Randal McGavock explained

Randal McGavock
Birth Date:June 20, 1766
Birth Place:Rockbridge County, Virginia
Death Date:September 1843
Death Place:Davidson County, Tennessee
Resting Place:McGavock Family Cemetery
Nationality:American
Occupation:Politician
Planter
Spouse:Sarah Dougherty Rodgers
Children:James R. McGavock
William McGavock
John McGavock
unnamed infant son
Elizabeth McGavock
Mary Cloyd McGavock
unnamed infant daughter
Relatives:Felix Grundy (brother-in-law)
William Giles Harding (son-in-law)
Randal William McGavock (great-nephew)

Randal McGavock (1766–1843) was an American politician and Southern planter in Nashville, Tennessee.[1] [2] [3] Identifying as a Jeffersonian Republican, he served as the Mayor of Nashville, Tennessee from 1824 to 1825.[1] [2] [3]

His daughter Elizabeth married William Giles Harding of Nashville in 1840; he was a young widower and son of planter John Harding. He was running the 5300-acre Belle Meade Plantation and managing his father's slaves; in 1850 his father was ranked as the third-largest slaveholder in Davidson County, Tennessee.[4]

Early life

Randal McGavock was born on June 20, 1766, in Rockbridge County, Virginia.[1] His father was James McGavock Sr., and his mother, Mary (Cloyd) McGavock.[1]

Career

McGavock served as Mayor of Nashville from 1824 to 1825.[1] [2] [3]

In 1815, McGavock built Carnton. During the American Civil War, Carnton served as a field hospital after the Battle of Franklin. On December 1, 1864, four dead Confederate generals were laid on Carnton's gallery: Patrick R. Cleburne, Hiram B. Granbury, John Adams, and Otho F. Strahl.[3]

Personal life

In February 1811, McGavock married Sarah Dougherty Rodgers, whose brother-in-law was Felix Grundy (1775–1840), U.S. Congressman from Tennessee, from 1829 to 1838, and 13th United States Attorney General, from 1838 to 1839.[1] [5] They had four sons, James R., William, John, an unnamed infant son, and three daughters, Elizabeth, Mary Cloyd and an unnamed infant daughter.[1]

In 1840, their daughter Elizabeth married Gen. William Giles Harding, heir and later owner of the Belle Meade Plantation, which was 5400 acres.[1] [4]

Their son John McGavock (1815–1893), who married Carrie Elizabeth Winder (1829–1905) in December 1848, inherited the Carnton plantation.[3] His great-nephew, Randal William McGavock (1826–1863), the grandson of his brother Hugh, also became a politician. He served as Mayor of Nashville from 1858 to 1859, and died as a Confederate Lt. Col. in the Battle of Raymond.[5]

His nephew, James McGavock, built Blue Fountain, now known as the McGavock-Gatewood-Webb House in East Nashville.

Death

McGavock died in September 1843. He is interred at Mount Olivet Cemetery in Nashville.[1]

References

Sources

Notes and References

  1. http://freepages.history.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~nashvillearchives/mayors.html Friends of Metropolitan Archives of Nashville and Davidson County, TN
  2. http://www.library.nashville.org/research/res_nash_history_mayors.asp Nashville Library
  3. http://www.battleoffranklintrust.org/carnton_history.htm The Battle of Franklin Trust
  4. Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/42626919 W. Ridley Wills II, "Black-White Relationships on the Belle Meade Plantation"
  5. http://tennessee-scv.org/Camp1713/rwmbio.htm Col. Randal William McGavock, 1826 ~ 1863