Daniel Patriarchs (Tennessee/North Carolina) Research Notes from 1600s-1900s also known as Appendix A

 

Daniel Family Cemetery, North Carolina

Writing a nonfiction book requires hundreds of hours of research and recording findings before tackling sentences, paragraphs, sections, and chapters.  Bad Boys on the Family Tree and the 1861 Courtroom Murder in Dover, Tennessee took over five years to complete.  The back matter of the nonfiction book includes synopses of Appendices.

 While submitting my final manuscript for publication (summer of 2025), I will offer my notes to anyone interested in my research findings, reasoning, and conclusions. 

North Carolina and Tennessee Daniel patriarchs, their spouses, families, and names of enslaved people, as well as copies of legal documents and photographs. 

I have condensed the information into a manuscript titled Appendix A:  Daniel Patriarchs.   A patriarch's name heads each section.

• My 8x great-grandfather, Joseph Daniell (b. abt. 1660), Nansemond, VA (2 pages of notes)
• 7xgg Simon Daniell (b. abt 1685), Chowan County, NC (10 pages)
• 6xgg Robert Daniel (d. 1786), Tyrell & Martin County, NC (13 pages)
• 5xgg William Daniel (1747-1832), Martin County, NC (15 pages)
• 4xgg David Daniel (abt. 1777-1857), Stewart County, TN (65 pages)
• 3xgg Simon (not Thomas) Daniel (1823-1857), Stewart County, TN (46 pages). See the first page of this section below.
• 2xgg Robert Henry Daniel (1852-1912), Stewart & Houston County, TN (25 pages)
• gg Alonzo Daniel (1889-1960), Houston County, TN  (33 pages)
• Grandfather JC Daniel and my mother Dora Daniel are mentioned under Alonzo Daniel

Except for Joseph Daniell, born in the 1600s, I am confident of the above-listed Daniel Patriarchs on my line.  (Note: Two men named "Robert Daniel" lived in and around Martin County.  There is much confusion, and I believe I discovered the one that belongs on my tree.  

A condensed version of Appendix A appears at the end of my book, Bad Boys on the Family Tree and the 1861 Courtroom Murder in Dover, Tennessee.  (Simon Daniell of NC, David Daniel, Simon Daniel of TN, William Daniel, Britain Sexton, and Harrison Sexton are mentioned in the book.)  

If you would like to read the detailed notes in the complete version of Appendix A, see "Ordering Copies" at the end of this post. There is no charge for downloading.

NOTE:  I did not arrange the notes in Appendix A according to a genealogical style guide.  However, a family genealogist will find ample sources and reasoning.

My conclusions do not always agree with Ancestry.com posts or family stories. Early on, I learned to check the original court documents of everyone connected with my patriarchs, including spouses, neighbors, and in-laws. 

****If you find a mistake in my notes or have access to additional information, please contact me! I love to share information.

Appendix A includes a section on each patriarch below is an example of a page of the section on Simon Daniel and Rebecca (Sexton Daniel.

Located in Appendix A:  "SIMON DANIEL & REBECCA (SEXTON) DANIEL "  (first page of 46-page document)

Simon Daniel:  b. 11 Nov 1823  TN, d. 19 Aug 1857 TN

m. 15 Apr 1847

Rebecca Anne Sexton: b. 4 July 1828; d. 1882

My direct line, David-Simon-Robert-Alonzo-JC-Dora Daniel, was chronicled in a family Bible, family stories, and court documents.  Many of the family stories told by David’s grandson, Frank, were cherished by his daughter Frankie Sellas, who wrote them down in a bound copy (see title below) years after hearing them. She and her first cousin, Anne (Black) Scholes, wrote letters to my mother as early as 1962.  In addition, Anne owned the family Bible, which unfortunately has disappeared.  She had no heirs.  Another first cousin of Sellas was Leonard Daniel, whose son, Ray, wrote down as much as he could remember.   Simon and Becky Anne (Sexton) Daniel are our common antebellum ancestors, and I have combined family stories with records to produce the following notes.  

Several family trees on Ancestry.com have added “Thomas”  to Simon’s name; however, after reviewing dozens of records, I have never seen a document with “T” or “Thomas” in addition to his given name, “Simon.”  Although a contributor has determined that “Simon Thomas Daniel” is buried in the Daniel-Cole Cemetery (known only as Cole cemetery on Google), the tombstone only indicates “Simon Daniel.”  Sellas also does not acknowledge “Thomas” in her document, "The Home Folks: 200 Years in the Cumberland Settlement." Additionally, the family Bible in Anne Scholes possession does not add “Thomas” and  Simon’s original signatures appear on several Stewart Co. Court minutes with one initial “S,” as in Fig. 1.     Another sample of Simon’s signature and handwriting is displayed in Fig. 6. 

Fig. 1   Simon Daniel’s Signature as Justice of the Peace

(Tennessee. County Court (Stewart County) Minutes,  1854-1869, Feb. 1856.  FamilySearch.com)

Ordering Copies of Appendices A, B, C, D, E (descriptions below):

To place an order, please use the "Contact" form on the CD Burr home page.  I offer free downloads of the following appendices. If you only need parts of one, let me know the patriarch's name. 

If you desire printed copies, I charge $0.25 per page plus shipping.   I have noted the number of pages next to each name/ place of birth. 

• Appendix A:  Daniel Patriarchs from North Carolina and Tennessee.  For a summary of content, see  Daniel Patriarch Research Notes

• Appendix B: Families of Matriarchs--Sexton (73 pp.), Tayloe (48 pp.), Weston (22 pp.), and Wynns (29 pp.)  The matriarch lineage completes the stories of our Daniel patriarchs.  

• Appendix C: Unrelated Daniel Families of North Carolina and Tennessee.  Several families with the last name “Daniel” arrived in Stewart County in the early 1800s, but I could find no relationship of the following men to my branch: Benjamin W. Daniel, Woodson Daniel, (a different David Daniel), Barton Daniel, and even a Rebecca Daniel, who lived at a different address than Simon's wife, Rebecca Sexton Daniel.  

• Appendix D:   "The Home Folks: 200 Years in the Cumberland Settlement" by Frankie Daniel Sellas.   This unpublished 40-page document is a pleasure to read, featuring stories passed down to Frankie from her father, Frank Daniel. However, I have found data disputing some of her memories and subjective conclusions.  Contact me to download Sellas's entire document for free or pay $10.00 (25 cents/page) + shipping for printed copies. 

• Appendix E: Standing Rock, Stewart County, TN Deed records for Daniel, Sexton, Tayloe, and Weston, include their neighbors  (44 pp.) 

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