USA > Virginia > Augusta County > Augusta County > Annals of Augusta County, Virginia > Part 4
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Captain Fleming (so called in the record-book) was chosen a Vestry- man of Augusta parish, November 24, 1764, in place of John Mathews, deceased, and continued to serve in that office till June 27, 1769. The records of the Vestry show that he was repeatedly allowed payment of bills for professional services to the poor, and from his private account books it appears that he was often called to visit patients in Bedford county. In the fall of 1769 he removed to the new county of Botetourt, of which he was one of the first justices of the peace. (See page 131).
He commanded the Botetourt regiment at Point Pleasant in 1774. In 1779-'80 he was a member of the Continental Congress at Phila- delphia, and was the only person from west of the Blue Ridge who sat in that body. Being a member of the Governor's Council in 1781, he acted as chief executive of the State for a time during that year, in the temporary absence from Richmond of Mr. Jefferson
It is said that he was repeatedly sent by the Government to Kentucky as commissioner to settle land claims, etc., but never removed from Virginia. His death occurred in 1795, at his residence, called Bellmont,
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near the present town of Roanoke, and his remains were interred there in the family burying-ground.
THE ESTILLS.
Wallace Estill, of Irish descent, was born in New Jersey in 1707. His first wife was Marcy Bowdy. After the birth of five children he removed with his family to Augusta county, between 1744 and 1747, and a sixth child was born here.
Benjamin Estill, the second son of Wallace and Marcy, was born September 20, 1735, married, in Augusta, Kitty Moffett (see elsewhere in this Supplement), was a justice of the peace in 1764, and afterwards removed to the Holston. His sons were Captain John M. Estill, of Long Glade, Augusta county, and Judge Benjamin Estill, of Southwest Virginia.
Wallace Estill married a second time Mary Ann Campbell, of Augusta. By this marriage he had nine children, among them, James, born November 9, 1750, and Samuel, born September 10, 1755.
James Estill married in Augusta, Rachel Wright, and removed to Greenbrier. Before the year 1780, he removed from Greenbrier to Kentucky, and settled at Estill's Station, in the present county of Madi- son. In 1781 one of his arms was broken by the rifle-shot of an Indian, and before he had fully recovered from the injury he was engaged in a memorable conflict with the savages and lost his life. At the head of about twenty-five men, in March, 1782, he pursued the same number of Wyandotts across the Kentucky river into what is now Montgomery county. The battle was fought on the site of the town of Mount Ster- ling, and is known as the "Battle of Little Mountain," or "Estill's Defeat." During the battle, which was unusually protracted, a panic seized a part of the whites and they deserted their comrades. The loss of the Indians was greater than that of the whites, but they held the field and the victory was conceded to them. The battle field has been surveyed and platted at least three times in as many law-suits about land locations, and almost every incident of the fight noted on the sur- veys. On one of the maps a spot is indicated as the place where Captain Estill fell. The depositions in the suits, taken while the survi- vors of the battle lived, give a minute history of the affair and the transactions of several following days. A county in Kentucky was called for Captain Estill. (Collins's History of Kentucky, Volume II, pages 168, 636).
Samuel Estill, younger brother of James, married Jane Tess, and also went to Kentucky. He was celebrated in his youth as an Indian fighter, and for his great size in his latter years. At the time of his death he weighed 412 pounds.
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COLONEL WILLIAM WHITLEY was born in that part of Augusta which now constitutes Rockbridge county, August 14, 1749. He married Esther Fuller, and in 1775 removed to Kentucky, taking with him little more than his gun, axe and kettle. His brother-in-law, George Clark, accompanied him, and in the wilderness they met seven other men who joined them. He became a famous Indian fighter and during his life was engaged in seventeen battles with the savages. His last expedition of this kind, organized by him, was against the Indians south of the Tennessee river. It is known as the " the Nickajack Expedition," from the name of the principal town against which it was directed. The number of whites engaged was from five hundred to seven hundred, and the Indians were routed with great slaughter. In 1813 Colonel Whitley, then in the sixty -fifth year of his age, volunteered under Governor Shelby, and fell at the battle of the Thames, October 5. He was selected by Colonel Richard M. Johnson to command a " forlorn hope " of twenty men, nearly all of whom were killed. It is believed by many persons that Whitley, and not Colonel Johnson, killed Tecumseh, the celebrated Indian chief, in that battle. Whitley county, Kentucky, was called for him. (Collins's History of Kentucky).
THE MOFFETTS.
