Casper Branner1 was born ca. 1729, possibly in Switzerland; in 1764 he settled on a grant of 400 acres on Holman's Creek in Shenandoah County, Virginia. Many of the early Branner family graves are located in the cemetery next to Solomon's Lutheran Church near Forestville in the Shenandoah Valley. On a visit in 1978, we observed an interesting set of gravestones which read "Silas Branner born Nov. 18, 1821 died age 44; wife, Nancy Estep died June 17, 1887 age 70 years". (See Estep relatives vital statistics in Lewis - Robeson - Estep section of this family history.) Casper Branner1 and Catherine Zirkle? Branner had a son:
1. J. Michael Branner2 was born 1764, Shenandoah County, Virginia, married Christina Arey November 29, 1785 and moved to Dandridge, Tennesee in 1799 (John Casper Branner, Casper Branner of Virginia and His Descendants, Stanford University, 1913). Christina Arey Branner was the daughter of the German immigrant Gottlieb (Godlip, Cutlip) Arey (Airey), who served in the militia of Rockingham County, Virginia in 1788 (John Wayland, Virginia Valley Records, Baltimore, 1978, p. 116). He died 1822, Greenbrier County, Virginia (Ross B. Johnston, West Virginia Estate Settlements, Baltimore, 1978, p. 101). J. Michael Branner2 and Christina Arey had a son:
1. A. Casper Branner3, served October 8, 1813 - February 8, 1814 in the war of 1812 under Col. William Lillard and Captain John Roper in the 2nd Regiment of Tennessee Volunteers (Military Service Record, National Archives). Mariah (Doherty) Branner, his wife, died 1847 and Casper Branner3 died in 1867. They had children (Branner, op. cit.):
1.A.(1) Christina Branner, b. 1810, Jefferson County, Tennessee; m. October 2, 1827 John Blackburn, b. 1806 Jefferson County, Tennessee. This family history follows this line.
1.A.(2) Margaret Branner (1812 - 1895) m. James D. Rankin (1809 - 1878).
1.A.(3) Cassandra Branner (1814 - 1898) m. Aaron Newman (1802 - 1884).
1.A.(4) Mary Ann Branner (1817 - 1899) m. Henry Hinkle (1819 1893).
1.A.(5) Michael T. Branner (1819 1887) m. Alsey Baker (1823 - 1909).
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Blackburn
John Blackburn 1 (Blackborne) entered as a headright of William Eyers in Upper New Norfolk County, Virginia in 1642 (Nell Marion Nugent, Cavaliers and Pioneers, Baltimore, 1979, v.1, p. 129). Ten years later, John Blackburn is registered as owner of land in nearby Surry County; he claimed 100 acres for himself and Mary Bavin. He laid claim to another 151 acres in the area on the same day, March 11, 1652 (Nugent, op. cit., v. 1, p. 326). It is possible that John Blackburn married Mary Bavin, because the Blackburn - Bavin association is mentioned again on the early Virginia land entries (Nugent, op. cit., v. 1, p. 286). The total 251 acres of John Blackburn's land was assigned to William Jennings, February 1, 1655 (Nugent, op. cit., v. 1, p. 326).
On April 28,1691, a John Blackburn established claim to 211 acres in Westopher Parish of Charles City County, Virginia. This John Blackburn could represent a second generation of American Blackburns, since John Blackburnl would have been above 60 years old in 1691 - assuming he was at least 16 years old when William Eyers collected 50 acres for importing him.
Again in 1724, a John Blackburn -- certainly at least a second, possibly a third generation descendant of John Blackburn the immigrant - - is granted 123 acres of land in Isle of Wight County, Virginia. (Vinetta Wills Ranke, The Blackburn Genealogy, Washington, D. C., 1939, p. 10).
The generation of Blackburns that becomes associated with the Dohertys, Branners and Mathes families on the Virgina frontier first appears as landowners in Isle of Wight County, Virginia in 1737: Benjamin, John, William and Samuel, and William and Mary Blackburn (Ranke, loc. cit.). These are the same names that figure as provisioners of troops during the Indian Wars in Frederick County, Virginia. All the above-named Blackburns of the Virginia frontier were listed in 1758 as residents - - or as deceased residents in the case of John Blackburn who died in 1755 - - of Frederick County, Virginia (Henning, loc. cit.). It is also significant that Benjamin and William Blackburn own land in North Carolina in 1751 (later in Tennessee, after creation of that state). (Ranke, loc. cit.)
