LEWIS SHAPARD (Chapter 15) 1817-1820 The Panic of 1819, Smith County Tennessee

Chapter 15

THE PANIC OF 1819

SMITH COUNTY, TENNESSEE

1817-1820

Back in Smith County, business was thriving, just as was everywhere else in Tennessee. These were boom years for American farmers, plantation owners, businessmen and merchants. Due to the dire need for cotton in the suffering European markets, the price per pound of American cotton had nearly quintupled in value from 7 ½ ¢ in 1812, to 20 ¢ by 1817, peaking at 34 ¢ in 1818. Tobacco was also surging during this time, doubling from 4 ¢ per pound in 1814, to 8 ¢ in 1816, reaching its highest value in 1818 at 9 ¢ per pound.

As the price for produce soared, farmers desired to purchase more land to increase their yield. Planters began buying more slaves, to produce more cotton to buy more land and slaves. In addition land speculators began purchasing land at low prices as an investment of selling it at a profit when the land values rose. Early in the boom, frontier land could be purchased for a minimum of $2 per acre. However, as the markets surged, planters, farmers and land speculators realized that with the high profit on cotton, tobacco and grains, they could buy their land outright in only four years. This caused land values to soar, some to over $100 per acre during the height of the frenzy. The banks also got caught up in the frenzy, carelessly offering loans beyond their lending capabilities. Land speculation became dangerously epidemic, no one anticipating the boom would eventually end.

These were exciting days. Middle Tennessee was thriving and Lewis Shapard was at full capacity shipping and receiving merchandise along the Cumberland River, not to mention his other enterprises in cotton and tobacco. His son William B. Shapard was learning the art of business from firsthand experience while working with his father. From all accounts, Lewis did not appear to invest in land speculation during this time, as he left no deed record of purchasing land in Smith County or elsewhere in Tennessee. However, he may have rented land planting tobacco and cotton, splitting the profits with the owner. Regardless, it is evident that during the boom, Lewis’ wealth was greatly tied up in slaves, cotton, tobacco and merchandise, banking on an ever profitable future.

On March 27, 1817, Lewis Shapard was the plaintiff in a court case he had filed against William Antony. Lewis and Mr. Anthony came to an agreement, and the lawsuit was dropped after the defendant assumed all court costs involved in the case. Recall that Mr. Anthony had lived near Lewis Shapard in Williamson County, and they may have known each other previously in Caswell County. In Tennessee, the two men had a business relation with one another, the extent of which is not clearly known. However, for a time, William was engaged in the same type of commerce as Lewis, and the men may have had a partnership. In 1821, it was recorded that William Anthony was selling tobacco from planters in Smith County, Tennessee to buyers at the markets of New Orleans, Louisiana.

On May 1, 1817, Lewis Shapard was a witness for a deed between James Hart of Sumner County and Davis Grisham of Smith County, for 40 acres of land on Spring Creek. James Hart (1756-1819) was a fascinating early pioneer of Tennessee. He married Sarah Hamilton, the daughter of Patrick Hamilton, in 1788 in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. In 1797 he purchased over 400 acres of land in what would become Sumner County, Tennessee from Thomas Donoho of Caswell County. He was elected as a Justice of the Peace of Sumner County in 1799. In 1800, he purchased a grist mill near his land on Goose Creek from Charles Donoho. James Hart was extremely industrious with his property, and over the years operated a tavern and inn, ran a popular racetrack that was visited by Andrew Jackson, and even operated a Ferry on the nearby Cumberland River. His land became the town of Hartsville in 1817, and exists to the present day.

Davis Grisham (1790-1872) married Sarah “Sally” Gregory (1798-1878) in Smith County Tennessee in 1816. She was the daughter of William Gregory. Davis fought in the war of 1812, enlisting in 1814 and being discharged in 1815. He and his family migrated to Pope County, Illinois in the 1830s, resided there for the remainder of his life. Interestingly, Spring Creek was a branch of Peyton Creek near where Lewis resided in Smith County. Other people who lived along the creek were William Gregory, Peter Grisham, Davis Grisham, Harris Grisham, and Wilson Cage, to name a few. On May 12, Lewis Shapard and Peter Grisham met at the court house at Carthage and proved, as witnesses, in open court the above mentioned deed to be recorded.

