b. 3 January 1771, d. 25 December 1845
| Birth | 3 Jan 1771 | Capt. John Moffett was born on 3 Jan 1771 in Virginia.5,6 |
| | John's parents were both from Augusta County, Virginia. It is likely this was also John's place of birth as the family does not apear to have settled in Washington County until 1773. |
| Fath-Death | 10 Oct 1774 | John's father died on Oct. 10th, 1774, during the Battle of Pt. Pleasant at the junction of the Kanawha and Ohio Rivers in present day West Virginia. He was killed by the Shawnee Indians during the early morning hours of the battle. |
| | John's mother, Mary, gathered her 3 young children and left Washington (then Fincastle) County for a few years. Although it is not known for sure, it is likely she returned to Augusta County.7 |
| Land-Grant | 22 Aug 1781 | In August 1781 the Commissioners for Washington County certified that John, as heir at law to William Moffett, was entitled to 400 acres of land in the county. The acreage was described as on the waters of the North fork of the Holston adjoining Andrew Davison and Halbert McClure. John was entitled to the land based on a 1773 date of settlement. The land, as surveyed, actually contained 330 acres and was granted to John by the Commonwealth of Virginia on Sept. 27, 1785.2 |
| Tax | | John first appeared on his own on the Washington County tax rolls in 1793. He was charged for 1 horse. He continued to appear on the rolls untill he left the county about 1837. By the early 1830s his taxable personal property included as many as 12 horses plus a "carryall and harness."8 |
| Land-Buy | 4 May 1795 | John bought two parcels of land in Rich Valley on the headwaters of Rattle Creek, a branch of the North Fork of the Holston River from Andrew Davison and his wife for 255 pounds on 4 May 1795. One tract consisted of 250 acres; the other of 68 acres.9 [the tracts were adjacent; the 68 acres abutted John's 330 acre grant] |
| Land-Sell | 19 Jan 1796 | The following January John sold his original 330 acres to [his brother] Thomas Moffitt for 110 pounds.10 |
| Marriage | 4 Feb 1796 | He and Isabel Davis, daughter of John Davis and Mary Allison, were married by Rev. Charles Cummings on 4 Feb 1796 in Washington County, Virginia.11,12 |
| Land-Sell | 15 Mar 1796 | The month after their marriage John and Isabel sold 80 acres on the south branch of the North Fork of the Holston River to Mary Moffett [John's mother] for $80.00. This was part of the land John purchased from Andrew Davison in May 1795.13 |
| Military | | John joined the 105th Regiment (1st Battalion) of the Washington County Militia in 1799, the year of its formation. He was commissioned Ensign in 1805, and later served as Lieutenant and finally as Captain. A biography of his grandson, Congressman RMA Hawk, noted that John was an Indian fighter and a man of considerable influence in his neighborhood.1,14 |
| Land-Buy | 17 Mar 1807 | In 1807 John added another 50 acres to his holdings when he purchased land on Rattle Creek from Robert Kincaid.15 |
| Cens-1810 | 1810 | The 1810 census is the first extant census record for Washington County. Although only the head of the household was enumerated by name, a tally was made in broad age categories for other members of the household. By 1810 John and Isabel are known to have had 6 children: Mary, William, John, Hannah, Garner and Robert (Thomas and Abraham were born later). Their presence is suggested by tallies in the appropriate age columns. Two individuals were also present who I cannot identify: a 16-25 year old male and a 45 year old female. It is possible the older female was John's mother who died in 1811. Two slaves were also noted.16 |
| Exec-Devisee | 15 Aug 1811 | John's mother wrote her will on August 15th, 1811. She instructed that her property was to be sold and divided between John, his sister Mary Ann, and his brother Thomas. She also left each of her grandchildren $3.00. John was named her executor. John later purchased his siblings share of their mother's land.4 |
| Guardian | 17 Sep 1811 | He was named guardian of James Fink, an orphan on 17 Sep 1811 in Washington County, Virginia. [James had also been remembered in Mary (Gardner) Moffett's will; his relationship to the family, if any, is not known to me]17 |
| Religion | 1811 | The history of the Baptist Church in southwest Virginia suggests John was not only an active member of that religious community but also a literate man. In Oct. 1811 delegates elected from Baptist churches in the northern portion of what was then the Holston Baptist Association met at the North Fork Church in Washington County to form a new association. John Moffett was elected as the first clerk.18 |
