Nathaniel Young Senior
Nathaniel Young was born about 1750, probably in Pennsylvania, where his uncle Thomas B. Young is known to have emigrated from to South Carolina (and where Nathaniel's father Col William Young is presumed to also have been born), probably in the early 1760's. Nathaniels's father, William Young, was granted land in 1764 in what was then Ninety-Six district (later Spartanburg County), near the confluence of James Creek (Jimmy's Creek today) and the Tyger River. At that time, many settlers living along the frontier in Western Pennsylvania, and further down into Western Virginia, emigrated to the Carolinas, partly because of recurring problems with Indian raids along the Virginia and Pennsylvania frontier during and following the French and Indian War, and also due to ongoing efforts by the colonial governments to draw settlers to the Carolinas.
Nathaniel was the eldest of 4 known sons (Nathaniel and his brothers William, Thomas and Richard), and one daughter (Mary). Nathaniel's mother is unknown. Nathaniel married his next-door neighbor George Crawford's daughter, Patty Crawford, on 22 Nov 1772; they lived along the James Creek branch of the Tyger River, on land given him and Patty by Patty's father. They are believed to have had 7 children:
1. William Young b. 1773 d. After 1840, Spartanburg, SC
2. John Archibald Young b. 1774, d. 17 Oct 1838 Giles Co., TN
3. Nathaniel Young, b. 1777 d. 1848 Maury Co., TN
4. Joseph Young, b. 1780-1781, d. 1831 Giles Co., TN
5. Thomas Young, b. Jul 1781 d. 1841 Giles Co., TN
6. Mary Young
7. girl Young, who died as an infant.
Nathaniel's activities during the early years of the Revolution are unknown, but by the middle of 1780, after the capture of Charleston by the British in May 1780, and the invasion by the British into the South Carolina backcountry, Nathaniel was serving as a Lieutenant in Major Zachariah Gibbs' Loyalist Regiment. At the same time, his father William was also serving as a Captain in the same Regiment (William Young became a Major in 1782, and eventually rose to the rank of Colonel, commanding a Loyalist militia regiment).
Nathaniel later became the Captain of a band of Loyalist (Tory) militia who were known locally by the epithet "Bloody Scouts." They were notorious for raiding through the countryside searching for and executing, or outright murdering, "outliers" or "outlaws;" known Patriot supporters, organized to defend their homes and families, and who had to flee their homes and live in the woods to evade capture - and who sometimes could be just as murderous as the Bloody Scouts.
One such intended victim was Captain Joseph Wofford, leader of a band of patriot militia. Nathaniel Young knew the family, knew his wife was pregnant, and knowing that Joseph Wofford would be worried about his family, was watching Joseph's cabin. One night, Captain Wofford was seen entering the house; the house was soon surrounded and Wofford was captured, amid threats to hang him from a tree. Captain Wofford's pregnant wife, Martha, observing all this from the house, called out to Nathaniel and pleaded with him to spare her husband's life. Nathaniel had been one of Martha's suitors prior to her marriage to Joseph, even asking her to marry him, and apparently still held some regard for her; in response to her pleas, he promised that he would ensure that he returned home the next day. Joseph Wofford did return the next day, probably on a parole with a promise to cease any participation in the rebellion. It may have helped that Captain Wofford's brother Benjamin was also active with the Loyalist militia; Captain Wofford's son, who they named Benjamin, was born that same night, the night that Joseph Wofford was taken away (Joseph's son Benjamin would later found Wofford College in Spartanburg). Nathaniel's charity in this instance was not rewarded; Captain Wofford reportedly was present when Nathaniel Young was later captured and executed.
Nathaniel's last act was to murder a man named Elder, while sick in bed with smallpox, at his farm a few miles south of Spartanburg. One story claims that Nathaniel was actually after a young horse Elder owned, and became angry when Elder wouldn't tell him where his sons were with the horse; in any case, he killed Elder, a staunch Whig, shooting him through the window of his cabin. When the sons "...returned from their work and ascertained who had committed the foul deed, they armed themselves, remounted their horses, and promised their mother that they would neither sleep nor eat until their father's death was avenged. They at once sped on their way in pursuit, and gathering some recruits as they sped over the river and hills, they pursued the Tory."
