Chris & Julie Petersen's Genealogy

Joseph Adair

Male Abt 1750 - Aft 1804  (~ 54 years)


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  • Name Joseph Adair 
    Born Abt 1750  Chickasaw Nation, Indian Territory, United States Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Gender Male 
    Died Aft 5 Feb 1804  of, Laurens, South Carolina, United States Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Person ID I1847  Petersen-de Lanskoy
    Last Modified 27 May 2021 

    Father James Adair,   b. Abt 1714, of, County Antrim, Ireland Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. From 25 Feb 1784 to 12 Feb 1796, of, Laurens, South Carolina, United States Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age ~ 70 years) 
    Mother Eleanor,   b. Abt 1726, Chickasaw Nation, Indian Territory, United States Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. Aft 7 Jan 1803, of Duncan Creek, Laurens, South Carolina, United States Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age ~ 77 years) 
    Married Abt 1744  Chickasaw Nation, Indian Territory, United States Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Family ID F1142  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

    Family Sarah,   b. Abt 1750,   d. Abt 1844, , , , United States Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age ~ 94 years) 
    Married Bef 1770  of, Laurens, South Carolina, United States Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Children 
     1. James Adair,   b. 4 Aug 1770, of, Laurens, South Carolina, United States Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. Bef 1840, of, Pickens, Alabama, United States Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age < 69 years)
     2. Thomas Adair,   b. 25/25 Oct 1771/1777, , Laurens, South Carolina, United States Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 1858, , , Mississippi, United States Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 80 years)
     3. Joseph Adair,   b. Abt 1773, , Laurens, South Carolina, United States Find all individuals with events at this location
     4. Sarah or Sally Adair,   b. Abt 1775, , Laurens, South Carolina, United States Find all individuals with events at this location
     5. Jenny Adair,   b. Abt 1777, , Laurens, South Carolina, United States Find all individuals with events at this location
     6. Suffiah Adair,   b. Abt 1779, , Laurens, South Carolina, United States Find all individuals with events at this location
    Last Modified 28 May 2021 
    Family ID F1138  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  • Notes 
    • RESEARCH_NOTES:
      1. The following genealogical summary of the family of James Adair was provided to me from Shawn Potter Aug 2015. Shawn and his wife Lois are the authors of a book to be published sometime in the future entitiled "Chickasaw Wife and Family of James Adair, Author of the History of the American Indians." The book uses extensive historical documentation and modern DNA analysis to assemble the following family. I provide only a summary of the family and the book should be consulted for the footnotes, more detail, and evidence which all support the following conclusions. (If you are a descendent of this family, Shawn would appreciate your contacting him if you are willing to submit your DNA test results as part of the study upon which the book will be based.) The summary:
      "James Adair was born probably in Ireland say about 1714. He immigrated to America before 1735. James married Eleanor of the Chickasaw Nation in about 1744. Eleanor was born in the Chickasaw Nation say about 1726. She was a member of the Panther clan. James died probably in Laurens County, South Carolina, after 25 Feb 1784 and before 12 Feb 1796. Eleanor died probably in Laurens County after 3 Jan 1803. James and Eleanor were the parents of the following children:
      1. James Adair, Jr., was born in the Chickasaw Nation say about 1748. He married Hannah probably in Laurens County say about 1772. Hannah was born probably in Laurens County on 28 Sep 1750. James died in Laurens County on 18 Aug 1818. Hannah died in Laurens County on 10 Nov 1826.
      2. Joseph Adair was born in the Chickasaw Nation say about 1750. He married Sarah probably in Laurens County say about 1776. Joseph died perhaps in Laurens County after 5 Feb 1804.
      3. John Adair was born in the Chickasaw Nation say about 1754. He married first Ga-Ho-Ga of the Cherokee Nation probably in Laurens County say about 1780. Ga-Ho-Ga was born in the Cherokee Nation say about 1760. Ga-Ho-Ga died perhaps in Laurens County after 7 Feb 1789. John married second Jane Kilgore probably in Laurens County say about 1790. Jane was born probably in Laurens County say about 1773. John died in present-day Oconee County, South Carolina, after 4 Nov 1815 and before 4 Dec 1815. Jane died perhaps in present-day Oconee County after 4 Dec 1815.
      4. Edward Adair was born in the Chickasaw Nation say about 1756. He married first Margaret in Philadelphia on 7 Apr 1784. Edward married second Elizabeth Martin of the Cherokee Nation probably in the Cherokee Nation say about 1789. Elizabeth was born probably in the Cherokee Nation say about 1769. Edward died probably in present-day Oconee County after 3 Nov 1800. Elizabeth died probably in the Cherokee Nation after 13 Jul 1816.
      N.B. James and Eleanor had "children" in 1748; and a daughter lived in Georgia between 1788 and 1791."

      2. The records of this family are unproven and undocumented except as noted herein and appear to be the passing down of information from Ellen Cherry circa 1950's. I have no verifiable source so far except as herein noted.

      3. From the book "The Howard Leytham Stoker Von Dollen Family Histories," FHL 929.273 H833a, by Doris Lewis, 2017 So. 80th Ave., Omaha, Nebraska, 68124, p. 5, the following general remark is made which may or may not generally apply to the Adairs: "National origins from the 1790 US Census: English 60%, Scotch Irish 9.5%, and German 8.6%. [Accompanying map shows Scotch-Irish in the frontier portion or western portions of the states of SC, NC, and VA with a smattering in northern GA and southwestern PA. The Germans are concentrated in southcentral PA, western MD, northwestern VA, and with a smattering in central SC and NY. The English are generally coastal.] The Scotch-Irish were used in the old country and again in the new, as 'borderers'. They were fighting families sent out to hold a frontier against aliens. In 1641, 120,000 Scots had been planted in Ulster [Ireland]. In the 1750's, 12,000 came yearly to America, and by 1770, that number grew to 25,000 to 30,000. They were the hardiest and boldest of all immigrants. In 1764, 1000 Scotch-Irish wagons passed through Salisbury, South Carolina, on the way to the mountains."

      4. From: Shawn & Lois Potter March 19, 2005: "If you can document each generation of your lineage to Thomas Adair (born about 1775 in Laurens County, SC), who married Rebecca Brown, then you have some very interesting ancestors. According to Margaret Brownlee's manuscript (pp. 17-18), this Thomas Adair was the eldest son of Joseph Adair (born about 1755 or before), who married Sarah ___. This Joseph Adair was a son of James Adair, Sr. (born about 1715 and died before August 2, 1790) and Eleanor ___. This James Adair, Sr. was a brother of Joseph Adair, Sr. (born about 1718 and wrote his will on January 9, 1788), who married secondly Sarah Lafferty, and an uncle of Joseph Adair, Jr. (born about 1745 and wrote his will January 20, 1812), who married Elizabeth ___. All these James Adairs and Joseph Adairs can get very confusing. I am descended twice from James Adair, Sr. and Eleanor ___ and once from Joseph Adair, Sr. and Sarah Lafferty. But, I have a lot more research to do before I will feel like I have them figured out.
      I think Margaret Brownlee, the author of the manuscript I sent to you, has passed away. She would have been someone to consult."
      Also from Shawn: "Thanks for your note. I received Margaret Brownlee's manuscript from either Lee Adair (wadair1@tampabay.rr.com) or Jett Hanna (jettplane@aol.com), both of whom have contributed notes to the Ancestry.com bulletin board for the Adair surname. I can only judge Margaret's reliability from my use of this one manuscript. I have noticed a few mistakes that might be described as typos-a few obviously wrong dates and perhaps wrong names in her text. But, on the whole, I am very impressed with her work. She tried to document all her statements and she appears to have gained access to many original records. Her manuscript provides a radically better understanding of these families than existed before her work. Having said that, I do suspect she was wrong about her statement regarding the identity of James Adair the Indian trader. I am not yet certain, but I suspect that James Adair, who married Eleanor, was the Indian trader. I worked for about a year on this question, made some encouraging progress, and then had to take a break from my research. I know it seems unfair to say that I have such a suspicion and then to refuse to explain the basis for my suspicion; but I haven't finished my work yet and I don't have time right now to get back into it. Sorry. I have made a couple of trips to South Carolina to review records there. But, since I live in Virginia and I have other responsibilities, I cannot get down there as often as I would like. Some records are available on-line; but I imagine the answers to these, and other, questions about the Adair family will need to be sought in person in the South Carolina archives. But, I also imagine it will take a good deal of time to go through those records to build a strong case for whatever conclusions the records indicate, because so many of the records provide only a narrow slice of the picture."

