Person:David Crockett (13)

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David Crockett (August 17, 1786 – March 6, 1836) was an American folk hero, frontiersman, soldier, and politician. He is commonly referred to in popular culture by the epithet "King of the Wild Frontier". He represented Tennessee in the U.S. House of Representatives and served in the Texas Revolution.

Crockett grew up in East Tennessee, where he gained a reputation for hunting and storytelling. He was made a colonel in the militia of Lawrence County, Tennessee and was elected to the Tennessee state legislature in 1821. In 1827, he was elected to the U.S. Congress where he vehemently opposed many of the policies of President Andrew Jackson, especially the Indian Removal Act. Crockett's opposition to Jackson's policies led to his defeat in the 1831 elections. He was re-elected in 1833, then narrowly lost in 1835, prompting his angry departure to Texas (then the Mexican state of Tejas) shortly thereafter. In early 1836, he took part in the Texas Revolution and died at the Battle of the Alamo, either in battle or executed after being captured by the Mexican Army.

Crockett became famous during his lifetime for larger-than-life exploits popularized by stage plays and almanacs. After his death, he continued to be credited with acts of mythical proportion. These led in the 20th century to television and film portrayals, and he became one of the best-known American folk heroes.

Biographies of David "Davy" Crockett

• Biography

David Crockett was one of America's most colorful frontiersmen and folk heros. Coming from a poor pioneer family, he received no real education as a child but picked up the skills of a hunter, scout, and woodsman. He served (1813-14) under Andrew Jackson in the wars against the Creek Indians. After returning to Tennessee to farm, he was appointed (1817) a local magistrate, an office that required him to learn to read and write more proficiently. Elected a "colonel" in the militia, he also served two terms (1821-25) in the Tennessee legislature, and he defended the squatters rights of his west Tennessee constituents.

As a U.S. congressman (1827-31), 1833-35), Crockett won a reputation as an amusing, shrewd, and outspoken backwoodsman, and it was in Washington that the legend of the man as a coonskin-hatted bear hunter, Indian fighter, and tall-tale teller was promoted by the Whig allies to compete with President Jackson's image as a democrat. Crockett's opposition to Jackson's Indian removal policies estranged him from the Democratic party, and this disagreement cost him his fourth bid for election in 1834. His bitterness over the defeat inspired him to leave (1836) Tennessee for Texas, where he died defending the Alamo during the Texas Revolution

James Calvin McMullin

• Biography

David Crockett was born in Limestone (near Rogersville), Greene County (presently Hawkins County), Tennessee on August 17, 1786. His father was a Revolutionary War veteran who fought at Kings Mountain. In 1783, his father moved to eastern Tennessee, where he later opened a tavern. When he was around thirteen years of age he ran from home, to escape punishment from his father. For three years he traveled to various places and worked various jobs. By 1802, he returned to his home in eastern Tennessee in debt and confused about his future. He agreed to attended school but after only six months he decided to leave.

In 1809, Crockett married to Polly Findley and eventually moved to Lincoln County. Five years later he enlisted as a volunteer to fight in the Creek War and served under the command of Andrew Jackson. He served with distinction during the war but retired before the war ended. His wife died around 1815 leaving him with three children. He was soon remarried and moved to Giles County where he was appointed justice of the peace and later was elected as colonel of the district's militia unit. In 1821, Crockett was elected to the State House of Representatives. A fire destroyed his property and business in 1822 and rather than rebuild he headed further west to the Obion River where he settled in what was Weakley County (presently Gibson County).

In 1824, Crockett ran for the United States Congress but was an unsuccessful candidate for the House of Representatives. Two years later he ran again for the same office and won. He went onto serve in the Twentieth, Twenty-first, and Twenty-third Congresses. After an unsuccessful bid for a fourth term in 1834, he decided to aid the Texans in their struggle for independence. In February of 1836, he joined a band of 186 men at the Alamo where he took part in its heroic defense. David Crockett was among those killed in the battle and his body destroyed by pyre not far from the Alamo.

