hen the American explorers came. Judg-
ing from the location of the forts, mounds, and ceme-
teries, the Mound Builders selected the most fertile
sections for habitation and near streams. These land-
marks are numerous in Middle Tennessee, and the
Smith Fork Valley, in DeKalb County, once echoed to
the voices of the lost people. In the graves and some
of the mounds have been discovered pipes, bowls,
ornaments, weapons, and toys. In one place four
miles south of Nashville three thousand graves were
found and not far off one thousand more. From these
were taken nearly seven hundred specimens of burned
pottery — some of them semiglazed — representing ani-
mals, birds, fish, and the human figure. On the farm
once owned by C. W. L. Hale, north of Liberty, is a
very large Indian mound, which had perhaps been used
for religious or observation purposes. Many graves
adjacent have been plowed into. Graves have also
been found on T. G. Bratten's farm, just west of
Liberty, in the vicinity of the buffalo trail on which a
battle was fought between Indians and whites in
1789. Mr. Leander Hayes, who had lived from boy-
hood four miles southwest of Liberty on Smith Fork,
gave the writer in 1894 this description of the Mound
P)uilders' graves on his farm : "A great number were
rock-lined, square, and contained skeletons in a sitting
4
History of DeKalb County
posture. At our old home, which I own now, there
are two of these graves which have not been molested
since their discovery — one near the front gate and the
other in the garden under an old apple tree."
The Cherokee and Chickasaw Indians lived in Ten-
nessee when the first settlements were made — not in
the "hunting grounds" proper, however. The former
lived mainly along the mountains of the eastern bor-
der ; while a portion, the banditti known as the Chicka-
maugas, had their villages near the present Chatta-
nooga. The Chickasaws, who became friends of the
whites after attacking the settlers on Cumberland
River in 1781, claimed all West Tennessee. The bit-
terest enemies of the settlers were the Cherokees, as-
sisted by the Creeks, who lived south of Tennessee.
When Adam Dale, James Alexander, Jesse Allen,
and other pioneers came to what is now DeKalb
County, the spirit of the Indians had been broken by
the Nickajack expedition southward from Nashville
in September, 1794; but there were still hostile tribes
in the State. Adam Dale arrived on the site of Liberty
in 1797, just three years after the Nickajack expedi-
tion. Until 1805 a part of the Cumberland Mountains
was an Indian reserve known as the Wilderness. As
late as 1791 Nettle Carrier, an Indian chief, lived
there with his tribesmen. xA-bout 1800 a band of Cher-
okees, under the lead of Chief Calf Killer, had their
homes in the present White County. These were
called "friendly," but the savages were easily stirred
to deeds of violence and readily took the warpath.
Then, even after the Nickajack expedition, the In-
5
History of DeKalb County
dians committed depredations. At noon November
II, 1794, an attack was made on Valentine Sevier's
fort, near the present site of Clarksville, forty red-
skins being in the raid. Several whites were killed and
scalped. With this state of affairs before us, shall we
imagine that the Indians did not camp in or pass
through some portion of DeKalb County after the
first few settlers arrived?
For many years after Tennessee became a State
roving families of vagabond Indians journeyed over
the trails and highways. Subsequent to the War be-
tween the States the writer saw them go through
Liberty. They were friendly and made a few cents
target-shooting with bows. It was supposed that they
came over the mountains from their old East Tennes-
see haunts. Prior to 1840 the Chickasaws, Cherokees,
and Creeks relinquished all claims and were removed
across the Mississippi River.
History records one Indian battle on DeKalb County
soil. This was on the buffalo trail down Smith's
Fork and up Clear Fork. Hon. Horace A. Overall
assured the writer that, according to tradition, the bat-
tle field was near where the Bratten lane turns south a
quarter of a mile west of Liberty. John Carr, a pio-
neer of Sumner County, says of the fight in his book,
"Early Times in Middle Tennessee," published in
1857:
In 1789 General Winchester went out with a scouting
party; and on Smith's Fork, a large tributary of the Caney
Fork (I believe now in DeKalb Couny), he came upon a
fresh trail of Indians. He pursued them down the creek on
6
History of DeKalb County
the buffalo path, and no doubt the Indians were apprised they
were after them and accordingly selected their ground for
battle. The path led through an open forest to the crossing
of the creek, and immediately a heavy canebrake set in. The
General's spies were a little in front. They were Maj. Joseph
Muckelrath and Capt. John Hickerson, a couple of brave men.
Just after they entered the green cane a short distance the
Indians, lying in ambush, fired upon them. They killed Hick-
erson at once, but missed Muckelrath. Winchester was close
behind, rushing up. The action commenced, lasting some
time. Frank Heany was wounded ; and the Indians having
greatly the advantage, General Winchester thought it proper
to retreat, thinking to draw them out of the green cane. In
this attempt he did not succeed.
There is no doubt but that Capt. James McKain, now
[1857] eight3'-five or eighty-six years old, killed a celebrated
warrior and, I believe, chief called the Moon. He was a
harelipped man. and it was said that there was but one hare-
lipped Indian in the nation. No doubt the same Indian shot
down and scalped Capt. Charles Morgan a year or two be-
fore (at Bledsoe's Lick).
One of my brothers was in this expedition. The Indians
gave an account of the battle afterwards and said it was a
drawn fight, that they had a man killed and that they had
killed one of our men.
Carr says two of the whites were John and Martin
Harpool, Dutchmen. Martin was foolhardy, and his
brother suggested to him, after Winchester withdrew,
to rush into the canebrake and drive the Indians out
while he killed one. With a great whoop Martin en-
tered the cane, making it crackle at a terrible rate, and
the Indians fled.
On the first settlement of the county there may have
been far inland a few bears and buffaloes left. We
have no records. Just twenty years previously Tennes-
7
History of DeKalb County
see was overrun with them. About 1781 twenty hunt-
ers went from Nashborough Fort up Cumberland River
as far as the present Flynn's Lick and soon returned
with one hundred and five bears, more than eighty deer,
and seventy-five buflf aloes. The late Elbert Robinson,
of Temperance Hall, once said that when his grand-
father came to that settlement bears were frequently
seen. Dr. Foster says that when he was an infant (he
was born in 1839) his parents removed to Dry Creek,
but they were so disturbed by wolves howling at night
that they moved back to Liberty within three days.
John K. Bain writes that when he was a lad, about
1835, he ran three deer out of his father's cornfield in
one day. That was in the eastern part of the county.
He adds : "My uncle, Archibald Bain, killed a bear be-
fore I remember. Squirrels were so numerous as to
destroy cornfields thirty feet from the fence. I killed
forty in one day, and one fall (T kept tab) the num-
ber I killed was over three hundred." Doubtless game
was sufficiently abundant to make hunting and the
chase worth while to the first comers.
8
CHAPTER 11.
DeKalb County Established — Officials.
In 1837 Hon. H. L. W. Hill, of Warren County,
introduced in the Tennessee House of Representatives
a bill to form a new county out of parts of Warren,
Cannon, Jackson, and White Counties, to be named
for Baron DeKalb, a Bavarian, who fought for Ameri-
can independence during the Revolution. The bill
was amended in the Senate, then passed, specifying the
following boundaries : Beginning at the corner between
Smith and Cannon Counties on the Wilson County line
near Alexandria and running thence south twenty-
three degrees east with the old line between Wilson
and Smith Counties eight miles to a point on said line ;
thence south forty-eight degrees, east eleven and three-
quarter miles to the Warren County line at John
Martin's ; thence north eighty-three degrees, east seven
miles to a point twelve miles north from McMinnville ;
thence south eighty degrees, four and three-quarter
miles to Caney Fork River at the mouth of Barren
Creek; thence down said river with its meanders to
an oak on the road from Sparta to Dibrell's Ferry,
four miles from said ferry; thence north thirty-seven
and a half degrees, east nine and three-quarter miles
to a point on the stage road from Sparta to Carthage ;
thence north two miles to a corner between White and
Jackson Counties on Cane Creek; thence south
seventy-five degrees, west sixteen and a half miles so
as to strike the northwest corner of Cannon County,
9
History of DeKalb County
on the Caney Fork River; and thence with the Hne
run by Thomas Durham between Smith and Cannon
Counties to the beginning.
From time to time the Hne has been changed, shght-
ly, however, in most instances. On January 2, 1844,
for instance, the Alfred Hancock property was taken
from DeKalb and added to Cannon County. The
Hancocks came from Virginia about the time the Over-
alls, Turneys, and others arrived, and have been among
the foremost citizens of their section for more than a
hundred years.* On February i, 1850, the legislature
so altered the line between Smith and DeKalb as to in-
clude the residences and farms of Nicholas Smith.
Andrew Vantrease, John Robinson, and others in the
latter county, as well as the farm and residence of John
F. Goodner, near Alexandria.
On Monday, March 5, 1838, the following citizens,
holding certificates as magistrates of the county, met
at Bernard Richardson's, on Fall Creek, and organ-
ized the county court by electing Lemuel Moore chair-
man : Lemuel Moore, James Goodner, Jonathan C.
Doss, Reuben Evans, Joseph Turney, Watson Cantrell.
Thomas Simpson, John Martin, Watson Cantrell,
David Fisher, William Scott, Samuel Strong, Henry
Burton, Martin Phillips, John Frazier, Joel Cheatham.
Jonathan Fuston, Peter Reynolds, and James Beaty.
The various county officers elect exhibited their cer-
*It is told of Alfred Hancock's kindness to the poor that
in times of drought he refused to sell his corn to those who
could pay cash, but sold it on time to the needy at much less
than he could get from the well-to-do.
10
History of DeKalb County
tificates of election, qualified, entered upon the dis-
charge of their duties, and the county was organized.
The county court continued to meet at the home of
Richardson until a log courthouse could be completed.
The circuit court was also organized at Richardson's,
the first term beginning on the second Monday in Au-
gust, 1838, Judge A. J. Marchbanks presiding. The
chancery court was organized in 1844 by Chancellor
B. L. Ridley. (See the chapter headed "The County
Seat.")
The county is bounded north by Smith and Putnam
Counties, east by Putnam and White, south by War-
ren and Cannon, and west by Cannon and Wilson.
Its population in 1840 was 5,868, ten years later it was
8,016, and by the commencement of the War between
the States it was 10,573.
About two-thirds of the county lies on the Highland
Rim. The Highlands occupy the eastern and north-
ern parts. The western part lies in the Central Basin
and embraces several valleys of considerable size and
great agricultural value, separated from each other by
irregular ranges of hills, while there are some peaks
and ridges which mount up to a level with the High-
lands. The valley of Caney Fork is long, winding, and
irregular. It begins below the falls between Warren
and White Counties near the southeast corner of De-
Kalb; runs toward the northwest, then westerly, till
it opens out in the Basin in the northwestern part of
DeKalb. It is narrow at the upper end; below Sligo
Ferry it has an average width of half a mile. It.s
greatest width is about a mile ; its length, following the
II
History of DeKalb County
general direction, about thirty miles. The valley of
Smith Fork extends from south to north through the
western part of the county. Its length is about fifteen
miles and its breadth variable, spreading out in some
places for a space of two or three miles, while in others
it is cut in two by projecting spurs on each side. Each
of Smith Fork's tributaries has a valley of its own, and
these small valleys contain many valuable tracts of
level land.
The best lands in the Highlands are found on the
hillsides and along streams. In these situations there
are numerous excellent farms. The timber of the bar-
rens includes a number of valuable varieties, such as
black oak, chestnut, hickory, post oak, and white oak.
There were once some pine groves at the head of Pine
Creek and between Smithville and Sligo. In the Cen-
tral Basin the timber was once dense and heavy, owing
to the disintegrated limestone — beech, sugar maple,
walnut, oak, poplar, and other varieties.
Orchards are not so numerous in the valleys as they
were a half century ago, but are numerous and profit-
able in the Mighlands. Fires ("log heaps") in the
orchards for protecting fruit against late spring frosts
were used by some of the pioneers.
The leading crops are corn, wheat, rye, and oats,
though the first settlers grew flax, cotton, and tobacco.
Some of the finest mules driven South before an!
after the War between the vStates were raised on De-
Kalb County farms. In 1840 Tennessee was the great-
est hog and corn State in the Union, and this county
produced its share. Small fortunes have been made in
12
History of DeKalb County
hog-trading. Early traders were Francis Turner,
William B. Stokes, Matthew Sellars, Edward Robin-
son, Robin Forrester, William G. Stokes, and others.
The last named, a son of Thomas Stokes, of Temper-
ance Hall, disappeared before the war on a trip South
and was never heard of again. Buyers after the war
were C. W. L. Hale, W. G. Evans, Gips West, Fox
Frazier, and others. Hogs handled by the earlier
dealers were from two to three years old when fat-
tened. They were driven across country south, mainly
to Georgia. Ten drivers could manage one thousand
hogs, and one route was through Liberty, up Clear
Fork, by McMinnville, over Walden's Ridge, across
the Tennessee River, and on to Marietta, Milledgeville,
Macon, and various Southern towns. Thirty-five days
were allowed to go from Liberty to Georgia. The
animals traveled from two and a half to ten miles a
day. Dr. Foster imparts the interesting fact that in
the "flatwoods" years ago there were many wild or
feral hogs, belonging to no one but claimed by many.
Descended from domesticated stock, "they developed
immense tusks and long, heavy coats of hair."
In the Basin, where there were once large maple
groves, maple sirup and sugar became a considerable
industry in ante-bellum times, and these articles could
be purchased for some years after the war. To hear
the old slaves tell of the sugar camps, it would appear
that the industry was pleasurable as well as a source
of income.
The county is well watered, the principal streams,
besides Caney Fork, being Smith Fork, Clear Fork,
13
History of DeKalb County
Sink Creek, Pine Creek, Fall Creek, Eagle Creek,
Hurricane Creek, Hannah's Branch, Holm's Creek,
Indian Creek, Mine Lick, Hickman Creek, Walker's
Creek, Helton, Dismal, Falling Water, the Canal,
Adamson's Branch, and Dry Creek. Dry Creek sinks
some distance east of Dowelltown, then emerges at
the Big Spring in that hamlet and flows into Smith
Fork.
The malignant "milk sickness" breaks out occa-
sionally, mainly on the headwaters of Holm's Creek
and probably on Hurricane, though it is unknown after
reaching the top of the Highlands. Cattle and a few
people have been victims of the poison.
The southeastern part of the county is a great poul-
try section. There are also numerous nurseries, the
income from which amounts to many thousands of dol-
lars yearly. On the east side of Caney Fork, near the
White County line, there are beds of iron ore extend-
ing several miles. This ore also exists on the west side
of the river and was once worked at a bloomery on
Pine Creek by the pioneer Jesse Allen. State Com-
missioner Killebrew wrote in 1874 that "the county is
very rich in iron."
The first things considered by the early settlers were
good springs, dwellings, and mills. The earliest mill
in the county was no doubt Adam Dale's, at Liberty,
erected about 1800 and jjatronized by the Dale and
other settlements. Jesse Allen settled on Eagle Creek
in 1801 and soon built a small mill, in connection with
which were a cotton gin and distillery. Other mills
soon followed — Fite's, on Smith Fork, just west of
14
History of DeKalb County
Dowelltown, a part of its dam being visible still ; Kite's
(later Crips's), on Dry Creek, the water furnishing its
power coming from a large cave ; Durham and Far-
rington's, on Pine Creek ; Abraham Overall's, on Clear
Fork; Hoover's, on Hickman Creek; Bate's, on Hel-
ton ; and that which became known as Nicholas
Smith's, on lower Smith Fork. In later years, in addi-
tion to those mentioned in the sketches of various
towns, the following citizens have erected mills in dif-
ferent parts of the county: T. H. W. Richardson,
Washington Reynolds, James Oakley, W. G. Crowley,
John Bone, and James Kelton.
There are (1914) in DeKalb County 3,235 homes.
Of this number, 2,407 are farm homes, 1,511 being
owned by their occupants and free of mortgage incum-
brance. The mortgaged farm homes number only
seventy-seven, while renters occupy 815 farm homes.
On the other hand, 828 homes are urban, the number
of owners of town homes being 329. Eleven of these
homes are mortgaged, and 300 are free of incum-
brance. There are 472 rented urban homes.
With the county organized, many of its citizens dis-
played an anxiety to "save the country." Politics at
length became strenuous and has remained so. Prior
to the War between the States a majority of the peo-
ple in the Basin — below Snow's Hill — were Whigs,
Know-Nothings, and Opposition ; after that event they
were called Unionists, Radicals, or Republicans. Most
of the voters of the sixth, seventh, and ninth districts
— above Snow's Hill — with a sprinkling elsewhere,
15
History of DeKalb County
were Democrats before the war, Confederates during
the struggle, and Democrats after hostiUties ceased.
The two opposing parties down to 1861 were almost
evenly divided ; then came many unexpected changes.
To give one illustration : Abe Lafever, of the Mine
Lick section, had been a dyed-in-the-wool Democrat;
after the war he was known throughout the county
as a rabid Republican and a leader of that party
locally. Again, certain Unionists, like Joseph Clarke,
became strong Democratic partisans.
One of the old-timers says of the partisan zeal of
the days of the Whig party : "It was not an uncommon
thing to witness a Whig speaker, say for Representa-
tive, draw a coon's tail from his pocket and wave this
emblem of Whiggery. When Clay and Polk were
candidates for the presidency, Polk adherents would
drive into Liberty with their oxen's horns ringed with
poke juice, while their cart beds were striped with it.
Directly another cart, driven by a Clay supporter,
would enter the village having a mammoth clay ball
in each comer of the cart bed and the horns of the
steers smeared with clay. When Dr. J. A. Fuson was
elected to the legislature in 1845, the Fuson supporters
to a man wore red ribbon on their hats on which was
printed Fuson." This illustrative anecdote also sur-
vives: Moses Spencer ("Blackhorse"), who was in
the battle of New Orleans and a Whig in politics, was
once solicited to vote the Democratic ticket, the solici-
tor kindly presenting him with a bag of cured hog
jowls. Carrying to his home in Liberty this necessary
ingredient of the famous dish of greens, Mose threw it
16
History of DeKalb County
down on the floor and observed to his wife : "Barbara,
Colonel Tubb has asked me to vote for a Democrat
the coming election. Barbara, now you hear this
Blackhorse that fit an' bled under Andy Jackson : I'm
a Whig an' have always been one, an' I would not vote
for a Democrat for even a bag o' middlins."
The greatest orators of the State were developed in
the days of the Whigs and Democrats. Some of the
forensic giants had appointments in the county. Prob-
ably the most noted discussion of political issues took
place in 1855 between Andrew Johnson, Democrat,
and Meredith P. Gentry, Whig, with Know-Nothing
leanings, for the governorship. It came off on the
Fulton Academy grounds at Smithville, and the crowd
was very large.
The Know-Nothing party was a secret organization
and was aggressively opposed to the Catholic Church.
There were both Whigs and Democrats in the new
party, and it was thought that it would poll one hun-
dred thousand votes in the State at the end of the
1855 campaign.
Johnson was not "flowery," but was a most effective
speaker. Gentry, nominated by the remnant of Whigs
and the Know-Nothings, was one of the best orators in
Tennessee. In his excoriation of the Know-Nothings
Johnson was extremely bitter, arraigning them for
their signs, grips, and secret conclaves, and declaring
that they were no better than John A. Murrel's clan of
outlaws. "Show me a Know-Nothing," he stormed,
"and I will show you a monster upon whose neck the
foot of every honest man should tread!" Gentry was
2 17
History of DeKalb County
"hacked." In a lofty manner he defended the party
which nominated him, but his party was not satisfied
with his reply. Many Democrats forsook his cause,
and Johnson was elected.
Neil S., Aaron V., and John C. Brown all spoke at
various times in the county; also Isham G. Harris,
William B. Campbell, D. W. C. Senter, William B.
Stokes, James D. Porter, Horace Maynard, B. F.
Cheatham, R. L. Taylor, A. A. Taylor, G. G. Dibrell,
E. W. Carmack, John H. Savage, and even Squire
Yardley, the Knoxville negro who canvassed the State
for the governorship.
The citizens for many years were politically swayed
by oratory, and those of DeKalb had an opportunity
to hear other forensic giants besides the men named.
A campaign almost as exciting as that in which John-
son destroyed Know-Nothingism came off when the
question of secession was discussed pro and con by
John Smith Brien, William B. Campbell, and others ;
also that after peace was made in which Stokes and
Senter stumped the State. Of the last-named canvass,
something will be said farther along.
A digression is made to present as full a list as can
now be made of the county officers from the organiza-
tion of the county to 1914:
County court clerks: P. M. Wade. William Law-
rence, Wash Isbell, M. T. Martin, G. W. Eastham,
P. G, Magness, E. J. Evans, Z. P. Lee, H. K. Allen,
J. E. Conger, W. B. Foster, John E. Conger.
Circuit court clerks: David Fite, W. J. Givan, J.
B. Gibbs, T. T. Hollis, W. T. Hoskins, T. M. Christian,
18
COURTHOUSE. SMITHVILLE
History of DeKalb County
T. W. Shields, James Fuson, Felix Helium, J. M.
Young, Jack S. Allen.
Clerks and masters: Thomas Whaley, Wash Isbell,
J. T. Hallum, John P. Robertson, W. W. Wade, M.
A. Crowley, J. B. Moore, Sam Foster.
Sheriffs: P. M. Thomason, James McGuire, E. W.
Taylor, J. L. Dearman, J. Y. Stewart, John Hallum,
W. L. Hathaway, Charles Hill, Henry Blackburn, M.
F. Doss, C. S. Frazier, B. M. Alerritt, H. S. Gill, S.
P. Gill, W. H. C. Lassiter, Silas Anderson, Ben Mer-
ritt, Louis Merritt, John Odum, B. B. Taylor, Everett
Love, George Puckett, A. Frazier.
Registers: Daniel Coggin, Wash Isbell, David Fite,
J. Y. Haynes, John K. Bain, W. H. McNamer, Jud-
son Dale, J. C. Kennedy, J. B. Atwell, John Harrison,
B. M. Cantrell, E. W. Taylor, John G. Evans, Dabner
Lockhart, Dave Worley, E. G. Pedigo, W. H. Hays.
County trustees: Rev. Joseph Banks, Aaron Botts,
W. A. Nesmith (1861-62), Bluford Foster, Eli Vick,
Brackett Estes, Sr., W. P. Smith, James Fite, James
Fuson, H. C. Eastham, W. G. Evans, Pope Potter,
Lee Overall, J. W. Reynolds, J. A. Newby, W. N.
Adcock, William Taylor, J. A. Phillips, Thomas Crips,
Matt Bratten.
The county had no Representatives until 1843, while
a part of the time it was in a floterial district with the
Representative from some other county. These De-
Kalb Countians have filled the office: Twenty-Fifth
General Assembly, 1843, Daniel Coggin; Twenty-
Sixth, 1845, John A. Fuson ; Twenty- Seventh, 1847,
19
History of DeKalb County
John A. Fuson; Twenty-Eighth, 1849, W. B. Stokes;
Twenty-Ninth, 1851, W. B. Stokes; Thirtieth, 1853
(first session held in the new State Capitol), Horace
A. Overall ; Thirty-First, 1855, M. M. Brien ; Thirty-
Second, 1857, A. M. Savage; Thirty-Third, first ses-
sion 1859, second 1861, third April, 1861, J. J. Ford;
Thirty-Fourth, first session 1861, second 1862, ad-
journed to Memphis, no Representative; Brownlow's
Legislature of 1865-66, session held in April, 1865,
John A. Fuson ; Thirty-Fifth, 1867, W. S. Robertson ;
Thirty-Sixth, 1869, W. A. Dunlap ; Thirty-Seventh,
first session October, 1871, second March, 1872, James
P. Doss; Thirty-Eighth, 1873, none; Thirty-Ninth,
1875, none; Fortieth, first session January i, 1877,
extra December, 1877, none; Forty-First, first session
January, 1879, second December, 1879, none; Forty-
Second, first session January, 1881, extra December,
1881, second extra 1882, none; Forty-Third, 1883,
Horace A. Overall ; Forty-Fourth, first session Jan-
uary, 1885. extra May, 1885, J. M. Allen; Forty-Fifth.
1887, J. M. Allen; Forty-Sixth, 1889, extra session
1890, M. L. Bonham; Forty-Seventh, 1891, J. H. S.
Knowles; Forty-Eighth, 1893, Henry C. Givan ;
Forty-Ninth, 1895, Samuel Wauford ; Fiftieth, 1897,
A. T. Phillips; Fifty-First. 1899. W. T. Dozicr; Fifty-
Second, 1901, P. C. Crowley; Fifty-Third, 1903, L.
Driver; Fifty-Fourth, 1905, L. Driver; Fifty-Fifth,
1907, J. H. S. Knowles; Fifty-Sixth, 1909, J. E. Con-
ger; Fifty-Seventh, 191 1, A. N. Cathcart; Fifty-
20
History of DeKalb County
Eighth, 1913, extra session, Norman Robinson; Fifty-
Ninth, 191 5, Horace M. Evans.*
The following DeKalb Countians were members of
the State Senate: Caleb B. Davis, 1851 ; W. B. Stokes,
1855; J. S. Goodner, 1857; Wingate T. Robinson,
1865; John A. Fuson, 1867; Joseph Clarke, 1872; M.
D. Smallman, 1881 ; M. D. Smallman, 1883; B. G.
Adcock, 1893 ; P. C. Crowley, 1903.
It is noted that Hon. Horace A. Overall represented
the county when the General Assembly met first in the
State Capitol, newly erected, October 3, 1853. The
fact suggests that the first legislature of the State met
in Knoxville, which was for a while the seat of gov-
ernment, in 1796. In 1807 the legislature met at King-
ston, but in a few hours adjourned to Knoxville.
Nashville was the place of meeting in 1812, 1813, and
1815, then Knoxville again in 1817. In 1819 it m.et
at Murfreesboro and continued to meet there until
1825. The sext session (1826) was held in Nashville,
as have been all succeeding sessions.
*Mr. James Dearman writes : "I understand that James
McGuire represented the county sometime in the forties."
The name is not found in the records, however.
21
CHAPTER III.
The Oldest Village.
On his arrival at the site of Liberty from Mary-
land in 1797 Adam Dale, who came by way of East
Tennessee and over Cumberland Mountains, Mr. Riley
Dale says, must have been impressed with the coun-
try, for he sent back in some way a report to his
friends which induced the coming of a colony con-
sisting of William and John Dale, Thomas West, Wil-
liam and George Givan, Thomas Whaley, Josiah and
T. W. Duncan, James and William Bratten, Henry
Burton, the Fites, Truits, Bethels, and many others,
some of whom were young married couples.
It is not certainly known that he had a companion
during the something like three years before the ar-
rival of the immigrants. If he was alone, life must
have been lonely at times. The descendants of
all the pioneers who have talked on the subject, re-
peating the stories handed down, join in saying there
was no wagon road through from Nashville after the
first few miles. One, perhaps W. G. Bratten, told the
agent for Goodspeed's history of the State that the
colony "came down the Ohio River, up the Cumber-
land to Nashville, and from that point made their way
overland to the Dale settlement in wagons." Another,
perhaps a descendant of Rev. John Kite, stated to Rev.
J. H. Grime, author of "A History of Middle Tennes-
see Baptists": "When he [Fite] landed here in the
very beginning of the nineteenth century, he found
22
History of DeKalb County
this country still a wilderness. . . , He helped to
cut away the cane and underbrush to construct the
first road to Liberty, the work consuming a period of
nineteen days for a number of hands." We may as-
sume that there were roads a short distance eastward
from Nashville, but it may be taken as true that a
part of the fifty-six miles to Liberty was almost pri-
meval forest. Doubtless game and fish abounded, and
these occupied Dale's mind by day; but the snarl of
the bobcat or other noises of the night, together with
the solemnity of the great woods, were necessarily
spirit-depressing, even if he had no fears of Indians.
We are told that he passed his first months in a
rude shack built on the bluff overlooking the creek on
the north side of town, about where the Whaley lime
kiln was for a number of years. After his friends
came he erected a small dwelling on the west side of
the turnpike beyond the bridge going north. This
writer saw the building carried off by the flood near
the beginning of the War between the States, at which
time the small mill Dale erected, but at the time be-
longing to Daniel Smith or the Lambersons, w^as
wrecked.
Mrs. Jean Robertson Anderson, wife of Gen.
Kellar Anderson, of Memphis, is a great-grand-
daughter of Adam Dale. Her mother was Mrs. James
(Anne Lewis Dale) Robertson, the third daughter of
Edward W. Dale, who was the oldest son of Adam
Dale and the only one to leave issue. From a letter
of Mrs. Anderson dated November 4, 1914, these
facts are gleaned : Adam Dale was born in Worcester
23
History of DeKalb County
County, Md., July 14, 1768. He was a boy volunteer
of the Revolution. In 1781 this company of boys
from fourteen to sixteen years was raised in Snow
Hill, Md., to oppose the progress of Cornwallis
through Virginia. Receiving land grants with his
father, Thomas Dale, for service, he settled in Liberty,
Tenn., in 1797, after having married Mary Hall Feb-
ruary 24, 1790. He raised, equipped, and commanded
a company of volunteers from Smith (DeKalb)
County and fought under Jackson at Horseshoe Bend
and other battles of the War of 1812. Removing to
Columbia, Tenn., in 1829, he died at Hazel Green,
Ala., October 14, 185 1, and was buried there. His
wife died in 1859 in Columbia. To this couple were
born ten children.
]\Irs. Anderson says further:
When the surviving children of Adam Dale had his body
removed from Alabama to Columbia after his wife's death,
his body was found to be absolutely perfect — petrified. The
picture is from an old daguerreotype made shortly before his
death. I have several letters from him to his grandchildren.
One minutely describes the battle of Horseshoe Bend. An-
other tells of his English ancestry and their coming to Amer-
ica. I also have the newspaper clipping of the eulogy on
his career as soldier, patriot, citizen, and friend published at
the time of his death. Among his descendants are Mrs. \V. D.
Bethell, Denver, Colo.; Mrs. John M. Gray, Nashville, Tenn.;
Mrs. Thomas Day, Memphis, Tenn. ; Mrs. E. M. Apperson,
Memphis, Tenn.; Mrs. J. S. Van Slyke, Dallas, Tex.; Mrs.
Joseph Houston, Denver, Colo.; and Mrs. W. R. HoUiday,
Memphis, Tenn.
Adam and William Dale were probably sons of
TJiomas Dale, who came to Liberty with the Mary-
24
ADAM DALE
DEKALB COUNTY'S FIRST KNOWN SETTLER
FROM AN OLD DAGUERREOTYPE LOANED BY
MRS. KELLAR ANDERSON. MEMPHIS
History of DeKalb County
landers. Josiah Duncan married a daughter of
Thomas ; while another, Sophia, was the wife of Wil-
liam Givan. There are many descendants of these
Dales in Tennessee and other States. Among them
is Mrs. H. P. Figuers, of Columbia, whose father, W.
J. Dale, was born in Smith (DeKalb) County in 1811
and removed to Maury County in 1822, Another is
Mrs. Bertha L. Chapman, of Alexandria. She has a
Bible containing these entries :
Sophia E. Dale was married to William Givan June 26,
1802. They had children: Nancy, born January 11, 1804;
George, born September 21, 1806; Elizabeth, born May i,
1810; Sarah, born April 11, 1812; Thomas, born March 20,
1814; Mary Ann, born June 23, 1816; Robert Johnson, born
August 9, 1818; and Martha Laws Dale, born November 5,
1820. Martha Laws Dale Givan was married to James D.
Grandstaff September 19, 1839. Mrs. Grandstaff lived in
widowhood from 1844 to 1893.
Riley Dale has in his possession a letter from his
grandfather, Rev. William Dale, dated February 28,
1844, containing this genealogical note:
I was born on the Lord's day, the 4th of May, 1783. My
place of nativity was "Worcester County, Md. My father's
name was Thomas Dale, of John Dale, of James Dale, both
of Londonderry, Ireland. My mother's name was Elizabeth
Evans, of John Evans, of William Evans, from Wales.
Thomas Dale, who was a Revolutionary soldier, en-
listing in Gen. Charles Smallwood's command, soon
became captain of a company of the Maryland line.
He owned a great deal of land around Liberty, in
which village he erected a house. This was on the
lot on which Will A. Vick more recently built. His
25
History of DeKalb County
son-in-law, Josiah Duncan, was settled on the land
last owned by the W. G. Bratten heirs. Erecting a
house on the farm now owned by George Givan, a mile
south of Liberty, he died before moving to it. His
widow, with his son-in-law, William Givan, removed
to the farm, and it is in the possession of the Givan
family in 1914. In the family graveyard in the rear
is a limestone slab with this legend: "In memory of
Thomas Dale, born March 5, 1744; died January 6,
1812."
The colony set about preparing homes and the com-
munity soon took on a more encouraging aspect. The
mill was erected on Smith Fork Creek north of
Liberty, and the place became widely known as the
Dale Mill Settlement. As the little cluster of houses
grew larger, the name of Liberty was given it by its
founder. It is possible that the mountain between
Liberty and Smithville was named Snow's Hill by him
in memory of the place where he enlisted for American
independence. There is not a Dale in what was once
called the Dale Mill Settlement. A grandson of Rev.
William Dale, Riley, resides on his farm, several miles
from Liberty, aged seventy-two.
There is a diversity of opinion as to who was the
first merchant. Goodspeed says he was a Mr. Walk ;
James Givan thinks his name was Vaught. George
Givan, on Clear Fork, it is interesting to state, now
owns a well-preserved wash kettle purchased from the
first merchant about a century ago.
The earliest dwellings were supposedly built by
William Givan, Josey Evans, and FTenry Burton, who
26
History of DeKalb County
came with the Maryland settlers. All three were car-
penters. Other pioneer merchants were Fite & Dun-
can, Ben Blades, Joshua Bratten, and Moore & Price.
From Dr. Wright's daybook it is seen that the fol-
lowing firms were in existence as early as 1832-33:
Fite, Whaley & Co., Ray & Reed, woodworkmen and
smiths, Davis & Wood, Derickson & Braswell, sad-
dlers, York & Bailey, and Whaley & Son.
Some years prior to the War between the States the
following were in various businesses : Eli Vick, Wil-
liam Vick, Hale & Hays, merchants; W. G. Foster,
Frank Foster, William Whaley, and William Ford.
Among the merchants after the war were Eli Vick,
William Whaley, C. W. L. Hale, William Vick, J. H.
Overall, Overall & Hollandsworth, M. C. Vick, D. D.
Overall, Elijah Bratten, Vick Bros., George Turney,
James Pritchett, Isaac Whaley, H. L. Hale, Blue
Givan, W. T. Hale, and others. The business di-
rectory for 1914 shows: Maud Spurlock, Robinson
& McMillan, Whaley Bros., general merchants ; Bright
Bros., vehicles ; W. L. Vick, harness ; Will Fite, hard-
ware ; Turner & Son, groceries ; Bratten Bros., grain ;
William Organ, Jr., tinner; Tom Lamberson, black-
smith ; Hugh Gothard, liveryman ; H. L. Hale and Joe
Conley, produce; Grover Evans and J. C. Stark, in-
surance; L. Woodward, photographer; W. C. Smith,
painter.
As early as 1832-33 the neighborhood around the
village must have been thickly populated or many
patrons of the stores came from the Smithville and
Woodbury communities. Some of the names on Dr.
27
History of DeKalb County
Wright's daybook are : J. G. Roulstone, S. J. Garrison,
David L. Ray, W. C. Garrison, Lemuel H. Bethel,
David Fite, Reuben Evans, Eli A. Fisher, M. A.
Fricks, German Gossett, Francis Turner, G. Shehane,
Henry Fite, Charles Jenkins, James Stanford, George
L. Givan, John Floyd, Zach Williamson, Brackett
Estes, John L. Strong, Joel N. West, John Stark,
Peter Hays, Joshua Bratten, B. F. Wood, T. W. Dun-
can, James Wilder, Moses Fite, Joseph Cameron,
Louis Y. Davis, Thomas Allan, Lem D. Evans, Richard
Arnold, Matthew Simpson, John Little, John Griffith,
James Bayne, William Boyd, Joseph Fite, Alfred Wal-
lace, Capt. William S. Boswell, David Thompson,
Thomas Allan, David Fricks, Richard McGinnis, John
Stark, John Hays, John E. Dale, W. T. Cochran,
Wyatt Pistole, Shadrick Trammel, Moses Spencer,
Thomas and Moses Pack, Shadrick Kelley, Tilman
Bethel, Lewis Parker, Milka Strong, Rev. William
Dale, James Pendleton, Capt. Joseph Evans, Aaron
Davis, Moses Allen, Capt. James Spurlock, Alex
Armstrong, David Dirting, John Owen, Nancy Kelly,
Mrs. Mary Hart, Henry Hart, P. W. Brien, William
A. Wisner, George Barnes, Joseph Snow, Henry
Horn, Rev. James Evans, George Foster, Hugh Smith,
Joseph Atnip, R. H. Parkison, John Martin, Nancy
Givan, William Blair, Charles Hancock, Luke Mc-
Dowell, Lewis Parker, John Hollandsworth, Jordan
Sellars, James Baity, Benjamin Clark, Dempsy Tay-
lor, Archibald McDougle, Benjamin Goodson, Lemuel
Moore, Abner Evans, Leonard Fite, Richard Bennett,
Isaac Pack, George A. Rich, Smith Brien, Peter Tur-
28
History of DeKalb County
ney, Augustiii Vick, Thomas Underwood, Nathan
Wade, John Candler, James Carney, Wingate Truitt,
Littleberry Vick, Leonard Lamberson, James Perry-
man, Lewis Ford, WilHam Estes, Wiley Wilder, Crag
Parsons, Leven Cray, William Brazwell, William Car-
roll, Alfred Wales, Thomas West, A. W. Ford, Wil-
liam Measles, Harriet C. Roulstone, John Conger,
Joshua Ford, Wiley J. Melton, Samuel Hays, James
Robinson, Mathias S. West, John Frazier, Alex Dil-
lard, Friday Martin, Robert Wilson, Samuel Bryson,
James Yeargin, D. H. Burton, Benjamin Avant, Ed-
ward Sullivant, James Pistole, Washington Gos-
sett, William Gossett, S. C. Porterfield, Gideon
B. York, Green Arnold, Tilman Foster, Mrs.
Kesiah Alexander, Thomas Bratten, U. G. Gossett,
Moses Mathews, Sophia Givan, David H. Burton, Ed
Evans, Gilbert Williams, Samuel Williams, Silas
Cooper, John R. Dougherty, Goulding Foster, J. M.
Farrington, John Reed, Mikel V. Ethridge, Dr.
Samuel Tittle, Moses Spencer, Emerson M. Hill, Ed-
mund T. Goggin, Giles Driver, P. C. Watson, Bryant
Spradley, Peter Reynolds, Josiah Spurlock, Jonathan
Fuston, John Curtis, Nathan Evans, A. Overall, J. A.
Wilson, Thomas Bratten, O. M. Garrison, Matthew
Sellars, Joab Hale, John Burton, W. H. Burton,
Thomas Taylor, Sally Evans, Welles Adamson, W. A.
Nesmith, Acenith Fite, Washington Bayne, Lee Braz-
well, Coleman Johnson, James Bayne, Thomas Close,
W. B. Stokes, Jane Lawrence, Joseph Hendrickson,
Lewis Stark. Phillips Cooper, Henry McMullin, Sally
Woodside, Robin Forester, Cantrell Bethel, Jesse B.
29
History of DeKalb County
Jones, Col. James Tubb, Jacob Page, Thomas Pack,
John Dodd, WilHam Botts, Thomas Whaley, Jacob
Overall, John M. Leek, Adam Bratten, Abe Adams,
Benjamin Pritchard, Isaac Bratten, Gilbert Williams,
Nancy Burton, George Grizzle, Onessimus Evans, W.
S. Scott, Joseph Evans, Solomon Davis, Edwin Shum-
way, John Merritt, Matthew McLane, Benjamin
Blades, F. S. Anderson, and Randall Pafford.
There is a certain pathos connected with the changes
that have come about in the personnel of the popula-
tion during the past fourscore years. For instance,
a leading family of Liberty in other days was that of
Gossett ; there is now not a person of the name in the
village or in the county. The Dales, as shown, have
also disappeared from the town.
Mrs. Rachel Payne wrote in 1914:
I well remember the Liberty of sixty-two years ago, my
father, Frederick Jones, having bought Duncan Tavern in
1843. In that year the first schoolhouse was built, not far
from the Methodist church. Mr. Chambers was the first
teacher in it. I was one of the later pupils. Most of the
houses were of logs back then. I went to school in the log
church that stood by the graveyard. The seats were split
logs, with holes in them for the insertion of legs. The first
person buried in Salem graveyard was Major Lamberson's
girl, Martha. Nearly all the old-time people are gone to their
reward. Aunt Polly Youngblood is the oldest resident. She
was a Miss Avant, of Dismal Creek. I was only six months
old wlicn she became the wife of William Youngblood, and I
was sixty-eight years old September 23, 1913. There were
about thirty houses in Liberty when I was a child, and nearly
all the public travel was by stagecoach.
30
History of DeKalb County
In a gossipy letter Dr. Foster names some of the
residents of about 1850: Mr. Dean (blacksmith), Dr.
J. R. Dougherty, Joshua Bratten and his son James,
Dr. J. H. Fuson, Dr. J. A. Baird, Aunt Sallie Bratten,
Len Moore, Bill Thompson (blacksmith), Jim Crook
(wagon maker), Leonard and Clint Lamberson, Wil-
liam Youngblood, Dr. G. C. Flowers, Isaac Whaley,
Tom Price, Elijah Strong, J. P., Bob, Hilary, and
other Dales, Frederick Jones (tailor), W. G. Foster.
Arthur Worley, U. D. Gossett, Ben Blades, Eli Vick,
Seth Whaley, James Hollandsworth, John Woodsides,
William Gothard, Bill Avant (tanner), John Evans,
John Reid, and John Ferryman. Dr. Foster adds :
I can see other things as I look back to Liberty: Aunt
Polly Blades's ginger cakes, set on a little shelf as a sign;
Aunt Hettie Bratten selling good whisky for ten cents a
quart; Dr. Flowers's John with his bowlegs; Jim Crook and
his legs ; Alex Bayne and his snow-white steers ; and Sam
Wooden as he hits and raises a knot on Bill Pack's head. I
go around to Reuben Evans's farm and see his sons, Ed, Will,
Ike, Mose, and Jim, and his daughters, Nancy, Matilda, and
Martha, and his wife. Aunt Clara, as well as a dog named
Danger, that bit Jim Youngblood on the hindmost part. Like-
wise I see old Dr. Tilman Bethel and his black horse and his
sons, Chess, Greene, Blue, Fayette, and John ; Louis Vick, Jim
Bratten, and Clint Lamberson (the last three died when yet
young men). Then I look on Polly Stanley, the best "fisher-
man" with a pole and line in the county and a good fiddler;
Sam Barger, fat and squat, who wore his shoes when he rode
to Liberty, but came barefooted when he walked. Coming on
down several years, I was in the village the night Montillius
Richardson died. That was after the battle of Fishing Creek,
and I was on furlough. (I belonged to the Fifteenth Missis-
sippi Confederate Regiment.) Sixty-five years ago, when I
31
History of DeKalb County
was a ten-year-old boy, changes were going on, of course.
The physicians were George C. Flowers, E. Wright, John A.
Baird, Horace Sneed, Samuel Little, J. A. Fuson, and J. R.
Doughert}', with Tilman Bethel, a steam doctor, living a mile
or two west. The magistrates for that district were Reuben
Evans and Joe Clarke. The constables were William Black-
burn and Josiah Youngblood. Church Anderson was one of
the merchants. The blacksmiths were Bill Thompson and
Greene Ferryman, but preceding them were Goolsberry Blades
and a man named Brooks. Later smiths were W. G. Evans
and Bill Givan ; miller, "Chunky" Joe Hays (who was not
chunk)-), his wife being Aunt Sukej-, mother of Mrs. William
Blackburn; shoemaker, John Woodside; saddlers, W. G. Fos-
ter, U. D. Gossett, John A. Carroll, George Warren, G. F.
Bowers, and others ; saloon keeper, James G. Fuston ; cabinet
workmen, James HoUandsworth, Bob Burton, and Isaac
Whaley; brickmason, Berry Driver; tailors, Joe Ferryman
and Len Moore. The Lamberson boys were also millers,
running the old Dale water mill. Liberty had a horse saw
mill and a rope factory — the latter about where the tanyard
was afterwards. Wagon makers were Jim Crook and Perry
Wells. Perry and Jim Wells put up a store on Dismal Creek
after the Clay and Frelinghuysen canvass, and some one got
off this doggerel :
"Hurrah ! hurrah ! the country's risin' ;
Perry and Jim are merchandisin'.
One sells liquor, and t'other sells goods ;
And when they start home — get lost in the woods!"
Liberty was incorporated January 17, 1850. The
boundaries were: Beginning at a sour oak near
Leonard Lamberson's wellspring, thence south to
Smith's Fork, thence down said creek with its mean-
ders to the mouth of the branch west of the town
spring, thence west to a chinquapin oak standing on
the north side of the Liberty and Dismal Creek road,
32
History of DeKalb County
thence south to the beginning ; provided that the west
boundary shall not include any of the land owned by
Leonard Lamberson.
Revived after the war, the corporation was abolished
soon after the passage of the four-mile law of 1877.
William Blackburn and Elijah Bratten were post-
bellum mayors.
The people of Liberty for some years had to go as
far as Carthage to mail letters. This was changed
when the stage began to run, maybe before. The
earliest postmaster recalled by the old people was
"Grandaddy" Dougherty, who carried the mail
around in his hat, collecting the postage. Perhaps Dr.
Wright preceded Dougherty, as in his daybook various
persons were charged "cash for postage." Wright
was a son-in-law of James Fuston, third host of Dun-
can Tavern. In 1844 Isaac Whaley succeeded
Dougherty, holding tlie position until 1888, with the
exception of a few months when, at the beginning of
the war, Frank Foster was postmaster for the Con-
federacy and when, after the war, M. C. Vick held the
office a short time. H. L. Hale succeeded Mr. Wha-
ley in 1888. ]\Irs. Cannie Whaley was appointed some
years later. C. L. Bright is the present postmaster.
It should be noted that there were no envelopes un-
til a late day. The writer has before him now a letter
addressed in 1827 to "Mr. M. S. West, Liberty, Smith
Co., Ten." It is a sheet of paper folded and fastened
with a small bit of sealing wax, the amount of postage,
ten cents, being marked on the outside. It was mailed
3 33
History of DeKalb County
at Haysboro, Davidson County, Tenn., and shows that
postal rates were high.
In an interview with Isaac Whaley several years
ago the writer obtained these facts bearing on the old
times : "The letter postage was once six cents from
Liberty to Alexandria, seven miles ; ten cents to Nash-
ville, fifty-six miles ; over four hundred miles the
postage was twenty-five cents, double that if the let-
ter consisted of two sheets. Like registered letters
to-day, a record of every letter was made on a Svay
bill,' each postmaster receipting for it to the post-
master back on the route."
The physicians of Liberty have been numerous.
These are recalled : Early, J. R. Dougherty, J. A.
Baird, E. Wright, George C. Flowers; Tilman Bethel
and Dr. Little, herbists ; Horace Sneed, George R.
Givan, J. A. Fuson, Thomas Black, J. S. Harrison.
Later, A. S. Redman, J. W. Campbell, T. J. Sneed,
W. H. Robinson, W. A. Whaley, J. H. Johnson, J.
G. Squires, W. A. Barger, Robert Estes, T. O. Brat-
ten, J, R. Hudson. Present, T. J. Jackson, T. J. Brat-
tcn, Harrison Adamson.