The birth dates of these Blackburns have not been discovered, but we know the dates of some of their marriages and their death dates in nearly all cases. Since they first owned land in Isle of Wight County in 1737, soon after a John Blackburn (II? or III?) was listed as entering land there (1724), they might be his children. When the John Blackburn of Frederick County, Virginia died there in 1755, he mentioned both his father and his mother in his will as still-living members of the family. (Copy of will in my personal files.)
On this basis, a listing of probable ancestors of the aforementioned Benjamin, John, William and Samuel - - all apparently brothers, judging from the evidence in their respective wills - - might descend in this order:
John Blackburnl immigrated 1642; married Mary Bavin ca. 1652; had a son
1.John Blackburn2 who entered land in Charles City County in 1691; who in turn had a son,
1.A. John Blackburn3who entered land in Isle of Wight County in 1724, died some time around 1755, and had children. John Blackburn3 d. 1755 Frederick County, Virginia; left will (copy in my personal files) naming wife Ann (Logan) Blackburn, daughter of David Logan, and their children:
1. A. (1) James Blackburn4, still a minor in 1755; had a son John Blackburn5 , named in his Uncle Samuel's3 will in 1776.
1. A. (2) Mary Blackburn4, also a minor in 1755.
John Blackburn3 named David Logan, his father-in-law, as overseer and "my well-beloved brother Samuel Blackburn3 and my well-beloved Coz Andrew Blackburn" as executors. A James and Elionore Blackburn witnessed the will. "Elionore" is probably Eleanor (McCormick) Blackburn, wife of Samuel Blackburn3.
John Blackburn's3 relationship to the other witness to his will, James Blackburn, is not clear.
1. B. Samuel Blackburn3, d. October or November 1776 Frederick County, Virginia. His will mentions wife, Eleanor (McCormick) Blackburn. Evidently no children of his own survived him. Besides his wife, he names only nephews as legatees:
(1) Samuel5, son of Benjamin Blackburn
(2) Benjamin , son of William Blackburn
(3) Samuel, son of Francis McCormick.
(4) John , son of James Blackburn .
1. C. William Blackburn , d. 1781, King's Mountain Campaign; m. Mary ? prior to 1737 in Isle of Wight County, Virginia. They had at least one son:
1. C. (1) Benjamin Blackburn, who was mentioned in the will of' Samuel Blackburn3, 1776, Frederick County, Virginia.
1. D. Benjamin Blackburn4, d. 1786, Washington County, Tennessee (Vol. I, p. 22, Washington County Will Book, dated August 10, 1786 "of the State of Franklin and County of Washington, farmer"). "Franklin" is one of the old names for the Tennessee area. Named in his will are his wife, Mary ? Blackburn and children:
1. D. (1) Benjamin Blackburn5 .
1. D. (2) John Blackburn5, b. January 27, 1741 and his son, Samuel6,b. 1785/86. This family history follows this line.
1. D. (3) Ann Blackburn5.
1. D. (4) Elizabeth Blackburn5, m. ? Bay.
1. D. (5) Archibald Blackburn5 mature enough in 1786 to be named executor of will; m. daughter of Rosanna Steele; had a daughter named Rosanna who was named in the will of Rosanna Steele in 1807, Augusta County, Virginia.
1. D. (6) Samuel Blackburn5 was not named in his father's will. He had inherited from his Uncle Samuel in 1776.
1. D. (7) Another possible son is James Blackburn5, whose name occurs in
both John Blackburn’s3 and Samuel Blackburn's3 wills. The John Blackburn who is a legatee of Samuel's is a nephew; therefore James Blackburn is probably a brother to Samuel Blackburn5 .
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John Blackburn5 (Benjamin4 , John3 , John2, John1)
The first record we find of a member of this Blackburn family in Tennessee is the list of North Carolina land grants in Tennessee. Entry number 207, Washington County, Tennessee, 1782, lists Robert Blackburn's 229 acres on the south side of Little Limestone Creek. And entry nmuber 1795 lists John Blackburn's 400 acres on Long Creek. Finally, entry number 1797 lists Robert Blackburn's 200 acres on Richland Creek, on the north side of the Nollichucky. The relationship of Robert and John is not clear.
