Revolutionary War hero to get marker on Rogersville grave - News Article Locations on Waymarking.com

ROGERSVILLE — Joseph Rogers is credited as the founder of Rogersville, but it was Rogers’ pioneer father-in- law, Revolutionary War hero Capt. Thomas Amis, who helped make it possible for Rogers and other settlers to establish Tennessee’s second oldest city.

Today Rogers and his wife Mary rest in a cemetery in Crockett Spring Park in Rogersville along with historical markers.

Meanwhile, Amis (1744-1797) and his two wives’ graves have been unmarked for decades until just a few weeks ago. Their resting places are known generally, with Amis flanked on one side by his first wife Alice, who died in 1784, and on the other side by his second wife Lucy, whom he married in 1787.

Those graves remained unmarked until recently when a chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution (SAR) placed three temporary markers in the cemetery. The exact location of the graves is only an estimate due to most of the markers in the cemetery having been knocked down, vandalized and removed over the years.

The cemetery is near the original 1781 Amis House on Burem Road, which was recently purchased along with 60 acres by a fifth great-granddaughter of Amis, Wendy Jacobs, and her husband Jake Jacobs.

This coming Saturday, June 20, the Kings Mountain Chapter of the Tennessee Society of the SAR will place a new military Revolutionary War veteran grave stone where Amis is believed to be buried during a ceremony scheduled at the Amis House cemetery.

“We have the family graveyard here on the place, and there is no stone for Thomas Amis, but I have been shown approximately where he is buried with both his wives,” Wendy Jacobs said. “Jake and I talked about this, and said we should get a grave stone for him. Two months ago I got an e-mail from Joe Chambers who is affiliated with the SAR, and he said they were wondering if we’d allow them to mark Thomas Amis’ grave with a Revolutionary War stone.

“We were thrilled to death, and we said absolutely. They are handling the entire thing and said invite who we want to invite — and we have some distant cousins who are coming in from Texas, and some who are in their 70s and have never seen this home.”

Beginning around 1780 Amis helped blaze the trail into Hawkins County for the settlers who followed by establishing a fortified trading post, tavern and inn just southeast of present day Rogersville along an old stage trail. Amis had received a land grant in what is now central Hawkins County as payment for his service in the Revolutionary War.

The original Amis House was built in 1781, and an addition was completed around 1840.

At one time the Amis plantation exceeded 1,000 acres, but today the farm is 60 acres and includes a section on the banks of Big Creek where Amis built a dam and a mill — much of which is still standing.

The Jacobses are both natives of Kansas, and for most of her life Wendy Jacobs didn’t know about her lineage or her connection to Rogersville.

In the 1980s she began a genealogy search and discovered that Amis was her great, great, great, great, great grandfather, and that his house still existed in Rogersville. They took a trip to see the house for the first time in 1988.

Around this time last year the Jacobses were living in Colorado and thinking about moving to a warmer climate when they discovered the Amis House was for sale. Wendy believes it was divine intervention that made the move to Amis House possible.

They needed to sell some of their property to be able to afford the purchase — not an easy task in last year’s real estate market. Wendy said they prayed about it and within three weeks they had buyers for their property.

The couple moved into Amis House last September and began a renovation. Their goal is to turn the house and remaining 60-acre farm into a living history museum and open it to the public for tours.

SAR’s national President General David Appleby also happens to be descended from Amis and will be attending Saturday’s ceremony.

“He (Appleby) descends from Thomas’ second wife Lucy, and I’m from his first wife, Alice, and he is so excited about this,” Wendy said. “He’s seen the house, but I’m not sure if he’s ever been inside, so he’s spending Friday night with us.”

The ceremony begins at noon Saturday and the public is invited to attend. Amis House is at 677 Burem Road about three miles south of the Main Street intersection in Rogersville. Although the house is barely visible from the road, a mailbox with the address is across the road from the driveway.

For more information about Amis House, see the Jacobs’ Web site at www.thomasamis.com.

Type of publication: Newspaper When was the article reported?: 06/14/2009 Publication: Kingsport Times-News Article Url: [Web Link] Is Registration Required?: no How widespread was the article reported?: regional News Category: Arts/Culture

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