Brown, Aaron Venable, lawyer, congressman,
governor, cabinet officer, was born Aug. 15, 1795, in Brunswick County, Va. He
received a good education in the public and private schools of his native
state. He served for a number of years in the state legislature of Tennessee;
and in 1839-45 he was a representative from Tennessee to the twenty-sixth,
twenty-seventh and the twenty-eighth congresses. In 1845-47 he was the tenth
governor of Tennessee. In 1857-59 he was postmaster-general; and filled
numerous other positions of trust and honor. He died March 8, 1859, in
Washington,
D.C.
[Herringshaw’s National Library of
American Biography: Contains Thirty-five Thousand Biographies of the
Acknowledged Leaders of Life and Thought of the United States, by William
Herringshaw, 1909 – Transcribed by Therman
Kellar]
CLAIBORNE, John (1777-1808), (son of Thomas Claiborne [1749-1812] and brother of Thomas Claiborne [1780-1856]), a Representative from Virginia; born in Brunswick County, Va., in 1777; pursued academic studies; was graduated from the medical department of the University of Pennsylvania at Philadelphia in 1798 and practiced; elected as a Republican to the Ninth and Tenth Congresses and served from March 4, 1805, until his death in Brunswick County, Va., on October 9, 1808; interment in the family burying ground of Parson Jarratt, Dinwiddie, Va.
(Source: Biographical Directory of the US Congress
1774-Present. Submitted by Linda Rodriguez)
CLAIBORNE, Thomas (1749-1812), (father of John Claiborne and Thomas Claiborne [1780-1856], uncle of Nathaniel Herbert Claiborne and William Charles Cole Claiborne, granduncle of John Francis Hamtramck Claiborne, and great-great-great-great granduncle of Corinne Claiborne Boggs), a Representative from Virginia; born in Brunswick County, Va., February 1, 1749; member of the State house of delegates 1783-1788; served as colonel in command of the Brunswick County Militia in 1789; sheriff of Brunswick County 1789-1792; member of the State senate 1790-1792; elected as an Anti-Administration candidate to the Third Congress; reelected as a Republican to the Fourth and Fifth Congresses (March 4, 1793-March 3, 1799); unsuccessful candidate for reelection to the Sixth Congress; elected as a Republican to the Seventh and Eighth Congresses (March 4, 1801-March 3, 1805); died on his estate in Brunswick County, Va., in 1812.
(Source: Biographical Directory of the US Congress
1774-Present. Submitted by Linda Rodriguez)
FIELD, COLONEL EVERARD MEADE
Born in Greenville County, Virginia, July 18,
1831, is the son of Theophilus A. Feild, who was born in Brunswick County,
Virginia, and died in 1857, and Jane Wyatt, also now deceased. Theophilus A.
Feild was a son of Dr. Richard Feild, also of Brunswick County. At Washington,
D. C., May 17, 1852, Rev. Horace Stringfellow officiating, Everard M. Feild
married Maria Louisa Fox. She was the daughter of S. Moylan Fox, now deceased,
and Louisa Linton, and was born in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, September 15,
1836. Mrs. Feild died at her husband's residence in Petersburg, on August 3,
1884. Their children were eleven, born in the order named : Fannie B., Edward
W. (died January, 1857), Jessie V., Louisa L., Everard M., Theophilus A.,
Hubbard M., Mary C. and Lizzie F., twins, Henry B., Moylan C.
Colonel
Feild went to school in Greenville County, Sussex County, and at Petersburg.
He left school at the age of sixteen years, and went into the wholesale
grocery business, in which he continued until his marriage. He then went to
Greenville County, where he farmed until the war. He entered the Confederate
States Army as captain of Company F, 12th Virginia Infantry, which
regiment was assigned to Mahone's brigade. In 1862 he was made major of the
regiment; in 1863 was promoted lieutenant colonel, and at battle of the
Crater, 1864, was promoted colonel. He was slightly wounded in second battle
of the Wilderness, while in command of Mahone's brigade sharpshooters, and
severely wounded at Spottsylvania C. H., May 12, 1864. He served till the
close of the war, and was in battles of Seven Pines, Sharpsburg, and second
Wilderness; commanded regiment in battles of Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville,
Gettysburg, Culpeper C. H., Spottsylvania C. H., Mine Run and several
others.
