Thomas Linville Sr. (abt. 1703 - abt. 1761)

Born about 1703 in Chichester Township, Delaware

Ancestors

Husband of Hannah (Morgan) Linville — married 1729 in St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Chester, Pennsylvania

Descendants

Died about 1761 at about age 58 in Belews Creek, North Carolina

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Biography

The land that later became the American state of Delaware changed hands many times. William Penn was given the deed to what was then called "the Lower Counties on the Delaware" by the Duke of York, in a deed separate from that which he held for the larger Province of Pennsylvania. Delaware was then governed as part of Pennsylvania from 1682 until 1701, when the Lower Counties petitioned for and were granted an independent colonial legislature, though the two colonies shared the same governor until 1776, when Delaware's assembly voted to break all ties with both Great Britain and Pennsylvania. ^[1]

His parents were Ann (Hendricks) and John Linville b: 1677. ^{[2] [3] [4]}

Thomas LINVILLE was born about 1703 where his father owned land in either Chichester Twp, Delaware or Chichester Twp, Chester County, Pennsylvania,

From 1704 to 1715 he lived in his father John's household in Chester Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania,

His father moved the family to Conestoga Creek where John Linville was on the 1715 to 1732 tax roll of Conestoga, Chester County, Pennsylvania.

The 1724 tax list of Conestoga included his father John Linville and the first appearance of Thomas Linville as a Freeman (@21 years old, unmarried). He appears again as a Freeman on the 1725 Conestoga tax list, but his marital status was not mentioned.

On the last Chester County tax list in 1727, before the county was split to create Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, Thomas Linville still appeared as a Freeman.

He seems likely to have moved across the Susquehanna sometime in the 1720s with his uncle John Grist (husband of Martha Baldwin) and John Hendricks (son of James). Maryland and Pennsylvania had continual disputes about the dividing line, but settlement across the Susquehanna was considered Shawnee land and according to agreements between Penn's government and the tribe, no official land dealings were to occur. This was resolved by the late 1720s when Samuel Blunston was given authority to issue licenses for land.

Between 1727 and 1733 he lived at Codorus Creek in Baltimore County, Pennsylvania, after which he sold his 600 acres and "improvement" on the west side of the Codorus to Hans Kaighe.

On 6 Feb 1728/29 Thomas LINVILLE signed a petition for the creation of Lancaster County,

Thomas LINVILLE first married about 1730 ^[5] at St.Paul's Episcopal Church in Chester County, Pennsylvania to Hannah MORGAN and their children included ...

1. Richard Linville, Sr. b: (1728 or 1740 ?) d: 1821 m: Mary ???
2. Andrew Linville b: 1730
3. Thomas Linville, II b: 1732 d: 1818 m: Catherine Vanderpool
4. William Linville b: 1735 d: 20 Mar 1754
5. David Linville b: 1738 d: 1786 d: 24 Jan 1787 m: Mary ???
6. Aaron Linville b: 1750 d: Sep 1824 m: Charity Hutchins
7. Moses Linville, Sr. b: 1752 d: 1826

Thomas LINVILLE married secondly about 1754 in Pennsylvania to Hannah SCARLET and their children included ...

1. Lucretia Linville b: 1758 m: John Brinegar
2. Rebeckah Linville b: 1765.

He was summoned to appear in court on a suit brought by George Middleton on 3 Nov 1730 at Conestoga, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. However, the entry is marked N.E.J. which means that he did not appear because he was no longer in the jurisdiction. Indeed, Thomas was living across the Susquehanna.

On 21 Oct 1731 Robert McKay and Jost Hite secured 100,000 acres from the Governor and Council of Virginia. The terms of the agreement required them to settle 1,000 families on their land within two years. The period for required settlement was extended to 1737 when McKay and Hite were found to have met the agreement. Although no list of the 1000 families exists, it seems that three of them were Linvilles - Thomas, William and John (Jr.) - by virtue of their appearance on the court records which covered the area and by deduction, since by 29 May 1739 some of McKay and Hite land was on "Linwell's Creek".

