Daniel Haston Family Association

23 – Jakob Markt – We’ll Stop and Shop Where the Swiss Shop

23 - Jakob Markt - We'll Stop & Shop Where Locals Shop

One of the favorite shopping places for locals and tourists is the Jacob Markt. Here is the best place to buy Swiss lace curtains, Swiss-style clothes, and delicious Swiss chocolate bars. While the women shop (maybe some of us men too!) others can drink a free cup of coffee.

Share this with Hastons or related family members who might be interested in the June 14-27, 2023 Hiestand-Haston European Heritage Tour.

27 – Swiss Alphorns and Yodeling

27 - Swiss Alpine Music: Alphorns and Yodeling

Two of the most famous features of historic Swiss culture are the Alphorns and yodeling. Our June 2023 Hiestand-Haston Heritage tour group will enjoy a bit of both types of Alpine Music.

The Swiss Alphorns

Enjoy this brief video example of Swiss Alphorn music.

With the passing of time, the alphorn almost totally disappeared as an instrument used by Swiss shepherds. It was only with the romanticism of the 19th century and the revival of folklore and tourism that the alphorn experienced a renaissance and even became a national symbol.

The alphorn has long been a tool used by shepherds. It was used to call the cows from the pastures and into the barn at milking time. An engraving from 1754 shows a shepherd using the alphorn to motivate the cows to cover the last steep stretch on their big climb up into the Alps. A glass painting from the Emmental Valley dating back to 1595 shows the alphorn being blown, probably to pacify the cows during milking. The blowing of the alphorn in the evening is also a traditional theme in art. This sound served as an evening prayer, and was mainly practiced in the Reformed cantons, while in the German-speaking Catholic cantons in Central Switzerland, the call to prayer was preferred. The main function of the alphorn was, however, for communication with the herdsmen on the neighboring Alps and with the people down in the valley below.

After 1800, as the production of cheese increasingly shifted from the Alps to the dairies in the villages, the alphorn was used less and less. After the alphorn was hardly heard at traditional festivals any more, the Bernese official, Niklaus von Mülinen, began to repair alphorns in the 1820s and distribute them to talented players in Grindelwald. Although the alphorn had more or less lost its original function in the mountains, it now won the hearts of its audiences as a musical instrument – and has become a tourist attraction and a symbol of Switzerland. —Source of the above background on the Swiss Alphorn

Swiss Yodeling

This video is really cool!

We travel with our eyes, yes, but also with our ears. And some of our favorite places have distinct, unique sounds, sounds that take us back to our experiences there when we hear them. Perhaps no sound is quite as evocative of place as Swiss yodeling. While it is performed for pleasure and entertainment now and has become a well-known folk tradition of Switzerland, the evolution of yodeling was one of rural practicality.

Yodeling evolved in the central region of Switzerland in rural Alpine communities as a vital form of communication. It was used to call to cow flocks. But more importantly, it was used to communicate from village to village and mountain to mountain, for communities separated by deep Alpine valleys and rugged terrain. Yodelers were calling from hill to hill.

Of course it has evolved over the centuries to become an art form in the choral tradition. As the pragmatic call turned into an art form, natural yodeling became the norm. A prime singer improvises and others join in the harmonize, sort of riffing off of the leader. Sometimes bells are used.

In the 19th century yodeling morphed into songs that included two, three, and four-part harmony. This is what we know and enjoy today, at festivals and other performances. Songs are normally accompanied by an accordion called a schwyzerörgeli.

Today the Swiss Yodeling Association keeps the practice alive, organizing competitions. Yodeling has evolved into songs that have lyrics mostly in German, some in French, and are performed in regional festivals and cantonal competitions. Vocal styles still vary a little from region to region. And there is still a happy tradition in the rural communities of the Alps for people to yodel on their own, just for fun. —Source

Share this with Hastons or related family members who might be interested in the June 14-27, 2023 Hiestand-Haston European Heritage Tour.

38 – Mystery of the Father of Montgomery Greenville Haston

38 - Mystery of the Father of Montgomery Greenville Haston

Based on the evidence cited previously, I think we can confidently assume Polly Haston was the mother of M.G. Haston, the child who was born out of wedlock on October 16, 1823, or 1824. But who was the birth-father of M.G. Haston?

Due to the limited mobility of people in those days, especially for females, the man who fathered M.G. Haston was almost certainly someone from the general neighborhood where David Haston’s family lived—maybe someone who lived very near them, maybe someone they went to church with, maybe a boy she attended school with, or maybe even a close relative.

Was M.G.’s birth-father William (Black Bill) Lewis, the man Polly married a few years later? He certainly was not, as you will soon see.

The DNA Investigation

DNA testing, particularly Y-DNA testing, provided a means for beginning to identify M.G. Haston’s father. DNA tests were not available to earlier Haston researchers, which probably explains why M.G.’s father’s identity was unknown for so many years. Y-DNA is only passed from father to sons. And because it is passed down virtually unchanged for several generations, from one generation of males to the next generation of males, it is a very reliable means of determining patrilineal (male line) connections back into historic times.

In April 2020, William Lowell Haston, a descendant of M.G. Haston (through M.G.’s son William Riley Haston) submitted a Y-DNA test to FamilyTreeDNA in order that we might begin to answer M.G.’s birth-father question. The Y-DNA of a David Henry Mitchell matched perfectly (111 of 111 markers) with the DNA of Lowell Haston.

In November 2020, Marlin Shelton Haston, a male-line descendant of M.G. Haston (through M.G.’s son Isom B. Haston) submitted a Y-DNA test to FamilyTreeDNA to check to see if another male line from M.G. Haston traced back to the same Mitchell family. The Y-DNA of a David Henry Mitchell was an extremely high match (109 of 111 markers) with the DNA of Lowell Haston. And the two mis-matched markers were only slightly off of a match. Apparently there were a couple of minor mutations down Marlin’s line but Lowell and Marlin’s results were essentially the same.

Note: William Lowell Haston, Marlin Shelton Haston, and David Henry Mitchell all gave me permission to use their names in reference to their DNA data.

Two different male-line descendants from M.G. Haston matched the same Mitchell family! It’s now a “no brainer” that Montgomery Greenville Haston’s father was a Mitchell from the same general family that David Henry Mitchell descended from. But which man, from this extensive Mitchell family of early White County, Tennessee, was the father of Montgomery Greenville Haston?

From DNA to Historical and Genealogical Evidence

Y-DNA cannot pinpoint the specific paternal ancestor who was the father, grandfather, great-grandfather, etc. It can only tell you the general family and give you an idea of how long ago he lived. From the Y-DNA test results, we were able to focus on the Mitchell family that lived in southern White County, Tennessee at the time M.G. Haston was conceived. That would have been the family of Arthur Mitchell, Sr. who had two sons that lived near (just across and north of the Caney Fork River from) David Haston’s family–Spencer Mitchell and David Linn Mitchell. At some point fairly early, David Linn moved out of Hickory Valley and into the town of Sparta. Spencer remained in southern Hickory Valley and was a co-founder, with David Haston, in the founding of the Union Cumberland Presbyterian Church.

There is not space in an article such as this to tell you all of the evidence that points to the probable father of M.G. Haston. That will be much more fully developed in the M.G. Haston chapter of my upcoming book. But here’s the gist of what we know:

First: Spencer Mitchell’s son, Arthur Mitchell, Jr., married David Haston’s oldest daughter, Malinda Haston, the older (by less than 2 1/2 years) sister of M.G. Haston’s mother, Mary/Polly. Arthur and Malinda were about two years apart in age, so they would have grown up together, from childhood, as friends attending the church where their parents were key leaders.

Second: Beginning in the mid-1820s, Arthur Mitchell owned land on the south side of the Caney Fork River,* not far from David Haston’s family, Malinda’s folks. Arthur and Malinda would have been in and out of David and Peggy Haston’s house often.

Third: Family records indicate that there was a five year gap between the births of Arthur and Malinda’s first and second (known) children. Margaret/Peggy Emeline was born in 1821 and Elizabeth was born in 1826.[i] We don’t know the reason for the gap—perhaps there were tragic issues with pregnancies or births. But possibly there were marital problems during those gap-years.

