Name/Title
John OvertonEntry/Object ID
Overton, John1Context
John Overton was the only son of Judge John Overton and Mary McConnell White May Overton, a widow who already had five children by her first husband, Dr. Francis May, when she married Judge Overton in 1820. He had two sisters, Anne Coleman Overton and Elizabeth Belle Overton. When his mother, Mary, died in 1862, John Overton II inherited Travellers Rest. A supporter of the Confederacy, John Overton, who was later called Colonel Overton, had left the state at the outset of the war in 1861 to avoid imprisonment. After the war, he received a presidential pardon from Andrew Johnson. He oversaw the completion of the Maxwell House hotel, which was named in honor of the family of his wife, Harriet Maxwell. The Maxwell House was the first modern luxury hotel in Nashville.Collection
Travellers Rest Historic House MuseumMade/Created
Date made
circa 1850Notes
This portrait was originally rectangular in format but has been altered to fit an oval period frame.Create Date
January 11, 2026Update Date
March 24, 2026