      5. From: Colleen Gwynn [mailto:cghistree@msn.com] March 18, 2005: "I have needed to really look at the Joseph Adair men in Laurens. Thomas Adair son of Joseph Adair married Rebecca Brown dau of Roger Brown. I had the deed wherein Thomas is identified by his father Joseph as Joseph's eldest [eldest] son. I also had another record indicating Sarah as grandmother of the generation of my Mary Ann Adair dau of Thomas and Rebecca Brown Adair. So I needed a Joseph with wife Sarah. The Rev War period had three Joseph Adair men [in Laurens Co., SC]. I am aware not always does Jr. mean he is son of Sr. - sometimes in earlier times Jr. is because of an uncle in the same area who is the Sr. and sometimes Jr. and Sr. may not even be related but living in the same area one becomes Sr. the other Jr. to separate and identify. Elizabeth helps to separate the Adair men. The 1790 census only two of the three remained since the one died 1788/1789 and the one who died about 1812 had slaves mentioned in his will and in 1790 only one Joseph of the two listed slaves so that better identified him. 1790 he had 5 and by death he had 7."

      6. The following information is from an uncited typescript but is typical generally of most undocumented LDS versions of the early family of Thomas Adair who married Rebecca Brown. Many other statements within this typescript have proven to be inaccurate. It is often repeated over and over never with documentation or sources. It is a fact that Joseph and Sarah Adair were the parents of Thomas who married Rebecca, but that is all so far. Until proven otherwise, my opinion of specific problems include:
      a. No one knows exactly when and from where Joseph immigrated. The name Adair is certainly Scotch-Irish. Death dates and locations of Joseph and Sarah are unknown thus far in my research and the dates of about 1820 and 1845 respectively appear speculative until proven otherwise.
      b. No one to date knows the maiden surname of Sarah, wife of Joseph, nor where she was born.
      c. No one knows the names of any of the children of Joseph/Sarah except the eldest son Thomas, which is from a land deed in Laurens Co., SC. The 1790 census suggest there may have been more than five children. The birth dates on all but Thomas appear to perhaps be contrived or assumed.
      d. There is not one record that shows Thomas had a middle name of Jefferson; however, he did have a son named Thomas Jefferson Adair and since he was Thomas Jr., I suspect many have assumed his father had the same middle name. That would be speculative and is definitely unproven.
      e. Thomas being born in Charleston, South Carolina is suspicious. His parents, James Adair the cooper and his wife Eleanor, are definitely in Laurens County, SC. When Thomas' son Samuel Jefferson Adair was baptized vicariously for his deceased father in 1877 in the LDS temple, he indicated his father was born 25 Oct 1777 in Lawrence [Laurens] District, South Carolina. Another son of Thomas, George Washington Adair, in doing the LDS endowment for Thomas later that year, noted his father as being born in N. Charleston, SC, but gave no date. In early South Carolina history, Charleston was the location where all legal activity up to the 1780s for South Carolina occurred and most upcountry geographical areas were vague and immense extensions of coastal county names. There is always the possibility that Joseph's service in the Rev. War took him to Charleston where there were battles and that his wife came with him, but there is no such proof of such war service except in the more local area of Laurens Co., South Carolina.
      f. For Thomas Adair's birthdate, most every LDS database uses 25 Oct 1771, but I haven't seen documentation that I accept. His son as noted in item e above, states 25 Oct 1777, which may or may not be correct.
      The quotation: "1st Generation. Joseph Adair.
      "Joseph Adair was born about 1745. He was from Scotland, but lived in South Carolina after coming to the new world. His wife's name was Sarah (Lowe or Long), born about 1750 and was also of South Carolina. They were married about 1769/70, and they lived first in Charleston County, near Charleston, S.C., later moving to now Laurens County, S.C. Joseph was buried in 1820, and his wife Sarah, died about 1844. Issue of Joseph and Sarah (Lowe/Long) Adair:
      1. Thomas Jefferson Adair, born Oct. 25, 1771 in Charleston County, near Charleston, S.C.
      2. Joseph Adair, Jr., born about 1773 in Laurens, Co., S.C.
      3. Sarah (or Sally) Adair, born about 1777 in Laurens Co., S.C.
      4. Jenny Adair, born about 1777 in Laurens Co., S.C.
      5. Suffiah Adair, born about 1779 in Laurens Co., S.C."

