Some "Stray" Cheeks in
North & South Carolina
The following is a list of Cheek individuals found in the records of North and South Carolina who have not been connected to any other known Cheek families.
Charles Cheek, 1755 Tax List, Cumberland Co., NC. If he was at least 20 years old in 1755, he was born before 1735. Cumberland County was created in 1754 from Bladen County. It originally encompassed a large territory that included Moore County (est. 1784) and part of Wake County (est. 1771). It's not known whether Charles Cheek was related to John Cheek who was in Bladen County in 1745, or Robert Cheek and Randolph Cheek who were in Cumberland County in 1756. Robert and Randolph, and possibly John, were sons of Richard Cheek of Beaufort Co., NC. Richard's will, however, does not mention a son named Charles.
Christian Cheek, of Montreal, Canada, filed a claim with the British government in 1786 for loss of 60 acres and a blacksmith shop in Tryon Co., NC, during the Revolution. (Peter Wilson Coldham, American Migrations, 1765-1799: The lives, times, and families of colonian Americans who remained loyal to the British crown (Gen. Pub. Co., 2000).
Eleanor Cheek, 1762 Tax List, Pitt Co., NC. No other info.
Elisha Cheek, Cabarrus Co., NC. Born bet. 1780-1784 based on census entries. Married Fannie KISER, May 19, 1803, in Cabarrus Co., NC. On the 1810 and 1830 Census of Cabarrus Co., NC. On a list of members of the Meadow Creek Baptist Church (now Stanly Co., NC) in 1825 (excommunicated). Might be related to the Cheeks in neighboring Mecklenburg or Montgomery Co., NC, but details are unknown. See also Joshua Cheek.
Fraseer Cheek, 1780 Tax List, Montgomery Co., NC. No other info.
George Lamb Cheek, 1780 Tax List, Montgomery Co., NC. No other info.
James Cheek, Old Tryon/Rutherford Co., NC, 1774-1782. This James Cheek was probably born no later than the mid-1750's. He appears in two court records of Old Tryon County in 1774-1775 and may be the James Cheek who was reportedly killed or wounded by Indians in Rutherford Co., NC, in 1782. It's possible, although speculative, that this might be James James Cheek of Laurens Dist., SC. Old Tryon County was formed in 1768 from Mecklenburg Co., NC, and originally encompassed all of present-day Rutherford and Lincoln Counties, NC, as well as the South Carolina counties of York, Chester, Union, Spartanburg, and Cherokee. The boundary with South Carolina was fixed by legislation in 1772 and Tyron County in North Carolina was abolished in 1779 and split into Rutherford and Lincoln Counties.
- July 5, 1774. Old Tryon Co., NC. Deed from John POTTS to James CHEEK for 600 acres of land was proved in open court in Tryon County upon oath of witness John EARLE. (Old Tryon Court Records).
- Oct. term, 1775. Old Tryon Co., NC. The Jury appointed to Law out a Road from Wm. GILBERTS to UPTONS Mill being Summond by the Sheriff to lay out the Same Disagree. Ordered by the Court that John EARLE, James MILLER, Joshua TAYLOR, Caleb TAYLOR, John MCFADDIN, John MCLEAN, John MCCLURE, Alexander COULTER, James MCFADDON Junr. & James CHEEK be a Jury to lay out a Road from Wm. GILBERTS the nearest & Best way to James CHEEKS on the South Carolina line so as to Cross at TWITTYS Ford on Broad River …" (Old Tryon Court Records.)
- May 1782. Rutherford Co., NC. James Cheek and three children are on a list of persons killed or wounded by Indians in Rutherford Co., NC. (NC Gen. Society Journal, 9:236, Nov. 1983.)
James Cheek, married Margaret BAILEY in Orange Co., NC, in 1792. Although sometimes assumed to be a 2nd marriage of James Cheek (1762) of Orange Co., NC, this possibility has been ruled out by court records which prove that the first wife of James Cheek (1762) was alive in 1829.
