Week 39 -"research family history - part 2"

Grandma Lair at the entrance to John Sevier's farm.

     Bill's brother John turned 60 this year and wanted to celebrate with family in Sevierville, Tenn., on the edge of the Smoky Mountains.
     Part of the attraction was to find some historic sites and information about John Sevier, an ancestor of Grandma Lair, whose maiden name was Margaret Sevier.  John Sevier was a Revolutionary War hero in the Battle of King's Mountain in North Carolina. He also was governor of the "Lost State of Franklin" (northern North Carolina and southeastern Tennessee), and the first governor of Tennessee  who served 12 years.
     Sevierville is the county seat of Sevier County, but there aren't any historic sites or historical

Bill at the grave/memorial to John Sevier in Knoxville, TN

information about him there.  John and Grandma and Grandpa and Bill drove all over Sevierville one afternoon looking for a T-shirt that said Sevierville. No luck.
     Cheryl, Grandma, Grandpa and I looked another morning for T-shirts. But all we found were T-shirts and sweatshirts for Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg, two very touristy towns adjacent to Sevierville. So, I called Sevier County High School to ask where students bought PE T-shirts and where Sevier descendants might buy something that says "Sevier." Luckily, the high school booster club planned to sell shirts and hats at lunchtime on Thursday at the school, and we could come then. We did. We all bought Sevier 

Sevier portrait in the Tenn. State Museum.

County Bears T-shirts!!
     That afternoon we all drove about 30 miles to Marble Springs, the last home of John Sevier, a farm with several log cabins. He often entertained there while governor as the then-state capital of Knoxville is nearby. We spent about an hour there, spoke with a volunteer worker and bought some souvenirs.
     John, Mary Ellen, Grandma and Grandpa left early Friday morning because John had to work Saturday morning. But  Jim, Sharon, Cheryl and I drove to Knoxville to look for the graves of John Sevier and his two wives, Sarah, who died young, and Bonny, his second wife. There are nice markers for the two wives and a huge memorial to John Sevier on the courthouse lawn in Knoxville, Tenn., now the home of the University of Tennessee. The memorial to Sevier, among other things, says he fought 35 battles and won 35 victories. I assume they were against the British as well as Indians.
     Jim, Sharon, Cheryl and I then drove to Nashville, the current state capital. The Tennessee State Museum has a watch and snuff box that belonged to Sevier. It also has a walking stick with Sevier's name carved in it, and there is a nice portrait of him. Across the street from the Capitol is the John Sevier State Office Building. We also got photos of the exterior signs.
     That was pretty much the extent of our Sevier findings, although Jim, Sharon, Cheryl and I did have a great time visiting some honky tonks in Nashville later that night! Whoo Boy!!
     The big question we all have now is: From which Mrs. Sevier did our family descend? Are we offspring from John and Sarah or from John and Bonny Kate Sevier? We will have to return to do more research!