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Jacob Forney was born in Alsace, France about 1721. When 14 years old, he sailed from Amsterdam to Philadelphia. When he was of age, he returned to Alsace to secure a legacy. On the return voyage to America he met Maria Bergner and they later married in Philadelphia. They migrated to North Carolina about 1754 and settled in Lincoln. Jacob Forney became a loyal patriot of the Revolution, a member of the Tryon County Committee of Safety, a signer of the Resolutions of the Protest against British tyranny which we adopted at Tryon Court House in August, 1775, and a member of the committee appointed by the assembly to locate the courthouse and jail for Tryon County.
In January of 1781 Cornwallis spent three days at Ramsour’s Mill. General O’Hara camped at the Reep place located two miles from the mill and Tarleton crossed the South Fork River in Cobb’s Bottom and marched over the hill on which Lincolnton now stands to join Cornwallis at the mill.
On January 28th, Cornwallis with his forces marched east to Jacob Forney’s where he camped for three days and foraged on the Forney’s cattle, hogs, sheep and chickens until it was safe to cross the swollen Catawba River.
On February 1st, Cornwallis broke camp and marched to Cowen’s Ford six miles below Beatties Ford where the battle of Cowen’s Ford took place.
As Cornwallis invaded the county, he used the Forney home for his headquarters. He forced the elderly to occupy the cellar while the British troops literally stripped both the Jacob Forney home and the General Peter Forney home. General Peter Forney, Jacob’s son, was away fighting for his country. The British troops butchered the sheep, cattle, fowls and hogs for food and confiscated all of the grain and provender.
Forney’s three sons, Jacob, Peter and Abram, were all in the patriot army. His four daughters were Catherine, Elizabeth, Christina and Susan. He died in 1806 at the age of 85 years old, a Lutheran in faith. The graves of Jacob and Maria (Bergner) Forney are in the old Dutch Meeting House graveyard about three miles from the Forney homestead. Many of their descendants were distinguished people.
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