| Notes |
- Some time in 1804 Robert McTear of Tennessee made a trip back to Pennsylvania to visit his only surviving brother, William in Cumberland Co., and some of his wife's relatives in Mifflin Co. From that journey he brought back a copy of "The Psalms of David in Metre, According to the Version Approved by the Church of Scotland", 1790, by Mr. Mathew Henry; the leather bound book has this inscription: "Presented by William McTeer of Cumberland, Pennsylvania, to his nephew William McTeer in French Broad" (East Tennessee). Robert brought also a small notebook in which he had written the names and birthdates for his brothers and sisters along with his father's deathdate.
Shortly after his marriage, and at about the same time that his father-in-law and brothers-in-law William Boyd and John Pauley took up land in Fermanagh Twp., Cumberland Co., Robert McTeer applied for a tract still farther north on Mahantanga Creek in an area loosely known as Buffalo Valley.
On 13 Aug. 1767 on Application #850 Robert McTear received a warrant for 300 acres bounded on the west by Mahantango, on the north by the Narrows Mountain, on the south by a ridge and on the east by John Harris' Survey. This land as surveyed on 26 Sept. 1767 was located at the head of Mahantanga Creek, and that stream flowed eastward through the length of the property.
There is every indication that Robert and his family moved onto the tract soon after the date of this survey, and he was almost certainly the first settler there. When Northnumberland County was formally organized on 21 March 1772 its southern boundary was defined in part as "the southside of Mahantanga Creek up to the head of Robert Mateer's Spring." In an article on the "Township Names of Old Northumberland County, Their Origin and Meaning", Charles Fisher Snyder describes the first survey of the region, "The Mahantango on the western shore was followed by the surveyors who marked the boundaries of Old Northumberland in 1772 but not quite to its source. In fact they designated a spot known as Meteer's Spring from which a straight line was run in a westerly direction. Local tradition has it that at this early date Robert Meteer had built a stillhouse over the spring using the cooling waters to chill the coils of the still, and it was at this point the early surveyors tarried before striking out across the mountain wilderness."
On 27 May 1776 Christian Graybill of Penns Twp., Northumberland Co. conveyed to John Graybill a warrant for land in Penns Twp., bounded by property of John Simpson and Joseph Sterrat, which warrant John Grabill had taken out in the name of Christian Graybill. Witnesses: Robert McTeear, Joseph Wark. The next day, 28 May 1776, before William Maclay, Robert McTeer "one of the subscribing witnesses made oath on the Holy Evangelists of Almighty God that he was personally present" and saw the signature of Christian Graybill to this document. These Graybills, credited as founders of Richfield, Snyder County, Pennsylvania, were Robert's very near neighbors, as will appear in subsequent litigations over land boundaries.
Apparently the McTeers continued to occupy the property at the head of Mahantango until some time in the fall of 1780, or the spring of 1781, when they left for the Valley of Virginia. Robert Muntier was listed as a resident and taxpayer in Penn Township, Northumberland in 1780, but not in 1781 or thereafter. On 13 Aug. 1780 Robert McTeer deeded to George Pyle his 290 acre
tract "part in Cumberland and part in Northumberland Co., in the Townships of Greenwood and Penn"; however, in order to complete this transaction a re-survey and definition of boundaries was called for; and thereby hangs a tale.
On 2 September 1782 John Graybill sued Robert Mateer "on caveat". This suit was dismissed on the plaintiff's non-appearance. Then on 13 June 1783 John Graybill entered a caveat "against the acceptance of a survey granting a Patent to George Pyle for a Tract of land in Mahonoys in the Counties of Northumberland or Cumberland by virtue of Application No. 850 entered by Robert Mateer." The suit alleged that the said McTeer had a survey made, whereupon the said Graybill obtained a warrant in the names of Peter Graybill for a tract bounding that survey, and that since then the said Mateer or Pyle had made another survey and "thereby extended the lines to include the best part of the land which was the object of Peter Graybill's Warrant." This complaint was still pending on 12 Feb 1794.
Meanwhile on 2 November 1791 Letters of Administration on the Estate of George Pfile were granted in Northumberland Co., to Henery Pfile and John Grable, Frenni (Veronica) Pfile, the widow, having declined to administer the estate. Sureties to the bond: Jacob Echort and George Merkle.
Long afterward four completely new warrants and subsequent patents were issued for the land once include in McTeer's 290 acre property; so it appears that neither McTeer nor Pyle ever had a warrantable title to this land, though they enjoyed possession and paid taxes on the tract for over twenty years. Evidently McTeer sold in good faith, but after the grantor's departure from the Province of Pennsylvania Pyle was unable to complete the transfer of the property or unwilling to fight in the courts for his title.
The Northunberland Co. Tax Lists provide an interesting verification of these land transfers. In a combined list of 1778-1780 for Penn Twp. Robert Muntier was listed with property worth 150 pounds 17 shillings (nature of the assets unspecified), no mention of any Graybill. There is no McTeer listing. In succeeding years 1781-1787, George Pyle is shown as owner of 170, 300, 290, 290, 300, 300 and 150 acres respectively; John Graybill with 119, 120, 120, 120, 350, 100, 100; Christioan Graybill comes on the list in 1781 as a single man, in 1786 and 1787 he owned 100 acres.
The Revolutionary War was still in progress when Robert McTeer left Pennsylvania about 1781, and his participation in that conflict presents a very sticky problem. There is no question that he did expouse the cause of Independence and did his share with the local militia in defense against the British. But because of several peculiarly complicating circumstances it is not possible now to identify, date, and document his service with absolute certainty.
