| 2. | i. | WILLIAM2 HEAD, b. 1740, Virginia; d. Aft. September 10, 1836, Surry County, North Carolina. | |
| ii. | ELIZABETH HEAD, b. 1745. | ||
| iii. | MILLY HEAD, b. 1750. | ||
| iv. | GEORGE HEAD, JR., b. 1755. | ||
| v. | ROBERT HEAD, b. November 30, 1757, Orange County, Virginia; d. December 25, 1838, Robertson County, Tennessee; m. MARTHA/PATTY ELDER, 1785, Surry County, North Carolina. |
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Notes for ROBERT HEAD: Robert Head served in the Revolutionary War. From his pension file we learn that he was born Nov. 30, 1757, in Orange County, Virginia; that he married Martha Elder in 1785 in Surry County, North Carolina; and that he died in Robertson County, Tennessee, on December 25, 1838. Robert Head's service in the Revolutionary War seems to have been in three tours of duty; (1) In the summer of 1780 he enlisted and served three months as a private in Captain Spears' North Carolina Company; (2) He enlisted again Nov. 8, 1780, and served as a private in Captain Benjamin Humphres' Company, Colonel Joseph Phillips North Carolina Regiment until his discharge Jan. 6, 1781; (3) Sometime after Jan. 6, 1781, he enlisted and served six or seven months as a private in Captain Minor Smith's Company of Rangers under Colonel Joseph Phillips in the North Carolina troops. One very interesting point is that he states in his pension application that he continued in service until the 6th day of January 1781 when he learned that his father had died and that his mother was sick and likely to die and he employed and paid for a substitute for the balance of his tour - so even though we do not know positively the given name of Robert's father we do know that he died in Surry County, North Carolina, in late 1780 or early 1781. Surry County officials say there is no will for a Head during this period but it is possible that a close examination of the court records might reveal some clues. The places of residence are indicated in Robert Head's pension file. He stated that he was born in Orange County, Virginia, and moved to Surry County, North Carolina, where he lived during the Revolutionary War; after the war he moved to South Carolina and he moved frequently to different parts of North and South Carolina and finally settled himself in Robertson County, Tennessee "where he has resided the last seventeen years" (settled in Robertson County about 1817 or 1818). Now from other records we can add a few more specific detail. When the 1790 census was taken Robert and his family lived in Spartanburgh District, South Carolina; in 1792 Robin (nickname for Robert) Head and his wife Patty (nickname for Martha) deeded to George Connell 90 acres or land in Spartanburgh District "on the south side of Fairforest on Buffalo Lick Creek" bounded by the land of Elizabeth Autry, William Roberd, David Golightly, Henry Ayres (he came to Robertson County, Tenn., too!), David Cook and Ephram Elder (a relative of Martha's?). "Robin" Head signed the deed May 13, 1798; "Patty" made her mark Oct. 15, 1798. Soon afterward they must have left South Carolina for in a few months they appear briefly in Robertson County, Tennessee, records: In February 1799, Robert Head attended the sale of the estate of Isaac Dorris deceased and bought a drawing knife for seventy-five cents. (Robertson Co. WILLS, INVENTORIES, ETC, Vol. I, p. 122) On April 19, 1799, Robert Head and Martha Head each proved five days attendance at a trial. (Robertson Co. COURT RECORDS, Vol, I, p. 106) These are the only Head items found in early Robertson County records so it is presumed that Robert and Martha did not stay in Robertson County very long during this period. It would be interesting to speculate about what drew them to Robertson County and why they did not stay. Quite possibly there were relatives in Robertson County - one tradition is that Elizabeth, wife of Moses Winters, was a Head before her marriage. The exact residence of Robert and Martha Head from 1799 until they settled permanently in Robertson County about 1817 or 1818 is not known. Perhaps they were in Surry County, North Carolina by 1800. The 1800 census for Surry County shows a Robert Head household and while the entries do not fit very accurately on what we know of Robert's family, at that time this may have been his household and the report was inaccurately stated, or there may have been another Robert Head in Surry County. It seems relatively certain that Robert and Martha were living somewhere in North Carolina in the 1804-1805 period when Hugh Head was born for he gave his birthplace as North Carolina in both the 1850 and 1860 census. |
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Notes for MARTHA/PATTY ELDER: Very little is known about Martha (Elder) Head, the wife of Robert. Her birthplace was given as Virginia in the 1850 Robertson County census where she was enumerated in the household of her daughter Sarah Ellia and her age is given as 90 - this would place her year of birth as 1760 and would indicate that she was 25 when she married Robert Head in 1785 and that she bore her 13th child (Jane) at the age of 52! Quite likely this age given to the 1850 census taker is inaccurate. Martha's age is given as 75 on an 1843 document, making her born about 1768, a more logical age as she would have been 17 when she married Robert and 44 at the birth of Jane. This 1843 document is Martha's testimony in the Revolutionary pension application of Susan Ayres, widow of Henry Ayres; Martha declared that she was present at the marriage of Susan and Henry Ayres in Surry Co., N. C., in 1781; this Ayres family went from Surry Co., N.C., to Spartanburgh District, S.C. (Henry Ayres' land bordered that sold by Martha and Robert Head in Spartanburgh District in 1798) and then to Robertson Co., Tenn. |
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