Every family history is different. My fifth great grandfather and his double brother in law, fought at King's Mountain under Col Sevier. who later became the first governor of Tennessee. They were all members of the Wautauga Association, which numbered somewhere probably between 1500 and 2000 families, all having followed the aforementioned brother in law of George to the settlements along the James River. William, the brother in law and his wife were the first settlers in Tennessee, Then part of the Indian Lands of North Carolina. Lydia, George's sister gave birth to the first white child born in Tennessee. George's wife, Elizabeth, my fifth great grandmother was the sister of William.
George's grandfather probably came here as an indentured servant. George and William ran with the Boone's, hunting, fishing, and fighting Indians.
When Cornwallis sent Patrick Ferguson south to secure the southern flank, Ferguson, being somewhat of an arrogant chap, issued a warning to the Southrons, lay down your arms and swear allegiance to the King or hang, The Wautauga men took umbrage, marched over the mountains, caught Ferguson at King's Mountain. whupped them badly and hung all the officers including Ferguson. They split the force, some going on to Cowpens and other fights, the rest marching back over the mountains to defend the settlements from marauding Cherokees, who, BTW, were allies of the Redcoats.
Jesse, George's grandson, my third great grandfather, fought at New Orleans with Andy Jackson. Later his son James was born in 1824, and the family moved to Arkansas in 1836. I believe they planned on coming to Texas, but there was a small fracas in the doing, so they settled in Arkansas where Jesse died in 1843. James moved the family, including his concubine/s, mistress/s, or whatever his wife may have called her or them ( she/they were her sister/s ) to what is now Huntington, TX, about 100 miles north of where I live. He fought with Hood's Brigade in the War of Northern Aggression, which suffered many casualties in the war. He is buried in Huntington along with his wife, Susan Caroline.
In backtracking the family, I almost did not find Jesse, and his father before him and George before him. Genealogy can be fun, exasperating, wonderful, frustrating, even all in the same day.