David Crockett (circa 17 August 1786-6 March 1836), celebrated backwoodsman and United States Congressman from Tennessee, authored A Narrative of the Life of David Crockett , an early autobiography modeled on that of Benjamin Franklin. According to tradition and the Narrative (not always reliable), Crockett was born in Greene County, Tennessee, on Big Limestone Creek where it entered the Nolichucky River. The fifth of nine children, he received little formal education and in 1806, as a young man of twenty, married Polly Finley. The couple eked out a living by farming and had three children: John Wesley, who would one day succeed his father in the legislature, William, and Margaret (Polly). During these early years, trying their luck as they heard reports of good farming and game here or there, the family moved twice in the Tennessee country. But Crockett must have been restless still, for after the start of the Creek...