Mitchells in the Revolutionary War

The next line I tackled  was the Mitchell family.  My great grandmother was Artha B Mitchell (1883 - 1977).  I can barely remember her.  I was ten years old when she died.  She was the daughter of Francis Marion Mitchell (1855 - 1904).  It is Francis's grandfather, Andrew Mitchell, Jr. (1760 - 1824) who served in the Revolutionary War.  It is truly a story worthy of legend.  Andrew was one of 3 sons born to Irish immigrants Andrew and Mary (McGowan) Mitchell. The young family came to the colonies in 1752.  They began their journey in a Scottish - Irish community in Eastern Pennsylvania before migrating to Orange County, North Carolina.  Besides the boys, Andrew and Mary had 2 daughters, Margaret and Nancy.

At the time of the Revolution, my 5th great grandfather, Andrew, Jr was just starting his family.  He had married Mary Tate in 1781.  He was in service but took furlough to be with his ill wife.  This information is documented in a a hand written SAR application by Andrew's nephew George Washington Mitchell.  George (1814 - 1904) was the son of Andrew's younger brother, James (1765 - 1843).  For Andrew to be with his ill wife, the younger brother, James, volunteered to serve in Andrew's place. James was only fifteen at the time.  Shortly after Andrew, Jr. took furlough,  the Revolutionary War ended. The 3rd son, John (1760 - 1833) also served and was barely 15 when he enlisted.

Recap:  3 brothers - Andrew, James and John.  Andrew was the oldest and serving when his wife fell ill.  The two younger brothers were not barely old enough to serve.  James took his brother's place.  All three brothers migrated to Maury County, Tennessee where John and James received pensions and bounty land grants for service.  I found documentation for this.  I could not find any documentation for a pension or bounty land grant for Andrew.  I did find documentation of Andrew selling land in Maury County between 1807 - 1843. No SAR / DAR  applications have been filed from his line.  Neither did I find a rejected SAR / DAR from Andrew's line.  Despite this, I feel certain that Andrew did serve during the Revolutionary War.  Although I have yet to uncover military documentation, two sources do corroborate my supposition:  1) Let the drums roll:  Veterans and patriots of the Revolutionary War who settled in Maury County, Tennessee by Marise Parrish Lightfoot (1976); 2) a story that ran in the July 3, 1976 of the Daily Herald listed the names of Revolutionary War veterans who resided in Maury County, Tennessee.  On the list were all three brothers.   I am trying to find an actual copy of the news article.  At this time, I have just found it referenced several times with transcriptions.  James was buried in Maury County, Tennessee, and speculation by other researchers suggests that John and Andrew were also buried in Maury County.  I have not found gravesites for either of them.  I am continuing to work backwards for each of Andrew's children in an attempt to find a burial site.

Andrew's son, Andrew Tate Mitchell (1784 - 1829) is the line I descend from.  For some reason, the stories of Andrew's children are complicated and elusive.  So far, I have uncovered some intriguing information.

I think about this Irish family who came to the New World.  The reasons are not known, but probably due to opportunities.  The father, Andrew,Sr. was a magistrate in Orange County and practiced law there.  He would eventually teach his grandson, Andrew Burns (Margaret's son) law.  Andrew would go on to practice law and credit his grandfather.  The three sons, all close in age, took up arms against England.  I truly can almost picture these Irish boys with rugged Gaelic good looks and heavy accents talking about defeating the English.

I had heard most of my childhood that my family was Irish, and I finally proved it.  It explains my fascination with Ireland and why all three of my daughters have Gaelic names.