TN General Assembly Bios

TN General Assembly Biographies
Hawkins County, TN

Amis, James (1790-1871)

 

SENATE, 16th General Assembly, 1825-27; representing Hawkins and Sullivan counties; political affiliation not indicated. Born at Big Creek, near Rogersville, Hawkins County on November 6, 1790; son of Thomas and Lucy (Haynes) Amis. Educations received from "field schools;" farmer in Carter’s Valley, New Providence, Hawkins County. Married in Hawkins County in 1814 to Mary G. Armstrong, daughter of William and Elizabeth (Galbraith) Armstrong; thirteen children--William Armstrong, Louisiana A. (Mrs. Pleasant Henderson), Almyra, Julia F. (Mrs. David Lyons), James Leander, Stanwix Hord, Mary, Thomas Haynes, Sarah Elizabeth, Lucy Haynes, Henry Bradford, Matilda (Mrs. James J. Johnson), and Annie P. Amis (Mrs. James A. Rogan). Frequent juryman in Hawkins County; defeated for sheriff in 1844. Member New Providence Presbyterian Church; Overton Lodge #5, F.&.A.M. On committee for improvement of navigation on Holston River, 1839. Died at New Providence October 14, 1871; buried in New Providence Presbyterian Churchyard. Son of Thomas Amis, sometime member Provincial Congress and North Carolina General Assembly.

 

Sources: Elizabethton Tennessee Whig, June 13, 1839; Hawkins County Miscellaneous Records, pp. 1, 8; Hawkins County Will Book 2, p. 99; information supplied by Prentice Price, Rogersville.

 

Amis, Thomas (1744-1797)

 

North Carolina SENATE, 1788, 1789; representing Hawkins County (then North Carolina, now Tennessee). Born in Middlesex County, Virginia, on January 1, 1744; son of John and Mary (Dillard) Amis. Married (1st) in Northampton County, North Carolina, on January 26, 1763, to Alice Gale, daughter of Thomas and Mary (Griffith) Gale. Eleven children--Tabitha (Mrs. John Cox), Frances (Mrs. Richard Grantham), Mary (Mrs. Joseph Rogers), Elizabeth, John Rachel (Mrs. James Hagan), Willis, Lincoln, Alice Gale (Mrs. John Gordon), Thomas Gale and Penelope Amis. He was married (2nd) on March 26, 1787, to Lucy Haynes, daughter of Francis and Ann (Smith) Haynes; four children--Haynes, William, James, and Nancy Amis (Mrs. Jesse Howell). Amis went to what is now Hawkins County c. 1781, erected a stone house three miles above Rogersville, around which he built a fort for protection against the Indians; shortly thereafter added a store, blacksmith ship, distillery, grust and saw mills, a tavern, school, forge, and post office. Amis had previously been a member of the Provincial Congress, 1776; a justice of the peace; served as superintendent of commissary, with the rank of captain in the 3rd Regiment of Continental troops. Member of the Society of the Cincinnati. Died at his home on Big Creek in Hawkins County on November 18, 1797; buried at that place. Father of James Amis; grandfather of John A. Rogers, sometime members Tennessee General Assembly.

 

Sources: Williams, Lost State of Franklin, 315-16; Rosters and Soldiers, 196; Acklen, Tombstone Inscriptions, 188; Ray, Tennessee Cousins. 85; Hawkins County Miscellaneous Records, pp. 1-8, 27; Hawkins County Will Book I, 1797-1886, p. 1; information supplied by Prentiss Price, Rogersville.

 

Ball, John (1813-1863)

SENATE, 29th General Assembly, 1851-53; representing Greene and Hawkins counties; HOUSE, 31st General Assembly, 1855-57; representing Hawkins County; Democrat. Born at Van Hill, Hawkins County, on August 12, 1813; son of Wesley and Sarah (Bailey) Hall. Received little formal education; self-taught, and became well-educated man. Possessed one of the few libraries in Hawkins County; merchant, farmer, lay preacher, and justice of the peace. Married c. 1833 in Hawkins County to Rebecca Kelly, daughter of Jonathan and Patience (Spencer) Kelly. Eight children--Martha Jane (Mrs. Garrett Jones), Spencer A., Patience (Mrs. Robert Carlton), Sarah (Mrs. Henry Gardner), John Wesley, M.M., W.K., and B.F. Ball. Postmaster at Van Hill, 1837-1855. Founded the Beach Creek Baptist Church at Van Hill in 1843; messenger to Holston Association, 1844-1863; clerk and treasurer of the Beach Creek Church. Recruited for the Confederacy during the Civil War; ambushed on Jonesboro, Washington County; removed to his home and died there on October 11, 1863. Buried int eh Ball Family Cemetery at Van Hill. Grandfather of James Robert Gardner, sometime member Tennessee General Assembly.

 

Source: Information supplied by descendent, Mrs. Clifford Maxwell, Johnson City.

 

Baugh, Michael (1805-1852)

 

HOUSE, 23rd General Assembly, 1839-41; representing Hawkins County; Democrat. Born in Virginia in 1805, exact place and date and names of parents not found. Occupation: silversmith, with business in Rogersville, Hawkins County, as early as 1835; justice of the peace, 1839-1848. The maiden name of his wife, Isabella, whom he married c. 1825, is not known; children--John Eliza, Roxana, Isabella, Leonidas, William, and Martha Baugh; there were perhaps others. Died in Bradley County on September 28, 1852; place of burial not given.

