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The Cartmill/Cartmell surname project welcomes any volunteers to join us in a search for ancestral links. The DNA program is open to any researcher that is connected to a direct male descendant of the Cartmill/Cartmell lines. This program is also open to the many variations of the surname. The surname derives from the ancient village of Cartmel, which is located in the Lake District of NW England. The famous Priory there, is over 800 years old, and is the basis for the family surname. Immigration to America appears to have begun in 1685 into the contiguous counties of Chester Co. PA, Cecil Co. MD, and New Castle Co. DE. Migration to VA began about 1735, and later migration to the westward territories resulted with overlapping family lines. The three primary lines that have been researched and documented in America are Nathaniel (1685), and Henry and John in the early 1700’s. The reason for the DNA project is to attempt to separate and identify the overlapping families in early American migration, and also to embrace the global aspects of tracing our roots to Cartmel village. We have just begun this DNA test (March 2005), so it will be a month or two until we get some results. Anyone interested in participating can contact me via email at phil@cartmill-genealogy.com
Project Status, 21 Jan 2018, By Don Sticher dsticher@earthlink.net
A detailed analysis of the Y-DNA results through January 2018 is available upon request.
The Cartmill/Cartmell Family Group DNA Project was launched in March of 2005. As of January 2018 there are 20 Y-DNA test participants representing many family lines. The primary purpose of the Cartmill/Cartmell Y-DNA Project is to align the descendants of the earliest American families, Nathaniel Cartmell (1660), John Cartmill (1710) and Henry Cartmill (1716), into their proper order. Both John (1710) and Henry (1716) were born about 50-60 years after Nathaniel (c1660), putting them on a generation level equivalent to Nathaniel’s grandchildren. All three of these circa 1700 ancestors settled in the same area, and their descendants migrated westward in similar patterns. The result has been some confusion as to which family group some descendants belong that cannot be resolved with available written records.
First CARTMILL and CARTMELL Families in Virginia (1740-1755)
There were three Cartmill/Cartmell families that moved into Virginia around 1740-1750. The first family found in Virginia was the Quaker family of “Nathaniel Cartmell” (c1660) and wife Dorothy Poole. This family arrived in America around 1685 and first settled in the area around Cecil County, MD and New Castle County, DE. Nathaniel died about 1730 and Nathaniel’s widow and son Martin sold their property in Cecil County, MD in November 1738 and moved with friends and church members to Frederick County, Virginia about 1740.
The second family to move into Virginia was the “John Cartmill” (1710) family. John’s origins are uncertain but he was probably from Chester County, PA. John was granted land on the Cowpasture River in Augusta County, Virginia between 1745 and 1747.
The third family to move into Virginia was the “Henry Cartmill” (1716) family. Henry is probably a brother of John Cartmill above. Henry moved from Chester County, PA to Augusta County, Virginia about 1755-1756 and lived near John Cartmill on the Cowpasture River for the next ten years. Then, about 1765, Henry and all members of his family moved 30 miles south of the Cowpasture River into Botetourt County, VA.
The Cartmell families of Frederick County, VA and the Cartmill families of Augusta County, VA appear to be separate or unrelated families. However, the Y-DNA test results show the two families were very closely related, and, at the 67 marker level, there is no unique Y-DNA marker that distinguishes one family from the other. In other words, there is no unique Y-DNA marker that can tell if you belong to the Cartmell family group or one of the Cartmill family groups.
The results of these tests show Nathaniel Cartmell (1660), John Cartmill (1710) and Henry Cartmill (1716) were definitely related, and to a much closer degree than first suspected, with the descendant test subjects matching 65-of-67 Y-DNA markers. The tests also show John Cartmill (1710) and Henry Cartmill (1716) were almost certainly brothers.
CARTMILL and CARTMELL Family Names.
Both the Cartmill and Cartmell families used an early naming convention where fathers, sons and brothers all used the same given names for their children. The two families used some uniquely different names, enabling one to identify the probable family affiliation for some people.
The CARTMELL family names of Frederick County, Virginia.
Common names among the Cartmells were Nathaniel, Nathan, Martin, Edward, John and Thomas. There were few, if any, named James and Henry.
