Many in my local Castleberry group believe that our John Castleberry (born about 1802) lived in Talbot and Putnam County, Georgia and was the son of Jeremiah Castleberry, born January 23, 1765. Understandably, they are trying to tie into the book, Castleberry and Allied Families, by Jesse Wendell Castleberry, published 1965. After careful research and healthy skepticism, I can clearly say that it is not true. Our John Castleberry instead is from Warren County, Georgia, and then moved to Butts and Upson counties, both in Georgia. This article will show the evidence, using both DNA and paper.

A simplified family tree to follow along with. Click image to enlarge. For a full family tree, please visit ancestry.com.

A lot of my close family have taken a DNA test via Ancestry.com. One day I was contacted by Derek Ennis Veal. He was contacting people who matched DNA with the Ennis family. He asked, “Are you a descendant of John Castleberry?” And I answered, “Why yes!”. There is a marriage record from Warren County, Georgia where John Castleberry marries Ursula Ennis, January 15, 1824. It turns out that members of my close family match DNA segments with some descendants of Elias Nathaniel Ennis (1755-1826). Elias and Winnie Tarver are the parents of Ursula Ennis.

Not long after talking with Derek Ennis Veal, I remembered the family bible record that my 1st cousin 1x removed has. This bible was published in 1850 and has been passed down through generations of our family. Some parts are a little hard to read, especially the marriages page. I took a closer look at the writing. It states, “John Casel Berry and usy enes wase Mared on the 24 of January in the year of eighteen hundred and twenty foure 1824”. Clean up the spelling and grammar and you get “John Castleberry and Usy Ennis were married on the 24th of January in the year of eighteen hundred and twenty four.” The date in January is likely different because of the date the marriage license was acquired vs. the date of the ceremony. Usy is short for Ursula.

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This bible matches the 1850 Butts County census and the 1860 Upson County census. The 1850 census particularly matches. The husband and wife are the same, and the children match the birthdates. In the 1850 census, John has the occupation of “Factory” and the 1860 census John and two adult children have the occupation “Fact hand”. In Upson County, there is Waymanville road heading southeast of Thomaston, and there was a cotton mill in an area that was once called Waymanville. So it’s very likely that John and his family worked in the cotton mill.

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My 1st cousin 1x removed also has a petit jury duty summons for John Castleberry in Upson county, dated September 11th, 1860. Transcribed, it reads, “10 Georgia Upson County To John Castle Bury Greeting you are hereby Commanded, that laying all Business a side you Personally Be and appear at a Superior Court, to Be held and in the County aforesaid, on the Second Monday in November next, at 10 OClock in the forenoon To Be Sworn on the Petit Jury, hereof fail not under the Penalty of forty dollars, Given under my hand This 11th day of Sept 1860 A.B. Mallory Dept Staff”

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Furthermore, Jacob C. Castleberry (February 28, 1842-April 9, 1904), son of John Castleberry, married Mary Virginia Isdol on September 30, 1866. She was the daughter of James T Isdol (December 16 1826-October 15, 1863) and Leviticus Jordan (August 26, 1832-June 29, 1904). Leviticus Jordan was a resident of Upson county, Georgia, living not far from the Waymanville factory. We match DNA with other descendants of James T Isdol and Leviticus Jordan.

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Castleberry and Allied Families states that John Castleberry from Putnam County married Elizabeth Wood on January 12, 1835 and Louisa Bagwell on November 9, 1837. Since my Jacob C. Castleberry was born 1842, that would make some of our DNA match Louisa Bagwell’s family. It does not, but instead it matches Ursula Ennis’ family. My local Castleberry family descends from Jacob C. Castleberry.

A final piece of evidence is the 1821 Georgia Land Lottery. There were two fortunate drawers named John Castleberry. One is registered in Warren county, the other is registered in Putnam county. The land lottery rules bars people from registering in more than one county. Thus, there are two different John Castleberrys.

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Possibilities of Parentage

Castleberry and Allied Families, page 6, states that John Castleberry, Sr. died in 1802 in Hancock Co. Georgia. His will was proved there on January 30, 1802. One son was Jeremiah Castleberry, born January 23, 1765. Jeremiah had a son named John Castleberry, born February 11, 1803 (Castleberry and Allied Families page 13), clearly named after his grandfather. But this John Castleberry lived in Putnam and Talbot counties, Georgia. Perhaps another male descendant of John Castleberry, Sr. had a son named John Castleberry after his father died. From page 6, who’s left is Henry Castleberry, John Castleberry Jr., and James Castleberry.

Insights & Takeaways

When there is a common name like John and multiple possibilities of an ancestor, you can use DNA matches with the (potential) wife’s family to determine lineage. Also, contact family members to see if they have documents. Get multiple members of your family to do a DNA test, including cousins. The more DNA coverage you have, the more people you will match – especially the more distant matches. A cousin might match someone that nobody else does, unlocking clues. You can use DNA matches like a compass. It can tell you the direction you need to head, but it won’t tell you the answers. You’ll need to look to paper for that. Traveling to places that hold records can help immensely. There are so many records that aren’t online.