White found himself trapped in England by the invasion of the Spanish
Manchese and Manteo.
To the City Club of Eugene
A Report on Joseph Lane and His Ancestors
by John Presco
President: Royal Rosamond Press
Today is the Day of Atonement. Six days after reading your discussion about changing the name of Lane County, I read that Sir Francis Drake offered Sir Ralph Lane one of his ships for further exploration of the Virginia Coast. If it were not for a hurricane, then the ancestors of Joeph Lane would be listed amongst the Explorers of the New World. Why doesn’t the State of Oregon own this history?
Joseph and Polly Lane are content to die in Roseburg – in obscurity! Did they hope the Lane Family history would die with them? Polly Lane married Nathaniel Hart after being rescued by the Thomas Hart family, who are my kin via Senator Thomas Hart Benton, who was the first proprietors of the Oregon Territory. His name was removed from a building on the campus of Oregon State – after a team of Historians ruled him a racist, a pro-slavery murderer of Native Americans – who invented Manifest Destiny. Wrong. Sir Ralph Lane sent a letter to Richard Hakluyt informing him of his written account of the Roanoke Colony. I suspect he bid Queen Elizabeth to establish a American Base for Pirates to deplete the Habsburg Empire of Incan and Aztec gold – that could have ended up buried on Oak Island. Drake gave Lane shallow draft boats after he returned from a raid.
” In 1563 he entered the service of Queen Elizabeth I as equerry and did a variety of court tasks, including searching Breton ships for illegal goods in 1571. In general, however, Lane was better suited as a soldier than as a courtier. After serving as sheriff of County Kerry, Ireland, from 1583 to 1585, he was invited by Sir Walter Raleigh to command an expedition to America. He sailed on 9 Apr. 1585 under Sir Richard Grenville, with whom he soon began to quarrel. Towards the end of June, they arrived at Wococon on the North Carolina Outer Banks and established a colony with Lane as governor.”
It is alleged Drake brought The Golden Hind into a bay in Oregon. I am now looking at the real possibility that Drake drafted the English citizens of Roanoke to go on more raids. A hurricane came upon them when ships were being loaded for the voyage to England. Journals were thrown overboard, along with the valuable pearl the Native gave Lane. Really? The Roanoke Colony – vanished!
They say Drake was looking for The Fountain of Youth – also! What about sea route to India? Did Drake sail the Columbia that Lewis and Clark Explored? Did the Queen’s Knight found a colony in Oregon – that Joseph Lane learned about, when he was a mere boy? Why did Polk appoint Lane the first governor of Oregon? Why wasn’t he elected? England was making claims to Oregon. Did they know the history of Ralph Lane – and Richard Hakluyt? England was going to come to the aid of the Confederacy. What if General Lee – won? I am kin to Lee, the Virgina General. Did his family know the history of Sir Ralph Lane, and, they had their eye on the Oregon Territory? The British have good – and long memories. A Lord, is a land owner. These knights were given permission to grab all lands – not owned by a Christian!
On this day, October 4, 2022, I beseech the City Club of Eugene help me find funding for my mountainous study. I see a team of nine people. From coast to coast, the Lane family fought a war against Native Americans. Let us establish an accurate record of this – once and for all! The black woman that took over the Oregon Shakespeare festival has misused this history – in my opinion. Two years ago I founded the Oregon Shakespeare Society because I am kin to the Bard via the Webb family who came over with the Pilgrims. I began a story of the colony they founded. Jesse lane was born at Jamestown. I may have discovered who wrote the famous plays. I found a contender – in my tree!
Two days ago I bid Christine Drazen to put together a panel of learned Christians to study the Koran’s written testimony about Jesus speaking in his cradle – when he was just born! Jesus was filled with the Holy Spirit while in his mother’s womb – after she went to visit her cousin, Elizabeth, who was pregnant with John the Baptist. Is it possible, that those who knew John’s Baptism – would not know death? Consider Lasarus. Did John know the secret of the Fountain of Eternal Life? Was he the second coming of Elijah? Yes, and as a minister of the Radio Church of God, founded by Herbert Armstrong, I have proven this. Consider….Elijah’s Chair, and that it was John who spoke when he was eight days old.
Many loyal Americans are asking that Republicans speak up – and condemn Trump – who will not concede. His racist threat against McConnel and Elaine Chow was typical of the language used against Native Americans – and Chinese immigrants. The death threat is typical, too, aimed at whites who were on the cusp, and did not want to go along with the Extermination plan. I demand Franklin Graham condemn Trump, the same way he condemned the present Governor of Oregon. Graham said Brown did not know Jesus, and, was not a Christian. He used Brown when he came to our State to garnish Christian votes for the Republican Party – only! I became a Republican twelve years ago because my kin, John Fremon, founded the Abolitionist party that has been taken over by neo-Confederates!
Get out! Get out of my families party – now!
Below is the resting place of John’s remains in the Grand Mosque in Damascus. He is being worshipped by Muslims.
Repent?
John Presco ‘The End Time Elijah’
Copyright 2022
“Trump used a racial slur in a post on his Truth Social website Friday, calling Chao McConnell’s “China-loving wife, Coco Chow.” He also said McConnell had a “death wish” for backing “Democrat-sponsored bills,” in the same post.
Trump’s racist comment on Elaine Chao, McConnell’s wife, draws criticism from the right (msn.com)
Ralph Lane, 1530?-1603
Sir Ralph Lane (ca. 1530-October 1603), first governor of “Virginia,” was born in Lympstone, Devonshire, England, the son of Sir Ralph Lane (d. 1541) and his wife Maud Parr (daughter of William Lord Parr) of Northamptonshire. He is believed to have been a cousin of Edward Dyer, the poet. In 1563 he entered the service of Queen Elizabeth I as equerry and did a variety of court tasks, including searching Breton ships for illegal goods in 1571. In general, however, Lane was better suited as a soldier than as a courtier. After serving as sheriff of County Kerry, Ireland, from 1583 to 1585, he was invited by Sir Walter Raleigh to command an expedition to America. He sailed on 9 Apr. 1585 under Sir Richard Grenville, with whom he soon began to quarrel. Towards the end of June, they arrived at Wococon on the North Carolina Outer Banks and established a colony with Lane as governor.
After Grenville departed for England in August, the colony moved to Roanoke Island where it remained for the next eight months. As supplies became scarce, the colony was plagued with bickering and quarrels among its members and with the natives. Lane reportedly was not diplomatic in dealing with the Indians and often reacted violently to provocation. He quarreled with Wingina, an Indian chief, who was attempting to organize neighboring tribes to attack Lane’s group. Lane solved this problem by killing Wingina on 10 June 1586 before the surrounding tribes convened and then managed to disperse the rest of the group. The next day, 11 June, Sir Francis Drake arrived and promised to leave men, supplies, and a ship. However, a hurricane blew the ship out to sea and plans were changed. Lane, discouraged, decided to return to England. In the frenzied rush to be gone, three colonists, exploring up-country, were left behind, and in an effort to lighten the ship’s load, valuable records were destroyed or thrown over-board. Lane returned to England on 27 July 1586 and never again commanded a colonial expedition, probably to the benefit of everyone. Ironically, Grenville’s relief squadron arrived shortly after Drake sailed for home, causing widespread criticism of Lane for leaving Virginia when he did. It has even been suggested that Lane’s distrust of Grenville led to his abandoning the colony.
It is thought (without much proof) that Lane was the first to introduce tobacco to England. Following his return, Lane set down a “Discourse on the First Colony,” which was sent to Sir Walter Raleigh and later printed in Richard Hakluyt’s Principall Navigations (1589). Afterwards, Lane wrote another treatise on his experiences as a colonial commander and sent it to Lord Burghley on 7 Jan. 1592. In it he emphasized the need for strict discipline to avoid illness among the soldiers.
Among the colonists of this Virginia expedition were John White, an artist, and Thomas Harriot, a mathematician, who took meticulous notes and made remarkably accurate drawings of the wildlife, fauna, and natives of the New World. These efforts have been preserved in their book, A briefe and true report of the new found land of Virginia, published in 1588 and 1590. Lane wrote the foreword to this book.
After Lane’s return to England, he performed a series of petty tasks for the court, including in 1588 the office of muster-master of the camp at West Tilbury in Essex and the next year as muster-master general of the army on the Spanish and Portuguese coast. In January 1592 he took the post of muster-master general and clerk of the check in Ireland. He remained in that country for the rest of his life.
Lane apparently never married but continued, as he had throughout his career, to beg favors from the well-placed for himself and his relatives. On 15 Oct. 1593 he was knighted by the lord deputy of Ireland, Sir William Fitzwilliam. In 1594 Lane was badly wounded in an Irish rebellion. He never regained his strength and his office was generally neglected during the last years of his life. Edward E. Hale summed up his career: “He seems to have been an eager courtier, a bold soldier, a good disciplinarian, an incompetent governor, a credulous adventurer, and on the whole, though not a worthless, an unsuccessful man.”
How Oregon named a county after a Confederate sympathizer – OPB
www.virtualjamestown.org/Manteo and Wanchese.html
Two Treaties of General Joseph Lane and Chief Jo, Rogue River – QUARTUX (ndnhistoryresearch.com)
Ralph Lane and Pemisapan: Chronicle of a Death Foretold (ebrary.net)
Does Franklin Graham Direct Christine Drazen?
Posted on October 2, 2022 by Royal Rosamond Press
Former Oregon state lawmaker Chrstine Drazan
Dear Christine Drazen;
Franklin Graham came to Oregon and said Governor Brown needs to be saved. Graham said Muslims need to know Jesus, but – they already do! How many Christians, who are going to vote for you, know the Koran has a version of The Birth of Jesus – where he speaks from the cradle? Perhaps this miracle can be discussed in a forum so everyone can hear – the Good News?
Because Graham said “Christians need to vote” may I suggest you put together a panel of three learned Christian leaders (who live in Oregon) in order to hold several debates on Public Access Television. I have several theories I will present. I want a Muslim Scholar present to discuss what he (or she) believes is going on in this birth narrative.
I believe King Jesus will return, not by the vote, but by the Word of God. Let’s give this Word a try, because American politics are proving very divisive. Many believe we are on the verge of a new Civil War. Maybe Graham will appear – to save America?
I ran for Governor of Oregon to put forth my Biblical knowledge – because there are – signs!
John Presco
President: Royal Rosamond Press
“Peace on me the day I was born, and the day I die, and the day I shall be raised alive! Such was Jesus, son of Mary: (this is) a statement of the truth concerning which they doubt.”
John Spoke As Infant
Posted on December 25, 2018 by Royal Rosamond Press
John’s remains are being worshipped by Muslim’s in Syria.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umayyad_Mosque
John the Baptist was born of the two priestly Levite lines. His father was of the linage of Moses, and his mother of Aaron. Gabriel appeared to his father when he was near the Ark, and another Angel appeared to John’s mother. These are the two Angels of the Ark of the Covenant that was brought out by the First Born Sons in accord with Reubenite Priesthood, that was altered when the Philistine’s captured the Ark and the Khorite Choir.
http://www.arkdiscovery.com/FourAngels.htm
What they wanted was child to be born who knew UNALTERED TORAH. When John was eight days old, the ousted Nazarite Priests of Reuben came to ask John’s name. There is a argument among his parents as to what his name will be. Zachariah was ordered to remain silent around his unborn son, who was filled with the Holy Spirit while in his mother’s womb. It was believed John would speak PERFECT TORAH when born, meaning he would know what God had ordained, that was later altered. This was a Holy Recovery!
THE INFANT JOHN MADE SIGNS, and asked for a slate. He wrote his name, the name of his embodiment. He then spoke this name.
In “Origin,” Jessie began the article by remembering her youth and the ways in which her
father stirred her imagination with descriptions of “India and Oriental life, and of European
power.” Recalling the days of meeting men like William Clark, the explorer “who had first
explored the Columbia to the Pacific,” Jessie stressed the role Thomas Hart Benton played in
western expansion. Jessie informed her readers that she herself practiced that “self-renunciation”
that allowed her to be useful to her father while her husband ventured across the Rockies during
784 Josiah Royce, “Frémont,” The Atlantic Monthly, October 1890: 584-557
785 Jessie Benton Frémont to Robert Underwood Johnson, August 28, 1890, John Charles Frémont and Jessie Benton Frémont Papers, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
318 his first two expeditions. She recounted the story of the mountain howitzer, and her role in
preventing John being recalled to Washington at the start of the second expedition.
She included part of a letter written in July 1886 from George Bancroft, a historian, politician, and President Polk’s Secretary of the Navy.786 Bancroft, a longstanding friend of the Frémonts, wrote his recollection that Thomas Benton had sought U.S. western expansion, that Polk had stated his desire to take California in 1846, and that he, Bancroft, saw the “acquisition of California by
ourselves as the decisive point in the perfect establishment of the Union on a foundation that
cannot be moved.”787
Jessie concluded the article with words that reflected her firm belief in the importance of
her husband and her father in the historical narrative of western expansion: Rarely does life offer such opportunities; more seldom still do men, each specially fitted to his part, combine to carry out such
noble, enduring work—work which time has proved good. And . people feel the truth, “Though the pathfinders die, the pathsremain open.”788.
Even as she praised both men, it was to the memory of John, the Pathfinder, that she
attributed the true opening of the west. In “Conquest of California,” John had written the first section, consisting of a basic overview of the west as it was understood prior to his first expedition. He wrote of meeting early mentors Joel Poinsett and Joseph Nicollet and of becoming “a member of Senator Benton’s family.”789 Coming to 1842 and the first two expeditions, John had written an outline that Jessie
786 No relation to Hubert Howe Bancroft, the California historian.
787 Jessie Benton Frémont, “Origin of the Frémont Explorations,” Century Magazine, March 1891: 766-771.
788 Jessie Benton Frémont, “Origin of the Frémont Explorations,” 771.
789 John C. Frémont, “The Conquest of California,” Century Magazine, April 1891, 917-919.
319
then followed.790 Addressing the issue of the instructions received from Gillespie, the gist of the
argument between the professional historians and the Frémonts, John (or Jessie) reiterated what
John had included in his Memoirs: namely, that he received instructions to “watch the interests of
the United States in California.” Of the letter from Thomas Benton also delivered by Gillespie,
John wrote that he “learned nothing but it was intelligibly explained to me by my previous
knowledge, by the letter from Senator Benton, and by communications from Lieutenant
Gillespie.” John (or Jessie) went further, noting that Benton’s letter “was a trumpet giving no
uncertain note.” The coded family language gave John the authority necessary to stir up
aggressions in California. To this restating of his original justification, John (or Jessie) added a
new twist—following the instructions that were given to U.S. Consul Thomas Larkin was “no
longer practicable, as actual war was inevitable and immediate; moreover, it was in conflict with
our own instructions.”791 No longer did the Frémonts argue that Larkin had not received his own
instructions from Washington; rather, those instructions did not apply.
The views of George Bancroft were also captured in this article, including the
understanding that Polk wanted to take California. In a copy of a letter of September 2, 1886,
and included in the article, Bancroft cleared John of any wrongdoing, writing that John had been
“absolved from any orders as an explorer, and became an officer of the American army, warned
790 Jessie Benton Frémont to Robert Underwood Johnson, August 28, 1890, John Charles Frémont and Jessie Benton
Frémont Papers, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
791 John C. Frémont, “The Conquest of California,” Century Magazine, April 1891: 917-928. The end of the article contains the notation “The foregoing article has been edited by Mrs. Jessie Benton Frémont from the manuscript and notes of John Charles Frémont.” It is unclear just which parts were written by just which Frémont. As Frémont biographer Tom Chaffin write: “[W]hen using John Frémont’s published writings, I developed an axiom: Trust him on the details, take his conclusions concerning controversies with a grain of salt…, [b]ut when he addresses matters of controversy involving him, John tended to write with one eye on the defense of some already enunciated public
position, the other on his reputation for posterity.” Tom Chaffin, Pathfinder, 504-505. To this can be added that Jessie also focused on John’s reputation and how he would be remembered. Because of this, it is difficult to ascertain which words and ideas were John’s and which were Jessie’s in this co-written article. by your government of your new danger, against which you were bound to defend yourself . . .
[i]f I had been in your place, I should have considered myself bound to do what I saw I could to
promote the purpose of the President.”792
The article closed with an attack on the work of Hubert Howe Bancroft—or rather on a
review of Bancroft’s work in the New York Sun from August 29, 1886. That review had
included a summary of H.H. Bancroft’s interpretation of the Conquest, including the notation
that “Mr. Bancroft thinks there is conclusive evidence that Frémont did not act in pursuance of
instructions, secret or inferential, from the United States Government, and the Pathfinder is
accordingly set down as a mere filibuster.”793 In response, John (or Jessie) included a statement
from George Bancroft, also from 1886, in which that historian wondered how “can a man
commit such blunders as are found in the New York ‘Sun’ of Sunday, August 29?”794 The fact
that John and Jessie felt that a response was needed to a review of H.H. Bancroft’s work, four
years after it appeared, spoke to just how determined the Frémonts were to maintain John’s
heroic status.
Josiah Royce was still not finished with the Frémonts. Beginning in March 1891, Royce
published more articles on the Conquest and Frémont’s role in it. These included “Montgomery
and Frémont: New Documents on the Bear Flag Affair” in Century magazine in March 1891, and
“The Frémont Legend,” published in The Nation in May 1891. Each article, both those before
and after John’s “Conquest of California” in Century in April 1891, shared a familiar theme:
John was not the hero he was supposed to be but rather a self-aggrandizing filibuster.
792 John C. Frémont, “The Conquest of California,” 923-924.
793 “Some New Books,” The Sun, August 29, 1886.
794 John C. Frémont, “The Conquest of California,” 924.
321
Eventually, however, Robert Underwood Johnson, editor of Century magazine, refused to accept
any further manuscripts on the topic. According to Royce, Johnson, while acknowledging that
another article from Royce was warranted “for the sake of the truth of history,” said that
Century’s readership was “restive,” and Johnson could not countenance yet another column inch
dedicated to California.795
After the publication of “Conquest of California,” Jessie returned to writing under her
own name. In 1890, she had collected her “Far West Sketches” for Wide Awake magazine into a
book.796 Another collection of Wide Awake stories was published as The Will and the Way
Stories in late summer 1891.797 Over the next few years, her work appeared in national
publications such as the Ladies Home Journal and Youth’s Companion as well as in the
California magazine Overland Monthly.
798
Perhaps her greatest writing endeavor involved an unpublished second volume to John’s
Memoirs, entitled “Great Events During the Lives of Major General John C. Frémont, United
States Army, F.R.G.S. Chevalier de l’Ordre Pour Le Merite; et., and of Jessie Benton Frémont.”
Jessie, along with her son Frank, began work on this volume in 1891.
The Beverely Manor
Posted on December 25, 2018 by Royal Rosamond Press
He brought me a letter from the Generall Sir Francis Drake, with a most bountifull and honourable offer for the supply of our necessities to the performance of the action wee were entred into; and that not only of victuals, munition, and clothing, but also of barks, pinnesses, and boats; they also by him to be victualled, manned and furnished to my contentation.
Masters not onely to cary us into England, when time should be, but also to search the coast for some better harborow, if there were any, and especially to helpe us to some small boats and oare-men.
The Francis, being a very proper barke of 70 tun, and tooke present order for bringing of victual aboord her for 100 men for foure moneths, with all my other demands whatsoever, to the uttermost.
And further, he appointed for me two pinnesses, and foure small boats: and that which was to performe all his former liberality towards us, was that he had gotten the full assents of two of as sufficient experimented Masters as were any in his fleet, by judgment of them that knew them, with very sufficient gings to tary with me, and to employ themselves most earnestly in the action, as I should appoint them, untill the terme which I promised of our returne into England againe. The names of one of those Masters was Abraham Kendall, the other Griffith Herne.
While these things were in hand, the provision aforesaid being brought, and in bringing aboord, my sayd Masters being also gone aboord, my sayd barks having accepted of their charge, and mine owne officers, with others in like sort of my company with them (all which was dispatched by the sayd Generall the 12 of the sayde moneth) the 13 of the same there arose such an unwoonted storme, and continued foure dayes, that had like to have driven all on shore, if the Lord had not held his holy hand over them, and the Generall very providently foreseene the woorst himselfe, then about my dispatch putting himselfe aboord: but in the end having driven sundry of the fleet to put to Sea the Francis also with all my provisions, my two Masters, and my company aboord, she was seene to be free from the same, and to put cleere to Sea.
This storme having continued from the 13 to the 16 of the
Which request of ours by my selfe delivered unto him, hee most readily assented unto: and so he sending immediatly his pinnesses unto our Island for the fetching away of a few that there were left with our baggage, the weather was so boisterous, and the pinnesses so often on ground, that the most of all we had, with all our Cards, Books and writings were by the Sailers cast overboard, the greater number of the fleet being much agrieved with their long and dangerous abode in that miserable road.