Nathaniel and his band fled west and north, up Blackstock Road, then, after crossing over the North Fork Tyger River at Ott's Ford (Ott's Shoals), they doubled back south, likely headed toward their own neighborhood near the James fork (Jimmy's Creek on today's map), where their close neighbors were mostly friendly to the King; George Crawford, Nathaniel's father-in-law, who lived next door, was the leader of another band of Tory militia, and Nathaniel's father - Loyalist Colonel William Young - was, of course, the commander of a Loyalist mounted regiment.
A mile further, they crossed over the Tyger's south fork at Price's Ford, and a bit further on they stopped for a rest, near the upper reaches of James Creek and not far from their destination, apparently thinking they had by then shed any possible pursuit. That's where the Elder brothers' band found them. Most of Nathaniel's party were able to mount their horses and flee, but Nathaniel paused to retrieve his hat that had fallen off as he mounted; he was shot before he could climb back on his horse. As the rest of the contestants charged off down the road, Nathaniel made his way through the brush to the edge of a nearby creek, where the Elder brothers and their party found him when they returned. They dragged him from the creek, and after denying him 5 minutes to pray, executed him on the spot. The manner of his execution is unknown. (1)
As close as the site of his execution was to his nearby plantation, his body most likely was returned there, to his plantation, for burial.
In March 1787 his widow, as administrator of Nathaniel's estate, was sued in the Spartanburg County courts by John Langston for Nathaniel's debts. In 1790 Patty was living two doors from Nathaniel's brother Richard, with her children. In 1800 she was not found, so could have remarried or been living in the household of a relative. Nathaniel's son John Archibald Young sold, on 23 December 1808, Sixty-six acres of James Creek-Tyger River land originally granted to George Crawford "beginning at said corner on a hickory tree near James Creek." This 200 acres was part of Crawford's land obtained in the 1760s, and likely was land given, or sold, to Nathaniel by his father-in-law George Crawford.
(1) Source: Jane Wofford Wait, "History of the Wofford Family," Band and White, Spartanburg, SC, 1928, p47 and p243
Nathaniel Young was born about 1750, probably in Pennsylvania, where his uncle Thomas B. Young is known to have emigrated from to South Carolina (and where Nathaniel's father Col William Young is presumed to also have been born), probably in the early 1760's. Nathaniels's father, William Young, was granted land in 1764 in what was then Ninety-Six district (later Spartanburg County), near the confluence of James Creek (Jimmy's Creek today) and the Tyger River. At that time, many settlers living along the frontier in Western Pennsylvania, and further down into Western Virginia, emigrated to the Carolinas, partly because of recurring problems with Indian raids along the Virginia and Pennsylvania frontier during and following the French and Indian War, and also due to ongoing efforts by the colonial governments to draw settlers to the Carolinas.
Nathaniel was the eldest of 4 known sons (Nathaniel and his brothers William, Thomas and Richard), and one daughter (Mary). Nathaniel's mother is unknown. Nathaniel married his next-door neighbor George Crawford's daughter, Patty Crawford, on 22 Nov 1772; they lived along the James Creek branch of the Tyger River, on land given him and Patty by Patty's father. They are believed to have had 7 children:
1. William Young b. 1773 d. After 1840, Spartanburg, SC
2. John Archibald Young b. 1774, d. 17 Oct 1838 Giles Co., TN
3. Nathaniel Young, b. 1777 d. 1848 Maury Co., TN
4. Joseph Young, b. 1780-1781, d. 1831 Giles Co., TN
5. Thomas Young, b. Jul 1781 d. 1841 Giles Co., TN
6. Mary Young
7. girl Young, who died as an infant.
Nathaniel's activities during the early years of the Revolution are unknown, but by the middle of 1780, after the capture of Charleston by the British in May 1780, and the invasion by the British into the South Carolina backcountry, Nathaniel was serving as a Lieutenant in Major Zachariah Gibbs' Loyalist Regiment. At the same time, his father William was also serving as a Captain in the same Regiment (William Young became a Major in 1782, and eventually rose to the rank of Colonel, commanding a Loyalist militia regiment).
