1850 Census, Knox County, Kentucky

I do not know if this John Catlett was one of mine or not.  Indeed, I'm not 100% sure if the correct transcription of his surname is Catlett or Cattell.  I believe it's Catlett, but I am not sure.

The birth places of the children are instructive.  It appears that this John Catlett was in Tennessee at the time of the 1840 census.  There were two John Catletts in Tennessee in the 1840 census.  One of them was in Sevier County.  He was still in Sevier County in 1850, and was one of mine.  The other John Catlett in the 1840 Tennessee census was in Claiborne County.  Claiborne County, Tennessee adjoins the Kentucky state line and is not far from Knox County, Kentucky.  Also, the ages of the children between John Catlett of the 1840 census in Claiborne County, Tennessee and the John Catlett of the 1850 census in Knox County, Kentucky are consistent with each other.  So I think it's the same man.

I do not know if this William Messamore was one of mine or not.  He was the right age to have been the son of my fourth great grandparents William/Wilhelm Messamore and Margarthe Elizabeth (Peggy) May, and to have been the brother of my third great grandmother Anna F. Messamore.  Also, this William would fit in the family because there is a gap in the list of known children between 1803 and 1811.

However, to the best of my knowledge my William Messamore was still in Virginia until at least 1817 when Anna was born, and probably didn't arrive in Tennessee until the early 1820's.  This William is listed as having been born in Tennessee about 1806.  I make note of the fact that the father and mother of Parks D. Messamore were listed as having been born in Virginia and Tennessee, respectively, in the 1880 census.  However, Thomas J. Messamore listed both of his parents as having been born in Tennessee in the 1880 census.