Isaac Bledsoe (1735 - 1793)

Born 20 Apr 1735 in Culpeper, Virginia

Ancestors

Descendants

Died 9 Apr 1793 at age 57 in Bledsoe's Lick, Sumner, Tennessee, United States

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Biography

Captain Isaac Bledsoe served with North Carolina Militia during the American Revolution.

Lt Col Isaac Bledsoe performed Patriotic Service in North Carolina in the American Revolution.

Isaac Bledsoe is a DAR Patriot Ancestor, A011217.

Isaac Bledsoe is an NSSAR Patriot Ancestor.
NSSAR Ancestor #: 116371
Rank: Captain / Patriotic Service / Civil Service

Isaac Bledsoe was born about 1735 in Culpeper County, Virginia.^[1] and his parents were Frances (Burgess) and Abraham Bledsoe, Sr.

After serving with British colonial troops in Lord Dunmore's War, he hunted and explored extensively along the Cumberland River.

He and his brother Anthony, sought a new home in the extreme West and settled on the Holston River near the present line between Virginia and Tennessee (a few miles west of Bristol).

Isaac Bledsoe married about 1771 to Katherine Montgomery (1752-1811) and they had eight children. She was a sister of the veteran frontiersman, Colonel John Montgomery.

In 1772 he discovered a salt and sulfur springs at Castalian Srings in North Carolina, and named it Bledsoe's Lick. He later made his home there (now part of Sumner County, Tennessee, USA).

In 1776 he was a Captain in Colonel William Christian's Cherokee expedition.^[2]

In 1777 he commanded a company to protect the border settlements.

On 30 July 1777 he witnessed the treaty with the Indians at Fort Patrick Henry.

During the autumn of 1779, Commissioners Thomas Walker and Daniel Smith chose him for the party to survey the Virginia-North Carolina state line. They selected him for his firsthand knowledge of the western country, but he went in order to select a site for the stockaded fort he had agreed to build near Bledsoe's Lick as part of the proposed Cumberland settlements.

He was one of the adventures referred to as the “Long-hunters”, believed to be the first explorer of the Cumberland Valley.

About 1780 he moved to Cumberland country in North Carolina.

About 1782 he resided at Mansker's Fort.^[3]

He taught school. ^[1]

When Davidson County was formed in 1783, he was elected the first Major of the Militia, and his brother Anthony was Colonel. He accompanied his brother in all his military endeavors

He was a guard for the surveyors of the North Carolina Military Reservation.

One of the court of triers of the original Cumberland Association, Bledsoe was a justice of the peace in the first Davidson County Quarterly Court in 1783.

About 1784 he moved his family to Bledsoe's Fort^[3] in Davidson County, North Carolina, USA.

In 1786 part of eastern Davidson County went into the creation of Sumner County, North Carolina.

In 1786 he purchased 780 acres of land in Sumner County, North Carolina. ^[1]

He was the first representative in the North Carolina Legislature from Sumner County.

He became Lieutenant-Colonel commandant in April 1788.

He traveled to Boonsborough where Daniel Boone shared ammunition with him to take back to Bledsoe's Lick. ^[1]

The Indians gave him the name "Tullatoska" or "Tullitosha", the waving corn blade or perpetual motion. ^[1]

In 1789 North Carolina ratified the Constitution, was admitted the union, and ceded her westernmost counties to the United States. The USA used these counties to create the Southwest Territory.

He and his servants were mending log heaps in a field near Fort Bledsoe, when a war party attacked. He was shot and mortally wounded, with the Indians scalping him while he was still alive. He died on 09 April 1793 at Bledsoe's Lick in the South West Territory (now Sumner County, Tennessee, USA). ^{[1] [4]} He was buried next to his next to his brother in Bledsoe Cemetery at Bledsoes Fort; ^[5] and only 300 feet from where he fell. ^{[1] [4]} Two of his sons were also killed by Indians. His son Anthony fell just 11 months later, mortally wounded in an Indian attack near Daniel Smith's Rock Castle home.

In 1795 his heirs were granted the 3,570 acres of land that he had accumulated. ^[1]

In 1796 the Southwest Territory became the State of Tennessee.

Sumner County, North Carolina ceded to Sumner County, Tennessee.

Memorial Marker

Some of his descendants erected a memorial in 1908 for Isaac and Anthony Bledsoe^[6] ...