The CARTMILL family names of Augusta County and Botetourt County, Virginia.
Common names among the Cartmills were Henry, James, George and the ever-popular William, John and Thomas. There were no Nathaniels, Nathans, Martins or Edwards.
Recent Test Results
A Y-DNA test performed in November 2017 revealed an Australian Cartmill family with the same Y-DNA signature as the Cartmill/Cartmell families in America, matching 67-of- 67 markers with two of the American Cartmill participants. The Australian Cartmill family emigrated from County Armagh, Ireland to Australia in 1853. The origin of the County Armagh Cartmills has not been determined as of this date, but the Y-DNA results prove they are genetic cousins of the American Cartmills and share a common ancestor with the American Cartmills.
In December 2017, an upgrade from 12 markers to 37 markers for a Cartmill from Scotland revealed that he too was a close genetic cousin of the American Cartmills, matching 37-of-37 markers. The oldest known ancestor for the Scottish test subject also lived in County Armagh, Ireland.
CARTMILL families of County Armagh, Ireland
There are two test subjects whose oldest known ancestors lived in County Armagh, Ireland in the early 1800s. Both test subjects have very close DNA matches to the American Cartmills, matching 37-of-37 markers in one case and 67-of-67 markers for the other. These close matches prove the County Armagh, Ireland Cartmills share a common ancestor with the American Cartmills.
A John Cartmill can be found on the 1664 Hearth Money Roll of County Armagh, Ireland. This early date (1664) indicates a Cartmill from England was probably part of the Cromwellian Settlement of Ireland which took place from 1652 through 1659. This was an effort to supplant the native Irish population with English settlers at the end of the Irish Rebellion which had started in 1641. The Cromwellian Wars in Ireland from 1649 through 1653 were financed by private investors or "Adventurers". For each 200 pounds invested by an "Adventurer" they would be repaid with a 1000 acre grant of confiscated Irish land. Many of Cromwell's soldiers were also paid in land grants. It does appear that John Cartmill, who was in County Armagh by 1664, was either an "Adventurer", an assignee of an Adventurer or perhaps a soldier.
There were several interrelated Cartmill families in County Armagh, Ireland in the early 1800s. In addition to the below Thomas Cartmill (b.1829, son of Thomas), there was a second Thomas Cartmill in County Armagh, born 1825, whose father was Nathaniel Cartmill.
The THOMAS CARTMILL family of New South Wales and Queensland, Australia
The Thomas Cartmill (1829) family had its origins in County Armagh, Ireland. Thomas Cartmill, born 1829, married Rosann McMahon in County Armagh in January 1853. Two months later they immigrated to Australia. 1853 was at the end of the Great Potato Famine which lasted from 1845 to 1852. The famine, coupled with an offer of assisted emigration, was probably was the reason Thomas left Ireland.
Thomas, 23 years old, and Sarah, 19 years old arrived in New South Wales, Australia 28 July 1853 after a four month voyage. Their passage was paid by the Australian government, and they were also paid 2 Pounds upon their arrival as Assisted Immigrants. 2 Pounds in 1853 had the purchasing power of about $240.00 in 2016. The Assisted Immigrant Passenger Lists show Thomas was a farm laborer from Kilmore, County Armagh, Ireland and his parents were "Thomas and Sarah Cartmill both deceased". The Elder Thomas was born about 1786, place unknown.
The JOHN CARTMILL family of Glasgow, Scotland
Also in County Armagh, Ireland with Thomas Cartmill (1829) was a John Cartmill, born about 1830, who was a genetic cousin of Thomas (1829). This John (1830), or his son John (1861), immigrated to Glasgow, Scotland, where the test subject lives today. John Cartmill, the Glasgow, Scotland test subject, is a 37-of-37 marker match with the Australian test subject and several of the American Cartmills, thus proving John Cartmill (1830) and Thomas Cartmill (1829) of County Armagh, Ireland were closely related.
The close match between the Cartmills and Cartmells of America and the Cartmills of Australia and Scotland does allow one to say with some certainty they were obviously together in Cartmel Parish in England before Nathaniel Cartmill (c1660) departed there in 1685 and immigrated to America.
