Peyton Lewis, a writer and playwright, is a native of Nashville, Tennessee. Her plays have been performed in thirteen states across the country. She lives with her husband in Washington, DC .

Contact Peyton

Q: What made you decide to write this book? Are you a historian?

A: Definitely not. Previously I had written for the newspaper and also plays for adults and children. The last play I wrote, however, was about the fourth President of the United States, James Madison. I found that doing the research for that project was so compelling that I decided to study the history of my own family. Since I grew up in Nashville, Tennessee, I was very aware of a sense of history and place, and the part my family played in it. Often my aunt would take me to play in Centennial Park, and we would also visit the marker dedicated to Ann Robertson Johnson Cockrill. There is a current trend to study this country’s founding mothers as well as fathers, and I decided to study mine.

Q: How did you begin the research?

A: Since I live in Washington, DC, I began with the books I could find at the Library of Congress. Next, I took a trip across Tennessee, starting with Kingsport, the location of my opening scene. I spent hours in the archives of the library there, and with the help of a local historian, Muriel Spoden, I visited the location where the Donelson party would have encamped. I took pictures and soaked in the scenery. I visited the Sycamore Shoals State Historic Area in Elizabethton, Tennessee where there is a reconstruction of Fort Watauga. There I watched a movie in the visitor’s center which had a segment recounting Ann’s bravery in saving the fort. I also went to Knoxville, Chattanooga, and finished the trip in Nashville at the State Archives.

Q: Were you aware that you had a second great-great-great grandmother on the Donelson trip?

A: I knew there was a Peyton family included in the Donelson flotilla, but I didn’t know they were my direct ancestors. I went to the DAR (Daughters of the American Revolution) Headquarters here in Washington and looked up the papers my mother filed to become a member, and the lineage was all documented. I also found a copy of William Jennings’ will. That was a magic moment.

Q: Will you write other books about your family?

A.: Well, my great-great grandfather, Mark Robertson Cockrill, (son of Ann and John), was perhaps the most interesting ancestor of all. He became a millionaire, principally because of the fine quality of his Merino sheep. In a worldwide competition, Queen Victoria pronounced him “Wool King of the World.” A large plaque commemorating him hung in my grandfather’s home, and I somehow thought it was a testament to the fact that we were royalty. Of course I learned later this was not the case. But his is a fascinating story. We’ll see.