Joel
Charles
Joel Charles is said to have been born in Essex Co., VA in 1770.[1]
He
appeared in the first Federal census (1790) in Greenville Co., SC. It was also there
that his daughter, Elizabeth, was born on January 11, 1794. The data collected by
that census was meager, indicating only that, aside from himself, his household
included one male under 16 years of age and three females (ages not given). It
is assumed that this latter category consisted of a wife and two daughters.[2]
Joel was simply listed as being over 16 years of age.[3]
While no record has been found of Joel in the 1800 census, we do know that the
family had already begun its westward drive since Joel’s son, Azor, was born in
about 1796 in TN.[4] The
name of only one other child is known, a son, William. William was also likely
born in SC or TN as he was known to have already had a young son by the War of
1812.
1810s
Joel and his family are known to have been in Orange Co., IN by 1809 or 1810, according to most sources.[5]
Other than the French before spoken of, Joel Charles is said to have been the first settler in this township and located near the present site of the Springs. He had a large family and for some time lived in the fort that was located there, and where a company of troops was stationed for several years. This was during and after the War of 1812, when the Indians were more than usually hostile….[6]
This record of land acquisition in 1811 seems to confirm the early arrival hypothesis.
On November 11, 1811, Joel Charles entered 100 acres of land in Section 6, in Township 1 north, Range 1 west, and on March 24, 1812, Henry Dougherty entered 160 acres in Section 29, Township 2 north, Range 1 west.[7] Other land entries in this township up to the year 1820 were as follows: James Pinnick, 1813; James Porter, 1814; Josephus Hazlewood, 1815; Reuben Hazelwood, William Wells, Edward Moore, Thomas Leonard, James Wolfington, Samuel Dougherty, 1816; William Charles,[1]
Essex Co. is on the upper end of the so-called ‘middle peninsula’ in VA,
situated between the Rappahannock and York Rivers.
[2] Joel’s
wife is usually given as Mary Blackburn. I have no reason to dispute this identification
but have not yet looked at the supporting documentation.
[3] It
is interesting to note that the entry immediately preceding Joel is of Sarah
Charles, also with five persons (two male and three female). A quick review
found no other Charles families in Greenville Co.
[4] TN
became a state in 1796 and was included in the 1800 census; however, those
records are missing and presumed lost. https://www.archives.gov/research/census/1800
[5]
The census was taken for the Indiana Territory in 1810. However, according to
the National Archives at https://www.archives.gov/research/census/1810
those records are missing and presumed lost. IN became a state in 1816. Joel is
definitively placed in IN in 1809 or 1810 by multiple sources.
[6] History
of Lawrence, Orange, and Washington Counties, Indiana, Goodspeed Brothers
and Co., 1884, p. 392.
[7]
The actual record from the Indiana Archives and Records Administration website
indicates that Joel’s patent was for 160 acres, not 100 as stated in the above
reference. That it was 160 acres is confirmed in the book Orange County,
Indiana Tract Book Records, 1808-1868. Pearl Springer Wilson; Lost River
Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, 1971, page 3.
Page -2-
Joseph Con, 1817; George Wolfington, John Orton, 1818; Mark Rutherford, Lewis Coombs, 1819. This gives a total of sixteen entries of land on the twenty-four sections in this township that were not reserved for saline purposes, showing that immigration was slow in its movements to this part of the county's first settlement. [8]
War of 1812
The single most notorious event in the French Lick Township during the War of 1812 was the murder of Joel’s son, William Charles. The event was summarized in the book History of Lawrence, Orange, and Washington Counties,[9]
The murder of William Charles at or near the French Lick Fort, in the spring of 1813, is perhaps the best known of any deed ever committed in the county by the Indians, although many conflicting accounts are told of it. The one most reliable and trustworthy seems to be about as follows, given by Mr. Edward Moore, of Orleans, who, although not present at the time, was often with several members of the Charles family after its occurrence: The victim was a married man and father of one child at the time of the killing, and lived in the fort with his father, Joel Charles and the company of rangers. Charles was plowing in a field near the fort, and the Indians crept close to him from the adjoining woods and shot him from their ambush behind a stump. They at once ran to him for the purpose of tomahawking and scalping him. When the killing was done, the rangers were some distance away from the fort shooting at a mark, and were unable to reach Charles in time to render him any assistance. He was found with an arrow through one arm, and there were three tomahawk holes in his hat, probably made in their first hasty attempts to obtain the scalp. It is said that his wife was at the time on guard, or rather watching for Indians. This would indicate some apprehension of danger from that source, and if reports be true, this was most likely the case. The cause was somewhat of a personal nature between the Indians and the occupants of the fort, and a narration of them would be both tedious and useless. The wife of Charles died a few months after this of a broken heart and was always lamenting in maniacal tones the loss of her husband, and wore the hat which he had on at the time of his death.