Lewis son, William B. Shapard, was a witness on February 16, 1818, for an indenture made between James Ralston of Jackson County, Tennessee and Elisha Dillard of Smith County for 130 acres of land in Smith County “in the valley where William Huffmore lives.” Other witnesses to the deed were Robert W. Carlisle, B. Ford and William Buk. During the time of the signing of this deed, William B. Shapard was 20 years old.

According to Tennessee law, an estranged spouse could not file for divorce unless abandoned for a minimum of two years. Recall that Lewis Shapard had notified the local newspapers of his wife’s desertion from his family on February 3, 1816. Just over two years later, on March 26, 1818, being the next available session of the Smith County Circuit Court, Lewis officially file a petition to divorce Elizabeth (Parrish) Shapard. The court ordered that a copy of the petition be sent with a subpoena to be served on Mrs. Shapard by the sheriff of Smith County, with a trial date of October 10, 1818. The day of the hearing, Lewis Shapard arrived at court; however, Elizabeth failed to appear to answer the petition. Lewis asked the judge to have her appear at the next session of Circuit Court on March 26, 1819. The motion was granted by the judge, stipulating that if she did not appear at the next meeting of court then the judge shall fully rule on the petition in her absence. A new subpoena was issued to Mrs. Shapard and was delivered to her by the sheriff of Smith County.

Between court dates, on December 1, 1818, Elizabeth (Parrish) Shapard’s adult children: Polly (Parrish) Seat, David Parrish, William Parrish, Francis (Parrish) Anderson, Nancy Parrish, and Susannah Parrish, sold the 150 acre Parrish plantation in Wilson County to Joseph Irby. Apparently, Elizabeth (Parrish) Shapard decided to permanently reside elsewhere and gave her children permission to sell her dower’s portion, as well as, the rest of their father’s estate. Elizabeth Shapard may have needed to sell, liquidating the funds to pay her creditors, after Lewis Shapard declined to cover her expenses. Many years later, in 1825, Betsy S. Parrish, who was a minor at the time her siblings sold the family plantation, legally relinquished to Mr. Irby all her remaining interest in the plantation as a rightful heir to the estate of Henry Parrish.

At the next session of the Smith County Circuit Court held at the courthouse at Carthage on March 26, 1819, both Lewis and Elizabeth Shapard arrived and met with the judge regarding Mr. Shapard’s petition for divorce. Apparently, the evidence or requirements for the divorce was lacking and the judge allowed Lewis four days to amend his petition. Lewis returned to court on March 29^th, and Mrs. Shapard’s attorney, James Tumpy agreed to allow Mr. Shapard additional time to further amend his petition to the satisfaction of the court, ensuring that the hearing would occur during the present term of court, yet, in the absence of Mrs. Shapard.

The following day, on March 30, 1819, Lewis returned to the courthouse at Carthage and Judge Thomas Stewart granted his divorce, stating; “Be it remembered that at this term (to wit) March Term 1819 this cause came on to be heard, and was heard before the Honorable Thomas Stewart, one of the judges at the Circuit Court of Law and Equity in and for the State of Tennessee and now presiding in the third judicial circuit, when it appeared to the satisfaction of the court that the complainant filed his petition on the 26^th day of March 1818, and that a copy of said petition under the seal of this honorable court together with subpoena to answer issue against the said defendant on the 12^th day of November 1818 and was returned “executed” and that on the 24^th day of August 1818, an alias subpoena to answer issue against said defendant together with a copy of said complainants petition as aforesaid, what said alias subpoena was returned by the Sherriff of Smith County “executed” and that the said defendant appeared by her council in defense of said petitioner without answer, and it furthermore appeared to the satisfaction of the court that the said complainant is a citizen of the State of Tennessee and was an inhabitant thereof one year next before filing of his said petition, and also appeared to the court that the said defendant has been guilty of willful and malicious desertion for the space of two years without a reasonable cause, before filing said petition. And upon the swearing of the said petitioner and the evidence on the part of the complainant touching the same, it is ordered adjudged and decreed that the said Lewis Shepherd from the said bonds of matrimony subscribing between himself and the said Elizabeth Shepherd be dissolved and that the marriage between them be null and void, and that the said complainant pay the costs about his petition in this behalf expended, etc.”

