USA > Tennessee > History of Tennessee from the earliest time to the present : together with an historical and a biographical sketch of from twenty-five to thirty counties of east Tennessee, V.2 > Part 52
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53
-----
-
---
863
JEFFERSON COUNTY.
Rev. Matthew Hillsnian. During the war the school was suspended, and the college buildings and apparatus damaged to the extent of $6,000, which loss has never been repaired by the Government.
The presidents of the institution since the war have been Rev. N. B. Goforth, D. D., Rev. B. G. Manard, D. D., and Rev. S. W. Tindell, the present incumbent. The name has been twice changed: first to Mossy Creek Baptist College, and in 1580 to Carson Col- lege, in honor of James HI. Carson, who made a bequest of $20,000 to support ministerial education. To this bequest and to the very liberal donations made by Mr. W. C. New- man is largely due the present prosperous condition of the college. Recently an excellent female seminary has also been established under the patronage of the Baptist Church, and named Newman College in honor of Mr. Newman.
The other towns or villages of any note in Jefferson County are Strawberry Plains, White Pine and Leadvale. The first named is a station on the East Tennessee, Virginia & Georgia Railroad, on the line between Jefferson and Knox Counties. The place has borne its present name since the carliest settlement of the country. Previous to 1818 a store or two had been opened there, but it had scarcely attained the proportions of a vil- lage. At about that time the opening of Strawberry Plains College added greatly to the importance of the place. It was an excellent school and soon gained a wide reputation. It was founded by Rev. Curd Fulton, working under the direction of the Holston Confer- ence of the Methodist Episcopal Church South. During the war the college was destroyed, and has not been replaced. A district high school has, however, been maintained a part of the time.
White Pine is a flourishing village on the North Carolina Division of the East Teu- nessee, Virginia & Georgia Railroad, in the northeast part of the county. It has grown up within the past ten or twelve years upon land originally settled by Henry Randolph, grandfather of Judge John II. Randolph. The business of the town is con- ducted by the following individuals: John Bell and Press & Fry, general merchandise; Thomas Nugent, grocery; Thomas Fry, clothing, and Dr. Courtney, drugs. A very excellent wood working and blacksmith shop is conducted by Mr. Saville. The village contains two churches, United Brethren and Presbyterian, both recently erected. Friend- ship Baptist Church is located one mile north.
Leadvale was originally established in 1848 by Maj. L. D. Franklin, who built a store and residence. After the completion of the railroad, about 1868, the postoffice was removed to the present location of the village, where Eames & Leftwich and J. M. Mims soon after opened stores, and about 1870 a Baptist Church was established. One-half mile northof the villageis Bethcar Methodist Church, organized in 1787 or 1788.
The following persons have filled official positions in Jefferson County since its organization:
Clerks of the county court -- Joseph Hamilton, Sr., 1792-1821; Joseph Hamilton, Jr., 1821-40; James Fuller. 1$40-52; James M. Nicholson, 1852-86; G. W. Hill, 1886.
Clerks of the circuit court-Alexander S. Outlaw, 1810-25; N. B. Bradford, 1825-34; Theoderic I. Bradford, 1834-49; Benjamin Branner, 1840-44; Theoderic I. Bradford, 1844-56; Samuel S. McCuistian, 1850-74; W. P. Hoskins, 1874-86; A. M. Felknor. 18$6.
Clerks and masters-David Barton, 1836-37; W. R. Evans, 1837-38; John Branner, 1838-51; William MI. Bradford, 1851-57; John D. Thomas, 1857-65; William Galbraith, 1865-70; D. R. N. Blackburn, 1870-74; D. H. Meek, 1874.
Sheriffs-Robert McFarland, 1792-1800; James Doherty, 1800-07; James Bradford. 1807-39; A. K. Bradford. 1839-40; Benjamin F. Newman, 1840-46; M. J. Parrott, 1846-48: James Hickman, 1948-50; Ezekiel Inman, 1850-56; William Province. 1956-58; B. A. McFarland, 1852-62; W. B. Cate, 1862-64; N. B. Swann, 1964-66; Asa Derick. 1866-65; J. C. Bailey, 1863-70; William Walker, 1870-74; Andrew Webb, 18:4-80; Harvey Bales, 1880-84; A. Lichlyter, 1884 -.
