Iiiutamaon (Houtttg ^Iatonral ^Timfjer 6
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
iiiUtamaon (Houtttg ^iatonral ^timfjEr 6 \ \ ■<l-> N ! w L S N i i •>. ^4^pt*d y< •Vh W ^Aaa'i : C/^35y \ >' :3 £- )p r0}0£> C*^. 1974-1975 WlitlAMSON COUNTY HISTORICAL JOURNAL Number 6 Spring 1975 Published By Williamson County Historical Society Franklin, Tennessee 1975 WILLIAMSON COUNTY HISTORICAL JOURNAL Number 6 Published by the Williamson County Historical Society Mrs. Eilene Plummer- Publication Chairman OFFICERS President . James A. Crutchfield Vice-President . Mrs. Brent Cook Treasurer . Herman Major Corresponding Secretary . ... .. Mary Trim Anderson Recording Secretary . .. .. Mrs. Dobson Johnsoh PUBLICATION COMMITTEE Mrs. 6. R. Plummer, Chairman Thomas Vance Little Mrs. Clyde Lynch Mary Trim Anderson Mrs. Mile Grace The WILLIAMSON COUNTY HISTORICAL JOURNAL is sent to all members of the Williamson County Historical Society. The annual membership dues are $5, which includes this publication and a mbhthly NEWSLETTER to all members. Correspondence concerning additional copies of the WILLIAMSON COUNTY HISTORICAL JOURNAL should be addressed to Mrs. Clyde Lynch, Route 5, Franklin, Tennessee 37064. Contributions to future issues of the WILLIAMSON COUNTY HISTORICAL JOURNAL should be addressed to Thomas Vance Little, Beech Grove Farm, Brentwood, Tennessee 37027. Correspondence concerning membership and payment of dues should be addressed to Herman Major, Treasurer, Hillsboro Road, Franklin, Tennessee 37064. n It is with extreme pleasure that we present the 1974-75 Williamson County Historical Journal. As always, we feel that this year's issue is outstanding in its contributions to local history. We have always felt that the Society's journals would pass the test of time and pro vide invaluable material for researchers, both present and future. We believe that the present issue eminently qualifies for this distinction as well. A new feature of this year's Journal is a separate Miscellaneous Publication. The article submitted by Mrs. Lula Fain Major was of such interest and importance that it was felt that it deserved to be published as a stand-alone volume. We hope that this action will set a precedent for other worthy works that may appear in future years and that the Miscellaneous Publications will become a vital part of the Society's publishing endeavors. Special thanks are due the Publications Committee. EiTene Plummer, Chairman, and her co-workers—Vance Little, Kitty Grace, Mary Trim Anderson, and Louise Lynch--i'iave all done outstanding jobs in screen"ft2 and editing the material submitted for publication. Louise Lynch deserves an additional tip of the hat for her usual Effi cient job of actually producing the volumes, a task of no small proportions. James A. Crutchfield President m WILLIAMSON COUNTY HISTORICAL JOURNAL NUMBER 6 1974-75 Table of Contents Page The Master of Montpier By Mary Trim Anderson . 1 A Bibliography of Williamson County History By James A. Crutchfield 7 First Settlers and Forts in Northern Williamson County^ Tennessee By Richard Carl ton Fulcher 17 So Much For So Little By Glenn I. Johnson 33 Hotels and Taverns of Williamson County By Ann Moran 53 The Hog Killing By Sara Sprott Morrow 61 The Hart Site: Williamson County, Tennessee By Malcolm Parker 69 Williamson County, Tennessee, Militia Commissions Prepared by Henry G. Wray and Ernest K. Johns . 75 Contributors Index ' THE MASTER OF MONTPIER By: Mary Trim Anderson The building of the beautiful Natchez Trace Parkway, following the path of the historic and romantic Natchez Trace of pioneer days, focuses attention on at least one Williamson County landmark that must have been;one of the show places along this road nearly a century and a half ago. It also brings to mind one of the more exciting exploits of its original owner. The land mark referred to is Mpntpier,* the house built by Nicholas Perkins, the man ; who—but let us set the stage for this adventure. ,; It was late on a February night in 1807. Two men, so one version of the story goes, sat before the fire in a log cabin in Washington County, Mississippi Territory (now the state of Alabama), intent on a game of back gammon. Someone outside the cabin called. Going out to investigate, the men found two strangers on horseback, who made inquiry about a Colonel Hinspn.