NATHANIEL CARTMELL I (1660-1730)
Nathaniel Cartmell I - Born about 1660 in England, died about 1730 in Delaware. Nathaniel married Dorothy Poole about 1684 and immigrated to the American Colonies around 1685 with other members of his Church (Quakers). Dorothy was born about 1667, also probably in England, and died 1750 in Frederick County, VA. They settled in an area near Wilmington, Delaware. In that area, Maryland, New Jersey, Delaware and Pennsylvania come together at a point. Records for the Nathaniel Cartmell family can be found in Chester County, Pennsylvania, New Castle County, Delaware, Cecil County, Maryland and the state of New Jersey.
The English origin of the Nathaniel Cartmell (c1660) family was uncovered by Thomas Kemp Cartmell. In his book "Shenandoah Valley Pioneers and their Descendants", published in 1908, Thomas Kemp Cartmell gives the following account of the origins of the family. Pages 416 and 417.
"The name Cartmell is from Kert, a camp or fortification, and Mell a fell. The family had its origin in the ancient Shire of Northumberland, England. “The township of Cartmell is situated in Lancashire.” The writer several years ago, in his investigation of this origin, found two descendants of the original stock residing in the township or Parish of Cartmel: they being George E. Cartmell, Treasurer of Westmoreland County, England, and his brother James, who cheerfully undertook to produce historical evidence of their relationship to the Cartmell family found in America in 1724. A large family of this name was living at that date in New Jersey, having purchased two tracts of land from the Lord Proprietors. The head of the family was Nathaniel. After long and careful research, it was found among the Shire records, that a Nathaniel Cartmell sold his belongings and “took sail with his family and certain others of the Sect of Friends,” to seek homes in the North American Colonies. In order to establish proof of the relationship, Mr. George E. Cartmell sought out the old Church Yard, where many of the name had been entombed for several centuries. There he found such family names as have been adopted by the families in America; and from this we jointly concluded that the connection was fully established".
Nathaniel died sometime before 1735, perhaps as early as 1720, leaving no will. The widow Dorothy and son Martin sold their property in Cecil County, Maryland in November 1738 and bought property in Frederick County, Virginia about 1740. Other members of their church group had previously migrated to this area of northern Virginia a few years earlier. The son Thomas chose to stay in Maryland rather than move to Virginia with the rest of the family. Dorothy died in Frederick County, VA in 1750. Dorothy left a will naming three children and seventeen grandchildren.
Nathaniel Cartmell and Dorothy Poole had either three or four children (per Dorothy’s will) as follows:
1. Martin Cartmell - Born 1685 in Chester County, PA or at sea on the way to the Colonies, died 1749 in Frederick County, VA. He married Esther about 1710, probably in Delaware or Maryland. Sold his property in Cecil County, Maryland in 1738 and moved with his mother to Frederick County, VA about 1740. Martin left a will when he died in 1749. Many of today's Cartmell families with origins in VA descend from this family. In the late 1700s and early 1800s many of Martin’s descendants moved westward from VA into KY, TN, OH and IN. A large group moved to the area just west of Columbus, OH area around 1812. Others moved to the Louisville, KY area (Bullitt & Nelson Counties), the Nashville, TN area (Wilson & Davidson Counties) and western Tennessee (Madison County) in the early 1800s.
2. Thomas Cartmell - Born 1688, died 6 March 1759 in New Castle County, DE. Thomas left a will when he died. He married Dinah Taylor 1715 in PA. Thomas elected to stay in the New Jersey/Maryland area when his widowed mother and older brother Martin moved to Frederick County, VA. When Dorothy Cartmell died in 1750 she left money to her son Thomas and grandchildren William Cartmell, Thomas Cartmell, Joseph Cartmell, Sarah Cartmell and Hannah Cartmell. Thomas’s descendants can be found in the New Jersey/Delaware area records.
