Founding Families

(Photograph by Kay Barnes, Huntsville Times (AL), included in Leona Taylor Aiken's Adventure II -- Journey II, 1976, published by the Sullivan County Historical Society, Kingsport, TN, 1979. Reproduced by permission.)

Probably little known beyond Tennessee was the unique celebration of America's Bicentenary in 1976 through the reenactment of the overland and river treks from upper East Tennessee to the Cumberland River bluffs in Middle Tennessee, where Nashville was founded in 1779-80. Nashville writer and historian Katherine (Mrs. Mel, Jr.) Barnes conceived the idea, inspired by local author Alfred Leland Crabb's 1957 historical novel, Journey to Nashville. Mr. and Mrs. Barnes researched and retraced both the overland and river journeys during 1972-75, then secured the support of the Tennessee Scenic Rivers Association, the Tennessee American Revolution Bicentennial Commission, and the Sullivan County Historical Society in Kingsport for recreation of the two historic passages in the summer of 1976. Nashvillians joining Katherine Barnes to plan the mini-flotilla voyage were James I. "Buddy" Caldwell, III, Allan Bass, and Don Patterson (who oversaw building of the three flatboats--Adventure II, Rachel, and Charlotte--in November, 1975, at Rock Harbor Marina near Nashville). Mel Barnes, Jr., planned the overland trek.

The flotilla's river voyage from Netherland Inn in Kingsport, where they embarked June 6, to the replica of Fort Nashborough on Nashville's Cumberland River bluffs, where they arrived August 7, 1976, was enthusiastically applauded by observers all along the 1006-mile voyage. Seeing the volunteer-pioneers aboard the wooden vessels carried by the river's swift currents (with the modern advantage of flood control by Tennessee Valley Authority dams) was probably the closest any contemporary citizen could come to understanding the magnitude of that dangerous, death-attended voyage to open the western frontier (of North Carolina at that time) in late 1779 and early 1780. As Theodore Roosevelt described the 1779-80 voyage of the Good Boat Adventure and accompanying 33-boat flotilla in his Winning of the West: "The voyage of John Donelson and his party down the Tennessee River, and up the Cumberland, is one of the most thrilling in history. . .In its political and historical consequences, it was one of the eventful occasions in the life of this nation, being equal in importance to the settlement of Jamestown or the landing at Plymouth Rock."

Following is the recorded list of the pioneer / founding families aboard the fleet of 30 flatboats and several pirogues that arrived April 24, 1780, at the almost-completed upper or central station on the Cumberland bluffs. Awaiting them were General James Robertson's overland party of men, boys, and livestock, which had arrived at French Lick in December, 1779, and crossed the frozen Cumberland River on Christmas Day to establish an outpost of civilization.

John Donelson, Sr.; Rachel Stockley Donelson; Rachel Donelson, 3 sisters; John Donelson, Jr. & family; William Donelson; Jacob Donelson; Severn Donelson; Leven Donelson; Samuel Donelson; Abel Gower, Sr. & wife; Abel Gower, Jr.; Nancy Gower; Mr.____ Stuart; Reuben Harrison; Frank Haynie [also spelled Haney]; Thomas Henry; Capt. Jno. Blackmore [also spelled Blackemore and Blackamore]; Maj. John Cockrill, Jr. [pictured at right] johncockrill.jpg (11054 bytes)

John Gibson; Andrew Lucas; Susan Drake; Frederick Stump; Ann S. Stump; Frederick Stump, Jr.; M. Rounsever [also spelled Rounsifer and Rounsaval] & family; Ann Robertson Johnson [widow]: 3 daughters;

William Crutchfield & family; Robert Cartwright & family; Jonathan Jennings & family; Francis [also listed as Frank] Armstrong & family; James Johns, Sr. & family; Benjamin Porter & family; Solomon Temple & family; John Montgomery & family; Jesse Maxwell & family; John Caffrey & family; Mary Purnell & family; Haydon Wells; Amos Eaton; Thomas Hutchings; Benjamin Belew; Peter Looney [also spelled Luney]; Hugh Rogan; Daniel Givin; Charlotte Robertson [pictured at right] & family crobertson~stmuseum.jpg (40398 bytes)

John White; Solomon White; Sol. Turpin; Joseph Renfroe & family; Moses Renfroe & family; Isaac Neely & family; John Cotton & family; Isaac Lanier & family; Mary Henry & family; James Cain & family; John Boyd & family; Daniel Dunham & family.

