RAWLSTON:
Source: Hamilton County Pioneers, by John Wilson, 
1998, pp 242-244.

Matthew Roulston fought for the Patriots in the Revolution alongside his neighbors from the lower half of Looneys’ Mill Creek in Augusta County, VA.  After selling his Virginia lands in 1789, he became one of the earliest settlers of the future Tennessee, going to the section that became Jefferson County.  Some of his descendants made their way to Hamilton County prior to the Indian removal.

The Roulstons (later spelled Raulston or Rawlston) are listed on the roster of Scottish clans in 1147 as having risen out of Ayrshire.  The name is said to have come from the fact they rolled stones down from their highland homes to protect themselves from enemies.
Matthew Roulston traces back to John Roulston, who was born in Scotland in 1653 and was in the shipping business – hauling passengers and cargo between England and America.  John Roulston emigrated from the region of Paisley and Renfrew to Boston and married Mercy Bumstead Bosworth, widow of Samuel Bosworth.  John Roulston sereved in King Phillips’ War.  He was licensed in 1714 to operate a tavern and inn at Boston.  He died three years later.  His children included Mercy, John II, Thomas, Joseph who died in 1690 as a small child, and Mary.  John Roulston II, who was born in 1684, made his way to the region of the James River near Richmond, VA, in the early 1740s.  He married Dorothy Nicholson.  John Roulston II died in 1744.  His children were William, Mercy, John who married Ruth Everden, and Mary. William Roulston and his wife, Eleanor, lived at Botetourt County, VA.  He was a member of the colonial militia under Col. John Buchanan in 1758.  He died in 1767.  His children were David, Robert, William Jr., 
Matthew, Samuel and Andrew.

The Revolutionary soldier Matthew Roulston married Martha Moore, daughter of James Moore.  Matthew Roulston in 1795 established a “stand” on the Walton Road.  It was the first tavern on the well-traveled road and guests included Andrew Jackson, James K. Polk and Andrew Johnson.  This was about 12 miles west of Cookeville.  One of the daughters of Matthew Roulston was Elizabeth, who married another Revolutionary soldier, William Jared.  Another daughter, Ruth, married Mark Young.  Other sons were William who married Anne Moore and Samuel who married Besty Lowry.  Samuel Roulston fought with Jackson in the battle of New Orleans.  Another son, James Raulston, lived in a log cabin that straddled the Alabama and Tennessee line.  A legislator, he was a lifelong friend of Andrew Jackson and was one of his commanders.  James Raulston was the patriarch of the Sequatchie Valley branch of the family.  His wife was Jane Simmons.  One descendant was Leonard J. Raulston, South Pittsburg attorney and historian.  He wrote a book on the Raulstons.

Another son of Matthew Roulston was Moses Roulston, who received from his father “15 pounds to be paid to him in trade three years after my decease.”  Moses was first married to Susannah White and they had four daughters.  These were Martha who married John Yearout, Susannah who married James Bogle, Elizabeth who married Lewis Reno Vance, and Mary Anne who married James Cook.  After the death of his first wife, Moses Roulston married Mary Denny.  Moses Roluston mainly lived at Chestnut Mound in the later Putnam County.  A subscription schoolteacher, he later moved to Blount County.  He died in 1829.
One of the daughters of Moses Roulston by his second wife was Jane, who was first married to a Millsaps and then to George Bowers.  A son, William Jarrett Rawlston, was born in 1811.  He married Martha Jane Arnett, daughter of George Arnett, in 1837.  They obtained a land grant along the Tennessee River in Hamilton County at Gold Point in 1840.  Nine children were raised on this 200-acre farm.  They were Thomas Washington who married Bessie Taylor Samples, Isabel who married William Pleasant Hodges, William Seward who married Winnie Caroline Adams, Elizabeth who married William Watkins, John who married Elizabeth Caroline Rogers, George who married Sarah Hixson, James Frances who married Tennessee Lovelady, Mary “Molly” who married McKinney Hixson, and Martha Virginia who married Frank Hixson, brother of McKinney Hixson.

The Rawlstons at Gold Point sided with the Union.  Thomas W. Rawlston in a letter to his cousin, Caroline Millsaps, referred to “the place where we once had to hide from the Rebs.  I can never forget you for kind favors that you showed us while we were in the wild cliffs of Waldons Ridge and I am bound to you for every favor that you should ask from me as long as my head is above the sod.”  T. W. Rawlston was working in the post office at Chattanooga at the time the letter was written at the end of 1864.  He also spoke of a letter from his brother, Will, that was written from near Columbia, TN.  Will reported “they had marched there a foot and at that date they were throwing up breast works three miles from the Rebs.  Since that time they have had a fight and I do not know what loss the regiment suffered.”  William Seward Rawlston rose to the rank of corporal in Co. K. of the Fifth Tennessee Infantry after being wounded in the shoulder on May 14, 1864.  His brother-in-law, William Watkins, also fought for the Union.

William Jarrett Rawlston died in 1883 and Martha Jane Arnett Rawlston in 1894.  On her death bed, she called the children one by one – from the oldest down to the youngest – to big them goodbye.  The family then vowed to have an annual reunion and the first one was held at the Thomas W. Rawlston home at Ooltewah on Thanksgiving Day 1894.
James Francis Rawlston was postmaster at Gold Point from 1891 to 1895 and William Seward Rawlston was the Gold Point postmaster beginning in 1897.  This post office was discontinued and moved to Hixson in 1907.  William Seward Rawlston was the Chattanooga postmaster from 1905 to 1913.

Thomas W. Rawlston was a schoolteacher.  His sons included William, Zachary Taylor who married Rose Ella Watkins, and Thomas W. Jr who was a deaf mute who married Cynthia Rebecca Mynatt.  Children of John R. Rawlston were Addie who married William Washington Hixson, Luther who died as a small child, Margaret J. who died when she was 11, Sophia who married Doc Rogers, Robert Lee who married Mary E. Hixson and then her sister Minerva Hixson, and Carrie Elizabeth who married Creed Jackson.  Children of George Rawlston were Joseph who married Mae Gann, Lossie who married Harry Brown, Ophia who married Eugene A. Hixson, and Lucille who married Lester Henry.  Children of James Francis Rawlston included Martha Minerva, Mary Virginia, Cora Elizabeth, William Sevier who married Eva Hixson, John Wesley who married Lou Holcomb, Rosa Belle who married George Holcomb, Early who married Eunice Freeman, Zach, Jim, Ethel and Noah.

Several of the children of William Seward Rawlston were educators, John Taylor Rawlston was principal of Gold Point School.  He married Louise Hale and then Maude Martin.  George McKinney Rawlston was principal of Ganns-Middle Valley School.  He married Varina Brogden and then Nancy Dent.  Their brother, Thomas Monroe Rawlston, was a streetcar conductor, then he ran a general store.  He married Bertie Johnson.  Another brother, Leonidas “Lon” worked in the post office.  He married Ida Knox.  Another brother, Samuel Grant Rawlston, married Blanche Miller.  He had a restaurant and then worked in a silk mill.  Their children included Dorothy who married Carl J. Williams, Clara Mae who died when she was 15, Edna Rose who married Otis Howard Sims, Samuel Lamar who married Eloise Morgan and then Janie Ruth Sosebee, and Rita Ruth who married Cyrus Cecil Barger.  Another daughter, Mary Elizabeth Rawlston, has researched the history of the family.  Another son, John William Rawlston, married Betty Thomas.  Their sons are John Jr., a photographer at the Free Press, and Mark, a detective with the city police.  Daughters of William Sherman Rawlson were Eliza Cleo who married William Jackson and then William Thomas Miller, and Tamer Lee who married James Hayne Roberson.

HAMILTON COUNTY PIONEERS - THE HIXSON FAMILY 
by John Wilson 
posted March 10, 2007 http://www.chattanoogan.com/articles/article_101498.asp

Since the late 1820s, when many Indians were still in this vicinity, the land around North Chickamauga Creek in the shadow of Walden's Ridge has been the domain of the Hixsons.  Ephraim Hixson Jr. and Houston Hixson settled in the vicinity of the creek.  Timothy and William Hixson were also here at the time of the 1830 census.  In the 1836 and 1837 tax lists of Hamilton County, Houston and Ephraim Hixson were neighbors, while Alexander, Jackson, Henry and William Hixson were in another settlement.

