“Abraham Kuykendall was one of the first settlers of what is now Henderson County and the historic Flat Rock area.  He was, most likely, the first settler of Flat rock, as his land grants probably pre-dated those of John Earl.  He founded some of Henderson County’s first businesses, including a fine inn, a tavern, and a mill.  Abraham Kuykendall, as well as a number of his descendants, is buried in the historic Mud Creek Baptist Church Cemetery.

Abraham Kuykendall, who was prominent in community affairs, served his nation valiantly.  Archives in Raleigh, North Carolina, hold a Revolutionary Pay Check No. 32 for military service for Abraham Kuykendall for 1779.

Abraham, whose van Kuykendall ancestors had lived in America since 1646, was an active proponent of the patriotic cause.  On July 26, 1775, Abraham Kuykendall was appointed Captain of a Safety Committee in Tryon County, North Carolina (August 1775 Tryon County Court Minutes). Abraham actively participated in other community affairs as well.  On December 17, 1778, Captain Abraham Kuykendall was appointed as Justice of the Peace and Justice for Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions by the General Assembly for the area that became Rutherford County.

For these and other reasons too numerous to record here, I am honored to ask that the new chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution be named the ABRAHAM KUYKENDALL CHAPTER.”

Excerpted from the chapter name proposal made by direct descendant, Mrs Pauline B Beyer, author of  Abraham of Flat Rock at an Organizing Meeting tea held 19 August 1995.  The Dutch name “Kuykendall” is pronounced locally “kirk-en-doll.”

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            Page 2 Time line by Kathy Summers

                        Page 3 information on approved Record copies

                                    Page 4 Poem by Joe Cowart

Return to Abraham Kuykendall NSDAR webpage

Updated 20 September 2000