Children listed.In this chapter we present the genealogical data available for each of the children of John Despain, whose history was covered in chapter five. There is then a history of each child as far as we can now reconstruct it. | ||
| (Samuel0) John5 & Susan (Scott) Despain | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Benjamin | |
| brn 1757 | Great Fishing Creek, Halifax Co., North Carolina | |
| mrd 18 Oct 1780 | Delilah Winningham | |
| mrd 26 Dec 1796 | Lucy — | |
| dcd 24 Jun 1838 | Greenville District, South Carolina | |
| 2. | James Scott | |
| brn abt 1761 | Lunenburg Co., Virginia | |
| mrd abt 1784 | Sally | |
| inv 20 Jan 1835 | Pittmans Creek, Green Co., Kentucky | |
| 3. | Peter | |
| brn cal 1763 | Lunenburg Co., Virginia | |
| mrd abt 1784 | — — | |
| mrd 15 Dec 1791 | Nancy Skaggs | |
| mrd not mrd | — — | |
| dcd 31 Mar 1850 | Green Co., Kentucky | |
| 4. | John | |
| brn cal 1775 | Meadow Creek, Boutetort Co., Virginia | |
| mrd 28 Jun 1801 | Charlotte Daniel | |
| dcd aft 1850 | Hardin Co., Tennessee | |
| 5. | Temperence | |
| brn cal 1777 | Meadow Creek, Fincastle Co., Virginia | |
| mrd 15 Dec 1791 | Berry Belcher | |
| dcd aft 1850 | Green Co., Kentucky | |
| 6. | Marshall | |
| brn abt 1779 | Meadow Creek, Montgomery Co., Virginia | |
| mrd 8 Jan 1799 | Rachel Lynn | |
| wpd 4 Jan 1825 | Lauderdale Co., Alabama | |
| 7. | Charlotte | |
| brn abt 1781 | Meadow Creek, Montgomery Co., Virginia | |
| mrd abt 1798 | Reuben Vaughn | |
Benjamin Dispain of South Carolina.Benjamin Dispain, the oldest son of John, was born according to his own testimony in 1757 in Warren Co., N.C.77 When he was only ten years old his grandfather Samuel deeded him all his personal property on Horse Creek, then in Bute County.78 This probably gave Benjamin a certain feeling of responsibility for Samuel's support who would have been 75 years old. | ||
Service in the Revolutionary War.When the populace of North Carolina felt the strongest conflict of the Revolutionary War in 1780, Benjamin would have been 23 years old. He was drafted for a period of five months serving under General Rutherford.79 They marched up and down the state protecting the new government from the actions of Tories. As soon as he was released from duty he returned to his land in Granville County. | ||
First marriage.It was in Granville Co. that he married Delilah Winningham. His cousin Nathan Harris stood as surety on his marriage bond on 18 Oct1780.80 Benjamin seems to have begun married life in Montgomery Co., Virginia, where he continued to serve in the war efforts. For three months he was involved in the defense of the settlements against incursions by Indians who had been incited by Tories. During this period he served in the same company as his father John.81 His grandfather Samuel died in 1783 and Benjamin sold his Granville Co. land to William Bettes in 1784.82 (His cousin Harrison Harris married Elizabeth Bettes in 1789.) When the new nation took its first decennial census in 1790 Benjamin was a resident of Surry Co., N.C.83 The enumeration of his family tallies one male over 16 (Benjamin), one female (his wife), and male under 16. Solomon Despain of Calhoun Co., Illinois, claimed to have been born in North Carolina in June 1790 when the census was taken.84 The fact that Benjamin is the only Despain living there then supports the idea that this Solomon would have been this male under 16, hence a son of Benjamin. We suppose that any other children Benjamin might have had by Delilah probably died young. | ||
Second marriage.On 26 Dec 1796 Benjamin married again, this time to Lucy ––.85 We will later explain why this date does not correspond with Lucy's testimony. She would have us believe that the marriage took place ten years earlier. Yet it turns out that she had strong motivation to prevaricate on this point. The place of the marriage was atop “Flower Gap Mountain.”86 Lucy was from Henry Co., Virginia, and the minister who performed the marriage was from “over the mountain.” The newly weds took up residence in Greenville District, South Carolina, where they raised two boys.87 | ||
Raising a family and acquiring pensions.It was in Greenville District that Benjamin applied for and was awarded a pension in 1832 when pensions first became available for regular service in the Revolutionary War. This he received till his death on 24 June 1838.88 In July an act was passed to allow pensions to widows of certain soldiers. One of the stipulations of this act was that the marriage to the soldier must have taken place prior to 1 Jan 1794. Lucy was probably unable to document a marriage at such an early date and appears not to have attempted an application for a pension until 1845. At this time she was in her eighties and we suppose she must have been destitute, for she claimed that the year of her marriage was 1786. To do so she would claim that she remembered the date so well because it was a full "eleven years and from December to August" before her first son was born. It seems much more likely to be but one year and nine months before his birth. She was awarded the pension which she received till her death on 22 Mar 1851.89 | ||
James Scott Despain of Green County, Kentucky.Scotty, the second oldest known son of John, was born in about 1761, probably in North Carolina. He was married to Sally —— by about 1784 towards the end of the Revolutionary War. However, he does not seem to have participated in the fighting. His family lived on John's land in Grayson County, Virginia, until about 1794 when the family went to Green County, Kentucky.90 | ||
Peter Despain of Green County, Kentucky.Peter, the third oldest known son of John, was born in North Carolina in 1763.xx He would have been under ten when the family moved to Montgomery Co., Virginia, and he wasn't much over seventeen when he marched to Chesterfield to join with the state troops in Revolutionary War service. | ||
Three marriages.It has been stated that Peter was married three times, and that his first wife was Polly House.xx Someone may have confused one of the other Peter Dispains with this man. But there were indeed two Dispain children born in the 1780's, whom we cannot demonstrate to belong to either Benjamin or Scotty.xx Perhaps he did in fact have two children by a first wife, before he moved to Kentucky, where on 15 Dec 1791 he married Nancy Skaggs.xx He would have been aged 28 at that time, certainly old enough to have been married before. Nancy was the daughter of Henry Skaggs, a Long Hunter.xx The Long Hunters were men from the New River area of Southwest Virginia. They would go on long hunting excursions into the wilderness of Kentucky. Peter may well have been associated with these hunters before he took up residence there. | ||