History of Davidson County, Tennessee, with illustrations and biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 34

Author: Clayton, W. W. (W. Woodford)
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Philadelphia, J.W. Lewis & Co.
Number of Pages: 1013

USA > Tennessee > Davidson County > History of Davidson County, Tennessee, with illustrations and biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 34

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After the treaty Col. Donelson returned to Kentucky with the avowed intention of moving back to the Cumber- land as soon as he had adjusted some matters of importance in Kentucky and Virginia. In 1785 he visited Virginia to communicate with his friends about the many land-claims entrusted to his management. In view of his return to the Cumberland he had procured the planting of another crop of corn on one of his tracts near Stone's River. In the latter part of the year 1785 he was engaged as a commis- sioner, appointed by the Assembly of Georgia, in company with Cols. Harrod, Downs, and Sevier, and Mr. Lindsay, to

organize a new county, by the name of Houston, in the bend of the Tennessee opposite the Mussel Shoals and the Indian town of . Nickajack. They opened a land-office there; Col. Donelson was appointed surveyor, and the issuing of land- warrants was authorized. These commissioners, with eighty or ninety men, descended the river to the point where it was intersected by the State line. They appointed military officers and justices of the peace, and elected Valentine Sevier, brother of Col. John Sevier, to represent them in the General Assembly of Georgia. The warrants were signed by John Donelson and John Sevier, and were dated 21st December, 1785 .* The commissioners and their party remained there but two or three weeks. The threats of violence and the preparation of the Indians to attack these land-hunters rendered it advisable for them to abandon the scheme for the time being, and return to the Nollachucky land Holston. Princely estates were, however, ultimately realized out of the operation. A plat and deed for ten thousand acres, located at the mouth of the Blue Water, opposite Mussel Shoals, " to John Sevier, one of the Com. missioners of the Tennessee Land Company," may be seen in the State Historical Society's rooms. About the year 1827 the Congress of the United States granted to the heirs of these commissioners five thousand acres each, to be selected from any vacant lands of the government in Ala -. bama or Mississippi, in lieu of their ten thousand, and in full satisfaction for their services as such commissioners, surveyors, and explorers. A time was limited within which these lands were to be located. All but the Donelson heirs made their selections within the specified time ; so that the perils and labors of Col. Donelson remained without com- pensation, and his long-cherished plan and hope of acqui- sition there were frustrated.

Col. Donelson had owned extensive iron-works in Pitt- sylvania Co., Va., which he sold to Col. Calloway. These works had been established as a practical result of a deter- mination on the part of the colonists before the Revolution to place American industries upon a footing more inde- pendent of the jealous and restrictive policy of Great Britain. An address on this subject had been signed by Washington, Jefferson, Henry, Lee, Randolph, Donelson, and others at the time when Donelson was associated with these great Virginians in the House of Burgesses. It has been remarked by a discriminating writer that "here was another of those links in the golden chain which bound him to the patriots of Virginia. Here was infused through the great depth of his soul sentiments which gave a right direc- tion to all his subsequent life, and made him ever ready to ' pledge his word of truth and honor that whatever Wash - ington and his associates advocated and did was the wisest and best under the circumstances.' He never could doubt this. He was exceedingly anxious that other persons should entertain the like implicit confidence. And we verily be- lieve that the strong faith he had and the carnestness with which he delivered his sentiments for the Father of our Country, and the like precious faith cherished by Gens. Sevier, Robertson, Smith, and other leading spirits in Ten- nessce, had a most happy and conservative influence over

" History of Middle Tennessee, p. 634.

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all the population of Tennessee, and that there were men of eminent talents actuated by the same spirit who stayed or hushed the storm of discontent in Kentucky."

Who knows to what extent this all-controlling spirit of reverence and fealty to the fathers of the Revolution thwarted the Spanish schemes for the dismemberment of the Western colonies from the republic ?

It is stated in Filson's and in Butler's histories of Ken- tucky that " Col. Donelson, in behalf of Virginia, nego- tiated a treaty with the Five Nations for the country be- tween the Kentucky and the Great Kanawha, the considera- tion of which was five hundred pounds sterling." As no mention of this is found among the colonial records, or in any book of Indian treaties, it was probably one of those personal or unauthorized transactions, like Henderson's treaty of 1775 and that at Nashville in 1783, which, though never recognized as valid by the government, were nevertheless entitled to some consideration on account of the peril and sacrifice of those who negotiated them and the interests of those who had settled upon the lands.

Col. Donelson's last letter, written during his trip to Vir- ginia, is in the possession of the Tennessee Historical So- ciety, and is as follows :

"CAMPBELL Co., VA., 4th September, 1785.

