Johann David Castleman

Johann David Castleman 1734-1826 is one of 5 sons of Andreas Ludwig.  In 1757 23 year old David married 20 year old Margaret Johnson 1737-1808 who births 7 sons and 3 daughters before she dies on 30 November, 1808 at the age of 71. David is 15 when the first Fairfax land grants to his dad, Andreas Ludwig and his older brother William in 1849.

Davids Brothers:
William Henry 1719-1808 marries Anna Margaretha SALSMAN in 1745 in Virginia then loses his wife in 1753 seemingly during or after the birth of Henry, and never remarries. William dies in Washington Pennsylvania in 1808 at age 89. This would put at least one Castleman in Virginia in 1745 and birthing William Henry 2nd 10 Feb 1746, Jacob in 1748 and Henry in 1753.   In 1757 we see Wm. Castleman paying 73 lbs and Lodo. Castleman 25 lbs of tobacco tax. In 1758 Ladowick Castleman pays 220 lbs tobacco tax.

Conrad 1726-1744 was 18 years old when he died in Hardin, New York, just before the family relocates to Virginia.

Jacob A.I. Sr. 1730-1803 married Rhoda Patience Robertson 1730-1778 about 1750. Rhoda was born in Virginia and they had 13 children, 4 that died in the first year. May 15, 1753 land grants from Fairfax. 1758 with William in Virginia Militia.  9 Aug 1762 buys 119 acres in Hampshire from David for £50, 1766 receives grant from Fairfax for 106 acres adjoining lot #28. 1778 sells his 1/2 acre in Winchester for £70. 15 May 1780 Jacob, Jacob Jr and Benjamin Casselman signed (original signatures) a petition by inhabitants of Kentucky Co. & Illinois Co., VA asking for a separate new state. (Papers of the Continental Congress at National Archives, Washington, D.C.: (Microfilm) Series M247 Roll 62 Item 48 Page 237.)  1782 Tax list of Hampshire Co., VA: Jacob Castleman with 8 Whites & no Blacks. Fall of 1782 Jacob & family came to the Fort which would become Nashville, TN as his son Andrew told historian Lyman C. Draper. In August of 1785 returns to Hampshire County to sell all of his land to William Smith (106 acres) and William Fox (419 acres) by November for a total of £350. In 1787 Jacob, Benjamin, Andrew and John [nephew of Jacob] Casselman were on the first Tax list of Davidson Co., NC[TN] of white males over 21. Each as 1 taxable male.

There is record of twins Elizabeth and Sophia born in 1732 and died in 1744, that may have died with Conrad. 

Johannes Lewis 1744-1828 married Jemima Margaret Pearsall 1750-1844 in 1765, in Frederick, Virginia, British Colonial America. They were the parents of at least 4 sons and 4 daughters. Johann dies in Woodford, Kentucky in 1828 at the age of 84. We see many of his children born in Kentucky possibly beginning in 1776. Father of Brig. Gen Jacob Castleman 1777-1837 who is the father of Dr. Alfred Lewis Castleman, surgeon of the 5th Regiment of Wisconsin Volunteers, author of "The Army of the Potomac, Behind the scenes, a diary of unwritten history

William, Jacob, David and Lewis are in Virginia with Andreas and Margaretha by 1749 and they are accumulating land. 

In the years leading up to the revolutionary war, aka our "first civil war", families were divided between those loyal to the crown "loyalists" and those in favor of Independence, "rebels". George Washington was a British military officer and his earliest service was during the French and Indian war as a British Officer. Washington was 17 when he accompanied James Genn and helped survey the land that the brothers bought from Fairfax in 1753, 1758 and 1760. George Washington's first military command was of the Virginia militia with his headquarters in Winchester. George Washington owned hundreds of slaves and became one of the wealthiest plantation owners in Virginia.

War between British colonists and the French/Indian alliance made life on this frontier extremely hazardous in the 1750's and 60's. 

