95., 96., 97., 98. The Clarkes (Jane, Martha, Mary, Nancy)

I have four girls named Clarke in the rolls of the Mordecai school:

Jane Clarke attended two sessions, from summer 1811 to summer 1812.
Martha Clarke was there for one session in 1815, then for the last four sessions (1817-1818).
Mary R. Clarke of Nottoway Co., VA was there for one session, 1816 (second half).
Nancy Clarke was a student for four years, eight sessions, 1815-1818.

Nancy and Martha are at the school in overlapping times, and they have the same adult name, Col. John Clarke, attached to their accounts.  Mary R. Clarke has a different adult's name, Thomas C. Clarke, on her account.  But "Col. Clarke" appears in the school ledger in January 1815, for Mary, unless I misread Martha there; "John Clarke" appears for "Miss Nancy" in April 1815; And "Col. J. Clarke" for Nancy in February 1816; so this whole group might be kin.  (David Clarke and William Clarke are other names in the ledger, but they seem to be attached to student Olivia Norfleet--still, could be a further connection.)  I'm also thinking that "Mary R" and "Martha" might be the same girl--Mary R. would fill in one of the gap sessions for Martha.... hmmm.

Clarke is a fairly common surname, and none of these girls has an unusual first name.  But let's see what we can find anyway (acknowledging that Clarke may be Clark, Martha may be Patsy, Nancy may be Ann, etc.).


.... Hm, not too many leads.  Will leave this here for now.

93.-94. Jane and Sarah Christmas

Two girls named Christmas are on the rolls for the Mordecai school. Jane Yancy Christmas is listed attending for three sessions, I think (1813a, and both 1815 sessions); Sarah Christmas is there for three other sessions, one overlapping with Jane (1812a, 1813b, 1815a).  Both have Lewis Christmas as the adult name attached to the account.

The Christmas family were locals in Warrenton; there is still a Christmas family historical house standing (barely) in town.  The Mordecais who stayed in the area mention the family's doings in their letters.  One hair-raising report finds a drunken "T. Christmas" chasing his wife through the streets with a stick, breaking down doors and signs, even beating a man in his rage, because Betsy Christmas danced with another man at a party.  (Caroline Mordecai Plunkett to Ellen Mordecai, 12 May 1826, Mordecai Family Papers, Southern Historical Collection; stay tuned, because Betsy Davis Christmas was a Mordecai alumna too--more on here in a few entries.)  A later letter indicates that this man's problems continued:  "Tom Christmas is out of jail, his mother & brother stood his securities." (Caroline Mordecai Plunkett to Ellen, 12 May 1828?, Jacob Mordecai Papers, Duke University)


Well, I can't complain about it being a common surname this time, but it's also not an easy name to google.  Nonetheless, because they're local and Warrenton isn't a big town, they're pretty easy to track down.


Jane Yancy Christmas (c1798-1820) was the daughter of Jane Yancey(1774-1845) and William Christmas (1766-1804); her mother remarried, so Jane also had a stepfather, Captain John Green (to make this family a little more complicated, John's first wife was William Christmas's sister, Martha). Jane was born and died in Warren Co., NC.  Her brother was Lewis Yancey Christmas.*  As their father had died by the time Jane and Sarah attended school, it makes sense that Lewis was the tuition payer in the school ledger. 

Her sister Sarah Christmas married John H. Marshall in 1818.  Sarah sometimes appears as Lucy D. Christmas in family histories, but with the nickname "Sally."  The names Lucy and Lewis could be confusing on siblings, and maybe she preferred a more distinctive sound?  She's "Sally D. Marshall" in a bit of 1820 paperwork about land.  I can't find a record of children or a death date for either Sally or John Marshall; they may have left the area.



*Lewis Y. Christmas freed a group of his slaves, acknowledged to be his own children and grandchildren, in his 1859 will, and left funds for them to be transported safely to a non-slave-holding state (or Mexico).  The will was contested by Lewis's white kin, but it was upheld in court.  The Christmas family, black and white, still has reunions that they call "Christmas in July"--here's a report from a recent gathering. 

92. Elbert Alston Cheek (1803-1871)

Another boy's name turns up in the Mordecai rolls.  Young Elbert Cheek attended the school for both sessions of 1813.  Only local boys attended the school (no boarding room for boys), so we know he was from Warrenton. 

