The Carson Family
From
Washington County, Virginia
To Rockcastle County, Kentucky
To Jellico, Tennessee
To Davie, Broward County, Florida
The Revolutionary War
Family Members who Served
David Carson, the earliest documented person in our Carson family, served under Colonel William Christian and Major Evan Shelby in the attack on the Cherokee Over-Hill towns (allies of the British) and under Colonel William Campbell of Washington County, Virginia in the Battle of King's Mountain.
William Lawrence, the father-in-law of Preacher David Carson, and William's father John Lawrence both served in the Duchess County, New York Militia during the Revolutionary War.
Thomas Fish (1755 in North Carolina - August 13, 1840 in Mt. Vernon, Rockcastle County, Kentucky), the grandfather of Marcinda W. Fish (first wife of Judge John Evans Carson), served in the Revolutionary War and was a Justice of the Peace in Rockcastle County, Kentucky. His son, Jesse Fish, in a 1869 letter said Thomas Fish joined the army as a volunteer and served a tour of duty on an expedition against the Tories and Indians who were being very troublesome to the frontier settlers in that part of the country during the time of the old Revolutionary war. After his return from the army he frequently was speaking of having marched through a village then in North Carolina called Moravian Town where he saw a Tory man hanging by the neck and from appearance had been in that condition for a day or two and the soldiers were not permitted to take him down in order that he might be buried.
Thomas Fish, after he moved to Kentucky, his sons, William Fish and Thomas Fish fought the Indians with General Shelby in Indiana in the War of 1812.
Jesse Fish, son of Thomas Fish and Winaford Birney, also wrote a history of the Fish family. In it he says that the father of Winaford Birney, William Berney of Gilford County, North Carolina, was a soldier in the Revolutionary War.
David Owen, the grandfather of Mahala Jane Owens, served for three years in the North Carolina Militia during the Revolutionary War. He was in Col. Benjamin Cleveland's Company at the Battle of King's Mountain and served under Col. Daniel Morgan at the Battle of Cowpens.
Henry Kilbourn, the grandfather of Mahala Jane Owens, enlisted in Capt. James Newell's Company in Montgomery County, Virginia and then went to Lincoln County, Kentucky and enlisted in Col . William Whitley's Company of Militia to fight the Shawnee Indians.
Thomas Ramsey, the grandfather of Martha Ramsey and the great grandfather of Samuel David Holman, served in the Second Virginia Regiment during the Revolutionary War. He was in the battles of Brandywine and Germantown and received his discharge at Valley Forge.
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In 1775, the colonists by force rejected British rule. The rebels seized control of each of the thirteen colonial governments, set up the Second Continental Congress, and formed a Continental Army.
The US Declaration of Independence was adopted in Philadelphia in July 1776.
King George III of England used force to try to regain control of the colonies. The fighting started in New England and worked its way down to New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.
The British captured Fort Washington on Northern Manhattan Island on November 16, 1776.
General George Washington, the head of the Continental Army, proceeded into New Jersey. He was pursued by
British General Howe all the way south until Washington successfully crossed the Delaware River into Pennsylvania.
On December 26, 1776 Washington's Army crossed the Delaware and surprised the British at
Trenton, New Jersey. The main attack was made by 2,400 troops under Washington. Washington's troops
achieved total surprise and defeated the British forces. The American victory was the first of the war, and helped to restore American morale.
In December 1776, the Second Virginia Regiment was ordered to join Washington's Main Army in New Jersey. The regiment marched to Baltimore, Maryland where it was equipped and then dispatched to Maryland's Eastern Shore to suppress local Loyalists, before making their way to Philadelphia for clothing, and finally joined the Main Army as part of Weedon's Brigade in Greene's Division.
At the end of August 1777, British General Howe brought his army south by sea, threatening
Philadelphia. On September 11th, Howe's larger force fought the 11,000 American troops blocking his way to Philadelphia. In
the day-long battle of Brandywine, the British vanquished the American forces. The Americans, however, were able to extract their army. [It was one of the largest land battles of the Revolutionary War and the 10 square miles surrounding the park in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania is now a National Historic Landmark.]
After Howe had occupied Philadelphia, General Washington attacked British troops at Germantown, Pennsylvania. The attack failed, and the American troops were forced to withdraw. With the British Army secure in Philadelphia, the American army settled into 1777-1778 winter quarters at
Valley Forge, Pennsylvania.
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Meanwhile, back in Virginia, Patrick Henry was elected Governor of Virginia in June 1776. (The British-appointed
Governor Dunmore had fled.)
Source: Page 212 Summers “History of Southwest Virginia”
The British recruited the Indians as their allies. Expecting an Indian attack, the settlers
in southwest Virginia went to the forts, including Fort Edmiston (located on Snodgrass’s farm at
Lodi, VA). A militia of 175 men was raised under the command of captains: James Thompsom, William Buchanan, William Cocke, James Shelby, John Campbell, and Thomas Madison. In July of 1776, a major battle was fought at
Long Island Flats, where Lieutenant William Moore defeated an Indian chief in hand-to-hand combat. During the battle, Robert Edminston used profane language, which got him in trouble with the
Ebbing Spring Presbyterian congregation.
