Re: Sarah Midkiff and Jacob Chaney
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In reply to:
Sarah Midkiff and Jacob Chaney
Kimberly Adkins 7/06/07
Kim,
I'm not sure how much help this will be but I'm going to try. Brothers Thomas, Francis and Charles were living in VA and NC area. Sarah could also be sister to these three men. The Thomas I'm speaking about here is the oldest Thomas who had sons John and Joseph.
Thomas, Francis and Charles received land grants in NC in the Rowen Co, NC area. These were "Lord Granville" land grants and I'm not sure how you find out more about those grants. The spelling on the records for Rowen Co, NC is terrible and you will see Midkiff spelled even as Madcalf. You would have to actually read some of the records to see what I'm talking about with the spelling. The record keeper even spelled sincerely as cincerly so if that gives you any idea.
Thomas, Francis and Charles were living in the Rowen Co, NC area in the mid 1700's, Francis was designated "overseer of the roads",and brother Charles sold his land to the Morivians and caused quite a stir because no one was wanting them to move into the area at first. Charles, it says, "went back to ENGLAND."
I cannot find anything on Charles after he went back to England. I cannot find anything on Francis either after the mid 1700's records where he was the overseer of the roads in Rowen Co, NC. This area of Rowen Co is later divided to form Surry Co, NC and it was an area of heavy Tory attacks during the American Revolution so my conclusion is that brothers Thomas and Francis were most likely killed in one of these Tory attacks. Grandchildren of Thomas, Isaiah and Thomas, are later living in Surry Co, NC and are on the 1786 state census.
In Isaiah Midkiff's American Revolutionary pension record it states he went to Surry Co, NC for a "family situation" and due to the heavy Tory attacks it seems some ofhis family must have died in those attacks. Isaiah had been serving in the VA Line service on the Frontier in TN guarding the settlers from Indian attacks. Colonel Ferguson of the British Army captured one of the settlers and sent him back with word that the was "coming to lay waste to the land and hang your leaders" and the group then formed an offensive plan in which they tracked down Ferguson, attacked and defeated him at the Battle of King's Mountain. There is a lot of information in a book titled The Overmountain Men and a good reading of the book might lend more clues.
Also there was a Colonel John Green who witnessed some documents for the family later in TN and he might have been a fellow soldier. I've found these groups tend to move about in military crowds, having served in battle and later gaining land grants from service. DAR records sometimes have cross references for names of witnesses in pension claims. From some of those records it seems there is a connection between the Medcalfs in VA, the Midkiffs in VA and the Green family. Jacob Midkiff from Pittsylvania Co, VA and Ilai Medcalf of another county in VA later show up in Davidson Co, TN. The Medcalf, Midkiff and Greens signed witness for each other on some documents. There is also a will for a Joseph Midkiff dated 1803 in Washington Co, TN but I have not had a chance to get a copy of it.