After
the close of the war Colonel Feild returned to Greenville county, where he
farmed until 1870, when he came to Petersburg as express agent for the A. M.
& Ohio It. R., with which company he remained until, in 1885, he accepted
his present position, deputy collector of United States Internal Revenue;
service at Petersburg.
[Source: Virginia and Virginians: History of Volume
2; by Robert Alonzo Brock, Virgil Anson Lewis; publ. 1888; Pages 634 to 659;
transcribed by Andrea Stawski Pack 2011]
FIELD, COLONEL WILLIAM M.
Is a son
of Dr. John A. Feild, who was born in Brunswick
County, Virginia, was long an honored resident of
that county, and is now deceased. His mother, whose maiden name was Mary H.
Bolling, died on Christmas day, 1861. He was born in Brunswick County, on May 15, 1837. At the outbreak
of the War Between the States, he entered the Confederate States Army, and
received a commission, in April, 1861, as second lieutenant of Company I,
3rd Virginia Cavalry. He received subsequent promotion to captain,
then to lieutenant-colonel, and served till the close of the war, wounded at
Halls Shop, Virginia, and again at Five Forks.
At Petersburg, October 24, 1877,
Colonel Feild married Mary H. Hargrave, and they have three children, John C.,
Mary P. and William M., Jr.; Mrs. Feild was born in Dinwiddie County, the daughter of Col. Charles
Hargrave, now deceased. Her mother, whose maiden name was Mary Hillsman, is
living at Greenville,
Kentucky. Colonel Feild is
proprietor of a tobacco warehouse, and has been treasurer of Dinwiddie County for seventeen years, ever since
the office was created.
[Source: Virginia and Virginians: History of Volume 2; by Robert Alonzo Brock,
Virgil Anson Lewis; publ. 1888; Pages
634 to 659; transcribed by Andrea Stawski Pack
2011]
HURT, Samuel
J.,
Born in Nottoway County, Virginia,
in 1820, is a son of Merewether Hurt, who was born in Lunenburg County, was a
resident of Virginia through life, and is now deceased. His mother, whose
maiden name was Amy Ann Morgan has been some years dead. In Brunswick County,
Virginia, in 1865, he married Julia E. Stith, and their children are two sons,
Pelham and Samuel J., Jr.; Mrs. Hurt was born in Brunswick County, in 1868 the
daughter of Needham Washington Stith, now deceased. The subject of this sketch
went to school in early days in his native county, then was two years in the
dry goods business with L. L. Parsons, of Petersburg, when about sixteen years
old. Subsequently he returned to school, in Dinwiddie County, attended
Jefferson Academy, and prepared himself for the practice of medicine.
Abandoning that idea, he returned to Petersburg and entered into the grocery
and commission business, in which he continued until the civil
war.
He entered the Confederate service
in 1861, with the Petersburg Cavalry, volunteers to the State service, and was
made company quartermaster, the company going to Norfolk. Soon after he was
detached, and made post quartermaster at Suffolk, where he remained until the
evacuation; was then transferred to the commissary department and served in
same till the close of the war. He then returned to Petersburg having, as may
be recorded of many whose sketches appear in these pages, sacrificed
everything but life and honor to the cause, and began life again, building up
a business from the foundation, resuming the same line he was engaged in
before the war—groceries and commission.
[Source: Virginia and Virginians: History of Volume 2; by Robert Alonzo
Brock, Virgil Anson Lewis; publ.
1888; Pages 634 to 659; transcribed by Andrea Stawski Pack
2011]
JONES, Freeman
W.
Was born in Brunswick County,
Virginia, on August 7, 1846. He is a son of Francis Fitzgerald Jones, who was
born inNottoway County, Virginia, and who died in
Brunswick County, in August, 1863. His mother died
in that county, also, in 1856. She was Sally Green Thweatt, born in Dinwiddie County. At Lawrenceville, Brunswick County, October 23, 1872, Revs. J. H.