The next public record is an account of the magistrates at the first County Court held for Jefferson County, Tennessee, near Dandridge, on July 23, 1792 (Ray, op. cit., p. 99). At the age of 51 years, John Blackburn5 is issued a commission to serve as an official in the U. S. Territory South of the Ohio (i.e., Tennessee) in 1793 (Ray, op. cit., p. 500).
John Blackburn5, the magistrate, also served in the Revolutionary War and a historical marker located on a lot in back of the square on which stands the courthouse where he sat as magistrate notes his burial place and the fact that he served the Revolution. According to Tennessee Daughters of the American Revolution accounts, John Blackburn served in the Virginia Militia 1776-1783. He was in the Battle of King's Mountain, commanded by William Campbell. (Edythe Rucker Whitley, Membership Roster and Soldiers TSDAR, 1970, p. 190).'
John Blackburn5 was born in 1741 in Augusta/Rockbridge County, Virginia and died February 9, 1808 in Jefferson County, Tennessee. He was buried on the site of the original Hopewell Presbyterian Church, erected in Jefferson County, Tennessee in 1785 (Ray, op. cit., p. 98). He married, April ?, 1765, Janet Mathes (Mathews), b. September 29, 1747, d. April 23, 1818 at Dandridge, Tennessee, buried near her husbands's grave in Dandridge, Tennessee. Janet was the daughter of Alexander Mathes (Mathews) (ibid., loc. cit.); d. prior to October, 1788; he had lived in Augusta County, Virginia as early as 1746 (Chalkley, op. cit.). Alexander was born in Ireland, according to family tradition (Ida Christobel Van de Venter, Mathews, Kansas City, 1925, pp. 15-16). Alexander Mathes took oath as magistrate of Shenandoah County, Virginia on December 28, 1780. He is also credited with Revolutionary service (Chalkley, op. cit.; Van de Venter, op. cit.; Shenandoah County Will Book B, p. 499; Tyler's Quarterly XXXII, p. 49; Shenandoah County Minutes, August 29, 1782, Certificates 157, 162; Whitley, op. cit.). Alexander married Grizelle ?________.
Alexander and Grizelle Mathes had the following children:
1. Alexander Mathes Jr. , b. March 12, 1740 Virginia; d. 1806 Washington County, Tennessee; m. March 21, 1769 Virginia to Ann Leith, b. March 8, 1749.
2. George Mathes2, b. ca. 1760 Virginia; killed by indians near Maryville, Tennessee, August 1788; m. Nancy Wood.
3. James Mathes2.
4. John Mathes2 .
5. Benjamin Mathes2 , m. August 6, 1783 Rachel Keller.
6. Jeremiah Mathes2, a Major in the Shenandoah Militia, lived in
Jefferson County, Tennessee, in. October 8, 1788 Elizabeth Leith.
7. Nancy Mathes2, m. April 2, 1765 John Nelson.
8. Janet Mathes2, b. July 20, 1747, m. April 2, 1765 probably Frederick
County, Virginia to John Blackburn5.
John and Janet (Mathes) Blackburn had children:
1. General Alexander Blackburn6, b. January 14, 1766.
2. Benjamin Blackburn6, b. March 8, 1767.
3. Mary "Polly" Blackburn6, b. November 14, 1768; m. James Mayers (Myers).
4. Andrew Blackburn6 , b. December 13 or January 27, 1770; m. (1) Margaret Samples (2) Katherine McGirk.
5. William Blackburn6, b. October 7, 1772; m. (1) Amy "Anna" Samples (2) Nancy Hankins.
6. Grizelle Blackburn6, b. October 27, 1774; m. her cousin Reverend Gideon Blackburn.
7. George Blackburn6, b. May 26, 1776; m. (1) Elizabeth Vance (2) Martha Neeley. -
8. John Blackburn6, b. March 24, 1778; in. Elizabeth McGirk.
9. Jenny "Janet, Jennet" Blackburn6 (twin), b. June 3, 1780; m. Thomas Snoddy.
10. Edward Blackburn6 (twin), b. June 3, 1780; in. Margaret McGirk.
11. James Blackburn6 , b. October 2, 1782; m. Kate Jamison. This family history follows this line.
12. Nancy Blackburn6 , b. April 1, 1785; in. John Carson.
13. Samuel Blackburn6 , named in Benjamin Blackburn's (his grandfather's) will in 1786.
(The above statistics are taken from Lucy Womack Bates, Roster of Soldiers and Patriots of the American Revolution Buried in Tennessee, Tennessee Society DAR, 1974, p. 38.)
