Israel Christian (17201784) was an 18th-century American pioneer, militia officer, politician and businessman. One of the earliest landowners in

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

, he founded the town of

Fincastle, Virginia Fincastle is a town in Botetourt County, Virginia, United States. The population was 755 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Botetourt County. It is part of the Roanoke metropolitan area. History The town of Fincastle was originally ...

. He was also a representative of

Augusta County Augusta County is a county in the Shenandoah Valley on the western edge of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The second-largest county of Virginia by total area, it completely surrounds the independent cities of Staunton and ...

in the

House of Burgesses The House of Burgesses () was the lower house of the Virginia General Assembly from 1619 to 1776. It existed during the colonial history of the United States in the Colony of Virginia in what was then British America. From 1642 to 1776, the Hou ...

from 1759 to 1761. Four of sons-in-law were William Fleming, William Bowyer and

Stephen Trigg Stephen Trigg ( c. 1744 – August 19, 1782) was an American pioneer and soldier from Virginia. He was killed ten months after the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown in one of the last battles of the American Revolution while leading the ...

, all

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

s in the Kentucky Militia, and

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

minister Caleb Wallace. Three counties in Kentucky, as well as the Town of Christiansburg, Virginia, were named in honor of his son William Christian, and two of his sons-in-law, Fleming and Trigg.Waddell, Jos. A., ''Annals of Augusta County, Virginia: With Reminiscences Illustrative of the Vicissitudes of Its Pioneer Settlers''. Richmond: William Ellis Jones, 1866
/ref>

Biography

Israel Christian was born in

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

, most likely in the Presbyterian enclave at

Derry Derry, officially Londonderry, is the second-largest City status in the United Kingdom, city in Northern Ireland, and the fifth-largest on the island of Ireland. Located in County Londonderry, the city now covers both banks of the River Fo ...

. His uncle Gilbert Christian had previously arrived in Pennsylvania in 1726 and, after living in

Lancaster Lancaster may refer to: Lands and titles *The County Palatine of Lancaster, a synonym for Lancashire *Duchy of Lancaster, one of only two British royal duchies *Duke of Lancaster *Earl of Lancaster *House of Lancaster, a British royal dynasty ...

for a time, he and his family were among the first to settle in the Valley of Virginia in 1732. Christian was engaged in the mercantile business in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

when he received news of his uncle's success in the American colonies and decided to emigrate there himself in 1740. He became a successful merchant in the

Staunton River The Roanoke River ( ) runs long through southern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina in the United States. A major river of the southeastern United States, it drains a largely rural area of the coastal plain from the eastern edge of the A ...

area before arriving in Augusta County (now Botetourt County) around 1740. He married Elizabeth Starke, reportedly a woman of ''"vigorous and cultivated intellect"'', around 1741 or 1742 and together had six children.Whittsitt, William H. ''Life and Times of Judge Caleb Wallace: Some Time a Justice of the Court of Appeals of Kentucky''. Louisville, Kentucky: J.P. Morton & Co., 1888
/ref> He later became an officer in the

Virginia Militia The Virginia militia is an armed force composed of all citizens of the Commonwealth of Virginia capable of bearing arms. The Virginia militia was established in 1607 as part of the English militia system. Militia service in Virginia was compulso ...

with the rank of

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

. During the

French and Indian War The French and Indian War, 1754 to 1763, was a colonial conflict in North America between Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of France, France, along with their respective Native Americans in the United States, Native American ...

, he served on the 12-man war council after Augusta was attacked by the French and

Shawnee The Shawnee ( ) are a Native American people of the Northeastern Woodlands. Their language, Shawnee, is an Algonquian language. Their precontact homeland was likely centered in southern Ohio. In the 17th century, they dispersed through Ohi ...

in 1756. Held at the Augusta Courthouse on 27 July, the council members included Colonels John Buchanan and David Stewart, Major John Brown, Captains Joseph Colton, Robert Scott, Patrick Martin, Robert Breckenridge, James Lockhart, Samuel Stalnaker, Thomas Armstrong and his cousin William Christian. He was named "captain of horse" that same year. From 1759 until 1761, he and John Wilson represented Augusta in the House of Burgesses. In November 1761, he became the first

trustee Trustee (or the holding of a trusteeship) is a legal term which, in its broadest sense, refers to anyone in a position of trust and so can refer to any individual who holds property, authority, or a position of trust or responsibility for the ...

of Staunton with nine others following its official chartering by act of assembly. During the mid-1760s, he began acquiring large tracts of land. He personally surveyed of land on Buffalo Creek where he resided during this time. In 1763, he played a major role in defending the county from an Indian raiding party which had advanced as far as Kerr's Creek. The following year, he was granted two tracts of land on Tinker Creek, 66 and respectively, on 24 June 1764. A portion of this land was later donated by him to found Fincastle, Virginia. In November 1767, he and John Buchanan caused an official protest by members of the Staunton trustees after the two refused to sign a declaration ''"to be comfortable to the doctrine and discipline of the Church of England"''. After Buchanan died, he was supported by Major Robert Breckenridge although they were both replaced when the incident came up again in 1769. In the fall of 1768, he bought of land on a south branch of Catawba from John Bowman. He later donated this land for the construction of public buildings including the first courthouse in Botetourt County.Kegley, F.B. ''Kegley's Virginia Frontier: The Beginning of the Southwest, the Roanoke of Colonial Days, 1740–1783''. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 2003
He and Breckenridge served as justices on the first county court held in Augusta on 13 February 1770. Two years later, he donated of land to the justices for the use of the county and on which Fincastle, Virginia was established in 1772. He left the area sometime after and retired to

Christiansburg, Virginia Christiansburg (formerly Hans Meadows) is a town in the southwestern portion of Montgomery County, Virginia, United States. It has served as the seat of government for the county since 1792, when it was formally recognized by the Virginia Gener ...

where he died at his estate in Dunkard's Bottom, adjoining New River in present-day Pulaski County. His last will and testament was read at Montgomery County, Virginia on 12 July 1784 and witnessed by Robert Currin, Priscilla Christian, James McCorkle and Francis Preston.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Christian, Israel 1720s births 1784 deaths Businesspeople from Derry (city) People from Augusta County, Virginia American pioneers House of Burgesses members 18th-century American businesspeople Irish emigrants to the Thirteen Colonies Founders of cities in the Thirteen Colonies People from colonial Virginia People from Pulaski County, Virginia People from Christiansburg, Virginia People from Jefferson County, Kentucky 18th-century American politicians