| New River Symposium 1984 | 
|
EARLY SETTLEMENT ALONG THE NEW RIVER (NC AND VA) BASIN
William D. Bennett
Raleigh, N. C.
While this paper concerns early
settlement in the New River Water Basin of both North Carolina and
Virginia, my information for the Virginia area was compiled from
published records which appear in the bibliography. My last research in
original Virginia records was about fifteen years ago. I was trying to
determine if my pre-Revolutionary ancestor Joseph Bennett, who lived
with his wife Elizabeth in eastern Mecklenburg County, Virginia, and
Joseph Bennett, who lived with his wife Sarah about fifteen or twenty
miles to the east in Brunswick County, Virginia, was the same man with a
fast horse. I came to the conclusion my Joseph was just too old to ride
a race horse.
In discussing the New River area, for convenience, I
will refer to those lands drained by the New River in North Carolina as
Ashe County and those lands drained by the New River in Virginia as
Montgomery County. I am fully aware that Montgomery was not formed until
1777 and was subsequently divided and that Ashe was not formed until
1799. However, the area covered by these two counties at their formation
constitutes our area of interest.
Let me give a little background history. England and
France had begun successful colonization of America
simultaneously—Jamestown in 1607 and Quebec in 1608. By the
mid-eighteenth century, they had engaged in three indecisive wars and
after 1750 were bracing for a fourth. Virginia and South Carolina
actively pursued trade with the Indians while, on the other hand, North
Carolina had tried to dissuade advances into their hunting grounds. The
attempt to remove the French from Fort Dusquesne precipitated the final
war with the French. Offended by the British, the Cherokee attacked Fort
George in South Carolina, Dobbs in North Carolina, and Chiswell in
Virginia and captured Fort Loudon in Tennessee. Montreal and Quebec fell
in 1759 and 1760 and a successful three colony campaign defeated the
Cherokee in 1761. George III's Proclamation of 1763 forbade British
settlement and colonial grants beyond the crest of the Appalachians and
"enjoined and required" that no person presume to purchase land from the
Indians. Not only did the Proclamation tend to abort plans of such
Virginia land companies as the Ohio Company and its rival, the Loyal
Land Company, but also many men had enlisted their services as soldiers
in the militia with promises of land on the Western Waters. Whether from
earlier explorers, wartime militia or later Long Hunters, every ragged
colonist in Virginia and Carolina increasingly saw the
West as a variable pot of gold. It was to legimitize
property holdings that the treaty was negotiated with the Cherokee at
Hard Labor, South Carolina, in 1768. This line ran from Tryon Mountain
in western Polk County, North Carolina, to Fort Chiswell in Virginia,
then north to the mouth of the Kanawha River. But settlers continued to
surge West. In 1768 the Christian-Anderson expedition which explored the
Holston to Hawkins County, Tennessee, on their way out passed through
almost uninhabited wilderness; on their return a few weeks later, they
glimpsed cabins at every spot where range was good. [2]
Conversely, the approach to the New River in Virginia
was, comparatively speaking, a rather easy approach. There were several
gaps in the Blue Ridge in Virginia. Particularly notable was a gap west
of Black Water Fort and the gap used by the Yadkin Road at the head of
Goose Creek. In addition, settlers migrating down the Yadkin Road could
turn west and follow the Wilderness Trail.
The second reason for dividing the discussion of
settlement in North Carolina and Virginia was the availability of title
to land. Virginia began authorizing numerous land companies to settle
lands to the west. The surge of immigrants through Philadelphia and the
Chesapeake combined with the competition between land companies kept a
continuous stream of settlers moving westward. With no deep-water port,
North Carolina received only the overflow after the better lands to the
north had been occupied. After the French and Indian War, Virginia
continued issuing grants for the land. In North Carolina, the land in
this study was owned by Lord Granville. Following the defeat of the
Cherokee in 1761 a number of men started action to get title to lands on
the Upper Catawba in North Carolina from Granville's agents. I have yet
to find where any deeds were issued by Granville's Office in McDowell
County, North Carolina. Following the death of Lord Granville. the
Granville Land Office closed in March 1763. From then until May 1778,
when the State assumed title to all vacant land and began issuing
grants, it was impossible to obtain title to vacant land in Ashe
County. [5]
In addition to the closing of the Granville Land
Office, the government provided more deterrent to settlement in Ashe
County. The Treaty of Paris in 1763, shortly after the Land Office
closing, forbade settlement beyond the crest
of the Blue Ridge. Four years later Governor Tryon of
North Carolina placed even more land in North Carolina out-of-bounds to
settlers when he established a boundary running from Tryon Mountain,
near the town of Tryon in Polk County, through Sparta, to Fort Chiswell.
This line excluded not only Ashe County but also most of Rutherford and
McDowell Counties. It should be noted that in the latter two counties
the line was generally ignored. Even with the Treaty of Hard Labor in
1768 opening more lands in Virginia, Ashe County was still excluded.
The Treaty of Lochaber in 1770 and its revision the following year gave
settlers "Carte blanche" to settle most anywhere in the domain claimed
by Virginia, while Ashe County remained off limits to settlers until the
Revolution.
It is believed that Abraham Wood, commander of Fort
Henry, present day Petersburg, Virginia, first discovered the New River
during an expedition over the mountains in 1652. It is certain that an
extended expedition sponsored by Wood in 1671 describes the New, the
"Great River." Originally named Wood's River, this name continued in use
as late as 1755. It is not known how or why the name was changed, but
the 1750 Fry-Jefferson map identifies it as "New River." Grants issued
in the late 1740s indicate the name New River was already in use. The
first land company devoted to settlement in the New River basin was the
Wood's River Company.
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| New River Indian Settlements map was painstaking researched and crafted by Dr. Richard Allen Carlson Jr Michigan State University and Senior Associate at Consultant: Ethnohistorical Research & Cultural Planning |
By the Treaty of Lancaster in 1744, the Six Nations of Indians renounced their claim to all lands in Virginia and the Wood's River Grant was issued in 1745. Surveying began in March 1746; but in the same year two patents were issued to John Harrison, Jr., based on a previous survey. This survey was probably made about 1743. Others who had lands surveyed prior to 1746 were John Mills and John Buchanan. Among those well enough acquainted with the territory to have locations ready to be surveyed were James Woods, former surveyor of Orange County, Virginia, James Patton, George Robinson, James Burk, James Davis, Peter Rentfroe, George Draper, the Ingles, Charles Hart, Charles Campbell, Charles Sinkler, the Harmons and the Dunkers, a religious sect. An order of Orange County, Virginia, Court of April 1745 mentions Adam Harmons on the New or Wood's River as the western end of a road marked off from the Frederick County line through Augusta. Road orders for the area through 1750 give an excellent idea who were settled in the area at the time. [7]
In 1749 the Loyal Land Company was organized and
secured a grant for 800,000 acres beginning on the North Carolina line
and running westward and northward. It would appear this company sold
about 250 tracts before development ceased due to the French and Indian
War and conflicting claims with the Ohio Company. Other land companies
were the Greenbrier Company which received a grant for 100,000 acres on
the Greenbrier River in 1745 and the Ohio Company which was granted
500,000 acres between the Monongahela and the Kanawha in 1749. Others
who received sizeable grants included William Gray, 10,000 acres in
1747, Bernard Moore, 100,000 acres in 1748, Peyton Randolph, 400,000
acres in 1749, John Hiscock and John Griffin of Bristol, 100,000 acres
in 1750, Adam Harmon and others, 7,000 acres in 1750, Samuel Davis of
Bristol, 50,000 acres in 1751, Thomas Lewis, 100,000 acres in 1752,
Matthew Talbot, 40,000 acres in 1752, John Hayles, 64,000 acres in 1752,
and William Byrd, 5,000 acres in 1764. Between 1761 and 1769 John
Robinson and Company acquired a large part of the land allotted to the
Greenbrier Company. A study of the surveys and deeds of the area through
1754 give a good idea of the explosion of the population in the New
River basin.
