Name/Title
Mary McConnell White May OvertonEntry/Object ID
Overton, Mary WhiteType of Painting
EaselContext
Mary McConnell White and Judge John Overton were married in 1820. She was a widow with five children by her first husband, Dr. Francis May, a Nashville physician. It was the first marriage for Judge Overton, who was already in his 50s. He likely knew her brother, prominent Knoxville attorney Hugh Lawson White. Judge Overton brought the May family to Travellers Rest. The oldest son, Anthony May, left for Arkansas to practice law. The four May siblings still at home: Andrew Jackson May, Mary Lawson May, Margaret May, and James May were soon joined at Travellers Rest by three children born to their mother and Judge Overton: John (b.1821), Anne (b.1823), and Elizabeth (b.1826). After the death of Judge Overton in 1833, Mary Overton managed the Travellers Rest household and farm, continuing to reside there with her son John, his family, other family members, and the large number of enslaved persons who lived and worked alongside them, until her death in December 1862.Collection
Travellers Rest Historic House MuseumMade/Created
Artist
Earl, Ralph Eleaser Whiteside, approximately 1785-1838Date made
circa 1820Notes
Artist Ralph E.W. Earl originally came to Nashville in 1817 to paint the portrait of General Andrew Jackson. That same year Judge John Overton, a close colleague of General Jackson, commissioned Earl to paint his own portrait, which hangs at Travellers Rest today. Judge Overton may have commissioned this portrait of his new bride to commemorate their 1820 marriage.Create Date
January 11, 2026Update Date
April 2, 2026