USA > Virginia > Augusta County > Augusta County > Annals of Augusta County, Virginia, with reminiscences illustrative of the vicissitudes of its pioneer settlers (A Supplement) > Part 39
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We find in Mrs. Floyd's narrative a brief account of the assault by Indians on the house of David Cloyd, which is referred to on page 126. Colonel William Preston, who then lived at Greenfield, had gone to Staunton, in March, 1764, when one day, early in the morning, Mrs. Preston was startled by the report of two guns in quick succession in the direction of a neighbor's house half a mile distant. Presently Joseph Cloyd rode up on a plow-horse with the gearing on and related that Indians had killed his brother John, had shot at him (the powder burning his shirt), and having gone to the house had probably killed his mother. Mrs. Preston immediately sent a young man who lived at her house to notify the garrison of a small fort on Craig's. Creek, and then despatched a white man and two negroes to Mr. Cloyd's. The latter found Mrs. Cloyd tomahawked in three places, but still alive and conscious. She told about the assault by the Indians, their getting drunk, ripping up the feather beds, and carrying off the money. One of the Indians wiped the blood from her temples with a corn-cob, saying, "Poor old woman!" She died the next morning. The sequel of the story, as far as known, is given on page 126.
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THE FLOYDS .- It is stated on page 74 that Colonel John Buchanan's wife (a daughter of Colonel James Patton) had only one child at the date of Colonel Patton's will. Another daughter, named Jane, was born afterwards and became the wife of Colonel John Floyd and mother of the first Governor Floyd.
The first Floyds in America were two brothers who came from Wales to Accomac county, Virginia. William Floyd, a son of one of these brothers, married Abadiah Davis, of Amherst county, who was of Indian descent. John Floyd, a son of this couple, was born about 1750. At about eighteen years of age he married a Miss Burwell, who was fourteen years old, and died in a few months. Ten years after- wards he married Jane Buchanan, a second cousin of Colonel William Preston. From 1772 to 1776 Colonel Preston was county surveyor of Fincastle county, which embraced all Kentucky. He appointed John Floyd one of his deputies and sent him to survey lands on the Ohio river, which led to the settlement of the latter in Kentucky. His son, John, was born near Louisville, April 24, 1783, came to Virginia when he was twenty-one years of age, served in the Legislature and Congress, was Governor from 1829 to 1834, and died in 1837, aged fifty-four. The late John B. Floyd, also Governor, etc., etc., was a son of the first Gov- ernor Floyd. Their home was in Washington county.
THE LOGANS.
General Benjamin Logan's parents were natives of Ireland, but married in Pennsylvania. Soon after their marriage they removed to Augusta county, and here, in 1743, their oldest child, Benjamin, was born. The Rev. John Craig's record shows that Benjamin, son of David Logan, was baptized May 3, 1743. When young Logan was fourteen years of age.his father died, and according to the law of primogeniture then in force, he inherited all the real estate which had been acquired. Upon coming of age, however, he refused to appropriate the land to himself, and after providing a home for his mother and her younger children, went to the Holston. His wife was a Miss Montgomery. He was a sergeant in Colonel Henry Bouquet's expedition in 1764 (see page 124), and was with Dunmore in his expedition of 1774. He was one of the people of the Holston settlement who signed the " call " to the Rev. Charles Cummings to become their pastor, in 1773. (See page 52.) In 1775 he went to Kentucky, with only two or three slaves, and established Logan's Fort, near the site of the present town of Stanford, Lincoln county. His family removed to Kentucky in 1776. In May, 1777, the fort was invested, for several weeks, by a hundred Indians. As the ammunition of the small garrison was becoming exhausted, Logan, with
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two companions, repaired for a supply to the Holston settlement and returned in ten days. In 1779 he was second in command of an expe- dition against the Indian town of Chillicothe, which terminated rather disastrously. He was in full march to reinforce the whites at the Blue Licks, in 1782, when that fatal battle occurred, but could only receive and protect the fugitives from the field. He was a member of the Kentucky Conventions of 1792 and 1799, and repeatedly a member of the State Legislature. Logan county, Kentucky, was called for him. (Collins's History of Kentucky, Volume II, page 482.)
