The file of Ephraim Hixson, Jr., indicates he married his first cousin, Margaret Hixson in Bledsoe County in 1815. Margaret applied for a War of 1812 widow’s pension.
https://www.fold3.com/image/318163109
The town of Hixson in Hamilton County, Tennessee, was formed at Ephraim Hixson’s home site.
Source: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/17806857/ephraim-hixson
Hamilton County Pioneers — The Hixson Family
by John Wilson
Since the late 1820s, when many Indians were still in this vicinity, the land around North Chickamauga Creek in the shadow of Walden’s Ridge has been the domain of the Hixsons. Ephraim Hixson Jr. and Houston Hixson settled in the vicinity of the creek. Timothy and William Hixson were also here at the time of the 1830 census. In the 1836 and 1837 tax lists of Hamilton County, Houston and Ephraim Hixson were neighbors, while Alexander, Jackson, Henry and William Hixson were in another settlement.
Alexander Hixson was still here in 1850 with his wife, Nancy, and children Elizabeth, John, Margaret, Robert and Ephraim. Henry Hixson and his wife, Elizabeth, stayed in Hamilton County. Henry was born about 1813. He is listed as a son of Houston Hixson and grandson of Ephraim Hixson. Henry’s children included Henry, James, John, David, Nancy who married James L. Smith, McKinney who married Mary “Molly” Rawlston in 1873, Franklin who married Virginia Rawlston, William and Clarissa J. McKinney Hixson died in 1923 at age 73, leaving a daughter, Malissa Lovelady, and sons, James D., John M. and Noah O.
The Hixsons had come down from New Jersey through Maryland and Virginia to upper East Tennessee. Joseph Hixson and his wife, Susannah, are listed in the census of Frederick County, Md., in the revolutionary year of 1776. They later settled on the south side of the Nolichucky River in Greene County, Tenn. In 1786, Joseph Hixson paid 50 shillings for 100 acres at Greene County. Joseph, like a number of future Hamilton County settlers, got his first look at the lush territory during an expedition against the Indians. He took part in the 1788 raid against the Chickamaugas under Gen. Joseph Martin. There was a skirmish at the base of Lookout Mountain near Moccasin Bend. Joseph Hixson died at Greene County in 1804. His widow, Susannah, continued living on Middle Creek of the Nolichucky River until her death in early 1823. She left “one Negro woman, and two Negro children, one bedstead and furniture, one stove, one table, one loom, 2 corner cupboards and furniture, 2 head of horses, five head of cattle, eight head of sheep, thirty head of hogs, 1 desk, 1 chest, 2 spinning wheels, 3 ovens, 4 pots, one skillet, one clock and case, two bar share ploughs, 2 shovel ploughs, five hoes, 3 axes, one looking glass, one woman’s saddle, one hand saw and one cross cut saw.”
The children of Joseph and Susannah were Eleanor, Andrew, William, Joseph Jr., Timothy, Ephraim, John, Susannah, Benjamin and James.
Some of the children of Joseph Hixson joined the families of Rawlings, Kennedy, Hughes and other of their neighbors in migrating from Greene County to Bledsoe and Hamilton counties. Ephraim Hixson Sr. settled permanently at Bledsoe. Joseph Hixson Jr. married Mary Johnson at Greene County in 1790. Eleanor Hixson, the oldest daughter, married Sparling Bowman and they remained in Greene County near the old Joseph Hixson place. Susannah Hixson married William Davis in Greene County in 1794. Timothy Hixson married Rebecca Hughes in Greene County in 1795. His older brother, William Hixson, had married her sister, Ingobo Hughes, in 1789. The Hughes sisters were daughters of Francis Hughes, who lived from 1759 to 1841.
Andrew, the oldest son, was born in New Jersey in 1766. He married Anna Davis in 1786 in Greene County. He moved along with several of his brothers shortly after their father’s death to the section of Roane County that became Bledsoe County. In 1788, Andrew was a member of the militia that made a raid against the Chickamauga Indians. Andrew sold his property in Greene County in 1819 and moved to Clay County, Mo. His children were Andrew Jr., Susanna who married James Wilhoit and William H. who married Catherine Wilhoit. William H. had Andrew, James and Allen W. Hixson.
