 |
Historical Sketch of Wilson County Tennessee |
A Historical Sketch of Wilson County, Tennessee
From Its First Settlement to the Present Time
by J. V. Drake
Published for the Author by Tavel, Eastman & Howell
1879, Nashville
-----------------------------------------
PREFACE
The following sketch has been prepared for the information and gratification of
Wilson countians, whether at home or abroad, and such others as may take an
interest in the history of our county. The subject of which it treats is one
that should engage the attention of all.
One of the chief distinctions between a civilized and a savage people consists
in a record--the one being known by a written history, the other by a tradition.
The people of Wilson county are not savages, they are a moral, intelligent,
patriotic, and industrious people, and as such have a history. So far as I
know, it has never been written.
-----------------------------------------
Indeed we have no written history of the State extending down to a later date
than the beginning of the present century, if we except what is incidentally
given in the reports of the state geologist and of the Bureau of Agriculture,
Statistics and Mines. This imperfect sketch is intended to supply in some
degree the deficiency, so far as Wilson county is concerned.
I have endeavored to group such facts and reminiscences concerning the
discovery, early settlement, establishment, organization, and development of our
county as will give the reader an outline of its history. The names of more
than three hundred early settlers as well as the first magistrates and county
officials have been included. Also sketches of Lebanon, and the villages and
hamlets of Wilson. Paragraph notices of some of the more prominent men of our
county have been given, as well as of Wilson countians who have gone abroad and
attained local or state distinction. I have given also, in chronological order,
the names of our circuit judges, chancellors, attorneys general, clerks, clerks
and masters, trustees, registers, state senators, representatives, and sheriffs,
from 1799 to 1880.
My sources of information are county records, senate and house journals of the
legislature, "Resources of Tennessee" and sundry old gentlemen and ladies of the
county, to each and all of whom I hereby tender my thanks. I am indebted also
for kindly assistance in looking over the records to John S. Carter, Jordan
Stokes, Jr., John Perkins and S. G. Stratton, the courteous and efficient clerk
of the circuit court. My thanks are due likewise to John C. Farr, Esq., for
sundry kind offices.
Notwithstanding its many imperfections, I trust this sketch may meet the
approval and generous indulgence of those for whom it is written; and if it
shall afford them half the interest in reading it that the author has had in
writing it, he will have been amply rewarded for his effort. This is his
contribution to the general history of his native state.
Lebanon, April 14, 1879 J. V. Drake
A HISTORICAL SKETCH OF WILSON COUNTY
"The Cumberland County"
Part of North Carolina
Ceded to the United States
Territorial Government
State of Tennessee
Her Governors
Wilson County Established
Boundaries
Area
Topography and Streams
Timber and Rocks
First Settlers
Beginnings of Civilized Life
County Organized
First Magistrates and Other Officials
The Courts
Land and Soils
Products of the Soil
Live Stock
Population
Public Roads
The Schools
Churches
Mills
County Seat Founded
Beginnings, Growth and Present Status
Villages and Hamlets
Public Men
Judges
Clerks of the Circuit Court
Attorneys-General
Chancellors
Clerks and Masters
Clerks of County Court
Trustees
Registers
Senators
Representatives
Sheriffs
1788-1880
The history of the discovery and settlement of "The Cumberland Country", of
which the territory embraced within Wilson county was a part, is, so far as the
white or European race is concerned, involved in no mythological fiction. No
fabulous stories are told of some adventurous founder of a colony in the
wilderness, whose exploits and achievements are unwarranted by reason, and
without the range of probability. On the contrary, the discovery and settlement
of these western solitudes by our forefathers are of such recent date, and
attested by so much concurrent testimony, both written and traditional, as to
place the authenticity of their general history beyond controversy or cavil.
With respect to the uncivilized tribes, called savages, or Indians, found here
upon the discovery of the country by our ancestors, and whose origin is yet
perhaps problematical with the ethnologist, we have nothing to say, only so far
as they may incidentally be mentioned in connection with the discovery,
settlement, and progress of the white people. And of that pre-historic race,
known as the Mound Builders, which preceded the Indians, and of which they knew
nothing, and of which we have no knowledge, except as we gather it from the
remains of their skeletons, mounds, fortifications, and other artificial works,
existing in the Mississippi Valley and elsewhere on the continent, it is not our
province further to speak. They were here long anterior to our knowledge of the
New World, and belong to the pre-historic age. We shall, therefore, in our
sketch of the county, begin with its settlement by our ancestors, the hardy
pioneers of the wilderness, whose stout hearts and strong arms expelled the
marauding savage and wild beasts of the land; whose enterprise and industry
opened out the highways of the community, felled the forests and made the virgin
soil to teem with harvests of plenty; and whose lives of toil, hardship,
privations and dangers, display a moral and physical heroism worthy of any
country and of any age. Although no monumental pile may rise toward heaven to
commemorate their heroic deeds, no local bard sing their praises, still they
shall no be foregotten; their names and memories will live and be cherished.
"When marble moulders, and when records fail."
Their noblest monument is the great state their wisdom and valor helped to
establish their greatest praise, the gratitude of their posterity, who
perpetuate so noble a heritage.
It may not be amiss to remark just here that the whole territory embraced within
the limits of the state of Tennessee was originally the western division of
North Carolina, and at one time constituted Washington county of that state.
This was divided and subdivided until no less than seven counties had been
established, namely, Washington, Sullivan, Green and Hawkins, which lie east of
the Cumberland Mountain, and Davidson, Sumner and Tennessee counties, west of
it, when North Carolina ceded her western territory to the United States. It
was accepted by act of congress, approved April 2, 1790, by President
Washington. It was then erected into the Territory of the United States, South
of the Ohio river, of which William Blount was appointed governor. Thus it
continued until it was admitted into the Union as the state of Tennessee, June
1, 1796, Gen. John Sevier having been elected her first governor. His
successors in office are as follows: Archibald Roane, Willie Blount, Joseph
McMinn, William Carroll, Sam Houston, William Hall, Newton Cannon, James K.
Polk, James C. Jones, Aaron V. Brown, Neil S. Brown, William Trousdale, William
B. Campbell, Andrew Johnson, Isham G. Harris, William G. Brownlow, D. W. C.
Senter, John C. Brown, James D. Porter, and the present incumbent, Albert S.
Marks, making twenty-one in all.
County Established
Our County of Wilson, the nineteenth in the order of organization, was
established by act of the General Assembly of Tennessee, passed at Knoxville,
October 26, 1799, and named in honor of Major David Wilson, a Pennsylvanian by
birth but a citizen of North Carolina by choice. He served through the
Revolutionary war with distinction, and finally settled in Sumner county, where
he possessed a large body of land, granted him for his military services. He
was one of the first Magistrates of Sumner county, was twice elected a member of
the legislature, and once speaker of the house of representatives. Wilson
county, which lies a little north of the center of the state, was formed out of
that part of Sumner lying south of the Cumberland, and was originally much
larger than it is now, being bounded then as follows: "Beginning upon the south
bank of Cumberland river, at low water mark, as the mouth of Drakes's Lick
Branch, the north-eastern corner of Davidson county, to the Cherokee boundary;
and with said boundary to the Caney Fork; and down the Caney Fork, with its
meanders, to the mouth thereof; thence down the meanders of the Cumberland
river, by the south bank, to the beginning."
It has since been very much diminished by the formation of new counties out of
its territory to the east, south-east and south, and is bounded now as follows:
On the west by Davidson; on the north by Sumner, from which it is separated by
Cumberland river; on the north-east and east by Trousdale, Smith and DeKalb; on
the southeast by Cannon; and on the south by Rutherford county; and has an area
of 578 square miles, or about 370,000 acres, according to a survey made in 1868
by Gen Alexander P. Stewart.
Topography and Streams
The surface of the county in the main is rolling, modified by numerous valleys,
where it is sometimes level, but mostly undulating; and by a number of ridges,
hills and knobs, in the central, eastern and south-eastern parts, where it is
often abrupt and precipitous. Its average elevation above the level of the sea
lies between five and six hundred feet.
Jennings' Knob, which is situated six miles south-east from Lebanon, is the
highest elevation in the county, being 1,221 feet above the level of the sea as
measured by Professor A. H. Buchanan.
