While in Wilkes County, North Carolina, Jesse Israel married Mary Jones, a daughter of Joshua Jones.  Sometime (1795-1797) after the marriage, Jesse Israel along with his brother John Israel and his father-in-law Joshua Jones left WilKes County and went to Buncombe County, N.C.  Both John and Jesse Israel bought land on the North Fork of Swannanoa River in the late 1790's. They were the first Israels to live in Buncombe Co., N.C.  The land Jesse bought was on Laurel Branch where it joins the North Fork.  The land may be located today just a few hundred feet downstream from the Burnett Reservoir. The land John Israel bought was several more hundred feet downstream. Epaphroditus Gilliam and Robert Edmundson, both of whom where brothers-in-law of Jesse and John Israel bought land in the same neighborhood.

     In 1801 Jesse Israel bought land on the west bank of the French Broad River just below the Warford.  According to Sondley in "A History of Buncombe County," the Warford was about three miles above the mouth of Swannanoa River. Jesse Israel bought other tracts of adjoining land.  Today one may locate the land on the Vanderbilt Estate immediately across the French Broad River from the Biltmore House.

     Jesse Israel served on several trial juries from the time he came to Buncombe County until his death.  At one time he was a member of the Grand Jury.

     In late 1806 Jesse Israel's life ended.  He left a widow with six children - William (Billy) Israel, Elizabeth (Betsey) Israel, Sarah Graves Israel, Ellender Medley (Nellie) Israel, Lewis Israel, and Nancy Jones Israel.

     Mary (Jones) Israel, the widow of Jesse Israel, did not remain a widow long.  She married John Rogers, a neighbor who lived on McDowell's Creek several miles to the north.  John Rogers moved to the old Jesse Israel homestead and eventually obtained title to all of the Jesse Israel land.

     John and Mary (Jones) (Israel) Rogers became the parents of three children - Frances (Frankie) Rogers, Mary (Polly) Rogers, and Peggy Rogers.      Mary (Jones) (Israel) Rogers died in 1821 or 1822.  Both she and her first husband Jesse Israel were buried on the Israel estate which is now on the Vanderbilt property.  The family burying ground is on a hill overlooking the French Broad River just above the old Warford.  There are some twenty to forty rocks marking graves in the cemetery.

     Jesse Israel was a farmer.  The following paragraphs will pertain to each of the children of Jesse and Mary (Jones) Israel.

     William Israel, a son of Jesse and Mary (Jones) Israel was born about 1790-1794 in North Carolina, most likely in Wilkes County.  He married Rachel Jones, a daughter of his Uncle Thomas Jones.  She was his first cousin. William Israel died about 1829, leaving a widow with three children - Mary (Polly) Emily Israel, Thomas S. Israel, and Jesse T. Israel.  William Israel is the ancestor of the Buncombe County Israels who live on South Hominy Creek today (1981).

     Elizabeth Israel, a daughter of Jesse and Mary (Jones) Israel was born 25 November 1796 in North Carolina.  She married Noah Jarrett, a son of Daniel and Mary Catherine (Moyers) Jarrett.  They reared a family in the Sulphur Springs neighborhood of Buncombe County, N.C.

     Sarah Graves (Sally) Israel, a daughter of Jesse and Mary (Jones) Israel, was born 1799 in Buncombe County, North Carolina.  She married John Ledford, Jr.  They lived in Haywood County, N.C., in the area which was to eventually become Clay County, N.C.  By 1870 they were living in Union County, Georgia. They reared a family of twelve or more children.

     Ellender Medley (Nellie) Israel, a daughter of Jesse and Mary (Jones) Israel, was born in 1801 in Buncombe County, N.C.  She married William Ledford, a brother to John Ledford, Jr. who had married her sister Sarah Graves Israel.  William and Ellender Medley (Israel) Ledford settled in the area which was to become Clay County, N.C.  They reared a family of ten or more children.

     Lewis Israel, a son of Jesse and Mary (Jones) Israel was born in 1803. He died before 1810.

     Nancy Jones Israel, a daughter of Jesse and Mary Jones Israel, was born on November 16, 1805, in Buncombe County, N.C.  She died June 16, 1889, in Forsythe County, Georgia.  She married Aaron Smith, a son of Samuel and Mary (Jarrett) Smith.  They eventually settled in Forsythe County, Georgia.

     The children of John and Mary (Jones) (Israel) Rogers will be discussed in the following paragraphs.

     Frances (Frankie) Rogers was born in 1812 in Buncombe County, N.C.  She married Thomas Russell and they moved to Haywood County, N.C.

     Mary (Polly) Rogers was born in 1812 in Buncombe County, N.C.  She married John C. Jarrett and they moved to Haywood County, N.C.

     Peggie Rogers was born in Buncombe County, N.C.  She married her cousin Allen Turner Rogers.  They lived in Buncombe County, N.C., but this writer has not been able to trace the family.