Fanny Noailles Murfree

Painting

-

NSCDA-TN

Name/Title

Fanny Noailles Murfree

Entry/Object ID

Murfree, Fanny Noailles

Description

Infant in Christening Dress--note portrait of her brother, William Hardy Murfree, painted in same dress. Subject holding a rose and a straw hat with a ribbon. Portrait painted in Murfreesboro, North Carolina, which was originally known as Murfree's Landing. Behind Melrose, her parents' home, on the Meridian River was a sailboat landing with access to the Atlantic Ocean (thus Murfree's Landing). Portrait has a sailboat in the background.

Collection

Private Collection

Made/Created

Date made

1783 - 1787

General Notes

Note Type

Historical Note

Note

Subject born in Murfreesboro, North Carolina in 1783. She died at Grantlands, the plantation home she built in Murfreesboro, Tennessee in 1843. It is said she brought the first piano to the state of Tennessee. She was married to David Dickinson of Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Her son, David Dickinson, was a United States Congressman from the eighth district. Her daughter married John Bell of Tennessee who was speaker of the US House of Representatives and ran against Abraham Lincoln for US President.

Create Date

September 19, 2026

Update Date

September 19, 2026