Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Shelby Park 100th Anniversay Celebration, Oct. 13, 2012
Become a friend of Shelby Park and Bottoms on Facebook. Invite your friends to join. Click on the event tag and accept your invite to the 100 year anniversary on October 13, 2012. There is going to be an all day huge party all over the park. If you haven't been in awhile this will be your chance to come back home, see the old, and discover the new.
Saturday, March 10, 2012
East Nashville and Family History
I am most honored and humbled to have been profiled in the March-April issue of the East Nashvillian Magazine. The article tells part of the story of our family history in East Nashville. You can download current and past issues of the East Nashvillian magazine.
Our family has had a continuing presence in East Nashville since 1855. William Sanders Hunt first appeared, in a Nashville City Directory, as an Edgefield resident in that year. Edgefield was a new community then, having recently been subdivided from the farm of John Shelby. W. S. Hunt was my great-great grandfather.
His son Felix Zollicoffer Hunt was born March 31, 1866 in East Nashville. The family was living at the corner of Barrow [So. 2nd] and Watson [Boscobel].
Minnie Mae Hunt, daughter of Felix, was born February 24, 1899, when her parents were living in the thirteen hundred block of Shelby Ave. In 1916 Minnie was married to Wilmoth (Pat) Steele, son of Alex and Lola Dickson Steele. The Steele's lived at 620 Shelby Ave., where Wilmoth was born on July 26, 1892. My mother Lola Mae Steele was the second daughter of Minnie and Wilmoth. Mama was born in a house located at 227 Shelby Ave. on August 23, 1919.
Mama and Daddy's siblings all grew up in East Nashville. Many of my cousins lived in East Nashville or nearby when they were children. I have lived at six addresses in my nearly 60 years, five in East Nashville and at our present home in Inglewood. I still have a problem calling Inglewood "East Nashville." Since the merger of the city and county in 1963, the lines between the two communities have blurred. In 2012 there are only a handful of the family in East Nashville. A nephew and his family live in the neighborhood though they are not native to the community. My husband Jimmy, my two daughters Tammy and Amanda, and I moved to Inglewood in 1978. My children grew up in Inglewood and one of them still lives here. Starting with Grandpa Hunt our family has been continuously in East Nashville for nearly one hundred and sixty years.
Our Davidson County family history began long before there was an East Nashville. Early Nashville area family names on my Daddy's side are Gower, Russell, Wright, Cook, Davis, Allen and Koen. Some of these were here as early as 1780. On Mama's side, Steele, Binkley, Shane, Buchanan, Castleman are some of the families that were in Nashville in the pioneer days of the late 1700's.
My husband Jimmy is no slouch when it comes to pioneer settlers in Nashville. Demonbreun Street was named in honor of Jim's gr-gr-gr-gr Grandfather, Timothy Demonbreun, a French-Canadian fur trader who had a presence here some years before the first permanent settlement.
Jim's ancestor John Rains was one of the first settlers, and is immortalized in many accounts of early Nashville history. Some of Jim's families; Bradley, Binkley, Baker, Dowlen, Fontaine, Freeman were among the earliest settlers in neighboring Robertson County. Our daughters Tammy and Amanda have a fine Middle Tennessee Heritage. They are the eleventh generation of our family to live in Davidson County, Tennessee, through the Gower family line and tenth generation through several other family lines.
Our family has had a continuing presence in East Nashville since 1855. William Sanders Hunt first appeared, in a Nashville City Directory, as an Edgefield resident in that year. Edgefield was a new community then, having recently been subdivided from the farm of John Shelby. W. S. Hunt was my great-great grandfather.
His son Felix Zollicoffer Hunt was born March 31, 1866 in East Nashville. The family was living at the corner of Barrow [So. 2nd] and Watson [Boscobel].
