Westmorland County is located near the northwest corner of England proper and set-off above in light red.

The first known recorded date for Joshua Clyburn is 1778, the date of his first land deed in Robeson County, which was then Bladen County, North Carolina [1]. Spelling was not strictly followed at the time, even within the same document, but in identifying him here we have chosen to use the spelling of "Clyburn" for Joshua since that was the spelling used in the 1790 census.

Thanks to a DNA study conducted in conjunction with The National Society of the Claiborne Family Descendants and Family Tree DNA, we have been able to determine with a high degree of probability that Joshua descended from an English family originating in Westmorland County in northern England. Click here for a 2007 report on the DNA study (pdf) and click here for a prior report in 2003. The DNA study also helped put to rest years of speculation that Joshua descended from Colonel William Claiborne, Secretary of the Colony of Virginia; Joshua did not descend from William and the two appear to have no connections.

Harriette Threlkeld's rendition of Cliburn Hall. This is a view from the courtyard.

English Origins

This family from Westmorland County was an "ancient and knightly family" whose name was derived from the manor of "Cliburn" [2]. The family held the manor for nearly 400 years, from early in the thirteenth century to the middle of the seventeenth century. Cliburn Hall stands today, near the small village of Cliburn, six miles southeast of the town of Penrith, in historic Westmorland County, high above the rivulet Leith. The grand old stone building with a three story "pele tower" was erected in the fourteenth century by Robert de Cliburn, knight of the shire for Westmorland. Two hundred years later, the original structure was altered and enlarged by Richard Cleburne. On the Tudor estate was a large deer park, beautiful pleasure grounds, and terraced walks. Across the road from Cliburn Hall is the Parish Church of Cliburn, a Norman structure built in the twelfth century.

The founder of the Cliburn family, Hervey de Cliburn (Hervey meant "strong in war"), and his descendants held the manor by "knight service." In about the middle of the seventeenth century, following the English reconquest of Ireland, William Cleburne, the second son of Thomas the fourteenth Lord of the manor of Cliburne, went to the City of Kilkenny, Ireland [3]. Kinsmen had preceded him but it was William that acquired castles, towns, and lands. Therefore Cliburnes (and variants of the name) resided in both Westmorland and Ireland for a time.

The Parish Church of Cliburn, a Norman structure built in the twelfth century.

Although the DNA studies make it virtually certain that Joshua originated from this family, it is not entirely clear how he arrived in North Carolina. It is possible that Joshua's family came to America directly from Westmorland. On the other hand, family tradition among some ancestors is that Joshua's family came from Ireland, and it is possible that he descended from a Westmorland group that settled in Ireland before crossing the ocean.

Joshua's Lineage

Although Joshua's origins are largely speculation, a number of people have posited theories about his parents. According to historian Angela Clyburn's hypothesis, Joshua descended from a John Clyburn of Henrico and Brunswick Counties, Virginia and later Bladen County, North Carolina [4]. This John Clyburn was born about 1712 and in about 1732 he married a Jean Clarke in Brunswick County. Jean was the daughter of John's nearby neighbor Robert Clarke. John served in the Militia in The French and Indian War with the rank of Private in Colonial Granville County, North Carolina, and died on 7 March 1785 in Bladen County, North Carolina.

Angela believes that Joshua Clyburn was John and Jean's son in large part because the three lived in the same vicinity, and their birth and marriage dates tally. John's father (also named John) had a step-father named Joshua Stapp and this may have been Joshua's namesake [5]. DNA evidence from the study done in conjunction with the National Society of the Claiborne Family Descendants makes it certain that Ephraim Claybourn's descendants are closely linked genetically to Cliburns/Clyburns arising out of Henrico County, adding further weight to Angela's theory.