      7. Jett Hanna [jettplane@aol.com] provided me on 8 Jul 2005 with a copy of his analysis of the Brownlee manuscript as follows. It mirrors my own understanding; however, anything with which I disagree I note in [brackets]. Jett entitles his paper as "Laurens County Area Adair Family Trees." It is broken down by three families: James Adair who married Eleanor, his brother Joseph who married Sarah Laferty, and a William of whom absolutely nothing is known except just his name on the Williams Petition and that Brownlee notes he died 1780-84 and that his estate was administered 1784 per Abbe Wills, p. 10. Text quoted as follows:
      "This tree is based on Early Adairs of Laurens County, South Carolina, by Mildred Brownlee. This was provided to me by W. Lee Adair, who obtained it from the Laurens County Public Library. Handwritten notes show a date of 1990 on Brownlee's manuscript. I have not examined these deeds personally. In some cases, notes and questions below are my own additions. This analysis seems to discredit some of the trees in the Adair History and Genealogy, and adds significantly to what is know of the Laurens area Adairs. I have not fully finished analyzing this work, and may have left out parts that are not as critical to my work.
      "Based on this work, it appears very possible that the elder Joseph Adair (m. Sarah, m. Susannah) and his brother James (m. Eleanor) settled in Laurens County at the same time, as suggested by the Adair History and Genealogy. I do not believe, however, that this James was the author of the book on the Indians and reputed patriarch of the Cherokee Adairs. This James was a cooper (barrel maker) according to the deeds. Modern editions of the History of the American Indians suggest that the author James Adair was a direct immigrant to South Carolina, but with no concrete evidence.
      "The Williams Petition: In the tree, LCW is Laurens County Wills; LCD is Laurens County Deeds. Also mentioned is the Williams petition. This petition is a significant document in analyzing the Laurens County Adairs. Published in the South Carolina Magazine of Ancestral Research, Vol. XV, No. 1 1987, p. 32-33, the original is #5767, Manuscript Department, Wm. Perkins Library at Duke University. The petition is in support of Colonel James Williams, a militia leader of the Patriots in the Laurens area (Little River Regiment). The petition, signed by members of the Little River Regiment, is directed to the Governor of South Carolina and the Privy Counsel, and attests to Williams' devotion to the Patriot cause. Williams led militia in a number of battles. I suspect that this petition was provided prior to Williams' elevation to the rank of Brigadier General following the Battle of Musgrove Mill, which was fought in what is now Laurens County. Williams had been accused of puffing his role in the battle. Williams went on to die at Kings Mountain - one of the few Patriot casualties that day on October 7, 1780. Williams had run for the South Carolina legislature as a Patriot in 1778, only to lose to Robert Cunningham, the infamous Loyalist leader. For more on Williams, see Draper, "Kings Mountain and Its Heroes," (Cincinnati, 1883). Signers of the Williams petition include the following Adairs: Isaac Adair, Jms. Adair, James Adair, Sr., Joseph Adair, Jr., Joseph Adair, Benjamin Adair, Joseph Adair, Sr., James Adair, Jr, son of James, William Adair, John Adair, and John Adair, Sr., and Alexander Adair. Comparing deed and will records to the names, Brownlee identifies the Adair signers [copies Brownlee's explanations]. Brownlee's identifications look very logical to me.
      "The Laurens County Adair Tree:
      1. James Adair m. Eleanor: 150a land grant to James Adair-same date as Joseph 250a. Both referred to in records as coopers (barrel makers). James, cooper in LCD F/8,9,10, A/185. Eleanor released right of dower on deed dated 2/12/1796; date of transfer by James was 2/24/1784. Which deeds correspond with which dates? See Joseph below. Eleanor was also witness on deed from William Price and wife, Margaret to James Adair, son of James, 2/6/1792.
      1.1 Joseph Adair m. Sarah Dillard [Surname Dillard is a Jett addition and I don't believe proven even though many LDS lines use this as well without documentation.]: Joseph Adair, Jr. to Wm. Holland, 120 ac. Release of dower by Sarah, wife of Joseph Jr., and Eleanor, widow of James Adair, dec'd, LCD F/109. Suggests land owned by James m. to Eleanor, but how does it correspond to land grants? If land belonged to Joseph junior by intestacy laws, why wasn't James m. to Hannah on deed, too? LCD G/570 has dower release for Sarah Adair, wife of Joseph.
      1.1.1 Thomas Adair m. Rebecca Brown: LCD H/22, Joseph Adair of Duncan Creek to eldest son Thomas Adair. Witness Jane Adair. Dower releases for Rebecca in LCD H/129, H/209, and land purchased H/228.
      1.1.2 ?Hannah m. John Jones: see F/8,9,10. 8 & 9: 8/1/1795. 10: 2/25/1784. F/10 is deed from James Sr. and wife Eleanor to John Jones, has witnesses James Adair, saddler, and James Adair, Jr. [Without giving a reason, Jett places Hannah as a possible daughter of Joseph, son of James; however, Brownlee indicates she believes her to be a daughter of the original James and Eleanor which would make her a sister to Joseph son of James. Perhaps a typo on Jett's part.]
      1.2 James Adair m. Hannah: Corresponds to James son of James in the Williams petition per Brownlee. James m. Rebecca had a son James, but probably not old enough to sign petition as James m. Rebecca born 1747 per Indiana tombstone. Petition 1780 would mean James m. Rebecca was 33 in 1780; doubtful his son James could be of fighting age. Compare to Adair compilation. LCD M/77-78 reports death of James Adair, Sr., widow Hannah. Hannah Adair's will LCW F/65, proven 1826. James 115(2) 1790 Census. 2 daughters not accounted for. James Jr. was under 16 according to this census.
      1.2.1 Elizabeth m. James? Parlmore (Palmer): LCD M/77-78.
      1.2.2 Mary m. John Prather: LCD M/77-78.
      1.2.2.1 Susannah Prather (Prater?): Witness on will of Hannah LCW F/65.
      1.2.2.2 Hannah Prather m. Joseph Dollar
      1.2.2.3 Linny m. William Prather
      1.2.2.4 Archibald m, Susannah Meadors
      1.2.2.5 Martha Prather
      1.2.2.6 Betsy/Priscilla Prather m. Daniel Owens
      1.2.2.7 James Prather
      1.2.2.8 Mary (Molly) Prather
      1.2.2.9 Bryce Prather
      1.2.2.10 Elinor Prather
      1.2.3 Nelly (Eleanor) m. Ramage: LCD M/77-78, LCW F/65.
      1.2.3.1 Benjamin Ramage
      1.2.3.2 John Jewell Ramage
      1.2.3.3 Washington Ramage
      1.2.4 James Adair Jr.: LCD M/77-78, LCW F/65.
      1.2.5 Hannah m. Rueben Meadors: LCD M/77-78, LCW F/65.
      1.2.6 Susannah m. William Cassels (Castles): LCD M/77-78, LCW F/65.
      1.2.7 Nancy m. Willis Langston: LCD M/77-78, LCW F/65.
      1.2.8 Martha m. Wm. Gamble: LCD M/77-78.
      1.2.8.1 Patsey Gamble: LCW F/65."

      8. Copy of letter on file from Frank Smith, Superviser, Reseach Department of the Genealogical Society (Family History Library) in Salt Lake City, dated May 23, 1966, to Mrs. Leo Goates, 9923 Knoll Crest Drive, Dallas, Texas, 95238, from FHL film 0446460 Patron Research Files for Marie Sheranian (mother to Mrs. Leo Goates). This letter was one in a series from over four years when the FHL did private research for a fee. This individual had work done on her Brown, Adair, and Richey lines. In reviewing all the correspondence, they were just discovering things for which we now have better and more thorough documentation as found in my database. As for the Adairs, there was a lot of confusion concerning the various Joseph Adairs with the FHL trying to link Thomas Adair's father Joseph as a son to the original Joseph Adair, Sr., which we now know to be incorrect. Much of this incorrect linking has been passed down through LDS generations and continues to incorrectly cloud modern genealogies. They also had no success in finding siblings for Thomas Adair. They acknowledge problems with the James B. Adair's book "Adair History and Genealogy" concerning the early Adairs. On the other hand there was good research done on the the parentage of William Richey who married Mary Ann Adair. His parents and grandparents appear in Laurens Co., South Carolina as well as nearby Bush River Baptist Church at which John Mangum the patriot was also associated. This would place the Richey family in probable contact with the Adairs before Alabama and Mississippi. The letter I quote below is the last letter and it had significance concerning the tying of Mathew Brown as a brother to Roger Brown. It should be noted that there was some confusion in the various letters regarding a Rebecca Brown married to Roger [Kerry's note: not to be confused with the later Rebecca Brown, daughter of Roger, who married Thomas Adair]. The FHL assumed that Rebecca who came over from Ireland was the wife of Roger and not the sister of Roger and Mathew as we now believe. Roger did have a second wife, Rebecca Wallace, in about 1799, but that is way after the original immigration to America in the 1760s. The portion of the letter which concerns the Brown family is as follows:
      "Research has been continued at this time on the Brown line, hoping that we might secure some information as to whether Roger had more than one wife, and if so, how his children might be divided, in order that the temple work might be completed for this family. We regret that very little additional information was found.
      "Enclosed herewith is a copy of our notes. There were other Brown families in South Carolina, probably not related to yours, as they were there before Roger and Rebecca arrived. Previously reported to you were deeds and land grants, and we have at this time checked some other deeds on Brown individuals. There seems to have been some relationship between Rebecca, John, Roger, Matthew and William Brown and Claiborne. The others we cannot be sure of.
      "The 1830 census was checked for Laurens Co., hoping that some of the sons and daughters of Roger might still be living, from which we could obtain dates of birth. There was a Roger Jr., but he was in a younger generation, probably a grandson of Roger, and other Brown entitites could not be identified with your people.
      "The S.C. Memorials "Land Grant Registrations" were checked, as they sometimes give some data not found in the grants themselves. There was nothing new obtained from this source. We therefore have nothing on which to base birth dates of Roger's children, nor anything to indicate the name of his wife aside from his will.
      "Some investigation was made regarding the Mathew Brown, whose pension record was reported to you previously. You will recall that he stated he was born in Wexford Co., Ire. in 1752, went from 96 Dist., S.C. to Hamilton Co., Ohio, then to Shelby Co., Ind. We think he is the son of Rebecca who brought him from Ireland [Kerry's note: this should be probably a sister not mother] and a brother of Roger for the following reasons:
      1. His age agrees with the emigration records, as he was age 12 when they arrived about 1764-6.
      2. He is in Laurens Co. in the 1790, 1800 census, but gone by 1810.
      3. He appears in deeds with Rebecca and with Roger. In a deed in 1796, his wife Jane signs with him.
      4. In the 1899 census he had three sons and two daughters at home and could have had one or two married.
      5. The history of Hamilton Co. states he married Jane Jones, which given name agrees with the above mentioned deed.
      6. He is stated to have removed from S.C. in 1803. There is a deed recorded in Laurens Co. in 1803. There is a deed recorded in Laurens Co. in March, 1804, but it could have been dated in 1803, and is the last one found.
      "The record from Shelby Co., Ind. gave information as we already had it from other sources. If this is in fact a brother of Roger and son of Rebecca Brown, then we have a clue as to the locality in Ireland.
      "Mathew stated he was born in Wexford Co., which is on the southeast coast. If the family was 'lately of Newry, Down, Irel.' when they emigrated, then they must have removed north during that 12 year interval [Kerry's note: Newry per S.C. immigration records]. Emigrants usually embarked from the NW coast and it may be they were in Newry only a short time, being on their way with other emigrants to the port from which they sailed. Newry is not on the coast.
      "Wexford has some quite early parish registers extant, and there are other types of records available which may prove useful to search. Brown is a common name in America, but not particularly prolific in Ireland in this area... If the combination of names we have as emigrants could be placed in Ireland, you could be sure it was the correct line." [Kerry's note: a discussion of fees followed and the announcement of a new policy that the FHL would no longer be doing private research.]