James Blackburn Lifelong Friend of Davy Crockett

• We know that David Crockett visited James Blackburn in Jefferson County, East Tennessee, on his trip to Washington in October 1827 by reading page 3 in Crockett’s letter from Washington City of February 5, 1828 to James Blackburn. It reads in part:

“My Dear old friend…….. I have enjoyed the worst health since I arrived here (ie. Washington, D.C.) that I ever did in my life I was taken the next day after I left your house with the billes feaver tho I traveled until I arived at my father in laws (ie. Robert Patton in Swannanoa, North Carolina) thare I was taken down and lay four weeks then I got abel to travel I started on and My wife and Sone Returned home (ie. His wife Elizabeth Patton and son John Wesley returned home to Gibson County, TN) I have recd two letters from my Sone Sence he got home he wrote me that they found all well at home my wifes father gave her three young negros they wrote to me that they got home with out much trouble with them I have (missing) down three times Sence I arrived here the last attack was the pluricy the doctor took two quarts of Blood from me at one time I am much Reduced in flesh and have lost all my Red Rosy Cheeks that I have carried so many years ….. I Remain with high esteem your friend and well wisher. David Crockett (to) James Blackburn.

Dr. William Edward Butler vs David Crockett in Politics

• One of Dr. Butler's frequent visitors to his home on Royal Street was David Crockett, his political enemy. Dr. Butler decided to challenge Crockett for the state legislature, and stories of this campaign are numerous.

Source Biographies of Madison County, TN - Dr. William E. Butler

• Dr. William Edward Butler's mother was Sarah Jane Semple surname also spelled Semples / Samples.

Video Links

1.   Swann, Joe. The Old Path, Route of the Great Indian War Trail vanishing quickly in East Tennessee. (Jefferson County, Tennessee, Historical Society).
2. ↑ ^2.0 2.1 Davy Crockett, in Did Davy Crockett Die in Battle at the Alamo? by Christopher Minster
   2014.

   Among the defenders that day was Davy Crockett, former Congressman and legendary hunter, scout and teller of tall-tales. According to some accounts, Crockett died in battle and according to others, he was one of a handful of men captured and later executed. Santa Anna’s silence on the subject is also relevant: he never claimed to have captured and executed Crockett. Unless other documents come to light, we'll never know the details of Crockett's fate.

3. ↑ Davy Crockett, in Splice Helps Launch New Season of ‘America Unearthed’ by Jennifer Wolfe
   November 11, 2014.

   This season of America Unearthed kicked off with the first episode: “Secrets from the Alamo.” The episode features Davy Crockett, an American legend immortalized in frontier folklore for being the last one standing at the Alamo during the fight against Mexico. It was there Crockett is said to have met his heroic end, however, new evidence suggests that may not be the case. An Alabama man contacts Scott Wolter about a land claim allegedly signed by Crockett–nearly 20 years after his death! As Scott investigates, he learns more about Crockett’s life, membership in a secret society and involvement in the Texas Revolution at the Alamo. There, Scott discovers that the history books may be wrong when it comes to Crockett’s fate and that the frontiersman’s enemy, General Santa Anna, may have saved Crockett’s life in a stunning twist of fate.

4. ↑ Davy Crockett, in Wikipedia
   15 November 2014.

   In 1955, Jesús Sánchez Garza self-published a book called La Rebelión de Texas—Manuscrito Inédito de 1836 por un Ofical de Santa Anna purporting to be memoirs of José Enrique de la Peña, a Mexican officer present at the Battle of the Alamo. In 1975, the Texas A&M University Press published an English translation of the book, called With Santa Anna in Texas: A Personal Narrative of the Revolution. The English publication caused a scandal within the United States, as it asserted that Crockett did not die in battle. (Source credits citation to Todish, Timothy J.; Todish, Terry; Spring, Ted (1998). Alamo Sourcebook, 1836: A Comprehensive Guide to the Battle of the Alamo and the Texas Revolution. Austin, TX: Eakin Press. ISBN 978-1-57168-152-2.)

5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3} David Stern Crockett, in Geni: Crockett Genealogy and Crockett Family History Information
   November 11, 2014.

