David Eagleton was born on 16 March 1748. Some genealogists show that his father was named David Eagleton, but no evidence is offered. Most genealogists who have studied the family claim that he was born in Scotland. Yet, the Scottish Record Office can’t find any evidence that David Eagleton lived in Scotland. The best they can suggest is that the name Eagleton was a variation of the village name of Eaglesham in Renfrewshire, but that has never been proven. Some internet sources even state that David’s father was David Eaglesham, born in 1722 in Ayr, Scotland. I think he told his children and grandchildren that he was Scottish, and this was the source of the tradition.

Considering that he was Presbyterian and lived in East Tennessee during all of his adult years, there is a good chance that he was actually an Ulster Scot, born in Northern Ireland. The Ulster Historical Foundation found a few Eagleton baptisms from the early 1800s in the registers of Kildress Parish Church (Episcopalian) in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. An origin in Ulster opens the possibility that David Eagleton’s Scottish heritage could have been on his mother’s side. His Eagleton ancestors could have been native Irish or settlers from England. Another possibility is that Eagleton is a variation of the somewhat more popular Scottish surname of Eglinton. All that David had to do was drop the cumbersome, middle “n” and the pronunciation would become very similar to Eagleton.

Whatever the case may be, by the mid-1770s, David Eagleton (1748-1828) was living along the Nolichucky River in what is now East Tennessee. At the time, this region was part of Washington County, North Carolina. In 1783, this became Greene County, North Carolina. Prior to 1795, he settled two miles north of Maryville, along the banks of Pistol Creek, in what is now Blount County, Tennessee, which became a state in 1796.

Sometime prior to 1783, he married a woman whose maiden name was supposedly Kelly. Some internet sources show her name to be Mary Eleanor Kelly. No sources are cited. There were only about 632 heads of household in the 1783 tax list of Greene County, Tennessee. Of these, three were possibly her father: Robert Kell, John Kelly, and Johnathan Kelly. The Kelly connection is probably erroneous and has been misleading genealogists for decades. If David Eagleton adhered to the “Scottish” naming system, David’s father should have been named John, and David’s wife’s father should have been named Alexander. “Greene County, Tennessee Wills, 1783-1890”, by Goldene Fillers Burgner, contains the following (p. 7):

ALEXANDER ERWIN 1789
wife: Rachel. Children: Samuel, George, James, William, John, Nathaniel, Rachel, Margaret. To son, Samuel, a horse. To so, George, a horse. To sons, William and John, land where I now live. To son, Nathaniel, land in the Cove. To daughters, Rachel and Margaret, featherbeds. Dated: 16 October 1789. Executors: _____. Witnesses: David Eagleton, David Caldwell, James Gillaspy.
Signed: Alexander Ewing

The surname was Ewing. It is plausible that the two daughters were each married to one of the witnesses. Of these, Rachel was born about 1770 and married Samuel Caldwell in 1793. Margaret was born about 1760. Her husband, if any, has never been identified by Ewing genealogists. David Eagleton’s daughter, Mary (Eagleton) McCallie named her daughter, Margaret McCallie, an indication that Mary’s mother was named Margaret. Two of David Eagleton’s sons by his first wife, Alexander, and William, married the granddaughters of Alexander Ewing. This demonstrates that the Eagleton family remained in contact with a Ewing family for many years after 1789. Cousin marriages were not uncommon on that day. Internet postings reveal that many of the descendants of Alexander Ewing settled in east central Illinois, not far from the families of David Eagleton’s sons, Alexander and James.

David Eagleton’s wife died after 26 March 1796. On 2 December 1797, David Eagleton married Elizabeth Hook. David Eagleton was the first trustee of Blount County, Tennessee, serving from 1796 to 1802. David Eagleton died on 17 May 1828, in Blount County, Tennessee, and is buried in New Providence Cemetery in Maryville, Tennessee. A small, unincorporated community named Eagleton Village can be found on some Tennessee maps. This community is located three miles northeast of Maryville, Tennessee, near David Eagleton’s former residence.

Autosomal DNA matches at AncestryDNA make it likely that David Eagleton's first wife was Margaret Ewing. Several new leaf hints appeared when I added (?) Margaret Ewing and her ancestors to my family tree at Ancestry.com.