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James Blackburn6 (John5, Benjamin4 , John3 , John2, John1)
James Blackburn6 was born October 2, l782, possibly in Augusta County, Virginia; he came with his parents to Jefferson County, Tennessee. He married Kate Jamison about 1800, probably in Jefferson County, Tennessee. They had, among possibly other children:
1. John Blackburn7, b. 1806, Jefferson County, Tennessee; m. Christina Branner; d. 1883 Missouri (Branner, op. cit.) This family history follows this line.
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John Blackburn7 (James6, John5, Benjamin4 John3, John2, John1)
John Blackburn was born in 1806 in Jefferson County, Tennessee. On October 2, 1827, he married Christina Branner, born 1810 in Jefferson County, Tennessee, daughter of Casper and Mariah (Doherty) Branner (see Doherty and Branner histories on this page). John and Christina (Branner) Blackburn moved to Kentucky in 1839 (Branner, op. cit.), then to Missouri in 1842. During these travels, Christina (Branner) Blackburn wrote the following letters to her father and to her brother, Michael Branner. (Branner, op. cit.) (1.) February 4, 1841 from Livingston City, Rock Castle County, Kentucky; (2.) October 22, 1841 from Livingston City, Rock Castle County, Kentucky; (3.) July 26, 1844 from Moniteau Creek, Cole County, Missouri (moved there in 1842); (4.) August 12, 1845 from same place.
John Blackburn7 died in Missouri in 1883 and Christina in 1891. They had children:
1. James G. Blackburn8, b. August 20, 1828; d. 1906; m. Angeline Sellars (1835-1874).
2. Casper B. Blackburn8 , b. April 12, 1830; d. 1897; m. Caroline Wallace (1839-1885).
3. William Monroe Blackburn8, b. November 2, 1831; d. 1899; m. Elizabeth Wallace (1856-1893). This family history follows this line. -
4. Theodore B. Blackburn 8 b. July 4, 1835; d. 1906; m. (1) Perlina Farris (1832 1858) (2) Julia Wallace (1840 1912).
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William Monroe Blackburn8 (John7, James6, John5, Benjamin4, John3 , John 2, John1)
William Monroe Blackburn8 was born November 12, 1831 to John and Christina (Branner) Blackburn in Jefferson County, Tennessee. He served in the 48th Reg't. of EMM Company in the Federal Army in the Civil War. October 5, 1854, he married Elizabeth Wallace, born August 15, 1836 in Kentucky. William and Elizabeth (Wallace) Blackburn lived in Miller County, Missouri, next-door neighbors on the census of 1880 to Daniel A. Pinkston. The children of William M. and Elizabeth (Wallace) Blackburn are listed as follows on the 1870 census of Miller County, Missouri.
1. James J. Blackburn9, b. 1855 Missouri.
2. Elvira Frances Blackburn9, b. March 28, 1857; m. J. R. Spalding, October 31, 1874, Missouri.
3. William Noland Blackburn9, b. October 5, 1860; m. ? Spalding.
4. Martha Ellen Blackburn9, b. November 20, 1865, m. William T. Albertson.
5. Ida Belle Blackburn9, b. February 17, 1868; m. October 7, 1883 Robert M. Pinkston. For a list of her descendants, see Pinkston section.
6. Ohelipiye (Ophelia?) Blackburn9, b. 1870, Missouri. Born later, not on census (Branner, op. cit.).
7. Josie Blackburn9, b. March 11, 1873; m. December 28, 1892 Ben Johnston, Miller County, Missouri.
8. Andrew J. Blackburn9, b. September 9, 1878; m. ? Spalding.
9. John E. Blackburn9, b. September 26, 1881; m. November 17,
1901 Alvie Mitchell.
William Blackburn8 died February 7, 1899 in Miller County,
Missouri. Elizabeth (Wallace) Blackburn died in 1893 in Missouri.
