Mitchell Family Papers
This collection houses land deeds, correspondence, indentures, other legal documents, and photographs documenting four generations of the Mitchell family in Washington County, Tennessee.
Dates
- 1778 October 9-1950 February 14
Conditions Governing Access
Collections are stored offsite and must be requested in advance. See www.special.lib.utk.edu for detailed information. Collections must be requested through a registered Special Collections research account.
Conditions Governing Use
The UT Libraries claims only physical ownership of most material in the collections. Persons wishing to broadcast or publish this material must assume all responsibility for identifying and satisfying any claimants on www.special.lib.utk.edu for detailed information. Collections must be requested through a registered Special Collections research account.
Extent
0.25 Linear Feet (8 folders and 1 oversize box)
Abstract
This collection houses land deeds, correspondence, indentures, other legal documents, and photographs documenting four generations of the Mitchell family in Washington County, Tennessee.
Biographical/Historical Note
Adam Mitchell was born to Robert and Margaret Mitchell on April 1, 1745. He and his family lived in the portion of Rowan County, North Carolina that was partitioned off to form Guilford County in 1771. He married Jennett [last name unknown] on April 5, 1766, and the couple had a single son, Robert (1767-1808), before Jennett died on February 20, 1767. Mitchell married Elizabeth McMachen on October 31, 1769, and the couple had twelve more children: William (1771-1824), Margaret (1772-), John (1774-1843), Adam (1776-1860), Joseph (1778-1779), Ibby (1780-), Rebeckah (1782-1856), Jennett (1783-), Samuel (1786-), David (1788-), James (1790-), and Hezekiah Balch (1792-1842). In March of 1781, part of the Battle of Guilford Court House (in which tradition holds Adam Mitchell participated) took place on Mitchell land, leaving it devastated. Within a year of the battle, Adam Mitchell sold most of his land and moved to Washington County, North Carolina (now part of Tennessee) where he died in 1802.
Adam Mitchell's second son, William, married Nancy Doak in approximately 1811. The couple had at least five children: Samuel Doak (1812-1885), Susannah, Esther (1815-1853), David, and William Montgomery (1823-1901). William Mitchell died suddenly of a fever (possibly meningitis) in 1824. Samuel Doak's son, Thomas Hugh Mitchell (1857-1930) studied at East Tennessee University (now the University of Tennessee) in the 1870s and went on to work for the U. S. Patent Office.
Arrangement
This collection consists of two boxes.
Acquisition Note
Thomas W. Pyle donated these papers to the University of Tennessee's Special Collections Library between 1962 and 1963.
Repository Details
Part of the Betsey B. Creekmore Special Collections and University Archives, University of Tennessee, Knoxville Repository