Morrison and O. A. Glazebrook officiating clergymen, Freeman W. Jones married
Harriett Randolph Morrison, who was born in Lawrenceville. Their children are
seven: Lucia Hackley. Carrie Morrison, Freeman W., Jr., Meade Bernard,
Harriett R., Fanny Stewart, Sally Thweatt. Mrs. Jones is the daughter of Dr.
E. A. Morrison, and his wife Lucia Hackley, formerly of Lawrenceville, both
now deceased.
Mr. Jones
attended the common schools of his native county for six years only. He
entered the Confederate States Army at the age of seventeen years, in April,
1864, Company E, 56th Virginia Infantry, a regiment serving in
Hunton's brigade, Pickett's division. He was wounded near Petersburg, August 24,
1864; was captured March 31, 1865 and held at Point Lookout until June 14,
1865. He farmed for some three years after the war. At the age of twenty-three
years he was elected sheriff of Brunswick
County and in that
capacity he served nine years, by subsequent re-elections. Then he resigned
this office, to accept a position tendered as inspector of tobacco, Center
Warehouse, Petersburg, where he has remained ever since. He is the present
city sergeant of Petersburg, elected in May,
1888.
[Source: Virginia and Virginians: History of Volume 2; by Robert Alonzo
Brock, Virgil Anson Lewis; publ.
1888; Pages 634 to 659; transcribed by Andrea Stawski Pack
2011]
LENOIR, William
Born in Brunswick County, Virginia, April 20, 1751; removed to Tarborough, North Carolina, and settled near Wilkesborough.
At the outbreak of the revolution he was clerk of the Surry County committee of safety. He was lieutenant in Gen.
Griffith Rutherford's campaign against the Indians in 1776, and was afterwards a captain in Benjamin Cleveland's
regiment against the Tories. At King's Mountain he was wounded in the arm and side, and at the defeat of Col. Pyle,
near Haw River, a horse was shot from under him.
After the war he was made a justice by Congress and afterward by the State Assembly. He was a member of the Assembly,
and from 1781 till 1795 a State Senator, and presiding officer for five years.
He took an active part in the Hillsborough Convention for the adoption of the Constitution of The United States.
At the organization of the state university of North Carolina in 1790 he was chosen president of the board.
For the last eighteen years of his life he was major-general of militia. A town and county in North Carolina were
named in his honor.
He died in Fort Defiance, Wilkes County, North Carolina, May 6, 1839
Transcribed and Submitted by: Frances Cooley
Pryor,
Luke, lawyer, U. S. senator, representative in congress, was born
July 5, 1820, near Huntsville, Madison County, and died August 6, 1900, at
Athens; son of Luke and Anne Batte (Lane) Pryor, the former a native of
Virginia, who was first married to Martha Scott, sister of Gen. Winfield
Scott, and who lived at Petersburg, Va., until after his second marriage in
1808, when he moved to Brunswick and later Nottoway Counties Va., and came to
Alabama in 1820, first locating in Madison County, near Huntsville, where he
farmed and taught school for a few years, and later moving to Limestone
County, where he died in June, 1851; grandson of John and Anne (Bland) Pryor,
the former a native of England, who came to America about 1700, and purchased
land in Virginia, and of Benjamin and Sylvia (Perry) Lane, natives of
Virginia, who lived in Brunswick County, Va.; great-grandson of Samuel and
Prudence (Thornton) Pryor, and of Richard and Ann (Poythress) Bland, who lived
at Jordan's Point, Va.;
great-great-grandson of Col. William Thornton of Gloucester County, Va, Mr.