The first fruits of Hakluyt’s labours in Paris were embodied in his important work entitled A Particuler Discourse Concerninge the Greate Necessitie and Manifolde Commodyties That Are Like to Growe to This Realme of Englande by the Westerne Discoueries Lately Attempted, Written in the Yere 1584, which Sir Walter Raleigh commissioned him to prepare. The manuscript, lost for almost 300 years, was published for the first time in 1877. Hakluyt revisited England in 1584, and laid a copy of the Discourse before Elizabeth I (to whom it had been dedicated) together with his analysis in Latin of Aristotle‘s Politicks. His objective was to recommend the enterprise of establishing English plantations in the unsettled [by Europeans] region of North America, and thus gain the Queen’s support for Raleigh’s expedition.[10] In May 1585 when Hakluyt was in Paris with the English Embassy, the Queen granted to him the next prebendary at Bristol Cathedral that should become vacant,[5][15] to which he was admitted in 1585 or 1586 and held with other preferments till his death.
The Boy’s Hakluyt: English Voyages of Adventure and Discovery, by Edwin Monroe Bacon (gutenberg.org)
The establishment and early development of the Atlantic world provide several examples of initial conditions that became structural realities that both defined and supported the system—the “line” established by the Treaty of Tordesillas; the camino real overland route across Panama; Spanish activity in the Southern zone and the opponents of Spain operating in the North; the French-Algonkian and English-Iroquois alliances, just to name a few—and Anglo-Indigenous warfare as a constant element of the development of the Chesapeake region is another.
Shortly after arriving in the region, Wanchese deserted the English party, taking with him all that he had seen and learned about the English by his sojourn in the London area. (He was in all probability motivated to flee by this selfsame knowledge.) Following several initial efforts at re-familiarization mediated by Manteo, Amadas—who had been a companion of Barlowe’s on the reconnoitering mission—decided he was not going to let the theft of a silver cup slide. He demanded that the leader of the community harboring the thief deliver to the English both the cup and the man. When the weroance of the village refused to give up the malefactor, Amadas ordered that the villager’s crops be burned. This direct threat to a community’s ability to feed itself was an act of violence that led the community to abandon the town, the Indigenous people removing themselves from the Englishmen’s ability to harm them (further).
Granganimeo, the leader who had welcomed Barlowe and provided such lavish hospitality to the English in 1584, died during the winter of 1585-1586. After his brother’s death, the King Wingina changed his name to Pemisapan, a move that was seen by the English (and historians) as a shift in his standing toward them. “Pemisapan, Lane believed, orchestrated a massive Indian uprising directed toward the extermination of the English colonists.”9 The process through which Lane became convinced of this should give us pause in fully accepting his take on the events.
First of all, while still involved in friendly interactions with the English, the Indigenous leader convinced Lane that leaders from the interior were plotting against the English, amassing large forces (numbered at 6,000 warriors) for a deadly assault upon them. The Indigenous leader behind this movement against the English was, Wingina reported to Lane, none other than Mena-tonon. This information led Lane to make a move against the Indigenous leader, force his small force into the center of the gathering of Indigenous warriors about which he had been informed, capture Menatonon in the midst of his allies, and then proceed to confer with him about the geopolitics of the region.
Menatonon could have easily eradicated the English force if he had wished to do so—there were many men present at the meeting, although not the 6,000 Wingina reported would be present. The Indigenous leader’s docility must have convinced Lane to consider him a source of information and treat him as an ally. It should surprise no one that Menatonon duly informed Lane that it was Wingina who was conspiring against him and who was a staunch and vocal opponent of English designs to settle in the region.
In my study of Indigenous politics in Panamá, I explored a similar dynamic that came into play as Indigenous leaders recognized that European intruders might be deployed as allies (or weapons) against their local rivals.10 A similar dynamic can be discerned in the process through which Indigenous polities allied with the Spanish to collude in the downfall of the Aztec11 and Inka12 state systems, as well as in European designs in North America.13
To Lane, a veteran of the English wars in Ireland, Menatonon and Wingina/ Pemisapan must have resembled the changeable Irish lords whose rivalries, battles, and changes of allegiances were such sources of trouble to Elizabeth and her advisors. Ormond had a handhold in both worlds, balancing his political life as an Irish peer with his identity as a fully engaged player at Elizabeth’s court. Others, such as the earl of Desmond, found themselves drawn to their rebellious relatives as they expressed their opposition to Ormond and the expansionist designs of the English Crown. These men understood that increased power to the Crown translated quite literally into decreased power for themselves.14
On the ground in Roanoke, Menatonon convinced Lane—through their hours of consultations—that Wingina was his true enemy. While he accepted Menatonon’s assessment of the situation, Lane took the man’s son with him when he moved. In the fashion of the Irish wars—Desmond and his brother were held in London for six years—the young man was taken as a hostage to ensure Menatonon’s continued compliance and, to put it simply, to express English dominance.
After the death of Garangemeo, the Indigenous leader who had welcomed Barlowe, his brother Wingina changed his name to Pemisapan15 The remainder of Lane’s narrative is concerned with describing that Indigenous leader’s perfidy and the conspiracy the Englishman presumed him to have led. The name change reflected what must have been a significant shift in the Indian’s public life, perhaps marking him as a more important leader after his brother’s death. Although we are left to speculate as to his reasons, the name change was obviously connected to the more openly aggressive stance the man would take toward the intruders.
Having convinced Lane that Menatonon’s people were conspiring against the English, Pemisapan took advantage of the intruders’ absence to convince the peoples around Roanoke that the Englishmen were dead and would not be returning. However, when Lane and his men returned from their encounter with Menatonon accompanied by the Indigenous leader’s son as their companion and hostage, it was reported that a respected Indigenous elder named Ensenore urged cooperation with the outsiders upon his countrymen, because the foreigners proved themselves to have the power to experience death and yet return from such an experience and live once again.
While the English were gone, Pemisapan convinced the surrounding communities to withhold their surplus food from the Englishmen; when Lane’s party returned, Ensenore argued that the Indian towns should relent, and Pemisapan agreed. However, Ensenore’s influence proved short-lived, for he died soon thereafter, in April 1586. We are left to speculate about the specific cause of Ensenore’s death, although it is clear that his aims were at variance with those of Pemisapan. After Ensenore’s death Pemisapan removed his people across the sound—out of the reach of the English settlement—and limited his engagement with it.
Lane decided to move against Pemisapan in his home village across the sound. He did not report entertaining a single doubt, even knowing that his earlier move against Menatonon was proven to be a mistake. After beheading two Indian men in a canoe on the sound, the Englishmen came upon Pemisapan and seven or eight other weroances. There were no sentries posted, and Lane’s party caught the Indigenous leaders unawares. He ordered the firing of a volley, and Pemisapan fell to the ground wounded—the attackers assumed him to be dead. The Englishmen set to killing Pemisapan’s followers, attacking the Indigenous peoples indiscriminately, although it is almost a certainty that there were members of communities who supported coexistence with the English among those killed.
Although assumed to have been killed in the initial hail of bullets, Pemisapan leapt to his feet in the midst of the killing and ran. An Englishman shot him in the buttocks as he took flight. Edward Nugent, a young Irishman who had served with Lane in the wars of his homeland, took off in close pursuit. Nugent was gone for some time, and Lane figured that he had met an ambush and decided to leave the field, following Nugent’s path. As the party walked in the direction taken by Nugent, they came upon him walking out of the woods holding Pemisapan’s severed head in one hand. Oberg chose an apt and fitting title for his study of the Roanoake misadventure.
A week later Francis Drake’s fleet of ships, fresh from his attacks on Cartagena and Santo Domingo, arrived in Roanoke. While the Englishmen decided what to do—Drake offered one of his ships to Lane so that the coastline might be charted and explored—a hurricane struck, causing considerable damage and the loss of several vessels. Lane decided to abandon the settlement and return to England.
The remaining chapters of Roanoke’s history are even darker: the (justifiable and) studied enmity of the region’s Indigenous peoples forced the intruders to engage in serial acts of abandonment. In the midst of Lane’s thrashing attempt at founding a settlement, the venture’s planners outfitted a resupply fleet commanded by Grenville that included 400 men. Upon finding the settlement destroyed, however, he decided against off-loading all of the men, leaving a meager force of 15 men behind.
When John White returned to Roanoke with a collection of men, women, and children intending to resettle the colony, he found no sign of the men whom Grenville had left behind. As is well known, the failure of White’s colony—and his decision to return to England—led to the famed abandonment of the “lost colony.” Since White’s time in England coincided with Spain’s outfitting of the Armada, which launched its attack in 1588—he was not able to return until 1591 and found none of the settlers he had left in the region.
Ralph Lane’s short-lived Roanoke settlement was a bloody affair, and his actions can be credited with setting into motion the situation in which the region’s Indigenous peoples would look upon any Englishmen who appeared in the region after him with distrust or hatred. Although Lane’s destructive actions were being carried out in what Europeans called the New World, we do not need to necessarily ascribe any newness to his tactics or to his frame of mind.
Ralph Lane carried attitudes and tactics with him to Roanoke that had been formed on the brutal fields of war in Ireland. However, I am not simply arguing that Lane was an individual actor who transferred his own attitudes and methods from Ireland to the Americas. On a very basic level, Lane was a member of a cohort of men who shared in a complex process of attitude formation. However, my contention is that the Elizabethan wars in Ireland sparked transformations both in Ireland and in England. My line of interpretation finds me in agreement with Audrey Horning, whose recent book provides a recalibration of the relationship between English action in Ireland and the colonization of the Americas. Lane did not simply convey something that he acquired in Ireland with him over to the New World, with England being absent from the process.16
A county to honor Kalapuya
THANKS TO OUR SPONSOR:
“We are all members of the State of Oregon and to have a county with [Joseph Lane’s] name, when he was really kind of an exterminator for Native peoples, is wrong,” said David Lewis, an anthropology and ethnic studies professor at Oregon State University.
Lewis, who is Indigenous to Western Oregon, is one of thousands of petitioners who would like to see Lane County change its name. His suggestion: Kalapuya County.
The Kalapuyan tribes have called the Willamette Valley home for some 10,000 years, Lewis said. But violent clashes brought on by white leaders like Joseph Lane and disease introduced by white settlers decimated the once populous and vibrant Kalapuyan communities. In a letter addressed to the Lane County Commissioners, Lewis wrote that renaming the county after an Indigenous tribe is a necessary step in the decolonization of Oregon.
“[Indigenous people] were mostly removed from the valley and they lost everything, their homeland,” Lewis said. “It would, at least, be nice to honor them with a county.”
There is currently one county named after a Kalapuyan tribe in Oregon, Yamhill County, which is named after the Yamel Kalapuyans, according to Lewis.
Other petitioners have brought up the idea of simply rededicating Lane County to Joseph Lane’s grandson, Harry. Lewis is not on board with this proposal.
“[Harry’s] not an important figure in history, even for Native peoples,” Lewis said. “And people are just going to ignore that anyway. They’re just going to think of Joe Lane because he’s the most prominent figure in our [written] history.”
Lane County Commissioner Chair Heather Buch said this name change issue has been brought before the board before and the ongoing racial justice movement in the U.S. has bolstered it.
“The commissioners are seriously thinking about it and determining what we should do,” Buch said. “I can’t speak for the other commissioners, but I think it’s high time that we’ve talked about this.”
In June, the commissioners directed county staff to take a deeper look at the history of Joseph Lane and to identify next steps for the creation of a task force that would consider changing the name of the county.
The board heard some of the initial recommendations from staff, in a 20-page report, on Tuesday. The report highlighted that changing the name of the county would cost a lot more than rededicating it, although it could not give any hard figures. It also said renaming could have a ripple effect as other buildings, streets and private institutions in Oregon are also named after Joseph Lane or the county itself, like Lane Community College.
Commissioners made no immediate decisions on the Lane name. They instead directed staff to come back with a more thorough report that will include viewpoints from community organizations and more firm cost estimates.
A name change like this is not unheard of in Oregon. There have been about 20 proposals over the past year to change the names of geographic areas with racist monikers in the state, such as Dead Indian Memorial Road and Negro Ben Mountain. There is no modern precedent for changing the name of a county, though. If the Oregon law that establishes how to rename city streets sheds any light, the procedure to do this, at the very least, would involve several commission discussions and public hearings.
If a name change were to occur in Lane County in the future, it should be up to the people living in the county, Buch said.
“I feel strongly that if we do change the name, it should be a vote of the people,” Buch said. “I would think that the commissioners would put something on a ballot.”
No matter how it would happen, historian Carpenter said, the people of Oregon should be reconsidering how we’ve named areas after people just because they were the first white person to do something, rather than based on substantive accomplishments or moral achievements.
“I hope that we can start with Lane, but not end with Lane,” Carpenter said. “I hope we can look more broadly at the way that we’ve named the state after whiteness.”
Friday night of last I went to the Springfield Block Party. I almost didn’t go because of the heavy smoke in the air. Of course I was leery of past trouble I encountered when I went out with the intent to enjoy mingling with my fellow citizens, and, reporting for my newspaper, Royal Rosamond Press.
The EMX did not go into the station because buses were being used to evacuate people from the fire endangering Cottage Grover. I see a booth, and cross the road. The first person I talk to is Denise Thomas, a black woman. I tell her about the Turnverein, and she knows Eric Richardson who got several places named after the Mimm family. I thought it was – not enough! I wanted to read the Will of my Patriot ancestor who left his slaves to his children, in an event that Eric was sponsoring. I wanted to read this historic document at the Hult Center event on Black History that Marilyn Reed put on. They did not think it was – meaningful?
Denise is associated with these two programs. I told her about my idea for a Black Turnverein.
About Us – Healthy Moves (hm4kids.org)
Strides for Social Justice | PeaceHealth
Life Stories of Gallant Americans—The Lanes Cavaliers of the South (newrivernotes.com)
I asked Denise Thomas if I could video her talking about her exercise program. She misunderstood, and came around the booth and stood next to me. I was startled. We made a short and sweet video. I had a good time. I awoke in the middle of the night with an epiphany that I recorded. I considered making Denise my Heir of some of my important abolitionist history. I want to go to the Oregon Historic Society and show Denise the letter written by my kin, Jessie Benton Fremont, wherein she assures a Canadian Official her father, Senate Thomas Hart Benton, is not pro-slavery, and thus, this Commonwealth can sell back the Oregon Territory back to the United States. Britain had abolished slavery in 1833 thanks to the Evangelical enlightenment of William Wilberforce. How the Abolitionist Republucan Party was taken over by Racist Evangelicals, needs to be studied by every black person in Oregon, because John Fremont was a co-founder of this party, and its first Presidential candidate.
The next day I discovered Abraham Lincoln turned down an offer to replace Joseph Lane as the Governor of Oregon. Two years ago I stood before the Mayor of Springfield with my proposal to change Franklin Street to – Harry Lane – who was not a co-leader of the pro-slavery Confederate Insurrectionists like his grandfather, Joseph Lane. Lincoln had to know this! Something is wrong with this history. I am asking for help in discovering what is wrong. Fremont forced Lincolsn’s hand in freeing the slaves by founding the Radical Democracy Party. A half hour ago CNN aired a story about member nations of the Commonwealth refuting the Royals. Canada was talked about. I want Harry and Meghan to be a part of Oregon’s Abolitionist History.
John Presco
President: Royal Rosamond Press
Lincoln Refused To Be Governor of Oregon | Rosamond Press
https://www.oregonlive.com/books/2012/02/how_lincoln_civil_war_helped_s.html
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/l/lincoln2/5656411.0001.001?rgn=main;view=fulltext
Mary “Polly” Pierre Lane (1802-1870) – Find a Grave Memorial
Home of Capt. Nathaniel Hart | ExploreKYHistory
Battle of Frenchtown – Wikipedia
THIS is the story of one of the most distinguished and influential of the early settlers of Virginia, Maryland and the Carolinas.
The family is said to be collaterally descended from Sir Ralph Lane who sailed from Plymouth, England, in one of the vessels fitted up by Sir Walter Raleigh in 1585- Captain Lane was a brave, daring young cavalier, the son of Sir Ralph Lane of Orlingbury, whose wife, nee Parr, was first cousin of Catherine Parr, the favored queen of Henry VII. Sir Ralph Lane, junior, was the first colonial governor appointed on American soil. Although history asserts that the colony was broken up by the Croatan Indians at Roanoke, it is generally believed some of the party drifted into North Carolina and assisted greatly toward building up the commonwealth of the state. Sir Ralph Lane died in i6o4, while on a visit to Ireland, so it is not positively known how long he remained in America.
During the summer of 1618, two years before the Pilgrims and Puritans landed in America, Joseph Lane (supposed to be a descendant of Sir Ralph Lane) came from England to Jamestown, Virginia, which was settled in 1607 by Captain John Smith and his London Company, who established a code of laws for the colony. From there this family of Lanes found their way to Roanoke and Halifax, North Carolina. There was born Joseph Lane, junior, the true lineal ancestor of a noted family of American patriots whose descendants are scattered throughout all the states, from the storm-washed coast of the Atlantic to the middle Pacific and from the great lakes to the Gulf of Mexico. The old family records handed down for many generations have grown to vast proportions, and several volumes might be filled with thrilling accounts of their daring exploits during the Revolution, the Mexican War, The War between the States, and the late Spanish War.
Joseph Lane of 1710 married Patience McKinne, daughter of a wealthy Scotch immigrant who owned vast quantities of land in what was then known as the Caledonian regions. Their sons were Joel, Jesse and Joseph Lane. They moved from the vicinity of Halifax on the Roanoke to a comparative wilderness in Johnson County where Raleigh, the capital of North Carolina, now stands.
Colonel Joel Lane was a statesman “to the manner born,” and during the War for Independence was at onetime its presiding justice.* Throughout the entire conflict with Great Britain he served with fidelity in many important civil stations. He not only represented his county as senator for fourteen years, but his name appears in “Colonial Records” as Lieutenant Colonel, 1772. His dwelling still stands, a landmark of the Revolution, and was considered at the time a rare specimen of architectural elegance. He was a member of the first Provisional Congress which met at Hillsorough twenty-first of August, 1775, in defiance of the proclamation of Governor Martin, issued twelve days it, advance, forbidding such an assemblage.
Governor Martin accused them of being “rebels and traitors,” against the king and his government, denouncing the resolves of a set of people styling themselves a “Committee of the County of Mecklenburg,” who traitorously declared the dissolution of the laws, government and constitution of the country, the preposterous enormity of which cannot be adequately described and abhorred.
At any rate, in defiance of this libelous proclamation, the brave and patriotic convention was determined to build up a republic in America. Consequently, the General Assembly of this “most rebellious of provinces,” amidst the darkest hours of the Revolution, met at the house of Joel Lane in June, 1781, and elected Thomas Burke, one of the most eminent of the men of revolutionary renown, the third governor of the state, Colonel Lane at the time being senator of Wake. Wishing to establish the capitol in his own vicinity, on the fourth of April, 1792, he conveyed to the state one thousand acres of land. Subsequent to this arrangement for Raleigh, he presented six hundred acres for the site of the University, as an inducement to locate the institution near the capitol. Thus did this grand old patriot lend his wealth and influence toward the up building of the American Republic, well deserving a monument to his memory, although it has never been reared.
His sons served their country, and at the present day one of his great, great Granddaughters is State Regent of the Daughters of the American Revolution of Tennessee.
Joseph Lane, the second brother, was as a member of the Tribunal of the First Court in North Carolina, which was held fourth of June, 1771. He married Ferebe Hunter, reared a large family and died 1798. One of this family, Lieutenant-Colonel Joseph Lane, received large grants of land for his services during the Revolution and is mentioned in history.
Jesse Lane, the third brother, was born 1733, married Winefred Hycock and reared a happy household of fifteen children, all of whom lived to a good old age, contributing of their “basket and store” to the formation of a permanent government. He is the ancestor of thousands of America’s noblest men and women, among them General Joseph Lane of Oregon, called “The Marion of the War with Mexico,” who was candidate for vice president of the United States, governor of Oregon, and senator eight years.
Jesse Lane served his country with the Third North Carolina Continentals and with his sons bravely fought in the battles of Guilford Court House, Cowpens, and King’s Mountain.
General Ferguson of the British Army was a brave, fearless officer and at first eyed the motley crowd of American “rebels” with scorn, not deigning to think that they really meant to attack him, but when his practiced eye reconnoitered the situation he chafed like a lion at bay. The Americans were divided into three sections, Campbell and Shelby leading the center, Sevier and McDowell the right, and Cleveland and Williams the left. Ferguson met the attack with the bayonet, and as there was not a bayonet among the poorly equipped Americans, they were at first repulsed. Soon the British were attacked from another quarter, and Ferguson’s fury knew no bounds when he saw that the party he had driven down the hill with the bayonet were renewing the attack with more vigor than before. He rode from point to point, leading his men with desperate bravery, but soon fell to the ground pierced by a well-aimed rifle ball.
The American loss was only about thirty men, while the British lost one hundred and fifty killed and nine hundred prisoners. At this battle of the mountain, Jesse Lane, his son John (who was father of General Joseph Lane of Oregon), Charles Lane, another son, and his sons-in-law, gallantly threw their whole strength into their efforts for independence, so that the battle of King’s Mountain, not- withstanding the smallness of the numbers engaged, put a new phase on the struggles of the South. When the news of the entire destruction of Ferguson’s army reached Cornwallis he was made to tremble for his own safety. The heroes of King’s Mountain having so well accomplished their plans, returned in triumph to their homes and delighted in handing down to their descendants a true history of their victories. They scarcely realized the immense service they had rendered the United States, but the value of that service was soon to be realized by General Greene who had been appointed commander at the South, and who, whether fighting or retreating, was to justify the confidence by which he had been chosen for this post by General Washington.