This generation of Castlemans were still British subjects very much focused on acquiring land and growing their families at this time. Farming in that period was labor intensive and blacks equaled or even outnumbered the land holding population. Among the blacks there were classes: Free citizens, House workers, Skilled craftsmen/artisans , Field hands and of course children. All blacks except the Free citizens were considered "property" by law and were treated as such by land holders. In addition to the work benefit they received from slaves, the owners had responsibility for their housing, medical care and sustenance. It was profitable to care for their property, poor whites (In large part Irish & Scot immigrants) developed a negative view of slaves because they were healthier, sheltered and used to do the work the whites would have been paid to do. States that had minimal slaves offered the best prospect for whites because of this often overlooked anomaly. Still, there was already significant controversy around the slavery issue with open rebellion routinely springing up. Slave owners lived in constant fear of uprisings and hired overseers to monitor and discipline malcontents. Rebel leaders would be the ones that received lashes and were "sent south" to work in the cane fields as punishment and to set an example. House workers lived very different lives than field hands and craftspeople and usually had a corresponding loyalty to their masters. Often the masters children were raised by black "mammy's" and their husbands. The wealthiest children even had slaves their own age assigned to them as playmates and servants. Relations between whites and blacks were very different at this time!

And so we find Johann David and wife Margaret Johnson in possession of a town lot in Winchester, a ferry business crossing the Shenandoah river and a plantation on the south fork of the Potomac river by 1760. He soon sells 275 acres of the South Potomac land and leases the rest to his brother Jacob. In May of 1762 he buys 550 acres south of Bullskin run which is later sold to John McCormack (41 acres) and the rest to John Throckmorton. In April of 1772 he acquires 116 acres that he keeps until April 1811 and this is where he and his wife's graves are to this day, on the farm recently known as Glen Owen. During the 39 years they owned it all but one of their children are born and Sarah is 4 years old when they first lived at Glen Owen. In 1811 David sold all but 1/4 acre reserved as burial ground for him and wife Margaret and then stayed at Rose Hill with his daughter Mary Elizabeth and her husband Jacob Shively until his death at age 91 on 13 February, 1826.

Their first child is Sarah Martha 1758-1790 who at 21 years of age marries 38 year old Thomas Shepard 1741-1805 in 1779. They have 7 children, 3 that survive to adulthood. The last child born also dies in 1790. Joseph Henry 1780-1856, Rebecca 1782-1841 and Nancy Ann 1787-1859 survive.

Their first son is William Albert 1762-1832 who at age 22 marries 29 year old Massey G. Osburn (Ferguson) 1755-1823 on 1 January 1784. This was Massey's second marriage and the widow brings 8 year old Samuel and 2 year old Amos from her first marriage of ten years to Hugh Ferguson. Massey births 6 children with William. The first, Abner, only lives 1 year but the rest live to adulthood: William Albert Jr. 1787-1842, John J. 1788-1845, Margaret 1790-1824, David 1793-1814 and Alfred 1795-1880. A year after Massey dies, in 1824 at age 62 he marries 40 year old Juliet Beaty. They have no children and by this time his youngest, Alfred is 29 years old. William and other Castlemans will become members of the Virginia House from 1802 through 1865 and are Jacksonian democrats strongly in favor of States Rights and preservation of the Confederacy. William would have been 14 when the Declaration of Independence was signed and probably served in George Washington's militia. 

The second son is John Stephen 1766-1840 who at age 19 marries 19 year old Sarah Shepherd in 1785 who births 10 children 9 of which survive to adulthood. 

George Castleman 1786–1872, Mary Castleman 1787–1862, Catherine Castleman 1793–1857 Joseph Castleman 1797–(Petition to raise rates on the ferry in 1853 by Col. Joseph), Sarah Castleman 1798–1885, Edward Castleman 1801–1857, Stephen Castleman 1802–1866, Isabella Castleman 1804–1840, Bayless Castleman 1806–1889 and Lucinder "Lucy" Castleman 1808–1890. John dies in Virginia in 1840 at 55 years of age.


Mary Polly 1768-1859 was 20 years old when she married 28 year old Sgt Abraham Odell 1760-1829 in 1788. Abraham had served in Revolutionary war in Virginia militia. Died in Tennessee. They birthed 9 children, 6 that survived to adulthood.

