Howell-Hobbs Line
By Don Taylor
Every family tree holds names that deserve a closer look — names we’ve passed over a hundred times while chasing the bigger brick walls. For me, Cannon is one of those names. It appears in my wife’s Howell-Hobbs line through Martha Cannon (c.1764–1818), her 3rd great-grandmother, who married Thomas Armstrong Pankey in Goochland County, Virginia, in November 1785.
The name sounds thoroughly English — and in part it is — but its roots reach into Norman France, the ecclesiastical courts of medieval England, and the ancient Gaelic clans of Ireland’s northwest coast. Martha’s story is also tinged with mystery: her mother is believed to be Caroline Rolfe, but her father’s name remains unknown, and confirming both parents is an active research goal. This Surname Saturday untangles the threads of the Cannon name, traces the family’s deep roots in colonial Virginia’s James River valley, and sets Martha in the world she was born into.
Name Origin
The surname Cannon carries two distinctly different ancestral coats, and researchers are wise to know which they are following.[1]
The English derivation traces to an ecclesiastical title. The name originates from the Old French canonie or canoine, introduced to England after the Norman Conquest of 1066, which itself absorbed the pre-7th-century Old English form canonic. The ultimate root is the Greek kanon, meaning “rule” or “measure,” which passed into Ecclesiastical Latin as canonicus — the title for a clergyman on the staff of a cathedral or important church. The name was likely applied as a nickname to someone who worked at a clergy house, who conducted himself with clerical dignity, or who simply served “The Canon” directly.[2] Early English records confirm the name’s medieval presence: “John le Cannon” appears in the Oxfordshire Hundred Rolls of 1273, and “William le Canon” in the same document.[3]
The Irish stream of the name is entirely separate. In Ireland, the surname is rooted in the northwest — specifically Tir Chonaill (County Donegal) — and derives from the Goidelic Mac Canann, meaning “son of a whelp or wolf,” related to the Anglo-Irish forms Mac Connon and Connon. A reference to “Canannan, son of Ceallach, Tanist of Uí Ceinnsealaigh,” dates to A.D. 950, and Letterkenny, County Donegal, is said to derive part of its name from this family.[4]
Researchers should be alert to variant spellings and indexing errors. The name appears historically as Canon, Canoun, Channon, Cannan, Connon, and Cannone. One critical Virginia-specific caution: the Cannon family of Goochland County must not be confused with the Kennon family, sometimes pronounced “Cannon” in Virginia records.[5] The two are distinct surnames that overlap in the same counties and time periods, and careless indexing has commingled them in many published genealogies.
Geographical Distribution
Today, approximately 121,858 people worldwide bear the Cannon surname, ranking it the 4,611th most common name globally. The United States holds the largest share, with 94,322 bearers — about one in every 3,843 Americans. England follows with 11,123, and Australia with 5,323.[6]
Notably, the highest density of the Cannon name — meaning the proportion of the local population bearing it — is found not in Ireland or England but on the Isle of Man, a reflection of the name’s Manx Gaelic heritage. Within the United States, Cannon is most concentrated in Texas, Georgia, and Florida.[7]
In the United States, the share of the population bearing the Cannon name increased 583 percent between 1880 and 2014; in England it grew 234 percent; and in Scotland the increase reached 320 percent.[8] Whatever the name’s medieval origins, it found especially fertile ground in the American South.
Cannon in Colonial Virginia
The Cannon name was well established in Virginia before Martha was born. The land patent records of Goochland County tell a compelling story. On 20 June 1733, William Cannon was granted 1,700 acres on the south side of the Fluvanna River in Goochland County, and John Cannon received a separate grant of 150 acres on the north side of the Fluvanna the same day.[9] These are among the earliest documented Cannon land patents in the region and suggest an established family presence along the James River corridor well before Martha’s birth.
Goochland County itself was formed in 1728 from the western portion of Henrico County, and in 1749 Cumberland County was created from Goochland’s lands south of the James River.[10] This boundary shift is directly relevant to Martha’s story: families whose land straddled the James suddenly found themselves in a new county without moving an inch. That Martha was born in Goochland and died in Cumberland reflects this geographic reality as much as any migration.
By 1742, William Cannon of Goochland was deeding land along the south side of the James River, with neighboring tithables including John Cannon, suggesting a multi-generational family cluster in this corridor.[11] Whether these early patent holders are Martha’s direct paternal ancestors remains to be proved, but their presence in the same county during the generation before her birth makes the connection worth investigating.
When Did the Cannons Come to America?
The question of when Martha’s Cannon ancestors first arrived in Virginia cannot yet be answered with documentary certainty. However, the land patent evidence places the family firmly in Goochland County by 1733, which implies arrival in Virginia no later than the early 18th century — and likely earlier, given the time required to establish sufficient standing to patent 1,700 acres.
Virginia’s colonial Cannon families most likely came from England, consistent with the English ecclesiastical origin of the name and the predominantly English planter culture of the James River Piedmont. An Irish Gaelic origin is possible but less probable for a family rooted in Goochland’s Anglican community by the 1730s. Further research into Virginia Quit Rent Rolls, headright patents, and the St. James Northam parish register may reveal an earlier immigrant ancestor.
Cannon Ancestor
My wife’s Cannon ancestor is Martha Cannon, born about 1764 in Goochland County, Virginia Colony, and died about 1818 in Cumberland County, Virginia. She is my wife’s 3rd great-grandmother.
