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Daniel Haston Family (1790s-1802)
"South of the Holston River, Opposite Knoxville"
(area enclosed by blue is most likely the
general area where Daniel Haston's family lived)
We do not know if Daniel and his family lived in more
than one location during his Knox County sojourn, nor do we know where
he lived prior to December of 1797, if he did live in more than one Knox
County place. The following evidence suggests that his family
lived somewhere in the area between the Holston River (south of
Knoxville) and the Bount County line, from the late 1790s to the
earliest years of the 1800s. It is probable (from a variety of
non-conclusive clues) that they lived a short distance from the Holston
River, not very far from Knoxville.
Note: The river that flows south of Knoxville is
now known as the Tennessee River (specifically, it is now Fort Loudon
Lake* on the Tennessee River). Previous to 1874, the part of the
river that was east of Kingston, TN was known as the Holston River.
Source: Goodspeed's
History of Tennessee Illustrated: Knox County (1887)
*Note: The Fort Loudon dam, a few miles southwest of
Knoxville, was completed in 1943. Prior to that time the Tennessee
River ("Holston River" prior to 1874) would have looked very differently
to the way it appears now. The river in that area now is the
backwaters of Fort Loudon Lake. Thus, it is now wider, much
deeper, and appears to flow more slowly than it would have prior to the
creation of the lake.
Summary of the Evidence Stated Below
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Where did Daniel
Haston's family live in Knox County, TN?
Daniel Haston lived on land rented
from John & Mary Wood of Maryville, TN, which was handled through
Wood's agent, James Charter. We have not yet located where
that property was, but we do know that it was south of the Holston
River (now the Tennessee River or Fort Loudon Lake) and across
from Knoxville.
Based upon the locations of
families who repeatedly appear to have been Daniel's neighbors, it
seems that he lived somewhere in the area south of the
Holston River and southwest of the French Broad River, which flows into the
Holston (Tennessee) River just southeast of the main part of
Knoxville. It is probably a safe educated guess to say that
he lived within three miles of Knoxville, somewhere in this French
Broad River - Holston (Tennessee) River wedge of land. One
piece of evidence suggests that he may have lived somewhere along
one of these rivers, which might make his home location
considerably closer than three miles to Knoxville. |
- Knox County, TN Road
Order Book, 1792-1819 (available on microfilm at the Knox
County, TN Archives in Knoxville; also, available at the Lawson McGhee
Library in downtown Knoxville, TN)
On page 18 of the Knox County, TN Road Order Book
(1792-1819) Daniel Haston is mentioned as a member of a road jury
made up of men who are known to have lived adjacent to or near each
other in the area of Knox County, "south of the Holston River,
opposite Knoxville." Court records (see below, as well as the
Daniel Haston timeline)
indicate that Daniel Haston had dealings with Paul Cunningham,
Nathaniel Hays, and James Charter on other occasions.
The following persons were appointed as Jury to
wit, Paul Cunningham, Nathaniel Hays, Francis Cunningham, Daniel
Hastings and James Charter, for the purpose of reviewing a road from
the new Ferry landing on the south side of Holston opposite to
Knoxville unto the old road leading to Tellico Blockhouse, to report
to next Court whether any disadvantage doth arise to the Citizens
from the alteration and whether any disadvantages would arise from
making the old landing and road so far as to where the new road
strikes it obsolete.
Who at the October Sessions reported as
follows.
We the Jurors appointed to view the Road from the new ferry landing
with the old Tellico road, and Boyds Creek road being met and duly
sworn to report as follows, to wit. From the new landing with the
Boyds creek road to the farthest corner of Charter's lots, and along
the end of said lots, thence as the old waggon road runs to where a
heep of bark is piled in the road, and conceive no disadvantage by
attesing (?) the landing. Signed by the Jurors.
[Note: This must have been copied by a clerk from the original
document written by the jurors, since no jury signatures are found
here.]
It is very possible that Daniel Haston lived on one
of the lots referred to above as [James] "Charter's lots."
Charter may have (or probably) owned some land in this area, but he
also was an agent for John & Jane Wood, from whom Daniel Haston leased
his land.
- Knox County,
TN Court Case File: Docket # 1385/1235, Samuel Cowan vs Joseph Hasting
(1800-1801) [Also: Pages 76-78 of WPA transcribed Records of
Knox County, TN Minute Book, No. 3, 1800-1802]
This court case, which began early in 1800, states clearly that
Daniel and Joseph Haston lived
"on the South side of Holston
River opposite Knoxville." At this time, Daniel Haston was
living on land rented from John & Jane Wood (or Woods) of Maryville,
TN (Blount County) and the Woods' agent was James Charter. This
land was adjacent to land owned by the plaintiff, Samuel Cowan, a well
known merchandiser in Knoxville.