[i] Jacalyn McCoy, “Arthur Mitchell,” MyHeritage Family Tree, accessed June 6, 2020, https://www.myheritage.com/research/record-1-228636901-1-500170/arthur-mitchell-in-myheritage-family-trees?s=755697951.

It may be significant that Polly Haston’s illegitimate child was born in the middle of that gap, October 16, 1824 (or 1823), if M.G. Haston was the child.

Fourth: And this is Important! There must have been an overwhelming reason for Polly’s refusal to name the birth-father of her child—that was the most common procedure. If the father of Polly’s son was her sister’s husband and a co-member of her church, that would explain why Polly resolutely refused to reveal his identity.

And, given David Haston’s code of Christian morality, if the father of Polly’s child was single, David would probably have forced him to marry his daughter. But, due to the potentially family-destructive nature of the situation, David probably thought it wise to keep the secret a secret.

How Close were the DNA Matches?

Comparing Y-DNA marker results with another DNA donor can reveal the probability of a common ancestor and thus, a familial relationship. The more generations that separate donors from the common ancestor, the greater the probability of their relationship.

Assuming that Arthur Mitchell, Jr. was the father of M.G. Haston, the six generations that separate Marlin Haston and Arthur Mitchell, Sr. tell us there is a 95.69% probability that Marlin and David H. Mitchell had a common ancestor, in this case Arthur Mitchell, Sr.

At seven generations between Lowell Haston and Arthur Mitchell, Sr., the probability increases to 99.53%!

These probability percentages hold true regardless of when or where two people live or lived in the world and how far apart they were geographically. But when you add the fact that they lived in the same county, or even the same neighborhood within a county, the probability of an ancestral connection increases significantly.

Bottom line: The Y-DNA submissions of these three men proved to be very high matches, indicating a near-certain paternal line connection. Montgomery Greenville Haston was, by paternal birth line, a Mitchell. By known historical evidence, with a fairly high degree of confidence, we can assume that he was the son (and nephew) of Arthur Mitchell, Jr., husband of Malinda Haston.

"Totality of Circumstances"

In United States law, the totality of the circumstances test refers to a method of legal analysis where decisions are based on all available information, especially in situations where direct evidence is not available. When the totality of circumstances standard is applied to the question of Montgomery G. Haston’s birth-father, the historical circumstantial evidence points to Arthur Mitchell as having been M.G. Haston’s father.

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37 – Mystery of the Mother of Montgomery Greenville Haston

37 - Mystery of the Mother of Montgomery Greenville Haston

As far as we can tell, the parents of Montgomery Greenville Haston–and how he fit into the Daniel Haston family–were unknown for well over 100 years! Even the most diligent Daniel Haston family researchers were stumped!

Montgomery Greenville [not Greenfield, as some have asserted] (M.G. or “Gum”) Haston lived a relatively short life even for his era, only about 45 (or 46) years. When he was about 15 ½ years old, Van Buren County, Tennessee was created. For a few years in the mid-1850s, M.G. moved his young family to Georgia to join members of his father-in-law’s family. But most of his adult life was spent in Van Buren County. But who was he? How did he fit into the Haston family?

Dave R. and Estelle Haston of Sparta, Tennessee spent several years researching the Haston family. They traveled many miles and wrote lots and lots of letters and compiled a very impressive summary of their research. The above quotation was taken from a July 12, 1984 letter that Estelle wrote to Margaret Banks, another family researcher of that era. Estelle’s admission, “We do not know where he (Montgomery Greenville Haston) came from or anything about him,” was the typical response for many, many years.

Unveiling the Mystery

August 16, 1824 (or 1823?) – As is true with many people born in the early 1800s or earlier, pinpointing the year of M.G. Haston’s birth is not without its challenges. It is very possible that M.G. himself was not certain of his birth year. M.G.’s present grave maker in the Big Fork Cemetery, which was probably erected much later than his burial, displays August 16, 1823, as his birth date. This date was probably based on his Bible record. But the 1850 and 1860 census dates suggest he was born in 1824, and there are other reasons to believe that he was born in 1824.

October 15, 1824 – On Friday, October 15, 1824, David Haston was performing his Justice of the Peace duties as a judge in the White County Quarterly Court. David’s 20-year-old* unmarried daughter, Mary (nickname “Polly”) Haston, came before the court and “refused to declare the father of the Bastard child begotten upon her and paid a fine of five dollars as required by law.”** Her father, David, “acknowledged himself indebted to the State of Tennessee in the sum of Five hundred dollars, to the use of the State to be rendered nevertheless to be void on condition that the said Polly Haston shall at all times keep her said child from becoming chargable [sic] to the County of White….”

*Mary (Polly) Haston was born January 22, 1804, according to the family records in David Haston’s Bible.
**From looking at several hundreds of bastardy bond cases in Tennessee and North Carolina records, it seems that (although it did occur occasionally) it was uncommon for the mother not to declare the name of the father.

There must have been some unusually serious reason why Polly refused to name the father. Was it someone who would have been extraordinarily embarrassed by her exposure of him? “Stay tuned” for the next article.

Bastardy Law

The earliest Tennessee laws regarding the births of illegitimate children (“bastards”) were based largely on North Carolina laws, which were based on English common law.

Under English common law, children born out of lawful wedlock were classed as bastards. In the eyes of the law they had no parents, no kindred, and no ancestors. They were not, then, entitled to a surname except such as they won for themselves by reputation, and they were heirs-in-law of no one. The great majority of them were apprenticed at a tender age to a master and condemned to a lowly existence.

Bastards ordinarily assumed the surnames of their birth mothers, but they otherwise suffered all of the common-law disabilities. Bastard children were thus disadvantaged from their birth. From as early as 1700, the mother of an illegitimate child could voluntarily appear before two justices of the peace and name the father of her child in a sworn statement, or she could be summoned by them and interrogated as to the father.[i]

The bastardy law under the first (pre-1834) Tennessee constitution stated:

Any two justices of the peace, upon their own knowledge, or information made to them, that any single woman within their county, is delivered of a child or children, may cause such woman, *after the expiration of thirty days from the time of her delivery, and not before, to be brought before them, and examine her upon oath concerning the father, and if she shall refuse to declare the father, she shall pay a fine of three dollars twelve and a half cents, and give sufficient security to keep such child or children from being chargeable to the county, or shall be committed to prison until she declare the same, or pay the fine aforesaid, and give security aforesaid.[ii]

*This must be by voluntary appearance and oath of the woman since, 1819.

[i] George Stevenson, “Bastardy,” NCpedia, accessed June 24, 2020, https://www.ncpedia.org/bastardy.

[ii] Haywood, Cobbs, Whiteside, and Chase, 22.

Was Mary/Polly Haston the Mother of Montgomery G. Haston?

The August 16 part of Montgomery G. Haston’s birth date is clearly established from his Bible record. It’s the year of birth that is in question. If he was born August 16, 1824, as census records appear to indicate, he was born almost exactly two months prior to Polly Haston appearing in court in the bastardy case (October 15, 1824). And the October session of the County Court would have been the next court session after the birth of Polly’s out-of-wedlock child.*

*As per an act of 1819, White County Quarterly Court terms began on the “second Monday in April and October and the third Monday in January and July.”[i]

[i] “Private Acts Compilations – White County, Tennessee (Administration – Historical Notes),” County Technical Assistance Service, accessed June 28, 2020, https://privateacts.ctas.tennessee.edu/content/administration-historical-notes-23.

This evidence alone should cause us to wonder—Was Polly Haston’s illegitimately born child Montgomery G. Haston?

But there are several pieces of additional evidence that appear to answer that question in the affirmative—Yes, M.G. Haston very probably was that illegitimate son of Polly Haston. For one thing, in the court records M.G. Haston frequently appears connected, in various ways, with David Haston or other members of the David Haston family. In every case, the Hastons with whom M.G. Haston was security bond-connected were from the David Haston family. (David Haston 2, David MC Haston 1, Thomas C. Haston 1, William Carroll Haston, 9).

Additional evidence emerges, piece by piece, throughout the chapter that is dedicated to Montgomery G. Haston in my forthcoming Daniel Haston family book.

And if Montgomery G. Haston wasn’t Polly’s illegitimate child, then we don’t know who the child was.

Next article: Who Was Montgomery G. Haston's Father?

