THE TWO CORNELII
Dear Erica,
I think you’ve worked on the Roger and Shadrach Williams families of Virginia in the past. I have some merges and unmerges for that family and especially their allied family, the Cornelius Kincheloe clan.
First, regarding Cornelius Kincheloe - this Cornelius is listed as having a brother also named Cornelius Kincheloe, or Cornelius Kincheloe, the Immigrant. Of course, it would be extremely unusual to have brothers with the exact same name. In fact, there was only one Cornelius Kincheloe of this era. These two profiles represent the same man.
Cornelius ‘the immigrant’ Kincheloe Cornelius ‘the immigrant’ Kincheloe
Once merged, Cornelius Kincheloe would be shown with four wives. However there does not seem to be proof, let alone real evidence, for any of these spouses. And at least three of the four can be easily disproven.
The separate Cornelii profiles, and indeed, the multiple wives, largely spring from attempts to somehow show that this Cornelius Kincheloe married into the immediate family of Shadrach Williams (1673/4 – 1710)
@wife of Cornelius Kincheloe
@Anne Thornton Deboard (Williams)
@Jane Kincheloe (Bayliss)
@shadrach "Joane" Williams
I. CORNELIUS KINCHELOE DID NOT MARRY SHADRACH WILLIAMS
There are precious few records known of Cornelius Kincheloe. However…
On the 6th of February 1694/5, Cornelius Kincheloe served as security for a bond for an illegitimate child of Shadrach Williams.
“ … Sarah Stephens upon the Holy Gospel of God made Oath that Shedrack Williams was the true Father of a bastard Child late born of her body. Shedrick Williams and Cornelius Kinshloe do acknowledge themselves indebted to the Church Wardens of Farham Parish on behalf of the said Parish in the sum of Ten thousand pounds of tobacco …. “ (source: Richmond County Virginia Order Book 2, p. 27).
And then on 6 June 1695, Cornelius Kincheloe (Chencello) planter of North Farnham Parish, Richmond County, took deed from Shadrach Williams
“for 100 acres on the west side of Totuskey Creek along the line of said Chenchello, adjoining land of William Smith along Kincheloe Spring Branch … “ (source: Richmond County Virginia Deed Book 2, pp. 121- 123).
Based upon these records mentioning both Shadrach and Cornelius, but seemingly nothing more, many people claimed and still claim that Cornelius Kincheloe’s wife was Shadrach Williams.
However, Shadrach is a male name - like William and John - and not a female name. And Shadrach Williams of the records above, and every other related record, is a male. Therefore, Cornelius Kincheloe’s wife Shadrach “Joane” Williams is an error. There was NO Shadrach "Joane" Williams. . This is an attempt to keep the Shadrach, but somehow claim that he was a she, and he had the nickname Joane. (The fictitious nickname name Joane was possibly a guess from Shadrach‘s mother Joane).
II. CORNELIUS KINCHELOE DID NOT MARRY A DAUGHTER OF SHADRACH WILLIAMS
When apprised of the fact that Shadrach was a man, some researchers then claimed that Cornelius Kincheloe married a daughter of Shadrach Williams, instead of Shadrach himself.
Beyond the lack of any record showing Shadrach had a daughter who married Cornelius, the surviving North Farnham Parish records prove that this Shadrach Williams, son of Roger and Joane, was christened on 7 February 1673/4 in what was then Old Rappahannock County, Virginia. (source: The Registers of North Farnham Parish, 1663 – 1814, digital images on FamilySearch.org Film # 007897249, p. 94, (http://www.familysearch.org : accessed 22 February 2024) .
It was therefore impossible for Shadrach b. 1673/4 to have had a daughter who grew up and married by the 1690s. This “unnamed daughter of Shadrach Williams” who supposedly married Cornelius Kincheloe could not and did not exist. Hundreds and hundreds of trees on ancestry and elsewhere, published by people copying other trees without question, perpetuate this error.
