The Truth About Davy Crockett's Sons

John Wesley Crockett was born to Davy and his wife, Mary Finley, on July 10, 1807. The couple's second son, William Finley Crockett, followed a little over a year later on November 25, 1808. Growing up in the shadow of the King of the Wild Frontier couldn't have been easy for either boy. Neither one of them shared their father's taste for war, but John Wesley did follow his dad into politics. The Crocketts were like frontier royalty in Tennessee. John was elected to his father's seat in congress in 1837. He served two terms, leaving office in March of 1841.

John Crockett was an active whig his entire life, and held numerous state and local offices before making his way out to Washington. He was also quite the prolific father. He and his wife, Martha Hamilton (no relation) had fourteen children together. After his second term in congress, John Crockett left politics and the practice of law. He moved his massive family down to New Orleans where he reinvented himself as a newspaperman. He edited the National for a time and established the Crescent in 1847.

Towards the end of his life, John moved back to Tennessee. He died in Memphis at the age of 45 and is buried in the Old City Cemetery in Paris, Tennessee.