State

David Crockett ll<* was lH»rii in what was then North Carolina and lie spent part of liis voulli in this state before 1нч*отшц' an outstanding politi¬ cal figure in Tennessee and a hero in Texas. B;/ EDGAR ABERNET11Y IN HIS lifetime, David Crockett was perhaps the best-known of all the frontiersmen of his day, and now, more than a hundred years after his heroic death at the Alamo, he has become an almost legendary figure, in which is typi¬ fied the American backwoodsman of the early nineteenth century. Crockett is generally thought of as a native of Tennessee, and it is true that he was born on soil which later became a part of Tennessee and lived in that state for the greater part of his life. However, at the time of his birth on August 17, 1786, the State of Tennessee was not yet in exist¬ ence. David was born a citizen of North Carolina, and remained a citizen of that state until April 2. 1790. when Congress accepted the deed of cession from the State of North Carolina, thus creating the new State of Tennessee. Citizen of Two States We might even say that David was born a citizen of two states, for at the time of his birth the "bootleg" State of Franklin claimed sovereignty over this western area. John Crockett, David’s father, was of Irish blood, being born either in Ireland or on board a ship cn route to America. The Crocketts settled in the wilder¬ ness west of the Appalachians, where David's grandparents were killed by the Creeks in an at¬ tack on their home. One of his uncles was wounded, and another carried off by the Indians, but his father escaped without injury. The kidnapped boy was held cap¬ tive for nearly eighteen years be¬ fore he was discovered and re¬ leased by his brothers. "Sweet are the usages of ad¬ versity,” says the old proverb, and if that be true, David had a blissful youth, for adversity was all he knew. The Crocketts ever had itching feet, and we find David’s father successively in Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and finally Tennessee, where he never could seem to stay put more than a few years at a time. For that matter, neither could David himself, after he became his own master. Lived in Lincoln County While in North Carolina John Crockett was a citizen of Lincoln County, and fought against the British and Tories at Kings Moun¬ tain and on other battlefields which history does not record. In Tennessee he drifted about from one occupation to another, never succeeding any too well at any of them, and being usually in debt. There was little he could have done to give his children a start in life, even had he so desired, and there is little indication that he had the desire. When David was only twelve, his father hired him out to a Dutch cattle-drover to help take a herd of cattle to Virginia. Quite a jaunt for a boy of that age, considering that the distance was 400 miles, that the route led through the thinly-settled wilder¬ ness, and that the boy must make his own way home. David had various misadventures on the way, but he got home safely. David’s education was negligi¬ ble. His father finally did send him to school at the age of twelve or thirteen, but in the four days he attended he naturally didn't get very far. In a way, it was his own fault that he didn’t stay longer. A disagreement arising with another boy, David soundly thrashed his adversary, although the other was larger and older, f Then he was afraid to go back I to school, fearing punishment. I After a few days his father I learned that his son had been playing hooky, and, being some- [I what in his cups at the time, II chased the truant youth off the 1 place. David was so frightened I that he stayed away from home I for two years. At the age of sixteen, after his <][ father had permitted him to II "work out" his time, David entered school again. This time he remained six months, and learned about as much as could be expected of a youth of that age whose head was chock full of girls. A Bashful Swain In that joyous and delightful book, the autobiography which he I wrote while a member of Con- a gress, Crockett gives a candid account of his emotional ups and downs at this period. In describ¬ ing his first love he writes: "I thought that if all the hills about there were pure china, and all belonged to me, I would give them if I could just talk to her as I wanted to; but I was afraid to begin, for when I would think of saying anything to her, my heart would begin to flutter like a duck in a puddle; and if I tried to outdo it and speak, would get right smack up in my throat, and choak me like a cold potatoe.” The object of all this overflow- 1 ing affection proved to be unre¬ sponsive. and so did another girl upon whom David fixed his hopes. I Finally, when the love-lorn youth had simultanously reached the mature age of eighteen and the conclusion that a cruel destiny had doomed him to a lonely life, he met a girl who was willing to become his bride. The young couple began life with the follow¬ ing possessions: David owned a horse; and his bride’s dowry consisted of two cows and two calves. They had nothing else whatsoever, but David borrowed §15 from an affluent neighbor which furnished their little cabin very nicely. Curiously enough, Crockett records neither the name of his - first wife, nor that of his second, whom he married after the death | of his first. The young Benedict was an easy-going kind of fellow who much preferred hunting to taking care of his farm. In those days e