Dr. Foster mentions the old miller, ''Chunky" Joe
Hays, whose service was after Adam Dale's time. The
Lambersons and Daniel Smith owned the mill still
later. W. C. Youngblood and Edward Robinson were
owners of the steam mill when it was burned by the
troops of Gen. John T. Wilder, Federal.
Allan Wright, of Maryland, came to Liberty in
1866 and built a mill on the site of the one which had
been burned, the fir.st to be erected in the county after
34
History of DeKalb County
peace came. For many years the patronage of this
mill was very great. Among those who have been
connected with it since the war were : E. W. Bass, Jep
WilHams, George Wood, L. N. Woodside, J. H. Over-
all, John L. Lamberson, and George Bradley,
A water mill was erected by Buck \\'aters about
1873 or 1874 a few yards below the site of the Dale
mill, the dam which supplies the big turbine wheel being
one hundred and twenty-five yards wide and twelve
feet high. It was sold to Vannata & Hicks. Within
the next few years it was owned by \'annata & Stark
Bros., H. L. Hale & Stark Bros., and H. L. and Bruce
L. Hale. About 1884 a stock company was formed
and the roller process installed, the stockholders
being R. L. Floyd, George Turney, R. B. West, Sams
Sellars, T. G. Bratten, W. C. Youngblood, B. L. Hale,
and C. W. L. Hale. The capital stock was $6,000.
On the death of B. L. Hale, in 1898, R. B. Floyd and
C. W. L. Hale bought all the shares. The property
is now owned by Bradley Bros.
The earliest attempt at publishing in Liberty was
made by H. L. and Will T. Hale. The paper was
small, miserably printed, and called the Imp. Only
one issue appeared (September 20, 1879) ! ^^""d had it
been larger, its failure would have deserved what the
father of the young men cheerfully called it^ "a stu-
pendous abortion."
The Liberty Herald was established April i, 1886,
by Will A. Vick. Mr. Vick spent considerable money
on the plant, and the journal, existing several years,
35
History of DeKalb County
became very popular in DeKalb and surrounding
counties.
The Bank of Liberty was established by A. E. Pot-
ter and J. J. Smith in 1898. The latter became Presi-
dent, H. L. Overall, Vice President, and A. E. Potter,
Cashier. Directors : D. D. Overall, J. J. Smith, H. L.
Overall, H. C. Givan, C. D. Williams, E. J. Robinson,
Will A. Vick, L. D. Hamilton, A. E. Potter, W. R.
Robinson, and J. W. Reynolds. Mr. Potter was Cashier
until 1895, when D. D. Overall became President and
W. H. Overall, Cashier. The officers in 1914 were:
John W. Overall, President; Thomas M. Givan, Vice
President, T. H. Chapman, Cashier ; J. C. Stark, As-
sistant Cashier. Directors : T. M. Givan, W. H. Over-
all, T. J. Jackson, J. F. Turner, B. W. Robinson, T.
H. Chapman, John W. Overall, and Tom W, Overall.
The American Savings Bank opened for business
December 8, 1905. This bank, like the other, has been
successfully conducted. The first officers were : T.
G. Bratten, President ; W. H. Bass, Vice President ;
J. M. Bradley, Cashier. Directors : G. B. Givan, D.
B. Wilson, J. B. West, R. B. Vannata, S. J. Chapman,
Mrs. M. J. Corley, J. R. Corley, W. L. Evans, W. F.
Hooper, H. M. Evans, J. E. Williams, and J. L. Lam-
berson. These officers, or all that were living, held
their positions until 1914. The President's health be-
came such that on January 10, 1914, the following
officers were elected: L. A. Bass, President; G. B.
Givan, Vice President ; J. M. Bradley, Cashier. Di-
rectors: L. A. Bass, G. B. Givan, H. M. Evans, R. B.
Vannata, J. M. Bradley, H. A. Bratten, D. B. Wilson,
36
History of DeKalb County
A. L. Reynolds, A. J. Williams, J. E. Hobson, J. L.
Lamberson, W. L. Evans, and S. J. Chapman. H. M.
Evans, T. M. Bright, and C. G. Givan, as finance com-
mittee, have served since the organization.
Among landmarks reminding this generation of a
past era are Lamberson's wellspring and the town
spring. The former was on the southwest, with a sweep
and the "old oaken bucket." Here on baptizing days
the crowds going to and from the place of baptism
higher up Smith Fork Creek would stop to quench
their thirst and to gossip. The town spring, on the
north side, was of more romantic interest. The pio-
neers greatly appreciated a good spring. It for a while
furnished drinking water for almost the entire village.
It was walled up, while a long flight of stone steps led
down to the entrance on the east side, where a bucket-
ful of the sparkling fluid could be easily dipped up.
For half a century it was a Sunday meeting place for
the young folks. Seated in couples on the steps or
under the big oak on the bluff, they engaged in light
badinage or love-making. The spring is yet held in
pleasant memory by many elderly people.
There is one other landmark demanding notice, the
pioneer cemetery on the northwest edge of Liberty.
It is referred to by H. L. Hale as the "old Methodist
graveyard." It lies on a gentle slope facing the sunrise,
and at one time it must have been a beautiful spot.
Pathos now hovers over it. But few stones are stand-
ing, and these are the stone pens covered with broad
slabs of carefully worked limestone. Not a flower
can be seen in the most gorgeous summer save the
37
History of DeKalb County
wild rose. No one walks there to meditate over the
departed. A century ago children's voices were heard,
and relatives of the dead walked among the tombs to
pay the tribute of a sigh. Now nobody cares. James
H. Burton writes: "My grandfathers, Ebenezer Bur-
ton and John S. Woodside, my father and mother, W.
H. and Nancy Burton, and Uncle John Woodside are
buried there." H. L. Hale writes: "Few names on the
two or three tombs are legible. On a little 'house of
rock,' the last home evidently of a husband and wife,
this only could be read: ' Daugherty. Born 1770,
died 1828.' Near by was this : 'Caroline Arnold.
Died July 22, 1828.' On another tomb : 'D. E. S. Ken-
ner. Died December 4, 1809; age seventy-seven
years.' One other : 'Nancy Kite, born 1805 ; died July
22, 1828.' Judging from the grave of D. E. S. Ken-
ner, the cemetery was used at least one hundred and
five years ago, and the slumberer was born the same
year Washington was, 1732."
Liberty, fifty-six miles east of Nashville, has suf-
fered much from fires. It is in one of the finest agri-
cultural sections of the State, with a population esti-
mated at five hundred, and perhaps it is of more ro-
mantic interest than the other towns in the county.
38
CHAPTER IV.
Pastimes of the Foreparents.
We should not think of the past in terms of the
present, but remember that social advantages of a
century ago were far inferior to those of 1914. The
society of the grandparents, then, as in all primitive
communities, was somewhat rude. The crudeness
varied, being less apparent in the villages than farther
in the backwoods. While there was some degree of
refinement among those who could buy books and visit
the outside world occasionally, the majority were plain
citizens. Amusements were few. There were parties,
sometimes called frolics. Candy-pulling and fru-
menty boilings were often the outcome of a quilting,
log-rolling, or corn-shucking. Such plays as "thim-
ble," "snap," "slapout," and "Jake's a-grinning"
would be engaged in. Others would be accompanied
by songs on this order :
The higher up the cherry tree,
The riper grows the cherry;
The sooner you court a pretty girl,
The sooner you will marry.
The dances were usually rough in outlying com-
munities. The more cultured, especially near the mid-
dle of the nineteenth century, enjoyed the Virginia
reel and other less boisterous dances ; their plays, too,
were more refined.
With people of Anglo-Saxon stock the favorite
musical instrument in the first stages of society is the
39
History of DeKalb County
violin. General Stokes and Hon. Horace Overall per-
formed on this instrument. In the mercantile account
book of Dr. Wright General Stokes, Richard Arnold,
and Green B. Adams are charged with "piano songs"
in the first third of the nineteenth century. Does this
mean that there were pianos in the county as early as
that ? Possibly the music was bought to be sung with-
out piano accompaniment. The fiddlers in the county
from 1800 to 1875, including black and white, would
have no doubt numbered several hundred, and some
were so popular that they were in demand on all near-
by social and public occasions where music was a fea-
ture.
The race course was encouraged and well patron-
ized. There were quite a number of locally famous
horses, and some had prestige beyond the borders of
the State. Dr. Foster writes:
The stallions Old Pete, George Boyd, and Steamboat were
as well known in the western part of the county about 1845
or 1850 as the most prominent citizens. William Gothard, of
Liberty, was a great lover of horses. Lemuel Moore, the
tailor, once sold a small "scrub" for thirty-five dollars. The
animal turned out to be a racer and soon afterwards sold
for eighteen hundred dollars.
Tan Fitts, of near Temperance Hall, owned Dock
Alvin, Elizabeth Johnson, and Tom Hal, noted racers.
The most noted animal in the county was Ariel, a
quarter horse. The owner was William B. Stokes.
It was told that he won so many stakes that few would
bet against him, and through a prejudiced cabal he
was ruled off the tracks. Whereupon his owner
40
History of DeKalb County
painted him a different color and won other races, but
the paint eventually took off the hair. Of course this
was apocryphal. Stokes's daughter, Mrs. Leath Cal-
houn, told the writer that Ariel's leg was broken and
that her father gave him to his brother-in-law, Horace
Overall, then a lad. Horace and the little slaves put
some sort of juice or homemade liniment on the af-
flicted limb. As it did some good, boylike, they de-
cided to anoint him all over, thinking a greater im-
provement would result. This denuded him of his
once glossy coat. In a conversation with the writer in
1899 Mr. Leander Hayes said : "I recall having passed
Colonel Overall's one day and saw the animal stand-
ing in the lot by the road. All the hair had slipped
from him except that on his belly and the ends of his
ears. He was a woeful sight."
What became of Ariel? The next heard of him is
through Oliver Taylor's history of Sullivan County,
East Tennessee. Taylor says in one place :
Sullivan County wheat took first prize over the world at
the Vienna Exposition in 1872, and the bones of the swiftest
horse of the racing days between 1845 and i860 moldered on
a field on the old Fain farm east of Blountville.
Farther along in his chapter devoted to politics are
these notes:
When General Stokes and De Witt Senter were opposing
each other for Governor [in 1869] they engaged in a discus-
sion at Blountville. Stokes was the owner of Ariel, the
famous race horse. He appealed to the horse-breeding and
agricultural spirit of his countr3'men. "The bones of Ariel,"
said he, "are moldering in Sullivan County soil." Replying
to this, Senter said : "I grant you it is a great honor to have
41
History of DeKalb County
the resting place of the fastest horse of the times ; but, gentle-
men, the bones of an ancestor of mine, who fought in the
battle of King's Mountain, are sleeping in Sullivan ; and what
are the bones of the fastest horse in the world compared with
the sacred dust of a man who fought for your liberties?"
It is possible that Ariel, after recovering from the
broken leg, was bought and carried to East Tennessee
for breeding purposes. Dr. T. J. Jackson, of Liberty,
says that he once read a description of Ariel in pam-
phlet form, and his natural color was described as
"snow white."
There were company, regimental, and brigade mus-
ters in the first half of the nineteenth century. They
became less frequent about 1855.
Solomon in his glory was not much more re-
splendent than the superior officers at these gatherings.
Especially noticeable were their long black or red
plumes. When the time came to muster, some one
would take a position at some point on the street and
cry out : "Oyez, Oyez ! All who belong to Captain
's company form in a parade here." Another
would call the same to a different company a hundred
or two yards distant, and so on until all the militia was
in action. After forming they, with drum and fife
(field officers on prancing horses), would march to a
commodious field and evolute and march to the ad-
miration of the surging crowds. Dr. Foster writes :
As the muster at Smithville was a bigger affair than that
at Liberty, it must have been a brigade muster. Colonel
Cotton, Major Atnip, and Captain Perkins took great interest
in these affairs. The officers' hats, as I remember, were of
the stovepipe pattern. Horses not used to the noise and
42
History of DeKalb County
crowds reared and pranced, but Captain Perkins seemed to
enjoy the prancing of his roan steed. In the language of
old Tom Askew, all the officers "felt the weight of the argu-
ment."
Mr. H. L. Hale, who was almost six years of age
when the war began, recalls a muster he witnessed at
Liberty and writes :
I think Peter Adams was then colonel of a DeKalb regi-
ment. I can see Colonel Peter sitting his graj' charger in a
deep Spanish saddle, with high boots and spurs and three-
cornered or crescent-shaped hat and large feather or tassel.
He was, I thought, the finest and greatest man I ever saw
or could expect to see. Tall and straight, he had a military
bearing as long as he lived ; and, small as I was when I saw
him on this occasion, I thought he took special pains to "dad-
die"' that plume by some movement of the head.
He says further: "These companies always marched
to the stirring music of fife and drum. There was a
Liberty company called the Blues and another the
Greens. Ike Lamberson and Jim Bethel, negroes,
were noted fifers and drummers."*
*Among the State archives are many commissions of mus-
ter days. Thus, Thomas Patterson was made captain of the
Fortj'-First Regiment September i8, 1812, George Turney
lieutenant, and Josiah Spurlock ensign. Joseph Fite became
a captain in the regiment January- 28, 1813. Lemuel Moore
was commissioned lieutenant of the same regiment June 14,
1813, and Moses Garrison September 14, 1814. In the last-
named year Shadrack Moore was made a second major of
the Sixteenth Regiment March 21, while Beverly Strange
(or Strong) became captain April 13. James Malone figures
as early as August 31, 181 3, as lieutenant.
43
History of DeKalb County
Shooting matches were greatly appreciated, and
there were crack shots celebrated throughout the
county, W. G. Evans and John McDowell among
others.
The chase is appreciated in all new countries, and
it was so in this county. Until long after the War be-
tween the States some farmers kept packs of fox
hounds. It would be interesting to know their breed.
But they were black and tan, with an occasional gray-
ish or pied animal, lank, with long pendulous ears,
calling to mind Shakespeare's description : "Ears that
swept away the morning dew, . . . matched in
mouth like bells." Farm neighbors would meet each
other with their packs on some high point in the hills
and spend the hours from dark to dawn's approach
and listen and listen and listen. The charm born of
night in the woods around the fire waiting for the
hounds to open up ! The music of the trailing pack
wafted over hill and hollow ! The man who takes part
in all this once soon finds the lure irresistible, and the
chase becomes a habit.
The writer has heard his mother describe the corn-
shuckings and the shanty songs sung while the men
were at work. A banquet would follow the husking of
the big piles of maize about midnight. Though the
corn-shucking meant work for the negroes, they en-
joyed any occasion where they were free to indulge in
antics and humor. Whisky and brandy were plentiful
on these occasions. The report of a "husking bee"
held in the northern corn belt some years ago showed
that a champion shucked ten and a half bushels in an
44
History of DeKalb County
hour. Something like that was probably turned out
at the corn-shuckings mentioned.
Superstition prevailed, and, indeed, it still prevails
to some extent. The writer does not claim freedom
from it and admits that he will not willingly pass
under a ladder, pare his nails on Sunday, tell a dream
on Friday morning before breakfast, nor step over an-
other's feet ! The inculcation of superstitious notions
has been laid to the slaves ; but our ancestors were as
much to blame, if any blame can be said to attach,
since the wisest minds now give credence to the occult.
The social visit, as it was of old, might well be classed
with amusements. There was still a genuine hospital-
ity existing, and for neighbors, though not related, to
pay each other a visit Saturday afternoon and remain
until Sunday afternoon was no uncommon thing.
This was called "going abroad" ; by the children,
"goin' on a broad." Perhaps Saturday night was the
most interesting part of the visit. Around the great
wood fire in winter or upon the porch in summer the
gossip of the neighborhood would be discussed, then
would follow stories of adventure and the supernat-
ural, relieved with humorous anecdotes. Greatly en-
joyed, too, was the evening call, when neighbors
would merely "drop in" and sit till bedtime.
Reverting to the society of the foreparents, it
should be stated that looking on wine when it was red
and corn whisky when it was white was almost univer-
sal. In 1840 there were 1,274 distilleries in the State.
The best citizens made, sold, and drank intoxicants.
There was scarcely a gathering where men did not
45
History of DeKalb County
drink — musters, races, elections, and weddings. The
bibulous frequently disturbed camp meetings. Chil-
dren were "treated" on Christmas morning. Of course
there were temperance advocates. When Bird S. Rhea
and H. A. Overall were candidates to represent the
county in 1853, the former was defeated, it is thought,
because of his temperance principles.
DeKalb County had its share of the 1,274 "stills."
Perhaps the first was put up about 1801 by Jesse Allen
on Eagle Creek. The writer's maternal grandfather,
Abraham Overall, was a distiller, and from his old
account book we get an idea of the cheapness of ar-
dent spirits and realize how the best people kept a
supply. Among his customers were Thomas Richard-
son, Moses Allen, Dr. Flowers, Dr. Jefferson Sneed,
William Goggin, Josiah Fuson, Samson Braswell,
John Allen, Josiah Hale, Matthew Sellars, Samuel
Barger, William Pistole, Joseph Hays, James Stark,
Hiram Morris, Joseph Turney, Daniel Ford, Francis
Turner, Isaac Turney, Jacob Adams, Henry Powell,
Goolsberry Blades, 'Bias Wilson, and Peter Clark.
Polly Stanly and Polly Huchens purchased largely,
perhaps to sell. The latter on July 17, 1841, was
charged $3 for six gallons. Under the same date is
this entry : "Three gallons whisky in evening of the
election, $1.50." Here are the purchases of one farmer
for about seven months of 1844. The buyer's name
is withheld, although on the book: April 12, one gallon
of brandy, .623/2 ; April 17, one gallon of whisky (or-
der), -Zy^^', April 27, one gallon of whisky, .373^2;
May I, one gallon of whiskv, .37>4 ; May 9, one gal-
46'
History of DeKalb County
Ion of whisky, .37^^ ; May 23, one gallon of whisky,
.37^ ; May 29, one gallon of whisky, .2i7y2 ; June 18,
one gallon of w'hisky, .yjYi. ; June 27, one gallon of
whisky, .37^,* July 12, one gallon of whisky, .Z7^^',
July 17, one gallon of whisky, .37'/2 ; August 24, one
gallon of W'hisky, .'i^yYi ; November 6, one gallon of
brandy, .40,
4?
CHAPTER V.
Farming and Merchandising.
Three early land offices had been opened in Ten-
nessee at different times. That for Middle Tennessee
was opened in 1783. A military reservation was laid
off to satisfy bounties promised the Revolutionary sol-
diers of North Carolina. Thousands of acres were
taken up. As no method of selecting land was used
(the holder of a warrant could explore and locate any-
where and in any shape), the best was taken up, and
poor tracts were left in every section. The North
Carolina demands for her old soldiers were allowed
even after Tennessee became a State. Each private
was given 640 acres ; each noncommissioned officer,
1,000; each captain, 3,840; each colonel, 7,200; and
so on. Gen. Nathaniel Green was granted 25,000
acres.
Many warrants were located on DeKalb County
lands. Not all the soldiers or their heirs desired to
locate here, though some came. So numerous claims
were bought up by speculators, Linn Cocke being one
of the best known.
Early crops were hemp, cotton, and tobacco in more
than one portion of the county. Neither cotton nor
hemp is now grown here. Wheat to-day is one of the
main crops, but the pioneers grew so little of it that
wheat bread was with a host only a Sunday morning
luxury. Wheat had to be cut with hand sickles and
threshed with a flail or tramped out by horses and
48
History of DeKalb County
oxen, and making it into flour was not easily done.
The grain was ground between rough millstones and
the product bolted by hand. Before the turnpike was
built, com, which has always been the American
pioneer's stand-by, could not be carried to distant mar-
kets with profit, and this may be one reason why there
were so many distilleries in the early years. Cotton
and hemp were used largely in making clothing for
the slaves, for there were many in the county. John
K. Bain, whose father, Peter Bain, settled near the
mouth of Sink Creek in 1812, says: "The productions
of that section were corn, wheat, oats, and rye. Reap-
ing was done with hand sickles. Plows used were bull
tongues. Iron cost twenty-five cents a pound. The
range was good. Hogs got fat on beech mast, dry
cattle lived on the range all winter, and there was no
thoroughbred stock." Dr. Foster writes : "Corn about
1845 sold for $1 a barrel, or ten cents the bushel if you
went to the country after it. I remember when the
best horses sold for $40 ; then the price went up some,
and as fine a horse as I ever saw in the county was
bought by John F. Moore at Liberty for $100. Haul-
ing was done mostly with oxen, many men driving two
yokes. As fine apples grew in the Basin as anywhere."
An account book of 1844, once belonging to Col.
Abraham Overall, gives an insight to farm products
and prices of that period; they were probably about
the same throughout the county. Hemp retailed on
the farm at about five cents the pound ; tobacco, four
cents; flour, $1.50 per one hundred pounds; apples
and sweet potatoes, twenty-five cents the bushel.
4 49
History of DeKalb County
Freight by wagon from Nashville to Liberty was sixty
cents per one hundred pounds.
If the foreparents did not generally have pure-bred
stock, they had good crosses, judging by the great
herds of hogs driven south yearly. The Copperbot-
tom horse was popular, as was the Morgan. Doubtless
the Narragansett was known, since for years pacing
was an appreciated gait. William B. Stokes, T. W.
Fitts, and others made a specialty of fine horses in
ante-bellum days. It might be interesting to dwell on
such breeds of poultry as the old dominique and
shanghai, once prized but now differentiated into brah-
mas and cochins. Likewise vegetables like peach-
blow and London lady potatoes and the small varie-
ties of tomatoes or "love apples," as they were then
called.
The grandparents lived well. Vegetables were care-
fully stored for winter use. Smokehouse and larder
v/ere full. Maple sirup and New Orleans molasses
were used, as sorghum was not introduced into Amer-
ica until 1853. Loaf sugar was a delicacy, though
there was a cheap quality of brown sugar.
The earliest merchants of the county doubtless car-
ried small stocks. One reason was that merchandise
was hauled long distances. Another was that every
village had its hatter, tailor, shoemaker, and saddler.
Handmade things were the rule. Much cloth was
manufactured at home (housewives vying with each
other in weaving) and made up at home or by the
tailor. Isaac Whaley once gave this pointer to the
writer: "Our people generally wore homespun clothes
50
History of DeKalb County
— the women cotton dresses striped with indigo and
turkey red, though some had silk. The men's clothing
was usually made by tailors, our first tailor at Liberty
being Bill Cochran; the second, Joe Ferryman. The
best of our early hatters was Mathias West, who made
considerable money. Wool and fur hats were made.
Mr. West could make as fine a 'stovepipe' as you will
see. The price was $7 or $8, and when the fur was
worn off the hat was brought back and made as good
as new. The wealthiest people, like Francis Turner,
Ned Robinson, and Abraham Overall, had fine broad-
cloth suits made by the tailors." The old people have
always claimed that merchandise was frequently
brought from New Orleans, necessitating high prices
with the middlemen, for the trip by keel boat required
five months. Even the Liberty merchants may have
got some of their wares by water, for this item is
found in Dr. Wright's daybook: "John Conger, credit
for raising flatboat and keeping her till next boating
season in Caney Fork, $20."
By 1830, however, stocks of goods were no doubt
enlarged, and Alexandria may have made the innova-
tion. Dr. Foster writes that "the people of that town
were always more dressy than in other parts of the
county" ; while the writer remembers the remark fre-
quently made by Squire Len F. Woodside just after
the War between the States : "Yes, sir, the Petersons
don't send to Paris, but to Alexandria, for the latest
fashions with which to illustrate their magazine."
But Dr. Wright's daybook indicates that his stock
was full enough for a village store. It also indicates
51
History of DeKalb County
that his patrons bought on time ; moreover, there is
not an item charged at five cents. Joshua Bratten is
charged twenty-five cents for half a pound of pow-
der; Col. Abe Overall, $2 for eight pounds of cofifee
and 12 cents a pound for sugar; Hariette C. Roul-
stone, 43 cents for two yards of "apron checks" ;
Thomas Cameron, 75 cents for three yards of domes-
tic; David L. Ray, $1.50 for three yards of calico;
Leonard Lamberson, 62^ cents for a fourth of a
pound of tea; John R. Dougherty, 62V2 cents for a
pound of raisins; E. Wright, 12 cents for two dozen
eggs ; John M. Leake, $1 for a bandanna handker-
chief; Irving Gray (hatter), $2.50 for six yards of
caHco; Jacob Overall, 12 cents for two gimlets; Little-
berry Vick, $5.75 for twenty-three yards of home-
spun ; Louis Y. Davis, 25 cents for two pounds of
"homemade" (maple) sugar; Col. Abe Overall, $7.50
for a mill saw (probably the straight sort) ; Elizabeth
Overall, $2.25 for a cotton umbrella, "to be paid for
in brown jeans" ; Liberty Lodge, No. yy, "to cash to
pay postage, 63^2 cents" ; William Blair, two reap
hooks, $1.50; Asia Cooper, one dozen button molds,
6y2 cents, and one paper of tacks, i8j<2 cents ; W. B.
Stokes, four pounds of nails, 50 cents ; W. G. Stokes,
one drab hat, $8.50, one cravat stiffening, 12^ cents,
and one vial oil of cinnamon, 25 cents ; Bartimeus Pack,
one hymn book, 75 cents ; Richard Arnold, one fur
hat, $6. Calico was worth 50 cents the yard ; nutmegs,
6^ cents each. A lady is charged 87J/2 cents for
three and a half yards of domestic and 60 cents for a
pair of cotton hose, T. W. Duncan buys a dozen gun
52
History of DeKalb County
flints for 63^2 cents, and John Canler a paper of ink
powder for 18^ cents. James B. Pistole is charged
$8 for "one Tom and Jerry hat" ; WilHam C. Garrison,
$3 "for Webster's speeches" ; Wilham B. Stokes, 62^
cents for "one piano song"; L. H. Bethel, 37^ cents
to pay postage; Thomas E. Bratten, 75 cents for a
gallon of molasses. There is a charge of $1.20 for
four pounds of loaf sugar. Loaf sugar was in coni-
cal packages and came ready wrapped in dark-blue
paper. Somewhat pathetic is this charge of eighty-
two years ago, "Two boys' balls, 6^ cents," for one
cannot help wondering what came of the boy or boys.
A farmer is credited $2 for twenty-four and a half
pounds of butter and another $2.16^ for six and a
half pounds of wool.
The leghorn hat was fashionable then and later.
Was it also called a "poke" bonnet? A writer in the
Liberty Herald in 1892 stated that the "leghorn bon-
nets were a foot and a half long, more or less, with-
out any artificials, simply a plain ribbon drawn across
the top and tied under the chin."
The Dunstable bonnet was much in vogue. One is
charged in the following bill to Miss Elizabeth O.
Hall: "One Dunstable bonnet and trimmings, $6; six
yards blk. silk, $6; seven yards calico, $3.50; pair
side combs, 12^/2 cents; one best fancy handkerchief,
$2 ; twelve strands beads, 87 ^^ cents ; one black bobbi-
net veil, $2.50; one black bandanna handkerchief, $1 ;
two and a half yards bobbinet lace, $i.56>^."
Among the products of the farm in 1832-33 were
cheese and flax seed. David Griffith's account was
53
History of DeKalb Cou.nty
credited with 62)^ cents for one and a quarter pounds
flax seed ; and at the time Jordan Sellars was charged
$9 for "one fine fur hat," he was credited with 85 cents
for eight and a half pounds of cheese.
Since Isaac Whaley's reference to the clothing worn
by the foreparents has been introduced in this chap-
ter, it will be only a second digression to quote the
words of an old DeKalb Countian who wrote from
Missouri to the Liberty Herald April 6, 1892, of
before-the-war days :
For Sunday many of the well-to-do men wore a blue or
black broadcloth coat which cost from four to ten dollars a
yard. They were usually cut with a frock or "claw-hammer"
tail and rolling collar. The black and white satin vest, double-
breasted, was worn by the fashionable. Pants were made
very loose and had wide or narrow flaps before, invariably.
A black silk cravat, doubled crosswise, was worn around a
collar of uncertain dimensions. The dress described was
worn by the fashionable, such as Eli Vick, Jasper Ruyle,
Pete Adams, Len Walker, Joseph Clarke, Peter Clark, and
others on Sunday. Later Dr. Horace Sneed, Dr. J. S.
Harrison, the Hayes boys, the Turners, and the Turneys were
the leaders in fashion. Many women sometimes wore silk
dresses — not gaudy-colored, but plain black silk. A calico
dress was seldom seen. Nearly all dresses were made with
two widths of cloth and a gore on each side. Hoop skirts
were as rare among women as drawers among men. All
young women wore their dresses fastened behind. No such
institution as a corset was thought of. The hair was usually
parted in the middle, a strip bent around each car, and wound
up with a large horn comb at the back of the head.
The people did much trading by exchanging one
commodity for another. The amount of money in
circulation mu.st have been negligible. For instance,
54
History of DeKalb County
this note was made by Colonel Overall, who was not
poor, but ow^ned perhaps twenty-five hundred acres of
land, a score of slaves, a mill, cotton gin, and distillery :
"The amount of money that I have spent since the
26th of August, 1844: September 10, $1; September
18, 50 cents; September 20, 50 cents; October i, $1 ;
October 20, $2; October 25, 45 cents; November 9,
50 cents ; December 6, $5."
Life was "slow" compared with this age that goes
the pace that kills, but it had its advantages. One
worth $10,000 or $12,000 was in easy circumstances.
With his slaves, abundant crops, and loaded tables, he
made a social impression that is not now made with
thrice that amount. He had time to read ; he indulged
in hospitality; and, free from business cares, behind
his grave demeanor lurked a trace of humor tragically
absent from the countenances of the nervous men of
the present.
55
CHAPTER VI.
Relating to Education.
We owe a debt of gratitude to the old field tutors
who for poor pay labored in the cause of mental and
moral attainment when we had no adequate public
school law. Of course there were many instances in
the county where parents were able to send their chil-
dren to schools where the advantages were greater.
James Givan, speaking for the Clear Fork country,
has said: "The settlers from Virginia — they were
called the upper ten by their neighbors — in some in-
stances sent their children back to the Old Dominion
for schooling or to well-established boarding schools,"
But the old field teacher was the main reliance of the
masses.
Dr. T. W. Wood, who was reared in Cannon County
and who is past threescore and ten, says: "I have
heard my father speak of having studied Dillworth's
speller and Johnson's dictionary. I used Webster's
speller (which has never been surpassed), Kirkham's
grammar, McGuffey's reader, Smiley's arithmetic,
Walker's dictionary, Davies's algebra, and Mitchell's
geography and arithmetic." Dr. Wood adds: "It was
nothing uncommon for free schools to last only six
weeks or two months. Teachers were paid from $20
to $30 per month, frequently holding forth in log
cabins with dirt floors and wooden benches without
backs. The writing desk consisted of a broad plank
attached to the wall. More attention was paid to
penmanship, reading, spelling, and arithmetic than
56
History of DeKalb County
to-day. The true basis of education is more neglected
now than then." John K. Bain wrote in his eighty-
seventh year: "From 1836 to 1842, or later, there were
no free schools in my section — all subscription. The
teacher took his seat and made each scholar stand be-
side him to say his lesson. He kept a long switch,
fully four feet, sticking up over the door. There were
no classes. The books used were Webster's speller,
Smiley's arithmetic, McGuffey's readers, and geogra-
phy. One of my teachers was Glasgow Harper, who
finally became a Methodist preacher and moved down
near Liberty or on Smith's Fork." Dr. J. B. Foster
gave this information in 1914: "The schoolbooks sixty
and seventy years ago were Webster's speller (my
copy, however, was yellow, not blue, and I recall hav-
ing written on the inside 'bird foster'), McGuffey's
readers, Smith's grammar at Liberty and Kirkham's
at Smithville, Smiley's and Pike's arithmetics, and
Olney's geography. There were others for advanced
pupils. At all old field schools two pupils would
choose spellers and have a 'spelling battle' on Friday
afternoons. When a pupil wanted to 'go out' in some
instances he (to keep tab) had to carry a crooked
stick, and on his return he hung it back on a nail in
the wall. The presence of the stick meant 'all are in ;
now you can go out.' It was a sort of passport.
Blackboards were not then in use. Big and little were
whipped when the teacher thought they needed chas-
tisement. The pupil who reached the schoolhouse
first 'said' his lesson first; 'recite' was not used. At
the writing hour the girls practiced first and then the
57
History of DeKalb County
boys. Goose quill pens were common. Vials took the
place of inkstands. In each was a piece of cotton,
holding the absorbed ink in case the bottle was turned
over, and when not in use the bottles were suspended
on nails by strings. The larger pupils were allowed
to sit outside and 'cipher,' study grammar, and the like.
Boys and girls did not play together, and young teach-
ers were partial to boys who had pretty sisters."
Corporal punishment was indeed in vogue. Often
it was severe, even for some years after the close of
the War between the States. Sometimes as effective a
punishment as could be administered was to make a
mischievous lad sit beside a girl. Thus exposed to
gaze, he was the pink victim of snickering playmates.
Doubtless that course would not embarrass young
America to-day.
Geographies being scarce, once a day, usually late
in the afternoon, the entire school stood against the
walls and "sang geography," the teacher leading.
Nations or States with the capitals and the names and
height of mountains were the main things learned in
this way. The chanting would run somewhat thus:
"Ar-kan-sas, Ar-kan-sas — Little Rock, Little Rock ;"
or, "Copenhagen, Copenhagen — Denmark, Denmark."
School hours were from sunrise to sunset, with a
"recess" in both forenoon and afternoon, and "play-
time" took up an hour in the middle of the day. The
lunch brought by children to be eaten during recess
was called "recess," not "snack" or lunch. The games
played were town ball, bull pen, Ant'ny-over, marbles,
knucks, and fox chase. The favorite relaxation of the
58
History of DeKalb County
girls was jumping the rope. From time out of mind
the shouting of "school butter" by a passer-by was
resented by the pupils and maybe the teacher. Chief
Justice John Marshall was now and then, he tells us,
chased for uttering the challenge and could not ex-
plain why it caused resentment or how it originated.
Recently through the Nashville Banner a Tennessee
lady has said that "school butter" is a corruption of
the taunt, "the school's better" — that is, the school's
superior. If caught, the challenger was ducked in the
nearest stream or mudhole and punished for his
temerity.
The writer was a pupil of these first schools. Often,
when among new friends in his experiences in the
daily journalism of various cities, he has forgotten
them and thought of his boyhood playmates. His af-
fection for the latter was on one occasion expressed
in the following lines, which, if not of historical inter-
est, may yet appeal to survivors of the old times :
The time for cakes and ale is gone for us of grizzled hair-
But that can't make our hearts forget how old school days
shone fair.
Outside the house— the waving woods where rose the brown
bees' hum,
And the wild roses that appeared dead lovers' vows in bloom ;
Within — the boys in homespun suits, the teacher's mighty
frowns,
And girls, though plainly dressed, as plump as those in silken
gowns.
And Zekle Moore and Abner Smith, Sue Brown and Mary
Strong!
Your plain, old-fashioned names are fit to grace the sweetest
song.
59
History of DeKalb County
Where are you, tow-head boys who felt each day the birchen
rod,
And knew how well to place the pin and aim the paper wad?
Where are the girls on whom back there we cast admiring
eyes —
Whose smiles brought back to earth once more some hints of
Paradise?
Old time has been as rough with them no doubt as with us
blades,
And some are fat-and-forty dames and some perhaps old
maids ! . . .
But there was one of pleasant mien I think of oft and long
And wish she knew a thought of her throbs through this little
song.
In all probability the earliest school in DeKalb
County was taught at Liberty. Among the early
teachers there were a Mr. Chambers and William
Gay. Their names recur more persistently to the older
people than others of the ante-bellum years. The lat-
ter married a daughter of the merchant, Seth Whaley,
and is described by Dr. Foster as having "two or three
fingers missing from one hand and parting his hair
in the middle." Mr. and Mrs. Gay removed to Mis-
souri. Mrs. Rachel Payne, as will be seen elsewhere,
says that Mr. Chambers was the first to keep school in
the first specially erected schoolhouse, the long one-
story frame building which stood from about 1843 to
some time during the war, when it was torn down by
order of Col. William B. Stokes and the lumber used
for making cabins for the officers of his regiment about
the stockade, northwest of the Methodist church.
Richard Carroll, a lame pedagogue, came from
Smith County with Frederick Jones, tailor and tavern
60
History of DeKalb County
keeper. John Collins, who also may have taught at
Alexandria, was for a while in charge of a school at
Liberty. Writes Dr. Foster: "Collins and C. G. O.
Smith were teachers who occasionally imbibed — kept
intoxicants hid out." Among other ante-bellum teach-
ers were Professor Crane, who married Miss Amanda
Seay and who, being Northern-born, returned to In-
diana during the secession excitement, C. W. L. Hale,
W. D. G. Carnes, and Roland Foster. This writer
started out during Mr. Foster's time to lay the founda-
tion of an education, being very small, tow-headed,
and bare of feet. Reaching the door with his brother
Horace that summer morning, he espied Billy Gothard
sitting astride one stove and George Smith astride the
other. They were being punished thus for some mis-
chief. This startled him, and he shot under the house,
where he remained long enough to devour his "recess,"
and then took to his heels in the direction of home.
Dr. Foster refers further to teachers at Liberty
prior to 1851, naming Joseph Ferryman, A. M. Jones,
Robert Yeargin, and Mr. Woodward. The last named
remained only a short while.
The writer recalls these later teachers : W. D. G.
Carnes, John Truitt, Miss Cynthia Fuston, Miss Hat-
tie Woodside, Mrs. Thomas Adamson (from Iowa),
Rev. D. P. Searcy, John F. Roy, Horace M. Hale, Miss
Callie Sneed, W. D. Gold, Miss Sallie Coward, W. A.
Barger, John Bryan, Miss Amelia Bryan, Hood and
Baker (from the North), Jones and Renick, Mr.
Friece (from the North), Rev. James Turner, Thomas
Turner. Professor Paschal, Miss Stevens, S. B. Sher-
61
History of DeKalb County
rill, Alona Gossett, Robert Smithson, Professor Rose,
Professor Crewes, E. W. Brown, J. H. Killman, and
Matt Bratten. The teachers in 1914 were: Horace L.
Smith, principal ; Misses Gene Crowley and Bessie
Saunders, assistants ; and Miss Mildred Mathis, music
teacher.
It is believed that the first building put to educa-
tional purposes was the old log church, Salem, then
the new frame which took its place. After the war of
1861-65, the latter was again used; so was the Meth-
odist church ; and Miss Cynthia Fuston kept school
awhile in a log cabin in the eastern part of the village.
In 1869 the Masonic Academy was erected, the first
teachers being H. M. Hale, principal, and Miss Gallic
Sneed, assistant. In the present decade the high
school building was erected.
It should be stated that shortly after Masonic Acade-
my was built differences arose between some of the
patrons as to how the common school fund should be
managed. As a result another house, William Black-
burn leading, was put up near the pioneer graveyard
north of the village. A few sessions were held in it,
when it fell into disuse.
Old residents of Alexandria think that the first
school kept there was by Wyley Reynolds in a log
house about 1820. Persons who remember him say
that he was above the average as an instructor. Later
in a frame house John Collins taught the young idea
how to shoot. A frame building was about 1840 espe-
cially erected for educational purposes. According to
62
History of DeKalb County
Goodspeed's history, Masonic Academy followed in
1856, and in 1858 Lawrence College. The two latter,
attractive and substantial structures, gave evidence of
the people's love of learning, and in their time turned
out many well-informed men and cultured women.
Prior to the great war subscription schools were
also taught by Miss Bettie Minor, Miss Mary Morti-
mer, and Mrs. Susan Bryant.
Other teachers besides Reynolds and Collins have
been: John Ogden, Thomas Bunday, William Rust,
Frank Smith, Messrs. Pirkey, Joy, IMcKnight, and
William Hi Smith, Mr. and Mrs. Sawyer, Mr. and
Mrs. Blackington, Mr. and Mrs. Davis, Mr. and Mrs.
IMagoffin, James Turner, Thomas Eastes, H. L. W.
Gross, INIrs. T. L. Gold, J. L. Boon, and others. Pro-
fessor Boon was in charge in 1914, his assistants being
Misses Odom, Lucas, and Coles.
Very little is known relative to early Smithville
schools of the old field variety, but there were such.
Dr. Foster recalls the following, who taught after
1851 : William Eastham, Thomas Bunday, William
Dawson, and Mr. Moore.
In 1838 Fulton Academy was chartered. This, a
commodious brick building, became famous locally
within a few years for its able instructors. The trus-
tees of the institution were Thomas Durham, Moses
Pedigo, Samuel Allen, Martin Phillips, and Bernard
Richardson. The following taught in the academy:
William Hi Smith, of Williamson County; H. G.
Hampton, of Franklin Countv ; Mr. Bentley, of Maurv
63
History of DeKalb County
County; John F. Moore, of Vermont; R. F. Sanders
and J. J. and W. R. Smith. About 1880-81 Pure
Fountain College was erected. It was three stories
and cost about $12,000. It was burned, and a build-
ing of two stories took its place. One of the teachers
at Pure Fountain College was Prof. T. B. Kelley, of
Maury County. He took charge in 1883.
A noted ante-bellum school was Union Institute, a
mile and a half out on the Sparta road. ]\[r. Ghorms-
ley, who established it, was a minister of the Oiristian
Church and a thorough instructor. He finally engaged
in horse-trading, driving the animals south. Becom-
ing bankrupt, he left the country.
Names of present tutors : J. S. Wood, A. Colvert,
Miss Ocie Powers, Miss Janie Miller, and Mrs. Oma
Foster, teacher of music.
In the sketches of Temperance Hall, Dowelltown,
Laural Hill, and Forks-of-the-Pike will be found edu-
cational notes as to those sections. These names
should be added to the list of men and women who
have taught in the county at one time or another : W.
G. Crowley, Mrs. Peter Adams, Miss Lizzie Simpson,
Alex Robinson, his son William, Milton Ward, Robert
C. Nesmith, Glasgow Harper, Terry Trapp, Mr. Whit-
lock (of Dismal Creek), Uncle Johnnie Sneed, James
A. Nesmith, H. C. Givan, Dan Williams, and H. L.
Overall.
The following have been Superintendents of Public
Instruction : Terry Trapp, who served from the or-
ganization of the free school system until 1880, when
he was succeeded bv I. W. Overall ; Alvin Avant,
64
History of DeKalb County
1881; Dick Goodson, 1887; AI. T. Martin, 1889; E.
W. Brown, 1891 ; W. J. Gothard, 1895 ; J. E. Drake,
1899; R. H. Lankford, 1903; Martha Robinson, 1907;
J. S. Woods, 1909; J. F. Caplinger, 1913.
The Board of Education for 1914 selected teachers
for the schools of the county as follows :
Upper Helton, Richard McGinness; New Hope,
Wiley Dinkins.
Green Hill, Otis Turney; Goggin School, Gertrude
Wilson ; Pea Ridge, C. H. Vickers and Harrison Ash-
ford; Adamson's Branch, Tommy Cripps.
Possum Hollow, Robert Fuson; Church School,
Miss Hattie Sanders; Cripps' School, V. R. Fuson
and Miss Hildah Fuson ; George School, Less Fuson ;
Crossroads, Floice Vickers and Virgil Gilreath, co-
principals.
Helton, Howard Hobson, principal; Miss Corinne
McNelly, assistant.
Pisgah, Mack Reynolds ; Capling, Mrs. Carrie
Jones ; Bluff School, C. A. Malone.
Four Comers, Miss Willie Bell, principal ; assistant
to be supplied.
Temperance Hall, Leroy Smith (principal). Miss
Stella Young (assistant) ; Cove Hollow, Claude Chris-
tian ; Long Branch, L. L. Braswell ; colored school,
Lizzie Stokes.
Bethel House, Grady Kelley ; Walker's Creek, Hugh
Robinson.
Cooper's Chapel, M. C. Bratten (principal). Miss
Mai Robinson (assistant) ; Dowelltown, Starnes and
5 65
History of DeKalb County
Malone ; June Bug, Robert White : colored school,
Maggie Talley.
It was ordered that the pay of the teachers be the
same as for 191 3, which was for secondary schools,
$45 ; primary, $40, excepting Bethel, Green Hill, Gog-
gin, Mud College, Jones House, Rock Castle, and Dale
Ridge, which were placed at $35. The salary of as-
sistant teachers was $30 for teachers with experience
and $25 per month for the new ones. Colored teach-
ers receive $30 per month.
In 1823 the first public school law in the State was
passed, providing for the application of public funds
to establish "poor schools" or to pay the tuition of
poor children in other schools. From this is dated the
long-time prejudice against public schools, which were
called "poor schools" down to recent times. The first
efficient system became a law in 1867; while the pres-
ent system, which has been added to and strengthened
from time to time, was instituted in 1873.
66
CHAPTER VII.
Religious History.
The first ministers to locate in Tennessee were :
Samuel Doak, Presbyterian, who also established the
earliest school ; Tidence Lane, Baptist, who arrived
almost as early as Doak, about 1780; and Jeremiah
Lambert, Methodist, who came in 1783. Rev. Charles
Cummings, Presbyterian, often visited the East Ten-
nessee settlers before the coming of any of the afore-
mentioned, but he resided at x*\bingdon, or Wolf Hills,
Va. In 1810 the Cumberland Presbyterian Church
was organized in Dickson County. The Lutherans
formed an organization in 1825, the Christians in 1826,
the Episcopalians in 1827, and the Catholics in 1830.
It is probable that the earliest church in DeKalb
County was erected by the Baptists of Liberty. In
Grime's history of Middle Tennessee Baptists it is
said that Cantrell Bethel, born in Maryland December
17' I779> and died near Liberty October- 22, 1848.
came with the colony that "marked the establishing of
the first town in Tennessee between Nashville and the
Cumberland Mountains" and settled half a mile west
of Liberty. Not long afterwards he became con-
verted; and as there were no Baptists in that section,
he joined Union Church, in Warren County, Ky. On
his return from Kentucky he began his ministr}'.
gathered a band of his faith at the present Brush
Creek, in Smith County, and constituted a Church
there May 29, 1802 ; and then, securing an "arm" from
67
History of DeKalb County
Brush Creek at Liberty, established Salem Church at
the latter place in August, 1809, becoming the elder
or pastor.
But an even earlier preacher who became promi-
nent in the Baptist Church was Rev. John Fite. He
also located west of Liberty. He was born in Mary-
land in 1758 or 1759 and was a Presbyterian minister
when he came to this section. Becoming a Baptist
preacher in 1812, he died near Liberty February 18,
1852. Elder Fite was the father of Moses and Henry
Fite, also grandfather of James, Robert, and Thomas
Fite, who are yet living in other States and maintain-
ing the prestige of high citizenship established by their
ancestors.
Salem Baptist Church, at Liberty, was constituted
an independent body in August, 1809, with thirty-one
members. The first building was of logs and v.as 25 by
30 feet. About 1849 a frame building took its place,
and this in turn was replaced by the present frame
structure, 40 by 70 feet, about 1880. The member-
ship has been large in recent years, numbering three
hundred and twenty-one in 1902. Pastors: Cantrell
Bethel, 1809-37 (William Dale supplying a part of
this period while Bethel was on a missionary tour) ;
Joshua Lester, 1837-46; Henry Fite, 1846-47; Na-
thaniel Hays. 1847-68; L. H. Bethel, 1868-71; J. W.
Hunt, 1871-72; J. R. Bowman, 1872-73; J. W. Hunt
and J. R. Bowman, 1873-75; J- ^^- Hunt, 1875-76:
T. J. Eastes, 1876-83; J. M. Stewart, 1883-86; Wil-
liam Simpson, 1886-87; T. J. Eastes, 1887-1902; Wil-
liam Wauford, 1902-13; R. L. Bell, 1913.