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Doherty
The first public records we have of this branch of your family locate them in the western reaches of Virginia in the period l758 to l783. In William Waller Henning's collection of The Statutes at Large (Laws of Virginia), V. 7, Richmond, 1820, pp. 179-217, these families are mentioned as members of militia groups and furnishers of provisions for troups fighting the Frontier Indian Wars. The Blackburns are descendants of Tidewater Virginia people who moved to Frederick County, Virginia around 1750. The Branners were recent immigrants, probably from the Palatinate as they are located with the German- speaking community in Shenandoah County, Virginia. The Dohertys are closely associated with the Cunningham family, as shown by the record of James Cunningham's will, administered 1760, Augusta County, Virginia - (Lyman Chalkley , Abstracts of Augusta County, Virginia, v. 1, p. 88, Baltimore, l965). George Dohertyl and Hugh Cunningham signed the security bond of Moses Cunningham as administrator of the will of James Cunningham.
In Augusta County, Virginia, circa l745, George Dohertyl married EIizabeth Williams, b. ca. l73O?, sister of George Williams (Zella Armstrong, Some Tennessee Soldiers of the Revolution, Baltimore, 1975, p. 101). We have no record of when George Dohertyl died, but he and Elizabeth (Williams) Doherty had at least two sons:
1. John Doherty , killed by Indians, 1780 (see transcript of pension application of brother,
George Doherty2 in Military Service Records, National Archives, Washington, D. C.).
2. George Doherty ,b. January 18, 1749, Augusta County, Virginia; m. Prisilla Goforth, daughter of Preston Goforth. (See Goforth section of this family history.) Both Dohertys and Goforths were early settlers on the French Broad River, near Dandridge, Tennessee (Worth S. Ray, Tennessee Cousins, Baltimore, 1977, p. 158). This family history follows this line.
George Doherty 2(George1 )
Captain George Doherty2, b. January 18, 1749, Augusta County, Virginia, had a long career as Revolutionary soldier and frontier Indian fighter. The following transcript is his own account:
State of Tennessee Jefferson County
On this 12th day of September A. D. 1832, personally appeared in open court before the Justices of our Court of Pleas and ________________ sessions now in session, George Doherty, Senr., a resident of Jefferson County, State of Ten-nessee, aged-eighty three years who being first duly sworn according to law doth on his oath make the following declar-- - ation in order to obtain the benefit of the Act of Congress passed June 7, 1832. That he entered the service of the United States under the following named officers and served as herein stated.
That he entered the service of the United States in the year 1774 (the day and month not recollected) under the command of Col. Charles Lewis and in Captain John Lewis' company, as
a private soldier and rendezvoused at a place called Rigg Savannah in Greenbrier County in the state of Virginia, thence he was marched to the mouth of New River at a place called Point Pleasant and on the 10th day of October 1774 had an en-gagement with the Shawnee and Dallaway Indians, which commenced about sunrise and lasted the whole day. In the engagement and shortly after the commencement of this fight, Col. Charles Lewis was killed with several other persons. Thence he was marched to the Shawnee towns on the ___________ _________ River, where they were met by the Indians and begged for a treaty of peace, from thence he was marched home where he was discharged, having served three months and 15 days. He states that he re- - ceived a discharge for his services, but the same has been long since lost and destroyed.
And afterward about in the year 1777, the day and the month he does not recollect, he was commissioned a Captain and issued orders to raise a volunteer company and after he had raised a company and was intending to march, he was employed by William McDonald, the contractor agent to make guns for - the United States. Arms were very scarce and his services in that capacity were much needed. He continued in the service in that employment together with several other persons, at the - - expense of the declarant for twelve months, during which time he made and delivered to the Agents Contractor William McDonald one thousand dollars worth of guns, which was paid to him in Continental money which depreciated in the hands of this applicant and was entirely lost to him.
And afterwards, that in the year 1778, he moved to Greene County then in the state of North Carolina now in Tennessee and in the fall of the same year about 1788(sic) he entered the service of the United States and was commissioned a Captain under the command of Colonels Sevier and Campbell and rendez-voused at the Great Bend of the Chucky River thence he marched to Boyds Creeks where he had an engagement with the Indians and killed thirteen, thence he m arched to Chota (?) where he burnt four Indian towns, thence he marched to the old Hiawassee town and thence to Chithawa (?) four miles ? when he had a skirmish with Indians and drove them out and burned their towns, thence he marched through the Cherokee Nation and returned home having served three months.
