______________
_Richard CANTRIL _|
| |______________
|
|--Joseph CANTRIL
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| _Ellis JONES _
|_Dorothy JONES ___|
|_Jane _____ __
Joseph spent his early boyhood in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Joseph and Catharina lived in New Castle County, Pennsylvania on or near the site of the present city of Wilmington, Delaware, and were attendants at Holy Trinity (Old Swedes) Church before 1720. Their first three children were baptised at the old historical church, known as Old Swedes, which is one of the oldest and quaintest churches in this country.
Joseph was probably a farmer in these lower counties of Pennsylvania, which later became part of Delaware. A published work of the wills in the county of New Castle fails to reveal a will of Joseph or Catharina. It is possible that Joseph accompanied some of the sons on the move south to North Carolina. In 1752 and 1753, son John was taxed for two white polls in Orange County, North Carolina. One may have been his father. A complete list of the children of John and Catharina has never been found. The nine children listed were compiled from family records and the court and county records of Orange County North Carolina.
Christina Parish was mostly situated on both sides of Christina Creek, partly on both sides of Brandywine Creek in New Castle County and in the Hundreds of New Castle, Christina and Brandywine. It stretched two Swedish miles in length, and one in breadth. The most remote families of the parish were not more than six and a half English miles distance from the church. The city of Wilmington is build on the Swedish "church land" and the charter for the town was granted on 1735. At the time Joseph Cantril went there, it was known as Christina.
Many of the earliest records of this locality have been lost, or destroyed, and at best are very incomplete. There is evidence, however, from the scattered records in New Castle County today, that descendents of Richard Cantril lived there from before 1720 until 1797, though the majority moved south during this period.
A published work of the wills and probates of New Castle County during the period of Joseph's residence there fails to reveal his will or probate. As he was a man in his 50s when his sons moved south to Carolina, it can be assumed that he made the move with his sons. In the tax list submitted to the Orange County Court, North Carolina for the year 1754, his son John's household listed two taxable white males. As John's sons were under 16 years of age, it can be assumed that one of these was his father, Joseph.