The Wilson brothers’ Robert Wilson (Sr.) 1709-1794, Samuel Wilson (Sr.) 1711-1778, Zaccheus Wilson (Sr.) 1713-1796 and David Wilson (Sr.) 1729-1803 who then all by their own will(s) found make up the principal characters of the book, along with their associates who this book deals with, that along with their children & grandchildren that then became part of the State of Tennessee from its beginning June 15th 1796.
This book focuses on the experiences of officers and soldiers of the Continental army rather than of the militia. However, occasionally, the experiences of the militia are crucial to our understanding and are included where necessary. Historian Holly Mayer used the phrase ''Continental Community'' to embrace people such as wagoners and camp followers, mostly the wives and other female relatives of soldiers who lived, worked with, and were dependent on the army. The phrase serves us well, too, but for different purposes. The differences in treatment between militia and Continental service were distinct - especially in terms of punishment - and yet the men of each were frequently in close contact, and in sickness and at death, the men and their friends faced some of the same problems. The ways in which these differences were resolved are important and make it worth our while to keep both in view, as did the participants themselves.
As the author of this work; I have accumulated some 200 documents about Blevins Families in America and drawing on around an additional 400 pages of manuscript, I will be working to add additional information on the descendants of - William Blevins of Virginia – as these people are discovered - beginning with fifth generation descendants of the fourth American born generation. Therefore, anyone who can provide corrections or any additional Blevins information I hope they will do so by emailing me at [email protected] .
This fabulous work is a county-by-county guide to the genealogical records and resources at the Tennessee State Library and Archives in Nashville. Based largely on the Tennessee county records microfilmed by the LDS Genealogical Library, it is an inventory of extant county records and their dates of coverage. For each county the following data is given: formation, county seat, names and addresses of libraries and genealogical societies, published records (alphabetical by author), W.P.A. typescript records, microfilmed records (LDS), manuscripts, and church records. The LDS microfilm covers almost every record that could be used by the genealogist, from vital records to optometry registers, from wills and inventories to school board minutes. There also is a comprehensive list of statewide reference works.