Was William Early's father an indentured servant?

Jennifer Kiser reports an interesting finding: In researching indentured servants who immigrated here in the mid 18th century, she has found one James Early who entered through Philadelphia. And to whom was he indentured? One Joseph Pemberton!  Could this be the original connection with our Early's and Pembertons? Col. Early's book suggests family legend indicates our first Early family immigrant was John Early from Belfast, and that James was likely his son. Circumstantial evidence suggests that James was the father of William and grandfather of John Grandison Early. However, this speculation is not well documented, so this possible connection could mean new information. It will be helpful to know if there is any connection between Joseph Pemberton and our known Pembertons.

Tom Early has suggested looking for a Grandison line as the mother of William Early, since the given  middle name of the first born (John Grandison Early) was often the mother's maiden name . In fact, on Ancestry.com one contributor suggests that James Early and Elizabeth Grandison were the parents of William, but there is no documentation and no contact for the contributor.  Perhaps just supposition,  but perhaps a couple of additional clues...

A Possible Clue?

Edna Early Chandler received a very interesting response from a posting she placed in a Tennessee historical society publication from Larry Fox(larrydfox@charter.net)! Mr Fox is interested in researching his wife's Hartsell family and found from the Washington County, Tennessee 1860 census that Delilah Elizabeth Hartsell (b. 1794, Washington County , Tennesee) married Samuel B Early (b. april 19, 1787 in Prince George's County, MD.) They were married in on Feb 16, 1811 in Washington Co TN.  He died in Sep 1861. Both are buried in Washington County, TN.  As many of you know from our gathering this past summer in Washington County, Virginia this is very close to the area where we found many of the allied families settled around Abingdon, VA!  While we do not have any evidence of a direct connection with our known three Early Brothers, could Sam possibly have been a younger brother ?  We haven't found many other Early's in this area during this time....It is of special interest  that Sam served in Captain Lawson's Company of Tennessee Volunteers in the War of 1812, and became so critically ill that his brother was detailed to escort Sam back to Washington County,TN! Though Sam was expected to die, he did not, but he never fully recovered either. And wouldn't you be interested to know that Sam and Delilah's first born son, born 1812-13, was named William H!

While no clear connection can be yet shown, it suggests a clue to look back to Prince Georges County, MD for any Earlys in the mid 1780's!  Look for a James or John who may be the father of the three brothers--and we may find some connection with Sam!

We will be in touch with Mr Fox to explore this further!