Registers-James Roddye, 1792-96; Samuel Lyle, 1796-1815; Hugh Martin (?) Benja - min Branner, -1:40: David Neff, 1844-48: Samuel S. McCuistian, 1848-56; John H. Haynes, 1856-66: George A. Rainwater, 1966-70; William MI. Hill, 1870-74; Joseph H. Carter, 1874-78; B. M. Carr, 1878-86; M. M. Peikius, 1886 -.
864
HISTORY OF TENNESSEE.
Trustees-David Morrow ;* George Branner, 1825-31; Andrew Gass. 1834-33; R. G. Kimbrough, 1838-42; William Mathes, 1842-46; J. P. Mathes, 1846-48; Matthew Leeper, 1848-53; I. F. Leeper, 1853-54: Berry Mitchell, 1854-56; G. W. Simpson, 1856-58; H. J. Dick, 1858-62; E. E. Watkins, 1862-64; A. K. Meek, 1864-70; James W. Chaney, 1870-76; R. E. Newman, 1876-80; David Thornton, 1880-86; W. C. Layman, 1SS6.
COCKE COUNTY.
C YOCKE COUNTY lies in the shape of a triangle with its base resting on the Great Smoky Mountain. It is bounded on the north and northeast by Hamblen and Greene Counties, and on the west and southwest by Sevier and Jefferson. It has an arca of about 540 square miles. It is traversed by the French Broad and Big Pigeon Rivers which form a junction a short distance above the mouth of the Nolachucky. These streams, with their tributaries, afford an abundance of water and water power. The latter is utilized by a large number of excellent flouring and saw mills, but no other manufactories of impor- tance have as yet been established. The principal minerals found in the county are iron, baryta, and gold, the first named in great abundance. The territory now embraced in Cocke County began to be settled in 1783, along the "Chucky." The next year several persons located in that fertile section since known as the "Irish Bottom." One of the earliest was George McNutt, whose daughter was the first white child born south of the French Broad. Josiah. Benjamin and Alexander Rogers, John McNabb, Cornelius Mic- Guinn and Joseph and William Doherty also located in that neighborhood. A. settlement was made north of the French Broad by a colony of Pennsylvania Germans, among whom were the Huffs, Boyers and Ottingers. This vicinity then took the name of the " Dutch Bottom." Peter Fine, who was licensed to keep the first ferry in the county, settled on the river opposite the old town of Newport. In 1783 John Gilliland made a crop of corn at the mouth of Big Pigeon, and a year or two later brought his family to the place where he continued to reside until his death about 1793. He left a large family, eight of whom were sons. He took an active part in organizing the State of Franklin, and was one of the delegates elected to the convention of 1785, to pass upon the constitution of the new State. William Lillard, the first representative of the county in the Legislature, lived on the river below old Newport, The first settlement on Cosby Creek was doubtless made. by Samuel Odell. Daniel Adams lived at War Ford of Big Pigeon. His house stood on the lot now occupied by the residence of Maj. William McSween.
The first road in the county was laid out from this point to the point on the Nola- chucky. where the war path crossed it, in 1784. In 1793 the Jefferson County Court appointed Peter Huff, Spencer Rice, John McNabb, William Lillard, Joseph Rutherford, Alexander Rogers, Thomas Christian and Henry Patton commissoners, to lay off a road from the mouth of Pigeon up the south side of the French Broad to the War Ford.
Although the pioneers of Cocke County suffered less from Indian incursions than some of the more exposed counties, numerous instances of massacres and other depreda- tions might be detailed. In the latter part of 1783 the Indians began to steal the cattle and horses of the few persons who had that year settled along the French Broad and Nolachucky. They then retreated across the mountains to North Carolina. Maj. Peter Fine and William Lillard raised a company of thirty men and pursued them. After kill- ing one Indian and wounding a second, and having regained the stolen property. they began their return and encamped. During the night the Indians who had followed them made a sudden attack killing Vinet Fine and wounding Thomas Holland and a Mr. Bing-
*The date of his election could not be found, but it was as early as 18/ S.
