The following is taken from "The Flye, Fly, Flythe Families of Virginia and North Carolina". I am a direct descendant through my Mother, Opal Florence Anderson, daughter of Covus Randolph Anderson and Evalena Byrd Anderson. (Nancy Yankie Sidarous)

According to his tombstone, John Fly was born in 1772, and his father is William Fly, but his mother's identity is a mystery. She may have been an Indian from one of the tribes in the Northampton County area. The claim that the Flys were Native American Indian or at least part Indian has been passed down among this John and his brothers, Elisha, Jr. and Jeremiah Fly.

A John Fly or Fley appears in Hertford County on the 1790 Census. This seems to show a young family with one slave. John probably married Sarah Jane Trader about this time. According to her tombstone Sarah was born in 1767. The Traders were a Hertford County family, but unfortunately the records of that county were destroyed by fire once in 1832, and again in 1862. She may have been a sister or daughter of William Trader, a merchant, who died in Hertford County in 1826.

Lawrence Fly was born to the couple on Nov. 11, 1791 in Northampton or Hertford County, and William Fly was born on Sept. 11, 1794. William Fly, John's father, seems to have died early in 1794 or some time previous to that. William's land was split into thirds and John sold his part:

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*NOTE: This is possibly the first death in Maury County, Tennessee, that is inscribed on a tombstone. (Wayne Austin)

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Further research from The Fly, Flye, Flythe Families of Virginia and North Carolina:

"John was a faith healer and very devout."

The first mention of Duck River Circuit in the Minutes is 1808. That year, Zadok B. Thaxton was appointed, but the circuit could not have included the neighborhood in which Goshen was afterwards built. There was a local preacher there prior to that date, by the name of Fly; he was the grandfather of the present preaching tribe of Flys, and was certainly the first who preached in that part of Maury County. He was among the first settlers, if not the very first—a zealous, useful man, but uneducated. His wife did his reading for him...............

On the north side of the river, the houses of Andrew Mitchell, William Edmonson and James Doty were preaching places. In the absence of Oglesby and Craig, who succeeded him, John Fly, a local preacher, served the people regularly. His descendants are numerous and many of them were gifted ministers. The wives of the Reverend Mr. Seat and the late Rev. A. Davidson of Texas, and also the wife of the Rev. Mr. Scott of Louisiana, are his grand-daughters. The Fly family intermarried with the Mitchell family.

John and Sarah had Mary in 1797, presumed to be in Tennessee. Then their son, David, was born in 1799. Joshua T. was born on Jan. 18, 1800, and John was born on May 7, 1802. A daughter, Sarah, was born on Oct. 6, 1803. Their last child, Caleb was born on Sept. 22, 1808, but unfortunately Sarah Trader Fly died that same day. Ralph Hill, a descendant of Spencer Hill, visited the Fly Family Cemetery on the Brice Wilburn Farm and said this about her:

Tombstone of "Sarah, mother of John". This is Sarah Jane Trader first wife of John Fly (b. 1772) [8]

John may have donated land to his church because Sarah was buried there:

There is no record of the transaction at the Maury county courthouse, but in Century Review, 1807-1907, John Fly, a pioneer from North Carolina, is given credit for donating 3 acres of land for a church building and burying ground in 1808. This was the year when the Duck River Circuit with Zadock B. Thackston as preacher appeared for the first time in the minutes of the Western Conference. John Fly, was a faith doctor and lay preacher, and served as local preacher until circuit riders were sent by the Methodist Conference."