Encyclopedia

Sarah Sturman, the future daughter-in-law of Henry Cavender, was one of the witnesses to the execution of the Last Will and Testament of Henry Cavender.

Some believe that Thomas Cavender, the son of a James Cavender, Sr., may have actually been the so-called "unnamed Cavender" who married Elizabeth Woodhouse.

It is to be noted that John Washington, the great grandfather of the first President, George Washington, arrived in Virginia from England about 1657 and about 75 years before his great grandson, George Washington, was born and later obtained a tract of 150 acres of land in Westmoreland County, Virginia. John Washington had a son named Lawrence Washington who was the grandfather of George Washington and lived for a while in Westmoreland County, Virginia. Lawrence Washington had a son named Augustine Washington who was the father of George Washington and who likewise lived for a while in Westmoreland County, Virginia.

In any event, even though only 4 of his children are named in his Last Will and Testament, it is believed that the above Henry Cavender and Elizabeth Woodhouse Cavender (“Elizabeth Cavender”) had the following 7 children:

(I) RACHAEL CAVENDER ("Rachel Cavender"?) who married Tarpley Nash ("Tarply Nash"?) and was thus was the named Rachael Nash her father’s Last Will and Testament;

(II) ANN CAVENDER ("Alice Cavender"?) who married a Davis and became Ann Davis (“Alice Davis”);

(III) GEORGE CAVENAH ("George Cavenner", "George Cavnar", "George Cavender"?, & "George Cavendar"?) who was born either about 1747 or about 1745⁴⁹⁴ in Westmoreland County, Virginia, married Sarah Elizabeth Agnew (“Sarah Agnew”)⁴⁶³, fought in the Revolutionary War, was still living in Westmoreland County, Virginia in 1782, executed his Last Will and Testament on January 13, 1796 under the name George Cavendish, and is believed to have died in 1796 in Granville County, North Carolina which is located just south of Lunenburg County, Virginia from which county Eudaley James Cavender ("James Cavender"), son of Hugh Cavender, migrated to Williamson County, Tennessee in either late 1805 or early 1806. Sarah Cavender ("Sarah Cavnar") died after 1796. George Cavenah ("George Cavnar", "George Cavenaugh" & "George Cavender") was a surety of the marriage of Dozier T. Cavender ("Dozier Cavender", “D.T. Cavender”? "Dozier Cavenaugh" & "Dozier Cavenah"? born about 1770 to Elizabeth Gill in Westmoreland County, Virginia on either June 13, 1793^{30, 133,149,350 & 355} or on June 14, 1794²⁹⁴. When George Cavenah executed his Last Will and Testament in Granville County, North Carolina on January 13, 1796, he named his wife Sarah and his children then living. George Cavenah and Sarah Cavenah, however spelled at that particular point in time, had the 10 following children:

Nancy Griffis (“Nancy Griffin”?) was born about 1784 in Brunswick County, Virginia, was the daughter of Thomas Griffis ("Thomas Griffin"?) and Sarah, and she died sometime between 1850 and 1860 in Giles County, Tennessee.

Thomas Cavenah moved to Marshall County, Tennessee about 1810 with his father-in-law Thomas Griffis and purchased 82 acres which joined the Tanyard Hollow tract. All of the children of Thomas Griffis initially settled within one mile of this tract. The family of Thomas Cavnar and Nancy Cavnar later became members of the Bear Creek Cumberland Presbyterian Church. Pearl Tunnelle, the great granddaughter of Thomas Cavenah, has the original deeds where her grandfather, Louis S. Hodge ("Louis Hodge") who was the husband of Willie James Cavenah ("Willie Cavenah" & "Willie Cavnar"?) bought out all of the heirs of Thomas Cavenah, and those deeds are dated from about 1847 to about 1849. Of possible interest, on November 6, 1815, Letters of Administration was issued in Putman County, Georgia with respect the probation of the will of a Thomas Cavenah.

This might be the same Thomas Slate Cavender (“Thomas S. Cavender” & “T.S. Cavender”) who: (1) was issued a passport through the Cherokee (or "Cherokee Nations") territory on May 31, 1804 supposedly to meet Thomas Jefferson’s father, Peter Jefferson, at Harper’s Ferry after returning from Georgia ³⁷⁴; (2) who was issued another passport on April 3, 1806 to pass through Cherokee Territory³⁷⁴; (3) who was issued still another passport through the Cherokee Territory on April 5, 1808 ³⁷⁴; (4) who purchased 640 acres of land on the North Fork of Sycamore Creek in Davidson County, Tennessee on May 23, 1808 where he apparently died in 1821^{59, 60, 62 & 278}; (5) who was living in Robertson County, Tennessee when he purchased an additional 200 acres of land on Sycamore Creek in Davidson County, Tennessee on September 21, 1808 ⁶⁰; (6) who was issued still another passport through the Cherokee Territory on either May 10, 1809 or May 11, 1809 ^{355 & 374}; and, (7) who sold to Jeremiah Miller on June 26, 1809, 640 acres of land on the North Fork of Sycamore Creek in Davidson County, Tennessee, formerly a part of North Carolina.⁶² Thomas Cavender and Nancy Cavender apparently had 10 children:

In 1840 and 1841, a George Cavenor ("George Cavenar" & "George Cavender") paid property taxes in Marshall County, Tennessee. ³⁵⁵

This apparently is the same George Cavender who was living in Marshall County, Tennessee 1850, and his family then living in his household consisted of himself age 44 and thus born about 1806, his wife Sarah E. Cavender ("Sarah Cavender") age 23 and thus born about 1827, Martha L. Cavender ("Martha Cavender") age 15 and thus born about 1835, George W. Cavender ("George Cavender", “G.W. Cavender” & “George Washington Cavender”?) age 5 and thus born about 1845, Caledonia Cavender age 2 and thus born about 1848, and John T. Cavender ("John Cavender" & “John Thomas Cavender”?) age 3 months and thus born in 1850. ¹³⁷

This also is apparently the same George Cavenor ("George Cavender"?) age 55 and thus born about 1805, together with his family were then still living in Marshall County, Tennessee in 1860, which included his wife Sally Cavenor ("Sally Cavender"?) age 35 and thus born about 1825, and their children: George W. Cavenor ("George Cavenor", "George W. Cavender"?, “G.W. Cavender”? & "George Cavender"?) age 14 and born about 1846; Caledona Cavenor ("Caledonia Cavenor"?, "Caledona Cavender"? & "Caledonia Cavender"?) age 12 and thus born about 1848; John T. Cavenor ("John Cavenor", "John T. Cavender"?, “John Thomas Cavender”?, “J.T. Cavender”/ & "John Cavender"?) age 10 and thus born about 1850; Cinthia C. Cavenor (Cinthia Cavenor", "Cynthia Cavenor", "Cinthia Cavender"?, “C.C. Cavender”? & "Cynthia Cavender"?) age 7 and born about 1853; Livona Cavenor ("Livona Cavender"?); Alice F. Cavenor ("Alice Cavenor", "Alice Cavender", “A.F. Cavender”? & "Alice F. Cavender"?) age 5 and thus born about 1855; and William D.D. Cavenor ("William D. Cavenor", "William Cavenor", "William D. Cavender", “W.D. Cavender”?, & "William Cavender"?) age 3 and thus born about 1857.