Henry3 (Henry,2 William1).  This particular family is the source of much confusion regarding Kerley genealogy.  Many early Kerley researchers such as Silvo Kerley mistakenly inter-mixed Henry’s children with those of his brother, William.  Given the limited data available at the time that Silvo and other researchers of that era were working on this matter, and the many duplicate names of the Kerley children in the 1700's, such confusion is not surprising.  Unfortunately, much of this incorrect research was among the first research conducted into the origins of the Kerley family, and it became the basis for a lot of other researchers’ work.  In fact, a large portion of the data currently published on the Internet is based on this incorrect research. 

Fortunately, genealogical information is now much more available and comprehensive.  So, it is fairly easy to detect and correct these errors.  For example, by comparing census records it is easy to show that there were two entirely different sets of Kerley families living at the same time in different parts of the country.  Although we can never be absolutely certain, it is highly likely that the “real” story of Henry’s family is something like the following.

Virtually all of the research completed by descendants of this Henry (let's call him the "Burke County Henry") concludes that the father of the Burke County Henry was a man also named Henry.  There is no direct evidence for this assertion of which I am aware, but I do believe this conclusion is accurate.  First, we have documented the existence of a Henry Kerley in South Carolina who would have been just about the perfect age to be this Henry's father.  Second, the names of the Burke County Henry's children match, almost to a person, the names of other known descendants of the South Carolina Henry.  Finally, the Burke County Henry often appears in records in proximity to his brother, James, who we know from a Bible record, was the son of a Henry.  Until better evidence surfaces, I am going with the assumption that the third child of the South Carolina Henry Kerley was the Burke County Henry.  

Although we have no records confirming this, I believe that the Burke County Henry was born in South Carolina around 1758.  That was where his father, Henry, Sr., was living at that time, and there is no reason to believe that Henry Sr. ever lived anywhere else at that time.  We know that Henry Sr. filed a land petition in 1756 and we suspect that he had no children when he filed that application.  So, all of his children have to have been born after 1756.  

Sometime in the late 1770's, when he was about 20 years old, the Burke County Henry moved to Burke County, North Carolina. (Hence the name I have given him).  This was about the same time that his father, Henry, sold his farm in South Carolina and relocated to Albemarle County, Virginia.  We do not know if the Burke County Henry first accompanied his father and other siblings to Albemarle County and then moved on to Burke County, N.C. or whether he moved directly from South Carolina to Burke County, N. C.  What is clear, though, is that most of Henry Sr.'s family departed from South Carolina during the height of the Revolutionary War around 1780.  Burke County Henry made Burke County in western North Carolina his home for the next 50 years.

Henry's movement from South Carolina to Burke County was consistent with the general migration patterns of that time.

Few if any of the settlers of this early period came from Europe or from the British Isles directly to the Burke area ... A few early settlers followed the wagon road from Charleston, South Carolina, into the Carolina backcountry, but by far the most heavily traveled route to the Burke frontier was the Great Wagon Road from Philadelphia.

Phifer, Jr., Edwin W., Burke County: A Brief History at 13.   In addition, Scots-Irish "played a dominant role in the development of Burke County."  Id at 14.  So, the fact that many Scots-Irish settled in the Burke County area is consistent with our theory that the Kerleys were Scots-Irish.

Revolutionary War Service?  An old (and unsubstantiated) family legend states that Burke County Henry served in the Battle of King’s Mountain.  See story in Aaron Kerley section infra.  This battle took place on October 7, 1780.  The American troops in that battle were composed of volunteers from Virginia, South Carolina and North Carolina.  In addition, there are records confirming that a person named Henry Kerby (from North Carolina) served in that battle.  The Burke County forces in this battle were led by a Colonel named Charles McDowell.  

There are, however, no other Revolutionary War records that confirm Henry's service in either that battle or the War.  So, Henry's alleged military service must be taken with a grain of salt.  If this story is true, then it is possible that Burke County Henry was living in Burke County as early as 1780.  And, if that story is true it would create an interesting family dynamic.  We suspect that Henry's brother, William, initially sided with the Tories at the beginning of the War.  Henry would have been on the opposite side, siding with the Patriots.  Could this philosophical split of allegiances be part of the reason why Henry (and his father) left South Carolina and William remained on the old family holdings there?  Possibly.  It is something worth pondering.

Family legend is that the Burke County Henry married a woman named Sarah Garrett.  Whether he married Sarah in South Carolina (before relocating), in Virginia (while in the process of relocating) or in North Carolina (after relocating) is unknown.  We do know, however, that the Burke County Henry and his wife started having children in the 1780's, so I assume that they got married around 1780 (at which time Henry would have been about 22 years old).

