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John Chenoweth was born ABT 1682 in Cornwall. He died 1746 in Frederick Co., VA.
John Chenoweth's wife was Mary Calvert (1687-<1737). They were married ABT 1703. They had 8 known children named Richard Chenoweth (1701-1781), John Chenoweth (1706-1771), Mary Chenoweth (1708->1746), Hannah Chenoweth (1713-1764), Arthur Chenoweth (1716-1802), William Chenoweth (1718-<1785), Thomas Chenoweth (1720-1787), and Ruth Chenoweth (1722-c1760).
From www.chenowethsite.com
This database of American families begins with John Chenoweth, bornabout 1682, probably in Cornwall. There are many mysteriessurrounding his life. It is neither certain as to who his father was, norprecisely when he came to America. Cora Hiatt said that he located on atract of land of some 7,600 acres in Baltimore Co., MD near Joppa on theGunpowder River. He gave his trade as "blacksmith" and built a housecalled "Gunpowder or Chenoweth Manor" in which all his 8 children wereraised, five sons and three daughters. But Chenoweth Manor and landholdings in "Gunpowder Manor" that belonged to the Chenoweth Familyhave no basis in fact. There are but three parts of this claim that are true.He had eight children as proven by his will, he was a blacksmith by trade,and he lived in Baltimore Co., MD for a time. "Gunpowder Manor" was aCalvert holding and John Chenoweth had no part in it.
According to Elmer R. Haile, Jr., the first record of John appears inBaltimore Co., MD in the year 1737, when he and his sons were assessedfor tythes in support of the Anglican Church. He could have been thereprior to this event, his son John was married there in 1730 and hisdaughter Mary in 1733; but 1737 is the first record of John Chenoweth inBaltimore Co., MD.
Assuming that John Chenoweth arrived in America about 1700, though wedon't know the exact timing or route, we can paint a picture of what waslikely. He was a young man. His origins, by his name were Cornish, alsocalled Welsh. He came into the West New Jersey-Philadelphia area, whichfor the last 20 years had been attracting thousands of Quakers seekingfreedom from religious persecution. At the time Philadelphia was the 2ndlargest city in the New World with some 5,000 inhabitants. That his nameis found as a witness on various documents of this early time, shows thathe was trustworthy and had made friends.
When or where John married is not proven, but the name of his first wifeis given by family tradition as Mary Calvert, whose own origins are equallyquestioned and argued. That John existed is certain, as his will made onApril 11, 1746, shortly before his death, firmly establishes his family andchildren. He mentioned each of them by name. Though he referred to hiswife, he did not give us her name. Recent information developed by Dr.A. L. Rowse, J. Richard Buckey, Marie Eberle & Margaret Henley, indicatesthat John Chenoweth appears in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, thenmoved to Maryland where his two older children married and sons,Arthur and Richard, would established their families. On December 16,1736, apparently widowed, John married the widow, Jane Wood, in St.Paul's Parish, Baltimore Co., MD. In 1737 he is found listed with thenames of 3 of his sons in the tax rolls of the Back River Upper Hundred ofBaltimore Co., MD. He did not own this land. After 1739, John thenmoved on to Virginia where he died in 1746. In his will, John describeshimself as.... "John Chenoweth, of Frederick County, Virginia". It is almostcertain the John, the progenitor, lived and died in Virginia, and was notthere on a visit as Cora Hiatt proclaimed. This is clearly evident in theinventory of his assets conducted in Virginia and presented on July 11,1746. The items describe a "well-supplied farming household completewith livestock" [Elmer Haile]. The disposition of a "fabled GunpowderManor" cited by Cora Hiatt is not mentioned in the will, nor for that matterare any lands in Maryland. Also missing are any blacksmithing tools[Elmer Haile], which he must have previously passed down to one of hissons. The other three of five sons John, William and Thomas, relocated toVirginia, and though the order and timing is not known, it is likely theymoved there are the same time that John himself did. There are norecords in Maryland after 1740 of John or his 3 Virginia sons.
Did John Chenoweth ever own any land? His name has not been found onany official record to date. However his will does indicate that some landwas involved when he stated "deeds of gift already made and given to myson Thomas and John Petit, my son-in-law, of my land and otherparticulars therein stand good and valid..." If land was previously given toThomas, surely it was in Virginia, as Thomas was in Virginia to witnessand administer the will.
Cora Hiatt has placed John in the ancient Chenoweth line as either thegrandson of William (XI in the Chenoweth ancestor Chart ) or John (XI inthe Chenoweth ancestor Chart ) from Anthony Chenouth (X in theChenoweth ancestor Chart ). He is certainly not from John and there is noproof of William. Kathie Weigel, from a line from Elinor, the sister ofAnthony Chenouth states: "It was VERY common in the "old days" forpeople to hook their immigrant ancestor onto an old world family ofgentry, usually because they wanted the coat of arms. I can tell from thedata that Ms Hiatt had seen both the St. Martins P.R. and Vivian's 1620Visitation (That is where the "Trevelisek to Chynoweth information camefrom); therefore she had to have been aware that the Chenoweth namedid not continue in St. Martins. Chenoweth is a very common name inCornwall; there are a number of places called Chenoweth, so unrelatedfamilies can have arisen simultaneously with the same surname." Despiteall the early references to Wales, it is unlikely that any one with the nameChenoweth came from any place other than Cornwall. DNA testing hasshown that John is closely related to at least one other Chenowethmigration from Cornwall. Given the problems with the origins of JohnChenoweth, Richard Harris choose not to touch any of these claims with aproverbial ten foot pole and concentrate his book with the Americanfamily of John and Mary. Greg Wulker has wriiten two excellent articles onthe early life of the family for the December 2006 newsletter and Mar2007 newsletter
From "HISTORY, The CHENOWETH FAMILY Address of Captain IDilliam ti.Cobb 8th Reunion of the Family held near Elkins on the First Saturday inSeptember 1922"
In Frederick Co., Va., on April 11, 1746, John Chino-
weth, blacksmith, made his will, probated May 6, 1746.
Witnesses were Joseph Stanley, Mary Stanley and William
Jolliffe. He mentions wife (not by- name,) children John
(eldest,) Richard, Arthur, William, Thomas, Mary Watson,
Hannah Carter, and Ruth Petitt ; grandson John Watson,
Jr.; son-in-law John Petit. Son Thomas Chinoweth and
James Carter were appointed executors.