Col. John McGavock (1815–1893) was an American heir and Southern planter.
/ref>William S. Speer, ''Sketches of Prominent Tennesseans: Containing Biographies and Records of Many of the Families Who Have Attained Prominence in Tennessee'', Genealogical Publishing Com, 2010, p.

/ref>''Tennessee Records: Bible Records and Marriage Bonds'', Heritage Books, 2009, p. 10

/ref>Jackie Sheckler Finch, ''Nashville'', Globe Pequot, 2009, p. 148
/ref>Robert S. Brandt, ''Touring the Middle Tennessee Backroads'', John F. Blair Publisher, 1995, p. 11

/ref>Sylvia Higginbotham, ''Marvelous Old Mansions: And Other Southern Treasures'', John F. Blair Publisher, 2000, p. 18

/ref>James A. Crutchfield, ''Harpeth River: A Biography'', The Overmountain Press, 1994, p. 5

/ref>

Early life

John McGavock was born on April 2, 1815. His father was

Randal McGavock Randal McGavock (1766–1843) was an American politician and Southern planter in Nashville, Tennessee. Identifying as a Jeffersonian Republican, he served as the Mayor of Nashville, Tennessee from 1824 to 1825. His daughter Elizabeth married Will ...

(1766–1843), Mayor of Nashville from 1824 to 1825 and owner of the

Carnton Carnton is a historic home and museum in Franklin, Williamson County, Tennessee, United States. The plantation played an important role during and immediately after the Battle of Franklin during the American Civil War. It is managed by the non- ...

Southern plantation in

Franklin, Tennessee Franklin is a city in and county seat of Williamson County, Tennessee, United States. About south of Nashville, it is one of the principal cities of the Nashville metropolitan area and Middle Tennessee. As of 2020, its population was 83,454 ...

. His sister Elizabeth Irwin McGavock was married to

William Giles Harding William Giles Harding (1808 – December 15, 1886) was a Southern planter, attorney, and horse breeder who was made a Brigadier General in the Tennessee militia before the American Civil War. He took over operations of Belle Meade Plantation near ...

, owner of the

Belle Meade Plantation Belle Meade Historic Site and Winery, located in Belle Meade, Tennessee, is a historic mansion that is now operated as an attraction, museum, winery, and onsite restaurant together with outbuildings on its 30 acres of property. In the late 19th ...

Career

McGavock worked as private secretary for

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 ...

in his Washington, D.C. office. Upon his father's death, he inherited the Carnton plantation. He soon added a

Greek Revival The Greek Revival was an architectural movement which began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe and the United States and Canada, but ...

two-story portico at the front and a two-story gallery at the rear.

Washington Bogart Cooper Washington Bogart Cooper (September 18, 1802 – March 30, 1888) was an American portrait painter, sometimes known as "the man of a thousand portraits".James Hoobler,Washington Bogart Cooper" ''Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture'' ...

(1802–1888) painted his portrait circa 1850.Tennessee Portrait Project
/ref> During the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

, Carnton was damaged by the Battle of Franklin and served as a hospital for the Confederacy. On December 1, 1864, four Confederate Generals lay dead at Carnton: Patrick R. Cleburne,

Hiram B. Granbury Hiram Bronson Granbury (March 1, 1831 – November 30, 1864) was a lawyer and county judge in Texas before the American Civil War ("Civil War"). He organized a volunteer company for the Confederate States Army after the outbreak of the Civil ...

John Adams John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, attorney, diplomat, writer, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Befor ...

, and

Otho F. Strahl Otho French Strahl (June 3, 1831 – November 30, 1864) was an Americans, American attorney and a History of Confederate States Army Generals#Brigadier general, brigadier general in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. H ...

. In 1866, McGavock donated two acres of land to establish the

McGavock Confederate Cemetery The McGavock Confederate Cemetery is located in Franklin, Tennessee. It was established in June 1866 as a private cemetery on land donated by the McGavock planter family. The nearly 1,500 Confederate soldiers buried there were casualties of the ...

on the plantation.

Personal life

He married Carrie Elizabeth Winder (1829–1905) in December 1848. They had a son, Winder McGavock (1857–1907), and a daughter, Hattie, who married George Cowan.William S. Speer, ''Sketches of Prominent Tennesseans: Containing Biographies and Records of Many of the Families who Have Attained Prominence in Tennessee'', Genealogical Publishing Com, 2010, pp. 359-36

/ref>

Death

McGavock died on June 7, 1893, at the age of seventy-eight.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McGavock, John 1815 births 1893 deaths People from Franklin, Tennessee American planters McGavock family