JOHN SEVIER

George Washington is sometimes known as the “Father of our Country.” That being the case, perhaps John Sevier is the “Father of Tennessee.”

Born in Virginia in 1745, Sevier came to what is now Washington County, Tennessee, with his wife and nine children at the age of 26. Sevier developed a reputation as someone who fought Native Americans, which was true of many of Tennessee’s early settlers. He also became a hero to many people after he led a group of people to the Battle of Kings Mountain to fight the British, a battle that the rebellious colonists won.

Sevier has the unusual distinction of being the first governor of two states. In 1784 the people living in what is now northeastern Tennessee voted to form a state called Franklin and elected Sevier its governor. For four years they acted as if the state existed, but the state of North Carolina was opposed to the idea of an independent state of Franklin. Largely because of this, Congress never approved the state of Franklin.

Then, in 1796, the state of Tennessee was formed. Sevier was elected its first governor and would eventually serve in that position for twelve years (1796-1801 and 1803-1809). Sevier also served four terms as a Congressman.

However, John Sevier did have his enemies. One of them was Andrew Jackson. In fact the two men disliked each other so much that they nearly dueled in 1803.