John Griffith Rutherford was born in Ulster Ireland (Scottish) to John Rutherford(1700-1739) and Elizabeth Griffith of Welsh heritage. It's stated that John and his wife died before reaching America however John Griffith Rutherford arrived in Pennsylvania (1739) then moved to Rowan County North Carolina (1753). He would later become a leader in Salisbury and met Daniel Boone, a land speculator with Richard Henderson and the Transylvania Company. Boone would lead Rutherford to help control the Watauga, which became upper East Tennessee in 1796. Rutherford was key to enforcing control over the region. One can assume he was a true American patriot but to a Cherokee, he would be considered a conquistador or land thief. After the war ended, Rutherford moved west to the Cumberland Settlements in Sumner County Tennessee, then the Mero District of the Cumberland Settlements of North Carolina.
Captain in the French and Indian Wars on the side of the British and Brigadier General in the Revolutionary War. Led a North Carolina militia in battles mostly against the Indians, some were allies of the British while most were in defense of their culture and land. On two occasions, he took part in burning and wiping out of all Cherokee towns in the French and Indian War and Revolutionary War. The first being a set up where Cherokee leaders like Oconastota were locked up with victims of smallpox. Oconastota got the disease but also managed to gain freedom. Fort Prince George was his prison and Feb 1 1760 he attacked and attempted to release all the prisoners. War broke out and Griffith and others began complete destruction of all Cherokee towns. At that time Rutherford was a British captain. Just before the American Revolution Rutherford and others were on the edge the white settlements and Cherokee land. Due to the illegal Treaty of Sycamore Shoals, encroachers were pouring into Watauga which eventually led to the Cherokee War of 1776. Dragging Canoe attempted to take the Watauga region back from the Transylvania Company and settlers who had stolen the land. Dragging Canoe attacked with little success but the counter attack launched by General Griffith Rutherford, Colonel Andrew Williamson and Colonel William Christian was devastating to the Cherokee. Like days of old, General Rutherford began burning all the Cherokee Middle Towns; Christian attacked from Virginia; and Williamson attacked the Cherokee Lower and Valley Towns. Every grain of corn, home and Cherokee that stood in their path were taken or killed. The three armies joined and took the Cherokee Overhill Towns. Dragging Canoe would retreat south and set up a strong defense in the Tennessee River Gorge. His defense would stand strong through 1794, yet Griffith Rutherford joined the main army and completed the Revolutionary War. He was wounded and captured at the Battle of Camden in August 1780. He served in the North Carolina legislature in 1786. He moved his family to Tennessee in 1792 and settled in Sumner County near present-day Gallatin. He was appointed President of the Legislative Council when the General Assembly met for the first time in Knoxville in 1794. Counties in Tennessee, Kentucky and North Carolina are named for him.
During his lifetime Griffith Rutherford faithfully served the British as a Captain: served as a Brigadier General in the Revolution; served as a representative for North Carolina and for the Southwest Territory. He devoted his life to Tennessee.
"Originally from Ireland, Rutherford immigrated with his parents to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Colony, at the age of eighteen. In 1753 he moved to Rowan County, in the Province of North Carolina, where he married Elizabeth Graham. An active member of his community, Rutherford served in multiple civil occupations. He was a representative of both houses of the North Carolina House of Commons, as well as an unsuccessful candidate for governor. Rutherford was an advocate of the anti-federalist movement and was appointed President of the Legislative Council of the Southwest Territory in 1794. Rutherford retired to Sumner County, Tennessee, where he died on August 10, 1805, at the age of 84."
OF NOTE: The parents of John Griffith Rutherford are a mystery. Some believe he, his wife and John Griffith Rutherford left in 1721 coming to America. The only fact is that the parents died aboard the boat. One date June 20, 1722 is given for their death at sea Sulawegi Tengah, Indonesia. Being a John Griffith Rutherford made it to Philadelphia in 1739. My conclusion is that Rutherford's parents died before 1739.