Pryor received his early education at Mooresville, Limestone County, and for a
short time was a student at Washington college, near Natchez, Miss. He began
the study of law in 1841 under Judge Daniel Coleman, and received a license to
practice in the local courts the same year. He entered into a partnership with
Robert C Brickell, the late chief justice of the supreme court of Alabama, and
continued that association until 1843; was law partner of Col. Egbert Jones
for a short time; was appointed with Gen. Leroy Pope Walker as bank attorney
at Decatur, 1844; was re-appointed in 1845 with D. C Humphries as attorney for
the same bank; resigned that position later in the year, continuing the
practice of law in connection with farming at Athens; was elected to the State
legislature in 1855, pledged to the work of securing authority to subscribe
two hundred thousand dollars to the capital stock of the Tennessee and Alabama
central railroad company, at Nashville and Decatur, and secured the bill
raising that tax, enacted over the veto of Gov. Winston; entered into a
partnership with George S. Houston in 1866, which lasted until 1874, when Mr.
Houston was elected governor; continued his practice alone until in December,
1879, when he was appointed by Gov. Cobb to the U. S. senate to fill the
vacancy caused by the death of Mr. Houston; served as senator from December
31, 1879, until the legislature met in November, 1880, when he declined to be
a candidate to complete the unexpired term; abandoned the law and gave his
attention to farming, remaining in quiet life for two years, until in 1883,
without his knowledge, he was nominated for representative in congress from
the eighth district by acclamation at the convention assembled in Decatur. He
was elected and served 1883-1885, declining a second term.
Married: August 20, 1845, to Isabella Virginia
Harris, born January 7, 1826, in Limestone County, who died in June, 1889,
daughter of John H. and Frances (Rowzee) Harris, natives of Virginia, who
lived in Albemarle County, Va., the former a captain in the War of 1812;
granddaughter of Matthew and Elizabeth (Tate) Harris, and of John and Isabella
(Miller) Rowzee, of Essex County, Va.; greatgranddaughter of William and Mary
(Netherland) Harris; great-great-granddaughter of Matthew and Elizabeth (Lee)
Harris. Children: 1. Aurora, Athens, m. Robert A. McClellan, deceased; 2.
William Richard, deceased, m. Ida Harris, Harris; 3. Memory, Athens, m.
William Shirley Peebles, deceased; 4. Anne Batte Lane, deceased, m. Maclin
Sloss, Birmingham; 5. Frances Snow, Athens; 6. Isabella Benjamin, d. in
infancy; 7. Mary, m. Thomas Bass Leslie, West Point, Miss.; 8. Harriett Emily, deceased, m.
Robert J. Lowe (q. v.). Last residence: Athens.
[History of Alabama and dictionary of Alabama biography,
Volume 4 By Thomas McAdory Owen, Mrs. Marie (Bankhead) Owen, 1921 –
Transcribed by AFOFG]
ROBERTSON. James; founder ofNashville, Tenn., was
born in Brunswick county, Va., June 28, 1742.
Taken at the age of eight to Wake county, N. C., and brought up on a frontier
farm, his only learning was that of the woods. In 1769, having crossed the
Blue Ridge with Daniel Boone, he stopped in w
hat is now Watauga county, N. C., and planted corn. Hither he returned in the
spring of 1770 with sixteen families of settlers, supposing they were in
Virginia,
whereas the region belonged to the Cherokees. Here, in a valley between the
mountains, the colonists lived in peace for some years, making terms with the
Indians. John Sevier (q. v.) joined them in 1772, and built a fort, which, in
July, 1776, was besieged by the Cherokees under Oconostota, who had opposed
the cession of the land and now acted with the British. Robertson was Sevier's
lieutenant in the defense of this fort, and was afterward employed to watch
and restrain the Indian chief. In 1779, after exploring the Cumberland Valley, he led a party thither, settling on the site
of Nashville
on Christmas day. Here the 256 settlers were far beyond the confines of
civilization and surrounded by savages, who harassed them almost from the day
of their arrival. More than one-fourth of them were soon killed, others left,
and a rise of the river threatened their means of subsistence. The colonists,
diminished by nearly half, implored Robertson to give up the enterprise and
return to the east, but he said that he would remain alone, if necessary.
