Women's History Month

March is Women's History Month, so join us on Facebook this month as we post links to various images, blogs, and other links that depict John Sevier's wives and daughters and his interactions with other women, such as Dolley Madison and Mary Blount.

His mother is Joanna Goad, who was born in Virginia in 1723. She died in 1773 in Virginia, shortly before John Sevier moved his family to what is now northeast Tennessee.

His first wife was Sarah Hawkins, until her death in early 1780. His second wife was Catherine Sherrill, more commonly known as Bonny Kate.

His daughters with Sarah included Elizabeth (c. 1768), Sarah Hawkins (1770), Mary Ann (1772), Rebecca (1777) and Nancy (1780). His daughters with Bonny Kate included Ruth (1782), Joanna Goad (1784), Eliza Conway (1790), and Catherine Sherrill (1791).*

*Please note- the birthyears and spellings differ from source to source.

We look forward to sharing various links that we find about the women in John Sevier's life on our Facebook page, and we hope you will check in!

200 Years in the Making

2015 marks the 200^th anniversary of many important moments for John Sevier and the United States.

February 18, 1815 was the official end of the War of 1812, when the Senate ratified the Treaty of Ghent (unanimously). Sevier remarks:

“Sat. [February] 18 attended the house. The City illuminated in consequence of peace — cold day and a little sleet. . . .”

Then in March came the news that he would be heading to the Alabama territory:

“Mon. [March] 13 Attended the War office & drew a draft on the Treasury for $1500 as a commissioner to run Creek line.”

This boundary line was a necessity following the Battle of Horseshoe Bend, when Andrew Jackson’s forces defeated the Creeks and ended the Creek War portion of the War of 1812.

In June, Sevier set out for the region by spending the night in Knoxville.

“Sat. 10 Set out for running the Creek boundary line, went to Knoxville & stayed all night at Colo. Seviers.”

Later in June, he set up a July meeting with Pathkiller, the Principle Chief of the Cherokee Nation and other Cherokees. His diary is then filled with information regarding distribution of presents and money and what is due to which person or people. The Coosa and Tallapoosa Rivers (although the latter he spells differently from time to time) play an important role in his travels and the boundary line, so they are mentioned often.

As far as any notice of John Sevier becoming ill is concerned, he mentions pain in his back at the end of August, and in September, his last entry states:

“Sat. 9 Dicky Brown very sick — We started late & traveled . . miles. there is some tolerable land on Culluba (?) Creek & about Hawkins old place, but between that & other see (?) the land is sandy, poor, & the growth long leaf pine.”

As the editor of the diary notes, “In 1815 Sevier was appointed by President Madison as a commissioner to run the boundary line of the Creek nation in Alabama, as provided by the treaty made by General Jackson after his conquest of the Creeks in 1814. His service lasted from early in June, 1815, until his death, September 24, 1815. He was buried on the east bank of the Tallapoosa River at an Indian village called Tuckabotchee, near Fort Decatur, in Macon County. In 1889 his remains were removed to Knoxville, Tennessee, and re-interred in the court house yard. A beautiful monument stands over his remains, dedicated in a splendid oration by Col. W. A. Henderson.”

John Sevier was 70 years old (+ one day) when he passed away, still working for the government.

To commemorate this bicentennial, the Governor John Sevier Memorial Association is asking the Marble Springs supporters to consider giving to our new “$200 for 200” campaign. Donors who give $200 (or more) in 2015 will be listed on our website (unless they prefer to be left anonymous), and will receive membership benefits at the Sustaining level.

Sons of Liberty & Rebellious Little Brothers

The History Channel just hosted a mini-series about the Sons of Liberty. You can find countless recaps and corrections of the miniseries by historians (including our board president), so we won’t add to it here.

But it did bring up the question: Where does John Sevier fit in the early Revolution story? He certainly wasn’t in Boston with the Sons of Liberty, but he’s also one of the soldiers in the Revolution… albeit about ten years younger than the Sons of Liberty (and those we consider to be the Founding Fathers) were.

As you may be aware, John Sevier was in the militia and did fight in Kings Mountain. But during the earliest parts of the Revolution, he was moving from Virginia to Tennessee with his parents, wife Sarah, and their seven children.