It is important to distinguish the John Clyburn discussed above from a John Cliborn of Dale Parish, Chesterfield Co., Virginia, who was also born in about 1712 (commonly referred to as "John of Dale Parish") and is credited with having a progeny numbering over a million [6]. A brief history of John of Dale Parish's lineage can be found here. Various sources list John of Dale Parish having seven children [7], and none of them named Joshua. Nevertheless, DNA evidence indicates both John Clyburn and John of Dale Parish were closely related and likely had a common ancestor.

In her later years historian Harriette Threlkeld appeared to believe Joshua came from Ireland [8], largely because family tradition (especially in the Arkansas branch) had held the same [9]. Harriette discovered a Petition of Naturalization from Ireland for a 'Joshua Clibborn' dated 1796 (the naturalization papers are on file with the Philadelphia Department of Records). For reasons not entirely clear, she suspected they were the same person. But Joshua was in North Carolina from 1778 to about 1799 so it is unlikely he would have been naturalized in Philadelphia in 1796. Nevertheless, even if Joshua descended from John Clyburn, it is still possible that his ancestors lived in Ireland for a time.

If Joshua was at least twenty years old when he got his first grant of land in North Carolina, he would have been born in 1758. Joshua does not appear in the 1800 census and so we believe he died shortly before then. Assuming he was born in 1738 and died about 1799, he would have been 61. His wife's name was Sarah, but we do not know her parentage or time or place of birth. She was still in Robeson County as late as 1835 from evidence on a deed, discussed later.

The American Revolution

Joshua's life spanned the period of the American Revolution. In spite of being of military age, we have found no records of Joshua Clyburn having served in that war. As noted below in the section concerning Joshua's siblings, Joshua may have had a brother (Ephraim) who was a British Loyalist. If true, Joshua may have shared his sentiments. Historians estimate that between 15 and 20 percent of the colonists were Loyalists, about 40 to 45 percent supported the patriot cause, and the remainder tried to avoid involvement [10]. The largest number of loyalists were found in the middle colonies like the Carolinas. Older citizens and recent emigrants, especially Scots, tended to be Loyalist, though affiliations could span all demographics [11].

Loyalists remaining in the United States during and after the war often faced harsh punishment from patriots, including death, imprisonment, confiscation, and tarring and feathering. Revolutionaries controlled state governments in the South and so suppression was especially strong there [12]. Homes and records of Loyalists were frequently burned and destroyed. This volatile environment encouraged about 46,000 Loyalists to seek refuge in Canada, with 34,000 of those ending up in Nova Scotia. Ephraim (Joshua's suspected brother) and his family were among them and settled on a homestead he received in Nova Scotia. Although the vast majority of Loyalists remained in the States following the war, if Joshua was a Loyalist there would seem to be a decent probability that he would follow his brother to Canada. Yet following the conclusion of the war Joshua stayed and appears to have expanded on his land holdings.

Because of the lack of conclusive evidence, we can not be certain of Joshua's involvement in the American Revolution. At least one sibling sided with the British and then fled to Canada, but Joshua stayed and flourished in the new country. For now his true revolutionary sentiments remain a mystery.

The 1790 Census

Joshua was listed in the first census of the United States in 1790, of Robeson County, North Carolina [13] (parent county was Bladen) under the following entry:

Joshua Clyburn

1 Free White male 16 years of age and upwards, including head of family [14]

2 Free white males under 16 [15]

4 Free white females, including heads of families [16]

"The North Carolina farmer was a self-sufficient and versatile jack-of-all trades. He was a combination farmer, engineer, hunter and trapper, carpenter, mechanic, and businessman. The small farmer seldom owned more than two to three hundred acres of land. Most of them held no bond servants or slaves, though a few possessed a small number. Connor has described these small farmers as a 'strong, fearless, independent race, simple in taste, crude in manners, provicial in outlook, democratic in social relations, tenacious of their personal liberties, and when interested in religion at all, earnest, narrow, and dogmatic." [18]

Land Transactions

For the period covering Joshua's lifetime, and for much of the Western world's history, land transactions can provide the most detailed documentation of a person's activities. His first land record occurred on the 17th of July in 1778 when Archibald McClain records that 100 acres on "First Swamp" bordering his lower line includes "Joshua Cliburn's" improvements [19]. Harriette Threlkeld found copies of land grants and surveys for Joshua in Bladen (later Robeson) County which revealed that Joshua once owned three tracts of land totalling 500 acres [20]. From the field descriptions of these surveys and a map, Harriette located the general area as near the town of Rowland, North Carolina and near the South Carolina border. It was all between the Shoesheel Swamp and the Ashpole Swamp.

