John Knox Witherspoon, [Sr.]

(1791-1853)

Biographical Data

Important Dates

John Knox Witherspoon, [Sr.] was born on September 1, 1791. He died on September 25, 1853, and was buried in Old Town Cemetery in Hillsborough, NC.

Places of Residence

• Camden, SC, between 1833 and 1837. In Camden, Kershaw County, the Witherspoons lived in a pleasant house which still stands, with ample grounds at the corner of York and Lyttleton streets [1].
• Columbia, SC, between 1837 and 1839 [1].
• Tusculum Farm in Orange County, NC, between 1839 and September 25, 1853. John Knox Witherspoon, [Sr.] returned to Hillsborough to try to make a living on Tusculum Farm, although he was then suffering with a fatal infection or growth in his chest. He died on the farm September 25, 1853 [1].
• Hillsborough, NC, until 1833. John Knox Witherspoon, [Sr.], severed his connection with his Hillsborough congregation over an irreconciable diffenece on the question of slavery. He accepted the pastorate of Bethesda Presbyterian Church [1].

Occupations

• Minister [1].

Relatives

• Spouse: Susan Davis Kollock (1793-1854) [1].
  Children:
  
  • one son, John Knox Witherspoon, [Jr.] (b. 1816) [1].
  • one daughter, Mary Nash Witherspoon (b. 1827)  [1].
• Others: Denah McEwen Witherspoon  (granddaughter, 1837-1859) [1], Elizabeth McEwen (daughter-in-law) [1] and William G. Bowers (son-in-law) [1].

References

1. Mary Claire Engstrom. The Book of Burwell Students: Lives of Educated Women in the Antebellum South. (Hillsborough: Hillsborough Historic Commission, 2007).