On Geni, a second wife of Cornelius Kincheloe is listed as a daughter of Shadrach Williams and Joan Frith / Firthe. This unnamed daughter’s birth year is listed as 1667, which was suspiciously the estimated birth date of Shadrach Williams by people who did not know of the existence of the North Farnham parish record. Her birthplace is listed as Richmond County Virginia, which did not exist at this time. Her death date is listed as 1722. This is “coincidentally” the year that Cornelius Kincheloe’s son John Kincheloe first deeds part of the 100 acres listed in the reference above. And these are the exact same dates given the non-existent Shadrach “Joane” Williams.
Since this daughter/wife doesn't even have a name, it seems these birth and death dates are likely fictitious. And clearly, were she born anywhere near 1667, she could not have a father born in 1673/4, six years later. Her supposed father Shadrach Williams is recorded on Geni as being born in 1616 and dying in 1670. Obviously, these are not the same dates as the Shadrach Williams b. 1673/4 discussed above.
It’s not clear whether these birth and death years are supposed to refer to the Shadrach Willliams in the records cited above, or to a different man of the same name. There do not appear to be any records of an earlier Shadrach Williams in Virginia. I also looked to find any record in the Williams family tree or even in English vital records, without locating a suitable Shadrach. To make this even further suspect, the wife of the questionable Shadrach Williams b. 1616 is listed as Joane Frith / Firth / Thrift . But that is supposedly the mother of the “real” Shadrach Williams b. 1673/4, and the wife of Roger Williams, not the wife of a likely imagined Shadrach Williams b. 1616.
In short, Cornelius Kinchenloe's wife could not be the daughter of the Shadrach Williams who is mentioned with him in a several surviving records. And simply creating another man who's unsourced birth and death dates might work appears to be an unsuccessful attempt to have one’s Shadrach cake and eat it, too.
III. CORNELIUS KINCHELOE DID NOT MARRY A SISTER OF SHADRACH WILLIAMS
In still another attempt to connect Shadrach Williams to Cornelius Kincheloe, some researchers claim that Cornelius was married to a sister of Shadrach. This probably stems from realizing that Shadrach Williams was a man, so he couldn’t be married to Cornelius Kincheloe, and that Shadrach was too young to have a daughter who married Cornelius. So why not say Cornelius married a sister of Shadrach?
One of Shadrach William’s sisters, Anne Williams Thornton Deboard. is currently listed on Geni as another wife of Cornelius. Anne Williams is proven to have married Henry Thornton and later James Deboard. (source: Richmond County Virginia Deed Book 8; Part 3, p. 375). However, there is no evidence whatsoever that Anne Williams also married Cornelius Kincheloe. In fact, she could not have married Cornelius.
In 1722 and 1724 Richmond County deeds, Cornelius’s son John Kincheloe sells the 100 acres originally purchased from Shadrach Williams by his father. The 1724 deed contains the following language:
“which land was by Shadrack Williams by Deed bareing date the 26th day of June 1695 sold and conveyed unto Cornelius Kenchilo, Father unto aforesd. John, by who's decease the same became the proper inheritance in fee simple of sd. John to whom it descended as Heir at Law of Cornelius Kenchilo, (source: Richmond County Virginia Deed Book 8, pp. 247-248).
The legal wording of this document stating “proper inheritance in fee simple” and “Heir at Law” is important. It proves that Cornelius Kincheloe died intestate. It also indicates that his wife probably predeceased him, and that she was almost certainly dead by 1724. Had she been alive, she would have been entitled to her widow’s life estate or dower interest in 1/3 of the property, and / or would have also been required to sign the deed of conveyance to clear title. Cornelius’s son John Kincheloe would also not have held the 100 acres as proper inheritance in fee simple had his mother (or even a stepmother ) still been alive in 1724.