68
History of DeKalb County
It may be well to name some of the early clerks of
this historic Church: Adam Dale (the first Liberty
settler and miller), 1809-16; William Givan, 1816-20;
Tilman Bethel, 1820-50; Seth Whaley, 1850-51 ; James
Bratten, 1851-71; J. A. Fite, 1871-72; James Allan,
1872-78; I. N. Fite, 1878-79; L. J. Bratten, 1879 until
his death, more than twenty years. Among the deacons
were the following: John Horn, Nehemiah Garrison,
William Dale, James Evans, E. Parsons, Joseph Hays,
Moses Fite, 1822; Henry Fite, Sr., 1829; George
Givan, 1845 5 Seth Whaley, 1845 ; Thomas Givan and
James Hollands worth, 1851 ; James Stark and Thomas
Fite, 1871 ; I. N. Fite and William Robinson, 1878;
T. M. Givan and J. A. Bass, 1886; Henry Fite, Jr.,
1886; F. M. Turner and J. C. Bass, 1889; H. M. Fite
and J. D. Smith, 1891 ; T. G. Bratten, 1891 ; Horace
Evans and James Stark, Jr., 1897.
Salem has sent out this list of ministers : John Fite ;
Nathaniel Hays ("Uncle Natty") ; William Dale, 1815 ;
John Horn, 1819; James Evans, 1825; R. Wilson,
1819; Henry Fite, 1837; Lafayette Ferryman, 1872;
J. H. \^ickers, 1881 ; R. E. Smith, 1886. The follow-
ing were licensed as exhorters in the old days when
this custom was in vogue : Jonathan Hendrixon, John
Haas, Lemuel G. Griffons, William Gossett, Moses
Fite, and others. Among former elders or pastors,
these sleep in Salem Cemetery : Cantrell Bethel, James
Evans (who died early from the kick of a mule, and
was said to have been the first adult buried there),
William Dale, Archamac Bass, Nathaniel Hays, Henry
Fite, John Fite, and J. W. Hunt.
69
History of DeKalb County
The writer recalls a number of ministers of the
county who were living during the war and shortly
afterwards and pauses to pay them his tribute. One
was Rev. Nathaniel Hays, born about 1807, ordained
to preach in 1846, preached his first and last sermon
at New Hope, and died October 28, 1868. Such was
his life that he was not molested by either side during
the war, though the antagonisms of that struggle
brought something like chaos to the country. One can
hardly estimate the good he accomplished after the
war. A big man physically, he was strong-souled also,
and people had faith in him. Hundreds of ex-soldiers
listened to him, forgot heart bitternesses, and took the
straight and narrow way. When the writer dreams of
real heroes as they appeared to his boyhood eyes, he
thinks of Natty Hays, Hall Bethel, Moses Fite, and
two or three consecrated Methodists who for more
than a generation stood unfalteringly for the cause of
God.
New Hope is situated south of Alexandria. Rev.
William Dale, who bought the farm known in later
years as the Eli Rowland place, began preaching at
Thomas Finley's home, but in 1818 established the
Church with eighteen members. A building was
erected, and the earlier pastors were: William Dale,
W. P. Hughes, Archamac Bass, Henry Fite, Nathan-
iel Hays, T. J. Eastes, J. C. Brien, J. R. Hearn, J. M.
Stewart, William Simpson, A. C. Webb, J. F. McNabb,
and Stephen Robinson.
The Smithville Church was constituted August 25,
1844, with fourteen members, in the Methodist church.
70
History of DeKalb County
A house of worship was erected about 1858. The
pastors have been: Jesse Allen, 1847-60; Hall Bethel,
1860-70; J. C. Brien, 1870-73; J. R. Bowman, 1873-
75; A. J. McNabb, 1875-76; T. J. Eastes, 1876-78; J
J. Martm, 1878—; J. J. Porter, about 1880; J. C
Brien, about 1881-85; J. T. Oakley, about 1885-88
N. R. Sanborn, 1889-90; William Simpson, 1890-91
W. H. Smith, 1891-92; J. H. Grime, 1893-95; J. T
Oakley, 1896 — ; and A. P. Moore. Clerks to 1902
J. L. Bond, Abner Witt, P. P. Johnson, J. A. Wilson,
and L. W. Beckwith.
Indian Creek Church, eight miles north of Smith-
ville, dates back to 1844. First named Caney Fork
Church, it was changed to Indian Creek in 1848.
Among its pastors were Henry Fite, J. C. Brien, Wil-
liam Simpson, J. M. Stewart, D. C. Taylor, D. W.
Taylor, A. J. Waller, and W. E. Wauford.
A noted old log church, known to the present gen-
eration only as a Methodist church, was Goshen, on
Dismal Creek, north of Liberty. It was constituted a
Baptist Church in July, 1821, by Cantrell Bethel and
John Fite. Fite was the only pastor it ever had, as
not much interest was aroused, and the Church was
dissolved in 1837. From then on for years the Meth-
odists controlled the religious sentiment of the com-
munity. About 1879 Rev. J. C. Brien began preaching
in the neighborhood. As a result Cooper's Chapel
was constituted in 1880 with nine members. J. C.
Brien was the first pastor. Others have been: J. R.
Hearn, J. H. Vickers, William Simpson, W. E. Raikes,
A. C. Webb, J. F. McNabb, J. A. McClusky, and
71
History of DeKalb County
Stephen Robinson. The Church was named for Isaac
Cooper, a Mexican War and Confederate veteran.
Though a Methodist (but afterwards uniting with the
Baptist congregation), the erection of Cooper's Chapel
was due mainly to his efforts.
Mount Zion is situated near Temperance Hall. With
fourteen members the Church was instituted June 30,
1 85 1, in an old schoolhouse. Soon after its constitu-
tion Nicholas Smith was received by letter. He went
to work arousing interest in the need of a church. It
was erected and the first services held in it June, 1858.
Pastors to 1902 : Henry Fite, Nathaniel Hays, J. C.
Brien, T. J. Eastes, S. S. Hale, William Simpson, J.
M. Steward, A. C. Webb, J. F. McNabb, and W. E.
Wauford. Clerks : T. P. Jones, W. M. Crowder, Z. P.
Lee, R. W. Mason, A. P. Smith, W. A. Washer, H. A.
Hill, S. M. Williams, E. L. Lawrence, T. D. Oakley,
and L. C. Martin.
Until recent years the only Churches in Alexandria
were the Methodist, Christian, and Cumberland Pres-
byterian, the first two having been established prior to
the War between the States. As the result of a doc-
trinal debate in the town in January, 1887, between
Elder Moody, Baptist, and Dr. T. W, Brents, Chris-
tian, the Baptist citizens resolved to organize. This
was done during the month of the debate, and in time
a neat and commodious church was erected. This was
destroyed by lightning some years later, but in 1914 a
new and handsome structure was built on the ruins.
Some of the pastors have been : J. B. Moody, at one
time editor of the Baptist Reflector, N. R. Sanborn,
72
History of DeKalb County
W. H. Smith, J. B. Fletcher, Rutherford Brett, T. J.
Hastes, and R. L. Bell Early clerks: J. A. Walker,
J. M. Walker, C. E. Bailiff, and C. B. Bailiff. Deacons
in the first years : L. E. Jones, Isaac Cooper, Levi
Foutch, J. H. Snoddy, H. H. Jones, A. P, Smith, G.
A. Measle, Samuel McMillan, J. A. Walker, J. S.
Rowland, and James Stark. Livingston Tubb is the
present clerk.
Dry Creek Church was organized through the in-
strumentality of J. M. Stewart and J. H. Vickers
"near a straw stack in Dr. J. A. Fuson's lot," says
Grime. A neat building was erected, the early pastors
having been J. M. Stewart, William Simpson, J. H.
Davis, J. H. Grime, and Stephen Robinson.
Wharton Springs Baptist Church was constituted
three miles south of Smith ville in 1889 in the dwelling
of E. B. Allen. Among its pastors were William
Simpson, J. A. McClusky, J. H. Davis, J, M. Stewart,
and J. T. Oakley.
The Snow's Hill Church was instituted in 1897, the
following having been early pastors : A. J. Waller and
Stephen Robinson.
Pastors of the Dowelltown Church, which was or-
ganized in 1894, were: J. W. Stewart, J. H. Grime, J.
F. McNabb, W. J. Watson, J. H. Whitlock, and W. E.
Wauford.
Sycamore Fork Church, having in 1902 the largest
membership of any in Salem Association, is on the
line between DeKalb and Cannon Counties, and was
instituted through the efforts of Rev. Henry Bass in
1871. A house of worship was built in 1895. Of the
73
History of DeKalb County
pastors, these are recalled: Henry Bass, Hall Bethel,
J. R. Hearn, William Simpson, J. H. Grime, G. A.
Ogle, Stephen Robinson, and W. J. Watson. Of pa-
thetic interest is the fact that one of the young min
isters trained in this Church, J. T. Hancock, was called
to its care, but died before his first appointment.
Other Churches are Beech Grove, at the mouth of
Holm's Creek, established in 1858; Wolf Creek, near
Laurel Hill, 1846 ; and New Union, near Frank's
Ferry, southeast of Smith ville, 1870.*
The Primitive, or "tlardshell," Baptists have a small
membership in the county. Of the two noted
Churches, Bildad and New Bildad, both south of
Smithville, the latter is the most noted. Among the
well-known Primitive Baptist ministers, these are re-
called : Revs. Isaac Denton, Terry Trapp, James Snow,
L. Pope Potter, and Mr. Byers.
In reply to a letter of inquiry. Rev. G. L. Beale, Sec-
retary of the Tennessee Conference, M. E. Church,
Soutii, writes:
The records of the Tennessee Conference are very incom-
plete. The minutes were not printed prior to 1879, except at
rare intervals. The written journals were destroyed by fire
in the Publishing House in 1871. In the fall of 1812 the first
Conference appears. That same year Stones River Circuit
first appears in the minutes. Smith's Fork Circuit first ap-
pears in 1823, with William .\lgood and John Rains as pas-
*At the meeting of the Central Association of the Mission-
ary Baptist Church at Trczcvant, Tcnn., in September, 1914,
reports showed that the membership in the State (white) was,
in round numbers, one hundred and ninety-two thousand.
74
History of DeKalb County
tors — no boundaries given. In 1838 the name of Short Moun-
tain Circuit is given, with J. A. Walkup as pastor (no bound-
aries). I have no data by which I could tell you when the
societies at Liberty, Alexandria, or Smithville were started.
Neither Alexandria nor Smithville became a circuit until
after the War between the States.
In examining such records as remain, the following
preachers, among others, are named as having been
pastors at various times from 1830 to the war:
Smith Fork Circuit: L. Lowery, Jacob Ellinger,
John Kelley, Elisha Carr, W. Ledbetter, Miles S.
Johnston, John Page, S. Carlisle, Abe Overall, N. L.
Norvell, J. T. Sherrell, E. J. Allen, John Bransford,
F. D. Wrother, J. J. Foster, Fountain E. Pitts (P. E.),
John H. Mann, William Jarred, C. Evans, Asbury D.
Overall, John Hill, Joseph Willis, Russell Eskew, S.
H. Reams, John Sherrell (P. E.), J. C. Putnam, G. L.
Staley, F. S. Petway (P. E.), J. J. Comer, J. W.
Prichard, J. G. Ray, J. R. Harris. During the war
(there were no Conference sessions in 1863-64) : J.
A. Orman, J. J. Pitts, Fletcher Tarrant.
Short Mountain Circuit: J. A. Walkup, John H.
Mann, J. B. Hollis, Abe Overall, A, Bowen, Isaac
Woodward, J. W. Cullom, Joseph Banks, Daniel P.
Searcy (in 1855-56, afterwards with the "Northern
wing"), J. A. Reams, Carna Freeman, F. S. Petway
(P. E.), T. S. Brown, W. D. Ensey, R. A. Reagan.
During 1861 and 1863: R. A. Reagan, William Burr
(P. E.), A. C Matthews.
Caney Fork Circuit: W. Deskin, Uriah Williams,
Peter Borum, J. D. Winn, Jere Williams, John Kelley,
75
History of DeKalb County
S. Pressley, P. P. Hubbard, Jacob Custer, J. H. Mann,
J. Lewis, J. A. Jones, Isaac Woodward, B. F. Fer-
rell, Jehu Sherrill*
In 1865 Rev. U. S. Bates was appointed to the Smith
Fork Circuit, the first circuit rider at Liberty after the
war. George L. Staley was presiding elder. In the
same year John H. Nichols and A. H. Reams were ap-
pointed to the Short Mountain Circuit.
No doubt many of the before-the-war ministers
were in their time well known personally to the Meth-
odists throughout the county as well as over their par-
ticular circuits.
The Tennessee Conference of the M. E. Church,
South, in October, 1914. made the following appoint-
ments in the county, with H. B. Blue, P. E. : Alexan-
dria, J. D. Robins ; Keltonsburg Mission, J. R. Craw-
ford, supply; Liberty Circuit, J. B. Estes; Smithville
Mission, J. W. Estes.
It appears certain that a Methodist society was or-
ganized at Liberty long prior to the building of the
church, which was about 1825, for the itinerants often
preached in the people's homes. The substantial
church erected so early supports this view. It was
built by the pioneer carpenters, William Givan, Josey
Evans, and Robert Burton, Maryland people, and was
about 30 by 40 feet, two stories, with a good bell and
belfry. The second floor had a large opening over
*The writer may be pardoned for his personal interest in
the ministers of 1859. It was in June of that year that, at
Liberty, his father, C W. L. Hale, and Rev. W. J. Hale were
converted.
76
History of DeKalb County
the pulpit and altar on the first floor, that the slave
members, who occupied that floor, might see and hear
the minister. The framework of the building was so
stanchly mortised and dovetailed and pegged that
citizens said it would not have come apart had it been
blown from its foundation and rolled out of the vil-
lage. This church was occupied by negro soldiers in
the war of 1861-65, and when they left the hogs and
town cows appropriated it. Soon after peace the
Methodists put it in as good condition as possible, and
it was used for Church and school purposes untii
about 1874, when the present building was erected.
The writer recalls the church's appearance well. The
doors faced east and west, and on the eastern end of
the roof comb was the belfry, a favorite place for bats
and owls. The membership seems never to have been
very large ; but, considering the intolerance which used
to prevail, it was "game." Some of the pulpit orators
of ante-bellum days were heard in this old building,
among them Fountain E. Pitts, J. J. Comer, and Ferdi-
nand S. Petway. Dr. Foster wrote in 1914 : "Sixty or
sixty-five years ago one of the grandest characters I
ever knew lived in Liberty — Stephen Moore, a Meth-
odist preacher. He was goodness personified, and his
wife was a worthy companion." In the same year
Mrs. Polly Youngblood, the oldest inhabitant of
Liberty and the widow of William Youngblood, said :
"Yes, I ought to remember Brother Moore, as he of-
ficiated at my wedding." Joseph Banks and Isaac
Woodward (the latter from Warren County) often
preached at Liberty.
77
History of DeKalb County
Among the Southern Methodist circuit riders since
the war who served at this place and other Churches in
the county, the following are recalled by H. L. Hale:
U. S. Bates, J. A. Orman, John H. Nichols, W. B.
Lowry, John Allison, W. J. ("Dod") Hale, John G.
Molloy, J. J. Pitts, Joseph Webster, Wade Jarred, N.
A. Anthony, J. T. Blackwood, G. B. McPeak, I. N.
Napier, Mr. Gilbert, J. L. Kellum, Mr. Baird, T. A.
Garden, J. B. McNeill, R. N. Chenault, W. M. Cook
(the pastor in 1914). The presiding elders : J. M. Alli-
son, J. J. Comer, J. W. Cullom, Berry Stephens, R. P.
Ransom, J. T. Curry, George Anderson, T. G. Hin-
son, W. B. Lowry, W. V. Jarratt, John Ransom, T. L.
Moody, and J. T. Blackwood.
Among the old papers of Jasper Ruyle was found
this list of the members of the Church just preceding
the War between the States : M. S. West, Lemuel
Moore, Katherine Moore, Elizabeth Garrison, Little-
berry Vick, Rhoda Vick, Sarah \'ick, Jacob E. Moore\
Mary Lamberson, Christina Smith, Jane Vick, Isaac
Whaley, Lucinda Evans, Martha Martin, Matilda
Bratten, Rebecca Yeargin, Susan Vantrease, Jasper
Ruyle, Rebecca Ruyle, Mary E. Gossett, E. Jane Vick.
Edward Gothard. Josiah Youngblood, J. C. Young-
blood, Mary Jane Kersey, Matilda Neal, Malinda
Moore, Eliza J. Moore, T. H. W. Richardson, Eliza-
beth Richardson, Matilda Richardson, L. F. Moore,
Amanda Bratten, Cynthia D. Sneed, Martha J. Moore,
A. Tennie Evans, Sarah Hall, Montilius Richardson,
C. W. L. Hale. W. J. Hale, J. F. Youngblood, T. R.
Foster, J. H. Burton, E. W. Whaley, W. C. Vick, T.
78
History of DeKalb County
B. Adamson, E. Jane Whaley, A. T. Vick, M. C. Seay,
Matilda Burton, B. W. Seay, Mary F. Seay, Ellen
Seay, Lydia A. Barkley, James Foster, John W. Lam-
berson, and Len F. Woodside.
Goodspeed's history, published in 1888, says the
Methodists of Alexandria first had a log church, but
a frame church was built in 1835. In 1885 they put up
the present handsome building.
Since the war of 1861-65 these, among other min-
isters, have occupied the Methodist pulpit at Alexan-
dria : B. G. Ferrell (1866), John G. Ray (P. E.), John
C. Putnam, J. B. Allison (P. E.), W. J. Hale, J. J.
Comer (P. E.), W. H. Bellamy, W. H. Johnson, B.
I\L Stephens, William Doss, G. L. Staley, Z. \V.
Moores, H. S. Lee, T. H. Hinson, B. G. Ferrell, W.
W. Graves, T. L. Moody, R. P. Ransom, J. T. Black-
wood, G. B. McPeak, George L. Beale, B. H. Johnson,
G. W. Nackles, B. F. McNeill, B. H. Jarvis, W. E.
Doss.
Relying further on Goodspeed, the first Methodist
church at Smithville was built in 1848 and was a brick
structure. (There was a Methodist house of worship
of some kind in 1844.) It was followed in 1856 by
a frame building. Among the post-bellum pastors
have been the following: A. H. Reams, W. B. Lowry,
John Jordan. W. H. Riggon, J. H. Nichols, J. J.
Comer (P. E.), S. H. Andrews, R. T. McBride, J. F.
Corbin. G. B. McPeak. David G. Ray, E. K. Denton,
C. S. Hensley, E. L. Jones, G. W. Anderson (P. E.),
J. T. Blackwood, Z. W. Moores, L. C. Young, N. A.
Anthony, W. H. Lovell, G. L. Hensley, J. A. Chenault,
79
History of DeKalb County
J. G. Molloy, H. W. Carter, D. M. Barr, J. W. Pear-
son, J. W. Estes (Smithville and Keltonsburg Circuit).
Goshen, on Dismal Creek, was well known for its
Methodist gatherings before and after the war. This
can be said also for Bright Hill, near Smithville, As-
bury, near Liberty, and the camp ground at Smith-
ville. Some of the old-time ministers became popular
because of their eccentricities as well as piety, among
them : Mr. Wainwright, "Uncle" Jakey Hearn, "Uncle"
Ike Woodward, "Uncle" Joe Banks, Elisha Carr,
James Stanford, Ben Turner, and Caleb Davis.
Rev. Jerry W. Cullom, aged eighty-six years and the
oldest member of the Tennessee Conference, writes
June 12, 1914: "In 1854 I was the young pastor of
Asbury Church. It was there that I had the greatest
meeting I ever had or saw. All Liberty must have
been there. Uncle Joe Banks, one of my local preach-
ers, assisted me. It was there that we struck water.
The year 1854 was the dryest I ever knew. The ques-
tion with everybody was, 'How shall we get water for
the meeting?' Some one discovered a moist place in
the sand under the blufif back of the church, and a few
strokes of a hoe unearthed a fine spring."
It should be explained here that it has been told for
the truth that the preacher prayed for water, and the
spring was sent in answer. Mr. Cullom states the
facts, as he found the spring. This stream, we are
told, is yet flowing.
"Rev. Joe Myers," proceeds Mr. Cullom, "declared
fn his sermon one night at Asbury that he saw a great
ball of fire enter the door and roll over the congrega-
80
History of DeKalb County
tion ; so the dear old Baptists said the Methodists had
brought water from the earth and fire down from
heaven. There were over two hundred conversions on
the circuit that year, among whom I may mention
Judge Robert Cantrell and wife, both of whom I bap-
tized by immersion at Smithville. And I mention
Colonel Stokes and Dr. Foster. Stokes was lying
stretched full length on the floor when he was power-
fully converted. I saw him in Alexandria after the
war, when Stokes's Cavalry had become history, and
we gladly greeted each other. Years afterwards I was
sent up there as a presiding elder for four years —
J 87 1 -75. Holding a quarterly meeting at Asbury, I
found Uncle Joe Banks present, and we had a great
service. Though he was now in the Northern branch
of the Church, we met in the altar at the close of the
sermon and fell into each other's arms, and the thing
was 'catching' all over the house.
"Abe Overall and Uncle Jakey Hearn often preached
for me in 1853-54. Uncle Abe was present at Round
Top when I performed my first immersion, and of
course I made a botch of it, as I was a new hand. He
got a good deal of fun out of my awkwardness. Some
one, speaking of Uncle Jakey Hearn's home con-
veniences, said he could lie down at night and by
pulling a string lock every door on his farm.
"John Savage and I were great friends. He owned
a hotel at Smithville when I was pastor and gave me
a room, board, and stall for my horse free."
In a second letter Mr. Cullom says : "The preachers
for Smith Fork Circuit in 1854 were Revs. Joe G.
6 81
History of DeKalb County
]\Iyers and Russell Eskew. They were rather unique.
Myers assisted me in the Asbury meeting. Arch Bain
was a young preacher famous for leading the songs at
camp meetings. Ferdinand S. Petway was the finest
singer I ever heard. After the great meeting at Asbury,
let me add, it fell to my lot to immerse more than a
score of converts in Smith Fork. Six young ladies
decided to kneel in the water and have it poured on
them — 'went down into the water' and were baptized
by water or with water. Judge Robert Cantrell and
wafe professed at Bright Hill, three miles from Smith-
ville, and joined our Church at Smithville after im-
mersion. In 1873 or 1874 I stood on the scaflfold and
preached John Presswood's funeral before the swing-
ofif by request of the sheriff. Some eight thousand
people were present. At Smithville lived Wash Isbell,
a hopeless cripple, but for many years he was county
court clerk. William Magness, a brother of Judge
Cantrell's wife, was a prominent merchant. So was
Bob West. The hotel belonged to John Savage and
was conducted by Mr. Stewart, whose wife was a sis-
ter of M. M. Brien."
In 1845 the Methodist Church divided into the
Southern and Northern "wings." The latter was not
represented in DeKalb County or the South until after
the war of 1861-65.
When the Federal army gained possession of East
Tennessee many of the Methodists in that section de-
sired the services of the M. E. Church — that is, the
Northern wing. In 1864 its first Conference was or-
82
History of DeKalb County
ganized. Soon the ministers of that wing were preach-
ing in DeKalb. As a lad the writer remembers when
they appeared at Liberty, one of the ministers preach-
ing being a Mr. Stephens, who had located at McMinn-
ville. Then there was Rev. D. P. Searcy, who had
been a Southern Methodist prior to the war. Rev.
Joe Banks, of the county, also joined the Northern
wing. It seemed that it made more advancement
around Liberty than elsewhere. There was considera-
ble hard feeling for a time between the two wings.
Mr. Searcy located at Liberty, and shortly he and his
interesting family became much beloved by all the
neighbors. He was a son-in-law of Alex Robinson, of
the county.
A few churches were established. That at Dowell-
town was erected first in 1880 and has been wrecked
twice by storms. The second wind, in 1913, entirely
demolished it. The following have served as pastors
there: D. P. Searcy, J. N. Turrentine, J. F. Turner,
O. O. Knight, W. B. Rippetoe, A. Barnes, J. L.
Chandler, S. L. Clark, W. C. Carter, D. L. McCalebs,
W. P. Banks, T. J. Stricklin, S. H. Creasy, J. R. Con-
ner, G. W. Nunally, H. P. Keatherly, D. P. Hart, E.
C. Sanders, and C. W. Clayton.
The Dowelltown Circuit has five churches — i\sbury.
Snow's Hill, Indian Creek, Fuller Chapel, and Dowell-
town — with more than five hundred members. Rev.
W. P. Banks, who died in July, 1914, wrote early in
the year as to Asbury :
It is the oldest church in this vicinity. The early settlers
built for themselves a small, incommodious house for Church
83
History of DeKalb County
and school purposes, and at an early date a Methodist Church
was organized here. Who the preachers were, I do not know.
This house was finally burned to the ground by an incendiary,
and a commodious house for that time was erected in its
place. This house also was used for Church and school pur-
poses. About twenty years ago the members of the M. E.
Church bought the property, tore down the old house, and
erected an up-to-date building, perhaps the best country church
in the county, with a thriving membership of one hundred and
a Sunday school that has run more than fifteen years consecu-
tively. The organization was eflfected by Rev. D. P. Searcy.
Thomas Chapman was the first to join and was followed by
Joe Banks, Jep Williams and wife, and about fifteen others.
Judge W. T. Robinson and wife also joined soon afterwards.
Mr. Banks wrote of others, but was so modest about
his own work that this writer feels it a duty to add:
He was fifty-seven years of age in 1914 and was a re-
tired minister on account of broken health. His grand-
father, Rev. Joseph Banks, was not only a moving
spirit in the organizations of DeKalb County, but a
great revivalist in his day; while his father, Enoch
Banks, was a local deacon and did some pastoral work
on circuits as a supply. At the age of twenty-two,
after spending four years in Tullahoma College, W.
P. Banks entered the Central Tennessee Conference of
the M. E. Church and became an itinerant preacher.
He served as pastor of circuits sixteen years and as
presiding elder of the Nashville District six years.
While presiding elder the finances of his district in-
creased one hundred per cent, an increase equal to
that of any twelve years before or after his term of
service for the same territory. For eight years he
was secretary of the Annual Conference and twelve
84
History of DeKalb County
years the editor and publisher of the Conference min-
utes.
Rev. Enoch H. Banks, mentioned, for many years
kept up monthly appointments and revivals in the fall
at some of the schoolhouses adjacent to Dowelltown,
There are a small number of Cumberland Presby-
terian congregations scattered throughout the county.
For some years the only church on Dry Creek south
and east of Dowelltown was a small building located
at the head of that stream and called Cave Spring
Church. It had a scattered membership. Its pastor
for some forty years was the eccentric but really in-
tellectual I. L. Thompson. He was also pastor of
Banks Church, on Short Mountain, as well as a little
society at Possum Hollow Schoolhouse, on Dry Creek,
midway between Cave Spring and Dowelltown. Of
the three, only Banks Church was remaining in 1814.
In 1881 the Cumberland Presbyterians erected a
Church at Alexandria. Prior to the War between the
States preaching was had in the Turner M. Lawrence
College. The following, with their families, were
early members : James Doss, John Bone, W. R. Lewis,
Al Edwards, Monroe Doss, J. D. Baird, W. W. Patter-
son, J. A. Davidson, V. H. Williams, J. B. Stevens,
C. D. Baird, T. Macon, also Mrs. Mary E. Ford, the
Kings, Simpsons, Fousts, and many others, all among
the most influential citizens.
Names of pastors, including the present one, Rev.
Joseph Barbee: Mr. Dillard, Reece Patterson (before
the war). Dr. Burney, J. F. Patton, J. H. Kittrell,
85
History of DeKalb County
Baxter Barbee, H. Lamon, J. R. Goodpasture, Ira W.
King, and Mr. Sanburn. A number of theological
students from Cumberland University have from time
to time held services in the church.
The Church of Christ, or Christian Church, has
been very strong in the county for many years. In
Alexandria the members erected a church as early as
1835. It was succeeded by a new frame in 1851, or
near that time. About 1873 a church was built at
Smith ville, and at Liberty another prior to 1890, dedi-
cated by Mr. Woolen. In all there are nine churches
in the county, others besides those named being at
Temperance Hall, Keltonsburg, Belk, Young's Bend,
'Falling Water, and Cherry Hill. The total member-
ship is between six hundred and eight hundred. The
oldest church is that at Falling Water, it is believed.
One of the most active ministers of this denomina-
tion for the past twenty years is Rev. H. J. Boles.
His son, Rev. H. Leo Boles, who is now President of
the Nashville Bible School, labored with him for some
years in strengthening the congregations.
Among the pioneer preachers of the county were
the following, in addition to H. J. Boles: Tolbert Fan-
ning, Caleb and Jesse Sewell, Sandy Jones, J. M., C.
C, and W. T. Tidwell. Later: J. M. Tidwell, Wiley
B. Carnes, Mr. Sutton. Luke Melton, Mr. Gilbert, Mr.
Woolen, and others. The resident ministers of the
county in 1914 were Rev. H. J. Boles and Rev. O. P.
Barry.
Among the prominent citizens who have been identi-
86
History of DeKalb County
fied with the congregations may be mentioned Dr.
Drake, Dr. T. J. Potter, Judge J. E. Drake, Prof. H.
L. W. Gross, Brackett Estes, Samson McClelland,
Hon. J. AI. Allen, Judge W. G. Crowley, Judge M. D.
Smallman, editor and educator W. D. G. Carnes, Wil-
liam Floyd, Dr. T. P. Davis, the Lincolns, Wades,
Magnesses, Cantrells, Grififiths, Webbs, Martins,
Hayses, Tyrees, Potters, Pritchetts, and Smiths.
After the War between the States a religious awak-
ening became apparent throughout the county. The
writer, then a lad, saw some of the manifestations of
fervor at Liberty, and especially at the Baptist church.
The war had somewhat demoralized the people, and
during revivals at the church named well-patronized
ginger cake and melon vendors held forth on the bluff
less than one hundred yards from the church. At night
mischievous persons would cut harness and saddles.
There were many indictments, moreover, for disturb-
ing public worship.
87
CHAPTER VIII.
Annals of Alexandria.
This town is on the Lebanon and Sparta Turnpike,
forty-nine miles east of Nashville. The nearest rail-
way points are Watertown, six miles west, and Brush
Creek, two and one-half miles north. The tradition
is that it was named for one of its pioneers, James
Alexander, who came from Virginia. Showing that
it was a village of Cannon County in 1837, in which
year DeKalb County was established and the Lebanon
and Sparta Turnpike chartered, the following Alex-
andrians appointed commissioners of the road are
named as citizens of Cannon : Jacob Fite and James
Goodner.
The act incorporating the village was signed Jan-
uary 31, 1848, the boundaries being as follows: "Be-
ginning at the southwest corner of Leander Scott's
lot and running north to Hickman Creek; thence east
with the meanders of said creek to the northwest cor-
ner of Thomas Allison's lot ; thence south to the west
end of Gin Alley ; thence east with said alley to the
northeast corner of lot No. 13; thence east to the
cast corner of McDonald's lot, including Elijah Dobb's
lot ; thence west to Jacob Kite's line ; thence north
with the said line to tiie beginning, including the Meth-
odist church and schoolhouse." During the War be-
tween the States the corporation fell into "innocuous
desuetude." After hostilities ceased it was rehabili-
tated. One of the ante-bellum mayors recalled was
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History of DeKalb County
the late John Batts, while one of the most vigorous
mayors just after the war was Robert Yeargin. As
with other Tennessee towns of smah population, the
charter was surrendered shortly after the passage of
the four-mile law to get the benefit of that statute.
In 191 3 the town was again incorporated, with Rev.
O. P. Barry as the first mayor and J. W. Parker city
attorney.
The first settlers of the community, it is believed,
arrived about 1795. The following list includes as
many of the early business men as it is possible to give
at this late date : James Alexander, Joshua M. CoflFee
& Son, Jacob Fite (father of Judge John Fite), James
Goodner, Samuel Young, Church Anderson, William
Floyd, J. D. Wheeler, Bone & Bro., Thomas Compton.
Reece & Ford, Turner Bros., Wheeler & Jones, John
F. Aloore, S. W. Pierce, Lawrence & Roy, William
Geltford, L. D. Fite, James Baird, Jack Baird, and
Dexter Buck. The last named was the only merchant
doing business during the latter part of the war.
Since the war the following are recalled: James and
Jack Baird, Turner Bros., Stokes & Wood, Dinges &
Lincoln, Hurd & Co., ]M. F. Doss, Bridges & Smith,
George Evans, Rutland & Goodner, S. W. McClelland,
Dinges & Co., Roy & Yeargin, J. W. King, John Jost,
Tubb & Schurer, Edwards & Rutland, Gold & New-
man, Jones Bros., John Garrison, and Batts & Garri-
son. Business directory for 1914: Livingston Tubb,
Goodner & Son, Roy & Jones, Roy & Seale, Lester's
Department Store, Adamson Grocery Co., D. A. Stark,
Dinges Hardware Co., Rutland Bros., Sampson Gro-
89
History of DeKalb County
eery Co., O. P. Barry Produee Co., Style Millinery
Co. (Miss Daisye \'antrease), Donnel & Patton, Grif-
fith Livery Co., H. H. Jones, J. W. Aleasle, and Shelby
]\Ialone, insurance.
The pioneer bank of the town and county is the
Alexandria Bank. This bank was the first established
between Lebanon on the west and Rockwood on the
east. The original capital was $10,000, it being a
private concern owned by J. F. Roy and Ed Reece.
About 1 89 1 it was chartered as a State bank and the
stock increased to $20,000. Mr. Roy was the first
Cashier and then President. C. W. L. Hale, of Liberty,
was once Vice President, and William \'ick, of the
same place, was a stockholder and an officer. J. F.
Roy is now President, and Frank Roy, Cashier. This
bank, which was established in 1888, has been suc-
cessful from the start.
The second bank in point of time is known as the
D. W. Dinges Banking Company. It has also wonder-
fully prospered. It opened for business January 24,
1900, with the following officers: D. W. Dinges, Presi-
dent ; J. A. Walker, Dib Dinges, Brien Tubb, and W.
H. Lincoln. On January 7, 1904, the capital was in-
creased. Large dividends have been declared each
year. The capital at present is $150,000, with a sur-
plus of $14,000. Present directors: D. W. Dinges, J.
A. Walker, O. P. Barry, Livingston Tubb, J. W.
Measle, G. R. Lester, Dib Dinges, W. T. Jones, Paul
Tubb, D. C. Dinges, and E. T. Dinges.
The earliest paper published in the county w-as the
Alexandria Independent. It was established a year or
90
History of DeKalb County
two prior to the war of 1861-65, but suspended when
the great struggle commenced. Wliile its publisher
and editor, W. H. Mott, was said to have been from
the North (marrying a Southern girl, Miss Van-
trease), he joined Col. R. D. Allison's company of
Confederates. With the Twenty-Fourth Regiment in
the battle of Alurfreesboro, he was severely w^ounded,
and soon after having been brought home he died. All
efforts to secure a copy of the Independent have failed,
though its jottings would be both interesting and il-
luminative of the times.
In 1882 J. W. Newman began publishing the Enter-
prise, continuing it about two years.
The Alexandria Review was published about 1892
by E. C. King. In that year it was sold to James
Tubb, according to a communication to the Liberty
Herald of April 6, 1892.
The initial number of the Times appeared April 4.
1894. A stock company was publisher, and Robert
F. Jones editor. Rob Roy and R. W. Patterson pur-
chased the plant two years later, but the latter soon
retired. Since the change Mr. Roy has been publisher
and editor. In the eighteen years of the Times' s pub-
lication no less than twenty-nine newspapers in De-
Kalb, Smith, and Wilson Counties have started and
suspended.
The War between the States is recalled in connec-
tion with two of the early enterprises of Alexandria,
the flour mill and the fair. It is tradition that the
name of the first miller was a Mr. Hoover, whose lit-
tle plant on Hickman Creek was equipped for grind-
91
History of DeKalb County
ing corn and sawing, the saw being of the horizontal,
or sash, variety. The splendid flour mill built about
1852, which Gen. John T. Wilder, Federal commander,
put out of business by twisting and bending the ma-
chinery, was under the management of Yan and Lon
Wood. After the war — about 1887 — a stock comany,
composed of Ed Reece, J. F. Roy, B. F. Bell, John
Rutland, L. E. Simpson, D. W. Dinges, and others,
was organized, and a fine roller mill was erected.
Brown Bros, once operated this plant in the eighties.
Barry & Smith operated it in the nineties. This finally
burned, and Lon Compton operates a plant erected
somewhat recently.
A county fair association was formed prior to 1858,
and in that year the first fair was held. The war then
interfered, and Federal soldiers, principally Stokes's
men, camped on the site and practically destroyed the
l)roperty. The site was on the William Floyd farm,
on Hickman Creek. In 1871 the DeKalb County A.
and M. Association was formed, and the present-day
fair resulted. The first directory was composed of
J. P. Doss, J. D. Wheeler, J. F. Roy, J. H. Kitchen,
J. A. Jones, John Bone, J. J. Ford, John Rollins, M.
A. Wood, H. B. Smith, W. H. Lincoln, Jacob Measle,
and Gen. William B. Stokes. Of these directors, only
one, J. F. Roy, is living. This is believed to be the
oldest fair in Tennessee. The State is said to be a
stockholder. From 1871 to the present the fair has
been held every year except 1881, when the severe
drouth prevailed. On the morning of June 27, 1914,
all the buildings were burned, entailing a loss of $8,(X)0
92
History of DeKalb County
or $10,000, Rob Roy being the largest loser. Un-
daunted, tents and circus seats were procured, and the
fair of 1914 was made a success.
A fact worthy of note, reflecting credit on the negro
population of the county, is that for several years the
colored people have held a fair at Alexandria, the man-
agers in 1914 being Henry Belcher, R. E. Preston,
and Dib Burks.
Among the early citizens of this community, in addi-
tion to many already mentioned, there are recalled :
Bartel Carter, King Herod, James Malone, Robert
Dowell, Rizer Duncan, Louis McGann, William
Kiser, Phil Palmer, Benjamin Garrison, John Van-
trease, Jonathan and Steward Doss, Thomas Simpson,
William Wright, Aaron Botts, Louis Y. Davis, Ed-
ward Turner, James Goodner, William Grandstaff,
Paschal Brien, Henry Rutland, Tom Elinor, Beverley
Seay, Samuel Pierce, Stephen Pledger, Bartley James,
Thornton Christy, Richard Rison, Turner Lawrence,
T. Allison, James Link, Oliver Williams, Sr., James
Jones, John Pierce, Spencer Bomar, J. Yeargin, J. F
Goodner, Jack Baird, William Johnston, Peter Davis,
Tom Price. Caleb Davis, Hez Bowers, John Bowers,
Al Bone, William Bone, Peter Turner, James Turner,
Yan and Lon Wood, Jefferson Sneed, and William
Floyd. The last-named brought to the county the
first thresher and piano.
William Floyd was also a before-the-war post-
master; so was Joshua M. Coffee; so was Samuel W.
Pierce. Other postmasters have been Stephen Pled-
93
History of DeKalb County
ger, James Turner, Al Edwards, R. M. Bone, S. B.
Franks, J. W. Parker, and J. Moores Pendleton.
As to professional men, the lawyers who have lived
at Alexandria were Col. John Kite (born there), Man-
son M. Brien, John Botts, William B. Stokes, Dan
Williams, and J. W. Parker.
Dentists: Drs. H. I. Benedict and L. D. Cotton.
Early physicians: Drs. John W. Overall (about
1830, and born in the Shenandoah Valley, Va., be-
fore his parents removed to the neighborhood of
Liberty, Tenn.), Jefiferson Sneed, James Dougherty,
William Sales, Cornelius Sales, George Gray, William
Blythe, Richard Blythe, T. F. Everett, Nicholas Mer-
cer, E. Tubb, Horace Sneed, Isaac J. Miers (or Mize),
Mayberry, Bobo, McConnell, and Flippin. Later: T.
J. Sneed, Jr., C. L. Barton, Dr. Fletcher, O. D. Wil-
liams, T. A. Gold, Thomas Davis, Sam McMillan, and
J. R. Hudson.
This tradition is told by the older people of Alex-
andria : Dr. Miers (or Mize) was of French extrac-
tion, locating in Alexandria long before the War be-
tween the States (about 1848 or 1849), and wooed and
won a Miss Paty. He was impatient to build up a
practice, and it was charged that, going to Woodbury
one day and procuring smallpox virus, or "scabs," ho
returned to his home with a sinister scheme. Inviting
a young Mr. Turner to go hunting with him with flint-
locks, he managed to inject his companion with the
virus. Soon there was an epidemic of smallpox.
During the illness of Turner, who resided near the
present Brush Creek, Miers visited him, saying his
94
History of DeKalb County
condition was serious, but did not hint that the malady
Vv^as probably smallpox. As a consequence of the
visits of friends and relatives the disease soon spread.
The doctor was suspected and forced to leave the
neighborhood. It is said he went to Virginia, then
removed to Illinois, and in the latter State engaged
in a similar scheme to boost business, when he was
indicted and punished.
There are two well-kept cemeteries at Alexandria —
South View, the pioneer graveyard, and East View,
much larger. In the latter many soldiers of the Civil
War, as well as a few veterans of earlier contests, are
sleeping. Among the Confederates: Col. John F.
Goodner, J. P. Doss, J. A. Donnell, Joshua M. Floyd,
G. M. Bowers, Wiley Jones, Nelson D. Eason, Dr. C.
L. Barton, R. A. Lawrence, J. W. Batts, Capt. J. D.
Wheeler, L. H. Fite, Billy Foust, J. D. Martin, Mon-
roe Doss, O. B. Wright, W. H. Lincoln, R. B. Floyd,
J. B. Palmer, John Bomar, William Talley, Thomas
Dunn, William Mooneyham, W. E. Foust. Among
the Federals: J. H. Kitching, Monroe ("Pud") Brad-
ley, W. F. Batts, J. E. ("Rome") Goodner, J. B. Year-
gin, Dr. O. D. Williams, John Garrison, Sr., John C.
Garrison, W. A. Palmer, Monroe Hall, Len Robinson,
James Pass, J. M. Walker, P. L. Wood, Robert Alvis,
T. W. Eason, John Lawrence, and Gen. W. B. Stokes.
The writer has had access to an old ledger which
belonged to Dr. John W. Overall, who resided in
Alexandria. It covers a period from 1830 to October,
1834, and no doubt the names listed therein include a
number of the pioneers of Alexandria as well as a
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History of DeKalb County
number in other counties but in the town's "sphere
of influence." The names follow :
Caleb Davis, Xehemiah Dowell, Sterling Davis,
Daniel Coggin, James P. Dale, Elisha Dowell, Smith-
son C. Doss, Stewart Doss, Prestley Dowell, Levi A.
Durham, Col. E. Durham, John Dyournet, Joshua M.
Coffee, Beverley Callicoat, Thomas Crutchfield, Lineas
Cock, David Crowder, Samuel Casey, Robert Caskey,
Winslow Carter, John S. Brien, Thomas Beckv.'ith,
Peter Barton, Roland Burks, IManson M. Brien, Aaron
Botts, David Blue, Thomas Bomar, James Brien,
Thomas Bradford, William Bennett. Willis Dowell.
William Edwards, Cornelius Ellison, Jacob Fite.
Amos Foutch, Floyd Davis, William Floyd, Joseph
Fite, Shadrack Figgin, John Floyd, G. W. Grayson,
J M. Goodner, Benjamin Garrison, Stephen Griffin,
Valentine Gates, William Grandstaff, Henry Helman-
taller, Philip Hass, Henry Haley. Benjamin D. Hynds,
Henton A. Hill, Joab Haflin, Josiah Hicks, Sterling
Hale. John Hathaway, Hawkins Heflin. Grogan Har-
per, Levi Herod, Pendleton Hobson. Washington
Hicks, Hardin Hardcastle, Benjamin Jones, Josiah
Inge, Wyatt Jenkins, Nelson Kyle, James Kitching,
Spencer Kelley, Edward Lawrence, W. F. Luck, James
Lancaster, John Lucky, William Linn, Gregory Moore,
William Marler. John Moore (hatter). David Malone,
Joseph McCrabb, Maj. William Moore, James Askew.
Don Allison, Robert Nixon, Levi Purnell. Over-
street Pritchard, Caleb Preston, Philip Palmer, Brit-
tain Reynolds, Rison Roland. Augustin Robinson,
North Reynolds, Henry Rollings, Daniel Ratlidge,
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History of DeKalb County
Peyton Randolph, George Reasonover, William
Wright, Thomas Simpson, Randolph Sanlin, Fuller
Sanlin, William Stokes, Jordan Stokes, George Simp-
son, Anderson Tibbs, T. J. Tyree, Edward Turner,
Littleberry Turner, Wilson Tubb, Benjamin Tubb,
Tolliver Turner, John Vantrease, Joshua Vick, Samuel
Vanatta, William Vantrease, Jeremiah Whitlock,
Anthony Ward, John Warford, Benton Wood, Abel
Wood, James Winfrey, William Wellaby, Tucker
Woodson, Jesse Wood, Pleasant Watson, David War-
ford, Duke C. Wright, and Dobson Yeargin.
7 97
CHAPTER IX.
Concerning Slaves and Free Negroes.
There was only one attempt of the slaves to start
an insurrection in this State, as far as the writer can
learn; that was in Stewart County. In 1854 and 1855
it became evident that the negroes meditated mischief,
as they were known to be holding secret meetings on
nights and Sundays. They were instigated by white
preachers, it is thought, from the North. In Decem-
ber, 1856, a vigilance committee was organized, slaves
from all parts of Stewart County were examined, and
the suspicion of a plot was seen to be well founded.
The slaves were on a specified day to overpower their
masters and, after arming themselves, cross the coim-
try to Hopkinsville, Ky., then enter Ohio, where they
hoped to be free. Six of the leaders were hanged at
Dover before Christmas and a large number whipped.
To make the punishment more impressive a citizen
of Dover cut off the heads of the six blacks executed
and had them paraded through the streets, Goodspeed
tells us.
The negroes were considered by the forefathers the
most docile of all races of savages. Whether this was
correct or not, those of DeKalb County were not hard
to control. Now and then one heard of "runaway"
slaves, but they had no desire, it appears, to injure
their masters.
The old type of darky has almost become extinct.
It seems but justice to refer at some length to a num-
ber who became well known locallv from one cause or
98
History of DeKalb County
another. There were a few who had the instincts of
a gentleman, some whose individuality made them
favorites with the whites, and many with striking traits
that created more or less notice. Not only did the
negroes prove the most amiable of savage races, but
the writer dares say that he recalls no instances among
the whites of anything finer than the humble dignity
of Wolsey Givan, the gentle urbanity of Wells Allen,
the Chesterfieldian politeness of Dave Sellars, the se-
rene patience of Mary Fuston, or the tireless devo-
tion of Violet Overall to the little babe left to her care
by the death of Mrs. Horace L. Hale.
