Valentine Sevier Sr. (1713-1803)
Valentine Sevier genealogy
Is this your ancestor? Compare DNA and explore genealogy for Valentine Sevier Sr. born 1713 St. Giles Parish, Cripplegate, London, England died 1803 Elizabethton, Carter, Tennessee, United States including ancestors + descendants + 7 photos + 48 genealogist comments + questions + DNA connections + more in the free family tree community.
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Profile last modified 21 May 2024 | Created 28 May 2014

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This is the profile of Valentine "The Immigrant" (Xavier) Sevier.

Contents

1 Biography

1.1 Death & Legacy

1.2 Residences

1.3 Court Records - Augusta County, VA

1.4 Children

2 Research Notes

2.1 Vital Statistics

2.2 Disputed 2nd Marriage

2.3 Father's Origin

2.4 Unsourced Residence

2.5 Review Sourced Residence

2.6 Free-Space Page Research Notes

3 Sources

Biography

Valentine Sevier Sr. is a DAR Patriot Ancestor, A102104.

Valentine "The Immigrant" (Xavier) Sevier was a pioneer, one of the first settlers of the state of Tennessee and the father of Tennessee's first Governor, John Sevier. His occupations were listed as Pioneer, Colonizer, Merchant, Land Owner and Toll and Local Tax Collector.

Valentine "The Immigrant" (Xavier) Sevier was born on the 1st of February 1712/3, presumably in St. Giles Parish, England.[1][2] He was christened there on 10-15 February 1712/3.[1] He is the son of John Xavier and Mary Smith.[3]

In 1744, Valentine Sevier, Sr. married Joannah Goad, pronounced Good).[4] For most of their marriage, the couple lived in Augusta County, Virginia.

Valentine was a planter, and he owned a Tavern (Ordinary) and grist mill, as well as collecting the toll for milling corn and/or wheat. He ran an Inn which he built south west of his residence. Altogether he accumulated a great deal of property. In 1773, John convinced his parents to remove to the Settlements 300 miles southwest of the Shenandoah Valley. Two of their sons were already there, Valentine, Jr. and Robert. Joannah's last deed of record took place on 15 August 1773. She died sometime after this date. Valentine, his remaining children, and his eldest son John's family moved to the Island on the Holston arriving on either the 24th or 25th of December 1773. Valentine lived the rest of his life in seclusion until he remarried. A patriotic person, he took the oath of allegiance on the 27th of August 1778.

Valentine died on Friday, 30 December 1803 in Carter City, near the Watauga Settlement in Carter County, Tennessee.[5] It is possible that he was buried in the Green Hill Cemetery in Elizabethtown, Carter County, Tennessee on the 31st of December 1803.[6]

Valentine Sevier "The Immigrant" 1712-1803

Death & Legacy

Name: Valentine Sevier

Will Written: 12 Mar 1799 Carter County, Tennessee[7]

Death Date:

Will Proved: Carter County, Tennessee[8]

Executor(s): Obaraah [ink blotch] and Job Hendricks

Bequests:[9]

My soul to God who gave it

My body to be buried at the discretion of my Executors

After the discharge of all my just debt, to my dear and loving wife Jemima Sevier a sufficient maintenance to be paid yearly by my Executors

To Jemima (young) I give one saddle and one feather bed

All the residue of my goods, land and tenements to be equally divided between my two sons Abraham & Joseph Sevier, Abraham Sevier to pay Catharine Matlock wife of William Matlock fifty pounds and Joseph to pay said Catharine forty pounds

I also appoint Obaraah ? and Job Hendricks my sole Executors

Residences

1759: Frederick County, Virginia[10]

1764: Frederick County, Virginia[10]

1790: Tennessee[11]

1796: Carter County, Tennessee[12]

1797: Carter County, Tennessee[13]

1798 : Carter County, Tennessee[14]

Court Records - Augusta County, VA

18 May 1749

"We present Robert Scot for the breach of the Peace in beating Robert Breckenridge Under Sherif of this County this day in the Court Yard while the Court were Seting by Information David Drydon Andrew Lewis and Valentine Sevire." (Augusta Co., VA Court Order Bk. 2, p. 119).

"On the Complaint of Thomas Godfrey against his master Valentine Seveire for misusage. the parties being fully heard the Court are of Opinion that the sd Godrey has been Ill used but this being his first Complaint It is Ordered that he return to his sd master and that his sd master provide for him Sufficient Cloaths &c according to Law." (Augusta Co., VA Court Order Bk. 2, p. 119).

