Historical Figures

John A. McKinney was one of Rogersville's most prominent citizens — a powerful attorney and businessman who built many structures in the Rogersville area, including Three Oaks (the large white house across the creek) and the Hale Springs Inn (the site of the Reception on Saturday). Mr McKinney built Rosemont as a wedding gift for his daughter, Susan McKinney, and her husband, John Netherland in 1842.

John Netherland was a significant figure in Tennessee history. He was born on September 20, 1808, in Powhatan County, Virginia, and moved to Rogersville in 1837, where he would live for the rest of his life. He was a Whig leader who served in both the Tennessee Senate and House of Representatives, and ran unsuccessfully for governor on the Opposition ticket in 1859. The McKinney’s owned slaves (and were the people to build Rosemont), yet John Netherland opposed the Indian Removal policies of Andrew Jackson as a State Senator in 1833, successfully defended the Melungeon people against charges of illegal voting (people of color were barred from voting in 1834), won the Melungeons the right to own and inherit property, and was a major local pro-Union voice in the lead up to the Civil War. Unlike Middle and West TN, East TN remained staunchly loyal to the Union, even after the state succeeded and joined the Confederacy. After the war, Netherland was appointed Minister to Bolivia by President Andrew Johnson, but he declined the appointment. Netherland was a delegate to the 1870 state constitutional convention, which created the present Tennessee state constitution. He died on October 4, 1887, in Rogersville, and was buried at McKinney Cemetery in Rogersville.