 

Sources: Goodspeed, History of Hawkins County, 878; Hawkins County Circuit Court Minute Book, 1817-1845, p. 48; U.S. Census, 1850, Bradley County; information supplied by Prentiss Price, Rogersville.

 

Bradley, Orville Thomas Caldwell (1794-1845)

 

HOUSE, 20th General Assembly, 1833-35; representing Hawkins County; SENATE, 21st General Assembly, 1835-37, 2nd session only; replaced John McGaughey; representing Greene and Hawkins counties; Democrat. Born in Hawkins County on October 25, 1794; son of William and Nancy (Caldwell) Bradley. Studied privately; attended Greeneville College; studied law under Hugh Lawson White at Knoxville, Knox County, and licensed in 1817 to practice law. Never married. Lawyer, living near New Canton, Hawkins County. Amassed great wealth. Trustee of Martin Academy, 1817; in 1831 was one of the sponsors of the Railroad Advocate, published at Rogersville, Hawkins County, and the first journal devoted exclusively to the promotion of railroads. Unsuccessful for State Senate in 1823. Member Presbyterian Church. Died at Rogersville on September 28, 1845; buried in New Providence Presbyterian Churchyard, Stony Point, Hawkins County. Son of William Bradley, sometime member Tennessee General Assembly.

 

Sources: Knoxville Register, October 15, 1845; Goodspeed, History of Hawkins County, 876, 878; Rogersville Review, April 9, 1953; Hawkins County Will Book 1, p. 61; information supplied by Prentiss Price, Rogersville.

 

Bradley, William (1764-1845)

 

HOUSE, 7th and 9th General Assemblies, 1807-09, 1811-13; representing Hawkins County; Democrat in later life. Born in Culpepper County, Virginia, on April 20, 1764; names of parents not given. Early settler of Hawkins County; owner of considerable property, including the plantations, "Oak Well" and "Solitude." Married in Hawkins County on April 17, 1793, to Nancy Caldwell, daughter of Thomas and Delphia (Ballard) Caldwell. Two children-- Orville Thomas Caldwell and Louisa Bradley (Mrs. Joshua Phipps). In War of 1812; 1st major, 2nd Regiment, East Tennessee Volunteers under General John Cocke, 1813-14. Member Presbyterian Church; Overton Lodge #5, F.&.A.M., Rogersville. Died in Hawkins County on April 14, 1845; buried in New Providence Presbyterian Churchyard, Stony Point. Father of Orville Thomas Caldwell Bradley, sometime member Tennessee General Assembly.

 

Sources: Hawkins County Miscellaneous Records, p. 42; Hawkins County Will Book I, Pt. 1, 1797-1866, p. 57; information supplied by Prentiss Price, Rogersville.

 

Critz, Philip (1792-1879)

 

HOUSE, 24th General Assembly, 1841-43; representing Hawkins County; SENATE, 25th and 26th General Assemblies, 1843-47; representing Greene and Hawkins counties; HOUSE, 33rd General Assembly, 1859-61; representing Hawkins County; Democrat. Born in Botetourt County, Virginia, on November 27, 1792; son of John and Susan (Crobarger) Critz, both natives of Pennsylvania. Farmer; owned a mill and tanyard and land on Patterson’s Creek, near New Canton, Hawkins County. The name of his first wife is unknown; by her he had one daughter--Mary Critz (Mrs. David Kincaid). He was married (2nd) in Hawkins County on October 14, 1847, to Mrs. Ann (Kincaid) McPheeters Thurman, daughter of David and Rebecca (McPheeters) Kincaid; no children. Member Methodist Church; Masonic Order. Died in Hawkins County on May 27, 1879; buried at Old Union Church Cemetery, near New Canton.

 

Sources: Hawkins County Will Book I, p. 518-19; Hawkins County Court Minutes, 1871-77, p. 366; Knoxville Register, November 10, 1847; information supplied by Prentiss Price, Rogersville.

 

Donelson, Stockley (1752-1805)

 

HOUSE, State of Franklin, 1785; representing Spencer County (now known as Hawkins); Speaker of the House; North Carolina SENATE, 1787; representing Hawkins County (then North Carolina, now Tennessee); Territorial Assembly, 1794, 1795; representing Hawkins County; Franklinite. Born in Halifax County, Virginia, in 1752; son of Colonel John and Rachel (Stockley) Donelson. Educated in field schools; surveyor and land speculator. Survey of Sullivan County, 1782; appointed surveyor for western lands by North Carolina legislature, 1784; surveyor-general for North Carolina; surveyor-general for State of Franklin. Captain, Sullivan County militia; major, Hawkins County militia, 1787; appointed by Governor Blount as lieutenant-colonel commandant of Territorial militia, 1790. Married in Raleigh, Wake County, North Carolina, on April 17, 1797, to Mrs. Elizabeth (Glasgow) Martin, daughter of James Glasgow; no children. He later lived in Knox County, and spend his few years in Davidson County, where he died in September 1805. Son of Colonel John Donelson, sometime member North Carolina House of Burgesses and surveyor of the line between North Carolina and Virginia; son-in-law of James Glasgow, North Carolina Secretary of State; brother-in-law of Andrew Jackson, 7th President of the United States.

 

Sources: Draper Manuscripts, 2XX57; Armstrong, Notable Southern Families, II, 101; Williams, Lost State of Franklin, 87, 306, 313-14; Burke, Emily Donelson of Tennessee, I, 62-63, 118; II, 99; Rosters and Soldiers, 579; Donelson File, Tennessee State Library; information supplied by Prentiss Price, Rogersville.

