There is a will of record in Orange Co., N.C., dated June 17, 1790, for William Clendening li sting as beneficiaries, Mary, William, JOHN, Joseph, Polly, Rebecca, Ann, Fanny, Jenny, JAMES , and Fisher. The executors of this will were John Thompson and Andrew Murdock. From this i t can be clearly seen that JAMES CLENDENING, who married BETSEY BLEDSOE, was a younger brother of Lt. John Clendening of Orange Co., North Carolina.
[Note: How this proves that the John listed in William Clendening's will is Lt. John Clendening, of Orange Co., NC., I'm not sure unless John was the only John Clendening / Clendenin / Clendenan in Orange County. Lt. John Clendening was the first husband of Fannie/Mary who married 2nd Alexander Trousdale. The Trousdales were my ancestors.]
James Clendening, who married Betsey Bledsoe June 10, 1789, in Sumner Co., Tenn., wrote the will of Colonel Anthony Bledsoe, as he lay mortally wounded by the Indians, and is mentioned many times in the lawsuit brought in 1846 by Polly Bledsoe Weatherhead, a posthumus daughter of Col. Anthony Bledsoe. The division previously made by the executors of the will was upheld . The children of Betsey (Bledsoe) and James Clendening were Thomas, killed by the Indians ; Anthony; Richard; Patsy, married James Patterson, Rachel, married William Patterson, and Elizabeth Clendening.
The United States Supreme Court reports, Volumes 50-53, has details about Col. Anthony Bledsoe's contested will here.
Col. Anthony Bledsoe was granted 6,280 acres of land from the State of North Carolina. He built a fort at Greenfield, about 2 1/2 miles north of Bledsoe's Lick (now Castalian Springs, TN). Archaeology at Bledsoe's Lick (with pictures) can be found here.
He (Col. Anthony Bledsoe) also had land in Kentucky (one land grant found here) that he wanted sold to use for his children's education (per his will).
Bledsoe County, Tennessee, was named after Colonel Anthony Bledsoe.
See his gravestone at Find-A-Grave.
2 comments:
At first glance it would seem that Col Anthony Bledsoe's son-in-law James Clendennin was the son of William Clendennin [1726-1801] and the brother of militia Captain John Clendennin [1756-1837]. Moreover William Clendennin's Bible records a son named James born 21 Jan 1770. Unfortunately however while Bledsoe's future son-in-law was transcribing his will, William Clendennin's son James was active in Orange County. In Aug 1791, James Clendennin served on the Orange County jury in an appeal from Barton vs Elliot; From May to Nov 1794 he was on a road jury laying off a new road from Hillsborough to what would become the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He again served on jury duty in May 1797. In September 1797 he married Mary Bradshaw in Orange County. During this time frame the "other" James Clendennin was active in Sumner County. He married Betsey Bledsoe on 10 June 1789 and the couple sired at least seven children beginning with Anthony in 1792 and ending with Richard after 1801. There is no evidence that Elizabeth Bledsoe Clendennin's husband James ever travelled to Orange County much less lived there. So -- sorry -- we have two James Clendennins not one.
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