Anne Robertson Johnson Cockrill (February 10, 1757–October 13, 1821) was an American

pioneer Pioneer commonly refers to a settler who migrates to previously uninhabited or sparsely inhabited land. In the United States pioneer commonly refers to an American pioneer, a person in American history who migrated west to join in settling and de ...

. She became the first woman to receive a

land grant A land grant is a gift of real estate—land or its use privileges—made by a government or other authority as an incentive, means of enabling works, or as a reward for services to an individual, especially in return for military service. Grants ...

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

Early life

Anne Robertson Johnson Cockrill was born on February 10, 1757, in

Wake County, North Carolina Wake County is located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. In the 2020 census, its population was 1,129,410, making it North Carolina's most-populous county. From July 2005 to July 2006, Wake County was the 9th-fastest growing county in the U ...

.Carole Stanford Bucy
Anne Robertson Johnson Cockrill
''The Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture'', December 25, 2009 Her brother, James Robertson (1742-1814), founded Fort Nashborough alongside

John Donelson John Donelson (1718–1785) was an American frontiersman, ironmaster, politician, city planner, and explorer. After founding and operating what became Washington Iron Furnace in Franklin County, Virginia for several years, he moved with his family ...

(1718–1785).

Adult life

She moved to

Fort Watauga Fort Watauga, more properly Fort Caswell, was an American Revolutionary War fort that once stood at the Sycamore Shoals of the Watauga River in what is now Elizabethton, Tennessee. The fort was originally built in 1775–1776 by the area's front ...

in North Carolina, and later moved to Fort Caswell. When it was attacked by Native Americans, she led a group of women to throw boiling water at them to ward them off. Her first husband was a justice of the peace in the Washington District of East Tennessee and was killed in an accident. After he died, Cockrill and her three small daughters joined Colonel John Donelson in the migration of the first pioneers on a

flatboat A flatboat (or broadhorn) was a rectangular flat-bottomed boat with square ends used to transport freight and passengers on inland waterways in the United States. The flatboat could be any size, but essentially it was a large, sturdy tub with a ...

to go down the Cumberland River to

to the Cumberland settlements. The exhibition was intended to bring families of the men who settled Nashville there. During the journey, she taught the children in the boat to make small wooden boxes, filling them with river sand, and drawing letters and numbers in the sand. She was later honored as

Middle Tennessee Middle Tennessee is one of the three Grand Divisions of the U.S. state of Tennessee that composes roughly the central portion of the state. It is delineated according to state law as 41 of the state's 95 counties. Middle Tennessee contains the ...

’s first teacher. In 1784, she received a land grant for 640-acre from the North Carolina legislature; she was the first woman in this position. The land was then known as ''Cockrill Springs'' and was situated on what is now Centennial Park in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and ...

, near the campus of

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and rail magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1-million ...

. There is now a monument in her memory there. Anne and John married in 1784 and had eight children.

Death

She died on October 13, 1821, in Tennessee. She was buried in the

Nashville City Cemetery Nashville City Cemetery is the oldest public cemetery in Nashville, Tennessee. Many of Nashville's prominent historical figures are buried there. It includes the tombs of 22,000 people, 6,000 of whom were African Americans. Overview Nashville ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cockrill, Anne Robertson Johnson 1757 births 1821 deaths People from Wake County, North Carolina People from Nashville, Tennessee People of pre-statehood Tennessee Burials in Tennessee

Early life

Adult life

Death

Further reading

References

External links