Provisions running low, he, with three followers, passed through the dangerous
woods to Kentucky, found his friend Bonne, and
procured a supply. It was soon needed, for his fort was invested in April,
1781, by 1,000 Cherokees. He had hardly detached the Choc taws and Chickasaws
from the service of England and made a treaty with the
Cherokees, when trouble came from another quarter. The Spanish authorities of
Louisiana,
jealous of encroachments in their direction, set on the half-breed, Alex
McGillivray, chief of the Creeks, against him. Robertson had to defend the new
settlement from 1784. By this time he had a little army of 500 frontiersmen;
his valor and ability overcame heavy odds, and his patriotism refused all
inducements to organize a separate state in alliance with Spain. See Bishop C. F. Robertson's
"Attempt to Separate the West from the American Union," 1885. This conflict lasted until 1796. and
during its last six years he held the U. S. commission of
brigadier-general. In his later years he was U. S. Indian Agent. Though of
little education, his valor, ability and firmness gave him rank next to Sevier
in the early history of his adopted state. His life was written by A. W.
Putnam, 1859. (See also J. R. Gilmore's "Rear-Guard of the Revolution," 1886,
and "Harper's Magazine" for February, 1888, pp. 420-426.) He died in the
Chickasaw region, Tenn., Sept. 1, 1814.
{Source: The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography,
Volume 2; Publ. 1906, by James T. White, George Derby; Transcribed and
submitted by Andrea Stawski Pack.}
James Robertson, one of the men who paved the way
for civilization in what is now the great State of Tennessee, was born in
Brunswick county, Va., June 28, 1742.
When he was about eight years of age his parents removed to North
Carolina, settling in Wake county, not far from the city of Raleigh. In that day schools were few in number
and inferior in character, so that his education was acquired chiefly in the
woods and in cultivating the frontier farm, supplemented by reading such few
books as came into his hands. His
inclination was far more in the direction of adventure than study. Surrounded as he was in his youth by
miles of unbroken forests, he early felt a desire to explore their hidden
recess, and, like Alexander the Great, sighed for new worlds to conquer. When he was about twenty-five years
old he married Charlotte R. Reeves, but even home ties could not curb the
adventurous spirit. About two
years after his marriage the neighborhood where he lived was visited by Daniel
Boone, who described in eloquent language the beauty and fertility of the
country beyond the mountains to the westward. The settlers selected Roberson to go
with Boone, examine the country and report. Accordingly, in the early spring of
1769, equipped with the long rifle that was a part of every frontiersman’s
outfit, a goodly supply of powder in a large horn, a pouch well filled with
bullets, a bag of parched corn and a tin cup, and mounted on a good horse, he
set out on his mission. They
crossed the Blue Ridge and descended into what was then the Watauga country in
North Carolina, now Eastern Tennessee, where they found a settler in the
person of William Bean, who had first visited the region with Boone some eight
or ten years before. A hunter and
trapper named Honeycutt had also pitched his cabin in the valley, not far from
the “Watauga Old Fields.” Pleased
with the prospect, Roberson decided to stop there and plant a crop of
corn. This he did, making his
home with Bean and Honeycutt until the corn was ready to gather in the
autumn. When his corn was safely
stored he set out on his return to Wake country, taking with him a good supply
of parched corn and a small amount of dried venison, as he was to depend upon
his trusty rifle to supply him with meat on the homeward journey. Unfortunately, the fall rains set in
about this time, and before he knew it his powder was thoroughly soaked. He placed the powder horn nest to his
skill and tried to dry the precious grains with the warmth from his body, but
all in vain. This reduced him to
the necessity of living on short rations, while he made all speed to reach
home before his food gave out entirely.
As he saw his little store of parched corn daily growing smaller he
tried to eke out a subsistence by gathering the nuts of the chestnut and beech
trees, but the time lost in hunting the nuts only delayed his arrival at home,
so that little was gained by the process. Near the western base of Yellow
mountain exhausted nature gave way, and he sank unconscious to the
ground. He was found in this
condition by two hunters, who revived him, remained with him until he fully
regained his strength, then gave him a supply of powder and accompanied him a
short distance to see that he was all right, after which they disappeared in
the forest. Robertson never
learned the names of his rescuers.
