Children of Thomas Bell-1 and Catherine Wilson-2

1. William Bell-2, the eldest son, whose birth was recorded at Tinkling Spring on June 6, 1742, was a Revolutionary soldier and died in 1819. His estate mentioned daughters, Margaret Wilson-3, Nancy Wilson-3, and Catherine Wilson-3, as well as his wife, Jane. “Captain Bell” was mentioned in the records from Iredell. Captain William Bell’s company was mentioned in the pension claim of James Bell in Rowan County [S.2971] as being at Ramsours Mill. The naming of his first son leads us to believe there is a good chance that the father of THOMAS BELL, Sr., may have been named William.

2. Agnes Bell-2, born in August, 1746, married one of the Reeds. Her birth is recorded in the Tinkling Spring records. Agnes is the Scots-Irish equvalent of “Ann” or “Nancy.”

3. Robert Bell-2, born in Virginia, probably predeceased his father. This child’s birth was recorded in Virginia Presbyterian records at Tinkling Spring. Robert Bell fought in the Revolution.

4. James Bell-2, had a son named John Bell-3, and was executor of THOMAS BELL-1’s estate. He may be the same man from pension S.2971 who fought as a private in William Bell’s Company. He died in 1834 in Gibson County, Tennessee. He was the only man by this name with a pension from North Carolina.

5. Thomas Bell, Jr.-2, was born after 1746 and received lands from his father.

6. Elizabeth Bell-2, married Thomas Carradine.

7. Daughter-2, unnamed, but married Patrick Sloane.

8. - 13. “Six younger children,” this group of children, whose names were not mentioned, must contain MARJORY BELL-
   

9. Catherine Wilson is the only known Wilson in our tree. 
   

THOMAS BELL and CATHERINE, started having children in the early 1740s and their births were recorded at Tinkling Spring by Reverend Craig. The children recorded as born to THOMAS BELL and CATHERINE WILSON BELL were William, born in 1742, Agnes, in 1744, and Robert, in 1746. With the second son named Robert, presumably after ROBERT WILSON, CATHERINE’s father, it indicates that the first son, William, may have been named after THOMAS’ father. [Craig’s Baptisms]

Between 1746 and 1749, THOMAS and CATHERINE, and their three children, migrated down the Great Wagon Road to “Anson” [Rowan County], North Carolina, where they were some of the first settlers in the area. Several other Bell families went with them, as well as many other families from Augusta. In 1749, they were noted as living in the “Irish Settlement.” It was also called “Cathey’s Settlement,” after John Cathey, who seems to have been one of the instigators of the move

There were two men named Thomas Bell in the community. There were also men named James and Walter Bell. THOMAS’ brother-in-law, John Holmes, and John’s son, Robert, were also part of the move from Augusta to North Carolina. The Holmes men were living in the part of Rowan that would stay Rowan after the county was split into Iredell and Rowan. THOMAS BELL’S lands fell into the county of Iredell.

JACOB HOUDESHELL’s wife, ELIZABETH WILSON-2, came from the Scots-Irish clan which had come to Sumner County early, during the time the Indians were a day-to-day threat. Her father was JAMES “Shooty” WILSON-1, who was named on the 1787 tax list, along with two other men of that surname, Major David and John Wilson. Both of these men named sons “James.”

This was an extremely difficult family to “sort out.” There are many references to men named James Wilson to which a particular “James Wilson” cannot be ascribed. There are many secondary sources, histories, and other researchers who seem as confused about this family as this author has been. The data presented here also probably contains some errors as well.

We do know that the WILSON family was of Scots-Irish origin and was generally a strong Presbyterian one. They came to Sumner County when it was still part of North Carolina. JACOB’s cousin, Henry Howdershell, had come with the flotilla in 1780, and some of ELIZABETH’s relatives as well. Some of her cousins fought for the American Revolution from the Cumberland. The clan was so highly prolific, migrated so much, and used heirloom names so much, it is quite difficult to sort them all out. One group moved into Eastern Tennessee as early as the 1760s. They were some of the “long hunters” who stayed to settle the area. [Revolutionary War Pension of Robert Wilson]

   The Wilsons, many of them, were frontier rangers and may have been with Christian or other expeditions visiting this frontier of North Carolina. The Pennsylvania Wilsons were related to the Augusta County Virginia Wilsons, and some of them owned land on the Virginia Frontier. The North Carolina Wilsons came from Chester County, Pennsylvania. [The Wilson Family, from the data of Mrs. Robert Moore.]

These families were also found in Lancaster, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, and in Cecil County, Maryland. The first of the “long hunters” came to the Cumberland [Tennessee] region in the 1760s from Virginia and North Carolina. They usually came through and hunted buffalo and deer for meat and hides, stayed a few months, and then left. In the meantime, they explored this “island” in the wilderness of mountains and hostile Indian tribes. Just before the American Revolution, a few came to start a settlement. [Durham, The Great Leap Westward.]

About 1780, there were over 200 men, mostly Scots-Irish, in the territory that was claimed at that time by North Carolina. Only a few of these men stayed, or came back with their families, to permanently settle in what became Sumner County, Tennessee. The Wilson family moved in and quickly took their places. It was a frontier in many aspects, though, and the men quickly tried to establish law and order and courts. [Durham, The Great Leap Westward.]

JAMES “SHOOTY” WILSON, ELIZABETH’s father, was a part of this clan, who had migrated from Ulster in Northern Ireland into Pennsylvania before 1735, then into Virginia, then before 1751, to Mecklenburg, Rowan, Orange, and Iredell Counties in North Carolina. Some of them stayed there until the time of the Revolution and then moved on up to the wilds of Indian lands. Many of them fought in the Revolution and received grants in Tennessee which they could exchange, sell, or settle on the land themselves. Many chose to settle on their lands.

The Wilson name is the eighth most common name in Scotland today and is common in England and Wales, as well. It is a contraction of “Will’s son.” Surnames were not adopted in the British Isles until between 1300 and 1500. The higher classes were the first to adopt surnames. Many times a name such as “Peter, son of Will” or Peter, Will’s son” would not be inherited by the next generation. Eventually, most families settled on a surname which would be inherited through the paternal lines. The name “Wilson” can be either British, Scots, Welch, or Irish. Sometimes, the lower classes might take the name of their landlord even though they were not blood kin. [Some Wilsons of Ulster.]

King James I of England [King James VII of Scotland] hated the rebel Celtic Irish and in 1609 sent hordes of Lowland Scots and Englishmen into the northern Irish “plantations” to displace the native Irish. He gave grants to English and Scots Undertakers and they, in turn, recruited Scots and English Borderers to populate their plantations and pay them rents.

The rosters of English and Scots Undertakers [1608-1620] in Northern Ireland indicate that there were no Scots plantation owners by the name of Wilson or Willson in Northern Ireland. There was an English Undertaker, though, named William Willson, who lived in the precinct of Liffer [now Lifford] in the Barony of Raphoe, County Donegal. This county is immediately west of the County of Londonderry [Derry] which for centuries represented a route of migration between Scotland and Ireland.

We are reasonably sure that at least one of the HOLMES families who was from this area is connected with our WILSON clan and one of our two WILSON families. [Some Wilsons of Ulster.]

Whether the original Wilson stock came from England or Scotland is, at this time, unknown. However, they apparently stayed in the Scots-Irish settlement long enough, and probably intermarried with the Scots emigrants, that by the time of the American migration, they were “Scots-Irish.”

By the time the families got to America, the surname Wilson was firmly established, as were the Christian names used and reused by the group. There were so many “James Wilsons” in early Sumner County that it is almost impossible to completely untangle the web of documents, but our JAMES was part of the early group which included Major David Wilson. David Wilson is sometimes reputed in error to be the David Wilson in Mecklenburg who was the son of Samuel Wilson. That Samuel Wilson had a son named David, but it was not Major David of Revolutionary fame. Whether our JAMES was brother or cousin to Major David is unclear. The two families were close neighbors, fought Indians together, bought and sold land, attended estate sales together and were guardians for the children of their neighbors and relatives, signed deeds, wills and named their children the family “heirloom” names. JAMES, though probably somewhat younger, was a peer of David’s, and not the same man as David’s son, James A. Wilson.

JAMES “SHOOTY” WILSON was born before 1757 and may have been born in Pennsylvania, maybe Lancaster or Cumberland, or he may have been born while the family was in Augusta County, Virginia. It is remotely possible he was born in North Carolina, the son of some of the early immigrants there. He most likely grew up in either Orange or Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, and was probably a Revolutionary veteran, though we have no proof. He didn’t live long enough to apply for a pension, and it is impossible to distinguish him from the many other men of the same name in the muster rolls.

We do know from deeds and tax records, however, that he was resident in Sumner County and had a land grant there prior to 1788. [Sumner Deed Book A, page 2 & 3.] The proofs that this is our specific man are much like an algebra equation, however.

