M. about 1766 in (probably) Virginia2
Wife: Mary Polly Owen
D. after 22 Jun 1803, Lincoln County, Kentucky3
The story of William Sutherland was similar to many of his generation: serving as a soldier in the American Revolution led to the westward movement of his descendants. William was born in King William County, Virginia in about 1742,1 and he was believed to be the oldest son of Fendall Sutherland (also spelled Southerland or Sutherlin) and his first wife, an unnamed daughter of John Chiles.4 The details of his childhood and siblings are sketchy because an 1885 courthouse fire destroyed nearly all of the records of King William County. William did seem to have at least two younger brothers, and three younger half-sisters.
At some point, William struck out on his own, settling in an area of Virginia which was near the present-day border with North Carolina.1 He married a young woman named Mary Polly Owen in about 1766,2 and they started a family which would include 10 known children. The Piedmont region where William lived as an adult was somewhat different from where he was born. This wasn’t the Virginia tidewater country with its rich soil that was ideal for growing tobacco. Instead, farms produced smaller crops — a mix of corn, wheat, and other vegetables, along with some tobacco. Unlike his father, William owned no slaves,5 so he worked his land himself. Many of his neighbors were of Scots-Irish or German descent, recent immigrants who had migrated into western North Carolina on the Great Wagon Road from Pennsylvania.
Clearing the land in the North Carolina Piedmont.
There is evidence that William served in the American Revolution, and a muster roll dated June 1, 1777 under Captain George B. Wallace of Virginia lists a William Sutherlin.6 With a common first name, this may have been another William, but a gap in his children’s ages fits the narrative that he served as a soldier for a time (fifth child Susannah was born about 1776, and sixth child Owen, was born in about 1781).
Also supporting the fact that William served in the American Revolution is a land grant dated May 20, 1793.7 In lieu of money after the war, soldiers were offered large tracts of land in designated areas on the western frontier. This record stated that William was a private in the Continental Army, but that he was assigning the land for Captain Tillman Dixon, an officer who served in a North Carolina regiment. We know that William lived in North Carolina around this time because three years earlier he was listed in the 1790 U.S. Census in Burke County.8
The land granted to Dixon amounted to 640 acres near present-day Nashville, Tennessee, and William must have received something in return for it, because he seems to have purchased a large amount of land in Lincoln County, Kentucky. In 1801, a Lincoln County tax list described that William owned 350 acres and 5 horses.9 Sons William and Fendall were also listed, and youngest son George was implied to be in his household.
1801 tax list of Lincoln County, Kentucky.
William didn’t live long in Kentucky, because on June 22, 1803, he made out his will.3 Already “weak of body,” he bequeathed his land to his sons, with Fendall receiving 150 acres, and the other three 50 acres each. William noted that sons William and Owen already lived on the land they were to receive. The will was likely proven within a short time, and Mary Sutherland was listed as a landowner in 1804,10 which almost certainly meant that William had died by that date.
The sons and daughters of William Sutherland continued a progress to the west. Three of his sons, plus youngest daughter Nancy, ended up in Putnam County, Indiana. William’s widow Mary went with them, dying in 1834 at the age of 88.11 Later generations would settle in Missouri, Kansas, and other places to the west; grandson John Franklin Sutherlin would found the town of Sutherlin, Oregon.12 You could say that it all traces to land acquired by William because of his service in the War of Independence, which began the flow of migration to the west.