Margaret Odell 1789–1828, Conney O'Dell 1791–, James John Odell 1791–, Rebecca Odell 1792–1871, David Odell 1793–, Jeremiah O'Dell 1798–1884, Samuel Castleman Odell 1806–1891 and John C. Odell 1809–1849


Stephen 1771 - 1797 who in 1794 married Mary Carroll 1778-1832 that are in Mason Kentucky when he dies leaving wife Mary, a son James William 1795-1854 and unborn daughter Elizabeth 1798-1839 when he passes, allegedly from being kicked by a horse. This may be the grandson "James" in David's will.


James Daniel 1775-1840 was 25 years old when he married 23 year old Nancy Earhart 1777-1808 on 7 January 1800 in Virginia and then 23 year old Elizabeth Waters 1785-1860 in 1808 in Hardin, Kentucky. Nancy birthed 5 children Lewis Castleman 1800–1842, Stephen Castleman 1802–1866, Matilda Castleman 1804–1889, Maria Castleman 1806–1867 and Nancy Castleman 1808–1891 that he brought to the marriage with Elizabeth who birthed 9 more. Mary Castleman 1809–1850, David Castleman 1810–, Conrad Castleman 1811–,  James Castleman 1813–1875, Grace Ann Castleman 1815–, John Castleman 1816–1876, Amos Castleman 1819–1840, William Castleman 1821–1902 and Sarah Castleman 1824–1858. It appears James Daniel and wife Nancy relocated to Kentucky by 1804 and left a large number of descendants in Kentucky.


David Jr. 1776-1831 was never married and seems to have been a private in the US Army in 1794 in Ohio though he is buried in Virginia and was a Major when he died at age 55.


Benjamin Thomas 1778-1838 was 23 years old when he married 23 year old Elizabeth Goff 1778-1818 in 1801. They had 4 daughters. Eliza Castleman 1803–1865, Margaret Ann Castleman 1810–1882,  Mary Evaline Castleman 1812–1895 and Elvira Castleman 1816–1880. This family seems to be in Kentucky by 1816.


Thomas Taylor 1781-1833 was 26 years old when he married 17 year old Hannah Bushrod Frost 1790-1827 in 1807. In 1828 he marries Martha P. Stubblefield 1784-1850 and they have just one child that does not survive. Hannah births Charles William Castleman 1811–1881, Rev. Thomas Taylor Castleman Jr. 1813–1861, David Frost Castleman 1815–1884, Seioci Bushrod Castleman 1817–, Lewis Bushrod Castleman 1822–1905 and Hannah Elizabeth Castleman 1826–. Thomas was a Captain in the Virginia militia in 1809 and dies in Virginia in 1833 at age 57. Son David Frost migrates to Louisiana between 1851 and 1855. 


The last child born to David and Margaret is Mary Elizabeth 1784-1858 who is 26 years old when she marries 38 year old Jacob Shively 1772-1842. They birth 3 children Margaret Ann Shively 1815–,  Mary Catherine Shively 1818–1904 and Harriett Elizabeth Shively 1822–1889. Margaret Ann marries Samuel Kneller who is a Farm Manager in 1850. By 1860 Samuel is a "farmer" with property worth 10,300.


The First United States Census of 1790 shows 3,893,635 people as follows:

Free White Male 16 and up; 807,094, under 16, 791,850

Free white females 1,541,263

All other free persons 59,150

Slaves 694,280


In Virginia 747,610 as follows:

Free white male 16 and up; 110,936, under 16, 116,135

Free white female 215,046

All other free persons 12,866

Slaves 292,627


In Frederick 19,681 (Clarke and Warren were not counties yet)

Free white male 16 and up 3,835, under 16, 4,170

Free white female 7,310

All other free persons 116

Slaves 4,250


Town of Winchester

Free white male 16 and up 464, under 16, 341

Free white female 664

All other free 12

Slaves 170


David Castleman is a Head of Family with 10 whites and 5 blacks on the list by George Noble, page 21 in Frederick.