3. Sarah Cartmell - Born about 1700, died after 1750 as she is named in her mother’s 1750 will. She married Thomas Chester. Little is known of Sarah Cartmell. Sarah and her husband moved to Frederick County, VA with her mother and brother Martin. Thomas Chester can be found as sheriff of Frederick County, VA in 1745/46. Thomas Chester died in 1754 and left a will. Children of Thomas Chester and Sarah Cartmell per Dorothy Cartmell’s will: Mary Chester, Susannah Chester, Thomas Chester, David Chester and Elizabeth Smith (daughter Elizabeth Chester had married Benjamin Smith).
4. Unknown Female? - The existence of this daughter is unproven. In Dorothy’s will Dorothy named four “Smith” grandchildren in addition to granddaughter Elizabeth Smith (Elizabeth Chester married to Benjamin Smith). No mention of their mother or father. The grandchildren’s names are: Thomas Smith, Lydia Smith, Mary Smith and Sarah Smith. Dorothy’s will is worded ambiguously and the relationship of these “Smith” grandchildren can be interpreted two ways.
a. The four “Smith” grandchildren named by Dorothy were actually great-grandchildren, the children of granddaughter Elizabeth Chester who was married to Benjamin Smith.
b. There was a deceased second daughter that had married an unknown Smith. The name of this daughter and her husband are unknown. If this daughter existed, she was deceased by 1750 when Dorothy Cartmell wrote her will.
JOHN CARTMILL I (1710-1773)
John Cartmill I - Born about 1710, died 1773 in Augusta County, VA. Wife’s name unknown. Moved to the Cowpasture River area of Augusta County, VA about 1745. The area in which John settled is in today's Bath County, VA near the town of Millboro. John is probably a brother of Henry Cartmill I. Henry Cartmill I moved into the same area of VA about 10 years after John moved there.
John’s origins are uncertain but he was probably living in Chester County, PA prior to moving to Augusta County, VA. John’s apparent brother Henry was definitely in Chester County, PA prior to Henry's move to Augusta County, VA. Henry Cartmill was on the 1750-1753 tax list for Chester County, PA and Henry's youngest son, Lt. Henry Cartmill, was born in Chester County, PA about 1754 per Lt. Henry’s Am Rev pension application.
John Cartmill first shows up in Augusta County, VA about 1745 when he received a land patent on the Cowpasture River in Augusta County near today's town of Millboro. John’s name can be found in numerous Augusta County, VA records up through 1773, the year he died. John Cartmill left a will when he died, but unfortunately it was never recorded. Augusta County Will Book 5, page 187 has the following entry: “John Cartmill’s will partly proved and ordered to lie for further proof”. The will was never fully proved and therefore never recorded.
John Cartmill I of the Cowpasture River appears to have had the following six children:
1. James Cartmill - Born about 1737, probably died as a young man. James’ name only shows up twice, once in 1758 and once in 1766. No further records found.
a. 1758 - James and John Cartmill, members of the Augusta Militia.
b. 1766 - Chalkley’s Chronicles, V1, page 350 - James and John Cartmill, brothers, in a lawsuit, Givens Vs Cartmill.
2. John Cartmill II - Born about 1740. Married Susannah Ward 1763 in Augusta County, VA. Moved to Fayette County, KY about 1785 (Lexington area). Moved north to Harrison County, KY before 1800 and died in Harrison County, KY in 1808. John Cartmill II left a will naming three sons and seven daughters. Some descendants, including John Cartmill III, moved to Rush County, Indiana around 1820-1830 and consistently used the Cartmel spelling of the name.
3. Thomas Cartmill - Born about 1745. Married Mary Warwick 1769 in Augusta County. Thomas settled on the Greenbriar River in today's Greenbriar County, WV, about 20-30 miles west of the Cowpasture River where his father lived. Moved from the Greenbriar River of WV to Montgomery County, KY around 1790. Montgomery County, KY is just east of Lexington, KY. Thomas and his wife Mary sold their property
on the Greenbriar River in 1803 while living in Kentucky. John Warwick handled the sale in VA for Thomas. Thomas died shortly after 1803 in Montgomery County, KY, apparently with no will. Many of Thomas’s six sons and four daughters can be found in Bath County, KY after 1800. Bath County is the next county north of Montgomery County, KY. A few descendants moved to Madison County, OH in the early 1800s.
