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This person is an ancestor of President James Knox Polk 11th US President
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This person is an ancestor of President James Knox Polk[1]
Thomas Gillespie was born in 1719[2]
The birth place of Thomas Gillespie is not certain. It has been suggested that he was born in either Cecil County, Maryland, or Chester County, Pennsylvania[3] because many of the settlers of Rowan County came from that area to North Carolina. According to a great grandson of Thomas and Naomi named George C. Duffee said, [4] "My grandfather, John Gillespie, was the son of Thomas Gillespie and Naomi Thompson...my great grandfather, Thomas Gillespie, came from North Ireland; and was an Elder in the Presbyterian Church. Naomi Thompson, my great grandmother came from Pennsylvania."
The only clue to Thomas Gillespie's father is from the same article by George C. Duffee and he "heard that the father of Thomas was David." John W. D. Wright leaned toward a Robert Gillespie as his father. However, there is no proof of that. Thomas Gillespie was not the son of the Rev. George Gillespie, pastor of Head of Christiana Church in Delaware. He had only two sons and neither was Thomas.[5]
Probably Thomas Gillespie came from the area around Cecil County, Maryland or Chester County, Pennsylvania, as many of the Rowan County settlers were from that area. Then he migrated into the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia and was in the Augusta County, Virginia area for a few years. A Thomas Gillespie presented a James for baptism on 18 March 1744, at the Timkling Springs Presbyterian Church in Augusta, County, Virginia which is prior to the marriage of Thomas and Naomi. This assumes that Thomas was the father of the James who was baptized, which is doubtful. There was a William presented for baptism on 18 October 1747 by a Thomas but his name does not appear in Thomas Gillespie's will and from information in the "Carolina Cradle" by Robert W. Ramsey, page 41, it is explained that this William was an orphan of William Humphrey, deceased. Thomas would have removed William from the Colony but was ordered by the court to deliver said orphan to the church wardens. (Records of Augusta County, 1, 31.) Note, it is believed that these people who were baptized were in the family of Thomas and Eleanor Gillespie who were also in Augusta County at the same time.[6]
Thomas and Naomi Gillespie migrated into Rowan County North Caroina. They were the first white family west of the Yadkin River. The Gillespie farm was on Sills Creek.[7]
There was a Robert Gillespie in Rowan County who may have been related to Thomas. There was a John Gillespie, cooper, also in Rowan, who may have been a cousin. There was also a Samuel H. Gillespie who was buried in Thyatira Cemetery as was Thomas and Naomi Gillespie. There was a Matthew Gillespie in Rowan County in early 1750s and 1760s whose identity is unknown. A Joseph Gillespie was in the area at the the same time. Sorting these six men out has proved unsuccessful thus far.[8]
In the Land Office Patents and Grants, Virginia, card 59, a record was found which showed that Thomas Glassbey (sic Gillespie) on 1st of December 1740, Augusta County received 400 acres on a draft of the north river of Shanando called the Long Glade. Patent No. 19, 1739-41, p. 902. From a typed copy of the original document we learn that he paid forty shillings of good and lawful money for this land. The land was bounded on the west by Long Glade and on the east by Naked Creek. This is in the northern part of Augusta County. This is the first legal document on him and places him in Augusta by December 1740.[9]
Thomas and Naomi Gillespie migrated into Rowan County North Carolina. They were the first white family west of the Yadkin River. The Gillespie farm was on Sills Creek. Thomas Gillespie served in the Revolutionary War. He would have been in his late fifties then. He was appointed Sessor in Capt. William Armstrong's Company in 1777. He served as a Commissary in the war under General Rutherford and received quite a lot of bounty land after the war for his service in what is now Tennessee. According to one source, he bought up other bounty land in the same areas. Naomi and Thomas Gillespie had ten children. Most of his sons are listed as serving in the Revolutionary War. Five of Thomas' sons received part of his land in his will, however some of his sons had also received bounty land as reward for their own service in the war.[11]
Thomas married Naomi Thompson on Jan 1, 1745 in Augusta, Colony of Virginia.[12]
