I. Background
Many genealogies mention, at least in passing, Karl Wilhelm Kegel.
Usually, I find these genealogies treat him in one of two ways:
1. He is simply listed as the child of Leonhardt Kegel, and no descendants are attributed to him, or
2. He is equated with Charles Cagle of the 1790 Mecklenburg County census.
In my opinion, the confusion probably begins (very innocently) with John G. Cagle. John G. Cagle of Little Rock is the father of Cagle genealogy. He authored many books and was the source of the Cagle newsletter. His research was painstaking. However, he did not have access to the online databases which have reduced months of research to minutes. Most Cagle genealogies can trace their roots back to John G. in some manner.
The problem is that, to my knowledge, John G. Cagle did not address Karl Wilhelm to any degree. His first book, Cagle Census Records of the South 1790 to 1850, makes no mention at all of Karl Wilhelm.
Today, on the other hand, we have solid evidence of the existence of a child of Leonhardt Kegel named Karl Wilhelm, who was christened in Germany as the child of Leonhardt Kegel and Maria Trautwein. This information leaves my best guess as to the sons of Leonhardt as follows:
Leonhardt Kegel and Maria Trautwein
1. Karl Wilhelm b. 1722
Leonhardt Kegel and Susannah
2. John “Dutchman” b. 1726
3. Johan Theobald “David” b. 1728
4. Leonard b. 1729
5. Henry b. 1730
II. Theory
Cutting to the chase, I will state my theory. Later, I will give my reasoning.
It is my belief that Karl Wilhelm was not identical to Charles Cagle of the 1790 Mecklenburg census. Instead, I believe that Karl Wilhelm was the father of that Charles Cagle b. 1740s and his brother, John Cagle 1740s.
Admittedly, this is a bold assumption (and one I’ve never seen made). However, making such an assumption leads to some rather satisfying conclusions, and solves some problematic interpretations.
First, equating Karl Wilhelm with Charles causes a very unsatisfying result regarding ages and dates of death. If these two are the same person, then we are left with the following: 1) Charles Cagle’s age is wrong on the 1790 census, 2) Karl Wilhelm did not marry or have children until his 40s, and 2) Karl Wilhelm was having children at the age of 70.
Second, Charles Cagle of the 1790 census is too young to properly fit as a child of Leonhardt Kegel. He was born 1740s, putting him at least a decade away from the other children of Leonhardt. Making him a grandchild causes his age to make much more sense.
Third, Charles Cagle and John Cagle were both born in the 1740s and were together in Mecklenburg County, away from the other pocket of Cagles. I’ve seen some genealogies which have John as the son of David, but John G. Cagle theorized that they were brothers. I agree. It makes more sense that they were brothers, both the sons of Karl Wilhelm. Also, descendants of both Charles and John moved to Tennessee together. This would make more sense if they were more closely related than previously thought.
Fourth, There is an unexplained "William" in the tax records prior to 1790, which does not correspond to "William" of the 1790 census.
Fifth, is the historical problem of Captain John Cagle the tory of the Revolutionary War. Who was he? Now, the answer to this question is, I think, the most helpful part of the analysis. We are greatly aided in this regard by the family legends and oral traditions of the descendants of Jonathan Cagle. This sub-family of Cagles insists that:
1. They are descended from Captain John Cagle, and
2. They are descended from John 1767, who married Lucy.
3. Captain John Cagle was descended from an immigrant named Charles (Karl), who had only half-brothers.
For both of these statements to be true, we can deduce:
1. “Charles”, the progenitor of Captain John Cagle is NOT Charles of the 1790 census because that Charles was neither an immigrant, nor had half-brothers.
2. That Captain John Cagle is neither the son of Charles nor John of the 1790 Mecklenburg census. Both of those men had sons named John; but those sons were too young to have served in the Revolutionary War.
Thus, I propose that the lineage which makes the most sense is
I. Karl Wilhelm
A. Charles b. 1740s of the Mecklenburg County census
1. John b. 1782 married Jane/Jenny
B. John b. 1740s of the Mecklenburg County census
2. John b. 1767 married Lucy
a. Jonathan b. 1802
I feel that I should mention here that the descendants of David Cagle and the descendants of Karl Wilhelm by this analysis seem to have been very close. Henry b. 1759 is also in the 1790 Mecklenburg census. And Valentine b. 1753 and descendants moved to Tennessee, although not settling near the descendants of Charles and John. These facts need more sorting.