| Military | 1812 | John also may have participated in some capacity in the War of 1812.19 |
| Court Record | Nov 1813 | In 1813 John found himself embroiled in a lawsuit involving Isabel's family. John Davis, Isabel's father, died in 1810, leaving a will which stipulated specific gifts for his wife Mary, who was Isabel's stepmother. Mary was not happy with the manner in which John Davis's will was executed and sued Andrew Russell the executor, along with John and Isabel Moffett and most of Isabel's siblings. John provided testimony during the suit.20 |
| Land-Buy | 20 Mar 1828 | In March 1828 John purchased 40 acres of land that had belonged to John Davis. John had died without disposing of the land in his will; it was sold by the Washington County commissioner as part of the settlement of the lawsuit.21 |
| Land | 14 Oct 1828 | In the Fall of 1828 John also began acquiring land in Rush County, Indiana where his son William and daughter Mary Gilson lived. On the 14th of October he purchased 80 acres in section 17 of Township 14N, Range 10E. Mary was widowed in 1832 and in 1836 John gifted her this same 80 acres "in consideration of the natural love and affection"..."and also for the better support and livelihood of her..."22,23 |
| | At some point John apparently also acquired 2 parcels of land in neighboring Hancock County, Indiana which he gifted to his other daughter Hannah in late 1837, the year after her marriage in Virginia to William Hawk.24 |
| Public Serv | 1832 | John served as a justice of the Washington County court in 1832.25 |
| Description | | He was described by the Rev. L. F. Cosby, who knew him personally, as a gentleman of fine sense, plain and unostentatious in manner. He was said to be about five feet eleven inches high, with a full developed form, and a very pleasant and genial appearance.26 |
| Description | | Another description was provided by his grandson, Dr. John Moffett, who stated in 1895, "My own grandfather Moffett weighed two hundred and eighteen, five ten and a half inch, under the standard" [meaning he was shorter than most of the Moffett men].27 |
| Widowed | 25 Sep 1835 | John was widowed at age 64 when Isabel died on 25 Sep 1835. |
| Land-Sell | 4 Apr 1837 | By the spring of 1837 John had decided to leave Virginia and join his eldest son in Indiana. He sold 3 parcels of land in Washington County (250, 68 and 100 acres) to Thomas Moffett [John's son] and William Davis [Thomas's father-in-law], including the home tract on which sat the family cemetery.28 |
| Land | 8 Dec 1837 | Also in 1837, John's children gifted to him their interest in 80 acres of land in Section 29 in Township 14N in Rush County, Indiana, "in consideration of the gifts and legacies to them given".... "and for the purpose of securing to him a home". The land had originally belonged to John Moffett Jr. and had been left jointly to his siblings on his death in 1834.29 |
| Marriage | 21 Feb 1839 | John married second Sarah Price on 21 Feb 1839 in Rush County.30,31 |
| Cens-1840 | 1840 | They were recorded living alone in Rushville township in 1840. John was indicated as a 60-70 year old male. Sarah, though not named, would have been the 50-60 year old female.32 |
| Will | 8 Apr 1843 | John wrote his will in April 1843 at which time 7 of his 8 children were still living. He appointed his eldest son William as he executor and also left him a larger share of his estate. Sarah was either to have the use of the farm during her lifetime or $100. John added a codicil in which he referenced land in Illinois.33 |
| Death | 25 Dec 1845 | John died on Christmas Day, 1845 in Rushville at age 74.34,35 |
| Burial | | He was buried at East Hill Cemetery in Rushville, Rush County, Indiana.34 |
| Probate Recd | | Less than 3 years passed between the time John wrote his will and when he died, but in that time 3 of his children (Mary, Hannah and Robert) died. Hence the probate records reflect payments to their heirs in addition to William, Garner, Thomas and Abraham Moffett. Sarah chose to receive her $100 which payment appears in the settlement record. The record reflects disbursement to the various heirs of $2,317.30. Interestingly, among John's assets was a small amount of money held in the Bank of Louisville, Kentucky.36,37 |
