Samuel Barton was an important early settler. He is mentioned in a number of histories on the Cumberland settlement. I found this internet site on the Barton family - _http://bartonsite.org/Newsletters/Spring_2006.htm_ (http://bartonsite.org/Newsletters/Spring_2006.htm) Look under family histories for Samuel Barton of Middle Tennessee. Look for Haywood's History of Tennessee, Putnam's History of Middle Tennessee and you should find information about Barton and many other early Middle Tennessee pioneers. Seedtime on the Cumberland and Flowering of the Cumberland both by Harriette Simpson Arnow are among my favorites. The Southwest Territory 1790-1796 by Walter Durham is another good one. In many case your local library can borrow these books for you on interlibrary loan. You can do a search at amazon.com or abebooks.com if you would prefer to purchase them. Also look for "The Preemptors, Middle Tennessee's First Settlers by Irene Griffey. Ms. Griffey published this book, listing the preemptor grants, a few years ago. Preemptor grants were given to heads of house and males over the age of 21 who were living on the land in what is now Middle Tennessee before the first day of June 1780. A 1784 petition by the settlers to North Carolina added the heirs of those killed in the defence of the settlements, those who arrived shortly after the June 1st date and males who were under 21 on June 1st but came of age soon after. There were other early important settlers who arrived too late to receive a preemptors grant. Not every settler signed the Cumberland Compact and the reason is not known. Perhaps they were at a remote location preparing fields or building a house. A commonly believed and often published myth about the Cumberland Compact is that each settler except one signed his own name, which indicated that the majority of the settlers were literate. An examination of the original doument shows instead, that many of the names were in groups, written by one hand. James Robertson for example signed his own name and then wrote the name of number of other settlers. Another commonly believed and often published myth is that the main fort or station in the Cumberland settlements was called Fort Nashborough by the residents. A search of the Draper manuscripts which contains many first hand accounts of the lives of the pioneers of Davidson County shows that it most often referred to as the French Lick Station by the settlers. It was called Fort Nashborough in early documents and referred to that way by a few settlers but the majority preferred French Lick Station. Here are some links with information about the early settlers. If the links don't work for you I am sorry. Try typing the web address into your browser instead. _http://freepages.folklore.rootsweb.com/~nashvillearchives/published.html_ (http://freepages.folklore.rootsweb.com/~nashvillearchives/published.html) _http://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/usgenweb/tn/wilson/bios/bradley.txt_ (http://ft p.rootsweb.com/pub/usgenweb/tn/wilson/bios/bradley.txt) _http://www.tennesseehistory.com/class/FoundingTN.htm_ (http://www.tennesseehistory.com/class/FoundingTN.htm) _http://www.wnfoundersmuseum.org/foundfamilies.htm_ (http://www.wnfoundersmuseum.org/foundfamilies.htm) If your ancestor ended up in Sumner County you might find information here. _http://www.rootsweb.com/~tnsumner/index.html_ (http://www.rootsweb.com/~tnsumner/index.html) But remember it all started with Davidson County! (http://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/usgenweb/tn/wilson/bios/bradley.txt) ************************************** See what's free at http://www.aol.com.