Dec. 12, 1799: Morning cloudy. Wind at Northeast and mercury 33. A large circle round the moon last night. About 10 O'clock it began to snow, soon after to hail, and then to a settled cold rain. Mercury 28 at night.

That morning the General, mounted his horse, and as was his custom, rode to his farms. Beginning at ten in the morning, it would take him until three in the afternoon, to accomplish his business. The morning was nasty; snow, rain, and sleet, with a very cold wind blowing. He so loved riding, that whenever possible he would exercise early in the morning, but this would be his last time. When he returned to the warmth of Mount Vernon, his hair was near frozen with snow, and his clothes were soaked. His dinner was already on the table and so without changing to dry clothes he sat down to eat his evening meal.

Dec. 13, 1799: Morning snowing and about. 3 inches deep. Wind at northeast, and mercury at 30. Continued snowing till one o'clock, and about 4 it became perfectly clear. Wind in the same place but not hard. Mercury 28 at night.

These were the last written words of President George Washington. The snow prevented him from taking his usual morning ride. He awoke with a sore throat, and as the day passed he became worse until, in the evening he could barely speak. Between two and three in the morning he awoke Martha and told her that he was very sick. Scarcely able to speak he would not allow her to get up for fear of her becoming ill. In the morning the household was aroused, and Doctor Craik, the President's personal physician, was summoned. At the president's request he was bled. About one half pint of blood was reportedly taken, and when the doctor arrived he removed an equal amount. Hot applications, gargles, and foot-baths were tried, nothing helped. Gradually he worsened until at 10:00 p.m. on the 14th of December 1799 the first president of the United States breathed his last.

In Virginia, America had suffered a terrible loss, and that same year, north in the state of Pennsylvania, the Caldwells and the Thorltons suffered an equal loss. Robert Caldwell had followed his brother from Ireland to America. They stood side by side against the wilderness, and the Indians, and prevailed. They were first to conquer the land around Hartslog, and the first to build a home there. They accomplished what they came to America for . . . their children were free. They followed each other in life, and now they would follow each other in death.

Charles died in the Spring of 1799 and was buried in Hartslog Cemetery and in the fall, my 4th great-grandfather, after being ill for sometime, followed his brother. His remains were cremated, and the ashes spread on the grounds of the Hartslog Cemetery.

The Last Will and Testament of Robert Caldwell In the name of God amen, September 8, 1790 I Robert Caldwell of the Township and County of Huntingdon and state of Pennsylvania, being sick and weak in body, but of perfect mind and memory thanks be to God for the same, and calling to mind the malady of my body, and that it is appointed for all flesh once to die, do make and ordain this last will and testament in manner and form of ????????. First I give and bequeath to David my eldest son the middle division of my place according to the lines already run and settled and he is to pay to my youngest son the sum of twenty-five hundred lawful money of the state in six months after my decease in lieu of Samuel's division on being worse than his and likewise to pay twelve hundred ten shillings being one half of the purchase of fifty acres by Alex? Benstrad. In the second place I give and bequeath to William my second son the lower division of my place on the south end according to the lines already run and settled and he is to pay to Samuel my youngest son the sum of fifteen hundred current money of this state in six months after my decease in lieu of Samuel's division being worse than his together with twelve hundred ten shillings being the other half of the purchase of Benstrad's fifty acres. In the third place I give and bequeath to Samuel my youngest son the upper division of my place on the north end according the lines already run together with the sums above mentioned to be paid by the other two and likewise cattle of any kind may be after my decease of my property and also what movables may be at the same time.

I likewise give and bequeath to my daughters, Margaret Thorlton, Jane Thompson, Isabella Coleman, Margery Wilson and Mary Wilson to cash of them ten shillings current money of the state to be paid out of my estate by an equal division among my sons and make and ordain David my eldest son and George Wilson my son in law sole executors of this my last will and testament to see it executed according to the true intent and ???nery thereof and I do hereby disallow, disable, and revoke every other will or wills by me formerly made and ordain this and no other to be my last will and testament in witness where of I have here unto set my hand and seal the day and year above written signed sealed published in the presence of.