Using an "Index to Real Estate Conveyances in Robeson County," Harriette also got the county's deed book pages involving Clibourns (spelling was not strictly followed at the time) and sent for several of them. According to one deed, James Rowland sold Joshua 200 acres near Ashpole Swamp for "twenty pounds specie" (they were still using English money) [21]. Yet the land was deeded to 'Ephrain Cliborn.' The land "[b]eginning at a post oak on Joshua Clibourn's corner," the deed reads, was conveyed "to Ephraim Cliborn, son of Joshua and Sarah Clibourn" [22]. The deed is dated 1794, so Ephraim would have only been six years old. It is not clear why Joshua bought this land for him at such a young age.

The 1794 deed is signed by James Rowland and witnessed by William (X) Clibourn and Charles Ingram. It is not clear what relation this William was, but he was probably his brother as discussed below. James Rowland was a large land owner in the area, and Rowland, North Carolina, was likely named after him or his family [23].

Joshua does not appear on the 1800 census so it is presumed that he died shortly before that year and, following his death, the family struggled to pay taxes. In a deed dated November 18, 1802, "Joshua Clibourn Heirs," represented by the sheriff of the county, sold 339 acres of Joshua's land for taxes to Matthew James [24]. Notice of the sheriff's sale appeared in at least three issues of the Raleigh Register, suggesting others in the area were also hard pressed for money [25]. The land was ultimately sold for only two pounds, sixteen shillings and ten pence (about two and a half English pounds). 25 acres of the entire plot had had taxes paid on it and was not sold; this area may have been their homestead.

The last of Joshua's land was apparently sold by Ephraim in 1811. That year "Ephraim Clibourn" of Knox County, Tennessee, sold the land he had been deeded in 1794 (the descriptions tally) to Matthew Jones for 50 pounds, the same man who bought Joshua's land in 1802 to help pay taxes [26]. This transaction was two years after Ephraim's marriage in Knox County in 1809, so by this time Ephraim had already left North Carolina.

We can only speculate at the cause of Joshua's death. He left the earth with much the same mystery that he entered it.

Siblings

There is evidence to suggest that Joshua had at least two brothers, and possibly even three:

1. William: Since William, John, James and Thomas were popular names in the Claybourn family, it is very difficult to discern which are connected. Nevertheless, William (X) Claybourn was a witness to a deed for Joshua, suggesting some sort of link as possibly a brother or son [27]. DNA evidence closely links the descendants of this William to the descendants of Joshua and his son Ephraim, further suggesting a link. A William Clyburn appears on the 1790 census of Robeson County, apparently in the same part of the county as Joshua [28]. This William is listed as having two males over 16, counting the head of the family, and two males under sixteen, along with what may be six females. Therefore, with a family that large, it seems more likely that this William would be a brother to Joshua. According to historian Angela Clyburn, one of his descendants, he is believed to have been born in about 1747. Angela also believes that William and Martha had ten children together: William Clyburn, Jr., Lewis, Sr., Nancy, Charity, Mildred, Sarah, Martha, Stephen, James Sr., and Jesse.

