USGENWEB NOTICE: In keeping with our policy of providing free information on the Internet, data may be used by non-commercial entities, as long as this message remains on all copied material. These electronic pages cannot be reproduced in any format for profit or other presentation. From: "Kay Pacheco" Date sent: Sun, 26 Oct 1997 15:22:20 -0600 From a reprint of "Lincoln County - History of Tennessee" by Goodspeed Publishing Co. 1886 p. 767-784. Lincoln County is bounded on the north by the counties of Marshall, Bedford, and Moore; on the east by Moore and Franklin; on the south by the State of Alabama; and on the west by Giles County. It lies almost wholly within the central basin of Middle Tennessee. The geological situation of the county is about equally divided between the siliceous group of the lower Carboniferous formation, and the Nashville group of the Silurian formation. On the line of railroad may be seen large quantities of black shale, which is so impregnated with petroleum or bitumen that it will sustain for a month a fire when kindled on it. This black shale is also rich in sulphuret of iron, by the decomposition of which copperas and alum are formed. It easily disintegrates upon exposure and is valueless except for the manufacture of the salts mentioned. Many of the limestone rocks are but aggregations of fossil remains. A few miles east of Fayetteville is a quarry where a very fair article of reddish variegated marble is found. This marble is sometimes injured by particles of iron pyrites. The county is divided into two almost equal parts by the Elk River, which with its numerous tributaries affords it excellent water facilities. The streams which enter this river from the north are Bradshaw Creek, Swan Creek, Cane Creek, Norris Creek, Mulberry Creek, Roundtree Creek, Tucker Creek and Farris Creek. Those from the south are Shelton Creek, Duke Creek, Stewart Creek, Wells Creek, Coldwater Creek, and Kelley Creek. Between Elk River and the Alabama line is a belt of high land which is the watershed between Elk River and the Tennessee. This watershed embraces a strip of about eight miles wide and includes nearly one-third of the county. It is an exceedingly level high plateau and is not well drained. The sub-soil is a pale yellowish clay porous and leachy except in swamps where the clay is bluish. However, a few spots are found with a good red clay subsoil, and when this is found, lands are rated higher. No limestone is seen on this plateau and the main vegetation is wild growth. The remainder of the county comprises spacious valleys, alternating with productive hills and ridges. Upon some of the hills however, the loose limestone lies in such abundance as to preclude cultivation. The valleys of Elk River and Cane Creek will average a mile in width, and the latter is probably fifteen miles long. The land in these two valleys is as productive as any in the State. Many knolls near Elk River are upraised alluvium. An abundance and a general variety of timber grows in the county. It is mainly of the following varieties: Linn, buckeye, hickory, poplar, box elder, black walnut, wild cherry, black locust, chestnut, beech, gum, dogwood, ironwood, horn beam, sugar tree, hackberry, cedar and elm. As early as 1784 land explorers passed through this section, and some surveys were made and grants issued prior to 1790. North Carolina grants for land in the county were issued to John HODGE, Robert WALKER and Jesse COMB in 1793. There are also land grants recorded in the office of Lincoln County Register, bearing date of 1794, to the following persons: William SMITH, Elizabeth W. LEWIS, Ezekiel NORRIS, William EDMONSON, Alexander GREER, Thomas PERRY, Thomas EDMONSON, Matthew BUCHANAN, Matthew McCLURE, Andrew GREER and John STEELE. In the spring of 1806 James BRIGHT, at the head of a surveying party, passed where Fayetteville now stands, striking Elk River near the mouth of Nelson Creek. He found a very rank growth of cane and occasionally discovered Indian trails. Near Fayetteville he found a deposit of periwinkle and muscle shells, giving evidence of an Indian village site, and by some it is supposed that this was the village in which DeSOTO camped through the winter of 1540-41. This supposition has recently been strengthened by the