Linville Creek VA Early Settlers and Patents

The following resource notes are a collection of notes I've been studying of late. This post is simply a place to house them - together.

1) Linville Creek Timeline

This site gives a rich historical timeline regarding major events along Linville Creek, particularly some of the earliest patents and settlers. The 1739 event is of key interest to me, as my ancestors' patents butted up against this 7009 acre patent, and eventually including deeds containing pieces of this large tract.

7009 acres were granted to Hite, McKay, Duff, and Green at Linville Creek in Rockingham. This was surrounded by Fairfax lands that many tried to stay away from. The core grants, about 11 square miles of the 24 square miles for Rockingham County included lands on Linville Creek and it's main tributaries. This became the neighborhood of the Eymans, Brennemans, Shanks, Lincolns, Boones, Bryans, and related families.

2) Land Records of Robert Mackay Sr

Mackay was one of the patentees of the 7009 acre patent along Linville Creek in 1739. This site contains a great overview of the various patents Mackay and his associates were involved with in those early years in the Shenandoah Valley.

3) Great historical migrations, personal histories of key settlers, and even migration route details. As labeled on this site: English | Scots-Irish | The Great Wagon Road | German

The histories presented on this site reflect the migrations through the Shenandoah Valley and on into the Piedmont of NC (Yadkin River Valley) and in some cases on down to York Co SC around Kings Mountain.

4) William Linville Timeline

William Linville was the namesake for Linville Creek. He was the original owner of what is now Tanglewood Park in Clemmons, NC. He was the namesake for all things "Linville" in western NC, where he and his son John were killed in 1766 by Indians near what is now known as Linville Falls.

5) Thomas Linville Timeline

Brother of William Linville, Thomas owned land on Linville Creek, VA as well, and then later in NC between modern day Winston-Salem and Kernersville. Linville Road is named after him.

6) Joseph Bryan Timeline

Joseph Bryan was married to the sister of William and Thomas Linville. His daughter Rebecca married the famous Daniel Boone.

Again, these notes are simply a collection of related research that shares pertinent details regarding the history of our nation and settlements where my ancestors were. In fact, my ancestors knew these folks personally.

WP

Small World - Large Family

A former preacher at the church I attend here in Winston-Salem, NC had a saying that stuck with me. You know how it goes when something happens that prompts someone to quip "It's a small world"? Rod Sharp would hear that and immediately reply with "Large family!".

There's a lot of truth to that. I've especially come to realize this in recent years with genealogy research. It's no longer a shock when searching records from a different family to all of a sudden find overlapping kinship with some of my relatives from 200 years ago.

It's a small world.

Large family.

For the better part of a decade now I've been drawn in my research over and over to several individuals and families. There was never any proof or even strong indication of any relationship between my family and theirs, but I knew the possibility was there. I'm speaking of men like William Cravens and Samuel Stewart. And pretty much the entire Isaiah Harrison clan.

Who? you might ask. They were men and families that migrated from Sussex Co DE to the Shenandoah Valley of VA (around Harrisonburg) in the late 1730's and 1740's. My Pattersons and Blacks did likewise. And yes, there was intermarrying between my family of some of the others, but no obvious direct descent on my part from the Cravens, Stewart or Harrison families.

Nonetheless, I have continued to follow the Harrison clan, not only in DE and Augusta/Rockingham Co VA, but also in York Co SC and the Yadkin River region of NC (Rowan/Surry/Stokes/Forsyth/Yadkin Co's). There is a definite kinship in these families, plus I live here in Forsyth Co NC within 2 or 3 miles of where a group of the Harrisons and Stewarts moved to around 1750. Furthermore, when there is a name like William Cravens Patterson (1813-1864) in the family, you pay attention to associates like William Cravens.

Harald Reksten and I have continued working for years on these families as well. Harald is very methodical in his approach to research and it benefits all who come in contact with him. We both do a lot of research and share our work with each other all the time. In the last couple years, various details have come to light which present a very intriguing picture, especially to me in that 1) it seems now that I do descend from the Harrison clan, 2) the branch of the Harrisons I connect with seems to be present in Augusta Co, VA as well as Rowan Co NC and York Co SC, 3) this same Harrison branch seems to tie into the families of both William Cravens AND Samuel Stewart, and 4) I live within a few miles of one of the key locations, in particular, where Samuel Stewart died and is buried apparently.