Nathaniel later became the Captain of a band of Loyalist (Tory) militia who were known locally by the epithet "Bloody Scouts." They were notorious for raiding through the countryside searching for and executing, or outright murdering, "outliers" or "outlaws;" known Patriot supporters, organized to defend their homes and families, and who had to flee their homes and live in the woods to evade capture - and who sometimes could be just as murderous as the Bloody Scouts.
One such intended victim was Captain Joseph Wofford, leader of a band of patriot militia. Nathaniel Young knew the family, knew his wife was pregnant, and knowing that Joseph Wofford would be worried about his family, was watching Joseph's cabin. One night, Captain Wofford was seen entering the house; the house was soon surrounded and Wofford was captured, amid threats to hang him from a tree. Captain Wofford's pregnant wife, Martha, observing all this from the house, called out to Nathaniel and pleaded with him to spare her husband's life. Nathaniel had been one of Martha's suitors prior to her marriage to Joseph, even asking her to marry him, and apparently still held some regard for her; in response to her pleas, he promised that he would ensure that he returned home the next day. Joseph Wofford did return the next day, probably on a parole with a promise to cease any participation in the rebellion. It may have helped that Captain Wofford's brother Benjamin was also active with the Loyalist militia; Captain Wofford's son, who they named Benjamin, was born that same night, the night that Joseph Wofford was taken away (Joseph's son Benjamin would later found Wofford College in Spartanburg). Nathaniel's charity in this instance was not rewarded; Captain Wofford reportedly was present when Nathaniel Young was later captured and executed.
Nathaniel's last act was to murder a man named Elder, while sick in bed with smallpox, at his farm a few miles south of Spartanburg. One story claims that Nathaniel was actually after a young horse Elder owned, and became angry when Elder wouldn't tell him where his sons were with the horse; in any case, he killed Elder, a staunch Whig, shooting him through the window of his cabin. When the sons "...returned from their work and ascertained who had committed the foul deed, they armed themselves, remounted their horses, and promised their mother that they would neither sleep nor eat until their father's death was avenged. They at once sped on their way in pursuit, and gathering some recruits as they sped over the river and hills, they pursued the Tory."
Nathaniel and his band fled west and north, up Blackstock Road, then, after crossing over the North Fork Tyger River at Ott's Ford (Ott's Shoals), they doubled back south, likely headed toward their own neighborhood near the James fork (Jimmy's Creek on today's map), where their close neighbors were mostly friendly to the King; George Crawford, Nathaniel's father-in-law, who lived next door, was the leader of another band of Tory militia, and Nathaniel's father - Loyalist Colonel William Young - was, of course, the commander of a Loyalist mounted regiment.
A mile further, they crossed over the Tyger's south fork at Price's Ford, and a bit further on they stopped for a rest, near the upper reaches of James Creek and not far from their destination, apparently thinking they had by then shed any possible pursuit. That's where the Elder brothers' band found them. Most of Nathaniel's party were able to mount their horses and flee, but Nathaniel paused to retrieve his hat that had fallen off as he mounted; he was shot before he could climb back on his horse. As the rest of the contestants charged off down the road, Nathaniel made his way through the brush to the edge of a nearby creek, where the Elder brothers and their party found him when they returned. They dragged him from the creek, and after denying him 5 minutes to pray, executed him on the spot. The manner of his execution is unknown. (1)
As close as the site of his execution was to his nearby plantation, his body most likely was returned there, to his plantation, for burial.
In March 1787 his widow, as administrator of Nathaniel's estate, was sued in the Spartanburg County courts by John Langston for Nathaniel's debts. In 1790 Patty was living two doors from Nathaniel's brother Richard, with her children. In 1800 she was not found, so could have remarried or been living in the household of a relative. Nathaniel's son John Archibald Young sold, on 23 December 1808, Sixty-six acres of James Creek-Tyger River land originally granted to George Crawford "beginning at said corner on a hickory tree near James Creek." This 200 acres was part of Crawford's land obtained in the 1760s, and likely was land given, or sold, to Nathaniel by his father-in-law George Crawford.
