| SPOUSE | CHILDREN | ||
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Sarah Miles m. 1750? b. d. |
James b. 1750/52 Bear Creek, Anson Co. NC d. by Oct 18, 1792 ?Natchez Dist. |
David b. Oct 9, 1753 Bear Creek, Anson Co. NC d. Dec 4, 1835 Hinds Co. MS |
Sarah b. 1755? Cumberland Co. NC d. |
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John (Jr.) b. 1757? Cumberland Co. NC d. 1793 Johnston Co. NC |
William b. 1759 Cumberland Co. NC d. after Mar 9, 1804 ?Claiborne Co. Miss. Terr. |
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Mary ?Foster m. by Nov 26, 1781 b. d. ?after Dec 10, 1800 ?Claiborne Co. Miss. Terr. |
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John Smith came to Virginia about 1746. |
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On May 6, 1777, John Smith, "one of the leaders in a 1781 attempt to overthrow
the Spanish" in Natchez, was granted land on a branch of "Boyd's Creek" when it was
in the Province of West Florida [McBee, p. 600]. |
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| Boyd's Creek became known as Cole's Creek. This part of the Natchez District was in Jefferson Co. after it was formed in 1802 (see present day map). | |||
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1777 Map
of the Colonies, by J. Leopold Imbert showing the Carolinas and neighboring
territory of "Louisiane" and the rivers and settlements there at the time of the
Revolution. Map was reproduced and printed by the Museum of the American Revolution
from a map image at the Norman B. Leventhal Map Center, Boston Public Library. |
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On Feb 2, 1779 a "John Holoway" and a "James Sott" applied for a grant (#1476) of
640 acres upon "Long Glady Creek, including improvements". Also, "John Smith lives
on for complement" but the grant was tagged "discontinued" [NC Land Grants,
v.2, p. 6]. 640 acres was the amount allotted in Washington County in Western NC
for soldiers of higher rank in the Continental Line. A James Scott did serve 3 years
from 1776 to 1779, was mustered but then returned to the line in 1780.
Later, a James Scott and a John Smith each received one of the Cumberland
Settlement's 1,410
Pioneer
Land Grants. This part of Washington Co. is now Middle Tennessee. The John
Smith who lived there in 1779 was likely David's father. |
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By May 1780, John Holloway 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.
Image of
page 2 of the original Compact. The signature of "John Holloday" is ninth down
from the top, just above that of Frederick Stump, his son Jacob Stump, and William
Hood. Hood was killed by Indians in 1780 or 1781, and by winter 1781, Jacob Stump
was killed while out with his father near their home along Whites Creek. |
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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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Col. Frederick Stump (born about 1723) was
in his fifties when he came to the
Cumberland Settlement in Washington Co. NC. He was thought to have famously
killed 10 Indians in his native Pennsylvania in Jan 1768, and had been jailed for
killing British soldiers in Georgia. After he escaped, he joined the Amos Eaton
expedition to Cumberland and claimed land on Whites Creek and helped build Eaton's
fort (or Heaton's Station). He later started a distillery and an inn and tavern,
helped improve local roads, and purchased more land in the Whites Creek area.
Map of
the Cumberland Settlement in 1780. |
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William White, eldest son of
John White, received
an original land claim in the Cumberland Settlement in Washington Co. but may never
actually settled on the land. This may be why John Holloway was there in 1780.
The claim John Holloway attempted with a James Scott the year before on Long "Glady"
Creek (shown on
Map),
appears to be the same as Whites Creek which ran through the lands claimed by
Frederick Stump, William White, Joshua Howard and Absalom Hooper, and where
John Smith lived. See
Topolographical Map
showing Whites Creek area Land Claims [Drake, p. 23 and map E7].
