Talk:Israel Christian

Geography issues
A couple of major points about geography don't look right in this article. First, it is asserted that Israel Christian's uncle (Deboyer39 (talk) 20:20, 12 December 2010 (UTC)relationship not documented) Gilbert "arrived in New Castle, Pennsylvania in 1726". New Castle is west of Pittsburgh, near the Ohio border. There were no European settlements, and particularly no Anglophone settlements, in that vicinity before the French and Indian War. Should this refer to New Castle County, Delaware instead?

Second, there are repeated assertions that Israel Christian was a colonel in the Kentucky militia and founded the town of Fincastle, Kentucky, along with a biography that indicates he lived his entire adult life in the Valley of Virginia. Certainly there was no "Kentucky militia" during the French and Indian War, the indicated time of Christian's active service. It seems far more likely Deboyer39 (talk) 20:04, 12 December 2010 (UTC), since this article deals with Kentucky history, that this is another "slip of the pen". While Israel did not "found" Fincastle, Virginia, which is in the vicinity of the other geographic places associated with Christian, he instead provided the land for the town site which would become Fincastle, the seat of Botetourt County, VA; "for and in consideration of the Court House for the County aforesaid's" (Botetourt County) "being established on the land hereby to be conveyed to these Justices" (Botetourt County Justices of the Peace, named individually in this "Indenture", dated June 13, 1770, from a certified copy of this "Indenture" with the signatures of Israel and Elizabeth Christian, the original of which is archived in the Botetourt County Court House, Fincastle, VA). Deboyer39 (talk) 20:04, 12 December 2010 (UTC) Rklear (talk) 18:35, 13 January 2009 (UTC)

Poss corrections?
Comment moved from Talk:Israel Christian/Comments where it would not have been seen. Astronaut (talk) 09:59, 23 October 2009 (UTC)

There was and is no Fincastle County, Kentucky, as per _County Courthouse Book_ by Elizabeth Petty Bentley, a widely used source for genealogists and historians. Fincastle County was in Virginia and was a short-lived county broken up into Botetourt and Montgomery Counties. It once extended into Kentucky, as did all western Virginia counties, but was properly seated in Virginia. Its old county seat is now the county seat for Botetourt County and is still in Virginia. It was created by Lord John Dunmore, then Governor of Virginia and named for his son--Lord Fincastle. Many early records of the old "Fincastle" County, Virginia were given to the late Dr. Lyman Draper who took them to the University of Wisconsin where they are now a part of a massive collection of original (primary and secondary source documents) of the late colonial history of the U.S. and early independent U.S. known as the "Draper Collection." Israel Christian was thus a co-founder of Fincastle County, Virginia.

In 1774, Governor Lord John Dunmore of Virginia issued a grant of 3000 acres to WILLIAM Christian, Israel Christian's son, in Fincastle County, Virginia for "services as captain of the 2nd Virginia regiment." The first plat survey showed William Christian's property to be partly along Elkhorn creek in the Kentucky territory belonging to Fincastle County. This is from the records in the Lyman Draper Collection, as shown by the published indices _Draper Collection: Calendar Series Volume 1:"The Preston and Virginia Papers." The records of the grant and survey are on microfilm reels 3QQ9 and 3QQ32 at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin.

Next, according to Lyman Chalkley's _Chronicles of the Scotch-Irish_ a three volume set of summary transcriptions of original county records from Augusta County, and adjacent and successor counties, Augusta County was first settled later than 1732. The Borden Grant, the primary instrument of settlement of this county was won by Benjamin Borden Sr. in an evening of partying with the son-in-law of the Earl of Gooch (then Governor of Virginia) in 1737. John Lewis, one of the first settlers of the county had arrived there less than 5 years before. These facts were in the Borden inheritance lawsuit testimony by Samuel McDowell, the son of John McDowell and step-son of Benjamin Borden Jr., and Mrs. Mary McDowell Greenlee, an aunt of Samuel and sister to the late John McDowell who was the first surveyor contracted by Benjamin Borden Sr., and who was given the right and obligation to help bring in the first 100 settlers of this grant. Israel Christian was also not part of the Hite grant, the only other early grant in that county, as per lists of original settlers on that grant found in lawsuits and other records, some in Chalkley's Chronicles.

