Misc. Notes
In November 1768 the Vestry appointed William Bobbitt as one of the Processions to confirm the boundary marks of all the patented land from the mouth of the Pigg River on both sides to the mouth of Snow Creek and on to the ridges.
Before 1778, William Bobbitt moved some miles westward into Montgomery County, Virginia, where his talents and abilities soon earned him great respect. He was appointed overseer of the new road passing Craigs Ferry, and later was appointed one of the overseers of the road established from Wards gap to the Popular Camp Mountain near Herbert’s Ferry.
William entered into the service of the Montgomery County militia on Wednesday, March 4, 1778. This commission was given to him by the county court that convened Fort Chiswell, with the intent that William assume command of the part of Capt. Twigg’s company. He was recommended as Captain in the County militia (Summer, Annals, p. 688) and surveyed as such for four years before he resigned in 1782 (Summer, Annals, p. 779). The Montgomery minutes also contained a claim he made in 1782 for furnishing a steer for the militia (Summer Annals, p. 770), although in the interest of historical accuracy it must be said that the steer was taken from him.
The details of the Bobbitt’s four years as militia commander are not known, but they covered the period when the revolution was touching the western Virginia. Aaron Collier’s penion application makes it plain that company met at the Bobbitt’s house before marching on to the far western Virginia in the Indian campaign. Again Collier refers to the company meeting at the Bobbitt’s house before marching off to North Carolina and the battle at Shallows Ford on the Yadkin River. The implication is that Bobbitt commanded the company on both occasions. (Collier, Pension File # R2111).
By 1782, William was a prosperous man; that year he was taxed with six slaves, five horses and twenty cattle. In 1793, he attended the first Grayson County Court and stood for surety for the sheriff of the county. A few years later he was appointed Justice and for many years sat on the court. There are many references to him in the minutes, the most memorable being found in the records for 1808 on which occasion he was fined eighty-three cents for having profanely sworn on oath in the present of the court.
William died intestate in August 1817 (Grayson, Chancery File # 14). His estate was appraised in September, and, when sold, brought the considerable sum of $1830.00. It is not known for certain where he is buried, but the likely place is the old Bobbitt Cemetery in Mountain Plains. The deeds whereby his children sold the land and the old Chancery records in Grayson furnish a list of children.
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