On February 11, 1819, Lewis Shapard may have spent a short time in the Smith County jail. The event leading up to his possible incarceration occurred while he was attending the Smith County Court, presumably unrelated to his divorce proceedings being heard in Circuit Court. For some reason, unbeknownst to us, Lewis fell in disfavor with the judge; whereupon, he was ordered to pay $2.00 for contempt of court and was to be placed in custody until the fine was paid. If he did not have the funds on him, he would have been detained in the Smith County jail at Carthage. The jail was of log construction and had two small cells. It would have been a most disagreeable accommodation, not to mention an embarrassment for a gentleman of Lewis’ age and status. One possible explanation for his erratic behavior was that the previous day, on February 10, 1819, a Grand Jury of the County Court exhibited a Bill of Indictment against Lewis Shapard’s step-son-in-law and employee, Samuel R. Anderson.

Lewis Shapard’s contempt of court was strangely unusual and uncharacteristic, and seemed to foreshadow the strangely unusual and uncharacteristic events of 1819 occurring throughout Tennessee and beyond. In the summer of 1819, Tennessee experienced a severe drought, causing widespread crop failure. In addition, the lack of rain caused the Cumberland River to settle at lowest level since 1784. For Lewis this would have been a considerable obstruction to his business, as shipping along the river at Carthage was significantly abated or even grounded for a time. In addition, the deficiency of crops of cotton, grain and tobacco would have further damaged his enterprise and income.

To compound the problem, in 1819, Tennessee and the rest of the United States experienced their first major economic depression, known as the Panic of 1819, affecting every industry and aspect of society with widespread ruin. The roots of the Panic occurred in 1816. The British Empire had been engaged in war on two continents; with the United States in the War of 1812, and with France in the Napoleonic Wars. As these wars came to a close, the eruption of Mount Tambora was having a dramatic effect on the climate of northern Europe, drastically affecting their crops, reducing their food supply and ushering in widespread illness. British soldiers returning from war were faced with high unemployment, inflation on basic commodities and deplorable weather. British industry, especially the textile mills which employed hundreds of thousands, was suffering from a lack of available cotton.

In an effort to alleviate the constriction of food and supplies, British authorities removed the customs duty tax on American produce in order to purchase as much grain as the United States could supply. The demand was high and the supply limited, which caused the price of wheat, corn, and other grains and farm produce to escalate to record breaking prices for the next two years. In addition, British authorities needed to keep the country’s factories operational to prevent economic collapse in the midst of this calamity. Factories focused on producing cheap exports which were readily purchased in the growing American markets. The British textile industry survived on raw cotton, which was greatly diminished everywhere except America. As a result, cotton prices surged.

Interestingly, while the British removed their duty on American goods, the United States government increased the tariffs on all imports from England to spite the British recovery as punishment for causing The War of 1812. It was noted in the Carthage Gazette in April of 1816, “Britain will not look on it [the tariffs] with indifference. She has played successful the game of crowns and at the game of commerce she is adept not to be foiled even by the cunning hucksters [politicians] of New England.” Oh how prophetic these words became, as England would have a checkmate on America, in the game of commerce, in the years to come.

These were boom years for American merchants, farmers and plantation owners. Cotton had climbed from 7 ½ ¢ per pound in 1812, to 34 ¢ in 1818; and tobacco had more than doubled from 4 ¢ per pound in 1814, to 9 ¢ in 1818. As prices for produce soared, farmers desired to purchase more land to increase their yield. The banks began overextending themselves, offering loans beyond their financial backing.