In other words, it now seems that my Thomas Patterson (b ca 1740, d 1802-10) was married to a Margaret Harrison (more info on their marriage). Harald and I have worked extensively on the Harrison clan to find any possibly connections. Harald has focused on court records of all kinds from all pertinent counties in VA, PA, DE, NJ, MD, the Carolinas, you name it. His work has brought to light certain variables that are key to piecing the Isaiah Harrison clan together. There just isn't much out there in the court records on Isaiah Jr, oldest son of Isaiah Harrison. We no longer believe him to be a likely candidate for much of anything, especially the theories of being the progenitor of the Rowan Co NC Harrisons, or the York Co SC Harrisons, or the Lydia Harrison who married Samuel Stewart, or even the Isaiah Harrison who executed the 1748 estate settlement of Joseph Harrison in Augusta Co VA. In reality, it seems Isaiah Jr may have died at a fairly young age in DE or NJ perhaps.

Speaking of Joseph, he's the other key variable in Harald's research. Joseph was a key player in the records of DE, something not brought to light in J. Houston Harrison's Settlers by the Long Grey Trail. So much information has come to the forefront in recent months regarding this Joseph and his connection with the rest of the Isaiah clan, he has to have been another son of Isaiah Sr. Joseph was born ca 1700-1705, probably around 1702 or thereabouts. We also believe that Lydia Harrison, wife of Samuel Stewart, was another daughter of Isaiah Sr. The children of Isaiah Sr by his second wife Abigail Smith just weren't documented as well as the children by his first wife Elizabeth Wright.

Furthermore, the presence of Joseph Harrison at Harrisonburg, VA in the 1740's matches the timetable of the Harrisons of Rowan Co NC and later York Co SC. Both clans have Josephs and Nathaniels, Johns and Thomases, etc. Furthermore, their is DNA proof that the SC bunch (later in Buncombe Co NC) is related to the Isaiah Harrison clan. Their migration routes mirror that of my Thomas Patterson and Margaret Harrison, who married in 1761 in Augusta Co VA. Too much to go into here and now, but the evidence is quite striking.

It is our theory (no proof, just theory) that Margaret Harrison (m Thomas Patterson) was a daughter of Samuel Harrison (I used to think Joseph, but now think it was his brother Samuel). We also believe that an additional daughter of Samuel Harrison was Jane (m William Cravens), whereas Abigail (m David Stewart, son of Samuel and Lydia Harrison Stewart) was most likely a daughter of Joseph Harrison (d 1748 Augusta Va). Sons of Joseph Harrison would have been Isaiah, Joseph, and John. As for Samuel's sons, Nathaniel and Thomas for sure, possibly others.

In 1748, after Joseph Harrison died, a group of this family moved to Rowan Co NC near the Yadkin River in what is now Forsyth Co near the Yadkin Co border. This included Samuel Stewart and his entire family, plus Isaiah Harrison (son of Joseph), and eventually others like Joseph (Jr), John and Thomas. Abigail, who married David Stewart, was also here in NC.

In the early 1760's, other Harrisons - apparently Samuel Harrison and his children and their families - moved from VA to the Kings Mountain area of SC in modern day York Co. This included Nathaniel and Thomas, plus Margaret (m Thomas Patterson) and Jane (m William Cravens). It also included many members of the Black family and the entire Robert Patterson clan (father of Thomas).

If the above relationships are correct, and there is a lot more evidence than what I've shown here to indicate so, then when I look at William Cravens, I now see an uncle (his wife being a sister of my Margaret Harrison Patterson). When I look at Samuel Stewart, I now see an uncle (his wife being a sister of my Samuel Harrison).

Most of the Stewarts and Harrisons eventually moved away from the Yadkin River area, but two families stayed here, died here, and should be buried here - somewhere. That being Samuel and Lydia Harrison Stewart, and David and Abigail Harrison Stewart (Stewart Timeline).

All this time I have taken an interest in William Cravens and Samuel Stewart... and never knew they would end up being uncles. Remember, I can't prove it 100% at this time, but the hard evidence and the overwhelming circumstantial evidence as well, certainly point to this being the case. The research continues, but I can honestly say:

It's a small world.

Large family.

