Ephraim Osborne Sr. (bef. 1725 - aft. 1794)

Born before 1725 in Williamsburg, James City County, Colony of Virginia

Descendants

Died after 23 Apr 1794 after age 69 in Grayson, Virginia, United States

Problems/Questions Profile managers: Herbert Wolfe [send private message], Nancy Osborn [send private message], US Southern Colonies Project WikiTree [send private message], and Jeanie Bond [send private message]

Ephraim Osborne Sr. resided in the Southern Colonies in North America before 1776. Join: US Southern Colonies Project Discuss: southern_colonies

Biography

Private Ephraim Osborne Sr. served with Montgomery County Regiment, North Carolina Militia during the American Revolution.

This profile is part of the Osborn Name Study.

Ephraim's birth place and date are uncertain. What we do know, through DNA evidence, is that the Ephraim who lived in the Yadkin Valley, NC, in 1753 and fathered Jonathan Osborne-1310 is descended through at least two currently unknown generations from Thomas Osborne- and Mary Goatley who were founders in the 1640s of New Haven, CT. (Jeanie Bond [Doran-) Ephraim may have been a brother of Caleb Osborne.

Ephraim was a fur trader. (This would make sense because his fresh-from-England-Ancestors operated the animal slaughtering business in New Haven, CT. Those who moved from CT to the Hamptons area of New York operated a butchery and tannery. Those who moved from NY to Elizabethtown, where we think Ephraim was born, also operated a meat butchery and tannery. The man came from three generations of hide specialists. The long hunters in NC, would require skinners and tanners, as well.) ^[1]

He settled North of the Yadkin in 1749. (Researchers have cited his son's Rev. War Pension Application as proof that he was in the "Forks of the Yadkin" in 1753. It MAY have been earlier, but we have no proof.)^[2] Rootsweb link seen in January 2019, no longer available, and not archived on wayback machine either. I cannot find the pension # or his name on the Southern pension page either.

After 1768, he moved from Rowan County, NC to Grayson County, Va. This information comes from his son Jonathan's Rev. War. Pension. In 1766, Ephraim and his family were in Fincastle County, Virginia.(?)^[3][4]

He and his son Jonathan were in the Battle of Point Pleasant in 1774, Black county, Virginia which is now Pt. Pleasant, West Virginia.^[5]

On December 14, 1774, he obtained a Loyal Land Grant for 260 acres in Fincastle County. It was there that Osborn's fort was built. In later years, Ephriam was granted a license to operate an ordinary (Tavern). ^[6]

Ephraim took the Oath of Allegiance in 1777. (source?)

The "Annals of Southwest Va.", by Summers, showed "Ozburn, Ephraim paid at court for Montgomery Co., Nov. 3, 1779 for 33 days for out of county levy". He was patrolling against Indians and Tories. ^[7][8] (page 24).

23 Apr 1794 Ephraim was given an exemption from the Montgomery County tax; such exemptions were commonly given to the aged and the infirm, but not the dead. His death date is AFTER 23 Apr 1794. ^{[citation needed]}

Spouse

Ephraim married Elizabeth. Many trees and secondary sources identify her as Elizabeth Howard, daughter of James and Elizabeth (Gassaway) Howard; however, there is no reliable evidence of this.

Children

1. Robert Osborne 1745-1818. (MAY ACTUALLY HAVE BEEN A younger BROTHER)
2. Enoch Osborne 1747-1818 married Jane Hash.^[9]
3. Ephraim Osborne 1748-1852.
4. Solomon Osborne married Nancy Davidson.^[9]
5. Eleanor Ellander (Osborne) Hash 1751-1820.
6. Jonathan Osborne 1753-1834 married Agnes Wells.^[9]
7. Chloe Langley (Osborne) Howard 1765-1841. (There is no proof that this is his child)

^{[citation needed]}

Narrative

Digging at Fort Osborne

[Grayson County, Virginia] While travelling among the neatly maintained farms overlooking the New River, I caught a glimpse of a brick monument directly across the road from a white barn. Making out the words "Osborne Fort," I sped past. But it only took me a second to realize that the place warranted a closer look. The marker identified this as "Osborne Fort Cemetery, 1812-1877." So, was this a military installation during the Civil War? Was this a strategic encampment during the Revolution? Or was it a blockhouse to protect the frontier settlers from disgruntled Cherokees? The answer was not obvious, as the gravestones were the only indication that this place had ever been anything other than a farm.

Something about the cemetery seemed odd. It wasn’t the fact that this cemetery was so carefully tended, but that the stones were arranged so precisely. I had never seen a graveyard arranged with such perfect symmetry. The markings on the stones were only partly legible. It helped that the monument next to the road bore the names of all the people buried in the cemetery: mostly members of the Cox, Osborne, Thompson and Ward families, several slaves and a few Native Americans.

