JUDGE JOHN OVERTON TENN,PIC

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Comment by Keito "O" Family Historian on December 28, 2008 at 1:50pm

TRAVELLERS REST
A Thousand Years of Tennessee History
As visitors enter the gates of Travellers Rest and ride up the winding, treelined
drive, they are transported back to the earliest years of state and local
history. Extensive archaeological work on the property has centered on
evidence of a prehistoric Native American village believed to be approximately
900 years old. These early residents were called Mississippian Indians and are
also known as the Stone Box Builders because they buried their dead in stone
box graves. They were mound builders and chose the area around Travellers
Rest for its fertile soil and abundant fresh water sources.
In 1799, Tennessee was a fledgling state, and Nashville was very much a
frontier town. At that time, a young lawyer named John Overton built a white,
clapboard, Federal-style home upon the remains of the ancient village. As
evidence of earlier people was unearthed during construction, Overton was
prompted to name his home “Golgotha,” the Biblical term meaning “hill of
skulls.” Golgotha, later renamed Travellers Rest, was a veritable mansion in the
wilderness.
John Overton came to Tennessee from Kentucky to establish a law practice,
and he went on to serve the state in many capacities. He aided in the
establishment of a state bank, became a Superior Court judge, served on the
Tennessee Supreme Court, authored a series of books on Tennessee land law,
and founded the Cumberland Masonic Lodge. He later became the wealthiest
man and largest landowner in the state, and he joined with Andrew Jackson and
General James Winchester to found and develop the city of Memphis,
Tennessee. Overton was also a political power broker, and he guided the
career of his lifelong friend, Andrew Jackson, to the White House in 1828.
Although Overton’s career involved a great deal of travel, he did spend much
of 1808 at Travellers Rest. That year, he built a two-room addition to the house
to accommodate law clerks and students. During this period, he also devoted
more attention to the development of his plantation. Travellers Rest grew to
over 2300 acres during the Judge’s lifetime and boasted fields of cotton and
tobacco, as well as groves of peach, apple, and pear trees. The Judge owned
over fifty slaves to help run the plantation, and those individuals are listed by
name in Overton’s death inventory.
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In 1820, at age 54, Judge Overton married Mary McConnell White May, a 38-
year-old widow with five children. Within a short time, three Overton children
were born—Ann, John Jr., and Elizabeth. The four-room house was now home
to a large family, and in 1828, a more elegant two-story red brick wing and
gallery were added. The front of the home was re-oriented to the gallery side.
Like most women of the period, Mary stayed at home while her husband
travelled, shouldering the myriad responsibilities that fell to the mistress of a
plantation. Mary was well known for her medicinal and herbal knowledge and
was often called upon to nurse her family, neighbors, and slaves. In an era
when half of all children died before their tenth birthdays, the fact that all eight of
her children survived to adulthood seems to corroborate reports of her medical
expertise.
John Overton died at Travellers Rest in 1833, leaving Mary a widow again.
Mary remained as head of the family until her death in 1862, when the Overtons’
son, John Jr., took over the helm of the estate.
The Civil War came to Nashville during John Overton, Jr.’s time as master at
Travellers Rest. The war affected everyone in Nashville, and the Overtons were
no exception. Travellers Rest served as headquarters for General John Bell
Hood for 13 days in December 1864, following the Battle of Franklin. During
that time, plans for the ill-fated Battle of Nashville—part of which was fought in
the Overtons’ peach orchard—were conceived.
Members of the Overton family continued to reside at Travellers Rest until
1946. The hou