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John Connelly (or Connely)
therefore arrived in Philadelphia or was born there. Some put his name as
John C. Connelly; his father could have been Bryan Connelley of Limerick,
Ireland. He married, in Kentucky (or aboard ship from Ireland), Sarah
Wilson. It is most likely they married about 1765 or 1766 in Kentucky.
Sarah, the daughter of William Wilson (born about 1725), was born Oct. 20,
1746, in either Virginia or Kentucky. She is buried on the Hollace
Sherwood farm near Bryantsville, Lawrence County, IN, mainly among some of
the members of her son Elijah’s family. Her tombstone states: “In memory
of Sarah Connely consort of John Connely was born April the 16 1747 and
departed this life July the 12 1824 aged 77 years 2 months and 27 days.”
However, her son Josiah’s bible states her birthdate as Oct. 20, 1746.
They had nine children:
Josiah, from whom our line is descended, and William, Elijah, John H. Jr.,
Nancy, Stephen, Joel, Elizabeth, and Sarah. In his bible, Josiah
consistently spells his name Connely.
The most reliable source
for their early life, Connie Weatherly, says her research shows the couple
lived in Bedford Co., VA, later settling in northwest North Carolina, in
Wilkes County. The area eventually became Ashe County in 1799 and later,
in 1859, Allegheny County. Records show that John acquired considerable
lands around Maid’s Knee, Nathan’s Ridge, Hammon’s Mill Creek, and along
the Brush and Crab Creek drainages. They moved to the Little River area,
now Alleghany County, NC, in 1784.
The 1787 State Census
lists John Conley with one male 21 to 60 (John would have been about 43),
four males under 21 or over 60 years, and six females, all ages. This
census indicates there would have been five daughters plus Sarah. No
tracing of the daughters has been found, but all the sons are well
researched. The 1787 census was taken by Jesse Franklin from Captain
Hardin’s District.
John
died in Wilkes County without a will, but an inventory of his estate was
made and his wife, Sarah, and son, William, were administrators. He had at
least three land deeds recorded in Wilkes County in January of 1798 (just
before he died).
The inventory is recorded
in Will Book 1, Page 521, July Term 1799, Wilkes County. The appraisement
of the estate returned on 5 Nov. 1799 by his son, William, amounted to 380
pounds, 8 shillings and 3 pence. This was a sizable estate for the day and
does not consider the land holdings.
The inventory included 3
head of horses, 24 head of cattle, 57 head of sheep, 34 head of hogs,
pewter, other household and farm implements, and “geese and ducks not
known.”
The
1800 Federal Census of Ashe County shows a Sarah Conley as a slaveholder
in Antebellum New River Valley. That census was the first for the
northwestern-most county in the Tar Heel State. The county was formed in
late 1799 and included all of Wilkes County west of the crest of the Blue
Ridge Mountains, according to a transcript by Jeffrey C. Weaver. By 1800
Ashe County had 435 families and a total population of 2,785 persons,
including slaves. The county was named for Samuel Ashe, a Revolutionary
War patriot.
The
North Carolina Secretary of State Land Office has a list of Ashe County
Land Grants, 1799-1936, held in the state’s Department of Archives.
William Connelly is shown to have land grants there in 1799-1802, 1802-09,
1806-09, and 1808-1820. Josiah received land grants in 1805-06.
The
1810 census shows William, John, and J. (Josiah?) Conley and an Elijah
Conely holding property. In the 1815 census, John Conley owned 300 acres
valued at $300 and William owned 3729 acres worth $3,000.
After
John’s death at age 54, Sarah remained with her children for a while in
North Carolina. Connie Weatherly says two of her sons remained at home:
Josiah, who was about 17, and Joel, about 10. Her first son, William, was
about 32 and well-established as a judge, jurist, surveyor, and church
leader. He was the last to leave North Carolina.
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