My Old Ohio Home

Continued from Hiram Lansford Fields, of Hawkins County, Tennessee.

In the first two articles we placed Preston Fields and Hiram Lansford Fields in Hawkins County, Tennessee, in 1796 and afterward. That was the easy part.

The next questions are: 1) Were there any Hamiltons in the area at the time? and 2) Which of them is the father of Preston? The short answers are 1) Yes, plenty, and 2) I have no idea.

The ones I found:

Joseph Hamilton, about whom Ancestry.com says: "A native of Virginia, where he was admitted to the bar; moved to Hawkins County, 1784, and subsequently became a prominent lawyer in Tennessee (Caldwell, Bench and Bar, Tennessee., pp. 77-82)." and "He was licensed to practise as [an Attorney] in the several courts of Law and Equity, 1 Nov 1790."¹ and: "He was appointed Attorney and County Solicitor for Hawkins County, 26 Feb 1791."²

James Hamilton, about whom Ancestry.com says: He was appointed a Cornet in the Cavalry for the District of Washington, 3 Nov 1790.³

I noticed that the family numbers in the sources are not the same for these two men. Maybe Joseph was mentioned with another family, that is understandable. But do the different family numbers mean that James was not related to Joseph? I don't know. You would probably have to find Ancestry.com's original source to learn the answer.

From the tax records for Sullivan County for 1796:⁴

Abram Hamilton, acres: 131
Joshua Hamilton, acres: 590
John Hamilton, acres: none

Thomas Hamilton, acres: none
Thomas Hamilton, acres: none

The two men above were bracketed together and with the same information

Rich'd Hamilton, acres: none
Benj'm Hamilton, acres: none

I grouped these men together if they were immediately after each other on the list. The list itself was grouped only by the first letter of the surname, but not strictly alphabetically after that. So are Abram, Joshua and John one family; Thomas and Thomas another; and Richard and Benjamin still another?

[edited March 2024 to add the following:]

I don't remember why I included Sullivan County, since Hawkins County was set off from it in 1786, years before Hiram Lansford Fields arrived. But since I did, here are some families with connections to Sullivan County that can be eliminated as possible candidates for the natural Hamilton father of Preston Fields.

All the information comes from the hamiltonDNA.com website. All three families are in Group A or I1-1. Preston's father is in Group R1b-9.

Participant number, followed by familytreedna kit number, followed by the information.

H-101 40320
Thomas Hamilton, b abt 1719 in Northern Ireland, emigrated to Baltimore, MD in 1738, served a 5 year indenture, d 1772 Bedford Co, VA, m 1753 in Hartford Co, MD Esther Sampson, b 1730 Baltimore Co, MD, d after 1772 Bedford Co, VA.
Son Benjamin S Hamilton, b 1761 Bedford Co, VA, d 1849 Morgan Co, KY, m 1792 in Sullivan Co, TN to Susannah Moonglow Hurst, b abt 1770, d 1846 in Moon, Morgan Co, KY. Descendants lived in Johnson Co, KY. H-101 is a gggg grandson of Benjamin, and a fourth cousin once removed of both H-083 and H-244.

H-278 121827
Isaac Hamilton, b about 1791 in TN, d before 1858 when his estate was sold in Washington Co, TN.
Son, Abraham Hamilton, b about 1827 probably in Washington Co, TN, d 1863 in Sullivan Co, TN. H-228, H-277 and H-278 are thus all related, being derived from 3 different sons of Isaac.

H-252 99315
James Hamilton, b 1720 in VA or PA, d 1786 in Sullivan Co, TN. His son William Hamilton, b 1750 in VA, d 1828 in Union Co, TN. His son Alexander Hamilton, b 1779 in Sullivan Co, TN (formerly Washington Co, VA & NC), d 1852 in Union Co, TN, m 1797 in Grainger Co, TN to Susannah Addamson, b 1791 in NC, d after 1860 in Union Co, TN.

Continued in Thomas Hamilton of Bedford County, Virginia, and Some DNA results.

Footnotes

1. Ancestry.com's source: Territorial Papers of the US; Volume Number: Vol 4; Page Number: 436; Family Number: 19
2. Ancestry.com's source: Territorial Papers of the US; Volume Number: Vol 4; Page Number: 443; Family Number: 1
3. Ancestry.com's source: Territorial Papers of the US; Volume Number: Vol 4; Page Number: 438; Family Number: 17.
4. Tennessee, Early Tax List Records, 1783-1895, at ancestry.com

Credits

The image of a DNA strand comes from Wikipedia:File:DNA orbit animated static thumb.png.