Lottie's Photos: Brothers and Their Gals, Brookdale, 1939

Ed and Lottie, Unknown friend, and Bert and Marge

Dad was always close to his brother Bert. They shared a bedroom as boys and were always helping each other with projects like fixing each other’s cars. Later in life they helped each other with projects at their homes. Bert poured the concrete driveway at Mom and Dad’s Elsie home and he hauled a load of manure in his pickup for Dad’s garden. They went hunting and fishing together with their father, and years later after they’d both married they continued to take hunting trips together. As young men they took their girls on dates together – dinner, dancing, movies, stock car races, and on July 14^th of 1938 they went to the Fleishhacker Zoo in San Francisco and then to see the ice follies.

This photo was taken on June 21st at Brookdale – the vacation home Grandpa Thornally owned near Santa Cruz. Mom and Dad invited Bert and Marge to spend the weekend there. I don’t know who the man in the middle is but it might be one of dad’s cousins. Mom wrote in her diary that she and Marge stayed up till 4 AM talking. Marge told her that Bert was just as passionate as Dad and that she and Bert were planning to go to Reno to get married in October.

Lottie's Photos: Ed & Lottie, Trip to Brentwood, 1938

 

Dad and his family used to visit his cousins Elma, Jeanette, Patsy, Corrine and James, his Aunt Jo and her husband Carl Miller a couple of times a year. The first time Dad took Mom to Brentwood was on March 27, 1938. Mom wrote that there were fourteen family members for lunch in a small home. Everyone welcomed her and “treated me grand”. When they got back to the Pattillo home that evening Gramma served ice cream and showed Mom some of Dad’s baby photos.

They visited their Brentwood family again in August. What most impressed mom were the peaches, nectarines and honey-dew melons that Jo sent home with them. Mom remembered those peaches and mentioned them for the rest of her life.

In this photo they are sitting on the bumper of Dad’s 1936 Chevrolet. The photo was taken at Jo’s home. Mom is looking very stylish in that suit – no doubt another of her creations.

Lottie's Photos: The Whole Family, July 4, 1939

John, Ray, Loie, Lewis, Anna, Emma, Marge, Bert and Ed

I've always loved this photo because everyone is in it. Starting on the left, that’s John Roger Thornally my maternal grandfather. He is holding a pipe. I wonder if that’s the reason I’ve always liked the smell of pipe tobacco. Grandpa died right after my 5^th birthday but I spent a lot of time at Gramma and Grandpa’s house so I remember him. I remember being in his basement with him which was kinda spooky and I remember going to his funeral which frightened me.

The couple next to Grandpa are Marge’s parents Loie and Ray Anglemyer. They were at Bert and Marge’s home when we went there for Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners.

Next are my paternal grandparents Lewis and Anna Pattillo. Looks like Lewis has a pipe too. Anna is wearing a dark dress with a lighter pattern. I used to call her Polka-Dot Grandma because I had difficulty keeping my two grandmothers sorted out. Anna has her arm looped through Gramma T’s (Emma’s) arm who is standing next to her.

Bert and Marge are standing between Emma and Dad. Dad is the tall, handsome one on the right. No wonder mom fell in love with him. Mom took the photo two and a half months before she and Dad were married. The car was probably Dad’s.

Mom and Dad met on January 14, 1938 when Mom was eighteen. That night she wrote this in her diary. “I went to the German House with Mollie and danced with Vern. Then I danced the rest of the set with Ed Pattillo and he brought me home. He has a swell car, and is 24 years old. He wants to see me again but I’m not very interested.” Hum, guess she changed her mind about Ed Pattillo.

Lottie's Photos: Ed & Lottie, July 4th 1938

Ed Pattillo and Lottie Thornally at Mary and Fred Low's in Fresno, CA for the 4th of July

When Dad bought mom her first camera for Christmas in 1937 he couldn’t possibly have known that she would spend the rest of their lives together documenting our family history in photographs. When this photo was taken on the 4^th of July in 1938. Dad had invited Mom to meet his extended family who were living in Fresno.