The little town of Halifax is one of the oldest in North Carolina, and not only its first settlers, the Lanes, were brave and courageous, but all of its whole population. It was the first to celebrate the Declaration of Independence after it was signed in Philadephia, and it was there Cornwallis and his army were quartered several months, as was also General Tarleton. William Hooper, one of the signers of the Declaration, though put down as a delegate from Wake, came from the eastern part of the state.
A late historian who had occasion to, refer to the history of Raleigh in connection with the triumphant march and occupancy of the city by Sherman’s army, speaks of Colonel Joel Lane as the progenitor of the notorious ” Jim Lane” of Kansas. This is a mistake. They are not of the same family. General Joseph Lane, who won fame and renown in Mexico, Governor Henry S. Lane of Indiana, General Alfred H. Colquitt of Georgia, “The Hero of Olustee,” Lieutenant-Governor Robertson of North Carolina, Governor David Swain of Chapel Hill, and Honorable George W. Lane of Alabama, District judge of the United States, were all cousins, great nephews of Colonel Joel Lane, and grandsons of Jesse Lane. The latter moved to Elbert County, Georgia, in 1786, and died in Missouri, 1806, leaving descendants throughout all the states of the union. who, like the three brothers, are noted for their uprightness, patriotism and integrity of character.
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Manteo and Wanchese (fl. 1584-1590)
Manteo, a chief of the Croatan tribe, and Wanchese, a Roanoke, were Algonquian-speaking Indians in what is now coastal North Carolina. Two of the earliest American Indians to enter into the English record, Manteo and Wanchese were integral to the establishment of Anglo-Indian relations at Roanoke, the first English experiment with permanent settlement in America. Manteo and Wanchese returned to England with a reconnaissance party sent by Sir Walter Ralegh in 1584 after having received a grant from Queen Elizabeth for exploration and colonization in Virginia. The sources are silent on how Ralegh’s agents managed to coax the two men to return with them. It is unknown, and unlikely, that the two knew each other, and it was not long before the two Indians found they had little in common; Manteo maintained a friendly relationship with the English during his stay in London and beyond, whereas Wanchese became hostile toward a people he considered to be his captors soon after his arrival in England.
When Manteo and Wanchese arrived in London, they were guests of Ralegh at his residence, Durham House. While there are no surviving records of their first days in London or the reactions of the locals, one can imagine that the two groups must have been a curious sight to the other. Ralegh kept tight control of Manteo and Wanchese’s schedule, and had his guests dress in the English fashion so as not to draw more attention to them. A German gentleman who was able to meet the two visitors noted that “[t]heir faces as well as their whole bodies were very similar to those of the white Moors at home,” and that he thought “they had a very childish and wild appearance.” Manteo and Wanchese were to become an integral part of Ralegh’s propaganda plan for Virginia, first by drumming up financial support and volunteers for the envisioned colonies, and second, by providing unparalleled insight into the indigenous people of southern Virginia and their culture.
The linguistically-talented Thomas Hariot was tasked by Ralegh with learning the Algonquian language and creating a detailed dictionary. To help him and other Englishmen become bilingual, Hariot developed an alphabet of thirty-six symbols in which “to expresse the Virginian speche” and any other spoken language from the Americas or Europe. Hariot sat down with Manteo and Wanchese daily to glean as much information as he could about the region around Roanoke Island and the tribes that inhabited it. Through Manteo especially, and to a lesser extent, Wanchese, the English were able to learn a great deal about Indian warfare, religion, and land in preparation for Ralegh’s first English outpost on Roanoke Island.
After about eight months in England, Manteo and Wanchese returned to Roanoke among the second expedition financed by Ralegh to southern Virginia. Upon their return home, the two men’s place in history diverges. Manteo, serving as an interpreter and guide, fulfilled Ralegh’s hopes for him by helping the English establish friendly relations with the local tribes. Although he is not always mentioned in the records of subsequent reconnaissance missions, his knowledge would have been indispensable to the English in their interaction with the inhabitants of Roanoke Island and the mainland. Meanwhile, Wanchese immediately rejoined his people on Roanoke Island. One can only speculate about the reasoning behind his decision: he may have felt ill-treated by the English or resented Manteo, who was from a different tribe and higher status. Or possibly Wanchese, after his visit to England, saw in the colonists a serious threat to his people, who, unlike Manteo’s tribe at Croatan, would be neighbors to the English and competitors for the island’s limited resources. Speculation aside, Wanchese returned to the Roanoke and is not mentioned again in the English record.
There are, however, numerous references to Manteo’s continued presence at Roanoke. Manteo served as an interpreter for two colonial leaders, Richard Grenville and Ralph Lane, in their initial explorations of the Virginia coast. Manteo’s loyalty proved invaluable. For example, during a scouting party into hostile territory, Manteo was able to warn Lane that the sounds of Indians singing on the riverbank was not, as the Englishman thought, a warm welcome, but rather a war cry. A volley of arrows soon followed their song, and Lane avoided a dangerous ambush because Manteo was there to translate. Manteo continued to provide essential linguistic and diplomatic aid to the English that made their brief stay in Roanoke possible.
Manteo’s most significant contribution, perhaps, was his assistance to John White, a watercolorist sent to the colony with Hariot. White created a remarkable series of about 75 drawings of the flora, fauna, and the Algonquian people who inhabited the Outer Banks region. His drawings, still considered by many to be the most authentic images of Early America’s indigenous people, captured intimate scenes of Algonquians, their dress, towns, fishing techniques, agriculture, ritual dances, and ceremonial figures, unlike anything possible without the knowledge and access provided by someone like Manteo.
In June of 1586, Sir Francis Drake arrived at Roanoke and offered the remaining colonists a return voyage to England that was readily accepted on account of a depleted food supply and increased tensions with the local tribes. Manteo went with them, returning to England for the second time. Manteo, now accustomed to the English language and culture, worked with Ralegh, Hariot, and future Roanoke governor John White on plans for a new English settlement in southern Virginia. Cordial relations with their Indian neighbors would be crucial for the new settlement; women and children would be included, making Roanoke a legitimate colony, not just a military outpost. As before, Manteo would be crucial to the English’s peacemaking plans.
Manteo returned to Virginia in May 1587, alongside 114 perspective colonists. Soon after their return, White sent about twenty of his men, accompanied by Manteo, to Croatan to learn whether the tribe intended to maintain friendly relations with the English. At the sight of Europeans, the Croatans prepared for battle. “Then Manteo their countreyman, called to them in their owne language, whom, as soone as they heard, they returned, and threwe away their bowes, and arrowes, and some of them came unto us, embracing and entertaining us friendly.” Manteo’s presence once against proved indispensable for the English. Manteo’s kinsman offered to come to Roanoke and arrange a meeting on behalf of the English with other tribes to sue for peace.
When the expected negotiations failed to happen on schedule, White decided to retroactively punish the neighboring Roanoke tribe for the deaths of about twenty Englishmen between 1585 and 1587. On August 9, White dispatched a force of twenty-five men, which included Manteo as a guide, to seek out the Roanoke for revenge. Manteo and the English crossed to the mainland and assaulted a group of Indians at Dasemunkepeuc, killing one Indian and wounding several. Unfortunately, the victims turned out to be Croatans, Manteo’s people, rather than Roanokes. This unfortunate event was one of many that highlighted the difficulty of Manteo’s position as a cultural intermediary between two groups and two different cultures. Although White later recalled that Manteo did not hold the English at fault but instead his own people for failing to successfully establish peace negotiations, he surely must have felt the weight of his decision, and likely guilt, in siding with the English over his own people.
So efficiently was Manteo acclimated to English life that a few days following the military disaster at Dasemunkepeuc, he became the first Indian convert of the Anglican Church after his baptism in August 1587. In an empty gesture Ralegh wrote from England that Manteo was to be the ruler and representative of all the surrounding Indian groups. Thus his baptism seems more likely a political move orchestrated by Ralegh than an important religious conversion for Manteo. He knew that the title held no value; the neighboring Roanoke were not Manteo’s people and they had not chosen him as a ruler.
Trying to establish Manteo’s whereabouts following the baptism ceremony is problematic, as no records survive for the period between White’s departure to England in 1587 to obtain supplies for the colony and his belated return in 1590. White’s recounting of his final expedition to Roanoke recognizes Manteo’s loyalty to both his people and the English as the only promising clue in the inexplicable disappearance of the remaining Roanoke colonists. White took comfort “that I had safely found a certaine token of their safe being at Croatoan, which is the place where Manteo was borne, and the Savages of the Iland [are] our friends.” Manteo may have left with the colonists following their abandonment of Roanoke and met a similar fate, or returned home to the Roanoke to live out his remaining days. Much like the Roanoke colony itself, the fate of Manteo was lost to history.
Bibliography:
Kupperman, Karen Ordahl. Indians and English: Facing Off in Early America. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2000.
Kupperman, Karen Ordahl. Roanoke: The Abandoned Colony. 2nd ed. Lanham : Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2007.
Kupperman, Karen Ordahl. “Roanoke and Its Legacy,” in Thomas Hariot A brief and true report of the new found land of Virginia. The 1590 Theodor de Bry Latin Edition. Published for the Library at the Mariners’ Museum. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2007, 1-7.
Sams, Conway Whittle. The Conquest of Virginia: The First Attempt. Spartanburg, South Carolina: The Reprint Company (map between pp. 76-77).
Milton, Giles. Big Chief Elizabeth: The Adventures and Fate of the First English Colonists in America. New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2000.
Vaughan, Alden T. “Sir Walter Raleigh’s Indian Interpreters, 1584-1618.” The William and Mary Quarterly 59, vol. 2 (2002): 341-376.
Oregon Volunteer General Joseph Lane, Item Number ba018668 OrHi 1703
The first meeting between Chief Apserkahar and General Joseph Lane occurred in 1850. In June 1850, General Lane was determined to bring peace to the Rogue River region. He set about hiring Klickitat mercenaries under Chief Quatley to help him during the negotiations. The Klickitats were fierce warriors, mounted infantry who were feared by many Indian tribes. They lived on the east side of the Cascades in Washington Territory, and bands of them would travel over the Columbia and into the Willamette Valley to hunt elk. The period from the 1820s and 1850 the Klickitats are well documented as coming into Oregon in bands of up to 700 men women and children and seasonally settling in the Umpqua Valley. Settlers would complain about them hunting out all the elk. They would be hired by the Hudson’s Bay Company to be hunters and laborers in Kanaka village (native workers village) at Fort Vancouver. In June 1850, Lane hired the Klickitat as mounted infantry mercenaries to help him negotiate with the Rogue River tribes.
The negotiation in June began in Sam’s Valley between the Table Rocks. The first day went well with speeches given on both sides. The Klickitats always attended the proceedings and listened in as most of the tribal people knew Chinook Jargon or at least a good number of the words in the language. Negotiating was slow as speeches had to be translated from English to Chinook Jargon and back.
As the conference began, a second band of Rogue River Indians appeared. Rumors of a plot by the Rogue Rivers caused Lane to order the Chief of the tribe, Chief Apserkahar, to be taken captive. The Klickitat immediately complied and took the principal chief captive. The negotiations continued with Chief Apserkahar captive and were concluded in a few days.
The outcome was an agreement with the Rogue Rivers to live in peace. Chief Apserkahar came to respect General Jo Lane, and Lane gifted him his name, a great honor among the tribes. Thereafter Chief Apserkahar was called Chief Jo.
A series of small conflicts or skirmishes had been occurring in the area since the 1840s. Settlers would kill and abuse tribal people and travelers would be massacred by the tribes. When the ranger militia arrived they set about a policy of extermination that took these conflicts to a whole new level. On the California Coast, exterminations of whole tribes were occurring. Their Athapaskan friends and relatives in the Siskiyou Mountains heard these reports and were not going to give in to the terror of the militias. The Rogue River tribes (Takelmans) banded with the Athapaskans, Shastans, and Cow Creek Umpquas and formed a resistance to the terror being spread. Exterminations and attempts to genocide the whole race of Indians in Northern California and Southern Oregon continued into the later 1850s.
Lamerick’s
company, were killed near Willow Springs. On the six
teenth of August, 1853, Gen. Joseph Lane, afterwards
United States senator from Oregon, and a candidate for
vice president in 1860, came out from his home in Douglas
County and brought fifty men with him, to take part in
the war. General Lane was a man of large experience
in Indian warfare and in all military matters. He had
commanded an Indiana regiment in the Mexican war and
enjoyed a well earned reputation for bravery. On the day
that General Lane arrived what is known as the battle of
Little Meadows was fought. Lieutenant Ely and twenty
two men met the Indians near Evans Creek, in the tim
ber, and a short, but deadly conflict took place. Seven
whites were killed inside of an hour; Lieutenant Ely and
three men wounded. They left the battlefield in charge
of the Indians -at least, in the popular phraseology of
that day, “they got up and got out.” On August 24,
1853, the battle of Evans Creek was fought. In this fight
the Indians did not fare so well, twelve of them being
4
This content downloaded from
River Raisin Massacre[edit]
Tecumseh commanded native forces that fought in the battle, although he was not present at the time of the battle or massacre.
Immediately after the American surrender, some of the Kentuckians argued with their officers that “they would rather die on the field” than surrender, fearing that they would be killed by their captors.[citation needed] Still, the fighting ceased immediately following their surrender. At least 300 Americans were estimated killed, with over 500 taken prisoner. Procter determined on a hasty retreat in case General Harrison sent more troops when he learned of Winchester’s defeat. Proctor marched the uninjured prisoners north and across the frozen Detroit River to Fort Malden; the wounded prisoners unable to walk were left behind at Frenchtown. Procter could have waited another day for sleds to arrive to transport the wounded prisoners, but he worried that more American soldiers were on the way from the south.[16]
On the morning of January 23, the Native Americans robbed the injured Americans in Frenchtown.[citation needed] Any prisoner who could walk at all was marched toward Fort Malden; those who could not were killed. The Native Americans then set fire to the buildings that housed the wounded.[30] As the Potawatomi marched prisoners north toward Detroit, they killed any who could not keep up rather than leave them to their deaths in the snow.[citation needed] According to an account from a survivor, “The road was for miles strewed with the mangled bodies.” Estimates of the numbers of wounded killed by Indians range from a low of 30 to as many as 100.[1][3][31]
The slaughter of the American wounded on January 23, in apparent reprisal for atrocities the Kentuckians had committed against the Native Americans,[32] became known as the River Raisin Massacre. It so horrified Americans that it overshadowed the battle, and news of the massacre spread throughout the country.[33] It devastated Kentucky, which had supplied most of the soldiers for the campaign. Kentucky lost many of its leading citizens in either the battle or the subsequent massacre.[citation needed] The rallying cry “Remember the River Raisin” or “Remember the Raisin!” led many more Kentuckians to enlist for the war.[16]
Saturday, August 20, 1870 Oregon State Journal (Eugene, OR)
Volume: 7 Issue: 27 Page: 3
We hear that Mrs. Gen. Lane died at her home in Douglas county, near Roseburg this week. She has been in feeble health for a number of years.
Contributed by Jeanie Sawyer*
———————
When Polly was young she witnessed her family killed in an Indian Massacre, this was about 1810-1812 along the Ohio River most likely in Kentucky. She jumped into a canoe and floated down the river to John Hart and Patience Lanes cabin. She was about 10-12 years of age. The Harts raised her, after they found Polly’s family had been killed. Which included her mother, step father by the name of Pierre, two younger siblings. Her older brother was never found.
Polly fist married Nathaniel Hart in 1820 in Henderson Co, KY. He died in 1820 along with his father John Hart. John is buried at the Book Cemetery in Henderson Co, KY. Polly and Nathaniel had one child named Nathaniel Hart JR. The Hart’s raised him.
In 1821 Polly married Joseph Lane, son of John Lane and Elizabeth Street. Polly and Joseph went on to have 8 children. They lived in Vanderburgh Co, Indiana and then later moved to Douglas Co, Or where they both died and our buried.
Bio by Heather W Bowers
The following is from a Newspaper Article in the Oregon Statesman of Salem, OR, dated Wed. July 12, 1976, pg. 7A.An Oregon First Lady: Stalwart, Resourceful Pioneer
By Kay Apley
Staff Writer, The Statesman.
Polly Pierre never knew her exact age, nor did she ever learn to read or write. But, as a stalwart and resourceful pioneer woman, she had few peers. She also was the wife of Joseph Lane who became Oregon’s first territorial governor in 1849.
When she was a very young girl, she was the sole survivor of an Indian massacre. Dazed, frightened and alone, she had released a boat from its mooring and floated down the Ohio River, coming to rest, barely conscious, against a small landing. A family named Hart took her in and raised her.
From all accounts, Polly could card wool, knit socks, make bread and soap and take care of babies. She must have been all of 15 when she married a son of her foster family. Her young husband died a year after their child was born, and Polly then married Joseph Lane, whose family had lived in the next cabin. She gave her baby to her foster sister.
“Polly felt a deep debt to the Hart family,” says one account, “kissed the baby and put him in Jennie’s arms while she with Joe as man and wife, set off up the river” to live in the new Indiana territory. Joe’s family had moved there, and the young couple’s cabin was next to them.
As Polly’s family started growing – she and Joseph eventually had nine children- it became evident her young husband was getting a taste for public life. When he was elected to the Indiana State Legislature before his 21st birthday, her mother-in-law warned her, “Don’t clip his wings.”
The years passed as their children duly arrived between visits by her husband, and Polly managed through it all, dutifully keeping in mind her mother-in-laws admonition.
Joseph inlisted in the war with Mexico, was made a brigadier general and came out three years later with no pay for his services in the army. He thus accepted President Polk’s appointment of him as territorial governor of Oregon and departed again, this time to the west.
One account states that Joe assigned his pay to his wife and “for the first time in her life, Polly had money. Joe Meek, who had come to notify Joe of his appointment, also left a pile of gold pieces for her as advance payment. Polly removed the large buttons from her red wool dress, covered the gold pieces with the cloth to resemble buttons and sewed them firmly on her bodice, resolving never to cut them off until every other resource had been exhausted.”
In time, Joseph sent for her. She and her family made the lengthy journey via the Panama route, finally arriving in Oregon City where “a great ball was given in her honor… one of the few occasions on which she shared honors with him.”
Polly is said to have found Oregon a marked contrast to Indiana in its attitude toward women. She was surprised to find that half the claim (300 acres) on which her husband had filed was hers – she was a land owner.
The land was near Winchester (a few miles from Roseburg) and once again, Polly and her family settled in with garden and a new cabin home. Joe, however, had resigned as governor and was off taking care of Indian outbreaks and eventually became so invloved in politics that he spent most of the time in Washington, even running with Breckenridge for President against Lincoln.
Meanwhile, back at the land claim, Polly put her gold piece bottons and a few more her husband had given her in a pottery jar, dug a hole in the woodshed, covered the secret cache and put a flat stone over it.
Miners passing her cabin home on their way to and from mines paid a pinch of gold dust for her pies and home-cooking, she cared for “weary travelers, worn from the long trip across plains,” and she developed a business of sorts with the local land office to which she directed these travelers.
When her husband returned to Oregon in much polittical disfavor and without funds, it must have given Polly great pleasure to present him with her secret cache of gold pieces.
For her last 10 years, Polly had her husband by her side. She died in 1870, 11 years before him, and they are buried in the Masonic Cemetery in Roseburg.
