Early days in Greene
County, TN, are recalled in this spiral bound booklet composed
of colorful
tales, factual data and individual biographies excerpted
from several sources, including the rare book: History of Tennessee,
originally published by Goodspeed Publishing Co. in 1887. The booklet
is printed one-sided on 60# paper with the print enlarged for easier
reading. A vinyl sheet has been added to protect the front cover.
Despite its overly
long paragraphs and lack of good illustrations, the booklet provides
a wealth of information. The first paragraph alone, for instance,
describes the terrain, tells of the first settler, the first white
child born, names of many other early settlers, and discusses early
churches. The following pages
cover attitutes toward slavery, a convention of the Friends Church
with names of delegates, the first Methodist Society in the state,
County organization and early magistrates, the first grand jury,
the State of Franklin, the circuit court, the chancery court, members
of the legal profession, Thomas D. Arnold, the City of Greeneville,
merchants, education, Tusculum Academy, newspapers, and the names
of many county officials including some as far back as 1783.
This
biography section of this booklet is a goldmine of information
for genealogy seekers, usually giving the names of parents, spouse,
in-laws, children, siblings, etc., as well as military service,
politics, residence and occupation, in the course of which it
often adds tidbits to the history of the area:
J.C. Ayers, Marion L. Bailey, Dr. G.N.
Bailey, George A. Bailey, Christian Bible, Capt. John C. Bible,
Capt. Thomas Bible, W.C. Black, Dr. John R. Boyd, James H. Bright,
Col. A.J. Brown, James L. Cain, Rev. Samuel A. Coile, Maj. R.H.M.
Donnelly, James O. Earnest, William Mc. Earnest, Benjamin F. Earnest,
F.M. Easterly, Dr. J.P. Easterly, Rev. J.B. Fitzgerald, A.J. Frazier,
G. L. Gammon, R.G. Gammon, Dr. William Girdner, J.K.P. Hall, John
Hardin, Landon C. Haynes, Dr. J.J. Howell, J.M. Hunter, Dr. M.F.
Jerolds, A.S. Johnson, Robert M. Jones, George E. Kenney, Rufus
J. Kidwell, Samuel W. Leming, James Love, James Luster, J.B.R.
Lyon, James B. Lyon, Hugh D. Maloney, Henry G. Marsh, Joseph W.
McDannel, J.W. McDannald, D.W. Mercer, William E.F. Milburn, Rev.
Jere Moore, J.S. Neilson, Augustus H. Pettibone, W.H. Piper, C.G.
Rankin, D.W. Remine, James H. Robinson, D.L. Russell, A.N. Shoun,
R.J. Snapp, Lawrence P. Speck, A.J. Stephens, S.J.R. Stephens,
A.D. Susong, L.W. Tipton, Col. J.G. Weems, G.J. Weems, Joseph
A. Williams, Thomas L. Williams and William Houston Williams.
The final part of the booklet
contains brief excerpts from Counties of Tennessee by Austin
P. Foster, Tennessee, a Guide to the State, compiled and
written by the Federal Writer's Project of the WPA in 1939, and
a brief article on the State of Franklin from an old encyclopedia.
The WPA book tells of President Andrew Johnson's tailoring days.
Wouldn't this make a unique
gift?
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