I've done some research in Hawkins County, TN. That area of eastern Tennessee was variously considered to be part of Virginia, North Carolina, and the proposed state of Franklin before becoming Hawkins County, TN in 1796. Their Genealogy and History website says the following... "Formed from Sullivan County, North Carolina, in 1786, many of Hawkins County’s records go back to the time before Tennessee’s statehood, when the area was part of North Carolina and then the Territory South of the River Ohio. For a few years, Hawkins County was known as Spencer County, State of Franklin. A significant portion of Hawkins County’s early residents, especially in the Carter’s Valley area, considered themselves Virginians instead of Carolinians and transacted their official business in Washington County, Virginia." http://tngenweb.org/hawkins/ They also merged, divided, and renamed their counties several times since statehood to arrive at the present alignment. So, in my research I find it best to keep an open mind about the listed place of birth for anyone apparently born in east Tennessee. Bruce Boyd