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their lands against occupation by
American settlers. Christian and his wife helped establish Fort William, Kentucky, where Christian directed the defense of what is now Louisville from Native American attacks. As one of the most experienced military officers in Kentucky, in 1786 he led an expedition
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after
Virginia's royal governor, Lord Dunmore, dismissed the legislature. After the fifth revolutionary convention established the Commonwealth of Virginia, voters from Botetourt and Fincastle counties elected Christian as their representative in the
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498:. The expedition involved little combat, but Christian and his men destroyed Cherokee towns, compelling some of the chiefs to agree to peace. Christian was one of the commissioners who negotiated the "Treaty of the
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556:, in 1790. Two of their daughters died in Jefferson County in 1806, and the youngest married Dr. William Fishback and died in 1840. The Christians' early Kentucky log house still stands.
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435:. However, in the next session, the district boundaries changed, with Botetourt County joining Washington, Montgomery, Greenbrier and Kentucky counties in a district that elected
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533:(who married one of Christian's daughters and began a family) and executed claims for 9,000 acres (36 km) of land as a bounty for his military service.
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went to war with
Virginia in 1776, Christian resigned his Continental Army commission in July, accepting instead the command of an expedition against the
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as their state senator for a four-year part time term. Christian soon returned, after yet another boundary change as settlers moved southwest along the
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379:. They had several daughters who married and had children; their only son, William Henry Christian, died in 1800 at about age 19 without marrying.
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in its last three sessions, from 1773 to 1775. In 1774, Christian commanded a regiment of militia from
Fincastle County in
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in the
Bullitt cemetery in Oxmoor. His son would later be buried in the same graveyard. His widow moved east and died in
502:" with the Cherokees, signed on July 20, 1777. He was also a commissioner in a second treaty with the Cherokees in 1781.
482:. Christian's brother-in-law Patrick Henry was the initial colonel in command, but when the regiment was taken into the
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Cynthia Miller
Leonard, Virginia's General Assembly 1619–1978 (Richmond: Virginia State Library 1978) pp. 103, 105
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Kentucky
Historical Marker Number 974, Kentucky Historical Society, Jefferson County Kentucky at Eight Mile House
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against Native
Americans north of the Ohio River. He was killed in a skirmish on April 9, near present-day
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344:, in 1740, where they operated a general store. Israel Christian represented Augusta County in the Virginia
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1742 – April 9, 1786) was a military officer, planter and politician from the western part of the
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As relations with
Britain soured, Christian became one of the signers of the
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Counties of
Christian and Trigg, Kentucky : historical and biographical
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and was elected to represent the county at the first four of the five
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multiple times between 1758 and 1765, and helped found the towns of
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Several places are named after him or family members, including:
332:. He was the son of the former Elizabeth Starke and her husband
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The Register of the Kentucky State Historical Society, Volume 1
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American military personnel killed in the Northwest Indian War
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In 1785, Christian moved his family and slaves to what became
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Although the Revolutionary War had ended, Native Americans
652:, Encyclopedia of Virginia Biography (1915) Vol. 1 p. 209.
759:, noting that Christian County was named for him in 1797.
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Fort William dedication plaque honoring William Christian
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As a young man, Christian served as a captain in the
718:. Kentucky State Historical Society. 1903. pp.
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in 1777. He was killed in 1786 at the outset of the
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288:and as relations with Britain soured, signed the
240:William Henry Christian and at least 4 daughters
292:. He later represented western Virginia in the
27:American officer and politician (c.1742 – 1786)
847:Virginia militiamen in the American Revolution
259:Military officer, pioneer, planter, politician
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792:Blacksburg–Christiansburg metropolitan area
640:. New York: Scribner's, 1936; revised 1964.
422:neared, Christian served on the Fincastle
418:in the American colonies. In 1775, as the
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817:Continental Army officers from Virginia
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474:On February 13, 1776, he was appointed
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610:"William Christian (ca. 1742–1786)
328:Christian was born about 1742, in
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857:18th-century Virginia politicians
471:became a state in its own right.
634:Dictionary of American Biography
614:Dictionary of Virginia Biography
852:People from Fincastle, Virginia
842:American people of Manx descent
832:History of Louisville, Kentucky
387:Christian lived in the part of
807:People from Staunton, Virginia
685:Leonard pp. 109, 112, 114, 117
671:Perrin, William Henry (1884).
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616:, accessed December 26, 2021.
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146:October 7, 1776 – May 4, 1777
18:William Christian (Virginia)
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822:House of Burgesses members
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628:McCormick, Thomas Denton.
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367:. In the mid-1760s, he
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757:Hopkinsville, Kentucky
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506:Final years and legacy
371:under the guidance of
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231:Annie Henry Christian
451:into what was first
428:Virginia Conventions
314:Northwest Indian War
302:Louisville, Kentucky
650:Lyon Gardiner Tyler
630:"William Christian"
538:continued to defend
424:Committee of Safety
72:Greenbrier Counties
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476:lieutenant colonel
397:House of Burgesses
361:Anglo-Cherokee War
346:House of Burgesses
342:Staunton, Virginia
336:, immigrants from
286:House of Burgesses
278:Colony of Virginia
251:, Elizabeth Starke
209:Colony of Virginia
165:House of Burgesses
134:Fincastle Counties
763:William Christian
753:Historical marker
737:Historical marker
554:Norfolk, Virginia
449:Greenbrier County
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280:. He represented
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152:Succeeded by
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181:1773 – 1774
776:Categories
585:References
492:Oconostota
256:Occupation
103:Greenbrier
99:Washington
56:Washington
457:Jefferson
443:through
354:Fincastle
310:Cherokees
245:Parent(s)
177:In office
142:In office
130:Botetourt
115:In office
95:Botetourt
80:In office
60:Jefferson
52:Botetourt
740:Archived
469:Kentucky
369:read law
237:Children
201:Staunton
632:in the
478:of the
461:Fayette
455:, then
338:Ireland
284:in the
198:c. 1742
68:Lincoln
64:Fayette
463:, and
383:Career
227:Spouse
377:Annie
300:(now
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128:from
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