Samuel did finally marry Esther Thompson. They moved to Virginia where land grants were a better deal than in the northern colonies. He served in the 'Indian Wars' under General George Rogers Clark.

Samuel went on to establish his home at Maxwell Meadows near Fort Chiswell in the southwest area of Virginia.

He set up his own iron mine, furnaces, and water driven forge where he made long rifles, axes, and other iron implements. The Austins mined lead. The McGavocks mined saltpeter.

He started a family and taught his trade. Their rifles and tools were sold locally and to settlers headed through the Cumberland Gap to lands beyond which later became Tennessee and Kentucky.