Person:William Crabtree (23)

Patriot William Crabtree WILLIAM CRABTREE IV, was active as an officer in the Washington County Militia during the Revolutionary War. He manned the various garrisons and forts along the Holston and Clinch Rivers which protected the settlers from British inspired Indian attacks. He fought at the battle of Pt. Pleasant in October 1774. He also fought at the battle of King's Mountain in South Carolina in 1780. In this battle, the backwoods men of Southwest Virginia defeated a British force under Col. Ferguson. This ended Gen. Cornwallis' threat to the frontier settlements of North Carolina and Virginia. It enabled people of the frontier to continue in assisting the Continental Army who were fighting the British in the major battles in the East with food, lead, gun powder, and other provisions necessary in the war effort.

William was a Lieutenant in the Revolutionary Army and served in the battle of Kings Mountain. He was never married to a Hannah Lyons as mentioned in some books. Catherine's brothers, Joseph and Frederick Starnes were killed in Madison County, Kentucky April 4, 1779 by indians while scouting for Daniel Boone. The 1820 Census for Washington Co. VA shows Catherine living with her son William Crabtree V.

Petition to form Russell County, 1785 1785 , Russell County, VA RUSSELL COUNTY, VA - COURT - Petition to form Russell County, Dec 1785 ----¤¤¤---- The petition of sundry inhabitants of Clinch River, Moccasin Creek, Powells Valley, and others, citizens of Washington County humbly represent that your petitioners are situated from the line of Montgomery as it crosses near the source of the Clinch River, down the same eight miles; thence to the extreme settlements of Powells Valley forty more. The greatest portion of your petitioners have to travel from twenty five miles and some eighty or an hundred; moreover are generally interrupted by Clinch Mountain and the north branch of the Holstein River; the former affording very difficult passes; the latter much danger and difficulty in crossing it in spring and after considerable rains; continuous to its southern bank, a chain of hills almost as difficult as Clinch Mountain; so that great difficulty arises to your Petitioners not only in attending Courts, but Courts Martial. And from the extent of schism between our small settlements make it exceedingly difficult to arrange companies without subjecting some to travel 15 and 20 miles to private mustery. There are two difficulties in the militia law that principally affect your Petitioners. There are evils small indeed to the feelings we constantly undergo when obliged to leave our helpless families exposed at so very greast distances to obey the laws of our country. And however evident the danger may appear to us will not certainly on our failure of duty plead our excuse. Circumstance alone is sufficient to claim the human respect of the Legislature to remove the grievance. We therefore pray your Honorable House will take our case into consideration and divide the county. We further pray a line may be fixed along Clinch Mountain to the Carolina line; or with the line at present dividing the county into two regiments to the aforesaid Carolina line; then with the said line to Cumberland Mountain including taht existing county between Cumberland Mountain and Montgomery line and Clinch Mountain, or the aforesaid regimental line for the new county and southeast of the said Clinch Mountain remain Washington County; and we your Petitioners as in duty bound will ever pray. Albert, Michael Alderson, Benjamin Alley, David Alley, Hosea Alley, James Sr. Alley, James Jr. Alley, John Alley, Peter Alley, Samuel Asberry, George Asberry, Henry Asberry, John Asberry, William Baker, John Barker, Joel Barnett, Alexander Bays, ----------- Beavers, Alexander Belsher, George Belsher, Thomas Berrker?, Robert Bickley, Charles Bird, Thomas Bird, William Black, Joseph Blackmore, James Blackmore, James Blanton, William Bonem?, John Bowen, Arthur Bowen, John Bowland, Jared Bowland, William Bradley, James Bremley, Archalus Brewster, Michael Bristow, Isaac Brown, James Browning, Francis Bush, James Caar?, Robert Cain, David Calhoun, Davis Campbell, John Campbell, John Carter, John Jr. Carter, Joseph Carter, Norris Carter, Thomas Castles, Jacob Castles, Joseph Cenduncan, William Childress, Abraham Choat, Valentine Clark, George Cockrell, Simon Cole, Jeremiah Colvilk?, ---------- Colvill, Andrew Conway, Thomas Conway, Thomas Cooper, Christopher Cowan, Andrew Cowan, John Cox, David Crabtree, William Craig, James? Craig?, Robert Crockett, Alexander Crockett, Hamilton Cunningham, Jonathan Damron, John Damron, Lazarus

1. ↑ Ancestry Family Trees. (Name: Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network. Original data: Family Tree files submitted by Ancestry members.;)
   Ancestry Family Trees.

   http://trees.ancestry.com/pt/AMTCitationRedir.aspx?tid=9272944&pid=-819810030

2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2} Ancestry.com. Public Member Trees. (Name: The Generations Network, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2006;)
   Database online.

   Record for William lll Crabtree

3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6} Ancestry.com. Public Member Trees. (Name: The Generations Network, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2006;)
   Database online.

   Record for William IV Crabtree

4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1 4.2} Ancestry.com. Public Member Trees. (Name: The Generations Network, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2006;)
   Database online.

   Record for William Crabtree