| SPOUSE | CHILDREN | |||
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Rachel Stockley m. 1744? ?Pittsylvania VA b. 1715 Accomack Co. VA d. 1794 Lafayette Parish LA |
Catherine "Kate" b. 1750 Pittsylvania VA d. 1835 Jackson, Madison Co. TN |
Alexander "Sandy" b. 1751? VA d. 1834 |
Mary E. "Mattie" b. 1751? Pittsylvania Co. VA d. Sep 1823 Claiborne Co. MS |
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Stockley b. 1752? Pittsylvania Co. VA d. Sep 1805 Davidson Co. TN |
John Patrick III (Capt.) b. Apr 7, 1755 Accomack Parish VA d. Apr 21, 1830 Nashville, Davidson Co. TN |
Jane b. 1766? Pittsylvania Co. VA d. 1834 |
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Rachel Stockley b. Jun 15, 1767 Halifax VA d. Dec 22, 1828 Nashville, Davidson Co. TN |
Samuel b. 1770 Pittsylvania Co. VA d. Mar 5, 1804 Davidson Co. TN |
Severn b. Aug 1773 VA d. Sep 15, 1818 Nashville, Davidson Co. TN |
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Leven b. 1777 VA d. 1833? |
William b. Sep 9, 1780 Washington Co. NC d. Jul 25, 1821 |
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A John White signed the 1777 petition of men
living on the north Holston River complaining about the division of Fincastle Co.
VA. They felt the county line was not equitable and the court house was too far
away. Also signing were members of the Renfroe, Bledsoe, Drake, Mansker, Freeland,
Terrell and Robertson families, as well as a Solomon White and "John Holladay".
These names all match those that eventually moved to the Cumberland Settlement
in 1780, where the families of
John White and brother
James White lived for about 2 years. |
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A settler named Farris wrote: "…in 1779 Colonel John Donelson informed the
citizens of Halifax County, Virginia, that the government had offered a bounty
of land near the French Lick on Cumberland River to any male 21 years of age and
upwards who would become a citizen, build a cabin, raise corn, and be willing to
encounter danger and privations" [Clarksville (TN) online, website]. |
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On Jul 4, 1772 daughter Catherine married Thomas Hutchings Sr. (1745-1804) in
Guilford Co. NC. She died at sons William's home in Jackson, Madison Co. TN
in 1835 and buried after being moved to Nashville TN to be buried with her husband. |
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On Oct 25, 1775 daughter Mary married Capt. John Caffrey (or Caffery) II
(1746-1811) in Amherst Co. VA and after 1800 they moved to Natchez MS where
John was a merchant employed by Andrew Jackson. |
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Daughter Jane married Robert Hays. She outlived all but one of the Donelson
children. |
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Son John III married Mary Purnell just before the Expedition in late 1780, during
which Mary at age 16 was pregnant. They were living in the Cole's Creek area
of Natchez District in the 1790s. |
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Son William married Charity Dickerson and became a surveyor. |
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Washington Co., previously Washington District, was formed by North Carolina in
1777 and extended west to the Mississippi River, mostly containing land inhabited
by five different tribes of Native Americans, but mostly Cherokee. In 1779, the
Cumberland Settlement was created by the granting of land by the NC government.
In 1783 this settlement was mostly contained in the newly formed Davidson Co. and
surrounded by Indian Lands, and Virginia and Kentucky to the North.
Map of
the Cumberland Settlements showing Forts, known as Stations, in present-day counties. |
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Photo of a
Map showing the route of the Donelson Expedition on display at the Tennessee
State Museum. On Dec 22, 1779, the expedition left Fort Patrick Henry on Long
Island of the Holston River, but some boats likely joined the
flotilla in Mar 1780 after it passed Knoxville, and then left it at the Red River
near Clarksville on Apr 12. The Donelson flotilla reached Eaton's Station on the
north side of the Cumberland River on Apr 21, 1780, and its final destination
(Nashborough) on Apr 24 [Donelson's Journal, pp. 98-107]. |
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Of the 300 persons in the Donelson flotilla, John Donelson's flatboat carried
about 15 white persons and 30 slaves. It had a roof covering part of the boat. |
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A John White family was on a list of families
recorded by Col. John Donelson as being with his flotilla expedition to the
Cumberland Settlement in Washington Co. NC (now middle TN) which lasted several
months into the spring of 1780 and endured a brutal winter, Indian attacks,
hunger and smallpox. On Apr 12, the Whites were among at least 16 families, about
80 persons, to leave the expedition and settle 9 miles up from the Cumberland
River along the Red River, settling at Fort Union, which became known as Renfroe's
Station. The Donelson flotilla reached Eaton's Station on the north side of the
Cumberland River on Apr 21, 1780, and its final destination (Nashborough) on
Apr 24 [Donelson's Journal, pp. 98-107]. |
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The family of co-founder James Robertson
was on the List of Flotilla Captains
from the journal kept by John Donelson during the voyage [Donelson's Journal,
1779-1780]. |
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Several months into the flotilla expedition, Donelson described the hardship and
the expected loss of some of the boats along the way in his
Journal entries for March 1780
[Donelson's Journal, 1779-1780]. Two of his daughters, Catherine Hutchings and
Mattie Caffery were part of the flotilla with their husbands. |
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By May 1780, John Donelson was with his family in the new Cumberland Settlement in
Washington Co. in western NC territory (now TN). John, along with about 250 others,
signed the Cumberland Compact created May 1, 1780. It was finalized on May 13 and
established a provisional government for the isolated area; provided for the
election of twelve representatives from the eight stations or forts; provided for
a Sheriff, a Clerk, a Militia that required service by all men over age 16,
and for the adjudication of causes, the administration of estates, and the awarding
of executions. On the first
page of signatures of the original Compact, "Jno.
