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 53

Author: Goodspeed Publishing Co
Publication date: 1887
Publisher: Chicago ; Nashville : Goodspeed
Number of Pages: 908


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 53


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


For several years Russellville remained the only village in the territory now embraced in Hamblen County. Some time about 1830 a paper-mill, of extensive proportions for that day, was put into operation by Samuel and Milton Shields, about three miles north - east of Morristown. It, with a store or two, was carried on there for several years.


About 1820 Martin Stubblefield, one of the early settlers of Grainger County, near the old County Line Church. removed to Morristown and built a house near where the depot now is and where he continued to reside until his death. He had several daughters, one of whom married Henry Countz, and another, William Chaney, Jr. Although from the first settlement of the county, the neighborhood was known as Morristown, it was not until 1833 that a postoffice was established there. At the same time a store was opened by John M. Coffin in the house now occupied by A. H. Gregg as a residence. At a little later date Jehu Morris began business on the opposite side of the street in a building standing upon the lot where D. Pence & Co's. store now is. These merchants were succeeded by Drury Morris & Co., and Read & Noe, afterward Cocke, Read & Co. During the decade preceding the civil war the village developed into a town, and was incorporated. Its growth was greatly promoted by the building of the East Tennessee & Virginia Railroad, which was chartered in 1852 and completed in 1858, the last spike having been driven on May 14 of that year. In 1856 or 1857 the construction of the Cincinnati, Cumberland Gap & Charleston Railroad was begun, but no part of it was completed until 1867.


Among the merchants of Morristown from 1855 to 1862, besides these mentioned were J. M. Mims, J. W. Nicodemus, MI. Carriger & Bros., Sawyers & Jackson, and J. W. Clyne. During this period a large steam flouring-mill was erected by a stock company cou- posed of several of the leading business men. A steam saw mill and a machine shop were also put into operation.


In 1857 a newspaper, the American Statesman, published by F. M. Wylie and H.C. Craig, was removed to Morristown from Dandridge. They continued its publication about one year. Mr. Wylie then procured the services of Rev. W. C. Graves, as the editor of a paper known as the Religious Intelligencer; it was devoted mainly to religious subjects, but contained a secular department. The first number appeared April 16. 1855. Soon after Mr. Wylie was succeeded by W. E. M. Neal and J. De M. Roberts, as pub- lishers, but no change was made in the editorial management. In the early part of 1:0! the name was changed to the Holston Intelligencer, and so continued until its suspension the following June. The first school of importance in Morristown was opened about 1850 in the building now occupied by the girl's high school. Among the first teachers were S. D. Miles, John Portrum. Prof. Hodges and John N. Southern.


Since the close of ; the war Morristown has grown steadily in population and wealth. During the past two or three years the growth has been remarkably rapid, the popula- tion having very nearly doubled in that time. The first firms to resume business after the close of hostilities in 1865 were Waggoner & Bewley and Capt. James A. Bird. Among others who succeeded were P. Smith & Co., W. T. Gill, Brown & Noe and


870


HISTORY OF TENNESSEE.


Morris, Kidwell & Co. The mercantile interests of the present time are represented by G. B. MeCrary & Co., J. N. Hill & Co., D. Pence & Co., Marsh. McCord & Co., Brown & Stubblefield, Goodson & Legg, Van Hess & Bro., Craig Holley & Craig and S. B. MeCrary, general merchandise: W. M. Wilmeth, Allen Davis & Co., C. C. Johnson & Sons, Henry Sanders and W. W. Williams, groceries; Carriger, Roberts & Co. and J. S. Davis, drugs; G. E. Spence, hardware; W. T. Rippetoe and A. M. Sanders, stoves and tinware: A. H. Gregg, agricultural implements, and J. N. Shipley saddle and harness.


The manufactories consist of a large steam flouring-mill with a capacity of 100 bar- rels per day, owned and run by G. B. Mccrary and R. L. Gaut; a sash, door and blind factory, operated by li. Loop, and a carriage factory conducted by II. L. Witt. A stove foundry is in process of erection by a stock company. The town also contains two banks. Lookout Bank, with a capital stock of 850,000, was organized on May 4, 1874, with G. T. Magee as president and John Murphey, cashier. The present president is Judge James G. Rose. In 1885 the First National Bank of Morristown was organized, with a capital stock of $50,000. It is one of the best banking institutions in East Tennessee, being ably and carefully managed. The officers are Maj. G. W. Folsom, president, and G. S. Crouch, cashier.


