Audley Paul and Hiram A. DeFriese were among the early settlers of Rhea County – buying choice lots at the promising river settlement of Washington. The background of the DeFriese family is said to be Hugeonot.
Hiram A. DeFriese was among those signing a petition asking that the Indian agency be moved closer to Washington.
Hiram witnessed a deed in 1817 in which Margaret Kennedy transferred to Daniel Rawlings for $300 a negro girl Betsy age 7. Hiram bought a lot a Washington in 1816 for $600, while Audley acquired his in 1820, paying only $25.
That same year on Dec. 7, Audley P. DeFriese married Nancy L. Caldwell. Her father was David Caldwell and her mother was Elizabeth Givens. Audley was born about 1796 – the year Tennessee became a state. Nancy was born about 1803.
Audley P. DeFriese was a captain in Brown’s Company in Rhea County in 1823. He made his way to Bradley County in the late 1830s about the time of the Indian Removal when the lands were opening up there. He moved on to Hamilton County in the 1850s, settling at Birchwood. Audley DeFriese was the postmaster for Birchwood from 1858 to 1871.
The children of Audley and Nancy DeFriese were Thomas J., Hiram A., Anna J., Jane E., Mary, James A., John M., the twins Henry Charles and Theodore F., and Richard. Several of the sons became physicians.
Thomas Jefferson DeFriese was born three days before Christmas in 1822 when the family was still in Rhea County. He studied medicine under Dr. P.J.R. Edwards of Bradley County. Dr. DeFriese set up his medical practice at Birchwood. About 1854, he married Martha Jane Grigsby, daughters of James Grigsby Jr. Her mother was Sarah Elizabeth Clark Grigsby. Her father, James Grigsby, fought at King’s Mountain, and her father was an early settler at Bradley County. The children of Dr. Thomas and Martha Jane DeFriese were Mary Elizabeth, Thomas Jr., Pickney Darthula, Jane Ann, Carrie, Luther and James T. It is said that the health of Dr. DeFriese was ruined when he served the Confederate Army as a surgeon. He died Nov. 8, 1870, and was buried in the Methodist Cemetery at Birchwood. Martha Jane Grigsby DeFriese died Aug. 23, 1919. She was buried at the Birchwood Baptist Church Cemetery. She was known for her wit and for her handsome needlework. Thomas J. DeFriese Jr. died the same year as his mother. Jane Ann “Jennie” first married William A. McCallie. He told of their courtship at Birchwood in his diary. It consisted mainly of going to church, to singings and on walks. McCallie died a few months after their marriage, and Jennie later married Thomas Jefferson “Jeff” Watkins. James T. DeFriese was still living at Birchwood when he died at the age of 93 in 1959. His sons were Ralph and Robert and the daughters were Dorothy, Louise who married Walter Reed and Jessie who married J.T. Balch. Ralph DeFriese studied at McKenzie College of Law, but he wound up as a social studies teacher at Lookout Junior High School. He served as president of the Chattanooga Education Association. Ralph DeFriese went on the Quarterly Court in 1962. He married Lela Burdette, and they lived on Morningside Drive in Ferger Place. They had a son, Gordon, and daughter, Jane Ellen Samples. Ralph DeFriese died in 1966.
Anna J., daughter of Audley P. DeFriese, married a Knox.
John M. married Sarah Jane Gilbreath. Their children were Rosa B., Lena L. and James U. John M. DeFriese was also a doctor, practicing at Harrison.
Henry Charles, who was born in May 1844, married Margaret Jane Gooding. This family lived in Meigs County. Henry was also a doctor. He had died by 1910 and Margaret Jane was living with her son, John M. The other children were Paralee J. who married F.P. Solomon, Pinky who married David P. Newell, Sarah L. Malinda, William, Joseph Oscar, Martha, Charles L. and James Richard. John M., who was born in 1867, married Martha Ellen Conner, and their children were Chassie V. who married W.E. Lowe, Alpha C., Henry Clyde, Lassie Jr. who married T. Milburn Moore, Mack C., James Elder, Ruby M. and Naomi who married Frank Holder. H. Clyde DeFriese was a lieutenant in the Chattanooga Fire Department. His wife was Katherine. Joseph Oscar DeFriese was at Cleveland when he died in 1962. He married Mattie Swaggerty. Their seven sons were Carson, Truman, Melvin, Charles, Fred, C.L. and James Earl, and the daughters were Mrs. T.E. Grant, Mrs. O.L. Goodner, Mrs. Ralph Harrison and Mrs. Claude Holder. Charles L. DeFriese died in 1964. His son, Leonard DeFriese, was a county official. Leonard’s wife, Sarah DeFriese, served as Hamilton County register of deeds. Other children of Charles L. DeFriese were daughters Ruth Moon and Lola Robinson. James Richard DeFriese died in 1962. James Richard DeFriese lived his whole life at Birchwood and was active in the Birchwood Church of God. His sons were Grover L. and Johnson and the daughters were Beulah Marr, Mildred Renner and Agnes Roark.
There is a death record in 1870 for a Theodore DeFriese in Hamilton County.
Richard lived in Meigs County. His children included Emma A., Elizabeth, Lillie, David Paul, Samuel N. and Milton T. David Paul DeFriese was born on the last day of 1870. He attended the old Rutherford Academy. He later was a blacksmith and he went into the mercantile business with his two brothers in 1902. The DeFriese brothers operated this store for about half a century. David P. DeFriese was a justice of the peace, and he was appointed postmaster of Birchwood in 1914. The post office was in the back of DeFriese and Brothers grocery. David P. was a leader in urging that James County give up its charter. He remained the Birchwood postmaster until his retirement in 1940 when he was 70. David Paul married Harriet Roark. They had the twins Martha and Mary and sons Oscar M. and Louis E. Martha married E.C. Bower and Mary married James McCallie. Louis was a mail carrier. David P. DeFriese died July 4, 1948, and he was buried at the Methodist Cemetery at Birchwood. Samuel N. DeFriese was born in 1868. He married Naomi E. White, daughter of Matson White. Samuel N. DeFriese died in 1951. Milton’s wife was Hattie.
William H. DeFriese was living near Bristol when he died just before Christmas 1944. He was buried at the McInturff Cemetery. His obituary says he was the son of Theodore and Elizabeth Shelton DeFriese. His sons were Garland and Shady DeFriese, and the daughters were Pearl and Millie. Laban DeFriese, son of Shady W. DeFriese, was in the Tennessee House of Representatives and he had a caviar business. Shady DeFriese was born at Birchwood, and he worked for United Hosiery Mills. Shady DeFriese was one of the founders of the East Chattanooga Church of God. He married Jewell Hughes. Their other children were Neil and a daughter, Mary Michael. Shady DeFriese died in 1969.