John of Burke, Judge George and 1790 Census
In her book, Louise McDonald asserts that the Jno. Blanton in the Sixth Company, Rutherford County, 1790 Census was John Blanton of Burke County. She based this on his purchase of 200 acres in Rutherford County in 1786. However, there are several problems with this theory:
1. The land appears to be in the NW part of Rutherford under what is now Lake Lure. This is based on a plat in an ejectment lawsuit in Morgan District Court. The plat shows Buffellow and another creek entering the Broad on opposite sides, much like the situation at Lake Lure. The deed says two creeks enter the Broad on the land.
The other Buffalo Creek crosses the Broad in what is now and in 1787 SC. There doesn't seem to be another creek at the mouth.
2. Many of the people listed in the Sixth Company (Charles Stice and several Hamricks)were known to own land on Shoal Creek and the First Broad in the SE portion of Rutherford.
3. The dispute was in court from 1787 to at least Sept. 1790. It appears that John lost the suit, since the other owner sold what appears to be this land to his son in 1800. The description of the land in the deed is a little vague. The bound district court records were burned by the Yankees, so we can't know for sure. In 1788 there was a tenant on the land, but he was not in the 1790 census of Rutherford.
4. George Blanton bought land along Shoal Creek in 1789. He had previously (1783-4) bought land on Beaverdam Creek, which would presumably have been in the same company as Burwell.
George does notappear in the 1790 census. The whites and slaves are not inconsistent with his family. It could simply be a mistake. Maybe "Geo" was miscopied as "Jno" somehow. It does not appear to be his son John since the latter was probaly too young.
5. There was another John Blanton in the area who was a chain bearer for Ruebin's survey in 1786. By law he would have had to be over 21, since he had to be sworn. However, this was often overlooked. This person could have leased the land from George.