"On the Complaint of Mather Grymes against her master - Valentine Severe for misusage the parties being fully heard the Court are of the opinion that the s'd Grymes has been Unhumanly abused and not Sufficiently Cloathed but this being her first Complaint it is Ordered that she return to her master and yt. he provide for her sufficient Cloathes ec. According to Law and that he do not for the future Correct any of his servants untill an Order first Obtained from a Justice of this County." (Augusta Co., VA Court Order Bk. 2, p. 120).

"Valentine Seveire having misbehaved himself before this Court It is Ordered that the Sherif take him into Custody and him safely keep untill he enters into recognizance in the sum of Fifty pounds with two Securities in the sum of Twenty five pounds each for the sd Valentine Seveire's being of good behavior for a Year and a day now next ensuing. Whereupon the sd Valentine Sevire in open Court acknowledged himself indebted to our sovereign Lord the King his heirs and Successors in the sum of Fifty pounds to be levied on his goods and Chattells Lands and Tenements in Case he be not of Good behavior towards all his Majesties ___ People for a Year and a day now next ensuing John Lyon and James Beard also in Open Court severally Acknowledged themselves indebted to our sd Lord the King his heirs and Successors Each in the sum of Twenty five pounds to be levied on their respective goods and Chattells Lands and Tenements in case the sd Valentine Sevire be not of Good behavior as aforesaid." (Augusta Co., VA Court Order Bk. 2, p. 120).

28 Nov 1750

"Valentine Sevier having Prophainly sworn one Oath in the hearing of this Court It is Ordered that for the sd Offence he forfeit & pay to the Church wardens of the Parish of Augusta to the use of the sd Parish five shillings or fifty pounds of Tobo. & that he pay Costs." (Augusta Co., VA Court Order Bk. 2, p. 493).

16 Nov 1752

"On the petitition Valentine Sevier for leave to build a water mill on his own Land, it appearing to the Court that the same would not be of prejudice to the Land of any other person it is Ordered that he have leave to build the same accordingly." (Augusta Co., VA Court Order Bk. 3, p. 368).

"On the petition of Valentine Sevier he is allowed to keep an Ordinary in this County for one year from this time giving security whereupon he with John Madison his security entered into and acknowledged their Bond for his keeping the sd Ordinary acccording to Law and it's Ord'd that the Clerk of this Court prepare a license for him accordingly." (Augusta Co., VA Court Order Bk. 3, p. 368).

17 May 1753

"On the complaint of John Harvie Gent setingforth that Valentine Sevier had abused him in the Court Yard for doing his duty in Albemarle Court as an Attorney and it appearing to the Court the Complaint was true It is Ordered that the Sherif take him into Custody there to remain untill he enter into recognizance for his good behavior himself in the sum of One hundred with securities in the sum of Fifty pounds Each Whereupon the said Valentine Sevier in Open Court Acknowledged himself indebted to our sovereign Lord King George the Second his heirs and successors in the sum of One hundred pounds and Robert Scot and John McDaniel his securities Each acknowledged themselves indebted to our said Lord the King his heirs __ in the sum of fifty pounds to be Levied on their respective goods & Chattells Lands and Tenements in Case the sd Sevier be not of good behaviour for a year and a day now." (Augusta Co., VA Court Order Bk. 3, p. 449).

I thought this was very interesting. More research is needed.

State Legislature (Tennessee), House of Representatives Report, Tuesday, November 8, 1803

Fraudulent land grants in NC in the names of: Valentine Sevier Jun., Valentine Sevier Sen., Joseph Sevier Sen., John Sevier Jun., John Goad Sen. (and others including William Clark), all dated September 16th, 1779, and all in the hand writing of John Sevier, . . . one hundred and five thousand, six hundred acres of land have been fraudulently obtained by John Sevier, from Landon Carter. (The Tennessee Gazette and Metro-District Advertiser (Nashville, TN), 30 Nov 1803, Wed · Page 1 <https://www.newspapers.com/image/586267075/?terms=Sevier&match=1>)

Mention of this land fraud on Wikipedia:

During his first term as governor, Sevier developed a rivalry with rising politician Andrew Jackson. In 1796, Jackson campaigned for the position of major-general of the state militia but Sevier threw his support behind George Conway.[8]: 211 Jackson learned that Sevier had referred to him as a "poor pitiful petty fogging lawyer" in private correspondence.[8]: 213 In 1797, Jackson, then serving as a U.S. Senator, learned that fraud had taken place in the 1780s at what was then North Carolina's Nashville land office. He notified the governor of North Carolina. When the governor demanded the office's documents, Sevier blocked their transfer. Jackson concluded that Sevier was somehow involved in the scandal.[15]: 34 <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Sevier#cite_note-langsdon-15>

Children

Their children included:[citation needed]

John, b. 23 Sep 1745 (first Governor of Tennessee).

