History
Before the arrival of European settlers, the area that is now Cocke County probably was inhabited by Cherokees. The first recorded European settlement in the county was in 1783 when land near the fork of the French Broad and Big Pigeon rivers was cleared and cultivated. The earliest European settlers were primarily Scots-Irish, Dutch, and Germans who came to the area over the mountains from the Carolinas or through Virginia from Pennsylvania and other northern states.
The county was established by an Act of the Tennessee General Assembly on October 9, 1797, from a part of Jefferson County, Tennessee. It was named for William Cocke, one of the state's first United States Senators.
Cocke County had a long-standing reputation in the surrounding area as a center of illegal activity, particularly the production of and trafficking in moonshine, both during Prohibitionand in subsequent years, when most of East Tennessee, including Cocke County, remained officially "dry". The county also developed a reputation for prostitution in the years during and after World War II.[4]
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Submitted by Cindy Young
Digital Library on American Slavery
http://library.uncg.edu/slavery/details.aspx?pid=10744
Petition 11481927 Details
Location: Cocke, Tennessee
Salutation: To the General Assembly of the State of Tennessee
Filing Court and Date: Legislative, 1819-September-24
Ending Court and Date: No Ending Court Specified
General Petition Information
Abstract: Cocke County free man of color OBADIAH GOING seeks "the privileges of a citizen." He states that it is his misfortune to be the descendant of persons of mixed race.
Result: Senate: referred to Committee of Propositions and Grievances; considered unreasonable
# of Petition Pages: 2
Related Documents: Testimonial, William Garrett, et al., September 1819
Pages of Related Documents: 1
Some Shinycock Indian Cherokee are associated with Long Island of Cherokee Tribe, in addition to New York's Long Island long ago. The Dutch West Indies Company may have some connections with the colonial traders before Jamestown, VA arrivals. The Shinecock among the Southern tribes are not well documented, but were real. People move around, then and now.
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