Minnie Mae Hunt, daughter of Felix, was born February 24, 1899, when her parents were living in the thirteen hundred block of Shelby Ave. In 1916 Minnie was married to Wilmoth (Pat) Steele, son of Alex and Lola Dickson Steele. The Steele's lived at 620 Shelby Ave., where Wilmoth was born on July 26, 1892. My mother Lola Mae Steele was the second daughter of Minnie and Wilmoth. Mama was born in a house located at 227 Shelby Ave. on August 23, 1919.
Mama and Daddy's siblings all grew up in East Nashville. Many of my cousins lived in East Nashville or nearby when they were children. I have lived at six addresses in my nearly 60 years, five in East Nashville and at our present home in Inglewood. I still have a problem calling Inglewood "East Nashville." Since the merger of the city and county in 1963, the lines between the two communities have blurred. In 2012 there are only a handful of the family in East Nashville. A nephew and his family live in the neighborhood though they are not native to the community. My husband Jimmy, my two daughters Tammy and Amanda, and I moved to Inglewood in 1978. My children grew up in Inglewood and one of them still lives here. Starting with Grandpa Hunt our family has been continuously in East Nashville for nearly one hundred and sixty years.
Our Davidson County family history began long before there was an East Nashville. Early Nashville area family names on my Daddy's side are Gower, Russell, Wright, Cook, Davis, Allen and Koen. Some of these were here as early as 1780. On Mama's side, Steele, Binkley, Shane, Buchanan, Castleman are some of the families that were in Nashville in the pioneer days of the late 1700's.
My husband Jimmy is no slouch when it comes to pioneer settlers in Nashville. Demonbreun Street was named in honor of Jim's gr-gr-gr-gr Grandfather, Timothy Demonbreun, a French-Canadian fur trader who had a presence here some years before the first permanent settlement.
Jim's ancestor John Rains was one of the first settlers, and is immortalized in many accounts of early Nashville history. Some of Jim's families; Bradley, Binkley, Baker, Dowlen, Fontaine, Freeman were among the earliest settlers in neighboring Robertson County. Our daughters Tammy and Amanda have a fine Middle Tennessee Heritage. They are the eleventh generation of our family to live in Davidson County, Tennessee, through the Gower family line and tenth generation through several other family lines.
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Inglewood and East Nashville links on The Nashville History Blog
Inglewood and East Nashville links on The Nashville History Blog.
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Memoirs of Litton Hickman
Edwin Litton Hickman was born August 4, 1875, son of John Pryor and Kate Litton Hickman. The home in which the Judge was born and where he lived most of his life was on Gallatin Road near the site of the present East Nashville YMCA. The home had been built by his parents on land that had formerly belonged to his maternal grandfather Isaac Litton. He served Davidson County for many years as County Judge.
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Jeff McCarn House
Judge Jeff McCarn lived in this house at 808 McCarn Street near Porter Road.
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I wrote this in response to a question on the Inglewood listserve awhile back. A newcomer to Inglewood was confused by all the names that can be applied to the area and asked, "Just where do we live." it's sort of jumbled, with little editing, but I decided to share.
Inglewood - Just where do we live?
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This link is to a compilation of address listings along Gallatin Pike from the city limits in 1950 at Cahal/Carolyn out to just past where Briley Parkway crosses Gallatin Pike today. Because the directories were split into city and suburban by 1960 the listings start at Litton Avenue in that year and at McGavock Pike in the following years.
Gallatin Pike - Businesses and Residents
Inglewood City Directory Listings along Gallatin Pike, 1950 - 1980
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Litton School Zone - Inglewood/East Nashville by Betty Hadley, 1981
A history of Inglewood and East Nashville
Litton School Zone
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Riverside Drive
I wrote this article for a local newspaper, "The Nashville Retrospect." It was published in the September 2011 issue. The following is the final draft of the story and may differ from the published article. - Debie Cox
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EAST NASHVILLE LANDMARK
LANDMARK HISTORIC LOG HOUSE
THE TENNESSEAN, EVENING EDITION, AUGUST 8, 1928
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Merchants in East Nashville 1894-95
This is an abstract of businesses located in East Nashville and North Davidson County from pages 1 - 46 of Merchants Licenses. Some streets listed have disappeared in part or totally,because of interstate and other construction.
