Blog Article List Home My Research Services Contact Me

Wilkes

May 3, 2025

The Imprisonment of Richard Ransome Gwyn

At the March 1789 session of Morgan District Superior Court, the jurors presented that Enoch Osborne and James Roark (also, Roruck) both planters of Montgomery County, Virginia, and Charles Copeland of Wilkes County and perhaps others assaulted Richard Gwyn on July 28, 1788. “With swords drawn and guns cocked” they attacked him and imprisoned him for forty hours. The three men were charged with assault and battery and felony imprisonment. Charles Gordon was a witness. It was found to be a true bill which meant the case would go to trial.

The charges say that the men attacked Richard R. Gwyn “with Force and arms, to wit, with Swords drawn & guns cock’t & presented”.

The Morgan district was comprised of the counties of Wilkes, Burke, Lincoln, and Rutherford. In 1789, this was roughly all of North Carolina west of Interstate 77. The District Superior Court generally heard cases that were more serious than those held at the county courts.

In March 1789, the grand jury stated the charges against Enoch Osborne, James Roark, and Charles Copeland. (Click the images to see larger versions of Page 1 and Page 2.)

On March 13, 1789, the Morgan Superior Court issued a summons for William Allen, Adnirum Allen, Jesse Franklin, Jonathan Stamper, Mary Stamper, and Abraham Slacks(?) to appear at the next session in September to testify against Enoch Osborne. On September 2, Robert Burton, James Parks, and William Love were summoned, as well.

At least three times through September 1790, Charles Copeland and James Roark were noted as “non est”, or not found in the county, but that wasn’t the case for Enoch Osborn. At the Morgan Superior Court on March 6, 1790, the sheriff was ordered to sell the property of Enoch Osborne to pay a debt by an order of the court. A note on the order says “Executed one horse, not sold for want of bidders. Plaintiff received £15 by defendant.”

Richard Ransome Gwyn

The July 1788 session of the Wilkes County court commenced on Monday, July 28. The following day, most of the county’s district tax collectors submitted their 1788 tax lists, but one man in particular did not show up to court that day. Richard Ransome Gwyn submitted his completed tax list a day later, on Wednesday. Immediately after doing so, his next action was to stand before the court and resign as constable for his district. It’s natural to think that his decision to do so was influenced by what he had experienced over the past two days.

Richard Ransom Gwyn (born 1765) was just 21 years old when he was first appointed constable of Carrell’s district on April 25, 1787. This county district covered a large area on the north side of the Yadkin River including what later became the town of Ronda, near where the Gwyn family lived. A year later, on May 1, 1788, he was again appointed constable, but this time his territory included both Carrell’s district on the north side of the river, and Alexander Gordon’s district on the south side of the river.

Less than three months into his second year in this role, Richard R. Gwyn was attacked by three men “with swords drawn and guns cocked”. Not only did they assault him, but they also imprisoned him for the span of forty hours. We do not know if Gwyn escaped from their captivity or if they finally decided to let him go, but within hours of his release, he resigned as constable.

Had his captors strong-armed Gwyn into resigning? Had Gwyn experienced enough wild adventures in law enforcement, and instead wanted to lead a quieter life with his family? Or did he resign because his role as a sworn county officer would restrict his ability to get retribution against the three men? We do not know precisely why he resigned, but it seems clear that it was not because he was afraid of the responsibilities of law enforcement. On January 29, 1789, six months after he was assaulted and imprisoned, he was appointed as deputy sheriff for all of Wilkes County. He was determined to do his part to maintain peace and order.

On December 4, 1789, Richard R. Gwyn married Martha Lenoir, the daughter of Thomas Lenoir and the niece of Gen. William Lenoir. They had at least seven children and owned several hundred acres on the east side of Ronda. In 1810, Richard R. Gwyn was the county jailor when three men escaped from his custody. In 1812, he and James Shepherd bought Wilkesboro town lots #2 and #3 where they operated a store. This was on the west side of the courthouse square, where the Commons area is today. Richard R. Gwyn died in Wilkesboro in 1822 at the age of 56. He and his wife were buried at the old Presbyterian Church cemetery in town.