At an early day in the history of the county there were two families of this name in Augusta, which, as far as their respective descendants know, were not at all related. The ancestor of both families was named John. One of these John Moffetts was buried in the North Mountain grave-yard. (See page 153.) His son, William, whose wife was Elizabeth Gamble (see page 187), was for many years a leading citizen of the county. Some of the descendants of James Moffett, brother of William, reside in the Tinkling Spring neighborhood and in Rockbridge.
The prominent representative in the county of the other family was Colonel George Moffett, who is often mentioned in the ANNALS, and to some members of this family we here particularly refer.
John Moffett, the ancestor, was amongst the first settlers of the county. His wife's maiden name was Mary Christian, and his children were George, Robert, William, John, Mary, Kitty and Hannah. At some time prior to' 1749-probably as early as 1742-he left his home in Augusta to go to North Carolina, and was never heard of afterwards. In the course of time he was presumed to be dead, probably killed by Indians, and his widow, Mary Moffett, qualified as his administratrix, February 28, 1749, executing bond in the penalty of 6500, with her brothers, Robert and William Christian, as her securities. Mrs. Moffett
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contracted a second marriage with John Trimble, by whom she had one son, James Trimble. (See "The Trimbles.")
For a sketch of Colonel George Moffett see page 191. Two of his brothers removed to Kentucky in 1783, with their half-brother, James Trimble and many other Augusta people. Robert Moffett, one of the two, settled in Jessamine county. He had two sons, John and George, who were captured by Indians soon after their arrival in Kentucky. The ages of the boys were about six and eight years, respectively. They were taken to the Indian town of Piqua, on the Miami river, in Ohio, and John was adopted into the family of Tecumseh's mother. At Wayne's treaty, in 1794, these prisoners were given up, and their father was present with the Kentucky troops to receive back his long- lost sons. George, the younger of the two, was eager to return home ; but John was reluctant to leave his Indian mother and friends. He went back, however, with his father, but was restless and unhappy and finally returned to Piqua. There he remained with the Indians till they sold their reservation and removed west of the Mississippi river.
The late John A. Trimble, of Ohio, in a letter dated March 31, 1881, and addressed to Dr. George B. Moffett, of West Virginia, says that when he was a child, in 1807, he saw John Moffett, who was then on his return from a visit to Kentucky. He was in the vigor of manhood, dressed in Indian costume and traveling on foot. Mr. Trimble saw him again in 1828, at his home near Piqua. He had lived during his boyhood and youth with Tecumseh, the celebrated Indian chief, and seemed much attached to him. At the time of Mr. Trimble's visit, Moffett had recently married an elderly lady and settled down to civilized life. But in his early life he had an Indian wife. Mr. Trimble says :
"I was descending the Mississippi in 1819, and landed at a point below Memphis called Mills's Landing. Mr. Mills, the pioneer settler there, had a trading post with the Mississippi Indians, who were encamped about the post. My brother, Cary Trimble, was with me. Mr. Mills, hearing we were from Kentucky, claimed relationship, his wife being a grand-daughter of Robert Moffett, of Woodford. We were invited to his house and my brother at once recognized Mrs. Mills as a relative whom he had known fifteen years before in Kentucky. She related a strange surprise she had a few evenings before from a very old Indian woman. She had noticed for several days the manners of this woman and her close scrutiny and eager gaze as she would meet her. At last she came up to her, exclaiming : 'Moffett! you are Moffett !' Somewhat startled, she called to Mr. Mills, who understood the Indian language, and he learned that the woman was the repudiated wife of John Moffett, a prisoner among the Indians at Piqua, 'long time ago. The woman said she knew Mrs. Mills from her likeness to her uncle when he was 'a boy. She said also that she had a son, Wicomichee, a young Indian chief, so called ' because his father left him.'"
Mr. Trimble says further, that during the Black Hawk war of 1833, in Northern Illinois, Wicomichee was employed by General Atkinson to
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recover the captive daughters of Dr. Hull, of Illinois or Missouri, and that he did find and bring them into camp to their father.
THE ALLENS.
James Allen (see page 91) was the oldest son of Wiliam Allen, who came from Ireland and settled in Augusta, but at what dateis unknown. A brother of William was the grandfather of Dr. Allen who long resided and practiced medicine in the Stone Church neighborhood.
It is believed that James Allen was seven years old at the date of the emigration to America. His brothers, Hugh and John, were born here.
James and' Hugh married sisters, daughters of Robert Anderson, a native of Ireland. John Allen, it is said, was a lieutenant at Brad- dock's defeat, and was " lost " in that disaster. Hugh was a lieutenant in Colonel Charles Lewis's regiment at Point Pleasant, in 1774. He was killed in the battle and his body was buried by the side of Colonel Lewis's remains. He had three sons, John, William and Hugh, all of whom.removed to Kentucky.
