In 1782, Jouett moved across the Appalachian Mountains to Kentucky County, where veterans received land claims for their service. A family story claims that, on his journey to Kentucky, Jouett heard a woman's screams coming from a house. He burst into the house and found a wife being abused by her husband. He attempted to help by knocking down the husband, only to have the wife hit him over the head with a pot. The pot's bottom gave out, and the pot became stuck around Jouett's neck. Jouett fled the scene and traveled 35 miles before he found a blacksmith to remove the pot.