While this tax list is for 1801, it should be pointed out that a great majority of the men listed as owning land did not obtain a clear title to their land until after 1806, when the compact of that year was entered into between the state of Tennessee, the United States, and North Carolina. By the provisions of Tennessee law the settlers south of French Broad River were given the opportunity of purchasing the lands which they claimed by right of pre-emption and occupancy which had been recognized in the Cession Act of 1789 and Article XI, section 31 of the Constitution of 1796. They were to be charged only $1.00 an acre instead of the minimum price of $2.00 an acre established for other unappropriated lands by the compact of 1806. These Tennessee grants are on file in the Land Office at Nashville, and very few of them are of record in the Blount County Courthouse at Maryville.
There are two additional columns in the original entitled “Billiard Tables” and “Stud Horses.” No individuals were listed as owning any of the former, and only two individuals of Montgomery’s Company were designated as owning any of the latter: William Davidson had 2 and Meshech Tipton had 1.
| Name | Land | Free Polls | Black Polls | Town Lots |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bromley, James | 1 | |||
| Beard, George | 1 | |||
| Blair, John | 1 | |||
| Blair, William | 1 | |||
| Brown, John | 1 | |||
| Blizard, Thomas | 1 | |||
| Black, Gavin 1 | 200 | 1 | ||
| Bradley, John 2 | 1 | |||
| Beard, Henry | 1 | |||
| Beaty, Samel | 1 | |||
| Conway, Thomas | 1 | |||
| Conway, Joseph | 1 | |||
| Conway, Jessey | 1 | |||
| Camron, Samuel | 1 | |||
| Campbel, John | 1 | |||
| Davis, James | 1 | |||
| Davis, Thomas | 50 | 1 | ||
| Davidson, William 3 | ||||
| Finley, John | 1 | |||
| Finn, Jesse | 1 | |||
| Frier, John | 1 | |||
| Goforth, Zacharia 4 | 1 | |||
| Goodman, Stephen | 1 | |||
| Herse [Hess], John 5 | 1 | |||
| Little, Thomas | 1 | |||
| Wm Lowry for Jas | ||||
| W. Lackey | 1500 | |||
| Morrison, Thomas 6 | 1 | |||
| Montgomery, Alexander 7 | 1 | |||
| McClanahan [McClannahan], James | 1 | |||
| Millar [Miller], Alexander | 200 | 1 | ||
| Montgomery, Robert | 1 | |||
| McClanahan, Matthew 8 | 1 | |||
| More [ Moore], James | 1 | 1 | ||
| More, Alexander | 1 | |||
| Millar, Andrew | 300 | |||
| McClanahan, David | 1 | |||
| Manuel, Cudbert | 1 | |||
| Manuel, Valentine | 1 | |||
| McMurry, Robert | 1 | |||
| McClung, Charles 9 | 500 | |||
| [N]elson, John | 1 | |||
| Rhea, Jessee | 1 | |||
| Rhea, John | 1 | |||
| Richardson, Obadiah | 1 | |||
| Ramsey, Richard | 1 | |||
| Smith, John 10 | 1 | |||
| Stafford, Stephan | 1 | |||
| Snider [ Snyder], Peter 11 | 1 | |||
| Smith, Samuel | 1 | |||
| Tate, Isaac | 1 | |||
| Tipton, Meshech | 1 | |||
| Tarwater, Jacob | 1 | |||
| Tarwater, Lewis | 1 | |||
| Walker, Joseph | 1 | |||
| Walker, Isaiah | 1 | |||
| Wise, John | 1 |
Source
Creekmore, Pollyanna, Early East Tennessee Taxpayers, II. Blount County, 1801; published in the East Tennessee Historical Society Publication, vol. 24, pp. 125-154, Knoxville, Tennessee : East Tennessee Historical Society, 1929-1989. Images are from the Early Tax Lists of Tennessee. Microfilm, 12 rolls. The Tennessee State Library and Archives, Nashville, Tennessee.
Footnotes
- Lived on Crooked Creek near Black’s Blockhouse; active in the Indian campaigns of the territorial period; commissioned lieutenant, Blount County militia, 1796; removed to Alabama. Moore, Commissions, 4; notes in compiler’s collection.[↩]
- Commissioned second major, Blount County militia, 1796. Ibid.[↩]
- An early justice of the peace. Minutes, March 14, 1796.[↩]
- A Revolutionary War soldier born in 1758; received a pension for his service in the North Carolina militia while a resident of Wayne County, Tennessee; early Blount County constable. Tennessee Pensioners, 47; Minutes, June 12, 1796.[↩]
- Commissioned lieutenant, Blount County militia, 1796; at a meeting of the county court on September 13, 1796, it was “ordered that John Huse [sic] have leave to build a mill on a place called Murphy’s Creek”; name is perpetuated in Hesse Creek. Moore, Commissions, 5.[↩]
- Commissioned lieutenant, Blount County militia, 1799. Ibid.[↩]
- Commissioned captain, Blount County militia, 1799. Ibid.[↩]
- Commissioned ensign, Blount County militia, 1799; lieutenant, 1801. Ibid.[↩]
- Resident of Knox County, where he was the first clerk, a merchant, and surveyor; engaged in much land speculation. Sketch in French Broad-Holston Country, 446-47; Deeds, passim.[↩]
- Commissioned ensign, Blount County militia, 1796. Moore, Commissions, 5[↩]
- Commissioned ensign, Blount County militia, 1801. Ibid.[↩]
Very helpful and glad to see you providing this information