And afterwards about in the year 1779, the day and the month this deponent does not recollect, he entered the service of the United States and was commissioned a Captain under the command of Col. Sevier. Rendezvoused at Stovalls (?) on the Nolachucky River thence he marched to the Warfo?d on French Broad River where he was stationed for some time and ranged along the frontier part of his land he was engaged in guarding a Garner (?) (Granery ?) during which time there was no contractor or supplies furnished the company except what was purchased - at different homes by the applicant and after having remained in service twelve (?) And afterwards about in the year 1780, the day and the month not recollected, he raised a volunteer company and met Colonel Sevier at a place called the Greenery (?) Cave (Cove ?) on the waters of Nolachucky River where he was appointed and acted as Captain of a company under the command of Col. Sevier. Thence he marched to the Upper Cherokee towns in the Tennessee River where he was in an engagement with the Indians, killed several, and burnt the towns - he then returned home having served three months.
And afterwards, about in the year 1780, the day and the month not recollected, the Indians were committing some depre-dations, he was ordered to raise a company of minute men to be in readiness to march at a moments warning to any place where the Indians were committing their depredations and shortly after the company was raised a notice that the Indians had commenced their hostilities against the whites, he immediately called his company together and marched in pursuit of the Indians, and overtook them near Point Rock, now on the line between North Carolina and Tennessee, fired on them, killed one Indian and took possession of several stolen horses which the Indians had stolen from the whites - he then returned towards home and on his return march he passed the residence where his brother John Doherty lived and on arriving at the place he was informed that the same company of Indians which he had been a in pursuit of had killed and tomahawked his brother and then returned home discharged.
And afterwards about in the year 1781 he raised a company of volunteer riflemen and marched them into South Carolina and joined Genera1 Greene who was stationed with a lot of Army at the high hills of Santee where he remained for some time, thence he was _______________ and marched with his company acting as Captain and joined General Marion who was stationed on the Waterrie (?) River where he was then in nine miles of the~~~ where he was kept in service acting on scouting parties and printing any communications or intercourse which the British and other persons in a clandestine manner, until he received the news of the surrender of Lord Cornwallis. He then returned home with his comany having been in service six months - for the services of this ___________he was paid in North Carolina change tickets which was of no value to this applicant and entirely lost to him - when he first entered the service of the United States he was in easy circumstances, had a wife and two children, he had received patrimony both from his father and his wife's father and that at the close of the war he was reduced to poverty, having spent his all in the service of his country. Since the Revolutionary War he has been at all times in public life ______________ in, acting in the capacity of a Justice of the Peace. He does hereby relinquish every claim whatever to a pension or annuity except the present and declares that his name is not on the pension roll of the ________________of any state.
The following questions are put to the applicant by the County Court in session -
Question: Where and in what year were you born?
Answer: I was born the 18th day of January 1749, Augusta County in the state of Virginia.
Question: Have you any record of your age and if so where is it?
Answer: I have no record of my age.
Question: Where were you living when called into service, where have you lived since the Revolutionary War, and where do you now live?
Answer: When I was called into service, I lived in Augusta County in the state of Virginia, during the Revolutionary War, I moved to Greene County, Tennessee where I lived eight years, then I removed to Jefferson County where I now live.
Question: State the names of some of the Regular Officers who were with the troops when you served such Con-tinental and Militia Regiments as you can recollect and the general circumstances of your service.
Answer: In my first campaign against the Shawnee and Daliaway Indians - General Andrew Lewis, Colonel Charles Lewis and Captain John Lewis - during said campaign Col. Charles Lewis was killed. My second campaign I was commissioned a Captain and drafted a company and was then employed in making guns - 12 months. My third campaign was commanded by Colonels Sevier and Campbell - my fourth campaign was commanded by Col. Sevier - also my fifth. I was then appoin ted a Captain of A small company of minute men - I then raised a company of volunteer riflemen and marched and joined Gen. Greene and then Gen. Marion.
Question: Did you ever receive a commission and if so by whom was it signed and what has become of it?
Answer: I did receive commissions signed by Governor Caswell of North Carolina.
Question: State the names of persons to whom you are known in your present neighborhood who can testify as to your character for veracity and good behavior, your ser-vices as a soldier of the Revolution.
Answer: I am acquainted with the Reverend Isaac Webb and Andrew Goff (Gass?) also Jacob Black, James Bradford and George Townley.
Sworn to and subscribed in open court the day and year above
written.