      9. The book "Roster of South Carolina Patriots in the American Revolution," by Bobby Gilmer Moss, lists the following two Joseph Adairs. I list both not knowing exactly which one goes to this Joseph or his cousin Joseph, both of whom appears on the Williams Petition, or even another unknown Joseph. It appears some of the information is derived from other more modern and traditional family history - right or wrong. The name Sarah Dilliard appears wrong and may me erroneously taken from Joseph son of James who was married to a Sarah ___. I do not have the abbreviation list as to the sources he gives:
      "Joseph Adair, Jr., b. 1733, d. 17 Oct 1812, m. Sarah Dilliard. He served as a lieutenant and deputy commissary. Patriot Index; S.C. H. & G., XLIX, 229; A.A. 23; X1955; Kinfolks, 1233."
      "Joseph Adair. He served in the militia under Col. Lacey and was at Huck's Defeat. C.S."

      10. On file with me are early plats drawings of Duncan Creek prepared by Lee Adair.
      From Lee Adair 13 Sep 2005 [wadair1@tampabay.rr.com]: "I have platted most of the available deed surveys up to 1846 for the Duncan Creek area of Laurens County using the software Deedmapper. The problems with such deed platting are: 1) surveyors weren't always accurate; 2) the terrain was not perfectly flat. In acquiring all the plats, I also had to acquire all the deed records and land transactions and I now have the Laurens County deed books up to Book O (about 1846). These two sources allowed me to place surveys in about the correct positions on the map. I am aided in this by the several rivers and creeks that run through the county and which are platted on the surveys. If there are any specific plats that you need, I can make copies of them and send them to you. One file (Duncan3.jpg) is included to provide a bearing. In the lower left is what looks like the streets of a city. This is Clinton. The interstate running diagonally across this image is I-26. The Duncan Creek Cemetery is located where the D in the text for Duncan Creek Cemetery is.
      One of the properties of Joseph Adair (wife Sarah) is in bright blue just to the right and adjoining that of James Adair (bright yellow). It was a SC land grant that he received in 1786. He sold that with the adjoining property of Samuel Ewing that he had purchased to William Holland in 1796. Whether he and Sarah actually lived there is an open question. The bright blue large tract owned by Joseph Adair is that of Joseph Adair Sr. wife Sarah Laferty. There may be additional properties of Joseph Adair and Sarah, but I have not placed them yet. There are a number of Joseph Adair properties in which I don't have a reliable spouse name. As always there is more work to be done."

      11. From Lee Adair 16 Oct 2005 with more on the specific James Adair plat just above Joseph Adair, the cooper, who gave part of his land to Joseph his son who married Sarah ___: "The property description for the James Adair plat that I sent is as follows:
      SC Memorial Book 13, p. 230. 2 Jan 1775. James Adair, Sr., a Memorial on 200 acres in 96 Distr. on Duncins (sic) Creek between Broad and Saludy Rivers, bounded W on John Brotherton; NW on James Montgomery, NW on John McCrary; NW on John Adair; SE on Saml. Ewing. Survey certified 3 Jun 1773; granted 11 Aug 1774. Quit rent in 2 years. John Rodgers, DS. Delivered 14 Aug 1775 to James Adair.
      150 acres of this property was later sold to John Jones (wife Hannah) in 1784.
      The date alone suggests that this is most likely James Adair, wife Eleanor, and this is confirmed by the following two deed book entries:
      Laurens Co. Deed Book F, p. 10. 24 Feb 1784. James Adair Senior and wife Eleanor to John Jones blacksmith 150 acres.) Witnesses: James Adair sadler, James Adair Jr., James Miller, Roger Brown.
      We know that this is part of the 200 acre James Adair grant because of the following:
      Laurens Co. Deed Book F, p. 8. 1 Aug 1795. Hannah Jones (widow of John Jones) & son William Jones to John Craig, 50 acres on Duncan Creek, part of 200 acre grant to James Adair Sr. 11 Aug 1774 (150 acres conveyed in by sd J.A and Eleanor in 1784 to John Jones). Bordering properties: John Montgomery, Alexander Fillson, John Owens.
      I have attached a zoomed out version of the Duncan Creek plat area."

      12. Miriam Adair Covington in her biography of Thomas Adair reports (see his notes for full quotation): "Joseph Adair sells 70 acres to John Ross, 7 March 1805, Sarah Adair relinquishes."

      13. "The South Carolina Magazine of Ancestral Research," vol. 3, pp. 24, 26, preface remarks: '1784 Tax Returns. The following lists were gathered from documents at the South Carolina Archives contained in five boxes entitled 'Tax Returns 1783 - 1796.' The list of tax collectors is from a document entitled 'total Amo't of Taxes paid into the Treasury on account of the year 1784.' The list itself is undated, but internal evidence shows that it was compiled a few years later than 1784. Along with the names of the collectors, this document gives the amount of taxes received in their respective areas and notations concerning the collectors' progress in bringing the monies into the State treasury.'
      "Little River district:
      Robert Gillam
      Joseph Adair
      Robt Griffith
      Samuel Wharton
      John Rodgers."
      [Joseph Adair is one of three possible Josephs: the original Joseph Adair the cooper, his son Joseph, or Joseph the son of the original James Adair the cooper.]

      14. "The South Carolina Magazine of Ancestral Research," vol. 6, p. 26: "Laurens County Estate Book A-1," p. 7:
      "Will of Hanse Miller being sick and weak of body… 14 April 1788. Wit: Joseph Adair, Thomas Ewings, James Adair.l Adairs may be deceased by this date.]

      15. Laurens County Estate Book A-1, Pp. 55-60: "Appraisement of the Estate of Robert Bell decd. Total ₤148 12 2-1/2 (no appraisers, no date). Purchasers at sale: Richd Bell, Isabella Bell, Patrick Scott, Nathl Cannon, Ann Mclure, Evan Robarts, James Ramage, Daniel Davis, Samuel Ewing, John Harris, Adam Bell, Gilbert Memory, James Pollock, John Roberson, Nathan Davis, John Harvis, Joseph Adair son of James, John Owings, John Owings, David Beayty, John Awsten, Wm Blackburn, Josiah East, Joseph Huddleston, John Adair son of Joseph, And. McCrary, David Bailey, Wm Price, John Calahan, Ann Dradock, John Archer Elmore, Charles Russel, John Huston, John Robinson, John Hunter, Wm Gray, Samuel McConehey, John Willson, John Walker, Thomas Entrecan,Thomas East Junr., thomas East Senr., Samuel Eakins, John McCartey, John Derumple [Dalrymple] Junr. Sold 15 Aug 1792, by Richd. Bell, admr."