In 1773, he was serving as a Captain of the colonial militia in Lord Dunmore's War. He rose to the rank of general thanks to his efforts at Kings Mountain.

But after the Revolution, he started his own rebellion with others in the Watauga area through the State of Franklin. Though it was ultimately unsuccessful, Sevier and the other Franklinites spent several years trying to create a new government separate from North Carolina. Negotiations, skirmishes, international intrigue, and treaties (not unlike what they’d been through with the Revolution and colonial governments before) were a part of life in Franklin. The Franklinites utilized their knowledge and war-found fame to gain respect for their statehood efforts. 

For all their efforts, it earned John Sevier an arrest for treason (of course, nothing came of the charges), but it also paved the way for the U.S. Constitution and a path for new states to form.

It just goes back to Jack Neely’s theory that Sevier wasn’t a Son of the Revolution or a Founding Father. Instead, he was the Rebellion’s rebellious little brother.

Year End Review

The end of the year is a nice time to reminisce about the great things that have happened at Marble Springs in 2014:

• We had several successful hands-on workshops, including a new one about spinning.
• Awards galore! Our 2013 Sevier Soiree won an Award of Commendation from the Tennessee Association of Museums, we won an Award of Distinction from the East Tennessee Historical Society for our Statehood Days event, and we won the Environmental Award from the Woodmen of the World, Chapter 803.
• We had a great time learning more about John Sevier with Gordon Belt at our Annual Meeting.
• The Sons of the Revolution helped us put on a great new 4th of July event.
• Our Sevier Soiree took place alongside John Sevier Days with even greater success. We were able to make several new friends, have fun, enjoy some great weather, and benefit the site. Look for another slight move (to a Friday night!) on September 18, 2015. We hope you can attend.
• Weather was much more in our favor for 2014 and allowed us to have some great events and Farmers Markets.
• We were also able to meet with several museum and historic preservation professionals who were in the area for the Southeastern Museums Conference and the East Tennessee Preservation Alliance. We also were able to learn from the Anarchist's Guide to Historic House Museums alongside our fellow Historic Homes of Knoxville. We learned several new ideas at these events and look forward to implementing them as soon as possible. 
• Our Farmers Markets had more vendors than previous years, and we hope this trend continues! We are planning some new programming to happen alongside some of the 2015 Market dates. Look for the Market to begin in mid-May 2015.
• And finally, we have stocked some great new items in our Trading Post! From Gordon Belt's book to brand new ornaments and magnets (just stocked today!), and of course, new toys and games, there's something for everyone. 

With such a great 2014 almost over, we look forward to what 2015 has in store! We will be posting our 2015 calendar in the next few weeks, so be sure to check out our website! 

That Time Congress Almost Left DC, and How John Sevier Was Involved

At Marble Springs, we are very lucky to have digital access to John Sevier's diary, especially as we can look back 200 years ago to see what he was doing on a certain day.

But we missed an important moment back in October:

"OCTOBER, 1814.

Sat. 15 . . . This day the H. of R. Negotiated a bill for the removal of the seat of Government."

But what does this mean?

During the War of 1812, the British attempted to burn down Washington, DC. They successfully torched the unfinished Capitol building, leaving it just a shell. The 13th Congress returned to DC for the next session and had to move their meetings to the Patent Office. 

Many of the legislators wanted to move the government out of Washington, DC. Legislation took a long time, and finally, on October 15, 1814, nine votes kept the capital in DC. Congress met in various places around the city for several years until the Capitol could be rebuilt. 

For more information about this, read the House of Representatives' blog post, "Leave No Forwarding Address: When Congress Almost Abandoned D.C.".

Hey whatever happened to... doing it all by hand?

Back before everything became automatic, the Seviers (and everyone else living in the late 18th/ early 19th centuries) had to make things by hand and use candlelight to see! 

We are gearing up for our final two events of the 2014 calendar (have no fear-- our 2015 calendar will be released soon, and we have a few new events and workshops planned), and we are looking forward to both of them!

We are offering our popular Candle Making Workshop again on December 6. Be sure to call or email us soon for reservations-- spaces have been filling up quickly!