1
-
4
865
COCKE COUNTY.
bam. The savages remained in the vicinity until near morning when they took their departure. The members of the company then broke a hole in the ice of a creek uron which they had encamped, and put the body of Vinet Fine in the water of the stream, which has ever since borne the name of Fine Creck. The wounded men were carried back to their homes, and recovered. During the next two years it was necessary to keep scouts continually between Pigeon and French Broad, and three forts were built. They were McCoy's Fort, on the French Broad, three miles above old Newport; Whitson's, on Pigeon, ten miles above the same place, and Wood's, five miles below .* Notwithstanding these precautions, Nehemiah and Simeon Odell were killed and scalped, and their guns taken. A boy ten years old, named Nelson, was killed on Pigcon River, and the horse which he was riding was stolen. A little son and daughter of Mr. Huff, living on the French Broad in what is now the First Civil District, were seized by the Indians while passing along the wood. The girl was scalped upon the spot and left for dead, while the boy was taken captive; but the Indians being quickly pursued, and fearful of being over- taken, tomahawked him near the War Ford of Pigeon. The girl afterward recovered. The last depredations were committed in 1793, when a large number of horses were stolen from the neighborhood of Cosby Creek.
The first church in Cocke County was organized by the Baptists at Upper War Ford some time prior to 1794, as it was represented in the Holston Association of that year by Joshua Kelly, Peter Fine and John Netherton.
Cocke County was created by an act of the General Assembly, passed in October, 1797. It was cut off from Jefferson County and was named in honor of Gen. William Cocke, one of the most distinguished of the pioneers of Tennessee. The commissioners appointed to locate the seat of justice and superintend the erection of county buildings were Henry Ragan, William Job, John Coffee, Peter Fine, John Keeney, Reps Jones and John McGlocklen. They chose a site about one and one-half miles below the present county seat, at what was known as Fine's Ferry. Fifty acres of land were donated by John Gilliland, and the town was soon after laid out. A log courthouse and rock jail were then erected; the latter building was about twenty feet square, substantially built. The courthouse was used until 1828, when a new brick building was erected. The jail did service about ten years longer. A building was then erected with double walls of hewed logs, the intervening space being filled with small rock. It was two stories high, with a debtor's room above and a dungeon below; the latter was entered through a trap door in the floor of the room above. This building was torn down during the war, and when a new one was to built it was erected at the new county seat. It is a small building constructed of rock, and is said to have cost $4,000. On December 24, 1867, the Cincinnati, Cumberland Gap & Charleston Railroad was completed to what is now known as Newport, and the question of the removal of the county seat to that place began to be agitated; a long legal controversy then ensued, pending the settlement of which the seat of justice vibrated between the two places. In 1884 it was finally decided in favor of the new town, and the following year the erection of the present handsome brick courthouse was begun, under the supervision of C. F. Boyer, Joseph Murrell and J. H. Fagala; it was completed in 1886 at a cost of $10,000. A few years previous the building occupied as a temporary courthouse was destroyed by fire, and the entire records of the county were lost, nothing can therefore be given concerning the transactions of the courts. The first lawyers in the county were Thomas Gray and William Garrett, both of whom were licensed to practice in 1796. The latter was deputy county clerk in Jefferson County before the organization of Cocke, and for thirty years was clerk of the county court in the latter county. He was, consequently, but little engaged in the practice of law. Tilghman A. Howard, who entered the legal profession in Cocke County about 1820, soon removed to Indiana, where he distinguished himself as a general in the civil war. Gray Garrett was admitted to practice in 1821, and in 1838 was elected attorney-general, a position he held for eight years. He was a fine speaker and an able lawyer. About 1825 he removed to Claiborne County. His successors at Newport were De Witt McNutt and James A. Marshall.
