Knowing the Law Can Help Prove or Disprove Previous Research: The Jesse and David Bandy Project

When we apply the laws in effect at the time historical records were created, we often gain new insight into earlier research—our own or that of others.

I have researched David Bandy periodically over the past several years. As with any genealogy project, the data evolves as more evidence emerges. David was born circa 1763 and died after 1850, which is the last record located for both David and his wife, Morning.  [i]  (Note: David and Morning had a daughter, also named Morning, who married Jesse Green.)  [ii] In the 1840 census, David’s reported age range of 70–79 places his birth in the 1760s. At that time, he was living in Monroe County, Tennessee, next door to his son William. [iii]

Between 1802 and 1808, David and Jesse Bandy were both in Burke County, North Carolina. Jesse moved after 1808, but David stayed until 1824.  [iv] In 1805, Jesse does not appear in the tax list, and David is holding Jesse’s 450 acres “in trust”, paying only the property tax. That arrangement suggests a close relationship—possibly brothers.

Before moving to North Carolina, Jesse lived in Chester County, South Carolina, and appeared in multiple records, including the 1790 and 1800 censuses. [v] In 1800, he was reported as being over 45, placing his birth around 1755. Yet in 1830, when Jesse was in Rhea County, Tennessee, the census lists him in his 60s, implying a birth year in the 1760s. [vi]

A third man, Bryant Bandy, also lived in Chester County at the same time as Jesse. [vii] Bryant disappears from South Carolina records after 1808, and in the 1810 Burke County tax rolls, he appears next to David—a non-alphabetical list. [viii] This raises the question again: Were David, Jesse, and Bryant brothers?

Many Bandy researchers have long believed Jesse to be the son of Thomas Bandy, one of two boys (Thomas and George) who were taken from their mother, Avy, and bound out by the church wardens in Cumberland County, Virginia.  [ix] Additional support for this theory came from the 1776 Ten Thousand Names Petition, where a Thomas Bandy signed, and a “Jesse ____” signed a few lines later. [x]

However, every known document signed by Jesse shows his mark, indicating he was illiterate. If the “Jesse” on the 1776 document was illiterate, a clerk or scribe would have written the surname clearly. The handwriting on the petition does not appear to match any known spelling pattern for Jesse Bandy.

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So where does the law come in?

The Burke County tax lists and North Carolina law provide the key.

• Jesse paid the poll tax in 1804.
• He is absent in 1805 and 1806.
• In 1807 and 1808, he did not pay a poll tax even though he appears on the list.

Under North Carolina law, men over age 50 were exempt from the poll tax during those years.
Meanwhile, David continued paying the poll tax until 1817, when the law was amended and the age exemption was lowered to 45. [xi] This indicates that David was between 45 and 50 in 1817.

These two points directly challenge the long-held claim that Jesse was the son of Thomas:

• Two documents—1800 census and poll tax exemption—place Jesse’s birth around 1755.
• Thomas and George were bound out as minors in 1755, meaning they themselves were born after 1734.
• Therefore, Jesse cannot be the son of either Thomas or George, as they would have been minors at the time of his birth.

Likewise, David’s poll-tax exemption beginning in 1817 places his birth between 1767 and 1772.

Experienced researchers already treat early censuses cautiously, but understanding the laws governing taxation, guardianship, property, and legal capacity helps us interpret sparse evidence more accurately. When a researcher once challenged my conclusion—asking me to prove Jesse stopped paying because he turned fifty—my reply was simple: this is the most plausible explanation supported by the law and the surviving records. Just as many today claim lawful exemptions (as I did at age 62 in Cobb County, Georgia, when I filed to stop paying school tax), Jesse and David likely did the same.

The table below helps visualize these findings; the right-hand column shows the maximum age required for poll-tax exemption.

