GENEALOGICAL NOTES AND ANECDOTES

This couple were of English origin settling first in Pennsylvania, and then in all likelihood following "The Great Wagon Road" moved to western North Carolina.

On what is now called "Patrick Street"  --  the northern road connecting Boiling Springs to Shelby  --  used to stand a simple clapboard covered vernacular farmhouse known to the family as "The Weaning House," or "The Honeymoon Cottage."

This log cabin structure was the original Holland home site and supposedly one of the first homes on this side of Boiling Springs.

William and Mary Harrison HOLLAND supposedly built it on their arrival in the area. They died in the 1780s and their son followed by their grandson  --  both named William Isaac HOLLAND  --  were its next occupants. 

William Isaac HOLLAND, the elder, was born in 1747 and married Margaret Hall. 

He served as a captain in Colonel Davies' North Carolina regiment of the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War. They had five children. He died in 1837.

His son, the second William Isaac HOLLAND, was born in 1786 and died in 1874. He was married to Permelia GOLD and the oldest of their thirteen children was Gold Griffin HOLLAND (born 1820) who to this day occupies a position of true eminence among his descendants.

"That Major James HOLLAND whose tombstone stands in the old Watson cemetery on the Jeff Gilliam farm in the fourth district, was a major in the Revolution and prominent in the early history of Maury County and Tennessee is the information contained in an article appearing in a recent issue of the Forest City (North Carolina) Courier, written by Clarence Griffin, news editor and county historian. The writer gives authentic data on the Maury countian, who came here from North Carolina and a representative of the Democrat found that his will was recorded here on January 8th, 1824, and it is an interesting document. The North Carolina paper was publishing a series of historical articles and the HOLLAND sketch appeared in the issueof July 3rd. [1930] The article was prefaced with a sketch about William GILBERT, said to have been a loyal friend of King George, but the writer denies this relationship. GILBERT was the father-in-law of HOLLAND and of the two, Griffin writes as follows:

1. North Carolina Militia: See North Carolina State Records, vol.10, pages 911 and 937. Capt. Joseph Hardin was the member from Tryon in that congress, afterwards removed to Tennessee. Hardin county was named for him, and he seems to have been the progenitor of the Hardins in that section.

GILBERT.—William GILBERT, of "Gilbert-town," near present Rutherfordtown, N. C. In Commission of Peace of old Tyron county up to April, 1776; tax assessor, in Commission of Peace of new county of Rutherford; in House, 1779, 1780, 1782, 1783. His daughter, Sarah GILBERT, married James HOLLAND, in January, 1780. His wife was Sarah MCCANDLESS of Philadelphia. She died at the HOLLAND place in Maury county, Tenn., 1822. GILBERT is called "a loyalist" in Draper's "King's Mountain," which absurd error, Mr. Rivers ascertained, is due solely to the fact that Major Ferguson camped several weeks at Gilbert-town in September, 1780.

"In 1777 and 1778, he was assessor of taxes and, in 1778, collector of taxes. Mr. GILBERT held the office of justice of the peace in Old Tryon County, taking his seat in July, 1778. In 1779, he represented Tryon in the North Carolina House of Commons.

"On February 8th, 1779, he was forced to resign his commission as justice of the peace on the charge of duplicating his vouchers as commissary of militia of Tryon County. His guilt or innocence can never be known. Despite the charge, when Rutherford County was formed from Old Tryon, GILBERT represented the new county in the North Carolina House of Commons. He was selected in 1779, 1780, 1782, and 1783.

"GILBERT was appointed justice of the peace for Rutherford County in 1781. At the October, 1781, term of the Rutherford County Court, he was chosen chairman of the court. The court vindicated him of the legislative charge of duplicating his vouchers by an order in October 1781, reading 'On motion of William GILBERT, Esq., and testimony produced to the satisfaction of the court, it is ordered that the opinion of the court be entered on the records, to-wit: It is the opinion of the court that the said William GILBERT is not guilty of the charge laid against to the General Assembly, and we do certify that the said William Gilbert never plundered, nor was guilty of plundering, to our knowledge.'

"GILBERT was charged with treason, because Ferguson used the Gilbert home as his headquarters. Lyman Draper in his definitive history, King's Mountain and Its Heroes, on page 159, states GILBERT 'was a Loyal friend of King George.' In 1897, Flournoy Rivers wrote in a Nashville newspaper that 'Draper seemed to have presumed that GILBERT was a Loyalist simply because Major Ferguson camped at Gilbert Town, as though an invading army would ever quarter on a friend while in an enemy's country. As a fact, the Assembly was then sitting at Hillsborough and GILBERT, being the county's representative in the House of Commons, was most likely absent there, and Ferguson, in his absence, most probably quartered on [GILBERT] as an object lesson by way of making treason odious, as it were.'

"North Carolina records indicate that on October 25th, 1775, GILBERT and others, including the Committee of Safety, signed the 'Association Oath,' expressing profound regret that 'his Brittannic Majesty had been so ill-advised as to encroach on the undoubted rights of the colonists as Englishmen, with the firmly expressed intention of sustaining both the Continental and Provincial Congresses.'

"In October, 1783, GILBERT wanted to visit his wife's relatives in Philadelphia. The court, sitting at his son-in-law's house, prepared, under the seal of the court, a statement of his standing and civic virtues, by way of a letter of introduction. 'That the said William GILBERT hath long been an inhabitant of this county, hath frequently represented the same in the General Assembly; that he is first in commission of the place, and that it appears from the lists of assessments returned into the clerk's office that he is possessed of and hath given in for assessing more taxable property than any other person in the county of Rutherford, and that he hath uniformly distinguished himself as a warm Whig and a true friend to his county in times of greatest distress and defection during the war.'

"Despite his successful defense of the charges of treason, GILBERT continued to have legal problems after the war, being engaged in numerous lawsuits, and eventually lost his property. In 1786, 1787, and a portion of 1788, he lived in Charleston, South Carolina. He later returned to Gilbert Town to live at the home of his son-in-law, James HOLLAND, where he died in 1790. He was buried on Ferguson's Hill above Gilbert Town.

"GILBERT's wife, Sarah McCanless GILBERT, lived until 1822. She went with the James HOLLAND family in 1790 to Maury County, Tennessee, and is buried at Holland's Ford on the Duck River.

"James HOLLAND married GILBERT's daughter Sarah. He represented Rutherford County in the North Carolina House of Commons and the Senate. He was elected to the first board of trustees of the University of North Carolina."

My Son:

The following list of ancestors may possibly be of interest to you at some period of life.

Your great grand-father was named JOHN. He emigrated from Trenton, N. J., and settled in Lincoln County, N. C. Your great grand-mother COX was named Margaret. Her maiden name was MORRIS, a sister of ROBERT MORRIS, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence and Secretary of the Treasury under President Washington.

Your grand-father's name was Elisha COX. His oldest brother was Morris, the others, Paul, Aaron, and Elijah. The sisters were as follows - "Polly" who married James SULLIVAN; Rebecca married a BONEHAM; Elizabeth married FERGUSON; Rachel married CARSON; Nancy married MOORE; Susan married CARPENTER.

Your great grand-mother's name was Margaret HOLLAND. Your great grand-father on that side was Isaac HOLLAND, a respectable, sensible man and one of the heroes of King's Mountain. His children were Isaac & Oliver, twin brothers, yet living, and James, who is dead. One other of the three sisters married a DICKSON, one a HALL, and if now living are in Tennessee. One other married William BAIRD and went to Indiana. Most of the relatives have emigrated to the Western States. I know but little of where they are.

Elijah COX's family are about Murphreesboro, Tenn.

Your great grand-mother HOLLAND was named Hannah WILEY. Many of the family are scattered thro the West. She was twice married. Her first husband was LIGGETT, by whom she she had one son, William whose family are in Tenn.

Editorial Notes:

October 7, 1780, near the North and South Carolina border

The plateau of the mountain is in Cleveland County, North Carolina

The battlefield and park are in York County, South Carolina

By Peggy Beach, Public Information Officer, Cleveland County, North Carolina

Phone: 704-476-3012; e-mail: p e g g y . b e a c h @ c o u n t y n t 2 . c o . c l e v e l a n d . n c . u s

Historians consider the Battle of Kings Mountain to be the "turning point in the South" in America's War for Independence. The victory of Patriots over Loyalist troops destroyed the left wing of Cornwallis' army. The battle also effectively ended, at least temporarily, the British advance into North Carolina. Lord Cornwallis was forced to retreat from Charlotte into South Carolina to wait for reinforcements. The victory of the Overmountain Men allowed General Nathaniel Greene the opportunity to reorganize the American Army.

When British General Henry Clinton learned of his men's defeat at Kings Mountain, he is reported to have called it "the first link of a chain of evils" that he feared might lead to the collapse of the British plans to quash the Patriot rebellion. He was right. American forces went on to defeat the British at Cowpens. A little more than a year after Kings Mountain, Washington accepted Cornwallis's surrender at Yorktown, Virginia.