(on east side of marker)

Col. Anthony Bledsoe Born in Culpeper Co., VA 1733 Killed by Indians about 200 yards west from this spot July 20, 1788 and his wife Mary (Ramsey) Bledsoe Born Augusta Co., VA 1734 Died in Sumner Co, TN 1808

Col. Isaac Bledsoe Born Culpeper Co., VA 1735 Killed by Indians about 300 yards west from this spot April 19, 1793 and his wife Katherine (Montgomery) Bledsoe Died in 18?? Devoted in Life Inseparable in death

(on south side of marker)

Col. Isaac Bledsoe Born in Culpeper Co., VA About 1735. Married Katherine Montgomery About 1771. He was one of the Long Hunters. Was one of the first explorers of the Cumberland Country. Discovered Bledsoe’s Lick which was so named for him. He was removed to Sumner Co. in 1780 Was one of the first Justices of the peace for Davidson and Sumner Counties. Was first Major of Davidson County Militia. The Indians gave him the name “Tullatoska.” Left three sons and 5 daughters.

(on west side of marker)

Col. Anthony Bledsoe. Married Mary Ramsey in 1760 He was Captain in the Colonial Army A Justice of the peace for Botetourt, Fincastle, and Washington Counties, VA. Was the first representative from Washington Co., in the VA. Legislature. Commander of the Troops at Long Island Fort from Dec. 1776. To April 1777. With the rank of Major. Was in the Battle of the Flats in 1776. Removed to Tennessee in 1781. One of the first Justices of the peace for Davidson Co., 1783. First Colonel of Davidson Co. Militia 1783. One of the three surveyors who ran the “Commissioners Line” 1783. The first representative in the North Carolina Legislature from Sumner County. Left Six daughters and Five sons. Two of the sons were killed by Indians.

(on north side of marker)

Erected in 1908 by the descendants of the two brothers, Col. Oscar F. Bledsoe of Grenada, Miss. Great Grand Son of Col. Anthony Bledsoe Contributed more than two thirds of the cost of this Memorial.

Marriage

Isaac Bledsoe married Katherine Montgomery in 1772. They had eight children.^[3]

Child: Margaret Bledsoe

Child: Sally Bledsoe

Child: Anthony Bledsoe

Child: Poly Bledsoe

Child: Katy Bledsoe

Child: Lyttle Bledsoe

Child: Isaaac Bledsoe

Child: Clarissa Bledsoe.

His parents married in 1732 in Spotsylvania County, Virginia.

Child: Isaac Bledsoe

Child: Abraham Bledsoe

Children ^[7]

1. Margaret Bledsoe
2. Sally Bledsoe
3. Anthony Bledsoe
4. Polly Bledsoe
5. Katy Bledsoe
6. Lytle Bledsoe
7. Isaac Bledsoe
8. Clarissa Bledsoe.

• Fact: Burial (April 1793) Bledsoe's Fort Historical Park, Castalian Springs, Sumner, Tennessee, United States
• Fact: http://familysearch.org/v1/TitleOfNobility Lt. Col.
• Fact: http://familysearch.org/v1/LifeSketch Birth: 1735, Culpeper County, Virginia USA

Death: Apr. 9, 1793, Castalian Springs, Sumner County, Tennessee, USA Revolutionary War Militia Officer, Frontiersman. The younger brother to Colonel Anthony Bledsoe, Isaac was born in Culpeper County, Virginia. He was one of the adventures referred to as the “Long-hunters”, believed to be the first explorer of the Cumberland Valley. He discovered salt and sulfur springs in 1772 and named it Bledsoe's Lick. He was reported to have said, "There were so many buffalo I was afraid to get off my horse for fear of being trampled". He was appointed Major of the militia in Davidson County, when it was formed. He also served as a member of the judiciary in that county. He accompanied his brother in all his military endeavors. In 1778 he accomplished the dangerous mission of re-supplying a number of towns and settlements along the Ohio River. Alone with his trusted Negro slave, they were gone several months and a noticed a large number of Indian movements. He moved to Sumner County in 1780 and became the first Justice of the Peace in Sumner and Davidson counties. On the 9th of July 1793, near Fort Bledsoe, Colonel Isaac Bledsoe and several others were clearing a field for planting when a Indian war party attacked. He was shot, mortally wounded and scalped. (bio by: K M@ Find a Grave website)

