Now to dissect the next question,
“Who was the James Allison in the 1784 surveyor record?” It would appear that this James Allison was
either Jane Allison’s father…or maybe a close relative, possibly a
brother. James Allison was not the only
Allison in Botetourt County at the time.
Let’s take a quick look at another Allison with links to this Tinker
Creek neighborhood. A Charles Allison was,
through records, found in the same 1782 military district as John Ross (father
or brother of William Ross), Edward Ross (brother of William Ross), and Joseph
Snodgrass. Since Joseph Snodgrass was
definitely a resident of the Tinker Creek neighborhood, Charles Allison was in
the vicinity of William Ross in 1782.
The history of Charles Allison is
relatively well-established. Charles
Allison came to Augusta County by 1748 (and possibly as early as 1742) as a
young boy with his father’s family (John Allison) and settled in the western
foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains – a area riddled with danger. Charles
Allison first appeared in records in 1764 so he may have been born in early
1740s (online histories have guessed his birth to be circa 1737). He married Jane Campbell and then followed
his father and Campbell kinfolk in a south and west movement. Over his adult life, he held land on Mill
Creek near his father John Allison on the North Branch of James River in 1765,
owned land at Buffalo River at the Forks of James River by 1767 until at least
1771, held land on South Fork of Holston River 1773 to 1779, moved to
Washington County, North Carolina by 1779, and then finally migrated to Fayette
County, Kentucky in about 1784. He died
in Bourbon County, Kentucky. Interestingly,
he had a sister Jennet Allison, christened in 1748 (or 1749, record courtesy of
Tinkling Springs Presbyterian Church).
Jennet is a spelling variation of Janet, Jeanette, Jean, or Jane. Nothing concrete is known of this Jennet Allison
after her christening. So here we have a
new possibility…Jane Allison daughter of John Allison and brother of Charles
Allison, could have been Jane Allison, wife of William Ross. We will return to this shortly…
For now, let’s take a look back
at James Allison who we know was connected to William Ross in 1784, 14 years
after William Ross married Jane Allison.
Charles Allison is not known to have had a brother named James Allison. So the James Allison of the Tinker Creek
neighborhood was from a different Allison family. Only two James Allison men can be found in
the records of western Virginia in this timeframe. The first James Allison was in Augusta County
as early as 1746 and is thought to have been a brother to Robert Allison and
John Allison. He was married to Martha
and built a water mill, probably near Robert or James Allison. No records have been found to link James
Allison to land and it is presumed he rented or lived on his brother’s
land. In 1754, Augusta records state he
moved to Carolina. However, in 1756 he
and John Allison are defendants in a court case with John Buchanan and they
reveal “we John and James Allison are late from the Province of
Pennsylvania.” This evidence supports
his link to the elder John Allison who came to Virginia 1742-1748. A family record online reports he died in the
late 1750s in North Carolina but no source for this record has been found.
James Allison number two was the
son of Robert Allison (Robert Allison will of 1769). Robert Allison purchased land on North Branch
of James River in 1747 beside John Allison.
The two men raised families on North Branch between Whistle Creek and
Mill Creek in what is now Botetourt County just north of Lexington, Virginia. James Allison, son of Robert, first appeared
in Augusta records in 1763 when he was deeded 165 acres from Samuel Paxton
executors on Spreading Spring off North Branch of James River. From this record, we can state with relative
confidence that he was born no later than 1742 (21 in 1764) and probably not
much earlier since he had not appeared in any record prior to 1763. During 1764 he was reported living in the
Forks of James River area between the North Branch and Buffalo Creek (probably
Spreading Spring). Buffalo Creek was about
five miles south of his father’s home at North Branch (processioner’s
report). John Paxton (a relative of
Samuel Paxton who sold James land in 1763), reported the same in his 1765
processioner’s report at the same location – the area a part of the Forks of
James River.
This map shows the Forks of James
River area that includes all of North Branch of James River (now Maury River)
south to South Branch of James River, including portions of Catawba Creek, a
branch of James River north of Tinker Creek, a northern branch of Roanoke
River. The original tract locations of
John Allison (green - 1748) and Robert Allison (red - 1747) are shown.
As a note, the Forks of James
River was land west of the James River where North Branch (it is now called
Maury River) enters the South Branch of the James River. The area included Buffalo Creek, Spreading
Spring (exact location unknown), Cedar Creek (located at present-day Natural
Bridge, Virginia) and Tinker Creek (between Buchanan and Fincastle, Virginia).