Middle Tennessee, where the Shapard’s lived, and northern Alabama had some of the richest most fertile lands of the frontier, particularly suited for cotton, and this land became highly desired. The epicenter of growth for the entire boom focused at the town of Huntsville, just below the middle Tennessee state line in Madison County, Alabama. The land frenzy known as “Alabama Fever” swept the nation. More than 2.25 million acres were sold in Alabama in 1819. The population grew from 10,000 in 1810 to 130,000 by 1820, allowing the Territory of Alabama sufficient population to become a State in 1819. By 1818, there were over 260 brick houses built in Huntsville, attesting to its wealth and development. Land values of $2 per acre surged in this area to over $100 per acre during the height of the frenzy. And even at that price, planters and speculators were still able to turn a profit during the boom years. Land speculation became epidemic.

Since gold and silver were particularly rare during this era in American history, banks were allowed to print their own paper money. These bills were redeemable for “specie,” meaning gold or silver, upon request of the holder at the bank. Originally, the banks held gold and silver reserves to equal the amount of the value of paper money printed and distributed; however, over time, banks began to over print and distribute more bills than were backed by specie held in their bank. In addition, since every State and locality had different paper money, the value of that currency in trade decreased the further the distance from the bill’s origin bank. Dollar bills from a bank in New York might trade for 80 cents in Tennessee, and vise versa; whereas, a dollar bill originating from a bank in Knoxville, Tennessee might trade for 95 cents in Nashville, Tennessee, and vise versa. Paper bank notes further destabilized as early as July of 1817, when banks, merchants and taverns in Washington City (Washington D.C.) began declining payment with any foreign banknotes beyond its state borders, except notes from the Bank of The United States and its branches.

The United States government established the 2^nd Bank of the United States in an effort to standardize currency and hold its value backed by specie, however, it too fell into corruption during the boom years and over printed its paper money beyond what was backed in precious metals reserves, making paper money truly valueless. A final undermining of bank note value occurred throughout 1818, when the 2^nd Bank of the United States began accumulating and sending overseas vast amounts of specie from all available banks in order to repay the twelve million dollars in bonds that had become due from the acquisition of the Louisiana Purchase in 1803.

What no one anticipated was how the eventual and inevitable recovery of the European harvests yields would affect every aspect of the American economy. In the spring of 1818, European crops recovered, and after two years of paying exorbitant amounts on American produce and cotton, British Parliament played a checkmate in the game of commerce by reinstating Corn Laws, which denied the import of foreign grains into the country. American wheat would plummet from $2.50 per bushel to 70 cents per bushel over the following years. In addition, English textile mills ceased buying American cotton in an effort to reduce its inflated price and began to purchase a lesser quality cotton from India. This sent the price of cotton from 34 ¢ per pound in 1818 to 17 ¢ by 1820, eventually bottoming out at 9 ¢ in 1823. The impact of these changes was a crushing blow to the booming American markets.

However, word from abroad traveled slowly during this time. Americans received all overseas news from port newspaper reporters interviewing transatlantic passengers debarking ships. Any information gained was typically further verified by the overseas newspapers also carried onboard, before being printed in the American papers. In addition, within the United States, local information was also delayed, as postal letter and word-of-mouth were the only means of transmission from place to place before the coming of the telegraph in the 1840s. Tragically, as the markets of the eastern States were collapsing, the uninformed western planters, farmers, businessmen, speculators, and commission merchants were still buying goods, cotton and land at record high prices. On June 12, 1819, the Huntsville Alabama Republican newspaper, reported that in the east “extraordinary pressures in the mercantile part of that community” had begun moving west and south “until the whole union [had] become embarrassed by the failures of mercantile houses and the depreciation of the paper currency.”

Merchants, planters, farmers and speculators who had bought goods and land on credit, unexpectedly and abruptly became hopelessly in debt and would have to liquidate all their assets to repay their creditors. During this time there were no exemption laws, thus all possessions a person or business owned were subject to be sold to satisfy his debt, generally causing total ruin to the owner. The creditor, if unsatisfied in his personal collection efforts, would force collection of the debt through the courts via lawsuits. However, if still unsuccessful, there was another more dreaded means of at least partial collection. “Shavers,” made a business of purchasing delinquent credit notes at a discount, and then forcing full collection, by the sheriff, who would hold a public auction of some or all of the debtor’s property needed to satisfy his debt.

