BACK TO BOOK INTRODUCTION
BACK TO CHAPTER 3 JAMES AND JOHN FINNEY: WAR IN VIRGINIA 1774-1778
TO CHAPTER 5 JAMES AND JOHN FINNEY: FINDING KENTUCKY 1779-1780
1774 Virginia colonists fretted
over the recent full trade stoppage with Great Britain, a boycott their own
colonial government had coordinated. Recent
political news was attained via neighbors and travelers on the road in front of
colonists’ farms.[i] Locally, James Finney discussed issues with
his neighbors at the neighborhood gristmill or sawmill where he hauled the
family’s grain to be ground. He would also
journey to visit the tavern in town to gossip and read from the popular regional newspaper - the
Virginia Gazette. The new trade stoppage
was issued by the First Continental Congress, a group of representatives from
all of the American colonies, who formed and met to decide on action against
the British. This meeting took place to
the north of Virginia, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. A Virginia Convention also transpired after
the trade stoppage proclamation and Virginia agreed with Congress’s resolution to
boycott all trade with Great Britain.
History has taught us that colonists were angry over the mistreatment by
their mother country. In reality, most
farmers, particularly those in Virginia, were ready to do whatever was best for
themselves and their families.
John
Finney was spending time west of the Finney farm in Botetourt County
1774 John Finney settled on
two tracts of land in Greenbrier County by 1774. He claimed and improved 400 acres on the
mouth of Sewell’s Creek, located on a branch of the Meadow River, a southern
branch of the Gauley River.[ii] He also received jointly, with George
Blackburn, 200 acres on Cherry Tree Bottom.[iii] The 200 acres on Cherry Tree Bottom on the
Cherry River south of the Gauley River was obtained with a military warrant
under Dunmore’s Proclamation of 1763 made in the name of Edward Franklin.[iv]
At some time before this date,
John Finney had purchased a 200-acre military warrant from Edward Franklin, who had previously
received the warrant for service in the French and Indian War.[v] Edward Franklin was from Culpeper County and
lived near the Finney Farm, marrying a daughter of Nathaniel Underwood. (Appendix 42). The location of this land today can be identified as near Richmond, Nicholas County, West Virginia.
Both tracts adjoined clansman
George Blackburn, who had also migrated from Culpeper County. George Blackburn made his home at Sewell’s
Creek and had his land originally surveyed there in 1774.[vi] Julius Christy, also of Culpeper County,
owned land on Sewell’s Creek along with Jacob Lockhart and John
Williams. Sewell’s Creek and Cherry
River were in Botetourt County, Virginia and flowed in a northerly direction to
meet the Gauley River.
George Blackburn and his brother William
Blackburn were in Botetourt County by 1773 living in the district of Captain
Bledsoe and Captain Looney. This was the
last Botetourt County titheable list that did not include John Finney.[vii] The next titheable list with George Blackburn
(1774) included John Finney and Jacob and James Lockhart. Blackburn’s uncle Julius Christy lived in
Culpeper County and simply invested in Botetourt County land.
Who was George Blackburn?
George Blackburn was born 16 January 1746 in
Christ Church Parish, Middlesex County, Virginia. He was the son of Edward Blackburn and
Mildred Christy. His father died when he
was very young and he was sent, along with his brother Julius, to live with his
uncle Julius Christy, also of Culpeper County, Virginia. He would grow up with Julius Christy and
learn the trade of carpentry from him.
He was a childhood acquaintance of James and John Finney, living just
south of the Finney farm. James Finney also
married George’s cousin, Elizabeth. By
1772, Blackburn was in Botetourt County, Virginia with his brother William Blackburn and
John Finney. Upon his move to Kentucky
with his brother in-law-Richard Bohannon in about 1784 or 1785, Blackburn
settled near the present location of Spring Station in Woodford County and
built a fort or station around the spring on his land. Neighbors and family reportedly used the defensive
structure often in times of alarm throughout the early years of Kentucky
settlement. John Finney and George
Blackburn had close political ties in Woodford County.