On July 2^nd Mom wrote, “Ed and Burt and his father came for me at 2:00 PM. We got to Fresno about 6:00 PM. Met Ed’s Aunt Mary, Uncle Fred, cousins Leonard age 17 and Doris age 20, and her friend Leo. Had dinner and then drove around Fresno. Came back to her house and decided to go to a little Chinese place and have pork chow mein and danced to a nickelodeon until 11:30 PM. Then had cantaloupe a-la-mode at the drugstore where Leo works. When we got back Ed’s other Aunt Kate and her boyfriend Ben were there from Los Angeles. Nobody likes her.”

The following day, “Got up about 7:15. Ed took me to 8:00 mass. We weren’t hungry for breakfast. Ed’s Aunt Kate fought with her sisters Mary and Anna (Ed’s mother) all day long. Doris showed Ed and I all over Fresno. She took us through the park (that would have been Roeding Park which I worked on 64 years later). Had fried chicken for lunch. About 7:00 Ed and I, and Doris and Leo took blankets out to the park and laid there till 10:30 PM. Ed and I were alone most of the time. Was that fun! Had ice cream served at the car and got home about midnight. The weather is perfect.”

Then on the 4^th of July they, “Got up about 8:00. Had breakfast and later on ice cream. Took pictures of everyone. Ed and I, and Burt and Mr. and Mrs. Pattillo, and Leo’s brother Eddie left Fresno at 1:30. Had supper at Ed’s house and then went to see fireworks. Couldn’t park near the lake (that would be Lake Merritt in Oakland) so we went into the hills. On the way home, Ed spanked me until I said I would marry him. He said, “You little bum could you put up with this son of a gun for the rest of your life?” And I said I could if he wanted a bum.”

So, this photograph was probably taken at Mary and Fred Low’s home in Fresno. Mom and Dad both look very happy. Dad has thick, wavy hair and is wearing suspenders, polished dress shoes, a tie and tie clip – pretty fancy. It looks like he has a wedding ring on but that makes no sense. No doubt mom made the dress she is wearing since she sewed almost all of her clothes then and for the rest of her life. Interesting that she parted her hair in the middle and had it permed.

Solomon Pattillo 1748 - 1804 My 4th Great Grandfather on My Father's Side

Town Office in Boydton, Virginia. One of my
photos taken in 2017.

Solomon was a fourth great grandfather who lived his entire life in southeast Virginia. On most records, he spelled his name Pittillo and on some, it was spelled Pettillo. He was the son of James Pattillo Jr. and Martha Burge[1]. Solomon was born in about 1748 in Dinwiddie County when it was still part of British America several years before the American Revolution. Like his father and grandfather Solomon was a farmer – most likely a tobacco farmer. Most of the records I have for Solomon are land and court records. Those plus the inventory of his estate tell the story of his life.

Solomon was the second son of James and Martha. He had an older brother Augustine “Austin” who was born about 1747, and three younger brothers – Matthew born about 1749, James II born about 1750, and John born sometime before 1758. I believe Solomon was born in Dinwiddie County which was formed in 1752 and had been part of Prince George County. The county was named for Robert Dinwiddie who was Lieutenant Governor of Virginia 1751-1758.

When he was twenty-four Solomon married Sarah Major, daughter of Bernard Major Sr. and Elizabeth. Sarah’s family was also from southeast Virginia. Solomon and Sarah were married in Dinwiddie County, Virginia, and had four children.[2] 

Dinwiddie County seal where Solomon
and Sarah were marrried.