Polly was my Great Great Great Grandmother, and I have done extensive research on her. Some of the information that is in this News Paper Article was gathered from a book called: “Quit Life of Mrs. General Lane” by Victoria Case. For more information on Polly’s Descendants email: Lanehunts@aol.com
Polly was first buried on Strawberry Hill in Roseburg, Douglas Co., on the property that Joseph and Polly lived. After Gen. Joseph Lane was buried her body was moved to be buried next to him. They are now at the Memorial Garden Cemetery in Roseburg, Or. Many of the graves that were at the Masonc Cemetery were moved to Memorial Garden Cemetery. Photo of Polly and Joseph’s Tomb
- Click here for more information on Polly
- For information on Polly’s husband go to: Lane Web site
- Douglas Co., Or. Museum
- Vanderburg Co., IN US Genweb
- For John Hart’s Will, who was the foster parent of Polly go to: John Hart’s Will
Feel free to email me to find out more information on Polly. Heather W. Bowers
Descendants of Jesse Lane – Family Card
Thomas LANE Sr.(abt 1634 – Jan 3, 1709)Thomas JARRELL
Julion\Jullian ANDERSON\JARRELL\POPE?
b.1665, Jamestown, James County, Virginia
d.1752, North Carolina, age: 87
bur.Halifax, Halifax County, North Carolina
b.abt 1675, Surry County, Virginia
d.Edgecombe, Pender County, North Carolina
bur.Edgecombe, Pender County, North Carolina
Children
> Joseph LANE Jr.(1710 – Aug 29, 1773)
Benjamin LANE(1712 – )
Mary LANE(abt 1713 – )
John LANE(1714 – )
Descendants of Jesse Lane – Family Card
Joseph LANE Jr.(1710 – Aug 29, 1773)William AYCOCK(1705 – 1765)
Patience McKINNE(1715 – 1759)Rebecca PACE(1706 – )
m. Dec 16, 1755, Johnston County, North Carolina
b.Jul 3, 1733, Halifax, Halifax County, North Carolina
d.Oct 28, 1806, Illinois/St. Louis, Missouri, age: 73
bur.
b.Apr 11, 1741, Craven County, North Carolina
d.Dec 16, 1794, Athens, Clarke County, Georgia, age: 53
bur.Dec 1794, Jackson Street Cemetery, Athens, Clarke County, Georgia
Children
Charles H. LANE(Oct 2, 1756 – Apr 9, 1836)
Richard LANE(Feb 9, 1759 – Jul 6, 1793)
Henry LANE(Mar 28, 1760 – Jun 5, 1760) [Died as Infant]
Caroline Aycock LANE(May 26, 1761 – Dec 24, 1824)
Rhoda LANE(Sep 21, 1763 – Jul 18, 1856)
Patience LANE(Mar 28, 1765 – 1832)
> Jonathan LANE(Apr 3, 1767 – May 12, 1837)
John LANE(Dec 25, 1769 – 1798)
Simeon Della Fletcher LANE(Mar 10, 1771 – 1853)
Rebecca LANE(Mar 5, 1773 – Sep 30, 1805)
Joseph LANE(Mar 28, 1775 – 1827)
Mary Jane LANE(Dec 18, 1777 – Jan 29, 1839)
Sarah LANE(Dec 18, 1777 – 1825)
Winifred LANE(Oct 11, 1780 – May 9, 1872)
Jesse LANE(Jun 12, 1782 – Mar 12, 1862)
Elizabeth LANE(Sep 6, 1786 – )
Winifred “Winney” Lane formerly Aycock
Born in Craven County, North CarolinaANCESTORS 
Daughter of William Aycock and Rebecca (Pace) Aycock
Sister of Frances (Bradford) Doyle [half], John Bradford Jr [half] and Richard Aycock Sr.
Wife of Jesse Lane — married 16 Dec 1755 [location unknown]DESCENDANTS 
Mother of Sarah (Lane) Kirkpatrick, Charles H. Lane, John Lane, Richard Lane, Henry Lane, Caroline Aycock (Lane) Swain, Rhoda Lane, Patience (Lane) Hart, Jonathan Lane, Simon Lane, Rebecca (Lane) Luckie, Joseph Lane, Mary Jane (Lane) Kirkpatrick, Winnifred Ann (Lane) Rogers, Jesse Lane and Elizabeth Lane
Died at age 53 in Athens, Clarke County, Georgia, United States
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Biography
Winifred A. Aycock (b. April 11, 1741, d. December 16, 1794) Winifred A. Aycock (daughter of William Aycock and Rebecca Pace) was born April 11, 1741 in Craven Co. (now Wake Co., within 10 mi. of Raleigh), NC, and died December 16, 1794 in Athens, Clarke Co., GA.She married Jesse Lane on December 16, 1755 in Halifax, NC, son of Joseph Lane, Jr. and Patience McKinnie. Includes NotesNotes for Winifred A. Aycock: Family bible in possesion of John D Moss. She was born in Old Style, North Carolina.Winifred Aweck, a Welsh name pronounced Ayock, and some records give her name as Aycock.Winifred Aweck Lane, a noble Christian woman, married Jesse Lane on Dec. 16, 1755, and she died Dec. 16, 1794. (From Bob Lillie file LaneThosDesc in My Documents )Notes: 75.National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution, Patriot Index Database,(Copyright 1995-1998), “Electronic.” 76.Merle Kingsbery Woodward, “General History of the Lanes of Virginia, North Carolina, George, Texas],” 1961-1965, unpublished. 77.National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution, Patriot Index Database,(Copyright 1995-1998), “Electronic.” 78.Merle Kingsbery Woodward, “General History of the Lanes of Virginia, North Carolina, George, Texas],” 1961-1965, unpublished. “died from pneumonia contracted from exposure when driven from her home by the Indians.” WINIFRED AYCOCK LANE’S GRAVE TO BE MARKED A memorial stone will be dedicated at the Old Jackson Street Cemetery, next to the University of Georgia Campus, Athens, Georgia on Wednesday evening June 29th at 5:30 p.m. to mark the buriel site of Mrs. Winifred Aycock Lane, the daughter of William Aycock and Rebecca Pace. (The following was found in the ‘Vertical File’ at the Georgia Archives. There was no indication of who had submitted the material.) Those of us that have researched the families for some time know many things from a letter that Winifred wrote. In the letter she says that her mother was Rebecca Pace. In her letter she gives a fairly good discription of her mother’s family. She says that her mother’s father was Richard Pace Jr. She also says that her great grandfather’s name was Richard Pace. We know from history that it was evidently her great grandfather that saved Jamestown, Virginia, from being completely wiped out by Indians in 1622.It seems like, this Richard Pace had a very loyal Indian servant that informed him of the impending massacre. Richard then of course informed everyone he could find. There was quite a few people killed but from what I understand he was credited with saving Jamestown by Captain John Smith. It seems like one of Winifreds great grandfathers brothers was one of the ones killed. He evidently couldn’t get to safety quick enough. In her letter Winifred also says that she had two brothers James and Richard. She also mentions the fact that her mother was married to John Bradford when they came to North Carolina. After John Bradford when died Rebecca married William Aycock, Winifred’s father. She and her brothers were evidently born in what was then Craven Co. N.C. She was born on April 11, 1741in what is now Wake Co. N.C. She says in her letter that she was born within ten miles of Raleigh, a city that was for the most part founded on land that was at one time owned by one of her brother-in-laws, Joel Lane. Winifred married into a family that was quite well known in the colonies. From what I undrstand her husband . . . Just to give you some idea of how bad things were, Winifred died after contracting pneumonia from being driven from her home by the Indians. To the best of my fairly wide knowledge neither her grave nor his can be found. We are as sure as we can be that she is buried in the Jackson Street Cemetery in Athens, Georgia. from what I understand she is supposed to be buried in a triangle formed by three trees. There is just one problem the triangle can’t be found. Unfortunately, back then most people just didn’t put markers on their loved ones graves. There are several dates for his (Jesse’s) death. The one I have on the first page of this section is the one I have seen used most often. There are also several burial places for him. I have found that St. Louis is the most often used. Clarke County Cemetaries, page 18-27 Preface from the Jackson street Cemetary by Mary Bondurant Warren, 1966. “The Jackson Street Cemetary was the original cemetary for Athens, Georgia, but its origins are lost in history. One burial, that of Mrs. Winifred Aycock Lane, is said to have taken place in this cemetary in 1794. This would have been one of the earliest burials, for Athens did not come into being until late 1801 when the University of Georgia was given 633 acres, including the area within the cemetary, by John Milledge. Prior to this time only a small settlement called Cedar Shoals (just downhill from the cemetary site) had formed around Daniel Easley’s mill on the Oconee River.” Located just inside the gate from Jackson Street: “Lane, Winifred Aycock 11 April 1741 – 16 Dec 1794, born NC, died GA, w/o Jesse Lane, d/o William Aycock & REbecca Pace Bradford [Possible burial – according to notes of Mrs. Frances Long Taylor and Miss Sarah H Moss, Winifred Aycock, dau of William Aycock was buried in ‘ a triangle formed by three large pine trees’ in the Jackson Street Cemetary. Winifred Aycock married Jesse Lane in 1755. Her dates were taken from the family bible of John D Moss.] [Elberton granite, new stone placed 1983; family tradition places her burial in the area that became Athens – a further tradition puts it in this cemetary near the location of this stone.] A letter written by Winifred Lane in 1791 about her family, might be found in the rare books and manuscript department of University of Georgia. More About Winifred A. Aycock: Burial: Unknown, Old Cemetery on the NE corner of the University of Georgia campus at , Athens. More About Winifred A. Aycock and Jesse Lane: Marriage: December 16, 1755, Halifax, NC. Children of Winifred A. Aycock and Jesse Lane are:
+Winifred Ann Lane, b. October 11, 1780, Halifax,Wake Co., NC, d. May 11, 1872, Upson Co., GA.
Name: WINIFRED A. AYCOCK Sex: F Name: Winifred Pace AYCOCK Birth: 11 APR 1741 in Old Style, ?, North Carolina Death: 16 DEC 1794 in Jackson, Clarke County, Georgia
MISC: “died from pneumonia contracted from exposure when driven from her home by the Indians.” Burial: APR 1741 old cemetery, Athens, Clarke County, Georgia Religion: Church of England Religion: Methodist Residence: 1784 Moved from Virginia to Wilkes County, Georgia Reference Number: 732 Note: [Brøderbund WFT Vol. 1, Ed. 1, Tree #0189, Date of Import: Jun7, 1997]Children:
Charles LANE b: 2 OCT 1756 in Halifax (then Edgecombe) County, North Carolina RICHARD LANE b: 9 FEB 1759 in Halifax, Halifax County, North Carolina Henry LANE b: 28 MAR 1760 in Wake County, North Carolina Caroline LANE b: 26 MAY 1761 in Wake County, North Carolina Rhoda LANE b: 21 MAY 1763 in Wake County, North Carolina Patience LANE b: 8 MAR 1765 in Wake County, North Carolina Jonathan LANE b: 3 APR 1767 in Wake County, North Carolina John LANE b: 25 DEC 1769 in Wake County, North Carolina Simeon LANE b: 10 MAR 1771 in Halifax County, North Carolina Rebecca LANE b: 5 MAR 1773 in Wake County, North Carolina Joseph LANE b: 8 MAR 1775 in Wake County, North Carolina Mary LANE b: 18 JAN 1777 in Halifax County, North Carolina Sarah LANE b: 18 JAN 1777 in Halifax County, North Carolina Winifred LANE b: 11 OCT 1780 in Wake County, North Carolina Jesse LANE b: 12 JUN 1782 in Wake County, North Carolina Elizabeth LANE b: 6 SEP 1786 in Wilkes County, North Carolina
Historical Marker #1577 in Madison County commemorates the home of early Kentucky settler Captain Nathaniel Hart.
Hart, a Revolutionary War soldier, was a member of the Transylvania Land Company. As chief negotiator and a leading advocate for the organization, he was one of many who purchased about 20 million acres of land in Kentucky and Tennessee, a sale negotiated by Richard Henderson from the Cherokee Indians in 1775. The agreement, however, was ultimately deemed null and void by the newly formed Continental Congress. Hart was one of the original settlers of Boonesborough and helped with the construction of the fort.
The Nathanial Hart House is believed to be the first home constructed outside the confines of Fort Boonesborough. It was finally occupied once the threat of Native American attacks was thought to have subsided. Hart was killed by Native Americans in 1782. Unfortunately, the Hart home was burned by vandals in 1989. All that now remains is the foundation. However, the site’s location along Boone Trace makes it of particular historical significance.
Hart chose a spot for settlement about a half a mile from the fort. He and his brother David devoted most of their time constructing the cabin in 1775. The building was composed of two square log pens separated by a frame dogtrot with an ell at the rear. V-notches at the corners connect the logs beneath the weatherboards.
Hart had acquired 640 acres on the creek known as Hart’s Fork in present Madison County. He spent much of his time on the land that had been allocated to him, planting, cultivating, and harvesting crops. He traveled frequently from this location back and forth to Virginia where his family lived. Every year, until his death in 1782, he raised a crop of corn.
Owing to the difficulties of cultivating soil while exposed to the dangers of attacks, it became necessary to organize a company or corporation at Fort Boonesborough. The company was formed in the spring of 1779 to protect the crops, and Hart was one of the trustees. Given specific responsibilities, eighteen armed men banded together and patrolled the crops. Apparently the efforts paid off, because during the dreadful winter of 1779 to 1780, known as the “Hard Winter,” corn became extremely scarce and Hart was able to sell it at $200 a bushel.
Petition recites: SQUIRE BOONE obtained a certificate of settlement and preemption, and Nathaniel Hart obtained a certificate for settlement and preemption of 1,400 acres of land adjoining said Boone. Jesse Benton obtained from same commissioners a certificate for settlement and preemption adjoining claim of Nathaniel Hart on north and east, which was entered with surveyor…your orator purchased of said Benton all his claims and paid him a full consideration and obtained assignment of said settlement and preemption. And said Jesse Benton, afterwards, by letter dated September 3, l789, acknowledged the sale of said claims to your orator and promised your orator another assignment if the original one was lost.
Name change proposed for Lane County | News | kezi.com
Nathaniel Gray Smith Hart[A] (c. 1784 – January 23, 1813) was a Lexington, Kentucky lawyer and businessman, who served with the state’s volunteer militia during the War of 1812. As Captain of the Lexington Light Infantry from Kentucky, Hart and many of his men were killed in the River Raisin Massacre of January 23, 1813, after being taken prisoner the day before following the Battle of Frenchtown in Michigan Territory.
Hart was especially well-connected politically and socially. In addition to reading law with Henry Clay, Hart’s sister Lucretia was married to Clay. Another sister of Hart named Ann was married to James Brown, a future ambassador to France. Hart’s wife Anna Edward Gist was the stepdaughter of Charles Scott, Governor of Kentucky and through her Hart was the brother-in-law of James Pindell a member of the Society of Cincinnati. Many other members of Hart’s Kentucky militia unit and its associated troops also came from the elite of Lexington and of the state. The men’s deaths in the two Battles of Frenchtown, but especially in the subsequent Massacre captured state and national attention. The phrase “Remember the Raisin!” became an American call to arms for the duration of the War.
Contents
- 1Personal life
- 2Military service and death
- 3Aftermath of Hart’s death and memorials
- 4Legacy and honors
- 5See also
- 6Notes
- 7References
- 8Sources
- 9External links
Personal life[edit]
Henry Clay’s law office in Lexington
Born around 1784[1] Nathaniel Hart was one of seven children,[6] the second son of Colonel Thomas Hart, a veteran of the Revolutionary War, and his wife Susanna (Gray) Hart.[7]
Originally from North Carolina, the family had moved to Hagerstown, Maryland, where Nathaniel was born. In 1794 they settled in Lexington, Kentucky as part of the postwar migration west. His father was a highly successful businessman, achieving wealth. Hart’s four sisters married men who achieved some renown: Ann married the future US Senator James Brown (who subsequently served as Minister to France); Eliza married the surgeon Dr. Richard Pindell (a member of the Society of the Cincinnati);[8][9] Susanna married the lawyer Samuel Price, and Lucretia married Henry Clay, future US Senator and Secretary of State.[10][11]
Hart attended Princeton College, where his classmates included William Elliott from western Ontario. Elliott’s father was a Loyalist who had resettled in Canada after the Revolutionary War.[12] The two young men were close enough that Elliot stayed with Hart’s parents for a time to recover from a serious illness.[2]
After Hart’s return to Lexington, he read law under Henry Clay, passed the bar, and set up a law practice in the city.[13] Like his father, he became a successful businessman,[2] a ropewalk (hemp rope factory) in the city being among his ventures. Hemp was a commodity crop of central Kentucky.[10] In April 1809, Hart married Anna Edward Gist,[1] the stepdaughter of General Charles Scott, governor of Kentucky, and daughter of Judith Cary Gist Scott and her late husband General Nathaniel Gist.[14] Hart and Anna had two sons, Thomas Hart Jr. and Henry Clay Hart.[10][2][7] On January 7, 1812, Hart duelled with Samuel E. Watson at a location on the Indiana side of the Ohio River, near where Silver Creek emptied into the river. This was the site where Henry Clay had duelled with fellow state legislator Humphrey Marshall in 1809.[15][16][17]
Military service and death[edit]
At the start of the War of 1812, Hart was commissioned as Captain of the Lexington Light Infantry Company (aka “The Silk Stocking Boys”)[7] [18] a volunteer unit of the Fayette County, Kentucky militia.[10] He later served as either a Deputy Inspector[1] or as Inspector General of William Henry Harrison‘s Army of the Northwest.[19][B] Hart’s command was attached to the Fifth Regiment of the Kentucky Volunteer Militia and left for the Northwest in August 1812,[20] where it became part of Army of the Northwest under General James Winchester. In January 1813, a detachment was sent to the defense of Frenchtown, Michigan Territory as part of an effort to retake Detroit from the British. Frenchtown residents had sent word to the Americans asking for relief from an occupying force of the British and their Indian allies.[21]
Lewis’ River Raisin crossing – First Battle
During the First Battle of Frenchtown on January 18, 1813, the American forces under Lt. Colonel William Lewis were successful in forcing the retreat of the small British force stationed there. The British commander of the Fort Malden garrison in Amherstburg, Colonel Henry Procter,[22] made plans to take back Frenchtown and he ordered troops to the area.[23]
On the morning of January 22, 1813, Procter’s forces, including hundreds of Indian warriors, attacked the American troops and overwhelmed the right flank of regulars under Winchester, forcing him and much of the general staff to surrender. The Kentucky militia under the command of Major George Madison on the left flank fought on and thought the flag of truce presented by the enemy was a British flag of surrender.[24] During this second Battle of Frenchtown, 397 Americans were killed.[25][26] Hart was wounded and was among the 547 survivors[25][27] who surrendered to Procter upon orders of Winchester.[2][28] Not many more than 30 Kentucky troops escaped death or capture.[29]
William Elliott, Hart’s former Princeton classmate who had become a Captain in the British Army, promised the wounded man safe passage to Fort Malden,[C] but did not carry out his pledge.[28] Elliot borrowed a horse, bridle and saddle from Major Benjamin Franklin Graves, an American officer, promising to send help to the American wounded, but none arrived.[30] Acting American captain William Caldwell wrote the next month that he heard Elliott tell General Winchester and Major Madison that “the Indians were very excellent surgeons (and ought to kill all the officers and men).”[31][32] In one official letter, the eye-witness says that Elliott’s broken promise included an offer to take Hart in Elliott’s “own sleigh to Malden that evening” and that Hart could stay at Elliott’s home for his recovery.[33]
Unable to march with the able-bodied prisoners who were being directed to Fort Malden, Hart paid a friendly Indian to take him to the fort. Along the way they encountered other Indians, who shot and scalped Hart.[2][34] Hart and an estimated 30–100 unarmed prisoners were killed by Indians on January 23, the day after the battle, in what became known as the River Raisin Massacre.[D]
The high fatalities of the Americans in the Battle of Frenchtown and the subsequent Massacre of prisoners became fuel for pro-war political factions known as War Hawks, and for anti-British sentiment of the era.[37] The phrase “Remember the Raisin!” entered the lexicon of the day as a flashpoint for popular sentiment, becoming a battle cry for American troops, especially the ones on the western frontier.[38] The fact that many of the murdered men were well-known and well-connected members of Kentucky’s elite increased the public outcry. Among the dead was Colonel John Allen, Henry Clay’s law-partner and co-counsel in Aaron Burr‘s conspiracy trial at Frankfort.[39][40] Hart’s death is remembered in modern times as “The Murder of Captain Hart.”[41] Major Benjamin Franklin Graves of Lexington was another officer apparently killed while a prisoner of the Potawatomi, who were overseeing him and others marching to Detroit. Many American prisoners disappeared or were killed while being force-marched back to British-held territory.[42][43][44][45][34]
Aftermath of Hart’s death and memorials[edit]
Names of some of the American officers who died at the Raisin Massacre or afterward, listed on one panel of the Kentucky War Memorial in Frankfort Cemetery in Frankfort, Kentucky
Owing to their high casualties and status as prisoners, surviving Americans were not able to properly bury their fallen comrades.[46] The remains of the American dead at this site were not interred until months later.[47] In 1818, the remains were transferred from Monroe, Michigan to Detroit.[3] Isaac Baker, an American ensign who survived the Massacre and served as an official US Agent for the prisoners, stated in a report to General Winchester that:The dead of our army are still denied the rites of sepulture. … I was told the hogs were eating them. A gentleman told me he had seen them running about with skulls, arms, legs and other parts of the human system in their mouths. The French people on the Raisin buried Captains Hart, Woolfolk, and some others, but it was more than their lives were worth to have been caught paying this last customed tribute to mortality.”[48]
In 1834, the box containing the commingled American remains (including tomahawked skulls), were moved from their former Detroit resting-place and re-interred in Detroit’s City Cemetery.[3] These remains are asserted to have received final burial in the State Cemetery of Frankfort, Kentucky.[1][2] As late as 1849, a mass grave from the battle was excavated during road construction in Monroe, which developed in the area of the battlefield. Some writers state that those skeletons, along with the City Cemetery remains, were returned to Kentucky for final and proper burial that year.[49][E] A 2004 archeological investigation at the State Monument found no evidence of remains from men of the River Raisin events.[50]
Matthew Harris Jouett, a man who painted noted portraits of Thomas Jefferson, George Rogers Clark and Lafayette, was one of the Kentucky volunteers and among the survivors of the River Raisin Massacre. The company payroll of $6000 disappeared during the slaughter. Jouett restored the missing funds to the militia, based on his earnings as a painter. He also painted portraits of his fellow soldiers from memory, including Hart and Colonel Allen.[51]
Legacy and honors[edit]
- In 1819, the state of Kentucky named its 61st county as Hart County in Nathaniel Hart’s honor.[52][53]
- Hart was listed among officers on the Kentucky War Memorial in Frankfort Cemetery in the capital of Frankfort.
