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Harper's Encyclopedia of United States History (ed. Benson Lossing), Robertson, James 1742-1814 (search)
Robertson, James 1742-1814 the father of Tennessee ; born in Brunswick county, Va., June 28, 1742; emigrated to the regions beyond the mountains about 1760. and on the banks of the Watauga, a branch of the Tennessee; made a settlement and lived there several years. He was often called upon to contest for life with the savages of the forest. In 1776 he was chosen to command a fort built James Robertson. near the mouth of the Watauga. In 1779 he was at the head of a party emigrating Watauga. In 1779 he was at the head of a party emigrating to the still richer country of the Cumberland, and upon Christmas Eve of that year they arrived upon the spot where Nashville now stands. Others joined them, and in the following summer they numbered about 200. A settlement was established, and Robertson founded the city of Nashville. The Cherokee Indians attempted to destroy the settlement, but, through the skill and energy of Robertson and a few companions, that calamity was averted. They built a log fort on the high bank of the Cumberl
Harper's Encyclopedia of United States History (ed. Benson Lossing), State of Tennessee, (search)
me southeast part. Earl London, governor of Virginia, sent Andrew Lewis thither in 1756 to plant a settlement, and he built Fort Loudon, on the Tennessee River, about 30 miles from the site of Knoxville. It was besieged by Indians in 1760 and captured, the inmates being murdered or reduced to captivity. Armed men from Virginia and North Carolina retook the fort in 1761, and compelled the Indians to sue for peace. Immigrants from North Carolina, led by James Robinson, settled on the Watauga River, one of the head streams of the Tennessee, in 1768. It was on lands of the Cherokees, from whom the settlers obtained an eight-year lease in 1771. They there organized themselves into a body politic, and adopted a code of laws signed by each adult individual of the colony. Others soon joined them and extended settlements down the valley of the Holston, and over intervening ridges to the Clinch and one or two other streams, while others penetrated Powell Valley and began a settlement
Harper's Encyclopedia of United States History (ed. Benson Lossing), Thomas, Isaac 1735-1819 (search)
Thomas, Isaac 1735-1819 Scout; born in Virginia about 1735; settled among the Cherokee Indians in 1755. He warned Gen. John Sevier and James Robertson at Watauga, Va., on May 30, 1776, of an intended attack by the Indians. About the middle of July he joined the small force of forty in the fort at Watauga, and with them repulsed the assault of Oconosta. Later he led the party that invaded the Indian country. He was guide to General Sevier for twenty years in almost all of his numerous movements against the Creeks and Cherokees. He died in Sevierville, Tenn., in 1819.
Harper's Encyclopedia of United States History (ed. Benson Lossing), Tennessee, (search)
and east of the Tennessee......Nov. 5, 1768 Capt. William Bean settles on Boone Creek, near Watauga......1769 Company formed to hunt and explore middle Tennessee, with camp at Price's Meadowsbetween the Kentucky and Cumberland rivers, which they call Transylvania......March 17, 1775 Watauga purchased from the Indians, and deed of conveyance to Charles Robertson executed......March 19, 1775 Watauga settlers march against advancing Cherokees, and disperse them in a battle near Long Island Fort......July 20, 1776 Cherokees under old Abraham attack the fort at Watauga, but are Watauga, but are repulsed......July 21, 1776 Forces under Col. William Christian destroy the Cherokee towns in east Tennessee......1776 Washington county, including all of Tennessee, created by law of North Cary and begin a plantation near Bledsoe's Lick......1778 Capt. James Robertson and others from Watauga cross the Cumberland Mountains, pitch their tents near French Lick, and plant a field of corn w
Harper's Encyclopedia of United States History (ed. Benson Lossing), Ward, Nancy (search)
form, raven silk hair, flashing black eyes, and a strong personality; and had a powerful influence over the Cherokees, whom she many times restrained from atrocious acts against the white settlers. Her first recorded exploit was the rescue of Jeremiah Jack and William Rankin, two pioneers who had been captured by a hostile band. She next rescued from the stake the wife of William Bean, who was the first settler beyond the Alleghany Mountains. Mrs. Bean was taken prisoner near the fort at Watauga. After securing her liberty Nancy sent her back to her husband with a strong escort. Her greatest service, however, to the whites was the constant warning of outbreaks against them, which she conveyed through the Indian trader, John M. Lea. Owing to this information the whites were always prepared for the assaults of the Indians. It is said she once declared: The white men are our brothers; the same house holds us, the same sky covers all. Had it not been for her friendship the settler
Harper's Encyclopedia of United States History (ed. Benson Lossing), Watauga commonwealth, the (search)
Watauga commonwealth, the A name applied to the first independent civil government established in North America. In 1768 the Six Nations, by the treaty of Fort Stanwix, agreed to surrender all the lands between the Ohio and Tennessee rivers to the English, and many backwoodsmen began settling beyond the mountains before it was known that the Iroquois Indians had ceded lands to which they had no legal right. What is now eastern Tennessee was then western North Carolina, and this region consisted of a most tempting valley, with the Cumberland River on one side and the Great Smoky Mountains on the other. The first settlers in this region were largely from Virginia. In 1769 the first settlement was made on the banks of the Watauga River, the people believing they were still within the domain of Virginia. Two years later, however, a surveyor discovered that the settlement was really within the limits of North Carolina. This fact led to the organization of a civil government for