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BACK TO CHAPTER 4 JAMES AND JOHN FINNEY: WAR IN VIRGINIA 1774-1778
TO CHAPTER 6 JAMES AND JOHN FINNEY: KENTUCKY BOUND 1780-1783
1 April 1779
For the third time, Elizabeth Finney gave birth to a child. And, once again, James entered his bedroom
and saw a small, wiggling infant lying in his wife’s arms. As he approached, his wife informed him he
had a new daughter. James prayed for his
baby to be healthy, and to thrive, and to live.
The baby would be named Nancy Finney.
There are no known family members from neither James nor Elizabeth’s
families who were named Nancy.[i]
15 October 1779 Virginia,
with Governor Thomas Jefferson’s interest and approval, officially began to
sell treasury warrants for land in the western frontier, now known as Kentucky
County, Virginia. They used this money
to help support the high costs of the war against the British. James Finney heard talk among Virginians
about the beautiful and rich farmland to the west in this new county. This area
was made even more appealing by the low cost and availability of the land
there. Colonel Richard Callaway of
Boonesborough had escorted British hostages to Williamsburg from Kentucky and
arrived in the spring of 1779. Crowds
gathered, eager to hear of Callaway’s stories and ask questions about
Kentucky. He told all that “Kentucky’s
soil was dark and rich, loose as a bank of willow ashes. Why, one could claim land and plow it on the
same day.” Many men, after hearing
Calloway’s stories immediately sought and bought Virginia land warrants intending to claim land in Kentucky.
Stories
about Kentucky spread quickly by word of mouth
“The land of promise flowing with
milk and honey where you shall eat bread without scarceness and not lack
anything” was among the many descriptions published in newspapers about
Kentucky at this time. Another visitor
to Kentucky reported that “...heaven is a Kentucky of a place.” It was common
to see herds of buffalo in the thousands and more than 100 turkeys in the same
flock. Kentucky appealed to many
Americans because of the great opportunity, yet along with the prosperity of
the land was a great danger. The
Indians, known to colonists as reds, savages, or yellow boys, were not about to
give their ancient land up without a fight.
1779 John Finney was once again in Culpeper County, Virginia. During his time home, John witnessed a deed between
Joseph and Jane Early and Adam Garr. Joseph
Early bought 122 and one-half acres from Adam Garr, part of an original grant
to Michael Holt. This land was located
to the north of the Finney farm and was a part of the Germanna settlement; Garr
and Holt both descendants of early German settlers.
20 December 1779 James
Finney was at the Virginia Land Office in Williamsburg and bought a 505-acre
treasury warrant for land in Kentucky County (Appendix 26). He paid 202 pounds for the land. It is hard to tell exactly who else was
buying treasury warrants with him yet two were surely Joseph Early and William
Kirtley.[ii] Joseph Early lived in Culpeper County near
the Finneys and was a Captain in the Culpeper County militia. William Kirtley was another Finney neighbor
to the west, the same who had recently obtained permission from Elizabeth
Finney, the youthful wife of James Finney, to sell Finney land back in 1775.
Who was Joseph Early?
This was likely Joseph, born in 1738 to
Jeremiah Early and Elizabeth Buford. Jeremiah was a large landholder and
planter in Culpeper County from an early date, kinsman of the Bufords, and
served in the French and Indian War. He
raised his children about four miles north of the Finney plantation. His son Joseph fought in the Revolution and
was a Lieutenant in the 5th Virginia Regiment.
Early was acquainted with George Washington who at one time visited the
Early home in Culpeper County where Washington presented one of his children
with a watch.
It is unknown if James Finney
traveled to Williamsburg from his home in Culpeper County to buy this warrant,
if he was with a war unit passing through, a unit stationed here, or on the way
home from service. There is no evidence
of James Finney serving in an official capacity during this time. However, a stint with a militia company could
never be ruled out. Need for militia
musters were determined by the Continental Congress and the state. If the state of Virginia determined that
there was indeed a need for self-protection, or if Virginia was called upon to
serve the confederation, a call for militia was issued.
The only Culpeper County militia
company known to be active during December 1779 was led by Captain William
Stanton (see Appendix 25 for Culpeper County officers). Back in November, militia
volunteers from Culpeper County met at Hobbs Forge near Fredericksburg and were
commanded by Captain Stanton. The men who
served in this company served a tour of three months. Since this company apparently moved north and
east, Finney was likely not with Stanton.
