The present Greene County, Tennessee, was organized in 1783 (The first Tax List was also taken that year, which James Rodgers is listed in.). Eleven years earlier (Which would be 1772, also the year James and Margaret Rodgers migrated to the same area.), Jacob Brown, a merchant, with several families from North Carolina, tentatively settled on the banks of the Nolachuckey River (This leads me to believe that James and Margaret and their family also settled on the banks of the Nolachuckey River, which would make them one of the families that traveled with Jacob Brown). Brown secured a lease on a large tract of land from the Cherokees. Three years later, in March, 1775, an indenture was signed between Jacob Brown and the Cherokee chiefs which gave Brown title to some of the best lands on both sides of the river.
In 1776, the settlers of Watauga and Nolachucky petitioned the protection of North Carolina. The area then became The District of Washington. A year later, the District became Washington County, essentially the entire state of Tennessee. In 1778, the first Washington County Court was convened. Between 1778 and 1783, a number of settlers came into the area.

Greene County and Greeneville were named in honor of General Nathanael Greene, a Rhode Islander who was credited with outstanding military ability. He played an important role in the American victory over the British in the South during the Revolutionary War. After the war, in 1785, the state of North Carolina granted General Greene a 25,000 acre land grant which encompassed a part of Greene County. That grant is the first recorded deed in the County.

In 1784, North Carolina ceded western lands to the Federal Government. The State of Franklin was organized, with John Sevier as the Governor, and the following year Greeneville became the capital of this short lived political entity. Four years later, the State of Franklin collapsed, and Greene County once again became a part of North Carolina.

The following year, 1789, North Carolina again ceded western lands, and in 1790 Greene County became a part of the Territory of the United States South of the Ohio River.

Taken from: Historic Greene County, Tennessee, and It's People: 1783-1992