" DEAR JOHNY,-I have the happiness to inform you that I am in health at present, with the most sanguine hopes that by the first opportunity I shall be made happy by hearing of the health, happiness, etc., of yourself and our dearest connections.

" I lately saw Capt. Ewing, who told me that several war- rants from the military department were sent out to your care to locate on the usual terms; I think he said to the amount of ten thousand acres.

" I wish amongst those warrants you could spare me one small warrant to secure the vacancy against my lands on the south side of the Cumberland.

" I have had some conversation with Stockley Donelson concerning our locations with Col. Blount. He says that he has reason to trust the warrants for those lands have issued, and that we need not fear the consequences thercof.

" However, I shall start to-morrow morning over to Caro- lina in order to be satisfied in that business. I purpose re- turning to Richmond from Carolina in order to see if it is in my power to get some goods for our family's use, and to return to you and my family as soon as possible.

" If you should find it convenient to remove to Cumber- land before my return, if my family can remove at the same time, I shall have no objection.

" I shall have some debts to settle in Kentucky in my way out. . . . I hope to be at home next month. . . .

" I entreat you to take particular care so to provide that no waste may be made in my corn at Cumberland. A plen- tiful stock of provisions is the main chance. Give every assurance to your dear mamma that I shall use every en- deavor for her happiness, and for every branch of the family.

"Your mamma's case and happiness in every comfort of life, your and your brothers' and sisters' well-being and hap- piness, and more, if I could say more, is the constant peti- tion and most ardent desire of your most affectionate father, "JOHN DONELSON."

During the interval between this letter and the events which are to follow, the families of Col. Donelson and his son had returned to the Cumberland, and were again iden- tified with the stationers there. The Indian wars were not ended ; perilous times continued, and they came once more to experience the perils and suffering of which the pioneers knew little abatement during the first decade of their set- tlement. This territory has been called significantly the " great slaughter-pen of the pioneers."

Col. Donelson had forwarded his last letter by private messenger, and was soon after on his way to Kentucky. " He pursued the usual route by the Gap, and on to Davis' Station. There he learned that his family had removed to Mansker's. Delaying only a few days to settle some busi- ness, he renewed his journey on horseback to rejoin his family. Two young men joined him and proposed to travel in company, having in view, as they said, a settlement at Nashville. These young men arrived safely, and gave the following statement :

" They had traveled together until in the heat of the day, when they stopped to take a drink from a spring. Col. Don- elson rode on, saying he was anxious to reach home. He had not gone far, and but a few moments, when they heard several guns fired. Their impression was that his sons had met him and fired a feu de joie.

" After some further delay they resumed their journey, and finally overtook him, when they found him dangerously wounded and in great agony. He was, however, proceeding on his journey. He had been wounded by a ball, which passed across the abdomen in such a manner as to cause a ghastly wound. They continued in company. In their opinion he had been wounded by Indians, but they said not what was Col. Donelson's opinion.

"They encamped on the bank of Barren River that night, and there Col. Donelson expired. In the morning they buried his body as best they could ; then, taking his horse, saddle, and saddle-bags, they crossed the river ; but in cross- ing, the saddle-bags were washed off the saddle and floated down the river and were lost.

" Such was their statement. He had many valuable papers belonging to himself and friends, and it was supposed he had some money.

"Suspicion rested strongly for some time on these young men, but no proof of guilt being found, they were released and cleared of the charge. The sons of Col. Donelson, taking one of the young men with them, returned to Bar- ren River in search of the body and the saddle-bags. The body was found in a position to verify their statement, and the saddle-bags were recovered, with some papers, but so damaged as to be of very small value."

Such is the mystery in which the end of Col. Donelson is shrouded. He was eminently a man of peace, having no record in connection with any of the Indian wars of his time. He is known to have traveled over vast extents of wilderness country from the Tennessee to the James River, in times, too, of Indian hostility, without carrying so much as a weapon for personal defense. He was a man whose policy of colonization was perhaps on a more extended and comprehensive scale than that of any of his contemporaries.

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GEN. ANDREW JACKSON.

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The importance he attached to the fortification and perma- nent occupancy of the Great Bend of the Tennessee River by the whites, as the best method of controlling the Indians and preserving the peace of the settlements, was fully recog- nized long after his death in the establishment of a fort there by the government. Had he lived to carry out his plans, he would undoubtedly have filled a very large and conspicuous place in the history of Middle Tennessee. His descendants and connections for nearly three-fourths of a century in the South and Southwest have been extensive and influential both in civil and military affairs. The sons and grandsons and great-grandsons of Col. Donelson have preserved the name with much credit in our local history. His sons-in- law were Col. Thomas Hutchings, Capt. John Caffery, Col. Robert Hays, and GEN. ANDREW JACKSON.