      16. The following Joseph Adairs could either be the Joseph, the son of Joseph the cooper, or the other Joseph, the son of James the cooper. Laurens County Estate Book A-1:
      Pp. 76: "An account of the appraisement of the Estate of Wm. Davis decd., 17 Jan 1792 by Joseph Adair, John Owins, Thos Ewing. (No total.)"
      Pp. 108-109: [Abt 1794-1795: "Memorandum of the Sale of the Estate of Jeremiah Holland, decd. Purchasers: Nancy Holland, William Holland, Jos. Adair, Simpson Bob, Abraham Holland, Basl. Holland, Resin Holland, Sampson Bobo, William Lard, Richard Holland..."
      Pp. 120-127: "An Inventory of the Goods and Chattles of M'Crary Matthew Decd appraised by us whose names are under Written [No total appraisement, no appraisers names given.] A list of the Sales of the Estate of Mathew McCrary deceased. Purchasers... Jos Adare... Thomas M'Crary...13 and 14 of Nov 1794."
      Pp. 155-156: "An Inventory of the Goods and Chattles of William Price Decd. Total ₤ 101 11 8 certifyed 5 Nov 1796 by Joseph Adair, Thomas Gammel, Patrick O Briant. Memorandom of the goods and Chatles of Wm. Price decd sold at public Sale on 15 Nov 1796. Purchasers: Margret Price, Ruth Price, Sarah Price, Mary Cunningham, John Adair, William McCoy, William Barksdale, James Adair, Joseph Adair."
      Pp. 209: "Amt of money paid in behalf of the estate of William Price decd by Margaret Price, admx. & James Cunningham, admr. Names mentioned: Joseph Adair, Robt Greer, Edward Giddins, Francis Ross, Joseph Downs, Joseph Huddleston, James McDavid, John Owens, Charles Murrell, Wm Dunlap; James Cunningham, admr. July 18th 1799."

      17. Excerpts of "Adairs" from the book "Laurens County South Carolina - Minutes of the County Court, 1786-1789, number of pages at the end of the volume. There is at least one other volume, still missing, covering the years 1790-1799."
      It also notes: "Laurens County was formed in 1785 as a county of Ninety Six District. In that year justices of the peace were elected by the General Assembly to be administrators of the county courts. Within the pages of these court minutes are small court cases, lists of deeds presented to be recorded, applications for administrations on estates and wills proved (beginning in 1787), jury lists, petitions of various kinds, appointments for various offices, apprenticeships, estray animals tolled, and other items. The cases heard for debt or damages could not exceed £50, and cases heard for personal damages could not exceed £20. Criminal cases heard could not call for the loss of life or corporal punishment. Larger court cases were heard in the district courts, such as Ninety-Six."
      The Adair records mention mainly James and Joseph Adair – the only problem was there were at least three Josephs and three James who were all adults at the same time as these court records. The two original brothers, James and Joseph Adair, both coopers by trade, arrived in the Laurens County area probably in the early 1760s. James was born ca 1715 and died in Laurens Co. sometime between 1784 and 1796. Joseph was born ca. 1718 and died after Jan 9, 1788 when his will was written. James had at least two sons who were alive in the time period of these court records: Joseph (ca. 1745 - ca. 1820) who married Sarah and James (1752-1818) who married Hannah. The other original brother, Joseph whose first wife was Sarah Lafferty and second wife Susannah Murdough, widow of Daniel Long, had at least three sons, Joseph (1735-1812), James (1747-1831) whose trade is noted as "saddler", and Benjamin (1752/1754-1823/1825). Generally speaking, the eldest living Adair of a given name was given the suffix of Sr. or no suffix at all while the younger Adairs were noted as Jr. or "son of" - in some cases an uncle could be a "Sr" and a nephew or cousin could be the "Jr." depending on age. As to which James and which Joseph are cited in the records below, they could be any of the above because there is no guarantee that the Court properly used Sr., Jr., or whatever. The citations could be a mix of all. The following are just the Joseph Adair quotations:
      Pg. 63, 16 Mar 1786: of that part of the high road leading from Duncan's Creek to Hendrizes old place on the South fork of Duncan's Creek from thence to the County line, and that he cause the same to be kept in good repair for one year from this date as directed by law."
      Pg. 160, 16 Mar 1787: "Joseph Adair vs. Thomas Pearson. This day came the Plft by his Attys and the Attachment being returned execution on 300 acres of land the Property of the Deft and the said Deft not appearing to Replevy the same or Plead to the Plfts Declaration agreeable to a former order of this court, Therefore upon a Jury to wit [jury named]… upon their oaths do say that the Plft hath Sustained by accation of the Trespass in the Declaration mentioned, upon their oaths do say that the Plft hath Sustained Damages by accation thereof to £20 besides his cost, thereupon it was Considered by the Court that the Plft Recover against the s'd Deft his damages aforesaid in form aforesaid assest and his cost by him in this behalf Expended." [Kerry's note: There were three exact same cases against Thomas Pearson with James Montgomery, James Adair, and Joseph Adair as individual plaintiffs with all three in sequence.]
      Pp 205-206, 16 Dec 1787: "Ordered that the following Estrays be sold at Public Sale by the Sheriff after being advertised ten days to wit… A bright bay mare taken up by Joseph Adair Jun'r & told before James Montgomery, Esqr… Any Moneys that comes in the Sheriffs hands by Virtue of the Sale of the Above Estrays, he is Ordered to pay into the hands of the County Treasurer as soon as is Convenient."
      Pg. 219, 12 Mar 1788: "James Pucket vs. Joseph Adair. In Slander. The parties Mutually Submitted the Determination of this Suit to John Hunter & Saml Saxon with liberty to Choose a third man in Case of Disagreement, and agreed thereupon should be made a Judgment of this Court the s'd Arbitrators to return their award to next Court."
      Pg. 225, 13 Mar 1788: "James Pucket vs Joseph Adair. In Slander. On application of Ayres Gorely on oath a Witness for the Defendant agaist the s'd Pltf Ordered that the Deft pay him the sum of Ten Shillings for 4 days attendance @ 2/6 P'r day with Milage Coming and Going 70 Miles from the State of Georgia £ 14 2 Together with Mileage coming & returning 3/6.
      Pg. 234, 10 Jun 1788: "Sarah Jones Infant orphan of John Jones dec'd with the approbation of the Court made Choice of John Adair as Guardian, who Together with Joseph Adair his Security entered into and acknowledged their Bonds in the sum of £100 conditional to secure the said Orphans Estate and Indemnify the Court."
      Pg. 234, 10 Jun 1788: "Joseph Adair vs Wm Dean. Sum'r. Trover. Continued by Consent till next Court."
      Pg. 236, 10 Jun 1788: "Joseph Pucket vs. Joseph Adair. Slander. The parties mutually Submitted the Determination of this Suit to the award of Saml Saxon, John Hunter & Samuel Ewing and Agreed their Award thereupon should be made a Judgement of this Court the said Arbitrators now Returning their Award to wit, that the s'd James Puckett Pltff the said Joseph Adair Deft pay Each one their own cost, Whereupon it was ordered to be Dismiss'd accordingly."
      Pg. 254, 9 Sep 1788: "The Last will and testament of Haunce Miller Dec'd was proven in Open Court by the oaths of Thos Ewing & Joseph Adair & ordered to be Recorded."
      Pg. 279, 10 Dec 1788: "Joseph Adair vs. Wm Dean. Sum'r Process. Discontinued at Defts Cost by his Consent."
      Pg. 286, 12 Dec 1788: Joseph Adair was drawn to serve as grand jurour at next court to be held for the County on the second Monday in June next.
      Pg. 301, 12 Mar 1789: John D. Kern vs Charles Hutchings. In Case. This day came the parties by their attorneys & thereupon Came also a Jury [jury named] upon their oaths say that the Deft is not Guilty on fhe Nonperformance of the promises & assumptions in the Declaration mentioned & that he go hence without day and Recover against the s'd Plft his Cost by him in this behalf expended, Whereupon it was ordered accordingly.
      On application made on oath by James Adair a witness in said suit, ordered that the Plft pay him the sum of 35/ for 14 days attendance at 2/6 P'r day.
      Also Joseph Adair the sum of 32/ for 13 days attendance at 2/6 P'r day."
      Pg. 308, 9 Jun 1789: osiah Greer & James Greer. The Trial of this suit being Refer'd to the Award of John Hunter Esq'r, John Owings, & Joseph Adair & the award being Return'd Sign'd by Two of the s'd Arbitrators but was objected against by the Plfts Att do say that the Plft hath Sustained Damages by occation of the Trover & convertion in the Declaration Mentioned to the Amount of £19 beside her cost; therefore it is considered by the Court that the Plft Recover against the s'd Defts her Damages afores'd in form afores'd assest & her cost by her in said suit Expended & s'd Defts in Mercy &c."
      Pg. 331, 15 Dec 1789: "Ben: Adair Jun'r, Joseph Adair, Martha Adair, Hezekiah Adair & Isaac Adair, Infants orphans of John Adair Dec'd came into Court Chose Ben Adair Senr as their Guardian; Whereupon he the s'd Benjamin Adair Sen'r together with Joseph Adair his security Entered into and acknowledged their bond according to Law."
      Pg. 334, 16 Dec 1789: "The last will and testament of Joseph Adair Dec'd was presented in open court by James Adair the Ex'r and proven by the oath of James Montgomery and Ordered to be Recorded. Ordered that a Probate thereof issue in due form &c.
      Ordered that a warrant of Appraisement Issue to four freeholders of this county to View and appraise the estate of the s'd Jo's Adair Decd & Return an account of the same to the Ext'r within the Time Prescribed by Law."