The oldest land record I’ve found for Solomon is from 1775. It was about a parcel owned jointly with two of his brothers – Austin and James II. This was land given to the brothers by their father, James Jr. In 1782 Solomon appeared on a list of early residents of Mecklenburg County, Virginia. He was living in Precinct 4 at the time and paid taxes on his property which included two African Americans. There were six whites living in his residence at that time which accounts for Solomon, Sarah and their four children. Mecklenburg was then and still is known for growing tobacco – a labor-intensive crop that required slave labor to cultivate and harvest the crops.

Solomon’s father James Pattillo gave Solomon a tract of land in Dinwiddie County in 1782. Solomon paid taxes on 400 acres of land in Dinwiddie County – this was probably the land his father gave him. The tax records for Dinwiddie County from 1788 to 1790 show that Solomon paid taxes on 404 acres of land but at some point, he sold a large portion of his land because the tax list from 1796 shows that he only paid tax on 133 ½ acres. He would have been 48 at the time so it is likely that he gave the land to one or more of his sons.

In the Pattillo Family book by Melba Crosse she notes, “Solomon must have lived in Brunswick County, Virginia for a while as he appears on the 1787 personal tax list of that county. However, he was back in Mecklenburg county by 1788. The 1800 tax list of this latter county lists Solomon and his sons, William (Williamson) and Samuel, who are living with him.”[3]

I found a court record from 1790 that shows that Solomon was involved in a dispute. He was sued by a business that later dropped the case. The paperwork lacks details of what the case was about or why it was settled.

Tobacco field in Mecklenburg. One of my photos from 2017.
Solomon was a farmer who most likely cultivated tobacco.

On January 3, 1793, Solomon purchased 156 acres in Mecklenburg from Benjamin Morgan. He paid 85 pounds for the property. That’s $2756 in 2020 dollars so it seems like a remarkable bargain. About a month later Solomon sold two Negro boys – Fell aged about 12 and Dick about 6, to Thomas Penticost. The price was 30 pounds and 8 shillings.

Solomon and John Farrar bought eight head of cattle from Stephen Mabry on January 17, 1793. The sale was recorded in Deed Book 8 of Mecklenburg County. In the same deed book Solomon sold a 150-acre parcel to John Allen and his wife Nancy. I have yet to figure out what the relationship between Solomon and John Farrar was.

One of the documents I found in the Boydton Courthouse was a complicated indenture. It involved Solomon, Bernard McAnally and Robert Baskerville. Apparently, Solomon owed McAnally 41 pounds 11 shillings 6 pence and a halfpenny. Another 5 shillings was paid by Baskerville and the court discharged him. Solomon sold a 96-acre parcel to Baskerville – land that he had previously purchased from Benjamin Morgan. Solomon also sold a 60-acre tract plus appurtenances to William Edward S. Tabb. According to the document, Baskerville was to keep the land until December 25^th and then sell it and use the profits to pay the amount Solomon owed to McAnally. Any excess profit was to go to Solomon after covering expenses. This transaction, which seems rather convoluted to me, took place on July 21, 1795. All this was recorded in the Mecklenburg Court on June 13, 1796. But that’s not all – more than a year later in August of 1797 Solomon was summoned to appear in Chancery Court as the defendant in a case brought by Bernard McAnally & Company. McAnally claimed that Solomon still owed a 100-pound debt. 

This is the document dated 19 August 1797. It commands Solomon to appear in
court regarding the McAnally & Company matter.

In September 1798 Solomon, John Morgan and Stirling Morgan were asked to do an inventory of the estate of Sherwood Bugg. According to Crosse, “When the inventory of the estate of John Pettway, deceased was filed in Warren County, North Carolina on January 12, 1796, it included bonds and notes due from Solomon Petillo as well as many other people”.[4]

Another document from the McAnally case.

The following month Solomon was in court again. He appeared along with Samuel Goode, Mark Alexander and Samuel Holmes. Samuel sold a 306-acre parcel to Richard Crowder for 230 pounds – land that he purchased from John Allen and Benjamin Morgan. Apparently, this was land that was part of his wife’s dowry.

