LONG HUNTERS
THOMAS STRONG the LONG HUNTER
These "Long Hunters" were a social group of men connected together both during the hunt
and afterwards. They shared many struggles and hardships together and developed a common
bond among them. "The association of these hunting groups extended to everyday life in the
period between hunting seasons. The Peter Perkin's List shows that Joseph Martin, later to
become a General and to have the County seat of Henry County (Virginia) named for him, lived
with the brother of Elizabeth Strong and next to Samuel Crowley's place on the Sandy
River..... Thomas Strong, one of the brothers of Elizabeth and Sarah Crowley had a stream
named after him in the hunting region, and it is almost certain that he was numbered among the
Long Hunters along with James and John Strong. The relationship and marriage connections
of the Strongs with the Hardemans and the Crowleys make it very likely that the Strong boys
were some of those whose names never were recorded in this clandestine activity of hunting
beyond the treaty line, but who were there nevertheless."29
"Both Samuel and Benjamin Crowley were recorded as among those who were called
Long Hunters, but their companions probably included brothers of the two Strong sisters they
had married. Their companions certainly included Tom Hardeman and William Fallon (or
Faulin). Members of the Callaway family were also known to have been Long Hunters, and it is difficult to believe that the Callaway and the Crowley were not linked in the
hunts as they had been linked in so many other endeavors over two generations."30
Grantham States that Richard Callaway accompanied Daniel Boone on these hunts into
the Tennessee and Kentucky wilderness which is important because Richard Callaway,
Benjamin Crowley, John Strong (a2b), Thomas Strong (a2d) and James Strong (a2g)
were all living near the Sandy River in Pittsylvania County, Virginia. "We know of a few of these
men because of the survival of some obscure documents, but there are many whose name we
shall never prove up to have been hunters with the Crowley brothers. The Strongs come easily
to mind for many reasons, one of which is their closeness to the Crowley and to other resident
hunters of the Sandy River Basin."31
Grantham states that the men on the Peter Perkin's Tax List were know Long Hunters
such as Bean, Cox, Callaway and Blevins. He also lists the source, "Early Adventures On the
Western Water", Kegley, pp. 81-84., which lists a Long Hunter named Colley. Some Colley
families intermarried into the Strong family and were also in Georgia with John Crowley and
Benjamin Crowley after the American Revolution.
"The first group actually known to have been on the Cumberland did not go out until 1761.
These, chiefly from southwestern Virginia, had as their leader Elisha Walden ...... He had
grown up on Smith River in Pittsylvania County, Virginia, and there on the frontier he had
mastered a hunter's education.... Jack Blevins, father-in-law of Walden, was along, as was
his brother-in-law, William Blevins."32 Around 1763 Blevins had been hunting around the
mouth of the Obey's River where the son and grandson of Thomas Strong (a2d) would settle in
the early 1800's.
In 1769 Thomas Strong (a2d) was being sued in court by Isiah Watkins in Pittsylvania
County and Thomas Strong appears to be absent from court, possibly because of being away
on the hunt. This is the same year that Isaac, Abraham and Anthony Bledsoe spent the year
exploring the Cumberland Valley in Kentucky and Tennessee. It is interesting that Anthony
Bledsoe supplied beef for the troops on the Point Pleasant Campaign of which included Samuel Crowley. The hunt of 1769 very likely involved the Strong and Crowley families. The
men took the "hunters trail" in Southwestern Virginia (now Lee, Scott and Russell Counties) and
they met at Flat Lick near Pineville in Eastern Kentucky. One hunting group met near the site of
the Mt. Gilead Meeting House in present day Monroe County, Kentucky. This is the same area
that Thomas Strong's son, Samuel Strong (a2d5), would settle in 1812. These hunting parties
then moved into Middle Tennessee by the end of the year.
Why Thomas Strong (a2d) is believed to have been a "Long Hunter" cannot be answered
easily and no real proof exists that he was, other than what circumstantial evidence that was
given by Mr. Grantham and Rolff. One of the first points made by Grantham and Rolff was that
Pittsylvania County, Virginia seemed to be home to a vast majority of known "Long Hunters" of
which included Richard Callaway, Elisha Walden, William Blevins and the Crowley and
Hardeman families. John Hardeman confirmed that his grandfather, Captain Tom
Hardeman, and the Crowley's had in fact went on one of these "Long Hunts" together in 1768.
John Hardeman confirmed this fact to Ferdinand Stith, M.D. in a letter date June 27,
1834.38 It should be noted that members of the Stith family moved to Jackson County,
Tennessee and married into the Joseph Strong family. Joseph Strong was the grandson of
Thomas Strong (a2d).
We know both the Crowley and Hardeman families were intermarried to the Strong family
and were listed on the same tax list in 1767. This would seem to indicate that they were
neighbors and that Thomas Strong was living on Samuel Crowley's land in Pittsylvania County,
Virginia. Grantham and Rolff believe that it is significant that Thomas Strong owned no land and
was believed to be living on Crowley's land, because they say this was very common among
long hunters. And because of this closeness in proximity and in kinship it would only seem
natural that Thomas Strong and his brothers would accompany their "in-laws" on these hunts.
One of the last points made by Grantham and Rolff was that in 1769, 1770 and 1773
Thomas Strong (a2d) was being sued in a Pittsylvania County Court. On each of these
occasions Thomas Strong (a2d) was no where to be found and failed to appear after being
"duly summoned" by the Sheriff. A reasonable explanation could be that Thomas Strong (a2d)
was away on the hunt with the other known long hunters.
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