- In 1904 residents of Monroe, Michigan, which includes much of the area of the battlefield, erected a monument to the Kentuckians who died defending their settlement during the various River Raisin engagements.[54] Some unidentified victims were buried here.[55]
- In 2009, the River Raisin National Battlefield Park was established, the only such park to commemorate the War of 1812, and one of four battlefield parks in the nation. It had earlier been recognized as a state historic site and was previously listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Hart, Benton, Boone Brothers
Posted on February 7, 2017 by Royal Rosamond Press
When I was a boy, Daniel Boone was a Brand Name. American Youth thought he was all about being free in this Democracy. He came here to be himself, and do what he wants. No one could stop him. He is above the law. The truth is, he was in constant litigation after the failure of Boonsborough and Transylvania Company that he co-founded with Colonel Thomas Hart, and his brother, Nathaniel Hart, who are kin to Senator Thomas Hart Benton, and the famous artist of the same name who was father-figure to artist, Jackson Pollack. The artists, Garth Benton, his daughter, Drew Benton, and my late sister, the world famous artist, Christine Rosamond Benton are in the Hart family tree, along with thousands of other history making folks, that made America great!
History has proven that founding and ruling families produced much of the world’s art. The artist, Philip Boileau, was the grandson of Senator Benton, who secured the Oregon Territory with the help of his daughter, who was married to ‘The Path Finder’ John Fremont. Oregon Historians exclude the truth the Hart-Benton partnership employed the best attorneys in America who happened to be their kindred, to purchase seventy million acres from the Cherokee. To read the history of this family, is to know why we are a Nation of Laws. a fact President Trump is about to find out. British Parliament is meeting in order to restrict our President’s visit.
This article was written when President Obama made special laws to protect U.S. citizens from terrorists attack. Trump refers to it without the help of a bevvy of attorneys by his side. He is a fool! Meanwhile, Melania is suing someone who has tarnished her Brand, she stating she expects to make millions marketing the First Lady. If you were wondering if she is the brains of the family, wonder no more. Both of them are on the cheap when it comes to hiring the most brilliant legal minds – in the world. Consider my autobiography ‘Capturing Beauty’.
Then there is the Budweiser commercial and the call of Trump supporters to boycott this family founded brewery, along with other companies that are against the BAN. Consider the Hobby Lobby ruling. The Boone, Hart, and Benton brothers, knew everything was won and lost in a court of law. It appears this BAN is the invention of Steve Bannon, who studied law at Harvard, but, being a IDEALOGUE, and a racist, he has been looking for a way to cut corners and make America – HIS! The couple, Bannon is supposed to protect, are now deep, and sinking, in a Louisiana Swamp!
These Great Businessmen were British subjects when they started to carve up this country with legal deeds of trust. Senator Thomas Hart Benton wrote ‘Manifest Destiny’ where he envisioned his Families Legal Firm taking over China, and, white men siring half-breeds by Chinese women, in order to make a new breed of men that will Go West, into Russia. Trump&Bannon are employing the Syrian Scare, and, the Border Banditos, suggesting non-whites want to breed with white women, in order to overcome the hold white folks have on America. They want to own the franchise! They’re talking about my kinfolk, who, own the Legal Franchise. Trump&Bannon must now prove they are NOT Co-terrorists – at least! It’s time for Trump to divest and show is tax returns, or, face Impeachment! The Trumpites are severely hurting the All American Brand! I need a good attorney.
Jon Presco
“The constitution is built to ensure safety and happiness by restricting the sovereign government from cannibalizing the people. Madison wrote extensively in the federalist about the dangers of a war time executive hell bent on security, safety, etc. as a pretext for limiting liberties. Thus the president as well as officials/reps in all three branches and even in state governments are sworn to protect, as you said, the constitution above all else.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transylvania_Colony
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Hart_Benton_(politician)
http://americanillustration.org/project/philip-boileau/
According to President Obama, he has no higher duty than to protect the American people. But that’s not what the Constitution says.
“As President, I have often said that I have no greater responsibility than protecting the American people,” wrote President Obama in the new “National Strategy for Counterterrorism” (pdf) that was released by the White House yesterday. A similar sentiment appears in the Introduction to the new Strategy, which states that the President “bears no greater responsibility than ensuring the safety and security of the American people.”
This seems like a fateful misunderstanding. As chief executive and commander in chief of the armed forces, the President obviously has responsibility for national security. But to claim that he has no greater responsibility than “protecting the American people” is a paternalistic invention that is historically unfounded and potentially damaging to the political heritage of the nation.
The presidential oath of office that is prescribed by the U.S. Constitution (Art. II, sect. 1) makes it clear that the President’s supreme responsibility is to “…preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States.” There is no mention of public safety. It is the constitutional order that the President is sworn to protect, even if doing so entails risks to the safety and security of the American people.
Trump “had the unique, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, as an extremely famous and well-known person, as well as a former professional model, brand spokesperson and successful businesswoman, to launch a broad-based commercial brand in multiple product categories, each of which could have garnered multi-million dollar business relationships for a multi-year term during which plaintiff is one of the most photographed women in the world,” the lawsuit said.
The products could have included apparel, accessories, jewelry, cosmetics, hair care and fragrance, among others, the suit says. The first lady is seeking compensatory and punitive damages of at least $150 million. Richard Painter, who advised former President George W. Bush on ethics, said the language in the lawsuit shows Melania Trump is engaging “in an unprecedented, clear breach of rules about using her government position for private gain. This is a very serious situation where she says she intends to make a lot of money. That ought to be repudiated by the White House or investigated by Congress.”
One of Clay’s clients was his father-in-law, Colonel Thomas Hart, an early settler of Kentucky and a prominent businessman.[18] Hart proved to be an important business connection for Clay, as he helped Clay gain new clients and grow in professional stature.[25] Clay’s most notable client was Aaron Burr in 1806, after the US District Attorney Joseph Hamilton Daveiss indicted him for allegedly planning an expedition into Spanish Territory west of the Mississippi River. Clay and his law partner John Allen successfully defended Burr.[26] Some years later Thomas Jefferson convinced Clay that Daveiss had been right in his charges. Clay was so upset that many years later, when he met Burr again, Clay refused to shake his hand.[27] Clay’s legal career would continue long after his election to Congress, and in the 1823 Supreme Court case, Green v. Biddle, Clay submitted the Supreme Court’s first amicus curiae.[28]
http://www.lucysfamilytree.com/wilkerson/fort-boonesborough-nathaniel-hart-daniel-boone/
http://www.foresthistory.org/ASPNET/Publications/region/8/daniel_boone/appd.htm
Benton Genealogyat Thomas Hart Benton Home and Studio State Historic Site
The Bentons were originally established in Lincolnshire England. A branch of the family went to South Wales. In 1731, three brothers, Benton, came from Wales to America. They intended to settle on Chesapeake Bay, but contrary winds drove the ship south, and the brothers landed on Albermarle Sound, North Carolina, whence they went to the uplands and settled at Hillsboro, Orange County, N.C. These brothers were Samuel, Abner, and Jesse. The latter never married. Abner married in Wales, Samuel in North Carolina. This sketch has to do with Abner Benton and heirs. To him was born Jesse B. and Catherine. The latter never married, both born in North Carolina U.S.A. Jesse B. Benton was sent to England and educated. On his return from England, he was appointed (by the Crown), Secretary to the Lord Tryon, Governor of the Province. Afterwards an ugly British General in the Revolutionary War, Jesse B. Benton broke with his chief in the War for American Independence, and was an officer in the American Patriot Army. He, Jesse B. Benton, was married during the War for Independence to Ann Gooch, the daughter of a disreputable English officer under Lord Tryon. Her mother was named Hart and was American born, and Ann Gooch always said, “I came from a family of Harts.” Her cousin Col. Nathaniel Hart was killed at the “River Raisin”, in a battle with British and Indians, during the War of 1812. To the union between Jesse B. Benton and Ann Gooch, there was born Thomas Hart [the Senator], Jesse, Samuel, Nathaniel, Susan, and Catherine Benton. Susan and Catherine never married. In 1793, at the age of 46, Jesse B. Benton died at Hillsboro, N.C.
The actions of the royal government increasingly incited the wrath of the Regulators, and the sheriff was one of a group of officials they severely whipped in 1770. In view of such treatment, Hart undoubtedly received considerable satisfaction in serving as quartermaster for Tryon when the governor dispersed the Regulators at the Battle of Alamance. During the relative calm that ensued after the War of the Regulation, Hart was able to concentrate on business enterprises. The role of an entrepreneur appealed to him, and in 1774 he became one of the partners in Richard Henderson’s Louisa Company to buy and develop lands in what became Tennessee and Kentucky. Hart journeyed to the Watauga section of Tennessee as one of the company’s representatives at a meeting arranged by Daniel Boone with the Cherokee Indians. John Sevier and Isaac Shelby, who attended as spectators, saw the Indians accept several loads of “trading goods” in return for their titular rights to a huge area of western land. After this transaction, the company was reorganized as the Transylvania Company with Richard Henderson, Thomas Hart, Nathaniel Hart, William Johnston, James Hogg, John Luttrell, John Williams, David Hart, and Leonard Henly Bullock as shareholders. Trading with the Indians for western lands strictly violated the Royal Proclamation of 1763, but, as many Americans were engaging in land speculation despite the king’s fiat, the Transylvanians ignored it also. The potential profit in the venture was enormous, and the partners lost no time in enlisting settlers to buy or rent land in the territory. Thomas Hart visited the Watauga again in 1775 and his brother, Nathaniel, became a resident agent for the company in the west until he was killed by Indians in 1782. The outcome of the American Revolution relieved the Transylvania Company of any interference in its affairs from the British government but presented a new dilemma because the states of North Carolina and Virginia claimed Tennessee and Kentucky, respectively, as part of their territory. The partners determined to establish their claim to the western land if possible and years of litigation followed. The final decision rendered that the company’s purchase was illegal but a tract was awarded the partners to recompense them for the expenses incurred in the transaction. Hart traded part of his share for land in Kentucky and eventually settled on it. After the War of the Regulation, Hart continued to fill an important role in political affairs, serving as a juror; member of a commission to build a new jail in Hillsborough; member of the colonial Assembly from Orange County in 1773; and then representative in the First, Second, and Third Provincial congresses.
When the Revolution began, he was appointed commissary for the Sixth North Carolina Regiment with the rank of colonel. In addition, he was elected a senator in the North Carolina General Assembly for the 1777 session where he became involved in the work of so many committees that he resigned his military commission in order to attend to them. Although Hart, with many others, could not condone the violent tactics of the Regulators, he felt no compunction in becoming an ardent patriot in the American Revolution when independence was formally declared. In doing so, he incurred the hatred of the loyal Tories who unleashed their persecutions when Lord Cornwallis approached Hillsborough with the British Army. Concerned for the safety of his wife and several daughters, Hart removed to Hagerstown, Md., accompanied by Nathaniel Rochester, one of his former business partners. Shortly after his departure the Battle of Hart’s Mill was fought on his property, which the British occupied. Hart and Rochester built a mill and a nail and rope factory, both of which prospered.
The colonel gradually disposed of his North Carolina property and never returned to the state. He sold his homeplace, Hartford, to Jesse Benton, husband of his niece, Nancy, and father of Thomas Hart Benton. As the purchaser died before paying for the place, Hart became the mortgagee of the property through a friendly lawsuit and allowed the widow and her family to continue to live there. The mortage was never fully redeemed, which apparently caused no ill will as Hart left the Bentons an additional tract of land when he died.
In 1794, Hart moved to Lexington, Ky., where he resided for the remainder of his life. He built up his rope and hemp business into a highly profitable commercial enterprise and engaged in various forms of trade and investment. Due to his affluence, pleasing personality, and shrewd mind, Hart soon became one of the most prominent men in Kentucky. His daughter, Ann (Nancy), married James Brown who had engaged in business with the colonel and Rochester back in Hillsborough, and who later became the U.S. minister to France. Another daughter, Lucretia, born after the Harts left North Carolina, married Henry Clay. A niece married Isaac Shelby, and the other members of the family made marital connections in influential circles
In 1796, the year Tennessee was admitted to the Union, Jesse B. Benton’s widow Ann, with her family, moved to Tennessee, and settled some forty miles south of Nashville, on land provided by her husband during his life. In 1800 Ann Benton’s sons Thomas H. and Nathaniel returned to North Carolina and entered the State school at Chapel Hill. Neither of them graduated. Of the four brothers Thomas H., Jesse, Samuel, and Nathaniel, the following facts are worthy of record: Samuel married in 1808, a Miss Grundy, and raised six children all born in Carroll County, West Tennessee. Four of these were boys, Nathaniel, Abner, Thomas H., and Samuel (the latter twins) and Catherine and Sarah. Catherine never married. The elder, Nat, went to California and reared a family. Abner died in youth. Thomas H. settled in Iowa, was a Democrat, was a Colonel and Brig. General in the U.S. Army during the Civil War. Was father of Maria Benton, a brilliant woman who married Ben Cable of Illinois and is living. Samuel settled in Holly Springs, Mississippi, reared a family, was twice a Whig Candidate for Congress, was a Confederate Colonel and brevet Brigadier General, was wounded at Resaca, Ga., and died in 1864.
Sarah married a Brandt, reared a family and lived and died in St. Louis. Jesse, son of Jesse B. and Ann Benton, married in middle Tennessee, Mary (Polly) Childress, both of whom in old age died near Nashville without children. Thomas Hart, the eldest son was a member of the Tennessee Legislature, a lawyer and a Lieut. Colonel in the War of 1812. An unfortunate break between Generals Jackson, Carroll and Coffee, and Thos. H., Jesse and Nathaniel Benton brothers, resulted in a street duel in Nashville, in September 1813, in which General Jackson and General Carroll were both shot.
In 1814 Thos. H. and Nathaniel moved to the Territory of Missouri. Thos. Hart Benton was elected one of the two first United States Senators for Missouri, and served thirty consecutive years, followed by two years in the lower House of Congress. After becoming a Senator he married a daughter of Governor McDowell of Virginia. To this union were born: Sarah, Mary, Jesse Ann, Elizabeth, and Randolph Benton. The latter died in his minority. Sarah married Baron Bolieau, French Minister to the U.S. in the forties, and was the mother of the celebrated artist Philip Bolieau later of New York, now deceased. Mary married a Mr. Jacobs of Jefferson County, Kentucky, an extensive Planter. Jesse Ann married Jon C Fremont, a U.S. Lieutenant of French descent, and afterwards the California Pathfinder, and later in 1856 the first Republican Candidate for President, against James Buchanan, and was not supported by Col. Benton, his father-in-law. Fremont was a Major General U.S.A. in the Civil War. Fremont and Jesse Ann Benton, had born to them John C. (who was a U.S. Naval Captain), and Lilly, who never married but lived to be sixty years old. John C. Jr., died a Captain and has a son John C. now a Captain in the U.S. Navy, and two girls not married. Elizabeth married Commodore Jones, U.S.N. and died in Florence, Italy in 1903.
Nathaniel Benton (our direct ancestor), was born in February 1788, in Hillsboro, Orange County, North Carolina, moved with his mother and family to middle Tennessee in 1796, spent afterwards two years in the North Carolina University and in 1810 married Dorothy Myra Branch, daughter of Governor Branch of North Carolina. To this union were born Nathaniel in 1811, Alfred in 1814, Columbus in 1819, Abner in 1816, Susan in 1822, Thomas Hart in 1825, Rufus in 1829, and Maecenas in 1831. Nathaniel and Alfred were born in middle Tennessee; Abner, Columbus and Susan were born in Jefferson County, Missouri; Thomas Hart, Rufus and Maecenas were born in Dyer County, Tennessee. The elder of this family Nat Benton, spent two years at West Point Military Academy, resigned, and with his mother’s family (his father Nat Benton having died in 1833) moved to Texas in October 1835, and settled on the Brazos, near Waco.
In February 1836, Nat Benton together with his brother Alfred joined the army of General Sam Houston for the liberation of Texas from Mexican domination. Nat Benton however, accidentally shot himself in the foot, and came near passing away. Alfred Benton and Ben McCulloch were with Houston at San Jacinto and helped in Texas Independence in 1836. Nat Benton in 1837 returned to Tennessee and married Harriet, the sister of Henry and Ben McCulloch. To this union was born Benjamine Eustace Benton. Nat Benton’s wife died in 1845. In 1853 Nat Benton and son left Dyersburg, Tennessee and went to Texas. Both he and his son Eustace were in the Texas Rangers, and while so engaged Eustace was badly wounded, losing one eye. Captain Nat Benton married again during the’50s to a Miss Harris and children were born to this marriage, but the family history to which I had access did not state how many children, nor where the second Mrs. Benton died.
Nat Benton was a soldier in the Confederate army attaining the rank of Colonel, and was badly wounded at Port Hudson. He returned to Sequing Texas, and lived there till his death which occurred in 1873. His son Capt. Ben Eustace Benton married during the Civil War on April 15 1863, Miss Margaret C. Walker, daughter of General B.W. Walker, and to this union was born Miss Eulalia Benton now living in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. Capt Ben E. Benton died at Pine Bluff, Arkansas June 13 1914.
Alfred Benton, second son of Nat and Dorothy M. Benton, after serving in the war for Texas Independence, died in Texas in 1838. Abner the third son, married Mary Ann Wardlaw of Ripley, Lauderdale County, Tenn., and to this union were born eleven children. Fannie, the eldest, married Tom W. Neal at Dyersburg, had two children. Ella N. Crook, now of Little Rock, Arkansas, and Lillian Simpson, and died in 1880. Alfred lives in Louisville, Ky., Ed at Trenton, Tennessee, Hattie at Memphis, Annie at Dyersburg, Tenn., and Minne at Memphis, others all dead. Columbus Benton died in infancy. Susan married one Boggess, had eleven children, none of whom are living to my knowledge, and she died in June 1885.
Thos H. Benton Jr, son of Nat and Dollie Benton, married Mary Ellen Eason, whose father was Carter T. Eason, and mother Ellen, daughter of Gen. Daniel Morgan who defeated Tarleton at the “Cow Pens”. To this union were born Maecenas E., Mary Ellen, Nat (both the latter died in infancy), Jesse Ann, Thomas H. (both of whom died when about grown), Dollie who married Frank E. Miller and had one child named Mary Ruth Miller. Dollie Benton Miller died May 1895. Samuel Abner born in 1863 died in 1894, and Fannie May, who married E.L. Logan and has had two children, Sam Benton and Ernestine. They live in Little Rock, Arkansas.
Maecenas E. Benton, the eldest of this family is a lawyer, born in Obion County, Tennessee, removed to Missouri in 1869. Was two terms State’s attorney, one term as State Representative, one term United States Attorney, and five terms a member of Congress. He was married in 1888 to Elizabeth Wise of Waxahachie, Texas and of Kentucky parentage. To whom were born Thomas Hart [the artist], Mary Elizabeth, Nathaniel Wise, and Mildred Benton, all now grown.
Rufus and Maecenas, the youngest of the children of Nat and Dorothy Benton and brothers of Nat, Abner, and Thomas H., died in youth.
This statement covers the direct line from Abner Benton the Englishman who came to America in 1731, down to and including all of the present generation of whom the writer has any knowledge.
Compiled by Maecenas E Benton of Neosho, Missouri from old family records, from Dorothy Myra Benton’s family bible and from his personal knowledge.
Dated July 22, 1915 (signed) ME Benton
About Thomas Hart, Sr.
Thomas emigrated about 1690 from London, England to Hanover County, Virginia He was a Merchant who likely became blind late in life. He died in Hanover County and left his only son Thomas Hart who was about 11 when he died.
His son, Thomas Hart, Jr., was born in England in 1679 and married Susanna Rice, daughter of Thomas and Margaret(House) Rice of Hanover, Virginia. Thomas Junior died in that County about the year 1755, leaving six children: Thomas, John, Benjamine, David, Nathaniel, and Ann. The children removed with their mother to Orange County, North Carolina, about the year 1760. From the above children sprang a numerous connection, now scattered widely over the United States. These include some of the most noted families in the nation, among them the descendants of Henry Clay, of Thomas Hart Benton (Senator from Missouri for thirty years), the Fremonts, Adairs, Shelbys, Pindells, Mogoffins, Dixons, Dallams, Todds, McDowells, Irvies, and the descendants of Judge Deadrick of Tennessee.
The following is from a Genealogical Report from a paid source, perhaps the American Historical Society in NYC. It was probably written in the 1940s or 1950s.The reliability is uncertain.