for
James Finney to tap into his brandy stores
Summer 1774 Living in the
western portion of Virginia, the James Finney family, which included his mother
and most of his siblings, had more than just the political issues from the east
to worry about. Their main trouble lay in
the opposite direction, to the west. The
Indians continued to bother the western Virginia colonists through
often-violent raids, mainly due to the Virginians' continuous migratory
movements into the land they already considered their own. During the summer, some drunken border men
lured the family of the respected Mingo chief Talgayeeta, known to whites as
John Logan, to Yellow Creek, fifty miles below Fort Pitt (later
Pittsburgh). The men filled the natives with
rum, shot them, cut up their corpses, and scalped them. Alliance members of the Mingo, Shawnee, and
Cherokee rose up against settlers living on the ridge spanning Virginia and
began attacking western colonists with a new resolve.
Virginia Lord Dunmore ordered
militia units from western counties to march west into the Ohio country. Dunmore led a force from Fort Pitt in Pennsylvania on a march westward while Colonel Andrew Lewis, himself from Botetourt County and a
member of the Virginia House of Burgesses, brought militia companies from
Virginia counties in the west and southwest.
Companies in Lewis’ march hailed from Culpeper, Augusta, Bedford, and
Botetourt Counties. Colonel John Fields
of Culpeper County led five companies from Culpeper whose captains were Ephraim
Rucker, Richard Yancey, James Kirtley, George Slaughter, and William
Chapman. Marching in Chapman’s company
was Sergeant James Finney (see Appendix 20 for militia company rosters). Finney was a young man of 22 years but owned
enough land to be considered for an officer’s position. From Botetourt County, six companies were
organized. John Finney volunteered as a
private in Captain Robert McClanahan’s company (see Appendix 20 for militia
company rosters).[viii]
Fall 1774 The companies from
Culpeper County joined Colonel Andrew Lewis’ army at Camp Union on and just
after September 8 to form a force of about eleven hundred colonists. Shortly after the final companies arrived,
they embarked toward the north and west, leaving wagons behind and relying on
packhorses to carry provisions. The
militia force passed through virgin lands few colonists had seen before. Following barely discernible animal and
Indian traces along the New River gorge, the militia arrived at the Elk River
on September 23 where they camped. A
week later after making rafts and canoes to transport provisions, the reinforced group of nearly 1500 troops crossed the Elk River and then marched north toward the Ohio
River. During this march, Colonel William
Fleming commander of the Botetourt County companies, wrote:
“The troops were
ordered to form two columns in their march from this, each column made two
grand divisions… Bullocks, pack horses
fell inbetwinxt (sic) the front (and) rear divisions, and had each flank
covered with one hundred men.”
Sergeant
James Finney arrives at Camp Union, ready to
march
northwest into hostile Ohio country
Colonel Fields companies from
Culpeper County formed one of the right flank guards. The location of the Botetourt County
companies within the columns and divisions of this march to the Ohio River
remains unknown.
On October 6, the force arrived
at the Ohio River and then on the 8th they encamped at Point Pleasant, a
peninsula bordered by the Ohio River, the New River, and a small creek. The armies march had covered about 160 miles
since their rendezvous at Camp Union. A
large war party attacked in the night on the 9th and the battle ensued through
the morning of the 10th. Fleming
described the battle:
“Imagining this to be some scouting party, Colonel Lewis ordered a detachment from every company
so as to make up one hundred fifty men from each line to go in quest of
them. (The detachment)…marched briskly ¾
of a mile or better from camp, the sun then near an hour high, when a few guns
were fired on the right, succeeded by heavy fire which in an instant extended
to the left and the two lines were hotly engaged.”
An
Indian warrior fighting the colonists at Point Pleasant
Colonel Fields raced forward
toward the detachment with reinforcements.
As the day continued, the Indians were pushed back and the militia and
Indians fought much of the day in hand to hand combat. Fleming wrote:
“We had 7 to 800
warriors to deal with, never did Indians stick closer to it, nor behave bolder,
the engagement lasted from half an hour after (sunrise), to the same time
before sunset. And let me add I believe
the Indians never had such a scourging for the English before. They scalped many of their own dead to
prevent their falling into our hands, buried numbers, threw many into the Ohio
and no doubt carried off many wounded.
