The Family of Cato West, Acting Governor of the Mississippi Territory, 1804-1805, on the bicentenary of his death

Despite Cato West’s high political profile and record trail, his personal history and family details are often poorly documented. This book provides a brief summary of documentation on his parents and paternal grandparents, but focuses upon Cato West, his brother, his wives, his children, his grandchildren, and, in some instances, his great-grandchildren. During her research, the author discovered extensive documentary evidence, some of which contradicted published and posted assertions about Cato West’s birthplace, birth date, parents, siblings, wives, and children. This work presents the facts that emerged from this research.

Only six of Cato West’s fifteen children (by two wives) left descendants beyond grandchildren, but correlating the existing documentation made it possible to present a fuller portrait of each of the fifteen: William (b. 1782), Martha Elizabeth (b. 1782-84), Mary (b. 1784-86), Thomas (b. by 1787), Elizabeth “Betsy” (b. about 1789), Charles (b. 1791-93), Susan (b. by 1792), Ann (b. about 1794), John Smith (b. after 1797), Richard Claiborne (b. by 1804), Benjamin Franklin (b. 1805), Martha Elizabeth (b. 1812), Mary Louisa (b. about 1814), Cato, Jr. (b. about 1816), and William (b. 1819). Providing these fuller genealogies for each child serves to nail down their identities and stem the confusion that heretofore has plagued Cato West researchers.

An index to full-names and places adds to the value of this work.