finding of a coin bearing the inscription of the Caesars. It is impossible to tell who first settled within the present bounds of Lincoln County. The first settlers are now all in their graves and many have no descendants in the county. In the fall of 1806 Ezekiel NORRIS settled on his grant of 1,280 acres of land at the mouth of Norris Creek, and this creek is all that now bears his name in the county. He was a shrewd man. Being led to donate 100 acres of land for the county seat under the false representation that other parties had made the same offer, he afterward sued the county and recovered $700 for the land. He was probably the first permanent white settler in the county. James BRIGHT also became a citizen of the county, and many deeds are recorded transferring land from him to other parties. For twenty- five years he was clerk of the circuit court and was clerk and master of the chancery court for a term of years. John GREER, a very wealthy man, settled near the mouth of Cane Creek on his large tract of land. He took interest in organizing the county and in conducting the public affairs afterward. He was once general of the militia. He erected a valuable mill for those days on Elk River, two miles from Fayetteville. Joseph GREER settled on his vast domain on Cane Creek near Petersburg. He was a giant in stature, standing six feet seven inches and "well built proportionately." He was one of the forty gallant defenders of Watauga Station in 1769. He was also a hero of King's Mountain, and it was he who bore the news of that splendid victory to Congress, then sitting in Philadelphia. He dressed in the style of the old aristocratic Virginia gentleman. Thomas LEONARD, Hugh M. BLAKE, Jesse RIGGS, Peter LUNA, James BLAKEMORE, Capt. William CRUNK and John and Ezekial MARCH were also settlers on Cane CREEK in the first and second decades of this century. CRUNK and BLAKEMORE were noted for their social qualities, and dances were frequent at their homes. On Swan Creek, N. G. PINSON, Joel PINSON and Wright WILLIAMS were prominent "first cane cutters," and men who bore their share of the load in administering public affairs. In what is now embraced in the Twelfth and Thirteenth Civil Districts the first settlements were made by James McCORMICK, John ANDERSON, Henry TAYLOR and Richard WYATT. On Norris Creek early homes were made by Fielden McDANIEL, Moses HARDIN, William EDMONSON, John RAY, George CUNNINGHAM, Samuel TODD, Isaac CONGO, ___ JENKINS and ___ PARKS. On Mulberry Creek were John J. WHITTAKER, a good and prominent man; John MORGAN, grandfather of Hon. John M. BRIGHT, Brice M. GARNER, who soon removed to Fayetteville, and Gen. William MOORE. Others were the several WHITAKERs, Hardy HOLMAN, William BROWN, Enoch DOUTHAT, the WAGGONERs and Isaac SEBASTIAN. Other settlements on Norris Creek were made prior to 1810 by Ebenezer McEWEN, Robert HIGGINS, Amos SMALL and Philip FOX. It is said that Davy CROCKETT also lived in the vicinity of the water of Mulberry, in the eastern part of the county, in 1809-10. In Fayetteville James BRIGHT, who is mentioned above, was one of the most prominent first settlers. James BUCHANAN, Francis PORTERFIELD, Brice M. GARNER, John P. McCONNELL, Robert C. KENNEDY, Benjamin CLEMENTS, and many others, made up the first citizens of the town. Alexander BEARD settled near Fayetteville, south of the river. He had a large body of land, but lost a great portion of it in confirming his title, which, among many other North Carolina grants, was contested. Philip KOONCE settled between Shelton Creek and Duke Creek in 1807 or 1808, and near by him, on Shelton Creek, settled Henry KELSO, about the same time. Tunstall GREGORY settled on the waters of Shelton Creek, and John Duke on Duke Creek. Michael ROLINSON was one of the first settlers on Coldwater Creek; but an old man, named ABBOT, lived in that part of the county "five years, before he knew any one else lived within one hundred miles of him," so says one who vouches for the truth of it. A great many settlements were made prior to 1810, on the waters of Coldwater, but names can not be obtained. A man named Peyton WELLS was the first to make a home in the vicinity of Wells' Hill. He kept a noted "ordinary" or tavern. A man named HARPER was the first to settle on the branch