1780 Tennessee • William "Elisha" Barnard

Elisha Barnard

Our 5X Great-Grandfather

Born in about 1763

Married Rebecca "Polly" Bradley 1779

Died in Sumner County, Tennessee between March 18th - August of 1836.

Image shown is how I imagine the Barnard home in Tennessee.

The Barnard Family in America traces back to the founding of Nantucket, Massachusetts. Elisha was a 3X Great-Grandson to brothers Robert and Thomas Barnard. Thomas was one of the original purchasers of Nantucket in 1659. He transferred half interest to his brother Robert.

Elisha's father, John Zadock Barnard, was decapitated by Indians in 1780. Middle Tennessee was extremely dangerous for those first settlers. The Indian wars didn't end until 1795.

From "The Overmountain Men" by Pat Alderman

"During the year 1780, at least 37 men were killed by the Indians. A partial list is given, but as records were sparsely kept, many names, dates and places are impossible to obtain. Keywood and Miliken were fired on at Richland Creek, Miliken was killed. Keywood managed to escape. Captain Rains moved his family to the Fort where they lived for four years. Joseph Hay was killed on Lick Branch, Bernard was slain and beheaded at Denton's Lick (now called Freeland's Station). Joseph and William Dunkam, two small boys with Bernard, escaped."

BARNARD LAND

From Tennessee State Library and Archives in Nashville's land deed records:

Deed 05 May 1804 Zadock Barnard [Elisha's son and our 4X great grandfather who moved to Greene County, Illinois] to Jacob Barnard [Zadock's brother] $200 320 acres on Red River on Summers branch - part of 640 acres granted by North Carolina to William Looney. Witnessed by William Given.

Deed on the first 1804 (no month) Robert Taylor to Elisha Barnard $580. Tr(tract?) on both sides of west fork of Drake's Creek beginning at the southwest corner of Jacob Barnard's [Elisha's son]. 320 acres. Witnessed by Adam Atchison and Jacob Barnard.

Our GGrandfather Elisha owned 300+ acres near Drake's Creek, Sumner County, Tennessee (1817 tax records). His sons lived nearby. Zadock sold his land in Sumner County on May 8, 1830 to Andrew Harper, and by October of the same year Zadock and his family were in Greene County, IL.. (Zadock is our 4X Great-Grandfather.)

Elisha's family would have looked something like this:

1824 Tax list for Sumner County, Tennessee

1836 Elisha's Will

All of the children are mentioned in his will with the exception of Zadock, who had moved to Illinois six years before the will was written. Rebecca was still unmarried. She would marry Luke Taylor in 1839.

REVOLUTIONARY WAR

I have found no record of him participating in the Revolutionary War.

MAPS of TENNESSEE

Here are two satellite maps that show Sumner County and some of the areas mentioned in the land deed records. I don't know where the Barnard land was exactly, but it was in this area, near Drake's Creek, Red River, and Sulphur Fork Creek.

Map from 1790

At the other end of Drake's Creek near Hendersonville stands a home from Elisha's day. Built in 1784, it is the oldest house in Middle Tennessee.

The Rock Castle.

Some of my sources:

https://www.tngenweb.org/sumner/

A genealogical site focusing on Sumner County, Tennessee.

Ancestry

Geni

Geneanet

Find-A-Grave

Local histories of Sumner County written in the late 1800s and early 1900s.

A fun kayak ride along Drakes Creek! Winter view here.

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