In the 1750s, James Carlile tilled the gently rolling countryside of Tarnaneal, parish of Donagh, County Monaghan, Ireland. Another Carlile lived there, too, probably also farmed and was likely James’ brother.

Centuries have changed the farming community of Tarnaneal little or St. Salvadore’s Church, a protestant congregation in nearby Glaslough going back more than 300 years. Behind the old stone church, a weathered stone approximately four by eight feet in size marks the final resting place of eight Carliles spanning three generations. The inscription reads:
As A Token of Conjugal and Filial Affection This Stone was Erected Over The Remains Of The Late Francis Carlile of Tirnaneal who departed this life Aug 24, 1793 Aged 65
Beneath Are Likewise Deposited The Bodies Of His Wife Mary and Daughters Elizabeth, Agnes and Margaret Also His Son James and Grandsons David and Francis

There can be little doubt the patriarch, Francis, and our ancestor, James, were brothers. From the inscription on the stone, we learn that Francis was born in 1728. We know James arrived in America in 1769 and was dead by 1771, most likely at a young age. Ocean voyages to the New World were undertaken by only the most hardy, though once reaching their destination, unfamiliar bacteria sent many emigrants to an early grave. The ages of his children indicate that at the time of death, James may have been around 40.

Again from the burial stone, we learn Francis had a son James. Our ancestor, James, named his first son Francis. Besides the common practice of passing family names from parent to child, during Francis and James’ time, siblings routinely honored each other by naming children for a brother or sister. Suggesting further evidence of a family connection, both had a daughter named Margaret. Perhaps it's merely a coincidence or perhaps it's the name of a sister or their mother.

Clearly, Francis was affiliated with St. Salvadore’s Church, which is located on the grounds of Castle Leslie, a family home where travelers can now find a bed and breakfast. The relationship of modern-day Carliles living in County Monaghan, Ireland to the Sarretts of Georgia is unknown, but in a 2004 face-to-face meeting, some Georgia Carliles, who are our distant cousins, noted an astounding physical resemblance.


The Ship Hopewell

What prompted James to leave Ireland and Francis to stay? Perhaps Francis was the oldest son and tradition dictated that he inherit all of their father's property. Whatever the reason, James Carlile sailed for America in the fall of 1769 with his young family. Pious Presbyterians, James and his wife, Ann Irvine Carlile, and their young children left Belfast aboard the crowded ship Hopewell and arrived in Savannah, GA in December after six weeks at sea.

After waiting several days in the hull of the ship for clearance to leave the harbor, the passengers sailed up the Savannah River to a plantation for immigrants near Queensborough, GA. But when the plantation failed to live up to its advertising, several families, including the Carliles, hired the ship's captain to take them to Charleston. There James and Ann were treated well and granted land at Long Cane in the old Ninety-Six District which later became Abbeville.


Abbeville

The trip by wagon from Charleston to Long Cane was grueling, but the land was beautiful and the family settled near other Presbyterian families who had come down mainly through the Shenandoah Valley. Perhaps the hardships of settling the new land took its toll on the Carliles, because the Court of Ordinary in Charleston showed that James was dead by Dec 6, 1770 when they appointed administrators for his estate.

Possibly Ann had died that year also, because court records indicate daughter, Jane, and a Samuel Paxton were appointed to administrator James' estate. Perhaps James and Ann died from what sent many new emigrants to an early grave, an ailment referred to at the time as "gripes of the gut." Throughout the colonies, large numbers of adults died shortly after arriving simply because their systems could not adapt. However, emigrant children and first generation Americans tolerated radical differences in bacteria far better.

The Charleston, S.C. Court of Ordinary recorded the proceedings as follows:Citation granted to Samuel Paxton and Jane Carlile daughter of James Carlile of Long Canes to Administer the Estate and Effects of James Carlile late of Long Canes, Prince William Parish, Craven County as nearest of kin. To be read in the Parish Church aforesaid and returned certified (by the minister), granted 6th December 1770.

Estate Inventory

By the time an inventory of James' effects was appraised and certified on Oct 22, 1771, Jane had married a McKinley. James Carlile had a sizable library when he died, indicating that he was literate and deeply interested in religion. Some of the inventory items reported were:

4 Bibles, 1 big bible, 82 question books, 1 Willeson't Sacramental Catechism, 1 Fisher's Arithmetick, 1 A Confession of Faith, 1 Boston Four Fold State (slate?), 1 The Holy War, 1, The Gospel Sonnets, 5 volumns Reading Made Easy and Primers, 1 Doram's Exposition of the Ten Commandments, 1 Ansley's Night Thoughts, 1 spelling book, 1 Isaac Ambres on the Heart Psalm Books, 1 The Dealers Companion,1 The Nonsuch, 1 Professor Russell's Sermons, 1 old dictionary, 1 Bookkeeping Methodised, 1 Religious Courtship,1 The Cloud of Witnesses, 1 volumn Harvey's Dialogs, 23 chairs, and an abundance of shop and carpenter's tools.

From the contents of his library and the number of chairs listed, James could have also been a teacher or minister as well as a farmer.


Royal Grant

In 1775, a royal grant of 400 acres in the name of James Carlile was signed by William Bull, Esq., Lieutenant Governor, Province of South Carolina. The grant, made five years after James' death, was termed a memorial and apparently intended as a rememberance by his family. The land was situated in Granville County "between the waters of the North West Fork of Long Canes and Great Rocky Creek in the Ninety Six District,...Survey certified the 3d of March 1775, and granted 4th May 1775...at a rate of 4 shilling...per 100 acres."

The grant was received by John W. McKinley, probably the husband of James' daughter, Jane. The property was likely located on the west side of what is now S.C. Highway 81 back toward Rocky River.

1. Jane Carlile, probably born in Ireland about 1750, married a McKinley, possibly John W., in South Carolina around 1771.

2. Francis Carlile, born in County Monaghan, Ireland May 27, 1757, died Dec 27, 1814 before pensions were authorized by the U.S. government for Revoluntionary War service. An army captain during the war, Francis fought at the Battles of Cowpens in South Carolina and Kettle Creek in Washington, GA; married Margaret McGill Dec 17, 1782. This line has been extensively documented by Joe Sissom.

Francis' baptism on May 29, 1757 was recorded in the Cahans Baptismal Register as follows: 1757 May 27th born, bapt. 29th, Francis, to James Carlile, farmer and Ann Irvin his wife in Tarnaneal, parish of Donagh, County Monaghan.

3. James Carlile, born in County Monaghan, Ireland May 23, 1763, died April 9, 1842, married Margaret Boles Oct 15, 1783.

4. Margaret Carlile married William Boles, brother of our grandmother, Margaret Boles, in 1786 and moved to Mississippi.