Donelson, C." is the fourth signature. The eighth is his son "John Donelson Jr."
Also signing were co-founder
"Js. Robertson",
John "Holloday",
Frederick Stump, his son Jacob Stump, and
Philip Alston. |
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Statue
of Donelson and co-founder of the Cumberland Settlement,
James Robertson,
with the
Compact signers listed below. "Jno. Donelson C." is
the fifth name listed in the first column. |
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Portrait of John Donelson
[Jones and Archibald, website]. |
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In May 1782, John White and his family arrived
at Natchez in a party of 8 individuals under the entry "Juan White, wife and
children". A total of
13 families were
recorded by Spanish authorities on Jul 6, as arriving, including families of
James White, and of
William Dewitt and his
second wife Catherine White, the daughter of brother
William White. |
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Son Severn married Elizabeth Rucker (1782-1828). Two of their sons served with
Andrew Jackson in different Indian Wars. Sons Alexander and Leven did not marry
and had no children [Rucker family bible has written that Severn "born Aug 1773"
and "died Oct 1818"]. |
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Daughter Rachel married Andrew Jackson on Jan 17, 1794 in Natchez, West Florida,
before he became U.S. President, but died before he was inaugurated in 1829. |
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Miniature
portrait of Rachel Donelson Jackson printed on a postcard. The portrait
was done in Washington DC in 1814 by Anna Claypoole Peale, who was married to
Gen. William Duncan, son of Seth Duncan Sr.. |
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On Jun 20, 1796 son Samuel married Mary "Polly" Smith (1781-1857) in Davidson Co.
TN. Two of their sons served with Andrew Jackson in different Indian Wars.
They had three sons before Samuel died of pneumonia in 1804. She then
married James Sanders in 1806 and had nine more children. |
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On Apr 17, 1797, son Stockley married Mrs. Elizabeth Glasgow Martin (1772-1847)
in Raleigh NC. |
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SOURCES: Cumberland Compact, original document signed May 13, 1780, Washington County NC, website. Clayton, Prof. W.W., History of Davidson County Tennessee, reprod. 1971 by Charles Elder, Nashville TN. Donelson's Journal, 1779-1780, Transcription from the Tennessee Virtual Archive website, pp. 98-107. Drake, Doug, Jack Masters and Bill Puryear, Founding of the Cumberland Settlements, The First Atlas, 1779-1804, Warioto Press, 2009, pp. 23, map E7. Alexander Gregg, History of the Old Cheraws, repr. of 1925 ed., Balto. Geneal. Publ., 1967, p.90. Imbert, J. Leopold, map maker, Carte des Possessions Angloises... 1777, reprinted by the Museum of the American Revolution from map image at the Norman B. Leventhal Map Center, Boston Public Library. Jones, Kriston & Aidan Archibald, "Wataugans and Cumberland Settlements", website. Tuller, Roberta, "1777 Petition of Holston Men", in An American Family History, website, Amazon Services, 2020. U. S. Census, Attakapas (Now St. Martin) Parish LA, 1810, S-K Publ., 2003, pp. 57, 65. Virginia Land Patents, Book 8, p. 16. White, Gifford, "James White and John White", Wm Wiseman & the Davenports, Pioneers Of Old Burke County, North Carolina, v.2, by M.L.Vineyard & E.M.Wiseman, Franklin NC, 1997, pp. 86-96, 107-112. White, Gifford, James Taylor White of Virginia and some of his descendants into Texas, Austin, TX, April 1982. Whitley, Edythe Rucker, comp., Pioneers of Davidson Co., Tennessee, Clearfield Publ., 2009. |
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