On January 6, 1800 Solomon was again involved with a convoluted court case. He agreed to lease two of his slaves – Pris and her son to William Drumright but only until December 25^th. Then Drumright was to advertise Pris and her son for sale. The document said that he was to advertise the sale in three locations. They were the Courthouse, Sett’s Ordinary and Speed’s Store. They were to be advertised for ten days, then sold and the proceeds were to be used to pay a sixty-pound debt that Solomon owed to Crowder. 

One of two documents related to Solomon and a man named Crowder that he owed a debt to.

Two years later Solomon still owed Crowder money so he leased two additional slaves – Hanna and her son Cyrus to David Dortch. This was from January 4, 1802, until December 1^st after which Dortch was to advertise and sell Hanna and her son at the courthouse on court day. Dortch was to pay off Crowder, cover his expenses, and give the rest to Solomon. 

Another partial Crowder vs. Solomon Pittillo document from the Boydton court records

Solomon executed his will on January 6, 1804, and he died a few days later in the town of Boydton which is in Mecklenburg County, Virginia. Even though three generations of my Pattillo ancestors lived and died in Boydton I have been unable to locate Solomon’s grave or other Pattillo graves nearby.

After his death, Solomon’s estate was inventoried by Pettus Phillips (his daughter-in-law’s father), Dabney Phillips (Pettus’s brother), Samuel Farrar and John Farrar. Some of the items listed on the inventory were 12 head of cattle, 12 hogs, 1 bay mare and colt, 1 black mare cold, 2 beds and furniture, 1 black walnut table, 1 pine chest, 1 loom, 1 Dutch oven, a loom, and two spinning wheels. Pretty standard stuff though it is somewhat unique that the appraisers noted the types of wood in the table and chest. The appraised value of these items, completed on January 9, 1804, came to 114 pounds and six shillings.

Solomon's signature on one of the documents I found at the Boydton courthouse

One of the documents from Solomon's probate packet.
This lists items sold from his estate after his death.
It is dated 7 Jan 1806 and was administered by
Solomon's son Williamson

---

[1] According to Crosse James Jrs. wife was named Elizabeth surname unknown. Multiple sources show Martha Burge as James Jrs. Wife including the FamilySearch family tree and FindAGrave. The will of Thomas Burge references his daughter Martha married to Solomon Pittillo.

[2] See my biography of Sarah Major Pattillo for the children’s names and dates of birth.

[3] Crosse Melba C. Patillo, Pattillo, Pattullo, and Pittillo Families, p. 101

[4] Crosse who cited Warren County, N.C. Rec. book Vol III, p. 80 by Mary Hinton Kerr

Sarah Major Pattillo 1750-1870 My 4th Great Grandmother on My Father's Side

The Claiborne Moody Home, Dinwiddie County, built in 1753.
This is the type of home that would have existed when Sarah
was born. Photos from the Virginia Heritage website.

Sarah Major was the wife of Solomon Pattillo. She was born about 1750 in the State of Virginia close to the border with North Carolina which is the same vicinity where our Pattillo ancestors lived. Sarah was the daughter of Bernard and Elizabeth Major. She had an older brother Bernard Major, Jr., a younger brother Samuel and a younger sister Joanna known as Joice.

Sarah married Solomon Pattillo in Dinwiddie County about 1772 when she would have been about twenty-two years old. They had four children – a small family by the standards of the times. Their eldest was a daughter Rebecca who was born about 1774. Then there were three sons, Williamson J. born about 1776, Edward M. born about 1778, and Samuel Henry Willis Pattillo, my third great grandfather, who was born about 1780. All of her children were born in Dinwiddie County. About 1788 the family moved from Dinwiddie to Mecklenburg county. They lived in Boydton which was the county seat.

The Boyd Tavern in Boydton existed in 1801 when Sarah
lived there with her family

Sarah died in Boydton in 1817 when she would have been about 67 years old. She left a short will that was written in beautiful script such that it is easy to read the entire text. Here is a transcript of the contents of Sarah’s will.

