The Lost State Of Franklin

In the years following the Revolutionary War, the young American nation was in a state of chaos. Citizens pleaded with government leaders to reorganize local infrastructures and heighten regulations, but economic turmoil, Native American warfare, and political unrest persisted. By 1784, one group of North Carolina frontiersmen could no longer stand the unresponsiveness of state leaders to their growing demands. This ambitious coalition of Tennessee Valley citizens declared their region independent from North Carolina, forming the state of Franklin. The Lost State of Franklin: America's First Secession chronicles the history of this ill-fated movement from its origins in the early settlement of East Tennessee to its eventual violent demise. Author Kevin T. Barksdale investigates how this lost state failed so ruinously, examining its history and tracing the development of its modern mythology. The Franklin independence movement emerged from the shared desires of a powerful group of landed elite, yeoman farmers, and country merchants. Over the course of four years they managed to develop a functioning state government, court system, and backcountry bureaucracy. Cloaking their motives in the rhetoric of the American Revolution, the Franklinites aimed to defend their land claims, expand their economy, and eradicate the area's Native American population. They sought admission into the union as America's fourteenth state, but their secession never garnered support from outside the Tennessee Valley. Confronted by Native American resistance and the opposition of the North Carolina government, the state of Franklin incited a firestorm of partisan and Indian violence. Despite a brief diplomatic flirtation with the nation of Spain during the state's final days, the state was never able to recover from the warfare, and Franklin collapsed in 1788. East Tennesseans now regard the lost state of Franklin as a symbol of rugged individualism and regional exceptionalism, but outside the region the movement has been largely forgotten. The Lost State of Franklin presents the complete history of this defiant secession and examines the formation of its romanticized local legacy. In reevaluating this complex political movement, Barksdale sheds light on a remarkable Appalachian insurrection and reminds readers of the extraordinary, fragile nature of America's young independence.

This imposing volume covers almost all primary sources pertaining to Connecticut men in the Revolution which were still extant at the time of the book's original publication in 1889, including original minutes of the General Assembly and Governor's office, original rolls, pay rolls, accounts, diaries, maps, the papers of George Washington and Connecticut Revolutionary governor John Trumbull, and numerous other collections both privately and publicly held.

In the years following the Revolutionary War, the young American nation was in a state of chaos. Citizens pleaded with government leaders to reorganize local infrastructures and heighten regulations, but economic turmoil, Native American warfare, and political unrest persisted. By 1784, one group of North Carolina frontiersmen could no longer stand the unresponsiveness of state leaders to their growing demands. This ambitious coalition of Tennessee Valley citizens declared their region independent from North Carolina, forming the state of Franklin. The Lost State of Franklin: America's First Secession chronicles the history of this ill-fated movement from its origins in the early settlement of East Tennessee to its eventual violent demise. Author Kevin T. Barksdale investigates how this lost state failed so ruinously, examining its history and tracing the development of its modern mythology. The Franklin independence movement emerged from the shared desires of a powerful group of landed elite, yeoman farmers, and country merchants. Over the course of four years they managed to develop a functioning state government, court system, and backcountry bureaucracy. Cloaking their motives in the rhetoric of the American Revolution, the Franklinites aimed to defend their land claims, expand their economy, and eradicate the area's Native American population. They sought admission into the union as America's fourteenth state, but their secession never garnered support from outside the Tennessee Valley. Confronted by Native American resistance and the opposition of the North Carolina government, the state of Franklin incited a firestorm of partisan and Indian violence. Despite a brief diplomatic flirtation with the nation of Spain during the state's final days, the state was never able to recover from the warfare, and Franklin collapsed in 1788. East Tennesseans now regard the lost state of Franklin as a symbol of rugged individualism and regional exceptionalism, but outside the region the movement has been largely forgotten. The Lost State of Franklin presents the complete history of this defiant secession and examines the formation of its romanticized local legacy. In reevaluating this complex political movement, Barksdale sheds light on a remarkable Appalachian insurrection and reminds readers of the extraordinary, fragile nature of America's young independence.