PATRICK FERGUSON -- KEEN RIFLEMAN

The leader of the Loyalist troops was Major Patrick Ferguson. Ferguson would be the only British regular to serve at Kings Mountain. All other soldiers were Americans -- Patriot and Loyalist.

Joining the British army at age 15, Ferguson was a well known marksman and the inventor of a breechloading rifle. The son of a Scottish judge, Ferguson had an affable disposition, a gentle face and was slight of build. Nevertheless, his soldiers named him "Bulldog."

Ferguson distinguished himself early on in his military career. Serving as a cornet in the Royal North British Dragoons, Ferguson was considered by his superiors as a courageous fighter during the wars of Flanders and Germany in the 1760's. In 1768, he joined the Seventieth Regiment of Foot in the West Indies, where British troops engaged in guerilla warfare with the native Carib tribes. Ferguson went for garrison duty at Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1773 but soon became bored.

Ferguson's ability with a rifle was well known. While visiting his family's estate in Scotland before the American Revolution, he began to develop a rifle of his own. After completing the invention, Ferguson displayed the rifle for military leaders and even King George III witnessed one of Ferguson's demonstrations.

During one demonstration, Ferguson fired at a rate of 4-6 shots per minute during pouring rain and high wind. Apparently, Ferguson only missed the target three times while firing from a distance of 200 yards -- this was not possible with the British Brown Bess musket. A patent was issued and a limited number of the breechloading rifles were produced. Ferguson established an elite rifle corps which joined Sir Henry Clinton in America. Their mission: to help stop the rebellion in the colonies.

FERGUSON HAS WASHINGTON IN HIS SIGHTS

At the Battle of Brandywine (September 11, 1777), Ferguson was wounded in the arm and his rifle corps was later disbanded. The Ferguson rifles were removed and very few have been seen since. There is no evidence that the Ferguson rifle was used at the Battle of Kings Mountain.

It was at the Battle of Brandywine that Ferguson distinguished himself further though many did not know about it until the 20th century. Scholars believe that  Ferguson was the British soldier who had George Washington in his gun sight. Ferguson did not pull the trigger, saying that "it is ungentlemanly to shoot a man in the back of the head." 

Ferguson himself mentioned the incident in a letter he dictated a few months later. During the battle, he did not realize the identity of the American officer. While recuperating in the hospital from his arm injury, he discovered that the American officer in question was George Washington. Ferguson wrote that even if he had known, he would not have pulled the trigger. Ferguson's letters are available in the library at Edinburgh University.

Ferguson later fought in the battles of Monmouth and Little Egg Harbor. He was also active in many other battles in the New York and Hudson area. Impressing his superiors with his valor, Ferguson was promoted to Major in 1779.

Late that year, he was selected to command a corps of 300 men, called the American Volunteers. The men were Loyalists, handpicked from units in the New York and New Jersey area. The corps, along with Ferguson, arrived in the South in early February 1780. Ferguson, a persuasive individual, immediately gathered support in Savannah and Augusta before Clinton ordered him to Charleston.

During the invasion of that city, Ferguson worked with the legendary Banastre Tarleton, who had angered many Patriots after his massacre of soldiers trying to surrender to him at Waxhaw. Author Washington Irving later wrote that Ferguson and Tarleton were "equally intrepid and determined but Ferguson is cooler, and more open to the impulses of humanity." In fact, some researchers believe that Ferguson despised Tarleton's methods.

After Charleston fell, Ferguson was appointed to the position of Inspector General of the Militia. Clinton and Cornwallis gave him the mission to organize a volunteer corps of Loyalists troops. Ferguson's men thought highly of him -- he had a natural ability to gain their affection and respect. The Scot was known for spending hours in conversations with the ordinary people around the villages and towns in South Carolina. South Carolina remained a Loyalist stronghold until the end of the war, largely due to his influence.

PRELUDE TO BATTLE

During the summer of 1780, Ferguson and his provincial corps of 150 traveled through South Carolina and into North Carolina gathering support for His Majesty's cause. While marching through the upcountry of South Carolina, the Loyalists engaged in minor skirmishes with militia regiments. Some of those small battles happened at places like Wofford's Iron Works, Musgrove's Mill, Thicketty Fort, and Cedar Spring. However in August, after the Americans lost at the Battle of Camden, the Over Mountain Men retired to their homes in western North Carolina to rest before going after Ferguson again.

THE MARCH TO KINGS MOUNTAIN

Meanwhile in September, Cornwallis invaded North Carolina. His final objective was to march into Virginia. To protect his troops from guerilla attack, Cornwallis ordered Ferguson to move northward into western North Carolina before joining the main British Army in Charlotte.

In late September, Ferguson camped at Gilbert Town (near present day Rutherfordton). He sent a message to Colonel Isaac Shelby, whom he considered to be the leader of the "backwater men." The message said that if Shelby and his men did not stop their opposition to the British, Ferguson would march his army over the mountains, hang their leaders and "lay the country waste with fire and sword." The Patriots would have none of it.

On September 25, Patriot leaders and Colonels Charles McDowell, John Sevier, Isaac Shelby and William Campbell gathered at Sycamore Shoals on the Watauga River (near present day Tennessee). They marched five days over the snow covered mountains to the Quaker Meadows Plantation owned by McDowell's family (in present day Morganton). There, they were joined by  more frontiersmen including those serving under Benjamin Cleveland and Joseph Winston. The troops marched toward Gilbert Town and Ferguson.

Spies told Ferguson the Patriots were on their way. Ferguson had stayed at Gilbert Town hoping to intercept another Patriot force, heading northward. Calling in reinforcements, the Scot began to march toward Charlotte to receive the protection of Cornwallis' main army. He sent an appeal to loyal North Carolinians  -- for them to save themselves from the "backwater men...a set of mongrels." Late on October 6, Ferguson received word from his spies that the Americans were close behind him. Camping at Kings Mountain, near the North Carolina border, he sent a message to Cornwallis requesting reinforcements. "Three or four hundred good soldiers," he wrote, "would finish the business. Something must be done soon." Desperately short of provisions, Ferguson sent out a foraging party of 150 men. He then organized a defense and prepared to meet the enemy.

When the Patriots realized that Ferguson was not at Gilbert Town, they became determined to pursue and fight him. The soldiers followed Ferguson, leaving their weak comrades and horses at Gilbert Town. On October 6 at Cowpens in South Carolina, the Over Mountain Men were joined by 400 South Carolinians under Colonel James Williams and others. The soldiers learned from spy Joseph Kerr that Ferguson was definitely camped about 30 miles ahead in the vicinity of Kings Mountain. Shelby was especially pleased to learn that Ferguson was quoted as saying,   that he "was on Kings Mountain, that he was king of that mountain and that God Almighty and all the Rebels of hell could not drive him from it."

The seven colonels chose Campbell as their officer of the day to carry out the plans they adopted collectively. Fearing Ferguson would escape, the colonels selected 900 of their best men to pursue the Loyalists.

The Patriots marched through the night and the next day, through pouring rain and intermittent showers. They reached Kings Mountain the next day, Saturday October 7 just after noon.

Kings Mountain is an outlying portion of the Blue Ridge Mountains. A heavily rocky and wooded area, the mountain rises 60 feet above the plain surrounding it. The campsite was supposedly an ideal place for Ferguson to camp because the mountain has a plateau at its summit. The plateau is 600 yards long and 70 feet wide at one end and 120 feet wide at the other. The Scot considered the summit too steep to be scaled.

THE BATTLE BEGINS

Upon arriving at Kings Mountain, the Patriot soldiers dismounted. After tying up the horses, the soldiers formed in a horseshoe around the base of the mountain behind their leaders, who remained on horseback.

Ferguson was right in believing that his would be attackers would expose themselves to musket fire if they attempted to scale the summit. But Ferguson did not realize his men could only fire if they went out into the open, exposing themselves to musket fire. Most of the Patriot troops were skilled hunters who routinely killed fast moving animals. On this day, Ferguson's men would not find escape an easy task.

The fighting began around 3 p.m. when some of Ferguson's men noticed the Patriot soldiers surrounding the mountain. After a brief skirmish, the shooting began in earnest when two of the Patriot regiments opened fire on the Loyalists simultaneously. The Loyalists fired back but the Patriots were protected by the heavily wooded area.

The regiments commanded by Colonels Isaac Shelby and William Campbell marched toward Ferguson's men but were driven back twice by Loyalist fire. But as one regiment was driven back, another would advance. Ferguson had to shift his reserves from one place to another while continuing to take heavy losses from the concealed American sharpshooters in the trees. Eventually, other Patriot troops provided enough support that Shelby and Campbell's regiments reached the summit.

During the battle, Patrick Ferguson commanded his men with the use of a silver whistle. Many Patriot fighters later recalled hearing the sound of Ferguson's whistle over the sound of the rifle fire. The whistle and the checkered hunting shirt he wore over his uniform made the Scottish commander quite noticeable on the battlefield.

After nearly an hour of fighting, Ferguson suddenly fell from his horse. One foot was hanging in his stirrup -- several, perhaps as many as eight bullets were in his body. Some accounts say he died before he hit the ground. Other accounts say that his men propped him against a tree, where he died. Ferguson was the only British soldier killed in the battle -- all others were Americans, either Loyalist or Patriot.

