Anderson County Revolutionary War Soldiers (many Roane Connections)

(linked from the archived Roots of Roane Web site)

Source: compiled by Snyder E. Roberts

Name	Notes
Kinza Johnson
Richard Luallen (also Lewallen, Llewellyn)	200 acres on Cane Creek. Born 1763 in Prince Edward County, Virginia where he served in the militia. Rev. War Pension File National Archives, Washington, D C. He died 1833.
Joseph McPeters	born 1757 in North Carolina. After leaving Anderson County, he resided in Morgan County where he drew a pension for his service in the North Carolina Militia. Rev. War Pension file; Zella Armstrong, Twenty-four Hundred Pensioners (Chattanooga 1937)
Augustin Hackworth	50 acres on Clinch River (Edgemoor Road, eastward from Solway Bridge). Rev War soldier from Bedford County, Virginia. (Reuben Goald Thwaites and Louise Phelps Kellogg, eds., Documentary History of Dunsmore’s War, 1774. Madison 1905, page 409) A Nicholas Hackworth, also, appears on the Anderson 1802 Tax List. Hackworths are buried in small graveyard north of Edgemoor Rd. (Likely burial site of Augustin Hackworth, if he is buried in Anderson County) Dutch Valley Anderson County, Scarbrough and Beaver Ridge in Knox County. There is a possibility that Augustin Hackworth removed to Meigs, or Rhea County.
Thomas Parsons	(1749 – 1825). He drew pension for service in the Virginia line. (Armstrong, Tennessee Pensioners, p. 87)
Alden Byrum	An early settler of Knox County. The name is perpetuated in Byrum‘s Fork of Hind’s Creek. (Allen, Tennessee Soldiers, 16; JGM Ramsey, The Annals of Tennessee to the End of the Eighteenth Century, 341.
Elias Hoskins	served in the North Carolina militia. (Allen, Tennessee Soldiers, p. 23)
Henry Ridenour	Ridenour, Land of the Lake; 46. Born in the 1750’s in the Yadkin River country of North Carolina. He died after 1850. He married (1st) Susanne Webb -11/11/1788; (2nd) Nancy Cox, a Cherokee Indian; (3rd) —- Williams. Henry Ridenour served in the Virginia line from Montgomery County. He was a flatboat man and helped transport goods down the Ohio from present-day Pittsburgh to French settlements in present-day Illinois and Indiana. In 1788, he was captured by the Northern Indians near Maysville, Ky., and taken to Detroit. Arthur Campbell secured his release from the Indians. Upon his return, he took a fine horse from Col. Campbell to Squire Boone‘s Station near Louisville. Later, he was a visitor along the Powell and Clinch Rivers. He visited many times at George Yoakum‘s Station in Powell Valley, and at Sharp‘s Station south of the Clinch River in Big Valley. Near the close of the century, he went to England and Holland. On his return from Europe, he came to Knoxville. Shortly after 1800 he built a log structure near the juncture of Powell and Clinch Rivers to be used as a church and a school for his large family. The church, known as Mt. Moriah before it was taken by TVA in 1935. Children: David, Joseph, Martin, William (Cherokee mother), Daniel, Keziah (married a Brummett who was murdered by the notorious Harp brothers), and Mary.
Martin Ridenour	Brother of Henry, Ibid.
