Robert Clarke FUGATE

Robert married Elizabeth Powers. [Group Sheet]

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CENSUS RECORDS


1850 United States Federal Census
Name: Robert Fugate
Age: 60
Birth Year: abt 1790
Birthplace: Virginia
Home in 1850: District 54, Russell, Virginia
Gender: Male
Family Number: 1360
Household Members:
Robert Fugate 60
Esther Fugate 55
John H T Fugate 30
Elbert T Fugate 20

1860 United States Federal Census
Name: Robert Fugate
Age in 1860: 70
Birth Year: abt 1790
Home in 1860: Russell, Virginia
Gender: Male
Post Office: Dickensonville
Household Members:
Robert Fugate 70
Esther Fugate 65
John H S Fugate 39
David Mcnutt 18
Samuel H Montgomery 26

1870 United States Federal Census
Name: Robert Fugate
Age in 1870: 80
Birth Year: abt 1790
Birthplace: Virginia
Home in 1870: Copper Creek, Russell, Virginia
Race: White
Gender: Male
Post Office: Lebanon
Household Members:
Robert Fugate 80
John H C Fugate 40
Jane Damron 39
Mary Damron 16
Sallie Damron 13
William Damron 30
John Damron 8


Excerpts from Tate Families of the Southern States, Volume II, by Laura Mentzel and Ethel Updike, 1984

Robert Fugate was born in 1789 in Russell County, VA, son of Colbert and Hannah Tate Fugate. He married September 13, 1810 to Esther Seymour. A pretty, old, brick house on State route 71, near Grassy Creek in Russell County, Va was the home of Robert Fugate. It was built prior to the civil War. Robert was a Justice of the Peace for Russell County, a Surveyor and an Engineer. He joined the Methodist Church in 1818 and nearby the old brick home, he built a brick church, long since torn down. It was named "Esther's Chapel" in honor of his wife. At the time slavery was abolished he owned 18 slaves. Their ages and birth dates were kept on a sheet of paper inserted into the family bible. Some of these slaves stayed on with the Fugate family after emancipation.

Reference: Emory L. Hamilton

Will Book 8, Page 370, dated December 9, 1829:

Robert Tate, Hannah Fugate, Samuel Tate and the heirs of Jane Haddox, dec'd. to wit: Usley Hay, wife of John Hay; Nancy Davidson, wife of Cyrus Davidson, Polly, wife of ???, Martha Williams, Wife of Jenkins Williams, Hannah Frazier, wife of John Frazier, John Haddox and Lydia, heirs of said Jane Haddox, John Buster and wife Martha, William Fugate and wife Lydia, heirs of John Tate, Esq., deceased of Russell County of one part and to Isaac Tate. Hannah Tate, widow of Colbert O. Fugate, Samuel Tate, Jane Haddox, wife of Henley Haddox, Isaac Tate, Lydia Fugate, wife of William, 108 acres on both sides of Big Moccasin Creek, sig; etc.

Will Book 4, page 403, dated February 11, 1829: Sale, Page 443, February 15, 1829:

Robert Tate, Martin Fugate, Zachariah Fugate, Isaac Tate, William Tate, John Tate, Hannah Fugate, Elisha Tate, Uriah Fugate, John Tate.

Robert Tate adm. Book 42 Page 502, Robert Tate adm. of John Tate, dec'd. Isaac Tate, $55.00; Hannah Fugate, $29.00, John Fugate, William Fugate

Fiduciary: Book 2, Page 154, dated January 4, 1808; Charles Robinson all my estate goods, chattels to my loving stepson James H. Tate, black horse. Sig. Colbert Fugate, John Tate.

Robert married Esther SEYMORE 1810, Russell Co. VA. Esther was born 1794; died 1864. [Group Sheet]

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• _UID: A82543783EA64319BD25B2F73B919940F8F1

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• _UID: 0180DD3BA61945AA8F6DBC1754EF684B0CB2

Notes:

From The Fugate Family of Russell Co., VA by David Farris, Gateway Press 1986

There is some doubt as to who the original Fugate was in America. Early genealogists thought that Peter LaFoucate of Baltimore County, Maryland was the original settler. Further study, however, casts doubt on this and points to James Fugett who married Martha Poel (Poole). James was the son of James Fugett and Emaline Lamb of Ltegray, London.

James Fugett married Martha Poel in Henrico County, Virginia in 1694. The county was established in 1611, just four years after Jamestown. It extended on both sides of the James River from the junction of the James and Appomattox Rivers to the Blue Ridge Mountains. In 1634 there were 4914 settlers in Virginia, with 419 of these in Henrico County. In 1694 Henrico County consisted of Goochland (1727), Albemarle (1744), Amherst(1761), Fluvanna(1777), Nelson, Chesterfield (1747), Cumberland(1749), Buckingham(1732), Powhatan and part of Appomattox Counties as well as the cities of Richmond, Charlottesville and Colonial Heights. The boundaries have remained essentially unchanged since 1747.

They are known to have resided in Perquimans Precinct, North Carolina, from 1697 to 1702.

Josias Fugate is the earliest confirmed Fugate. He resided in the Northern Neck of Virginia in the Brunswick Parish of King George County. In Josias' will, dated 18 March, 1757, he mentions his sons Francis, John, Josias, Randolph, Martin and daughter Ann Swillavant, as well as his wife, Mary. Mary has, by tradition, been assumed to be Mary Martin. It is probable that his sons John, Josias, Randolph, and Martin, had moved elsewhere to settle. Randolph is known to have been in Orange County, Virginia, by 1738.