The first newspaper published at Morristown after the war, was the Norristown Gazette, established by W. W. Neal in 1866. In October of the following year he sold it to L. P. & G. E. Speck, who continued its publication until September, 1873, when it was purchased by the present editor and proprietor, John E. Hehns. It is ably edited, and ranks among the best weekly papers in the State. In 1883, the Tennessce Pilot, a Repub- lican paper, was established by C. H. Darlington, who has since successfully continued its publication. On January 11, 1887, the first number of the Semi-treekly Democrat appeared. It is edited and published by -- Jones and --- Hill. and is constantly growing in popu- larity. Several other papers, among which were the Baptist Reflector and the Holston Meth- cdist have been published at Morristown, but none have continued but for a short time.


The oldest church organization in Morristown is the Baptist, it being a successor of the old Bethel South. The new house of worship was erected in 1868, the prime movers in the work being Drury Morris and Curtis Eames. In 1860 the members of the Meth- odist Episcopal Church South began the erection of their present church, which, how- ever, was not completed until after the close of the war. In 1870 the Presbyterians erected a large and commodious brick church. This was accomplished largely through the efforts of Rev. W. H. Smith, who has since remained the honored pastor of the church. Recently the members of the Lutheran and of the Methodist Episcopal Church edifices have each erected a commodious church edifice.


The act creating a new county to be named Hamblen in honor of Hezekiah Hamblen, of Hawkins County, was passed May 31, 1870, and William Courtney, W. S. Reese, W. C. Witt and James C. Davis, of Jefferson County, and John C. Tate, C. J. Burnett and Rufus E. Rice of Grainger County, were appointed to organize the county. At the regu- lar election in August, the county officers were elected, and on the 3d of October, 1870, the county court was organized in an old store house in Morristown. The justices present were Samuel P. Hixon, L. D. Milligan, L. F. Leiper, C. L. Gregory, George McFarland. R. M. Hamblen, A. J. Donelson, Alexander Williams, Jonathan Noe, G. W. Carmichael, C. J. Burnett, D. S. Noe, R. P. Sharp, William Felknor, S. M. Heath. James Hale, William B. Ninnie, S. J. Couch, I. P. Hlaun and Samuel Smith. L. F. Leiper was chosen chairman. No county buildings were erected until 1874, when a handsome and substantial brick courthouse was built at a cost of $21,750. The commissioners appointed to superintend its erection were R. M. Barton, J. C. Tate, J. C. Hodges, John Murphey and Joseph Eckle. In 1877 a jail was completed at a cost of about $3,000, and in 1856 a farm of over 100 acres, located in the Fifth Civil District, was purchased for a poor-asylum, but, not- withstanding these heavy expenditures. the county is entirely free from debt.


The officers of the county since its organization have been as follows:


Clerks of the county court-James Leftwich, 1870-12: D. W. C. Davis, 1872-78: H. Williams, 1878.


571


HANCOCK COUNTY.


Clerks of the circuit court -- T. C. Cain, 1870-78; George S. Crouch, 1878-86; Leon B. Smith, 1886 -.


Sheriffs-G. H. Boyd, 1870-76; George Livingston, 1876-78; Harvey L --- , 1878-80; W. H. Mays, 1880-86; J. F. Hays, 1886 -.


Trustees-Joseph Brown, 1870-72; D. M. P. Newell, 1872-78; J. E. Thompson, 1873-86; John H. Trent, - 1886 -.


Registers-J. B. Smith, 1870-74 P. T. Moser, 1874-76; S. B. Noe, 1876-78; W. IT. Par- ker, 1878-82; John W. Morgan, 1892-80; C. H. Robertson, 1896.


HANCOCK COUNTY.


H ANCOOK COUNTY lies immediately east of Claiborne County, and is bounded on the north by Virginia. Clinch River traverses the county from northeast to southwest, and Powell River crosses the northwestern corner of the county. The sur- face is very rough and mountainous, but some excellent land is found along the streams. The valleys, however, are generally narrow. The extent of its mineral resources is not well known, but both coal and iron exist in considerable quantities.


