Based on birth of son Wiley, John's appearance on the 1779 Warren County, North Carolina tax list and his wife's birth documented before 1775, if he was the average of 23 when he married he would have been born in 1758. His father William would have been 28 at the time of his birth.[1] John was born about 1758. His parents were William Acree and Agnes Shearin.
John appears on the tax digest of Warren County, North Carolina in 1779 as being a single male worth under 100 pounds.[1]
He purchased 100 acres of land on 08 Nov 1788 in Wilkes County, Georgia.
He appears on the 1791 tax list in Gresham's district, Wilkes County, Georgia.[2] and on the 1801 tax list in Bethune's District, Wilkes County, Georgia.[3]
By 1804 he is in Greene County as he appears on the tax list there for 1805 in Gatlin's District, Greene County, Georgia.[4]
In 1805 he was living in Greene County where he was entitled to two draws in the Georgia Land Lottery of that year as an adult male who was married.[5]
In 1807, John Acree of Moore's District, Greene County, Georgia was a fortunate drawer in the Georgia Land Lottery that year, drawing Lot #263 in District 15 of Wilkinson County, Georgia.[6]
NOTE on Lewis M. Acree: The Acree Surname DNA Project of 2006 suggests that there is strong genetic and circumstantial evidence that the grandfather of Lewis Acree is William Acree of Virginia, who was born about 1735. The Project admits that, at least in 2006, there was no documentation which directly supported that hypothesis.[7]
However, DNA showed a strong connections between the children of Lewis Acree and other cousins who descended from William of VIrginia (b c. 1735), and from William's son John (1760). Given that John was born in North Carolina, it's thought that Lewis was also born in North Carolina and later moved to Bath County (prior to his presumed father's move to Georgia) where her met and married Mary Virginia Cleek, daughter of Peter Cleek. From Bath, Lewis moved himself and Mary to the Ohio River Valley, and they settled in Mason County, Virginia, which later gave land to Jackson County.
Currently, there appears to be no better candidate for the father of Lewis Acree than John. Even if John turns out NOT to be the father, the connection to his grand-father William is almost certain. From there the family tree is somewhat more defensible. Given the genetic evidence, this biographer has attached John Acree as the father of Lewis, pending evidence to the contrary. Research and further discoveries are always welcome and appreciated.
Have you taken a DNA test? If so, login to add it. If not, see our friends at Ancestry DNA.
Featured National Park champion connections: John is 13 degrees from Theodore Roosevelt, 19 degrees from Stephanus Johannes Paulus Kruger, 12 degrees from George Catlin, 13 degrees from Marjory Douglas, 20 degrees from Sueko Embrey, 15 degrees from George Grinnell, 24 degrees from Anton Kröller, 16 degrees from Stephen Mather, 21 degrees from Kara McKean, 16 degrees from John Muir, 16 degrees from Victoria Hanover and 21 degrees from Charles Young on our single family tree. Login to find your connection.