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The Most Hated Man in Tennessee
What was his connection to Wears Valley?
http://gatekeeper.vic.com/tnchron/class/Hatedman.htm
Part I
Pictures of the man remind one of Lincoln. Not just the sickly, thin frame,
but the haunting, hollow eyes. Visable sadness, seen in the eyes of both,
that seems to betray a knowing of what fate had in store- one doomed for
the assassin’s bullet, the other to be forever labeled a traitor of the
Tennessee people.
What made East Tennessee stay loyal to the Heavy-handed
reconstructionist governor, when the rest of Tennessee hated him? What
was his connection to Wears Valley?
William Gannaway Brownlow was born in Wythe County, Va. on Aug. 29,
1805. His grandparents James and Catherine Brownlow had emigrated
from the island nation of Ireland and established themselves as
schoolteachers in the Virginia backwoods. When young William was 11
years old, his father passed away. With barely enough time to recover
from it, his mother died three months later. An uncle took in the young
orphan and William spent his youth working on his farm. His education
was sketchy, but his family saw that he could read and write. The hard life
of a pioneer farmer did not appeal to William and, at age 18, he moved in
with another uncle in Abingdon where he apprenticed himself as a house
contractor.
While apprenticed to his uncle, William attended a nearby religious revival
or "camp meeting", as they were called. It had a dramatic affect on the
young man. He returned to Abingdon and abandoned his apprenticeship.
William went back to school for a year and, when the Holston Conference
of the Methodist Church held their next annual meeting, William Brownlow
joined the ranks of the Methodist Circuit riders.
America’s founding Methodist Bishop, Francis Asbury, had started the
circuit riding tradition in the Southern Appalachia. In the early pioneering
days of the region, small communities and towns often didn’t have a
church or organized worship services. With a horse and a Bible, the circuit
rider would travel from settlement to settlement preaching whenever
opportunity presented itself. The circuit rider became a backwoods
tradition in the region. In fact, Bishop Asbury, who founded the religion in
Knoxville, was so loved that the Asbury community in the city was named
after him.
Brownlow, however, never enjoyed that kind of popularity and couldn’t
seem to separate his message from his personal prejudices. His reception
at many settlements was often less than he expected because the
overwhelming majority of the region was Baptist. Brownlow wasted no time
in making enemies of them when he remarked:
"...Baptist habits are bad and their custom of taking a little whiskey for the
stomach’s sake is a cloak for bold drunkenness."
Brownlow’s comments and his attitude were despised in many corners of
the region even among those of his own religion, but "Parson", as he was
now known, continued to ride the circuits for ten years. In fact, his antics
often involved him in fist fights with settlers and earned him the dubious
nickname "the Fighting Parson."
To be continued…
What was his connection to Wears Valley?
http://gatekeeper.vic.com/tnchron/class/Hatedman.htm
Part I
Pictures of the man remind one of Lincoln. Not just the sickly, thin frame,
but the haunting, hollow eyes. Visable sadness, seen in the eyes of both,
that seems to betray a knowing of what fate had in store- one doomed for
the assassin’s bullet, the other to be forever labeled a traitor of the
Tennessee people.
What made East Tennessee stay loyal to the Heavy-handed
reconstructionist governor, when the rest of Tennessee hated him? What
was his connection to Wears Valley?
William Gannaway Brownlow was born in Wythe County, Va. on Aug. 29,
1805. His grandparents James and Catherine Brownlow had emigrated
from the island nation of Ireland and established themselves as
schoolteachers in the Virginia backwoods. When young William was 11
years old, his father passed away. With barely enough time to recover
from it, his mother died three months later. An uncle took in the young
orphan and William spent his youth working on his farm. His education
was sketchy, but his family saw that he could read and write. The hard life
of a pioneer farmer did not appeal to William and, at age 18, he moved in
with another uncle in Abingdon where he apprenticed himself as a house
contractor.
While apprenticed to his uncle, William attended a nearby religious revival
or "camp meeting", as they were called. It had a dramatic affect on the
young man. He returned to Abingdon and abandoned his apprenticeship.
