In a message dated 7/28/99 5:28:34 AM Central Daylight Time, [email protected] writes: > What information do you have on Archibald? Date of birth? There are > many of us searching for information on where our Archibald came from, > roughly at the same time frame. Bill, the only bit of information I have on Archibald or Samuel and Alexander from Henry County is just that their names are on the tax list posted on the Pittsylvania County GenWeb Page. I haven't even been able to prove that the Richard Gordon who was born in Pittsylvania/Henry Co. is my gggrandfather. But according to the RW pension application of this Richard Gordon, his family moved from Henry Co., VA. to Wilkes Co., NC. sometime between his birth in Apr of 1766 and Aug 1781 when Richard volunteered for service under Capt. John Beverly and Col. Herndon and marched to Pleasant Gardens. He goes on to state that as soon as he returned home from that service his father (no name) moved to Wilkes Co., GA. This would be about Oct 1781. He doesn't mention his father again in that application except to say that his father had a record of his birth but he, Richard, didn't know what had become of it. But Richard spent two years at Walton's Fort in Franklin Co. serving as a spy or Indian scout. He rejoined the militia, marched through Sumner Co., TN to the Powell Valley of Virginia. There he met and married Susannah who appears to have been the widow or daughter of William Fork, and they moved on to Madison Co., KY. By 1800 he was in Cumberland Co., KY serving as a chain carrier on a survey crew, and in about 1811 he moved to Jackson Co., TN where he remained until his death between 1840 and 1850. Interestingly, William Fork was granted land in Sumner Co. TN in 1793 for his service as a guard on the surveying crew that shot the line between the Cumberland Settlements and Indian lands east, west, and south of Nashville. And confusingly, a William Fort was granted land in Sumner Co. and Tennessee Co. within a few days of William Fork's grant. This is where I pick up the trail of my proved g-grandfather, and the only Gordon we have found in Jackson Co. old enough to have been James C. Gordon's father is Richard. From later census records we learned that James was born 1805 in KY. By 1870, James C. and Martha J. Gordon were in Robertson Co. TN. They had five daughters living in their household and two married sons living in the neighborhood. The elder son was born in Alabama in 1831 but the family was back in Jackson Co. for the 1840 census. There were several Gordons in Madison Co., KY, including a Samuel, as early as 1791, and we find Alexander and others as early as 1796 in Robertson Co., TN. But no Archibald. If you find anything in Richard's or James's meandering where they appear to be connected to any Gordon family, I would certainly appreciate hearing from you. And I do wish I could be more helpful to you. Joyce