August 25, 2016 Update

I no longer lean toward the theory that Margaret Harrison, wife of Thomas Patterson, was the daughter of Joseph Harrison. That theory was mainly due to the extensive collaboration of the primary families (Harrison, Cravens, Patterson, Black, Ponder) who moved to Clarks Fork in York Co, SC in the 1760's, and their connections to the Joseph Harrison, Samuel Stewart, Jeremiah Harrison families, all of whom were involved in Joseph Harrison's estate vendue in 1748 in VA (Augusta Co., near Harrisonburg). The connections of these families in DE and VA were there, but they diverged at that point. The Joseph Harrison and Samuel Stewart clans moved to the Yadkin Valley of NC about 1748, while other Harrisons (most likely only Samuel Harrison - brother of Joseph), and the Cravens, Pattersons, Blacks, and Ponders moved to York Co SC later in the 1750's and early 1760's.

Edward Hughes facts

Facts to keep in mind as I plot the Yadkin Valley tracts:

1) On 27 May 1757- Edward Hughes to Edward Underhill of Chowan CO 188 acres s/side of Yadkin adj to Abraham CREASON -- Jon. Hanby and William Sheppard

2) Samuel Davis 579 acres directly opposite George Forbush, passed into Edward Hughes' hands in 1752. Source

3) John Pelham lived adj Edward Hughes near the Shallowford before 1756. In the spring of 1756, Pelham sold his tract to Nathaniel Wiltshire. Source

4) Nicholas Harford bought 331 acres from Edward Hughes at the shallowford in 1753. Harford was in the Shenandoah by 1742 and the Yadkin by 1753. Source

Stewart Land Entries Along the Yadkin River

Last Thursday I spent the entire day in Raleigh, NC at the state archives pulling land entries, surveys, grants, etc on microfilm. My primary focus that day was the Stewarts and Harrisons and their settlements along the Yadkin River in modern day Forsyth Co, but in those days, Anson, Rowan and later Surry counties.

*** The links below are broken, but the images for those can be found here. ***

I have more details on the Stewarts and their records along the Yadkin on my Stewart Timeline, but as a result of this archives trip, I can now understand the various records much better. In particular, there seems to have been six (6) land entries involving Samuel Stewart Sr and Jr, and David Stewart - from 1748 through 1762. There were subsequent deeds as well, but these six land entries are more specific to land "grants" - a subject full of confusion and speculation for many years as it concerns these Stewarts.

As best I can tell at this point, the following records are the extent of the land entries (application for grant), survey warrants, surveys, and grants, in regards to the Stewarts - east of the Yadkin River. Not all land entries and surveys led to grants. In some cases, grants were issued and later confiscated. So there still remains some confusion, but the following details certainly clear up many previous errors.