“Thomas Hart, a London Merchant, emigrated from England to New Kent County, Virginia, in 1638. His son Thomas Junior (1678-1755), married Susannah Rice, who, after her husband’s death removed with her children to Orange County, North Carolina, ca. 1760. Son Benjamin (1730-1798) to now Elbert County, Georgia, then to Kentucky. Lieutenant in American Revolution, he married Nancy Morgan who became the famous ‘Nancy Hart’, believed to have been the daughter of BG (Brigadier General?) Daniel Morgan, American Revolution. And finally, it notes that ‘Richardson Roundtree m. Mildred Hart, probably the grand-daughter of Thomas Hart, Jr., and Susannah (Rice) Hart’. Citations are included in the text.
Thomas Hart (senior), the founder of the family in the ‘Tar Heel State’ was a merchant, who married Susan Gray. Their children were Susan, Lucretia, Nancy, John, Nathaniel, and Thomas, Jr. With ….Daniel Boone & William Johnston, the elder Hart bought large tracts of land from the Indians in KY, whither he removed his household. Susan m. Price, Lucretia m. Henry Clay, Nancy m. a Brown, and her husband was afterward a US Minister to France. The daughter of Thomas Hart, Jr., m. Jesse Benton, clerk of the Superior Court of Orange County, North Carolina, and became the mother of Thomas Hart Benton, pioneer statesman and orator of Missouri. Nancy Hart, the Georgia heroine was of this family”
Thomas Rice, b. England of Welch parents-to Hanover County, Virginia, 1693, returned to England to settle a large estate, died at sea. His son, Hezekiah, was a Lt. & Capt. in American Revolution, and a delegate, Orange County, N. C. (Perhaps Susannah returned to her father (Hezekiah)’s home after her husband died in 1755. From Greek Poland Rice’s lineage in American Compendium, Vol VI, p. 226.
Thomas Hart, ancestor of the family in America, was a merchant in London. In 1638 he emigrated to Virginia and settled in New Kent County (See Early Virginia Immigrant, p 151). His son, Thomas II, married Susannah Rice. He was born in New Kent County, Virginia in 1679, died in Hanover County, 1755. His son Benjamin, b 1730, d in Brunswick County, Georgia, in 1799, after the death of his father, Thomas Hart, Jr., moved to Orange County, N. C., and in 1760 was appointed County Commissioner. He lived for a while at Edgefield, S. C., and married the famous Nancy Morgan (Hart). This is from a report written by George Stephens, filed at: 2000-12-17. Mary Head Burton (quoting from the 1935 edition of a genealogical reference work “Americana”, pp 134-135, which in turn cites an unknown volume by Tyler, Volume III, pg 169)
Mary Head Burton then quoted from the “American Compendium”, Vol. VI, pg 634. Thomas Hart, from London settled in Hanover County, virginia about 1690. He was a merchant. Thomas Hart, Jr., (1678-1755) Hanover County, Virginia, married Susannah Rice, who, after her husband’s death, removed with her children to Orange County, N. C. around 1760. Son Benjamin (1730-1798) to present Elbert County, Georgia, then to Kentucky; Lt. in american Revolution, he married Nancy Morgan (Hart) believed to be the daughter of Brig. General Dan. Morgan, American Revolution.
James Brown (September 11, 1766 – April 7, 1835) was a lawyer beginning in Kentucky, U.S. Senator from Louisiana, and Minister to France (1823-1829).
His brother John Brown was a US Senator from Kentucky and active in its gaining statehood. Well-connected among the southern elite, they were also cousins of John Breckinridge, James Breckinridge and Francis Preston. James Brown was brother-in-law to Henry Clay and Nathaniel G. S. Hart, the uncle of James Brown Clay, Henry Clay, Jr., John Morrison Clay, the great uncle of B. Gratz Brown, and the cousin-in-law of Thomas Hart Benton.
Thomas Hart and Daniel Boone of Kentucky
Posted on April 15, 2013by Royal Rosamond Press
My adopted son, Hollis Lee Williams, was born in Louisville Kentucky, and is kin to Thomas Hart from whom the famous artist, Thomas Hart Benton, descends. My brother-in-law, Garth Benton, was a cousin of Thomas
Jon
Colonel Thomas Hart
Colonel Thomas Hart was the son of Thomas Hart and Susanna Rice Hart and the brother to John, Benjamin, David, Nathaniel and Ann.
“The mother of Lucretia Hart was Susanna, daughter of John Gray, Colonel in the Royal Army. Tradition says he opposed his daughter’s marriage on the grounds that Thomas Hart, her intended, was a rebel. He was, indeed, a bold and active rebel, a member of two Provincial Congresses of North America, a Colonel in the Revolutionary Army, and one of the principals of that daring and romantic enterprise, the Transylvania Land Company. In spite of her father’s disapproval the wedding of Susanna Gray and Thomas Hart, parents of Lucretia Hart, went off as planned.” (Simpson, Letters to)
In 1780 Thomas Hart moved from North Carolina to Hagerstown, Maryland, where his two older daughters, Eliza and Susan, were married and where Lucretia was born.
“In the spring of 1794 Thomas Hart wrote to Governor Blount of Tennessee, who had married his wife’s niece, ‘You will be surprised to hear I am going to Kentucky. Mrs. Hart, who for eighteen years has opposed this measure, has now given her consent and so we go, an old fellow of 63 years of age seeking a new country to make a fortune in…
Another letter, written by Thomas Hart, dated Lexington, Kentucky 1795 says, ‘Oh, if my old friend Uncle Jacob Blount were here! What a pleasure we would have in raking up money and spending it with our friends -This is really one of the finest countries in the world -The society is equal to that of any interior town in the United States’. He did, indeed prosper.” (Simpson, Letters to)
“The fact that at a time when sailing vessels and clipper ships ruled the seas, Colonel Hart supplied all the rope used by the navy, proving that his cordage business was both extensive and successful. He rapidly laid the foundation of an immense fortune, comparable to the Vanderbilt wealth in New York”. (Schwartz)
“From his land sales Boone had raised about $20,000, and had been given additional money to purchase warrants by the Harts. Boone had between forty and fifty thousand dollars in cash in his saddlebags when he began his journey.” (Loforo)
There are conflicting stories as to exactly what happened with this great some of money. Here’s one version: “At the inn in James City, Virginia, described as Painter’s Fork, Boone while asleep was robbed of the entire amount. The incident caused much criticism and injured his reputation”.(Henderson)
Over the years, Boone paid this lost money back to the contributors, except for the Harts. “The Hart brothers, who had lost the most, saw the matter differently. In a letter dated August 3, 1780, Thomas Hart summed up their position on the robbery: ‘I feel for the poor people who perhaps are to loose even their preemptions by it,
but I must say I feel more for poor Boone whose character I am told suffers by it.’ Hart praised Boone as a ‘Just’ and ‘Upright’ person, who even in the most ‘Wretched Sircumstances’ was ‘a Noble and generous soul.’ He concluded his comments by stating that ‘therefore I will freely grant him a discharge for whatever sums of mine he might be possest of at the time.’ “(
challenged and removed. (September 2011)
Thomas Hart Benton (April 15, 1889 – January 19, 1975) was an American painter and muralist. Along with Grant Wood and John Steuart Curry, he was at the forefront of the Regionalist art movement.
Benton was born in Neosho, Missouri, into an influential family of politicians and powerbrokers. Benton’s father, Maecenas Benton, was a lawyer and U.S. congressman. His namesake, great-uncle Thomas Hart Benton, was one of the first two United States Senators elected from Missouri
“*Nathaniel G. Hart, in honor of whom Hart County, Ky., received its name, was a son of Colonel Thomas Hart, who was an immigrant from Maryland to Kentucky in pioneer days. Nathaniel G. Hart was born at Hagerstown, Md., and came to Kentucky when he was but a few years old. He was a brother-in-law of Hon. Henry Clay and Hon. James Brown, they having married his sisters. He was about twenty-four years of age at the time of his marriage to Anna E. Gist. At the breaking out of the War of 1812 he was in command of a volunteer company called the “Lexington Light Infantry,” and with his company enrolled for service in the Northwest. He served through the winter campaign of 1812-13, a portion of the time as staff officer. He was taken prisoner at the Battle of the River Raisin. On the way from Frenchtown to Malden he was massacred by his Indian guard. His wife survived him but a short time. They were the parents of two sons. Mrs. Judith Cary Scott had formerly been Mrs. Gist and at this time was the wife (second) of General Charles Scott, Governor of Kentucky. See Collins’ History of Kentucky.”
Hart vs. Benton Lawsuit
August 22, 1812
‘Just’ and ‘Upright’ person, who even in the most ‘Wretched Sircumstances’ was ‘a
p.187, August 22, 1812,
THOMAS HART, JAMES BROWN and ANNA BROWN, his wife, HENRY CLAY and LUCRETIA CLAY, his wife, NATHANIEL G. S. HART, JOHN HART, JAMES SHELBY and POLLY SHELBY, his wife, ELIZA PINDELL and THOMAS HART PINDELL, heirs and devisees of THOMAS HART, deceased,
v.
NANCY BENTON, SR., PEGGY BENTON, POLLY BENTON, THOMAS BENTON, JESSE BENTON, NANCY BENTON, SAMUEL BENTON, NATHANIEL BENTON, SUCKY BENTON, and SAMUEL ESTILL and DANIEL MAUPIN, et. al.
Petition recites: SQUIRE BOONE obtained a certificate of settlement and preemption, and Nathaniel Hart obtained a certificate for settlement and preemption of 1,400 acres of land adjoining said Boone. Jesse Benton obtained from same commissioners a certificate for settlement and preemption adjoining claim of Nathaniel Hart on north and east, which was entered with surveyor…your orator purchased of said Benton all his claims and paid him a full consideration and obtained assignment of said settlement and preemption. And said Jesse Benton, afterwards, by letter dated September 3, l789, acknowledged the sale of said claims to your orator and promised your orator another assignment if the original one was lost. And said Jesse Benton departed this life leaving a will disposing of all his lands excepting the said claim which being sold to your orator was omitted in his will. Said Benton leaving his wife Nancy and his children Peggy Benton, Polly Benton, Thomas H. Benton, Jesse Benton, Nancy Benton, Samuel Benton, Nathaniel Benton and Sucky Benton. Said court of commissioners granted JOSEPH HUGHES right of preemption which was surveyed contrary to location and in such manner as to interfere with the settlement and preemption of said Jesse Benton, and having underwent several sales hath at length been conveyed to Samuel Estill . PHILLIP WEBBER illegally obtained forom commissioners a certificate claiming 400 acres and vaguely entered same and sold it to said Estill who surveyed contrary to entry and so as to interfere, and obtaining grant in his own name, conveyed [blank] acres to Daniel Maupin, and said Estill and Maupin have refused…
Answers filed by defendants. Estill pleads that it may be true that patents have been secured in the names of Squire Boone, Nathaniel Hart and Jesse Benton, and that plaintiff hath purchased claim of Jesse Benton, but defendant has been informed that previous to the opening and establishing of the land office in the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the year of 1776, a certain RICHARD HENDERSON and Company claimed all the lands lying on the south side of the Kentucky River, that complainant and said Jesse Benton were partners with said Richard Henderson, who in the said year of 1776, for a valuable consideration actually paid by said Hughes, sold and conveyed to him 640 acres of the land now included in his survey and patented, which will appear from the books of said Richard Henderson and Company. That in consequence of said sale a survey was made in 1776 for said Hughes.
Said defendant is advised that although the claim of said Henderson and Company to these lands…was destroyed by act of law, yet plaintiff nor said Jesse Benton ought not deprive Joseph Hughes or this defendant of said land by any claim which they may have acquired since.
Amended petition recites: JAMES DINWIDDIE claims part of lands to which your orator is entitled as devisee, from Joseph Hughes.
Various interrogatories were filed. Complainant’s answer to same:
1. That he was one interested in the adventure of Richard Henderson and Company.
2. That the said company claimed at one time all the land on the south side of the Kentucky River to the Cumberland River by purchase from the tribe of Cherokee Indians, but the then Legislature of Virginia and North Carolina annulled their purchase and that of all persons claiming under them, and they now hold no lands except those granted by said Legislature at the mouth of the Green River.
3. That Jesse Benton was never considered as an original partner in the company but obtained a part of DAVID HART’s share by private purchase, who was one of the original partners of the company.
4. That he does not know Joseph Hughes ever purchased 640 acres of land from Henderson and Company, but thinks it probable that he might have, as many others did, but believes no monies were ever recived by the company in consequence, or that he ever heard that the executive of Virginia had issued a proclamation forbidding the inhabitants of Kentucky to pay monies to said company for land sold by the company until their claims should be litigated before the Legislature of said state and who decided by making null and void their purchase from said Indians.
5. That he has not the books of the said company nor does he know in whose possession they are, not having seem them for upwards of twenty years.
Sworn to by Thomas Hart, Lexington, September 18, 1801.
CHARLES BROWN, JOHN DAVIDSON, WILLIAM ANDERSON, BENJAMIN ESTILL, JAMES BLESKY and the heirs of JAMES ESTILL, deceased, appear as defendants.
p.229, Abstract of will of NATHANIEL HART, dated June 27, 1782, names wife SARAH HART, sons SIMPSON HART and NATHANIEL HART, brothers DAVID HART and THOMAS HART. Children, KEZIAH THOMPSON, SUSANNAH HART, JOHN HART, CUMBERLAND HART, CHINA HART, and RICHARD HART.
p.237, Deposition of WILLIAM HART, aged 38 years (taken on September 17, 1811, in Fayette County: About 16 or 17 years ago he was and had been for several years before well acquainted with the family of Jesse Benton, whose heirs are the defendants. That the said Jesse Benton resided in North Carolina near Hillsborough and died in latter part of the year 1791 or the beginning of the year 1792. Said Benton’s children were all very small at time of his death, one at breast, and some years after his death the family removed to Tennessee where they now reside.
p.238, Deposition of JESSE OLDHAM, aged 72 years (taken at the improvement of NATHANIEL HART in Madison County, on March 3,
1802); He came to Kentucky from North Carolina in the year of 1775 at which time he passed by the blue licks and from thence near this improvement to Twitty’s fort and the trace which he traveled was then called and known by the name of Boone’s trace. That in the year 1775, he, together with Nathaniel Hart and others, planted a crop of corn at Boonesborough. That he came out of Kentucky agin in the spring of the year of 1779 at which time
he, together with Nathaniel Hart and others, raised a crop of corn at Boonesborough and in the same year raised a crop of corn at this improvement and also at deponent’s improvement which lies near this improvement and on this creek. That he has never heard or known of this improvement by any other name than Nathaniel Hart’s improvement. I was not here when the commissioners sat and never saw Nathaniel Hart’s certificate. We were not in
partnership, his corn was for himself and mine for myself. They were two separate and distinct claims. These improvements were about one mile apart. There was no improvement here when I first came to Kentucky in 1775.
[p.252. Deposition of JESSE OLDHAM (taken December 1, 1810). [Repeats first what was in preceding deposition.] States that Nathaniel Hart and I married sisters. Boone’s old trace was marked out in year 1775 and was the road leading from Boonesborough and upper part of Kentucky through the wilderness and it was then generally traveled.]
p.239, Deposition of THOMAS ALLEN (taken at Harrodsburg on July 28, 1803): Relates facts of a survey made by him and DANIEL BOONE sometime during year of 1783 or 1784 at the request of the widow of Nathaniel Hart.
p.241, Deposition of JOHN HARPER (taken at Montgomery County Court House on November 17, 1810): He set out from Boonesborough in the month of June 1779 to go to Virginia and encamped the first night at Hart’s fork of Silver creek in company with a number of others and Nathaniel Hart, deceased and Jesse Oldham set out at the same time for the settlements but were obliged to go out of the way for a horse that was bit by a snake and did not join the company until that evening. When said Hart and Oldham et out from Boonesborough they appointed to meet the company at the said Jesse Oldham’s improvement which lies above Nathaniel Hart’s improvement about a mile and on east side of Hart s fork. There was a field of corn growing at Jesse Oldham’s improvement which the company worked over and cleaned out the weeds. The next morning they went on to Nathaniel Hart’s improvement where there was a considerable field of corn growing which they also worked over and laid by, and then the company proceeded on to Virginia.
p 243, Deposition of JOHN KIMBROUGH (taken at the office of THOMAS H. BENTON, in Franklin, Tennessee, on the last Saturday in
November 1811): About the year of 1790 and for several years before and after that time, he lived in the State of North Carolina and was well acquainted with the family of Colonel Jesse Benton, who died about that year near Hillsborough in said State, deponent being nephew of wife of said Jesse Benton, and he remembers that after the death of said Benton, a daughter of Jesse Benton named SUSANNAH BENTON was born…
p.245, Deposition of THOMAS J. OVERTON (taken in Fayette County on September 23, 1811 ): Repeats testimony regarding Benton’s children and states “all very small at time of his death.”
p.245, Deposition of JESSE HODGES (taken at the house of JAMES DINWIDDIE, in Madison County, November 30, 1800): He saw in 1779 the tree standing on Boone’s trail marked with letters of Nathaniel Hart’s name…and some chopping on the trees about it…and heard it called Hart’s improvement. It was generally known by hunters accustomed to hunt these woods and parts. I passed by his improvement the first time in the summer of 1779 and my recollection is that Jesse Oldham removed his family to this state in the year of 1787.
p.247, Deposition of JESSE CARTWRIGHT (taken at the house of JAMES DINWIDDIE, Madison County, November 30, 1800): I came to Boonesborough in November 1780 and resided here until 1782. Shortly after I came here I became acquainted with Captain Nathaniel Hart who lived at the place called White Oak Spring. We had some trading and much talk about land trading during the course of the next year, in the meantime I had seen an improvement on the waters of Silver Creek which I was informed by several was Nathaniel Hart’s. He had a stud horse I think he called Spidella which he asked me 1,000 acres of preemption land. I understood from Hart he made his improvement in 1775. It was shewn me by JAMES ESTILL as we were riding through it. I lived a considerable time at Estill’s old station.
p.248, Deposition of JOSEPH KENNEDY (taken at the house of JAMES DINWIDDIE, in Madison County, on December 1, 1810): Was
well acquainted with Boone’s old trace that leads up to Hart’s fork of Silver creek on to Twitty’s fort in the year 1777, and about 1/2 of a mile on a southwest course from Twitty’s fort I saw an improvement which was on Boone’s trace and my brother JOHN KENNEDY and MICHAEL STONER being with me, they informed me that it was Nathaniel Hart’s.
p.249, Deposition of STEPHEN HANCOCK, aged 58 years (taken on April 3, 1802 at Hart’s improvement on Silver creek in Madison County): I came to Kentucky in January of the year of 1776 and traveled along the trace then called Boone’s trace. Blue Licks to Twitty s and thence to Boonesborough. Then I saw an improvement on the trace, several trees belted. Nathaniel Hart’s field in which he raised corn in 1779. Silver Creek, Hart’s fork and SQUIRE BOONE’s Stockfield tract were called and known by those names in the year 1779. Nathaniel Hart raised a crop of corn at
Boonesborough in the year of 1776 and kept hands there for several years afterwards. Deponent understood from information that as people were traveling out to this country, they got pumpkins from Hart’s field upon Boone’s trace and carried them to the waters of Otter creek where they cooked them and from the seed being scattered around there, they came up and that branch was afterwards called Pumpkin Run.
p.251, Deposition of Colonel JOHN SNODDY taken at DINWIDDIE’s house in Madison County, on April 3, 1802): In the year of 1775 I came to Kentucky in company with DANIEL BOONE and as we traveled along Boone’s trace I saw an improvement on said race near to a small pond. about half a mile south of Twitty’s fort, which Daniel Boone informed me was Nathaniel Hart’s. Then there was several trees belted and some cut down. It appeared to me to be an improvement and not a camping place.
p.253. Deposition of THOMAS WARREN (taken at Hart’s fork of Silver Creek, on September 14, 1811): I first knew of this improvement in 1760 and it was called Hart’s upper improvement at that time. It had appearance it had been cultivated in corn the year before. It was generally known by name of Hart’s field 1780 by hunters from Estill’s station. I first settled at Estill’s station in February of 1780 and lived at that station between eight and nine years. The trace from Estill’s to Adam’s station passes through the edge of Hart’s improvement. [Note: in deposition taken in same case on March 19, 1808, same witness says:] It was between the 11th and 15th of February 1780 when I came to the old station and by direction of JAMES ESTILL. I was the first one to settle at Estill’s station and James Estill settled in a few days after with part of his family. He and myself raised corn in 1780 at that place. There were seven or eight families at this station in the year 1780. I first became acquainted with little fort in the last of February 1780. It was about 100 yards off trace called Boone’s trace. I have no knowledge of Twitty’s fort, more than I have saw it often. Some called it Twitty’s fort and some Little Fort.
p.254. Deposition of DAVID LYNCH (taken September 14, 1811 in Madison County): I have known Nathaniel Hart’s improvement since the spring of the year of 1780 and it was then called Hart’s improvement. There was some appearance of corn stalks on it when I first saw it. It was generally known by the name of Hart’s improvement by the hunters from Estill’s station and well known to settlers at Adam’s station and Boonesborough.
