The following genealogy concerning Ambrose Blackburn has been used
for the purpose of establishing DAR/SAR lineage however there are certain factual
differences from other genealogical sources pertaining to Ambrose Blackburn. The most
significant contradiction involves the origins of Ambrose Blackburn, one source claiming
he was an Irish immigrant, and this source omitting that detail entirely.
The material was taken from a poor photo copy with areas of text illegible. Wording and
spellings of the original have been retained.
Blackburn Genealogy
Compiled by Vinette Wells Ranke
Washington D.C.
Ambrose Blackburn I, son of Elias Blackburn of Caroline, Essex County, Virginia, brother
of Christopher Blackburn II, married Elizabeth Jones, a relative of Gabriel Jones. He left
Virginia about 1760 and settled in Stokes County, North Carolina. County records show that
he was there in 1761 and 1770. He later moved to Greenville District, South Carolina. He
died in 1777.
Children of Ambrose I and Elizabeth Jones Blackburn:
Ambrose II
Augustine
Possibly four others;
Melinda, Bernett, Daniel, Meredith
Ambrose Blackburn II, born in Essex County Virginia, 1750, died in Tennessee in 1820. He
married Francis Halbert, daughter of Joel and Frances Halbert of Caroline, Virginia. He
was a captain in the revolutionary war, commanding a company of South Carolina Rangers.
[Actually North Carolina Rangers]
Children of Ambrose II and Frances Halbert Blackburn:
Alfred - said to have gone to England
Meridith
Mary
Lewis - settled in Forsythe County, Georgia
Betsy - born October 1773, married Leonard Tarrent, lived in South Carolina
Daniel
Josiah
James
Lemuel
John Porter Blackburn
The following story relating to Revolutionary War activities of Ambrose
Blackburn II was originally found and quoted by Vinette Ranke as listed below:
Captain Ambrose Blackburn, Revolutionary Ancestor, North Carolina The Old North
State in 1776 by William Carruthers, DD 1856, pp260-263 Congressional Library
Ambrose Blackburn was a Captain in the American Revolution and raised his company near
Greenville, South Carolina.
He mustered his men one Saturday morning and all the guns were stored in his home. The
Torries came in the night and broke all the guns, except a very fine one that belonged to
Captain Blackburn. They ransacked the home, destroying all the furniture, beds, clothing,
even the dainty wardrobe made by the mother for the baby that was soon to be born.
Captain Blackburn was taken captive but gave the sign of the Masons and his life was
spared. The Torries then fled, taking all the horses. Next morning, Captain Blackburn
gathered his men and for several days and nights followed the Torries, finally overtaking
them and a fight occured. Twenty-seven Torries were either killed or captured, but Captain
Blackburn never lost a man.
Captain's Blackburn's own gun, a very complicated one, which was taken from his home, was
held by a Tory, who did not know how to fire the weapon and soon recovered it. When the
Tory saw Captain Blackburn approaching he called out, "Captain Blackburn, I know
you". He said this thinking that Captain Blackburn might show some mercy, but Captain
Blackburn called out, "I know you too, and in a few minutes your soul will be in
Hell". With those words he shot the Tory. The bullet pierced his body and passed
through his shot pouch.
The following text and pictures are from a web page produced by the
Lewis County Tennessee Tourist Association.
http://www.visitlewis.com/blackburn.html
Blackburn Farmstead and Pioneer Museum
Lewis County Tennessee
One of the few remaining houses on the old Natchez Trace is the Ambrose Blackburn farm.
Listed on the National Register of Historic Places is the Ambrose Blackburn House.
Constructed between 1806 and 1810, the house also holds the distinction of being the first
courthouse in the county and of probably being the oldest house in the county.
Ambrose Blackburn served as a captain in the militia during the Revolutionary War. He is
the only Revolutionary War veteran who is known to have settled in Lewis County.
Blackburn cleared his farm and constructed a log house about one mile east of the Natchez
Trace. Blackburn died in 1820, and his body is buried in a small family cemetery behind
the house. Blackburn's descendants continued to live in
the house until the early 1900's.
When the Tennessee Legislature created Lewis County as a memorial to Meriwether Lewis in
1843, it appointed commissioners to determine where the county seat should be located. The
commissioners selected the area where the house, then owned by son John Blackburn, was
situated. They determined that the county seat should be called "Gordon" after
Powhatan Gordon who camped his company there while on his way to Florida to fight in the
Seminole War.
The Legislature directed that until a permanent courthouse could be built, the County
Court should meet in John Blackburn's home and it was there that the first county business
was conducted in March 1844. The Circuit Court also needed a building in which to conduct
court. It was decided that the corn crib would be suitable for trials and Edward
Dillahunty presided over the first Circuit Court there in March 1844.
The house also served as the first post office for the county. A log courthouse was soon
built nearby. Although a small store was built on Gordon, the town did not prosper as a
settlement. It appears that the residents considered the Gordon county seat only
temporary. Newburg was soon under construction and it seems that there was no opposition
to moving the log courthouse and the county seat to Newburg in 1848. When the county seat
was moved, Gordon ceased to exist and the Blackburn farm was used solely for farming.
The Blackburn house, corncrib and other out-buildings have remained intact with virtually
few changes over the years. The house is said to be one of the best preserved log
structures in the area. The farm itself is a great example of the early pioneer farms
along the Natchez Trace.
The Blackburn Farmstead is open to the public for tours.
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David Young's Genealogy Pages December 31, 2002