George Gray, John Gray, Thomas Gray

Before me the subscriber Depute for the probate of wills and grantee administration in and for Huntingdon County personally appeared George Gray and John Gray who being duly sworn according to law did dispose and say they were present and did see and hear the above named Robert Caldwell sign seal pronounce and as his last will and testament publish and declare the written and above instrument of writing that at the time of such signing he was of sound and disposing mind and memory that the subscribed their names thereto in presence of cash other in presence of the testates at his request.

George Gray John Gray Sworn and Subscribed the 19th April 1790 R. Allison Dept Registrar

Letters Testimony in the ??????? form were granted to David Caldwell and George Wilson of the estate Robert Caldwell Dic. Inventory to be exhibited 19 Nov next and a true art? of them administered on 19 Oct 1800 or when legally required.

Given under the seal of office this 19 Oct 1799 A ?????? Registrar

The beginning of the nineteen century saw a 31-year Corsican named Napoleon Bonaparte begin his attempt to rule Europe, and found the Thorltons busy in their new home on Lick Creek, Greene County, Tennessee. John Thorlton had traveled nearly 4,000 miles since he left his native Ireland. He had mastered a new way of life, fought Indians for the possession of his land, helped defeat the English for the freedom to live on the land. Now at 52 he was again building a new home, and here in Greene County he and his fellow Presbyterians were building their churches;

This first generation of American born Thorltons having originally been seven, was reduced to four with the deaths in childhood of three of John and Margaret's children, and reduced still farther in 1803 by the premature death of their first born, Robert at the age of 29. Though never married, Robert had begun a life of his own, and was active in community affairs around Greene County, and was a tax collector for both Washington and Greene County. A measure of the Thorltons position in the Greeneville community lies in the fact that tax collectors, and Elders of the Presbyterian Congregations were generally chosen from the men of wealth, and/or social prominence among their number, for these were positions of trust. There is no record of the cause of death or the exact date. The only information is from the following documents.

After his death in 1803, his father John was appointed as Administrator of his will as stated in the following extract from Greene County Court records;

April 29, 1803 Ordered by Court that Benjamin McNutt, James Penny and Robert Guin, Esquire appointed a committee to settle the Estate of Robert Thorlton deceased with John Thorlton the Administrator of said Estate, and make report thereof to present session. Order Issued.

April 30, 1803 Ordered by Court that the order made yesterday by which a Committee was appointed to settle with John Thorlton, Administrator, of the estate of Robert Thorlton deceased, be rescinded, and an order of sale on said estate issued order issued the same day.

Greene county, only eleven years old since its forming from the County of Washington, was originally part of the old '"State of Franklin."

At the beginning of the Revolution the settlers of the Watauga and Nolichucky settlements requested to be taken under the protection of her mother state North Carolina. Responding to the request, North Carolina formed the Washington District in 1776, then Washington County in 1777.

The period immediately preceding the formation of Washington and Greene counties was one of Indian wars and confrontations. At the mercy of the Indians, isolated and alone, the settlers would most probably have been wiped out, had it not been for the friendly warnings of an Indian woman named Nancy Ward. Many times she warned of Indian attacks and planned attacks, giving the settlers of Watauga and Nolichucky the time needed to either take to the safety of the fort, or prepare for a fight. So grateful were the settlers that they bestowed the title of "Pocahontas of the West" upon her.

A great influx of settlers took place between 1778 and 1783. Among the first was a man named Anthony Moore. He settled near Tusculum, and upon his daughter is accorded the privilege of being the first white child born here. Following Mr. Moore was Daniel Kennedy who would later figure prominently in the local politics. Mr. Kennedy built his home on the river four miles from Greeneville on the mouth of Camp Creek. A James English settled on the headwaters of Lick Creek. On what was called the Roaring Fork of Lick Creek, settled Joseph Hardin, and on the mouth of Lick Creek settled George, William, and Henry Conway. On the Nolichucky settled Alexander Galbraith, and on Sinking Creek . . . James Delaney, on Hollis Creek, Lewis Broyles, and on Horse Creek, James Huston. Other early settlers were Lanty Armstrong, Robert Kerr, Robert Hood, the Pattersons, the Rankins, the Carters, and the Woolseys.