 

Dyer, Joel (1754-1825)

 

SENATE, 2nd General Assembly, 1797-99; representing Hawkins County (2nd session only; replaced Joseph McMinn, resigned). Born in 1754, place not determined; son of John and Elizabeth Dyer, who later lived in Christian County, Kentucky. Went to Tennessee c. 1792 and settled on Poor Valley Creek, near Mooresburg, Hawkins County. In 1796, appointed 2nd major of Hawkins County militia; sometime justice of the peace, Hawkins County; may have been in the War of 1812. About 1800 he removed to Rutherford County; involved in many land transactions; with the opening of the Western District he removed to Madison County, 1821. Inherited land from both his father and father-in-law. He was married (1st) to Sophia (Weston?), by whom he is said to have had fourteen children, the names of only five being known--Frances (Mrs. Thomas Mitchell), Robert Henry, Charlotte (Mrs. Blackman Coleman), Sophia Weston, and William H. Dyer. He was married (2nd) in Davidson County on July 16, 1802, to sallied James Christmas, daughter of William Christmas. Nine children by the second marriage, eight of them being Mariah T., Druscilla C., Joel S., Charles C., James M., Sarah, Camilla Jones, and Ann L. Dyer. Died in Madison County on June 11, 1825 and is buried there. Father of Robert Henry Dyer, sometime member Tennessee General Assembly; grandfather of Joel Henry Dyer; attorney-general for 16th District, 1831-36.

 

Sources: Miller’s Manual, 189; Register of the Kentucky Historical Society, XXV, 174; Burns and McCown, Soldiers of the War of 1812, 35; Davidson County Marriage Records, 1789-1837, p. 43; Crockett Files, Manuscript Section, State Library.

 

Fain, Nicholas (1782-1849)

 

HOUSE, 23rd and 24th General Assemblies, 1839-43; representing Hawkins and Sullivan counties; Republican. Born on February 4, 1782; place not known, but probably in Washington County, North Carolina (now Tennessee); son of Captain John and Nancy Agnes (McMahon) Fain, both natives of Pennsylvania. Educated for the law and practiced at Rogersville, Hawkins County. Built the first brick house in Rogersville, a combination hotel and store building. Director of Rogersville State Bank, 1817; postmaster of Rogersville, 1823-1839. Married (1st) on June 26, 1806, to Sallie Gammon, daughter of Richard and Sarah (Gamble) Gammon; children--Hiram, Nancy (Mrs. Sarah R. Peoples), Richard Gammon, John H., Eliza Ruth (Mrs. George R. Powel), George G., Nicholas Looney Fain, and an unnamed infant. Courthouse commissioner; justice of the peace, chairman of county court, mayor of Rogersville. Referred to a "Major" Fain, but no record of military duty. He was married (2nd), on May 1, 1832, to Mrs. Eliza (Rhea) Anderson, daughter of Joseph and Frances (Braden) Rhea; no children by this marriage. Died in Hawkins County on July 2, 1849; buried in New Presbyterian Cemetery, Rogersville.

 

Source: Bradford, The Fains of Tennessee, 19; Rosters and Soldiers, 636-37; Railroad Advocate, July 19, 1831; Rogersville Review, January 9, 1941; Hawkins County Will Book, I, 1797-1886, Pt. 1, p. 193; Hawkins County Miscellaneous Records, 45-47.

 

Hale, George (1782-1862)

 

SENATE, 10th General Assembly, 1813-15; representing Hawkins and Sullivan counties. Born in Fauquier County, Virginia, on January 4, 1782; son of Philip and Catherine (Douglas) Hale. Merchant, farmer, and banker. Merchant in Abingdon, Washington County, Virginia, 1799-1804; merchant at Rogersville, Hawkins County, 1804-1811; merchant at the Boatyard (Kingsport, Sullivan County), 1814-1821; thereafter merchant and farmer at Rogersville. Cashier of the Branch Bank of Tennessee at Rogersville, 1840-44. He was twice married, first in Jefferson County on May 19, 1808, to Margaret Hamilton, daughter of Joseph and Penelope (Outlaw) Hamilton. Children--Joseph Hamilton, Catherine Douglas, William, Philip Smith, Alexander, Penelope H., George Washington, Robert H., James, Elizabeth Mary, Thomas Douglas, and John Hamilton Hale. His second wife, whom he married on August 15, 1843, was Clementina Nenney, daughter of Patrick and Lucy Bramlett Nenney; they had no children. Grand juryman, courthouse commissioner, colonel of the 4th Regiment, War of 1812. Elder in Presbyterian Church. Died in Washington County on October 30, 1862; buried in the garden of his home, "Blue Spring," at Rogersville. Brother of Hugh Douglas Hale, sometime member Tennessee General Assembly.

 

Source: Nelson, The Hamilton Family; The Outlaw Family; Hamblen County Family Records, 130; Burns and McCoun, Soldiers of the War of 1812, 47; Goodspeed, History of Hawkins County, 274; Speer, Prominent Tennessee, 247-48; History of Morristown, Hamblen County, 118.

