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John Montgomery Sr. (abt. 1735 - bef. 1789)

John Montgomery Sr.
Born about [location unknown]
Son of and [mother unknown]
Brother of [half], and
Husband of — married [date unknown] [location unknown]
Descendants descendants
Father of , , and
Died before before about age 54 in Burke County, North Carolinamap
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Profile last modified | Created 19 Feb 2014
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Biography

John Montgomery Sr. was almost certainly born before 1740. His birthplace is not known.

His son Robert (b. about 1759[1]) identified himself in his own Last Will and Testament as a “native of Amherst County Virginia”[2], which implies that John Sr. lived in Amherst County in the 1760s. He is thought to have been the son John named in the Last Will and Testament of Michael Montgomery Sr. of Amherst County, written in February 1764[3]. He may also have been the John Montgomery who was sued for debt in Amherst County in 1766 by Samuel Woods[4]. Samuel Woods was, at the same time, also plaintiff in another Amherst County suit against a Michael Montgomery[5]. A Court order to sell John Montgomery’s personal estate (“one pair of old Ticking breeches, one Jackcoat, one pair of gloves, one gray horse, and six shillings cash”) to satisfy the debt owed to Woods was issued on 5 August 1766[6]. The order noted that John Montgomery “hath privately removed himself out of this county, or so absconds, that the ordinary process cannot be served on him”.

By early 1778, John Sr. was settled on Catawba River in the present eastern McDowell County area of Burke County, North Carolina, which had been set off from western Rowan County the preceding year[7]. The precise timing of John Sr.’s move to the upper Catawba River is not known, but there is some evidence that he first resided for a few years in the present Iredell County area of Rowan County before moving west. Two payment vouchers in the Burke County estate file of John Sr.’s son, John Jr. (d. 1782), were clearly written on “recycled” paper, and include (on their reverse sides) documentation of an earlier account, dated 18 July 1771, of money owed to one John Montgomery by the estate of John McCulloh[8]. This may have been John McCulloh, deceased, who was referenced in Rowan County Court orders in October 1766[9]. This John McCulloh was probably the son of James McCulloh, a pioneer of the Davidson’s Creek settlement of present southern Iredell County[10]. Two men named John Montgomery appear on the Rowan County tax lists for 1772; the one who appears on Walter Lindsay’s list for the Ft. Dobbs District (now central Iredell County) is not accounted for in the tax lists of 1778[11], and may have been John Sr. The other John Montgomery appears on William Sharpe’s tax list for 1772, and was again taxed in 1778[12], while John Sr. was documented in Burke County.

John Sr. may have moved to the upper Catawba River before 5 August 1775, when one John Montgomery was appointed by the Rowan County Court as a constable in place of David Nelson[13]. David Nelson had later ties with John Sr.’s neighbors in Burke County, as well as with John Sr. himself (see below), but the identity of John Montgomery the constable is not certain.

On 22 November 1777, John Sr. co-signed a promissory note to John McClatchey for his son, John Jr. [14]. Later records show that the promised payment of £36.13.4 (due in three years) was for John Jr.’s purchase from McClatchey of land on the North Fork of Catawba River in present McDowell County. John McClatchey appears on Walter Lindsay’s Rowan County tax lists of 1768 and 1772[15], and a 1773 map shows John “McCletchey” near the location of Fort Dobbs, on the Middle Branch of Fourth Creek[16].

John Sr. was certainly in present eastern McDowell County by March 1778, when his settlement was referenced in a land entry for his neighbor William Morrell[17]. On 17 August 1778 John Sr. entered 400 acres “including his own improvements” on Cathey’s Creek[18] (now called Deal Creek[19] or Dales Creek[20]) and Catawba River, and on the same day also entered 200 acres on “Huney Cotes” (Honeycut Creek), joining the land his son had recently purchased from John McClatchey[21]. John Sr. made another entry for land joining John McClatchey on 1 January 1779[22]. John Sr. apparently never followed up these entries with surveys. However, he did survey his land on Cathey’s Creek in March 1780[23], and later that year acquired the right to a 200-acre entry made in December 1779 by Michael French[24], which he used to survey land joining his Cathey’s Creek settlement in 1787[25].