that now bears his name. Joseph DEAN and William TODD soon became his neighbors. The southeastern part of the county was sparsely settled along in the "twenties," but the barrenness of the soil has deterred many from locating there. Many other settlers suffered privations and hardships, as well as those given, but their names and places of settlement are lost to reliable tradition. In 1808 land entries were made by the following: Anthony FOSTER, Daniel CHERRY, John MORGAN, Benjamin FITZRANDOLPH and George MAXWELL. Other land entries were made as follows: 1809 - Adam MEEK, William RICHEY, Robert DAVIS, Nicholas PERKINS, John RICHARDSON, Joseph GREER, Michael ROBERTSON, W. P. ANDERSON, Oliver WILLIAMS, Nicholas COONROD, Newton CANNON, Wright MORGAN, Abram MAURY, Stephen HOLBERT, Malcom GILCHRIST, William MARTIN, Edward BRYANS, Jacob CASTLEMAN, Nimrod WILLIAMS, Jesse FRANKLIN, John TESLEY, Daniel KINLEY, Philip PHILLIPS, Michael CAMPBELL, Samuel GARLAND, William TOWNZEN, Robert BIGHAM and Robert TUCKER. 1810 - Armstead STUBBLEFIELD, Abner WELLS, William ROUNTREE, Lemuel KOONCE, Thomas R. BUTLER, Francis NICHSON, John CUNNINGHAM, William EDMISTON, James BUCHANAN, Morris SHAW, Thomas EDMISTON, John ALCORN, Robert ELLIOTT, Robert NELSON, James WINCHESTER and Thomas HICKMAN. 1811-1812 - Reuben STUART, John CONE, Timothy HUNTER, James COATS, Robert B. SAPINGTON, Henry RUTHERFORD. 1813-1814 - Robert C. KENNEDY, Robert HENRY, Alexander NEWBERRY, Brice M. GARNER, John COFFMAN, Francis McCOWN, Mary GRAY, David COWEN, Hugh HEARTGRAVE, James McBRIDE, Joseph GARNER, Jeremiah BURKS, Elyan CLEMENTS, Alden TUCKER, Thomas CLARK, Joel BUTLER, Daniel READ, William McGEHEE, Jesse GEORGE, Edward HARDING, Samuel RAGSDALE, Samuel YAGER and Aaron DUTTON. 1815-1820 - William DICKSON, Jr., Jesse PUGH, William SMITH, Warren CALHOUN, Lavis PUGH, John RUSSELL, Andrew GREER, William DICKSON, David McGLATHERY, Henry RUTHERFORD, David DODD, James BOYLE, John CLARK, George PRICE, Joseph BYERS and Joseph STREET. Doubtless many other grants were issued, the records of which are lost. Many of the above persons settled here before obtaining their grants, and some who obtained grants did not permanently settle, and even some were speculators who never lived in the county. On account of the climate and the fertile soil, settlers were attracted to Lincoln County, and in 1833 it had a population of 10,788 free white persons. Since then parts of the county have been formed into other counties. In 1880 the population was 26,960. Among the oldest persons now living in the county and who have been in the county since its pioneer days, are Hon. John M. BRIGHT, Rev. J. W. HOLMAN and C. A. FRENCH, of Fayetteville, and Hugh M. BLAKE and Joseph GILL, of Petersburg. Early pioneers found it no trivial matter to develop their farms and raise their families. Not only was farming to be developed, but milling, merchandising, schools and churches, all required attention. However, these people were happy in their condition, and various were their amusements. Fayetteville, Petersburg and Arnold's Grocery (now Smithland) were noted places for settlement of all grudges, in "pummelling" fights. The lookers-on enjoyed this very much, and it was their duty to see fair play. No weapons or missiles were to be used, and "it was not fair to bite." In Fayetteville was a "grocery," in which fighting was such a common occurrence that it was known as the "war office." Militia musters were "big days" for the people. Grist-mills were erected on the creeks and on Elk River, and there were several horse-mills in the county. To these horse-mills each man took his own horse or horses, and hitched them to the sweep to turn the mill while his grist was grinding. The water-mills were more economical, that is, they needed no horse power. Joel YOWELL, an early citizen of Petersburg, had a large horse-mill two miles from Petersburg, with a hand-bolting machine attached. Jesse RIGGS and Thomas LEONARD also had mills of this kind. LEONARD and YOWELL had wheat threshers attached to their mills, and LEONARD also had a cotton-gin attached. However, threshing was mostly done by "tramping it out." In 1811 the county court granted Elias LUNSFORD permission to build a saw mill on Mulberry Creek. This mill was built the