(1) Source: Jane Wofford Wait, "History of the Wofford Family," Band and White, Spartanburg, SC, 1928, p47 and p243
Nathaniel Young Senior
Nathaniel Young was born about 1750, probably in Pennsylvania, where his uncle Thomas B. Young is known to have emigrated from to South Carolina (and where Nathaniel's father Col William Young is presumed to also have been born), probably in the early 1760's. Nathaniels's father, William Young, was granted land in 1764 in what was then Ninety-Six district (later Spartanburg County), near the confluence of James Creek (Jimmy's Creek today) and the Tyger River. At that time, many settlers living along the frontier in Western Pennsylvania, and further down into Western Virginia, emigrated to the Carolinas, partly because of recurring problems with Indian raids along the Virginia and Pennsylvania frontier during and following the French and Indian War, and also due to ongoing efforts by the colonial governments to draw settlers to the Carolinas.
Nathaniel was the eldest of 4 known sons (Nathaniel and his brothers William, Thomas and Richard), and one daughter (Mary). Nathaniel's mother is unknown. Nathaniel married his next-door neighbor George Crawford's daughter, Patty Crawford, on 22 Nov 1772; they lived along the James Creek branch of the Tyger River, on land given him and Patty by Patty's father. They are believed to have had 7 children:
1. William Young b. 1773 d. After 1840, Spartanburg, SC
2. John Archibald Young b. 1774, d. 17 Oct 1838 Giles Co., TN
3. Nathaniel Young, b. 1777 d. 1848 Maury Co., TN
4. Joseph Young, b. 1780-1781, d. 1831 Giles Co., TN
5. Thomas Young, b. Jul 1781 d. 1841 Giles Co., TN
6. Mary Young
7. girl Young, who died as an infant.
Nathaniel's activities during the early years of the Revolution are unknown, but by the middle of 1780, after the capture of Charleston by the British in May 1780, and the invasion by the British into the South Carolina backcountry, Nathaniel was serving as a Lieutenant in Major Zachariah Gibbs' Loyalist Regiment. At the same time, his father William was also serving as a Captain in the same Regiment (William Young became a Major in 1782, and eventually rose to the rank of Colonel, commanding a Loyalist militia regiment).
Nathaniel later became the Captain of a band of Loyalist (Tory) militia who were known locally by the epithet "Bloody Scouts." They were notorious for raiding through the countryside searching for and executing, or outright murdering, "outliers" or "outlaws;" known Patriot supporters, organized to defend their homes and families, and who had to flee their homes and live in the woods to evade capture - and who sometimes could be just as murderous as the Bloody Scouts.
One such intended victim was Captain Joseph Wofford, leader of a band of patriot militia. Nathaniel Young knew the family, knew his wife was pregnant, and knowing that Joseph Wofford would be worried about his family, was watching Joseph's cabin. One night, Captain Wofford was seen entering the house; the house was soon surrounded and Wofford was captured, amid threats to hang him from a tree. Captain Wofford's pregnant wife, Martha, observing all this from the house, called out to Nathaniel and pleaded with him to spare her husband's life. Nathaniel had been one of Martha's suitors prior to her marriage to Joseph, even asking her to marry him, and apparently still held some regard for her; in response to her pleas, he promised that he would ensure that he returned home the next day. Joseph Wofford did return the next day, probably on a parole with a promise to cease any participation in the rebellion. It may have helped that Captain Wofford's brother Benjamin was also active with the Loyalist militia; Captain Wofford's son, who they named Benjamin, was born that same night, the night that Joseph Wofford was taken away (Joseph's son Benjamin would later found Wofford College in Spartanburg). Nathaniel's charity in this instance was not rewarded; Captain Wofford reportedly was present when Nathaniel Young was later captured and executed.
Nathaniel's last act was to murder a man named Elder, while sick in bed with smallpox, at his farm a few miles south of Spartanburg. One story claims that Nathaniel was actually after a young horse Elder owned, and became angry when Elder wouldn't tell him where his sons were with the horse; in any case, he killed Elder, a staunch Whig, shooting him through the window of his cabin. When the sons "...returned from their work and ascertained who had committed the foul deed, they armed themselves, remounted their horses, and promised their mother that they would neither sleep nor eat until their father's death was avenged. They at once sped on their way in pursuit, and gathering some recruits as they sped over the river and hills, they pursued the Tory."
