This is the story of Americas first western frontier, when brave men and women crossed the Blue Ridge and Allegheny Mountains to find better lives for themselves and their families. James Robertson led the first group of settlers over the mountains and founded the first white settlement in what would later become East Tennessee. But they were not alone. Centuries earlier, the Cherokees came from the north, conquered the local tribes, and settled there. In the year before the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, British Indian agents began inciting the Cherokees, Shawnees, and other western tribes. The frontiersmen mobilized their militias and eventually defeated the Cherokees. Afterward, James Robertson was appointed Indian Agent to keep the peace. In 1779, Robertson entered into an agreement with Richard Henderson and John Donelson to settle the area around the French Lick, which would later become Nashville. After their arrival in 1780, Indian attacks soon commenced. Using large-scale attacks and small ambushes, the protracted war against the settlers lasted for fifteen years. Richard Henderson fled, and John Donelson was killed. James Robertsons determination and steadfast leadership was the glue that kept the infant settlement together. George Washington appreciated Robertsons leadership and appointed him Brigadier General of the Western Militia. Andrew Jacksons military training began as a private serving in General Robertsons militia. Jackson learned well, and years later replaced Robertson after his retirement. Boone, Clark, Sevier, Shelby, Blount and Bledsoe were other western leaders who trusted James Robertson. James Robertsons long military and civic career began before the American Revolution and ended after the Battle of Talladega during the War of 1812. He was a brave, intelligent and patriotic leader who believed in Manifest Destiny and founded Nashville, the nations westernmost settlement of that era.

E.D. Thompson chronicles the many changes that Nashville has gone through during the past 50 years. He writes a weekly column on Nashville Nostalgia and also does a weekly radio broadcast.

After the congressional session ends, Jefferson leaves Washington and goes home to Monticello, where his ailing daughter Mary dies on 17 April. Among the letters of condolence he receives is one from Abigail Adams that initiates a brief resumption of their correspondence. While in Virginia, Jefferson immerses himself in litigations involving land. Back in the capital, he finds that he must reconcile differing opinions of James Madison and Albert Gallatin to settle a claim for diplomatic expenses. He corresponds with Charles Willson Peale about modifications to the polygraph writing machine. He prepares instructions for an expedition to explore the Arkansas and Red Rivers. William Clark and Meriwether Lewis send him maps and natural history specimens from St. Louis. Alexander von Humboldt visits Washington. News arrives that a daring raid led by Stephen Decatur Jr. has burned the frigate Philadelphia to deprive Tripoli of its use. Jefferson is concerned that mediation by Russia or France to obtain the release of the ship’s crew could make the United States appear weak. Commodore Samuel Barron sails with frigates to reinforce the squadron in the Mediterranean. Jefferson appoints John Armstrong to succeed Robert R. Livingston as minister to France and attempts to persuade Lafayette to move to Louisiana. In Paris, Napoleon is proclaimed Emperor of the French. Jefferson has “brought peace to our Country and comfort to our Souls,” John Tyler writes from Virginia.

This ambitious work chronicles 250 years of the Cromartie family genealogical history. Included in the index of nearly fifty thousand names are the current generations, and all of those preceding, which trace ancestry to our family patriarch, William Cromartie, who was born in 1731 in Orkney, Scotland, and his second wife, Ruhamah Doane, who was born in 1745. Arriving in America in 1758, William Cromartie settled and developed a plantation on South River, a tributary of the Cape Fear near Wilmington, North Carolina. On April 2, 1766, William married Ruhamah Doane, a fifth-generation descendant of a Mayflower passenger to Plymouth, Stephen Hopkins. If Cromartie is your last name or that of one of your blood relatives, it is almost certain that you can trace your ancestry to one of the thirteen children of William Cromartie , his first wife, and Ruhamah Doane, who became the founding ancestors of our Cromartie family in America: William Jr., James, Thankful, Elizabeth, Hannah Ruhamah, Alexander, John, Margaret Nancy, Mary, Catherine, Jean, Peter Patrick, and Ann E. Cromartie. These four volumes hold an account of the descent of each of these first-generation Cromarties in America, including personal anecdotes, photographs, copies of family bibles, wills, and other historical documents. Their pages hold a personal record of our ancestors and where you belong in the Cromartie family tree.

Descendants of James Robertson, son of John Randolph and Mary Gower Robertson, born June 28, 1742 and died September 1, 1814.

A malevolent entity known as the "Bell Witch" terrorized a pioneer Tennessee family from 1817 to 1821, predicting the future, singing hymns, cursing the preachers, beating the children, and killing John Bell, the patriarch. The characters and events were real. People from all walks of life--farmers, doctors, lawyers, and even preachers--witnessed and documented the horrific Bell Witch disturbances. Culminating 22+ years of extensive research, "The Bell Witch: The Full Account" is an essential tool for those wanting to learn more about the world's greatest ghost story. Includes photos, footnotes, end notes, appendices, and a comprehensive index.

During the 1930s in the United States, the Works Progress Administration developed the Federal Writers’ Project to support writers and artists while making a national effort to document the country’s shared history and culture. The American Guide series consists of individual guides to each of the states. Little-known authors—many of whom would later become celebrated literary figures—were commissioned to write these important books. John Steinbeck, Saul Bellow, Zora Neale Hurston, and Ralph Ellison are among the more than 6,000 writers, editors, historians, and researchers who documented this celebration of local histories. Photographs, drawings, driving tours, detailed descriptions of towns, and rich cultural details exhibit each state’s unique flavor. Although it is a slim volume, the WPA Guide to Tennessee is packed with useful and interesting information. There are sections on folklore and the state’s architectural and literary legacies as well as an essay on the Tennessee Valley Authority. There are 16 driving tours in total, through both the Volunteer State’s several major cities and the natural wonder of the Great Smokey Mountains Natural Park.