John McAdoo
John Gess (Gist, Guess, Guist)	(Allen, Tennessee Soldiers, 20)
James Grant	300 acres. From Connecticut where he served under Return J Meigs, and a reputed friend of George Washington; first chairman of the County Court; founder of the town of Grantsboro (1798) at the junction of Powell and Clinch Rivers (now inundated); died January 31, 1824, aged 71. (Ridenour, Land of the Lake)
William Brummett
Thomas Brummett
John Kitchen	drew a pension for his services in the Virginia Militia. (Armstrong, Tennessee Pensioners, 66; Moore’s, Commissions, 13)
David Hall	Born in Pittsylvania (later Henry) County, Va.; removed to Wilkes County, North Carolina, where he served in the militia, and from there moved to Greenville County, South Carolina; progenitor of the Hall family of Anderson County. Rev War Pension File. Buried near Bull Run Steam Plant; grave has a D A R marker. David Hall had a twin brother, Samuel Hall, also a Revolutionary War soldier, who is reputed to have been the first settler in Morgan County where is settled in 1807. Samuel Hall died October 23, 1819, and was buried in Morgan County. Following Samuel‘s death, several affidavits were made in an attempt to secure a pension for his widow, Letitia Hendrix Hall. The affidavits provide interesting information. One was by David Hall who states that he and his twin brother served under the same identical officers, and that he was then (Oct 1839) receiving a pension for his service while residing in Anderson County. Letitia‘s affidavit dated January 16, 1840 (aged 81) claimed that she was married about 1785, and that she had heard Samuel speak of “being in a battle at one place where he could have walked on the slain some distance—“. An affidavit dated 1853, identifies most if not all of their children as: David, Elijah, Elisha, Luke, and Garrett. Samuel also had a brother, Martin Hall, who lived nearby in Morgan County.
Laton Smith	200 acres in Raccoon Valley; born in Maryland; served in militia while living in Washington County, Va.; removed from Anderson to Bledsoe County, Tennessee where he died in 1840. (Rev War Pension File)
Obidah Wood	100 acres on Clinch River. He drew a pension for his services in the North Carolina line. (Armstrong, Tennessee Pensioners, 119)
William Roberts	Born 1762 in Johnson County, North Carolina. He lived in Wilkes County after the War then moved to Washington County, to Grainger County, to Knox, Anderson, Hamilton, then to Green County, Missouri, where he died. (Pension number 25130)
Reuben Roberts	Was born 1/4/1744 in Birmingham, England. He married Milly (Ashor) Roberts August 1785 in North Carolina. He and Milly moved to Anderson County approximately 1804. He bought a farm on Brushy Fork of Poplar Creek near William Tunnell. His son, James Roberts, married 1815 Betsy, the daughter of William Tunnell. James Roberts was a soldier in the War of 1812. Reuben Roberts was a Revolutionary War soldier. He enlisted at Hillsboro, NC, in 1775. He participated in the battles of Brandywine, White Horse, Germantown, Kings Mountain, and Guilford Courthouse. He and Milly had sons: James, William, Thomas, and possibly others. Reuben and sons had sold their Anderson County holdings by the early 1830’s, and moved to Warren County. Reuben Roberts died 12/24/1844 near Pine Bluff, Tennessee, after celebrating the centennial of his birth. He has many descendants in Warren and surrounding counties. (Zella Armstrong, Notable Southern Families)
John Wallace	was a soldier in McCallister‘s Virginia militia. He was born 1748 in Scotland, and died 1837, or 38 in Stilesville, Indiana. He married March 1, 1789 Jennie, or Jane Miller who was killed by lightning in Anderson Co, Tn in 1820. John Wallace lived in the Andersonville area (Wallace Cross Roads), and has many descendants in Anderson County. Mrs. Virgil Keith of Clinton descends from this line. Children of John and Jane Wallace: John, Jr., David, Samuel, Joseph, James, Enoch, Brice, Peggy, Nancy, Elizabeth, and Jennie.
Page Portwood	was one of the approximately 175 men recruited and specially trained by George Rogers Clark for his expeditions against the old French towns of Vincennes and Kaskaskia in 1778-9. (Pension files) Mrs. Nellie Portwood Cooper, local author, who lives in South Clinton, provides additional information on the Portwood family. Page Portwood, Jr., was the son of Page and Ann Portwood of Fincastle, Virginia. Their children included: Page, Jr., Lewis, Lloyd, Ann, Thomas, and Samuel. This family removed to Boonesborough, Kentucky. Page, Jr., was born 1758 in Virginia and died 1847 in Anderson County, Tennessee. Page, Jr., was recruited at Boonesborough by George Rogers Clark, and after special training was made a sergeant. After serving through Clark’s expedition, he served as a Lieutenant in the 7th Va. Reg in 1792. He was granted a pension in 1832. He came to Anderson County prior to 1802 because he is listed on the 1802 tax list. He married Sarah Frost who is thought to be the daughter of Micajah Frost. He bought land near Samuel Frost. His old farm is the present site of the major portion of South Clinton. After his death in 1847, family tradition has it that Page, Jr. was buried in Peoples Cemetery on present-day Edgemoor Road near Claxton School, but it is possible that he was buried on, or near, his old homesite among the other unmarked graves. Page and Sarah‘s children included: Micajah, 1786; Phebe, 1793; Rachel, 1802; Nancy, 1797; and Richard, 1817. Mrs. Cooper draws from family traditions, and from the book Notes of Page and Ann Portwood, by Lewis Durmeyer, Wilmington, Del., 1949.