Captain in the French and Indian Wars on the side of the British and Brigadier General in the Revolutionary War. Led a North Carolina militia in battles mostly against the Indians, some were allies of the British while most were in defense of their culture and land. On two occasions, he took part in burning and wiping out of all Cherokee towns in the French and Indian War and Revolutionary War. The first being a set up where Cherokee leaders like Oconastota were locked up with victims of smallpox. Oconastota got the disease but also managed to gain freedom. Fort Prince George was his prison and Feb 1 1760 he attacked and attempted to release all the prisoners. War broke out and Griffith and others began complete destruction of all Cherokee towns. At that time Rutherford was a British captain. Just before the American Revolution Rutherford and others were on the edge the white settlements and Cherokee land. Due to the illegal Treaty of Sycamore Shoals, encroachers were pouring into Watauga which eventually led to the Cherokee War of 1776. Dragging Canoe attempted to take the Watauga region back from the Transylvania Company and settlers who had stolen the land. Dragging Canoe attacked with little success but the counter attack launched by General Griffith Rutherford, Colonel Andrew Williamson and Colonel William Christian was devastating to the Cherokee. Like days of old, General Rutherford began burning all the Cherokee Middle Towns; Christian attacked from Virginia; and Williamson attacked the Cherokee Lower and Valley Towns. Every grain of corn, home and Cherokee that stood in their path were taken or killed. The three armies joined and took the Cherokee Overhill Towns. Dragging Canoe would retreat south and set up a strong defense in the Tennessee River Gorge. His defense would stand strong through 1794, yet Griffith Rutherford joined the main army and completed the Revolutionary War. He was wounded and captured at the Battle of Camden in August 1780. He served in the North Carolina legislature in 1786. He moved his family to Tennessee in 1792 and settled in Sumner County near present-day Gallatin. He was appointed President of the Legislative Council when the General Assembly met for the first time in Knoxville in 1794. Counties in Tennessee, Kentucky and North Carolina are named for him.
During his lifetime Griffith Rutherford faithfully served the British as a Captain: served as a Brigadier General in the Revolution; served as a representative for North Carolina and for the Southwest Territory. He devoted his life to Tennessee.
"Originally from Ireland, Rutherford immigrated with his parents to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Colony, at the age of eighteen. In 1753 he moved to Rowan County, in the Province of North Carolina, where he married Elizabeth Graham. An active member of his community, Rutherford served in multiple civil occupations. He was a representative of both houses of the North Carolina House of Commons, as well as an unsuccessful candidate for governor. Rutherford was an advocate of the anti-federalist movement and was appointed President of the Legislative Council of the Southwest Territory in 1794. Rutherford retired to Sumner County, Tennessee, where he died on August 10, 1805, at the age of 84."
OF NOTE: The parents of John Griffith Rutherford are a mystery. Some believe he, his wife and John Griffith Rutherford left in 1721 coming to America. The only fact is that the parents died aboard the boat. One date June 20, 1722 is given for their death at sea Sulawegi Tengah, Indonesia. Being a John Griffith Rutherford made it to Philadelphia in 1739. My conclusion is that Rutherford's parents died before 1739.
John Griffith Rutherford was born in Ulster Ireland (Scottish) to John Rutherford(1700-1739) and Elizabeth Griffith of Welsh heritage. It's stated that John and his wife died before reaching America however John Griffith Rutherford arrived in Pennsylvania (1739) then moved to Rowan County North Carolina (1753). He would later become a leader in Salisbury and met Daniel Boone, a land speculator with Richard Henderson and the Transylvania Company. Boone would lead Rutherford to help control the Watauga, which became upper East Tennessee in 1796. Rutherford was key to enforcing control over the region. One can assume he was a true American patriot but to a Cherokee, he would be considered a conquistador or land thief. After the war ended, Rutherford moved west to the Cumberland Settlements in Sumner County Tennessee, then the Mero District of the Cumberland Settlements of North Carolina.
Captain in the French and Indian Wars on the side of the British and Brigadier General in the Revolutionary War. Led a North Carolina militia in battles mostly against the Indians, some were allies of the British while most were in defense of their culture and land. On two occasions, he took part in burning and wiping out of all Cherokee towns in the French and Indian War and Revolutionary War. The first being a set up where Cherokee leaders like Oconastota were locked up with victims of smallpox. Oconastota got the disease but also managed to gain freedom. Fort Prince George was his prison and Feb 1 1760 he attacked and attempted to release all the prisoners. War broke out and Griffith and others began complete destruction of all Cherokee towns. At that time Rutherford was a British captain. Just before the American Revolution Rutherford and others were on the edge the white settlements and Cherokee land. Due to the illegal Treaty of Sycamore Shoals, encroachers were pouring into Watauga which eventually led to the Cherokee War of 1776. Dragging Canoe attempted to take the Watauga region back from the Transylvania Company and settlers who had stolen the land. Dragging Canoe attacked with little success but the counter attack launched by General Griffith Rutherford, Colonel Andrew Williamson and Colonel William Christian was devastating to the Cherokee. Like days of old, General Rutherford began burning all the Cherokee Middle Towns; Christian attacked from Virginia; and Williamson attacked the Cherokee Lower and Valley Towns. Every grain of corn, home and Cherokee that stood in their path were taken or killed. The three armies joined and took the Cherokee Overhill Towns. Dragging Canoe would retreat south and set up a strong defense in the Tennessee River Gorge. His defense would stand strong through 1794, yet Griffith Rutherford joined the main army and completed the Revolutionary War. He was wounded and captured at the Battle of Camden in August 1780. He served in the North Carolina legislature in 1786. He moved his family to Tennessee in 1792 and settled in Sumner County near present-day Gallatin. He was appointed President of the Legislative Council when the General Assembly met for the first time in Knoxville in 1794. Counties in Tennessee, Kentucky and North Carolina are named for him.
