Jerry Bryan's Web Pages

1796 Tax List, Sullivan County, Tennessee

Most Sullivan County records were destroyed on 22 September, 1863, when a shell from a Union battery hit the courthouse. The 1796 tax list is not of record in Sullivan County. These names are taken from a copy that was returned to the Tennessee general assembly. The Tennessee Archives also has Sullivan County tax lists for 1797 and 1811-12.

Cross, Abram         182 acres   1 white poll


Cross, Acquilla      118 acres   1 white poll


Cross, Elijah        600 acres   1 white poll


Cross, Joel           72 acres   1 white poll

Joel Cross was the son of Zachariah Cross and Elizabeth Ann Dimmitt. As such, he was the first cousin of my fourth great grandfather William Cross the Revolutionary War drummer boy.


Cross, William                   1 white poll

William Cross was my fourth great grandfather. When he was 14 years old, he served as a drummer boy in the Revolutionary War. When he was 19 years old, he served as a private. He served both times under Col. Isaac Shelby who later became the first governor of Kentucky.

William Cross was born in 1762 in Baltimore County, Maryland. His father died in 1770, and he moved to western North Carolina along with a number of other Cross family members in about 1772. The place in western North Carolina where the Cross family moved later became Sullivan County, Tennessee.

William Cross moved from Sullivan County, Tennessee to Knox County, Tennessee in 1817. A year later, he moved to Anderson County, Tennessee. All the Crosses in Anderson County were descended either from William Cross or from Brittain Cross. Goodspeed says that Brittain was William's son, but it "ain't so"! The two Cross men were surely related, but I haven't yet figured out exactly how.


Cox, Edward          360 acres   1 white poll

Although I have Cox ancestors (my grandmother was Ruby Cox), I do not believe this Edward Cox is a relative. I include him because he was a sergeant in Col. Shelby's militia in the Revolutionary War, and in particular Edward Cox was William Cross's sergeant.


England, John                    1 white poll

My fifth great grandfather in Anderson County, Tennessee was John England. I do not know if this John England in Sullivan County was the same person as my John England in Anderson County. My John England did appear in the first Anderson County tax list in 1802.


Peters, John                     1 white poll
Peters, Conrod       278 acres  no white polls   1 black poll

I do not know if John and Conrad Peters were related to my Peters family of Anderson County, Tennessee.

This page last edited on 23 Jul 2006.