William Christian ( 1742 – April 9, 1786) was a military officer, planter and politician from the western part of the Colony of Virginia. He represented Fincastle County in the House of Burgesses and as relations with Britain soured, signed the Fincastle Resolutions. He later represented western Virginia in the Virginia Senate and founded Fort William (now Louisville, Kentucky), as well as helped negotiate the Treaty of Long Island of the Holston, which made peace between the Overmountain Men and Cherokees in 1777. He was killed in 1786 at the outset of the Northwest Indian War, leading an expedition against Native Americans near what is now Jeffersonville, Indiana. Early and family life Christian was born about 1742, in Augusta County, Virginia. He was the son of the former Elizabeth Starke and her husband Israel Christian, immigrants from Ireland who settled in Staunton, Virginia, in 1740, where they operated a general store. Israel Christian represented Augusta County in the Virginia House of Burgesses multiple times between 1758 and 1765, and helped found the towns of Christiansburg and Fincastle. William Christian and his sisters received an "unusually good" education, perhaps from their mother. As a young man, Christian served as a captain in the Anglo-Cherokee War (1758–1761) under Colonel William Byrd. In the mid-1760s, he read law under the guidance of Patrick Henry, although there is no evidence Christian ever practiced law. He married Henry's sister, Annie. They had several daughters who married and had children; their only son, William Henry Christian, died in 1800 at about age 19 without marrying. Career Christian lived in the part of Botetourt County, Virginia that became Fincastle County, Virginia. He was one of the new county's two representatives in the House of Burgesses in its last three sessions, from 1773 to 1775. In 1774, Christian commanded a regiment of militia from Fincastle County in Dunmore's War, but he and his troops arrived too late to participate in the decisive Battle of Point Pleasant.

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William Christian ( 1742 – April 9, 1786) was a military officer, planter and politician from the western part of the Colony of Virginia. He represented Fincastle County in the House of Burgesses and as relations with Britain soured, signed the Fincastle Resolutions. He later represented western Virginia in the Virginia Senate and founded Fort William (now Louisville, Kentucky), as well as helped negotiate the Treaty of Long Island of the Holston, which made peace between the Overmountain Men and Cherokees in 1777. He was killed in 1786 at the outset of the Northwest Indian War, leading an expedition against Native Americans near what is now Jeffersonville, Indiana.

Overview

William Christian ( 1742 – April 9, 1786) was a military officer, planter and politician from the western part of the Colony of Virginia. He represented Fincastle County in the House of Burgesses and as relations with Britain soured, signed the Fincastle Resolutions. He later represented western Virginia in the Virginia Senate and founded Fort William (now Louisville, Kentucky), as well as helped negotiate the Treaty of Long Island of the Holston, which made peace between the Overmountain Men and Cherokees in 1777. He was killed in 1786 at the outset of the Northwest Indian War, leading an expedition against Native Americans near what is now Jeffersonville, Indiana. Early and family life Christian was born about 1742, in Augusta County, Virginia. He was the son of the former Elizabeth Starke and her husband Israel Christian, immigrants from Ireland who settled in Staunton, Virginia, in 1740, where they operated a general store. Israel Christian represented Augusta County in the Virginia House of Burgesses multiple times between 1758 and 1765, and helped found the towns of Christiansburg and Fincastle. William Christian and his sisters received an "unusually good" education, perhaps from their mother. As a young man, Christian served as a captain in the Anglo-Cherokee War (1758–1761) under Colonel William Byrd. In the mid-1760s, he read law under the guidance of Patrick Henry, although there is no evidence Christian ever practiced law. He married Henry's sister, Annie. They had several daughters who married and had children; their only son, William Henry Christian, died in 1800 at about age 19 without marrying. Career Christian lived in the part of Botetourt County, Virginia that became Fincastle County, Virginia. He was one of the new county's two representatives in the House of Burgesses in its last three sessions, from 1773 to 1775. In 1774, Christian commanded a regiment of militia from Fincastle County in Dunmore's War, but he and his troops arrived too late to participate in the decisive Battle of Point Pleasant.

From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).