My Ancestors in the American Revolutionary War : Captain WILLIAM B SHERRILL of Rowan/Burke County, North Carolina: Battle of Kings Mountain

Battle of Kings Mountain by Robert Wilson

 Captain WILLIAM B SHERRILL was born 1 May 1723 in Cecil County, Maryland, the son of ADAM SHERRILL Sr and ELIZABETH CORZINE.  Before 1743, the SHERRILL family had migrated to (possibly) Chester County, Pennsylvania, then down the "Old Wagon Road" to Augusta County, Virginia.  WILLIAM SHERRILL married AGNES WHITE on 12 April 1743 in Augusta County, Virginia. 

Land Records show that the extended SHERRILL family then migrated farther south to Rowan County, North Carolina.  WILLIAM SHERRILL received a land grant 5 October 1751; his father ADAM SHERRILL Sr also acquired land, according to Land Deed records.   WILLIAM's sons MOSES, JACOB, WILLIAM and JOSHUA WHITE SHERRILL also purchased land or had land grants in Rowan (later Burke) County, North Carolina.

WILLIAM B SHERRILL is listed in the DAR Patriot Index file # 103445, with wife AGNES WHITE. He would have been 57 years old in 1780 at the time of the Battle of Kings Mountain.  This seems problematic to me, but the DAR and other records indicate that he was a Captain in the Lincoln County North Carolina Regiment, under Lt Col  FREDERICK HAMBRIGHT. The regiment actually passed through Sherrill's Ford, where the extended SHERRILL family lived. 

One has to wonder if WILLIAM's  son WILLIAM  born 25 September 1750 was the patriot instead.  WILLIAM Sr's two sons MOSES and JOSHUA WHITE SHERRILL also have DAR Patriot records. My ancestor, WILLIAM Sr's  son JACOB SHERRILL,  apparently did not fight in the war.  Several of my other ancestors from the BALLEW family in  Burke County, North Carolina, however, were also at the Battle of Kings Mountain. 

WILLIAM B SHERRILL died 31 December 1786 in Lincoln County North Carolina, just six years after his purported military service.  He is buried at Sherrill's Ford, in what is now Catawba County, formed from Lincoln County. 

It has been suggested that the photo below is his gravestone.

WILLIAM B SHERRILL is in the lineage of my paternal grandmother MINTTIE MAE BRUTON HUBER.  This is a **new discovery** for 2026

Sources:

-DAR Patriot Index & website

-Abstracts of Deeds of Rowan County, North Carolina by Jo White Linn

-Burke County, North Carolina Land Records 1778 Vol I by Edith Warren Huggins

-"The Known Patriots of the Battle of Kings Mountain" website

Have a great day!

Betty

© Betty Tartas 2026

My Ancestors in the American Revolutionary War: JOHN FELTON Sr, 9th New Hampshire Militia; The Saratoga Campaign and Surrender of Gen JOHN BURGOYNE

Surrender of Gen John Burgoyne by John Trumbull

Corporal JOHN FELTON Sr was born 9 November 1741 in Marlborough, Middlesex, Massachusetts, the son of JACOB FELTON and his 1st wife, SARAH BARRETT.  JOHN married on 23 January 1766 PERSIS ROGERS of Westborough, Worcester, Massachusetts. The couple migrated in September 1766 to the town of Marlborough, Cheshire County, New Hampshire.  All of their nine children were born there.

JOHN FELTON enlisted first in Jun 1777 as a Private in the 9th New Hampshire Militia (Volunteers) under Col ENOCH HALE, in  Capt JAMES LEWIS' Co.  He enlisted for a 2nd tour of duty in September 1777 as a Corporal in Capt JAMES LEWIS' Co, Col DANIEL MOORE's Regiment.  The 9th New Hampshire Militia served as reinforcements for the Continental Army during the Saratoga Campaign, and joining forces with General HORATIO GATES to help defeat British General JOHN BURGOYNE in northern New York.

After the war, JOHN FELTON moved his family to Montgomery County, New York (1790), Otsego County, New York (1800), and finally by 1804 Newstead, Niagra County, New York (now in Erie County).   JOHN FELTON was one of the original settlers at Newstead, which was part of the Holland Purchase in Western New York; his wife PERSIS became a founding member of the Methodist Episcopal Church of Newstead in 1807. 

From there, the family moved to Clarence (Clarence Hollow), Niagra County New York. The area became part of Erie County in 1821.

According to a burial card, Corporal JOHN FELTON died in 1820 in Clarence, New York, likely during an epidemic, and is buried in the Hillcrest Cemetery (now known as Schopf Cemetery).  The cemetery apparently has been abandoned.

Corporal JOHN FELTON Sr is in the lineage of my maternal grandfather R B MARTINE.

Sources:

--DAR Patriot Index

--A Genealogical History of the Felton Family by Cyrus Felton

--History of the town of Marlborough, Cheshire County, New Hampshire by Charles Austin Bemis

Have a great day!

Betty

© Betty Tartas 2026