GOWEN
RESEARCH FOUNDATION NEWSLETTER
Volume 5, No. 3
November 1993
Zephaniah
Goins Fought in Yorktown Campaign
By Jack
Harold Goins
Editorial Board Member
Route 2, Box 275,
Rogersville, TN, 37857
Zephaniah
Goins, son of John Going and Elizabeth Going, and my
seventh-generation grandfather, was born about 1758 in Halifax
County, Virginia. He enlisted in the Virginia troops during the
American Revolution and was present at the Battle of Yorktown when
Cornwallis surrendered in October 1781.
Zephaniah
Goins, a Melungeon, was married to Elizabeth Thompson June 20, 1790
by Rev. Joseph Anthony of Henry County, Virginia. She was the
daughter of William Thompson and Mary Estes Thompson.
"Zephaniah
Going" was a resident of Rockingham County, North Carolina in
1795, according to the research of Pamela R. Lawson Jenkins, family
researcher of Franklin, Tennessee. He appeared as the head of a
household in the 1810 census of the county. Soon afterward he
removed to Tennessee, according to the research of Wanda Aldridge of
Dyer, Arkansas.
Learning
that Zephaniah Goins and Elizabeth Thompson Goins had joined
Blackwater Primitive Baptist Church by dis-mission letter from
another church which was unnamed, I began trying to locate this
church. In the Blackwater minutes, 1816 to 1834, I found four
seventh-generation grandfathers who served in the Revolutionary War:
Thomas Bledsoe, Henry Fisher, John England and Zephaniah Goins.
While
searching in the public library in Kingsport, Tennessee, I found the
minutes of neighboring Stoney Creek Primitive Baptist Church at Ft.
Blackmore, Virginia, just across the state line. They contained
some very interesting Melungeon references in the minutes recorded in
1813. The term "Melungeon" was probably in common
usage long before then, but this is the first time I have found it
recorded.
Ft.
Blackmore was built at Stoney Creek, in Washington County, Virginia
before the Revolutionary War by Capt. John Blackmore to protect the
settlers from Indian attacks. Ft. Blackmore was located about
eight miles southwest of present day Dungannon, Virginia in Scott
County. In 1780 Capt. Blackmore's militiamen participated in
the victory over the Cherokees in the Battle of Boyd's Creek.
While
driving through this small town trying to form a picture of what this
place looked like 200 years ago, I stopped at a church called Pine
Grove Primitive Baptist Church. Residents told me that this
site was where old Stoney Creek Primitive Baptist Church had been
located. I learned that the old building had been washed away
in a flood. I was told the old fort was about where Stoney
Creek flows into the Clinch River and tried to visualize this place
where my fore-bears were stationed during the Revolutionary War.
Grandfather
Thomas Bledsoe was in Capt. Blackmore's command. He filed
his Revolutionary War pension application in Hawkins County April 24,
1834. He was born in March 1760 in North Carolina and moved
with his parents to the new territory, about seven miles from Long
Islands of the Holston River, on Reedy Creek. It is now the
site of present day Kingsport, Ten-nessee. After the Battle of
Kings Mountain, peace returned to the Clinch River valley briefly.
Reference
has been made in the Foundation Newsletter earlier to a letter
written by Capt. John Sevier in which he describes the physical
appearance of the Melungeons upon first encountering them. He
patrolled in the Trans-Appalachian area of Virginia and Tennessee
during Lord Dunmore's War in 1774.
John
Murray Lord Dunmore, the Earl of Dunmore, was appointed governor of
Virginia in 1771, and an Indian war erupted during the third year of
his tenure which was thereafter called Lord Dunmore's War.
A band of
white marauders led by a des-perado named Greathouse attacked an
Indian village and killed several of the tribesmen. An Indian
chieftain, John Logan, known to the tribe as Tahgahjute, took to the
warpath to avenge the death of his sister and other kinsmen in the
raid. John Logan, son of Shikellamy, was born in 1725.
Shikellamy was a white man who had been cap-tured by the Cuyugas
while a child. He grew up in the tribe, married an Indian woman
and became a chief.