Valentine.

Robert Sevier.

Mary (Polly), m. Rutherford.

Catherine, m. Matlock.

Abraham Sevier.

Joseph Sevier. [not to be confused with his nephew b. 1763]

Research Notes

Needs Style Review: This entire profile needs to be reviewed for style. The Biography content should be reduced to facts that are reliably sourced, everthing else moved to the Research Notes. Alternate and disputed facts should be discussed in the Research Notes. The Sources should be scrubbed of their listings of facts, those moved to the Biography or Research Notes with citations. Secondary sources should be reviewed to determine what value they add to the profile where primary sources are cited. Several unreliable sources are listed and should be removed unless they cite reliable, primary, contemporaneous sources. The notes in Free-Space Page Research Notes need to be reviewed for incorporation or deletion. Spratlin-29 13:42, 21 May 2024 (UTC)

Vital Statistics

Name

An unsourced middle name of Smith was previously listed.

Birth

His birth is listed in the data field and Biography as 1 February 1712/3 in St. Giles Parish, Cripplegate, London, England. This is based on the christening record cited (image also attached) which names his parents, the same persons attached to this profile as his parents. The image of the christening record obscures the christening date; it appears to be between 10-15 February 1712/3 based on the entries before and after.

Alternate Births

The below alternate birth dates mostly lack primary, contemporaneous sources. Each should be sourced, analyzed, and evaluated against the christening record and other sources upon which his Birth is currently based. Spratlin-29 13:42, 21 May 2024 (UTC)

1702 in London[15] [secondary source, primary source not cited]

At this year's Sevier Family Reunion, we were told that a family member traveled to London, England and found corroborating records that Valentine Sevier, Sr. "the Immigrant" was born 1 February 1702. no proof offered. (Which year? Told by who to whom?)[citation needed]

In the 1800s a man named Lyman Draper, interviewed the descendants of Revolutionary War soldiers. Gov/Gen John Sevier's son Col George Washington Sevier was interviewed, and he stated that he thought that Valentine was about 100 years old when he died in 1803 in Carter County Tennessee. He was wrong about the age. So people have just subtracted 100 from the date of death to arrive at the abt 1703 birth date.

1712 based on the memorial in Tennessee.[4]

There is proof that he may have been born in 1712, as stated on this memorial erected in his honor (but that is made confusing by the in images in the Huguenot Church which shows the year of birth as 1702).[citation needed]

Pamela D Sevier has a copy of the original baptism record from the Guildhall Library.[citation needed]

Marriages

The marriage date of Valentine and Joannah (Goad) Sevier (abt.1723-abt.1773) is estimated from the birth of their son John Sevier Sr. (1745-1815), (1745-1="about" 1744).

The marrage date of Valentine and Jemima (Russell) Sevier (abt.1724-abt.1799), "about" 1782", is unsourced.

Disputed 2nd Marriage

There is some dispute as to the maiden or married name of the woman he remarried. Her name was Jemima, but some believe it to be Young, while still others suggest that she was Jemima Douglas widow, maiden name, Russell, the mother-in-law of his son, Val, Jr..

Note: The name 'Jemima Young' came from the Last Will & Testament

Added Note: by April L. Payne It should also be noted she was NOT listed as his wife. Speculation has it, she was either a daughter of his new wife, or a granddaughter.

Father's Origin

Valentine's father was a Huguenot who had fled from France to London as his Protestant views were at odds with the state religion. He was the first to assume the English form "Sevier," although he was perhaps the fourth or fifth Valentine in that direct line.[3]

Unsourced Residence

Valentine Sevier II and Joanna Goad Sevier settled in Culpepper Co., Va, moving later to Rockingham County, Va, where John Sevier, their eldest child, was born September 23, 1745. Valentine Sevier arrived in Watauga Settlement, December 25, 1773 accompanied by 5 sons and 3 daughters to join his son Valentine lll. Immigrated to United States about 1740 in Orange County, Virginia. He took the oath of allegiance on August 27, 1778.(No source linked, from Ancestry)

Review Sourced Residence

Residence: Shenandoah Valley, VA (no year listed)[2]

Free-Space Page Research Notes

Additional Research Notes contained in a large block of hidden text in this profile were moved to the free-space page Valentine Sevier Sr. Research Notes on 15 November 2022, and need to be reviewed for incorporation or deletion.