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36 – David Haston – A Founding Leader in Van Buren County, TN

36 - David Haston - A Founding Leader of Van Buren County, TN

David Haston spent much of his time in the final 20 years of his life helping to establish Van Buren County.

Haston Family - Early Influences in Van Buren County, TN

Several of Daniel Haston’s children and grandchildren had already left Tennessee by the time Van Buren County was created in 1840. Others left soon after the county was established. But the many of those who lived in White County and Van Buren County for the remainder of their lives impacted their communities and counties positively and significantly.

June 1, 1840 – The sheriff of Van Buren County handed into the county court the Justice of the Peace commissions for David Haston and his son Isham B. Haston. Their official commissions were recorded on April 23, 1840 David and Isham B. participated as justices in this session of the court.[i] So David Haston brought his 20+ years of White County Justice of Peace experience with him to the new county.

[i] Van Buren County, Tennessee County Court Minutes, June 1840 session, 11.

July 1841 – David Haston appears on an “enumeration list” of Van Buren County white males over 21 years of age.[i] There were 11 Haston men on the list: D. McHaston, David Haston, J. Haston, J.B. Haston, James A. Haston, James C. Haston, James W. Haston, John C. Haston, Joseph Haston, Thomas C. Haston, and William B. Haston.

[i] Medley, 60.

David Bought and Sold Seven Spencer Town Lots

January 5, 1848 – David purchased seven lots when the town of Spencer (county seat of Van Buren County) was “laid off.” He sold them later. One of them (Lot # 44) was sold to the Christian Church on February 5, 1853 for $20. David originally paid $14 for the lot. Aaron Seitz and W.B. Huddleston were bishops of the church at that time. Willie Steakley and William Lewis were witnesses to the transaction.[i] But there is no evidence to suggest that David was a member of that church.

[i] Van Buren County, Tennessee Deed Book B, 222, 223, 269.

Final Years in the Lives of David & Peggy Roddy Haston

January 27, 1854 – David sold five tracts of land (apparently all of his land) to his youngest son, William Carroll Haston, for the meager price of $1,000.

February 24, 1857 – The David Haston family Bible record says that “Marget Haston died the 24 day of February 1857 A.D.” This matches the information given in William Carroll Haston’s biographical sketch which says that “the parents both died before the war, the mother preceding her husband three or four years.”[i] Peggy and David were married nearly 57 years, an amazing marriage in any era. She was only 14 ½ years old when she married David, who was eight years older than her. Peggy gave birth to at least 13 children, and “mothered” several others. Peggy Roddy Haston is buried in the Big Fork Cemetery, near where she and David lived.

[i] Author, Van Buren County Historical Journal, Vol. VIII (Spencer, TN: Van Buren County Historical Society, 1988), 77.

April 1, 1860 – The David Haston Bible record indicates that he died on April 1, 1860. He and Peggy are buried on the front row of the Big Fork Cemetery, about a mile from where they lived.

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22 – Oldest Mennonite Church in the World – Langnau, Switzerland

22 - World's Oldest Mennonite Church - Langnau, Switzerland

On Thursday, June 22, 2023, members of the Hiestand-Haston Heritage Tour group will see the oldest continuously active Mennonite Church in the world.

Langnau has a history of Anabaptism going all the way back to March 1525.

Today, Langnau has the oldest Mennonite church in the world, dating to 1530.

Its history is a story of suffering without equal. Only after 320 years did the severely tried congregation, which remained steadfast, receive full liberty of conscience. This occurred through the Bernese cantonal constitution of 1846 and the Swiss federal constitution of 1848

Much like the area on the southeast end of Lake Zurich in Canton Zurich where our Hiestands came from, the Emmental Valley in Canton Bern was a “hotbed of Anabaptism” in the 16th and 17th centuries. Some of the Mennonite families who lived and scattered out of the Emmental Valley were the Baumgartners, Lehmans, Gerbers, Burkhalters, Bergers, Hoffstetters, Rothlisbergers, Bauers, Bachmans, Schwartzs, Mosers, Mullers, Neuenschwanders, Grimms, Josts, Hofers, and Kipfers.

The Emmental - Valley of the Emme River in Canton Berne

Langnau, a District in the Beautiful Emmental – the Valley of the Emme River

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35 – David Haston, Popular Civic Leader in Early White County, TN

35 - David Haston - White County, Tennessee Pioneer, Part 2

David Haston, Esq. (Justice of the Peace)

How did simple farmers and businessmen – many of whom had very little formal education – understand Tennessee (and county) laws enough to serve as county court judges? They were guided by a book like the one you see above. The first (1810) edition contained 372 pages.

On October 14, 1822, David Haston was sworn in as a Justice of the Peace in White County and began to serve on the court the following day. He served in that role until sometime in 1836. In the mornings, the clerks recorded a list of the justices present (see the “Hasting” spelling), but when the justices closed out the session at the end of the day, they signed their names personally (see the “Haston” spelling in David’s own signature).

Roles and Authority of Justices of the Peace

The following description of the position and duties of justices of the peace in colonial Virginia[i] changed very little from that time and place to the first half of the 1800s in Tennessee. Going back to the colonial era, “justiceship of the peace was an honorable and dignified office. “Gentlemen” or “Esq.” was usually written after the name of justices, and the justices of a county were referred to collectively as “gentlemen justices.”

The official duties of the justice were two-fold. Individually he had minor powers and responsibilities which included settling suits for small debts; issuing peace bonds, and ordering persons to appear before the county court to answer an indictment. Collectively the justices of a county constituted the county court. It was in this capacity that the justices made their major contribution to local affairs and receive their major training in the art of government. In the colonial period and for many years thereafter, a man became a justice of the peace by qualifying under a commission issued by the governor.

The personnel of the bench changed from day to day and from session to session, sometimes by prior agreement, so that no one justice was unduly burdened and so that all had a share in the business of the court though naturally some were more active than others.* For performing acts of extraordinary importance…required that a majority of all justices be present.

*Justices conducted court by quorums. Tennessee law required three justices to be present for a quorum.[ii]

Court days were important occasions in the economy and society as well as in the government…. The business of the court brought men to the county seat; others came because the assemblage of farmers and planters made this a convenient time and place for transacting private business. These…gatherings gave welcome relief from the isolation and loneliness of country life.

Note: Justices of the Peace in Tennessee “were entitled to receive the sum of one dollar and fifty cents per day for every day they are [were] necessarily engaged in holding the courts, except the days set apart for county business.”[iii]

[i] Charles S. Sydnor, Gentlemen Freeholders: Political Practices in Washington’s Virginia. (Chapel Hill, NC: The University of North Carolina Press, 1952), 65, 84-85.

[ii] Haywood, Cobbs, Whiteside, and Chase, Volume 1, 199.

[iii] Haywood, Cobbs, Whiteside, and Chase, Volume 1, 199.

David Haston's Land Holdings

February 15, 1809

50 acres purchased from Joseph Haston (original grant # 550); adjacent to Daniel’s land on Big Spring Branch

January 16, 1812

50 acres purchased from Charles Mitchell; originally owned by Isham Bradley (grant # 529); adjacent to the 50 acres he purchased from Joseph Haston (grant # 550)

Before 1827

Apparently inherited 50 acres Daniel Haston home place when Daniel died; adjacent to David’s 100 acres

February 5, 1827

Purchased 100 vacant acres for 1 cent per acre; Isaac Dodson, assignee; “on waters of Caney fork & on Cumberland Mtn.”

July 27, 1829

Purchased 71+ vacant acres for 1 cent per acre; adjacent to Shockley and Denney lands; appears to have been on mountain side

Maximum acreage in subsequent tax records = 295 Acres

David Haston, Politically an "Old Time Whig"

David’s son, William Carroll Haston, Sr., said that his father (politically) was an “Old Time Whig.” What does that mean? What did he stand for in politics?

In the 1828 and 1832 presidential elections, 95% of Tennesseans voted for Andrew Jackson. But even some of Jackson’s staunchest Tennessee supporters and best friends became increasingly unhappy by some of his political views and decisions. And the more popular Jackson became, the less he seemed to be interested in being the populist “voice of the people”—the essence of his campaign platform. His opponents labeled him: “King Andrew the First.”

