I have just added these records to the Texas Documents pages...remember, even though a Civil War vet fought for say, Louisana or Alabama, he usually applied to the state of his residence for a pension...in this case Texas.... So be aware of that if you are looking in the Civil War records for your ancestors... Thanks also to Will for sending this... Char ----Original Message Follows---- From: SONNY9876@aol.com To: coats@hotmail.com Subject: Re: Coats Texas Date: Sat, 15 Jul 2000 17:26:06 EDT Char, The first is the pension application of Marion Able Coats, the brother of James Alexandria Coats. The next is the pension application of my great grandmother Nancy Ann Webb, Coats, Webb, the widow of James Coats. Also note that he married Nancy when she was only thirteen 13 years old. I transcribed the second page of the deed as I couldn't be sure of ledgibility. I preserved the line sequence, punctuation and capitalization. Regards, Will ________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com

FYI...Char ----Original Message Follows---- From: Barbara Phelps <bphelps@pressenter.com> To: coats@hotmail.com Subject: Jane Dunbar (Coats) Date: Sat, 15 Jul 2000 14:51:31 -0500 I am searching for information about my great=grandmother Jane Dunbar Craig. There is a persistent story that her mother was a Coats/Coates connecting to the Coates and Clark thread company. Also that her father may have had some kind of transportation or buggy business. This was in Antrim, Northern Ireland. I have her b. 1823 Belfast? No. Ireland; d. 1891 Garden City, KS. Married to James "Red" Craig. He was a member of the Moravian Church at Gracehill and was kicked out for marrying outside the church so she was from some other denomination. They came to this country the year Lincoln died; stayed in Brooklyn about a year; then to Illinois and in 1879 to Kansas. Do you know anything of this woman? Barb Phelps ________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com

Here's the url to the site that is going to have all the census on the net...this will be a subscription site: http://genealogydatabase.com/ It doesn't say what the costs will be ...so this should be interesting.... ________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com

Listing of Sources by State Tennessee Periodicals, Newspapers, and Manuscript Collections Manuscripts The largest collections of manuscripts pertaining to Tennessee are in the Tennessee State Library and Archives. Published guides to this collection are available, including Guide to the Microfilmed Manuscript Holdings of the Tennessee State Library and Archives, 3d ed. (Nashville, Tenn.: Tennessee State Library, 1983). Acklen's two volume work (see Cemetery Records) includes references to manuscripts. View full context Listing of Sources by State Tennessee Periodicals, Newspapers, and Manuscript Collections Manuscripts In addition to the card indexes cited under land and military records, an interesting index at the state archives is for Tennessee century farms (histories compiled of families whose farms have remained in use by the family for over 100 years). View full context Listing of Sources by State Tennessee Archives, Libraries, and Societies Manuscripts During the 1930s the WPA collected a series of verbatim transcripts of the records of some Tennessee counties. This includes a considerable number of early county records. The only complete set of abstracts are in the Tennessee State Library and Archives. Nearly 1,500 volumes are available on ninety-three reels of microfilm. View full context Addresses: Tennessee State Library and Archives 403 Seventh Avenue, North Nashville, TN 37243-0312 Tennessee Historical Society War Memorial Building 300 Capital Boulevard Nashville, TN 37243 East Tennessee Historical Center at the Lawson McGehee Library of the Knox County Public Library System Mailing Address: 314 West Clinch Avenue Knoxville, TN 37802-2203 Street Address: 500 West Clinch Avenue Knoxville, TN 37902-2505 Listing of Sources by State Tennessee Cemetery Records Federal A large collection of transcripts of Tennessee cemetery records has been compiled by members of chapters of the DAR (see page 6). Other compilations of cemetery records are those in the Calvin M. McClung Historical Collection in the Lawson McGhee Library and in the Tennessee Miscellaneous Family and Cemetery Records collection available at the Tennessee State Library and Archives and through the FHL. The state library and archives has notebooks containing listings of cemetery records. View full context Listing of Sources by State Tennessee Cemetery Records Federal County genealogical and historical societies and local citizens have collected, compiled, and published numerous volumes of cemetery records. Other notable sources include: View full context Listing of Sources by State Tennessee Cemetery Records Federal View full context Listing of Sources by State Tennessee Cemetery Records Federal Acklen, Jeannette T., et al. Tennessee Records. 2 vols. 1933. Reprint. Baltimore, Md.: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1974. Vol. 1 contains tombstone inscriptions. View full context Listing of Sources by State Tennessee Church Records Federal Hunkins, Lillian. Tombstone Inscriptions and Marriages of Middle Tennessee. Houston, Tex.: the author, 1965. View full context ________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com

Listing of Sources by State Tennessee Tax Records Federal The 1796 Constitution levied taxes on “every freeman of the age of twenty-one years and upward possessing a freehold in the county wherein he may vote, and being an inhabitant of this State, and every freeman being an inhabitant of any one county in the State six months immediately preceding the day of the election, shall be entitled to vote....” View full context Listing of Sources by State Tennessee Tax Records Federal Many early surviving tax records were published in an effort to replace the missing federal censuses (see Census Records). Original extant tax records are preserved in the respective county courthouse as well as in the Tennessee State Library and Archives, where a card index exists for tax records in its collection pre-dating 1835, arranged by county, date, and district. Some early original tax lists are available in the McClung Historical Collection at the Lawson McGhee Library (see Archives, Libraries, and Societies), including those for Washington County, 1778 and 1787; Greene County, 1783; Carter and Sullivan counties, 1796; and Grainger County, 1799. View full context Listing of Sources by State Tennessee Tax Records Federal Original tax schedules for most Tennessee counties for 1836 through 1839 are available at the Tennessee State Library and Archives. In addition, the Indiana State Library, the FHL, and the Allen County Public Library (see Indiana) have microfilmed copies of early Tennessee tax records. View full context Listing of Sources by State Tennessee Cemetery Records Federal The 1891 tax lists of male inhabitant voters in each county were recently found. Available on microfilm at the Tennessee State Library and Archives, these nine reels are arranged alphabetically within each district in each county. Tax records from trustees office in counties are available on microfilm as well. ________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com

Listing of Sources by State Tennessee Church Records Federal Although few histories for Tennessee churches have been published, there are church records for almost every county in the state. Baptist, Presbyterian, and Methodist were the principal religions of early settlers in the state, and documents from these groups make up the largest number of records available. Other representative religions include Lutheran, Church of Christ, Episcopal, Roman Catholic, and Jewish. Most early Tennessee churches only kept minutes and membership records. View full context Listing of Sources by State Tennessee Church Records Federal Church records could, however, include records of baptism, marriage, burial, membership, or removal, but it is rare to find all or several of these categories maintained by one church. Some Presbyterian churches kept registers with some genealogical information in the session minutes or in a separate register. Each Baptist congregation is usually self-governing, and there is no set procedure for recording data for its members. Methodist ministers were charged with maintenance of permanent records of marriages, baptisms, and dismissals. The Episcopal and Roman Catholic churches maintain registers that contain genealogical data for all members. View full context Listing of Sources by State Tennessee Church Records Federal A published guide is Historical Records Survey, Guide to Church Vital Statistics in Tennessee (Nashville, Tenn.: War Services Section, Service Division, WPA, 1943). Thirty-nine counties compose this historical records survey of Tennessee church records. This reference details records for certain churches, varying from three to 349 per county. Beverly West Hathaway, Genealogy Research Sources in Tennessee (West Jordon, Utah: Allstates Research Co., 1972), contains a denominationally arranged guide to church records in Tennessee. This data includes dates and places of numerous churches as well as names of organizers. View full context Listing of Sources by State Tennessee Church Records Federal As with cemetery records, the DAR has collected church records for Tennessee, available at the DAR Library in Washington, D.C., and through the FHL. Many compilations of church records have been compiled and/or published for the state. The Tennessee State Library and Archives has records of over one hundred churches that pre-date 1900. Byron Sistler and Barbara Sistler compiled an index to these records in Vital Statistics from 19th Century Tennessee Church Records, 2 vols. (Nashville, Tenn.: Byron Sistler and Assoc., 1979), which contains births, baptisms, marriages, deaths, and burials from 104 churches and/or church associations in Tennessee. View full context Listing of Sources by State Tennessee Church Records Federal Microfilmed records and manuscripts of several churches in the state are described in the card catalog and published by the Tennessee State Library and Archives' Guide to the Microfilm Holdings (see Manuscripts). View full context Listing of Sources by State Tennessee Military Records Federal The McClung Collection of the Lawson McGhee Library in Knoxville holds microfilm of Methodist, Baptist, and Presbyterian church records. The Burrow Library in Memphis also has Presbyterian church records. The Historical Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, Disciples of Christ Historical Society, Catholic Diocese of Nashville Archives, and Archives of the Jewish Federation of Nashville and Middle Tennessee, all located in Nashville, hold representative collections. View full context ________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com