There is an old family Bible that purportedly belonged to the Burke County Henry.  Henry Kerley Bible Record  This Bible clearly sets out the records of the births of each of Henry's 10 children.  The first son, Daniel, was born on June 27, 1781, and a later census record for this Daniel indicates that he was born in North Carolina.  So, we definitely know that Henry had settled in North Carolina by that date.  The rest of Henry and Sarah's children were:  William (July 13, 1783); Levinah (April 12, 1785);  James (March 26, 1787); Lewis (December 8, 1788); Elizabeth (August 15, 1791); Benjamin (December 16, 1793); John (April 16, 1796); Henry (December 5, 1798) and Aaron (April 17, 1800).  This family is detailed at 4th Generation -- The Burke County Bunch.

Even though Henry apparently did not buy any property in Burke County until 1794 (about 15 years after he arrived), he was certainly an active part of the community well before then.  There are records of him being sued in 1785, and also of him being summoned in 1788 to work on a new road being cut through the area.  Apparently, road work was not something that Henry found particualry worthwhile because there is other records of him being prosecuted in 1788 and 1789 for not showing up to work on that road. (Note that this road was to run along Linville Ridge, near where we expect Henry's farm was).

Burke County Henry appears exactly where we expect to find him in the 1790 census.  He and his brother, James, appear in the 1790 Burke County census as Henry and James Carely.  Henry's listing shows 1 adult over 16 (presumably Henry) and 4 males under 16 (Daniel, William, James and Lewis) and 2 females (presumably his wife Sarah and his daughter, Levinah).  Henry is listed (in this census) as being in the 6th Company, which according to the NC GenWeb site was in "western Burke County, Bridgewater, Lake James and some in present eastern McDowell County." 

 In 1792 he and a woman named Sarah were involved in a lawsuit.  (This is strong evidence that his wife's name was indeed Sarah.)  In 1793, Henry served in the local Burke County militia.  He served in Captain John McDowell’s unit.  (As noted earlier, Burke County Henry purportedly served in John McDowell's militia unit 13 years earlier during the Battle of King's Mountain. Serving in two different military units headed by a person named McDowell may just be a coincidence, but it would seem to reinforce the story that the Burke County Henry was a participant at King's Mountain.)  In 1794 he signed a petition to repair a road, and he also worked on anoher road on a "jury of view."

The first evidence we have of Henry obtaining property in Burke County is a warrant he filed on October 18, 1790, for 50 acres "on both sides of Earnester's Branch on the waters of the Linville river."  This land adjoined land belonging to Marilla Burchfield.  Following the normal processes for finalizing such warrants, Henry had his land surveyed in March of 1792, and he was given an official grant for this land on July 7, 1794.  The grant specified that it covered these 50 acres and included "his own improvements where he now dwells."  This grant is particularly interesting because it was witnessed by two persons of note: James Kerley and Greenbury Wilson.  James, we suspect, was Henry's brother.  And Greenbury Wilson would later move to eastern Tennessee with James' family.

While he was waiting for his land grant to become finalized, Henry apparently had his eyes on another piece of property.  In early 1794 (May 3) (before his grant was finalize) he bought 150 acres of land in Burke County (from Henry and Hezekiah Inman).  This land was on both sides of the Linville River.  At some point in the next few years Henry moved from his small 50 acre piece of land to this larger nearby 150 acre tract.  As best we can determine, Henry and most of his family remained on this small farm for the next 35 years.  This land is now submerged under Lake James.  See Land Grants of Greater Burke County, NC by Robert Lewis McNeely.  (In the early 1900's much of the land where the Linville River met the Catawba RIver was flooded to create Lake James.  Henry's farm was submerged as a result.)   

The purchase of this 150 acres provides us some interesting details about Henry.  The two Inmans from whom Henry purchased this land were the sons of a man named Hezekiah Inman, who was deceased at this time of this sale.  Hezekiah had, at one point, owned land in Albemarle County, VA.  He sold that land (400 acres) in 1770 and relocated to Burke County.  Could Henry have moved with the Inman clan from Albemarle County, Virginia, to Burke County?  Possibly.

It appears that there was a close connection between the Kerleys and Inman's not only because of this land sale but because Hezekiah's wife later remarried a fellow named Ambrose Williams.  And, Ambrose Williams was the father of Elizabeth Williams, who married James Kerley.  So, the elder Inman obviously knew both James and Henry Kerley.)

Having now bought land and feeling somewhat secure in this part of North Carolina, Burke County Henry appears to have gotten involved in typical (and atypical) activities of that era.  There are records of him serving on a jury in 1797 and on another road construction crew in 1799 (with his brothers, James and Daniel).  Much more interesting, though, is evidence of an extra-marital affair that Henry had.  In January, 1797, Henry Kearly was ordered by a court to pay for a child's support.  The order describes Henry as the reputed father of a child of Elizabeth Burchfield.  And one year later, in January 1798, there is another reference to a "bastard born child of Elizabeth Burchfield by Henry Kearly."  As far as I am aware, there was only one Henry old enough to be involved in such extra-marital matters at that time and it was Burke County Henry.  The Burke County records also show that a fellow named Nathan Burchfield purchased land there in December of 1778.  Nathan's land was on a branch of the Linville River.  His land directly adjoined Henry's.  See, Land Grants of Greater Burke County, NC by Robert Lewis McNeely.  In 1797, Burke County Henry was about 40 years old, married and had a full family of children.  It seems strange that he would, under those circumstances, be fooling around with the daughter of one of his neighbors.  But, that is what the evidence points to.  

