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John and Ephraim MacLean

John MacLean, born in the 1690’s, and Alexander MacLean, born in the early 1700’s, were the first MacLeans to sail to the new American colonies of this lineage.  It can’t, at this time, be proven that they were brothers, but I have collected enough circumstantial evidence to personally believe they are brother’s, or at least half-brothers or first cousins.  Some of the McLeans today say that the first MacLeans came from the isle of Mull, Scotland, but according to history, most Scottish people migrated to Ulster, Ireland, then on to America.  There didn’t seem to be a shipping point from out of the highlands of Scotland at that time, so most of the Scottish people spent one generation of time in Ulster, Ireland.  Both John and Alexander landed in the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania area.

Other family names were located in the same area and same time, such as Ephraim Moore and William Dunlap.  John and Alexander were indentured to pay for the voyage after their arrival.  Later they were found settled at Chestnut Level, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, near the Susquehanna River.  The Dunlaps and Moores settled in the same area.  Also present were families of the Davidsons, Alexanders, Osbournes, Vances, MacConnells, Ewings, and Brevards.  The Brevards were French-Irish and later were to be neighbors in North Carolina, as were most of these families.

John MacLean married the daughter (or step-daughter) of Ephraim Moore, Margaret.  Ephraim Moore’s wife, Elizabeth, died in 1740.  In 1739, at the age of thirty, Alexander had managed to save for his future, after paying off his indenture.  He married Elizabeth Ratchford, who was the daughter of his former benefactor.  After remaining in Pennsylvania several years, Alexander and Elizabeth had already started raising their family.  They had three daughters, Jane, Margaret, and Agnes.

John and Margaret started their family also, with four children.  Charles was born in 1728 and Ephraim in 1730.  The other two names have been lost in history, perhaps they were sisters or they were lost to disease.

By now the news of Lord Granville had reached Pennsylvania.  His agents advertised land in large acreage at low prices in the warmer climate of the southern colonies.  In this time of the mid-eighteenth century there was a large migration from Pennsylvania to the Carolinas in the south.  The spacious land and southern climate were much more appealing to most people than the overcrowded Pennsylvania. 

About 1740, John MacLean and his family joined the migration south. It is not known when John’s wife died, but in 17441 John died and left the four children orphaned.  Alexander MacLean’s two oldest daughters died of smallpox on the journey south, so I wondered if John and Margaret also contracted this fatal disease and perhaps the two missing siblings caught it later.  The records show that John died in Brunswick County, Virginia, in November of 1741.  Brunswick County is located just north of the North Carolina and Virginia sate line.  Court records show that the children’s uncle, William Dunlap, was appointed guardian of the orphaned children. At the time of John’s death, Charles was thirteen and Ephraim was eleven years old.  Here is the translation of the court records on dealing with the four orphans of John MacLean.

511 Pennsylvania fr.

                Man Orphans Court held at Lancaster in the county of Lancaster the fourth day of November.  Ann Dom Bedford, Edward Smout, Samuel Boyd, and David Jones, Esq., Justice of and for the King.

Upon the petition of Ephraim Moore of the said County yeoman to this court setting fourth that sometime since his son-in-law John MacLean went into the Colony of Virginia and there died leaving some effects which he was informed had been in the Colony and that the said John MacLean had left four small children in the Government which were provided for at the expense of their relations.  Ordered by this Court that William Dunlap of the said County of Lancaster Uncle to the said children be their Guardian Effects which their Father may have left in its Providence in  the Colony of Virginia or Elsewhere for their use.  Certified by power of court under my hand and the seal of the said County in the above said.

Sa Blunston Clark

                :Virginia fr.

                At a Court held for Brunswick County for the first day of April 1742.  The within order of the Orphans Court of the County of Lancaster in the province of Pennsylvania was on the mailor of John MacLean, Scot agent, attorney of William Dunlap,  Ordered to be recorded.

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Sterling Clackeim

After the court dealings with the four orphans, William Dunlap had become the legal guardian.  Note also that these records are recorded in the seal of the king, because the 1740’s America was still under the rule of Great Britian.

In the 1750’s, these boys were well into their manhood.  They were now in the present state of North Carolina.  It had been stated at one time they had “Dickey” rifles, which is possible, as Jacob Dickert was living in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, and was in business as early as 1750, but I personally doubt they actually owned Dickert rifles.  After their migration to western North Carolina, they first settled in the Yadkin River area, where Daniel Boone had also settled temporarily.

In 1760, Ephraim married Elizabeth Davidson in Rowan County, North Carolina.  Other sources say the marriage was in 1761.  The marriage bond was taken out from Virginia.  Elizabeth was the daughter of John Davidson (Sr.) and her mother’s name was Jane.  John and Jane Davidson had to come to America with five children from Ulster, Ireland.  The main reason for so many Irishmen coming to Philadelphia was so they could settle in a non-Catholic environment, in the present area of Chester and Lancaster counties of Pennsylvania.  William Penn had sent agents all over Ulster and surrounding areas to promote the settlement in America.  This growing family of Davidson’s settled first in or around Chestnut Level in Chester County.  The migration from Ireland had grown so much that Penn’s agents were forced to close the doors of the land office.  Most of these people actually were considered “squatters.”

Lancaster County was the gateway to the Old Carolina Road, also known as the Great Wagon Road, leading south through the Shenandoah Valley, and traveling on down to the Blue Ridge, and on into the Yadkin River valley in North Carolina.  It also leads  to the fertile land in the valley of the Catawba River, which runs from the eastern slopes of the Blue Ridge Mountains near Asheville, North Carolina, and then flows past Charlotte into the state of South Carolina.

The attraction for this new land, leading to further migrations, was Lord Granville, an original proprietor, unlike his colleagues, had refused to sell the lands back to the English Crown and at this time, was selling at very low prices.

