The first record I have of the Eisons in Caldwell County (it was then Livingston) is from 1806 - Jacob bought 230 acres on Big Eddy Creek. Caldwell County was formed in 1809, and Eisons (this time spelled Ison) first appear on the tax rolls in 1810 - two Johns, under 21, with land on Eddy Creek, and two Jacobs, both over 21, one with a horse and one without. From 1811 - 1814, there is only one John and one Jacob. John was over 21 in 1811, so he must have been born ~1790; he also had slaves (3) and horses (4). In 1814, Jacob was listed as the owner of the land on Eddy Creek, that had previously been assessed as John’s - and he now had 3 slaves (John had one) and 3 horses (John still had 4). Here are the records:
A 246 - 6 Oct 1806 - Thomas Gordon & wf Ann to Jacob Eicen 230 ¼ acres on Big Eddy Creek
Jerome, Brenda Joyce. Livingston County, Kentucky deeds : books A-C, 1800-1817 . (Newburgh, Ind. : B.J. Jerome, 1991-)
Caldwell Co, Ky Tax Lists 1809-1811 - Simmons. 1812-14 Simmons [these are pamphlets at the Historical Society Library in Madison, WI]
1809 - 0 wm 21+, bl 16+, total bl, mares/horses, acres of land, watercourse
1810 - Ison John 0 0 3 3 134 Eddy Creek
John 36 Eddy Creek
Jacob 1- - 0
Jacob 1- - 1
1811 - Ison John 1034 166 ⅓ Eddy Creek
Jacob 1 - - 0
1812 - Ison John 1 0 3 4 196 Eddy Creek
Jacob 1
1813 - Eyson John 1 0 1 7 130 Eddy Creek
36 Eddy Creek
Jacob 1 - - 0
1814 - Eison Jacob 1 1 2 3 166 ¼ Eddy Creek
John 1 0 1 4
This is nice and straightforward. From messages posted at the Eisen GenForum site, it appears that these two are father and son: Jacob, b. ~1768 in Pennsylvania and son John, b. ~1789 in South Carolina.
Jacob was married first to Catherine (Caty) Unknown. He apparently joined the throng of settlers who moved first down the Valley of Virginia - all the way to South Carolina in his case - and then on into the west. In 1848, when he was 80, he married Agnes McElroy (age ~43). He died sometime between 1850 and 1860 - I think. Agnes was by herself on the 1860 census.
John - and apparently his whole name was Otto John - married twice. His first wife was Ann (Nancy) Jones, daughter of one of the early settlers of Caldwell, John Alexander Jones. (He - Jones - mentions her and John in his will of 1815.) John and Nancy married in 1809:
Eison, John - Ann Jones 1 Aug 1809 consent father
Jerome, Brenda Joyce. Caldwell Co Marriages.
(sorry I don’t have fuller bib info right now)
Their children were: David J (1810-1853) m. Mary Ann Nichols 23 Jan 1838
Jacob (1812-) m Sally C Mason 10 Oct 1831 - father John
Catherine - Mordecai Oldham 25 Sep 1831 - sec. John Eison
Aurora (1817-1858)- John Ausenbaugh 24 Sep 1833 - sec John Eison
Almira Jane - Joseph Dawson 19 Dec 1839 - sec. John Eison
Alexander (~1820 -) m Mary Ann Osenbaugh 1 Jan 184(0?) cons. John
and possibly James (~1828-)
[The marriages are from the Jerome marriage book, mentioned above. The death dates are from
Jerome, Brenda Joyce. Caldwell Co, Ky vital statistics deaths (Newburgh, IN : B.J. Jerome, c1994). ]
In 1830, John married Martha Mason:
Eison, John - Martha Mason 22 July 1830
Jerome, Brenda Joyce. Caldwell Co Marriages
Their children (from the 1850 census) were:
Harriett (1833- ) - m Doctor Dunning 16 Dec 1852 -
John (1834- )
Frederick (1836-1853)
Mitchell (1837- )
Martha (1840- )
Caroline (1846- )
John died in 1852.
All very clear. The problem is the 1810 census, on which there appeared FOUR Jacobs and one John. And there are no Eisons on the 1820 Caldwell census to help us sort them out - they next appear on the 1830 - one Jacob and one John. Sigh.
Since we know John and father Jacob were both around in 1850, we can assume the ones in 1830 and 1840 censuses are them also, although the numbers do not quite fit. But the 1810 people are really bothersome.
On page 11 there is one pair - Jacob and Jacob jr - living right next to each other.
1810 Caldwell Eddyville 11 (14)
Jacob Ison 00001 00010 }
Jacob over 45 = b. bef 1765
wife? 26-45 = b. 1765-1784
Jacob Ison jr 00100 20101 02 } next to each other
1m, 1f 16-26 = b. 1784-94
2 f under 10 = b. 1800-10
1f over 45 = b. bef 1765
The first Jacob is a little old to be Jacob b. 1768 - and the second Jacob a little young.
