Nenion Elijah Cargile

Our great-great grandfather, Nenion Elijah Cargile, was born 1810 in Christian County, Kentucky.   He was the son of John Cargill, III and Nancy Elizabeth Lewis.

Nenion married our great-great grandmother, Sarah Johnson, on August 14, 1835, in Hickman County, Kentucky. Sarah Johnson was born about 1820, in Tennessee. Sarah was under age when she married and her mother Elizabeth Johnson gave permission for Sarah to marry.   We assume by this that Sarah's father was dead.

Nenion and Sarah moved their family to Arkansas about 1837 with several other families. Nenion appears on the 1839 Searcy County, Arkansas tax list, as does his father John Cargill and his brother Thomas Cargile.

The 1840 Searcy County census shows Ninion E. Cargile, a farmer, age 20-29; one female 20-29 and two females under 5 years of age. Living very near Nenion were his parents and his sister Keziah Palmer and her family.  Nenion's brother Robert Lewis Cargile and his family lived in the same area.

We found record that Nenion (spelled Ninion in many records) paid a poll tax in Searcy County in 1839, 1840, 1841, 1842 and 1843.  

Nenion moved his family to Conway County, Arkansas about 1844.  They settled in Benton Township, near Quitman.  Nenion was a farmer and a Justice of the Peace.

The 1850 Conway County, Benton Township census shows Nenion living in the household next to his sister Keziah Palmer and very near the household of his younger brother William Cargile.  The census shows  N. E. Cargile, 38, a farmer; Sarah, 26; Nancy, 14; Kizsiah, 12; Mary, 9; Cyntha, 7; Eliza, 4 and Milla, 2 years old.

Sarah died between May 1855 and 1858, in either Benton Township or Walker Township of Conway County. 

Prior to 1859 Nenion moved his family to Walker Township of Conway County.  On July 1, 1859, Nenion filed patent on 160 acres of land in Walker Township.  The property description was Section 3, Township 8 N, Range 12 W, 5th Prime Meridian.  This area is located in present day Faulkner County. 

The census of 1860 Conway County, Walker Township, Springfield Post Office, shows Nenjin E. Cargile, 49, a farmer; Margaret, 17; Martha E., 14; Mahala A., 11; J. W., 9 and D. B., 5 years old. The census shows Nenion's real property valued at $360 and his personal property valued at $150.  Nenion's brother Thomas Cargill was living nearby.

Nenion married Elizabeth Plant on April 27, 1862, in Conway County.   Elizabeth Plant, born about 1822, in Tennessee, was the widow of John Plant, who was born about 1821, in South Carolina and died 1857-1858, in Muddy Bayou Township of Conway County. 

Records show that on February 8, 1867, Nenion appeared before the Conway County Chancery Court to seek a divorce from Elizabeth. Elizabeth did not appear in court, and the judge continued the final action until the "next term". Chancery Court records for the August Term, 1867 show the divorce decree was made "final and absolute".

The 1868 Conway County Tax Book shows Nenion was still paying taxes on the property he patented in 1859.   

  The 1870 Conway County, Benton Township census, Quitman Post Office, shows N. E. Cargil, 60, a farmer; Marthey, 22; Mahaley, 20; John, 19 and Burvil, 15 years old. Nenion's real property was valued at $300 and his personal property at $300.  Living nearby were Nenion's brother Delemore (shown as Burvil Cargil on the census) and his sister Keziah (shown as Kisiah Parmer on the census). 

N. E. Cargile paid real estate taxes on his property in Conway County in 1872.

On April 12, 1873, portions of Conway County and Pulaski County were set apart and Faulkner County was formed. Both Benton and Walker Townships became part of Faulkner County at that time.  (In 1883, portions of that area became part of the newly formed Cleburne County.)   A list of land owners in 1873 Faulkner County, Benton Township, includes D.B. Cargile, J. W. Cargile, N. E. Cargile, R. L. Cargile and T. Y. Cargile.    

We did not find N. E. Cargile listed as a real estate taxpayer in Benton Township of Faulkner County in 1874.  Those listed on the taxpayers list included R. L. Cargile, B. F. Cargile, J. M. Cargile, D. B. Cargile, John W. Cargle and G. Y. Cargle.   

We believe Nenion Cargile died about 1875, near Quitman, in Benton Township of the newly formed Faulkner County.  We found no other record of him after the 1873 tax list.  Several of Nenion's children migrated to Texas in the mid 1870's.  We believe they left Arkansas soon after the death of their father Nenion.

Nenion was a farmer and a Justice of the Peace for over 30 years. County records contain countless marriages he performed.

Children of Nenion Cargile and Sarah Johnson