Only later would I learn the story of the Osborne Fort Cemetery and the story of Osborne Fort itself. The cemetery extended to the fences visible in the photograph, but in the late 1950s the landowner removed all the stones. During the 1970s, the cemetery was threatened with flooding from a proposed dam on the New River, but plans for that project were eventually abandoned. The brick monument was constructed to mark the cemetery in 1982. After some of the original headstones and footstones were recovered from storage in 2004, they were placed on individual concrete pads in the cemetery, which explains the careful spacing of those markers.

(I visited there in 2010 and learned from the folks at Grayson County Genealogical Society that the stones have been removed from the field and 'stored' UNDER an adjacent barn. Between 1950 and the mid 1970s, with the stones removed, the field was plowed, planted and harvested annually just as it had been early American times.)^[10]

Ephraim Osborne Sr. (About 1720 -after 1793) made a living as a fur collector working the Yadkin Valley with Daniel Boone’s colleague, Christopher Gist. Around 1761, Osborne and his family moved from Rowan County, NC to Grayson County, Virginia. Their new land, between Bridle Creek and Saddle Creek (tributaries of the New River) was a favorite hunting and fishing spot of the Cherokees, who were reluctant to forfeit the land without a fight. So, to protect themselves and nearby settlers, the Osbornes built a fort on their farm.

The Osbornes did experience a deadly encounter with the Cherokees in 1764, while Ephraim Osborne’s sons were deer hunting in nearby Watauga County, NC. Enoch, Solomon and Ephraim Jr. got drenched by rain, so they set up camp and hung their wet clothes by the campfire. Sometime during the night, Cherokees shot into their camp and killed 21-year-old newlywed Solomon Osborne. After fleeing into the darkness, Ephraim crept back to retrieve his horse, while Enoch returned home without shoes and in his night clothes.

Enoch Osborne (1741-1818) raised his family on the farm at Osborne Fort. He was captain of a militia unit during the Revolution, a county magistrate and a Methodist leader. In March 1792, Bishop Francis Asbury stayed at Enoch Osborne’s during one of his many trips through the area. Upon his death, Enoch was buried at the Osborne Fort Cemetery.^[11]

Death

Died 1796^[12] Grayson County, Virginia, United States of America.

Research Notes

Project Maintenance

• Needs Sources: Several of the claims in this profile lack current source citations, as noted in the biography.

• Needs Relationship Review: The biography lists 7 children (without citing any source), and there are currently 21 children attached to this profile. Need relationship research to identify and cite sources for the actual children; the others should be detached.

Disputed Origins

Based on the information and comments I have read by various Wiki-Tree members, the parents of Ephraim Osborn are uncertain and unproven. Some say Jonathan Osborne and Greta Holman of Williamsburg VA, some say Jonathan Osborne and Edith Harris. Some researchers say that Thomas Osborne and Mary MNU or Martha Jones (some say Martha Griegg) to be the parents of Jonathan Osborne. Trying to prove these connections can become confusing and often futile.

There is a DNA connection through Ephraim Osborne and Thomas Osborne and Mary Goatley, founders of New Haven, CT, but there are basically two unknown generations of Osbornes.

Disputed Children

• Elizabeth (Osborne) Ball (abt.1742-1794) was previously attached as a child, without source.

Other unsourced wiki children:

1. Stephen Osborne
2. James Osborne
3. Nancy Osborne
4. Thomas Osborne
5. William Osborne
6. Edmund Osborne
7. Jeremiah Osborne
8. George Osborne
9. John Osborne
10. Zachariah Osborne

Death

23 Apr 1794 is NOT Ephraim's death date. That is the last date he appears in the records. On that date, he was given an exemption from the Montgomery County tax; such exemptions were commonly given to the aged and the infirm, but not the dead. His death date is AFTER 23 Apr 1794.

Dunmore's war aka Battle of Point Pleasant

Record Details

Title

Osborne, Ephraim.

Note(s): :County: Fincastle County. Recorded on: p. 270.

Company commander: Capt. David Looney.

Biographical/Historical Note

Dunmore’s War was a conflict between the Colony of Virginia and the Native Americans of the Ohio Valley. Following increased raids and attacks on frontiersmen in this region, the Royal Governor of Virginia, Lord Dunmore, organized a large force of militia and marched to Fort Pitt arriving at the end of August 1774. Dunmore also ordered Colonel Andrew Lewis, commander of the southwestern Virginia militia, to raise an army in the south and meet Dunmore’s force along the Ohio River. Lewis formed militia companies from Augusta, Bedford, Botetourt, Culpeper, Dunmore, Fincastle, and Kentucky counties. After Colonel Lewis’ victory at the Battle of Point Pleasant, Dunmore successfully negotiated a peace treaty with the Delaware, Mingo, and Shawnee chiefs that prevented them from settling or hunting south of the Ohio River.

Genre Payrolls

Claims Subject: Osborne, Ephraim

Dunmore's Expedition, 1774 -- Registers

Virginia -- History -- Colonial period, ca. 1600-1775 -- Registers

Virginia -- History -- Colonial period, ca. 1600-1775 -- Claims

Looney, David, Capt

Other title: Dunmore's War.