In November 1785, a marriage bond was executed for Thomas Pankey and Martha Cannon, with a surety of fifty pounds current money of Virginia, stipulating that “if there is no lawful cause to obstruct a marriage intended to be had and solemnized” between the two parties, the obligation would be void.[12] The marriage was solemnized on or before 25 November 1785 in Goochland County.
Martha’s parentage has not yet been fully documented and remains an active research goal. Her mother is believed to be Caroline Rolfe, a name that carries its own rich Virginia history (see Section 6 below). Martha’s father’s name is currently unknown. Her maiden name is noted in later family research as “Martha (Cannon?) [Liggon] Pankey,” suggesting some uncertainty in the record — a reminder that colonial Virginia women are among the most difficult subjects to document with precision.
Locations of Cannon Ancestors
Martha Cannon (1764-?) documented locations are:
- Born: c. 1764, Goochland County, Virginia Colony
- Married: November 1785, Goochland County, Virginia
- Died: c. 1818, Cumberland County, Virginia
Goochland County is bordered by Cumberland County to the southwest, and the two counties were linked from the moment Cumberland was carved from Goochland in 1749.[13] Martha and Thomas Pankey likely spent their entire lives in the southern corridor of this region, with jurisdictional boundaries shifting around them rather than the family moving far.
Direct Cannon Descendants
Martha Cannon Pankey is the gateway Cannon ancestor in this line. Through her marriage to Thomas Armstrong Pankey, she is an ancestor of:
- 2nd Great-grandmother: 17. Caroline M. A Pankey, (1810 … ?)
– – – Also see Marriage Bond – The Library of Virginia
– – – Also see Caroline Pankey’s Mother – Martha! - Great-grandfather: 8. Peter Fletcher Howell (1842-1924)
– – – Also see: Veterans Day – 11/11/2013 – Howells & Darlings - Grand-father: 4. James Dallas Howell (1879-1964)
– – – James Dallas Howell – Education
– – – Rev. James Dallas Howell in Ansonville, NC – 1928-1931
– – – 100 Years ago – The Howells of North Carolina.
– – – J. D. Howell – Beulaville Minister 1917 & 1918
– – – James Dallas & Mary (Hobbs) Howell in the 1950 Census
It is tempting to wonder whether Martha’s daughter Caroline was named, in whole or in part, for Martha’s own mother — Caroline Rolfe. If so, the given name Caroline carries a quiet memorial to a grandmother who has otherwise largely slipped from the record.
Descendants of the Pankey line include the surnames Binford, Calhoun, Cannon, Ellis, Howell, and Scott.[14]
Endnotes
[1]Common surname origins include occupations (such as “Farmer”), physical characteristics (such as “Short”), places or landmarks (such as “Hill”), and patronymics derived from a father’s name (such as Johnson from “son of John”).
[2]Forebears, “Cannon Surname Meaning, History & Statistics,” https://forebears.io/surnames/cannon, accessed June 2026.
[3]SurnameDB, “Last Name: Cannon,” https://surnamedb.com/Surname/cannon, accessed June 2026.
[4] Genealogy Trails, “Goochland County, Virginia Land Patents, Book 14.
[5]Cecilie Gaziano, “Total Cannon, Kennon, Rudd, & Russell Family Timeline,” rev. 10 May 2018, citing Alberta Marjorie Dennstedt research, Goochland Co., Va., Deed Bk. 5, p. 243.
[6] Cecille Gaziano, “Total Cannon, Kennon, Rudd & Russell Family Timeline,” rev 10 May 2018, citing Alberta Majorie Dennstedt research, Goochland Co. Deed Bk. 5, p.243.
[7] Don Taylor, “Marriage Bond – Thomas Pankey & Martha Cannon,” Don Taylor Genealogy, June 2022, http://dontaylorgenealogy.com/2022/06/marrage-bond-thomas-pankey-martha-cannon./
[8] Don Taylor, “Census Fact vs. Residence Fact – Caroline M. A. Pankey Howell (1811-?),” Don Taylor Genealogy, March 2015, citing 1810 Y.S. Federal Census, Cumberland, Virginia, Roll 68, p. 143, http://dontaylorgenealogy,com/2015/03-census-fact-vs-residence-fact-caroline/.
[9]Genealogy Trails, “Goochland County, Virginia Land Patents, Book 15,” https://genealogytrails.com/vir/goochland/land_patent_bk15.html, accessed June 2026.
[10]FamilySearch, “Goochland County, Virginia Genealogy,” https://www.familysearch.org/en/wiki/Goochland_County,_Virginia_Genealogy, accessed June 2026.
[11] Don Taylor, “Pankey – Surname Saturday.” Don Taylor Genealogy, July 2020. https://dontaylorgenealogy.com/2020/07/pankey-surname-saturday/.
[12]Don Taylor, “Marriage Bond – Thomas Pankey & Martha Cannon,” Don Taylor Genealogy, June 2022, https://dontaylorgenealogy.com/2022/06/marriage-bond-thomas-pankey-martha-cannon/.
[13] Wikipedia: Cumberland County, VA – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cumberland_County,_Virginia.
[14]Don Taylor, “Pankey – Surname Saturday,” Don Taylor Genealogy, July 2020, https://dontaylorgenealogy.com/2020/07/pankey-surname-saturday/.
Disclosure: This post was drafted with the assistance of Claude.ai and edited with Grammarly.
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