[The widow of Lieutenant Hugh Allen, whose maiden name was Jane Anderson, contracted a second marriage, in 1778, with William Craig, born in 1750 and died in 1829. The children of William and Jane Craig, who lived to maturity, were, I. Jane, wife of James Patterson, of Augusta ; 2. James Craig, of Mt. Meridian, died in 1863; 3. Sarah, wife of James Laird, of Rockingham ; and 4. Margaret, last wife of James Bell, of Augusta.]
James Allen lived near the place now called Willow Spout, on the McAdamized road, about eight miles north of Staunton. As we have seen, he was a captain of militia in 1756. He participated in the battle of Point Pleasant, saw his brother Hugh killed, and placed a stone at his grave. He died in 1810 ninety-four years of age, having been an. elder of Augusta Stone Church for sixty-four years.
James and Margaret Allen had ten children, two sons and eight daughters, viz :
I. Jane Allen, wife of Captain James Trimble, wlio removed to Ken- tucky in 1783, accompanied by the sons of Hugh Allen and many others. (See " The Trimbles.")
II. Ann Allen, wife of Colonel George Poage, who removed from the county. Their children were, I. Allen; 2. John; 3. William ; 4. Jane ; 5. Mary ; 6. James ; 7. Thomas, and 8. Hugh.
III. Elizabeth, wife of the Rev. John McCue. (See page 239.)
IV. Rebecca, wife of Major John Crawford. (See " The Crawfords.") V. Margaret, wife of Major William Bell. (See " The Bells.")
VI. Mary, wife of Colonel Nicholas Lewis, who removed to Kentucky.
VII. Nancy, wife of Captain Samuel Frame, whose children were, I. John ; 2. Thomas ; and 3. Nancy.
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VIII. Sarah, first wife of James Bell, and mother of Colonel William A. Bell.
IX. William Allen, married Susan Bell, of Kentucky, and removed to Kentucky in 1783 with Captain James Trimble and others. He set- tled at Lexington and had six children. His oldest daughter married Matthew Jouett, the artist, and her oldest daughter was the wife of Richard Menifee, the celebrated Kentucky orator. Another daughter married Dr. Alexander Mitchell, of Frankfort, and one of her daugh- ters married Oliver Frazer, the artist. One of Captain William Allen's sons was Colonel William H. Allen, formerly of Augusta county, and another was Colonel James Allen, of Missouri.
X. James Allen, who married Elizabeth Tate. Their children were I. William, who married a Miss Poage; 2. John, who married, Ist, Polly Crawford, and, 2d, Ann Barry, widow of Dr. William McCue, and removing to Michigan, was the founder of Ann Arbor, so named for his wife; 3. Mary, wife of Captain John Welsh, 4. Margaret, second wife of Major William Poage, of Augusta; 5 Nancy, wife of Charles Lewis; 6. Sarah, wife of George Mayse, of Bath county, and 7. James T. Allen, who married Miss Maynard, of Michigan.
THE TRIMBLES.
Five brothers, James, Moses, David, John and Alexander Trimble, came to America from Armagh, Ireland, some time between 1740 and 1744. James and John settled in Augusta county.
I. James Trimble brought with him to America a certificate of a Sir Archibald Atkinson testifying to his good character and qualifications as a land surveyor. Upon the organization of Augusta county, in December, 1745, he was appointed and qualified as deputy county sur- veyor. He married Sarah Kersey, of the Cowpasture, and lived near the site of Lexington. His remains were interred in the Old Monmouth graveyard. His children were six sons and four daughters. Jane, the oldest daughter, married William McClure; Agnes married David Steele, ancestor of the Rockbridge family of that name; Sarah married Samuel Steele and removed with him to Tennessee, and Rachel mar- ried Joseph Caruthers, who also went west.
John Trimble, son of James, was born August 24, 1749, and married Mary Alexander, a daughter of Captain Archibald Alexander by his second wife. (See " The Alexanders.") Like his father, he was a sur- veyor. He died while still a young man, leaving one son, named James, born July 5, 1781, who went with his mother to Tennessee, after her second marriage to Lewis Jordan. This son, James, came back to Vir- ginia, studied law with Judge Coalter at Staunton, and returning to
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Tennessee, practiced his profession at Knoxville and Nashville. He died in 1824. A son of his, named John, was recently living near Nashville.
Alexander Trimble, another son of James, was born February 15, 1762, married Martha Grigsby, and died in 1816, leaving no child. He lived at a place called Holly Hill, three miles east of Lexington. His widow, a woman of rare intelligence, survived him for more than fifty years. To a letter addressed by her in 1845 to John Trimble, of Nash- ville, we are indebted for most of this family history.
