The brothers Forrest

[larry_cockerham]

Next Saturday, June 21, 2008 is the annual fundraiser and celebration of the life of Nathan Bedford and the rest of the Forrest family at their nearly restored home 1830-1834 down in Marshall County, Tennessee. The signs will be out on highway 99 east from exit 46 on I-65 south at Columbia, Tennessee. This is a special event, this year with a cannonade and speakers and musical performers of the highest caliber. Bring a few bucks and contribute to a most worthy cause as the SCV continues to remember the efforts of the soldiers of the Confederacy and in particular, the brothers Forrest.

[larry_cockerham]

At a very pleasant celebration of the progress on the Forrest Boyhood home restoration in Marshall County, Tennessee this afternoon, I learned two more small pieces of the puzzle concerning the Forrest family. First, the boyhood home is located on property, over 300 acres, that had previously belonged to the general's grandfather, Shadrack Forrest prior to his selling of part of it to the Mayfield family, from whom the current 'residence' was purchased in 1830 by William Forrest, father of the general. The other new 'fact' is that Nathan Bedford Forrest apparently remained in the area, maybe living with the Raines family nearby, so he could finish some schooling that year, before moving on to join the family in Mississsippi. 'Not exactly earth shattering stuff, but facts is facts.

[cw1865]

http://elmspringscsa.tripod.com/id18.html

Looks like they did a nice job.

[larry_cockerham]

CW, thanks very much for posting the link to the Elm Hill website. The Forrest Home is a labor of love for many men and women in middle Tennessee and northern Alabama. The exterior of the home and two newly constructed outbuildings are nearly complete. The next target is the original barn still standing a few yards from the house. Most of the huge interior logs appear to be original from the 1820s. We hope to affirm it's structural integrity before removing the steel roof and replacing it with cedar shakes to match the other structures and get us back into period. The museum will come in tme. Retaining walls, perimeter fencing and plantings as well as a most impressive entry wall and security gate are nearly complete as well. The goal of the SCV is to create a place where the facts of history can be displayed without politics. The good, bad and ugly history of the Confederacy needs no bias to downgrade or upgrade. It must stand on it's own merits. That's what we are about. Rural middle Tennessee where this home is located is a most pleasant place. All are invited to come see for yourself. The spirits of a most remarkable family await you.

[larry_cockerham]

The Forrest Boyhood Home should be renamed… Perhaps the Forrest Girlhood Home or simply the Forrest Home? Many of us jump to the conclusion that this place in Marshall County, Tennessee was just the home of Lt. General Nathan Bedford Forrest. That it was, but only for about three years, until he was a lad of about 13. This small farm was also the home of probably seven Forrest siblings, all the children of William Forrest and Miriam Beck Forrest.

William was a blacksmith, one of the first to enter middle Tennessee. Born in Orange County, North Carolina 6 Jul 1801, he moved with his parents to the Cumberland River valley near Gallatin, Tennessee in 1809 where they remained for about two years before moving to the Duck River area of what was then Bedford County. William married Miriam Beck about 1820, the daughter of Scottish parents who had moved to Caney Springs in 1796 from South Carolina. The young couple made their home briefly in the little community of Chapel Hill near Holts Crossing on the north side of present-day Chapel Hill. It was in this little town that their first children, twins Nathan Bedford and Frances were born 13 July 1821.

[larry_cockerham]

The young Forrest family began to grow as William labored in his trade as a smithy.

He prospered to the point of being able to purchase the farm on Pyles Road on 1 November 1830 for a payment of $588 to William and Sally Mayfield. This property was once part of the large farm of Shadrack Forrest, father of William. [Deed information supplied by Mr. Boots Nix, current caretaker of the home.] There has been speculation that the small cabin in which the twins were born may have also made the trek west and become the one-story room that is the eastern portion of the present building. Further analysis of the logs in the old barn on the property may prove that this barn was built or at least used by William Forrest to operate his blacksmith business or at least shelter some horses. It’s obvious from the very firm soil around the Forrest Home that farming would have been a secondary occupation at best. Caney Creek, a large stream a couple of miles south was completely dry during the weekend of the June 2007 fundraiser. Crops or large herds of animals would have suffered in this climate.

Daughter Frances Forrest, twin of the Lt. General, died in 1841 in Mississippi. She claimed her girlhood home for about 3 years, same as the General’s claim for boyhood residence!

[larry_cockerham]

Son John Forrest arrived in 1822. He was to later serve his nation in the Mexican war where he was wounded and paralyzed in his legs. He became a gambler in Memphis and worked as a jailer and clerked for his brother Bedford. His claim to the Pyles Road residence as his boyhood home was also three years. John Forrest died in 1876.

Son William Hezekiah Forrest arrived in this world in 1825, hence his claim to three years at the boyhood home as well. William as an adult ran slave businesses in St. Louis and Vicksburg, buying slaves from brother Aaron before resale. Their company was called Forrest and Maples. William had a home in Memphis and joined the Confederate Army 13 Jul 1861, rising to the rank of Captain. He was wounded 30 Apr 1863 in a charge against Col. Abel D. Streight at the battle of Sand Mountain in Days Gap, Alabama. William died in 1871.

[larry_cockerham]

Daughter Mary Forrest was born in 1826. She died at a relatively young age sometime after 1837. Her stay at the Pyles Road residence would have also covered about three years, making her claim to a Girlhood Home!

Son Aaron H. Forrest was born in 1828. He claimed the boyhood home for three years! He owned A.H. Forrest and Company in Vicksburg, Mississippi by 1858, having worked with his brothers in the slave trade. The business closed about 1860. He served the CSA as Captain of the 6th Mississippi Battalion of State Troops, but became ill with pneumonia while commanding an expedition near Paducah, Kentucky in the spring of 1864 and died near Dresden, Tennessee. Aaron and brothers John and Jeffrey are believed to rest in Elmwood Cemetery in Memphis.

[larry_cockerham]

Son Jesse Anderson Forrest came into the world 8 Apr 1829. His claim to the boyhood home also lasted for about three years! Before the war, he was in the slave trade with his brothers in Memphis. Jesse was Lt. Colonel of the 20th Tennessee Regiment. He served valiantly in Mississippi before joining the AOT in the Tennessee campaign and helping to fight the rear guard action on the retreat. Jesse ran a livery stable in Memphis for several years after the war. He died 14 Dec 1890, leaving a daughter Sally.

Daughter Milly Forrest was born about 1831 and died young after 1837. Another claim to a girlhood home, though she lived there only a couple of years

[larry_cockerham]

Twin Sons Isaac Forrest and Bedford Forrest were born about 1834. This is near the time of the family’s move to Mississippi. The twins died at a young age. It may be these two boys who are buried at the Pyles Road residence, but more likely they are in Benton County, Mississippi. More research is needed.

From their porch on Pyles Road, William and Miriam Forrest could have seen a future Mexican War soldier, two future Captains, a future Lt. Colonel, and a future Lt. General at play in the rocky yard. In 1834, the family pulled up stakes and moved westward to better land in west Tippah County, Mississippi in a little community, now extinct, that incorporated as the town of Salem on 11 May 1837.