John Hixson, son of Joseph and Susanna, married Laney Nelson in 1805 in Greene County with Valentine Sevier as one of the bondsmen. John Hixson lived along the Nolichucky River near the Kennedys, then he was among the brothers moving to Bledsoe. John and Laney Hixson moved to Mitchell, Ind., about 1827 or 1828. During this move, John and his son, Timothy, were swimming horses across the White River. Timothy made it across, but John drowned. Laney lived until 1849 and was buried at Sheeks Cemetery near Mitchell. Children of John and Laney were Polly who married Thomas S. Warren, Maria who married Jacob Kimbley and then Aquilla Chapman, Dorcas who married Alexander Henry, Cynthia who married Aaron Johnson, Timothy who married Elizabeth Walker and then Lucinda J. Davis, and Joseph who married Elizabeth Harris and then Margaret Davis. David Hixson was in a boat at the time his father drowned, and he may be another son of John and Laney. Timothy was a pioneer in the area that became Spring Mill State Park in Southern Indiana. He built and operated a saw mill and a grist mill. His first wife died when their youngest twins were only a year old, leaving him with some 10 children to tend. He had eight more children by the second wife, who was part Indian. Timothy’s last child was born when he was 72.
Joseph Hixson Jr. had a son, Joseph III, who married Elizabeth Alexander at Bledsoe County. They later lived in Sequatchie County. Their children included Amanda J., William A. who married Ellen Austin, Phoebe who married Wash Cain, John H. who married Elizabeth Dowlen, Mary A. who married Jack Minton, Nancy M., Ingobo A. who married Jack Austin, and Linda Elizabeth who married George Elliott.
The family of William Hixson (son of Joseph and Susannah) lived at Bledsoe County. According to his great-grandson, Judge Will Cummings, William Hixson fought in the Revolution. The children of William Hixson are given as Ingobo, Nancy, Joseph Hughes, William Jr. and John. William died in 1827 and Ingobo Hughes Hixson lived until 1859. The daughter, Ingobo, was born in 1798 and had the distinction of living in three centuries since she survived until 1902. She married Jeremiah Fryar, and they resided in Lookout Valley. Nancy married Henry Grayson. She died in 1881 at Whitwell at the home of a son, Anderson Cheek Grayson.
Joseph Hughes Hixson was born in 1801. He married Phoebe Graham in 1825 at Bledsoe and they continued to reside there. Their children were John H., William McKinney “Mack,” Susannah who married James Hixson, George Washington who married Temperance Lasseter, Samuel, Marion who married Mary Hunter, Easter who married James Smith, James Monroe, Margaret, Houston, Ruth who married Anderson Martin, and Elizabeth who married Joseph Fryar in 1866. John H. died in the Civil War, and both Samuel and James Monroe Hixson died at Andersonville Prison in 1864. Samuel had married Sarah Hixson. He also died at Andersonvile, leaving a daughter, Virginia. Mack Hixson moved to the Silverdale section of Hamilton County at an early date. He was 95 when he died in 1922. He married Matilda Jane Walker and then Martha J. Shahan. Matilda died in 1876 and Martha in 1888. Mack’s children were Thomas Jefferson who married Rebecca Matilda Jones, Margaret who married James F. Barnes, William Joseph who married Martha Jane Summers, Mary who married James Minnis, Sarah Eleanor, Laura, Samuel, James A., Nancy who married James B. Boyd, and Emma M. James A. died in 1920 of blood poisoning at age 53. Samuel, who was born the year after the Civil War ended, was a prominent educator. Known as Professor Hixson, he went into Chattanooga in 1891 and was superintendent of the Hamilton County Schools for six years. He served as county register beginning in 1902, then was superintendent of the Bledsoe County Schools and then the Rossville Schools. He also served as principal of Knoxville High School and was president of the Tennessee Public School Officers Association. He married Elizabeth Brown. His sons were Percy and Roy H. Professor Hixson was living on Browntown Road when he died in 1937.
After the death of Phoebe Graham Hixson in 1847, Joseph Hughes Hixson married Eliza C. Henniger, daughter of John and Jane Henniger. Their children were Henniger who married Anne Hutcheson, Jane who married John Schoolfield, Joseph Summerfield who married Margaret Pope, and Emmett who died as an infant.