Source: Page 218 Summers “History of Southwest Virginia”
In
October of 1776, a militia, formed under Col William Christian and Major Evan
Shelby, attacked the Cherokee Over-Hill towns (allies of the British). Some of
the captains were: John Campbell, James Thompson, Isaac Bledsoe, John
Montgomery, Aaron Lewis, and William Preston. Some of the privates were: James Campbell, Robert Campbell, Samuel
Campbell, Ephraim Dunlap, Robert Preston, David English, William Edmiston, David
Carson, Robert Gambell, William Brown, John Craig, James M’Farland, John
M'Farland, John
Gibson, Anthony Bledsoe, Robert McNutt, William Ramsay, and Thomas Ramsay. John Beatie was one of the persons requesting
reimbursement for providing provisions to the militia.
Source: Page 237 Summers “History of Southwest Virginia”
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1776 Aug. 1 Page, John, President of the Council. Williamsburg, [Va.] Letter to Col. William Preston, Fincastle County, [Va.] Withdrawing the offer made him to act as commissary for troops to be sent on expedition against the
Overhill Cherokee, Thomas Madison having been already appointed by the convention.
Source: The Preston and Virginia papers of the Draper Collection of Manuscripts, by M M Quaife, State Historical Society of Wisconsin, 1915. Preston Manuscripts, page 114, 4QQ63.
1776 Aug. 9 Preston, William. Fincastle. Letter to _____. Preparations for expedition against the Cherokee; Capt. [Thomas] Madison to act as commissary;
Source: The Preston and Virginia papers of the Draper Collection of Manuscripts, by M M Quaife, State Historical Society of Wisconsin, 1915. Preston Manuscripts, page 115, 4QQ68.
1776 Sept. 20, Crabtree [?], Nicholas. Receipt to Thomas Madison for 2 pounds 12 s. 6 d. for one steer sold to
David Carson for Cherokee expedition. Witnessed by James McCorkle. D.S. 1 p.
Source: The Preston and Virginia papers of the Draper Collection of Manuscripts, by M M Quaife, State Historical Society of Wisconsin, 1915. Virginia Manuscripts, page 180, 5ZZ5.
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The British move the fighting further south when in December 1779, British Gen. Clinton sets sail from New York with 8000 men and heads for Charleston, South Carolina. The worst American defeat of the Revolutionary War occurred in May 1780 as the British captured Charleston and its 5400-man garrison (the entire southern American Army) along with four ships and a military arsenal.
In
1780, the British forces were having great success in Georgia and the Carolinas
and were planning to move north. Col Isaac Shelby (now of North Carolina) asked
Col William Campbell of Washington County for assistance. Col William Campbell
agreed and his militia of 400 men joined in the march to King’s Mountain,
South Carolina. (Col Arthur Campbell stayed in Abingdon to guard against an
Indian attack.) The Washington County, VA militia fought the Tories, who were
under the command of British Col Patrick Ferguson.
Source: Page 308 Summers “History of Southwest Virginia”
Some Washington County Virginia men who fought at the battle of King’s
Mountain:
Michael Brown, Ensign John Beattie, Captain David Beattie, Francis Beattie,
William Beattie, Samuel Buchanan, Robert Buchanan, David
Craig, Captain John
Craig, Captain Robert Craig, Robert Craig, Jr., James Craig, David Carson,
David Campbell, Col William Campbell, William Campbell, Jr., Ensign Robert
Campbell, Hugh Campbell, Lieutenant Patrick Campbell, Captain John Campbell,
Captain James Dysart, Captain William Edmiston, Lieutenant Robert Edmiston, Jr.,
Captain Andrew Edmiston, Samuel Edmiston, John Edmiston, Thomas Edmiston, Robert
Edmiston, Major William Edmiston, Evan Evans, Andrew Evans, Samuel Evans, John
Gibson, George Gibson, Thomas Gibson, Ensign James Houston, James Logan,
Alexander McNutt, Richard
Montgomery, Robert Montgomery, Alexander Montgomery, William
Moore, Robert
McFarland, Robert Owens, Walter Preston, James Roberts, William Stewart, John
Skaggs, William Snodgrass, James Snodgrass, Captain James Thompson, and David Watson.
Source: Page 855 Summers “History of Southwest Virginia”
Among the thirty mountain men killed were: Captain William Edmiston, Lieutenant
Robert Edmiston, Sr, ensign Andrew Edmiston, and ensign John Beattie. Among the
sixty wounded were: Captain James Dysart, Lieutenant Robert Edmiston, Jr,
private John Scaggs, and private William Moore.
Source: Page 326 Summers “History of Southwest Virginia”
In returning home from the battle of King’s Mountain, the mountain men left
some of the wounded, including private William
Moore, in Bickerstaff, North
Carolina. Once Mrs. Moore learned of this she traveled alone from Washington
County, Virginia to Bickerstaff, found her husband, and brought him home. Family
legend is that he received contributions on a regular basis from the
congregation of the Ebbing Springs Presbyterian
Church.
