Many of the Faircloth families in the USA trace their ancestry to the family of Thomas Faircloth and his wife Sarah of North Carolina. This web site is intended to be a compendium of the research done of this couple and their descendants. Much has been published on this family in various Virginia and North Carolina historical books and family histories, some of it accurate, some not so accurate. As is often the case with family histories, once something is in print, it often is considered to be "gospel". It is my hope that this web site will facilitate a critical examination and discussion of the facts, legends, and myths surrounding this Faircloth family and to allow us Faircloth researchers and descendants to learn more about our origins and our relatives' contributions to early America. The best way to separate fact from fiction and to resolve conflicting information is to go back to the primary sources (see Documenting Your Genealogy Research - Guide to Citing Sources). These include records of marriages, births, deaths, and burials, census listings, Bible records, tax lists, probate and land records, etc. The information in the descendant listings on this web site will include documentation of the primary sources as much as possible, and transcriptions of many of those sources will be presented in links below. This is a working document and not necessarily definitive, since much of it is based upon information found on the Internet or in published secondary sources. It will be modified and (hopefully) improved as more researchers provide input and, most importantly, evidence.
Thomas Faircloth and his wife Sarah were both born before 1755. Thomas first appeared in Surry County, North Carolina on the tax list of 1784 with 200 acres of land. When he actually moved to Surry County and where he lived before that is not known for sure. There may be a connection between Thomas Faircloth and the Faircloths in Dobbs County in the eastern part of the state, which became Greene County in 1799. A number of Faircloths also lived in Sampson County. DNA testing (see later in this web page) may reveal how closely these different North Carolina Faircloth families are related to one another.
Surry County, in 1784, comprised the present-day counties of Surry, Stokes, Forsyth, and Yadkin. Stokes County was formed from the eastern part of Surry County in 1789. Forsyth County was formed from the southern part of Stokes County in 1849. The southern part of Surry County was broken off in 1850 to form Yadkin County. Based on where their descendants lived after 1850, Thomas and Sarah Faircloth likely lived in the southern part of Surry County that eventually became Yadkin County.
Thomas and Sarah likely had at least two sons and three daughters, based on the 1800 census. One of the sons, William (born in 1789), moved from Surry County to Stokes County in the 1830s, settling in the Salem District of what was to become Forsyth County. The other son's name is believed to have been James, but he does not appear in any of the censuses. The three Faircloth marriages in Surry County from 1826 to 1837 are believed to be those of James's children (Jane, Jacob, and Polly), since no other Faircloths are known to have lived in Surry County at that time. The only other Faircloth marriage in Surry County is that of Thomas and Sarah's son William to Dicie Hendrix in 1817. Nothing is known about the daughters of Thomas and Sarah.
The Surry County tax lists of 1786, 1790, and 1812 show Thomas owning 200, 100, and 88 acres of land, respectively. More research into the tax lists and land deeds needs to be conducted to determine where the land was located and when it was acquired and disposed of. The following deeds involving Faircloths appear in Surry County from 1771 to 1879:
Grantor / Grantee / Bk-pg
Carlton, Elijah / Faircloth, Thomas / K-160
Arnold, Thomas / Faircloth, Thomas / M-166
Carlton, Elijah / Faircloth, Thomas / N-185
State / Faircloth, William / P-106 / Grant, 86 a.
Faircloth, William / Jones, Joshua / P-392
Faircloth, William / Hauser, Theo C. / W-158
Faircloth, Jacob & E. / Hinshaw, John / X-128
Faircloth, Jacob / Vestal, Solomon / 3-303
Thomas Faircloth last appears on the 1820 census of Surry County, so he is believed to have died in the 1820s. Sarah last appears on an deed in Surry County dated 7 October 1815, and she is also believed to have died in the 1820s. (A woman of her age appears in the 1820 census in Thomas's household.)
William Faircloth, son of Thomas and Sarah, was probably associated with the Moravian Church settlers of Salem after he moved to that community. One of his sons, Thomas Anderson (born 1822), married 16-year-old Louisa Charlotte Rothaas in Salem in 1842. Her parents Jacob Rothaas and Maria Magdalena Vogler were from prominent families of that community. (The city of Winston-Salem was formed in 1913 from Salem and the nearby industrial town of Winston.) William died in 1848. His wife Dicie Hendrix died in 1858.
Little is known of Thomas and Sarah's other son James. There is a woman named Mary Faircloth (born about 1785) who lived in the household of Jane (Faircloth) Royal at the time of the 1850 (Surry County) and 1860 (Yadkin County) censuses. Jane's 1826 marriage to Lodowick Royal is one of the four Faircloth marriages recorded in Surry County and she is believed to be a daughter of James Faircloth. Therefore, Mary Faircloth is probably James's widow. Mary does not appear after the 1860 census.
Two of the grandsons of Thomas and Sarah Faircloth left North Carolina for Kentucky and Iowa, and left many Faircloth descendants there. Many of the descendants of Thomas and Sarah Faircloth still live in and around Forsyth and Davie Counties in northwestern North Carolina. The distribution of the Faircloth surname is (as of 1990) still concentrated in the southeast USA:
Faircloth Surname Distribution
Here are listings of known descendants of Thomas Faircloth and his wife Sarah (through five generations):
[Note: To view the Adobe Acrobat files, you will need the Adobe Acrobat Reader software. This can be downloaded free from http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html. You can download the files to your disk to view them, or use your web browser with the appropriate plug-ins.]
