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Spurlins of Cleveland and Rutherford Counties, North Carolina

The Spurlin line of Cleveland and Rutherford counties, North Carolina, descends from Isaac Spurlin Sr. (c. 1770–c. 1854), son of John ("Big John") and Myally Spurlin. It is traced through deeds, censuses, an 1826 North Carolina Supreme Court case, Confederate rosters and family graves around Shelby and Ellenboro.

Sourcing: mixed 2 book · 8 genealogy · 6 government

Isaac Spurlin Sr.

A family article in The Heritage of Cleveland County (1982) says Isaac Spurlin Sr. was born about 1770, probably in Chatham or Orange County, North Carolina. He was the son of John and Myally Spurlin, and the family had moved to Richmond County by 1786.[1] The article cites a deed of 18 February 1800 in which John Spurling gave his son Isaac fifty acres "in consideration of the natural love and affection which I bear to my son."[1] It says Isaac moved to Rutherford County after 1812. On 12 January 1815 he bought about 246 acres on Hickory Creek from Martin Elliott, "including the plantation where E. Spurlin then lived."[1] According to the article, Isaac raised nine children and died about 1854. His 1854 will left most of his property to his youngest son, John Berry Spurlin.[1] The article was written by a descendant and draws on deeds, wills and family knowledge.

Parents and brothers

The same volume includes an article on "The John Spurlin Family" by Norman Kent Spurling. It identifies Isaac's father as John Spurlin Sr., who lived in Orange and Chatham counties from at least 1770 to 1782 and was in Richmond County by 1786. By 1800 he had land on Buffalo Creek in Lincoln County, and he left 23 children when he made his will in 1822.[1] The article says Isaac's family "formed the main line of Cleveland County Spurling descendants."[1] FamilySearch's shared tree also lists "Isaac Spurlin Sr" (1770–1854) among the children of John Spurling Sr. (1740–1822).[2] WikiTree's profile for Isaac does not name his parents.[3] John Sr. is the "Big John" of the FamilyTreeDNA Spurlin surname project, whose Y-DNA results link his line to the Jeremiah Spurling family of Virginia (see "Big John" Spurling and the Spurlin DNA Project).[4]

According to the 1982 article, several of Isaac's brothers also settled nearby. Elijah (1771–1845) held land on Beason's Creek in Lincoln County, in an area that later became part of Cleveland County. Jesse (1776–1838) was living in Rutherford County by 1830 and is buried in the W. M. Spake Cemetery.[1]

Children

The article names several of Isaac's children. Matthew (born 1798) farmed in Rutherford County. Jonathan (born about 1805) was a shoemaker in Cleveland County in 1850. Isaac Jr. (1811–1902), whom the article calls "the father of the Cleveland County line of Spurlin(g)s," bought land on the First Broad River in the 1850s and 1860s.[1] WikiTree profiles for Isaac Sr. and Isaac Jr. give similar dates, but they place Isaac Sr.'s birth in the Virginia colony and Isaac Jr.'s in Rutherford County.[3][5]

Nineteenth-century records

An 1826 court case

The North Carolina Reports for the December 1826 term include John Howell v. Martin Elliott, an appeal from Rutherford County. The case turned on a November 1816 bill of sale in which "Jesse Spurlin" conveyed a bay horse, a cow and calf, and two feather beds to John Howell Sr. The property stayed in Spurlin's possession until the horse was seized under an execution in 1822.[6] The case also mentions an arbitration that awarded Spurlin $130 for work and labor done for Howell.[6] The report does not say which Jesse Spurlin this was. The 1982 family article's Jesse, Isaac's brother, was in Rutherford County by 1830.[1] The names Howell and Elliott match other records of the family: Isaac Spurlin bought land from a Martin Elliott in 1815, and the Howell-Spurlin Cemetery in Shelby holds the grave of John Howell (1744–1828).[1][7]

In congressional documents

Two Rutherford County Spurlins appear in documents printed by Congress. The House Committee of Elections printed the poll lists from the disputed August 1835 congressional election in North Carolina's 12th district, and a Hicks Spurlin is among the Rutherford County voters.[8] The 1880 final report of the Commissioners of Claims lists claim No. 4549, from Matthew Spurlin of Rutherford County, for a horse valued at $150. It was one of the North Carolina cases barred because it had not been pursued.[9] See Spurlins in the Congressional Record.

Civil War service

Clarence W. Griffin's History of Old Tryon and Rutherford Counties (1937) reprints Confederate company rosters of Rutherford County men. Company D of the 16th North Carolina includes Isaac J. Spurlin, "discharged May 20, 1862 for disability," and John E. Spurlin.[10] Sources disagree on John E. Spurlin's death. Griffin's roster says he "died Nov. 29, 1862 at Petersburg,"[10] but the soldier record transcribed on his Find a Grave memorial gives 18 December 1861 at Warrenton, Virginia, and the memorial's dates are 1841–1861.[11]

Company I of the 56th North Carolina includes George W. Spurlin, who "enlisted July 12, 1861, died from wounds received May 12, 1864." A list of "Rutherford County men in scattered commands" adds J. W. Spurlin of Company C, 15th North Carolina, who enlisted on 8 March 1863 after a transfer from Mallett's Battalion.[10] The National Park Service's Soldiers and Sailors index has matching records for Isaac J. Spurlin (16th), George Washington Spurlin (56th) and J. W. Spurlin (15th).[12][13][14]

