William Christian (1743 - 1786)

Born 1743 in Staunton Magisterial District, Bedford, Colony of Virginia

Descendants

Died 9 Apr 1786 at about age 43 in Jeffersonville, Clark County, Indiana

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Biography

William Christian is a DAR Patriot Ancestor, A021762.

Col. William Christian served with the Virginia Colony during the French and Indian War.

William Christian was a Virginia colonist.

William Christian is Notable.

"Stateman, military officer. Commanded company in William Byrd's regiment during the French and Indian War (1754-63). Studied law in the office of Patrick Henry and married his sister, Ann. Served in both Virginia legislative houses, led regiment during Virginia Royal Governor Lord Dunmore's war and served in the Virginia militia during the Revolutionary War. Killed while battling Indian raiding party near Jeffersonville, Indiana." (bio by: Mike Maloney)

Established Fort William [[1]] in 1785. See historical marker #974 [2]

Burial: Bullitt Family Cemetery, Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky, USA ^[1]

FROM HISTORICAL INVESTIGATIONS FOR SITE 44PU164 AT THE CLAYTOR HYDROELECTRIC PROJECT PULASKI COUNTY, VIRGINIA FERC PROJECT NO. 739:

William Christian By the time William Christian purchased his first tract of land along the New River, in 1770, he had already established himself as an able military commander and allied himself with a prominent Virginia family through marriage. During the 15 years that he intermittently lived along the New River, Christian created a moderately successful plantation where the Dunkers had struggled only a generation before. Christian involved himself in commercial ventures, dabbled in politics, and furthered his military reputation, before setting out for greener pastures in Kentucky.:

William Christian, the only son of Israel and Elizabeth Christian, was born in 1743 near Staunton, Virginia. His father operated a successful mercantile establishment in Staunton, trading with both white settlers and Indians. Israel Christian also served as a Captain in the militia and a member of the colony‘s House of Burgesses, in addition to owning multiple tracts of land throughout the western portion of the colony (Waddell 1866:142).:

In 1764, Israel Christian moved to the Roanoke River and operated a store on his Stone House homestead, as well as having traveling traders working for him in more remote areas; this commercial enterprise served as the commissary for the First Virginia Regiment during the 1760s and 1770s (Kegley 1938:325; Lee 1998:197). William Christian‘s early exposure to his father‘s military, political, and business ventures helped shape his future lifestyle and involvements. William Christian was raised in Augusta County, which encompassed the entire western portion of the Virginia colony from the time of its establishment in 1738 until Botetourt County was created from the southern portion of its lands in 1769 (Waddell 1866:19–20, 131). :

Augusta County represented the fringes of Virginia colonial society, where new immigrants and pioneers sought large tracts of land on which to carve out productive plantations, a luxury which was no longer available in the eastern counties during the mid-eighteenth century. Although it held the promise of land and economic advancement, the Virginia frontier also contained the challenge of grueling work to create farmland from wilderness, the difficulty of procuring necessary supplies that were often scarce, the isolation of living far from family, and the danger of Indian attacks. Ultimately, this environment was one that William Christian, like the Eckerlins before him, would relish.:

During the closing years of the French and Indian War, William Christian served as the commander of a ranger company, which provided important reconnaissance information and worked as scouts and guides for formal army companies. He was also made a captain in the militia in 1763. The following year, Colonel Andrew Lewis, Lieutenant of the Augusta County militia, raised a company of men to protect the Virginia colony‘s frontiers; William Christian was put in command of a portion of this company and he oversaw expeditions on the James and New Rivers during 1764 (Kegley and Kegley 1980:289).:

As frontier hostilities decreased and defensive forces were no longer necessary, Christian studied law under Patrick Henry, the future Patriot leader. In 1768, he married Anne Henry, sister of his mentor. As a wedding gift, the couple received seven slaves from Israel Christian. At the time, slaves were an essential part of a successful gentleman‘s property and this was a valuable gift from a father to his son and daughter-in-law; it was Israel Christian‘s investment in his son‘s future. The following year, Christian was granted a license to practice law, although there is no evidence that he actually did so. He was also recommended as a justice for Augusta County and acquired several parcels of land on Buffalo Creek, a tributary of the Roanoke River in Botetourt County, collectively known as the Stone House tracts, from his father (Augusta County Deed Book 15:355; Kegley and Kegley 1980:335). :