On page 13, there is another pair, along with a John Ison, but the Jacob jr in this case is OLDER than the Jacob plain.
Jacob Ison 00100 001 }
1m, 1f 16-26 = b. 1784-94
John Ison 10100 10100 03 } next to each other -
1m, 1f 16-26 = b. 1784-94
1m, 1f under 10 = b. 1800-10
then 2 people (George Robertson, Mary Cooper) - then
Jacob Ison jr 00010 20100 02
1m 26-45 = b. 1765-1784
2f under 10 = b. 1800-10
1f 16-26 = b. 1784-94
I think maybe Jacob and John, the younger ones, are brothers, sons of Jacob jr b. 1768.
Arranging them by age order, we have
I. Jacob (p. 11) b. before 1765
II. Jacob jr (p. 13) b. 1765-84 - with two little girls and a slightly younger wife.
III. Jacob jr (p. 11), Jacob (p. 13) and John (p. 13) are all in the same age bracket 1784-94.
All the Jacobs except for the very oldest have two little girls; one has an older woman also living with them.
I don’t really know what to make of all this. It seems to me there are two possibilities:
I. The census taker counted the same people twice (it does happen), with the ages slightly messed up.
II. There were two family groups: Very old Jacob (b. bef. 1765) and his son Jacob; Jacob b. 1768 and his sons Jacob and John.
Since there are only two Jacobs on the tax lists, the first alternative seems slightly more likely, but who knows?!!!!
The reason I have spent so much time with this is that my Jacob Eisen doesn’t show up in Livingston County until 1815 - could he be one of these Jacobs?
~~~~~~
My tentative conclusion is that there is one family group, and that my Jacob is the son of Jacob b. 1768 and the brother of John b. 1790.
This is all a work of supposition.
I. Jacob b. ~1768 in Pennsylvania
m. 1. Catherine (Caty) [Eddy Creek / Donaldson Forks]
II. Otto John 1789 South Carolina - d. 1852
m. 1. Ann (Nancy) Jones 27 July 1809 Caldwell Co, KY
III. David 1810 - 1857
m. Mary Ann Nichols 23 Jan 1838 Caldwell Co, Ky
IV. Pernecy 1841 - d. 1856
IV. Julia A 1847
IV. James 1845
IV. Martha Elizabeth 1849 m. X Thomas
IV. Mary Isabelle m Y Thomas
III. Jacob 1812 father John - m Sally C Mason 10 Oct 1831
III. Catherine - Mordecai Oldham 25 Sep 1831 - sec. John Eison
III. Aurora - John Ausenbaugh 24 Sep 1833 - sec John Eison
III. Almira Jane - Joseph Dawson 19 Dec 1839 - sec. John Eison
III. Alexander 1820 m Mary Ann Osenbaugh 1 Jan 184(0?) consent John
III. ?James 1828
m. 2. Martha Mason 22 July 1830
III. Harriett 1833 -m Doctor Dunning -16 Dec 1852
- at house of John and Mrs Eison
Harriet age 20, groom 22, Harriet b. Caldwell Co -
III. John 1834
III. Frederick 1836 - d. 1853
III. Mitchell 1837
III. Martha 1840
III. Caroline 1846
II. Jacob ~1784 - d. 1834
m. Martha Unknown
III. Louiza ~1810 - m Obediah Roberts 20 Oct/19 Nov 1827
III. Nancy Ann - m Franklin Robb 20 Sep 1821
III John
III James - m Mary Litton 12 May 1838 - died 1841
III Richard (appraiser 1838)
III F (Frederick)? - witness 1822 - may be brother? - no further records of him
II. Benjamin ?? (buyer, with Jacob, at estate sale in Livingston Co, 1815 - no further records of him)
m. 2. Agnes McElroy
For the tax and census listings for the Caldwell County Eisons, please see the Kentucky page.
~~~~~
More speculation about where they were before Kentucky:
Supposedly John was born in South Carolina in ~1789.
In 1790, there was a Jacob Isom in the Spartanburg District:
1790 - Isom, Jacob p. 87/26 - 11100
1m over 16, 1m under 16, 1f (bef & aft 1774)
In 1800, there was a Jacob Isen in Union - 02010 00010
2m 10-16 b. 1784-1800 Jacob (~1784) and John (~1789)???
1m, 1f 26-45 b. 1755- 1774 Jacob (1768) & wife Catherine?
Also in Union County in 1800, Frederick, John, and Christian (b before 1755) and another Frederick (b 1774-84). (And in 1790 Union, there was Frederick b. before 1774). Only Christian and one Frederick remained in Union for the 1810 census. So it seems possible that the Caldwell County Eisons are connected to these ones. It is especially interesting that Frederick had blacksmith equipment - and Alexander Eison, the grandson of Jacob (1768), was a blacksmith.
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