The term “Whig” was used in the American Revolution for Patriots, American supporters of the revolution.* Members of the anti-Jackson party cherished the name because of its historical significance and the similarities they saw occurring in their generation—the common people vs. King Andrew. Jackson gradually tended to ignore Supreme Court decisions and even the constitution when he found it to be in his best interest to do so.

*The name originated in England in the 1680s when Scottish Protestants resisted the threat of an establishment of Catholic Kings. A Presbyterian group there came to be called “Whigs,” short for “Whiggamores”—so-named because of the cry of “Whiggam” they used to prod their horses.

Even though Tennesseans tried hard to be loyal to their state’s hero, they came to be concerned about two of Andrew Jackson’s policies:

First, Jackson opposed a national banking system, with banks chartered by the Federal Government. Tennessee needed reliable banks for the financing of their agricultural enterprises. Later, when the Panic of 1837 and the depression that followed hit hard, the Whigs blamed Jackson and his successor, Martin Van Buren, for the financial disaster.

Second, Jackson opposed federal funds for “internal improvements”—roads, canals, railroads, etc. Being an inland state, Tennesseans faced major challenges getting their products to major markets. Tennessee needed these internal improvements.

These, and a few other, Jacksonian policies flew in the face of Andrew Jackson’s home state. Even then, Tennesseans were reluctant to abandon their state’s hero. But when President Jackson sought to impose his will on the American people regarding who should succeed him in the 1836 presidential election, many Tennesseans had had enough and began to shift to the anti-Jackson Whig Party. With Hugh Lawson White,* a Tennessean Whig, running for President, the state voted decisively against Jackson’s anointed choice, Martin Van Buren. The vote wasn’t close: 57.92% for White, 42.08% for Van Buren.

*Hugh Lawson White, son of General James White of Knoxville, had been one of Jackson’s most trusted allies but distanced himself from Jackson as the President overextended the constitutional powers of his office. Also, remember that Hugh Lawson White was the attorney hired by Samuel Cowan to prosecute Joseph Haston in the “timothy lot” case. White lost that case!

The Whig Party of the northern states differed somewhat from the Southern Whigs. But the issue of slavery was not a major issue with the Whigs, even though there were more abolitionists in the Whig Party than the Democrat Party. When the Whig Party dissolved in mid-1850s, anti-slavery Whigs found the newly formed Republican Party as their home. Most of the pro-slavery Whigs reunited with the Democrats.

Since David Haston died in 1860, prior to the Civil War, it is impossible to know his personal stance on slavery as a political issue, except for the fact that neither he (nor any of the other Haston men in White or Van Buren County, TN) ever owned slaves even though neighboring families were slave owners. For the Hastons in Tennessee, their participation in the Confederacy was probably a “States Rights” issue. Daniel and David Haston’s grandsons and great-grandsons in Tennessee fought in the Confederate Army, but some who lived in other places fought for the Union.

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21 – The Swiss Cowbells Factory

21 - The Swiss Cowbells Factory

On Thursday, June 27, 2023 our Hiestand-Haston Historic Tour group will stop at the famous Swiss Cowbells Factory.

Did you know...?

Bells are protection, happiness, and a sign of peace. This is because in times of war the Swiss bells were taken from the churches and from the pasture to make cannons and weapons. During peacetime, the war machines were once again poured into bells, and peace was rung in. Cowbells are also perfect for ushering in a new phase of life or a special event such as weddings, retirements, christenings, house handovers, corporate surrenders, etc.

Each bell can be individually labeled and provided with appropriate subjects, e.g. for weddings, birthdays, swing events and with club and company logos or with country, family, cantonal and municipal coat of arms. Cowbells are a piece of craftsmanship that can be given away instead of chocolates or flowers.

“Customers from abroad are supplied reliably, quickly and at special rates via Swiss Post International, EMS or FedEx.”

How Swiss Cowbells are Made - Fascinating Process

Watch the Video

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19 – Piz Gloria 360Â° Rotating Restaurant 9,744′ Altitude

19 - Breakfast in the Rotating Restaurant at 9,744' in the Alps

On the morning of June 22, 2023, our Hiestand-Haston Heritage Tour group will eat breakfast in the Piz Gloria revolving restaurant in the village of Murren on top of the Schilthorne summit.

BEVERAGES
Coffee / Tea, cold and warm milk (lactose-free and soy milk available), Caotina Original,
Blanc, Noir, Ovomaltine, Prosecco
BREAKFAST BUFFET (8:00 – 11:00 Uhr)
Orange juice, multi-vitamin juice, cloudy apple juice
Yoghurt: natural, apricot, berries. Birchermüesli and fresh fruit salad, selection of cereals,
boiled eggs (self-service egg boiler). Scrambled eggs, fried bacon, rösti, chipolata sausages,
white beans in tomato sauce, pancakes, waffles

Built in 1969, the Piz Gloria rotating restaurant was used to shoot some of the scenes in the James Bond film, “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.”

Scene from On Her Majestys Secret Service (1969) in which Bond and his allies assault the Piz Gloria to rescue Tracy from the villain “Blofeld.” Just imagine – this is where we will eat our breakfast!

The eating experience in the Piz Gloria revolving restaurant.

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34 – David Haston (Daniel’s Son) in White County, TN

34 - David Haston, White County, Tennessee Pioneer, Part 1

Isaac T. Haston Family Home - Grandson of Daniel Via. David

The "David Haston" Bible Record

Any family with an existing copy of a family Bible record from the early 1800s is fortunate, especially if it is as complete and apparently accurate as the “David Haston Bible Record.” Whether or not this record was in David Haston’s Bible is unknown. But whoever put this record together was very familiar with David and Peggy’s family and was not far removed time-wise from that generation. The inclusion of birth-only dates and the absence of death dates probably tells us something about the time of the creation of the original list. If this is not a page from David and Peggy’s Bible, it may be a record copied from their Bible. William Carroll purchased his father’s lands and lived on the old farm where Daniel and his father settled, lived, and died. Perhaps he inherited his parents’ Bible too. I think William Carroll’s brother, Isaac T. Haston (see photo at top), may have possessed it at some point, based on some of the additional entries that follow the ones seen above.

When David Haston and Peggy Roddy Haston arrived in White County (probably in the late fall of 1806), they came with their three children who had been born in Knox County–Malinda, Mary/Polly, and Wiley B. {William Blount). Over the next 22 1/2 or so years they added ten children to their family. And perhaps there were other infants that did not survive long enough to be named.

September 1, 1801 – Malinda Haston: Married Arthur Mitchell, son of Spencer and Rachel Roberts Mitchell, in about 1820.

January 22, 1804 – Mary “Polly” Haston: Had an illegitimate child in 1824 and refused to name the father. Married William “Black Bill” Lewis in about 1827.

June 11, 1806 – Willie B. Haston: Probably named for Willie Blount, whom David probably knew in Knoxville. Willie Blount later became Governor of Tennessee. Willie B. Haston lived on Cane Creek, near where Highway 30 crosses the creek. Later, moved to Texas.

December 25, 1808 – Daniel MC (McComisky) Haston: The McComisky name came from Peggy Roddy’s grandfather, Daniel McComisky of Baltimore County, MD. Married Anna Green, daughter of John and Rachel Mackey Green. Moved to MO in 1834. Married Martha Jane Wade after Anna died.

March 14, 1811 – Isham Bradley Haston: Named for Isham Bradley, the bondsman for David and Peggy’s marriage. Married Rebecca Steakley in 1834. He was one of the early Justices of the Peace in Van Buren County but moved to MO in the early-to-mid 1840s.

February 8, 1813 – Thomas C. Haston: Married someone named “Margaret” and moved to MO. Margaret died and he married Fanny Brown, about a year before he died in about 1853.

May 9, 1815 – David M.C. (Macklin or Machlin) Haston: Perhaps named for William Maclin IV, the first Secretary of State and Adjutant-General for Tennessee, under Governor John Sevier. David Haston would probably have known William Maclin IV, from his time in Knoxville (then the capital of Tennessee). David MC Haston married Permeely Creely. They moved to MO in about mid-1851.

September 20, 1817 – Loucinda L. Haston: Was either married to a Mr. Moore whose first name is unknown, or had one or two illegitimate children by him. Later, married Abraham Greenville Trogden in about 1849.

