Arlene Eakle’s Tennessee Blog

Live from the Redding CA Family History Expo!  Talking to attendees here, People from South Carolina migrated directly into TN.  Without stops along the way in North Carolina or Virginia.  Coming directly from South Carolina.

Watch surnames in directories and databases for exact locations to research.  This is where  a less common surname is a bonus.  And the strategy works  for moat surnames.

You can even map where the surnames are located and then study the flow of rivers and the directions the roads run.  Check  the easiest and shortest route first.  Then stop and search the indexes for the counties along the river, well into South Carolina.  Your favorite Tennessee genealogist, Arlene Eakle      http://arleneeakle.com

PS Still working on a borrowed computer.

Webmaster Kathryn here to let you know that’s why she’s missing in action.

The older histories of Tennessee and its environs drew heavily upon diaries and journals and letters of contemporaries.  For example, in Gilmore’s Rear Guard of the Revolution, he quotes from the “Tour of  Montpensier, the Duke of Orleans:”

May 7th [1796]At the Clinch Ferry they had heard much of the remarkable migration into that region which had followed the treaty of peace with the indians; twenty-four thousand whites and four thousand blacks, they learned, had crossed the ferry for the Cumberland Valley the year before.

And a favorite of mine, Walter T. Durham’s Before Tennessee:  The Southwest Territory, 1790-1796:  A Narrative History of the Territory of the United States South of the River Ohio. 1990. (Rocky Mount Historical Association, Rt 11E, Piney Flats TN 37686).  This book is available on microfiche at the FHLibrary #6101361. Consider this paragraph:

The increased use of militia for defense in 1793 cast paymaster David Allison in a prominent public role.  Although the militia was under the governor’s command and was both called to duty and dismissed by him, the soldiers received their pay from the federal government.  Payroll records were kept for each company, and the company captain’s responsibility was to see that they were promptly and properly submitted to the government for approval.  When Allison received monies for payrolls from Philadelphia, he advertised the dates and places for payday and the names of the captains who should appear for their companies [in the Knoxville Gazette].

Federal payrolls for each company and announcements in the newspaper of the captains who were to collect the pay for their companies.

And read on for this description of how the census was set up to ensure that all the population was counted:

On November 28, 1795 based on census reports from all eleven counties, Governor Blount certified to the Secretary of State Timothy Pickering that there were 77,262 inhabitants in the Southwest Territory, a total that comfortably exceeded the minimum requirement of 60,000 for statehood.  A generous count had been virtually assured by tying the sheriffs’ pay for conducting the census directly to the totals reported.   The larger the numbers reported, the more the sheriffs were paid.

Quoting from correspondence 17 Nov 1795 in the David Henley Papers 1748-1823 to document the clever trick.

[The Mero District census for 1790 is reported missing.  Only small portions of it appear in print.  See 1790 Census for Ohio, Volume 2 published by Ronald Jackson, AIS Printing.  It seems to me that a thorough search among the papers for the Territory Southwest of the River Ohio will probably turn up other portions of the lists.]

No comment is made, however, of the danger in tying the payroll to the numbers.  Padding the totes has always been a risk when the stakes are high–be careful with lists of names.  Be sure to verify their presence in the Territory from other sources, including the militia payrolls mentioned above.

Your research success in Tennessee will be in direct proportion to your diligence in running the lists against other lists.  And in your diligence in finding the lists in the first instance:  there is much to be discovered in the diaries and the journals and the letters written by the eye-witnesses to Tennessee history.  Your favorite Tennessee genealogist , Arlene Eakle http://www.arleneeakle.com

PS  Tune in to my Research Tips posted on Facebook. Click the link on my Home Page.

Many of the original land entries in Tennessee were Military Bounty Land Claims.  And while they were supposed to apply to the military land district only–along the Cumberland River in Middle Tennessee–claims on the land extended across eastern, middle, and into western Tennessee.

Availability of these extensive bounty lands led your ancestors to claim military service–even if they did not serve; or, even if they served on the wrong side; or, even if they served in the wrong state!   Even if, your ancestor was originally from Virginia, if he claims military service in North Carolina, for Tennessee lands, you can find him. By using the claim number with related document numbers, you can track your ancestor from Tennessee back to his home county in North Carolina.

What a great time it is to be searching for those difficult-to-find ancestors in Tennessee!

