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Our first definite sighting of William Chastain is a tax record in Henry County, Virginia, in 1782.32 This portion of Henry County, as we have seen, became Franklin County in 1786. His property was along the Little Otter River and Otter Creek, about ten miles west of present-day Rocky Mount, Virginia.33 This section of Virginia was truly the edge of the frontier during the 1780s, which may help to explain Chastain family lore that the young men of the family avoided starvation the first winter only by roasting the ear after ear of corn that they managed to gather. William Chastain was a member of the Pigg River Baptist Church and signed a petition on May 24, 1779, asking the Virginia legislature to create Franklin County. Since he was in the militia (County Lieutenant – that is, commander – of the Second Battalion), William may have served in the Revolutionary War or in Indian fighting, but we have no record of his military service if he did. He is listed on personal property lists in Franklin County from 1786 to 1794. In 1788, the Virginia tax list shows William Chastain with two males over 16 years of age; one of them would have been his eldest son George, age 22 years, who makes his own appearance on the tax lists three years later followed by the other sons in turn. At least twice, William and George paid their taxes on the same day. We do not know when William and Sarah died, but they probably died in Franklin County, Virginia, sometime during the 1790s or shortly after 1800: there are no Chastains listed in that county by 1803 (George has sold his land and left the county in 1804), and the large number of Chastains who have moved to Kentucky by the time George finally does leave have no older adults living with them. It is quite possible that George tarried in Virginia until his father or mother had died, after which he felt free to go west himself. On the other hand, because a daughter of William and Sarah Chastain was married in 1795 without her parents being listed, as was customary, they both may have been dead by then. We just do not know. When we move back a generation from William Chastain, we encounter another less-than-secure link, for we cannot be sure who his parents were. We can be very sure that his father was one of the three sons of Pierre Chastain the immigrant (a man we will meet presently), but missing or destroyed records will always keep us guessing which one it was.34 These sons were named Pierre, Jr. (who was usually called Peter), René, and Jean (sometimes called John). The Chastain family histories generally conclude that the most likely candidate is Pierre, Jr., with René a weaker candidate and Jean an unlikely one. I concur with this conclusion but feel obliged to include some information about all three brothers in case the accepted wisdom is wrong. More About William Chastain: |
Pierre Louis Chastain Jr.
Mildred Madeline Archer (Chastain)