Dear Claiborne researchers, I am trying to locate the land of an ancestor, Henry Sumper, in hopes of finding his burial site. I recently received a deposition he gave in Virginia, circa 1794, where he states he was moving to "Powell's Valley." Anyone have information on this area? Advice on where to find maps, etc.? Your assistance would be greatly appreciated. Stacey Brown

Gary, Powell Valley is the first valley in the Greater Tennessee Valley area, east of the Cumberland Mountains. The range lies along the Cumberland Mountain and begins on the north end at Big Stone Gap, Wise County, Virginia and travels in a Southwest direction down along the mountain range thru Lee County, Virginia and then into Claiborne County, Tennessee until it stops at the Cross Mountain near Caryville, Campbell County, Tennessee. The Powell Valley is approximately 100 miles long and varies in width, maybe an average of 3 to 7 miles wide, depending on what you define as it's boundaries. The Powell river runs thru most of it in the Virginia area and is separated from the main valley floor in Tennessee by the Dividing Ridge. If your ancestor was moving there in 1794, most likely he was moving into the upper valley area in Virginia. Most of the Tennessee part of the valley was still under Cherokee ownership until 1798. There were some settlers on the Tennessee side around the Cumberland Gap area, but it was a very dangerous area until the 1798 treaty with the Cherokee. I would check with the tax records of LEE County, Virginia, formed in 1794. Before that date it was RUSSELL County. Wise County was formed much later. Claiborne County, Tennessee was formed in 1801, from Grainger, which was formed in 1796 from Hawkins. It should be easy to find maps on the internet of the Powell Valley, but as you can see from the size of it, you would need to know an approximate starting point to look. Most everyone living in the Powell Valley in 1794 and before was located near a fort of some type for protection against the Indians. Steve Smith ----- Original Message ----- From: "Gary Brown" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Thursday, December 16, 2004 1:35 PM Subject: [TNCLAIBO-L] Re: Maps of Powell's Valley? > Dear Claiborne researchers, > > I am trying to locate the land of an ancestor, Henry Sumper, > in hopes of finding his burial site. > I recently received a deposition he gave in Virginia, circa 1794, > where he states he was moving to "Powell's Valley." Anyone have > information on this area? Advice on where to find maps, etc.? > Your assistance would be greatly appreciated. > > Stacey Brown > > > > ==== TNCLAIBO Mailing List ==== > Please leave Roll Calls up to the discretion of the listowner!! > Please visit the CLAIBORNE COUNTY PIONEER PROJECT at: > http//freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~ccpp/pioneer/index.htm > > --- > [This E-mail scanned for viruses by Declude Virus] > > >