KINCAID

The Kincaid Chief's' traditional coat of arms are displayed on a corbel among the rafters of the Great Hall of Edinburgh Castle. The coat of arms was added to the Great Hall when renovations were completed late in the reign of King James IV. This was the period just prior to the Battle of Flodden in 1513, which indicates that the arms were that of Thomas Kincaid who was Constable of Edinburgh Castle and Master of Works around that time.

The Kincaid surname is of territorial origin being taken from the lands of Kincaid in the Parish of Campsie, Stirling County, Scotland. The lands are located north of Kirkintilloch, in the north-west angle formed by the River Kelvin and its tributary the Glazert. They are located about 9.5 miles north east of the center of Glasgow City.

Our oldest ancestor, that we know of so far, is John Kinkead. The spelling is both important and unimportant at the same time, and this is why we need to put his life into historical perspective. He is definitely Scotch-Irish. This is a U.S. term used to distinguish the Presbyterian/Protestant Scots from Ulster in Northern Ireland, who immigrated to America in the 1700's, as separate and distinct from Irish Catholic emigrations. In England they were called “Ulstermen.”

Some Scots began immigrating to Ireland when Henry VIII outlawed Catholicism, but most simply left because continuous warfare had decimated their lands. Many of these people were Presbyterian, and in the mid-1600's the Scots who settled in Northern Ireland formed an army that tried to expel Catholicism from Ireland. They failed, and in consequence the Irish banned Presbytery worship. However, being farmers, these people were just as concerned with making a living, and a several-year wave of bad weather in the early 1700's only added insult to their religious environment. This is the beginning of the Scotch-Irish wave of emigration to America.

On the records we found, our John's surname was spelled Kinkead-as was almost all of the other Kincaids. Evidently this was the version used by the Irish, while the Scots used KINCAID, KINCADE, etc.. This would seem to indicate that he or his family came from Ireland-an important clue. But if family research indicates anything, it is that name spelling in America was very Unimportant, and cannot be relied on by itself. Though I am convinced he is Scotch-Irish, it is due more to the historical circumstances than his name spelling. He could have been born in Scotland AND be of Scotch-Irish descent. After their failed attempt against the Catholics in the mid-1600's, and the backlash that followed, some Presbyterians moved back to Scotland where they were somewhat protected by English Protestantism. Since John is not born until around 1720, there is enough time from the previous historical events that his family could have lived in Ulster and moved to Scotland before immigrating to America.

The first time we find John is in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, about 1740 when he marries Elizabeth Jordan. Counties and County Seats were named for the exact same places they left in Great Britain. In our story, Carlisle is the county seat of Cumberland County in the north of England (on the Scottish border), as well as Pennsylvania. This could be a good clue as to where someone came from, but more likely if they were one of the original settlers. Cumberland County wasn't formally formed until 1750. The town of Carlisle (county seat) was laid out by Scotch-Irish farmers in 1751. So there is good reason to suspect where John's roots are.

How he got there we do not know-maybe someday-but we can assume that he came for the previously mentioned reasons. In the same way that the emigration patterns for the Scotch-Irish are so similar that they are distinct, once they are in America the same is true again. We can almost take what happened to one family and apply it as gospel to any other (Scotch-Irish that is). In fact, we can build a picture of “why” he came to Cumberland Co., because of the abundance of historical evidence.

Penn's Colony was established in 1682. The Quakers had a “laissez-faire” attitude not only toward religion, but also toward government. This suited the Scotch-Irish very well considering their past history. However, they were so aggressive in buying land that in the 1720's people in York, Lancaster, and the eastern counties would no longer do business with them. This began their migration across the Susquehanna River into what is Cumberland County. Carlisle was built in the middle of prime Indian hunting grounds and warpaths.

There were other forces behind this migration. The English, who had first settled along the eastern seaboard, encouraged the luckless German and Scotch-Irish emigrants to settle in the west as a buffer from the Indians--they were viewed as expendable and willing. The mountains of Western Pennsylvania were seen as so dangerous, and not being as conducive to farming, that most people would continue on over the mountains into Ohio, or turn down into the Shenandoah Valley. Because of this, Carlisle became the western jumping-off point. This will be the frontier for several more years to come.