James Scott did receive a land grant but John Holloway never did. |
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Son David Smith served as a private in the battles of King's Mountain (Oct 7, 1780),
Cowpens SC (Jan 17, 1781), and Euthaw Springs SC (Sep 8, 1781). |
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John Smith and John Alston, participated in
a 1781 attempt to overthrow the Spanish in Natchez. After the Apr 1781 rebellion
to take control of Fort Panmure at Natchez, and about the time Spain was ceded
control of British West Florida, "John Alston
with another small party of loyalists, which seems to have included Captains
Blomart and Winfrey, Parker Carradine, George Rapalje, John Smith, and William
Eason, made his way to the Creek nation, where he and his companions were arrested
by the Indians. After being carried to Mobile, they were carried to New Orleans
and condemned to death on the charge of rebellion, but were pardoned by the
Governor" by Jul 5, 1784 [Siebert, Loyalists in West Florida, p, 13]. |
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On Nov 26, 1781, the Natchez court "In pursuance of the memorial of Mary Smith,
wife of John Smith, who acted as Lt. during the Rebellion in this province, and
since sent to N.O. [prison], have left in power and possession of said Mary Smith
the plantation, one negro named "Solomon" aged 40 years, of the Mandingo nation,
29 head of cattle, 4 horses, 24 hogs, besides those running in the woods, of which
the number is unknown, all the utensils and furniture for the safety of all which
she has given Alexander McIntosh for
surety ..." [McBee, Book A, p. 10]. |
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In May 1782, son David and his wife arrived at Natchez in a party of 4 "Individuos"
and 7 "Esclavos" [slaves] under the entry "David Smith,
wife and children". A total of
13 families
were recorded by Spanish authorities on Jul 6, as arriving including the family
of William Smith. At the time, John Smith, their father,
was imprisoned by the Spanish Govt. in New Orleans. |
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Map of
the Natchez District as it may have looked between 1779 and 1799. |
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John Smith was released from the New Orleans prison by Jul 5, 1784. |
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In 1785, William Davenport, son of
Martin Davenport, was sued in Natchez
by a Nathan Lytle, who claimed being mistreated by a group on a boat on the
Ohio River "as they were coming to take possession of Natchez". Lytle said
the group also included the "Capt." John Smith and William's brother
James Davenport [McBee, p. 261]. |
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In Aug 1784, sons James and William were both creditors of
William Dewitt and received cash from the
estate sale [McBee, Book A, p. 27]. |
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Granddaughter Sarah Smith married George Wilson Humphreys (1771-1844) on Jan 17,
1792. She is identified as the owner of the bible containing her birth and death
dates [George W. Humphres Bible]. Their son, Benjamin G. Humphreys, was Governor of
Mississippi from 1865 to 1868, the last under the Constitution of 1832. The second
son of B. G. Humphreys was named David Smith Humphreys. |
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Joshua Howard owned 200 acres on Second
Creek in the Natchez District. His petition to the British West Florida Government
for the land was dated Nov 6, 1776. The receipt for surveying fees was dated
Jan 22, 1777. After the Spaniards took possession of the territory, Howard left
the Natchez District for the Cumberland Settlement in an area of far western
North Carolina that later became Nashville TN. He returned to Natchez at the end
of 1788 [MS Dept of Archives & History, website]. |
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Absalom Hooper had claimed land on Second
Creek in the Natchez District several years
before Joshua Howard, both in the 1770's.
The two also claimed adjoining land along Whites Creek in the Cumberland Settlement
in western North Carolina in the 1780's. Absalom did not return to Natchez with
Joshua in 1788. The 4th item of his
Will written in 1811,
lists an "old Sam" among slaves bequeathed to his son Absalom (Jr.), along with
"Smith tools", presumably originally belonging to John Smith who earlier
lived on his land on Whites Creek. If Sam was
Samuel, the Natchez slave "belonging" to
John Holloway in 1781,
and being about 50 years old, he would have been about 80 when the will was
written. |
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On Dec 31, 1788, "Joucha Hayward" arrived in Natchez from "Cumberland/Tennessee",
not listed among the flatboats and without family. In a letter dated Mar 2, 1790,
from Carlos de Grand-Pré, Natchez, Mar 2,
1790 to Governor Don Estavan Miro, the amount of tobacco was reported by growers
of Natchez. A "Joshua Houvard" reported
producing 5,000 pounds of tobacco [MS Dept of Archives & History, website]. |
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According to the 1792 Spanish Census for the Natchez District, several Smith
families were listed, including son William in Santa Catalina [St. Catherine's Creek
area], and son James in the Buffalo Creek [southern part of Adams Co.]. James
then had 3 children on 480 arpents of land and no slaves, but died that year.
William had 5 children and 4 blacks on 500 arpents of land. A "Juan Smith" was
listed as a single man living in Bayou Pierre [future Claiborne Co.] but not
owning the land [Adams Co. MGHN, website].
Another translation of the census has a "Juan Smith" household in Villa Gayoso
[Jefferson or Franklin Co.] where a David Smith household was also listed, and
another "Juan Smith" household in Bayou Pierre [MSGenWeb, website]. |
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Son James and other members of the Smith family were blacksmiths. On Oct 18, 1792,
an "Inventory of property of [eldest son] James Smith, decd."
showed that "Widow Calvit" [Mary Calvit Higdon]
and her son Joseph Calvit, owed money to the estate for "blacksmith work"
[McBee, Natchez Court Records, Book D, p. 150]. |
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When Gayoso succeeded
Grand-Pré in 1792, he changed the name
of the mansion built by his predecessor to Concord.
