HENRY EARNEST
was born on December 13, 1772; son of Henry Earnest (Sr.), a patriot of the American Revolution,
and his wife Mary Stephens. No information on extent of schooling. Settled with his parents ca.1778 on
the Nolichucky River, Greene County. Farmer and merchant; trustee of Tusculum College. Married
to Kittie D. Reeves, daughter of Thomas Jefferson “Jesse” Reeve and his wife, Nancy Ann Cox:
Children-- Jesse Reeve, b. 27 Jan 1824; Mary Ann, b. 24 May 1826; Isaac Newton, b. 1828;
Col. Felix Wells, b. 18 Sep 1832; Elizabeth Kitty “Betty” b. 4 Apr 1834: Narcissa Virginia, b. 14 May 1836;
Joseph Smith Tate, b. 20 May 1837; Jacob Porter, b. 9 Jan 1841; Valentine S., b. 1846. (One source names a
daughter Marjorie.)
He served in the House, 9th Tennessee General Assembly, 1811-13; representing
Greene County; no party affiliation indicated. Commissioned lieutenant-colonel of militia in 1808; colonel of
mounted infantry in War of 1812. Member Methodist Church; one of the founders of the first Methodist
Church in the state. Died in Greene County on November 24, 1851; buried in churchyard of Ebenezer
Methodist Church, Greene County. Father of Felix Wells Earnest, sometime member Tennessee General Assembly.
Bibliography
Sources: Moore, Commissions of officers in the Tennessee Militia, 56;
D.A.R. Roster and Soldiers, 607; “Greene County Wills and Inventories,
1802-10,” pp.260-65; Goodspeed, History of Washington County, 882,
887, 1268; Greene County Tombstone Records, 66.
Also see : The Henry Earnest Family, a Biographical Report
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