The settlement of this county began about 1795, but for many years it remained very sparsely populated. As in other counties, the river valleys were the earliest occupied No record has been left of the pioneers of the county. and but little can now be obtained from personal remembrance of them. Jonas Loughmiller located just southeast of Sneed- ville, and William McGee beyond him on the north side of the Clinch. Below the latter, and to the southwest of the town, was the settlement of John Ray, while on the opposite side of the river, at the mouth of Duck Creek, lived Enos Matthias. William McCully and Daniel Slavins located still further down the river. John Givens, an early Baptist preacher, lived on Beaver Creek. In the neighborhood three or four miles south of Sneedville was Alexander Treat, Solomon Mitchell, John and Lincoln Amis, the Boul- dens, Andersons, Bryants and Collinses. A settlement was also made at an early date at Mulberry Gap, where a little village sprang up. Newman's Ridge, which runs through the county to the north of Sneedville, and parallel with Clinch River, is said to have taken its name from one of the first settlers upon it. It has since been occupied mainly by a people presenting a peculiar admixture of white and Indian blood.


The first act for the creation of Hancock County from portions of Hawkins and Clai- borne Counties was passed in 1844, but, finding that it violated some provisions of the Constitution, a second act was passed two years later. Commissioners were appointed to organize the county and to fix the boundary lines to conform with the constitutional requirements. This was done, and the county was organized. At about the same time certain inhabitants of the Hawkins fraction filed a bill enjoining the commissioners from further action. The cause came up for hearing before Chancellor Williams in May, 1:48. He rendered judgment in favor of the complainants, and an appeal was taken to the supreme court, where the chancellor's decree was reversed. During the two years, there- fore, from 1846 to 1843, the county business was suspended. The first court was held at the house of Alexander Campbell. Afterward the old Union Church was used until 1850, when a small but substantial brick courthouse was erected. At about the same time a log jail was completed. It was only a temporary structure, and in 1960 was replaced by the present brick jail. Recently the courthouse, with all its contents, was destroyed by fire, and as yet no steps have been taken toward replacing it. Two places, known respectively as Mulberry Gap and Greasy Rock. were placed in nomination for the seat of justice. The latter was chosen, and a town laid off on land owned by Robert and Alexander Campbell, the latter owning the part west of Greasy Rock Creek,


872


HISTORY OF TENNESSEE.


and the former the portion east of it. The father of these gentlemen, Robert Campbell, Sr., who was one of the first settlers in Hawkins County, obtained possession of a large body of land, including the site of Sneedville, and about 1815 divided it among his three sons who located upon their separate tracts. The third son, Joseph Y. Campbell, obtained the farm where Joseph Campbell now lives. The neighborhood had long been known as Greasy Rock. This name is said to have originated in this way: A spring just below the present town was once a famous rendezvous for hunters and trappers, who were accustomed to dress their skins and pile up their venison and bear meat on a large rock there. This rock was, therefore, usually greasy, hence the name. When the town was laid out it was named Sneedville iu honor of W. H. Sneed, of Knoxville, who had acted as counsel for the new county.


The first building erected in the town is still standing opposite Mr. Tyler's office. It was built by Maj. John M. Sawyers. Soon after a double log house was built on the lot just in front of the dwelling of Mrs. Elizabeth Campbell, facing Main Street. A store was opened in it by Robert and Alexander Campbell and William and John McNeil, with William NeNeil as manager. The same building was afterward occupied by George Fain, and Robert and Joseph Campbell successively. In 1848 Tyler, Jesse & Co. began busi- ness near the old church, but soon moved to Main Street and there continued as the firmn of Lea Jesse & Co. until 1862.


Soon after the town was established an academy was incorporated under the name of Greasy Rock Academy. A two-story frame building was erccted, and the school was placed in operation with the following board of trustees: Lea Jesse, Joseph Campbell. G. W. Baker, Isham Brewer, David Trent, Samuel Jarvis, Holden McGee, A. Campbell, William B. Davis, Canada Hodge and William S. Rose. Among the first teachers were M. H. B. Burkett, D. T. J. Burkett and James G. Rose. Within the past few years the institution has been reincorporated as the Mckinney High School.


In 1829 or 1830 a union church was built at Greasy Rock, where Baptist and Meth- odist congregations were organized. After the town was established each denomination built a house of worship. The number of Presbyterians in the county has always been very small, and no congregation has ever been formed in Sneedville.