When John Thorlton arrived with his family in 1794, there was a total population of 7,741, of which 1,293 were men over twenty-one, 2,374 were men under twenty-one, 3,580 were women, 40 unclassified, and 454 slaves. The county was mostly made up of Scotch-Irish. However there were English, Welsh, and German, with a few French Huguenots, and three Indian tribes; the Chickasaws, the Creeks, and the Cherokees. With their brothers to the south and west, these tribes would later, after their removal to the west be referred to as the civilized tribes, because they quickly adopted to the whiteman's life and customs.

In the early part of the 1700's the Tuscarora Indians occupied the land around Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. They were so devastated by raids and kidnaping of their children, who were forced into slave labor by the white setters, that they applied to the authorities in Pennsylvania for permission to migrate there in order to protect "their children, and children yet unborn."

Permission was refused and in September of 1711 the Tuscaroras attacked the settlers in the North Carolina area. Hostilities lasted until the Five Nations of the Iroquois in Pennsylvania offered the Tuscarora a new home on their lands, thus creating the Six Nations of the Iroquois. This left four major tribes in the area. To the southwest in the area around what would become northern Mississippi, west Tennessee, and northern Alabama, lived the warring Chickasaw Indians, cousins of their near neighbor, the peaceful farmer and traders, the Choctaw. But the Indians that were to cause the most concern among the early Tennessee settlers were the Cherokees, and the Creeks.

The Cherokees occupied most of the land around eastern Tennessee, western North Carolina, and northern Georgia and Alabama. Though the Cherokees were farmers, they were quite able to take up the hatchet in defense of their lands. In the middle 18th Century, they were often at war with the colonists in the Carolinas under their chiefs, Oconostota, and Attakullaculla. During the Revolution they sided with the British.

The Creeks, known for their unusual turban headdress and European style clothes, were divided into two segments the Upper and the Lower Creeks: The Lower lived in the area of northern Florida, and southern Georgia and Alabama. But the Upper Creeks who lived in northern Georgia and Alabama, and Middle and Eastern Tennessee, would come in conflict with the ever encroaching movement of the whiteman in the Tennessee area.

The English, had since the early part of the 1700's, looked with interest on the un-colonized territory south of the Carolinas. This "most delightful country of the universe" was first settled by General James Oglethorpe, when he established the colony of Georgia, as a land of opportunity for imprisoned debtors. But it would also serve as a buffer state for the rich Carolinas against attacks from the Spanish in Florida. By skillfully using the tribes of the Creeks, the Chickasaw, and the Choctaws, the English thought to provide a defense barrier against French intervention from Louisiana to the west. The most enduring success was to be with the Chickasaw. They would, through it all, remain loyal to the English, and were almost as valuable to this cause as the Iroquois had been in the north. This, the smallest of the four local tribes was never defeated by its neighbors, even though they were sometimes terribly outnumbered, they performed their warring duties with great proficiency.

In order for the new colonies to grow, the help of the Creek nation was essential. These highly intelligent people readily took to the white mans ways, several important Creeks dressed in scarlet and gold and furs, visited the courts of England, and were presented to the King. The Creeks, during the eighteenth century, prospered, acquiring livestock, improving their farming methods, and began to live in European houses, and wear the European dress. So complete was their infusion that, by the time of their removal in the 1830's, was often impossible to separate visually the Creek farmer from his white neighbor.

The close of the French and Indian War brought many changes to the southeast. French Louisiana was divided between England and Spain. New Orleans and the Louisiana territory west of the Mississippi went to Spain. And the Louisiana territory east of the Mississippi went to England. Florida for a time went from Spain to England. All over the area French settlers crossed the Mississippi to the west side, in order to remain under French rule, and many Indians went with them. In the years that followed, the Indian nations were skillfully wooed, and maneuvered, till, they became more valuable than ever to the colonials.

