• John Cheek

John Cheek
of Moore County, NC

John Cheek, son of Randolph CHEEK of Moore and Chatham Co., NC, was born between 1760-1770 in NC, and died 1836 in Moore Co., NC. His first wife's name is unknown. His 2nd wife was Bethania, last name unknown. She was born born May 9, 1813, and died Aug. 31, 1898. Bethania m. (2nd) Jesse HEDGEPETH. John Cheek is buried at the Cheek Family Cemetery on Dickerson Ford Road near Glendon, Moore Co., NC.

Children of John Cheek & Unknown:

  1. Josiah Cheek, b. July 27, 1796, Moore Co., NC; d. Jan. 28, 1874, Randolph Co., NC; m. his 2nd cousin Jane WOMBLE, daughter of Samuel WOMBLE & Jane Cheek TYSON (daughter of Jane CHEEK & Cornelius TYSON), Mar. 25, 1817, Moore Co., NC (b. Jan. 29, 1798; d. ?). Josiah Cheek and his family moved to Randolph Co., NC, prior to 1850 and lived near the present-day town of Cheeks, located on Brush Creek and the Deep River. Children: Lydia G. Cheek (1818), Margaret Jane Cheek (1819), John Cheek (1823), Joab Cheek (1829), Samuel W. Cheek (1830), Mary Ann Cheek (1835), Josiah Cheek, Sr. (1836), Thomas Franklin Cheek (1836), George W. Cheek (1840). Note: Josiah Cheek (1796) should not be confused with his slightly younger 2nd cousin Josiah Cheek (b. abt. 1805) who remained in Moore Co., NC. The younger Josiah Cheek was a son of Richard Cheek (c.1755-1836), who was a son of Robert Cheek of Moore Co., NC.
  2. Elizabeth Cheek, b. Nov. 22, 1798, Moore Co., NC; d. Apr. 14, 1874, Moore Co., NC; m. her 2nd cousin, Jesse WOMBLE, son of Samuel WOMBLE & Jane Cheek TYSON (daughter of Jane CHEEK & Cornelius TYSON), May 11, 1817, Moore Co., NC (b. Sept. 25, 1791; d. Jan. 11, 1854); bur. Cheek Family Cemetery, near Glendon, Moore Co., NC. Children: Mary Siler Womble (1818), Mahala Tyson Womble (1819), Amanda J. Womble (1821), Josiah Jones Womble (1823), James Joseph Womble (1825), Thomas Womble (1828), Caroline Candice Womble (c. 1830), Lydia Womble (1833), Cornelius Jesse Womble & Emelith Womble (twins, 1837).

Children of John Cheek & Bethania Unknown:

  1. Mary Jane Cheek, b. Oct. 12, 1834, Moore Co., NC; d. Apr. 8, 1904. Might be the Mary J. Cheek who m. George W. DORSETT, July 16, 1850, Randolph Co., NC.
  2. John Sampson Cheek, b. June 1, 1836, Moore Co., NC; d. Oct. 4, 1889, Randolph Co., NC; m. Mary __, abt. 1870 (b. abt. 1854). He may be the John Cheek age 12 who was living with Josiah Cheek in 1850 in Randolph Co., NC; Josiah had a son named John, but he would have been 27 in 1850. Children: Elizabeth J. Cheek (c.1871), Mary L. Cheek (c.1873), John Cheek (c.1875), William F. Cheek (1880).

Notes

John Cheek was born between 1760 and 1770, based on census entries. He obtained several land grants in Moore County, NC, on both sides of the Deep River. According to the 1815 tax list, he owned four properties in Moore Co., NC, totalling 1,630 acres. After John Cheek died in 1836, his son Josiah Cheek posted a $50,000 administrator's bond, which suggests it was a very sizeable estate. Josiah's second wife, Bethana or Bethania (last name unknown) was removed as the administrator, perhaps because she had already remarried to Jesse Hedgepeth. (Moore Co., NC, Superior Court Minutes, abstracted by Glenda Biggerstaff.)

