Colonel William L. Heiskell 1788-1871

l

William Heiskell was born at Hagerstown, Maryland in 1788, but was raised in Virginia. He began his working career as a printer, and later became High Sheriff of Lee County, Virginia. He spent two terms, beginning in 1823, as a member of the Virginia House of Delegates. He was a member of the Constitutional Convention of Virginia from 1829-1830. In 1833, he moved to Tennessee, where he was a representative for Monroe County, 1849-1851. He was also a director of the East Tennessee & Virginia Railroad Company, 1849-1870; Representative for Knox County and Speaker of the House of Representatives, 1865-1867; appointed president and trustee of Hampden-Sidney Academy, Knoxville, 1866; appointed a Trustee of East Tennessee University, 1866; Receiver of Customs at Knoxville under President Lincoln; and one of the original promoters of Hiwassee College in Monroe County. He died at Knoxville, September 9, 18713. According to Tennessee Records: Tombstone Inscriptions and Manuscripts by Jeannette Tillotson Acklen (2007: 336) William Heiskell was buried in the "Old Gray" Cemetery, Knoxville, Knox County, Tennessee.

William Heiskell was one of the "prime movers" in establishing the First National Bank of Knoxville in 1864. This well managed institution, renowned for paying its stockholders their dividends in gold, closed in 1872. 1

In a June 8, 1861 referendum to secede from the Union, Tennessee became the last state to join the Confederacy. However, East Tennessee held firm against separation, and in the months leading up to the vote, East Tennessee held two conventions, the first in Knoxville, followed by a second in Greeneville. The issue of secession was debated and support for the Union was confirmed. 2 Frederick S. Heiskell was the first signatory to call for a convention, and served as delegate for Knox County, and his brother, William Heiskell, was appointed one of the assistant vice-presidents, and served as representative for Monroe County. William's son, John M. Heiskell, served as the delegate for Blount County.

The 1850 census shows their family living in Monroe County, Tennessee. Members of the household are:

William Heiskell, aged 60 (occupation) farmer.
Elizabeth [Mitchell] Heiskell, aged 52
Milton Y. Heiskell , aged 28 (occupation) physician. 6
Caroline Heiskell, aged 26 [wife of Milton]
Rachel Heiskell, aged 21. Rachel Davis Litchfield Heiskell was born 15 April 1829 and died 25 July 1912. She married Quincy Adams Tipton 5. Their children were 1) William King Heiskell Tipton born 15 November 1851 in Tennessee, died 8 July 1882 in Loudon County, TN; 2) Mary Caroline Tipton, born 15 July 1854 and died in Tennessee 18 September 1855; 3) Betsey Mitchell Tipton. born 24 June 1856 and died in Tennessee 24 June 1856; 4) Jonathan Tipton, born 13 May 1859, died 15 June 1903 in Knoxville, TN.; 5) Quincy Adams Tipton, Jr. born 20 November 1861, died 25 September 1940; 6) James H. Tipton, born 15 Feb 1866, died 15 May 1948 of a heart attack; 7) T. C. Tipton, born 1872, died ?. The family is buried in, Steekee Cemetery, Loudon County, TN.
Betty Heiskell, aged 6 [child of Milton and Caroline?]
Margarett Heiskell, aged 5 [child of Milton and Caroline?]
Tyler [Davis] Heiskell, aged 26 (occupation) gold digger.

Other known children of William and Elizabeth are:

John Mitchell Heiskell (Sr.) was born 27 February 1816 in Virginia. The 1850-70 censuses show John as the head of household, and married to Elizabeth Heiskell4 , with the following children: William H.B. Heiskell (b.1841); James K. Heiskell (b.1843), Elizabeth M. Heiskell (b. 1845), John Mitchell Heiskell (Jr.) (b. 1846); Milton G. Heiskell (b. 1849) 7; Mary C.P. Heiskell (b. 1851); Sarah B. Heiskell (b. 1853); Ann L. Heiskell (b. 1855); Addy F. [Adda E.] Heiskell (b. 1857); Bell D. Heiskell (b.1860); Blanch[e] S. Heiskell (b. 1864); Annie H. Heiskell (b. 1863). They were living in Monroe County (1850), Tennessee, and in Morganton, Blount Co., TN (1860-70). John Sr. moved to Tennessee from Virginia when he was 18 years old.
Mary Trigg Heiskell. Loudon Free Press 13 May 1853 records: Cannon, Mary Trigg (Mrs.). At Cannon's store in Sevier Co. on 1st May, wife of Mr. William H. Cannon and daughter of Col. William Heiskell of Monroe County. Mary Trigg Heiskell married William H. Cannon on 5 Jan 1848 in Monroe County.
Peter May Heiskell
Catherine Ann Elizabeth Heiskell 16 October 1819. Died 16 February 1820 aged four months.
William King Heiskell: born July 10, 1814 - died March 20, 1871.

William Heiskell was actively involved in the foundation of the Virginia and Tennessee Railroad. He was one of the delegates elected to represent Washington County at the convention of 1849 held at Christiansburg.

In 1849 the Tennessee legislature passed an act incorporating the institution known as Hiwassee College. William Heiskell and J. B. Heiskell were full members of its Board of Trustees. (Source: Tennessee Cousins: a history of Tennessee People by Worth S. Ray (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1984) p. 353.

Winchester Gazette
Published Weekly from 18uu to 1826 in Winchester, Va. : William Heiskell,
Founded Apr. 2, 1788, as the Virginia Centinel; or the Winchester Mercury In the winter of 1808-1809, William Heiskell became sole publisher.

1Standard History of Knoxville by William Rule, George Frederick Mellen, & John Wooldridge (1900: 253-4)
2 The War of the Rebellion: a compilation of official records of the Union and Confederate armies. Series 1, vol. 52, pt. 1:148-171.
3 University of Tennessee Record: presidents and trustees. No. 5 University of Tennessee Press: Knoxville, 1898:243
4 Elizabeth "Betty" Ann Riley Leeper, daughter of Hugh Leeper and Ruth Long of Blount Co., TN.
5 Birth: Jul. 1, 1819 - Death: Sep. 15, 1900. "In August 1850 applied for a dispensation to organize a Masonic Lodge in Morganton, Blount County, Tennessee. However, before the dispensation was granted, Mr. Tipton received employment in Loudon (then located in Roane County) with the newly created East Tennessee and Georgia Railroad. Mr. Tipton then petitioned the Grand Lodge of Tennessee for a change in location of the Lodge from Morganton to Loudon. The petition was granted and a charger for Tennessee Lodge No. 204 was issued 7th October 1851. Quincy Adams Tipton (a descendant of President John Quincy Adams was the first Worshipful Master of the new lodge, serving from 1850 through 1854." Excerpt from: A Brief History of the Masonic Order in Loudon. The mother of Quincy Adams Tipton, Livinia Jane Adams Williams Tipton, was the niece of President John Quincy Adams.
6 Erroneously recorded as Milton G Heiskell in 1850 census.
7 Milton G. Heiskell was the mayor of Abingdon, Virginia 1876, 1878-9 (History of Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786; Washington County, 1777-1870)