Flat Creek, Williamson County, TN (1827-1837).....Part 1

Williamson County, Tennessee was the place to be in 1827. Up until the outbreak of the Civil War, Williamson County held the honor of being the third wealthiest county in the state of Tennessee. Established in 1799, the area was settled primarily by individuals making claims on land grants awarded for service in the Revolutionary War. Positioned not too far to the south of the city of Nashville, the county had gained a reputation by establishing several prestigious private academies of which the towns of Franklin and Triune were particularly known for. Bethania's older brother Major John Bostick, who had fought in the Revolution and served as a Stokes County representative in the North Carolina House of Commons off and on between the years 1801 and 1806, had moved to Triune in 1809 and is buried there in the Bostick Family Cemetery.

Isaac and Bethania decided to settle in the southeastern portion of the county along the waters of Flat Creek, purchasing 150 acres that straddled the Williamson County and Maury County line for $750. This initial purchase was finalized in a deed dated August 2, 1828 between Isaac Jones and James Reid. Despite the date on the deed, county tax records for the proceeding year show Isaac being taxed for the same amount of acreage on Flat Creek, along with three slaves, indicating he had taken ownership of the land at some point in 1827. The piece of land was originally part of a state grant as indicated by tax records showing 40 of the 150 acres being set aside for a school, a standard practice for land grants given out in Tennessee and North Carolina. As I had discussed earlier, the land lay adjacent to David Gillespie and the deed was witnessed by John Allison, two earlier transplants from Rowan County. To the south of Isaac's land where it crossed over into Maury County lived the widow Kesiah Morris and her family. Her husband James Morris had died in 1826, leaving his estate to her. It would appear that the Morris family were fellow Methodists based on the fact that Isaac Jones performed the marriage for Kesiah's daughter Lucinda, when she married Edward A. Morris on September 19, 1833 in Maury County.

Unfortunately, at some point prior to 1833, Isaac's second wife Bethania passes away. As with his first wife, Bethania's grave has yet to be located. Possible locations would naturally include the Bostick Family Cemetery located on her brother John's land near Triune, or possibly in the nearby Moses Steele Cemetery where many local notables like David Gillespie are buried. Moses Steele was originally from Mecklenburg
County, Noth Carolina and had purchased 225 acres that were originally part of David's father Thomas Gillespie's 4000 acre land grant in the area. Recent surveys of the cemetery indicate there are at least 50 graves marked with unmarked field stones and an additional 96 graves without markers at all making this an undesirable, yet likely location.

1827 Tax List~Williamson County, TN

1828 Williamson County, TN Deed~James Reid to Isaac Jones

1828 Tax List~Williamson County, TN

1830 Tax List~Williamson County, TN

1833 Tax List~Williamson County, TN