History of Williamson County Tennessee United States of America

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Local History Notes:

The act creating Williamson County was passed on October 26, 1799. It was formed from Davidson County, and, according to Dr. W. M. Clarke, named for General Williamson, of North Carolina, some of whose descendants were prominent men of that day, among others, Dr. Hugh Williamson, the intimate friend and companion of Franklin. It is supposed by some that the county received its name from Doctor Williamson and the county seat from the name of his eminent friend. Hunters and explorers went into Williamson County as early as 1784, and the Harpeth (spelled at first Harpath) was known in that same year. Permanent settlements, however, were not made until shortly before 1800, on account of fear of the Indians. Probably the first permanent settlement was made in 1798, by several families headed by David McEwen, who located at Roper's Knob. At nearly the same time Wm. Demonbreun, son of the famous Timothy Demonbreun, settled at College Grove. A pioneer named Sledge settled near Peytonsville. It is said that he erected the first house in Franklin in 1797. Among the numerous pioneers who settled in this county from 1797 to 1810, may be mentioned Stephen Childress, Nicholas Perkins, Byrd Bramlett, Edmund Wall, John Harness, R. P. Currin, Robt. Caruthers, Zion Hunt, Wm. Hulme, Solomon Brent, Abram P. Maury, Thos. McKay, Ewen Cameron,31 Wm. Edmondston, Matthew Johnson, Thos. H. Perkins, Geo. Neely, Andrew Goff, John Aulson, and Samuel Crockett. The act of October 26, 1799, provided ?that Abraham Maury, John Walthall, Joseph Porter, Wm. Boyd and David McEwen are hereby constituted and appointed commissioners for the regulation of said Town of Franklin, vested with full power and authority for that purpose; "provided, they govern themselves by the original plan of said town." This plan was filed in the clerk's office, April 5, 1800. The Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions held its first meeting on February 3, the first Monday in February, 1800, at the house of Thos. McKay, on the site of Franklin, and continued to meet there until November 3, 1800, when and afterwards its sessions were held at the courthouse. The magistrates present at the first meeting were: John Johnson, Sr., Jas. Buford, Jas. Scurlock, Chapman White, and Daniel Perkins. Scurlock was elected chairman, but resigned and was succeeded by White. The first courthouse was probably on the square. Being a poor structure it was succeeded by a new courthouse authorized by the General Assembly on September 11, 1806. This courthouse was erected in the center of the public square. Among the lawyers practicing in Franklin in the early days were: Thos. H. Benton, John H. Eaton, Seth Lewis, Jesse Wharton, I. Johnson, L. P. Montgomery, Joseph Herndon, John Dickinson, John McNutt, Wm. Smith, Bennett Searcy, P. W. Humphreys, G. W. L. Mann, Peter R. Booker, Felix Grundy. The Circuit Court was authorized by the Legislature on November 16, 1809. Thos. Stewart was Circuit judge from November, 1811 to 1836. The first solicitor before this court was Alfred Balch. Among the notable cases tried in the Franklin Court was the 'Crenshaw case.' Daniel Crenshaw was indicted in 1826 for stealing a horse from Robt. C. Foster, and a gray mare from Keasiah Wooldridge; also for forgery. He was defended by John Bell and pleaded 'Benefit of Clergy,' thereby escaping punishment in two cases. Another notable case was the trial of David Perry and Jonathan Magness for the killing of Patten Anderson, the friend of Andrew Jackson. Williamson County is rich in the number of prominent and famous men who have lived there. Among them the following deserve special mention: Thomas H. Benton, whose mother moved from North Carolina to occupy a tract of 40,000 acres a few miles from Franklin. From 1808 to 1812, he had more cases at the Franklin bar than any other lawyer. John Bell, born in Nashville, was sworn in as an attorney in Franklin in 1816, at the age of nineteen. Meredith P. Gentry, one of the greatest of Tennessee orators; Rev. Gideon Blackburn, a minister in Franklin from 1811 to 1822. In 1825 the following named distinguished lawyers were practicing at the Franklin bar: Felix Grundy, Geo. W. Campbell, John Bell, G. S. Yerger, Wm. Hadley, W. S. Hunt, John Thompson, William McGee, Wm. Thompson, A. P. Maury, M. W. Campbell, David Craighead, P. S. Daily, Andrew Hays, Sam Houston, Robert C. Foster, N. P. Smith, C. S. Olmstead, Thos. Washington, Jas. P. Clark, Jesse Greer, and N. P. Perkins. The important educational institutions were: Harpeth Academy, chartered in 1807, and the buildings sold to Randall McGavock in 1823; Harpeth Union Female Academy, established in 1828; Tennessee Female College, and Battle Ground Academy. The battle of Franklin which, when the forces engaged are considered, was the bloodiest of the war, was fought on November 30, 1864. Statistics of Williamson County: Population, 1920, 23,409. Assessed valuation of taxable property, 1921, $22,529,433. Area, 550 square miles. Number of farms, 3,355. Railway mileage, sixty. Drained by Harpeth River. Surface is rolling and very fertile with fine growth of timber. Wheat, oats, corn, cotton and live stock are staple products. Franklin, the county seat, twenty miles from Nashville, on the Louisville & Nashville Railroad, has a population of 3,123, good schools and churches, two weekly newspapers, three banks, and manufacturing and commercial establishments. Extensive deposits of phosphate are found in this county. Scholastic population, 10,192; high schools, ten; elementary schools, eighty-nine.

