John Sutherland Sr (1752 - 1836)

Born 19 Jul 1752 in Virginia

Ancestors

Descendants

Died 7 Sep 1836 at age 84 in Tuscumbia, Colbert, Alabama, United States

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Biography

Captain John Sutherland Sr performed Patriotic Service in Virginia in the American Revolution.

John Sutherland Sr is a DAR Patriot Ancestor, A212082.

John Sutherland Sr is a member of Clan Sutherland.

John was born 19 Jul 1752 in Virginia. He was the son of George Sutherlin and Mary DePriest .

All the information^[1] concerning the Sutherland family was taken from the family records in the Bibles of John Sutherland and George Sutherland now in the Archives of the University of Texas Library at Austin, Texas^[2].

He took the oath of allegiance before John Wilson on 18 Oct 1777 during the Rev. War with his father and brother, George.

He furnished beef for the Continental Army.

Claim number 3827 , page 555, received pay through C. Dixon. North Carolina Soldiers of the Rev. by the D. A. R.

Agnes & John moved to Knox Co., Tenn. about 1804. John, active in the in the establishment of the Methodist Church, being one of the original trustees of White's Chapel...the 1st Meth. Church in Knox Co. They lived in Tennessee until 1822. In 1823 he moved to Alabama to join several children already living there.

Clayton Torrence, in his book "Winstons and Allied Families" ^[3]says in his chapter on the Southerland family, "Total destruction of the Records of New Kent and King and Queen Counties and the fragmentary condition of the records of King William County prevent definite tracing of Sutherlands prior to 1701."

Central and Eastern Virginia counties have been the hotly contested battleground of two wars, and many of the counties lost their records during the War between the States. Among those were the three counties named above.

John Sutherland, first named son in the will of George Sutherland III was the ancestor of the Texas branch of the Sutherland Family . When John's father, George Sutherlin, III died, he broke the customary laws of primogenitor and left most of his estate to his favorite, but younger, son George IV. Eldest son Capt. John Sutherlin was so angry he moved his family from Virginia to Tennessee and changed the spelling of their name to Sutherland. There he operated a ferry across the Clinch River. John and two of his sons, George "Cinco" Sutherland and Dr. John Sutherland, moved to Tascumbia, Alabama by the 1820s. John, Jr. practiced medicine and engaged in business ventures with George. After some business setbacks in 1829, George moved his family to the Stephen Austin Colony in Texas where they settled along the Navidad River in present-day Jackson County.

Before moving to Texas, George had been active in civic affairs serving in both the Tennessee and Alabama legislatures. Once he arrived in Texas he continued his involvement by being a delegate to the Texas Conventions of 1832 and 1834, leading a company in the storming of Bexar in 1835 and later becoming a member of the Republic of Texas legislature. His son William DePriest Sutherland was following in his footsteps with patriotic participation when he volunteered for the Texian Army. Stationed at the Alamo garrison, young William became a Defender.

Dr. John Sutherland remained in Alabama for several years, but came west in December of 1835 with a view to settling in Texas also. He and others were headed toward San Antonio when General Sam Houston advised them against traveling east of the Guadalupe River because of the dangerous situation there. They continued on, arriving in San Antonio January 18, 1836. Upon his arrival, he was asked to stay and become the Doctor for the Alamo garrison.

All marriage, birth, and death information was taken from the family records in the Bibles of John and George Sutherland, now in the Archives of the University of Texas Library in Austin, Texas.

According to records in one of the Sutherland Bibles now in the Archives at the University of Texas Library in Austin, Texas, "John Sutherlin, son of George Sutherlin, Sr." was born July 19, 1752." page 678.

In the birth records of the other Sutherland Bible the entry reads, "John Sutherland" son of George, giving the transition of the name for Sutherlin to Sutherland. Just under it, the entry reads: "Agnes Sutherland, Consor to John and daughter of David Shelton, was born July 19, 1757" and in the marriage records of both Bibles is the identical entry: "John Sutherland, Sr. and Agnes Shelton was married January 8, 1776."