Wilson is supplied with an abundance of excellent, living water, chiefly blue
limestone, though there is found here and there sulphur, chalybeate and other
mineral waters. Besides springs and wells, which abound all over the county,
and the Cumberland, which washes its northern border a distance in a direct line
of about twenty-five miles, the county has the following important creeks:
Cedar, Spring, Barton's, Spencer's, and Cedar Lick, which, with their
tributaries, lie wholly within its limits, and run in a north-westerly direction
into the Cumberland; Stoner's, Suggs', Hurricane and Fall Creeks, which have
their sources and greater parts of their valleys in this county, and flowing in
a westerly direction, ultimately discharge their waters into Stone's river;
Smith's Fork and Round Lick, with Spring and Fall creeks, have their sources
near each other in a group of hills, in the south-eastern division of the
county, the former flowing in a northerly course to the Cumberland, and the
latter in a north-easterly direction to the Caney Fork; Sinking creek, the head
springs of which flow from the Pilot Knob and Lindsay Martin hill, both the
property now of James H. Hancock, runs in a south-westerly and westerly
direction to a sink, a little south of Gladeville, where it disappears--hence
its name; and Pond Lick creek, which begins at the Robin Shannon spring, now the
property of Jesse L. Moore, runs in a south-westerly course into Sinking creek,
near the point of its subsidence. All these streams and their tributaries have
desirable valleys, with greater or less bodies of rich and productive lands,
furnishing a great number of beautiful farms, and some excellent sites for mills
and other machinery propelled by water-power.
Timber and Rocks
Wilson County has also an ample supply of forest timber, consisting of several
kinds and species including a number of trees invaluable for building and
cabinet purposes. They are the white, red, post, chinquapin, water and other
species of oak, white and blue ask; red or cork and slippery elm; sugar
birdseye, swamp and white or silver maple; black walnut, yellow poplar, red
cedar, chestnut, wild cherry, buckeye, red mulberry, beech, sycamore, cotton
wood, hackberry, linn, sassafras, box elder, dogwood, iron wood, red and black
haw, hornbeam, holly red bud, persimmon and branch willow, with a number of
creepers, chief among which is the grapevine. Yellow poplar is pretty much
confined to the hill country and the valley of the Cumberland; the chestnut, to
a few hills and ridges; the cedar, chiefly to the rolling lands of the west,
south and southwestern parts; while the rest are distributed more or less all
over the country.
Originally the county was covered with an almost unbroken forest, there being no
prairies or barrens, only a few rocky glades, here and there, among the dense
cedar-brakes; but more than half of its area has been cleared of the timber for
purposes of cultivation and pasturage, leaving, according to the census of 1870,
about 152,000 acres of woodland. The poplar cedar, walnut and cherry being in
great demand by the mill men for conversion into lumber for the carpenter and
cabinet workman, may, in some localities, begin to show signs of deficiency, but
with proper husbandry enough yet remains to answer all practical purposes for an
indefinite period.
The county has likewise an abundance of rocks, much of it suitable for building
materials, consisting of several varieties of the blue limestone, sandstone, and
perhaps other rocks. In a few localities sandstone has quarried of good grit
and made into grindstones. Besides the above, there is, on some of the higher
hills and ridges to the south-east a stratum of black shales or slate, mistaken
by the inexperienced for stone coal. It is not suitable for roofing purposes.
We have no iron, lead, or other ores, in quantities sufficient for mining
purposes. Nor have we any marble, granite or coal.
This was the goodly land that attracted our forefathers from beyond the
mountains. Through some adventureous traveller or daring hunter, they heard of
the beautiful hills and verdant valleys, its plenteous game-and-grand forests,
its rich soil and bright waters, and straightway they determined to come and
possess it.
"Westward the course of empire takes its way"
The first settlers of this county were emigrants chiefly from North Carolina,
Virginia, South Carolina and East Tennessee, with a few from Georgia, Maryland
and perhaps other States. For much of our information in the respect, we are
indebted to a number of the old citizens, surviving children of pioneers, and to
whom we hereby make our acknowledgments. Among these are Levi Holloway, James
Clemmons, Mrs. Martha Ozment, Mrs. Byrd Smith, Joseph Williams, Edward G.
Jacobs, Turner Waters, John T. Goodall, John Palmer, John Perkins, Paulding
Anderson, Mrs. Edward Freeman, Tom Alexander, Stephen Woodrum, Lindsay Martin,
and John F. Doak, a staunch old Democrat, whose regard for fine horses is only
excelled by his admiration for President Jackson, Polk and Johnson, and whose
great ambition is to die as he has lived sober and solvent!
Pioneer Settlers
>From the best information we have been able to obtain, the first permanent
settlement in the county was made about the year 1794, on the north end of
Hickory Ridge, near a bold spring, the head of Spencer's creek, about five miles
west from the site of Lebanon, by John B. Walker, John Harpole and others whose
names are not remembered. Prior to this, the wild beasts and the still wild
savages, had held the territory now constituting our county in almost
undisturbed away. It is true, Edmund Jennings, who gave his name to the highest
knob in the county; Tom Spencer, for whom one of our creeks was named; and Joe
Bishop, a noted pioneer of Smith county and other hunters from Sumner and
Davidson counties, had traversed its forests in pursuit of the buffalo, or to
rescue women and children from the Indians. But it was not until now that a
cabin was built, the cane and timber cleared away, and the soil made tributary
to the wants of man. How many persons constituted this primary community, what
all their names were, what their joys and sorrows, hopes and fears, privations
and hardships, and all the thrilling events of their border life, we have no
means of knowing; they have passed away, leaving no adequate record.
The next settlement, it is thought, was made on the waters of Spring creek,
about eight miles south from the site of Lebanon, about the year 1796, by John
Foster, John Doak, David McGathey, Alexander Braden, and the Donnell families.
It was known as the "Donnell Settlement," they having numerical ascendency.
Indeed, there was, and is yet, an extensive relationship of this name, several
members bearing the same of several given or Christian names, as William, Thomas
and Robert. It was sometimes doubtful as to which individual was meant, even
when addressed by the full name. To avoid the confusion prenomens, or
nicknames, were conferred by common consent. Thus they had Captain Billy,
Poplar Billy, Cedar Billy and Sugar Billy; Long Tommy, Short Tommy, Tiptoe
Tommy, Big Robin, Little Robin, and Uncle Robin, with a number of Georges,
Johns, James', Samuels, Calvins, Etc. This Family has furnished no less than
seven ministers of the gospel.
Much about the same time, if not before, settlements were made on Barton's
Creek, on Smith's Fork, on Cedar Lick, on Stoner's Creek, and perhaps in other
localities. We present here the names of a goodly number of the pioneers of
Wilson, designating their places of settlement, or neighborhoods, by the creeks
on or near which they are located. Doubtless, a few worthy names have been
overlooked, but we do not know them, and have done the best we could. They are
as follows: ON BARTONS' CREEK - Charles Blaylock, Elijah Trewitt, Levi
Holloway, Henry Shannon, Snowdon Hickman, William Eddings, Thomas Moss, Eleazer
Provine, Byrd Wall, Williard Thomas, Samuel Wilson Sherrill, George Swingler,
Zephaniah Neal, John Goldston, Benjamin Eskew, John Lane, Jeremiah Still, John
K. Wynn, George Wynn, Thomas Sypert, Benjamin Winford, William Peace, Jas.
Mayes, John Cage, Alexander Chance, Josiah Martin, Henry Reed, William Elkins,
Neddy Jacobs, John Impson, John Alcorn, Frank Anderson, Thomas Conyers, and
others;
ON SPRING CREEK - James Cannon, Solomon Marshall, James Chappell, Walter
Carrouth, Martin Talley, George Alexander, Joseph Moxley, Hugh Marrs, Bartlett
Graves, Spencer Talley, John Forbus, William Bartlett, William Sherrill, John
Stembridge, Josiah Smith, Alligood Wollard, Thomas Williams, Purnel Hearn, John
Jones, Josiah Jones, John Walsh, Samuel Elliot, Samuel Mottley, Richard Hankins,
Arthur Hankins, Gregory Johnson, William Steele, Henry Chandler, Arthur Dew,
Daniel Cherry, Adam Harpole, Sampson Harpole, and others including "the Donnell
Settlement";
ONE CEDAR CREEK - Hugh Roane, John Provine, Alexander Aston, Samuel Calhoun,
Perry G. Taylor, John L. Davis, Matthew Figures, David Billings, Irwin
Tomlinson, Joseph Trout, Hooker Reeves, Lewis Chambers, Matthew Cartwright,
William Harris, Andrew Swan, Wm. Wilson, Joseph Wier,, James Wier, Thomas
Brevard, Robin Johnson, Henry Jackson, and others;
ON SPENCER'S CREEK - John B. Walker, John Harpole, William Harris, William
White, Brittain Drake, Lewis Kirby, William Gray, Joel Echols, Robert Mitchell,
Thos. R. Mitchell, Phillip Koonce, James McFarland, Moore Stevenson, Mrs. Bettie
Echols and family, Jerre Hendricks, Richard Drake, and others;
ON CEDAR LICK CREEK - Theophilus Bass, Clem Jennings, John Everett, Reuben
Searcy, Joshua Kelly, James Everett, John Gleaves, Jas. H. Davis, Thomas Davis,
Howell Wren, William Ross, Edmund Vaughan, Harman Hays, George Smith, Daniel
Spicer, and others;
ON CUMBERLAND RIVER - Elijan Moore, William Saunders, Caleb Taylor, Bartholomew
Brett, William Johnson, Josiah Woods, William T. Cole, Joseph Kirkpatrick, Henry
Davis, James Tipton, Thomas Ray, Reuben Slaughter, Daniel Glenn, James A.
