John Templeton, Sr.

John Templeton, Sr. was probably born in PA. His father, James Templeton, Sr., once lived in East Nottingham, Chester Co. PA. The family eventually left PA and traveled on the Great Wagon Road to present day Iredell Co. NC.

James Templeton, Sr. owned land on Davidson's Creek in present day Iredell Co. NC (formerly Rowan Co. NC). John Sr. married Margaret Graham. John Sr. was listed on the August 30, 1767 will of his father-in-law William Graham. John Templeton, Sr. and his wife Margaret (Graham) Templeton had a 1766 land grant of 300 acres dated either April 25, 1766 , or September 25, 1766 in Mecklenburg Co. NC (the land grant date is difficult to read). The land evidently fell into Tryon Co. upon its creation in 1769. Before 1769, many land owners were confused and were not certain if their land was in NC , or SC. There is a Tryon Co. land deed dated February 1, 1770 of John Templeton and wife Margaret of Rowan Co. NC selling this land deed. Was this a SC headright land grant, or patent? It is possible that headright patents might indicate the number of individuals living in the household at this time (head of household 100 acres, every other individual in the household 50 acres each).

John Templeton, Sr. and Margaret owned land in Rowan Co. NC on 1771 and perhaps before 1771. The land was on Davidson's Creek NC. Proof of the land comes from a land grant dated 14 November 1778 Entry #1382, John Templeton, 640 acres on the Waters of Davidson's Creek adjacent to his own improvements and running agreeable to a former survey on said land. The term improvement was defined by law as having lived on the land at least seven years prior to the entry date. This later resulted in State Grant #204 dated 21 March 1780 to John Templeton, 640 acres on Davidson's Creek. His wife Margaret (Graham) Templeton was named administrator of his estate on November 6, 1788. John Templeton, Sr. and his son John Templeton, Jr. fought in the Revolutionary War. This information is documented in the book Duty First. In the Battle of Kings Mountain, John Sr. and John Jr. joined forces with the Overmountain Men. They probably joined forces at one of the campsites of the Overmountain Men. The Overmountain Men traveled many days before reaching King's Mountain. This campsite was probably located closest to their home on Davidson's Creek in present day Iredell Co. NC. The Overmountain Men had settled into the wilderness west of the Appalachian Mountains Ridge line. The Overmountain Men were skilled hunters, woodsmen and above all "riflemen" who routinely killed fast moving animals to feed themselves. Many Patriot irregulars fought at the Battle of Kings Mountain. The British Major Patrick Ferguson sent a message to the Overmountain Men, " If you do not desist your opposition to the British Arms, I will march this army over the mountains, hang your leaders and lay waist your country with fire and sword." In response, the Patriot militias rallied for an attack on Ferguson. The vast majority of the Patriots traveled by horse. Some of the Patriot's walked. The Patriots caught up with Ferguson and his army at Kings Mountain. The Patriots routed the British with a totally devastating defeat. Ferguson was shot from his horse. At least seven Patriots shot Ferguson. Many other Patriots claimed to have shot him. Ferguson's body was found with eight musket holes in it. Ferguson had utterly underestimated the courage of the Overmountain Men. The book Duty First documents this information on page 71, " It is tradition that the elder John, a standard bearer, who was probably designated ensign in those days, while carrying the flag at the battle of Kings Mountain was shot from under it; and that his son John seized the flag and carried it on through the battle." Enzena (Smith) Williams wrote the book Duty First. She documented that John Sr. was shot from under the flag. She did not document that he was killed at the Battle of Kings Mountain. Thomas Jefferson recalled the Battle of Kings Mountain as "the joyful annunciation of that turn of the tide of success which terminated the Revolutionary War." Theodore Roosevelt wrote of Kings Mountain, " This brilliant victory marked the turning point of the American Revolution." Many of the same forces that fought at Kings Mountain fought in the victory of Cowpens on January 17, 1781. Note 1: There are many different and differing rosters of soldiers that fought at the Battle of Kings Mountain. Even a park ranger at Kings Mountain mentioned that the official roster is likely incomplete. The book One Heroic Hour At King's Mountain by Pat Alderman documents this information "No accurate tabulation of the number of killed or wounded Americans is available. Several men were detailed for this mission but their count did not agree. This Army, made up of many small companies who kept their own rolls have been lost or misplaced." Note 2: On page 71 of the book Duty First, Enzena (Smith) Williams writes, "Now that the years have rolled by, it seems a pity the world cannot hear this singular story a disrupted, great love, which occurred among the perversities of war, catalogued among the noble excuses and consolations of war as the irony of fate. Among those that settled in the mountainous section of Middle Tennessee at an early date was John Templeton of Scott-Irish extraction. His father was also named John, and both father and son fought in the Revolutionary War." On page 168, hardback edition, of the book John Templeton of North Iredell Co. NC and Related Families of Handy, Marks, Folk, Piclher, Coylar, Bate and Beall, the author, writes these words, "several established facts about John and Margaret's son John. First, in 1790, he was living with his mother in York Co. SC, after the death of his father, and that he was in York Co. South Carolina in 1804 when he sold his father's land in Iredell Co. Secondly, he married Nancy Hawkins and died and was buried in White Co. TN." It should be noted that the author of the book likely used the 1790 York Co. SC Census to assume that John Templeton, Jr. was living in the home of his mother Margaret Templeton in 1790. However, the 1790 York Co. SC Census only lists the name of the head of household. Other possible members of the household, children, aunt's, uncle's, extended family members and their children, even friend's and their children living in the household are not identified by name and are only listed in a wide age range. Also, the 1790, York Co. SC Census would not take into consideration, or list members of Margaret Templeton's family that have already matured and left her home. It appears the author only assumed, without verifiable documentation, that John Templeton, Jr. was living in the household of his mother, Margaret Templeton, in York Co. SC in 1790. The use of early census records can often be very ambiguous and inaccurate. John Templeton, Jr. was physically, with documentation, in York Co. SC in April of the year 1804 when he signed his name to the document of the sale of the land of his father John Templeton, Sr. Margaret (Graham) Templeton moved from the Davidson's Creek land in Iredell Co. NC to York Co. SC after the death of her husband and before the 1790 York Co. SC Census. Her mother, Jean Graham, lived in York Co. SC. Note 3: Iredell Co. NC deed book E, page 356, 3 April 1804, Margaret, William, James, John, Ezekul and Thomas the widow and sons of John Templeton deceased sold land on Davidson's Creek. Note 4: One or more individuals have mistakenly speculated that James Templeton, Jr. was the father of John Templeton, Jr. This James Templeton Jr. had a will in White Co. TN. It was dated 18 December 1816, proved 20 January 1817. However, this James Templeton, Jr. was not the father of John Templeton, Jr. This James Templeton, Jr. was the uncle of John Templeton, Jr. It is an established fact that John Templeton, Sr. and Margaret (Graham) Templeton were the parents of John Templeton Jr.

The name of the mother of John Templeton, Sr. is not presently known. Also, the names of his siblings in the above biography are incorrect. It is not known how this information made its way into this biography of John Templeton, Sr.  His known siblings were Robert (probably), James Jr., Joseph, George, Nathaniel, Jane (Templeton) Callahan and Elizabeth (Templeton) McDowell.(R.C.T. 7/21/20) 

===References=== The book Duty First