 

Hamilton, Jacob (1828-1880)

 

HOUSE, 32nd General Assembly, 1857-59; representing Hawkins County; Democrat. Born on February 2, 1826, near Blountville, Sullivan County; son of John B. and Elizabeth (Hicks) Hamilton. Attended common schools of Sullivan County; later removed to Church Hill, Hawkins County, where he was a farmer, merchant, and hotel owner. Married on March 12, 1850, in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, to Margaret Elizabeth Maxwell, daughter of James J. and Margaret (Wallace) Maxwell. Two daughters--Olivia M. (Mrs. Alexander Smith) and Ida Demetria Hamilton. Sometime justice of the peace. Baptist; moderator of Holston Baptist Association for several consecutive years; Masonic Order. In Civil War: enlisted at Camp Powell in 1861 as 1st lieutenant, Company K, 29 Tennessee Infantry; promoted to captain. Resigned on account of ill health in 1862, but re-enlisted in 18?? in Captain Miller’s Company of local defense troops, District 5, Hawkins County. Died near Church Hill on December 18, 1880; ??????McPheeter’s Bend Baptist Church Cemetery, Hawkins County. Son of John B. Hamilton and grandfather of B?rt E. Smith, sometime members Tennessee General Assembly.

 

Sources: Goodspeed, History of Hawkins County, 1229; Hawkins County Will Book, 1797-1886, Pt. 2, pp. 530-33; U.S. Census, 1880, Hawkins County; Tennessee Confederate Records, Reels 239, 357; information supplied by great-granddaughter, Mrs. Patricia S. Trolinger, Church Hill.

 

Heiskell, Joseph Brown (1823-1913)

 

SENATE, 32nd General Assembly, 1857-59; representing Hancock, Hawkins, and Jefferson counties; Whig. Born in Knox County on November 5, 1823; son of Frederick Steidinger and Mary Eliza (Brown) Heiskell. Graduated from East Tennessee College, 1840; studied law and admitted to the bar; began to practice at Madisonville, Monroe County. He was married (1st) to Sarah McKinney, daughter of John Augustine and Eliza (Ayer) McKinney; apparently no children born to this union. He married (2nd) at Rogersville, Hawkins County, on May 21, 1846, to Mary Lucy Watkins; children--Eliza (Mrs. Caesar Weatherford), Mary McKinney, Frederick Hugh, John McKinney, Charles J., Netherland, and Alice Heiskell (Mrs. Horace A. Whaling). Removed to Rogersville in 1847 and continued practice. Elected twice to the Congress of the Confederate States of America; captured by Federal soldiers in 1864 and remained in prison until the end of the war. After the war he established his practice in Memphis, Shelby County. Represented Shelby County in Constitutional Convention of 1870. Tennessee Attorney-General and reporter, 1870-78. Trustee of University of Tennessee. Died in Memphis on March 7, 1913; buried in Elmwood Cemetery, Memphis. Son of Frederick S. Heiskell, nephew of William Heiskell, cousin of Samuel Gordon, sometime member of Tennessee General Assembly; brother of Carrick W. Heiskell, circuit court judge of Memphis; father of Frederick Hugh Heiskell, Chancellor of Chancery Court and Judge of Court of Appeals, Shelby County.

 

Sources: Hyskell, Early Heiskells, 22, 38-40; Green, Law and Lawyers, 128; University of Tennessee Record, I, (1892), 243.

 

Henderson, Nathaniel (1736-1789)

 

North Carolina HOUSE OF COMMONS, 1787; representing Hawkins County (then North Carolina, now Tennessee). Born in Hanover County, Virginia, on December 1, 1736; son of Samuel and Elizabeth (Williams) Henderson. Removed with his parents to Granville, North Carolina, in 1740. Removed to Spencer County (now Hawkins); colonel in Spencer County militia; was with his brother, Colonel Richard Henderson, at the founding of Boonesborough, Kentucky; saw service against the Indians there during the Revolution; received a land grant of 640 acres in Hawkins County. Entry taker for the lands of the Transylvania Company and a signer of the Cumberland Compact, 1780. Married (1st) to Mrs. Shugan Jones (her maiden name is unknown; her first husband was a brother-in-law of Gideon Macon, of Warren County, North Carolina); one son Nathaniel Henderson. Married (2nd) to a Mrs. Morgan, maiden name unknown; children-- Samuel and Elizabeth Young Henderson. Died in Hawkins County in 1789; interred there in family burial ground. Brother of Colonel Richard Henderson, author of the Cumberland Compact and president of the Transylvania Company, and of Thomas Henderson, member Constitutional Convention of 1796 and of the Tennessee General Assembly.

 

Sources: Williams, Tennessee During the Revolutionary War, 169; Horton, Family History, 218-19, 229-31; Acklen, Tombstone Inscriptions, 212.

 

 

Hord, James Madison (1805-1888)

 

HOUSE, 25th and 26th General Assemblies, 1843-45; representing Hawkins County; party affiliation not shown. Born in Stafford County, Virginia, on May 22, 1805; son of William Hord. Removed as a child with his parents to Dobson Creek, Hawkins County. Cabinet maker and clerk in a store. Became cashier of the Branch Bank of the State at Rogersville; director in 1844. Clerk of the county court, 1838-43; clerk of circuit court, 1856-65. In Cherokee Campaign of 1836; member of Rogersville Town Patrol, 1854, with title of "captain." Married in Rogersville on June 23, 1831, to Sarah Huffmaster, daughter of Joseph and Elizabeth (Weitzel) Huffmaster; ten children--William Gillison, Charles Joseph, Mary Elizabeth, Joseph Thomas, John James, Daniel Carmichael, Andrew Jackson, Mary Miller, Margaret Sarah, and George Powel Hord. Member Presbyterian Church; I.O.O.F. The family was not living in Hawkins County from 1863 until 1879, but eventually returned. He died at Persia, near Rogersvillle, on June 14, 1887; buried nearby.