John Montgomery Jr. died in 1780 or 1781, and John Sr. administered his estate, a task that took several years to complete[26]. The economic effects of the Revolutionary War are clearly displayed in John Sr’s. administration accounts, which show an expenditure of 15 shillings “old trade” to purchase his son’s coffin, and an incredible £400 in depreciated “currency” spent on “Liquer at Funerell.” In April 1783 John Sr. paid John Jr.’s delinquent taxes for 1780 and 1781 with 6 ½ bushels of Indian corn[27].

By early 1782, John Sr. was plaintiff in a Burke County suit against Shadrach Inman, Robert Hodge, and un-named “others” which apparently continued through early 1784[28]. Shadrach and Abednego Inman were both neighbors of the Montgomerys[29]. The nature of the dispute is not known. One source, claiming that Shadrach Inman and the Hodge family were loyalist sympathizers, speculates that the feud might have been related to confiscated property[30]. Curiously, Shadrach Inman and one of John Sr.’s neighbors (and son-in-law), William Morrell, sold the same tract of land in Amherst County, Virginia (by separate deeds drawn on different days) to the same man, for the same sum, in 1778[31]. Neither deed explains how both men came to have an equal interest in the property, which had been sold to William “Moriel” (Sr.) by John Heard in 1746[32].

By April 1785, John Sr. found himself defendant in a Burke County suit brought by John McClatchey over payment of the note that he had co-signed for John Jr. in 1777[33]. The case was tried in April 1786, and John Sr. was found liable for 4 shillings and the plaintiff’s costs[34]. McClatchey, apparently unsatisfied, appealed to the Morgan District Superior Court[35]. In October 1786, writs were issued for William and Mary McKee[36], Thomas Whitson[37], and James Davidson[38] for satisfaction of judgements awarded by the Court to John Montgomery. John Sr. was at this time also busy settling the estate of John Jr.[39]; the suits against Whitson and Davidson (and perhaps the Mckees) were related to that effort.

The second tract joining John Sr.’s original settlement on Cathey’s Creek was surveyed on 12 May 1787[40]. John Sr. was probably the John Montgomery who made an affidavit in Burke County on 3 March 1788, in which he denied he had agreed to be bail for one Robert Montgomery (quite possibly his own son), who was being sued over a stray horse[41]. A “John Mountgumery Senr.” appears on a list of jurors for the Burke County Court October 1788 session[42]. In late October 1788, the Burke County Court issued writs for William and Mary McKee to satisfy a judgement awarded to John Montgomery[43], and also to summon former Sherriff Samuel Greenlee to answer why he had failed to surrender the McKees as their bail[44]. A grant was issued for the land surveyed in 1787 on 18 May 1789[45].

There is a bond in the Burke County estate file of John Montgomery Jr. for administration of the estate of John “MtGomery” by Margaret Montgomery and Hamilton Montgomery[46]. The bond appears to be dated 20 October 1782, and is easily mistaken as part of John Jr.’s estate record. However, the bond identifies the governor of North Carolina at the time as Samuel “Johnson” [Johnston], who held office from 1787 to 1789[47]. Therefore, the bond was signed in 1789, not 1782, and the deceased was John Montgomery Sr., not Jr.

The Burke County estate file of David Nelson, deceased, includes a voucher for a debt owed to the “Estate of Jno. Mungumury Decd” for the purchase of 12 sheep and 14 geese dated August 1789[48]. Hamilton Montgomery made oath on 3 September 1790 that Nelson's debt had not been paid.

John Montgomery Sr.’s wife at the time of his death was presumably his administrator, Margaret Montgomery. The administration bond being the only known record of Margaret, it is not known if she was the mother of all (or any) of John Sr.’s children.