Alexander Hixson was still here in 1850 with his wife, Nancy, and children Elizabeth, John, Margaret, Robert and Ephraim.  Henry Hixson and his wife, Elizabeth, stayed in Hamilton County. Henry was born about 1813.  He is listed as a son of Houston Hixson and grandson of Ephraim Hixson.  Henry's children included Henry, James, John, David, Nancy who married James L. Smith, McKinney who married Mary “Molly” Rawlston in 1873, Franklin who married Virginia Rawlston, William and Clarissa J. McKinney Hixson died in 1923 at age 73, leaving a daughter, Malissa Lovelady, and sons, James D., John M. and Noah O.
The Hixsons had come down from New Jersey through Maryland and Virginia to upper East Tennessee. Joseph Hixson and his wife, Susannah, are listed in the census of Frederick County, Md., in the revolutionary year of 1776.  They later settled on the south side of the Nolichucky River in Greene County, Tenn. In 1786, Joseph Hixson paid 50 shillings for 100 acres at Greene County. Joseph, like a number of future Hamilton County settlers, got his first look at the lush territory during an expedition against the Indians.  He took part in the 1788 raid against the Chickamaugas under Gen. Joseph Martin.  There was a skirmish at the base of Lookout Mountain near Moccasin Bend. Joseph Hixson died at Greene County in 1804.  His widow, Susannah, continued living on Middle Creek of the Nolichucky River until her death in early 1823.  She left “one Negro woman, and two Negro children, one bedstead and furniture, one stove, one table, one loom, 2 corner cupboards and furniture, 2 head of horses, five head of cattle, eight head of sheep, thirty head of hogs, 1 desk, 1 chest, 2 spinning wheels, 3 ovens, 4 pots, one skillet, one clock and case, two bar share ploughs, 2 shovel ploughs, five hoes, 3 axes, one looking glass, one woman's saddle, one hand saw and one cross cut saw.”

The children of Joseph and Susannah were Eleanor, Andrew, William, Joseph Jr., Timothy, Ephraim, John, Susannah, Benjamin and James.
Some of the children of Joseph Hixson joined the families of Rawlings, Kennedy, Hughes and other of their neighbors in migrating from Greene County to Bledsoe and Hamilton counties.  Ephraim Hixson Sr. settled permanently at Bledsoe. Joseph Hixson Jr. married Mary Johnson at Greene County in 1790.  Eleanor Hixson, the oldest daughter, married Sparling Bowman and they remained in Greene County near the old Joseph Hixson place.  Susannah Hixson married William Davis in Greene County in 1794. Timothy Hixson married Rebecca Hughes in Greene County in 1795.  His older brother, William Hixson, had married her sister, Ingobo Hughes, in 1789.  The Hughes sisters were daughters of Francis Hughes, who lived from 1759 to 1841.

Andrew, the oldest son, was born in New Jersey in 1766.  He married Anna Davis in 1786 in Greene County. He moved along with several of his brothers shortly after their father's death to the section of Roane County that became Bledsoe County.  In 1788, Andrew was a member of the militia that made a raid against the Chickamauga Indians.  Andrew sold his property in Greene County in 1819 and moved to Clay County, Mo. His children were Andrew Jr., Susanna who married James Wilhoit and William H. who married Catherine Wilhoit.  William H. had Andrew, James and Allen W. Hixson.

John Hixson, son of Joseph and Susanna, married Laney Nelson in 1805 in Greene County with Valentine Sevier as one of the bondsmen.  John Hixson lived along the Nolichucky River near the Kennedys, then he was among the brothers moving to Bledsoe. John and Laney Hixson moved to Mitchell, Ind., about 1827 or 1828. During this move, John and his son, Timothy, were swimming horses across the White River.

Timothy made it across, but John drowned. Laney lived until 1849 and was buried at Sheeks Cemetery near Mitchell.  Children of John and Laney were Polly who married Thomas S. Warren, Maria who married Jacob Kimbley and then Aquilla Chapman, Dorcas who married Alexander Henry, Cynthia who married Aaron Johnson, Timothy who married Elizabeth Walker and then Lucinda J. Davis, and Joseph who married Elizabeth Harris and then Margaret Davis. David Hixson was in a boat at the time his father drowned, and he may be another son of John and Laney. Timothy was a pioneer in the area that became Spring Mill State Park in Southern Indiana.  He built and operated a saw mill and a grist mill. His first wife died when their youngest twins were only a year old, leaving him with some 10 children to tend. He had eight more children by the second wife, who was part Indian.  Timothys’ last child was born when he was 72.

Joseph Hixson Jr. had a son, Joseph III, who married Elizabeth Alexander at Bledsoe County.  They later lived in Sequatchie County. Their children included Amanda J., William A. who married Ellen Austin, Phoebe who married Wash Cain, John H. who married Elizabeth Dowlen, Mary A. who married Jack Minton, Nancy M., Ingobo A. who married Jack Austin, and Linda Elizabeth who married George Elliott.
The family of William Hixson (son of Joseph and Susannah) lived at Bledsoe County.  According to his great-grandson, Judge Will Cummings, William Hixson fought in the Revolution.  The children of William Hixson are given as Ingobo, Nancy, Joseph Hughes, William Jr. and John. William died in 1827 and Ingobo Hughes Hixson lived until 1859.  The daughter, Ingobo, was born in 1798 and had the distinction of living in three centuries since she survived until 1902. She married Jeremiah Fryar, and they resided in Lookout Valley. Nancy married Henry Grayson. She died in 1881 at Whitwell at the home of a son, Anderson Cheek Grayson.

Joseph Hughes Hixson was born in 1801.  He married Phoebe Graham in 1825 at Bledsoe and they continued to reside there.  Their children were John H., William McKinney "Mack,'' Susannah who married James Hixson, George Washington who married Temperance Lasseter, Samuel, Marion who married Mary Hunter, Easter who married James Smith, James Monroe, Margaret, Houston, Ruth who married Anderson Martin, and Elizabeth who married Joseph Fryar in 1866. John H. died in the Civil War, and both Samuel and James Monroe Hixson died at Andersonville Prison in 1864. Samuel had married Sarah Hixson. He also died at Andersonvile, leaving a daughter, Virginia.  Mack Hixson moved to the Silverdale section of Hamilton County at an early date.  He was 95 when he died in 1922. He married Matilda Jane Walker and then Martha J. Shahan. Matilda died in 1876 and Martha in 1888. Mack's children were Thomas Jefferson who married Rebecca Matilda Jones, Margaret who married James F. Barnes, William Joseph who married Martha Jane Summers, Mary who married James Minnis, Sarah Eleanor, Laura, Samuel, James A., Nancy who married James B. Boyd, and Emma M. James A. died in 1920 of blood poisoning at age 53. Samuel, who was born the year after the Civil War ended, was a prominent educator. Known as Professor Hixson, he went into Chattanooga in 1891 and was superintendent of the Hamilton County Schools for six years. He served as county register beginning in 1902, then was superintendent of the Bledsoe County Schools and then the Rossville Schools. He also served as principal of Knoxville High School and was president of the Tennessee Public School Officers Association.  He married Elizabeth Brown. His sons were Percy and Roy H. Professor Hixson was living on Browntown Road when he died in 1937. After the death of Phoebe Graham Hixson in 1847, Joseph Hughes Hixson married Eliza C. Henniger, daughter of John and Jane Henniger.  Their children were Henniger who married Anne Hutcheson, Jane who married John Schoolfield, Joseph Summerfield who married Margaret Pope, and Emmett who died as an infant.