following year. In 1814 David P. MONROE built a grist-mill on the west fork of Cane Creek. Francis FINCHEE built a grist-mill in 1815. In 1820 Nathaniel B. BINKINGHAM built a mill on Cane Creek on a tract of school land. Taverns were numerous, and were situated in all parts of the county without regard to towns. Ephraim PARHAM, Vance GREER, William CROSS, Brice M. GARNER and John KELLEY obtained tavern license in 1811. Collins LEONARD, Jesse RIGGS, Cornelius SLATER, John D. SPAIN, John P. McCONNELL, Elisha BOYLES, Willie GARRETT, George STOBAH, C. R. MILBORN, David COBB, Joseph DEAN, John PARKS, William SMITH, Walter KINNARD, Enoch DOUTHAT, John H. ZEVILLY, John HOUSTON, John PARKS, Thomas ROUNTREE and William MITCHELL were other tavern keepers in the teens. These taverns were also known as "ordinaries," "houses of entertainment," etc. Elk River was crossed by means of ferries. Ezekiel NORRIS had one of the first ferries on the river. William P. ANDERSON established a ferry at the mouth of Farris Creek in 1820, and Andrew HANNAH, in 1822, established one at Hannah Ford. Produce was marketed by means of flat-boats carrying it out of Elk River and down to New Orleans, and by wagons to Nashville. The very earliest merchants obtained their goods mainly from Baltimore, and brought them here by wagons from that city. ESTILL & GARNER were experienced flat-boatmen. They took out boats each year, and returned on foot from New Orleans. At first cotton was not raised here to any extent, and that article was obtained in Alabama and freighted by wagons. Scouting Indians frequented these first settlements, but very few depredations were committed by them. It is handed down by reliable tradition that three men, whose names were TAYLOR, ANDERSON and REED were scalped by the Indians while out searching for a horse. Another incident occurred wherein the Indians forced their way into a house where a woman was making soap. The woman had secreted herself behind the door with a gourd full of boiling soap, and upon their entrance she "anointed" the dirty red- skins with telling effect, causing them to flee for cooler parts. Lincoln County was created by an act of the Legislature in 1809. The following is the act so far as it related to establishment of the county: An Act to Establish a County south of Bedford, to be known by the name of Lincoln Section 1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Tennessee, That Lincoln County shall be laid off and established within the following bounds, to wit: Beginning on the northeast corner of Giles County and extending south with the eastern boundary line of Giles County to the southern boundary line of the State; thence with that line east to a point due south of the mouth of Cove Spring Creek; thence north to the southern boundary line of Bedford County; and thence, with the said line, westwardly, to the beginning. Sec. 2. Be it enacted, That John WHITAKER, Sr., Wright WILLIAMS, Eli GARRET, Littleton Duty and Jesse WOODRUFF be, and they are hereby, appointed commissioners with full power to procure by purchase, or otherwise, 100 acres of land on or near the north bank of Elk River, as near the center of the county, east and west, as a proper situation will admit of, and at all events not more than two miles from said center. Sec. 3. Be it enacted, That the said commissioners, immediately after procuring the aforesaid 100 acres of land, shall cause a town to be laid off thereon, reserving near the center thereof a public square of two acres, on which the court house and stocks shall be built, likewise reserving a lot in any other portion of said town for the purpose of erecting a jail; and the said town, when so laid off, shall be named Fayetteville. Sec. 6. Be it enacted, That the court of pleas and quarter sessions for the county of Lincoln shall be held on the fourth Monday in the months of February, May, August and November annually, at the house of Brice M. GARNER until a place is provided for holding the said court in the town of Fayetteville. Sec. 11. Be it enacted, That the militia of the county shall compose the Thirty-ninth Regiment and be attached to the Fifth Brigade. Sec. 14. Be it enacted, That this act shall be in force from the first day of January, in the year one thousand eight hundred and