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Note: Date and Place of Death are per DAR Records.
Revolutionary War soldier, North Carolina Militia.
Battle of King's Mountain, Battle of Musgroves Mill.
Son of Henry Isbell Jr.:
Loose Civil Action Papers for Wilkes County, North Carolina (State Archives, Raleigh), this handwritten document:
"Dr Sirs, I am informed by Squire Isbell that the suit brought by me against my son Godfrey Isbell goes on at my expense which much astonishes me but hope that you will excuse my ignorance not knowing your rules laws modes or other forms but pray dismiss the s Read More uite which will ? under ? obligations Yr very friend ? Henry Isbell
Ye 22 of January 1784".
Squire Isbell may refer to Thomas Isbell but could also refer to Zachariah Isbell.
The King's Mountain Men by Katherine White, p.192: "Godfrey (Isbell) served under Sevier. At a militia meeting of March 19, 1780 there were present Colonel John Sevier, Major Jonathan Tipton, Captains Godfrey Isbell, John McNabb, James Stinson, William Trimble, and Joseph Wilson, and Lieutenant Landon Carter, acting in the absence of Captain Valentine Sevier. It was ordered that 100 men be raised agreeable to the command of General Rutherford, to serve in South Carolina. These men were at Musgrove's mill as well as King's Mountain."
The Patriots at King's Mountain (1990) by Bobby Gilmer Moss, p. 285: Francis Isbell, GODFREY ISBELL, Livingston Isbell, Thomas Isbell, William Isbell and Zachary Isbell. James Isbell (p.133), Pendleton Isbell (p.134).
September 25, 1780: 1,100 militiamen mustered at Sycamore Shoals (Elizabethton), Tennessee, adjacent to Fort Watauga. Colonel William Campbell arrived with 400 Virginians from the Holston Valley. Colonel Benjamin Cleveland and Major Joseph Winston brought men from the Yadkin Valley in Wilkes and Surry counties, N.C. Col. Isaac Shelby brought 240 militiamen from N.C.; Colonel John Sevier provided approximately 200-250 men including his local militia. No muster list has been preserved showing the names of the Watauga militiamen who went to Kings Mountain but historians such as Katherine White and Worth S. Ray have made extrapolations and taken family and oral histories to compile partial rosters. Indeed, it strains credibility to believe that Col. Sevier's 200-250 militiamen would not have included Capt. Godfrey Isbell, Lt. Zachary Isbell and other militiamen known to have served under Col. Sevier the same year.
Godfrey Isbell was a son of Henry Isbell Jr. and Hannah Isbell of Virginia.
Exact grave site uncertain but thought to be buried at Maple Hill, reputedly the oldest cemetery in Huntsville. Although formally established by deed recorded in 1822, the oldest intact grave marker appears to be that of Mary Frances Atwood who died in 1820.
Some list his wife as Martha Milton, others as Hannah Clark. He probably married twice or more.
Some show his death as 1812.
1771 (1781?), Charlotte, Albermarle Co., Va.
Godfrey Isbell, Thomas Isbell <http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=49391937>, and Pendleton Isbell posted a bond of 50,000.00 lbs for Godfrey's appearance in court to answer to the charge "that he did beat and ill treat David Gordon." (ref., John Carlton of Orange County and Albemarle County, Virginia by George H. Caldwell, p. 198). Recited in numerous other references.
50,000 pounds today is about $83,575.00 in U.S. dollars and was an excessive bond for 1771-81. According to one online price-value calculator, $83,000 U.S. dollars today was worth (in 1774) at least $2.47 million.
1774 - Godfrey Isbell was in Ninety-Six District, SC
1775: Godfrey Isbell was in Craven Dist., S.C., where his uncle Zachariah Isbell had received land in 1754.
"INDENTURE, 10 Jan. 1775 between Robert Shirley or Craven County (S.C.), planter, and Jane, his wife, and Mary Shirley, his mother, of the one part to Andrew Cunningham, planter, of the other part for the sum of four hundred fifty pounds, hath granted 350 a. of land, it being the plantation on which said Robert Shirley and Mary Shirley now live, it being a part of 500 a. of land which was originally granted unto Richard Shirley, dec'd, which was the said Robert Shirley's father and the said Mary Shirley's husband, situate in Craven or Berkley Co. on Raburn Creek waters of Reedy and Saluda Rivers, which land was granted unto the said Richard Shirley by Hon. Lord Chas, Granville Montague, Commander in Chief of the Province of S.C., 15 Feb. 1769, signed, Robert Shirley, Jane Shirley and Mary Shirley, wit. David Cunningham, Godfrey Isbell and Joseph Pinson.
"MEMORANDUM: Abbeville Co. S.C, 5 Sep. 1788, David Cunningham made oath to their signatures. Note that some thirteen years had elapsed before he made oath as a wit. to their sig. This was not unusual in those days, but may have been about the time the place was sold again.
