Note: Benjamin Gist was one of the early settlers of the East Tennessee territory being one of the magistrates of Washington County, North Carolina who took the oath of office in February, 1778, and composed the first county court that was ever organized in Tennessee.  At the November term, 1778, the commissioners appointed to lay off the place for erecting the courthouse, prison and stock, Jacob Womack, Jesse Walton, George Russell, Joseph Wilson, Zachariah Isbell and Benjamin Gist, reported that they had selected a site, and the followng May term the Court convened at that place in the first courthouse erected in Tennessee.  He was in the 1783 Greene County, Tennessee tax list along with Thomas, Avery, and John.  It is possible James and Benjamin have been friends since the early days in Washington County.

James is not the only Roberson to appear this early in Knox County:

Noted as being in Hawkins County, but recorded in Knox County.  When the grants were first established the territory was in Hawkins, but became a part of Knox County by the time the deed for this parcel was recorded.

According to "Incidents in the Early Settlement of East Tennessee and Knoxville" by Prof. G. H. Stueckrath as published in De Bow's Review, October, 1859, Vol XXVII, pages 407-419, "In February, 1792, Col. Charles McClung surveyed the lots and laid off the town of Knoxville.  It excited no particular interest at the time.  The whole town was then a thicket of brushwood and grape vines, except a small portion in front of the river, where all the business was done.  There never was any regular public sale of lots; Gen. James White sold anybody a lot who would settle on it, and improve it, for eight dollars; and in this way, at this price, the lots were generally disposed of.  Gov. Wm. Blount lived on Barbary [sic] Hill, a knoll below College Hill and between it and the river, and the principal settlements in the country were on Beaver creek".  According to Goodspeed's "History of Tennessee", 1887, page 50,"...and beyond the ridge is Beaver Creek Valley, which is one of the richest in the country, and was one of the earliest settled.  It is divided throughout the middle by Beaver Creek."  Grassy Creek is a tributary of Beaver Creek, lying south of Beaver Creek and west of current day Clinton Highway between Knoxville and Clinton.  It likely could be included in the preceeding rich description.

"JOHN MENEFEE, who was speaker of the house of representatives of Franklin Assembly of 1787, first settled in Sullivan county, which he represented in the first convention at Jonesborough in 1784.  In 1790, he was residing in Hawkins (now Knox) county, where he was commissioned a captain of militia by Governor Blount; and on the creation of Knox county, in June, 1792, he was made a justice of the peace and continued in his captaincy.  Menefee was Knox county's delegate in the house of representatives of the first, and several later General Assemblies of Tennessee; and was appointed one of the first justices of the peace under the Constitution of 1796.  Menefee's Station is named for him.  The name is sometimes written 'Manifee.'"  From "The Franklinites" on the Greene County, East Tennessee web page on TN GenWeb Project.

Mitchell Childress served in the Revolutionary War, pension application S2426.  "... That he was born in Henrico County Virginia on the 23rd day of October 1750, where he lived but a few years untill he moved to Amherst County Va. where he lived several years and married there, and then moved to Wilks County, North Carolina ... he states he lived in Wilks County, N.C. during the whole of his services in the Revolutionary War and for several years after the war, when he moved to Greene County Tenn. where he lived about one year when he moved to Knox County Tenn. where he now lives (as of 10 January 1833) and has lived for forty years..."

Moses Poor appears on the 1783 Green County, TN tax list.  By Grant #25 and Warrant #1329 Moses Poor was granted 300 acres in the Eastern District, lying on Beaver Dam Creek including the Cedar Spring ... cross Grassy Creek ... dated 11th day of July, 1788.  Moses was in Menefee's Company, Knox County Regiment, Hamilton District Militia, Territory South of the Ohio 1792-1794.

There is no indication where David came in possession of this 90 acres.  He likely purchased it much earlier where it was recorded in one county and later the land fell in Knox County when it was formed.  We saw earlier that David was in Knox County at least as early as James and his property is in close proximity to James.

John and Moses now appear.  Moses is likely the one we will see later as security for David Roberson's marriage and for whom Stephen Roberson served as security for his marriage.