Graves

Find a Grave records five Spurlin graves in the Howell-Spurlin Cemetery at Shelby: an infant son of Jesse Spurlin (died 1850), Thomas (died 1851), R. A. (died 1854), Jesse (died 1888) and Jerry Spurlin (died 1890).[15] In Rutherford County, John E. Spurlin is buried at Oak Grove United Methodist Church Cemetery, Ellenboro. His memorial names his parents as Clater Wynn Spurlin (1822–1914) and Malinda Edwards Spurlin.[11] Find a Grave also lists a small Spurling Family Cemetery at Ellenboro, with two memorials.[16]

See also

  • "Big John" Spurling and the Spurlin DNA Project · Genealogy mixed
    John Spurlin (or Spurling) Sr., known to researchers as "Big John", lived in Orange, Chatham, Richmond and Lincoln counties, North Carolina, and left a will in 1822 naming 23 children. Y-DNA testing places a descendant in the same paternal line as the Jeremiah Spurling family of Virginia, but no document yet found names his parents.
  • Howell-Spurlin Cemetery (Shelby, North Carolina) · Places weak
    Howell-Spurlin Cemetery is a small 19th-century family burial ground in Shelby, Cleveland County, North Carolina. Find a Grave records 16 memorials, among them John Howell (1744–1828) and five Spurlins who died between 1850 and 1890.
  • John E. Spurlin (Confederate soldier) · History strong
    John E. Spurlin (1841–1861) was a Rutherford County, North Carolina, farmer. He enlisted in the 16th North Carolina Infantry in 1861 and, according to the regimental roster, died of typhoid fever at Warrenton, Virginia, that December; a 1937 county history gives a different date and place.
  • W. H. Spurlin (Georgia pioneer) · Genealogy mixed
    W. H. Spurlin was a Confederate veteran born in Shelby, North Carolina, who settled in Pulaski County, Georgia. His descendants spread through Worth County, Sylvester and Valdosta.
  • Early Spurlin and Spurling families in America · Genealogy mixed
    Spurlin and Spurling families appear in colonial Virginia and North Carolina in the 18th century and moved west and south into Indiana, Alabama and Texas during the 19th century. Their European origins are still debated.
  • Published Spurlin and Spurling family histories · Genealogy mixed
    The main published genealogies are Quincy Haggard Spurlin's 'SPURLIN: A Spurlin Family in America' (1987) and Norman Kent Spurling's two-volume 'Spurling family history in Virginia & North Carolina' (1998). Shorter family articles appear in county heritage books, and the largest online trees are on WikiTree and FamilySearch.
  • Spurlin family lines by state · Genealogy weak
    A state-by-state guide to the main Spurlin and Spurling family lines in the United States, from colonial Virginia and North Carolina to Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama, Texas and Indiana, with the sources behind each link.

References

  1. ↑ ↑ ↑ ↑ ↑ ↑ ↑ ↑ ↑ ↑ The Heritage of Cleveland County (1982) — Internet Archive Book
  2. ↑ John Spurling Sr. (1740–1822), MM5Y-6T3 — FamilySearch Family Tree Genealogy
  3. ↑ ↑ Isaac Spurlin (1772–1854) (Spurlin-257) — WikiTree Genealogy
  4. ↑ Spurlin Spurling Sparlin Sparling — Y-DNA Results Overview — FamilyTreeDNA Genealogy
  5. ↑ Isaac Spurlin (1811–1902) (Spurlin-248) — WikiTree Genealogy
  6. ↑ ↑ North Carolina Reports, December Term 1826 (John Howell v. Martin Elliott) — Internet Archive Government
  7. ↑ Howell-Spurlin Cemetery — Find a Grave Genealogy
  8. ↑ Contested election — Newland vs. Graham — H. Rept. 378, 24th Cong., 1st Sess. (1836) — GovInfo — Rutherford County poll list, p. 275 Government
  9. ↑ Tenth general report of the Commissioners of Claims — H. Mis. Doc. 30, 46th Cong., 2d Sess. (1880) — GovInfo — p. 68 Government
  10. ↑ ↑ ↑ Clarence W. Griffin, History of Old Tryon and Rutherford Counties, North Carolina, 1730–1936 (Asheville: Miller Printing, 1937) — Internet Archive — filed inside an item mislabelled "ZHaywood County Cemetery Survey"; rosters on pp. 262, 285 and 290 Book
  11. ↑ ↑ John E. Spurlin (1841–1861) — Find a Grave Memorial — Oak Grove UMC Cemetery, Ellenboro; parents; transcribed soldier record (Warrenton, Va., 18 Dec. 1861) Genealogy
  12. ↑ Spurlin, Isaac J. — 16th Regiment, North Carolina Infantry, Co. D — Soldiers and Sailors Database, National Park Service — alternate name Isaac J. Sperlin Government
  13. ↑ Spurlin, George Washington — 56th Regiment, North Carolina Infantry, Co. I — Soldiers and Sailors Database, National Park Service Government
  14. ↑ Spurlin, J. W. — 15th Regiment, North Carolina Infantry, Co. C — Soldiers and Sailors Database, National Park Service Government
  15. ↑ Memorials in Howell-Spurlin Cemetery — Find a Grave — 16 memorials, 5 Spurlin Genealogy
  16. ↑ Spurling Family Cemetery in Ellenboro, North Carolina — Find a Grave — 2 memorials Genealogy

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Last reviewed 2026-09-24.