• 1748, (Stewart Entry #1) David Stewart entered 138 acres on the Yadkin River, Anson Co., surveyed 10 Jan 1748/49 (1749 by today's calendar). Per Hofmann's Granville District of NC 1748-1763, Vol. 4, grant #285 says "David Stewart, plat dated 10 Jan 1748/49, 138 acres (Anson Co) on the North Bank of the Yadkin River opposite Eagleton, joining the river bank; CC: Abraham Potter, Antony Heavely; C. Robinson Surv." This tract was definitely along the bank of the Yadkin River. David was the first of the Stewart clan to enter land in Anson Co. However, there is no record of any grant ever being issued for this 138 acre survey. There may have been, but I can find no record of it.
• 1751 (Oct 9), (Stewart Entry #2) Samuel Stewart, Entered 640 acres on 9 Oct 1751, Warrant for survey dated 1 April 1752. Survey date is not known, but Grant was issued 10 Jan 1761 according to the warrant cover. This grant was for 640 acres on a branch of Muddy Creek above the head of Stewarts Run at a White Oak Mark'd. I found no grant paperwork for this, but again, the warrant cover had a notation that a grant was issued on the date previously noted. Also on the warrant cover, under Samuel Stewart's name, was "Muddy C" with the rest of "Creek" blotted out. Then under that note was "Esaih" and obviously something else after that blotted out. This would be a good time to note that many Harrison researchers have said that Isaiah Harrison Jr received a 640 acre grant in Anson Co NC under the name "Esaiah Harrison". I have never been able to find this grant at the NC Archives. Perhaps this particular grant was originally for him, but then was assigned to Samuel Stewart instead? Isaiah Harrison Jr is believed to have been Samuel Stewart's father-in-law.
• 1751 (Oct 9), (Stewart Entry #3) Samuel Stewart Junior, Entered 646 acres on 9 Oct 1751, Warrant for survey date is unknown, but a survey was completed on 23 Apr 1753, with chain carriers David and John Steward. No grant paperwork has been found, so it is not clear to me there was ever a grant issued for this survey. This survey was for 646 acres on the NE side of Yadkin River and on waters of Reed Creek, beginning at David Stewards corner. I believe that Reed Creek may have been south of Bashavia Creek and possibly somewhere in the vicinity of the Shallowford or even Double Creek. At this time, given that David Stewart's lands appear to have been between the Shallowford and Bashavia Creek and on the river bank, I'll assume Reed Creek is in that area as well.
• 1753 (July 16), (Stewart Entry #4) Samuel Stewart entered 640 acres on 16 July 1753, east side of Yadkin River on the South Fork of Barshaby (Bashavia) Creek, joining his other survey. This entry (Rowan Co) joined the bank of the Yadkin River. Wit: Jno Haywood, David Stewart. Warrant dated 30 Nov 1753, surveyed 24 May 1754 (for 508 acres), deed issued 9 May 1757 (warrant cover), same day as David Stewart's 380 acre grant. CC: John Stewart, John Dawson. The back of the grant described the grantee as "Samuel Stewart Sr". On the grant itself you can see that Samuel Stewart Sr always made his mark "S". This tract of 508 acres was later sold to Matthew Brooks in two parcels (1775 and 1779), both deeds mentioning the "bank of the Yadkin River" and the latter one also said "down the river". This was grant #4903 in Hoffman's Granville District of NC 1748-1763, Vol. 3, under Rowan Co.
• 1753 (July 26), (Stewart Entry #5) David Stewart entered 640 acres on 26 July 1753, east (north) side of Yadkin, (Rowan Co) adj Joseph Hartford, Wagners line, John Miller, and the several courses of the sd river. Warrant for survey dated 30 Nov 1753 (warrant cover), surveyed 23 May 1754 (for 380 acres), deed issued 9 May 1757 (deed cover), same day as Samuel Stewart Sr's 508 acre grant. CC: John Stewart, John Dawson. This 380 acre tract was later referred to as David Stewart's Fishing Place, and then again later was described as containing a "Fish Pott" and "Seine Landing", the latter being a type of fishing net. I believe this land to have been at or near the modern day "Old 421 River Park" in modern day Forsyth Co NC. Another possible location for this tract is a little further south, closer to the Shallow Ford. This was grant #4898 in Hoffman's Granville District of NC 1748-1763, Vol. 3, under Rowan Co.
• 1762 (May 24), (Stewart Entry #6) Samuel Stewart (Sr, but later sold by Jr) was granted 332 acres on 10 Aug 1762, Rowan Co East side Yadkin River and on both sides of Swan Creek, adj David Stewart, George Stown, John Howard, and bank of river. Wit: John Frohock; Surveyed by John Frohock 24 May 1762 (survey cover); CC: David Stewart, Thomas Harrison. Note: Plat was originally done in the name of Joseph Harrison, a line drawn through and Samuel Stewart written above. This survey was clearly on Swan Creek, clearly for Joseph Harrison originally, and clearly Samuel Stewart Sr, based on Samuel's "S" mark on the grant itself. This grant has always been attributed to being Samuel Stewart Sr, and referred to in Lydia Stewart's 1771 will where she left this land to her sons if they could "obtain a clear title". However, I no longer agree with the latter assumption. Lydia's will clearly refers to a tract of land on the "south" side of the Yadkin, and this tract was on the east (or north) side, so this is NOT the land Lydia was referring to. Interestingly, this land was sold by Samuel Stewart JR and his wife Elizabeth Stewart in 1774 to Joseph Williams (Surry Bk A Pg 95), witnessed by John Harrison, and bounded as "adj. David Stewart.... riverbank..." and George Stown to the east and John Howard to the south and west. Subsequent deeds describe this tract as "North side Yadkin River, both sides Snow Creek." It is DEFINITELY the same tract. It could be that Samuel Jr sold this land as an heir, and his wife (Elizabeth Winscott) as a witness of Samuel Sr's will. This 1762 grant was grant #60, Bk 6, Pg 221, Issued 10 Aug 1762 Rowan Co, and was entry #4905 in Hoffman's Granville District of NC 1748-1763, Vol. 3, under Rowan Co.

NC Land Grants Requested

I tried a new process today (23 Feb 2010) - sending off for NC land grants using the NC Archives online web form. We'll see how this works.