As Joseph Early was in Williamsburg with Finney in December, it seems
likely that, if he had been in militia service, he was likely in a Culpeper
County militia company led by Captain Joseph Early.
With the purchase of a Virginia
treasury warrant, James Finney surely planned on being in Kentucky County in
the near future. Owners of these
Treasury Warrants had to present them at the Surveyor’s Office in Kentucky
County at Wilson’s Station. The
Surveyor’s Office would be open to accept Treasury Warrants on 1 May 1780 and
the earlier one arrived, the better land they would obtain.
There was negative news
about Kentucky County. Stories from men
and articles written in newspapers told of Indians harassing and brutally
murdering settlers. Men, women and
children were cruelly killed or captured, and never seen again. Many times entire families were ambushed,
scalped and killed. Indian encounters
ranged from chance meetings with small hunting parties to organized Indian
armies of nearly 700. Such news seemed
unlikely to inspire many people to transplant entire lives hundreds of miles from
familiar surroundings. Nevertheless,
cheap and plentiful land seemed to make these dangers far less significant and
worth the risk. Other men journeyed to
Kentucky for profit, collect through hunting, skinning, and selling animal
skins. These men were known as backwoods
Kentucky hunters, or just long hunters. Long
hunters lived strictly for the hunt and were known to be of the laziest sorts
that existed. They were often known as
bandits and a common stereotype of the time period commonly linked banditry and
hunting. The Finneys were not considered
long hunters; they were interested in Kentucky for the land. Kentucky was a young man’s country and hence,
Kentucky fit for James and John Finney, both young men.
17 January 1780 Greenbrier
County, now the western portion of Botetourt County, commissioners certified
that John Finney was entitled to a pre-emption warrant for 400 acres of land by
right of settlement before the first day of January 1778 in Greenbrier County
at the mouth of Sewell’s Creek.
Pre-emption warrants were made available by the state of Virginia for
those who had improved land before in or before 1777. Two days before, George Blackburn’s (now John
Finney’s brother’s wife’s cousin) 400 acre settlement made in Greenbrier
Country in the year 1774 was certified by the same commissioners. Also, six days before, Julius Christy
(Finney’s wife’s uncle) received the same from the commissioners for 400 acres
bordering the settlements of Patrick Lockhart and John Williams. These men were
entitled to purchase the land at the rate of ten shillings or equivalent
payment per 100 acres.[iii]
16 February 1780 James
Finney bought another treasury warrant in Williamsburg. This warrant was for 300 acres on which he
paid 120 pounds (Appendix 27). Other men
James Finney arrived in Williamsburg with and who also bought treasury warrants
included: Merry Walker, Thomas Quinn, James Quinn, Julius Gibbs, John Rice,
John Childs, and William Childs.[iv] Whether they were in service or came to
Williamsburg from Culpeper County is a mystery.
All of these men were neighbors of the Finneys at their home in Culpeper
County.
During the previous month,
Captain Elijah Kirtley had raised a company to serve in lower Virginia for
three months under Culpeper Lieutenant Colonel of Militia James Barbour (see
Appendix 25 for Culpeper Officers). It appears that this company was called
into action to pursue American army deserters. During the company’s service, the deserters
were reportedly captured and returned to Richmond, Virginia. The company was discharged early at Johnson’s
Springs, about 25 miles from Richmond and after only about a two-month
service.
Merry Walker, a neighbor of the
Finneys in Culpeper County, served as Captain Kirtley’s lieutenant in this
company.[v] Walker also was at Williamsburg with James
Finney on February 16 to buy treasury warrants.
Therefore, it seems highly probable that James Finney was in Captain
Elijah Kirtley’s company which was mustered in during January. Future militia assignments also find James
Finney named as an officer in companies led by Elijah Kirtley.
Early 1780 John Finney was
assigned a 600-acre preemption warrant by James Kinkade, who had himself received
the warrant on 24 January 1780 after permission was given by representatives of
the District of Augusta, Botetourt and Greenbrier. The land was described as located in
Greenbrier County on the Great Kanawha River at the Burning Springs, which is in
present-day West Virginia. Shortly after
receiving the warrant, John Finney transferred it on to William Morris, who then
submitted the warrant to the state of Virginia on 14 July 1780 which entitled him
to claim the 600 acres. This would be
the first of many Greenbrier County land transactions that were associated with
John and James Finney. (see Appendix 28
for more on this Greenbrier County land)
18 March 1780 John Finney
was in Williamsburg, Virginia. He bought
a 500-acre Treasury Warrant, numbered 4035, for 200 pounds. (see Appendix 29) He purchased this warrant under the name of
John Finney or, as the name appears on the warrant log, John Tinney. Strangely, the very next Treasury Warrant
issued, number 4036, was sold to John Finney, yet this time recorded as “John
Finnie.” This was an 800-acre warrant
bought for 320 pounds.[vi] John was certainly in Williamsburg with James
Huston from Greenbrier County, and John Williams, along with George Rowe and
Joseph Wood who were each from Culpeper County.
