Part Three Families and Children
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PART THREE FAMILIES AND CHILDREN 171 172 Chapter 14 The Family Of Robert Coleman of Amelia County, Virginia (Approx. 1713 – Approx. 1783) Robert Coleman, son of William Coleman, Jr. (born in 1680 and died in 1745 and identified as Senior in his will), was born in Amelia County, Virginia, and christened on 6 December 1713. He died in approximately 1783 in Old District 98, Union, South Carolina. He lived in Lunenburg County, Virginia, and Mecklenburg County, Virginia, prior to moving to Union County, South Carolina, in the 1760's. Robert’s first wife was Susanna Phillips, the daughter of Claude Phillips de Richebourg. Claude was a first generation member of the Huguenot Colony, Manakin Town, Virginia. They had two children, Lucy and Frances, both born in Amelia County, Virginia, in the 1730s. Susanna had died by 1739. a. Lucy Coleman was born prior to 1740 in Amelia County, Virginia, and died in 1786 at Union County, South Carolina. She is buried at Moncks Corner Baptist Church Cemetery, South Carolina, with her husband who died in 1811. She married Thomas Draper, Sr., between 1754 and 1758 in Lunenburg County, Virginia. They had eleven children: James, Sarah, William, Anne, Thomas, Philip, Catherine, Daniel, Travis, William and Joshua. b. Frances Coleman was born prior to 1740 in Amelia County, Virginia, and died of small pox as a Loyalist (Tory) refugee in Charleston, South Carolina. She married Zacharias Gibbs, son of John and Susanne Phillipe Gibbs, after the Coleman family had moved to what later became South Carolina. Zacharias was born in Virginia in approximately 1741, and entered military service for Britain as a Captain at Ninety-Six, South Carolina, in November, 1775. Robert was married a second time in 1740, to Ann Hinton, daughter of Christopher and Margaret Jones Hinton. They first lived in Amelia County, Virginia. They had six children, Christopher, Abner, Philip, William, Faithful, and Mary. c. Christopher Coleman. He was born in approximately 1741, and was named for his maternal grandfather, Christopher Hinton. He married Mary Marshall in approximately 1759, in Lunenburg County, Virginia. He acquired 200 acres on Mill Creek of Pacolet River. This land was surveyed on 15 December 1766. Zachariah Bullock was the Surveyor, and Randolph Hames and Abner Coleman were chain bearers. He received a grant for this land from Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, on 29 April 1768. When the North 173 Carolina boundary lines were changed in 1772, the grant became part of South Carolina’s Ninety Six District, and in 1785, a part of Union District. Christopher Coleman built a house on his property and from it operated a tavern before and during the Revolutionary War. It was called Christie’s Tavern. An article on the Christopher Coleman in the Union County Heritage Book states, “It was said that he would turn no man away, even during the American Revolution. If the Tories were coming to rest and water their horses, the Whigs would scamper down a ramp built over the creek and hide in the woods.” The tavern stood until the late 1990’s. The remains of the house and chimney can still be seen where it stood on Park Farm Road, in Jonesville, South Carolina. Christie’s Tavern Photo by Nate Fulmer, Charleston, SC The creek that comes down the side and in front of where the old house stood is still called Coleman’s Branch and flows into Mill Creek. It is approximately one mile from highway 18, after turning onto Robinson’s Farm Road. Christopher Coleman served under Colonel Thomas Brandon before deserting to the British. He joined the British and he and his father were both named an outlaw in the proclamation of December 16, 1779. He served as a major with the South Carolina Royalists and was listed on half-pay at Savannah, Georgia, in 1780. Some say Christopher Coleman died in 1784. d. Faithful Coleman, was born in 1743, and died in 1801. She married Randolph Hames, son of William and Winifred Fann Hames. He was born on 22 January 1743. Faithful and Randolph had three children: John, Winifred (Susannah) and Nancy. 