Herald and tribune. [volume] (Jonesborough, Tenn.) 1869-current, 1892-12-22
STATE OF FRANKLIN,
East Tennesseans Assert Their Inv
dependence in 1884.


THE following interesting sketch OF
eagly days in East Tennessee was pre-
pared for the Chattanooga Times by
our tcwnsman, John s. Mathes.l
1t was Byron, we believe, who said
there is nothing 80 difficult as a good
beginning. There is also trite old
saying that a good beginning is hall
the battle; and it seems to us if We
only knew how to begin or where tc
begin, that we could write a concise
history of the little State Of Franklin
A State that, like the tabled Atlantis
the lost continent, is often mentioned
and yet no one, it seems, can tell much
about it. We find, too, that writing on
historic ground does not always bring
inspiration if it did our task would
indeed be easy, for as we sit and write
we can look just across the street and
see the very spot on which the old log
court house stood, where the first con.
vention looking to the formation OF
this new State was held, Aug. 2S, 1884.
But in order to get at the primary
causes that led the people occupying
the territory now known as Eastern
Tennessee, to ''secede," as it were,
from the parent State, North Carolina,
and form themselves into the State Of
Franklin, it will be necessary to look
back of this time few years.
Although certain French satirist
once said that historians are privil.
edged liars, still We think the truth OF
history will bear us out in saying that
East Tennessee was first settled by q
brave, intelligent class Of immigrants
men far superior in every respect ia
the first settlers of what is now the
State of North Carolina.
We repeat, that the men who frs
planted civilization here in this beau.
tiful East Tennessee, were of q very
superior class-s:urdy Scotch Irish,
and the better class of the English gen.
try from Virginia.
These brave pioneers planted theil
homes here in the wilderness, and all
unaided or uncared for by the State OF
North Carolina, built their churches
their school houses, their temples OF
justice, and fought their own battles
defeating and driving back the Chero
kee Indians and in addition to all OF
this-when North Carolina seemed to
be entirely overrun with British and
Tories, apparently unable and unwill
ing to fight her own battles, the men
from this side of the mountain gather
ed together about 1000 strong and
mounted on their fleet horses and arm
ed with their trusty rifles, marched
some 200 miles and fought the battle OF
Kings Mountain, killing the British
commander, Patrick Ferguson, and
capturing his entire army, thus win
ming one of the most glorious and i'm
portant victories of the revolutionary
war.
With the earliest of these pioneers
came Rev. Samuel Doak, a Presbyteri
an minister, and a graduate of Prince
ton, N. j., College, under the tuition
of DR.. John Witherspoon, one of the
sigLers of the Declaration of Inde
pendence. DR., Doak made bis home
some eight miles south of Jonesboro
where he founded Washington College
and Salem Church, thus furnishing tht
young men of that period with an Op
pOrtunity of acquiring classical edu
cation, even before the end of the wal
for independence.
With the close of the war and tn,
treaty of peace in 1888, came also thu
responsibility of independence. Th'
thirteen colonies then composing oul
national domain found themselves will
nothing but a large debt, worthless
currency, an empty treasury and q dis
banding army cursing Congress ant
clamoring for their pay. And will
no well defined plan as to. wha
kind of government we we're to have
In order to provide for the payment o
the debt, Congress rolled the responsi
bility back on the Colonies themselves
each one to share their pro rata.
Now, to q people who had just spen
eight years in fighting Great Britain
to get rid Of paying tax, the idea o
taxing themselves was not at all popu
lar; 90 the State of North Carolina, il
order to settle her portion of this debt
very generously ~ ceded to the 81
called General Government in June
1874, all the territory now comprising
the State of Tennessee. q territory tina
had never cost. North Carolina dolla
In money or even drop of blood, an,
this too, without consulting the 5000
people on this side Of the mountain
At first there was much indignatio,
felt toward North Carolina for turninl
us out in the cold, but the people her
having made themselves and havinl
always taken care of themselves, il
addition to fighting North Carolina
battles, they still felt able to care TO
themselves, and so under the lead o
Sewer and others they met here il
Jonesboro-a ''city" then composed o
few log houses-in August, 1884, an
took immediate steps for the Formation
of the little State of Franklin, Stat
that made this ancient town its firs
capital and John Sewer its first Go,
ernor.