Joseph Hughes Hixson died in 1875 at the age of 73. Nancy, daughter of William and Ingobo Hixson, married Henry Grayson. She died at Whitwell in 1881. John, son of William and Ingobo, married Cynthia Smith. The John Hixsons lived at Wauhatchie, then at Birchwood. Their children were Timothy who married Mary Ann Smith in 1865, John Jr. who married Demmie Walker in 1869, William who married Rhoda Killian, Wilson who married Caldonia Beavers, Phebe who married Babe Austin, Andrew who married Rena Carroll, Eda, Cynthia, Nancy, Martha Ann and Sarah. Timothy had John, William, Abner and Frank. John Jr. had Andrew Jackson “Jack” who married Ella B. Goodwin, Jacob “Jake” who married Marie Dilbeck, Sara who married Jake Cranfield, Janie who married Sam Williams, and Thomas Burke “Dock.” William and Rhoda’s children included Mary E., Burke, Addie, Samuel, Newton M. and the twins William B. and Dollie. Wilson had William who married Maggie Burton, Martha J. “Maggie,” Nancy E., Andrew who married Betsy Beavers, Charles who married Ida Belle Cranfield, Robert who married Lillian Friddell, Daniel L., Susan J., Geneva A., Lillie, and Belle who married Bill Harden. Andrew, son of John and Cynthia, had Minnie who married Skelt Burnette, George Edward who married Barcie Webb, Tom who married Sudie Billings, Claude who married Ruby Adams, Hubert who married Ruth Parker, Clara who married Richard Daughtery, Grace who married Beedie Rucker, and Mary Lucinda who married William Carroll Burnette.
William Jr., who was born about 1795, was in Bledsoe County at an early date with his wife, Esther. They were in Sequatchie County in 1860. Their children included William, Ruth, Mary A., Nancy, John, Andrew and Esther. William was with the Confederacy’s Co. B of the Fifth Tennessee Cavalry. He enlisted Aug. 11, 1861. He died in 1907. John enlisted in the fall of 1862 to fight for the South with Co. B of the First Tennessee Cavalry (Carter’s). He fought at Murfreesboro and Cumberland Gap and his leg was smashed when his horse ran against a tree. He was captured following the fighting at Missionary Ridge, and he chose to swear allegiance to the Union and go across the Ohio River. He died near Birchwood in 1908 and was buried on the farm of S.A. Smith. Andrew and his wife, Susan E., moved to Hamilton County after the Civil War. Andrew died in 1905 and Susan in 1909.
Timothy Hixson (son of Joseph) purchased 163.5 acres in Greene County in 1803 and sold this tract three years later. He was given a Negro girl, Sal, by his father-in-law, Francis Hughes, and he later purchased a 15-year-old mulatto slave girl and a 21-year-old Negro woman in Bledsoe County. Timothy bought 400 acres in Bledsoe in 1817. Rebecca outlived her husband by many years, spending part of the time with her grandson, Pleasant Hixson. She later married a Kennedy, moved to Alabama and died there. The children of Timothy Hixson and Rebecca Hughes are given as Houston who married Rebecca Grayson, Rebecca, Margaret who married Ephraim Hixson Jr., Reuben who married Mary Ann Harvey, Ephraim, Sarah, Joseph, Colonel and Timothy Jr. who was a schoolteacher in Bledsoe County. Rebecca, who was born in 1806, married Joseph Rogers. They raised their large family in the vicinity of North Chickamauga Creek. Rebecca Hixson Rogers died in 1882. Reuben Hixson fought in the Seminole War. He was living in Sequatchie County just before the Civil War and he was near Waco, Tex., when he died in 1907. His children were Joseph who married Elizabeth Bair, Ruth who married Joe Stewart, Millie “Sis” who married Jonathan Bowman, Timothy, Anderson “Colonel” who married Zena Louvenia Elizabeth Alexander, and James Foster who married Martha Sims. Colonel, who was a prominent farmer, died in 1930 at the age of 69. His children were J.F., R.R., S.H., George, Mrs. Frank Coulter and Mrs. S.B. Eldridge. Sarah married Samuel Hixson. Their children included Pleasant and James. Pleasant married Sarah Ann Wright in Benton County, Ala., in 1848. She was from Chester District, S.C. James married Mildred Wheeler. Both families moved to Logan County, Ark., in the early 1850s. Pleasant had John Newton who married Nancy E. McCrary, Frances who married Granville McDaniel, Ellen who married Thomas Turner, James G. who married Belle Wolfe, Sarah J. “Jodie” who married W. Logan White, Pleasant Wesley who married Mary Lasseter, William S. who married Leanna B. Proctor, and Emery LaFayette who married Maggie Moore. Children of James and Mildred included Madison “Matt,” Taylor and Sarah J. Pleasant and Matt Hixson were in the Confederate army. Pleasant was a quartermaster sergeant in the Fourth Arkansas Cavalry. Matt was a first lieutenant and fought in a number of battles before being taken captive at Fort Hudson after a 42-day siege. He later represented Logan County in the Legislature. He married Belila A. Sadler in 1870. James Hixson (brother of Pleasant) was hanged by bushwackers at Cane Creek, Ark., in 1864.
