Thomas Sumter was born in
Hanover County in the
Colony of Virginia. His father, William Sumpter, was a miller and former indentured servant, while his mother, Elizabeth, was a midwife. His father was born in England, and Sumter was of English and Welsh descent. Most of Thomas Sumter's early years were spent tending livestock and helping his father at the mill, not in school. Given just a rudimentary education on the frontier, the young Sumter served in the Virginia militia,
Timberlake Expedition At the end of the
Anglo-Cherokee War, in 1761, Sumter was invited to join what was to become known as the "Timberlake Expedition", organized by Colonel
Adam Stephen and led by
Henry Timberlake, who had volunteered for the assignment. The purpose of the expedition was to visit the
Overhill Cherokee towns and renew alliances with the
Cherokee following the war. The small expeditionary party consisted of Sumter (who was partially financing the venture with borrowed money), Timberlake, an interpreter named John McCormack, and a servant. When Martin and Sumter were reunited some thirty years later, Sumter repaid the money.
Family life and business Sumter settled in
Stateburg, South Carolina, in the Claremont District (later the Sumter District) in the
High Hills of Santee. He married Mary Jameson in 1767. Together, they opened several small businesses and eventually became members of the
planter class, acquiring ownership over
slave plantations. ==American Revolutionary War==