Martin Fugate was recorded in Frederick County in 1755. The area he was located in was possibly the area known as Dunmore County from 1772 to 1777, renamed Shenandoah County in 1777, and later divided into Page and Warren Counties. He was also recorded in Culpeper Co., Virginia, in 1761, 1763, and 1775. It is probable that all his children were born in this area. His brother John Jr. was recorded as selling his land in the same area on 09 October, 1771 then purchasing land in 1772 in the Moccasin

Valley in what was then Botetourt County, and later Fincastle, Washington, and finally Russell County. Martin was first noted in Russell County in 1789 as "exempt from taxation". It was in Russell County that Martin Fugate's estate was settled on 29 June, 1803.

The area which is now Russell County was an intertribal Indian hunting preserve until 1745 when it became part of Augusta County. Between 1769 and 1785 it was contained in Botetourt, Fincastle, and Washington Counties. In 1786, Russell Country was formed from Washington County. The boundary lines extended from Clinch Mountain to the Cumberland Gap on the Kentucky Border and eastward to a point near Bluefield, Virginia. In 1790 the County had a population of 3338, including 190 slaves.

The first known group of settlers arrived in Castles Woods, in 1770. Among this group, then considered squatters, was Charles Bickley, brother of Mary Carter. They claimed and settled on land to which they could not obtain legal title because of problems with the Loyal Company, Indians, and the Crown. Many of these first settlers did not obtain legal right to their land until the 1780s. A good account of the settlement of Southwest Virginia is given by Judge Lyman Chalkley.

In 1772, Francis Fugate settled at Moccasin Creek, one year after Col. John Tate. In 1774, because of continuing Indian raids, Captain William Russell was ordered to build a number of palisade forts as a means of protection. These forts, which protected many of the Fugate ancestors include Elk Garden Fort, where Solomon Litton was captured by Indians, Fort Blackmore, where Dale Carter was killed, and Tate's Fort, located on Col. John Tate's land. Following them were, among others, Colbert Fugate, Robert Tate Sr. and Robert Tate Jr.

The Moccasin Valley, where most of the Fugates and Tates settled, is a fertile but rocky farming area located in the southwestern part of Russell County. It extends from Hansonville to near Big Moccasin Gap in Scott County, with Clinch Mountain on the south and Moccasin Ridge on the North. The name of Big Moccasin Creek, attributed to Daniel Boone about 1769 after the first settlers found Indian moccasin footprints in the soft mud of the creek banks.

Martin Fugate had at least 4 sons Francis, Henley, Zachariah, and Colbert were all mentioned in court records. In addition, Benjamin and William Fugate, all residing in Moccasin Creek are probably his sons. He also may have had a daughter, Ann, married to Samuel Haddix of Moccasin Creek. A possible second daughter, married to James McCarty, was killed by Indians in 1788.

Martin's son Colbert, as well as Colbert's son, Isaac Beverly Fugate, who was born on 04 May, 1804, lived in Moccasin Valley, Russell County their entire lives.

Colbert Fugate came to Russell County, VA in 1771 and settled on what was known as Big Moccasin Creek. Colbert Fugate served in Virginia's legislature for two terms. Colbert and his wife are buried on the family plantation which is still in the Tate family of Lebanon, VA. John Tate and Mary Bracken are buried there also.

WILL OF COLBERT FUGATE
Russell County, Virginia
Will Book 4, Page 8
Executed 14 September 1819

In the name of God. Amen!

I, Colbert Fugate of the county of Russell and State of Virginia being sick and weak in body but of sound mind and disposing memory (for which I thank God) and calling to mind the uncertainty of human life, and being desirous to dispose of all such worldly estate as it hath pleased God to bless me with - I give and bequeath the same in manner following, that is to say:

1st. I bequeath to Hannah Fugate, my wife, the plantation whereon I now live together with my farming utensils and household furniture except such part thereof as is herein otherwise disposed of, my stock of hogs, one Sorrell mare called Phillis, one three year old colt called the Brafford colt, three milk cows to be chosen by herself and all my slaves also ten head of sheep; all which I give

and bequeath to her during her widowhood for the maintenance of herself and my infant children, Samuel Bracken, Isaac Beverly, Lucinda Clark and Lydia Drucilla Milford Fugate. If my said wife should hereafter marry then it is my will and desire that she should have the use of my said plantation during her natural life together with every thing above devised to her, except my slaves, which in that event, she is to have no part of.

2d. I have heretofore given to my son Robert Fugate and conveyed to him, the tract of land whereon he lives except a small portion of the purchase money which he paid, in addition to which and bequeath to him fifty acres of land adjoining his said plantation, which said 50 acres was purchased by my said son Robert and myself, together with all other property advanced by me to him.

3d. I have given to my son Zachariah Fugate the plantation in Scott County which I purchased of James Gibson Sen. who did not convey the same previous to his death, some of his heirs have conveyed part of it to my said son Zachariah & myself. It is my will and I hereby bequeath to my said son Zachariah the said plantation together with all the other property which I have advanced

to him, and desire that a complete conveyance be made to him of the said land by the heirs and representatives of said Gibson, or if they all not make the said conveyance, that by a suit as he compel them to do so. And this property being more than I desire for the share of my said son, Zachariah, I require that he pay to my son Samuel Bracken Fugate within seven years from the

date of this my will, five hundred dollars which I leave as a charge on the said land.

