David Crockett papers

Collection

Identifier: urn:taro:utexas.cah.02070

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The David Crockett Papers, 1806, 1828-1836, 1927, contain Photostats, photocopies, and transcripts of letters from Crockett, his marriage bond, and a genealogy. The letters, 1828-1836, primarily concern his opinion of Andrew Jackson during Crockett’s terms as U.S. Congressman. The Photostat marriage bond regards his 1806 marriage to Polly Finley, while the 1927 genealogy identifies the family tree of his mother Rebecca Hawkins.

Dates

Creation: 1806
Creation: 1828 - 1836
Creation: 1927

Creator

Crockett, Davy, 1786-1836 (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

There are no use restrictions on this collection. Publisher is responsible for complying with copyright law.

Biographical Note

Renowned Congressman, frontiersman, and soldier David "Davy" Crockett (1786-1836) was born in Greene County, Tennessee, to John and Rebecca (Hawkins) Crockett. In 1806, he married Mary "Polly" Finley (d. 1815), with whom he had three children. Shortly after her death, Crockett married Elizabeth Patton, a widowed mother of two.

Crockett enlisted in the Tennessee Militia in 1813 and fought in the Creek War and War of 1812. After moving to Lawrence County in 1817, he was a justice of the peace (1817-1819) and town commissioner in Lawrenceburg (1818-1821). Crockett served in the Tennessee Legislature (1821-1825) and the United States House of Representatives (1827-1831; 1833-1835). Originally a Jacksonian, Crockett became a member of the Anti-Jacksonian Party during his second term as Congressman, vehemently opposing President Andrew Jackson on several issues, including the Indian Removal Act.

Following his loss for a fourth congressional term in 1835, Crockett moved to Texas and swore allegiance to the provisional government or future republican government of Texas. Crockett soon joined Col. William B. Travis at San Antonio de Bexar in February 1836 and died the next month during the Battle of the Alamo.

Sources:

Lofaro, Michael A. Crockett, David. Handbook of Texas Online. Accessed November 12, 2010. http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fcr24.

Lofaro, Michael A. David Davy Crockett. Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture, online edition. Accessed November 12, 2010. http://tennesseeencyclopedia.net/imagegallery.php?EntryID=C165.

Extent

0.5 inches

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

The David Crockett Papers, 1806, 1828-1836, 1927, contain Photostats, photocopies, and transcripts of letters from Crockett, his marriage bond, and a genealogy.

Processing Information

This collection revised by Stefanie Wittenbach, August 1984.

Basic processing and cataloging of this collection was supported with funds from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) for the Briscoe Center’s History Revealed: Bringing Collections to Light project, 2009-2011.