Military Bounty Lands: Located in Tennessee, under North Carolina laws

1780 Enlistment Act, 3,000 needed

- bounty land of 200 acres and a prime slave

- land awarded in Powell River Valley (East Tennessee)

1782 Military Claims Act, issue indents and certificates

- warrants issued for “duration of war” service to soldier or heirs

- Military District established along the Cumberland River in Davidson County

Privates, 640 acres

Non-coms, 1000 acres

Subalterns, 2560 acres

Captains, 3840 acres

Majors, 4800 acres

Surgeons, 4800 acres

Lt. Colonels, 5720 acres

Commandants, 7200 acres

Colonels, 7200 acres

Brigadier Generals, 12,000 acres

Chaplains, 7200 acres

Surgeon Mates, 2560 acres

- any soldier settled on military lands before 1780-, received 640 acres–called Pre-emption Grants.  Also included original settlers and other non-military persons living on Tennessee lands

1783 Military Warrants Act, register service with the Davidson County Entry Taker

1784 Extension Act, persons who served in the militia or died during settlement of Davidson County granted 640 acres.  152 persons are named in the law itself.

See Shirley Rice, The Hidden Revolutionary War Land Grants in the Tennessee Military Reservations. Lawrenceburg TN:  Family Tree Press, 1992.  See also the record abstracts of Dr. A. Bruce Pruit already referenced in previous Tennessee blogs.  Your favorite Tennessee genealogist, Arlene Eakle  http://arleneeakle.com

For the past few days, I have immersed myself in Tennessee records, Tennessee history, Tennessee ancestors–in short, in Tennessee Stuff.  You know the Southern word, “stuff”–pronounced with a slow drawl as if the word were spelled with ten u’s instead of just one, don’t you?

My apologies for such a break in this blog.  But a wise reader said I was better off saying nothing than using filler that wastes readers’ time…or words to that effect.  So I needed some time to fully organize my six linear shelves of Tennessee collectings (not including my books).

You get the payoff, hopefully, in new sources to search, new references to check, new libraries to visit, new ancestors to find.  Please stay tuned, I have some great stuff to share.  Your favorite Tennessee genealogist, Arlene Eakle http://arleneeakle.com

PS  A current ad for Home Depot tells us to “…turn our doing dials up a notch.”  Sounds like good advice for genealogists too.  Genealogy activity is down everywhere–even online.  BIG MISTAKE.

In 1966, Robert M. McBride wrote an article, well illustrated with county boundary maps, showing where the lost and discontinued counties of Tennessee were.  See “Lost Counties of Tennessee,” East Tennessee Historical Society Publications #38 (1966): 3-15.

There are 95 counties in Tennessee.  In the past counties may have existed briefly or only on paper, some were long-lived. Watch for records if your ancestors resided in these areas.

The Watauga Association of 1772 took the name of Washington District at the end of 1775 and in July 1776, petitioned North Carolina for annexation.  NC created the county of Washington in 1777 from Burke and Wilkes counties.  There is little evidence that either of these NC counties or the District of Salisbury or Western District exercised any jurisdiction over Tennessee territory.  At the time of the 1790 census, Tennessee was known as Territory South of the Ohio River.

Bell–1870, along the border of Alabama, present Fayette, Hardeman, McNairy Counties

Christiana– 1870, name changed to present Loudon County

Christian–1852, 1869, parts of present Carroll, Gibson, Madison, tip of Crockett.  Also called Grant County.

Caswell–1785-86, under State of Franklin [settled from Caswell NC?], present Jefferson County

Cumberland–1837, 1844, 1856 as present Cheatham County

Etheridge–1870, parts of present Carroll, Henry, Weakley, and Gibson Counties

Hanes–1877, parts of present Benton, Decatur, Henderson, Carroll Counties

Hanover–1844, present Fayette County

Hatchie–1846, present Hardeman and McNairy Counties, overlapped with Bell

James–1871-1919,  eastern part of Hamilton County.  Citizens brought suit in 1890 to keep county intact until 1919.

Jones–1844, parts of Monroe, Loudon, and Blount Counties

Lewis–1843- 1869, present Lewis County

Nashoba–1871, southeastern Shelby County

Powell–1835, parts of present Hawkins, Greene, Sullivan, Washington Counties

Putnam–1842, 1854, present Putnam County

Spencer– under State of Franklin, 1785-86: present Hawkins, Hancock, parts of Claiborne, Grainger, and Hamblen Counties

Taylor–1852, parts of present Hardin and Wayne Counties

Tennessee–original county, 1788,  present Montgomery (1796), Robertson (1796), Cheatham, parts of Dickson, Houston, Stewart

Wayne–1785-86, under State of Franklin, present Johnson, Carter, parts of Unicoi and Washington Counties