John Sr.’s children were identified by his daughter-in-law Dortheis Montgomery (Hamilton’s widow) in an 1842 affidavit as follows: John Jr., Michael, Robert, Hamilton, James (married Sarah Varner), William (married, wife’s name not stated), Mary (married Joel Bradshaw), Nancy (married William Morrell), Margaret (married William Farris), and Abigail (married Jeremiah Files)[49].

Sources

  1. ↑ Death notice for Robert Montgomery, Esq., Liberty Advocate, 1 September 1838, p. 3; digital image, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com : accessed 26 January 2021).
  2. ↑ Amite County, Mississippi, Will Book 1 (1818-1848): 174-177, will of Robert Montgomery, 1838; digital images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org : 25 July 2021), path: FHL Film 876829 (5841923) > images 106-107 of 443.
  3. ↑ Amherst County, Virginia, Will Book No. 1 with Inventories & Accounts, 1761-1780: 115-117, will of Michael Montgomery Sr., 1764; digital images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org : 24 July 2021), path: FHL Film 30274 (007643857) > images 320-321 of 675.
  4. ↑ Amherst County, Virginia, Order Book (1766-1769): 47; digital image, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org : 25 July 2021), path: FHL Film 1888542 (008151599) > image 33 of 439.
  5. ↑ Amherst County, Virginia, Order Book (1766-1769): 37; digital image, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org : 25 July 2021), path: FHL Film 1888542 (008151599) > image 28 of 439.
  6. ↑ Amherst County, Virginia, Order Book (1766-1769): 47.
  7. ↑ Edward W. Phifer, Jr., Burke County: A Brief History (Raleigh, North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources, Division of Archives and History, 2000), 1-2.
  8. ↑ Burke County, North Carolina, estate records for John Montgomery (1782); digital images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org : 24 July 2021), path: FHL Film 1976858 (5274804) > images 1846-1879 of 2121, specifically 1850 and 1873.
  9. ↑ Rowan County, North Carolina, Minutes, Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions, Vol. 2 (1755-1767): 657; digital image, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org : 25 July 2021), path: FHL Film 19749 (8195477) > image 380 of 655.
  10. ↑ Robert W. Ramsey, Carolina Cradle: Settlement of the Northwest Carolina Frontier, 1747-1762 (Chapel Hill, University of North Carolina Press, 1964), 69-70 and 102.
  11. ↑ Jo White Lynn, Rowan County North Carolina Tax Lists, 1757-1800: Annotated Transcriptions (Salisbury, North Carolina, J.W. Lynn, 1995).
  12. ↑ Lynn, Rowan County North Carolina Tax Lists, 115 and 155.
  13. ↑ Rowan County, North Carolina, Minutes, Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions, Vol. 3 (1773-1786): 86; digital image, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org : 25 July 2021), path: FHL Film 19751 (8182832) > image 91 of 566.
  14. ↑ Burke County, North Carolina, Civil Action Papers 1.C.R.014.325, 1755-1783, promissory note of John Montgomery Jr. and John Montgomery Sr. to John “McClacky,” 22 November 1777; digital image, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org : 26 July 2021), path: FHL Film 5175506 > image 67 of 1133.
  15. ↑ Lynn, Rowan County North Carolina Tax Lists, 88 and 113.
  16. ↑ A Map of Fourth Creek Congregation, by William Sharpe, Esq. 1773 (publication information not identified, 1847); digital image, North Carolina Maps (https://dc.lib.unc.edu/cdm/ref/collection/ncmaps/id/118 : 27 July 2021).
  17. ↑ Entry No. 478 for William Morrill, 10 March 1778, “Secretary of State, Burke County Land Entries, 1778-1795,” p. 160; digital image, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org : 29 July 2021), path: FHL Film 988930 (7538686) > image 92 of 596.
  18. ↑ Entry No. 622 for John Montgomery, 17 August 1778, “Secretary of State, Burke County Land Entries, 1778-1795,” p. 208; digital image, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org : 29 July 2021), path: FHL Film 988930 (7538686) > image 116 of 596.
  19. ↑ U.S. Department of the Interior Geological Survey, Morganton, N.C., 30’x30’ series topographic map, edition of May 1905, reprinted 1945; digital image, topoView (https://ngmdb.usgs.gov/topoview/viewer/#13/35.7658/-81.9711  : 29 July 2021).
  20. ↑ U.S. Department of the Interior Geological Survey, Ashford, N.C., 7.5’x15’ series topographic map, 2019; digital image, topoView (https://ngmdb.usgs.gov/topoview/viewer/#13/35.7658/-81.9711 : 29 July 2021.