Believing
that the troops of Capt. Michael Cresap were respon-sible for the
raid and the murders, John Logan sent him a decla-ration of
hostilities. This was the begining of Lord Dunmore's War which
saw the frontier become a blazing battleground. Gov. Dunmore
did his utmost to restore peace and was able to bring the Shawnee
Chief Cornstalk to a parley after the Battle of Point Pleasant, but
Logan shunned the peace talks and continued the fighting which was a
prelude to the Revolutionary War.
When the
Revolution began, Logan served the British cause and wreaked havoc on
the frontier settlements. In addition to Cuyu-gas, the Mingoes,
Cherokees, Shawnees, Chickasaws, Creeks and Chickamaugas went on the
warpath from time to time, all supplied and encouraged by the
British. During the Revolution, Logan led a charmed life and
did not receive a scratch, but was killed in 1780 near Lake Erie by a
nephew that he had attacked.
Lord
Dunmore fared little better. In April 1775 Patrick Henry at the
head of the Hanover Minute Men forced Dunmore to flee his office and
take refuge on a British war vessel lying off York-town. In
retaliation, Dunmore ordered Norfolk, the largest town in Virginia at
that time, to be burned. This outrage united the Virginians in
their resolve, and the British quickly order Dunsmore out of the
colony in 1776.
Lord
Dunmore's War was not the last time that John Sevier was associated
with the Melungeons. He was born in New Market, Virginia in
Rockingham County in 1745. In 1776, he was one of the first to
settle on the Watauga River west of the Appalachi-ans when Tennessee
was opened for settlement. Melungeons on the Watauga were then
his neighbors.
Col.
Sevier was one of the commanders in the Battle of Kings Mountain in
1780, and Melungeon militiamen were included in his command.
Later in that year, Col. Sevier led an expedition against the
Cherokee Indians. Included in his command was the militia
company of Capt. Blackmore and its Melungeons.
He helped
to organize the Free State of Franklin [which em-braced the
Melungeons] and became its governor in 1784. Feeling that he
was leading an insurrection, the officials of North Carolina arrested
Sevier and convicted him of high trea-son. Later he was
pardoned. Ten years later he was elected the first governor of
Tennessee.
The Stoney
Creek minutes are complete from 1801 to 1811. Then from 1811 to
1814 there are intermittent skips. The first minutes dated
November 14, 1801 reveal that it was an existing church and adding
new members rapidly. Meetings were held on the second Saturday
of each month.
The
minutes reveal that the congregation was composed of whites,
Melungeons, free Negroes and slaves. During the next four
years, 88 new members were added; 33 of these were persons bearing
familiar Melungeon names: Gibson, Collins, More [Moore], Bolin,
Bolling, Sexton, Osborne, Manis, Maner.
The
congregation made an effort to overcome the prejudice against
dark-skinned people prevalent in that period, but reading between the
lines, it was apparent that the whites were greatly relieved when the
Melungeons began an exodus to Tennessee. According to the
minutes, by 1807 most Melungeon families were gone; eight had
received letters of dismission, and five others had been
excommunicated for various unrepented sins.
The word
"Melungins" was recorded in the minutes of the church dated
September 26, 1813 and is the oldest written reference to them that I
have found:
"September
26, 1813. Church sat in love. Bro. Kilgore, Moderator.
Then came forward Sis. Kitchen and com-plained to the Church against
Susanna Stallard for saying she harbored them Melungins. Sis.
Sook said she was hurt with her for believing her child and not
believing her, and she won't talk to her to get satisfaction, and
both is pigedish [pig-headedish] one against the other. Sis.
Sook lays it down and the church forgives her."
Sister
Susanna Kitchen was provoked with Susanna "Sookie" Stallard
for reporting that the Melungeons were visiting in her home.
Sister Susan "Sook" Kitchens joined the church Septem-ber
26, 1812. Her child told Susanna Stallard the Melungeons had
been staying there. The church forgave her upon her repentance,
but the furor appeared to continue at the next meeting. Stoney
Creek was happy to see the Melungeons remove to Tennessee, and some
were chagrinned to have them return on visits to Virginia. Some
did not request dismissions, but simply re-turned to Stoney Creek to
worship upon occasions.
The
closest ones lived near Kyle's Ford, Tennessee 40 miles downstream on
the Clinch. With their primitive roads it would be impossible
for them to attend services at Stoney Creek and return in one day.
