From GAZETTE 13 Vol3 Iss 4 Oct
1998
THE BLAKELEY FAMILY
OF USA
By George William Wright
(Courtesy of the Blakeney/Blakely Family Association
Canada)
James BLAKELY
emigrated from Ireland to Virginia or the Carolinas, prior
to the French and Indian War of 1755, He brought his wife
and children with him. Among his children were three sons -
James, William and Charles.
In
searching the old records of the Royal Province
of North Carolina prior to the
Revolutionary War I came across a list of the King's Soldiers
in the French and
Indian War, for Granville district, North
Carolina, that being the land owned
by Lord John Carteret, Earl Granville, (as
inherited by his father, Sir George
Carteret, patentee of King Charles) the district
lying next to Virginia in
what is now the present State of North Carolina and in
that list I found the name of James BLAKELEY, who enlisted
in 1755. This James BLAKELEY was the great grandfather
of Captain James BLAKELEY who died at Brownville, Oregon.
The first Census of the United States published in
1790 shows that Charles BLAKELEY and the family were still
living in Granville district in North Carolina, as was his brother
James BLAKELEY.
The
same Census records show that William BLAKELEY
had moved across the line into South Carolina. sometime after
1790, Charles BLAKELEY, who had married a Miss Davis,
moved out to what is now Knox County, Tennessee,
but at that time Tennessee was a part of North Carolina.
Charles BLAKELEY and wife had children, among them a Joseph
BLAKELEY. This Joseph BLAKELEY married Jenny Browning,
and by her, among other children, had three sons
- James BLAKELEY, Felix BLAKELEY and Robert BLAKELEY.
The writer also found in his search for
the Brownings, that William Browning served
in the Revolutionary War, from North
Carolina, enlisting in Captain Taylor's
Company in 1779, and further in 1787
I found William Browning on a petition from Tennessee.
So I think that William Browning will be found
to be the father of Jenny Browning, the mother of Captain James
BLAKELEY.
James
BLAKELEY, son of Joseph BLAKELY and his wife, was born
near Lyon Creek in Knox County, Tennessee, on November 26th
1812. He enlisted when a youth about twenty years
old in the Seminole Indian War of 1832, under General Wool.
Charles BLAKELEY, his grandfather, had served on the side
of the Colonies under General John Zevier, in the Battle of
King's Mountain near the line between North and
South Carolina.
This being a celebrated battle of the
Revolutionary War in which over one thousand settlers in east Tennessee,
under General Zevier, on their horses, with rifles and such
ammunition as they had, hastened
across the mountains from Tennessee to North Carolina
in time to defeat the British. Colonel
Ferguson, then as the head of the British and
Tories in North Carolina encamped at the time in what
he deemed an impregnable position on
King's Mountain. After the Battle which occurred in the
Fall of 1780, the soldiers under General Zevier
returned to their homes in East Tennessee and
a complete list of the soldiers from Tennessee in that
battle has been lost, according
to U.S. historians. Joseph BLAKELEY also served in the war of
1812, from Tennessee. James BLAKELEY married Sarah Dick
at her father's residence in Jefferson County, Tennessee, in
Februart 1833. They lived in Tennessee grom 1833 until
1838, when they moved with their children, in company with Joseph
BLAKELEY, father of James and with James BLAKELEY's brothers
Felix and Robert, and a company of others, to Nodaway County,
Missouri (afterwards Platt County). Here they lived a few years,
Joseph BLAKELEY dying, was buried there in Missouri.
On
April 4th 1846, James BLAKELEY, and wife and children,
in company with Hugh L. Brown. his uncle and a large company
started off on a perilous trip across the great plains,
with their wagons drawn by oxen.
After a long and tedious journey of six months, they arrived
safely in October 1846 at Linn County, in the part
now known as Brownsville. Oregan.
James BLAKELEY settled upon a section of
land. known as the James BLAKELEY Donation Land
Claim and as settlers came in he finally laid
off a town on his farm and called it Brownsville, in honour
of his Uncle Hugh L. Brown, who opened the first
store in the town. Besides laying
out the original town of Brownssville,
James BLAKELEY assisted in every way towards building
up the town and community. He took stock in
the first flouring mill, being its chief
promoter, as he and others had become tired
of travelling all the way to the nearest mill at Oregon
City, which then took days for the journey. He was
also foremost in establishing a woolen mill at Brownsville.
He was especially noted for his courage, the same
having on numerous occasions been
tested in his encounters with Indians, and some rough men of
those early days.
When
the Rough River Indians broke out in
1855, James BLAKELEY was elected Captain of Company D,
2nd Oregan Regiment, composed mostly of his neighbors, and they
made a good record in numerous engagements with the Indians.
Returning hone after the war they received an enthusiastic welcome
from their fellow citizens.
When the Native Sons of Oregan established a Cabin at
Brownsville they named it in honour of Captain James BLAKELEY.
He was shown many honours, among them being elected to the Legislature
of Oregan from Linn County. His
wife Sarah Dick BLAKELEY was a noble woman, devoted wife and
loving mother and loved by all who knew her. She died in 1889.
One of the greatest celebrations that ever
occurred in Linn County was the banquet
and celebration of Captain James BLAKELEY's 100th birthday.
On that day, November 26th, 1912, relatives and friends of Captain
BLAKELEY, to the number of several hundred gathered at Brownsville.
Some came from as far as Montana and Alaska,
and from all parts of the State of Oregon. His descendants
representing five generations were there and nine living
children of Captain BLAKELEY, with their children, and
the Captain's grandchildren, his former
officers and comrades of the Indian War, as many
as could be found, along with friends made up a jolly
gathering which spent the day
in feasting and social pleasure. Captain James BLAKELEY
was as active and spry in action and conversation as any
of his guests.
Captain BLAKELEY had lived to see the wild country
full of uncivilized Indians with deer almost at his door, develop
into a civilized, prosperous community. He died in 1913 being
over 100 years old.
The children of Captain James BLAKELEY and his wife Sarah Dick
were:
Ellen BLAKELEY, b. Knox County Tennessee, 2nd December 1835.
Catherine BLAKELEY, b. Knox County Tennessee, 21st May 1837.
William M. BLAKELEY, b. Platt County Mo., 14th October 1840.
Harriet BLAKELEY, b. Platt County Mo., 10th November 1844.
Margaret BLAKELEY, b. Brownsville, Oregon, 11th May 1848.
Henry BLAKELEY, b. Brownsville, Oregon, 30th July 1850.
James BLAKELEY, b. Brownsville, Oregon, 20th July 1852.
George BLAKELEY, b. Brownsville, Oregon, 29th August 1854.
Joseph BLAKELEY, b. Brownsville, Oregon, 25th May 1856.
Sarah BLAKELEY, b. Brownsville, Oregon, 1st August 1858.
Note
from Fred J. BLAKELEY, Portland, Oregon:
I learned that his line was Joseph BLAKELEY, born in Ireland,
about 1773, when a young man moved to Westmoreland County, Pa.,
about 1790, from whence he moved to Alaghenny County Pa., buying
land there in what is now Butler County, Pa., and
Joseph BLAKELEY died there in 1856. He may have been the
same family in Ireland as Captain James BLAKELEY.
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