Slaves were numerous in the county. Scores of
citizens owned from two to a dozen, while a few held
a much larger number. The original stock in most
instances was brought from the older States by the
pioneers. There was not very much trafficking in this
species of property in DeKalb County. Of the slave
owners adjacent to Liberty, these are recalled with
little eflfort: James Allen, John Stark, W. G. Bratten,
Reuben Evans, Francis Turner, Isaac Turney, Abra-
ham Overall, Ezekiel Bass, Edward Robinson, Henry
Frazier, Dr. G. C. Flowers, Daniel Smith, Nicholas
Smith, Horace Overall, W. B. Stokes, James Tubb,
Isaac Turney, Thomas Stokes, John Bethel, Eli Vick,
James Fuston, Joseph Clarke, William Vick, William
Sellars, Jasper Ruyle, William Avant, Sampson Wil-
liams, Thomas Givan, Peter and Jacob Adams, Leon-
ard Lamberson, the Brazwells, Hayses, Groomses,
Roys, and Bates.
The Foutches, S'needs, Wrights. Lawrences, Good-
99
History of DeKalb County
ners, Rutlands, Grandstaffs, Turners, Floyds, Pres-
tons, Davises, and others possessed "human chattels"
at Alexandria ; while well-known slaveholders around
Smithville were W. H. Magness, Giles Driver, Nicho-
las Chambers, Thomas Bradford, and Bernard Rich-
ardson.
Free negroes were few in number. Lige Whitely,
of Smithville, was one of a family of free men of
color. He was a vendor of ginger cakes, holding forth
at the courthouse well on days of occasion. From the
letter of a correspondent out of the State this is
quoted :
Often, thinking of Liberty, I see everj^hing as plainly as
sixty-five years ago — even Nat and Banks Evans, 'Lizabeth
Flowers, Jim Bethel, Luke Turney, Wells Allen, Gib Clarke,
Nye Givans, Wolsey Givan, Cato Bate, Strawd Overall, Jeff
Overall (the old colonel's fiddler), Albert Smith (who as-
sumed the name of Porter), Allen Fuston, Virg and Rans
Robinson, Sut Bass, Pomp and Tom Ruyle, Burrell Stokes,
Caleb Tubb, and Ike Lamberson. By the way, Ike passed as
an infidel, the only one I ever saw among the colored folks.
Any negro there who could claim descent from Wolsey Givan
considered it a great honor. Strawd and Jeff Overall were
noted characters.
Is the negro's religion mere emotion, signifying
nothing? The writer testifies to a permanent change
in the conduct of "Aunt" Violet, who was cook in his
father's home for twenty-five years. Though she and
her mistress grew up together, for a few years Aunt
Vil would have "tantrums" two or three times a week,
swearing like the army in Flanders and otherwise
working oflF her temper. One day news came that
lOO
History of DeKalb County
her son Bill had been stabbed to death by Doc Allen,
another negro. She made no hysterical outcry, but
fell writhing on the floor in mental torture. Some
months later she was converted, and from the day of
her conversion to her death she was never guilty of
profanity nor of giving way unrestrainedly to her tem-
per. And when her mistress was dying she came
shuffling from the kitchen, and the two, who had
known each other for fifty-nine years, embraced.
There were three or four outlying negroes prior to
the war. The most noted were "Arrington," "Jim,"
and "Old Yaller." According to the scant information
obtainable, it appears that sometime in the first half
of the nineteenth century Henry Hart, who owned
large tracts of land on Dry Creek, decided to sell his
realty holdings and move from the country. Several
thousand acres were purchased by Henry Frazier,
then a young man, who, after the War between the
States, was slain on Snow's Hill by Capt. W. L.
Hathaway. Hart disposed of his negroes in the South,
including Tom, who was sold to a planter named Ar-
rington.
Tom ran away from his new master, returning to
DeKalb County, and hid in caves and cane thickets for
quite a while. He was fed by such negroes as Ike
Lamberson, Jeff Overall, the Allen slaves, and others.
While not appearing vicious, he became a terror to
the women and children, because, like the wild things,
he prowled at night. It is possible that he did not
hesitate to appropriate a lamb, fowl, or hog, or to raid
a kitchen when moved by hunger. There were many
lOI
History of DeKalb County
large caves in the country and immense canebrakes,
and it was not difficult to avoid detection by day.
Arrington evaded capture four or five years, then dis-
appeared. He may have sought new fields or died un-
attended in one of the caves that exist only in lime-
stone sections.
The case of Jim is of interest from the fact that his
trial for murder is given in the reports of the Supreme
Court of Tennessee (4th and 5th Humphreys) and
is the precedent for conviction in a capital offense on
circumstantial evidence. Belonging to a farmer named
Williams, he was tried for murder in 1843, was con-
victed, and appealed. The case was remanded and
resulted in a second verdict of guilty in 1844. Appeal-
ing to the Supreme Court again, the case was affirmed.
His lawyers were Sam Turney, Brien, and Haynes.
Jim was hanged at Smithville, making a sensational
statement on the gallows.
Isaac, the property of William Avant, was murdered
in the kitchen of William Williams on Dry Creek on
Saturday night, January 11, 1843. Proof showed that
a slave named George (against whose owner execu-
tions were in the hands of an officer) and Jim (against
whose owner an attachment had issued) were both in
the neighborhood, concealing themselves in the woods,
and were harbored by persons living near the place
where Isaac was murdered. Isaac had been hired to
catch George. The latter and Jim, both well armed,
heard of Isaac's purpose and made frequent threats
against his life. One night while Isaac was sleeping
102
History of DeKalb County
on the floor with his head to the fire he was shot twice
by some one outside and died in about an hour. Dr.
Fuson examined the body, and William Avant found
tracks fifteen or twenty steps from the kitchen, where
Isaac was killed. The night had been cold. The
tracks were visible only at a mudhole near the kitchen
and at the spring branch. They seemed to have been
made recently by some one running, and showed a de-
ficiency in one of the soles. When Jim was caught in
a cave by Francis L. Boyd, it was found that a piece
was wanting in the sole of the right shoe. The meas-
ure of the track with Jim's shoes corresponded with
the width, but was about half an inch shorter than the
shoes. David Coger, a witness in the case, testified
from tests that tracks made while one was running
would be half an inch to an inch and a half shorter
than the shoe that made it, and the tracks would be
shortest in soft ground. One of the negro women
swore that Jim had admitted the deed, while others
gave damaging testimony.
Some young physicians secured Jim's body and, to
avoid detection, conveyed it from hiding place to hiding
place, finally cutting it up, tradition says, and throw-
ing the pieces and bones in Smith Fork Creek just
below the Gin Bluff cave. The violation of graves
was made a felony by the act of 1831, which explains
the doctors' fears.
"Old Yaller" was Jim Stokes, a slave owned by
General Stokes. From some cause he was always
absconding, hiding in the neighboring hills. One
103
History of DeKalb County
morning he discovered from his hiding place that Col.
James Tubb's residence was on fire and succeeded in
putting out the flames before much damage was done.
In gratitude Colonel Tubb purchased him from
Stokes, a delight to "Yaller Jim," since his wife was
one of Colonel Tubb's slaves. Jim was the father of
ten or twelve children by this woman.
This is of pathetic interest: Caleb was Colonel
Tubb's body servant — a very large black man pos-
sessed of much humor, who had a deep affection for
every member of his master's family. He had super-
intended the digging of graves for all the burials that
had taken place, and the Colonel had enjoined upon
the survivors of the family the duty of burying Caleb
next to himself at the head of the family section.
After the war freed him, and after Colonel Tubb's
death, Caleb remained faithful, caring for Miss Addie
Tubb, the youngest girl, and Mrs. Caroline Fite, a
widow. When they died he went to Dowelltown, but
suddenly left there and went to parts unknown. Years
passed, when one day an old colored man asked the
stage driver from McMinnville to Smithville for a ride.
He was wanting to get back home to die and be buried
beside his master and "the chilluns," as he pathetically
explained. Though he was black and his language
broken, in his old heart was a yearning as loyal as that
expressed by Jacob: "Bury me not, I pray thee, in
Egypt: but I will lie with my fathers, and thou shalt
carry me out of Egypt, and bury me in their burying
place." Before the stage reached Smithville the
104
History of DeKalb County
negro's life had gone out. James Tubb, Jr., was noti-
fied, and he carried out the promise exacted by his
father as to the burial of old black Caleb.
According to the report of the Adjutant General of
Tennessee in 1866, Col. J. P. Brownlow, the enlist-
ment of negro troops in the Union army from this
State numbered 17,770. A number may have been
from DeKalb County, though the writer has heard of
but one, Banks, belonging to Reuben Evans.
Some of the early laws relative to negroes were
these: They were not permitted to practice medicine
When found off their master's premises without a pass,
they were arrested by patrols. Before 1831, for cer-
tain offenses slaves (also free negroes) could be nailed
to the pillory by the ears and have their ears cut off.
By the act of 1831 free negroes were not allowed to
remove to this from any other State and remain more
than twenty days; while by that of 1833 no stage
driver or boat captain was allowed to carry free
negroes from one place to another without a certifi-
cate from the county court clerk; but if the black were
a slave, verbal or written authority from the owner
was sufficient. Free negroes were allowed to vote
until 1834, when they were disfranchised by the new
State constitution. A bill was introduced in the legis-
lature of Tennessee in 1859-60 providing that all free
negroes except certain minors should be sold into
slavery if they remained in the State after May i,
1861. It failed to become a law.
los
CHAPTER X.
Stagecoach and Tavern Days.
Quite a bulky debt was saddled on the State when
the mania for internal improvements in Tennessee was
on. But it brought us good roads, and no State can
properly develop without these. It also brought an
era of romance which made the people in isolated
places better and happier and mentally broader.
It was a great event, as great as the construction of
a railroad to-day, when the turnpike was extended
from Lebanon in the direction of Sparta. On Decem-
ber 2, 1837, ^ company was incorporated with the fol-
lowing commissioners : John Hearn, John Muirhead,
W. L. Martin, Joseph Johnson, O. G. Finley, J. P.
Wharton, Solomon Caplinger, Wilson T. Waters,
James Young, George Smith, J. M, Armstrong, Jona-
than Bailey, and William Lawrence, of Wilson County ;
Abraham Caruthers, John Gordon, Francis Gordon,
William McCain, and Nathaniel Ward, of Smith
County ; T. W. Duncan, Leonard Lamberson, E.
Wright, Jacob Fite, James Goodner, James Tubb, and
Joseph Clarke, of Cannon County (afterwards De-
Kalb) ; William Glenn, William Simpson, Jesse Lin-
coln, and S. V. Carrick, of White County.
The commissioners were to open books for receiv
mg subscriptions to the amount of $120,000, to be used
in building the pike, "commencing at Lebanon," the
charter not specifying at what point it should termi-
nate. The $120,000 was to be divided into shares of
106
History of DeKalb County
$50 each. The chief surveyor of the State marked
the route, and that part going over Snow's Hill, a
mountain in DeKalb County, the gorges and peaks
of which suggest Alpine scenery, is said to be an ex-
traordinarily fine example of surveying, with the ex-
ception of a few hundred feet. This variance was due,
explains Mr. John L. Lamberson, grandson of one of
the commissioners, to the fact that it was left to an
assistant, the chief surveyor, becoming ill, having been
carried to Lamberson's, where he died. For some
reason, probably because of a lack of funds, the road
for some years was completed only to the top of
Snow's Hill ; but the grading was completed to Smith-
ville after the War between the States.
As soon as possible after securing the charter and
making the survey work was begun. The route must
have presented a bustling appearance, with the camps
and the great ox teams (shod with triangular pieces
of iron on each toe, we are told) drawing stone, sand,
and gravel, and the toiling slaves and their overseers.
The work was given out to various contractors — Nich-
olas Smith, James White, Daniel Ford, Leonard Lam-
berson, James Tubb, Abraham Overall, and others.
It is said that the part running under the Allen bluiT
and beside the creek west of Liberty was constructed
by Colonel Overall.
But one tragedy resulted during the building of this
highway, so far as the writer can learn, though in
some instances those upon whose premises the survey
was made became very indignant. One farmer in the
Alexandria neighborhood went gunning; but as the
107
History of DeKalb County
route was changed for the better in his neighborhood,
no blood was shed. The tragedy was the drowning
of a youth named Blades. "There under the roots of
that big tree," said the widow White to the writer one
day when he was visiting the old Gray cemetery in
Dowelltown, "is buried Charlie, the only son of Benja-
min Blades. He fell through the Liberty bridge be-
fore it was finished and was drowned. Near by is
the grave of James White, who contracted to build a
portion of the turnpike."
That women had an eye to business even so early as
1837 is indicated by the fact that Mrs. Sinia Foster
superintended the building of the road some way up
Snow's Hill. With her sons and employees, she boss-
ing the job, a section of road was built that was prob-
ably unexcelled.
Mr. Caplinger, possibly one of the commissioners,
constructed the old bridge north of Liberty, a covered
wooden structure with two driveways ; probably also
that over Dry Creek, as both were alike.
The stagecoach was a familiar sight prior to the
building of the turnpike ; while the pike did not al-
ways follow the first highway. To illustrate, the old
road passed along the western and northern brow of
the Daniel Smith hill a quarter of a mile north of
Liberty, and after a large half circle eastward came
out near Dowelltown. The trace is clearly visible to-
day. With the coming of the big, red, rocking coach
there had to be stage stands and wayside inns provid-
ing "entertainment for man and beast." As far back
as the oldest inhabitants can remember, Col. M. A.
108
History of DeKalb County
Price was the mail contracter, an old one-eyed gentle-
man, who smacked his lips enjoyably over a glass of
gin and was strictly business. Horace McGuire, an
early stager, says the mail was carried from Nashville
to Knoxville. Isaiah White, son of one of the road
builders and now a citizen of Nashville, avers that
the Colonel had mail contracts covering twelve thou-
sand miles, and this particular route extended from
Nashville via Knoxville to Richmond, Va. The coach
was drawn by four horses a large part of the time,
says James Dearman, another stager, and horses were
changed every fourteen miles. "Colonel Price grew
wealthy," says Mr. White. "My father had the con-
tract to make the road from the foot of Snow's Hill
to the top, taking the contract off the hands of Mr.
Duncan and Dr. Wright; but they became bankrupt,
and he received very little compensation. It was fin-
ished to the top of the hill, I think, about 1845."
After Price's time the route was gradually short-
ened, finally becoming insignificant. Sam Black fol-
lowed Price. Other contractors have been: Jesse
Walling, Colvert & Lewis, Hale & Lewis, Overall
Bros., and Taylor & Robinson. From Watertown to
Smithville a number of automobiles now run.
There were taverns at Liberty nearly a century ago
— the Duncan at the north end of the village, and one
somewhat south of the first-named, probably erected
by a Mr. Kite. The latter was at various times occu-
pied as a residence by W. G. Foster, John F. Moore
(a Vermont immigrant), Frank Foster, and William
Blackburn, father of Col. Joe Blackburn. It was at
109
History of DeKalb County
last torn down to give place for Will A. Vick's resi-
dence.
The pioneer, Josiah Duncan, had the Duncan Tavern
built, and it v^as conducted by his son, T. W. Duncan.
Some of the Duncans removed to Nashville. It is
believed that the Duncan Hotel, in the capital, was
named for one of these Duncans. They came orig-
inally from Maryland. Isaac Whaley, postmaster at
Liberty for about forty-four years, once stated to the
writer that within his memory Gen. Andrew Jackson
was a guest at the Duncan. He added : "The General
used to pass here in his carriage on the way to Wash-
ington and other points. One time he purchased some
negroes and was bringing them to Tennessee. While
here a young slave died. It was between 1834 and
1839. I made the negro's coffin. Of the Duncans who
left Liberty, I believe the one to become best known
was Cicero."
T. M. Givan, a relative of the Duncan family, has
heard his father tell of a large delegation going as far
as Snow's Hill to welcome Old Hickory on one occa-
sion. Some genius had improvised a sort of cannon,
and when it was "touched off" it escaped from its
fastenings, disappeared somewhere down one of the
gorges near the road, "and has never been seen since.''
On Jackson's arrival the county broke all records by
the size of its crowd. Jackson was .social and pleased
his hearers by expressing admiration for the great
hills and predicting a wonderful future for that sec-
tion.
Mrs. Rachel Payne, daughter of Frederick Jones,
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History of DeKalb County
who bought the Duncan Tavern too late to entertain
the hero of New Orleans, says she heard Mrs. Duncan
tell how she once prepared a great feast for Jackson,
but he would partake of nothing but milk and mush.
Mrs. Payne states further: "When I was a child fif-
teen young men and the same number of girls passed
through the village from Alexandria to Smithville to
attend a ball. Coming back to the village with the
purpose of having a dance at the Overall home, they
found the creek past fording and stayed overnight
with us, and that dance was the first I had ever seen.
I recall two of the young ladies. Colonel Stokes's
daughters, Miss Melissa (afterwards Mrs. Haskins)
and Miss Leath (called 'Bug,' who became Mrs. James
R. Calhoun). The fifteen couples were horseback,
which would be a wonderful sight now."
Latter-day hotels at Liberty were conducted by
Joshua Hollandsworth and Mrs. Cannie Whaley.
About the middle of the nineteenth century there
was an excellent and popular tavern at Alexandria
kept by Capt. J. S. Reece. 'T remember a few balls
at the tavern," writes Mrs. S. W. McClelland, for-
merly of Alexandria, "and among other attendants
were Misses Ellen Johnston, Tump Sneed, Mary,
Fannie, and Lorena Davis, Matt and Harriet Batts,
and Messrs. Pope Rutland, John Sneed, William Bone,
Joshua Floyd, and Capt. John F. Goodner, the gayest
of the gay and a soldier of two wars. Next day we
stood on tiptoe listening to a recital of the joyous
events. When the circus came the old tavern was
quickened into new life, and nothing was more de-
III
History of DeKalb County
lightful to us children than to get a peep in on the
show folks, especially the show girls, this being ac-
complished through the friendship of Mary Reece,
the innkeeper's amiable daughter."
Ed Reece, of Nashville, who was brought up in the
Reece House, but who is now a prosperous Nashville
man, says the building stood where Lester's department
store now stands, on the south side of the principal
street. "I think," he continues, "it was formerly con-
ducted by Jack Baird, Sr., father of James and the
late Jack Baird. My father exchanged property with
James Baird for it and had it put in fine repair, open-
ing it to the public in 185 1 or 1852. My father was a
Whig, and the Whigs all stopped with him. Among
the guests of more than local repute I mention Jordan
Stokes, Sidney S. Stanton, Gen. Bill Cullom, and Bird
S. Rhea. There were balls there a plenty prior to the
big war, and young people from Carthage, Lebanon,
Gordonsville, and Nashville attended. An event I dis-
tinctly remember was the marriage of Horatio Betty —
probably the grandfather of Willie Betty Newman,
the distinguished Nashville artist — and Miss Mary
Lawrence, daughter of William Lawrence, who lived
in Wilson County, west of town. Betty lived at Gor-
donsville. The young married folks and their friends,
about thirty couples in all, were horseback, and stopped
for dinner on the way to Gordonsville for the 'infair.'
As there was then no very great opposition to intoxi-
cants, some of the gentlemen merrymakers imbibed
freely. Two guests at the tavern when we had balls
were the Misses Roulstone, relatives of the pub-
112
History of DeKalb County
Usher of the first Tennessee newspaper, the Knoxville
Gazette. One of them on one occasion highly incensed
a g-uest by refusing to dance with him because he did
not wear pumps."
The old people name John Vantrease as Alexan-
dria's earliest innkeeper. Mrs. Sallie Browning kept
a tavern prior to the days of the Reece House. The
Reece House was in later years conducted by T. Wil-
liams and then by Joseph Lawrence. The present
well-patronized hotel is owned by Byron Bell.
In 1846, or thereabout, a stock company built a
large tavern at Smithville, the first host being Dr. G.
W. Eastham, possibly. On January 2, 1852, it was
incorporated. The incorporators were: Ransom
Youngblood, John B. Tubb, Alex Goodwin, T. B. Fite,
R. C. Sanders, Charles Schurer, Samuel Turner, Elect
Tubb, James Tubb, William Floyd, Elias Barbee, W.
H. Magness, W. B. Lawrence, W. W. Wade, William
A. Duncan, and M. M. Brien. Was it leased at this
time by Col. John H. Savage? The oldest member
of the Tennessee Conference, Rev. J. W. Cullom,
says Savage was in control of it in 1854. The builder
of the tavern was said to have been David Morrison,
the architect of the State prison. It changed pro-
prietors frequently. It was once purchased by David
James, who sold it to Matt Lee, then by B. M. Webb,
and is now owned by B. M. Cantrell.
Beckwith Place, just east of Snow's Hill, became
very popular in ante-bellum days, and is one of the
best-known landmarks of DeKalb County. Mrs. Beck-
with was a Miss Roulstone, of the Knoxville family
8 113
History of DeKalb County
just mentioned. Beckwith was in its prime when Bon
Air Springs, on the mountain, was m its heyday.
Travelers to and from that resort Hked to spend
a while at Beckwith Place. Many very notable guests
have been sheltered there.
On Snow's Hill, four miles west of Smithville,
Thomas Bradford kept a famous inn at the sign of the
Two Cranes. A distinction claimed for the proprietor
is that he had the earliest orchard in that section, not
excepting that of Giles Driver, the pioneer, who lived
to the age of one hundred and four. Luke McDowell's
tavern was not far from Beckwith Place, a mile west-
ward. After the War between the States, John L.
Boyd occupied the ■McDowell Inn.
No doubt there was a tavern at Sligo Ferry, on the
eastern side of Caney Fork River and on the stage
road. It was a very important point at one time.
Bird S. Rhea and A. L. Davis, who owned a large
store and warehouse, operated the ferry and that end
of the stage road. Sligo was the head of navigation,
and the firm was able to do a very heavy business by
loading boats at Nashville and transporting merchan-
dise and other freight to Sligo. Price's stagecoaches
traveled that way. The travel by stage, carriages, and
freight wagons was tremendous. But when the Nash-
ville and Chattanooga Railroad was constructed to
McMinnville Mr. Rhea saw that it would injure
White and DeKalb Counties and left the place for
Nashville, where he became a factor in business circles,
as is his son now, Isaac T. Rhea, President of the St,
Louis and Tennessee River Packet Company.
T14
History of DeKalb County
In this East Middle Tennessee section there is much
picturesque scenery. Off the turnpike some miles are
the Caney Fork "Narrows," where the river makes a
nine-mile bend, but comes so close together at one
point that one can stand on the ridge between and toss
a stone into the current on either side. The views at
Fall Creek and Culcarmac Falls, also in the boundaries
of DeKalb County, are magnificent and inspiring.
From the top of Snow's Hill (the turnpike passes
over the summit, a distance of two miles) the sight
may traverse long distances, especially south and west,
taking in a bewitching panorama in winter or summer.
On each side are deep valleys, gloomy and forested,
and miles to the south the long, hazy crest of Short
Mountain, suggesting the back of leviathan afloat
upon the ocean surface. Traveling westward, there
was once the well-kept Trough Spring. The water,
gushing out of the hill, was brought down to the pike
in wooden "spouts" to a very capacious trough. Here
the stage horses were checked to allay their thirst, and
it is doubtful if any passenger could pass without de-
siring to quaff. If in the night, the trickle and mur-
mur awoke his thirst ; if in the daytime, the sparkling
streamlets dashing over mossy stones had the same
effect.
Between Dowelltown and Liberty one of the noisiest
streams, reminding you of Browning's "How the
Water Comes Down at Lodore," issues from the Gin
Bluff cave and finds silence in the Crowder Hole of
Smith Fork. It used to run a cotton gin long ago.
On Dry Creek the stream cast out of a cave has for
115
History of DeKalb County
three-quarters of a century furnished the power to run
Crips's Mill.
Then you arrive at Liberty, resting like a sleeping
hound at the feet of a dozen lofty hills — the Barger
and Evans hills to the east, the Gin Bluflf and Dismal
hills to the north, to the west the Bethel and Lamberson
hills, and to the south the Bratten, Givan, and Clarke
hills — cultivated to the tops and hazy in summer, in
winter drowsing to the winds' singing, "The heavens
declare the glory of God, and the firmament showeth
his handiwork." And in their embrace this : Smith
Fork Creek forming a silver horseshoe, great bottom
fields, the pioneer graveyard on a rise covered with
pennyroyal and gashed with gullies, the battle ground
where General Winchester fought the Cherokees, the
more modern cemetery with three thousand sleeping
inhabitants, and a village so queerly arranged that the
son of a pioneer once described it as being three miles
long and thirty feet wide.
""Still going westward, the road crawls by the beetling
Allen Bluff, then through other picturesque hills until
Alexandria is passed and the Wilson County line
reached, where the low grounds set in.
As a general thing, the stage drivers were "charac-
ters." Didn't they have a right to feel their impor-
tance and to exercise their prerogative of letting a
boy swing onto the boot or driving him away with
a great swipe backward with the whiplash? Uncle
Sam depended upon tliem to be on schedule time with
his mail ; the traveling public was also beholden to
them ; and, sitting behind four horses, manipulating
ii6
History of DeKalb County
the lines cleverly if not pompously as the milestones
were left behind, they certainly had some part in the
nation's affairs. The names of a few have been pre-
served, and for the sake of the old-timers who knew
some of them in the flesh and of the one-time boys
whose cherished ambition was to be a stage driver
and at night toot the bugle as the announcement of his
approach to the post office they shall be recorded here :
Ben Blades, Yance Lamb (a dandy), Tom Hearn,
Josiah Youngblood, ]\Ir. Angell, Mr. Kelley, Mr.
Bridges, Mr. Sadler, Bob Witt, Abe Witt, Mr. Potts,
"Scotch John." Horace McQuire, Jim Little, Alose and
Charles Vannata, James Dearman, J. H. Meacham,
Tom, Jim, and William Dearman, Isaac Borum (who
drove about twenty years), William Lewis, Sr., Wil-
liam Lewis, Jr., and William Robinson (who drove
about fifteen years).
So, while the first note of the bugle on the famous
old stage road was a reveille, the last sound, lingering
mournfully among the hills, meant taps forever, the
old order giving way to the new.
The mail is now delivered to the four principal towns
twice a day and once on Sunday. The postal system
must have been very unsatisfactory to the people a
century and less ago. It is said that the residents of
Liberty for a long while had to go to Carthage, which
was laid off in 1804, and other points to mail letters.
As late as 1797 the mail to Knoxville, then the State
capital, arrived only twice a month. It must have been
several years later that there was a mail route to
Liberty. In 1789, about eight years before the first
117
History of DeKalb County
settler came to Liberty, there were only seventy-five
post offices in the United States. Postage was so high
and ready money so scarce, as stated elsewhere, that
letters often remained in the post office for weeks be-
cause the person addressed could not pay the postage.
In the daybook of E. Wright, a Liberty merchant, his
customers are frequently charged postage. It may be
he was an early postmaster. Thus under date of June
23, 1832, is this memorandum, "Liberty Lodge No.
'/'], Dr., to postage paid on letter from G. States Secty.,
66 cents," and this under date of August 20 : "Lemuel
H. Bethel, Dr., to cash to pay postage, 1834 cents."
The adhesive postage stamp was not used in America
until 1847. The method was to fold a letter, fasten it
with sealing wax (no envelope), and mail it, the re-
ceiver to pay the postage. The rates of postage from
1789 to 1816 were: For any distance under forty miles,
8 cents ; under ninety, 10 cents ; under one hundred
and fifty, I2j^ cents. From 1816 to 1837 they were:
For distances under thirty miles, 6^4 cents; under
eighty, 10 cents ; over four hundred, 25 cents ; and
these rates were quadrupled upon letters which
weighed an ounce.
118
CHAPTER XI.
The County Seat,
The country adjacent to Smith ville was settled by
a most worthy class of people, second to none in any
part of the county. Old names that come to mind are :
Giles Driver, Jesse Allen, Martin Phillips, Tobe Mar-
tin, Britton Johnson, Allan Johnson, James Lockhart,
John Wooldridge, J. C. Kennedy, P. G. Magness,
Zach Lafever, D. League, Henry Cameron, Bernard
Richardson, Samuel Chandler, Elijah Chambers, Ed-
ward Hooper, William Adcock, Luke McDowell, John
Maynard, the Whaleys, Wades, Beckwiths, Atwells,
Bradfords, Smiths, Gilberts, Dunlaps, Colverts, Pot-
ters, Cantrells, Pedigoes, Isbells, Bonds, Bozarths,
Rheas, Davises, Dearmans, Wests, Fosters, Tyrees,
Grays, Magnesses, Judkinses, Titsworths, Dentons,
and others.
When the county was organized at Bernard Rich-
ardson's in March, 1838, a committee, composed of
Joseph Clarke, Thomas Allen, Joseph Banks, Watson
Cantrell, and Thomas Durham, was appointed to select
a site for the seat of justice and erect a courthouse
and jail. James Dearman, one of the middle-aged
men of Smithville, thinks the center of the county was
found to be a mile north of the present Smithville; but
as Bernard Richardson had donated fifty acres of land
for the town, it was located thereon. But Rev. W. P.
Banks, grandson of one of the commissioners, writes
under date of April 27, 1914: "My grandfather was
119
History of DeKalb County
the first trustee of the county and one of the men who
located the county seat. It was first selected two miles
south of the present town on the McMinnville road ;
but when on digging a well (the mound of dirt is there
now plainly visible) the commissioners failed to get
water they accepted the proposition of Mr. Richardson,
provided they should find water for the public well.
Grandfather was a leading spirit in all this."
The first name selected in the original bill for the
seat of justice was Macon, but by amendment it was
changed to Smithville in honor of Samuel G. Smith,
one of the Secretaries of State, who died in 1835. Ke
held this ofiice from 1832 to his death.
The first courthouse was soon erected. Prior to
1844 it was replaced by a two-story brick building,
costing about $6,000, while the log jail was replaced
by a brick structure, costing something like $2,500.
Subsequent to 1890 the present courthouse was erected.
It may not be out of place to chronicle the fact here
that on August 28, 1890, when new county buildings
were seen to be needed, an election was held to change
the county seat. A site was oflfered by C. W. L. Hale
on his farm, about halfway between Dowelltown and
Liberty. Much excitement prevailed, the election re-
sulting in a majority for no removal.
The following lawyers have been residents of the
county at various times. If all are not included, it is
not an intentional omission, but an oversight: M. M.
Brien, J. J. Ford, A. M. Savage, J. H. Savage, W. W.
Wade, Sr., W. W. Wade, Jr., John B. Robinson,
Ralph Robinson, Solon Robinson, Joseph Clarke, J.
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History of DeKalb County
W. Clarke, Robert Cantrell, William B. Stokes, James
A. Nesmith, Robert C. Nesmith, T. M. Wade, B. M.
Webb, Boone Trapp, R. M. Magness, W. G. Crowley,
M. A. Crowley, B. M. Cantrell, J. W. Overall, Alfred
Smith, B. G. Adcock, P. T. Shore, Alvin Avent, Will
T. Hale, Dan O. Williams, J. W. Botts, John Gothard,
H. A. Bratten, W. D. G. Games, R. B. Ander-
son, I. C. Stone, M. D. Smallman, S. H. Collins,
Richard Saunders, J, J. Foster, B. T. R. Foster,
J. B. Foster, W. B. Staley, T. J. Bradford, Pallas
Smith, White Turney, W. B. Corley, M. M. Brien, Jr.,
J. M. Allen, Albert McClellan, R. W. Turner, Joseph
H. Blackburn, Caleb Davis, J. W. Parker, Eli Evans,
D. M. Robinson, L. N. Savage, Thomas Fisher, Jr.,
J. A. Drake, J. E. Drake, P. C. Crowley, William
O'Conner, J. B. Crowley, R. L. Cantrell, Brown Davis,
and Dixie W. Floyd.
The following were practicing in the county in 1814:
T. W. Wade, Alvin Avant, J. E. Drake, R. L. Turner,
P. C. Crowley, E. G. Lawson, D. M. Robinson, J. B.
Robinson, J. A. Gothard, Dixie W. Floyd, Brown
Davis, Smithville; W. B. Corley, Dowelltown ; James
W. Parker, Alexandria ; and H. A. Bratten, Liberty.
These have occupied the bench while residents of the
county or after having removed therefrom: M. M.
Brien, Robert Cantrell, M. D. Smallman, W. G. Crow-
ley, W. W. Wade, Jr., Thomas Fisher, and John Fite.
The act to incorporate Smithville was passed De-
cember 4, 1843. The boundaries were as follows:
"Beginning at the dwelling house of E, M. North, in-
cluding the sawmill ; thence to the southwest corner
121
History of DeKalb County
of the plan of the town ; thence east with the line of
the said town plan to the northwest corner of the lot
of land which AI. M. Brien purchased from John C,
Cannady ; thence with the lines of the same so as to
include it in the town plan ; thence a direct line to the
stage road so as to include the dwelling house of P. M.
Wade; thence north to Fall Creek; thence up the said
creek to the chalybeate spring ; thence a direct line, in-
cluding the dwelling house of W. W. Wade, to the
northeast corner of the original town plan ; thence to
the beginning." As in other towns of the county, the
corporation was abolished soon after the four-mile law
was enacted to secure the statute's educational benefits.
Among the first merchants were Willis W. Wade,
P. M. Wade, and Samuel Chandler. Then came W.
P. Harvey, P. G. Magness, J. M. Allen, W. H. Mag-
ness, J. L. Dearman, George Beckwith, J. Y. Stewart,
S. B. Whaley, and Elijah Whaley. Still later the fol-
lowing were business men : R. B. West, Isaiah White,
G. R. Smith & Son, Black & Bond, Smith Bros., T. B.
Potter, S. D. Blankenship, J. L. Colvert, Hooper &
Bro., D. S. Harrison, F. Z, Webb, A. L. Foster, and
E. J. Evans. Business is carried on to-day by the fol-
lowing individuals and firms: W. H. H. Bond, gen-
eral merchant and undertaker, in business 40 years;
F. Z. Webb, druggist, 34; H. E. Mason, druggist, 10;
Conger Bros., gentlemen's furnishing goods, 11; H.
E. Staley & Son, dry goods and shoes, 25 ; J. C. Fos-
ter & Bro., grocery and hardware, 15; Mrs. W. R.
Smith, millinery and dress goods, 20; S. C. Tyree,
dry goods and notions, 15; W. H. Smith & Co., hard-
122
History of DeKalb County
ware, lo; J. C. Bond & Bro., groceries; Fred Robin-
son, groceries; Potter, Love & Hays, ladies' dress
goods and millinery; W. L. Taylor & Co., general
store and freight transferers ; J. E. Foster, groceries ;
G. S. Davis, groceries; H. Calhoun, groceries; Bur-
ton & Jennings, groceries; James Burch, general
store ; Young & Conger, groceries and produce ; Cash
Hardware Company, W. F. Hooper manager; James
Dearman, hotel and livery stable; A. H. Lane, livery
stable; Mrs. E. M. Bailiflf, hotel; Mrs. T. W. Wade,
hotel; E. J. Evans & Son, spokes, also millers; Sam
McGuire, barber; Mart Talley (colored), barber; La-
fayette Pack, C. Shaw, C. H. Vickers, and George
Summers, blacksmiths; Lee Magness and Thomas
Beckwith, photographers.
Among the early physicians were: G. W. Eastham,
Charles Schurer, J. C. Buckley, E. Tubb, J. C. Cox,
P. C Shields, J. S. Harrison, J. J. and Isaac Gowan,
Dr. Evans, Dr. Barnes, and Ben Cantrell, herbist.
Later: J. Z. Webb, J. S. Fletcher, T. W. Eaton, A.
Avant, M. L. Wilson, and James Womack. Present:
W. W. Parker, W. R. Parker, M. L. Wilson, L. D.
Allen, C. A. Loring, and T. J. Potter.
Dentists, J. T. Bell and E. H. Conger.
The Smithville brass band of twenty-one pieces, J.
K. Shields leader, has a well-merited reputation
throughout DeKalb and surrounding counties.
A number of tanyards have been sunk in that sec-
tion from an early day. Among the first were Tom
Roe's, on Snow's Hill, and Henry Gray's, in town. J.
L. Colvert, W. H. Magness, and D. T. Harrison were
123
History of DeKalb County
formerly in this business. D. T. and J. B, Harrison
established a tobacco factory in 1879, ^"^ fo^ years
did a good business, as did the Mack Shores factory.
The town has been noted for its excellent schools,
though no record was kept of the old field variety.
Fulton Academy drew attention to the county seat a
score of years before the War between the States. It
was incorporated January 17, 1838, with these as trus-
tees : Thomas Durham, Moses Pedigo, Samuel Allen,
Martin Philips, and Bernard Richardson. For further
references to this subject see the chapter on educa-
tional matters.
List of Smithville postmasters as far back as can be
ascertained : J. Y. Stewart, George Beckwith, "Big
Jim" Williams, George Bing, Felix Patterson, Robert
Black, Ralph Robinson, J. S. Dunlap, S. P. W. Max-
well, E. K. Atwell, Dick Goodson, J. H. Christian,
and (present) C. W. Moore.
Like Alexandria and Liberty, Smithville has two
banks — the Farmers and Traders' (J. B. Moore,
Cashier) and the People's. The latter was organized
in 1903 with a capital of $15,000, with R. B. West,
President, and J. E. Drake, Cashier. Its resources in
1914 were about $75,000. Present officers: W. H.
Davis, President ; F. M. Love, Cashier ; W. L. Davis,
Assistant Cashier.
Mention of the most noted Smithville taverns is
given in the chapter on "Stagecoach and Tavern
Days." It is thought that the earliest tavern keeper
was Dr. G. W. Eastham. Then there were Bernard
Richardson and James Erwin. Dave James was
124
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History of DeKalb County
tavern keeper from 1850 to i860, and Mack Shores
in 1861-62. Tyree's Hotel has long been a favorite
hostelry, as have the Dearman House and Bailiff
House. A correspondent writes that many years ago
there was a village adjacent to Smith ville, a suburb,
"just down the hill, across the creek and in the direc-
tion of Sparta," called Chalk Hill, and that Jack
Frazier kept a tavern there. Six miles from Smith-
ville is a popular summer resort called Seven Springs,
J. T. Odum, proprietor.
Pearl-hunting in Caney Fork has been carried on
for some years, pearls bringing from $500 to $1,800
having been found. John Windham, of Smithville.
was one of the most successful dealers. S. L. Fitts,
of Temperance Hall, is also a successful dealer.
There are no stories to tell of the old-time modes
of punishment of criminals. Before Smithville was
thought of, whipping, branding, pillorying, and cutting
off the ears of criminals were abolished — in 1829 as
to whites and in 183 1 as to negroes.
Relative to the early transportation of freight, Mr.
Dearman writes : "The produce from Sligo Ferry, on
the Caney Fork River, was carried to Nashville in
flatboats, and merchandise which the people needed
was brought back on these boats. The boats were
pushed up the Cumberland and Caney Fork, and it
often required a week or two to reach Sligo. J. L.
Dearman, who served as sheriff of the county three
terms and twenty years as a magistrate, Levi Bozarth.
William Bozarth, David James, Nat Parker, Dave
Koger, the Phillipses, and the Dildines are some of the
125
History of DeKalb County
men who made runs down the river and back. While
the work was hard, the men were hardy and won their
way."
Through the kindness of Mr. Tal Allen, now an
honored citizen of Nashville, this list of papers that
have been published in the town since the war is fur-
nished : The Highland Sun, A. Max Ford ; the Jour-
nal, A. C. Carnes ; the Index, W. D. Carnes ; the
Watchman and Critic, Dozier and Kelly ; and the Re-
view, Frank Wallace, later Eugene Hendon.
W. D. G. and W. B. Carnes were at one time con-
nected with the Index, and M. L. Fletcher was once a
Smithville publisher.
The following necrological note by a correspondent
shows the sad changes that have taken place in the
population in the last generation : "The following early
citizens of Smithville are dead : W. G. Crowley, Chan-
cellor for many years ; Bernard Richardson, who do-
nated the site of Smithville to the county ; Jack Ken-
nedy, Mexican War veteran and register for thirty
years ; J. T. Hollis, who served as County and Circuit
Court Clerk and Clerk and Master ; Mr. Dillard. drug-
gist ; Joe Stewart, sheriff and old-time slave trader ;
J. L. Dearman, sheriff, magistrate, and merchant ;
'Sporting Ike' Hays ; G. R. Smith, merchant and
magistrate for twenty years ; T. B. Potter, Confederate
soldier, merchant, and banker; W. C. Potter, merchant
and banker ; Dave James, tavern keeper ; Mack Shores,
tavern keeper ; O. B. Staley, merchant ; J. B. Atwell,
register for ten years ; J. M. Allen, magistrate for
thirty years and twice representative ; J. L. Colvert,
126
History of DeKalb County
merchant; S. D. Blankenship, merchant; T. N. Chris-
tian, Circuit Court Clerk for sixteen years ; T. W.
Shields, Circuit Court Clerk for twelve years; Rev.
J. M. Kidwell ; Z. P. Lee, County Court Clerk for
eight years."
But time, tide, and progress await no man. Smith-
ville is to-day a pretty and thriving town of about one
thousand inhabitants. "The turnpike from the town
to Snow's Hill," writes a correspondent, "resembles
an urban avenue — new houses all along where thirty
years ago none were to be seen. From Smithville to
Sparta you are never out of sight of new residences
and barns. People from the Caney Fork River and
hill country have been buying the land and moving to
it. Even a dweller of the western section — the Basin —
admits this fact : 'I am not sure but the flatwoods
show more thrift to-day than any other part of the
county.' Smithville has a flour mill, a spoke and
handle factory, two banks, a paper, churches, and
several general stores. The buildings are all com-
paratively new, only three or four of those built forty
years ago standing; while every road leading out from
one to eight miles is macadamized. Perhaps much
of its prosperity is due to the enterprise of the farmers
who have recently bought the lands surrounding and
the awakened energy of the descendants of the pio-
neers,"
Smithville is a charming and prosperous inland
town and growing. Its distance from Nashville is
sixty-seven miles.
127
CHAPTER XII.
Historical Jetsam.
In a history of Kentucky by Prof. N. S. Shaler, who
for more than a quarter of a century filled the chair
of Agassiz at Harvard University, it is shown that by
actual measurement the Tennessee and Kentucky sol-
diers in the War between the States were the largest
in the army and in the world.
DeKalb County has been noted for its large and
strong men. Commercial travelers and others have
remarked upon the fact. It is safe to say that no
county of the same population can show a larger num-
ber.
"Big" Bill Evans, once county trustee, weighed in
his prime about two hundred and seventy-five pounds.
Mrs. Matilda Huggins, his sister, weighed probably
more. William B. Preston was about the size of
Evans, and his mother weighed about three hundred
pounds. Fox Frazier (hog trader), his brother Henry,
John Parker (of Dismal Creek), Col. James Tubb,
James Fuston (tavern keeper), Presley Adamson,
Henry L. Turner, Francis Turner, James Stark, Lan-
don Richardson, Bill Garrison, Aaron Frazier. Sr.,
William Estes, Moses and John Spencer, Jim Willi.-
Thomas Roe, George and Thomas E. Bratten, Bart
Pack, George Givan, Sr., William G. Bratten, Jack
Tubb, Rev. Natty Hayes, Gips West — such men,
weighing from two hundred and twenty-five pounds
up, could be named in scores.
There were other men noted more for their strength
128
History of DeKalb County
than for their size, though all were probably above the
average in weight. Ben Cantrell, of the Smithville
neighborhood, once lifted with apparent ease twelve
hundred pounds of brass while in Nashville. Ben
Denny was another noted strong man of Smithville.
A pioneer shoemaker of Liberty, John Woodside,
placed his shoulders under an average-sized horse and
lifted him clear of the ground. John Spencer, also
of Liberty, carried a bag containing five bushels of
wheat (300 pounds) five miles to mill. There were
three or four of these Spencers, all large and power-
ful. It is possible, even probable, that they were re-
lated to John Sharpe Spencer, the giant who lived in
Sumner County in a hollow tree before James Robert-
son made his settlement at Nashville. A number of
the pioneers went farther into the wilderness as the
Cumberland country was settled.
As to men of great height, Dr. J. G. Squires was
probably the tallest. He stood six feet seven and a
half inches in his stockings, but would not weigh more
than one hundred and forty pounds. "Curl" Jennings,
who resided for some years at Dowelltown, was not
less than six feet six inches and weighed close to
three hundred pounds. A Mr. Brashear, over the
average in size, had an attack of typhoid while board-
ing with Jennings. Each had a pair of trousers made
from the same bolt. When recovering, Brashear de-
cided to sit up a few moments. As it happened, Jen-
nings's trousers were hanging on a near-by chair.
Believing them his, he slipped them on. When he saw
9 129
History of DeKalb County
how they hung in great folds and bags on him, he fell
back weakly on the bed, exclaiming: "Great heavens!
If I've fallen off so much, there's no use trying to go
about!" John Gann, of Liberty, was about as tall as
Jennings and rather thin. One day in front of a
saloon John Vandigriff, short and stocky, sidled up to
him and said: "Mr. Gann, please hand me down one
o' them buzzards flyin' over." Milton Ward, a well-
known old field teacher, was about six feet six inches
tall and required a special bedstead made for his use.
Jim Willis, fist fighter, of Smithville, was six feet four
inches tall, weighing about two hundred and twenty-
five pounds. He was somewhat stooped, his arms
were extremely long, while his eyes were deep-blue
and deep-set. While he did not appear to delight in
bloodshed, it is believed that he had a natural inclina-
tion to fight. During the war he lived in Missouri
and belonged to Quantrell's guerrillas. One who knew
him says that his scalp was as rough as a turtle's back,
due to scars made by rocks, knife thrusts, and club
blows. Landon Richardson, of Liberty, weighing two
hundred and twenty-five pounds, was usually depu-
tized in ante-bellum times to arrest dangerous charac-
ters who came to the village. He was not a "bully,"
but powerful and fearless. It is tradition that on one
occasion he put to flight seven "bad men" from Hel-
ton Creek who had attacked him. Firearms were not
used in brawls then.
The two men who had the distinction of being the
smallest in the county were Frank Foster, of Liberty,
and Thornton Christy, of Alexandria.
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History of DeKalb County
Mention has been made in the sketch of Temperance
Hall of the disappearance of William G. Stokes.
Other mysteries have puzzled the people and tried the
souls of the parents of the missing men. Dr. Foster,
who was given the story by an aged relative, says that
Frank Givan, son of the second Circuit Court Clerk,
started horseback to visit relatives in Maryland early
in the nineteenth century. He was never heard from
again, and he nor his horse could be traced out of the
Liberty community. Was he murdered for his money ?
Did he sink in quicksand, then supposed to exist in the
county? The wildest rumors were afloat. Years
afterwards a skeleton was found in a hollow tree on
Dry Creek, and some thought this the solution of the
problem. Isaac Evans, son of Reuben Evans, went
with W. B. Preston and others to California durinsr
the excitement over the finding of gold. He was
heard from once, his letter stating that he had joined
William Walker's filibusters. No other tidings have
ever reached his friends or relatives, though sixty-
five years have gone by.
Clay lamps, burning grease, were used in kitchens
some years after the war. Candles, often made of tal-
low, were used by the grandfathers for illumination.
As there were no matches in general use until about
1830, we know that the tinder box, flint, and steel were
kept for starting fires by the early DeKalb Countians.
Dr. G. C. Flowers, an ante-bellum resident of
Liberty, was regarded as the most extensively read
131
History of DeKalb County
man in the county in his day, as far as general litera-
ture is concerned. Dr. John S. Fletcher, who died in
Smithville in 1877 (graduated from three universities,
among them the University of Pennsylvania) and was
surgeon in Gen. John C. Brown's brigade at the close
of the war of 1861-65, had a distinction in after years
similar to that of Dr. Flowers.
