Sunday, December 28, 2008

The Kaylors of Lincoln County N.C.



The Kaylors first arrived in Lincoln County in 1790 when records show that Heinrich or Henry Kaylor purchased a large tract of land on Clark's Creek. They came from Pennsylvania, part of the large wave of German immigrants who traveled down the Great Wagon Road and settled in the Piedmont region of North Carolina. At the time, George Washington was the President, and America still consisted of only 13 states. Heinrich Kaylor was accompanied by his wife, Catherine, and three of their children: George, Mary, and Catherine. They lived in the area of present day Conover N.C., now part of Catawba County. Not much is known about Heinrich Kaylor but his name is found on various Lincoln County documents from the first half of the decade. His signature was in heavy German script suggesting he was probably born in Germany. Heinrich Kaylor died in 1796 and was survived by his wife, Catherine.

His son, George Kaylor, was named the administrator of his father's estate.George Kaylor was born in Pennsylvania no later than 1765. He was a millwright and apparently someone of above average education as his handwriting was in well formed English script. He often signed his name as J George Kaylor and was either very active in public life or in land dealings as his name is found proving many deeds and wills. According to the Census, George Kaylor had many children, but only four of their names are known: George Jr., Henry, John and Joseph. The name of his wife is unknown and he may have been married more than once. George Kaylor apparently died in the late 1820's because his name didn't appear on the 1830 census or any other known records after 1828. He was most likely buried at the St. Peters Lutheran Church cemetery in Conover, North Carolina.

George Kaylor Jr., the oldest son, was born in Pennsylvania in 1790, the same year the family migrated to North Carolina. He was a farmer who lived most of his life in Lincoln County but eventually settled in nearby Iredell County with his wife, Catherine Wagner. Early Lutheran Church records show that George and Catherine were members of Sharon Lutheran Church in Iredell County. He was listed on the 1850 Census as George Kyler of Iredell County and is believed to have died in the early 1850's.























Henry Kaylor(1793-1862) was a millwright, like his father. He married Elizabeth Herman and they had ten children, including George Emmanuel Kaylor, pictured above, who was killed during the Civil War and David Kaylor, pictured below. During the war, George Kaylor wrote numerous letters to his family that provide an insight into what life was like in the early 1860's. Another son, Henry Frank Kaylor, migrated to Oregon sometime before the Civil War and thus extended the family legacy to the western region of the United States. Henry and Elizabeth attended St. Peter's Lutheran Church in Conover, N.C.






John Kaylor(1805-1880s) married a woman named Eve Bolick. He was a farmer who lived the first half of his life in Lincoln County before eventually settling in nearby Caldwell County. John and Eve Kaylor had ten children but lost three of their sons during the Civil War.

Joseph Kaylor(1808-1871) was a farmer who lived most of his adult life in nearby McDowell County. He married Nancy Crago and they had eight children. Both are buried at the Bethel Baptist Church cemetery in McDowell County, N.C.

Catharine Kaylor, daughter of Henry and Catherine, was born in Pennsylvania in 1785. Also known as Catharina and Katy, she worked as a spinster and lived most of her life in Lincoln County. She was referred to as "my beloved friend Katy Kaylor" in Elizabeth Urich's will and was left 25 dollars, a loom, and tacklings. Shortly before 1840, Catherine moved to Gilmer County, Georgia with others from Lincoln County. She is found on the 1850 Census living in Forsyth County, Georgia.

Mary Kaylor, daughter of Henry and Catherine, married William Herman of Lincoln County.

It remains a mystery as to when this family first arrived in America as do most of the details of their time in Pennsylvania. In modern times, the descendants of these early Kaylors are scattered throughout the nation, but the biggest majority of Kaylor descendants continue to live in the Piedmont region of North Carolina where the family first settled nearly 220 years ago.



email: dwftree@hotmail.com





If anyone has additional information about the early Kaylor history or old photos they're willing to share, please contact me at the address listed above.

16 comments:

Lawrence H Shepard said...