Names listed on the bronze tablet erected by the Watauga Cumberland Settlers Association to commemorate the Landing of the Pioneers, April 24, 1780, Nashville, Tennessee.

Note to Researchers: Please bear in mind that the above listing provides only one source for tracking down Nashville's founding families. Tennessee has marvelous research facilities in all five major cities, and especially in the Tennessee State Library & Archives in Nashville (http://www.tennessee.gov/sos/statelib/tslahome.htm ). Exceptional resources are now available through the USGenWeb online, with electronic pages for each state. Tennessee has links for those "active" sites in our 95 counties -- i.e., Davidson County's URL is http://www.rootsweb.com/~tndavids/nashgene.htm and a productive site for pre-voyage (1779-80) families is the Sullivan County link: http://www.tngenweb.org/sullivan.htm

Another fascinating exercise in sleuthing "founding families" is to scour old history books for any "random" mention of pioneer families, such as in Kentucky-native Harriette Simpson Arnow's 1960 Seedtime on the Cumberland. Her book (as well as its companion volume, Flowering of the Cumberland, 1963) is devoted to Middle Tennessee frontier culture and abounds with meticulous research and footnotes. Arnow's text is liberally laced with names of pioneers who arrived at French Lick / Big Salt Lick / Nashborough at the same time or on the heels of the Robertson and Donelson parties in 1779-80. Considering how many intrepid settlers lost their lives during 1780-83, these hardy civilization-builders should, indeed, be termed "founding families": Catharine Lefever, widow of Isaac Lefever; Mrs. Ephraim Peyton (killed); Hugh Henry, Sr.; Daniel Chambers; David Gwinn; John Buchanan, Sr., wife, and 3 sons: Samuel, Alexander, and John; Cornelius and Jane Mulherrin Ruddle; John and James Mulherrin, with their families; Sampson and Daniel Williams; Thomas Thompson; Anthony Bledsoe; Humphrey Hogan; Thomas and Josiah Ramsey; William and Benjamin Drake; Hugh F. Bell; Philip Conrad; Nicholas and Philip Tramel; Major Thomas Hickman; Thomas Spencer; Hugh and James Leeper (also spelled Leiper); and John Turnbull. Many of these surnames survive today in names of waterways, roads, towns, and even counties.

Another valuable resource for those tracking Nashville's founding families is A. W. Putnam's 1859 History of Middle Tennessee or, Life and Times of Gen. James Robertson (reprinted in 1971 by the state Tennessee Historical Commission and the University of Tennessee Press, Knoxville). Excerpted from this volume is a brief, paraphrased synopsis of Robertson's overland trek from Watauga to the French Lick, followed by the listing of 249 males signing the "Articles of Agreement" or "Compact of Government" -- popularly known as the Cumberland Compact -- on May 13, 1780.

Before the close of February, 1779, James Robertson, William Neely, George Freeland, Edward Swanson, James Hanley, Mark Robertson, Zachariah White, and William Overhall (also spelled Overall) set out from Watauga in western North Carolina (present upper-east Tennessee) for the French Lick on the Cumberland River (now Nashville). A Negro man made up the ninth member of the party. Soon after they reached their destination, they were joined by another small company under the leadership of Casper Mansker. After making preparations for a crop and planting corn seed, three of the men--Overhall, White, and Swanson--were left to keep the buffaloes out of the "uninclosed fields" and the rest returned to Watauga to prepare their families for removal to French Lick. James Robertson did not immdiately return to Watauga, but detoured to Illinois to see General George Rogers Clark, who as the agent of Virginia was dispensing "cabin rights" on very favorable terms. Robertson thought it possible that when the line between Virginia and North Carolina was run it would throw the new Cumberland River settlement in Virginia. Thus he wished to get secure titles and eliminate any future complications over ownership. After making provisional arrangements with General Clark, Robertson returned to his family to prepare for the pending relocation to the Cumberland country.