October 25, 1819 – Margrete “Peggy” Haston: Nothing more is known of her. However, her brother William Carroll does mention her in his biographical sketch (see below).

August 24, 1821 – James W. Haston: Married Jane Shockley in 1841. He was a blacksmith and died in Van Buren County in 1858.

June 28, 1823 – Nancy Jane Haston: Married McGregor Earles in 1843. After his death, she married Jessie Carroll. They moved to Arkansas, where she died in 1891.

March 28, 1827 – Isaac T. Haston: Married Elizabeth Sparkman in 1846. Was very active in civic leadership in Van Buren County. Died in 1878 and buried in the Haston Cemetery in Cummingsville. See the photo of Isaac T. Haston house, below.

March 2, 1829 – William Carroll Haston: Married Jane Denney, daughter of William Denney, Sr. W.C. Haston was a prominent civic leader in Van Buren County–Sheriff during the Civil War, Justice of the Peace, Chairman of the County Court, etc. Died in 1902 and buried in the family cemetery behind the original Daniel Haston place in Cummingsville. See his photo and the William Carroll Haston family cemetery below.

Only three of David and Peggy’s sons remained in Tennessee: James W. who died fairly early and Isaac T. and William Carroll. Most Hastons who grew up in White or Van Buren County are descendants of the one of these three – OR, Montgomery Greenville Haston who was a grandson of David and Peggy – very probably that illegitimate son born in 1824 of Mary “Polly” Haston – but more about that in a later article.

David and Peggy reared three other children, probably (or possibly) grandchildren – all of which eventually took the “Haston” name:

August 26, 1836 – Katherine Moore Haston

December 10, 1838 – Richmond T. Jones Haston

June 17, 1841 – Edward Cyrus Moore Haston

David Haston - Founding Church Clerk of Union Cumberland Presbyterian Church

The church was organized about A.D. 1811 by Rev. William Barnett. Spence Mitchell, Robert Gamble and Jesse Scoggin were the first elders and David Haston its first clerk. There were about sixteen members all of whom are now fallen asleep. Source: September 1, 1883 Church Minutes

Charles Thomas Haston, Church Clerk and Grandson of David Haston

From the biographical sketch of William Carroll Haston, David and Peggy’s youngest son:

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20 – World Famous Kambly Cookie Factory

20 - World-Famous Kambly Swiss Cookie Factory

On June 22, 2023, the Hiestand-Haston Tour group will stop at this world-famous cookie factory and sample (FREE!) dozens of cookies. But I can pretty much assure you that you will buy some too! We will also eat lunch there.

Oscar Kambly started his company in 1910 with his grandmother’s recipe for Bretzeli—a thin, crisp waffle-like biscuit that dates back to the 14th century in the Emmental. Kambly, a Swiss family-owned company, now spans three generations. It has continued to make these and many other types of biscuits in Trubschachen for over 100 years and is the largest biscuit manufacturer in Switzerland.

The Kambly Experience has rows and rows of shelves filled with bags of these delicious biscuits. For each type of biscuit, there is a round tin with some you can sample. I tried as many as I possibly could, never finding one that I did not like. The biscuits have myriad flavors and ingredients, like chocolate (blonde, white, milk and dark), nuts (hazelnuts, almonds and pistachios, etc.), caramel, coconut, orange and many more. Everyone should be able to find at least one biscuit they really like.

The Kambly Experience includes interactive exhibits and a short film in several languages, including English. All of the cookies you can sample are also available to purchase. t the Kambly Café, also located at the visitor center, you can order beverages, sandwiches and desserts, while catching a glimpse of the confectioners working on various projects.

What they call biscuits, we call COOKIES!

Don't Miss This Video Tour Through the Cookie Factory

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18 – Cable Car to the Car-less Village of MÃ¼rren in the Swiss Alps

18 - Cable Car Ride to & Evening in the Alps Village of Mürren

On June 22, 2023, our Hiestand-Haston Heritage Tour group will take a scenic cable car ride up to the mountain village of Mürren.
And we will spend the night there!

Mürren is a traditional Walser (inhabitants in the Alps) mountain village in the Bernese Highlands of Switzerland, at an elevation of 5,374 ft above sea level and it cannot be reached by public road. It is also one of the popular tourist spots in Switzerland. The village features a view of the three towering mountains Eiger, Mönch, and Jungfrau. Mürren has a year-round population of 450.

Don't Miss Viewing this Webcam - in Real Time!

This webcam is placed in the Hotel Edelweiss in the village of Mürren, high in the Swiss Alps. The panorama shows the Bernese Alps as well as the lower village road of the carefree (and car-free) mountain village.

Don't worry, if you are afraid of heights (like I am) you don't have to do the scary stuff.

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33 – Daniel Haston’s Final Years

33 - Daniel Haston's Final Years

Daniel Haston lived his final years on his 150 acres farm in what we now know as the Cummingsville community of northern Van Buren County–southern White County until 1840. There are a few things that we KNOW about his final few years there and a few more things we can speculate about based on some bits of evidence.

Jacob Mitchell vs. Daniel Haston - Assault & Battery Case

In 1817, Daniel assaulted adjoining landowner Jacob Mitchell. Jacob Mitchell married Lucinda Hastings, and thus was Daniel’s son-in-law. The assault and battery case that originated the previous year, State vs. Daniel Haston, was prosecuted in the White County court in July 1818.[i] Daniel was fined fifty cents on a plea of guilty on July 24, 1818.[ii]

[i] White County, Tennessee County Court Trial Docket, 1818-1821. (original book)

[ii] White County, Tennessee Minutes of the Court of Common Pleas, 1818, 209, 227.

Frontier brawling to settle disputes were common and legal, but assault and battery was a different matter. “Official reaction to the offense often depended on the circumstances.” “The court could not condone the initial assault, but perhaps the small fine reflected the fact that both men had fought willingly after.”[i] Daniel was probably in his upper 60s at the time, so he probably didn’t engage in much of a brawl, if any.

[i] Finger, 157-158.

Daniel Divided His 150 Acres Among the Three Sons Remaining in Tennessee

There are indications that Daniel’s health was failing. In January 1821, his name appeared on Daniel Hastin appeared on an inventory of debts owed to a deceased Lawson Nourse, who was one of the earliest physicians in Sparta, Tennessee. Daniel was on the “Bad Debt” section of the list for a $3.00 debt, but the word “good” (for whatever reason) was written just to the right of his name. Perhaps he (or one of his sons) paid the bill after the list was created in January 1821 and before it was officially recorded in January 1827.

For a frontiersman like Daniel to consult a physician—at a cost of $3.00—would indicate that he was dealing with a painful or debilitating injury or a serious health problem. He was about 70 years old at the time, so it should not surprise us.

As was also true on the 1818 tax list, in 1822 Daniel does not appear, but Isaac appears with the 150 acres on Big Spring.[i] Isaac was probably farming his grandfather’s land for him at that time. It seems that Daniel had been struggling with a serious health condition or complications from an injury for the past four or five years or so. His son Isaac, who apparently was not yet a land owner, seems to have been tasked with farming his father’s 150 acres again. The ownership of Daniel’s farm was about to change.

[i] White County, Tennessee Property and Poll Tax, 1821-1825, 70. (original books)

Although there is no existing legal record of it, apparently Joseph inherited 50 acres of land from Daniel shortly prior to this time. It appears that Isaac also inherited 50 acres from Daniel, but quickly sold his inheritance. A May 15, 1822 deed shows that for $20 Isaac sold two of his acres to Rhodum Doyle, who lived in Shockley Cove.[i] The deed indicates that this lot was located on the west boundary of Daniel’s Grant #535 of 150 acres. The deed says these two acres were “…a part of a hundred and fifty acre tract originally granted to Daniel Haston by the State of Tennessee No. 535.”

[i] White County, Tennessee Deed Book I, 312.

David, the oldest son, inherited the 50 acre home place from Daniel but that probably did not happen until his father he died. In the 1827 tax list (year after Daniel died), David’s 100 acres had expanded to 150 acres.