We found 70 rafts. We took 18
scalps, the most of them principle warriors amongst the Shawnese camp… This day (two days later) the scalps of the
enemy were collected and found to be 17 they were dressed and hung upon a pole
near the river bank and the plunder was collected and found to be 23 guns and blankets,
27 tomahawks with match coats and skins, shot pouches, powderhorns,
wardlubs. The tomahawks, guns and shot
pouches were sold and amounted to near 100 pounds.”
Afterward, Lewis’ army buried the
dead (about 75) and then placed the wounded (about 150) with guards. Colonel Lewis led troops across the Ohio
River to attack Indian villages but word came in from Lord Dunmore that a peace
agreement had been negotiated with the Indians.
The Virginia militia men were angered that their march was halted but
Dunmore was adamant that the treaty be upheld.
The companies disengaged and eventually marched back to their homes,
arriving by November 1774. Unfortunately,
this battle solved very little for the western Virginia colonists and would foretell
some bigger problems soon to come.
14 January 1775 Twenty-two-year-old
James Finney, fortunately, had more
joyful events transpiring, far better than political dilemmas and
life-or-death warfare. He had been
courting a neighbor, Elizabeth Gibbs.
She was the 18-year-old daughter of John and Judith (Christy) Gibbs. The Gibbs family had been close to the
Finney family since well before James was born, associations that went as far
back as his grandfather John Finney.
During the winter, James and Elizabeth were married.[ix] James and Elizabeth would live at the Finney
plantation during their first years of marriage, taking care of James’ widowed
mother, his younger siblings, and a majority of the farm duties. His brother John was certainly still away
from the Finney plantation in Culpeper County.[x]
April 1775 The Revolutionary
War officially started in Massachusetts.
The battles of Lexington and Concord saw the colonial militia of
Massachusetts fight the attacking British regulars into an embarrassing
retreat. Soon thereafter, the British
attacked colonial militia at the battle of Bunker Hill. Nearly 1,000 British troops were killed or
wounded but their persistence with an overwhelming number of trained troops
helped them to eventually take the hill and win the battle.
April 1775 Lord Dunmore, the
British-appointed governor of the Virginia colony, had the Virginia colony’s
gunpowder removed from the public magazine in Williamsburg. This act, meant to quell a small number of
aggressors, led to an almost immediate mass forming of militia across the
Virginia colony as Dunmore fled for his own safety. During the month of July, an official order
for troops to be raised was issued by the Virginia Congress and by September,
two regiments and 16 battalions of troops had been recruited and formed in
Virginia to defend the colonies against British invasion and insurrection.
Virginia was divided into 16 districts, each forming a battalion. The largest of these battalions was the
Culpeper District, also known as the Culpeper Minutemen Battalion. It had taken several weeks to assemble the
battalion but when all was complete, it would be composed of about 300 men from
the combined militias of Culpeper County, Orange County and Fauquier
County. A description of the Culpeper
County militia camp formation was recorded by a soldier:
"We
encamped in Clayton's old field (at Catalpa, the home of Philip Clayton). Some
had tents, and others huts of plank, &c. The whole regiment appeared
according to orders in hunting shirts made of strong brown linen, dyed the
color of the leaves of the trees, and on the breast was worked in large white
letters the words, "Liberty or Death"! and all that could procure for
love or money buck's tails, wore them in their hats. Each man had a leather
belt around his shoulders, with a tomahawk and scalping knife. The flag had in
the center a rattlesnake coiled in the act to strike. Below it were the words
"Don't tread on me!" At the sides, ‘Liberty or Death!’ and at the
top, ‘The Culpeper Minute Men.’"[xi]
June 1775 After the embarrassment suffered in Lexington
and Concord, the English took over Boston and fortified their position. With only one way into Boston by land, the
American force pinned them in and the Siege of Boston began. Later in June, a recently strengthened British
army marched on who they thought were dirty, uncultured farmers protecting Bunker
and Breed’s Hill. Instead they were nearly wiped out by a persistent and
fearless stance. Only sheer numbers won
the hills for the English though embarrassed once again after 1,150 were killed
or wounded compared to only 400 American troops.