His nephew, also named Richard Gwyn, was born in 1796 and purchased land on Big Elkin Creek in 1839. He first built a grist mill there and later a cotton mill called Elkin Manufacturing Company. Both were located at the site of the Elkin Public Library.

James Roark

Now let’s return to the case against the three men who imprisoned Gwyn. They were Enoch Osborne, James Roark, and Charles Copeland. Despite a two-year search by the sheriff, Roark and Copeland could not be found in the county. Osborne and Roark were described as planters of Montgomery County, Virginia, which then included what is now Grayson County. There was a James Roark who was appointed constable in Capt. Osborne’s company of militia on October 3, 1787, in Montgomery County, and it seems very likely that he was one of the kidnappers. As a planter, Roark was likely of above-average wealth—a status that would also be expected of someone appointed as constable. Also, the fact that he was in Capt. Osborne’s militia district suggests a connection with fellow co-conspirator Enoch Osborne.

James Roark was appointed constable in Capt. Osborne’s district on October 3, 1787. (Montgomery County, Virginia, Order Book 1, p299)

Charles Copeland

In 1789, Charles Copeland was described as being from Wilkes County, but I have not found him in any local records. I did, however, find a Charles Copeland in Grayson County, Virginia, who had ties to Wilkes County. On March 28, 1798, he assigned power of attorney to Job Cole of Wilkes County to deal with two suits pending in the Wythe County court involving Jesse Robinett of Wilkes. Furthermore, a Charles Copeland was appointed constable in Wythe County in December 1790. Online family trees show that Charles Copeland married Hannah Osborne who was the daughter of Capt. Enoch Osborne.

In 1798, Charles Copeland gave power of attorney to Job Cole of Wilkes County. (Grayson County Deed Book 1, p160)

Enoch Osborne

That brings us to Enoch Osborne who was the only one of the three who was brought to justice. The case against him was held at the Morgan District Court in Burke County in 1789, and at least ten people were summoned as witnesses.

Enoch Osborne was listed in the 1778 Wilkes County tax list in Baker’s district which was in the extreme northwest part of the county, near the borders of Tennessee and Virginia. A man by that name is next found in the 1789 tax list in Nall’s district which is mostly Alleghany county today. This was almost certainly Capt. Enoch Osborne who was born in 1741 and married Jane Hash. They lived near the state line in Montgomery County, Virginia, which became Grayson County in 1793. He was likely considered a resident of Virginia in the years when he was missing from the Wilkes tax list. At the time of the assault in 1788, Enoch Osborne was 47 years old.

The “Gang”

If I have correctly identified the three men, then constable Richard Ransome Gwyn was attacked by two Virginia constables and a former Revolutionary War captain! Enoch Osborne was a militia district captain in Montgomery County, and James Roark was the district constable. Charles Copeland was Osborne’s son-in-law, and he became a constable in 1790. These were not simply wild ruffians attempting to rob Gwyn or cause random mischief toward a county officer. They, like Gwyn, were wealthy men who had a purpose for what they were doing. They knew each other well, and they must have had a gripe against Gwyn. Unfortunately, the records do not reveal the motive for their attack.

A Special Witness

On March 11, 1789, before the case against Enoch Osborne was heard, the court ordered that Benjamin Cleveland appear as a witness at the September 1789 session of Morgan Superior Court. Several witnesses were summoned to testify in the case, but Cleveland is particularly interesting because he had moved to his new home in South Carolina within the past three years, likely in 1786. While he certainly made at least a few return trips to Wilkes County to handle various business affairs, it was a long 200-mile trip that took planning and a considerable amount of time. It was a journey made even more challenging by the fact that Cleveland weighed over 350 pounds. It is not known if he returned to appear as a witness in this case, or if perhaps he was questioned at his home, with a signed deposition carried back to the Morgan court. Either way, if Benjamin Cleveland was a witness to the crime, then he was in Wilkesboro on July 28, 1788, when the three men attacked Richard R. Gwyn.

Comments? Want to join my mailing list? Email jason@webjmd.com