"The Shirley plantation located on Raburn Creek on Saluda River, was near what was later called "Shirley Town" on the line of Abbeville and Laurens Counties. Turkey Creek Baptist Church, organized 22 Jan. 1785, was near and of the original members more than half were of the name Shirley, ref. Royal land grants Columbia S.C, Laurens Co. Deed Book C, p. 53, Turkey Creek Baptist Church Minutes Book, p. 1." (CHAMBLEE, FISHER, GRUBBS , HUGHES, ROBINSON, SHIRLEY, SPEER AND TRIBBLE FAMILIES OF THE SOUTH by Ethel S. Updike, p.198.)
FIRST FAMILIES OF TENNESSEE
1778 - Godfrey Isbell was in Washington County, NC (now Tennessee). He went to the Watauga Settlement in Tennessee where his uncle Zachariah Isbell was among the earliest settlers. Descendants qualify for membership in the First Families of Tennessee (East Tennessee Historical Society).
March 19, 1780: Washington County, N.C. (Tennessee) Militia officers included Godfrey Isbell.
NC Patriots 1775-1783: Their Own Words, Volume 2, Part 2
By J.D. Lewis, pp.458, 498, 508, 826, 1137: Capt. Godfrey Isbell.
P. 508: Isbell, Godfrey. Wilkes (Co., N.C.) 1780-82, a Captain under Col. Benjamin Cleveland and Col. Elijah Isaacs. 1780, also a Captain under Maj. Jonathan Tipton (Washington County Regiment). Battles: Musgrove's Mill.
Oct. 7, 1780: He served in the Battle of King's Mountain.
March 1781: Godfrey Isbell served on jury in Wilkes County, NC. See: County Court Records 1778-97, Wilkes County, North Carolina (2014) by James Alan Williams.
Feb. 21, 1782: Godfrey Isbell was bondsman for his first cousin Thomas Isbell <http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=49391937> when Thomas married Discretion Howard in Wilkes County, N.C. This couple was described as once Presbyterian by descendant Zella Armstrong, though buried at Grandin Baptist Church, Caldwell County, N.C., and at one time members of King's Creek Baptist Church in Wilkes County, N.C. Zella Armstrong, herself Presbyterian, also stated that they left Virginia for North Carolina when early Baptists were persecuted in Virginia.
August 10, 1783, Wilkes Co., N.C.: warrant issued in death of John Chapman, killed in a fight in December on Isbell property according to "the Chapman family history" (one reference says Anderson Family History). According to the family history, Chapman was "cutting down a Christmas tree for his children" and the Isbell brothers considered him trespassing. Morgan District, North Carolina Superior Court, Part 1: Criminal Action Papers Book IV, #69 & 81.
According to the late researcher Ethlyn Rainey, old newspaper accounts stated Godfrey and his younger brother Pendleton Isbell (born 1757) were both involved in the "brawl" and both were released when it could not be determined which brother was responsible for the death. (This would be the only known documentation proving that Pendleton Isbell was the son of Henry Isbell Jr. and Hannah, but is NOT verified by extant records. The proof may be found in Mrs. Rainey's records which are being microfilmed and are ultimately to be placed in Samford University, Birmingham, AL.) Capt. Pendleton Isbell later was a member of George Washington's guard during the Revolution. Godfrey Isbell is named in James Isbell's estate records along with other children of Henry and Hannah.
Wilkes County, NC: North Carolina State Archives has three small documents regarding Godfrey and Henry Isbell. One of the documents has Henry Isbell bringing suit against Godfrey for £72. But a later document from Henry Isbell requests that, as he has learned from "Squire Isbell" (either Pendleton or Zachariah Isbell) that he would have to pay the court costs, he wished to drop the suit "against his son, Godfrey Isbell."
Wilkes Co., N.C. Records 1781-84 show Thomas Isbell numerous times referred to as Squire Isbell.
See 1771 Charlotte Co., VA. record above (should be 1781?).
1789 - Pendleton District, SC
1790 Federal Census: Pendleton Dist., S.C.
1793: South Carolina (Savannah River Valley, near the Georgia state line)
Anderson County South Carolina Deeds on 13 February 1794, Godfrey Isbell "of Franklin County, Georgia" sold 100 acres on the Tugalo River branch waters in South Carolina to James Alexander. No dower was given at that time, but later the dower relinquishment by his wife, Hannah was added. (Anderson Co. South Carolina Deeds Bk G, 145-146).
FIRST FAMILIES OF KENTUCKY
Descendants of Godfrey's uncle Zachariah Isbell qualify for membership in the FFK, but as Godfrey did not arrive until after 1792, descent from Godfrey does not entitle descendants to membership except through the children whose spouses or spouses' parents were in Kentucky by 1792.
1794 - Madison County, KY
1797/98 - Lincoln County, KY
1799: Cumberland County, Kentucky Tax List
1799: Cumberland Co., KY (Kentucky Tax Lists 1799-1801 database)
1799: Green Co., Kentucky
GREEN CO., KY LAND ENTRIES 1796-1834:
13 May 1799:
"Godfrey ISBELL, 843, Beaver Creek."