Henry's presence in Burke County during the early 1800's is verified by applicable census records.  He shows up in the 1800 Burke County census (Morgan District), this time as “Corley.”  The listing for his family fits almost perfectly with the information we have uncovered about his family from the Bible record.  The listing shows 4 males under 10 years old (presumably Benjamin, John, Henry and Aaron); two males between 10 and 16 years old (presumably James and Lewis), one male between 16 and 26 (probably William), one male 45 and up (presumably Henry); one female up to age 10 (presumably Elizabeth), one female between 10 and 16 (presumably Levinah) and one female between 26 and 45 (presumably Sarah).  According to my theory, Henry would have been 42 years old in 1800.  Here the census lists him as being 45 or older (thus having been born before 1755).  Close, but not a perfect match as we believe he was born around 1758.  So, except for one son (probably Daniel, who would have been 19 at that time and who had presumably moved out of the increasingly-crowded house by then), this record accurately captures every known member of Henry's family at that time.

Henry again shows up in the 1810 Burke County census (Morganton).  This time he listed as Henry Carley.  His listing shows: 3 males under 10 years of age; one male 16 to 26, one male 45 and older, one female 16 to 26, one female 26 to 45, and one female 45 or older.  The census is obviously incorrect in that the 3 surviving males (Benjamin died in 1803) were not all under 10 years.  They were all born in 1790's, so they were all older than 10.  So, we continue to see inaccuracies in the recording of vital information for this family in the census.  Here, the two daughters were still at home with Henry and Sarah as were the 3 youngest boys and one of the older boys.

As the War of 1812 arose, this family was well-entrenched in Burke County.  It doesn't appear, however, that members of this family were involved in that conflict.

Henry shows up again in the 1820 Burke County census (no sub-vision listed).  This time he is listed as Henry Carely, which again reinforces the theory that the family named rhymed with "barely."  The listing shows that four of Henry's sons and two of his daughters were still living with him at that time.  There is no listing for a woman who would have been old enough to be Henry's wife.  This lack of a listing for an elderly woman supports the belief that Henry's first wife died somewhere between 1810 and 1820.  It also shows that Henry had not yet remarried by 1820.  Lewis Carly, Henry's son, is listed as having a separate household immediately next door to Henry's in this census.

According to family tradition, Henry’s wife, Sarah, apparently died around 1815.  Henry then began looking for a new wife, but some of the sons who were still living at home apparently did not approve of his father's efforts to woo a new mate.  There are several references throughout the family legends for this family indicating that the kids, particularly Aaron, did not appreciate Henry’s interest in finding a new female  companion.  Despite the concerns/objections of some of his kids, Henry ultimately married again.  His new wife was Millie Platt.

Our last census listing for Henry is the 1830 Burke County census (1st and 2nd regiments).  He is listed as Henry Kearly, between 80 and 90, with one woman in his household (between 30 and 40) presumably one of his daughters.  This record obviously does not support my theory of when Henry was born.  If this record is correct, then Henry would have to have born between 1740 and 1750.  I am assuming that the record is incorrect, and that the census-taker marked the incorrect column for Henry.  He should have marked the column immediately before this column.  I simply believe that the available data fits better with Henry being born in the 1750's, not the 1740's.

As Henry's children grew into adulthood, they married, moved out and settled on their own.  Some of them possessed the wanderlust inherent in the Kerley genes.  Henry’s son, Lewis, appears to have been the first of his children to leave the Burke County area.  Lewis moved out to Wayne County, Tennessee, sometime between 1823 and 1825 (per the census record listings for his kids’ birthplaces).  And, in the early 1830’s, a very old Burke County Henry decided to leave the land where he had spent almost his entire adult life and join his kids in Wayne County, TN.  On Jan. 17, 1833, he sold his 200 acres to Jacob Johnson and left for TN soon thereafter.  Three of his other sons (Daniel, James and Henry) also left for TN at the same time.  Burke County Henry died there in Wayne County, Tennessee, a few years later in 1836. 

Only two of Henry’s sons, John and Aaron, appear to have stayed in Burke County throughout their lives, while one son, Benjamin, apparently died in Burke County at a fairly young age.  The last son, William, appears to have moved to Indiana.  The story of these these families can be found here 4th Generation -- The Burke County Bunch.