Someone had to be "harboring" them for perhaps for more
than one night at a time. Some members of Stoney Creek sought a
resolution to keep the Melungeons attending church in Tennessee:
"October
23, 1813. Church sat and found in love. Bro. Cox puts a
question to the Church: 'Whether it is in order to live in the bounds
of one church and to belong to an-other church.' The assembly
determined 'it not good to bind any member in such cases.'"
Several
blacks were members at Stoney Creek, Rhoda [Cox's black], William
George and his two blacks; Luke Stallard's black." "Feb.
26, 1809, 'Can blacks testify against whites?' The church voted
'yes.'
Concerning
the use of the word Melungeon in these minutes, it is obvious it was
a common word well known to this commu-nity. From the minutes,
the following were the first people to join Stoney Creek Primitive
Baptist Church bearing Melungeon related names:
"December
1801 "Nancy Gibson, received by letter. Valentine Collins
received by experience and baptised. May the 22nd day 1802:
Church meeting held at Stoney Creek. Received by experance
Nancy Brikey, Riley Collins, Mary Large. Rachel Gib-son, Thomas
Gibson, Beter Gibson, George Gibson, John Stuart and baptised."
Three
members of Stoney Creek are on the 1755 tax list of Orange County,
North Carolina. Listed were "mulattoes" Thomas
Gibson, George Gibson and Charles Gibson.
Four
members of Stoney Creek reappeared on the 1810 tax list of Hawkins
County, Tennessee: Thomas Gibson, George Gib-son, Charles Gibson and
Valentine Collins.
Using the
minutes of Stoney Creek, you can note when Valentine Collins and
Charles Gibson left for Hawkins County.
"April
the 21 day 1803, Bro. Valentine Collins and wife to receive a letter
of dismission, also Bro. Charles Gibson and wife."
Blackwater
Primitive Baptist Church was located at Kyles Ford, Tennessee in
Hawkins County [present day Hancock County] on the bank of the Clinch
River. Organized in 1801, it was the first church established
in this section. The earliest minutes found begin in 1816.
We know by the minutes of Stoney Creek who some of its members were.
"February
the 26th day 1802. Thomas Gibson Excom-municated. Sis. Vina
Gibson obtained a letter of dismis-sion by letter of recommendation
from Blackwater Church. Sis. Mary Gibson obtained a letter of
dismis-sion. Clary More received by experiance and baptised.
Dismissed in order."
Thomas
Gibson, listed as one of the Kings Mountain militiamen, and George
Gibson are distant grandparents in the family re-search of Ruth
Johnson, a member of Gowen Research Foundation who lives in
Kingsport. She is completing a book about her life on Newman's
Ridge.
Charles
Gibson, born in Virginia, moved to North Carolina and later joined
Stoney Creek Primitive Baptist Church June 26, 1802, then removed to
Blackwater Primitive Baptist Church.
"Charles
Gibson and wife, Rubin Gibson and wife, and Valentine Collins and
wife" received dismission to go down to Blackwater Church.
The earliest minutes found there begin in 1816, but none of these
people are found in them, probably be-cause Greasy Rock Primitive
Baptist Church had been subsequently established at Sneedville,
Tennessee.
Other
churches mentioned in the minutes of Stoney Creek include Glade
Hollow Primitive Baptist Church, Deep Springs Primitive Baptist
Church at 3 forks of the Powell River mentioned Aug. 1806 probably
near Jonesville, Virginia and Moc-casin Primitive Baptist Church.
When the
minutes of these sister congregations are found, they may contain
additional information about the Melungeons.
"Zephaniah
Goans, free person of color" was recorded as the head of a "free
colored" household in the 1830 census of Roane County,
Tennessee, page 47.
In 1834,
"Zephaniah Going" filed his Revolutionary pension
application at Rogersville, county seat for Hawkins County which then
Hancock which was the area where Zephaniah lived on December 18,
1834.
Without
any embellishment, my Melungeon grandfather simply declared, "I
was at the siege and present at the surrender of Cornwallis at
Yorktown."
Fourteen
children, 10 daughters and four sons, were born to Zephaniah Goins
and Elizabeth Thompson Goins. Children born to them include:
John
Goins born in 1792
Isaiah
Goins born in 1795
Susan
Goins born in 1800
William Goins born in
1805
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