During the early period (1745-54) on New River and
Holston, there had been only minor problems with the French and Indians.
Stealing furs of the early hunters seemed to be the full extent of the
trouble until the fall of 1754. By the first of September 1754, Governor
Dinwiddie was hearing complaints from the frontier about many parties of
Indians robbing and ill-treating the people. For the residents of the
New River and Holston River, 1755 was probably the worst year of the
French and Indian War. From October 1754 to August 1755 twenty-one
individuals were killed, seven wounded and nine taken
prisoner. [9] Although the preparation for the defense of the
frontier continued, the inhabitants of the exposed settlements hurried
away from their homes. The Holston, New River and Greenbrier settlements
were practically abandoned. The exodus from the land was dramatic. The
Rev. James Maury wrote at the time: "By Bedford Courthouse in one week
'tis said and I believe truly, near 300 inhabitants of this colony
passed on their way to Carolina." [10]
The fortifications formed a line well to the east of
the New River basin. It was the fall of 1760 before construction was
started at Fort Chiswell. This fort was built on the land of Alexander
Sayers on the south side of Reed Creek. It was named for John Chiswell
who had discovered lead mines eight miles to the south. Chiswell had his
land surveyed about the same time construction was started on the fort.
According to the Proclamation of 1763, men who had served in the French
and Indian War were entitled to bounty land. It was a decade later,
1774, when warrants were finally issued. Surveys for these warrants may
be found in Fincastle County, Virginia, Survey Book A. In addition,
there were a number of warrants for which no surveys have been found.
Montgomery County, Virginia, Order Books for 1779 and 1780 give
additional service records for men who were then residents of the
county.
With the cessation of hostilities in the New River
basin, it again swelled with the influx of families. There is no way I
could summarize this period within the time limit allowed me. Nor is
there need to do so. F. B. and Mary Kegley have thoroughly covered this
area in the books listed in the bibliography. One comment before leaving
Montgomery County, Virginia, you should be aware that a sizeable portion
of the population was not in accord with separation from Great Britain.
In 1777 when Virginia passed an act requiring all males over sixteen to
take an "Oath of Allegiance to the State," it was noted that Capt.
Thomas Burke and his entire militia company except four or five refused
to take the oath. William Preston, writing to William Fleming in
December 1777, said "near forty of my neighbors have positively refused
the Oath of Allegiance to the State." John Griffith, who lived on the
South Fork of the Holston, was the apparent leader of an intended
uprising of British loyalists. He encouraged support by claiming that
the proposed alliance with France was a sell-out to the French
king. There is also evidence that others refused to take the oath for
"conscientious" reasons. [11] I refer you to the Kegleys for a
more detailed discussion. General William Lenoir, referring to this same
period in North Carolina, stated: "the militia in that part of Surry that now
comprises the Counties of Wilkes and Ashe was about a company and a half and a very few
settled to the west of them. The scattered situation of the inhabitants and
their remoteness from any proper source of information, together with
the usual prejudices of a very limited education under a Monarchical
Government and some of the principal men amongst them having been
handled pretty roughly by said Government for taking an active
part in what was called the Regulation. .
. caused so many to be disaffected to the Glorious Cause of Liberty; that
the Whigs in the Western Frontier had enough to do to defend themselves
against the Indians & their more natural enemies,
the Tories. . ." [12] It seems this desire to
maintain the status-quo still prevailed strongly eighty years later
when General Garnett, after unsuccessfully trying to raise a Confederate
regiment in the Rich Mountain area, wrote General Lee: "These people
are imbued with an ignorant and bigoted Union sentiment." [13]
Although Montgomery County, Virginia, had experienced
a phenomenal growth since the early 1740s; Wheeler's History of North
Carolina, published in 1850, and quoting Thomas Gimpsie's letter to
Thomas Henderson dated 1811, states that the first settlers in Ashe
County came in 1755. Ashe County histories imply the first settlers were
David Helton, William Walling and William McClain, all of Montgomery
County, Virginia, who came to the area in 1770 on a hunting trip and
returned the next year to establish a permanent residence. [14]
What is probably a little closer to the facts is a little of both. Andrew Baker
is supposed to have moved into Ashe County in 1755. The French and
Indian War forced him to leave the area. He is supposed to have returned
about 1765. [15] My research leads me to believe he returned a little
earlier.
A study of the loose papers at the North Carolina
Land Grant Office gives some added information. On 3 April 1780 Andrew
Baker made an entry for a tract of land on the South Fork of New River,
which was surveyed a week later. In these papers reference is made to
"the line of his former survey" and to his "old survey." In most
instances where I find these notations in land entries and surveys made
between 1778 and 1781 it indicates the grantee was in the process of
obtaining a deed from the Granville Land Office when it closed in March
1763. Since it is known that entries were being made for land just to
the south, in McDowell County, North Carolina, in early 1763, there is
every reason to believe that Andrew Baker had returned to the New River
once the threat of Indians abated.
It has been surmised by some that the first settlers
in Ashe County came in because they were unaware of the location of the
boundary. This may have been true in a few instances; however, the
Fry-Jefferson map clearly defines the boundary in the New River area.
Peter Jefferson was an active member of the Loyal Land Company and in
association with Joshua Fry surveyed the North Carolina-Virginia
boundary as far west as Deep Run on the Laurel Fork of Holston River.
Enough attention was paid to the boundary where New River crosses that a
special survey of this section of New River was included in the report
sent to London. [16] It should be noted that they placed the
state boundary about 3,000 feet north of its present location.
The first white inhabitants of Ashe County were the
hunters. It has been estimated a hunter could earn $1600 to $1700 per
season hunting and trapping game for their pelts. While this figure
seems much too high, there was a good income to be had from the sale of pelts. It was for
this income and the love of the hunt that many men spent their lives
just beyond the fringes of civilization as being hunters. [17]
The Ashe County area was suited to their needs. There was plenty of game and in
the rugged mountains there were numerous rock shelters. One such shelter
known to have been used was 200 feet long, eight feet deep and five feet
tall. Today the entrance is hidden by rhododendrons. This rock shelter
was located about a hundred feet from the North Fork, about twenty-five
feet above the water. Another such rock shelter nearby was eleven feet
deep and thirteen feet high. [18] This form of shelter was
suitable for the earliest Long Hunters, but by the time of the
Revolution many had built shelters or even cabins at their camps. Capt.