4. Samuel Cartmill - Born about 1750. Wife’s name unknown. Samuel appears to have died in Fayette County, KY about 1795-1800. A Samuel Cartmill was on the 1790 Fayette County, KY tax list but cannot be found in 1800 or later records. Appears to have had one son, Elijah, who moved to Fayette County, KY with his father.
5. Molly Cartmill - See Peggy Cartmill below
6. Peggy Cartmill - Molly and Peggy Cartmill were captured by Indians in September 1757. Their capture in 1757 and release in 1765 is documented in several sources.
a. "The Preston Register", a list of those killed, wounded or taken prisoner by Indians in Augusta County, VA 1754-1758. "September 1757 - - Sergeant Henry of Fort Dinwiddie killed. Cowpasture River: James Stuart killed and James Stuart, Jr., James McClung and two Cartmell children taken prisoner."
b. From Samuel Kercheval's 1833 book "A History of the Valley of Virginia". "Two of John Cartmell's daughters were taken by the Indians and remained with them several years. Their brother went to the Indian country, obtained their release and brought them home."
c. Molly and Peggy Cartmill can be found on the list of 205 Indian captives returned by Col. Henry Bouquet in 1765. When the French and Indian War ended in 1764, one of the conditions imposed on the Indians was that all white captives must be returned to civilization. In 1765 over 205 captives were returned to Col. Henry Bouquet, the officer who defeated the Indians. A large body of friends and relatives of captured people traveled with Col. Bouquet's troops as they went into the Indian country to find and release captives.
There are apparently no records indicating what became of Molly and Peggy Cartmill after they were released from Indian captivity.
HENRY CARTMILL I (1716-1786)
Henry Cartmill I - Born about 1716, died 1786 in Botetourt County, VA. Wife’s name was Mary according to Henry’s 1786 will. Henry married Mary Luny/Loony shortly before he died and Mary was a second or third wife. Henry's children would have been from a former unknown wife. Henry Cartmill was in Chester County, PA (Newlin Township) for the 1750-1753 tax list. Moved from Chester County, PA to Augusta County, VA about 1755-1756 per Henry’s son Lt. Henry Cartmill in his 1832 Am Rev pension application. Lived near John Cartmill (probably a brother) on the Cowpasture River for about ten years (1755-1765). Moved to the James River Forks Area of Botetourt County about 1766 and settled on Purgatory Creek. The area in Botetourt in which Henry settled is near today’s town of Buchanan, about 20-30 miles due south of the area on the Cowpasture River where he had previously lived.
Henry died in Botetourt County in 1786 and left a will naming his wife Mary, sons James, John and Henry, Jr. the youngest. Four sons-in-law were named but the daughters' names were not given in the will. There was probably a fifth son who was not named in the will. That being Thomas, who died around 1783, before Henry wrote his will.
Henry Cartmill I of Botetourt County appears to have had the following eight children:
1. James Cartmill - Born about 1740, died about 1810 in Cabell County, WV. Married Margaret about 1760. Moved to the Bluestone River area of Montgomery County, VA about 1780. The area in which James settled was about 75 miles SW of Botetourt County. James was given 30 pounds when his father died in 1786. After James' father died in 1786, James returned to Botetourt County for about 5 years (1786-1791). James kept his property on the Bluestone River though and around 1791-1792 James returned there. The area of Montgomery County in which James settled became Wythe County in 1790 and then Tazewell County in 1800. Between 1800 and 1810 James and his three sons, John, Thomas and Henry sold their properties in Tazewell County and moved NW into Cabell County, WV. Descendants of these families lived in Kentucky, Ohio and West Virginia in areas close to where KY, OH and WV converge.
2. Female Cartmill - Birthdate unknown, name unknown. Married to Robert Stewart. In Henry Cartmill's will, Henry gave 5 shillings to his "son-in-law Robert Stewart" and 5 pounds to his "grandson Henry Stewart".
3. Elizabeth Cartmill - Birthdate unknown. Married to James Green. Elizabeth's name comes from Green family researchers. In Henry Cartmill's will, Henry gave 20 pounds to his "son-in-law James Green".