Hunter, Ransom King, Henry Jackson, Ephraim Beasley, Sterling Tarpley, Charles
Lock, William Petway and others;
ON STONER'S LICK CREEK - Blake Rutland, Zebulon Baird, John G. Graves, Benjamin
Graves, Thomas Watson, Joseph Watson, John Wilson, John Williamson, Henry
Thompson, Thomas Gleaves, Ezekiel Cloyd, Anderson Tate, Jacob Woodrum, Ezekiel
Clampet, Andrew Wilson, James Cothron, David Kendall, and others;
ON SUGG'S CREEK - Benjamin Hooker, Aquilla Suggs, William Warnick, William Rice,
Benjamin Dobson, Hugh Gwynn, Jenkin Sullivan, John Roach, James Hannah, Hugh
Telford, Green Barr, Peter Devault, John Curry, Thomas Drennon, Joseph Hamilton
Castleman, and others;
ON POND'S LICK CREEK - Robin Shannon, John Ozment, Lee Harralson, John Spinks,
John Rice, and others;
ON SINKING CREEK - Thompson Clemmons, William Bacchus, David Fields, Lewis
Merritt, Frank Ricketts, Fletcher Sullivan, James Richmond, Robert Jarmon, John
Winsett, Jesse Sullivan, William Parsley, and a little later, John Billingaley,
Seldon Baird, Dawson Hancock, Jonathan Ozment, and others;
ON HURRICANE CREEK - William Teague, John Bibson, William Hudson, Nicholas
Quesenbury, Charles Warren, Jacob Bennett, Elisha Bond, Robert Edwards, John
Edwards, Bradford Howard, George Cummings, John Merritt, Joseph Stacy, Frank
Young, Henry Mosier, Charles Cummings, John Wollen, Absalom Knight, Thomas
Miles, Peter Leath, Gideon Harrison, and others;
ON FALL CREEK - William Warren, Samuel Copeland, Joseph Williams, Jacob
Jennings, William Allison, Hardy Penuel, Joseph Sharp, Sampson Smith, Frank
Puckett, James Quarles, Roger Quarles, Matthew Sims, Shadrac Smith, James Smith,
Charles Smith, Aaron Edwards, John Edwards, Hugh Cummings, Isaac Winston,
Williams Worthan, Burrell Patterson, Absalom Lasater, John Alsup, Lard Sellars,
Joseph Carson, Charles Gillem, Arthur Harris, Walter Clopton, Richard Hudson,
William Smith, Henry Williams, John Donnell, Adney Donnell, and William Lester,
who was four times married and who had by his several wives thirty-four
children;
ON SMITH'S FORK - Dennis Kelly, John Kelly, David Ireland, John Adams, David
Wasson, John Armstrong, Isaac Witherspoon, Robert Bumpass, John Allen, Richard
Craddock, Edward Pickett, Elisha Hodge, Thomas Flood, James McAdoo, Samuel
McAdow, Abner Bone, Thomas Bone, William Richards, George L. Smith, Samuel
Stewart, William Beagle, James Johnson, John Know, William Knox, John Ward,
Solomon George, Reason Byrne, James Godfrey, Henry Payne, James Thompson, James
Thomas, Thomas Word, James Ayers, Wm. Jennings, Charles Rich, Abner Alexander,
William Oakley and James Williams, who was the Seventh Sheriff of the county,
and who had in succession three wives, by whom he had twenty-seven children.
ON ROUND LICK - Including Jenning's Fork - John W. Peyton, John Phillips,
Benjamin Phillips, Edward G. Jacobs, Samuel Patterson, John Green, Samuel
Barton, Alexander Beard, Jordan Bass, Solomon Bass, John Lawrence, John Taylor,
James Taylor, Evan Tracy, David Beard, Joseph Barbee, John Barbee, Shelah
Waters, David Young, George Clark, James Shelton, William Neal, Joshua Taylor,
Isaac Grandstaff, Daniel Smith, Jacob Vantrease, Duncan Johnson, Joseph Foust,
James Hill, Joseph Carlin, John Patton, George Hearn, John Bradley, Wm. New
Robert, Branch James Edwards, William Howard, John White, Edmund Jennings,
Thomas Byles, William Palmer, Park Goodall, Jerre Brown, Thomas B. Reese, James
Rather, John Swan, James Scoby, James Hobbs, James Newby, John Caplinger, and
perhaps others.
We have given above more than three hundred names of the early settlers of the
county. They all have passed away, but most of them have left a posterity to
perpetuate their names. Many of these are doubtless quite familiar to our
readers.
First Mills, School, Church, Cotton Gin, Etc.
The first water mill erected in the county was built, it is thought, by Thomas
Conyer, on Barton's Creek, about three miles north of west from the site of
Lebanon, about the year 1796. And the first licensed water saw and grist mill
was built by Matthew Figures, on Cedar Creek, about seven miles north east from
the site of Lebanon, in 1798.
The first horse mill in the county was built in "the Donnell Settlement," eight
miles south of the site of Lebanon, near Doak's Cross Roads about the year 1798.
The miller was a stout youth by the name of Robert Donnell; since well known to
the public as Rev. Robert Donnell, a prominent minister of the Cumberland
Presbyterian Church.
Before the erection of these and other mills in the territory now embraced with
our county, the early settlers had to go to mills in Sumner or Davidson, or
convert their corn into meal by the use of the mortar and pestle. Many of the
people never saw any meal, made in this way, but some of the old people now
living have not only seen such meal, but helped make it.
The first school taught in the county, as we are informed, was by Benjamin
Alexander, in "the Donnell Settlement" about the year 1801. For first High
School, see further on in this sketch.
The first church house built in the county, was erected by the Old School
Presbyterians near the site of Shop Spring, on the Sparta Pike, about the year
1799, and the Rev. Samuel Donnell was the first pastor. It was about his time
that a disturbance arose in this branch of the church upon the two items of
fatality and classical education, which resulted in the formation of the
Cumberland Presbyterian church, February 4, 1810.
The first cotton grown west of the Cumberland mountain was in Clover Bottom, in
a field to the right hand of the bridge across Stone's river, where the
Nashville and Lebanon pike crosses that stream, by John Donelson, afterward
father-in-law-of Andrew Jackson, about the year 1789-'90. Its cultivation for
home consumption seems to have spread rapidly, for in 1802 there were no less
than four gins already built in Wilson County: One by George Alexander, in the
neighborhood of old Center Hill; other by John B. Walker, on Hickory Ridge; and
the others by Moses Echols and Daniel Trigg, in other sections of the county.
These has no presses attached. The first press built, where cotton was
"bagged," not baled, for transportation was on the John B. Walker farm, on
Hickory Ridge, about the year 1805. It was grown there to some considerable
extent, and became a staple product, as it did in some localities in the county
just after the termination of the late civil war.
The oldest house in the county, so that we have been able to learn, was built by
Samuel Wilson Sherrill, on Barton's Creek, near where the Lebanon and Tucker's
Gap crosses that stream, two and a half miles south of west from Lebanon. It
was built in 1797-98, of hewn cedar logs, the door shutters being made of split
boards, and smoothed with the drawing knife, and nailed together with wrought
nails made by hands. It is still in use, the door shutters being now eight-two
years old, and strong and serviceable if not handsome. The next oldest is one
of the buildings occupied by John F. Doak, built by his paternal grandfather in
1800. It is of hewn yellow poplar logs, and is now in an excellent state of
preservation. Its present occupant has had it weatherboarded, and otherwise
renovated, to make it harmonize with more recent improvements. It is said by
some that the old McClain house is the oldest in the county; but I do not know
with certainty.