John and Jane Davidson with their children migrated first to Augusta County, Virginia, now Rockbridge County.  The first land surveyed for John was in Beverly Manor in May of 1738 on Christian Creek.  By June 5, 1739, he had bought 785 acres.  On February 18, 1747, he sold 485 acres of the Beverly Manor land and 350 acres of land on Buffalo Creek that runs into the upper portion of James River.  Jane had also signed these land sales when they took place.  Elizabeth and her sister Margaret and her brother John were all born while living there in Virginia.  Elizabeth had been baptized April 19, 1741, by Rev. John Craig at Tinkling Spring.  She was the first of John and Jane’s children to be born on American soil

After some eight to ten years in residence of Virginia, John moved into North Carolina with his family.  He chose land on Davidsons Creek, named for him.  It was located in the northwest corner of what is now Mecklenburg County and the southwest corner of present Iredell County, just a short distance north of present Charlotte.  Centre Presbyterian Church was only a short distance to the south. 

The first of the Granville lands surveyed in what was then Ansen County, now Iredell County, was dated November 13, 1748.  The Granville surveyor was Charles Robertson for John McDowell on McDowell’s Creek.  The second survey was for John Davidson on November 26, 1748.  John had the land titled jointly with his first born son, George Davidson.  This old practice of first born son getting sole title was still in practice from the medieval times.  It wouldn’t change till America became free after the Revolution.  John made application for the land and moved onto it, and George has assisted as a chairman in the survey.  John never saw the completion of the paperwork, due to his untimely death.  The land on Davidson’s Creek followed the creek southwest to join into the Catawba River.

Surveys for the Granville land in the area of Davidson’s Creek area were made December 1, 1748, for John McConnell and then followed by other surveys for James Templeton, George Davidson, Samuel Baker, John Thompson, James and John McCullock, Moses White, John Reed, Benjamin Winsley, John McDowell, William Morrison, Hugh Lawson, John Parks, John Brevard, and Edward Givens.  These names will show up again in the history of the Davidsons and McLeans.

After only two years in the North Carolina lands John had died, leaving most of his estate to his son George.  After John’s death, Jane, later on, married William Morrison and had her last child, William Morrison, Jr.  William Morrison helped Jane to close out inventory of John’s last Virginia lands, for the aid of his new wife.  He was noted to be the present husband of the “said Jane Davidson.”

Before moving on I’d like to list the children of John and Jane Davidson, as so many McLeans are interested in their Davidson ancestry also.

  Elizabeth Davidson McLean, wife of Ephraim, was first cousin to General William Lee Davidson who lived on a nearby farm before the Revolution.  Davidson County in North Carolina and Tennessee were named in the General’s honor, after he was killed at Cowen’s Ford, North Carolina, during the Revolution.  The Davidson Academies in each of the latter states were also named in his honor, as he was the youngest general in the Revolution.  On October 19, 1765, Ephraim and Elizabeth settled on 640 acres of land on Fishing Creek in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, deeded over to them by William and Mary Moore.  One of the witnesses on this deed was William Dunlap, the uncle who raised Ephraim and Charles after their parents died.  From time to time, they moved to new lands along the western bank of the Catawba River, North Carolina, in the general direction of the Cumberland Gap, gateway to the west.

At this point, I would like to pause and give a pictorial of Ephraim and Elizabeth.  It would be reasonable thought that Ephraim was a man of some wealth.  In the mid-to-late eighteenth century, most officers in the militia had to have some wealth.  A captain in the Committee of Safety in 1775 would have had about 83 men under his control, with about 70 of those being privates.  In 1776, the number was more like 92 men and 76 privates.

Ephraim would have been a well-dressed man wearing a tri-corn or cocked hat.  In western North Carolina, the shirt of his day was a drop-sleeved shirt of homespun linen or linsey-woolsey on cooler days.  When Sunday came around, the neck stock would have been worn, which is where the necktie evolved from.  Knee-breeches with a drop-from and baggy seat were the pants wear of the day.  The drop-front breeches were multi-buttoned in the front and had lace up gusset in the rear, for many adjustments.  They were comfortable garments for working in because of their multi-adjustable.  Men wore stockings from the mid-thigh to their toes.  Large calves were popular so the stockings revealed the size and shape of the leg from the knee down.  Eighteenth century women were often known to remark on the shapely legs of George Washington.  On the times when Ephraim was wondering in the woodlands, hunting deer or other game, he would have worn mid-thigh length leggings, designed to protect the stockings and legs from the thick underbrush and briars.  These leggings were usually made of deerskin, sometimes woolen.  Many men of the time wore center-seamed, one piece moccasins, copied from the Indians of the same area.  These moccasins were actually issued through the militia on occasions.  I would imagine that Ephraim wore moccasins to the woods hunting, but back in the settlements he would have more than likely worn shoes that were squared toed, leather constructed, with a heel attached.  These shoes were usually straight lasts, meaning right and left shoe were the same, no left or right shoe.  The shoes were usually buckled with brass or pewter buckles, some even laced up.

During this time period men wore weskits, which were similar to today’s vest.  The weskits were sleeveless, and in the 1750’s were long to mid-thigh, by the 1780’s they had been shortened to just over waist length.  They buttoned up the front with many buttons and during cold weather some weskits had sleeves sewed in them which were simply called sleeved weskits.  Ephraim would not have worn a beard, as beards were not in style until sometime after the 1830’s.  In Ephraim’s day, a man carried a gun almost everywhere he went outside the settlements, because back then there was always a chance of an Indian attack.  To be the survivor he was, Ephraim must have been a good shot with his flint lock weapon.  He most likely had a rifle gun and would have been very familiar with the smooth-bored muskets of the time also.  The Committee of Safety guns were smooth-bored muskets of .80 caliber and sometimes .75 or .69 caliber.