Col. Donelson had a family of thirteen children, whose numerous and influential descendants are scattered over the South and Southwest. Maj. Martin, whose mother was a Donelson, and who also married one of that family, has a family-tree embracing six generations from Col. John Don- elson. The following has been furnished us by Maj. Mar- tin, who vouches for its correctness :

Children of Col. John Donelson and his wife, Rachel Stockly :

1. Alexander (never married).

2. Mary, married Capt. John Caffry, and left a large family, of whom are Donelson and Jefferson Caffry, of Louisiana.

3. Catherine, married Col. Thomas Hutching, and left a large family.

4. Stockly, married Mrs. Elizabeth Martin. Left no issue.

5. Jane, married Col. Robert Hays, and left a large family, of whom are Stockly D. and Samuel J. Hays, Mrs. Gen. Butler, of Florida, Mrs. Dr. Butler and Mrs. Chester, of Jackson, Tenn.

6. John, married Mary Purnell, of Snow Hill, Md.

7. William, married Charity Dickerson, and had a large family, of whom are I. D. Donelson, of Mississippi, the late A. J. Donelson, of Louisiana, Mrs. Robert A. and Robert M. Barton, of Tennessee, and others.

8. Samuel, married Mary Smith, and had John, A. J., and Gen. D. S. Donelson.

9. Severn, married Elizabeth Rucker, and had A. J., Thomas, John, Samuel, and Alexander.

10. Rachel, married, first, Robards, and second, Gen. Andrew Jackson.

11. Leven Donelson (never married).

John Donelson, Jr., born April 7, 1755, and Mary Pur- Dell, married Aug. 26, 1779, had children :

1. Chesed, born June 17, 1780, died in infancy.

2. Tabitha, born July 17, 1781, married George Smith.

3. Alexander, born 11 -, 1784, killed at Emuckfaw.

4. John, born April 23, 1787, married Eliza Butler.

5. Lemuel, born Sept. 6, 1789, married Elizabeth Whyte.

6. Rachel, born July 10, 1791, married William Eastin.

7. Mary, born June 13, 1793, married Gen. John Coffec. 8. William, born May 17, 1795, married Rachel Don- elson.

9. Elizabeth, born Nov. 21, 1796, married John C. McLemore.

10. Catherine, born July 13, 1799, married J. G. Martin.

11. Chesed P., born July 8, 1801, died in infancy.

12. Stockly, born Aug. 31, 1805, married Phila H. Lawrence.

13. Emily, born June 1, 1807, married Maj. A. J. Donelson.

CHAPTER XXV.

GEN. ANDREW JACKSON.

His Scotch-Irish Ancestors-Birthplace-Experience in the Revo- lution-Study of Law-Arrival at Nashville as District Attorney -Appointment to the Bench of the Superior Court-Difficulty with Governor Sevier-Racy Correspondence-Duel with Dickin- son-Admonitory Letters from Friends.

GEN. JACKSON's life belongs to our national history, yet, in a restricted sense, it is a part, and a very important part, of the history of Davidson County. His home was here from early manhood ; from this county emanated those mili- tary campaigns which were supported with such singular unanimity by his countrymen, his friends, and his neigh- bors, many of whom won with him imperishable glory on the battle-fields of the South and at New Orleans; here the light of his military genius first shone, which afterwards burst out and spread over the world ; here was the centre of that marvelous personal devotion and enthusiasm for his character and services which became national, and which exalted him into a carcer of civil administration the success and glory of which transcended even his brilliant military achievements; here, at Nashville and in Tennessee, he founded a new political dynasty, which rose rapidly into ascendancy, and for many years controlled the politics of the nation ; here, after his great services had been rendered to his country, he retired to spend his declining years in the beautiful and quiet retreat of the Hermitage, where his venerated dust now reposes, with that of his beloved wife and adopted kindred, under the guardianship of the State, which is honored no less in keeping the sacred de- pository than in the name and reputation of a citizen so distinguished.

