From an Easterling Msg Board
I believe that my 5th great-grandfather, Thomas Easterling (who died in 1815 in Scott Co., VA) was a native of ENGLAND. This is based on the following two pieces of evidence:
(1) In the U.S. census of 1880 for Carter Co., KY (dated 5 June, 1880), information is given for the household of Burrell and Sarah (Easterling) Burchett (my 4th great-grandparents). Sarah (Easterling) Burchett was a daughter of Thomas Easterling, and as of the 1880 census was APPARENTLY the last surviving child of Thomas Easterling. The great thing about the 1880 census is that for the first time it included the birthplaces of not only each person in the household at the time of the census but also the birthplaces of their parents. For the Sarah's entry, the census clearly shows that she was born in Virginia, her father [Thomas Easterling] was born in ENGLAND and her mother [Rebecca ________ ] was born in Virginia.
(2) Emily (Easterling) Keeton (1864-1927) was the daughter of Silas Easterling AND the granddaughter of Thomas Easterling. Emily told her children and grandchildren that ACCORDING TO HER FATHER (Silas Easterling) his own father (Thomas Easterling) was a "Johnny Bull"--which is slang for an Englishman.
In my opinion, these two pieces of information provide clear evidence that Thomas Easterling, of Scott Co., VA was born in England, and immigrated to America prior or during the American Revolution when the first record of him in TN is found.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
An assumption has been made here that Thomas Easterling named his oldest son, John, after his father. It has not been proven that this John Easterling was the father of Thomas Easterling. Neither has it been proven that this John Easterling was the son of Henry Easterling of Calvert County, Maryland and Creven County, NC.
Some believe he was John Daniel Oesterlin who came from Germany to Philadelphia on 27 Aug 1739 and from there to several counties in South Carolina where he was the father of sons Thomas, Silas, Henry and Enos, all of whom were heads of household in the 1790 census. [Easterling Family History, page 692]
Sarah Easterling Burchett (ca 1806-1891) stated in the 1880 census that her father (Thomas Easterling) was born in England. [Easterling Family history, page 69]
"The late Young Easterling Kennard, attorney and tax accountant, of Olive Hill, KY .... stated that his great grandfather, Joseph Easterling, who was a grandson of Thomas Easterling of Russell County, VA (ca 1750-1815), told him the Easterlings were forced to leave England in fear of their lives because they had been on the wrong side in the English Civil War. If the civil war referred to was the great Civil War where Cromwell deposed King Charles I and then ruled England as Lord Protector until his death in 1658, the Easterlings probably came to America during the 1660's." Nearly all of Thomas Easterling's descendants support the theory that he was of English descent. [Easterling Family History, page 25]
For the above reasons I am tentatively placing Thomas Easterling as a Son of John Easterling of North Carolina, and not a son of the German Easterlings of South Carolina. -- Kenneth L. Dyer --
