Family History

Genealogy is so neat I have been working on mine for over Thirty years and can say I have loved every Minute of it.
My sister in law and I started this long before Internet and we did this with a lot of foot work and I mean foot work.
We have climbed hills , crossed valley's waded little creeks to get to old tombstone that had been long forgotten . In doing this I have thought how hard our families have had it way back when . With great joy I know that they loved working those big farms and the fresh vegetables they harvested so they could enjoy the fruits of their labors .



on my journey to find each piece of this big puzzle I am been amazed at some of the things that happened way back then that my little mind never thought happened to people so long ago they got divorced had horrible fights there are records that I have where my Great Great Great Grandmother I will use the term she co-cocked her husband for living openly with another woman down the road.... and down the road then was like miles and miles so I know I have some good ole tough blood in these veins . I have always said there is two uses for a cast iron frying pan one is to cook with and the other to co -cock your husband !!!!! :)
I also have several Revolutionary war soldiers that have fought for our freedoms that we have today , Joshia Marcum was one of them here is a little history on him

First, Josiah Marcum stated that he had been told by his parents that he was born May 2, 1759, in Chesterfield County, Va., along the James River although he had no written evidence to prove the date. He continued that when but a child of four or five years, he moved to Prince Edward County. While Josiah was yet a boy, the family moved further westward to Bedford County where he grew to manhood and volunteered for service in the Virginia Militia as an “18 months” soldier. From Bedford, where he was enlisted, he was marched into North Carolina and was in Gates’ Defeat “only a short time” after he entered the service. He was a waggoner as well as a drummer and he explained that it was his duty to drive a baggage wagon filled with supplies to the vicinity of the battle. In his pension application, Josiah Marcum could not establish dates for any of these happenings. But he knew, and stated repeatedly for emphasis that he volunteered “in the spring immediately preceding the defeat of General Gates.” That one statement speaks volumes to the American who cares to turn back the pages of history to an account of the Revolution War years. “Gates Defeat” at Camden, S. C. on Aug. 17, 1780, has been likened to “the darkest hour before the dawn”, in the winning of the Revolution. Lord Cornwallis demolished the American Army under General Gates. The Americans lost over 2,000 men while the British losses amounted to 734. From his testimony, Josiah never forgot that retreat from Camden nor General Gates either. On Nov. 7, 1833, David Adkins, another Revolutionary War veteran, stated that he saw Josiah Marcum at Hillsbourgh in North Carolina in the American Army.” The first time he saw him, a part of the army was being marched out to a place where one of the soldiers was to be whipped. Adkins and Marcum led the procession with fife and drum. Adkins further declared that he saw Josiah Marcum beating the drum in one of the companies stationed at Hillsborough just before the defeat of General Gates. Adkins as fifer, and Marcum with the drum were marched out with a portion of the army together. But after they left Hillsborough, Adkins did not see him again “to his recollection.” Marcum stated that after the defeat of Gates he was marched back to Hillsborough where headquarters were located for a portion of the army. He spent the winter there and on scouting parties all the while continuing to drive the baggage wagon and to beat the drum. During this time he was in Campbell’s regiment under General Stephens who was in charge of the “18 months” men. Then, history tells that out of the defeat came victory. The American victory of King’s Mountain came in October, 1780. By December of the same year General Nathaniel Greene whose loyalty never was questioned, was sent to replace Gates who was retired permanently in disgrace. Then followed the Battle of Cowpens on Jan. 17, 1781 and the “Campaign of the Rivers” in which General Greene played hide-and-seek with the Red Coats along the headwaters of five flooded rivers up and down the Carolina's. By March 15, 1781, when Cornwallis attacked the Frontier Army at Guilford Courthouse, Greene held the line at Guilford after the British had chased the frontiersmen all the way across North Carolina. According to his pension declaration, Josiah Marcum held the line right along with Greene after driving the baggage wagon along the back hill country. By April of 1781, Cornwallis had moved north to Virginia and tried to Capture Governor Jefferson on the way. The last strategies of war were to bring about his historic surrender of Yorktown on Oct. 19, 1781. Josiah Marcum could not recall the date but he knew when the war was over. His 18 months of service was completed and he was discharged at Hillsborough Courthouse “in the fall of the year.” He well remembered that on his way home to Virginia, the fruit in the orchards was ripe and “many people refused to let the soldiers have any.” The remaining evidence in the pension declaration tells more of the happenings of later life in the life of Josiah Marcum. In Nov. 7, 1833, his son Stephen Marcum, then 48 years old, stated that he had seen the discharge which his father received when he left the Revolutionary War. It had been “almost 35 years ago” and he remembered well that the discharge stated that his father had served the enlistment of 18 months. Stephen, with another individual, examined the papers of his father looking for the bill of sale of a Negro woman and found the discharge: and “they had some conversation in relation to the Revolutionary War and the old man talked of other times and told many anecdotes of things which happened whilst he was a soldier.” Adding another very human touch to the record, Josiah Marcum stated that his discharged was signed by Captain Tate but “he had it washed up in his pockets about 20 or 25 years ago.” He repeated that he had no documentary evidence but gave the names of three other veterans -- Silas Wooten, Edward Burgess, and David Adkins -- who knew of his having been in the service. His last statement was that the regiment to which he had attached was commanded by Colonel Campbell. “Campbell’s Regiment” is well known in Virginia history. Robert Campbell was a famous Indian fighter before Governor Jefferson gave him a Colonel’s Commission and authorized the formation of additional units to be attached to the brigade of General William Campbell. Many of these men who served also surveyed lands in Western Virginia. Josiah Marcum was one of the few who settled in person and for many years had extensive land holdings on both sides of Tug River in both Lawrence County in Kentucky and Cabell (later Wayne) on the Virginia side. He reared a large family. His descendants in ever-increasing numbers take their places with all degrees of prominence, through all walks of life. That Josiah Marcum passed from this life on March of 1846 a few weeks before his 87th birthday. That for many years he was such an expert blacksmith and gunsmith that he was known throughout the area as “The Vulcan of the Big Sandy Valley.” A review of Hardesty’s History of Wayne County mentions the Silver Creek Church and many of her early members. Among those mentioned are John and Clara (Marcum) Kirk, John C. and Clara Marcum, Moses Marcum, Jacob and Rhoda Marcum, and Rebecca Marcum Copley. Several of the descendants of Josiah Marcum are members of the Silver Creek Church and are very active in the youth program, the choir, the ministry. They are employed as teachers, bankers, coal miners, elected officials, musicians, attorneys, merchants, and doctors. In conclusion, thank you-- Josiah Marcum --for such a proud heritage that I hold dear to my hear !!



