Samuel Crockett III building Forge Seat in Williamson CO, TN in 1808

[Dennis Glazener]

I ran across old correspondence with a lady regarding connections between the Gillespie's and the Crockett's (there are several marriages between the two families). In the email, she sent this she said was from a book she owned. Unfortunately, I did not have the presence of mind (or have misplaced the name) to get the name of the book. This was in 2004 and I have lost contact with her, she was a Crockett from TN.

Samuel Crockett III built Forge Seat in Williamson Co., TN in 1808. It is
one of the county's most historic landmarks. It stands in a wide shady
lawn at the corner of Wilson Pike and Crockett Road.

Samuel built a log forge here and skillfully produced one of the
frontier's most necessary items - guns. A few of these weapons are in
existence today. They can be identified by their excellent handiwork and
the initials "S. & A. C." engraved on the barrel. The letters stand for
Samuel and Andrew Crockett since the latter assisted his father in his
profession. They operated another forge near the square in Franklin in
the early days.

David Crockett, the famed frontiersman who perished at the Alamo, once
spent the night at Forge Seat, once spent the night here. He stopped
first at another family home nearby with his Indian companion and not
being well received came on to Forge Seat. Some of his relatives frowned
upon Davy's somewhat unorthodox behavior. This bothered him not in the
least and in no way affected his honored place in American history.
(Historic Williamson County by Virginia McDaniel Bowman, 1971).

Andrew CROCKETT, father of Samuel III, was the son of Samuel CROCKETT
and Esther THOMSON (dtr. of pioneer Presbyterian minister Rev. John
THOMSON) of Wythe County, VA. Some people on the CROCKETT list think
there's no relationship between Davy and Andrew & Samuel CROCKETT, but I
personally believe there's a lot of information, including the excerpt
above, to suggest that there was.

I was wondering if any of you TN residents have any idea where "Forge Seat" in Williamson CO, TN is located. Also anyone have any information any Crockett gunmakers.
Thanks for any info you might provide,
Dennis

[Ezra]

Dennis,

Brentwood, Tennessee it appears. Perhaps these ladies can help further.

https://usdaughters1812.org/sites/crocketts-forge-seat/

Ez

[Dennis Glazener]

Dennis,

Brentwood, Tennessee it appears. Perhaps these ladies can help further.

https://usdaughters1812.org/sites/crocketts-forge-seat/

Ez

Ezra,
Thanks, I will look into it.
Dennis

[Sequatchie Rifle]

https://www.historicforgeseat.com/

You can even spend the night in Sam Crockett’s house!

[Sequatchie Rifle]

Williamson County Historical Society Marker
Andrew Crocket, Samuel's father, received a 640-acre (260 ha) grant for Revolutionary War services. He built his first log home on the southeast side of what is now Brentwood in 1799. His son, Samuel Crockett built a two-story brick home nearby, which was completed ca. 1808. The home became known as "Forge Seat" because of the iron forge located on the property. Samuel Crockett and his son, Andrew, made iron implements here and specialized in rifle making.[2] Crockett's rifles "were identified by their fine craftsmanship and the initials 'S. & A. C.' engraved on the barrels."[3] On his way to New Orleans and the War of 1812, Andrew Jackson stopped here and purchased rifles to arm his soldiers. It is also said that Davy Crockett stopped on his way to Texas as well.[4]

Samuel and Andrew Crockett and other family members are buried in the cemetery nearby.[3][5][6]

The log building containing the forge and the seat of the stone forge itself still remain. There has been no other early blacksmith or forge site found in the county.[2]

[Carl Young]

Hi Dennis, some of my ancestors were from Williamson County, and I spent a good bit of time around Thompson's Station, Leiper's Fork, Sante Fe, and Franklin in my youth.
Here is a link to a map of Forge Seat https://www.google.com/maps/place/Historic+Forge+Seat/@35.9761654,-86.7802545,1402m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x88647b14ee39c1d7:0x72a4ae72e6bce9f2!8m2!3d35.975003!4d-86.775124

Take care,
Carl

[Cades Cove Fiddler]

  ... Dennis,... you must contact Greg Murry,... he is a local fellow from that area, and an excellent gunsmith,... I have known him and his work for about 50 years,.. he has a passion for rifles made by the Crocketts there and is currently building authentic  re-creations of their rifles, of which only two original signed ones are known,... has a vast knowledge of them and their work,... I find the connection between the Crockett and  Gillespie families interesting,.. (Google,crockettlongrifles.com)  best wishes in your research, and regards,.. Cades Cove Fiddler,... 

[AZshot]

I didn't know there was a connection either.  Very cool to know, I'll see if my wife can do some research too.  We're related to Mills River Gillespies. 

Dana, will check out your friend's guns too!