4th. I bequeath to my daughter Mary Dorton one hundred dollars in cash, in addition to what I have already advanced to her, and in addition to her equal share with my other children of such devices herein after inserted as shall dispose of any part of my property in that manner.

5th. I bequeath to my son John one hundred acres of land lying on Mocherson Ridge at the head of Dever's branch and one hundred dollars in cash, in addition to what I have already advanced him, and also in addition to what will be herein after devised to him equally with my other children.

6th. I bequeath to my daughter Edith one grey mare, saddle and bridle which she has not in possession; two good cows being those two called hers. Eight head of sheep: One feather bed and furniture and one hundred dollars in cash in addition to what will be herein after devised to her equally with my other children.

7th. I bequeath to my son Samuel Bracken Fugate five hundred dollars to be paid him as aforesaid by my son Zachariah. Also two cows, one two year hold heifer and one yearling, one spotted 2 year old colt, a bridle and saddle to be purchased by my executors and to be worth thirty dollars; one feather bed and furniture, and if the said horse dies before my said son attains full age, then I give him one hundred dollars in addition. I also give to my said son Samuel Bracken my Negro boy Billy hereby revoking so much of the devise to my wife as as gives the said Negro boy Billy to her. I also give to my said son Samuel Bracken the north west quarter of section seven of township four north, in range eight west of the tract of country appropriate for military bounty land in the state of Illinois, which quarter section contains one hundred and sixty acres, and was conveyed to me by Thomas Ja_____

and Mary his wife.

8th. I bequeath to my son Isaac Beverly Fugate ____in the plantation whereon I now live. _____ ____him in fee simple one third of the said plantation when he attains full age so as such third does not interfere with the buildings thereon. One Sorrell mare colt, one cow, and calf, a bridle and saddle worth thirty dollars to be purchased by my executors, one feather bed and furniture. By the plantation whereon I live I mean the tract I first purchased and all others which I have since added to it, and I hereby revoke so much of the devise to my wife as is inconsistent with this devise.

9th. I bequeath to my daughters Lucinda Clark and Lydia Drucilla Melford being my two youngest children four hundred dollars each to be paid by my executors when they the said Lucinda & Lydia severally attain full age; and I desire that my executors should place out this money in safe hands at interest for the use and benefit of my said two daughters.

10th. All my personal estate not herein specifically devised I direct shall be sold by my executors, and the money arising therefrom, after the payment of just debts and funeral expenses, to be first applied to the payment of the pecuniary legacies herein devised and not otherwise provided for and the residue if any to be equally divided amongst all my children except my sons Robert & Zachariah

to whom I have already devised their full proportion of my estate, and all that I intend for them.

11th. I desire my executors to sell a small tract of land lying in Scott County, adjoining the lands Samuel Stalliards lived on till his death, and also a tract of land in Russell County called the Crockett place lying on the head of the Drift Timber branch for which I hold Ashur Crockett s bond for title and for which a suit is now pending in the County Court of Chancery at Russell courthouse, and the money arising therefrom to go in aid of the fund created by the 10th devise herein made, and to be applied in the same manner as

the money is therein directed to be applied.

12th. I direct my executors or the survivors of them after the lapse of ten years from this date to sell a tract of land of one hundred and sixty acres, lying in the Illinois state being the north east quarter of section twenty three of Township five north in range six west. And I require my said executors to pay the taxes thereon and to do all that ____ _____to ____the said land until the time

arrives when they are herein directed to sell it. And when sold the money is to be applied as in the 10th devise herein made is directed.

13th. After the death or marriage of my said wife I direct that all my slaves and their issue herein before specifically devised to any of my children to be equally divided amongst my children except my two sons Robert and Zachariah to whom I have already devised all the portion of my estate that I intend for them.

14th. And lastly I herein appoint my father-in-law John Tate and my son Robert Fugate executors of this my last will and testament, hereby revoking all former wills made by me and establishing this to be my last Will and Testament. In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and affixed my seal this seventh day of July in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and nineteen.

Colbert Fugate (Seal)

Signed sealed and published as his last will and testament in presence of us. Benjamin Estill, Andrew McHenry

Virginia

At a superior court of law continued and held for Russell County the 14th day of September 1819. This instrument of writing was exhibited in court as and for the last Will and Testament of Colbert Fugate deceased, and proven by the oaths of Benjamin Estill & Andrew McHenry the subscribing witnesses thereto, and ordered to be recorded. And on the motion of John Tate and Robert Fugate executors therein named who took the oath of an executor, and together with James McFarlane and Andrew Caldwell their securities, entered into and acknowledged a bond in the penalty of eight thousand dollars, conditioned as the law directs, certificate is granted them for obtaining probate of the said will in due form

Teste, James P. Carrell DC

Colbert married Hannah TATE ca 1800, Virginia. Hannah (daughter of Col. John TATE and Mary BRACKEN) was born ca 1772, Fincastle Co. VA; died 03 Jun 1844, Tateville, Pulaski Co. KY. [Group Sheet]

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Excerpts from Tate Families of the Southern States, by Laura Mentzel and Ethel Updike, 1984

