Benjamin Hamilton Pollock

Other Events and Attributes:

• Military: War of 1812 in Capt. Charles Kavanaugh's Co. of Tennessee militia

Notes:

Son Benjamin Hamilton Pollock seems to have stayed in White County, TN, longer than his brothers. He was the only Pollock shown in a list of early settlers in the Sparta area between the years 1800-1815. He served in the War of 1812 in Capt. Chrles Kavenaugh's Co. of Tennessee militia. The location of this unit is not clear at this time, although Kavenaugh had been in Montgomery Co. a few years earlier. Benjamin was probably still in White Co. when he married, although the marriage records do not go back that early. He married Sara Rosannah Capps and their oldest son Robert Oliver was born in Tennessee in 1816.

Benjamin H. Pollock's residence in 1820 is not known as he has not been located on any census or county record. He was in Limestone Co, AL in the mid-1820s and was listed on the 1830 census from there. By 1840, however, he was in Marshall Co, AL, and moved on to Pontotoc Co, Mississippi by 1850. He was still living there in 1860.

(A portion of "Descendants of Robert Pollock of Early Eastern Tennessee" by John C. Barron)

1850 Census Pontotoc, Mississippi - Reel: M432-504 Page: 111 - October 3, 1850
9 759 POLLOCK, Benjamin 57 M Laborer SC
10 Rasana 51 F SC
11 Angeline 20 F SC
12 Viola 18 F SC

Pontotoc County, MS 1860 Federal Census - Pages 634-658
12 1136 POLLOCK, Benj. H. 75 M Tenn
13 1136 Rosanna G. 60 F NC

Seibel Family Records:
Benjamin Hamilton Pollock began military service circa 1812 as a fifer and private in Capt. Arch McKinney's company of cavalry and Capt. Peter Searcy's infantry company from Lincoln Co, TN under Col. Phillip Pipkin. His widow received pensions WO-28586 and SC-7163. He lived circa 1801 and 1806 in Anderson Co, TN. He lived circa 1815 in White Co, TN.

Benjamin married Sara Rosannah CappsProbably White Co, Tennessee. Sara was born in 1800 in North Carolina; died after 1832. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

1. Robert Oliver Pollock was born in 1816 in Tennessee; died about 1850.
2. Angeline Pollock was born in 1830 in South Carolina; died after 1830.
3. Viola Pollock was born in 1832 in South Carolina; died after 1832.

Notes:

Before it became a state in 1796, the territory that is now Tennessee was home to at least two Pollock families: one in the extreme east and the other on the western frontier. Another large, seemingly unrelated group led by Henry Pollock who ws supposedly from Maryland settled by 1820 in Lawrence Co. Determining the ancestors and descendants of these groups is a trying process. For one thing prior to statehood, the jurisdiction of these locales was in dispute with North Carolina and Virginia both claiming portions. The weak federal government mostly stood back and let the individual states deal with the consequences. This confusion compounded the problems of keeping records on the frontier. What few records that can be found are isolated and incomplete.

In the west, the first Pollock record was a land purchase made by William Barkley Pollock in 1785 on East Titus Creek in Davidson Co. (Fulcher. 1987. "1770-1790 Census of the Cumberland Settlements" page 96-7). He was the progenitor of the western group and had received a land grant in what is now Lincoln Co., Kentucky, in 1784 (Jillson. 1969. "Old Kentucky Entries and Deeds"). There is also some reason to believe that he was a member of the very prominent Pollock family of the North Carolina tidewater country. The immigrant ancestor of this line, Thomas Pollock, came to America in 1683 (Ray. 1947. "The Lost Tribes of North Carolina" page 130) and served as governor of North Carolina. William Barkley Pollock held various county offices over the years and was a surveyor and probably a land speculator. His descendants were in Montgomery Co, TN, as late as 1850.

On the other hand, Robert Pollock was the earliest of the family found in the eastern part of the territory. It is not known when he first arrived in the area, but he was there before the end of the Revolutionary War as he received a general purchase grant in Sullivan Co. in 1782. These authors listed four types of grants from this period: general purchase, pre-emption, military service and as payment for survey and guard duty. Pollock (under the name of Robert Poge) received 150 acres of land described as "on Young's run joining Cochran's lines." A grant was also made to a John Cochran at this same time and place for 250 acres "on Young branch the north side of Holstein." Other evidence that Robert was in what is now Tennessee as early as 1785 came from a census listing for his assumed son Benjamin.

In June, 1789, Robert was evidently still in Sullivan Co. (now TN) and along with John Long and Henry Roberts witnessed a deed between John Cochran and wife Caty, of Sullivan Co., and David Ross of Fluvanna Co, VA. As was the practice in those days, witnesses to documents were often relatives of the wife and sought to protect her interest in the property. Research into the relationship of Pollock to these people might help locate him prior to this time, and it could well be that Caty Cochran was Robert's sister.

Robert Pollock was a man of some importance; he may well have been a lawyer by profession since he seemed to be associated with the courts everywhere he went. In July, 1792, he was appointed one of the first constables of Jefferson County. That same year he served on a committee to divide the county. The populace considered themselves to be living in North Carolina after the collapse of the failed state of Franklin. In July, 1794, in the newly created county of Sevier, Pollock held the office of Justice of the Peace and was a magistrate during the first court. The next year he served on a grand jury in the nearby town of Knoxville and afterwards returned to Sevier Co. and was a justice in the first court held under the state constitution in July, 1796.

