march 2018 cchga bytes cchga bytes...in a letter dated january 16th, 1865 addressed to andrew...

March 2018 CCHGA Bytes

April Spring Social Program MeetingApril 12, 2018 ~ 6:30 pm

Cheatham County Public Library

Patrick Smith will provide an overview of documents on record at the Cheatham County Register of Deeds office. Documents of histor ical interest and significance will be shown. The presentation will also include an overview of the indexing system and an introduction to researching records in the office.

Patrick Smith was elected Register of Deeds in 2014. He also serves as vice-president for CCHGA. Prior to becoming Register, he spent 25 years working in public policy serving in senior positions for both Governor Phil Bredesen and Governor Bill Haslam. He is a licensed attorney and a life long resident of Cheatham County.

Light refreshments will be served. All local CCHGA members are inv ite d to br ing refreshments!

http://www.facebook.com/cheathamcountyhistory/ �1

Cheatham County History Center Hours

Tuesday 12:00 - 4:00 Wednesday 10:00 - 2:00 Saturday 10:00 - 12:00 Call the CCHGA office 615.792.3623 or email [email protected]

CCHGA newsletters are snail mailed or emailed to membership in March, June, September and December. If you would like your newsletter sent to you in an email, notify us by sending an email to [email protected].

2018 CCHGA Officers

Gary Chance President

Patrick Smith Vice President

May Lingner Secretary

Rosemary Klein Assistant Secretary

Lisa Walker Treasurer

Gary Chance Assistant Treasurer

CCHGA BYTES The Newsletter of the Cheatham County Historical & Genealogical Association

mailto:[email protected]





Continued from September 2017: The Memoirs of Ralph Spangler - Reminiscing About Yesterday Interviewer: Gary Pace,

Transcribed in 2010 by Betty Harris



2018 CCHGA MeetingsAll meetings at 6:30 Cheatham County Public Library

• April 12 - Spring Social Program Meeting• May 10• June 14• July 12 - Program Meeting• August 9• September 13• October 11 - Program Meeting• November 8 - Annual Bake Sale• December - No meeting

Visit https://cheathamcountyhistory.weebly.com

Samuel Adkissonsubmitted by D.J. Hutcherson

In a letter dated January 16th, 1865 addressed to Andrew Johnson, Military Governor of Tennessee, prominent Dog Creek resident Samuel Adkisson recounts, in great detail, his personal grievances against Union army soldiers during the previous 3 years, and the hardships he and his family had endured as a result of the soldiers conduct.

Adkisson owned a large plantation, including many slaves, on the Charlotte Turnpike along Dog Creek, and in 1860 claimed $5,000 in real estate and $35,000 in personal property. When the war broke out, his household included his wife Nancy, and their three sons, James, Joseph, and Samuel Jr.

Cheatham, Co, Tenn. January, 16th, 1865,20 miles west of Nashvilleon the Charlotte Pike,

To Govr Johnson,

Dear Sir, I hate to aske favours or to intrude on the time or attention of others, & have not been to see you but once in 3 years & then to let you know about some bridge irons & timbers that was in Harpeth River near my place.

Thought as some of the U.S. Solgers have commenst taking my crop & stock again, I have concluded to let you know alittle as to how I have acted & been treated for the last 3 years,When Govr Harris left Nashville, I put my self to some trouble & expence in trying to get my friendes to submit to the laws of the U.S. or go South, & have continured so to do, & there was little or no damage don near me until last December.

I have taken 2 othes & given one bond for $5,000, with security, for good behaviour, for which they gave me an obligation for full protection or pay for the damage don me. signed by you & Genr Rosencrance I think, if you put your name to such apaper, I think you should


March 2018 CCHGA Bytesknow how some others have been acting, & will state some of the facts for you to think about, (I had heard that many others both black & white was intruding on you & I thought I would no.)

