My Genealogy Hound

Below is a family biography included in The History of Williamson County, Tennessee published by Goodspeed Publishing Company in 1887.  These biographies are valuable for genealogy research in discovering missing ancestors or filling in the details of a family tree. Family biographies often include far more information than can be found in a census record or obituary.  Details will vary with each biography but will often include the date and place of birth, parent names including mothers' maiden name, name of wife including maiden name, her parents' names, name of children (including spouses if married), former places of residence, occupation details, military service, church and social organization affiliations, and more.  There are often ancestry details included that cannot be found in any other type of genealogical record.

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NEWTON CANNON, dealer in hardware and groceries, was born near Franklin June 14, 1846, son of William P. and Susan A. (Perkins) Cannon, and of French and English descent. The family is traced back to three brothers who came to America. One settled in Maryland, one in South Carolina, and the other in North Carolina. Our subject is traceable to the North Carolina branch of the family. The paternal grandfather of our subject was Newton Cannon, who was born in North Carolina, and came to Williamson County in early life. He was a saddler by trade, a colonel in the Seminole war, under Jackson, and was twice governor of Tennessee, and a member of Congress. He was one of the early prominent men of this State, a leader of the Whig party, and died at Nashville in 1842. The father of our subject was born in this county in 1816, and was a farmer by occupation, and was wounded in the Florida war. He now lives in southern Kentucky. The mother was born in this county in 1821 and died in 1849. Our subject was reared on the farm, attended Franklin schools, and in 1862 enlisted in Company I, Eleventh Tennessee Cavalry, Confederate States Army, and was paroled in May, 1865, at Gainesville, Ala. At the close of the war he returned home, and in 1873 was appointed deputy county court clerk, which position he occupied for one year. For thirteen years he has been engaged in merchandising, five years of which time were spent in the wholesale hardware business in Nashville. He is now engaged in retail merchandising in Franklin, but in connection with this carries on farming on 250 acres of valuable land near Franklin. February, 1873, he wedded Miss Jennie B. McEwen, daughter of John B. McEwen, and by this union became the father of five children: John B., Leah A., Cynthia G., Newton and Samuel P. Mr. Cannon is a Democrat, and his wife is a member of the Presbyterian Church.

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This family biography is one of the numerous biographies included in The History of Williamson County, Tennessee published in 1887 by Goodspeed.  The History of Williamson County was included within The History of Maury, Williamson, Rutherford, Wilson, Bedford & Marshall Counties of Tennessee. For the complete description, click here: History of Maury, Williamson, Rutherford, Wilson, Beford and Marshall Counties of Tennessee

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