Within a five year period, William Christian had grown from a young military commander into a husband, landowner, and slave holder. The following year, Christian continued his political, military, and business ventures. He served as a justice in the newly formed Botetourt County and took the list of tithables for the James River,Craig‘s Creek, and the Greenbrier settlement. Christian was also promoted to major in theBotetourt County militia, obtained a license for an ordinary (or tavern) at his home in Botetourt County, and sold over 2,500 pounds of hemp that he had raised (Kegley and Kegley 1980:335; Summers 1929:65–66, 71, 84).:

Additionally in 1770, William Christian purchased 125 acres of land along the New River, at Dunkard‘s Bottom, from William Davis of Philadelphia. The land was part of the original 900- acre Mahanaim settlement which Samuel Eckerlin had sold to Garrett Zinn in 1753. Stephen Trigg, who resided in the area, was also a member of the militia and married William Christian‘s sister, Mary, possibly in 1768 or 1769 (Whitsitt 1888:87; Kegley and Kegley 1980:369). The influence of his brother-in-law may have played a part in luring Christian to the New River area.:

In 1771, Christian purchased the remainder of the original 900 acres from William Ingles and Stephen Trigg (Kegley and Kegley 1980:307). By the spring of 1773, Israel and Elizabeth Christian, William Christian‘s parents, had joined them at the Dunkard‘s Bottom home place, and since Israel Christian never purchased land along the New River, it is likely that they lived on their son‘s large estate (Letter from William Christian to Anne Fleming, February 15, 1773, in Hammon 2003; Kegley and Kegley 1980:337).:

By the mid-1770s, William Christian had his parents, his yet unmarried sister Rosanna, and his sister and brother-in-law, Stephen and Mary Trigg, living along the west bank of the New River, establishing a large family network in thearea. He also entered into a two year partnership with merchant James McCorkle to operate a store at New Dublin. As his family and connections in the area grew, Christian continued to increase his landholdings in the area, adding two tracts, 190 acres and 800 acres, in 1782 (Kegleyand Kegley 1980:310, 337).:

Both William and Anne were impressed by their new location. Mrs. Christian wrote to her sisterin-law, Anne Fleming, describing the Mahanaim property as ―full as agreeable as I expected,‖ and happily related that ―Mr. Christian is highly delighted‖ (Letter from Anne Christian to Anne Fleming, December 3, 1770, in Hammon 2003). The only drawback of the new property seemed to be its distance from her family and friends, which she mentioned made her ―a little melancholy‖ (Letter from Anne Christian to Anne Fleming, December 3, 1770, in Hammon 2003). Mrs. Christian was grateful to have familiar correspondence kept up by way of letter, and indicated that she had more leisure time at their new home place than she had had while living at the Stone House property at Roanoke (Letter from Anne Christian to Anne Fleming, January 21, 1771, in Hammon 2003).:

Many of the cabins that the Eckerlins had built remained on the land when the Christians bought it. These cabins provided the first houses for Christian and his growing family, and even an itinerant Baptist preacher for the community (Letter from Anne Christian to Anne Fleming, January 21, 1771, in Hammon 2003). A man of William Christian‘s stature, though, needed a more substantial dwelling. Christian hired workmen to begin work on his new house at least by January 1772, and likely earlier, possibly using some of the sturdy limestone chimneys built for the Dunkers (Figure 3). On June 12, Anne Christian lamented that ―our new house goes on but slowly (Letter from Anne Christian to Anne Fleming, June 12, 1772). Account information from the McCorkle store in New Dublin indicates Christian carried out more construction, possibly an addition to the home, during February and March 1775. During those months, William Christian purchased building supplies, including a large quantity of eight-penny nails, window hinges, both H and HL hinges (used to hang heavy doors), a lathing hammer, and a claw hammer (McCorkle 1797). The lathing hammer was a specialty tool used for cutting and nailing wooden lath, which was the underlayment for plaster walls in the eighteenth century. This, combined with the window hinges, indicate construction on a dwelling rather than a shed or farm building. Upon completion, the Christian house was a frame dwelling with a large living and dining space and a utility room with a meat trough (Figure 4). Facing the New River, the house was entered by a set of steps with a decorative railing (Kegley and Kegley 1980:338).:

William Christian was already a slave holder by the time he settled at Dunkard‘s Bottom, owning at least the seven slaves given to him as wedding present by his father. While living along the New River, the cabins remaining from the Eckerlins‘ settlement could have been used as housing for at least some of his slaves; these cabins would have provided ready shelter and saved William Christian the labor and materials of building new ones. By the end of the 1770s, slaves were a valuable commodity, with Christian writing to Stephen Trigg that ―they are risen here greatly since you went away and all buyers, no sellers‖ (Letter from William Christian to Stephen Trigg,December 5, 1778, in Kellogg 1916). Christian even advised his mother that slaves were the primary currency along the frontier, asking her to ―sell at Botetourt to get some good working Negroes and money to bring with you‖ (Letter from William Christian to Elizabeth Christian, August 17, 1785). And at times, even William Christian needed a larger labor force than he owned and had to resort to using a female slave with a sore shoulder, telling William Fleming that ―I am so driven for want of hands that I must make her work this winter as she is and endeavor to get her cured next summer‖ (Letter from William Christian to William Fleming, January 29, 1779, in Hammon 2003). By 1782, William Christian owned 33 slaves and his father owned four. Upon Israel Christian‘s death and inventory of his estate two years later, his wife inherited his slaves, now numbering five, all valued between £30 and £90 each. When William Christian died in 1786, he also left particular Negroes to his children, wife, and mother, affirming the personal property value of slaves (Kegley and Kegley 1980:339–341). The Mahanaim land was a farm venture for the Christians, with most of the family‘s food probably grown on the land or obtained through hunting. Letters between the Christians and their friends and relatives reveal that they grew various vegetables, including turnips, cabbage, colewort, cucumbers, and rhubarb; harvested and dried apples; and cultivated hemp (Hammon 2003). In addition, the Christians churned butter, made cheese, hunted deer, and raised beef cattle. They consumed some of the foodstuffs they produced within the household, but sold excess amounts to supplement their income and pay off store accounts. During 1774, William Christian and his father sold five casks of butter to James McCorkle. The following year, William sold McCorkle at least one deerskin, eight and three-quarters bushels of corn, four bushels of oats, and 1,031 pounds of hemp (McCorkle 1797). The Christians supplemented those products produced at home and on the farm with foods that were purchased at McCorkle‘s store, including coffee, rum, brown sugar, nutmeg, salt, and pepper. They also purchased chocolate on at least two occasions in 1775, indicating their high social status since chocolate was an expensive item during the eighteenth century, especially on the frontier.:

Farming in the 1770s, as today, is a difficult and often risky business. In 1771, Anne Christian wrote to her sister-in-law and stated, ―I am much obliged to you for the cheese and hope if I live till next summer to be able to send you some.‖ Two months later, William Christian could not travel because of the slow rate of work on his lands, lamenting that ―we have not even cleared two acres yet‖ (Hammon 2003). Hard work and hope did not always guarantee good harvests, and in 1772, Anne Christian reported that ―our crops are all very bad up here and people are replanting even now‖ (Letter from Anne Christian to Anne Fleming, June 12, 1772, in Hammon 2003). Three years later, she still needed to ask Anne Fleming to send her seed for multiple vegetables, as her own crop seeds were not successful. In 1779, both Anne and William Christian expressed major concerns about the weather. She remarked that ―the weather [is] so excessive that we can but just live and save ourselves from being starved,‖ while he mentioned that ―we had about ten days of the most dreadful weather…I expect the River will freeze over tonight. If this weather holds two months…the inhabitants will have no stock or corn‖ (Hammon 2003). Despite having been established in the area for nearly a decade, the Christians were still susceptible to the whims of nature and worried that even their vast lands could not produce enough to supply their needs.

Legacy

• Three U.S. states have named counties in Col. Christian's honor. They are: Illinois, Kentucky, and Missouri.