The following spring he led a party of eighty men, women and children,
with a number of cattle and horses, to the Watauga country, where they founded
a settlement. The corn Robertson
had raised the previous season served to furnish bread and food for the
animals, while the men depended upon the game with which the forests abounded
for a supply of meat. They
thought they were in the State of Virginia, and it was not until the spring of
1772 that they learned they were in the Cherokee country. In that year the line of
36° 30’ was run by John Donelson, who
daughter afterward became Mrs. Andrew Jackson, and it was found that the
settlement was some thirty miles south of the Virginia boundary. By this tie the settlement numbered
some 200 people, with about 40 able-bodied men among them. The Cherokees made no objection to the
whites living in their country, and so far the most amicable relations had
existed between the two races.
But the white people wanted to own their homes and not be dependent
upon the whim of an Indian chief, which might at any time change. To add to their discomfiture, King
George III, had, in October, 1763, issued an edict, forbidding private persons
from purchasing lands from the Indians.
Soon after the line had been established the British Indian agent,
Alexander Cameron, visited the settlement, informed the whites that they were
trespassers on the Cherokees and that they must vacate or they would be
removed by British troops. In the
meantime the little colony had been joined by John Sevier and the Shelbys,
Evan and Isaac, father and son.
Robertson had come to be by common consent the leader of the colony,
but upon the arrival of Sevier the honors were divided between them. Cameron took Sevier and Robertson to
one side and intimated in rather broad terms that on payment of a certain sum
to him they would be allowed to remain unmolested. Both scorned the idea of a bribe, and
the agent departed. Then the
settlers decided to evade the king’s order by leasing the lands from the
Indians. A council was
accordingly called and agreement made by which the whites were to have
undisputed possession of the Watauga Old Fields for a term of eight years, in
consideration of goods amounting to about $5,000. When this agreement was ratified
several days were spent in festivities.
On the last day, while a game of ball was in progress, a shot was fired
from ambush and one of the most popular of the young Cherokee braves fell to
the earth a corpse. The Indians
immediately withdrew, highly offended to think that they had been
betrayed. They were unarmed, or a
tragedy might have been enacted then and there. Investigation developed the fact that
the shot had been fired by a man named Crabtree, whose brother had been
murdered some time before by another tribe, and he chose this inopportune time
to wreak his revenge. No sooner
had the Indians left than a council was called and it was decided to send
Robertson to them to explain matters, and if possible regain their
good-will. His mission was to
travel alone for 150 miles through the forest, where danger might lurk behind
every tree, to Echota, the village of Oconostota, the head chief of the
Cherokees. But Robertson was a
man who never shrank from danger nor shirked a duty. Kissing his wife good-by, he set out
on his perilous undertaking.
When near Echota he fell
in with a trapper named Isaac Thomas, who was a warm friend of
Oconostota. Robertson remained
with Thomas all night and the next morning his host accompanied him to the
Indian village. A council was
called, and although Robertson could see on the faces of the Indians looks
that boded him no good, he walked fearlessly into the council circle. He explained that the traitor who
fired the fatal shot did not belong to his company, that he would be found and
punished by the whites, who desired to treat their red brethren as friends,
and that the Cherokees were always welcome to visit the settlement. As he proceeded several expressive
“Ughs!” were heard around the council, and when he had finished Oconostota
rose and said: “What our white brother says is like the truth. What say my brothers? Are not his words good?” And from the assembled chiefs came
back the reply immediately: “They
are good!” The incident is
mentioned here to show the influence Robertson had over the Indians. He had to remain for several days with
the Cherokees, though he knew that his friends, especially his wife, would count the hours until
he returned. During his absence
Sevier built a fort, covering about an acre of ground, the four sides being
strong log cabins connected by a heavy stockade, so that if Robertson failed
to appease the wrath of the Indians the settlers would be in a position to
defend themselves. After
Robertson made his visit to Echota the settlement enjoyed four years of peace
and prosperity, though both Robertson and Sevier took part in what was known
as Lord Dunmore’s war, fighting against Cornstalk at the mouth of the Kanawha,
where Isaac Shelby turned the tide of battle by a flank movement. By another treaty with the Cherokees,
March 17, 1775, the colony bought the land where the Watauga settlement stood,
but in some way some of the Indian chiefs, among whom was Oconostota, became
dissatisfied with the terms of sale.