The following grants are the ones for which I've submitted requests:

#1
For Person: David Stewart
In Year: 1748-1749
County: Anson
Other Info:
Per Hofmann's Granville District of NC 1748-1763, Vol. 4, grant #285 says "David Stewart, plat dated 10 Jan 1748/49, 138 acres (Anson Co) on the North Bank of the Yadkin River opposite Eagleton, joining the river bank; CC: Abraham Potter, Antony Heavely; C. Robinson Surv."

#2
For Person: Samuel Stewart
In Year: 1752
County: Rowan
Other Info:
Hofmann's Granville District of NC 1748-1763, Vol. 4, grant #287, "warrant dated 1 April 1752, to Charles Robinson, surveyor to survey 640 acres in Anson County on a branch of Muddy Creek above the head of Stewarts Run at 3 white oaks Mark'd and so up for complement."

#3
For Person: Samuel Stewart Jr
In Year: 1753
County: Rowan
Other Info:
Hofmann's Granville District of NC 1748-1763, Vol. 4, grant #288, "survey date, 23 April 1753, surveyed by Jas. Carter, dep. surveyor, 646 acres on the N E side of the Yadkin River and on waters of Reed Creek... joins David Steward; CC: David Stewart, John Steward."

#4
For Person: Ezaiah or Isaiah Harrison
In Year: 1753
County: Rowan
Other Info:
Ezaiah [Isaiah] Harrison had a Rowan County, NC Land entry for 15 March 1753, of 640 acres in Anson County (later Rowan), on the South side of Yadkin River.

#5
For Person: David Stewart
In Year: 1753
County: Rowan
Other Info:
David Stewart entered 380 acres on 26 July 1753, east side of Yadkin, (Rowan Co) adj Joseph Hartford, Wagners line, John Miller, and the several courses of the sd river. Warrant dated 30 Nov 1753, surveyed 23 May 1754, deed issued 9 May 1757. CC: John Stewart, John Dawson.

#6
For Person: Samuel Stewart
In Year: 1753
County: Rowan
Other Info:
508 acres east side of Yadkin River, (Rowan Co) joining several courses of sd river. Wit: Jno Haywood, David Stewart. Warrant dated 30 Nov 1753, surveyed 24 May 1754, deed issued 9 May 1757. CC: John Stewart, John Dawson. The back of the grant described the grantee as "Samuel Stewart Sr".

#7
For Person: Thomas McCaul (McCall)
In Year: 1757
County: Rowan
Other Info:
Thomas McCaul (McCall) entered 656 acres in Rowan Co on Stewards Run, surveyed 21 April 1753, and the grant was issued on 12 May 1757. CC: Samuel Steward, David Steward. This was grant #4721 in Hoffman's Granville District of NC 1748-1763, Vol. 3, under Rowan Co.

#8
For Person: Edward Hughes (Hughs)
In Year: 1755
County: Rowan
Other Info:
1755 (Feb 28), Edward Hughes was granted 331 acres on North East side of Yadkin River, adj Jos Harris (was this Joseph Harrison?); CC: Jos Harris, Daved Steward. It was grant #4636 in Hoffman's Granville District of NC 1748-1763, Vol. 3, under Rowan Co.

#9
For Person: Samuel Stewart
In Year: 1762
County: Rowan
Other Info:
1762 (Aug 10), Samuel Stewart was granted 332 acres on 10 Aug 1762, Rowan Co East side Yadkin River adj David Stewart, George Stown, John Howard, and bank of river. Wit: John Frohock; Surveyed by John Frohock 24 May 1762; CC: David Stewart, Thomas Harrison. Note: "Plat appears to have originally been in the name of Joseph Harrison, a line drawn through and Samuel Stewart written above".

#10
For Person: Martin Hauser
In Year: 1762
County: Rowan
Other Info:
1762 (Aug 27), Martin Hauser 256 acres on "Bersheba" Creek (Bashavia Creek), near the Yadkin River on the east. His tract was on both sides of Bashavia Creek; Wit: John Frohock; Surveyed by John Frohock on 21 May 1762; CC: Henry Spoonhour, Martin Hauser.

#11
For Person: Richard Thomason
In Year: 1778
County: Surry
Other Info:
1778 (Nov 13), Richard Thomason entered 400 acres Surry County on the North side of the Yadkin River adj the lines of Joseph Stewart and Martin Hauser and Joseph Phillips - 13 Nov 1778; grant issued 13 Oct 1783. This was entry #950 in Agnes M. Wells' Joseph Winston: His Land Entry Book, Surry County NC Land Entries 1778-1781.