Charles seems to have quickly taken an active role in the community. In April 1816, Joel was part of the second Grand Jury in county history. An indictment was returned against Andrew Mason for an assault and battery on the body of Bailey Hobson.[10] On May 6, 1816, he appeared before the County Probate Court as Administrator of the Estate of Robert Brauer (deceased). It was the very first entry into the Co. Probate Order Book. Two men were appointed to appraise the Estate. An Estate sale was conducted, with the results included in the Order Book. Joel purchased a number of items, including a rifle, some tongs, a bucket, a horse and bridle, a draw knife, and some corn. Joel provided his report to the Court and advised that a portion of the proceeds would go to clearing Brauer’s existing debts. He was allowed $18.50 for his expenses associated with the sale and another dollar to cover the cost of whiskey used in conjunction with the sale.[11] Shortly thereafter, an Estate sale was held for one Polly Charles. Though Joel had no official role in this action, he and his son, Azor, both purchased items from the Estate.[12][8] History
of Lawrence, Orange, and Washington Counties, Indiana, Goodspeed Brothers
and Co., 1884, p. 393.
[9] History
of Lawrence, Orange, and Washington Counties, Indiana, Goodspeed Brothers
and Co., 1884, p. 372.
[10] History
of Lawrence, Orange, and Washington Counties, Indiana, Goodspeed Brothers
and Co., 1884, p. 446.
[11] Orange
Co., IN, Probate Order Book, Vol A, 1816-1829, pages 1-2.
[12] Orange Co., IN, Probate Order Book, Vol. A, 1816-1829, page 5. Polly may have been a widow of one of Joel’s brothers.
Page -3-
In November 1816, with Indiana just a month from statehood, Joel and 127 of his Paoli neighbors appeared on a list of voters in the first election for Representative from Orange Co.[13]
In February 1817, it was decided to convert County administration from Associate Judges to Commissioners. The new Commissioners' first action was to divide the County into townships. Next, they decided where in each township elections would be held. In the Paoli Township, elections were to be held at the home of Joel Charles.[14] It is possible that Joel’s outsized influence was due to his age (he entered his 40s by 1810), as he was likely a decade or more older than his peers. Shortly after his duty as Administrator and just three months after IN joined the Union, Joel was elected as the Justice of the Peace.[15]
At an election held at the house of Joel Charles on the 8th day of March 1817, for the purpose of electing one Justice of the Peace for the Southwest Township in Orange County, Joshua Nicholas received 5 votes, Adlai Campbell 6, Joel Charles 13. "We hereby certify that an election has been held agreeable to law at the house of Joel Charles on the 8th of March, 1817, in the Southwest Township of Orange County, for the purpose of electing a Justice of the Peace, wherein Joel Charles was elected. Given under our hands and seals. John Dougherty and Cornelius Williamson, Judges; Samuel Cobb and Elijah Rush, Clerks. Voters, James Martin, William McDowell, Thomas Smith, John Orlan, Reuben Hazlewood, James Pinnick, Edward Bryant, Hiram Martin, Henry Dougherty, Meredith Hazlewood, James Porter, Samuel Dougherty, Michael Miller, Nathaniel Pinnick, Elijah Rush, Cornelius Williamson, Samuel Cobb, William Pinnick, Martin Nicholas, John Dougherty, Joseph Nicholas, Joel Charles, Adlai Campbell; total, twenty-four."
A
review of early Orange Co. marriage records shows that Joel exercised his
office by performing about 17 marriages between 1817 and 1820.[16]
1820s-1830s
Family
– unknown daughter 1, unknown daughter 2, William[17],
Elizabeth[18],
Azor[19],
Mary (Polly)[20],
Frances[21] and 3 unknown sons.
[13] History of Lawrence, Orange, and Washington Counties, Indiana, Goodspeed Brothers and Co., 1884, p. 379.
[14] History
of Lawrence, Orange, and Washington Counties, Indiana, Goodspeed Brothers
and Co., 1884, p. 418
[15] History
of Lawrence, Orange, and Washington Counties, Indiana, Goodspeed Brothers
and Co., 1884, p. 392. He was re-elected to this post in 1821, p. 436.
[16] Indiana
Genealogy, First Marriage Records of Orange County, Indiana Magazine of
History, Vol. 37, No. 2 (June 1941) copied by N. B. and Myrtle Maris Mavity,
pages 189-200. In addition to his official duties, Joel is also noted as having
given consent for his daughter, Frances, to marry Seth Holbert (sic) on August
19, 1816. https://www.jstor.org/stable/27787244?seq=1
[17] William
Charles was born in about 1789 or 1790. He died in Orange Co., IN in 1813 and
is buried in the Wilson Cemetery __________. He was married but his wife’s name
__________. They had at least _____ children.
[18]
Elizabeth Charles was born on January 11, 1794, in Greenville Co., SC. She died
in Orange Co., IN on July 20, 1861, and is buried in the Wilson Cemetery. She
married James Wilson, who was born on May 21, 1792. The family had at least
seven children.
