Anne Gower Cockrill ( Robertson, formerly Johnson (or Johnston); February 10, 1757–October 13, 1821) was an American

pioneer Pioneer commonly refers to a person who is among the first at something that is new to a community. A pioneer as a settler is among the first settling at a place that is new to the settler community. A historic example are American pioneers, perso ...

, teacher, land owner, and one of the first white settlers of the Cumberland Settlement in Tennessee. She became the first woman to receive a

land grant A land grant is a gift of real estate—land or its use privileges—made by a government or other authority as an incentive, means of enabling works, or as a reward for services to an individual, especially in return for military service. Grants ...

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

. Her first name is sometimes spelled Ann.

Early life

Anne Gower Robertson was born on February 10, 1757, in

Wake County, North Carolina Wake County, officially the County of Wake, is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its population was 1,129,410, making it North Carolina's List of coun ...

to John Randolph Robertson and Mary (Gower) Blakely.Carole Stanford Bucy
Anne Robertson Johnson Cockrill
''The Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture'', December 25, 2009. Her brother, James Robertson (1742-1814), founded Fort Nashborough alongside

John Donelson John Donelson (1718–1785) was an American frontiersman, ironmaster, politician, city planner, and explorer. After founding and operating what became Washington Iron Furnace in Franklin County, Virginia for several years, he moved with his famil ...

(1718–1785).

Adult life

She moved to Fort Watauga in North Carolina, and later moved to

Fort Caswell A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Lati ...

. When it was attacked by Native Americans, she led a group of women to throw boiling water at them to ward them off. Her first husband (surnamed Johnson or Johnston) was a justice of the peace in the Washington District of

East Tennessee East Tennessee is one of the three Grand Divisions of Tennessee defined in state law. Geographically and socioculturally distinct, it comprises approximately the eastern third of the U.S. state of Tennessee. East Tennessee consists of 33 coun ...

and was killed in an accident. After he died, Cockrill and her three small daughters joined Colonel John Donelson in the migration of the first pioneers on a

flatboat A flatboat (or broadhorn) was a rectangular flat-bottomed boat with square ends used to transport freight and passengers on inland waterways in the United States. The flatboat could be any size, but essentially it was a large, sturdy tub with a ...

to go down the

Cumberland River The Cumberland River is a major waterway of the Southern United States. The U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed June 8, 2011 river drains almost of southern Kentucky and ...

to the Cumberland settlements. The exhibition was intended to bring families of the men who settled

Nashville Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

there. During the journey, she taught the children in the boat to make small wooden boxes, filling them with river sand, and drawing letters and numbers in the sand. She was later honored as

Middle Tennessee Middle Tennessee is one of the three Grand Divisions of Tennessee that composes roughly the central portion of the state. It is delineated according to state law as 41 of the state's 95 counties. Middle Tennessee contains the state's capital an ...

’s first teacher. In 1784, she received a land grant for 640-acre from the North Carolina legislature; she was the first woman in this position. The land was then known as ''Cockrill Springs'' and was situated on what is now Centennial Park in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

, near the campus of

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private university, private research university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and railroad magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provide ...

. There is now a monument in her memory there. She wed John Cockrill in 1784; they had eight children.

Death

She died on October 13, 1821, aged 64, in Tennessee. She was buried in the

Nashville City Cemetery Nashville City Cemetery is the oldest public cemetery in Nashville, Tennessee. Many of Nashville's prominent historical figures are buried there. It includes the tombs of 22,000 people, 6,000 of whom were African Americans. Overview Nashville ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cockrill, Anne Robertson 1757 births 1821 deaths People from Wake County, North Carolina People from Nashville, Tennessee People from pre-statehood Tennessee

Early life

Adult life

Death

Further reading

References