During the Revolution, the Creeks and the Cherokees stood with the English against the Colonists. The one exception was a Cherokee Chief named Little Carpenter, who raised 500 rifles for the American cause. After the war Florida, reverted back to Spain. There was for a time factional Spanish control between the Indians and the Colonists, but with a weaker King on the throne of Spain, and Napoleon in control of France, Louisiana went back to France, who then sold it to the United States.

With the influx of new settlers into the southern states, the Indian position became more and more disadvantaged. Between 1777 and 1794, when John Thorlton arrived, the four main tribes which had been at war with the Tennessee whites had been the Overhill Cherokees, the Lower Cherokees, the Upper Creeks, and the Chickasaw.

With the "Treaty of Long Island" in 1777 the removal of the Overhill Cherokees was achieved. The brunt of the fighting went to the Chickamauga, and the Upper Creeks, the Lower Cherokees, and some renegade whites, and a few Shawnees. The Indians here as was always the case when white and Indian faced in battle, were placed at a disadvantage because of their social order. War to the Indians was always a means of personal advancement rather than territorial gain. A scalp was a greater reward than plunder or the desire for occupation of land. They seldom attacked when the white man was of a greater force, unless they were sure of a quick and decisive victory. They always retired quickly under fire, not because they were cowardly, but because, under their code of honor, fighting to the last man was not necessary. Their very religion worked against them in battle. Some believed that the shedding of blood made the warrior impure, and he was compelled to undergo rigorous ceremonies prior to battle. Often before battle they would fast, and then advance on long forced marches without any rest periods. Resting a day before a battle was forbidden. With the fasting and lack of rest they were obviously not at their physical best. They were strong believers in divine intervention, and would also allow an omen to disrupt an entire campaign. A dream, or a small bird singing in a tree might send the entire band home.

Through the long history of Indian wars, different Indian tribes seldom banded together, and often mistrusted each other as much as they mistrusted the whiteman. War parties were generally voluntary, and war parties more often than not were made up of families seeking revenge. War was declared by the Indians, on a local basis. Seldom did an entire nation unanimously declare war. Even in Indian towns, war was not usually declared by the entire town and if some chose not to take part no recrimination was involved. Almost always outnumbered by the whiteman, the Indian was forced to adapt suitable tactics and strategy. Much of our history has painted a picture of bloodthirsty red tide swooping down of the white settler, but with rare exception the reverse was true. Generally the Indian was outnumbered with nowhere in which to draw reinforcements. Even the taking of scalps was not an Indian contrivance, but was introduced by the whiteman as bounty counting device.

By 1796 the Tennessee settlements could boast of almost 22,000 men of fighting age, while the Indians could rely on only about 1,500 warriors. The Indian was not, however without victories. Accused by many as a people with the inability to form fighting strategies, the Indian found a general in Dragging Canoe, a Cherokee Chief with a dream of Indian unification not unlike that of Tecumseh. Dragging Canoe almost defeated the Militiamen of Long Island Flats by using a crudely devised but effective frontal assault combined with a flank attack. In 1741 at the Battle of the Bluffs, Middle Tennessee was almost wiped out by similar method. And again at Lookout Mountain the Chickamaugas defeated General Joseph Martin's force with formation tactics.

The introduction of fire arms to the Indians was not always an advantage. Traders replaced the time honored five foot bow, barbed arrows, blow guns, knives, and war clubs, with which the Indian was most proficient. In their stead they offered the "Brown Bess" muskets. A .75 caliber smooth bore musket that proved to be less than efficient in the Indians hands. Add to this the fact that the Indian lacked the knowledge, or the skills required to repair these firearms. Also, the Indians always lacked cartridge boxes, powder flask horns, and spare parts. The British, in their effort to bolster the Indians fighting power, actually diminished it by supplying them with a totally inadequate weapon, the British Musket. This weapon, which had been designed for use in massed formation, were at a serious disadvantage against the settler's "Long Rifles." These Long Rifles, though slow to load were very accurate at long ranges, compared to the short range British muskets used by the Indians.

