Dr John Livingston Hadley

Dr. John Livingston Hadley was one of the largest land holders in Jones Bend. Dr. John was born August 1788 in Fayetteville, North Carolina, the only child of John Hadley and Margaret Livingston. Before moving to the Jones Bend area, John Hadley graduated from the University of North Carolina in 1807 and from the School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania in 1812. He served as a surgeon during the War of 1812.

John Livingston Hadley's grandfather, Thomas Hadley was killed by Tories during the Revolutionary War. Thomas moved to Virginia from London Grove MM, Chester, Pennsylvania shortly after his marriage to Mary Thompson in June of 1750. He did not remain in Virginia long. In 1760, he with a partner, John Wilcox, were the first merchants of Cross Creek in Cumberland Co., North Carolina. He represented his district at the Constitutional Convention at Halifax, NC. in November 1776, which enacted a Bill of Rights for the new government. He was elected sheriff of Cumberland Co, NC in 1778, and re-elected in 1781, but was killed before he could serve his last term.

Despite being Quakers, Thomas, his sons Joshua and Simon were very active in the American Revolution. All were Captains of Militia. Unlike his father and brothers, John Hadley took no active part in the American Revolution. As a result he became known to the Scotch Tories of North Carolina as "Gentleman John". He was, however, Constable of Cumberland County which rendered him ineligible for military service. John died August, 1817 in Cumberland Co., NC

John Livingston Hadley moved to Tennessee some time during 1815 probably with his uncle Joshua, who was a land speculator following his career in the military. On December 6, 1815, John married sixteen year old Amelia Hadley, the daughter of his uncle Joshua. His uncle/father-in-law must have been pleased with this union as he made a very generous gift "for and in consideration of the love and affection I have for sd. John L. Hadley and Amelia Hadley" of 620 acres of land on Rutherford's Creek in Williamson County in 1817. In 1826, John Hadley purchased from Beal Bosley 1,171.75 acres in the area known as Jones Bend for the sum of $8202.

John began immediately to build his house which he called Vaucluse, after the valley in France famous for its wine and association with Petrarch. He devoted more time and energy to the management of his plantation than to the practice of his medical profession. He did send the only two sons who reached maturity John Livingston Hadley and Robert Livingston Hadley through medical school. Both attended the University of North Carolina and medical school at the University of Pennsylvania like their father.

Dr. John and his wife Amelia had a total of thirteen children, only two of whom lived to maturity. The children are as follows:

Augustus William Hadley b: 23May1817 d: 19Oct1819 John Livingston Hadley b: 30Apr1819 d: 28Aug1893 Margaret Claudia Hadley b: 21Jul1821 d: 15Sep1825 Amelia Hadley b: 17Jan1824 d: 4Apr1840 Clementia Hadley b: 16Feb1825 d: 2Jun1845 Evelina Hadley b: 12Sep1828 d: 11Feb1839 Rufus Hadley b: 11Feb1833 d: 28Dec1833 Alphonzo Hadley b: 21Jan1835 d: 11May1858 James Hadley b: 16Mar1836 d: 4Oct1858 Robert Livingston Hadley b: 24Jan1839 d: 10Jul1904 Evelyn Hadley b: 1Jan1843 d: 1Apr1844 Joshua Hadley b; 2Jan1845 d: 2Mar1846

All the children were buried in the Hadley family cemetery and later were moved to Springhill cemetery in Madison. The Hadleys were staunch Presbyterians and Dr. John built a church on his plantation grounds. Originally called Amelia's Chapel the name was later changed to Edgefield Presbyterian Church. The original altar is in the present Old Hickory Presbyterian Church.

Dr. John Livingston Hadley died the day after Christmas, December 26, 1870. He is buried in the Hadley family cemetery and remains intered there despite the movement of his children to Springhill. The will of Dr. John leaves most of his acquired lands to his two surviving sons, John and Robert. Amelia Hadley died February 11, 1875 and is buried by her husband.

In February, 1917, the United States Government condemned John Livingston Hadley's plantation to make way for a power plant. His heir's received $333,000 for 3,300 acres and all buildings thereon. Only the family burying ground was preserved. After the close of World War I, the duPont interests purchased the power plant and converted it to rayon mills. In the process, Vaucluse was destroyed. Much of the polished wood and hand carved stones were shipped to the homes of officials of the duPont company in Delaware. A pair of iron gates and stone posts were given to the Overton cemetery in the village of Old Hickory. A pair of carved stones from Vaucluse are now at the entrance to a home on Craigmede Drive in Donelson, Tennessee.

Source: http://earth.vol.com/~rconn/johnlhadley.htm

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Married his uncle's daughter

Source: http://www.tnportraits.org/hadley-dr-john-livingston-sr.htm

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Subject lived from 1788-1870, dying on his 55th wedding anniversary. He was married to his double first cousin, Amelia Hadley. He owned land around Old Hickory, TN . He was the son of John and Margaret Livingston Hadley.

Source: http://records.ancestry.com/John_Livingston_Hadley_records.ashx?pid...