One of our favorite things to ask students who visit is "How are things different here compared to your home?" (or "What is missing?") It never fails-- electricity and video games/ television always come up quickly. During December, we provide an example of how the holidays were different during early statehood compared to today. We have our Candlelight Tours on December 13. Experience the historic site through the soft glow of candle light. The historic buildings will be decorated with fresh greenery. Music, open hearth cooking, baked goods & warm drinks will set your heart aglow with holiday spirit (Details are subject to change.) 

We hope you will join us for these fun events.

John Sevier and William Blount

Thanks to our former intern, Kristin Brig, for leaving us a few blog entries to keep posting!

When William Blount took up his post as Governor of the Territory South of the Ohio River in 1790, he was alien to the population living to the west of North Carolina. Blount, a North Carolina native, traveled across the Appalachian Mountains into this new southwest territory, present-day Kentucky and Tennessee. He set up his government in present-day East Tennessee and quickly made the acquaintance of the popular leaders of the region, most notably John Sevier.

Sevier and Blount got along well, considering Sevier’s heavy influence in the region and Blount’s high-ranking position in government. In addition to appointing Blount governor of the territory, President George Washington placed Blount in the position of Superintendent of Indian Affairs; given Sevier’s clashes with the Overhill Cherokee, Blount saw Sevier as an even more important ally in his new political position.[1] As such, Blount recommended Sevier and another popular territorial leader, James Robertson, to the position of Brigadier General. President Washington agreed with the recommendation and commissioned Sevier and Robertson to the post.[2] Sevier thus recovered his political image after the failure of the State of Franklin, for which he was the governor for a short term.

Political allies now, Blount and Sevier struck up a personal friendship as well. Sevier began recording activities related to Blount in 1793, three years after the governor had taken up his post. The entries began with mainly political relations between the two men, as in one entry discussing a talk Governor Blount gave relating to an event of scalping in Easternoly by Native Americans.[3] By late 1794, Sevier began taking tea with Mrs. Blount and dining with both the Blounts. Sometimes the dining contained merely politics, as when members of the Assembly including Sevier met with Governor Blount and drank wine together.[4] Yet sometimes Sevier and Blount (with Blount’s wife) spent time with one another outside the political realm, such as when they attended church together in September 1794.[5]

When Sevier became the first governor of Tennessee in 1796, the new state elected William Blount as one of its US senators. At first there was controversy over the admittance of the newly-elected Tennessee senators to Congress, since the majority of the state refused to support John Adams as a candidate for the next president after George Washington left the seat. In the end, however, Blount and his fellow Tennessee senator William Cocke took their seats in Congress as representatives for Tennessee.

Blount, expelled from the US Senate in July 1797 on account of illegal land deals with Spain, moved back to Tennessee and was elected to the Tennessee State Senate. John Sevier, still governor of Tennessee, picked up his friendship with Blount. The two visited each other frequently, taking more tea with one another and dining at each other’s houses in Knoxville. Sevier never writes of Blount visiting Marble Springs, but the close relationship of the men means that the Blounts may have been out to the farm to visit.

Blount suddenly fell ill on March 15, 1800. On the 17^th, Sevier visited Blount, as he had just returned to the city of Knoxville after a visit to Marble Springs. Blount died on March 21. Sevier wrote of taking his family with him to Blount’s burial.[6]

While Sevier never wrote much of political events past a few words in his journals, he did record many friendly events with the Blounts. The fact that Blount’s death is recorded in the journal with some details indicates that Sevier and Blount’s relationship had transcended the political and became a personal affair.

As such, John Sevier and William Blount became fast friends, beginning with Blount’s rise to governor of the Territory South of the Ohio River and ending with a personal visit to the old governor’s burial by Sevier.

---

[1] Marcus Joseph Wright, Some Account of the life and Services of William Blount (1884), 9.

[2] Wright, Some Account, 11-12.

[3] John Sevier, Journal, October 24, 1793.

[4] Sevier, Journal, July 30, 1794.

[5] Sevier, Journal, September 21, 1794.

[6] Sevier, Journals, March 1800.