In 1767, James Alison’s older brother
John Allison appears to be nearby (1767 court record – this John Allison was at
Cedar Creek in Forks of James River by 1760). Then in 1768, James purchased an
additional 50 acres in the Forks of James River. After father Robert Allison’s death in 1769,
James Allison was found in the following records:
·
1 March 1770 – James Allison and John Allison were
witnesses for a personal property deed between Samuel Newberry and Halbert
Allison in Botetourt County
·
7 June 1770 - James Allison and his wife
Elisabeth sold 165 acres on Spreading Spring (North Branch of James River) to
Samuel McCorkle (Allison had purchased the land from Samuel Paxton executors on
1763 and Paxton had received it From Moses McClure 12 May 1753 (Botetourt County)
·
15 August 1770 - James Allison was found as a
jury member in a (the same year Ross and Jane Allison were married) Botetourt
County court case. Jury members in the
same case were Halbert Allison and John Allison, both brothers of James Allison.
·
10 September 1770 - James Allison and Halbert
Allison were jurors in two Botetourt County court cases.
·
9 October 1770 – John Allison, brother of James
Allison, was the security for John Cowardon when he was granted a license to
keep an ordinary at his house in Botetourt County
·
11 October 1770 - James Allison returned a
verdict as a jury member in a Botetourt County court case (with a John McClure
and David Mitchell – who sold land to John Ross Sr.). So, James Allison, if
this was the same James Allison as the man mentioned in the 1784 survey record,
was connected to Halbert Allison and a John Allison. A unique name like Halbert Allison is less
difficult to follow.
·
12 November 1771 - James Allison was a member of
the Botetourt grand jury summoned to court.
Other jurors were known Tinker Creek residents, including James
Robinson, John Robinson, James Smith, and Samuel McAfee.
·
1776 - James Allison was mentioned Botetourt
County road orders near Breckenridge and Smith, both Tinker Creek neighborhood
residents.
·
1778 - John Ross Jr. was appointed surveyor of a
road near James Allison in Botetourt County.
By 1778, James Allison was
associated with land on Peak Creek, a branch of the New River in Montgomery
County (formed in 1777). A James
Ellison received a survey for land on New River in 1774 (record not seen). James Allison was to view the way for a road
at Bunker Bottom near Colonel Ingles in Montgomery County with others, assigned
5 January 1779. Halbert Allison, James
Allison, and Francis Allison (another brother) took the Oath of Fidelity to the
Commonwealth of Virginia on 2 March 1779 (found in manuscripts located in the
Montgomery County Courthouse, home of all of the Botetourt County records, according
to the Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, page 32). Though associated with lands in Montgomery
County, Virginia, a 27 September 1782 occurred between William Akers of
Campbell County and James Allison of Botetourt County. More than likely, James Allison was preparing
to make a move to Montgomery County during the late 1770s and early 1780s as by
1785, he had moved to Montgomery County.
The location of Peak Creek (lower
left black marker) in relation to Tinker Creek (the middle black marker)
At this point, I should note that
many of the records included in my review reveal several different spelling
versions of Allison, such as Alison, Aleson, Alleson, Allason, and Alason. Also included was the spelling Ellison. Researchers believe that a more authentic
spelling for Allison, from Scotland and Ireland, was Ellison or Ellyson. James “Ellison” Sr. and Jr. were well-known
men in the Botetourt County, Virginia areas.
James Ellison Sr. fought with distinction in the Battle of Point Pleasant. This family settled in Greenbrier and Monroe
Counties their records have been blended with the records of James Allison of
the Botetourt and Montgomery County regions.
Though this review of James
Allison, son of Robert, at the level provided was probably unnecessary, it does
verify that Jane Allison, wife of William Ross, was not his daughter. Nor was it likely that she was the daughter
of the older James Allison since he removed to Carolina before 1754. So, Jane Allison was not the daughter of
James Allison. The only possibilities,
if she was born 1748 to 1754, was that she was the daughter of either John
Allison or Robert Allison, the original immigrants to Augusta County before
1747. After the review of Charles Allison
we know that John Allison of North Branch had a daughter Janet Allison. We also are aware that Robert Allison had a
daughter Janet Allison, from his 1769 will.
The mounting evidence seems to
reveal two possible Jane Allison ancestors – 1) Jane Allison was the daughter
of John Allison, or 2) Jane Allison was the daughter of Robert Allison. Below is a review of the John Allison and the
Robert Allison families. It is important
to note that exact birth years of most of the children are unknown
(particularly those of Robert Allison), as well as any information regarding
their fate. Also included are some of
the other earliest Allison residents that appear to be associated with John and
Robert Allison.