Thomas Prince ^1,93,94

  Research Notes:

After analysis, it's possible that either Isham, Nicholas, or Thomas Prince may be the father of Jesse and Zachariah Prince. Of these, Thomas and Isham stands up under scrutiny, but Nicholas does not. Because Thomas is a name that does appear in the lineage of Jesse and Zachariah, but Isham does not appear anywhere, I've chosen Thomas as the most likely candidate for their father.

Concerning Isham, he was almost certainly of age when he married (21), and with Jesse born about 1800, then that means Isham was born as late as about 1778 and as early as 1766 (to keep his age within the age brackets in the 1820 census). No such possibilities exist for Nicholas, the other sole candidate. Thomas Prince, is head-of-household in the 1810 Census, Rockingham Co., North Carolina with 1 maile 26-45 (Thomas), 3 mailes <10 (one could be Zachariah), 1 male 10-16 (this could be Jesse), 1 male 16-26, 1 female 26-45 (Thomas' wife), 1 female <10, 2 females 10-16, 1 female 16-26; two are unnaturalized. The unnaturalized adults are likely Thomas and his wife, which would mean that they're probably the first immigrants of their line.

There son Jesse was born in 1800, and Zachariah in 1806. Both sons were born in North Carolina. A review of the 1820 North Carolina Census might give some clarity to the identiy of their father's name. There are 14 Princes in the 1820 Census for North Carolina, barring an oversight due to either error or poor document quality. Of these 14, I was looking for any that included one son in the 18-26 age bracket to represent Jesse, 20, and one son in the 10-16 age bracket to represent Zachariah, 14.

On examination of the census, Jesse is listed as head of his own household, with 1 male 18-26 (Jesse), 1 female 16-18, 3 males <10, and 1 female <10. On first look one would conclude that this can't be Jesse and Delilah, but closer examination removes most doubt. Since males usually didn't marry young, Jesse probably didn't either, and in 1820 he was only age 20, so he would probably be a newly wed, but certainly wouldn't have 3 children at this time (possible, but extremely unlikely). Plus, Jesse's children are known, and William, born 1821 was his first child, so this adds credence to the assumption that the children aren't his. Deliah is only age 16-18 too, and although girls marrying at 15 is common, it still wouldn't be likely that she had three children by 18 (possible, but extremely unlikely. Thus, these three children are almost certainly not theirs by birth.

of the remaining 13 Princes, we're now looking for family possibilities containing Zachariah, 14. Of the remaining 13 families, only two have males 10-16. One is Isham Prince, Cumberland County, and the other is Nicholas, also in Cumberland County.

Isham Prince: 1 male 26-45 (Isham), 1 male <10, 2 males 10-16, 1 male 16-18; 1 female 26-45 (his wife), 2 females <10, 2 females 10-16, and 1 female 16-18. There isn't enough information concerning his wife's age so as to determine if she was closer to 26 or 45. For her to be Jesse's mother, she would have been born not earlier than about 1784 (age 16 where Jesse was born), and this would make her at least 36 in 1820. Isham isn't disqualified as their parents. However, in the 1810 Census, Isham is still age 26-45, and his wife is also 26-45. This means that his wife in 1820 was at least 30 in order for her to have been old enough in 1810 to have given birth to Zachariah.

Nicholas Prince: 1 male 45+ (Nicholas), 2 males 10-16, 1 female 26-45 (his wife), 1 female <10, and 2 females 18-16. This family with 2 females 18-16 and no males of age to be their husbands, certainly puts his wife's age at least 33-41, and therefore certainly old enough to have had Jesse. In the 1810 Census, Nicholas and his wife are both still age 45+, and there are 1 male 16-26, 2 males <10, 1 female <10, 1 female 10-16 and 1 female 16-26. These numbers are critical, because, depending on their birth date, both Jesse & Zachariah could be included together in the <10 age group, however, in 1820, Nicholas still has two males age 10-16 and thus proves that Jesse cannot be either of these 2 males, and therefore Nicholas cannot be the father of Jesse & Zachariah.

There is one drawback that makes it difficult to reconcile either Isham or Nicholas as Jesse and Zachariah's father. Jesse is living with his family in Anson County (near Ashville), and both Isham and Nicholas are living in Cumberland County (near Fayetteville). One would think that Jesse, as a newly wed would be living closer to his parents, but then again, Jesse was migrating West, and by 1830 he had already moved to Alabama. Thus, his desire to migrate West makes it reasonable that he could have first lived in Anson County.

Another, perhaps greater obstacle, is that children usually named a child after their parents. Both Jesse and Zachariah had quite a few children and none were named either Isham or Nicholas. ^93,94

Thomas married.¹