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This collection was rehoused under the sponsorship of a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, Office of Preservation, Washington, D.C., 1990-1992.
Size | 7 items |
Abstract | John Overton was a Tennessee lawyer and politician. John Overton (1766-1833), Tennessee pioneer, jurist, and dedicated supporter of Andrew Jackson, born in Louisa County, Va. Personal letters (1827-1830) from Overton's Virginia relations chiefly detailing the illnesses (dyspepsia and pleurisy) and death of Overton's sister, Ann Coleman (d. 1828), with comments on the division of her slaves among her heirs, diet, the election of 1828, and a Tennessee land dispute. The collection includes letters received by John Overton, chiefly about family matters. Included are three family letters chiefly concerning the sickness and death of Overton's sister, Mrs. Hawes Coleman; and four miscellaneous personal and business letters from Samuel Carr, E. J. Claybrooke, John Claybrooke, and Hawes Coleman. |
Creator | Overton, John, 1766-1833. |
Curatorial Unit | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection. |
Language | English |
Processed by: Scott Philyaw, June 1991
Encoded by: ByteManagers Inc., 2008
This collection was rehoused under the sponsorship of a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, Office of Preservation, Washington, D.C., 1990-1992.
Back to TopThe following terms from Library of Congress Subject Headings suggest topics, persons, geography, etc. interspersed through the entire collection; the terms do not usually represent discrete and easily identifiable portions of the collection--such as folders or items.
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John Overton (1766-1833), Tennessee pioneer, jurist, and dedicated supporter of Andrew Jackson, was born in Louisa County, Virginia. He studied law in Mercer County, Kentucky (1787), and then moved to Nashville, Tennessee, where he shared lodgings with Andrew Jackson. They became steadfast friends and were partners in a number of speculative land ventures, including the founding of Memphis, Tennessee, in 1819.
Overton succeeded Jackson to the state Superior Court (1804-1810 and 1811-1816). He was a widely recognized authority on land legislation in Tennessee. He was also reputed to be the state's wealthiest citizen. After his resignation from the bench in 1816, Overton committed himself to the furtherance of Jackson's political career.
(Biographical information from the Dictionary of American Biography.)
Back to TopThese seven letters (1827-1830) are from Overton's Virginia relations. Most (4 of 7) detail the illnesses (dyspepsia and pleurisy) and death of Overton's sister, Ann Coleman (d. 1 July 1828). Other subjects include diet, the election of 1828, and a Tennessee land dispute. Typed transcriptions are interfiled with the letters.
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