The following list of the officers of Hancock County is as complete and accurate as could be obtained from memory:


Sheriffs-William Wilder, 1846-18; James Fitts, 1848-49; Z. G. Trent, 1849-50; N. Baldwin, 1850-56: McH. Bray, 1856-58; Anderson Campbell, 1858-60; J. M. Rains, 1860 --; J. M. Rains, 1865-66; MICH. Bray, 1566-70; Jesse P. Nichol, 1870-12; W. P. Testerman, 1874-76; Jesse P. Nichol, 1876-78; N. Legear, 1878-80; G. W. Edds, 1882-84; B. J. Drinnon, 1884.


Clerks of the circuit court-Marshall Brewer, 1846-48: William B. Davis, 1843-52; William McNeil, 1852-56; Henry Riley, 1856-60; Lewis M. Jarvis, 1860 --; William B. Davis, 1863-68; George R. Mitchell, 1868-70; W. Y. Campbell, 1870-78; M. R. Buttry, 1878-86; J. F. McNeil.


Clerks of the county court-John Farmer, 1846-52; Richard Mitchell, 1852-60; John W. Graham, 1860-65; Richard Mitchell. 1865-70; J. F. McNeil, 1870-74; A. Y. Baldwin, 1874-1878; R. D. Green, 1878.


Registers-Joseph C. Adams, 1846-56; Abijah Fairchild, 1856-64; M. Brewer, 1865-66; W. H. Jones, 1866-78; S. E. Jones, 1878-82; W. H. Jones, 1882-86; Noah T. Baker, 1886.


Trustees-Peter Anderson. G. W. Baker, John Gilbert. Elisha Bishop, Henry Byrd, Claiborne Wilborn, W. P. Testerman, J. W. Baker; Moses Wilborn, 1874-76: W. J. K. Lawson, 1876-80; J. C. Campbell, 1980-82; J. B. Mitchell, 1882-86, L. A. Testerman. 1886.


873


HAWKINS COUNTY.


HAWKINS COUNTY.


H AWKINS COUNTY lies in upper East Tennessee, and extends somewhat in the shape of a parallelogram from the Virginia line to the northern boundaries of Grainger and Hamblen Counties. It is divided into two alinost equal parts by the Holston River, which traverses its entire length. It is one of the largest counties in the State, having an area of 570 square miles. 'The surface is much of it broken, but the uplands are more fertile than in many counties. Iron ore is found in some localities, but is not now worked. In marble Hawkins County surpasses any other county in the South. It is found in all tints from & pale pink to a dark, richly variegated chocolate color, and in inexhaustible quantities. *


The first permanent settlements within the limits of Hawkins County were made in 1772, very soon after the settlements on the Watauga were begun. They were made in Carter's Valley, a short distance west of New Canton.


Among these pioneers were Mr. Kincaid, Mr. Love. Mr. Long and Rev. Mr. Mulkey. At about the same time Messrs. Carter & Parker established a store in the neighbor- bood.| Soon after this store was robbed by a party of Cherokees, and when Henderson & Co.'s treaty was held with the Indians the proprietors of the store demanded as com- pensation all the lauds in Carter's Valley, extending from Cloud Creek to Chimney Top Mountain of Beech Creek. This was granted upon the payment of a small amount advanced by Robert Lucas, who then became a partner of Messrs. Parker & Carter. The firmi leased their lands to the settlers much after the manner of the Patrons, in the early history of New York. This continned for a time, but when it became known that the lands lay in North Carolina instead of Virginia. the settlers refused to recognize the ownership of the firm, and the right and title to the territory acquired was denied by the former State. They were afterward included with the members of the Henderson Com- pany, to whom a grant of 200,000 acres was given by the goverment of North Carolina as & compensation for the trouble they had been to in obtaining these lands.