Hannah Tate was born about 1772 on Big Moccasin Creek, near Lebanon, Russell County, VA and died near Tateville, KY in 1844. She was the daughter of Col. John and Mary Bracken Tate. She married Colbert O. Fugate, born 1759 and died in Tateville, Pulaski County, KY, August 1819. However, in 1810, the family lived in Clay County, KY. He was undoubtedly the son of old Francis Fugate, who was living on land near where Col. John Tate settled in 1772 and who died testate in 1781. Col. John Tate, Robert Tate, William Houston and Jonathan Wood appointed to appraise the estate of Francis Fugate, deceased, estate. His will is of record in Russell County, VA, July 7, 1819. Probate September 14, 1819, Wife Hannah. Children, Samuel Bracken, Isaac Beverly, Lucinda Clark (minor), Lydia Drucilla Melford, Robert Fugate, Zachariah, in Scott County, Va, Mary Dorton, John Fugate on Moccasin Ridge, Edith Fugate, Ex. Col. John Tate, father-in-law, and Robert Fugate, witnesses: Benjamin Sasile, Andrew McHenry.

References: Chalkley Volume 2, Page 144, 145, 146. Family Records, Russell County, VA, Will Book 4, Page 8; Augusta County, VA.

Martin married Mary Martin. [Group Sheet]

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Source:COLONEL JOHN TATE OF RUSSELL COUNTY By Leland Burdine Tate, Historical Society of Southwestern Virginia, Publication 10, 1976.

From 1743 to 1772, John Tate was born, reared, married to Mary Bracken, and lived in places as yet unknown to the writer, a seventh generation descendant.

In late November, 1772, at age 29, John and his family settled in the Moccasin Valley of present Russell County, Virginia, about 15 miles southwest of present Lebanon. He told the time of settlement in a deposition of 1810 for the court case of George Fugate vs. Nancy Mahon and others.

As a resident of the Moccasin Valley, John lived in four frontier counties:
1. Botetourt Co., late November and December, 1772 - less than two months
2. Fincastle Co., January 1773 to January 1777 - four years
3. Washington Co., January 1777 to May 1786 - over nine years
4. Russell Co., May 1786 to December 1828 - over forty-two years

John's first tract of land of 145 acres from the Loyal Land Company of Virginia was surveyed December 12, 1774, by John Floyd, Deputy to Col. William Preston, Surveyor of Fincastle County, who lived at present Blacksburg. The date and description of that survey is in the former Fincastle County records, Montgomery County Clerk's Office, Christiansburg, VA.

About 1776 or before, John and his neighbors built a fort on his land for protection against hostile Indians. It was known as Tate's Fort, and is mentioned by early emigrants to both Kentucky and Tennessee. In Shane's Historical Collection of Kentucky papers, Volume 1, page 224, and in Williams' Early Times in Tennessee, and perhaps alluded to by John Tate in his deposition of 1810 for the case of Fugate vs. Mahon, where he is quoted as saying that Frances Fugate (deceased), who lived five miles from him, "did as the rest of us did, defend our land and families, and lived on the land in dispute (1772-1781) except for the time forted."

In October 1780, John as militia-man of Washington County, participated in the successful Revolutionary War battle of King's Mountain, South Carolina, and his name as a participant is recorded by Lewis Preston Summers in his History of Washington County and Southwest Virginia. (In command at King's Mountain was Col. William Campbell, whose wife Elizabeth was a sister of Patrick Henry, and after Campbell's death, the wife of General William Russell, for whom Russell County was named.)

In November 1781, John was appointed with others to appraise the estate of Francis Fugate (deceased), who was killed by a fall from his horse. The other appraisers were William Huston, John Wood, and Robert Tate, another ancestor of the writer, who lived about three miles below John in Moccasin Valley.

In February 1782, John was appointed with others to view and cut out the road down Moccasin Valley from Little Moccasin Gap in Clinch Mountain on present U. S. 19 between Abingdon and Lebanon to Big Moccasin Gap on present U. S. 23 near Gate City. Also in 1782 his second tract of land of 100 acres was surveyed and recorded in the records of Washington County at Abingdon.

In May 1786, with the formation of Russell County, John was appointed an overseer of the poor, a constable, and a Lieutenant in the militia.

In 1787, John became a "Gentleman Justice" on the Russell County Court or governing board, by appointment of the Governor of Virginia, where he served with great devotion to duty for most of his remaining life of 41 years. Again and again he rode his horse to successive places of county government meetings at Castlewood, Dickensonville and Lebanon; served many times, one to three days per month, sometimes presided over and wrote the minutes of the meetings, and signed them more than 150 times with a bold and attractive signature. By virtue of his position as Justice, he was often referred to as John Tate, Gent., or John Tate, Esq. In 1787 he was also appointed Captain in the upper militia of the Moccasin Valley; and that year he took the Oath of Allegiance to the newly drafted Constitution of the United States.

As Gentleman Justice, Col. John Tate's duties included the issuance of marriage licenses, witnessing recordings of deeds and land sales, levying taxes, and other responsibilities.

In 1787 with the formation of Russell Co, he was appointed "Justice of the Court" or governing board where he served with distinction the remainder of his life. In that year too, he was also appointed Capt. of the militia of Moccasin Valley and that year he took the oath of allegiance to the Constitution as was the requirement after the Revolutionary War. He was thrice Sheriff of Russell Co and died intestate Dec 15 1828, age 85 years. (Tate Families of the Southern States, Volume II, by Laura Mentzel and Ethel Updike, 1984)

In 1789, John became Captain in the 2nd Bat., 72 Reg. Of the Virginia Militia, and also served as Superintendent of an election in his locality.

