderson Co, TN. Anderson County is situated on the northwest border of Knox County, TN, not far from the Grassy Valley area of Knox County where David Haston, Isaac Pruitt, and other of these families lived in the first years of the 1800s.

Note: A "Thompson Creely" assigned 108 acres of land to John Terry south of the Caney Fork River, adjacent to or very near land owned by the Daniel Haston family. Nicholas Gillentine, Sr., along with sons John & Terry Gillentine, purchased this land from John Terry on January 27, 1821. Was this Thompson Creely related to the Creely family or families above?
Source: Page 116 of White Co, TN Deed Book G.

Is this "Thomas Creeley?" On May 6, 1844, Robert Anderson testified in a Van Buren County, TN court that he first knew Thomas and Mary Creeley in Surry County, NC in 1788. Anderson moved to White County, TN in about 1816 and settled near the Creeleys.
Source: Mary Bell (see http://genforum.genealogy.com/creeley/messages/30.html)

On July 16, 1795, a "Wm. Crelley" surveyed N.C. military land warrant #3177 (also, referred to as #2731) that was originally assigned to Revolutionary War private Henry McClornee (spelling?). The land was located "on a large creek the watters [sic] of the Caney fork called Lost Creek" in what was then Sumner County, and later White County, TN. Source: Page 262 & following of White Co, TN microfilm # 61, Book A, Register of Deeds.

A James T. Creally appears on the 1812 White Co, TN tax list for Captain Isaac Pruett's militia district, where the Haston family also lived.

HASTON, David -- Son of Daniel Haston. He ("David Hasting") married Margaret (Peggy) Roddy in Knox Co, TN on May 25, 1800. Isham Bradley was the bondsman. Isaac Pruett, who lived adjacent to him, witnessed the sale of his Knox Co, TN land in Grassy Valley on September 11, 1806. Since Isaac Pruett was not one of the two witnesses to his purchase of this land on October 28, 1802, his relationship with Isaac Pruett may have begun while they were neighbors, which would mean that they had no familial or previous relationship prior to late in 1802. Or, it is possible that David Haston purchased this piece of land because of some previous relationship to Isaac Pruett. Isaac's brother, William Pruitt, married Sarah (Sally) Roddy, the daughter of Phillip & Mary McComeskey Roddy (and the granddaughter of Daniel McComiskey of Baltimore Co, MD). David Haston, apparently, had some relationship to this McComiskey family. We do not know how Margaret Roddy & Sarah Roddy were related, but they were probably not sisters. Read more about the McComiskey-Roddy-Haston family connections. Read More.

HASTON, Joseph -- He married Sarah Criely/Creely but the place and date are unknown to us. Brother of David Haston and son of Daniel Haston. Moved to White Co, TN sometime prior to the formation of White County in 1806. Lived near David and Daniel Haston in White County, TN. Read More.

KERNS, Adam -- Married Mary Stickley in Knox Co, TN on January 1, 1804. Frances Fleshhart was the bondsman. Adam signed with a mark.

LEE, Isaac -- Married Betsy Pruitt in Knox Co, TN on October 8, 1805. Jacob Pruit was the bondsman. Lee/Lea families lived near David Haston & Isaac Pruitt in Grassy Valley of Knox County, TN.

LONAS, Henry -- Daniel W. Bly has stated that Jacob Lonas, Henry Lonas, Daniel Stickley, and Jacob Knave/Nave, all from the same neighborhood in Shenandoah County, VA, moved to Knox County, TN together. He was probably the brother of Jacob Lonas. See Knox County, TN Henry Lonas Cemetery information.

LONAS, Jacob -- Jacob Lonas was the executor of the Knox Co, TN estate for Jacob Nave in the middle of the 1st decade of the 1800s. Daniel W. Bly has stated that Jacob Lonas, Henry Lonas, Daniel Stickley, and Jacob Knave/Nave, all from the same neighborhood in Shenandoah County, VA, moved to Knox County, TN together.

NAVE/KNAVE, Jacob -- Jacob Neff (Knave/Nave), the son of Francis Neff, was born on the Neff homestead on the North Fork of the Shenandoah in 1766. He married Mary Strickler on August 24, 1793 (date on original bond) and died in Tennessee in late 1804. Daniel W. Bly has stated that Jacob Lonas, Henry Lonas, Daniel Stickley, and Jacob Knave/Nave, all from the same neighborhood in Shenandoah County, VA, moved to Knox County, TN together. David Haston participated in the auction of Jacob Knave's estate settlement, as did Isaac Pruitt. Other Pruitt family members purchased items in the auction. Was this Jacob Nave related to the Christina Nave, who married Daniel Hiestend in Shenandoah County, VA in 1783?

