Old petition names 249 Powell Valley settlers

Old petition names 249 Powell Valley settlers

Hat Tip: Tari

Time Line

Reprinted with permission from Dr. Miller McDonald's book Campbell County Tennessee USA: A History of Places, Faces, Happenings, Traditions, and Things

Transcribed by Mildred Collins Wasser

In 1813, just seven years after Campbell County was established, a petition was filed with the house of Representatives of the Tennessee State Legislature to change the location of the county seat at Jacksborough.

The petition contained 249 names and was filed to locate the county seat closer to the Claiborne County line. The petitioners complained that, "They said seat having been unjustly settled within four miles.of Anderson County, where as the distance to.Claiborne County is seventeen miles."

No doubt the petitioners were mostly, if not all, located in Powell's Valley. The petition was referred to committee and went nowhere. It is significant, however, by revealing that in 1813 there were 249 residents of Powell Valley wanting to bring the county seat closer to them. Most importantly to us it shows the names of some of the early settlers in the area. The reader may want to look at the names listed on the petition to identify ancestors who were among the county's earliest residents.

Jacob Smith
Thomas Kincaid
John Cliburn
Cliburn
James Miller
James Miller, Senior
Jubellee Cliborn
Peter McCulley
Thomas Miller
Broadwater Mattenbee
John Miller
John Willoughbie
William Croley
William Littrel
William Basham
Jonathan Basham
Johnson Basham
William Showmake

Cont. here:

http://www.tngenweb.org/campbell/history/petition.html