*Ramsey's Annals
866
HISTORY OF TENNESSEE.
Later A. J. Fletcher located atNewport. He was a finely educated man and an able lawyer. He served one or more terms in the State Senate, and from 1865 to 1570 filled the office of secretary of State. About 1546 W. HI. M. Randolph began the practice of law, and was soon after appointed attorney general rice Gen. Caswell, then serving in the Mexican war. He was a brilliant young man, but died soon after beginning his profes- sional career. His brother, James H. Randolph, entered the profession in 1848, and soon took a prominent place at the bar. He represented the county in the Legislature in 1857-58 and 1861-62, and in 1865 was elected to the State Senate. In 1868 he was chosen judge of the judicial circuit, and remained upon the bench until 1876, when he resigned to become a candidate for Congress. He was elected and served for one term. Since the expiration of his term he has retired from his profession, and is now engaged in operating a flouring and saw mill.
In 1857 Maj. William McSween began the practice of law, and has since continued . He had formerly filled official positions in the county for many years, and was a mem- ber of the Lower House of the General Assembly in 1839-40.
The present bar is composed of the following attorneys: William McSween, M. W. Langhorn, N. B. Jones and W. J. McSween.
The old town of Newport was laid out iu 1799, but it never attained much impor- tance except as the seat of justice. In 1830 it was a village of only 150 inhabitants. and consisted of but two stores and five or six shops. Of the first inhabitants but little is known. One of the first stores was opened by Charles Lewin. The merchants of a later date were William C. Roadman, John and George Stuart, Smith & Siler, Rankin. & Pulliam, James W. Rankin and William McSween.
Some time about 1820 a county academy, known as Anderson Academy, was opened in a brick building about one mile south of the town. The first trustees for the institution were Isaac Leonard, Abraham McCoy, Peter Fine, Daniel McPherson and William Lillard, appointed in 1806. Later Alexander Smith, Henry Stephens, Francis J. Carter and Augustin Jenkins were added. Among the first teachers were Rev. Robert McAlpin and Nathaniel Hood. About 1840 the academy was removed to the town, where a new brick building was erected, and the school continued to be taught until the war.
For many years after the town was established it was without a church building. The Methodists worshiped in a house about one mile below town, but subsequently erected a new building in the town. The Presbyterians held services in the academy until about 1837, when they also built a church.
Upon the completion of the railroad to the present Newport. a depot was erected and a town began to build up on both sides of the road between the bluff and the river. The site was owned by Thomas S. and David H. Gorman, the depot having been built upon the line between them. The first store was opened by Thomas Evans, who was soon after followed by C. T. Peterson, Edward Clark and Roadman & Gorman. In 1880 the inhabitants of the town numbered 347, but since that time the growth has been quite rapid, and the population is now about 1,000.
The business interests at the present time are represented by the following firms: Ragan & Kniseley, J. S. Susong, Barr & Burnett, Clark, Robinson & Co., D. A. Mims, Jones Bros. & Co., C. H. Allen and Robinson & Cody, general merchandise: J. J. O'Neil & Co. and Ramsey & Snoddy, drugs; Hill & Connelly, stoves and tinware; Deaton & Willis, furniture and undertakers, and Miss Sallie Anderson, books and stationery.
The only manufacturing establishment now in operation is the Newport Mills, owned by J. H. Randolph & Son. It consists of a flouring-mill and a saw and planing mill. A large organ factory will, probably, soon be erected.
The town is well supplied with schools and churches. Newport Academy was erected in 1875 by Newport Lodge, No. 234, F & A. M., and opened under the super- vision of Prof. W. R. Manard. The present principal is D. H. Howard. In 1SS5 & Baptist Seminary was opened under the care of N. E. W. Stokely.
867
COCKE COUNTY.
In 1858, prior to the establishment of the town, a Presbyterian Church was erected, as the successor of the Pisgah Church. The congregation was first organized in 1523 by Rev. Robert Hardin. The principal movers in the erection of the new building were A. E. Smith, Abraham Fine, H. H. Baer and William Jack. In 1875 the Baptists completed a handsome frame building, and in 1886 the members of the Methodist Episcopal Church South erected a fine brick church.