Related Work

Part of the index to the names of Virginia citizens or soldiers from the counties of Augusta, Bedford, Botetourt, Culpeper, and Fincastle who were compensated in 1775 for supplies and service during Dunmore's Expedition in 1774. This index covers individuals from the counties of Augusta, Bedford, Botetourt, and Fincastle only. These records are now part of the Virginia Colonial Government records group (RG#1) and are housed in the Archives at the Library of Virginia.

Additional Format: Available on microfilm (Miscellaneous Reel 78, last item). Photostat copy also available.

Language: English

Contributor: Virginia (Colony). Library of Virginia ^[13]

Daughters of the American Revolution Records

• OSBORN, EPHRAIM ^[14]
• Ancestor #: A084430
• Service: VIRGINIA Rank(s): PATRIOTIC SERVICE, PRIVATE
• Birth: CIRCA 1720
• Death: 1781 MONTGOMERY CO VIRGINIA
• Service Source: CRUSH, MONTGOMERY CO VA, THE FIRST HUNDRED YEARS, PP 47, 48, 93
• Service Description: 1) CAPT ENOCH OSBURN, MONTGOMERY CO MILITIA, 1781 2) SIGNED OATH OF ALLEGIANCE, 1777
• RESIDENCE: 1) County: MONTGOMERY CO - State: VIRGINIA
• SPOUSE: 1) X X

Children Listed in the DAR Records

1. Enoch Osborn married Jane Hash
2. Solomon Osborn married Nancy Davidson
3. Elender Osborne

Sources

1. ↑ "One line of descent"
2. ↑ "Outlaws - Inlaws and Everyone in Between", citing 1753 Pension #SB912
3. ↑ "North Carolina, U.S., Compiled Census"
4. ↑ "U.S., Census Reconstructed Records"
5. ↑ "Osborne, Ephraim. N.p. Print."
6. ↑ "Osborne, Ephraim. N.p. Print."
7. ↑ "U.S., Sons of the American Revolution Membership Applications"
8. ↑ "One line of descent"
9. ↑ ^{9.0 9.1 9.2} according to DAR
10. ↑ " Jeanie (Doran) Bond"
11. ↑ "Information on early Osborne history"
12. ↑ "U.S., Sons of the American Revolution Membership Applications"
13. ↑ "Osborne, Ephraim. N.p. Print."
14. ↑ Daughters of the American Revolution, DAR Genealogical Research Databases, database online, (http://www.dar.org/ : accessed 17 Jan 2021), "Record of Ephraim Osborn", Ancestor # A084430.

See also:

• FamilySearch Person: L23V-TL8
• Find a Grave, database and images (accessed 17 November 2020), memorial page for Ephraim Osborne Sr., Find A Grave: Memorial #57075563, citing Osborne Fort Cemetery, Bridle Creek, Grayson County, Virginia, USA ; Maintained by Graveyard Walker (contributor 47314881).
• Pugh, Danny, The Osborne/Boone Connection
• Early Osbornes and Alleys with notes on allied families
• Ancestors of Ronald Mike OSBORNE
  • " Jeanie (Doran) Bond". WikiTree Geneoligist-comments section.
• "Osborne, Ephraim. N.p. Print." https://lva.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01LVA_INST/altrmk/alma990012293970205756.
• "Information on early Osborne history". "Digging at Fort Osborne Contributed By stanleylroberts1- Document Attached. http://gulahiyi.blogspot.com/2008/07/digging-at-fort-osborne.html ; permission required to access.
  • Download image
• Genealogy Report: Ancestors of Dallas Howard
• Osborne Origins, "Ephraim OSBORN-2809"
• "North Carolina, U.S., Compiled Census" and Census Substitutes Index, 1790-1890; Rowan County Township, Early Tax List, Year1768, Database: NC Early Census Index; Year 1768.
• Probate Records, 1801-1966; Author: North Carolina. Superior Court (Ashe County); Probate Place: Ashe, North Carolina.
• "U.S. and International Marriage Records", 1560-1900; Source number: 1225.000; Source type: Electronic Database; Number of Pages: 1; Submitter Code: RSF.
• "U.S., Census Reconstructed Records", 1660-1820; Document: Tax Records, 1758/1759 [NC State Archives]; Call Number: C.R. 085.701.5; Page Number: 26; Family Number: 42;Year 1760.
• "Yates Publishing. U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900" [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004.
• "One line of descent", Thomas Alley, Jacob Need and allied lines; Author Flossie Scofield, July 20, 1969.
• "U.S., Sons of the American Revolution Membership Applications", 1889-1970; Volume: 280: Ephriam Osborne Birth Date 21 Aug 1723: Birth Place Williamsburg, Virginia, USA: Death Date 1779: SAR Membership 55891: Role Ancestor :Application Date 23 May 1944: Spouse Elizabeth Howard: Children Elender Osborne.
• Ancestry and personal family tree handed down to Alice Long-13520