FROM ALLEN HERROD
The Gen. John Archer Elmore Chapter and the Cahaba-Coosa Chapter of the Sons of The American Revolution, the Atagi Chapter and the Rufus King Chapter of the DAR and the Old Autauga Historical Society are honoring two revolutionary war veterans on November 5, 2022 at 10 a.m. at the Pea Ridge Cemetery located in Jones, AL. We are honoring William Kirkland and James Porter and asking all interested persons to join us for this grave dedication. This will be a short ceremony with a musket salute.
William Kirkland was born between 1758 and 1762, probably in Granville County, North Carolina, where his parents sold land in 1764. However, his Revolutionary War Pension Application states that he was born in 1762 in Kershaw District, South Carolina.
He was the son of John Kirkland, born about 1720, in Stafford County, Virginia, died between 2 May 1772 (when his will was written) and 10 September 1773 (when his will was probated) in Craven County, South Carolina and his wife Elizabeth Perry. That William is the son of John is proved by John’s naming his sons William and Moses in his will (Will Book SS, p. 441) and a later land transaction in which Moses refers to land willed to him by his father John, witnessed by William and William’s father-in-law James Perry.
John is probably the son of Richard Kirkland and Mary Snowden, daughter of Richard Snowden. The Kirklands and Snowdens emigrated from England or Wales to Anne Arundel County, Maryland in the 1600’s. William’s mother Elizabeth _______, was the first wife of John. She was named in a 1764 land transaction of John’s. She apparently died before 1772, when John’s wife Jean is mentioned in his will.
Before 1790, in Lancaster County, South Carolina, William married Elizabeth Perry, born 14 May 1767, South Carolina, daughter of James Perry and Ann Larrance (Lawrence, Laurence). When James Perry died, he left half of his estate to William. Elizabeth died 12 March 1837.
William Kirkland was a Private in the Revolutionary War. His Pension Application (S.32361) was made on 11 February 1833 in Autauga County. He states that he entered service in 1776 in Kershaw District, South Carolina and served under Captains John Graves, Joseph Kershaw and Starks, Major Lyon, Colonels Robert Goodwin and Thomas Taylor and Generals Williamson and Thomas Sumpter. He relates that he moved to Kentucky about 1812 and to Autauga County about 1824. (Note: Census records indicate that William and his family moved to Logan County, Kentucky, between 1800 and 1810, and then to Autauga County, Alabama, between 1820 and 1830.)
William died 4 October 1838 in Autauga County, Alabama, leaving a Will and Estate Record which names his heirs: Penelope (married William Baker), Zachariah, Eli W. (probably Elijah Washington), Harriett (married Anthony Smith), Alfred, Perry and Daniel. He and his wife Elizabeth are buried in Pea Ridge Cemetery.