      18. Early LDS records give Joseph being the father of Thomas in an indirect manner. I have personally seen the early LDS St. George Temple records in the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. I transcribed all the entries for which an Adair or related party did temple work in behalf of the dead. It is quite a list. On film #170840, p. 162, entry 3048 wherein Samuel Jefferson Adair, a son of Thomas Adair, did a baptism for Joseph Adair on 14 Feb 1877. Samuel indicates his relation is "Grandson". He also did about 20 other baptisms that day including for his other grandfather Roger Brown. Samuel did not give birthdates or places for his grandfathers. Later that month on 28 Feb 1877 in the same temple, Samuel's sister, Eliza Adair Price, also did many baptisms for relatives including "Sarah Adair" (no maiden name) wherein Eliza lists herself as the granddaughter. She does list Sarah as born in South Carolina - but she lists the same SC for all the work she did that same day so I am not sure whether they are of SC or born in SC.

      19. Typescript "Early Adairs of Laurens County, South Carolina. Compiled by Mildred Brownlee; Source Records: Wills; Intestate Estates; Deeds; Court Records; Cemetery Inscriptions. Some dates of birth and death obtained from Lineage Charts. Dates of birth and death subject to correction. Spelling of names subject to correction." [Note that bracketed comments are later additions by other reviewers including myself - Kerry Petersen.]:
      A. "SC Archives, Council Journal 34 p. 39, 2 Feb. 1768 - Petitions for Warrants of Survey:
      James Adair - 150 a. - Waters of Duncan Creek - granted 1768 (James was noted as James, Sr. up to his death.)
      Joseph Adair - 250 a. - Waters of Duncan Creek
      Council Journal 34, p. 236, 7 Dec, 1768 - Petitions to Prolong Warrants:
      Joseph Adair - 250 a. - on Duncan Creek
      His 250 a. was granted in 1770 (where Duncan Creek Church now stands). Joseph Adair sold this grant in 1778 to Benjamin Adair. (Deed Bk. A, p. 189)
      The above is the first record for Joseph Adair, Sr., cooper, found in Laurens Co. [NB: this is incorrect. Joseph Adair petitioned for 200 acres on the Waters of the Santee [Council Journal of 3 Dec 1766, p. 874]. The Memorial for this property reads as follows: A Memorial exhibited by Joseph Adair, 200 acres of a Plantation or tract of land contg. 200 acres situate in Berkly County on the So. side of Enoree River on a branch thereof called Millers Creek bounded Ewardly on land of Frances McCall, and on all other sides on vacant land. Survey certified the 7th of March 1769 (Plat Book 9, p. 341) and granted the 2nd day of June 1769 to the memorialist. Quit rent to commence two years hence. SC Memorial Book 8, p. 482. 9 Sep 1769]. James Adair who petitioned for land on the same date as Joseph is possibly the James Adair who married Eleanor and who had died in Laurens Co. prior to 12 Feb. 1796. Early deeds refer to him as James Adair, cooper. His 150 a. grant is evidently the one shown on Union Co. Land Grant map #4 and #12 on a branch of Duncan Creek which is called McCall's Branch on map #4. Other early maps refer to this branch as Miller's Fork. On present day maps it is called Sand Creek ... NE of Clinton, in the area between Hwy. 72 and Hwy. 98. Since available deeds do not make clear the disposition of the above 150 a., there is still some uncertainty that the grant was to James Adair, wife Eleanor; however, it is certain that he was in Laurens Co. 11 Aug. 1774 when he received a grant of 200 a. on a branch of Duncan Creek. Land Grant map #4 says granted in 1770 but deeds say 1774; this grant lying between the main branch of Duncan and Philson's Crossroad, and very near to Joseph Adair, Sr.'s original grant.
      Since both Joseph Adair and James Adair have been identified as coopers and they both petitioned for land on the same date, it seems logical to think that they were brothers. (Dr. James Adair's History states that James Adair, Indian trader, was a brother of Joseph Adair, Sr. but extensive research on the Indian trader does not substantiate the claim.)
      Council Journal 34 should be consulted for any other possible information which might be contained in the land petitions of Joseph and James Adair in 1768.
      The exact year that Joseph Adair arrived in South Carolina has not been determined. He was in Lancaster Co., Pa. in 1759 when he was given Power-of-Attorney to sell land for John, Josiah, and Jennet Ramage. In his History of the Presbyterian Church in SC, George Howe, D.D. states that in 1763 or 1766, Joseph Adair, Thomas Ewing, Wm. Hanna, and the McCrearys had united in building a house of worship. The June 9, 1896 issue of The Laurens Advertiser has an article about the 130th. anniversary of Duncan Creek Presbyterian Church which was "organized in summer of 1766".
      B. Typescript "Early Adairs of Laurens County, South Carolina. Compiled by Mildred Brownlee; Source Records: Wills; Intestate Estates; Deeds; Court Records; Cemetery Inscriptions. Some dates of birth and death obtained from Lineage Charts. Dates of birth and death subject to correction. Spelling of names subject to correction." [Note that bracketed comments are later additions by other reviewers including myself - Kerry Petersen.]:
      "James Adair, Sr. left no will in Laurens Co. No estate papers have been located in Laurens Co. Eleanor Adair left no will or estate papers in Laurens Co. Data from Laurens Co. deeds indicate that a son of James and Eleanor was Joseph Adair.
      Deed Bk. F, p. 109 - 12 Feb. 1796, Joseph Adair, Jr. to Wm. Holland, 120 a. on a small branch of Duncan Creek. N on John McCreary now John A. Elmore, SW by John Adair now Benj. Adair, S by me, a grant of 2 Oct, 1786; the other plantation of 100 a. purchased from Samuel Ewing 16 Dec. 1778, part of 150 a. grant to Samuel Ewing 30 Sept. 1774, Joining the above tract. Joseph Adair, Jr.*
      Wit: B.H. Saxon, JA Elmore, Basil Holland
      Release of dower: Sarah Adair, wife of Joseph Adair, Jr.; Eleanor (x) Adair. Widow of James Adair, dec'd.
      (*Joseph Adair called "Jr." to distinguish from Joseph Adair, son of Joseph Adair, cooper, who was at that time called Joseph Adair, "Sr.", after the death of his father in 1789.)
      Deed Bk, G, p. 570 - 7 Jan. 1803, Joseph Adair, planter, to John Daniel Kern of Charleston, merchant, 86 a. on N side of Duncan Creek, adj. said J. D. Kern. N 10, W 40, S 30, etc., on Joseph Adair line, S 80, E ??, etc. on Mistres ?Musgrove (seems error for "Mistress Montgomery"). Joseph Adair
      Wit: Thomas Martin, Tailor; William Dabbage
      Release of Dower: Sarah Adair, wife of Joseph Adair, Jr.; Eleanor (x) Adair, widow of James Adair, dec'd.
      Joseph Adair appears on the census of 1790 thus. Joseph Adair: 1 (male over 16), 3 (males under 16), 3 (females), no slaves. Joseph Adair in 1800: 31101 11101 - no slaves.
      Joseph Adair. b. 1755 or before.
      Wife Sarah, b. 1755 or before.
      m) b. 1774-1783 - Eldest son Thomas
      f)
      m) b. 1784-1790
      f)
      m)
      m) b. 1790-1800
      m)
      f)
      No further data has been located in Laurens Co. records as to names of the other children of Joseph and Sarah Adair.
      Census figures indicate a family of 8 children born before 1800 - 5 sons and 3 daughters. Of these 8 children, we have proof of one eldest son, Thomas Adair, whose birthdate from lineage chart is given an 25 Oct. 1771. Judging by census, the probable year of birth is 1774 rather than 1771.
      Deed Bk. H. P. 22 - 5 Feb. 1804. Joseph Adair of Duncan Creek to eldest son, Thomas Adair, 40 a. adj. J. D. Kern. Margaret Montgomery, and said Joseph Adair. Wit: Roger Brown, Jane (X - her mark) Adair."

