[IronJack]

Shouldn't be hard to research historical records and see if there was ever a man named Horatio Bunce in Crockett's Tennessee district. Or whether a fire ever broke out in Georgetown and left dozens of people homeless sometime around 1832. Or whether Congress ever appropriated $20,000 to their relief.

And if in fact Crockett made the speech before Congress, that too should be in the Congressional Record, as should his vote on the naval widow's endowment and the Georgetown Fire Relief bill.

[Sherman Logan]

The account is from a Crockett biography by William Ellis published in 1884. Ellis purportedly got the story from a Congressman who'd served with Crockett.

Since Crockett left Congress in 1835, we're looking at an almost 50 year gap.

Pretty unlikely that the story is true, which is a shame. It is beautifully told.

[CharlesWayneCT]

I found a web site that said the first printed congressional record was for 1873: Congressional Record, 1873-75,

The library of congress might have been founded in 1832.