This is the land where we find John. Though technically under the English Crown, there was no formal government until 1756 when the Quakers finally relinquished their “non-control” of the colony. When he marries Elizabeth, Frederick the Great is just beginning his first “great” campaign; George II was King of England; an English “pound” was supposed to equal 1lb of sterling silver. It had been a 120 years since the Mayflower landed, and would be another 120 years before the Civil War.

In 1756 John Armstrong, a prominent citizen of Carlisle, led 300 militia from the surrounding area, through Sherman's Valley (where we will find another of our ancestors living) on an expedition to drive out some harassing Indians. They were successful enough to have a semblance of peace for a few years-not to last. Was our John with him? He would have been 36, with a farm, a wife, and 5 children. Very possible he was, but if not that particular expedition, then he certainly participated in others.

He lived on Conodoguinit Creek, which flows lazily down a valley between the Tuscarora Mtns. and South Mtn., slowly looping, depositing rich soil in the valley on it's way to the Susquehanna. This is a land of foothills and gently sloping green valleys, with trout in the waters, and turkey in the forest. So it is with this scene in mind that we can better understand the information we have found so far, and hopefully will add to in the future.

Second-hand sources say he was born in Scotland abt. 1720, but we do not know that, and the historical environment would lean toward Ireland. He married Elizabeth Jordan abt. 1740 in Cumberland Co. Pa.. He was at first a farmer, then a shopkeeper in Carlisle, Cumberland, Pa. He at least owned a house on Louther (Lowther) St. in Carlisle, a shop, and some other lots as well. He also owned at various times, plantations of several hundred acres on, Conodoguinit Creek (he bought in 1759, near Carlisle and is said to be the longest creek in the world), Sherman's Valley (about 10mi nth of Carlisle, Sherman River), and in Tyron County, North Carolina. (Another source listed a plantation on Brandywine Creek, but I am sure she is confused with another John Kincaid who also married an Elizabeth, but was very prominent at the same time in the area near Philadelphia) He is on the Cumberland Tax Roll from 1751 to 1772. In 1768 he is found to be selling some, but not all, of his land on Conodoguinit Creek to James Stackpole who is a mason in Carlisle (150 acres?).

On Aug. 2, 1772, he wrote his will (see copy of John's Will). He admits to being physically sick. To his wife, Elizabeth, he leaves: property in Carlisle, servant girls, a Negro named Rose, a black horse, saddle, bed & furniture, and 1/3 of profits from properties after further divisions with his sons and daughters.

To his oldest son Andrew, his Plantation on Conodoguinit Creek, where Andrew lives. Andrew's son John is to receive this when he turns 21. Thomas receives the plantation in Sherman's Valley, where he lives, and the house and other properties in Carlisle. To John he leaves the Plantation on Crowder creek, Tyron Co, N.C., 10 pnds cash, 10 pnds of Broad Cloth & Check, a silver watch, and a set of plow irons. He leaves 100 pnds to Daughter Elizabeth Waugh and 100 pnds to her son John. A second daughter had died at 13 yrs old. He also gives rights to a “kinsman” named John Jordan who could be a brother of his wife, or her father. John dies 2 days later and is buried at Springs Cemetery, 2 miles NW of Carlisle, next to his 13 yr old daughter Mary.

Thomas was born in 1747 in Cumberland Co. and married an unknown person in 1772 with whom he had 2 children: Jennet and John. He then marries Hanna Clingan about 1778 in Cumberland Co., and they lived on the plantation he inheretied in Sherman's Valley. During the Revolution, on July 14th, 1778, he enlisted in the 3rd Company of the 6th Battallion of Militia from Cumberland Co., and served under Captain Sam Patten (his brother Andrew was also serving in another unit from Cumberland). On Jan. 1, 1779 he and Hannah sell one of the Carlisle lots that he inherited to a James Polluck, tavern keeper, for 200 pounds. I believe he has left Carlisle by 1785 as the previously mentioned John Jordan puts an add in the Carlisle Gazette selling another of John Snr's lots in Carlisle.

We assume he went to York Co., S.C., because that is where his brother John is (his inheritance). But Clingan Kincaid (the first of 3 Clingan's) is born there in 1788. We do not have much evidence of Thomas' stay there, but it wasn't long. However, his brother John may have left a lot of clues about himself.

John Kincaid Jr, having inherited the plantation on Crowder creek, Tyron Co., NC, moved there shortly after his father's death. He was born Aug. 9, 1749, and supposedly he married a woman named Elizabeth Dodds. Elizabeth died April 10, 1817, and is buried in Clover, SC. John remarried Anna Gregory in September of the same year (1817).

