Some Washington County, Virginia, History

Washington County, Virginia: "They came to Abingdon seeking freedom."

See Page 29 (Black's Fort) and another section on Black's Fort on Page 43.

1773 - Christopher Acklin And Others To Clear The Nearest And Best Way

Washington County, Virginia (Source: LOC)

History of Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786, Washington County, 1777-1870:

And on the 9th day of July, 1773, Joseph Black, Andrew Colvill, Samuel Ewen, William Blackburn, George Blackburn, Samuel Briggs, Davis Galloway, John Berry, Christopher Acklin, John Keswick, John Vance and Benjamin Logan were directed to clear the nearest and best way from Samuel Brigg's on *Eighteen Mile creek, to James Bryan's, on **Eleven Mile creek. 

*Now Town Creek 
**Now Greenway

Clear The Best Way

History of Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786, Washington County, 1777-1870, By Lewis Preston Summers:

Source

Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail

Sign At Bandit's Roost Corps of Engineers Campground, NC
(W. Scott Kerr Dam and Reservoir)

Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail commemorates the victory of American forces over the British at Kings Mountain, October 7,1780, with the group of Overmountain Men.

The Wilkesboro, North Carolina, area is where I noticed the trail marker sign (above).

Abingdon, Virginia, was an important point on the trail (*to me).

Black's Fort In Abingdon, Virginia
*Home of my ancestors, Christopher Acklin and His Wife, Christian Black

"Certified by the National Park Service as the northern trail head of the Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail, the Abingdon Muster Grounds is a picturesque 9-acre park with significant history." (Source)


Map courtesy of the National Park Service.


For more information about Kings Mountain and the Revolutionary War in general, see King's Mountain and Its Heroes: History of the Battle of King's Mountain .... .

Potential X-DNA Ancestor Matches

See X Marks the Spot on the DNA Explained blog.

My brother's X potential matches below.  The male X chromosome is derived solely from the maternal side.

J. Joanne Garrett (mother)

James Garrett and Katie I. Johnson
James Garrett's mother, Sophia Swinyer
David Swinyer and Mary Jane Snay [Sophia Swinyer's parents]
David Swinyer's unknown parents
Peter Snay and Sophia Swinyer [Mary Jane Snay's parents]
Mary R. [unknown last name] Peter Snay's mother
Mitchell Swinyer and Mary Staves [Sophia Swinyer's parents]
Other unidentified matches

James D. Johnson and Katie Rice (maternal grandparents)
Nancy Graves [James D. Johnson's mother]
Nancy Graves' parents [identities unknown]
James Rice and Nancy Patillo [Katie Rice's parents]
Ann Hinds [James Rice's mother]
William Hinds and Elizabeth Acklin [Ann Hinds' parents]
William Hinds' mother [identity unknown]
Christopher Acklin and Christian Black [Elizabeth Acklin's parents]
Other unidentified matches

I'm an X match with my brother, but our paternal aunt is not.  Our DNA results at FTDNA confirmed this.

My maternal matches sync up with my brother's.  In addition, I have the potential paternal X matches listed below:

Richard N. Powers [father]
Beatrice Cameron [grandmother]
Donald Cameron and Anna Cameron [same surname]
Donald Cameron's mother, Nancy Cameron [Cameron was her surname]
Anna's parents, Duncan Cameron and Ellen Cameron [same surname]
Nancy Cameron's parents, Allen Cameron and Mary McMillan
Duncan Cameron's mother, Mary McMillan
Ellen Cameron's parents, Ewen Cameron and Bridget Higgins
Other unidentified matches

Affiliated With Blackburns

My War of 1812 Chronicles featured a post about William Gray Simms.  There were Simms related to Blackburns who were related to Blacks in Abingdon, Washington County, Virginia.

Tyler's quarterly historical and genealogical magazine, Volumes 1-2:

"The widow of Lieutenant William Blackburn, Elizabeth (Black) Blackburn, her brother, Capt. Joseph Black and John Blackburn were granted letters of administration on the estate of Lieutenant William Blackburn November 24th 1780, they, together with Samuel Newell and John Davis... ." 

Jean Blackburn Cusick

Picture From The Midwest (Missouri)

Jean Blackburn Cusick was a descendant of John Black and Elizabeth Colville, as am I.  There's also a Bandy connection among the Cusick descendants; I, too, have a Bandy connection.

Source

Memorial at FindAGrave.  The marriage of Joseph Cusick and Jean Blackburn was listed here.

Why was the Cusick Bible in the possession of Macklin Bandy of Columbia, Missouri?  Here's a clue from the Founding Bandy Fathers page:

John Rufus McLin Bandy  (1865 - 1943)
Father John Kennedy (Canady Bandy (1841 - 1885)
Mother Martha Ann Cusick (1843 - 1917)
Burial Memorial Park Cem, Columbus, MO

Fain Shot A Spy

There was a Fain who was living in Black's Fort....

  "...descended from Nicholas Fain, born in France in 1730. He moved to Ireland where he married Elizabeth Taylor, an English lady. The children of Nicholas Fain were Samuel, John, David, William, Thomas, Ebenezer, Reuben, and Elizabeth.

One of the sons, Ebenezer Fain...[a] resident in Washington county, Virginia...enlisted in the Patriot armies for a three months term...stationed at Black Fort and Montgomery Station and was engaged in two battles with Indians in one of which sixteen were killed in June 1780. 

