How to read the Davy Crockett family tree
The Davy Crockett family tree sets David Crockett in the middle row, with Polly Finley on his left and Elizabeth Patton on his right. Her first husband, James Patton, stands beside her, so each child hangs from the right couple.12
A double frame is the centre
David Crockett is the centre of the chart.
A line joins a couple
Crockett and Elizabeth Patton each have two marriage lines.
A silhouette is a missing likeness
Twelve of the fourteen have no reliable likeness on Commons.
A name with no years
James Patton and his two children are drawn without dates, since no source gives them.
John and Rebecca Crockett
David Crockett was born in Greene County, Tennessee, on 17 August 1786, the son of John Crockett and Rebecca Hawkins.1 The House of Representatives places the birth at the meeting of Limestone Creek and the Nolichucky River, in what was then the State of Franklin.3 The Alamo gives the same date and the same parents in its roll of the defenders.5
In 1796 the family opened a tavern on the road from Knoxville to Abingdon, Virginia, and two years later John hired his son out to help drive cattle to Rockbridge County.1 John and Rebecca married in 1780, and historians have verified nine of their children.6
The first marriage, to Polly Finley
In October 1805 Crockett took out a licence to marry Margaret Elder, who jilted him. He then courted Mary Finley, called Polly, and married her on 16 August 1806 in Jefferson County.1 Their sons John Wesley and William were born in East Tennessee, and their daughter Margaret in 1812, after the family moved to Lincoln County.16
In 1813 they moved again, to Bean's Creek in Franklin County. Polly died in the spring of 1815 of causes the Handbook of Texas calls unknown.1
The second marriage, to Elizabeth Patton
Elizabeth Patton was born on 22 May 1788 in the Swannanoa Valley of North Carolina. In about 1809 she married her cousin James Patton, and they had George and Margaret Ann, called Peggy, before he served in the War of 1812. He died without a will.2
Before the summer of 1815 was out, Crockett married Elizabeth.1 Their son Robert Patton Crockett was born in September 1816, Rebecca Elvira late in 1818 and Matilda in 1821. After a flood of 1821 the family moved to land in Carroll County that her father sold them.2
Her father, Robert Patton, named his son-in-law one of the executors of his will. After Robert Patton died, her brother George, not her son of that name, and her sister Ann McWhorter contested the will in July 1835, and the Crocketts faced legal trouble months before David left for Texas.2
Crockett left for Texas on 1 November 1835, and Elizabeth was widowed again in March 1836. Robert served nine months in the army of the Republic of Texas and claimed his father's bounty land in 1838. In 1856 Texas granted Elizabeth land of her own, and she settled near Acton, where she died on 31 January 1860.12
Two congressmen on the Davy Crockett family tree
| Person | Office | Years |
|---|---|---|
 David Crockett | Tennessee House of Representatives | 1821 to 1823 |
| David Crockett | US House, for Tennessee | 1827 to 1831, 1833 to 1835 |
 John Wesley Crockett | US House, for Tennessee, as a Whig | 1837 to 1841 |
| John Wesley Crockett | Attorney general, ninth district of Tennessee | 1841 to 1843 |
Where the record ends and the legend begins
Crockett died in the battle of the Alamo on 6 March 1836.15 How he died is disputed. The journal of José Enrique de la Peña says he was captured and executed, while Susanna Dickinson said he was one of the first to fall. Comic almanacs published under his name from 1835 to 1856 told tall tales of the legendary Davy, and later stories had him clubbing his enemies with an empty rifle.1
None of these tales adds a person to the Davy Crockett family tree, and the chart draws only the people the records name.
Where the records of the Davy Crockett family tree disagree
The House biography gives the date of death as about 6 March 1836.3 It also says John Wesley was born in Trenton, Tennessee, but the Handbook of Texas keeps the family in East Tennessee until 1811, so the chart writes no birthplace.41 Wikipedia dates William to 25 November 1808 in its text and to 1809 in its own family tree.6
Who is who on the Davy Crockett family tree
Each person on the chart has a row. Choose a period to list the people alive in it.
All 14 people on the chart are listed.
| Portrait | Person | Years | Life | On the chart |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| JC | John CrockettFather | 1753–1834 | He kept a tavern. | |
| RH | Rebecca Hawkins CrockettMother | 1756–1832 | Mother of nine. | |
| MF | Mary Finley CrockettFirst wife | 1788–1815 | Known as Polly. Sources1 | |
| David CrockettCongressman | 1786–1836 | The centre of the chart. | |
| EP | Elizabeth Patton CrockettSecond wife | 1788–1860 | She died in Texas. Sources2 | |
| JP | James PattonFirst husband of Elizabeth | Not recorded | He served in the War of 1812. Sources2 | |
| John Wesley CrockettEldest son | 1807–1852 | A congressman. Sources4 | |
| WF | William Finley CrockettSecond son | 1808–1846 | Son of Polly. | |
| MF | Margaret Finley CrockettDaughter | 1812–1860 | Known as Polly. Sources6 | |
| RP | Robert Patton CrockettSon | 1816–1889 | He served in Texas. Sources2 | |
| RE | Rebecca Elvira CrockettDaughter | 1818–1879 | Daughter of Elizabeth. | |
| MC | Matilda CrockettYoungest child | 1821–1890 | Born in 1821. | |
| GP | George PattonStepson | Not recorded | Son of Elizabeth. Sources2 | |
| MA | Margaret Ann PattonStepdaughter | Not recorded | Known as Peggy. Sources2 |
Questions about the Davy Crockett family tree
How many children Davy Crockett had
Six, three with Polly Finley and three with Elizabeth Patton, and two stepchildren from her first marriage.
Who were the parents of Davy Crockett
John Crockett and Rebecca Hawkins.
People and sources
A page of its own lists the six numbered sources this article cites. It also gives the credits of the portraits and this page as a reference in the APA, MLA, Chicago and Harvard styles, ready to copy.