Sources

↑ 1.0 1.1 London Metropolitan Archives; London, England; Church of England Parish Registers, 1538-1812, Baptism record of Valentine Sevier, 1712; Reference Number: P69/GIS/A/002/MS06419/014; #S817452267. Local image.

↑ 2.0 2.1 Karns, T.C. (1904). "The Coming of Sevier." Tennessee History Stories, (pp.50). B.F. Johnson Publishing Co. E-book.

↑ 3.0 3.1 Armstrong, Zella. Notable Southern Families (Chattanooga, TN: The Lookout Publishing Co., 1918), pp. 6-8, 180-190, 198-200.

↑ 4.0 4.1 Valentine Sevier "The Immigrant" 1712-1803. Citizen Memorial on Waymarking.com (Waymarking.com : accessed 17 Jun 2019).

↑ Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History, 1918

Text: "his farm on the Nolichucky with slave labor. His father, Valentine Sevier, died December 30, 1803, one hundred years old. Sevier, like Andrew Jackson, was a good business man, and..."

Date: 1918

Place: Tennessee, USA

↑ Source: Find A Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 21 September 2018), memorial page for Valentine Sevier (1 Feb 1702–30 Dec 1803), Find A Grave: Memorial #7443100, citing Carter Cemetery, Elizabethton, Carter County, Tennessee, USA ; Maintained by Dustin Oliver (contributor 37143366) .

↑ "Tennessee, Wills and Probate Records, 1779-2008," database with images, Ancestry (Ancestry Image : accessed 17 Jun 2019) entry for Valentine Sevier, 1799; citing Tennessee County, District and Probate Courts.

↑ Wills, 1794-1937; Author: Tennessee County Court (Carter County); Probate Place: Carter, Tennessee; #S818247378.

↑ "Tennessee, Wills and Probate Records, 1779-2008," database with images, Ancestry (Ancestry Image : accessed 17 Jun 2019) entry for Valentine Sevier, 12 Mar 1799; citing Tennessee County, District and Probate Courts. Note: Handwritten Will. Condition: There was an ink blotch that was smeared where the executor information is.

↑ 10.0 10.1 Virginia, Compiled Census and Census Substitutes Index, 1607-1890 Ancestry Record 3578 #32941071; S817536209. Text: Vallentine Severe, Frederick County, Virginia, Rental Rolls, 1759, Database: Virginia Early Census Index.

↑ Fulcher, Richard Carlton. 1770-1790 Census of the Cumberland Settlements; S818247379

↑ Tennessee, Early Tax List Records, 1783-1895 Ancestry.com S817384494. Ancestry Image Text: Valentine Sevier, 1796, No Township listed, Carter County, Tennessee, TN Early Census Index.

↑ Tennessee, Early Tax List Records, 1783-1895 Ancestry.com S817384494. Ancestry Image Text: Valentine Sevier Junior, 1797, Carter, Tennessee.

↑ Tennessee, Compiled Census and Census Substitutes Index, 1810-1891 Ancestry.com Ancestry Record 3574 #29497630 S817406419. TEXT:

Name: Valentine Jr. Sevier

State: TN

County: Carter County

Township: No Township Listed

Year: 1798

Record Type: Tax list

Database: TN Early Census Index

↑ J. Houston Harrison, Settlers By The Long Grey Trail, Some Pioneers to Old Augusta County, Virginia, and Their Descendants, of the Family of Harrison and Allied Lines (Dayton, Virginia: 1935), p146; digital images, FamilySearch (book).

See also:

North America, Family Histories, 1500-2000 Ancestry.com; S817631492

Scott, W. W. A History of Orange County, Virginia. Baltimore, MD: Clearfield Co., 1990. Transcript

Bailey, Rev. J. D.. Commanders at Kings Mountain. Gaffney, SC: E. H. DeCamp, 1926.

Virginia, Land, Marriage, and Probate Records, 1639-1850; S817787017.

U.S. and Canada, Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s; Ancestry.com (https://tinyurl.com/yaxh6jfd)

Name: Valentine Sevier

Arrival year:1742

Arrival Place:Virginia

Primary Immigrant: Sevier, Valentine

Source Publication Code: 2302

Annotation: Persons who proved their importation to obtain

"head rights" to land in the Colony. Also in no. 0720, Boyer,

Ship Passenger Lists, the South, pp. 91-95. And see nos. 5831,

Morton; and 3816, King.