[19]
Azor Charles was born November 27, 1796, in TN. He died in Orange Co., IN, on
September 24, 1871, and is buried in the Charles-Smith Family Cemetery. He
married Rachel Cobb. She was born March 19, 1797, in TN. The family had at
least eight children.
[20]
Mary (Polly) Charles is said to have been born on November 20, 1806. She died
on November 8, 1874. She married Isaac Pinnick in 1824.
[21]
Frances Charles was born on November 10, 1799, in TN. She died on February 1,
1858, in Orange Co., IN. She married Seth Halbert.
Page -4-
The following note from the 1820s shows that the Charles family was active in the operation of local quarries. The mention of the French Lick Reserve and its former ownership by the state comes from the period when territorial government set aside that land, thinking it would be a profitable source of salt. When early test pits failed to confirm the speculations, the land was sold, and the subject quarries were developed.[22]
The whetstone business in French Lick Township is the largest in the county, and probably in the State. From Mr. T. N. Braxtan, who is extensively engaged in the business, most of the facts concerning this article of commerce were obtained. The quarries here were first worked about the year 1825, by some Eastern people named Prentiss, who had settled at a town in Martin County named Hindostan, at one time the county seat. They had learned of the quality of this stone from the Government Surveyor. The first stones were boated to New Orleans by the Lost, White, Wabash, Ohio, and Mississippi Rivers. From there it was shipped to New York and England. In the latter country it was condemned as a fraud, because it bore the name of Hindostan, supposing it to be represented as coming from the country of that name. This for a time nearly caused the abandonment of the quarries, although not entirely so. They were worked in a small way by persons at Hindostan, and by a few living near the quarries. The principal of this quality of stone is on what was formerly the French Lick Reserve, and when the State sold that land, William Cathcart and Col. John Pinnick bought most of the best quarries. These men worked them for some time. The Charles family purchased from them and operated for some time.
In 1827, Joel returned to Probate Court, this time acting as the Administrator of the Estate of Robert Brown (deceased) on behalf of the widow, Sarah Charles.[23] He sought and received permission to pay the current tax bill from the Estate and then entered a motion that the widow be given a third part as her inheritance. The remaining two-thirds was to be divided between Brown’s heirs and his legal representatives.[24]
The
1830 Orange Co. census shows one male between 60 and 70 (Joel) and one female
between 30 and 40 years of age (born 1790-1800). There were two young girls at
home. One was under 5 (born 1825-1830) and the other was between 5 and 10 years
of age (born 1820-1825). There were also two males between 15 and 20 years of
age (born 1800-1805). Their son, Azor, was still nearby, appearing on the next
page. Their son-in-law, James Wilson and his wife, Elizabeth Charles Wilson,
were on the same page as Joel.
[22] The
History of Orange County, chapter 3, https://us-data.org/in/orange/history/his1884chapter3.txt
[23]
Without a doubt, Sarah is related, but how is still a mystery.
[24] Orange
Co., IN, Probate Order Book, Vol. A, 1816-1829, page 210.
Page -5-
Vol
A p 302
Multiple
mentions in VA 1817-1825, but the pages are not numbered.
1840s
The 1840 Orange Co. census shows only three people living in the Charles home. Joel was between 70 and 80 years of age (born between 1760 and 1770). The oldest female was between 40 and 50 (born between 1790 and 1800). There was also one female between 10 and 15 (born 1825-1830). This census was compiled alphabetically; thus, no inferences regarding physical proximity of their homes can be drawn from placement in the record.
Joel died June 9, 1843, at the home of his son, Azor. He was buried in the Charles-Smith Family Cemetery in the French Lick Township. No will for Joel Charles has been identified to date.
End Notes
1. Land records
2. Marriage record
3. Other Court records
4. ORANGE COUNTY, INDIANA
INDEX OF NAMES OF PERSONS AND OF FIRMS, Compiled by Maurice Holmes, Paula
Corpus, Dorothy Riker, 1973
1.
Charles
1.
Joel,
Di 140, 213, 214, 215, 217; N III 15, IX 12; R 7;
2.
Azor,
Di 167, 214; R 33; S 432, 448, 561, 641
2.
Wilson
1.
James,
Di 48,49,229; N III 1, IX 9;
2.
James
"Bear Jim", N IX 9;
3.
James
"Jim", R 21,22,37
This concludes the research of the paternal ancestors of Kent W. Brown.
Kent W. Brown
9806 Frost Creek Drive
Ooltewah, TN 37363
kentbr00@epbfi.com
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