John Finley (1748 - 1837)

Born 7 Jul 1748 in Cumberland, Pennsylvania

Ancestors

Husband of Hannah (Duncan) Finley — married 1790 in Fort Pitt, Pennsylvania

Descendants

Died 10 Apr 1837 at age 88 in Upper Blue Licks, Nicholas, Kentucky, United States

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John Finley was part of a Southern Pioneer Family. Join: Southern Pioneers Project Discuss: southern_pioneers

Biography

• John was born in 1748. He died in 1837 at the age of 88.

• John was a commissioned a Major in 1773 for notable service in the Revolutionary War. More on his Findagrave page. Link below. Revolutionary War Pension S31025

• Parents: John Finley 1713 - 1757 and Martha (Berkley) Finley 1720 - 1762. They were married in 1734 in Warwick, Bucks, Pennsylvania. John Findagrave #69073158. He served in the American Revolution. He was killed by Indians. https://www.familysearch.org/library/books/viewer/256274/?offset=0#page=1&viewer=picture&o=&n=0&q=

• Spouse: Hannah (Duncan) Finley 1768 - 1840. They were married in 1790 at Fort Pitt in Pittsburgh, Allegheny, Pennsylvania. Findagrave #85539439

• Children:

1. Margaret Duncan (Finley) Belt 1791 - 1823

• Married Fielding Belt 1782 - 1869
• Findagrave #69134033

2. Martha (Finley) Peebles 1792 - 1871

• Married John Peebles 1794 - 1871
• Findagrave #152389186

3. David Duncan Finley 1796 - 1871

• Married Elizabeth Gibson abt. 1796 - 1870

4. Samuel Berkley Finley 1800 - 1842

• Married Mary Purdum 1803 - 1860
• Findagrave #88178519

5. Elizabeth Betsey Ann (Finley) Faris 1805 - 1881

• Married Joseph Bett Faris 1805 -

6. Hannah Sarah (Finley) Dillon 1807 - 1860

• Married Abia Dillon 1813 - 1872
• Findagrave #15305441

7. Maria Jane (Finley) Tilton, McCabe 1810 - 1874

• Married Dr. Robert Dorsey Tilton 1801 - 1833
• Married David McCabe 1802 - 1887
• Findagrave #13929056

• John explored Kentucky as part of the Thompson expedition in 1773.

• John Finley was a Major by Brevat in the Regiment commanded by Colonel Stewart of the Pennsylvania line in the Revolutionary War. He was awarded a pension of $20 per month beginning 10/7/1819 & ending 4/10/1837.

• Thompson Expedition. The Thompson expedition was a 1773 survey of lands in Virginia (now Kentucky) near the Ohio River by Pennsylvania militia officers who had served in the French and Indian War. The intent was to locate lands promised them for their military service in the war. Designating Capt. William Thompson as their leader, the expedition of over sixty men departed Pittsburgh in either late June or early July. They traveled down the Ohio River by flatboat to the mouth of the Scioto River, where they camped on the Kentucky side and waited for the arrival of their horses and of Thomas Bullitt, an official Virginia surveyor (Thompson's party was not legally authorized to make surveys). By July 10 Thompson learned that Bullitt had left on his way downriver and would not be meeting them. A few days later he learned that the expedition's horses had been stolen by Indians.

• Hoping they could later convince the Virginia authorities to accept their claims, the expedition continued down the Ohio in canoes to Cabin Creek, where Thompson divided the group into three parties. They surveyed the North Fork of the Licking River, Salt Lick Creek, and Upper Blue Licks. Fear of Indian attack prevented them from reaching the Kentucky River area. They surveyed approximately 200,000 acres and divided the land into claims. The entire expedition reassembled at Cabin Creek and departed for Pennsylvania, where a lottery was held to dispense the claims in August or September of 1773.

• The expedition however, had no authority to make the surveys. Thompson had applied for a surveyor's license When he realized that Bullitt would not be joining them, but it was not validated until May 1774. Through their agent, Dr. John Morgan, the expedition formally applied in 1774 for permission to make land claims in Virginia. The application was approved and land warrants were issued by Lord Dunmore, Governor of Virginia, but the claims made in 1773 were not validated. The Revolutionary War ended the matter until 1783. Two further attempts were made at validation, in 1783 and 1807, but both were denied. None of the expedition's members received title to Kentucky land on the basis of the Thompson surveys, but the publicity they received attracted settlers to the Kentucky area.

• See R.S. Cotterill, The Thompson Expedition of 1773. FCHQ 20. July 1946: 179 - 84.