Daniel Died and Was Buried in the Big Fork Cemetery

Daniel’s name was on a January 1, 1826 “list containing the names and number of free male inhabitants of the age of twenty years and upwards and resident citizens in Capt. Parkers company on the 1st day of January 1826 taken by David Hasting, Esq.” This was not a tax list with property and polls information, etc. It appears to have been a county census.[i]

[i] White County, Tennessee Property and Poll Tax, 1826-1829, 8.

Although the census was dated January 1, 1826, it wasn’t presented to the White County Court until July 10, 1826 and wasn’t certified until October 31, 1826. Daniel Hastin’s name was on this census, although it seems (by his absence on the next year’s tax list) that he died sometime during this year. Does this mean that he was still living by July 10, 1826 or even October 31, 1826, or does it mean the census included everyone who was living on January 1? His name was also on the 1826 tax list (recorded by David Haston, Justice of the Peace), which was generally taken early in the year.

This was the last year that our Daniel’s name appeared on a census or a tax list. Thus, it is assumed that he died sometime in 1826. Daniel was buried in the Big Fork Cemetery in the Cummingsville community of White County (now northern Van Buren County), Tennessee. His grave is located near the uppermost corner of the cemetery (northwestern section), very near where the Big Fork Baptist Church building seems to have been in the first half or so of the 19^th century.

Daniel’s grave was unmarked for many years, but fortunately John Taylor Haston (Confederate veteran), in his old age pointed out the location of the grave to his son, Casto Haston.

Questions often arise regarding the Revolutionary War plaque on Daniel’s grave marker. It wasn’t placed there by the DAR or SAR. It was placed there by one of our long-standing Daniel Haston family historians, with whom he and I have agreed to disagree as friends about Daniel’s Revolutionary War experience, or absence of Revolutionary War experience.

I have explained my view that our Daniel was not a Revolutionary War veteran in these previous articles, a conclusion that I did not come to happily.

The "Christina Nave" Grave

You have heard the question–“Who is buried in Grant’s grave?” We could ask a similar question about the “Christina Nave” grave.

Frankly, nobody knows for sure. We do know with near-total certainty that our Daniel Hiestand/Haston married a Christina Nave in Shenandoah County, VA in 1773. But that is the only historical record we have for her.

We do know that a woman over age 45 was living in the Daniel Haston household in 1820, according to the census. Was that Christina Nave? Was it a second (or even third) wife? Was it a member of his family who was helping to care for him when he was about 70 years old with some apparent health problems? We just don’t know.

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32 – Daniel Haston – Petitioner to Create White County, TN

32 - Daniel Haston, A Founding Petitioner for White County, TN

The first record we have of Daniel Haston in (what became) White County, as well as some of his family members and friends, is the petition to create White County on July 22, 1806.[i] Four of the 155 names on the petition were Isam Bradley, Jacob Mitchell, Joseph Haston, and Daniel Hasstont, all of whom were identified in the previous article.

[i] Legislative Petition # 5-1-1806, “Petition for the Formation of White County from Jackson County, Tennessee.” (Nashville, TN: Tennessee State Library and Archives).

On April 25, 1806, President Thomas Jefferson ratified and proclaimed the October 25, 1805 Treaty with the Cherokee.* On and around July 22, 1806 a petition was distributed and signed by 155 residents of then-Jackson County, including Daniel Haston (Dannel Hasstont), Joseph Haston, and two of their Big Spring Branch settlement cohorts. This petition resulted in the establishment of White County—“Petition from Jackson County asking the county be divided and a new county established.”[i]

[i] Tennessee Legislative Petition # 5-1-1806, Petition to Create [White] County.

Why was his surname spelled “Hasstont“? It was because his original name was “Hiestand,” but often his German-speaking family added a “t” to the end. This wasn’t Daniel’s personal signature–it was written by someone who spelled it roughly like he heard it when Daniel, with his German accent, pronounced it to him.

The petition was read before the Tennessee Senate and House of Representatives on August 11, 1806, by Elijah Chisum. Chisum was a representative for Jackson, Wilson, Smith, and Sumner counties and later lived and died in White County. The petition was received favorably and a month later, September 12, 1806, and the General Assembly passed an act to form White County.

The name of “White County” was specified in the General Assembly’s act, but unfortunately the reason for the name was not stated. Since it was common to name counties after famous men, especially men who were renowned for their leadership in the American Revolution, the establishment of the United States, or contributions to the settlement or early development of the state, we can be reasonably certain that White County was named to honor some man—but what man? Three men have been suggested in various sources: John White (popular view since Monroe Seals wrote History of White County), General James White of Knox County, TN (most probable view as per evidence), and the general’s son, Hugh Lawson White (too early; his accomplishments were limited in 1806).

In order to be as accessible as possible to all citizens of a county, county seats are supposed to be located somewhere near the center of the county. That was particularly important in an era when transportation was very difficult. Rock Island is located at the northeastern edge of now-Warren County, near where White, Warren, and Van Buren counties come together. Although not in the exact center of the territory of the original White County, the first seat of government for White County at Rock Island was probably fairly close to the center of the more populated area of White County in 1806.

Original Boundaries of White County, TN

At the time of its creation White County included a very large area, extending all the way to the southern border of Tennessee.

Less than 15 months later, White County was reduced from 3,571 square miles to 911 square miles. Warren County was created out of White County on November 26, 1807 and much of the southern and eastern portions of the original White County reverted to non-county status. Because Rock Island was in Warren County after the creation of that county, it was necessary to find a new location for the county seat of White County.

On the first Monday and Tuesday (January 1-2) of 1810, these seven men were chosen to be Commissioners to lead White County in the establishment of a permanent seat of justice: Thomas Bounds, Aaron England, James Fulkerson, Nicholas Gillentine (father-in-law of Daniel Haston’s son Jesse Haston), Turner Lane, Alexander Lowrey and Benjamin Weaver. A general site on the Calfkiller River was selected to establish the new county seat.

But would the town be located on the east or the west side of the river? The Commissioners put that decision to a vote and the east side was chosen. A log courthouse and jail was built in 1810. The courthouse was erected at a cost of less than $5,000 and was replaced by a two-story brick building in 1815, which stood until 1894.[i] Sparta was officially incorporated in 1813.

[i] “Commissioners Erect a City.”

White County was eventually reduced to 379 square miles, as several new counties were formed around it, with each new county taking a chunk of White County: Warren County (southwest) in 1807, Dekalb County (west) in 1838, Van Buren County (southeast) in 1840, Putnam County (north) in 1842, and Cumberland County (east) in 1855.

Daniel Haston's 150 Acres Survey and Grant #535

As mentioned in the previous article, Daniel Haston “squatted” on land near the convergence of Cane Creek and the Caney Fork River in what is now known as Cummingsville of Van Buren County. Contrary to what some have said, his 150 acres there had nothing to do with a military bounty land grant. He acquired the land from Thomas Dillon, a land speculator. But he was granted a “preference right” for locating and settling on the land prior to the establishment of the county–when it was still Cherokee territory.

On September 26, 1808, Tennessee Governor John Sevier officially issued Land Grant # 535 to Daniel Hastings which conveyed a tract of 150 acres, as far as we know it was the first land he ever owned.[i]

[i] Record Group 50, Roll 25, Book A, page 224. (Nashville, TN: Tennessee State Library and Archives)

Here’s the survey that led to Daniel Hastings (Haston) receiving Grant #535.

Become a Member of First Families of White County, TN

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31 – Daniel Haston and the White County, TN “Big Spring” Settlers

31 - Daniel Haston & Other White County, TN Big Spring Settlers

The area south of the Caney Fork River near the mouth of Cane Creek was a prominent settlement in the early 1800s. It was part of White County, Tennessee prior to its inclusion into newly formed Van Buren County in 1840. The abundance of water sources in that area was probably a major reason that early land-seeking settlers found the region so attractive. And since the land was covered in canebrakes, it was much easier to clear than timbered land.

A large perpetual spring flows into Cane Creek approximately one half mile before Cane Creek itself empties into the Caney Fork River. Early documents refer to this feeder stream as “Big Spring” or “Big Spring Branch.” The spring is certainly not impressive in the length of the stream, but the amount of crystal clear water that flows out of the mouth of the spring is quite impressive. Big Spring emerges from the base of the north side of the Cumberland Mountain and meanders only a few hundred yards before spilling into Cane Creek.