There are at least 2 books on the Battle of Kings Mountain that list short bios on John Kincaid(Kincade). However, there has evidently been some confusion between our John and another John Kincaid from Virginia. Though no book I've found ever listed 2 John Kincaids, there is some historical evidence to suggest that both men may have been there. Our John certainly made the claim on his pension application, which you can see a copy of the page where he listed his service record by clicking on the link provided (Pension). It should also be noted that our john lived just a few miles from Kings Mountain. John dies on Aug. 10, 1836 and is buried in Gaston, NC. (Gaston used to be TYRON Co.)

Cont. THOMAS: Shortly after Clingan is born, Thomas moves to Greene Co. Tn. He buys 450 acres there in 1790, on Bent Creek. This area becomes Jefferson County and he is found to sell some land in 1799. In April of 1800, he is given permission to build a Grist mill on his side of the Clinch River. In 1801 he buys 500 acres in Anderson Co.. In 1803 he, and or, his son Thomas is summoned numerous times as a juror. Thomas Senior is specified at least 1 time. From that time until 1831 he is found several times selling land to his son's including Clingan. I believe he died at this time; he was 84 and does not appear anymore.

Thomas' wife Hannah Clingan, is an important figure here as it is her maiden name that begins the line of our 3 Clingans, and her own family is well documented. Her father was George Clingan who came to America about 1739-probably from Ireland--and settled in Chester Co. where she was born. In 1772 he bought 375 acres near Gettyburg, Pa..

We have a copy of George Clingan's Will, dated March 20, 1777, in which he leaves Hannah 100 pnds and 75 pnds in Stock and furniture. However, his brother, William Clingan (see picture) was a member of the Continental Congress, signer of the Articles of confederation, and had fought at Trenton, Princeton, Brandywine Creek, Germantown, and served in several other assignments on the frontier.

Clingan was Thomas' 3rd child, and is found in court records in 1813 when he was summoned as a juror in Anderson County, Tn.. We have no record of when, but he married a woman named Ruth, with one source giving her maiden name as MacDonald. I believe they married sometime around 1814, because that is when James Madison Kincaid is born (their first). Then he is found in the deed books buying land from his father, Thomas, in 1820. They had 11 kids, all in Anderson County. One of these was the 2nd Clingan (MacDonald) Kincaid. Three of the brothers fought for the Confederacy in the same unit, McKenzie's 5th Tennessee Cavalry. The oldest brother, James Madison Kincaid, was their captain. Two of James' sons were also in the 5th. Clingan is found in the 1830, 1840 census of Anderson County; 1850, 1860 census of Roane County, TN.. He died in 1862, in Roane County. There is a court record where Ezekiel Bailey is the Administrator of Clingan's estate.

Clingan MacDonald was born Dec. 24, 1830 in Anderson County, and married Elizabeth Barnard on July 19, 1851 in Roane County. One source says his 4th child, the 3rd Clingan was born in 1858 in Bedford County, which is in Middle TN, but this may be an error as Clingan Mac is found on the Tax roll of 1857 for Roane County. I have no other source to say he ever left Roane Co., but he is definitely there in 1860 per the census. His brother Captain James M. Kincaid, Co B, 5th TN Cavalry, enlisted him in the Confederate cavalry on Nov. 12, 1862, in Kingston, Roane Co., TN. He was 32 yrs old. Something happened to him very early, as he is absent on “surgeon's certificate” through early part of 1863. He is then with the unit from about May of '63 until Joe Johnston's surrender in April of 1865. He was paroled on May 3, 1865 at Charlotte, NC. (Copy of his Civil War Parole)

5 th Tenn. Cav.: Originally the 1st TN in early '62, changed to 13th Battalion, of which JM Kincaid was the original Capt. of Co. “H”. Other Companies were added to the 13th Btn to form the 5th TN. At first the 5th was used on several raids into Kentucky, and in constant taking/retaking of territory in East Tennessee, where they were from. They were assigned to Forrest Corp at the Battle of Chickamauga, on the right side. They were then assigned to Wheelers Corp. for the entire Chattanooga Campaign. During the siege, they made an extensive raid of the Federal rear into Tennessee. From this point they were heavily involved in the Atlanta campaign, fighting at Tunnel Hill, Ringold, Dalton, and the siege itself. After the Confederates abandon Atlanta, they raided into Alabama with fights at Flat Shoals and Browns Mill. Then they rode around Sherman's Army, on their way to Savannah, and rejoined with the Army. During the Carolinas campaign Gen Wade Hampton took over command of the Cavalry. The regiment was surrendered on April 26, 1865, at Durham station, NC.

