Jeremiah Compton Sr. of Russell County, VA has been a person misidentified for the past 80 years. Luckily with the help of Y-DNA testing and new records surfacing researchers have correctly identified the father of Jeremiah. Please check out my website on the early Compton family that settled in Russell County, VA. https://earlycomptonfamilyrussellcounty.weebly.com/

The errors in research on Jeremiah started with the publication "Comptonology" that was printed in the 1940's. Comptonology stated that the likely father of Jeremiah was Abraham Compton Sr. of New Jersey to Botetourt County, Va. Jeremiah has also been listed with other parents over the years. What we know for 100% sure that he was NOT the son of Abraham Sr. (thanks to DNA) and WAS closely related to a group of Comptons that came out of North Carolina and settled in Russell County around the same time Jeremiah settled there. Here is a bio of the most recent research on the elusive Jeremiah Compton Sr.

Jeremiah Compton Sr. born somewhere between 1780 and 1782 probably in the Caswell County area of North Carolina. His descendants now number in the thousands and have spread all over the country.

Jeremiah Compton Sr. is first found in the public record in 1802 when he joined the Lynches Creek Baptist Church by baptism. This church is significant because his grandfather, David Herndon, and his mother Frances Herndon Compton are both found in early records of this church. Then in 1803 he is excommunicated from the church due to drinking!

Sometime between 1803 and 1806 Jeremiah removed to Russell County, Virginia. He is found on the 1806 personal property Upper District Tax List for Russell County, Virginia. In the 1808 Tax List of Russell County, two other Compton men show up for the first time, David and Thomas Compton who were known brothers. David and Thomas were confirmed inhabitants of the Caswell County, North Carolina area and sons of James Compton, a Revolutionary War veteran. Y-DNA results seem to corroborate that Jeremiah, David and Thomas were brothers.
All three of these Compton men settle within a mile of one another near present day Honaker on Thompson Creek. In the late 1820's, James Compton moved to Thompson Creek and upon his death in 1832, Jeremiah Compton buys more things from his estate sale than anybody else!

Research has not shown when Jeremiah married but the approximate date is 1806. Little is known of this woman, our ancestral grandmother. We do know her name was Polly so likely her birth name was Mary. Her last name is forever lost to the sands of time. Polly is the mother to all of Jeremiah's children.
Jeremiah and Polly have a total of eight children; three sons and five daughters. The sons were named Bartemus, Jeremiah Jr., and James (another clue that Rev. War James could be Jeremiah's father). The daughters have been harder to track but we know one was named Parcidy (had children with John Yates Jr.) and one named Mary (who married Joseph Yates).

In 1821, Jeremiah bought one hundred acres of land on Thompson Creek in Russell County just a few miles past the current Honaker High School and near the junction of Thompson Creek Road and Tunnel Road. He must have been renting or sharecropping from his arrival in 1806 until this purchase of land in 1821.

Until recently no one has known exactly what happened to Jeremiah's first wife Polly. A recent discovery from the Russell County Law Order Book from May 1832 provides information as to her fate. These records state Polly Compton was picked up by the local constable and taken to the county jail on grounds of insanity. She is still found in the local jail at Lebanon in early 1833 awaiting transport to the mental hospital in Williamsburg. The Eastern State Mental Hospital in Williamsburg has records of receiving a Polly Compton in July 1833. No other records exist and she likely died shortly thereafter due to the brutal conditions in this type of hospital at that time.
In approximately 1835, Jeremiah remarried Courtney Deel Yates. Jeremiah and Courtney had no children together. Courtney, Jeremiah's second wife, was previously married to John Yates Sr. and had many children with John before he died in 1832.

In the 1840 Russell County census, Jeremiah and Courtney are found living at Lewis Creek near Honaker. Jeremiah purchased 67 acres on Lewis Creek in 1837. So for a short period of time he moved away from his Thompson Creek farm. At some point in the mid-1840's he and Courtney move back to the original Thompson Creek farm.

Jeremiah and Courtney were members of the New Garden Baptist Church that was located just outside of Honaker. The only occupation that Jeremiah held was a farmer and he could not read or write. He ran a small self-sufficient farm that supplied his large family with food and clothing. This way of life was second nature to Jeremiah and had been passed down to him from many Compton generations before him. He never held any public office or fought in any war, he was a simple man.

In 1848 Jeremiah starts to deed off his land and anticipates he is approaching death. He deeds the home place on Thompson Creek and some surrounding acreage to his daughter Mary and her husband Joseph Yates. In the deed, he demands that Joseph and Mary take care of him and Courtney until their death and provide them with a proper burial. Also in October 1848, Jeremiah deeds his son Jeremiah Compton Jr. 60 acres of land on Thompson Creek for "love and affection."

Jeremiah is last found in public record in the spring of 1854 on the personal property tax record. He died sometime after spring 1854. His final resting place cannot be located although it is thought he is buried somewhere on his Thompson Creek farm. After Jeremiah's death, Courtney moved in with her son John Yates Jr. who lived near present-day Vansant and she died there in 1862 at almost 100 years old. There has been some speculation that Jeremiah and Courtney migrated to the present-day Vansant area before Jeremiah died so it is possible he is buried at Vansant where Courtney's unmarked grave is.