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A history of the Lockeland neighborhood in East Nashville, from the Judi Wells East Nashville Collection, Box 1, Folder 12, Metro Nashville Archives.
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A history of the McGavock house at 908 Meridian Street in East Nashville.
-------------------------------------------------
This article in the East Nashvillian Magazine tells part of the story of our family history in East Nashville. You can download current and past issues of the East Nashvillian magazine.
------------------------------------------
Memoirs of Litton Hickman
Edwin Litton Hickman was born August 4, 1875, son of John Pryor and Kate Litton Hickman. The home in which the Judge was born and where he lived most of his life was on Gallatin Road near the site of the present East Nashville YMCA. The home had been built by his parents on land that had formerly belonged to his maternal grandfather Isaac Litton. He served Davidson County for many years as County Judge.
------------------------------------------
Jeff McCarn House
Judge Jeff McCarn lived in this house at 808 McCarn Street near Porter Road.
------------------------------------------
I wrote this in response to a question on the Inglewood listserve awhile back. A newcomer to Inglewood was confused by all the names that can be applied to the area and asked, "Just where do we live." it's sort of jumbled, with little editing, but I decided to share.
Inglewood - Just where do we live?
-------------------------------------------
This link is to a compilation of address listings along Gallatin Pike from the city limits in 1950 at Cahal/Carolyn out to just past where Briley Parkway crosses Gallatin Pike today. Because the directories were split into city and suburban by 1960 the listings start at Litton Avenue in that year and at McGavock Pike in the following years.
Gallatin Pike - Businesses and Residents
Inglewood City Directory Listings along Gallatin Pike, 1950 - 1980
----------------------------------------------
Litton School Zone - Inglewood/East Nashville by Betty Hadley, 1981
A history of Inglewood and East Nashville
Litton School Zone
-----------------------------------------------
Riverside Drive
I wrote this article for a local newspaper, "The Nashville Retrospect." It was published in the September 2011 issue. The following is the final draft of the story and may differ from the published article. - Debie Cox
------------------------------------------------
EAST NASHVILLE LANDMARK
LANDMARK HISTORIC LOG HOUSE
THE TENNESSEAN, EVENING EDITION, AUGUST 8, 1928
------------------------------------------------
Merchants in East Nashville 1894-95
This is an abstract of businesses located in East Nashville and North Davidson County from pages 1 - 46 of Merchants Licenses. Some streets listed have disappeared in part or totally,because of interstate and other construction.
-------------------------------------------------
A history of the Lockeland neighborhood in East Nashville, from the Judi Wells East Nashville Collection, Box 1, Folder 12, Metro Nashville Archives.
-------------------------------------------------
A history of the McGavock house at 908 Meridian Street in East Nashville.
-------------------------------------------------
This article in the East Nashvillian Magazine tells part of the story of our family history in East Nashville. You can download current and past issues of the East Nashvillian magazine.
Shelby Hall, Fatherland, Boscobel
I am researching the houses that were built by John Shelby in East Nashville. Reportedly there were three, Shelby Hall [later renamed Fatherland], Boscobel and a new house built about 1855 called Fatherland. There is a lot of misinformation in published reports. I am putting together deeds, maps, wills, old news accounts, anything I can find that might shed light on the homes. Stay tuned....
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Tennessee Century Farms Program
The Tennessee Century Farms Program was created in 1975 by the Tennessee Department of Agriculture. The program was designed as a way to recognize and document land in Tennessee, owned and farmed by the same family for 100 years or more. Since 1985, the Center for Historic Preservation at Middle Tennessee State University has been in charge of the program. There is a great website dedicated to Century Farms
View Tennessee Century Farms by clicking on the county.
