John Meredith Bass (January 19, 1804– March 14, 1878) was an American banker, planter and Whig politician. He served as the Mayor of

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

from 1833 to 1834, and again in 1869.

Early life

John Meredith Bass was born on January 19, 1804, in Nashville, Tennessee. His father, Peter Bass,John Roderick Heller, ''Democracy's Lawyer: Felix Grundy of the Old Southwest'', Louisiana State University Press, 2010, p. 17

/ref> was a real estate investor in Nashville. His mother was from Kentucky. Bass was educated in Kentucky. He graduated from the

University of Nashville University of Nashville was a private university in Nashville, Tennessee. It was established in 1806 as Cumberland College. It existed as a distinct entity until 1909; operating at various times a medical school, a four-year military college, a ...

, and earned a law degree from

Transylvania University Transylvania University is a private university in Lexington, Kentucky. It was founded in 1780 and was the first university in Kentucky. It offers 46 major programs, as well as dual-degree engineering programs, and is accredited by the Southern ...

. He was "admitted to the bar in 1830."

Career

Bass served on the board of aldermen of Nashville from 1831 to 1832, and as the mayor of Nashville in 1833 as a Whig. Additionally, he was "one of the commissioners who built the Nashville

water-works Water supply is the provision of water by public utilities, commercial organisations, community endeavors or by individuals, usually via a system of pumps and pipes. Public water supply systems are crucial to properly functioning societies. Thes ...

." Bass became the president of the Union Bank of Tennessee in 1837.Publications, Issues 51-55, East Tennessee Historical Society, 1983
/ref> He was also the founding president of the Southern Life Insurance Company. Additionally, he was the owner of plantations 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 ...

and

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...

. Bass served on the board of trustees of the Nashville Female Academy (also known as the Old Academy), and the

. In 1869, Bass served as the " receiver" of Nashville, for which he gave a $1 million bond.

Personal life and death

On January 7, 1829, Bass married Malvina Grundy, daughter of Senator

Felix Grundy Felix Grundy (September 11, 1777 – December 19, 1840) was an American politician who served as a congressman and senator from Tennessee as well as the 13th attorney General of the United States. Biography Early life Born in Berkeley County ...

, after she eloped at the age of eighteen. Alfred Leland Crabb, ''Peabody and Alfred Leland Crabb: The story of Peabody as reflected in selected writings of Alfred Leland Crabb'', Williams Press, 1977, p. 186 He was a personal friend of slave trader

John Armfield John Armfield (1797–1871) was an American slave trader. He was the co-founder of Franklin & Armfield, "the largest slave trading firm" in the United States. He was also the developer of Beersheba Springs, and a co-founder of Sewanee: The Univ ...

.Robert S. Brandt, ''Touring Middle Tennessee Backroads'', John F. Blair Publisher, 1995, p. 38

/ref> Like him, he owned a cottage in

Beersheba Springs, Tennessee Beersheba Springs is a town in Grundy County, Tennessee, Grundy County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 477 at the 2010 census. A resort town in the 19th century, Beersheba Springs was the summer home of author Mary Noailles Murfree. ...

. Bass died on March 14, 1878, in New Orleans, where he was visiting his daughter. He was buried with his wife in the Mount Olivet Cemetery in Nashville.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bass, John Meredith 1804 births 1878 deaths University of Nashville alumni Transylvania University alumni Tennessee city council members Mayors of Nashville, Tennessee American bankers Businesspeople from Tennessee American businesspeople in insurance American planters Tennessee Whigs 19th-century American politicians Burials at Mount Olivet Cemetery (Nashville) American slave owners