(signed) Joseph Hamilton, Clerk (signed) George Doherty
State of Tennessee
Jefferson County
We Andrew (Gass?) Goff and Issac Webb,both clergymen, residing in the County of Jefferson and State of Tennessee, do hereby certify that we are well acquainted with George Doherty, Senr. who has subscribed and sworn to the above declaration, that we believe him to be eighty three years of age and that he is reputed and believed in the neighborhood where he reside to have been a soldier of the Revolution and that we concur in that opinion.
Sworn to and subscribed in open court the 12th day of
September 1832.
(signed) Joseph Hamilton, Clerk
(marked) Issac Webb
(signed) Andrew Goff, Clerg.
Captain George Doherty2 was commissioned a Justice of the Territory south of the Ohio in 1790 (Ray, op. cit., p. 500). George Doherty lived until 1833 (will recorded Jefferson Coun ty, Tennessee). He and Prisilla (Goforth) Doherty had children (Ray, op. cit.):
1. George Doherty, Jr.3
2. William Doherty3; claimed land on South Bank of French Broad River as early as 1783 (Ray, loc. cit.).
3. James Tennessee Doherty3 b. before 1774; d. January 9, 1823: m. Mary Davis, b. Northern Ireland per family tradition.
4. Jennie Doherty3
5. Dorcas Doherty 3, m. _____________Inman.
6. Prisilla Doherty3 , m. David Morrow.
7. Rachel Doherty 3, m. Josiah Leath.
8. poss: Joseph Doherty who also claimed land on South Bank of French Broad River in 1783.
As late as December 6, 1902, in Obion County, Tennessee, George Doherty's2 "heirs" filed claim to the land on which Reelfoot Lake was situated. They claimed the land was granted to Captain Doherty in 1784 by North Carolina (New Madrid County Newspaper Abstracts, Mary M. Brown and Fay Hedgepeth, eds., New Madrid, 1977, p.10).
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James Tennessee Doherty3 (George2, George1)
James Tennessee Doherty 3, b. before 17?4; d. January 9, 1823; m. Mary Davis, b. in Northern Ireland. She died in Monroe County, Tennessee, March 2, 1839 (Branner, op. cit., p. 125).
James Tennessee and Mary (Davis) Doherty had children:
1. George Doherty 4, named in his Grandfather George Doherty2 s will (Ray, loc. cit.).
2. Mariah Doherty, b. 1793, Jefferson County, Tennessee; d. 1847, Jefferson County, Tennessee; m. 1809 Casper Branner3 (Branner, loc. cit.). Casper Branner3 was born 1788 in Shenandoah County, Virginia to J. Michael Branner2 and Christina (Arey) Branner. Christina was the daughter of the German immigrant Godlip (Cutlip, Gottlieb) Arey (Airey), who served in the militia of Rockingham County, Virginia in 1788 (John W. Wayland, Virginia Valley Records, Baltimore, 1978, p. 116). He died 1822, Greenbrier County, Virginia (Ross B. Johnston, West Virginia Estate Settlements, Baltimore, 1978, p. 101).
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Goforth (Garforth, Gaerford, Gereford)
The line of Prisilla (Goforth) Doherty, the mother of Mariah (Doherty) Branner, has been traced to Knedlington, England. (George Tuttle Goforth, The Goforth Genealogy, 1971)
George Goforthl, born ca. 1565, had a son
Miles Goforth2, born Ca. 1600 in Knedlington, England. Miles had a son
William Goforth3, born 1631; died 1678; married July 11, 1662 Anne Skipwith at a Quaker meeting in Hull, Yorkshire, England.
Anne Skipwith2, born 1642, was the daughter of Willoughby and Honora (Saunders2 Skipwith) Skipwith. Willoughby was baptized January 3, 1612-13 in South Ormsby, Lincolnshire, England. He died 1658 at Skipwith, his home estate in Yorkshire. Honora Saunders , daughter of Doctor Patrick Saunders , became a Quaker prior to 1662 and died April 15, 1679 as "a prisoner of the faith" at York Castle.
William3 and Anne (Skipwith ) Goforth immigrated to America on the fly-boat "Martha" in autumn 1677, sailing with their children from Hull, England to Delaware Bay, arriving October 28, 1677. They lived in Burlington, New Jersey in 1678 when William Goforth3 died.
Anne (Skipwith) Goforth married William Oxley (buried August 8, 1700, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) some time between 1678-1686 and took the Goforth children to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Anne (Skip with) Goforth Oxley died there February 3, 1723.
