Charles Duncan of Culpeper County, Virginia

©  Kathy Duncan, 2019

The biggest problem facing us as genealogists is erroneous secondary sources. They take on a life of their own and are hard to combat. They become even more problematic when they are used to create new records that many of us think of as primary sources, such as FindaGrave memorials.

Charles Duncan of Culpeper County, Virginia is a case in point. Many online sources, including his FindaGrave memorial and FamilySearch contributors, have cited his place of death as Muddy Creek, Madison County, Kentucky, despite the fact that tax records and his probate in Culpeper County, Virginia point to his place of death as Culpeper County. In addition, as a collective, they suggest that he probably never set foot in Madison County, Kentucky.

Here, those records will be examined in date order.

First up, is the 1788 Culpeper Tax List. Charles Duncan's entry was recorded on 8 May. You can see William Jr. and William Sr. further down this list.

1788 Tax List. Culpeper Co., VA

By the following year, 1789, Charles Duncan's estate is listed on the Culpeper County, Virginia tax list, indicating that he is deceased. Note that William Duncan Sr. is still on this list.

1789 Tax List. Culpeper Co., VA

It would be possible for a man to relocate and die, leaving land in his previous place of residence that would generate a listing in the tax records of his previous county. However, the tax list above does not reference land. The four columns next to Charles Duncan's name indicate the poll taxes and personal property taxes to be paid. Column one indicates three whites over 16 years of age; column two indicates one black over 16 years; column three indicates one black or white between the age of 12 and 16; column four indicates four horses.

The inventory of Charles Duncan's household that was filed in October 1789 paints a portrait of a residence:

Culpeper Co. VA; Bk C, p. 353

We get a picture of a farm with hogs, sheep, cattle, farm implements, a table and chairs, pewter plates, cups and saucers, a looking glass, forks, knives, a pepper box, a loom, an old chest. It's a picture of a home where people still live. If the Duncans had removed to Kentucky before this point, they would have either taken these items with them or sold them. They would not have abandoned them.

The 1791 Culpeper County, Virginia tax list is very telling.

1791 Tax List. Culpeper Co., VA.

In 1791, we see Charles Duncan's widow Sarah Duncan listed as head of household. Along with Susan are "N. S. & C." Those initials stand for the Duncan sons who were of age: Nimrod, Shadrack, and Charles Duncan. Notice that the entry below Susan belongs to "William Duncan (son to Charles)." Charles Duncan is not on this list because he is deceased. Two years after Charles's death in 1789, his widow and children were still living in Culpeper County, Virginia.

They were still in Culpeper County, Virginia in 1792:

1792 Tax List. Culpeper Co., VA

And still there in 1793:

1793 Tax List. Culpeper Co., VA

However, something else was afoot in 1793. That was the year that Sarah Duncan sought to sell out the land and petitioned the court to allow her to sell by requesting a partition of the land.

An abstract of the petition reads as follows:

Archives, Richmond, VA: Petition of Sarah Duncan, October 28, 1793; The petition of Sarah Duncan, widow of Charles Duncan, dec'd, Mary, Nimrod, William, Charles, Shadrack Duncan, children of the said Charles Duncan and Sarah Duncan, in behalf of themselves and Isaac, John, Milly, Henry, Zachery and Elizabeth Duncan, children of the aforesaid Charles and Sarah Duncan, but now under age, humbly showeth that in March 1789, the aforesaid Charles Duncan died intestate leaving aforesaid heirs to a certain tract of land in Culpeper Co., 355 acres which according to the laws of the State must be equally divided among the said children, but such is the situation, it will by no means admit of a division and your petitioners humbly pray that an act may pass vesting the said lands in the hands of John Thornton, John Slaughter Jr., Charles Browning, Isaac Browning, Gent., or any three of them to dispose of on the most advantageous terms for the benefit of the said widow and children aforesaid. Signed Sarah Duncan. Witnesses: Mary Covington, Nimrod Duncan, William Duncan, Charles Duncan and Shadrack Duncan.

In 1794, Sarah Duncan and children were still in Culpeper Co., Virginia:

1794 Tax List. Culpeper Co.,VA

It was not until January 1795, almost six years after the death of Charles, that Sarah Duncan and household finally turned up in Madison County, Kentucky:

1795 Tax List. Madison Co., KY.

Sarah Duncan's entry on this tax list indicates she has 150 acres on Tate's Creek waterway, one white male over 21, one white male over 16 and under 21, one black over 16 (probably a male), five blacks total, four horses, and two cows.

Revised 27 August 2019.