Surname Saturday: Carstarphen

Today's Surname Saturday post is a bit of a puzzle.  I am not entirely certain that it connects in the way that I have it in my database right now, and the more I look at it, the more likely it is that I have the connection wrong and I may be linking to another family entirely.  In any case, we'll take a look today at the family leading back from what I have currently listed as my fourth-great grandmother, Nancy Elizabeth Carstarphen.

Nancy was born in 1790 in Autauga County, Alabama.  She married Henry E. Horne (b. 1785, Autauga Co., Alabama).  According to an index of Pulaski County, Georgia, census records from 1830 through 1880, there was a Henry E. Horne living there, although it wasn't recorded in my database in which census he appears.  This may be significant because the relation that I connect to, Orrin Carstarphen Horne, was a prominent resident of Pulaski County, Georgia.  I'll have more about Orrin in a future post.  It's when we look at the children of Henry and Nancy that my doubts emerge.  The children that I know of so far were: Whitmell Horne (M; b. 1808, Autauga Co, AL), Henry Hillard Horne (M; b. 3 Feb 1809, Halifax County, North Carolina), James C. Horne (M; b. 1810, Autauga Co, AL), Harriet L. Horne (F; b. 1812, Autauga Co, AL), Orrin Carstarphen Horne (M; b. 1814, Pulaski County, Georgia; m. 3 Jan 1843 to Mary Ann Lowe; d. 12 Oct 1882), Adelphus M. Horne (M; b. 1816, Autauga Co, AL), Elisha B. Horne (M; b. 1820, Autauga Co, AL), John H. Horne (M; b. 1822, Autauga Co, AL) and Pamela Elizabeth Horne (F; b. 1824, Autauga Co, AL).

The next generation of Carstarphens is as far as I've been able to take the surname so far.  Nancy's parents were James Carstarphen and Mary Powell.  I don't have birth or death dates for either parent yet, but I've found that they were married on 5 December 1827 in Halifax County, North Carolina.  I have some strong doubts about the validity of this connection, especially when we look at the births of the children that I've got listed on this family: Oren Datus Carstarphen (M), Thomas Chapel Carstarphen (M; b. 19 July 1779, Halifax Co, NC), Nancy Elizabeth Carstarphen (above), and Sarah Rebecca Carstarphen (F; b. 1812, Halifax Co, NC).

As I mentioned, the more I look at this and analyze the dates and locations, the more doubts I have about the validity of this entire line.  Even though Orrin's birth date is possible within the rest of Nancy's children, he was born over 200 miles away from the rest of the family.  However, one theory to explain this could be that Nancy may have been traveling from Autauga County, Alabama, back to Halifax County, North Carolina, or returning from there, since Google Maps shows that Pulaski County, Georgia, is on a possible route between the two.

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The truth could be also that Orrin was actually born in Alabama and spent the majority of his life in Georgia, but as this would have been at a great distance from the rest of the family, I find this even more doubtful.  Then when we look at what I have so far for Nancy's parents, the phrase "that can't be right" comes immediately to mind.

Clearly, the next step in researching this line is to find and verify Orrin's parents.  I have a few avenues of research that I haven't pursued yet, so I may find something on this line yet.  One possibility is to further research Orrin's Civil War records since he served as Captain of the Georgia Rangers, and after the war was known as General O. C. Horne (even though he was never officially promoted to General during his military career); there was even a General O. C. Horne Chapter of the Daughters of the Confederacy, so I should be able to find more about this connection.  I'll have to make a research trip to Georgia at some time to see what I can find on this family.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I am working on a piece of your thread for a friend, the connection being Pamela (Permelia) Elizabeth Horn (e) who first married Norman Evans McLeod. This couple lived in Lee and Sumter Co. GA. After Norman was murdered in late 1853, Permelia married Neil McNeil in Sumter Co., GA on October 2, 1856.

I have a fair amount on the ancestry of Henry Elisha Horne, but not sure where or when he died - maybe 1842 in Gadsden Co., FL.

Know nothing on the Carstarphen family.
Tom Hooker

Anonymous said...

I am a Carstarphen and have recently done a lot of work on my tree. According to my data HENRY ELISHA HORN (1783-1842) married Elizabeth Carstarphen (1784-1840) in Halifax co. N. C. Elizabeth was the daughter of James Carstarphen and First wife, Elizabeth Chappell (1750-1816) Elizabeth Carstarphen had a sister named Nancy, but she married Elisha Read and died fairly young. James C. second wife was Mary Powell with whom he had two children, Sarah and Richard D. . Your Orrin is spelled ORAN in my lists. The names that you have of the Horne children seem to be the same. My genealogy is posted on Ancestry.com . Tere C. Batham