We thank the kind ladies at the Ned Ray McWherter Library in Dresden for their help with the following information on Early Settlers of Weakley County.

Reuben Edmonston and his brother-in-law, John Bradshaw and family were the first settlers of Weakley County.  The year was 1819 when these families came to Weakley settling along Mud Creek which is about six miles west of the present day, Dresden.  They built the first log cabin in the county.  Mr. Bradshaw raised the first patch of corn.

 The spring of 1820 brought more families including the father of Reuben Edmonston, Archibald Edmonston and his family arriving from Todd County, Kentucky.  This family lived with Reuben until the spring of 1821 at which time Archibald Edmonston and his family settled permanently on the North Fork of the Obion River. 

 The next settlers in the community where John Bradshaw lived were Isaac H. Ward, arriving in 1822 and William Miles who arrived in 1823.  Later came Mr. Glasgow, Dudley Glass, Sr., Levi Clark, and Israel Jones.   This was called the "Bradshaw Community".

 "Ridgeway Settlement" on Cane Creek was the next area to open up in the county.  This settlement was located in the vicinity of Palmersville.  Levi Mizell, Joseph Wilson and John Webb settled here before the county was organized .  They were soon followed by the Ridgeways, Buckleys, Killebrews, Dr. Jubilee Rogers, Benjamin Bondurant, Richard Porter, Jeptha and Alfred Gardner and Robert Powell.  A short time later they were followed by Nelson Nailing, Vincent Rust, Claiborne Stone, Thomas Parham, John H. Reavis and others.

The first settlers of the northwest corner of the county were, Henry and John Stevenson [ STUNSTON], Isaac and William Willingham, John F. Cavitt, John Rogers, Jesse B. Davis, Peter Williams and Benjamin Farmer.  More settlers followed, Jesse M. Paschall, Daniel Lasswel and his sons, Daniel, Joseph and Peter.  Others were, Samuel Majors, John and George Horton and Peter Mooney.  Later settlers on Richland Creek were Reuben and King Clark, Benjamin Chambers, the Snows, the Adams and the Stanleys.

Between Mud Creek and the Middle Fork of the Obion River were the Owenses, the Parrishs, the Tansils, Thomas Etheridge (which was the father of the Hon. Emerson Etheridge), A. Clemens, J.W. Rogers and John Jenkins.

 Between the Middle and South Forks of the Obion River, among the early settlers were Duke Cantrell, M.H.G. Williams, William Hillis, Alfred Bethell, F. A. Kemp and Calloway Hardin.  A further up the river were Robert Mosley, E.D. Dickson, James Hornbeak, Geton Bradshaw and Richard Drewry.

 The southeastern part of the county along upper Spring Creek we would find Thomas Osborn, Andy Denning, John Brawner, Isaac Cruse, the McElroys, McLuskeys, Rogers, Robert and Jonathan M. Gilbert, Captain James and Alfred Smith, William Hamilton, Ned Bucy, Francis Liddle, John O'Neal and Jim Kennedy.

 Thompson Creek we find among the early settlers, John Thomas, Daniel Campbell, Sam Morgan, Elijah Stanley, Daniel Shaw's father, William Gay, John H. Moore, Hayden B. Wells and Samuel Peoples.

The lower Cypress area we find settlers such as, Captain Job Rogers, E.P. Latham, the Carneys, the four McClain (McLean) families of Charles, John, George and Charles.  Others are the Shultnes, the Smartses and the Damrons.

 On upper Cypress we would find, the Thompsons, Thomas Ross, Mr. Brann and others.

 Near Dukedom were the Cashions, the Winsteads, and the Beadles families.