On 6 Feb 1732/3 Thomas Perrin bought a suit against Thomas Linville in Lancaster Court of Common Pleas, but the case was discontinued by Perrin. John Hendricks apparently paid 20 pounds as part of this case. It may be the source of a debt Thomas Linville owned Hendricks which appears in Hendricks estate accounting in York County, Pennsylvania. This was the appearance for the name of Thomas LINVILLE. which likely marks his move down the Shenandoah Valley to the area which took the family name - Linville Creek, Virginia.

Thomas Linville was no longer living across the Shenandoah on the west side of Codorus Creek (now Adams County, Pennsylvania) on 4 March 1734/35 when Samuel Blunston licensed the Linville acres and improvements to Hans Kaighe.

Thomas and Hannah moved to the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia for a time. Between 1738 and 1746 he lived at Linville Creek, Linville, Augusta County, Virginia.

On 26 October 1738 Thomas appeared in Orange County, Virginia court to receive payment of 140 pounds tobacco for 3 wolf heads, certified by Morgan Morgan and Henry Wiillis. it suggests that Thomas may still have been in the northern part of the Shenandoah Valley at this time.

On 22 March 1743 at Linville Creek, Orange County, Virginia, Thomas Linville took the oath as Cornet (one who carries the colors of the Company) in his brother William's militia troop.

On 23 March 1742/43 Thomas Linville agreed to rent a mill from Jost Hite, presumably at Linville Creek, Orange (later Augusta) County, Virginia. Thomas Linville told Robert Patterson that he had paid to Wiliam Wright a certain sum of money which was due to said Wright's father. William Wright had an order from Patterson dated 10 Dec 1744 to collect the money.

On 29 March 1745 James Pendleton and Philip Clayton, both justices of Orange County, Virginia appeared in court claiming that Thomas Linville owed them a debt. The case was discontinued when the parties agreed. In the record, Linville refers to himself as "Thomas Linvell, otherwise called Thomas Linvell above the ridge".

On 26 Feb 1746 Thomas Linville sold three cows and a set of smithing tools to Morgan Bryan for 16 pounds, in order to secure a Trust owed to Capt. Robert Green & Co. (surveying partner to McKay, Hite and others).

His wife Hannah was mentioned only once in any records found to date - the 1746 sale of their land in Virginia. ^[6] There is some evidence to suggest that she may have been the daughter of David Jones. The evidence comes the fact that their second son was named David and ,,,

1) from the sale of animals with a DJ mark at the time that Thomas Linville likely died;

2) the fact that David Jones's wife was named Hannah; and

3) the presence of David Jones as near neighbor of the Linvilles at Conestoga.

However, there are many David Jones and sufficient research on them has not been done to either rule one of them in or out.

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When Augusta County, Virginia was created from Orange County, the land on Linville Creek fell under the jurisdiction of the new county.

On 12 May 1746 at Augusta County, Virginia, Jost Hite declared in open court that Thomas Linville owed him money. Presumably this was related to the rental of the mill beginning in 1742/3.

On 23 May 1746 Thomas Linville appeared in Orange County, Virginia court for a suit against his brother William. The suit was later settled.

On 18 June 1746 Thomas and his brother William Linville and Morgan Bryan made a bond of debt with McKay, Hite, Green and Company. As executor of another partner, William Duff, they brought a suit against the 3 men. However, when the writ of 24 August 1747 was presented, neither William or Thomas Linville were found in the district.

A note dated June 1746 stated that Thomas Linville could not be found in the bailiwick. ^[7] This seems related to the fact that the court was no longer Orange County, but then in Augusta County.

Between 5 Aug 1746 and 14 Nov 1746, William Linville first legally acquired the 1500 acres he had been living on for over ten years and then sold his brother Thomas Linville, his 500 acre share. Thomas and his wife Hannah then sold their share to Jacob Christman. The other two 500 acre lots William sold to George Bowman and Joseph Bryan. Along with other evidence, these land records document the relationships between the Bowmans, Christmans, Linvilles and Bryans. (See discussion under Thomas's siblings).

On 6 March 1746/47 in Augusta County, Virginia, Valentine Sevier brought an attachment against Thomas Linville. He was fined for not appearing in that court on 19 June 1747.

On 14 Nov 1747 Thomas Linville and his wife Hannah, sold their 500 acres on Linville Creek. This marks their last appearance in Virginia before Thomas appeared in the North Carolina records.