William Christian, the oldest child and only son of Israel Christian and Elizabeth Stark(e), was born near Staunton, Virginia, in the year 1743. He entered the military before he was of age and reached the status of Captain of the Second Virginia Regiment under Colonel William Byrd of Westover. William studied law under the famous Patrick Henry, and in 1765 married Patrick's sister, Anne Henry. They had six children: five daughters and one son. The oldest daughter, Priscilla, was born in 1766, and married Colonel Allexander Bullitt. Sara Winston Christian, their second child, was named after Anne Henry's mother, was the wife of Dr. Walter Warfield of Lexington, Kentucky. Elizabeth Bowyer Christian, the third child, married John Dickinson of Shelby County, Kentucky. Anne Henry Christian, the fourth child, married General John Pope. John Henry Christianbb, William and Anne's only son, was born in 1781, and died unmarried, November 5 1800, at the age of nineteen. Dorothea Fleming Christian, the youngest child, married a Baptist minister, Reverend Dr. James Fishback,. of Lexington, Kentucky.

From 1773 until 1775, William Christian represented Fincastle and Botetourt Counties in the lower house of the Virginia Legislature. He represented the same two counties in the Virginia Commission of Safety. By 1775, he was back in the military, serving as Commander and Colonel of the Virginia militia by the Virginia Council of Defense. He served with Patrick Henry's Regiment, as Lieutenant-Colonel, on an expedition against the Cherokee Indians. This campaign lasted three months; and no one was killed. William was one of three commanders of Virginia appointed to negotiate the Cherokee Treaty that was signed the 20th of July 1777. He received nine thousand acres of Kentucky land, by means of warrants, for his military service. It is suspected that William Christian had a premonition about his own death, as he made his last will and testament on the 13th of March 1786, and was killed by marauding Indians on April 9, 1786, in the Northwest territory near the location where Jefferson, Indiana, now stands. He was forty-three years old. A Kentucky county was named in his honour.

Sources

1. ↑ Find A Grave: Memorial #6942764, citing Bullitt Family Cemetery, Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky, USA; Maintained by Find A Grave.

• Wikipedia Profile for William Christian

• Thomas, Samuel W., OXMOOR The Bullitt Family Estate Near Louisville, Kentucky Since 1787. Butler Book Publishing, Louisville, KY. (Distributed by The Filson Historical Society) 2003. pg. 12-90, 198-199.

See also:

