East Tennessee Roots
- the history and genealogy of East Tennessee
Ah, yes.... Washington County, the first county created here! It dates back to February, 1778.
Jonesborough, the county seat, dates to 1779; the few blocks around the courthouse are kept as a tourist-friendly historic district. Come visit!
Right: The Washington County Courthouse.
Below: Scenes from Jonesborough's Main Street historic district. Click to see large images.
These were taken early November, 2007.
Washington County, Tennessee
What's in East Tennessee Roots about Washington County?
We found the original County Court minutes (not the poor copy everyone uses), from February 1778 on, and are transcribing them in installments - beginning with v10
We started going thru and listing all the North Carolina Land Grants - of course all the 1777 land grants began in Washington County - v9n1, v9n2, v9n3
Then we have...
Washington County 1820 Census of Manufactures - v8n4
Guide to Inventories of Estates 1779-1891 - v6n2
List of First Jonesborough Landowners - v6n4
Jonesborough Residents as Recalled by Robert Chester -- v6n4 -- and by Ross Smith -- v6n4
Washington Republican and Jonesborough Advertiser Newspaper, August 18, 1837
Back in East Tennessee Roots v3n3 we abstracted items from the Washington Republican and Jonesborough Advertiser newspaper for 18 Aug 1837. You'll see items from not only Washington County and Jonesboro, but also from Knox, Sullivan, Carter, Greene, Johnson, and Hawkins counties, as well as out of state.
For instance: the first item you'll read is a dual obituary: Col. John Williams lived in Knoxville (his house is still standing), had been Minister to Guatemala, and was married to Melinda, a daughter of James White the founder of Knoxville. Thomas Emmerson was Knoxville's first mayor, but moved to Jonesboro where he died.