The Wilsons were “serial migrators,” with first one relative coming to an area and then more following. The reuse of “heirloom” Christian names for their children further confuses the records. In general, the clan landed in Pennsylvania with friends and relatives from home, then migrated down the Great Wagon Road to [or through] Augusta County, Virginia. The first groups arrived in Beverly’s Manor in Augusta County, Virginia, in the early 1740s, and many left that area in the 1750s for North Carolina, having stayed, at most, one generation. A few of this group came directly from Ireland to Augusta, bypassing the Pennsylvania landing. Others of the group landed in Pennsylvania and went directly through Virginia into North Carolina. A ROBERT WILSON, whose will was the first one published in Augusta County, Virginia, in 1745, was also the author’s ancestor. His daughter married THOMAS BELL, and she and THOMAS moved, along with her sister, who had married John Holmes, into North Carolina in the mid-1740s. Their children also came to Sumner County in the early 1800s. The two lines are most likely related.

So many of the families had left the Virginia area by the mid-1750s that the Indians became a problem again in that area. The area was almost depopulated by the departing of the Scots-Irish clans into North Carolina. They formed primarily two settlements in North Carolina; Cathey’s Irish settlement in Rowan/Anson/Iredell, and just to the south, in Mecklenburg. There was a great deal of communication between the settlements, though. Frequently the Presbyterian ministers would go from one settlement to the other preaching at each church, in turn. The settlers also wrote “home” encouraging others to follow them into new lands. The fact that the vast majority of these people were literate helped with the communication problems. They kept ties going for several generations by way of letters. Ties would have died out in one generation without the literacy rate being quite high. Family ties and blood relationships were very important to these people, who calculated kinship to distant cousins. The term “foreigner” was used within the group to denote anyone from another area or another state who was not related by blood. Foreigners were looked on with suspicion within the group. This was a custom held over from Scotland, transplanted into Northern Ireland, and brought to America with their migrations. The word is still used with that meaning today in the areas settled by the Scots Irish. [Tinkling Spring.]

Because Major David Wilson was such a prominent early settler, much effort has been given to tracing his genealogy by many researchers. Some of the earlier published research was quite easily proven to be in error. Since David was a friend, and most likely also a cousin, of our JAMES SHOOTY WILSON, the line of David is of some interest to us, and by learning something about David and his other relatives, we can shed a little light on the group to which our JAMES belonged, and distinguish some hard data about him from the records.

The man some early published researchers have credited, in error, as being “Major David Wilson’s” father is Samuel Wilson, who was born in Ulster in 1710, and migrated to Pennsylvania and then to North Carolina about 1751 or 1752. He did have a son named David, who probably married one of the McDonnel girls in Mecklenburg. We are sure Major David’s wife, who later became his widow, was named Jane or Jean. These two names are the same, not two different women. Early deeds around 1762 in Mecklenburg list Major David’s wife’s name as Jean/Jane and his will also lists her name as Jean.

Major David lived on the east side of the county of Mecklenburg and Samuel lived on the west. Samuel was probably not much older than Major David. Living near Major David on Coddle Creek in the easternmost part of the county were several other men named Wilson. There was a man named James Wilson as well as Zacheus Wilson, Major David’s brother. Zacheus lived in the part that became Carabus County and did the surveying work for the new county. He would also move to Sumner, but not until 1796 after his wife had died. Samuel Wilson, the father of the other David, may have been a cousin, or possibly even a brother to Major David. A Samuel Wilson who moved to Sumner, Tennessee, who has been thought by some to be Samuel-brother-of-Major-David may actually have been a cousin. One of his direct descendants stated in the 1800s that Samuel was a cousin of Major David’s, not a brother. [Deeds of Mecklenburg, NC]

The “real story” on Major David Wilson seems to be that he was born about 1735 in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania [now in Cumberland County], and moved with his parent[s?] and possibly his [three?] brothers, Robert Wilson, Sr., Zaccheus Wilson, “Jr.,” and possibly a brother named Samuel Wilson, and their three sisters [names not known for sure] to Mecklenburg, North Carolina, about 1750 or 1760.

Zaccheus Wilson and his brothers, Robert and David, came to Mecklenburg County about 1755 with the Augusta, Virginia, Congregation of Rev. Alexander Craighead; it is believed that their mother, the widow Wilson, accompanied them. [Worth, The Mecklenburg Signers and Their Neighbors.]

This places Major David Wilson squarely within the group from Augusta with which our other ROBERT WILSON line is affiliated, again underscoring the possibility of a connection by blood in that line as well.

Some published sources state that Major David and his brothers are the sons of “Zacheus Wilson, Sr.” and his wife, Frances, who lived in Mecklenburg, North Carolina. This is an error, because after this was published, Zaccheus Wilson, Sr., and his wife, Frances, were found in Oglethorpe County, Georgia, where this Zaccheus Wilson died, leaving his wife, Frances, and his sons, Zaccheus, Joseph, Isaac, and William. He had left his business in North Carolina in the hands of his son, Isaac, and moved to participate in the land lottery. [The Wilson Family, pg 8.]

This misidentification likely arose from the fact that at one time in his life, David’s brother, Zacheus, was called “Zacheus, Jr.” Later he was designated “Sr.” The designations of Junior and Senior at this time in history did not mean father and son, as they frequently do today, but rather, they were used to designate the older and younger of a pair of men living near each other who had the same given and surnames. Apparently, that Zacheus Wilson, Sr., and his wife, Frances, left Mecklenburg and were found in Ogelthorpe, Georgia, after many of the erroneous conclusions were drawn and published. This is one of those instances where the lack of knowledge of the naming customs of an era and area lead to the wrong conclusions from the available data.

Major David’s brother, Zacheus Wilson, is mentioned several times as one of the signers of the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence, which predated the one we now think of as the “Declaration of Independence.” Many of the Wilson family fought for the Revolution and were active in the political arena and helped form the new government. Zacheus was another popular “heirloom” name with the Wilson families and we find it quite often. David had a brother, a son, and a son-in-law, all named Zacheus Wilson! [Revolutionary Pension of Robert Wilson, Jr.]

Our Major David’s wife was named Jane/Jean. These two names are used interchangeably on the documents. There was another man also named “Major David Wilson” who married a woman named Jane Rowan. That man is, however, buried in Pennsylvania and is not our Major David. [Revolutionary Pension Maj. David Wilson, PA]

The names of the parents of Major David Wilson and the parents of Zacheus and their brother Robert Wilson, Sr., is at this time unknown. In 1915, however, Judge Samuel Franklin Wilson of Nashville, Tennessee, stated in a letter that the Samuel Wilson in Sumner, Tennessee, [his ancestor] was a cousin, not a brother, to Major David. A man named Samuel Wilson was in Sumner in 1780. He apparently left and we are not sure if the Samuel who was found there later was the same man or not. Most of the men who were in the Sumner area in 1780 left, only a handful actually came to stay. [The Wilson Family, pg 3]

Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, where Major David Wilson lived, was a rebellious area just prior to the Revolutionary War. The independent Scots-Irish who settled the area were, first of all, not great lovers of the British. The Reverend Alexander Craighead, the minister who had been instrumental in establishing the group of Presbyterian Churches in that area, which included Steel Creek, where David and his brother Zacheus were prominent, had been rabidly anti-British. He wrote papers denouncing the King’s right to hold the throne, or to rule over Presbyterians. He had brought together a group of like-minded individuals in Pennsylvania. The Quakers tolerated him, but he found it politic to move to the backwoods of first Virginia, and then, North Carolina, away from prying eyes and ears of the established government. He was a zealot and it was no wonder that Mecklenburg was the first to produce men willing to die for the Rebellion against England. North Carolina had also hosted the Regulator uprising in 1771, which was the first rebellion in the area. Men fought against the unjust and greedy sheriffs and tax assessors. People who later supported the Revolution in 1776 and fought gallantly, such as Richard Caswell, did not support the regulator movement and acted to suppress it. [Hunter, Sketches of Western North Carolina]

Education was very important to the Scots-Irish Presbyterians, but the British government was attempting to restrain growth of educational institutions of regional cultures in direct ways. The Governor did not want universal education. For example, in 1769, the back-country Presbyterians founded a college, called Queen’s College, in Mecklenburg. A charter was reluctantly granted by the Colonial Legislature, but when it began to operate, the imperial authorities canceled the charter. They also canceled the Colonial Legislature’s permission for Presbyterian ministers to solemnize marriages. These decisions became symbolic. The Mecklenburg petition was the result. [Hunter, Sketches of Western North Carolina]

Major David Wilson was an officer in the Revolution and fought at Ramsurs Mills. His brother, Zacheus, also fought, and the sons of his older brother, Robert, Sr., all fought except for the youngest two. Robert, Sr., was too old to fight, his sons’ pension applications stated, but was, nevertheless, taken prisoner at one point by the British in 1780. Robert, Sr.’s sons who fought were Joseph, born 1749; Aaron, born 1751; John H., born 1753; James, born September 25, 1757; Robert, Jr., born 1760; Samuel, born 1762; Thomas, born 1763; Zacheus, born 1765; Josiah, born October, 1768; and Moses, born July, 1769. Moses and Josiah were the only two of this group still alive in 1849. Several of Robert, Sr.’s sons moved to Sumner County, at least for a while. [Revolutionary Pension of Robert Wilson, Jr.] Others moved to Eastern Tennessee quite early. James, son of Robert Wilson, Sr., was investigated as a possible identity for our JAMES WILSON, but James-son-of-Robert was traced to eastern Tennessee where he died. He could not have been our JAMES.