   David Stern Crockett
   Also Known As: "'Davy' - hated by Crockett during his lifetime"
   Birthdate: August 17, 1786
   Birthplace: Near the Nolichucky River, (Present Limestone), Washington County (Present Greene County), Free Republic of Franklin (Present Tennessee), United States
   Death: Died March 6, 1836 in San Antonio, (Present Bexar County), Republic of Texas, (Present USA)
   Place of Burial: Fairview Cemetery, Dyersburg, Dyer County, Tennessee, United States
   Immediate Family:
   Son of John M. Crockett and Rebecca Sullivan Crockett
   Husband of Polly Crockett (Finley) and Elizabeth Margaret Crockett
   Father of John W. Crockett, US Congress; William Finley Crockett; Margaret Finley "Polly" Crockett; Robert Patton Crockett; Rebecca Elvira Halford (Crockett) and 2 others
   Brother of Margaret Catharine Crockett; unkn Crockett; Sarah E. Goodgame (Crockett); James William Crockett; William B. Crockett and 13 others
   Occupation: American folk hero, Scout, frontiersman, soldier and politician, Congressman, Frontiersman/ Indian Fighter/ US Senator/ Folk hero, Frontiersman, state representative, hero, Pioneer, Soldier, Trapper, Explorer, State Assemblyman

6. ↑ ^6.0 6.1 Davy Crockett, in America Unearthed – Secrets from the Alamo by Andrew Zarowny
   November 14th, 2014.

   According to the ′history′ books, Crockett was killed when the Alamo fell on March 6, 1836. But our favorite forensic geologist, Scott Wolter, isn′t so sure. He received a tip from Jason Nelson of Winston County, Alabama who claims that David Crockett obtained a land grant in Winston County many years after the Alamo. Wolter travels there to meet Jason and his mother, Glenda Alexander. They show Wolter the land grant, signed by President James Buchanan, in 1858. They also show Scott a clipping from a local newspaper from April, 1836 saying that Col. Crockett is still alive and recovering from a wound. They also claim that Crockett was buried on the property, which they now own.

7. ↑ ^7.0 7.1 Davey Crockett, in Scott Wolter Answers: Davey Crockett and Secrets from the Alamo
   November 9, 2014.

   The chances are very good that [Davy Crokett] did survive choosing then to live out his days after the Alamo in a quiet, low-key lifestyle. This begs many questions and speculation as to why? If he did survive and went on to live a secret life, why would he sign his real name on the land deed? Perhaps it was to ensure the property would legally stay in the family. One thing that impacted me was the land deed was signed by the President, James Buchanan, another Mason, who likely knew Crockett was alive and made sure the land transaction was approved for a “Brother” who had served his country with honor and distinction even then, and deserved a peaceful and quiet retirement.

8. ↑ Davy Crockett, in Franklin County, Tennessee.

   One of the most notable early settlers was frontiersman Davy Crockett, who came about 1812 but is not thought to have remained long.

9. ↑ ^{9.0 9.1 9.2} David Crockett, in Find A Grave: Davy Crockett Birthplace State Park (Cenotaph), Limestone Springs, Greene County, Tennessee
   Memorial# 5757233, Sep 10, 2001.

   Birth: Aug. 17, 1786, USA
   Death: Mar. 6, 1836, Texas, USA
   Burial: Davy Crockett Birthplace State Park (Cenotaph), Limestone Springs, Greene County, Tennessee, USA

   Famous frontiersman, Tennessee statesman, and defender of the Alamo. He was born at the confluence of Limestone Creek and Nolichuckey River in the State of Franklin, which a few years later became Greene County, Tenn., August 17, 1786. Killed at the Alamo. This cenotaph is at his birthplace in Tennessee.
   Cause of death: Either killed in battle, or executed as a prisoner of war.

10. ↑ ^{10.0 10.1 10.2} David Crockett, in Explore Southern History: The Death of David Crockett at the Alamo
    April 23, 2014.