In 1795, John became Major in the 2nd Bat., 72 Reg. Of the Virginia Militia.

In 1800, John had his cattle mark recorded, and the Russell County Court ordered that no person in the county have the liberty of marking with a swallow fork in the left ear, except John Tate.

By 1801, John became Sheriff and Collector of Revenue for Russell County, and served two years. His securities were Henry Dickenson, County Clerk; Nathan Ellington, Dickenson's deputy and son-in-law; John M. Estill and Harry Smith. His deputies were John and Zachariah Fugate, Cummings Gilmer, George Powers, John Sewell, and Andrew Williams.

In 1801, John was appointed with Samuel Ewing as one of the commissioners for Russell County to meet with the commissioners for Lee County to superintend and run the dividing line between the two counties. (Lee County had been formed from part of Russell County in 1792.)

In 1802, John became Lt. Col. Commandant of the 72 Reg., 3rd Division of the Virginia Militia, and since has been known to many as Col. John Tate. His appointment was by James Monroe, Governor of Virginia, and later President of the United States.

In 1809, John again became an overseer of the poor, and served by re-appointments 15 or more consecutive years.

In 1810, Col. John Tate was taxed on one slave.

In 1813, John and several other persons, including a teacher, Thomas Birch, sent a petition to the Legislature of Virginia, requesting that a school already in operation with thirty students be established officially as Amity Hall Academy. John and nine other ancestors of the writer were signers: John and three other ancestors of the writer were trustees. The petitioners said they were "duly impressed by the consideration that in all free states intelligence was the life of liberty, and that they were desirous to cooperate with other counties in the state to promote the grand cause of education."

Col. John Tate's farm is described in the 1815 Russell County Tax Assessments:

JOHN TATE, one farm on Moggason [Moccasin] Creek, 245 acres having thereon one dwelling house of wood, one story and a half, 20 feet by 16 feet, one barn of wood, three stables, three corn houses, one smoke house, one loom house, one kitchen, one milk house, valued at $1000.

In 1819, John and his grandson Robert Fugate, became Executors of the estate of Colbert Fugate (deceased) who married John's daughter Hannah, and who had been a farmer, part-time county official, and three times a member of the Virginia Legislature.

In 1825, John, as the senior Justice among 31 present for a special meeting in Lebanon, helped to appoint unanimously James P. Carrell the second Clerk of Russell County; thereby promoting a very able and interesting person who, with limited formal schooling but with training experience and the skillful use of books, became one of the best clerks in Virginia, a part-time Methodist Minister, song-book compiler and publisher, land buyer and seller, money lender, patron of education and benefactor of students. (In 1836, James P. Carrell gave five times the usual gift of $100 to help start Emory and Henry College, ten miles east of Abingdon at Emory, VA; and Carrell's help to John A. Kelly, an Emory and Henry student of the 1830's, led to a gift of nearly two million dollars for Emory and Henry College in the 1960's from the Carrell-aided student's grandson, Frederick Kelly. To the writer, this is a very significant series of creative historical events stemming from James P. Carrell's appointment by John Tate and other justices in 1825.)

In 1826, when over 80 years old, John again became Sheriff and Collector of Revenue for Russell County, and served two years, which apparently reflects his stamina and stability as a person, his dynamic interest in public affairs, and the esteem which he had as a senior citizen. His Securities were Charles Carrell, James Dixon, Zachariah Fugate, Harvey Gray, John Jessee, Benjamin Sewell, and John Smyth - the last three of whom are other ancestors of the writer. One of his deputies was his grandson, John Fugate, who later moved to Missouri.

Col. John Tate died December 15, 1828, at 85 years of age, and is buried in a Tate and Burdine cemetery in the Moccasin Valley, 15 miles southwest of Lebanon on some of his former land now owned by the writer and his brother, Thomas E. Tate of Haleyville, Alabama.

Col. John Tate's wife, Mary Bracken, died in 1817, and is buried near him. The children of John Tate and Mary Bracken were:

Robert Tate, 1768-1844, who married Winnie Atkinson and moved to Pulaski Co., KY.

Hannah Tate, 1772-1844, who married Colbert Fugate and lived in Russell County, Virginia, just southwest of her parents in the Moccasin Valley.

Samuel Bracken Tate, 1775-1845, who married Jane Owens and moved to Pulaski County, Kentucky.

Jane Tate, 1770s-1823, who married Henley Haddix and moved to Kentucky.

Martha Tate, 1780-1847, who married John Buster and moved to Kentucky

Isaac Tate, 1780s-?, who married Peggy Walton of Pulaski County, Kentucky in 1809, and lived in Russell County until 1833, then in Kentucky and Missouri.

Lydia Tate, 1785-1854, who married William Fugate and lived in Russell and Scott Counties, Virginia

Numerous descendants of Col. John Tate and Mary Bracken and their children have lived and still live in various parts of the United States.

-------------------

GENEALOGICAL SOURCES

The Tate Family of Russell Co., VA by David Farris, Gateway Press, 1986

In a deposition dated 24 February 1810 for the court case of George Fugate vs. Nancy Mahon; John Tate stated that he settled on Big Moccasin Creek on a spur of Clinch Mountain on the Holston River in November 1772 and that Francis Fugate family then lived on the land. The land was located in Botetourt County, and that Francis Fugate, deceased, who lived five miles from him, " did as the rest of us did, defended our land and families, and lived on the land in dispute (1772-1781) except for the time forted."