Robert Wilson, Jr., married Jane McDowell in 1783 or 1784 in Mecklenburg and then moved within a year down to Georgia. He stayed there until about 1791, when he moved to Sumner County, Tennessee. He stayed there until he died in 1819. Robert Wilson, Jr., is listed in the County Court Minutes in 1794, and last listed in 1800, when he made a deed to Eli Giles, which was witnessed by David Wilson. Some of Robert Wilson, Sr.’s sons stayed permanently in Sumner and some moved on to other areas. [Revolutionary Pensions of Robert Wilson, Jr., and of Samuel Wilson, sons of Robert, Sr.]

Major David Wilson, who later came to Sumner, started his career in the Revolution as Captain. A History of Rowan County, North Carolina, by Reverend Jethro Rumple, mentions David on page 143. David was involved in a battle in February, 1781, in which General Davidson was killed at Cowan’s Ford. General Davidson was killed wearing the borrowed “great coat” of the Reverend Dr. Samuel E. McCorkle. David Wilson and Richard Barry, both of whom were at the day’s skirmish, went back by night and buried the General at Hopewell Church Yard by lantern light.

After the Revolution, Major David Wilson stayed in Mecklenburg for a few years and then departed for the Cumberland Settlements in 1786, taking his wife, Jean/Jane, and most, if not all, of his children. He and Jean/Jane had been married prior to 1762 [when her name is first found on Mecklenburg County, NC deeds]. According to his will, Jane/Jean probably survived him.

David’s brother, Zacheus, married Elizabeth Conger Ross, a widow, and their sons were Jonathan Wilson, who married the daughter of his uncle, Major David Wilson, Stephen Wilson, James “Smokey Jim” S. Wilson, and Isaac Wilson. Their daughter was Mary, who married James, the son of Samuel Wilson, in Sumner County. All of his children, except Isaac, moved to Sumner County in 1796 after Zacheus’ wife, Lizzie, died. Zacheus was an elder in the Steel Creek Presbyterian Church and a surveyor for the new county of Cabarrus, North Carolina, into which his land fell after it was divided off from Mecklenburg. James S. Wilson [“Smokey Jim”] has a DAR line traced back to him.

Cumberland Settlements; Early Tennessee

Several men named Wilson came to “The Cumberland Settlements” as early as 1780. Three Wilson men named Ralph, John, and Samuel Wilson, signed the Cumberland Compact. These men signed the articles of agreement in 1780 in which the men of the area set up a rudimentary form of government in what now called Tennessee. The compact granted to a boy, aged 16 or more, who was able to bear arms in the militia, the right to own his own land in his own name. Each of these three Wilson men took up grants on the Stones River for 640 acres [Preemptors] Since only a handful of the signers of the Compact stayed on to become permanent settlers, and since they aren’t afterwards found in later records, we can assume that these men moved on to other areas.

The Cumberland Compact was an extremely important document to the early settlers in attempting to establish a legitimate government and to provide a lawful society out of a rough frontier anarchy. They provided for judges, courts, welfare for widows and orphans of men killed fighting Indians, and for their own protection by establishing forts. They also provided an orderly way for registering land claims.

Whereas, from our remote situation and want of proper officers for the administration of justice, no regular proceedings at law can be had for the punishment of offences and attainment of right, it is therefore agreed that until we can be relieved by government from the many evils and inconveniences arising therefrom, the judges or triers to be appointed as before directed, when qualified, shall be and are hereby declared a proper court of jurisdiction for the recovery of any debt or damage, ... for anything done among ourselves in this our settlement on Cumberland.

Setting forth that we are confident that our settlement is not within the boundaries of any nation or tribe of Indians, as some of us know and all believe that they have fairly sold and received satisfaction for the land or territories where we reside and therefore, we hope we may not be considered as acting against the laws of our country or the mandates of government.

Actually, they did know that the Indians of several tribes claimed the area as hunting territory. The settlers chose to ignore this, however. By 1783, the Indians were preying upon the little settlement so much that their number was reduced to about 70 men.

The manifold sufferings and distress that the settlers here have from time to time undergone, even almost from our first settling, with the desertion of the greater number of the first adventurers, being so discouraging to the remaining few that all administration of justice seemed to cease from amongst us, ... which, however weak, whether in constitution, administration, or execution, yet has been construed in our favor, against those whose malice or interest would insinuate us a people fled to a hiding place from justice.

It was rumored that the Cumberland settlement was the hiding place of Tories fleeing justice, but it does not seem to have been true. Though there were a few Tory settlements in Kentucky. Several men named Wilson fought from Tennessee, and stated in their Revolutionary pensions that they had moved to the “Cumberland settlements in North Carolina” as small children in the 1760s and fought for the Revolution from there in the 1770s. They drew their pensions in Carter County, Tennessee, so were not Sumner County residents toward the ends of their lives, but might have been earlier, since “Cumberland” encompassed a much larger area than we now think of as the Cumberland Area. Joseph Wilson, Benjamin Wilson, and Aaron Wilson were listed as justices of the peace in 1780 to 1787 in Washington County, these men were the sons of Robert Wilson, Sr., the brother of Major David of Sumner. [Revolutionary Pensions of Samuel and Robert Wilson, Jr.]

Children of Major David and Jean Wilson

1. James A. Wilson, who probably married Rachel Harrington, the daughter of Charles, and may have later married, as a second wife, Peggy Graham, July 5, 1803. He died after 1850 in Texas. His father gave him several grants of land.

2. A daughter who married William Street, one source says her given name was Ibby.

3. William Wilson, whose wife was probably Sarah Brevard. He may have been the oldest son.

4. Mary Wilson, who married Mark Dodd. Their marriage took place December 22, 1806, with Lawrence Owen as bondsman.

5. David Wilson, Jr., apparently married Jenny [Jane] Carothers. Sarah [Sally] Carothers listed him as her heir in her will in 1819 in Sumner County and referred to her “sister Jane Wilson.” David was either the witness or executor of several Carothers estates and wills. He had a son named James. His last wife was Sarah Diggers, a widow. Secondary sources list his death as after 1850 in Grayson County, Texas.

6. A daughter who married Jonathan Wilson, the son of David’s brother, Zacheus. Her name may have been Narcissa. This author had seen no primary sources of this woman’s given name. She is frequently listed in secondary source material. Some secondary material refers to some diaries in private hands that may list her name.

7. Zacheus Wilson was David’s son, and his name is difficult to differentiate in the records from the several others of the same name. One man named Zacheus Wilson was referred to as Sr. and one as Jr. and many as simply Zacheus. It is reasonable to think “Sr.” designated the brother of Major David and “Jr.” was probably David’s son. Samuel Wilson also had a son, Zacheus, who was mentioned in his will in 1814 as deceased. He had died about 1808, so there were at least three men with the same name living in Sumner before 1800. [Will of David Wilson, Sumner Co., TN, 1803, WB1-77]

The Name’s the Same

Because the Wilson Clan used and re-used the same given names over and over, sorting through these families can be a genealogist’s nightmare. There is much published research that has been proven to be in error. This author would caution any researcher of this line to do your own sorting out of this family, but to read as much published research as possible. There are many Revolutionary pensions available, wills, and deeds that can help sort out the “players”—but even with these, it is difficult to sort all the records for men with the same names in a given area. The family members were also great “travelers,” so proximity of residence did not always assist the researcher.

James was a common name with the Wilson clan and there were several men with this name in the early days of Sumner County. Two men named James were there as early as 1786 and one of these was probably our JAMES. County Court Minutes for July, 1787, list two men named James Wilson who were to clear a road. In October, the court records list the same two men, now termed James Wilson and James Wilson, Jr., as jurors for the next term. The designation “James Wilson, Shooting” was first used in the October, 1789, County Court Minutes as a juror for Superior Court, so we know he was there by that date without a doubt. He may have left his family back in North Carolina, though, until he got settled in the new area.

In the year 1788, a group comprised of more than 20 families, and more than 140 people, came to Sumner. The Indians were a grave threat to the travelers and it was not safe to travel in small bands, so the immigrants were escorted through the wilderness for safety. The history of Sumner, The Great Leap Westward, has a wonderful description of the early settlement.

In order to help the clerks of the court know which of the several James Wilsons the records were referring to, and lacking social security numbers or street addresses, the clerks would designate them by nick names, the names of the creeks on which they lived, or by Jr. or Sr. added to the name. Since the terms Jr. and Sr. might change, depending upon who was the oldest of two or more men at any given time, these cannot always be uniformly used to distinguish which man is referred to in the records because a man might be Jr. when he was young and Sr. when he was older.