   Like Joshua, William left a trail of land transactions. The first recorded transaction occurred in 1768, when he paid taxes on land in Bladen County, North Carolina [29]. On 10 January 1793, Alexander McDaniel of Georgetown District, South Carolina, sold to William Clibourn, Saddler, "66 acres beginning on the west side of Indian Swamp at a Post Oak on Edward Flowers line near the mouth of the swamp" for 50 pounds [30]. On 21 June 1793, Cornelius Wingate sold William Cliburn 100 acres lying on the south side of Drowning Creek (Lumber River) in the fork between Ashpole and Indian Swamp, "fully described in the Patent dated 25 October 1788" [31]. Another deed dated 15 July 1793, documents a transaction between William and Charles Ingram [32], and another dated 6 January 1795 describes a sale by William to Noah Pitman [33].

2. Ephraim: An Ephraim Clyburn lived from about 1746 to 1823 and in the DNA studies previously discussed, his descendants are closely linked to those of William and Joshua. This Ephraim married a woman named Sophia and is believed to have been a British Loyalist during the American Revolution. Historian Peggy O'Neal-Thurston, a descendant of Ephraim, has spent much of her life researching Epharim's line. With Peggy's help Angela Clyburn found a history of the King's Carolina Rangers where this Ephraim is documented as having been recruited and enlisted with the British forces in the area of Cape Fear, North Carolina (not far from where the Clyburn family is known to have lived). Following the war many British loyalists fled to Canada and this Ephraim appears to have been one of them. He was granted 200 acres of land in Nova Scotia, Canada, in 1784 [34]. He and Sophia are believed to have had the following children: John, William, Ann Violet Jane, Mary, Esther Hattie, Sarah, Ephraim Simon, Joshua, and Joselina. All but John were born in Canada. A deed dated 26 September 1823 is the last known record for Ephraim in Guysborough County, Nova Scotia. He likely died soon thereafter. Click here for a brief description of Ephraim by Angela Clyburn.

3. James: Peggy O'Neal-Thurston believes an additional brother, James, belongs in this clan [35]. Her tireless research uncovered that a James Clyburn fought in the same ranks as Ephraim, was garrisoned in the same place of St. Augustine, Florida, and then made the long ship ride to Canada arriving on Christmas Day in 1784 in Country Harbour, Nova Scotia. Peggy indicates that his name is listed on the muster lists of Country Harbour, Nova Scotia for 1784 and 1785, and on one list he appeared with a wife and child/children. In 1784 he is listed but in 1785 at the final muster list he does not sign for his land. Nearly 900 people perished that first winter in Nova Scotia due to lack of food, weather, and poor supplies. James may have been among those who perished. All who died that winter were buried on Mt. Misery, across the harbour from Country Harbour. In her correspondence Peggy notes that Ephraim and Sophia were attributed with having an abnormally large number of children; it is possible that, following the death of James, they raised his remaining children.

Descendants

Although we are certain Ephraim is the son of Joshua and Sarah, other offspring are not so clear. Some research suggests that Joshua and Sarah had as many as five children. Here are sketches on what we know and/or suspect were their children:

1. James Sarah "Sally" Claybourn. Relatives known to Harriette Threlkeld in southern Illinois said that "Sally" Claybourn Brown was a sister of Ephraim, and therefore a daughter of Joshua and Sarah [36]. Her daughter Jane said in the 1880 census of Illinois that her parents were born in North Carolina, although Sally herself gave "South Carolina" as her place of birth in the 1850 census. However, they lived so close to the present border - which was not set until 1815 - that the discrepancy can be explained. She gave her age as 65 in 1850, so she would have been born in 1785, three years before Ephraim. Jane stated that her father, James Brown, was born in Ireland. There are a number of Brown families of Scottish or Scotch-Irish ancestry in Robeson County. In the 1850 census, Jane Brown, daughter of Sally, listed four children. She is believed to have died in 1853 in Illinois.

2. Rhoda "Rhody" Cliburn, who appears to have married Elias Atkerson in Franklin County, Virginia in 1801. Her mother is listed as Sarah and Rhoda is believed to have died in 1851 in Kentucky.

3. Mary "Polly", who died in 1876 in Virginia

4. Ephraim Claybourn (click name for separate biographical sketch).

References and Notes