  21. ↑ Entry No. 623 for John Montgomery, 17 August 1778, “Secretary of State, Burke County Land Entries, 1778-1795,” p. 208; digital image, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org : 29 July 2021), path: FHL Film 988930 (7538686) > image 116 of 596.
  22. ↑ Entry No. 1313 for John Montgomery Sr., 1 January 1779, “Secretary of State, Burke County Land Entries, 1778-1795,” p. 433; digital image, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org : 29 July 2021), path: FHL Film 988930 (7538686) > image 229 of 596.
  23. ↑ Survey for “John Mountgomery Senr.,” Packet No. 710, 13 March 1780; Secretary of State Land Grant Office Warrants, Surveys and Related Documents (ca. 1735-1797), S.108.543, North Carolina Counties, Burke County; digital image, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org : 31 July 2021), path: FHL Film 1929066 (7164625) > image 769 of 1391.
  24. ↑ Entry No. 1742 for Michael French, 10 December 1779, “Secretary of State, Burke County Land Entries, 1778-1795,” p. 577; digital image, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org : 31 July 2021), path: FHL Film 988930 (7538686) > image 301 of 596.
  25. ↑ Warrant and survey for “John Mountgomery,” Packet No. 1204, 25 March 1784 and 12 May 1787; Secretary of State Land Grant Office Warrants, Surveys and Related Documents (ca. 1735-1797), S.108.543, North Carolina Counties, Burke County; digital images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org : 31 July 2021), path: FHL Film 1929068 (7164627) > images 414-418 of 1418.
  26. ↑ Burke County, North Carolina, estate records for John Montgomery (1782); digital images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org : 24 July 2021), path: FHL Film 1976858 (5274804) > images 1846-1879 of 2121.
  27. ↑ Burke County, North Carolina, Civil Action Papers 1.C.R.014.325, 1755-1783, tax receipt of John Montgomery Sr. for John Montgomery Jr., 11 April 1783; digital image, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org : 31 July 2021), path: FHL Film 5175506 > image 747 of 1133.
  28. ↑ Burke County, North Carolina, Civil Action Papers 1.C.R.014.325, 1755-1783, summons writ for Mary McKee, “Agness Morrils,” Alexander Thompson, and John Armstrong, fourth Monday in April [22 April] 1782; digital image, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org : 31 July 2021), path: FHL Film 5175506 > image 865 of 1133. Burke County, North Carolina, Civil Action Papers C.R.014.325, 1783-1785, summons writ for William Stuart and John Cooper, third Monday in April [21 April] 1783; digital image, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org : 31 July 2021), path: FHL Film 5175507 > image 121 of 1179. Burke County, North Carolina, Civil Action Papers C.R.014.325, 1783-1785, statement of William Farris regarding suit of “John McGomery v. Shadrach Inman, Robert Hodge, & others,” 23 January 1784; digital image, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org : 31 July 2021), path: FHL Film 5175507 > image 434 of 1179.
  29. ↑ Entry No. 1273 for “Bednigow” [Abednego] Inman, 25 December 1778, “Secretary of State, Burke County Land Entries, 1778-1795,” p. 419; digital image, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org : 31 July 2021), path: FHL Film 988930 (7538686) > image 222 of 596. Entry No. 1384 for Charles McPeters, 29 December 1778, “Secretary of State, Burke County Land Entries, 1778-1795,” p. 456; digital image, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org : 31 July 2021), path: FHL Film 988930 (7538686) > image 240 of 596.
  30. ↑ Emmet R. White, Revolutionary War Soldiers of Western North Carolina, Vol. 2: Burke County (Greenville, South Carolina: Southern Historical Press, Inc., 1998), 158.
  31. ↑ Amherst County, Virginia, Deed Book E: 62-63, William Morrell to Moses Hughes, indenture, 1 November 1778; digital images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org: accessed 31 July 2021), path: FHL film 30286 (7893711) > images 326-327 of 617. Amherst County, Virginia, Deed Book E: 92-93, Shadrack Inman to Moses Hughes, indenture, 25 June 1778; digital images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org: accessed 31 July 2021), path: FHL film 30286 (7893711) > images 341-342 of 617.
  32. ↑ Albemarle County, Virginia, Order Book (1744-1748): 127; digital image, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org : 1 August 2021), path: FHL Film 30255 (7893705) > image 75 of 537.
