From:                                         Jason Duncan

Sent:                                           Wednesday, June 18, 2025 9:45 PM

To:                                               Jason Duncan

Subject:                                     New Book Announcement!  Newsletter - June 18, 2025

 

News and Upcoming Events – June 18, 2025

Jason Duncan

jason@webjmd.com

webjmd.com for previous newsletter updates

 

Click the embedded links for more information.

 

 

New Book Announcement!

 

I'm excited to announce the release of my latest book on Wilkes County history, titled Before The Bar: Stories from Wilkes County Criminal Court Cases 1778-1800.  This book is the result of multiple trips to the North Carolina Archives in Raleigh to look at original documents.  There were so many interesting stories that needed to be shared that I compiled the records that I found into this 225-page book.  There are plenty of stories for both history lovers and genealogists from the first two decades of the county's existence.  I noted three examples on the back cover:

 

In 1779, three accused felons - Jeremiah Boling, David McKinsey, and Isaac Williamson - made a daring escape when they 'broke custody and fled for it'.  It may well have been Wilkes County's first jail break.

 

In 1786, Absolom Cleveland, son of the legendary Col. Benjamin Cleveland, stood accused of killing Maj. William Terril Lewis' horse while at the Wilkes courthouse.

 

In 1792, Braddock Harris claimed thaJohn Roberts not only robbed his home, but burned the house to the ground afterward.

 

For most of these stories, I added context to what the records revealed using census records, tax lists, deeds, land grants, and other sources.  There is a section dedicated to cohabitation court cases that might help someone break down a brick wall in their family tree.  This was a fun project that helped me learn a lot about the earliest Wilkes County settlers.  Eventually I plan to do a follow-up book on court cases in the 1800s, but that will a while down the road.

 

The book is available in three ways:

 

Here are two sample entries from the book:

 

#90:

At the March 1786 session of Morgan Superior Court, the jurors presented that Lazarus Tilley of Wilkes County, yeoman, stole a brown mare and a black mare from Benjamin Coffey.  It was a true bill.

Lazarus Tilley first appears in the Wilkes tax lists in 1787 and 1788 in the area that includes Kings Creek.  He was born about 1765, the son of Edmund Tilley.  He married Sarah Davis according to a Wilkes marriage bond dated August 9, 1787, a copy of which is among the Lenoir Family Papers.  In fact, a note on Lenoir’s copy of the marriage license says that they were married at his house.  By 1793, they had moved west to Snow Creek, and by the 1820s, they were living in Georgia.

 

#113:

At the August 1794 court, jurors presented that on December 21, 1793, Joshua Morgan, constable, and Patrick Hamrick, constable, stole a cow worth 10 shillings and one yearling steer worth 5 shillings, both belonging to John Welch.  Witnesses were James Coffey, Susannah Welch, and Mary Welch.  It was found to be a true bill.

The court minutes for the August 1794 session record that Joshua Morgan was charged with indictment trespass, and the twelve-person jury found him not guilty.  While that decision does not mention Patrick Hamrick, an entry three lines later in the court minutes says that “Patrick Hamrick to be removed from his office for taking unlawful fees from Meriday Minton”.

John Welch appears in the Wilkes County tax lists from 1788 through 1796.  In 1794, he was in John Witherspoon’s district which included Warrior Creek, Beaver Creek, and Kings Creek.  In the 1790s, Welch bought and sold land on Kings Creek along the old Burke wagon road that was the predecessor of NC Hwy 18.

 

These court records often don’t reveal the whole story about why these early settlers were in court, but they still give us a glimpse of what our ancestors were doing outside of standard census records and deeds.  These pages also serve as great stepping stones for further, more in-depth investigations.

 

 

Links

My Book Store

Wilkes Land Grants Map

History Videos – last year I made several short videos about local history stories

 

 

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Check out this and previous newsletters on my website.

 

Jason Duncan