The county has produced some men of more than
local reputation, but the writer recalls but one instance
in which the people contributed of their means to
erect a memorial to any DeKalb Countian. It is worth
thinking about. The one thus honored was neither
jurist, minister, statesman, editor, captain of industry,
author, scholar, nor military chieftain. He was a
very plain, unassuming man, who out of sympathy
for the bereaved and their dead made it convenient to
help dig the graves of his neighbors for nearly or quite
threescore years. The marble shaft over W. H.
(Hamp) Woodside's grave at Liberty is proof that a
noble heart is still regarded as more than mere worldly
success.
Mention might be made of many DeKalb Countians
with rare or bizarre qualities, such as the one who
could never be made to answer yes or no directly and
another who spoke as if always quoting, as, "I'm not
feeling well to-day, as the old saying is"; but to give
the story complete much more space would be required
than can be offered in this history.
132
History of DeKalb County
Hundreds of names of citizens once familiar in the
county are recorded in these pages, it will be noticed.
Of their owners little more can be said now than that
their graves are green. It is pathetic. But, to para-
phrase Burns,
Should auld cognomens be forgot,
And never brought to min'?
A Striking thing about the names is the absence of
foreign ones. The foreparents were of Anglo-Saxon
stock. Some names were queer : Esau Pack, Giles
Driver, Sim Hathaway, Bob Prydy, Pack Florida,
Enoch George, Gil Etheridge, Cantrell Bethel, Cicero
Duncan, Caleb Davis, Seaborn Harts, Brown Harri-
man, Crofford Rankhorn, John Shehane, Daniel Rat-
lige, Poindexter Joins, Nehemiah Garrison, Con-
gelius Burrip, Jonas Nokes, Iradel March, Conrad
Lamberson, James R. Gapway, Brice Parsley, Zene
Crips, John Canler, Seth Whaley, Archamac Bass,
Crag Parsons, Acenith Fite, Brackett Estes, Thomas
Durham, Edwin Shumway, Randall Pafiford, King
Herod, William Mooneyham, Cain Adams, Lito Hul-
lett, June Driver, Leven Gray, Friday Martin, Samuel
Casey, Tucker Woodson, Festus Moses (the great
walnut buyer), Goodman Mallon, Telford Steele,
Park Amonett, Vincent Manor, Bart Nonnelly, Emory
Cubbins, Mikel Etheridge, Irwin Page, Fuller Sanlin,
and North Reynolds. Others were musically allitera-
tive: Edmondson Elkins, Nelson New, Mat Martin.
Lee Lafever, Leonard Lamberson, Benjamin Blades,
Sylvanus Stokes, Kern Clark, Rich Richardson, Elam
Edge, Pleasant Pistole, Dempsey Driver, Fox Frazier,
133
History of DeKalb County
Hardin Hardcastle, Henry Helmantaller, Hawkins
Heflin, Rison Roland, Tolliver Turner, William
Wellaby, Wylie Wilder, George Givan, Moses
Mathews, Henry Horn, Alex Armstrong, Henry Hart,
German Gossett, Philip Palmer, Henry Hass, Martin
Murphy, Ben Brownin, Thomas Terry, James Jones,
Thomas Tyree, Willis Wade, William Wright, Archi-
bald Allen, Elial Elston, William Wilson, Shines Scrib-
ner, Abe Adams, Frank Foster, Hiram Hildreth,
Travers Tarpley, David Dirting, Mickeral Manning,
Morris Marcum, Hart Hinesly, Ephraim Evans, Arch
Allen, and Samson Sellars.
As observed elsewhere, the names of a number of
families figure no longer in the county's activities.
Some of the settlers died ; others moved to different
sections. Now and then one hears of a few of their
descendants : John C. Floyd, of Arkansas, and Fred-
eric Barry, of INIississippi, who became members of
Congress from their adopted States; M. M. Brien and
Robert Cantrell, noted lawyers and jurists ; Bird S.
Rhea, Ed Reece, R. B. Wright, Cicero Duncan, Church
Anderson, James Yeargin, and Len F. Davis, all promi
nent in the business world, Mr. Davis in 1914 having
the distinction of being the senior of Nashville's whole-
sale merchants in point of service.
There were (and are still) in the county many racy
local characters of a type one rarely ever meets in
large towns, where personalities lose their distinctness
of outline like coins which pass innumerable times
across shop counters. Such were Jonas Nokes, Ross
134
History of DeKalb County
Keith, "Sporting Ike" Hays, and others. Some were
natural wits and humorists, whose drolleries have been
kept alive by the joke-loving DeKalb Countians, The
writer thinks none excelled four or five Liberty wits —
Hamp Woodside, Blue Givan, Pole Woodside, Jr.,
Thomas Vick, James Burton, and M, C. Vick. Dr.
Foster avers that Thomas Askew was the wittiest
man he ever knew. Such little sallies as these, handed
down from father to son, approach the character of
folk tales:
Shed Lawson, who resided in Alexandria many
years ago, was noted for his cheerful disposition, de-
spite the fact that his treasury of worldly goods was
small, and for his ready wit on any occasion requiring
quick repartee. When the circus comes to town, the
parade is sure to gather the crowd. One day Shed
and his little son, who always accompanied him like
his shadow, were following the clown. The latter,
on his pony and diked out in conventional cap and
bells, was shouting his badinage to the sight-seers.
Seeing Shed, he said : "Here, mister, I want to hire
that boy." Sensing a chance maybe to get his admis-
sion fee easily, the Alexandrian asked what he wanted
the lad to do. "I want him to blow my nose," the
clown said. "O, well, now," retorted Shed loudly and
without hesitation, "ef you will jest wait a little while,
jedgin' from appearances, the flies will blow it fer
you."
Speaking of noses, Littleberry Vick, of Liberty, as
well as the Duke of Wellington, possessed a prominent
nose. One day he and William Burton were arguing
135
History of DeKalb County
over some political issue. Directly Mr. Vick, some-
what irritated, said: "Billy Burton, you never could
see an inch beyond your nose." "And, Berry Vick,"
replied Mr. Burton, "if you could see an inch beyond
your nose, you could see into another county,"
Matthew Sellars, a pioneer of Dry Creek and a
first-class citizen, had no blasphemy in his heart when,
after a storm one night, he went out and looked on
the wreck the wind had made of the timber and young
corn in the new ground. Returning to the house, he
said to his wife in a low tone : "Charlotte, don't whis-
per it above your breath ; but, taking the Almighty up
one side and down the other, it seems he does about
as much harm as good."
There is no spot of earth where the people apply the
title of uncle and aunt more industriously than in the
DeKalb County Basin. When it is applied to a neigh-
bor, it is an indication that he is getting old. It also
signifies reverence. Some wag thereaway once ob-
served : "There are four periods in the life of a man.
As a child he is Bobby, as a young man he is Bob, in
his prime he is Uncle Bob, and after threescore and
ten he is Old Uncle Bobby." Some there were who
objected to having the title of age thus thrust upon
them, and one was William Vick, the Liberty mer-
chant. One day he was sitting in front of his store.
Dempsy Driver rode by and, bowing, said: "Good
morning, Uncle Bill." Turning to a companion, Vick
said dryly and somewhat resentfully: "Another
nephew."
Thomas Askew was a soldier in the Mexican War.
136
History of DeKalb County
Becoming ill, he died, to all appearances ; doctors and
nurses pronounced him dead. His coffin was brought
in and placed near the cot where he was "laid" out.
He revived when left alone for a few minutes and sa\
the coffin. Having been a DeKalb official, he reached
for a pencil and wrote on top of the casket: "No
property found. T. B. Askew, constable."
Reuben Evans, farmer, magistrate, and rock mason,
was sincere and matter-of-fact. He was also cau-
tious, extremely so, and one cannot imagine him guilty
of exaggeration in praise or blame. While he was
doing some stonework for C. W. L. Hale, the latter'?
child said something the father regarded as bright
and cute. "Now, Uncle Reuben," said he, "wasn't
that just too much?" "Really," Mr. Evans replied
deliberately and carefully, "I can't say it was too much,
but it was a good deal."
Dr. J. W. Campbell had a farm in a very deep hol-
low a mile west of Liberty. One afternoon his tenant
hauled about two hundred and fifty pounds of hay to
the village. As he passed Blue Givan's store some one
remarked that it was a very small load for two horses
to haul all the way to town. "But you must recollect
that when you come out of a jug you have to come out
with a small load," said Givan.
Jacob Adcock, south of Smithville and formerly
a representative from Cannon County, bought a
broken-down stallion for $15, fed him on roasting
ears, groomed him all times of day, and kicked and
punched him to make him gay. Then he got out on
the fence to watch for a victim. Rev. William Daw-
137
History of DeKalb County
son, riding by on a fine black mare, was bantered for
a trade. "The horse is a top-notcher," said Adcock,
"but too young and spry for an old man like me." As
they approached the stable the horse saw his master,
then, walling his eyes and snorting, tried to climb out
of the stall. His coat glistened, so that he looked as
well as he acted. The trade was made, the parson
giving the black mare, a watch, and a note for $50
for the stallion. At the Short Mountain camp meeting
some weeks later, after the stallion had retrograded
to the $15 class again, Adcock professed religion. As
he was going home Dawson overtook him, said he
was glad God had pardoned his sins, then suggested
that he ought to return some of the money he swindled
out of Dawson through the horse trade. "I don't see
it that way. Brother Dawson," replied Adcock. "When
the Lord pardoned my sins he included the horse
swap."
138
CHAPTER XIII.
Smaller Villages of the County.
Hon. J. M. Allen once averred that his father.
Jesse Allen, a Virginian, entered the land on Smith
Fork Creek from John Corley's farm to Lancaster,
one mile on each side of the creek, but sold his rights
for $400, after which he entered a tract in another
part of the county that became DeKalb. Lower Smith
Fork Valley is one of the most fertile sections in Mid-
dle Tennessee, and the wonder is that the pioneers
could see no farther ahead.
Dr. R. M. Mason says Samuel Caplinger. a large
landholder, built the mill and house which were later
owned by Nicholas Smith and which formed the
nucleus of Temperance Hall. The late A. P. Smith,
son of Nicholas, has stated that the village received
its name from the fact that the Sons of Temperance
used to hold their meetings on the second floor of his
father's residence. It was named then, after 1848, for
the elder Smith in that year removed from Wilson
County to Temperance Hall, the site being in Smith
County. By act of February i, 1850, the line was
changed so as to include in DeKalb County the farms
and homes of Smith, Andrew Vantrease, John Robin-
son, and others. By the same act John F. Goodner's
farm, near Alexandria, was taken into DeKalb, as has
been seen.
The men who located at and around Temperance
Hall in the first years of the nineteenth century were,
139
History of DeKalb County
many of them, of unusual force of character and a
number in affluent circumstances: Samuel Caplinger,
Alex Robinson, Stephen Robinson, Nicholas Smith,
Daniel Ford, John Mason, John Corley, James Simp
son, Matthew Simpson, John Lamberson, George Kel-
ley, Jack Reynolds, Peter Reynolds, the Drivers, Bates,
Lawrences, Lancasters, Oakleys, Hayeses, Tubbs,
Stephens, Kelleys, Fishers, Stokeses, and others.
Owing to the distinction to which two members of
the Stokes family reached in the State (William B.
and Jordan), it is pertinent to record that their father.
Sylvanus, had started from North Carolina to locate
on his land, near the present Temperance Hall, when
his team ran away, and he was killed. Mrs. Stokes,
with her three children, Thomas, William B., and Jor-
dan, and a Mr. Kelly, continued the journey, reaching
this country in 1818. Some years later the widow
married Mr. Kelly and settled near or in Temperance
Hall. To them were born Harry and Rufus Kelly
and two daughters, one becoming Mrs. Mike Lan-
caster and the other Mrs. Thomas Lancaster. Thomas
Stokes became a farmer. Of him a reliable citizen,
a former neighbor, writes: "He was at one time the
richest man in DeKalb County, having at the close of
the war of 1861-65 about fifty negroes and large land
interests. He was a fire-eating secessionist, as was his
brother William at the beginning of the war, though
the latter became a Federal. Everything Thomas
had that was loose at both ends was taken from him
by Federal soldiers. For intelligence and fine mother
wit he was the superior of either Colonel Bill or Jor-
140
History of DeKalb County
clan, but his fault was a fondness for alcoholic drink.
He gave way to this habit after the war and died
poor and almost an imbecile. A son of Thomas was
William G. I can just remember him. A year or
more prior to the war he started south with a drove
of hogs and was never heard of more. Sylvanus,
another son, the youngest, fought through the war
for the Confederacy and died a few years ago. He
was one man in the county who, in a threatened diffi-
culty, made Capt. W. L. Hathaway 'take water.' "
Early merchants of Temperance Hall were John
Mason, Dr. Arch Robinson, and Mr. Rodgers. The
two first were in business about 1851-52; the last-
named, who was there about 1855 to i860, was North-
ern-born and returned to that section. Present busi-
ness men : L. Driver (who also twice represented the
county in the legislature), Williams & Terry, J. H.
Close & Son. Turner & McBride, J. R. Kelley, and L.
B. Midgett. The flour mill is operated by the Tem-
perance Hall Milling Company.
Dr. Arch Robinson, father of the late Dr. W. H.
Robinson, of Liberty, was one of the early physicians.
Following his death, his brother, Dr. William B.
Robinson, located in the village. After the war Dr.
Thomas Gold entered that field. Other physicians
have been Drs. R. M. Mason, G. W. Martin, and S.
C. Robinson. Dr. Samuel Walker was for some years
practicing in that region.
One of the earlier teachers was Mrs. Stephens.
Others were Mr. Bush, Mr. Hatcher. A. L. Reynolds,
A. L. Malone, E. W. Brown, J. W. Thomison (now a
141
History of DeKalb County
lawyer of Nashville), Joseph Ford, Dr. Thomas Ford,
and Frank Foster. The present teachers are Leroy
Smith and Miss Stella Young. Miss Lizzie Simpson
taught in the vicinity some years following the war.
The Southern Methodists have a good church in
the hamlet. A Baptist church and Pisgah, the latter
belonging to the Northern wing of the ^Methodists,
are located a short distance out. The Disciples also
have a congregation at this place.
Dowelltown, on the Lebanon and Sparta Turnpike
and two miles north of Liberty, is on land settled some
years after 1800. Thomas Dale, of Maryland, seems
to have bought up some of the claims of Revolutionary
soldiers of North Carolina. At any rate, he held war-
rants for much of the land around the village.
Levi Gray became possessed of a tract on the south
side of the creek, living in the house east of the cov-
ered bridge, which was later occupied by Frank
Dowell. It belonged to the Grays for years, and their
family graveyard was across the turnpike west of the
residence. The estate was inherited by Isaac Gray,
who married a Miss Dowell. He died and left two
children, Harriet and Melvina.
Frank Dowell married the widow Gray, his cousin,
and lived on the farm until the close of the War be-
tween the States, when he removed to Arkansas. At
one time he represented his county in the Arkansas
Legislature. Dowelltown was named for him.
Frank Dowell sold the Dowelltown property to Rev.
John Hunt, a Baptist minister from East Tennessee.
Hunt exchanged it for land belonging to Sanford
142
History of DeKalb County
Mann, who came from the North after the war and
was the first ferrotype artist of Liberty after peace.
Mann sold to Thomas Chapman. The present owner
is John Robinson, a son of the pioneer, Edward Robin-
son.
The country adjacent to Dowelltown was settled by
as high-class men as any mentioned in other sections
of the county. Among them were Robin Forrester,
William and Samson Williams, Matthew Sellars, Ben-
jamin Avant, David Fite, Alex Robinson, George
Barnes, Edward Robinson, the Yeargins, the Harts,
the Fraziers, the Bankses, the Snows, the Turners, and
others.
The first storehouse was erected about 1869 where
the Barger Hollow Lane intersects with the Lebanon
and Sparta Turnpike, and probably the first merchant
was James Ashworth. In the same building the fol-
lowing successively had stocks of merchandise : James
Fuson, William Wall, Bratten & Tumey, Riley Tay-
lor, Barney Taylor & Co., Thomas Curtis, Less Fuson,
and John F. Turner. Other early merchants were
Charles Pullen, Thomas Bright, Pat Geraty, and
Robert F. Jones.
There are now six stores in the village, the present
merchants being John F. Turner, N, R. Robinson, W.
T. Robinson, A. R. Meares & Son, G. S. and W. T.
Blackburn, and Less Bass.
In 1866 Col. J. H. Blackburn began the erection of
a flour mill, which was finished in 1872 by Lieut. Win-
gate T. Robinson. The Big Spring northwest of town
furnishes the power.
143
History of DeKalb County
In 1866 Allan Wright (born in Baltimore County,
Md., in 1 831) came to DeKalb County and erected the
first flour mill in Liberty after the War between the
States on tlie site of that burned by Gen. John T.
Wilder during the war. In 1868 he erected and has
since controlled the Dowelltown Woolen Factory.
As to physicians of the town, Dr. C. C. Robinson
was the first to locate, remaining in the village until
his death. Previous to this time Dr. John A. Fuson,
of Dry Creek, did the practice. Dr. W. F. Fuson came
next, then Dr. S. C. Robinson, a son of C. C. and now
of Temperance Hall. Dr. C. B. White resides there
at present. Dr. Howard Curtis, son of Rev. Mack-
Curtis, was graduated at Chattanooga University,
but located at Allgood and is a leading physician of
Putnam County. Dr. W. T. Robinson, a son of B.
W. Robinson, was graduated at Vanderbilt and is
meeting with success at Shelbyville.
The local dentist is Dr. J. T. Duggan. Dr. Hoyt
Robinson, son of B. W. Robinson and graduated in
dentistry at Vanderbilt University, located in Union
City.
W. B. Corley and Hon. N. R. Robinson are resident
attorneys.
Edward Gothard was probably the earliest black-
smith, then came Gothard & Self, then Self & Grand-
staff. Isaac Burkett had a shop just north.
One of the early teachers of the neighborhood was
Alex Robinson, a capable man. Other teachers: R. B.
Harris, J. B. Green, T. A. Kilman, R. A. Underwood,
Mr. Sykes, Mr. Myatt, O. B. Close, Rev. W. P. Banks,
144
History of DeKalb County
N. R. Robinson, J. F. Caplinger, O. B. Starnes, and
M. Malone.
The postmasters have been WilHam Wall, Robert
Yeargin, Alf Standford, R. F. Jones, M. A. Stark,
Lucian Avant, B. W. Robinson, N. R. Robinson, and
Fannie M. Robinson.
In 1885 an elegant school building was erected and
for some years was properly appreciated. As in most
villages, the public's appreciation of educational ad-
vantages is spasmodic, and in saying that there have
been good schools here, followed by intervals of lan-
guor, we but repeat the history of most communities.
Old Asbury Church was frequently used for schools
before it was burned. Preceding it was a smaller
structure erected by the pioneers for religious and
educational purposes.
The village is surrounded by a fine agricultural
region, and its population is prosperous and law-abid-
ing. A considerable number of Federal pensioners live
there and adjacent (though they are rapidly passing
away), and their pensions have greatly added to the
volume of business.
The Big Spring northwest is a notable feature of
the community and was such before the village came
into existence. It is deep, cold, and about forty feet
in diameter. Formerly it was a great fishing place —
for "gigging" by torchlight, angling, and lassoing
with copper wire.
Near the Dry Creek bridge were the muster grounds,
which in ante-bellum times provided a great gathering
place. Near by was Gum Springs in a cavelike de-
10 145
History of DeKalb County
pression at the edge of the turnpike. "The water,"
Mrs. Pet White explained once to the writer, "was al-
most as cold as ice, dropping from the overhead rocks
and falling into the tub made from the cut of a hollow
tree. The young women and young men of the neigh-
borhood congregated here on muster days and Sunday
afternoons, so that you would be led to believe it some
famous summer resort."
In the center of Dowelltown and on Mrs. White's
land is the old Gray cemetery, a popular burying place
a half century ago. Several members of the Gray
pioneers sleep there, among the rest, Isaac C. Gray,
born in 1807, died 1850; Leven Gray, born in 1812; C.
E. Gray, died in 1852, in the sixty-fifth year of his
age. Others interred there are: Rev. James Stanford,
Matthew Williams, William Craven (Union soldier),
James White, Isaiah White (born in 1806), and
Charlie Blades. Time and the weather will crumble
or hide these simple memorials before many years,
then the humble sleepers will be as entirely forgotten
as if they had never lived.
For them no more the blazing hearth shall burn,
Or busy housewife ply her evening care ;
No children rush to lisp their sire's return,
Or climb his knees the envied kiss to share.
Laurel Hill, a pleasant village in the northern part
of the county, was for a long while better known as
Smutville, owing to the irreverence of the wag who
does not let home pride interfere with his attempts at
wit. The country adjacent is hilly but fertile and
needs only good roads to make it an ideal section.
146
History of DeKalb County
The citizens are mainly of North Carohna and Vir-
ginia ancestry — industrious, lovers of music and the
chase, and of strong religious and political convic-
tions.
Among the early settlers were : Coleman Helm, Riley
League, P. W. Presley, James Isbell, William Garner.
Isaac Burton, Riley Coggin, Jeremiah Hale, Willis
Coggin, Peter Exum, Elisha Conger, Hezekiah Love,
Andrew Carr (living in 1914 at the age of ninety-
four), John Clemens, Mat Lee, David Lee, T. J. Lee,
Ephraim Foster, Nelson New, J. H. Kerr, Jesse Hag-
gard (yet living, aged eighty-four), Jesse Hale, Clai-
borne Vaughan, S. H. Smith, John McGuffey, Joseph
Mitchell, Robert Maxwell, John Merritt, and the John-
sons. These were of the pioneer type of Americans —
sturdy, conscientious, and level-headed. In politics
they were, both Democrats and Whigs, of strong con-
victions. A majority of the old-timers were anti-
slavery in sentiment. The village furnished several
men to the Federal and Confederate armies, the larger
number siding with the North. In 1914 only two vet-
erans of the great war were surviving — J. S. MaxwelK
Union veteran, and W. A. Moss, Confederate. Dur-
ing the war there was no local engagement between
the belligerents, though not infrequently detachments
and even regiments of troops passed through the com-
munity. It may be added that there was naturally
considerable bitterness among neighbors of opposing
political views, though this is now a thing of the past.
The Laurel Hill people are either Baptists or Meth-
odists in religious faith, and both sects have comforta-
147
History of DeKalb County
ble churches. In 1876 and 1880 the old log structures
were displaced by modern frame buildings creditable
to any rural locality. Among the early ministers were
Thomas Dodson, Alex Byers, David Lee, M. P.
Gentry, D. P. Searcy, and Milton Pressley. Later
ministers have been : J. M. Carter, Francis Deal, J. M.
McNeil, J. B. Kitchens, Van N. Smith, and J. H.
Keathly. Near Laurel Hill is Wolf Creek Baptist
Church.
Among the old field teachers of the neighborhood
were William Whitefield, S. H. Smith, Walker Brown,
William Garner, William Isbell, and Jesse McDowell.
These men were of rugged individualities. We are
told that in the old days here the pupils sat in the
schoolroom with hats on, studied aloud, and sang
geography. They were followed by Napoleon Smith,
J. E. Conger, Van N. Smith, and Misses Sallie and
Emma McDonald. There are two schoolhouses on
Wolf Creek and one north at the river, and school is
still kept at these places.
The physicians have been : William Farmer, Gideon
Smith, W. E. Sypert. W, E. Sypert, Jr., J. C. Fisher,
and T. J. Smith.
Early business men : J. H. Kerr, Nelson New, S.
H. Smith, and Joseph Mitchell. Later: T. J. Fisher.
J. T. Exum, Smith Bros., D. G. Eaton, Bose Tyree.
and J. E. Conger. Present: Noah Duke, Z. O. Med-
ley, Allie Pressley, and Henry Sadler. Millers : K. D.
Exum, Pinkney Coggin, J. S. Maxwell, and L. S.
Exum. Blacksmiths: Coleman Helm, W. G. Stephens.
John Alcorn, Pleas Randolph, and John New.
14S
History of DeKalb County
About 1906 the post office was abolished and rural
route service established. Former postmasters were:
J. H. Kerr, S. H. Smith, W. E. Bartlett, Van N. Smith,
T. J. Fisher, and Henry Sadler.
In every community there has been some citizen
whose bizarre qualities have attracted to himself un-
usual and pleasing attention above his local contem-
poraries. That of Laurel Hill is no exception to the
rule. To illustrate, "Uncle Pink" Coggin, miller, will
long be recalled with pleasure and amusement, and
many anecdotes are told at his expense. Had Rev.
Milton Pressley, another old-timer, been properly edu-
cated, it is probable that he would have been a leading
minister of his day. "Chill penury" often indeed re-
presses a noble rage. To this inland preacher one
who knew him pays this tribute: "He could not read,
but knew the Bible almost by heart. He also knew
a few of the early day hymns. I have heard preach-
ers of every type, but no scholar or theologian have I
heard who had the power Uncle Milt wielded over an
audience. He once preached before Methodist bishops
and startled his cultivated audience with his untutored
power. Sacred be his dust!"
There are a number of burgs throughout the county
which sprang up after post offices were secured, but
the rural route service has left them without official
names. Perhaps the largest was Forks-of-the-Pike.
The adjacent territory is very fertile, and the farmers
are progressive. Among the older farmers were James
Roy, John, Moses, and Henry Fite, Thomas West,
149
History of DeKalb County
Eli Vick, Thomas Fite, Thomas and John Groom, and
the Truits and Hayses. They were succeeded by Sam-
son Sellars, Mrs. Ford, Grant Roy, F. H. Hayes, Tom
Ford, John Bell Hays, William Hays, Robert Vannata,
Sam Vannata, Henry Givan, P. T. Bragg, W. D.
Evans, Sam Flippin, Jake Young, Joseph Clarke, and
others. William Fite erected a storehouse just after
the war, merchandising for several years. He was
succeeded by Jacob Young, and Young by P. T. Bragg
in 1880. The last merchant and postmaster was R. B.
Vannata. Postmasters have been : P, T. Bragg,
James J. Evans, and R. B. Vannata.
Four Corners, the village schoolhouse, has had many
competent tutors, among them the following: Rev.
and Mrs. P. A. Pearson, John W. Overall, Mr. Pendle-
ton, the Preston brothers, Mr. Hood, E. W. Brown,
Mr. Jones, Robert Hayes, Mr. Whitlock, Wheeler &
Holmes, Matt Bratten, Lee West, Mr. Ford, Thomas
Bryant, Prudie Sellars, Miss MuUins, Willie Bell, and
Maggie Robinson. The Misses Bell were teachers in
1914.
Keltonsburg, a few miles from Smithville, was
named for James Kelton, who built the mill there.
This mill, it may be stated here, was transferred to
Paris & Boles in later years, who sold it to Mr. Thomp-
son. It is at present possessed by Mr. Mullikins. The
village has two stores and a blacksmith shop, and the
Methodists and Disciples have congregations there.
The first store was under the control of B. M, Magness
for many years. Keltonsburg is surrounded by a
worthy class of citizens.
150
CHAPTER XIV.
I
In the Early Wars.
The county was not in existence as such until about
ten years prior to the war with Mexico, but many of
those who made up its settlers had seen service in the
Revolution and in the War of 1812. A large section,
including Alexandria and Liberty, was in Smith
County until 1835, when they were taken into the new
county of Cannon. In 1837 the two first-named towns
were included in the new county of DeKalb, Some
years later the Temperance Hall section and John F.
Goodner's land, near Alexandria, were taken from
Smith and added to it.
The pioneer cemeteries and family graveyards —
the latter are found on nearly all the large farms —
have been long neglected. Such graves as had markers
have in many cases crumbled or had the inscriptions
effaced by the elements. No doubt a number of the
followers of General Washington sleep in graves that
were never marked. But from the wreckage of time
the following names of Revolutionary veterans have
been preserved : Adam Dale, builder of the earliest mill
in the county (about 1800), but buried in Maury
County; Thomas Dale, who owned several 640-acre
tracts around Liberty (he having purchased the claims
of old soldiers), buried south of that village, on the
Thomas Givan farm ; Philip Palmer, buried near Alex-
andria ; John Fisher, buried in the eastern portion of
the county. Also the names of the following who were
151
History of DeKalb County
living and drawing pensions in 1840: Rev. John Fite,
aged eighty-one, residing then with his son, Henry;
Leonard Fite, aged eighty-one (father of the late
Thomas D. Fite and grandfather of Len F. Davis, of
Nashville) ; Col. James Saunders, aged seventy-one,
living with Joseph Saunders; Elijah Duncan, aged
ninety ; Joseph Rankhorn, aged eighty-one ; John
Puckett, aged seventy-six; John Bevert, aged eighty-
six; and Elijah Hooten, aged ninety-three. The last-
named, says John K. Bain, an old-timer, who was
register of the county before the great war, lived to
be one hundred and eleven years of age, and at one
hundred and eight rode horseback to the Bain home,
south of Smithville. James H. Burton writes: "Jo^"
Smithson, who lived on Short Mountain, either in
UeKalb or near the line, was a Revolutionary soldier.
He was buried with the honors of war."
As Col. James Tubb made up a company for the
War of 18 12, no doubt a majority of his men were
from this county, but it has been impossible to secure
the roster. These, however, are recalled : Benjamin
Garrison, of Alexandria ; Mose Spencer, of Liberty ;
Benjamin Prichard, father of the late Brown Prichard,
near Liberty; Jacob Hearn, George Thomason, Lewis
Washburn, and Silas Cooper, the last four going
from Alexandria. Jacob Hearn became a loved and
successful Methodist itinerant, known in old age as
"Uncle Jakey." James H. Burton writes that Joshua
Bratten, Reuben Evans, and Archie Mclntire, of
Liberty, were veterans of the War of 181 2, and that
Mclntire was possibly in the Black Hawk War. Were
152
History of DeKalb County
they members of Tubb's company? It is suggested
that Benjamin Hale, the writer's paternal grandfather,
was under Tubb, but that must be an error ; for he is
found to have been at the battle on Villere's planta-
tion, near New Orleans, December 23, 1814, probably
a member of Col. John Coffee's riflemen. A youth
when he joined a company of Maryland revolutionists,
Adam Dale made up a company in Smith (DeKalb)
County and fought under Jackson in the War of 1812.
(See the sketch of Liberty, Chapter III., as to his
record.)
Colonel Tubb, grandfather of the popular Alexan-
dria merchant, Livingston Tubb, was one of the best-
known men of his county. Born March 18, 1788, he
lived on Smith's Fork Creek, east of Alexandria and
north of Liberty, and died July 18, 1867. He was
possessed of hundreds of acres of fine land ; and as
he would not separate the families of his slaves, when
emancipated they numbered nearly one hundred. He
figured prominently in the musters which furnished so
much interest to our grandfathers. From records in
the State archives the following facts are gleaned : As
captain of the Second Regiment of Militia his com-
mission bears date of June 3, 181 1, signed at Knox-
ville by Gov. Willie Blount, R. Houston, Secretary
of State; as first major of the Forty-First Regiment
it was signed at Nashville December 13, 181 5, by Gov.
Joseph McMinn, William Alexander, Secretary of
State ; and as colonel of the last-named regiment it
is dated at Nashville February 10, 1829, bearing the
153
History of DeKalb County
signature of Gov. Sam Houston, Daniel Graham, Sec-
retary of State.
He was captain in the Second Tennessee Regiment
from September 20, 1814, to April 10, 1815, and was
at Pensacola or Mobile when the battle of New Or-
leans was fought. On account of inadequate trans-
portation facilities he had to pay his own expenses for
baggage and transportation. Shortly after his return
he filed a claim against the government (July 14,
1816). It was made out before W. Tannehill, J. P.,
being for four hundred pounds of baggage from Fay-
etteville, Tenn., where the volunteers rendezvoused, to
Fort Montgomery, thence to Pensacola and back to
Fort Montgomery, thence to Fayetteville from Mo-
bile — six hundred and thirteen miles at eight cent
per mile.
Colonel Tubb and his company, like other Tennes-
seeans, probably took up their march toward Mobile
and Pensacola in response to the call of the Secretar)^
of War in July, 1814, for 2,500 Tennessee militia,
fixing September 15 for their assembling.
Was there another company from the county? Sev-
eral militia officers were commissioned from 1812 to
1815. It is tradition that Col. Abraham Overall or-
ganized a company for the war. It is seen from rec-
ords in the archivist's office that on May 19, 1814,
he was commissioned lieutenant colonel of the Forty-
First Militia. His grandson, Hon. T. W. Wood, of
Bellbuckle, writes: "As to the War of 1812-15, I
have often heard my mother speak, when I was a
small boy, of our grandfather's being engaged under
154
History of DeKalb County
Jackson in several battles, and particularly that of
Horseshoe Bend, where he had a horse shot under
him. He was major or acting lieutenant colonel. I
remember now only the name of one man in the com-
pany, young Cook." H. L. Overall, a grandson, says :
"I think grandfather was under Jackson, for I have
heard my father, Horace A. Overall, speak of the in-
timate friendship existing between him and Old
Hickory." Since the fact is almost wholly forgotten
(except by their descendants) that Tubb and Dale had
companies in the second war with Great Britain, it is
possible that Colonel Overall was a veteran, and, think-
ing thus, it is believed that this relative to his ancestry
would interest the public. In his great volume sketch-
ing the pioneers of the Shenandoah Valley, Va., Cart-
mell says the Overalls are in direct descent from
Bishop Overall, of England, who was the author of
the Convocation Book mentioned in Macaulay's "His-
tory of England." He adds : 'The first settlement made
[in America] by this family was in Stafford County,
Va., about 1700. One member of this branch came
to the Shenandoah Valley as soon as it was open for
settlement. This was John Overall, who married Maria
Christina Froman [granddaughter of a German who
owned 100,000 acres in the valley], settled on South
River, and reared seven children — viz., John, William,
Nathaniel, Mary, Nancy, Robert, and Christina. John
married Elizabeth Waters in 1773. She was the
mother of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Abraham,
the oldest son, married Hannah Leath in Virginia and
then moved to Tennessee in 1805. . . . Jacob,
15s
History of DeKalb County
third son of John, married Nancy Lawrence and
moved to Tennessee in 1805." Abraham located in
what became DeKalb County and died in 1844. His
wife died in 1837. Jacob settled in Smith County, but
his grandsons, James H., J. W., and D. D. Overall,
became citizens of DeKalb County.
DeKalb was represented in the Black Hawk and
Seminole Wars. Levi Foutch, of the Alexandria
neighborhood, was a soldier in the former, while
Paschal M. Brien was sergeant in William B. Camp-
bell's cavalry company in the campaign against the
Seminoles. A few names of the troops are copied
from Sergeant Brien's mess and guard book, still in
existence. From the mess list of July 11, 1836: John
Leach, G. W. Gray, W. G. Tucker, William Allison,
Levi Pendleton, Hugh Reed, J. G. Shy, J. J. Reason-
over, Peter Webster, John Coe, S. A. Farmer, Joseph
Allison, James G. Ford, William G. Ford, Charles
Wade, John Warren, James Owens, H. G. Owens,
Francis Pugh, William Taylor, H. J. Cochran, William
Baker, James Barrett, Alfred Womack, William
Penile, William Wilson, Richard and James Booze,
David Phillips, George Carmax, James Spradley,
Isaac Snow, Hardy Calhoun, Richard Jones, Rufus
Haynes, H. G. Maney, S. C. Beasley, Thomas Dale,
T. G. Harrel, J. J. Coleman, and J. G. Debrunt. From
the guard list, beginning July 11 and ending July 19:
J. H. Alexander, G. G. Gray, Cyrus Hazard, Seaborn
Harts, W. B. Taylor, Nathaniel Parrot, Sterling
Ward, Jonah Hallum, E. W. Davis, William Hallum,
Daniel Coggin, William McClanahan, William Fores-
156
JOHN F. GOODNER
CAPTAIN IN THE WAR WITH MEXICO AND COLONEL OF THE
SEVENTH TENNESSEE CONFEDERATE REGIMENT
FROM A PHOTOGRAPH LOANED BY MR?. LIZZIE HALE, LIBERTY
History of DeKalb County
ter, William Baker, H. B. Haney, John McFarland,
John B. Claiborne, David Phillips, William Dougherty,
Thomas Brooks, Elijah Hollis, Robert Hayne, Samuel
Allison, Peter Webster, H. Heflin, J. G. Davenport,
H, J. Warren, James Davis, James Cheek, P. Snow,
William Lancaster, William Wilson, and Hugh Reed.
A number of these men were from the territory that
became DeKalb. Daniel Coggin was the county's first
register and first representative in the General As-
cembly. Captain Campbell then lived in Smith
County, removing to Lebanon later.
The first war to occur after the county came into
existence was that with Mexico. Two companies
were raised in DeKalb County. But few are surviving
in 1914 — Isaac Cooper, Alexandria; William (Cal.)
Smithson, Gassaway ; J. T. Finley, Celina, Tex. ; House
Akin, Missouri ; and Wilson Bennett, Kentucky.
Capt. John F. Goodner's company, I, was made up
at Alexandria. Thomas J. Finley, aged ninety-one, of
Celina, Tex., has kindly sent the muster roll of these
volunteers :
Officers : John F. Goodner, captain ; John S. Reece,
first lieutenant; W. J. Johnson, second lieutenant; W.
J. Wright, third lieutenant; Thomas B. Askew, first
sergeant; Isaac Belcher, second sergeant; A. N. Davis,
third sergeant; William McClellan, fourth sergeant;
J. W. Johnson, first corporal ; Wilson Jackson, second
corporal ; Harrison Bennett, third corporal ; John S.
Gill, fourth corporal ; William D. Parkerson, first
bugler; William Riddle, second bugler; A. T. Jackson,
forager.
History of DeKalb County
Privates: J. T. Allison, W. C. Bennett, Frank Bal-
lenger, A. J. Baker, Addison Batts, H. L. Bradley, F.
L. Boyd, John Bostic, W. H. Cheek, W. R. Caskey, J.
R. Cheek, Calvin Clark, J. S. Davis, J. W. Dougherty,
J. H. Davis, G. W. Eastes, Amos Foutch, T. J. Fin-
ley, W. E. Foutch, Thomas Gwaltney, William Gates,
Franklin Sky, R B. Kyle, T. O. Kinney, J. L. Mc-
Gann, W. C. Malone, J. C. Neely, James Oakley, L.
O. Patey, Moses Preston, John Patton, James W.
Parker, Calvin W. Hill, B. H. Akin, Isaac Cooper.
In an interview Isaac Cooper, who is one of the sur-
vivors of Captain Goodner's company, said: "I joined
Company I, First Tennessee Regiment of Mounted
Infantry, for service in the Mexican War about the
time I reached my majority. Our colonel was Jonas
E. Thomas, while our company was organized at
Alexandria and sworn in at Nashville. Our uniform
was gray and was made at home. We went to Tampico
and crossed the Gulf to Vera Cruz. A fourteen days'
storm overtook us, and we had to throw overboard the
horses of Colonel Thomas and Major Waterhouse.
The other horses followed on transports. After the
battle of Vera Cruz we fought at Cerro Gordo, then
marched to Jalapa across the mountains, I being one
of the guards of four wagonloads of gold and silver
from Vera Cruz to Jalapa. On our return home we
took ship at Vera Cruz for New Orleans, thence by
boat to Nashville. The government bought our horses
at Vera Cruz, and I received about $700 for my ab-
sence of twelve months and eight days from home."
Abram M. Savage made up Companv F, Third
158
History of DeKalb County
Regiment Tennessee Volunteer Infantry, Col. B. F.
Cheatham.
Officers: A. M. Savage, captain; Reuben Simpson,
first lieutenant; W. M. Bailey, second lieutenant; John
W. Kennedy, third lieutenant; John England, first
sergeant (appointed February 4, 1848) ; Benjamin
Adcock, second sergeant (in hospital at Jalapa April
13, 1848); Elijah B. Hudson, third sergeant; James
H. Wood, fourth sergeant; Chester F. Bethel, first
corporal ; Joseph Coger, second corporal ; Anthony
P. Adcock, third corporal; Thomas F. Kennedy,
fourth corporal ; Tillman Cantrell, musician ; Alex
Ferguson, musician.
Privates : W. D. Allen, J. W. Allen, David Adcock,
William Adcock, McDonald Adcock, Perry Adcock,
James Adcock, Henry Adkins, Martin Brown, James
L. Blunt (died at Molino del Rey March 8, 1848),
David Barrett, Eli Barrett, J. W. Barrett, Anderson
Burnet (died at Rio T— June 4, 1848), Martin S.
Bonham, William Ballard, Congelius Burrip, Hiram
Bethel, Jim Cantrell, Ben Cantrell, Elisha and Elijah
Chambers (twins), B. F. Cummings, Moses H. Cum-
mings, Moses C Cummings (died in Mexico City
June 30, 1848), Carrol Caskey, John H. Dosier, John
Atnip, Edmundson Elkins (died at Molino del Rey
April 18, 1848), John A. Edwards, J. E. Edwards,
Henry Edwards (died at Molino del Rey March 5,
1848), J. S. Ellige, Thomas Fisher, Thomas Fowler.
Thomas Giles, James Gibson, Dillard Gannon, James
R. Gapway, Moses Hutchins, William Hendrixon,
William W. Harris, Hardy Johnson, Robert Jones,
159
History of DeKalb County
Ed Jones, William Koger (died at Molino del Rey
April 15, 1848), J. W. Lance, J. R. Looney (died at
Molino del Rey July 12, 1848), James Mannon (died
at Molino del Rey February 24, 1848), J. B. MuUins
(died at Molino del Rey May 11, 1848), Green Mel-
ton, John Melton, Peter Maxey, Iradel March, Wil-
liam Markham, Ebenezer Moss, Alex Neal, W. H.
Neeley, Joshua R. Neely (died at Molino del Rey
April 28, 1848), Joseph Pack, Thomas Pack, James
Pitman, John Barton, Abe Parton, James Pistole, W.
M. Pettit (died at St. Augustine May 19, 1848), Wil-
liam C. Smithson, David Smithson, J. H. Sullins (died
in Mexico City March 7, 1848), Joshua Simpson,
Jacob Taylor, W. H. Tate (died at Molino del Rey
May 5, 1848), J. A. Tate, J. B. Tate, T. G. Vance, S.
Brown Whaley, William Wommack, John K. Bain
(discharged at Molino del Rey February 2, 1848),
E. E. Phillips and William Richard (discharged there
February 2, 1848), William G. Givan (died in Mexico
City February 15, 1848), John T. Hudson (died in
the same city January 16, 1848), Richard Taylor
(died there also January 14, 1848), Jesse W. Taylor
(died there January 24, 1848), John C. Sullins (died
at Molino del Rey February 7, 1848), James Young
(died in Mexico City January 20, 1848.)
This company was mustered into service October
8, 1847, rendezvousing on the Nolensville Pike two
and a half miles from Nashville. Taken to New Or-
leans by boat, it proceeded to Vera Cruz. Here a bri-
gade was formed, but it did not reach the City of
Mexico until that place was captured.
160
History of DeKalb County
A barbecue was given the Mexican volunteers at
Liberty in 1847, ^ heavy downpour spoiling the occa-
sion, and a number of town cows were foundered on
the damaged food. Dr. Foster writes that on this oc-
casion "Henry Bratten, son of Isaac Bratten, was the
color bearer and rode a small, prancing claybank. The
cavalry presented an imposing appearance — before the
ram.
Seven Adcocks from about Smithville are listed, it
will be noticed. Perry Adcock, father of Hon. B. G.
Adcock, a prominent lawyer of Cookeville, later raised
a company of Confederates at Smithville, becoming
captain.
It has been asserted that in the war with Mexico
nine Americans died where one was killed. The above
record is indicative. In memory of William G. Givan,
who died in the City of Mexico, as seen, an empty
coffin was buried in Salem Cemetery, at Liberty.
II 161
CHAPTER XV.
Secession — DeKalb Confederates.
Undoubtedly the stormiest period of DeKalb
County's existence was the first part of the year 1861,
the question before the people being separation from
the Union or remaining in it. When the question was
first agitated, a majority of Tennesseeans were opposed
to secession. The legislature ordered an election at
which the people should vote at the same time upon the
subject of holding a convention and electing delegates
to serve in case a convention should be held. The
election came ofT February 9, 1861, and resulted in
a vote of 57,798 for the convention and 69,675 against
it; for delegates who favored secession, 24,749, and
88,803 against it. This was throughout the State. In
the election DeKalb County's vote was 833 for seces-
sion and 642 against it. Thus we see the voters of
the county were by a small majority (191) for with-
drawing from the Union. At that time the population
of the county was only 10,573.
Meantime some of the Southern States had with-
drawn from the Union. On April 12, 1861, the Con-
federates at Charleston, S. C, fired on Fort Sumter,
where a United States garrison remained, although
South Carolina had voted to secede. When the news
of the bombardment reached Washington, President
Lincoln called for 75,000 troops to put down the "re-
bellion." He also declared the ports of the secedeil
States (South Carolina. Georgia. Alabama, Florifla.
162
History of DeKalb County
Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas) in a state of block
ade and held that all vessels acting under their au-
thority would be guilty of piracy.
Again Tennessee became intensely excited. It was
evident that the President was going to trj' to force the
seceding States back into the Union. The orators be-
gan to harangue the people, and many of the latter, not
indorsing his intention to make war on the South,
changed their sentiments and clamored to withdraw
from the sisterhood of States. A second election was
held June 8 to get the sentiment of all Tennesseeans.
The vote stood 104,913 for secession and only 47,238
against it. Isham G. Harris was at that time Governor
of the State.
So Tennessee joined the Southern Confederacy.
The first call was for 55,000 men ; but before the close
of the war the State furnished more than 115,000 Con-
federates. On the Union side more than 31,000 Fed-
erals were raised in the State, while Tennessee Fed-
erals who joined Kentucky organizations numbered
more than 7,000. The total Tennesseeans in the two
armies thus totaled 153,000.
Though about four years of age at that time, the
writer recalls something of the excitement which pre-
vailed at Liberty, and presumably the whole county
was so affected. Orators for and against secession
spoke at different places and made their arguments
before the crowds. Former Gov. William B. Camp-
bell, of Lebanon, was one of the speakers going over
the State pleading for the Union. The cry of the
Unionists was, "Hurrah for Campbell and the Union !"
163
History of DeKalb County
and that of the secessionists, "Hurrah for Jefferson
Davis and the Southern Confederacy !" What took
place in Liberty, as stated before, was characteristic of
other portions of the county. The Southern sympa-
thizers beHeved they would triumph in a few weeks,
just as the North thought the war would not last long.
To illustrate, Frank Foster, an aged saddler of Liberty
and an extremely small man, would when in his cups
ride his big horse up and down Liberty's one street
and cry, "As for Yankees, I can whip half a dozen
and outrun a thousand"; while White Turney, then
reading law at Smithville, declared that within six
weeks he would be eating Abe Lincoln's ears with a
piece of hard-tack.
At first blush it appeared that all DeKalb County
was for the South. Nevertheless, there was a strong
undercurrent opposed to disunion, and this manifested
itself after a while. Thus William B. Stokes, who had
been a popular politician, at first sided with the South,
going so far as to urge the enlistment of Confederate
troops ; and when he changed his mind he found hun-
dreds of men ready to follow him on the other side.
Under the excitement prevailing it is not a matter for
wonder that many men found it hard to come to a de-
cision.
Some of the earliest enlistments of DeKalb County
Confederates were made in a company raised at Au-
burn, in Cannon County; T. M. .A.llison, captain. This
company was mustered into service at Nashville June
28, 1861. There comes back now the recollection of
its advent into Liberty — musicians playing "Drive That
164
History of DeKalb County
Black Dog Out o' the Wilderness," the lazy forenoon
when, among the yard's old-fashioned roses, the bees
droned slumberously, and the neighbor boys watching
the troops pass in their red hunting shirts, keeping step
to fife and drum. Classic music may suit the cultured,
but you hear that old tune, sweet and plaintive, yet
somehow moving and thrilling one impetuously ; hear
it under such circumstances, and it will never be for-
gotten.