July 1775 Starting in July,
men from Colonel Andrew Lewis’ southwest Virginia militia who had fought
against the Shawnee at Point Pleasant in 1774 began to receive compensation for their services. Sergeant James Finney received compensation
for 102 days of service “on the expedition.”
His compensation amounted to 26 pounds, 12 shillings, and 15 pence. Several of his Culpeper County neighbors
received similar compensation, including Lieutenant Abraham Buford, sergeant
Richard Harrison, sergeant John Zachary, and sergeant Francis Blunt. (see
Appendix 21 for more on these compensation records)
John Finney also received compensation
for his services at Point Pleasant. The
amount of his compensation is unknown.
The reason for John Finney’s compensation was listed as “by 75 days
provisions for 2 men, to his bond.”
Others that seem to be closely associated with John Finney in western
Virginia and who also received compensation at the same time include Samuel
McClung, Stephen Arnold, and William Franklin. (see Appendix 22 for more on
these compensation records)
Fall 1775 As the New England
portion of the American army under newly appointed General George Washington
kept the English busy in Boston, Massachusetts, hostilities continued in
Virginia. The Culpeper Battalion of the
Virginia militia was divided into companies and 10 captains were commissioned
to lead them. Four of these captains
were from Culpeper County; James Jameson, James Slaughter, William McClannahan
and Abraham Buford. William McClannahan
was the brother of Robert McClannahan, the captain of the Boteourt militia
company which John Finney was a member of the previous year at the Battle of
Point Pleasant. Abraham Buford grew up
on the plantation adjoining the Finney plantation and was certainly a childhood
friend a James and John Finney. [xii]
No muster rolls exist for these
Culpeper militia companies but usually all able-bodied young men above 18 were
present. James Finney was nearly 23
years of age which made him a healthy candidate for service. James’ wife Elizabeth was within a month or
two of giving birth to their first child.
Late October 1775 The
Culpeper Battalion marched to Williamsburg to help prevent the British from
removing arms and supplies from Virginia colonists. Men and militia companies were pouring in
from all over the colony to lend assistance.
The Virginia Gazette reported that “the Culpeper Battalion of minutemen,
all fine fellows, and well-armed are now within a few hours march of this
city.” A soldier in the Culpeper battalion
described it differently;
“Many people hearing
that we were from the backwoods, near the Indians, and seeing our dress were as
much afraid of us for a few days as if we had been Indians; but finding that we
were orderly and attentive in guarding the city, they treated us with great
respect. We took great pride in demeaning ourselves as patriots and
gentlemen."
At this time, five companies of
the Culpeper battalion were attached to the 2nd Virginia Regiment, including
Captain James Jameson’s company and Captain Abraham Buford’s company. These companies were made up, in large
part, of riflemen who were expert marksmen with considerable experience in bush
fighting and by far the most efficient soldiers the colony possessed.
26 October 1775 After less
than nine and a half months of marriage, Elizabeth Gibbs-Finney gave birth to
the first Finney child. James Finney
walked into his own bedroom to visit his wife Elizabeth lying in their bed,
holding his new child. Moments before,
as he stood outside the door cringing at his wife’s painful screams coming at
increasingly short intervals, he had breathed a huge sigh of relief at a new sound; the shrill cries of a newborn baby. His first question was about his new baby’s
gender. He was told he had a new son,
which brought a satisfying smile to his face.
James would have whispered his son’s new name, one he and his wife had
already discussed, the name of his wife’s father and the name of his own
grandfather, John.
Though the previous story was historically correct for most births, there is a good chance
James Finney was absent at his son’s birth.
The militia had not been sent home yet and James would have been in
Williamsburg on October 26. Another
possibility is that James had marched to Williamsburg with the militia but then
was given leave to return home to be with his wife for the birth.