By the first of November, 1779, James Robertson led 200-300 "movers," some on horseback and some on foot, from Watauga toward the western frontier to prepare for the later arrival of the party's women and children, to be led over waterways by John Donelson. Robertson's brothers, Mark and John, were in the party, as well as his oldest son, 11-year-old Jonathan, who drove the sheep. Edmund Jennings, 25 years old, held rear guard to keep an eye on the flocks and herds. The men were joined en route by John Rains and a number of his friends, who then decided to settle at French Lick, rather than in Kentucky. The end of the journey was not reached until Christmas, due to delays caused by the winter described as "the coldest one that has been known in the history of this country."

The settlers who remained on the east side of the Cumberland and built themselves cabins connected by stockades were Frederick Stump, Sr.; Amos Eaton; Haydon Wells; Isaac Roundsever; William Loggins; and _____ Winters. The place was called Eaton's Station. The majority of the party crossed over the river, the ice being strong enough to sustain not merely the men, but also the 17 horses, 19 cows, and two steers of the "provident John Rains." The next day, Rains picked out his 1,000 acres on land on the waters of Brown's Creek. Freeland and a few others soon erected a station to the north (present north Nashville). All the rest, at the suggestion of Robertson, built their cabins at the bluff of Cumberland River. (Over the following year, there were as many as eight stations -- see listing in Cumberland Compact text, below -- within a 20-mile radius of the bluff.) To this nucleus of Cumberland settlement arrived Donelson's flotilla of 30 flatboats and several pirogues on Monday, April 24, 1780.

This ink drawing by the late Jack Knox of Nashville of the original Fort Nashborough, built on Cumberland River in 1780, is based upon a sketch of the fort by pioneer Andrew Castleman, Indian fighter and scout, who probably lived in the fort. The original Castleman sketch is in the manuscript section of the Tennessee State Library and Archives, Nashville.