Children of Thomas Faircloth & Sarah ----- (Adobe Acrobat document; 105 KB; 10 Sep 2006)
Descendants of James Faircloth (#1) & Mary ----- (Adobe Acrobat document; 150 KB; 10 Sep 2006)
Descendants of William Faircloth (#2) & Dicie Hendrix (Adobe Acrobat document; 193 KB; 10 Sep 2006)
Explanation of Format of Descendant Listings
Index of Names (Adobe Acrobat document;
108 KB; 10 Sep 2006)
There are some Faircloths in the area who have not yet been placed in this Faircloth family. If you know where they belong, please let me know.
Miscellaneous Faircloth Descendants
(Adobe Acrobat document; 138 KB; 10 Sep 2006)
1790 US Census (Adobe Acrobat document; 83 KB; 10 Sep 2006)
1800 US Census (Adobe Acrobat document; 96 KB; 10 Sep 2006)
1810 US Census (Adobe Acrobat document; 84 KB; 10 Sep 2006)
1820 US Census (Adobe Acrobat document; 91 KB; 10 Sep 2006)
1830 US Census (Adobe Acrobat document; 86 KB; 10 Sep 2006)
1840 US Census (Adobe Acrobat document; 108 KB; 10 Sep 2006)
1850 US Census (Adobe Acrobat document; 101 KB; 10 Sep 2006)
1860 US Census (Adobe Acrobat document; 112 KB; 10 Sep 2006)
1870 US Census (Adobe Acrobat document; 112 KB; 10 Sep 2006)
1880 US Census (Adobe Acrobat document; 121 KB; 10 Sep 2006)
1900 US Census (Adobe Acrobat document; 135 KB; 10 Sep 2006)
1910 US Census (Adobe Acrobat document; 134 KB; 10 Sep 2006)
1920 US Census (Adobe Acrobat document; 140 KB; 10 Sep 2006)
1930 US Census (Adobe Acrobat document; 150 KB; 10 Sep 2006)
1885 Iowa Census (Adobe Acrobat document; 101 KB; 10 Sep 2006)
World War 1 Draft Registrations (Adobe Acrobat document; 96 KB; 10 Sep 2006)
California Notes (Adobe Acrobat document; 94 KB; 10 Sep 2006)
Iowa Notes (Adobe Acrobat document; 99 KB; 10 Sep 2006)
Kentucky Notes (Adobe Acrobat document; 98 KB; 10 Sep 2006)
North Carolina Notes (Adobe Acrobat document; 171 KB; 10 Sep 2006)
GenForum - Faircloth
RootsWeb - Faircloth
A new tool in genealogical research is the use of genetic markers in DNA to establish family relationships. See Genetics, DNA and Health History. The Y-chromosome is passed down from father to son to grandson to great-grandson, etc. along the male line (as are surnames in many modern western societies). Occasionally, due to random mutations, one or more of the genetic markers may change in an individual and be passed down to his son that way (similar to a surname changing from Faircloth to Farecloth). Standard tests are available (based on a cheek swab) to identify 12, 37, or 67 markers on the Y-chromosome. (The more the markers, the more precise the idenfication; I strongly suggest 37 or more markers, in order to be useful for genealogical purposes.) All direct male descendants of Thomas Faircloth would have a very similar, if not identical, set of markers (or haplotype). Someone with a surname of Faircloth (or some variation), whether or not they had done in-depth genealogical research, could compare their haplotype to known Thomas Faircloth direct male descendants to see if they were likely to be a direct male descendant of Thomas Faircloth. Likewise, the Thomas Faircloth haplotype could be compared to haplotypes of other families to see if these families were closely related in England. I would like to establish a confidential database of haplotypes of Thomas Faircloth's direct male descendants to give us a tool to identify Thomas Faircloth descendants and to find closely related Faircloth families from England. Ideally, we would need several samples from direct male descendants of each of Thomas's grandsons (those of his sons James and William, who carry the Faircloth Y-chromosome). The Family Tree DNA testing service is one of the most well-known. If anyone is interested, please contact me by e-mail. The tests range in price from $99-$248, depending upon the number of markers, when ordered from Family Tree DNA as a part of the Faircloth DNA Project. To help defray the cost of the testing, I have set up a Faircloth DNA Project fund that will allow those of us without the Faircloth Y-chromosome (such as females born with the maiden name of Faircloth) to jointly share in the cost of this project. If everyone interested in this avenue of research can contribute a little from time to time, it will greatly help to increase the level of participation by direct male descendants with the "right" DNA. If you would like to take advantage of the fund for your test, let me know. Those of us not fortunate enough to have the Faircloth Y-DNA chromosome may help others out by contributing.
Other Links
My Faircloth Family, by Andrew Dennis Faircloth
If you would like to comment on any information contained within, or wish to correspond with me about this family, please send me an e-mail message at: marslan@nc.rr.com. Additions and corrections are greatly appreciated. I am especially interested in receiving information obtained from primary sources (census listings, Bibles, cemeteries, vital records, probate and land records, etc.) and photographs and digital images relating to this branch of the Faircloth family so that I can incorporate them into this page. Also, I would like to provide links to other pages on the Internet that deal with Faircloth genealogy.
Mark B. Arslan