Rowe was known to have been a private in Captain Thomas Young's Company
of the Western Battalion commanded by Colonel Joseph Crockett in the Virginia
State Service during the Revolutionary War from 1780 to 1782.
With John Finney’s land sale that
took place in early 1780, it seems possible that he used the money he collected
to pay for the Virginia treasury warrants in March 1780. Since there was little information about the Kincade-Finney-Morris
land transaction, the date of the actual transactions and the amount of money
he made are impossible details to determine.
From the date of the original assignment of the Kincade warrant, the
transaction would have been made in late January or February, followed by his
journey east to Williamsburg to purchase the Virginia treasury warrants.
March 1780 James and John
Finney left Virginia for Kentucky to present their Treasury Warrants for the
new Kentucky County land in late March.
James may have been to Kentucky previously, maybe even during some
military or militia service. His
brother, John, had also likely traveled there.
There were others James and John traveled with, such as Thomas Quinn,
James Quinn, Julius Gibbs, John Rice and Nicholas Ware. Most men traveled in large groups, called companies,
for safety from Indian attacks. The
Quinn’s were brothers. They and Nicholas
Ware were neighbors of the Finneys from Culpeper County. Another brother of the Quinn’s, Benjamin, had
been to Kentucky several months before to present his Treasury Warrant. Julius Gibbs was James Finney’s brother-in-law,
his wife’s brother. John Rice was also
James Finney’s brother-in-law, his sister’s husband.
Who were the Quinn’s?
Thomas, James and Benjamin were the sons of
Richard Quinn and were born (all around 1750) and raised about three miles
south of the Finney plantation on the Rapidan River. They all were participants in the Revolution
and fought alongside one or both of the Finney boys. Though they all bought land in Kentucky, only
Benjamin settled and lived there. He
also abandoned his Lincoln County land and raised his family in Scott County,
Kentucky, just north of the future settlement of James and John Finney. He died there in 1823.
The men traveling together
certainly took the route over land as opposed to traveling down the Ohio
River. It would be too cumbersome to
travel all the way up to Fort Pitt and then pay for or build a raft to float
down the Ohio River toward Kentucky.
From Williamsburg, they traveled, by land, over 700 miles to reach
central Kentucky, normally taking about four to five weeks. First, they journeyed on a trail westward
over the Blue Ridge Mountains to the town of Staunton. From there, they traveled on a larger road
southwest through the Great Valley and on to the Great Road in the Holston
Valley. Once they passed through the
Cumberland Gap, it was northwest up the Wilderness Road to Harrodsburg in
Kentucky County.
Word spread in March that
Benjamin Logan was going to be starting back west to Kentucky. Logan was a well-known inhabitant in Kentucky
and served the people there as a great leader.
Many of those Kentucky-bound sought his aid as an excellent woodsman and
guide for their trip. A large company
of ninety-eight met him at the North Fork of the Holston River in late March. The company operated with great discipline on
their trip to avoid confrontation with Indians.
Two brothers, reportedly named Finley, decided to move on at a faster
pace. They returned the same day, badly
frightened because they had heard screaming and firing guns near Raccoon Springs
ahead. The next day, the company found
five men killed by Indians there. They continued
on and arrived at Logan’s Fort on April 21.
Here, the company was disbanded and the members continued to their
various destinations. It is certainly
possible that the two brothers’ names, mentioned in the reported reminiscence
as Finley, were likely mispronounced, misspelled, or even unknown to the
reporter and that the brothers had actually been named Finney.[vii]
1 April 1780 When James Finney’s only child Nancy turned one year
old, James Finney was trudging through the wild backwoods of Kentucky. Since each of his first two children passed
away well before the age of one, James Finney likely considered his child making
her first birthday a major milestone.
Certainly James thought of his daughter Nancy on April 1, the day she
would have turned one. James would have
no way to know that she had indeed made it safely to age one: he was too far
removed from Culpeper County to have any contact with his family and he would
definitely not know anything about his family until he returned. Actually, it was his little daughter Nancy
that should be worried about her father in the dangerous Kentucky wilderness.