Israel Christian also had a relation with the Mills family. He purchased 300 acres August 18, 1761 from William Mills through William's nephew who had power of attorney, John Mills, then of Lunenburg County. Additionally names in the Mills family in the 1750's through the 1780's include Gilbert Mills, and Rosannah Mills. Israel Christian was also related to a Miller family of Augusta County. John Miller died there in 1766 and named as executors his son, Andrew Miller and Israel Christian who both indeed performed as executors in 1767. The extended Miller family included the earliest white settlers of Greenbrier County, Virginia (now West Virginia) (from Augusta and Rockingham County records and research done by the Greenbrier Historical Society into its own county's early records.)  There were several transactions involving Israel Christian and members of the Mills family and the Miller family, in which they were sellers, witnesses, etc.. in the 1760's.

From the bits and pieces in Chalkley's Chronicles, and the Draper Collection Indices, Col. William Christian, the only son of Israel Christian to live to adulthood was killed by Indians in Kentucky, during the Revolution, leaving a widow and children. His widow died in 1790, according to a letter written by Patrick Henry to William Fleming at that time and now in the Draper Collection at the University of Wisconsin. Israel Christian also had a daughter named Rosannah to whom he sold 108 acres of land for 200 pounds in 1767.

Additionally, the Christian family was first recorded in the Isle of Man in 1422.

There is a complete list of children and descendants of Israel Christian that appeared in the "Fincastle Herald" in the late 1800's. A copy was owned by the late Frederick Johnston, of Salem, Virginia in 1874, and he directed his daughter to send a copy of several clippings of articles done by the "Fincastle Herald" to Dr. Lyman Draper in May, 1874. He also sent a family history as he had it from family records to Mr. Draper at the same time. These items are in the microfilm reels of the Draper Collection: 8ZZ63, and 5ZZ104 and 5ZZ105. This information is from the published volumes of indices to the Draper Collection: Calendar Series Volume 1, "The Preston and Virginia Papers." In 1874, descendants of this family included: Frederick Johnston of Salem, Virginia, who was the main contributor to the "Fincastle Herald" articles, Fanny R. Johnston of Memphis, Tennessee and J.R. Christian of Holly Springs, Mississippi. Again, that information is from the Draper Collection Indices, Volume 1.

Last, from the Newcastle County, Delaware, Historical Society is the following information first given to me in the 1970's: "all emigrants to what was then Pennsylvania territories, arrived through the port of Philadelphia, New Castle, on the western bank of the Delaware River, and which preceded Philadelphia in history. New Castle was originally begun in the early 1600's as a Swedish settlement, then later acquired by the English." In 1776, New Castle became part of New Castle County in Delaware. New Castle County was organized as a county, first of Maryland, then Pennsylvania, in 1673. All of Pennsylvania was once part of Maryland until William Penn persuaded Charles II to allocate a part of Maryland for a Quaker colony, which became Pennsylvania, named for William Penn himself. William Penn and his first settlers did not arrive in what was established in Pennsylvania until the early 1680's (Pennsylvania records, including immigration records).

contributed by Mrs. Cecilia L. Fabos-Becker, San Jose, CA

degrees in history and anthropology, 1974, University of Minnesota; family history researcher for a number of southern and midwestern families whose early histories are frequently in Augusta County and its successor counties in Virginia.

— Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.106.230.247 (talk) 19:09, 20 October 2009

Jefferson County, Kentucky?
I thought it was Israel's son William who had connections to Jefferson County. At any rate, there is no content in the article talking about Israel in Jefferson County. Might that be added from someone with access to a source? Stefen Towers among the rest!  Gab • Gruntwerk 03:20, 22 December 2023 (UTC)