Ferguson's second in command then ordered that a white flag of surrender be hoisted.

Despite the call for surrender by the Loyalists, the Patriots could not immediately stop their men from shooting. Many Patriots remembered that the infamous Colonel Tarleton had mowed down Patriot troops at Waxhaw despite the fact that the troops were trying to surrender. Eventually, the fighting at Kings Mountain stopped.

In all, 225 Loyalists were killed, 163 were wounded, 716 were taken prisoner. 28 Patriots were killed and 68 were wounded. Among the Patriot dead: Colonel James Williams of South Carolina.

BATTLE ENDS: PATRIOTS MARCH PRISONERS TO HILLSBOROUGH

After the battle, the victorious Patriots and the captured Loyalists had to camp together. Soon it became dark and the cries of the wounded were heard and often unheeded.

The next morning, the sun came out for the first time in days. Fearing that Cornwallis would soon be upon them, many of the Patriot militia left for their homes. A contingent of Patriots took the prisoners northward to the Continental Army jurisdiction in Hillsborough.

During the journey, a number of prisoners were brutally beaten and some prisoners were hacked with swords. A number of unjust murders took place -- not the Patriots' finest hour. The injustices continued a week later when a committee of Patriots appointed a jury to try some of the so-called "obnoxious" Loyalists. 36 Loyalists were found guilty of breaking open houses, burning houses and killing citizens. Nine were hanged.

CORNWALLIS IS SHAKEN BY THE NEWS; WITHDRAWS INTO SOUTH CAROLINA

Cornwallis was shaken when the news of Ferguson's defeat reached his headquarters. He remained in Charlotte a few days before withdrawing back into South Carolina to the British post at Winnsboro. 

The British could not count on reinforcements from other South Carolina posts to help them -- the news of victory at Kings Mountain had revived Patriot hopes. The victory triggered bonfires and street dancing in cities held by the Patriots. Soon, Patriot leaders such as Thomas Sumter, Elijah Clarke and Francis "The Swamp Fox" Marion stepped up their harassment of British troops. Patriot sympathizers increased their assaults on Tory neighbors.

COUNTDOWN TO YORKTOWN

Cornwallis was not inactive however. He sent Tarleton and a Major Wemyss in hot pursuit of Marion and Sumter. On November 9, Sumter was fully prepared when Wemyss attempted a surprise attack on his forces at Fish Dam Ford. Wemyss and 25 of his men were captured. Sumter then moved with 240 toward the British fort at Ninety Six. Tarleton stopped his pursuit of Marion and went to Fort Ninety Six. Deciding not to face Tarleton at that time, Sumter fled northward to Blackstock's Plantation. On November 20, Tarleton attacked Sumter's forces but to no avail. Tarleton lost 100 men while the Americans only lost three. Tarleton then rejoined Cornwallis.

Meanwhile, Clinton sent General Alexander Leslie to Virginia to prepare for battle there. Leslie was to be under the direct orders of Cornwallis. Cornwallis  ordered Leslie to come to South Carolina -- he planned to resume his invasion of North Carolina as soon as Leslie arrived. Believing that Patriot leader Daniel Morgan planned to attack Fort Ninety Six, Cornwallis sent Tarleton to deal with the backwoodsman. Expecting Leslie to arrive in mid-January, Cornwallis planned to advance rapidly northward and cut off the two American armies (Nathaniel Greene's men in the South from George Washington's men in the North). He also hoped to stop the advance of Morgan's forces should they survive the expected encounter with Tarleton.

Cornwallis's hopes were dashed. Morgan's men soundly defeated Tarleton's Legion at the Battle of Cowpens on January 17. Morgan, who was ill with rheumatism and other ailments,  joined Greene's army before returning to his home in Virginia. Greene saw that Cornwallis, who had left South Carolina, was getting further away from his train of supplies and provisions. Eventually, the two forces met in the Battle of Guilford Courthouse. Technically, the British won that battle but it was a Pyrrhic victory because British losses were high. One man in four was killed, wounded or captured.

Throughout the summer, skirmishes were fought across the Carolinas and Virginia. In September, the army of Cornwallis and the army of Washington met at Yorktown. After a 20-day battle, Cornwallis surrendered. The war officially ended with the signing of the Treaty of Paris two years later.

LEGACY OF KINGS MOUNTAIN

Many of the Patriot leaders at Kings Mountain went on to serve in their new country's government.

John Sevier became Governor of Tennessee and Isaac Shelby became Governor of Kentucky. Returning to his home in Burke County, Charles McDowell served in the N.C. State Legislature and later the U.S. Congress. Joseph Winston also served in the U.S. Congress. He later represented his home of Surry and Stokes counties in the N.C. State Legislature. Benjamin Cleveland served as a judge for many years before his death in 1806.   William Campbell did not survive the war. He died of a heart ailment in August 1781 while visiting relatives in Hanover County.

As the years passed, the battle of Kings Mountain was remembered by historians and local residents alike. Many roads and towns in Western North Carolina bear the names of the battle's participants. McDowell County is named Charles McDowell and his family. McDowell and his soldiers thought so highly of Daniel Morgan that they persuaded residents of Burke County to name the county seat Morganton.

The North Carolina city of Kings Mountain used to be called White Plains. When the city was incorporated in 1874, Mrs. James Wright Tracey decided that Kings Mountain would be a more appropriate name since the community was the closest town to the mountain.

The City of Shelby is named for Isaac Shelby. Many streets in Shelby including Washington, Lafayette and Marion, are named for Revolutionary War heroes.

Shelby and Kings Mountain are in Cleveland County, which was named for Benjamin Cleveland. The county was formed in 1841 and until 1885, spelled its name "Cleaveland," just the way the colonel spelled his name. However, in 1885, Grover Cleveland became president and there was some confusion over the spelling of the county's name. In 1887, a special bill was passed in the North Carolina General Assembly which authorized the elimination of the letter a.

Very few Cleveland County residents actually fought in the battle of Kings Mountain. Historians estimate that the number was around 35 persons -- the area at the time was not heavily populated. One soldier who did fight was Colonel Fredrick Hambright. Hambright led a company of men onto the battlefield. He was severely wounded in the thigh, which caused him to limp for the rest of his life.

Commemorating the battle has been important throughout the years. At the Centennial Celebration in 1880, a 28-foot granite monument was unveiled. Through the efforts of Congressmen E.Y. Webb of North Carolina and D.E. Finley of South Carolina in the early 1900's, Congress appropriated $30,000 to erect a taller monument. That monument was unveiled in 1909.

In 1912, the legendary lawyer William Jennings Bryan was the guest speaker at a celebration of the battle. On October 7, 1930, President Herbert Hoover rode down from Washington in a train to visit the battlefield and speak at the 150th anniversary celebrations. In 1933, Congress authorized $225,000 to make the Kings Mountain battlefield a National Military Park. In 1994,  the park entertained more than 451,000 visitors.

Patrick Ferguson has also received a measure of fame. As mentioned earlier, 20th century scholars believe Ferguson was the would-be George Washington assailant at the battle of Brandywine. Ferguson has also received acclaim for his invention, the breechloading Ferguson rifle. Sycamore Shoals State Park and the John Sevier State Historic Site are looking for working Ferguson rifles for their museum exhibits. Some gunsmiths say that further use of the rifle would possibly have changed the outcome of the American Revolution and definitely the result of the War of 1812.

Historians agree that the battle of Kings Mountain was the beginning of the end of British rule in its former colonies. In less than one hour of battle, the Overmountain Men not only captured the day but also punctured holes in the British strategy for keeping America under its control.

Written by Peggy Beach, Cleveland County Public Information Officer

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Epitaph on Major Patrick Ferguson

by Woodward

Here soldiers sighing o'er a hero's grave,
Tell how he fought and died - here Genius bends,
Mourning the patriot worth she could not save,
While Social Virtue weeps the best of friends.

Here bleeding Pity, viewing what is done,
In silent woe laments her darling son:
For ne'er a milder warrior thus was laid,-
His generous breast no evil e'er repaid:
His heart no selfish passion ever felt,
For there the chastest love of glory dwelt.
His martial ardour tend'rest feelings crown'd,
And, but too daring, not a fault was found.
Let Honour pay the debt his actions claim;
Let candour give to future time his fame;
Let grateful Britain, to her children just,
With never fading laurel shade his dust:
His gallant deeds her youthful soldiers tell,-
Teach them, like him, in glory to excel:
For this he fought; For this, alas, he fell!

'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''

Maj. Patrick Ferguson, 71st Highlanders

Patrick Ferguson was interred at King's Mountain. Beside him is "Virginia Sal," evidently a loyalist refugee who was killed while tending the Loyalist wounded. Her surname may have been Featherstone.

Patrick Ferguson was the second son of James Ferguson of Pitfour (1700 - 1777) and Anne Murray (1708 - 1793), the sister of Patrick, Lord Elibank, who were married in 1733.

