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William Blount was born in Windsor, North Carolina on March 26, 1749 during a visit to his grandfather's Rosefield estate, on the site of present Windsor near Pamlico Sound. Being the eldest of a large family, he was exceptionally well educated, his interest in politics overwhelming. Shortly after the War for Independence began, in 1776, Blount enlisted as a paymaster in the North Carolina forces of the Continental Army. In 1778, William married a woman by name of Mary Grainier (Granger) and raised six children to adulthood, while simultaneously remaining in public service for the rest of his career. A delegate in both the Continental Congress and the Constitutional Convention, he was described by a fellow delegate as "no speaker, nor does he possess any of those talents that make Men shine; - he is plain, honest, and sincere." After actively seeking the position of Governor of the western territory south of the Ohio River, Blount was awarded the position by President George Washington in 1790; the position of Superintendent of Indian Affairs for the Southern Department automatically accompanied the position of Governor. By 1796, the southern territories' population had grown to the point that a new state -- Tennessee -- requested admission to the union, and Blount served as the first United States Senator from the state (1796). However, he was eventually expelled from the Senate for plotting with the British to attack Spanish Florida and Louisiana, in the hope of gaining new land for Tennessee. He returned to Tennessee, where his popularity remained unscathed, and rose to speaker in the senate where he worked until his death. He died in his early fities in Knoxville, Tennessee on March 21, 1800, due to chills and a fever. He was laid to rest at First Presbyterian Church Cemetery. After his death he was kept in the memory of those living in different ways. Two examples are Blount College (now University of Tennessee), which was built in his honor and the counties called Blount County (in two separate U.S. states) named after him. His son, William Grainier Blount, also kept his namesake alive through his prominence in Tennessee politics. |
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