The Indian, however, learned quickly, and despite the handicaps they faced, molded themselves into a formidable fighting force. They organized crude fighting units, using crude formations. Dividing themselves into several divisions of infantry and one of cavalry, they carried out the attack on the Cumberland Settlements in 1781 and Knoxville in 1793. The Creeks devised an elaborate ranking system of seven classes, from a chief who declared war to a commissary warrior. In varying groups, usually from 20 to 40, but on rare occasions, as high as a thousand, they moved swiftly along their countless Indian paths. Traveling single file, they were able to travel almost undetected, striking swiftly, attacking mostly smaller parties of whites. They used scouts very effectively, and were very efficient in the use of silent hand signals to advance their attacks. Their use of guerrilla tactics, which included their ability to break up into small groups, and crawling along the ground were able to advance, almost upon the enemies front before being discovered. With a shrill cry they would spring on their victims, encircling them. They also fought effectively as individuals working for the larger group, and when retreat was required the signal was given and they retired as quietly as they had come.

The defeat of Braddock had taught the whiteman that he was also in need of adaptation. After the lessons at Braddock's defeat, military tactics were adapted to the new situation by Colonel Henry Bouquet who introduced flanking, and sallying parties, and small units, so that fire was combined with ease of movement. These tactics were however for trained army regulars, and did not work well with the part-time militiaman farmer of the Tennessee frontier. What was needed here was a third type of tactic. The farmers used their more accurate long rifles and placed a slower, deadlier, well-placed fire. They combined their own tactics very effectively with those learned from the Indians, and in the blending created a fighting force that was ultimately to defeat the people who originated American guerrilla warfare. Learning from the Indians the militiamen marched silently to their objective as the Indian did. With their newly mastered tomahawk, these farmers would, upon reaching their objective break up into small quiet groups, and like the Indians, silently attack their unsuspecting victim. Liner tactics were almost unused by the Tennessee militia, and even on the rare occasion of their use, were relatively ineffective. The system developed by the Tennesseans was the ideal mix of their training, their weapons, and their individual personalities.

By the end of the 18th century, time and allies were running out for the Indians. Dragging Canoe was dead, along with his dream of a united Indian federation. As in Pennsylvania where the farmer, and his neighbor, had combined to win a war, a frontier, and a new homeland, through-out the new frontier, the invading white man with his seemingly endless supply of weapons and manpower, was convincing many Indians that resistance was futile, and many tried to co-mingle. The Cherokees and the Creeks, more and more took on the dress and habits of the Europeans. With their head bands and long flowing tunics, resembled the ancient Indians of Mexico. The Cherokees built roads, schools, churches, and adopted a system of government modeled after that of the United States. A Cherokee warrior named Sequoya, after being crippled in a hunting accident, devoted himself to perfecting a Cherokee written alphabet. The Cherokee people studied this new alphabet with such enthusiasm that within a matter of months thousands could read and write. In 1828, after obtaining a printing press the Cherokees began the publication of a weekly newspaper, "The CherokeePhoenix."

With the quieting of the Indians, the settlers were able to turn to the tasks of improving their life. Here in Greene County, John Thorlton Sr. lived with his family, much in the same manner as had his father-in-law Robert Caldwell, in Pennsylvania. The way of life, the tools of the trade, the food they ate, and their neighbors were very much the same as those he had left behind in Pennsylvania. One important aspect of this new life here in Tennessee was the added skill of a herdsman. Cattle, sheep, and hogs grazed at will along the hills and valleys. The roads were often filled with herds being driven to markets in the east.

By the end of the eighteenth century houses began to improve in the comfort and quality. Many of the more prosperous were building larger and better furnished homes for their families. Even the humble cabin had progressed to two stories, now better constructed of hewn logs. More and more roofs were being constructed with shingles, and glass was beginning to be used in houses and cabins, and wooden planks were covering the dirt floors.