On May 1, 1780, the "Articles of Agreement, or Compact of Government" - popularly known as the Cumberland Compact - was drawn up, with additional resolutions on May 13, 1780. Names of 249 males were signed, representing those buying land from Richard Henderson and Company under the Watauga purchase of 1775. Although this interesting document is probably the closest equivalent to a "written record" of the founding families, according to Arnow in Seedtime on the Cumberland (p.243), "equally interesting is the number of known settlers who did not sign; these include John Buchanan, Jr. and Sr., Edward Swanson, William and Isaac Neely, . . .neither John Rains nor Edmund Jennings signed." With that stipulation noted, the 249 males represented the eight stations of Nashborough, Gasper's, Bledsoe's, Asher's, Stone's River, Freeland's, Eaton's, and Fort Union, and are as follows: Richard Henderson, Samuel Deson, David Shelton, Nathaniel Hart, Samuel Marten, Spill Coleman, Wm. H. Moore, James Buchanan, Samuel McMurray, Samuel Phariss, Solomon Turpin, P. [Pleasant] Henderson, John Donelson [Col.], Isaac Rentfro, Edward Bradley, Gasper Mansker, Robert Cartwright, Edward Bradley, Jr., John Caffery, Hugh Rogan, James Bradley, John Blakemore, Sr., Joseph Morton, Michael Stoner, John Blakemore, Jr., William Woods, Joseph Mosely, James Shaw, David Mitchell, Henry Guthrie, Francis Armstrong, Thomas Henricks, W. Russell, Jr., Robert Lucas, John Holladay, Hugh Simpson, James Robertson, Frederick Stump [in Dutch], Samuel Moore, George Freeland, Joseph Denton, James Freeland, William Hood, Arthur McAdoo, John Tucker, John Boyd, James McAdoo, Peter Catron, Jacob Stump, Nathaniel Henderson, Philip Catron, Henry Hardin, John Evans, Francis Catron, Richard Stanton, Wm. Bailey Smith, John Dunham, Sampson Sawyers, Peter Luney, Isaac Johnson, John Hobson, John Luney, Adam Kelar, Ralph Wilson, James Cain, Thomas Burgess, James Givens, Daniel Johnson, William Burgess, James Harrod, Daniel Jarrot, William Green, James Buchanan, Sr., Jesse Maxey, Moses Webb, William Geioch, Noah Hawthorn, Absalom Thomson, Samuel Shelton, Charles McCartney, John McVay, John Gibson, John Anderson, James Thomson, Robert Espey, Matthew Anderson, Charles Thomson, George Espey, Wm. McWhirter, Robert Thomson, William Gowen [or Gower], Barnet Hainey, Martin Hardin, John Wilfort, Richard Sims, Elijah Thomson, James Espey, Titus Murray, Andrew Thomson, Michael Kimberlin, James Hamilton, William Seaton, John Cowan, Henry Dougherty, Edward Thomelu, Francis Hodge, Zach. White, Isaac Drake, William Fleming, Burgess White, Jonathan Jenings, James Leeper, William Calley, Zachariah Green, George Leeper, James Ray, Andrew Lucas, Daniel Mungle, William Ray, James Patrick [his X mark], Patrick McCutchen, Perley Grimes, Samuel McCutchen, Samuel White, Richard Gross, William Price, Daniel Hogan, John Drake, Henry Kerbey, Thomas Hines, Daniel Turner, Joseph Jackson, Robert Goodloe, Timothy Feret, Daniel Ragsdil, Thomas W. Alston, Isaac Lefever, Michael Shaver, William Barret, Thomas Fletcher, Samuel Willson, Thomas Shannon, Samuel Barton, John Reid, James Moore, James Ray, Joseph Dougherty, Richard Moore, Thomas Denton, Charles Cameron, Samuel Moore, Elijah Moore, Isaac Rounsavall, John Cordry, John Moore, James Crocket, Nicholas Tramal, Andrew Ewin, Andrew Crocket, Haydon Wells, Ebenezer Titus, Russell Gower, Daniel Ratletf, Mark Robertson, John Shannon, John Callaway, John Montgomery, David Shannon, John Pleake, Charles Campbell, Jonathan Drake, Willis Pope, William Overall, Benjamin Drake, Silas Harlan, John Turner, John Drake, Hugh Leeper [also Leiper], Nathaniel Overall, Mereday Rains, Harmon Consellea, Patrick Quigley, Richard Dodge, Humphrey Hogan, Josias Gamble, James Green, James Foster, Samuel Newell, James Cooke, William Morris, Joseph Read, Daniel Johnston, Nathaniel Bidlack, David Maxwell, George Miner, A. Tatom, Thomas Jefriss, George Green, William Hinson, Joseph Dunnagin, William More, Edmund Newton, John Phelps, Jacob Cimberlin, Jonathan Green, Andrew Bushoney, Robert Dockerty, John Phillips, Daniel Ragsdell, John Crow, George Flynn, John McMurty, William Summers, Daniel Jarrott, D'd.[?] Williams, Lesois Frize [? Dutch?], John Owens, John McAdames, James Freeland, Samson Williams, Thomas Molloy, Thomas Thompson, Amb's.[?] Mauldin, Isaac Lindsay, Martin King, Morton Mauldin, Isaac Bledsoe, William Logan, John Dunham, Jacob Castleman, John Alstead, Archelaus Allaway, George Power, Nicholas Counrod, Samuel Hayes, James Lynn, Evin Evins, Isaac Johnson, Thomas Cox, Jonathan Evins, Thomas Edmeston [also spelled Edmondson], Edward Lucas, John Thomas, Ezekiel Norris, Philip Alston, Joshua Thomas, William Purnell, James Russell, David Rounsavall, and William McMurray.

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Website graphics and content copyright © 2002-2005 by West Nashville Founders' Museum, Inc., H. G. Hill Park, 6730 Charlotte Pike (mailing address: P. O. Box 90207), Nashville, Tennessee 37209. World Rights Reserved. Revised: May 10,2005.

Founding Families in Nashville, Tennessee