Andrew Braden (Breden)	was born February 14, 1760. His father, Alexander Braden, of Guilford County, North Carolina, was a Captain in the Colonial Army and was wounded at Ticonderoga. Andrew Braden applied for a pension while living in Anderson County, August 5, 1839. He states in his application that he had enlisted at Guilford, NC, in July or August of 1779, and served a total of 11 months in various tours during the next 2 years. He was a private under Captain Edward Quinn and fought in the Battle of Ramsour’s Mill. After having lived in Guilford County, NC, Augusta, Pittsylvania, Franklin, and Montgomery counties, Virginia, he moved to Anderson County, Tennessee, shortly after 1800. In 1809, he had a survey made on 142 acres on the Brushy Fork of Poplar Creek. He was a blacksmith by trade, and his son, Isaac, is reputed to have operated one of the first iron forges in Tennessee at the juncture of the Mountain Fork and Brushy Fork of Poplar Creek. Andrew Braden married Dorothy McNealy February 7, 1793, in Montgomery County, Virginia. Their children included: Isaac, Jane, James, Peggy, John, and William. William settled in Laurel Grove, and his son Hiram bought the lands later to be know as “Braden‘s Flats” where the Braden family home-comings are held. Andrew Braden died November, 1842, and is said to be buried near a large cedar tree on the side of Black Oak Ridge a short distance from Shinliver School. His widow, Dorothy, was allowed a pension under the Act of March 3, 1843. Mrs. Beulah Braden, a well-known genealogist of Oak Ridge, has done much work on the Braden family line.
Francis Hunter
Micajah Frost	in his pension application said that he was born in Bedford County, 3 miles from Lynchburg, Virginia, in 1762. When he enlisted for service in the Revolutionary War, he was living in Washington County, Virginia, and lived there during his service and until the year 1795, when he moved to Anderson County, Tennessee. Micajah Frost was the son of Thomas Frost who was one of the first permanent settlers in Anderson County. His uncle, the Reverend John Frost was one of the organizers of the Baptist Holston Association in 1786, and his brother, Rev. Joshua Frost was the guiding hand for the first Baptist churches in Anderson County and helped to establish the Clinton Baptist Association in 1855. Micajah was also active in the Baptist Church. Micajah Frost married Nancy Robbins September 18, 1786, in Washington County, Virginia. They came to Anderson County in 1795 with his father, Thomas Frost, and several brothers and sisters. He and his brother Elijah Frost bought 1,000 acres of land from Stockely Donelson in 1795 in a valley north of Walden‘s Ridge which was later named “Frost Bottom”. However, Indian title to land in that area had not been extinguished in 1795, and Micajah is shown in the Anderson 1802 tax list as owning 225 acres in Raccoon Valley near his father, brothers, and uncle, Rev. John Frost. Micajah Frost moved to Rockcastle County, Kentucky, in 1828. In 1840, he was listed as a Rev War pensioner in Lincoln County, Kentucky, at the age of 79 years. He probably died there. The names of his children are uncertain, but his daughter Mary was the first wife of Moses Duncan and bore him 7 children. Moses Duncan continued to populate Frost Bottom with 7 children each by his 2nd and 3rd wives. [21 children in all!] (Burns, Record of Abstracts and Pension Papers, p 16, sec. 34-KY).