At King's Mountain, the inscription on Patrick Ferguson's monument is as follows:

TO THE MEMORY OF
COL. PATRICK FERGUSON
SEVENTY-FIRST REGIMENT,
HIGHLAND LIGHT INFANTRY.
---
BORN IN ABERDEENSHIRE,
SCOTLAND IN 1744,
KILLED OCTOBER 7, 1780
IN ACTION AT
KING'S MOUNTAIN
WHILE IN COMMAND OF
THE BRITISH TROOPS.
---
A SOLDIER OF MILITARY
DISTINCTION AND OF HONOR.
---
THIS MEMORIAL
IS FROM THE CITIZENS OF
THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
IN TOKEN OF THEIR APPRECIATION
OF THE BONDS OF FRIENDSHIP AND
PEACE BETWEEN THEM AND THE
CITIZENS OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE.
---
ERECTED OCTOBER 7, 1930.

'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''

Excerpt from the Diary of Lt. Anthony Allaire (22 February 1755, New Rochelle, Westchester County, New York, British North America - 9 June 1838, Fredrickton, New Brunswick, Canada, British North America), of Ferguson's Corps, 6 - 15 October 1780:

Friday, 6th Got in motion at four o'clock in the morning, and marched sixteen miles to Little King's Mountain, where we took up our ground.

Saturday, 7th. About two o'clock in the afternoon twenty-five hundred Rebels, under the command of Brig.-Gen. Williams, and ten Colonels, attacked us. Maj. Ferguson had eight hundred men. The action continued an hour and five minutes; but their numbers enabled them to surround us. The North Carolina regiment seeing this, and numbers being out of ammunition, gave way, which naturally threw the rest of the militia into confusion. Our poor little detachment, which consisted of only seventy men when we marched to the field of action, were all killed and wounded but twenty; and those brave fellows were soon crowded as close as possible by the militia. Capt. DePeyster, on whom the command devolved, saw it impossible to form six men together; thought it necessary to surrender to save the lives of the brave men who were left. We lost in this action, Maj. Ferguson, of the Seventy-first regiment, a man much attached to his King and country, well informed in the art of war; he was brave and humane, and an agreeable companion; in short, he was universally esteemed in the army, and I have every reason to regret his unhappy fate. We had eighteen men killed on the spot; Capt. Ryerson and thirty-two privates wounded of Maj. Ferguson'S detachment; Lieut. Mcginnis, of Allen's regiment of Skinner's Brigade, killed. Taken prisoners, Two Captains, four Lieutenants, three Ensigns, and one Surgeon, and fifty-four sergeants rank and file, including the mounted men under the command of Lieut. Taylor. Of the militia, one hundred were killed, including officers; wounded, ninety; taken prisoners, about six hundred. Our baggage, all taken, of course. Rebels lost Brig.-Gen. Williams, one hundred and thirty-five, including officers, killed; wounded, equal to ours.

Sunday, 8th. They thought it necessary to move us sixteen miles, to one Waldron's plantation where they halted.

Monday, 9th. Moved two miles and a half to Bullock creek;* forded it, and halted on the banks. [* Apparently Boren's Creek — Bullock's creek was some fifteen or eighteen miles distant.— L.C.D.]

Tuesday, 10th. Moved twenty miles and halted in the woods.

Wednesday, 11th. Moved at eight o'clock in the morning; marched twelve miles to Col. Walker's and halted.

Thursay, 12th. Those villains divided our baggage, although they had promised on their word we should have it all.

Friday, 13th. Moved six miles to Bickerstaff's plantation. In the evening their liberality extended so far as to send five old shirts to nine of us, as a change of linen — other things in like proportion.

Saturday, 14th. Twelve field officers were chosen to try the militia prisoners — particularly those who had the most influence in the country. They condemed thirty—in the evening they began to execute Lieut.-Col. Mills, Capt. Wilson, Capt. Chitwood, and six others, who unfortunately fell a sacrifice to their infamous mock jury. Mills, Wilson, and Chitwood died like Romans— the others were reprieved.

Sunday, 15th. Moved at five o'clock in the morning. Marched all day through the rain—a very disagreeable road. We got to Catawba and forded it at Island Ford,¹ about ten o'clock at night. Our march was thirty-two miles. All the men were worn out with fatigue and fasting — the prisoners having no bread or or meat for two days before. We officers were allowed to go to Col. McDowell's, where we lodged comfortably. About one hundred prisoners made their escape on this march.

1. Island Ford: Island Ford, in what was Rutherford County, North Carolina but now in what is Cleveland County, was the residence of the family of Thomas CAMP III. See G0497A: Thomas CAMP III in Descendants of Thomas Camp (1665 - 1711).

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View of King's Mountain Battle-Ground

KING'S MOUNTAIN:
A Ballad of the Carolinas

by William Gilmore Simms

[The battle of King's Mountain, fought October 7, 1780, constituted a turning point in the war of the Revolution in the South; the British and Tories, under Colonbel Ferguson, being defeated, with great slaughter, by the mountaineers of Virginia, Georgia, and the two Carolinas. The battle took place in South Carolina, but only a mile and a half south of the North Carolina line. Colonel Ferguson was one of the most distinguished of the British partisan warriors in America during the Revolution. He was especially opposed, as a great leader of riflemen, to the Southern riflemen; was himself an inventor of an improved rifle which, in that day, gained him large reputation. His bravery was remarkable, as well as his skill. During the battle he used a silver whistle, which was to be heard sounding every where through all the din of the conflict. The Tory chiefs were executed on the spot soon after the battle. Tradition says that ten were hung from the tree which appears on the right in our view of the battle-ground. The Deckard rifle was named, we beleive, from a famous maker of that region; it was the weapon most in use among the mountaineers of the South during the period of the Revolution. It is, perhaps, not so generally known that, along the dividing ridges of the two Carolinas, there have been manufacturers of the rifle famous for the excellence of this weapon from a very early period. Even in the Revolution the native rifle has been known to kill across a river 250 yards wide. This range, at that period, was held to be almost miraculous.]

HARK! 'tis the voice of the mountain
And it speaks to our heart in its pride,
As it tells of the bearing of heroes
Who compassed its summits and died!
How they gathered to strife as the eagles,
When the foeman had clambered the height!
How, with scent keen and eager as beagles,
They hunted him down for the fight.
.....................................................Hurrah!

Hark! through the gorge of the valley,
'Tis the bugle that tells of the foe;
Our own quickly sounds for the rally,
And we snatch down the rifle and go.
As the hunter who hears of the panther,
Each arms him and leaps to his steed.
Rides forth through the desolate antre,
With his knife and his rifle at need.
.....................................................Hurrah!

From a thousand deep gorges they gather,
From the cot lowly perched by the rill,
The cabin half hid in the heather,
'Neath the crag which the eagle keep still;
Each lonely at first in his roaming,
Till the vale to the sight opens fair,
And he sees the low cot through the gloaming,
When his bugle gives tongue to the air.
.....................................................Hurrah!

Thus a thousand brave hunters assemble
For the hunt of the insolent foe,
And soon shall his myrmidons tremble
'Neath the shock of the thunderbolt's blow.
Down the lone heights now wind they together
As the mountain-brooks flow to the vale,
And now, as they group on the heather
The keen scout delivers his tale:
.....................................................Hurrah!

"The British - the Tories are on us
And now is the moment to prove
To the women whose virtues have won us,
That our virtues are worthy their love!
They have swept the vast valleys below us
With fire, to the hills from the sea;
And here would they seek to o'erthrow us
In a realm which our eagle makes free!"
.....................................................Hurrah!

No war-council suffered to trifle
With the hours devote to the deed;
Swift followed the grasp of the rifle
Swift followed the bound to the steed;
And soon, to the eyes of our yeomen,
All panting with rage at the sight,
Gleamed the long wavy tents of the foeman,
As he lay in his camp on the height.
.....................................................Hurrah!

Grim dashed they away as they bounded,
The hunters to hem in the prey,
And, with Deckard's long rifles surrounded,
Then the British rose fast to the fray;
And never with arms of more vigor
Did their bayonets press through the strife.
Where, with every swift pull of the trigger
The sharpshooters dashed out a life!
.....................................................Hurrah!

'Twas the meeting of eagles and lions;
'Twas the rushing of tempests and waves;
Insolent triumph 'gainst patriot defiance,
Born freemen 'gainst sycophant slaves;
Scotch Ferguson sounding his whistle,¹
As from danger to danger he flies,
Feels the moral that lies in Scotch thistle
With its "touch me who dare!" and he dies!
.....................................................Hurrah!

An hour, and the battle is over;
The eagles are rending the prey;
The serpents seek flight into cover,
But the terror still stands in the way:
More dreadful the doom that on treason
Avenges the wrongs of the state;
And the oak-tree for many a season
Bears fruit for the vultures of fate!
.....................................................Hurrah!

1. Scotch Ferguson sounding his whistle: The whistle to which Simms refers was the light-infantry whistle, made of silver, that Ferguson used for drilling the personnel in the Loyalist militia. [See M. M. Gilchrist, Patrick Ferguson: A Man 'O Some Genius (National Museum Of Scotland Enterprises: 2003)

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(2) Mary WILIE, wife of Oliver WILIE, died Aug. 21, 1822, aged 78. This was Mary SHELBY, the wife of Oliver WILEY, Jr.

