(Daddy’s) Moses
Woosley my 4th great-grandfather on
my Daddy's, Mom's side of the family.
Moses Woosley signed up in Amelia County, Virginia for a term of 3 years
at the end of December 1776 or early January 1777, he said he could not
remember the exact date. He was born in 1758 and died in 1843 in Halifax
County, Virginia. He states that he
joined the 15th Virginia Regiment and marched through Alexandria, Georgetown,
Baltimore, Philadelphia and on to White Plains, New York where they joined up
with Gen. George Washington and his troops.
He was at the Battles of Germantown and Stoney Point and was at the
siege near Camden when Gen. Gates was defeated. He was also at Valley Forge
that terrible winter with Gen. Washington. He was present when Lord Cornwallis
surrendered to Gen. George Washington.
(Daddy’s) William
Elder my 5th
great-grandfather on my Daddy’s, Dad’s side of the family. William Elder was born in 1748 in Spartanburg
County, South Carolina and died in 1808 in Livingston County, Kentucky. His wife was Margaret Storey who he married
in about 1771 in South Carolina. William
served in the Revolutionary War, enlisting in Carter's Company on 25 April 1781
and mustered out 1 June 1782. He also
served as a captain in Benjamin Roebuck's Regiment of the South Carolina
Militia from 1781 to 1782. His brother,
Robert Elder, served as a private under him during that time. His brother, James Elder, also served as a
captain from 1780 to 1782 in Roebuck's Battalion of Spartan Regiment and their
other brothers, Alexander Elder and Thomas Elder served as privates under
him. Family stories state that they were
all at King’s Mountain and Guilford Courthouse, but I have not found any
pension records for them as of yet, so I don’t know how true these stories
might be.
(Daddy’s) Richard
Golden/Golding my 5th
great-grandfather on my Daddy’s, Mom’s side of the family. He served in the Revolutionary War enlisting
on 1 September 1777 in the 13th Virginia Regiments as a private for
3 years. He was in Captain David
Steele’s Company of the 13th Regiment, commanded by Colonel William
Russell and he was also in the 9th Virginia Regiment as well. He was
mustered out at Fort Pitt. The regiment
saw action in the Battles of Brandywine, Germantown, and Monmouth. On 24 May 1778 the unit was assigned to the
Western Department and on 12 May 1779 it was reorganized and re-designated as
the 9th Virginia Regiment. The regiment
was disbanded at Fort Pitt on 1 January 1783.
Richard married Susannah Wilmoth about 1768 in Virginia and they had at
least six known children. Richard was a large landowner for that time and after
the war engaged in farming. He was
stabbed and killed sometime before 7 Oct 1788 in Abbeville County, South
Carolina by one of his German renters.
It was supposed that the tenant thought if he would put Golden out of
the way he would save the rent or perhaps would get all the crop. They had not
had any trouble before. Some relatives
who lived in or near Charleston, came up and prosecuted the case, and the
murderer was promptly hanged.
(Daddy’s) George
Storey was my 6th
great-grandfather on my Daddy’s Dad’s side of the family. George built a fort on his land during the
war to protect the old people and women and children left behind when the
younger men went to war. This was called
Storey's Fort and because of this George has been accepted by the DAR as a
Revolutionary Soldier, as was four of his five sons. George was born in about 1726 in Bucks
County, Pennsylvania and died in January of 1805 in Fairforest, Spartanburg
County, South Carolina. He was buried at
the Fairforest Presbyterian Cemetery in Union County, South Carolina. His
wife’s name was Nancy Cantor and they were married in about 1744, probably in
Augusta County, Virginia. George's
original home was burned down during the Revolutionary War. His second home was built soon after and a
part of this second home is still standing. The following pictures are of the
marker that was placed to commemorate this family in 1984, as well as a
picture of the cemetery, and the cabin that is still standing there to this
day.
(Daddy’s) David Freeman my 6th great-grandfather on my
Daddy’s, Dad’s side of the family. David
apparently served in the Revolutionary War as a private, but so far, I have not
found any type of record that states what company he served with. However, in the Roster of North Carolina
Soldiers in the American Revolution on page 271, I found a land warrant #1878
to the heirs of David Freeman for 640 acres.
The warrant date was 11 July 1785.
I know David was born in 1742 in North Carolina and died 27 April 1808
in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina and was buried at the Steele Creek
Presbyterian Church Cemetery in Charlotte, North Carolina. He was married to Mary Frizzell in about 1763
and they became the parents of nine known children. The following are their grave markers at
Steele Creek Cemetery.