Elizabeth would have worn a ground length full skirt tied at the waist.  The chemise she wore was tucked in under the skirt as day wear and alone as night wear.   The man’s drop-sleeve shirt was near knee length or longer.  The woman of that time wore stays, or as you might call them today, a corset.  These were designed to give support to the back while moving large pots and such.  It also enhanced the woman’s figure and their good posture.  I have personally talked to women today who have worn stays, during living history, and they are comfortable.  You can tell when a woman is wearing them, because she sits or stands straighter than she would without stays.  These stays were made to sleeve whale bone slabs to make up the support.  Women also wore, on a daily basis, the short gown, an overgarment with sleeves that went past the hips by six or eight inches.  These short gowns were usually pinned shut in the front.   In those days women carried a pocket or double pocket.  These were a bag of about a foot long and five or six inches wide with a vertical slit at the top for entry, and a rounded shape at the bottom.  They tied on the waist with a drawstring and women carried combs, scissors, and such inside them.  A married woman kept her pocket under her apron, whereas, an unmarried girl might decorate hers with embroidery and, or beadwork.   This helped to advertise her handiwork for prospective husbands.  The apron mentioned above was tied by a drawstring also and was worn at almost all times, especially by the southern frontier women.  Elizabeth’s headwear would have been a mobcap or bonnet, with her uncut hair in a bun under the cap.  A lady just wasn’t seen without her mobcap.  She considered her hair as her crowning glory, a gift from God to her husband.  Her hair only came out of the bun to be brushed before bed or to be washed.  Also, in those  days ankles and elbows were not to be seen by the general public.  Her shoes would be very much the same as Ephraim’s shoes in design.  While cooking in the home over an open fire, the skirt was sometimes pulled up between the legs and tucked into the waist.  This kept the women from catching their clothing on fire.  With the women working over large fires for cooking, the mobcap kept ashes from landing in the hair, which kept the hair cleaner and fresher considering baths were not an everyday event in those days.  As for maternity wear, since everything was made very full and tied with drawstrings, their clothes did just fine during a full pregnancy.  These times were before electricity and oil lamps.  Everything done after darkness was done by candlelight.  In the home there were candleestands, and to walk to a barn or other outbuildings, you carried a candle lantern.

In cold weather Elizabeth would have more than likely worn a hooded cape, or cloak made of wool and lined with homespun linen.  Ephraim may have also worn a cloak, but most likely wore a caped greatcoat at least knee length, or longer, the style of the day.  These coats had large collars and often split in the rear from the bottom to the waist, for riding in the saddle.  The front might be multiple buttons or just held in place by use of a large belt.   Almost anytime, from late summer to late spring, Ephraim probably wore a hunting shirt.  These hunting shirts, or frocks, were part of our early heritage, used by most every man at one time or another from the early 1700’s through the id 1800’s.  These shirts were lightly fringed with one and sometimes two capes.   Sometimes they were made from buckskin, but usually of homespun lines.   Men wanted to blend into the woods, so often these shirts were dyed brown from boiling in walnut hulls.  These hunting shirts were once suggested to be accepted as the official uniform coat for the continental line soldier during the Revolutionary War. 

In the 1750 through 1790 time period many men on the western frontiers carried compasses, but few had a pocket watch.  In those days men were very proud and very honorable.  A man’s language was quite proper, and many subjects were kept from the women’s ears.  For instance, two men discussing the breeding of a cow and bull were kept outside away from the women and daughters.  Foul language just was not used in front of the women.  Men were known to speak in foul language in the heat of a moment, but not in the presence of women.  However, at this time women did have more rights to speak up about than they did prior to the Civil War era.

In each location Ephraim and his family lived, he held important positions.   In the year 1768, he was appointed as commissioner of Tryon County by the Governor and the Assembly for the purpose of building a courthouse and a prison for the use of Tryon County, North Carolina.  While living in Tryon County, Ephraim and his family were members of the Centre Presbyterian Church north of where Davidson’s College now stands.  As this history goes on through time, I have found that Ephraim was a man of many trades, such as builder, politician, blacksmith, soldier, surveyor, and Indian fighter.

In 1770 Ephraim was commissioned a Captain of a regiment of Tryon County foot soldiers for the purpose of fighting Indians.  On September 20, 1775, Ephraim was elected to the Rowan County Committee of Safety, Salisbury District.  On December 23, 1776, Ephraim was elected as Justice of the peace for Rowan County, by act of legislature.  When Burke County was formed form the western portion of Rowan County in 1777 Ephraim represented that newly formed county in the General Assembly and was a member of the House of Commons, which convened in New Bern on November 15, 1777, and carried over into 1778.  In Burke County, Ephraim entered in some 2700 acres of land, east of York, South Carolina.  He first entered land east of York, South Carolina and trekked gradually north along the west side of the Catawba River.  He entered in Burke County, North Carolina, lands comprised of more that 3,000 acres.  In 1779 still in Burke County, and serving as a minuteman, as they were called in the militia, Ephraim was a representative for the state Senate and again through to 1780.         

In October 1780, Ephraim took his men to Kings Mountain in South Carolina under the command of Colonel Joseph Mc Dowell.  At the time these men left on such a journey, they packed as light as possible.  They slung a havasack over their shoulder, which held any extra clothing, food, and cooking utensils.   The men carried a piece of canvas for a makeshift shelter or at least a blanket or bedroll.  The food most always carried by these men was jerked venison and parched corn, and often times fried cornbread went along.  Water was carried in canteens of tin, wood, pottery, or even large gourds. The wooden and tin versions were most popular.  Great coats, frock coats, and hunting shirts would have been along for extra warmth as the October rains would be bone chilling. 

With the Revolutionary War having grown somewhat stalemate in the northern colonies, the British had moved south.  The American army had to surrender at Charleston, South Carolina, in  May of 1780.  General Charles Cornwallis had easily overrun the entire state, as he had so many Tories to back him.  In late September of 1780, Major Patrick Ferguson was the left flank of General Cornwallis as they were about to march northward towards Virginia, Ferguson had sent a messenger with these words:  “If you do not desist from your opposition to the British arms, I will march this army over the mountains, hang your leaders, and lay your country waste with fire and sword.”  This message was delivered to the “backwater men” ass Ferguson called them.  By now Ephraim was well experienced in fighting Tories and Indians, and like all his neighbors was tired of such arrogance from the British and their Tory friends.  That message was to become Ferguson’s first mistake that autumn. 

