The history of the Curfman's, early settlers in the area below the Narrows of The Harpeth on Cedar Hill Road in Southern Cheatham County
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| The Curfman homeplace on Cedar Hill Road, as it appeared in 1905 (on the left) and 110 years later in 2015 (on the right) |
The Curfman home place is located on Cedar Hill Road a couple of miles north of the Narrows of the Harpeth State Park. The following information about the Curfman-Stringfellow/Joshlin families comes from the book "Cheatham County, Tennessee: History and Families" by the Cheatham County Historical and Genealogical Association.
When John and Mary married in 1825, they had lived in the Cheatham County area most of their lives. John was born in 1803 in Virginia. By the time he was 11 years old, his family lived in Williamson County, but by 1820, his father, Jacob, and mother, Polly Greybeal, with their several children were living in Davidson County.
Marry Stringfellow's family had a large estate north of the Harpeth River in the vicinity of the Pack Cemetery and Deep Springs. Robert Stringfellow had been a captain in the Tennessee militia that was called on Jan. 7, 1813, along with several of the counties famous citizens (Baxter, Rape, Cox, Thunderbark, Johnston and Clark). John's brother, Mikel Curfman, was a steamboat captain and, like John, married one of William Stringfellows daughters. John's sister, Nancy, married Daniel Adkisson and is buried in the Dog Creek Cemetery.
John and Mary married Aug. 20, 1825. They purchased a farm from Mary's father, William Stringfellow. The farm contained 75 acres with an old log house on it. The house was built in 1790 and had been previously owned by Robert Stringfellow and Jesse Cox.
Jesse Cox was an early Baptist circuit preacher in the 1840s. In Jesse's diary, he tells of the terrible earthquakes in the area and his trip to war in 1812-13. The farm was downstream from "Rapes Ford" located in today's address as 2125 Cedar Hill Rd. In 1838, they purchased an additional three-acre bottomland at Rapes Ford from James Hall.
On Jun. 22, 1856, Mary died and was buried in the Leach family cemetery near Charlotte, TN. John's second marriage was to Elizabeth R. Joshlin (see photo) from Charlotte, TN (b. 1827, d. 1912). They married in 1859 and had three children - John Curfman died Mar. 12, 1879, and was buried in the Corlew Cemetery. His wife, Elizabeth, was buried beside him on Jun. 6, 1912.
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| The Curfman log home on Cedar Hill Road |
More about the Log House at 2125 Cedar Hill Road -
The first owner was Robert Stringfellow who is believed to be one of the surveyors in the area when Dickson County was established in 1801 at Charlotte. He sold the property to Jesse Cox in 1811. It is believed that this is the same Jesse Cox that was a Baptist Circuit preacher in Williamson and Davidson counties in the 1830's. After that time, it was owned by William Stringfellow. William Stringfellow sold the property to his son in law, John Curfman, in 1835. The house has remained with the heirs of John Curfman since that time.
Built in 1790, the structure is made of Tulip Poplar logs that are 6 - 10 inches thick and 10 - 20 inches wide. It is a two-story building, twenty feet by eighteen feet by 16 feet high.
The notches are full dovetail and pegged. The top plate is doubled pegged and squared. The "sleepers" (floor joist) are poplar poles, notched and placed on the bottom sills. The sills are supported above the ground by yellow stones. The roof rafters and end (gable) studs are six-inch poles, notched and pegged at top plate and together at the peak.
There is a chimney on the east end. The base of the chimney is made of gathered stones. From the fire box upward, the stones are of yellow, chimney stones that are hewned. Many initials and dates are cut into the upper part of the chimney, the earliest being 1875.
Before 1890 there were two doors and two small shutter windows. The doors are 5.5x4 foot (one north, one south). One shutter window was on the first floor beside the chimney. The second was on the second floor on the opposite end.
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| Initials carved into the chimney |
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| John Curfman gravestone, Corlew Cemtery, Cheatham County |
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| Corlew Cemetery Cheatham County |
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| Elizabeth Curfman gravestone, Corlew Cemtery, Cheatham County |
Very interesting. Thank you for your interest in the local history. You may have heard that the area between the game preserve and the narrows is now being proposed for a major development that will radically change the character of the Shacklett community.
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