To this point, we have been
unable to locate a deed or survey for the "south of the Holston,
opposite Knoxville" land owned by either Samuel Cowan or John & Jane
Wood. If you have documentation regarding these pieces of
property, please contact us.
Samuel Cowan, the plaintiff
in the case, owned a ferry that crossed the Holston River at the
southeast corner of Knoxville. This is the same ferry that
Richard G. Waterhouse leased from the heirs of Samuel Cowan in January
of 1803, a couple of years after the conclusion of the Cowan vs Haston
case and the death of Samuel Cowan. In
his journal (page 136 &
elsewhere), Waterhouse* referred to this area, just across the Holston
from Knoxville, as the Iredell community.
James Cunningham, son of Paul
Cunningham, Sr., was summoned to witness on behalf of Joseph Haston.
This Cunningham family was known to have lived in the area described
by that phrase. James Charter (agent for Jane and John Wood)
also owned property in this section of Knox County (see page 140 of
the Richard G. Waterhouse
journal).
*Richard
Green Waterhouse (1775-1827): Tennessee Pioneer by Elizabeth
Waterhouse Layman. Wolfe City, TX: Henington Publishing Company, 1996.
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State vs David Haston & Joseph Haston; Knox Co, TN County
Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions; Docket # 796/65 (1798)
Circumstantial evidence in
this case would suggest that the Haston family lived in the same area,
in late 1797, where they lived later, in 1800.
Nathaniel Hays, the
plaintiff, in this case was known to have lived in south Knox County,
south of the Holston River. Also, two of the witnesses who were
called to testify for Hays, William Haslet, Jr. and William Haslet,
Sr., were known to have lived in this area south of the Holston.
The case summary mentions
that William Haslet, Jr. "rode in to the Island" to track the blood of
the cows whose tails David Haston was accused of cutting. The
"island" reference may provide more specific clue as to the location
of the Haston home. Assuming the event in this case occurred
near the Haston farm, it must have been close enough to a river that
was large enough to create an island. That most likely
would have been the Holston River. If so, then it would indicate
that Daniel Haston's family lived a short distance from Knoxville,
south of the Holston River.
- Governor John Sevier's Journal
"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 passé. 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."
Source: Page 49 of Knoxville by Betsey Beeler Creekmore,
published 1991 by the East TN Historical Society
As the map above
indicates, Sevier's Knox County plantation was located south of the
Holston, opposite Knoxville, possibly very near the home of Daniel
Haston's family. Numerous references in the John Sevier journal
suggest that John Sevier and Daniel Haston lived in the same
neighborhood.
- Tuesday, June 23, 1796: "Mr. Haislet Junr.
reaped part of the day. Haislet Senr. a whole day."*
Note: These are probably the men (William Haslet, Jr. and
William Haslet, Sr.) who witnessed against David Haston in the
1797-1798 Knox County
"cow tails" case.
They, almost surely, were Knox County neighbors to the Daniel Haston
family in late 1797. However, it appears that, on this date,
John Sevier was reaping on his Plum Grove plantation on the Nolachucky
River, about ten miles from Jonesboro, TN. Had they not moved to
Knox County at this time? Did they move there later, because of
some connection to John Sevier? They certainly lived near his
Marble Springs farm in late 1797. *Source:
Journal, page 188
- Friday, August 12, 1796: "Let
Suza Haiston have 1 dollar recd. from her
melons &c to the amt. of 4/."* The journal seems to indicate
that Governor Sevier was in Knoxville at the time of this payment to
Suza Haiston. Was this Suza a member of the Daniel Haston
family? Perhaps they lived so close to him that he purchased
vegetables from them and Suza stopped where he was staying at the
time, in Knoxville, to collect what he owed or delivered vegetables to
him. *Source: Journal, page
189.
Note: On Thursday, October 20, 1796, John Sevier "paid unto
Mrs. Hairston 3 dollars in full of all accompts." (Journal,
page 191) Was this "Mrs. Hairston" the same lady as "Suza
Haiston?"
- To travel from Knoxville to his Marble Springs
plantation, John Sevier apparently took the ferry that was originally
owned by Alexander Cunningham, then later by Samuel Cowan, and later
by Richard G. Waterhouse (and others later). This ferry may
have landed south of the Holston near where the Haston family lived.
Both Samuel Cowan and a member of the Cunningham family (James
Cunningham) were associated the "timothy lot"
court case
involving land where the Hastons lived. According to his
journal, Sevier paid "Roddy the
ferryman 15s 4d" on Wednesday, December 5, 1798 (page 255) [Also,
May 6, 1799 & January 10, 1800]. Was this one of the
Roddys with
whom the Daniel Haston family was associated? He must have been
employed by Samuel Cowan who owned that ferry at the time of these
entries.
Source of Cunningham-Cowan-Waterhouse ferry information: Tennessee
Anthropologist, Volume XVI, Number 2, Fall, 1991.
