John Amburgey
Private NC Line and Patriot
1758-1831
John Amburgey was born in 1758, the son of John Amburgey Sr. and Ann, and grandson of Conrad Amburgey, a German immigrant. His father's land transactions in Culpepper County, Virginia were numerous. In 1775 the family moved to Surrey County, North Carolina, and John Jr. is listed on the tax records. About 1778 the Amburgey holdings came under the county of Wilkes.
John gave a horse to the cause of the Revolution, and joined Captain Larkin Cleveland's Company under Colonel Benjamin Cleveland. He was present when Ferguson was taken, and present when Colonel Cleveland hung nine Tories and Joshua Balldin escaped on the Little Peder. He witnessed the hanging of Jackson Goss on old Captain Joh Cox's gate on the west side of the Blue Ridge. He spoke often of Charles Gorden, Witherspoon, Colonels Allen, Martin Selby and Sevier. He claimed to have been "out" five or six trips, spending most of his time in search of Indians and Tories, traveling as far as the Highwasee River, a branch of the Tennessee. He fought at the Battle of Kings Mountain on October 7, 1780. He is listed in the Accounts of US with NC, War of Revolution, Book A, pages 191-208.
On July 3, 1787 he married Elizabeth Hamons. The ceremony was performed by her uncle, William Hamons. Their guests included Archelause Craft and the parents of Elizabeth Holbrook, nee Adams. The family prospered; in the 1795 tax John held one poll and 60 acres. In 1797, 300 acres in Hammon's District, Wilkes County. In the 1800 US Census, the family was listed with seven children and two slaves (inherited from Elizabeth's father). In 1811 John bought 200 acres.
In 1814 he sold his remaining lands and moved to Russell County, Virginia where he joined his wife's relatives, and is listed there in the 1820 Census. His last will is recorded on August 2, 1825, to prepare for his care in his old age, by his son Ambrose.
The family, under the direction of his son Ambrose, makes a move to Carr Creek, Kentucky in 1827. His son John remains in Russell County. On May 3, 1831 John dies and is buried near Joe Bowen's place in Perry County.
Mark's 4th Great Grandfather
Sources:
Amburgey Ancestry in America, Dorothy Amburgey Griffith, 1982