18 April 1780 The Finneys and
their associates were in Harrodsburg by late April and soon were at the surveyor’s
office at Wilson’s Station. Wilson’s
Station was on a branch of the Salt River about two miles from Harrodsburg. In addition to the treasury warrants, a few
members of the Finney group purchased military warrants. Abraham Wilson and Henry Walker sold five 50-acre
military warrants to James Finney, John Finney, and James Quinn either in
Virginia or when they arrived in Kentucky (Appendix 30). Wilson and Walker had obtained these warrants
from French and Indian War veterans, who had received them for service in that
war.
The Treasury Warrants James
Finney and his company held could not be entered at the surveyor’s office until
May 1. However, military warrants could
be entered at any time. Settlement and preemption claims for settlers who had
occupied and improved land previously could not be officially entered until
April 26. Most men with treasury
warrants, settlement claims, or preemption claims came to Kentucky before these
dates with the intention to explore the country to enable themselves to locate
their choice of land and ready their land entry description when the surveyor’s
office opened its doors. Also, some came
early to linger about, intending to purchase and/or make an entry on a military
warrant.
“On April 26 when
citizens with preemption warrants were able to make entries, a vast crowd
arrived at Wilson’s Station. Before the
doors closed that night, 88 men had made entries on preemptions amounting to
75,500 acres and another 19 men had entered an additional 8,950 acres on
military warrants. During the next three
days, men continued to arrive at the land office with preemption warrants and
by the afternoon of Saturday April 29 an additional 513 entries had been
made. By then a large number of men had
collected at Wilson’s Station, some to enter warrants while others lingered
with the intention of purchasing claims.”
28 April 1780 James Finney submitted
his first entry for Kentucky land. The
entry was for 50 acres and was made with a military warrant (Appendix 30). James Finney’s brother John, James Quinn, and
Isaac Ware also made entries, respectively, at the same time. These were all on military warrants for 50
acres. An entry was an important but
very vague description of the land the holder of a warrant desired. The entry was merely a claim for the land and
would need to be surveyed before receiving the official grant for the
land. On the next day, April 29, James Finney
made another entry on a military warrant for 50 acres.
The Finneys and their group must
have spent a little time here at Wilson’s Station and Harrodsburg, waiting in
the long line to make entries. They were
among the first to make their entries on April 28, but James made his second
entry on April 29 later in the day. These
men probably had never actually seen the land they entered at this time because
they did not use their treasury warrants.
The treasury warrants, for larger amounts of land, were saved until they
would have seen and inspected the land they would claim and make entry upon.
“Perhaps because of
these large crowds and the need for better organization by the land clerks, the
office was closed on Monday May 1 and remained closed until Tuesday May 9. When the office again opened, the land
seekers were back en masse, since it was then legal to enter land on treasury
warrants. On Tuesday May 9, 67 men
entered 118 claims for over 100,000 acres.
From then on the land office remained open on most working days with
numerous claims being entered on all types of warrants. John Floyd stated in a letter, ‘I stayed at
the Surveyor’s office ‘till hunger drove me home before I could make an entry.’ Others probably had the same experience.”
James
Finney, John Finney, and the rest of their party make
entries
at the surveyor’s office in Wilson’s Station
May 1780 The company made
their way to Tates Creek and Silver Creek, waterways that ran from south into
the Kentucky River, just after 29 April 1780.
As the land office closed on May 1, they were traveling with many others
who had the same idea. Their intention: to
find land near where Benjamin Quinn had claimed his tract a few months before. Once there, they viewed land that was on the
creeks between the south fork of Tates Creek and Silver Creek. The area was, at the time, called the Treading
Ground. These lands bordered the
preempted lands of Christopher Irvine and William Hancock. On the trail to the treading ground, the
company passed through Fort Harrodsburg, probably went northeast on the path to
Lexington and then back southeast to Fort Boonesborough which was about three
miles below the mouth of Tates Creek.
From Boonesborough, they traveled to Irvine’s Station, near the bottom
of Tates Creek. Settlers traveled
existing trails and traces and always in large groups to avoid Indian ambush. Attacks during the daytime were very common
and settlers had to be constantly alert.
While in the treading ground area, the Finneys and their cohort lived at
Irvine’s Station and Fort Boonesborough.
Records show that Julius Gibbs, Thomas Quinn, James Quinn, and John Rice
all resided in the fort at some time.
The Finney’s names may have been omitted or their last name misspelled,
as happened so often.
