The study of handwriting and it's changes over time and cultures is known as paleography. When reading old deeds, wills, court papers, letters, or any other original document it is imperative one be familiar with the handwriting styles of the period. If not, mistakes can be made through misinterpretation and mistranslation. It is also possible that you would not find your relative as you would not recognize the name. A paleographic understanding of the period is also helpful in understanding how the spelling of the surname many have changed. One excellent reference is Reading Early American Handwriting by Kip Sperry. Published by Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1998 Reprinted: 2005, it is available through Amazon.com. Also, a copy is located in the McClung Library, located with the East Tennessee Historical Society in Knoxville, TN. See Ancestry.com Tips for Reading Early American Handwriting.

The following are some extracts. For larger pictures, click on the smaller illustration.

While researching your family's history it often seems they moved from place to place quite frequently. Other times folks are certain they had relatives in one county only to find them in another. What's up?

When our country was in its infancy the same area could have been known by several names. Also a piece of legislation would set the state and county boundaries in one place. Later, when the surveyors dropped by to do the surveying, it was often found that folks were not where they thought they were. Also it was not unusual for the borders to "wander" when taxes came due depending on which was the most advantageous to the tax-payer.

The area that makes up Sullivan County (in 1997) was not spared this name game. Below is a listing of the various names used to refer to the area of Sullivan County and the years it was in effect.

Present day SULLIVAN COUNTY, Tennessee, was in:

• 1738 - 1769 Augusta Co, Virginia
• 1769 - 1772 Botetourt Co, Virginia
• 1772 - 1777 Fincastle Co, Virginia
• 1777 - 1779 Washington Co, Virginia
• 1779 - 1796 Sullivan Co, North Carolina
• 1796 - Present Sullivan Co, Tennessee

Prior to 1779 the portion of what is now Sullivan County north of the Holston River was believed to be in Virginia while south of the river was Washington District NC. The first grants were issued by Virginia for lands north of the Holston. See Shelby's Fort and SQUABBLE STATE.

To understand the genealogy and movement of families in East Tennessee one must appreciate the shifting state and county boundaries, various and often times conflicting laws regarding land ownership, and treaties with Indians and other counties as well as the actions of land speculators. Many publications containing indexes of county deeds have in their introduction a summary of the laws, treaties, and actions of land speculators that affected their county. In addition several authors have written about these early land laws. See References & Books for specific listings.

Bluff City

Bluff City is located on the banks of the Holston River and was first called Shoate's Ford. The ford was on an early Indian Trail which by 1773 was part of the Watauga Road, retracing the trail from Abingdon, VA to the Watauga Settlement at Elizabethton. On this road, Revolutionary Militias marched to muster for the Battle of King's Mountain.

In 1798 James McCorkle named the town Middletown because it was between Abingdon and Jonesborough and between Elizabethton and Blountville. With the coming of the East Tennessee and Virginia Railroad the name was changed to Union, in 1859. In 1862 the tides of the War Between the States caused the named to be changed to Zollicoffer to honor a Confederate General. In 1865, at the end of the conflict, it was renamed Union and in 1887, it was named Bluff City. If you think you are confused just think of the people who lived there then and the mailman!

Blountville

Blountville, the county seat of Sullivan County, was named for William Blount, the first Governor of the Territory of the United States South of the River Ohio. It has the distinction of being the only county seat in Tennessee which is NOT incorporated.

After Sullivan County was established in 1779, the County Commissioners met in various private homes until county seat land was donated. On December 11, 1792, James Brigham gave to the Sullivan County Commissioners 30 acres of his 600 acre plantation. The purpose stated in the deed was for the establishment of a county seat, including a "court House, prison and stocks for said county." The current courthouse is on Main Street. It was built in 1853 and rebuilt in 1866 after being burned in the 1863 Battle of Blountville. The Courthouse was left a shell and many valuable records ended up in ashes in the basement.

Bristol, Two Cities in One

Sullivan County has a unique city within its borders- Bristol, TN, which has a "twin" Bristol, VA, facing it across its main street. The state line runs down the middle of State Street.

Bristol, like the whole Holston River Valley, was part of the Cherokee's hunting ground. The area was favored by the Cherokee because the deer and buffalo gathered to feast in the cane thickets and to use the salt and Sulpher licked in nearby deposits.

The Scotch-Irish pioneers that settled this part of the valley in the 1700's called it "Sapling Grove". The first survey of the tract showed it occupying 1,946 acres.

About 1770, a portion of the tract (973 acres) was purchased by Evan Shelby and Issac Baker. In 1771 Col. Shelby, a noted Indian fighter, erected a fort on a hill overlooking what is now downtown Bristol. It was an important stopping-off place for notables such as Daniel Boone and George Rogers Clark, as well as hundreds of pioneers enroute to the interior of the developing nation. Shelby's Fort is best known as one place where the Battle of King's Mountain was planned.

After the Rev. War, the Shelby land was purchased by Col. James King a veteran of the War of Independence, and became known as "King's Meadow". When he learned that a railroad might be coming to the area, Joseph Anderson, a son-in-law of James King purchased 100 acres of land and laid out the tract into lots and streets. He anticipated that it might become a great industrial center and named it after Bristol ,England.

Kingsport

Kingsport is set amid the rolling hills and valleys of the western end of Sullivan County. It lies along the banks of the North and South forks of the Holston River, a fact that has shaped its entire history. It is encircled with mountains that are part of the Appalachian chain. The location of the river caused the area to be a center of Indian activity. Long Island in the middle of the river was sacred to the Cherokee. A Cherokee Memorial may be reached by the swinging bridge from Riverfront Park. Long Island was also the starting point for the Wilderness Road blazed by Daniel Boone through Moccasin Gap and Cumberland Gap to Kentucky. In the early 1800's William King built a boatyard complex on the banks of the Holston in an area that was first called Boat Yard and later King's Port. Flatboats loaded with salt and other products could travel the rivers, trading goods all the way to New Orleans.

Kingsport has had many names: The Island, Island Flat, Peace Island, Big Island, Fort Patrick Henry, Fort Robinson, Boat Yard, King's Port, Christainville, Rossville, and finally in 1822 Kingsport.

The early settlers were Scott-Irish. They were mostly hard working, enterprising farmers who established mills, tanneries and smelters to meet their needs.

Washington County was formed in 1777 from Fincastle County. The present courthouse was built in 1869. There are no records in Washington County prior to 1777, except a very few copies of land grants. There were no known European settlers before 1750.

There are no birth or death records prior to 1853 as the state did not require them to be recorded until that date. The earliest marriages begin in 1781, and there were no early marriage bonds as these were burned along with the courthouse in the Civil War. Marriages taken from church records between 1781 and 1853 list only the names of the bride, groom and the minister. In some cases only the date of the marriage has been omitted. No names of parents, bondsmen, place of marriage or other important data has been given. However, after 1853 one would usually find this type of information.

Deeds begin in 1778, Wills and Estate Records begin in 1777 and Fee Books in 1787. There are no Chancery or Law Orders prior to 1831. Court Orders can be found in Court Minutes beginning in 1777. There are few if any early church records in existence.