William Trimble, youngest son of James, was sheriff of Rockbridge, and died in Staunton in 1794, when on his way to Richmond with taxes collected by him.
II. John Trimble, brother of James, the surveyor, settled in Augusta on Middle river, about two miles from Churchville, five from Buffalo Gap, and eight from Staunton. He married Mrs. Mary Moffett, widow of John Moffett, and mother of Colonel George Moffett and others. His death occurred in 1764, he having been killed by Indians at the time of the second Kerr's Creek massacre. (See page 122). His widow and his brother, James, qualified as his administrators, November 20, 1764. He had one son, James.
James Trimble, son of John, was born in Augusta in 1756. When a boy of eight years of age, at the time his father was killed, he and others were captured and carried off by Indians. (For an account of his capture and rescue see elsewhere in this Supplement.)
On the 18th of March, 1768, George Moffett qualified in the County Court as guardian of "James Trimble, orphan of John Trimble."
When eighteen years of age, in 1774, James Trimble was a member of Captain George Mathews's company at the battle of Point Pleasant. During the Revolutionary war he was Captain of Rifle Rangers. His second wife was Jane Allen, daughter of Captain James Allen, of Augusta. (See "The Allens," also page 91 of ANNALS). In 1783 he with his family and many others, removed to Kentucky and settled in Woodford county. He liberated his slaves, and was about to remove to Hillsboro, Ohio, when he died, in 1804.
Captain James Trimble and his wife, Jane Allen, had eight children, six sons and two daughters. One of the daughters, Margaret, married her cousin, James A. McCue, of Augusta (see page 239), and spent a long and honored life in the county. The other daughter, Mary, mar- ried John M. Nelson, a native of Augusta, but long a resident of Hillsboro, Ohio. (See page 225). Allen Trimble, oldest son of Captain James Trimble, was Governor of Ohio from 1826 to 1830, and one of his sons is the Rev. Dr. Joseph M. Trimble, of the Methodist Episcopal Church. William A. Trimble, another son of Captain James Trimble, was a Major in the war of 1812, Brevet Lieutenant-Colonel in the United States Army till 1819, and a member of the United States Senate from Ohio when he died, in 1821, aged thirty-five years. John A. Trimble, of Hillsboro, the youngest son, a gentleman of literary taste and accomplishments, married a daughter of Dr. William Boys, of Staunton.
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The large and respectable Trimble family of North Mountain, Augusta county, of which the late James B. Trimble was a prominent member, are not related, as far as known, to the family of James and John. The John Trimble mentioned as living in the North Mountain neighborhood in 1755 (see page 66), and also in 1775 (see page 153), was probably the ancestor of the James B. Trimble family.
Judge Robert Trimble and his brother, Judge John Trimble, were distinguished citizens of Kentucky. The former was a member of the Supreme Court of the United States when he died, in 1828. A sketch of him in Peters's Reports, Volume II, says that he was born in Augusta county in 1777; but all the Kentucky authorities state that he was a native of Berkeley county, Virginia. He was probably a grandson of one of the three emigrant brothers who did not come to Augusta.
FORT DEFIANCE is the name of a station on the Valley Railroad, about nine miles north of Staunton. The name has given rise to the belief that a fort stood on the spot during the Indian wars of the eigh- teenth century. Some imaginative or credulous persons undertake to tell about the people congregating there in times of danger, of the investment of the place by Indians, and of its defence on one or more occasions. But no fort was ever built there, and the name is of com- paratively recent origin. For this statement we have the authority of the venerable Adam Link, who lived at the place and conducted the mercantile business there for many years, and who remembers when the name originated. The old stone church, four or five hundred yards south of "Fort Defiance," was fortified during the early times referred to, but, as far as known, was never assailed by an enemy. The report that there was a subterranean passage from the church to the spring is entirely untrue. ..
THE SMITHS.
Captain John Smith, the ancestor of the Augusta and Rockingham Smiths, appeared at Orange Court, June 26, 1740, and " proved his im- portation," with the view of taking up public land. The record shows that his wife's name was Margaret, and that his children were Abraham, Henry, Daniel, John and Joseph. They came from Ireland by way of Philadelphia, and were accompanied by Robert McDowell. Captain Smith and others qualified as captain of militia at Orange Court, June 24, 1742. We next hear of him as a captain of rangers in 1755. (See page 76.)
