Don Valentine
My Family Tree

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The East Tennessee Valentines

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The East Tennessee Valentines

I considered publishing all of my family information on this web site, but I quickly discovered that I simply can not find the time to put all those thousands of names and details on this site.  In other words, reality smacked me right in the nose!  Maybe one of these days I might work up the gumption to do it.  

If you are seeking information on one of our common ancestors, you may have just got lucky!  This grumpy old man donated every note I had collected thus far [two volumes] to the Stokely Memorial Library in Newport, Tennessee [1-423-623-3832] several years ago.  [Newport is on Interstate 40 in East Tennessee near the North Carolina border.]  That was a long time ago and I remember very few details concerning the 2,000 people mentioned in those two volumes of notes who are not members of my immediate family. I also shared it with Family Tree Maker [FTM] a couple of years ago and they included it on their next CD, but they will charge you for it.   I do NOT claim all of the information contained in my notes, these pages, the notes in the library, or on the FTM CD are 100% accurate.  

I collected information on both sides of the East Tennessee Valentine clan [Henry and William M.] and that was a lot of people.  I hope to be able to spend some time in the Carolinas one of these days so I can try to pick up the trail of my Valentine ancestors.  Due to poor records, I ran into a dead end here.

Because of the prevalence of these names in their descendants and their tendency to name a child after an ancestor, I suspect Henry and William's father was named Henry, John, James or William.  And for the same reasons, I suspect their mother was named Elizabeth, Margaret or Sarah.  That's one reason why I "suspect" that their father was the William Valentine, Sr. that is listed in the 1800 US Census as living in Lexington County, South Carolina.  I also suspect he is their father because family lore says Henry and William came from South Carolina.  And because he's the only Valentine with the right name [William].  And because he has enough sons of the right age.  However, there are no William Valentines listed in the 1790 or 1810 census as living in South Carolina.  Both families, Senior and Junior, appeared on the 1800 census and then were gone.  I searched for them in the 1810 census in KY, NC, GA, FL, and AL with no luck.  Because the records of Tennessee are so poor, especially in the Cocke County area, with a big gap between 1800 and 1830 and again from 1830 to 1850, it appears to me that ALL of  those Valentines in Lexington District of South Carolina moved to East Tennessee.  By 1830 the older ones had died and the women had married and were living in their own home.  And even the youngest children would have been 30-40 years old by 1830.  This is the only thing that would explain their disappearance.   Now we must discover from whence they came.  Since some of the other Valentines in South Carolina in the early 1800s came from the New York area, it seems reasonable to search in that area.  There were many Valentine families in that general area at that time.

The courthouse here in Newport burned twice in the 1800s and the loss of records has caused a great deal of confusion and grief to those of us who are trying to gather information on our family history.  That and the fact that none of the Valentines kept any detailed records of their family history - that is none on my side of the family did.

  The following information is based on what few public records were available at the time - mostly the US Census records.

  The first known Valentines in East Tennessee were two brothers, Henry and William.  Henry and William Valentine moved into East Tennessee sometime between the 1800 US Census and the 1830 US Census.  I suspect it was more like 1800-1810 when the two brothers settled in the Jones Cove area of what is now Sevier County which is near the Cocke County line.  These two brothers shortly afterwards married sisters, Rebecca and Dorcus "Darkie" Green because they first appear on public records in Cocke County, Tennessee as being married in the 1830 US Census report.

  The family rumor is that Henry and William came to East Tennessee from somewhere in South Carolina and there is a slight hint that they may have been one step ahead of the law.  I found no indication that either rumor is true during my investigation.  The 1850 Census indicates that William was born in North Carolina in 1787.  That same census makes no mention of Henry, but lists Dorcus, his wife, as the head of household.  The 1840 Census for Tennessee was burned in a courthouse fire.  Apparently Henry died sometime between 1830 and 1850.

