Samson Strickland

Sampson Strickland, 10th child of Mathew Strickland (son of Mathew) & Ann Braswell, born abt 1724 in Isle of Wight, VA & died before 18 July 1781 probably in Wake County, NC. Married 1) unknown; perhaps she was Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas Taylor 2) Christiana.

Loyal to the Crown during the American Revolution.

References

• King, Forrest. “Descendants of Mathew Strickland (1648-1696) Through Four Generations,” North Carolina Genealogical Journal, Vol. 34, No. 2 (May 2008);111-142; Vol. 34, No. 3 (Aug. 2008):219-252; Vol. 34, No. 4 (Nov. 2008):293-326. http://www.stricklanddna.org/documents//mathew-strickland-four-gene... Page 8, Page 27
• http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/STRICKLAND/2000-05/09...
• http://loyalistsandpatriots.org/loyalists/
• GEDCOM Source familyMain 7.20.2002.FTW Source Medium: Other Date of Import: Oct 10, 2002
• Reference: MyHeritage Family Trees - SmartCopy: Sep 15 2018, 23:14:31 UTC
• Reference: WikiTree Genealogy - SmartCopy: Nov 4 2020, 18:48:19 UTC

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Sampson Strickland of Wake County, North Carolina Contributed By: PatriciaBanks1 · 18 March 2014 · Source: Strickland Scene, Vol 7, No 2, 2nd Qtr. 1986, pgs 23, 24 (Strickland Scene material is not copyrighted)

SAMPSON STRICKLAND OF REVOLUTIONARY WAKE COUNTY, N. C.: A TALE OF TORY DETERMINATION Contributed by Franceine Perry Rees

A great many tragedies, and perhaps as many tales of courage and sacrifice, could be written if those of us who dig into our family's "roots" could learn the complete stories behind the written records of events in our ancestors' lives: We can only wonder about what motivated SAMPSON STRICKLAND, Sr., middle-aged husband and father, solid citizen and prosperous farmer, to stand up in the Wake County Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions in December, 1777, and steadfastly refuse to swear the Oath of Allegiance to the State of North Carolina. By his refusal, SAMPSON placed himself with the despised Loyalists and was therefore ordered to leave the state. In some parts of North Carolina, "Tories" were numerous and could support each other against revolutionary pressure; such was not the case in Wake County. The Oath, devised as part of the state's Treason Act of 1777, was unequivocal: "I will bear faithful and true Allegiance to the State of North Carolina, and will to the utmost of my power support and maintain, and defend the independent Government thereof, against George the Third, King of Great Britain, and his Successors. . . ."

Unlike other British sympathizers, SAMPSON STRICKLAND was not a recent immigrant to these shores; as the youngest son of MATTHEW STRICKLAND, Jr. and his wife ANNE BRACEWELL, he descended from several generations of Virginia colonists. His nearest tie to the pro-British Anglican clergy appears to have been no nearer than a maternal great-grandfather, Rev. ROBERT BRACEWELL, parson of the Lower Parish, Isle of Wight County, Virginia, whose death preceded SAMPSON’s birth by more than fifty years. Neither was he a merchant who profited from trade with the British. For whatever cause, even in the face of overwhelming opposition, this STRICKLAND found himself unable to renounce his loyalty to the English crown.

Carolina Citizen Born in 1723 in Isle of Wight County, Virginia, SAMPSON STRICKLAND moved south as a young man, receiving a Granville grant patent May 24, 1756 for 275 acres of land in what was then Johnston County, North Carolina. (The Powell Creek area where he settled was divided in 1770 to create Wake County.) Court records include more than a dozen references to SAMPSON thereafter: he recorded deeds, witnessed others' land transactions, registered his cattle brand. In addition to his agricultural pursuits, he accepted a number of civic responsibilities, serving as juror, caretaker of an orphan, road committee member, and read overseer. By the time colonial fervor for independence rose high, SAMPSON STRICKLAND must have been quite thoroughly settled among his Wake County neighbors, doubtless cherishing hope that eventual reconciliation with the mother country might be achieved. But as the strife between England and her colonies increased, it became impossible for North Carolinians to remain tacit royalists. A rather mild loyalty oath in which persons suspected of sympathizing with the crown swore not to bear arms against or otherwise oppose the revolutionary government “during the present unhappy contest between Great Britain and America” was ultimately replaced by a much more stringent avowal; all who lived with the colony that had proclaimed itself a state were to be compelled to declare their allegiance to it.

As 1777 drew to a close, SAMPSON STRICKLAND may have already –refused the oath in a muster of men in his militia district or he may have been singled out and summoned to court as a suspected British sympathizer. At any rate, two other men appeared in court the same day as SAMPSON; they each swore the oath and were given certificates as evidence that they had "complyed with the Law." SAMPSON STRICKLAND, however, defied the court, the law, and popular opinion:". . .being Cited to appear at this Court to take the Oath of All came into Court, and on said Oath being offered to him he refused serving whereupon the Court Pronounced his Banishment agreeable to Law."

Death in Exile? It is probable that SAMPSON was banished as ordered, but where he went remains a mystery. Did he go to the West Indies or to Nova Scotia, as did other Loyalists? Did any of his family go with him? Was any of his property confiscated? The records do not offer much information. In fact, SAMPSON died in exile, because his name does not appear in the court minutes was sentenced until after his death, when his widow CHRISTIANA reported inventory in July, 1781. In March of the next year, she received from the court permission to act as her husband's administratrix, posting bond for 700 pounds. In June the court accepted an account of the estate sale from the deputy sheriff (Buyers included CHRISTIANA, OBEDIAH, ABEL and HARDY STRICKLAND, along with SAMPSON STRICKLAND Jr.) In March, 1783, CHRISTIANA sought guardianship of her younger children ---ABEL, MARY ANNE, LOT, BRASWELL, and MATTHEW, for which she was required: to enter bond of 1,200 pounds. In May, 1784, OBEDIAH achieved his majority and purchased 250 acres of what had doubtless been his father's land from the deceased Tory's eldest son and namesake, SAMPSON, Jr.

CHRISTIANA, their mother, co-signed the deed with her mark. One of the witnesses, JOSEPH STRICKLAND, may have been another older son of SAMPSON the elder and CHRISTIANA. LOT STRICKLAND's December, 1784, will names his mother and brothers, BRASWELL and MATTHEW, with OBEDIAH as an executor and ABEL and JOSEPH as witnesses.

It is unlikely that many of SAMPSON STRICKLAND's legion descendants would agree that his refusal to support the new state was justified; history has certainly shown that the American Revolution was not only inevitable but beneficial. However, those of us who descend from this stubborn Wake County Tory should take some pride in his bravery, and hope that we might have inherited a modicum of that quality in his character which resulted in this sacrifice of home and a comfortable future for principles and loyalty. The Second Sampson The Loyalist tendencies of SAMPSON STRICKLAND, Sr. did not descend to his namesake. The younger SAMPSON (1752-1839) served two tours of active duty with the Wake County militia, according to documents in a pension claim filed by his children. Whether he went eagerly or reluctantly, this SAMPSON went off to battle against the British recalling to his family years later how at the Battle of Stone Ferry, South Carolina (1779) the bombshells were "playing about their heads like hail showers." A summary of the pension material appears in STRICKLAND SCENE, Vol. 7, No. 1, page 5.

The contributor has been granted membership in two lineage societies, based on the record of SAMPSON STRICKLAND, Sr.-- the Hereditary Order of Descendants of Loyalists and Patriots of the American Revolution and the new Society of Loyalist Descendants. Persons interested in these may write to her for further information--address 116 S.St., Greenville, N. C.27834.