The Pioneers of Tazewell County, Virginia

And a Look at Some Important Maps

Introduction

The information provided today is relevant to my earlier posts about Lewis Green and others, including Daniel Boone, who settled in the Clinch River Valley. The geography is important, and I’m taking a close look at it because it is not that familiar to me. The Clinch River Valley is in Tazewell County, Virginia, which borders West Virginia. Many of our ancestors spent some time here before moving into West Virginia or beyond.

First of all, we need to be aware of the Proclamation of 1763, which did not allow settlement beyond a certain line. Areas west of the line were reserved for the Indians. The map below shows that line, but it does not accurately reflect the “state” lines, so you’ll have to imagine Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina extending all the way to the Mississippi River, as in Map #2.

Map #1 The Proclamation of 1763

Map #2 “State” Lines as of 1763—This is a very important map.

Sometimes it gets really confusing because you may read of someone settling in Tennessee or Kentucky or North Carolina, when they were actually in, what was at that time, a totally different colony/state. Hopefully, the above map will help with that. It was just south of the Clinch River where Lewis Green was mauled by a bear. The area is sometimes referred to as Virginia and sometimes as North Carolina. Study the map carefully to orient yourself to the West Virginia locations that are familiar to you.

Below is a map of Tazewell County. The white area is current day West Virginia. See if you can find the Clinch River.

I am now going to include part of The History of Tazewell County and Southwest Virginia because I know you will recognize some of the names of the pioneers.

Ch. VI: Why Settlements Delayed in Clinch Valley (Also important)

Ch. VII: The Tazewell Pioneer Settlers

I am going to skip over this section about the wedding and go to the part about hunting. You can, of course, go directly to the page if you want to read more about the weddings.

Hunting, Especially Bears (beginning on page 253)

Read about the settlement of Fincastle and other parts of Tazewell County on pages 255-270. Many of the settlers are named.