Source Bibliography: FRY, PHILIP H. "Importations." In William

Wallace Scott's, A History of Orange County, Virginia, from Its

Formation in 1734 (O.S.) to the End of Reconstruction in 1870....

Richmond [Va.]: Everett Waddey Co., 1907, pp. 225-229.

Reprinted by Chesapeake Book Co., Berryville, Va., 1962, and by

Regional

Publishing, Baltimore, 1974.

Household Members:

Name Relation

Valentine Sevier

(*Emphasis (bold) Mine.: April L. Payne}

Settlers By the Long Grey Trail, page 144: "Sevier was the son of Valentine Xavier (French for Sevier), a Huguenot, who upon revocation of the Edict of Nantes, (1685) fled to London, where he became a prosperous merchant. He married an English girl, named Mary Smith. Valentine, the immigrant, was born in London, in 1702. He married Joanna Goade (or Good), Of Virginia, about 1744, by whom he had seven children: John, Robert, Joseph, Valentine, Abraham, Polly and Catherine. He moved to the Watauga settlement in Tenn. December 25, 1773, and died in 1803. (See, Notable Southern Families, Vol. IV, The Sevier Family, by Zella Armstrong, 1926.) He owned various tracts of land on Smiths Creek and the North Fork of the Shenandoah."

Find A Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 17 June 2019), memorial page for Valentine “The Immigrant” Sevier, II (1 Feb 1702–30 Dec 1803), Find A Grave: Memorial #7443100, citing Carter Cemetery, Elizabethton, Carter County, Tennessee, USA ; Maintained by Dustin Oliver (contributor 37143366). S817362641

Sevier, C. B. and Madden, N. S. S.. Sevier Family History. Washington, D. C.: N. S. Madden. 1961.

Abstract of Graves of Revolutionary Patriots Hatcher, Patricia Law. S817598379

Saint Giles Parish Records

U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900 Yates Publishing Publication: Ancestry.com Operations Inc. S817407508 Note: This is an aggregated source including records from family group sheets (family trees).

Family Data Collection - Births Edmund West, comp. S817472670. Note: This is an aggregated source including records from family group sheets (family trees).

Family Data Collection - Deaths Edmund West, comp. S817472743. Note: This is an aggregated source including records from family group sheets (family trees).

Family Data Collection - Marriages Edmund West, comp. Publication: S817568699. Note: This is an aggregated source including records from family group sheets (family trees).

U.S., Sons of the American Revolution Membership Applications, 1889-1970

DAR Application Julia Sue Herring Barry, Transcript Book Title: Lineage Book : NSDAR : Volume 027 : 1898 ; #S817631492.

WORK FAMILY HISTORY AND BIOGRAPHY FROM THE BEGINNING, COMPILED BY LOU ANNIE WORK BURTON, page 90.

Sons of the American Revolution Application, U.S., Sons of the American Revolution Membership Applications, 1889-1970 for Valentine Sevier.

"Historical Register and Dictionary of the U. S. Army to 1903" published 1903 compiled by Francis B. Heitman.

"Annals of Tennessee" written by Dr. J. G. M. Ramsay, published by Philadelphia in 1860 pp. 703-712.

"Notable Southern Families --- The Sevier Family, Vol. IV" by Zella Armstrong, published 1926.

"The East Tennessee Historical Societies Publications" (Knoxville 1939) Vol. II, pp 118-119.

"The Chronicle of Oklahoma," Vol. XXXIX, No. , pp 42-53, Spring 1961 Article entitled "William L. McClellan."

Will of Valentine Sevier of Carter Co., TN, dated 12 Mar 1799. Tennessee, County Court (Carter County); Wills, 1796-1915, (Image 1796 of 2209), Film 2117897 Item 2. <https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S7WF-SJ1Z-Y9?i=1795&cc=1619127&cat=832809>.

Will proven in Court, 13 Feb 1805. Tennessee, County Court (Carter County); Minutes 1804-1829, p. 157. (Image 86 of 755), Film 847613. <https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSKJM9XX-T?i=85&cat=286697>. Find a Grave and other sources give his date of death as 30 Dec 1803 with no documentation. The fact his will was proven more than a year after that date suggests he may actually have died in early 1805 or perhaps late 1804.'