Person:Samuel Edmiston (2)

Samuel Edmiston
d.1808
m. 1730
  1. Col. William Edmondson, of Washington Co., VA1736 - 1822
  2. Samuel Edmiston1738 - 1808
  3. Lt. Robert Edmiston, Sr.Aft 1739 - 1780
  4. John EdmistonAft 1741 - Bet 1815 & 1816
  5. Mary EdmistonAft 1742 -
  6. Elizabeth EdmistonAft 1743 -
  7. Andrew Edmiston1750 - 1780
Facts and Events
Name Samuel Edmiston
Alt Name Samuel Edmondson
Gender Male
Birth? 3 May 1738 Cecil County, Maryland
Marriage to Elizabeth Edmiston
Death? 1808

Contents

Edmondson Tapestry
Register
Data
Notebooks
Analysis
Bibliography
Graphics
YDNA
Index

……………………..The Tapestry
Families Old Chester OldAugusta Germanna
New River SWVP Cumberland Carolina Cradle
The Smokies Old Kentucky

__________________________

Overview

Samuel Edmiston, the son of person:John Edmiston (1) of Borden's Grant, first appears (1773) in southwest Virginia as a signatory on the Ebbing Springs Call, along with numerous other family members. Some identify his wife as "Elizabeth Edmiston" daughter of a David Edmiston. [1]Samuel was also appointed to present this "call" to the Reverend Charles Cummings, suggesting that he was considered to be a man worthy of a responsible trust. Court and land records (See:Notebook) show that he settled on the Middle fork of the Holston, where other members of his family (as well as other signatories of the Ebbing Springs Call) also settled. He is invested with other responsibilities in the community, and in 1778 appears on grand jury lists, and is appointed as a "viewer of the way" for a road between the Court House, and "the old road at James Bryan".

During the Battle of King's Mountain Samuel served as a private under his brotherinlaw, Captain David Beattie, in Campbell's regiment. Some years later his nephew, General William Campbell Emdondson, tells us that:

My father commanded as a Major at that battle in the regiment commanded by Gen'l. Campbell. I had in the same regiment several uncles to wit, Samuel Edmiston, John Edmiston, Robert Edmiston, Andrew Edmiston, & David Beattie & William Edmiston, the two latter of whom were uncles by marriage. Robert Edmiston, Andrew Edmiston & Cap'n William Edmiston three of my uncles were killed there that day, and John Edmiston was wounded. Deposition by General William Campbell Edmiston, dated 26 July 1823.

(See: Edmiston's at King's Mountain)

Following the close of the Revolution Samuel continued to serve his community in varing capacities. (See Notebook:Samuel_Edmiston#Summers 1903 for a partial listing.) In 1785 he was numbered among those opposed to joining the breakaway state of Franklin, and successfully labored to prevent that from occurring.

The people had been advised and expected that they would be released from the payment of their taxes for the preceding years, upon the organization of the new State, which they confidently believed would take place. Early in the. year 1785, James Montgomery, William Edmiston, Arthur Bowen, James Kincannon, Samuel Edmiston and James Thompson addressed the following communication to the Governor of Virginia, preferring charges of malpractices and misconduct, in his office, as justice of the peace, against Arthur Campbell. Summers, 1903:402

In 1788 he was a member of the State Constitutional Convention convened to ratify the US Constitution. Edmiston sided with Patrick Henry, opposing ratification.

In June of this year, a convention of delegates from the several counties of Virginia assembled in Richmond for the purpose of rejecting or ratifying the Constitution of the United States, as proposed by the Philadelphia Convention. The delegates from Washington county in this convention were Samuel Edmiston and James Montgomery. At this time such distinguished Virginians as Patrick Henry opposed the ratification of the Constitution as submitted by the Philadelphia Convention, but the Virginia Convention ratified the Constitution by a vote of 89 to 79, the delegates from Washington county voting against the ratification of the Constitution.[2] Colonel Arthur Campbell and his followers were heartily in favor of the adoption of the Federal Constitution, and no doubt opposed the election of Edmiston and Montgomery. Summers, 1903:420.

Samuel served as a State representative for two terms (1791-1792, and again in 1793-1794.) As one of his last acts of public service (1803), Samuel served on the commission to contract the construction of the Abingdon-Saltville turnpike. [3] He died in 1803.

Family Relations

Personal Data

Personal Data
VitaDatumSource/Basis/Comment
DOB:3 May 1738fide:Source:Moss, 1990[4]
POB:Cecil County MDfide:Source:Moss, 1990[4]
DOD:4 April 1808fide:Source:Moss, 1990[4]
POD:Washington County, VAfide:Source:Moss, 1990[4]
Father:person:John Edmiston (1)
Mother:Margaret Buchanan
Spouse:Elizabeth[4] Some identify her as a daughter of David Edmiston of Cecil County, MD. Some give a second (or previous) wife as Mary Moffett, or Catherine Estill. Basis for any of this is not known.
DOM:1760[4]
POM:Borden's Grantinferred from DOM, and fact that his family was on Borden's Grant from 1740 to at least 1765.
Children [5]
Name DOB POB DOD POD Spouse DOM POM Dispersion and Notes
John 1760 Barbara Hays


William
David
Mary
Samuel
Martha William Gilmore 1790
daughter ___Watkins Some identify this daughter as Margaret


Issues

Spouse. Samuel's wife is variously identified as "Elizabeth Estill", Catherine Kitty Estill Elizabeth EDMISTON, and Kitty Moffett. Sometimes he's identified as having a single spouse, sometimes as two. Possibly different genealogists have interchanged/merged the names of separate wives, or perhaps they have combined wives of two or more Samuel Edmiston's. Direct data on his wife is needed.


Date of Death Samuel's DOD seems to be based on a will as reported in Volume 30 of EFAB. He's said to have died in Washington Co, VA, but the will is in Washington County TN, indicating a confusion of some sort. its possible that data for two different Samuel's have been combined.

Footnotes

  1. Evidence for this is needed. Which David Edmiston is this?
  2. From VirginiaPlaces 26 March 2009
    :Patrick Henry was as outspoken in opposition to the Constitution in 1788-89 as he was to continued British rule in 1775-76. Henry "smelled a rat" and refused to go to Philadelphia and attend the Constitutional Convention in 1788. Henry's eloquence made it a close contest before Virginia ratified the Constitution, and joined the stronger Federal union. But Henry's concerns about an excessively-strong central government have stayed part of the Virginia political psyche. Concerns about the loss of state control - particularly state protection of what slaveowners called "private property" - were a key part in Virginia's abortive effort to leave the union and join a weaker confederation of Southern states in 1861.
  3. This turnpike probably corresponds (more or less) to some combination of modern Lee Highway (US 11), and US 81 between Abington and Glade Springs, plus SR 91 from Glade Springs to Saltville.
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 Moss is a well documented work, based on original sources. His sources have not as yet been verified for this datum.
  5. Child information taken from Source:Moss, 1990