THROUGH
MOUNTAIN MISTS
Early Settlers of
Their
Descendants...Their Stories...Their Achievements
Lifting the
Mists of History on Their Way of Life
By: Ethelene Dyer Jones
Revolutionary
War Soldier John Nicholson and his connection to Old Walton County
Before
John Nicholson, Revolutionary War Soldier, moved to Hall County,
Cherokee
County, and then Union County in Georgia, he was a resident of the Old
Walton
County, a hotly contested strip of land sometimes referred to as the
"Orphan Strip" in a twelve mile wide area of land near the 35th
latitude north in old Buncombe County, now Transylvania County (South
Carolina,
North Carolina, Georgia). It took some time to settle the land dispute
and find
that the line gave the contested land to North Carolina.
Before 1786 the John Nicholson family and
several other pioneer families settled in Cherokee Indian Territory at
the head
of the French Broad River. At that time, the place where they settled
was
claimed by South Carolina, and the families were allowed land grants.
But South
Carolina withdrew claims to the strip. The settlers set up an
independent
government much like the famed John Sevier had formed in the old State
of
Franklin. They waited for the US Government to cede them to a state.
It was in 1798 that the federal
government received this land from the Cherokee Indians. It was not
surveyed at
that time, and was believed to be below the 35th latitude north, the
boundary
line between Georgia and North Carolina. Georgia took the "Orphan
Strip" as a part of the northernmost territory of the state in 1802,
rugged and hard-to-reach as it was. The strip was named Walton County
after the
last survivor from Georgia who signed the Declaration of Independence.
It was
officially added to Georgia by act of the Georgia Legislature on
December 10,
1803. This county on the border of North Carolina is not to be confused
with
the later Walton County in central Georgia with Monroe as the county
seat town.
Soon after Walton County was added to
Georgia, a census was taken. About 800 people lived in the county. John
Nicholson's family at that time had eleven persons, he, his wife, and
nine
children. Property deeds recorded in Old Buncombe County showed that he
owned
500 acres of rugged land on the northwest of the French Broad River
along
Gladys Branch. He evidently did not move while living in this "Orphan
Strip" area but remained on his lands along the French Broad.
John Nicholson and John Aiken (Akins)
were elected representatives from Walton County to the Georgia
Legislature.
They would have had to make the long journey to Louisville, Georgia,
the
capitol of Georgia until the state house in Milledgeville was completed
enough
for the state government to be moved there in 1807. Either place was a
long trek
through rough terrain and over poor roads for these two men who
represented Old
Walton County.
Then the situation back in Walton County
became volatile. When the Georgia-owned county became more tame and
law-abiding, it looked favorable to the North Carolina government. The
contest
over ownership of the land led to the Walton War. Militia groups from
North
Carolina opened fire on Walton County defenders at Magaha Branch, a
tributary
of the French Broad River. Some Walton County citizens were killed and
a number
were imprisoned. Among the prisoners was Representative John Nicholson.
When
brought to trial, the Walton citizens claimed that their only crime was
defending their claim as land owners in the still-contested strip of
land.
Georgia, thinking to set the line once
and for all, appointed commissioners, as did North Carolina, to survey
the
land. Finding that the 35th parallel was indeed, within North Carolina,
Georgia's governor and legislature wanted a second opinion. In 1811
they hired
a noted Philadelphia professional surveyor, Andrew Endicott, the man
who had
surveyed the Mason-Dixon line. The diary of the rough times his
surveying team
had going through thick rhododendron bushes and undergrowth to survey
the land
is interesting reading. Georgia was again disappointed, for Endicott
found
that, indeed, the 35th parallel was farther south, extending North
Carolina's
borders. The famous Endicott Stone can be viewed, even today, at the
corner of
three states, South and North Carolina, and Georgia at its most
northeastern
point.
The Georgia faction in Old Walton County
finally relented, and in 1813 requested that it become a part of Old
Buncombe
County (now Transylvania).
By the 1820 census of Buncombe County,
John Nicholson and his wife were registered there with a son and
daughter still
at home, both between 10 and 16 years of age.
c2009 by
Ethelene Dyer Jones;
published March 12, 2009 in The Union Sentinel, Blairsville, GA.
Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Ethelene Dyer
Jones is a retired educator, freelance wirter,
poet, and historian. She may be reached
at email [email protected]; phone 478-453-8751; or mail 1708
Cedarwood
Road, Milledgeville, GA 31061-2411
Updated May 3,
2009
Back To Union County, Georgia GenWeb Site