ten. The county thus established assumed the form of a rectangle in outline, but in 1835 a part of the territory now constituted in Marshall County was taken from the original Lincoln County, and in 1872 Moore County was created, embracing a part of Lincoln. The first county court met Monday, February 26, 1810, at the home of Brice M. GARNER, and the following men were qualified justices of the peace by Oliver WILLIAMS, Esq., of Williamson County: Thomas L. TROTTER, Wright WILLIAMS, William SMITH, John WHITAKER, Sr., William DICKSON, William ROUNDTREE, Eli GARRETT, Philip KOONCE, Henry KELSO, Robert HIGGINS, Samuel BARNS, Littleton DUTY, James FULLER, James STALLARD, Jesse WOODRUFF and Nathan G. PINSON. Philip KOONCE was appointed chairman and Thomas H. BENTON was made clerk pro tem., and entered the first minutes upon records. County officers were elected, an allowance of $1 each for wolf scalps was made, stock marks were recorded, constables were sworn in, justices were appointed to "take the tax,", etc. At this term 2,662 acres of taxable land were reported. Harvey HOLMAN, Wright WILLIAMS, Littleton DUTY, Eli GARRETT and John WHITAKER were appointed to locate the county sent. They bought 100 acres of land of Ezekiel NORRIS and platted the town of Fayetteville. At the May term William ALLEN was fined $3 for "profane swearing," and at the August term taxes were laid as follows: 6-1/4 cents on each 100 acres of land; 6-1/4 cents on each poll (white and black), and 12-1/2 cents on each stallion. Ferriage rates across Elk River were established at the following: Wagon, team and drive, 50 cents; cart or other two-wheel carriage, 25 cents; man and horse, 6-1/4 cents; footman, 6-1/4 cents, and live stock 2 cents per head. Tavern rates were made: Good whisky per half pint, 12-1/2 cents; good peach brandy, 12-1/2 cents; good West India rum, 25 cents; good "diet," 25 cents; good lodging, 6-1/4 cents; good "stableage with hay or fodder for 12 hours," 25 cents; good corn per gallon, 6-1/4 cents. Brice M. GARNER was allowed $15 for the use of his house for the holding of court, and $30 for furnishing county seal and record books. Jurors were allowed 50 cents each per day for service. At the term a man entered court with an ear bleeding from being bitten off in a fight. He had the incident recorded at length to avoid the imputation of having been "cropped under the penal laws." The clerk charged the usual fee for recording a hog mark. At a term in 1811 two men were each fined $125 for not attending as witnesses in an important civil suit. The county officers so far as names and dates can be obtained, have been as follows: Sheriffs - Cornelius SLATER, 1810; John GREER, 1812; Francis PORTERFIELD, 1822; William HUSBAND, 1826; Andrew KINCANNON, 1828; Alfred SMITH, 1833; William C. BLAKE, 1836; Constant SMITH, 1840; William B. McLAUGHLIN, 1844; E. G. BUCHANAN, 1847; Eli L. HODGE, 1848; James HANKS, 1852; W. M. ALEXANDER, 1854; Moses CRUSE, 1856; W. M. ALEXANDER, 1858; Moses CRUSE, 1860; William MOFFETT, 1862; John H. STEELMAN, 1864; William F. TAYLOR, 1866; C. S. WILSON, 1868; F. W. KEITH, 1868; H. B. MORGAN, 1870; W. A. MILLARD, 1872; R. F. HOLLAND, 1878; W. A. CUNNINGHAM, 1882; George W. POINDEXTER, 1884. Trustees - John RHEA, 1810; Ebenezer McEWEN, 1816; William NEELD, 1826; Samuel E. GILLELAND, 1828; E. M. RINGO, 1836; John J. RAMSAY, 1838; Richard WHITE, 1842; E. M. RINGO, 1844; S. J. ISAACS, 1850; William B. RHEA, 1853; William NEELD, 1854; A. S. RANDOLPH, 1858; William R. SMITH, 1862; William P. NEELD, 1864; J. D. SCOTT, 1866; J. H. CAREY, 1868; J. D. SCOTT, 1870; J. J. CUMMINS, 1872; H. C. STREET, 1874; Henry HENDERSON, 1876-86. Registers - Samuel BARNS, 1810; Cornelius SLATER, 1816; Peter M. ROSS, 1832; John GOODRICH, 1836; Daniel J. WHITTINGTON, 1852; Peter CUNNINGHAM, 1860; Miles RAMSAY, 1862; A. T. NICKS, 1864; A. J. CHILDRESS, 1869; . D. BOYCE, 1870; B. B. THOMPSON, 1874-86. Rangers - Philip KOONCE, 1810-41; William NEELD, 1841; William T. BERRY, 1843; A. H. BERRY, 1848; N. O. WALLACE, 1853-86. County Court Clerks - Brice M. GARNER, 1810-32; Robert S. INGE, 1832; F. L. KINCANNON, 1832; Charles BOYLES, 1836; George W. JONES, 1840; Harmon HUSBAND, 1843; Henry KELSO, 1844; George CUNNINGHAM, 1852; E. L. HODGE, 1854; Norris LEATHERWOOD, 