Col. John Purdy

Col. John Purdy is a Tennessee historical marker in Chester County.

9385 State Route 200 Left side of driveway

Get directions ↗Start a road trip Historical trails

Born 1798 in Mifflin County, Pennsylvania, Colonel John Purdy came to Tennessee in 1819. During the 1820s he served as Surveyor-General of the Ninth Surveyor's District, with his office-home in Mifflin, which he named in honor of his Pennsylvania home. In 1825 he platted the first McNairy County Seat, which he named Purdy. Appointed Postmaster at Mifflin in 1834, he served as a member of the Constitutional Convention in Nashville that same year. Colonel John Purdy died in 1838 and is buried in the Old Mifflin Cemetery, now Chester County.

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

Slide toward Today to fade the historical sheet and see the modern map underneath.

David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

Historical maps covering this location

1794 · Map of the Tennessee Government. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1795 · Map of The Tennassee (sic) Government. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1796 · Map of The Tennassee (sic) Government. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1797 · Tennassee Government. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1814 · Kentucky (Mathew Carey, 1814) (Barry Lawrence Ruderman Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)

Example

For example, one family's tree showed the Articles of Confederation marker in Pennsylvania standing under a mile from where William Gabby lived in the 1760s.

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

From one family's 77-marker roster

Upload your family tree and TreeAlive finds the markers near where your own ancestors lived.

See your family's markers

Start with a tree file, a FamilySearch sign in, or a WikiTree ID.

Report a problem with this page

The marker isn't at this spotOur pin may be off. If you know where it stands, tell us.I couldn't find the markerWe record what the source recorded. We have not been to look.The sign reads differentlyThat would be an error, and we can pass it to the program.The historical map looks wrongThe period map behind the pin, not the marker itself.Something else

We may pass what you report to the state's marker program. Please don't include personal details.

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

Col. John Purdy

Historical maps covering this location

More markers nearby