She and William Goforth had children:
1. George Goforth4 , b. 1663 England; d. 1732.
2. William Goforth4 , b. 1665 England; d. 1748 Wilmington, Delaware; m. 1694 Sarah Preston on the Chesapeake Bay. This family history follows this line.
3. John Goforth4 , b. 1667; d. 1750.
4. Miles Goforth4 , b. 1673; d. bef. 1734.
5. Zachariah Goforth4 , b. 1675; d. 1736.
6. Thomas Goforth4.
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William Goforth4 (William3, Miles2, George1)
William Goforth was born in 1665 in England; in 1694 he married Sarah Preston at Oxford, Tred-Avon Creek, Chesapeake Bay, Eastern Shore, Maryland. Sarah was the daughter of John (d. December 9, 1712) and Joan (___?_____) Preston of Talbot County, Maryland. William Goforth lived at FaIls (Trenton), New Jersey in 1682, engaged in seafaring and privateering for which he was denounced by the Quakers. After his marriage in 1694, the family lived in Talbot County, Maryland. The children's births are registered in St. Peter's Parish Book at Easton, Maryland. William possibly reconverted to Espiscopal from his Quaker upbringing. William Goforth died between June 18 - July 17, 1748 (Will Book G, V. I, p. 146, Courthouse, Wilmington, Del-aware). William and Sarah (Preston) Goforth had moved to Delaware about the time some of their children moved away from home. Their children:
1. Willoughby Goforth5, b. 1694 Talbot County, Md.
2. Marcy Goforth5, b. January 21, 1700, Talbot County Md.
3. George Goforth5, b. 10:00 p.m., August 2, 1703, Talbot County, Md.
4. Sarah Goforth5, b. 3:00-p.m., February 22, 1705. Talbot County, Md.
5. Preston Goforth5, b. May 20, 1714, Talbot County, Md. m. Rachel Clements. This familY history fol lows this line. : The three sons Willoughby, George and Preston left Maryland between 1720-32, migrating south.
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Preston Goforth5 (William4, William3, Miles2, George1)
Preston Goforth was born May 20, 1714 in Talbot County, Maryland. He married Rachel Clements. He was granted "400 acres of land in the County of Anson on the North side of the South fork of the Catawha River, beginning at a White Oak...," dated "29th September 1750". Preston Goforth served as Constable in Rowan County, North Carolina for a period beginning in April 1753. Preston operated a lodging house and livery stable and owned a farm in Tyron/Rutherford County, North Carolina until 1773-77. Preston Goforth died in 1781, possibly in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. Rachel and Preston lost two sons at the Battle of King's Mountain on October 7, 1780; Preston Goforth, Jr.6, fighting on the Revolutionary Patriot's side and John Preston Goforth6 on the Tory side. A legend perpetuated by Lyman Draper (King's Mountain and Its Heroes, Lyman C. Draper, Baltimore 1967, pp. 314-15) says that the brothers knowingly killed each other, each for his own political ideology. Preston5 and Rachel (Clements) Goforth had children:
1. Andrew Goforth6 , b. 1737; m. Nancy Elizabeth Gullick --- lived near King's Mountain in Rutherford County, North Carolina (Rutherford was much more extensive then than now).
2. Preston Goforth, Jr.6, b. 1739 in North Carolina; m. 1760 Nancy Elizabeth Potts, b. 1744, d. 1836, lived two miles west of King's Mountain; Preston, Jr. died October 7, 1780 at King's Mountain; mentioned by DAR monument to King's Mountain heroes.
3. William Goforth6 , b. 1741; d. 1830; m. June 1, 1774 Rebecca
Roberts, b. 1747, d. 1838; William entered land September 8, 1780 in Jefferson County, Tennessee (N. C. Land Grants in Tennessee and Ray, op. cit.); he also owned land near George Doherty who married William's sister, Prisilla.
4. John Preston Goforth6, b. 1750, married 1777 Sarah Clements, b. March 24, 1759, d. August 13, 1842. John Preston Goforth6 was killed at King's Mountain, a member of the Tory forces.
5. Prisilla Goforth6, b. C. 1748?; d. prior to 1823; m. prior to 1773, probably in Mecklenburg County, N. C. to George Doherty, b. 1749. See Doherty section of this family history.)
INDEX OF FAMILIES