This company consisted of eighty-two men, fully
half under twenty-one years of age. Names are called
that were familiar in the Liberty community: Dr. J.
S. Harrison, H. L. W. (White) Turney, Bob Smith,
Arch Marcum, W. A. and Pressly Adamson, Josh
Jetton, and others. The company became a part of the
Second Tennessee Cavalry. Bob Smith, attacked with
measles at Jacksboro, East Tennessee, was discharged
and later joined the Federals. White Turney became
a lieutenant, was wounded twice, married in West Ten-
nessee, practiced law in Dyersburg, and died in 1880.
Dr. Harrison went through the war, removed from
Liberty to Smithville, then became a citizen of Mc-
Minnville, a splendid type of the old-time Southern
gentleman. He died in October, 1914. Captain Alli-
son resigned and returned to his home, near Auburn,
and was killed by Federals in his back yard August 2,
1862.
Eight Confederate companies were made up in De-
Kalb County, while about half of Capt. P. C. Shields's
company (G) of Col. John H. Savage's regiment were
from the county. The muster rolls of Confederate sol-
165
History of DeKalb County
diers are in the archives at Washington. They are
old, mutilated, and not easily handled. An effort was
made to get the names of first enlistments, but this
was hardly possible in any case. Where names were
secured (photographed) they are often misspelled, as
Louis for Lewis, while one name may appear in one
place as "William" and in another "W. J." This has
added to the problem of getting them correct. Rut, in
spite of all, hundreds are correctly presented herein.
Capt. John F. Goodner's company was raised at
Alexandria in April, 1861, and became Company A,
Seventh Tennessee Infantry. When Col. Robert Hat-
ton became brigadier general, Goodner was elected
lieutenant colonel and commanded the regiment much
of the time during the remainder of the war. Colonel
Goodner, as shown elsewhere, commanded a company
in the Mexican War. The Seventh saw much service —
was in the Yorktown campaign, at Seven Pines, in the
Seven Days' Battles, at Culpeper Courthouse, Bull Run,
Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettys-
burg, Spottsylvania, Petersburg, and Fort Archer, and
surrendered at Appomattox. Colonel Goodner died
at Alexandria some years after the war. The muster
roll shows the following names in his company :
Officers : Captain, John F. Goodner ; lieutenant, R.
V. Wright. After Goodner became lieutenant colonel.
R. V. Wright was elected captain, serving until Alli-
son's squadron of cavalry was organized, when he
was elected captain of Company C of that battalion.
J. S. Dowell became captain of Company A, serving
until the close of the war. First lieutenant, J. S.
166
History of DeKalb County
Dowell ; second, F. W. Hobson ; third, Robert C.
Bone ; sergeants, Wilmoth Burges, James Vannata, R.
D. Floyd, J. A. Donnell, J. T. Barbee ; corporals, Dixon
A. Foutch, James R. Newsom, A. M. C. Robinson,
Bartlett War ford.
Privates: W. H. Atwell, John H. Allison, Robert
Allison, William Bailiff, Joab Bailiff, William Bartlett,
John Caskey, John Cheek, A. J. Cheek, V. B. Coe, J.
N. Compton, G. W. Cowen, John L. Close, Hi Curtis,
Chesley Chapman, G. W. Driver, Thomas Davis, Al-
fonse Emerique, William T. Floyd, W. J. Foster,
Elijah A. Foutch, F. L. Foutch, R. D. Floyd, Levi
Foutch, J. B, Garrison, G. W. Gregson, William Grif-
fin, T. W. Goodner, Abe Hendrixon, William Hinesley,
W. H. Hullet, J. R. Harris, John Johnson, L. C. Lin-
coln, John L. Luck, G. W. Lamberson, W. R. Lamber-
son, J. J. Martin, P. J. Mason, J. D. Martin, G. W.
Murry, Irvin D. Murphey, L. D. McGuffey, R. Ma-
lone, Theo. Moores, J. D. Nix, T. A. Newley, R. H.
Newsom, Burr F. Paty, J. W. Pendleton, Lit R. Park-
inson, John Read, G. W, Reasonover, Thomas J.
Sneed, C. P. Shaver, Walter Sullins, W. R. Sims, D.
W. Sewell, Isaac Sanlin, Dan Snider, William Sewell,
J. W. Shanks, William Terry, A. P. Tracy, W. W.
Trousdale, T. D. Webb, John Williams, William Wil-
loughby, W. C. Yeargin, O. J. Williams, T. W. Year-
gin, James Winfrey, William Bartley, H. M. Wilson,
Ben Hood, H. H. Hood, S. Ashby, Elijah Jones, James
Risdon, Andrew Robinson, Thomas Light, Andrew
Pratt, A. L. Davis, Horace Newsom, O. J. Williams.
Killed : G. W. Driver, J. B. Garrison, P. J. Mason,
167
History of DeKalb County
James Vannata, T. W. Sewell, all at Seven Pines, May
31, 1862; G. W. Cowan, James Winfrey, J. Williams,
Job Bailiff, L. R. Parkinson, Chancellorsville ; Chap-
man Chesley, Mechanicsville. Died: J. Cheek, No-
vember 6, 1862; V. B. Coe, September 25, 1861 ; J.
Compton, September 15, 1861 ; L. D. McGuffey, No-
vember 13, 1862; J. Pendleton, December 15, 1861 ;
W. R. Sims, January 5, 1863; William Willoughby,
December 5, 1863.
Capt. R. D. Allison's company (F), Twenty-Fourth
Tennessee Infantry, was raised at Alexandria in i86t
and was organized with the regiment mentioned. He
was elected colonel and H. P. Dowell captain. Alli-
son resigned in 1862 and organized a cavalry bat-
talion at Alexandria, with J. S. Reece, who had been
discharged from the Twenty-Fourth because of his
age. This battalion will receive further notice later on.
The Twenty-Fourth took part in the battles of Shi-
loh, Perryville, Murfreesboro, Chickamauga, Mission-
ary Ridge, Franklin, and Nashville, surrendering at
Greensboro, N. C.
Officers: Colonel, R. D. Allison; captain, H, P.
Dowell; first lieutenant, J. F. Luckey ; second, W. S.
Patey; third, W. D. Fielding; sergeants, James A.
Barnett, M. D. Braswell, Lewis E. Simpson, J. W.
Jaques ; corporals, C. Scott, G. W. Gordon, J. A. Clark,
A. Rollands.
Privates: James Allison, Robert Allison, D. L. Allen,
J. L. Askew, T. B. Brown, E. A. Barbee, S. Briggs, A.
J. Bradford, Robert Barbee, W. P. Bennett, James
i68
History of DeKalb County
Barr, Tobe Briggs, J. R. Betty, T. F. Bradley, Giles
Bowers, Sampson Braswell, T. Brown, L. B. Baker, G.
W. Bowers, Abe Britton, Isaac Cooper, W. B. Carter,
J. J. Cutter, R. D. Coffee, H. M. Coffee, Nathan Cor-
ley, W. C. Curtis, A. P. Crowder, Thomas Chandler,
B. F. Cochran, M. J. Covington, W. D. G. Carnes, A.
L. Cranler, Josiah Conger, N. L. Craddock, J. C Crad-
dock, Miles Covington, R. J. Davis, W. C. Davis, R.
G. Davis, W. P. Dennie, M. F. Doss, J. D. Estes, L.
H. Fite, J. C. Foutch, W. C Fielding, C Ferrel, J. E.
Gold, J. P. Gold, J. F. Gaultney, James S. Glenn, John
A. Gregory, G. W. Gordon, D. D. Hudson, Horace
Hays, J. P. Hale, John R. Hale, G. W. Hale, W. H.
Hays, J. W. Hubbard, A. D. Helmantaller, J. Heflin,
W. T. Jones, T. L. Johnson, J. M. King, S. J. King,
Robert King, John Luckey, W. H. Luckey, John Lau-
rence, W. H. Lincoln, Sam Luckey, W. S. Lynch,
Bailey Marks, J. Mooneyham, William H. Mott, J. A.
Mooneyham, C. C. Martin, James Nolan, Jasper
Owens, W. W. Patterson, Lewis Barrett, W. C Pres-
ton, W. D. Prentiss, J. H. Powell, Amos Retries, J. C.
Prichard, S. A. Powell, L. A. RoUands, J. S. Reece,
Ed Reece, James Raney, A. J. Stephens, John Smith,
J. W. Stewart, Andrew Stuart, W. H. Thomas, John
Thomas, W. M. Timberlake, J. M. Shavers, N, Van-
trease, J. T. Winfrey, J. W. Whitley, J. A. Winfrey,
Lewis Washburn, W. E. Williams, W. H. Whittington.
F. P. Lyon, J. D. Estes.
Killed: W. C Curtis, J. F. Gaultney, F. P. Lyon,
Joseph Woolen, Shiloh ; J. C. Craddock, A. P. Crouch,
Bailey Marks, J. A. Mooneyham, Joel Mooneyham,
169
History of DeKalb County
Amos Petry, G. W. Hall, Perryville ; J. A. King, W. J.
Knight, C. Fumel, Murfreesboro ; J, W. Stewart,
Chickamauga. Died: James Allison, December 24,
1861 ; Sampson Braswell, January 4, 1862; W. B. Car-
ter, January 10, 1862 ; W. H. Mott, Alexandria, after
having been wounded at Murfreesboro.
Company A^ Capt. L. N. Savage, was raised around
Smithville in May, 1861, and mustered into the Six-
teenth Tennessee Regiment June 9. Captain Savage
was born in Warren County April 25, 1837, removed
to Smithville in 1859, and was mortally wounded at
Murfreesboro, dying March 15, 1863. The company
was in the Cheat Mountain and Little Sewell Moun-
tain campaigns and at Perryville, Murfreesboro, Chick-
amauga, Missionary Ridge, Kennesaw, Jonesboro,
Franklin, and Nashville. It surrendered in North
Carolina.
Officers : L. N. Savage, captain ; I. C. Stone, first
lieutenant ; John K. Bain, second lieutenant ; R. B. An-
derson, third lieutenant; G. W. Witt, first sergeant;
G. L. Talley, second sergeant; R. M. Magness, third
sergeant ; T. B. Potter, fourth sergeant ; J. W. Harris,
first corporal ; L. G. Bing, second corporal ; M. L. Can-
trell, third corporal ; S. M. Philips, fourth corporal.
Promotions: T. B. Potter, sergeant major, 1861 ;
R. B. Anderson, first lieutenant, 1862; G. W. Witt,
second lieutenant, 1862; G. L. Talley, third lieutenant,
1863; W. C. Potter, first lieutenant, 1863; J. C. Webb,
second lieutenant, 1863; L. R. Witt, third lieutenant,
1863.
170
History of DeKalb County
Privates : William Adcock, E. K. Adcock, Isaac Ad-
cock, Benjamin Atnip, E. L. Atnip, John Atnip, Lar-
kin Bayne, R. W. Banks, T. M. Hooper, T. A. Hooper,
Dick Hooper, James Hooper, Rich Jones, J. W. John-
son, E. S. James, John James, W. L. Judkins, F. E. P.
Kennedy, James Koger, Pomp Kersey, A. J. Kersey,
Felix Kersey, Calvin Kersey, E. League, E. Lockhart,
John Lefever, John Mason, Bud Miller, L. D. Moore,
John Moore, W. C. Moore, J. A. Moore, John Martin,
W. P. Martin, Thomas Martin, W. B. Martin, R. Mar-
tin, Jasper Martin, Rube Meeks, R. W. McGinnis,
Elisha McGinnis, G. P. Maynard, J. M. Pertle, Charles
Pullin, Robert Pullin, W. C. Potter, O. D. Potter,
Thomas Potter, J. D. Philips, S. M. Philips, Dave Pitt-
man, Robert Rowland, Jesse Redman, Ben Rowland,
Rich Richardson, W. Richardson, T. J. Richardson,
James Rigsby, W. G. Stevens, John Stevens, James
Bing, W. H. Bing, P. Bozarth, J. H. Bozarth, James
Bozarth, J. A. Briggs, W. H. Cunningham, J. H. Can-
trell, U. E. Cantrell, J. R. Cantrell, James Cantrell,
Jehu Cantrell, John Cantrell, M. L. Cantrell, I. D.
Cantrell, W. H. Cantrell, L. D. Cantrell, B. M. Can-
trell, D. W. Cantrell, Leonard Cantrell, W. C. Can-
trell, Wat Cantrell, Isaac Cantrell, Peter Cantrell.
P. G. Cantrell, A. M. Cantrell, G. P. Cantrell, :\Iar-
tin Cantrell, Thomas Cherry, Isaac Conger, J. W.
Colwell, June Driver, W. L. Driver, Isaiah Driver, C.
B. Davis, M. Duwese, D. C. Dollar, Thomas Dozier,
Martin Delong, Wat Eastham, H. C. Eastham, J. B.
Fisher, S. M. Fulton, Cal Fowler, Samuel Hathaway,
Len Hathaway, W. A. Hallum, B. M. Hicks, Dallas
171
History of DeKalb County
Hicks, William Herron, J. M. Stevens, W. B. Sweeney,
A. Simpson, A. J. Smith, Burdine Smith, Noah Smith,
Henry Seawells, H. C. Tate, J. R. Thompson, Fielding-
Turner, Garrison Taylor, Ross Unchurch, John Van
Hosser, L. R. Witt, W. Walls, John Womack, P. G.
Webb, I. C. Webb, D. B. Worley, W. M. Womack, W.
M. Wilmoth, John E. Warren, J. B. Wilkinson, B. C.
Wilkinson, Ben Judkins.
Killed: Capt. L. N. Savage, Lieut. R. B. Anderson,
Lieut. W. G. Witt, Felix Kersey, E. League, W. A.
Hallum, E. Lockhart, John E. Warren, Murfreesboro ;
W. L. Cantrell, J. H. Cantrell, James Cantrell, F. E.
B. Kennedy, W. C. Moore, R. Rowland, P. G. Webb,
Perryville ; B. Atnip, Georgia ; Wat Eastham, Thomas
Dozier, S. M. Fulton, William Richardson, A. Simp-
son, Atlanta; W. H. Cantrell, James Driver, T. A.
Hooper, A. J. Kersey, Robert Martin, Franklin ; H. C,
Tate, Lost Mountain. Wounded: S. G. Bing, R. M.
Magness, B. M. Cantrell, S. M. Philips, R. M. Banks,
D. W. Cantrell, T, M. Hooper, Rich Jones, F, Turner,
John Mason, Perryville; Capt. G. L. Talley, W. C.
Potter, Chickamauga ; Isaac Adcock, Resaca ; E. L.
Atnip, J. R. Thompson, W. L. Judkins, Atlanta ; Peter
Cantrell, J. Lefever, G. Taylor, B. C. Wilkinson, G.
W. Colwell, J. C Webb, Murfreesboro; J. W. John-
son, Franklin. Died : William Adcock, O. D. Potter,
Thomas Potter, L. R. Witt, William Walls, Camp
Trousdale, 1861 ; William Herron, Richard Hooper,
John Womack (missing), Georgia, 1864; James Bing,
W. H. Bing, in prison ; James Hooper, South Carolina,
172
COL. ROBERT CANTRELL
TWENTY-THIRD REGIMENT. TENNESSEE CONFEDERATES
FROM AN OUD DAGUERREOTYPE LOANED BY
MRS. JACK BUCHANAN. LEBANON
History of DeKalb County
1864; J. A. Moore, home, 1863; Elisha McGinnis,
unknown; William Womack, Hattersville, 1861.
Capt. Robert Cantrell's company (C) recruited
around Smithville, became a part of the Twenty-Third
Regiment of Tennessee Confederate Infantry. Its
commander was later elected lieutenant colonel. G. W.
Hicks was elected colonel and later Erastus D. Foster.
Other promotions were of Lieuts. W. D. Rhinehardt,
Lawson W. Lee, and A. P. Cantrell. The company
saw service in Virginia and at Shiloh. After fighting
at Perryville, Murfreesboro, Chickamauga, and Mis-
sionary Ridge, and going through the Georgia cam-
paign, it was at Franklin and Nashville and sur-
rendered in North Carolina. Capt. John C. New, of
Cannon County, writes : "After the Twenty-Third had
served about twelve months, it was reorganized. At
this time Captain Cantrell was elected lieutenant
colonel, but soon resigned. Ras Foster was elected
captain of the company, and after serving some time
he left and carried many of his men with him. The
company was consolidated with mine. Zeb Lee was
a member of the company and lost a leg at Chicka-
mauga. His brother, Lieut. Lawson Lee, was
killed." Colonel Cantrell was for several years a dis-
tinguished circuit judge of Tennessee, residing at
Lebanon. He was born November 9, 1823, and died
February 9, 1903.
Officers : Captain, Robert Cantrell ; first lieutenant,
Joseph Y. Stewart; second, L. J. Magness; third, C.
A. Cantrell ; first sergeant, William Hi Smith ; second,
173
History of DeKalb County
A. P. Cantrell ; third, L. W. Lee ; fourth, A. J. Potter ;
corporals, E. D. Foster, P. G, Cantrell, Isaac Cantrell,
A. G. Beckwith; drummer, Calvin Hendrixson; fifer,
Brien Hughes.
Privates: David Adcock, Wilson Adcock, Lucian
Allen, R. H. Atnip, Ben Bullard, W. G. Baker, J. C.
Brock, W. M. Bryant, Asbury Barnes, S. Bradford,
H. C. Barnes, D. G. Byars, John Brimer, Pleas Cald-
well, H. P. Cantrell, James Cantrell, J. L. Crips, J. A.
Capshaw, W. C Cantrell, Julius Cantrell, Abe Can-
trell, I. Cantrell, Jr., B. H. Cantrell, J. B. Cotton, M.
Coldwell, Eliah Cantrell, W. W. Coldwell, W. Cold-
well, L. L. Cantrell, W. M. Bryant, B. H. Cantrell,
William Carter, Smith Cantrell, Sam Cantrell, L. D.
Day, David Davis, J. H. Dodd, M. D. Davis, John De-
long, Henry Frazier, Jasper Fowler, Newton Fowler,
A. H. Farmer, J. L. Fuson, J. R. Fuson, J. B. Ferrell,
S. M. Foster, J. H. Ford, J. D. Givan, Thomas Givan,
J. W. Green, John Greer, M. Greer, J. P. Jacobs, J. C.
Hodges, Isaac Hurst, Jere Hendrixon, Cal Hendrixon,
Jr., Tilman Haney, William Haney, James I\I. Jud-
kins, W. A. Johnson, J. P. Jacobs, P. J. Lee, Elias
Lane, Jr., S. M. Liles, J. W. Lamberson, Z. P. Lee,
Obe Moss, G. Lane, C. Lane, James Moor, J. Martin,
R. W. Melton, J. H. Mahaffey, T. A. Mason, A. F.
McDowell, Sam Mitchell, J. P. Moor, William Par-
sons, Oliver Parkinson, G. W. Pirtle, J. L. Pirtle,
Tarleton Parrish, W. R. Parrish, Hezekiah Page, Arch
Pack, Russel Rigsby, James Ridge, J. S. Ridge, J. M.
Redmond, James Robinson, W. J. Rigsby, W. D.
Rhinehardt, J. M. Reeves, C. C. Smith, P. G. Smith,
174
History of DeKalb County
Bradford Sherrell, Wesley Steelmon, J. P. Stoner, A.
A. Stanford, W. H. Starnes, J. S. Starnes, G. W. Tay-
lor, L. R. Taylor, F. J. Titsworth, J, M. Vaughn, J.
N. Vaughn, G. W. Warren.
Killed: A. G. Allen, Fort Munford; Lawson Lee,
W. A. Carter, June 29, 1864; W. G. Warren, Chicka-
mauga; W. L. Lawson, Bean's Station. Died: F. J.
Titsworth, R. W. Melton, Chattanooga, January 24,
1863; James Ridge, July 26, 1863; Julius Cantrell,
October 18, 1861 ; H. Page, June i, 1862; A. H.
Farmer, November 24, 1861.
Capt. Perry Adcock's company was also raised in
the Smithville section. It was difficult to trace this
company, but the Adjutant General of the War De-
partment explained that Captain Adcock's company
was designated as C in Colms's First Battalion of Ten-
nessee Infantry and afterwards as Company K, Fiftieth
Tennessee Confederate Infantry. The company sur-
rendered in North Carolina in April, 1865, after hav-
ing served in numerous engagements in various States,
from Fort Donelson to the close of the war. Captain
Adcock had served also in the war with Mexico. He
was born March 4, 1829, and died January 11, 1908.
Officers: Captain, Perry Adcock; first lieutenant, J.
P. Titsworth ; second, C. Turner ; third, W. N. Jones ;
adjutant, C. B. Cantrell ; first sergeant, A. P. Adcock ;
second, David Delong; third, Henry Bain; fourtli,
Isaiah Bain ; fifth, W. R. Dunham ; corporals, Thomas
Adcock, Henry Adcock, J. D. Thweat, James M.
Webb.
175
History of DeKalb County
Privates : William, J. C, John, Joseph, P. J. L., and
Wesley Adcock, Rich Atnip, H. Aikens, William Al-
len, N. Adcock, William Bain, Isaac Bain, D. C. Bain,
John K. Bain, William, John, and Wesley Blunt, Joseph
Capshaw, John Capshaw, William Capshaw, William
J. U., Richard, and Jason Certain, T. Cantrell, Giles
Driver, Jr., Xoah Deboard, Watson Belong, James
Belong, John Bavis, John Fisher, Joseph and William
Fisher, Baniel Fowler, Charles Ferrell, A. Goodson,
O. B. Goodson, Webb and L. Hutchins, Andrew Jack-
son, H. G. and Grundy Kirby, C. Lack, Bavid Looney,
William Love, T. J. Lew-is, J. P. Jones, Alfred Lewis,
John McFall, Vincent ^lanor, Abijah ^Martin, B. W,
Marsh, Ben Pinegar, Ben Pollard, Henry Pitts, G, W.
Pollard, John Pinegar, Bart Pack, N. B. Parker, Ben
Roland, James Ray, James Rigsby, Br. J. B. Rigsby,
Sam Roberts, E. C. Roland, L. P. Rigsby, S. Slaten,
O. and William Sullivan, Wilson Taylor, G. W. and
William Turner, James Webb, Jackson West, Alex
Walker, F. AL Wilkinson, Isaac, Pleasant, and Thomas
Young, J. M. Stephens, B. W. Marsh, John McAfee,
I P., Jasper, and Alfred Lewis, J. K. Belong, William
Certain, W. B. Jones, William Lane, W. Z. Pollard,
Francis, Bavid, J. P., and Thomas Lewis, G. W. Pol-
lard, J. G. Rankhorn, W. R. Bunham, John Fuller, A.
B. Cheatham, R. Presnel, Sam Roberts, Joshua Seal,
J. A. Walker, Ainsley Stephens, Canada Rigsby,
George Stidman, John Corley, B. C. Belong, A. B,
Cheatham, J. W. Green, G. A. Neal, Henry Pitts, Clai-
born Edwards, Elijah Quillen, J. M. Webb.
Bied: James Webb, Memphis, October 6, 1862; S.
176
History of DeKalb County
D. Lane, Tappan, Miss., November i6, 1862; W. Z.
Pollard, Clinton, La. ; John Castel, Brookhaven, Miss. ;
G. W. Turner, Lauderdale Springs, Miss. ; Isaiah Bain,
Alton (III.) Prison.
Allison's Battalion of Cavalry, raised by Col. R. D.
Allison, John S. Reece, and Robert V. Wright at
Alexandria, consisted of three companies and was,
besides taking part in a number of the most important
battles of the war, very active in DeKalb County dur-
ing Morgan's occupation and afterwards. It was with
Wheeler on his last raid through East Tennessee in the
summer of 1864; but it seems from Du Bose's "Life of
\Vheeler" that it was, with other companies, sent under
Gen "Cerro Gordo" Williams to attack a Federal gar-
rison at Strawberry Plains. Finding the garrison too
strong, it marched to overtake Wheeler, but did not
succeed. It followed close on his heels through Sparta,
Liberty, and Alexandria, and went into camp near
Murfreesboro, soon, however, taking the Woodbury
Pike and returning south across the mountains, en-
gaging in considerable fighting on the way.
After the war Colonel Allison removed to Texas,
where he thrice represented his county in the State
legislature, and died at an advanced age. Captain
Reece removed to Nashville, becoming prominentl\
identified with the city's interests, though his sight
was greatly impaired before the close of the war. As
Colonel Allison was old and Captain Reece with im-
paired sight. Captain Wright commanded the DeKalb
12 177
History of DeKalb County
Countians, who had been consoHdated with Shaw's
BattaHon after Missionary Ridge, in the later months.
Captain Reece was born in Virginia in 1814, and died
in February, 1868, only fifty-four, but a veteran of the
war with the Seminoles, the Mexican War, and the
War between the States. Captain Wright also located
in Nashville, where he won splendid business success.
He was living in 1914, somewhat more than eighty
years of age.
This from Lieut. B. L. Ridley's published diary gives
in a small way an idea of the horrors of war. It is
dated Smithville, N. C, March 2^, 1865 : "This after-
noon went with General Stewart to the depot, where
we found Colonel Allison, a Tennessee cavalryman,
on his way westward with the body of his son, who
was killed a day or two ago near Goldsboro trying to
rescue some ladies from the clutches of the enemy."
By the way, still as illustrative, General Forrest and
his escort were on a road three miles from Selma, Ala.,
one night after the retreat from Nashville. Suddenly
the cries of women in distress reached them. "Guided
by the sounds," to quote the diary of Ben Hancock,
of the Second Regiment of Cavalry, "Forrest and
some of his men dashed thither, to find a neighboring
house in the possession of four Federal bummers who,
having rifled it, were engaged in the effort to outrage
the women who lived there. Summary was the fate of
these wretches. The escort was now getting excited,
. . . and, meeting a number of these fellows loaded,
down with plunder, they did not hesitate to slay them
on the spot. Hearing the sounds of what was happen-
17S
History of DeKalb County
ing ahead, Forrest, to check it, took the conduct of tlie
advance upon himself." It is not beheved that any
DeKalb soldiers on either side were ever charged with
assaulting women.
Allison's squadron, when it surrendered with Gen-
eral Shaw in North Carolina in 1865, numbered only
about thirty men, according to Lieut. Ed Reece.
The writer has been able to secure from the muti-
lated records in the archives at Washington the follow-
ing names only of the troops of Allison's Battalion.
They cover various periods of the war:
Company A, officers : Senior captain, R. D. Allison ;
captain, John H. Allison; first lieutenant, James A.
Nesmith ; second, James N. Eaton ; third, James W.
Foutch; sergeants, J. A. Atwell, J. L. Reasonover, J.
E. Robinson, J. W. Boyd ; corporals, James B. Greg-
ston, Ab Drury, W. J. Eaton.
Privates : R. D. Allison, J. W. Allen, William Allen,
George Ashe, William Ashe, William Eskew, J. A.
Boyd, William Corley, David Crook, Robert Caskey.
John Cartwright, William Carr, Daniel Driver, A.
Davis, Hardin Denny, J. H. Foutch, J. W. Floyd, E.
and Joseph Gann, Freeling H. Hayes, J. A. Higdon,
Horace M. Hale, Leander B. Hale, F. W. Hobson,
John Johnson, Gus H. Johnson, James W. Keaton, R.
W. Keaton, Jake H. King, R. A. King, W. R. King,
H. D. Lester, S. M. Leftwick, L. C. Lincoln, James
C. Malone, N. J. Petty, W. F. Powell, Irving Parsley,
Ben Robinson, James M. Turney, H. J. Wills, Pleas
C. Adams, C. A. Bailiff, G. W. Adkins, M. Byford,
Monroe Bailiff, P. Dedman, M. L. Dedman, J. H.
179
History of DeKalb County
Gann, N. Gann, Thomas Malone, R. W. Tubb, W. S.
Webster, W. M. Walker, J. D. Wheeler, James Mulli-
nax, D. L. Braswell, James Rigdon, H. J. Wills, New-
ton Petty, Shade L. Davis, Patterson Dedman, John
H. Gann, Michael Gann, W. H. Gann, Nathan Gann,
Denham Bethel, D. L. Russell.
Killed : Edward Gann, Chickamauga, September 19,
1863. Died : Joseph Gann, Tunnel Hill, Ga., January
5. 1864.
Company B, officers : Captain, J. S. Reece ; first lieu-
tenant, D. Brien; second, J. M. Floyd; third, L. P.
Rutland; sergeants, T. W. Yeargin, T. R. Foster,
James Jones, Britton Odum, Ed Reece; corporal, J.
J. Cutler.
Privates: W. W. Adams, N. B. Bradley, W. C.
Craddick, David Curtis, J. P. Doss, M. B. Dunn, Pack
W. Florida, Tilman H. Foster, J. Ervin Foster, T. J.
Finley, R. B. Floyd, L. H. Fite, Sam George, C. A.
Hollinsworth, D, H. Hale (teamster), W. H. Jackson.
Wiley Jones, W. H. Luckey (bugler), W. C McGann,
George Neal, Robert Neal, Ervin Newsom, L. F. Por-
terfield, Oliver W. Roberts, William Shanks, J. C.
Trammel, J. B. Tarpley, J. B. Thompson, G. W. Van-
trease, Thomas Warren, Newt Warren, David Wal-
lace, Isaiah White, J. R. Witt, Columbus Yeargin, G.
W. Lanier, Henry Lanier, James Pope, G. H. Mc-
Gann, T. J. Coleman, L C. Stone, William Hullet,
James Jones, R. H. Newsom, Sim Adamson, Henry
Bell, William Adamson, J. H. Burton, Hiram Carter,
i8o
History of DeKalb County
W. J. Covington, J. C. Estes, William Foster, James
S. Foutch, Bartley L, James, A. A. J. Jennings, J. M.
Jones, Thomas King, Calaway Neal, J. R, Newsom,
J. B. Pendleton, J. J. Rich, Presley Stroud, O. B.
Staley, Jacob Vantrease, Jackson Vantrease, J. Wil-
loby, J. Washer, Nathan Walden, G. Hutchinson,
Fayette Henley, Nelson Bryant, J. W. Buckner, B. J.
Bethel, Henry George, Sam Huggins, A. J. Lanier.
J. T. Lawrence, Dan McKee, Monroe Malone, John
Marks, S. T. Porterfield, J. J. Porterfield, S. A. Rick-
ett, Lander Jackson, Thomas Estes, John Shores, J.
R. Smith, Ed Winn, Henry Bell, G. C. McGann, Hiram
Curtis.
Killed: William Hullet, James Jones, R. A. New-
som, Chickamauga, September 19, 1863.
Company C, officers : Captain, R. V. Wright ; first
lieutenant, A. W. O. Baker ; second, Orson B. Wright ;
third, W. V. Harrel ; sergeants, John A. Jones, W. A.
Yeargin, John Heflin; corporals, William Hubbard,
John A. Mooneyham.
Privates: L. J. Allison, William C. Bradford, J. C.
Bailey, A. M. Cantrell, C. F. Cantrell, G. C. Flippin,
John Gilly, James Hawkins, William Mooneyham,
James Jones, James Hines, J, D. Martin, W. S. Patey,
J. B. Palmer, W. B. Price, Thomas Spears, George
Springfield, Sam Hooper, Jonas Whitley, C. M.
Thompson, J. T. Thompson, Z, U. Thompson, J. S.
Thompson, Garrett Clay, B. F. Batts, W. D. Yeargin,
Bethel Batts, John A. Farmer, Thomas Howard, Wil-
liam Harper, Charles Harris, W. W. Minton, George
181
History of DeKalb County
Nichols, P. Simpson, C. Vanderpool, Jeff Braswell,
John A. Mooneyham, J. H. Baird, A. M. Carter, H. D.
B, Anderson, T, C. Bradford, R. Barbae, C. Barbee.
Killed: Garrett Clay, Chickamauga, September 19,
1863.
The above are from Captain Wright's rolls from De-
cember 31, 1863, to February 29, 1864; from February
29, 1864, to April 30, 1864; from April 30, 1864, to
June 30, 1864; and from June 30, 1864, to December
31, 1864. Under the first date A. W. O. Baker was
first lieutenant; second, O. B. Wright; third, W. V.
Harrel. Under the second date W. V. Harrel is third
lieutenant. Under the third date no lieutenants are
mentioned, nor are there any for June 30, 1864, to
December 31, 1864. These are the latest existing rec-
ords. But two or three living members of the squadron
have sent in the names of a few other troops, though it
is not known to what companies they belonged. Lieut.
Ed Recce's list is : John Bowman, John Batts, J. T.
Quarels, Isaac Cooper, and Jerome Barton. James H.
Burton contributes this list: Bill Bone, Cain Adams,
John Parkerson, Lito Hullet, Alex Stanley, John
Reeves, George Beckwith, Mose Blythe, and Dr. Fay-
ette Knight.
Of course during the war there were many changes
in subordinate officers not mentioned here — promo-
tions, resignations, and here and there a desertion.
The desertions in both Federal and Confederate com-
panies from the county were considerable, and now
and then we find men, as Lowell's bashful beau "stood
awhile on one foot fust an' then awhile on t'other,"
182
History of DeKalb County
who fought in the cause of both South and North, at
first with one side and then with the other.
DeKalb County officers in P. C. Shields's company
(G) of Col. J. H. Savage's regiment: A. T. Fisher,
first lieutenant ; James K. Fisher, third. A. T. Fisher
was promoted to captain in 1862.
Privates: Jasper Adcock, H. P. Adcock, William
Allen, A. J. Allen, Ben Atnip, John Atnip, Alfred
Bain, Peter Bain, Josiah Bain, John Bain, Peter Bain
(second), Henry Bain, C. Bain, J. L. Britton, M.
Blount, Joseph Cantrell, C. W. Cantrell, W. L. Can-
trell, H. B. Cope, W. A. Cotton, Ben Capshaw, T. A.
Cotten, John Denton, D. L. Dunham, L, R. Dunham,
John Donnell, Gabriel Elkins, John Fisher, L. B.
Fisher J. P. Fisher, Lawson Fisher, M. L. Fisher, G.
W. Gilbert, L. W. Gilbert, William Goodson, Thomas
Hodges, Robert Love, Joseph Ray, C. G. Rankhorn,
Levi Lassiter, H. L. P. Sanders, Wiley Sanders, Isaiah
Lassiter, F. M. Wright, S. L. Walker, John Megger-
son, O. D. Walker, Alex Walker, Seth F. Wright, D.
W. Worst, James Wright, and Deskin Wright.
Killed: Isaiah Bain, C. Bain, W. L. Cantrell, H. B.
Cope, Lawson Fisher, F. M. Wright, S. L. Walker,
Perryville ; J. L. Britton, Thomas Hodges, John Fisher,
Murfreesboro. Wounded: W. A. Cotton, Perryville;
C. G. Rankhorn, Kennesaw Mountain. Died in serv-
ice : D. L. Dunham, in prison ; C. A. Cantrell, Georgia ;
A. J. Allen, Kentucky.
Horace McGuire gives this memory list of DeKalb
County Confederates living in 1914: B. M. Cantrell,
183
History of DeKalb County
Horace jMcGuire, Thomas Hooper, Sam Hooper, R.
W. McGinnis, B. N. Hicky, John Vanhouser, Hans
Merritt, John D. Johnson, Dick Moore, J. M. Redmon,
Jim Fuson, W. T. Wall, Mose Rankhorn, T. C. Allen,
Jim Wilkins, Watt Cantrell, W. C. Gilbert, Louis Bing,
A. P. Cantrell, Hes Cantrell, Joe Cantrell, John Givan,
Polk Johnson, J. H. Mahaffy, Luke Simpson, J. W.
Watson, Jesse Redman, Madison Pass, Newt Avery,
John K. Bain, Ed Reece, Bob King, William Luck\',
R. V. Wright, Isaiah White, Thomas Givan, Roland
Foster, and Horace M. Hale.
184
CHAPTER XVI.
Stokes's Cavalry,
The Fifth (Union) Regiment of Tennessee Cavalry,
sometimes called the First Middle Tennessee Cavalry,
was organized at Nashville, Murfreesboro, and Car-
thage, from July 15, 1862, to March 26, 1864, to serve
three years, and was mustered out of service August
14, 1865. The regiment consisted of twelve companies
and was recruited by Col. William B. Stokes, acting
under authority from Military Governor Andrew John-
son. The regiment was in various battles and skir-
mishes during the latter part of 1862 and was in the
battle of Murfreesboro, or Stone's River. From that
battle till the close of the war the regiment was em-
ployed mainly in detachments in the eastern part of
Middle Tennessee. One battalion was stationed at
Shelbyville for some time and was in several skir-
mishes there. The other portion of the regiment was
stationed at Carthage and was kept busy also, as,
among other duties, it was required to carry the mail
from that point to Gallatin. A portion of Stokes's
command, under Captain Cain and Lieutenant Carter,
was in the battle of Lookout Mountain. A part was
also at Chickamauga and Chattanooga under Lieuts.
Wingate T. Robinson and Nelson. Subsequently the
regiment was ordered to Sparta, Tenn., to break up
the guerrilla bands under Ferguson, Hughes, and
Bledsoe, a contest in which no quarter was given
185
History of DeKalb County
After this it was ordered to Nashville, where, under
Lieut. Col. W. J. Clift, it participated in the battle in
front of that city. Upon the removal of the command
to Nashville, Colonel Stokes was assigned to command
the forces at Carthage.
Three of Stokes's regiments — Company A, J. H.
Blackburn, captain ; Company B, Shelah Waters, cap-
tain; and Company K, E. W. Bass, captain — were
made up of DeKalb County men.
There were some resignations from this regiment in
1864, and a new regiment was formed by J. H. Black-
burn. Colonel Stokes resigned March 10, 1865, but
was breveted brigadier general by President Andrew
Johnson. Other resignations from Stokes's original
regiment were : Maj. Shelah Waters, January 24, 1865 ;
Capt. John T. Armstrong, April 7, 1865 ; Capt. J. H.
Blackburn, June 5, 1864; Capt. James T. Exum»
March 10, 1865 ; Capt. Monroe Floyd (who married
Captain Blackburn's sister), May 11, 1865; Capt.
Robert E. Cain, July 13, 1865. First lieutenants re-
signed: W. M. Beasley, October 16, 1862; James
Worthan, March 21, 1863; H. L. Newberry, April 8,
1863 ; William L. Hathaway, April 10, 1864; Sylvanus
Puckett, September i, 1864; Thomas A. Beaton, Jan-
uary 6, 1862; A. A. Carter, February 21, 1865; James
L. Hix, May 12, 1865; J. T. Mclntyre, July 2, 1865;
L. L. Faulkner, July 16, 1865. Second lieutenants re-
signed : J. M. Phillips, Marshall B. Truax, C. T. Mar-
tin, E. H. Stone, W. J. Bryson.
Those discharged were: Second Lieuts. James H.
Gossett, March 3, 1863. R. C. Couch, April 25, 1863
186
History of DeKalb County
(but recommissioned first lieutenant September 4,
1863), and Charles T. Martin, May 20, 1863 (but re-
commissioned second lieutenant September 4, 1863).
Those killed were: Capt. A. T. Julian, near Hills-
boro, Tenn., March 18, 1863, and Surgeon J. B. Moore,
killed by guerrillas September 5, 1864.
Dismissals were : Capt. E. W. Bass, December 4,
1864; First Lieuts. R. H. Sivley, January 10, 1864,
John T. Van Keren, December 14, 1864, and E. Chas-
taine, September 25, 1864.
First Lieut. Robert A. Shepard was cashiered in
January, 1863.
Maj. John Murphey on May 15, 1864, was promoted
to lieutenant colonel of the Second Regiment of
Mounted Infantry, and on Februar}^ 7, 1865, Capt.
Thomas Waters was promoted to major of the Fourth
Regiment (Blackburn's) of Tennessee Infantry,
William J. Clift was appointed lieutenant colonel
June 30, 1864.
John Wortham on July i, 1864, and Faver Cason on
June 24, 1865, were appointed majors.
The following captains were appointed some months
after the regiment was organized : W. O. Rickman,
April 22, 1863; R. C. Couch, September 10, 1863;
James Clift, March 26, 1864; H. N. T. Ship, July i,
1864.
W. P. Hough was made first lieutenant November
II, 1862; W. B. Pickering, adjutant, June 9, 1863.
Second lieutenants: W. H. Nelson, August 6, 1863;
Wingate T. Robinson, August 9, 1863 ; J. B. Raulston,
September 10, 1863; W. G. Davis, July 10, 1864; E,
187
History of DeKalb County
H. Gowen, December 14, 1864; C. W. Stewart, regi-
mental quartermaster, February 8, 1865.
Later appointments of second lieutenants were:
Elisha P. Reynolds, January 23, 1863 ; John B. Tur-
ner, August 9, 1863; J. W. Mallard, November 4,
1863 ; Henry H. Morris, January i, 1864; H. M. Mar-
shall, February 28, 1864; John J. White, July 10, 1864;
J. W. Bryan, February 7, 1865; G. B. Johnson, Feb-
ruary 22, 1865.
Four of Stokes's officers were marked missing on
the rolls: Capt. T. C. Davis, since October, 1862; Capt,
E. G. Fleming, since December, 1862; Second Lieut.
A. C. Denson, since October, 1862; Second Lieut.
Carl D. Brien, since June, 1863.
General Stokes was born in Chatham County, N. C,
September 9, 1814, and died at Alexandria, Tenn.,
March 20, 1897. -^s shown in the sketch of Temper-
ance Hall, his widowed mother located on her hus-
band's land near that village, where she remained until
her death, in 1853. This section was attached to De-
Kalb County in 1850, so that the county claims William
B., Jordan, and Thomas Stokes among its pioneer citi-
zens. In 1832 General Stokes married Paralee, daugh-
ter of Col. Abraham Overall. Farming for several
years, he began his political career in 1849 ^s Repre-
sentative of DeKalb County. He was twice elected to
the House and twice to the Senate, and, defeating John
A. Savage for Congress in 1859, was reelected. He
served in Congress two years after the war, and he was
the nominee of his party for the governorship in 1870.
Until 1868 he resided three miles north of Liberty,
188
GEN. W. B. STOKES
FIFTH TENNESSEE REGIMENT. FEDERAL CAVALRY
FROM PORTRAIT LOANED BY MRS. LEATH CALHOUN, NASHVILLE
History of DeKalb County
when he removed to Alexandria, where he devoted
himself to the practice of law.
In the memoranda of the volume by Adjutant Gen-
eral J. B. Brownlow giving the rolls of Tennessee
Federals for 1861-65 it is said of Stokes's Regiment
that it was in the routing of Colonels Bennett and
Ward on the Dickerson Pike in September, 1862; in
the defeat of Colonel Dibrell, driving him out of
Neely's Bend, in October, 1862; in the battle with
Forrest on the Franklin Pike, and drove him from the
field at Lavergne. It was in numerous skirmishes
around Nashville and on Big Harpeth in the same
year; fought at Triune December 27, 1862, and was in
the battle of Murfreesboro from first to last; a part,
under Colonel Murphey, was at Bradyville ; and, under
Colonel Blackburn, a part was in the battle of Milton
and in numerous engagements around Liberty and
Snow's Hill. The muster rolls of his three DeKalb
County companies are given below :
Company A, officers : Lieutenants, W. G. Davis,
John J. White; sergeants, J. B. Allison, Robert A.
Smith, F. M. Close, Hamp Woodside, Thomas E.
Bratten, J. W. Thomas, Riley Dale, Lee Laf ever ; cor-
porals, John Neal, W. R. Bratten, W. J. Watson, J. W.
Jones, John Garrison.
Privates : W. D. Davis, J. White, J. A. Allen, R. A,
Smith, T. E. Bratten, J. W. Thomas, Riley Dale, Lee
Lafever, John Neal, W. R. Bratten, W. J. Watson, J.
W. Jones, John Garrison, Sol A. Neal, Thomas Kirby,
E. C. Edwards, J. M. Allen, W. G. Allison, William
Arnold, Lige Br>'ant, James Blythe, Calvin Blythe,
189
History of DeKalb County
P. Bozarth, Pete Brazwell, J. M. Brazwell, N. H.
Craddock, J. W. Crook, J. R. Corder, Jim Carney,
Thomas Cripps, Fred Chest, Joseph Davis, Reuben
Davis, William Davis, D. D. Driver, J. Estes, W. R.
Farler, Jap Fitts, W. J. Givan, Jonathan Griffith, J. M.
Hays, Jasper Hays, Joe Hendrixon, James Hollands-
worth, H. N. Hill, C. D. Hutchens, J. H. Hendrixon,
Wilson Hendrixon, William Hill, H. James, M. F.
Jones, W. H. Jackson, John Keef, John Lynch, J. B.
McGee, James McGee, J. A. Mahan, William Manared,
Elisha Morris, Mon Malone, W. S. Parker, A. W. Pat-
terson, D. C. Patten, W. J. Pugh, Hiser Richardson,
B. F. Read, A. A. Robinson, Thomas Self, J. S. She-
hane, Peter Starnes, James Smithson, Monroe Spencer,
J. J. Smith, W. G. Smiley, Wilson Taylor, J. C. Vick-
ers, Thomas Vinson, William Warford, G. P. W. Wil-
liams, J. W. Wooden, Oscar A. Woodvvorth, W. H.
Word, J. B. Yeargin, J. H. Blackburn, Monroe Floyd,
W. L. Hathaway, J. J. Evans, J. H. Gossett, J. T.
Exum, A. J. Garrison, L. N. Woodside, Martin E.
Quinn, E. H. Stone, James H. Blackburn, George
Adamson, C. M. Brown, W. W. Govern, R. M. Haw-
kins, Henry Malone, Ed Pennington, Josiah Young-
blood, Elijah Yeargin, J. Murphy, P. M. Radford,
James H. Bratten, William A. Dale, D. A. Davis,
Joseph Adamson, David Barr, Hiram Barret, William
Bullard, J. M. Campbell, T. J. Chapman, A. G. Davis,
R. H. Green, G. H. Leaver, S. J. McCalib, R. S. Neely,
G. W. Robinson, J. B. Scott, J. M. Smith, A. M. Stone,
W. J. Vickers, S. M. Williams, Joseph Wilcher, A.
Yeargin, James Garrett, Elisha Kerly, F C. Overcast.
190
History of DeKalb County
Killed : J. B. Aloore, by guerrillas, 1864; W. J. Vick-
ers, by g-uerrillas, 1863. Died : Joseph Adamson, David
Barr, Joseph Bryant, April, 1863; Andrew George,
1861.
Company B, officers : Lieutenants, E. H. Gowan, J,
W. Bryan ; sergeants, T. W. Kenner, J. W. McDonald,
W. Wood, Ralph Compton, J. W. Saulmon, W. F.
Turner ; corporals, J. W. Brown, H. McClure, P. Hor-
ley, T. A. Morris, J. Cothran ; bugler, J. C. Haley.
Privates : M. A. Alder, W. H. Anderson, S. P. Bur-
chett, I. W. Baker, D. H. Brewer, Thomas Borum, R.
I. Bell, J. T. Ballance, E. Burnett, T. B. Brown, J. H.
Brockett, L. W. Cherry, J. \V. B. Davis, Zach Davis,
Arch Davis, Anderson Davis, T. M. D. Earhart, Horace
Francis, S. L. George, I. T. Goodson, L. M. Green,
Jerome E. Goodner, J. Hale, Eli Herron, Wilson Her-
ron, J. G. Jennings, Frank Johnson, Thomas Ketchum,
J. K. C. Lance, E. H. Linton, John Morris, A. J. Mer-
rill, A. C. Mayer, S. McDermot, W. Alelvin, James
Manus, John Oakley, Thomas Rogers, M. Rohelia, G.