Postcard
showing the mansion before it burned down in 1901. Also, his title of Governor
replaced that of Commandant. |
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On Dec 12, 1797 Cato West instituted a suit
against John Smith "for trespass on his land and cutting and carrying away a
quantity of timber" at the head of Cole's Creek "sometime in 1792" causing damage
estimated on Jan 24, 1798 to be $50 by Thomas Calvit, appointed by the Natchez
court. Afterwards Cato reported to the court that John Smith refused to pay
[McBee, Book G, pp. 347-8]. |
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In Nov 1792, Grand-Pré sold to "John Smith,
Capt. of the Militia and Alcaide of Villa Gayosa" three negroes, Joseph, Philip
and James, ... aged 16 to 17, for $1200 Mexican money, terms" [McBee, Book C,
p. 93]. During the same month, a witness to the above transaction,
Valentine Thomas Dalton promised and engaged to "dwell in the house of His
Excellency, Don Carlos de Grand-Pré,
for three years, and during that time to teach all of his children to speak and
write the English language" [McBee, Book C, p. 93]. |
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| Son James married Sarah Phipps and they had at least 4 children born between Mar 1, 1787 and Jan 1793. By early Jul of 1794, James and Sarah had filed "articles of separation" with the court in which the two oldest boys, named "Prestwood" and John, aged 7 and 5, were to be apprenticed to James' brother William Smith to learn the "art of silversmith" until they reached the age of 21, during which time they would not "contract" matrimony and never be absent without leave [McBee, Book E, p. 196]. | |||
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On Dec 2, 1796, a William Kirkwood was ordered to pay the amount of his notes
to "John Smith, Esq." and William Barland
[McBee, Book F, p. 289]. |
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In 1796, Grand-Pré was appointed by the
Spanish Governor as Lieutenant Governor of the Red River District to be
headquartered in Avoyelles. In 1799, Grand-Pré
was appointed the Governor of Baton Rouge. There he planned a part of that city
that became known as Spanish Town. |
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After his second marriage Nov 1792 in TN, son David moved his family, settling
in Hinds Co. MS not long after that region was yielded by the Choctaws. |
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In 1822, a John Smith reported a death, and a John P. Smith reported 1 birth and
1 death on lines 32 and 33 of page 3
of microfilm box 4939 of the Jefferson Co. MS Census [MS State Archives, Jefferson
Co. census records]. If this was the John Smith who was granted land in 1777 in
what became Jefferson Co. in 1802, he could have been 97 years old when he died. |
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Sources: Adams Co. Mississippi Genealogy & History Network, "1792 Census for Natchez District (under Spanish Government control)", 2009, 1792 Census. "George W. Humphreys Bible", Claiborne MS Bibles, photostat of original bible, recorded 1957 by May Wilson McBee, in Mississippi Genealogy Trails, website. 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. 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. McBee, May Wilson, comp., "Land Claims", in Natchez Court Records, 1767-1805, Book F, pp. 21, 289. McBee, May Wilson, comp., Natchez Court Records, 1767-1805, Greenwood MS, 1953, v. 2, Book A, pp. 8, 10, 27, 261, Book C, p. 93, p. 600, Book D, p. 150, Book E, p. 196, Book G, pp. 347-8. MS State Archives, Various records 1820-1951, Jefferson Co., State Census Returns 1822-1823, microfilm Box 4939, Births & Deaths, on Family Search website. MS Dept. of Archives & History (MDAH), Jackson MS, rootsweb, Americans Arriving in Spanish-Held Natchez 1780-1790. MSGenWeb, Natchez District 1792 Census Index, comp. by Ellen Pack, Head of Household Index, transcribed and translated from Spanish. North Carolina Land Grants, vol. 2, at Morganton NC Library, p. 6, #1476, transcribed by Lisabeth M. Holloway Oct 9, 1987. Potter, Dorothy Williams, Passports of Southeastern Pioneers 1770-1823, Gateway Press, Baltimore MD, 1982, p. 342. Siebert, Wilbur H., Loyalists in West Florida, vol II, no. 4, p. 13. Tuller, Roberta, "1777 Petition of Holston Men", in An American Family History, website, Amazon Services, 2020. "Virginia Troops in the French and Indian Wars", Va. Hist. Mag., 1:389, 1894. Wells, Carol, Natchez Postscripts 1781-1798, Heritage Books, pp. 101, 144-5, 151, |
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