p.255 Deposition of PETER HACKETT (taken near the house of JAMES DINWIDDIE in Madison County, on July 21, 1812): I settled at Estill’s station about the last of February or first of March in the year of 1780. I believe I became acquainted with the settlement we are now on in the last of spring of the same year. There were seven families at Estill’s station in 1780. When I first saw this improvement there was an appearance of corn being raised. The only trace from Estill’s to Adam’s station and from that to Logan’s station was the one passing through the edge of this improvement. It was the only trace used by people from Adam’s station to Estill’s station and was well known to the people of that station in 1780, as they hunted for their stock and for game along same. TWITTY was wounded and died at the little fort and was buried there. The fort was built while he lay there wounded.
p.259, Deposition of Captain WILLIAM BUSH (taken at an Elm tree on Hart’s fork of Silver creek on March 23, 1803): In the spring of the year 1775 with Captain NATHANIEL HART, JONATHAN JENNINGS, came to Boonesborough. I heard them say they had better take their choice of land as they came along, they were asked where, and, they told us that Captain Hart had made his choice at the camp at the mouth of the branch that leads up toward’s Twitty’s fort and that Jennings choice of land was between him and said fort on that trace. In summer of 1782 I was applied to by BENJAMIN CRAIG to shew Hart’s improvement, and I came to Captain Hart’s improvement and with THOMAS ALLEN, surveyor, we came to this Elm tree, the beginning corner of Jenning’s and proceeded to survey and they expected to hold not over one mile square under the proprietors RICHARD HENDERSON and Company. I first saw Twitty’s fort the day after Twit-by was killed.
p.259, Deposition of SQUIRE BOONE (taken at his own house in Shelby County, on May 18, 1804): He is principaled against going into the town of Shelbyville upon any business whatsoever but is willing to depose to any facts within his knowledge relative to said suit at his own house. Deponent is well acquainted with the beginning called for in GEORGE MERIWETHER’s entry of 1,000 acres in Madison County, which deponent sold to said George Meriwether, and known as the Stockfield tract. He had survey made in the year 1776 of 1,000 acres and began at said honey locust which is south east corner of said preemption as surveyed under the State of Virginia. Deponent was present when this survey was made and showed lines to the surveyor.
p 261, Deposition of SQUIRE BOONE (taken at Sassafras tree, corner of survey made by DANIEL BOONE, as assignee of JOSEPH HUGHES, on Silver Creek, October 2, 1802): In the month of April 1776 he was employed by Joseph Hughes to assist in laying of piece of land for said Hughes which he had purchased of colonel RICHARD HENDERSON and Company in a State then called Transylvania, and, on the waters of Silver Creek, where he attended as a marker and sometimes carried the chain to go around said land, and this is the beginning tree. [Taking of the deposition was then removed to Boone’s old trace on Silver Creek leading by CHARLES BROWN’s towards TWITTY’s fort on TAYLOR’s fork]: That this is the trace he marked on his way from the old settlement to Boonesborough and was called Boone’s trace marked for Colonel Richard Henderson.
p.261, Deposition of BENJAMIN VANCLEVE (taken in Madison County on March 28, 1803): Sometime in the month of April of 1776
deponent came to this corner where we have met and made this corner for JOSEPH HUGHES’ beginning corner. This corner was marked by JOHN KENNEDY for the beginning corner of Hughes. Question by JAMES DINWIDDIE: Was it usual to pay to Henderson and company the money for entering of lands before it was entered? Answer: I can only answer for myself. I paid I think the best of my recollection $2.00. [Taking of the deposition was then removed to an oak tree, northeast corner of the Stockfield tract, surveyed by J. Kennedy for Squire Boone under Henderson and Company]: This is the South East corner of a survey made by J. Kennedy in April 1776.
p.262, Deposition of EDWARD WILLIAMS (taken at house of NICHOLAS ANDERSON in Montgomery County, on May 14 1804): He set out from Boonesborough in the month of June 1779 to go to Virginia and encamped the first night on waters of Silver creek in company with a number of others and that NATHANIEL HART and JESSE OLDHAM set out at same time for the settlements but were obliged to go out of their way for a horse that was bit by a snake and did not join the company until that evening. That when the said Hart and Oldham set out from Boonesborough they appointed to meet the company at said Jesse Oldham’s improvement at the creek. That they all set out together the next morning and passed by Nathaniel Hart’s improvement, and said Hart informed deponent and company that it was his improvement and there was a considerable field of corn at the said improvement. Deponent was present at Boonesborough when Nathaniel Hart laid in his claim before the Commissioner’s for his settlement and preemption, and the said Hart informed this deponent that he had obtained his certificate for this improvement on Silver creek.
p.264, Deposition of SAMUEL ESTILL (taken on March 19, 1808 at house of ROBERT MILLER in Madison County): [Said deposition was taken for use in suit of BENJAMIN ESTILL and JOHN ESTILL v. BENJAMIN SCRIVENER and used by consent in this case.] Some time in the summer of the year 1779 I was with JAMES ESTILL, MICHAEL BEDINGER and others at the spring at Estill’s old station and he shewed me that. In the year of 1780 I saw some marks at JAMES ESTILL JR. spring which I thought probably might be another claim. I then told James Estill about the marks and he told me JOHN BOUGHMAN got to marking of it and he stopped him, and he told me he marked the spring at the old station first and went on to James Estill, Jr. spring and marked it the same day. I never heard James Estill claim that last mentioned spring until after we settled the old station. I think my brother James Estill, deceased, or some of those at the station tanned leather at this spring in the year of 1780. The old buffalo road or trace lead down Muddy creek, by the improvement at James Estill, Jr. spring, plain when I first saw it. I don’t know when my brother settled the old station. I was from this country and found his family living there on my return in May 1780. He first showed me this improvement in the summer of 1779. James Estill, Michael Bedinger, JOHN SOUTH JR., JOHN WEBBER and others were with me but don’t recollect the rest. It was known as the Locust thicket improvement. The trace that was called Boone’s trace was close by the fort. In 1780 the fort was called the Little fort by some and TWITTY’s fort by others. When I first saw the spring at the old fort, it was beat about by creatures using it, Buffaloes and other wild beasts. In the year of 1780 the spring at the fort went dry and the people at the fort had to get water at BOYLE’s spring. There was some heavy cane in places where the trace went along but the creatures broke it so that it was tolerable handy passing. The fort was a few logs put in the likeness of a square cabin. There was no roof on it when I saw it. It was not built in as good a way as cabins generally are. The trace traveled was the one that went along the dividing ridge between Muddy creek. Otter creek and Silver creek and was called GALLOWAY’s trace, which lead from Boonesborough to the Blue Lick on the head of Station Camp creek. I understood the fort was built for safety from the Indians by TWITTY. The place claimed by Estill for his improvement near the old station as I first saw it in 1780 was twenty or thirty acres open land around the spring which was surrounded by very strong cane brake. Could not be easily found, Captain James Estill began to tan his hides in the spring of the year. We pulled the hide off [Buffalo] and put it in the tan trough with some water and ashes (that was the lime we had then). When the hide was limed we then took them out and washed them in Little Muddy creek and took the hair off and perhaps let them ly all night in the creek to take the lime out and the next day put them back in the trough. That’s the way we did them.
p.273, Deposition of JOSEPH PROCTOR (taken at ROBERT MILLER’s house in Madison County, on April 5, 1808): James Estill first settled the old station on March 1, 1780, and he and his company raised corn there in 1780. About six or seven families resided there. James Estill immediately after settling at said place commenced surveying land to raise corn. First became acquainted with Little Fort in spring of 1780 but don’t recollect how long it was before I saw the place. Understand it was built some years before I came to Kentucky and that TWITTY was wounded and lay there. The company that was with him built the fort for his safety.
This excerpt was taken from “Our Kentucky Pioneer Ancestry”, by June Lee Mefford Kinkead, 1992. In it she quotes “The Hart Family”, from the Memoirs of George Blackburn Kinkead. This is under the heading “Thomas Hart”.
Ancestry of Nathaniel Hart (1734-1782)
William A. LaBach
311 Duke Road
Lexington, KY 40502
859-269-1868
Send email to preparer: wmlabach1@insightbb.com
Ultimate Family Tree, ver 2.9
LABACH Project Version 1108
September 20, 2000
Table of Contents
First Generation
1. Nathaniel1 Hart (Thomas2, Thomas3), son of Thomas Hart and Susanna Rice, was born in Hanover County, VA May 8, 1734. Nathaniel died July 22, 1782 in near Boonesborough, KY, at 48 years of age. His body was interred in family cemetery near Boonesborough.
He married Sarah Simpson in North Carolina, December 25, 1760. Sarah was born in Fairfax Co., VA February 24, 1743/4. Sarah was the daughter of Richard Simpson, Jr. and Mary Kincheloe. Sarah died March 1785 in Lincoln Co., KY, at 41 years of age. Her body was interred in family cemetery near Boonesborough. At 18 years of age Sarah became the mother of Keziah Hart in Caswell Co., NC, March 18, 1762. At 19 years of age Sarah became the mother of Susannah Hart in Caswell Co., NC, February 18, 1764. At 24 years of age Sarah became the mother of Simpson Hart in Caswell Co., NC, April 30, 1768. At 26 years of age Sarah became the mother of Nathaniel Hart, Jr. in Caswell Co., NC, September 30, 1770. At 27 years of age Sarah became the mother of John Hart in Caswell Co., NC, February 5, 1772. At 31 years of age Sarah became the mother of Mary Ann Hart April 7, 1775. At 32 years of age Sarah became the mother of Cumberland Hart July 17, 1776. At 35 years of age Sarah became the mother of Chinoe Hart in Boonesborough, VA (now KY), October 25, 1779. At 38 years of age Sarah became the mother of Thomas Richard Green Hart in Boonesborough, VA (now KY), June 29, 1782.
At 27 years of age Nathaniel became the father of Keziah Hart in Caswell Co., NC, March 18, 1762. At 29 years of age Nathaniel became the father of Susannah Hart in Caswell Co., NC, February 18, 1764. At 33 years of age Nathaniel became the father of Simpson Hart in Caswell Co., NC, April 30, 1768. At 36 years of age Nathaniel became the father of Nathaniel Hart, Jr. in Caswell Co., NC, September 30, 1770. At 37 years of age Nathaniel became the father of John Hart in Caswell Co., NC, February 5, 1772. At 40 years of age Nathaniel became the father of Mary Ann Hart April 7, 1775. At 42 years of age Nathaniel became the father of Cumberland Hart July 17, 1776. At 45 years of age Nathaniel became the father of Chinoe Hart in Boonesborough, VA (now KY), October 25, 1779. At 48 years of age Nathaniel became the father of Thomas Richard Green Hart in Boonesborough, VA (now KY), June 29, 1782. Nathaniel Hart was a member of the Transylvania Company and was one of the purchasers of some 20 million acres of land in Kentucky and Tennessee from the Indians in 1775. He was one of the original settlers at Boonesborough in 1775 and helped construct the fort there. His biography from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography edited by William S. Powell, Univ. of North Carolina Press, 1988, follows: Hart, Nathaniel (1734-82), pioneer, Revolutionary officer, and proprietor in and chief negotiator for the Transylvania Company of Kentucky, was born in Hanover County, Va., the son of Thomas and Susannah Rice Hart. His grandfather, Thomas Hart, a merchant, emigrated from London, England, to Hanover County about 1690 and left an only son, Thomas (1632-1755), father of Nathanlel. His mother was an aunt of Daniel Rice, the renowned Presbyterian minister who, before moving to Kentucky in 1781, is said to have taken part in the establishment of one or more early Presbyterian churches in Orange County (now Caswell County), N.C., among which Hyco (now Red House) is one of the oldest in central North Carolina. Shortly after Thomas Hart’s death, his widow and children moved to Orange County and settled on Country Line Creek, where three of her sons–Thomas, Nathaniel, and David–in the late 1750s and early 1760s obtained land grants in the area that was cut off from Orange in 1777 to form Caswell County. Nathaniel Hart’s estate, known as Red House, located at Nat’s Fork on Country Line Creek, was of considerable proportions. Referred to as “Captain Hart,” he was not only a polished member of society but also an “accomplished and complete gentleman.” As one of the proprietors of the Transylvania Company, he was a leading spirit in opening the Kentucky territory and in establishing the town of Boonesborough. At the Battle of Alamance, Hart led a company of infantrymen in Governor Tryon’s army; after the battle, he was highly complimented by the governor and his officers for the gallant and spirited behavior of the detachment under his command. Following the efforts of Daniel Boone and his brother, Squire Boone, to settle Kentucky, Richard Henderson of Granville County in association with Nathaniel Hart, Thomas Hart, John Williams, William Johnson, and John Lutterell, on 27 Aug. 1774 organized the Louisa Company for the purpose of purchasing from the Cherokee Nation a large territory lying on the west side of the mountains on the Mississippi River. In the autumn of 1774, Nathaniel Hart, the chief negotiator, along with Richard Henderson, president of the company, visited the territory and met with the chiefs of the various tribes in the Cherokee country to discuss their interest in buying the land west of the Cumberland Mountains. Nathaniel Hart, Jr., wrote that his father returned to his home with six or eight of the principal men of the Cherokee Nation, who remained with him until the latter part of the year and assisted in the selection of a large supply of goods to be used in exchange for the land. By 1775 the enterprise had outgrown the Articles of Agreement of the Louisa Company. After a reorganization, a new company, called the Transylvania Company, was formed and Daniel Boone was hired to explore the territory. Soon Nathaniel Hart and Richard Henderson brought vast quantities of goods from Cross Creek (now Fayetteville) to Sycamore on the Watauga River near what is now Elizabethton, Tenn. The Watauga meeting, arranged by Hart, lasted twenty days and was attended by 500 to 1,000 Cherokee Indians along with their chiefs. The Transylvania Company was represented by Hart and his brother Thomas, Henderson, and John Williams. Negotiations broke down and the Indians left, but it is said that Nathaniel Hart overtook them the next day, persuaded them to return, and an agreement was reached. On 17 Mar. 1775, the conveyance or treaty was signed, by which the Transylvania Company acquired all of the territory from the Kentucky to the Cumberland rivers. Title to the land was taken in the name of Richard Henderson, Nathaniel Hart, and the other seven proprietors of the company as tenants in common. This purchase was said to have been the largest private land deal ever undertaken in North America. Nathaniel Hart and his associates invested much of their time and private fortunes in the venture; they succeeded in obtaining for the colonies peaceful possession of the land from the Indians, thus permitting the opening of the Kentucky territory for colonization. Nevertheless, they received very little for their efforts. Because of a proclamation by the royal governors of Virginia and North Carolina that prohibited treaties or purchases of land from Indians by individuals, the Crown refused to recognize the transaction and declared it null and void. The same proclamation, in substance, was reenacted by the Virginia assembly after the colonies gained independence from Great Britain. As a consequence, the Transylvania Company retained only that small area of the land lying on the Green River in Kentucky and that portion lying on the North Carolina side of the Virginia line, and its plan to establish an original fourteenth colony in America resulted in failure. In 1760 Hart married Sarah Simpson, daughter of Captain Richard Simpson, a large plantation owner who was one of the earliest settlers in what is now Caswell County. Their daughter, Susanna, in 1783 married General Isaac Shelby, planner of the Battle of Cowpens and hero of the Battle of Kings Mountain, who became the first governor of the state of Kentucky and for whom the towns of Shelby, N.C., Shelbyville, Tenn., and Shelby County, Ky., were named. Nathaniel and Sarah Hart’s grandson, Thomas Hart Shelby of Traveler’s Rest, Ky., was said to have been the first importer of thoroughbred livestock, including racehorses, into the state of Kentucky. Hart was appointed a justice of the peace by the royal governor. He served as captain of militia before the outbreak of the Revolution and as captain in the army during the American Revolution. He was killed by Indians near Logan’s Station in Lincoln, Ky., where he left his will. In 1783 his widow and their son Nathaniel, Jr., went to Logan’s Station to prove the will.
SEE: John R. Alden, John Stuart and the Southern Colonial Frontier (1966); Walter Clark, ed., State Records of North Carolina, vols. 16, 19, 22, 24 (1899-1905); Lewis Collins, Historical Sketches of Kentucky (1850); Dartmouth Papers, 5, 127, 1353 (North Carolina State Archives, Raleigh); Lyman C. Draper Papers (Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison); Genealogical Narrative, “The Hart Family in the United States” (North Carolina State Library, Raleigh); Archibald Henderson, The Transylvania Company and the Founding of Henderson, Kentucky (1929); Land grants of Caswell and Orange counties (Office of the Secretary of State, Raleigh); William S. Lester, The Transylvania Colony (1935); George N. MacKenzie, Colonial Families of the United States, vol. 2 (1966); W. E Palmer, ed., Calendar of Virginia State Papers, vol. 1 (1875); William L. Saunders, ed., Colonial Records of North Carolina, vols. 6, 8-10 (1888-90); Tyler’s Quarterly 31 (1949), 32 (1950); Virginia Magazine of History and Biography 7 (1899-1900); Frederick A. Virkus, The Abridged Compendium of American Genealogy, vol. 5 (1933). VANCE E. SWIFT
A web site about the Hart family may be found at http://www.airtanker.com/mcnally/hart/index.html.
Nathaniel Hart and Sarah Simpson had the following children:
2 i. Keziah Hart was born in Caswell Co., NC March 18, 1762. Keziah died February 13, 1837 at 74 years of age. She married Laurence Thompson in Boonesborough, VA (now KY), ca 1780. Laurence was born December 28, 1753. Laurence died April 21, 1835 at 81 years of age. At 27 years of age Laurence became the father of Richard Laurence Thompson March 17, 1781. At 28 years of age Laurence became the father of Sarah Finney Thompson December 15, 1782. At 31 years of age Laurence became the father of Nathaniel Hart Thompson March 13, 1785. At 33 years of age Laurence became the father of Chinoe Benton Thompson January 21, 1787. At 35 years of age Laurence became the father of Thomas Azariah Thompson March 22, 1789. At 37 years of age Laurence became the father of Mary “Polly” Simpson Thompson in Madison Co., KY, August 17, 1791. At 42 years of age Laurence became the father of Margaret W. Thompson Madison Co., KY, March 8, 1796. At 44 years of age Laurence became the father of Susan Shelby Thompson Madison Co., KY, April 23, 1798. At 46 years of age Laurence became the father of Alfred M. Thompson July 22, 1800. At 50 years of age Laurence became the father of Allen J. Thompson 1804.
At 18 years of age Keziah became the mother of Richard Laurence Thompson March 17, 1781. At 20 years of age Keziah became the mother of Sarah Finney Thompson December 15, 1782. At 22 years of age Keziah became the mother of Nathaniel Hart Thompson March 13, 1785. At 24 years of age Keziah became the mother of Chinoe Benton Thompson January 21, 1787. At 27 years of age Keziah became the mother of Thomas Azariah Thompson March 22, 1789. At 29 years of age Keziah became the mother of Mary “Polly” Simpson Thompson in Madison Co., KY, August 17, 1791. At 33 years of age Keziah became the mother of Margaret W. Thompson Madison Co., KY, March 8, 1796. At 36 years of age Keziah became the mother of Susan Shelby Thompson Madison Co., KY, April 23, 1798. At 38 years of age Keziah became the mother of Alfred M. Thompson July 22, 1800. At 42 years of age Keziah became the mother of Allen J. Thompson 1804.
3 ii. Susannah Hart was born in Caswell Co., NC February 18, 1764. Susannah died June 14, 1833 in Lincoln Co., KY, at 69 years of age. Her body was interred in family cemetery at Travellers Rest, Lincoln Co., KY. She married Isaac Shelby in Boonesborough, VA (now KY), April 19, 1783. Isaac was born in near Hagerstown, MD December 11, 1750. Isaac was the son of Evan Shelby, Jr. and Letitia Cox. Isaac died July 18, 1826 in Lincoln Co., KY, at 75 years of age. His body was interred in family cemetery at Travellers Rest, Lincoln Co., KY. At 33 years of age Isaac became the father of James Shelby February 13, 1784. At 34 years of age Isaac became the father of Sarah Hart Shelby October 8, 1785. At 36 years of age Isaac became the father of Evan Shelby July 27, 1787. At 38 years of age Isaac became the father of Thomas Hart Shelby in “Travellers Rest”, Lincoln Co., KY, May 27, 1789. At 40 years of age Isaac became the father of Susannah Hart Shelby March 20, 1791. At 42 years of age Isaac became the father of Nancy Shelby December 23, 1792. At 44 years of age Isaac became the father of Isaac Shelby, Jr. 1795. At 46 years of age Isaac became the father of John Shelby March 3, 1797. At 48 years of age Isaac became the father of Letitia Shelby January 11, 1799. At 50 years of age Isaac became the father of Katherine Shelby March 14, 1801. At 53 years of age Isaac became the father of Alfred Shelby in “Travellers Rest”, Woodford Co., KY, January 25, 1804.