The late Benjamin H. Smith, of Kanawha, a great-grandson of Cap-
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tain John Smith, relates in an unpublished manuscript a series of events in the life of his ancestor, of which there is elsewhere no account. According to this narrative, at some time not stated, Captain Smith, with seventeen men, held a fort where Pattonsburg, on James river, now stands, which was invested by three hundred French and Indians. After a brave resistance for three days, the garrison agreed to surrender the fort upon a stipulation allowing them to return to their homes. Aston- ished and mortified at finding so few men in the fort, the enemy disre- garded the terms of surrender and held the survivors, only nine or ten in number, as prisoners. Three of Captain Smith's sons were with the party, one of whom was wounded during the siege and killed by an Indian after the surrender. The prisoners were taken by the French down the Ohio and Mississippi rivers to New Orleans, and on the way the two young Smiths, who had survived the disaster at the fort, died. Only five of the prisoners lived to reach New Orleans. The Captain and two others were sent to France, and he alone returned to America, after an absence of two years.
Whatever foundation there may be for this story, some of the details are certainly incorrect. There was a fort, so-called, at the mouth of Looney's Creek, a mile above Pattonsburg, but it is safe to say that there never was an inroad into the Valley of three hundred French and Indians. The only Indian raid upon the Pattonsburg neighborhood, of which we have an authentic account, occurred in 1761. (See pages 107, 108.)
Captain Smith died at the residence of his son, Daniel, two miles north of Harrisonburg, after the beginning of the Revolutionary war. He applied for a commission in the army, but was refused on account of his age, which greatly offended him His children who survived him were three sons and one daughter. The latter married Hugh Bowen, of Southwest Virginia, who was killed at the battle of King's Mountain.
I. Abraham Smith, son of John, was captain of militia in 1756. (See pages 91, 92.) In 1758 he was court-martialed, but acquitted, and his accuser subjected to punishment. (See page 103.) In 1776 he was colonel of militia. (See page 159.) In 1778, lie was one of the first justices of Rockingham and county lieutenant. He owned a large landed estate at the foot of North Mountain, about two miles from North River, which descended to his son Henry.
John Smith, son of Abraham, was an ensign at Point Pleasant. He was the father of the late Abraham Smith, of Rockingham, of Joseph and Silas H. Smith, of Augusta, and of a daughter named Mancy, wife of William Crawford. (See "The Crawfords.") His wife was Mary Jane Smith, of Culpeper, a descendant of the Captain Smith who visited the Valley, in 1716, with Governor Spotswood. Her first hus- band was Silas Hart, who died without children.
II. Daniel Smith, son of John, was for some time presiding justice of the County Court of Augusta. In 1776 he was captain of militia (see page 159.) When Rockingham county was organized in 1778, he was
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one of the first justices of the peace. He was appointed also colonel of militia and one of the coroners. The first County Court of Rock- ingham was held at his house. His wife was Jane Harrison, sister of Benjamin Harrison, of Rockingham. On the return of the troops from Yorktown, the victory was celebrated by the military of Rockingham at a grand review. Colonel Smith's horse, taking fright at the firing, sprang aside, and spraining his rider's back, caused his death in a few days. Three of his sons participated in the siege of Yorktown, viz :
I. John, father of the late Judge Daniel Smith.
2. Daniel, who was also at Point Pleasant.
3. Benjamin, father of Benjamin Harrison Smith, of Kanawha.
III. William Smith, son of John and brother of Abraham and Daniel. His family went to Kentucky and have been lost sight of by their Vir- ginia relatives.
THE HARRISONS, of Rockingham, were intimately connected with the Smiths, but the early history of the former family is involved in much obscurity. They are said to have come from Connecticut, and to have been descendants of Thomas Harrison, one of the judges who con- demned King Charles I to death. We find, that on July 27, 1744, the Rev. John Craig baptized Elizabeth Herison, "an adult person "; and on January 21, 1747, he baptized David Stuart and Abigal Herrison, "adult persons, after profession of faith and obedience." It is pre- sumed that the females mentioned were members of the Harrison family. John and Reuben Harrison are mentioned under date of 1750, on page 46. Our information is that they were brothers. John never married, and was killed by his slaves. Reuben married, and had several children. Captain Daniel Harrison is mentioned in 1755 (page 78), and again in 1756 (pages 91 and 92). Nathaniel Harrison was fined by the court-martial of Augusta county, October 30, 1761, for failing to mus- ter. How Daniel and Nathaniel were related to Reuben, is not known. Thomas Harrison, the founder of Harrisonburg, the son of Reuben, left four sons: Ezekiel, Reuben, John and Josiah, and one daughter, who married a Warren. The present Reuben Harrison, of Rocking- ham, is a son of Reuben and grandson of Thomas.
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