Webster–1873, parts of present Claiborne, Campbell,Union

Wisdom–1875, present Chester County

These counties are “lost” because of change of name, failure to comply with constitutional requirements, temporary abolishment then being re-established, consolidation with another county, etc .   Your favorite Tennessee genealogist, Arlene Eakle   http://www.arleneeakle.com

Where there is no direct proof  of relationship in the records, and the documents do not appear to give obvious circumstantial clues, you can use other elements of identity to show probable relationship:

1. Migration Patterns: Family members tend to move together in groups from one place to another.  This is especially true  where adult sons or sons approaching marriageable ages do not already have land holdings.  The father will move to a place where can either acquire sufficient land to share with his sons or where the  vacant land available will allow them to buy their own land.

Russell Gist was a blacksmith, born in Kentucky about 1805.  Searches in eight separate counties for his origins disclosed that Thomas Gist is the only Gist male of the right generation, in the right places, at the right time periods to qualify as the father of Russell Gist.

Thomas Gist outlines his own migrations in his Revolutionary War pension file S1762.  He resided in Greene County TN and enlisted from there.  About 4 or 5 years after the war he moved to Knox County TN where he lived 9 years.  This would place him in Knox County from 1787 to 1796.  He then moved to Barren County KY where “I remained till  about twenty three years ago.” His statement was made 21 Aug 1832, placing him in Barren County until 1809.  During this time Russell Gist was born in Kentucky.

Thomas then moved to Smith County TN across the state line, where he stayed for two years only.  Last, he moved into White County TN just in time to appear on the tax rolls in 1811.  He remained in White County TN until his death.  Making most of these same moves were Thomas’ father Benjamin.  His brothers :  Joseph with whom Thomas had served in the war, certifying the service of them both in affidavits submitted with their pension applications.  And William.

Joseph Gist remained in Barren County.  William died in either White County or  Jackson County TN.  William had land holdings in both counties and the loss of the records byfire, makes it difficult to determine which.

Stay tuned for other chapters in the Gist saga.  Your favorite Tennessee Genealogist, Arlene Eakle http://www.arleneeakle.com

We stand on the shoulders of those who’ve gone before!

No where is this statement more visible than Tennessee Research.  We have all bemoaned the lack of early census schedules for Tennessee–especially East Tennessee counties.

In post for 5 June 2009, I described finding the “Early Ohio Records Series, Volume 2″ which Ronald Jackson published several years ago.  These entries were listed as South of the Ohio River, a description of the territory encompassing East Tennessee.  And the names are East Tennessee names.

Now we have Partial Census of 1787 to 1791 of Tennessee (as taken from North Carolina Land Grants), 2 volumes.  Compiled by Lucy Kate McGhee–one of Penelope Johnson Allen’s DAR members who worked on the Historical Records Survey program of the WPA.

Do you suppose that this volume is one of the 1500 volumes that Mrs. Allen and her corps of volunteers prepared?

There is a copy, and it is indexed, at the Family History Library on microfilm reels #1728882 item 4 and #1683130 item 3.  The filming was done in 1990, probably at the Tennessee State Archives.  And this record is easy to overlook in the Family History Library Catalog.

The Daughters of the American Revolution have always tried to shorten and ease the research process for their members seeking new Revolutionary War ancestors.  They do the same for those who register with them before they actually prove a lineage.

So creating a substitute census from land grants made by the State of North Carolina is not surprising.  I am going through the Family History Library Catalog as I have a chance, to identify other volumes prepared by the DAR.  And I will share the information with you as I discover them.

There will be copies of these volumes in other libraries.  When the original typing was done, up to 7 carbon copies were made so they could be spread around.  When you visit Tennessee, watch for these volumes in public libraries and archives as well as used book stores.  Your favorite Tennessee genealogist, Arlene Eakle  http://www.arleneeakle.com

PS  I’m going to the Tennessee State Archives and other libraries around the state very soon.  If you have a research problem you’d like help on, let me know.

The Western District of Tennessee–West Tennessee– includes three counties along the border with Middle Tennessee, 13 counties and three cities, and Shelby County,  which was the first county created in the district.

Shelby, 1819, Hardin 1819, Perry 1819, and part of  Humphreys originally created in 1809.  City of  Memphis built on one the noblest of the Chickasaw Bluffs.

Henry 1821, Carroll 1821, Madison 1821, and Henderson 1821.  City of Jackson, originally named Alexandria.  City of Paris, established 1823 in Henry County.

Dyer, Fayette, Gibson, Hardeman, Haywood, McNairy, Obion, Tipton,  and Weakley counties created in 1823.