The quality and quantity of this water source, must have made the land surrounding Big Spring the prime homestead location for miles up and down the south side of the Caney Fork. Thus, we can probably assume that the families that claimed Big Spring as a focal point for their homesteads were some of the earliest settlers of that area.

In the pioneer years of early America, neighbors, friends, and family members often moved together as a group. At least three (but probably more) families accompanied Daniel Haston to White County and settled in a cluster of homesites around the Big Spring Branch that became known as the Haston Big Spring. The three families were all connected to Daniel Haston but in different ways.

The map at the top of this page clearly indicates that the four families strategically situated their claims in such a way as to provide access to the cool, clear, dependable waters of the Big Spring. A closer look at the dates on the map suggests that the placement of these claims was a well-planned, collective effort on the part of these four pioneer families. All four homesteads were officially located on the same day, August 28, 1807. Although the locations of their claims were made “official” on this day, there is evidence that they were “squatters” on these pieces of land for months, if not a few years, prior to August 1807. All four of these men, Isham Bradley, Jacob Mitchell, Joseph Haston, and Daniel Haston, signed the petition to form White County on July 22, 1806.

“Prior to 1805-1806, legally there were no rights for persons who may have settled in present day White, Van Buren, or Warren Counties. That land was still in fact legally the territory of the Cherokee. These early settlers were at some risk being there, but once the land had been ceded by the Indians, these hardy occupants were possessors of prize land. They could straightway begin the process of making entry, survey, and the issuance of a grant.”[i]

[i] Landon Daryle Medley, The History of Van Buren County, Tennessee: The Early Canebrakers (1840-1940). (Spencer, TN: published by author), 32.

The Four "Big Spring Branch" Settlers

Daniel Haston. As far as we know, this was the first property that Daniel Haston lived on that belonged to him, even though he was more than fifty years old at this time. He was definitely the “patriarch” of the group, since the head of the spring was on his property.

At the time the Hastons, Bradleys, and Mitchells initially settled the Big Spring area, they were probably living in constant danger of Indian attacks, since they were illegally squatting on Indian hunting lands. Monroe Seals stated, “Even after the Treaty of Tellico there were numerous skirmishes between whites and Indians.” One man born in White County in 1800, “told of numerous conflicts between whites and Indians during his boyhood.”[i]

[i] Seals, 5.

Although I know of no hard documentation to support the claim, there is some oral history that says a fortified station was erected on Daniel Haston’s property in order to provide protection from such attacks. It was supposedly known in those days as the “Haston Station.” The convenient access to Big Spring would have made it a logical place of refuge.

Joseph Haston. Joseph was Daniel’s 2nd son. The Big Spring flowed 495 feet down Joseph’s northwest property line. Joseph sold this tract to his brother David on February 15, 1809. On September 11, 1806 David was still in Knox County settling the sale of his 111 acres to Ezekiel Baldwin for $490.00. David’s first known appearance in White County was February 10, 1808 as a road worker, but he must have been in the county earlier enough to have been known. Joseph was probably commissioned by David to purchase the White County land and hold it for him until he could settle his Knox County business, move to White County, and settle his family.

Jacob Mitchell. Although Jacob Mitchell’s land did not have direct access to the head of the spring, his property line ran along Big Spring Branch for some 1500 feet, which gave him more frontage to the stream than any of the four Big Spring area tracts. Jacob Mitchell was a son-in-law of Daniel Haston, husband to Daniel’s daughter Lucinda.

Isham Bradley. Isham Bradley’s relationship to the Daniel Haston family can be traced back to Knox and Blount Counties, Tennessee. Isham was the bondsman for David Haston’s May 5, 1800 marriage to Peggy Roddy. And David had filled the same role for Isham Bradley’s marriage to Susana Matlocks on May 13, 1798 in Blount County. Was he a relative to the Hastons or just a friend? Since we know he married Susana Matlocks, he must not have been a son-in-law of Daniel Haston, as was Jacob Mitchell. Whatever the relationship was, it was strong enough for him to travel to the wilderness of middle Tennessee in order to settle adjacent to the Haston family (even before his marriage bondsman friend David arrived to the area).

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17 – Ballenberg Open-Air Museum

17 - Ballenberg Open-Air Museum

On Wednesday, July 21, 2023, our Hiestand-Haston heritage tour group will visit the Ballenberg Open-Air Museum.

Ballenberg is an open-air museum in Switzerland that displays traditional buildings and architecture from all over the country. Located near Brienz in the municipality of Hofstetten bei Brienz, Canton of Bern, Ballenberg has over 100 original buildings that have been transported from their original sites. It is a Swiss heritage site of national significance.

In addition to the main attraction of the buildings themselves, some of the industrial and crafting buildings still operate to give demonstrations of traditional rural crafts, techniques, and cheesemaking. There is also a sizable number of farmyard animals on the grounds.

Founded in 1978, the museum features buildings from all over the country and has structures from almost all of the cantons. The buildings are set in surroundings appropriate to their type (farm buildings surrounded by small fields etc.) with pathways snaking across the 660,000 square metres (164 acre) site. Most buildings allow the visitor to walk around the rooms, each recreated from the time period of the building or brought over wholesale when the building was transplanted. -Wikipedia

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16 – Lucerne and the Wooden Chapel Bridge

16 - Wooden Chapel Bridge in Lucerne, Switzerland

And Shopping in this Beautiful City!

In the afternoon of June 20, 2023, our Hiestand-Haston heritage tour group will visit the Swiss city of Lucerne. Not only will we see and stroll across this historic bridge, but there will also be time for shopping in Lucerne.

The Kapellbrücke (literally, Chapel Bridge) is a covered wooden footbridge spanning the river Reuss diagonally in the city of Lucerne in central Switzerland. Named after the nearby St. Peter’s Chapel, the bridge is unique in containing a number of interior paintings dating back to the 17th century, although many of them were destroyed along with a larger part of the centuries-old bridge in a 1993 fire. Subsequently restored, the Kapellbrücke is the oldest wooden covered bridge in Europe as well as the world’s oldest surviving truss bridge. It serves as the city’s symbol and as one of Switzerland’s main tourist attractions.

Part of the bridge complex is the octagonal 34.5 m (113 ft) tall (from the ground) Wasserturm, which translates to “water tower,” in the sense of ‘tower standing in the water.’ The tower pre-dated the bridge by about 30 years. Over the centuries, the tower has been used as a prison, torture chamber, and later a municipal archive as well as a local treasury. Today, the tower is closed to the public, although it houses a local artillery association and a tourist gift shop.

The bridge itself was originally built c.1365 as part of Lucerne’s fortifications. It linked the old town on the right bank of the Reuss to the new town on the left bank, securing the town from attack from the south (i.e. from the lake). The bridge was initially over 270 metres (890 ft) long, although numerous shortenings over the years and river bank replenishments mean the bridge now totals only 204.7 metres (672 ft) long. It is the oldest surviving truss bridge in the world, consisting of strutted and triangulated trusses of moderate span, supported on piled trestles; as such, it is probably an evolution of the strutted bridge.

The Kapellbrücke almost burned down on 18 August 1993, destroying two-thirds of its interior paintings. Shortly thereafter, the Kapellbrücke was reconstructed and again opened to the public on 14 April 1994 for a total of CHF 3.4 million. –Wikipedia

Beautiful Lucerne

Walking Across the Chapel Bridge

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– June 14-27, 2023 – Hiestand/Haston European Heritage Tour – Terms and Conditions

2023 Hiestand-Haston Europe Tour Price and Other Details

June 14-27, 2023 - Switzerland and Rhineland Germany

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30 – Daniel Haston Family Moves Across the Cumberland Plateau

30 - Our Hastons Moved West of the Cumberland Mountain

Through the Tellico Treaties of October 25 and 27, 1805, Cherokee chiefs ceded to the United States a large area of Middle Tennessee. On April 24, 1806, the October 1805 treaties were officially proclaimed by the President of the United States. Much of Middle Tennessee, including then-future White County, was legally opened for white pioneers. White County historian Monroe Seals noted: “After the Treaty of Tellico the country settled up rapidly.”[i]

[i] Monroe Seals, History of White County. (1935; reprinted, Salem, MA: Higginson Book Company, n.d.), 6.