Now on to the ............
The Castles are on my mothers side of the family.

Now to talk about Jacob (White Tassel) Castle they called him white tassel due to he was what we would call a albino .
Jacob had at least eight wives all Cherokee except Sowega,who was his first wife.Sowega was a Shawnee Indian of the Kispokotha (Warrior) Clan, from Western Pa. and the mother of his first born,Jacob,Jr. He was one of the earliest pioneers in Southwest Va and the area called Castlewoods,Va is named for him

Jacob's Shawnee name was Taumee or Taumee-Elenee. This name was anglized to White Tassel, however the actual meaning is "Corn Man". This name was bestowed, no doubt, because of his light or white silky hair, which reminded the indians of corn silk. His slender stature also contributed to the reason for the name. He was slender like the corn stalk.

Sowega (Shawnee Indian Maiden):Sowega married Jacob(White Tassel)Cassel in 1736 in Lancaster Co,Pa. Soon thereafter she change her name to Mary Elizabeth. She was a Kispokotha ( Warrior Clan) Shawnee. Waupaathee is swan in Shawnee, therefore Sowega must denote some effeminant action of a swan.,perhaps "Gliding Swan" or "Swimming Swan". The Shawnee had 34 tribes (gens or clans) or name groups, as they are sometimes refered by. The Shawnee child is named by the elder of the tribe or gen of that particular division of the nation. In this case it would be the Kispokotha (Warrior Clan)."They generally bestow a name descriptive of some act of the animal or bird which is the totem of the infant named".(Trowbridge:1939,p.26)." "Women receive names within their totem tha convey an idea of softness or effeminacy". In general Shawnee "names are always more or less descriptive of some event which has occured,or of particular anticipated points in the character of the person, or of the animal which is their totem or name group."(Towbridge:1939,p.27) Therefore it is fairly safe to assume that Sowega is a name that identifies some effeminate nature of behavior of a swan.