Children:
1. Fendall Sutherlin — B. 25 Dec 1767, (probably) North Carolina;13 D. 19 Feb 1834, Putnam County, Indiana;13 M. Lydia Franklin (1774-1869)13
2. William Sutherland — B. about 1770, (probably) North Carolina;14 D. after 1 Jun 1830, (probably) Putnam County, Indiana;15 M. Mary Polly Franklin (~1770-?), about 1788, Lincoln County, Kentucky16
3. Bethany Sutherlin — about 1773, (probably) North Carolina;17 D. 1839, Jackson, Tennessee;17 M. James S. Hawkins (1764-1822), about 1791, North Carolina18
4. Millicent Sutherlin — about 1775, (probably) North Carolina;19 D. 10 May 1852, Bullitt County, Kentucky;19 M. Samuel Goldsmith (1776-1850)19
5. Susannah Sutherlin — about 1776, (probably) North Carolina;18 M. William Harper (1773-?), about 1798, Burke County, North Carolina18
6. Owen Sutherlin — about 1781, (probably) North Carolina;20 D. 1858, Casey County, Kentucky;18 D. about 1866, Casey County, Kentucky; M. Mary Vandeveer (1785-1840), 22 Nov 1802, Lincoln County, Kentucky21
7. Mary Polly Sutherlin — about 1783, Burke County, North Carolina; D. 22 Oct 1810, Kentucky; M. Jonathan Jones (1782-1853), 7 Dec 1801, Lincoln County, Kentucky
8. George W. Sutherlin — B. 1787, Burke County, North Carolina;24 D. 1841, Jackson Township, Putnam County, Indiana;24 M. Elizabeth Miller (1790-1877), 1806, Kentucky24
9. Nancy Sutherlin — 2 Jun 1784, Burke County, North Carolina;25 D. 23 Apr 1831, Orange County, Indiana;25 M. Jonathan Jones (1782-1853), 27 Jun 1811, Casey County, Kentucky25
10. Jenny or Jane Sutherlin — about 1781, Burke County, North Carolina;25 M. Claiborne Harris, after 1810, (probably) Kentucky25
Sources:
1 Sutherlands and Their Tangled Branches, Robert J. Walsh, 1985, p. 23
2 Sutherlands and Their Tangled Branches, p. 29
3 Probate record of William Sutherland, Lincoln County, Kentucky, 22 Jan 1803, FamilySearch.org
4 There are strong indicators that William’s father was somehow connected to the Chiles family of Virginia. In March 1763, Fendall Sutherland was administrator of the estate of Walter Chiles, and the name Chiles also turned up on two land sales involving Fendall. Many have assumed that Chiles was the maiden name of Fendall’s first wife, but elsewhere there is a document that John Chiles (~1666-~1723) had two daughters, one of whom married a man named Sutherland, and the age of John Chiles suggests the mystery groom was Joseph Sutherland, not Fendall. John Chiles was the father of the Walter Chiles of the 1763 record, and Fendall would therefore be Walter’s nephew, the sort of relation for an estate administrator (Walter had no children of his own).
5 Tax lists of Lincoln County, Kentucky, 1792-1803, FamilySearch.org
6 Pay roll of Capt. George B. Wallace’s company in the Virginia Regiment, 1 Jun 1777
7 Land grant to William Sutherland, a private in the continental line of North Carolina, 20 May 1693
8 1790 U.S. Census, Burke County, North Carolina
9 1801 personal property tax list of Lincoln County, Kentucky, FamilySearch.org
10 1804 personal property tax list of Lincoln County, Kentucky, FamilySearch.org
11 Find-a-Grave listing of Mary “Polly” (Owen) Sutherlin
12 Find-a-Grave listing of John Franklin Sutherlin
13 Find-a-Grave listing of Fendel Sutherlin
14 William Sutherlin’s birth year estimate based on ages of his children
15 1830 U.S. Census, Putnam County, Indiana
16 William’s marriage year estimate based on ages of his children
17 Find-a-Grave listing of Bethernia “Thenie” (Sutherland) Hawkins
18 Sutherlands and Their Tangled Branches, p. 31
19 Find-a-Grave listing of Millicent “Milly” (Sutherland) Goldsmith
20 1850 U.S. Census, Casey County, Kentucky
21 Marriage record of Owen Sutherland and Mary Vandeveer, Kentucky, U.S., Compiled Marriages, 1802-1850, Ancestry.com
22 Sutherlands and Their Tangled Branches, p. 32
23 Marriage record of Jonathan Jones and Mary Southerland, Kentucky, U.S., Compiled Marraiges, 1802-1850, Ancestry.com
24 Find-a-Grave listing of George W. Suthelin
25 Sutherlands and Their Tangled Branches, p. 33