November 1775 Half of the
Culpeper Battalion was sent home due to an overabundance of volunteers and the
winter just around the corner. The
companies under Captain Jameson and Captain Buford continued to fight with the
2nd Virginia Regiment through January 1776 at the battles of Great Bridge and
Norfolk. After these battles, the
British prisoners reported on the Culpeper Battalion - “...any man would probably be scalped if falling into the hands of wild western
riflemen, the most hardly, warlike people in America in frequent war with their
neighbors the Indians.” James Finney was
not a member of the two companies that remained in the 2nd Virginia Regiment
and was definitely home by late November.[xiii]
25 November 1775 James Finney
signed an indenture to sell a parcel of land containing 360 acres to William
Walker of Culpeper County for 140 pounds, 16 shillings in current money of
Virginia (Appendix 23). The land was
part of a 476-acre parcel that had been purchased by the elder James Finney 18
years before in 1757. The land adjoined other parcels of land owned by William
Walker.[xiv] According to the will from 11 years before in
1764, James Finney the elder had passed land to his sons John and James Finney
and his brother-in-law Henry Turner.
Also present at this date and signing the indenture was the same Henry
Turner. John Finney, James’ brother, was
not in Culpeper County and because he was an heir of the elder James Finney, he
was required to sign the indenture the next time he was available in the
county.[xv]
James Finney’s wife Elizabeth
Gibbs-Finney and Henry Turner’s wife Ann Turner were not able to travel “conveniently”
to the county court on this date.
Elizabeth Gibbs-Finney had given birth to her first child less than a
month before and her baby was now sick.
Since the women could not be present at the county courthouse, they were
instead examined, with their husbands absent, two days before the actual deed
was signed at their homes by Joseph Wood and William Kirtley at which time they
consented to the sale of the land. In
Colonial Virginia, a woman had to relinquish dower on any lands sold by her
husband. The courts protected a wife from having her husband “force” her to
sign a relinquishment against her will. A wife had a “dower right” to one-third of her husband’s real estate at his death. If he sold land
and she did not relinquish her dower right after being “privately examined,”
then at the death of her husband, she had a lifetime claim upon that land. Few
men would buy lands unless the wife of the seller relinquished her dower
because she might subsequently reclaim the land.
28 November 1775 James and
Elizabeth Finney had welcomed the birth of their first child just a month
before. Baby John Finney was probably sick
in late November and could have even been born sickly. On 28 November, baby John
passed away, probably at his parent’s home in southern Culpeper County,
Virginia. The excitement of a first
child, a first grandchild, and the long-awaited soft cries of a newborn infant were
snubbed away far too early. A dark cloud
of anguish and sadness would hang over the Finney home for the next year.
February/March 1776 Most of
the Culpeper Battalion was released from active duty due to shortage of weapons
and an abundance of volunteers. Upon
returning home, many of these men joined the regular Continental Force in June
and July, mostly into Daniel Morgan’s 11th Virginia Continental Regiment. There is no record of James or John Finney
enlisting into a regimental unit at this time.
It seems most likely that they remained active with the Culpeper County
militia, who were often times attached to regiments or served temporary duty
that may last from one to three months or possibly longer. One record shows that Captain Ambrose
Bohannon’s Culpeper militia company served for three months near Norfolk,
Virginia this year.[xvi]
As the Virginia campaigns
quieted, activity in Boston heated up.
In early March, the American army made an aggressive maneuver and forced
the English into full retreat from their occupancy of Boston. News of the first real American victory,
achieved without a fight, spread south and reached Virginia by the end of
March. One newspaper reported:
To the wisdom,
firmness, intrepidity, and military abilities of our admirable and beloved
general, his Excellency George Washington, Esq.; to the assiduity, skill, and
bravery of our other worthy generals and officers of the army; and to the
hardiness and gallantry of the soldiery, is to be ascribed, under God, the
glory and success of our arms, in driving from one of the strongest holds in
America, so considerable a part of the British army.