For Lewis Shapard, as with most commission merchants, a common business practice was credit transactions; whereby, the merchant would purchase goods in advance, extending credit to their clients who, in turn, promised to pay for those goods at a future date. When Lewis and his business associates traveled to the markets at New Orleans, Baltimore and Philadelphia, they would make purchases for their clients at a 10 percent commission above the sale price. They would also make sales at these markets at the “usual rate.” During the boom, this practice served well, however, when the Panic of 1819 occurred, Lewis found himself grossly overextended in purchases, upon which neither he nor his clients could repay. What ensued was a series of lawsuits over the next few years between those persons who Lewis owed, and those who owed Lewis.

On May 12, 1819, Lewis Shapard was summoned to the County Court at Carthage where he appeared before a judge and acknowledged himself indebted to the State of Tennessee in the sum of $100. The judgment became void provided that Lewis appeared at the next term of County Court to “prosecute and give evidence, etc.” It may be deduced that Lewis failed to appear in court for a case wherein he was the plaintiff.

By June of 1819, Lewis was clearly in financial trouble and was forced to sell his most valuable servant. On June 8^th, Lewis sold Davey “Dave” for $700 to Osborn Jeffries, Jr., warranting, that Davey was about 30 years old “sound, sensible and healthy…and free from all claim, or claims whatsoever…” Interestingly, Davey was born circa 1789, and previously had been the servant of Lewis’ father-in-law Robert Paine in Person County, North Carolina. Lewis inherited Davey in 1808, by right of his wife Martha (Paine) Shapard, and brought him to Tennessee. Mr. Osborn Jeffries, Jr., married Jane Love Miller in Person County, North Carolina in 1806. They migrated to Smith County, Tennessee where they raised a family. Mr. Jeffries died in 1821 and bequeathed to his wife his plantation, as well as, his three slaves, one of which was named “Dave.”

To illustrate the direness of Lewis’ financial troubles, only a few days earlier, he had become indebted to his son-in-law Joshua Harrison, on June 1, 1819, in the amount of $375.93. As a security, Lewis had levied the title of his slave named Davy (not the same slave sold to Mr. Jefferies), whom he had loaned to Mr. Harrison, to be sold if he did not make full payment on the debt. By mid-June, Lewis had defaulted on his payment to Joshua Harrison. Soon after, on June 19, 1819, Mr. Harrison filed a lawsuit against his father-in-law in Rutherford County. At the hearing, Lewis did not attend, choosing instead to sending his lawyer to argue the matter. His lawyer claimed that Mr. Shapard did not attend because he had not been informed of what damages the plaintiff had sustained. The judge properly informed Lewis’ lawyer of Mr. Harrison’s damages and set a trial to be held at the County Court at Murfreesboro at the next term of court.

At the trial on September 14, 1819, the jury found in favor of Mr. Harrison, assessing his damages to $375.95, plus $6.45 in court costs. By September, Lewis still had not paid his debt, and Mr. Harrison obtained and Order of Sale whereby the Mathew McClanahan, the Sheriff of Rutherford County, forced the sale of the slave to satisfy Mr. Shapard’s debt. The sale was advertised to the public in advance, and the auction occurred at the Court House in Murfreesboro on December 11, 1819. Joshua Harrison purchased the slave for $360 as the highest bidder and paid the Sheriff, whereupon the sheriff returned the money to Mr. Harrison and also issued to him a bill of sale for the slave. The fact that Mr. Harrison so desired this slave, lends credence that there was a familiarity with him. It is highly likely that this was the same slave that Lewis Shapard had loaned to Mr. Harrison as compensation for tending to the younger Shapard children living at the Harrison household.