20 May 1780 James Finney and
his company returned to Wilson’s Station with their treasury warrants, ready to
make entries. Several had treasury
warrants which they used to enter land once again on Tates Creek. John Rice, James Finney, John Finney, James
Quinn, Thomas Quinn and Julius Gibbs were those who made entry for land on 20
May (Appendix 31). Obviously, these men
had planned to settle this area. But at
this point, there may have been more on their minds.
During the summer, relations
between the western settlers and the Indians had become increasingly
aggressive. The Indians, wanting to
violently rid their country of the settlers, peacefully worked with the
British. And the British, now in the
midst of their own war with their renegade colonists, did everything they could
to fuel the Indians anger. A ragged man
had arrived in Harrodsburg in early May 1780 after having escaped capture from
an Indian tribe. He had learned that the
northern tribes of Indians and the British under Colonel Byrd of Detroit were
planning a march to break up the settlements in Kentucky, hereby bringing the
whole country under control. The entire
Indian force was to be used and given small arms as well as artillery. Information was quickly sent to every station
on how to defend against the invasion.
It was estimated that they would arrive near the end of July or first of
August and attack Louisville on the Ohio River.
The
Finneys, as most did in 1780, spent time at Fort Harrodsburg
June 1780 Colonel Byrd
gathered his army of British troops and Indians and began his march earlier
than the Kentuckians had expected. They
were seen on the Kentucky River on June 1.
Due to the wet summer of 1780, they reorganized their invasion and
decided to ascend the Licking River.
They attacked Ruddle’s Station on June 22 with the force of 1,000
men. At Ruddle’s Station, Colonel Bryd
sent a flag into the fort and the men agreed to surrender as long as the
station inhabitants would become prisoners of the British and not to suffer as
prisoners of the Indians. Colonel Byrd
agreed and the gates were opened.
Immediately the Indians rushed in and claimed the first person they got
hold of as their own prisoner. Members
of every family were separated. Men and
women were killed, scalped and mutilated.
The piercing screams of children torn from their mothers were later said
to be indescribable. Byrd was left
helpless to the Indian behavior, being outnumbered and scared of them
himself. The Indians wanted to march and
take nearby Martin’s Station the same way but Colonel Byrd would only agree if
the prisoners were to be his. Martin’s
Station was taken but the army turned back because of insufficient food
rations. The Indians eventually
separated from the British and kept the prisoners from Ruddle’s Station. Indians would take prisoners and adopt them
into families to make them part of their tribe.
Men became prisoners, many became brothers, women were taken as brides,
and children were raised by Indian families as one of their own.
General George Rogers Clark was
just arriving at Harrodsburg from farther west when the news of these attacks
was heard. A great panic spread
throughout Kentucky causing the settlers to look to General Clark as their only
hope. He called upon all men in the
country, inhabitants and strangers alike, to bear arms in order to avenge the
savage attacks the British and Indians had incurred. James and John Finney were certainly here
when word first spread of the oncoming march by the British and Indian
army. A levy was made for four-fifths of
all men to meet at the mouth of the Licking River on the July 20. Were James and John Finney levied into Clark’s
army? Or, did they return to
Virginia? These questions could be
answered by activities that transpired in the next few months.
August 1780 General Clarke
led his 970 men into the Indian nation August 2, 1780, in the formation of two
divisions. In four days, they arrived in
Chillicothe, on the Little Miami River.
The Indians had been warned of the army advancement and the town was
deserted, the houses having been burnt.
The troops raided the Indian corn fields, camped the night, and left the
next day for the Piqua towns, 12 miles to the north. Just before the Piqua towns, the Indians were
encountered waiting in a prairie of high weeds and fired upon the American
army. General Clarke decided on
attacking the town from a front position, with a left wing and right wing
attack. The Indians engaged their fight to the west where most of the twenty
white men killed occurred. To the east
of town, it was reported that this division never saw an Indian. The army
destroyed the entire Indian cornfield and every species of vegetable that was
grown in the Indian farms. They burnt the villages, stole all of the horses and
provisions and destroyed everything of value to the Indians. With the lack of
adequate food to support their families, the Indian warriors were obliged to
spend most of their time hunting and Kentucky was quiet for a considerable
time.
This campaign lasted about 25
days. The men had almost no provisions
except what was cut from the Indian fields, yet not a complaint was heard. They believed that if the army failed in
their attack, few would escape a painful death or agonizing capture, and the
Indians would then fall on their defenseless women and children in
Kentucky. They were all prepared to
either conquer or die.
