Michael Roark and
Letitia Grigsby
Michael Roark was born on 29
September 1745 in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, according to
his Revolutionary War pension application file, and moved
to Augusta (now Rockingham) County, when he was a toddler.
In 1766, he married Letitia "Lettie" Grigsby in neighboring
Frederick (now Shenandoah) County, Virginia. We do not know
the names of either Michael's or Lettie's parents or
siblings at this stage in our research.
Michael was enumerated in Rockingham County in the 1784
Virginia state census, and said that he moved his growing
family to what is now Hawkins County, Tennessee in
1792--before Tennessee even became a state. He purchased
140 acres of land on Dodson's Creek in March 1793, and
remained there until he died at the age of 93 on 9 January
1839. Lettie continued to live in Hawkins County until her
own death on 24 August 1844 at the age of 97. Her daughter
Polly and Polly's children lived with her.
Michael Roark's Revolutionary War file (under the name of
Michael Rork) indicates that he was a spy in the
Continental Army (his records are listed under Michael
Rork); after moving to Hawkins County, he worked at least
for a while as a bounty hunter. Click here to read a passage from Hawkins
County circuit court files from 1824 (when Michael Roark
would have been 79 years old).
Michael Roark's will and Lettie's pension file provide much
of the basic information we have about their children and
their spouses. Of their three sons, two -- James and
Michael -- apparently moved to MIssouri probably in the
1830s.
The Roark family followed the traditional migration route
of many early Scotch-Irish colonial settlers -- from
eastern Pennsylvania, down the Shenandoah valley to
Rockingham County (and environs), and then on into either
western North Carolina or eastern Tennessee. The Frontier Culture Museum of Virginia
offers a fascinating look at the different farmsteads
and lifestyles of the Scotch-Irish, Germans, and English
as they settled in and passed through the Shenandoah
Valley.
Michael
Roark (b. 29 September
1756, Bucks, PA - d. 9 January 1839, Hawkins, TN)
m. 1766,
Frederick (now Shenandoah), VA
Letitia Grigsby
(b. ca 1747, probably VA - d.
24 August 1844, Hawkins, TN)
The children
of Michael Roark and Letitia Grigsby
are:
i. Sarah "Sally"
Roark (b. 1767, prob
Rockingham, VA - d. 7 September 1855, Perry, KY); m.
Elijah
Combs
ii. James Roark
(b. ca 1768, prob Rockingham,
VA - d. aft 1840, prob MIssouri); wife unknown
iii. Julia Roark
(b. ca 1770, prob Rockingham,
VA - d. aft 1850, prob Tennessee); m. John
Kirkpatrick
iv. Mary "Polly"
Roark (b. ca 1772,
prob. Rockingham, VA - d ca August 1858, Hawkins, TN);
m. George
Morrisett
v. Elizabeth "Betsy"
Roark (b. 1780,
Rockingham, VA - d. aft 1850, prob TN); m.
Thomas
Self
vi. Rebecca Roark
(b. between 1780/90,
Rockingham, VA - d. aft 1840); m. William
Tunnell
vii. John Roark
(b. bet 1781/90, Rockingham,
VA - d. aft 1846);
viii. Susan Roark
(b. 1790, Rockingham, VA - d.
aft 1850); m. George
Reynolds
ix. Michael Roark
(b. 1792 - d. aft 1840, prob.
Missouri)