Were Virginia the first settlers into Tennessee?

The Settlers of Virginia into Tennessee:

Virginia and the Southern states of east America were surrounded hugely by the rocky Mountains which seemed impossible to pass on foot in the 1700's when settlers roamed America. The South was a part that was quite untouched as the settlers decided to travel east to west rather than north to south so it is interesting that the main article I find when researching this topic is a Southern state which around this time not many would venture to. 'Even as experienced and able woodsman as James Robertson, when crossing the range in 1770, was lost in the trackless mountains and wandered, without food, for fourteen days; and finally owed his extrication to his good fortune in meeting up with some hunters, who relieved his distress and enabled him to reach his home in safety.' This extract shows us that the travel through the Rocky mountains were not without its hardship, the terrain seemed to settlers to go on for years as they faced new challenges in every state. An interesting thought about this quote is the mentioning of 'hunters,' their heritage and original country is not described so it is hard to tell whether these 'hunters' could have been settlers in Tennessee prior to James' departure or whether they were Native Americans. The lack of description about the hunters whilst the settlers name is highlighted shows if it was a Native American tribe that they lack respect from others whilst the settler who had to be saved is idolised and named a hero. Many people had already settled in Tennessee at the time and what  surprised me about this article is that settlers had already found another way to Tennessee through the Appalachian mountains by travelling from Pennsylvania so the title of the article 'why the first settlers were from Virginia,' had surprised me as the terrain and travel from the Virginia was tough yet the travel from Pennsylvania was very easy and already known to some. This makes me question if this source is truly reliable as what we already know from the time is that the French had settled in the South in States like Louisiana and it is highly likely that they had control over most of the southern parts including Tennessee. This means it is not difficult to say that the source may not be 100% accurate,  however this source is important in understanding the hardships of what it was like to cross the Rocky Mountains and have not yet discovered the easier path to Tennessee.

http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Gazetteer/Places/America/United_States/Tennessee/_Texts/THM/5/4/Tennessee_Settlers_from_Virginia*.html