June 1776 A group of
Colonial representatives had been meeting to discuss liberty and freedom of the
colonies. This group, the Second
Continental Congress, issued the Declaration of Independence from British rule
and their right to be free and independent states on 4 July 1776. George Washington was now even more officially
made the commander of the American troops. Since the American army was small,
inexperienced, and lacking training, Washington planned on small battles and
raids to weaken the British.
Several hundred copies of the
declaration were created that night and distributed unto the colonies and the
active troops. General Washington
received a copy on July 6 and then read it to his troops in New York on July 9. By the end of July, the Finney’s would have
heard the declaration read publicly in town or seen it posted
somewhere. The declaration arrived in
London, England on August 10.
After
hearing about the declaration, James Finney traveled to
where
the nearest copy was posted to read it himself
July 1776 Elizabeth Finney had known for several weeks
but was now sure. After enduring the
pain of losing a child eight months earlier, she was pregnant. Finding the right moment, Elizabeth broke the
news to her husband James Finney. He was
elated but cautious. Losing a baby was
not uncommon in the 18th century. And,
neither was losing two. James would have
shown excitement to his wife but remained reserved internally.
Fall 1776 A Culpeper County
resident reported that he had enlisted for two years service into the county
militia under Lieutenant William Moore in Botetourt County, Virginia. Men were recruited from Botetourt County in
the vicinity of what would soon become Rockbridge County two years later. The private stated he was joined in the
militia unit by comrades such as John Hogg, Samuel Peters, William Hicks, and
John Finney. After enlisting and being
mustered into service, the company marched to Point Pleasant where they were
placed under the ultimate command of Captain Matthew Arbuckle. Arbuckle was married to Jane Lockhart, a
family John Finney was known to have multiple associations with. Rockbridge County was also where John Finney
was known to have owned land several years later.
16 February 1777 After
months of anxious waiting, Elizabeth Finney delivered her second baby. Just 16 months earlier, James Finney had been
surprised with a baby boy. He received
the same surprise once again when Elizabeth Finney smiled and informed him that
he was the father of a new little boy.
Many times parents waited to name their child until he or she survived
the critical first months of life. At
some point, James and Elizabeth Finney named their little boy Reubin
Finney. There were no known males in
either family who were named Reubin so the child’s namesake is unknown.
21 April 1777 John Finney arrived in Culpeper County by April. He was excited to be home and to see his new,
and only, two-month-old nephew Reubin Finney.
During his time home, he made a trip to the Culpeper county court on
April 21 to sign an indenture that was made between the James Finney heirs and
William Walker a year and a half before in November 1775.
Who was John Finney of the 7th and 9th Virginia Regiments?
On May 13, 1777, John Finney, or John Tinney, enlisted in the seventh
Virginia Regiment for a three year term under Captain Joseph Crockett. [xvii] He
joined a group mostly made up of western Virginia men who hailed from the
western foothills of the Appalachian Mountains.
The company started out in Pennsylvania where Finney was sick in May
(see Appendix 24 for a detailed description of Tinney’s service). Later that year, the 7th, renamed the 9th,
fought in the battles of Germantown and Brandywine, and spent the winter at
Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. [xviii] The
company left Valley Forge in May 1778 but Finney stayed behind and was sick in
a hospital for five months before returning to his company. In January 1780, Finney’s company, under
Captain Vance and along with four other companies, was transferred from Fort
Pitt to Kentucky to be under the command of Colonel George Rogers Clark in his
Illinois Regiment. This regiment was
designated as light infantry and trained for movement through rough country. Finney received a 200-acre land bounty
warrant for land in Kentucky for his service.
Finney researchers have struggled to find this land and it seems that
part of the issue was that the land was claimed by a John Tinney. A John Tinney applied for a pension in 1831
and stated that he held title to that specific warrant. Interestingly and what even makes this more
confusing, is the purchase of two treasury warrants (numbers 4035 and 4036) for
land on 18 March 1780 at Williamsburg.