The second largest town in the county is Parrottsville, situated about six miles north of Newport. It was established about 1830, on the farm of Jacob Parrott. The first store was opened by William C. Roadman. Among others who were engaged in business there, prior to the war, were Rankin & Pulliam, McNabb & Faubion and Minis, Faubion & Co. The present merchants are James C. La Rue and Eisenhour & Horned. The town also has a good school, and a Methodist and a Cumberland Presby- terian Church.
Big Creek, a station on the railroad, south of Newport, is a considerable shipping- point for lumber and shingles. It was established about 1870 upon land owned by Jesse and Jefferson Burnett.
Rankin's Depot is a small village on the railroad, north of Newport.
The first newspaper in the county was the Excelsior Star, a little sheet published by Joseph L. Bible. It was established at Big Creek in 1875. In September of the follow- ing year the editor moved to Parrottsville, and there published the Reporter until 1877, when he removed to Newport. He continued at the latter place until 1880, when he went to Dandridge. The next paper was the Sentinel, established by A. J. Thomas, who con- tinued its publication for three or four years. For a short time during 1886 the Newport Ledger was published by a Mr. Christopher.
The following is as complete and accurate a list of the officers of Cocke County as could be obtained in the absence of all records:
Sherits-Thomas Mitchell, Isaac Allen, James Jennings, Benjamin B. Coleman, John Allen, Abraham Fine, James R. Allen, Thomas S. Gorman, William Johnson; John D. Smith, 1858-68; Davidson Sprouse, 1868-72; James Netherland, 18:2-74; John Bible, 1874-76; C. F. Boyer, 18;6-83; John A. Balch, 1882-84; J. I. Waters, 1884 ---.
Trustees -- William Coleman, Joseph H. Green, Isaac Smith, John Allen, James Daw- son, William Robinson, Sanders McMahan, John Cameron, Robert Ragan, J. Wood, Joel Wrenn, John Hale, Henry Penland; M. A. Driscoll, 1878-80; A. M. Stokeley, 1880-84, and B. A. Proffitt, 1884.
Clerks of the county court-William Garrett, 1708-1828; George M. Porter, 1828-36; William McSween, 1836-39: John F. Stanberry, 1839-44; John Gorman, 1844 --; Allen McMahan, L. D. Porter, D. W. Stuart, 1860-62; James C. La Rue, 1862-66; William H. Wood, 1866-68; P. W. Anderson, 1868-74; William H. Penland, 1874-82, and John T. Jones, 1882.
Clerks of the circuit court-Henry K. Stephens, 1810 --; Daniel C. Chamberlain, --; William D. Rankin. 1830-44; William McSween, 1844-56; D. A. Crawford, 1856-59; Isaac Allen, 1859-60; H. H. Baer, 1860-70: William Campbell, 1870-72; H. H. Baer, 1872-74; John F. Stanberry, 1874-82, and C. F. Boyer. 1852.
Clerks and masters-David Stuart, 1856-58; William McSween, 1858-64; M. A. Road- man, 1864-76, and John D. Smith, 1876.
Registers-Alexander Anderson, Alexander Milliken, John H. Penland, William H. Wood, John P. Taylor, Thomas Bell, Charles Brockway, Addison Ragan, 1866-70; Will- iam Cureton, 1870-78; Abraham Weaver, 1878-82, and Samuel Cureton, 1882.
868
HISTORY OF TENNESSE
-
HAMBLEN COUNTY.