John Cox, who was prominent in Montgomery County, Virginia, following
the Revolution, is quoted as saying he could remember when there were
but 2 or 3 hunter's cabins from the lead mines (Fort Chiswell) to the
head of the Watauga. The land entries of the 1780s are replete with
references to George Collins' old cabin, William Howell's old cabin,
Martin Gambill's old camp, Sizemore's Camp, Nealing's Camp, Fee's Camp,
Priest Camp, Baker's Camp, Golson Stepp's Cabin, Charles Colins' old
Cabin, John Robinson's Cabin, "a small cabin formerly inhabited by
William Mainard and lately claimed by Archeble Mahon," and the list
could go on.
By the time of the Revolution the New River Valley
was becoming populated by permanent settlers which tended to crowd the
hunters. Because of the topography, Ashe County, North Carolina, was
settled from two directions, north and south. The headwaters of the New
River were settled primarily by people from the Upper Catawba River. By
1780 there was a well established route from the headwaters of the Johns
River in Burke County, North Carolina, to the headwaters of New River
near Boone. And, as previously mentioned, there was also access to the
area from the Yadkin River by way of Deep Gap. Most of the early
settlers in the southern half of Ashe County came by one of these two
routes. By 1778 about 60% of the settlers in the northern section of the
county were Virginians and considered themselves such to their dying
day. You have a list of over two hundred land grants issued for entries
made prior to 1790. While this is not a complete list for the time frame
covered, it will give you some idea of the situation. Less than a third
of the grantees acknowledge any improvement at all on the lands. You can
find the names of many of these grantees on the tax lists of Montgomery
County, Virginia, from 1771 through 1790. Gideon Lewis specified on his
entry for lands in Ashe County that he was "of Virginia." Most of
those who had moved to Ashe County at this time were getting away from
inhabited areas.
Now, before someone starts hollering that I have
placed great, great grand pa's grant in the wrong place, let me say that
I am sure there are errors in the map of land grants. In old Wilkes
County, North Carolina, there were three different Elks Creek; one in
Alleghaney County, one in Wilkes County and one in Ashe County. I am
sure that the grant to Daniel Yarnell for land previously claimed by
Abner Smalley on Elks Creek is the Elks Creek in Wilkes County. There
were three different Grassey Creeks and everywhere you turn there is a
Buffalo Creek. Just ask the people at Appalachian State University the
problems involved in trying to superimpose the surveyor's plat on a USGS
map when they did such extensive research on the Sturgill lands. Even at
the time, the following petition dated 3 May 1793 shows the problems
the grantees were having with the surveyor. Landrine Ayers had bought a
tract of land granted to William Blackburn and found an error in the
surveyor's plat and description and his petition to the "Now your
Petitioner Conceives himself Much Injured by a Mistake Commited by
William Johnston Who Surveyed the Land in Mentioning
in his Platt Howard Creek Instead of Meet Camp Creek & Since John
Brown, Esq., & William Miller have Surveyed by a warrant obtained
from a Prior Date These Lands which have Taken Great Part of the
Original Survey obtained by the Said William Blackburn Now your
Petitioner Coneives himself Considerably Injured from the above
Circumstances therefore prays your Worships to Rectify the Same by an Order of
Court if agreeable to Law Directing the Secretary to Issue this Grant in
the following form to Wit Lying on Meet Camp Creek the waters of New
River Left hand fork. . ." and he then gives the new metes and bounds.
[20]
The routes from the south seemed to have been the
most popular for the first settlers in the area. When Wilkes County was
formed in 1777 the two Justices from Ashe County were George Morris and
William Colvard, [21] both of whom appear in pre-Revolutionary
records of Rowan County, North Carolina. [22] At the second
meeting of the County Court of Wilkes (June 1778), several more Justices
from this area were appointed, some of whom can be found in the earlier
Rowan records. In 1778 Ashe County comprised one militia district of
which Andrew Baker was captain. He, too, had moved from Rowan County.
Initially political power appears to have resolved around two locations.
The first was in southern Ashe in the area of Boone, North Carolina.
Andrew Baker as a Justice of the County Court and Captain of the Militia
was the political leader in the area. By March 1779 Ashe County had been
split into two Militia Districts. Political power in the northern
district centered around Penington's Mill located on Grassy Creek just
south of the Virginia border. Micajah Penington, as a Justice and
Captain of the Militia, was leader of this area. [24] Micajah Penington's
putative father, Benajah Penington is first found on the Yadkin River
in Rowan County in 1753. [25] By 1770 Benajah and Micajah
Penington were on the Upper Catawba River moving into Ashe County sometime in
the 1770s. [26] To give some idea of the influence of the family, Micajah
was Captain of the Militia and Justice of the Peace, his father, Benajah
was Constable and Micajah's son, Abel, was one of the Tax Assessors.
Their combined estates were valued at £1500 in 1778 and were exceeded in
the area only by the Hammons family. Both Micajah Pennington's and
Andrew Baker's roles in power were short lived. It is believed the
Peningtons were Quakers and were not considered ardent enough Whigs. In
September 1779 Micajah's estate, along with the estates of a number of
friends, was considered confiscated property; although, there is no
evidence it was ever sold. In a list prepared by Benjamin Cleveland 6
October 1781 to be forwarded to the Secretary of State concerning the
status of the several justices, in Ashe County only William Colvard was
acting in his capacity as justice, George Morris had resigned, James
Tompkins refused to qualify, Thomas Elledge, Abner Smalley and Micajah
Penington were listed as Tories and Andrew Baker was reputed to have
taken protection of the enemy. [27] It is not known how accurate
Cleveland's judgement was concerning these people. Andrew Baker was
appointed a road overseer in June 1782 and about a decade later both
Baker and Penington were Justices and Penington was also a Captain of
the Militia.
As in Virginia, road orders give a good indication of
those living in a particular area. Attempts were made to provide paths
or roads to Penington's Mill and the Boone area. In June 1778 the court
ordered a jury composed of Rowland Judd, Nathaniel Judd, Barnet Owen,
John Robins, Jr., John Tyrah, William Owen, Jr., John Shepperd (all of
whom lived east of the Blue Ridge), John Baker, Matthew Sparkes, Andrew
Baker, Jr., Thomas Calloway, Robert Baker, Zachariah Wells, Abel
Pennington, James Ward and James Lewis to lay out a road from Deep
Forest in Reddies River to Benajah Pennington's Mill. [28] This road apparently was to run from Deep Fourd to
Lewis Fork, up Lewis Fork and across the mountains to the South Fork of
New River and thence downstream to Penning ton's Mill. In September 1778
James Lewis was appointed overseer of the stretch from the South Fork to
Pennington's Mill. [29] At this term of court it was
also ordered to lay out a road from Reddies River to the Old Field on
New River (central Ashe County). [30] In December 1778
Reubin Stringer was appointed overseer of the road from the top of the
Blue Ridge to the Old Field. [31] It would appear the
terrain was too rugged to maintain a road as in March 1780 the court
ordered the road discontinued. [32] But in June 1781
the justices again changed their minds and ordered the road kept open.