While the Shenandoah Valley may have been Robert's immediate destination when he left his home in Mahantanga (as intimated in his letters), he very shortly went to settle on Cherokee Land in the region of the French Broad River. There he was a pioneer of the central section of East Tennessee; he was one of the leaders in the construction of McTeer's Fort at Ellejoy, Tennessee and built
the first grist mill in that area.
Concerning Robert McTeer's land in Tennessee, Major McTeer says: "My great-grandfather secured a large body of land in this county, first by a grant from North Carolina, which failed to vest title owing to defective legislation, and when the state was vested with authority, he renewed his grant for the greater part from Tennessee, and his descendants are occupying part of the land still."
On 26 Dec. 1791 the State of North Carolina granted to Robert McTeer, 800 acres on Ellejoy Creek, bounded by lands of Benjamin Tipton, J. McKamme and Samuel Bogle, surveyed 19 September 1791 by James McTeer, John McKamme and James W. Luckey on grant #952. The stated purchase price was 10 pounds per 100 acres plus "yearly sum to be determined by the Assembly." This transaction was recorded in Blount County Deeds in May 1807, and entered in North Carolina Land Grants in East Tennessee, where the location was described as in Greene Co., North Carolina.
On 1 October 1809 the State of Tennessee by John Sevier Governor, conveyed to Robert McTeer Sr., 481 acres, in "the tract for academies" in Blount Co., District South of the French Broad and Holston Rivers, surveyed 5 Jun 1807, located on the waters of Ellejoy Creek abutting on property of Joseph Bogle, Robert Murrin and Robert McTeer Jr. The total price of this tract was $281 paid in installments from 12 February 1808 until 12 October 1820.
On 5 October 1809 Robert McTeer obtained from the State of Tennessee a further grant of 114 acres and 15 poles.
A will of Robert McTeer, written 10 December 1823, bequeathed to daughter Margaret Sloan, one-fourth of the Chickasaw Land Warrant, the big chest, one-half of the cattle; to sons James Robert McTeer, each one-fourth of the Chickasaw Land Warrant; to son Martin McTeer, 100 acres "of the plantation I now live on", including the mill and tools belonging thereto, also the hogs; to daughter Janet McTeer, one-fourth of the Chickasaw Land Warrant, one-half the cattle; to son William McTeer, 260 acres of the home plantation, including the old improvement, also the sheep; to granddaughter Agnes McTeer, daughter of son Robert, bed, bedding, coverlet, blankets and pillows she used "when living with me." Executors: sons Martin and William McTeer. Witnesses: Hugh Bogle, Robert Murrin.
On 12 April 1822, not long before his death, the State of Tennessee granted to Robert McTeer "by virtue of Certificate #31 dated 9 July 1808, issued by the Commissioiners for East Tennessee ... and entered on 5 February 1821 by #462", 640 acres in the 9th District in Perry Co., in the 1st and 2nd Ranges, 7th Section.
The implications and location of this grant, the "Chickasaw land Warrant" mentioned in Roert's will, have raised some fundamental questions. In a letter on 9 April 1920 to Rev. Nathan McC.ung of York, N. Y. (a descendant of the Ohio Robert McTeer) Major McTeer writes: "Under purchase and treaty with the Chickasaw Indians the government purchased a large part of the territory in what is now West Tennessee, and land warrants were issued to the Revolutionary veterans in 640 acre tracts, then on the warrants the land was located, and Grants issued for title in full."
The present librarians at the Tennessee State Library are more cautious. Certificates from the Tennessee Land Commissioners were issued for a variety of causes: to redeem military warrants, for evidence of a paid grant, to adjudicate an occupant claim, and in other cases of disputed ownership. While no minutes of the East Tennessee Commission are now available, it is the judgment of Mrs. Cleo A. Hues, Director of the Archives, that Robert McTeer's grant may have represented a land purchase, since no military connection was stated in the warrant.
Possible there was some recognition here of Robert's past services in building and maintaining the fort on Ellejoy throughout the Cherokee Wars, but no mention of such consideration is made on any of he papers found. Tennessee, organized in 1796, contributed no soldiers to the War for Independence, and any payment for Robert's Revoluntinary service would have had to come from the State of Pennsylvania in whose militia he had served.
Finally, the location and disposition of the Chickasaw land is indicated in the following deed: On 28 September 1832 Archibald Sloan and Mames McTeer conveyed to James McWilliams, all of Blount Co., for $360 all their rights in 640 acres located in the name of Robert McTeer in the Wester District in Madison Co., near Mt. Pinson, pursuant to Warrant #31 issued 9 July 1808 by Archibald Roan, surveyed by Samuel Wilson, he to have one-fifth for locating same. The remaining four-fifths were left by the will of Robert McTeer to four children, Margaret Sloan and Janet McTeer being two of these legatees. Whereas William Sloan by his will left the said interest of Margaret Sloan to Archibald Sloan (their son), and whereas the said Janet McTeer is now deceased, now James McTeer, husband of said Janet, and Archibald Sloan (as above) do convey their shares to James McWilliams. Witnesses: John Wilson, Samuel Hamil. Filed in Blount Co., Tennessee, Deeds, 18 January 1833.
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Reference:
McTeer - Mateer Families of Cumberland County Pennsylvania, Frances Davis
McTeer, 1975, p 25, 35-38.
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