Adelicia Hayes Franklin Acklen Cheatham (March 15, 1817 – May 4, 1887), best known as Adelicia Acklen, became the wealthiest woman in Tennessee and a
plantation
A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. The ...
owner in her own right after the 1846 death of her first husband,
Isaac Franklin. As a successful
slave trader
The history of slavery spans many cultures, nationalities, and religions from ancient times to the present day. Likewise, its victims have come from many different ethnicities and religious groups. The social, economic, and legal positions of e ...
, he had used his wealth to purchase numerous plantations, lands, and slaves in Tennessee and Louisiana. Acklen later in 1880 sold four contiguous plantations in Louisiana as one property. These have formed the grounds of the
Louisiana State Penitentiary
The Louisiana State Penitentiary (known as Angola, and nicknamed the "Alcatraz of the South", "The Angola Plantation" and "The Farm"Sutton, Keith "Catfish".Out There: Angola angling. ''ESPN Outdoors''. May 31, 2006. Retrieved on August 25, 2010. ...
(also known as "Angola" after one of the plantations) since 1901.
When married to her second husband,
Joseph Alexander Smith Acklen, Adelicia Acklen built the
Belmont Mansion in
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and ...
. She sold the property in 1887; it was converted for use as a college campus. It is now operated as a museum at the center of what is now known as
Belmont University
Belmont University is a private Christian university in Nashville, Tennessee. Descended from Belmont Women's College, founded in 1890 by schoolteachers Ida Hood and Susan Heron, the institution was incorporated in 1951 as Belmont College. It be ...
.
Early life
Adelicia Hayes was born on March 15, 1817, in Nashville, Tennessee.
[Belmont Mansion history](_blank)
/ref>[E.D. Thompson, ''Nashville Nostalgia'', Westview Publishing, 2003, p. 3]
/ref>[James A. Hoobler, Sarah Hunter Marks, ''Nashville: From the Collection of Carl and Otto Giers'', Arcadia Publishing, 2000]
p. 36
/ref> Her parents were Northerners: her father was Oliver Bliss Hayes (1783–1858), a lawyer and later Presbyterian minister from South Hadley, Massachusetts. He was related to Rutherford B. Hayes
Rutherford Birchard Hayes (; October 4, 1822 – January 17, 1893) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 19th president of the United States from 1877 to 1881, after serving in the U.S. House of Representatives and as governo ...
(1822–1893), the 19th President of the United States from 1877 to 1881. Her mother was Sarah Clements (Hightower) Hayes (1795–1871). They lived at Rokeby.
Adult life
In 1839, at age 22, Hayes married Isaac Franklin (1789–1846), a 50-year-old slave trader and planter. He started fully concentrating on his plantations by 1841, mostly in Louisiana. The couple had four children together: Victoria (1840–1846), Adelicia (1842–1846), Julius Caesar (1844–1844) and Emma Franklin (1844–1855), none of whom survived childhood.
In 1846, Franklin died, and Adelicia Franklin inherited the Fairvue Plantation in Gallatin, Tennessee
Gallatin is a city in and the county seat of Sumner County, Tennessee. The population was 30,278 at the 2010 United States census, 2010 census and 44,431 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Named for United States Secretary of the Tr ...
, in four cotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor pe ...
plantation
A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. The ...
s in Louisiana
Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...
, more than of undeveloped land in Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...
, stocks and bonds, and 750 slaves, who had high value in the South.[Christine M. Kreyling, Wesley Paine, Charles W. Warterfield, Susan Ford Wiltshire, ''Classical Nashville: Athens of the South'', Nashville, Tennessee: ]Vanderbilt University Press
Vanderbilt University Press is a university press that is part of Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee.
Vanderbilt University Press is the principal publishing arm of Vanderbilt University. The Press selects, edits, and markets scholarl ...
, 1996, p. 10
/ref> The widow Franklin became the wealthiest woman in Tennessee.
In 1849, the widow Franklin married a second time, to Joseph Alexander Smith Acklen (1816–1863). Together, they built the Belmont Mansion outside Nashville for use as a summer estate, complete with gardens and a zoo.[Belmont University history](_blank)
They had six children; two daughters died young, Laura (1852–1855) and Corinne (1852–1855). The others made careers and families: Joseph H. Acklen (1850–1938) became a politician and served as U.S. Representative
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...
from Louisiana; William Hayes Ackland (1855–1940) was an attorney, writer and art collector; Claude M. Acklen (1857–1920), and Pauline (1859–1931) married a Mr. Lockett.
Joseph A. S. Acklen died in 1863. Later, Adelicia Acklen married Dr. William Archer Cheatham (1820–1900), a physician and head of the State Insane Asylum. His father, Richard Cheatham (1799–1845), had served one term as United States Representative
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...
from Tennessee. However, she soon grew dissatisfied with this marriage and moved to Washington, D. C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, Na ...
, where she lived at 1776 Massachusetts Avenue.
In 1887, Acklen Cheatham sold the Belmont Mansion in Nashville. It was later used as a girls academy and then for Ward–Belmont College Ward–Belmont College was a women's college, also known at the time as a "ladies' seminary," located in Nashville, Tennessee, on the grounds of the antebellum estate of Adelicia Hayes Franklin Acklen Cheatham.
The school used the grounds of the ...
(which eventually developed into Belmont University
Belmont University is a private Christian university in Nashville, Tennessee. Descended from Belmont Women's College, founded in 1890 by schoolteachers Ida Hood and Susan Heron, the institution was incorporated in 1951 as Belmont College. It be ...
).
Acklen had leased and then sold the plantations in Louisiana in 1880. In 1901, the state bought four of them, including the one known as Angola, which became the nickname of the Louisiana State Penitentiary
The Louisiana State Penitentiary (known as Angola, and nicknamed the "Alcatraz of the South", "The Angola Plantation" and "The Farm"Sutton, Keith "Catfish".Out There: Angola angling. ''ESPN Outdoors''. May 31, 2006. Retrieved on August 25, 2010. ...
it developed on these lands.
Death
Acklen died on a shopping trip in New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
on May 4, 1887, at the age of seventy. She was buried at the Mount Olivet Cemetery in Nashville, Tennessee.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Acklen, Adelicia
1817 births
1887 deaths
People from Nashville, Tennessee
American planters
Burials at Mount Olivet Cemetery (Nashville)
Belmont University people
American slave owners
19th-century American landowners
American women landowners
19th-century American businesswomen
19th-century American businesspeople
American women slave owners