SLIG 2007: You Wouldn't Think a Name Could Be Spelled So Many Ways!

2007:  This project had a three-fold goal: (1)To determine in which states/colonies the Cawby family resided; (2) Learn the name of John Cawby's wife; and (3) Determine the birthplace of Martin Cawby Sr. [consultants: Jim Petty & Natalie Cottrell]

The biggest problem with the Cawby family was spelling variations. A fellow researcher had come up with about 60 versions of the name over the years. I would add to that number during the week. It seems the name could begin with either a 'C' or 'G,' so just about every spelling was doubled!

My primary lead, provided by the above mentioned researcher, was the possibility that the Cawbys came from North Carolina, perhaps the Catawba River Valley. As luck would have it, on the top shelf of the North Carolina section of the Family History Library was a book entitled
German Speaking People West of the Catawba River in North Carolina 1750 - 1800 and Some Emigres Participation in the Early Settlement of Southeast Missouri
 It  included a chapter on a Johannes Gabi/Cabi. That began the new run on different spellings. Johannes settled in Lincoln Co., NC about 1789. His unidentified first wife had apparently died before the family arrived in Carolina. He had arrived in Philadelphia and settled in Maryland.

A check of Maryland sources did not reveal any details, other than establishing Johannes' residence there. Based on the dates of birth of John's children, they were Maryland born.

The Lincoln Co., NC records gave a good account of Cawby's two decades there. Deeds were interesting to research since so much attention had to be paid to "anything close" to Cawby.

The Cawbys first appeared in Kentucky records in 1809. This matched beautifully with the end of Cawby records in North Carolina. The names that had appeared in NC and then KY: John, Martin and David. The Cawbys were among a number of German families that moved from North Carolina to Jessamine Co., Kentucky.

The consensus again was that I had the right people. I had managed to accomplish two parts of the goal.