Circumstantial evidence points to Michael Allison DeLoach being the father of John DeLoach. Court House fires during the Civil War in Sullivan County, Tennessee and in South Carolina probably destroyed any records which could provide proof of this relationship. Results from the ongoing DeLoach DNA Project are tending to substantiate the circumstantial evidence.

John DeLoach is descended from Michel DesLoges, a French Huguenot who arrived in America in about 1664. The DesLoges family had escaped France during the time that the Huguenots were suffering from religious intolerance, and often state sponsored abuse and imprisonment. Their escape route is not known, but the family arrived in England between 1600 and 1660. Michel DesLoges may have been born in England. Whether or not, he did live there long enough to obtain trade skills as a tailor, and learn the English language. He obtained passage to America out of Bristol, England, and settled in Isle of Wight County, Virginia. There, he had the good fortune to meet and marry Jane Griffith, the only child of wealthy land owner Rowland Griffith. In his will, dated 9 August 1671, he gave 'all of my estate to Jane DesLoges, my only daughter , now wife unto Michaell Desloges, taylor'. Michel DesLoges anglicised his name to Michael DeLoach. He and Jane had three sons that grew to maturity, and possibly some daughters. The large estate that they inherited and developed was passed to their descendants, who also acquired considerable land and wealth. The family spread southward along the Atlantic seaboard, establishing large plantations in Surry County, Virginia, and Edgecombe and Bertie (later Northampton) Counties, North Carolina. One branch of the family left Edgeconbe County in 1791 and moved to the Southwest Territory into what would become Dickinson and Sumner Counties, Tennessee. From there, these DeLoach families moved to Kentucky, Alabama and Mississippi. Other descendants of the first North Carolina De Loach family moved further south through South Carolina to Georgia. In South Carolina, there were clans of DeLoach families in Camden, Kershaw, Edgefield, Hampton and Saluda Counties. The history of these families can be found in the following publications:
'Historic Southern Families', John Bennett Bodie
'The DesLoges Family', Joseph Earle Steadman
'Some Historic Families of South Carolina', Frampton Earle Ellis
'DeLoach Family History', Robert Ellis Colson As in most states during the early history of America, civil records such as birth, marriage and death certificates were not required in South Carolina until the early 1900's. The identification of family descendants is possible only if they are mentioned in wills, land transactions, or other official documents. It is possiblefor two professional genealogists to take the same raw information and develop completely different family structures because of the lack of definitive civil records. Additionally, if a son were to leave home upon reaching majority, and move to a new state never to return to his birth place, he might not even be mentioned in his parents' wills. For these reasons, the exact ancestry of John DeLoach has not yet been determined. The first records of John DeLoach in Tennessee appear inSullivan County. In the Sullivan County Deed Book #6, 1809-1815, John Delock (sic) is a witness for the transfer of 100 acres on Frederick Kealler's Line from The United States of America, Stephen Walling, to Jonathan Carrier, dated 2 Oct 1810. In the 1812 Sullivan County Tax List, there appears to be two records of John DeLoach, one in Captain King's Military District, and one in Captain William Scott's District. John DeLoach and his family are listed in the 1840 Sullivan CountyCensus. Any other record of the DeLoach family in Sullivan County was probably destroyed when the court house burned in 1863. Records of the DeLoach family start appearing in Carter County in the 1830's. John DeLoach is listed on the 1834 Tax List, owning 126 acres. Susan DeLoach married Amos Wilson, 17 Nov 1834. Martha DeLoach married Eli Phillips, 11 Apr 1837. Thomas DeLoach married Perlina Oliver, 6 Oct 1842. Nancy DeLoach married John Hicks, 5 Mar 1845. John DeLoach and his family are listed on the 1850 Census.

The presence of records for the DeLoach family in Carter and Sullivan Counties during the 1830-1840 time frame leads to two possibilities:
a. There were two John DeLoach families in Northeastern Tennessee.
b. John DeLoach owned property in both counties. Resolving this conflict will be difficult, as no deed, land grant or other property transfer record for John DeLoach in either county has been found.

The 1860 Carter County Census has the following listings:

7th Civil District

Household Family Age Birth State
135 Garrison, John 54 NC
Eliza 59 NC
Eliza A. 21 NC
Martha L. 18 NC
Matilda 13 TN
Joanna 8 TN

137 DeLoch, John 67 SC
Pheba 67 TN
Matilda 36 TN
Pheba 27 TN

138 DeLoch, John 26 TN
Mary 24 TN
Elizabeth 8 TN
James 3 TN
Susan 26 TN

139 DeLoch, Nathan 45 TN
Margaret 44 VA
Samuel 15 TN
William 12 TN

140 DeLoch, Thomas 47 TN
Polina 33 TN
James 16 TN
Mary 15 TN
John 13 TN
George 11 TN
Elizabeth 9 TN
Jane 7 TN
William 4 TN
Samuel 1 TN

• Married: Abt 1807 in Sullivan County, Tennessee
• Note: The date of marriage comes from the 1850 Carter County, TN Federal Census, which lists the date of marriage for all families.
• Change Date: 18 Dec 2007

1. Susan "Sukie" DeLoach b: Abt 1808 in Sullivan County, Tennessee
2. Martha DeLoach b: Abt 1809 in Sullivan County, Tennessee
3. Thomas D. DeLoach b: Abt 1810-1815 in Sullivan County, Tennessee
4. Nathaniel DeLoach b: Abt 1814-1817 in Sullivan County, Tennessee
5. Matilda DeLoach b: Abt 1820-1824 in Sullivan County, Tennessee
6. Nancy DeLoach b: Abt 1824 in Carter County, Tennessee
7. Phebe DeLoach b: Abt 1826-1830 in Sullivan County, Tennessee
8. John DeLoach b: Abt 1829 in Carter County, Tennessee
9. Mary DeLoach b: Abt 1831 in Carter County, Tennessee