Thursday, July 31, 2008
Bristol Gathering Yields information about family pioneers!
A gathering of Early family descendants and their families was held at the Bristol Holiday Inn Convention center in Bristol, Virginia - located in southwestern Virginia on June 20-21, 2008. This area - around Abingdon, Virginia - was an important starting place for early pioneers on the journey west. It was also a scene of active Indian battles and confrontations. Patriots, including several of our family members, who participated in the Battle of King’s Mountain started their march here. Many consider King’s Mountain to be the most important battle in the South during the Revolutionary War.
The late Wilbert Earley suggested that, should our family desire to pursue our origins further back than the three Early brothers, we should visit the places where they likely started from -- Southwestern Virginia around Abingdon. This includes Washington County, Virginia and just across the border, Sullivan County, Tennessee. This proved to be an important insight!
With the assistance of two delightful and entertaining speakers, Mr. Bud Phillips and Mr. Gene Matthis, we were successful in exploring the region where our Early family ancestors likely established important connections with other families before they began their journey westward to Kentucky.
Col. Cleland Early’s book suggests that many family groups traveled together after emigrating from Northern Ireland into the Lancaster, Pennsylvania area. They subsequently settled in this region of Virginia. Indeed, the Washington County Historical Society in Abingdon has numerous records of Laughlins, Sharps, Pembertons, Hammonds, and Kings, among others, who intermarried. These families lived in the same area and fought together. Most attended the same churches and intermarried. It is logical that these families were so intertwined they had likely migrated to this area together. After moving to Kentucky, the three Early brothers returned to this very region to marry women from these same families.
Nearly all of these ‘allied families’ were Presbyterian. According to Mr. Gene Matthis of the Washington County Historical Society, religious differences and disagreements with the Anglican church (the dominant faith in Virginia at that time) resulted in the Scots–Irish being discouraged from having their own churches
in the colony. They could only have ‘meeting houses’ in the east, therefore they were encouraged to migrate to settle the frontier and fight Indians. On the frontier, they could pursue their beliefs without such interference.
Morning reunion activities began with a recounting of Early family connections with the Bristol/Abingdon area, including the patriots who participated in the Revolutionary War. As it turns out, there are many family names on the monument located in Sinking Springs cemetery, which is dedicated to those Revolutionary War patriots buried in Washington County. Our allied families were prominent members of the earliest and most important churches in Washington County, especially Sinking Springs and Green Springs.
The highlight of the morning was our extemporaneous interchange with Mr.
Bud Phillips. He is a local genealogist, historian, newspaper columnist, author, and television personality who provided a humorous and insightful recounting of stories he knew about some of our very ancestors! This exchange was enjoyed by all.
A discussion followed about progress in our plans initiated last summer and discussed in our last fall’s newsletter. We also discussed preparations for next summer’s gathering at Cumberland Falls State Resort Park planned for July 31-August 1, 2009 in an attempt to avoid conflict with other 4th of July activities. After lunch, we enjoyed a fantastic tour of Sinking Springs with Mr. Matthis, and visited the location of the monument to Patriots who participated in the Revolutionary War and who are buried in Washington County. Mr. Matthis shared the story of how the first person buried in Sinking Springs Cemetery was killed by Indians, and the “hair-raising”_ escape of Parson Cummings. The Cummings’ cabin -built circa 1773- has now been relocated to Sinking Springs as well. Mr. Matthis helped us locate several ancestors who are buried in the cemetery.
We then visited Dunn Meadow on Colonial Road, a “mustering ground” for the King’s Mountain march. A visit to Green Springs Cemetery followed. This was a productive adventure. Many familiar names could be identified from the headstones on our afternoon cemetery tours! Sadly, some markers have deteriorated so that they are no longer legible. For example, William Pemberton is said to be buried in Green Springs but his marker could not be located. However, the markers of Capt. John Dunkin and his mother, Elizabeth Alexander Dunkin have been replaced. Many other ancestral names were identified by simply looking them up in the index of Col. Early’s book!
Another highlight was the visit to the Pemberton Oak where we met with one of John Pemberton’s (the brother of our William) descendants, Mrs Sue Pemberton Vaughan. She graciously allowed our family onto her property to view the oak and the commemorative marker up close. The tree itself collapsed only a few years ago, and only the base of the trunk remains, but it is quite impressive. She then invited us into her historic house for a tour. It was a delight to visit with her. All in all it was a fantastic experience.