If the Finneys had marched with
General Clarke, they would have returned to Kentucky by the end of August. At
the earliest, they would have arrived back in Culpeper County in October
1780. Events transpired in August 1780
in Culpeper County, Virginia that may dispute the Finneys participation in
General Clarks march to Indian country north of Kentucky.
August 1780 With a large
British force remaining in the South Carolina colony after Charleston had been
taken, militia in Virginia were encouraged to form and march south. Elijah Kirtley led a company of militia men from
Culpeper County to the highlands of North and South Carolina. Other companies joined the march south from
Culpeper, two of which were led by Henry Towles and James Finney (Pension said
one company led by Captain Finney or Finnell, Joseph Dickens pension). From this information James Finney had
returned within the previous month from his escapades in Kentucky. See Appendix 25 for Culpeper County militia
officers.
The militia companies spent about
two months attempting to quell Tory movements.
By the end of their tour, they had seen no altercations as Tories fled
whenever their militia forces approached.
A battle had been fought at Camden, South Carolina but it seems these
militia companies had been busy marching through the Carolina country. By late October 1780, the companies were back
in Culpeper County.
James
Finney and his company frightened South Carolina Tories
September 1780 After the
defeat of General Horatio Gates at Camden, South Carolina in mid-August, a
general fear spread through Virginia and militia companies were called to
defend against a British army that may present a threat to Virginia southern borders. At least four companies were assembled and led
by Richard Yancey, William Stanton, Benjamin Lillard, and Edmund Terrill, who
formed under Culpeper County Lieutenant Colonel James Barbour and Major
Benjamin Porter. The companies met a
Culpeper Courthouse and marched with great haste to Hillsboro, North Carolina
where they joined General Edward Stevens’ brigade. After a short time there, the army marched to
Salisbury and then to Charlotte to join the main army of continental regulars
and North Carolina militia under Major General Nathaniel Greene. A part of the army had a brief skirmish in
the Haw River here. The army left
Charlotte and encamped at Cheraw Hills on the Peedee River where they made
their winter quarters. They left Cheraw
Hills after Morgan defeated Tarleton at Cowpens and under pressure by an
advancing Cornwallis. At the Yadkin
River, the rebel army was attacked by Cornwallis and forced to swim from bank
to bank to escape. Six soldiers were
killed and 40 wounded. About this time,
the Virginia militia men’s tour was completed.
Some stayed and would fight in the Battle at Guilford Courthouse while
others were marching prisoners from Cowpens north back to Virginia and only
heard the cannon from the battle. By November,
the entire Virginia militia volunteering in the Southern District would be back
in Virginia.
October/November 1780 A British naval fleet was expected to land
near Richmond in Virginia. The Virginia
colony issued a call for militia for protection. In Culpeper County, several companies were
raised and met at Culpeper Courthouse.
Companies formed under James Browning, Henry Towles, John Waugh, Graves,
and possibly others. These companies
were marched to Richmond, led by County Lieutenant James Barbour and Major
Roebuck. The threat was never realized
as the British troops were only discharged briefly before returning to their
vessels and setting sail for unknown destinations. Many militia companies were countermanded by
General Weeden and returned home while others completed their tours through
December 1780.
[i] During
my research, I have often wondered about the name Nancy. I assumed the use of this name would become
apparent at some point and yet, it has not yet.
Oddly, James’ brother John named one of his first daughters Nancy. Also, some researchers of the Spencer
Breeding-Elizabeth Finney family place Nancy Breeding as one of their first
children.
[ii] These
men were listed as buying land at the same time as James Finney. There may have been other but the previous
page has not been seen. Joseph Earley
was a Lieutenant in the Culpeper County militia and can be found on the January 1781 Culpeper County Culpeper County
and could be found in the January 1781 Culpeper County
[iii]
Greenbrier County, VA Land Entry Book page 23
[iv] These
men were found buying land at the same time as James Finney. The association could be found mainly from
their connection to Culpeper County through the Culpeper County Walker was a lieutenant in
class 84, Thomas and James Quinn were found in class 105, Julius Gibbs in class
93, and William Childs in class 20.
There may have been more there but have not seen previous page of the
treasury warrant log.
[v] Pension
application record
[vi] The
warrant number of John Finney’s 500 acre grant in Lincoln County , Kentucky
[vii] This
scenario is not likely because the Finney’s made their first land entry on
April 18. They most likely were with a
smaller company traveling very fast because they would have left Virginia just a month before after March 18 when John was
in Williamsburg .
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