The land in the Moccasin Valley on which John Tate first settled was Botetourt County, then shortly thereafter became Fincastle County. (Jan. 1773- Jan. 1777) In 1777, Fincastle Co., was discontinued, and the land was then in Washington County. (Jan. 1777- May 1786) In 1786, John's original settlement near Lebanon, became present day Russell County.

John obtained his first land grant of 145 acres from the Royal Company of Virginia. The land was surveyed 12 December 1774 by John Floyd, Deputy to Colonel William Preston, Surveyor of Fincastle County.

Around 1775-76, John and his neighbors built a fort for protection against Indians on his land. The fort was called Tate's Fort and was known by early travelers to Tennessee and Kentucky.

John enlisted in the Washington County Virginia Militia and Patriots during the American Revolution and fought in the Revolutionary Battle of King's Mountain, 8 October 1780, in South Carolina. John Tate's name is found in the "History of Washington County and Southwest Virginia" by Lewis Preston Summers. The Washington County Militia was commanded by Colonel William Campbell who led them to victory against the British Forces. Colonel William Campbell was married to Elizabeth Henry, sister to Patrick Henry. She then married General William Russell, (for whom Russell Co. was named), after the death of Colonel Campbell.

A Land Treasury Warrant, survey recorded 1 May 1781 for $9,059, Washington County, gave John an additional 100 acres of land. In Nov. 1781, John Tate, Robert Tate, William Huston and John Wood were appointed to appraise the estate of Francis Fugate deceased, who was killed by a fall from his horse. John Tate in February 1782, was among the ones who were appointed to view and cut out the road down Moccasin Valley from Little Moccasin Gap in Clinch Mountain (present US 19) between Abingdon and Lebanon to Big Moccasin Gap (present US 23) near Gate City. With the formation of Russell County in May of 1786, John Tate was appointed constable and an overseer of the poor. He was also a Lieutenant in the Militia.

In 1787, John was appointed Captain in the upper Militia of the Moccasin Valley. He also took the "Oath of Allegiance" to the newly drafted Constitution of the United States. By appointment by the Governor of Virginia, John Tate served as a " Gentlemen Justice " on the Russell County Court with devotion for the rest of his life. Because of his position as Justice, he was referred to as John Tate; Gent., of John Tate; Esquire. John rode his horse to various places of county government meetings at Castlewood, Dickensonville and Lebanon, serving one to three days per month. He often presided, wrote the minutes of the meetings, and signed them with an attractive, bold signature.

Still in the Virginia Militia in 1789, John became Captain of the 2nd Battalion, 72nd Regiment. In 1792 when Lee County had been formed from part of Russell County, John was Appointed as one of the commissioners for Russell County to meet with the commissioners for Lee County to superintend and run the dividing line between the two counties. In 1800, John recorded his cattle mark with the Russell Co., Court. His cattle mark was a "swallow fork" in the left ear. John became Sheriff and Collector of Revenue serving 2 years in 1801.

James Monroe, the Governor of Virginia, later President, appointed John Tate to become Lieutenant Colonel Commander of the 72nd Regiment, 3rd Division of the Virginia Militia in 1802. Again in 1809, John was an overseer of the poor and served by re-appointments 15 or more consecutive years. In 1813, John and others, requested that a school be established officially as Amity Hall Academy. John was one of the signers and one of the trustees.

In 1819, John and his grandson, Robert Fugate, became executors of the estate of Colbert Fugate, deceased. Colbert Fugate married his daughter Hannah. Colbert was a farmer, part-time county official, and 3 times a member of the Virginia Legislature.

John as the senior Justice among 31 present for a special meeting in Lebanon in 1825, help start Emory and Henry College, 10 miles east of Abingdon at Emory, Virginia.

At the age of 83 in 1826, John again became Sheriff and Collector of Revenue for Russell County and served 2 years. This was his third term as Sheriff.

On the Tate Farm at Zumbeg, 15 miles southwest of Lebanon, in the Moccasin Valley, a moss-covered slab reads:

"Col. John Tate, died December 15, 1828, aged 85 years, and Mary Tate, his wife, died March 13, 1817, aged 75 years."

Inventory of his estate 11 Feb. 1829, wit: Martin Fugate, David Jessee and John Olson. At the sale 13 Feb. 1829 were: John Fugate, Hannah Fugate, Uriah Fugate, Hiram & John Owens, Elisha Price, John, Joseph, Robert and William Tate.

Administrator of estate, Robert Tate, a deed of 9 Dec 1829 is signed by: Robert Tate, Hannah Fugate, Samuel Tate and the heirs of Jane Haddox or Haddin, dec'd, John Buster and Martha his wife, William Fugate and Lydia his wife. To his son Isaac Tate, Hannah the widow of Colbert O. Fugate, etc. John Tate gave Isaac Tate a tract of land but did not deed it to him, consequently after his death in 1828, the family met and signed a deed to Isaac conveying the 108 acres on which he then lived to him, the deed dated 9 Dec. 1829.

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Source: The Tate Families of Russell County, VA, by David Farris, Gateway Press, 1986

Col. John Tate of Moccasin Creek

Col. John Tate was born in 1743 and migrated to Moccasin Creek in southern Virginia in 1772.

