Samuel Isaacs in America, 1685+
It's hard to say who went first to North Carolina. There was a problem between the earlier coastal planters of large plantation type estates and late comers occupying the Piedmont area and the Western Mountain areas. Definitely, Elijah (I) went before brother Godfrey but maybe Uncle Elisha Isaacs went first. There were a lot of things going on in Western Virginia. The FreeMasons were organizing everywhere. There was a war in the West between British and The French and Indians. The Regulators in Coastal Carolina wanted to control everything and settlers in the Western Mountains and "Over The Mountain" Settlers (Tennessee and beyond)were demanding more say so in government. The route taken those days was the Shenandoah Valley roughly along todays Interstate 81 from Knoxville, TN to Pennsylvania. Virginia was not as popular with new settlers in America. Philadelphia and New York were quickly becoming the port of entry for new American settlers from Europe. General Braddock had blazed a trail for his army to march to Pittsburgh to fight the French and their Indian allies. It is today US HWY Route 40 or The National Highway. Not many had discovered that yet. When they did most would follow that early road and find The Ohio River and sail downstream, bypassing the rugged mountains fort settling. The Shenandoah Valley route took them to the Cumberland Gap or onto The Tennessee River and also a route to The Ohio River at modern day Paducah, KY or The Cumberland River to near the same destination.
The Isaacs of Samuel (I) and (II) through several of their children moved into Western North Carolina. It looks, to the casual observer, that they lived in several different counties but it seems they mostly settled into the large western county which was divided a few times. Eventually, those big counties became Ashe County, NC. After the American Revolutionary War there was a movement to organize a new country named Franklin but that eventually did not gain traction to survive. Franklin would have been part of Western North Carolina in the Mountains and Tennessee to modern day Knoxvills or Nashville, TN. Isaacs found their way into everything. They were exciting times. Samuel(III), son of Colonel Elijah was an early Indian Scout and spent most of the early years of the Am Rev Way in Western NC and TN down to modern day Western South Carolina with The Cherokees. He spent a couple of three month enlistments with The North Carolina Militia fighting British Sympathizers called TORIES in Western, NC near Quaker Meadows, NC. Most settlers had been sympathetic to the British Crown in the mountains. Elisha Isaacs and his nephew Colonel Elijah Isaacs had served in the North Carolina Legistlative Branch of State government. Interestingly, on items that both houses of the Bi-cameral government body discussed or voted on, Elisha had a calm demeanor and very personable disposition. Colonel Elijah was just the opposite and was known to be quite firey and obstinate. He did not like Tories and made no secret for where he felt they should go as soon as he could dispose of them. He brought the same disposition to his military commission and was known to deal quite harshly with Tories and their families. Some accounts say he was captured and held prisoner by the British and other accounts say Samuel(III) was captured by the British and held for a year and exchanged for a high value British Officer who had been captured by the Colonial Army. Ether way, Coilonel Elijah fought in modern day North and South Carolina. Sam (III) fought with Francis(The Swamp Fox)Marion in South Carolina. It has not become apparent where Colonel Elisha Isaacs fought but he was also a Colonel. Godfrey fought likewise but he was a Captain in the NC Militia. They apparently met a young boy of 12-15 who was held by The British named Andrew Jackson from Tennessee and eventuallly the seventh President of these United States from about 1828-1836. Those years are significant because many states were formed and Old Hickory, as he was called, was a man with a very long memory. After The War, Samuel(III) met up with Jackson in Eastern Tennessee where he introduced Isaacs to Davy Crockett, Sam Houston and they joiuned Jackson in the conquest of Alabama, Mississippi, Northwest Florida and eventually The Battle of New Orleans in January 1815 at the very end of The War of 1812. Samuel(III) received a land grant in modern day Moore County, Tennessee with some of the best water for distilling whiskey that has ever been known. Eventually he sold the business to a man named Jack Daniels who carried on and further developed the business but everyone knew it was the water that made the spirits so tasty and appealing.
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I'd hard to tell where Sam I came from. Most of us think Scotland. Wales and Ireland get a nod because of the Scotch-Irish Connection. The truth is: Nobody knows for sure. It cost 4 Lbs Sterling to book passage to the American Colonies. Indentured Servants were being sold into 5-7 years of Slavery at the port. Enterprising men emptied out most jails. The ships Captains were making money by providing passage and selling the Prisoners to the highest bidder at the port in America. They usually got 25 for a skilled worker. 15 for a mature, able bodied man, 10-12 for children and the duration also was considered in the deal. Men started grabbing children and others off of the street. They would put them betweeen ship decks. There were many young men taken and even children as young as 6 with an older brother who had good parents at home. They were grabbed and transported and sold to farmer planters in America. These were the same farmers who were shipping their Tobacco crop to The U.K. and these same Ship Captains. You need workers, I'll bring you workers on the next trip.Some of these needed jobs and this new world colony provided that. Some revolted and were killed or put off in some foreign land (Spain or Barbados). Some changed their names from a little to a lot and never wanted to go back. There were tales of I.S. getting their freedom after 5-7 years, some free land and becoming quite wealthy raising tobacco and sending it back home. Some acquired later I.S. to raise the tobacco and get it on the ships for transport. Others ran away and went to another colony and got free land, changed their name a little or a lot and contacted family to join them in this new world. This last group might have been Sam I. He could have been an Isackson and dropped part or an Isaacs and added a 'K.' Whatever he did he was making sure that he didn't get sent home or back to the planter who bought him for his original years plus one for escaping.Maryland was filling up with Tobacco workers in an era before Black Slaves came into vogue in that area. In fact, since he was sold then he had no problem with holding slaves and later did so. It wasn't hatred, it was just business w/o the Get Out of Jail Free Card after 5-7 years. And where the buyer providecd a customary stippend upon leaving the Plantation employer after several years. No one ever paid the new unpaid workers. It was only a few Shillings but it was a start if you made it that far. I strongly believe Sam I departed early illegally or on time and went to the next colony because he was very close to Maryland at Berryville, VA near Winchester, VA. There were many Scots so he could blend in with an accent so thick that only another Scot could understand it. Sam II was born in 1710 in Virginia. 2nd son, Elisha was born 10 or so years later. Probably of different mothers. Women died young on the frontier. It was not unusual for a man to have two or three wives over the span of his life and usually younger each time. Each usually had a few children so the farm help stayed plentiful. We have records of Sam I & II + Elisha selling Tobacco and supplying part of their crop for taxes to the Crown and that was put on ships for England. It was a vicious cycle. Of course, it was convenient for The Crown to supply free land to provide a buffer between the rich coastal planters and their vast plantations separating them from hostile Indians to the mountainous west. So, the British get protection for their biggest planters with political connections while they open up territory which raises tobacco for export to the British Public back home. They get taxes, protectiion and tobacco for their citizens. That is a Win-Win-Win situation w/NO downside. Then they decided to add a tax on whiskey and that is when the beginning of the end began.
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone have any more info on Samuel 3? Looking to put th epieces together to pinpoint the details of his distilleries and location of them?
ReplyDelete