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John Livingston Hadley moved to Tennessee some time during 1815 probably with his uncle Joshua, who was a land speculator following his career in the military. On December 6, 1815, John married sixteen year old Amelia Hadley, the daughter of his uncle Joshua. His uncle/father-in-law must have been pleased with this union as he made a very generous gift "for and in consideration of the love and affection I have for sd. John L. Hadley and Amelia Hadley" of 620 acres of land on Rutherford's Creek in Williamson County in 1817. In 1826, John Hadley purchased from Beal Bosley 1,171.75 acres in the area known as Jones Bend for the sum of $8202.

Source: http://earth.vol.com/~rconn/johnlhadley.htm

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JOHN LIVINGSTON HADLEY, son of John and Margaret (Livingston) Hadley, was born 10 August 1788, in Fayetteville, North Carolina, died 26 December 1870, and is buried in the Hadley family Cemetery, Hadley's Bend, Old Hickory, Davidson County, Tennessee. On 6 December 1815, he married his first cousin, Amelia Hadley. Amelia was born 8 September 1799, in Tennessee, died 11 February 1875, and is also buried in the Hadley family Cemetery, Old Hickory, Davidson County, Tennessee. Amelia was the daughter of Joshua and Hannah (Holmes) Hadley.

Following is taken from an account written by Evelyn Kerr Tretter and sent to the Hadley Society by Willie L. Robinson.

Dr. Hadley, master of Vaucluse, was born in North Carolina in 1788. His father, John Hadley, was descended from Irish Quakers who first came to America around 1712. John Hadley married Margaret Livingston, relative of Robert Livingston, who helped draft the Declaration of Independence. Dr. Hadley was their only child. He entered the University of North Carolina, completed the curriculum there and studied medicine under Dr. Benjamin Rush of Pennsylvania. He received his M.D. in the Medical Department of the University of Pennsylvania. During the War of 1812 he served as a surgeon in the Army and soon after the war ended he came to Tennessee, where he married his first cousin, red-haired, 16-year-old Amelia Hadley, on December 6, 1815. Amelia's father, Joshua Hadley, had been granted large tracts of land in Tennessee an been granted large tracts of land in Tennessee and lived at that time in Sumner County.
Dr. Hadley and Amelia lived in Nashville for a time, near the present Public Square, possibly in a house located on the lot that Dr. Hadley purchased in 1816. Members of the family now living do not know of their having resided anywhere else prior to their moving to Hadley Bend, during the late 1820's. Family stories have it that after the births of some of their older children, Dr. Hadley decided to move to the country, away from the smoke and noise of the rapidly growing Nashville, to bring up his sons and daughters in a more wholesome atmosphere.
So the doctor built Vaucluse, one of the most imposing and beautiful plantation homes in this part of the country. It was constructed of large brick made by slaves, with walls two feet thick and with stone lintels over the doors and windows. It was surrounded by a red brick wall five feet high, with false turrets every 12 feet. A hospital for slaves was on one side of the house, balanced on the other side by a carriage house, with Dr. Hadley's office in a small building in one front corner of the yard. Every building on the plantation was of brick, including slave quarters and even the Chic Sale out back with accommodations for four.
The house consisted of two 2-story wings, front and back, joined by a crosswise two-story hallway. Dr. Hadley built the back wing first and faced it east, toward the river. He added the front wing later and changed the main entrance so that the house faced west thereafter. A hallway led between the two large rooms at the front of the lower floor and opened through an archway into the much larger crosswise hall. Beyond this hall were the two large rooms of the original portion, with a hallway between them. The circular staircase was in the north end of the wide crosswise hallway, leading to the upper floor, which was similar in plan to the lower.
Ornamental stonework flanked the stone steps leading to the front entrance, where a brass knocker set upon an oaken door bore the name "Vaucluse." Inside, the hallway ceiling was a dull gray and the original paper on the walls was made up of 18" squares, each bearing a steel gray engraving of a Greek mythological scene, no two alike. The story goes that this paper was originally ordered by Andrew Jackson for the Hermitage. It came from France and the ship on which it made its long journey lost its course. When it finally did make port and the paper was delivered to General Jackson, he had already secured his paper (presumably the very paper you now see on the walls of the main Hermitage hallway). So "Old Hickory" sold his steel gray paper to Dr. Hadley for the walls of Vaucluse.

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• http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~hadleysociety/index203.html
• Ancestry tree [Please see John L. Hadley's biography, authored by Ron Conn, at earth.vol.com/~rconn/johnlhadley.htm]

Dr. John and his wife Amelia had a total of thirteen children, only two of whom lived to maturity.

All the children were buried in the Hadley family cemetery and later were moved to Springhill cemetery in Madison.

Dr. John Livingston Hadley died the day after Christmas, December 26, 1870. He is buried in the Hadley family cemetery and remains intered there despite the movement of his children to Springhill.

• Reference: Find A Grave Memorial - SmartCopy: Apr 2 2016, 8:35:55 UTC