Davy Crockett - Ancestry and Birth

Ancestry and Birth

David Crockett was born in what is now Greene County, Tennessee, close to the Nolichucky River and near the community of Limestone. At the time of his birth, however, the surrounding area was part of an autonomous territory known as the State of Franklin. A replica of his birthplace cabin stands near the site, now situated in the Davy Crockett Birthplace State Park.

Crockett was of Irish, English, Scottish, and French-Huguenot ancestry, the family name being derived from Monsieur de la Croquetagne, a captain in the Royal Guard of French King Louis XIV. The family converted to Protestantism and, as Huguenots, fled persecution in 17th century France to settle in Ireland. Family tradition says that Crockett's father was born on the voyage to America from Ireland, though in fact Crockett's great-grandfather, William David Crockett, was registered as having been born in New Rochelle, New York in 1709.

David Crockett was the fifth of nine children of John Crockett and Rebecca Hawkins. He was named after his paternal grandfather, who was killed in 1777 at his home near today's Rogersville, Tennessee, by Cherokee Indians led by Dragging Canoe. Crockett's father was one of the Overmountain Men who fought in the Battle of Kings Mountain during the American Revolutionary War. In the early 1790s, the Crocketts moved to Morristown, in the Southwest Territory and built a tavern there. A museum stands on the site and is housed in a reconstruction of the tavern.