Microfilm
Author: Mildred B. Midjaas
Family records compiled by the author
Films number 0967471
Filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah

Captain John Gabriel Jones, 1752-1776, was ambushed by Indians near Lower Blue Licks and killed on Christmas Day, while bringing in the supply of powder for the defense of Kentucky forts."999


Revolutionary War
As the American Revolutionary War began in the East, settlers in Kentucky were involved in a dispute over the region's sovereignty. Richard Henderson, a judge and land speculator from North Carolina, had purchased much of Kentucky from the Cherokees in an illegal treaty. Henderson intended to create a proprietary colony known as Transylvania, but many Kentucky settlers did not recognize Transylvania's authority over them. In June 1776, these settlers selected Clark and John Gabriel Jones to deliver a petition to the Virginia General Assembly, asking Virginia to extend its boundaries to include Kentucky. Clark and Jones traveled via the Wilderness Road to Williamsburg, where they convinced Governor Patrick Henry to create Kentucky County, Virginia. Clark was given 500 pounds of gunpowder to help defend the settlements and was appointed a major in the Kentucky County militia. Clark was just 24 years old, but older men like Daniel Boone, Benjamin Logan, and Leonard Helm looked to Clark for leadership. 1000