Hamblen County History and Genealogy

Hamblen County, Tennessee is a small county lying along the left bank of the Holston River, and divided into two almost equal parts by the East Tennessee, Virginia & Georgia Railroad. It was formed in 1870 from fractions of Jefferson, Grainger and Hawkins Counties. The first settlement in this territory was made in 1783 by Robert McFarland and Alexander Outlaw, both of whom located at the "bend of Chucky". Shortly after, Gideon, Daniel and Absalom Morris settled in the vicinity of where Morristown now is. They were brothers and had been among the first settlers on the Watauga. Gideon Morris had three sons; John, Gideon and Shadrach, all of whom after marriage remained In the neighborhood of the old homestead. John lived south of the present town in a house still occupied by one of his descendants and Gideon west of town on what is now known as the Hobb's place, while Shadrach, who subsequently removed to Indiana, located on the site of Rheatown. In 1792-93 a road was laid out through what is now Hamblen County, and extended to the western limits of Jefferson County, where it was met by the road from Knoxville. This road afterward formed the line between the counties of Jefferson and Grainger, and became a section of the great stage route from Knoxville to Abingdon, VA. It was along this road that most of the early settlers located.

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