The deeds obtained by Henderson & Co. from the Cherokees is recorded in the regis- ter's office of Hawkins County. It was given by " Oconistoto, the chief warrior and repre- sentative of the Cherokee Nation, and Attakullakulla and Savanooka, otherwise Coro- noh, appointed by the warriors and other head men to convey for the whole nation." to Richard Henderson, Thomas and Nathaniel Hart, John Williams, John Luttrell, William Johnston, James Hogg, David Hart and Thomas H. Bullock. The compensation for the immense tracts conveyed by these deeds as expressed at £10,000 .;


The settlement in Hawkins County was confined chiefly to Carter's Valley until about 1780. Several stations or forts were built, and it is said that a Presbyterian Church was organized there as early as that date. At about the same time a fort was built at Big Creek. Not far from this fort, about three and one-half miles above Rogersville, Thon.as Amis in 1780 or 1751 erected a stone house, around which he built a palisade for protection against the Indians. The next year he opened a store, and erected a blacksmith shop and a distillery. Very soon after he also put into operation a saw and 'grist-mill, and from the first he kept a house of entertainment. A Baptist Church was organized, and a school established very soon after the settlement was made. The church was probably organized


*See pages 288 and 269.


+The identity of these men could not be definitely determined by the writer. It is probable that they were John Carter and Joseph Parker. Col. Carter lived in what is now Carter County, but it is possible that he many have owned an interest in the store.


#For the boundary of these tracts see page 70.


874


HISTORY OF TENNESSEE.


by Thomas Murrell, who located on the faria now owned by John A. Chesnut on the Hol- ston River, some time prior to 1752. Among the school masters, who taught in the school at this place, were John Long in 1783; Williamn Evans, 1784; James King, 1786; Robert Johnston -- , and Samuel B. Hawkins, 1796.


Thomas Amis was twice married, and was the father of fourteen children. The stone bouse, in which he lived, is now occupied by his grandson. Thomas Amis, and is in & remarkably good state of preservation. . In 1759 he represented Hawkins County in the Legislature of North Carolina, and took an active part in restoring Gen. Sevier to the rights of citizenship. He owned two or three large tracts of land, one of which included the site of Rogersville; he died in 1798. In 17 4 Joseph Rodgers, an Irishman, arrived at Amis', and for a short time was engaged in keeping store, but in 1785 or 1786, probably the latter year, he married Mary Amis. Mr. Amis then gave to the newly married pair a tract of land, upon which, in 1757, was established the seat of justice for Hawkins County. There they continued to reside until their death in November, 1933. Rachel, another daughter of Thomas Amis. married James Hagan, a countryman of Rodgers, with whom he was in partnership in merchandising for a time. He afterward removed to a farm above town. Of other early settlers of the county, only a few of the most prominent, will be located. Perhaps no Tennessean of his time ranked higher than William Cocke, who settled at what was known as Mullberry Grove about 1780. He was a lawyer by profession, and his namac appears upon the records of all the older counties of East Tennessee, as a practicing attorney, but during the greater portion of his life was engaged in filling some official position. In 1783 he was elected attorney-general for Greene County, and the next year was sent to the convention, which met at Jonesboro. In 1785 he was made a member of the Council of State of the Franklin Government, was chosen brigadier-general of militia, and was sent as a delegate to the United States Congress. In 1786 he represented Spencer County in the Franklin Assembly. From the fall of the State of Franklin until 1791 he was actively engaged in his profession. In that year he was chosen a member of the Territorial Assembly, and in 1796 was a member of the Constitutional Convention. The first Legislature elected him as one of the members of the United States Senate, where he remained for twelve years. In 1810 he was elected judge of the First Judicial Circuit, but after serving one year he was impeached .* Stang by the ingratitude of his countrymen, whom he had served so long and faithfully, he at once left for Mississippi, where he remained until his death.


Joseph Me Minn located in the extreme upper end of Hawkins County about 1787. and soon took an active interest in the affairs of the county. In 1794 he was elected with Will- iam Cocke, to represent it in the Territorial Assembly, and two years later was a delegate to the Constitutional Convention. He then served two terms in the Upper House of the General Assembly. In 1815 he was elected governor of the State, a position he continued to hold until 1821. Soon after he was appointed Indian Agent at Calhoun, now in Bradley County, and was filling that position at the time of his death. The above named men were the most illustrious of the first settlers of the county. Among others who had settled prior to 1753 were Mordecai Haygood, who lived on the Holston, about eight miles above Rogersville: Peter Cocke, who lived in the same neighborhood, and Rodham Kenner, who located about one mile above Spear's Mill. He was prominently connected with the affairs of the county, and was a member of the Legislature one or more terms. Capt. Thomas Caldwell lived ten miles above Rogersville on the north side of the river. John Saunders lived on the river opposite Kenner's. William Cox, Sr., Charles and William Payne, Obadiah and Elijah Chissom also lived south of the Holston, and the last named kept a ferry across that stream. Thomas Lee, Cornelius and John Carmack and Thomas Gibbons lived in Carter's Valley. William Armstrong settled at Stony Point. Among others who had located in the county prior to 1753 may be mentioned John Cox, Col. John Smith, William McGehee, Peter Harris, James MeCerty, Hutson Johnston. John Evans, George Ridley. James Blair. Thomas Brooks. Elisha Walling. William W. Brown, Capt. Thomas Hutchings. James Short. Abraham Rice. Williard


*See page 373.


