History of DeKalb County, Tennessee
vakendot
By Will T. Hale, Published 1915,
290 pages, searchable
Requires Adobe Reader 5.0 or higher to View
$9.99 + $1.99 shipping and handling
http://cgi.ebay.com/DeKalb-County-Tennessee-History-Genealogy_W0QQitemZ200371053705QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item2ea70ba489
In 1837 Dekalb County was formed from mostly Smith, White and Warren
Counties, and a small western part from Cannon County.
Many people writing a history of the formation of Dekalb County are
using the proposal made by H.L.W. Hill to the Tennessee Legislature as
being the provisions of the act which formed the county. Hill's
proposal was modified before it passed the Legislature, and there were
multiple adjustments to the county boundaries soon after it was
passed.
The best account of the formation in 1837 and the subsequent boundary
changes is contained in History of Dekalb County Tennessee, by Will T.
Hale. Nashville. The part that Dekalb County obtained from Smith
County roughly corresponds to the part that was north of the 1791
Holston Treaty "Indian Line". Historian Will T. Hale believes that the
first settlers in the county were at Liberty and came from Maryland in
1797. If so, Adam Dale was the first settler. He may have come over
the Cumberland Mountains, although some sources claim he came down the
Ohio, up the Cumberland to Nashville, and then overland about 56
miles. It was almost primeval forest. A middle Tennessee land office
was opened in 1783.
Cities and towns - Alexandria, Dowelltown, Liberty,Smithville
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
I. When Tennessee Was Young i
II. DeKalb County Established — OrnciALs 9
III. The Oldest Village 22
IV. Pastimes of the Foreparents 39
V. FARMING AND MERCHANDISING 48
VI. Relating to Education 56
VII. Religious History 67
VIII. Annals of Alexandria 88
IX. Concerning Slaves and Free Negroes 98
X. Stagecoach and Tavern Days ro6
XI. The County Seat H9
XII. Historical Jetsam 128
XIII. Smaller Villages of the County 139
XIV. In the Early Wars 151
XV. Secession — DeKalb Confederates 162
XVI. Stokes's Cavalry 185
XVII. Blackburn's and Garrison's Federals 194
XVIII. Progress of the Big War 208
XIX. Personal Experiences 218
XX. Regular and Guerrilla Warfare 229
XXI. Peace and the Aftermath 244