Last weekend I found a Japanese duvet cover that my grandmother (memow) willed to me (she died when I was 8) and that has made me wonder about my ancestors. What they looked like, if there were any good stories about the Kilgore's out there.

Well, a few years ago my sister and I had done some research on the Kilgore clan and found some interesting things. When I googled the Kilgore clan I found some website with interesting tales about the family name that I didn't know before. The Kilgore clan came from the Douglas clan and they were among the first to fight with William Wallace against the English. A young man of the Douglas clan was very adept in battle and earned the nickname, "Kill and Gone". When they had beat back the English this man went to Ireland to help them fight the English and his nickname was shortened to "Killgone" and eventually "Kilgore" married an Irish woman and had children who kept the name Kilgore.

Later, five Kilgore brothers and their wives emigrated from Ireland a few years before the Revolutionary War and fought in the Battle of King's Mountain. Several accounts say that Charles Kilgore led the final charge down King's Mountain that changed the course of the war. One of his brothers was killed and he and his brother Robert were both wounded during the battle. I remember visiting King's Mountain and reading the names of the militia who fought and won that battle. Charles Kilgore was listed as an officer but that was the extent of the details.

Charles' son, Robert, wanted to marry Winney Clayton but her father didn't like him. Mr. Clayton told Robert he could marry his daughter if he built her a fort to keep her safe from the Indians, and that is what Robert Kilgore did. It's located in what is now Nickelsville, VA and is one of the seven fort houses still standing. It was built in 1790 and use to be open to the public but is now privately owned and can only be viewed from the roadside.

This picture is of the back of the house.I think if the field of engineering had been around back then, Robert Kilgore would have been a total nerd. The structure is unique in the way it was constructed. The rooms were made so that if Indians attacked and got inside the house, they could retreat to another room until a final stand could be made in a room on the 2nd floor (which never happened but Robert Kilgore was prepared).

Scott county (VA) tore down the original and rebuilt it in 1974 to make it open the the public. Now it is privately owned by some crotchety old man who won't let anyone go in.

That is a little bit about the good part of my family. I won't bother to tell y'all about the horse thieves and moonshiners. I'll save that for another, less permanent place.