• Contrary to the statement just quoted, the United States Supreme Court in 1815 upheld a land title at the Upper Blue Lick based upon one of the "Thompson" surveys in an opinion by Chief Justice Marshall in the case of Finley v. Williams and Others. 3 L.Ed. 162. This was a case involving John Finley, brother of my ancestor, Michael Finley.

• Finley was represented by John Pope. The appellees (the losing parties) were represented by Henry Clay. His biography from The Kentucky Encyclopedia: Finley, John. John Finley, pioneer and legislator, was born in Shippensburg, Pennsylvania, on 7/7/1748 to John and Martha (Berkley) Finley.

• During his early years, Finley was involved in the cattle trade with the French in the Great Lakes region. In July 1773, Finley joined an expedition, led by Capt. William Thompson, that floated down the Ohio River from Fort Pitt to Kentucky. Thompson led a group to the mouth of Cabin Creek, where they began surveying, while Finley joined a smaller group that traveled farther south to explore the Licking River at the Upper Blue Licks. The group spent a week clearing almost an acre of land to build a log cabin. They made only one survey, which covered about 1,440 acres, during which they discovered the Blue Lick Springs, farther south, that became the Lower Blue Licks. Hostile Indians forced Finley to rejoin Thompson and the main group at Cabin Creek in early August. When they left Kentucky, the expedition had marked lines along Cabin Creek, Salt Lick Creek, Johnson Creek, and the North Fork of the Licking River. All of the tracts of land adjoined, except for Finley's Upper Blue Licks survey, covering an area of about twenty square miles. Virginia had refused to recognize the Thompson surveys since the expedition had not been commissioned by the colony. In 1779, however, the Virginia Land Act gave a preemption of 1,000 acres to any Virginian who had made a land improvement in Kentucky prior to 1/1/1778, which made Finley eligible for most of the land he had surveyed in the Upper Blue Licks. His military service had prevented him from filing his claim, but in 1789 he joined the expedition of Col. James Garrard and marked his land in Fleming and Nicholas counties. For several years the danger of Indian attacks prevented him from moving and not until 1796 was he able to settle along the banks of the Licking River with his family. His land was crossed by both the Warriors' Path to Cabin Creek and the main Washington Road and he was appointed overseer of the main road in 1798. Finley was perhaps Fleming County's most prominent citizen, serving as State Legislator from that county during 1800 - 1804 and as Justice of the Peace during 1801 - 1805. Indicating some dissatisfaction with his home, Finley in 1802 began leasing twenty-five acres of his land, his ferry on the Licking, and his salt works. In 1809 be built a tavern for people traveling down the river. That same year, relatives of John Durham (who had surveyed land in the same area) contested Finley's land, claiming it overlapped land that was rightfully theirs. Despite appeals, Finley lost between 250 and 300 acres of land in 1820, including the Washington Road and his new home. A son-in-law in 1828 bought back the land and sold it to Finley in 1836.

Sources

• Pioneer of Fleming County, Kentucky. Register of Kentucky Historical Society, Volume 42, #139. Pages 91 - 98. April 1944.

• The Kentucky Encyclopedia. Edited by John E. Kleber. University Press of Kentucky, 1992. Page 319: https://books.google.com/books?id=CcceBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA882&lpg=PA882&dq=THOMPSON%27s+kentucky+EXPEDITION&source=bl&ots=9l6XtEUzCR&sig=TUmOLjlmn4I7PKTjUOToEzujJ6c&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi7xtzw_vXOAhUHzIMKHUu9AFYQ6AEIIzAB#v=onepage&q=john%20finley&f=false

• R.S. Cotterill, "John Finley. Pioneer of Fleming County," Register 42 (April 1944): 91-98.

• Proven to be the right John Finley. He was a sworn signatory of Robert Campbell's pension application.

• John Berkley Finley Information, parents, spouse, children with dates. (Uploaded gedcom): http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=fredrose27&id=I4107

• John Finley: https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/LCWY-GTS Lists his parents, siblings, spouse, children, 27 sources, notes

• John is buried at the Battle Run Cemetery in Fleming County, Kentucky, USA. His page has a bio. about his life. It also lists and has links to his spouse, 3 children. Please link others if you find them. The cemetery is the family cemetery and near his first home on the Licking River. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/85290996/john-finley#add-to-vc

• United States Revolutionary War Pension Payment Ledgers, 1818 - 1872. John Finley. Military Service, 3/4/1831 in Kentucky. Death date: 4/10/1837.

• John Finley: http://trees.ancestry.com/pt/AMTCitationRedir.aspx?tid=19184945&pid=767432161 ***3/2/22 Bad Link.