Tennessee Land Records Federal State-Land State State-Land State Only a small portion of the land granted in Tennessee was free land, and that was granted to those who provided some form of service to North Carolina. Earliest land records, including early grants issued by North Carolina and Tennessee, are microfilmed with a card index available in the Public Services Section of the Tennessee State Library and Archives. Other holdings include land warrants, survey certificates, and records from county register of deeds offices. The earliest land grants are now maintained and available on microfilm at the Tennessee State Library and Archives. Official copies of all Tennessee land grants are bound and filed in the archives. All known grants are indexed in the master index, which is included on these microfilm reels. These consist of the following: • North Carolina grants in Tennessee, 1783–1800, including North Carolina state grants. These land grants are also in the North Carolina State Archives (see North Carolina). • Tennessee general grants date from 1806 to 1927. • Grants were issued by district land offices from 1807 through 1838: East Tennessee District grants, from 1807; Hiwassee District grants, from November 1820; Middle Tennessee District, from 1824; West Tennessee District, beginning in 1826; Mountain District, opening in 1828; Ocoee District, starting in 1838. A pamphlet entitled “Land Grants in the Tennessee State Library and Archives,” explains the holdings and is available from the repository. The North Carolina Military Reservation was established in 1783 in the northern section of what was then west Tennessee (present-day middle Tennessee). It encompassed all the area surrounding the loop of the Cumberland River north to the Kentucky/Tennessee state line. A Congressional Reservation was organized on 18 April 1806 in the southwest section of middle Tennessee. The Congressional Reservation's northern border was the North Carolina Military Reservation's southern boundary. The western border for both was that portion of the Tennessee River that flows north. Several published volumes relate to North Carolina Revolutionary service land grants in middle Tennessee. Land grants for the area south of Walker's Line (in Tennessee) are microfilmed and available through the FHL. Originals are indexed and housed in the Kentucky Land Office, Frankfort. Williard Rouse Jillson's work (see Kentucky) covers these grants. A printed source to North Carolina land grants is Betty G. C. Cartwright and L. J. Gardiner, North Carolina Land Grants in Tennessee, 1778–1791 (1958; rev. ed., Easley, S.C.: Southern Historical Press, 1981). Beginning with county organization, land records are available from the register of deeds at the respective county courthouse. Land and property records include transfer of real estate or personal property, mortgages, leases, surveys, and entries. The Tennessee State Library and Archives has microfilmed county deed records that can be ordered by providing name, date, county, and type of record in the request. The county court maintains jurisdiction over probate cases. Wills, administrations, and all other records pertaining to probate are recorded in the respective county clerk's office. If the will or administration was contested, the records of these actions may be filed in the circuit court or chancery court. Shelby and Davidson counties have separate probate courts. Listing of Sources by State Tennessee Land Records Federal Only a small portion of the land granted in Tennessee was free land, and that was granted to those who provided some form of service to North Carolina. Earliest land records, including early grants issued by North Carolina and Tennessee, are microfilmed with a card index available in the Public Services Section of the Tennessee State Library and Archives. Other holdings include land warrants, survey certificates, and records from county register of deeds offices. View full context Listing of Sources by State Tennessee Land Records Federal The earliest land grants are now maintained and available on microfilm at the Tennessee State Library and Archives. Official copies of all Tennessee land grants are bound and filed in the archives. All known grants are indexed in the master index, which is included on these microfilm reels. These consist of the following: View full context Listing of Sources by State Tennessee Land Records Federal • North Carolina grants in Tennessee, 1783–1800, including North Carolina state grants. These land grants are also in the North Carolina State Archives (see North Carolina). View full context Listing of Sources by State Tennessee Land Records Federal • Tennessee general grants date from 1806 to 1927. View full context Listing of Sources by State Tennessee Land Records Federal • Grants were issued by district land offices from 1807 through 1838: East Tennessee District grants, from 1807; Hiwassee District grants, from November 1820; Middle Tennessee District, from 1824; West Tennessee District, beginning in 1826; Mountain District, opening in 1828; Ocoee District, starting in 1838. A pamphlet entitled “Land Grants in the Tennessee State Library and Archives,” explains the holdings and is available from the repository. View full context Listing of Sources by State Tennessee Land Records Federal The North Carolina Military Reservation was established in 1783 in the northern section of what was then west Tennessee (present-day middle Tennessee). It encompassed all the area surrounding the loop of the Cumberland River north to the Kentucky/Tennessee state line. A Congressional Reservation was organized on 18 April 1806 in the southwest section of middle Tennessee. The Congressional Reservation's northern border was the North Carolina Military Reservation's southern boundary. The western border for both was that portion of the Tennessee River that flows north. Several published volumes relate to North Carolina Revolutionary service land grants in middle Tennessee. The North Carolina Military Reservation was established in 1783 in the northern section of what was then west Tennessee (present-day middle Tennessee). It encompassed all the area surrounding the loop of the Cumberland River north to the Kentucky/Tennessee state line. A Congressional Reservation was organized on 18 April 1806 in the southwest section of middle Tennessee. The Congressional Reservation's northern border was the North Carolina Military Reservation's southern boundary. The western border for both was that portion of the Tennessee River that flows north. Several published volumes relate to North Carolina Revolutionary service land grants in middle Tennessee. Land grants for the area south of Walker's Line (in Tennessee) are microfilmed and available through the FHL. Originals are indexed and housed in the Kentucky Land Office, Frankfort. Williard Rouse Jillson's work (see Kentucky) covers these grants. A printed source to North Carolina land grants is Betty G. C. Cartwright and L. J. Gardiner, North Carolina Land Grants in Tennessee, 1778–1791 (1958; rev. ed., Easley, S.C.: Southern Historical Press, 1981). Beginning with county organization, land records are available from the register of deeds at the respective county courthouse. Land and property records include transfer of real estate or personal property, mortgages, leases, surveys, and entries. The Tennessee State Library and Archives has microfilmed county deed records that can be ordered by providing name, date, county, and type of record in the request. The county court maintains jurisdiction over probate cases. Wills, administrations, and all other records pertaining to probate are recorded in the respective county clerk's office. If the will or administration was contested, the records of these actions may be filed in the circuit court or chancery court. Shelby and Davidson counties have separate probate courts. Many early court records and lists of wills were transcribed by the WPA. Copies of these are usually in the county clerk's office and in the Tennessee State Library and Archives. Most records have been microfilmed and are available through the FHL. Projects to preserve and microfilm probate files, or loose papers, were started in Franklin County in 1979 and in Shelby County in 1981. Microfilm copies are at the Tennessee State Library and Archives. Other counties are following this fine example of record preservation. County courts also hear guardianship and minor civil and criminal cases. Court records date from the organization of the county except in cases where records have been destroyed. See Annie W. Burns, Major Index to Wills and Inventories of Tennessee at the D.A.R. Library, 6 vols. (Washington, D.C.: n.p., 1962–65), which covers Bedford through Meigs counties alphabetically. Court records for Tennessee can be difficult to use. Indexes are seldom, if ever, complete. Names may be indexed under various letters of the alphabet, but not necessarily by the individual's name. A for adoptions or I for “in regards to” are examples. Mortgaged estates may be indexed under the name of the bank holding the lien or mortgage, such as B for Bank of Commerce. Records may be indexed by other than surname, for example, C for commissioners/commission, J for jury, and W for will. In cases where property is sold by the sheriff, records can be found under S for sheriff, who was ordered by the court to sell the property to settle the estate or for back taxes. S for state may indicate records in which the state was a party, such as state land grants recorded in court records. Tennessee court records can be complicated to use because there were various courts in which activities could be recorded. Some larger counties have superior courts of law and equity that hear minor civil and equity cases. Probate records normally were under the jurisdiction of the county court, but if the case was contested, then it could be filed in chancery or circuit court. Chancery courts have jurisdiction over property disputes, and circuit courts oversee criminal cases, divorces, and adoptions. Early courts included courts of common pleas and quarter sessions. Original court records, including minute and order books, boxes of loose papers, case files, and folders, are maintained by the county. Each source should be thoroughly examined for pertinent entries. Many of these were microfilmed and are available at the Tennessee State Library and Archives and through the FHL. Marjorie Hood Fischer, comp., Tennessee Tidbits, 1778–1914, 4 vols. (vol. 1, Easley, S.C.: Southern Historical Press, 1986; vol. 2, Vista, Calif.: RAM Press, 1988), is a continuing series which contains abstracts of minutes from county courts, circuit courts, and chancery courts. Volume 1 includes abstracts from Blount, Davidson, Dickson, Fayette, Giles, Greene, Hardin, Haywood, Hickman, Humphreys, Lincoln, Putnam, Rutherford, Washington, and Williamson. Volume 2 covers Bedford, Claiborne, Dyer, Fentress, Jackson, Madison, McMinn, Obion, Roane, Robertson, Sevier, Stewart, Washington, and Wilson. Under the WPA, approximately 1,000 typed volumes of county records were transcribed for most counties in Tennessee. These are microfilmed and available on interlibrary loan from the Tennessee State Library and Archives. There is a card index inventory to this compilation arranged by county. Court records included in this collection are wills; county, chancery, and circuit court minutes; and estate settlements. Because these WPA transcripts contain numerous transcription and typographical errors, the original records should always be reviewed. Listing of Sources by State Tennessee Land Records Federal Land grants for the area south of Walker's Line (in Tennessee) are microfilmed and available through the FHL. Originals are indexed and housed in the Kentucky Land Office, Frankfort. Williard Rouse Jillson's work (see Kentucky) covers these grants. A printed source to North Carolina land grants is Betty G. C. Cartwright and L. J. Gardiner, North Carolina Land Grants in Tennessee, 1778–1791 (1958; rev. ed., Easley, S.C.: Southern Historical Press, 1981). View full context Listing of Sources by State Tennessee Probate Records Federal Beginning with county organization, land records are available from the register of deeds at the respective county courthouse. Land and property records include transfer of real estate or personal property, mortgages, leases, surveys, and entries. The Tennessee State Library and Archives has microfilmed county deed records that can be ordered by providing name, date, county, and type of record in the request. View full context ________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com

Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 [p.192] THE DUMPLIN SETTLEMENT In September, 1789, President Washington appointed a commission to treat with the Creek nation and, upon the failure of their mission, he sent a secret emissary in the person of Col. Marinus Willett to the Creeks for the purpose of inducing McGillivray to bring a delegation of chiefs to New York to treat with the President. In this he was successful, and in August, 1790, the President concluded a treaty of peace with McGillivray, which, while it was intended primarily for the benefit of the Georgians, for a time restored a measure of peace to the settlers on the Cumberland.8 Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 [p.192] THE DUMPLIN SETTLEMENT Let us return now to the Holston. Footnote State Records of North Carolina, Vol. 11, p. 654. Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 [p.192] THE DUMPLIN SETTLEMENT After the treaty of 1777, the Overhill Cherokees preserved the peace, under great difficulties, for three years. It was in the midst of the Revolutionary war, and the British emissaries were constantly exerting themselves to foment trouble. Cameron refused to furnish the Indians with goods as long as they were at peace with the Americans. The towns appointed a committee of their old chiefs to ask aid from the governor of North Carolina. James Robertson, the agent among them, was of opinion that if the state would supply them with goods nothing but peace would ensue.1 The governor, however, did nothing; and in the meantime the Chickamaugas went to the support of the British, and in 1780 induced the Overhill towns to join them in a second invasion of the settlements, while the frontier militia were away fighting the British at King's Mountain. As we have seen, by the opportune return of Colonel Sevier, and the prompt action of the border authorities, the settlements were saved, the Indian forces were defeated, and their towns destroyed. They again sued for peace, which was concluded at a treaty held at Long Island in the summer of 1781. This treaty was never broken by open war, though there were repeated murders and depredations committed on both sides. Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 [p.192] THE DUMPLIN SETTLEMENT The tract of country adjoining the Overhill towns on the north, and extending back from the Little Tennessee to the French Broad River, is known in our public records as the territory south-of-the-French-Broad-and-Holston-rivers-and-west-of-the-Big-Pigeon-River. Its history would have made a shorter name famous. Had it been called Dumplin, after the creek on which the treaty was held which gave its inhabitants the first color of title to the lands on which they lived, it would have gone down in song and story along with Watauga and Cumberland, the other two original independent governments in Tennessee. It was settled under the most extraordinary circumstances, in defiance of the rights of the Indians, whose hunting ground it was, and in violation of the treaties both of the State of North Carolina and the United States. Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 [p.192] THE DUMPLIN SETTLEMENT Its settlers had the sympathy and support of the State of Franklin, but when that government fell, and all support was withdrawn from them, they boldly erected for themselves an independent government in the midst of the Cherokee reservation. The history of American colonization does not exhibit a more daring, determined, heroic, and alas! lawless struggle for the possession of a country than that waged by the pioneers of Dumplin. Footnote Ramsey's “Annals of Tennessee,” p. 370. Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 [p.192] THE DUMPLIN SETTLEMENT Could a diagram be drawn, accurately designating every spot signalized by an Indian massacre, surprise or depredation, or courageous attack, defense, pursuit, or victory by the whites, or station, or fort, or battlefield, or personal encounter, the whole of that section of country would be studded over by delineations of such incidents. Every spring, every ford, every path, every farm, every trail, every house, nearly, in its first settlement, was once the scene of danger, exposure, attack, exploit, achievement, death.2 Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 [p.192] THE DUMPLIN SETTLEMENT page 193 On the other hand, the Indians who opposed these aggressive, masterful backwoodsmen appeal not less strongly to our sympathy. Their Overhill towns on the south bank of the Little Tennessee River served as a kind of breakwater to retard the restless tide of immigration pouring into their hunting grounds. [p.193] Not only their physical distress, which was certainly not more tolerable than the sufferings of the settlers, but their feeling of utter helplessness in the presence of great wrongs; the impotent chafing of their proud spirits as they saw their hunting grounds diminish, and the wild game grow scarcer, rendered their position pathetic in the extreme. Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 [p.192] THE DUMPLIN SETTLEMENT On account of his advanced age Oconostota made the Old Tassel (Koatohee) and the Old Raven (Savanukeh) speakers for him in the treaty of Long Island in 1777. From that time they were looked upon as the leading men of their nation. Footnote Ramsey's “Annals of Tennessee,” p. 304. Footnote Weeks' “General Joseph Martin and the War of the Revolution in the West,” p. 444. Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 [p.192] THE DUMPLIN SETTLEMENT In 1783 the State of North Carolina undertook by legislative enactment to open for settlement all the Cherokee hunting grounds lying north and west of the French Broad and Tennessee rivers. Notwithstanding the opening of this immense territory, the frontiersmen continued to push their settlements south of the French Broad, into the small district I have denominated Dumplin, which was still reserved to the Indians. The Tassel complains that his young men are afraid to go out hunting on account of the white men ranging the woods and marking trees.3 Colonel Martin, writing in 1784, says they have actually settled, or at least built houses within two miles of the beloved Town of Chota.4 Footnote Ramsey's “Annals of Tennessee,” p. 319; Weeks' Joseph Martin, p. 444. Footnote Ramsey's “Annals of Tennessee,” p. 299. Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 [p.192] THE DUMPLIN SETTLEMENT In the meantime the daring young State of Franklin arose and, being wholly in sympathy with the frontiersmen, there was no longer any restraint put upon their aggressions. One of its first legislative acts provided for the holding of a treaty with the Cherokees at Dumplin Creek. The treaty was held May 31, 1785, though The Tassel and other principal chiefs of the nation refused to attend.5 Under this treaty the Indian line was moved far down towards their towns, and located on the ridge dividing the waters of Little River from those of the Little Tennessee.6 Footnote American State Papers, Indian Affairs, Vol. 1, p. 41. Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 [p.192] THE DUMPLIN SETTLEMENT Following this treaty The Tassel wrote the governor of North Carolina that the white people had built houses in sight of his towns. A little later in the same year he told the United States commissioners, at the treaty of Hopewell: “If Congress had not interposed I and my people must have moved. They have even marked the land on the bank of the river near the town where I live.”7 Footnote Calendar of Virginia State Papers, Vol. 4, p. 164. Footnote Ramsey's “Annals of Tennessee,” p. 343. Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 [p.192] THE DUMPLIN SETTLEMENT page 194 In less than a year the frontiers had passed the line established by the treaty of Dumplin, and the Franklin authorities then determined to have all the Indian lands lying north of the Little Tennessee River. This purpose they announced to the chiefs of the Overhill towns in what is called the treaty of Coyatee. It seems that two young men had been murdered on the twentieth day of July by two or three young fellows who had been hired by an old warrior from Chickamauga to take satisfaction for his two sons who had been killed by the white people in the spring.8 Thereupon Cols. Alexander Outlaw and William Cocke, at the head of 250 militiamen, marched to Chota Ford, and sent for the head men of the towns.9 When The Tassel and Scollacutta appeared they charged them with breaking through all their talks and murdering the young men. The Tassel denied that it was his people who had spilt the blood and spoilt the talk. He said the men who did the murder were bad men and no [p.194] warriors, who lived in Coyatee, at the mouth of Holston, about twenty miles below Chota. Footnote Col. John Donelson was killed on Barren River, in Kentucky, in 1785, but it is not known who killed him. Footnote Col. William Christian was killed while pursuing a party of Indians on the north side of the Ohio River, in April, 1786. Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 [p.192] THE DUMPLIN SETTLEMENT Upon this disclosure, Colonels Outlaw and Cocke marched their forces to Coyatee, killed two of the “very Indians that did the murder,” destroyed the town house, burned the bad men's homes, and destroyed their proportionate part of the village corn. They then renewed their conference with The Tassel and Scollacutta, begun at Chota Ford. After the general charge of breaking all the good talks in “Kentucky, Cumberland, and here at home,” they charged them specifically, and very unjustly with the murder of Colonels Donelson10 and Christian.11“My brother, William Christian,” The Tassel replied, “took care of everybody, and was a good man; he is dead and gone. It was not me nor my people that killed him. They told lies on me. He was killed going the other way, over the river.” Footnote Ramsey's “Annals of Tennessee,” pp. 344-346. Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 [p.192] THE DUMPLIN SETTLEMENT Colonels Outlaw and Cocke then delivered the following ultimatum to the Indians: “We now tell you plainly that our great counsellors have sold us the land on the north side of the Tennessee (Little Tennessee) to the Cumberland Mountains and we intend to settle and live on it, and if you kill any of our people for settling there, we shall destroy the town that does the mischief.” There was no foundation in fact for the claim that they had bought the land; The Tassel told them he had never heard of it, though he had talked with the great men from Congress last fall at the treaty of Hopewell. But as he was powerless to prevent their taking possession of it, he hoped they should live friends together on it, and keep their young men at peace.12 Such was the treaty of Coyatee! Footnote Ramsey's “Annals of Tennessee,” pp. 359-360. Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 [p.192] THE DUMPLIN SETTLEMENT By the following spring a land office had been opened for all the land north of the Little Tennessee, and the frontiersmen were actually settling on the banks of that stream.13 Thus we find the pioneer settlers and the Overhill Cherokees lined up, face to face, with nothing but the thread of the Little Tennessee River as a barrier between them. Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 [p.192] THE DUMPLIN SETTLEMENT While The Tassel was engaged in these peaceable negotiations, the remoter towns of the Cherokees committed frequent acts of hostility against the frontiers, for which they were punished by the settlers. In 1782 Colonel Sevier marched against the Lower towns and destroyed everything from Bull Town, on Chickamauga Creek, to Estanaula, on the Coosa River. In 1783 Major Fine destroyed Cowee, on the headwaters of the Little Tennessee. In 1786 Governor Sevier, of Franklin, crossed the Unaka Mountain and destroyed the Valley towns, on the Hiwassee River. None of these campaigns, it will be observed, was directed against the Overhill towns, nor were any of the Indian depredations approved by The Tassel; on the contrary, he tried to dissuade the Chickamaugas from such acts until he found it was of no use, when he advised Agent Martin of the condition of affairs, and turned the matter over to him. Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 [p.192] THE DUMPLIN SETTLEMENT page 195 In the meantime, after a restless, active and stormy career of four years, the State of Franklin collapsed, an order was out for the arrest of Governor Sevier, and he was a fugitive on the frontiers, no longer pretending to any office, civil or military. He had with him Maj. James Hubbard, late an officer [p.195] in the Franklin militia, and a small body of mounted riflemen. From Houston's Station he dispatched the following circular letter to the border settlers: Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 [p.192] THE DUMPLIN SETTLEMENT Major Houston's Station, 8th of July, 1788. Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 [p.192] THE DUMPLIN SETTLEMENT To the inhabitants in general: Yesterday we crossed the Tennessee with a small party of men, and destroyed a town called Toquo. On our return we discovered large trails of Indians making their way towards this place. We are of the opinion their numbers could not be less than 500. We beg leave to recommend that every station will be on their guard; that also, every good man that can be spared will voluntarily turn out and repair to this place, with the utmost expedition, in order to tarry a few days in the neighborhood and repel the enemy, if possible. We intend waiting at this place some days with the few men now with us, as we cannot reconcile it to our own feelings, to leave a people who appear to be in such great distress. JOHN SEVIER. JAMES HUBBARD. Footnote Ramsey's “Annals of Tennessee,” p. 419. Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 [p.192] THE DUMPLIN SETTLEMENT N. B. It will be necessary for those who will be so grateful as to come to the assistance of this place, to furnish themselves with a few days' provisions, as the inhabitants of this fort are greatly distressed with Indians. J. S. J. H.14 Footnote Calendar of Virginia State Papers, Vol. IV, pp. 428-9. Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 [p.192] THE DUMPLIN SETTLEMENT Alarmed by the warning of Sevier and Hubbard, many families in the more exposed districts removed for safety to the neighboring forts. But the frontiersmen were so inured to the perils and dangers of border life that they had almost lost the sense of fear. Moreover, being such close neighbors to the Indians, they had grown familiar with them and knew many of them by name, such, for instance, as Slim Tom, or Chilhowee, who was known as far north as the settlement around Knoxville. From these friendly Indians they apprehended little danger, though they had, in a measure, been put upon their guard as to Slim Tom. The preceding spring a party of Indians had attacked the house of Joseph Hinds, killed and scalped his son, and carried off a number of horses. They were pursued and, being surprised in their camp, fled into the canebrake, leaving most of their property behind. One of the guns captured was identified by James Robertson, whose watchful eye nothing seems to have escaped, as the property of Slim Tom's son, which he had seen the fall before in Chilhowee.15 Footnote Haywood's “History of Tennessee,” p. 194. Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 [p.192] THE DUMPLIN SETTLEMENT So it happened that some of the families were slow in availing themselves of the protection of the forts. One of these was the family of a man named Kirk, who lived on Little River. His houschold numbered thirteen when all were present. One day, in the absence of the father and his son, John, Slim Tom came to the house and asked for something to eat. The family knew him, allowed him to come in, and fed him. Having taken advantage of their hospitality to discover who were present, and their means of defense, he finished his meal and withdrew. Soon afterwards he returned from the woods with a party of Indians, fell upon the defenseless family, massacred the whole of them, and left their dead bodies in the yard.16 Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 [p.192] THE DUMPLIN SETTLEMENT page 196 Following this massacre the wildest excitement swept the settlement. The [p.196] Tassel remained closely at home, while Abraham, of Chilhowee, declared publicly that if his people went to war he would remain at his own house and never quit it. Sevier and Hubbard assembled several hundred militiamen at Hunter's Station, on Nine Mile Creek, and dashed off to Hiwassee River, where they killed many warriors, took some prisoners, burned their towns, and returned to Hunter's. The next day they swept up the Little Tennessee, burned Tallassee and some other towns, killed many Indians and returned. Footnote American State Papers, Indian Affairs, Vol. I, p. 56. Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 [p.192] THE DUMPLIN SETTLEMENT On their return from Tallassee the troops marched down the south bank of the Little Tennessee River. When they had gotten opposite Chilhowee, on the north of the river, they halted. Governor Sevier was absent, and Major Hubbard was left in command. He sent for Abraham and his son to come over the river to him, at the same time raising a flag of truce, that they might be assured of their safety. They came without hesitation. He then directed them to bring The Tassel and his son,17 that he might hold a talk with them. When they came he put them all in a house and surrounded it with his men. He then put a tomahawk in the hand of John Kirk, the son of him whose family had been massacred, and led him into the house. There, under a flag of truce, between four walls, while the soldiers on guard watched the carnage, his commanding officer standing by his side, the boy buried his tomahawk in the head of the nearest Indian, who fell dead at his feet. The others, recognizing the fate intended for them, with the stoic courage that enables the Indian warrior to face even a harsher death without quailing, inclined their heads forward, cast their eyes upon the ground, and one after another received the fatal blow. ________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com

Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 BLOUNT'S CONDUCT AND POPULARITY On June 26, 1792, the Creeks attacked and captured Zeigler's Station,7 a fort near Cairo, in Sumner County, only one month after the friendly conference with the Indians at Coyatee; Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 BLOUNT'S CONDUCT AND POPULARITY On September 30, 1792, a force of Creeks, Cherokees, Chickamaugas and Shawnees, under John Watts, one of Governor Blount's “champions of peace,” attacked Buchanan's Station and were gallantly defeated and driven off by a remarkable defense; Footnote See Captain Handly's narrative in American Historical Magazine, Vol. II, pp. 86-90; also Ramsey, pp. 571-572. Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 BLOUNT'S CONDUCT AND POPULARITY In November, 1793, Capt. Samuel Handly, with sixty mounted men, was defeated near Crab Orchard by Cherokees, Creeks and Shawnees, under Middle Striker, and Captain Handly was wounded and captured;8 Footnote Pronounced Hightower. Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 BLOUNT'S CONDUCT AND POPULARITY On September 25, 1793, Cherokees and Creeks destroyed Cavett's Station and murdered the family of thirteen, except one boy. So great was the wrath aroused by this act that Daniel Smith, acting governor in the absence of Blount, authorized General Sevier to invade the territory of the Cherokees and Creeks. He did so with his accustomed celerity, ability and success, defeating them and burning their towns, and, on October 17, 1793, defeated an Indian force under King Fisher (killed by Hugh Lawson White) at Etowah9 (now Rome, Ga.). This victory virtually ended the Indian hostilities in Washington District; Footnote Michaux in his “Travels West of the Alleghany Mountains,” which were made in 1802, says on page 253: “On the road we stopped with different friends of Mr. Fisk; among others with General Smith, one of the oldest inhabitants of this country where he has resided 16 or 17 yrs. America is indebted to him for the best map of the State * * * We also, on our journey, visited General Winchester, who was engaged in finishing a stone house, very elegant for the country.” Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 BLOUNT'S CONDUCT AND POPULARITY On April 21, 1794, two Bledsoe boys were murdered by the Indians on Drake's Creek, in Sumner County, near Rock Castle,10 the famous home of Gen. Daniel Smith; Footnote For more detailed accounts of Joseph Brown and of this battle, see chapters on Indian Wars and on Historic Spots and Places. Also, see Ramsey, pp. 616, 618 and Putnam, pp. 484, 485. Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 THE TERRITORIAL LEGISLATURE page 152 On September 15, 1794, Major Ore, acting under orders given him by General Robertson, attacked and destroyed the Indian towns of Nickajack and Running Water, towns of the Chickamaugas, the home and rendezvous of the worst elements among the Indians, including some renegade half-breeds and whites. Joseph Brown, who had been captured by these Indians, was one of the guides of the invading force.11 General Robertson was severely censured by Governor Blount and by the Federal authorities for giving the order for this expedition and, in consequence, resigned his commission as brigadier general. But the [p.152] people approved his course enthusiastically; and this severe retaliation together with Sevier's punishment of the Indians but a short time before put an end to the Indian wars. Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 PREPARATIONS FOR STATEHOOD By the spring of 1795 the widespread desire among the people for statehood, which had for so long been crystallizing, seemed about to be realized. Statehood was wished, not only as the consummation of a higher political plane, of an attainment of real, independent self-government, but, also, and particularly, as a means of protecting themselves against the attacks of the Indians from whom they had suffered so much. Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 PREPARATIONS FOR STATEHOOD The matter of creating a new state out of the territory had been left by Congress to a vote of the people. The excellent financial condition of the territory, as shown by the report of the joint committee of the Legislature and the great increase in the population were predisposing reasons in the minds of both people and governor that the time was come when the territory should be erected into a state. Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 PREPARATIONS FOR STATEHOOD Even at the first session of the Territorial Assembly, which met on August 25, 1794, preparations for statehood were begun. First Governor Blount was asked to have a census taken. Another resolution was passed to the effect that inquiry be made as to the disposition of the people of the territory relative to creating a state government in place of the territorial government. Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 PREPARATIONS FOR STATEHOOD Governor Blount, while earnestly in favor of the admission of the territory as a state, did not take action at that time on the resolutions. As no territory of the United States had yet been given statehood, it seemed to him wise, in the absence of an expression of Congress on this point, to ascertain in advance what steps that body would require to be taken. For this purpose Dr. James White, the territorial delegate in Congress made diligent inquiry of the members and came to the conclusion that Congress would not act in any way prior to an application made by the territory. He (White) thought that the proper action would be for a convention to be called to adopt a constitution to take effect as soon as Congress should pass an act of admission. Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 PREPARATIONS FOR STATEHOOD page 155 Thereupon Governor Blount issued a call for an extraordinary session of the Assembly, which met at Knoxville, June 29, 1795. It was in session only thirteen days and, on its last day, passed an act for the enumeration of the inhabitants of the territory, in which act provision was made that “if it shall [p.155] appear that there are 60,000 inhabitants therein * * * the governor be authorized and requested to recommend to the people of the respective counties, to elect five persons of each county to represent them in convention, to meet at Knoxville at such time as he shall judge proper, for the purpose of forming a constitution or form of government, for the permanent government of the people who are or shall become residents upon the lands by the State of North Carolina ceded to the United States.” Footnote Ramsey, p. 648. Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 PREPARATIONS FOR STATEHOOD In accordance with the provisions of this act a census was taken which showed a population of 77,262, of whom 66,649 were free inhabitants and 10,613 slaves. On November 28th, Governor Blount announced that there were 6,504 votes cast for organizing a state, and 2,562 against so doing.17 This strong minority was due largely to the great popularity of William Blount and satisfaction with his government. Strangely enough the opposition to statehood was strongest in Mero District, where only ninety-six votes were cast in favor of it in Davidson County and fifty-eight in Tennessee County. On the same date, November 28, 1795, Governor Blount issued a proclamation recommending to the people of the respective counties to elect five persons for each county, on the 18th and 19th days of December next, to represent them in a convention to meet at Knoxville on the eleventh day of January next, “for the purpose of forming a constitution or permanent form of government.” He closed his proclamation by saying “that this recommendation is not intended to have, nor ought to have, any effect whatever upon the present temporary form of government; and that the present temporary form will continue to be exercised in the same manner as if it had never been issued, until the convention shall have formed and published a constitution or permanent form of government.” ________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com

Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 [p.138] THE SITUATION CONFRONTING THE COLONISTS There was some feeling of offense both in the eastern part of North Carolina and in the Holston and Cumberland communities that the new district should be given the name of the representative of a government which had shown its hostility to the people of the United States and especially to those of the western settlements. In thus reasoning they failed to comprehend the farsighted policy of conciliation which actuated James Robertson, who for the sake of his people sought the friendship of Spain through Miro, her governor, and through McGillivray, chief of the Creeks, with both of whom he conducted a notable correspondence. Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 [p.138] THE SITUATION CONFRONTING THE COLONISTS The truth is that the western people were in a precarious situation. For years Spain had had them harassed by the Indians in the effort to drive them back to the eastern escarpment of the Allegheny Mountains. The effort had failed and the policy of Spain changed. Miro was now apparently seeking the friendship of the colonists in the hope of attracting them to move from the protection of the United States to that of Spain. The hope was so expressed by Miro that many of the settlers would move into the territory governed by him. Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 [p.138] THE SITUATION CONFRONTING THE COLONISTS In the fall of 1787, Robertson and Hays had presented a memorial to the General Assembly of North Carolina in which one paragraph was as follows: Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 [p.138] THE SITUATION CONFRONTING THE COLONISTS “They and their constituents, they say, have cheerfully endured the most unconquerable difficulties in settling the western country, in full confidence that they be enabled to send their produce to market through the rivers which water the country; but they now have the mortification, not only to be excluded from that channel of commerce by a foreign nation, but the Indians are rendered more hostile through the influence of that very nation, probably with a view to drive them from the country, as they claim the whole of the soil.” Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 [p.138] THE SITUATION CONFRONTING THE COLONISTS No relief, however, was extended; and, while the leaders, like Robertson, exerted their best efforts to restrain the most impetuous and turbulent spirits, nevertheless throughout the entire trans-Allegheny region there was a feeling of discontent and unrest, not only against the State of North Carolina, but especially a feeling of dissatisfaction with the United States Government which permitted the restraint of trade by Spain. Footnote Putnam's History of Middle Tennessee. Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 [p.138] THE SITUATION CONFRONTING THE COLONISTS In June, 1784, another link in the chain of Spanish intrigue was forged. This was the meeting at Pensacola of the three Spanish governors who made a treaty with the powerful Creek chief, Alexander McGillivray (or McGilveray), “an implied agreement to ‘drive off the settlers upon the Cumberland, or to destroy them utterly.’ ” (This wish and purpose were subsequently avowed in correspondence between the parties.)16 Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 GENESIS OF THE “CONSPIRACY”In an article entitled “The Spanish Conspiracy in Tennessee,” published in the Tennessee Historical Magazine, Vol. 3, No. 4, Dec. 1917, Dr. Archibald Henderson says: “* * * The Spanish Conspiracy in Tennessee has received comparatively little notice; and the printed materials on the subject are few and chaotic. The Gardoqui MSS. in the Durrett Collection, the Gayarré Transcripts in the Louisiana Historical Society, and scattered letters in the Archives of the Indes at Seville, I find, furnish material for a consecutive narrative, and enable us at last to gain a comprehensive view of the Spanish Conspiracy in Tennessee.”17 This alliance tended to thwart the policy of Robertson which was to mold relations with all in such a way that the people of the Cumberland community might be permitted to manage their own affairs in their own way; encourage immigration; strengthen their own hands; preserve the friendship of the Spaniards and gain that of the savage tribes. Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 GENESIS OF THE “CONSPIRACY”In an article entitled “The Spanish Conspiracy in Tennessee,” published in the Tennessee Historical Magazine, Vol. 3, No. 4, Dec. 1917, Dr. Archibald Henderson says: “* * * The Spanish Conspiracy in Tennessee has received comparatively little notice; and the printed materials on the subject are few and chaotic. The Gardoqui MSS. in the Durrett Collection, the Gayarré Transcripts in the Louisiana Historical Society, and scattered letters in the Archives of the Indes at Seville, I find, furnish material for a consecutive narrative, and enable us at last to gain a comprehensive view of the Spanish Conspiracy in Tennessee.”17 page 139 The feelings of dissatisfaction referred to were at their very apex when Don Diego de Gardoqui came to the United States in 1785, as the chargé d'affairs for Spain. In his negotiations with Jay, who strongly proposed that the United States relinquish the navigation of the Mississippi for twenty-five years in return for other advantages, notwithstanding the fact that Spain had arrested [p.139] our traders in their passage down the river, virtually stopping all traffic to the Gulf, he quickly discovered that the fighting spirit of the frontiersmen had been aroused and that schemes had actually been proposed for the capture of New Orleans. Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 GENESIS OF THE “CONSPIRACY”In an article entitled “The Spanish Conspiracy in Tennessee,” published in the Tennessee Historical Magazine, Vol. 3, No. 4, Dec. 1917, Dr. Archibald Henderson says: “* * * The Spanish Conspiracy in Tennessee has received comparatively little notice; and the printed materials on the subject are few and chaotic. The Gardoqui MSS. in the Durrett Collection, the Gayarré Transcripts in the Louisiana Historical Society, and scattered letters in the Archives of the Indes at Seville, I find, furnish material for a consecutive narrative, and enable us at last to gain a comprehensive view of the Spanish Conspiracy in Tennessee.”17 Gardoqui was keen to take advantage of the separatist sentiment of the western settlements in behalf of Spain. The settlers on the Holston had seceded and formed the State of Franklin, and, Gardoqui thought, were plastic material. He needed an agent to work with them and with the people of the Cumberland settlements relative to an alliance with Spain. He selected as his emissary Dr. James White, who, on November 29, 1786, had been appointed by the United States Government as superintendent for the Southern Department, and instructed by him to make secret proposals on behalf of Spain to the leaders of the disaffected districts and to act in concert with Don Estévan Miro, governor of Louisiana in carrying out the purpose of his mission. Footnote Dr. James White is often confused with General James White, the founder of Knoxville and father of Hugh Lawson White. Dr. James White was elected to represent Davidson County in the Legislative Assembly of the Territory in 1794, and on September 3rd of the same year was elected a Delegate to Congress. (See Ramsey, p. 628.) In 1799 he removed to Louisiana. His grandson, Edward Douglas White, was chief justice of the United States Supreme Court. Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 GENESIS OF THE “CONSPIRACY”In an article entitled “The Spanish Conspiracy in Tennessee,” published in the Tennessee Historical Magazine, Vol. 3, No. 4, Dec. 1917, Dr. Archibald Henderson says: “* * * The Spanish Conspiracy in Tennessee has received comparatively little notice; and the printed materials on the subject are few and chaotic. The Gardoqui MSS. in the Durrett Collection, the Gayarré Transcripts in the Louisiana Historical Society, and scattered letters in the Archives of the Indes at Seville, I find, furnish material for a consecutive narrative, and enable us at last to gain a comprehensive view of the Spanish Conspiracy in Tennessee.”17 Doctor White18 visited Tennessee and interviewed prominent men in both the State of Franklin and the Cumberland settlement, including John Sevier, Joseph Martin, Anthony Bledsoe, and James Robertson. He wrote to Governor Miro on the 18th of April, 1789, as follows: ________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com

Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 THE LAND HUNGER The first settlers on the Cumberland were attracted by the hope of securing large tracts of land. Robertson and Donelson both were drawn by this lure, and when the commissioners previously referred to laid off in 1783 the military grants, and other grants had been made to the aggregate amount of 65,932 acres, the speculation in lands and land warrants became rampant. Footnote This was near Robertson's Station afterwards built west of Richland Creek, West Nashville. Robertson at this time, however, was living at Freeland's Station, for which, see Historic Spots and Places. The famous Nashville Campground was also located near this spring at a later period. Footnote Putnam's Middle Tennessee, pp. 238-241; Imlay's Topographical Description of the Western Territory of North America, p. 586. Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 THE BEGINNING OF THE HARASSMENTS OF SPAIN page 134 The location of the bounty lands also brought the settlements in the Cumberland country a large stream of hardy immigrants who constituted a part of the best population. The advent of the newcomers, the constantly increasing population reaching out for more and more land, added to the irritation of the Indians and caused a new treaty with the Chickasaws and the Cherokees to be concluded at Nashborough in June, 1783. This was held at the Cherokee Spring, on the Charlotte Road.3 This treaty was called at the request of commissioners Donelson and Martin from Virginia and, while it was not favored by Robertson, the settlers, by a small majority, voted to hold it. By this treaty the Cherokees ceded to North Carolina the country extending [p.134] from the Cumberland River south to the ridge separating the waters which flow into the Cumberland from those which flow into Duck River. The terms of this treaty, at first not recognized by the United States, were confirmed by the treaties of Hopewell, concluded with the Cherokees on the 28th day of November, 1785, and with the Chickasaws, on the 10th day of January, 1786, and by the treaty of Holston, concluded with the Cherokees, July 2, 1791.4 ________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com

Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 GOVERNMENT UNDER THE CUMBERLAND COMPACT North Carolina, Cumberland River, January 7, 1783. Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 GOVERNMENT UNDER THE CUMBERLAND COMPACT page 115 The manifold suffering and distresses that settlers here have from time to time undergone, even almost from our first settling; with the desertion of the greater number of the first adventurers, being so discouraging to remaining few, that all administration of justice seemed to cease from amongst us; which, however weak, whether in constitution, administration, or execution, yet has been construed in our favor, against those whose malice or interest would insinuate [p.115] us a people fled to a hiding place from justice, and the revival of them again earnestly recommended; and now having a little respite granted, and numbers returning to us, it appears highly necessary that for the common weal of the whole, the securing of the peace, the performance of contract between man and man, together with the suppression of vice, again to revive our former manner of proceedings, pursuant of the plan agreed upon at our first settling here, and to proceed accordingly, until such times as it shall please the Legislature to grant us the salutary benefit of the law duly administered amongst us by their authority. Footnote See The American Historical Magazine for April, 1902. Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 SUFFERINGS OF THE CUMBERLAND SETTLERS “To the end, previous notice having been given to the several stations to elect twelve men of their several stations, whom they thought most proper for the business, and being elected, to meet at Nashborough the 7th day of January, 1783, accordingly there met at the time and place aforesaid, Col. James Robertson, Capt. George Freeland, Thomas Molloy, Isaac Linsey, David Rounsevall, Heydon Wells, Jas. Maulding, Ebenezer Titus, Sam'l Barton, Andrew Ervin.”4 Footnote North Carolina State Records, Vol. XXIV, pp. 530-531. Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 SUFFERINGS OF THE CUMBERLAND SETTLERS After the adoption of the Cumberland Compact, a land office was opened and the entry-taker was appointed by Judge Henderson in accordance with the agreement. The lands were registered for the nominal fee of $10 per 1,000 acres, but Henderson's Company was never able to secure a “satisfactory and indisputable title.” Hence, no payments were ever made. In 1783 North Carolina declared the purchase of the Transylvania Company void, but gave them 200,000 acres in Powell's Valley.5 Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 THE DARK DAYS Under Robertson's wise and able leadership the settlers began their struggle with the elements, with the wild beasts, with the renegades who came to the settlement as to an asylum, and, above all, with the savage and bloodthirsty Indians. This struggle continued for more than two years before they had firmly intrenched themselves in their wilderness home and had vindicated their claim to the land by right of conquest and occupancy. Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 THE DARK DAYS The winter of 1780 had been of remarkable severity and the spring rainy. Game, though abundant, was lean, yet because of its abundance, there was no thought of immediate or ultimate destitution. But in February the Indians made their appearance and began their atrocities. They did not at first attack the whites, but alarmed the game and dispersed the buffalo and deer which had been accustomed to come to the Lick. So successful were they, indeed, in carrying out this plan that the settlers were forced to travel long distances and incur the danger of being killed by the savages. Remote and separate homes had to be abandoned and the people were closely confined to the stations, principally those at Nashborough and Eaton's. Some remained at Freeland's and a few stayed near Mansker's until the end of the year. Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 THE DARK DAYS page 116 They had no corn and could raise but little. Moreover, their powder and lead, having been used prodigally, began to fail them; and this shortage caused them their keenest apprehension. In this crisis, in the fall of the year, James [p.116] Robertson, with one of his sons and some other men of experience, made a most perilous journey to stations in Kentucky to secure supplies. Footnote For more complete account of this massacre see chapters on Indian Wars and on Historic Spots and Places. This was the first crop of cotton raised in Middle Tennessee. Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 THE DARK DAYS Beginning with the spring and continuing throughout the summer and fall the attacks of the Indians were incessant and deadly. People were killed in the woods, at the springs, and even in the shadow of the stations. The Chickasaws, angered, it is said, by the erection of Fort Jefferson on the Mississippi River, near the mouth of the Ohio and in their territory, attacked the Cumberland settlers and massacred all the inhabitants of Renfroe's Station except one, and killed others. The Indians also killed all but one white man and two negroes who were gathering John Donelson's crop of corn and cotton.6 Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 THE DARK DAYS At this juncture, Robertson returned with a supply of ammunition just in time to save Freeland's Station. In this station, Felix Robertson, son of James Robertson, was born on January 11, 1781. He was the first white child born in Nashville. Footnote For more complete account see chapters on Indian Wars and Historic Spots and Places. Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 THE DARK DAYS The attack on Freeland's Station was made on January 15, 1781, and, through the vigilance of James Robertson, was repulsed.7 Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 THE DARK DAYS Soon after this Colonel Robertson had an interview with Opiomingo, the Chickasaw chief, and made an alliance with him whereby the Chickasaws were detached from the British influences and were ever afterwards the stanch friends and allies of the Cumberland colonists. Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 THE DARK DAYS Other roving bands of Indians, however, kept up their hostilities—Cherokees, Creeks, Chickamaugas, Shawnees, Delawares, and Wyandots. Footnote Ibid. Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 THE DARK DAYS The hardships endured and especially the fear of the Indians caused many of them to leave, including John Donelson and his family, who removed to Kentucky, so that the number remaining became small. Enough remained, however, to defeat the Indians in the Battle of the Bluffs, fought on April 2, 1781.8 Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 THE DARK DAYS Finding that it was impossible for them to take the forts by assault, the Indians resorted to guerilla warfare which proved deadly and exasperating. This sort of warfare was pursued not only in the Cumberland country, but also in the settled portions of East Tennessee, the object of the Indians being to drive the colonists from the entire country by waylaying and killing, preventing agriculture and stealing horses. Footnote See Putnam's History of Middle Tennessee, pp. 127-146. Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 THE DARK DAYS As a result by 1782 affairs on the Cumberland appeared most gloomy.9 Hence a general council was called to consider the advisability of abandoning the Cumberland, which was advocated by many of the best men. Robertson, however, in a strong speech advised them to “fight it out here” and said he would be the last to leave. His spirit and determination prevailed. The project was saved. Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 [p.117] NEW COUNTIES And when it was announced that a treaty of peace between the United States and Great Britain had been signed at Paris on November 30, 1782, the settlers' hopes revived. The Indian warfare relaxed, and besides, their experience enabled them to combat the Indians more successfully. The prodigies of valor displayed in these troublous times by such men as Spencer, Hood, Rains, Castleman, Buchanan and others have never been surpassed in history or in romance even “when knighthood was in flower.” Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 [p.117] NEW COUNTIES In 1783 another county was carved out of Washington County and was named Greene County after Gen. Nathanael Greene. Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 [p.117] NEW COUNTIES In the same year Colonel Robertson, also, was sent by the Cumberland settlers to Hillsboro, which was at that time the capital of North Carolina, to ask the General Assembly to establish a regular land office at Nashborough and to set off a county for the government of the infant settlement. He was successful in both matters. North Carolina established at Hillsborough a land office, under charge of John Armstrong and generally called for that reason, “John Armstrong's Office.” It also established at Nashborough, a land office in the charge of Martin Armstrong. In the Archives of Tennessee are many land warrants issued from both of these offices. Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 [p.117] NEW COUNTIES On April 14, 1783, North Carolina established the county which the Cumberland settlers so sorely needed and named it Davidson County, after Gen. William Davidson, a gallant officer of North Carolina in the Revolutionary war. At that time this county covered the entire territory west of the Cumberland Mountains which was generally called West Tennessee for many years. An Inferior Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions was organized at Nashborough on October 6, 1783, and was invested with large powers. The four justices of the new court had all been Triers and the government proceeded with very little change. Footnote For more complete account see Latitude Hill in the chapter on Historic Spots and Places. Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 [p.117] NEW COUNTIES The State of North Carolina, like the other states, had issued much scrip during the war to pay her officers and men. This scrip was so nearly worthless that the soldiers could not convert it into anything of value. Hence, on the conclusion of the war, it was proposed that this scrip be received for warrants for western lands. Pursuant to the carrying out of this plan, three commissioners, Absalom Tatum, Isaac Shelby and Anthony Bledsoe were appointed, in 1782, commissioners to lay off sufficient land to meet all these grants. They began the work early in 1783.10 Footnote See Historic Spots and Places. Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 THE STATE OF FRANKLIN They ran the “Commissioners' Line” and the “Continental Line” inclosing the new reservation and laid off the 25,000 acre tract given to Gen. Nathanael Greene.11 Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 THE STATE OF FRANKLIN The East Tennessee patriots who won the battle of King's Mountain hastened home with all speed in the fear that, in their absence, the Indians might have attacked the settlements. They returned just in time, for the Cherokees had planned an invasion and were already on their way. Without waiting to muster the entire force, Sevier immediately ordered out the troops of Washington County, marched forward to intercept the enemy and signally defeated them in the battle of Boyd's Creek. He then moved south with a force of 700 mounted men and drove the Indians before him, while he destroyed town after town, until he reached Tellico, which town he spared and at which he met a delegation of Cherokees, who sued for peace. He then marched against the Chickamaugas, destroyed their villages and devastated the country. He still pressed on even into the Creek territory along the Coosa River. The Indians, terrified, begged for peace; a treaty was made and on January 4, 1781, the three commanders, Col. John Sevier, Col. Arthur Campbell and Maj. Joseph Martin, issued a joint address to the Indians, informing them of the terms of permanent peace. ________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com

Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 AUTHORSHIP OF THE CUMBERLAND COMPACT “We are convinced from these comparisons that Judge Richard Henderson was the draftsman and author of the original Cumberland Compact.” Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 GOVERNMENT UNDER THE CUMBERLAND COMPACT Dr. Archibald Henderson says that “two hundred and thirty-odd” signed the Cumberland Compact. As a matter of fact 256 signed it, of whom only one was compelled to make his mark. It must not be assumed, however, that all these names were signed on the same day. They were probably subscribed from time to time as long as the association lasted, that is until 1783, when Davidson County was established. Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 GOVERNMENT UNDER THE CUMBERLAND COMPACT Immediately after the adoption of the agreement, the government provided by it was put in operation. The militia was organized and James Robertson was elected colonel and John Donelson, lieutenant colonel. ________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com

.” Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 THE CUMBERLAND SETTLEMENT It may be said as a final word concerning this battle that the right to the sobriquet, “The Volunteer State,” really begins at this time. When Shelby and Sevier summoned the men of the Holston and the Watauga to volunteer for service against the British commander, Major Ferguson, all responded with the exception of a few notorious Tories; and, when they assembled at Sycamore Shoals, it was necessary to resort to a draft, not to force them to undertake the campaign, but to compel enough men to remain at home to defend their wives, children and possessions from attacks by Indians. Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 THE CUMBERLAND SETTLEMENT While the stirring events narrated in the chapter immediately preceding were taking place, another history-making enterprise was being put on foot—the establishment of the settlement on the bend of the Cumberland River. Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 THE CUMBERLAND SETTLEMENT It will be remembered that James Robertson had been appointed Indian agent with his residence among the Cherokees. He lived with them at Chota and his influence on them was great and salutary. In 1779, he notified the pioneers of the Watauga that the Indians were planning an attack. Thereupon Evan Shelby, anticipating the threatened movement, attacked the savages and completely defeated them. The time was opportune for the location of the settlement at the French Lick. Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 THE CUMBERLAND SETTLEMENT Of this enterprise James Robertson and John Donelson were the leaders. They formed a partnership under the impulse and direction and, more than all else, under the inducements of Richard Henderson. It seems strange, indeed, that historians so generally have ignored Henderson's connection with the Cumberland enterprise. Haywood and Ramsey say nothing of this man who was the directing and controlling impulse in both the colonization and early government of the “wilderness empire of the Cumberland.” Henderson's ability is nowhere seen more clearly than in his selection of his leaders. That he could induce such a man as James Robertson to leave a self-governing community which he had largely founded and where he had a prosperous and happy home to brave again the hardships and dangers of a primeval and almost unknown country, shows most conclusively Judge Henderson's powers of persuasion. John Donelson, too, was a man of standing, substance and influence in Virginia before he came to Tennessee. Yet Roosevelt, following Ramsey and Haywood, says that, after the Virginia Legislature, in 1778, had discountenanced the validity of the Transylvania purchase, Judge Richard Henderson “drifts out of history.” Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 THE CUMBERLAND SETTLEMENT But Dr. Archibald Henderson, a descendant of Judge Richard Henderson says: Footnote Tennessee Historical Magazine, Vol. II, p. 160. Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 THE CUMBERLAND SETTLEMENT page 103 “With the bursting of the Transylvania bubble and the vanishing of the golden dreams of Henderson and his associates for establishing the fourteenth American colony in the heart of the trans-Alleghany region, all might have seemed lost. But is Richard Henderson disheartened by this failure of his imperialistic dreams? Does he, as Mr. Roosevelt crassly affirms, ‘drift out of history’? No; the purest and greatest achievement of his meteoric career still lies before him. The genius of the colonizer and the ambition of the speculator, in striking conjunction, inspire him to attempt to repeat on North Carolina soil, along solidly practical lines, the revolutionary experiment which the extension of the sovereignty of the Old Dominion over the Kentucky area had doomed to inevitable failure. It was no longer his purpose, however, to attempt to found an independent colony, separate from North Carolina and hostile to the American Government, as in the case of the Transylvania, which [p.103] had been hostile to the royal government and founded in defiance thereof. Millions of acres within the chartered limits of North Carolina had been purchased by him and his associates from the Cherokees on March 17, 1775. One of the courses of the Great Grant, as it was called, read: ‘down the sd. (Cumberland) River, including all its waters to the Ohio River’; and James Robertson in his deposition before the Virginia Commissioners, April 16, 1777, describing the Sycamore Shoals Treaty, categorically stated: ‘The Indians then agreed to sell the land as far as Cumberland River and said Henderson insisted to have Cumberland River and the waters of Cumberland River, which the Indians agreed to.’”* Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 THE CUMBERLAND SETTLEMENT Henderson was of the opinion that the Cumberland region was within the limits of North Carolina. Robertson thought it was in Virginia. The truth could be ascertained only by a survey. In 1779, these two states appointed a joint commission to make a survey and extend their boundary. North Carolina appointed Richard Henderson and William B. Smith; Virginia appointed Dr. Thomas Walker and Daniel Smith. Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 THE CUMBERLAND SETTLEMENT While their survey was proceeding, James Robertson, with the untiring energy and sure efficiency which characterized him, proceeded actively to recruit a party for the preliminary exploration. Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 THE CUMBERLAND SETTLEMENT Preceding this time for many years hunters had come into the country surrounding the French Lick. We have already spoken of Charleville, Demonbreun, Dr. Thomas Walker and his party, and of others. As a matter of fact there is no question that numerous parties and individuals ventured into this region, but few of whose names have been preserved and of whose journeys and discoveries there is no verbal or written account. Of those who are known and who made some impress of their presence were: John Rains, Kasper Mansker, Abraham Bledsoe, John Baker, Joseph Drake, Obediah Terril, Uriah Stone, Henry Smith, Ned Cowan, Joseph Holliday and Thomas Sharp Spencer, the last named of whom was the most important. He came in 1776 and remained until the arrival of the permanent settlers in 1779. Haywood, Ramsey, Putnam and other historians tell many ancedotes of him in connection with his gigantic size, strength and fearless intrepidity. Many anecdotes are also told by these historians of other hunters, trappers and traders of these times. These forerunners subserved an indispensably useful purpose in preparing the way for the permanent settlers. In 1778, the first settlement of about a dozen families located near Bledsoe's Lick, now Castalian Springs, in Sumner County. Near this settlement Richard Hogan, Spencer and Holliday planted corn in the same year. “About the same time a number of French traders advanced up the Cumberland River as far as the ‘Bluff,’ where they erected a trading post and a few log cabins.” ________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com

Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 WATAUGA IN THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR In 1778 a land office was opened in the Holston settlements and all the settlers were required to register and make entries according to the North Carolina laws. All of the men in the settlement were required to be at the services of the State as militia in the campaign against the Indians, and the money due them for their services was sufficient to pay for their claims. A wagon road across the mountain also was made, so that by the year 1779, facility of access and increased security from attack by the Indians, following the Treaty of Long Island, although there was never a cessation of hostilities, caused a steady increase in the volume of immigration. As the region became settled, clergymen came in and established churches. As early as 1780 Dr. Samuel Doak established Martin Academy, the first institution of learning located west of the Alleghanies. Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 WATAUGA IN THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR page 91 In 1779 the Indian chief The Dragging Canoe, who refused to take part in the Treaty of Holston, established a force of lawless Indians and a few renegade [p.91] white men down the river from Chickamauga with headquarters at Nickajack Cave. Forthwith they began depredations. Evan Shelby, father of Isaac Shelby, later Governor of Kentucky, was impelled to destroy their rendezvous. In 1779, that part of Washington County which was north of the Holston was cut off and made into the County of Sullivan by the Legislature of North Carolina. In this county the Shelby family were leaders. In Washington County John Sevier was the leader, being looked upon as the militia commander long before he received his commission of County Lieutenant. In the neighboring county of Washington in Virginia, the Campbells were the leading family. Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 WATAUGA IN THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR These frontier leaders were generally jealous of each other. For example, Evan Shelby distrusted John Sevier; Arthur Campbell was jealous of both Sevier and Isaac Shelby, and these two last named men entertained similar feelings toward William Campbell. Hence, it can easily be understood how arose the semi-rancorous attitude of some of these heroes with regard to the credit and praise that properly belonged to them because of their leadership and valorous conduct at the battle of King's Mountain. Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 WATAUGA IN THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR After General Hamilton captured Vincennes in 1777, he sent letters to the British agents in the South urging them to arouse the Indians against the colonists. We have already seen the results of the campaign of the Indians and of the concerted war upon them by the colonists of Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia. Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 WATAUGA IN THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR The British, however, not dismayed by the failure of the Indian war, made strong and successful efforts to crush these colonists and under Cornwallis' triumphant campaigns these colonies in the summer of 1780 lay helpless at their feet. By the end of 1779 they had conquered Georgia. In May, 1780, they captured Charleston, speedily reduced to submission all of South Carolina and then marched into North Carolina. Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 WATAUGA IN THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR Cornwallis had a mixed force of British, Hessians, Tories, Irish volunteers and refugees. As he gained battle after battle the numerous friends to the King's cause flocked to his standard in throngs. This was notably the case after the defeat of Gates at Camden. ________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com

. Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 HENDERSON AND COMPANY In 1774, Boone, not dismayed by his unfortunate encounters with the Indians, to which reference has already been made, advised Judge Henderson that the time was propitious for opening negotiations with the Cherokees for the purchase of the trans-Alleghany region. Henderson, thereupon, to facilitate this desideratum organized a company composed of men of force and action, leaders in the colony, ready to hazard fortune and life itself in efforts for the promotion of this gigantic and alluring enterprise. Those who first composed the company were Richard Henderson, his uncle and law partner, John Williams, and, according to Dr. Archibald Henderson, “in all probability, their close friends Thomas and Nathaniel Hart.” To these were now added Colonel John Luttrell and William Johnston.2 Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 HENDERSON AND COMPANY The men interested met at Hillsborough, N. C., August 27, 1774, and organized a new company called the Louisa Company. In their articles of agreement they stated that their object in acquiring lands from the Indians was for the purpose of “settling the country.” Each partner agreed to “furnish his quota of expenses necessary towards procuring the grant.” They also agreed to become “equal sharers in the property,” and to “support each other with our lives and fortunes.” Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 HENDERSON AND COMPANY page 87 Judge Henderson then visited the Cherokee chiefs at their towns, being accompanied by Col. Nathaniel Hart and with Thomas Price, an experienced Indian trader, as his guide. The Indian chiefs received them kindly and entered seriously upon the negotiations, the result of their first deliberations being that Atta-Kulla-Kulla, the old chief and a young buck and a squaw “attend the said Henderson and Hart to North Carolina and there examine the goods and merchandise which had been by them offered as the consideration of [p.87] the purchase.” The goods which the Louisa Company had bought at Cross Creek (now Fayetteville, N. C.) met the entire approval of the Indians. Footnote Letters to Washington, MS. Division, Library of Congress. Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 HENDERSON AND COMPANY On January 6, 1775, three new partners were added to the company, viz: David Hart, Leonard H. Bullock and James Hogg, and the name of the company was again changed to Transylvania Company. Hillsborough, N. C., was the starting point of the western migration and the pioneers left this place for Sycamore Shoals, on the Watauga, en route for Kentucky. Most liberal terms were offered them and a tremendous sensation was created in North Carolina and Virginia. It seems strange, but such seems to have been the fact that the daring company, headed by Henderson entered into these agreements with their proposed settlers before they had actually acquired the lands from the Indians. Col. Wm. Preston wrote to George Washington concerning the contemplated “large purchase by one Colonel Henderson of North Carolina from the Cherokees * * *. I hear that Henderson talks with great Freedom and Indecency of the Governor of Virginia, sets the Government at Def****ance & says if he once had five hundred good Fellows settled in that Country he would not Value Virginia.”3 Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 HENDERSON AND COMPANY The following account of the treaty and purchase made by the Transylvania Company is from Dr. Archibald Henderson's “Conquest of the Old Southwest,” pages 221-226: Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 HENDERSON AND COMPANY “Early in 1775 runners were sent off to the Cherokee towns to summon the Indians to the treaty grounds at the Sycamore Shoals of the Watauga; and Boone, after his return from a hunt in Kentucky, in January, was summoned by Judge Henderson to aid in the negotiations preliminary to the actual treaty. The dominating figure in the remarkable assemblage at the treaty ground, consisting of twelve hundred Indians and several hundred whites, was Richard Henderson, ‘comely in person, of a benign and social disposition,’ with countenance betokening the man of strenuous action—‘noble forehead, prominent nose, projecting chin, firm-set jaw, with kindness and openness of expression.’ Gathered about him, picturesque in garb and striking in appearance, were many of the buckskin-clad leaders of the border—James Robertson, John Sevier, Isaac Shelby, William Bailey Smith, and their compeers—as well as his Carolina friends John Williams, Thomas and Nathaniel Hart, Nathaniel Henderson, Jesse Benton, and Valentine Searcy. Footnote Ramsey says, p. 117, that it was said to be Oconostota who delivered the animated and pathetic speech. Footnote There is a widespread but erroneous idea that Kentucky means “Dark and Bloody Ground.” The derivation is from the Indian word Kantakee, which means a level tract, a prairie. See “The Conquest of the Old Southwest,” by Henderson, p. 117. Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 HENDERSON AND COMPANY page 88 “Little was accomplished on the first day of the treaty (March 14th); but on the next day, the Cherokees offered to sell the section bargained for by Donelson acting as agent for Virginia in 1771. Although the Indians pointed out that Virginia had never paid the promised compensation of five hundred pounds and had therefore forfeited her rights, Henderson flatly refused to entertain the idea of purchasing territory to which Virginia had the prior claim. Angered by Henderson's refusal, The Dragging Canoe,4 leaping into the circle of the seated savages, made an impassioned speech touched with the romantic imagination peculiar to the American Indian. With pathetic eloquence he dwelt upon the insatiable land-greed of the white men, and predicted the extinction of his race if they committed the insensate folly of selling their beloved hunting-grounds. Roused to a high pitch of oratorical fervor, the savage with uplifted arms fiercely exhorted his people to resist further encroachments at all hazards—and left the treaty ground. This incident brought the conference to a startling and abrupt conclusion. On the following day, however, the savages proved more tractable, agreeing to sell the land as far south as the Cumberland River. In order to secure the additional territory watered by the tributaries of the Cumberland, Henderson agreed to pay an additional sum of two thousand pounds. Upon this day there originated the ominous phrase descriptive of [p.88] Kentucky when Dragging Canoe, dramatically pointing toward the west, declared that a Dark Cloud hung over that land, which was known as the Bloody Ground.5 Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 HENDERSON AND COMPANY “On the last day, March 17th, the negotiations were opened with the signing of the ‘Great Grant.’ The area purchased, some twenty millions of acres, included almost all of the present State of Kentucky, and an immense tract in Tennessee, comprising all of the territory watered by the Cumberland River and all of its tributaries. For ‘two thousand weight of leather in goods’ Henderson purchased ‘the lands lying down Holston and between the Watauga lease, Colonel Donelson's line and Powell's Mountain’ as a pathway to Kentucky—the deed for which was known as the ‘Path Deed.’ By especial arrangement, Carter's Valley in this track went to Carter and Lucas; two days later, for two thousand pounds, Charles Robertson on behalf of the Watauga Association purchased a large tract in the valley of the Holston, Watauga and New rivers; and eight days later Jacob Brown purchased two large areas, including the Nollichucky Valley. This historic treaty, which heralds the opening of the West, was conducted with absolute justness and fairness by Judge Henderson and his associates. No liquor was permitted on the treaty ground; and Thomas Price, the ablest of the Cherokee traders, deposed that ‘he at that time understood the Cherokee language, so as to comprehend everything which was said and to know that what was observed on either side was fairly and truly translated; that the Cherokees perfectly understood what lands were the subject of the treaty. * * *’ The amount paid by the Transylvania Company for the imperial domain was ten thousand pounds sterling, in money and in goods. Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 HENDERSON AND COMPANY “Although Daniel Boone doubtless assisted in the proceedings prior to the negotiation of the treaty, his name nowhere appears in the voluminous records of the conference. Indeed, he was not present then; for a fortnight before the conclusion of the treaty he was commissioned by Judge Henderson to form a party of competent woodmen to blaze a passage through the wilderness. On March 10th this party of thirty-six ax-men, under the leadership of Boone, started from the rendezvous, the Long Island of Holston, to engage in the arduous labor of cutting out the Transylvania Trail.” Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 EVENTS LEADING TO THE BATTLE OF KING'S MOUNTAIN But Henderson was not successful in founding his “state” in Kentucky. Virginia refused to recognize the validity of his purchase, yet rewarded his enterprise by giving him 200,000 acres of his own selection in Kentucky. North Carolina also granted him and his associates 190,000 acres located in Powell's Valley, where some settlers had already made their homes. Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 EVENTS LEADING TO THE BATTLE OF KING'S MOUNTAIN Within a short time after their purchase from the Cherokees had been consummated, and following the action of North Carolina which had appointed a Committee of Safety in each district, the settlers on the Watauga assumed for their country the name of “Washington District.” Although no formal act was passed by the Legislature of North Carolina recognizing the Watauga Association or Washington District, the recognition was virtually made in November, 1776, when Charles Robertson (he spelled it Roberson), John Carter, John Hall, and John Sevier were admitted as delegates to its General Assembly from Washington District. It was not until November, 1777, that North Carolina established Washington County which included all her possessions west of the Alleghany Mountains. Their local affairs were being conducted very harmoniously and their relations with the Indians were amicable, when the war of the Revolution brought about a radical change. Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 EVENTS LEADING TO THE BATTLE OF KING'S MOUNTAIN page 89 [p.89] During the spring of 1776 plans were concerted, chiefly through John Stuart, the Indian superintendent of the Southern District for the British Government, and Alexander Cameron his agent residing among the Cherokees, for uniting the Loyalists and the Indians in a crushing attack upon the Tennessee settlements and the back country of North Carolina. Warning of the approaching invasion had been sent to the Watauga settlers by Atta-Kulla-Kulla's niece, Nancy Ward, the “Pocahontas of the West.” The settlers flocked for refuge into their stations or forts and awaited with steadiness, although with dread for the threatened attacks which were made by two forces aggregating about seven hundred warriors. Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 EVENTS LEADING TO THE BATTLE OF KING'S MOUNTAIN On July 20, 1776, the pioneers marched from Heaton's Station, to the number of one hundred and seventy to meet the Indians, double their number led by The Dragging Canoe. Although they were attacked by another force in the rear, while thus engaged, they signally defeated the Indians. This conflict was called the battle of the Long Island Flats. On the next day the Indians under Old Abraham were repulsed by the small garrison under Robertson and Sevier at Watauga fort, although the siege was maintained by the Indians for several weeks. It was during this siege, according to persistent tradition, that Kate Sherrill, called “Bonnie Kate” was pursued to the stockade by Indians. An athletic young officer, seeing her plight, leaped to the top of the stockade, shot down the foremost savage and leaning over, drew her up and to safety. That officer was John Sevier who, according to true romance, became the husband of the beautiful maiden. Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 EVENTS LEADING TO THE BATTLE OF KING'S MOUNTAIN The details of this and the other Indian wars, in which the Tennessee settlers engaged, are given in the chapter devoted to “Indian Wars and Indian Chiefs,” and, hence, only the main facts are here given to sustain the continuity of historical narration. ________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com

Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 THE LEADERS OF WATAUGA We may well conclude that the committee did not become valueless nor cease to render service until Washington District was annexed to North Carolina, and both the court and committee of safety gave place to the regular government of the State. Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 THE LEADERS OF WATAUGA The members of the Court and of the Committee of Thirteen were all picked men. When the articles of the association were adopted every man of the Watauga settlement signed them. All of them were remarkable men and two of them, Robertson and Sevier, were among the greatest pioneer developers in the history of the United States. Roosevelt says that Robertson and Sevier were two of the three greatest leaders of development west of the Alleghany mountains, the third being George Rogers Clark. Dr. Archibald Henderson naturally adds a fourth, his ancestor, Richard Henderson. The following is a brief statement regarding the five men who composed the court: Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 THE LEADERS OF WATAUGA James Robertson was born in Brunswick County, Virginia, June 28, 1742, of Scotch-Irish ancestry. From early in his youth he displayed the qualities and characteristics which made him great. He was quiet, reflective, conservative, wise, a firm believer in the basic principles of civil liberty and the right of local self government. He was an unusual combination of initiative without rashness and of prudence without timidity. His sound judgment, indomitable courage, great energy, perseverance and knowledge of men's character, together with his acquaintance with the wiles and stratagems of the Indians made him the natural and undisputed leader. He has been called variously “The Father of Tennessee” (by Andrew Jackson), “The Father of Middle Tennessee,” and “The Father of West Tennessee.” He richly deserved each appellation, for he was the leader of the community which began the history of East Tennessee. He was the founder of the Cumberland Settlement from which Middle Tennessee developed; and he was the Indian agent in West Tennessee, where he died September 1, 1814. Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 THE LEADERS OF WATAUGA In his Civil and Political History of Tennessee, page 39, Haywood says of Robertson: Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 THE LEADERS OF WATAUGA “He merited all the eulogium, esteem and affection, which the most ardent of his countrymen have ever bestowed upon him. Like almost all those in America, who have ascended to eminent celebrity, he had not a noble lineage to boast of, nor the escutcheoned armorials of a splendid ancestry. But he had what was far more valuable, a sound mind, healthy constitution, a robust frame, a love of virtue, an intrepid soul, and an emulous desire for honest fame.” Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 THE LEADERS OF WATAUGA Roosevelt says of him: Footnote Winning of the West, Vol. I, pp. 223-224. Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 THE LEADERS OF WATAUGA page 81 “Robertson first came to the Watauga in 1770, he had then been married for two years, and had been ‘learning his letters and spell’ from his welleducated wife; for he belonged to a backwoods family, even poorer than the average, and he had not so much as received the rudimentary education that could be acquired at an ‘old-field’ school. But he was a man of remarkable natural powers, above the medium height, with wiry, robust form, light-blue eyes, fair complexion and dark hair; his somewhat sombre face had in it a look of self-contained strength that made it impressive: and his taciturn, quiet, masterful way of dealing with men and affairs, together with his singular mixture of cool caution and most adventurous daring gave him an immediate hold even upon such lawless spirits as those of the border.”76 [p.81] Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 THE LEADERS OF WATAUGA CABIN OF JOHN SEVIER, ONE OF THE PROMINENT MEN OF THE TIMES WHO SETTLED IN KNOXVILLE ABOUT 1807 Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 THE LEADERS OF WATAUGA page 83 [p.83] John Sevier was born in Rockingham County, Va., September 23, 1745. His ancestors were French Huguenots whose name was Xavier. His educational advantages were limited but he availed himself of them most diligently. He came to the Watauga in 1772 about a year or two later than Robertson's arrival. In almost all respects except highmindedness and courage he was a decided contrast to Robertson. He was a gentleman by birth and breeding. While not a learned man he was extremely intelligent and was a friend and correspondent of many of the most prominent and able statesmen of the times, including Madison and Franklin. It was said that he was the handsomest man in Tennessee during his lifetime. He was tall, fair, with blue eyes and brown hair, of slender build and erect military carriage. He was fluent and gallant, generous and convivial, of a gay and pleasure-loving temperament, yet his manners were polished and he had great natural dignity. He was impulsive, yet, in his campaigns with the Indians, prudent and judicious. He was especially fond of two things, popularity and Indian fighting; and he was successful in both roles. He fought thirty-five battles and all victoriously; and he was undoubtedly the most popular man in Tennessee during his lifetime. He died near Fort Decatur, Alabama, September 24, 1815. Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 THE LEADERS OF WATAUGA John Carter came from Virginia, and was one of the pioneers of Tennessee. He established what was known as Carter's Valley Settlement in 1771 or 1772, but soon left to reside in the Watauga Valley where, by reason of his intelligence and patriotism, he became a leader and was made Chairman of the Committee of Thirteen and also of the Court. He was both wise and popular. Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 THE LEADERS OF WATAUGA Charles Robertson was made a trustee of the Watauga Association. When their lands were leased from the Cherokees and, later, when they were purchased, the conveyance was made to Charles Robertson. He was distinguished for his great good sense and wisdom as well as his essential goodness. Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 WATAUGA OLD FIELDS Zachariah Isbell was popular, trustworthy, having the confidence of the entire community, a fearless soldier and for many years was engaged in the military operations of the country. Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 WATAUGA OLD FIELDS Very few people know what the “Watauga Old Fields” were. Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 WATAUGA OLD FIELDS The explanation of the meaning of this expression made by N. E. Hyder in the American Historical Magazine for July, 1903, is both important and interesting. He says: Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 WATAUGA OLD FIELDS page 84 “Watauga Old Fields, Carter County, Tennessee, made famous as being the first permanent settlement of the Anglo-Saxon race west of the Alleghany Mountains; the place where the first self-constituted court of five was organized and exercised its power; where the first courthouse and jail were erected, and the rendezvous at Sycamore Shoals of the heroes of King's Mountain, has a history that antedates all this perhaps by a thousand of years. Judge Andrew Greer, an Indian trader and the first settler in these ‘Old Fields’ (attracted by their beauty and fertility), asked the Cherokee chiefs about them and was told that they were ‘always there.’ They had neither knowledge or tradition of when or by whom they had been occupied. It is the intention of this paper to record a [p.84] few things concerning these ‘Old Fields’ and their inhabitants as gathered by personal observation and investigation. Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 WATAUGA OLD FIELDS “The land embraced in and surrounding the ‘Watauga Old Fields’ is as old as any in the United States as evidenced by forests of fir, pine, stunted oak and tamarack such as are now found in latitudes much farther north. Petrified wood is found in abundance. Through these forests must have roamed the reindeer and elk. Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 WATAUGA OLD FIELDS “That it was inhabited at a very early period is proven by the stone tools, ornaments and weapons both of the paleolithic and neolithic ages. The ‘Watauga Old Fields’ proper extended from the mouth of Stony Creek down the river to the mouth of Buffalo Creek at the bend of the river, about eight miles. And wherever there was a level or bottom piece of land along any river or creek in Carter County, there was an old field or deserted village, as proven by finding stone implements, broken pottery or kitchen-middens and stone mills of various sizes from one-half bushel down to one-half pint. A large cemetery was known to be about one-half mile northeast of Elizabethton from which had been taken beads, stone axes, arrow points, pottery (whole) and a few copper implements. But the high water of 1901 exposed other cemeteries in these ‘Old Fields’ with like deposits in them and rough stone knives, or scrapers, ‘pear shaped.’ Two peculiar stones have been found, one a rough sandstone about twenty inches long and five inches in diameter with a groove around the center polished like the groove around the stone axe; the other is the tool that was used in cutting these grooves and polishing stone implements of utility, war and ornament. It is in the shape of a common oil stone used by carpenters to sharpen their plane bits and other tools and is about six inches long by three-fourths of an inch thick and so hard that tempered steel will scarcely scratch it. From the careful burial of their dead we are led to believe that they had knowledge of the Oriental world either through history or tradition, for in all Oriental countries peculiar honors have always been paid to the remains of the dead. These graves that have been washed open in the ‘Watauga Old Fields’ where tradition made no mention of a grave, have all been placed east and west, a perpetual monument to Masonic integrity. Their burial custom according to Masonic usage shows that they were civilized and practiced the ancient and ‘mystic rites’ of the Masonic order. In these graves are found clay coffins nearly two inches thick and curved to fit the dead body (many fragments as large as the hand are yet to be seen). From the depth of the implements, pieces of bone and clay coffins we infer that the dead body was placed near the surface of the earth and the coffin constructed around and over it either of moistened or baked clay and then mounded with dirt or sand. Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 WATAUGA OLD FIELDS “There is no evidence here of forts, houses or places of worship. Ashes and coal have been dug out several feet below the surface of the earth. That the country was densely populated is proven by the number of these ‘Old Fields’ themselves and the large cemeteries already exposed. That they were an agricultural race is shown by the ‘Old Fields’ themselves and the rude implements of husbandry found. The inhabitants were industrious for they had the rough implements and material of nearly every craft of ancient times. That they were warlike is shown by their weapons. That they had tribal organization is shown by the large cemeteries. A few tumuli found in the gaps of the higher mountains show that they were superstitious. Who they were and whence they came and what became of them will perhaps remain a mystery—for all ages to come. They are as completely lost as the ‘lost tribes of the children of Israel,’ unless they are a part of these tribes. Reasoning from his gregarious customs, implements or husbandry, pottery, etc., we may connect him with either the Incas of South America, the Toltecs of Central America or the Aztecs of Mexico. This is a reasonable inference, but not conclusive. Whether he was a white or a colored man is a matter of mere conjecture. ________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com

Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 CHARACTER AND ORIGIN OF THE EARLY SETTLERS OF TENNESSEE A MOUNTAIN MILL Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 CHARACTER AND ORIGIN OF THE EARLY SETTLERS OF TENNESSEE A POUNDING MILL Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 THE WATAUGA SETTLEMENT page 67 [p.67] Few of the Scotch-Irish came to America before the year 1700. Within two or three decades after this date, however, they began literally to swarm across the Atlantic. Most of them disembarked at Philadelphia and drifted south along the eastern escarpment of the Allegheny Mountains and down the valleys into Virginia and the Carolinas. Some came by way of Charleston and from this point pushed up into the back country. A few only came by other routes. Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 THE WATAUGA SETTLEMENT The various treaties concerning the boundaries of white settlement, entered into with the Indians, had an important bearing upon the establishment of Watauga Settlement, of Carter's Valley Settlement and the Nollichucky Settlement. The Cherokee boundary established by Governor Tryon, in 1767, and by John Stuart, in 1768, extended to the mouth of the Great Kanawha River. In 1763 the King of England had issued a proclamation that no treaties must be made with the Indians unless with his express permission. Therefore, when, by the treaty of Fort Stanwix, on November 5, 1768, negotiated for Virginia by Dr. Thomas Walker and Gen. Andrew Lewis, the Six Nations sold to the Crown their nebulous title to a large stretch of country, including all the land between the Ohio and Tennessee rivers, a strong migration to the southwest took place, because the colonists assumed that this new tract was open for settlement. This movement was most marked along the southwest border of Virginia toward and into the valley of the Holston River. Governor Botetourt of Virginia, realizing that the settlers were pressing on into the Indian country, sought further negotiations with the Cherokees who had made vehement complaints in regard to the unauthorized invasion of their lands. They also laid claim to the lands ceded by the Six Nations. Accordingly, a new treaty was made at Lochaber, South Carolina, on October 18, 1770, whereby a new line was established. This line ran as follows: Beginning at the intersection of the North Carolina-Cherokee line, a little more than seventy miles east of Long Island in the Holston River, thence west to a point six miles east of Long Island; thence to the mouth of the Great Kanawha River. A strong influx of population poured into the additional territory thus made available for the settlement. Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 THE WATAUGA SETTLEMENT In 1769 or 1770, William Been located on the Watauga, as has been related. Probably in 1771 Parker and Carter set up a store near the present city of Rogersville in Hawkins County and the community soon formed about it was called Carter's Valley Settlement. Probably in 1771, Jacob Brown, with one or two families, settled on the Nollichucky River and opened a store for trade with the Indians. Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 THE WATAUGA SETTLEMENT page 68 [p.68] The line established by the treaty of Lochaber was surveyed in 1771 by Col. John Donelson. The surveying party was accompanied by some Indian chiefs, of whom Atta-Kulla-Kulla (the Little Carpenter) suggested that they be paid an extra consideration of £500 for which the line might be run to the mouth of the Great Kanawha. The line was so run, although the extra consideration was not paid. Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 THE WATAUGA ASSOCIATION The inhabitants of the three settlements thought they were in Virginia until, in 1771, Anthony Bledsoe, a surveyor of experience, proved that, upon the extension of the boundary line, these settlers would be found to be within the limits of North Carolina. Thereupon, in 1772, Alexander Cameron, Indian agent resident among the Cherokees, a deputy of John Stuart, required “all persons who had made settlements beyond the said line to relinquish them.” The inhabitants of the Brown Settlement on the Nollichucky withdrew to the Watauga. The Watauga Settlement and the Carter's Valley Settlement remained undisturbed. Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 THE WATAUGA ASSOCIATION The plight in which the Watauga settlers now found themselves was indeed desperate. True, the whites and the Indians were at peace and the settlers so far were undisturbed, but they could not remain in this anomalous situation. Representatives of the settlers met and deputed James Robertson and John Been, as Fisk said, “to treat with their landlords.” As we have already seen in Fisk's article, the attempt was successful, the land was leased from the Indians for ten years. Prior to taking this step, however, they found themselves compelled to organize a civil government under which to live. The need was urgent. They could not look for protection to Virginia, for they were not within the limits of that colony. To appeal to North Carolina was futile, because conditions in that colony were turbulent and disorderly and the government had more trouble on its hands than it could well handle in its long settled districts. So that it was useless to appeal to it for aid in governing a remote region like the Watauga. They proceeded, therefore, to form an association for their own guidance, protection and government. By reason of his force of character and his familiarity with associations which had been formed in North Carolina, James Robertson was naturally looked to as the leader of this unprecedented movement. Footnote The Conquest of the Old Southwest, pp. 197-198. Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 THE WATAUGA ASSOCIATION Dr. Archibald Henderson declares the convention which adopted the Articles of Association to be “the first governmental assemblage of free-born American citizens ever held west of the Alleghenies. The government then established was the first free and independent government, democratic in spirit, representative in form, ever organized upon the American continent.”7 Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 THE WATAUGA ASSOCIATION Governor Dunmore in a letter to Lord Dartmouth, dated May 16, 1774, says: Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 THE WATAUGA ASSOCIATION “They appointed magistrates, and framed laws for their present occasion, and to all intents and purposes, erected themselves into, though an inconsiderable, yet a separate State.” He also said in the same letter that it “sets a dangerous example to the people of America, of forming governments distinct from and independent of his Majesty's authority.” Footnote Annals of Tennessee, p. 107. Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 THE WATAUGA ASSOCIATION page 69 Doctor Ramsey says of the Articles of Association: “They formed, it is [p.69] believed, the first written compact for civil government anywhere west of the Alleghanies.”8 Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 THE WATAUGA ASSOCIATION Roosevelt says: Footnote The Winning of the West, Vol. I, p. 231. Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 THE WATAUGA ASSOCIATION “They decided to adopt written articles of agreement, by which their conduct should be governed; and these were known as the Articles of the Watauga Association. They formed a written constitution, the first ever adopted west of the mountains, or by a community composed of American-born freemen. It is this fact of the early independence and self-government of the settlers along the headwaters of the Tennessee that gives to their history its peculiar importance. They were the first men of American birth to establish a free and independent community on the continent.” Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 THE WATAUGA ASSOCIATION Furthermore, it became the precedent and exemplar for Transylvania, Franklin and Cumberland, all of which formed independent governments. Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 THE WATAUGA ASSOCIATION The Watauga settlers assembled in a convention, somewhat similar to the town meetings still held in the New England states. This convention was held at Robertson's station and probably all the stations were represented. They elected a court of five as follows: Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 THE WATAUGA ASSOCIATION John Carter, ex-officio chairman John Sevier Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 THE WATAUGA ASSOCIATION Charles Robertson Zach. Isbell Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 THE WATAUGA ASSOCIATION James Robertson Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 THE WATAUGA ASSOCIATION Other Officers Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 THE WATAUGA ASSOCIATION William Tatham, clerk Lewis Bowyer, attorney Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 THE WATAUGA ASSOCIATION A sheriff was also authorized; but his name is not given. Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 THE WATAUGA ASSOCIATION The five members of the court were the real ruling body and had entire control of all matters affecting the common weifare. All affairs in controversy were settled by them; and all their proceedings were noted for the prudence and moderation with which they behaved in their peculiar position. Roosevelt expresses great admiration for the praiseworthy conduct of this court in the conduct of their difficult duties in which many mistakes might easily have been made. He says: Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 THE WATAUGA ASSOCIATION “They were careful to avoid embroiling themselves with the neighboring colonial legislatures; and in dealing with non-residents they made them give bonds to abide by their decision, thus avoiding any necessity of proceeding against their persons. On behalf of the community itself, they were not only permitted to control its internal affairs, but also to secure lands by making treaties with a foreign power, the Indians; a distinct exercise of the right of sovereignty. They heard and adjudicated all cases of difference between the settlers themselves; and took measures for the common safety. In fact the dwellers, in this little outlying frontier commonwealth, exercised the rights of full statehood for a number of years; establishing in true American style a purely democratic government with representative institutions, in which, under certain restrictions, the will of the majority was supreme, while, nevertheless, the largest individual freedom, and the utmost liberty of individual initiative were retained. The framers showed the American predilection for a written constitution or civil compact; and, what was more important they also showed the common-sense American spirit that led them to adopt the scheme of government which should in the simplest way best serve their needs, without bothering their heads over mere high-sounding abstractions. Footnote The Winning of the West, pp. 233-234. Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 THE WATAUGA ASSOCIATION page 70 “The court or committee held their sessions at stated and regular times, and took the law of Virginia as their standard for decisions, they saw to the recording of deeds and wills, settled all questions of debate, issued marriage licenses, and carried on a most vigorous warfare against law breakers, especially [p.70] horse thieves. For six years their government continued in full vigor; then, in February, 1778, North Carolina having organized Washington County, which included all of what is now Tennessee, the governor of that state appointed justices of the peace and militia officers for the new county, and the old system came to an end. But Sevier, Robertson and their fellow committeemen were all members of the new court, and continued almost without change their former system of procedure and direct and expeditious methods of administering justice; as justices of the peace they merely continued to act as they acted while arbitrators of the Watauga Association, and in their summary mode of dealing with evil-doers paid a good deal more heed to the essence than to the forms of law.”10 Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 THE WATAUGA ASSOCIATION As an example of the expeditious methods of this court it may be said that, in one case, a culprit charged with horse-theft was arrested on Monday, tried on Wednesday, and hung on Friday of the same week. Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 THE WATAUGA ASSOCIATION In 1775 the Committee of Thirteen was chosen, viz.: Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 THE WATAUGA ASSOCIATION John Carter, chairman William Been Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 THE WATAUGA ASSOCIATION Charles Robertson John Jones Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 THE WATAUGA ASSOCIATION James Robertson George Russell Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 THE WATAUGA ASSOCIATION Zach. Isbell Jacob Womack Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 THE WATAUGA ASSOCIATION John Sevier Robert Lucas Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 THE WATAUGA ASSOCIATION James Smith William Tatham Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 THE WATAUGA ASSOCIATION Jacob Brown ________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com

Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 CHARACTER AND ORIGIN OF THE EARLY SETTLERS OF TENNESSEE “This vanguard of the army of westward advance, independent Americans in spirit with a negligible sprinkling of Loyalists, now swept in a great tide into the northeastern section of Tennessee.”4 Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 CHARACTER AND ORIGIN OF THE EARLY SETTLERS OF TENNESSEE While it would be stultification to affect blindness to the manifest and, indeed, manifold shortcomings of the early pioneers, explorers and settlers in Tennessee, yet their strong and good qualities were transcendent and predominant. They were a virile and prepotent people, the progenitors of men who, but a little later were among the rulers of the nation. These frontier folk, moreover, became, and are now, the most peculiarly and characteristically American people on this continent. Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 CHARACTER AND ORIGIN OF THE EARLY SETTLERS OF TENNESSEE For the most part they were Scotch-Irish and pure Anglo-Saxon. Roosevelt, in his “Winning of the West,” p. 134, says of them: Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 CHARACTER AND ORIGIN OF THE EARLY SETTLERS OF TENNESSEE “The backwoodsmen were Americans by birth and parentage, and of mixed race; but the dominant strain in their blood was that of the Presbyterian Irish—the Scotch-Irish, as they were often called. Full credit has been awarded the Roundhead and the Cavalier for their leadership in our history; nor have we been altogether blind to the deeds of the Hollander and the Huguenot; but it is doubtful if we have wholly realized the importance of the part played by that stern and virile people, the Irish, whose preachers taught the creed of Knox and Calvin. These Irish representatives of the Covenanters were in the west almost what the Puritans were in the northeast, and more than the Cavaliers were in the south. Mingled with the descendants of many other races, they nevertheless formed the kernel of the distinctively and intensely American stock who were the pioneers of our people in their march westward, the vanguard of the army of fighting settlers, who with axe and rifle won their way from the Alleghanies to the Rio Grande and the Pacific.” Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 CHARACTER AND ORIGIN OF THE EARLY SETTLERS OF TENNESSEE In a foot note on the same page, he says: Footnote General Andrew Lewis, who built Fort Loudon in 1756. The reference is to the battle of Point Pleasant on the Ohio River, fought on Oct. 10, 1774, between the northwest Indians, largely Shawnees, and the Virginia troops ordered out by Governor Dunmore. In that battle Capt. Evan Shelby, father of Isaac Shelby, commanded a company of men from what is now Sullivan and Carter counties, Tennessse. Among them were James Robertson and Valentine Sevier. Footnote Col. William Campbell of Virginia, commander in the battle of King's Mountain. Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 CHARACTER AND ORIGIN OF THE EARLY SETTLERS OF TENNESSEE page 65 “Among the dozen or so most prominent backwoods pioneers of the west and southwest, the men who were the leaders in exploring and settling the lands, and in fighting the Indians, British and Mexicans, the Presbyterian Irish stock furnished Andrew Jackson, Samuel Houston, David Crockett, James Robertson; Lewis,5 the leader of the backwoods hosts in their first great victory over the northwestern Indians; and Campbell, their commander in their first great victory over the British.6 The other pioneers who stand beside the above were such men as Sevier, a Shenandoah Huguenot; Shelby, of Welsh blood; and Boone and Clark, both English stock, the former from Pennsylvania, the latter from Virginia.” [p.65] ________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com

Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 THE FIRST SETTLERS IN TENNESSEE A powerful Cherokee chief had refused to join in the treaty, persisting in his attachment to the British; and, with a few adherents, went down the Tennessee River, dissatisfied, and commenced a new settlement at a place called Chickamauga. Numbers followed him, prompted by a disposition to plunder and carnage. Discord ensued; and injuries to the whites, perpetrated by this mischievous party, became so frequent, following almost in contact with each other, that chastisement could no longer be delayed. Accordingly, in 1779, an expedition for that purpose was undertaken commanded by Isaac Shelby,* the late governor of Kentucky, then a resident of Washington County. It was directed especially against Chickamauga. Peaceable Indians were not to be molested. It proved effectual. Chickamauga fell; and the hostile wretches, partly disabled and partly intimidated, were for the present innocuous. (Char's note: this Chief was Dragging Canoe the son of Attacullaculla and cousin of Nancy Ward) Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 THE FIRST SETTLERS IN TENNESSEE Impelled by the pressure from behind and the great desire to better their condition in a new and rich land, settlers in the western parts of Virginia and North Carolina braved the terrors and the privations of the wilderness, crossed the mountains and established homes for themselves in what is now East Tennessee. They did not come in companies, nor was the movement by any means a concerted or organized migration. They came singly or in small parties, generally of those who had been neighbors or friends in their former communities. Those from Virginia thought they were still in that colony when they had passed into North Carolina. Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 THE FIRST SETTLERS IN TENNESSEE Dr. Archibald Henderson, in his introduction to “The Conquest of the Old Southwest,” says: Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 THE FIRST SETTLERS IN TENNESSEE “The prime determinative principle of the progressive American civilization of the eighteenth century was the passion for the acquisition of land.” * * * Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 WILLIAM BEENThis is the way he spelled his name. His son, Russell, the first white child born in Tennessee, spelled it Bean.1 “The second determinative impulse of the pioneer civilization was wanderlust—the passionately inquisitive instinct of the hunter, the traveler, and the explorer.” Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 WILLIAM BEENThis is the way he spelled his name. His son, Russell, the first white child born in Tennessee, spelled it Bean.1 The credit for establishing the first home in Tennessee is generally given to William Been. It may be so. Yet it is possible that he was antedated by one Honeycut, whose prenomen is not known. In 1770, when Robertson came into the Watauga region he found Honeycut there living in a hut. Robertson lived with him and raised a crop that year. Then, attempting to recross the mountains, he became lost and wandered for fourteen days. At length, by fortunate chance, he met two hunters through whose aid he was enabled to reach his home in safety. Soon afterwards he returned to Watauga with a few others and settled there. Footnote The Conquest of the Old Southwest, p. 182. Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 WILLIAM BEENThis is the way he spelled his name. His son, Russell, the first white child born in Tennessee, spelled it Bean.1 page 64 Most authorities say that William Been came to Watauga in 1769 and erected a log cabin at the mouth of Boone's Creek. Gradually a settlement grew up around him composed largely of the families of the Regulators whom the tyranny of Governor Tryon had driven out of North Carolina. The Regulators were bands of men organized in North Carolina and then in South Carolina to put down highwaymen and to correct many abuses in the back country including the tyrannies of the government. “The uprising of these bold and resolute, simple and imperfectly educated people, which had begun as a constitutional struggle to secure justice and to prevent their own exploitation by [p.64] dishonest lawyers of the county courts, now gave place to open anarchy and secret incendiarism.”2 Footnote Ibid., p. 183. Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 WILLIAM BEENThis is the way he spelled his name. His son, Russell, the first white child born in Tennessee, spelled it Bean.1 Governor Tryon and his officers and the ruling classes generally were not broad enough in their sympathies to see that justice only was sought by an oppressed people, but thought that an insurrection was in progress threatening property, life and government. “The governor called out the militia of the province and led an army of well-nigh one thousand men and officers against the Regulators, who had assembled at Alamance to the number of 2,000. Tryon stood firm upon the demands that the people should submit to government and disperse at a designated hour. The Regulators, on their side, hoped to secure the reforms they desired by intimidating the governor with a great display of force. The battle was a tragic fiasco for the Regulators, who fought bravely, but without adequate arms or real leadership. With the conclusion of this desultory action, a fight lasting about two hours (May 16, 1771), the power of the Regulators was completely broken.”3 Footnote Ibid., p. 190. ________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com