Andrew Jackson was of humble birth, but in his veins flowed the blood of a long line of ancestors noted for their independence, their personal energy and courage, their rest- lessness under political and ecclesiastical restraint, and their great sincerity and earnestness in their convictions. "The Scotch-Irish," says Parton, "are a tough, vehement, good- hearted race, who have preserved in good measure the Scotch virtues of honesty, prudence, and perseverance, but exhibit the showing traits of the Irish, subdued and dimin- ished,-a plain, simple, and pure people, formed to grapple with practical affairs, in dealing with which they often dis- play an impetuosity which is Irish, and a persistence which is Scotch. They have not the taste or gift for art, of which no Irishman of pure blood seems to be quite destitute. . . . Their genius shines in other pursuits. They possess a sturdiness of understanding, and sometimes a certain quick and piercing intelligence, which throws a Drummond glare

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upon a limited space, though it leaves the general scene in darkness.

" One trait in the character of these people demands the particular attention of the reader. It is their nature to contend for what they think is right with peculiar earnest- ness. Some of them, too, have a knack of extracting from every affair in which they may engage, and from every relation in life which they form, the largest amount of con- tention which it can be made to yield. Hot water would seem to be the natural element of some of them, for they are always in it. It appears to be more difficult for a North-of-Irelander than for other men to allow an honest difference of opinion in an opponent, so that he is apt to regard the terms opponent and enemy as synonymous. Hence in the political and sectarian contests of the present day he occasionally exhibits a narrowness, if not a ferocity of spirit, such as his forefathers manifested in the old wars of the clans and the borders, or in the later strifes between Catholic and Protestant. But these very people, apart from their strifes, are singularly tender in their feelings, liberal in their gifts, generous in their hospitality, and easy to be entreated. On great questions, too, which lift the mind above sectarian trivialities, they will, as a people, be invariably found on the anti-diabolic side; equally strenu- ous for liberty and for law against ' mobs and monarchs, lords and levelers,' as one of their stump orators expressed it. The name which Bulwer bestows upon one of his characters, Stick-to-rights, describes every genuine son of Ulster. . .

" It is to be observed also of these remarkable people that the two races whose good and less good qualities they share are blended in different proportions in every indi- vidual. Some are Scotch-Irish and others are Irish-Scotch. Some come to their Scotch traits only after sowing a plenti- ful crop of the most Irish wild-oats. Some are canny Scots in repose and wildly Irish in contention. Some, at times of keen excitement, exhibit in a surprising manner an Irish dash and daring, controlled by Scottish wariness. And some will imbibe an opinion or a prejudice with Irish readiness, and then cling to it with Scotch tenacity.

" It could not but be that a race so bold and enterprising should have contributed its proportion to the tide of emi- gration which has peopled America. Transferred to the wider sphere afforded on this continent, the North-of-Ire- landers have, upon the whole, done great honor to their blood and instincts, their love of liberty and regard for the right. Such of them as have attained distinction here have done so not so much by originality of thought or project as by originality of career. There is an abounding energy in these men which enables them to do ordinary things in an extraordinary and memorable manner, exhibit- ing a rare union of enterprise, perseverance, and prudence. In most of them there is a touch of eccentricity.

" Among the men of North-of-Ireland stock whose names are familiar to the people of the United States, the following may serve to illustrate some of the foregoing remarks : John Stark, Robert Fulton, John C. Calhoun, Sam Hous- ton, David Crockett, Hugh L. White, James K. Polk, Patrick Bronte, Horace Greeley, Robert Bonner, A. T. Stewart, Andrew Jackson."

The ancestors of Gen. Jackson resided at Carrickfergus (Crag of Fergus), on the northern coast of Ireland, nine miles from Belfast. His grandfather, Hugh Jackson, was a linen-draper, residing in Carrickfergus, and suffered in the siege of that town in 1660. He had four sons, all of whom were settled in the vicinity as farmers. The youngest of these was Andrew, the father of Gen. Jackson. Whether he was a member of the " Patriot Club" at Carrickfergus or not we do not know, but such an organization existed there as early as 1756, and shows the spirit of the people among whom he resided. In the " plan of association" of this club, it was declared that they were " ready to defend the king and constitution, and to oppose all measures tend- ing to infringe the sacred rights of the people." Andrew Jackson the elder married Elizabeth Hutchinson, a poor man's daughter ; she was a sister of Mrs. George McCamie and of Mrs. James Crawford, with whom Mrs. Jackson lived with her children after the death of her husband in North Carolina. The Crawfords-James, Robert, and Joseph- came with them to America in 1765. The father of Gen. Jackson at that time had two sons,-Hugh and Robert. They landed at Charleston, whence Andrew Jackson, with his wife and sons, went immediately to a new place on Twelve-Mile Creek in Mecklenburg (since Union) Co., N. C., where he commenced clearing land and erected a log house. In less than two years he sickened and died, and his widow, with her two sons, went to live with her brother- in-law, George McCamie, not far distant. It was in this house that Andrew Jackson was born on the 15th of March, 1767. It is described as a small log house, less than a quarter of a mile from the South Carolina boundary. They did not remain long here, but went to live with the other brother-in-law, James Crawford, in the Lancaster District in South Carolina. This was probably what made Gen. Jackson suppose that he was born in South Carolina, as he evidently did when, in issuing his proclamation to the nulli- fiers, he addressed them as " Fellow-citizens of my native State !"

