American Revolution Veterans in West TN

Having just celebrated Memorial Day and our tradition of decorating graves, West Tennessee cemeteries are colorful with beautiful flowers and American flags – especially at the graves of our fallen veterans.  With Flag Day on June 14 and Independence Day on July 4, we can continue to enjoy the flags as they remind us of the brave men and women who fought for our freedoms and the men and women who fight for us today.  The United States Continental Congress approved the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776; and they adopted the stars and stripes as the national flag on June 14, 1777.

Even though Tennessee was not a colony during the American Revolutionary War, many veterans from this war and the War of 1812 made West Tennessee their home when they moved into the unsettled land of West Tennessee.  Many of them had land grants for their military service.

As we drive through the countryside, we often do not realize that we are passing the final resting places of our early heroes and pioneers.  Many people were buried on their property, and the old home-places and family cemeteries have long ago been forgotten or overgrown.

Fenner Cemetery is nestled in a grove of trees at the top of a small hill surrounded by a cornfield on Browns Church Road in Madison County.  Many graves are scattered among the shade trees with unreadable stones or stones simply carved with initials and a year.  The most legible marker states:  “Mrs. Lucy M., consort of Maj. Robt. Fenner, born March 26, 1798, died Feb. 25, 1862 – Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors; and their works do follow them.”

Lucy Maclin Saunders Fenner was the daughter of Joseph H. Saunders and Martha J. Maclin, granddaughter of Frederick Maclin and Lucy Rollins, and daughter-in-law of Robert Fenner Sr. and Mary Houson.  Her father, grandfather, and father-in-law were veterans of the American Revolution.  Her husband, Robert Fenner II (1794-1847), was a veteran of the War of 1812; and he died while serving in the Mexican-American War.  After his death, Lucy received a pension from the US government.  In the 1850 US Census, Lucy lived in District 11 of Madison County with her five youngest children.  Her eldest son, Robert (1816-1836), was executed with nearly 400 other Texans in the Goliad Massacre ordered by Santa Anna in the Texas Revolution on Palm Sunday, March 27, 1836.  Her son, Joseph Frederick Fenner (1820-1896), was one of a few who escaped the massacre.

Fenner Cemetery is also the final resting place of Richard Fenner (1755-1828), brother of Robert Fenner Sr.  Their parents immigrated to North Carolina from Ireland.  Richard became a lieutenant in the North Carolina Continental Infantry, and he was a prisoner of war.  He later became a medical doctor and eventually moved to the Cotton Grove area of Madison County in 1823 where he was buried in the family cemetery in 1828.

West Tennessee counties were home to many American Revolutionary War patriots and their families.  Many of these patriots can be found through free access to NSDAR records in the Genealogical Research System at www.dar.org.  Several publications by Mr. Jonathan Kennon Thompson Smith contain information about these patriots.  Mr. Smith’s work can be viewed at the Jackson-Madison County Public Library in downtown Jackson.  Also, researchers should conduct searches on www.google.com to view his valuable online information.

Benton County became the final home for Thomas Petty who was born in Virginia, served as a private in South Carolina, and died in Tennessee in 1841.

Carroll County was the final resting place for John Chambers, James Cole, Matthew Poythress Covington, James Craig, Ambrose Dudley, James Fergus, William Flewellen Jr., James Hamilton, Pleasant Henderson, Philemon Hurt, John McKenzie, Jonathan Montgomery, Matthew Patten, and Samuel Woods.

Chester County was named for Robert I. Chester, and Crockett County was named for David “Davy” Crockett.  Both men were veterans of the War of 1812.  Davy died at the Alamo in the Texas Revolution.

Patriots Jonas Belote, Samuel B. Martin, Andrew Pickens, and John Whitten lived in Fayette County when they died.

The Jackson-Madison Chapter of the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution will celebrate Flag Day and Independence Day by honoring and remembering patriots from the American Revolution with their ninth annual field of flags located in downtown Jackson’s Triangle Park at the intersection of Main Street, Lafayette Street, and Airways Boulevard.

Chapter members sponsor flags, and the public is invited to sponsor flags for a one-time fee of $20 each.  The flags will be placed on the field prior to June 14, and they will be removed after July 4.  The public is invited to the dedication of the field on Saturday, June 14, at 10:00 a.m.  Take a lawn chair and enjoy the beautiful field of flags.

Consider joining a lineage society; such as NSDAR, NSSAR, and NSCAR (www.dar.org, www.sar.org, www.nscar.org).

This article was published in The Jackson Sun on June 1, 2014.

Lucy Saunders Fenner (1798-1862)