1834 Society

Join the 1834 Society and Secure the Future

East Tennessee’s heritage is timeless, for if history has taught us anything, it is that our past is the key to our future. Help us preserve that past; help us ensure our future by joining ETHS as a member of the 1834 Society

The 1834 Society is an annual leadership giving program of the East Tennessee Historical Society in support of our important work with public programs, exhibits, and, most important, teacher development and student education.

The 1834 Society recognizes major annual giving donors making a multi-year commitment that results in a minimum cumulative gift of $25,000 over five years. The program goal is to secure the annual funding to operate the Museum of East Tennessee History as an educational institution and as a premier destination attraction for both the region’s residents and visitors to East Tennessee.

Individuals, corporations and foundations from across the region are invited to show their generous volunteer spirit with a commitment of $25,000 to $100,000, payable over five years in annual gifts of cash or securities. Special opportunities are also available to individuals or corporations who may want to apply the gift toward sponsorship of exhibits, special events, or K-12 student education programs.

Unique Benefits of 1834 Society Membership

  • Annual Induction Event (members only) to acknowledge new, incoming honorees and to celebrate the continuing generosity of existing 1834 Society members.
  • Receive full ETHS membership benefits.
  • Genealogical Research Consultations offered by ETHS genealogical resource experts to trace the member’s personal family history using locally available resources. Referral and guidance to reputable professional researchers for additional national or international research is be available. Hours of research assistance and compilation available at each of the giving levels:

     

           • John Sevier Leadership Circle 40 hours of Genealogy Assistance
           • Sequoyah Leadership Circle 30 hours of Genealogy Assistance
           • Davy Crockett Leadership Circle 20 hours of Genealogy Assistance
           • William Blount Leadership Circle 10 hours of Genealogy Assistance

 

Plus All Benefits of the East Tennessee Historical Society Membership

  • Individual (s) or Company Name recognition in ETHS print and web publications
  • Complimentary copies of journals and newsletters
  • Unlimited Free Admission to all museum exhibitions
  • Discounts on books, gift items, special conferences, and tours
  • Members-only exhibition preview receptions
  • Invitations to programs, special lectures, and special events
     

For more information, contact ETHS President and CEO Warren Dockter at 865-215-8823 or dockter@eastTNhistory.org.

Pledge Levels

John Sevier Leadership Circle - $100,000 over five years

The hero of Kings Mountain, general, governor of the State of Franklin, six-term governor of Tennessee, U.S. Senator, U.S. Congressman, John Sevier personified the state’s pioneer era and was the most beloved of Tennessee’s early citizens and was fondly known as “Chucky Jack” for his home on the Nolichucky River.

Sequoyah Leadership Circle - $75,000 over five years

Sequoyah is the only person to have independently created a written language. The son of an English trader and Cherokee mother, his English name was George Gist. He was born in the Cherokee town of Tuskegee on the Little Tennessee River. Sequoyah was a silversmith by trade, and in 1825 he moved to the Cherokee Territory in Arkansas.

David Crockett Leadership Circle- $50,000 over five years

David “Davy” Crockett was a legendary frontiersman with a cultivated image as a straight-talking, larger-than-life backwoodsman. He was a War of 1812 veteran, served in the Tennessee legislature and U.S. Congress, where his opposition to land reform and Indian removal helped end his career. Crockett died in 1836 at the Battle of the Alamo. 

William Blount Leadership Circle - $25,000 over five years
As the first and only governor of the Southwest Territory, William Blount (1749-1800) played a major role in the establishment of Tennessee. He negotiated the Treaty of Holston to open new lands for settlement, was a U.S. Senator, and a member of the U.S. Continental Congress and the U.S. Constitutional Convention.