(Mom’s) Isham
Floyd my 5th
great-grandfather on my Mom’s, Mom’s side of the family. He fought with George Rogers Clark at
Kaskaskia when he was young. He served
as a Sargant in Clark's Illinois Regiment of Artillery and in the Virginia
State Troops during the Revolutionary War.
He is on the muster rolls during the war from November 26, 1779 to April
8, 1783. From the Filson Club History
Quarterly, Vol 15, No. 1, pp22 - Louisville KY, Jan 1941 we read, "The
Indians captured him across the Ohio River, north of the Falls. They scalped
him, cut off his ears, fingers and toes, and after torturing him for three
days, cut out his heart and threw it to their dogs." Another story states that Isham was ambushed and burned at the stake
along with his brother, John by Indians on 12 April 1783 near present day
Louisville, Kentucky. Still another
source says he died in 1782 at "Crawford's Defeat". And yet another source says he was killed in
1790 in Mercer County, Kentucky. All I
know for certain is that he is last listed on the muster rolls receiving pay on
April 8, 1783. I know he was married to
Lydia Hardin on 28 January 1775 in Amherst County, Virginia and they had two
known sons, David and Isham, Jr., I come through David.
(Mom’s) Levi
Bridgewater my 6th great-grandfather
on my Mom's, Dad's side of the family.
Levi Bridgewater was born in 1761 in Fayette County, Pennsylvania and
died in Washington County, Indiana. He was married to Patience Stillwell on 1
June 1785 in Fayette County, PA. Levi
enlisted for 3 years on 20 Jan 1776 in Fayette County, PA under Capt. James
Neal in the 13th Virginia Regiment under Col. William Russell. He eventually
was transferred to the 9th Virginia Regiment before the war was out. They
marched to Philadelphia and in the spring, they joined Gen. George Washington
at the Cross Roads in Pennsylvania. He
served as the company drummer boy being only 16 years old when he first
enlisted. He was at Valley Forge that terrible winter with Gen. Washington and
was discharged after serving 3 years and 3 months at Pittsburgh.
(Mom’s) Peter
Fisher my 6th
great-grandfather on my Mom’s Dad’s side of the family. Peter served in the Revolutionary War, as a
drummer in the New Jersey Continental Troops, and as a private and ranger in a
Company of Light Horse under Captain Peter Rush and received a pension #3612. Peter was born in about 1761 in Hunterdon
County, New Jersey and died in April of 1842 in Fairmount, Jefferson County,
Kentucky. He was married to Deborah
Warford about 1787 in Pennsylvania.
(Mom’s) Jesse
H. Henson my 6th great-grandmother on
my Mom's, Mom's side of the family. Jesse was born in 1759 in Surry County,
North Carolina and died 10 May 1843 in Marshall County, Kentucky. His wife was
Mary Goodbread and they were married 16 Oct 1782 in Rutherford County, North
Carolina. Jesse H. Henson served as a
Private in the Virginia Continental Line during the Revolutionary War. While at
King's Mountain he sprained his foot and ankle so badly while jumping over a
fence that he was not in the actual battle. He served several 3-month
enlistments throughout the war and would be discharged, then go home and get a
few things done and then enlist again. He also fought in several Indian
conflicts against the Cherokee and he also served as a spy in two different
enlistments. He first applied for a pension in November of 1832, stating he was
72 or 73 years old, and he could not remember exactly when he was born. His
widow applied for a widow’s pension after his death and gave their marriage
date and Jesse's death date at that time. For over a year she is getting affidavits
from people stating she was the wife of Jesse Henson, but I never found where
she actually got a pension. The last papers I find for her were dated 2 Feb
1847 in Marshall County, Kentucky.
(Mom’s) Lt.
Col. James Thomas Graham my 7th
great-grandfather on my Mom’s Dad’s side of the family. James was born in about 1730, possibly in New
Jersey. He was married to Elizabeth
Stillwell in about 1754 in New Jersey, probably in Monmouth County. He served
in Captain Hendershot's Company of the First Battalion Bedford County,
Pennsylvania Militia as a Lieutenant Colonel from 9 January 1776 to 10 March
1777. He also had served as a volunteer
in the 1st Battalion of the Bedford County Militia during the French and Indian
Wars. He died of smallpox during the war on 12 June 1779. Elizabeth who was born in 1732, lived on
until 1804 when she passed away, she had never remarried. They are both buried at the Tonoloway
Primitive Baptist Church Cemetery which is in Warfordsburg, Fulton County,
Pennsylvania. I have visited this cemetery
but did find markers for them.
I am very proud of these men, my grandfathers and their brothers, and the sacrifices that they made to defend our country and overcome tyranny.
