History of Lincoln County Tennessee United States of America

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Local History Notes:

Lincoln County was erected on November 14, 1809, from a part of Bedford County and was named for Gen. Benjamin Lincoln who performed great services in the Revolutionary war.

By the act which created this county, John Whitaker, Sr., Wright Williams, Eli Garrett, Littleton Duty and Jeffe Woodruff were appointed commissioners to secure 100 acres of land near the center of the county for a county seat to be named Fayetteville. They bought the land for $700 from Ezekiel Norris, who, in 1806, had settled on Norris Creek on his grant of 1,280 acres.

The act also provided that the sessions of the Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions should be held at the house of Brice M. Garner until a place should be provided in Fayetteville. The first session was held on February 26, 1810. The magistrates were qualified by Oliver Williams, and Thomas H. Benton acted as clerk pro tem. Both of these men were from Williamson County. At this session Brice M. Garner was elected County Court clerk. Thomas Stewart was elected judge of the Circuit Court, and James Bright, clerk.

Notable men of the early days were: Archibald Yell and Joseph Greer, the latter of whom, a giant in stature, carried to Congress at Philadelphia the news of the battle of King's Mountain.

Statistics of Lincoln County: Population, 1920, 25,786. Assessed valuation of taxable property, 1921, $18,596,485. Area, 540 square miles. Number of farms, 4,367. Railway mileage, sixty-two. Drained by Elk River. Soil is very fertile in a large portion of the county. Leading crops are corn, wheat and grass. The live stock industry is flourishing in this county. Fayetteville, the county seat, has a population of 3,629, and is one of the best towns in this section of the state. It has electric light and water systems, two weekly newspapers, four banks, fine schools and churches, and several manufacturing establishments. Petersburg, Flintville, Elora and Mulberry are other towns in the county. Scholastic population of the county, 8,021; high schools, twenty-two; elementary schools, fifty-five.

From: Moore, John Trotwood. Tennessee, The Volunteer State, 1769-1923. Vol. 1. Chicago, IL, USA: S. J. Clarke Publishing Co., 1923.

Biographies:

James Bright Morgan, representative, was born in Lincoln county, Tenn., March 14, 1835. He removed with his parents to De Soto county, Miss., in 1840, and settled in Hernando. He studied law with John K. Connelly of Hernando, and was admitted to the bar in 1857. He served as judge of the probate court for De Soto county, 1857-61, and entered the Confederate army as a private in the 29th Mississippi regiment, Army of Tennessee, being promoted captain, major, lieutenant-colonel and colonel. He served in Brantley's brigade, Hindman's division, Lee's corps, in the Atlanta campaign, at Nashville and in the Carolinas, surrendering with Johnston's army. He resumed the practice of law after the war, was judge of the probate for De Soto county, and was a member of the Mississippi senate, 1876-78. He was chancellor of the third chancery district of Mississippi by appointment from Gov. John M. Stone, 1878-82, and was a Democratic representative from the second Mississippi district in the 49th, 50th and 51st congresses, serving 1885-91.

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor

History of Lincoln County Tennessee

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