    Revisionist historians...have played havoc with the life and death of David Crockett.
    Many of these "new school" researchers now believe that he surrendered to Santa Anna's
    forces, giving up his arms and allowing himself to be taken prisoner rather than going down
    fighting with his friends. The original version of the fall of the Alamo appeared in newspapers in New Orleans, Louisiana, where it was obtained via boat directly from Texas. The first printing of the account mentions 1) that several men did surrender and were executed after the battle and that 2) David Crockett was among the men slain in the defense of the Alamo.

11. ↑ ^{11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3} David "Davy" Crockett, in Find A Grave: San Fernando Cathedral, San Antonio, Bexar County, Texas
    Memorial# 2308, Jan 01, 2001.

    Birth: Aug. 17, 1786, Greene County, Tennessee, USA
    Death: Mar. 6, 1836, San Antonio, Bexar County, Texas, USA
    Burial: San Fernando Cathedral, San Antonio, Bexar County, Texas, USA

    He commanded a battalion of mounted riflemen under General Andrew Jackson in the Creek Campaign in 1813 and 1814.

    His popularity won him a seat in the Tennessee State House of Representatives, in which he served from 1821 to 1823. He then was an unsuccessful candidate for election in 1825 to the Nineteenth Congress but later was elected to the Twentieth and Twenty-first Congresses, serving from March 4, 1827 tp March 3, 1831. He lost reelection in 1830 to the Twenty-second Congress. Later on he was elected as an Anti-Jacksonian to the Twenty-third Congress, and served that term from March 4, 1833 to March 3,1835. He lost his finally reelection in 1834 to the Twenty-fourth Congress.

    He went to Texas to aid the Texans in their struggle for independence in 1836; joined a band of 186 men in the defense of the Alamo. He was assassinated there in that battle which ended on March 6, 1836. His body along with those others that were killed were destroyed in a funeral pyre at the Alamo. There is controversy over how he was killed and by whom. Most speculate that Crockett tried to kill General Santa Anna, and he was killed upon attacking him.

12. ↑ ^{12.0 12.1 12.2} David Crockett, in The Second Flying Company of Alamo de Parras
    2002.

    He began his military career in September of that year, when he enlisted in the militia as a scout under Major Gibson in Winchester, Tennessee, to avenge an Indian attack on Fort Mimms, Alabama. On November 3, under Andrew Jackson, Crockett participated in the retributive massacre of the Indian town of Tallussahatchee. He returned home when his ninety-day enlistment for the Creek Indian War expired on the day before Christmas, and reenlisted on September 28, 1814, as a third sergeant in Capt. John Cowan's company. He arrived on November 7, the day after Jackson took Pensacola, and spent his time trying to ferret out the British-trained Indians from the Florida swamps. After his discharge in 1815 as a fourth sergeant Crockett arrived home and found himself again a father. On May 21, 1815, Crockett was elected a lieutenant in the Thirty-second Militia regiment of Franklin County.

    New Year's Day 1821 marked a turning point in Crockett's career. He resigned as commissioner to run for a seat in the Tennessee legislature as the representative of Lawrence and Hickman counties. He won the August election and, from the beginning, took an active interest in public land policy regarding the West. After the session concluded he moved his family to what is now Gibson County in West Tennessee. He was reelected in 1823, defeating Dr. William E. Butler, but was in turn defeated in August 1825 in his first bid for a seat in Congress. In 1826, after returning to private business, Crockett nearly died when his boats carrying barrel staves were wrecked in the Mississippi River. When he was brought to Memphis he was encouraged to run again for Congress by Maj. M. B. Winchester and won election over Gen. William Arnold and Col. Adam Alexander to the United States House of Representatives in 1827. He was reelected to a second term in 1829 and split with President Andrew Jackson and the Tennessee delegation on several issues, including land reform and the Indian removal bill. In his 1831 campaign for a third term, Crockett openly and vehemently attacked Jackson's policies and was defeated in a close election by William Fitzgerald.

