David Crockett was born in Limestone (near Rogersville),
Greene County (presently Hawkins
County), Tennessee on August 17, 1786. His father was a Revolutionary War veteran who fought
at King s Mountain. In 1783, his father moved to eastern Tennessee, where he later opened a
tavern. When he was around thirteen years of age he ran from home, to escape punishment from
his father. For three years he traveled to various places and worked various jobs. By 1802, he
returned to his home in eastern Tennessee in debt and confused about his future. He agreed to
attended school but after only six months he decided to leave.
In 1809, Crockett married to Polly Findley and eventually moved to Lincoln County. Five years later he enlisted as a volunteer to fight in the Creek War and served under the command of Andrew Jackson. He served with distinction during the war but retired before the war ended. His wife died around 1815 leaving him with three children. He was soon remarried and moved to Giles County where he was appointed justice of the peace and later was elected as colonel of the district's militia unit. In 1821, Crockett was elected to the State House of Representatives. A fire destroyed his property and business in 1822 and rather than rebuild he headed further west to the Obion River where he settled in what was Weakley County (presently Gibson County).
In 1824, Crockett ran for the United States Congress but was an unsuccessful candidate for the House of Representatives. Two years later he ran again for the same office and won. He went onto serve in the Twentieth, Twenty-first, and Twenty-third Congresses. After an unsuccessful bid for a fourth term in 1834, he decided to aid the Texans in their struggle for independence. In February of 1836, he joined a band of 186 men at the Alamo where he took part in its heroic defense. David Crockett was among those killed in the battle and his body destroyed by pyre not far from the Alamo.