(3) Mary WILEY, wife of Moses WILEY, died June 7, 1818. This was Mary ALEXANDER, the wife of Moses Cicero WILEY, the son of Oliver WILEY, Jr.

(4) Margaret KIRKPATRICK, wife of Robert KIRKPATRICK, died July 7, 1822, aged 31 and Milus C. KIRKPATRICK, son of Robert Kirkpatrick, died July 7, 1822, aged 5 months [both on one stone]. This was Margaret WILEY, the daughter of Oliver WILEY, Jr. and the wife of Robert KIRKPATRICK. She and her son, Milus, evidently perished in some mishap that occurred on 7 July 1822.

One note of hand for one hundred dollars in favor of the deceased, made the 26th November 1818, by Samuel Arnett & J. H. Alleny as well as can be made out credited by the obligee twenty-five dollars on 29th May 1819, by a note on Jonathan Rucker 26th August 1819, for thirty dollars sixty three cents and February 19th 1821, by seven barrels of corn at one dollar twenty five cents per barrel, also on the 21st February 1821, ten dollars cash by the same -- one note on civil John McKnight for ten dollars dated it is believed May 1822, doubtful and one account on same for three dollars, also doubtful, one note on Jordan Williford of about the above date for three dollars in favour of the deceased, one note on Carey Morgan suppose to be for about eighty dollars but credited by the deceased so that at this date the whole balance of principal and interest as collected by McKracken the constable is fifty six dollars twenty five cents, one note of three dollars twelve and a half cents for oats sold by the executors and perchased by Robert Goodloe and Jesse Barton, 7th February 1823, one note of twelve dollars in favor of the executors given by David Baxter and S. WHITE on the last named 7th February both due ten months after the date the last for corn bid off at the sale of the personal estate of the deceased by an individual who could not give security, one other note for corn as above - Given 12th May 1823 for six dollars payable the 10th following December..to the executors, cash left by the deceased three hundred sixty nine dollars --

Recorded May 18 1824

Polly DICKSON, Exer.

"Elizabeth and her husband, Jonathan GREAVES, went from Rutherford County to Bedford County sometime between 27 April 1811 and 6 September 1812.

"The settlement of her estate, as recorded in Book IV, page 438, Lauderdale County, Alabama, shows that she was deceased 8 May 1843. She died a short time before that date."

"Isaac HOLLAND, Jr. wrote his Will on 27 July 1858; and it was proved August 1859. In the Will, he names his wife Mary, two daughters, Nancy Jane and Melissa Moore HOLLAND; daughter Margret M. M. HOLLAND; daughters Eliza G. WELLS and Emily FRIDAY; grandsons James Quinn and Washington Freneaus HOLLAND (minor); and son William Rankin HOLLAND. He wishes Freneaus's two sons each to have a child's part. Executor was son William R. HOLLAND. Witnesses were William S. DICKSON and John T. DICKSON."

Point Lookout, Maryland
View of Hammond General Hospital and U. S. General Depot for Prisoners of War
Lithographed by E. Sachse & Co., Baltimore, 1864
Published by George Everett
[Image Credit: United States Library of Congress]

In this aerial view of Point Lookout, the Potomac River flows on the left (west) and Chesapeake Bay is on the right (east). The headquarters of the United States Army General commanding St. Mary's District, Maryland, faced Chesapeake Bay (inset).

Detail of Point Lookout: The Stockades
[Image Credit: United States Library of Congress]

This detail of Point Lookout shows the stockades reserved for Confederate prisoners of war. The stockade shown with tents was for enlisted men. The stockade shown without tents was for officers. At Point Lookout, no prisoners of war were housed in anything but tents each of which sheltered no fewer than ten persons.

Know all men by these presents that I Franklin H. HOLLAND of the county and state aforesaid being in feeble health but sound and disposing mind do make and publish my last will and testament and dispose of all my estate both real and personal that I may die seized and possessed of in the following manner (viz):

Item First. I direct all my just debts and funeral expenses to be paid.

Item Second. I direct that all my Estate both real and personal be subject to the control and management of my beloved wife Ruth P. HOLLAND during her natural life or widowhood, and in case she should marry I give and bequeath to her an equal on childs part of all my estate both real and personal which may then be on hands.

Item Third. In case the widow should marry as above then I direct my Estate both real and personal to be sold publikly and divided equally among my wife and four children (viz): William Joseph, James Oliver, Leroy Chalmers and Mary Priscilla HOLLAND, said childrens portions to be taken charge of by Guardians either chosen or appointed until they become of age. But should my wife not marry but remain a widow then the management and control of my Estate as just above stated remains with her and as my several children may marry or become of age. I will and direct that she pay over to them such a portion of their equal shares in my estate as she may seem best said portions to be valued by disinterested persons in order to do away any difficulty in the distribution of my estate. It is my will that my wife and four children as before named equal share and share alike.

I hereby nominate and appoint my beloved wife Ruth P. HOLLAND my Executrix to this my last Will and Testament in witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and affixed my seal this 18th day of August 1857.

Signed, sealed and delivered in presence of

Lawson WILSON,
William TORRENCE,
Franklin H. HOLLAND

"She sold Franklin Harper HOLLAND's place at Crowder's Creek to Dr. William J. TORRENCE, who lived there the rest of his life. On the morning of February 15th 1867, at 9:30 AM, Priscilla and her children departed to New York from where from they went to Brazil on a steamer. While waiting to get on board the ship South America on February 23 or 25th, 1867, they sent several letters to relatives and friends in North Carolina.

"Judith MacKnight Jones, in Soldado descansa! uma epopéia norte americana sob os céus do Brasil (Fraternidade Descendência Americana, São Paulo: 1967, 1998), p. 166, reports that Priscilla and her family first settled in Santa Bárbara d'Oeste. For awhile, they resided in the Retiro neighbourhood, at the American colony, near Santa Bárbara d'Oeste. According to Jones, p. 253, the HOLLANDs didn't remain long in the Retiro neighbourhood but moved to several places, including the city of Tatuhy. In 1875, Priscilla and her family were living at Porto Feliz where, in that same year, William ("Willie") Joseph HOLLAND died unmarried and without issue. Early in the following year, Priscilla Ruth Wilson died.

"Leroy Chalmers HOLLAND, in 1887, was witness to the land-grant of the Tanners' property at Santa Bárbara d'Oeste."

Dear Sister and family.

I seat my self to answer your letter of Jan 10 which was received Mar 28. We are all well and verry busy picking cotton and gathering corn. This is the fall of the year with us. The boys have raised corn and vegetables plenty. They have 5 acres in cotton it is generly as high as my head and I hav sean as many as too hundred and four pods on one stalk our sweet potatoes are verry good I have got the yellow yam got them from a man the name Green Ferguson from Chester Dis SC.

The Brazilians have a grate many difernt kinds of potatoes some as red as Beet verry good and very large Orranges are ripe now plumbs are begining to ripen. Wee have some kind of fruit all the time both gathering and laying up for winter as you have doo for both man and beast.

I have not made any home spun cloth since I came to Brazil corse cloth sutch as the Negros ware is verry high 50 cts a vara 45 inches the Brazil mesure I have got a wheal it is not anathing like the ones you use the fliers is under the rim it is made out of mahogany wood cost 10 dollars wee hav 3 verry good horses 2 cows 19 hogs I want to get a place of my own. There is a grate many that say they will not buy a lot. They can get land for so little rent verry often doo not give any They are a grate many buying Negrous one man Mr. White is buying and selling making a grate prophet he says. I doo not think I ever will by a Negro agane wee can get along so well and have no grumbling about work. I can hire when wee nead help. Wee have a grate deal of company. Evry american that comes in the neighbourhood counts on staying a day or too. There are familyes settled in Campinas this last month. There is a good many young men working in Brazilians familyes. I think all the old Batchelors in Texes & Missippie must cum to Brazil. There is a yong man the name Yancey teaching in the family wher William was teaching he is a son of Yancey. The grate Oriter of Alabama¹ ther is a Wilson here from Texes says he was rased in Ohio his Fathers name William Wilson I think he is a relation of ours he says he had an Uncle Robert and Joseph he was in bad health when he came here but he thinks it is improving.

Wee are all invited to a big wedding next week at old Mr Arodas his daughter is marring a Docter and he is verry well pleased. They will have a grand afare I supose the have four set of waters the parents generly make the matches hare the yong mans Father generly goes and names the subject to the yong ladys Father and if they can agree they yong man goes and is permited to have a chat with the lady and if they agree they mary right of. The lady stil keeps her fathers name but puts the husbands too it.

Tell Harison Torrence wee hav as good watter here as ther is in Gaston NC and if he was here and workt as hard as he dose there he would soon get ritch give my love to all my relations and friends. I want you all to write me often I am always glad to hear from my native land I wish to know every thing about my friends as much as I ever did always write all the deaths in my aquantances when you write a gane I want you to get the year and month that Franklin and Mary was maried you can get it in Mothers family bible if you can see it. I send you a crap <that is, crêpe> of Marys and my dresses the brazilians yard wide 25 cts pr yd calico 15 cts silk threequarters wide one doller a yard I paid for them all with butter only got silk for Mary she is all most as large as me.

