| Notes |
- from Glenn Morton:
From my Great Grandfather's manuscript held at the University of Wisconsin
Now sometime about the close of this war, so the story runs, it was the custom of the country then to hire a shoemaker to come to your home and make the shoes for the whole family. There was in that neighborhood a rich old planter by the name of Crofford, who hired James McBride, Sr. to make shoes for the entire family. I never learned how many children there were, but anyway he had a daughter about eighteen years of age at that time, so it turned out that while James was making the shoes for the family he fell in love with the girl and the girl with him, and that by the time the shoemaker was ready for his money she was ready to go with him. Now, the young couple knew it would not do to let the old folks know, because the Croffords were a wealthy family and would not consent to the marriage, so they planned that when he left she would meet him at a certain place that evening. So James took his pony bob and his blankets, his old trusty gun with plenty of ammunition, his stew kettle in which he stowed his grub. This stew kettle he used to cook with, and went to the place appointed. And the young lady true to her promise met him there, so she rode the pony bob and her lover walked by her side to lead and guide the pony, and so they traveled all night to the Southwest. And you must remember that one hundred forty years ago Southwestern Virginia was a wilderness, so that by daylight the next day they were way out in the wilds of Western Virginia. Their departure was taken so slyly that that the Crofford family could find no trace of them, so they continued their journey to the southwest part of Virginia to the Clynch River Country, and there they made their home, and this young lady who was my great-grand-mother on my father's side lived away from her people for there was bad blood between the Croffords and James McBride, Sr. but when the oldest son, William McBride, was sixteen years of age he went back to visit his mother's people and was welcomed by them. Now I want to say that to this woman there were ten sons born. The oldest one was named William. I can not now recollect all of the named but I have heard Father speak of his uncle Joseph, Andrew, John, and so on.
William is my ancestor, but he is not the one of Botetourt Co.
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Abt 1765 - Aft 1829 (~ 65 years)