PRUITT/PREWIT, Abraham -- He was bondsman for the marriage of Christian Stickley and Isbel Creely. He was probably the son of Martin Pruitt, brother of Isaac Pruitt, etc.

PRUITT/PREWIT, Betsy (Elizabeth) -- Married Isaac Lee in Knox Co, TN on October 8, 1805. Jacob Pruit, who was probably her brother, was the bondsman. The Lee/Lea family lived near David Haston & Isaac Pruitt in Grassy Valley of Knox County, TN.

PRUITT/PREWIT, Isaac -- Probable/possible son of Martin & Mary Woods Pruitt. Married Polly Stickley in Knox Co, TN on March 25, 1803. Lived adjacent to David Haston in Grassy Valley of northwest Knox Co, TN during the years of 1802-1806. Witnessed the sale of David Haston's Knox Co, TN land in Grassy Valley on September 11, 1806. Moved to White Co, TN (probably with David Haston) in about 1807 and purchased land near the Haston family. Soon became the militia captain of the district where the Haston family lived in White County. Moved away from White Co, TN sometime later, perhaps in 1818 or so, after selling his land to Arthur Parker & Christopher Steakley. Someone named "Isaac Pruitt" was involved in some Knox Co, TN court cases with Mary Knave, probably the wife of Jacob Knave/Nave.

Note: Martin Pruitt/Prewit had a son and a brother named "Isaac." It is difficult to keep these two "Isaac Pruitt/Prewit" men separate in the records. The Isaac Prewitt who married Polly Stickley would probably have been Martin's son. We suspect that this Isaac, son of Martin, was the one who moved to White County, TN. He would have been in the same age range as David & Joseph Haston, Christopher Steakley, and Joseph Smith, who moved to the same community in White County at about the same time. See the note below.

PRUITT/PREWIT, Jacob -- Son of Martin & Mary Woods Pruitt. Bondsman for the marriage of Betsy Pruitt and Isaac Lee in Knox Co, TN on October 8, 1805.

PRUITT/PREWIT, Martin -- Son of William Pruitt, Sr. At an early age, he went to the wilds of Kentucky with his father, Daniel Boone, John Findley, Isaac Belcher, and other longhunters. Married Mary Woods in NC in 1771. Served on some Knox Co, TN juries with Daniel Haston.

PRUITT/PREWIT, William -- Son of Martin & Mary Woods Pruitt. Married Sarah Roddy sometime prior to September 15, 1805. Son-in-law of Phillip & Mary McComeskey Roddy.
Note: As per Debbi Geer, William Pruitt who married Sarah Roddy moved from Knox Co, TN to what is now Greene Co, IL. More

RODDY, Margaret (Peggy) -- Married David Haston in Knox Co, TN on May 25, 1800. Isham Bradley was the bondsman. We do not know who her parents were, nor do we know her relationship to Sarah (Sally) Roddy.

RODDY, Sarah (Sally) -- Daughter of Phillip & Mary McComeskey Roddy and granddaughter of Daniel McComiskey of Baltimore County, MD. Married William Pruitt, Jr. sometime prior to September 15, 1805 (moved to Greene Co, IL). Read more about the McComiskey-Roddy-Haston family connections.

SMITH, Joseph -- Married (Mary) Polly Creely in Knox Co, TN on June 17, 1800. Matthew Smith and Michael Foster were bondsmen. He & Polly moved to White Co, TN in or before 1806, where he became a constable and captain of a militia district. He lived somewhere near the Haston family in White County. On May 13, 1812 the sale of a slave, from William Brown & Samuel White to Isaac Midkiff, was recorded in White Co, TN. Joseph Smith & Mary Smith were the legal witnesses to that transaction. (Source: Page 5 White Co, TN Deed Book E, microfilm Roll # 61) Joseph, apparently, signed with his own handwriting; Mary signed with a mark.