Nathaniel and his band fled west and north, up Blackstock Road, then, after crossing over the North Fork Tyger River at Ott's Ford (Ott's Shoals), they doubled back south, likely headed toward their own neighborhood near the James fork (Jimmy's Creek on today's map), where their close neighbors were mostly friendly to the King; George Crawford, Nathaniel's father-in-law, who lived next door, was the leader of another band of Tory militia, and Nathaniel's father - Loyalist Colonel William Young - was, of course, the commander of a Loyalist mounted regiment.
A mile further, they crossed over the Tyger's south fork at Price's Ford, and a bit further on they stopped for a rest, near the upper reaches of James Creek and not far from their destination, apparently thinking they had by then shed any possible pursuit. That's where the Elder brothers' band found them. Most of Nathaniel's party were able to mount their horses and flee, but Nathaniel paused to retrieve his hat that had fallen off as he mounted; he was shot before he could climb back on his horse. As the rest of the contestants charged off down the road, Nathaniel made his way through the brush to the edge of a nearby creek, where the Elder brothers and their party found him when they returned. They dragged him from the creek, and after denying him 5 minutes to pray, executed him on the spot. The manner of his execution is unknown. (1)
As close as the site of his execution was to his nearby plantation, his body most likely was returned there, to his plantation, for burial.
In March 1787 his widow, as administrator of Nathaniel's estate, was sued in the Spartanburg County courts by John Langston for Nathaniel's debts. In 1790 Patty was living two doors from Nathaniel's brother Richard, with her children. In 1800 she was not found, so could have remarried or been living in the household of a relative. Nathaniel's son John Archibald Young sold, on 23 December 1808, Sixty-six acres of James Creek-Tyger River land originally granted to George Crawford "beginning at said corner on a hickory tree near James Creek." This 200 acres was part of Crawford's land obtained in the 1760s, and likely was land given, or sold, to Nathaniel by his father-in-law George Crawford.
(1) Source: Jane Wofford Wait, "History of the Wofford Family," Band and White, Spartanburg, SC, 1928, p47 and p243
Nathaniel Young was born about 1750, probably in Pennsylvania, where his uncle Thomas B. Young is known to have emigrated from to South Carolina (and where Nathaniel's father Col William Young is presumed to also have been born), probably in the early 1760's. Nathaniels's father, William Young, was granted land in 1764 in what was then Ninety-Six district (later Spartanburg County), near the confluence of James Creek (Jimmy's Creek today) and the Tyger River. At that time, many settlers living along the frontier in Western Pennsylvania, and further down into Western Virginia, emigrated to the Carolinas, partly because of recurring problems with Indian raids along the Virginia and Pennsylvania frontier during and following the French and Indian War, and also due to ongoing efforts by the colonial governments to draw settlers to the Carolinas.
Nathaniel was the eldest of 4 known sons (Nathaniel and his brothers William, Thomas and Richard), and one daughter (Mary). Nathaniel's mother is unknown. Nathaniel married his next-door neighbor George Crawford's daughter, Patty Crawford, on 22 Nov 1772; they lived along the James Creek branch of the Tyger River, on land given him and Patty by Patty's father. They are believed to have had 7 children:
1. William Young b. 1773 d. After 1840, Spartanburg, SC
2. John Archibald Young b. 1774, d. 17 Oct 1838 Giles Co., TN
3. Nathaniel Young, b. 1777 d. 1848 Maury Co., TN
4. Joseph Young, b. 1780-1781, d. 1831 Giles Co., TN
5. Thomas Young, b. Jul 1781 d. 1841 Giles Co., TN
6. Mary Young
7. girl Young, who died as an infant.
Nathaniel's activities during the early years of the Revolution are unknown, but by the middle of 1780, after the capture of Charleston by the British in May 1780, and the invasion by the British into the South Carolina backcountry, Nathaniel was serving as a Lieutenant in Major Zachariah Gibbs' Loyalist Regiment. At the same time, his father William was also serving as a Captain in the same Regiment (William Young became a Major in 1782, and eventually rose to the rank of Colonel, commanding a Loyalist militia regiment).