On July 21, 1776, the fort was attacked by a large force of Cherokees
under Oconostota, but after a siege of twenty days, the chief, hearing that
reinforcements were on the way to the relief of the fort, withdrew. None of the settlers who remained with
the fort during the siege were hurt, but the forty rifles in the hands of
skillful marksmen wrought fearful havoc among the savages. In the spring of 1779 Robertson
accompanied by seven white men and one negro, made a trip to the Bluffs, or
French Lick, on the Cumberland river, which place had been visited by Kasper Mansker
some ten years before.
Being favorably impressed with the location as a suitable site for a
settlement, he next went to Illinois to secure from George Rogers Clark “cabin
rights” for the colonists he proposed to bring to the Cumberland valley. Upon his return to Watauga it was
decided to send the women and children with a suitable guard by water, by way
of the Tennessee, Ohio and Cumberland rivers, while another party, composed
exclusively of men, made their way overland. This overland party was led by
Robertson in person, and left Watauga in November, 1779. It consisted of 200 men, well mounted
and armed, and equipped with the necessary supplies and utensils for
establishing a new settlement.
The party reached the Bluffs on Christmas day, and at once began the
construction of a fort. This was
the beginning of Tennessee’s capital.
The old fort stood at what is now the foot of Church street, in the
city of Nashville. The other
party, consisting of thirty-three men and about 130 women and children, under
the leadership of John Donelson, already mentioned, did not embark on the
Tennessee river until Dec. 22, 1779, owing to the delay of occasioned by the
construction of pirogues or dugouts for the voyage. The troubles encountered by this party
were numerous and grave. All
along the banks of the Tennessee were Indian villages, and the emigrants were
frequently fired upon. On one
occasion, while hugging the shore opposite the village, they were fired upon
from ambush at short range and several were wounded. But a fearful retribution was visited
upon the savages. Several of the
whites were afflicted with small-pox and were placed in a boat by
themselves. This boat was made to
keep some distance behind the others.
It was attacked by the Indians and all the inmates killed. The disease spread among the tribe,
and hundreds fell victims to its ravages. The party that had gone out under
Robertson had about given up all hope of ever seeing their relatives again, as
the whole winter passed without tidings from Donelson. But on April 24, 1780, the community
was startled by the roar of the little four-pounder on board the Adventure, the largest scow in
Donelson’s fleet, and in a little while families were reunited and the
settlement at Nashville took on new life. The hardships of that colony were
severe. Over sixty of the whites
were killed by predatory gangs of Indians and a considerable number returned
to North Carolina. Those who
remained implored Robertson to abandon the enterprise, but with that dogged
determination which was characteristic of the man he declared that he would
remain, even if everyone else left the place. A sudden rise in the Cumberland river
destroyed a lare portion of their first crop, and this
added to their sufferings.
Robertson, taking three men with him, traversed the woods lying between
him and Kentucky, keeping a sharp lookout for hostile Indians, found his old
friend, Daniel Boone, and from him obtained a supply of provisions, In April, 1781, the place was attacked
by about 1,000 Cherokees. Some
time was spent in warring or negotiating with them, as well as with the
Chickasaws and Choctaws, and he had hardly established amicable relations with
those tribes when the Creeks, under the notorious half-breed, Alexander
McGillivray, incited by the Spanish authorities of Louisiana, began hostile
demonstrations against this frontier settlement. For three years Robertson stood out
against fearful odds, receiving reinforcements at different times, until in
1784 he had an army of some 500 men, whose valor and marksmanship could not be
surpassed. He received numerous
invitations from the Spanish to unite with them in forming a separate
government in the Mississippi valley, but his patriotism was of that
unflinching kind that rejected all such offers. The troubles with the Indians
continued until 1796, and during the latter part of the contest he held the
commission of the United States as a brigadier general. He died in the Chickasaw country,
Sept. 1, 1814. A few years ago a
monument was erected to his memory at Nashville, and was unveiled with
suitable ceremonies.