Joseph Hughes Hixson died in 1875 at the age of 73. Nancy, daughter of William and Ingobo Hixson, married Henry Grayson.  She died at Whitwell in 1881. John, son of William and Ingobo, married Cynthia Smith. The John Hixsons lived at Wauhatchie, then at Birchwood. Their children were Timothy who married Mary Ann Smith in 1865, John Jr. who married Demmie Walker in 1869, William who married Rhoda Killian, Wilson who married Caldonia Beavers, Phebe who married Babe Austin, Andrew who married Rena Carroll, Eda, Cynthia, Nancy, Martha Ann and Sarah. Timothy had John, William, Abner and Frank. John Jr. had Andrew Jackson “Jack” who married Ella B. Goodwin, Jacob "Jake'' who married Marie Dilbeck, Sara who married Jake Cranfield, Janie who married Sam Williams, and Thomas Burke

“Dock.” William and Rhoda's children included Mary E., Burke, Addie, Samuel, Newton M. and the twins William B. and Dollie. Wilson had William who married Maggie Burton, Martha J. “Maggie,” Nancy E., Andrew who married Betsy Beavers, Charles who married Ida Belle Cranfield, Robert who married Lillian Friddell, Daniel L., Susan J., Geneva A., Lillie, and Belle who married Bill Harden. Andrew, son of John and Cynthia, had Minnie who married Skelt Burnette, George Edward who married Barcie Webb, Tom who married Sudie Billings, Claude who married Ruby Adams, Hubert who married Ruth Parker, Clara who married Richard Daughtery, Grace who married Beedie Rucker, and Mary Lucinda who married William Carroll Burnette.
William Jr., who was born about 1795, was in Bledsoe County at an early date with his wife, Esther.  They were in Sequatchie County in 1860.  Their children included William, Ruth, Mary A., Nancy, John, Andrew and Esther. William was with the Confederacy's Co. B of the Fifth Tennessee Cavalry. He enlisted Aug. 11, 1861.  He died in 1907. John enlisted in the fall of 1862 to fight for the South with Co. B of the First Tennessee Cavalry (Carter's). He fought at Murfreesboro and Cumberland Gap and his leg was smashed when his horse ran against a tree.  He was captured following the fighting at Missionary Ridge, and he chose to swear allegiance to the Union and go across the Ohio River. He died near Birchwood in 1908 and was buried on the farm of S.A. Smith. Andrew and his wife, Susan E., moved to Hamilton County after the Civil War. Andrew died in 1905 and Susan in 1909.

Timothy Hixson (son of Joseph) purchased 163.5 acres in Greene County in 1803 and sold this tract three years later. He was given a Negro girl, Sal, by his father-in-law, Francis Hughes, and he later purchased a 15-year-old mulatto slave girl and a 21-year-old Negro woman in Bledsoe County. Timothy bought 400 acres in Bledsoe in 1817.  Rebecca outlived her husband by many years, spending part of the time with her grandson, Pleasant Hixson. She later married a Kennedy, moved to Alabama and died there.  The children of Timothy Hixson and Rebecca Hughes are given as Houston who married Rebecca Grayson, Rebecca, Margaret who married Ephraim Hixson Jr., Reuben who married Mary Ann Harvey, Ephraim, Sarah, Joseph, Colonel and Timothy Jr. who was a schoolteacher in Bledsoe County. Rebecca, who was born in 1806, married Joseph Rogers. They raised their large family in the vicinity of North Chickamauga Creek. Rebecca Hixson Rogers died in 1882. Reuben Hixson fought in the Seminole War.  He was living in Sequatchie County just before the Civil War and he was near Waco, Tex., when he died in 1907. His children were Joseph who married Elizabeth Bair, Ruth who married Joe Stewart, Millie “Sis” who married Jonathan Bowman, Timothy, Anderson “Colonel” who married Zena Louvenia Elizabeth Alexander, and James Foster who married Martha Sims. Colonel, who was a prominent farmer, died in 1930 at the age of 69. His children were J.F., R.R., S.H., George, Mrs. Frank Coulter and Mrs. S.B. Eldridge. Sarah married Samuel Hixson.  Their children included Pleasant and James. Pleasant married Sarah Ann Wright in Benton County, Ala., in 1848. She was from Chester District, S.C. James married Mildred Wheeler. Both families moved to Logan County, Ark., in the early 1850s. Pleasant had John Newton who married Nancy E. McCrary, Frances who married Granville McDaniel, Ellen who married Thomas Turner, James G. who married Belle Wolfe, Sarah J. “Jodie” who married W. Logan White, Pleasant Wesley who married Mary Lasseter, William S. who married Leanna B. Proctor, and Emery LaFayette who married Maggie Moore. Children of James and Mildred included Madison “Matt,” Taylor and Sarah J. Pleasant and Matt Hixson were in the Confederate army. Pleasant was a quartermaster sergeant in the Fourth Arkansas Cavalry. Matt was a first lieutenant and fought in a number of battles before being taken captive at Fort Hudson after a 42-day siege. He later represented Logan County in the Legislature. He married Belila A. Sadler in 1870. James Hixson (brother of Pleasant) was hanged by bushwackers at Cane Creek, Ark., in 1864.
Joseph Hixson, son of Timothy, was born about 1799 and lived at Bledsoe County.  He and his wife, Elizabeth, had Amanda, William, Phoebe, John H., Mary A., Nancy M. and Ingobo A.

The children of Ephraim Hixson (son of Joseph) are given as Houston, Ephraim Jr., Susan and William. William married Margaret Roberson and they had William Carroll who married Paulina Wheeler, John Borders who married Lettie Graham, James LaFayette who married Susanna Hixson, Rachel L. who married a Sisk in Putnam County, Caroline who married Phillip T. Rawlings of Rhea County, and Ephraim who married Helen Pope. William's second wife was Kesiah Sawyer. They had James Newton who married Adeline Davis, George W. who died in the Civil War, Susan who married Joseph Dunn, Mary who married Dr. Billie Smith, and Samuel who married Sarah Welch.  William died in Bledsoe County in 1850 at theage of 46.

Susan, daughter of Ephraim, was born about 1801.  She married Elisha Kirklen.  They resided in Bledsoe County, but also had interests on North Chickamauga Creek and at the foot of Lookout Mountain.
Ephraim Hixson Jr. was born in Greene County in 1797.  He grew up in Bledsoe County and then was an early Hamilton County settler and was a justice of the peace in 1834. In 1830, he bought the 640-acre reservation of the Cherokee John Brown for $5,500.  The property acquired by the Hixsons was in the vicinity of the Fields ferry on the Tennessee River and the Brown reservation. David Fields was a Cherokee who received a large grant under the Treaty of 1819. William Hixson in 1842 had acquired 1,500 acres, including the Fields Ferry and the Chickamauga mill tract.  This was part of a 20,000-acre grant that James Cozby and Charles McClung had obtained from the state of North Carolina.  This was the William Hixson who lived in Bledsoe County and married Margaret Roberson and then Kesiah Sawyer.

Ephraim Jr. married his first cousin, Margaret Hixson, daughter of Timothy and Rebecca Hughes Hixson. She was born in Greene County in 1799.  Ephraim and Margaret Hixson settled near the Houston Hixsons. They had a large family, including Wilson who married Nancy Hughes, David who married his cousin Malinda Hixson, Susan who married Hamilton Adams, Mary Collet who married Robert Henry Hamill, George Washington "Washington'' who married Sarah “Sally” Vandergriff in 1845, Houston who married Nancy A. Barker, Margaret who married John Brown, Sarah who married Samuel Hixson, then William Arnett and then Andrew Johnson, Malinda who married Henry Barker, Timothy Stringfield who married Elizabeth Adaline Lewis, and Ephraim Foster who married Mary A. and then Savannah Fitzgerald.
John Hughes, father of the wife of Wilson Hixson, lived his last days with the Wilson Hixson family.  He was 90 when he died in 1871.  His wife had died many years earlier. The children of Wilson and Nancy Hughes Hixson included George Washington who married Sarah Smith in 1868, John F. who married Mary Elizabeth Barker, Rebecca who married Henry Grayson Hixson, Samuel who married Sarah Jane Carden, Elizabeth, Ephraim Franklin who married Annie James, and Margaret who married Thomas Holcomb. Children of G.W. and Sarah Smith Hixson included John F.M., William B., Ephraim F. who married Margaret M., and daughters Mrs. William T. Johnson, Mrs. Lawrence E. Dent and Mrs. H.L. Smith. G.W. Hixson died in 1919 when he was 76.  John F.M. Hixson died in 1942 when he was 71.  He married Margaret E. “Maggie” Jackson, and they had sons Andrew W. and Olin P. Children of John F. and Mary Elizabeth Barker Hixson included Laura E. who was the first wife of William F. Arnett, Margaret who married P.W. Phipps, and W.E. Ephraim Franklin Hixson was on the County Court six years and was on the county draft board.  He was an organizer and vice president of Commerce, which was taken over by Hamilton National Bank. Ephraim Franklin Hixson lived near where his grandfather's log cabin had stood. He was the stationmaster, postmaster and grocer for 43 years at Hixson Station. “Squire” Hixson was “a man who made many friends.  He was quiet and unassuming, always kind and gentle. He was a friend of the downtrodden and lowly without reference to race or color.” A Democrat in politics, he was instrumental in the establishment of Hixson High School and was chairman of the county school board. He won many blue ribbons at the county fair for his varied breeds of chickens. Ephraim Franklin Hixson died in 1923 at age 67, leaving a son, Robert F. Hixson.  The E.F. Hixson home, with its massive log undergirdings, still stands on Adams Road near the site of the train depot. It later was occupied by the Fitzgerald realty office.
David and Malinda Hixson had Silas who died young, Houston who married Annie Lovelady, Martha who died young, and Eliza who married James McNeally in 1877 and moved to North Carolina.  Houston died in 1909. David Hixson took a second wife, Lucy Ann Moody, in 1878. He suffered a paralyzing stroke in March 1888, when he was 69.  He died the next year.

