Thomas went with his parents to Ninety Six District, Edgefield County, South Carolina, from Wilkes County, Georgia.
Tom was named with his brother, Hercules, as coexecutor of their father's will in 1803 in Edgefield District, South Carolina. He also signed the 1811 deed of conveyance which disposed of the land left by William Ogle to his "four boys". Another deed, dated in 1825 and disposing of land in Edgefield District, South Carolina, was signed by Thomas and Sophia Ogle. They had apparently rented out this land after moving to Sevier County, Tennessee.
No Tennessee, land grants prior to 1824 were found for Tom Ogle but it is known that he was in Sevier County as early as 1805. He and Hercules Ogle deeded 48 acres of land at the mouth of Walden's Creek to William Murphy in 1807. According to the deed, found in the Tennessee, State Library and Archives, they held title to the land "by virtue of seizure and occupancy". The exact date of Tom's settlement in Gatlinburg is not known but he was one of the first settlers there.
Records of Tom's service in the War of 1812 were found in the National Archives. He served in Captain Andrew Lawson's Company of East Tennessee, Drafted Militia Regiment, commanded by Colonel William Johnson, and fought against the Creek Indians. In 1850 and 1855, Tom received bounty land grants as a result of his service.
In December of 1817 when the White Oak Flats Baptist Church was formed as an arm of the Sevierville church, Tom Ogle and his wife were listed as charter members. The first church building was started in 1855 on Tom's land. It was located where the Arrowcraft Shop stands now. A deed conveying title of the land to the church by Thomas Ogle was executed on 8 April 1861. This is found in Sevier County Courthouse in Deed Book M, page 211.
Thomas J. Ogle has three land entries, which are dated from 1 May 1824 through 23 Jan 1826, in the Surveyor's Book No. 1 of Sevier County, Tennessee. These land entries were granted by the state of Tennessee. All these were located in the White Oak Flats community and Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
Tom left a will dated 27 Sep 1861 and probated in County Court in February of 1862. It is recorded in Will Book I, p 74-75. William T. Ogle is mentioned as Tom's eldest son and is named executor of the will. Also Tom mentioned "my son Thomas Ogle... my Sons, to wit., Preston, Levi and Caleb..." In the Court records, Thomas Ogle's will was admitted for probate 3 Feb 1862. On 3 March 1862, Caleb Ogle and Wilson Duggan were appointed administrators of the estate of Thomas Ogle. (Court Minutes Book I, page 747 and 752)
There is a list of "Inventory of the property belonging to the estate of Thomas J. Ogle, Dec'd., late of Sevier County, Tennessee, in theInventory Book, page 190/92.
In the Guardians, Executors and Administrators Settlement Book for Sevier County, Tennessee, there is a record for the estate of Thomas J. Ogle. From this book, the following list of the living heirs of Thomas J. Ogle is quoted: "the above Settlement shows that there is in the hands of the administrators the sum of $187.23 to be equally divided among twelve heirs, to wit., Levi, Hercules, Isaac, Rebecca wife of Preston, William T., Celeb, Thomas, Esther Trantham, Hichols Ownsby, Jacob Evans, Andrew Conner, and David Owensby & wife."
Thomas and Sophia are buried White Oak Flats Cemetery. The family appears in the Federal Census records of Sevier County from 1830 through 1860. The census and other records found show that the second generation of Ogle sons in Gatlinburg began using their father's initial in their names when there was confusion created by the same names.
Source: Smoky Mountain Clans, Donald B. Reagan, 1974, p 47-48. Smoky Mountain Clans, Donald B. Reagan, 1978, p 154-155, 211. In the Shadow of the Smokies, Smoky Mountain Historical Society, 1993, p 576.