M. Robertson, John Robinson, David Redd, James
Sands, Elgin Sands, W. Singleton, James Strauther,
G. W. Tuck, James Talley, B. C. Vinson, J. Waggoner,
J. W. Westfall, Taylor Warren, N. Winnett, C. T.
Winnett, James Winnett, John Williams, T. A. Wel-
land, M. F. Young, J. Nems, Henderson Smith,
Thomas Davis, H. L. Newbury, W. W. Barker, Alex
Davis, T. H. Berry, J. T. Thompson, S. B. Whitlock,
W. G. Davis, A. Ham, T. B. Oakley, James Oakley, J.
P. Paty, Thomas Reeves, John Simpson, R. Wadkins,
Shelah Waters, Thomas Waters, John Everett, J. M.
191
History of DeKalb County
Hutsell, R. P. Mayer, E. H. Gowan, J. E. Pendergrass,
W. H. C. Young, B. F. Bowar, J. A. Ellis. Cass Goad,
M. F. Hale, J. L. Laurance, J. M. Shairts, W. L.
Thompson, H. B. Thomas, F, M. Ensory, P. Giller, A.
J. Hesson, Joseph Hester, J. C. Yell, P. M. Gascock,
J. M. Groop.
Killed: J. E. Pendergrass, Murfreesboro, 1863; J.
L. Laurance, in Lookout Valley. Died: W. H, C.
Young, in prison January 12, 1863; B. F. Bowar, May
2z, 1863 ; J. A. Ellis, M. V. Hale, J. M. Shairts, No-
vember 14, 1862; W. L. Thompson, December 29,
1863 ; Cyrus Y. Goad.
Company K, officers: Captain, E. W. Bass; lieu-
tenants, W. T. Robinson, John B. Turner, J. H. Smith ;
sergeants, J. L. Rollins, W. R. Lewis, Marion Cubbins,
John A. Bass, W. H. Trammel, James H. Overall, R,
M. Johnson; corporals, William Davis, Wells Barrett,
G. B. Pedigo, T. N. Close, Alex Petty, John Tarpley,
W. R. Caplinger; bugler, John C. Bennett.
Privates : J. B. Turney, Harvey Smith, J. L. Robin-
son, W. R. Lewis, Marion Cubbins, John A. Bass, W.
H. Trammel, J. H. Overall, R. M. Johnson, William
Davis, J. T. Meares, Wells Barrett, G. B. Pedigo, T.
N. Close, Alex Petty, John Tarpley, W. R. Caplinger,
J. C. Bennett, T. D. Oakley, B. J. Holloman, H. Y.
Yeargin, Chris E. Adamson, John Adamson, W. T.
Alexander, H. C. Alexander, Thomas Alexander, F.
M. Allen, James Brent, Nathan Blythe, W. C. Ben-
nett, John Case, J. G. Close, John Caplinger, John
Coley, T. J. Davis, James Davis, Elam Edge, Denton
192
History of DeKalb County
Griffith, George Henley, George Hickman, W. L.
Hail, W. H. Hays, Charles Hill, Reuben Hail,
Thomas Hendrixson, R. Hinesly, J. H. Hicks, W. P.
Hawker, J. M. Jones, Wesley Jennings, W. J. Jones,
James A. Jones, W. H. Jones, James Lee, J. R.
League, J. B. Lemmons, Blueford Mathis, Alex Man-
ners, J. Mullican, L. H. McGinnis, G. B. Mahan, W.
H. Pedigo, T. J. Perkins, James Petty, Joseph Pistole,
William Patterson, John Parker, Travis Tarpley, A.
J. Pugh, Matlock Roberts, W, A. Sullivan, Anthony
Stanley, Noali Smith, John Taylor, J. P. Tomlinson,
William Trusty, R. B. Waller, E. B. Watson, J. B.
Wilson, E. W. Bass, Hinton A. Hill, James McMillin,
J. J. Ross, Wiley Snow, James Williams, A. C. Rogers,
R. H. Ponder, David Grandstaff, George C. Turney.
W. C. Crossland, N. Alexander, James Baugh, W. H.
Christian, David A. Farmer, James Gibson, James
Hail, Jonathan Jones, T. J. Pistole, H. C. Richards,
Alex Stanley, R. Pendergrass, Henry Stayner, Eman-
uel Williams.
Killed: David Grandstaff, G. C. (Kit) Turney,
James Baugh, D. A. Farmer, Joseph Hail, Jonathan
Jones, T. J. Pistole, James Fuston, Alex Stanley,
Calf Killer battle, February 22, 1864; H. C. Richards,
by accident, Carthage, 1864. Died: William Cross-
land, of wounds at Carthage, 1864; W, H. Christian,
of wounds, 1864.
13 193
CHAPTER XVII.
Blackburn's and Garrison's Federals.
Lieut. Col. Joseph H. Blackburn's Fourth (Un-
ion) Regiment of Mounted Infantry, with the excep-
tion of Company B, was recruited at Liberty, Car-
thage, Alexandria, Pulaski, Livingston. Shelbyville,
and Nashville from September i, 1864, to April 22,
1865, to serve one year. Company B was made up of
Memphis home guards and was mustered out of serv-
ice June I, 1865; the other companies were mustered
out August 25, 1865. Colonel Blackburn was ap-
pointed lieutenant colonel November 26, 1864, at the
age of twenty-two years. Thomas Waters was ap-
pointed major February 7, 1865.
Appointments of captains: Norton E. Quinn, Oc-
tober 27, 1864; William L. Hathaway, October 29,
1864; Macadoo Vannata, December 11, 1864; A. C.
Card, January 10, 1865 ; J. P. Patey, February 2, 1865 ;
John Simpson, March 11, 1865; Rufus Dowdy, May
5, 1865; G. W. Gray, June 14, 1865.
Appointments of first lieutenants in Blackburn's
Regiment: James H. Blackburn, October 27, 1864;
James H. (Pet) White, October 29, 1864; William J.
Stokes, adjutant (son of Colonel Stokes), December
8, 1864; Marcellus C. Vick, December 11, 1864; W. B.
Overcast, January 10, 1864; H. C. Sanders, February
I, 1865; S. B. Whitelock, February 4, 1865; J. f.
Thompson, February 4, 1865 ; H. T. Smallage, Feb-
ruary 28, 1865 ; C. W. Aleeker, June 28, 1865.
194
History of DeKalb County
Second lieutenants: T. G. Bratten, October 27, 1864;
Elijah Robinson, October 29, 1864; James Williams,
December 9, 1864; R, Wiley, January 11, 1865 ; James
H. Kitching, February 2, 1865 ; T. H. Berry, February
2, 1865; W. H. Wilhite, April 24, 1865; C. M. Pitts,
June 30, 1865 ; A. J. Miller, July 3, 1865.
Those who died among the officers appointed from
time to time were: Capt. George Oakley, July, 1865,
of disease; First Lieut. James Oakley, February 4,
1865, of wounds; First Lieut. William McDowell, lost
off the steamer Sultana April 27, 1865.
Colonel Blackburn was born in Wilson County, near
Cottage Home, in 1842, his father having come from
North Carolina. He married Miss Jennie Barger, of
Liberty, in 1861. His company (A), of Stokes's Regi-
ment, elected him captain at the age of eighteen. As
shown, he raised a regiment after resigning from the
Fifth Cavalry. He was in quite a number of battles
and skirmishes, receiving one wound — probably made
by Oscar Woodworth, a Federal — while a battle was on
with Morgan's men at Liberty. After the war he was
a delegate to the Constitutional Convention at Nash-
ville, but refused to sign the schedule because of the
poll tax provision as a qualification for voters. He
was also United States marshal for the middle district
of the State. Shortly after the war he, with others,
created a sensation in Nashville by attacking and
wounding Gen. Joseph Wheeler. Colonel Blackburn
died in May, 1913.
In Goodspeed's history of the State (biographical
section) this statement is made: "Colonel Blackburn
195
History of DeKalb County
was in several battles, the most important of which
were Nashville, Chattanooga, Snow's Hill, and Milton.
. . . He also cleared of guerrillas White, Putnam,
DeKalb, and Jackson Counties by capturing Champe
Ferguson, after which even Rebel sympathizers felt
more secure. He is said to have been in two hundred
and seventeen engagements, in all of which he was
successful. He was wounded at Liberty." In the
same history it is stated that in 1864 R. B. Blackwell's
guerrillas made a raid into Shelbyville, Tenn. The
depot was guarded by twelve of Blackburn's troops,
who were captured, escorted into the country, and
shot. Were these members of Company A? Black-
bum's companies were:
Company A, officers : Captain, James Wortham ;
lieutenants, C. W. Meeker, G. W. Gray, William Mc-
Dowell, William Smith, A. J. Miller; sergeants, J. S.
Ray, W. L. Jackson, J. M. Jarrell, T. V. Jones ; cor-
porals, W. G. Reavis, W. W. Harrian, J. Williams, W
C. Dickens, J. A. Holcomb, J. A. Brooks, C. M. Clark.
Privates: J. F. Ray, W. L. Jackson, J. M. Jarrell, T
V. Jones, A. J. Jarrell, W. G. Reavis, W. W. Harman
I. Williams, W. C. Dickens, J. A. Holcomb, J. A
Brooks, C. M. Clark, Tom Anderson, W. Blacker, A
J. Cleck, W. J. Clark, J. W. Cunningham, E. G. Davis
G. B. Dawson, Linsley Evins, R. C. Eaton, T. J
Fisher, J. H. Griffin, W. J. Gordon, J. N. Gibson, J
L. Hill, J. T. Harris, G. Ivy, James and John Jones
T. J. Little, W. S. Lacey, E. Lockhart, G. Little, M.D.
J. H. Moon, J. P. Mankin, J. C. McMinn, L. Moore
J. C. Matthews, I. Norvill, G. Primrose, R. J. Patton
196
History of DeKalb County
J. A. Rollins, C. S. Richard, S. J. Riner, ^I. Shoffner,
J. D. Sanders, James C. Turner, R. F. and W. W.
Tindell, J. H. Webster, W. W. Waide, V. H. Wright,
H. P. Watkins, Joseph A. White, P. M. Melton, Berrv
Bruton, S. J. Cheek, M. C. Davis, J. Hashaw, John
Hyde, H. J. Johnson, George Ross, W. J. Shaw, H. F.
Sutton, W. McMurry, J. j\I. Bearden, R. Brown, R.
M. Dromgoole, A. R. Hashaw, P. M. Odum, J. B.
Summers, H. V. Stahum, A. D. Hopkins, Robert F.
Smith, J. W. Tredinger, John Williams, N. S. Brown-
sheres, W. Davis, W. H. Johnson, J. W. Smith, A. J.
J. Horton.
Killed: P. ^I. Melton, Berry Bruton, S. J. Cheek,
M. C. Davis, James Hashaw, John Hyde, H. J. John-
son, George Ross, W. J. Shaw, all at Wells Hill Sep-
tember 28, 1864. Died: William McMurry, IMay 21,
1866; ]\I. Bearden, April 7, 1865; R. Baugh, January
10, 1865 ; R. M. Dromgoole, lost on the steamer Sul-
tana.
Company B, officers: First sergeant, J. M. Whitten ;
second sergeant, W. T. Hopper; corporals. E. J. Spen-
cer, L. W. Dawson, B. F. Parlon.
Privates: J. Austin, G. W. Anglin, M. M. Brison,
J. Black, John Burks, J. M, Chapman, J. R. Chapman,
W. Cheek, H. J. Crow, W. A. Cooper, H. T. Forbes,
H. Gorman, R. Holliday, W. H. Harland, R. Howard,
M. L. Inge, A. F. Ingle, T. Johnson, James Keyton,
J. Louden, J. H. ^Moore, T. Martingale, C. Newland,
J. Prime, R. J. Rankin, W. W. Robinson, H. Riner, J.
A. Robinson, J. K. Stone, M. Spencer, J. Shelton, D.
197
History of DeKalb County
D. Sanders, A. Tibbets, P. Trease, M. A. Thompson,
W. W. Whitby, W. M. Whitehorn, J. Weaver, N. A.
Whitehorn, M. P. Henry, D. S. Ingle, J. W. White-
horn, J. A. Griffin, J. Golden, I. Trotter, John Pierce.
Died: J. A. Griffin, April 15, 1865; J. Golden, 1865;
I. Trotter, May 18, 1865.
Company C, officers: Captain, A. C. Card; lieu-
tenants, W, B. Overcast, R. Wiley; sergeants, E. D.
Jones, J. E. Austin, W. N. Austin, James Greer, L. T,
Larue; corporals, M. D. Smith, W. H. Stephenson, J.
B. Cherry, J. S. Reese, Thomas Gore, J. S. Gibson, W.
S. Cavett, John Armstrong, G. B. Baker.
Privates: W. H. Stephenson, J. B. Cherry, J. S.
Reese, T. G. Gee, J. E. Gibson, W. S. Cavett, John
Armstrong, G. B. Baker, W. Baldwin, H. Bledsoe, J.
Barron, L. F. Cain, H. Clark, G. W. Clark, W. H.
Clark, W. J. Cochran, Peter Cochran, J. E. Cooper,
A. Crane, N. B. Daniel, E. P. Estes, L. C. C. Estes, P.
T. Fisher, J. L. Foster, J. E. Fox, J. Freeman, F. E.
Glasscock, G. Glasscock, T. H. Grey, J. Hall, J. P.
Hoskins, W. D. Hill, T. Johnson, W. Johnson, W. H.
Kiser, J. O. Cumpie, A. Lamb, T. H. Lamb, G. W.
Lock, David Lynch, W. G. Lynch, W. Malone, J. W.
Mallard, H. E. McGowan, W. Melton, J. Moore, J. H.
Neely, J. M. Orr, C. Overcast, A. Ferryman, W. R.
Posey, J. J. Reeves, G. W. Reece, J. W. Reed, S. A
Rundle, A. Shaw, Joab Slawtre, Hiram. J. A., and J.
G. Smith, J. L. Stallings, J. Stone, C. Tarwater, J. H.
Tucker, N. Walker, S. Williams, J. T. Glasscock. T. J.
Hopper, I. D. Smith, Henry Thomas, Robert Wiley,
198
History of DeKalb County
T. F. Logsten, W. W. Waide, J. M. Austin, H.
Holmes, Jonathan Johnson, H. L. McConnell, C.
Mitchell, H. C. Moore, J. W. Prince, E. Seatons, W.
H. Wright.
Died: J. T. Glasscock, January lo, 1865; T. J. Hop-
per, February 5, 1865 ; I. D. Smith, Andersonville
Prison, March 10, 1865 ; Henry Thomas, of gunshot
wounds in Bedford County.
Company D, officers : Captain, Norton E. Quinn ;
lieutenants, J. Henry Blackburn, T. G. Bratten; ser-
geants, W. W. Colwell, J. B. Taylor, D. L. Floyd, J.
W. Atwood, N. Hodges ; corporals, J. A. Colwell, Wil-
liam Batts, John W. Vandergrift, W. Lawson, N. E.
Brandy, J. McAlexander, William Coffee, H. C. Jen-
kins,
Privates : P. Atkins, G. B. Anderson, J. A. Barnes,
W. A. Barren, W. Bain, W. T. Blackburn, M. Brad-
ley, A. J. Bennett, J. J. Bennett, W. Bullard, A. Certui,
L. D. Colwell, Andrew Chumley, J. C. Clemmons, T.
Davis, D. H. Davis, W. H. Fann, Joe B. Gilbert, C. W.
Hollandsworth, J. D. Hall, T. J. Hays, Lawson Hall,
T. J. Hale, John Herriman, Stephen Herriman, Sam
P. Herriman, J. C. Hiddon, J. L. Jenkins, J. B. Kyle,
J. Kenton, M. J. Luck, Jesse Lafever, C. Lawson, A.
H. Leack, Bunk Malone, S. B. Morris, C. Mosby, T.
Davis, W. Phillips, H. P. Pass, A. Ready, J. W. Rey-
nolds, J. O. Rich, John Robertson, G. Stevens, J. E.
Tedder, A. H. Thomason, J. Tuggle, H. M. Tuggle,
P. N. Turner, George Turner, Henry Vandergriff.
John Vandergriff, William Vandergriff, W. and
199
History of DeKalb County
Thomas Veri, Sam Vannata, G. A. Vansell, O. D.
Williams, M. Wilson, T. L. Ray, J. F. Yeargin, O. D.
Goodson, G. M. Jennings, W. A. Morgan, W. Benson,
Irving Driver, W. L. Hathaway, T. Brennan, Thomas
Hays, John Hollandsworth, C. Peterson, A. Smith -
land.
Killed: O. D. Goodson, Cannon County, March 15,
1865, probably by guerrillas ; J. M. Jennings, same ;
W. A. Morgan, battle of Nashville, December 17,
1864. Died : W. Benson, May 10, 1865 ; Irving Driver,
May 10, 1865.
Company E, officers: Captain, Macadoo Vannata;
first lieutenant, M. C. Vick; second lieutenant, James
Williams ; first sergeant, Bove Oakley ; second ser-
geant, W. J. Crook; third sergeant, J. M. Johnson;
fourth sergeant, George Turner ; fifth sergeant, G. W.
Martin ; corporals, C. Booker, A. C. Cox, Virgil Ray,
J. Ricketts, H. McCork, A. Blythe, C. Manners, F. A.
Right; bugler, Len R. Scott; smith, G. W. Lanier.
Privates : J. N. Alexander, H, C. Bennett, J. Y. Ben-
nett, T. Beadle, J. Crook, Tilman Crook, S. M. Chris-
tian, Leonard Cantrell, J. Capshaw, William Conley,
F. Culwell, J. W. Carroll, W. F. Craven, Berry Driver,
H. H. Eskin, H. M. Fite, S. L. Gay, Leman Hale, J.
Hickman, J. C. Huchens, Thomas Hass, T. Harris, J.
Harden, A. Harris, W. R. Hill, J. Hill, J. Hodges,
Francis Hollandsworth, S. Hughes, B. Hill, W. Jen-
kins, T. P. James, James Keaton, William King, J. L.
Kenard, J. Lawson, A. Lack, J. Manners, J. Maxfield,
W. F. Metcalf, H. W. McGuire, Dous, John, James,
200
History of DeKalb County
and Joseph Oakley, A. Pack, Barn Page, W. R. Parris,
S. H. Patterson, P. Roberts, J. H. Rany, J. F. Scott,
R. Stewart, J. P. Smith, Manson Scott, Isaac Turner,
J. Thomas, John M. Trammel, T. W. Trammel,
Thomas W. Turner, William I. Turner, Barney Tay-
lor, T. I. Vance, E. Williams, B. G. Warren, Leonard
F. Woodside, E. C. Walker, W. J. Stokes, D. F. Floyd,
Dallas Adkins.
Company F, officers: Captain, William L. Hatha-
way; first lieutenant, James H. White; second lieu-
tenant, Elijah Robinson ; first sergeant, Ben Hall ; sec-
ond sergeant, Tom Curtis; third sergeant, James
Robinson; fourth sergeant, Seaborn Page; fifth ser-
geant, W. B. Corley; corporals, John Hendrixon,
Jesse Farler, Ike Gibbs, Daniel Hale, W. M. Moore,
S. M. Pirtle, William Adamson, W. M. Short.
Privates: L. J. Allison, Joe M. Banks, Thomas
Biford, J. R. Cantrell, J. B. Carter, Asa Driver, J. M.
Dunlap, Sim Estes, Isom Etheridge, Eli Evans, E. D.
Fish, William Fitts, James Ford, Erastus D. Foster,
Jonathan R. Fuson, James H. Fuson, J. M. Gilbert,
Len Hathaway, J. B. Hardinlay, Smith Hendrixon,
James R. Hicks, R. Hill, E. D. Hutchens, H. and I. C.
Johnson, Tilman Joins, John Lasiter, Thomas Lead-
better, L. B. Linsey, J. Linsey, Giles, R. E., and W. J.
Martin, J. J. Maxwell, V. Mclntire, S. Neal, J. M.,
A., John, and Jacob Pack, Allen Page, Erwin Page,
Wash Parsley, J. A. Parsley, J. F. Petit, J. E., Levi
D., and C. H. Robinson, Ike Shehane, W. Snyder, E.
Snow, John Smithson, E., J. T., Chesley, Bailey, and
201
History of DeKalb County
Henry Taylor, W. Thomas, Joseph Turner, R. Wood-
ward, G. B. Woodward, J. M. Pack, A. L. Cummings,
J. B. Edney, F. P. Kephart.
Died: G. B. Woodward, J. M. Pack, April 8, 1865;
A. L. Cummings, April 8, 1865.
Company G, officers : Captain, James P. Patey ; first
lieutenant, S. B. Whitlock ; second lieutenant, James
A. Kitchings ; first sergeant, G. E. Coatney ; second
sergeant, H. C. Barr}'; third sergeant, J. M. Enoch;
fourth sergeant, A. Gwaltney; fifth sergeant, J. B.
Barber ; corporals, T. H. Campbell, W. T. Allen, F. C.
Allen, I. Manning.
Privates : Henry H. Jones, D. B. Gwaltney, W
Beasly, J. T. Highers, Jere Agee, J. D. Agee, W. B
Agee, F. Adcock, Benjamin Allen, G. K. Baker, A. J
Baker, Turner Barrett, N. B. Boulton, J. Bray, P. J
Baker, Ben Bradley, F. E. Buckner, L. Chandler, G
P. Campbell, A. H. Cowen, W. H. Corley, M. F. Coat-
ney, Wamon Capshaw, William Cheek, Thomas Clark,
Sam Denny, D. R. Enoch, T. F. Estes, W. Fuller, J.
B. Farmer, J. Frederick, A. B. Fuller, A. Girins, John
Gregory, C. G. Caskey, R. F. Hale, A. D. Helmantaler,
W. D. Hudson, T. H. Hughes, J. Hunt, J. A. Hunt,
Simeon Highers, B. A. James, G. D. King, B. F. Kid-
well, E. H. Liggin, W. J. Lance, J. W. Merritt, D. A.
Macon, Burrel Manning, T. B. Mathis, S. B. McDowel,
S. W. Macon, William Moss, A. C, J., J. N., and T.
Nolan, John Ogle, J. G. Parton, James Preston, Moses
Preston, James Pritchett, John Prentice, W. T. Stal-
202
History of DeKalb County
ings, J. B. Smart, B. R, J. M., and W. J. Thomas, J.
M. Watts, Dock Wilkerson, J. N. Webb, G. Williams,
Sam Winfrey, G. B. Boultcn.
Company H, officers : First lieutenant, J. T. Thomp-
son; second lieutenant, T. H. Berry; sergeants, T. D.
Sutney, James Weaver, J. R. Word, T. H. Lanham,
J. W. Fisher; corporals, Paris Campbell, J. Campbell,
D. S. Holt, W. N. Ricks, D. T. Thomison, W. S.
Stuart, E. A. Barbee, W. A. Jacobs.
Privates: T. M. Allen, S. H. Alexander, A. H. Ash-
worth, W. E. Bond, J. W. Berry, T. J., J. F., and James
F. Bell, W. Ball, G. and W. L. Biss, J. Berry, J. Bond,
B. Craig, J. R. Cummings, J. H. Cunningham, B.
Climer, Jim W. Carney, A. N. Cummings, J. A. Cun-
ningham, J. C. Edwards, Ben Elkins, L. A. Farmer,
J. Griffin, W. H. Gill, C. B. Griffin, J. Harrison, J. W.
Herron, J. P. Henderson, L. F. Holland, J. W. James,
William Kelly, H. B. Gurnan, J. M. Gurnan, H. A.
Midgit, Presley Merritt, R. M. Porterfield, S. T. Por-
terfield, G. W. Patterson, W. L. Singleton, William
Springs, G. Springs, E. Shadwick, S. Spears, Z. F
Spears, M, H. Thompson, J. R. Thompson, J. L., J
M., and A. Tanner, Thomas Tuggle, R. F. Thomas
W. Thompson, E. P. Tracy, I. N. Vaught, W. J
Vaught, M. A. Wallace, R. H. Walker, M. Wintherly
G. W., A. P., Ben, and William Williams, C. C. Wood
C. H. Young, William Younger, George Oakley, James
Oakley, James Yates.
Died: James Oakley, of wounds, February 4. 1865.
203
History of DeKalb County
Company I, officers; Captain, John Simpson; first
lieutenant, H. C. Sanders; second lieutenant, C. W.
Meeker (later C. M. Pitts) ; first sergeant, G. W.
Dimean; second sergeant, J. W. Fleman; third ser-
geant, C. A, Bailiff ; fourth sergeant, T. J. Wilburn ;
fifth sergeant, Joel Dodson ; corporals, T. W. Johnson,
J. T. White, J. M. Haney, J. F. S. Hardaway, W. P.
Conner, J. F. Rombo, J. C. Chambers, J. Walker.
Privates : R, M. Adams, W. S. Ashen, James Allen,
A. G. Barnes, N. F. Bishop, J. M. Bankston, Bird L.
Bates, F. M. Barnett, D. O. Brown, F. M. Cassell, S.
D. Eddie, D. C. Fleeman, D. G. Greer, C. G. Head, J.
Head, J. Heath, W. W. Heath, M. Hart, R. Harring-
ton, S. House, C. Jones, N, F. Jones, C. Jordan, O.
Jordon, Thomas Keath, John Kirby, F. M. Keath, J.
D. Lossen, James Laurence, Miles Leary, T. J. Lewis,
R. J. Maxwell, A. Medley, L. McGinnis, Alfred Mor-
ris, Thomas Malone, T. M. McCormack, J. A. Manley,
J. F. and G. W. Majors, W. P. Maxwell, J. Mitchell,
Isham A. Morris, S. McCroy, H. Nolly, J. Penny, A.
L. Ferryman, D. E. Ferryman, W. Pearce, J, Reaves,
D. R. Roberts, T. J. Riggs, T. L. Richardson, A. Riley,
Ben Scaggs, J. H. Sandusky, W. F. Sandusky, J, J.
Spray, P. Seay, T. Smith, L. D. Smith, J. G. Smith-
son, J. T. Tanner, R. A. Thatch, J. R. Tubb, W. L.
Todd, J. Wiley, J. Watson, L. D., W. H., and R. P.
Williams, J. W. Todd, J. Tolman, John C. Conner, T.
J. Hart, W. H. McClaffity, F. Spurlock, T. J. Welch,
J. W. Armstrong, S. M. Baker, Eli Barnett, J. Baker,
J. H. Crane, A. Gibbs, W. H. Gillan, W. J. Hollis, J.
E. Sweeler, G. W. Smith, J. W. Worley.
204
History of DeKalb County
Died : John C. Conner, January 26, 1865 ; T. J. Hart,
January 16, 1865; W. H. McClaffity, February 16,
1865; F. Spurlock, February 8, 1865; T. J. Welch,
February 8, 1865.
Company K, officers: Captain, Rufus Dowdy; first
lieutenant, H. T. Smallage ; second lieutenant, W. H,
Wilhite ; first sergeant, John Parker ; second sergeant,
James Wilhite; third sergeant, E. M. Long; fourth
sergeant, J. F. Deck; fifth sergeant, F. Coatney; cor-
porals, J. A. Hill, J. F. Mulligan, J. F. Koger, William
Frederick, J. Cooper, D. Godsey, J. Stover, J. R.
Grimes.
Privates: H. Armis, John, W., and Van Allen, J.
M. Boyle, L. P. Baker, M. M. Bryan, B. H. Bracher,
E. Bird, J. Bohanan, J. H. Briant, W. T. Curnley, John
Courlington, E. Cash, H. Clark, D. C. Clark, Green
P. Cantrell, H. I. Cooper, W. H. Capshaw, J. Cargill,
H. L. Dox, William Duese, J. Dickson, C. C. Fowler,
F. M. Ferguson, William Flowers, G. Goodman, Wil-
liam Green, J. Godsey, W. B. Hill, R. Highers, G. W.
Hendrixson, D. H. Hall, W. B. Hoyder, J. N. Johnson,
R. M. Johnson, E. Jackson, L. Jackson, W. E. Jones,
W. S. Kirby, L. Liles, J. F. Martin, Thomas Mason,
J. H. Moore, John Maries, James Maires, R. L. New-
man, J. Prater, G. W. Plumlee, A. Parker, R. Poe, J.
S. Prater, G. W. Roberts, Jeff Reynolds, J. S., F., and
A. Sliger, Asbury Scott, W. J. Smith, G. Stephens, S.
Settle, R. Savage, J. R. Sisson, D. M. Southerland,
William H. Southerland, A. J. Sells, J. H. Smith, J.
A. Stone, G. A. Finch, A. J. Tucker, J. Whitaker, A.
205
History of DeKalb County
J. Williams, Marshall Walker, W. B. Davis, J. P. Hill,
W. L. Hunter, T. jMcNair, J. E. Pritchard, W. A.
Pritchard.
A. J. Garrison made up a company (G) which be-
came a part of the First Federal Regiment of Mounted
Infantry, Col. A. E. Garrett. The regiment served
mainly in the northeastern part of Middle Tennessee,
having frequent encounters with guerrillas. Captain
Garrison was born in DeKalb County of a pioneer
family. He probably died in Arkansas, to which State
he removed after the war.
Company G, officers : Captain, Andrew J. Garrison ;
lieutenants, L. N. Woodside, appointed March 21,
1864; Elijah Bratten, appointed December 5, 1864.
Privates : Stephen Barnes, C. A. Coe, John Conley,
H. M. Crook, M. Harris, Amos Gilly, John Hill, Joe
Herryman (i), Joe Herryman (2), B. Herrington, A.
J. Hullet, William Jones, B. F. Jones, W. W. Jackson,
Morris Marcum, G. W. Norton, I. N. Fite, James
Waford, Francis Hall, Jo and John Parkerson, John
Merritt, Mickeral Manners, John Rodgers, John Rey-
nolds, R. Sullens, J. A. Taylor, M. A. Thomason, H.
Vanover, S. O. Williams, Lem Barger, John Martin,
William Scott, Newton Brown, Brax Malone, Thomas
Bates, James Allen, W. B. Bates, N. Bradley, J. H.
Bradley, G. Chatham, R. S. Dale, John G. Dale, O. P,
Durham, W. B. Farmer, H. L. Farmer, J. H. Fite,
Jason Foutch, W. J. Foutch, Josiah Hicks, John W.
Hass, Joe Hullet, H. C. Hardcastle, Ainberson Corley,
206
History of DeKalb County
John Jones, W. W. Jackson, J. B. Lewis, J. B. IMalone,
Daniel Mathis, Jo Neal, Levi Neal, William Pogue,
Lem Parker, Oliver Patterson, Shadrack Robertson,
William Reasonover, William Sewell, J. Scudder,
George Thomason, James Woodside, Henry Wooden,
O. Parkerson, Memphis Goodson, W. Midigett, W. H.
Adams.
Died : W. H. Adams, Ainberson Corley, Memphis
Goodson. and W. Midigett, 1864: Oliver Patterson,
1865.
207
CHAPTER XVIII.
Progress of the Big War.
In Gen. M. J. Wright's volume, "Tennessee in the
War," are listed the following fights which took place
on DeKalb County soil from 1861 to the close of the
War between the States :
Alexandria, February 3-5, 1863; Smithville, June
4, 5, 1863; Snow's Hill, April 2, 6, June 4, 1863;
Liberty, January 21, 22, February 3-5, 17-20, March
19, April 1-8, May 12, 16, June 4, 1863; Salem, March
21, May 20, 1863; Salem Pike, June 12, 1863.*
Some of these skirmishes were long-drawn-out, and
of course they do not include occasional uncontested
entrances of one side or the other into the county, such
as the passing of Wheeler's Cavalry in 1864.
It is seen in the list that almost every section of De-
Kalb had some knowledge of war's alarms. Stokes's,
Blackburn's, or Garrison's men frequently camped on
their old Liberty stamping grounds. At this place
there was for a while a negro company, maybe more,
the headquarters being the Methodist church. The
DeKalb County Federals built the stockade on the hill
just west of Liberty, and while at Alexandria they
occupied the fair grounds. Occasionally they were at
Smithville, but only for short periods. Troops under
*The number of battles and skirmishes in the entire State
is given in Volume XII. of the "Confederate Military Histo-
ry," and each is pointed out by date and location. The num-
ber was seven hundred and seventy-four.
208
History of DeKalb County
Gen. J. T. Wilder or one or more of his colonels and
other Federal officers made frequent forays from Mur-
freesboro and Nashville via Auburn and Alexandria.
While the writer was on the editorial staff of the
Knoxville Evening Sentinel in 1898 General Wilder
made occasional visits to the office, and when compil-
ing the "History of Tennessee and Tennesseeans" in
191 3 he requested the General to write of his experi-
ences in Middle Tennessee. This was graciously
agreed to, but later the General found it impossible
to comply. However, there is an interesting biography
of him in the history mentioned. He had the Liberty
steam mill* burned and also William Vick's vacant
storehouse. The latter was destroyed because the Con-
federates had wheat stored in it. In the biography it
is said: "He [Wilder] took a specially active part in
the operations through Central Tennessee. At one
time Rosecrans had ordered him to burn all the mills
in this region of the State; but instead of destroying
them he broke the principal gear, so that they could
not be operated. When he reported to Rosecrans what
he had done, the general told him he had disobeyed
orders, but would excuse him that time."
From the occupation of the county by Gen. John H.
Morgan's forces date the series of skirmishes which
took place therein. In the history of Morgan's Cav-
alry Gen. B. W. Duke declares that the object was to
defend Bragg's right wing after the latter had re-
*After the destruction of the mill the citizens had to depend
upon Crips's Mill, on Dry Creek, and that of William Bate, on
Helton Creek.
14 209
History of DeKalb County
treated following the battle of Murfreesboro, Decem-
ber 3, 1862, to January i, 1863. This wing extended
from Woodbury, Tenn., into Wayne County, Ky., a
distance of one hundred and twenty miles. Liberty
being the most important point on the line, strategi-
cally considered, the main force was established there.
Duke says also that they kept within safety of Snow's
Hill; but he finally decided that this place of retreat,
when the command was closely pursued, was not as
safe as it had been regarded.
Morgan's command reached Smithville January 4,
1863. It remained there and at Sligo ten days. Then
it marched to McMinnville, where the commander
made his headquarters. On January 23 Col. John C.
Breckinridge was ordered to move to Liberty with
three regiments — the Third Kentucky, Lieutenant
Colonel Hutchinson ; the Ninth Kentucky, Lieutenan:
Colonel Stoner ; and the Ninth Tennessee, Colonel
Ward. Col. A. R. Johnson was already in the vicinity
of Liberty with the Tenth Kentucky.
Capt. Thomas Quirk was sent ahead of the three
regiments. He was an Irishman commanding sixty
scouts. Before he could be supported, he was driven
from the village by Federals, however. This must
have been about January 21 or 22.
When Colonel Breckinridge arrived he occupied the
country immediately in front of Liberty, picketing all
the roads. Shortly afterwards Colonel Stoner, with
several companies, was ordered to Kentucky, leaving
the Confederate force about one thousand effective
men. There was a similar force in the neighborhood
210
History of DeKalb County
of McMinnville and Woodbury. During January, Feb-
ruary, and March the Confederates were kept con-
stantly scouting and making expeditions. Fights were
of almost daily occurrence somewhere near the line
they were defending. "Perhaps no period in the his-
tory of Morgan's Cavalry can be cited in which more
exciting service was performed," avers General Duke.
General Stokes's troops, or a portion of them, were
frequently with General Wilder's in making these
forays into the county. The Stokes home was three
miles down Smith Fork Creek, north of Liberty, and
the Confederates had a great desire to capture its
owner. One of the Kentucky soldiers, writing to the
Confederate Veteran for September, 1898, says:
' .Liberty is a village situated at the base of Snow's Hill,
fifty miles due east from Nashville. Rome would
have been a better name for the town, as it seemed that
all the pikes and dirt roads in Tennessee led to Liberty.
. . . Somewhere on the road between Liberty and
Cumberland [Caney Fork] River there lived at that
time a Col. Bill Stokes, an officer of some note, of
whom we heard a good deal in time of the war. It was
Colonel Ward's ambition, as well as that of his men,
who were Tennesseeans, to capture Colonel Stokes,
and they made diligent search for him and at the same
time guarded his house closely with the expectation of
finding Colonel Stokes at home."
While Lieut. G. C. Ridley was with Morgan's force
at Liberty in 1863 he received an order to select ten
picked men to go by way of Alexandria, Lebanon, and
Goodlettsville and send a messenger on the quiet to
211
History of DeKalb County
Nashville to ascertain the location of the Federals and
their approaches. Near Payne's Ferry, on the Cum-
berland River, they found a young lady willing" to make
the secret trip into Nashville. In twelve hours siie
was back with a complete diagram. Receiving it. Lieu-
tenant Ridley started back posthaste, but soon learned
that General Wilder with a large force had marched
from Murfreesboro by way of Lebanon and Alexan-
dria to attack Liberty. Ridley changed his course for
Columbia, going by Peytonville, Williamson County.
Near the latter place he was chased by Cross' South-
ern guerrillas, who thought he was a Federal. Lieu-
tenant Ridley and squad finally reached General For-
rest at Columbia.
Speaking of General Wilder, he was once assisted
into DeKalb County by a Union girl. She was Miss
Mary, daughter of Dr. J. W. Bowen, of Gordonsville.
He had started out from Nashville with seven scouts.
These scouts were captured by Confederates, all
wounded, five dying from their wounds. General
Wilder reached Gordonsville after dark. Dr. Rowen
being absent, Miss Bowen volunteered to act as his
guide to Smithville. It was dark and rainy, but the
trip was successfully made. Miss Bowen became Mrs.
Aust, mother of John R. Aust, a prominent lawyer at
Nashville.
On January 29, 1863, General Morgan, with Major
Steele, Captain Carroll, and a few men, came to Liberty
from McMinnville and selected fifty men to enter
Nashville stealthily, burn the commissary stores, and in
the confusion of the fire make their escape. Among
212
History of DeKalb County
these intrepid scouts was Captain Quirk. But at
Stewart's Ferry, on Stone's River, they met the cap-
tain of a Michigan regiment with twenty men. For
a while the enemy conversed, Morgan claiming to be
Captain Johnson, of the Fifth Kentucky Regiment of
Federals. Presently the Federals saw under their over-
coats the Confederates' gray pants. This spoiled the
raid ; for while fifteen of the Federals were captured,
the others reached Nashville and gave the alarm.
Before Mr. B. L. Ridley, of Murfreesboro, became
a lieutenant on the staff of Lieut. Gen. A, P. Stewart
he was a private in Colonel Ward's regiment, camped
at Liberty. In a letter dated March 23, 1914, he writes :
I was a boy then — had been in the war a good while before,
but had never regularly enlisted until Morgan settled down in
Liberty. Our quarters for the winter were near where the
pike runs through between the creek and the hillside, forming
a covered road [Allen's Bluff]. We were just north of the
road that runs toward Woodbury, and my regiment guarded
that road. We also scouted toward Auburn and Alexandria;
and on one occasion Colonel Ward took us over to near Car-
thage, where we captured a big wagon train and a large escort
of guards. All the prisoners we marched through Liberty to
the rear,
Rosecrans was stationed at Murfreesboro, and General
Wilder was one of our adversaries. With him was Stokes's
regiment. The latter, with Wilder's support, made frequent
raids upon us. They came out on foraging expeditions and
a number of times drove us back to Snow's Hill. Sometimes
Federal parties would go out on the Woodbury Pike to Mc-
Minnville. Then we would intercept the raiders by marching
out from Liberty and threatening the rear, when they would
get back toward Murfreesboro. My company was often made
to picket the Woodbury [Clear Fork] Road. One day our
213
History of DeKalb County
base was near the house of a man who seemed to have two
hundred chickens. He looked as surly as a snarling cur. His
folks were in the Yankee army, and he was no doubt a home
gfuard. We tried to buy some of his chickens, but he would
not sell. Anyhow, the boys captured twenty-five and hid
them. The officers found it out, and we had to carry them
back. He refused even to give us one or two!
We got the wife of one of Stokes's cavalry to wash our
clothes and cook our rations. We made a contract with her
that if we captured her husband we would treat him kindly
if she promised she would make him be kind if he captured
us. She agreed. But after the war Favor Cason told me it
was fortunate that we did not fall into that fellow's hands,
as he was a cutthroat. I have forgotten his name.
Together with my brother, I called on Mrs. W. B. Stokes,
and she treated us kindly.
All of these raids were made by General Wilder, but
Stokes's cavalry was usually with him.
While at Liberty the battle of Milton came off. Captain
Cossett, of my company, being killed by my side. He was
under arrest for writing a letter to President Davis asking
for a pass to slip into the Federal lines and kill Abe Lincoln,
but, securing weapons, went into the fight.*
The battle of Milton took place March 20, 1863.
Early that morning Morgan's men at Liberty were
notified to hasten toward Milton and attack Colonel
Hall, who had already driven the Confederate outposts
to within a few miles of Liberty. All was excitement.
The pike from the village was crowded with horsemen,
*A11 Americans have heard of the assassination of Presi-
dent Lincoln by John Wilkes Booth, the actor. Few have
heard that it was meditated two years previously by a soldier
in camp at Liberty. Were Booth and Captain Cossett ren-
dered insane by brooding over the war and its havoc?
214
History of DeKalb County
first in a gallop, then in a wild dash toward Auburn.
Many horses fell, but the Confederates passed through
Auburn amid cheers and waving of handkerchiefs by
the citizens. Colonel Hall retreated, but was over-
taken and forced to fight: then came the pop of small
arms, the roar of cannon, and the yells of the con-
testants. The battle was stubborn and long. It lasted
three hours, the Confederate loss being about three
hundred. Morgan's ammunition gave out, and he had
to withdraw. The Federals went back to Murfrees-
boro, the Confederates to Liberty. Captains Cossett,
Cooper, Sale, and Marr were killed.
When Morgan reached Liberty with his two thou-
sand cavalry the citizens looked on a sight they would
always remember — the dead cavalrymen tied on horses
and the dead artillerymen strapped on the caisson and
gun carriages.
The St. Louis writer to the Confederate Veteran,
R. L. Thompson, mentioned a while ago, was a soldier
at Liberty at this time. In his article he says of the
battle of Milton: "While in camp at Liberty I remem-
ber one morning about two o'clock, while the cold rain
was pouring down, Cooper the bugler gave the boots
and saddle call quick and lively. At the same time
Johnson's pickets were hotly engaged on the Murfrees-
boro Pike. We went briskly toward the sounds of the
guns and continued to go until we reached the town
of Milton. There we found General Morgan with a
part of his force in battle with Federal infantry. Two
batteries were engaged in a duel when we arrived. As
soon as our regiment put in its appearance the Federal
215
History of DeKalb County
battery began firing on our column. , . . One shell
stopped at our feet, and Comrade Judge emptied his
canteen of water on it, extinguishing the fuse. We
dismounted and entered a large cedar thicket, the
ground being covered with large rock which sheltered
us from bullets. When the battle ceased we withdrew,
bringing the dead and wounded away, all that we could
find, on our horses, the dead tied on. The battery re-
moved its killed and wounded in the same way, the dead
strapped on the caisson and gun carriages."
The writer recalls this scene of the dead soldiers.
The day was cool and cloudy. The main street was
then about where W. L. Vick's business house stood
in 1814. At this point the command halted. Some
of the wagons with the dead were near the yard fence
of the writer's home.
A former DeKalb Countian and a gentleman of
veracity writes: "An incident of the Milton fight I
remember very distinctly. I was then at Sligo Ferry,
a small boy. My father had been paroled and had
taken his family to Sligo. Captain Ragen, of Mor-
gan's command, was sick at our house. Learning of
the probable fighting at Milton, he went to his com-
mand against my mother's protest. Leaving one day,
he was killed the next. I presume he was one of the
dead men brought through Liberty tied on horses.
Another incident : The Kentuckians at one time were
camped in the woods on our place at Sligo. They had
no tents. One mess, sleeping behind a log, were, with
the exception of one man, killed by a falling tree. All
were buried at Sligo. My mother took their trinkets
216
History of DeKalb County
and forwarded the same to their relatives. After-
wards their remains were removed, I think, to Ver-
sailles, Ky. About eight years ago I was on a train
going from Louisville to Chicago and met a very
handsome gentleman, finely dressed and prosperous-
looking. I cannot now recall his name, but in the
course of conversation I learned that he was the
soldier who escaped death from the falling tree. He
had been hurt, but not seriously."
217
CHAPTER XIX.
Personal Experiences.
During the winter and spring of 1863 the Federals
advanced three times in heavy force against Liberty —
cavalry, infantry, and artillery. On these occasions
the noncombatants went in droves to the hills north-
west of town for protection, stopping either at the
home of John Bethel or that of Thomas Richardson.
From Bethel's the movements of the troops could be
seen. If the Confederates were beaten and pushed
back on Snow's Hill, they often followed the pur-
suers when the latter retired.
While all this was occurring Allison's Squadron fre-
quently took part. Not infrequently it was engaged
alone with the enemy. James H. Burton, of the squad-
ron, relates this experience: "On one occasion a part
of the battalion was camped in the beech grove near
Daniel Smith's, just north of Liberty — about seventy-
five men, portions of the three companies. Lieut. D.
Brien was in command of the picket guard of ten men.
He placed a vidette at the corner of the two streets,
where stood the storehouse of William Vick that was
burned. The picket guard were all the troops whose
horses were saddled, when a stranger came along with
a wounded horse and told us that a large force of Fed-
erals had fired on him at the forks of the pike, two
miles west of Liberty. The guard went to meet them
and did meet them not far from Salem Church. We
fired a volley, and then the race back through the vil-
218
History of DeKalb County
lage and toward Snow's Hill began. All the guard had
an even start, but by the time I reached Leonard
Moore's (about the center of Liberty) I was at least
seventy-five yards ahead and constantly gaining. 1
soon made the turn down the main street and heard no
more bullets. When the Yankees began shooting down
the main street I had made the turn for the bridge.
Keeping the advantage to the end, I beat the other
guards about one hundred yards. The boys guyed me
for leaving them. I resented this, when Colonel Alli-
son said he saw the race from start to finish and that
I came out ahead only because I had the best horse,"
Mr. Burton adds : "When the picket guard reached
the command north of Daniel Smith's, the boys were
mounted, and a running fight occurred to Dry Creek
bridge. Here Company C, under Capt. R. V. Wright,
stopped and waited for the Federals, then fired when
they came up, checking them for a short time. At the
Stanford home Company B, under Captain Reece, was
left on the south side of the pike. His men, when the
Federals approached, fired again, checking them the
second time. Company A was left behind Asbury
Church, and it held the enemy back till our company
wagons, loaded with bacon, got well up Snow's Hill.
The bacon was what we were fighting for. One of
our men, Tom Coleman, was slightly wounded in the
foot by a spent ball. In the skirmish at Dry Creek
bridge Lieut. D. Brien's horse got away from him.
He could not be caught, and, seeing the Federals would
get the animal, Brien ordered the men to shoot him.
At Stanford's place a good roan horse came into our
219
History of DeKalb County
lines, and Lieutenant Brien got him. He had blood on
the saddle and a Spencer rifle and belt of cartridges on
the saddle horn. There were seventy-five men all told
on our side, and fifteen hundred Federals. They
thought we were the advance guard of Morgan's Cav-
alry. If they had known our real strength, they would
have made short work of us. I never knew till I came
to Arkansas that we hit any of the enemy, when Frank
Dowell told me they used his barn for a hospital ; that
four died, and he thought four more died later. Dowell
lived near the Dry Creek bridge."