1857; Daniel J. WHITTINGTON, 1858; John T. GORDON, 1864; E. P. REYNOLDS, 1868; John Y. GILL, 1870; P. D. BOYCE, 1874; E. S. WILSON, 1882. In 1856 J. R. CHILCOAT was elected county judge, and served until the war. Afterward were elected T. J. McGARVEY, 1869; H. C. COWEN, 1870; M. W. WOODARD, 1873; N. P. CARTER, 1874. Circuit court clerks: James BRIGHT, 1810-36; Alfred SMITH, 1836; J. R. CHILCOAT, 1848; R. S. WOODARD, 1856; M. W. WOODARD, 1868; Rane McKINNEY, 1870; A. B. WOODARD, 1873; Theodore HARRIS, 1874; W. C. MORGAN, 1878. Chancery clerks and masters previous to the war were Davis EASTLAND, James BRIGHT, Robert FARQUHARSON and John FULTON served successively. Afterward were Robert FARQUHARSON, until 1869; Davis CLARK, 1869; A. S. FULTON, 1876; W. B. MARTIN, 1879. Chancellors: B. L. BRAMLITT, Terry H. CAHALL, B. L. RIDLEY, John STEELE, A. S. KNOX, J. W. BURTON and E. D. HANCOCK. The first court house built was only for temporary use, until another could be erected. It was 8x20 feet in the clear, built with round logs, and "covered with a good cabin roof." It had a "seat for the jury, court and bar, and a resting place for the feet of the court, all of good plank." It was built in 1811 on one corner of the Public Square, by James FULLER, for $35. The first jail was built in 1810, with "logs not less than twelve inches in diameter and teen feet long." The walls, floor and loft were "all of logs of the same description." In November, 1811, a contract to build a new two-story brick court house on the Square, was taken by Micajah and William McELROY, for $3,995. The court afterward allowed $750 extra for the work, thus making the total cost of the building $4,745. This court house was torn down in 1873, and the present one was erected by William T. MOYERS, James N. ALLBRIGHT and William E. TURLEY, for $29,579.30. J. H. HOLMAN, H. C. COWAN and John Y. GILL composed the committee to report the plans, specifications and estimates for the building; Theodore HARRIS superintended the work. The second jail that was built, was a two-story brick building, lined on the inside with logs, the logs being protected by sheet iron. It was built about the same time as the court house. The present jail was built in 1868, and by contract was to cost not more than $23,000. It is of stone. The stone bridge across Elk River is one of the best structures of the kind in the State. It was built in 1861 at a cost of about $40,000. It is of limestone, contains six elliptical arches, and is 450 feet in its entire length. The roadway is flanked on either side by a stone wall three feet high and two feet wide. The civil divisions of the county were first designated by the companies of militia in the respective parts of the county, i. e., the civil officers of the county were elected from the various militia companies, as they now are from the civil districts. In 1835 the county was laid off into twenty-five civil districts. The lines have been changed from time to time, but still the same number is retained. The school districts have not always coincided with the civil districts, but are now one and the same. Among the first acts of the county court was one to provide for the poor, and in 1815 a special tax was assessed for the county poor. About 1826 a poor farm was purchased and a poor house erected, the supervision of which was put under three commissioners, regularly appointed by the court. The poor are still cared for in this manner. At different times agricultural societies have been organized, but have as often proved to be institutions of short life. The first one was organized in 1824. In the year 1858 Fayetteville was connected with the main line of the Nashville & Chattanooga Railroad by the branch built from Decherd to Fayetteville, and in 1882 the narrow gauge road was built from Columbia to Fayetteville. The main support of these roads is the agricultural product, which in turn brings in articles of general merchandise. Pikes connect Fayetteville with Lynchburg and Shelbyville, and extend from Fayetteville for several miles in all directions. The political cast of the county is strongly Democratic. In 1884 the vote for president and governor stood as follows: CLEVELAND, 2,382; BLAINE, 890; BATE, 2,220; REID, 941. Financially old Lincoln is on a strong