We have tried to ascertain the names of the first couple married in Wilson,
but failed. We have endeavored also to find out the name of the first white
child born in the county but did not succeed. We have been told, however, who
was the first white male child born here, but we doubt the correctness of the
statement, as it will drive us to the alternative, either that all the women of
the county were barren for five or six years, or that all the children born
within the same periods were girls! One of the "oldest inhabitants," and one
who is well posted, too, says that Josiah S. McClain, well known as the clerk of
the county court for a period of more than forty years, was the first white male
child "to put in his appearance" in what is now Wilson county having been born
January 1, 1799. This was before the county was established, and strictly
speaking he was born in Sumner county. Nevertheless, we speak of many things as
having occurred in Wilson, before its legal existence. The county has now a
population of 3,261 inhabitants.
Organization of the County
The first county court, or court of pleas and quarter sessions with probate
powers, was organized and held at the house of Capt. John Harpole, on Hickory
Ridge, about five miles west of the site of Lebanon, on Monday, December 23,
1799. The house stood near the large spring on the John B. Walker farm, more
recently known as the Dr. Thomas Norman place, and now the property of Col.
James Hamilton. The following named gentlemen were commissioned magistrates,
to-wit: Charles Kavanaugh, John Alcorn, John Lancaster, Elmore Douglas, John
Doak, Matthew Figures, Henry Ross, William Gray, Andrew Donelson and William
McClain. Charles Kavanaugh was elected chairman; Robert Foster, clerk; Samuel
Roseborough, Sheriff; John Alcorn, register; John W. Peyton, trustee; William
Gray, ranger; Henry Ross, coroner; and William Quesenberry, surveyor. Benjamin
Seawell, Esq., was elected the county solicitor.
James C. Hambleton was the first attorney admitted to the bar of Wilson County,
Dec. 24, 1799. He heads the long list of a bar distinguished for its ability.
Among the prominent men who began the practice of law at this bar, we may
mention Harry L. Douglass, Samuel Houston, George Samuel and William Yerger,
Robert M. Burton, John S. Brien, Jordan Stokes, William L. Martin, Robert Hatton
and Edward I. Golladay.
Of the visiting attorneys were Andrew Jackson, Felix Grundy and Ephraim H.
Foster of Davidson; John J. White, John H. Bowen and William Hadley, of Sumner;
Samuel Anderson and Charles Ready of Rutherford; and more recently, Col. John
Head and Col. Jo C. Guild of Gallatin.
The court held its sessions at the house of Captian Harpole until March term,
1802 when it adjourned to meet at the house of Henry Turney, on Barton's Creek,
about three miles south-west from the present county seat. Here it adjourned
its sittings until December term, 1802, when it adjourned to meet at the house
of Edward Mitchell of Lebanon, which had that year been located and established
by the commissioners as the permanent capital of the county.
The Courts
The courts established under the Constitution of 1796 were at first two, besides
the magistrates', namely, the court of pleas and quarter sessions for each
county, and the superior or district courts. The former had a more extended
jurisdiction than the present county court. In addition to probate and other
county matters, it had jurisdiction of civil and criminal causes with trial by
jury. The latter was the court of highest resort until 1810, when the court of
errors and appeals was established. The judges of this higher court were of
equal grade until 1831, when Judge Catron was elected the first chief justice of
the state.
Under the Constitution of 1834, the judicial system was re-organized, and
besides the magistrates' courts, county courts, circuit courts, chancery courts,
and the Supreme Court of Tennessee were established. The number of judges
constituting this latter court has varied from time to time, but it consists now
of five, one of whom is chief justice.
The first circuit court was held in this county on the first Monday in
September, 1810, and the Hon. Thomas Stuart was the first judge to preside; H.
L. Douglass, clerk; and Alfred Bach, Esq., solicitor general.
The first chancery court was held here on the 25th day of July, 1836, the
honorable L. M. Bramlitt being the chancellor, and John H. Dew, Esq., clerk and
master.
The county is divided into 25 civil districts, and has 51 magistrates, two to
each district, except that of Lebanon, which has three, and 26 constables.
Land and Soils
The land surface of the county embraces, as before stated, about 370,000 acres,
about 165,000 acres of which is in cultivation. The rest is wood and pasture
land, except old, worn-out fields which are not numerous and a few glades and
rocky points on some of the hills and ridges.
About three-fourths of the county is enclosed, generally by good fences, some of
stone, but much the greater proportion of cedar.
The soils may be divided into four classes, as follows:
1. The river and creek bottoms, which are alluvial and of great fertility,
producing nearly everything grown by the farmers of the county.
2. A dark soil, peculiar to the cedar flats, the least desirable of any we
have, and subject to drought, being usually near the rock.
3. That found on the hills, ridges and plateaus of the north-western and middle
portion of the county, and the slopes of the hills of the eastern and south-
eastern parts, is a sandy, mulatto-colored soil; it has been called the CORN
soil, though it produces wheat, cotton, tobacco, potatoes, etc., well. It is
excellent for apples, peaches, grapes, and other fruits.
4. That found in the valleys and lower parts of the county, outside of the
bottoms, which is also a mulatto soil, but is more compact and clayey. It has
been denominated the WHEAT soil, and does not fall much behind the last named,
giving ample returns to the farmer. The lands vary in price from $7.50 to $75
per acre, depending upon soil, timber, locality and improvements.
Placing the average price at $15 per acre, the farms of Wilson are worth, in the
aggregate, $5,550,000. On account of the decline in the prices of lands since
the census report of 1870, we have deducted one fourth of the cash value as
therein given for our county. We presume a like decline has attended every
other county in the state.
Wilson ranks as the sixth county. Those outranking her in this respect are, in
the order of greatest value, Bedford, Davidson, Maury, Rutherford, and Shelby.
Wilson is credited in its census report for 1870 with 3,059 farms, ranging in
size from three to nearly one thousand acres each. They are mostly occupied by
their owners, very few entire farms being rented. Land rents on the shares,
from one-third to one half the crop; in money, from $1 to $5 per acre, according
to quality of soil.
Products of the Soil
The products of the soil, as given in the census reports for 1870 were as
follows: Corn, 1,173,201 bushels; barley, 11,355 bushels; wheat, 241,715
bushels; oats, 151,067 bushels; rye, 3,189 bushels; sweet potatoes, 33,362
bushels; irish potatoes, 25,945 bushels; clover seed, 1,117 bushels; grass seed,
932 bushels; hay, 5,850 tons; cotton, 1,205 bales; tobacco, 332,901 pounds;
sorghum molasses, 47,794 gallons. Also orchard products, value, $24,660;
produce of market gardens, $11,740; forest products, $9,668 (not less now than
$175,000); home manufactures, $45,909, being in the aggregate about $255,237.
Livestock
The livestock, according to the same authority, were as follows: horses, 9,682
head; mules and asses, 4,150 head; milk cows, 5,185 head; working oxen, 584
head; other cattle, 7,399 head; sheep, 24,023 head; and hogs, 48,708 head, with
a multitude of domestic fowls. Estimated value of livestock, $1,919,019.
Population
The population by the census report of 1870, was as follows: white, 18,544;
colored 7,331; male, 12,898; female, 12,983; Indians, 6; total, 25,881;
scholastic, 8,062; voting, 5,332.
Taxable Property
The taxable property, as given by the assessment of 1878, was as follows: Real,
354,580 acres; value, $3,982,858; personal, less $1,000 exemptions, $982,818;
aggregate, $4,965,676. This shows a decline since the census report of 1870,
owing to the stringency of the times. Poll tax on 4,164 polls, $4,164.
According to the census report of 1870, Wilson county took the lead in the
production of wheat, sorghum molasses, butter, and in rearing horses, over all
counties in the state. It stood second in the growth of barley, grass, and
clover seed, and in raising hogs, and third best in mules and asses, and animals
for slaughter, the value of the latter being, in 1870, $622,714.
Roads and Railroads
The county is traversed by the number of good roads, most of them being
turnpikes. Eleven of these pikes, radiate from Lebanon, besides three or four
others which lie in other sections of the county. There is a number of common
dirt roads, most of them being in rather bad condition, especially in the winter
season.
All these roads connect Lebanon directly with the villages and other points of
interest in the county, as well as with the towns and villages in the adjoining
counties.