Service: David Eagleton was a Private in the Washington Co., NC Militia. His service is proven by Revolutionary War pay voucher #3786 from the North Carolina State Archives. A marker has been placed beside his grave in the New Providence Presbyterian Church cemetery in Maryville, Tennessee. The marker states:

 David Eagleton
 Pvt Washington Co Mil
 Revolutionary War
 Mar 16, 1748, May 17, 1828

Family: (Generation 7). The 1790, 1800, 1810, and 1820 census records for counties in East Tennessee no longer exist.

The Patriot died on 17 May 1828. His Last Will and Testament was written on 3 November 1827 in Blout County. He mentions his son, Robert, his wife (unnamed), son James Eagleton, daughter Margaret Torbet, and other children. His Executors were Robert Hooks and Robert Eagleton. The witnesses were: J. Montgomery, R. Eagleton, and Robert McCulloch. David Eagleton signed his own name.

The 1830 census…

Elizabeth (Hook) Eagleton died on May 12, 1839. The David Eagleton Family Bible is the source of the birthdates of all of his children.

David Eagleton and his first wife had six children:

1. Mary “Polly” Eagleton (born Dec. 1, 1783, died after 1862), married before 1811 to John McCallie (born Jul. 20, 1786 in Blount Co., TN). [Note: The surname was spelled McCaulley in the 1862 will of John Eagleton.]
2. John Eagleton (born Oct. 20, 1785, died Jul. 12, 1865 in Blount Co., TN), married Dec. 8, 1814 in Sevier Co., TN to Lavinia McCroskey (born Jan. 11, 1793, died Dec. 5,, 1880 in Blount Co., TN). John Eagleton was an Orderly Sergeant in Capt. Samuel G. Hopkins Troop of the 2nd Regiment of the United States Light Dragoons during the War of 1812.
3. Alexander Eagleton (born Feb. 2, 1788, died May 17, 1868, in Jasper Co., IL), married 1) Feb. 9, 1813, to Rachel Ewing (born Jul. 6, 1788, in Blount Co., TN, died Aug. 26, 1826, in Vigo Co., IN), married 2) Dec. 7, 1826, in Vigo Co., Indiana to Jane McCullough (born ca. 1799, died Jul.,30, 1854 in Jasper Co., IL). Alexander Eagleton was a Private in Capt. James Telford’s Co. of East Tennessee Volunteers in the War of 1812.
4. David Eagleton (born Apr. 15, 1791, died before 1803).
5. James Eagleton (born Jun. 20, 1794, died, Feb. 22, 1877 in Honey Creek Twp., Crawford Co., IL), married, Dec. 27, 1818 in Crawford Co., IL to Margaret Montgomery (born Oct. 4, 1802, die,d Nov. 1, 1873 in Crawford Co., IL).
6. William Eagleton (born Mar. 26, 1796, died Mar. 28, 1866, perhaps in Rutherford Co., TN), married Apr. 2, 1816, in Blount Co., TN to Margaret Ewing (born Aug. 11, 1795 in Blount Co., TN, died Jul. 7, 1864 in Rutherford Co., TN). William Eagleton was a Presbyterian minister.

David Eagleton and Elizabeth (Hook) Eagleton had four children:

1. Robert Eagleton (born Dec. 16, 1798, died Jun. 23, 18,65 in Blount Co., TN), married Sep. 19, 18,25 in Blount Co., TN to Elizabeth G. McCullough (born Jul. 1, 1796, died Oct. 12, 1882).
2. Margaret Eagleton (born Mar. 24, 1800, died Jul. 1, 1860, in Blount Co., TN), married Sep. 4, 1823, in Blount Co., TN to Hugh Torbett.
3. Elijah M. Eagleton (born Feb. 2, 1802, died Mar. 18, 1838), married Sep. 7, 1826, in Blount Co., TN to Eleanor Gault. [Note: On Apr. 15, 1856, Eleanor married second to William Minnis in Blount Co., TN.] Elijah M. Eagleton was a Presbyterian minister.
4. David Eagleton (born Dec. 31, 1803, died before 1862). [Note: A Civil War veteran named David Eagleton, who died on Oct. 2, 1878, is buried in Eaton Cem. in Prairie Twp., Crawford Co., IL. David was not named among the inheriting brothers in John Eagleton’s 1862 will].