Thomas Ingles

Thomas Ingles (1751–1809, sometimes spelled Thomas Inglis or Thomas English) was a Virginia pioneer, frontiersman and soldier. He was the son of William Ingles and Mary Draper Ingles. He, his mother and his younger brother were captured by Shawnee Indians and although his mother escaped, Thomas remained with the Shawnee until age 17, when his father paid a ransom and brought him back to Virginia. He later served in the Virginia militia, reaching the rank of colonel by 1780.

Early life and captivity

Ingles was born in 1751 on the Ingles family farm at Draper's Meadow, a pioneer settlement on the banks of Stroubles Creek near modern-day Blacksburg, Virginia.John P. Hale, Trans-Allegheny pioneers: historical sketches of the first white settlements west of the Alleghenies, Cincinnati: The Graphic Press, 1886. His younger brother George was born there in 1753.

On 30 July (or 8 July, according to John P. Hale and Letitia Preston FloydFloyd, Letitia Preston, "Memoirs of Letitia Preston Floyd, written Feb. 22, 1843 to her son Benjamin Rush Floyd," transcribed from the original by Jim Glanville and Ryan Mays; in Smithfield Review, vol. 20, 2016), 1755, during the French and Indian War, a band of Shawnee warriors (then allies of the French) raided Draper's Meadow and killed six settlers, including Mary's mother and her infant niece. Paper presented at Northern Kentucky History Day, 2009. They took five captives, including Mary and her sons George and Thomas, her sister-in-law Bettie Robertson Draper, and her neighbor Henry Lenard (or Leonard). Thomas's father William was nearly killed but fled into the forest.

Mary and her sons were taken to Lower Shawneetown at the confluence of the Ohio River and the Scioto River, on what is now the Ohio-Kentucky border. Mary was separated from her two sons, and Thomas was taken to Detroit. George was taken to an unknown location and probably died soon afterward. In October, Mary and another woman escaped and walked for 42 days to return to Draper's Meadow.

Ransom and return to Virginia

Between 1756 and 1768, Thomas' father William Ingles made several trips to Ohio to negotiate for the release of his son Thomas."Thomas Ingles," Bluestone National Park Service, US National Park Service, February 8, 2021 William met a man named Baker who had been held captive by the Shawnee at Lower Shawneetown, and had known Thomas and his adoptive father.Pendleton, William Cecil. History of Tazewell County and Southwest Virginia: 1748-1920. W. C. Hill printing Company, 1920; pp 443-447 William hired Baker to find Thomas (now living at Pickaway Plains on the upper Scioto River) and bring him back to Ingles Ferry. Baker traveled to the village, located Thomas, and was able to pay a ransom of $150 to bring him back, but during the journey, Thomas ran away and returned to his Shawnee family.Ian K. Steele, Setting All the Captives Free: Capture, Adjustment, and Recollection in Allegheny Country, Vol. 71 of McGill-Queen's Native and Northern Series; McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP, 2013. In 1768, William Ingles and Baker traveled together to Lower Shawneetown and persuaded Thomas, now 17, to return with them to Virginia.

After thirteen years among the Shawnee, Thomas had become fully acculturated and spoke only Shawnee, so William sent him for several years of "rehabilitation" and education under Dr. Thomas Walker at Castle Hill, Virginia.Alexander Canaday McLeod, "A Man for All Regions: Dr. Thomas Walker of Castle Hill." The Filson Club History Quarterly, Vol. 71, No. 2, April 1997; pp. 169-201 Thomas' son Thomas Jr. later wrote that, while at Castle Hill, Thomas Sr. studied violin together with Thomas Jefferson."Data for a Memoir of Thomas Ingles of Augusta, Kentucky," transcribed by James Duvall, M. A. Boone County Public Library Burlington, Kentucky from a copy owned by Patty Hons, Lawrenceburg, Indiana, 2008