I doo not want my friends to wate for me to write to them all but write to me, farewell Ruth, Mary W Torrence & families

In the margin: Tell W W Torrence I would like to receive a letter from him the children often speak of him I wrote a letter to Mrs Ginkens a year ago did she get it. William wrote one to J. J Carrida & one to Malisa. Wee never received an ancer. Who is preaching at Olney? Who at St. Trinity? Is Mr. Freman preaching did any one put up a head of rock to mothers grave? PRH Apr 20

Editorial Note:       1. Yancey. The grate Oriter of Alabama: The "grate oriter of Alabama" was William Lowndes Yancey (10 August 1814, at The Aviary [his mother's ancestral home], the Falls of the Ogeechee, Warren County, Georgia - 27 July 1863, Montgomery County, Alabama, Confederate States of America). On 13 August 1835, he was married to Sarah Caroline Earl (27 June 1816, South Carolina - 27 June 1883, Athens, Clarke County, Georgia) in Greenville, Greenville County, South Carolina. Their children were: Benjamin Cunningham Yancey (30 July 1836, Greenville, Greenville County, South Carolina - March 1909, Lake County, Florida) [M]: m. Lucy Cairnes Hall (3 April 1848, Georgia - 15 March 1912, Jacksonville, Duval County, Florida), 30 June 1873, Santa Bárbara d'Oeste, Estado do São Paulo, Império do Brasil; George Earle Yancey (ABT 1838, Greenville, Greenville County, South Carolina - 23 August 1838, Greenville, Greenville County, South Carolina) [M]; Mary Elizabeth Yancey (19 June 1839, Dallas County, South Carolina - 1 June 1902) [F]: m. John L. Harrell, 11 November 1858; William Earle Yancey (4 November 1843, Elmore County, Alabama - 21 December 193<3>) [M]: m. Mary Louise Lanier (22 September 1844, Holly Springs, Marshall County, Mississippi - 1 January 1914, Birmingham, Jefferson County, Alabama), 8 November 1864; Ella Bird Yancey (10 January 1843, Montgomery County, South Carolina - 26 September 1846) [F]; Dalton Huger Yancey (13 February 1845, Greenville County, South Carolina - 5 August 1925, Hillsborough County, Florida) [M]: m. Hettie Lenora McCook (30 November 1851, Georgia - 17 September 1934, Tampa, Hillsborough County, Florida), 7 October 1869, Chattahoochee County, Georgia; and Goodloe Harper Yancey (9 July 1848, Montgomery County, Alabama - 24 August 1924, Fulton County, Georgia) [M]: m. Lucy Gratton Dupree, 26 September 1872, Clarke County, Georgia. About William Lowndes Yancey, the following is from the Congressional Biography:   "YANCEY, William Lowndes, (uncle of Joseph Haynsworth Earle), a Representative from Alabama; born at the Falls of the Ogeechee, Warren County, Georgia, August 10, 1814; attended preparatory school and Williams College, Williamstown, Massachusetts; studied law in Sparta, Georgia, was admitted to the bar in 1834 and commenced practice in Greenville, South Carolina; moved to Cahawba, Alabama, in 1836; temporarily abandoned the practice of law and became a cotton planter; editor of the Cahawba Democrat and the Cahawba Gazette; moved to Wetumpka, Alabama, in 1839 and resumed the practice of law; member of the State house of representatives in 1841; served in the State senate in 1843; elected as a Democrat to the Twenty-eighth Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Dixon H. Lewis; reelected to the Twenty-ninth Congress and served from December 2, 1844, to September 1, 1846, when he resigned; moved to Montgomery, Alabama, in 1846; delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1848, 1856, and 1860; member of the State constitutional convention which convened in Montgomery January 7, 1861; appointed chairman of the commission sent to Europe in 1861 to present the Confederate cause to the Governments of England and France; elected to the first Confederate States Senate February 21, 1862; died at his plantation home, near Montgomery, Alabama, July 26, 1863; interment in Oakwood Cemetery." In the Oakwood Cemetery, the inscription on Yancey's grave is as follows:   "Called to public life in the most critical hour of his country's fortunes, he was a man whose love of truth, devotion to right, simple integrity and reverence for manly honor made him a leader among men. Virtue gave him strength, courage upheld his convictions, heroism inspired him with fearlessness, his sense of responsibility never consulted popularity nor did his high position claim homage save on the ground of worth. Justified in all his deeds, for his country's sake he loved the South; for the sake of the South, he loved his country." It was Benjamin Cunningham Yancey who immigrated to Brazil and who was "teaching in the family wher William (Joseph HOLLAND) was teaching." From what is known about his children, it seems that Benjamin Cunningham Yancey returned from Brazil to the United States, with his family, between 1879 and 1882. The children of Benjamin Cunningham Yancey and Lucy Cairnes Hall were: William Lowndes Yancey (19 May 1874, Santa Bárbara d'Oeste, Estado do São Paulo, Império do Brasil - 28 February 1955 [registered for the draft, in World War I, at Lake County, Florida]) [M]: m. Catherine Belle Usry, 24 January 1906; George Earle Yancey, 21 September 1875, Santa Bárbara d'Oeste, Estado do São Paulo, Império do Brasil - 31 March 1943 [re-entered the United States through Ellis Island from Brazil in 1921]) [M]: m. Annie Mathews (14 July 1888, Marion County, Florida - ?), 29 July 1908, Ocala, Marion County, Florida; Hervey Hall Yancey (6 November 1877, Santa Bárbara d'Oeste, Estado do São Paulo, Império do Brasil - AFT 1904) [M]: m. Maude Lucile Greer, 7 December 1904; Goodloe Dupree Yancey (4 February 1879, Santa Bárbara d'Oeste, Estado do São Paulo, Império do Brasil - 10 June 1944 [registered for the draft, in World War I, at Dade County, Florida]) [M]: m. Mary Peterson; Benjamin Cudworth Yancey (28 February 1882, Lake County, Florida - 22 December 1893, Lake County, Florida) [M]; Lucy Dillingham Yancey (4 November 1883, Lake County, Florida - 23 January 1985) [F]: m. Joseph Warren Fuller, 15 June 1905, Lake County, Florida; Theodora Yancey (25 March 1887 - 6 August 1887, Bartow County, Georgia0 [F]; and Frederick Dalton Yancey (9 November 1888, Lake County, Florida - 18 December 1967 [registered for the draft, in World War I, at Lake County, Florida]) [M]: m. Bessie May Hodges, 30 September 1914, Lake County, Florida. About Benjamin Cunningham Yancey, the following is from the Confederate Veteran, vol. 17 (July 1909):   "BENJAMIN CUNNINGHAM YANCEY, born in Greenville, South Carolina, July 30, 1836, was the son of Hon. WILLIAM L. YANCEY, one of the most brilliant orators of the South and a historical character in the great struggle between the North and the South. This son was reared in Montgomery, Alabama, and graduated from the University of Alabama, in 1856, with the degree of Bachelor of Arts and later his law degree from Cumberland University, Tennennessee, and in the same year was admitted to the bar in Montgomery. He served throughout the war as captain of artillery. At the close of the war he removed to Brazil, where he lived for 14 years. In 1873 he was married to Miss LUCY CAINES HALL, who survives him with 5 sons, all fine business men, and one daughter, MRS. LUCY YANCEY FULLER, Baltimore. "Returning to the states, Captain YANCEY settled in Florida, where he became a part of the best citenship of the state. "After a painful and lingering illness, he fell asleep in Jesus on the 17th of March, and was buried in Glendale cemetery among the orange groves he had planted."

"Henry Farrar STEAGALL was born in a wealthy family, from his mother's side. He had one brother and two half-sisters from an earlier marriage of his mother. About his father, the only thing we were able to learn was his name, from an old Bible record in the family's Bible. We also know that his father died before 1832, thus when Henry was younger than eleven years old.

"Between 1932 and 1948, so after his father's death, he moved with his family to near Lake Reelfoot, Union City, Weakley County in Tennessee, where he met and married Delia. However, it seems he still was listed on the 1848 tax list of Johnston County, North Carolina.

"Henry Farrar STEAGALL was one of the pioneers who helped to establish the state of Texas. He was from a very educated family, one of whose members was professor at the state university, that is, his uncle John BOBBITT. He came from Tennessee to Gonzales County, Texas, in 1852. He was much affected by the pioneer-spirit rampant in those days around 1850. He sold his property, bought some new covered wagons, gathered his belongings and slaves, and loaded them up. And he went to the unknown Texas. His family travelled in a comfortable carriage ahead the wagons. His wife, Delia PECK, and three little children formed his family. The oldest child was Martha Temperance, four years old, called "Pattie" by her family. Then there was John Edward. And, finally, the newborn Thomas Henry. Henry's mother, Martha Williams BOBBITT, was also a member of this party. Pattie walked a large part of the trip side by side with the convoy, holding her father's hand. They crossed the Mississippi River in a ferry. They camped by the roads in the evenings. Pattie, much fearless, didn't want to sleep in the tent with her mother, prefering to sleep under the sky with her father, looking at the stars.

