EARLY SETTLERS OF BUFFALO VALLEY
Volume XVII, No. 2 - UCGA
Studying the migrations into and out of an area can give the researcher important clues to family relationships. Normally families moved together or followed other family members or friends to a new area. From the families that we will discuss later; we can see that the prior statement is true for individuals in the Buffalo Valley area.
James Vance, born 3 September 1764 Bucks County, Pennsylvania, and died 7 October 1835 in McDonough County, Illinois, and was the son of Samuel Vance and Agnes Penguite. He married 28 January 1782 Margaret Reno (Reneau) daughter of John Reno (Reneau). He owned a grist mill and sawmill in Buffalo Valley. He may have been a member of the County Court as 1811 Voters List of Jackson County lists him as James Vance, Esquire. In 1818 he was one of the commissioners appointed to lay out the new town of Gainesboro, Tennessee. His son, John, said he was born in 1794 in Cocke County area as Cocke was formed in 1797. In 1796 James moved to Davidson County, Tennessee where he had a brother, Thomas Vance. In 1800 or 1801 he moved to Buffalo Valley area. Children: 1. Mary (Polly), b. 31 December 1782; 2. Elizabeth, b. 17 October 1784, d. 26 January 1847, md David Young; 3. Nancy, b. 5 October 1786, d. 30 Oct/Dec 1851, Illinois; 4. Sarah, b. 9 October 1788, d. 12 May 1791; 5. Sarah, b. 17 August 1791, d. 1 December 1875, Illinois; 6. Lewis Reno, b. 29 January 1793, d. 28 June 1852 en route to Salt lake City, Utah, md 12 February 1815, Elizabeth Roulston. 7. John Alma, b. 8 march 1794, TN, md 11 February 1817 Sarah Lavina Perkins daughter of Ute Perkins and Sarah Grant, Ute and Sarah lived in White Co., TN, John lived in Jackson Co., until about 1824 when he moved to Morgan Co., Ind. Then about 1829 he moved to McDonough Co., IL where his wife died in 1836; 8. Agnes P., b. 25 June 1796 Smith Cp., TN, d. 19 August 1836, md John Rogers; 9. William, b. 25 June 1796 d. 25 November 1800; 10. Margaret, b. 14 1800, d. 23 January 1892, md John Bridges; 11. William Reno, b. 18 July 1802, Jackson Co., TN, d. 11 November 1880, md 15 October 1828 Elizabeth Boyd; 12. Martha Ramsey, b. 16 may 1804 Jackson Co., TN d. 26 April/May 1881, md 30 October 1828, McDonough Co., Illinois, John Wilson; 13. James R. b. 30 July 1807, Jackson Co., TN, d. 27 September 1872, md 25 August 1830 Ellen Miller.
Matthew Roulston had six children who may have had some association with
Buffalo Valley. Children: 1. Moses, b. 1766, md 20 October 1803, Polly
Denny. He was a teacher, and lived most of his life in Chestnut Mound
area. Moved to Blount Co., TN and then to Hamilton Co., TN; 2. William, b. 1768,
md 6 September 1799 Ann Moore. He moved to Williamson Co., TN; 3. Elizabeth, b.
1770, md 6 December 1792 (Book of Jared says in Bedford Co., VA), William Jared,
b. 3 June 1758. He moved from Loudon Co., VA in 1785 with his father to Bedford
Co., VA. He was in the Revolutionary War; 4. Samuel, b. 1775, md Betsy Lowry. He
moved to Sumner Co., TN. 5. James, b. 16 June 1778 August Co., VA, md 1801
Knoxville, TN, Jane Simmons, daughter of Robert Simmons. He moved with his
father in 1792 to Jefferson Co., TN. He moved after his marriage to the Chestnut
Mound area, and operated, with his brother-in-law, Mark Young, an inn, powder
mill, a distillery and a large farm. He was also a land surveyor. In the War of
1812, he was a colonel in command of the Third regiment of Tennessee which was
part of General William Carroll’s Division in the Battle of New Orleans. He
moved from the area to Marion Co., TN. 6. Ruth, b. 1781, md Mark Young. They
lived in Buffalo Valley, TN.
Starting in 1803 several families moved from Blount County in East Tennessee to
the Buffalo Valley area. Those known to be from Blount included: John Clemons,
James Gealey, William Hitchcock, Prettyman and Zachariah Jones, Moses Justice,
George and William Skile, and David Wallace. Others who may have come from
Blount County may have been James Carr, James McKinley, John Null, and James and
Robert Wallace.
There is only one reference to Moses Justice in the records of Buffalo Valley,
but his family had other connections with the Valley. Moses Justice born ca.
1755 in Maryland. In Cheran District South Carolina in 1790. Removed from Indian
lands Blount County Tennessee in 1797 along with James Gealey, Prettyman and
Zachariah Jones. In Crawford County, Indians in 1820 and then moved to McDonough
county, Illinois. He then moved to Schuyler County, Illinois where he died ca.