Bullrun Creek is located between Beaver Creek and Clinch River, a little south and east of Poplar Creek, where William Roberson will appear as grantee shortly, and a little north of the Beaver and Grassy Creek area.  As mentioned earlier on this page, Layton Smith married Elizabeth Roberson, daughter of James and Mary.  With all these Robersons, and now Layton, appearing in close proximity and close timeframe, it is appearing more and more that there may be some relationship.

Aquilla Loe/Low/Lowe and family were early settlers in the extreme eastern part of the North Carolina territory that was to become Tennessee, and performed significant land transactions in early Knox County.  He was a lay preacher and a charter member of Beaver Ridge Church and a messenger to the Tennessee Holston Baptist Church Association from this Beaver Ridge Church.  He died in Knox County in 1819.  John Loe/Low/Lowe, who was noted in this and other deeds, as well as Richard who was noted in other deeds, were sons of Aquilla.  It was likely Lows Fort where people took refuge in what James Jr. detailed in his Rev. War Pension Application, and likely it was this Low family who was responsible.  Acording to "Tennessee Land Entries: Washington County, 1778-1796, Vol. 1-3" as noted above, Dr. Pruitt identified Nov. 27, 1779 "Aquiller" Lowe 500 ac in Washington Co on S fork of Lick Cr.  This places Aquilla in the same geographic area as the Roberson family at the time.

William Standifer appears again in relation to a William Robertson deed.
According to "Sequatchie Valley, a Historical Sketch"; Ellen Olivia Mitchell Hiatt; printed for the author by Publishing House of the M. E. Church South; Nashville, TN; 1916, "In 1805 three men, who were to be the first white settlers, came here on a prospecting trip.  These men were Amos Griffith and Isaac and William Standifer.  The following year they returned with their families, accompanied by other families, and made permanent settlements."  This is likely what caused the migration by some of the Roberson clan to the Bledsoe County area.

Stockley Donelson was the brother of Rachel Donelson, wife of President Andrew Jackson, Stockley being the maiden name of his mother.  He was an early resident of eastern Tennessee and served as speaker of the legislature of the ill-fated state of Franklin (ca 1785).  He was a major land speculator, buying up tens of thousands of acres of Tennessee land for resale.  He will appear several times in these Knox County land records.

It could be this Luke Lea, along with the earlier Joseph Lea, was related to the William Lea who, along with William Roberson and William Standifer, was among those charged with locating the county seat for Anderson County.

The witness is clearly shown as Benjamin Parker, but I wonder if it was not intended to be Barker, as above.  The deeds in these books are transcription made by a clerk, and could very well have been mistranscribed.

"Popular" Creek should be Poplar Creek.  The East Fork of Poplar Creek is just north of the Clinch River and just west of Bullrun and Beaver Creeks.

Jesse Roysdon pops up several times with happenings in Knox and Anderson Counties.  Could Jesse have ties to a Roysdon family in Virginia?  Could this family and the Roberson family have known each other there and could that be where Roysdon Roberson got his name?

This is the first time where a distinction between James Sr. and James Jr. is made.  It is difficult to know how many of the previous James transactions have been for Sr. versus Jr.  We know that James and Mary Fuqua Roberson were among the Robersons in Knox County, and now we suspect that son James Jr. was also among them.

Note the surname of Roberson, although within the same deed he is also referred to as Robinson.  Stephen was Robertson when he married Sally Curtain and Roberson when he married Winney Chitwood.  Even after moving to Indiana the name went back and forth from Robertson to Roberson.

"Early East Tennessee Taxpayers", Pollyanna Creekmore; Southern Historical Press; Easly, SC; 1980 has Stephen Roberson included on an Anderson County list of taxable property and polls in Captain McCamey's Company for 1802 as 1 free poll with 150 acres on Beav[er] Creek.  The deed was difficult to read and it appears Ms. Creekmore misread the r as a v and completed the name on her own, changing the meaning from Bear to Beaver.  Bear Creek has more meaning in that the location on Beaver Creek would have placed Stephen in Knox County rather than Anderson County for the 1802 listing.

Bear Creek is a tributary of East Fork Poplar Creek running parallel to East Fork and also to current-day Bear Creek Road, and running through Oak Ridge, Tennessee.