Capt. Nathaniel Austin, Sr

In our Austin lineage, our earliest known ancestor is Captain Nathaniel (Nathan) Austin, Sr.  He was born around 1720 in England, possibly York.  Tradition holds that Nathaniel came to America in about 1750 with his wife, Mary Manning (married around 1742), and their three sons;  Nathaniel, Jr., Walter Manning, and Thomas. Mary and Nathaniel had two more sons, John and Francis, who were born in Virginia. Mary, who was born around 1725 in York, England, died in 1753 soon after their youngest son, Francis, was born.

In that day and age, widowers left with children did not typically wait long to remarry.  Nathaniel married Agnes Dickinson in 1754 in St. Martin's Parish, VA.  Together they had six children, five more sons - Dickinson, William, Thompson, Samuel and Robert - and a daughter, Mary.  It is through Robert's lineage that I am connected to this branch of our family.   Nathan Austin and his family lived in southern Wythe County, Virginia for about 10 years where he held the position of constable before moving to South Carolina.  

The Surveyor General had signed Nathaniel Austin's Royal Land Grant in 1769 for 500 acres of land on Little River, a branch of the Saluda River, in the area of Simpsonville (then Laurens County) and today known as Greenville, SC.  However it was not until 1774 that the family moved to South Carolina.  Described as "a man of commanding personality, bold, and adventurous," it is believed Nathan Austin went to South Carolina as an emissary to the Cherokee Indians and operated a trading post where he built the family home known as Gilder.  South Carolina was overrun at that time with British soldiers and those hired by the British to oppose the local colonists which included many native American tribes.  See my blog  post about Ambrose Mills

Trading post of the 1700s - Drawing By C.W. Jefferys

It is shared that their only daughter, Mary, was doted upon.  Tragically, she was killed in an Indian raid as she was returning home from a quilting party at a neighbor's house when she was just 17.  This occurred just before the outbreak of the Revolutionary War.  It is stated that several years later one of her brothers, Col. William Austin, was involved in killing one of the Indians who had been responsible for her death.  

Estimated to be in his upper 50s at this time, Nathaniel Austin, Sr joined the Patriot cause along with several of his sons, showing active service at different times during the war.  He served as Quarter Master Sergeant from May to August in 1779.  Nathaniel Sr. became Captain of Infantry in General Andrew Pickens' Brigade in the South Carolina Militia and was associated with Little River District Regiment under Col. James Williams and Col. Joseph Hayes until at least 1781.  There are eight notations in the Archives of South Carolina Historical Commission at Columbia that authenticate his participation in the Siege of Charleston, Augusta, Kettle Creek (Washington, Georgia), Musgrove Mills, Cowpens (north of Gilder), Eutaw Springs, and several other battles in both South and North Carolina.  Nathaniel Austin was paid nearly 721 pounds for his services in providing provisions to the militia and the military.   

Kettle Creek
Colonel Pickens and his three-hundred man militia, in efforts to aid the Patriot cause, overtook and defeated a much larger force of 700-800 men under Colonel Boyd at Kettle Creek in North Georgia just south of the Long Canes.
Siege of Charleston

After the surrender of Charleston, Pickens and much of his militia took British protection and they were paroled to their homes. Colonel Pickens renounced protection when the British failed to prevent a Loyalist band from plundering his plantation and recalled many of his militia.
Battle of Cowpens
At the Battle of Cowpens on January 17, 1781, Pickens' militia had a major role in the decisive victory over Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton’s British forces.
Battle of Eutaw Springs
Wounded at the Battle of Eutaw Springs in September 1781, Pickens recovered to wage two more punitive campaigns against the Cherokees in mid-1782 along with his band of militia.

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Life At Gilder Plantation

The original home known as Gilder had been described as a two-story log house, although it is referred to as a "plantation."  It was located one and a half miles inside Indian Territory in Austin Township, SC.
Nathaniel's son William eloped with his neighborhood sweetheart, Jane Collins, and they moved into Glider with William's parents. The log house must have soon become crowded because according to tradition all of the William's children were born at his father's new house called Gilder II. William's first child was born in December 1783. The baby was a girl was named Mary for her aunt who had been killed by the Indians.

House raisings were exciting affairs in the Colonial period. The neighborhood gathered and the men assisted in building the house. It probably didn't take long to erect the 8-room Gilder II "in a grove of giant cedars, hickory and oak, with two massive stone chimneys."  The house stood until around 1920. Col. William Austin built Glider III, the house that stands today, about 1830. 

Gilder III

A description from "Atlanta and Environs" by Franklin Garret written in 1880 gives us some insight into what life was like at Gilder in the early days:  "When my parents and grandparents moved here in 1822 there were only six families in the county.  There was a large unbroken range. Sheep went

where they pleased, coming home occasionally to be salted.  At the time of the new moon in September our fathers would go to the forest and drive the sheep home and shear them, and our mothers would wash the wool and card and spin it.  We boys were pressed in the spinning business also.  Our mothers would have different kinds of bark brought in from the forest to dye the wool and white.  I wish I had a suit of it now like my mother used to make 60 years ago."

"Cooking was done in pots, ovens and skillets before large open fireplaces, wide and high enough to receive large logs. The water supply came chiefly from springs, sometime quite a distance from the house.  The digging of wells was rarely attempted until later years.  Light was made by torch pine or from homemade tallow candles. There were no friction matches and people "borrowed fire" from each other or produced it by means of flint, steel, and "punk."  Travel, by foot, horseback or wagon, was slow and laborious over the trails that served for roads. "

"Amusements were confined mostly to dancing, quilting [quilting parties], log rolling [log rolling contests], shooting matches, gander pulling and horse racing."

From the Austin Family Bible: "13 February 1798. Capt. Nathaniel Austin, founder of Gilder and ancestor of many upstanding citizens down through the years, died in his own home. He is buried on part of his original plantation, where nine generations have continued to live."

The Austin lineage is as follows:

Cpt. Nathaniel Austin, Sr (1729- appx 1798) & Agnes Dickenson (1730-1788) 

6th great grandparents

Agnes Dickenson was a distant cousin of the poet Emily Dickenson.

Robert Austin (1776-1855) & Margaret Allen (1780-1850) 

 5th great grandparents

William Anglin, Sr (1786-1874) & Martha Austin (1799- appx 1870) 

4th great grandparents

Raburn Anglin (1832-1917) & Kate Edney (1834-1910) and William Anglin, Jr (1826-1863) & Sarah McIntosh (1830- bef 1910) 

3rd great grandparents

    * Raburn & William were brothers*    

Elizabeth Anglin d/o Raburn & Kate (1859 -1921) & James Anglin s/o William & Sarah (1849-1894) and James "Breck"inridge Anglin (1866-  appx 1940)& Josephine Hill (1861-1947)

2nd great grandparents

*Elizabeth and James Breckenridge were siblings do/ & s/o Raburn and Kate*

Laura Anglin d/o Eliz & James (1888-1929) & John Anglin s/o Breck & Josephine (1889-1979)

great grandparents

Clifford Anglin (1914-1997) & Irene Grabowski (1918-2014)

grandparents

Bruce Anglin (1938- )  & Ethel Dinicola (1940-1969)   

parents

Donna Anglin (1961 -  )

me