Census records indicate John had 2 sons and 3 daughters born between 1790-1800, and possibly one other son born between 1800-1810. His first wife seems to have died before 1810. He remarried to his second wife, Bethana or Bethania, between 1820-1830. Only two children from his first marriage have been identified: Josiah Cheek (m. Jane WOMBLE) and Elizabeth Cheek (m. Jesse WOMBLE) (the Wombles were cousins of the Cheeks -- their mother Jane Tyson Womble was the daughter of Jane Cheek and Cornelius Tyson). A lawsuit decided by the NC Supreme Court in the Dec. term, 1844 (Jesse Womble v. Josiah Cheek, et. al., 38 N.C. 405), alludes to both adult and "infant" heirs of John Cheek but does not identify any of them, except to mention that one daughter was the wife of Jesse WOMBLE. Another source identifies Mary Jane Cheek (1834-1904) and John Sampson Cheek (1836-1889) as the two children of John Cheek and his second wife. (The North Carolina Genealogical Society Journal, Vol. VI, No. 2, p.138 (May 1980) [queries].)

Records

Nov. 22, 1784. Amos CHEEK, James CHEEK, John CHEEK and others ordered to work on a road from from Chatham Co. line to the fork of the road. (Moore Co., NC, Court of Pleas & Quarter Sessions, pp. 8, 9, 17. Abstracted by Glenda Biggerstaff.)

Mar. 16, 1799. Moore Co., NC. Land grant to Jno. CHEEK, 250 acres on south side of Deep River. Entered Aug. 13, 1796. (NC Archives, Land Office Warrants & Plats, Folder No. 12.14.90.1094; Grant No. 1058, Entry No. 1365, Book 101, p.21.)

Mar. 16, 1799. Moore Co., NC. Land grant to Jno. CHEEK, 250 acres on north side of Deep River. Entered Aug. 8, 1794. (NC Archives, Land Office Warrants & Plats, Folder No. 12.14.90.1107; Grant No. 1071, Entry No. 864, Book 101, p.27.)

1800 Census, Moore Co., NC, p.51: JOHN CHEEK
2 w/m under 103 w/f under 10
1 w/m 26-452 w/f 26-45

Aug. 20, 1802. Moore Co., NC. Land grant to John CHEEK, 200 acres south of Deep River on both sides of Leek Creek. Entered Dec. 26, 1789, and May 22, 1798. (NC Archives, Land Office Warrants & Plats, Folder No. 12.14.90.1743; Grant No. 1632, Warrant Nos. 254, 402, Book 115, p.136.)

Nov. 16, 1802. Randol CHEEK & Jno. CHEEK enter a claim for 35 acres in Moore Co., NC, on Deep River, pursuant to Warrant No. 1062. (NC Archives, Land Office Warrants & Plats, Folder No. 12.14.90.5073.)

1810 Census, Moore Co., NC, p.106: JOHN CHEEK
2 w/m 10-15 1 w/f 10-15
1 w/m 26-45  

Nov. 29, 1815. Moore Co., NC. Land grant to John CHEEK, 200 acres on west side of Rodgers Creek. Entered Feb. 22, 1814. (NC Archives, Land Office Warrants & Plats, Folder No. 12.14.90.2259; Grant No. 2213, Entry No. 921, Book 129, p.437.)

Nov. 29, 1815. Moore Co., NC. Land grant to John CHEEK, 37 acres on east side of Rodgers Creek north of Deep River. Entered Nov. 19, 1812. (NC Archives, Land Office Warrants & Plats, Folder No. 12.14.90.2261; Grant No. 2215, Entry No. 805, Book 129, p.437.)

1815 Tax List, Moore Co., NC, pp.464-465.
• Randal CHEEK, 60 acres, $100
• James CHEEK, 200 acres, $200
• Joab CHEEK, 604 acres, $1,200
• John CHEEK, 450 acres, 330 acres, 615 acres, 235 acres, $2,050

Feb. 12, 1816. Joab CHEEK & John CHEEK appointed administrators of the estate of Randolph CHEEK in Chatham Co., NC.