Joseph Hixson, son of Timothy, was born about 1799 and lived at Bledsoe County. He and his wife, Elizabeth, had Amanda, William, Phoebe, John H., Mary A., Nancy M. and Ingobo A.
The children of Ephraim Hixson (son of Joseph) are given as Houston, Ephraim Jr., Susan and William. William married Margaret Roberson and they had William Carroll who married Paulina Wheeler, John Borders who married Lettie Graham, James LaFayette who married Susanna Hixson, Rachel L. who married a Sisk in Putnam County, Caroline who married Phillip T. Rawlings of Rhea County, and Ephraim who married Helen Pope. William’s second wife was Kesiah Sawyer. They had James Newton who married Adeline Davis, George W. who died in the Civil War, Susan who married Joseph Dunn, Mary who married Dr. Billie Smith, and Samuel who married Sarah Welch. William died in Bledsoe County in 1850 at the age of 46.
Susan, daughter of Ephraim, was born about 1801. She married Elisha Kirklen. They resided in Bledsoe County, but also had interests on North Chickamauga Creek and at the foot of Lookout Mountain.
Ephraim Hixson Jr. was born in Greene County in 1797. He grew up in Bledsoe County and then was an early Hamilton County settler and was a justice of the peace in 1834. In 1830, he bought the 640-acre reservation of the Cherokee John Brown for $5,500. The property acquired by the Hixsons was in the vicinity of the Fields ferry on the Tennessee River and the Brown reservation. David Fields was a Cherokee who received a large grant under the Treaty of 1819. William Hixson in 1842 had acquired 1,500 acres, including the Fields Ferry and the Chickamauga mill tract. This was part of a 20,000-acre grant that James Cozby and Charles McClung had obtained from the state of North Carolina. This was the William Hixson who lived in Bledsoe County and married Margaret Roberson and then Kesiah Sawyer.
Ephraim Jr. married his first cousin, Margaret Hixson, daughter of Timothy and Rebecca Hughes Hixson. She was born in Greene County in 1799. Ephraim and Margaret Hixson settled near the Houston Hixsons. They had a large family, including Wilson who married Nancy Hughes, David who married his cousin Malinda Hixson, Susan who married Hamilton Adams, Mary Collet who married Robert Henry Hamill, George Washington “Washington” who married Sarah “Sally” Vandergriff in 1845, Houston who married Nancy A. Barker, Margaret who married John Brown, Sarah who married Samuel Hixson, then William Arnett and then Andrew Johnson, Malinda who married Henry Barker, Timothy Stringfield who married Elizabeth Adaline Lewis, and Ephraim Foster who married Mary A. and then Savannah Fitzgerald.
John Hughes, father of the wife of Wilson Hixson, lived his last days with the Wilson Hixson family. He was 90 when he died in 1871. His wife had died many years earlier. The children of Wilson and Nancy Hughes Hixson included George Washington who married Sarah Smith in 1868, John F. who married Mary Elizabeth Barker, Rebecca who married Henry Grayson Hixson, Samuel who married Sarah Jane Carden, Elizabeth, Ephraim Franklin who married Annie James, and Margaret who married Thomas Holcomb. Children of G.W. and Sarah Smith Hixson included John F.M., William B., Ephraim F. who married Margaret M., and daughters Mrs. William T. Johnson, Mrs. Lawrence E. Dent and Mrs. H.L. Smith. G.W. Hixson died in 1919 when he was 76. John F.M. Hixson died in 1942 when he was 71. He married Margaret E. “Maggie” Jackson, and they had sons Andrew W. and Olin P. Children of John F. and Mary Elizabeth Barker Hixson included Laura E. who was the first wife of William F. Arnett, Margaret who married P.W. Phipps, and W.E. Ephraim Franklin Hixson was on the County Court six years and was on the county draft board. He was an organizer and vice president of Commerce, which was taken over by Hamilton National Bank. Ephraim Franklin Hixson lived near where his grandfather’s log cabin had stood. He was the stationmaster, postmaster and grocer for 43 years at Hixson Station. “Squire” Hixson was “a man who made many friends. He was quiet and unassuming, always kind and gentle. He was a friend of the downtrodden and lowly without reference to race or color.” A Democrat in politics, he was instrumental in the establishment of Hixson High School and was chairman of the county school board. He won many blue ribbons at the county fair for his varied breeds of chickens. Ephraim Franklin Hixson died in 1923 at age 67, leaving a son, Robert F. Hixson. The E.F. Hixson home, with its massive log undergirdings, still stands on Adams Road near the site of the train depot. It later was occupied by the Fitzgerald realty office.
