TRAVELLERS REST (where the Overton family came from)

[Keito "O" Family Historian]

TRAVELLERS REST
A Thousand Years of Tennessee History
As visitors enter the gates of Travellers Rest and travel up the winding,
tree-lined drive, they are transported back to the earliest years of state and local
history. Recent 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
boxes. They were mound builders and chose this spot for its fertile soil and
abundant fresh water.
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 the white
clapboard Federal-style home (our family built this house) upon the remains of the ancient village. As
evidence of the earlier people was unearthed during construction, Overton was
prompted to name his home “Golgotha.” Golgotha, later changed to Travellers
Rest, was a veritable mansion in the wilderness. Visitors to Travellers Rest today
see the house as it appeared in 1833, the year of Overton’s death. The house
museum contains a large collection of Tennessee-made furniture.
John Overton served Tennessee in many capacities. He aided the
establishment of a state bank, served on the Tennessee Supreme Court,
became a Superior Court judge, authored a series of books on Tennessee land
law, and founded the Cumberland Masonic Lodge. He became the wealthiest
man and largest landowner in the state, joining with Andrew Jackson and
General James Winchester to found and develop Memphis, Tennessee. Overton
was a political power broker, guiding the career of his lifelong friend, Andrew
Jackson.
Although Overton’s career would always involve a great deal of travel, he
did base himself at Travellers Rest in 1808, building a two-room addition to
house law clerks and students. At this time, he 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. Over fifty slaves resided at Travellers Rest, and
the 1835 death inventory lists those individuals by name. Recent research
through the Travellers Rest archives has yielded much information about the
Overton slaves.(our family)

In 1820, at age fifty-four, Judge Overton married Mary McConnell White May, a
thirty-eight year old widow with five children. Soon, three Overton children were
born: Ann, John Jr., and Elizabeth. The four-room house now housed a large
family. 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, her neighbors, and the slave families.
In an era when fifty percent of children died before their tenth birthdays, the fact
that all eight of her children survived to adulthood seems to corroborate her
medical expertise. The herb garden on the grounds commemorates Mary
Overton.
John Overton died at Travellers Rest in 1833. Mary remained as head of
the family until her death in 1862 when their son, John Jr., took over the helm of
the estate. The Civil War affected the lives of everyone in Nashville, and the
Overtons were no exception. The home was the headquarters of General John
Bell Hood for thirteen 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 Judge Overton’s peach orchard—were conceived. A self-guided
walking tour of the grounds details the site as it was used during Hood’s stay
and aids interpretation of the Battle of Nashville.
The Overton family continued to reside at Travellers Rest until 1946. The
house and grounds were rescued from threatened demolition in 1954 by the
National Society of The Colonial Dames of America in Tennessee (NSCDA-TN).
Travellers Rest is now operated by a separate not-for-profit organization whose
board of directors and membership include both Colonial Dames and members
of the community at large.

[Gloria Henderson]

Cousin,Keito,has done a great job on our this web page,we all as overtons, are proud of who we are,thanks cousin keito for all of your efforts.