Delving
into the
Ancestry and Progeny
of Shadrach, Meshach
and Abednego
Inman

Buis T. Inman
Arlington, VA
1980

This information has been reproduced to make it available more easily to more Inman researchers. There has been no attempt to alter any of the original data or correct any 'mistakes'. All footnotes are by the author except for those that have my initials, (JW), and these notes are strictly to help clarify some of the data. I have copied this so that more people could have access to Buis Inman's original files. I hope that this will be of help to you. Feel free to write for other Inman files or data. Jim Williams 504 N. 7th Temple, TX 76501 (254) 771-2577 inman@surnameweb.org

Use these bookmarks to jump to the sections on:

Early Inmans of England
Primary Descendants of S/M/A Inman
Descendants of Benjamin Inman

DELVING INTO THE ANCESTRY AND PROGENY OF SHADRACH, MESHACH AND ABEDNEGO INMAN

Written in 1980
by Buis T. Inman
5528 North 17th Street
Arlington, VA 22205

This is an attempt to provide an ordered compilation of facts collected over some 25 years on the ancestry of the Inmans, so that I and others similarly interested may have better use of it. My first interest in tracing our Inman ancestry was created by my uncle, William Oliver Inman, Sr.

The name INMAN appears to have first occurred in Cheshire and Yorkshire, England. It is closely associated with the name HINMAN. In fact, the two have the same Arms, Crest and Motto. According to some authorities, Hinman is of ancient Saxon or German origin. The name Inman occurs in recorded history before 1600. Inmans lived for generations at Bowthwaite Grange, Netherdale, County York. The Inmans of Liverpool who owned a steamship line are descendants of this line.

Some of the first Inman immigrants to America settled in Rhode Island. Edward Inman lived in Providence, Rhode Island as early as 1646. John Inman, aged 25, arrived in America on the Ship Diana in 1618. Hugh Inman arrived in Virginia on 1650. Robert Inman¹ was one of the first Inmans in the South; he received a land grant of 400 acres in Edgecombe County North Carolina in 1740.

Selection from conflicting information was often necessary to present what seemed most likely to be fact. For example, the first two names appearing in the listing of Inmans in America are somewhat confused; some sources give Robert Inman as the father of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego while others give Ezekial as the father. There were a number of Robert Inmans documented in Virginia and North and South Carolina. It is well documented that Ezekial lived in Burke County, North Carolina at the same time as the three brothers, and the general belief is that he was their father.

I am leaving the name of Robert at the head of the list for the present. Some sources also give Henrietta Hardin as Robert's wife. Robert was a prominent name among Inmans in England, as will be seen in the first listing which follows.

Ezekial Inman is the first Inman definitely associated with my family line documented in America. An Ezekial Inman was recorded in Augusta County, Virginia in 1754 and 1757 as an estate recipient. Ezekial Inman was an officer in the British Regulars during a part or all of the period 1754-63. The name appears in the Albemarle County, Virginia records as having patented 398 acres of land. A Lazarus Inman appears also in the Augusta County, Virginia records as testee to a deed in 1760; but in the tax levy in 1779 Lazarus was listed as "gone to Rockbridge." His relationship to Ezekial is not known. It is doubtful that he was Ezekial's son Lazarus, by his second wife Fanny Wakefield, who married Ezekial in Blount County, Tennessee. There was still a Lazarus Inman in Thompson's Company in Augusta County, Virginia during a part, or all, of the period from 1775 to 1783.

According to Poe², the Inman family appears to have come to the western edge of present Burke County, North Carolina in the late 1760's, probably from Virginia. Ezekial and Hezekiah are the first to appear there in local records. Most of them moved on shortly after the Revolution. Samuel, son of Meshach, sold out in 1795, and Hezekiah was there as late as 1800, but subsequently left.

According to William Graham Inman, great-grandson of Meshach, the brothers Meshach, Shadrach and Abednego Inman were raised in North Carolina³. Meshach was killed by Indians when his son Samuel (grandfather of William Graham Inman) was an infant. Meshach with fifteen others had gone into the territory west of the mountains to explore the country, and were surprised by the Indiansand nearly all of the party were killed. At the time of the ambush by the Indians, the ages of the three brothers were 15 years for Abednego, about 17 years for Meshach, and 20 years for Shadrach. Meshach left a young wife and two sons; the elder son, Lazarus, was just two years old and the other, Samuel, was an infant. Samuel married a Miss Graham in North Carolina and in 1801 he, his brother Lazarus, and their mother moved to Tennessee. After living near Nashville a short time, they moved to Williamson County. John Inman, the son of Samuel, was two years old when the move was made to Tennessee.

A more romantic account, contained in the Gray-Bradford materials, reports that the three brothers came to America prior to 1775 from England because of incompatibility with their step-mother, settled in Virginia, thence to North Carolina, and later moved to Tennessee. They became Americans and fought, bled, and one gave up his life for his country. They started about 1767 with a party of hunters led by Daniel Boone, on their way to explore the country west of the Cumberland Mountains. One night in middle Tennessee, near a cave (presumably the famous Nickajack Cave), they were attacked by Indians while asleep; most of them were killed, among them Meshach Inman. Shadrach was wounded in the side by a spear, and Abednego was wounded in the head by a tomahawk.

¹Colonial Records, NC Land Grants
²Letters from Allan L. Poe dated 12-26-1978 to William O. Inman, Sr.
³Letter of William Graham Inman to Miss Augusta F. Bradford, May 21, 1897, contained in "The Descendents of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego Inman, Records Collected by Mrs. May Inman Gray and Augusta Bradford," dated about 1912. A copy of this material was provided me by Mrs. Wm. H. Inman of Morristown, Tennessee.

Early Inmans of England

The following, abstracted from the Gray-Bradford records referred to earlier and giving the offspring of one William Inman, may be of interest to some who would like to trace their Inman ancestry back to England. Several of the given names are the same as my American ancestors, as for example: Charles, John, Robert and William. However, I have not been able to make a direct connection

The numbers at the left in the following chart represent generations. The family name INMAN has been omitted in the left hand column except for the first entry. The dates after a name, such as

6. Charles 1725-1767, give year of birth and death.

1. William Inman (made will in 1614, owned Bowthwaite): 2. Robert (Bold Robin of Bowthwaite, Netherdale, England)
1. Robert Inman m. Henrietta Hardin: 2. Ezekial ca. 1730 - m. Hannah Hardee (1) m. Fanny Wakefield (2) - Blount Co., TN (Off., British Regulars 1754 - 63); 2. Mariah 1826 - m. 1848 John Hamilton Starks (1) m. Reuben Starks (2) Capt. Co. C 6th KY Cav. U.S.A.

For further information on this line, please read Letters to Buis T. Inman (from Allan L. Poe) and Some Notes on the Inman Family (by William Oliver Inman, Jr.)

Delving into the Ancestry and Progeny of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego Inman

Delving
into the
Ancestry and Progeny
of Shadrach, Meshach
and Abednego
Inman