• Source: Biographical Summaries of Notable People; Confidence: Direct and primary evidence; Citation text:; William Christian; Gender: Male; Birth: 1743 - Staunton City; Death: Apr 9 1786; Residence: Kentucky;   Relatives: RelationNameBirth
• Source: Compilation of Published Sources; Confidence: Direct and primary evidence; Date: Oct 1 1908; Citation text:; Virginia Legislative Papers (Continued): The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol,16, 1908; Date: 1908; Place: Virginia, USA ; Publication date: Oct 1 1908; Publication place: Virginia, USA ; About this source:
  Title: Virginia Legislative Papers (Continued): The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol,16, 1908
  Volume: 16
  Publication date: 1908-10-01
  Publisher: The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography
  Tags: jstor_virghistbiog, jstor_ejc, additional_collections
  Contributor: JSTOR
• The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Volume 27; Edited by Philip Alexander Bruce, William Glover.
  • Page 164; Quote: (re Dan. & Stephen Trigg) The Trigg family first appears in Virginia in Middlesex County in the latter part of the Seventeenth Century. The register of Christ Church parish there shows that Daniel Trigg and Susan his wife had issue: Abraham, baptised May 4, 1684; Sarah baptised Dec. 26, 1686. There may have been other children. Thomas Kidd and Alice Trigg were married Sept. 18, 1690. A Daniel Trigg died Aug. 13, 1716. Whether he was the Daniel above, or his grandson could probably be ascertained by are examination of the Middlesex records. Abraham² Trigg (son of Daniel) married 1st Dec. 14, 1705, Elizabeth Guest, 2d, Judith Clarke on Jan. 11, 1710. Issue (1st M.) 3. Mary, baptised March 9, 1706; 4. Elizabeth, baptised May 29, 1790; (2d M.) 5. Susannah, baptised March 1, 1711; 6. Daniel³ baptised June 24, 1713; 7. William³, baptised May 18, 1716; 8. Abraham³, born April 14, 1719. About 1750 the family began its westward movement going to King and Queen and Spotsylvania. Daniel Trigg witnessed a deed in Spotsylvania in 1752, and on Oct. 1, 1759 bought 500 acres in the same county £80. Daniel, William and Mary Trigg were witnesses to a deed in Spotsylvania 1764. Daniel Trigg died intestate and on March 6, 1769, Mary Trigg, his widow, qualified as his administrator. And on Sept. 4, she qualified as guardian of William, Nancy, and James Trigg, infant orphans of Daniel Trigg. The will of John Trigg was dated Feb. 17, 1776 and proved in Spotsylvania May 21, 1778. His legatees were his sister Ann Carter and his brother Thomas Trigg. He states that his brother William Trigg, who was then his father's administrator had not given him his part of the estate. There is in Spotsylvania a deed in regard to certain slaves between William Trigg of Spotsylvania, of the 1st part; James Trigg of King and Queen of the second part, and Mary Trigg, widow, of Spotsylvania guardian of Thomas Trigg, of the 3d part: These were probably the widow and some of the children of Daniel.
  • Page 165 and repeated on 325; Quote: Among later generations have been: Connally F. Trigg, born at Abingdon, March 8, 1810, who removed to Tennessee in 1858, and who, on July 2, 1862, was appointed U. S. Circuit and District Judge for Tenn., and died near Bristol April 25, 1880. Connally F. Trigg born at Abingdon, Sept. 18, 1841, M. C., 1885–1887, and Daniel Trigg (son of Dr. Daniel Trigg and his wife Ann Mumford, daughter of Dr. Alexander Tompkins) who entered the Naval Academy, resigned in 1861, and entered the U. S. Navy, where he rose to the rank of Lieutenant. He was a member of the House of Delegates from Washington County, 1882. This account of the family from Southwestern Virginia was gather from rather vague information and there may be errors.
  • Page 324; Quote: Trigg of Spotsylvania. William Trigg was administrator of James Trigg 1786. In the will of Clement Montague, of Spotsylvania, he makes bequests to his daughter Elizabeth, wife of Jonathan Carpenter, and to the children she had by her former husband James Trigg, except her son William Trigg. William Trigg and his wife Ann, of Spotsylvania, made deeds in 1777 and July 2, 1786. They were living in that County in 1799. Daniel Trigg and Sall Abbott were married in Spotsylvania Nov. 15, 1799. There is not sufficient documentary evidence at hand to show whether the Triggs of Southwestern Virginia removed directly from Middlesex, from Spotsylvania or from King and Queen. Several traditional accounts are vague, and in some respects incorrect. One account states that Abraham Trigg came from Cornwell to Spotsylvania County, Va. (a county which did not then exist) in 1700. This was evidently intended for Abraham² above. He is stated to have had a son Abraham, who married Susan Johns (??? Johns-2608 ???) and to have had a son William Trigg of Botetourt and Bedford, who married Mary Johns. Another account gives the same two generations, Abraham and his son William. The will of William Trigg was dated Sept. 15, 1772, and proved in Bedford Feb. 22, 1773. His legatees were his wife Mary, and children Abraham, Stephen, John, William, Daniel, Mary, Lackey and Sarah. William and Mary Trigg had issue: 1. Abraham, commanded a company of Militia which fought at the battle of "The Shallow Ford of Yadkin" in 1780; M. C. 1797–1809; 2. Stephen, Justice of Botetourt 1770, of Fincastle, 1772; Burgess for Fincastle at session of June 1775, and of Convention of July 1775. He commanded a company in Dunmore's War, removed in 1779 to Kentucky Co., which he represented in the Legislature 1780, and was killed at the battle of Blue Lick, Aug. 19, 1782. He married Mary, daughter of Col. William Christian. 3. John, Captain in Bedford Militia during the Revolution, and M. C. May 1797–May 17, 1804, when he died; 4. William, commissioned Lt. Col. Bedford Militia, Dec. 28, 1778; married Sarah _______, and had seven children; 5. Daniel, born Aug. 14, 1749, appointed Captain Montgomery Co. Militia April 2, 1777, married 1st Ann Smith (?). 2d Lucy Booker.