David and Malinda Hixson had Silas who died young, Houston who married Annie Lovelady, Martha who died young, and Eliza who married James McNeally in 1877 and moved to North Carolina. Houston died in 1909. David Hixson took a second wife, Lucy Ann Moody, in 1878. He suffered a paralyzing stroke in March 1888, when he was 69. He died the next year.
The children of Washington and Sarah Vandergriff Hixson included James Foster who married Martha Rogers and then Mary “Mollie” Lovelady, Joseph D. who married Allie Hunter of Decatur in 1883, Thomas who married Della Hodges, Nancy who married Andrew Jackson and then John Minyard, Margaret who married James Preston Smith, Sarah Y. who married George Rawlston, and the twins Ephraim and Wilson J. Washington Hixson served as a justice of the peace. His son, Ephraim, was a farmer and ferryman at Harrison, but he drowned in the river in August 1883. James Foster Hixson died in 1913 when he was 67. His children by his first wife were Napoleon B. “Poley,” Eliza who married E.F. Hixson, William Washington and John F. By his second wife he had Carrie, Hester, Robert, Sally who married Andrew Hixson, George McClellan, Annie, Pleasant Alexander, Malcolm Rice and Hazel. Poley Hixson went to Sequatchie College, then he was a Chattanooga policeman and was in the county highway department 22 years. He was supervisor of county roads and workhouses and was on the county highway commission. He married Leonora E. Rogers in 1891, and they had a son, Cowart. Poley Hixson died in 1932 when he was 63. John F. died in 1905 when he was 29. He had served as jailer at the E Street Jail. He had gone west for his health and was with relatives in the Sequatchie Valley when he died. Joseph D. Hixson died in 1933 when he was 76. His children included Floyd A., Evie G., Columbus H., Fred L., Nancy A., Juanita and Sally. Thomas Hixson, youngest son of Washington Hixson, was born the day before the battle of Chickamauga. He owned a farm across the river from Harrison, but moved to the homestead of his oldest brother, James F. Hixson, after the lake was created. Thomas Hixson died in 1942. His children were Carroll, Jack, Harry, Robert L., Raymond, Napoleon and Mabel. Wilson J. Hixson had no children.
Ephraim Foster Hixson (son of Ephraim and Margaret) was born at Hixson in 1840, and he served in the Sixth Mounted Infantry for the Union. He and his wife, Mary, had Timothy who died young, Ephraim F. who married Ellen Moore, George Washington who married Addie Shropshire, John H., David Stringfield who married Isabel Pendergrass, Sarah J. who married Morgan Hunter, Nancy and Margaret who married W.B. Hixson. Margaret Hixson Hixson died in 1910 when she was 31. Ephraim Foster Hixson was 87 when he died in 1926. His son, Ephraim, lived until 1932 when he was 70. He had sons William who died in 1923 when he was 18, Walter C., Dewey G., Boyd and Henry and daughters Mrs. Maude Hixson, Lillie Gann, Mrs. Lester Jones and Mrs. Lois Freeman. George Washington Hixson farmed at Dallas. He was on the county school board two terms and was on the Democratic Executive Committee from the Jones Store precinct. He died near Harrison Ferry in 1938 when he was 68. His children were Robert S., Jack D., Lee H., Andrew Jefferson “Jeff” and Jerome. Robert was a sergeant with the state highway patrol. Jack was county clerk for Hamilton County, and Lee worked as a deputy in the office. Jack’s son, Don, has worked a number of years in the county clerk’s office. Another son, Gordon Hixson, is a Chattanooga physician. Jeff Hixson was treasurer of a brick company at Daisy. He died in 1950 at age 44 of a heart attack. He was found beside his car on Gap Road. John H. Hixson died in 1943 when he
was 72.
