The Blythes were early landowners in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina; Samuel Blythe owned 400 acres in Huntersville, a northern suburb of Charlotte which he obtained in 1772. (1) Amazingly, a portion of that land and the Blythe Homestead (which was built by one of Samuel’s grandsons in the 1860s) is still standing and remains in the the Blythe family. (2) Much of the land that formerly belonged to the Blythes is now underwater and is part of the second largest man-made lake in North Carolina: Lake Norman.(3) The Blythe Homestead is now prime lakefront property.
Samuel Blythe was a Revolutionary War veteran who spent the winter of 1777-1778 with General George Washington in Valley Forge. (4) Samuel’s son Joseph was the regimental surgeon for the 1st North Carolina and was captured at the Siege of Charleston in 1780 and later released as part of a prisoner exchange. Joseph went on to marry a wealthy, politically well-connected South Carolina landowner, Elizabeth Allston. (6)
Samuel’s son James migrated to Williamson County, Tennessee and settled along Rutherford’s Creek in present day Maury County. Eventually James’s descendants would migrate to Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, and finally, Iowa, where Mary Kennedy and George Blythe (pictured) raised their family in Mount Pleasant and Oakland Mills.
George and Mary’s son Frank had a troubled marriage and his children became virtual orphans as a result of Frank’s actions. Records indicate that he and his wife divorced in 1919 and because his wife was unable to provide for their children, they were all sent to new homes or orphanages. (7)
After examining over 200 years of land deeds, vital records, military and probate records, I was able to share with the client his family’s story: who they were, where they were and when they were there. I was able to positively inform the client his ancestors were Revolutionary War veterans, Civil War veterans and provide the answers to questions which had long remained unknown.
- Mecklenburg County Deed Book 8, p. 88, retrieved 26 August 2017, via http://www.cmhpf.org/Properties%20Foundation%20Reports/blythe.html
- Charlotte Mecklenburg Historic Landmarks Commission, retrieved 26 August 2017, via http://www.cmhpf.org/Properties%20Foundation%20Reports/blythe.html
- Ibid.
- 4. North Carolina Valley Forge Muster Rolls retrieved 26 August 2017, via http://nc.lostsoulsgenealogy.com/valleyforge.htm
- Southern Campaigns American Revolution Pension Statements and Rosters, retrieved 26 August 2017, via http://revwarapps.org/b372.pdf
- South Carolina Historical Society, retrieved 26 August 2017, via http://schistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Allston-Papers-1164.00.pdf
- Divorce record for Frank Blythe and Hattie Pierce Fehy Blythe via Henry County, Iowa Clerk of Court.
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