 

Sources: Huffmaster, Huffmaster-Hoffmeister Family Records; Rogersville Review, June 16, 1888; Price, Hawkins County Marriage Records, 71; Railroad Advocate, July 4, 1831; U.S. Census, 1880, Hawkins County.

 

Hord, William (1764-1825)

 

HOUSE, 3rd and 4th General Assemblies, 1799-1803; representing Hawkins County. Born in Louisa County, Virginia, on August 5, 1764; son of Mordecai and Sarah Carr Hord. Bought land in Hawkins County in 1791 and moved there in 1796, building a home at New Canton. Deputy surveyor of Hawkins County, 1797-98. In 1802 he removed to Claiborne County, but returned to Hawkins in 1813; bought the "Rice" property at New Canton, where descendants still live. Commissioned a major in Hawkins County militia; director in State Bank, 1817. Member, Presbyterian Church. Married in Hawkins County in 1797 to Anne Gibbons, daughter of Thomas and Anne (Eppes) Gibbons; children--Stanwix, Eldridge, Thomas, Lucretia, and William Hord. Died in Hawkins County on May 15, 1825; buried in New Providence Presbyterian Churchyard, Rogersville. Grandfather of Thomas Eppes Hord and great-grandfather of William Lloyd Moore, sometime members Tennessee General Assembly.

 

Sources: Rogersville Review, October 27, 1949; Acklen, Tombstone Inscriptions, 354; Hord, The Hord Family of Virginia, 70-80, Moore, Records of Commissions of Officers, 18; Hawkins County Will Book, 1797-1886, Pt. 1, p. 252.

 

Kenner, Rodham (c. 1759-1814)

 

HOUSE, 5th and 6th General Assemblies, 1803-07; representing Hawkins County; Democrat. Born c. 1759, in Northumberland County, Virginia; son of Francis and Elizabeth (Howard) Kenner. Removed to the Watauga area with his father, both of them having served in the American Revolution; Rodham having been at the Battle of King’s Mountain. Farmer; lived near Rogersville for the rest of his life. Married c. 1786 to Malinda Payne; children--Howsen, Ruth, Elizabeth (Mrs. George Savage), Sally Anne (Mrs. Daniel Carmichael), James, Francis, Louisa, William Rodham, Matilda (Mrs. Alexander Shields), and Polly Kenner (Mrs. William Shields). Killed in a fall from his horse in Hawkins County on October 14 (or 18), 1814; buried in Rodham Kenner Cemetery on the north side of the Holston River, Hawkins County. Father of Dr. William Rodham Kenner, grandfather of John Houston Savage and of Abram Monroe Savage, all sometime members Tennessee General Assembly.

 

Sources: Worley, Records of the Savage and Kenner Families, 13-15; Rosters and Soldiers, 960; Hawkins County Will Book, 1797-1886, Pt. 1, p. 291; Bible Records of Families of East Tennessee, 274; Northumberland County, Virginia, Records, passim.

 

King, Thomas (? -1805)

 

North Carolina HOUSE OF COMMONS, 1788, 1789; representing Hawkins County (then North Carolina, now Tennessee). No information located on date and place of birth, names of parents, extent of schooling, name of wife and children, if any. All that is known of Representative King is that he was a surveyor, that he lived in Hawkins County at the time of his legislative service, was a colonel in militia, and that he died, exact place and date unknown, in 1805.

 

Source: Williams, Lost State of Franklin, 217, 245, 248.

 

Looney, Absolom (1790-1862)

 

SENATE, 11th General Assembly, 1815-17; representing Hawkins and Sullivan counties. Born on March 5, 1790, probably in Hawkins County, (as his father was living there, in Stanley Valley as early as 1780); son of Michael and Tempa (Cross) Looney. In War of 1812: enlisted as a private in the East Tennessee Volunteer Riflemen under Colonel Lillard and Captain Argenbright, in October of 1813. He was married c. 1819 to Sallie Starnes, daughter of John and Jane (Adams) Starnes; children--Louisa Morgan (Mrs. William Hutchinson), William Carroll, James Gaines, Mary Ann (Mrs. Joseph T. Campbell), Rufus Gollaher, John Blair, Margaret Catherine (Mrs. Joel F. Gillenwater), Absolom Starnes, Joseph Israel, Sarah Hane (Mrs. Pryon Lee Pearson), Orville Bradley, and Susan Shanks Looney (Mrs. Abraham Molsbee). Died in Hawkins County on December 12, 1862; buried at Hickory Cove, Hawkins County.

 

Sources: Information from Mrs. Marvin J. Huff, Evansville, Indiana, Looney family historian.