The backwater or overmountain men came from the Watauga settlements of present east Tennessee and met with the North Carolina men of the western portion of the Catawba River.   This is where Ephraim and other family members joined in the forces now marching under the leadership of Joseph Winston, Benjamin Cleveland, John Sevier, and Joseph Mc Dowell.

Ferguson’s second mistake that cold wet October was when he camped his army of Tories on top of a steep summit on King’s mountain, in the northern section of South Carolina, just a couple of miles from the North Carolina line.   King’s Mountain is a heavily wooded, rocky spur of the Blue Ridge, rising some sixty feet above the plain around it.  There on top was a large plateau some 600 yards long and as much as 120 feet wide.   It seemed a great campsite with an overview of the entire area.  The colonists had been traveling through the rain for a day and a half, so they arrived very quietly.   It was the afternoon, Saturday, October 7, 1780 when they arrived still in a misty mountain rain.  These minutemen of the militia dismounted their horses, fastened their coats and blankets to their saddles, and formed a horseshoe around the base of the mountain behind their mounted leaders.  The Loyalists at the top of the mountain were mostly taken by surprise.  The Loyalists were the Tories trained by Ferguson with Brown Bess muskets of .75 caliber.  Ferguson had invented a breech-loading musket and some may have carried the Ferguson style weaponry.  The colonists, backwoodsmen were armed with their long rifles with an average of .54 caliber.  Some of these rifles were accurate up to 300 yards, and these were hardened fighters of the preceding Indian campaigns.   The Tories muskets were only accurate up to 100 yards at best.  The British relied on their bayonets in the heat of a battle.  (The vollies of gun fire from the Tories were around every fifteen seconds so the colonists climbed tree to tree up the mountain only to be pushed back twice by the Tory bayonets.)  During such a siege as this, one must realize the long sulphurous blaze, the smoke covered woods, the sounds of guns going off, clanking of swords and bayonets, and the shrill whistles used by the leaders to control their men.  During the battle, Ferguson had two horses shot out from under him as he rode back and forth trying to make his conveyances to his men.  Finally after a hard push from the colonists, the Loyalists were trying to surrender.  As a last resort, Ferguson, dressed in a checkered hunting shirt, with some of his officers, made an attempt to ride through the lines of the North Carolinians.   (He was shot form his horse and was hung from the saddle by one foot caught in the stirrup, where he received several more bullets). His men propped him against a tree, but he was already dead.  The second in command ordered quarters, which was surrender and the white flags were hoisted.  According to a pension statement in the early 1800’s by another North Carolina man, Charles MacLean, brother of Ephraim, captured the horse Ferguson was riding and used it for breeding purposes.

The fight had only lasted about an hour.  Despite the cries of surrender, the American commanders could not restrain their men, who continued to shoot down the disordered enemy.  The colonists were thinking of all the atrocities they had suffered by the hands of the Tries.  Ephraim, for example, had moved from the Charlotte area into the mountainous region of northern and western area of Burke County.  Most of the time men in the area had to move to the mountains of the western portion of the state to avoid the Tories.  Colonel McDowell’s men were more harassed by Tories than the others as they lived in the closest domain.  These Burke County men were very much the same type as the Watagua men.  They had to fight Tories and Indians one after another.  Their families were always in fear of one or the other of these enemies while the men were out fighting.  “The tale of McDowell’s men” says Colonel Arthur Campbell, “was a doleful one, and tended to excite the resentment of the people, who of late had become injured to danger by fighting the Indians, and who had an utter detestation of the tyranny of the British government.”

Ferguson had been the only British soldier involved, as the rest of his forces were American Loyalist’s of the Carolina’s area and some from his northern militia.  The so-called “backwater men” or “over the mountain men” whom Ferguson had scorned, had slain 225 Tories, wounded some 163, and taken prisoner 716.  The backwoods men had no surgeons accompanying them, although the Tories had three, of which one was killed.  These Tory surgeons cared for the colonist’s men as well as their own men.  Some sources say Dr. William McLean arrived the day after the battle to help with the wounded.  One source even said he was there to help on the day of the battle.  The wounded were cared for at a spring at the base of the mountain. which still runs today.  The colonist themselves reported 28 men dead and 62 wounded. There is a plaque at King’s Mountain National Park, South Carolina, now listing some of the names of the dead and wounded.  Ephraim McLean is listed among the wounded at that battle but positive proof had not been found as yet. 

As the battle had ended there on the mountain, so set the autumn sun.  The victors camped at the base of the mountain and tended their wounded patriots.  The next morning arrived and the sun came out for the first time in several days.  The backwoodsmen had left their families and farms unprotected from the Indians, so they left at first light.  The Indians were provoked by the British and were on the warpath.  Some men stayed behind to bury the dead under stones and logs and in shallow graves, as they also feared General Cornwallis may have already been on a forced march towards them.  A fairly strong force left for Hillsborough, North Carolina, to deliver the prisoners to the Continental Army.

This battle at Kings Mountain was the first real victory in the south.  It caused our morale to climb and the Tories’ to fall.  Cornwallis was hard pressed to get help from the local Tories from then on to the end of the war. 

The nest major victory in the south was at the Cowpens, South Carolina.  General Daniel Morgan of western Virginia came out of early retirement to lead the Continentals and the Carolina’s militia.  Colonel Joseph McDowell’s western North Carolina men were here once again in the thick of the battle.  No records of militia men were recorded from this battle, but since McDowell was there we should be able to assume Ephraim was there also.  At least in this battle, they had professional help by way of the Maryland Continentals, Dragoons (mounted on horseback) of the third Continentals, and Virginia militia, as well as, North and South Carolina militia, totaling 800 men at best.

