Anthony Bledsoe | |
|---|---|
| Colonel | |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
1739 Culpeper County, Virginia |
| Died |
July 20, 1788 Castalian Springs, Sumner County, Tennessee |
| Nationality | American |
| Parents | Abraham Bledsoe |
| Spouse | Mary Ramsey Bledsoe |
| Children |
Abraham Bledsoe Thomas Bledsoe Sarah Bledsoe Anthony Bledsoe, Jr. Isaac Bledsoe Henry Ramsey Bledsoe Rachael Bledsoe Polly Bledsoe Prudence Bledsoe Susan Bledsoe |
| Occupation |
Surveyor Politician Military officer |
Anthony Bledsoe (1733-1788) was an American surveyor, politician and military colonel. He served in the French and Indian War and the American Revolutionary War.
Biography[]
Early life[]
Anthony Bledsoe was born in 1733 in Culpeper County, Virginia (or Spotsylvania County, Virginia).[1][2][3] His father was Abraham Bledsoe.[3] He had a brother, Isaac Bledsoe (1735-1793).[1][4]
Career[]
He served in the French and Indian War of 1754-1763 in the Virginia militia.[1]
After the war, he served as a Justice of the Peace for Augusta County in 1769, Botetourt County in 1770 and 1771, and Fincastle County in 1773 and 1774.[2] He also served on the Fincastle Committee of Safety from 1775 to 1776.[2] In 1776, he commanded Fort Patrick Henry on Long Island of the Holston in Tennessee.[1] The following year, in 1777, he was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates.[1]
In 1779, he became a surveyor of the Western parts of Virginia and North Carolina to establish borders for further explorations to come.[2] The following year, in 1780, he became a Justice of the Peace for the newly created county of Sullivan County, North Carolina; in 1781 and 1782, he served as its state Senator.[2] In 1783, he was one of the surveyors of the North Carolina military land grant reservation.[2] The same year, in 1783, he became a Justice of the Peace for new Davidson County, Tennessee, named after North Carolina General William Lee Davidson (1746–1781).[2] During the American Revolutionary War of 1775–1783, he served as a Colonel in the Tennessee militia.[1][5]
Shortly after the war, 1785 to 1786, he served as a state Senator for Davidson County, Tennessee.[2] He also became an early settler of Sumner County, Tennessee, building what came to be known as Bledsoe's Station in Castalian Springs, Tennessee.[1][4] By 1787, he served as the Chairman of the Sumner County court.[2] He also served as a surveyor of the area, trying to keep Native Americans at bay.[4]
Personal life[]
He married Mary Ramsey Bledsoe (1734-1808) of Augusta County, Virginia in the 1760s.[2][3] They had five sons and six daughters:
- Abraham Bledsoe [3]
- Thomas Bledsoe [2][3]
- Sarah Bledsoe [3]
- Anthony Bledsoe, Jr.[2][3]
- Isaac Bledsoe [3]
- Henry Ramsey Bledsoe [3]
- Rachael Bledsoe [3]
- Polly Bledsoe [3]
- Prudence Bledsoe [3]
- Susan Bledsoe [3]
Death[]
He was murdered by Native Americans on July 20, 1788 in Castalian Springs, Tennessee.[4][5] He was buried in Pioneer Cemetery in Castalian Springs.[5]
Legacy[]
- Bledsoe County, Tennessee was named in his honor when it was created in 1807 with land from Roane County and land formerly owned by Native Americans.[4]
- A chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution located in Sumner County, Tennessee, is named in his honor.[1]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 Anthony Bledsoe, Sons of the American Revolution, Col. Anthony Bledsoe Chapter (Sumner County, Tennessee). Retrieved March 26, 2014.
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 William T. Durham, Anthony Bledsoe (1733-1788), The Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture, December 25, 2009
- ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 3.12 Jay G. Cisco, Historic Sumner County, Tennessee: With Genealogies of the Bledsoe, Cage and Douglass Families and Genealogical Notes of Other Sumner County Families, Genealogical Publishing Com 2009, p. 103 [1]
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Origins Of Tennessee County Names, Tennessee Blue Book 2005-2006, pages 508-513
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 FindAGrave [unreliable source?]
The original article can be found at Anthony Bledsoe and the edit history here.