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

Biographies:

John P. Buchanan, governor of Tennessee, was born at Williamson, Tenn., Oct. 24, 1847; son of Thomas Buchanan, grandson of John Buchanan, Jr., and great-grandson of Major John Buchanan. At the age of sixteen he joined the Confederate army, when he distinguished himself in some of the most important battles of the civil war. At its conclusion he went back to his farm, where he engaged in the raising of blooded stock. In 1878 he removed his stock to a large farm in Rutherford county, and greatly increased his business. In 1886 he was elected to the general assembly of Tennessee and was re-elected in 1888. In February, 1890, he was elected, as a Democrat, governor of Tennessee. In the legislature he made his mark as an able and fearless debater, and contended stubbornly for the rights and interests of the people. As governor he showed himself well-informed on all subjects which came under his administration. On Aug. 1, 1889, upon the consolidation of the Wheel and the Alliance, Governor Buchanan was elected president of the organization.

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

Abram Poindexter Maury, representative, was born in Williamson county, Tenn., Dec. 26, 1801; son of Abram (1766-1825) and Martha (Worsham) (1775-1844) Maury, who came from Lunenburg county, Va., to Williamson county, Tenn., late in the eighteenth century; grandson of Abraham (1731-1784) and Susannah (Poindexter) (1746-1801) Maury; great-grandson of Matthew and Mary Ann (Fontaine) Maury, Huguenot refugees, married in England, 1716, and settled in Virginia, 1719. Abram Poindexter Maury received a superior education, and when sixteen years of age was taken to St. Louis, Mo., by Col. Thomas H. Benton, to edit a newspaper. He resigned the editorship the next year to enter the U.S. Military academy, but left the academy in 1819 to study law and edit a newspaper in Nashville, Tenn. He was married, Jan. 12, 1825, to Mary Eliza Tennessee Claiborne, a niece of W. C. C. Claiborne, first governor of Louisiana. Mr. Maury purchased the homestead in Williamson county, on the death of his father in 1825, and he represented the county in both branches of the Tennessee legislature and in the 24th and 25th congresses, 1835-39. After 1839, he devoted himself to the practice of law, to literary pursuits, and to lecturing. He died in Franklin, Tenn., July 16, 1848.