Dear Kaylor Family, or I suppose I could say distant family member. We are related via the following: Henry Kaylor married Elizabeth Herman and had a daughter Elizabeth Catherine Kaylor. Elizabeth Catherine Kaylor married David Johnson Drum (my great grandfather. They produced Leona Drum who married John McLee Stine (my grandparents). They produced my mother, Virginia Alice Stine who married my father. I enjoy reading your posts about my distant relatives. Keep the information coming. If you have any more info about my lineage please let me know.

Lawrence H. Shepard

David said...

Hi Lawrence. It's good to hear from you. My mother was a Kaylor from Hickory, N.C, and we're descended through Henry Kaylor's youngest son, David Kaylor, the brother of your ancestor Elizabeth Kaylor. I still might add a few more things as time goes on. I don't know a great deal about Elizabeth Kaylor, but I know she was mentioned in her brother, George Emmanuel Kaylor's, Civil War letters to home.

Shari said...

Have you seen this site: http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/BRETHREN/2000-05/0958682869 - do you think that Hannah's maiden name could have been "Longcrier"? I have actually seen that reference on two sites now.

jesskaylor said...

Hi I don't know if you will get this but my husband is 26 and is from Newton North Carolina...is there any way of knowing if this is part of his family, his living family doesn't tell him much or doesn't know much. Thank you
~Jess

David said...

Jess, If your husband is a Kaylor from Newton, N.C., there is a very high probability he is descended from the early Kaylors written about on this blog. Obviously, it would take more information to know for sure or exactly what the connection is.

jesskaylor said...

Hi David,is there anywhere that you know where I can see maybe a family tree from recent kaylors and older ones too. I do not know where to start
~Jess

David said...

Hi Jess, Unfortunately I don't know of where to find a family tree of recent Kaylors like you mentioned. That's probably a little too broad. The best place to start is the Census, looking for either his father or grandfather or however far back your husband knows about. Once you have a few names you can often find some information just by searching on google.

Jonathan Ziegler said...

Hi! Thanks for all the great info. Do you know of any connection to an A.A. or Alfred Kaylor (1846-1912) ( http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=18020033 ) I can't find any information that connects him to any of the other Kaylors on this site. Do you have any suggestions?

Unknown said...

Is this blog still active?

Unknown said...

Wow. So neat finding this site. I am a direct descendant of Henry Kaylor on my father's side. Heinrich "Henry" > George > Henry > George Emmanuel > Joseph Eli > Raymond L.> James Horace > Charles Ray > Me-Elizabeth. I would love any other info you may have about my family.

David said...

Hi Elizabeth. I'm glad you found this site and found it helpful. Unfortunately, I don't have any additional info on your part of the family tree. My line goes through one of the other sons of Henry Kaylor, David Kaylor, so that's the part of the family I'm mostly familiar with in modern times.

Anonymous said...

I'm a decendent of Anne J Kaylor - her family history is a mystery aside from she spent a majority of her life in California with my paternal grandfather Eldin Leo Edwards. Fascinating stuff. My father has always claimed she was a decendent of the Calvert family (Lord Baltimote - founder of Maryland). Wonder if she has some connection to the North Carolina Kaylors.

Unknown said...

My gg grandfather was Raymond. My grandfather was Robert Glenn Kaylor who was Horaces brother.Would love to talk about Kaylor genealogy. My current active email is markkaylor@ymail.com.

Jack Kaylor said...

I am a descendant from Kaylor's who migrated from North Carolina to Tazwell, Tennessee. They spelled the name Caylor until my Grandfather moved to Benham, Kentucky after WWI. I am wondering if thee is a connection to your family as I know they came from Germany. Have any of you taken a DNA test? I had one with Ancestry.com.

Jack Kaylor

Barbara said...

Is this blog still active?

bjwilliam1943 @gmail.com said...

It looks like we are related my Great grandmother was Kissiah Elizabeth Kaylor she marry Thomas Jefferson Willis 29 april 1869 Pickens County Georgia Her AFN is LH3Q-GY8 also her grave ID # is 32819781. Her father was Daniel C Kaylor and Sarah Robinson and his father was George Kaylor and his mother was Hanna Longecrier. My grandparents were Ida Lavada Willis and James Randolph Jones. My research is the Jones family I have somewhere in my pictures a photo of Kissian and Thomas Willis.
I have heard that the Kaylor is from Germany and that one time it was spell with a 'C' I hope this will help fill in some of the blanks

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