Capt.
John
Spann
Family
Ireland and North
Carolina
John Spann
(Capt.)
b. 1689 Dublin, Caven Co., Ireland
d. aft 1769 Dobbs County, NC
m. Mary
? abt 1716 in Ireland
b. ?
d. aft 1770, Dobbs County, N.C.
father: ? unknown
mother: ?
his father - Rev.
Benjamin Spann
his mother- Catherine Smythe
| Children |
| John "The Elder" Spann |
b. 1719 probably in Caven Co., Ireland |
d. aft 1795 Wilkes Co., GA |
m. Sara Smith |
| William Spann |
b. 1721 probably in Caven Co., Ireland
|
d. aft. 1756 Sussex Co., VA |
m. |
| Richard Spann,(Capt.) |
b. 1729 Mount Royal, Northampton Co., N. C. |
d. bef Sep 1774 Northampton Co., N. C. |
m. Sarah Stuart 1748 Brunswick Co., VA
(daughter of Charles Stuart, of Bristol, England) had six children |
There has been a major change in the identified
immigrant ancestor which would be Capt. John Spann who came directly
from Dublin, Ireland to settle in North Carolina according to Joe
Spann. I have confirmed that there was a John Spann who along
with his brothers was an
alumni of Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland. The family
they spring from was a prominent English family which included an
uncle Jonathan Spann. I still don't know how Capt. Spann received
his rank. Joe Spann seems to think that he was in the militia. If
so where? In Ireland or North Carolina. [Joe Spann, GENforum Jan. 6,
2003]
1705, May - John Spann enters study at
Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland. He received no degree which
may have caused a split with his father. His father and two
brothers were also alumni of Trinity College, [Joe Spann, rootsweb.com
- 15 Jun 2005 -
http://boards.rootsweb.com/surnames.spann/560/mb.ashx]
The following records come from the "Alumni Dublinenses" by
Burtchaell
and Sadleir, Dublin 1935 in the collection of the Trinity College
Library. It is a register of graduates of Trinity College
from 1593-1862. It was provided to me by Caoimhe
Ní
Ghormáin, Assistant
Librarian, Manuscripts Department, Trinity
College Library, Dublin.
1704, April 19 - Samuel Span, entered
Trinity College in Dublin at age 14.
Span, Samuel, a Pensioner (ie. a fee-paying student), entered the
college 19 April 1704, aged 14. Also previously educated by a Mr
Griffin in co Longford, Samuel was the son
of
Benjamin, a cleric, and
was born in Chester, England. He graduated a Bachelor of Arts in
the spring of 1708 and received his Masters degreee in the summer of
1711.
1705, May 30 - John Span, a
Pensioner, entered the college 30 May 1705,
aged 16. Prior to tht he was educated by a Mr Griffin in co
Longford. John was the son of
Benjamin Span, a cleric, and was
born in co Cavan. He does not appear to have proceeded to degree level.
[Burtchaell and Sadleir, Alumni Dublinenses]
It's
interesting that the younger son, Samuel, enters Trinity College almost
a
year before his older brother, John. They also were born in
different places. That indicates to me that Benjamin must have
kept
his English contacts active or that he had family in
England. Cavan and Longford counties are next to one
another in what is referred to as the Midlands, almost in the dead
center of Ireland.
1723 about - John Spann along with his wife
and at least two children seem to have emigrated from Dublin to North
Carolina. Joe Spann thinks that he may have been transported by
Captain John Dawson, a family friend. He may have landed at
Edenton, the early capitol of North Carolina.
1724, May 12- John Spann files for 270
acres on the northwest side of the Morratuck River in Bertie
County. The place is know as Mount Royal. He purchases it
from Jacob and Mary Colson of Virginia. They had purchased
it from Thomas Avant in 1716. This land remained the Spann family
home place until John Spann Jr and and his grandson Charles Spann sold
it to Eaton Haynes in 1782. [Joe Spann 6/15/05]
1725 - John Spann lived in old
Bertie County, N.C. This county included at that time the present
counties of Bertie, Northampton and part of Hertford.
1725, 29 May - John Spann was appointed a
Justice of the Peace for Bertie County, North Carolina .
1727 - John
Spann is said to
have been appointed to Captain in the local militia by 1727 in Bertie
County.