[33] In September 1779 the justices, probably
realizing the difficulties, ordered a bridle path instead of a road from
Roaring River to the mouth of Peak Creek. [34] All road
orders were not limited to paths across the Blue Ridge. In September
1779 a road was ordered from John Webb to James Tompkin's Mill [35] and in June 1780 all hands on the North Fork and
those between the fork of the river and the Virginia line were to work
on the road from Pennington's Mill to George Morris. [36] In 1784 the court was petitioned to open a road from
Tompkin's Mill to Benjamin Green to serve the "New River Settlement" in
southern Ashe County. [37] In October 1788 there was
an order for a bridle path from the head of Elk Creek to Jesse Council.
[38] This would have crossed the Blue Ridge a little
south of Deep Gap. In February 1803 they were still trying to make a
road from Deep Fourd across the mountains when they requested a new
survey for the road. [39] In October 1803 I find the
first reference to an attempt at a wagon road across the mountains. [40] This road was to go from the head of Elk Creek and
would serve the Boone area.
While road records give only limited references to
paths of communications, there were well established routes of travel in
Ashe County by 1780. I have already mentioned "the road that leads
from the Three Forks of New River to Johns River in Burke County" and
"the path that leads from the head of Elk to the Three Forks." There
were also "the path that leads to the Cove at Buffalo from the Three
Forks of New River" in the Howard Creek area, "the path from Mr.
Browns to Golson Stepps Cabin," "the path that leads from the mouth of
Howards Creek to the head of Cove Creek," "the path from Benjamin
Gregors to the head of Elk," at the head of Potato Creek there was "the
path from the Elk Creek Ridge to Daniel Richardson," "the path from the
North Fork to Rones Creek," "the path from Holdbrooks to New River
Settlement," "the road from Casces Settlement to the mouth of Cranberry
(Creek)," and the "path from Rowark's improvements to Micajah
Pennington's." [41] It will be noted that the majority of these paths
lay in southern Ashe County. This is readily understandable when one
realizes that Ashe County was an end unto itself, a cul-de-sac. Most
settlers were headed to the Western Waters. Montgomery County, Virginia,
provided a route to the headwaters of the Holston and Clinch Rivers
without going through Ashe County. Settlers coming up the Catawba found
one of the better routes crossing near Boone to the headwaters of the
Watauga River. Both routes bypassed Ashe County.
By 1780 Ashe County had established settlers; for
example, William Ray had built a mill and John Baker had previously
built a pounding mill. [42] Many of the grants specify the
inclusion of a mill site though a mill did not always exist there at the
time. Four of the first five land entries in Wilkes County were for land
in Ashe County, although one of them was caveated by William Lenoir.
While some lands were surveyed almost immediately after the entry was
filed, there was delay in surveying other tracts. Andrew Baird
complained that a warrant granted Landrine Ayres 26 August 1780 was lost
or mislaid, two others issued to Baird in 1778 and 1784 could not be found.
Benjamin Culbreth had the same problem with an entry for land on Rich
Mountain. [43] Then entries were caveated when two or more laid
claim to the same tract of land. Such was the problem of Timothy
Purkins. On 7 April 778 Purkins entered four hundred acres on the mouth
of Deep Gap Creek called the Old Fields. It included the improvements
where he lived, also where Boyal Porter lived and an improvement bought
of Samuel McQueen. Joseph Purkins filed a caveat claiming the land and
was awarded the entry 31 July 1778. But to show how confusing the
records become, Benjamin Cleveland had also filed a caveat for the land.
The same day the jury awarded the land to Joseph Purkins, the same jury
found that Timothy Purkins had settled on the land as an employee of
Cleveland. The following was their conclusion of fact: "Whatever work
he did on the land Benjamin Cleveland was to pay him for the same and he
was to remain thereon during the said Cleveland's pleasure and no
longer. We further find that Benjamin Cleveland said he gave up the land
to Timothy Purkins in consideration that Purkins was to mind some stock
for him. We also find that since then Purkins offered Cleveland a
consideration for the land which Cleveland refused. Then Purkins
proposed moving off the land and settling across the river on Meet Camp
Creek. We further find of later date that Cleveland in company with
others came to Purkins and said he just now had made a right to Joseph
Couch, Joseph Purkins and William Sperrie and that he was willing to
make him a right if he had pen and ink and asked Sperrie for pen and ink
and could get none and for want of the same the right that Cleveland
intended to make to Timothy Purkins could not be made appear which upon
the whole we refer to the worshipfull court that if the law be for the
said Purkins we find for him, if not we find for Benjamin Cleveland."
You will note on your map that the land was granted to Cleveland,
ignoring his right given to Couch, Joseph Purkins and Sperrie.
Apparently Larkin Cleveland had made an entry for land claimed by Couch
across the river on Old Field Creek. A caveat by Couch supposedly
awarded him the land 28 February 1780. Fourteen years later Couch was
still trying to get a clear title when Andrew Baker testified that he
had seen Benjamin Cleveland's bill of sale to Couch for the land, but
that Larkin Cleveland forced Couch to assign it to him (Larkin
Cleveland) as Couch said "for fear he (Couch) should be
killed." [44]
The difficulty of travel between Ashe County and the
court house in Wilkes County becomes apparent when looking at the papers
for a grant to Alexander Martin which was located on the Burke County
line. An order was issued to the Surveyor of Burke County to make the
required survey. Delays in surveying entries created even more
unforeseen delays when the Glasgow Land Fraud erupted. There are many
grants where entries were made prior to 1785, for which grants were not
issued until after 1795, that bear the notation "the purchase money for
said entry was duly paid & that the grant was obtained without
fraud or collusion."
To give some idea of the sparcity of settlement, you
have only to refer to the 1790 Census. The Eighth Company of Wilkes
County embraced Ashe County. Here are listed a total of 77 free white
males sixteen and over, including heads of households. Free white males
under sixteen totaled only 107. Lest we forget the distaff side, among
the heads of households were Mary Murphey, Sarah Coleman and Mary Baker.
Previous estimates stated there were no more than fifty families settled
in Ashe County at the end of the Revolution. However, the 1778 list of
taxables includes eighty nine names. [45] While a number on the
list of the northern section actually resided in Virginia, at least
a fourth of those on the list who appear in early
Virginia records were included in Virginia lists of tax delinquents as
early as 1773. Although a number of families moved into Ashe County
following 1778; it appears the population decreased over the following
six years as there were only eighty-two taxables when the list was taken
in 1784. [46] Even with this small a populace, in 1784 there were schools
at Grassey Creek, Holton Creek, the North Fork and on Beaver Creek. Five
years later there were four more schools; a second on the North Fork,
one on Naked Creek, one on Nathans Creek and one whose location has not
been determined. [47] No attempt will be made to discuss religious
affiliations but one of the first settlements on the New River in
Virginia was that of the Dunkers from Pennsylvania. A Quaker meeting was
established near the state line in 1785; Fox Creek Baptist Church, near
the state line, was organized in 1782. A Methodist chapel already
existed on Bridle Creek in Virginia when Asbury preached there in
1788. [48] It might appear that these religious institutions had little
effect on those living near the state line in Ashe County. The Wilkes
County State Docket for October and December 1778 have numerous cases of
men from this area charged with fornication. [49] Many of the
summons list the women who were involved with the men. [50] Also to be
noted during this period are the number of men from the area near the
Virginia line who are charged with swearing. Another common charge among
this group was retailing liquor without a license.