Besides the turnpike, which runs from Lebanon to Nashville, the Tennessee and
Pacific railroad is completed from the latter to the former place, furnishing
ample facilities for speedy transportation of passengers and freight from one to
the other.
It is hoped this road will, in the near future, be extended on to Knoxville,
thus giving a direct all rail route from the present to the first capital of the
state, without having to make a circuitous trip through two other states to
accomplish the end. Besides the railroad facilities, Cumberland river furnishes
steamboat navigation half the year. Hunter's Point and other landings are
shipping points in this county.
Schools and Colleges
Wilson county has become rather noted for its schools. Besides many common
subscription and free schools, it has a number of excellent high schools, both
male and female, and university of no little celebrity.
Professor George M. McWhirter, assisted by two daughters, established the first
high school in the county, called Campbell's Academy, in 1810-1812, about six
miles west from Lebanon on Hickory Ridge, and near the old Nashville Road.
It was a popular school for a number of years, many of the older citizens of
this and adjoining counties having received their academic education within its
halls. It was subsequently transferred to Lebanon, where it was the principal
male school for a number of years, Prof. Miron Kilborn, Rev. Thos. C. Anderson
and S. C. Anderson, having been at different times among its teachers. It was
finally merged in the Preparatory Department of Cumberland university.
The next school of high grade was the Abbey Female Institute, established under
the direction of Miss Harriet Abbey and her sister, Mrs. Kilborn, about 1830-35,
in Lebanon. Many of the matrons of the county will remember this school as the
place where, when young, they spent many happy hours at school.
About the year 1842-44, Princeton College, Ky., under the direction of the
Cumberland Presbyterian church, was moved to Lebanon, and its name changed to
Cumberland university, of which Rev. F. R. Cossitt, D. D. was the first
president. It has been in successful operation ever since, excepting a
suspension during the late civil war, and has been one of the most celebrated
institutions of learning in the state.
It has its preparatory and academical departments, its engineering, telegraphic,
theological and law schools, with a faculty distinguished for its ability. Of
its able teachers, now of the faculty, we may mention Rev. Thomas C. Anderson,
D. D. for a long time its president, the late N. Lawrence Lindsley, L. L. D.,
once professor of languages; Gen. A. P. Stewart, at one time professor of
mathematics; the late Judge Nathan Green, whose opinions, delivered while a
member of the supreme court, are quoted as high authority by the legal
profession everywhere, and who was for several years professor in the law
school; and the late Judge Abraham Caruthers, "the best common law lawyer in the
state," the founder of the law school, and for more than a dozen years one of
its professors. Its alumni are well represented at the bar and upon the bench;
in the pulpit and in both state and national councils, as well as in the fields
of journalism, education, and other departments of human enterprise.
Among other schools of excellence at Lebanon and elsewhere in the county,
Greenwood Seminary, a popular school for young ladies, deserves especial notice.
It was founded by the late Professor N. Lawrence Lindsley, LL. D., a courteous
and accomplished gentleman and scholar, in 1850, on his beautiful estate four
miles south-east from Lebanon, and counts its patrons from a number of western
and southern states. Since the death of Mr. Lindsley, in 1868, the school has
been conducted with, if possible, increased popularity by his estimable and
accomplished widow, Mrs. Julia M. Lindsley, assisted by a corps of able
teachers.
Wilson county is justly proud of her schools.
Churches, Mills, Etc.
The Methodists, Baptists, Cumberland Presbyterians, and Christians are
numerically the principal religious denominations of the county. They have many
churches, or houses of worship, located here and there over the county, nearly
all of them neat and comfortable, and some beautiful, especially in Lebanon and
the villages. The advantages of the pulpit and the Sunday school are extended
to all.
There are many mills, saw mills and grist mills, propelled by water and steam,
in the county. Every neighborhood has one or more of each, thus furnishing the
people with ample facilities for obtaining meal, flour and lumber. Several of
these manufacture flour for export, especially that at Lebanon, owned and
operated by J. A. Lester & Co. Flour made at these mills commands the highest
price, not only in this state, but in New York and other markets. This mill
also supplies a home market for the sale of wheat to the farmers of Wilson and
other counties.
The Fair Grounds of the Wilson County Agriculture and Mechanical association,
located in Lebanon, reflect no little credit upon the association, and the
county. The grounds enclosed embrace about 20 acres, with well appointed
improvements for purposes of comfort and exposition. There is a large covered
amphitheatre, a complete circle, with open court within, making a delightful
promenade, as well as furnishing an ample number of seats for the spectators. A
floral hall and other buildings are attached. The association was organized
about the year 1852, and except a suspension during the late civil war, has held
its annual fairs ever since.
The county has also its home for the poor, or asylum for the unfortunate and
improvident, consisting of a farm and improvements, managed by a superintendent.
The beneficiaries are but few.
County Seat
Lebanon, the county seat, was founded in 1802. It is situated on the east
branch of Barton's creek, six miles south from Cumberland river, about six miles
north of the present geographical center of the county, and thirty miles east
from Nashville, with which it is connected by the Tennessee & Pacific railroad.
The commissioners - Christopher Cooper, Alanson Trigg, Matthew Figures, John
Harpole and John Doak - assisted by William Quesenbury, the county surveyor,
sought to locate the town near the center of the county, but after examining
several localities decided to locate it where they did on account of the big
spring.
When Christopher Cooker saw this large, beautiful stream, he exclaimed, "Here Is
the place!" And so it was.
The abundance of excellent water determined the location, and the cedar groves
by which the spring was then surrounded suggested the name of the town. Lebanon
was located on a small tract of land bought of James Meneis (sic), the town laid
off and the lots sold, August 16, 1802 at public auction. It was not a place of
great expectations, as choice lots sold for only thirteen dollars each.
The first settler on what is now the town tract was Neddy Jacobs, in 1800. He
lived at first in a log cabin with a dirt floor. After the town was established
he built another with a puncheon floor; but Mrs. Jacobs didn't like the change
at all; said she had never had any peace since they had moved into the new
house. It was putting on too much style to suit her notions of propriety.
John Impson built the first house after the town was laid off. It stood north
of the spring. Thomas Impson, Edward Mitchell, Edmund Crutcher, and others
built also.
William Allen, an Irishman, was the first merchant to open a store in Lebanon,
in 1803. His clerk was Jo Johnson, who subsequently became his partner, and
finally bought him out. The first physicians were Drs. John Tulloch and Samuel
Hogg. Edward Mitchell was the first hotel keeper, in 1803. The first school
teacher was an Irishman by the name of John Trotter, about 1805. The first
postmaster was John Alcorn, and the first mayor of Lebanon was Edmund Crutcher,
the town having been incorporated in 1807. The first church erected in Lebanon
was by the Methodists, about the year 1812, and Rev. German Baker was the first
pastor. Previous to this, preaching had been held in private houses or in the
courthouse.
The first courthouse was built in 1803, of cedar. Some say it was a framed
house, others say it was built of logs. All are agreed that it was a small
affair. It was succeeded by the brick courthouse which stood in the center of
the public square, and which was built by William Seawell in 1810-11. Many of
the people remember it, with its hipped roof, small doors and smaller windows.
It was the temple of justice for nearly forty years. In 1848, the present
courthouse was built, and the old one pulled down and moved away. This last
courthouse is large and well constructed, furnishing ample accommodations for
the courts, the clerks, sheriff and other county officials.
The county has had three jails, one wooden and two brick. The first was built
of logs, in 1803. The second was of brick, and stood on the west side of the
square, near the creek. The third and present jail is also of brick, built on a
flat rock, and is regarded as safe, few prisoners having escaped from it.
Dr. Henry Shelby built the first brick dwelling in Lebanon, about 1812. The
next was built by Joseph Johnson not long thereafter. Mr. Johnson brought the
first piano to Lebanon in 1815. It cost $300 and was something new to the
"backwoods" people of Wilson. When the Misses Johnson would play upon it, the
town and country people who might happen to be within hearing, would collect
about the window, charmed with the music. People thought old Joe Johnson was
extravagant and putting on airs! People will talk. Some said his children
would be ruined!
The first newspaper published in Lebanon was by Ford & Womack, 1818, but it was
soon discontinued. It was called the Lebanon Gazette. In 1842 the Banner of
Peace, edited by Dr. F. R. Cossitt, in the interest of the Cumberland
Presbyterian church, was published at Lebanon, and so continued until it was
removed to Nashville, about 1851. Besides these, the Chronicle, the Packet, the
Free Press, Cumberland University Magazine, the Herald and perhaps others have
been published at Lebanon.