      20. Deed from Joseph to his eldest son Thomas in 1804. See notes for Thomas for a second deed where he and his wife Rebecca Brown Adair sell this same tract in 1806. Photocopies on file:
      Laurens Co., SC, Deed Book H, page 22:
      "Duncan's Cr. Joseph Adair to Thomas Adair, Deed of Gift 40 acres land, certified 23 March 1804. State of South Carolina, Know all men by these presents that I Joseph Adair of Dunkins Creek in Laurens District and in the State aforesaid for and in consideration of the Love and Good will I bear to my edest [eldest] son Thomas Adair, of the State aforesaid have given and granted and by these presents do give and grant to the said Thomas Adair, all that plantation or tract of land containing forty acres more or less beginning at a post oak corner joining J.D. Kern's land thence nearly E. to a like wood corner joining Soo.[?] Kern's land thence to a little hickory corner on Margret Montgomary's land and thence nearly west to a popler [poplar] to the south side of the Branch on my land thence nearly west inclining south to a black Jack joining myself and Soo. Kern's land thence along said Kern's land to the beginning corner together with all and singular the rights members hereditaments and appertainances to the said premises belonging or in any wise incident or appertaining. To have and to hold all and singular the premises before mentioned to the said Thomas Adair his heirs and assigns forever and I do hereby bind myself my heirs and executors and administrators to warrant and forever defend all and singular the said premises unto the said Thomas Adair, his heirs and assigns against myself and my heirs and against every person whomsoever lawfully claiming or to claim the same or any part thereof witness my had and seal this 5th day of February in the year of our Lord 1804. Joseph Adair. LS. Witness[es] present. Roger Brown. Jane Adair (her mark).
      State of South Carolina, Laurens District. Personally appeared Roger Brown before me Starling Tucker and made oath that he was present and saw the within named Joseph Adair sign and deliver the within deeds to the within mentioned Thomas Adair for the purpose within mentioned and seen the other assigning witness to the within at the same time assign the same sworn to and subscribed before me this 19th day of March 1804 Starling Tucker, J.P. Roger Brown."
      [Roger Brown is father-in-law to Thomas Adair; Rebecca's half brother Roger had not yet been born and could not have been the witness as many report. Not sure as to relationship of Jane Adair.]