In the name of God amen I Sarah Pattillo of the County of Mecklenburg and State of Virginia being sick and weak but of sound mind and disposing memory and being disposed to dispose of such worldly estate as it hath pleased God to bless me with do give and bequeath the same in manner following.

Item, I give and bequeath to my son Williamson Pattillo one negro man by the name of Frank, also one feather bed and furniture to him and his heirs forever.

Item, I give and bequeath to my son Edward M. Pattillo one negro boy by the name of Littleton, two feather beds and furniture to him and his heirs forever.

Item, I give and bequeath to my son Samuel Pattillo one feather bed and furniture to him and his heirs forever.

Item, my will and desire is that all my property except such legacies as I have given above to my sons Williamson, Edward M. Pattillo and Samuel Pattillo after paying my just debts be equally divided between my four children. Viz. Williamson, Edward, Samuel and my daughter Rebecca Bradley. In witness whereof I have herewith set my hand and affixed my seal this fourth day of April one thousand Eight hundred and seventeen.

Sarah signed with an X.

Witnesses: William Bilbo, William L. Richards, Temperance Spinlock

At a court held for Mecklenburg County the 19^th Day of May 1817 this last will and testament of Sarah Pattillo, deceased was presented into Court and proved by the oath of William Bilbo and William L. Richards, witness thereto and ordered to be recorded.

Teste Edward A Tubb

This is Sarah's will. 

According to Melba C. Crosse, “Sarah Major Pittillo gave her son, Williamson, power-of-attorney to reclaim a portion of her father’s estate which is evidenced by the following: Sarah Pittillo of Mecklenburg County, Virginia. For natural love and affection, I give my son Williamson Pattillo of said county and do by these presents constitute and appoint him sole attorney for me to sue for and recover my portinate part of the estate of my sister, Nancy, late wife of John Cabe of Orange County, North Carolina. And to divide the property of said deceased between the heirs of Bernard Major, Sr., deceased, late of Dinwiddie County, Virginia, or the legal representative of said heirs, his receiving for me and to my use one-fifth part and I do employ one or more attorneys-at-law under him _____ to revoke _____ this 7^th day of November 1808.

Witnessed by Edward Pattillo and Major Brasfield.[1] 

Private residence in Boydton, Virginia. One of my photos
taken in 2017.

---

[1] Crosse, Melba C. Patillo, Pattillo, Pattullo, and Pittillo Families, p.102, Orange Co. N.C. Deed book 13, p. 211

Daniel Stover 1826-1864 My 2nd Great Granduncle on my Father's Side Part 1

Daniel Stover

Daniel was the youngest son of William Ward Stover and Sarah Murray Drake. He was born on November 14, 1826 in Elizabethton, Carter County, Tennessee, and was named after his grandfather Daniel Stover Sr. who arrived in Carter County in about 1782. Daniel’s father William was a farmer and actively engaged in civic affairs. He also owned an iron forge for a time. During his youth, Daniel no doubt worked on the farm along with his two older brothers David Lincoln Stover, my 2^nd great grandfather, born in 1820 and Samuel Murray Stover born in 1824.

In 1850 Daniel appeared on the Carter County census living with his parents and brother Samuel who was identified as a physician. Daniel’s older brother David was already married and had left home. Daniel’s age was shown as 23 but nothing was recorded in the column labeled “Profession, Occupation or Trade”.