In a deposition dated 24 February 1810 for the court case of George Fugate vs. Nancy Mahon; John Tate stated that he settled on Big Moccasin Creek on a spur of Clinch Mountain on the Holston River in November 1772 and that Francis Fugate family then lived on the land. The land was located in Botetourt County, and that Francis Fugate, deceased, who lived five miles from him, " did as the rest of us did, defended our land and families, and lived on the land in dispute (1772-1781) except for the time forted." (The Tate Families of Russell County, VA, by David Farris, Gateway Press, 1986)

Moccasin Creek was named by Daniel Boone after he saw Indian moccasin tracks in the area in 1769. From the formation of colonial Virginia to the present, Moccasin Creek found itself in four Virginia counties: Botetourt County in 1772, then Fincastle County in 1773. Then Washington County was formed from Fincastle in 1777. The Moccasin Creek area later found itself in the new Russell County when it was formed from the northern part of Washington County in 1785.

The association of John and Robert Tate with this Tate family stems from the similarities in the family names, but more importantly, from their departure to Orange County, North Carolina. This connection can be made through John Tate's wife Mary Bracken. Mary Bracken's grandfather, William Bracken, emigrated from England in 1699, landing in Philadelphia aboard the "Britannia" of Liverpool. He settled in New Castle, Delaware where he became well enough off to give land to his sons. John Bracken, Mary's father, sold his land in 1763 and left New Castle. He moved to Orange County, NC were he is recorded in 1766 and died in 1770.

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James Striegel Tate Papers, Tennessee State Library and Archives 1742 - 1980

On Dec. 12, 1774 John Tate received a grant of 145 acres on Moccasin Creek about three miles from the land grant of Robert Tate.

On May 1, 1782 Washington County Virginia issued land grants of 250 acres to Robert Tate and 100 acres to John Tate, both on Moccasin Creek. On February 20, 1793 William Tate bought 145 acres on Moccasin Creek adjoining the 424 acres granted to Robert Tate.

Moccasin Creek was located in Botetourt County prior to 1773; in Fincastle County from January 1773 to January 1777; in Washington County from 1777 to May 1786; in Russell County May from 1786 to present.

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Tate's Fort

When Col. John Tate settled in Moccasin Creek, Indians were troublesome. Families had to live in stockade forts from Spring through Fall. The nearest fort for the Tates of Moccasin Creek was Houston?s fort, several miles away. The following article describes Tate?s Fort, which was built on Col. Tate's land in 1776, which not only housed the families from the Moccasin Creek area but also transient families traveling through the Cumberland Gap to new settlements in Kentucky.

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FRONTIER FORTS OF SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA, By Emory L. Hamilton, from Historical Sketches of Southwest Virginia, Number 4, 1968, pages 1 to 26:

Tate's Fort on Moccasin Creek in Russell County was another the early historians completely overlooked, and only two historical references brought it to light. The first made by Mrs. Samuel Scott of Jessamine Co., KY, who in referring to her stay on the Clinch makes this statement: We moved out of Tate's Fort, close on Moccasin Creek, over to Holston to get ready to come to Kentucky. This was in the spring of 1780 and she joined a party of emigrants to Kentucky in 1784. The other statement was made by Captain John Carr, of Sumner Co., TN, who was born on Carr's Creek in Russell Co., Va, in 1773, and moved with his widowed mother to the Cumberland settlement in 1784. In speaking of the year 1776, he states: My father settled on Big Moccasin Creek with some 15 or 20 families from Houston's Fort. The Indians were so troublesome that we built a "new fort". It was called Tate's Fort, where we forted in summer and returned home in winter. Carr's statement needs some clarification and he does not mean that his father settled on Moccasin Creek in 1776, but that it was this year in which they moved out of Houston's Fort where they had refugeed in the past and built a new fort for their convenience. His father had settled on Moccasin Creek much earlier for John, himself, was born there in 1773, and his father died there in 1782. This, then, places the construction of Tate's Fort in the year 1776.

MILITARY SERVICE

Col. John Tate in the Military

Col. John Tate served in the militia of Washington Co., Va and then, in 1786 when Russell County was formed from Washington Co., in the new county's militia. The battle at King's Mountain in October 1780 is the first reference of Col. Tate's military service (History of Southwest Virginia, 1746-1870, by Lewis Preston Summers, 1903) where he is listed as a soldier of the American Revolution from Washington Co., Va that participated in the action at King's Mountain.

Battle at King's Mountain, 7 October 1780 by A. W. Tate

During the first three years of the Revolutionary War, the British fought the Americans in the northern colonies. In late 1778, the British shifted strategies and began a campaign to secure the southern colonies beginning with an invasion of Savannah, Georgia on 29 December. The British plan was successful for the most part with a significant victory at Charleston, South Carolina followed by the complete overrunning of South Carolina and Georgia. The British won another battle in mid-1780 at Camden, South Carolina, which allowed the British to move easily into North Carolina, taking Charlotte in September, 1780.

In preparation for taking the remainder of North Carolina, the British commander, Cornwallis, sent Major Patrick Ferguson with about 1000 men to Gilbert Town, NC at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Ferguson was to protect the left flank when Cornwallis began his move northward through North Carolina. To protect the left flank, Ferguson had to ensure the mountain folk, or Overmountain men, did not interfere with the British plan. (In his public communications from Gilbert Town, Ferguson referred to the Overmountain men by the more derisive terms "backwater men,dregs of mankind, and barbarians". Ferguson warned the Overmountain men that if they interfered, "he would march his army over the mountains, hang their leaders, and lay their country to waste with fire and sword."