Most of those obtaining land did so for their own
personal use, but there were some land speculators. Among these
speculators were William Lenoir, William McClain and Memican Hunt. Many
of those settling in Ashe County were probably similar to John Henry
Stonecypher. In 1743 Johannes Steinseiffer (1692-1757) arrived in
Philadelphia from Eisenfeld, Germany. He settled in Culpepper County,
Virginia. Johannes died in the early summer of 1757. Having money in
their pockets for the first time, the two elder sons sometime later
moved to North Carolina. Honoricus settled on Lewis Fork of Yadkin River
at the foot of the Blue Ridge. His brother, Johannes Heinrich (John
Henry), moved into Ashe County and was settled on Naked Creek by 1780 at
which time his name had already been Anglicized to Stonecypher.
But probably more typical is the situation of the
Sturgill family. James Sturgill moved to Montgomery County, Virginia,
sometime prior to the Revolution. With the beginning of the Revolution,
Sturgill would have nothing to do with separation from England. He
refused to sign the "Oath of Allegiance." In his report listing those
who refused to sign the oath, William Preston added a note after
Sturgill's name describing him as "an old innofensive ignorant man."
Sturgill died in Virginia about 1803 but his son, Francis, bought land
in North Carolina on the north side of the New River between the
Virginia line and the forks of the river in 1799. Francis' son, John
Sturgill, settled on the land and shortly afterwards Francis moved in
with him and died in 1807. While all the deeds have not been located,
Franci's Sturgill's estate was split into at least six 394 acre tracts.
Prior to Sturgill's purchase, John A. McMillan, who is reputed to have
come directly from Scotland, settled with his family between Potato
Creek and Elk Creek. The relationship between the Sturgills and
McMillans is typical of that found in Ashe County. McMillan's daughter,
Nancy, married Joseph Phipps, the son of Jane Hash and Benjamin Phipps.
Jane Hash was a sister of Rebecca Hash who married Francis Sturgill.
This makes McMillan Sturgill's wife's sister's son's wife's father.
Through marriage the McMillans were also related to the Osburns and the
Coxes, but I won't go into that. [51] With the closed conditions
in Ashe County it is not surprising if a researcher begins to wonder if
an ancestor might not be his own grandpa.
This discussion would leave the impression that most
settlers on the New River came either from Pennsylvania or eastern
Virginia. However, New Jersey should not be overlooked. On 13 April 1745
a bill was filed in a New Jersey chancery court wherein certain East
Jersey landholders, including the Earl of Stair, wanted to oust settlers
in the neighborhood of Elizabethtown, New Jersey. These settlers were
known as the Clinker Lot Rights Men and held grants made about eighty
years earlier. With changes in proprietorship some of these grants had
been thrown in doubt. The suit dragged on for many years and never came
to a decision, but by the time it was dropped many of those involved had
left New Jersey. One of those involved was Caleb Osburn, a kinsman of
Ephriam Osburn who was progenitor of the Osburn clan on New River. Other
names included Halsey, Sturgis, Young, Wright, Williams and Whitehead.
While first names do not all correspond, it could indicate the New River
settlers were a younger generation. [52]
"After the initial settlement, the people of Ashe
were locked in a timeless zone, living and farming as had their
forefathers and rather oblivious to the changes in the world around
them. Not until the 1880s were there any substantial changes in
agricultural methods. About that time more farmers began using steel
tipped plows that turned a deep furrow and discarded the homemade
implements they had been using for nearly a century. Grain drills were
introduced about 1884, but scarcely any commercial fertilizer was used
until after 1900. Yet it should not be assumed that substandard living
conditions prevailed. Ashe had neither abundance of wealth nor grinding
poverty. Homes were substantial if not elegant, and the squalor and
deprivation often associated with mountain societies were not prevalent
in Ashe. The tendency to hold to the land reduced speculation and
accumulation of large tracts, thus a more equitable distribution of land
was found there. The average farm shrank over the years, but the vast
majority of families owned a share in the productivity of Ashe County
soil." [53]
In summary, the New River Water Basin of Virginia
experienced a phenomenal growth starting in the 1740s due to the
comparative ease of access and availability of land title. Development
of the New River Water Basin in North Carolina did not begin until
shortly before the Revolution and even then growth was slow. As a
cul-de-sac between the major routes to the West, the New River Water
Basin of North Carolina was never the migratory route for settlers which
can be found in other sections. Contrary to tradition, it appears the
initial settlement was from the Upper Catawba and Upper Yadkin of North
Carolina. Apparently a sizeable majority of these earliest settlers had
participated in the Regulator Movement. Following the Revolution, Ashe
County received the backwash from the flood of settlers headed to the
West.
Ashe County is a fertile field for a researcher with
the capabilities of Mary Kegley. Much material is available. The records
of the first quarter century of Wilkes have been very well preserved.
Many records of the first quarter century of Ashe were destroyed by
fire; however, the deeds are fairly complete and the court minutes begin
in 1806. The most valuable source of early Ashe County settlement is
found at the North Carolina Land Grant Office. The loose papers provide
more insight into the early settlement than any other one source.
Unfortunately, much is left to be desired in the preservation of these
records. Some of the papers have disappeared in the past few years and
others fall apart when opened. Unless something is done in the immediate
future, these records may be added to the list of other lost records
before another decade passes.
REFERENCES
1. Cross, Jerry L., A Historical Overview of
the New River Valley with Particular Emphasis on the
Early Settlement of Ashe, Alleghaney and Watauga Counties, 1982, unpublished, pp
1-3.
3. Taken from Bishop Spangenburg's Diary (1752) and
quoted in Arthur L. Fletcher, Ashe County: A History, Ashe County
Research Association, Inc., 1963, p. 7.
7. Kegley, Mary B. and F. B., Earl Adventures
on the Western Waters: The New River of Virginia in Pioneer
Days 1745-1840, Orange, Va., Green Publishers, Inc., 1980, most of the
section on Virginia is a condensation from this book.
13. The War of the Rebellion,
Government Printing Office, Washington, 1880, Series I, Vol. II, p. 252.
15. Anderson-Green, Paula Hathaway, "The New River
Frontier Settlement on the Virginia-North Carolina Border 1760-1820,"
The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography,
Vol. 86, p. 48.
18. Loucks, L. Jill, Ph. D., The New River
Alleghaney County Access Area Archealogical Resource Survey, Summer
1981, Boone, N. C. Appalachian State University, p. 54.
20. Wilkes County, Petitions Concerning Land, North
Carolina Archives, Shelf No. 104.408.2, Loose Papers.
21. Wilkes County, Minutes of the Court of Pleas
& Quarter Sessions, March Term 1778, North Carolina Archives, Shelf
No. 104.301.1.
22. Linn, Jo White, Abstracts of
Minutes of the Court of Pleas and Quarter
Sessions, Rowan County, North Carolina, 1763-1774.
26. Bennett, William D., "Early Settlement on the
Catawba," The North Carolina Genealogical Society Journal, Vol.
VIII, p. 130.
44. Wilkes County, Civil Action Papers Concerning
Land, North Carolina Archives, Shelf No. 104.325.59, Loose Papers.
