Author: George Geoffrey Baggett
Nathan Futrell was born September 10, 1773, in Northampton County, North Carolina. He was the oldest child of William Shadrack Futrell and Sarah Lassiter Futrell. Interestingly, the only known fact about his childhood and early life is that he served as a drummer in the North Carolina Militia during the Revolutionary War at age seven. Indeed, most historians regard him as the youngest boy to have served in the Revolutionary War. Nathan Futrell Married Charity Futrell, daughter of Thomas and Sarah Biddie Futrell, some time before 1798, based upon the birth of their first child, Catherine, on November 17, 1798. This young family trekked with the extended Futrell families across the Appalachian Mountains to arrive in Nashville in 1799. Their stay in Nashville was, apparently, very short. They migrated by boat down the Cumberland River and crossed into Kentucky, settling in the area of Donaldson Creek, then a part of Christian County. Though the Futrells may have been in the area by 1800, there is no verification by census since the Kentucky 1800 census was lost in a fire during the War of 1812. Nathan Futrell is, however, in the 1810 United States census in Christian County, with wife, Charity, and five children under age 10. Nathan enlisted for an extremely brief time of service in the War of 1812 on September 17, 1812. He enlisted with his brother, John Futrell, and brother-in-law David Cohoon, in Capt. Benjamin H. Reeve’s company in the Sixth Regiment of the Kentucky Militia. This was the only regiment raised in Christian County during the War of 1812. Though John Futrell served out his term, regimental records show that Nathan Futrell was discharged on the same day that he enlisted. The cause of his immediate dismissal from service is unknown. By 1820 Nathan Futrell moved his family due west across the Cumberland River and purchased approximately 2,000 acres of land on Ford’s Creek. He built a large, two-story log home for his family in the area that was later known as Laura Furnace. He built one of the earliest grist mills in Trigg County. His interests and skills were numerous, evidenced by his work as a farmer, surveyor, mechanic, magistrate, and election official. Such was his reputation that in May 1820 he was appointed to mark a road from Dover, Tennessee, to Eddyville, Kentucky. With regard to his Revolutionary War service, inquiry and research has revealed no official record or government document that list Nathan Futrell in any county regiment in the North Carolina archives. It is likely, however, that he served in the militia of his local home in Northampton County. The sole piece of evidence is a slip of aged, yellow paper in the possession of Minnie and Alice Futrell, which they gave to historian Roger Futrell before the publication of his self-published family history in 1960. The following statement was recorded on this piece of paper, dated January 3, 1829: “My Consorte Nathan Futrell, served as a drummer player in the North Carolina Militia during the Revolution at the age of seven years. Charity (her X mark) Futrell” The document was witnessed, and no doubt written, by Bryan Futrell, as Charity was unable to write her own name. It is a most curious document, written several months before her husband’s seemingly unexpected death. Her purpose for recording this statement remains unknown. The document is now in the possession of the Filson Historical Society in Louisville. Nathan Futrell died on August 31, 1829, at his home. He was fifty-six years of age at his death. Most researchers believe that the illness which claimed him must have been very rapid in onset, since he had served as judge in the election in Forgerson Precinct of Trigg County only twenty-three days before his death. He was buried on a hill near his home, in what would become the family plot, opposite of the place that would later become Laura Furnace. His widow, Charity Futrell, survived him an amazing forty-three years, passing on August 5, 1872. She was placed beside her husband. The commonwealth of Kentucky has marked the former home of Nathan Futrell and burial site with a highway historical marker, approximately six miles south of the former location of the city of Golden Pond. Family historian Roger H.L. Futrell lists the following known children of, and Charity Futrell as recorded in existing family records: 1. Catherine Futrell – Born November 17, 1798, in Northampton County, NC. Married Josiah Calhoun. Migrated to Mississippi. 2. Richard (Ricks) Futrell – Born February 5, 1802, in Christian County , KY. Died May 2, 1851. 3. Shadrach Futrell – Born May 26, 1804, in Christian County, KY. Married Polly Calhoun. Died August 22, 1885. 4. Littleberry Futrell – Born August 3, 1806, in Christian County, KY. Migrated to Arkansas and later to Texas. 5. Faithia Futrell – Born October 22, 1808, in Christian County, KY. Married James Vinson. 6. Daniel Futrell – Born February 16, 1811, in Christian County, KY. Died in Arkansas in 1870. (His son, Jeptha, was the father of Junius Marion Futrell, governor of Arkansas from 1933 to 1937. ) 7. Thomas Futrell – Born November 26, 1812, in Christian County, KY. Married Elsie Futrell and migrated to Illinois. 8. William Futrell – Born July 25, 1816, in Christian County, KY. Married Bashaby Colson. Died in 1875. 9. Rebecca Futrell – Born April 15, 1818, in Christian County, KY. Died in 1886. Trigg County was formed from Christian County in 1820. All of the children born in Christian County were born in what is now modern-day Trigg County. < http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?entryID=105>, accessed April 28, 2015.