Tennessee

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Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego

~ michaelhvs ~ Leave a comment

Around 1772, Daniel Boone once again crossed paths with some of my family members. My 8th great grandfather, Shadrach Inman, along with his brothers Meshach and Abednego joined Boone in exploring the wilderness west of the Cumberland Mountains, an area now known as Tennessee. With their provisions depleted, they relied on their hunting skills for what little nourishment they received. It was not an easy feat as winter was upon them.

While camping near the Nick-a-Jack cave, they were surprised by an Indian ambush. Most of the party was killed, including my great-uncle Meshach. Abednego received a tomahawk wound to his forehead but survived, crawling into a hollow of a tree where he stayed, in and out of consciousness for nine days, before finally emerging and somehow finding his way back to his North Carolina home.

Shadrach and Boone were among those who escaped, stealthily navigating their surroundings like the experienced woodsmen they were. Boone, on account of his superior skill and knowledge of the Indian wiles, escaped unharmed. The Indians pursued him keenly through the dense forest but, like a fleeting shadow, he eluded them and led the few survivors safely back to their homes. Shadrach did receive a non-fatal wound in his side from an Indian spear which he kept. His descendants have it still in their possession, kept on display under glass.

Michael Ondrasik and Home Video Studio specialize in the preservation of family memories through the digitalization of film, videotapes, audio recordings, photos, negatives, and slides. For more information, call 352-735-8550 or visit our website. And don’t forget to check out my TEDx talk! https://youtu.be/uYlTTHp_CO8

The Donelson Expedition

~ michaelhvs ~ 1 Comment

John Blakemore, my 5th great grandfather, was an instrumental player in the settlement of Tennessee. In December of 1779, when a large expedition was being prepared to establish a settlement west of the Appalachian Mountains, he was chosen to lead a flotilla down the Clinch River with plans to meet up with the rest of the river party (led by John Donelson) where the Clinch fed into the Tennessee River. Together they would make the remaining 900 mile trip to the Cumberland River, past the Muscle Shores and to their final destination: the bluffs of the French Salt Springs (later renamed as Nashville).

Their flotilla of scows, flatboats, and dugout canoes consisted of approximately 200 souls, mostly women and children. There were approximately 50 men with them but the more experienced frontiersmen had preceded them, traveling by land through the Cumberland Gap. It was thought that the overland journey would be the more perilous. The opposite proved to be true.

The flotilla was beset by life threatening dangers nearly from the start. It was one of the cruelest winters in history; one of the boats had to be quarantined during the journey due to an outbreak of smallpox. The boat carrying the diseased passengers had to trail behind at some distance which left them vulnerable to Indian attack to which they eventually succumbed.

All in all, four months later, when the settlers finally arrived at French Lick, reuniting with the men who traveled overland, 33 of their party had been killed or captured. Ramsey, in his Annals of Tennessee says, “The distance traveled on this inland voyage [and] the extreme danger in every respect marks the expedition as one of the greatest achievements in the settlement of our western country.”

Michael Ondrasik and Home Video Studio specialize in the preservation of family memories through the digitalization of film, videotapes, audio recordings, photos, negatives, and slides. For more information, call 352-735-8550 or visit our website.