David S. Hixson lived until 1948 when he was 74. He had a daughter, Mrs. Grover Parrott, and sons, Solone, Stanley F., Noel S., Alvin J., Braxton B., Lestious and Malcolm E.
The Houston Hixson who married Nancy Barker was a Quarterly Court member and he managed over 2,000 acres of “fine farm land.” He was “thrifty and energetic and successful in all his undertakings.” After the war, his estate was in the $10,000 range. His children included Sarah Saphronia who married Elijah Hudson, Susan Leona who married A.H. Bailey, James Taylor, Ephraim Foster, Louisa Jane who married a Gibson, Margaret Rebecca who married M.G. Elliott, Melvin Houston and John Emmett. James Taylor Hixson was on the County Court two terms. He was one of the first ‘trail-hitters” at the Billy Sunday services. He died at Hixson of blood poisoning in 1919. He and his wife, Delilah, had sons Bernard E., Creed B. and Raymond and daughters, May who married George E. Liles, Hallie who married Daniel R. Hamill, Amy who married Oscar V. Bailey, Bessie L. who married E. Frank Brown, Juanita who married Joseph E. Seiller, and Lowie Waller. Bernard moved to Sikeston, Mo., and Raymond to Iuka, Miss. The Baileys lived at San Antonio, Tex., and the Browns at Johnson City, Tenn. The Seillers lived at Danville, Ky. Lowie married Jonah Waller, superintendent of the signal department for the Southern Railway. They moved to Somerset, Ky., and then to Florida for her health, but Lowie died in 1935 at age 44. Ephraim Foster Hixson (son of Houston and Nancy) resided at Gold Point with his wife, Susie M. He died in 1924 when he was 67, leaving a daughter, Blanche McGill. Melvin Houston Hixson died in 1927 when he was 52. His wife was Allie and his children were Charles, Willard, Melvin, Matt and Thelma. Houston Hixson died in 1898, and Nancy Barker Hixson died in 1893.
Timothy Stringfield Hixson was a Union officer. His mother, Margaret, lived her last days with his family. Timothy S. Hixson died at Hixson in 1918 when he was 75. He and Elizabeth Adaline Lewis Hixson had Louise Elizabeth who married John Wesley Gooden, Ephraim who married Elizabeth Hixson, John who married Easter Hughes, Timothy Stringfield Jr. who married Tennessee Lemons, Margaret who married Hugh Carroll, Charles W. who married Margaret Arnett, Wheeler who married Leona Vandergriff, Sally who married Monroe Thomas Vandergriff, Liza, Carrie, Joseph who married Maude Hixson, Nancy Mae who married Robert Franklin Ables, and Frank who married Carrie Hardy. Adaline lived to be 88 and was known as “Granny Hixson” in the community. Ephraim H. lived all his life in Hixson, dying in 1938 at the age of 71. He left a son, Elmer, and daughters Mrs. James Cox, Mrs. John C. Childers, Mrs. E.F. Grimm and Susie (Susie A., Colonel, Ora, Mathia E. and James E. 1900). Wheeler died in 1938 when he was 62, leaving sons Robert, Murrell and Virgil. The daughters were Mrs. John Dale, Mrs. Walter Gadd, Mrs. Eulis Davis, Mrs. Clint Davidson, Mrs. Ralph Dobbs, Marie and Ruth. Joseph died in 1936 when he was 51. He had a daughter, Gracie, and sons Houston, Wallace, J.C. and Joseph Jr.
Ephraim Hixson Jr., who had accumulated over 1,000 acres and had 11 slaves, was dragged to death by runaway horses on Christmas Day 1855. Margaret Hixson Hixson survived until 1888.