In Parton's " Life of Jackson" are some interesting remi- niscences of his boyhood, which we are obliged to pass over with the briefest notice. He was a rollicking, fun- loving, brave, resolute, chivalrous, and somewhat belligerent boy, extremely fond of athletic sports, especially wrestling, although quite slender and possessed of more energy than physical strength. One of his schoolmates used to say, " I could throw him three times out of four, but he would never stay throwed. IIe was dead game even then, and never would give up."

He was sent first to an "old field-school," one of those institutions peculiar to the country, in which school was kept by an itinerant schoolmaster in a log house upon a worn-out plantation which had grown up with pine-trees. His mother cherished the hope that he might some day become a clergyman of the Presbyterian Church, and so used her exertions to secure him the advantages of better schools. The first school of this kind which he attended was an academy in the Waxhaw settlement, where his mother resided, of which one Dr. Humphreys was master. There is a strong tradition that he also subsequently at- tended a school in Charlotte, N. C., quite noted in that

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upon a limited space, though it leaves the general scene in darkness.

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LOL, 1: whiteir owe Dr. Humphreys was master. Patrick Bronte, Horace Greeley, Robert Bonner, A: T. There is a strong tradition that he also subsequently at- Stewart, Andrew Jackson." tended a school in Charlotte, N. C., quite noted in that

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GEN. ANDREW JACKSON.

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day as " Queen's College," and this appears to be confirmed by a remark of Gen. Jackson, made to the delegates from Charlotte at the time he was President at Washington. It has been claimed that Jackson also attended the famous school of Dr. Waddell, one of whose pupils was John C. Calhoun. " I was inclined to believe this," says Mr. Par- ton, " until I discovered that Dr. Waddell did not open his academy until after Jackson had left school forever." The mme author says, " He learned to read, write, and cast ac- counts,-little more." If he began, as he may have done, to learn by heart, in the old-fashioned way, the Latin gram- mar, he never acquired enough of it to leave any traces of classical knowledge in his mind or his writings. In some of his later letters there may be found, it is true, an occa- sional Latin phrase of two or three words, but so quoted as to show ignorance rather than knowledge. He was never a well-informed man. He never was addicted to books. He never learned to write the English language correctly, though he often wrote it eloquently and convincingly. He never learned to spell correctly, though he was a better speller than Frederic II., Marlborough, Napoleon, or Washington. Few men of his day, and no women, were correct spellers. Indeed, we may say that all the most illustrious men have been bad spellers except those who could not spell at all. . . . His mistakes, however, during the last forty years of his life did not average more than five to a page. His style, when he wrote at leisure and for purposes merely formal, was that of a person unaccustomed to composition. Awk- ward repetitions occur, and mistakes in grammar as well as in spelling. But when his feelings were excited he could pour a flood of vehement eloquence upon paper, and with such rapidity that his manuscript would be wet two or three pages behind. But even this required correction. Not one public paper of any description signed " Andrew Jackson" ever reached the public eye exactly as Jackson wrote it. Often he would write a letter or a dispatch, have it copied by a secretary, and then rewrite it himself. Some of his most famous passages-those which are sup- posed to be peculiarly Jacksonian-he never so much as suggested a word of, nor saw till they were written, nor required the alteration of a syllable before they were dis- patched. It is, nevertheless, a fact that he was more truly the author of his public writings than almost any other of our public men have been of the documents which bear their names. His secretaries wrote with his fiery mind, though with their own practiced hands, and wrote with more Derve and warmth when writing for him than they ever could for themselves. . . . The secret was that Jackson supplied the COURAGE, a prime ingredient of powerful composition. " I take the responsibility," he would say on all occasions when a subordinate faltered.

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History of Davidson County, Tennessee, with illustrations and biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 34

Author: Clayton, W. W. (W. Woodford) Publication date: 1880 Publisher: Philadelphia, J.W. Lewis & Co. Number of Pages: 1013

Author: Clayton, W. W. (W. Woodford)
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Philadelphia, J.W. Lewis & Co.
Number of Pages: 1013