Anne Williams Thornton Deboard was still alive in 1724. In fact, in 1726, two years later, her son Roger Thornton sold land inherited from Anne’s husband and Roger’s father Henry Thornton. This deed is an example of reservation of dower rights, and describes property as:
“land granted to Henry Thornton, Father of sd. Roger Thornton, dated the fifth day of July 1695 … excepting and reserving unto Anne Deboard, Mother of Roger Thornton her life in the land “ (source: Richmond County Virginia Deed Book 8, p. 375).
Anne Williams Thornton Deboard also gave a deposition on 5 October 1727, stating her age was about 60, and that she was the wife of James Deboard. (source: Richmond County, Virginia Account Book Part I, p. 15-16).
So unless these primary source documents are incorrect, Anne Williams could not have been the wife of Cornelius Kincheloe. Similarly, as shown by a number of additional surviving records, Shadrach’s other sisters Elizabeth, Susannah, Rebecca and Ruth were all also alive as of 1724, and thus none of these women could have been a wife of Cornelius Kincheloe.
IV. THERE IS NO EVIDENCE THAT CORNELIUS KINCHELOE MARRIED A JANE BAYLISS
The final wife of Cornelius Kincheloe as currently listed on Geni is a certain Jane Bayless / Bayliss. There was a contemporaneous Bayliss family in the Old Rappahannock/Richmond counties area of Virginia. They are tangentially connected to the Williams and Kincheloe clans, but I cannot find an appropriate Jane Bayless in this family, nor any direct Kincheloe - Bayless link. The only Bayliss head of household in the area, and of the right age was a certain Robert Bayliss. His 1691 will does not list a daughter Jane. While his widow did carry this common name, her will and the will of subsequent husbands do not show any Kincheloe connection. (source: Richmond County, Virginia Order Book , p. 87).
V. CHILD(REN) OF CORNELIUS KINCHELOE
The children of a combined Cornelius Kincheloe would be listed on Geni as John Kincheloe, Cornelius Kincheloe, Jr., Arthur Kincheloe., and Peter Kincheloe.
As noted in the 1722 and 1724 deeds above, John Kincheloe is a proven son of Cornelius Kincheloe:
“unto Cornelius Kenchilo, Father unto aforesd. John, by who's decease the same became the proper inheritance in fee simple” (source: Richmond County Virginia Deed Book 8, pp. 247-248).
There does not appear to be any evidence for an Arthur Kincheloe. Similarly, there is no evidence for a Cornelius Kincheloe Jr., son of Cornelius. John Kincheloe’s eldest son was named Cornelius Kincheloe. The North Farnham Parish records note his christening on 8 October 1721 (source: The Registers of North Farnham Parish, 1663 – 1814, digital images on FamilySearch.org Film # 007897249, p. 94, (http://www.familysearch.org : accessed 22 February 2024). With some original confusion about dates, some people incorrectly attributed early records of this Cornelius son of John, as a Cornelius Jr. But this Cornelius was the grandson of the original Cornelius, not the son.
Peter Kinslow was born roughly 1734 according to Geni as well as several census records. Given that Cornelius Kincheloe was proven to have died before 1722, it would have been extremely difficult for him to have risen from the dead and had a child decades later. While this is not the case on Geni, other online family trees incorrectly place Peter Kinchelow as a son of a mythical Cornelius Jr. This appears to be an attempt to link Peter’s descendants back to the “older” line. However, comparison of the y-DNA shows that this is a different family entirely and that the Peter / Conrad Kinchlow families probably descend from a German family originally called Kunzle
John Kincheloe, Sr. @Peter Kincheloe @Arthur Kincheloe
CONCLUSION:
As much as many descendants would love to know the name of Cornelius Kincheloe‘s wife, there’ does not seem to be any proof, nor even really any strong evidence of her identity. The commonly repeated articles, books, and online trees showing Cornelius’s wife as Shadrach Williams / Shadrach “Joane” Williams, or a daughter of Shadrach Williams, or a sister of Shadrach Williams, are apparently all in error. In addition, John Kincheloe seems to be the only known and proven son and probably only child of the original Cornelius Kincheloe.
- Michael W. Walker
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