Once more, as we move toward our nation’s semiquincentennial, I continue focusing on the Revolutionary War effort of attaining independence and the related contributions and connections of families of the Fork, the Knox County lands between the French Broad and Holston rivers.

Another Revolutionary War veteran who once lived in the Fork was Francis Merriman. Francis was born in 1757 in Cumberland County, Virginia, and enlisted nearby there in 1776 in what is now Powhattan County. He was a private led by Captain George Nicholas of the Second Regiment of Infantry of the Virginia Line commanded by Col. Spotswood in the Continental Army.

During his three years of service, Francis Merriman was in the battles of Brandywine, Germantown, Monmouth, Stony-Point and Petersburg, with many other additional skirmishes at various places. General George Washington’s troops began the siege of Yorktown, Virginia, on September 28, 1781, ending the Revolutionary War on October 19 with the surrender of Cornwallis. Francis Merriman was there and witnessed Cornwallis being captured.

After Francis was discharged near Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, he married Mary Sublett on June 17, 1782, in Powhatan County. Among their children were Peter, Thomas, William, Elizabeth and Polly. After Mary’s death in 1790, Francis married Martha Ammonette the following year, and they had Dicey, Bradbury, Phebe, Martha and a son. Francis’ second wife, Martha, died in 1844.

Deeds and tax records show that by 1804, Francis was living in the Fork on 200 acres adjoining the lands of Benjamin Manifold, who had a mill and station near the French Broad River. That would be somewhere along today’s Kodak Road going into Tuckahoe. However, in 1818, he had no land of his own but perhaps already had passed it along to his children.

One record indicates that Francis died August 19, 1822, although a newspaper announcement said that Francis Merriman of Knox County died in 1826. He is possibly buried at Lebanon-in-the-Fork Presbyterian Church, because J.G.M. Ramsey’s history of the church shows that Merrimans attended there during that time. Martha died on July 5, 1844, and her place of burial is unknown as well.

1897 Mt. Harmony Baptist Church note showing Charles Merriman as trustee

When I wrote the Early History of Mt. Harmony Baptist Church in 2017, I found that many of their descendants later attended Mt. Harmony Baptist Church. Dr. Swancey Kennedy’s 1870s ledger, recently shared with me, shows Alex Merriman’s wife being treated for a cold. Merrimans still live in the Fork today; however, Francis Merriman’s contributions to our nation’s foundation have been all but forgotten in the Fork.

Entry from Dr. Swancey W. Kennedy’s 1870s ledger

Jan Loveday Dickens is an educator, historian, and author of Forgotten in the Fork, a book about the Knox County lands between the French Broad and Holston Rivers, obtainable by emailing ForgottenInTheFork@gmail.com.

Follow KnoxTNToday on Facebook and Instagram.   Get all KnoxTNToday articles in one place with our Free Newsletter.