  If you are a Valentine descendant and your branch of the Valentine family lived in East Tennessee as late as 1900, it is almost certain that you are a descendant of one of these two brothers.

  I submitted information on over 2,000 people to the Family Tree Maker network see their web site at http://www.familytreemaker.com/ .  They offer family histories and genealogy information on CDs.  I am positive they would love to sell you one of their CDs, if you are interested.  They also produce an excellent software program for collecting and storing information on your family history.  There may be many errors in the data, I tried to make it as accurate as I could under the circumstances.  If you find any errors, I would appreciate hearing from you.

  Henry, my great-great-great grandfather, was probably born about 1785-1795 and Dorcus was probably born about 1790-1800.  Dorcus was the daughter of Jeremiah Green of Cocke County, Tennessee and she married Henry about 1819.

  Henry and Darkie begat James, Elizabeth, Green, Rebecca, Wils or Wilse, William M., Robert, and William.  Henry died about 1839 and Dorcus died sometime between 1840-1850.

  William "Bill" M. Valentine, my great-great grandfather, was born in 1836 in Cosby, Tennessee.  Bill married Mary C. "Polly" Smith who was born about 1835.

  Bill and Polly begat Green Isaac, Mitchell Smith, Caldonia, James R., Thomas L., and William L.  Polly was the daughter of Mitchell Smith born about 1803 in S.C. and Fanna [No Known Last Name] who was born about 1833 and also in S.C. William served in A Company, 45th Tennessee Calvary during the Civil War.  Polly died in 1918.

  William "Willie" L. Valentine, my great grandfather, was born on May 16, 1872 in Cosby, Tennessee.  Willie married Rachael Louise "Tint" Baxter in 1893. Tint was the daughter of Willis and Vina Webb Baxter.

  Willie and Tint begat Baxter Harrison, Gloria E., Houston O., James Allie, Doris Myrtle, Roy Ernest, Victor Ellis, Eunice Edna, David Newton, Euvela D., Zora E., Otis, and Sally Valentine.  Tint died in 1922 and Willie in 1964.

  During the Great Depression, Willie began Valentine's Nursery which still exists and which was still owned and worked by his descendants until 1994.  Willie got the idea for the nursery from two Knoxville business men, Mr Baum and Mr Howell, while acting as their fishing guide in what is now the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.  Mr Baum was a florist and Mr Howell was a nurseryman.  They agreed to buy all of the fern and Mountain Laurel [Wild Rhododendron] that Willie could supply.  This eventually developed into mostly a shrub nursery.

  Baxter H. Valentine, my grandfather, was born February 9, 1892 in Cosby, Tennessee and he married Dovie C. Rollins who was born in December 1894 in Chestnut Hill, Tennessee.

  Baxter and Dovie begat Gertrude E. "Gertie", Greer E., Gona E., Glenn E., Gay E., Geneva "Gebba" E., Baxter H. Jr., and Geraldine "Deanie" E. Valentine.  BH Junior died shortly after being born.

 Baxter worked in the nursery business until he retired in 1950 or 1951 beginning with his family's nursery and then as Foreman for Howell's Nursery in Sweetwater, Tennessee.  While living in the Sweetwater area, Baxter, his daughter Gertrude and two other gentlemen formed a quartet, the "Sweetwater Valley Four."  Gertrude, my mother, sang and played the guitar.  The quartet performed at church meetings, dinner on the grounds, revivals, and on the radio.

  When he moved back to Cosby, Baxter became active in the Ruritan's and helped organize the first annual Cosby Ramp Festival.   Baxter along with other Ruritans met with President Truman and invited him to attend that first festival.  Baxter later served as Chairman of the County Court and Justice of the Peace.  Baxter died in 1979 and Dovie died in 1980.

  The other branch of the East Tennessee Valentine family beginning with William Valentine, Henry's brother, and Rebecca Green, Darkie's sister, produced large families as well.  One famous descendant on that side is Dolly Parton, Actress/Singer.