The Panic of 1819 had a grave impact on Joshua Harrison’s business as a nailer. As England’s factories resurged in 1818, they began producing significant quantities of inexpensive exports that flooded the American markets. Americans were receptive to these cheaper goods during the boom, and even more so after the bust when times were financially tough. However, it effectually crippled local businesses and choked America’s economic recovery. In 1817, nails made locally in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, by Joshua Harrison and Robert P. Shapard sold for 25 cents per pound. However, by 1819, foreign imported nails flooded the Tennessee markets priced at 15 cents per pound. This made locally produced nails obsolete, ending the nail making business of Harrison & Co. As it came to pass, Mr. Harrison’s business persevered and eventually flourished by adapting to the changing times. As his nail making business declined, he converted his shop into a mercantile store, selling everything typical of a store during that era.

In the midst of his lawsuit with his son-in-law in Rutherford County, Lewis Shapard was served with lawsuit in Smith County. On August 12, 1819, Daniel Cherry sued Lewis Shapard and Don C. Dixon together for the payment of a $148.75 debt. The jury found in favor of the plaintiff in the amount of the debt, plus $17.57 ½, plus court costs.

Daniel Cherry (1782-1843) had a connection to Lewis Shapard through Solomon Paine. Daniel was the son of Jesse and Elizabeth (Gainer) Cherry of Martin County, North Carolina. Daniel migrated to Wilson County, Tennessee, and was listed as one of the earliest settlers on Spring Creek. In 1806, he was selling horses between Tennessee and Martin County, North Carolina, traveling constantly. Early on, he was heavily involved in land speculation, purchasing vast amounts of military warrants awarded to Revolutionary War veterans. By 1821, at the age of 39, he had made a fortune and owned over 10,000 acres of land in Tennessee. He also engaged in land surveying, and was employed to survey the business district of St. Louis, Missouri in the early 1800s. Mr. Cherry moved to Haywood County, Tennessee, in mid 1820s, and laid out the town of Harrisburg, later renamed Cherryville, wherein he was the postmaster for a time. Perhaps of interest to Lewis Shapard, Mr. Cherry had a large fleet of flat bottom boats upon, and was engaged in shipping along the rivers of Tennessee. In 1810, Daniel Cherry married Sallie Turner in Smith County Tennessee. Sallie was the daughter of Fredrick Turner, and the sister of Solomon Paine’s wife Polly (Turner). Interestingly, Daniel Cherry died in 1843, and left the longest will in Tennessee history.

The other defendant listed with Lewis Shapard, was Don Carlos Dixon who came from one of the wealthiest, if not the wealthiest family in Smith County, Tennessee. He was the son of Tilman Dixon (1750-1816) who migrated to Caswell County, North Carolina. Tillman was a North Carolina Captain in 1777 during the Revolutionary War, and was taken prisoner by the British at the siege of Charleston. After the war, Tilman (along with his brother Charles and nephew Wynn Dixon) migrated to the area of Smith County Tennessee, where he acquired a massive estate, north of Carthage, he named “Dixon Springs.” The family mansion was named “Dixona” and had served as the first courthouse of Smith County. In the early frontier, Dixona was an oasis of luxury and entertainment, so much so, that it accommodated King Louis Philippe of France when he was a duke and toured America in 1797. Tilmon Dixon was known for his fondness of playing cards, and wearing clothing made of deerskins. In his later years, during the War of 1812, he organized the Capt. T. Dixon’s Revolutionary Volunteers, which was a collection of Smith County Revolutionary War veterans that mustered together for drills as a last resort for home defense. Tilmon Dixon married Maria “Polly” Don Carlos (1757-1806), daughter of Archelaus Don Carlos, on November 16, 1789. Polly died on August 26, 1806, from leg cancer at 39 years old. They had four children: Americus V. Dixon, Don C. Dixon, Polly Greenway Overton (wife of Archie W. Overton), and Elizabeth Henry Dixon.