In Sumner County, during the period from 1787 to 1820, there were many men named James Wilson, so our task of separating James Wilson from James A. Wilson, James Curley Wilson, James Smoking Wilson, James Wilson, Jr., James Wilson, Sr., James S. Wilson, James T. Wilson, James “the lunatic” Wilson, James the son of Samuel, James the son of John, James C. Wilson, James Wilson, son of Shooty, Captain James Wilson, and just plain James Wilson, is quite difficult.

Men Named James Wilson in Sumner County, Tennessee

1. James C. Wilson, whose middle name was either “Curley” or “Corley,” was the son of Samuel Wilson, and was a county commissioner and a prominent justice of the peace for many years. He is mentioned in 1789 in Sumner tax lists. He was living in 1814, when his father Samuel died. James C. was born about 1755 in Mecklenburg, North Carolina, and died in 1818 in Sumner. He left a will naming his daughters. He was the administrator for John Wilson’s will. James S. Wilson, the son of Zacheus, David’s brother, was the security for James C. Wilson. “Curley’s” wife was named Mary Wilson Wilson and John Wilson was the bondsman for this marriage. James C. Wilson’s only surviving son was named Franklin, and his daughters were Iva, Manissa, Salina, and Emeline. He also had a grandson named James Henderson. Mary’s will confirms this. Dr. Samuel Franklin Wilson, a descendant of this James, said his grandfather, Samuel, was a cousin of Major David’s, not a brother. We do know that James C. Wilson was a very early settler in Sumner, and may be the man designated as “James, Jr.” in early records, when our JAMES was designated as “James, Sr.” [Sumner County Will Book 1, pg 28 ]. Most researchers tend to agree with the above designation of James C. Wilson. James C. Wilson’s wife is probably Mary, the daughter of Zacheus Wilson, Sr. [David’s brother.] Some writers of published data have assumed that she was the daughter of John, because John was the bondsman for the marriage, so the subject is still “open for discussion” from this author’s point of view.

2. James Wilson, son of John Wilson, who was the son of Samuel Wilson, was probably the one called “Captain James Wilson.” He was also a county commissioner and even once at the same time with James “Curly” Wilson. He may be the other man named James who died about 1809 and left a substantial estate. John was also one of the very early settlers and lived near JAMES. [See #8.]

3. James A. Wilson, the son of Major David. He was a frequent witness on deeds and was recorder of deeds for the county at one point. He frequently signed deeds with Major David. In 1795, David gave him land on Indian Creek and the deed reflects that he is David’s son. He may be the man who married Rachel Harrington.

4. James S. Wilson, who died in 1836. In 1830, this James S. Wilson was listed as between 60 and 70 years old, meaning he was born between 1760 and 1770. He was several years younger than our JAMES. James S. Wilson’s land abutted our JAMES’ land. A Revolutionary service is traced to this James, so he is probably closer to age 70 than age 60 in 1830. He is probably the same man as James “Smokey Jim” Wilson, who was the son of Zacheus, David’s brother. Several sources believe Smokey Jim was a twin to Jonathan Wilson who married David’s daughter. [DAR Lineage Bk. 74, pg 167.]

James S. “Smoking Jim” Wilson, is listed in the 1787-1794 Sumner county tax records and probably arrived about 1789 or 1790. He was listed as a single poll with no land for a couple of years after our JAMES was in the county. A designation of the earlier James proves it was our JAMES, and not this man, as our JAMES is designated as “James Sh” to distinguish him from James “Curley.” This was prior to James S.’s first appearance in the records. James Curley Wilson was listed in the same October, 1789, minutes as “James Shooting Wilson, ” and they are apparently the same as the “James Wilson, and James Wilson” first mentioned. “Senior” was first mentioned in 1790 to designate our JAMES.

In 1804, Smoking Jim was listed along with our JAMES, SR., and JACOB HOUDESHELT, James Vinson, and Thomas Patton [JAMES’ next door neighbor] to survey a road to Brown’s ferry. When the list was turned in, the names were designated as ”James S. Wilson” and as plain James Wilson, along with the other men mentioned previously. Therefore, we can know James S. Wilson and Smoking Jim were the same man. Smoking Jim, the son of Zacheus, died October 31, 1836.

5. James Wilson, who died in 1818, and whose tombstone reads “born June 15, 1788, in Orange County, North Carolina, the son of James and Sarah Wilson,” is probably the son of our JAMES SHOOTING WILSON. JAMES’ estate lists a minor son named James, for whom JACOB HOUDESHELL was guardian. Probably the same man as #6

6. James Wilson, the lunatic. JACOB HOUDESHELL was guardian from 1809-1813 for the estate of a “lunatic” named James Wilson. In 1818, when the “lunatic’s” estate was probated, JACOB and the successor guardian of the Lunatic James, Thomas Wilson, were both there as buyers. JACOB received $60 from the estate of the “lunatic James” in 1811 for “keeping the said James for five years.” Thomas Wilson was the executor of the estate which consisted of half-interest in a spinning machine worth about $500, two horses, and a gun. JACOB and Thomas were buyers at the estate sale. He is probably the same man as #5. Since our JAMES died about 1806/7, five years from that date would have been about 1811, and would indicate that after the death of his father, that James Wilson, the lunatic, lived with his brother-in-law, JACOB.

7. James T. Wilson, was the son of the Joseph Wilson who died in 1833. James T. was the guardian for the children of the James Wilson who died in 1809 [#8].

8. James Wilson who died in 1809. The heirs of that James were Jonathan Wilson, Fanny Wilson, Zacheus T. Wilson, Cinthy Wilson, and Ehanon Wilson. This man also had as heir, John Parsons, his executor, and probably his son-in-law. Samuel Parson was also an heir and probably a son-in-law as well. At the estate sale for this James were Ellinor Wilson, Moses Wilson, and Jonathan, who bought items. Estimated time of birth of this man, the majority of whose children were minors, but who had married daughters, too, is age 40 to 45, giving a birth date of about 1765 to 1770. Moses Wilson may be the son of Robert Wilson, David’s Brother. We don’t know who this James WAS, but we do know several men he was NOT: He was not James A. [#3], son of David, and was not James Curley [#1], or James, son of John [#2], and he was not James S., “Smoking Jim,” Wilson, [#4.] He also could not have been James the son of Robert Wilson, Senior, the brother of David. That James died in east Tennessee according to the pension records.

9. “Captain” James Wilson may be the same man as James #8, who died in 1809 and the father of those children. He might also be the same as James #2, who resigned in 1792 from his militia post.

10. JAMES WILSON was referred to at various times in the records as “James shooting Wilson,” “James Wilson, Sr.,” “James Wilson ‘shooty’,” and as plain “James Wilson.” Apparently, the man listed as just plain “James Wilson” on the 1787 tax list is our JAMES, and later lists clarify this before too many others by the same name appear in the records. The Sumner County tax list for October 20, 1788, listed our JAMES with one poll and 200 acres of land. Also listed were John Wilson, David Wilson, and William Wilson, probably the son of David.

11. James Wilson, “son of Shooty.” This James was mentioned in the store accounts, and also in the estate of JAMES. He had a guardian after his father died, so this would mean that he was born after 1787. He didn’t sign off his estate, and JACOB HOUDESHELL was his guardian. This is all consistent with the James Wilson, lunatic, and also, the James Wilson, son of “JAMES WILSON, Shooty,” and the 1818 tombstone of “James Wilson, son of James and Sarah Wilson.”

12. James Wilson, maybe our JAMES, served against the Chicamauga Indians in the 1787 campaign and received a pay voucher, #1407, on February 26, 1791, for this service [Preemptors, pg 60.]

The 1789 property tax and road tax lists mention David Wilson, his son, William Wilson, John Wilson, James Curley Wilson, the son of Samuel, as well as JAMES SHOOTY WILSON. Another list for the same year lists John Wilson with one poll and 352 acres, James, Jr., as a poll with no land, James Wilson as a poll with no land, and JAMES WILSON, SENIOR, with two polls and 950 acres of land. Some lists show only the land owned in Sumner County, and some show all the land owned in Tennessee. David Wilson owned 10,335 acres of land in Tennessee and had one poll. His son, William Wilson, was listed with one poll and 1,000 acres of land, none of which was in Sumner County.

The 1790 tax list, which was more or less alphabetical, showed James Curley Wilson with one poll and 620 acres, John Wilson with one poll and 3,526 acres, James Smoking Wilson, a poll only, David Wilson with two polls and 11,070 acres, William Wilson, one poll and 1,000 acres, and JAMES SHOOTING WILSON with one poll and 900 acres.

A year or so later, the tax listing for land owned in Sumner County is separated by militia companies rather than alphabetically, and lists in Captain King’s Company, Thomas and Robert Patten [Next door neighbors to our JAMES], then Henry Houdeshell [whose land abutted theirs] and John Wilson [probably son of Samuel] with one poll and 200 acres, then James Wilson, Jr., a poll and no land, then JAMES WILSON, Sr., with two polls and 382 acres. Nine entries later, it lists William Wilson, one poll and no Sumner County land, then James S. Wilson, one poll and no land. A little ways farther, it lists Zacheus Wilson [this Zacheus may be David’s son, or his great-nephew, the son of Joseph, but could not be his brother, as Zacheus, Sr., did not come there until after 1796] with 250 acres, and Samuel with two polls and no land. David is mentioned near the end of this list of Captain King’s company with two polls and 1,183 acres of Sumner County lands. So, we know by 1790, JAMES was sometimes designated as “James Wilson, Sr.”

