1768 ALEXANDER DAVIDSON III, marries his first wife Anna Bridges, b. 1742, married on 28th Apr 1768 in Gloucester Co., VA, daughter of Moses Bridges. In 1783 Anna dies of complications giving birth to Elijah in Rutherford County, N.C Their children are: I. James DAVIDSON, b. 1768 II. John Davidson, b. 1770, married Sarah Ellis, the youngest sister of his stepmother. John Davidson was received into the fellowship of Sandy Run Baptist Church, Mooresboro, Cleveland County, North Carolina in October 1788. III. Margaret “Polly” Davidson, b. 1772 IV. Alexander Davidson, Jr., b. 1773 V. Hezekiah Davidson, b. 1774, died in 1841. He married first Lettice Isbell (15 Oct 1795, Rutherford County, N.C.). VI. Anna Davidson b. 1776 VII. Jesse Davidson b. 1778 VIII. William Davidson b. 1780 married Aspassia Ellis. IX. ELIJAH DAVIDSON, born 23 February 1783 in Rutherford County, North Carolina, died 24 april 1870 in Oregon. On 4 February 1802 he married Margaret Murphy (in Barren County Kentucky, by The Rev. Carter Tarrant.
1771 Alex Davidson, John Davison, and Moses Bridges were among the inhabitants of the north part of Orange Co. who signed a petition to divide the county and the new formation of Caswell County. Later, he will relocate when he bought some land in the area of Rutherford County near Broad River and South Carolina state line in 1782 1778 Alexander Davidson III age 35 moves to Tyron County – purchases 225 acres 1783 Tax list of Rutherford Co. North Carolina. mAlexander Davidson is 38, father of 10 children owns 225 acres, 5 slaves; 5 horses; 19 cattle. 1783 ELIJAH DAVIDSON is born 23 Feb 1783 in Rutherford Co., NC, he lives a full life and dies 24 Apr 1870 in North Monmouth, Polk Co., OR. At this time, the Colonies are still under British rule, and still fighting for their independence. Even though Gen. Cornwallis had surrender at Yorktown just 4 months earlier, the British troops still occupy Savannah, Georgia, Charleston, South Carolina and they still occupy New York city. Alexander Davidson marries a 2nd time to Mary Ellis, who is the daughter of William Ellis. William Ellis was an Uncle and appointed guardian to the young Alexander when his father died. In a grant from North Carolina, he received 75 acres "adjoining and above his own land, including Gutheries improvements". Alexander Davidson joined Sandy Run Baptist Church, Mooresboro, Cleveland County, N. C., by letter from Buffalo Baptist Church, Cherokee County, S. C., in April 1787. The lines were drawn by a line beginning at the south line near Alexander Davidson’s homestead at Broad River, thence along the dividing ridge between Buffalo Creek and Little Broad River to the line of Burke County.
Alexander Davidson was a veteran of American Revolution, he volunteered along with his father-in-law and fought with the North Carolina Volunteer Militia with Capt. Vinsant’s regiment first, at Ramsour’s Mill, then at the Battle of Cowpens and Kings Mountain, all three, were less than 25 miles from his home. The Battle of Ramsour's Mill took place on June 20, 1780 near present-day Lincolnton, North Carolina, during the British campaign to gain control of the southern colonies in the American Revolutionary War. About 400 American militia defeated 1,300 Loyalist militiamen. That battle did not involve any regular army forces from either side, and was literally fought between neighbors. Despite being outnumbered, the Patriot militia defeated the Loyalists.
