Frontier king a rebel

On this date in 1786 Tennessee legend Davy Crockett was born. While commonly seen as a fringe-wearing frontiersman in a raccoon hat, Crockett was also a politician, serving in the Tennessee House of Representatives from 1827 to 1831, then again from 1833 to 1835.

Whether at the hunt, the statehouse, or battle, Crockett's fighting prowess was a matter of heritage. The Crockett family?name derived from Monsieur de la Croquetagne, a captain in Louis IV's royal guard. After converting to Protestantism his ancestors fled France in the 17th century and settled in Ireland. While some stories describe Davy's dad as born en route to America, it was his grandfather whose birth was first registered in the U.S. Grandpa and namesake David Crockett was killed in a battle with Indians; Davy's father was killed in the Revolutionary War. Davy himself served as a mounted rifleman then as lieutenant colonel in the Tennessee militia.

In his autobiography, Davy Crockett wrote that his childhood was filled with hardship, travel and adventure. At 8 he asked to go hunting. His dad refused, but Davy learned to shoot anyway from his brothers (Davy was the fifth of nine children). At 13, he ran away from home to avoid his father's anger after learning the boy had dropped out of school. Crockett wrote that he learned his skills as a trapper, hunter and outdoorsman during those next three years of roaming.

Even in matters of love Davy Crockett's story roams. He was first engaged at 19, and although the marriage never occurred the contract is preserved in a Tennessee courthouse. The following year he married Polly Finley; they had three children. After Polly's death he married Elizabeth Patton and had three more.

Crockett's revolutionary nature cost him his life. He died on March 6, 1836, at the Alamo in San Antonio, Texas.

"I bark at no man's bid. I will never come and go, and fetch and carry, at the whistle of the great man in the White House no matter who he is." - Davy Crockett, referring to President Andrew Jackson.

Sholeh Patrick is an attorney and a columnist for the Hagadone News Network. E-mail sholehjo@hotmail.com