875


HAWKINS COUNTY.


Ingram, William Lauson, Reese Jones, Capt. Thomas English, James Berry, Benjamin Murrell, George and Littleton Brooks, Thomas Henderson, Thomas Caldwell, Robert King and Martin Shaner. Among those who came in during the next two or three years were Robert Gray, Richard Mitchell, Samuel Wilson, William Bell, John Horton, Robert Stephenson and John Gordon.


Some time about 1795 one of the most extensive iron works of those days was erected near the present town of Rotherwood, by Daniel Ross & Co., and a considerable business was done there for a number of years.


Hawkins County suffered much less from Indian depredations than some other sec- tions of the State. A few instances of massacres and robberies are mentioned by Hay. wood, but the most of these occurred in what is now Hancock County. The comparative immunity of this section from Indian attacks was due partly to the position of the county and partly to the vigilance of the settlers, who had taken every precaution for the pro- tection of themselves and families. The Indians made several incursions into Carter's Valley, but finding the people in the forts and prepared for them they retreated without doing serious damage. On one occasion the families that had gathered into the fort at Big Creek, became greatly in need of salt, and a young man, Joab Mitchell, volunteered to go out and procure a supply. While upon his return he was attacked by a party of Cherokees and mortally wounded. He succeeded, however, in reaching the fort, and his remains were interred in that depression which has since borne the name of Mitchell's Hollow. In December, 1787, William English was killed by the Indians, and two of his children carried into captivity. The county court records of 1790 contained the following entry: "Whereas it has been represented to the court by Thomas King, that Matthew English and Elizabeth English, orphan children of William English, who was taken and killed by the Indians in December, 1787, at which time the aforesaid children were carried into captivity by the Indians, supposed to be of the Wyandotte Nation. and are yet in captivity. Thomas King therefore represents that the said orphans might be recovered if there was property sufficient for that purpose. Ordered by the court that James Blair and William Patterson do receive from the said Thomas King or from any other person the property belonging to the estate of the said William English, and the same apply as they shall think best for the redemption of the said orphans, and Thomas King was dis- charged thereupon of said property."


It is related that a boy, on one occasion, .came suddenly upon a party of Indians not far from one of the forts. He turned and fled, with the savages in close pursuit. Before reaching the fort he was compelled to cross a small stream, and just as he reached the bank the foremost Indian caught him by the back of his loose hunting shirt. But the lad was not a captive. Straightening out his arms behind him he sped on to the fort in safety, leaving his pursuer holding the shirt .*


In 1785 the State of Franklin organized Spencer County, including, besides other terri- tory, the present Hawkins County. Thomas Henderson was chosen county court clerk and colonel of militia, and William Cocke and Thomas King representative to the Assem- Bly. The remaining officers are unknown. In November, 1786, the Legislature of North Carolina passed an act creating Hawkins County. It included within its limits all the territory between Bays Mountain and the Holston and Tennessee Rivers on the east to the Cumberland Mountains on the west. The county court was organized at the house of Thomas Gibbons, but as the early records were all destroyed during the late civil war nothing is known of its transactions.


The circuit court for Hawkins County was organized on the first Monday in October, 1810, by William Cocke, judge of the First Judicial Circuit, who appointed Thomas Cocke, clerk. The first grand jury empaneled was as follows: Joseph McMinn, foreman; John Johnston. Hezekiah Hamblen, George Hale, John Critz, John Haniblen, Robert Mc- Minn, John Remes, Jacob Miller, Jaines Haygood, Joel Gillenwater, Gabriel McCraw, Samuel Smith, Rodham Kenner and David Bagler. Michael Rork. constable was


"For these and other facts concerning the history of the county the writer is indebted to Col. Rogin, of Rogersville.


4190





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.