The French and Indian War
1754-1760
The most noted Indian wars were those of 1622 and 1644-46 in
Virginia; the
Pequot War, (1636-37) and
King Philips' War (1675-76) in New England; that with the
Corees and
Tuscaroras in 1715, and that with the Yemasees in 1715, in
the Carolinas. Towards the close of the Seventeenth
Century the Indians on the northern and western frontiers began
to receive aid from the French in Canada, who, whenever their
mother country was at war with England, carried on warfare with
the English colonies, and frequently, accompanied by their
Indian allies, made destructive, and bloody inroads into New
England and New York. This conflict with the French is
known as King William's War or French and Indian War. This
war lasted for seven years, ending in 1760. English disputes
with the French on the Ohio River called for action so an
expedition lead under George Washington was sent to that river.
On May 28, 1754 Washington and his men cut to pieces a French
unit under
Jumonville, who was slain during the combat . Among these
long conflicts the most prominent events were
Braddock's defeat (1755) near
Fort Duquesne when George Washington distinguished himself
by covering the retreat; the capture by the
French of Oswego (1756) and
Fort William Henry, at the head of
Lake George (1757); and the taking of Louisburg after a
siege of seven weeks by
General Amherst and Wolfe, and the repulse of an attack on
Ticonderoga made by a powerful army under General
Abercrombie and Lord Howe (1758). The crowning exploit of
the war was the taking of Quebec (1759) by an army led by
General Wolfe. In 1763, by the
Treaty of Paris, Canada and its dependencies were formally
ceded to Great Britain.
The military records from the French and Indian War are valuable
for genealogical studies. The names and physical features of the
men who were drafted or those who joined of their own free will
were recorded and have been preserved to this day. A study
of these records reveal that the common people of North America
were a colorful mixture and of diverse cultures, with men having
complexions of red, yellow, black, brown, freckled, swarthy and
fair. Many of the surnames listed are also Melungeons surnames.
I have included non Melungeon related surnames to bring into
light the fact that America's Old World immigrants were a
multi-colored people who lived and fought side by side to bring
about a new homeland for their children and their children's
children.
Common
Melungeon surnames are; Adams, Adkins, Allen, Allmond, Ashworth,
Barker, Barnes, Bass, Beckler, Bedgood, Bell, Bennett, Berry,
Beverly, Biggs, Bolen/Bowlen/Bolling/Bowling, Boone, Bowman,
Badby, Branham, Braveboy, Briger/Bridger, Brogan, Brooks, Brown,
Bunch, Butler, Butters, Bullion, Burton, Buxton, Byrd, Campell,
Carrico, Carter, Casteel, Caudill, Chapman, Chavis, Clark,
Cloud, Coal/Cole/Coles, Coffey, Coleman, Colley, Collier/Colyer,
Collins, Collinsworth, Cook(e), Cooper, Cotman, Counts,
Cox/Coxe, Criel, Croston, Crow, Cumba/Cumbo/Cumbow, Curry,
Custalow, Dalton, Dare, Davis, Denham, Dennis, Dial, Dorton,
Doyle, Driggers, Dye, Dyess, Ely, Epps, Evans, Fields, Freeman,
French, Gann, Garland, Gibbs, Gibson/Gipson, Goins/Goings,
Gorvens, Gowan/Gowen, Graham, Green(e), Gwinn, Hall, Hammon,
Harmon, Harris, Harvie/Harvey, Hawkes, Hendricks/Hendrix, Hill,
Hillman, Hogge, Holmes, Hopkins, Howe, Hyatt, Jackson, James,
Johnson, Jones, Keith, Kennedy, Kiser, Langston, Lasie, Lawson,
Locklear, Lopes, Lowry, Lucas, Maddox, Maggard, Major,
Male/Mayle, Maloney, Marsh, Martin, Miles, Minard, Miner/Minor,
Mizer, Moore, Morley, Mullins, Mursh, Nash, Nelson, Newman,
Niccans, Nichols, Noel, Norris, Orr, Osborn/Osborne, Oxendine,
Page, Paine, Patterson, Perkins, Perry, Phelps, Phipps, Pinder,
Polly, Powell, Powers, Pritchard, Pruitt, Ramey, Rasnick,
Reaves/Reeves, Revels, Richardson, Roberson/Robertson/Robinson,
Russell, Sammons, Sampson, Sawyer, Scott, Sexton, Shavis,
Shepherd/Shephard, Short, Sizemore, Smiling, Smith, Stallard,
Stanley, Steel, Stevens, Stewart, Strother, Sweat/Swett,
Swindall, Tally, Taylor, Thompson, Tolliver, Tuppance, Turner,
Vanover, Vicars/Viccars/ Vickers, Ware, Watts, Weaver, White,
Whited, Wilkins, Williams, Williamson, Willis, Wisby, Wise,
Wood, Wright, Wyatt, and Wynn.
Web Index of The French
and Indian War