In the tax list for the next year the list shows Robert, who was the son of Robert Wilson, Sr., David’s older brother. In a list published for 1792, Joseph Wilson, Senior, Joseph G. Wilson, John Wilson, and Samuel Wilson, the father of James Curley Wilson, are mentioned. William Wilson was also listed and Zacheus Wilson, as well. This Zacheus Wilson could not be David’s brother, who arrived in 1796, so he may be David’s nephew, the son of his brother, Robert Wilson, Sr.

In 1793, Captain King’s Company’s list mentions Zacheus Wilson as having one poll and 258 acres, JAMES WILSON with two polls and 375 acres, and Samuel Wilson, with two polls and no land in Sumner. Another James and John Wilson were in the same district. We know that our JAMES had an older son named Joseph Wilson. This would probably indicate that either Joseph was age 16 that year, and therefore taxable as a poll, or that JAMES had acquired a slave taxable as a poll.

It was reasonably easy to trace David’s actions in the court and deed records. He was appointed to the Territorial Assembly and was the Speaker and held other offices. He was guardian for the children of his deceased friends who had been killed by the Indians. He owned between 3,000 and 11,000 acres of land, much of which he had received for his Revolutionary services as an officer. The only other concurrent David in the records was his son, who was always designated as David Wilson, Jr. It is more difficult to determine from the records just what offices our JAMES held due to the large number of men with the name James Wilson, and because many of the records do not differentiate between the men. Little can be known if the only designation is “James Wilson.”

Governor Blount was appointed Governor of the Territory South of the Ohio in 1790 by President Washington. Blount arrived in the territory and lived in east Tennessee. An ordinance had been passed in 1787 that when the territory contained 5,000 free male inhabitants they were entitled to a Territorial Legislature. By 1795, they took up the question of statehood. A census was made and there were 77,000 people in the area. A convention was called in Knoxville in 1796 and they agreed to form the independent State of Tennessee. It was officially adopted into the Union on June 1, 1796.

Governor Blount’s Journal records in July 1792, “Captain Wilson resigned the militia and Lieut. Thomas Patton [JAMES’ neighbor] was appointed in his place. James Wilson, Ensign.” There is no further designation of which James Wilson this referred to. We do know our JAMES was deputy county ranger, as JACOB HOUDESHELL and JAMES’ neighbor, Ephraim Farr, put up his “security” for this job. The author is not sure what the job actually entailed. Later, he became the county ranger in 1796. [Tennessee Historical Commission, The Blount, Journal.] JACOB was in Capt. James Farr’s militia detachment. [American Militia in the Frontier Wars 1790-1796, pg 144.]

David Wilson and his brother, Zacheus, were trustees of the Shiloh Presbyterian Church and received the land granted to the use of the church for a building. [Sumner County, Deeds] That land was designated as donated by Zacheus Wilson for the use of the church and located near the “church spring.” Zacheus and David had been influential at the Steel Creek Presbyterian Church in Mecklenburg, North Carolina. Zacheus was a pious and dedicated Presbyterian. The first minister was the Reverend William McGee. He was the minister until 1800, when he was succeeded by the Reverend William Hodge. [Durham, Great Leap Westward, pg 151.]

The location of the church was moved in 1869 from Desha’s Creek to a more convenient spot. The site was given by B. B. M. L. Barr and located on the Scottsville Pike, near Mr. Barr’s home, according to a newspaper account. [Sumner County News, April 13, 1961.]

A deed, dated August 28, 1816, states that James Odom gave a deed to “William Barr and Samuel McMurry, Trustees for New Shilo Presbyterian congregation” for $30.00 one acre on Deshea’s Creek.” [Sumner County Deed Book Volume 7, page 412.] This is probably the second location of the church, predating the move to the current location. [Durham, Great Leap Westward, pg 151.]

Bricks for the new church were burned on the Barr place and JAMES ESCUE was hired as the bricklayer. JAMES lived at Liberty, three miles west of Westmoreland. Rev. J. W. Hoyt dedicated the building in June of 1871. [Sumner County News, April 13, 1961.]

The early settlers erected forts from logs planted upright in the ground as stockades for protection. Because the Indians seemed to want to catch them outside the forts, they tended to travel in groups between forts. The Creek Indians apparently were always on the lookout for settlers in small numbers and would attack them if they could find them outside the safety of the stockades. Chief Double Head killed eight of the Wilson family before the wars were over.

In 1793, the year JACOB HOUDESHELL married ELIZABETH WILSON, according to The Great Leap Westward, by Walter Durham, the Creek Indians continued to raid and attack the settlers. On Bledsoe Creek they were continually harassed and several were killed, including Colonel Isaac Bledsoe, who was on the way to his fields with his workers. He was scalped and his widow wrote a letter begging for help from the authorities to keep the settlers safe from the Indians. David Wilson took the letter to Secretary Daniel Smith detailing the bravery of James Hayes. David was also among those caught in a cross fire with Indians about this same time.

In an area called the “Greenfield Tract,” 260 Indians attacked the settlers in the second largest Indian attack ever. Several settlers and several slaves were among those killed. After the attack, the militia company didn’t ride out until the next day, but found evidence the Indians, appearing to retreat, had lain in ambush waiting for pursuing whites. Fortunately, the cool heads had prevailed after the attack and the whites did not rush into the waiting Indians. There were two men named Joseph Wilson living in that area at that time. One of the Josephs was David’s nephew, the son of Robert, Sr., David’s brother. One Joseph fought the Indians and six of his children and his wife were captured. One source says his wife’s name was Elleanor Wilson. All but one of the children and his wife were released reasonably soon, but one daughter was kept by the Indians for quite some time and reportedly had a difficult time readjusting to white society.

One of the men named Joseph Wilson wrote a will in 1833 that named his wife, Sarah, daughters Polly Wilson, Eleanor Wilson, Elizabeth Wilson, Anne Wilson, Sarah Barham, Fanny Barham, and sons, James T. Wilson, Moses Wilson, and Montillion W. Wilson.

Many of the Wilson’s neighbors and eight of the Wilson family were killed in the Indian raids in the early settlement years. Archie Wilson and George Wilson were among those killed. One source says Archie was the son of one of the Joseph Wilsons.

Archie Wilson was described as “a fine young man” who had volunteered his services to protect the people at Zeigler’s Fort on the night it was attacked and destroyed by Indians. He was wounded and ran back toward the fort, but was caught about a 100 yards from the fort. John Carr, who went to the site the next day, wrote,

the ground was beaten all around, showing the desperate defense Wilson made. The Indians had broken the breech of a gun over his head in the fight, and had he not been badly wounded, there is little doubt that he would have gotten off. It was an awful sight. [Durham, The Great Leap Westward.]

Not long after Isaac Bledsoe’s death on April 14, 1793, Henry Houdesrshell and Samuel Pharr were also killed by Indians on the Cumberland River landing near General Rutherford’s land. The Pharr family were neighbors of JAMES’. Henry Houdeshell’s land adjoined JAMES’. Henry’s land was listed as lying on “Indian Creek” but was abutted by lands lying on “Sinking Creek”. [Durham, The Great Leap Westward.]

Henry Houdeshell left a wife and small child. The child died and the widow remarried. Henry’s brothers, Isaac, Adam, and John, were the heirs. Isaac was listed as living in Culpepper County, Virginia. JAMES was a witness on the deed when the land was transferred to the brothers. [Sumner Co. TN Deeds] John C. Hamilton, Jr., an attorney, married the widow and obtained two-thirds’ interest in the land in a lawsuit against John, Henry’s brother, and the land was eventually deeded to Hamilton by the courts. That land was obtained by a man named Thomas Patten [Patton] who sold part of it to another man named Robert Patton [relationship unknown.]

John C. Hamilton, Jr., was a very enterprising man in early Sumner County, and had many business and legal dealings mentioned in the court and deed records. His father had also been an “up and comer” in post-revolutionary settlement of the western frontier areas.

The Pattons were next door neighbors and friends of JAMES WILSON’s. Thomas Patton posted bond for JACOB HOUDESHELL for the administration of JAMES’ estate. The deed that divided JAMES’ estate lands among his heirs mentioned the lands abutted Thomas Patton’s. Patton was one of the earlier settlers in the area. Several men named Patton married the daughters of another man named James Wilson who died in 1809. [Sources, see: Sumner Co., TN estates] In early records, Payton, Patton, and Patten are used interchangeably. John and Empram Patton were twin brothers who with their father were some of the earliest settlers in the area. Their descendants populated the Sumner Tennessee area. This family had been prominent in the Augusta County, Virginia Scots-Irish settlements, and in North Carolina frontier Scots-Irish settlements. [Durham, Great Leap Westward.]