STICKLEY, Christian (Christopher STEAKLEY) -- Assumed to have been the son of the Daniel Stickley who moved from Shenandoah Co, VA to Knox Co, TN. Married Isbel Creely in Knox Co, TN on October 5, 1802. Abraham Pruit was the bondsman. Christian signed with a mark. Moved to White County, TN some time prior to November 17, 1809. In White County he came to be called by the given name of "Christopher" and his surname was sometimes spelled "Steakley" ("Christian Steakley" on 1811 tax list & "Christopher Stickly" on the 1812 tax list). The 1850 Van Buren Co, TN census indicates that he was 74 years old at the time of that census and he was born in VA, as was his wife, Isabellen. One unknown source says that he was born on March 1, 1776.
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Note: According to Daniel W. Bly, the Stickley family has often been confused with the Strickler family, but they are two distinct families. Source: Page 172 of From the Rhine to the Shenandoah, Volume Two by Daniel W. Bly (Baltimore, MD: Gateway Press, Inc., 1996). This book contains several helpful pages on this Stickley family.

STICKLEY, Daniel -- Daniel W. Bly has stated that Jacob Lonas, Henry Lonas, Daniel Stickley, and Jacob Knave/Nave, all from the same neighborhood in Shenandoah County, VA, moved to Knox County, TN together. His wife was named Sibilla Dellinger. Created his will September 20, 1797 (Source: Pages 22-23 of Knox Co, TN Will Book 0)

STICKLEY, Mary -- Daughter of Daniel Stickley. Married Adam Kerns in Knox Co, TN on January 1, 1804. Frances Fleshhart was the bondsman. Adam signed with a mark.

STICKLEY, Polly (Matalinah) -- Daughter of Daniel Stickley. Married Isaac Pruitt in Knox Co, TN on March 25, 1803.

STRICKLER, Mary -- Wife of Jacob Nave/Knave/Neff. In January 1806, Isaac Pruett took Mary Knave (Mary Strickler Knave?) to court, apparently to evict her from living in his house. She, it seems, did something abusive to him or his house on October 29, 1805. Later, in 1806, Mary Knave takes Isaac Pruet to court for harming her in some way (perhaps trying to evict her).
Sources: Dockets 2134/281 & 2169/278-279 & 2170/27819 from Knox Co, TN Court of Pleas & Quarter Sessions (original) documents.