Hampshire County 7,346

Free white male 16 and up 1,662, under 1956

Free white female 3,261

All other free 13

Slaves 454


In Hampshire County on the list of Abrm Johnson we find Jacob Casselman with 8 whites and no blacks on page 26 and Lewis Casselman head of family with 9 whites and no blacks on page 27. In 1784 on page 70 Lewis Castleman is shown with 8 white souls, 1 dwelling and 4 other buildings in Hampshire county.


In 1808 a David (probably Jr.) is a Deputy Sheriff to Cornelius Baldwin in Frederick County. William is a County Judge at this time. 

In 1828 a David Castleman is a Judge in Frederick County, probably a son of William.


National Intelligencer -
Vol. XXVII - No. 3873 -
Washington, Tuesday, February 28, 1826 ..

Died. In the neighborhood of Snickers' Ferry, Virginia, on the 13th inst., David Castleman, aged 92 years, for nearly seventy of which he rersided in the county of Frederick. He raised a numerous and respectable family of children, and his descendants, consisting of children, grand children, great grandchildren, and one great, great grandchild, it is estimated amount to 240 persons.

Clarke County Historical Association #7/1956-#8


The Last will and testament of David Castleman Sr. of Frederick County, Virginia, made the nineteenth day of December in the year one thousand eight hundred and twenty two. I give and devise to eight of my children, William, John, Mary Odel, James, Benjamin, David Jr, Thomas and Elizabeth Shively and also a half share to my grandson James Castleman all my estate real, person, miscel, whatever and wherever to them their heirs, executors, administrators and a assignee after paying all my just debts and legacys hereafter named.



In the first place it is my will and desire that Elizabeth Shively shall have the tract of land which I purchased of Machem Repass where on her and my son in law Jacob Shively now lives at twenty dollars per acre to be paid for in three equal annual payments; the first payment to be made twelve months after my death and so in each and every year until the whole is paid to my executors hereinafter named. But should she not except of the land aforesaid at the price & terms aforesaid within one month after my executors qualifies to this my last will, then it is my desire that my executors do sell the aforesaid tract of land together with all the other of my estate real, personal & mixed whatever and wherever at their discretion for the best price and upon such terms as may appear to them most beneficial to my children named as aforesaid & it is my will and desire that all my just debts and funeral charges be paid and twelve hundred dollars to Elizabeth Shively for and in consideration of her attention & services to me provided she not except of the land aforesaid. Then she is to have this sum together with an equal share with my children as aforesaid.



I do further give and devise to Elizabeth Shively all my household & kitchen furniture of every kind. It is my will and desire that the money which my two sons John and Thomas owes me shall be collected of them in three equal annual payments with interest thereon in one, two and three years after my death and lastly, I do nominate and appoint my sons William Castleman & David Castleman & my friend Charles McCormick sole executors of my last will.



Witness my hand & seal this 19th day of December, 1822.

Copied from Bryan Castleman's blogger page.

1762 David purchased Head Spring Farm at Summit Point. 

1765 David sells Head Spring Farm and puchases Glen Owen Farm 3 miles east of Berryville, VA.

1811 David sells Glen Owen farm and purchases Rose Hill 

1824 David conveys 1 acre of property at Rose Hill to Wickliffe Academy. 

Photo of map made by John R. Castleman; has accompanying letter in archives file[.008.B]. Shows 25 houses, churches & mill sites: Clifton, Fairfield, Balclutha,  Pendleton house site;  Runnymeade site (Castleman)#5,  Lynnwood (Castleman)#6,  Smithfield,  Wickliffe Church,  Auburn #9, Waverly,  Woodburn, The Rocks, Cool Spring,  Marvin Chapel, Audley,  Silver Spring (Jefferson Co.),  Chaumiere, The Hermitage,  Elmington, Rose Hill (Castleman)#20, The Glen,  North Hill#22,  Castleman's Ferry#23,  Springfield,  Long Marsh Run (Broaddus place)

Clark County Historical Association 

My next direct ancestor Thomas Taylor Castleman