Blog no. 2

Ann Robertson Johnston Cockrill was born to John Randolph Robertson and Mary Gower on February 10, 1757, in Wake County, North Carolina.

In 1771, she married David Johnston in North Carolina, who later in 1778 died by a falling tree in Fort Watauga, near present day Elizabethton, TN. Ann had 3 daughters with him, Polly, Betsy, and Charity. Betsy was my 5th great grandmother.

In 1780, Ann journeyed west with her brother, James Randolph Robertson, and all the people of Fort Watauga. She brought her 3 daughters on the journey with her and witnessed the good and the bad of the journey with them. One of their main problems were Indians.

Ann encountered Indians many times during her lifetime. One of those times was at Fort Watauga. The Indians attacked while Ann and a few other women were milking the cows outside of the fort. The Indians tried burning down the walls of the fort. Quick thinking Ann had the other women fetch her buckets of boiling water to put out the fires and push the Indians back. Ann was hurt during the attack but was the heroine of the battle.

During the very long journey to their new settlement, Ann kept the children busy teaching them how to read and write. This continued once they arrived and settled into their new settlement. She is now known as the first schoolteacher in Nashville, TN.

In the spring of 1780, the people of Fort Watauga arrived at their new settlement. They named this settlement Fort Nashborough. Later that year, Ann married Major John Cockrill. They had 8 children. One of their 8 children was Mark Robertson Cockrill, “The Wool King of The World.”

Ann was granted land near Fort Nashborough in 1784. They named their land Cockrill Springs. Cockrill Springs is the land that Centennial Park and the Parthenon is located today in Nashville, TN. Ann was the first woman to get a land grant in the state of Tennessee.

There is a book by Peyton Cockrill Lewis, also a descendant of Ann, named Perilous Journey. The book is about Ann Robertson Johnston Cockrill’s journey west with her 3 daughters. I really enjoyed this book. I would recommend it to anyone if you are interested in the journey to Nashville!