"Weakley County, Tennessee was surveyed by Henry RUTHERFORD and John Weakley who also surveyed much of middle Tennessee and North Carolina. Henry RUTHERFORD was the son of Griffin RUTHERFORD, a noted surveyor of North Carolina. Henry RUTHERFORD married the daughter of Col. John JOHNSON who died 4 March 1816 in Williamson County, Tennessee. The JOHNSONs were closely affiliated with another middle Tennessee family, the McCRORYs, who by tradition have ancestral Irish ties to the CRAWFORDs, Delia's relatives. Henry RUTHERFORD's daughter, Elizabeth, married John CRAWFORD, another surveyor, on 27 February 1808. Nothing is known of the ancestry of John CRAWFORD who was born 16 March 1784 and who died in Williamson County, Tennessee in 1813. John CRAWFORD's siblings, identified through family letters, were William CRAWFORD, Alexander CRAWFORD, Samuel CRAWFORD, and Mrs. MCCOY. When John CRAWFORD died, Lazarus CRAWFORD of Rutherford County, Tennessee, Delia's grandfather, held a note against the estate. John and Elizabeth Rutherford CRAWFORD had three sons: Washington P. CRAWFORD, born 6 June 1809 and died 17 July 1834, Henry Rutherford CRAWFORD, born 26 April 1811 and died 9 August 1870, and his twin, James Johnson CRAWFORD, born 26 April 1811 and died 22 August 1844. Henry Rutherford CRAWFORD left Weakley County, Tennessee and made his way to Texas, first settling in Gonzales County. About 1844, he moved to the area of San Marcos, Texas. We have assumed that Henry Rutherford CRAWFORD wrote back to his friends and relatives in Weakley County, Tennessee and said "come on out to Texas!" Gonzales County is north-northeast of San Antonio in an area that contains many underground springs, one of them being "the largest underground spring in the world," as people used to say.

"They settled at Gonzales County, Texas where they had a farm. In Texas, Henry and Delia had five more children. They lived there a few years before and during the War Between the States, when Henry left the farm under his wife's governance and went to the front. These were hard times in which to manage a farm, when there were no men to work on it. And there was also the children's education to think about. They lived so far from a school that it was necessary to have a teacher at home. It was Pattie, the oldest child, who was to benefit the most from this, receiving a very sophisticated education.

"In 1862, Henry Farrar STEAGALL enlisted as a Private in Capt. John R. Smith's Company of Gonzales County Cavalry, which became Company B of Waul's Texas Legion. It was the first company to leave Gonzales. At the time of his enlistment, he was described as aged 41, born in North Carolina, married, and a resident of Gonzales County, Texas. He was listed as present on the muster roll for June 13, 1862, at Camp Waul, Washington County, Texas. He went to Virginia, got sick, and was dismissed. Soon he got healthy again and went back to war. He was captured, at the fall of Vicksburg, Mississippi, on July 4, 1863. He was exchanged on September 12, 1863, and was transferred for duty in Texas. He was present for duty again on May 16, 1865, at Galveston, Texas, as a Private, although at least one muster roll lists him as a Brevet 2nd Lieutenant.

"Pattie tells us: "It was beautiful, my fathers's farm. Many acres of fertile lands, good houses, horses and cattle in quantity, corn flour-mill, cotton benefactor machines, but in those terrible days, of incredibe terror, the reconstruction after the civil war, it was impossible our staying. Crimes were commited every day, all around, by former slaves that didn't work and who lived in plundering and robbing. Many recent arrived Yankees protected them and it was not allowed us to complain. The cotton fields were all the while waiting for somebody to harvest them. And there was nobody to do it. One day a man appeared with many freed slaves and soon harvested it all."

"When Henry came back from the war, he found his plantation overgrown like a jungle and nobody to help him cultivate it. He accepted this state of things for two or three years, then decided to emmigrate to Brazil. He was not afraid to start everything over again. This is what he had done when he went to Texas. That adventure gave him experience toward a greater enterprise. He knew what was necessary and what was superfluous to take with him. It is also said that, when Henry decided to come to Brazil, he paid for the trip for about ten friends from Gonzales who wanted to come with him but could not afford the fare.

"About the trip of the family to Brazil, we have the precious story that Maggie left us in "Wealthy Memories of a Long Life" published on August 11, 1908 in the Brazilian-American, published in Rio de Janeiro. Henry contacted a Jewish man named Charles Nathan who was gathering dissatisfied Southerners to go to Brazil. Henry rented a cart to take his family's belongings to Indianola, Texas, 110 miles distant, and there he and his family took a vessel to New Orleans, where they arrived December 24, 1867. Receiving word about the delaying of the vessel that would take them to Brazil, Henry found a place and lodged in a large family house. They stayed there for three weeks. Afterwords, he rented and furnished a house, where they waited until April the eleventh, to go to Brazil. We know that, having not much to do in New Orleans, Pattie decided to learn how to sew. She herself made a beautiful dress and was so proud of it that she wanted to have a picture taken of her wearing it. This is the photograph of which all the family still has a copy today, where can we see Pattie and her two sisters.

"Henry carried a letter of introduction from the Office of E. E. Tansil, General Commission Merchant, 58 Carondelet Street, New Orleans, dated 8 April 1868:

"There were no steamers to Brazil in those days and theirs was a sailing-boat, called Wren, which had been rebuilt and renamed Tartar. The owners found and hired a captain, paid by the day, who had the courage to sail an adapted ship previously used during the War Between the States to break the maritime blockade. The Nathan brothers had rebuilt the ship to transport emigrants to Brazil. Two hundred twenty five persons were fearless enough to get on board on April 17, 1868. God protected them and they had calm sea during all the trip. If a storm had beaten them it would have been the end, for the ship was old, had no sufficient weight, and any strong wind could capsize it. The trip was very slow, lasting almost two months. The accommodations were awful and the passengers had to endure them as best they could. Having just left in winter and, crossing the Equator, most children got colds and were coughing. The only medicine they had on board was a water-glass to which they added a couple of drops of chlorine. Clothes were a big problem. There was some water in which to wash them but no live coals could be found with which to fill the iron. Necessity is the mother of all inventions. Mrs. Carlton, who was a very fat lady who did not have much balance for standing up in a rolling ship, was seated in a swinging-chair for most of the time. There was nothing easier than to fold the clean clothes perfectly and to make her spend a couple of hours seated upon them.

"Aunt Emma (Amelia Jane STEAGALL) told Itamar Kitzmiller that, during the trip to Brazil, they had a stop at some island's port and their nurse-maid, an Irish girl, disappeared. She came back the next day and when Delia asked her "where were you?" she answered: "In jail."

"The vessel stopped for five days in Belém, the capital of the Brazilian state of Pará, where many passengers landed. They spent one night in Pernambuco and, after three days, finally landed in Rio de Janeiro. It was May 29th. The Tartar's passengers had left behind desolate lands, poverty, beloved relatives, friends, schools, and churches. How might it have been for them in starting a new life? The oldest had their hearts heavy with the pain of departure and they also had experiences enough to know that they were not necessarily going to find calm sea at the landing-harbour. Although they slowly became amused with the novelty of travelling by ship and with daily chores, which previously had seemed ordinary and which became more difficult in a different environment.

"Many families had to bring their own food and to cook it on board. The weather was calm and the pans that stood over the fire did not slide because of the vessel's rolling. Mothers always had to take care of their children, making sure that nothing bad happened; but the girls, who usually cared about house-cleaning, had nothing to do. Lockie, daughter of John Trigg, was much pretty and friendly and soon became friend to other boys and girls. They were at that age when everything was a golden dream. The new land was going to be sun and springtime. Amongst the people, there was a kind boy, named Andrew Jackson Peacock, a very adventurous spirit who faced the unknown all alone. This young man did not remain satisfied with being alone for a long time. He loved Lockie Trigg and they got married just after landing in Rio de Janeiro.

"In Rio everybody lodged at the Immigrant's Hotel, where they stayed for a week, until find a definite place in which to settle. It was a very large house that the Brazilian government, in anticipation of a lot of immigrants, had adapted so as to offer lodging and food to the newcomers. The Americans were visited by the emperor, Dom Pedro II, who was specially interested in those who came to Brazil. The emperor talked to each one and, when he saw little Jenny Carlton put his hand over her head, he said that he wished the girl would be a blessing to her new motherland. The Americans, who were already living in Brazil, also visited the newcomers. So Rev. Emerson learned that, since the comercial agreement with England in 1810, foreigners could build their chapels there; but the buildings were forbiden to have towers and thus to look like churches. The British and Germans had already built theirs but they were not spreading their faith. The Americans invested more effort, distributed some Bibles in Rio de Janeiro, and were beginning to evangelize the countryside.

"Pattie wrote:

"Pattie might never have guessed that her granddaughter, Mary JONES, was going to marry Hans REHDER, the great grandson of this very same German man.