The enemy this time was Colonel Banastra Tarleton, a British officer of only 26 years of age.  The colonists knew him as "Bloody Tarleton,” known by now for not giving quarters.  With Tarleton’s 17th  Dragoons were the 7th Fusiliers, 2 brass cannon from the Royal Artillery, the 71st Highlanders (Scottish), and the Legion Cavalry, numbering some 1,100 men.  Tarleton’s slaughter of Colonel Araham Bufurd’s command at the Waxhaws gave the patriots a rallying cry ”Tarleton’s Quarter,” used until the closing of the war.

With Colonel Morgan was General Nathaniel Greene, another Continental regular, who was quartermaster general for the army and a brilliant strategist for the southern campaign.  Also there was Lt. Colonel William Washington, a distant cousin of General George Washington.

This battle was fought and won by the Americans on January 17, 1781, and after Kings Mountain and the later battle, the British retired back to Charleston and ended most of the warring in the Carolinas.

Tarleton had said that the county of Mecklenburg, in which Charlotte is situated, and adjoining county of Rowan, were more hostile to England than any other portion of America.  It appears very plain to me how the hatred developed against the British rule and the Tories that Ephraim and the colonist had to fight.  They had to live in a battle zone, with fear of British or Indians at their doorstep at any moment.  With Ephraim a known Whig minuteman, the Tories would of probably hanged him in front of his family on the spot.  This fate fell to many of their neighbors, so they knew what they were up against.  The Tories, many times, raped the women many times before the hanging of the men, then they took what they wanted from the houses and often burned the home and any crops in the fields.  As if that wasn’t bad enough, the British kept the Cherokee worked up and well supplied enough to cause many heartaches.  Ephraim was probably along in Rutherford’s campaign against the Cherokee in early 1779, and possibly in an August 1781 battle with the Cherokees.  There were many Tory and Indian battle with the Cherokees.  There were many Tory and Indian battles in that time, and most all were in counties of Burke, Macklenburg, and Rowan, North Carolina, were Ephraim and Elizabeth were trying to raise a family.

After the fighting, back in Burke county, Ephraim entered some2,700 acres of land and was active in furnishing subsistence and transportation to the Colonial American troops.  Ephraim, while serving as a militia captain, was farming and serving his newly formed country to the maximum.

Just about every two years, the McLeans home was enlivened by the arrival of a new baby, mostly sons, and eleven of these children were born along the western banks of the Catawba River in North Carolina.  By 1782, nine sons and two daughters had arrived.  The war had finally ended and danger of Indian massacre had subsided for only a temporary break.  Many families lost one or two members to the Indians, some whole families were destroyed.  John McLean, Ephraim’s oldest son, born Ye 1st, 1761, did not escape this ill fate.  He fell to the hands and “hawks” of the Cherokee nation, up near Old Fort, North Carolina, of the old Rutherford County.  Old Fort was a Davidson community at the time.  John Davidson, Sr., and his wife Jane, had a son Samuel, to fall into the hands of the Cherokee on Christian Creek, North Carolina.

The eleventh child of Ephraim and Elizabeth was born July ye 4th, 1781, Elizabeth had named this child after her father, John Davidson McLean.  Their first son, John McLean was named for Ephraim’s father.  In the year of 1781, Ephraim and Elizabeth buried both John and John Davidson.  John was twenty and John Davidson was still an infant.  Not long after this, the family was on the move again.  Each previous move they made in dodging the Tories was more into the mountains and in a westwardly direction.  Most likely they had planned to cross the mountains already, but had been caught up in the thick of the war.  So, with nine living children, Ephraim again closed his holdings in North Carolina, and picked up the Wilderness Road at the Blockhouse in Virginia, and traveled through the Cumberland Gap into Kentucky, some 300 miles of backwoods trails.  In 1775, Daniel Boone, with 30 men, started blazing this, “the old wilderness road.”  It could only be traveled by foot or pack animals for the next 30 years.  Dr. Thomas Walker, who discovered the famed gap, named the Cumberland Gap and River for the Duke of Cumberland, who the Scottish knew as “Billy the Butcher.”

Ephraim and his family laid over at Harrodsburg, Kentucky or perhaps Paint Lick for about a year, due to Elizabeth delivering their last child, son Robert Davidson McLean, born April ye7th, 1783.  While in Kentucky, Ephraim would probably have met such men as James Harrod, Daniel Boone, John Filson, Richard Henderson, and perhaps even Simon Kenton.

After it was safe to travel with a new infant, the family headed out again in migration to the middle Cumberland country soon to become Tennessee, but presently was still North Carolina.  It can only be surmised the difficulties they encountered, the streams forded and Indians lurking in the forests.  Certainly other families came along for mutual protection.  Most likely some of the other families on this trip were again the families Davidson, Ewing, and other McLeans.  On a trip like this, they would have used pack horses and some probably even walked.  The waterways were used as much as possible.  With so many children, the older ones probably walked through the Cumberland Gap, while the smaller children would have ridden on the back of the pack horses.  They, as the many others before them, would have herded some cattle and other livestock to their new beginnings.  On most of these type migrations, the older boys in the party herded the livestock in the rear portion of the caravan.  Often some of the livestock wandered off into the forest and the boys would have to go in a round up the strays.  Their home on such travels would have been open-faced encampments with canvas material for shelter most likely.  People traveled with groups of friends and relations so as to help provide for protection against wandering Indians.  The cook fires were usually shared and all would pitch in to help with chores while traveling in this fashion.  One must imagine the Shawnee, Chickasaw, and Cherokee Indians all wandering these areas looking for easy prey, such as a group of surprised pioneers in the wilderness forest, some with little or no experience in Indian fighting.