During his lifetime Griffith Rutherford faithfully served the British as a Captain: served as a Brigadier General in the Revolution; served as a representative for North Carolina and for the Southwest Territory. He devoted his life to Tennessee.
"Originally from Ireland, Rutherford immigrated with his parents to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Colony, at the age of eighteen. In 1753 he moved to Rowan County, in the Province of North Carolina, where he married Elizabeth Graham. An active member of his community, Rutherford served in multiple civil occupations. He was a representative of both houses of the North Carolina House of Commons, as well as an unsuccessful candidate for governor. Rutherford was an advocate of the anti-federalist movement and was appointed President of the Legislative Council of the Southwest Territory in 1794. Rutherford retired to Sumner County, Tennessee, where he died on August 10, 1805, at the age of 84."
OF NOTE: The parents of John Griffith Rutherford are a mystery. Some believe he, his wife and John Griffith Rutherford left in 1721 coming to America. The only fact is that the parents died aboard the boat. One date June 20, 1722 is given for their death at sea Sulawegi Tengah, Indonesia. Being a John Griffith Rutherford made it to Philadelphia in 1739. My conclusion is that Rutherford's parents died before 1739.
Captain in the French and Indian Wars on the side of the British and Brigadier General in the Revolutionary War. Led a North Carolina militia in battles mostly against the Indians, some were allies of the British while most were in defense of their culture and land. On two occasions, he took part in burning and wiping out of all Cherokee towns in the French and Indian War and Revolutionary War. The first being a set up where Cherokee leaders like Oconastota were locked up with victims of smallpox. Oconastota got the disease but also managed to gain freedom. Fort Prince George was his prison and Feb 1 1760 he attacked and attempted to release all the prisoners. War broke out and Griffith and others began complete destruction of all Cherokee towns. At that time Rutherford was a British captain. Just before the American Revolution Rutherford and others were on the edge the white settlements and Cherokee land. Due to the illegal Treaty of Sycamore Shoals, encroachers were pouring into Watauga which eventually led to the Cherokee War of 1776. Dragging Canoe attempted to take the Watauga region back from the Transylvania Company and settlers who had stolen the land. Dragging Canoe attacked with little success but the counter attack launched by General Griffith Rutherford, Colonel Andrew Williamson and Colonel William Christian was devastating to the Cherokee. Like days of old, General Rutherford began burning all the Cherokee Middle Towns; Christian attacked from Virginia; and Williamson attacked the Cherokee Lower and Valley Towns. Every grain of corn, home and Cherokee that stood in their path were taken or killed. The three armies joined and took the Cherokee Overhill Towns. Dragging Canoe would retreat south and set up a strong defense in the Tennessee River Gorge. His defense would stand strong through 1794, yet Griffith Rutherford joined the main army and completed the Revolutionary War. He was wounded and captured at the Battle of Camden in August 1780. He served in the North Carolina legislature in 1786. He moved his family to Tennessee in 1792 and settled in Sumner County near present-day Gallatin. He was appointed President of the Legislative Council when the General Assembly met for the first time in Knoxville in 1794. Counties in Tennessee, Kentucky and North Carolina are named for him.
During his lifetime Griffith Rutherford faithfully served the British as a Captain: served as a Brigadier General in the Revolution; served as a representative for North Carolina and for the Southwest Territory. He devoted his life to Tennessee.
"Originally from Ireland, Rutherford immigrated with his parents to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Colony, at the age of eighteen. In 1753 he moved to Rowan County, in the Province of North Carolina, where he married Elizabeth Graham. An active member of his community, Rutherford served in multiple civil occupations. He was a representative of both houses of the North Carolina House of Commons, as well as an unsuccessful candidate for governor. Rutherford was an advocate of the anti-federalist movement and was appointed President of the Legislative Council of the Southwest Territory in 1794. Rutherford retired to Sumner County, Tennessee, where he died on August 10, 1805, at the age of 84."
OF NOTE: The parents of John Griffith Rutherford are a mystery. Some believe he, his wife and John Griffith Rutherford left in 1721 coming to America. The only fact is that the parents died aboard the boat. One date June 20, 1722 is given for their death at sea Sulawegi Tengah, Indonesia. Being a John Griffith Rutherford made it to Philadelphia in 1739. My conclusion is that Rutherford's parents died before 1739.
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