View Tennessee Century Farms by clicking on the county.
Monday, February 20, 2012
Gallatin Pike 1950 - 1980 - Businesses and Residents
Inglewood City Directory Listings along Gallatin Pike, 1950 - 1980
This link is to a compilation of address listings along Gallatin Pike from the city limits in 1950 at Cahal/Carolyn out to just past where Briley Parkway crosses Gallatin Pike today. Because the directories were split into city and suburban by 1960 the listings start at Litton Avenue in that year and at McGavock Pike in the following years. Eventually I hope to add the listings for the addresses that are missing, from other directory volumes, in 1960 and after. Often I entered residence rather than the actual name given if the resident was the same. Business names are listed as I found them. In some decades there were several listings for a single address and others there was only one. Occasionally an address [street number] disappears from the directories. Those are marked as na. This does not mean the address no longer existed, it may simply have moved into a different volume of the directories.
Click to view listings
This link is to a compilation of address listings along Gallatin Pike from the city limits in 1950 at Cahal/Carolyn out to just past where Briley Parkway crosses Gallatin Pike today. Because the directories were split into city and suburban by 1960 the listings start at Litton Avenue in that year and at McGavock Pike in the following years. Eventually I hope to add the listings for the addresses that are missing, from other directory volumes, in 1960 and after. Often I entered residence rather than the actual name given if the resident was the same. Business names are listed as I found them. In some decades there were several listings for a single address and others there was only one. Occasionally an address [street number] disappears from the directories. Those are marked as na. This does not mean the address no longer existed, it may simply have moved into a different volume of the directories.
Click to view listings
Friday, February 10, 2012
Jeff McCarn's House
Today I was reminded of an old house, that I had long ago been curious about, by a facebook friend. She posted a photo of the house, which is located on McCarn Street near Porter Road. It got me wondering.
I first became aware of the big house at 808 McCarn Street in 1973, when Jimmy and I bought our first house a few doors away at 814 McCarn Street. The house was big and made of stone and looked very old to me. We had a neighbor lady who had grown up in the area. She said the house had belonged to Jefferson McCarn. She told me that when she was a child, the front lawn of the house sloped down the hill all the way to Porter Road, with no houses between to block the view. I suppose it was she who told me there had been a much older house on the property that had burned and the present house was built on the foundation of the old one. I already knew a little about Jeff McCarn. He was the was chief prosecutor in the murder trial of Edward Carmack, who was killed in 1908, by Duncan and Robin Cooper. McCarn was born in Arkansas in 1862. He moved to Nashville to attend Vanderbilt University and received a law degree from Vanderbilt in 1894. He married Mary D. Allison, daughter of Judge Andrew Allison of Nashville, Tenn., on Oct. 9, 1895. McCarn began his law practice in Nashville in 1894. In 1908 he was appointed district attorney general of Davidson County. He was appointed United States District Attorney for the Territory of Hawaii in 1913. He and wife Mary were parents to Cornelia, Andrew and Mary McCarn.
I worked briefly on a local survey of historic properties and learned to how to use architectural guide books to help determine the age of a building. The neoclassical style of the house and the cast stone building material are the primary clues that it was built in the early 20th century. A deed search shows that Jeff McCarn and his wife Mary bought the house in October of 1921.
Robert Powers purchased the property in 1913 from George Waters and his wife Betty and in 1914 Powers subdivided the tract into 57 lots, most being about 50 feet wide but of varying lengths. The boundaries of the tract were Porter Road on the west, Waters Ave. to the north, Riverside Drive to the east and Tillman Avenue to the south. One lot, much large than the others, was labeled the residence lot. It fronted on the street now called McCarn, 150 feet and ran back 377 feet to Washington Ave.