A considerable fight came off near the intersection
of the Murfreesboro and Lebanon roads, or the forks
of the pikes. Lieut. Ed Reece, Vv^ho took part, tells
this incident in connection with the affair: Capt. Jack
Recce's company of Allison's Squadron, which usually
camped near Alexandria, left the camps on Helton
Creek, going west toward Wilson County. They were
scouting for Yankees. None being discovered, they
made a fierce attack on John Barleycorn, intrenched at
Isaac Smith's stillhouse, on the road leading north
from the present store or post office called Mahone.
Turning back toward Alexandria directly, they
learned of an engagement going on near the forks of
the pike and galloped in that direction. Reaching the
scene of battle. Captain Reece and his troopers took a
position in the woods and awaited orders. While there
Colonel Allison and the remainder of the squadron
arrived.
"Captain Reece," said Allison, "you have no busi-
ness here. Withdraw your company." "Colonel AlH-
220
History of DeKalb County
son," was the reply [Captain Reece feeling the stimu-
lus yet over the victory of John Barleycorn], "Com-
pany B will remain where it is." "Captain Reece, you
are drunk," asserted Allison. "Colonel Allison,"
snapped Reece, "you're a damned liar."
At this the two urged their horses nearer each other
and on horseback engaged in a savage fist-and-skull
battle. When both were nearly out of breath, and it
was forced upon all that their energies were needed
against the common enemy, comrades interfered.
Isaiah White was in this skirmish, and he says the
Federals and Confederates were so near each other
that he recognized acquaintances on the Federal side —
Captain Hathaway, Colonel Blackburn, and others.
H. L. Hale, recalling boyish memories of these occa-
sions, says that there were times, as the Confederates
were pushed back stubbornly through Liberty and
north toward Snow's Hill, when the opposing forces
were only a few hundred yards apart. Part of
Stokes's Regiment was advancing one day, and he saw
Miss Mattie Hathaway run out to the front gate and
speak a few words to her sweetheart, Capt. W. L.
Hathaway, while bullets were whizzing around them.
Skirmishes were so frequent that comparatively
slight disturbances would put the citizens and soldiers
in commotion. About sunset on one occasion a tre-
mendous roar, somewhat resembling the roll of thun-
der, was heard westward. Confederates at supper in
the writer's home hastened to the street. The sound
grew louder as the moments passed. The mystery was
soon solved. A Federal wagon train had been cap-
221
History of DeKalb County
tured, and the captors were forcing the teamsters to
drive their fastest. This may have been the train men-
tioned elsewhere by Lieutenant Ridley. It proved a
rich haul. That evening boxes were opened and the
Confederates' hosts and hostesses given many fine
presents.
The following notes may be of interest, some of
them being illuminative of village life during war
times :
In January, 1863, Maj. J. P. Austin and Capt. Wil-
liam Roberts, Confederates, with fifty men, left Liberty
for the Andrew Jackson home to capture a squad of
Federal couriers stationed there. Passing through
Alexandria, then between Lebanon and Baird's Mills,
they reached the Hermitage by midnight. The couriers
having left, Morgan's men repaired to Lavergne,
where, finding the enemy barricaded in a log house,
they captured the latter, thirteen in number, and car-
ried them to Liberty. By the way, during the time
Morgan's men were in the county, says General Duke,
they captured more Federals than there were eflfective
men in Morgan's command.
In a sharp fight at Lavergne between DeKalb Fed-
erals and a force of Confederates Charley Blackburn,
brother of Col. Joe Blackburn, was killed.
There were a number of tragedies in the county.
Sim Adamson, who had been in the Confederate army,
was killed near Alexandria. Mon Adkins, a Union
soldier, was killed by Capt. Jack Garrison, at the lat-
ter's home, near Forks-of-the-Pike, at the close of the
22?
History of DeKalb County
war. James Hays, a young man, and Mr. Bullard, an
aged citizen, were brought to Liberty by Federals,
tried by court-martial, and shot. A Confederate sol-
dier was killed in a field near Salem Church. The
killing of several Union soldiers at Smithville by Pomp
Kersey's raiders is mentioned in this work. A Confed-
erate prisoner named Parrish was killed one night in
Alexandria by the Federal soldier guarding him.
While conscripting to recruit Allison's Squadron at
Alexandria John Bowman was slain.
Sometimes when the Confederates would chase the
Federals out of Liberty it was a good opportunity for
the wives of secessionists to get together and rejoice in
secret. There was one lady, Polly Hayes Knight, who
lived three or four miles away, truly a feminine fire-
eater, and who frequently came to the writer's home
with no other object, as she said, than to "indulge in a
big laugh over some unhappy defeat of the Yanks."
The stories she told and the laughter she and her
listeners indulged in were really refreshing. One day
while there Mrs. "Puss" Turner, the wife of a Union-
ist and one of the sweetest of the neighbor women,
came in,
"I was passing the house of Spicy Combs just now,"
she said. [Spicy was the wife of a rather sorry Fed-
eral soldier named Bill Holly, but was always called
by her former husband's name.] "She called me in to
taste some sweet cakes she had just baked." "And you
found them very crisp and nice?" she was asked. "I
will let you say," said she, "when I tell you that I could
223
History of DeKalb County
have put my toe on the edge of one of those cakes and
stretched the other side to the overhead ceiHng."*
During the stay of Morgan's men at Liberty, Quirk's
Scouts especially made friends with both Union and
Confederate sympathizers. While snow was on the
ground the soldiers would encourage the village lads
to engage in cob battles and greatly enjoyed them.
With jMorgan's troops was a seventeen-year-old youth
named John A. Wyeth. He is to-day one of the lead-
ing physicians and surgeons of New York and author
of the finest life yet written of General Forrest. The
writer of these annals recalls one Federal soldier whom
the three boys in his home learned to love — Joe Baker,
probably with a regiment of Kentuckians. He was
kind-hearted and loved nothing better than to romp
with the children. A well-remembered Kentucky
Confederate trooper of Morgan's command was JeflF
Citizen, who was bibulous. When drinking he dis-
ported on his calico mule and sang continuously and
unmusically :
*Was there at any time during the war a United States,
Confederate States, or Tennessee statute or license providing
for something in the nature of trial or special marriages for
the soldiers? As a small lad the writer heard such a thing
discussed at Liberty, and there was a mutual-consent contract
of the kind there between a soldier from another State and
a widow. They cohabited about six months, when the soldier
was called to some other section. The marriage thus an-
nulled by mutual consent, the woman some months later
married another man according to the conventional law. This
is not a dream ; others remember the facts.
224
History of DeKalb County
I lay ten dollars down,
And bet them every one,
That every time we have a fight
The Yankees they will run.
Mr. B. G. Slaughter, formerly of Quirk's Confed-
erate scouts, but after the war editor of the Winchester
(Tenn.) Home Journal, wrote W. L. Vick in 1902,
something of the scouts' stay in Liberty. He says
that Captain Quirk had headquarters in the Methodist
church, and his men were quartered near, taking meals
with the villagers, Union and secession.* He recalled
his own host's family, "a gentle wife and daughter and
peaceful-faced old gentleman, who had a son-in-law
in Stokes's Cavalry." Mr. Slaughter adds : "On one
occasion we were on scout toward Murfreesboro — I
think to a point about three miles from Liberty. We
had just gone down a long slant through a wooded
country to a branch emptying into Smith Fork (which
flowed parallel with the pike). The bridge over the
branch had been washed out, or else the floor had been
removed by the Federals that morning as a trap should
they force us to retreat. The place was a deep gulch.
We had to take a stock path above the bridge to cross
and get back to the pike. We had not gone far — little
more than a mile — when we reached a glade to our
right, where a dirt road intersected the pike at right
angles, though pointing from us. Just beyond this
*The writer of this history remembers having been often
aroused from slumber by the songs of the scouts— Jim Mc-
Gowdy, Bill McCreary, and others — singing "Lorena" or
"Tenting on the Old Camp Ground." They were a jovial set.
15 225
History of DeKalb County
Captain Quirk called a consultation. It was decided
that the Yankees were 'laying' for us, a larger force
than ours. He called me by my camp name, 'Squirrel,'
and ordered me to go back to camp and bring all our
men fit for duty, cautioning me that the Yankees might
cut me off just ahead. With a dash I began the daring
ride. At the intersection of the dirt road and pike I
saw two bluecoats under spur to cut me off. They
commanded me to halt, but I went down the pike, the
enemy in pursuit. They were no doubt confident of
capturing me at the floorless bridge. They were gain-
ing ground; but with a firm, steady pull old sorrel
Charley cleared the breach, a distance of nearly twenty
feet and deep enough to have killed rider and horse.
The animal did not make a check on the other side.
With a loud cheer and a parting shot I soon left the
pursuers."
The bridge mentioned was probably near the present
residence of Grant Roy, the county surveyor.
Alexandria did not escape the excitement of the
times. Besides the encampment of local soldiers, Gen-
eral Wheeler, General Wharton, Colonel Smith, and
Colonel Harrison (of the Eighth Texas) were fa-
miliar in that and the surrounding communities. They
were camped on the various roads — Carthage, States-
ville, Lebanon, and Murfreesboro. It was from Alex-
andria that General Morgan started on his famous raid
through Ohio and Indiana.
Sometime during the war an old Scotch word "ske-
daddle," which was applied to milk spilt over the pail
in carrying it, was made to take on a new meaning.
226
History of DeKalb County
The Northern papers said the Southern forces were
skedaddled by the Federals. The word soon became
common. Many rich stories were told of how the
DeKalb County noncombatants would flee from their
homes when the enemy dashed suddenly into a com-
munity. Perhaps one of the best is that in which Hon.
Horace A. Overall figured. A number of skedaddlers
on a very cold night were sleeping in a barn at the
head of one of the Clear Fork hollows, among them a
rather simple-minded man. This man about midnight
awoke his comrades with the startling news that the
Yankees were coming. "How do you know its Yan-
kees?" he was asked. "Because I hear Patsy Spur-
lock's dogs barkin' down the branch," was the reply.
"But before I take the bitter cold," said Overall, crawl-
ing back into the hay, "you'll have to convince me that
Patsy Spurlock's dogs won't bark at anything but Yan-
kees.'"
The following, contributed to a newspaper some
years ago by the writer, has to do with a very small
lad's memories of the time that tried the soul :
It does not appear now that war times in our village were
so unpleasant. But at moments the childish heart must have
been filled with fear. I remember the sudden dash of soldiers
into the village now and then, the popping reports, the scam-
pering to a hiding place by noncombatants. One late afternoon
some Confederates took the village, but all I remember of that
occasion is that one of the men entered Joe Blackburn's stable
and took out a fine stallion. On another afternoon old Mr.
Bullard was executed east of the steam mill, and four Feder-
als, ahold of his hands and feet, brought him up the street. I
noted that his hair hung down and his coat tail dragged on the
22^
History of DeKalb County
ground. There was a night when we were awakened by ex-
cited citizens on the street. Some one explained that "Uncle
Ben Blades has been killed in his own house and is swelling
badly." My mother told the informant to put a small bag of
salt on his stomach, and it would prevent swelling. Jim Clark,
a youth, had been killed on another occasion by Pomp Kersey's
men. Often that day I looked across the fields toward his
home, saw the crowd of sympathizing friends gathered before
his burial, and wondered how he looked and how his father
comported himself. General Wilder's men burned a store-
house in the village. Doubtless there was fear in many hearts,
but I only noticed how black the smoke was that bulged out
of the chimney. Then when he burned the big mill, and I
stood looking out the south window, again I was attracted
mainly to the black volume rolling up from the smokestack.
I mar\'eled greatly when I saw on the ruins of the store
molten glass ; that it could be melted was something I had not
known. One late summer afternoon an ox team toiled up the
village street, stopping in front of the John Hays storehouse,
which, like all others, was vacant. Seven or eight dead bod-
ies, piled on the cart like rails, were carried in and laid on the
floor — all that was left of Kersey's guerrillas. In one room in
our home there were two beds, my father occupying one with
the youngest child, Bruce, and my mother the other with two
children. Suddenly one midnight the hysterical wife of a
Union soldier in night clothes rapped at the door, imploring
us to admit her quickly. My mother opened the door, when
the woman, in the darkness and while in terror crying that the
Rebels had entered the town, jumped into the wrong bed!
228
CHAPTER XX.
Regular and Guerrilla Warfare.
The most important battle in the county took place
in the spring of 1863. It seems to have been expected
by Morgan's command at Liberty, for the scouts —
the eyes of an army — were out all night in the direction
of both Auburn and Alexandria.
Burns's Confederate Battery was posted on one of
the hillsides east or northeast of the village, where it
could be trained on the bridge and turnpike at the
northern extremity of the town. At various distances
on the turnpike between Liberty and Snow's Hill were
stationed forces of Confederates. Allison's Squadron
was engaged in this affair, as well as Morgan's com-
mand.
After daylight the Federals appeared in force some
distance west of the village. They were met by the
Second Kentucky and Quirk's Scouts. Charged upon
vigorously, the Confederates retreated. It was a
miracle that they were able to pass through the covered
bridge. It was here that Burns's artillery did good
work. As the Confederates choked the bridge, the
battery opened up on the Federals swarming out the
north end of the village, checking them sufficiently to
allow the Confederates to pass through the bridge.
By this time the Federals had from the northwest
trained their cannon on their foes, and soon Burns's
Battery started for Snow's Hill.
There was a stubborn fight all along the road, and
229
History of DeKalb County
at last Snow's Hill was reached, where the Confeder-
ates made a stand, though not for long. It was soon
ascertained that a column of Federals had gone up
Dry Creek and out the Manhill road to strike them in
the rear and cut them off completely from escape.
This road passes by the farm of the widow George
Turner, through the Farler hollow, gradually climbs
the southern side of Snow's Hill, and intersects with
the stage road near the Atwell schoolhouse, east of
where the Confederates made their stand.
Discovering tlie intention of the enemy, Colonel
Huffman, with the Third Kentucky Confederates, was
sent to check them, but did not reach the gap in time.
However, he delayed the advance guard until the
troops of Colonel Breckinridge (now retreating) had
passed the point where the Union cavalry might have
cut them off from Smithville seven miles east.
Lieutenant Ridley, already quoted, says further in
his letter : "I recollect well that Snow's Hill fight. Gen-
eral Morgan was at McMinnville that day. The enemy
commenced pushing us back about daybreak from the
intersection of the Auburn and Alexandria Pike, grad-
ually driving us to Snow's Hill. Our regiment was
on the hill, and our troops formed all the way from
the hill to the rear of about where Colonel Stokes's
residence was. Our artillery was planted on the pike
approaching the hill (I believe it was Burns's Battery),
and we had an artillery duel for several hours. After
a while we were ordered to form a line of battle in the
rear of Snow's Hill, on the Dry Creek road. Quirk's
Scouts, it seems, were fighting Captain Blackburn, of
230
History of DeKalb County
Stokes's Cavalry, on that road and falling back on us.
The Dry Creek road at that point flanked the hill. As
we lay there, two or three other regiments formed be-
hind us, and our orders were, if too heavily pressed, to
fire and fall back on these regiments.
"Suddenly we saw the Yankees coming around the
hill on the Dry Creek road. Some of the men said it
was Joe Blackburn in lead of the cavalry. We fell
back on Duke's Regiment, while they fell back on an-
other regiment, so that we were all jumbled up to-
gether. Then our stampede began. It was said that
some of Stokes's cavalry recognized Captain Petticord
in our retreating troops. They had gotten out of am-
munition, but we were stampeded like cattle on the
prairie, and they dashed along behind us, calling : 'Halt
there, Petticord! Halt!' About this time I, with my
little pony that couldn't run, and Captain Sisson were
about to be captured, when the pony ran into a mud-
hole. It fell over two or three other horses that had
likewise floundered. My mouth was soon full of mud.
Captain Sisson had two loads in his navy and fired
them at our pursuers, who were also out of ammuni-
tion. These were the last shots of the famous stam-
pede, and they stopped the pursuers. Our command
moved on to Smithville and from there to ]\IcMinn-
ville. All scattered and broken up, we met Duke and
Morgan, who rallied us and took us back. The diffi-
culty with us was that Morgan had not been married
long and was with that good wife at McMinnville, and
our organization was bad.
"We 'seesaw^ed' after this, fought the battle of
231
History of DeKalb County
Greasy Creek, Ky., and went back to Liberty. It was
at Liberty that I got my commission as additional
aid to General Stewart."
Several men were killed in this fight and were
buried near the old Atwell schoolhouse, on Snow's
Hill. Dr. J. A. Fuson, of Dry Creek, turned his dwell-
ing into a hospital and treated the wounded free of
charge.
According to General Duke, the Confederates re-
turned to Liberty on April 7, 1863, in obedience to
orders from General Wheeler, who had reached Alex-
andria with Wharton's Division. Two or three days
later Wheeler, with a small force, proceeded to Leba-
non, where he remained three days. "During that
time," to quote Duke, "the enemy advanced once more
from Murfreesboro, but retreated before reaching our
pickets. Upon our return from Lebanon only a por-
tion of the forces were sent to Alexandria ; more than
half, under command of General Wheeler, passed
through Rome to the immediate vicinity of Carthage.
Remaining there during the night, General Wheeler
fell back toward Alexandria, reaching that place about
I or 2 P.M. Wharton's Division was again encamped
here, and Morgan's Division, under my command, was
sent to Liberty, except Smith's Regiment, which was
stationed near Alexandria."
In the latter part of April the First Brigade made
headquarters at Alexandria, encamping on the Leba-
non Pike and the roads to Carthage and Statesville.
The country around Alexandria, Auburn, and States-
ville was scouted in every direction, for Federal spies
232
History of DeKalb County
were numerous. On June lo General Morgan himself
arrived at Alexandria, and orders were issued to march
the next day. The great raider was about to start
from DeKalb County on his expedition into Indiana
and Ohio. His fighting in Middle Tennessee was over.
It should be added that while raiding in Indiana and
Ohio he was captured. Escaping from prison, he was
soon in East Tennessee, reaching Greeneville on Sep-
tember 3, 1864, and making his headquarters at the
residence of a Mrs. Williams. About daylight on the
4th some Union soldiers, dashing into town, surprised
and killed him. Duke seems to think he was betrayed
by Mrs. Williams's daughter-in-law; but Scott and
Angel, authors of a history of the Thirteenth East
Tennessee Regiment of Union Cavalry, say that a
twelve- or thirteen-year-old boy, James Leady, went to
Bull's Gap and informed General Gillem of the pres-
ence of the Confederates in Greeneville.
Of course the county was still to suffer from the
presence of soldiers. In less than a year from the de-
parture of Morgan's Cavalry a corpse was brought to
Liberty from White County which told of a disaster to
DeKalb Federals. It was that of George C. (Kit)
Turney, a very popular young man of the Clear Fork
country, who had been serving under Stokes. He was
killed February 22, 1864, in the battle of the Calf Killer
by White County Confederates.
That battle was really a massacre. Stokes was sta-
tioned at Sparta. It is said he had raised the black flag.
No quarter was to be given to such men as Champe
Ferguson, George Carter, John M. Hughes, W. S.
233
History of DeKalb County
Bledsoe, Gatewood, and other guerrillas. In February,
1864, he sent out a company to hunt down the guer-
rillas. Hughes heard of it and mustered a force to at-
tack the Federals, who were commanded by Capt. E.
W. Bass, The guerrillas, about forty, hid in ambush
in Dry Valley, on the headwaters of the Calf Killer,
and fired into Bass's unsuspecting company, killing
forty or fifty. The remainder fled to Sparta, probably
without firing a shot. One White County gentleman
who saw the dead Federals after they were brought in
says that thirty-eight were shot through the head and
three had been killed with stones. Among the names
of the slain, besides Kit Turney, were Ben Fuston, Jim
Fuston, Henry Hendrixon, Jerry Hendrixon, David
Grandstaff, J. B. Moore, David A. Farmer, Joseph
Hail, Jonathan Jones, T. J. Pistole, and Alex Stanley ,
all of DeKalb County. So, unaware, these men had
ridden into the jaws of death, into the mouth of hell.
The roadside blazed, there was a deafening volley, and
men in blue began tumbling from their horses. The
scene in that wild region must have been strikingly
weird. The sharp, cruel cracks of pistols and their in-
finitely multiplied reverberations from mountain to val-
ley (the cries of the dying blended with the metallic
clanging of the hoofs of scampering and riderless
horses) could never have passed out of the memory of
the survivors. James H. Overall stated to the writer
that one Federal, Russel Gan, fell on the field, and,
playing dead, afterw^ards hid in a hollow log and es-
caped after nightfall.
In the autumn of 1864 Gen. Joseph Wheeler, re-
234
History of DeKalb County
turning southward from his raid into East Tennessee,
passed through Liberty and Alexandria and on toward
Nashville. He had started from Georgia with four
thousand cavalry and four cannons. While in East
J ennessee he sent Gen. "Cerro Gordo" Williams, with
two thousand men and two cannons, to capture the
Federal garrison at Strawberry Plains. With General
Williams was i\.llison's squadron of DeKalb Countians.
Williams found the garrison too strong to attack and
attempted to overtake Wheeler, but failed. Wheeler
came to Sparta, having General Dibrell's regiment
with him. Dibrell was left at Sparta two days, while
Wheeler took McMinnville and, reaching Liberty, cap-
tured the stockade, which had been deserted on his
approach. Reaching Nashville, he kept the Federals
uneasy for some days, then marched south. In his re-
port he said he did not have a man or any material
captured. It is alleged that Wiley Odum, of Cherry
Valley, was the first of Wheeler's men to enter Liberty
on that raid.
Two or three days after General Wheeler passed
Gen. "Cerro Gordo" Williams, Dibrell's cavalry, and
Champe Ferguson's guerrillas came through, Fergu-
son bringing up the rear. The inhabitants along the
turnpike dreaded Ferguson, especially the Liberty peo-
ple. This town was the home of Stokes, Blackburn,
Hathaway, and Garrison, He burned James Lamber-
son's barn and thresher at Liberty for some cause.
On the pike west of the village he met W, G. Evans,
C. W. L. Hale, William Vick, and William Ford, who
had been to bury a neighbor, Mrs. John Bratten. The
235
History of DeKalb County
guerrillas asked where they had been. The reply would
have been satisfactory if Mr. Evans had not added:
"We also buried an unknown Confederate soldier in
Lamberson's field, where he had been shot by two De-
Kalb County Federals." The guerrillas then asked if
there was a Union man in the crowd; if so, he should
be killed in retaliation. Mr. Ford, a man of the high-
est character and most harmless disposition, was the
only one ; but his neighbors pleaded so earnestly for
him that he w^as spared.
James H. Fite, formerly a trustee of DeKalb County,
but now residing in Anthony, Kans., was a sixteen-
year-old private in Capt. Jack Garrison's company of
Federals. His home was on the pike a mile and a
half west of Liberty. Of some of his experiences, he
writes :
Our regiment, the First Tennessee Mounted Infantry, was
mustered in at Carthage early in 1864. About May the differ-
ent companies were sent to various portions of the State for
garrison duty and scouting after Champe Ferguson and other
guerrillas. A good part of my company (G) was from Liber-
ty and vicinity, the officers having been a part of Stokes's
regiment. We were first sent to Granville, above Carthage, on
the river, to build a stockade, and then to Liberty to build
another, our force numbering seventy-five or one hundred
men. The latter was well started when about the first of
September, late in the afternoon, Wheeler's cavalry took us
by surprise, and like a covey of birds we were scattered.
A week or so prior to this Gen. H. P. Van Cleve, at Mur-
freesboro, sent word to our officers that Wheeler was reported
coming through Sequatchie Valley and suggested to them to
scout in that direction and see if the news was correct. In-
stead of doing that they selected about twenty of us and went
236
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History of DeKalb County
through Lebanon and by Cedar Glade and Cainsville. We
returned to Liberty about two hours before Wheeler came
upon us from the direction of Smithville. It was a complete
surprise, and the result was a route. There was considerable
firing; and, while nobody was killed, they captured something
like a dozen of our boys.
My horse had given out on the expedition into Wilson
County, and I was riding one belonging to a member of
Stokes's regiment. In returning to Liberty I stopped at my
mother's, just west of that village, to get supper. She pre-
pared a sort of feast, setting the table on the front porch.
I recall the big peach cobbler. I had finished supper when T.
G. Bratten stopped at the gate and told me that they were
fighting in town and suggested that we ride down and take
part. As I had no horse, he went alone. He returned in a
gallop shortly, calling to me that the Confederates were com-
ing. I watched for the advance guard, soon seeing four about
three hundred yards away, and retreated in fairly good order
to a plum thicket back of the house. The Johnnies rode into
the yard. Having brother to hold their horses, they ate sup-
per. Mother said one of them, finishing first, walked to the
back door, and she expected every moment that I would shoot
him, though I would never have killed one from the bushes.
I am glad to this day I did not, for that Confederate too had
a mother somewhere waiting for his return.
About sunset quite a bunch came by and stopped. Their
officer proved to be a relative of ours. He asked for a pillow
for a wounded man, mother taking it to the gate. They had
already taken a buggy from a neighbor. When asked who
was in command, the officer said, "Wheeler," adding that the
force was ten thousand strong and would be a week in pass-
ing. In the night I went to the house ; and, learning that the
Confederates were under Wheeler, I was relieved. The im-
pression was that they were Ferguson's guerillas, and I knew
I would be murdered if caught by them.
The next day I found a hiding place, a thicket back of the
History of DeKalb County
field, and had a narrow escape. Some Confederates came
down to the creek very close to me, and a number went
swimming. Others were as thick as blackbirds in Eli Vick's
cornfield, just across the creek. While some were at the
house eating, a soldier went up and said that they had killed a
Yankee back of the field. It was supposed that some one in
the neighborhood told him to say that before mother, believing
that she in her emotion would give me away. My little broth-
er, Robert, whispered to her to be quiet, and he would go and
see if anybody was killed. When within thirty yards of me a
Confederate asked where he was going. His reply was that
he was hunting where the hogs had been getting into the field.
My brother soon found me and reassured mother. Truly
the mothers, daughters, sisters, and sweethearts deserve as
much honor as any of the soldiers.
After Wheeler passed through, our men got together again
and finished the stockade. I think we could have kept off
quite a force now, unless the attacking party had had cannon.
We were at the stockade when the battle of Nashville took
place between Hood and Thomas. We expected an attack
from Forrest, but I'm thankful he never came. Only sixteen,
I did not have sense enough at that age to be scared. I have
seen older men have ague when they expected an attack.
Stragglers from Wheeler's command depredated on
tlie farms near the turnpike. In this way Thomas
Givan, on Clear Fork, lost five fine mares. All the
horses on Eli Vick's farm were carried oflf. Many
other citizens suffered losses.
General Williams, as remarked, never overtook
Wheeler. On the way he camped at Alexandria,
where the troops of Allison's Squadron had an oppor-
tunity to meet their families and friends. Reaching a
point in Rutherford County, he went eastward on the
Woodbury Pike, where he had a considerable fight
238
History of DeKalb County
with the Federals. Later on he reached Saltville, Va.,
where the guerrilla, Capt, George Carter, a leading
spirit of the battle of the Calf Killer some months
previous, was killed October 2, 1864. Carter's slayer
was recognized and his body riddled with balls.
The war had demoralized both Federals and Confed-
erates. Many young men of excellent families through-
out the South and Tennessee became enamored of the
spirit of adventure, as shown in the daring and reck-
less exploits of cavalry raiders. This is how, perhaps,
Pomp Kersey's small company came into existence.
Kersey had been a private in Capt. L. N. Savage's
DeKalb County company of the Sixteenth Confederate
Regiment. Returning home, he for some reason did
not go back to his command, but remained on Short
Mountain, where he collected a band of ten or fifteen
fellow adventurers. Some of them had not reached
their majority. A leading business man of Nashville
writes: "Those men were run from home by Stokes's
troops, some of them being no more than sixteen years
of age. I knew several of Kersey's men. One of them
was between fifteen or sixteen. He afterwards got
into the regular Confederate army and died about
1910, a prominent and respected citizen of White
County."
The writer was very young when the band made
raids into Liberty, and he regarded its members with
prejudice from the fact that they took valuables from
William Vick and James Fuston. But another busi-
ness man of Nashville, who was reared in Smithville,
writes : "If they robbed anybody, it was because they
239
History of DeKalb County
thought he was a Union sympathizer, and pillaging ttie
enemy was not regarded as robbery. Regular Fed-
erals and Confederates did that."
This same gentleman relates an incident that took
place in Smithville during the war. "One day," he
says, "there gathered in the northern part of the town
a squad of men belonging to Company F, Blackburn's
Regiment, to secure Federal recruits — Ras Foster,
'Black Biir Foster, Jim Eastham, Pal Rigsby, John
Colwell, and others. Suddenly Kersey's men dashed
into town, stampeding the recruiters. Eastham killed
a horse trying to get away, while eight of the Federals
were killed, among them Rigsby and Colwell." An-
other DeKalb Countian says: "The Rebel citizens of
Smithville were pleased over this raid, for they had
much to bear. I recall how a Federal was pursuing a
citizen through mischief, shooting and pretending to
want to kill him, when the man's little son at the win-
dow suggested a new sort of military tactics, for he
cried out: 'Run crooked, pap, run crooked, an' maybe
the bullets will miss you !' "
As indicated, the Short Mountain men often entered
Liberty at night. On one of their raids they sur-
rounded the home of Squire Ben Blades, a pioneer and
good citizen of Union sympathies, about midnight.
He tried to escape out a back door, but a shot fired
through the door killed him almost instantly. After
this the citizens armed themselves, resolved on defense ;
but the raiders did not appear while they were on
watch.
On the evening of July 23, 1864, there was a dance
240
History of DeKalb County
on Canal Creek at the home of Mr. Dennis. A num-
ber of Federals were attending — Captain Hathaway,
Lieut. Thomas G. Bratten, Henry Blackburn, and a
man named Parrish. Dr. Shields, of Smithville, was
also there. Later in the night Louis Lyles and James
Clarke made their appearance. Clarke, a mere youth,
had on a Federal uniform, but was not a soldier.
None seemed to apprehend danger. The fiddlers
played and "called the figures," and the house rocked
to the rough dances of the time.
Kersey's men got word of the ball and the Federals'
presence and, about fifteen in all, came from Short
Mountain to exterminate the men in blue. It appears
that when Lyles and Clarke arrived with shouting and
shooting from down the creek the band, who were near,
withdrew, thereby putting off the attack.
Tired out at last, Hathaway had gone to sleep in a
room adjoining that of the merry-makers. Bratten
was sitting with a young lady on the stairway. It was
far in the night, but the buzz of conversation went on.
Two or three soldiers were preparing to mount their
horses when suddenly the hills resounded to the re-
ports of guns and the wild shouts of Kersey's men.
Bratten and Lyles reached their horses, but the former
had forgotten his gun. As he rushed back for it he
discovered the enemy in the yard, shooting. As they
passed the door he fired, somewhat checking them.
The girls were trying to awaken Hathaway ; and, call-
ing out that the bushwhackers were on them, Bratten
got on his horse and dashed away.
The scene was now one of confusion. Hathaway
i6 241
History of DeKalb County
had mounted his horse, Blackhawk, a fine animal that
could pace a mile in 2 130, but not before the assailants
had started in pursuit of his comrades. Nevertheless,
he resolved to overtake and pass the pursuers. Clarke
had been overtaken. Seeing that he could not escape,
he dismounted and from a sheltering tree trunk emptied
his pistols at the enemy. He was soon killed. While
this was going on Hathaway swept by. "I've just come
through hell !" he said.
The Federals were pursued no farther after the kill-
ing of Clarke. Hastening to Liberty, they later in the
day, with twelve men, set out to overtake Kersey and
his band. Stealthily approaching a thicket half a mile
south of Half Acre, they found Kersey's horses hal-
tered and a part of his men asleep. A volley was
poured into the slumberers. One of them, untouched,
lan down the mountain and escaped. Pomp Kersey
was also unhurt and mounted his horse, but could not
untie the halter. Bratten put his gun against him, but
it only snapped ; whereupon Kersey dismounted, but in
trying to get away he was killed by Bratten and Hatha-
way. Another man, perhaps twenty years of age, tried
to escape, but was slain by Hathaway and Dan Gan.
Five had been killed at the first volley.
Among the slain were Pomp Kersey, Jack Neely,
two Arnold brothers from Murfreesboro, a man named
Seats, Benton, Kelly, and one other. It seems that
two who slept some distance from the others escaped —
Ike Gleason, later of White County, and a man of the
name of Hawkins, who was some years later a citizen
of Oklahoma.
242
History of DeKalb County
The seven bodies were hauled to Liberty on an ox
wagon, reaching the village about sunset on July 24.
Thrown into a vacant storeroom, they were the next
day buried on the Daniel Smith farm, about one hun-
dred yards from the town bridge. Their remains were
exhumed after the war by friends and relatives and
carried to their respective neighborhoods and buried.
The Arnold brothers, who were regular soldiers, but
cut off from their command, were reinterred in the
Confederate Cemetery at Murfreesboro.
By and by fighting ceased throughout the county,
though the Federal blue was still in evidence. That
period in the writer's memory is blurred and hazy.
But one scene stands out clearly — that of his father,
C. W. L. Hale, who was an excellent reader, standing
in the midst of a group of villagers. Union and South-
em in their sympathies, with a Nashville newspaper
in his hand. It must have been April 16 or 17, 1865.
The late afternoon was cool and damp, but not gloom-
ier than the upturned faces. The Southern sympa-
thizers were filled with dread ; the others with sorrow.
They were listening to the earliest news they could get
of the assassination of Lincoln.
243
CHAPTER XXI.
Peace and the Aftermath.
When peace came in April, 1865, there was a feel-
ing of relief to the people at home, not entirely un-
mixed, however, with dread. It was not supposable
that neighbors who had been at war so long would
dwell together without friction. War makes us brutal
in action, while as it continues morality retrogresses.
In a measure the people who sympathized with the
South in the great struggle expected the triumphant
Unionists to be overbearing, and this was the case in a
few instances. It is to the credit of the Northern sym-
pathizers that hundreds of them seemed ready to en-
courage peace and amity. Not only was there a con-
servative faction with the successful side which did
everything possible to restore good will, but it was not
long before ex-Federal soldiers became the most loyal
patrons of those merchants who had been loyal to the
Confederacy. Such men as Joseph Clarke — there were
a number in the county — often risked life that the re-
turned ex-Confederates might have justice.
There were here and there a few men who, having
become desperate through war's carnage, were slow to
yield to the influences of peace. When inflamed by
strong drink they were especially hostile. So it was
that, following the war, there was here and there a kill-
ing, while some feuds developed. It is possible, human
nature being the same, that there would have been
among the Southern sympathizers an element just as
244
History of DeKalb County
lawless and overbearing had the cause of the South
succeeded.
It would have been wonderful had the noncom-
batants living in the villages shown no antagonism
toward each other occasionally while the war was
going on. Even the women now and then took sides.
One day the children of two ladies of opposite senti-
ments were scrapping. The parents of each passed
a few words. Said the one of less refinement: "The
children of no old 'secesh' can run over mine." "And
who are you?" asked the "secesh" with some scorn.
The answer was long-drawn-out and smacked of much
pride : "I'm a U-U-U-Union woman."
As a rule, however, neighbors got along well. The
Southern "skedaddlers" frequently found a safe refuge
in the homes of Unionists in the country. The writer
takes this opportunity to say that, though his parents
were Southern in sympathy, they were never molested
by Stokes, Blackburn, or Hathaway ; but, on the other
hand, were treated with great respect. Colonel Black-
burn one night was seen passing through the yard
spying while the village was filled with Confederates.
He was not reported — he was "a neighbor's boy" —
and went his way safely, as he knew he would.
Peace brought with it a new aspect to occasions like
elections. The freed negroes gathered by hundreds
in the towns. In vividness the scenes return to-day —
old blacks like Ike Lamberson, with competitors, sell-
ing cider and ginger cake, others vending melons, and
all noisy and happy over their liberation. If there was
any violence on their part, it is not recalled. There
245
History of DeKalb County
was a kindly feeling on the part of ex-slaves for their
'"white folks," and numerous families did not leave
their old quarters for some years.
As the soldiers swore mightily in Flanders, so there
was in DeKalb much drinking and fighting, particu-
larly on Saturdays and on election days. When the
L-oyal League, an order composed mainly of negroes,
was formed, it was regarded as a menace to the safety
of society, and many whites began to view the freed-
man with disfavor. The Ku-Klux Klan was organized,
and it soon had the blacks terrorized. No member of
the order was ever convicted in Tennessee. One in-
dictment at least was found in DeKalb County, and
two cases of whippings occurred. There were at one
time half a million members in the South. The order
was formed in Pulaski, Tenn., in the summer of 1866
and was disbanded in March, 1869. Its name con-
tinued to be used by unknown organizations, and al-
leged "Ku-Klux outrages" were reported as late as
1872. Governor Brownlow in 1868 called out the mili-
tia to suppress the order, many DeKalb Countians be-
coming militiamen.
Tennessee was readmitted to the Union in July,
T865. Prior to that (April 5) William G. Brownlow
was inaugurated Governor of the State. The legisla-
ture, in session that month, practically disfranchised
all those voters who had not been Union men. In
1866 the negroes were given the right to vote by the
Brownlow legislature, made up of Radicals and Con-
servatives, the former in favor of very harsh laws
toward the ex-Rebels, the latter Cwho had always been
246
History of DeKalb County
Union men) in favor of milder treatment. There \\a.s>
a "split," and the two wings, or factions, became very
bitter toward each other. In February, 1869, Gov-
ernor Brownlow was elected to the United States
Senate, the Speaker of the State Senate, D. W. C.
Senter, becoming Governor. In the same year Gov-
ernor Senter was a candidate for election, nominated
by the Conservatives. William B. Stokes was nomi-
nated by the Radicals.
There was an exciting joint canvass. Both candi-
dates were excellent speakers, Stokes, the "Bald
Eagle," being the better under normal conditions.
They spoke in DeKalb County in their itinerary.
Reaching Libert} , Stokes had luncheon at the home of
his brother-in-law, C. W. L. Hale, a Southern sympa-
thizer. In the afternoon the contestants held forth in
a grove near where the Murfreesboro road intersects
the Lebanon and Sparta Turnpike. The audience was
large and somewhat boisterous, but order was good.
Meantime plans had been put on foot to insure the
"Bald Eagle's" defeat. At the time of the contest the
Confederate element was led by Gen. John C. Brown.
His followers offered to support Senter if the latter
should allow them to vote. He agreed. The vote on
election day stood: For Senter, 120,234; for Stokes,
only 55,046.
The legislature was Democratic in both branches
and met October 4, 1869. Thus the Democratic party
regained ascendancy in about four years after the close
of the war.
Then came the convention, in 1870, to form a new
247
History of DeKalb County
Constitution — the one which exists at present. The
delegate from DeKalb County was Col, J. H. Black-
burn, as previously stated.
The people by a four years' war were placed as the
pioneers were — they had to begin over to establish
themselves socially and materially. In depicting their
makeshifts and customs one but depicts the makeshifts
and customs of the grandparents to a large extent, and
it is profitable and illuminative to sketch these rather
in detail.
Boots were almost wholly worn by men. The cus-
tom prolonged the life of the serviceable bootjack, once
familiar in all homes. There were no screened win-
dows. Wherefore the house fly was a greater nuisance
than now — that is, if he was as prone to load himseli
down with disease germs as he is to-day. The fore-
parents knew a thing or two, however, and used a "fly
broom" in the dining room. Some of these brooms were
things of beauty. An elderly lady named Grandstaff
lived on Dismal Creek, and her handiwork was so ar-
tistic as to give local prestige to a stream even so
wretchedly named as that. The brush of her fly
brooms was made of the tail feathers of peacocks ;
while the handle, some four feet long, was covered with
the plaited white quills of the same bird. It was gor-
geous and must have cost several dollars.
In the village and country back yards the homely ash
hopper was a familiar object — made usually of a barrel,
each end knocked out, and set on a slightly inclined
platform. It was filled with wood ashes, through
248
History of DeKalb County
which a few bucketfuls of water were allowed to seep.
The product was lye, and the product of lye and meat
rinds and bones boiled together was an excellent quality
of soft soap. By the way, the ash hopper was the
bete noir of the head of the house. The springtime
was not a sweet time to him until tlie ash hopper had
been made and filled. Somehow he dreaded the task,
and it is little wonder that a member of his tribe per-
petrated this: "The hardest things that come up in a
man's life are building the spring ash hopper and cut-
ting summer stove wood."
Another feature of the back yard was the dye pot.
The foremothers made much — almost all — of the
family's wearing apparel, as well as their carpets,
necessitating the cards for carding wool, the spinning
wheel, the reel, the winding blades, and the loom. All
of these, excepting the hand cards, were homemade.
To give the cloth, or thread, or "chain," for the carpet
the desired color, it was put into the dye pot. Dyeing
materials were logwood, cochineal, indigo, madder,
and copperas. Blue-mixed jeans was regarded the
most suitable for men's suits. A kind of jeans was
woven especially for vests, or "weskets," with red or
yellow stripes, and sometimes red, yellow, and blue
stripes occurred in the same piece. The writer during
the post-bellum period saw his mother make a "pat-
tern" for the sort of cotton dress goods she desired,
the weaver following it faithfully. Threads of dif-
ferent colors were wrapped around a bit of cardboard
or a flat piece of wood, the stripes — red, yellow, black,
01 blue — ^being of uniform width or varying to suit the
249
History of DeKalb County
fancy. When woven the cloth would indeed "fairly
hurt the eyes."
Tin molds for making candles were used some years
after the war. They were made in sizes to suit — to
mold a half dozen or a dozen tallow candles at a time.
A wick was run through each mold and fastened at
both ends. At the top all were attached, so that every
candle could be drawn out at once. The molten tallow
would then be poured in, forming around the wicks.
When the tallow had become hard the molds were
heated slightly, when the candles could be pulled out
easily.
Bread trays, bee gums of hollow logs, ax handles,
ox yokes and bows, rolling pins, chairs, chests (make-
shifts for trunks), water buckets, tubs, and churns
were handmade of buckeye, cedar, hickory, and other
woods. No doubt there are still hickorv chairs in Ten-
nessee made more than a century ago. Gourds sufficed
for dippers, while a larger variety were used in the
kitchen for holding salt, soft soap, brown sugar, and
the like.
A relic of the old times was the horse block near
the front gate of village or farmhouses. It was con-
structed for the ladies, who seldom rode in a carriage
and never dreamed of an automobile. They would
mount the horse from it if going visiting, while visiting
guests would dismount upon it. Horseback-riding was
popular as well as necessary if one were "going
abroad," as even neighborhood visiting was spoken of.
Riding man fashion was not in vogue even by the most
hoidenish girl. Ladies were, as may be imagined, ac-
250
History of DeKalb County
complished equestrians. Moreover, a country girl
prized a new sidesaddle and riding skirt as much as a
city girl would now prize a piano. Those of well-to-do
parents were often provided with a good mount,
usually a pacer. It was a delightful experience to see
some village belle and her beau taking a ride, the for-
mer, adorable in her riding habit, putting her pacer to
the limit, her escort keeping alongside on a galloping
animal.
Other "luxuries," necessities, and fashions of "auld
lang syne" were : Candle snuffers, casters, accordeons,
picture albums, paper collars, dickeys (false shirt
fronts), reticules, hoops, petticoats, bustles, chignons,
sunbonnets with pasteboard stiffening, snuff boxes and
hickory or althea toothbrushes, home remedies like
horehound sirup and vermifuge made of boiled pink-
root, knitting needles, yarn socks, breakfast shawls,
nubias, comforts, hair nets, and hair oil for men.
But the old order has passed away. Not only bug-
gies and carriages are common, but the automobile is
no longer amazing. In town and hamlet the girl who
"sets out" makes her debut; "infairs" are receptions;
"going abroad" is spending the week-end ; the "party"
or "frolic" has been turned into a function, and refer-
ence to color schemes, linen or kitchen showers, and
progressive luncheons does not send the latter-day
rural belle to the dictionary for light.
While from 1900 to 191 o the county lost 1,026 of
its population, it has made remarkable progress. In
1914 it was out of debt, with a comfortable surplus
($6,000) in the hands of the trustee. Every part
251
History of DeKalb County
shows tliis substantial progress. In the Highlands old
agricultural methods have given way to new, and thrift
followed in spite of the inferiority of the soil com-
pared with that in the Basin. Better homes and more
comfortable living are decidedly apparent. A feature
of that section is the great number of nurseries. It is
estimated that the income from them will reach a quar-
ter of a million dollars yearly.
In the Basin live stock and grain — "hog and hominy"
— still hold the closest attention of the farmers. There
are quite a number of fine farms with progressive
owners. United States Marshal John W. Overall pos-
sesses about nine hundred acres, raising cattle on a
large scale. Ed Simpson, near Alexandria, is widely
known among breeders for his registered Hereford
cattle.* Dr. T. J. Jackson, with about five hundred
acres, devotes much time to cattle. Herschel Overall,
with six hundred acres, sells annually a large number
of mules, cattle, and hogs. There are stockmen who
buy as many as two thousand suckling mules and raise
them to maturity with profitable results. J. I. Banks,
of Dry Creek, is regarded as one of the best bee-
keepers of the State. He makes a specialty of queens
and has patrons throughout the Union. Rev. O. P.
Barry, of Alexandria, besides doing a produce busi-
ness of $200,000 annually, is a successful breeder of
*It may be remarked that Mr. Simpson served in Company
H, Twelfth Regiment United States Volunteers, in the Philip-
pines. Other young men from the county who took part in
the war there were Gray Davis, Frank Colvert, George Brat-
ten, Lewis Smith, Robert Givan, and Herbert L. Hale.
252
History of DeKalb County
pure-bred hogs. The smaller farmers are touched with
the spirit of progress also and contribute largely to the
volume of business done by the six local banks. Under
such conditions it is not to be wondered at that mer-
chandising and other businesses succeed as never be-
fore.
The redemption of Pea Ridge strikingly illustrates
the spirit of progress. Twenty-five years ago the won-
der was if anything good could come out of this Naza-
reth. The years have replied. Pea Ridge is a long
ridge extending from Clear Fork to Dry Creek east-
ward and to Short Mountain on the south, covering
a territory from two to seven miles in width. It is
level and ten or twelve miles in length. The land was
covered with scrub oak, blackjack, and pine. For years
the inhabitants made a scant living by selling rails,
boards, hoop poles, baskets, charcoal, tar, whortle-
berries, chestnuts, and service berries. Here and there
one made whisky. Tom Anderson, a Pea Ridge citi-
zen of some humor, once observed that the people were
"only a tribe of board makers." But after the timber
showed indication of giving out the inhabitants began
to till the soil in earnest. To their surprise, it proved
quite productive. Orchards were planted, yielding
abundantly. No finer vegetables can be grown any-
where. Large crops of corn meet the eyes of the
traveler in season. It is really one of the best country
sections in the county. The moral tone has been ele-
vated also. There are schoolhouses, two churches, and
a well-patronized general store kept by M. D. Herman.
The circulation of agricultural and other journals
253
History of DeKalb County
has increased a thousandfold since the war. With the
telephone (it is in the homes of even small farm-
ers), better roads, lighter vehicles, good churches and
schools, and the rural service, the isolation which was
once noticeable is now negligible. The split-oak chair,
corded bedstead, and homemade clothing are rarely
seen. The fiddle and dulcimer have been banished for
the phonograph and piano. These material means in-
fluence the mental life, and both material and mental
changes act and react on the spiritual life for the bet-
ter. But it will be well if the swing toward the com-
mercial side does not go too far, allowing manhood to
decay while wealth accumulates.
254
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