As usual with historical lookups, it's easier to find a man--men owned property, men didn't change their surname on marriage, and men used fewer nicknames (no Martha=Patsy problem).  So it's quick to find that Elbert Alston Cheek was born on Valentine's Day in 1803, eldest child of Robert Tines (or Tynes) Cheek (1772-1841) and Mary Hinton Alston (1782-1864), according to a family Bible.   The Cheeks owned a plantation called "Shady Oaks" outside Warrenton, and Robert T. Cheek ran a hotel in town.  By the time he attended the Mordecai school as a ten year old, Elbert had a younger brother and three younger sisters (another younger brother died in infancy).  Four more brothers and another sister arrived after Elbert's time at the school.  He married Mary Sue Hayes (b. 1803) in 1825, in Warrenton; they had nine children together between 1827 and 1851.  Their adult children lived in Mississippi and Kentucky, with a few staying near Warrenton.   (Same details given here, with slightly different dates in some instances.)  Elbert Cheek is mentioned in the 1924 local history "Glimpses of Old Warrenton," in passing (as the father of a local Civil War veteran, Col. William H. Cheek--more about William here).

(Robert Tynes Cheek pulled a bit of a stunt for genealogists:  he left an extra $500 in his will to each grandson named Robert.  So there were four grandsons named Robert, including Elbert's oldest son.)

Found an obituary for an Elbert Alston Cheek V, who died young in 2008--must be some kind of kin, because that's not a common set of names.

91. Mary Cheatham

There's a student named Mary Cheatham in the rolls of the Mordecai school.  She was there for one year, 1814 (both sessions), and a William Cheatham is the name associated with her account.  William Cheatham appears in the Mordecai ledger, paying for "Miss Mary," in April 1814.  (William Cheatham also appears on the page for February 1816, without a child's name attached, possibly meaning he lived near enough to Warrenton or to the Mordecais in other places to have further dealings with them; or perhaps he had a niece who attended after Mary's time there.)

 I'm guessing that Mary Cheatham might have been from Chesterfield County, Virginia, only because a lot of Cheathams lived there.  But I can't find a William with a daughter Mary the right age.  Their names are too ordinary; and Mary might have gone by Molly or Polly or May later in life, and the Cheatham might have been spelled Chatham in some records.  The usual story!

Next entry:  another boy's name in the school rolls.

90. Sally Cary

There's a student on the rolls for the Mordecai school named Sally Cary.  She was at the school for both 1811 sessions.  I don't have a hometown or an adult's name attached to the account, and I don't think she got mentioned in any Mordecai correspondence.

Neither part of the name is particularly uncommon. She's obviously not this Sally Cary, but she could be from that Virginia family--as we have seen over and over here, families tended to recycle first-last name combinations across branches and generations.  I do find a Sallie Cary (1806-1848), daughter of Captain Miles Cary of Norfolk County, Virginia.  She'd be on the young side of the right age, but without more details, I can't say she's the Mordecai student.

87., 88., 89. E. Ann, Martha, and Mary E. Carter

There were three girls named Carter on the rolls at the Mordecai school:

E. Ann Carter and Mary E. Carter were at the school for the last two sessions, in 1818; they're listed as being from Prince Edward County.

Martha Carter was at the school for four sessions, 1811-1812, also from Prince Edward County.

There are mentions of the Carter girls in the school ledger:  In November 1811 money was received from "Andrew Jones of Mr. Williams for Martha Carter."  Andrew Jones again brought money for Martha Carter in June 1812.  Dr. Gloster was paid on behalf of Miss Carter and other girls in April 1813.  Mrs. Gloster was paid for Miss Carter and other girls in September 1813 (looks like they might be boarding with the Glosters?).  A Samuel Carter turns up in the ledger in April 1818, paying for "daughters and ward" (so E. Ann and Mary E. might well be sisters).

In the letters, there's a mention in February 1818 by Caroline Mordecai:  "we hear of recruits every day, there are three Miss Carters coming from Prince George."  (Caroline Mordecai to her sister Ellen, 14 February 1818, in the Jacob Mordecai Papers at Duke University)  One of the three may have been the "ward" of Samuel Carter mentioned above, who turned out to have another name, not Carter.  And note that they may have been coming from Prince George County, not Prince Edward.

That seems like a lot of information to go on, but... I'm not connecting any of these names up to a firm place, family, tombstone, or record of any kind.  Carter's a common name, obviously, but still.  Someone out there must know who these Carter sisters were.

86. Eliza Carson

There was a student named Eliza Carson at the Mordecai School for three sessions, mid-1813 to the end of 1814. A John Carson paid the Mordecais in July 1813, November 1814, and February 1815; she may be from Chester SC. Not much to go on, but let's see what else there is out there...

This genealogist finds a John Carson born 1747 in Ireland, who was living in Chester SC in the 1760s-1780s, and died in Hardin KY in 1822, who was married to an Elizabeth--might be a candidate for her father, or maybe even grandfather. But I don't think there's a daughter Elizabeth showing in his will. So huh.