ALPHIN.
John Alphin began to purchase land in the county in
1778, when he became the owner of two hundred and fifty
acres on Meadow Creek between the Staunton and Whitehall
Roads. He continued his purchases till he acquired
more than a thousand acres in one body. He conducted
a noted hostelry, situated nearly opposite the residence
of Jesse Lewis, and for many years a favorite resort
for men of the turf. He furnished excellent accommodations,
a prime cuisine, large stables, and a track for training horses.
His house was a place of wide notoriety at the beginning of
the century.
He married Martha, daughter of Christopher Shepherd, and
his children were Julius, Sarah, the wife of William Chapman,
Jane, the wife of David Owen, Nancy, the wife of William
Fagg, Mary, the wife of Blake Harris, and Elizabeth. He
sold to the county in 1806 the land on which the old Poor
House was built. He died in 1818. Most of his family disposed
of their interests in his estate, and removed to the West,
some of them to Blount County, Tennessee.