1850 Census for Elizabethton TN that
Daniel and his family appear on

In 1852 William sold five tracts of land to Daniel for $1 with the understanding that William and Sarah would continue to live on the land for the remainder of their lives. The property was adjacent to the Watauga River just outside the town of Elizabethton. Each parcel of land was described in detail using local landmarks to define the boundaries. The deed specifically mentioned Spanish oak, white oak, black oak, hickory, black walnut, chestnut, ash, sourwood, sassafras, and a white oak “marked with a knife” as landmarks. One parcel was 94 acres in size, the second was 110 acres, a third 75 ¼ acres, the fourth 195 acres and the last parcel which abutted the property of Abraham Drake – Daniel’s grandfather, was 50 acres. This last tract was land William had gotten from the State of Tennessee on September 29, 1836. Originally it was a 100-acre parcel that had been divided between William and Daniel’s uncle Samuel Drake. This parcel was on the north side of the Watauga River on Green Mountain. William gave Daniel the land and all the improvements and appurtenances theron, which means he got the house, the barns, slave quarters, and all the other buildings and structures.

Portrait of Mary Johnson Stover from
the NPS website

Marriage and Children

Daniel married Mary Johnson, the daughter Andrew Johnson who was then a member of the United States Congress representing the state of Tennessee. One year later Johnson was elected Governor. He served as Governor for four years, became a US senator in 1857, then in 1862, during the Civil War, he was appointed as Military Governor. Johnson was elected as Abraham Lincoln’s vice president in 1864 and tragically became president the following year when Lincoln was assassinated.

Daniel and Mary met while Mary as studying to become a teacher. They were married on April 27, 1852 in Greenville, Tennessee where Mary was from but they returned to Carter County to live and farm on the land that his father had given him. According to an article in the Watauga Democrat from 1919, “their home was the scene of many brilliant parties and many prominent people were entertained in its walls.” It was a place that Mary’s father Andrew Johnson regularly enjoyed visiting.

The birth of their first child, a daughter named Elizabeth “Eliza” Johnson Stover, named after Mary’s mother, occurred on May 11, 1855, followed by another daughter Sarah Drake Stover on June 27, 1857. Sarah was named after her paternal grandmother Sarah Murray Drake. Their third child, and only son Andrew Johnson Stover was born on March 6, 1860. You can read a full biography of Mary Johnson Stover on the First Ladies website[1]. During this time Daniel’s older brother David Lincoln Stover died at the age of 38 from unknown causes.

Daniel and Mary's three children, Andrew
Johnson Stover, Eliza and Sarah Stover

When the 1860 census was taken Daniel and Mary were still living in Elizabethton. Daniel was the Assistant Marshall who recorded the names of his family members and those of his neighbors for the census. He completed the census on June 15^th identifying himself as a farmer that owned land valued at $18,000 and personal property worth $12,000. This was substantially more than his neighbors. Families that appeared on the same page with Daniel’s family include the Bowers who owned land was valued at $1500, A.T. Carriger’s was worth $7000, and Jackson Carriger’s property was shown as $5000. The Stovers inherited their wealth from Isaac and Mary Lincoln. When the census was taken Daniel was 33, Mary 28, Eliza 5, Sarah 2 and Andrew only two months of age.

Civic Involvement

According to Frank Merritt in his book Early History of Carter County, Tennessee 1760-1861, Daniel was one of five men who represented Elizabethton at a convention in Knoxville on May 30,1861 to discuss what position Tennessee would take during the Civil War. The other four were Abraham Tipton, Charles P. Toncray, J.P.T. Carter and John W. Cameron. Unfortunately, their preference to remain loyal to the Union was overruled by representatives from other Tennessee counties that voted to join the confederate states. According to Merritt, "thus it can be seen that the great majority of Carter County citizens, both men and women, openly proclaimed their allegiance to the National Union. His paper notes that East Tennessee was overwhelmingly Unionist, they had long been conscious of a sectional difference from the other parts of the state .... the tide of secession sentiment .... reached them too late to work its full effects .... a lack of wealth made them feel they would have no place among a slaveholding aristocracy ... the majority harbored a real political hatred for the Democratic party .... so closely connected with the secession movement."[2] Daniel’s own father William Stover was among those who favored secession from the Union – an all too common circumstance which divided families.