The 1805 cession of land from the Cherokees is indicated by the yellow (57) section of the above map. The Cherokee surrendered their claims “from the Kentucky line on the north to [the future towns of] Manchester and Altamont on the south, from the Tennessee River on the east to the neighborhood of Livingston, Cookeville, Smithville, and Woodbury on the west.”[i] The ceded territory included the future locations of Sparta, Spencer, McMinnville, and Crossville.

[i] Hamer, 243-244.

Assuming Daniel was born in about 1750, the first 33 years (or so) of his life were spent in Virginia and the next 21 years (or so) were spent in Western North Carolina/East Tennessee. He lived out the remainder of his life (22 years or so) near the confluence of Cane Creek and the Caney Fork River in what became White County, Tennessee, nearly 40 years before it became a part of northern Van Buren County.

Exactly when Daniel moved to White County is not known. My best guess is that he left Knox County sometime between the spring of 1803 and mid-1804. I have theorized that Daniel may have made a land-hunting trip across the Cumberland Plateau sometime between October 1798 and January 1800. That is also a guess, but there is enough evidence to give it some degree of credibility.

In September 1788, the steep and rugged Avery Trace (also called the North Carolina Road) was opened, it began at the Clinch River and entered the Cumberland Mountain from the east through Emory Gap (near the present town of Harriman, Tennessee). The Trace was originally nothing more than a horse path, but was widened to accommodate wagons in 1795. It crossed the Cumberland Plateau and began to descend the western slope at Standing Stone (now Monterey), then continued on to Nashville by way of Fort Blount, Dixon Springs and Winchester’s Station (now site of Gallatin).

But a better, wider, and more direct road—a wagon road from the beginning—to Nashville was opened fourteen years later, September 1802.* This newer road, which took a slightly more southernly route, was constructed under the leadership of William Walton, and became known as the Walton Road or Cumberland Road/Turnpike. It was about 15 feet wide on flat land and 12 feet wide through the mountains. On the east, it started at Southwest Point, south of Kingston, climbed up Kimbrough’s Gap, crossed the plateau through Crab Orchard, ran about four miles north of the future site of Crossville (originally Lambeth’s Crossroads), and on to Standing Stone.[i] On the west side of the Cumberland Plateau, Walton Road passed through the sites that became Cookeville, Baxter, Carthage, Gallatin, before ending in Nashville.[ii] It ran westward about 20 miles north of where Sparta was located four years later.

*This Walton Road was completed in 1801 or 1802, but was authorized in 1794 and construction began on it in 1795, beginning in Carthage, Tennessee (where William Walton lived) and working eastward.

[i] W. Calvin Dickinson, Cumberland County. (Cookeville, TN: Tennessee Technological University, 1992), 6.

[ii] John Dawson Boniol, Jr., “The Walton Road,” Tennessee Historical Quarterly, XXX, no. 4 (Winter, 1971): 403-407.

If Daniel scouted for land in Middle Tennessee in 1799 or 1800, he would probably have crossed the Cumberland Mountain on the Avery Trace. But when he moved to his new homesite on the Caney Fork River in 1803 or 1804, he and his family and their friends would have undoubtedly travelled the Walton Road.

The branch off of the Walton Road that turned south to Sparta was not constructed until about 1822. So Daniel’s clan probably followed the Indian Chickamauga Path, from the Walton Road as it passed through White Plains (near now what is Algood in Putnam County) down into White County to the Caney Fork River. Somewhere along the way, the Chickamauga Path branched in two directions.

The Western Branch of the Chickamauga Path/Trail ran south through Beersheba Springs, Coalmont, Tracy City, west of Jasper to the “Lower Towns” of Chickamauga Indians. The Eastern Branch ran southeast through Hickory Valley and Big Bottom, up the Cumberland Mountain, crossed Bee Creek, and on to Pikeville and probably to the Cherokee “Upper Towns,” as well as the Chattanooga-Chickamauga area.

The Eastern Branch of the Chickamauga Path crossed the Caney Fork River at Butts Ford, only about 1.7 miles upriver from the mouth of Cane Creek near the Haston’s Big Spring where Daniel and other “Big Springs” families settled.

How did Daniel Haston locate the land he and others claimed on or near the Big Spring Branch? We can only guess. But possibly he followed one branch of the Chickamauga Path to the Caney Fork River, then searched up or down the river until he discovered Cane Creek and the Big Spring Branch. Or, possibly he had met Thomas Dillon in Knoxville who directed him to the Cane Creek of the Caney Fork River site. Dillon had acquired a patent (based on Certificate #313) for 5,000 acres that included many 100s of acres in the general area where Daniel Haston settled.

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14 – Were Our Ancient Swiss Hiestands Spiritist-Pagans?

14 - Were our Ancient Swiss Hiestands Spiritist-Pagans?

Although I can’t say for sure, it is probable, that our Medieval ancestors were pagans who lived in a high-mountain area of what is now the northern edge of Canton Zug, Switzerland. Our June 2023 Hiestand-Haston tour group will visit this area.

The (Swiss) hills were alive with the sounds of witchcraft and black magic!

Many centuries before Julie Andrews and the 1965 “The Sound of Music” movie, the mountains of Switzerland were alive with very different sounds–the sounds of sorceries and incantations.

In ancient Rome a person living in a rural area or village was called paganus. When Christianity became generally accepted in the towns and cities of the empire, paganus (English, pagan) was used to refer to a villager who continued to worship the old gods. “Old gods” paganism was common throughout Europe even after Christianity was introduced and spread. As Christianity began to take root in Switzerland in the 4^th century and following, pagans retreated to the highlands to avoid the control of the State and the influence of the Church.

We know that our earliest known Hiestands originated from near the village of Hutten, just below a highland area known as Gottschalkenberg. This broad crescent-shaped, soft-topped mountain south of Wädenswil and Richterswil was a center of ancient paganism at an elevation of 3,816 feet.

Although you may read that Gottschalkenberg literally means “God’s servant,” schalk conveys the idea of some kind of foolery, so it translates to something like, “The mountain of God’s joke”[i] or “The mountain of God’s fools,”[ii] probably referring to the foolish pagans who lived there.

[i] Nicole Billeter, email to Wayne Haston, June 15, 2021.

[ii] Ross Baughman, email to Wayne Haston, April 8, 2021.

Gottschalkenberg within the northern boundary of Canton Zug, overlooking Lake Zürich and the mountain side down to the lake’s south shore.

From some of the early inhabitants of Finstersee, a village near Gottschalkenberg, a myth emerged to try to explain the origin of Gottschalkenberg. It’s just one of many magical myths from the Gottschalkenberg area.

In misty, long-agos, the first humans to settle Finstersee (just 4.7 km above Hutten) cleared the land, planted their gardens and baked their first bread. Their lives proved so good that soon a crop of children crowded the only spots big enough and flat enough for play. One from among them drew the lott, and was obliged to petition the gods for more land.

“Then clear more land! Cut the trees and dry out the swamps,” came back the only answer they got.

This advice solved their needs for a while, but when it could no longer, another envoy went out looking for the king of the devils, ready to make a deal with him.

He was glad to hear their pleas and promised to fulfill their wishes. He sent a whole troop of little devils to the top of Gottschalkenberg, where they tunneled inside it, and with their shoulders, lifted up. The settlers of Finstersee hugged each other, drank themselves silly and danced with delight, for by stretching new hillsides into the land, more acres belonged to them now and could be put to work. The people swore their thanks and fidelity to the devil, but only learned later how much harder the work would be in every way for every day of the rest of their lives.^[i]

[i] J. Ross Baughman, The Chains Rejoined, 18-19.

In time, some of these pagans probably came into contact with Christians and were converted to Christianity. They came down from the highlands to the south shore of Lake Zürich, four and a half miles as an eagle flies. They purchased hereditary rights to farm land, from the Catholic Knights of St. John, and worked in the old Wädenswil Castle and began to settle around the castle in Wädenswil and Richterswil.

Our June 2023 Hiestand-Haston Tour Group Will Visit Beautiful Gottschalkenberg

Gottschalkenberg overlooks Lake Zurich, from the south. The bunkers you see in the video were built there to protect Switzerland from enemy aircraft during World War II. Amazingly, Switzerland was able to maintain its neutrality during the war and avoid bombardments by Nazi Germany and its allies.