With the cession of the Western Country in 1784, the right of entry to lands was restricted to citizens of North Carolina.  The Land Office was actually opened 20 Oct 1783, at Hillsborough NC, with John Armstrong as the entry taker.   Entries could be made for not more than 5,000 acres at one time at 10 pounds per 100 acres.  [This was a stiff price, considering that Georgia was selling land for 1 1/2 cents per acre.]

Over 2 1/2 million acres were entered by the leading politicians of North Carolina who also voted to close the Land Office in 1784.  They intended to sell their entries to the highest bidder.

Surveyors included William Tyrell Lewis headquartered at Nashville, Col James Robertson at Cumberland, Henry Rutherford, Edward Harriss, and Isaac Roberts.

Lands continuted to be granted, by extension of the law, since there were no counties or civil authorities west of Nashville.  In 1787, however, a trace was opened from Nashville into West Tennessee.  It was called Glover’s Trace after William Glover, a leader of the Chickasaw.  And Trace Creek, in Humpherys County turned south into Henderson and McNairy counties to the Chickasaw towns of North Mississippi.  A branch extended to the Chickasaw Bluffs overlooking the Mississippi River.

Trading posts, called factories (using the Scottish outpost term) were established at Chickasaw Bluffs.  And Andrew Jackson proposed that the factories deliberately run the Chickasaws into debt for goods so they would be willing to cede their lands to clear it.

The Natchez Trace, the most well-known road, was negotiated in 1801 with the Chickasaws to run from the Cumberland settlements to Natchez on the River.  It linked Fort Adams and Fort Pickering.

These historical facts are recounted by Samuel Cole Williams in his Beginnings of  West Tennessee:  In the Land of the Chickasaws, 1541-1841. Johnson City TN:  The Watauga Press, 1930.

Two other references are recommended if you have West Tennessee Roots–

1. Genealogical Nuggets from Some of the Antebellum Newspapers of Memphis and Randolph Tennessee. Compiled by Jonathan K.T. Smith, 1998.  Available from the author, PO Box 2767, Station 238, Jackson TN 38302.  I saw a copy of this volume at the Memphis Public Library and found it very useful.
2. “The Chickasaw Bluffs Factory and its Removal to the Arkansas River, 1818-1822,” Tennessee Historical Quarterly 11 (Mar 1952) 41-56.  This article written long ago by the Rev. Aloysius Plaisance, describes a whole series of early records that document settlement and trade in the Western District:  Trading Houses–Colerain on the St. Mary’s River, to the Creeks; Tellico to the Cherokees; and Chickasaw Bluffs (1802) to the Chickasaws; Piqua, Illinois Bayou, and Spadre Bluffs, 1820-24.

Plaisance also describes NARA Record Group 75, Bureau of Indian Affairs:

Ledger Accounts, Chickasaw Bluffs, 1803-05

Indent Books, 1804-1819

Invoices Inward, 1796-1805

Record Copies, Letters Sent, Vol A 1807-08, Vol B 1809-1812, Vol D 1816-1818, Vol E 1818-1820.

Lists of Goods Needed, 1808

Journals, 1814

Letters Received, 1817-1824

Documents printed in American State Papers–Indian Affairs (printed by the Government Printing Office).

To my knowledge, these sources have never been quoted in a family history or genealogy.  Probably have not been consulted either for those ancestors who begin their presence in West Tennessee before the formation of counties and civil jurisdictions.  Your favorite Tennessee genealogist, Arlene Eakle  http://www.arleneeakle.com

PS Add these sources to your growing list of Tennessee genealogy resources.  And remember that I am compiling a Master List of Tennessee Genealogy Records and Sources.

Connecting a Tennessee ancestor to origins in North Carolina during and after the Revolutionary War is often a difficult task.

Dr. A.Bruce. Pruitt’s land records abstracts and consolidated indexes for Tennessee and North Carolina create a new printed database of major significance! He researched and compiled the books; he published the books; and he will sell you copies of the books.  Write him at Dr. A.B. Pruit, Box 815, Whitakers NC 27891.

If your ancestor is found in Tennessee early–there are two North Carolina Military Reserves, one in East Tennessee created in 1780 before the Revolutionary War was over and one in Middle Tennessee created in 1783 immediately after the war.  In Colonial times and following the Revolutionary War, the availability of extensive bounty lands in Tennessee attracted North Carolina ancestors to claim military service–even if they did not serve; or, even if they served on the wrong side; or, even if they served in the wrong state!

Exact Proof!

