ROBERT BERRY SENIOR PAGE
ROBERT BERRY'S WILL
REVOLUTIONARY WAR PAY VOUCHERS
1757 GRANVILLE LAND GRANT AND LOCATION
The location of Robert Berry's
Plantation HouseThe very first record that I have found of Robert Berry in Orange County North Carolina was dated December 3rd 1753. This was a survey map for 260 acres
of land that was eventually granted to him in 1757. This map was signed by William Churton. The chain carriers were Henry Gold and Thomas Cate. William Churton was the Land officer for John Earl Granville. On the 12th day of May 1757 Robert Berry was granted this 260 acres by a Granville Land Grant from the Earl of Granville, John Lord Carteret. The grant was made to Robert Berry Junior. I do not know if Robert Berry Junior became Robert Berry at the death of his father or if he just dropped the Junior from his name. All the records that I have found since the date of 1757 refer to him as Robert Berry. Robert Berry had a son named Robert Berry Jr.
In all my research I refer to Robert Berry as the person who was granted the land grant in 1757. He married Elizabeth Cates and they had ten children. In the 1890 census of Orange County North Carolina there was a Robert Berry, Robert Berry Jr., Joshua Berry and John Berry. At this time I have no proof that John Berry who listed in 1790 was the related to Robert Berry. The other two who listed, Robert Berry Jr and Joshua Berry were his sons.
John Berry who listed in 1790 was married to Roda Richards and was the father of John Berry the famous architect in Hillsborough N.C. John Berry was dead before 1800 when his widow Roda Berry listed as head of household. Roda listed one male under 10, one female 10-16, two females 16 -25 and one female 45 and up. Roda Berry also listed in 1810, and 1820. I do not know if this family is related to Robert Berry or not. There seemed to be an attempt on the part of John Berry the architect to distance his name from the other Berry's in Orange County by choosing given names for his children that were uncommon.
By the year 1800 five of Robert Berrys ten children were married. Mary and Robert Berry Jr. were married before any records of marriages were kept. This assumption on my part is made because I have not found any marriage records for either. Joshua was married to Nancy Ellison on January 28, 1792. William was married to Hannah Cate on August 12, 1799. and Thomas was married to Sarah Cate ( Hanna Cate's Sister) on August 11,1800. In the 1850 Orange County Census Henry listed his age as 74 making his birth year 1776. Hannah Berry (William's wife) was listed in the 1850 census as 80 years old making her birth year 1770.
This information leads me to believe that all of Robert and Elizabeth Cates Berry's children were born between 1760 and 1780.
Robert Berry served as a private in the Continental Line of North Carolina during
the revolutionary war. He sold Beef to the army during that war. He served as the head of road building crews on two separate one year terms. In 1780 Robert Berry was granted another tract of land laying on the east boundary of his Granville grant. This land was granted by the State of North Carolina and was probably granted for his service in the revolutionary War. He served on many juries. In 1791 Robert Berry served on a jury concerning Governor Thomas Burkes Estate. He signed bonds and was apparently very successful. He purchased property from the estate of Patrick Rutherford in 1791 from Rutherford's three sons. He had 10 slaves at the time he wrote his will in 1812.
The families of Mary Berry Camp and David Berry removed to Georgia. Thomas Berry's family removed to Tennessee. William and Joshua Berry's families remained in Orange County North Carolina. Isaac and Henry were never married and both remained in Orange County North Carolina. John Berry's family most likely settled in Georgia. Elizabeth Berry had one daughter Mary Berry by Robert Riley. Mary married a Thomas Berry and removed to Alabama. Robert Berry Jr. was in Orange County North Carolina until about 1810 but his family did not remain there. Where they removed to has not been determined at the time of this writing (May 25, 2005). Some of the Robert Berry's descendants migrated on to Texas. Many descendants remain in the states where their families first settled after they removed from North Carolina. Most likely there are descendants of Robert Berry living in every state in the USA today. My Grandchildren are the ninth generation of Robert Berry through his son William.
Benjamin Berry Henderson