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- The following information about John McEver was adapted from information received from Earl Strebeck and Truman McEver. Most came from a journal of John McEver Forbes, which he wrote in 1887 at the age of 87. It later (1934) appeared in the Anniston Times, Anniston, Alabama. John Forbes was the son of Arthur and Catherine McEver Forbes. Catherine was the daughter of John McEver.
John was born December 1739. He lived in Pennsylvania during the Colonial days, and there, about 1764, he married Margaret Collins, an Irish girl, daughter of John and Catherine Collins of the same state. During the American Revolution, John served under General George Washington. In Pennsylvania, he owned a farm, which was well improved with all the necessary out buildings to sustain itself. His dwelling was built of limestone over a large limestone spring, having a basement that contained a kitchen and dining room.
Being a trusting soul, John stood account for a man in the amount of 500 pounds sterling and unfortunately, was left to pay the debt, To cover the amount, he was forced to sell his farm. After selling his property and paying the debt, John and his family moved south and settled in Georgia. John and Margaret had. a large family. Andrew was born 1768, John, Jr. in 1771, Brice in 1774, James in 1776, Robert Collins McEver in 1777, Samuel in 1778, William in 1780, Mary Margaret in 1783, Isaac and Thomas M. between 1783 and 1789, Catherine in 1789, and Joseph in 1790. The family was in Jackson County Georgia in 1787. In Georgia, John McEver bought a tract of land in Jackson County on the Mulberry Fork- of the Oconee River, adjoining the then Cherokee Nation, ten miles from Hog Mountain. He began farming again and paid for the land. with tobacco. He also built a good frame house with corner posts twelve inches square. About 1807 or 1808, John road horseback top the Louisiana Territory where he purchased 2 shares of the Mississippi Land Company (Louisiana Purchase, 1803). He paid 2,000 pounds for 15,000 acres (two or three leagues) of land He placed a man in charge of his purchase until he could return to Georgia, dispose of his property, and move his family to the Louisiana Territory.
On his way home, he put up for a night with a man living on the Tennessee River in the Cherokee Nation. That night his mare was stolen. Being subject to rheumatism, he couldn't walk, so he wrote to one of his sons telling him to meet him 30 or 40 miles up the Tennessee River at a designated point with a horse. Also, in his letter to his son, John gave instructions that if he were not at this meeting place agreed upon, then the son was to come down the river to the man's house where he had lodged and from where his horse was stolen. He further wrote that he had bought land for a home for every grandchild that he might have.
After writing his letter to his son, John bought a canoe and started up the river to meet his son. When John's son reached the meeting place agreed upon, he could not fine his father. He went further down the river until he reached the man's house where John had stayed and from whom John has purchased the canoe. There, he inquired about his father. The man told him his father had left in the canoe loaded with his saddle bags and other possessions. Three days later the same canoe came floating back down the river smeared with blood and empty! It was thought that all was lost, John, his papers identifying his land purchase and the man's name that he had left in charge of his purchase. With a sad heart, the son started home. After riding about 20 miles, he thought he heard a horse neigh. He explored and behold a short distance from the road was his father's mare, tied to a tree. He untied the horse and she followed his home, but John's body and his precious papers were never found. Margaret Collins McEver, John's widow, continued to live in Jackson County Georgia, and I assume. she died there and is buried there.
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