The Minor Family of Somerset

Name Suffix:<NSFX> II
William II was raised in the Scottish Highlands. He hada grea
t love for Scotland and wanted independence from England. He to
o part in the Rebellion of 1745-46 serving under Bonnie Prince C
harlie. Followingthe defeat of the Scottish Army at the Battl
e of Culloden on 6 Apr 1746, heemigrated to America, before hi
s fther, and settled in Berks County, PA near Squire Boone Sr. Lat
er in 1750 he settled int he Yadkin Valley of North Carolina, ne
ar the Boones. It was there he married Elizabeth Boone, the sec
ond daughter and the fifth child of Squire Boone Sr. and Sarah M
organ Boone. At the time of their marriage in 1751, a Dutchma
n said to William, age, 24 "Well Billy, Betsy (age 18) will mak
e you a good wife if you take her down at the first loaf." Sh
e was a beuatiful high-spirted woman, and the Duthman thought sh
e needed to be subdued. All their children except William III w
ere born in the Yadkin Valley. The Grant's and the Boone's ha
d moved to Maryland and Virginia after the Indian wars ahd broke
n out, and William III was born in Virginia, near Washington D
C William II died on 22 Jan 1804 at the age of 78 inFayette Co
., Ky. In 1761 Colonel William Grant II at age 35 defeated th
eCherokees and forced them to settle (sue) for peace. He wa
s a member of theCommittee of Safety in 1775076 and an admire
d solider, but was unassigned toany regiment or company due t
o his experience in the woods. The woodsmen were mobile and cun
ning and therefore detached on special duty as scounts and roa
d mappers for the armies. Both William II and Elizabeth died a
t Boone Station he in 1804 at the age of 78 and she in 1825. Th
ey were buried 10 mileseast of Lexington under an apple tree h
e had planted when they first moved there. Elizabeth had bee
n a staunch Quaker, but soon after her marriage, sheand Willia
m became members of the Baptist Church, and never left it. Th
e homestead when to his son, William II, who along with his wif
e are buried there also. As late as 1868, it was owned by a Gra
nt descendant. There is a reference to William II in the firs
t pages of the ancient record book of the proceedings of the Row
an Co. Court of Pleas and Countersessions: "September 22,1753
: William Gant appointed constable for the ensuing year, includi
ng theDutchman creek and wters thereof and as far as the Shoal
s of South River.