But in the East, he was very popular figure and a high profile personality.
They lived in roughly the center part of the state, which was not particularly Brownlow country. My ancestor was almost 80 when the war started. Too old to fight in it.
His father had fought for the Americans at King's Mountain. According to his father's obituary, the father had accompanied Daniel Boone on some of his exploration trips though I've never been able to verify that. If I look back far enough in my family tree, I'll probably find Natty Bumppo.