This same year Captain John Spann was
appointed a
Vestryman for the Northwest Parish of Bertie County. At the same time
other persons appointed were Benjamin Hill, Richard Pace, Joseph Lane
and Major Barnaby McKennie. Northhampton at this time included this
parish. Since the Church of England or Anglican was the official
religion of North Carolina by royal decree, it probably made the
appointment of John Spann with his training at Trinity College a
primary choice. The vestryman's duties included collecting poll taxes
for the church, procuring a Minister, acquiring land and keeping Parish
records. Once the church was established the Crown would support
the church with an allowance for support and the minimal salary for the
minister. The Anglican church in North Carolina apparently had a
difficult time due to the large number of Quakers and
Baptists. [Joe Spann Rootsweb 6/15/05]
1727, January 24 - John Spann signed his name
as a witness to the will of Robert Smith of Bertie County. [North
Carolina County Note Book, Vol. 7. page 16]
1727 - John Spann served as a juror in the
Court of General Sessions at Edenton, N.C. [North Carolina records.]
1730- By this time John Spann's land holdings
had grown. He now owned about 1700 acres on Quankey Creek on the
south side of the Morratuck river. It is believed by researcher
Joe Spann that John Spann made most of his money as a merchant. As
early as 1738/9 he traded 5,000 weight of port for 200 acres of
land. Being at the highest navigable point on the Morratucky
River may have provided ample opportunity for trade. Ships from
here traveled the coast and to Jamaica. His nephew, Samuel Spann, was a
member of the Society of Merchant Venturers in Bristol, England who
traded with South Caroina. [Joe Spann Rootsweb 6/15/05]
1739, March 2 -John Spann petitioned for a
patent of 640 acres of land in Edgecombe
County. [North Carolina Land Records]
1740 - John Spann was listed as a jurymen for
Bertie and Edgecombe Counties.
1754- John sold his property in Mount Royal to
his son Richard Spann. He may have lived with Richard for a
period of time before he moved onto Dobbs County, N. C.
1758 -
"About 1758 Captain John Spann joined
his oldest son John and became a
resident of the Piney Grove Community in present-day Wayne County,
North Carolina. Captain John Spann had deeded over his former home at
Mount Royal in
Northampton County, North Carolina to his youngest son Richard Spann.
He brought with him his wife and seven slaves.
Like
his father, John was a land speculator, buying and selling large
tracts. On at least one occasion things seem to have gone awry. In 1760
John traveled to Orange County, North Carolina to take part in the
estate proceedings of Ambrose Joshua Smith. Spann had sold Smith 1,200
acres in Anson County, North Carolina only fours years previously. It
seems likely that Smith bought the lands on credit
and was then
unable to pay. Spann was named estate administrator and performed the
inventory. Whether or not he received restitution is unknown." [Joe
Spann on Rootsweb.com - 21 Apr 2005,
http://boards.rootsweb.com/surnames.spann/544/mb.ashx]
1769- John Spann appears in a tax list of
Dobbs County. Even though many researchers believe that Capt.
John Spann died about this date in Dobbs County, N. C. there are
no records available to prove this since the courthouse burned three
times.
Richard is proved to be the son of Capt. John
Spann through Deed Book 2, page 181, Northampton County, North Carolina.
sources:
Burtchaell and Sadleir, Alumni Dublinenses, Dublin
1935 in the Trinity College Library, Dublin.
Caoimhe Ní Ghormáin
, Assistant Librarian, Manuscripts
Department, Trinity College Library, Dublin.
North Carolina Records
Spann, Records of Barbara L. , 9539 Maplewood St., Bellflower, CA
90706-3046 . email - BSpann1234@aol.com
Spann, Records of Joseph Edward , Jr., 4203 Lake Marianna Dr., Winter
Haven, FL 33881, (813) 956-4934
Spann, Joe - Records as given in emails on Genforum, various dates.
1999-2005 - jspann@pclc.lib.fl.us and Rootsweb message board for Spann
-
http://boards.rootsweb.com/surnames.spann/560/mb.ashx 6/15/05
Spann, Michael, Records of - http://pw1.netcom.com/~spann/jspann.html
U. S. Census records
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