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| This 1776 Map shows the location of Clarks Creek (highlighted above), where the Ramsours lived, in what is now Lincoln County, North Carolina. This was the site of the famous Revolutionary War Battle of Ramsours Mill, named for the mill owned and operated by Margaret's father Derrick Ramsour. |
Margaret Ramsour was born about 1733 in Pennsylvania. She was the daughter of Derrick & Catherine Ramsour who were pioneers in Lincoln County North Carolina. Her family moved to Tryon County North Carolina, to Clark's Creek on the Catawba River, about 1752. Lincoln County later formed (1779) from the part of Tryon County in which they lived.
Her connection to her father, and her marriage to Johann Sebastian "Bostian" Klein is confirmed by the fact that her father deeded land to his two sons-in-law on the same day:
pp 281-283 26 & 27 Sept 1770, Derrick Ramsoeur of Tryon Co., to Bostian Cline of same, for (lease s5, release L 50 proc. money)…land on S fork Cataba, part of a larger tract, granted to Peter Broyal, 3 Sept 1753, conveyed to sd. Ramseur by sd. Broyal, 3 Jun 1758, estimated 200 A…Derrick Ramsour (X) (Seal), Wit: Will Reed, Jacob Ramseur, James Huston. Proven Oct. term 1770.
pp 283-285: 26 & 27 Sept 1770, Derrick Ramseur of Tryon Co., to Jacob Carpenter of same, (lease s5, release L 50 proc. money)…land on S fork Cataba, granted to Peter Broyal, 3 Sept 1753…Derick Ramseur (X) (Seal), Wit: Jacob Ramseour, Will Reed, James Huston. Rec. Oct term 1770
[Deed Abstracts of Tryon, Lincoln * Rutherford Counties NC 1769-1786 Tryon County Wills and Estates. Abstracted by Brent Holcomb]
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| The site of Derrick Ramsour's property, where the Battle of Ramsour's Mill was fought during the Revolutionary War. Margaret lived for the greater part of her life on this land, and this is where she raised her family after her husband deserted her. |
Margaret Ramsour and Bostian Klein had the following children:
1) Samuel Klein b. bet 1760-1765 Rowan, NC; d. 1789 Lincoln, NC
2) Katherine Klein b. 1768 Rowan, NC; d. 10 Jun 1820 Lincolnton, Lincoln, NC
3) Daniel Klein b. 1770 Rowan, NC; d. 1794 Lincoln, NC
4) William Klein b. 1775 Rowan, NC; d. Aft. 1850 Macon, NC
5) David Klein b. 1776 Rowan, NC; d. 20 Dec 1828 Cleveland, NC
Shortly after their fifth child was born, Bostian Klein ran off to Georgia Provence with Hannah (Fry) Burns, a wife of one of their neighbors. There is evidence that he may have served in the Georgia militia during the Revolutionary War, in order to support his family there. He and Hannah had two illegitimate children before his death about 1787. Hannah then returned to Lincoln County with her children.
These facts were revealed through court records in which Hannah's husband had gone to court to bring the full force of the law against Bostian Klein for his criminal actions. In 1775, Conrad Burns appeared in court, testifying against Bostian for running off with wife and taking his "goods and chattels" [slaves] with him:
"To the worship Court belonging to Tryon County. Hoping you will be serious spectators and judge the character of Bostian Cline, Jr., of Rowan County. Where we the undersigned subscribers will with much veracity endeavor to inform you as if thou were upon qualifications, whereas divers oathes and information hath made to Captain Blackburn when he was in the commission of the peace, setting forth, that the said Bostian Cline, Jr., a vagrant Lude fellow, several times feloniously took away and seduced the wife of Conrad Burns from him, the lawfull wedded husband, and with her, carried off divers goods and chattalls, the property of said Burns. The said Cline, himself, has a lawfull wedded wife and a family of small children. There is no stop or premade in reguard to their malignant carried practices, but still hankering after that lewde woman, said Burns wife, and makes no industry for a living to support his small comers at home. Said Cline has run off with Burns' wife into Georgia Province and left his own poor distressed family to vindicate their own course as well as they could, and staying with said lewde woman between one and two years. During that time she became pregnant with child, which he, the said Cline, had one Bastard child with her before he had the instigation or motive of breaking the bonds of matrimony between Burns and his wife and himself and his wife. We humble petition, Gentlemen, that you will circumspect students in relation to the whole above written for such practice and carrying on must of consequince be pernidious and malignant in the sight of God, and you yourselves may be the judge what it is in the sight of man. Given under our hands this 10th day of October 1775. Witness Ch. Beckman, Peter Moll, Frances Palmer, [unreadable signature] and Rudolph Conrad.
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All of this must have been devastating to poor Margaret, who was left to raise their young family alone. She would have depended on her extended family, especially her two surviving brothers, until her children were old enough to help with farm work.
On 20 Jun 1780, the Revolutionary War came very literally to Margaret's backyard. The Battle of Ramsour's Mill was fought on her father's property. Her children were just ten to seventeen years of age. She had no husband around to protect her, and her children. It would have been a morning of sheer terror, trying to lay low until the shooting was over.
It must have been a hard life, and Margaret died at an early age of just fifty-five years, on 5 Jan 1789. She was probably buried on her father's farm in the Ramsour family graveyard.
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Notes:
Much information about the Klein family comes from Cicero Cline's book "Klein or Cline History" by Cicero Cline 1915, though much of the information about Margaret and Bastian Klein Jr. has been found to be false. This is the foundation upon which all recent researcher's have built, and Cicero Cline's contribution must be acknowledged. He has Margaret married to Bostian's brother Christopher. It is possible that Christopher helped to support Margaret's children, or even married her after she was divorced. However, this has yet to be proven.
It is believed that Cicero Cline placed Christopher Klein as the father of these children, because he was the only male old enough to have fathered them left in the Lincoln County North Carolina area. However, he did not have access to the information that modern researchers have uncovered about Bostian Klein Jr. so could not have known who the real father was. See notes under Johann Sebastian Klein Jr. for more detailed information.
Information about her parentage, as well as birth and death dates, comes from the following posting:
"Boston Jr's wife, Margaret, is most likely the daughter of Derrick Ramsour. On the same date that Derrick deeds the 200 acres to Boston Cline Jr, husband of Margaret, Derrick also deeds 200 acres to Jacob Carpenter, the husband of his daughter Catherine Ramsour. Lorena Eaker (GSP) states that Margaret Ramsour Cline is born 1740-1744 and dies on January 5, 1789 in Lincoln county. This is consistent with the fact that she does not appear in the 1790 North Carolina census." [From a genweb site posted by Derick S. Hartshorn, III <mailto:DerickH@charter.net> ]
According to Eaker, Margaret died 5 Jan 1789 [German Speaking People West of the Catawba River in NC 1750-1800 by Lorena Shell Eaker].
1 comment:
Thank you for sharing! Margaret was my 5X Great Grandmother. God rest her soul!
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