Biography of GRAYSON Family
          Surnames: GRAYSON, EDDY, ROBERTSON, MITCHELL, BRITT

    Robertson Genealogy (Part 3: Grayson Family) by Brenda Robertson-Dennis

    There is a great deal of documentation on the Grayson family that dates back to before the Revolutionary War, more
 information than there is room for in this article. What follows is a general outline with a few descriptions leading 
to the connection to the Robertson's of Logan County, KY.

    The relationship of the Grayson's to the Robertson's, as it relates to our line is as follows (in order by generation)
: 1. John Jefferson Grayson (b. 1789 Albemarle Co., VA) m. Susannah Britt (b. 1794 Albemarle Co., VA). 2. Susan Caroline
 Grayson (b. 1833 Logan Co., KY) m. Samuel Eddy (b. 1830 Lincoln Co., TN). 3. Amanda America Eddy (b. 1858 Logan Co., KY) 
m. Charles Thomas Robertson (b. 1862 Logan Co., KY). 4. Leslie Clarence Robertson (b. 1885 Logan Co., KY) m. 
Jennie Elizabeth Mitchell (b. 1890 Butler Co., KY).

    John B. Grayson was born 1660-1665 in England. He married Susannah White some time before 1700 and started a family.
 John and Susannah arrived in Spotsylvania Co., Virginia about 1700 and made their home. A 1737 map of the Northern neck
 of Virginia shows various plantations along the Potomac and Rappahannock Rivers. About five miles below Fredericksburg 
was the Grayson Plantation. Nearby, was the well-known plantation of Gov. Alexander Spotswood.

    John and Susannah had at least six children , the first of which was Ambrose Grayson, born in or after 1700 in England.
 Ambrose married Alice James before 1727 and had at least two sons of his own: John (b. abt. 1727) and William (b. November
 6, 1732).

    William Grayson served in the Virginia Militia as Captain during the Revolutionary War. Earlier in his career, he served
 in Forbes Campaign of 1758, an expedition to Fort Pitt (now Pittsburgh) to expel the French and Indians from that part of 
the country. William married Ann Smith before 1767 and had among six children, John Grayson (b. 1767 in Spotslyvania, Co., 
VA). Not much is known about the life of John except that he was a farmer with 4 horses and no slaves. He married a woman 
named Ida Sutherland, and on November 26, 1789, their first child, John Jefferson Grayson, was born. Considering recent 
Independence from England and the family's military and political ties, it seems likely that this child was named in honor
 of his father as well as one of the Nation's Founding Fathers, Thomas Jefferson.

    John Jefferson Grayson married Susannah Britt, daughter of Obadiah Britt and Sarah Wheeler of Albemarle Co., VA on 
July 16, 1812. He served in the war of 1812 and was discharged from Camp Cross Roads, 200 miles from his residence in 
Augusta, VA on December 10, 1814. In 1820, John and Susannah moved to Logan Co., KY where they farmed and raised their 
eleven children: Sally, Elizabeth, Julia Ann, William Jefferson, John Thomas, Willis Henry, Eliza Jane Obadiah, Susan 
Caroline, Virginia, Margaret Amanda and Mary America. Below are the photos of child #5, John Thomas and his wife,
 Caroline McElhaney.

    In 1837, the U.S. Department of the Interior issued John Jefferson a warrant for 40 acres. This was canceled at his 
request on October 7, 1856 so that he could receive a warrant for 160 acres. It is evident that John was somewhat active
 in politics. It is recorded that he once gave a banquet when William Henry Harrison was elected president [for which] he
 bought a full set of dishes with the motto "Harrison and Reform." In the last years of his life, John was employed as 
Supervisor of General Ewing's farm near Adairville in Logan Co., KY. In the photo below he can be seen holding his account 
book, something he was reported to be never without. John Jefferson Grayson died suddenly on April 14, 1862 while
 supervising two slaves planting oats on the farm. He is buried in the Red River Cemetery in Logan Co., KY next to
 his wife.

    John and Susannah's eighth child was Susan Caroline Grayson, (b. June 12, 1833, d. November 11, 1916 in Logan Co., KY).
 She married Samuel Eddy on February 7, 1857 in Robertson Co., TN. Both are buried in the Red River Cemetery. Samuel and 
Susan were the parents of four children, including Amanda America Eddy (b. November 4, 1858, d. March 27, 1932).

    If you'd like to see more information about our family please visit my website:
 http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/r/o/b/Brenda-Robertsondennis-/

    Photos courtesy of Bob Grayson 

          Submitted Sat Aug 18 08:44:20 2001 by: Brenda Robertson-Dennis