John Fetterman

John Leet Fetterman (May 10, 1841 – April 8, 1906) was the founder of the Fetterman Bowl Company on Smith Creek in eastern Scott County. While the bowl factory did not last long, the Smith Creek community was known for a time as Bowl, Tenn. after a post office was established there with Fetterman serving as postmaster.

Biography

Born May 10, 1841 in Pennsylvania, John L. Fetterman was part of the extensive Fetterman family of Pennsylvania. He appears to have been the son of John Fetterman Sr. and Sarah Jane Crozier, who died in 1846 and 1848, respectively. When the 1850 census was taken, Fetterman was listed in the household of John and Betsy McDowel in Summerhill, Penn.

The Fetterman family was very common in Pennsylvania and today. The family’s presence in Pennsylvania dates back to the 16th century, when the Fettermans — then spelled Vetterman — migrated to the American colonies from Europe. U.S. Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pennsylvania), who was elected in 2022, is a fourth cousin to John Leet Fetterman, four times removed. Their common ancestor is Johann Kasimir Vetterman (1683-1728), the third-great-grandfather of John Leet Fetterman.

Civil War

Fetterman enlisted in the Union army in June 1861 and was assigned to Co. A, 2nd Minnesota Infantry. His brother, William Fetterman, also enlisted. In September 1863, the Fettermans were among Gen. Ambrose Burnside’s 12,000-man-strong Army of the Ohio that marched through Scott County en route to Knoxville to rout the Confederate presence in East Tennessee.

After the War

Fetterman returned to Pennsylvania after the war ended. He married Viola “Vida” Espy (1845-1933) sometime just prior to 1870. She was the daughter of Hugh McConnick Espy (1802-1859) and Jane Green.

Like the Fetterman family, the Espy family was a deeply-rooted Pennsylvania family. The unincorporated community of Espyville can still be found in Crawford County, Penn. Vida’s grandfather, George Espy, entered the Revolutionary War at age 16 and was a barefoot boy at Valley Forge. He later ran a sawmill and grist mill at Espyville.

When the 1870 census was taken, John and Vida Fetterman lived near Espyville, where his occupation was listed as oar finisher. They had one daughter, two-month-old Grace M. Fetterman.

The Fettermans still lived in Crawford County, Penn. when the 1880 census was taken. His occupation was listed as manufacturer. Their children included 10-year-old Grace Fetterman, 8-year-old Frederic Fetterman, and 5-year-old Edith Fetterman.

In addition to Grace (1870-1914), Frederick (1872-1892) and Edith Louise (1875-1972), John and Vida’s children included John Lawrence (1882-1943), John Leet (1883-1970) and John Paul (1885-1917). A Charles Fetterman was also referenced in Vida’s obituary as a surviving son, but he is not found in census records.

The move to Tennessee

John Fetterman was so struck by Scott County when the Army of the Ohio marched through it in 1863 that he later moved here, settling on Smith Creek in the mountainous eastern part of the county. That move came between 1880 and 1890.

Smith Creek was one of Scott County’s earliest settlements, and the location of several Civil War tragedies before Fetterman and the rest of Burnside’s army arrived in September 1863. Confederate soldiers had burned the home of Caswell Cross at Smith Creek in 1862 before running across Caswell’s brother, Larkin Cross, and hanging both Larkin and another man, Ransom Vanover. Prior to that, in September 1861, the farm of Hiram Marcum on Smith Creek was raided by Confederates, who were successfully fended off by his 16-year-old daughter, Julia Marcum. Rebel soldiers later killed Hiram’s nephew, George Marcum, at the farm in January 1862. Both Larkin Cross and George Marcum are buried at Lloyd Cemetery next to New Salem United Baptist Church on Smith Creek.

Records indicate that John and Vida Fetterman arrived at Smith Creek around 1885. John Fetterman opened a mill that made wooden bowls, and called it the Fetterman Bowl Company. It was located near New Salem United Baptist Church. The 1900 census listed his occupation as “manufactor wood rancher.”

The U.S. Postal Service opened a post office at Smith Creek in June 1891. It was located at the Fetterman home, with Fetterman serving as the postmaster.

In addition to bowl-making, Fetterman was a skilled carpenter. He built the first permanent meeting house for First United Methodist Church of Oneida.

The book The Espy Family in America lists Vida’s brother, Fred Espy (1844-1885) as marrying Rachel Williamson, with whom he had two sons, Fred and Frank, who lived at Bowl, Tenn.

Late life

The Fetterman family left Smith Creek shortly after 1900 and moved to Williams Creek in West Oneida.

William R. Posey was named postmaster at Bowl Post Office, which closed in January 1907 and consolidated with Oneida Post Office.

The Fetterman Bowl Company was sold to Edgeby, Ellis & Kellog of Lexington, Ky., and was renamed Interior Lumber Co.

Frederick Fetterman, John’s son, was shot and killed by Michael Chambers in Huntsville on Oct. 9, 1892 as revenge for Fetterman killing Chambers’ dog. According to news reports, Chambers confronted Fetterman and demanded $10 for the dog’s death, which Fetterman refused. Chambers later returned with a gun and shot Fetterman in the back. Chambers was later arrested in Sacramento, Calif. for the crime.

Death and aftermath

John Fetterman died in 1906 at age 65 and was buried at Marcum Cemetery in Oneida. Most of the Fetterman family had already left Scott County at that time or soon would. Vida Fetterman moved to West Virginia after her husband’s death to live with her daughter, Grace Fetterman Wood, who had married John Alfred Wood (1863-1939) in Scott County.

John Leet Fetterman Jr. followed his father into the lumber business and moved to Mississippi, where he established a successful company.

John Paul Fetterman moved to Knoxville and worked as a meat salesman before dying in 1917 at age 31.

John Lawrence Fetterman married Margaret Cooper, then married Zora Goad after Margaret died and was buried at Marcum Cemetery (they also had a toddler son, Clifford Fetterman, who is buried at Marcum Cemetery). He worked on the Southern Railway and eventually moved to Danville, Ky., where he died in 1943 at age 61.

Edith Louise Fetterman followed her sister, Grace, to West Virginia.

Espy Sherman Fetterman, the son of John Lawrence Fetterman and Margaret Cooper, was the only Fetterman who remained in Scott County. He married Hazel Smith, sister to historian Henry Clay Smith, author of Dusty Bits of the Forgotten Past. He was active in the Methodist Church and owned Fetterman Plumbing & Heating for more than 50 years before his death in 1985. He is buried at H.C. Smith Cemetery in the Coopertown neighborhood of Oneida.

Lou Katherine Fetterman, Espy’s oldest daughter, married Vester Blevins, the son of Rev. Roy Blevins. Sherman Espy Fetterman Jr. married Wanda Yancey and was elected to Scott County Commission. He died in 1997 and is buried at H.C. Smith Cemetery like his sister and parents. His second wife, Glenda, still lives in Oneida, as do his stepchildren. His daughter, Kendra, married Greg Marlow. They currently live in Knoxville, Tenn.