Source: Page 341 Summers “History of Southwest Virginia”
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November 24, 1780, Minutes of Washington County
Court, Ordered that David Carson, Alexander McNutt, James Berry, and James
Montgomery or any three of them appraise the estate of Robert Edmondson.
Source: "Annals of Southwest Virginia" by Lewis Preston Summers, Page
1064
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September 18, 1782, Washington County, Virginia Court, Present: Robert Craig, James Fulkason, John Lathim, Robert Campbell
“Agreeable to an Act for adjusting claims for property impressed or taken for public service – the following claims was ordered to be reported to the General Assembly:
David Carson for Diets and forage - 10 shillings”
Source: "Annals of Southwest Virginia" by Lewis Preston Summers, Pages 1116 - 1117
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The DAR (Daughters of the American Revolution) recognizes David Carson for his Patriotic Service and Civil Service (NSDAR # 744342; NSDAR # 764597; NSDAR # 580043; NSDAR # 546136; NSDAR # 531972; NSDAR # 183422; NSDAR # 580043; NSDAR # 529769; and NSDAR # 183422 Add 262) The DAR recognition is based on Compiled Military Service Records (CMSR). CARSON, DAVID Rank - Induction: PRIVATE (Record Group 93; M246; Roll Box: 59; Roll Description: NJ in the National Archives)
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David Carson is listed in A roster of Revolutionary ancestors of the Indiana Daughters of the American Revolution : commemoration of the United States of America bicentennial, July 4, 1976, Unigraphic, 1976, Volume I, pages 105 and 106. The information on his date of birth, date of death, and family members appear to be correct, but the information on military service is not consistent with other sources. It says that this David Carson enlisted in the Continental Army (Captain David Watsen's Company) at Lancaster, York County, Pennsylvania on November 8, 1777 and served one year.
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"The King's Mountain Men" by Kathrine Keogh White, 1924
Page 139: "If a given soldier was 'under Campbell' he was presumed to be a resident of Virginia, the same as Campbell himself."
Page 156: "David Carson was under Colonel Campbell and was pensioned in 1835."
Page 170: "Dysart. James was born in Ireland and was a Long Hunter in 1761. He settled on the Holston, marrying Nancy, daughter of David Beattie. As a captain under Campbell he was wounded at
King's Mountain. Major Dysart saw active service in the Revolution and was a prominent factor in Washington county, Virginia. He died at Rockcastle, Kentucky, 1831, aged seventy-four."
Question: The statement about "pensioned in 1835" is confusing since the David Carson of Washington County, Virginia who served under Campbell died in 1803.
***
On June 16, 1819 in Washington County, Virginia, (Preacher) David Carson married
Catherine Lawrence.
Catherine Lawrence was the daughter of William Lawrence and Sarah Booth.
Catherine "Katy" Lawrence's grandfather, John Lawrence, a
Baptist minister in Dutchess County, New York, served in the militia during the Revolutionary War. After this John Lawrence went to live with his
son(s) in Montgomery Co., Virginia, where he died. One of the sons of Elder
John Lawrence was William Lawrence, the father of
Catherine "Katy" Lawrence.
The DAR Patriot Index - Centennial Edition - Part 2, page 1755, lists William Lawrence as a private in the Duchess Co., New York Militia during the Revolutionary War. He applied for a pension on 25 January 1834, in Rockcastle Co., KY.
Lawrence, William Pvt. VA militia; 11 June 1834; $58.76; age at time of application, 70; on Rockcastle County, Kentucky pension roll.
"Laurence, Wm" in Rockcastle County, Kentucky is listed on page 279 in Part V: Virginia Pensioners Living Outside Virginia in 1835 in "Virginia Militia in the Revolutionary War" by J. T. McAllister, 1913.
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Mahala Jane Owens, the daughter of Allen Owen and Mary Kilbourn
married Joseph Carson of Rockcastle County, Kentucky, the great grandson of David
Carson.
Mahala Jane Owens' father's father was David Owen.
David Owen served for three years in the North Carolina Militia during the Revolutionary War. He was in
Col. Benjamin Cleveland's Company at the
Battle of King's Mountain on October 7, 1780. He served under Col. Daniel Morgan at the
Battle of Cowpens on January 17, 1781. He also served with Captain
William Lenoir in and around Wilkes County, NC.
(National Archives Rev. War Pension Records, M-804, Roll 1855.)
Mahala Jane Owens' mother's father was Henry Kilbourn. In his Revolutionary War pension application, Henry Kilbourn stated that he enlisted in Capt. James Newell's Company in Montgomery County, Virginia in February 1781, and served until late November 1781. In 1785, Henry Kilbourn went to Lincoln County, Kentucky and enlisted in Col . William Whitley's Company of Militia to fight the Shawnee Indians. He served under Lt. Nathan McClure and was with McClure when he was killed in a skirmish with the Shawnee near the Rockcastle River. In 1786, Henry Kilbourn was with Gen. George Rogers Clark's expedition up the Wabash River. (Revolutionary War Pension Records - M-804, Roll 1481.)
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