Source: Journal of
Governor Sevier (1790-1835) as transcribed by John H. Dewitt
and published in the Tennessee Historical Magazine on pages
156-194 in Volume 5, #3 (October 1919) & on pages 232-264 in Volume 5,
#4 (January 1920) & on pages 18-67 in Volume 6, #1 (April 1920).
- Cunningham Family Evidence
There is abundant evidence (Knox Co, TN court
records, deeds, etc.) to prove that there was a well known Cunningham
family that lived south of the Holston and opposite Knoxville in the
1790s and early 1800s. The progenitor of this family was Paul
Cunningham, who was one of the original commissioners of Knoxville and
died on March 8, 1805 in Knox County.
According to Cunningham researcher, Sharon Webb,
Paul Cunningham "settled across the river, about three miles from
Knoxville." She also states that his "final resting place is in
a family cemetery overlooking the bluffs along the Tennessee River in
South Knoxville." Source: "Cunningham Family and Paul
Cunningham Letter (Knox Co, TN, 1796)," an article in the December,
2002 issue of Tennessee Ancestors (Volume 18, Number 3).
Location of Cunningham Family Cemetery
- South Knoxville, TN
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The same Nathaniel Hays who
took David Haston to court in the
"cow tails" case, took Paul
Cunningham to court for a dispute regarding property boundaries.
The Hays vs Cunningham case reveals the
following information regarding where these neighbors of Daniel Haston
lived:
- Nathaniel Hays
- South side of the French Broad River, property
line began on the river bank
- Adjacent Paul Cunningham, Senior
- Adjacent to Archibald Rhea lands
- Paul Cunningham, Senior
- Near Knoxville
- South side of the Holston River, property line
began on the river bank
- Some "rock house" on the Holston was a marker
point
- Near, but does not cross the Meadow Branch
- Adjacent to William Haislet
- Adjacent to Cowan; along this line to the river
- Originally called the Baker improvement
- Purchased from James White in mid-1780s
Nathaniel Hays and Paul Cunningham had been involved
in a previous (1800-1801) Hamilton District Superior Court case (Nathaniel
Hays vs Solomon McCampbell and Paul Cunningham) involving a
similar property boundaries suit. From the narratives of that
case, we can learn more about the land that they possessed:
- Nathaniel Hays purchased his land from Solomon
McCampbell in 1792.
- Hays land was on the south side of the Holston
(as well as south of the French River, as per the Hays vs Cunningham
case). It seems that the banks of both of those rivers formed
part of his property lines. His land met the property lines of
Haislet and Archibald Rhea on the river bank (seems to refer to the
Holston River bank).
- His land was only about 1 1/2 miles from
Knoxville (as was the home site of Paul Cunningham).
- Paul Cunningham purchased his land (640 acres) in
1785 from James White, who had purchased it from a Captain Baker.
Paul Cunningham then sent his sons, Alexander and James, to improve
it and develop it.
Note: Alexander Cunningham started a ferry from this land
(that later was sold to Samuel Cowan and later to Richard G.
Waterhouse, and others later). This was the ferry that John
Sevier used in his trips from Knoxville to his plantation home,
which was located in this south of the Holston, south of the French
Broad area.
- Cunningham's land had about 500 feet of frontage
on the Holston River.
- Paul Cunningham moved his family to this land in
December 1797.
- Cunningham's land adjoined Haislet land along a
"Meadow Branch" which belonged to Haislet.
- Journal of Richard G.
Waterhouse
Richard Green Waterhouse (1775-1827): Tennessee Pioneer by
Elizabeth Waterhouse Layman (Wolfe City, TX: Henington Publishing
Co, 1996); order from Beth Layman (elayman@houston.rr.com)
Although the Richard G.
Waterhouse (RGW) journal does not mention Daniel Haston nor any of
his family members, Waterhouse lived in this "south of the Holston,
south of the French Broad" area and operated the ferry that was
started by Alexander Cunningham. He often referred to the area
as "Iredell." His sojourn in this specific area overlapped
that of Daniel Haston for approximately four years. They had
several (probably many) common acquaintances and lived near each
other, thus they must have known each other fairly well.
- RGW had dealings with James Charter, who was
John & Mary Wood's land agent and was mentioned in the Samuel
Cowan vs Joseph Haston
"timothy lot"
case.
- He had many very close dealings with the sons
and daughters of
Phillip & Mary McComesky Roddy.
- Rented the ferry owned by
Samuel Cowan,
before his death (ferry originally owned by Alexander Cunningham).
- He had close dealings with the William
("Fighting Billy") Tipton family and married his daughter, Polly.
William
Tipton was one of Daniel Haston's securities for the James
Roddy estate settlement.
- Buried his son in "Mr. Cunningham's Burying
Ground." This was probably the family cemetery on John
Cunningham's property, as described in Sharon Webb's article (see
above). If so, it overlooked the Holston (Tennessee)
River on a bluff across the river from Knoxville.
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