Kasper Mansker

The Mansker family, possibly, came from Merchingen, Merzig-Wadern, Kreis District, Saarland, Holy Roman Empire, where the name is common.

His parents, Ludwig Mäintzger and Maria Esch, were German immigrants, who settled in the British American colonies, but due to poor recordkeeping there are vague and conflicting reports about exactly where they lived.

Kasper Mansker married Elizabeth White of Berkeley County, West Virginia but there is no surviving record of the marriage, and the exact date and location are uncertain.

He spent most of his adult life exploring, hunting and living in the areas of what are now Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, and Mississippi.

In contrast, the French fur traders they met were friendly and his hunting party was able to trade for fresh food and alcohol.

In 1773, Kasper Mansker returned to his home in Virginia, where his name appears in court documents as serving on jury duty and as a witness in a separate case.

The Native Americans who inhabited Middle Tennessee increasingly realized that the arrival of European settlers was unending, and feared for the loss of their hunting grounds.