The crops grown here were a little different, tobacco and cotton were becoming a valuable crop. At first tobacco along with vegetables, and flax cotton were grown in the garden only, but as the value became greater the size of the land devoted to each increased.

Plows by now had progressed to an iron point on the molding board, and the cradle was now in use. Grain was still separated in the old manner by flailing or at the feet of their horses. The average yield of corn was 60 bushels per acre, and on the best land as high as 70. Corn commanded a price of .25 to.33 cents a bushel, while wheat sold for .66 cents. In Knoxville whiskey went for .50 cents a gallon, and in Nashville it went as high as $1.00. Pork sold for $3.33 per hundred pounds.

Slavery was frowned on by the Presbyterian church, and was generally found less frequently in eastern Tennessee than to the west on the Plantations around Nashville. In 1795, 5% of the population around Knoxville were slaves while in Nashville it ran as high as 20%, a fact that would soon divide families and neighbors of Tennessee in the terrible Civil War of America's future.

Margaret's duties were very similar in content to that of her mother, and her days were very long with the usual never ending chores. Stores were becoming more commonplace, with wagon trains from Baltimore and Richmond bringing in the commodities the people sought. From the Knoxville Gazette of January 14, 1792 an advertisement for a store:

These goods were not always purchased with cash. Often exchange of goods common as another storekeeper advertised;

The highest prices will be allowed for bear, deer, otter, wildcat, muskrat, mink, fox, and raccoon skins, and for all kinds of fur whatsoever. Highest prices will also be paid for beeswax, linsey and linen, rye, corn, and fodder.

Much of the goods the merchants received in trade was shipped by the same wagons on their return to the east. Commerce was growing rapidly in the area, commerce that would change the wilderness to thriving towns and cities.

The country now had a new president, another Virginian and the author of the Declaration of Independence. Thomas Jefferson, was inaugurated on March 4, 1801. In an interview with ex-president Jefferson late in his life he equated his election to the presidency as a second revolution. Jefferson truly felt that his election saved the nation from what he saw as a destructive road to a new military monarchy.

The real change brought by his election in 1800, was one of latitude rather than attitude. Civil power was transferred from Massachusetts to Virginia where it would remain until the first real change of attitude in the White House, the election in 1829, of Andrew Jackson. Jackson's election was perhaps revolutionary at its heart.

President Jefferson was a gentleman, a philosopher, and an idealist. He was a man of fine manners, and gentle bearing, who possessed a classical education, exquisite taste, a burning curiosity, and a basic belief in the nobility of man. The military offered no charm for this man who felt that government must address itself to the higher virtues of man and not to his lowest. There were those among his enemies who cried atheist and anarchist to denounce this man, such as the Connecticut clergyman who during Jefferson campaign for president wrote;

"I do not believe that the Most High will permit a howling atheist to sit at the head of this nation."

But he was far from that. He was in fact a deeply religious man, without a church. He, along with his contemporaries, James Madison, Richard Henry Lee and the Presbyterian minister and fellow signer of the Declaration of Independence, John Witherspoon, led the movement to break the chains that bound the church to the state, and dictated how a man should worship his God. At the outbreak of the Revolution all the southern colonies and part of New York were tethered to the religious control of the Anglican Church. Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire were likewise under the thumb of the Congregational Church. In all these places the church, from the pulpit to the halls of justice dictated to the mind and body of its assemblage. Only in Rhode Island, New Jersey, Delaware, and William Penn's Pennsylvania, true freedom of religion, and separation of church and state existed.

For ten years these Virginians struggled to break the chains. With John Witherspoon as their leader they fought to end church control and gain for the people the right to worship or not to worship as they chose. Their other equally important goal was to end the practice of the church receiving taxes and tithes from those who were not members, or did not wish to support the church.