Lebanon has grown steadily, though slowly, notwithstanding it has been visited
now and then by an epidemic, or an occasional fire. Besides a number of private
residences, two large cotton factories, Cumberland university, and two blocks of
business houses on the public square, have all been consumed by fire. The town
has now six dry goods stores, three drug and book stores, 10 family groceries,
two hardware stores, two millinery shops, three restaurants, five saloons, one
bakery and confectionary, 2 saddle and harness shops, three tin and stove shops,
two tobacco and cigar shops, three carriage and wagon shops, three blacksmith
shops, two carpenter shops, two undertakers, three barber shops, one marble
yard, one pork packing establishment, two flouring mills, one saw mill, a market
house, a fine depot building, four hotels, four livery stables, two cooper
shops, two free schools - one white and one colored - three private schools, one
university, six churches - Methodist, Cumberland Presbyterian, Baptist and
Christian, and two colored - Methodist and Baptist, two printing establishments
and two newspapers, two national banks, a Masonic hall, Odd Fellows hall, 1
cotton factory, two dentists, six physicians, 20 lawyers, 10 preachers - six
white and four colored, a number of beautiful residences and about 2,500
inhabitants, of which about 500 are colored.
Villages and Hamlets
Statesville, a post-village, 18 miles south-east from Lebanon, on Smith's Fork
creek, was established about the year 1812, on the land of William Bumpass, and
named Statesville, North Carloina. It was originally called Maryville, in
compliments to Mrs. Bumpass, who given name was Mary, but upon the establishment
of the post-office there being already one by this name in the state, it was
changed to Statesville. It is situated among the hills, and soil being rich and
productive, the health good, and the water excellent. Statesville was a
prosperous village, reaching its greatest prosperity about the year 1835. It
had then seven stores, sundry mechanic shops, and other evidences of a thrifty
place. But it has since declined, having, after a lapse of more than 40 years,
only four stores, four blacksmith shops, one saddle and harness shop, one boot
and shoe shop, one wood shop, a tanyard, hotel, schoolhouse, two churches -
Methodist and Cumberland Presbyterian, a steam saw mill, a water grist mill,
Masonic and Odd Fellows halls, three physicians, one preacher, and about 150
inhabitants, on which about 30 are colored.
Statesville, although old and little, shows some signs of returning prosperity,
and is now the center of a considerable local trade. It is situated in the
midst of a moral, industrious, well-to-do and hospitable people.
CAINSVILLE, a post hamlet, 18 miles nearly south from Lebanon, was established
in 1829, in a healthy and fertile section of the hill country, on the land of
George I. Cain, for whom it was named. It is situated on the Statesville and
Murfreesboro pike, about one mile south of Fall Creek, and was in its earlier
days a flourishing village, having a number of stores, sundry mechanic shops,
and other evidences of prosperity. But since it has declined, having now but
three stores, some mechanic shops, two churches - Methodist and Cumberland
Presbyterian, a school, two physicians, and about 75 inhabitants, of which 15
are colored.
Cainsville is situated in a fine agricultural district, in a moral, intelligent,
prosperous and hospitable community, and has a trade of local importance.
GLADESVILLE, a post-village on the Statesville and Nashville road, 12 miles
south-west from Lebanon, was established in 1852, on the land of Benjamin Hooker
Jr. John Bland was appointed the first postmaster. It is situated in an
undulating and moderately healthy section, though the village proper is located
on a rocky glade, from which it takes its name. It is old enough to have grown
larger, but it didn't. It has but two stores, one saddle and harness shop, one
wagon shop, a cabinet shop, two blacksmith shops, a school house, Methodist
church, Masonic and Odd Fellows halls, one physician, and about 40 inhabitants,
of which a half-dozen are colored. Gladesville is situated in the midst of a
moral, industrious and clever people.
Mt. Juliet, a post-office and station on the Tennessee and Pacific railroad, 14
miles west from Lebanon, was established on the land of Newton Cloyd in 1870,
and named for old Mt. Juliet, which was situated about a half mile south of the
depot. Old Mt. Juliet was located in 1835, on the old Lebanon and Nashville
road, on the land of John J. Crudoup, about a half mile west from the "old Eagle
Tavern," which was well known to the traveling public in days gone by. A little
later, the stage road was changed, so as to run by Fountain of Health, when old
Mt. Juliet declined. The new Mt. Juliet was established as above stated. It is
but a very small place, having only two stores, a blacksmith shop, school house,
Cumberland Presbyterian (Cloyd's) church, Masonic and Odd Fellows hall, cotton
gin, a Methodist church, colored, and about 100 inhabitants, including the
"colored addition" on the north, of which about half are colored.
GREEN HILL, a post hamlet, on the Lebanon and Nashville turnpike, 15 miles west
from the former, was established on the land of Hugh Robinson, about the year
1837, and took his name from the green grove by which it was then surrounded.
The first improvement made upon the site was by John Donelson, about the year
1806. Col. Donelson fixed his summer residence here for a time, the locality
being regarded as more healthy than his home on the Cumberland. It is a broken,
though fertile and healthy section of the county, and the people, enterprising
and hospitable. Though small in population, Green Hill has been from the first
a place of local importance. Its most prosperous days were before the era of
railroads, when the mails and passengers were conveyed by the stage coaches, and
when it was an important stand midway between Lebanon and Nashville. It has now
but one store, a blacksmith shop, one wood shop, a steam cotton gin, school
house, one church used by all denominations, one physician, and about 100
inhabitants, of which about 35 are colored.
LA GUARDO, a post village on the road from Leeville to Wood's ferry in the
Cumberland, 12 miles north-west from Lebanon, was established about the year
1835-36 on the land of Col. Turner Vaughan, who suggested the name of the place.
It is situated in the valley of the Cumberland, about two miles south from the
river, in an undulating, healthy and very fertile section of the county, and it
is noted for its good schools, the sobriety, intelligence, refinement and
hospitality of its inhabitants. It was more prosperous before the late civil
war than at present, having now but four stores, a blacksmith shop, school
house, Masonic hall, five churches - Baptist, Cumberland Presbyterian and
Christian, and two colored - Methodist and Baptist, a steam saw mill, one
physician, one preacher, and about 100 inhabitants, of which about 20 are
colored.
LEEVILLE, (Stringtown, or Kelley's Church) a post hamlet and station on the
Tennessee and Pacific railroad, six miles west from Lebanon, was established in
1871, on the land of Rev. D. C. Kelley, and named from Gen. Robert E. Lee,
grandson of Martha Washington. It is situated just west of Hickory Ridge, in
the valley of Cedar Lick creek, in a healthy and fertile section, and has one
store, some mechanic shops, a school house, two churches - Methodist and
Baptist, one physician, and about 75 inhabitants.
TAYLORSVILLE (Austin P.O.) a post village on Cedar creek 7 miles north-east from
Lebanon, was established in 1836-40, on the lands of John N. Taylor and
Philander Davis, and named for the former, at the suggestion of Gen. Paulding
Anderson, its first merchant. It is situated in a healthy, fertile and well-to-
do section of the county, and has now two stores, a blacksmith shop, school
house, Mason hall, Union church, a water mill, one physician, and about 70
inhabitants, of which 15 are colored.
SAULSBERRY - a very little, old village on the Lebanon and Trousdale Ferry road,
10 miles from the former, being familiarly called Saul; hence Saulsberry. It is
situated on Dry Branch of Round Lick creek, in a healthy, broken and much worn
section, the denuded rocks, many gullies and old sedge fields looking much as if
the people ought to sell out and go to Texas. Saulsberry was once a big little
place, having a number of stores, mechanic shops, and other evidences of
prosperity. Its most prosperous period was in 1858-59-60, but the civil war put
an end to its prosperity, and it has not yet revived. It has now but one store,
one blacksmith shop, one wood shop, a school house, Methodist church, and a
population of about 60 inhabitants. Saulsberry has no post office, but the
people receive and forward their mails through the offices at Commerce and
Tuckers Cross Roads.
COMMERCE, a post village, about 13 miles nearly east from Lebanon, was
established about the year 1822, on the land of Joshua Taylor, who suggested its
name on account of the brisk trade which sprang up there at an early day. It is
situated on a rocky prominence, on the western margin of Round Lick Creek
valley, and although more than a half century old, it has grown but little,
having been exlipsed for a time by Saulsberry. It has now but one store, two
blacksmith shops, one wood shop, one shoe shop, a steam saw and grist mills,
school house, Cumberland Presbyterian church, Odd Fellows hall, two physicians,
two preachers, and about 60 inhabitants.
