Samuel Barton facts for kids
Colonel Samuel Barton (born May 1749 – died January 1810) was an early pioneer and a Patriot during the American Revolution (1775–1783). He is best known for exploring and helping to settle the area that would become Nashville, Tennessee.
Not much is known about Samuel Barton's early life. His family believed he was born in Virginia. They also thought he was left as an apprentice while his father went back to England for business and was lost at sea. However, recent DNA tests suggest his family line might connect to Lewis Barton of Maryland.
Samuel Barton often traveled between his home state of Virginia and the wild lands of Tennessee. In 1774, he served as a ranger during Lord Dunmore's War. When the American Revolution began, he joined the military in Virginia in June 1775. He was a sergeant in Morgan's Rifles, a famous group of skilled shooters from the 7th Virginia Regiment. As an explorer, hunter, and frontiersman, Barton was a very good soldier. Records from Botetourt County, Virginia, show he married Martha Robertson on March 10, 1778.
Helping to Build Nashville
With his military training and leadership skills, Samuel Barton returned to Tennessee. At that time, Tennessee was part of North Carolina. He played a big part in settling and developing Fort Nashborough, which later became Nashville. His first home there was called Barton Station. It was located on Browns Creek, where Lipscomb University stands today.
Samuel Barton was also involved in trading land. He bought and sold land grants that were given to soldiers for their service in the Revolution. In May 1780, Barton, General James Robertson, and other important local leaders wrote and signed the Cumberland Compact. This document was like an early "constitution" for the settlement. It helped govern the area until Tennessee became the 16th state in 1796. Years later, in 1846, a historian named Albigence Waldo Putnam found the original document in a trunk that had belonged to Barton.
The settlement was managed by a group called the "Tribunal of Notables," and Barton was one of its twelve members. In April 1781, just before a fight known as the "Battle of the Bluffs," he was shot in the wrist while defending pioneers from Native Americans.
Public Service and Later Life
On January 7, 1783, a second Cumberland Compact was created. Samuel Barton and nine other founders signed it. When Davidson County was formed in April of that year, Barton was chosen to be a justice of the peace and a judge for the county court. In October 1783, he was elected as the court's entry-taker. He also became the second major of the local militia. In 1784, Barton was named one of the five directors and the treasurer of the new city. Later, he was chosen to be a colonel in the militia.
In 1798, before he turned 50, Samuel Barton left his public roles. He moved his large family to what would become Wilson County, Tennessee the next year. For the last 12 years of his life, he farmed his large land holdings. He had been granted more than 1,000 acres (4.0 km2) of land. His large farm was on Jenning's Fork of Round Lick Creek. He also worked as a surveyor, measuring and valuing land. The exact place where he was buried is not known.
Samuel Barton's Family
Samuel Barton had several children:
- Jane Barton – She married John Bradley, Jr., and later William Woodward.
- Margaret Barton – She married Joseph Love Wilson.
- Elizabeth Barton – She married Thomas Dooley.
- Samuel Barton, Jr. – He was killed in the War of 1812.
- Joseph Barton – He married someone whose name is not known.
- Gabriel Barton – He married Jane Johnson.
His family line continues to this day.