**White County, TN Isaac Pruitt - Brother or Son of Martin Pruitt?**
The following email message, from a Pruitt family researcher, expresses an opinion, regarding the Isaac Pruitt who moved to White County, TN, that is different from the one stated above. I believe that I've found possible proof that the Isaac Pruitt in White County, TN is the elder Isaac [brother of Martin Pruitt]. Isaac was a twin to Abraham [Martin Pruitt's brother]. Before Abraham went into some type of battle or left to serve in the War, he met with his unmarried twin brother Isaac. Being married, Abraham wanted to make sure his wife and children were taken care of if something should happen to him. With this in mind he made Isaac promise that he would marry his wife should she become a widow. Upon hearing about Abraham's death Isaac fulfilled the promise and married Margaret Ann White Pruitt. Abraham and Margaret had four children. And this leads me to the possible proof. In the White Co TN records there is a William Preuitt named in one of the 1810 documents. Abraham did have a son, William, who was born in 1786 thus making him 24 years of age in 1810 and old enough to be named in any legal case. Jacob's son William was already in Madison County, AL. Martin's son William had made the move with his father in 1806 to IL. William Prewitt, Jr. was the brother who moved to KY. There is a debate over his death but some believe they have found evidence of it in 1783. There were no other William's in the family that would have been old enough to be the William named in White Co TN. I believe that this William is Abraham's son and that he would have been there only because his step-father/uncle and mother were there at the time thus making the elder Isaac as that one being the one named in the White Co TN records. Debbi Geer dgirth@yahoo.com Our question: Could this William Pruitt, son of Abraham, have moved to White County, TN with his cousin Isaac and not his father Isaac? This William Pruitt would have been about 21 years old when the other men mentioned above, moved to White County. waynehaston@aol.com Debbi Greer's (dgirth@yahoo.com ) response: Until something can be found in other records, regardless of which state, I believe it's going to be hard to figure out which William went to White County, TN. One for sure is that most of the time most of the Pruitt family members didn't move from one place to another without another member of the family. When Jacob (son of Martin) moved to Madison Co, MO, there is strong belief that he moved there because his Aunt Rebecca Pruitt Sinclair's family were there. Later the Rebecca's family moved to Arkansas Territory where she died. Some of the Sinclairs did stay in TN then moved to KY and finally to IL where they settled near the Pruitt uncles. You even find other Pruitt's moving together into Madison County and Warren County, AL. And of course, Martin's clan moving to various places together. If William Pruitt (son of Martin) was in White County, TN in 1810, then the birth of some of his children as found in their later census records would be in error. One son James R claims birth in 1808 IL and another possible son Solomon claims birth in 1810 IL thus ruling out his father as being in White Co TN in 1810. William White Pruitt (son of Abraham) was not yet married in 1810, but being over the age of 21 would have had the opportunity to purchase land and thereby be a tax payer. He could have very likely moved to White County, TN before moving to Madison Co Al where he married in 1816 to Nancy Cavitt who probably was a sister to Sally Cavitt who married his cousin William Madison Pruitt in 1804. William Madison Pruitt could not have been in White County, TN as he has 9 of his 11 children born between 1807 and 1824 in Madison County, AL. Thus with the elimination of 2 of the 3, evidence is leaning towards William White Pruitt (son of Abraham) as the William Pruitt who was in White County, TN. The only way that this could be untrue is if there was another Pruitt clan who moved into White Co TN that we have not considered or Fuller has more children than the two boys (Martin and Thomas) supposedly known about by some researchers and happen to have the name of Isaac and William to further complicate the records. There is one family story (from another branch) that says the final split of the Pruitt clan in TN came about as the result of the local law authorities having a hard time trying to figure out which Pruitt boy was in the wrong for some type of trouble or crime. Because so many had the same name the cousins and uncles would start passing the blame onto another. As a result the law was puzzled and did not want to arrest or charge the wrong person. It evidently finally came to a blow and the family split, with Jacob going to AL, Martin to IL, etc. Even though there's no evidence to support this tale, all the tax lists, land purchases, marriages, etc that are well documented in various counties tend to lend some credibility. More Information on Isaac & Polly Stickley Prewitt For years the family of Isaac Pruitt and Mary "Polly" Stickley has been a complicated one and still is to this day. The children of Isaac's brothers have for the most part been easy to identify based on various records still in existence. However, trying to identify the children of Isaac and Polly has been one that has come down to the point of saying "this person isn't a child of any other Pruitt living in the area so it must be Isaac's". Here is the census records for Isaac: 1820 Madison Co IL - Apple Creek Township (020011-3001) 2 males 10 to 16 (Jacob and unknown son) 1 male 26 to 45 (Isaac) 1 male over 45 3 females under 10 (Cascinda, Sarah Catherine and unknown daughter) 1 female 26 to 45 (Mary 'Polly') 1830 Macoupin Co IL - Apple Creek Township (indexed as Isaack Prewit but appears as Isack/Zack Prewit) (note - Probably didn't move as Macoupin was created in 1829 from Madison) 2 males 20 to 30 (Jacob and unknown son) 1 male 50 to 60 (Isaac) 1 female 5 to 10 (unknown daughter) 1 female 10 to 15 (Sarah Catherine) 1 female 40 to 50 (Mary) 1840 Greene Co IL - Apple Creek Precinct (note - Unsure as to who is living with Isaac and Polly. If daughter Cascinda and her family are, then the age groups are incorrect.) 1 male under 5 years (???) 