It seems likely that Robert was back in Knoxville in April, 1798. At that time his son John applied to governor John Sevier for a passport through the Indian land. John and Philemon Higgins were granted permission to travel with their families from Knoxville to Stogdon's (Stockton's?) Valley on the Cumberland River by way of Johnson's ferry on the Clinch River. However by 1801. father and sons (including John who had evidently returned from the frontier) all seemed to be together in Anderson Co, TN. In March, 1802, Robert Pollock, Esq., was ordered by the court to oversee road construction and to take property tax lists in Captains Stel and Graham's companies. At this same time Thomas Worthington served on a jury there in June, 1802. Forty years later Worthington and Pollock descendants would rejoin each other in Benton Co, AL, and form a family association strong to this day.

Between the years 1802 and 1805, Robert served Anderson County as a magistrate, jury member and attorney. Strangley though except for the following, no Pollock's seemed to have purchased land in Anderson Co. as none appear in the deed indices. However, in June, 1804, William Pollock was cited by the sheriff for non-payment of tax on a town lot in 1803. It appears that Robert Pollock neither bought land to put down roots like the familiar rural settlers of the south nor did he seem to be involved in the usual land speculation of the leading citizens.

In 1805 in Anderson Co., Robert Pollock and his apparent sons John, Joseph and Robert, Jr. were all listed on the tax roll. An unnamed Pollock was delinquent on the 1805 poll tax and assumed to be the above William. In August, 1806, several Pollock men signed a petition in Anderson Co. Only one Robert Pollock was shown along with the following Pollock brothers: Benjamin, Joseph and John. This may mean that Robert Pollock, the elder, was dead by this time. A William McGuire was also shown in their midst who may have been the same man who had married Sarah Pollock in March 1792 in Green Co. (now TN). William Pollock who is assumed to be a son of Robert must have left the area due to his debt trouble and does not appear with the family until perhaps later. (A portion of "Descendants of Robert Pollock of Early Eastern Tennessee" by John C. Barron)

website that contains this line:
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~jcbarron/Pollock/pollock.pdf
Printed on: 28 Oct 2004
Prepared by:
John C. Barron
820 Dobbins Road
Corsicana, TX 75110
jbarron933@yahoo.com
903-875-0307
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~jcbarron/

Robert^ married Elizabeth^ Cowan, (Immigrant) on 12 Jun 1770 in Lancaster Co, Pennsylvania. Elizabeth^ was born about 1740 in Ireland; died between 1830 and 1840 in Lincoln Co, Tennessee. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Around May, 1808, a widow, Elizabeth Pollock, was also a resident of White Co. where she recorded a deed of gift to her daughter Elizabeth 'Betsy' Pollock, single woman. This deed was rescinded later that year, an example, perhaps, of problems he was having with settling the estate. It seems reasonable that this woman was the widow of Robert Pollock, the elder.

Throughout the years 1808 and 1809, the Pollock brothers appeared regularly in the civil court records of White Co. Not only did they frequently serve on juries, but they were involved in lawsuits consistent with those made by persons in business. Benjamin, Robert, John and Joseph Pollock all served on various juries at the quarterly court sessions during this time. In August, 1809, John Pollock was sued by Philip Usrey over non-payment of a debt. Pollock was found not guilty. During that same session, Robert Pollock was sued by Hannah Rule, widow of George. Pollock was ordered to keep a disputed wagon and pay the widow $25.00. During these trials, the Pollock men who had been serving on the jury for that session were excluded, solidifying the premise that they were brothers. In that same session, the following very interesting entry was found: Pleasant Wallen was discharged as overseer of a road from Pollock's ford to Hickory Valley. The location of these places need to be researched to help locate their property. No more Pollock records were found in White Co. after November, 1809.

Most of the Pollock family left White Co. about 1810 and moved south to the Lincoln Co., TN area. At least two of the sons, Robert and Joseph, were there and son John was probably in the adjoining county of Bedford by then. Elizabeth Pollock, thought to be the widow of Robert, was listed on the 1820 census of Lincoln Co. as a woman over 45 years old. Listed in her household was a girl aged 16 to 21, probably a granddaughter but perhaps the above mentioned daughter, Betsy. A Philimon Higgins was also listed on the 1820 census of Lincoln Co. A man with this same name had accompanied John Pollock to the Cumberland River frontier (probably in Kentucky) in 1798, although this must have been his son since only a young couple was shown in the family.

Elizabeth Pollock was still in Lincoln Co. in 1830 where she was shown on the census to be a woman 80-89 years of age. This would, of course, mean that she was born in the 1740's matching closely the assigned age of her husband Robert (b. 1740). In Dec, 1829, Elizabeth had bought a tract of land on Kelly's Creek from John H. Norton. A few years afterward Mary, daughter of Isaac James Norton, was shown in the records in Limestone Co, AL, as the wife of John Pollock, probably (John [3], John [2], Robert [1]). Elizabeth 'Betsy' Pollock was probably the woman on the 1840 census of Lincoln Co, but her mother was not shown and must have died. (A portion of "Descendants of Robert Pollock of Early Eastern Tennessee" by John C. Barron)
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-Elizabeth Cowan was born between 1741 and 1750 (from census data).
-She executed a deed on 12 May 1808 White Co., TN
(deed of gift to daughter Elizabeth Pollock) (Joyce M. Murray, White County, Tennessee Deed Abstracts 1801-1820 (Dallas, TX: J.M. Murray, c1992), p 187.).
-She appeared on the census of 1820 p 150, Lincoln Co., TN (Elizabeth Polloc, 000000-00101 (age over 45 years)).
-She executed a deed on 13 Dec 1829 Lincoln Co., TN (said Elizabeth Pollock to Jno H Norton, tract on headwaters of
Kelly's Creek, 65 ac. Lincoln Co. TN Deed Index, book H-1, p 610).
-She appeared on the census of 1830 Lincoln Co., TN ((p 257)

Descendants of Robert Pollock
Generation One
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~jcbarron/Pollock/pollock.pdf