At 19 years of age Susannah became the mother of James Shelby February 13, 1784. At 21 years of age Susannah became the mother of Sarah Hart Shelby October 8, 1785. At 23 years of age Susannah became the mother of Evan Shelby July 27, 1787. At 25 years of age Susannah became the mother of Thomas Hart Shelby in “Travellers Rest”, Lincoln Co., KY, May 27, 1789. At 27 years of age Susannah became the mother of Susannah Hart Shelby March 20, 1791. At 28 years of age Susannah became the mother of Nancy Shelby December 23, 1792. At 31 years of age Susannah became the mother of Isaac Shelby, Jr. 1795. At 33 years of age Susannah became the mother of John Shelby March 3, 1797. At 34 years of age Susannah became the mother of Letitia Shelby January 11, 1799. At 37 years of age Susannah became the mother of Katherine Shelby March 14, 1801. At 39 years of age Susannah became the mother of Alfred Shelby in “Travellers Rest”, Woodford Co., KY, January 25, 1804. Susannah Hart met Isaac Shelby at Fort Boonesborough and they married there April 19, 1783. The couple lived at Travellers Rest in Lincoln County where they raised eleven children. She is buried at the family cemetery at Travellers Rest beside her husband. She is listed in the Kentucky Encyclopedia.
4 iii. Simpson Hart was born in Caswell Co., NC April 30, 1768. Simpson died 1788 in Sumner Co., TN, at 20 years of age. Simpson Hart died unmarried.
5 iv. Nathaniel Hart, Jr. was born in Caswell Co., NC September 30, 1770. Nathaniel died February 7, 1844 in “Spring Hill”, Woodford Co., KY, at 73 years of age. His body was interred in Frankfort Cemetery, Frankfort, KY. He married Susanna Preston in Montgomery Co., VA, August 26, 1797. Susanna was born in “Greenfield”, Botetourt Co., VA October 7, 1772. Susanna was the daughter of William Preston and Susanna Smith. Susanna died June 21, 1833 in “Spring Hill”, Woodford Co., KY, at 60 years of age. Her body was interred in Frankfort Cemetery, Frankfort, KY. At 25 years of age Susanna became the mother of Susanna Smith Preston Hart August, 1798. At 27 years of age Susanna became the mother of Sarah Simpson Hart June 8, 1800. At 29 years of age Susanna became the mother of Letitia Preston Hart March 15, 1802. At 31 years of age Susanna became the mother of Louisiana Breckinridge Hart in “Spring Hill”, Woodford Co., KY, December 3, 1803. At 32 years of age Susanna became the mother of Nathaniel Hart April 27, 1805. At 34 years of age Susanna became the mother of William Preston Hart July 25, 1807. At 36 years of age Susanna became the mother of Virginia H. Hart June 14, 1809. At 38 years of age Susanna became the mother of Susanna M. Hart July 9, 1811. At 41 years of age Susanna became the mother of Mary Howard Hart July 17, 1814.
At 27 years of age Nathaniel became the father of Susanna Smith Preston Hart August, 1798. At 29 years of age Nathaniel became the father of Sarah Simpson Hart June 8, 1800. At 31 years of age Nathaniel became the father of Letitia Preston Hart March 15, 1802. At 33 years of age Nathaniel became the father of Louisiana Breckinridge Hart in “Spring Hill”, Woodford Co., KY, December 3, 1803. At 34 years of age Nathaniel became the father of Nathaniel Hart April 27, 1805. At 36 years of age Nathaniel became the father of William Preston Hart July 25, 1807. At 38 years of age Nathaniel became the father of Virginia H. Hart June 14, 1809. At 40 years of age Nathaniel became the father of Susanna M. Hart July 9, 1811. At 43 years of age Nathaniel became the father of Mary Howard Hart July 17, 1814. A brief sketch of his life from The Prestons of Smithfield and Greenfield in Virginia by John Frederick Dorman (Filson Club, 1982) follows: Susanna Preston, fourth daughter of William and Susanna (Smith) Preston, was born 7 Oct. 1772, “Greenfield,” Botetourt Co., Va., and died 21 June 1833, “Spring Hill,” Woodford Co., Ky. She married 26 Aug. 1797, Montgomery Co., Va., Nathaniel Hart, son of Nathaniel and Sarah (Simpson) Hart, who was born 30 Sept. 1770, Caswell Co., N.C., and died 7 Feb. 1844, “Spring Hill,” Woodford Co., Ky. Nathaniel Hart in his youth took part in several expeditions against the Indians and was for six months in 1794 on Gen. Anthony Wayne’s campaign as aide de camp to Gen. Joshua Barbee. He participated in the Battle of Fallen Timbers. After their marriage they lived in Lexington, Ky., and for several years in Franklin Co., Ky., before moving to Woodford County in 1807. His home thereafter was “Spring Hill,” one mile from Versailles. After the fashion of gentlemen in England, he kept about one hundred deer in his woodlands, as well as several head of elk, and at one time he owned a few American bison. In the autumn and winter of 1812 he made two trips to Philadelphia as agent of the Bank of Kentucky to transport large amounts of money in gold to Kentucky to finance war measures.
6 v. John Hart was born in Caswell Co., NC February 5, 1772. He married Mary Irvine. Mary is the daughter of Christopher Irvine.
7 vi. Mary Ann Hart was born April 7, 1775. She married Richard Dallam.
8 vii. Cumberland Hart was born July 17, 1776. He married Fannie Hughes.
9 viii. Chinoe Hart was born in Boonesborough, VA (now KY) October 25, 1779. Chinoe died January 21, 1870 in Shelby Co., TN, at 90 years of age. She married John Smith in Lincoln Co., KY, October, 1797. John was born 1765. John was the son of Francis Smith and Ann Preston. John died June 16, 1851 in Memphis, TN, at 85 years of age. At 33 years of age John became the father of Lucretia Hart Smith 1798. At 52 years of age John became the father of Ann Eliza Smith January, 1818.
At 18 years of age Chinoe became the mother of Lucretia Hart Smith 1798. At 38 years of age Chinoe became the mother of Ann Eliza Smith January, 1818.
10 ix. Thomas Richard Green Hart was born in Boonesborough, VA (now KY) June 29, 1782. He married Rebecca Thompson. Rebecca is the daughter of John Thompson.
Second Generation
11. Thomas2 Hart (Thomas3) was born in England circa 1679. Thomas died circa 1755 Hanover Co., VA.
He married Susanna Rice in Virginia, ca 1729. Susanna was born in New Kent Co., VA 1707. Susanna was the daughter of Thomas Rice and Marcy. Susanna died 1785 in Orange Co., NC, at 78 years of age. At 23 years of age Susanna became the mother of Thomas Hart in Hanover County, VA, December 11, 1730. At 25 years of age Susanna became the mother of Benjamin Hart in Hanover Co., NC, October 1732. At 26 years of age Susanna became the mother of Nathaniel Hart in Hanover County, VA, May 8, 1734. Susanna became the mother of David Hart Hanover Co., VA, ca 1736. Susanna became the mother of John Hart Hanover Co., VA, ca 1738. At 33 years of age Susanna became the mother of Ann Hart Hanover Co., VA, 1740.
At 51 years of age Thomas became the father of Thomas Hart in Hanover County, VA, December 11, 1730. At 53 years of age Thomas became the father of Benjamin Hart in Hanover Co., NC, October 1732. At 54 years of age Thomas became the father of Nathaniel Hart in Hanover County, VA, May 8, 1734. Thomas became the father of David Hart Hanover Co., VA, ca 1736. Thomas became the father of John Hart Hanover Co., VA, ca 1738. At 61 years of age Thomas became the father of Ann Hart Hanover Co., VA, 1740.
Thomas Hart and Susanna Rice had the following children:
12 i. Thomas1 Hart was born in Hanover County, VA December 11, 1730. Thomas died June 23, 1808 in Lexington, KY, at 77 years of age. His body was interred in Old Episcopal Cemetery, Lexington, KY. He married Susanna Gray in North Carolina. Susanna was born 1749. Susanna was the daughter of John Gray. Susanna died 1832 in Lexington, KY, at 83 years of age. Her body was interred in Old Episcopal Cemetery, Lexington, KY. At 19 years of age Susanna became the mother of Eliza Hart September 9, 1768. At 23 years of age Susanna became the mother of Thomas Hart 1772. At 31 years of age Susanna became the mother of Lucretia Hart March 18, 1781. Susanna became the mother of Nathaniel Gray Smith Hart in Hagerstown, MD, ca 1784.
At 37 years of age Thomas became the father of Eliza Hart September 9, 1768. At 41 years of age Thomas became the father of Thomas Hart 1772. At 50 years of age Thomas became the father of Lucretia Hart March 18, 1781. Thomas became the father of Nathaniel Gray Smith Hart in Hagerstown, MD, ca 1784. Thomas Hart was engaged in business and had an entrprenurial bent. He was a member of the Transylvania Company and was one of the purchasers of some 20 million acres of Kentucky and Tennessee from the Cherokee Indians in 1775. This purchase was later nullified by the legislatures of Virginia and North Carolina. Thomas moved to Lexington, Kentucky from Hagerstown, MD in 1794. He had moved to Hagerstown from North Carolina during the Revolutionary War for safety. His biography from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography edited by William S. Powell, Univ. of North Carolina Press, 1988 follows: Hart, Thomas (ca. 1730-23 June 1808), merchant, public official, and militia officer, the son of Thomas and Susannah Rice Hart, was born in Hanover County, Va., on a plantation settled in 1690 by his English-born grandfather, also named Thomas. John, Benjamin, David, and Nathaniel were his brothers, and Ann his only sister. The family moved to Orange County, N.C., in 1755 after their father died. By 1779, Thomas had received a total of 2,282 acres of land in grants and erected his home, Hartford, near Hillsborough. In addition to farming, he built a gristmill on the nearby Eno River and conducted other business enterprises at the location that became known as Hart’s Mill. Later he became a partner with Nathaniei Rochester and James Brown in a mercantile establishment in Hillsborough. After establishing himself financially, Hart married Susannah Gray, the daughter of the wealthy and politically prominent Colonel John Gray. In 1775, the colonel died and left his entire estate to his son-in-law, including the large plantation Grayfields. With capital resources thus increased, Hart shrewdly expanded his business and by his industrious management accumulated a considerable fortune according to the Orange County tax books for 1779. In addition to his financial prosperity, Hart was successful politically. Shortly after settling in North Carolina, he became an intimate of James Watson, James Thackston, Thomas Burke, James Hogg, William Johnston, and Richard Henderson, and an acquaintance of Governor William Tryon and Edmund Fanning. This led to his appointment as a vestryman of St. Matthew’s Parish as well as county sheriff for a two-year term and another beginning in 1768. In the latter year he was also made a captain in the Orange County militia and commissary for the troops of Orange and Granville counties. Throughout his tenure of office, the sheriff was in constant controversy with the increasingly active Regulators. In 1765, the Assembly passed a bill introduced by Edmund Fanning to award Hart £1,000 for his losses as sheriff, and the previous legislature had included Hart in a group exempt from the payment of taxes. These acts infuriated the Regulators, who claimed the sheriff had no losses, but was being rewarded at public expense for using his influence in the election of Fanning to office. Hart also displeased the government by his failure to collect the unpopular poll tax, either because he disapproved of the law or did not understand it. In 1765, the Assembly ordered him to make the collection. Whether or not he did, he settled his financial account in the colony satisfactorily, which won for him a tribute from Orange County residents because he was the only sheriff ever to do so. When Governor Tryon decided in 1768 to have Herman Husband arraigned in court for his Regulator activities, Sheriff Hart served the warrant and took the accused into custody. In the same year, and again in 1771, Hart was ordered to raise five hundred troops for the defense of the colony. He was unable to enlist the requested manpower but on both occasions accumulated sufficient provisions to sustain the troops Tryon assembled at Hillsborough. The actions of the royal government increasingly incited the wrath of the Regulators, and the sheriff was one of a group of officials they severely whipped in 1770. In view of such treatment, Hart undoubtedly received considerable satisfaction in serving as quartermaster for Tryon when the governor dispersed the Regulators at the Battle of Alamance. During the relative calm that ensued after the War of the Regulation, Hart was able to concentrate on business enterprises. The role of an entrepreneur appealed to him, and in 1774 he became one of the partners in Richard Henderson’s Louisa Company to buy and develop lands in what became Tennessee and Kentucky. Hart journeyed to the Watauga section of Tennessee as one of the company’s representatives at a meeting arranged by Daniel Boone with the Cherokee Indians. John Sevier and Isaac Shelby, who attended as spectators, saw the Indians accept several loads of “trading goods” in return for their titular rights to a huge area of western land. After this transaction, the company was reorganized as the Transylvania Company with Richard Henderson, Thomas Hart, Nathaniel Hart, William Johnston, James Hogg, John Luttrell, John Williams, David Hart, and Leonard Henly Bullock as shareholders. Trading with the Indians for western lands strictly violated the Royal Proclamation of 1763, but, as many Americans were engaging in land speculation despite the king’s fiat, the Transylvanians ignored it also. The potential profit in the venture was enormous, and the partners lost no time in enlisting settlers to buy or rent land in the territory. Thomas Hart visited the Watauga again in 1775 and his brother, Nathaniel, became a resident agent for the company in the west until he was killed by Indians in 1782. The outcome of the American Revolution relieved the Transylvania Company of any interference in its affairs from the British government but presented a new dilemma because the states of North Carolina and Virginia claimed Tennessee and Kentucky, respectively, as part of their territory. The partners determined to establish their claim to the western land if possible and years of litigation followed. The final decision rendered that the company’s purchase was illegal but a tract was awarded the partners to recompense them for the expenses incurred in the transaction. Hart traded part of his share for land in Kentucky and eventually settled on it. After the War of the Regulation, Hart continued to fill an important role in political affairs, serving as a juror; member of a commission to build a new jail in Hillsborough; member of the colonial Assembly from Orange County in 1773; and then representative in the First, Second, and Third Provincial congresses. When the Revolution began, he was appointed commissary for the Sixth North Carolina Regiment with the rank of colonel. In addition, he was elected a senator in the North Carolina General Assembly for the 1777 session where he became involved in the work of so many committees that he resigned his military commission in order to attend to them. Although Hart, with many others, could not condone the violent tactics of the Regulators, he felt no compunction in becoming an ardent patriot in the American Revolution when independence was formally declared. In doing so, he incurred the hatred of the loyal Tories who unleashed their persecutions when Lord Cornwallis approached Hillsborough with the British Army. Concerned for the safety of his wife and several daughters, Hart removed to Hagerstown, Md., accompanied by Nathaniel Rochester, one of his former business partners. Shortly after his departure the Battle of Hart’s Mill was fought on his property, which the British occupied. Hart and Rochester built a mill and a nail and rope factory, both of which prospered. The colonel gradually disposed of his North Carolina property and never returned to the state. He sold his homeplace, Hartford, to Jesse Benton, husband of his niece, Nancy, and father of Thomas Hart Benton. As the purchaser died before paying for the place, Hart became the mortgagee of the property through a friendly lawsuit and allowed the widow and her family to continue to live there. The mortage was never fully redeemed, which apparently caused no ill will as Hart left the Bentons an additional tract of land when he died. In 1794, Hart moved to Lexington, Ky., where he resided for the remainder of his life. He built up his rope and hemp business into a highly profitable commercial enterprise and engaged in various forms of trade and investment. Due to his affluence, pleasing personality, and shrewd mind, Hart soon became one of the most prominent men in Kentucky. His daughter, Ann (Nancy), married James Brown who had engaged in business with the colonel and Rochester back in Hillsborough, and who later became the U.S. minister to France. Another daughter, Lucretia, born after the Harts left North Carolina, married Henry Clay. A niece married Isaac Shelby, and the other members of the family made marital connections in influential circles. In Maryland, Hart was a communicant of All Saints’ Parish (later renamed St. John’s), of the Protestant Episcopal church. In Kentucky, he joined an Episcopal society which eventually became Christ Church in Lexington. He was buried in the Old Episcopal Graveyard in that city. No portrait of Hart has been found.
SEE: Walter Clark, ed., State Records of North Carolina, vols. 11, 16, 24 (1895, 1899, 1905); Lyman Copeland Draper Letters (Kentucky Historical Society, Frankfort); William S. Lester, The Transylvania Colony (1935); Frank Nash, Hillsboro: Colonial and Revolutionary (1953); Records of Orange County (Offices, Register of Deeds and Clerk of Courts, County Courthouse, Hillsborough); William L. Saunders, ed., Colonial Records of North Carolina, vols. 7, 8 (1890); Durward T. Stokes, “Thomas Hart in North Carolina,” North Carolina Historical Review 41 (1964).
DURWARD T. STOKES
A web site about the Hart family may be found at http://www.airtanker.com/mcnally/hart/index.html.
13 ii. Benjamin Hart was born in Hanover Co., NC October 1732. Benjamin died January 2, 1802 in Brunswick, Glynn Co., GA, at 69 years of age. He married Nancy Ann Morgan in North Carolina, 1760. Nancy was born in Orange Co., NC March 17, 1747. Nancy was the daughter of Thomas Morgan and Rebecca Alexander. Nancy died 1835 in Henderson Co., KY, at 88 years of age.
+ 1 iii. Nathaniel Hart was born May 8, 1734.
14 iv. David Hart was born Hanover Co., VA ca 1736. He married Susanna Nunn in Orange Co., NC, ca 1763. Susanna was born Hanover Co., VA ca 1742.
15 v. John Hart was born Hanover Co., VA ca 1738.
16 vi. Ann Hart was born Hanover Co., VA 1740. She married James Gooch in Orange Co., NC, 1763. James was born Hanover Co., VA ca 1736.
17. Susanna2 Rice (Thomas3, Edward4) was born in New Kent Co., VA 1707. Susanna died 1785 in Orange Co., NC, at 78 years of age.
She married Thomas Hart in Virginia, ca 1729. Thomas was born in England circa 1679. Thomas was the son of Thomas Hart and Mary. Thomas died circa 1755 Hanover Co., VA. At 51 years of age Thomas became the father of Thomas Hart in Hanover County, VA, December 11, 1730. At 53 years of age Thomas became the father of Benjamin Hart in Hanover Co., NC, October 1732. At 54 years of age Thomas became the father of Nathaniel Hart in Hanover County, VA, May 8, 1734. Thomas became the father of David Hart Hanover Co., VA, ca 1736. Thomas became the father of John Hart Hanover Co., VA, ca 1738. At 61 years of age Thomas became the father of Ann Hart Hanover Co., VA, 1740. (See Thomas Hart for the children resulting from this marriage.)
At 23 years of age Susanna became the mother of Thomas Hart in Hanover County, VA, December 11, 1730. At 25 years of age Susanna became the mother of Benjamin Hart in Hanover Co., NC, October 1732. At 26 years of age Susanna became the mother of Nathaniel Hart in Hanover County, VA, May 8, 1734. Susanna became the mother of David Hart Hanover Co., VA, ca 1736. Susanna became the mother of John Hart Hanover Co., VA, ca 1738. At 33 years of age Susanna became the mother of Ann Hart Hanover Co., VA, 1740.
Third Generation
18. Thomas3 Hart was born in England. Thomas died Hanover Co., VA.
He married Mary in England, ca 1675. Mary was born England. Mary became the mother of Thomas Hart in England, circa 1679.
Thomas became the father of Thomas Hart in England, circa 1679. Thomas Hart immigrated to Hanover Co., Virginia from England about 1690 bringing with him his 11 year old son, Thomas.
Thomas Hart and Mary had the following child:
+ 11 i. Thomas2 Hart was born circa 1679.
She married Thomas Hart in England, ca 1675. Thomas was born in England. Thomas died Hanover Co., VA. Thomas became the father of Thomas Hart in England, circa 1679. (See Thomas Hart for the children resulting from this marriage.)
Mary became the mother of Thomas Hart in England, circa 1679.
20. Thomas3 Rice (Edward4) was born in Shirementon, Bristol, England 1656. Thomas died ca 1711 in at sea.
He married Marcy in New Kent Co., VA, 1679. Marcy was born in New Kent Co., VA 1664. Marcy died after 1722 Hanover Co., VA. At 16 years of age Marcy became the mother of David Rice in New Kent Co., VA, 1680. At 18 years of age Marcy became the mother of William Rice in New Kent Co., VA, 1682. At 20 years of age Marcy became the mother of Michael Rice in New Kent Co., VA, 1684. At 21 years of age Marcy became the mother of James Rice in New Kent Co., VA, April 4, 1686. At 23 years of age Marcy became the mother of Thomas Rice in New Kent Co., VA, June 24, 1688. At 25 years of age Marcy became the mother of Edward Rice in New Kent Co., VA, April 17, 1690. At 30 years of age Marcy became the mother of Mary Rice in New Kent Co., VA, 1694. At 34 years of age Marcy became the mother of John Rice in New Kent Co., VA, September 18, 1698. At 35 years of age Marcy became the mother of Francis Rice in New Kent Co., VA, 1699. At 38 years of age Marcy became the mother of Henry Rice in New Kent Co., VA, 1702. At 43 years of age Marcy became the mother of Susanna Rice in New Kent Co., VA, 1707. At 45 years of age Marcy became the mother of Elizabeth Rice in New Kent Co., VA, 1709.
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Polly Lane is related to Shakespeare.