William went back to school for a year and, when the Holston Conference
of the Methodist Church held their next annual meeting, William Brownlow
joined the ranks of the Methodist Circuit riders.
America’s founding Methodist Bishop, Francis Asbury, had started the
circuit riding tradition in the Southern Appalachia. In the early pioneering
days of the region, small communities and towns often didn’t have a
church or organized worship services. With a horse and a Bible, the circuit
rider would travel from settlement to settlement preaching whenever
opportunity presented itself. The circuit rider became a backwoods
tradition in the region. In fact, Bishop Asbury, who founded the religion in
Knoxville, was so loved that the Asbury community in the city was named
after him.
Brownlow, however, never enjoyed that kind of popularity and couldn’t
seem to separate his message from his personal prejudices. His reception
at many settlements was often less than he expected because the
overwhelming majority of the region was Baptist. Brownlow wasted no time
in making enemies of them when he remarked:
"...Baptist habits are bad and their custom of taking a little whiskey for the
stomach’s sake is a cloak for bold drunkenness."
Brownlow’s comments and his attitude were despised in many corners of
the region even among those of his own religion, but "Parson", as he was
now known, continued to ride the circuits for ten years. In fact, his antics
often involved him in fist fights with settlers and earned him the dubious
nickname "the Fighting Parson."
To be continued…
William Gannaway Brownlow,
infamous Tennessee Governor who
passed a law prohibiting former
Confederate Soldiers to Vote. In
1987 Brownlows Picture was
removed from the Tennessee State
Capital building. The portrait was
covered with stains from chewing
tobacco spit.
infamous Tennessee Governor who
passed a law prohibiting former
Confederate Soldiers to Vote. In
1987 Brownlows Picture was
removed from the Tennessee State
Capital building. The portrait was
covered with stains from chewing
tobacco spit.
Brownlows grave as it appears
today in Knoxville TN's "Old Gray"
Cemetery. He lies beside many
former political and personal
enemies.
today in Knoxville TN's "Old Gray"
Cemetery. He lies beside many
former political and personal
enemies.
12/04/09 Part II In 1836, he quit the circuits to become a "local
preacher" at a small church in Elizabethton, Tenn. While settled, he
began courting 17-year-old Elisa O’Brian and married her. At the request
of his new father-in-law, Brownlow gave up the church and moved in with
the family where he began working in the family iron business, but he still
kept his name on the roll of ministers.
During one of America’s first economic downturns, the O’Brian’s iron
business failed and, now faced with finding a new way to make a living,
Parson Brownlow turned to publishing a small newspaper. It was called
the Tennessee Whig and published its first edition on May 16, 1839. In a
town of only 300 people, Brownlow published 700 and hoped it would sell
well in the outlying regions.
During the "Age of Jackson", Tennessee was a strong Democratic state
and the Whigs were just beginning to take root. When Brownlow
attended a Whig Conference in Knoxville in 1840, he learned the local
postmaster delivered his papers with a pair of tongs – so he wouldn’t
have to touch it with his own hands. Brownlow, who was a prolific
promoter, saw an opportunity to use the story as a way to sell papers.
When he returned to Elizabethton, Brownlow discovered the
Jonesborough Democratic newspaper had attacked a Whig candidate in
its paper. Not to be outdone, Brownlow responded in kind to the
Democratic candidate with his paper and angered many readers to the
point of violence.
While working on an editorial later that week at his home, a bullet
smashed through a nearby window barely missing him. Brownlow
reported it in his paper as a response to his editorial comments and
used the attack as a way to sell papers, which it did. In later years, the
publisher would allege that numerous other assassination attempts took
place against him because of his stand on the issues.
The first attempt, however, was enough to force him to move to
Jonesborough, where he started the Jonesborough Whig. Brownlow
remained in the town and began a series of traveling editorials. He wrote
about the growing stock exchange in New York, life on the road in the
Northeast, and he traveled across the South to the region’s largest
plantations detailing the life and culture there. The stories were
phenomenally successful for the publisher. His subscription base grew
and the new attention the paper and its editorial stance continued to
earn him enemies.
When a brother-in-law wrote him from the Mexican War that a deserter
from Jonesborough had returned home, Brownlow reported the fact in
his paper and called the deserter by name without checking his facts or
the claim.