Notable
Men of Tennessee, Vol. I, Publ. 1905. Transcribed by Nancy
Overlander
WITHERS, Jones Mitchell, planter,
lawyer, merchant, editor, legislator, and major-general C S. Army; was born
January 12, 1814, in Huntsville, and died March 13, 1891, in Mobile; son of
John Wright and Mary Herbert (Jones) Withers, the former a planter and native
of Dinwiddie County, Va., the latter a daughter of William Frederick Jones,
and a native of Brunswick County, Va. The family to which General Withers
belonged was of English descent, registered in 1487, in the College of Arms,
and settled in Fairfax County, Va., in 1745, descendants of Col. Augustine
Claiborn of "Windsor," King William County, Va. He attended the Greene academy
in Huntsville until he was seventeen years of age, going from there to the
military academy at West Point, from which he graduated July 1, 1835,
resigning December 5, 1835, and returning to his home in Huntsville. In May of
the following year he enlisted for the Indian campaign, on the staff of
Major-General Patterson, and was later transferred to General Jessup's staff.
In 1838 he was admitted to the bar and later became private secretary to
Governor Clay, and secretary of the senate. He removed to Tuscaloosa, where he was elected a director of the State bank. In
1841, he made his home in Mobile, where he practiced law, and was a commission
merchant. He was appointed lieutenant-colonel April 9, 1847, of the 13th
Alabama infantry regiment, for the War with Mexico, and on September 13 of the
same year was appointed colonel of the 9th Alabama infantry regiment. He
resigned May 23, 1848, and returned to commercial life in Mobile. In 1855, he
was elected a representative from Mobile County, on the American ticket; was
mayor of Mobile, 1858-61. At the outbreak of the War of Secession he was
commissioned colonel of the 3rd Alabama infantry regiment, and was promoted
brigadier-general, July 10, 1861, and commanded the defenses of Mobile. On
September 12, 1861, the war department of the Confederate States placed him in
charge of the State of Alabama and that portion of Mississippi east of
Pascagoula River.
His command, known as the "Army of Mobile," was extended on December 20, 1861,
westward, so as to include Pascagoula Bay and that portion of Mississippi east of Pearl River.
In the battle of Shiloh, April 6-7, 1862, he commanded the 2nd division of the
2nd corps, and later the 2nd division of the 1st corps, and was promoted
major-general August 16, 1862, to rank from April 6, 1862. On October 7, 1862,
he was detached from General Bragg's army and sent to reinforce Gen. Kirby
Smith near Salvisa, Ky. On February 6, 1864, he was assigned to the northern
district of Alabama. At the close of the war he became the editor of the
"Mobile Tribune." He was a Democrat; Mason; and a Presbyterian. Married:
January 12, 1837, Rebecca Eloise, daughter of Hon. Daniel Morgan and Harriet
(Brevard) Forney, both of Lincoln County, N. C., the latter a descendant of
Gen. Peter Forney and of Capt. Alexander Brevard of the Revolution. Children:
1. Harriet Brevard, m. Major Daniel E. Huger, who served on the staff of his
father-in-law, Major-General Withers, and was by him, on July 14, 1864,
recommended to be appointed brigade-commander; 2. Daniel Forney, deceased; 3.
Mary Jones, m. Gen. Bryan M. Thomas; 4. Sylla McDowell, m. H. E. Witherspoon,
deceased; 5. Jones Mitchell, deceased; 6. Charles Hopkins; 7. Herbert,
deceased; 8. Eloise Forney, deceased; 9. Virginia
Clay, m. G. B. Cleveland, deceased; 10. Daicey L. , m. Collier Humphreys,
deceased. Last residence: Mobile.
[History of Alabama and Dictionary of Alabama Biography, Volume
4 by Thomas McAdory and Mrs. Marie (Bankhead) Owen, 1921 - Transcribed by
AFOFG]