Don Carlos Dixon (1792-1841) was a physician and surgeon of early Tennessee. By the time he met Lewis Shapard, his father was already deceased, and he and his brother Americus V. Dixon had became the young heirs to their father’s significant estate of land and slaves. At only 24 years of age, in 1816, he personally acquired 15 slaves and thousands of acres of land. In 1819, Dr. Dixon married Elizabeth Harriet Bilbo (1800-1825) of Smith County; this being his second marriage due to the death of his first wife, Mary Jouett Allen, in 1815. During the War of 1812, Dr. Dixon was commissioned as a 1^st Lieutenant of Infantry, serving from 1812 to 1813. He sold 2,000 acres of land in Smith County, in December of 1821, to Marcus Winchester of Shelby County. During the 1835 Tennessee General Assembly, Don C. Dixon was nominated as a candidate to represent Smith County, yet was not elected. He died on November 22, 1841.

The same day that the above lawsuit was tried against Lewis Shapard, he, reversed rolls, becoming the plaintiff in another lawsuit in Smith County, this time against Elijah Anthony. Evidently, Elijah Anthony was indebted to Archibald W. Overton in the amount of $17.40 and Lewis Shapard was the security for Mr. Anthony in case of default. During the trial it was established that when Mr. Anthony failed to pay, Lewis Shapard fulfilled his obligation as security, paying Mr. Overton what was due. The jury sided in favor of Lewis Shapard, awarding him $17.40 plus $2.17 in interest and court costs to be paid by the defendant. Elijah Anthony was the brother of Lewis Shapard’s friend and possible business associate, William Anthony of Williamson County, Tennessee. Elijah was born in 1767 in Caswell County and married Elizabeth Browning in 1796. He migrated to Tennessee, eventuating settling in Giles County in the 1830s. It may be of interest to note that in 1815, Archibald W. Overton, Esq., was a Republican candidate to represent the 4^th Congressional District in Congress.

The following month, in September of 1819, Lewis Shapard filed another lawsuit, this time against his former step-son-in-law, Samuel R. Anderson, husband of Francis “Fanny” Parrish. The hearing was held on September 30, 1819, and both men arrived at the courthouse in Carthage. Lewis and Samuel came to a mutual agreement and Lewis dropped the lawsuit, provided that Mr. Anderson assumed all court costs, which he did. It appears that by this point during the depression, Samuel R. Anderson was no longer working for Mr. Shapard.

Shortly after the above lawsuit was finished, Lewis appeared in Smith County Circuit Court for a lawsuit he filed against John Patterson, Sr.  Both men met at the courthouse in Carthage on October 2, 1819, for the initial hearing. At that time, the judge determined that additional testimony was necessary, and granted the defendant the ability to take the deposition of Charles Donoho, Frances Weatherhead and John Stewart, all from Sumner County, Tennessee. At the next hearing of the case on March 28, 1820, the judge allowed Lewis Shapard to take the deposition of William Sawyer, that same day, at the home of Thomas R. Short in the town of Carthage. The case was called before a jury two days later, on March 30, 1820. Apparently, the trial was fairly complex and lengthy, lasting a few days. On March 31, 1820, the last day of the trial, the jury heard the final statements and rendered their verdict in favor of the plaintiff Lewis Shapard, assessing his damages to be $173.18 ¾ plus court costs.

A few months later, Lewis Shapard was hit with another lawsuit in Smith County, when Elijah Carmen sued Americus V. Dixon and Lewis Shapard together for the payment of a debt. On May 16, 1820, the jury rendered a verdict in favor of the plaintiff, and ordered A.V. Dixon and Lewis Shapard to pay damages to the plaintiff in the hefty amount of $392.25, plus $21.50 in interest and all court costs. Just after the verdict was read, Americus V. Dixon made a motion to the court that he had been the surety for Lewis Shapard. The judge, in turn, made a final ruling between A.V. Dixon vs. Lewis Shapard, assessing Lewis Shapard with the full amount of the judgment, totaling the monstrous sum of $413.73, plus court costs to be paid to Mr. Dixon.