    Crockett's reputation as a sharpshooter, hunter, and yarn-spinner had brought him into national prominence. He was the model for Nimrod Wildfire, the hero of James Kirke Paulding's play The Lion of the West, which opened in New York City on April 25, 1831. Life and Adventures of Colonel David Crockett of West Tennessee was published in 1833 and reprinted the same year under the more accurate title of Sketches and Eccentricities of Colonel David Crockett of West Tennessee. Much of the same material spilled over into the first few issues of a series of comic almanacs published under Crockett's name from 1835 to 1856 that, as a whole, constituted a body of outrageous tall tales about the adventures of the legendary Davy rather than the historical David Crockett.
    
    Building in part upon his growing notoriety, Crockett defeated the incumbent Fitzgerald in 1833 to return to Congress. The following year he published his autobiography, written with the help of Thomas Chilton, A Narrative of the Life of David Crockett of the State of Tennessee, the only work that he actually authored. It was intended to correct the portrayal given by Mathew St. Clair Clarke in Sketches and Eccentricities and to deny Crockett's authorship of that account, which did not bear Clarke's name. The Narrative was also a campaign biography of sorts, for Whig politicians were touting Crockett as an anti-Jackson candidate for the presidency in 1836. On April 25, 1834, he began a three-week triumphal tour of the eastern states, and his "campaign swing" was recorded in the first of two Whig books published the next year under his name, An Account of Colonel Crockett's Tour to the North and Down East. The second, a negative Life of Martin Van Buren, was issued less than three months later.

13. ↑ ^{13.0 13.1 13.2} Davy Crockett, in Was Davy Crockett Really the King of the Wild Frontier? Myth, Blood, and Ink by David Garza
    2000.

    José Enrique de la Peña has been telling stories, and not everyone wants to hear them. A lieutenant colonel in the Mexican army who fought at the Alamo in 1836, both his voice and his controversial narratives survive in the form of a massive, 680-page diary that details his eyewitness account of the short and brutal war that led to the independence of Texas. The notorious passage, which claims that the mythic Davy Crockett was captured by Mexican soldiers and executed by order of General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna instead of dying in the glory of patriotic battle, has severely angered those loyal to Crockett's reputation and has brought rise to countless historical questions.

14. ↑ Davy Crockett, in Jones, K. Randall. In the Footsteps of Davy Crockett.
15. ↑ Davy Crockett, in French, Janie Preston Collup, and Zella Armstrong. Davy Crockett and the Crockett family. (Salt Lake City, Utah: Genealogical Society of Utah, 1983).
16. ↑ Davy Crockett, in Crockett, Davy. A narrative of the life of David Crockett of the state of Tennessee. (Philadelphia: E.L. Carey and A. Hart, 1834).
17. ↑ Davy Crockett, in San Antonio Uncovered: San Antonio's Enigmatic Tourist Attraction - Davy Crockett's Tomb
    8 June 2013.

    "There is a tomb in the back of San Fernando Cathedral. And the tomb does state that it is the final resting place of Davy Crockett, William B. Travis, Jim Bowie and the other defenders of the Alamo. But there is more to the story than meets the eye."

18. ↑ Davy Crockett, in The Tribune: Davy Crockett - Our hero
    7 July 2008.