1847. His children: 1. James; 2. Sarah, md 23 April 1798, Blount Co., TN.
David Campbell Wallace, b. between 1770/80, probably brother of James and Robert
Wallace. He had a license to operate a tavern in Smith County in 1818. While in
Smith County he served on various juries, and was the Smith County
Representative to the Tennessee General Assembly, 1819-1821. He moved to
Schuyler County, Illinois. 3. Mary, b. ca. 1783 in TN, md by Matthew Wallace on
7 January 1802 in Blount Co., TN, George Skiles; 4. Thomas Jefferson, md Mary
Carr. In 1820 they were in Greene Co., MO, and in Schuyler Co., Illinois
1830-50. After 1850 they were in St. Clair Co., MO. 5. George Washington, md
Susan bates; 6. Rebecca, md Samuel Monk; 7. Hannah md Drurey Trusty; 8. John, b.
1797, lived Schuyler Co., IL.
One of the unique migration patterns was that of George Skiles. George Skiles
was born c. 1780 in Maryland, died 4 August 1863 in Schuyler Co., Illinois and
married 7 January 1802 in Blount County, Tennessee Mary Justice, b. ca. 1783 in
Tennessee and died 1874 in Schuyler County, Illinois. By 1808 he was in Buffalo
Valley where his brother was present as early as 1803. He was an ensign in
Mathew Cowan’s Company of Colonel Rouston’s Regiment during the Battle of
New Orleans in 1815. In 1816 he moved to Indiana, then to Kentucky, then to
Wayne County, Missouri and by 1826 was in Schuyler County, Illinois. In the 1830
census of Schuyler County Illinois, he is found with his brother, William Skiles,
John and William Carr, Nathaniel Glover, Abraham and Hugh Lancaster, Abel and
John Linsenby, Charles and Jacob Reno, Jonathan Smith, Peter Vance and David
Wallace. Of George and Mary’s thirteen children we have identified the
following: 1. Moses J., b. 1803, TN, md 1
Another Buffalo Valley area family in Schuyler Co., IL was Felix Thorton and his wife Mary Celetha Holly. They moved to Schuyler County in 1829. One of their sons was Felix H. Thornton, b. 10 September 1819 in Jackson Co., TN, md 23 June 1844 in Schuyler Co., IL, md Ollie Luttrell, b. 8 June 1826, daughter of Shelton Luttrell and Sarah (Sallie) Bryant.
Jonathan Reno with his wife and children were in Schuyler Co., IL by 1825. Later he moved to McDonough Co., IL by 1825. Later he moved to McDonough Co., IL and then to Springfield, MO. After his death his wife returned to Schuyler Co. In 1811 Jonathan was a Captain, 18 th Regiment, Jackson Co., TN Militia. His children we have identified are: 1. Joseph, b. 1808, TN, md Sarah ___b. ca. 1915, TN; 2. Jonathan, b. 1811, Jackson Co., TN, d. 1884, Schuyler County, md abt 1834 Louisa Thornton, b. 1822. They had a son, William C. Reno, b. 9 September 1838 Schuyler County, me 18 October 1861 Schuyler County. Rebecca A. Wallace thought to be a daughter of Alfred C. Wallace. 3. Andrew J. Reno, b. 1816? Jackson Co., TN, md Mary P_____b. 1817, MO.
We have mainly mentioned families that moved from Blount County to Buffalo Valley and then on to Schuyler Co., IL. These families show that people moved together and that they married within those families for several generations. In most of the published literature that mentions Buffalo Valley it is referred to as nothing really existed prior to 1860. We have seen from the early land entries and surveys that there was much activity in the area at an early date. James Vance had a grist mill prior to 24 October 1803, and a sawmill by 1 April 1812. By 2 June 1812, David young had some type of mill. From the old store ledgers we know there must have been a church in the area by 1832, as there was a "Parson" Lee. The earliest store ledger is Ledger D with first date in 1832, and there must have been an A,B, and C. Since Ledger D covered about ten years; it would seem reasonable that the store was probably started no later than 1826. It is my best guess that the store was on Indian Creek and owned by Vance & Young. In two of the ledgers a firm of Vance and Young is mentioned, and the account for Vance & Young shows only cash entries. Initially it was though the store was in Chestnut Mount area, but it had to be more centrally located as the town of Lancaster was formed in 1818. Lancaster would have been much easier to reach than Chestnut Mound. In the Rock Springs area, Allen Harvey had two schools prior to 24 August 1812.
McClain on how Buffalo Valley got its name stated, "Tradition tells us
that long before settlement had been made here that a rank growth of can covered
many square miles and that herds of buffalo would come down from the mountains
to graze through the winter, when other pasturage was dead or scarce. An old
tradition current among early settlers is that a huge buffalo was killed in the
valley near the old Alcorn place, and from this circumstance the valley gained
its name. This statement would seem to agree with the early land records
as the place where the buffalo was killed was the Robert Alcorn place (Edward
Anderson) 50 acres, west of Capt. Prettyman Jones’s home. It was owned by the
Alcorn family into the 1950’s and until recently was owned by Houston Hayes.
Several families have the tradition that their ancestor killed the last buffalo
in the valley on the Alcorn place. The valley probably go it’s name because
the last Buffalo killed in the area was killed there, but it is also obvious
that it was not killed by men who arrived in the area after 1830 or 1840.
We also await with interest the every name index to land Entries of First
Surveyor’s District by Norman McGee. This nearly completed work which will
cover several Middle Tennessee counties from 1807 to 1823. This monumental work
will be indispensable for family research in early Tennessee. There follows some
plats from the early land records.
I would welcome correspondence on this article. D. Mitchell Jones, 3025 Kline
Road, Jacksonville, FL 32216 Article wrote UCGA, 1992
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