"It is said that Martha BOBBITT was somewhat senile when they got to Brazil. During this trip, the ox-cart drivers, wanting the oxen to go faster, frequently said "Anda, diabo!" (Faster, devil!) and Martha's first word in Portuguese, that she was always repeating, "diaba." When, a few days later, after their arrival in Santa Bárbara, some people asked her for water, she gave it to them, they thanked her, and she said "diaba!"

"Pattie continues:

"The general habit in Santa Bárbara was going to bed early, as soon as it got dark, thus saving the candles. One night, one of the old neighbors asked her husband: 'Do you think is going to rain tonight?' The old man walked through the dark corridor and mistook the back door, opening the pantry instead. Putting his nose inside, he inhaled deeply, and said 'It is damned dark and smells like cheese!'

"There were so many things to do then, the first days they got settled in the new home. First came the plantations. There was a lot of land to plow, as it was late in the year and the rainy season was arriving, and with it, seeding time. Henry STEAGALL worked so much that, in the evenings, he just wanted to get rest. Letters to friends and relatives were thus usually written by Pattie. Here is a copy of one of her letters:

"Pattie wrote further: 'Cotton plantations were the main activity of Americans in Brazil and were much profitable till the farms were invaded by "coruquerês." Then they became sugar cane farmers. It was a fight to earn money enough those days. Spite the heavy hard work, to the men and women either, privations, and complete lacking of diversions, we were much happy, for we had reached the calm sea after the storm.'

"Three years after their arrival in Brazil, Henry and Delia had their last child, Helen Virginia, the only born there.

"Henry was remembered by his friends in Brazil as a very skilled man and a great carpenter. He made the first plow-structures for the Americans, helped by John Domm who was a blacksmith and a maker of wagon parts.. He helped to build the Retiro School, in Americana, and made all its benches; but one of his more beautiful works was the symbolic columns of the Masonic store, entirely of carved wood. His sons inherited his gifts and were great leather weavers. Henry made a little dam on his property's creek and dammed water to move the water wheels of his cotton machine and corn flour mill. He had a huge orchard in his home at Retiro Neighborhood, with all sort of fruits, many qualities of bananas, peaches, quinces, figs, oranges, lemons, persimon and grapes that hung in huge black clusters from which he made juice for all the year. As in early American homes, he dug a sort of cellar before building his house over it and there he kept the grape juice, sweet potatoes, onions, and pumpkins in a dark place so as not to bud. And Delia was always remembered by women having babies. There were few doctors in Santa Bárbara and she was the one who was requested to help these women.

"The elderly Henry Farrar STEAGALL died at the beginning of 1888. After the death of her husband, Delia Elisabeth PECK sold her property and moved to São Paulo with her single daughters. She went to live where her daughters could have more opportunities for working and studying. After her death, her remains were brought to Santa Bárbara. She is buried in Campo Cemetery with her husband and several children.

"In the American Immigration Museum of Santa Bárbara d'Oeste (Museu da Imigração - Santa Bárbara d´Oeste: m u s e u @ s a n t a b a r b a r a . s p . g o v . b r), we can see several objects that once belonged to Henry Farrar STEAGALL, among them a linen shirt and many old pictures of his family. One of them, as early as 1864, was taken in New Orleans when they were waiting for the vessel on which they came to Brazil. The STEAGALL family has preserved records, Bibles, and letters. Letters include those from S. C. Thomason to 'my very dear niece.' The letters were written from Dresden, Weakley County, Tennessee. There are also letters from Murfreesboro, Tennessee whereby Pattie replied to 'Aunt Tempy.' Joseph G. THOMASON's letters were signed 'your dear Uncle Joe.' Family letters also include postmarks of 'Southerland Springs' and 'Home Valley' (not identified yet). Southerland Springs is in Wilson County, Texas between Laverina and Stockdale. It was established about 1831 as the plantation headquarters of John SUTHERLAND and the SUTHERLAND family. In 1860, it was a resort due to mineral and hot springs in the area around Cibola Creek. Dr. John SUTHERELAND was an active early Texas patriot known for unsuccessfully rallying aid for the Alamo. Later he was aide-de-camp for Gen. Sam HOUSTON and was his private secretary."

To my beloved wife Elizabeth HOLLAND I bequeath a bed and furniture and to my son, Andrew (?) HOLLAND one bed and furniture. To my daughter Catherine H. HOLLAND one bed and furniture and to the child of which my wife is now pregnant one bed and furniture said beds and furniture to be judged by my executors of equal value. To my daughter Rebecca Adeline, daughter of Jane MOORE I will and direct that executors purchase a Negro girl worth about three hundred Dollars and a Horse Saddle and Bridle worth about or eighty dollars which Negro and horse (?) I allow my executors to give to her for her use at three years from this D which said property shall only be considered as loane the said Rebecca until she arrives at the age of 21 years if she should live to be 21 years of age or leave issue of her body I then allow said property to go absolutely to her and to and further direct my executors to make up in money whatever may be the difference between the value of said & horse saddle and bridle and five hundred dollars But if she should die before coming of age or having issue as a for the same is wholly to refund into my estate and divided as the ballance thereof is directed to be divided.

My plantation whereon I live, bought of Wm. Robinson (?) I direct my executors to rent out annually or otherwise . . . [page two] . . . at their discretion The remainder of my estate and [ ] personal I allow to be sold and the proceeds thereof to be equally divided between my said wife Elizabeth my son Andrew my daughter Catherine and the child of which my said wife is now pregnant or the survivor of them where the children respectively come of age My wife to receive her part as soon as may be [ ] and I do hereby nominate and appoint Andrew HOYLE and Isaac HOLLAND Esqs. Eli HOYL and Oliver HOLLAND Executors of this my last will and testament and I do hereby revoke and disavowel all other or former wills by me made and declare this and this only to be my last will and testament. In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and affixed my seal the day and year herein first written.

Signed sealed published and declared by the testator to be his last will and testament and signed by him in the presence of us who in have signed as witnesses thereto Abram STOWE and William Wilson [Jurat] James HOLLAND (seal)

In the name of God Amen. I John M. COX of said State and County being of sound mind and memory and knowing that I must shortly depart this life deem it right and proper both as respects my family and myself that I should make a disposition of the property with which a kind Providence has blessed me do therefore make this my last will and testament hereby revoking all others heretofore made by me.

1. Item. I desire and direct that my body be buried in a decent and christian like manner suitable to my circumstance and condition in life. My soul I trust shall return to rest with God who gave it.

2. Item. I desire and direct that all my just debts be paid without delay by my executor herein after appointed as I am unwilling my creditors should be delayed in their just rights.

3. Item. I give and devise to my beloved wife Irena for and during her natural live (only) all that tract of land being in the County of Cherokee and State of Georgia known and distinguished by no. four hundred & thirty two (432), four hundred & thirty three (433) four hundred & thirty four (434) five hundred and three (503) five hundred and four (504) and all that part of lot no. (505) five hundred and five that lies on the north side of Little River and all that part of lot no. (506) five hundred and six on the north side of Little River, all said numbers adjoining and taken together containing three hundred & twenty acres more or less and all in the 15th Dist. of the second section of said county. Fractional lot no. three hundred & ninety seven in the twenty first District of the second section of said county containing seventy four acres more or less with all the rights and appertences of the said lots of land in any wise belonging to her own proper use and benefit during her natural life after which said tract of land I desire and wish my Executor to dispose of and divide equally between the heirs of her body to wit. Sarah Jane, Elisha, and Malissa COX. I also give and bequeath to my beloved wife Irena (in the same ? manner) my Plantation Wagon and two mules such as she may select from my mules, the farming utensils used on and belonging the Plantation of every description whatever, also all my cattle and hogs of every description, also all my household and kitchen furniture belonging to and used on said Plantation all given and bequeathed in the name aforesaid.

4. Item. I give and bequeath to my beloved wife for and during her natural life (only) my negro man Adam about twenty three years old, negro woman Mariah about thirty seven years old, negro boy Bob about seven years old and after her estate is over then to be equally divided between the heirs of her body so afore named in the 3rd item.

5th Item. I give bequeath and desire my daughter Malissa forever my negro girl Sophia about three years old to her own porper use and benefit forever.

6th I desire and wish my Executors to sell my negro woman Herriet about 27 years old, lot of land no. six hundred & fourty nine in the 15th Dist. 2nd section Cherokee County, als. no. 182 in the 3rd Dist. of the 2nd section in said county, also one mule and carriage also two notes in the hands of Moon & Alfred given by Jas. Cooper for six hundred and forty two dollars each, one due 25th December 1851, the other due 25 Dec. 1852, also one note of the hand of L. T. Glenn given by G. F. Knott for about ninety dollars due said dicreted notes to collect together with the money arising from the sale of said negro woman and said lots of land and mule and carriage ? my Executors to apply to the payment of my just debts and if any remaining to be divided equally between my three oldest children to wit Elizabeth Ann PYSON (PYRON), Mary Martha BANKS and John W. COX.

7th I hereby constitute and appoint my worthy friend David Putman Executor of this my last will and testament this April 21st 1851.

John M. COX (Seal)

On file at Georgia Archives, Drawer 13, box 17, page 30, Book B.