Clingan's brother, Capt. James M. Kincaid, had resigned his post in Aug 1863 due to Rheumatism (he was 49). In Dec. of '63 he was captured as the Federals had retaken E. TN.. He showed his discharge papers, but they arrested him anyway. He died at Camp Chase Prison, near Columbus Ohio, on Feb. 6, 1865, of chronic diarrhea.

The Kincaid's were all devastated by the war. East Tenn. was heavily pro-Union and after the war they were persecuted so that they had to leave and settled in Bedford Co. Middle Tenn.. There are some court records of suits against the men of “Kincaid's Company” for personal property damages caused by them during the war. In particular, the case of Robert Byrd in 1867 at the County Courthouse in Kingston.

Mr. Byrd was a Colonel in the Union Army under Gen. Burnside, and he had lived in Roane County. His wife ran a schoolhouse, evidently of higher learning as her students are referred to as “scholars”, and her income from the school “must have been 20 or 30 dollars per month.” In Feb. of 1862, Kincaid's Company took possession of the schoolhouse and the surrounding grounds as an encampment, with the officers staying in the house, and the men in tents outside. Col. Byrd brought suit against several named men who were in Kincaid's Company, for damages to the schoolhouse, and for the loss of his wife's income while it was occupied, until July 1862(probably not physically occupied that whole time, but she could not repossess the house until the next time the Union controlled the area).

Capt. Kincaid is dead by the time of the suit, and I can only assume the men named in the suit were merely the unfortunate ones who were left alive, or they were all that could be found. Some witnesses said that they took good care of the house, but other said they took the benches out to feed their horses from, and the horses chewed them up. No result of the case is given.

James Madison is sued 2 other times in 1866: once $130 by G.W. Barnard, who was an in-law through Clingan Mac's wife; and again for $100 by Ezekiel Bailey, the previously mentioned administrator of Clingan's (James and Clingan Mac's father) estate. Both suits are to recognize that James is dead and therefore are asking the court to make his descendants liable. His land is sold to Jonathan M. Barnard, who is Elizabeth's brother, for $4,600. He was found on the 1857 Tax roll as having 800 acres worth $4,000.

The Barnards: Clingan McDonald married Elizabeth Barnard, whose family is fairly prominent in the area. Her father, Jonathan, established a community called “Barnardsville” near Kingston when he came to Tennessee (probably about the same time as the Kincaid's). Evidently, all the Barnards lived there, and so did the Kincaid's. It had it's own Post Office ran by the Barnards. I have not pursued this side yet, but there is also a Barnardsville just over the mountains in NC, and it is possible they have roots from there. In the 1860 Census, his estate is worth $13,300, which I think would be a considerable sum at that time. Elizabeth had 9 children with Clingan McD.

Clingan McD is found in the Tax Roll of 1857 for Roane County with 140 acres worth about $500. After the war he moved his family to Bedford County or Lincoln County. He lives in an area where Bedford, Lincoln, and Moore County meet, and the county boundaries may have moved so that the different records are actually of the same place (not too far from the Jack Daniels Distillery). A national scenic route runs through the middle of this area today. He is found in the 1870 Census as 38 yrs old in Lincoln County. This county is just over the border from Alabama, and due south of Nashville.

He died in Petersburg, Lincoln Co., sometime before Jan. 22, 1897, the date of his obituary (the obit does not state the year-from another source). However, the obit says he was a “prominent citizen of Bedford Co. . . . kidney trouble . . . 66 yrs old . . . member of the Missionary Baptist Church for 48 yrs” and his funeral had a large attendance. In his earlier life he had been Primitive Baptist, which taught a simplistic Bible approach, leaving individuals to their own conscience. Later he became “Missionary” Baptist, because they were stricter about prohibition (abstaining from alcohol), which he embraced and practiced. According to Floyd-his grandson-he was very strict and stubborn.