Alexander Wiley	a North Carolina soldier, was born 1753 on the high seas. His father, Thomas Wiley of Edinburgh, Scotland, came to America and fought in the Revolutionary War in the Wilmington, North Carolina, district. Alexander Wiley married, October 20, 1779, Martha Noel born —, died 8/9/1839. Their children were: Thomas, 1780; Elenor, 1782; John, 1784; Solomon, 1785; James, 1787; Alexander, Jr., 1789; Elizabeth, 1792; Nancy, 1793; Jane, 1794; Martha, 1796; and Henry H., 1799. The last named son, Henry Howard Wiley, was a surveyor, business man, and Roane County official. He operated the first coal mine at present-day Oliver Springs on a commercial scale. This was done in 1846-48 by hauling coal from the mines 4 miles to Poplar Creek where the coal was sent by barge to Chattanooga, Huntsville, etc. Henry H. Wiley became wealthy. He and his sons were instrumental in founding the present-day Land Companies that have extensive coal lands north of Oliver Springs and Lake City. The Wileys have intermarried with many prominent families including the McAdoos of Tennessee and Georgia, Estabrooks of Knoxville, and the Richards of Oliver Springs. Alexander Wiley died July 24, 1833. He is listed as a Revolutionary War pensioner while living in Anderson County.
John I Harrell (Herrell)
James Trowell	S-1776, NC. Warrant-6310, Bounty Land Wt #27688-160-55. (Tennessee State Library and Archives. Pvt., NC line, pen., 3/4/1831, age 73)
Peter Johnson	NJ, S 38886,BL WT 2042-100, BL WT 52-60-55. (Tennessee State Library and Archives. This is probably the same Peter Johnson shown in the Roane County 1850 census born in New Jersey in 1766)

The following names of Revolutionary War soldiers are given by Clifford Seeber in his History of Anderson County, p. 59. Footnote #47 gives the source of the list of names as Pension Roll of Revolutionary Soldiers 1818 – 33. (in Historical collection of Miss Kate White), also County Court records Anderson County April 30, 1919:

Name	Notes
William Henderson	pvt., 29th reg US Inf., pen. 1828
Bernard Slaughter	pvt., 1st reg. US rifles, pen. 1827
James Blackburn	pvt., Pulaski’s Corps, pen. 1818, age 74
John Lisles	pvt., SC. Cont. line, pen. 1818, age 88, died. 1824
John McIntire	pvt., Va. Cont. line, pen. 1818, age 71, died 1822
Richard Whelan	pvt., Md. Cont. line., pen. 1818, age 79
John Gasperson	pvt., NC Line, pen. 1831, age 91
Joseph Lannam	pvt., a. line, pen 1831, age 78
Abraham Mosier	pvt., NC militia, pen. 1831, age 78
John H. Chapman	pvt., Va. line, pen 1831, age 68
Isaac Armstrong	pvt., Va. line, pen 1831, age 32
Henry Goodman	pvt. & ser., SC line, pen 1831, age 75, died 1833
Joseph Hancock	pvt., NC line, pen 1831, age 74
Richard Hancock
Ancil Manley	pvt., Va. line, pen 1831, age 71
William White	pvt., NC line, pen 1831, age 82
William Patterson
Julius Rutherford	pvt., Va. Cont line, pen 1818, age 75, died 1831
Joseph England	pvt., NC line, pen 1831, age 71
William Graham	pvt. Va line, pen 1831, age 85
Jeter Johnson	pvt. Va line, pen 1818, age 76
Rice Lewis (Levi)	pvt. Va line, pen 1831, age 70
Henry Nunnally	pvt. Va. line, pen. 1831, age 72
John J. Williams	Artificier, NC line, pen 1831, age 75
Edmond Wiette	pvt. Va. line, pen 1831, age 75
Aaron Smith

NOTE: Information in addition to names from US Congressional Series Set #251 – Tenn State Library.

Name	Notes
Benjamin Thacker	was born 1760. He was a Revolutionary soldier from Virginia. He drew an allowance of $40.00 while living on Riley‘s Creek in Roane County. He owned 4 tracts of land near Oliver Springs in Anderson County which he sold to Mose Winters. There is no positive proof that he actually lived in Anderson County.