In the early pioneer travels to new land the people brought only necessities and cherished furniture that could be packed on the back of a horse or oxen.  Those people had at least one change of clothing besides what they were wearing at the time.  The children, until five to seven years old, wore only a chemise, usually ground length, whether male or female.  The cook ware used on the long journeys was what would be used n a cabin fireplace when they arrived at their destination.  These were probably the heaviest items brought along.  They had large cast iron pots and dutch-oven type ovens with long legs for cooking over open fires.  To use the oven, say to bake bread, it was covered with coals from the fire as well as coals lying under it, to bake the contents inside.  With a family as large as Ephraim’s, they had to have larger pots and more of them.  Copper and tinware were also popular during that time, and some pewter ware would have come across the mountains.  Earthware and woodenware utensils were also used.  Many of the early pioneers had to help with their livestock and other chores from their slaves.  A lot of people coming to the middle Cumberland valley and slaves to help with the work and the McLeans were no exception, as most I have found did own several slaves.  John Donelson, one of the earliest of the pioneers had as many as 30 slaves himself.  The slaves of the time were considered livestock.  Further in the works, you will find some slaves being freed, will before the Civil War and emancipation.

In 1783, the family of McLeans had made it to Nashborough.  The next year, the name was changed to Nashville.  The reason for this change was because the “borough” term was English, and after the French gave us aid during the Revolution, they changed it “ville” for the French influence.  When they arrived there at the Cumberland River, there were already three major stations, the other two were Eatons on the north side of the Cumberland and Freelands just next door on the south side of the river.  Also, there were crops already in the fields.

By an act of 1782, North Carolina had passed its Land Grant Act, granting her lands in the west, in what is now Tennessee.  North Carolina’s general assembly gave privates 640 aces of land, non-commissioned officers received 1,000 acres, Captains 3840 acres, and chaplains 7,200 acres.  Ephraim was an early member of the crews who were surveying the newly granted lands, and was being paid in land for his services.  Soon after the arrival at the new settlements, Ephraim entered in two tracts of 320 acres of land each from his Revolutionary War service.  This land was in the bend of the Cumberland River four miles east of the bluffs on the northern side of the river, just opposite of where Mill Creek flows into the Cumberland River.  This area of the river became known as McLeans bend and still be found on Corps of Engineers maps today.

Almost at once, Ephraim reassured a position of prominence in the new settlements.  He took a seat in the House of Commons, April 27, 1784.

By an act of the North Carolina legislature passed December 29, 1785 entitled “An Act for the promotion of learning in Davidson County,” the Rev. Thomas Craighead, Hugh Williamson, Daniel Smith, William Polk, Anthony Bledsoe, Lardner Clarke, Ephraim McLean, Robert Hayes, and James Robertson were appointed trustees under the name of President and Trustees of Davidson Academy.”  They had the authority to receive, by bequest, gift, or purchase, land, tenements, and property or money for the purposes of the Academy.  The last clause reads as follow:  “And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, that no lands, tenements, or hereditaments which may be vested in the Trustees of the Academy of Davidson, for the sole use and behoof of the said Academy, shall be subject to any tax for the space of ninety-nine years.”

As you can see, Ephraim reassured a position of prominence in the settlements.  By this act, there was two hundred and forty acres granted, adjoining the town of Nashville on the Cumberland River.  Other individuals also made subscriptions of land of various amounts.  The act itself encouraged “bequests, gifts, and purchases.”

The first meeting of the Trustees took place August 19, 1786.  Hugh Williamson and Lardner Clarke were not present.  Rev. Thomas Craighead had been brought in from North Carolina to be teacher and preacher.  He was chosen president and Ephraim McLean, treasurer, Daniel Smith as secretary.  With 240 acres adjoining the town of Nashville and with the ferry to cross the Cumberland River, caused the trustees much care and a lot trouble for years.  At the first meeting it was ordered that William Polk and Ephraim McLean be appointed to the job of surveying the 240 acres of land granted by the state.  They had the task of separating the Academy lands from the town lands and had till the next October to complete their work.

The cost of the tuition for each student was set September 25, 1786, at the rate of L4 per annum, to be paid with hard money or other forms of money of the equal value.  This Spring Hill Meeting House was decided upon as the place where school should be taught.  Rev. Thomas Craighead’s little church, or meeting house, was located six miles east of Nashville in what was then in the area of Haysborough.

Ephraim and Robert Hays were authorized to rent out the Academy lands and on October 5, 1786, the Board agreed that the president make a motion to Court for a ferry just above the town lands.  The ferry was located above the east end of Broad Street.  On May 31, 1790, Robert Hays reported that he rented the field on the ferry landing to John Boyd, Sr.  Boyd had agreed to put it under good fence. 

Ephraim reported that he rented all the cleared lands belonging to the Academy to Lardner Clarke for four years, starting Dec. 1, 1787.  Clarke was also to put all the cleared land under good fencing.  He was to pay 10s. per square acre in current money each year.  He could deduct half the price of “mauling the rails,” then he agreed that one half of the 10s. should be paid in corn at the current price of the country.

Robert Hays and Ephraim were appointed to employ somebody to keep up the ferry, build a ferry house and boats.  It was ordered that a fine of one dollar be imposed on any of the trustee’s who missed a meeting or they should give a good excuse as to why they missed a meeting.

On October 8, 1791, the board met at Spring Hill.  They adjourned to meet at Lardner Clarke’s home in Nashville on the 10th.  It was at this meeting that Andrew Jackson was appointed a trustee as a replacement for Colonel William Polk.  “These are strange duties for trustees of a literary institution!”  Mauling rails, making fences, building houses, keeping ferries, surveying lands, clearing and renting, collecting, measuring and selling corn!”

“But these truly great men were not above any such duties.  Some of these very persons have filled the highest positions in the state, and in this great nation, and they would never have merited the higher, had they despised the lower place of service and of honor.”

On November 8, 1791, John Boyd had paid his debt by paying Ephraim one hundred bushels of corn, and part of the debt to Ephraim, as he built the ferry house.  Robert Hays paid thirty bushels of corn for rent and had the ferry boat built.