    Newspaper editorial by Lynn Ashby

19. ↑ ^19.0 19.1 National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution. U.S., Sons of the American Revolution Membership Applications, 1889-1970
    SAR Membership Number: 86960.
20. ↑ ^20.0 20.1 National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution. U.S., Sons of the American Revolution Membership Applications, 1889-1970
    SAR Membership Number: 90676.
21. ↑ ^21.0 21.1 Famous frontiersman, Tennessee statesman, and defender of the Alamo. He was born at the confluence of Limestone Creek and Nolichuckey River in the State of Franklin, which a few years later became Greene County, Tenn., August 17, 1786. Killed at the Alamo. This cenotaph is at his birthplace in Tennessee.
    Cause of death: Either killed in battle, or executed as a prisoner of war.
22. ↑ He commanded a battalion of mounted riflemen under General Andrew Jackson in the Creek Campaign in 1813 and 1814.
23. ↑ His popularity won him a seat in the Tennessee State House of Representatives, in which he served from 1821 to 1823. He then was an unsuccessful candidate for election in 1825 to the Nineteenth Congress but later was elected to the Twentieth and Twenty-first Congresses, serving from March 4, 1827 tp March 3, 1831. He lost reelection in 1830 to the Twenty-second Congress. Later on he was elected as an Anti-Jacksonian to the Twenty-third Congress, and served that term from March 4, 1833 to March 3,1835. He lost his finally reelection in 1834 to the Twenty-fourth Congress.
24. ↑ He went to Texas to aid the Texans in their struggle for independence in 1836; joined a band of 186 men in the defense of the Alamo. He was assassinated there in that battle which ended on March 6, 1836. His body along with those others that were killed were destroyed in a funeral pyre at the Alamo. There is controversy over how he was killed and by whom. Most speculate that Crockett tried to kill General Santa Anna, and he was killed upon attacking him.
25. ↑ He began his military career in September of that year, when he enlisted in the militia as a scout under Major Gibson in Winchester, Tennessee, to avenge an Indian attack on Fort Mimms, Alabama. On November 3, under Andrew Jackson, Crockett participated in the retributive massacre of the Indian town of Tallussahatchee. He returned home when his ninety-day enlistment for the Creek Indian War expired on the day before Christmas, and reenlisted on September 28, 1814, as a third sergeant in Capt. John Cowan's company. He arrived on November 7, the day after Jackson took Pensacola, and spent his time trying to ferret out the British-trained Indians from the Florida swamps. After his discharge in 1815 as a fourth sergeant Crockett arrived home and found himself again a father. On May 21, 1815, Crockett was elected a lieutenant in the Thirty-second Militia regiment of Franklin County.
26. ↑ New Year's Day 1821 marked a turning point in Crockett's career. He resigned as commissioner to run for a seat in the Tennessee legislature as the representative of Lawrence and Hickman counties. He won the August election and, from the beginning, took an active interest in public land policy regarding the West. After the session concluded he moved his family to what is now Gibson County in West Tennessee. He was reelected in 1823, defeating Dr. William E. Butler, but was in turn defeated in August 1825 in his first bid for a seat in Congress. In 1826, after returning to private business, Crockett nearly died when his boats carrying barrel staves were wrecked in the Mississippi River. When he was brought to Memphis he was encouraged to run again for Congress by Maj. M. B. Winchester and won election over Gen. William Arnold and Col. Adam Alexander to the United States House of Representatives in 1827. He was reelected to a second term in 1829 and split with President Andrew Jackson and the Tennessee delegation on several issues, including land reform and the Indian removal bill. In his 1831 campaign for a third term, Crockett openly and vehemently attacked Jackson's policies and was defeated in a close election by William Fitzgerald.
27. ↑ Crockett's reputation as a sharpshooter, hunter, and yarn-spinner had brought him into national prominence. He was the model for Nimrod Wildfire, the hero of James Kirke Paulding's play The Lion of the West, which opened in New York City on April 25, 1831. Life and Adventures of Colonel David Crockett of West Tennessee was published in 1833 and reprinted the same year under the more accurate title of Sketches and Eccentricities of Colonel David Crockett of West Tennessee. Much of the same material spilled over into the first few issues of a series of comic almanacs published under Crockett's name from 1835 to 1856 that, as a whole, constituted a body of outrageous tall tales about the adventures of the legendary Davy rather than the historical David Crockett.
    
    Building in part upon his growing notoriety, Crockett defeated the incumbent Fitzgerald in 1833 to return to Congress. The following year he published his autobiography, written with the help of Thomas Chilton, A Narrative of the Life of David Crockett of the State of Tennessee, the only work that he actually authored. It was intended to correct the portrayal given by Mathew St. Clair Clarke in Sketches and Eccentricities and to deny Crockett's authorship of that account, which did not bear Clarke's name. The Narrative was also a campaign biography of sorts, for Whig politicians were touting Crockett as an anti-Jackson candidate for the presidency in 1836. On April 25, 1834, he began a three-week triumphal tour of the eastern states, and his "campaign swing" was recorded in the first of two Whig books published the next year under his name, An Account of Colonel Crockett's Tour to the North and Down East. The second, a negative Life of Martin Van Buren, was issued less than three months later.