Ananias McCoy	was listed by Kate White in an article published 1934 in DAR Magazine as a Revolutionary soldier. He lived in Roane County and probably lived in Anderson County as he held a grant of land in the Chiles, or Freels, Bend of Clinch River (now Carbide Park)
Joseph Frost	born 1753 in Amhurst County, Virginia, and died in Coles County, Illinois, in 1840. He married Anna Brooks in Washington County, Virginia. Evidence indicates that he lived briefly in Anderson County before removing to Coles County about 1834. (Index of Revolutionary War Pensioners. War-23066)
William Cross	was a drummer and private in the North Carolina line. He drew a pension of $43.00 which was started on March 4, 1831. He was born 1758 probably in Virginia. His son Brittain Cross was born in Virginia in 1776. He and his son Brittain were pioneer settlers in Sullivan County. It was while living there that he enlisted in the North Carolina line. He and his son Brittain removed to Anderson County shortly after 1800. William Cross has a large line of descendants who have played an important role in the history of Anderson County. Brittain‘s sons Alfred and William married sisters, daughters of Joseph Black. Alfred Cross was a prosperous farmer, sheriff of Anderson County, and an officer in the Civil War. William Cross was, also, a prominent farmer, a sheriff of Anderson County, a member of the Tennessee General Assembly, and a Civil War officer. William Cross died in the 1840’s, and is probably buried in, or near, the Cross graveyard located between old and new highways near their junctions outside Elza Gate in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. His grave is not marked with a lettered stone.
Philip Thurman	was born November 15, 1757, in Anson County, North Carolina, near the Big Pee Dee River. He enlisted for service in the Revolutionary War in 1775 and fought with troops from Cheraw district, South Carolina, under Capt. Daniel Sunday, Capt. Benjamin Odum, and Col. George Hicks. He states in his pension application that he removed from his home in Cheraw to the Edisto River in 1780, and while residing there enlisted and was at the siege of Augusta. After being discharged in the fall of 1781, he returned to his old home in Cheraw district where he re-enlisted and served until discharged November 15, 1782. He married July 10, 1783, Kesiah —- in Anson County, NC. In 1801, Philip Thurman with his family migrated to Smith County, Tennessee, where he remained a year, or two. He then removed to Anderson County, and then 1806 removed into the new territory acquired from the Cherokees, which in 1807 was formed into Bledsoe County. He remained there until his death September 2, 1840. Kesiah died May or June 1845. They were the parents of eleven children, eight of whom were born in South Carolina, two in Anderson County, and one in Bledsoe County. Their children were: Eli, 1784-1842; James, 1786-1818; Laster and Phoebe (twins), 1788; Sarah, 1790-1862; Mary, 1792-1849; Ephraim, 1797-1862; Stephen, 1799-; Elijah and Susannah (twins) were born in Anderson County, Feb 17, 1805. (Elijah died Hamilton County, 1873. Elijah married Minerva Rice, and Susannah married Rev. John Bradfield). John, born in Bledsoe County in 1808. Several members of this family have joined the DAR through this line.