1800: Cumberland Co., Kentucky
1801-04: Wayne Co., Kentucky
1807 - Warren County, TN (citation)
1808: Godfrey was living in Warren County, Tennessee, where he was a member of the first Warren County Court. His land adjoined the land of James Gailey.
1808 White Co., TN: "NC and TN Early Land Records 1753-1931" database (24 Aug 1808)
March 19, 1811: Minutes of Cumberland Presbytery: At Big Spring, Wilson County, Tennessee: Godfrey Isbell, representative from Liberty Congregation.
The Cumberland Presbytery was founded as a denomination of the Presbyterian Church in 1810 in Dickson County, Tennessee in 1810.
The obituary of Godfrey's son Jabez' daughter Lucinda Isbell Bookman states that she joined Cumberland Presbytery "early in life," so Jabez was probably Prebyterian also.
The First Presbyterian Church of Huntsville was not established until 1818.
FIRST FAMILIES OF ALABAMA
1811: Godfrey Isbell sold land in Warren County, TN, in when he moved to Madison County, Alabama (then Mississippi Territory).
An early but undated map of the Huntsville area drawn by John Coffee shows two tracts of land owned by Godfrey Isbell.
1812: Three records of a man or men named Godfrey Isbell in the War of 1812 in Virginia are not likely the same Capt. Godfrey Isbell as these were all enlisted as privates:
Name: Godfry Isbell
Company: 1 Reg't (Clarke's) VIRGINIA MILITIA.
Rank - Induction: PRIVATE
Rank - Discharge: PRIVATE
Name: Godfrey Isbell
Company: 7 REG'T (GRAY'S) VIRGINIA MILITIA.
Rank - Induction: PRIVATE
Rank - Discharge: CORPORAL
Roll Box: 108
Roll Exct: 602
Name: Godfrey Isbell
Company: 8 REG'T (WALL'S) VIRGINIA MILITIA.
Rank - Induction: PRIVATE
Rank - Discharge: PRIVATE
Roll Box: 108
Roll Exct: 602
One or all three could have been Godfrey Isbell Jr. (born circa 1780)
1813: Hannah Isbell was listed on the tax lists for Madison County, AL. Some think this Hannah was Godfrey's widow. If so, he died 1812-13.
1815: Hannah and Jeptha Vining Isbell were on the tax list for Madison County.
1816: In November 1816, Jabez Isbell was issued letters of administration on the estate of Godfrey Isbell at the Orphans Court of Madison County, AL. "Jabez probably applied to become administrator of the estate after the death of Hannah Isbell."(per Sarah Coon)
November 1816: Jabez Isbell was issued letters of administration on the estate of Godfrey Isbell at the Orphans Court of Madison County, AL. Hannah may have died by this time. (Madison County Probate Case 892 1816; appraisers of estate appointed; an inventory from 1817 has not been located.)
Some of the early Madison County books have been lost and only the indexes survived. But in recent years a large trove of records was found in storage, so the missing books may turn up.
1816: The estate of Godfrey Isbell was inventoried by John Birdwell, one of the founders of Enon Baptist Church (First Baptist Church of Huntsville), 1809. Two of John Birdwell's daughters married grandsons of Capt. Godfrey Isbell's first cousin, Zachariah Isbell Jr. Enon in 1810 was located a few hundred yards north of the present terminal of the North Huntsville Executive Airport. The small building, exact location unknown, was "close to the river bank
affording a convenient place for baptismal services. For some reason, perhaps a shortage of funds, construction was halted short of completion. Almost two years later, Feb. 6, 1813, a new committee was named...to complete the work, and while there was apparently no fanfare to herald its conclusion, the structure was finished and in 1815 did accommodate the second annual meeting of the Flint River Association."
Godfrey Isbell was NOT shown in the membership records of that Baptist Church.
Descendants qualify for membership in the First Families of Alabama (Alabama Genealogical Society).
Annals of Tennessee (1853) by James G.M. Ramsey, p.212
History of Cumberland County (1947) by J.W. Wells, p.35.
Tennessee Cousins by Worth S. Ray
The King's Mountain Men by Katherine White, page 192
The Overmountain Men (1986) by Pat Alderman, p.59
The Patriots at King's Mountain (1990) by Bobby Gilmer Moss, p.285
History of Tennessee by Goodspeed, p. 455
Revolutionary Virginia: The Road to Independence by
Brent Tartar, p. 357
LINEAGE:
1 John Isbell (England to Gloucester County, Virginia by 1664), presumptive father of
2 William Isbell of Isbell Spring, St. John's Parish, King William County; father of William Jr., Henry
+ wife unknown; next door to Enfield Plantation
3 Henry Isbell b.c1690 of Orange Co.; constable of Caroline Co., d. c1760
+ daughter of "James Cox, Gent.," d c1739 St. Mark's Parish, Orange Co. (July 25, 1733; Spots Orders, 7 Aug, p.240); sons: William, James, Henry Jr., Zachariah; possibly others
4 Henry Isbell Jr.
+ Hannah (Borton?)
5 Capt. Godfrey Isbell
+ Hannah Clark
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