William WOFFORD

                   Name Suffix: Colonel REFN184 Family tradition says two WOFFORD brothers came from the northern part of England, Cumbe rland County, and settled in Pennsylvania, near the Maryland line. In fact, one of the birth s was in Prince George County, Maryland. But, records give the foregoing three Williams and t hen the two brothers.  ABSALOM was the father of five sons, four of whom served in the American Revolution. Amo ng these five brothers, WILLIAM WOFFORD (7th Great-grandfather of Kelsey Elizabeth Denkers) w as a man of broad enterprise. He built noted iron works on the Pacolett River and was one o f the leading citizensof that section. He served as Colonel in Williamson's Cherokee Campaig n 1776.His iron works on Lawson Falls on the Pacolett River were destroyed by Bill Cunningha m. After the American Revolution he sold his iron works. They changed twice and were late r called Berwicks and Ramsey's History of South Carolina calls them Buffington's Iron Works. He and some other families moved to Turkey Cove, on the Catawba River, where he buil t a fort for protection. He purchased 900acres of land. He also built a grist mill. He evide ntly didn't live there very long as he was not many years in Franklin COunty, Georgia. Spartanburg County, South Carolina, History by Landham says, "Colonel WILLIAM WOFFORD wa s the eldest of five brothers. He was born near Rock Creek, Maryland, about 12 miles above Wa shington D.C. on October 25, 1728, Prince George Co." Of his early lifevery little is known. Much can be conjectured as to a full-blooded bo y of thattime and conditions. It is believed that he served with the National Troops inth e French and Indian War. Many  of the families of that section of Pennsylvania feared an upri sing of the Indians and moved into North Carolina and on down the Catawba Trail to South Caro lina. In Williamson's Cherokee Campaign WILLIAM WOFFORD received the title Colonel. He wa s a man of note in the American Revolution and in the War of 1812 after he moved to Georgia. In 1779 he served under General Lincoln and was one of the group that persued the Tory P arty underColonel John Moore as they fled from North Carolina to Georgia. Georgia and Sout h Carolina suffered horrible persecutions at the hands of the Tories as wellas the British a nd Indians. Colonel WILLIAM WOFFORD was stationed at Fort Carnes (also called WOFFORD'S FORT), Frank lin County, Georgia, January 1, 1796. He built the WOFFORD Fort and the Block House, and wa s to obtain water by the digging of wells in the fort. He moved to Franklin County, Georgia, from Catawba. At that time Franklin County took i n a vast amount of land, not only the counties that were cut from her sides but three countie s in South Carolina, Pickens, Oconee, and Anderson. He owned more that 2,000 acres of land ar ound ToccoaFalls, including the Falls, to the middle fork of Broad River. At that time tha t section was unsettled except mostly Indians. Colonel WILLIAM WOFFORD was the progenitor of the WOFFORD family in Georgia and his son , Nathaniel's first son, was said to be the first white child ever born in that section of Ge orgia.Colonel WILLIAM WOFFORD had several grants of land besides many deeds. Court of Justic e of Franklin County, Georgia, requested that John Gorham, Esq. to survey 1,000 acres of lan d for WILLIAM WOFFORD. This was for the "WOFFORD SETTLEMENT." WILLIAM WOFFORD and several fam ilies formed what was known as WOFFORD'sSETTLEMENT. In 1784 when Franklin County, Georgia, was surveyed from the Savannah River to the Appal achee, the northern boundary became a dispute between thewhite settlers and the Cherokee Ind ians.  Benjamin Hawkins, agent for the Indians was directed to run or survey a new line agai n from the Currahee Mountainto the Appalachee River. This became known as the Hawkins Line , 1797. COLONELWILLIAM WOFFORD and several families who had built WOFFORD's SETTLEMENT, weresu rveyed out of their lands and homes. The north