  33. ↑ Burke County, North Carolina, Civil Action Papers C.R.014.325, 1783-1785, writ for seizure of “John Montgomery in his own right and John Montgomery admr. of the goods & chattels of John Montgomery Junr. deceased,” third Monday in April [18 April] 1785; digital image, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org : 31 July 2021), path: FHL Film 5175507 > image 981 of 1179.
  34. ↑ Burke County, North Carolina, Civil Action Papers C.R.014.325, 1786-1787, copy of writ and memorandum of trial, “John McClatchey vs. John MtGomery & the same,” 10 August 1786; digital image, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org : 31 July 2021), path: FHL Film 5175508 > image 162 of 940.
  35. ↑ Burke County, North Carolina, Civil Action Papers C.R.014.325, 1786-1787, appeal by William Sharpe, plaintiff’s attorney, “John McClatchey vs. John Montgomery & admr.,” not dated [1786]; digital image, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org : 31 July 2021), path: FHL Film 5175508 > image 159 of 940.
  36. ↑ Burke County, North Carolina, Civil Action Papers C.R.014.325, 1786-1787, writ for seizure of “William & Mary McKee” “3rd Monday in Octbr” [16 October] 1786; digital image, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org : 1 August July 2021), path: FHL Film 5175508 > image 207 of 940.
  37. ↑ Burke County, North Carolina, Civil Action Papers C.R.014.325, 1786-1787, writ for seizure of property of Thomas Whitson, “third Monday in October” [16 October] 1786; digital image, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org : 1 August July 2021), path: FHL Film 5175508 > image 235 of 940.
  38. ↑ Burke County, North Carolina, Civil Action Papers C.R.014.325, 1786-1787, writ for seizure of property of James Davidson, “third Monday in Octr.” [16 October] 1786; digital image, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org : 1 August July 2021), path: FHL Film 5175508 > image 398 of 940.
  39. ↑ Burke County, North Carolina, estate records for John Montgomery (1782); digital images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org : 1 August 2021), path: FHL Film 1976858 (5274804) > images 1846-1879 of 2121.
  40. ↑ Survey for “John Mountgomery,” Packet No. 1204, 25 March 1784 and 12 May 1787; Secretary of State Land Grant Office Warrants, Surveys and Related Documents (ca. 1735-1797), S.108.543, North Carolina Counties, Burke County; digital images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org : 31 July 2021), path: FHL Film 1929068 (7164627) > images 414-418 of 1418.
  41. ↑ Burke County, North Carolina, Civil Action Papers C.R.014.325, 1788-1790, affidavit of John Montgomery, 3 March 1788; digital image, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org : 1 August 2021), path: FHL Film 5175509 > image 290 of 975.
  42. ↑ Burke County, North Carolina, Civil Action Papers C.R.014.325, 1788-1790, list of jurors, “October Sesn. 1788”; digital image, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org : 1 August 2021), path: FHL Film 5175509 > image 264 of 975.
  43. ↑ Burke County, North Carolina, Civil Action Papers C.R.014.325, 1788-1790, writ for seizure of “William & Mary McKee,” “third Monday of October” [20 October] 1788; digital image, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org : 1 August 2021), path: FHL Film 5175509 > image 193 of 975.
  44. ↑ Burke County, North Carolina, Civil Action Papers C.R.014.325, 1788-1790, summons writ for Samuel Greenlee, “third Monday of October” [20 October] 1788; digital image, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org : 1 August 2021), path: FHL Film 5175509 > image 195 of 975.
  45. ↑ Grant No. 1205 to John Montgomery, 18 May 1789, Patent Book No. 71, p. 60; digital image, North Carolina Land Grant Images and Data (https://www.nclandgrants.com : 1 August 2021).
  46. ↑ Burke County, North Carolina, estate records for John Montgomery (1782); digital images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org : 1 August 2021), path: FHL Film 1976858 (5274804) > images 1862-1863 of 2121.
  47. ↑ Wilson Angley, “Samuel Johnston,” NCPedia (https://www.ncpedia.org/johnston-samuel : 1 August 2021).
  48. ↑ Burke County, North Carolina, estate records for David Nelson (1789); digital image, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org : 1 August 2021), path: FHL Film 1976859 (5274805) > image 1483 of 2131.
  49. ↑ Dortheis Montgomery affidavit, 30 April 1842; photocopied pages with citation “B-6-P. 496,” supplied to Michael Montgomery by Robert L. Montgomery, Chesterfield, Missouri, 1993.