- Being told that the Colonel lived abput seven miles distant, the strangers departed into the darkness from which they had come. As the two occupants of the cabin returned tp their game, one of them, had an arresting thought. Behind the rough clothing, of one of the men he had noticed several things. As the wind blew the traveler's coat aside, he had noticed the handsome boots the man wore with his otherwise crude attire. His eyes . were unusually brilliant, and his polished manner was totally out of keep ing with his general appearance. "That was Aaron Burr!" he said to his companion,.Thomas Malone. The young man who had thus spoken was a young lawyer from Tennessee by the name ♦Although some writers have referred to the house as "Mount Pier," Perkins' will has,,it "Montpier." ' of Nicholas Perkins, to whom the two-thousand-dollar reward that had been offered for Burr's arrest looked very large at that moment. Not wishing to let this man get a^«/ay, he immediately set out to notify the sheriff of Burr's presence in the vicinity. Sheriff Brightwell soon proceeded to the Hinson house to arrest Burr. However, it seems that in ' the presence of this unusual man the worthy sheriff lost bis nerve, sat round and talked with his new acquaintances, and spent the night with them. Meanwhile, Perkins decided to go to nearby Fort Stoddart to summon its commanding officer. Lieutenant Edmund p.. Gaines (also a Tennessean, inci dentally). Early the next morning Perkins and Gaines waited on the roadway to meet the sheriff and his prisoner. To their amazement, they came upon Burr and his companion, Ashley, setting out on their journey again, with the sheriff, of all things, acting as guide! "I arrest you in the name of the United States of America!" the lieutenant said to Burr. That gentleman argued vigorously and persuasive ly that such an arrest was unjust and utterly unthinkable; but he was not persuasive enough, for Gaines paid him. no heed and proceeded with him to Fort Stoddart, where he was kept, supposedly as a prisoner, but where he was treated more as a guest. Because the commanding officer at the fort became ill and because at that season the weather was disagreeable and traveling was difficult, nb plans were made immediately to transfer the prisoner to Washington. During his stay at Fort Stoddart Burr told nothing of himself or his activities. His personality and his manners won the sympathy of many people, particularly the women. They wept over his misfortunes and named their sons for him. However, the hero of our story, Nicholas Perkins, still had his eye on the prisoner and his thoughts, on the "eward. It has never been established, of course, exactly what Burr's scheme was. Nevertheless, there had been an expedition of rather large proportions, the aim of which had been to set up an empire somewhere, probably in Mexico, but possibly involving the capturing of some of the western territory of the United States--Louisiana or the Mississippi Territory. Although he had been accused of plotting against the government and had been twice arraigned before a grand jury and twice acquitted, he had not been released from bond. Consequently he had decided to disguise himself and go into hiding and escape, perhaps eventually to Spain, France, England— who knows? His followers, many of whom had by this time made their way to Natchez, had been released, and this section of the West now had an unexpected supply of schoolmasters, doctors, farmers, artisans, and singing teachers. Their leader, however, was not destined to escape so easily. Young Perkins asked for the privilege of escorting the distinguished gentleman to President Jefferson. The request was granted. Accordingly, early in March the party made ready to depart. Perkins chose seven men to go with him, two of them soldiers. Risking nothing to his prisoner's win ning ways, the cautious lawyer took each man aside individually and warned him to be on guards in fact, it has been suggested he even feared Burr's effect upon himself. They rode single file with the prisoner in the center. Burr was a good rider and never complained of anything even though at times the journey was very difficult. One night there was an embarrassed silence when the host at a tavern, not knowing who his guests were, asked the men if they had seen or heard anything during their jour ney of the noted Aaron Burr. Perkins had to be particularly careful in.Georgia and South Carolina. Theodosia Burr, the general's daughter, had married Joseph Alston, who 4 lived in South Carolina and later became its governor. Burr's knowledge of friends and supporters there might cause him to try to escape. Surely enough, in the midst of a crowd in one small town Burr, jumped from his horse and shouted, "I am Aaron Burr, under military, arrest and claim pro tection of civil authorities." Perkins, though, was just as quick; he jumped off" his horse and ordered him to remount. "I will not!" shouted the defiant man, whereupon Perkins threw down his pistols and, being a big man while Burr was not, picked him up as he would have a child and set him astraddle his horse again. It all happened so quickly that the crowd gazed dumbly at the, spectacle, . tjien ran fast as they could when the guards raised their:pistols.