WATERTOWN - a post hamlet, on the Lebanon and Sparta turnpike, 13 miles east
from the former place, was established in 1858, and named for Wilson Turner
Waters, on whose land it was built. It is located in the rich and beautiful
valley of Round Lick creek, just below the junction of the three forks, in one
of the most prosperous and substantial communities in the county. It has but
one store, one blacksmith shop, one wood shop, one steam saw and grist mill, one
physician, and about 40 inhabitants, of which about half a dozen are colored.
CHERRY VALLEY - a post hamlet on the Sparta pike, 10 miles south-east from
Lebanon, was established in 1848, on the land of Wilson T. Cartwright, who
suggested the change to Cherry from Pleasant Valley, its original name, when
applying for the post office. It is situated in the pleasant valley of west
fork of Round Lick creek and has two stores, two blacksmith and other mechanic
shops, a Methodist church, Masonic hall, school house, two physicians, and about
25 inhabitants.
SHOP SPRINGS, a post hamlet, on the Sparta pike, seven miles south-east from
Lebanon was established in 1850, on the land of Thomas Waters, who suggested the
name upon application for the post office. It is pleasantly situated in the
fertile and delightful valley of Spring creek, in the midst of an excellent
community, and has two stores, two blacksmith shops, one wagon shop, one cooper
shop, a wood carding factory, school house, two physicians, and about 75
inhabitants, of which not more than a dozen are colored.
Besides these villages, we may mention the following post offices in the county:
Bellwood, 10 miles north-east from Lebanon; Tucker's Cross Roads, six miles
east; Henderson's Cross Roads, 12 miles east of south; Green Vale, 16 miles
south east; Oak Grove, 16 miles southwest; Baird's Mills, 8 miles west of south;
Rural Hill, 15 miles nearly south west; Beckwith (Curd's station) nine miles
west; and Silver Springs, 10 miles west from Lebanon, on the Nashville pike, are
all places of more or less local importance, each having, besides the post
office, one or more stores, mechanic shops, etc.
Public Men
Wilson county has not been remiss in furnishing her quota of public men, whether
in the civil or military service of the country. Among the more prominent we
may mention the Hon. James C. Jones, governor of the state from 1841 to 1845,
and the United States senator from 1852 to 1858. He was a fine stump speaker,
and for awhile the idol of the Whig party of Tennessee. His opponent for the
first named was Gov. James Knox Polk, subsequently President of the United
States.
As representatives in the congress of the United States, we note, in the order
of their election, the Hon. Samuel Hogg, Hon. Robert L. Caruthers, Hon. Robert
Hatton, Hon. William B. Campbell, Hon. Edward I. Golladay, and Hon. Haywood Y.
Riddle.
Of the organ law makers, Hon. Robert M. Burton and Hon. Burchett Douglass were
the delegates to the Constitutional Convention of 1834; Hon. William H.
Williamson and Hon. Samuel G. Shepherd, to that of 1870. Wilson county, not
being established at the time, had no delegates to the convention which formed
the state in 1796.
Hon. Robert L. Caruthers was, for a number of years, one of the judges of the
Supreme Court of Tennessee, a position which he worthily adorned, not only on
account of his varied learning in the law, but because of his moral worth and
his courteous and dignified bearing with the bench, the bar and the people.
Ed. R. Pennebaker was comptroller of the state treasury from 1870 to 1872; and
Jesse G. Frazier, Esq. was clerk of the supreme court for several years.
Hon. Robert E. Thompson received the largest popular vote for representative of
the general assembly ever obtained by any one for that position in the county;
and his son, Lillard Thompson, Esq., received, in 1878, the largest popular
vote for attorney-general ever polled for anyone in this judicial district.
Gen. Alexander P. Stewart, for a number of years professor of mathematics in
Cumberland university, rose step by step to be lieutenant general in the army of
the Confederate States.
Hon. Robert Hatton started out as captain in 1861, was soon after elected
colonel of the Seventh Tennessee Regiment, and fell a brigadier general at Seven
Pines, April 31, 1862.
Major John K. Howard, of the same regiment, and afterward colonel, was mortally
wounded and died near Richmond, Va., in 1862.
Of Wilson countians in the struggle for Texas independence we may mention Mayor
James S. Lester, who followed Gen. Sam Houston and the Lone Star banner until
the final victory at San Jacinto in 1836. He was subsequently a delegate to the
Constitutional Convention, member of the Texas congress, and since her admission
in to the Union, a member of the state legislature. He is a son of William
Lester, a pioneer of Wilson, one of the 34 children heretofore mentioned, and
brother of Henry D. Lester, at one time sheriff of Wilson county.
In the Mexican war of 1846-7, Col. Jack Hays, a native of Wilson county,
commanded a regiment of rangers on the western frontier of Texas, and resides
now in Oakland, California.
Besides the Yergers, Golladays and Topps, who have made reputations beyond the
limits of Tennessee, we may note briefly the following Wilson countians who have
gone abroad and attained to positions of trust and honor; Jesse J. Finley, Esq.,
who removed to Florida in 1837 and subsequently became a judge of the supreme
court of that state; Hickerson Barksdale, Esq., who moved to Texas and became a
judge of the District court at Dallas; Wilson L. Andrews, Esq., who located at
McKinney, and became also a judge of the district court, - Lindsay, who migrated
to Texas a few years since and became a judge of the district court at
Gainsville; Edward B. Pickett, a prominent lawyer of the Liberty bar, who has
been once or twice speaker of the house of representatives, and is now one of
the prospective governors of Texas. There were also Edwin B. Tarver, Esq., a
gifted orator, and at one time attorney general of the state, and Robert Green,
Esq., on of the profoundest lawyers of the bar of his age, so regarded by judges
of the supreme court, both natives. We may also mention Charles Frizzier, who
moved to Texas before the late civil war, and soon after became judge of the
Marshall district court. Pain P. Prim, who went to Oregon in 1850, was
subsequently elected judge of a court, and is now chief justice of that state.
Samuel C. Roan went to the Territory of Arkansas at an early day, was appointed
governor, and subsequently a judge of the supreme court of that state. John S.
Roan, a brother of the above named, migrated to Arkansas in 1836, was a colonel
in the Mexican war and subsequently governor of his adopted state. W. W.
Vaughan moved to West Tennessee some years since, was elected to congress since
that late war, president of a railroad, and would have received nomination of
the Democratic party of his district for congress in 1878, had he lived a few
weeks longer. M. L. Bell, who located at Pine Bluff in 1848, was a prominent
candidate for United States senator in 1878.
Besides these, we may mention also Jos. W. Carter, who became a member of the
McMinnville bar some years before the late was, was elected attorney general of
his district, and subsequently represented Franklin county in the legislature.
James P. Scott, Edwin Chambers, and Jack May Martin, all moved to Texas and have
been members of her legislature. Many other Wilson countians have gone to other
states and filled positions of trust and honor, but whose names I have not time
to collect. It would be a pleasure to mention them here had I definite
knowledge of them. I had almost forgotten to mention John McHenry, who went to
Louisiana about the year 1835, became a prominent lawyer, and subsequently judge
of one of her courts. He resides now in San Francisco, California, having
acquired an easy competence. There was Dr. William P. Smith also, who went to
Texas in 1835 and became surgeon-general of the army of Texas commanded by Gen.
Sam Houston. He was a genial gentleman. Rev. Dr. D. C. Kelley, a missionary of
the M. E. Church to China, and now pastor of the McKendree church at Nashville,
is a native of Wilson county. He is quite a prominent member of his church, and
bids fair to become a member of the College of Bishops. And last, but not
least, we may add that the biggest man in Texas, W. B. Trice, who attained to
the weight of four hundred and fifty pounds, not but much behind Daniel Lambert,
of London, is a native of Wilson county. He went there with only twenty dollars
in his pocket, driving a wagon to pay his way. He worked at first for twelve
dollars a month, chopped wood, drove oxen, milked cows, then played constable,
shaved notes, made brick, built houses, and then became a merchant; finally he
engaged in farming and banking, and now owns not only an excellent well
improved, and well stocked farm, but is also president of the First National
Bank of Waco. So much for luck, pluck and grip. The way is still open to
others. Pitch in, young men, and try for your fortunes. Trice is worth only
about a hundred thousand, but that makes friends. Success "makes the man," the
want of it the fellow with the bulk of mankind.