Americus Vespucius Dixon (1790-1850) was the son of Tilman Dixon (1750-1816) and the brother of Dr. Don Carlos Dixon of Dixon Springs in Smith County, Tennessee. Americus married Lucy P. Jeffries in Warren County, Tennessee in 1813. In 1816, after his father died, 26 year old Americus inherited a vast amount of wealth, including 15 slaves, 1,280 acres of land on the Roaring River in Jackson County and 474 acres along the Stones River. He also owned lot No. 45 in the town of Carthage, as well as, a saw mill near Carthage. In 1817, he was elected as the Deputy Sheriff of Smith County, and in 1819 he had ascended to the title of Sheriff. By 1820, Americus had 19 slaves and thousands of acres of land. Interestingly, in 1837, Smith County Court audited their books, assessing the viability of unpaid settlements. It was noted that in the case of A.V. Dixon vs. Lewis Shapard, the defendant Mr. Shapard did not fully pay, leaving a balance of $1.40. According to the audit, this balance was deemed “bad” and written off as uncollectable.

In the aftermath of the Panic of 1819, the court records illustrate the gradual and total devastation of Lewis Shapard’s business and finances. From 1819 to 1820, Lewis lost one slave and liquidated another for cash. Between all of the court cases he won $192.75 ¾ and lost up to $1064.45 ½ not including court costs; leaving him financially deficient by approximately $871.70. It should be noted that the only preserved records were of lawsuits and legal bills of sales, and did not account for any private transactions or sales made by Lewis during this time, which would have been significant. Tragically, his financial situation became so poor that his business and his residence were permanently abandoned in Smith County, and he dwelled thereafter, for a time, at the home of Joshua Harrison at Murfreesboro in Rutherford County, Tennessee.

One benefit of the Panic of 1819 was that it sparked a significant religious revival across America, known as the Second Great Awakening. During the summer and fall of 1820, at the exact time Lewis Shapard left Smith County for Rutherford County, the revival swept the town of Murfreesboro. At that time, the town was the capital of Tennessee and had Presbyterian, Cumberland Presbyterian and Baptist churches, yet no organized Methodist congregation. Realizing the spiritual potential of the town, Methodist ministers began conducting camp-meetings and revivals, which were generally held in the late summer and fall after the crops were harvested. They created such religious excitement in the area that many professed the faith and Methodism became established there.

While we know Lewis Shapard favored the Baptist denomination in North Carolina, the records are silent that ascertain his religious preference whilst in Tennessee. However, two of his sons, Booker Shapard and Robert Paine Shapard joined the Methodist Church of Murfreesboro, after attending a revival at Windrow’s Campground in 1820. The revival was held seven miles southwest of Murfreesboro and lasted for more than a week, attracting an unusually large audience. The whole while, the attendees remained at the campground, sleeping outside, eating with neighbors and feeling the excitement of the revival, in terms of inspirational sermons, lively songs, Christian brotherhood, prayer, and professions of faith. At the week’s end, 300 members of the audience became spiritually saved through their profession of faith, including Booker and Robert Paine Shapard. Shortly thereafter, 19 residents of the town of Murfreesboro organized the first Methodist church, which carried a membership of about 30 Christians during the initial years. The early congregation convened in an unoccupied old house in the evenings and the courthouse was used on Sundays until they were able to construct a church building of their own in 1823.

It is significant to note that the pastor who was first assigned to the congregation at Murfreesboro from October of 1820 through October of 1822 was Rev. Robert Paine (1799-1882), first cousin of Booker and Robert Paine Shapard. At that time Rev. Paine was a gifted young preacher and circuit rider, having just been received into “full-connection” with the Tennessee Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1820. During his “stripling term” from 1820 through 1822, he built up and serviced the Methodist congregations in Murfreesboro (Rutherford County) and Shelbyville (Bedford County), neither of which initially had a Methodist meeting house. Rev. Robert Paine would eventually become one of the most well-known, accomplished and influential Bishops of his era, and was one of the founding members of the Methodist Episcopal Church South. Thanks to his influence, from 1820 on, Methodism would become the preferred religious denomination for most of the children of Lewis Shapard.