From The Fugate Family of Russell Co., VA by David Farris, Gateway Press 1986
There is some doubt as to who the original Fugate was in America. Early genealogists thought that Peter LaFoucate of Baltimore County, Maryland was the original settler. Further study, however, casts doubt on this and points to James Fugett who married Martha Poel (Poole). James was the son of James Fugett and Emaline Lamb of Ltegray, London.
James Fugett married Martha Poel in Henrico County, Virginia in 1694. The county was established in 1611, just four years after Jamestown. It extended on both sides of the James River from the junction of the James and Appomattox Rivers to the Blue Ridge Mountains. In 1634 there were 4914 settlers in Virginia, with 419 of these in Henrico County. In 1694 Henrico County consisted of Goochland (1727), Albemarle (1744), Amherst(1761), Fluvanna(1777), Nelson, Chesterfield (1747), Cumberland(1749), Buckingham(1732), Powhatan and part of Appomattox Counties as well as the cities of Richmond, Charlottesville and Colonial Heights. The boundaries have remained essentially unchanged since 1747.
They are known to have resided in Perquimans Precinct, North Carolina, from 1697 to 1702.
Josias Fugate is the earliest confirmed Fugate. He resided in the Northern Neck of Virginia in the Brunswick Parish of King George County. In Josias' will, dated 18 March, 1757, he mentions his sons Francis, John, Josias, Randolph, Martin and daughter Ann Swillavant, as well as his wife, Mary. Mary has, by tradition, been assumed to be Mary Martin. It is probable that his sons John, Josias, Randolph, and Martin, had moved elsewhere to settle. Randolph is known to have been in Orange County, Virginia, by 1738.
Martin Fugate was recorded in Frederick County in 1755. The area he was located in was possibly the area known as Dunmore County from 1772 to 1777, renamed Shenandoah County in 1777, and later divided into Page and Warren Counties. He was also recorded in Culpeper Co., Virginia, in 1761, 1763, and 1775. It is probable that all his children were born in this area. His brother John Jr. was recorded as selling his land in the same area on 09 October, 1771 then purchasing land in 1772 in the Moccasin
Valley in what was then Botetourt County, and later Fincastle, Washington, and finally Russell County. Martin was first noted in Russell County in 1789 as "exempt from taxation". It was in Russell County that Martin Fugate's estate was settled on 29 June, 1803.
The area which is now Russell County was an intertribal Indian hunting preserve until 1745 when it became part of Augusta County. Between 1769 and 1785 it was contained in Botetourt, Fincastle, and Washington Counties. In 1786, Russell Country was formed from Washington County. The boundary lines extended from Clinch Mountain to the Cumberland Gap on the Kentucky Border and eastward to a point near Bluefield, Virginia. In 1790 the County had a population of 3338, including 190 slaves.
The first known group of settlers arrived in Castles Woods, in 1770. Among this group, then considered squatters, was Charles Bickley, brother of Mary Carter. They claimed and settled on land to which they could not obtain legal title because of problems with the Loyal Company, Indians, and the Crown. Many of these first settlers did not obtain legal right to their land until the 1780s. A good account of the settlement of Southwest Virginia is given by Judge Lyman Chalkley.
In 1772, Francis Fugate settled at Moccasin Creek, one year after Col. John Tate. In 1774, because of continuing Indian raids, Captain William Russell was ordered to build a number of palisade forts as a means of protection. These forts, which protected many of the Fugate ancestors include Elk Garden Fort, where Solomon Litton was captured by Indians, Fort Blackmore, where Dale Carter was killed, and Tate's Fort, located on Col. John Tate's land. Following them were, among others, Colbert Fugate, Robert Tate Sr. and Robert Tate Jr.
The Moccasin Valley, where most of the Fugates and Tates settled, is a fertile but rocky farming area located in the southwestern part of Russell County. It extends from Hansonville to near Big Moccasin Gap in Scott County, with Clinch Mountain on the south and Moccasin Ridge on the North. The name of Big Moccasin Creek, attributed to Daniel Boone about 1769 after the first settlers found Indian moccasin footprints in the soft mud of the creek banks.
Martin Fugate had at least 4 sons Francis, Henley, Zachariah, and Colbert were all mentioned in court records. In addition, Benjamin and William Fugate, all residing in Moccasin Creek are probably his sons. He also may have had a daughter, Ann, married to Samuel Haddix of Moccasin Creek. A possible second daughter, married to James McCarty, was killed by Indians in 1788.
Martin's son Colbert, as well as Colbert's son, Isaac Beverly Fugate, who was born on 04 May, 1804, lived in Moccasin Valley, Russell County their entire lives.
Colbert Fugate came to Russell County, VA in 1771 and settled on what was known as Big Moccasin Creek. Colbert Fugate served in Virginia's legislature for two terms. Colbert and his wife are buried on the family plantation which is still in the Tate family of Lebanon, VA. John Tate and Mary Bracken are buried there also.