47. Fletcher, Ashe County, quoting the diary
of David Woods, a school teacher at Nathans Creek in 1789
50. Wilkes County, Criminal Action Papers, North
Carolina Archives, Shelf No. 104.326, Loose Papers.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Mary B & F. B. Kegley.
Early Adventurers on the Western Waters,
Orange, Va: Green Publishers, 1980.
F. B. Kegley. Virginia Frontier, Roanoke, Va:
The Southwest Virginia Historical Society, 1938.
Mary B. Kegley. Militia of Montgomery County,
Virginia, Dublin, Va.: Kegley, 1975.
New River Tithables, 1770-1773,
Wytheville, Va., 1972.
Soldiers of Fincastle, Co., Va., 1774,
Roanoke, Va. 1974.
Tax List of Montgomery Co., Va., 1782,
Roanoke, Va., 1974.
Netti Schreiner Yantis. Montgomery County,
Virginia, circa 1790, Springfield Va., 1972.
Ann Lowry Worrell. A Brief of Wills and Marriages
in Montgomery and Fincastle Counties, Va., 1733-1831,
Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1976.
Netti Schreiner Yantis. A List of Taxable Property
in the District of John Robinson, Commissioner, Springfield, Va.,
1972.
Montgomery Co., Va., Tax Lists A, B & C for
the Year 1978, Springfield, Va., 1972.
Lewis Preston Summers. Annals of Southwest
Virginia, 1769-1800, Abington Va., 1929.
History of Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786,
Richmond, Va.: J. L. Hill Printing Co., 1903.
|
| Some Early land grants in the New River Water Basin (showing present County boundaries) (click on image for a PDF version) |
KEY TO GRANTEE MAP
| Grantees | Remarks |
| 1. William HARDIN | Ch B: Bledso HARDIN |
| 2. Thos. ENDICOTT | Ch B: Burzel ENDICOTT Mash HARDIN |
| 3. William HARDIN | |
| 4. Alexander WEST | Ch B: Isaac WEST Bray CRISP |
| 5. Joseph ENDICOTT | |
| 6. Clezby COBB | Ch B: Adam SEBOLD David SPENCE |
| 7. Thos. ENDICOTT | Ch B: Zeb ENDICOTT |
| 8. Clezby COBB | Adj L: ____ HAND |
| 9. Charles CATE | |
| 10. Charles CATE | Adj L: Henry HAND Jacob MANOR |
| 11. Jno EDWARDS | Ch B: Christopher MANOR Edmond FRANKLIN |
| 12. Young EDWARDS | Ch B: Edward FRANKLIN |
| 13. Dabney HARRIS | |
| 14. Moses WOODRUFF | Ch B: Francis BRYAN John McBRIDE |
| 15. John OREAN | Ch B: James GAMBILL |
| 16. John OREAN | |
| 17. Clezby COBB | |
| 18. Henry GAMBILL | |
| 19. Clezby COBB | |
| 20. William GAMBILL | |
| 21. John COX | Ch B: Edward SIZEMORE John COX, Jr. |
| 22. Thomas CALLOWAY | Ch B: John CALLOWAY |
| 23. Charles MORGAN | |
| 24. Martin GAMBILL | |
| 25. Martin GAMBILL | |
| 26. William STURDIE | |
| 27. William HALSEY | Ch B: James SEBOLD |
| 28. Martin EDWARDS | Pr Occ: Robert NALL Jonathon HAINES Ch B: Henry WAGGONER Henry BREWER |
| 29. Charles MORGAN | Ch B: John MORGAN Isaac MORGAN |
| 30. William LENOIR | Pr Occ: Robert GIPSON Ch B: James CRAIG |
| 31. [Not used] | |
| 32. John TOLIVER | Ch B: Charles TOLIVER Thomas WHITAKER |
| 33. Benjamin HERNDON | Pr Occ: George COLLINS William HOWELL |
| 34. George REAVES | Adj L: David COLLINS |
| 35. Moses TOLIVER | |
| 36. [Not used] | |
| 37. Peter WHITAKER | |
| 38. William LENOIR | |
| 39. John BEVERLY | |
| 40. William ISAACS | Adj L: Ben DUGGANS |
| 41. Micajah PENNIGTON | Ch B: Andrew MOORE |
| 42. Enoch OSBORN | Ch B: Zachariah WELLS |
| 43. Nathan STANBURY | Adj L: David ALLEN Ch B: Thomas HULL |
| 44. Moses STANBURY | |
| 45. James FLETCHER | Ch B: Daniel FORBUSH |
| 46. Hugh MONTGOMERY | Pr Occ: Benja ANGEL |
| 47. Enoch OSBORN | Adj L: Jacob WELLS John HARSH |
| 48. Samuel HALL | Adj L: Julius DUGGAN John NORTHERN Ch B: George KING |
| 49. John HUDDLESTON | |
| 50. Daniel YARNELL | Pr Occ: Abner SMALLEY Ch B: Joseph YARNELL Mordica YARNELL |
| 51. Abraham ROWLAND | Pr Occ: William NALL Micajah BUNCH |
| 52. Francis SUTTLES | Adj L: Jesse LAY Ch B: Jesse LAY, Jr. Samuel FURBUSH |
| 53. John Marley JONES | Ch B: Joseph BALLINGER M. WEBB |
| 54. William LENOIR | Ch B: James WATKINS |
| 55. William LENOIR | Pr Occ: Beverly WATKINS |
| 56. Sarah KINDLE | Pr Occ: ____ BEAME Adj L: Benja ANGEL ___ ROYE _______FORBUS Ch B: William KINDLE Arthur J. FOSTER |
| 57. William LENOIR | Pr Occ: William HOWELL ____ HARSH |
| 58. William LENOIR | |
| 59. Enoch OSBORN | |
| 60. William MILLER | Ch B: William MILLER, Jr. William BEARD |
| 61. Landrine EGGERS | Pr Occ: Nathan HORTON Ch B: Valentine REESE Jacob REESE |
| 62. Richard ALLEN | Pr Occ: Charles ROWRICK |
| 63. Jacob SEIGLER | Ch B: Philip SEIGLER John SEIGLER |
| 64. William LENOIR | |
| 65. Elisha BALDWIN | Adj L: _____ REYNOLDS Ch B: Stephen BALDWIN Joseph COTTRELL |
| 66. Elijah PENNIGTON | Adj L: "Old Mr. PENNINGTON" (Benajah) |
| 67. Benajah PENNINGTON | |
| 68. William LENOIR | Pr Occ: Joshua YATES Benajah PENNINGTON, Jr. |
| 69. Ruth FARLOW | Ch B: Elias FARLOW Abner FARLOW |
| 70. William SPENCER | |
| 71. William LENOIR | Pr Occ: Zach WELLS Lee CROY |
| 72. Memican HUNT | |
| 73. William HUFF | Ch B: Julius KILLEY Absolam HANLEY |
| 74. John RICHARDSON | Adj L: Stephen SCREECH |