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Comments: 4

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Michael Montgomery
Montgomery-10268 and Montgomery-3579 appear to represent the same person because: A proposed merge of Montgomery-3579 and Montgomery-10268 was previously rejected because both profiles were incomplete. The original profile (3579) now includes a detailed, sourced biography and is linked to the recently merged and updated profile of the same father as the duplicate profile (10268). The duplicate profile should now be merged into the original profile if the duplicate profile manager has no objection.
posted by Michael Montgomery
Lee-5956 Robin Lee
Removed parents that were "impossible" based on the fact they were born after this person
posted by Robin Lee
Tindle-19 Betty Tindle
Montgomery-3579 and Montgomery-10268 are not ready to be merged because: Both profiles need more research before merging.
posted on Montgomery-10268 (merged) by Betty Tindle
Michael Montgomery
Montgomery-3579 and Montgomery-10268 appear to represent the same person because: John's daughter-in-law (wife of his son Hamilton) gave an affidavit in 1842 that identified Hamilton's sister Nancy (who married William Morrell) and his sister Mary (who married Joel Bradshaw). This links Profile 10268 (which has Hamilton, but not Mary or Nancy) to Profile 3579 (which has Mary and Nancy, but not Hamilton). A merge of the father's profiles is pending. If the father's profiles are merged, these profiles should also merge.
posted on Montgomery-10268 (merged) by Michael Montgomery

Rejected matches › John Montgomery (1737-1786)

John is 16 degrees from Maria Mitchell, 25 degrees from Carl Sagan, 20 degrees from Tycho Brahe, 30 degrees from Nicholaus Copernicus, 22 degrees from Eise Eisinga, 21 degrees from Caroline Lucretia Herschel, 26 degrees from Thomas Maclear, 16 degrees from Simon Newcomb, 17 degrees from Isaac Newton, 27 degrees from Pierre Henri Puiseux, 23 degrees from Beatrice Tinsley and 15 degrees from Edith Woodward on our single family tree. Login to find your connection.

M  >  Montgomery  >  John Montgomery Sr.