The tombstone of John Sutherland states that he was born in Pittsylvania County, Virginia. This cannot be, because Pittsylvania county had not been formed at that time, and the 1759 deed to his father show George Sr. bought land and moved to what was later Pittsylvania county when John was seven years old.

Pittsylvania county records^[4] show that John, who was twenty four years old when the Revolutionary War started in 1776, took the oath of allegiance there before John Wilson in October 18, 1777. His father and his brother, George, also took the oath the same year.

Records of a court of claims helf October 15, 1782 in the same county lists John Sutherland and also George Sutherland as having furnished beef for the Continental Army' since he was the proper age to fight, it is likely that John also took an active part in the fighting.

The most likely record that might be his is listed in "North Carolina Soldiers of the Revolution: by the DAR.

A little research on the JOHN SUTHERLAND claim number 3827, page 555, who received pay through C. Dixon, and on the GEORGE SUTHERLAND, page 56, grant number 3523 of Dixon's Company, might reveal that they were the sons of George Sutherland (Sutherlin), Sr. of Pittsylvania county, Virginia.

This county was just across the state line from North Carolina and we are told that the original Sutherland holdings were about three miles west of Danville, just inside the Virginia state line.

John and his father or brother GEORGE both signed a petition to get inspection in Danville in the early day and of Sept. 19, 1795, a receipt of the tobacco received for the Dan River Warehouse, Danville, was signed by JOHN SUTHERLIN and John Dix.

Both of the latter bought one-half acre lots in the original town of Danville when it was established Nov. 23, 1793, but evidently John Sutherlin never built on his, for later records show that JOHN and AGNES SUTHERLIN sold a one-half acre lot in Danville.

About the time of his father's death in 1804, or a little later, John and Agnes moved with their family to Knox County, later Anderson County, Tennessee.

In Virginia, the had buried three of their four oldest children, Sarah, David, and Susannah. Elizabeth had married in 1802, so when they ventured into the frontier of this new state, the oldest child living then under their roof was their fifth child, George Sutherland, then sixteen.

In Tennessee, JOHN SUTHERLAND WAS ACTIVE IN THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE Methodist church, being one of the original trustees of White's chapel, which was the first Methodist Church established in Knoxville. (Ref. "French Broad Country")

John lived in Tennessee until about 1822. There the remaining children grew to manhood and womanhood and married, three of them marrying three of the children of JOHN MENEFEE and FRANCES RHODES.

About 1823, John Sutherland Sr. moved to Alabama to join several of his children who were already living there.

He died at Tuscumbia, Alabama, Sept. 7, 1836, six years after his son,

Sources

1. ↑ http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=:ag1127&id=I0674
2. ↑ https://legacy.lib.utexas.edu/taro/utcah/01285/cah-01285.html
3. ↑ https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/005785086
4. ↑ https://www.lva.virginia.gov/public/local/results_all.asp?CountyID=VA213

• https://services.dar.org/public/dar_research/search_adb/?action=full&p_id=A212082

• https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/person/tree/14224025/person/29349352358/facts

• 1830 United States Federal Census: 1830; Census Place: Morgan, Alabama; Series: M19; Roll: 4; Page: 213; Family History Library Film: 0002331

• Abstract of Graves of Revolutionary Patriots; Volume: 4

• "The Fall of the Alamo" by Dr. John Sutherland, written 1860, published 1936 by The Naylor Company, San Antonio, TX. Accessed 1/21/2021 at http://www.sonsofdewittcolony.org//sthland1.htm

• Find a Grave, database and images (accessed 9 May 2022), memorial page for John Sutherland Sr. (19 Jul 1752–7 Sep 1836), Find A Grave: Memorial #9792976, citing Oakwood Cemetery, Tuscumbia, Colbert County, Alabama, USA ; Maintained by 47117651 (contributor 47117651) .