The children of Washington and Sarah Vandergriff Hixson included James Foster who married Martha Rogers and then Mary “Mollie” Lovelady, Joseph D. who married Allie Hunter of Decatur in 1883, Thomas who married Della Hodges, Nancy who married Andrew Jackson and then John Minyard, Margaret who married James Preston Smith, Sarah Y. who married George Rawlston, and the twins Ephraim and Wilson J. Washington Hixson served as a justice of the peace. His son, Ephraim, was a farmer and ferryman at Harrison, but he drowned in the river in August 1883. James Foster Hixson died in 1913 when he was 67. His children by his first wife were Napoleon B. “Poley,” Eliza who married E.F. Hixson,William Washington and John F. By his second wife he had Carrie, Hester, Robert, Sally who married Andrew Hixson, George McClellan, Annie, Pleasant Alexander, Malcolm Rice and Hazel. Poley Hixson went to Sequatchie College, then he was a Chattanooga policeman and was in the county highway department 22 years.  He was supervisor of county roads and workhouses and was on the county highway commission.  He married Leonora E. Rogers in 1891, and they had a son, Cowart. Poley Hixson died in 1932 when he was 63. John F. died in 1905 when he was 29. He had served as jailer at the E Street Jail. He had gone west for his health and was with relatives in the Sequatchie Valley when he died. Joseph D. Hixson died in 1933 when he was 76. His children included Floyd A., Evie G., Columbus H., Fred L., Nancy A., Juanita and Sally. Thomas Hixson, youngest son of Washington Hixson, was born the day before the battle of Chickamauga.  He owned a farm across the river from Harrison, but moved to the homestead of his oldest brother, James F. Hixson, after the lake was created.  Thomas Hixson died in 1942.  His children were Carroll, Jack, Harry, Robert L., Raymond, Napoleon and Mabel. Wilson J. Hixson had no children.
Ephraim Foster Hixson (son of Ephraim and Margaret) was born at Hixson in 1840, and he served in the Sixth Mounted Infantry for the Union.  He and his wife, Mary, had Timothy who died young, Ephraim F. who married Ellen Moore, George Washington who married Addie Shropshire, John H., David Stringfield who married Isabel Pendergrass, Sarah J. who married Morgan Hunter, Nancy and Margaret who married W.B. Hixson. Margaret Hixson Hixson died in 1910 when she was 31. Ephraim Foster Hixson was 87 when he died in 1926. His son, Ephraim, lived until 1932 when he was 70. He had sons William who died in 1923 when he was 18, Walter C., Dewey G., Boyd and Henry and daughters Mrs. Maude Hixson, Lillie Gann, Mrs. Lester Jones and Mrs. Lois Freeman. George Washington Hixson farmed at Dallas. He was on the county school board two terms and was on the Democratic Executive Committee from the Jones Store precinct.  He died near Harrison Ferry in 1938 when he was 68. His children were Robert S., Jack D., Lee H., Andrew Jefferson “Jeff” and Jerome. Robert was a sergeant with the state highway patrol. Jack was county clerk for Hamilton County, and Lee worked as a deputy in the office. Jack's son, Don, has worked a number of years in the county clerk's office. Another son, Gordon Hixson, is a Chattanooga physician. Jeff Hixson was treasurer of a brick company at Daisy.  He died in 1950 at age 44 of a heart attack. He was found beside his car on Gap Road. John H. Hixson died in 1943 when he was 72.

David S. Hixson lived until 1948 when he was 74. He had a daughter, Mrs. Grover Parrott, and sons, Solone, Stanley F., Noel S., Alvin J., Braxton B., Lestious and Malcolm E.
The Houston Hixson who married Nancy Barker was a Quarterly Court member and he managed over 2,000 acres of “fine farm land.”  He was "thrifty and energetic and successful in all his undertakings.'' After the war, his estate was in the $10,000 range. His children included Sarah Saphronia who married Elijah Hudson, Susan Leona who married A.H. Bailey, James Taylor, Ephraim Foster, Louisa Jane who married a Gibson, Margaret Rebecca who married M.G. Elliott, Melvin Houston and John Emmett. James Taylor Hixson was on the County Court two terms. He was one of the first t‘rail-hitters” at the Billy Sunday services. He died at Hixson of blood poisoning in 1919. He and his wife, Delilah, had sons Bernard E., Creed B. and Raymond and daughters, May who married George E. Liles, Hallie who married Daniel R. Hamill, Amy who married Oscar V. Bailey, Bessie L. who married E. Frank Brown, Juanita who married Joseph E. Seiller, and Lowie Waller. Bernard moved to Sikeston, Mo., and Raymond to Iuka, Miss. The Baileys lived at San Antonio, Tex., and the Browns at Johnson City, Tenn. The Seillers lived at Danville, Ky. Lowie married Jonah Waller, superintendent of the signal department for the Southern Railway. They moved to Somerset, Ky., and then to Florida for her health, but Lowie died in 1935 at age 44. Ephraim Foster Hixson (son of Houston and Nancy) resided at Gold Point with his wife, Susie M. He died in 1924 when he was 67, leaving a daughter, Blanche McGill. Melvin Houston Hixson died in 1927 when he was 52. His wife was Allie and his children were Charles, Willard, Melvin, Matt and Thelma. Houston Hixson died in 1898, and Nancy Barker Hixson died in 1893.

Timothy Stringfield Hixson was a Union officer. His mother, Margaret, lived her last days with his family. Timothy S. Hixson died at Hixson in 1918 when he was 75.  He and Elizabeth Adaline Lewis Hixson had Louise Elizabeth who married John Wesley Gooden, Ephraim who married Elizabeth Hixson, John who married Easter Hughes, Timothy Stringfield Jr. who married Tennessee Lemons, Margaret who marriedHugh Carroll, Charles W. who married Margaret Arnett, Wheeler who married Leona Vandergriff, Sally who married Monroe Thomas Vandergriff, Liza, Carrie, Joseph who married Maude Hixson, Nancy Mae who married Robert Franklin Ables, and Frank who married Carrie Hardy. Adaline lived to be 88 and was known as “Granny Hixson” in the community.  Ephraim H. lived all his life in Hixson, dying in 1938 at the age of 71. He left a son, Elmer, and daughters Mrs. James Cox, Mrs. John C. Childers, Mrs. E.F. Grimm and Susie (Susie A., Colonel, Ora, Mathia E. and James E. 1900). Wheeler died in 1938 when he was 62, leaving sons Robert, Murrell and Virgil. The daughters were Mrs. John Dale, Mrs. Walter Gadd, Mrs. Eulis Davis, Mrs. Clint Davidson, Mrs. Ralph Dobbs, Marie and Ruth. Joseph died in 1936 when he was 51. He had a daughter, Gracie, and sons Houston, Wallace, J.C. and Joseph Jr.
Ephraim Hixson Jr., who had accumulated over 1,000 acres and had 11 slaves, was dragged to death by runaway horses on Christmas Day 1855.  Margaret Hixson Hixson survived until 1888.

