 David was born in what is now Greene County, Tennessee (at the time part of North Carolina), close to the Nolichucky River and near the community of Limestone.John continually struggled to make ends meet, and the Crocketts moved to a tract of land on Lick Creek in 1792.John sold that tract of land in 1794 and moved the family to Cove Creek, where he built a gristmill with partner Thomas Galbraith.