Colonel John Donelson

1718 - 1785  (67 years)

• Name	John Donelson  [1, 2, 3]
  Title	Colonel
  Birth	7 Apr 1718	Snow Hill, Worcester, Maryland, USA   [1, 2, 3]
  Gender	Male
  DAR/SAR	Daughters of the American Revolution: # A033074, Sons of the American Revolution: # P-149148
  		Seal-DAR Daughters of the American Revolution
  		Seal-SAR Sons of the American Revolution
  Kinfolk of Note	Father-in-law of President Andrew Jackson  [3]
  Occupation	Colonial Frontiersman and Founder of Nashville  [3]
  		Statue of Donelson & Robertson Founders of Nashville - John Donelson and James Robertson
  Military Service	Abt 1776  [1]
  	Lt Colonel in Pittsylvania County Virginia Militia
  Death	17 Nov 1785	Barren County, Kentucky, USA   [1, 2, 3]
  	Cause: Homicide: Shot by unknown person
  	Mysteriously killed on the trail between Kentucky and Nashville
  Burial	Hermitage Churchyard Cemetery, Hermitage, Davidson, Tennessee, USA   [1]
  	Cenotaph of Col John Donelson
  		Burial Cenotaph-DONELSON John Cenotaph of Colonel John Donelson - Hermitage Churchyard Cemetery, Hermitage, Davidson, Tennessee
  		Hermitage Churchyard Cemetery (also known as Donelson Family Cemetery) Hermitage, Davidson, Tennessee Find a Grave: #1461217
  Person ID	I25940	A Tree Called Smith
  Last Modified	30 Jul 2025

  
  

  Family	Rachel Stockley,   b. 1715, Accomack County, Virginia, USA d. 1794, Nashville, Davidson, Tennessee, USA (Age 79 years)
  Marriage	Abt 1749	Pittsylvania County, Virginia, USA
  Children	1. Rachel Donelson,   b. 17 Jun 1767, Pittsylvania County, Virginia, USA d. 22 Dec 1828, Hermitage, Davidson, Tennessee, USA (Age 61 years)  [Father: natural]  [Mother: natural]   2. Samuel Donelson,   b. 1760, Pittsylvania County, Virginia, USA d. 1803, Clover Bottom, Davidson County, Tennessee, USA (Age 43 years)  [Father: natural]  [Mother: natural]
  Family ID	F11194	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	21 Jul 2025

  
  

• Event Map

  Birth - 7 Apr 1718 - Snow Hill, Worcester, Maryland, USA Marriage - Abt 1749 - Pittsylvania County, Virginia, USA Death - Cause: Homicide: Shot by unknown person - 17 Nov 1785 - Barren County, Kentucky, USA Burial - - Hermitage Churchyard Cemetery, Hermitage, Davidson, Tennessee, USA  = Link to Google Earth

  
  

• Arms Icons & Insignia		Seal-DAR Daughters of the American Revolution
  		Seal-SAR Sons of the American Revolution

  
  

  Biographies and Histories

  Bio-DONELSON John Colonel John Donelson

  
  

  Burials

  Burial Cenotaph-DONELSON John Cenotaph of Colonel John Donelson - Hermitage Churchyard Cemetery, Hermitage, Davidson, Tennessee

  
  

  People

  DONELSON-Colonel John John Donelson (1718–1785) was an American frontiersman, ironmaster, politician, city planner, and explorer. After founding and operating what became Washington Iron Furnace in Franklin County, Virginia for several years, he moved with his family to Middle Tennessee which was on the developing frontier. There, together with James Robertson,…

  
  

  Places

  Statue of Donelson & Robertson Founders of Nashville - John Donelson and James Robertson

  
  

• Sources

  [S10431] Find a Grave Cenotaph (Famous), DONELSON Colonel John - American Army 1718-1785 (Veteran). Colonial Frontiersman. One of the two founders of Nashville, he joined with James Robertson to lead the first settlers to begin a new settlement on the Cumberland River at the French Lick. A land speculator and surveyor, he served in the Virginia House of Burgesses before moving to the Watauga settlements on the Holston and Watauga rivers in East Tennessee, where he met James Robertson. While Robertson led a group of mostly men and boys overland with pack horses and livestock, John Donelson organized and led a flotilla of approximately thirty boats from the Holston River to the Tennessee River, up the Ohio River, and then up the Cumberland River to the present site of Nashville, approximately 1000 miles. Most of his passengers were the wives and children of the men who went with Robertson. John Donelson was mysteriously killed on the trail between Kentucky and Nashville in 1785. His tenth child (out of eleven) was Rachel Donelson Jackson, the future wife of Andrew Jackson, seventh president of the United States. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/6639237/john_donelson Burial Cenotaph-DONELSON John Cenotaph of Colonel John Donelson - Hermitage Churchyard Cemetery, Hermitage, Davidson, Tennessee [S509] Sons of the American Revolution - Members. U.S., Sons of the American Revolution Membership Applications, 1889-1970 [S2960] Wikipedia: John Donelson, (Name: Wikipedia;), John Donelson. John Donelson (1718–1785) was an American frontiersman, ironmaster, politician, city planner, and explorer. After founding and operating what became Washington Iron Furnace in Franklin County, Virginia for several years, he moved with his family to Middle Tennessee which was on the developing frontier. There, together with James Robertson, Donelson co-founded the frontier settlement of Fort Nashborough. This later developed as the city of Nashville, Tennessee. Donelson and his wife Rachel had eleven children, four of them girls. Their tenth, daughter Rachel, married Andrew Jackson who was elected United States president in 1828. Donelson served in the Virginia House of Burgesses. From about 1770 to 1779, he operated the Washington Iron Furnace at Rocky Mount, Franklin County, Virginia.[2] He next moved to the Watauga settlements on the Holston and Watauga rivers in Washington District, North Carolina. They came into conflict with the Overhill Cherokee on the far side of the Appalachians. Because of armed conflict and flooding in his settlement, Donelson temporarily moved his family to safer areas in Kentucky. Along with James Robertson who traveled the overland route, Donelson and a large number of pioneers traveled down the Tennessee and other rivers in excess of 1,000 miles to Middle Tennessee, where they co-founded Fort Nashborough, in 1780. This eventually developed as the city of Nashville, Tennessee.[1] A collection of his diaries are kept in Cleveland Hall, in Nashville. Donelson was shot and killed in 1785 by an unknown person on the banks of the Barren River. He was en route to Mansker's Station after a business trip