This last of the “Clingans” was born in 1858, most likely in Roane County, TN. He married Ann Richardson Sept. 2, 1879, in Moore Co., TN (this is again very near the 3 county confluence mentioned earlier), whose family is from the same area. (RICHARDSON) Most of what we know about him comes from his Obit and the family history “A Certain Man Passed This Way” written by his son Willie “Floyd” Kincaid (Rufus Mac's younger brother). The picture included with this narrative is from either very late 1902 or 1903 as Floyd is the baby. Rufus MacDonald is about 6 or 7, on the right of his mother. The boys all seen to have the big ears that I personally remember Rufus having, but I cannot really tell from the picture if this came from Ann or Clingan's side. It is also trivial to note that Rufus is the only one who is barefoot-even the youngest girl is wearing shiny leather shoes!--and in shorts, while the other boys are in suit and tie, and the girls are finely dressed in the classic Victorian style-the oldest wearing what appears to be a long beaded necklace. (Clingan3 and Family) (Clingan Pictures - incl. 1867 tintype)

We know that Clingan became a Missionary Baptist Minister, being schooled in Murfreesboro. He was an avid reader, taught rural school, farmed, and preached. They moved to Huntsville, Alabama, about 1901 or 2 and the whole family worked in the cotton mills (Floyd said even Rufus, who was only 6). In 1904 they moved to Tom Bean, Grayson County, Texas, and began cotton farming. During this time, his mother Elizabeth (Barnard) also comes to Texas to help Clingan's brother Albert, whose wife had died (a bold move for a woman at 68yrs old). In 1905 she returned to Bedford County, TN, where she died at 69.

For the next several years they lived in the area between Tom Bean, Whitewright, and Bells, TX. Clingan became a good cotton farmer. He took a leading role in the newly organized Farmers Union, and began actions to bypass the local retailers. This angered the bank in Whitewright and he was soon forced to leave town. They moved to a place called Telephone, TX, on the Red River, by wagon. They would haul their cotton by wagon to Bohnam to sell. This was about 1910/1.

They did not fair well there so they moved again, crossing the Red River by ferry and moving on to Boswell, Oklahoma (Choctaw Indian Territory), by wagon. The town was so new, Clingan helped clear stumps from the streets. In 1917 he moved again, to Sherman, TX, where two of his kids were already living and working. The same year they moved to Prescott, Arkansas, just N.E. of Hope, where he was hired to work on a woman's farm. According to Floyd, this area was full of moonshine stills and the Law didn't come in there. A few years later they moved back to Sherman, and sometime before 1929 they lived in Dallas-according to his son Sam's Obit. His Obit says Clingan died Nov. 11, 1929 at 2858 Grafton St., Dallas, TX., at 71 yrs of age. His Death certificate says he was born in 1857, was 72, and died of Arteriosclerosis, but that an automobile accident was a contributory cause. CD was filed at Terrell, Kaufman County, TX. (Death Certificate)

Ann Richardson - Floyd says Ann was 18 when she married. Supposedly her father, William Richardson, was a Confederate, wounded and taken prisoner. He lived in Lincoln Co. TN when he married Ann's mother, Nancy Raney, in 1847. Ann would ride horseback to neighboring farms, helping the sick and delivering babies. (RICHARDSON)

Rufus was born Apr 29, 1896(his enlistment record says Apr 9th), Pulaski, Giles County, TN. According to Floyd, he had a falling-out with Clingan when he was 15 and left home. He worked at PJ Pierce restaurant in Whitewright, and the Antlers Café in Dennison. From time to time he would return home, only to leave again, going to Sioux City, Iowa just before WWI. This is where he met and married Dorothy Neoma Gunn. They had one child, Jack. Dorothy died at age 29, about 1928, and Rufus remarried later to Shiela Moore Dugger (my grandmother - DUGGER).

He enlisted in the Navy on June 20, 1917, and is listed as a “cigar maker”, with a home address of 908 E. Cherry St, Sherman, TX. His service record says he went from Omaha, NE, to the Naval Training station at Great Lakes(?), to Philadelphia at the end of 1917. On Feb. 1, 1918, he is listed at U.S. Naval Aviation Station, Pavillon, France. From March 1918 until Sept. 1918 he is at the USN Air Station, St. Trojan, France. He is back in the States and discharged on Feb. 7, 1919, in New York. He earned $17.60 per month when he came in, and $41 when he was discharged. On discharge he listed his PO address as Prescott, Arkansas-where Clingan was living at the time. (Pictures of Rufus)