Hey y'all,
According to North Carolina land grants and deed records, the Zachariah Wells "later
of Lee County, VA" received grants and deeds for land in what is today Ashe County
(originally Wilkes) starting in 1778 and ending in 1798 when he moved to Lee County, VA.
According to several accounts of the Revolutionary War in the area, a tory by the name of
Zachariah Wells was hanged by Col. Ben Cleveland in 1781 or 1782. This Zachariah Wells was
buried at Ferguson in Wilkes County on the "Wells Farm." I am beginning to
wonder about the veracity of the story. There are no records in either Ashe or Wilkes
County, North Carolina, of this "other" Zachariah Wells who was a Tory.
Additionally, All of the grants and deeds for land in North Carolina for the Zachariah
Wells later of Lee County, VA, were located next to the Virginia line in the Grassy Creek
district of what is now Ashe County. The distance from Ferguson to Grassy Creek is 48.3
miles, a huge distance in the 1780s. I suspect that the Zachariah Wells "later of Lee
County, VA" was probably a Tory. His farm bordered that of Micajah Pennington, a Tory
whose land was confiscated. Although it cannot be proved, I suspect that Zachariah Wells
was not hanged. Two tax lists for Wilkes County during the 1780s include a very alive
Zachariah Wells. John B. Wells IIIwellsga(a)bellsouth.net