Oh, the stock of women we come from! Eli
Loveday's wife Callie (Spurgeon)'s great-great-great grandmother was Jane
Spurgeon, a Revolutionary War heroine, whose husband William remained loyal to
the crown and eventually (1788) had to go live in Canada, where he raised a
second family. Even William's brothers were split between the Loyalist and
Patriot causes.
While William was away fighting in the king's army, Jane stayed
behind and assisted General Greene when he came to Abbott's
Creek, North Carolina, and stayed at their house (1781), anticipating an attack
by Cornwallis. Patriot Jane offered her young son to act as a scout to learn
key information about redcoat activities.
Earlier (1775), her husband, William
Spurgeon, Jr., had been a part of Daniel Boone's Transylvania Company that
ventured into Kentucky. He returned to NC but left a son there to manage the
land, which was later traded for a horse so the son could return to NC, too,
after Indians attacked.