Military career

On 7 May 1774, Thomas Ingles was commissioned as a lieutenant in the Fincastle County MilitiaG. Lee McClain, ed. Military History of Kentucky, Federal Writers Project of the Works Progress Administration for the State of Kentucky, Kentucky State Journal. Frankfort, KY, July 1939 and served under Colonel William Christian in Lord Dunmore's War against the Shawnee.Mary B. Kegley, Revolutionary War Pension Applications of Southwest Virginia Soldiers. Kegley Books, Wytheville, VA, 1997.Woods, Edgar. Albemarle County in Virginia: Giving Some Account of what it was by Nature, of what it was Made by Man, and of Some of the Men who Made it. Michie Company, printers, 1901. On 10 October 1774, Ingles and his father William participated in the Battle of Point Pleasant,John D. Sinks, "Proving Service at the Battle of Point Pleasant for Sons of the American Revolution," National Society, Sons of the American Revolution, 28 July 2015Simpson-Poffenbarger, Livia Nye. The Battle of Point Pleasant: A Battle of the Revolution, October 10th 1774: Biographical Sketches of the Men who Participated. State Gazette, 1909.Winkler, John F. Point Pleasant 1774: Prelude to the American Revolution. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2014. although Thomas' son Thomas Jr. later wrote that his father's regiment did not reach the battlefield until after the battle had ended.John. R. Thompson, ed., "The Ingles Family, or, An Incident in Border Life," in Southern Literary Messenger, vol 19, 1853. Following the battle, Thomas was stationed in the fort at Point Pleasant (Fort Blair), and took the opportunity to return to his former Shawnee home on the Scioto to visit his adoptive family. According to his nephew, he "stayed some time with them."

He served as a company captain in the Montgomery County, Virginia militia during the American Revolutionary War,Roberts, R. A. "Montgomery County’s Revolutionary Heritage (Continued)." The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, 47(1), 1939; pp 32–40 and, according to his son, received a commission as Colonel of Militia from Thomas Jefferson.

Kidnapping of wife and children, 1782

He married Eleanore Grills in 1775 and in 1778 he settled in Wright's Valley, near what is now Bluefield, West Virginia.Johnston, David Emmons. A History of Middle New River Settlements and Contiguous Territory. Standard Ptg. & Publishing Company, 1906. In 1780, the family relocated to Burke's Garden, Virginia. In 1782, while Thomas was absent, his wife and three children were kidnapped by Indians, led by Black Wolf.Bruce, Thomas. Southwest Virginia and Shenandoah Valley: An Inquiry Into the Causes of the Rapid Growth and Wonderful Development of Southwest Virginia and Shenandoah Valley, with a History of the Norfolk and Western and Shenandoah Valley Railroads. Hill Publishing Company, 1891.John P. Hale, History Of The Great Kanawha Valley, With Family History And Biographical Sketches. A Statement Of Its Natural Resources, Industrial Growth And Commercial Advantages, Vol. 1, Brant, Fuller & Co. Madison, WI., 1891 Thomas and a group of volunteers pursued the Indians who had taken them, and after five days they were able to launch an attack. In the ensuing altercation, the Indians killed the two older children, and Eleanore was tomahawked. Thomas rescued her and their youngest daughter, as well as two of his Black slaves the Indians had also captured. Eleanor survived after several pieces of her fractured skull were removed by a surgeon. She bore five more children after this, including four sons and a daughter, according to her son Thomas Jr.

Later life

Following his father William's death in 1782, Thomas Ingles took over the operation of Ingles Ferry."Montgomery County Reconnaissance Level Survey," Vol 1, July 1986, Historic Sites Survey: Virginia Division of Historic LandmarksKegley, Frederick Bittle., Kegley, Mary B. Early Adventurers on the Western Waters: The New River of Virginia in pioneer days, 1745-1800. Green Publishers, 1980. William's will of 6 September 1782, dictates: "Son Thomas a tract of land 1000 [acres] on the Blue Stone, known by the name of Absolem's Valley, and a slave.""William Inglis," Montgomery County, Virginia, November 1782; Virginia, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1652-1900 The 1782 Montgomery County, Virginia Personal Property Tax List shows that he was assessed for taxes on two slaves, 12 horses and 15 cattle.1782 Montgomery County, Virginia Personal Property Tax List

On 3 August 1786, Thomas served as a commissioner for the State of Franklin,Ramsey, James Gettys McGready. The Annals of Tennessee: To the End of the Eighteenth Century, Philadelphia: Lippincott, 1860. together with William Cocke, Alexander Outlaw, and Samuel Wear, for the Treaty of Coyatee, in which the State of Franklin forced Corntassel, Hanging Maw, John Watts, and the other Overhill Cherokee leaders to cede to the State of Franklin the remaining land between the boundary set by the Treaty of Dumplin Creek and the Little Tennessee River.Williams, Samuel Cole. History of the Lost State of Franklin. Watauga Press, Johnson City, TN, 1924.

After 1786 he moved to Tennessee with his wife and children and lived on the Watauga River, at Mossy Creek. His son Thomas Jr. was born in Grainger County, Tennessee in 1791. He had a home in Nashville, Tennessee in 1798, where he was visited by James Weir, who described him as "a gentleman of distinguished civility."Rothert, Otto Arthur. A History of Muhlenberg County. J.P. Morton, 1913. In February 1800, he relocated to Port Gibson, Mississippi. He died at Natchez, Mississippi in 1809.

Thomas Ingles

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