hiː wʌzɐ mˈɛmbɚɹ ʌvðə dʒˈɑːnsən kˈaʊnti dˌɛlɪɡˈeɪʃən æt bˈoʊθ ðə nˈɑːksvɪl sˈɛʃən mˈeɪ θˈɜːɾi θˈɜːɾi wˈʌn ænd ɡɹˈiːnvɪl sˈɛʃən dʒˈuːn sˈɛvəntˌiːn twˈɛnti ʌvðɪ ˈiːst tˌɛnəsˈiː kənvˈɛnʃən, wˌɪtʃ pətˈɪʃənd ðə stˈeɪt lˈɛdʒɪslətʃɚ tʊ ɐlˈaʊ ˈiːst tˌɛnəsˈiː tə bɹˈeɪk ɐwˈeɪ fɹʌm tˌɛnəsˈiː ænd fˈɔːɹm ɐ jˈuːniənɐlˈaɪnd stˈeɪt.
He was a member of the Johnson County delegation at both the Knoxville session (May 30–31) and Greeneville session (June 17–20) of the East Tennessee Convention, which petitioned the state legislature to allow East Tennessee to break away from Tennessee and form a Union-aligned state.