1 male 5 to 10 years (???) 1 male 10 to 15 years (???) 1 male 20 to 30 years (???) 1 male 60 to 70 years (Isaac) 2 females 20 to 30 years (???) 1850 Greene Co IL - Between Macoupin and Apple Creek (with 2nd wife and 2 children) 1855 Greene Co IL - not listed 1860 Greene Co IL (with 2nd wife Anna Gilpin Ruyle and their 3 children) Isaac first shows up in IL in the 1820 census. What is hard to determine is when he moved his family from TN to IL. At the present time there is strong evidence that he did not move with the rest of the Pruitt family in 1806. Rather there is the possibility that he moved to White Co TN. Other Stickley families who moved there. There is an Isaac Pruitt who appears in several legal documents up until around 1818, then he disappears. What's hard to determine is that Isaac had an Uncle Isaac Pruitt. To distinguish between these two is hard as both ended up in their next residence around the same time. Isaac the younger going to IL and Isaac the elder going to AL. With the age of the main individuals in the White Co TN documents it is most probable that the younger Isaac didn't move to IL with his family until about 1818. This would back up the TN birthplace which son Jacob and daughter Sarah Catherine have always shown. Now the younger Isaac's son Jacob and daughter Sarah Catherine married Paralee D Ruyle and John Wesley Ruyle who were siblings too. Paralee and John were the children of Peter Ruyle per researchers of the Ruyle family. Both of these families moved to MO. Jacob and Paralee along with Peter Ruyle were in Polk Co MO in 1840 along with two children. John and Sarah cannot be located in 1840 but were in Greene Co MO in 1850. In 1850 Jacob is in Greene Co MO but he is now with a wife named Nancy which now presents several questions: (1) In 1850 Paralee and the children (a boy and a girl both born between 1835 and 1840) have totally disappeared. What happened to these three individuals? It is possible that all plus any other children born after 1840 contacted a disease and died, but if so then where were they buried? (2) Who was Nancy, the second Mrs Jacob Pruitt? Some say her maiden name was Morrisett. The Morrisett surname cannot be found in the 1840 and 1850 census records for both Polk Co and Greene Co MO. Is it possible that Nancy was not a Morrisett and someone has started a tale? Could she have been previously married to a Morrisett, possibly in TN where the Morrisett surname is easily found, and then they moved to Polk or Greene Co and he died there, all of this happening after the 1840 census and before her marriage to Jacob? (3) There is also no marriage record for Jacob and Nancy in Greene Co MO. So where did Jacob and Nancy get married at? (4) It has been known that men would go back to their home place to find a new wife and move her back to his present home. Could Jacob have went back to IL and found Nancy there? If he did then there is no record of their marriage there either. There are Morrisett's in the far northern part of the state but this is no where near the Pruitt's in Madison, Macoupin, Jersey and Greene Cos in IL. I doubt he travelled to TN since it was only in his early childhood that he lived there and most likely has little recollection of TN. By 1860 the section of Greene Co MO in which Jacob lived in 1850 later became part of Christian Co where he is listed as J L Pruett. Jacob moved his family, reason unknown, to Dent Co MO by 1870 where he is listed as Jacob Pruit. Jacob and his family are back in Christian CO MO by 1876 when the agricultural census was taken (J L Pruitt) and he remained there for the rest of his life. From 1850 to the end of his life, no other Pruitt children appear with Jacob other than those he had by Nancy. Comments from anyone are welcomed in trying to solve the mystery about Jacob's two wives. Debbi Geer dgirth@yahoo.com William Pruitt, Son of Martin Pruitt William Pruitt son of Martin died in 1839 Madison Co, IL. The county records have his probate records on file. Two of William's sons, James Roady and Solomon born 1808 and 1810 respectively, both show in later census that they were born in Illinois. William was also in the war of 1812 from Madison Co, IL as well as mentioned in various Madison Co and Greene Co IL history records as an early settler. He purchased land as early as 1814 in Madison Co IL. It's possible that he was in White Co TN in 1810, but there is very little known about William Pruitt, Jr. (Martin's younger brother). There is a difference of opinion for which every I have questioned cannot find proof for William Jr's death. Some have 1783 in Giles Co TN, others 1838 in KY. So there is a possibility that William Jr could have went to White County, TN. No one seems to have info on his children, if any. One person said that they thought he might have married a Catherine Sinclair and had a son Charles Sinclair Pruitt. This would make some sense in that Rebecca Pruitt, Martin and William's sister, married John Sinclair. Catherine could have been a sister or cousin to John. I'm not up on the Sinclair family but do know there are some who have been researching it. However, I have found some errors in their research concerning the Sinclair/Pruitt marriages. Solomon, Martin's son, did have some statements which reference that one of his uncles went into KY but did not say which one. He also made a general statement in which he indicated that the Martin and his entire family moved together from TN to IL. As for the elder Isaac having a son William, I do have and have not found anyone who has this Isaac having a son William. The only 4 children to the elder Isaac are Valentine Greenville Pruitt, Monoah Mortimer Pruitt, Elhanon Oscar Dunreath Pruitt and Salina Huntington Pruitt. Now there is a possibility that the William could be Abraham's son William White Pruitt. This William was born in 1786 and didn't marry until 1816. He would have been 24 years of age and could very well have been taxed in 1810 as well as enumerated in the 1810 census. So many possibilities and all causing problems because the Pruitt brothers didn't know how to use other names for their children. Oh how I wish I could go back and sweet talk them into using other names so that we the present living could easily decipher who's who. Debbi Greer dgirth@yahoo.com