[Let me put a hold on the recent series so I can mention a few families who moved to East Tennessee.]
Lewis Wayland, Sr. moved, in two stages, from Culpeper County, Virginia, to Sevier County, Tennessee. His father was Adam Wayland, who had married first Elizabeth Blankenbaker, a daughter of Balthasar Blankenbaker. Elizabeth died not long after the birth of Lewis, and then Adam married Mary Finks, by whom he had two children. (This was to lead to a famous lawsuit, since Adam had failed to update his will to take into account his second marriage.)
As a young man, Lewis moved to Augusta County, in Virginia, where he started his family with the help of Elisabeth Link. His in-laws described him "...as a man of learning and culture with a desire for more." Though he had inherited little, he was able to buy two pieces of property shortly after his marriage. They sold these properties 20 Sept 1818. In the civil records he is usually listed as Lewis Wayland, but in the church records he is Ludwig Wieland, harking back to his German origins of a century earlier. The births of the children of Lewis and Elizabeth were recorded in her German Catechism. There were ten children, one of whom died very young.
Elizabeth's brother, Capt. John Link, had established himself in Washington Co., Tennessee, by August of 1818. (Originally, Washington Co. consisted of the whole state of Tennessee plus some more.) The Wayland home in Tennessee was built on the old Stage Coach Road leading from Knoxville to Sevierville, and ir still stands along state highway 338. (A picture of it was in Beyond Germanna in v.7, n.6, if you want to compare and to go searching for it.)
The move from Virginia to Tennessee was made with eight children and two slaves (Aunt Nancy and Uncle Billy) besides the parents. After Lewis, Sen., died, Lewis, Jun., lived in the house until he was killed by a bull in the barn lot. His widow kept travelers overnight, and the home became known as Wayland's Inn.
Besides being a large landowner, Lewis, Sen., organized and taught in the Rocky Springs Academy in Sevier Co. The children were all educated in the home, or at this Academy. Lewis, Jun., also taught in the Academy, besides farming and being the tax assessor. The family wanted to remain Lutheran, but there were no Lutheran churches nearby, so they held services in the home in the German language. Lewis, Sen., lived to be 83, and Elisabeth lived to be 90. Some Wayland descendants still live in Tennessee. One of these is Jane Crouch Williams, who lives in LaFollette. Even if she only comes by herself, she can represent the Wayland and Blankenbaker families. Let's hope she can find a few others and spread the word of the Reunion.
(25 Jul 01)
We gratefully acknowledge the work of John Blankenbaker who published over 2,500 Germanna History Notes via the Germanna-L@rootsweb.com email list from 1997 to 2008. We are equally thankful to George Durman (Sgt. George) for hosting the list and republishing the notes via rootsweb.com.