foundation. She has first class public buildings, good general improvements, with a firm backing of a good agricultural soil. The tax for 1884 shows a total valuation of taxable property of $3,564,340; number of acres of land, 345,722, valued at $2,628.780. The State tax for 1886 is $10,192; county tax, $12,692; school tax, $16,257; road tax, $2,393; making a total tax of $41,535. These figures include the estimate on railroad and telegraph property valued at $166,890. In 1885 there was reported in the county 9,325 horses and mules, 14,090 cattle, 11,969 sheep, 42,425 hogs, 1,070 bushels barley, 213 bushels buckwheat, 1,252,919 bushels corn, 37,908 bushels oats, 1,641 bushels rye and 275,463 bushels wheat. Upon the bench of the circuit court sat Judge Thomas STEWART to hold the first court in this county. Then came Judge KENNEDY for a time, who was succeeded by Judge Edmund DILLAHUNTY, who held for a number of years. A. J. MARCHBANKS was the next judge, and continued on the bench until the war. Gov. BROWNLOW then appointed N. A. PATTERSON, who became the laughing stock for the lawyers who attended court. He was "deficient in the organs of hearing," and very "eccentric in nature." Then came W. P. HICKERSON, who did not serve a full term. He resigned and was succeeded by Judge J. J. WILLIAMS, who was afterward elected to fill the term now closing. For many years Erwin J. FRIERSON was the attorney-general, and he was superseded in turn by A. F. GOFF, James H. THOMAS, Joseph CARTER, George J. STUBBLEFIELD, J. H. HOLMAN, J. D. TILLMAN and A. B. WOODARD, the present incumbent of the office. The court in early days was engaged mainly in trying petty offenses, and not until 1825 was there a sentence of death pronounced. Duncan BONDS had murdered Felix GRUNDY, and was found guilty. He took an appeal to the Supreme Court of the State. A jury in 1828 rendered a verdict of guilty upon a charge of murder committed by a man named McCLURE, upon D. C. HALL. He received the sentence of death, and was hung in the spring of 1829. About 1847 a negro named Bill MOORE was sentence and hung for an attempted rape. In 1862 John GEORGE was sentenced to be hung for murdering Hosea TOWRY. He escaped from jail. Two years previous to this, in 1860, a negro, Alf, was hung for murdering his master, William STEVENS. The whipping post and pillory often received the victims of the judge's sentence for the various offenses, and men were imprisoned in debt. The bar of Lincoln County is one that ranks high in Tennessee. Not only are the members at present eminent and able lawyers, but from the first, Lincoln County has given a home to many able men. At the first meeting of the county court was present Thomas H. BENTON. He drew up the minutes of the first session of that court, and was the county's legal advocate on organization. He resided in Fayetteville for a number of years. He then arose to adorn the nation's highest legislative council, of which he was a member for thirty-two years, and was truly "an eminent man of America." Contemporary with him was L. P. MONTGOMERY, widely known as the brave Capt. MONTGOMERY, was began the practice of law in 1810, and who fell at the battle of Horse-Shoe. In 1810 George B. BAULCH, George COALTER, William WHITE, Joseph PHILLIPS, Marmaduke WILLIAMS, Matthew D. WILSON and Alfred HARRIS were permitted to practice in the county. In 1811 Eli TOLBERT, Samuel ACRES and Charles MANTON were allowed to practice. George C. WITT and W. S. FONTINE also practiced here in that year. Hon. C. C. CLAY, of Huntsville, Ala., attended this court as early as 1811, as also did John McKINNEY and John TOLBERT. Other lawyers from adjoining counties visited this court professionally, among whom were Judge HAYWOOD, and, later, Nathan GREEN, James CAMPBELL, William GILCHRIST, Oliver B. HAYS, Lunsford M. BRAMLETT and Thomas M. FLETCHER. Other prominent early lawyers were James FULTON, Samuel W. CARMACK, Charles BOYLES, William C. KENNEDY, William P. MARTIN, William M. INGE and John H. MORGAN. John M. MORGAN, after a number of years in Fayetteville, moved to Memphis, thence to Mississippi, and was elevated to the bench in that State. He was the father of Hon. J. B. MORGAN of Mississippi. William P. MARTIN moved from Fayetteville to Columbia, Tenn., and there was a