• Fact: Burial (April 1793) Bledsoe's Fort Historical Park, Castalian Springs, Sumner, Tennessee, United States
• Fact: http://familysearch.org/v1/TitleOfNobility Lt. Col.
• Fact: http://familysearch.org/v1/LifeSketch Birth: 1735, Culpeper County, Virginia USA

Death: Apr. 9, 1793, Castalian Springs, Sumner County, Tennessee, USA Revolutionary War Militia Officer, Frontiersman. The younger brother to Colonel Anthony Bledsoe, Isaac was born in Culpeper County, Virginia. He was one of the adventures referred to as the “Long-hunters”, believed to be the first explorer of the Cumberland Valley. He discovered salt and sulfur springs in 1772 and named it Bledsoe's Lick. He was reported to have said, "There were so many buffalo I was afraid to get off my horse for fear of being trampled". He was appointed Major of the militia in Davidson County, when it was formed. He also served as a member of the judiciary in that county. He accompanied his brother in all his military endeavors. In 1778 he accomplished the dangerous mission of re-supplying a number of towns and settlements along the Ohio River. Alone with his trusted Negro slave, they were gone several months and a noticed a large number of Indian movements. He moved to Sumner County in 1780 and became the first Justice of the Peace in Sumner and Davidson counties. On the 9th of July 1793, near Fort Bledsoe, Colonel Isaac Bledsoe and several others were clearing a field for planting when a Indian war party attacked. He was shot, mortally wounded and scalped. (bio by: K M@ Find a Grave website)

Research Notes

Although he is named in the project page for WikiTree's "Salt Makers" mini-project as "the first private owner of the lick springs",^[8] it does not appear that he was ever involved in the salt-making industry.^[3] Therefore, he is not included in Category: Salt Makers.

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7} "King Family History" by Oscar Benjamin King & published in 1970; p23, 25, 26
2. ↑ Daughters of the American Revolution, DAR Genealogical Research Databases, database online, (http://www.dar.org/ : accessed 4 Dec 2023), "Record of Isaac Bledsoe", Ancestor # A011217.
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3} Walter T. Durham, "Isaac Bledsoe", Tennessee Encyclopedia.
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1} Ancestral File compiled by Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; c1997; Family History Library in Utah; citing KP09-VQ
5. ↑ Find A Grave: Memorial #6508539 for Isaac Bledsoe, b: 1735 Culpeper County, USA; d: 09 Apr 1793 Castalian Springs, Sumner County, Tennessee, USA; buried: Pioneer Cemetery, Castalian Springs, Sumner County, Tennessee, USA
6. ↑ Jay Guy Cisco, Historic Sumner County, Tennessee, Genealogical Publishing Com, 2009 - Sumner County, Tennessee (see page 76).
7. ↑ North America, Family Histories 1500-2000 for Isaac Bledsoe, b: 1735 Culpepper County, Virginia (father: Abraham Bledsoe) d: 09 Apr 1793 Sumner County, Tennessee @58yrs; m1: 1772 Katherine Montgomery
8. ↑ Bledsoe's Lick Archaeological Project Background, (accessed 11 August 2022).

• "Family Tree," database, FamilySearch (http://familysearch.org : modified 19 February 2021, 01:35), entry for Colonel Isaac Bledsoe (PID https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/4:1:LZV7-6FF ); contributed by various users.
• "Family Tree," database, FamilySearch (http://familysearch.org : modified 19 February 2021, 01:35), entry for Colonel Isaac Bledsoe (PID https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/4:1:LZV7-6FF ); contributed by various users.
• FamilySearch Person: LZV7-6FF for Colonel Isaac Bledsoe (20 April 1735–9 April 1793)
• Find A Grave: Memorial #6508539 for Isaac Bledsoe

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bledsoe%27s_Station

• http://military.wikia.com/wiki/Bledsoe%27s_Station

• Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture by Walter T. Durham of Gallatin

• Daughters of the American Revolution, DAR Genealogical Research Databases, database online, (http://www.dar.org/ : accessed 11 Oct 2020), "Record of Isaac Bledsoe", Ancestor # A011217.

• http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/w/i/l/Jeff-Willhelm-Spring-Hill/WEBSITE-0001/UHP-0868.html

Acknowledgments

• WikiTree profile Bledsoe-352 was created on 22 Jul 2013 by Randolph King through the import of misc.ged