| 75. Memican HUNT | |
| 76. Memican HUNT | |
| 77. Isaac WEAVER | |
| 78. William McCLAIN | Pr Occ: ______ WALLING |
| 79. James LEWIS | Ch B: Martin SOMEBODY Benjamin PENNINGTON |
| 80. Gideon LEWIS (of VA) | Ch B: Richard SMITH William ADKINS |
| 81. William PENNINGTON | |
| 82. Joshua WEAVER | Ch B: William WEAVER |
| 83. Joseph HERNDON | Pr Occ: William SMITH Ch B: John FLANNERY |
| 84. Paul HINSON | Pr Occ: _____ SMITH Ch B: Paul HINSON, Jr. Thomas SMITH |
| 85. Abraham MAY | |
| 86. John HINSON | Adj L: "Old Man HINSON" |
| 87. Isaac WEAVER | Adj L: James HINSON Ch B: Isaac TAYLOR |
| 88. John HINSON | Adj L: Moses SMITH |
| 89. Andrew BAKER | Ch B: Ulbrick HESSTER |
| 90. William LENOIR | Adj L: Joseph McCORKEL Ch B: William WHITAKER |
| 91. Jacob HUNSINGER | Pr Occ: John PARMELY Adj L: Giles (Joules) PARMELY |
| 92. Jacob FAN | Adj L: _____ BAKER Ch B: Jacob FAN, Jr. |
| 93. Aaron MASH | Pr Occ: _____ PATRICK Ch B: Jacob MAY Samuel MASH |
| 94. Lawrence YANCE | Pr Occ: _____ PRIEST Ch B: John CARVER |
| 95. Memican HUNT | |
| 96. Vincent JONES | Pr Occ: John FLANNERY Ch B: John JONES Isaac JONES |
| 97. James BOGGS | Ch B: Samuel TINDALL |
| 98. Christian SHEARER | Ch B: Samuel SMITH |
| 99. William McCLAIN | |
| 100. William JONES | Ch B: William BUNYARD Ben HUBBARD |
| 101. William JONES | Adj L: John SMITH |
| 102. Robert OZBURN | Ch B: Ephrain OSBORNE |
| 103. Vincent HOLLENSWORTH | Ch B: Mark FOSTER |
| 104. Vinson HOLLANDSWORTH | Adj L: Edward SWEETEN Dutten SWEETEN Stephen ZADE Ch B: Charles LITTLE |
| 105. Benjamin WRIGHT | Pr Occ: Joseph TAYLOR Benja TAYLOR Ch B: John WRIGHT |
| 106. Stephen REED | Ch B: Joseph SEAMONS James REID |
| 107. William McCLAIN | |
| 108. William McCLAIN | Adj L: John CARTY |
| 109. William McCLAIN | Ch B: Nickles ANGEL |
| 110. Benjamin ANGEL | |
| 111. James MAHON | |
| 112. George MORRIS | |
| 113. Owen SIZEMORE | Pr Occ: James HART James MAHON |
| 114. James MULKEY | Ch B: Daniel RICHARDSON |
| 115. William STURDIE | Ch B: James MULKEY, Sr. |
| 116. William STURDIE | |
| 117. Benjamin CLEVELAND | Pr Occ: Micajah BUNCH Jonathon SMITH |
| 118. Benjamin CLEVELAND | |
| 119. Memican HUNT | Adj L: John COUCH |
| 120. John COX | Pr Occ: Bernard BRUMBLEY James BRUMBLEY Adj L: Joseph MASSEY Ch B: Joshua COX |
| 121. John COX | Adj L: James WILLIAMS |
| 122. John CATE | |
| 123. Joel GIPSON | Adj L: William NALL Jonathon HAINES Ch B: John HALL Joel MOOR |
| 124. Benjamin MORGAN | Ch B: John MORGAN Isaac MORGAN |
| 125. Benjammin MORGAN | |
| 126. Henry HARDIN | Adj L: Reubin STRINGER Samuel COLLINS Ch B: Joseph COLWELL |
| 127. David SMITH | Ch B: Jesse DUNCAN |
| 128. Hugh SMITH | Ch B: Alexander SMITH |
| 129. Martin GAMBLE | Ch B: Thomas BAKER |
| 130. George MORRIS | |
| 131. George MORRIS | |
| 132. George MORRIS | Ch B: William SMITH John CARTER |
| 133. George MORRIS | |
| 134. George WHEATLEY | Ch B: John W. CARTER |
| 135. Henry SHUTE | |
| 136. William RAY | Ch B: Robert REED John HILL |
| 137. Perin CORDWELL | Ch B: Daniel GULLET |
| 138. John JOHNSTON | Adj L: Matthew SPARKES |
| 139. John JOHNSTON | Adj L: William HUMPHRIES Ch B: William SPARKS |
| 140. John JOHNSTON | |
| 141. Henry MICHAEL | Adj L: Charles GORDON |
| 142. John Henry STONECYPHER | Adj L: William BANKS Ch B: Joseph STONECIPHER Daniel STONECYPHER |
| 143. William LENOIR | Ch B: Matthew SPARKES, Jr. |
| 144. John WEBB | Adj L: Frank WEBB Ch B: Mitchell CHILDERS Francis WEBB |
| 145. John WEBB | |
| 146. Andrew BAKER | Ch B: Burrell BREWER |
| 147. Christian SHEAR | |
| 148. Christian SHEAR | Adj L: Pall PATRICK _____ NICKLS Ch B: Daniel BROWN Matthew HUNYNGER |
| 149. James BAKER | Ch B: Beverly CLARK |
| 150. Ezra CAMRON | Pr Occ: George MORRIS, Jr. |
| 151. John BAKER | Pr Occ: Susanna BAKER |
| 152. John JOHNSTON | Pr Occ: Robert BAKER |
| 153. John JOHNSTON | Pr Occ: Robert BAKER |
| 154. Frederick BLACK | Pr Occ: Nicholas ANGEL Ch B: John FOUTS |
| 155. Conrad DICK | |
| 156. Peter ELLER | |
| 157. Peter ELLER | Adj L: Robert BAKER Ch B: John ELER Michi HUCKER |
| 158. Thomas PAYNE, Jr. | Ch B: John PAYNE Charles CALLOWAY |
| 159. Thomas PAYNE, Jr. | Ch B: William CALLOWAY |
| 160. John JOHNSTON | Adj L: John BROWN |
| 161. William WRIGHT | Adj L: Samuel CARTER |
| 162. Memican HUNT | |
| 163. Eliphelett BARLOW | Pr Occ: John BARLOW Adj L: Thomas LAND Thomas CARLTON Ch B: Jacob CROUCH |
| 164. John BARLOW, Sr. | Ch B: John BARLOW, Jr. |
| 165. Thomas ISBELL | |
| 166. Nathaniel VANNOY | |
| 167. Francis VANNOY | |
| 168. Elisabeth RITTER | Adj L: Ulrich CHASLER |
| 169. Abraham ROWLAND | Pr Occ: John DICK Adj L: John HEASTER Ch B: Daniel RUSSELL |
| 170. James ISBELL | Adj L: John William CROSTHWAIT Ch B: Livington ISBELL Robert HUSBAND |
| 171. William SCOTT | |
| 172. William COLVARD, Esq. | |
| 173. Martin ADAMS | |
| 174. Devalt FOUTS | Pr Occ: John BAKER |
