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Thomas Kilgore, of Kilgore's Station
Facts and Events
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Land Records
- 26 January 1795: Sumner County, Tennessee: This indenture made between Thomas Kilgore of the County of Sumner of the one part and Charles Kilgore of the County aforesaide of the other witnesseth that the said Thomas Kilgore afore and in the Consideration of Eighty pounds currently to me in hand paid by the said Charles Kilgore the receipt whereof do hereby acknowledge have granted, bargained, sold and conveyed and by these payments, do bargain, sell and convey until the said Charles Kilgore his heirs and assigns forever one certain tract of land containing Eight hundred acres lying and being in the County of Davidson lying on the south side of Cumberland River and on Barton's Creek [measurements omitted]. in witness whereof the said Thomas Kilgore hath here unto set his hand and affixed his seal this second day of October in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and hinety four. [Signed] Thomas Kilgore. Signed, Sealed and Delivered in presence of: John Williamson, Jurat, Wm. Crabtree, Wm. Herrington. Registgered and Exam'd. Jany the 26th 1795. [Signed] David Wilson Reg.[istrar]. [Sumner County Deeds, FamilySearch.org, Film #007901153].
- Wilson County, Tennessee Grant Book, Vol. C, 1807 – 1809, page 146; John FRANCISCO to John HALL State of North Carolina – 4 March 1808. John FRANCISCO of Kentucky and John HALL of Sumner County, Tennessee for $640 tract of land granted by NC to George FRANCISCO, No. 26, lying on south side of Cumberland river in Wilson County which was formerly Davidson County on Barton’s creek. Borders Thomas KILGORE, Luther MARTIN. Witness: Edward DOUGLASS, Thomas GAMMELL. [Signed] John FRANCISCO. Proven by oath of Edward DOUGLASS at June term 1808. Hall Family Research Blog - Middle Tennessee
Overview
From Goodspeed's History of Robertson County:828 et seq
The first settlement in Robertson County was made by Thomas Kilgore on the waters of the Middle Fork of Red River,
three-fourths of a mile west of Cross Plains. The Legislature of North Carolina passed a pre-emption
law securing to settlers of Tennessee 640 acres of land provided the settlement was made prior to
1780. In the spring of 1778 Kilgore left North Carolina with some ammunition, some salt, and a few
grains of corn. Traveling on foot he passed through East Tennessee, and plunged into the wilderness
beyond. Guided alone by the sun and the north star, he pushed on, seeing no white people until he
reached Bledsoe's Lick, where he found a colony of six or eight familes. After resting a few days,
he went on some twenty-five miles west where he located. As a safe hiding place from the Indians, he
selected a cave a mile west of where Cross Plains now is. It had a bold stream of water running from
it into the Middle Fork of Red River, and by wading the stream he could enter the cave without
leaving a trail.
After finding a location to suit him he kicked up some of the rich alluvial soil of the cane brake,
and planted a few hills of corn. It is said that in order to secure his land it was necessary for
him to remain until the corn matured, that he might carry a few ears back to North Carolina. He
spent the summer in watching his little crop, meeting with several narrow escapes from the hostile
savages. During this period he had no other food than the game which he killed. In the fall he
gathered two or three ears of corn, returned to North Carolina, and had the title to his land
confirmed. In the spring of 1779, with a few families besides his own, he returned to the spot,
where he had passed the previous summer. A stockaded fort, "Kilgore's Station" was at once erected
to protect them from the Indians. This fort was situated on a commanding eminence about
three-fourths of a mile from Cross Plains. Kilgore's Station, from that time for years, was a
land-mark in the overland emigration to Tennessee.
In 1780 or 1781 Maulding's Station was built. It was located one mile west of the present Louisville
and Nashville pike, and four miles east of Kilgore's. That was the next settlement in Robertson
County, but the Indians were so hostile that they abandoned it for a time and united with the people
at Kilgore's. Among the occupants of the latter station at this time were the Kilgores, Mauldings,
Masons, Hoskinses, Jesse Simmons, Isaac Johnson, Samuel Martin, Yates, and several others. The first
Indian massacres in the county occurred in 1781. A small colony had located in Montgomery County,
near where Port Royal now is....
The many streams of the county afforded ample water-power and invited the erection of mills, which
was begun at an early date. The first was probably built by Thomas Kilgore on the middle fork of Red
River, three-fourths of a mile northwest from Cross Plains, some time between 1785 and 1790.
Footnotes
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