Isaac Blackwood 1775- 1855?

3rd Great Grandfather - Paternal Side

This is one of those ancestors that I keep hoping to find more about. Well if I don't write something down then I'll just keep searching and never get it written. Great Grandpa Blackwood probably should have been included in "Characters Month".

**UPDATE:** Due to the uncertainty of Isaac's parents, they have been removed from this post.

Isaac Blackwood might have been born in Salisbury, Rowan County, North Carolina around 1775. I don't know much about his early life but I did find a listing for an Isaac Blackwood on the 1800 U.S. Census. It states there is one male under 10, one male aged 26-44 (fits in with our Isaac), and one female age 16-25. It appears that on December 9, 1793 he was a bondsman for the marriage of John Holmes & Susan Blackwell but no marriage is listed for himself. I did find a story on the internet but I have nothing to back it up:
"Isaac Blackwood Story: A story has been told that Isaac ran away from trouble in North Carolina. Isaac and another man were cutting timber back in North Carolina when they for some reason became at odds, A fight broke out and the other man charged Isaac with an ax. Isaac hit the man with a mawl and laid him out cold. Thinking he had killed the man and not wanting to answer to the local authorities, he ran away to Tennessee. He married an Indian woman named Mary Jones; their first child was born in Tennessee in 1817. Shortly afterwards, they moved to the Mississippi Territory, to what is now Blount County, Alabama. Isaac is reported to have been the first white settler in Blount County, Alabama. He was surely among the earliest settlers along the Locust Fork of the Black Warrior River in Blount County."

Another story floating around on the web states that Isaac and Mary were married in an Indian Ceremony - sorry folks, there was no such thing, but it sounded good!

Can't say one way or another if this story is true or not but it appears that Isaac and Mary Jones set up house as husband and wife in Tennessee. They had the following children:

1. Elizabeth Blackwood (1817-1895); married Hugh Obediah Kilpatrick
2. John Blackwood (1820-1888); married Malinda Beavers
3. William Blackwood (1822-1897); married Tabitha Cornelius
4. Alfred Ledbetter Blackwood (1824-1896); married Nancy Lucinda Stevens
5. Robert H. Blackwood (1824-1890); married Arena Dailey
6. James Blackwood (1827-1890); married Aytcha Dailey
7. Mary Ann "Polly" Blackwood (1828-1888); married Daniel Glover
8. Nancy Blackwood (1829-1895); married Cargill Cornelius
9. Asa Blackwood (1830- ????);
10. Elbert Blackwood (1833-1891); married Mary Margaret Dailey
11. Joseph Blackwood (1835-1862); married Ruhama Elizabeth Rushing
12. Anderson Blackwood (1835-1876); married Nancy Driver

Only their first daughter was born in Tennessee, the other 11 claim to be born in Blount County, Alabama meaning they moved there between 1817 and 1820. Since the 1820 U.S. Census for Alabama did not survive, I had to move on to the 1830 U.S.Census for Blount County which states the following, Males under 5 years - 2 (Robert & James); Males 5-9 years - 3 (William, John, & Alfred); Males 50-59 - 1 (Isaac); Females under 5 years -1 (Nancy); Females 10-14 years (Polly & Elizabeth); Females 30-39 - 1 (Mary).

By the 1840 U.S. Census there were Males under 5 years - 2 (Anderson & Joseph); Males 60-69 years - 1 (Isaac); Females 20-29 years - 1 (Nancy), Females 40-49 years - 1 (Mary), Slaves - males under 10 years -2; females 10-23 - 1.

It is speculated that Isaac died in May 1855, but he is not shown on the 1850 Alabama State Census, only Mary and 3 adult children. His headstone does not include any dates, only the claim that he was the first white settlers in Blount County.

Much later, his family moved and restored the original cabin of Isaac & Mary to Palasaides Park, just outside of Oneonta, Alabama. (See http://www.blountcountypark.com/history-2/)

"The Irish Heritage of the Blackwood family is like that of the Murphrees’ in contribution to the Blount County’s Heritage. According to the Blackwood family history compiled by the late Evangeline Blackwood in 1978, Jimmy Blackwood of full Irish parentage was brought from Ireland across the waters when he was six months old. His parents settled in North Carolina and reared a large family. They migrated from North Carolina to Tennessee, Alabama, Arkansas and Georgia. Isaac was the son of Jimmy Blackwood and married Mary Jones and then came to Blount County, Alabama where they were parents of nine children."

During my recent visit to Ireland I tried to find out where the Blackwood's were from. It turns out that they are Scottish and only lived in Ireland for a short time. Ireland was their departure point but not their heritage.