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

Gideon Johnson Pillow, soldier, was born in Williamson county, Tenn., July 8, 1806; son of Gideon and Annie (Payne) Pillow; grandson of John and Mary (Johnson) Pillow, and of Josiah Paine, a soldier in the Revolutionary war, and great-grandson of Jaspar Pillow, who emigrated from England in 1740, and settled in the Virginia colony. His paternal grandfather and his two great-uncles, Jaspar and William Pillow, were Revolutionary soldiers and were present at the surrender of Cornwallis, and his father was a soldier under General Jackson, and was conspicuous in the attack on the Indian fortress Nickajack. Gideon Johnson Pillow was graduated from the University of Nashville in 1827, studied law under Judge W. E. Kennedy and William L. Brown, established himself in practice in Columbia, Tenn., and became a prominent member of the Tennessee bar. He was a member of the staff of Gov. William Carroll, with the rank of brigadier general, 1829-35, a delegate to the Democratic national convention of 1844, and afterward made a canvass for James K. Polk. Upon the outbreak of the war with Mexico, he was commissioned brigadier-general, U.S. army, July 13, 1846, and reported with a brigade of Tennessee volunteers to General Taylor, at Camargo, Mexico. He was engaged at the battle of Vera Cruz, where he was complimented for gallantry; Cerro Gordo, where he was severely wounded and was commissioned major-general, and during the campaign that followed was second in command. He was present at Contreras, Cherubusco and Chapultepec, and at the latter place his ankle was crushed by a grape shot and he was in hospital for three months. He favored pressing the Mexican army to the extreme boundary of the country, making the final capitulation beyond the Sierra Madre, which became known as the "Pillow line" and was afterward admitted by military experts to be correct. He was later arrested by General Scott, on charges of insubordination, but was completely vindicated by the court of inquiry. He returned to his home in Maury county, Tenn., relinquished his law practice and engaged extensively in farming in Tennessee and Arkansas. He was a delegate to the Southern convention held at Nashville in 1850, and favored a conservative policy. At the Democratic national convention of 1852 he received twenty-five votes for nomination for vice president. He opposed secession until the outbreak of the civil war, when he was appointed by Gov. Isham G. Harris major-general in the provisional army of Tennessee, May 9, 1861. He organized a force of 35,000 men, and on July 9, 1861, was commissioned brigadier-general in the Confederate army. He commanded the Confederate forces stationed at Belmont, Mo., and on Nov. 7, 1861, an attack was made on the town by General Grant. After a severe battle lasting the entire day he found that he was unable to hold his position and attempted to dislodge the concealed Federal force by a series of gallant charges. These proving of no avail, he was obliged to retreat. In the battle of Fort Donelson, he ranked second in command of the Confederate forces. He reached Fort Donelson Feb. 9, 1862, and on Feb. 14, 1862, the battle with the Federal gun boats was fought. On the 15th the situation was debated by General Floyd and his chiefs of brigade, and an immediate attack was decided upon against the advance of General Pillow. After the Confederate defeat he was relieved of his command and assigned to post duty until the close of the war. While on a visit to General Bragg at Murfreesboro, Tenn., he was given a temporary command in the battle of Murfreesboro, and took part in the famous charge of General Breckinridge. At the close of the war he returned to Tennessee and found his estates devastated. He engaged in farming, but in 1868 he formed a law partnership in Memphis, Tenn., with Isham G. Harris. His last years were spent in a vain effort to pay off his debts incurred during the war. He was married to Mary Martin of Columbia, Tenn. He died on the Mound Plantation, Phillips county, Ark., Oct. 8, 1878.

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

George Smith Houston, governor of Alabama, was born in Williamson county, Tenn., Jan. 17, 1811. His parents removed to Limestone county, Ala., and he was educated at Athens and was admitted to the bar in 1831. He was a state representative for two terms; state's attorney for the Florence judicial district, 1836; and a representative in the 27th, 28th, 29th and 30th congresses, 1841-48, and in the 32d, 33d, 34th, 35th and 36th congresses, 1851-61. He served as chairman of the committee on judiciary, on that of ways and means, and on the special committee of thirty-three. He retired from congress when the state of Alabama seceded. In 1865 he was elected to the U.S. senate, but was not allowed to take his seat. He was a delegate to the Philadelphia National Union convention of 1866, and was governor of Alabama, 1874-78. He died in Athens, Ala., Dec. 31, 1879.

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

History of Williamson County Tennessee

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