Powers sold the "residence lot" about the same time he subdivided the property to Mrs. Mollie Campbell and her husband H. Taylor Campbell for the sum of $11,250.00. The proposed street running in front of the residence lot was name Campbell Ave. by Powers. The house was too far out of the city limits to show up in early city directories. Once it does show up, with the Campbells' living there, in 1914, it is listed simply as being on Porter Rd se {southeast} corner Waters Av. The house is not listed at all in 1915 and the Campbells' are listed as living on Villa Place. This may have been the year the old house burned. The house is once again listed in 1916 and the Campbells have returned. In 1920 Mrs.Campbell sold the residence lot to Mrs. Lillie Omohundro for $14,500.00. Mrs.Omohundro sold the house one year later in 1921 to Jeff McCarn and his wife Mary. The McCarn family lived in the house until the death of Mr. McCarn in 1947. McCarn's will directed that all of his real estate be placed in trust, for the use of his wife, and to eventually pass to his children.
The oldest house on the street is most likely the one at 802 McCarn. More research is needed but it appears the house may have been built by Eugene Cato about 1914.
I first became aware of the big house at 808 McCarn Street in 1973, when Jimmy and I bought our first house a few doors away at 814 McCarn Street. The house was big and made of stone and looked very old to me. We had a neighbor lady who had grown up in the area. She said the house had belonged to Jefferson McCarn. She told me that when she was a child, the front lawn of the house sloped down the hill all the way to Porter Road, with no houses between to block the view. I suppose it was she who told me there had been a much older house on the property that had burned and the present house was built on the foundation of the old one. I already knew a little about Jeff McCarn. He was the was chief prosecutor in the murder trial of Edward Carmack, who was killed in 1908, by Duncan and Robin Cooper. McCarn was born in Arkansas in 1862. He moved to Nashville to attend Vanderbilt University and received a law degree from Vanderbilt in 1894. He married Mary D. Allison, daughter of Judge Andrew Allison of Nashville, Tenn., on Oct. 9, 1895. McCarn began his law practice in Nashville in 1894. In 1908 he was appointed district attorney general of Davidson County. He was appointed United States District Attorney for the Territory of Hawaii in 1913. He and wife Mary were parents to Cornelia, Andrew and Mary McCarn.
I worked briefly on a local survey of historic properties and learned to how to use architectural guide books to help determine the age of a building. The neoclassical style of the house and the cast stone building material are the primary clues that it was built in the early 20th century. A deed search shows that Jeff McCarn and his wife Mary bought the house in October of 1921.
Robert Powers purchased the property in 1913 from George Waters and his wife Betty and in 1914 Powers subdivided the tract into 57 lots, most being about 50 feet wide but of varying lengths. The boundaries of the tract were Porter Road on the west, Waters Ave. to the north, Riverside Drive to the east and Tillman Avenue to the south. One lot, much large than the others, was labeled the residence lot. It fronted on the street now called McCarn, 150 feet and ran back 377 feet to Washington Ave.
Powers sold the "residence lot" about the same time he subdivided the property to Mrs. Mollie Campbell and her husband H. Taylor Campbell for the sum of $11,250.00. The proposed street running in front of the residence lot was name Campbell Ave. by Powers. The house was too far out of the city limits to show up in early city directories. Once it does show up, with the Campbells' living there, in 1914, it is listed simply as being on Porter Rd se {southeast} corner Waters Av. The house is not listed at all in 1915 and the Campbells' are listed as living on Villa Place. This may have been the year the old house burned. The house is once again listed in 1916 and the Campbells have returned. In 1920 Mrs.Campbell sold the residence lot to Mrs. Lillie Omohundro for $14,500.00. Mrs.Omohundro sold the house one year later in 1921 to Jeff McCarn and his wife Mary. The McCarn family lived in the house until the death of Mr. McCarn in 1947. McCarn's will directed that all of his real estate be placed in trust, for the use of his wife, and to eventually pass to his children.
The oldest house on the street is most likely the one at 802 McCarn. More research is needed but it appears the house may have been built by Eugene Cato about 1914.
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