William Logan, oldest son of General Logan, born where Harrods- burg now stands, December 8, 1776, is said to have been the first white child born in Kentucky. He became a Judge of the Kentucky Court of Appeals and a Senator in the Congress of the United States His death occurred August 8, 1822. (Collins, Volume II, page 713.)
To the Rev. Robert Logan, of Fort Worth, Texas, we are indebted for some further information in regard to his family. Mr. Logan thinks the ancestor who came to America was named James. He belonged to a Scotch family which had removed to Lurgan, in Ireland. Upon com- ing to the Valley, he settled near New Providence church, in what is now Rockbridge county. The names of only two of his children are known-Benjamin and James. The former, after his father's death, on coming of age, settled his mother and her younger children on Kerr's Creek, and went himself to the Holston, as related. The family resided on Kerr's Creek in 1763-'4, but, as far as known, none of them were killed or captured by the Indians in those years.
James Logan remained with his mother. His wife was Hannah Irvin, the daughter of a Presbyterian minister, and he had eight sons and four daughters.
John Logan, one of the sons of James and Hannah, married Rachel McPheeters, daughter of William McPheeters, and sister of the Rev. Dr. McPheeters. He lived near Greenville, Augusta county, and was long an Elder in Bethel Church. Among his children were a son named Eusebius, a minister, who died in 1827; the Rev. Robert Logan, of Fort Worth ; and Joseph A. Logan, and Mrs. Theophilus Gamble, deceased, of Augusta.
Alexander Logan, also a son of James and Hannah, moved to Ken- tucky. One of his sons was a minister, and his son is the Rev. Dr. J. V. Logan, now President of Central University at Richmond, Kentucky.
Robert Logan, another son, was a Presbyterian minister who lived many years and died at Fincastle, Virginia. He was the father of the late John B. I. Logan, of Salem, Roanoke county.
Joseph D. Logan, a fourth son, was a Presbyterian minister. His first wife was Jane Dandridge, a descendant of Pocahontas, who left one son. His second wife was Louisa Lee, one of whose children is Dr. Joseph P. Logan, of Atlanta, Georgia.
Benjamin Logan, a fifth son of James and Hannah, was the father of the late J. A. Logan, of Staunton.
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A daughter of James and Hannah Logan, whose name is not known, was the wife of the school teacher, Mckinney, at Lexington, Kentucky, who had the conflict with a wildcat, of which there is an account in McClung's "Western Adventure." Sitting alone in his log-cabin school- house one morning in May, 1783, Mckinney discovered a wildcat glaring in at the door. Before he could arm himself with a heavy ruler, the animal was upon him, with its teeth fastened in his side and its claws tearing his clothing. By pressing the cat against the sharp edge of a desk he succeeded in overcoming it, just as the people, aroused by the mingled cries of the man and beast, came to the rescue.
COLONEL WILLIAM FLEMING.
Having fallen into some errors in regard to Colonel Fleming (see page 110) we give the following sketch, being indebted to one of his descendants for some of the facts.
In August, 1755, the month after Braddock's defeat, William Fleming landed in Norfolk. He was educated at the University of Edinburgh, and served for some years as a surgeon in the British Navy. Not liking that profession he resigned and came to Virginia. As we have seen (page 83), he was a lieutenant in the Sandy Creek expedition of 1756 and acted as surgeon. He was afterwards appointed ensign in the First Virginia Regiment, commanded by Washington. In 1758, he was commissioned lieutenant, and served in the campaigns of Forbes and Abercrombie. He was made captain in 1760 and stationed at Staunton, it is said. After his marriage, in 1763, he resumed at Staunton the practice of medicine and surgery.
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, who 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, 1. 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 Jolin 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.
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