Dr. Pruitt has indexed all the parts of the military bounty land claims records for North Carolina, including the investigations of fraud. And now for the first time, you can spot your ancestor; then, using the claim number and the related document numbers, you can track your ancestor from Tennessee back to his home county in North Carolina with exact proof. The claim numbers are the same in the records for both states. If your ancestor died, his heirs inherited his claim numbers.

Even if your ancestor was originally from Maryland or from Virginia or from Pennsylvania, if he claims military service from North Carolina, you can prove him with exact proof! What a great time it is to be searching for those difficult-to-find- Tennessee ancestors.

Works by Dr. A.B. Pruitt included in the new printed database:
Index of People and Places in North Carolina Land Warrants, 1735-1774. [Whitakers NC]:  A. B. Pruitt, 2004. Land warrants from the Crown Land Office abstracted in 11 volumes and articles, printed between 1984-1996. The original documents are filed in the N.C. State Archives in Raleigh. Each entry uses the warrant number to identify the documents.  Warrants can be used to fill in data when entry books are missing.

North Carolina Land Warrants in Tennessee–Valid and Invalid, 1771-1815. [Whitakers NC]:  A.B. Pruitt, 2004.  Original warrants in Group 50, Tennessee State Archives.

Index to North Carolina Land Entries, 1778-1795. 3 vols.  [Whitakers]:  A.B. Pruitt, 2001. Includes entries abstracted and printed by various compilers, 1971-2001.

Place Name Index to North Carolina Land Entries, 1778-1795. [Whitakers NC]:  A.B. Pruitt, c. 1987-2001.  Index to 66 volumes of  county land entries.

Glasgow Land Fraud Papers, 1783-1800. 2 vols. Privately printed by the author 1988-93. Watch for multiple indexes in both volumes. Very important work.

Tennessee Land Entries: John Armstong’s Office. Pt 1: Land Entries. Pt 2: Land Surveys and Indexes. 1780-1800. By the author, 1995.

Tennessee Land Entries: Military Bounty Land, Martin Armstrong’s Office, 1783-97. 7 vols. 1. Location Book (#3138-4839). Includes important introduction. Be sure to read it. 2. Location Book (#5572-7490, 2754-3111). 3. Warrants, First Series (#1-2500), 1783-85. 4. Warrants, First Series (#2501-5312), 1785-97. 5. William Christmas’s Office, Warrants, Second Series (#1-1242), 1799-1841. 6. and 7. Every name Indexes.  Sources used in these volumes:
- Transcribed copies of Martin Armstrong’s location books, TN Archives, Rg 50, Series 2-3
- Loose papers, file 080 Washington County, Tennessee
- North Carolina Land Warrants
- Papers of the Nashville Land Office
- Tennessee Revolutionary War Warrant files
- North Carolina Board of Inquire papers, SS753-756
- North Carolina Secretary of State’s Land Grant Papers, NC Archives
- MARS Computer File System, NC Archives
- North Carolina Session Records, North Carolina Assembly Papers (Card index in NC Archives)
- Tennessee Revolutionary War Petitions.  Transcripts by Miss Marybelle Delamar, 5 bound vols., NC Archives. Includes name index.  Abstracts printed in North Carolina Genealogical Society Journal, vols. 1-6.
-Tennessee Military Bounty Grants, 15 reels of microfilm.  Can be borrowed from TN State Archives.

Tennessee Land Warrants: Pt. 1, Green and Sullivan counties;  Pt. 2, Surveyors’ rights, preemption claims, guard rights, etc.  Pt. 3, Index. [Whitakers NC]:  A.B. Pruitt, 1999.

Tennessee Land Entries:  Washington County, 1778-1796. 3 vols. [Whitakers NC]:  A.B. Pruit, 1997. In 2007, Dr. Pruitt published a fourth volume covering1802-05, 1824-75, 1879-1904. [Whitakers]:  A.B. Pruitt, 2000.  This volume includes indexed record abstracts for both East and West Tennessee.

William Maclin Warrants and West Tennessee Commissioners’ Decisions, 1783-1816.

West Tennessee Surveys, 1783-1788. [Whitakers NC]:  A.B. Pruitt, 2000.

Unless your ancestor was exempt, he served in the military for some period of his life regardless of where he lived. Being able to document Revolutionary War military service–and sometimes French and Indian War service–through bounty land records and being able to link your ancestor with a place of origin before Tennessee–priceless.  Your favorite Tennessee genealogist,  Arlene Eakle  http://www.arleneeakle.com

PS  NEW Kentucky blog launched yesterday, 19 June 2009.  Check it out.