| 175. William McCLAIN | Pr Occ: Samuel RAY Adj L: Joseph YOUNGER |
| 176. Thomas HENDERSON, Jr. | Adj L: Edward BONN _______ PARKER ___COFFEE Ch B: Thomas HENDERSON Sr. George EVANS |
| 177. Joel COFFEE | Ch B: Benjamin TILLY |
| 178. Joel COFFEE | Adj L: Peter NOLAND Ch B: Isham ALDRIDGE |
| 179. David McGEE | Ch B: Pendleton ESBLE Daniel ESBLE |
| 180. John Orvill LIVINGSTON | |
| 181. John Orvill LIVINGSTON | Adj L: John WILLIAMS John COOK Ch B: Richard CROUCH |
| 182. Francis VANNNOY | |
| 183. Francis VANNOY | |
| 184. Catron WRITTER | Adj L: Elisabeth WRITTER |
| 185. Samuel McQUEEN | |
| 186. John CHURCH | Ch B: Richard EASTRIDGE |
| 187. Moses WOODRUFF | Ch B: Gideon WOODRUFF |
| 188. James TOMPKINS | Ch B: Silvester PROFFITT William TOMPKINS |
| 189. [Not used] | |
| 190. David WHEATLEY | |
| 191. William BACKBURN | Pr Occ: Peter BAKER Ch B: Henry MILLER |
| 192. Jesse COUNCIL | Adj L: _____ WALTON Ch B: Elihu CHAMBERS |
| 193. Phitty REESE | |
| 194. Memican HUN5 | |
| 195. Ebenezer FAIRCHILD | Ch B: Abijah FAIRCHILD |
| 196. Robert AYERS | |
| 197. William BLACKBURN | Pr Occ: Benja HOWARD Adj L: Gordes HIPPS Ch B: John BROWN |
| 198. James BROWN | |
| 199. Zebulon BAIRD | Ch B: John BAIRD John MORRISON |
| 200. Joseph AYERS | Ch B: Charles CLEMMONS, Sr. Thomas BENGE |
| 201. Joseph AYERS | |
| 202. Henry CHAMBERS | |
| 203. Casper COBLE | Ch B: Samuel BAKER Benjamin BAKER |
| 204. Aaron ENGLISH | |
| 205. Jesse COUNCIL | Adj L: Jesse HOGGES Jane (Jean) TILLEY |
| 206. Mary MURFEE (widow) | |
| 207. Jesse COUNCIL | |
| 208. Richard LEWIS | Pr Occ: John ROBINSON Adj L: James DOUGLAS |
| 209. Daniel EGGERS | |
| 210. Young COLEMAN | |
| 211. Russell JONES | Adj L: _____ CROWDER Joseph MOSS Ch B: Zeke INGLAND |
| 212. Daniel YARNELL | Adj L: James MARTIN |
| 213. Daniel YARNELL | Pr Occ: Abner SMILLY |
| 214. Daniel YARNELL | Pr Occ: Baker KING |
| 215. Jesse COUNCIL | Pr Occ: Baker KING |
| 216. William MILLER | Ch B: Zephiniah HORTON |
| 217. Andrew BAIRD | |
| 218. Andrew BAIRD | Ch B: John PARR Nat HORTON |
| 219. Andrew BAIRD | Pr Occ: Ruebin COFFIN Halde WALKER |
| 220. James WITHERSPOON | Adj L: Thomas HODGES John LINCH Ch B: Elisha CHAMBERS |
*NOTES: Underlined names indicate they made improvements on the land.
Abbreviations —
Pr Occ: Prior Occupants or Claimants
Adj L : Adjoining Landowners Not Listed As Grantees
Ch B : Chain Bearers As Noted in Survey Plats
Abbreviations —
Pr Occ: Prior Occupants or Claimants
Adj L : Adjoining Landowners Not Listed As Grantees
Ch B : Chain Bearers As Noted in Survey Plats
NAMES APPEARING ON ENTRIES FOR LAND GRANTS AS ACTUAL OCCUPANTS OF THE LAND
Micajah BUNCH — Cranberry Creek — 16 Mar 1780Jonathon SMITH — Cranberry Creek — 16 Mar 1780
John CHURCH — Pine Swamp Creek — 6 May 1782
John JOHNSTON — Little Naked Creek — 2 Aug 1779
John WEBB — Naked Creek — 1 Feb 1783
Tue ROBINS — Buffalo Creek — 4 Feb 1783
Thomas COTRAL — Buffalo Creek — 7 Mar 1787
John RICHARDSON — Heltons Creek — 20 May 1782
Joshua YATES — Grassey Creek — 6 Aug 1779
Benajah PENNINGTON, Jr. — Grassey Creek — 6 Aug 1779
William SPENCER — Martins Branch, Grassey Creek — 23 Mar 1789
Benja ANGEL — Elk Creek — 7 Nov 1785
DAVIS — Elk Creek — 1 Aug 1794
William HOWELL — Little Elk Creek — 6 May 1779
John FLANNERY — North Fork of New River — 2 May 1788
Moses SMITH — North Fork of New Year — 3 Aug 1782
William ELLISON — Beaver Creek — 12 Dec 1778
William COLVARD — Beaver Creek — 23 Oct 1782
Susanna BAKER — Mouth of Roans Creek — 23 Oct 1782
John CATE — Pine Swamp Branch — 1 Feb 1785
William SMITH — Great Horse Creek of North Fork — 2 May 1786
John HINSON — North Fork above mouth of Buffalo — 17 Dec 1789
Edward KING — North Fork — 6 May 1779
Charles LITTLE — North Fork — 6 May 1779
SMITH — North Fork above Horse Creek — 13 Feb 1783
Abel PENNINGTON — North Fork at mouth of Horse Creek — 3 Mar 1779
P. GILLEY — North Fork below Little Old Field — 6 Sep 1790
Francis GILLEY — North Fork below Little Old Field — 6 Sep 1790
Richard GREEN — Middle Fork of Three Forks — 10 Jun 1790
STRINGER — South Fork of New River — 24 Jan 1781
Morris BAKER — South Fork of New River — 25 Dec 1779
James WITHERSPOON — South Fork of New River — 7 Jun 1779
ASSESSED VALUE IN 1778 OF TAXABLE ESTATES IN THAT
PART OF WILKES COUNTY WHICH BECAME ASHE*
Northern Part of the New River Basin
| ADKINS, Wm. | 119.00.00 | COLLINS, David | 41.15.00 FLANNERY, Silas | 33.05.00 |
| BOGS, Jas. | 112.00.00 | COLLINS, George | 26.06.00 FOSTER, Mark | 132.16.00 |
| BURTON, John | 431.08.08 | COX, John | 60.00.00 HAMMONS, Ambrose | 1621.17.08 |
| COLLINS, Amboise | 20.08.00 | FEE, John | 40.14.00 HAMMONS, John | 45.05.00 |
| COLLINS, Charles | 44.01.02 | FLANNERY, John | 122.10.00 HAMMONS, John Jr. | 198.02.00 |
*Values were based on land improvements, horses,
cattle, money on hand and at interest. Shown are the names of taxables
and the value of their estate in 1778 in Pounds, Shillings and
Pence.