Nathaniel later became the Captain of a band of Loyalist (Tory) militia who were known locally by the epithet "Bloody Scouts." They were notorious for raiding through the countryside searching for and executing, or outright murdering, "outliers" or "outlaws;" known Patriot supporters, organized to defend their homes and families, and who had to flee their homes and live in the woods to evade capture - and who sometimes could be just as murderous as the Bloody Scouts.
One such intended victim was Captain Joseph Wofford, leader of a band of patriot militia. Nathaniel Young knew the family, knew his wife was pregnant, and knowing that Joseph Wofford would be worried about his family, was watching Joseph's cabin. One night, Captain Wofford was seen entering the house; the house was soon surrounded and Wofford was captured, amid threats to hang him from a tree. Captain Wofford's pregnant wife, Martha, observing all this from the house, called out to Nathaniel and pleaded with him to spare her husband's life. Nathaniel had been one of Martha's suitors prior to her marriage to Joseph, even asking her to marry him, and apparently still held some regard for her; in response to her pleas, he promised that he would ensure that he returned home the next day. Joseph Wofford did return the next day, probably on a parole with a promise to cease any participation in the rebellion. It may have helped that Captain Wofford's brother Benjamin was also active with the Loyalist militia; Captain Wofford's son, who they named Benjamin, was born that same night, the night that Joseph Wofford was taken away (Joseph's son Benjamin would later found Wofford College in Spartanburg). Nathaniel's charity in this instance was not rewarded; Captain Wofford reportedly was present when Nathaniel Young was later captured and executed.
Nathaniel's last act was to murder a man named Elder, while sick in bed with smallpox, at his farm a few miles south of Spartanburg. One story claims that Nathaniel was actually after a young horse Elder owned, and became angry when Elder wouldn't tell him where his sons were with the horse; in any case, he killed Elder, a staunch Whig, shooting him through the window of his cabin. When the sons "...returned from their work and ascertained who had committed the foul deed, they armed themselves, remounted their horses, and promised their mother that they would neither sleep nor eat until their father's death was avenged. They at once sped on their way in pursuit, and gathering some recruits as they sped over the river and hills, they pursued the Tory."
Nathaniel and his band fled west and north, up Blackstock Road, then, after crossing over the North Fork Tyger River at Ott's Ford (Ott's Shoals), they doubled back south, likely headed toward their own neighborhood near the James fork (Jimmy's Creek on today's map), where their close neighbors were mostly friendly to the King; George Crawford, Nathaniel's father-in-law, who lived next door, was the leader of another band of Tory militia, and Nathaniel's father - Loyalist Colonel William Young - was, of course, the commander of a Loyalist mounted regiment.
A mile further, they crossed over the Tyger's south fork at Price's Ford, and a bit further on they stopped for a rest, near the upper reaches of James Creek and not far from their destination, apparently thinking they had by then shed any possible pursuit. That's where the Elder brothers' band found them. Most of Nathaniel's party were able to mount their horses and flee, but Nathaniel paused to retrieve his hat that had fallen off as he mounted; he was shot before he could climb back on his horse. As the rest of the contestants charged off down the road, Nathaniel made his way through the brush to the edge of a nearby creek, where the Elder brothers and their party found him when they returned. They dragged him from the creek, and after denying him 5 minutes to pray, executed him on the spot. The manner of his execution is unknown. (1)
As close as the site of his execution was to his nearby plantation, his body most likely was returned there, to his plantation, for burial.
In March 1787 his widow, as administrator of Nathaniel's estate, was sued in the Spartanburg County courts by John Langston for Nathaniel's debts. In 1790 Patty was living two doors from Nathaniel's brother Richard, with her children. In 1800 she was not found, so could have remarried or been living in the household of a relative. Nathaniel's son John Archibald Young sold, on 23 December 1808, Sixty-six acres of James Creek-Tyger River land originally granted to George Crawford "beginning at said corner on a hickory tree near James Creek." This 200 acres was part of Crawford's land obtained in the 1760s, and likely was land given, or sold, to Nathaniel by his father-in-law George Crawford.
(1) Source: Jane Wofford Wait, "History of the Wofford Family," Band and White, Spartanburg, SC, 1928, p47 and p243
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