Jeremiah Compton Sr. of Russell County, VA has been a person misidentified for the past 80 years. Luckily with the help of Y-DNA testing and new records surfacing researchers have correctly identified the father of Jeremiah. Please check out my website on the early Compton family that settled in Russell County, VA. https://earlycomptonfamilyrussellcounty.weebly.com/

The errors in research on Jeremiah started with the publication "Comptonology" that was printed in the 1940's. Comptonology stated that the likely father of Jeremiah was Abraham Compton Sr. of New Jersey to Botetourt County, Va. Jeremiah has also been listed with other parents over the years. What we know for 100% sure that he was NOT the son of Abraham Sr. (thanks to DNA) and WAS closely related to a group of Comptons that came out of North Carolina and settled in Russell County around the same time Jeremiah settled there. Here is a bio of the most recent research on the elusive Jeremiah Compton Sr.

Jeremiah Compton Sr. born somewhere between 1780 and 1782 probably in the Caswell County area of North Carolina. His descendants now number in the thousands and have spread all over the country.

Jeremiah Compton Sr. is first found in the public record in 1802 when he joined the Lynches Creek Baptist Church by baptism. This church is significant because his grandfather, David Herndon, and his mother Frances Herndon Compton are both found in early records of this church. Then in 1803 he is excommunicated from the church due to drinking!

Sometime between 1803 and 1806 Jeremiah removed to Russell County, Virginia. He is found on the 1806 personal property Upper District Tax List for Russell County, Virginia. In the 1808 Tax List of Russell County, two other Compton men show up for the first time, David and Thomas Compton who were known brothers. David and Thomas were confirmed inhabitants of the Caswell County, North Carolina area and sons of James Compton, a Revolutionary War veteran. Y-DNA results seem to corroborate that Jeremiah, David and Thomas were brothers.
All three of these Compton men settle within a mile of one another near present day Honaker on Thompson Creek. In the late 1820's, James Compton moved to Thompson Creek and upon his death in 1832, Jeremiah Compton buys more things from his estate sale than anybody else!

Research has not shown when Jeremiah married but the approximate date is 1806. Little is known of this woman, our ancestral grandmother. We do know her name was Polly so likely her birth name was Mary. Her last name is forever lost to the sands of time. Polly is the mother to all of Jeremiah's children.
Jeremiah and Polly have a total of eight children; three sons and five daughters. The sons were named Bartemus, Jeremiah Jr., and James (another clue that Rev. War James could be Jeremiah's father). The daughters have been harder to track but we know one was named Parcidy (had children with John Yates Jr.) and one named Mary (who married Joseph Yates).

In 1821, Jeremiah bought one hundred acres of land on Thompson Creek in Russell County just a few miles past the current Honaker High School and near the junction of Thompson Creek Road and Tunnel Road. He must have been renting or sharecropping from his arrival in 1806 until this purchase of land in 1821.

Until recently no one has known exactly what happened to Jeremiah's first wife Polly. A recent discovery from the Russell County Law Order Book from May 1832 provides information as to her fate. These records state Polly Compton was picked up by the local constable and taken to the county jail on grounds of insanity. She is still found in the local jail at Lebanon in early 1833 awaiting transport to the mental hospital in Williamsburg. The Eastern State Mental Hospital in Williamsburg has records of receiving a Polly Compton in July 1833. No other records exist and she likely died shortly thereafter due to the brutal conditions in this type of hospital at that time.
In approximately 1835, Jeremiah remarried Courtney Deel Yates. Jeremiah and Courtney had no children together. Courtney, Jeremiah's second wife, was previously married to John Yates Sr. and had many children with John before he died in 1832.

In the 1840 Russell County census, Jeremiah and Courtney are found living at Lewis Creek near Honaker. Jeremiah purchased 67 acres on Lewis Creek in 1837. So for a short period of time he moved away from his Thompson Creek farm. At some point in the mid-1840's he and Courtney move back to the original Thompson Creek farm.

Jeremiah and Courtney were members of the New Garden Baptist Church that was located just outside of Honaker. The only occupation that Jeremiah held was a farmer and he could not read or write. He ran a small self-sufficient farm that supplied his large family with food and clothing. This way of life was second nature to Jeremiah and had been passed down to him from many Compton generations before him. He never held any public office or fought in any war, he was a simple man.

In 1848 Jeremiah starts to deed off his land and anticipates he is approaching death. He deeds the home place on Thompson Creek and some surrounding acreage to his daughter Mary and her husband Joseph Yates. In the deed, he demands that Joseph and Mary take care of him and Courtney until their death and provide them with a proper burial. Also in October 1848, Jeremiah deeds his son Jeremiah Compton Jr. 60 acres of land on Thompson Creek for "love and affection."

Jeremiah is last found in public record in the spring of 1854 on the personal property tax record. He died sometime after spring 1854. His final resting place cannot be located although it is thought he is buried somewhere on his Thompson Creek farm. After Jeremiah's death, Courtney moved in with her son John Yates Jr. who lived near present-day Vansant and she died there in 1862 at almost 100 years old. There has been some speculation that Jeremiah and Courtney migrated to the present-day Vansant area before Jeremiah died so it is possible he is buried at Vansant where Courtney's unmarked grave is.