These warrants were bought on the same day, one after the other by John
“Tinney” (number 4035) and John “Finnie” (number 4036). Researchers have been
unable to explain why the names were spelled differently and why both warrants
were used by our John Finney of Culpeper County for land he claimed later on
Tate’s Creek in the Kentucky County. (see Appendix 24 for more on the John
Tinney service)
October 1777 Four Culpeper
County militia companies, including those of Captain Henry Hill[xix]
and Captain Richard Waugh[xx]
(see Appendix 25 for Culpeper County militia officers), joined General
Washington’s army of over 11,000 men five miles north of Philadelphia and
fought in the battle of Germantown. The
battle resulted in a British victory, their second after first enjoying a
successful march to take Philadelphia from the American army in the Battle of
Brandywine. During the battle of
Germantown, General Washington’s army suffered 673 casualties (152 men dead and
521 wounded) while the British lost only 70.
The Culpeper County militia musters do not exist and therefore, we can
only surmise that James Finney may have joined the action as a member of his
county militia.[xxi]
The
American Colonies in 1777
November 1777 James Finney
enlisted as a corporal in Alexander Dandridge’s company of the First Regiment
of Continental Light Dragoons.[xxii] This company was made up of many men who were
neighbors of James Finney, such as John Zachary and Benjamin Head. His enlistment was for one year. This company was led to New Jersey and
Pennsylvania, seeing action in the Battle of Monmouth and other smaller
skirmishes.
Was this our James Finney? At first look, this Corporal James Finney seems
to be a perfect match for our James Finney.
Our James Finney had been an officer in a militia battle in 1774 and was
a land owner in Culpeper County, making him worthy of being a corporal. We also know that for sure, this Corporal
James Finney was the same man who later in March 1781, enlisted in the 9th
Virginia. His enlistment record stated
that he had previously served in the first light dragoons and was born in
Culpeper County.
Looking deeper into the issue,
Corporal James Finney actually signed his monthly payment receipts by the name
of “James Finnell.” James Finnell, as
with several other Finnell men, was often found to use the surname Finney and
Finnie (see Appendix 5 for James Finney/James Finnell signature analysis). Additionally, our James Finney appears to
have been mentioned in several pension applications as being an officer in the
Culpeper militia during the spring and summer 1781. If our James Finney had enlisted in the 9th
Virginia in March 1781, he would have been unable to play a role in the 1781
Virginia militia activities. Therefore,
our James Finney did not enlist as a light dragoon in November 1777.
6 November 1777 Sadness
shrouded the Finney farm once again when baby Reubin Finney passed away. He was probably placed in a burial ground on
the Finney farm next to, possibly among others, his grandfather James Finney
and his older brother baby John Finney.
Baby Reubin had been almost nine months old, much older than their last
child had been when he died. Nine months
had allowed the Finneys to bond with Reubin, making this loss even more
difficult than the last. Reubin had made
sounds, communicated and reacted to stimulus, fed himself, sat up, grabbed
objects, probably had teeth, and likely even crawled. His loss was devastating to all the Finneys
but especially James and Elizabeth.
19 December 1777 George Washington
and his weary, hungry forces arrived at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, about 25
miles northwest of Philadelphia. About
12,000 Continental regular troops, of which only about one in three wore shoes,
began to dig defensive groundwork and an encampment consisting of about 1,000
small huts that provided little shelter from the harsh wind and cold
temperatures. Lack of proper food,
clothing, and protection from the winter elements caused men and their animals
to become sick and die of typhoid, jaundice, dysentery, pneumonia, and other
diseases. To encourage the men to remain
in the army instead of just quitting and returning to their homes, Washington
encouraged the men’s’ women and children to stay in camp. He even awarded them half- and
quarter-rations and pensions by working as cooks and laundresses.
Finney moved west to Rockingham County in 1778
1778 James’ sister, Mary Finney, married John Rice sometime around
this year. John Rice was the son of
William and Sarah Rice, who were neighbors of the Finneys within a few miles to
the northwest. Several years before,
John had bought land northwest of Culpeper County in Rockingham County,
Virginia. After their marriage, they
moved to Rockingham County and built a large house. John Rice’s father, William Rice, gave John
and Mary a set of engraved silver spoons as a wedding present.