174 Faithful Coleman Hames died in 1801, in Union County, South Carolina. She left her son, John, a Negro girl now in his possession and half the value of negro Jude. She left her son-in-law, Green Burrough, half the value of Jude. To her daughter, Winifred, she left a Negro girl, Edy, now in her possession. Her daughter, Nancy, received five Negro children. John and Nancy were executors of her estate. Randolph served as a Patriot soldier under Col. Thomas Brandon before deserting to the British. He was named as an “outlaw” in the proclamation of 16 December 1779 in the newspaper, South Carolina and American General Gazette of Charleston, South Carolina, along with forty other men including Robert Coleman and his son Christopher. It is believed that Randolph fought in the battle of Kettle Creek after which he was marched from Augusta, Georgia, and imprisoned at Fort Ninety Six, South Carolina, where he received a sentence of execution and was hung as a Loyalist traitor to the Revolution. e. Abner Coleman was born around 1755, and died in 1825 in Gwinnett, Georgia. According to Land Deed Book L, page 107, 13 September 1811, Susannah Coleman is identified as the wife of Abner Coleman, Sr. She could not write since she signed the deed by a mark. He was a Loyalist soldier and served from 14 June 1780, under Capt. Shadrack Lantrey and Maj. Daniel Plummer in the Fair Forest Militia. He was in the battle of Kings Mountain. Abner evacuated Ninety Six with Lt. Col. John H. Cruger. He probably became a refugee in Charleston, South Carolina, and then returned to his house in South Carolina after the death of his sister, Frances. Prior to 13 April 1782, he deserted to the Patriots. His Loyalist’s pay was issued to Mrs. Elizabeth Nixon, for her son, Thomas Nixon, who served in the same regiment. Abner was a land owner per the following records: Land Deed Book B, Page 109, Union County, South Carolina. 30 July 1786. Robert Coleman deed to Abner Coleman recites that Robert Coleman, late of said District, died intestate, the owner of six hundred acres of land, which said land fell by descent to Robert Coleman, son of Christopher Coleman, as the heir-at-law to said real estate. Sold to Abner Coleman one-half of the said six hundred acres on the North side of Mill's Creek. 175 Abner Coleman and his wife, Susannah (Ann), and his brother, William Coleman, sold land to Nathaniel Gordan in 1788. No records now exist indicating how the brothers received this land. Land Deed Book L, page 107, 13 September 1811. Abner Coleman, Sr., conveyed to Hezekiah Coleman, all of Union District, 90 acres on the North side of Mill Creek, being a part of a tract granted to Robert Coleman, refers to Abner Coleman, Jr.'s spring. Susannah Coleman, wife of Abner Coleman, Sr., relinquished dower. She signed by her mark. Hezekiah sold his land to Philip Coleman, son of William, on 26 December 1811. His cousin, Richard, witnessed the transaction. Hezekiah’s wife, Elizabeth Belue, relinquished her right of dower. They moved their family to Gwinnett County, Georgia. Abner Coleman, Sr., sold 90 acres to Thomas Little on 25 December 1816. The land was on the north side of Mill Creek and was part of a tract granted to Robert Coleman (Sr.). Abner moved his wife and the remainder of his family to Gwinnett, Georgia before 1820, to be near his son and died there in 1825. f. Philip Coleman, date of birth is unknown, died in 1785. He fought with his neighbor, Capt. John Nuckolls, in the war against the Cherokee Indians on 9 February 1771. He was a sergeant. Fighting with him in this skirmish was his brother, William. Philip Coleman witnessed a deed transaction between Joab Mitchell and Thomas Draper on 2 May 1776, before his brother, Christopher Coleman, Justice of the Peace. Land Deed Book O, page 195, 24 November 1817. Philip Coleman conveyed land to Robert Coleman; Martha Coleman, wife of Philip Coleman, relinquished dower. He served under Col. Thomas Brandon with the Patriots before deserting to the British. He was probably at the battle of Kettle Creek for he was accused of sedition and held in the Ninety Six, South Carolina, jail. From here he was taken to Orangeburg, South Carolina, for trial in 1779. He then served as a Loyalist under Col. Daniel Plummer in the Fairforest Militia. He was under Ferguson from June to October 1780 and was in the battle of Kings Mountain. He became a refugee in Charleston, South Carolina, and returned to his house in upstate South Carolina after the death of his sister, Frances. 176 Philip died in 1785, and John Haile, Adam Potter, and his brother, William Coleman, signed the administrative bond before John Thomas, Jr., Ordinary. g. William Coleman, was born in 1755 in Lunenburg County, Virginia, and died in 1808 in Union County, South Carolina. He and his wife, Mary Randolph Coleman, were Loyalist refugees in Charleston, South Carolina, probably traveling with his mother and father. He was recommended on August 1780, by the commandant of Charles Town to be restored to the privileges of a British subject. He signed an oath to the King on 28 August 1780. He possibly fought with the Patriots with his father and brothers, Philip and Christopher, but is not listed in the book, Roster of South Carolina Patriots in the American Revolution, by Bobby Gilmer Moss.