JAMES WILSON’s lands on Sinking Creek were very near Henry Houdeshell’s. He had received a grant May 20, 1792. Though he probably owned other lands, this is apparently where he lived. He had probably been there much earlier, but many grants were recorded on that day and the date bears little relationship to the actual settlement of the lands. He received 30 acres on nearby Indian Creek at the same time he got the above grant, but sold it a few months later to one of the McCorkles for $37.00. [Sources: See Sumner Co., TN Deeds]

Some of the neighbors listed in Captain King’s company were: Ephram Farr, John Hamilton Sr. and Jr., Thomas Donnel, Thomas Spencer, Thomas and Robert Payton, Zacheus Wilson, Samuel Wilson, Henry Howdyshell, David Wilson, Henry Loving, Christina Zigler, Revolutionary General Griffith Rutherford, John Wilson, and another man named James Wilson.

Ephram Farr [Phar] apparently died not long after JAMES did, and his heirs sold his lands in 1810 to James Vinson, another neighbor. The deed mentioned Sinking Creek, Henry Houdeshell’s survey, and Robert Patton. [Sumner County, TN Deed Book, Volume 6, page 18]

In 1797, JAMES WILSON, SENIOR, sold 50-1/2 acres to Francis Fonville. The deed, recorded in Deed Book A, pages 1 and 2, recounts that the lands had been originally granted by patent to Peter P. Looney in 1786 and that he had sold the lands October 15^th, 1788, to John Wilson and JAMES WILSON, Senior. Pages 2 and 3 of the same book continue with a sale from Joseph Wilson to Francis Fonville for an additional 20 acres of land. This was witnessed by JAMES. John Wilson had sold his half interest in the fifty acres of land to JAMES in a deed dated April 13, 1796. This deed is the proof needed to corroborate the early tax records, proving that our JAMES WILSON was the same man named in the tax lists in Sumner for 1787. It raises the question, though, about the relationship between JAMES and the man named John Wilson who bought the lands with him. Were they brothers? Father and son? Cousins?

Some other early settlers in Sumner were the Looney family. Pettus Luna, also called Peter Looney, sold some land to our JAMES WILSON in 1788, consisting of 62 -1/2 acres on Indian Creek. There were eventually three men named Peter Looney in Sumner and they are distinguished in the records as Peter Looney “P” and “H.” Apparently, the Looney and Luna are interchangeable, too.

There are many other deeds that refer to James Wilson and we are not sure which man was referred to, so we are unable to trace all of the land transactions of our JAMES. We do know from tax records, that he usually owned about 250 acres in the county. He also received patents for lands which he later sold.

In 1804, our JAMES was a guardian for a man named Joseph Wilson, a “lunatick” who resided in Wilson County. Joseph’s wife, Martha, was joint guardian and they were ordered by the court to sell some of the perishable property of this man’s estate. This consisted of 23 head of cattle, and 16 head of hogs. Since JAMES handled this chore for Joseph and Martha, and because Joseph and Martha had minor children at the time, this makes us think this Joseph Wilson may have been his brother, or possibly this man was JAMES’ father with a younger wife and young children. JAMES also named what is apparently his oldest son, Joseph, so this underscores the relationship as a close one. Records are found about this estate in both Wilson and Sumner Counties.

The court order reads:

Agreeable to an order of court directing a writ to issue commanding the Sheriff to summon and impannel a jury to enquire concerning the lunacy of Joseph Wilson, which writ was returned by the said Sheriff that he had executed the same with the report of the Jury by him impannelled reporting there on that the said Joseph Wilson is & has been for some considerable time in a state of lunacy, it is ordered that JAMES WILSON be appointed guardian for the said Joseph Wilson during his lunacy, and the said JAMES WILSON entered into bond for the faithful discharge of his guardianship, to the Justices present, in the sum of two thousand dollars with Henry Belote and Griswold Latimer securities. [WPA transcribed copies of Wilson County Records.]

Ordered that Martha Wilson, Wife of Joseph Wilson be appointed as Joint guardian with JAMES WILSON for the purpose of securing the personal property of Joseph Wilson who is represented to this court to be in a state of lunacy, the said guardians entered into bond as the law directs with William Steele and Perry Taylor their securities. Orderd that an order of sale issue to sell the perishable property of the said Joseph wilson at the direction of the said guardians by giving timely notice of said sale. [Wilson County Court Minutes.]

A true inventory of the sale of Joseph Wilson .sold in pursuance of an order of the worshipful court Wilson County at June term 1805. Also the property that has been sold at private sale since he became a lunatic. .Abraham Smith, one cow $8.50, Thomas Sypert one….William Wilson, one steer 7.25, Isham Davis one steer….Property in the hands of JAMES WILSON, SR. signed Martha Wilson, and JAMES WILSON Guardians. Recorded May 14, 1806. [WPA transcribed copies of Wilson County Records.]

The designation of the James Wilson, guardian for Joseph Wilson, as “James Wilson, Sr.” gives us a reasonable assurance that this man was our JAMES WILSON. If this man had never been designated any name except “plain” James Wilson, it would have been more difficult to determine that it was probably our man.

JACOB HOUDESHELL was one of the commissioners appointed to make the division of the Pharr estate. Ephraim Pharr [Farr] was one of the neighbors of JAMES WILSON and JACOB HOUDESHELL. He had posted security when JAMES was the county ranger.

In 1806, JAMES SHOOTY WILSON, listed as “James Wilson [Shooty],” charged items at the local Gallatin merchant of John Allen, and Allen’s store journals record that JAMES bought one pound of powder. In December of 1806, notations that “James Wilson, son of Shooty,” bought items, and JAMES also purchased items for “your son, James.” [John Allen, Sumner County Store Journal, 1806-1807.]

We don’t know how old ELIZABETH WILSON was when she married JACOB HOUDESHELL in 1793, but she was probably somewhere between 13 and 20 years old. Her father, JAMES, was probably married when he came to Tennessee and several of the children were born before the move, but he also had children born between 1787 and 1807. These children were minors when he died. There were minor children listed in JAMES’ estate in 1808 and no wife’s part listed, so the wife may have died between those dates. No records of a dower being set apart were found in the estate papers. If the tombstone of the James [who died in 1818] is the tombstone of JAMES’ son, then JAMES’ wife was named Sarah.

James Shooty Wilson’s Estate

Much of what we know of our JAMES WILSON we know from his estate. He did not leave a will in Sumner County, but the estate papers comprise many pages of inventory and receipts in the Sumner County Archives and tell us a great deal about his life and financial dealings. Another man named James Wilson died about the same time, but the estates are easy to separate if you have copies of both. The other James Wilson’s administrator was John Parsons, JAMES’ neighbor, who was probably a son-in-law of the other James. The guardian for the minor children of that James Wilson was James T. Wilson, the son of Joseph, David’s nephew. That James left a widow, whose name we do not know, but who declined to administer the estate. The fact the children were almost all minors at the time of this man’s death indicates he is a much younger man than our JAMES, but probably at least middle-aged.

We can eliminate several of the men named James Wilson as being this man. If we estimate his age to be about 40, then he was probably born about the year 1770. He was fairly well-to-do, owning several slaves. We know he was not:James C. Wilson [Curley], nor James S. Wilson [Smoking Jim], nor was he our JAMES, and he could not have been James-son-of-John, because John’s will mentions his son in 1833. He was not James A. Wilson, David’s son, either. He also could not have been James Wilson, the son of Robert Wilson, Sr. [brother of David.] Consequently, we are not sure who this James is, but he wasn’t any of those men.

Our JAMES’ estate tells us he owned land in both Sumner and Williamson Counties, the identity of some of his heirs, and his financial status, but leaves us only clues about some of his relationships. Zacheus Wilson, Jr., was the co-administrator along with JACOB HOUDESHELL. Again, we are left with a quandary about who the “Zacheus Wilson, Jr.,” was. We know he was not an heir of JAMES, nor a son-in-law, as those men were mentioned in the deeds which described just which piece of land each got. Obviously, in order to be the administrator, there was some close relationship, but we are still unclear just what it was. We can probably eliminate David’s brother, Zacheus, as the Zacheus “Jr.” who was the administrator, but that leaves several others from which to choose. Samuel Wilson had a son, Zacheus, but that Zacheus died about 1808, so he can be eliminated as “Zacheus, Jr.” Eliminating these leaves us with either Zacheus, son of David, or Zacheus son of Joseph, who was the son of Robert Wilson, Sr., David’s brother.

Children of James “Shooting” Wilson, Sr.-1

Most of JAMES’ children were grown, and some married, but several were still minors at the time he died. They were older teenagers, and able to chose their own guardians, which was allowed at age fourteen. [Estate of James Wilson.]

1. Hannah Wilson-2 born about 1785, was a major buyer at the estate sale, buying the only slave, a female, for $400, as well as other large items. It is rare that a female buyer at an estate sale is not the widow, or a daughter of the deceased. When the cash portion of the estate was distributed, Hannah Wilson received a child’s portion. This Hannah “Wilson” was the wife of James Hodges [who was an heir and received a portion of land]. James Hodges married Hannah Wilson September 16, 1800, and the bondsman was JAMES WILSON. There was no record found of a dower being set aside for a widow among the estate papers. There were several married daughters who were not mentioned by Christian name, but their husbands received portions for them, including lands. Several of JAMES’ children also named children “Hannah.” At the division of lands in Williamson County, “Hannah Hodges” was referred to. She had been referred to [in error] as “Hannah Wilson” in Sumner County records even though she was married several years prior to her father’s death.