A gathering of Early family descendants and their families was held at the Bristol Holiday Inn Convention center in Bristol, Virginia - located in southwestern Virginia on June 20-21, 2008. This area - around Abingdon, Virginia - was an important starting place for early pioneers on the journey west. It was also a scene of active Indian battles and confrontations. Patriots, including several of our family members, who participated in the Battle of King’s Mountain started their march here. Many consider King’s Mountain to be the most important battle in the South during the Revolutionary War.
The late Wilbert Earley suggested that, should our family desire to pursue our origins further back than the three Early brothers, we should visit the places where they likely started from -- Southwestern Virginia around Abingdon. This includes Washington County, Virginia and just across the border, Sullivan County, Tennessee. This proved to be an important insight!
With the assistance of two delightful and entertaining speakers, Mr. Bud Phillips and Mr. Gene Matthis, we were successful in exploring the region where our Early family ancestors likely established important connections with other families before they began their journey westward to Kentucky.
Col. Cleland Early’s book suggests that many family groups traveled together after emigrating from Northern Ireland into the Lancaster, Pennsylvania area. They subsequently settled in this region of Virginia. Indeed, the Washington County Historical Society in Abingdon has numerous records of Laughlins, Sharps, Pembertons, Hammonds, and Kings, among others, who intermarried. These families lived in the same area and fought together. Most attended the same churches and intermarried. It is logical that these families were so intertwined they had likely migrated to this area together. After moving to Kentucky, the three Early brothers returned to this very region to marry women from these same families.
Nearly all of these ‘allied families’ were Presbyterian. According to Mr. Gene Matthis of the Washington County Historical Society, religious differences and disagreements with the Anglican church (the dominant faith in Virginia at that time) resulted in the Scots–Irish being discouraged from having their own churches
in the colony. They could only have ‘meeting houses’ in the east, therefore they were encouraged to migrate to settle the frontier and fight Indians. On the frontier, they could pursue their beliefs without such interference.
Morning reunion activities began with a recounting of Early family connections with the Bristol/Abingdon area, including the patriots who participated in the Revolutionary War. As it turns out, there are many family names on the monument located in Sinking Springs cemetery, which is dedicated to those Revolutionary War patriots buried in Washington County. Our allied families were prominent members of the earliest and most important churches in Washington County, especially Sinking Springs and Green Springs.
The highlight of the morning was our extemporaneous interchange with Mr.
Bud Phillips. He is a local genealogist, historian, newspaper columnist, author, and television personality who provided a humorous and insightful recounting of stories he knew about some of our very ancestors! This exchange was enjoyed by all.
A discussion followed about progress in our plans initiated last summer and discussed in our last fall’s newsletter. We also discussed preparations for next summer’s gathering at Cumberland Falls State Resort Park planned for July 31-August 1, 2009 in an attempt to avoid conflict with other 4th of July activities. After lunch, we enjoyed a fantastic tour of Sinking Springs with Mr. Matthis, and visited the location of the monument to Patriots who participated in the Revolutionary War and who are buried in Washington County. Mr. Matthis shared the story of how the first person buried in Sinking Springs Cemetery was killed by Indians, and the “hair-raising”_ escape of Parson Cummings. The Cummings’ cabin -built circa 1773- has now been relocated to Sinking Springs as well. Mr. Matthis helped us locate several ancestors who are buried in the cemetery.
We then visited Dunn Meadow on Colonial Road, a “mustering ground” for the King’s Mountain march. A visit to Green Springs Cemetery followed. This was a productive adventure. Many familiar names could be identified from the headstones on our afternoon cemetery tours! Sadly, some markers have deteriorated so that they are no longer legible. For example, William Pemberton is said to be buried in Green Springs but his marker could not be located. However, the markers of Capt. John Dunkin and his mother, Elizabeth Alexander Dunkin have been replaced. Many other ancestral names were identified by simply looking them up in the index of Col. Early’s book!
Another highlight was the visit to the Pemberton Oak where we met with one of John Pemberton’s (the brother of our William) descendants, Mrs Sue Pemberton Vaughan. She graciously allowed our family onto her property to view the oak and the commemorative marker up close. The tree itself collapsed only a few years ago, and only the base of the trunk remains, but it is quite impressive. She then invited us into her historic house for a tour. It was a delight to visit with her. All in all it was a fantastic experience.
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