Bandy\Year	District	David	Jesse	William	Max Age
1802	CPT Halls	71a/1Poll	450a/1Poll	1Poll	>50
1803	CPT Halls	71a/1Poll	450a/1Poll	1Poll	>50
1804	CPT Dysart	70a/1Poll	450a/1Poll	1Poll	>50
1805	CPT Dysart	70a/1Poll & in Trust for 450a			>50
1806	CPT Dysart	320a/1Poll			>50
1807	CPT Dysart	70a/1Poll	250/No Poll		>50
1808	CPT Dysart	70a/1Poll	250/No Poll		>50
1809	CPT Dysart	70a/1Poll			>50
1810	CPT McKinney	70a/1Poll			>50
1814	CPT McKinney	70a/1Poll			>50
1815	CPT McKinney	70a/1Poll on S mud creek			>50
1817	CPT Hall	70a/No Poll			>45
1818	CPT Hall	70a/No Poll			>45
1824	CPT Hall	70a/No Poll			>45

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Conclusion

Always check evidence against the law in effect at the time.
Ask:

• Who was legally able to witness a court document?
• Who was required to pay the poll tax?
• Who could buy and sell property?
• At what age could an orphan choose a guardian?

Understanding the legal framework often reveals whether long-accepted assumptions hold up—or whether they collapse under closer scrutiny.

My answer to the other Bandy researcher who challenged me on the tax is; this is my current working theory, consistent with GPS Standards (subject to revision based on newly discovered evidence).

— Larry W. Thomas, Gilshot Genealogy Svcs., LLC

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[i] 1850 U. S. Census, Cherokee County, North Carolina, page 33 (stamped), Dwelling and Family 625, Household of Jesse Green, image, Ancestry.com (www.Ancestry.com: accessed 19 May 2021), citing NARA publication M32, roll 625. 

[ii] North Carolina, County Marriages, 1762-1979,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org: accessed 28 February 2021), image 777/1016, Jesse GREEN and Morning BANDY.

[iii] 1840 U. S. Census, Monroe County, Tennessee, East Tennessee 26^th Regiment, page 4 (stamped) 18 (penned), lines 16 & 17, households of David BANDY and William BANDY, images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org: accessed 28 February 2021) Citing NARA publication M704, roll 528.

[iv] Burke County, North Carolina, Tax Lists, 1800 – 1824, North Carolina State Archives, Special Collections, Raleigh, NC.

[v] 1790 U. S. Census, Chester County, South Carolina, p 203, column 2, line 21, hhld of Jesse Bandy, Ancestry.com (www.Ancestry.com: accessed 23 October 2025), Citing NARA publication M 637, roll 11

AND

1800 U. S. Census, Chester County, South Carolina, John Brown’s District, p. 73, line 1, hhld of Jesse Bandy, Ancestry.com (www.Ancestry.com: accessed 23 October 2025), Citing NARA publication M 32, roll 47.

[vi] 1830 U. S. Census, Rhea County, Tennessee, p 379, line 3, hhld of Jesse Bandy, Ancestry.com (www.Ancestry.com: accessed 23 October 2025), Citing NARA publication M 29, roll 275.

[vii] Chester County, South Carolina, Chester County Record Deeds, No. No. G (1798- 1800), p 215, [Simpson – Johnston], Familysearch.org (www.FamilySearch.org: accessed 30 Oct 2025), citing FHL 008299939, img 130/511.

[viii] 1810 U. S. Census, Burke County, North Carolina, Morganton District, page 340, Household of Bryant BANDY, image, Ancestry.com (www.Ancestry.com: accessed 30 Oct 2025), citing NARA publication M252, roll 39.

[ix] Cumberland County, VA, Order Book (1752-1758), p. 312, entry no. 4, Bounding out of Thomas and George Bandy, Familysearch.org (www.FamilySearch.org: accessed 20 Mar 2023).

[x] Ten Thousand Name Petition, 1776, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., digital image, https://www.loc.gov/item/mtjbib023648/

[xi] Helen F. M. Leary, ed., North Carolina Research: Genealogy and Local History (Raleigh, NC: North Carolina Genealogical Society, 1996).