Source

"...young Fain shot John Foulin, a spy, on whom was found an express note from Lord Cornwallis to the Tory Captain Moore, urging him to defend his fort until some troops could reach him. The Americans took advantage  of this information, captured Moore and his fort, together with one hundred men and then dispersed at Musgrove Mills the party sent to reinforce Captain Moore."


A document from Ebenezer Fain's Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application File:

Elizabeth Colville Black Newell

My [presumed] lineage from Elizabeth:

Elizabeth Colvill m. John Black

Christian Black m. Christopher Acklin

Elizabeth Acklin m. William Hinds

Ann Hinds m. Ransom S. Rice

James A. Rice m. Nancy Patillo

Katie Rice m. James Johnson

Katie Johnson m. James H. Garrett

J. Garrett m. Richard N. Powers

Cathy [me]


Possible burial ground of Elizabeth Colville Black Newell here.

The King's Mountain and Black's Fort connection.

The Colville name.  More about the Colvilles.

Abingdon's Black's Fort

At the farm of Captain Joseph Black, where Abingdon now stands, between four and five hundred people collected together to build a fort. The erection of Black's Fort was begun on the 20th day of July 1776, the same day that the battle of Long Island Flats was fought and the news of the victory of the settlers in that battle was received the next day.

Source: Black's Fort Messenger, The Official Newsletter Of Abingdon, VA

(See "Source" link above for the whole map and newsletter)

About the 24th of July 1776, Capt. James Montgomery, who had settled on the south fork of Holston river about eight miles from Black's Fort, came to the fort he and two other families having decided to defend their own homes.

*Black's Mill Dam

John Black & Elizabeth Colville

Claiming John and Elizabeth (Colville) Black as my ancestors works only if their granddaughter, Elizabeth (Acklin) Hinds, was also my ancestor.  I believe this is so, but the evidence is thin at this point.

John Black was born ca 1715 in Ireland and died after October 22, 1747, in Virginia.  Here is a fabulous timeline (map included) of events pertinent to the Black family (two items shown).  John Black's transcribed will is also available at that link as are various land transactions.

Joseph Black 1747-1823
Pioneer, Patriot, Presbyterian

• 22 Oct 1747 John Black will recorded

• 06 Apr 1748 Wed John Black estate settlement

Elizabeth Colville was born about 27 April 1722 in Ireland; this post suggested that Elizabeth and her second husband, Samuel Newell, were buried in the Eusebia Church Cemetery in Blount County, Tennessee.

Children of John and Elizabeth Black of Frederick County, Virginia:

--Joseph Black m. Jane ___

--Jean Black m. Lt. John Vance

--Christian m. Christopher Acklin

--Martha m. John Cusick

--Child (Elizabeth) m. Lt. William Blackburn

Elizabeth (Colville) Black married 2nd Samuel Newell.

Ann Hinds' Chart

Ann (Hinds) Rice was my Grandma Katie's great-grandmother, through her son, James A. Rice.

Ann Hinds, daughter of

William Hinds and Elizabeth Acklin

Ann Hinds, granddaughter of

Christopher Acklin and Christian Black

Ann Hinds, great granddaughter of

John Black and Elizabeth Colville

Ann Hinds, great great granddaughter of

Joseph Colville and Elizabeth Wilson

Clash Of The Titans? The Acklin Lawsuit

Chancery records online at Virginia Memory at the Library of Virginia

Augusta County

Index No.: 1811-190 

Original Case #6

Christopher Acklin Vs. Exr. Of Thomas Walker

page 14 affiant James Vance whose testimony was taken at Abingdon, Washington Co., VA
page 17 affiant John Vance
page 22 General Daniel Smith of  Sumner county, TN
page 24 Samuel Acklin of Claiborne Co., TN  in the HOUSE OF JOHN HUNT!!!!
page 27 court summons form
page 30 lived in fort in fear of Indians
page 33 Andrew Vance
page 36 William Hinds
page 37 Joseph Acklin
page 41 deposition of Daniel Smith  spelled Acklin as Ackland
page 42 Andrew Colville mentioned and also Joseph Black
page 43 David Shelby, clerk Sumner Co (12 March 1804)
page 44 Blount Co., TN, Joseph Black, Josiah Gamble (10 March 1803) Gamble was affiant
page 48 receipt
page 50 Christopher Acklin (Jr?) and William Acklin (signatures) Washington Co., VA, with Vance sig.
page 52 another summons form
page 54 wants deposition of Alexander Breckenridge of Bourbon co  KY, signature? of Christopher Acklin dated 10 May 1803
page 56 General Daniel Smith of Davidson Co., TN, Christopher Acklin by attorney __
page 58 Alexander Breckenridge of Bourbon co, KY 4 June 1803 Christopher Ackling!

Christopher Acklin's tavern was mentioned here in the lawsuit records.

Court At Black's Fort

Annals of Southwest Virginia mentioned that the first court session at Washington County, Virginia, was at Black's Fort in Abingdon.

[Source]

The site where Black's Fort was eventually built was notable even earlier because of a 1761 incident involving Nathaniel Gist and Daniel Boone.  They were attacked by a pack of wolves; subsequently the area was known as Wolf Hills.

The county of Washington was established...in the fall of the year 1776, and...Black's Fort was designated as the first place of meeting of the County Court of the new county. The time of the meeting was fixed as January 28, 1777.

[Source]

But several important inducements decided the contest in favor of Black's Fort; to-wit: ....because Dr. Thomas Walker, Joseph Black and Samuel Briggs agreed to give to the county of Washington one hundred and twenty acres of land... .

Joseph Black and Christian (Black) Acklin were siblings; Christian was my 5th great-grandmother.