1782 RUTHERFORD COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA TAX LIST CAPTAIN VINSANT'S COMPANY (86 men) NAME LAND NEGROES HORSES CATTLE ASSESSMENT Mosses Bridges 150 0 2 10 79 Alexander Davidson 225 5 5 19 366
Alexander Davidson, was a stout, robust and muscular man, of much energy, with a sound, strong mind, industrious and trustworthy. He was then living on Sandy Run Creek. Church records show that Alexander was a very religious man. He was a delegate to the Association many times and was sent to "cite' someone to meeting almost too many times to count. In June, 1795, he was allowed to "exercise his gift", that is, to preach; he was then ordained a minister in July 1796. Mary, second wife of Alexander, joined the church and was baptized in July 1786. The first appearance of Alexander Davidson in North Carolina seems to be in the Nash District of Caswell County. He some bought land in this area in 1782. In a grant from North Carolina, he received 75 acres "adjoining and above his own land, including Gutheries improvements". Alexander Davidson joined Sandy Run Baptist Church, Mooresboro, Cleveland County, N. C., by letter from Buffalo Baptist Church, Cherokee County, S. C., in April 1787. A Davidson joined Sandy Run in November, 1788. Alexander lived on Broad River and Sandy Run Creek of present-day Cleveland County, North Carolina, and then moved on to Kentucky (in 1797 or 1798) with his entire family. He was a delegate to the Association many times; ordained a minister in July 1796. On 5 November 1798 he organized the Mt. Tabor Baptist Church of Glasgow, Barren County, Kentucky.
By 1796 Alexander was an elder of the Sandy Run Baptist Church, Mooresboro, N.C.; in 1796 he was ordained. Source church records Duke University N.C. While still in Rutherford County, Alexander Davidson was a Justice of the Peace during the year 1783. (Recorded on page 88 of the HISTORY OF OLD TRYON AND RUTHERFORD COUNTIES, N.C., 1730-1936, by Clarence W. Griffin) Tryon County was named for William Tryon, the Royal Governor of the Province. William Tryon was a Major General in command of the American Loyalists. His oppressions on the inhabitants made his name so detestable, the General Assembly in 1779 blotted the name of Tryon from the list of counties and divided the territory into the counties of Lincoln and Rutherford. At its formation, Tryon County included all or portions of the South Carolina counties of York, Chester, Union, Spartanburg and Cherokee counties. The lines were drawn beginning at the south line near Alexander Davidson’s homestead at Broad River, thence along the dividing ridge between Buffalo Creek and Little Broad River to the line of Burke County.
1783 Alexander Davidson III serves as Justice of peace in Rutherford County, NC 1783 September: Britain signs the Treaty of Paris, recognizing American independence. November 25: The British evacuate New York, marking the end of British rule, and General George Washington triumphantly returns with the Continental Army.
Unfortunately, at the end of the American Revolution hostilities didn't end for those living in the frontier wilderness of the western counties of Carolinas and eastern Tennessee. The Cherokee–American wars, also known as the Chickamauga Wars, were a series of back-and-forth raids, campaigns, ambushes, minor skirmishes, and several full-scale frontier battles from 1775 to 1795 between the Cherokee (Ani-Yunwiya, Tsalagi) and the Americans who lived on the frontier. In 1775, the Cherokee were persuaded at the Treaty of Sycamore Shoals to sell an enormous tract of land in central Kentucky. Although this agreement with the Transylvania Land Company violated British law, it nevertheless became the basis for the white takeover of that area. Threatened by colonial encroachment upon their hunting grounds, the Cherokee announced at the beginning of the American Revolution their determination to support the crown. Despite British attempts to restrain them, in July 1776 a force of 700 Cherokee under Chief Dragging-canoe attacked two U.S.-held forts in North Carolina: Eaton’s Station and Ft. Watauga. The Cherokee leader Dragging Canoe, whom some historians call "the Savage Napoleon", and his warriors and other Cherokee tribes fought alongside and in conjunction with other Indians most often Muscogee (Muskokulke) and the Shawnee (Saawanwa). During the Revolution, they also fought alongside British troops, Loyalist militia, and the King's Carolina Rangers. Emboldened by the American loss at the Wabash River, (Of the 1,000 officers and men that were led into battle, only 24 escaped unharmed) the Cherokee and Muscogee warriors and some Shawnee scalping parties began raiding districts of the Cumberland Territory. The Mero District had it worse, suffering at least one a week, often more. In April 1792, a Cherokee-Shawnee war party led by Bob Benge and Shawnee Warrior invaded the Holston region and began raids all over the vicinity. By the summer of 1792, a war party from Running Water led by Little Owl and the Shawnee Warrior joined them in their raids. On June 26, a combined group of Cherokee, Shawnee, and a few Muscogee destroyed Zeigler's Station in Sumner County.