By 1796, trouble was developing in Davidson Academy.  The Ewings, McLeans, Davidson, and Brevards were still closely related through a series of intermarriages.  The trouble involved the disposition of the academy’s funds.  A suit was filed by Samuel Barton and James Shaw had agreed to give bond to John Buchannon to pay L640 in two installments for 640 acres of land to be given to Thomas Craighead as part of the price required by Craighead before he would accept the position of teacher of Davidson Academy, a transaction that took place back in 1785.  In addition to the land, Craighead would receive L50 annually in salary.  Twenty subscribers had agreed to pay L236 over a period of three years.  In the meantime, Shaw became “insolvant,” and Barton was left holding the surety of paying Buchannon.  Barton received very little of the L900 raised over the three year period of 1785 through 1788, Buchannon sued Barton, in turn, sued Robertson and Clarke, claiming he had not received the money from the trustee’s as set forth by the original agreement.  Barton also claimed that Craighead had received more “cash and property” then was agreed upon.  Barton felt he should not be responsible for the debt, and he called for a personal accounting “of Craighead and other’s.”  The important thing to note is not simply the legal process, but that Craighead had become the renter of controversy, and his daughter was married to Robertson’s son.

Finis, Ewing’s uncle, Andrew Ewing, was clerk of the court which handled the case, and Davidson's Academy was named for William Lee Davidson, the father of Ewing’s wife and cousin to Ephraim’s wife, Elizabeth.  This incident would have been certainly caused strong feelings between Craighead and the Ewings and McLeans, and it is not merely a coincidence that three years later Craighead opposed the licensing by Transylvania Presbytery of four men who included a McLean and a Ewing.  This diagram of intermarriages of the Ewings, McLeans, Davidsons, and Brevards exhibits several important facts.   

Craighead, who began his ministry in North Carolina, was acquainted with all of these families.  His father, Alexander, was a close friend of Ephraim Brevard, a leading patriot of the Mecklenburg Convention.  Andrew Jackson was a friend of Thomas Craighead and was also close friends of the Ewings and McLeans.  Jackson stood by Thomas Craighead during his trial through the years of 1808 to 1811, which resulted in his deposition from the ministry in 1811.  As President of the United States, Andrew Jackson appointed Finis Ewing as Registrar of the Land Office in Missouri in 1830.  Thomas Craighead struck across these mutual friendships to make his personal attack against Ewing.  Ewing had been member of the Polemic Society which met at Craighead’s church, Craighead probably performed the marriage ceremony.  It should be noted that the intermarriages of the Ewings, McLeans, Davidsons, and Brevards reveal that the Ewings and McLeans shared the same social stratum as the Davidsons and Brevards; consequently, the charge may be correct that the Ewings and McLeans lacked a classical education, but it would be difficult to refer to them as “illiterate”or “uneducated.”

Davidson's Academy became so much in controversy between the newest pioneers and the old trustees that a new school was started and eventually they gave way to join together.  It was more political than religious arguments that caused so many of the problems.

An official survey was made earlier in February, 1784, which ran the south line of the military reservation down below the present Maury County.  Colonel William Polk accompanied the surveyors with a view to choosing good lands for himself and his father, General Thomas Polk.  Coming with, or soon following, the Colonel, into the future Tennessee, was Ezekiel Polk, grandfather of future president James K. Polk, who also followed the survey.  The surveyors began at Mount Pisgah (Maury County) near the middle of the south line.  Dividing there, one party went east and the other west, marking a tree a the end of every mile.  The creeks crossed were generally named in honor of the oldest man in the party, one after another, in order of their ages. 

With them was Henry Rutherford, a surveyor, son of General Rutherford.  William and Ezekiel Polk and Rutherford each kept a journal of the streams crossed in running line.  Others along were Ephraim MacLean, John Hardin, and John Hibbitt.  The surveyed line ran from the Elk River to the Tennessee River.  There is a long list of the men of the Cumberland who were along on the two surveys, including two of Ephraim’s sons.  Also, along on these trips was (One-Eyed) John Davidson, Ephraim’s brother-in-law.  It appears to me Ephraim made this journey to search for new land.  Probably the sons had the same notions, as they were now adults and starting their own families.  It was said that the land was still infested with Indians.  Ephraim was actually hired to hunt for fresh meat and guard against Indians, although most members of these surveying parties had much experience in Indian fighting.  This trip did go unmolested and was quite successful.

In 1784, Ephraim represented Davidson County in the North Carolina General Assembly from Nashville and in 1785 was a member of the Davidson County Court.

The name of Nashborough was changed to Nashville, and Samuel Barton, Thomas Malloy, Daniel Smith, James Shaw, and Isaac Lindsey were named by Legislature as “directors to lay off and carry on” the town.  James Robertson was by an act granted first choice of four lots at four pounds each.

The principal officers of the militia of Davidson County were Anthony Bledsoe, Colonel; Isaac Bledsoe, first Major; Samuel Barton, second major; Kasper Mansker, George Freeland, John Buchannon and James Ford, captains.  Provision was made for the building of a court house, prison, and stocks.  Ephraim McLean, Andrew Ewing, and Jonathan Drake were the commissioners for the construction.

With so many people flooding the middle Cumberland, the Davidson inhabitants were exempted from the payroll of poll taxes in 1784.  They raised three companies (two hundred and one men) for protection of the Cumberland settlements, compensation to be in warrants for lands west of the Cumberland River lands, and grants were given in tracts of 640 acres.

After a short time, Ephraim received an additional 300 acres on the river bend property.  From the actual record it reads:  Ephraim McLean “of Davidson County” received North Carolina land grant, December 25, 1787, and was on the tax roll, and his son Ephraim Jr. was also assessed for taxes here.  Also, there is a record of Ephraim’s purchase of the land of Green Hill.  Two of his sons had adjoining properties.  Corps of Engineers maps to this day designate the area as “McLeans Bend.”