H "AMBLEN COUNTY is a small county lying along the left bank of the Holston River, and divided into two almost equal parts by the East Tennessee, Virginia & Georgia Railroad. It was formed from fractions of Jefferson, Grainger and Hawkins Counties. The first settlement in this territory was made in 1783 by Robert MeFarland and Alexander Outlaw, both of whom located at the" bend of Chucky." Shortly after Gideon, Daniel and Absalom Morris settled in the vicinity of where Morristown now is. They were brothers, and had been among the first settlers on the Watauga. Gideon Morris had three sons: John, Gideon and Shadrach, all of whom after marriage remained in the
neighborhood of the old homestead. John lived south of the present town in a house still occupied by one of his descendants, and Gideon west of town on what is now known as the Hobb's place, while Shadrach, who subsequently removed to Indiana, located on the site of Rheatown. In 1792-93 a road was laid out through what is now Hamblen County, and extended to the western limits of Jefferson County, where it was met by the road from Knoxville. This road afterward formed the line between the counties of Jefferson and Grainger, and became a section of the great stage .route fromn Knoxville to Abingdon, Va. It was along this road that most of the early settlers located. Beginning at Morristown and going eastward was William Chaney, who lived on the lot now occupied by Joseph Brown's residence; Thomas Daggett, a little less than a mile beyond. and Phelps Read. about two miles east of Morristown. In the neighborhood of Read were John Crockett. Richard Thompson and Isaac Martin. Still farther to the east were Isaac Barton, Joseph Shannon and James McGhee. In the vicinity of Russellville and Whitesburg were Sam- uel Riggs, James Roddye, Caleb Witt, William Pulliam, William B. Roddye and Jesse Hoskins. Daniel Taylor located on the Holston River at Marshall's Ferry. Sher- rod Mayes and James Shields also lived on the Holston. John Evans was one of the first to locate on Panther Creek. Jesse Check settled at what is known as Cheek's Cross Roads, where he carried on a store for many years. A store was also opened there some time prior to 1810 by Deaderick & Wendell. About 1835 P. B. Anderson and James W. Dead- erick, ex-chief justice of Tennessee, and G. A. & G. H. Cheek were engaged in business at the same place during the thirtics. An early settler just southwest of Morristown was Clisbie Riggs, who ran a still-house, while about three miles northwest were the Noes, David and John
Of the pioneers of the county, the one in whom the greatest interest centers is David Crockett, the son of John Crockett, but as a sketch of his life appears in another chapter of this work it will not be repeated here. When a lad he came to the county with his father's family, and remained until two or three years after his marriage. The records of Jefferson County show that on October 21, 1805, he was licensed to wed Margaret Elder, and that on August 12, 1806, he received a license to marry Polly Findlay. The first named lady, for reasons not now known, refused to proceed with the marriage after all of the preliminaries had been arranged. Polly Findlay was the daughter of a respectable farmer residing in the vicinity of what has since been known as Findlay's Gap.
James and William Roddye, mentioned above, were both prominent citizens. The former was a member of the convention which formed the constitution of the State of Franklin, and after the fall of the Franklin government, was a representative to the Leg- islature of North Carolina. Upon the organization of Jefferson County he was elected register, and in 1797 became a member of the State Senate. William Roddye was a mem- ber of the Constitutional Convention of 1796 from Jefferson County.
Caleb Witt and Isaac Barton were among the earliest of the pioneer Baptist preachers
800
HAMBLEN COUNTY.
of East Tennessee. Some time prior to 1794 they organized Bent Creek Church, near Whitesburg. In that year it had a membership of fifty-one, and was represented in the Holston Association by James Roddye, Isaac Barton and Caleb Witt. In 1804 the church known as Bethel South, now the Morristown Baptist Church, was organized by Isaac Barton. The first Methodist Church in the county was probably organized at "Read's Meeting-house," near Phelps Read's. About 1315 a camp ground called Sulphur Spring was established four miles south of Morristown. Among the original campers were Sol- omon Wyatt, Francis Daniel, Sherrod Mayes, Benjamin McCarty and Joseph Daniel, with their families. In 1825 a Methodist Church was built at Russellville, which was then just beginning to assume the importance of a village. Among the members were Clisbie Aus- tin, Paul Potter, Henry Stewart, William Pulliam, Jacob Frizzle, Ilugh Cain and John Miller. A log house was at first erected, and was used until a short time prior to the civil war, when it was replaced by a brick. In 1832 the Presbyterians organized a church known as Bethesda, a short distance west of Russellville.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.