The older Houston Hixson (son of Ephraim) also lived at North Chickamauga Creek. He was a trustee of the Jackson Chapel church. He lived until 1868. Rebecca Grayson Hixson died in 1859. Their children were Malinda who married David Hixson, Margaret who married Joshua Beck, Eliza, Mary Ann who married David B. Hamill, John M. who married Clarissa Lovelady in 1870, William C., Ephraim who died young, and Henry Grayson who married Rebecca Hixson in 1866. Joshua and Margaret Hixson Beck occupied a large farm across the river from Chattanooga. Eliza married Thomas Jefferson Sivley, but he died in the midst of the Civil War. She later married Aaron Jones, and they went to Kansas in a covered wagon. Henry Grayson Hixson was a member of the Quarterly Court for two terms. He lived near the community of Hixson until his death in 1920 when he was 83. His children included William E. who married Ophia Smith, Nancy who married John Rogers, Louisa Rebecca who married John Taylor Adams, Carrie Elizabeth who married William Emmett Dent, and Margaret R. who married Joshua Beck Gadd. William C. Hixson, son of Houston and Rebecca Grayson Hixson, married Mary Ann Ragan, daughter of Absalom and Jane Ragan. William C. Hixson in 1849 purchased a 200-acre farm from Elisha Kirklen. However, he moved his family just before the Civil War to Paris, Ark. The Ragans migrated also, and two of the brothers of Mary Ann Ragan Hixson fought with Confederate units there. William C. Hixson on July 15, 1864, was hung by bushwhackers. This was done at his home in front of his wife and nine children. Mary Ann Ragan Hixson stayed on the Arkansas homestead and reared the children, and it was said that vengeance was later taken on the ringleader of the bushwhackers.
Samuel Worthington Hixson, who moved to Chattanooga about 1891, served in the Tennessee House in 1901-1903, representing Hamilton and James counties. Born in 1860 in the Sequatchie Valley, he was the son of William Carroll Hixson and Rachel Walker. He attended Sequatchie College, then was graduated from the University of Tennessee. Afterwards, he studied medicine and practiced in East Chattanooga. He served as county physician. S.W. Hixson married Ellen Varnell, and their children were Wallace W. and Nina. Dr. Hixson retired from medicine and opened a merchandising business at Daisy. He also served on the County School Board. He died in 1922 and was buried at the Poe Cemetery. His brothers were J.R., Phillip R., E.W., J.W., Ephraim and J.E. A sister was Mrs. Joe Hudson.
The community at North Chickamauga Creek was first called Lakeside after a “bottomless” lake that was near Ephraim Hixson’s home. The train station was the Cincinnati Southern was first known as Lookout. However, to avoid confusion with another station by the same name near Lookout Mountain, it was changed to Hixson Station. Finally, the community came to be known simply as Hixson. A legion of Hixsons still live in the Hixson community, and they have held annual reunions since 1957. The largest number ever to attend was 560 in 1961.
Attorney Linda Hixon is the daughter of Tom Hixon and Alma Hixson Hixon. The mother is the daughter of Andrew and Sally Hixson. Her grandparents were John F. and Maggie Jackson Hixson and James F. and Mary “Mollie” Lovelady Hixson. Linda Hixon has been a leader in setting up a greenway along North Chickamauga Creek, the ancient landmark of the Hixsons.
Source: https://www.chattanoogan.com/2007/3/10/101498/Hamilton-County-Pioneers—The-Hixson.aspx
Published earlier as Hixsons Are Hamilton County’s Most Prolific Family, by John Wilson — https://www.chattanoogan.com/2003/12/31/45008/Hixsons-Are-Hamilton-County-s-Most.aspx
From A History of Hamilton County, Tennessee
by James Livengood
“Some Chattanoogans maintained summer homes on the mountainside near Daisy. When the railroad came that way, Mel Adams donated five acres of land on which to locate a station. The railroad people, in appreciation, named the place Melville. Since that day Melville has been absorbed by Daisy, which also reached out to claim the old Poe’s Crossroads. A small depot fourteen miles from Chattanooga was called Cave Springs, so named for the spring with its cool waters by the side of the track. The station was about a half mile from the hamlet of Falling Water, where the stream by that name tumbles over the side of Walden Ridge.
“At this point the Cincinnati Southern turned into the valley of North Chickamauga Creek. It continued on to Lakeside, once the site of a large lake which had receded to the size of a pond. The railroaders changed this name to Lookout Mountain from this point. However, on account of the wide use of the name Lookout, the railroad people two years later rechristened the stop Hixson since it was close to the home of Ephraim F. Hixson, patriarch of the numerous Hixson clan living in the neighborhood. Beyond Hixson the tracks crossed the Tennessee River via the first river bridge built in the county after the military structure disappeared in the 1867 flood waters, went on to King’s Point (just west of the present Chickamauga dam), and continued on into Chattanooga.”
Source: https://anunexpecteddiscovery.weebly.com/hixson.html
