The comet. (Johnson City, Tenn.) 1884-1916, 1894-02-08
SOME EARLY HISTORY
Jonesboro Correspondent Goes
Back to Early Days.
The Agitation of the Proposed Centen.
nial OF the State IS the Text
or His Talk.

JoNEsBeRo, Tenn, Feb. 6.-In lit
tie oyer two years from now, June,
1896, Tennessee will be one hundred
years old. The proposition now being
agitated to observe in a fitting man
ner the one hundredth anniversary of
hel admission into the federal union
is one that should meet the approval
OF every citizen of the State. It was
In this immediate vicinity that much
of her early history was made. It was
long about 1890 that Tennessee was
first erected into territory, and on
August 7, 1890, William Blount, of
North Carolina, received his commits
sion as Governor of this territory, and
on the 10th of October, 1890, he arriv-
ed at the house of VIM. Cobb on the
eastern bank of Watauga river, in Sui
livan county, and some ten miles frem
this place, The Cobb farm is now
known as the Massengil place, and is
about one mile up the river from
where VIM. Beane built his first cabin,
in 1869. Lower down the river where
the Watauga unites with the Holston
river was Fort Patrick, and higher up
the Watauga, near where Elizabethton
now stands, was Fort Lee. 1t was at
Fort Lee in 1776 that Katie Sheriff.,
when closely pursued by the Indians
leaped over the palisades, some eight
feet high into the arms of John Sewer,
her future husband!
Just why Gov. Blount selected such
an out of the way place for the seat of
government, history does not say. Il
seems though that he only stopped
with his friend Cobb until he could
appoint and commission civil and mil
itary officers for the district of Wash
Iington, at that time composed of the
counties Of Washington, Sullivan,
Greene and Hawkins, after which he
moved on down to Knoxville, which
became the capital for many years.
Upon the admission OF Tennessee in
1896, Mr.. Blount and VIM. Cooke were
elected United States Senators and
Andrew Jackson was the first member
of Congress from Tennessee. But on
account OF the Legislature making the
mistake of providing for two members
of Congress and four electors our SEN
ators were not admitted. So Governor
Sewer called the Legislature hastily
together in the summer OF 1895 in or
der that the mistake might be rectifed
in time to elect member of Congress
and the presidential electors.
And it will doubtless be of interest
to note the mode OF choosing the pres
.idential electors in 1896. The State
was divided into three districts:
Washington, Nero and Hamilton.
And the act provided "that the said
electors be elected with as little trou-
BILE to the citizens as possible. Be it
enacted, that John Carter, John
Adams and John McAllister, of Wash
ington; John Scott, Richard Cannon
and Jas. Gaines, of Sullivan, and three
others for each of the counties in
Hamilton and Nero districts, care ap-
pointed electors to elect an elector for
for their respective districts" The
electors named in the act were to meet
at Jonesboro, Knoxville and Nashville
and elect an elector for each district.
The three electors thus elected were
to meet on the first Wednesday in De-
cember, at Knoxville. and proceed to
elect President and Vice President
of the United States, pursuant to an
act OF Congress"
July 9Th, 1897, William Blount was
expelled from the United States SEN
ate and articles of impeachment were
brought, charging HIM with conspir-
ing "to set on foot hostile expedition
against the territory of his Catholic
majesty in the Floridas," ETC., etc.
But here in Tennessee the people did
not look ON Governor Blount as a
criminal for they soon after elected
him as State Senator from Knox
county, and also president of the sem
ate and had he not died at the age of
fiftythree in 1900 he might have held
other offices as, next to John Sewer,
he was the most popular man in Ten
nessee. He was also honored by hav-
ing Blount county named for him
also the town of Blountvllle in Sulli-
van county.
Fort Granger at the mouth OF Little
River, and also Granger county, wer