The first home, here on the bend, was undoubtedly a log home as in the past, and probably larger than most.  Some of the first homes outside of the forted walls were actually blockhouses.  A blockhouse is a log structure with two levels.  The upper level overhung the lower level in order to withstand an Indian attack better than the single level.  The log home of the day had a large open fireplace, where the women could do the cooking.  It would be after the Indian troubles when separated kitchens would appear. 

By an act of General Assembly of 1787, Ephraim  was named as Commissioner of Salt for Davidson County.  With so many people moving the new western counties, the salt licks were overstrained.  The early days of salt making were laborious.  This process was boiling down the salts to be consumed.  By an act of the Legislature of North Carolina in December 1789, it was ordered to sell the area salt licks and springs that adjoined them.  The county courts of Davidson, Sumner, and Tennessee directed at their April term in 1790 to make a list of the area salt licks and so named Eaton’s, Denton’s, Mansker’s, Neely’s, Drake’s, Madison’s, Stone’s, and Bledsoe’s.  Mansker’s was reserved for Davidson’s Academy.

In 1799, the McLean Bend property was sold out to Alexander Porter.  Ephraim, having surveyed and hunted in the Maury County many times, knew the land well.  With all the politics and problems, of now crowded Nashville, and considering his age and life style, he probably was very happy to move back to the wilderness country.  Ephraim chose land about eight miles from present Columbia, Tennessee.

Alexander Porter started construction on a slave built brick home in 1799, that stands today off Porter Road on Welcome Lane in Nashville.  I visited the area on several occasions by found no evidence of the pioneer life left from the McLean family.  It appeared that the house was under renovation.  It is a large house with huge pillars in front, and is in a scenic location near the Cumberland River.  In the pre-civil war time, this place was known as the Riverwood Plantation.

Ephraim had selected a 5,000 acre grant between Knob and Snow Creeks on Duck River and was quite settled by 1806.  Again, there are no signs of the original pioneer homestead.  Sons of Ephraim, Ephraim, Jr., and Charles, were members of the first grand jury to meet in the newly formed Maury County.  In August 1807, Ephraim and five sons were active in forming the new county of Maury from parts of Williamson and Dickenson Counties.  One-eyed John Davidson was there too, and was called to jury duty with Ephraim, Jr. and Charles on March 1808.  In 1813, there were three captains of militia registered in Maury County, Captain Hurt, Captain Watkins, and Captain McLean as heads of companies.  This surely was Ephraim Jr. 

By now, Ephraim’s son Charles had married Sarah Vance of Swannanoa, North Carolina, in 1799, and settled in Maury County.  Later they moved to Rutherford County to settle.  Charles’ brother, William, also had settled there on Snow Creek.  In 1814, tragedy struck, and William drowned in the Duck River.  It has been passed down that five of McLeans brothers were on a hunting trip together when William drowned.  Ephraim, Jr. also died in that area at the young age of 52 years in 1818.   Now Ephraim and Elizabeth had buried four of their twelve children.  Ephraim had made at least one trip to Greenville, Kentucky to help set his son Alney up in his law practices.  In 1820, Ephraim and Elizabeth left Maury County to visit their son Samuel in Lawrence County.  While there they left the family bible with Samuel and then moved on to Greenville, Kentucky.  Ephraim by now was ninety years old.  He had seen the results of the French and Indian War, had fought the Indians, Tories and British of the American Revolution and had seen his family go off to fight the British again in the War of 1812.  His son, Judge Alney McLean, built a house in his yard for his parents to retire to.  Another son, Dr. Robert Davidson McLean, also lived in the same community.  Just south of Greenville, in the Adairville area, was their daughter Jane McLean Ewing.  Their son, George, was also in the area not far west of Russellville. 

Ephraim lived on until 1823.  Elizabeth died between 1820 and 1823.  Both were present in the 1820 census.  It has been passed down that Elizabeth died in 1820 after the census was taken.  This family was very close and clan-like.  The ten adult children of Ephraim and Elizabeth had a total of 87 grandchildren.  Each of the grandchildren who survived, also raised a large family, which explains why there are so many McLeans in Tennessee, Kentucky, Mississippi, and now so many other states in the Union.

The children of Ephraim and Elizabeth are listed here with their husbands and wives and birth dates as taken from the Bible of Ephraim.

On June 18, 1977, the Ephraim McLean Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution placed a bronze memorial marker outside of the Caney Station Cemetery, where Ephraim and Elizabeth are buried, in honor of Ephraim’s service during the Revolution.  Juliet McLean Houston of Nashville, Tennessee, was instrumental in the placement of the monument. 

Mrs. Houston was a descendent of Ephraim through his son Charles.  She was well-researched in family history, and I have used much of her research in compiling the information here.  Her death came too early, although I thank her for the help and placing the D.A.R. marker at the Caney Station Cemetery.  I knew her when I was just a small child and now wish I could sit down and talk to her. 

Upon finding the Caney Station Cemetery, I found out the stones were re-located up the hill by many yards and the graves are being cultivated over.  When the cemetery was moved, pre-1900, the actual grave locations were lost and probably some stones were lost.  In December 1990, I personally cut off the cemetery, located all the stones left, and re-erected several.  I took donations to install a four foot chain link fence and single gate and on donators for the fence was installed.  Here is a list of the donators for the fence, all are descendents of Ephraim and Elizabeth.

William C. and Sally Trotter, J. Howell Peebles Jr., Elizabeth Carlen McLean, Mark McLean, Howard McLean, Charles Stribling McLean, Whitson Riggs McLean, Valorie Lee, Humphrey H. Childers, Daniel N. MacLean, G. Hite McLean, Mayo Voss, M. T. McLean, Dr. Robert Smith Sanders, Howard and Hazel Franklin.

by

Stephen Michael MacLean
Hendersonville, Tennessee