James Cheek, 1810 census of Stokes Co., NC, Peters Creek Twp., household consisting of 1 white male age 16-25, one white female age 26-45, and 2 children (boy and girl) under age 10. Assuming James and his wife were roughly the same age, James was probably 25 years old and therefore born abt. 1785. There are no other records of him in Stokes Co., NC.
John Cheek, apparently lived in Cumberland Co., NC, around the time of the Revolutionary War. When England and the United States signed the Treaty of Peace in 1783, the United States agreed not to impede the efforts of British creditors to collect unpaid debts. Special agents and informants were utilized to determine the whereabouts of debtors and their ability to pay. John MCKAY and William GILMORE filed a report on John CHEEK of Cumberland Co., NC, who owed £5.17.5 to James GAMMEL, Esq., of Greenock, Scotland. Their report states that John Cheek "removed himself from hence in the Year 1783. He died leaving no estate whatever except a gun, and what became of that no one can give any account." ("Claims of British Merchants after the Revolutionary War," NC Gen. Soc. Journal 17:97.)
Joseph Cheek, 1787 Tax List, Montgomery Co., NC. Might be a son or grandson of John CHEEK of Anson Co., NC. No other info.
Joshua Cheek, 1800 Census, Cabarrus Co., NC, 1 white male age 16-25 (so born between 1775-1784), 1 white female age 16-25, no children. No further records (see also Elisha Cheek).
Richard Cheek, (probably more than one man by this name) is found in records of Surry Co., NC, from 1774-1785. Lived in the vicinity of Archie's Creek, Tom's Creek, and the Dan River near the Virginia County line. See Cheeks of Surry, Yadkin, & Wilkes Co., NC.
Robert Livret Cheek, Montgomery Co., NC. He is mentioned as an owner of neighboring property in a land grant to Robert J. STEEL dated Dec. 26, 1794, for 130 acres on Cheeks Creek in Montgomery Co., NC. Might be a grandson of John CHEEK of Anson Co., NC, but no other info.
Samuel Cheek, m. Nancy ELRODE (ELROD) on Mar. 22, 1802, in Surry Co., NC, with bondsman Jacob ELRODE. The will of Adam ELROD of Salem, NC, (then in Stokes Co., now Forsyth Co.), dated June 14, 1806, leaves one dollar to Samuel CHEEK and directs that minor son William CHEEK be raised by Abraham ELROD. See Cheeks of Surry, Yadkin, & Wilkes Co., NC.
Samuel Cheek, 1820 census of Johnston Co., NC, 1 white male age 26-45 (so born between 1775-1794), 1 white female age 26-45, 3 white males under 10. No further info.
William Cheek, killed in action during the Revolutionary War while serving in Capt. Jacob TURNER's company. In 1800, his brother, John CHEEK, filed a petition for his bounty land. (NC Gen. Soc. Journal 1:150, July 1975.) John CHEEK filed a North Carolina Land Grant dated Dec. 16, 1800, for 640 acres, in Robertson Co., TN, Book D:288. (Whitley, Red River Settlers (Gen. Pub. Co. 1980).) Note, Jacob TURNER's Company was part of the 3rd North Carolina Regiment, which was raised in Wilmington, NC, in 1776. The Regiment saw action at the Battles of Brandywine, Germantown, and Monmouth, and the seige of Charleston, SC.
William Cheek, dismissed by the Westfield Monthly Meeting of Surry Co., NC, in 1792, for marrying out of unity (Hinshaw, Encylopedia of American Quaker Genealogy, Vol. 1). The Westfield Quaker community was centered around Tom's Creek and Big Creek in northeastern Surry Co., NC. According to Surry County, NC, Wills 1771-1827 by Jo White Linn (Clearfield Co., 2007), pp.114-115, "Court Minutes place William Cheek on Archer's Creek in 1794". See Cheeks of Surry, Yadkin, & Wilkes Co., NC.