The older Houston Hixson (son of Ephraim) also lived at North Chickamauga Creek.  He was a trustee of the Jackson Chapel church. He lived until 1868. Rebecca Grayson Hixson died in 1859.  Their children were Malinda who married David Hixson, Margaret who married Joshua Beck, Eliza, Mary Ann who married David B. Hamill, John M. who married Clarissa Lovelady in 1870, William C., Ephraim who died young, and Henry Grayson who married Rebecca Hixson in 1866. Joshua and Margaret Hixson Beck occupied a large farm across the river from Chattanooga. Eliza married Thomas Jefferson Sivley, but he died in the midst of the Civil War. She later married Aaron Jones, and they went to Kansas in a covered wagon. Henry Grayson Hixson was a member of the Quarterly Court for two terms. He lived near the community of Hixson until his death in 1920 when he was 83. His children included William E. who married Ophia Smith, Nancy who married John Rogers, Louisa Rebecca who married John Taylor Adams, Carrie Elizabeth who married William Emmett Dent, and Margaret R. who married Joshua Beck Gadd. William C. Hixson, son of Houston and Rebecca Grayson Hixson, married Mary Ann Ragan, daughter of Absalom and Jane Ragan. William C. Hixson in 1849 purchased a 200-acre farm from Elisha Kirklen. However, he moved his family just before the Civil War to Paris, Ark. The Ragans migrated also, and two of the brothers of Mary Ann Ragan Hixson fought with Confederate units there. William C. Hixson on July 15, 1864, was hung by bushwhackers. This was done at his home in front of his wife and nine children. Mary Ann Ragan Hixson stayed on the Arkansas homestead and reared the children, and it was said that vengeance was later taken on the ringleader of the bushwhackers.

Samuel Worthington Hixson, who moved to Chattanooga about 1891, served in the Tennessee House in 1901-1903, representing Hamilton and James counties.  Born in 1860 in the Sequatchie Valley, he was the son of William Carroll Hixson and Rachel Walker. He attended Sequatchie College, then was graduated from the University of Tennessee.  Afterwards, he studied medicine and practiced in East Chattanooga. He served as county physician. S.W. Hixson married Ellen Varnell, and their children were Wallace W. and Nina. Dr. Hixson retired from medicine and opened a merchandising business at Daisy. He also served on the County School Board.  He died in 1922 and was buried at the Poe Cemetery. His brothers were J.R., Phillip R., E.W., J.W., Ephraim and J.E. A sister was Mrs. Joe Hudson.

The community at North Chickamauga Creek was first called Lakeside after a “bottomless” lake that was near Ephraim Hixson's home.  The train station was the Cincinnati Southern was first known as Lookout. However, to avoid confusion with another station by the same name near Lookout Mountain, it was changed to Hixson Station.  Finally, the community came to be known simply as Hixson. A legion of Hixsons still live in the Hixson community, and they have held annual reunions since 1957. The largest number ever to attend was 560 in 1961.
Attorney Linda Hixon is the daughter of Tom Hixon and Alma Hixson Hixon. The mother is the daughter of Andrew and Sally Hixson. Her grandparents were John F. and Maggie Jackson Hixson and James F. and Mary “Mollie” Lovelady Hixson. Linda Hixon has been a leader in setting up a greenway along North Chickamauga Creek, the ancient landmark of the Hixsons.

Several Lewis Families Were Hamilton County Pioneers
Monday, January 17, 2005 - by John Wilson
http://www.chattanoogan.com

Several Lewis families were pioneers of Hamilton County.

Peter Lewis brought his family to Chattanooga from Virginia in the late 1840s. He and several generations of the family were brickmasons.

The Peter Lewises were originally at Dinwiddie County, Va. Peter was born in Virginia about 1793 and his wife, Guinassee, about 1795. His parents were William and Nancy Lewis. Capt. William Lewis had property in Dinwiddie on the Appomattox River and on Gravelly Run. Peter's brothers and sisters included Joseph, Thompson, William Jr., Sarah Moody and Frances B. Slaughter. The brother Joseph died at Dinwiddie County in 1840, and items paid out of his estate included $4.60 cash “for bed ticking and whiskey.” Peter's share of the estate was $282.75. Several of the brothers and sisters were bequeathed slaves.


At Chattanooga, Peter Lewis set up two brick kilns at 25 Clift St. near Charles E. Grenville's flour mill. This was near the Crutchfield House, which was at the site of the later Read House. By 1860, Guinassee Lewis had passed away. Peter, who was then 67, was living with his son, Peter E. Lewis, in Chattanooga. The elder Lewis apparently died during the Civil War years.

His other children included Robert, Lucinda, James H., Charles, Amy, Ann and John. All were born in Virginia prior to the trek to Tennessee. The boys followed their father in the brickmason trade. Peter E. Lewis was on the city board of aldermen in 1857. He and his wife, Harriet N., had Virginia, Victoria, Robert, Emma L. and Charles. When the war broke out, Peter E. enlisted with the Confederacy's Fourth Tennessee Cavalry. During his absence from Chattanooga, a levy was taken on the family's property at Clift Street. The brick kilns were confiscated and the bricks found on the lot were sold for $7. Peter E. Lewis was among those who did not return to Chattanooga after the war. At the time of the 1870 census, he was living in Obion County, Tenn., at Union City. The children still at home were Robert, Emma and Charles.

James H. Lewis made his way to Chickamauga, Ga., and married Sarah Glenn. She was the daughter of George and Hannah Childress Glenn, whose farm was overrun during the battle of Chickamauga. James settled in the vicinity of Wallaceville. He had a son, James Charles, not long after the Chickamauga fighting. The other sons were Lee and Peter E.

James Charles “Jimmy” Lewis first married F.K. “Honey Bug” Hixon in 1888. A son, Clifford, was likewise a brickmason at Chickamauga. He married Ruby Pickard and then Bessie Carter. His children were Gail, Larry and Rita. James Charles Lewis took Alice Shaver as his second wife. They had a daughter, Dora, who died in 1899 at a young age. Another daughter, Sarah Louvena, was born in 1897. She married Ernest May Gentry. The third wife of James C. was the widow Mary Hollingsworth Pierce. After his third wife had died, James C. married the much-younger Lona Victoria Pickard. They had twin sons, Elmore and Lamar. However, Lamar was stillborn and Elmore died at 18 months. They later had daughters Shirley and Betty. Shirley was five and Betty was three when their father died. Lona Pickard Lewis' brother, Clifford Cicero Pickard, then came to live with the family and help raise the two young girls. Shirley married Azel Riddle and lived in the old James C. Lewis house on Mission Ridge Road in Wallaceville. A portion of the Lewis farm was sold for the Mountainview subdivision, which has a Lewis Road. Peter and his wife, Lucy, had a son, Boyd, who was born in 1894. Also a brickmason, he married Sallie Childress. Lee had a son, Hardee. Lee died in 1899 when he was 33, and Hardee went to live with his uncle Peter. James H. Lewis also spent his last days at Peter's home in Walker County. James Charles Lewis lived until 1936, and Peter E. until 1940.

Ann Self Gentry, who served as director of the Rossville Senior Center, researched the Peter Lewis line. She is married to Charles Sherwood Grant Gentry. Grant Gentry is a son of Ernest M. and Sarah Louvena Lewis Gentry.

HENRY LEWIS was a War of 1812 veteran who was a pioneer of the Sequatchie Valley and spent his last years in Hamilton County. Alfred Lewis was at Bledsoe County at an early date, then moved over near North Chickamauga Creek with the Thomases.

Henry Lewis was born in 1780 in Virginia. Henry made his way to Knox County, Tenn., where he married Eleanor Howard in 1806. She was from Burke County, N.C., and the daughter of Rezin and Dicey Walker Howard. Her grandfather, George Walker, was born at Fauquier County, Va., in 1745. He was living on the south fork of the Catawba River in Rowan County, N.C., when the Revolution broke out. He was in campaigns with Gen. Griffith Rutherford and was at the battles of Ramsour's Mill and Cowpens, but he arrived too late for the Kings Mountain fighting. He married Elinor Hicks.

George Walker and his son-in-law, Rezin Howard, made their way to Bledsoe County and Henry Lewis joined them there. At the time of the War of 1812, Henry Lewis traveled over 100 miles to Knoxville to enlist as a private under Capt. John Lewis. He was in the service until June 5, 1815, and was at Mobile, Ala., when the peace was announced.