Thomas Butler	made an affidavit for a Revolutionary War pension application in Anderson County, Tennessee dated April 4, 1834. He stated that he was born November 11, 1763, in Frederick County, Maryland, and that his parents moved when he was very young to Bedford County, Virginia, in that portion that was cut off later to form Campbell County. He enlisted and served under officers, Capt. John Calloway, 1st Lt. William Calloway, and 2nd Lt. Bowen Price as a private horseman during the fall of 1780. They rendezvoused at New London and marched to Petersburg where the company joined with the brigade of General Lawson and marched for Portsmouth to find that the British and departed. He returned home under Capt. Calloway and was verbally discharged after this tour which was in excess of three months. The applicant again volunteered as a private militia footman and marched with the army by old Jamestown to Williamsburg to the siege of York(town). At the siege of York(town) the applicant was under the command of Col. Skipper the night that the British spiked four of our cannons. He was standing near a man by the name of Vaughn when said Vaughn‘s head was shot off. He did much labor in throwing up batteries during the siege, and when the British magazine was blown up he saw the bodies of several British soldiers blown up at the time of the explosion. After the surrender of Gen. Cornwallis, he was unable to serve as a guard of the prisoners, and was given a written discharge by Dr. Cogswell, which certificate has long since been lost. Thomas Butler moved to Anderson County (then Knox County) and bought 1,000 acres of land from Stockley Donelson (Knox Deed Book F, Vol.2, p. 8) on Big Poplar Creek between present-day Oliver Springs and Oak Ridge. Genealogist Penelope Johnson Allen states that Thomas Butler came to present-day Anderson County in 1790. This date is questionable, since his deed was registered in Knox County, which wasn’t formed until 1792, and Donelson sold the remainder of his 5,000-acre grant to Charles McClung in 1796. Therefore, a more likely date for his arrival would be 1795 or 96. Thomas Butler sold parts of this original tract to his father, William Butler, Sr., a Revolutionary War soldier, and parts to his brothers, William, Jr., Henry, Jacob, and sisters Elizabeth Manley and Mary Rector. Thomas Butler continued to obtain more land by entry and by purchase including various mill sites and coal and other mineral lands in Morgan County. He entered land including a “coal bank” as early as 1808 on Indian Creek. Thomas Butler erected a grist mill and iron furnace, or forge as it was called in those days, at the juncture of the Mountain Fork and Brushy Fork of Poplar Creek, some 200 yards east of present-day highway #61 between Oliver Springs and Oak Ridge. In this forge he used the native ore and charcoal fuel. He actively operated both the forge and the mill. Thomas Butler died approximately 1835. He was probably buried near the present-day Butler graveyard. His estate was administered by Richard Oliver.
William Butler, Sr.	made an affidavit in Anderson County, Tennessee in April 1834 as a part of the requirements for a Revolutionary War pension application. In the affidavit he swore that he was 96 years of age, and that he volunteered for service under Captain Samuel McCampbell the last of May, 1780, and returned home September, 1780. He served this 4-months tour against the Indians in the western part of Virginia at McDonald‘s Fort on Greenbriar River where his company of 66 men had a small battle with the Indians. He received a discharge from his Captain, but said discharge was lost. William Butler, Sr., again entered service in Feb of 1781 as a volunteer under Capt. Thomas Helems and marched into North Carolina and took part in the battle at Guilford, March 15, 1781 in which battle his Captain was killed. Pvt. Butler returned home in May, 1781. William Butler, Sr., said that he resided in Bedford County (later Campbell County), Virginia at the time he enlisted. William Butler, Sr., married Ann Duckett probably in Maryland. He probably came to Anderson County shortly after 1800 and bought land from his son Thomas. His will is on record in Anderson County Will Book 1830 – 1840, p. 141, in which he names his sons Thomas, Henry, and William, Jr., and daughters Elizabeth Manley and Mary Rector. His son Jacob was not mentioned in the will, but several grandchildren are named. The will was recorded January 16, 1836, and was witnessed by James Crace and Jane B. Rector. William Butler‘s descendants are numerous in Anderson, Roane, and Morgan counties. He is probably buried near Butler‘s graveyard in Oliver Springs in an unmarked grave.
Douglas Oliver, Sr.
Jesse Hoskins, Sr.	is listed by the DAR Register General as a Revolutionary soldier from Washington County, Tennessee. Jesse Hoskins, Sr., was born about 1741 and died 1816 in Anderson County, Tennessee. He and his wife, Mary, are mentioned in the 1785-87 minutes of Bent Creek Church. They came to Anderson County shortly after 1800, and settled near present-day Pleasant Hill Baptist Church in Dutch Valley. They had 3 sons: Jesse, Jr. – 1792; George – 1784; John – 1780; and seven daughters, including: Nancy – 1774; Molly; Elizabeth; Sarah; Polly The Hoskins family has many documents of records on file in Clinton. The Jesse Hoskins, Sr., descendants are numerous and have played a prominent part in the history of Anderson County. Jesse, Sr., is no doubt buried in the family graveyard on the ancestral farm in Dutch Valley which is now owned by R. C. Hoskins of Clinton, Tennessee.