JOEL CHURCH SR. He was getting born about the same time as they was having that tea party there in Boston Harbor, only he was being born in Wilkes County North Carolina, and wasn't able to pertisapate. 1776. Yankee John Church, Joels Father, lost his first wife whom I only know as Ms. Stamper, and married a Younger woman, Jane Andrews. I am not certain which wife was Joels mother. He did, later in life, settle around about a nest of Stampers in Breathitt County Kentucky . I believe that Ms. Stamper was his mother. While he was learning to walk and talk, his brothers Amos, Phillip, and John JR, was fighting for independence from England. John, his dad was trying to hold on to his land, and to support the war. he helped furnish supplies, and food. He was also responsable for a section of the highway. August 1777, Yankee John was appointed Constable Of Captain Mosby"s Distric. In 1804 he was appointed to a committiee to layoff a new road from the new meeting house on Reddies River by John Jr . Shepherd, into the road that leads to New River. It is believed that Yankee John died around 1806 Jane (Jean) Andrews. was known to have lived to December 19, 1825. She wittnessed a court reciept for attendence at a trial on that date. Between his two wives, John had several children . I am not sure how many. I have these listed, Dates are aproximate. Amos 1758 John 1760 Benjamin 1763 Phillip 1767 Martha 1771 Elijah 1773 Elisha 1775 Joel 1775 Aaron 1786 Gabriel 1794 Betsy 1795 Mazzie 1799 Anna ? |
"Yankee" John Church is registered on the DAR list of patriots. He supplied food and supplies to the Continental Army. Oct. 3, 1764 - a summary of claims made to Rowan County during the year was entered into the court minutes...John Church had received ten shillings bounty money for bringing in a wolf scalp, the same listing contains an identical payment to Daniel Boon, making a personal aquaintance between them a distnct probability... Although after things that Iv learned about Boon, knowing him was nothing to be proud of. The colonial custom of putting ophans in the hands of community members required that the overseeing adult be part of the landed gentry...John was summoned into court April 15th, 1767, and ordered to bring "Sarah Burch", an orphan, to be delt with legally... The July 1767 court ordered that Rachal Burch be apprenticed to John until she attained the age of 18 years, she being 14 years, and 5 months old, and the master was to give the said apprentice a suite of freedom cloath, a colt, a calf, and a spinning wheel... The last entry relative to this matter occured in the Nov. 4th, 1774 session when John Church was requested to come to the next court to explain why he had not freed "his indentured servant Rachel Burch, agreeable to the law." John had moved his family to the New River area of Wilkes County in 1773. The lack of title to land in Western NC was such a problem that the NC assembly passed the following resolution on August 19th, 1778... Whereas there are so few people in Wilkes, Burke, Washington, and Surrey Counties who have obtained titles to their lands, that legal juries cannot be obtained... Resolved therefore that reputable House Holders in the aforsaid counties be, and are hereby to be capaple of acting as Jury Men upon all occasions within their respective counties.. .. Wilkes County land entry #731 indicates that Benjamin Cleveland entered on Jan. 2nd, 1779, 100 acres on the waters of New River, the Little Fork, of Pine Swamy, including the plantation whereon John Church was living.... Benjamin Cleveland's name was marked out, and John Church's name was written over it in the entry book.... Presumable John had moved his family there in 1773, was unable to enter the land into record at that time, because there was no official in charge of the Land Office at that time , and he failed to do so promptly when the State Land Office re-opened....evidently Cleveland entered the land in his name, but although Cleveland himself was a man of means in the area, and was destined to build himself a military reputation., the court would not allow him to take Johns plantation so easaly. John paid for that land more than once, because another group kept filing against it.. |