4. Female Cartmill - Birthdate unknown. Married to William Patterson. In Henry Cartmill's will, Henry gave 12 pounds to his "son-in-law William Patterson".
5. Captain John B. Cartmill - Born about 1750, died 1838 in Lafayette County, MO. Married twice; 1st to Anne Skillern about 1769 and 2nd to Sarah Wallace about 1783. John inherited 200 acres in Botetourt County when his father Henry died in 1786. Lived in Botetourt County up to 1811. Left Botetourt County around 1811 at the age of 61, apparently to stay close to his children who had started moving west. Moved first to Kanawah County, WV where his sons David and Henry lived, then to Bedford County, TN in the fall of 1819. Bought 168 acres in Bedford County, TN from son-in-law Robert Wallace September 30th, 1819. Sold his property in Bedford County, TN in 1828 and 1829 and moved with a large family group to Lafayette County, Missouri in the fall of 1829 at the age of 79. John died in Lafayette County, MO in 1838 at the age of 88. Captain John Cartmill left no will but there was a probate of his estate in 1846 and several children can be identified through the probate records.
6. Thomas Cartmill - Born about 1752, died about 1783. Apparently died young. Not many records regarding this Thomas Cartmill - no deeds, no will, no tax records. There are a few references to a Thomas Cartmill of Botetourt though, as opposed to the Thomas Cartmill (son of John Cartmill) of the Cowpasture area.
There were apparently two Thomas Cartmills about the same age. One Thomas living in Augusta County (son of John Cartmill) and a second Thomas living in Botetourt County (son of Henry Cartmill). There are two Thomas Cartmills on the Muster rolls for Dunmore's war in 1774, one from Augusta County and a second from Bedford County (Bedford County is next to Botetourt County). In the book Historical Register of Virginians in the Revolution two Thomas Cartmills are also listed; Thomas Cartmill, an ensign from Augusta County (1781) and Captain Thomas Cartmill from Botetourt (1780). The same book has the notation "Lt. Thomas Cartmill and Captain John Cartmill were sons of Henry Cartmill". Thomas Cartmill of Botetourt County was not included in his father's will of 1786 indicating Henry's son Thomas, if there was a son named Thomas, died between 1780 and 1786.
7. Lt. Henry Cartmill - Born about 1754 in Chester County, PA, died 1841 in Botetourt County, VA. Married Sarah Anderson 27 May 1776 in Botetourt County, VA. Lived out his life in Botetourt County, VA. In 1831 Lt. Henry and his children signed a Quit Claim Deed relinquishing all interest in some property once owned by his in-laws, the Andersons. Lt. Henry applied for an Am Rev Pension in 1832. Lt. Henry wrote his will in 1838 naming his surviving children at the time. Lt. Henry died in 1841, three years after he wrote his will. Lt. Henry Cartmill is listed on the 1840 census and on the census page he is listed as an Am Rev Pensioner, age 86. Lt. Henry Cartmill’s sons never married and the Cartmill name disappeared from Botetourt County, VA when the last two sons died in 1858.
8. Female Cartmill - Born about 1758. Married to James Huston/Houston. In Henry Cartmill's will, Henry gave 5 pounds to his "son-in-law James Huston".
Requirements
A Surname Project traces members of a family that share a common surname. They are of the most interest in cultures where surnames are passed on from father to son like the Y-Chromosome. This project is for males taking a Y-Chromosome DNA (Y-DNA) test. Thus, the individual who tests must be a male who wants to check his direct paternal line (father's father's father's...) with a Y-DNA12, Y-DNA37, Y-DNA67, or Y-DNA111 test and who has one of the surnames listed for the project. Females do not carry their father's Y-DNA. Females who would like to check their father's direct paternal line can have a male relative with his surname order a Y-DNA test. Females can also order an mtDNA test for themselves such as the mtDNAPlus test or the mtFullSequence test and participate in an mtDNA project. Both men and women may take our autosomal Family Finder test to discover recent relationships across all family lines.
Surnames In This Project
Cartmail, Cartmale, Cartmall, Cartmel, Cartmell, Cartmill, Cartmille, Cartnall