2. Prudence Wilson-2, born about 1793, married John Gourley December 15, 1808. The bondsmen were John B. Pendergast and William Kirkpatrick. Her husband received 45 acres from her father’s estate, but she was not mentioned by name. Her husband’s will, dated June 27, 1865, did not mention her name, but it named her children: Samuel Gourley, Hannah [Gourley] Whitson, wife of Biron Whitson, John P. Gourley, Sarah Jane [Gourley] Stone, wife of Howard Stone, and Peter Gourley. It was witnessed by Daniel Escue. John Gourley was also administrator for the estate of Jonathan Wilson, the son of David’s brother, Zacheus, Sr., and also the son-in-law of David Wilson, in 1854. The marriage license of Prudence Wilson and John Gourley is the only record we have found of her given name.

3. A daughter-2 who was married to Josiah Hodges. This couple moved to Wilson County, as evidenced by a deed dated October 5, 1812, in which Josiah Hodges, Wilson County, Tennessee, sold his lands inherited from JAMES WILSON to his brother-in-law, John Gourley. [Sumner County, TN Deed Book Volume 6, pg 347.]

4. James Wilson-2, a minor son at the time of his father’s death, [born after 1787], son of JAMES WILSON, Sr. JACOB HOUDESHELT was his guardian. This was apparently the same James Wilson who was a “lunatick” for whom JACOB was guardian, and whose estate was probated in 1818. Thomas Wilson took over this guardianship in 1813. The estate papers for JAMES’ estate show the other minor heirs eventually signed that they had received their estates from their guardians, but there is no signature from James-2-the-son-of-JAMES WILSON-1 that he received his estate, underscoring the probability that he is the “lunatic.” The birth and death dates would also correspond with the tombstone of the “James Wilson, son of James and Sarah Wilson.” If we accept this son, James, as the same young man who had the 1818 tombstone, then we can be reasonably sure that JAMES’ wife was named SARAH, and that she and he lived in Orange County, North Carolina, just prior to moving to Sumner.

5. Violet Wilson-2, born after 1787, a minor when the estate was probated, chose Zacheus Wilson, Jr., as her guardian. Violet was a popular name among the Scots-Irish of Augusta and Mecklenburg counties. She married James Gourley, May 18, 1813, in Sumner County. Her brother-in-law, JACOB HOUDESHELL, was the bondsman. She was still mentioned as “Violet Wilson” in the Williamson County distribution of property in January of 1813. [Williamson County Will Book 11, pg 18.]

6. Samuel Wilson, born after 1787, also a minor at the time of his father’s death, also had Zacheus Wilson, Jr., as his guardian. In 1816, he sold part of his lands inherited from his father to James Vinson. James Vinson was a neighbor who had purchased many pieces of property on Sinking Creek over the years prior to this sale. [Sumner County, TN, Deed Book Volume 7, pg 372.] [Williamson County Will Book 11, pg 18.]

7. Joseph Wilson, born about 1777 or before, probably the oldest son, relinquished his right to any of the Sumner County lands of his father. He received a portion of the Williamson County lands, however. [Williamson County Will Book 11, pg 18.]

8. ELIZABETH WILSON, born before 1780, probably in North Carolina, married JACOB HOUDESHELL in 1793 in Sumner County. [Williamson County Will Book 11, pg 18.]

Except for Joseph Wilson, who relinquished his right to any Sumner County lands, all of the children or their husbands received about 45 acres each. The lands’ value varied from $3.00 per acre to $6.50 per acre. [Sumner County Deeds & Estate of James Wilson, Sr.]

No deeds were found to indicate JAMES gave lands to any of his children prior to his death. In 1797, he sold 102 acres on Sinking Creek to JACOB HOUDESHELL for a “gift” price of $25..

Josiah Hodges, who inherited some of the lands of JAMES, sold them and apparently lived in Wilson County.

John Gourley, who married ELIZABETH’s sister, Prudence Wilson, was also the brother of JACOB’s second wife, Jane Gourley, whom JACOB HOUDESHELL married after ELIZABETH died. Hugh Gourley was an earlier settler who was probably their father or older brother. John Gourley was also the administrator for the estate of JACOB’s widow, Jane, when she died in 1838.

We do not know why JAMES WILSON did not write a will, as he was apparently anticipating his own death when he made a promissory note stating “five months after deat, I promas to pay...” [five months after death? debt? I promise to pay…?] If a person died without a will, the law dictated how his property should be divided among his heirs. No widow’s dower was mentioned in the estate, so we may reasonably assume that his wife predeceased him.

The inventory of his estate was returned by JACOB HOUDESHELL, his son-in-law, and Zacheus Wilson, Jr. One of the neighbors, Thomas Patton, was the security for the $3,000 bond that the administrators had to place. Standing bond for someone was not taken lightly. If they stole from the estate, the bondsman’s property could be taken to satisfy the judgment against them. Standing bond for this amount indicates a close relationship with the Patton family. The families had intermarried with the Wilson Clan and had migrated with them for generations.

Before his death, JAMES WILSON, along with William Moore and James Steel, had put up security for debt owed by Dempsy Moore to James Williamson. Dempsey had apparently not made good on this debt. JAMES had to repay the entire $650 owed because the other two men, for some reason, did not put up their share of the forfeit. JAMES’ administrators eventually sued William Moore and James Steel for their shares of this forfeit. The estate received judgment against them for two-thirds of the debt. We do not know, however, if it was collected. [Sumner County Lawsuits & Estate of James Wilson, Sr.]

JAMES WILSON’s estate also had several valuable horses. Sumner County was becoming a center for breeding racing Thoroughbreds and had several very valuable stud horses in residence in the county. Apparently, one of JAMES’ mares had been bred to a stud horse named “Tanner.” The estate paid the bill for the “fall season” for this mare in the amount of $4.

JAMES’ watch sold for $16 at the estate sale and a case of pistols was bought by JACOB. A “bch books” was sold to Zacheus Wilson, Sr., for $5. One would assume there were quite a few books, or they were very valuable, since this was quite a bit of money at that time. The literacy rate among the Scots-Irish was quite high. The signers of the Cumberland Compact in 1780 all signed their names except for one man who signed with a mark.

The accounts in the estate are quite interesting. There was a bill for a firm of merchants called “Will & Abram Trigg.” They list the prices paid for women’s shoes [$1.50] and a “pr. speckltes” for 62 cents, a pound of coffee for 50 cents [that was a day’s wages for a farm laborer] and indicated a bill for $7 for a man who worked 14 days “reaping at harvest.” A “3 pt blanket” cost $3.50. It was an “Indian Trade blanket” made of wool with colored stripes on one end. The same blanket today would cost over $150. One would imagine that most of the family bed coverings were made by the women of the family. They probably wove blankets or made quilts out of fabric scraps and cotton batting. Buying a blanket was probably a luxury item.

Some cotton from the farm was sold at the estate sale, apparently by the 100-pound lots, for about $3.50 per lot. It isn’t known if this was raw cotton or ginned. The estate paid some of their outstanding store accounts by bartering cotton with the merchants, but the store gave them credit for $15 for 100 pounds of cotton. Another bill for cotton ginning was for $18.25 total and said “@15”---15 cents per 100 pounds ginned? Or, per pound ginned? The family also paid a bill to buy cotton combs, so they must have used their own cotton to spin. Many of the Scots-Irish were weavers, and almost all of the female children from the ages of three up could spin fiber into thread for weaving. JAMES’ note to Alex Creathers, in which he promised to repay the loan in money or “thred,” indicates the family bartered spun thread with their neighbors.

The cotton gin had been invented and patented by Eli Whitney in Georgia in 1793. Prior to the invention and distribution of the gin [short for “engine”], cotton lint had been extracted by hand from the seeds to which it was closely stuck. The labor to remove the lint from the seeds was so difficult that a skilled person could only remove the seeds from one or two pounds per day. There were several hand-operated gins, but even these could only remove the seeds from about 5 to 10 pounds of cotton per day. With long-stapled [fibered] cotton, it is possible to spin the fiber directly off the boll of cotton, without first extracting the seeds. However, early cotton was quite short stapled, so we are not sure if they did this type of spinning or not. Within a decade of the invention of the gin, the cultivation of cotton had increased many times over and had become a valuable cash crop for the southern plantations. The labor necessary to cultivate cotton was less intense and needed less skill than for tobacco, the other traditional cash crop.

The early cotton grown was short stapled, or in other words, the fibers’ length was quite short, which made it difficult to spin. The quality was quickly improved, however. The selective breeding of cotton, which was encouraged by the invention of the gin, quickly improved the quality.

Along with the invention of the gin, the invention of the mechanical spinning machines facilitated the making of cloth from cotton on a commercial scale. At the time of JAMES’ death, however, it is unlikely the commercial-spinning factories had yet been established in the area. In the two decades after his death, the quality and character of farming would considerably change in the South.

