William ‘Uncle Billy’ Sharp

William Jake “Uncle Billy” Sharp (1825-1918) was one of Huntsville’s most notable figures in the latter part of the 19th century, and served as both Scott County Register of Deeds and Scott County Assessor of Property. He was a business-owner, and one of his businesses was Scott County’s first hotel, the Sharp Hotel.

Biography

Born Aug. 28, 1825, William Sharp was the son of Isham Sharp and Sarah “Sally” Joice. His parents were said to have moved from North Carolina to Buffalo Creek in an ox-drawn wagon.

It is unclear when the Sharp family moved to Buffalo Creek, but William Sharp’s death certificate stated that he was born in Tennessee, which would make the Sharps one of Scott County’s oldest families.

Sharp married Laudica Dysa Hamon, the daughter of Nathaniel Hamon and Hannah Jane Whitman, in 1852. They had at least three children: Helen Mary Sharp, Joseph Jonathan Sharp, and Keziah Sharp. Following Laudica’s death in 1889, he married Nancy Jane Phillips.

Early Life

In a story written when Sharp died in 1918, the Knoxville Journal wrote: “As a young man, Uncle Billie remembers having seen Indians who were residing in this county, and he also remembers that there was plenty of wild game, such as bear, deer, wolves, and panthers in this county. He learned the shoemaker’s trade himself, by tearing up an old pair of shoes, and using them as a model.”

Civil War

When Tennessee seceded from the Union in 1861, Scott County remained so fiercely loyal to the Union that county leaders met in Huntsville and declared themselves the Free and Independent State of Scott. As the Civil War progressed, Scott County and the rest of the northern Cumberland Plateau region became a haven for lawlessness, as well as a target for raids by Confederate guerrillas.

As a result of the rising violence, a group of men gathered at the Scott County Courthouse and formed the Scott County Home Guard. Sharp was not among the 71 men who signed the oath of allegiance that day, but he did join the Home Guard later in the war.

Business Ownership

Sharp opened Sharp Hotel in 1865, on the southeast corner of the courthouse square. It was Scott County’s first hotel.

The Knoxville Journal wrote in 1918: “For many years he had the leading hotel in Huntsville, and the Knoxville lawyers and judges always stopped with him while attending courts.”

Later, Sharp owned a general store in Huntsville. He “would go to Knoxville to ‘lay in his goods,’ and had the same shipped to Caryville, and thence hauled by wagon to Huntsville,” the Journal wrote.

Elected Positions

Sharp served a term as Scott County Register of Deeds from 1862 to 1866, and later served two more terms as Register of Deeds from 1870 to 1878.

Still later, he served a term as Scott County Assessor of Property from 1892 to 1894.

Dealings with the James brothers

Prior to gaining fame and notoriety as outlaws, brothers Frank and Jesse James are said to have lodged at the Sharp Hotel in Huntsville for several months.

As related by historian H. Clay Smith in his book, Dusty Bits of the Forgotten Past, James W. Baker said that the James brothers and two other men arrived in Huntsville two years after the Civil War and boarded at the Sharp Hotel. They also rented a building next-door to the hotel from Sharp and opened a general store. They stayed in Huntsville for six months before leaving.

Later, after the James brothers gained notoriety as outlaws, Sharp “told people he was sure that two of the men were the James boys, Jesse and Frank.”

Many years later, Frank James visited a merchant in Hustonville, Ky. and when the subject of Huntsville, Tenn. came up, James told the storekeeper that he was well acquainted with the Tennessee town, according to Baker’s story.

“Frank James then told them that he was well acquainted with Huntsville, Tennessee, that he and Jesse had stayed in Huntsville several months under assumed names while ‘scouting’ or ‘laying low’ from officers of the law. He described the town and several persons whom he remembered well. Two of them were ‘Uncle Billy’ Sharp and ‘Rube’ Hurtt.”

Death

Sharp died on Nov. 18, 1918, at the age of 93. His death certificate noted that the cause was “old age” and that no doctor was present.

The Knoxville Journal reported at the time that Sharp was Scott County’s oldest living person. He was buried in the Huntsville Cemetery.