WASHINGTON COUNTY, TN - BIOGRAPHY - Hon. Zachariah Isbell ==================================================================== USGENWEB NOTICE: In keeping with our policy of providing free information on the Internet, data may be used by non-commercial entities, as long as this message remains on all copied material. These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or for presentation by other persons or organizations. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material for purposes other than stated above must obtain the written consent of the file contributor. The submitter has given permission to the USGenWeb Archives to store the file permanently for free access. This file was contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by: Ray Isbell isbell2@hotmail.com ==================================================================== BIOGRAPHY Hon. Zachariah Isbell circa 1722-1788 believed to be buried at Cherokee Creek Baptist Church Cemetery, Highway 81, south of Jonesboro, Tennessee, near Cherokee Creek. Biography: The Hon. Zachariah Isbell, one of the 13 founders of Tennessee, was born circa 1722 in King William Co./Orange Co., VA. (son of Henry Isbell & wife, a daughter of James and Elizabeth Cox) and died circa 1788 (1786-90) near Jonesboro, Washington Co., Tennessee. Earliest records spell his name Zachary. Family researchers are divided as to whether Zachariah Sr. or Zachariah Jr. married Elizabeth Miller, daughter of John and Elizabeth Miller. Family tradition has held that Zachariah Jr. married "Polly" Miller, but John Miller's daughter Elizabeth is proven by court records to have married a Zachariah Isbell who probably is this Zachariah Sr. or Jr. Some show his wife was Elizabeth Calloway (born Abt. 1725), daughter of Thomas Callaway, an aunt of the two Calloway sisters who were kidnapped with Daniel Boone's daughter Jemima by Indians while paddling in their canoe but later rescued (one of the famous Daniel Boone stories). Others show Zachariah Isbell's wife as Elizabeth Lewis or Taylor, but also without proof. Judge Zachariah Isbell was: first sheriff of Bedford Co., VA.; first magistrate of Bedford Co. (the original court order books are all in his own hand). He was appointed one of the first justices of Bedford County, Virginia, on May 27, 1754, with Howard and Calloway. He helped "lay out" the town of New London, first county seat of Bedford County. Halifax County, Virginia, Order Book 2 (pages 175, 236 and 325) places him in that county from 1756 to 1758. He was a captain in the French & Indian War and On March 7, 1759, he received a land grant for 250 acres in Craven District (later Camden Dist.), South Carolina, plus other land grants in 1762, 1763 and 1766. He was also Tax Collector and Justice of the Peace and magistrate in Craven/Camden Dist. (Kershaw Co.), S.C.; another researcher says he moved to his plantation in S.C. and lived quietly until the Revolution disrupted his family life. In a deed dated July 16, 1766, in Camden District, South Carolina, Zachariah Isbell (Sr) sold land to Jeremiah Potts and wife Elizabeth Isbell signed a release of her dower rights Some researchers say Zachariah Isbell was a member of the Anglican church early in life and and was believed to have held neutral views or Tory sympathies toward Britain, but no writings back up that statement, although he continued moving toward the frontier. In 1771 and 1772 he was on the tax list of Surry County, North Carolina. Another source says he moved to Washington Co., N.C., where he was again a magistrate judge; he was one of 13 commissioners appointed to form the Watauga Settlemen which became the State of Tennessee. The monument at Elizabethton, TN records the names of "The Immortal 13." (Founders of This State), but the marker misspells his name. It is said he drew up the first census (or sorts), a listing of the wealthiest citizens in the Watauga Settlement, although his name is not on the tax listing. 1772: served on the first court in Tennessee, with John Carter, Charles and James Robertson, & John Sevier, and he had the most court experience of all five justices; In May, 1772, the first constitution in North America was written by the people of the Watauga Settlement and called "Articles of Watauga Association". No copies were preserved and exist today, but it called for an assembly of 13 men elected by the people, which, in turn, elected and appointed a committee of five with both judicial and executive authority for administering the government of the settlement. The first five men appointed to administer the government were: John Sevier, James Robertson, Charles Robertson, Zachariah Isbell and John Carter 1778: served on the first court in Washington County (now Tennessee) with John Sevier (later, the first governor of TN.) March 25, 1775: He took part in the Watauga Purchase of the East Tennessee lands from the Cherokees by witnessing the deed from the Cherokees to Jacob Brown, making up a large part of Washington County and signed by several Indian chiefs. The huge old tree under which the deed was signed is still there, but lying on the ground. Zachariah Isbell bought land from Jacob Brown 1775/6, shown on Brown plats Jacob Brown gave the land for the Cherokee Creek Baptist Church, chartered September 1783. The Washington County Tennessee, 1778 Tax List included Zachariah Isbell, Esq., as well as Zacha Isbell and Godfrey Isbell. It is believed that "Zacha. Isbell" was a son of Zachariah Isbell while Godfrey Isbell was a nephew. Zachariah Isbell and his son Zachariah Jr. both served in the government of the Watauga Association, and they both fought the British with Col. John Sevier in the Battle of King's Mountain, October 7, 1780. Washington County, Tennessee, Deed Book 3, page 52: Zachariah and Elizabeth Isbell signed as witnesses to a deed for Jacob Brown on October 9, 1781. One family historian states that Zachariah Isbell, Sr., "continued his career as a magistrate and justice in East Tennessee," but the last official record found is in 1784. In 1784, Zachariah Isbell was appointed by the State of North Carolina, along with John Sevier and Jesse Walton, as commissioners to confiscate the properties of Tories in Washington County, Tennessee/North Carolina. The last known record for Zachariah Isbell is where he purchased a bible and a saddle at the estate sale of Jacob Brown, when Brown died in 1786. Zachariah is believed by researchers to have died by the 1790 census (or 1786- 89) and buried at CHEROKEE CREEK BAPTIST CHURCH CEMETERY, Highway 81, south of Jonesboro, on Cherokee Creek. The Submitter welcomes corrections and additions. See also: Annals of Tennessee by J.G.M. Ramsey (Charleston: 1853) Tennessee Cousins by Worth S. Ray Leonardo Andrea's South Carolina files Lyman Draper Files The Overmountain Men by Cameron Judd and other histories