Henry Lewis died in 1864 and was buried in the family cemetery at Long Savannah. In 1950 a ceremony was held as a marker was placed at his grave by the Daughters of 1812. Some 60 of his descendants were present including the teacher and historian J. Eugene Lewis. The cemetery was reached “by traveling Highway 58 to Knox's Store and turning right on Smith Road. The cemetery is one mile from the store, on White Oak Mountain.”

A son, Rezin, was born in 1809. He married Patience McNulty in 1831 and they had four sons and four daughters in the section that became James County. He obtained a grant of 40 acres in 1841 for just 50 cents an acre. Rezin Lewis was “man of strong character and body who lived to the age of 91, never becoming an invalid.” He “believed in developing strong bodies” in his children as well. They were required to get up before daylight, go to the spring to wash and then put in a day of hard work on the farm. Two of the sons, Samuel M. and Manuel Jackson, became doctors. The other children were George W., Martha J. who married Andrew J. Carr, Hannah E. who married John P. Morgan, Mary Catherine who married James W. Haven, Sarah who married Monroe McMillan, and Rezin Peter.

Early in the Civil War, Rezin Lewis and his son, George W., were among those taken as prisoners by Confederate authorities to Alabama for suspicion of bridge burning.

Manuel Jackson Lewis, who was born at Long Savannah in 1839, studied at Rutherford Academy at Birchwood and at Oak Grove Academy at Cleveland. He would read medical books by the light of an oil lamp or the fireplace at night, and he went to medical school at Cincinnati. He practiced at Birchwood and Georgetown, then opened an office at Ooltewah in 1874. After his office was destroyed by fire, he moved to Hixson in 1875 and on to Chattanooga in 1882. He owned his own pharmacy, filling his own prescriptions. Dr. M.J. Lewis married Harriet J. Matthews, and their children were Mary “Mollie,” Cenyth J., Samuel Luther, George Andrew and Eugene Sylvester. Harriet taught at the Tallant School, including the 1865 term of four months in which she charged $6 per scholar for orthography, reading and writing, arithmetic, geography and English grammar. Dr. Lewis and Dr. Cooper Holtzclaw performed the first Caesarean section operation in Chattanooga, but there were complications of hemorrhage and the mother and baby died. The mother was Dr. Lewis' daughter, Mollie. Less than two weeks later, the two doctors performed a similar operation, but this one was a success.

Rezin Peter Lewis married Mary E. Anderson, and they had sons James Madison and George R. James M. married Minnie Norman, but she died in 1907 when she was 30 and he died in 1920. George R. was born in 1882 at Anderson Spring at the home of his maternal grandfather, John Anderson. He married Elizabeth Jane Smith in 1908, and their children were Mary Elizabeth, George R. Jr., Hugh Neal, Kathleen Drucilla and James Eugene. A Republican, G.R. was elected Circuit Court clerk for James County in 1910. Later he was on the Hamilton County Tax Equalization Board and was a leader in the World War I Liberty Loan drives. He was in the mercantile business with his brother at Georgetown and they later had Lewis Bros. general merchandise at Ooltewah. George R. was also in the wholesale lumber business with yards at Chattanooga, Cleveland and Ooltewah. His 360-acre estate was “one of the best farms in the Savannah Valley.” He later moved to 4521 Bonny Oaks Drive. He died in 1963.

George W. Lewis and his wife, Dilla A., had George J., Mary L. and Henry F. George J., known as “Tony,” was a Baptist preacher for 45 years. His last pastorate was Crossroads Baptist north of Ooltewah. His children were John H., Buddy, Guy, Bill C., Henry, Mrs. Paul Roberts, Mrs. W.R. Anderson, Mrs. Walter Biggs, Mrs. Will Sutton and Nellie Goodwin.

Other early Lewises here, who may also have been sons of Henry and Eleanor, included Samuel, David, George, John and William. Samuel was a neighbor of Rezin in the 1836 tax list. He and his wife, Susan, had a daughter, Hannah.

David had an 80-acre grant at 12 cents per acre in 1841. He and his wife, Jane, remained here after the Civil War. Their children included Lucinda, William Henry Harrison, Samuel and Hannah. William H.H. and his wife, Elizabeth J., had children including Samuel J. who married Cynthia Caroline Kearn, Martha J., Mary E. and Tennessee A. Children of Samuel J. included Malissa E., William H.H., Letha A., Thomas J., Amos J. and Elizabeth E.

George and his wife, Easter, were here in 1850 along with John and his wife, Catherine. George had sons Morgan and Benjamin. John had sons James and William. William and his wife, Nancy A., had children that included Samuel L., Nancy E. and Henry A. William died during the Civil War period.

ALFRED LEWIS, who was born about 1812, was in Bledsoe County near the Thomas family with his wife, Catherine. Their large family included James C., Martha, Bird, Rebecca, Sarah, Isaac, Margaret, Susan, John, Amos L. and Thomas A. Alfred Lewis got a grant for 70 acres at $7.50 an acre in 1839. The Lewises settled near the Lovelady family, and there were several intermarriages. James married Mariah Lovelady. Rebecca married James Lovelady. Margaret married Lewis Lovelady. Susan married Hasten Lovelady. Amos married Isabel Lovelady. Alfred Lewis died not long after the birth of Thomas A.

James and Isaac Lewis enlisted at Chattanooga with the Union's Sixth Mounted Infantry on Aug. 2, 1864.

James and Mariah had Martha J. who lived only a year during the war, Nancy E., Mary A., William A. who died in 1894 at age 26, Melville, Catherine and John H. who died in 1889 when he was 14.

Isaac and his wife, Miranda, had Susan E., James A. who moved to Arkansas, Margaret C., Asa Leander who died in 1892 at 21, William F. who died in 1885 at 12, John H. who died in 1883 at six, Thomas, Miranda E., Lula B. and Sarah C.

Thomas A. married Martha Jane Smith. Their children were Minnie Belle who married a Rhea, Margaret L., Frank Thomas, Eva E., Judith C., Sallie E. who married R.A. Gann, Thomas F. and Ida P. who married J. Floyd Gooden. Frank Thomas Lewis was a mail carrier out of the Hixson post office. He was also a founder of the Hixson Utility District and a trustee of the Hixson Methodist Church and the Suburban Hospital. Frank T. married Lula Gooden. His daughters were Hilda Louise and Betty Jean who married Ned Thaxton. Their son, J. Hutcheson “Hutch” Lewis, was named for a railroad engineer. He was coach at Red Bank High School for many championship teams from 1949 to 1981. He married Donna Callahan.

JOHN AND ELIZABETH WILCOXEN LEWIS also came here before the Civil War. They were previously at Giles County. John was one of the 12 children of Robert and Sarah Cagle. They were at Buncombe County in 1810. Robert was in Warren County, and he was in Marion County by 1830. He moved to Marshall Co., Ala., about 1836 and died there in 1860. His first child was named Jacob after Sarah's father, Jacob Cagle. The other children were David Wesley, John, a daughter who died as an infant, Leonard L., Charles L., Henry, Robert Jr., Margaret, David G., Catherine and Jane. David Wesley married Nancy Hatfield. Leonard L. married Mary Adaline Thompson and then Diannah Patterson. Henry married Mary Margaret Paterson. Robert Jr. married Mary A. Whittenburg. David married Elizabeth L. Hutchinson. Catherine married Jacob Whittenburg.

John and Elizabeth Wilcoxen Lewis had Elizabeth Adaline “Addie” who married Timothy Stringfield Hixson, John Jr. who married Mary Vandergriff, Charles who married Elizabeth Crow and then Sarah Johnson, Josiah who married Sarah Bowers, Leonard L. who married Altha Vandergriff, and Newt who died in his early teens. Leonard served with the Union's Sixth Mounted Infantry. His children included Eliza J. who married William A. Smith, Mary who married James Gibson, Lovie E. who married William Allen “Allen” Bowers, John M. who lived on Daisy Mountain, Joseph G. who died young, Ida Belle who married Walter Poe, Leonard Jr. who married Mary Frederick and then Eunice Frizzell, Sally who married a Frederick, Lula who married Fred Williams and then William Morgan, and Robert. Children of John M. were Dan, Clark, Mrs. Addied Wilcox, Mrs. Victor Graham and Alice Milligan.