June 1778 Of the original
12,000 troops in General Washington’s army who had arrived at Valley Forge, less
than 10,000 suffered and survived through the winter. By the time the troops moved on in June 1778,
between 2,000 and 2,500 soldiers had perished and even more lay sick in flying
hospitals, which had been hastily built at each brigade’s location to care for so
many who became ill.
By the end of 1778, The Finney family
living in Culpeper County now consisted of Ms. Finney, now likely just over 50 years of age, her twenty-six-year-old
son James and his wife Elizabeth Finney, a son in his early twenties William
Finney (who may have been active in the Revolution), and a daughter in her early
twenties Elizabeth Finney. Sibling John Finney
remained to the west or was possibly fighting in the Revolution. Another sibling Mary Finney had
married and moved northwest to Rockingham County. The promise of a growing family had yet to be
realized but hope was on the horizon. Elizabeth
Finney was pregnant with her third child.
[i] From the
location of the Finney land in relation to bordering Caves Road and another
country road and from Culpeper County, VA Road Orders
[ii]
Greenbrier Land Entry Records John Finney preemption warrant 17 Jan 1780),
[iii] the
John Finie land entry of 17 Oct 1782 in Greenbrier County VA stated Finney
entered land on Cherry Tree Bottom that day “including an entry of 200 acres in
the year 1774 by John Finie and George Blackburn”
[iv] Mays
vs. McClung 17 Sep 1792
[v] The
survey dated 24 October 1790 and grant dated 17 September 1792 had both been
made in John Finney’s name and for 200 acres.
No explanation for this can be made for this as it seems that John
signed over the land in 1784.
[vi] the
John Finie land entry of 17 Oct 1782 in Greenbrier County VA stated Finney
entered land on Cherry Tree Bottom that day “including an entry of 200 acres in
the year 1774 by John Finie and George Blackburn”
[vii]
According to the Botetourt County titheables 1770-1777
[viii] James
Finney owned land in Culpeper County which earned him an officer
commission. John Finney, though settling
and improving land in western VA, was
not technically a land owner
[ix] Date
was found in the John Finnie family history records (Guthrie Geography book)
[x] John
Finney did not show in Greenbrier Country titheables nor was he a
landowner/signer of a petition to the Virginia General Assembly to form
Greenbrier County from Botetourt County
[xi]
Culpeper History book by Philip Slaughter
[xii] James
Finney was about 23 years old. Abraham
Buford was a neighbor bordering the Finneys to the north and east on Beautiful
Run in Culpeper County , VA.
[xiii] James
Finney signed a deed in Culpeper County on November 25
[xiv] The
remaining 116 acres of the original 476 acres was given to Finney’s friend and
neighbor Thomas Buford according to the James Finney will of 1764
[xv] The
indenture acknowledged that John Finney returned to sign the indenture 21 April
1777
[xvi]
“Summary of the Services of the Militia Arranged by Counties”, McAllister,
1913, p. 28.
[xvii]
Revolutionary War muster rolls of the 7th Virginia Regiment
(www.footnote.com)
[xviii]
Revolutionary War muster rolls of the Consolidated 3rd and 7th
Virginia Regiment (www.footnote.com)
[xix]
“Summary of the Services of the Militia Arranged by Counties”, McAllister,
1913, p. 28.
[xx] From
the pension application of Reuben Twyman stating that he “…was a resident of
Culpeper County…and commenced the first of September 1777…in the company of
Captain Richard Waugh, he was marched to Pennsylvania and joined the army of
General Washington near Philadelphia soon after the Battle of Germantown and
was discharged…(two months later) about the first of November.” He must have meant “before Germantown ” as that battle took place in
October.
[xxi] His
identification as a Culpeper
County
[xxii]
Revolutionary War muster rolls, company lists, and pay rolls of the 1st
Regiment of Light Dragoons (www.footnote.com). It is noted that James Finney was alternately
spelled Finnie and Finnell through the records involved with this
enlistment. James Finnell historians
have claimed that this was there relative which may be correct. See Appendix B for more on the Finney –
Finnell similarities, differences, and discussion of the 1st Light
Dragoon enlistment dilemma.
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