Cotton required good land and was, like tobacco, “hard on” the land, giving only one or two good crops on virgin land before the land was worn out. Unlike tobacco, however, it did not require constant attention and skilled labor until picking time in the fall. Seeds were planted in the late spring after the ground got warm. The ground must be warm for the seeds to germinate. My own grandfather used as his “gauge” to determine when the ground was warm enough by observing the fishermen fishing on the creek banks. When the fishermen quit sitting on over-turned buckets, and started sitting directly on the ground, he knew it was warm enough to plant his cotton. Two or three seeds were planted in a “hill” together, and about six to eight inches away from the next “hill.” After the cotton came up, it might be thinned by hoeing. Plows had “fender skirts” attached to keep the plows from throwing too much dirt from the middle directly into the center of the row, and covering the small and tender plants.

The old saying “he’s in tall cotton” referred to the fact that if the cotton was grown on poor ground and was short, then a man would have to crawl on his knees to pick it. If the cotton was tall, it was easier to pick, and could be picked walking instead of crawling, while dragging a six-foot-long cotton sack.

On good ground, the cotton might be as much as four feet tall with an abundance of bolls. Pickers could make good time relatively easily. Wagons were equipped with tall sideboards to hold the bulky crop. As the cotton was picked, it was placed in split-oak baskets which were strapped to their backs or into long cotton sacks that the picker dragged on the ground.. In the 1950s, when the author was a child, the pickers would go down the rows with their sack until it was full or too heavy to drag, Then they would take it to the wagon, where it would be weighed Each person’s cotton would be tallied at the end of the day and they would be paid at a per-pound rate for picking it. At one point, the pay was three cents per pound. Earlier generations had received one cent per pound. A child could pick about 100 pounds in a day and a good hand could pick about 300-400 pounds.

The scales used to weigh the cotton were very simple and may have been made by the local blacksmith. They were made from a flat iron bar with notches cut in the top edge. There was an off-center hook in the top, so it could be hung from a pole mounted on the wagon. Sometimes it was hung from the wagon’s tongue which had been propped up at its end to accommodate the necessary height.. A hook from the bottom, also mounted off-center, was used to hang the cotton sack for weighing. A “pea,” or weight, was hung on the long end of the horizontal bar to balance the weight of the cotton sack. When the bar hung level, the weight was determined. It was simple and a fairly accurate method of weighing, and required no springs. By using different sized “peas,” the bar could be made to weigh a small amount or a huge amount of weight.

Each acre of cotton planted today produces about 1,000 pounds of fiber, [two bales] and sometimes twice that in very good ground. About 1,100 pounds of raw cotton is needed today to produce 500 pounds of fiber, which is about what a bale of cotton weighs. Picking cotton did not require a great deal of skill, though someone familiar with it could pick more than a novice, but it was not classed as “skilled” work. Tobacco required quite a bit of skill to cultivate, pick, and process. With short-staple cotton, it might require 2,000 or more pounds of raw cotton to make a 500-pound bale.

The county court in Sumner appointed a quality inspector for cotton quality, just as they did for tobacco. Usually, this was the man who owned or ran the local cotton gin. He had to place a sizable bond to assure his honesty in appraising the quality of the cotton. Cotton with a lot of “trash” --leaves or pieces of bolls---would it to grade lower. Shorter staple [the staple was the length of the fiber, with longer being better] cotton would grade lower. If it was a bad year, the cotton bolls might not ripen correctly, so that the fluffy fiber could not easily be pulled out of the opened boll. In cases like this, the farmer might have the hired hands or slaves “pull the bolls” or the entire hull as well as the fiber. This would produce a lower-quality product, but even this would be better than no product for a year’s crop.

JAMES WILSON’s farm didn’t grow great quantities of cotton, probably only a few acres. He also apparently grew rye and corn. The estate papers mentioned that corn sold for 26 cents a bushel and rye for a dollar per bushel.

The estate inventory also included 76 head of geese and about 25 head of hogs, besides the horses, and a few head of cattle. Geese are grazers, meaning that they eat grass and, essentially, feed themselves most of the year. They furnished the farm with both meat and feathers at relatively little cost. The soft breast feathers can be plucked without killing the goose. Feather pillows, “featherbeds,” and other items made from the feathers of the geese, added to the comfort of the family. A “featherbed” was a light, soft, and very warm addition to the family’s beds.

The mattresses were usually quite hard, being stuffed with straw or corn husks or cotton, then laid over a rope net strung between the bed’s frame. The featherbed was a large sack filled with small feathers and down. It would be turned and “fluffed” each morning. When summer came, the featherbeds would be taken off the beds and stored. Though they were quite soft, a person sleeping in one would sink down to the “bottom” and be enveloped within the very warm confines of the featherbed. The featherbeds provided both softness and warmth to the bed in a room that had little or no heat during the winter. Feathers were sold and traded by the pound.

The state, county, and poor taxes owed by JAMES’ estate for 1808, 1809, and 1810, amounted to a few cents more than a dollar a year. The other James Wilson’s estate paid about $3 per year, but owned seven slaves, and JAMES’ estate only owned one slave. The taxes could be partly paid in cash, and partly in meat or corn or produce. [James Wilson, Sr., Estate]

Hard cash may have been difficult to come by in early Sumner County, and there were no banks. Since there was little circulating currency and coin, the people made up for this deficit by issuing their own “checks” of a sort, and calling them “notes of hand.” They were actually promises to pay and only as good as the man who signed them, of course, but they might be traded from hand to hand before they were actually redeemed by the signer. One such note that JAMES wrote, which is contained in his estate records, was written very much like a check on a small piece of paper, it read:

Five month after deat [death? debt?] I promas to pay or caus to be payd to Alias Crethers ten dollars in tread or monay it being for value received of him this 11th day of May 1807 as witness my hand and seel ss/James Wilson. [Estate of James Wilson.]

On the back of the note, Alias Crethers had endorsed the note over to Mark Dodd, David Wilson’s son-in-law, and eventually the estate redeemed it. The word “tread” is probably “thread,” misspelled. Thread, or spun fiber, was an item frequently used for barter between plantations and seems to have had a set value. Spinning fiber for later weaving into cloth was a constant task on the plantation. Female children started learning to spin as early as age three. The “Crethers” family had also intermarried with the Wilsons. Jane Creathers married David Wilson, Jr. We have a copy of a note asking an unnamed “Sir” to please send him $10 and agreeing to pay it back with interest. It appears to be in JAMES’ own handwriting. The note may be the letter to Alex Creathers asking him for the $10 in the note-of-hand.

The store accounts also listed a pint of whiskey paid for by the estate for 12 1/2 cents. The Scots-Irish as a whole were heavy drinkers, and even gave whiskey as medicine to children.

JAMES SHOOTY WILSON was probably somewhere between 50 and 70 years old when he died about 1808. He was not one of the richest men in the area, but was obviously a substantial one who had established a successful plantation for his family in the wilderness. It seems that he was breeding a few “blooded” horses and raising the food, fiber, and fuel needed for his family, as well as cotton and tobacco for sale. Since the family apparently owned only one female slave, probably a household servant, the farm labor was mostly provided by the family and the occasional hired labor for help with reaping. JAMES had lived in the area for about 21 years when he died.

It appears that JACOB took his responsibility for oversight of the estate of JAMES WILSON seriously. Probably more so, since at least one of the sons-in-law lived at some distance from the plantation. The deed for the division of the heirs of the estate for the land filed in Sumner County on March 10, 1811, reads as follows:

Agreeable to an order of Court March term 1811 issued to us the subscriber to divide the plantation of James Wilson dec’d among the legatees in the following manner viz agreeable to plat hereunto assigned, James Wilson’s lot number first, forty five acres beginning at a sugar tree…. said lot valued at $3.00 per acre.

James G. Hodges lot number two forty five acres beginning at James Wilson’s north east corner…., said lot valued at $3.00 per acre.

Samuel Wilson number three, 45 acres beginning at a red oak in the corner …to a stake John Gourley’s corner thence with Gourley’s line east 114 poles to a stake James C. Hodges… corner in James Wilsons line… said lot valued at $5.00 per acre.

John Gourley lot number four. 45 acres beginning at a poplar and walnut Josiah Hodges Corner …to a black oak Jacob Houdeshelt’s corner …..Samuel Wilson’s…, said lot valued at $6.50 an acre.

Jacob Houdeshelt number five, 45 acres beginning at a black oak Vilot Wilson Corner and ….with said Vilot Wilson’s line east 96 5/10ths poles to John Gourley’s corner…. said lot valued at $5.00 per acre.

Vilot Wilson lot number 6, 45 acres beg at a large hickory NE…., Jacob Houdershelt’s corner..... other and Josiah Hodges corner…said lot valued at $6.50 per acre.

Josiah Hodges number six 45 acres beginning at a black oak Houdershall’s, Gourley and Vilot’s corners, thence with John Gourley line west….. Said lot valued at $6.00 per acre. [Sumner County Archives, Deed Book 6, page 418-21.]