A marriage date of 1 January 1745, for Thomas Gillespie and Naomi Thompson, has been cited in two references but no proof has been found to substantiate this. 1) Information from Jimmie Moore, Tennessee which may have been from David W. Morgan, Cedar Park, Texas. (Note: David doesn't know Jimmie Moore) "Thomas was born 1719 in either Cecil Co., Maryland or Chester Co., PA, and married Naomi Thompson 1-1-1745 in the "Valley of Virginia" with the ceremony performed by Rev. John Craig." (Note: Rev. Craig was pastor of the Tinkling Spring Presbyterian Church in Augusta County, Virginia from 1740-1764, as found in "The Tinkling Spring; Headwater of Freedom" by Howard McKnight Wilson, Th.D.) (Note: The marriage date of 1-1-1745 came from an addenda that Dr. L. A. Absher sent out with his book, "Some Early Settlers of Upper Sumner County, Tennessee," who stated that the information came from "Mrs. Louise Gillespie Lynch of Franklin, Tennessee." I note that Louise Lynch is listed as the archivist of Williamson County on the Williamson County GenWeb site. (Anybody want to contact her? David W. Morgan) 2) Information from "Lentz and Gillespie Families in Rowan County, North Carolina 1749-1818" by Gilbert G. Lentz, 1994, page 5, says: "Thomas Gillespie, 1727-1796 (sic. birth year was 1719), married Naomi Thompson, January 1, 1745." Source not cited. At the time they died they had been married 51 years which figures out to be 1745.[13]
A source has been found for militia service for Thomas Gillespie: "Chronicles of the Scotch-Irish Settlement in Virginia," Volume II by Lyman Chalkley. From the Preston Papers held by the State Historical Society of Wisconsin, copies of Musters of Augusta County, begin on page 507. On page 508, Captain John Smith's List: reports Thomas Gillespie. The date of the service was 1742. One Gillespie descendant said Thomas got a land grant in Anson County, NC in 1751 for this service. (This land grant has not been proven.) A copy of the handwritten muster roll (a list) was obtained from the above mentioned Historical Society.[14]
Thomas served as a Commissary in the Rowan County Regiment during the Revolutionary War under General Griffith Rutherford and received quite a lot of bounty land for his service in what is now Tennessee. According to one source, he bought up other bounty land in the same areas. Five of his sons received part of this land in his will. Each son's history will have what he received in the way of land. Son, George had his own land grant for his service in the War.[15]
Thomas Gillespie made his will on 15 November 1796 (just one month before his death) in Rowan County, North Carolina. It is recorded in Will Book G, pages 2, 3 and 4. In it he names his children and disposes of his property. Witnessed by Thomas Irvin and Philip Palmer.[16]
The following children, along with his wife, Naomi, are listed in Thomas's Will. The dates in parenthesis and spouses are from other research. There were six boys and four girls. Only the oldest, James Gillespie is believed to be born in Augusta County, Virginia and the others were born in Rowan County, North Carolina. James died before his father, so his inheritance went to James's oldest son Thomas. His children are listed below in order of their birth.[17]:
Thomas and Robert are given as executors of his Will. There are also several Negro slaves mentioned in the Will.
Thomas Gillespie died on Dec 13, 1796 in Rowan County, North Carolina and is buried with his wife Naomi in the Thyatira Presbyterian Church Cemetery in Mill Bridge, Rowan County, North Carolina. On the tombstone is carved the date Dec 12th, 1796. The ages would imply that Thomas was born in 1719 and Naomi in 1727.[18]
The Will and tombstone photo are attached to this profile to help with research. There are no sources to show that Bowen-3888 was a spouse of Thomas.
Please do not add parents to this profile without primary sources
There are several descendants of Thomas Gillespie that have tested for DNA in his son George and Issac's families. See rows 71-77 of FTDNA Gillespie yDNA Test Results.[20]
These Thomas Gillespies are easily conflated:
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Thomas is 24 degrees from Herbert Adair, 20 degrees from Richard Adams, 18 degrees from Mel Blanc, 23 degrees from Dick Bruna, 17 degrees from Bunny DeBarge, 31 degrees from Peter Dinklage, 19 degrees from Sam Edwards, 17 degrees from Ginnifer Goodwin, 19 degrees from Marty Krofft, 15 degrees from Junius Matthews, 15 degrees from Rachel Mellon and 20 degrees from Harold Warstler on our single family tree. Login to find your connection.
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Categories: US President Direct Ancestor | Thyatira Presbyterian Church Cemetery, Salisbury, North Carolina | Rowan County, North Carolina, Slave Owners | Gillespie Name Study | Rowan County Regiment, North Carolina Militia, American Revolution | Rowan County, North Carolina, Early Settlers