Charles L. Lewis married Julia Henson, daughter of John Henson, and they resided in a log house in Sequatchie County. Charles fought for the Union with the Sixth Mounted Infantry. He often made public speeches and “congregations were sometimes moved to tears when he prayed.” He once ran for sheriff and lost by less than a dozen votes. He became a Cumberland Presbyterian minister and started a congregation known as Lewis Chapel. He is buried at Dunlap. His children were John H., Robert who married Pricy Rogers, Mary E. who married William Hatfield, Nancy J. who married Taylor Sims, Sarah who married Ephraim Sims, Susan, William Riley who married Martha Jane Green, James H. who married Sarah H. Green, Charles L. Jr. who married Euphemia Green, Lee Vander who married Mary E. Green and Nathan who married Martha Ellen Grant. John H. is said to have married Nancy Annie Thompson, had two children by Francis Whittenburg and then married Nancy Ann Fletcher.

This Lewis family has reunions the fourth Sunday in June of each year at Lewis Chapel.

ELIZABETH SWAFFORD LEWIS, daughter of William and Nancy Swafford, was another early settler. Her children were Peter, John, Pryor, Nancy, Charity M. who married Richard Burton, Mary, Elizabeth and Aaron.

Hamilton County Pioneers - the Pendergrass Family
by John Wilson
posted July 6, 2006
The Chattanoogan Newspaper
http://chattanoogan.com/

Nimrod Pendergrass was one of Hamilton County's earliest settlers,
having located on Opossum Creek at Bakewell before the county was
created in 1819. The Pendergrasses long farmed at Birchwood. During
the Civil War, many of the clan went with the Union.
The Pendergrasses are said to have originally lived north of London in
England. John Pendergrass was born in England in the mid-1700s and
made his way to Bute County, N.C., then to Lancaster County, S.C. He
married Margaret Pownall, whose father, John Pownall, had an
interesting history. He was taken from the gaol at Essex, England, and
placed aboard the frigate Smith, in September of 1730 along with 76
other convicts for transport to Virginia. At Westmoreland County, he
married Elizabeth, widow of John Butler. His second wife was Margaret
Nelson. The Pownalls moved to Granville County, N.C., where the
reformed convict acquired 680 acres. Bute County was taken off
Granville County, and the Pendergrasses and Pownalls were neighbors
there. Both families moved on to Lancaster County, S.C., where John
Pownall died in 1785.

John Pendergrass in 1779 acquired 75 acres on the mouth of Cedar
Creek at the Wateree River in Craven County, S.C., for 570 pounds.
Pendergrass fought with the Colonists, though he is listed among the
"return of persons who have gone over to the British.'' For this
offense, his land was apparently later confiscated. Other accounts say
John Pendergrass was murdered by a band of roving Tories near the
end of the Revolution.
His son, Nimrod, made his way to Sevier County, then to Hamilton
County, while his older brothers, Nathaniel and John, went to Jackson
County, Ga. Nathaniel Pendergrass married Hannah Nixon, then
Elizabeth Burk. He lived until about 1843. John Pendergrass lived until
1868.

Nimrod Pendergrass had a mill on Possum Creek near the Pendergrass
Ford and the family graveyard. He added to his holdings in 1824 by
obtaining a grant for 640 acres on the north side of the Tennessee
River about a mile below the mouth of North Chickamauga Creek. It
was “above the large spouting spring at the edge of the river.” Nimrod Pendergrass, who was born in 1780, had married Martha Reynoldsabout 1804 while he was still at Lancaster County. She was the
daughter of William Reynolds and Ann Nixon. He took a second wife,
Sarah, about 1840.

Jesse Pendergrass, eldest son of Nimrod Pendergrass, married Ann
Witt, daughter of Charles Witt and Alabama Gibson. This family moved
to Putnam County, Tenn. A son, Nimrod Jr., made investments at
Vannville, then he moved west to Missouri. Other children included
Martha who married a Riddle, Anna who married a King, Jefferson C.
and Nathaniel.

Nimrod Pendergrass also had twin sons, Hiram and John C. Hiram
married Mary L. Hannah, and they lived at Sale Creek. Their children
included Amanda J. who married Israel Alonzo Condra, Elizabeth who
married William Anderson Jones, Asa Nathaniel
who married Mary Ophelia Hall, John Houston who married Delphia
Luvicie Riddle, Mary, Martha Ellen who married James T. Williams,
Nathaniel Adnega, and Susan. John and Asa were blacksmiths. The
youngest son, Adnega, volunteered at Nashville with a Union unit on
July 24, 1863, though he was only 16. He caught smallpox in October
and soon after returning to duty was captured at Sulphur Trestle, Ala.
After being paroled and returning to duty, he was on the steamer
Sultana when its boiler exploded near Memphis April 27, 1865. He was
badly scalded around the face and right shoulder, and he died at a
hospital at Cairo, Ill, on June 19, 1865. He was not yet 19. Hiram
Pendergrass lived until 1891, and Mary Hannah Pendergrass survived
until 1897.

The first wife of the other twin, John C. Pendergrass, was Elizabeth.
His second wife, Ellender Taylor, was born in 1835, whereas he was
born in 1808. A native of Blount County, she was the aunt of Alfred
Taylor and Robert Love Taylor, who waged “The War of the Roses,” a
colorful campaign against one another in 1887 for governor of
Tennessee. John C. Pendergrass was a Methodist preacher and a
stonemason. In 1848, he was pastor of the Methodist Church at
Chattanooga. John C. Pendergrass had a brief Civil War career though
he was older than most recruits. He volunteered into the Union forces
on Nov. 11, 1861. John C. Pendergrass received a medical discharge
due to asthma on July 1, 1862. He died in 1879. John C. Pendergrass
had 11 children by his first wife, and he had five sons by Ellender
Taylor. The first set of children included James A. who married Eliza
Roark, Oliver, Mary, Elizabeth, John who married Sarah Agnes Carr,
Harriet who married Benjamin Emery, Martha, Margaret, Jennett who married Robert Varner, Emily who married James Clements, and Hiram

Newton who married Sarah E. McDaniel. His second set of sons were
William Joshua, Nathaniel Nimrod who married Julia Alice Smith,
Jefferson, Francis Marion who married Almedia Jane Posey, and David
Goliath. Oliver apparently died during the Civil War period. John joined
Union forces in Scott County, Tenn., in September of 1862. In 1869,
he moved his family to Missouri. William Joshua went to Arkansas and
made a fortune in the coal fields.
James A. Pendergrass was the chief heir of his grandfather, Nimrod.
He and his large family resided at Birchwood. The three older children
married children of the family of John and Margaret Fine. Zerelda
married Phillip Fine, LaFayette married Adelia Fine and Looney married

Elizabeth Fine. Other children of James A. included Mary who married
Charles McAfee, Martha who married Gideon Lyons, and Jack who
married Nan Bowers. Another son, James Thomas, was born in the last
year of the Civil War. He married Nancy J. Elsea in 1887 and they
farmed at Birchwood. One of their sons, Jesse James Pendergrass,
took over this farm. He married Martha Ellen Allison. Two of their
sons, Frank and Kenneth Pendergrass, still reside here as do their
sisters, Clara Pendergrass Tennyson and Pauline Pendergrass Roark.
Ruby Lillian Pendergrass Johnson and Viola Eleanor Pendergrass Burns,
daughters of James Thomas Pendergrass, reside here. Joseph
Nathaniel, youngest son of James A. and Eliza, lived at Sale Creek at
the old Nimrod property. His daughter, Thelma, resides at Red Bank.
Children of his son, Brutus Elmer, still here include Rex Pendergrass,
Ross Pendergrass and Helen Pendergrass Woods. Children of his son,
Ray, still here include Margaret Pendergrass Burt, Claude Pendergrass,
Broyles Pendergrass and J.A. Pendergrass. Thomas J. Pendergrass, a
son of LaFayette Pendergrass, had a farm at Sale Creek. He married
Edna McClanahan.