Photo of Daniel and Mary's home in Elizabethton, TN from
the book Images of Carter County

Daniel and J.P. Wilcox were asked to organize a debate between men who represented both sides of the issue – those for and opposed to succession. The organizers wanted it to be a fair debate so one of the terms they agreed on was that there would be no applause during the speeches. Not knowing about this provision at some point during the meeting Daniel’s own sister-in-law, Mrs. Murray Stover (Caroline Brooks) threw a bouquet of flowers onto the stage in response to what one of the orators had said. “Instantly the whole audience arose in confusion, pistols were drawn and it looked for a moment as though there would be bloodshed.”[3] Caroline’s husband, Samuel Murray Stover supported the confederate position.

Daniel and Mary's home where President Andrew Johnson died,
after it was moved and restored. My photo

In June of 1861, Daniel was one of twenty-six delegates from Carter County who attended a convention in Greeneville where resolutions were drawn up urging East Tennessee to remain in the Union. According to Dawn Peters who wrote a biography of Daniel for the Carter County Centennial book, When Tennessee did leave the Union, many east Tennesseans were furious and vowed to aid the Union.

Mary Johnson Stover and Daniel Stover from the
Johnson home museum in Greenville, TN. My photo

On July 8, 1861 another convention took place in Greenville. According to Scott and Angel the Union advocates voices were squelched. They claimed that “Disunionists in many places had charge of the polls, and Union men, when voting, were denounced as Lincolnites and abolitionists.”[4] Sadly, 159 years later our nation is still dealing with challenges to our voting rights. East Tennessee voted against secession by a majority of more than 20,000 votes. The vote in Carter County was 86 for and 1343 against secession. In the adjacent Johnson County, the vote was 111 versus 787 against secession.[5] “From the very beginning of the talk about secession during the presidential campaign of 1860 and up to the inauguration of President Lincoln, March 4, 1861, the majority of the people of the State of Tennessee, including the slave owners, were loyal to the Federal Government. This fact was emphasized by the election of February 1861, when the State voted against secession by a majority of 68,000.[6] “When the State cast its fortunes with the Confederacy through the dominating influence of the civil and military authorities, a large majority of the people of East Tennessee adhered with greater tenacity to the Union cause as dangers thickened about them.”[7]

Photo of Colonel Daniel Stover
from the Library of Congress
website.

Scott and Angel provide two reasons that explain East Tennessee’s support of the Union cause. First, the soil and climate of the region was not suited to growing cotton or other large crops that warranted the need for slaves, and second because the people of East Tennessee were poor and feared that if Tennessee became a slave state their jobs and livelihood would be threatened. “They could see that by fighting for slavery they were only fastening upon themselves the yoke of poverty, and the ban of social ostracism, hence slavery was not a question of paramount importance to them unless it was in its abolition.”[8]

“After the two conventions had been held, the one at Knoxville and the other at Greenville, and the Union leaders had exhausted every expedient available to retain the State in the Union, or form a neutral State of East Tennessee, seeing that arguments, memorials and resolutions were of no avail, and believing they had a right to their opinions as freemen, and believing the action of the State Government fraudulent and illegal, they boldly ignored its authority. Having done this the bitter feelings of the authorities became more pronounced, and the Union people began to secretly arm and drill with the intention of protecting themselves and rendering such aid as was possible to the Union cause, which they believed to be right.”^[9]

---

[1] First Ladies, http://www.firstladies.org/biographies/firstladies.aspx?biography=18

[2] Early History of Carter County TN 1760 – 1861, Samuel Merritt, Press of Archer & Smith Printing Co., 1950.

[3] History 13th Regiment, Tennessee Volunteer Cavalry, USA, Samuel W. Scott & Samuel P. Angel, P.W. Ziegler & Co, 1903., p. 39

[4] Scott & Angel, p. 42

[5] Scott & Angel, p. 44

[6] Scott & Angel, p. 35

[7] Scott & Angel, p. 47

[8] Scott & Angel, p. 48

[9] Scott & Angel, p. 55