President Jefferson in the interview counted as his three most important contributions to his country: the Declaration of Independence, the founding of the University of Virginia, and the Virginia Statue of Religious Liberty, which he introduced on January 16, 1786, and said in part;

"...that our civil rights have no dependence on our religious opinions, any more than our opinions in physics or geometry; that therefore the proscribing of any citizen as unworthy the public confidence by laying upon him an incapacity of being called to offices of trust and emolument, unless he profess or renounce this or that religious opinion is depriving him injuriously of those privileges and advantages to which in common with fellow citizens he has a natural right . . . ....that no man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship, place or ministry whatsoever, nor shall be enforced, restricted, molested, or burthened in his body or goods, nor shall otherwise suffer on account of his religious opinions or belief; but that all men shall be free to profess, and by argument to maintain, their opinion in matters of religion, and that the same shall in no wise diminish, enlarge or affect their civil capacities."

At length these principles were included in most state constitutions, and even incorporated into the Northwest Ordinance of 1787, and also the first amendment to the United States Constitution. And slowly religious intolerance lost its grip on the people. Only in New England did the principles fail to be recognized. The repercussions affected every denomination in America, as chuch after church was faced with the loss of their forced support. With their superior numbers, wealth, and respect for the enlightened mind that education and freewill nurtured, only the Presbyterians were ready for the liberty that followed.

John Thorlton had lived in Greene County for six years when one day he looked up from his plowing and contemplated the hills on the horizon and what lay beyond.

This indenture made the Twenty seventh day of October in the year One Thousand Eight Hundred and One, Between John Thorlton of the County of Greene and the State of Tennessee of the one part, and John Garden of the County of Charlotte and the State of Virginia of the other part. Witnesseth, that the said John Thorlton, for and in the consideration of the sum of £ 150 to him in hand paid, the receipt where of is hereby acknowledged, hath, and by their presents, doth grant, bargain, sell, alien, enforce, and confirm unto said John Garden, his heirs and assigns forever, a certain tract or parcel of land, lying and being in the County of Greene on the North side of Lick Creek. Beginning at a hickory and mulberry corner to Isaac Bullards land, running north two degrees west through two poles to a stake. Thence north thirty three degrees west seventeen poles to an ironwood, thence north six degrees east one hundred and seventy one poles to a stake a continual line with Robert Thorlton thence south seventy three poles to a stake. Thence east two hundred and four poles to a stake, thence south forty eight degrees west one hundred and fifty six poles to a stake. Thence south seventy three poles to a stake, thence south thirty three degrees west twenty eight poles to a stake. Thence on a direct course to the beginning. Containing One Hundred and Fifty acres. With all singular, the woods, waters, water courses, profits, commodities, hereditament, and appertaining; and the reversion and reversions, remainder and remainders, rents and issues thereof, and all the estate, right tithe, interest, property, claim, and demand, of him the said John Thorlton his heirs and assigns forever, of, in, and to the same, and every part or parcel thereof, either in law or equity: To have and to hold the said One Hundred and Fifty acres of land, with the appurtenances, unto the said John Garden his heirs and assigns forever, against the lawful title, claim, and demand of all and every person or persons whatsoever, will warrant and forever defend by these presents. In witness whereof, the said John Thorlton hath hereunto set his hand and seal the day and year above written.

Signed sealed and delivered

John Thorlton in the presence of James Galbrath Sarah Hoth State of Tennessee January Sessions 1805,

Greene County Then was the execution of this Conveyance duly proven by the oath of James Galbraith one of the subscribing witnesses and admitted to record. Let it be registered Valentine Sevier Registered this 29th day of February 1808 Geo. Browne

If the Scotch-Irish of 1800 possessed a dictionary, under fiddle-footed one would perhaps find; a person or persons with an intense desire to move on from one home to another, one with a wanderlust desire. Well John Thorlton was indeed fiddle-footed, for now, for the third time in 25 years, he was moving to a new home.

The transformation that began in Pennsylvania, slowly grew to an irresistible urge, and the children and grandchildren, were now movers of the frontier, as they left one home in search of another. So it would be as long as a frontier existed. So John loaded his wagon, and with his second son John Jr., his daughters Margery, and Polly, and his wife Margaret at his side, leaving their eldest son Robert buried in the soil of Greeneville, Tennessee, and once again the big wagon creaked south.