Dec. 19, 1817. Moore Co., NC. Land grant to John CHEEK, 46 acres on north side of Deep River. Entered Feb. 20, 1816. (NC Archives, Land Office Warrants & Plats, Folder No. 12.14.90.2357; Grant No. 2311, Entry No. 1131, Book 132, p.133.)

Dec. 5, 1818. Moore Co., NC. Land grant to John CHEEK, 32 acres on Deep River. Entered May 16, 1815. (NC Archives, Land Office Warrants & Plats, Folder No. 12.14.90.2403; Grant No. 2357, Entry No. 1033, Book 133, p.81.)

1820 Census, Moore Co., NC, p.235/p.314: JOHN CHEEK
1 w/m 10-15 No w/f
1 w/m 26-45  
1 w/m over 45  

Aug. 18, 1823. John CHEEK served on a jury. (Moore Co., NC, Court of Pleas & Quarter Sessions.)

Nov. 15, 1824. Bill of sale recorded from Archd. MCBRIDE to John CHEEK. (Moore Co., NC, Court of Pleas & Quarter Sessions.)

Feb. 23, 1825. John CHEEK served on a jury. Same date, bill of sale recorded from John HANCOCK to John CHEEK. (Moore Co., NC, Court of Pleas & Quarter Sessions.)

Dec. 8, 1825. Moore Co., NC. Land grant to John CHEEK, 42 acres on surplus within the lines of his 100 acres south of Deep River. Entered May 17, 1825. (NC Archives, Land Office Warrants & Plats, Folder No. 12.14.90.2685; Grant No. 2639, Entry No. 2143, Book 136, p.259.)

1830 Census, Moore Co., NC, p.457: JOHN CHEEK, SR.
1 w/m 5-102 w/f 15-19
1 w/m 30-391 w/f 20-29
1 w/m 40-491 w/f 30-39
1 w/m 50-59 
1 w/m 60-69 

Aug. 1832. John CHEEK of Moore Co., NC, gave a statement in support of James HARDIN's application for a Revolutionary War pension. He testified that James HARDIN was reputed in the neighborhood to be a soldier of the Revolution. (NARA File No. R4592).

Superior Court Minutes, Moore Co., NC, abstracted by Glenda Biggerstaff.

By 1840, John's son Josiah Cheek was living in Chatham Co., NC.   The Josiah Cheek "Jr." who is in the 1840 census of Moore Co., NC, was a cousin, Josiah Cheek (c.1805), the son of Richard Cheek (c.1755/60) of Moore Co., NC. Elizabeth (m. Jesse WOMBLE) was in Moore Co., NC.  Bethana had remarried to Jesse HEDGEPETH of Moore Co., NC.

Jesse Womble v. Josiah Cheek, et. al, Supreme Court of North Carolina, 3 Ired. Eq. 405, 38 N.C. 405 (1844). This lawsuit apparently arose out of a dispute between John Cheek's widow and her step-children. Jesse WOMBLE (husband of John Cheek's daughter Elizabeth) alleged that the late John Cheek held a deed of trust to 171 acres of land in Chatham Co., NC, which Womble had purchased from one Travis HARPER with John Cheek as security. John Cheek was supposed to reconvey the land to Jesse Womble when the debt to Travis Harper was paid off. Unfortunately, John Cheek died in 1836 without executing the deed and John Cheek's widow then filed a petition to assert her dower interest in the land. The court does not identify John Cheek's heirs by name other than Josiah Cheek, but the case does reveal that Jesse Womble's wife was John Cheek's daughter. The court also refers to a decree pro confesso against the adult children, which indicates they were not disputing Jesse Womble's claim, and also mentions that the guardian for the "infant defendants" had filed the "usual answer". The court ruled in favor of Jesse Womble.

Jan. 26, 1846. Josiah CHEEK guardian returned an account his guardianship to this court which is filed. (Moore Co., NC, Court of Pleas & Quarter Sessions.)

1850 Census, Moore Co., NC, p.219:
JESSE HEDPETH, 47, farmer, $1500, NC
-- Bethana, 36, NC <<John Cheek's widow
-- Josiah, 18, NC
-- John, 16, NC

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