Booknotes: Tennessee Today

Page 1 - January 2: John Mulkey was in the Big Pigeon Baptist Church of Cocke County, TN.
Note: He later went to Barren County/Monroe County, TN with Abraham Hiestend's family and started Mill Creek Baptist Church. He became a leader in the Christian Church/Church of Christ movement in about 1809.

"Daniel Raston" (Haston?) was appointed to "site" Thomas Mantooth.

Page 12 - February 5: Abram "Reaston" (Haston?) and Jno. Mulkey of the Big Pigeon Baptist Church were appointed to work together to help two men become reconciled.

Page 13 - February 9: "Abraham Reston" bought some land in Sumner County, TN. (north of Nashville) Is this the same man as the Abram Reaston mentioned above?

Page 17 - February 24: A John Webb married a Rachel Ward. (Same man that the orphaned Philip Roddy was assigned to in Knox County, in 1800?)

Page 21 - March 5: Jno. Mulkey of Big Pigeon Baptist was still working with Joseph Graham and Samuel Moore on some problem.

Page 22 - March 12: John Sevier lodged at the home of John Naves. (Was John Naves a brother or other relative of Christina Nave?)

Page 43 - May 3: John Sevier went "to Nat^l Hays." (Was this the Nathaniel Hays whose cows David Haston de-tailed?)

Page 47 - May 21: John Sevier sometimes attended "Mr. Loaks" [sic..."Doak's"] meetings, as he did on this day. Doak was a well known Presbyterian preacher in East TN.

Page 54 - June 23: John Sevier hired Mr. Haislet, Junior and Haislet, Senior to help reap wheat.
Note: These were probably William Haislet, junior and senior, who witnessed against David Haston in the 1798 cow tails case. That would make sense, since it is very possible that the Hastons lived near the John Sevier plantation south of Knoxville. The Haislets probably lived in that same area.

Page 56 - July 1: Abram Haston made a report that he had invited Joel More (Moore?) to attend this meeting..."

Page 56 - July 2: John Sevier "Brak." at Col. (James) Rodies.
Note: John Sevier and Col. James Roddy/Roddye fought together in the Revolutionary War and various Indian battles.

Page 61 - Note: Those who received mail paid the postage, thus letters were frequently left due to unpaid postage.

Page 68 - August 12: Sevier writes, "rained. Col. Henly, Capt. Rouse & Capt. Cunzby dined here. p^d for 2 pails & a w Tubb 9/6. Let Suza Haiston have 1 dollar rec^d from her melons &c to the amt. of 4/."
Note: Was this perhaps the wife of Daniel Haston? It seems (not certain) that John Sevier was at his Knoxville plantation at this time. John Sevier's Knox County plantation ("Marble Springs") was located across the Holston River, south of Knoxville. There is evidence to suggest that Daniel Haston's family lived in this same area. Did the Daniel Hastons live near John Sevier, so much so that Suza Haiston sold him fruits and veggies from her garden?

Note: "After Tennessee became a state on June 1, 1796, the Governor was required by law to live in the capital; however, his family did not arrive in Knoxville until the following year." "Governor Sevier liked farm life, and did not agree with most residents of the capital city that log houses were passe. He purchased a plantation south of the river, not far from his former militia headquarters near the Indian towns, and christened it 'Marble Springs.' There he built a log house very similar to Plum Grove (his Washington County home), and surrounded it with outbuildings." (page 49 of Knoxville by Betsey Beeler Creekmore, published 1991 by the East TN Historical Society)

Page 72 - September 3: John Mulkey mentioned again in Big Pigeon Baptist minutes. Two men invited Philip Mulkey and wife to attend the next meeting.
Note: Philip was a brother of John Mulkey. He later pastored (Brimstone Baptist Church) in upper Middle TN and followed his brother into the Christian Church/Church of Christ movement.

Page 73 - September 10: There was a Grassy Creek Church (probably in Grassy Valley) by this time.
Note: This would be near where David Haston bought land a few years later.

Page 75 - September 13: A "Nathaniel Austin" was appointed as a road overseer in Grainger County, TN. (Would this have been Nathaniel Austin, the brother of John Austin, Sr....who married Catherine Haston later in White County, TN?)

Page 78 - October 1: Abraham Heaston of French Broad had unclaimed mail in the Knoxville post office.

Philip Mulkey and his wife, Ruth, join the Big Pigeon Baptist Church by letter. (They probably had just moved to that area, from up near Jonesborough, where his father was pastor of Buffalo Ridge Baptist Church.)

Page 81 - October 9: John Sevier bought 100 bushels of corn from Alex Cunningham. (There was a Cunningham family who lived in the area of Sevier's plantation, who owned a "burying ground" as per RG Waterhouse's journal and a James Cunningham testified for Joseph Haston in the 1800 "timothy lot" case.)

Page 81 - October 10: Nathaniel Hays was commissioned Adjutant in the regiment of Knox County militia. (Was this the same Nathaniel Hays whose cow's tails David Haston cut in 1798?)

Page 85 - October 20: John Sevier writes: "...paid unto Mrs. Hairston 3 dollars in full of all accompts."
Note: Was she the same as "Suza Haiston?" Probably not. There seems to have been a "Harrison" family that owned a store somewhere in the area of John Sevier's "Plumtree" farm up near Jonesborough, TN in Washington County, TN. It seems that the Suza Haiston incident happened down in Knox County, TN.

Does the "Mrs." indicate that she was married or that she was a woman of gentry (high social) class?

Note: One unknown source says: "In the 17th and 18th century Mrs. (a contraction of Mistress) was a prefix used ONLY for unmarried ladies or girls. It was equivalent to the modern use of MISS but was applied only to gentlewomen, that is to say women of gentry class. However, Sevier uses the Mrs. prefix to refer to his own wife, throughout the diary.

Page 86 - October 22: Apparently, James Roddy (says, Rody [sic]) ran against Andrew Jackson for U.S. Representative to Congress. Jackson received 318 votes; Roddy received 12 votes. This was probably in the Washington County district.