A descendant of mayors of Bristol, England, Miles Cary settled in Windmill Point, VA, in about 1645. His son Henry and grandson Henry, Jr., were prominent builders in Williamsburg, VA, responsible for the construction of the Governor's Palace, the House of Burgesses, and other key buildings. One of their descendants, Sarah Langhorne Bates, married Joel Estes, a captain in the War of 1812, providing the link between the Cary family and the Estes.
The Estes family descends form the d'Este, dukes of Ferrara in Renaissance Italy. they were prominent as patrons of the epic poets Ariosto and Tasso.
The first Estes of record in America, Abraham, owned 200 acres in King and Queen County, VA, in 1704. His grandson Benjamin married Cecelia Rebecca Thorp, connecting the Estes family with the historical Tripletts and Masseys of Virginia. Benjamin's son Joel, mentioned above, migrated to Tennessee in 1819. Many prominent Tennesseans, including the Rices, the Folks, the Manns, the Walkers, and senator and vide-presidential candidate Estes Kefauver number among his descendants.
Scottish in origin, the Moore familyi has played an important role in protestantism in America, producing founders of the Methodist Church in America, presidents of Methodist colleges, and many circuit-riding preachers for rural Tennessee. In addition to Estes and Cary, other prominent families connected with the Moores include Yates, Smith, Hill, Leak, Terry, and Crawfod, all of which originated in North Carolina and migrated to Tennessee in the early 1800s.