Their children still living here include H.L. Pendergrass, Faye
Pendergrass Curley, Jewell Pendergrass Hyder and Irene Pendergrass
Isles.
John Pendergrass md Margaret Pownall, d/o John Pownall & Margaret Nelson =
Nimrod Pendergrass md Martha “Patsy” Runnolds/Reynolds =
Jesse W. Pendergrass md Ann Wirt =
John T. Pendergrass md Annie Solomon =
William W. “Willie” Pendergrass md Rachel J. Franklin =
Willard Lonzo Pendergrass md Laura “Ada” Pert Hutchison & md Matilda Minnie
Brown who md 1st Milburn Hershel Shipley. She was the d/o John Litton Brown
& Jane Goolsby =Betty Joan Pendergrass md John Ray Loftis, s/o Milton Otis Loftis & Essie Avo Jernigan.

From an article by John Wilson in the Chattanooga Free Press, Sunday,
April 2, 1995:
Clarissa Hughes Lovelady was in Hamilton County by 1830 with her large
family. She is said to be the wife of John Lovelady, who was in the War
of 1812 from Bledsoe County. He is believed to have died in Bledsoe
County.
Rebecca Lovelady is listed as the wife of Jeremiah Fryar Sr., who
resided at Mountain Creek. Another Rebecca Lovelady is believed to be
the first wife of Jeremiah Fryar Jr., an early settler at Lookout Valley
Other daughters of John and Clarissa Hughes Lovelady are goven as Ingobo
who married Johnathan Williams, Eleanor who married Simon Adams and
Sarah who married a Ruddles and moved to Bourbon County, KY. The sons
include Henry who moved to Greene County, Ark., Pleasant and Sevier.
Sevier Lovelady moved to Jackson County, Ala. The Loveladys had known
the Seviers in Greene County.

                           Loveladys Were Pioneer Family Of Soddy
Friday, March 18, 2005 - 
by John Wilson

The Loveladys settled at Soddy at an early date after coming down from Greene County, Tenn., with many of their kinsmen. A number of Lovelady descendants from this prolific family are still here.

Thomas Lovelatty was on the Haw River in Orange County, N.C., by the 1750s. By the time that Marshall Lovelatty and others had moved on to Greene County in the Tennessee frontier, the name was spelled Lovelady. There the Loveladys were neighbors of the Kennedys, Fryars, Hugheses and other families that made their way to Hamilton County not long after it was formed. Other Loveladys appearing in the Greene County records include Joseph, John, Thomas, Ann and Sally. There was a Lovelady Island in the river at Greene County.


Clarissa Hughes Lovelady was in Hamilton County by 1830 with her large family. She is said to be the wife of John Lovelady, who was in the War of 1812 from Bledsoe County. He is believed to have died in Bledsoe County.

Rebecca Lovelady is listed as the wife of Jeremiah Fryar Sr., who resided at Mountain Creek. Another Rebecca Lovelady is believed to be the first wife of Jeremiah Fryar Jr., an early settler at Lookout Valley. Other daughters of John and Clarissa Hughes Lovelady are given as Ingobo who married Jonathan Williams, Eleanor who married Simon Adams and Sarah who married a Ruddles and moved to Bourbon County, Ky.

The sons include Henry who moved to Greene County, Ark., Pleasant and Sevier. Sevier Lovelady moved to Jackson County, Ala. The Loveladys had known the Seviers in Greene County. Another son was John Lovelady, who was born about 1787. His wife was Mary. This John Lovelady witnessed the deed in 1830 when John Brown of the Cherokee Nation sold his 640-acre reservation to Ephraim Hixson. John Lovelady had a 50-acre tract nearby. John Lovelady, though he was age 65, made the move to a new home in northeast Arkansas in 1852. His eldest son, Joseph Lovelady, was able to obtain “200 acres of wild lands” in compensation for his services in the Indian wars in Florida. His wife was Deborah Harris, a native of Virginia. Robert, the second son of Joseph and Deborah Lovelady, became a doctor in Greene County. He was eventually “well fixed financially” though he had no capital upon completing college.

The other children of John and Mary Lovelady included William who married Tennessee, Elbridge, Elbert, Ephraim and John. William Lovelady, while he still lived in Hamilton County, fought in the Second Seminole War and the Sabine War. Some of the Fryars also moved to Greene County, Ark. William and Sevier Fryar had fought in the Indian wars.

Gideon Lovelady, a younger brother of John Lovelady, married Easter Varnell. They resided at Soddy. Their children included Jane who married John Hughes, Jerome, James, William, Mariah, Nancy who married Michael Mysinger, Lewis, Margaret who married William Isaac Thomas, Isabel and Tennessee who married Frank Burns. Children of William and his wife, Julia A., included Tennessee who married Thomas L. Varner in 1879. Gideon Lovelady lived near the pioneer Hasten Poe, and one of his sons was named Hasten Lovelady. Hasten Poe in 1835 sold Gideon Lovelady 100 acres “on the valley road where Gideon Lovelady now lives.” The price was $150. Children of Hasten Poe Lovelady and his wife, Susan, included Thomas, Virginia, George, Burke, Florena and Gideon. Gideon Lovelady lived near Catherine Lewis and several of his children married into the Lewis family. James married Rebecca Lewis, Hasten married Susan Lewis, Mariah married James Lewis, Lewis married Margaret Lewis, and Isabel married Amos Lewis.

Jerome married Sarah M. Julian, whose father, George Julian, was an itinerant minister of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Children of Jerome Lovelady included Mary M., Catherine, Paulina, James Gideon, Easter, George J., Joseph, Melvin A., Laura A., Charles C. and Hubert. Mary M. Lovelady married Alfred A. Windham in 1878. William, son of Gideon and Easter Varnell Lovelady, married Julia Ann Miller.

George Lovelady, another of the brothers, married Minerva Bryant. She was apparently a daughter of John Bryant and the sister of Mary E. Bryant, the wife of Samuel Poe, son of Hasten Poe. The Bryant sisters were born in Virginia. George Lovelady lived at Dallas near members of the Adams family. In 1838 he had purchased from Elizabeth Gann 256 acres for $450. It stretched to “the ridge at Cozby's corner across the valley to George Rogers' line, to the foot of the mountain.” He lived until 1903 when he was 96. Minerva died in 1899. They are buried at Jackson Chapel. The children of George and Minerva Lovelady included Clarissa, George, twins Margaret and John, Joseph, Tennessee Elizabeth, Ellen, Mary and Sevier. Clarissa married John Hixson, while Mary was the second wife of James Foster Hixson. Sevier married Malissa Hixson, and their children were Arthur, Fred, Frank who married Jessie Stulce, May who married Thomas Dedmon and Pearl who married James Motely and then Ramon Rodriguez. George fought for the Union in the Civil War. He married Tennessee Millsaps, and their children were Elmer, Edith, and Della who married Earnest Hauger. George died in 1911 and was buried at Jackson Chapel. Joseph married Mary Lewis, and their children were George Walter who married Allie Frizell, James who married Cecil McAfee, and Mary. Ellen married William Rogers, and Tennessee married James Rawlston.

Another brother was McKinney Lovelady. Several early Hamilton County families used McKinney as a first name. McKinney Lovelady fought in the Sabine War and the Cherokee War. The wife of McKinney Lovelady was Jane. Their children included Julia, George, Anna, Sevier, Sarah, Milly and Tennessee. Sevier Fryar married Julia Lovelady in 1868 and then Milly Lovelady in 1872.

Margaret Anna Lovelady married Houston Hixson, a son of David and Malissa Hixson, in 1871.

Lewis Mattison Lovelady, a son of James and Rebecca Lewis Lovelady, lived until 1948. His daughters were Mrs. Blanche Young and Mrs. Ruth Shipley of Soddy. The sons were J.J. of Red Bank, E.R., P.M. and Alfred of Soddy and D.R. of Daisy. His brother, Daniel A. Lovelady, was still living at Soddy.

The Lovelady Cemetery is on Dayton Pike near Daisy. Those buried here include Gideon, Jerome, Hasten and W.A. Lovelady. Many of the Lovelady family records were kept by daughters of John Henry Lovelady at his homeplace near Soddy. John Henry Lovelady was a son of James and Rebecca Lewis Lovelady.

James Holcomb of Hixson compiled ancestral charts on the Lovelady family.