Bishop William McKendree

Bishop William McKendree is a Tennessee historical marker in Portland, Sumner County.

State Hwy. 109 South and McKendree Longview Drive, Portland, TN

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One and eight-tenths miles west of here was the home of Bishop William McKendree, who was born in King William County, Virginia. During the American Revolution. he served as Adjutant in the commissary department supplying the armies of Generals George Washington and Comte de Rochambeau. Present at Yorktown in 1781. McKendree witnessed Cornwallis' surrender. Nine years later, he was ordained a deacon and subsequently "set apart to the office of an Elder” by Bishop Francis Asbury. Reverse: At Baltimore, Maryland, McKendree was elected the first American born bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1808. Two years later. he moved here with his father and other family members. Near here, Bishops McKendree and Asbury presided over the formation of the Tennessee Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1812. Before reinterment at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Bishop McKendree's body was buried locally in the McKendree family cemetery.

Maps this old were drawn largely by eye, so places on them can sit miles from where they really are. The pin is ours and marks the marker's location today.

TodayHistorical map

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David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

Historical maps covering this location

1778 · The Western Parts of Virginia, Pennsylvania, Maryland and North Carolina. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1794 · Map of the Tennessee Government. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1796 · Map of The Tennassee (sic) Government. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1796 · Kentuckey. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1797 · Tennassee Government. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)

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What that marker records spans 1777 to 1789, overlapping William Gabby's years there.

From one family's 77-marker roster

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Marker text and location from the Tennessee Historical Commission, as the Commission publishes them on its marker map.

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