The U.S. solgers have taken or distroyed the most of 3 of my crops of corne, fodder, hay, oates, potatoes & turnipts, about 120 hogs, 4 mules & horses, some sheep & cattle, fowls, 3 bird guns, & other things. My fences have been burnt to the ground 5 times, parte of my slaves was made to leave me & to work for the government, of the 8 slaves that went to Nashville 7 is dead, & the other one wants to returne. 3 times my Self & familey was made to leave the house about mid night in december 1863, & to stand about 2 houres on the coal wet ground, & 2 of us sick with phisick in us, my house has been robed 5 times & I got back but little of what was taken, & I had to send my wife & children, mares & coalts over Cumberland River, & my wife health & mind has remaind in abad condition & she with doctors in & out of Nashville, most of his time, at one time they put fire to my house, & swore they would burn us ro get $5,000, which put my wife & children of in the darke & shot at me, & treated me badley other ways, on the 30, of Novr/63 they bought 20 of my cattle, & fodder & left the cattle with me to Starve, last fall the drovers put the beef cattle in my farme 5 times & distroyed part of my crops.I have fed many of the U.S. solgers & there horses at diffrent times, at one time they remained 5 days (by high water).

For all of which I have Rec but $125, & one little brokendown mule, though I am glad to say that the most of the U.S. solgers & officers that I have seen have treated me as kind & as well as I could expect & I hope you will do the same, for I suppose you have the power & my obligation & I think I have complyed with my parte of the contract, & I think you should in part.

Though it is not my wish to produce any more illwill or contention, for I can work & live on but alittle & will try awhile longer to comply with my oath & obligation & to get others to do so, & I think it would be well for maney others north & south to remember they are but vain men like my self, & subject to the power & will of God, from a Slip hear with you may learn alittle about me, & that I have been wanting to go to Virginia, pleas to forgive errours & what you may think is ammis,

yours very Respectfully, S.W. Adkisson.A mechnic

The Papers of Andrew Johnson: 1864-1865, Leroy P. Graf, editor, The University of Tennessee Press, Knoxville, 1986, pages 412 & 413

April 12, 2018CCHGA Annual Spring Social

6:30 - Cheatham County Public Libraryhttp://www.facebook.com/cheathamcountyhistory/ �6

March 2018 CCHGA BytesCCHGA Members Attend First in a Series of Volunteer Workshops

submitted by May Lingner What is better than volunteering? Volunteering with a mission and a purpose, of course!

Making great use of a rainy Saturday on February 24th, County Historian Lisa Walker, Library Director May Lingner, and CCHGA Member-at-Large Clay Walden, conducted a workshop for members and volunteers, in order to provide them with the necessary tools and training to meet the needs of users as our weekly visitor numbers continue to grow. The workshop was met with much enthusiasm and interest by all who attended.

Topics of the training session included access, facility use and safety procedures; where to find research materials such as family histories and newspapers; and proper handling processing of donated materials and artifacts. A review of the library genealogy room resources was presented, along with a demonstration of how to use the microfilm machine and access the microfilm holdings. Clay offered a detailed demonstration on intake procedures and proper handling of veteran photographs that Cheatham County Veterans and their families may wish to have added to the Veterans’ Wall of Honor, which is located along both sides of the main entry hallway of the History Center. A veteran himself, Clay takes great care in the handling and maintenance of the photographs, which are carefully scanned, printed and framed for display on the Wall. The collection contains portraits of Cheatham County Veterans from the present, dating all the way back to the Revolutionary War.

During that portion of the training session, we had a surprise visit from Viet Nam Veteran Walter Weakley. Mr. Weakley, who is a native of Cheatham County and also serves on the Cheatham County Commission, brought an 8” x 10” portrait of himself during his time of service to add to the collection. The perfect timing of his visit allowed for on-the-spot training for volunteers in attendance to learn step-by-step the process of intake paperwork, storage procedures in preparation for the scanning process, and proper return of portraits to their owner.

The session concluded with a recap of training topics, a review of visitor and volunteer log maintenance, and closing procedures. Plans for future workshops and trainings are in the works, and we would like to encourage all members to attend. The demand for access to our facility is increasing at a steady pace, and we are counting on more members to volunteer just a small portion of their time each week in order to assist in creating increased accessibility to the many historical resources we have to offer to our community.

Key components of the next volunteer workshop will include print titles available and how to locate them, materials check-out procedures, accessing the library’s obituary files, and access to online databases. The date and time for this training will be announced in the near future. Members who have questions, would like more information, or would like to recommend a topic for future trainings can contact the History Center by phone: (615) 792-3623 or Email: [email protected] or you may contact the Library at: (615) 792-4828




March 2017 - February 2018 Year End Financial Report

Cheatham County Historical and Genealogical Association P. O. Box 703 Ashland City, TN 37015
