James JORDAN

Male Abt 1744 - Deceased


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  • Name James JORDAN  [1
    Born Abt 1744  , , , USA Find all individuals with events at this location 
    • James was probably born in Pennsylvania.
    Gender Male 
    Residence Abt 1770  , Greenbrier, West Virginia, USA Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Residence Abt 1800  , Cabell, West Virginia, USA Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Died Deceased 
    Person ID I11779  An Armstrong & A Heffernan
    Last Modified 17 Feb 2014 

    Family Sarah ???,   b. Abt 1749,   d. Deceased 
    Children 
     1. William JORDAN,   b. Abt 1774, , Greenbrier, West Virginia, USA Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. Bef 1850, , Tippecanoe, Indiana, USA Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age ~ 75 years)
     2. Margaret JORDAN,   b. Abt 1765,   d. Deceased
    Last Modified 28 Dec 2009 
    Family ID F4537  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  • Notes 
    • (Research): William was born circa 1774 in Greenbrier County, (West) Virginia, probably near Sinking Creek around present-day Lewisburg. He was the son of James and Sarah Jordan who had settled in the area a few years earlier and, as a small child, was with his parents when they took refuge in Fort Donnally during one of the last Indian attacks in the area. James Jordan, William's father, was descended from Quakers who had settled in Virginia in the 1600s. [Jerry Jordan]
      "On May 29, 1778, the last Indian raid of any consequence in the Greenbrier region occurred at Fort Donnally. Phillip Hammond and John Pryor, two scouts from Fort Randolph at Point Pleasant, followed the Indians, anticipating a raid on the Greenbrier Settlements.
      The young men had been made up to represent Indians. "The Grenadier Squaw," sister of Cornstalk, assisted in disguising the scouts, using bear grease and red ochre for the purpose. They set out on their journey of over on hundred and sixty miles, through dense forests, competing against the savages. The scouts overtook and passed the Greenbrier. Reaching Fort Donnally as speedily as possible, they warned the settlers, thus preventing another terrible massacre.
      The fort, built by Col. Andrew Donnally in 1767, stood about 100 yards east of the residence of the late Anthony Rader, on Rader's Run, 10 miles northwest of Lewisburg.
      As soon as possible, word having been dispatched to Col. John Stuart, a relief party of 67 men under the command of Capt. William Johnston arrived from Camp Union. They entered the fort and helped beat off the Indians. At nightfall, realizing their plan had failed, the Indians withdrew, leaving 16 dead. four white men were killed.
      "In comparison with what has occurred in driving the early frontiers of America westward, the Battle of Fort Donnally is but dust in the balance; yet, as being an important part of the warp and woof in the great drama acted out by our forefathers, it is of peculiar interest to the people of the Greenbrier region, and an all-important and outstanding even in its effect in the early days of convincing the Indian that his domain must be moved west of the Mississippi."
      The following men with their families were among those known to be in the fort at the time of the siege: Col. Andrew Donnally, Lieut. John Williams, Ensign Richard Williams, William Cutlar, James Miller, James Sconce, William Blake, John McFerrin, John Lockridge, James Hugart, William Hugart, John Flinn, Christopher Hedrick, Johnathon Hughes, James Jordan, D. Williams, Thomas Cooper, N. H. Cavendish, Thomas Ellis, John Fenton, J. Hugart, W. Jamison, S. Greer, W. Gray, T. Hugart, John Pryor, William Pritchard, John Pritchard, James Million, William McCoy, Sr., William McCoy, Jr., Phillip Hammond, and Dick Pointer (negro).
      The far-reaching effects of the Fort Donnally affair made possible the support given to George Rogers Clark, by almost two hundred citizens, in his operations which saved for the union the great Northwest Territory, as well as the assistance given to George Washington in the East." [Historical Booklet - Greenbrier County 160th Anniversary - 1778-1938 Published 1938]

  • Sources 
    1. [S369] Jordan, Jerry.


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