This book provides family sketches and genealogical information on the first families to settle in the area of East Tennessee that originally made up the state of Franklin. The earliest settlers date back to the mid 1700s. By the year 1770, some 70 families had settled in the area bounded by the Watauga, Nolichucky, and Holston river valleys. Most migrated from Virginia via the Great Valley, although a few were believed to have been Regulators fleeing North Carolina after their defeat at the Battle of Alamance. In May 1772, the Watauga and Nolichucky settlers negotiated a 10-year lease with the Cherokee Indians, and being outside the claims of any colony, established the Watauga Association to provide basic government functions. President Theodore Roosevelt wrote that the Watauga settlers were the "first men of American birth to establish a free and independent community on the continent." Modern Counties in Tennessee which made up the State of Franklin: Blount County Carter County Cocke County Greene County Hamblen County Hawkins County Jefferson County Johnson County Sevier County Sullivan County Unicoi County Washington County A convention of delegates (except for Davidson County that sent none) met on August 23, 1784 and after intense debate they declared these western counties independent of North Carolina on a unanimous vote. Several names were offered for the new state. The name Frankland was proposed since it was translatable as "the Land of the Free," however, Franklin was decided upon perhaps for gaining the favor of Benjamin Franklin. North Carolina regained control of the region in 1788 thus ending the existance of the State of Franklin. The extant records for the State of Franklin generally reference the entire region which now covers the 12 counties of East Tennessee. This book focuses on the earliest known families in the area.

“A riveting, hardscrabble book on the rough, hardscrabble south,” and the fault lines that can divide, test, and heal a family (Pat Conroy). This “powerful . . . Southern novel that stands with genre classics like The Prince of Tides and Bastard Out of Carolina” is driven by the soulful voices of Ezekiel Cooper and his mother, Lillian. Journeying across four decades, it follows Zeke’s evolution from anointed son in a Tennessee working-class family, to honorable sibling to unhinged middle-aged man (Bookpage). After Zeke loses his twin brother in a drowning and his wife to divorce, only ghosts remain in his hometown of Clayton. To escape his pain, Zeke puts his two treasured possessions—a childhood copy of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and his brother’s old dog—into his truck, and heads east. What he leaves behind are his young daughters and his estranged mother, stricken by guilt over old sins as she embraces the hope that her family isn’t beyond repair. What lies ahead is refuge with his sympathetic cousins in Virginia horse country, a promising romance, and unforeseen new challenges that lead Zeke to a crossroads. Now he must decide the fate of his family—either by clinging to the way life was or moving toward what life might be. With abundant charm, warmth, and authority, Amy Franklin Willis’s “honest prose rises from the heart” in this moving consideration of the ways grief can

The full story of those who have searched for Franklin since his expedition disappeared.

"Absorbing.artfully narrat[es] a possible course of events in the expedition's demise, based on the one official note and bits of debris (including evidence of cannibalism) found by searchers sent to look for Franklin in the 1850s. Adventure readers will flock to this fine regaling of the enduring mystery surrounding the best-known disaster in Arctic exploration."--Booklist "A great Victorian adventure story rediscovered and re-presented for a more enquiring time."--The Scotsman "A vivid, sometimes harrowing chronicle of miscalculation and overweening Victorian pride in untried technology.a work of great compassion."--The Australian It has been called the greatest disaster in the history of polar exploration. Led by Arctic explorer Sir John Franklin, two state-of-the-art ships and 128 hand-picked men----the best and the brightest of the British empire----sailed from Greenland on July 12, 1845 in search of the elusive Northwest Passage. Fourteen days later, they were spotted for the last time by two whalers in Baffin Bay. What happened to these ships----and to the 129 men on board----has remained one of the most enduring mysteries in the annals of exploration. Drawing upon original research, Scott Cookman provides an unforgettable account of the ill-fated Franklin expedition, vividly reconstructing the lives of those touched by the voyage and its disaster. But, more importantly, he suggests a human culprit and presents a terrifying new explanation for what triggered the deaths of Franklin and all 128 of his men. This is a remarkable and shocking historical account of true-life suspense and intrigue.