#12
For Person: Matt Brooks
In Year: 1778
County: Surry
Other Info:
1778 (Dec 29), Matt Brooks enters 300 acres of land in Surry Co. on the S fork of Bershavia Creek adjoining Martin Howzar, Jos. Stewart, Benja. Stewart.

#13
For Person: John Lynch
In Year: 1779
County: Surry
Other Info:
1779 (Feb 3), John Lynch entered 100 A up river adj land he bought from David Stewart Sr, including the Fish Pott and Seine Landing.

***************************************

More to come...

Surry Co NC Deeds Requests

Mr Patterson,

You may either email your list to the office, of the pages that you would like to have copied or you can mail them. PO Box 303 Dobson, NC 27017 they are .25 for each page...Then we can invoice you after copying. You may also fax your list to 336-401-8149 addressed to Teresa Smith. You may also send your request here to smitht@co.surry.nc.us. She is our genealogist here and usually handles copy requests for the office.

Thanks,

Carolyn

George Forbush and Samuel Adams

Who? you might ask.

In 1748, George Forbush was still living in Augusta Co Va, as were the Pattersons, Stewarts, Linvilles, Boones, Bryan(t)s, Harrisons, and many other families who would later migrate to the Yadkin River valley of NC.

Forbush settled in modern day Yadkin Co NC, and was the namesake for the river, community, and high school with the same name. I have some close friends whose sons both went (or are going) to Forbush High School, some 15 minutes west of my residence.

A distant cousin of mine, Harald Reksten, sent me some images via email last night regarding the estate of Samuel Adams, Augusta Co Va, from August of 1748. Adams was the younger half-brother of Robert Patterson, my gggggg-grandfather. Robert Patterson's mother, Margaret Patterson, remarried to John Adams, after her first husband died in the 1710's. She was thereafter known as Margaret Adams, but was the mother of Robert Patterson.

In 1748, she was the administratrix of her son's estate (Samuel Adams), and one of the appraisers of his estate was none other than George Forbush. When I saw this last night I just about fell out of my chair. What a small world.

Many of these families began their migrations south about that time - 1748. Other members of the same families following over the next few years, settling the Yadkin River valley in the modern day counties of Wilkes, Surry, Yadkin, Stokes, Forsyth, Davie, and Davidson. At the time it was Anson and soon thereafter, Rowan.

River John Conrad (1788-1850)

Resource links for this man are:

http://www.preservehistoricforsyth.org/conradhouse.htm

http://www.preservehistoricforsyth.org/id67.htm

http://www2.journalnow.com/content/2009/dec/19/river-john-made-his-mark-on-forsyth-county/opinion/

River John's land in question (house with 10 acres) is located at the following map. You can click and drag to move map around and zoom out for reference. It is located across Conrad Rd from Twin Oaks Lake Dr.


View Larger Map

More later...

Old Forsyth

Forsyth County NC was formed in 1849 from the southern half of Stokes. As early as the 1740s it was part of Anson Co, then Rowan, then Surry, Stokes and finally Forsyth.

The history of what is now northern Forsyth Co, particularly north and northwest Forsyth, has become a hobby of mine in recent years. The following are some excellent resources for researching the NW and northern parts of Forsyth Co.

Judy Cardwell has some excellent documentation on her website of the old wagon roads and deeds plotted (and overlaid) on modern maps. Two pages of particular interest to me are her pages on Charles Vest Sr and Some Early Wagon Roads of Northwestern Forsyth County. Judy has put a tremendous amount of research into her work and has been super gracious in sharing her research.

Another excellent resource is Kay Haden's site concerning Gideon and Hezekiah Wright. Kay has tons of research notes available, especially on the pages under the link "Descendants of ??? Wright" (the father of Gideon and Hezekiah).

A wonderful book by Beverly Hamel on the history of Bethania covers a myriad of historical issues from the mid 1700's to date, using the Moravian diaries, and many other resources. Her book is entitled Bethania: The Village by the Black Walnut Bottom, and is available at Amazon.com (follow the link).

Two excellent resources for researching deeds are the Forsyth Co Register of Deeds and the Stokes Co Register of Deeds. Both have their deeds imaged and available online.

Another good map is of the old Wachovia Tract, placed in modern Forsyth County.

Another good map (thanks to Bev Hamel for pointing it out to me) is the 1770 Collet Map of NC. This is stored online and you can zoom in and out.

Surry County NC Wills 1771-1827 by Jo White Linn is a good resource to have.

I'm sure there are many more online resources, but I'll start with these and add more as they become evident.

Wes