After the war, it came back to haunt him. Brownlow was returning home
one evening and was allegedly attacked from behind. He refused to file
charges on the individual, but Brownlow reported everything, including
his alleged attacker’s name in his paper. While the incidents were great
at selling papers, it wasn’t long afterwards that the libel suits began
catching up with him and the Jonesborough Whig was forced to cease
publication and moved its operations to Knoxville.
Knoxville wasn’t the best place to start a new Whig newspaper. There
was one established already and, within weeks, a publishing battle broke
out between the two publishers. On May 19, 1849, Brownlow’s Knoxville
Whig debuted in the city. It began an all-out battle for subscribers and
Brownlow’s paper soon increased its subscription base to the point it was
quickly regarded as the largest circulating Whig paper in the ante-bellum
South.
preacher" at a small church in Elizabethton, Tenn. While settled, he
began courting 17-year-old Elisa O’Brian and married her. At the request
of his new father-in-law, Brownlow gave up the church and moved in with
the family where he began working in the family iron business, but he still
kept his name on the roll of ministers.
During one of America’s first economic downturns, the O’Brian’s iron
business failed and, now faced with finding a new way to make a living,
Parson Brownlow turned to publishing a small newspaper. It was called
the Tennessee Whig and published its first edition on May 16, 1839. In a
town of only 300 people, Brownlow published 700 and hoped it would sell
well in the outlying regions.
During the "Age of Jackson", Tennessee was a strong Democratic state
and the Whigs were just beginning to take root. When Brownlow
attended a Whig Conference in Knoxville in 1840, he learned the local
postmaster delivered his papers with a pair of tongs – so he wouldn’t
have to touch it with his own hands. Brownlow, who was a prolific
promoter, saw an opportunity to use the story as a way to sell papers.
When he returned to Elizabethton, Brownlow discovered the
Jonesborough Democratic newspaper had attacked a Whig candidate in
its paper. Not to be outdone, Brownlow responded in kind to the
Democratic candidate with his paper and angered many readers to the
point of violence.
While working on an editorial later that week at his home, a bullet
smashed through a nearby window barely missing him. Brownlow
reported it in his paper as a response to his editorial comments and
used the attack as a way to sell papers, which it did. In later years, the
publisher would allege that numerous other assassination attempts took
place against him because of his stand on the issues.
The first attempt, however, was enough to force him to move to
Jonesborough, where he started the Jonesborough Whig. Brownlow
remained in the town and began a series of traveling editorials. He wrote
about the growing stock exchange in New York, life on the road in the
Northeast, and he traveled across the South to the region’s largest
plantations detailing the life and culture there. The stories were
phenomenally successful for the publisher. His subscription base grew
and the new attention the paper and its editorial stance continued to
earn him enemies.
When a brother-in-law wrote him from the Mexican War that a deserter
from Jonesborough had returned home, Brownlow reported the fact in
his paper and called the deserter by name without checking his facts or
the claim.
After the war, it came back to haunt him. Brownlow was returning home
one evening and was allegedly attacked from behind. He refused to file
charges on the individual, but Brownlow reported everything, including
his alleged attacker’s name in his paper. While the incidents were great
at selling papers, it wasn’t long afterwards that the libel suits began
catching up with him and the Jonesborough Whig was forced to cease
publication and moved its operations to Knoxville.
Knoxville wasn’t the best place to start a new Whig newspaper. There
was one established already and, within weeks, a publishing battle broke
out between the two publishers. On May 19, 1849, Brownlow’s Knoxville
Whig debuted in the city. It began an all-out battle for subscribers and
Brownlow’s paper soon increased its subscription base to the point it was
quickly regarded as the largest circulating Whig paper in the ante-bellum
South.
This pamphlet , published ion
Philadelphia , is largely viewed as
propaganda for the Brownlow family.
Brownlows daughter was named Susan
not Martha. There is no reason known
for the name change.
Philadelphia , is largely viewed as
propaganda for the Brownlow family.
Brownlows daughter was named Susan
not Martha. There is no reason known
for the name change.