 

McMinn, Joseph (1758-1824)

 

SENATE, 1st, 2nd (1st session only; resigned and replaced by Joel Dyer), 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th General Assemblies, 1796-1799, 1801-11; representing Hawkins County in the 1st, 2nd, 4th, 5th and 6th Assemblies; Hawkins and Sullivan counties in the 7th and 8th Assemblies; Speaker of the Senate in the 6th, 7th, and 8th Assemblies; Democrat. Born in West Marlborough Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania, on June 22, 1758; son of Robert and Sarah (Harlan) McMinn. Educated in Virginia. Removed to Tennessee in 1776 and built his home, "New Market," near Rogersville, Hawkins County. Merchant; operated a tavern or hotel at Rogersville; advocate of public education and improved river navigation. Regimented command of militia, 1789. Member of Territorial Legislature, 1794; member of Constitutional Convention, 1796. Served as Governor of Tennessee from September 27, 1815,, to October 1, 1821. Indian agent, 1823-24. McMinn County and McMinnville, Warren County, are both named in his honor. He was married three times: (1st) to Hannah Cooper, (2nd) to Mary Kincaid, and (3rd) to Mrs. Nancy (Glasgow) Williams. He had one daughter, Jane McMinn, apparently by his first wife. After his terms as governor, he purchased property at Calhoun, McMinn County, and was appointed in charge of the Cherokee Agency, 1823-24. He died on November 17, 1824, in Hawkins County, and is buried in Calhoun Cemetery.

 

Sources: White, Messages of the Governors of Tennessee, I, 442-43; Dictionary of American Biography; Tennessee Blue Book, 1969-70, p. 114; Clayton, History of Davidson County, 414.

 

Marshall, William (? - ?)

 

North Carolina HOUSE OF COMMONS, 1787; representing Hawkins County (then North Carolina, now Tennessee); Franklinite. No information has been located on Representative Marshall, other than he was the first Register of Spencer (i.e. Hawkins) County, and his service in the North Carolina General Assemblies, 1787-88.

 

Sources: Williams, Lost State of Franklin, 238; Ramsey, Annals of Tennessee, 389.

 

Miller, Jacob (1776-1843)

 

SENATE, 13th and 14th General Assemblies, 1819-23; representing Hawkins and Sullivan counties. Born in Pennsylvania on August 8, 1776; son of Peter and Sibil (Pitzer) Miller. Pioneer farmer of Hawkins County; banker, being president of the State Bank in 1817. He was married to Susannah Carmack, daughter of Cornelius Carmack; children--Pitzer, Willie B., John S., Sarah, Elizabeth H., Rachel, Mary K., Susan, and Cornelius C. Miller. Died, presumably in Hawkins County, Tennessee, in 1843; place of burial not given. Uncle of Jacob Miller (1813-1864), sometime member Tennessee General Assembly.

 

Sources: D.A.R. Magazine, Vol. 70, p. 457; Hawkins County Miscellaneous Records, pp. 48-49; Hawkins County Will Book, 1797-1886, pp. 361-62.

 

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Marshall, William (? - ?)

North Carolina HOUSE OF COMMONS, 1787; representing Hawkins County (then North Carolina, now Tennessee); Franklinite. No information has been located on Representative Marshall, other than he was the first Register of Spencer (i.e., Hawkins) County, and his service in the North Carolina General Assemblies, 1787-88.

Sources: Williams, Lost State of Franklin, 238; Ramsey, Annals of Tennessee, 389.

 

 

Miller, Jacob (1776-1843)

SENATE, 13th and 14th General Assemblies, 1819-23; representing Hawkins and Sullivan counties. Born in Pennsylvania on August 8, 1776; son of Peter and Sibil (Pitzer) Miller. Pioneer farmer of Hawkins County; banker, being president of the State Bank in 1817. He was married to Susannah Carmack, daughter of Cornelius Carmack; children--Pitzer, Willie B., John S., Sarah, Elizabeth H., Rachel, Mary K., Susan, and Cornelius C. Miller. Died, presumably in Hawkins County, Tennessee, in 1843; place of burial not given. Uncle of Jacob Miller (1813-1864), sometime member Tennessee General Assembly.

Sources: D.A.R. Magazine, Vol. 70, p. 457; Hawkins County Miscellaneous Records, pp. 48-49; Hawkins County Will Book, 1797-1886, pp. 361-62.

Miller. Jacob (1813-1864)

HOUSE, 27th General Assembly, 1847-49; representing Greene, Hawkins, and Washington counties; party affiliation not shown. Born in1813, exact date and place not given; son of Captain John and Cynthia (Charles) Miller. No information available on schooling or occupation; resident of Hawkins County. Sheriff of Hawkins County, 1844-46. Married (1st) in Hawkins County on August 5, 1836, to Louise Chambers, daughter of Daniel and Sarah Chambers; children--Rachel D., Daniel, and John P. Miller. Married (2nd) to Rosannah Watterson; children--Samuel M., Jacob Eastman, and Laura Miller (Mrs. George R. Webster). Died in 1864, date and place of burial not shown. Nephew of Jacob Miller (1776-1843), sometime member Tennessee General Assembly.

Sources: Price, Hawkins County Marriage Records, l789-1865, p. 103; Goodspeed, History of Hawkins County, 877, 880; Rogersville Herald, October 2, 1929; Hawkins County Miscellaneous Records, pp. 48-49.

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Moore, Cleon (c.1789-1862)

HOUSE, l4th and 18th General Assemblies, 1821-23, 1829-31; representing Hawkins County; party affiliation not shown. Born in Virginia c. 1789, exact place and date not found; names of parents unknown. Farmer in Hawkins County. The maiden name of his wife, Emily G., not found; children--Virginia (Mrs. Absolom P. McCarta), Sarah, William, John, Margaret, George Kendrick, Maria (Mrs.Thomas P. Bradford), Mary, Josephine, Cleon R., and Emiline Moore. Representative Moore died in 1862; no further information.

Sources: Hawkins County Will Book, 1797-1886, p. 370; U.S.Census, l850, Hawkins County.

Parsons, Peter (? -?)

