John Donelson (1718–1785) was an American frontiersman,

ironmaster An ironmaster is the manager, and usually owner, of a forge or blast furnace for the processing of iron. It is a term mainly associated with the period of the Industrial Revolution, especially in Great Britain. The ironmaster was usually a larg ...

, politician, city planner, and explorer. After founding and operating what became Washington Iron Furnace in

Franklin County, Virginia Franklin County is a county located in the Blue Ridge foothills of the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 54,477. Its county seat is Rocky Mount. Franklin County is part of the Roanoke metro ...

for several years, he moved with his family to

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 ...

which was on the developing frontier. There, together with James Robertson, Donelson co-founded the frontier settlement of Fort Nashborough. This later developed as the city of

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 ...

. Donelson and his wife Rachel had eleven children, four of them girls. Their tenth was daughter

Rachel Rachel () was a Bible, Biblical figure, the favorite of Jacob's two wives, and the mother of Joseph (Genesis), Joseph and Benjamin, two of the twelve progenitors of the tribes of Israel. Rachel's father was Laban (Bible), Laban. Her older siste ...

, whose second husband

Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before Presidency of Andrew Jackson, his presidency, he rose to fame as a general in the U.S. Army and served in both houses ...

was elected the seventh president of the United States in 1828.

Career

Donelson served in the

Virginia House of Burgesses The House of Burgesses () was the lower house of the Virginia General Assembly from 1619 to 1776. It existed during the colonial history of the United States in the Colony of Virginia in what was then British America. From 1642 to 1776, the Hou ...

. From about 1770 to 1779, he operated the Washington Iron Furnace at Rocky Mount,

. He next moved to the Watauga settlements on the Holston and Watauga rivers in

Washington District, North Carolina The Washington District of North Carolina was in a remote area west of the Appalachian Mountains, officially existing for only a short period (November 1776 – November 1777), although it had been self-proclaimed and functioning as an independent ...

. They came into conflict with the Overhill Cherokee on the far side of the Appalachians. Because of armed conflict and flooding in his settlement, Donelson temporarily moved his family to safer areas in Kentucky. Along with James Robertson who traveled the overland route, Donelson and a large number of pioneers traveled down the Tennessee and other rivers in excess of 1,000 miles to Middle Tennessee, where they co-founded Fort Nashborough, in 1780. This eventually developed as the city of

. A collection of his diaries are kept in Cleveland Hall, in Nashville. Immediately prior to his death, Donelson was serving as a U.S. Indian commissioner "traveling to the Southeastern nations, including the towns of the Chickamauga Cherokees, endeavoring to negotiate a peace that would deliver the Cumberland settlements from the ongoing siege."

Personal life

Donelson married Rachel (née Stockley) (1730–1801) in 1744. They had eleven children, including four daughters who married well and had descendants who became prominent military men and politicians. Youngest daughter

first married Lewis Robards in 1787; she later married

of Tennessee. He was elected president of the United States in 1828. She died in December of that year, shortly before he was inaugurated in January 1829. Daughter Mary Donelson married Captain John Caffery, and two of their descendants served in national political office.

Family political legacy

Several of John and Rachel's descendants were elected to political office. Their great-grandson, Donelson Caffery II (1835–1906), served one term as a Louisiana State Senator and two terms as a U.S. Senator from Louisiana. He was elected to that office by the state legislature, as was customary at the time. In 1896 he was the first nominee for president of the "Democratic National Party" but declined the nomination. In 1900, he was nominated to head the presidential ticket of the "National Party" but declined that nomination as well. The Donelsons' great-great-great grandson, attorney Patrick Thomson Caffery (1932–2013), served one term as a Louisiana State Representative (1964–1968), and two terms as a United States Representative from

Louisiana's 3rd congressional district Louisiana's 3rd congressional district is a United States congressional district in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The district covers the southwestern and south central portion of the state, ranging from the Texas border to the Atchafalaya Rive ...

(1969–1973). He retired from Congress to resume the practice of law.

Death and legacy

Donelson was shot and killed in 1785 by an unknown person on the banks of the Barren River. He was en route to Mansker's Station after a business trip. One Jackson scholar says he was killed "by the Indians" and ''Notable Southern Families'' states "he was shot from ambush, by an Indian, and killed." Donelson, Tennessee was named in his honor.

Descendants

The Donelson family of Tennessee left by John Donelson had an outsize impact on the history of the U.S. South thanks in part to daughter Rachel's marriage to

References

Sources

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External links

City of Nashville biographyJohn Donelson Journal
– Transcription and scan of journal about 1779 river journey.
John Donelson's "Journal of the Adventure"
– in J.G.M. Ramsey's ''Annals of Tennessee to the End of the Eighteenth Century'' (1853). * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Donelson, John 1718 births 1785 deaths American city founders People from colonial Virginia People of Tennessee in the American Revolution People from Nashville, Tennessee House of Burgesses members People from pre-statehood Tennessee Family of Andrew Jackson 18th-century American politicians American slave owners North Carolina militiamen in the American Revolution Deaths by firearm American ironmasters Donelson family