Judges of the Circuit Court
Since the establishment of the districts or circuits, in 1810, the following
named judges have presided at the Lebanon bar; the last three being citizens of
Wilson county; Thomas Stuart, J. C. Mitchell, Samuel Anderson, Hugh L. Davidson,
Henry Cooper, John W. Phillips, William H. Williamson, and Robert Cantrell, who
term expires in 1886.
Clerks of the Circuit Court
The clerks for the same period are as follows: Harry L. Douglass, Samuel C.
Roane, Henry Shelby, John S. Topp, Samuel Yerger, William L. Martin, John W.
White, Harris H. Simmons, James H. Britton, Calvin W. Jackson, Plummer W.
Harris, Joseph T. Manson, William M. McCorkle, and Samuel G. Stratton, who term
expires in 1882.
Attorneys General
The following is the list of Attorneys General, those marked with the dagger (+)
being citizens of Wilson County, to wit: Alfred Balch, William R. Hess, Samuel
H. Laughlin, Samuel Yerger+, Robert L. Caruthers+, Thomas C. Whitside, Hugh L.
Davidson, William L. Martin+, James E. Scudder, B. M. Tillman, James M. Brien,
Horace Rice+, James F. Stokes+, Moses W. McKnight and Lillard Thompson+, who
term expires in 1886.
Chancellors
The chancellors who have presided over the chancery court, from its
establishment in 1836 to the present time are as follows, Chancellor being the
only resident of our county: Lunsford M. Bramlitt, Bromfield L. Ridley, John P.
Steele, Charles G. Smith, Horace H. Lurton, Benjamin J. Tarver and George E.
Seay, who term expires in 1886.
Clerks and Masters
The clerks and masters of the chancery court at Lebanon, from 1836 to the
present time are as follows: John H. Dew, James B. Rutland, John K. Howard,
Jordan E. White, Orville Green, Haywood Y. Riddle, and Rufus P. McClain, now in
office.
Clerks of the County Court
The names of the Clerks of the county court from its organization, December 23,
1799 to the present time, as follows: Robert Foster, J. C. Henderson, John
Alcorn,+ John Stone, Josiah S. McClain,+ Rufus P. McClain and Jessee F. Coe, who
term expires in 1882.
Footnotes
+ These held office, the first for more than 25 years, and the second for more
than 40 years.
+ Dr. J. G. M. Ramsey, in his excellent work entitled "The Annals of Tennessee"
states that William McClain was for a long time clerk of our county court, and
that his son, Josiah S. McClain, was then (1852) clerk of said court. Dr.
Ramsey, usually so terse, graphic and reliable, has fallen into an error here,
as William McClain never was clerk more than 40 years. In the next edition of
his valuable work, Dr. Ramsey will doubtless make the necessary correction. (end
of footnotes).
Trustees
The following is the list of trustees of the county from 1799 to the present
time, so far as I have been able to collect them: John W. Peyton, James Stuart,
Edmund Crutcher, David C. Hibbitts, John Shorter, D. B. Moore, J. W. Edwards, J.
T. Lane, Nathan Oakley, and L. N. M. Cook, whose term expires in 1880.
Registers
The following are the registers of the county from 1799 to the present time:
John Alcorn, Henry Ross, James Foster, Thomas Edwards, Alfred H. Foster, Giles
H. Glenn, Robert M. Holman, Allen W. Vick, and John F. Tarpley, whose term
expires in 1882.
The following lists of senators and representatives may not be exactly correct,
as some of the senate and house journals are missing, even in the office of the
secretary of state. Nor is there a complete set of the Acts of the General
Assembly in the State Library; and if I have omitted any names it is because I
could not find them in the imperfect records of the state.
State Senators
Hon. John H. Dew, 1809-1811; John K. Wynn (two terms) 1811-1815; William
Seawell, 1815-1817; O. G. Finley, 1817-1819; William Steele (three terms) 1821-
1827; George I. Cain, 1827-1829; Joseph Johnson, 1829-1831; Burchett Douglass
(Speaker) 1831-1833; Benjamin T. Mottley (two terms) 1833-1837; Paulding
Anderson, 1837-1839; Benjamin T. Mottley, 1839-1840; Thomas J. Munford, 1840-
1841; Benjamin T. Mottley, 1841-1843; William L. Martin, 1843-1845; John
Muirhead (two terms) 1845-1849; James Hamilton, 1849-1851; Paulding Anderson
1851-1853; Jordan Stokes, 1859-1861; Z. W. Frazer, 1865-1867; Faver Cason, 1869-
1871; James Hamilton, 1873-1875; Robert E. Thompson, 1877-1879.
Representatives
Hon. John Hawkins, 1809-1811 (Hawkins is scratched out and the name of Joseph
Johnson handwritten in); Robert Edwards, 1811-1815; Harry I. Douglass, 1815-
1817; Robert Edwards, 1817-1819; William Steele, 1817-1819; Robert Edwards,
1819-1821; Burchett Douglass, 1821-1825; John Williamson, 1825-1827; Robert M.
Burton, 1827-1829; Burchett Douglass, 1829-1831; John G. Dew, 1831-1835; Robert
L. Caruthers, 1835-1837; John Hall, 1835-1837; C. W. Cummings, 1837-1839; James
C. Jones, 1839-1841; Miles McCorkle, 1841-1843; John Muirhead, 1841-1843; Thomas
K. Roach, 1843-1845; James Hamilton, 1843-1845; Henry S. Frazer, 1845-1847;
Edwin Chambers, 1845-1847; Erastus S. Smith, 1847-1849; T. W. Davis, 1847-1849;
Erastus S. Smith, 1849-1851, John W. Burton, 1849-1851; Jordan Stokes (Speaker)
1851-1853; Robert E. Thompson, 1851-1855; T. C. Martin, 1855-1857; Robert
Hatton, 1855-1857; John T. Gleaves, 1857-1859; Ed. I. Golladay, 1857-1859; Z. W.
Frazer, 1857-1859; John R. Davis, 1859-1861; William L. Martin, 1859-1861;
William L. Waters, 1865-1867; W. H. Grimmett, 1865-1867; Faver Cason, 1867-1869;
Wilson L. Waters, 1867-1869; Giles H. Glenn, 1869-1871; A. W. Cox, 1869-1871;
Andrew B. Martin, 1871-1873; Samuel G. Shephard, 1871-1873; Lee Head, 1873-1875;
S. S. Preston, 1873-1875; Lee Head, 1875-1877; R. P. McClain, 1875-1877; James
F. Stokes, 1877-1878; John T. Gleaves, 1878-1879; H. L. Pickett, 1879-1881.
Sheriffs of Wilson County (1799-1880)
1. Samuel Roseborough, two years, 1799-1802; 2. William Wilson, three months,
1802; 3. Nathaniel Perry, two years, 1802-1804; 4. George Hallum, one year,
1804-1805; 5. John V. Tulloch, one year, 1804-1805; 6. Thomas Bradley, 13 years,
1806-1819; 7. James Williams, two years, 1819-1821; 8. Thomas Bradley, four
years, 1821-1825; 9. John Hearn, six years, 1825-1831; 10. Paulding Anderson,
five years, 1831-1836; 11. Benjamin S. Mabry, three years, 1836-1839; 12.
Wilborn R. Winter, one year, 1839-1840; 13. Henry D. Lester, four years, 1840-
1844; 14. John C. Lash, three years, 1844-1847; 15. Robert Hallum, one year,
1847-1848; 16. John C. Crittenden, six years, 1848-1854; 17. Jonathan Etherly,
five years, 1854-1859; 18. Nathan W. McCullough, 1859-1866; 19. William E.
Foust, four years, 1866-1870; 20. Andrew McGregor, four years, 1870-1874; 21.
David W. Granstaff, two years, 1874-1876; 22. William P. Bandy, four years,
1876-1880.
+++++++++
Ads on the back include John C. Farr, attorney at law, solicitor in chancery;
Jordan Stokes & Son, attorneys; T. J. Shelton & Co., tombstone builders, Marble
and Freestone Works; Greenwood Seminary; J. O. Ingram & Co. Livery and Sale
Stable, Hitch one nickle, hay one dime, square feed 25 cents. On south
Cumberland street, W. A. Johnson, Cal. Ingram. J. H. Martin, agent, had an ad
for the NC & St.L. Railroad, the "shortest, quickest and best route to Texas,
Arkansas, Missouri. C. B. Wheelock & Co., Nashville, advertised agricultural
machines and implements.