HOUSE, 16th General Assembly, 1825-27 (2nd session only; replaced William Young, resigned); representing Hawkins County. Representative Parsons was a lawyer; trustee of McMinn County, 1817. He removed to Alabama after 1831; no further information found, except that he was a member of Masonic Order, Overton Lodge #5, Rogersville.

Sources: Goodspeed, History of Hawkins County, 876, 879; Hawkins County Miscellaneous Records, 23.

Powel, George Rutledge (1807-1873)

HOUSE, 21st General Assembly, 1835-37; representing Hawkins and Sullivan counties; party affiliation not shown. Born in Hawkins County on September 6, 1807; son of Judge Samuel and Mary Caldwell (Rutledge) Powel. Educated for the law; lived at Rogersville, Hawkins County. Circuit court clerk, 1840-52; clerk and master of chancery court, 1855-58. Married in Hawkins County on August 11, 1836, to Eliza Ruth Fain, daughter of Nicholas and Sarah (Gammon)

Fain; children--Richard Franklin, Nicholas Fain, Edmund Dillahunty, Mary Rutledge, Ernest, Robert, Thomas, George, Sadie, and Stanley Powel. Died at his home in Poor Valley, Hawkins County, on August 30, 1873; buried in Rogersville. Son of Samuel Powel, Supreme Court judge and member of Congress; grandson of General George Rutledge, member of Constitutional Convention of 1796 and member Tennessee General Assembly; brother of Samuel Powel, sometime member Tennessee General Assembly.

Sources: Ray, Tennessee Cousins, 91; Goodspeed, History of Hawkins County, Hawkins County Marriage Records, 1789-1865; p. 117; Rogersville Review, January 3, 1935; December 16, 19l4; Report of Cases in the Supreme Court of Tennessee, Vol. 176, p. 869; Morristown Gazette, September 3, 1873.

 

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Powel1 Samuel (1821-1902)

HOUSE, 28th General Assembly, 1849-51; representing Hawkns County; Democrat. Born in Hawkins County on September 27, 1821; son of Judge Samuel and Mary Caidwell (Rutledge) Powel. Educated for the law; practiced at Rogereville, Hawkins County. Attorney-general,

1854-60; Presidential elector, 1856. In Civil War: enlisted as captain of 29th Regiment, C.S.A.; elected colonel on September 31,1861; severely wounded and forced to resign, November 5, 1962. Married to Mary Elizabeth Armstrong; children--Robert Rathbone, Margaret Virginia, Sarah Armstrong, Samuel Franklin, Bessie, and Annie Powel. Later removed to Hernando, Mississippi. Member Presbyterian Church. Died on July 10, 1902, place not stated; buried in Old Presbyterian Cemetery, Rogersville. Son of Samuel Powel, Supreme Court judge and member of Congress; grandson of General George Rutledge, member of Constitutional Convention of 1796 and member Tennessee General Assembly; brother of George Rutledge Powel, sometime members Tennessee General Assembly.

Sources: East Tennessee Historical Society's Publications, No. 24, p. 103; Tennessee Confederate Records, Reel #240; Miller's Manual, 192; Ray, Tennessee Cousins, 91; Tennessee Reports of Cases in the Supreme Court of Tennessee; Vol. 176, p. 869; Green, Bench and Bar, 54; Rogersville Review, January 5,1950; May 27, 1943; U.S. Census, 1860, Hawkins County.

Rogers, John Alexander (1789-1873)

HOUSE, 17th, 21st, and 23d General Assemblies, 1827-29, 1835-39; representing Hawkins County; Whig. Born in Hawkins County on July15, 1789; son of Joseph and Mary (Amis) Rogers. Came to Rogersville, Hawkins County, with his father (a native of Ireland and the founder of Rogersville). Built a mill at Surgoinsville, Hawkins County; lived at Surgoinsville and at Rogersville. Director of the State Bank, Rogerwville, 1817; sometime justice of the peace. He was married three times: (1st) on January 28, 1812, to Margaret Forgey; (2nd) on December 25, 1817, to her sister, Ellen Forgey, and (3rd) in 1842, to Lucretia Ann Coates. He had eleven children, names of mother of each not indicated, all of whom removed to Texas. Representative Rogers was a captain of infantry, 1812-1815; engaged in the Canadian Campaign. Member Masonic Order, Overton Lodge #5, Rogersville. In his later life he removed to Texas, where he died in 1873; buried at Cedar Point, Kerr County, Texas. Grandson of Captain Thomas Amis, member of Provincial Congress, 1776, and of North Carolina Senate, 1788-1789.

Sources: Goodspeed, History of Hawkins County, 877-78; Snodgrass, Freemasonry in Tennessee, 49, 52-53; Burns and Mcloun, Soldiers of the War of 18l2, 132; Rogersville Review, July 9, l953; Hawkins County Miscellaneous Records, 4.

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White, James (1828-1897)

HOUSE, 30th and 36th General Assemblies, 1853-55, 1869-71; representing Hawkins County; SENATE, 38th General Assembly, 1873-75; representing Claiborne, Hamblen, Hancock, Hawkins, and Sullivan counties; progressively Whig, Ccnservative, and Democrat. Born in Rogersville, Hawkins County on June 12, 1828; son of the Rev. George and Sarah (Snodgrass) White. Well educated; licensed in 1865 to practice law. Occupation: lawyer and planter at Rogersville. Married in Hawkins County on October 2, 1851, to Margaret McClure; children--Charles Wesley, George Hopkins, James Houston, William Thomas, Susan Ida, Andrew McClure, and Sarah Virginia White. Special agent of the Post Office of Tennessee, 1868; in same year appointed U.S. Consul to Matamar, Mexico. Two times unsuccessful candidate for Congress. Member Methodist Church. Died in Rogersville on October 25, 1897; buried in the Methodist Churchyard at that place. Grandson of Colonel William Snodgrass; brother of John F. White and John W. White (!), all sometime members Tennessee General Assembly.