      21. American Revolutionary War Stories involving Mangum and Adair Families in Laurens County Area of South Carolina:
      In John Mangum the Patriot's application for his American Rev. War pension, he mentions serving with several of the following commanders. He specifically states he was with Col. Joseph Hayes when he was killed and that he received a wound under the hands of the Tory leader William Cunningham aka "Bloody Bill." The following accounts help understand John's and the Adair family's patriotic commitment and puts some flesh to names. See separate notes in the Adair family notes for John Mangum's Adair family comrades in arms who signed the James Williams Petition which would mean that the Adair and Mangum families probably first came in contact both knowing and serving under James Williams. Both modern Laurens and adjoining Newberry Counties were in the old District Ninety Six of South Carolina.
      "A Laurens County Sketchbook," by Julian Stevenson Bolick, FHL book 975.731-H2b, p. 9, in speaking of the American Revolutionary War: "The people, cut off as they were from the coast and seat of government [KP note: at Charles Town or Charleston as it was later known], were not aware of the many grievances of the colonists toward the mother country. Naturally, in the months to follow, many of the Up Country people remained loyal to England, and particularly those who had been given large grants by the king. These people became known as Tories, and a gentleman's agreement was reached among some of the colonists whereby the Tories in the Carolina "Back Country" should remain in a state of neutrality. Since this agreement was made without the knowledge of Robert Cunningham, a man of high esteem and immense influence among his neighbors in Ninety Six District, he did not feel bound by the agreement. Thus, he continued to urge opposition to the revolutionary movement to the point of being apprehended on an occasion by a group of men dressed as Indians. Learning of Robert's proposed confinement in Charles Town, his brother Patrick gathered a body of friends and set out in pursuit of the group. The pursuers failed to overtake the first group, but Patrick and his men learned of, and captured, 1000 pounds of powder being sent as a present to the Cherokee Indians by the governor. Because of the proximity of the Cherokees, it was customary to make gifts from time to time to the Cherokee Nation to encourage friendship. An amount of gunpowder, included with cloth and trinkets, was intended to be only enough to meet the Indians' needs for hunting, and not a sufficient quantity to incite them to attack the settlers...
      "Unbiased recounting of history must include here the distasteful authority and influence exerted by two Tory leaders over their followers in dealing with their enemies, the Whigs [KP note: pre-Revolution ]. The two 'Bloody Bills', William Bates and William Cunningham, headed the list of atrocities ... Cunningham ... belonged to one of the best families in the province. A cousin of Robert and Patrick Cunningham, Bill was the only member of the family to depart from its high standard of chivalry and honor ... William was a Whig at the beginning of the struggle ... William was ordered to the Low Country, was whipped for some minor offense and was placed in chains. His work of pillage and murder apparently was a retributive vengeance on those who had wronged him, especially his former commander in arms.
      "So, the good citizens and the bad citizens were divided in their partisanship. Before the end of hostilities, the great plantations where
      hospitality had been dispensed in generous and gracious manner were closed to friendship because of divided loyalties and sympathies. These homes included White Hall, home of Andrew Williamson; Rosemont and Peach Hill, Cunningham seats and Mount Pleasant, owned by James Williams. In many cases, animosity continued. In the election of 1778, Colonel Williams and Cunningham engaged in gentlemanly fisticuffs, in which the wife of the Colonel seized Cunningham by his queue before friends could come between them. The fact that Cunningham was elected to office was evidence of the strong Tory influence in the district. It will be recollected here that Robert Cunningham had been arrested by Colonel James Williams in 1775 and sent to Charles Town, where he refused to recognize the authority of the Provincial Congress. His arrest created indignation in the "Back Country", and three years later his friends gave full support to his candidacy.
      "Logan's History of the 'Upper Country of South Carolina' characterizes this area as 'the classic ground of the American Revolution,' but it is difficult to locate exact spots of skirmishes occurring with the confines of the present county of Laurens. Meager records show that one encounter took place on the banks of Rabun Creek. While the armed forces on the coast had been occupied with the defense of Fort Moultrie, the western frontier of the state had become ablaze with Indians on the warpath [KP note: the neutrality of the Indians was broken when the British and their allies could use strong persuasion]. Inhabitants along the Saluda River had taken refuge in an old fort known as Lyndley's, located on Rabun Creek. Early morning of July 15, 1776, 88 Indians and 102 white men attacked the safety station. Major Jonathan Downes with 150 men had arrived at the station the evening before. The latter were on a mission to join forces with Major Williamson in an effort to suppress the Indians who erroneously had been told that their gift of gunpowder and lead captured so recently would be used by the Whigs to kill them. The attack on the fort was repulsed and thirteen prisoners, all whites dressed as Indians, were sent to Ninety Six for confinement.
      "On another occasion, Major Downes, commanding a small force of Whigs, happened to come upon an armed aggregation of Indians in the Scuffletown area. Tradition says that the Major overcame the Indian chief in a hand-to-hand fight, and that he took off his suspenders, tied the Indian's hands behind his back and left the fighting field with the captured chieftain astride Downes' horse.
      "In August of 1780, the Battle of Musgrove's Mill was fought about twelve miles north of the present city of Laurens on the Enoree River. Major Downes again served gallantly; in this encounter was, also, Colonel Joseph Hayes, who was among those massacred at Hayes Station the following year. In the home of Major Edward Musgrove a garrison of 500 British troops maintained headquarters. They were regimented soldiers retrained by platoons. The Major, too old for active duty, remained neutral in his sympathies; but his family took a very active part with sons fighting on both sides. On that August day the Whigs took up position within one mile of the mill and were in the process of planning an attack when a skirmish between a British patrol and a Whig reconnaissance group brought the entire British garrison to the scene. Young Captain Shadrack Inman asked permission to take 25 men and act as a decoy to draw the Tories into a three-pronged trap formed by force commanded by Colonel Isaac Shelby on the right, Colonel Elijah Clarke on the left and Colonel James Williams in the center. Shadrack Inman was shot seven times following the retreating British. A simple stone marks the
      spot where he fell.
      "The battle is said to have been one of the hardest ever fought in the county with small arms alone '...the smoke so thick as to hide a man at a distance of twenty rods. With the aid of Tories, the British had hoped for a quick victory in the South; instead they suffered heavy losses and their strength in South Carolina's Up Country had been badly shaken.
      "November, 1781, will be remembered as a month of terror for the Whigs and their families in the Ninety Six District at the hands of William Cunningham, who had left Charles Town in August for the purpose of inflicting punishment on the Whigs. Crossing Saluda River, 'Bloody Bill' and his band of 300 ruthless followers attacked Hayes Inn, a station which before had been known as Edge Hill, on the stagecoach route through this part of the Up Country. The exact date of this attack is not known, but McCrady in his 'History of South Carolina in the Revolution' traces the movements of the group of Tories. On November 7, 1781 thirty Whigs had taken refuge in an unfinished log house without door or windows on a small stream called Cloud's Creek in Edgefield County. Two of the thirty escaped, the rest being slaughtered after they had surrendered. Mr. McCrady states 'it was a fine morning after the massacre at Cloud's Creek, when at ten among those inside. "Captain Daniel Williams, with a group of patriots, had rested overnight at the inn. The Captain, only eighteen years of age, and Colonel Joseph Hayes, owner and operator of the inn, were promptly hanged from a pole of the fodder stack. The pole broke; and Cunningham, continuing the cruelty with gave him the name 'Bloody Bill,' cut the half strangled men to pieces with his sword. The encounter is recorded as 'Hayes Station Massacre,' a terrifying experience related by the one survivor...
      "It was such odious treatment of human beings that prompted General Nathanael Greene of the Whig side to make the following declaration: 'The inhabitants hunt one another like wild beasts. If a stop cannot be put to these massacres, the country will be depopulated in a few more months, as neither Whig nor Tory can live." In the District of Ninety Six alone, there were 1400 hundred widows and orphans as a result of the war."

      22. James Williams Petition listing the Adair family Patriots. Note that Thomas Adair's parents are the ones listed as number 4 (Joseph and Sarah) and his grandparents are number 3 (James and Eleanor). Most of the other Adairs were brothers or cousins. The petition has come to me from Mildred Brownlee's manuscript "Early Adairs of Laurens County, South Carolina" and also from the "South Carolina Magazine of Ancestral Research," vol. 15, p. 32. James Williams was one of the most renowned Patriots of the Laurens area and this listing of signers of the petition of the area gives us a good source of patriots also associated with him. Col. James Williams and Capt. Josiah Greer were also military leaders of many of these same individuals during the 1778 American invasion of British East Florida per the source of Doctor George Ross' medical reimbursement papers quoted in this database under Rebecca Montgomery's notes. This petition typescript is item #5767, Manuscript Dept., Wm. M. Perkins Library at Duke University, Durham NC. Submitted by Mrs. Mary Ann McCrary and published with permission of the Manuscript Dept. This petition pre-dates the Battle of Kings Mountain (7 Oct 1780), as Col. James Williams was killed at that time. [NB: a second version of the petition was located in the South Carolina Library in 1999 and the gaps in the Duke University petition were filled in as indicated by brackets.] {Any notes or comments added by me are in these brackets.}
      "To his Excellen[cy John Rutledge, E]sq. Governor & Commander in Chief in & [over th]e state of South Carolina, the Honourable the privy Counsel, the Honourable the Senate & House of Representatives in General Assembly.
      Whereas we (the zealous friends to our country, and to all who love and distinguish themselves in her cause) do understand & are exceeding sorry to hear that there are false & [evilly designing] Accusations either lying on or about to shortly be laid against James Williams, our present Colonel in & over Little River Regiment, and designed (as we believe) by the private Enemies of our country to deprive us of so worthy a friend of his Country in general a good officer to us in particular & thereby do a very singular Piece of Service to the common enemies of America. We do briefly & anxiously remonstrate this: that we experimentally know Colo. James Williams to have been a zealous Patriot from the commencement of the America contest with Briten; and to have always stood foremost in every occasion when called upon to the defence of his country. We do further declare that we have never known said Colo. [Jas.].Williams to distress any individuals in the Regiment who voluntarily & judiciously, when legally called upon and commanded to the field, have turned out in the Defence if their Native Rights & Privileges together with that of their Country; & we do avow it from our knowledge, that whensoever Colo. Jas. Williams either directly or indirectly executed any distressing things, it was upon the stubborn & refractory, whose practices of obstinacy declare them inimical to their country: & and that this he did, as being last promissing Effort to reduce them to the dutiful obedience of loyal & fellow citizens. Without delaying you; we your humble Petitioners do earnestly beg that you will hear this our faithful Remonstrance & proceed with our respected Colo. James Williams & all such unjust & disaffected Clamours as may come before you against him, as your superior Judgements may direct: only begging leave to conclude with this one Remark, that doubtless you know that