Ferguson's attempt to intimidate the hill folk failed -- the Overmountain men responded to the threat in typical mountain fashion; they attacked. Within days, 900 men comprising the militia of five counties of North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia, including John Tate and 400 other men from Washington Co., Va, mustered and moved out toward the British. Ferguson learned the militia was crossing the mountains towards him so he moved his 1000 men southeast to King's Mountain, a flat hill about 60 feet higher than the surrounding terrain, with steep, heavily wooded sides where, from a military standpoint, he should have been secure.

The American militia caught up with Ferguson at King's Mountain on 7 October and began attacking the British relentlessly, overwhelming the enemy in just 65 minutes. The victory was complete; every enemy soldier on the mountain was killed or captured. Ferguson at one point in the battle tried to break through the American lines on horseback and was felled by no less than eight bullets. He is buried on King's Mountain. After the battle, the Overmountain militias returned to their respective home counties and returned to their civilian pursuits.

King's Mountain was the turning point in the war. The American victory stalled Cornwallis' move northward, which gave the main American army sufficient time to recover from the earlier losses at Savannah and Camden. After King's Mountain, the Americans won victories at Cowpens, SC and Guilford Courthouse before ultimately defeating the British at Yorktown in October, 1781.

72nd Regiment of Russell County

In 1786, Russell County formed from Washington Co. The new county's court gathered in May of that year to set up the county structure including the county?s militia. The Russell County militia was designated the 72nd Regiment of the 3rd Division of the Virginia State militia.

The area north of the Clinch Mountains that became Russell Co. in 1786 had been for militia purposes one of the battalions of Washington Co.?s 70th Regiment. When Russell Co. was established, its militia was designated the 72nd Regiment.


In May 1786, the Russell County court appointed 31 officers to the 72nd Regiment as follows:

Colonel 1

Lt. Colonel 1

Major 1

Captain 9

Lieutenant 10

Ensigns 9


John Tate was designated one of the 72nd Regiment's ten lieutenants; his brother Robert was named one of the first Ensigns.

Under Militia laws of Virginia, all militia men were required to attend four company musters, one battalion muster and one regimental muster in each year. Failure to attend any one of these musters without a valid excuse resulted in the assessment of a 75 cent fine, levied by the regimental court of enquiry that sat in November of each year. The court would give the county sheriff a list of offenders for collection of these fines the following year.

In 1789, Lt. John was promoted to Captain of 2nd Battalion of the 72nd Reg. of the Virginia Militia.

In the month of December, 1792, Captain Tate and forty men were passing though the wilderness on their way to Kentucky, when they were attacked by a company of Creek and Cherokee Indians, which was one of the last large scale attacks in the area as Indian hostilities would cease after 1794. ( History of Southwest Virginia, 1746-1870, by Lewis Preston Summers, 1903)

In 1795, John Tate was promoted Major of the 2nd Battalion, and then in 1802, Governor James Monroe of Virginia appointed John Tate Lt. Colonel Commandant of the 72nd Reg., 3rd Div of the Virginia Militia. From the date of that appointment, John Tate went by the title Colonel. Col. John Tate served as Commandant until 1806.

Governor James Monroe left office late in 1802 to serve in Thomas Jefferson's cabinet. Monroe became the fifth US President in 1817.

Buried:
Grave location and tombstone photo:
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=48420583

John married Mary BRACKEN 1766, Washington Co. VA. Mary was born 1742, New Castle Co. DE; died 13 May 1817, Russell Co. VA; was buried , Tate-Burdine Cemetery, Lebanon, Russell Co. VA. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• _UID: 9CF2ED9E43AC4546A07FEEA462278AF84FE4

Notes:

Historical Society of Southwestern Virginia, Publication 10, 1976

COLONEL JOHN TATE OF RUSSELL COUNTY
By Leland Burdine Tate

From 1743 to 1772, John Tate was born, reared, married to Mary Bracken, and lived in places as yet unknown to the writer, a seventh generation descendant.

Col. John Tate's wife, Mary Bracken, died in 1817, and is buried near him. The children of John Tate and Mary Bracken were:

Robert Tate, 1768-1844, who married Winnie Atkinson and moved to Pulaski Co., KY.

Hannah Tate, 1772-1844, who married Colbert Fugate and lived in Russell County, Virginia, just southwest of her parents in the Moccasin Valley.

Samuel Bracken Tate, 1775-1845, who married Jane Owens and moved to Pulaski County, Kentucky.

Jane Tate, 1770s-1823, who married Henley Haddix and moved to Kentucky.

Martha Tate, 1780-1847, who married John Buster and moved to Kentucky

Isaac Tate, 1780s-?, who married Peggy Walton of Pulaski County, Kentucky in 1809, and lived in Russell County until 1833, then in Kentucky and Missouri.

Lydia Tate, 1785-1854, who married William Fugate and lived in Russell and Scott Counties, Virginia

Numerous descendants of Col. John Tate and Mary Bracken and their children have lived and still live in various parts of the United States.

Birth:
Unconfirmed POB

Buried:
Grave location and tombstone photo:
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=52729752