About 1784, Samuel Davidson crossed the Swannanoa Gap with his wife and infant, and settled on Christian Creek, tributary of the Swannanoa River. A few months later, he was ambushed and killed by Cherokee indians. His wife heard the shots and escped with her infant on foot through the mountains to Old Fort. He was buried near the trail where he fell, and a monument was erected there in 1913 to commemorate the first settler in Western North Carolina beyond the Blue Ridge. (From MY ANCESTRY, BY Foster Alexander Sondley, 1930).
He is twin brother to Maj. William Davidson, and son of John and Jane Davidson.∼Samuel was the first white settler to take his family to settle west across the Blue Ridge mountains. From the foot of the Blue Ridge at Davidson's Fort (now Old Fort,) he and his family crossed the mountains through the Swannanoa Gap. With his wife, his infant daughter Ruth and a female servant, he chose to settle and clear the land at the bank of Christian Creek, on Jones Mtn. He cleared the rugged land, built a crude cabin, planted some crops and cured fresh meats for his family. He tied a cowbell on his horse, so he could always find him, for he never strayed too far. Early one clear morning, he went up the mountain side to get his horse, for it had been over an hour since he last heard it clang. The crackling of branches under Samuel's feet were the last sounds his wife heard before he disappeared into the thickets. Little did he know, that a Cherokee hunting party had taken the bell from his horse and were using it to lure him up the mountain into an ambush. The Indians had set the perfect trap, for as soon as he entered the trail at the top of Jones Mtn., he was shot and killed. Samuel's wife heard the shot along with the war whoop of the Indians and her heart filled with terror. She and her servant fled with the baby in their arms, through 16 miles of bitterly rough terrain, back to the safety of Davidson's Fort. Totally exhausted, bleeding from the briars and gasping for her breath, she told the men at the fort of Samuel's fate. Even as the light was draining out of the sky, Samuel's brother, Maj. William Davidson and others set out on horseback to avenge Samuel's murder. They found his body "where it fell" at the top of Jones Mtn. He had been fatally shot and reportedly scalped as well. The men buried him on the spot where he had died and marked the grave with stones.
He is twin brother to Maj. William Davidson, and son of John and Jane Davidson.∼Samuel was the first white settler to take his family to settle west across the Blue Ridge mountains. From the foot of the Blue Ridge at Davidson's Fort (now Old Fort,) he and his family crossed the mountains through the Swannanoa Gap. With his wife, his infant daughter Ruth and a female servant, he chose to settle and clear the land at the bank of Christian Creek, on Jones Mtn. He cleared the rugged land, built a crude cabin, planted some crops and cured fresh meats for his family. He tied a cowbell on his horse, so he could always find him, for he never strayed too far. Early one clear morning, he went up the mountain side to get his horse, for it had been over an hour since he last heard it clang. The crackling of branches under Samuel's feet were the last sounds his wife heard before he disappeared into the thickets. Little did he know, that a Cherokee hunting party had taken the bell from his horse and were using it to lure him up the mountain into an ambush. The Indians had set the perfect trap, for as soon as he entered the trail at the top of Jones Mtn., he was shot and killed. Samuel's wife heard the shot along with the war whoop of the Indians and her heart filled with terror. She and her servant fled with the baby in their arms, through 16 miles of bitterly rough terrain, back to the safety of Davidson's Fort. Totally exhausted, bleeding from the briars and gasping for her breath, she told the men at the fort of Samuel's fate. Even as the light was draining out of the sky, Samuel's brother, Maj. William Davidson and others set out on horseback to avenge Samuel's murder. They found his body "where it fell" at the top of Jones Mtn. He had been fatally shot and reportedly scalped as well. The men buried him on the spot where he had died and marked the grave with stones.
About 1784, Samuel Davidson crossed the Swannanoa Gap with his wife and infant, and settled on Christian Creek, tributary of the Swannanoa River. A few months later, he was ambushed and killed by Cherokee indians. His wife heard the shots and escped with her infant on foot through the mountains to Old Fort. He was buried near the trail where he fell, and a monument was erected there in 1913 to commemorate the first settler in Western North Carolina beyond the Blue Ridge. (From MY ANCESTRY, BY Foster Alexander Sondley, 1930).
He is twin brother to Maj. William Davidson, and son of John and Jane Davidson.∼Samuel was the first white settler to take his family to settle west across the Blue Ridge mountains. From the foot of the Blue Ridge at Davidson's Fort (now Old Fort,) he and his family crossed the mountains through the Swannanoa Gap. With his wife, his infant daughter Ruth and a female servant, he chose to settle and clear the land at the bank of Christian Creek, on Jones Mtn. He cleared the rugged land, built a crude cabin, planted some crops and cured fresh meats for his family. He tied a cowbell on his horse, so he could always find him, for he never strayed too far. Early one clear morning, he went up the mountain side to get his horse, for it had been over an hour since he last heard it clang. The crackling of branches under Samuel's feet were the last sounds his wife heard before he disappeared into the thickets. Little did he know, that a Cherokee hunting party had taken the bell from his horse and were using it to lure him up the mountain into an ambush. The Indians had set the perfect trap, for as soon as he entered the trail at the top of Jones Mtn., he was shot and killed. Samuel's wife heard the shot along with the war whoop of the Indians and her heart filled with terror. She and her servant fled with the baby in their arms, through 16 miles of bitterly rough terrain, back to the safety of Davidson's Fort. Totally exhausted, bleeding from the briars and gasping for her breath, she told the men at the fort of Samuel's fate. Even as the light was draining out of the sky, Samuel's brother, Maj. William Davidson and others set out on horseback to avenge Samuel's murder. They found his body "where it fell" at the top of Jones Mtn. He had been fatally shot and reportedly scalped as well. The men buried him on the spot where he had died and marked the grave with stones.
He is twin brother to Maj. William Davidson, and son of John and Jane Davidson.∼Samuel was the first white settler to take his family to settle west across the Blue Ridge mountains. From the foot of the Blue Ridge at Davidson's Fort (now Old Fort,) he and his family crossed the mountains through the Swannanoa Gap. With his wife, his infant daughter Ruth and a female servant, he chose to settle and clear the land at the bank of Christian Creek, on Jones Mtn. He cleared the rugged land, built a crude cabin, planted some crops and cured fresh meats for his family. He tied a cowbell on his horse, so he could always find him, for he never strayed too far. Early one clear morning, he went up the mountain side to get his horse, for it had been over an hour since he last heard it clang. The crackling of branches under Samuel's feet were the last sounds his wife heard before he disappeared into the thickets. Little did he know, that a Cherokee hunting party had taken the bell from his horse and were using it to lure him up the mountain into an ambush. The Indians had set the perfect trap, for as soon as he entered the trail at the top of Jones Mtn., he was shot and killed. Samuel's wife heard the shot along with the war whoop of the Indians and her heart filled with terror. She and her servant fled with the baby in their arms, through 16 miles of bitterly rough terrain, back to the safety of Davidson's Fort. Totally exhausted, bleeding from the briars and gasping for her breath, she told the men at the fort of Samuel's fate. Even as the light was draining out of the sky, Samuel's brother, Maj. William Davidson and others set out on horseback to avenge Samuel's murder. They found his body "where it fell" at the top of Jones Mtn. He had been fatally shot and reportedly scalped as well. The men buried him on the spot where he had died and marked the grave with stones.
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