About 1747 Thomas and Hannah apparently left Virginia and settled at Belews Creek,Dan River, Granville County (later Rowan, Surry, Stokes and Forsyth Counties), North Carolina. They lived there until 1761 where some of his children became prominent landowners, while others moved on to Tennessee and Missouri.

The 1751 tax list for Dan River, Granville County, North Carolina included Thomas Linville.

On 21 April 1752 Thomas Linville, Jr. acquired a Land Grant from Lord Granville as part of the distribution of western North Carolina land and a warrant was issued for a land survey of 200 acres which fell on both sides of Great Meadow, Middle Fork of Belews Creek and both sides of Cane Break with Willian Linvall and William Barclay as chain carriers.

On 16 May 1753 the survey was made and the chain carriers were his brother William Linville and Thomas Linville, Sr., who had land nearby at Middle Fork, Belews Creek, Stokes County, North Carolina.

This is the land that Thomas's family held until moving to western North Carolina in the 1770s. No deeds for the sale of his or his father's grant seem to have been recorded. And, therefore, no evidence of a wife is found in deed records.

There is also a possibility that despite being fully established in Belews Creek, North Carolina during the 1750s, parts of the family moved up and down the Great Wagon Road to Virginia through the decade. Present-day Franklin County Virginia historical map lists "Linville Brothers" along the Carolina Road near "Lynville Creek", "Linville Ford" and "Lynville Mountain" near today's Hardy County, Virginia. County deeds and tax records have yet to reveal exactly which Linville brothers this could be, but is seems most likely to be Thomas Sr.'s oldest two sons - Thomas Jr. and his brother William who were in the 1751 tax record.

On 7 March 1754 Thomas Linville, Jr. acquired the Lord Granville Land Grant.

A survey was made of 500 acres on Mayo Road on the south side of Fishers or Pinery Mountain with David Linvill and William Linvill as chain carriers.

On 20 March 1754 at Belews Creek, Rowan County, North Carolina. William and Thomas Linville were sworn chain carriers for Egbert Haywood for land on both sides of Belews Creek, joining the Linville line.

Thomas Linville may still have held some land on Linville Creek in Virginia in June 1755 when his sister and brother-in-law, Alice and Joseph Bryan, sold the 500 acres that William Linville had sold them in August 1747 and pulled up stakes to move to North Carolina. Their deed of sale indicates the land is abutted by land "in possession of Thomas Linvil". However, this may simply be a reiteration of the original deed which used the same language in 1747.

Thomas Linville, Sr. last appears on the 1759 tax list for Rowan County, North Carolina, but not on the next tax list (1768). No Rowan County records are extant that indicate a division of property or an estate. However, a clue to his date of death may be in that fact that on 20 Jan 1761 his brother William Linville sold several animals marked TL and sundry household goods to their sister Alyee's husband, Joseph Bryan. It seems highly possible this was a sale of Thomas' estate to raise money to care for his younger children.

Thomas Linville, Sr. died about 1761 at Belew Creek in Surry County, North Carolina.

Sources

1. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delaware_Colony
2. ↑ Alice Eichholz, Linville family genealogist
3. ↑ Linville Family - Ancestry and DNA page
4. ↑ http://sherry.server-hosts.com/genealogy/getperson.php?personIDI10981&treeRoots
5. ↑ http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/p/a/r/Karen-T-Parish/WEBSITE-0001/UHP-0172.html
6. ↑ 1747 Augusta County, Virginia Land Deeds.
7. ↑ 1747/June Packet of court judgements regarding the case involving the 2 justices.

See also:

• FamilySearch Person: LYQP-X5J

• Linville Family Genealogy Database

• U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900

NameThomas LinvilleGenderMaleBirth PlacePABirth Year1706Spouse NameHannahMarriage Year1729Marriage StatePANumber Pages1

Acknowledgements

• WikiTree profile Linville-17 was created by Katherine (Alvis) Patterson through the import of Shortened files.ged on 30 Dec 2010.

• WikiTree profile Linville-49 was created by Amy Ellington through the import of Amy Mason family tree.ged on 11 Aug 2011.

• WikiTree profile Linville-118 was created by Marie Mills on 19 Dec 2011,

• WikiTree profile was created by Michael Sheffield through the import of Thomas Sheffield Descendants.ged on 21 Dec 2011.