Hi everybody,
Attached are some notes from my research this weekend into the Osborns. I
am sure that some of you have done Osborn research already and that none of
this will be news to you. There is a reference out there cited by many
called "Early Alleys and Osborns" which may be useful if anyone can find
it.
Highlights of what I found: Enoch Osborn and Zack Wells were living on
the New River which barely runs into North Carolina in what is now
Alleghany Co, was Ashe Co in 1799, (and fka Wilkes Co, Surry Co, Rowan
Co...). Enoch is found in records on both sides of the border during the
1790s. One of the Wilkes Co deeds refers to him as Enoch Osborn of Grayson
Co, VA. I am confident that he is an in-law, although probably not Zack's
father in law. In Jonathon Osborn's pension file, he mentions that he is
Enoch's brother and that their family moved into Montgomery (now Grayson
Co, VA) when he was a youth. That he was born in 1753 in the Yadkin Forks
of Rowan Co and moved when young to the "hollows of Surry Co., NC". I
believe that Caleb Osborn is his and Enoch's uncle and that James Osborn
would be their cousin. I have seen people list Ephraim Sr as Enoch's
father. Enoch was almost certainly older than Jonathon to have been named
the CPT of the unit, but I doubt that he would be old enough to be
Abigail's father who would have had to be born c.1735 or before.
As for the Tory Zack who was hanged, he was supposedly burried in the
banks of the Yadkin River. This would put some distance between him and
our Zack, but where he died wasn't necessarily where he lived. It is
curious though that Enoch would have anything to do with Zack if he were a
Tory considering that the Montgomery Militia's primary duty was hunting
down Tories running the ridges in the area (see John Osborn's pension
file). But I have seen people say that there were Penningtons who were
tories and we see Penningtons serving in Enoch's unit.
I was excited to see a Solomon Osborn in Lee Co living near Zack.
However, the Solomon who was supposedly a brother of Enoch was supposedly
killed by indians. (I need to find the source, it was a book on early
Grayson Co). Well, that's all for now.
John