Sources: Goodspeed, History of Hawkins County, 1238; Paw Papers, Tennessee State Library; Price, Hawkins County Marriage Records, 156; Morristown Gazette, November 3, 1897; Hawkins County Miscellaneous Records, 41.

White, John Fletcher (1824-1901)

HOUSE, 27th General Assembly, 1847-49; representing Hawkins County; party affiliation not shown. Born in Rogersville, Hawkins County, on February 18, 1824; son of the Rev. George and Sarah (Snodgrass) White. Educated in common schools of Hawkins County; graduated from Holstcn College, New Market, Jefferson County; admitted to the bar. Practiced law in Rogersville until 1850. Married in 1849 in Jefferson County, to Martha Few, daaughter of Jonathan Few. Children--George T., Sallie K. (Mrs. J.W. Wagner), Mattie (Mrs. J. N. Hardway), Joseph S., J.L., (Mrs. C.B. Bonnell), John Fletcher, W. C., Annie H.(Mrs. J.L. May), and Midget White. In 1850 removed to Chattanooga, Hamilton County; county judge, 1856-58. Previously he had served in the Mexican War; in 1861 he raised and equipped a cavalry company in the Confederate Army; assigned to Zollicoffer' s command. Advanced to lieutenant-colonel of 1st Tennessee Cavalry; captured at Big Creek Gap and exchanged; he then moved his family to Florida and joined the Provisional Army and served the remainder of the War. Judge of Crimlnal Court of Suwanee County, Florida, 1866. Later served as State's Attorney for the 3rd Judicial Circuit and afterwards appointed judge of the circuit court for three terms. Member Methodist Church; attended general conferences; Sunday School superintendent for 50 years. Died on August 14, 1901, at Live Oak, Suwanee County, Florida; interred there. Grandson of Colonel William Snodgrass; brother of John W. White and of James White, all sometime members Tennessee General Assembly.

 

Sources: Paw Papers, Tennessee State Library; Armstrong, History of Hamilton County and Chattanooga, 191, 228, 235, 323; Confederate Military History, XI, 360.

Young, James (1800-1878)

HOUSE, 19th General Assembly, 1831-33; representing Hawkins County; Democrat. Born in Hawkins County on May 11, 1800; son of William and Elizabeth (Leeper) Young. Occupation: farmer and banker. Married in Hawkins County in 1821, his first cousin, Elizabeth Young, daughter of John and Margaret Galbraith Young. Children-- John, William Wallace, Martha (Mrs. Camillus Barnett), Robert, Mary E. (Mrs. W.A. Bray), Matilda H. (Mrs. Ferdinand D. Smith), and Juliet Jane Young. In 1832 he removed his wife and children to Pettis County, Missouri. Returned to Tennessee and served out his term, Returned to Missouri in 1833 and settled with his family eight miles southwest of Lexington, Lafayette County. Served in the Missouri House of Representatives, 1836-38; in the Missouri Senate, l840-44; Lieutenant-Governor of Missouri, l844-48; and acting Governor, 1848. Elder in Presbyterian Church; Overton Lodge #5, F.&A.M., Rogersville. No record of military duty; Unionist during the Civil War. Died at Lexington, Lafayette County, Missouri, on February 9, 1878; buried in Prairie Presbyterian Churchyard, near Hogginsville, Missouri. Son of William Young, sometime member Tennessee General Assembly.

Sources: Tipton, The Young Family; A.S. Biographical Dictionary of Missouri, 1878, p. 244; Missouri Manual; information supplied by Prentiss Price, Rogersvil1e.

Young, William (1777-1826)

HOUSE, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th, 15th and 16th General Assemblies, 1807-21, 1823-27; representing Hawkins County in all assemblies. (Resigned during the 16th Assembly; replaced by Peter Parsons); party affiliation not indicated. Born in what is now Hawkins County on March 9, 1777; son of Robert and Jennie Young. Farmer and slaveholder in Hawkins County. Married in Hawkins County in 1798 to Elizabeth Leeper, daughter of Gawen and Margaret (Brown) Leeper. Children--Claiborne, James, Emily, Clinton, Henderson, Amanda, Louisa, Wylie, Malvina, Perry, William, and Elizabeth Young. Commissioned captain in cavalry regiment of Hawkins County, 1800; in Florida campaign, 1813. Member Presby terian Church; Overton Lodge #5, F.&A.M., Rogersville. In 1823 he placed the name of Andrew Jackson before the General Assembly for nomination for both U.S. Senator and President. His resignation from the 16th Assembly was probably occassioned by failing

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health; he died before the end of the session, in Hawkins County, in December 1826. Buried near New Canton. His wife and family subsequently removed to Missouri. Father of James Young sometime members of both the Tennessee and Missouri General Assemblies.

Sources: Public Acts of Tennessee, 1817; Wilson's Knoxville Gazette, May 17, 1813; Knoxvi1le Register, September 20, 1826; January 10, 1827; Knoxville Enquirer, January 17, 1827; information supplied by Prentiss Price, Rogersville.

 

 

 

 

 

 


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