VIII.  John Fruit HANNAH (1797-1868) m Annie Grace TELFORD

John was born Feb. 16, 1797 in Washington Co., TN and died October 1, 1868 in Prarie Grove, Washington Co., AR.  He married Annie Grace Telford who was born June i, 1801 in Washington Co., TN and died December 5, 1867 near Hadensville, KY.  When Tennessee Governor Willie Blount put out a call for volunteers (under the command of Andrew Jackson) to fight the Creek Indians after the massacre at Fort Mims, AL, 15-year-old John Fruit Hannah immediately signed up.  One account claims that John went off to help the family's old friend, Samuel Houston, fight the Mexicans at the Battle of San Jacinto on April 21, 1836, but this is as yet unconfirmed.  John Fruit and his sons would usually amble into the town of Benton on Saturday evenings and involve themselves in many a bar fight, sometimes spending the evening in the one-cell County jail.  At the beginning of hostilities between the North and South, John raised the first county company in Polk County, entering into State service on May 16, 1861 and Confederate service June 6, 1861.  He was elected Captain of Company F, 19th Regiment, Tennessee Infantry on May 19, 1861.  The unit was later absorbed into Company D, 3rd (Lillard's) Regiment, Tennessee Mounted Infantry (Confederate), Vaughn's Brigade, Army of Southwestern Virginia and East Tennessee, and fought at the Battle of Manassas.  He reluctantly resigned from active service on December 30, 1861 at Camp Walker, VA "owing to my old age and general disability of several months standing ... age 66 years."  The Hannahs moved from Blount County, TN, to the Ocoee Purchase, where John Fruit was known as a great friend of the Cherokee Tribe.  He was one of the original surveyors of the Ocoee Purchase and laid out the city of Benton.  He was a farmer, extensive landowner and held an interest in the gold mine at Dahlonega, GA.  Having lost much of their land during the Civil War, the family left Tennessee in 1867, headed for Billingey, AR.