McGavock Family Papers 1751-1961

Access and use

Location of collection:
Wytheville Community College
F.B. Kegley Library
Wytheville Community College
Smyth Hall, Room 103
1000 East Main Street
Wytheville, VA 24382
Contact for questions and access:
POC: William A. “Bill” Veselik
Phone: (276) 223-4876
POC: George Mattis
Phone: (276) 223-4744
Fax: (276) 223-4745

Summary

Language:
English

Background

Scope and content:

The McGavock Family Papers cover two hundred years of family history, ranging from a 1751 land plat of Fort Chiswell to a 1961 tax receipt. A rich and varied collection, the Papers provide researchers with valuable information on the history of Wythe County, southwest Virginia, and Tennessee. Subjects revealed through the collection include land acquisition and development, agriculture, horse breeding, domestic matters, slavery, education, salt manufacturing, and banking. Information on the American Civil War, World War I, and World War II are also among items in the collection.

The collection includes Series I, Correspondence (1787-1950); Series II, Financial and Legal Records (1794-1961); Series III, Land Records (1751-1903); Series IV, Miscellaneous Records (1772-1951); Series V, Books (1826, 1890-1893); and Series VI, Photographs.

Biographical / historical:

The history of the McGavock Family in America begins with the migration of James McGavock (1728-1812). Born in Antrim, Ireland in 1728, James sailed to Philadelphia around 1755. He left his widowed mother and brother Randal living at the McGavock homestead called Carnton near Glenarm. After venturing through the Great Valley of Virginia, James settled in Rockbridge County, Virginia where he prospered as an innkeeper in Fincastle. In 1760 he married Mary Cloyd (1741-1827); Mary Cloyd McGavock and James McGavock had five sons and five daughters.

Searching for fertile land upon which to build his family estate, James McGavock purchased land in Fort Chiswell in present-day eastern Wythe County, Virginia in 1771. Fort Chiswell prospered as a supply depot for military goods, particularly during the French and Indian War and Revolutionary War. McGavock capitalized on this thriving market by stocking goodly quantities of lead, powder, and flint among other supplies.

Concerned by the growing friction between Great Britain and the American colonies, James McGavock joined a local Committee of Safety in 1775. Committee members often met at the ordinary (tavern) which McGavock had constructed in 1772. On 25 January 1775, he was among numerous Southwest Virginia men who signed the Fincastle Resolutions proclaiming their desire for independence from Great Britain.

With the construction of the Montgomery County courthouse in 1779, McGavock hoped to achieve his dream of building a bustling town in Fort Chiswell. Unfortunately, court officials deemed the location too inaccessible and hilly for town development. As the migration of settlers to Kentucky and beyond increased during the 1780s, however, McGavock enjoyed a lucrative trade supplying the weary pioneers with food, lodging, and supplies. By 1800, Fort Chiswell boasted an ordinary, mill, blacksmith shop, carpentry shop, and store.

While his sons David and Randal settled in Nashville, Tennessee, James McGavock's sons Hugh McGavock (1761-1844), James McGavock (1764-1838), and Joseph McGavock (1780-1833) remained at Fort Chiswell. Although he employed all three sons in his various businesses, James McGavock Sr. left his Fort Chiswell property to James McGavock Jr. after his death in 1812.

James McGavock Jr. continued his father's lodging business while developing Fort Chiswell into a prosperous farm. He married Mary Crockett (1778-1826) in 1799 and had twelve children. James McGavock Jr. passed his Fort Chiswell estate on to his sons Stephen Cloyd McGavock (1807-1880) and Joseph Cloyd McGavock (1812/1813-1886)(nicknamed Cloyd). He died in 1838. James McGavock Jr. was also known as James McGavock Sr. after his father's death.

Stephen McGavock and Joseph Cloyd McGavock successfully ran the Fort Chiswell estate for over four decades. In 1839, they constructed an imposing mansion which features five stories and large Palladian windows. The brothers not only supervised the plantation activities but engaged in land acquisition and development. Stephen McGavock also served on the Board of Directors of the Farmers Bank of Virginia.

Ephraim McGavock (1805-1876), son of James McGavock Jr., settled in Wytheville. In 1840 he married Abigail Jouett Williamson (1812-1877) (nicknamed Abie), a native of New York. Abie McGavock founded a private school for girls in Wytheville at which she served as both principal and teacher. Ephraim McGavock and Abigail Jouett Williamson McGavock had eight children.

Upon Joseph Cloyd McGavock's death in 1885, Ephraim's oldest son James Hampton McGavock (1842-1916)assumed responsibility for the family estate. He maintained the Fort Chiswell plantation and developed a special talent for horse breeding. James Hampton McGavock also served on the Board of Directors for the Farmers Bank of Southwest Virginia as well as the Wythe County Board of Supervisors. He fought in the Confederate States Army in Company A of the 4th Virginia Infantry Regiment.

James Hampton McGavock wed Elizabeth Pointer (1843-1893)(nicknamed Bettie) of Williamson County, Tennessee in 1867. Elizabeth Pointer was the daughter of William H. Pointer. Her only brother Edward Pointer died during the Civil War. Elizabeth Pointer McGavock and James Hampton McGavock had five sons, two of whom died as infants. She died in 1893 following a long and painful illness. James Hampton remarried in 1900 to Evilina Moore of Louisiana. They had one son.

The eldest son Edward Pointer McGavock (1868-1950)embarked upon a medical career after studying at Hampden-Sydney College. He graduated medical school at the University of Virginia in 1893 and settled in Lynchburg and Richmond, Virginia.

William Pointer McGavock married Flora McDonald Stokes in 1894 and moved to Fredericksburg, Virginia. By 1907, William had traveled to New Mexico where his lifelong penchant for strong drink and gambling almost led him to the gallows. While intoxicated he accidentally shot a man and faced lynching by local citizens and execution by local law enforcement. With the aid of an adept lawyer, he escaped punishment. Amazingly, the New Mexico courts released him upon the proviso that he never return. He died in Santa Barbara, California in 1918.

Cloyd McGavock remained in Wythe County and married Annie L. Jordan in 1902. He was employed in various endeavors including a bake shop and the New River Ordnance Plant. His brother Edward Pointer remained the patriarch of the family even while practicing medicine in Richmond and Lynchburg. Edward evidently made most of the business decision regarding Fort Chiswell and the estate of his father, James Hampton McGavock, who died in 1916.

In 1918, the Fort Chiswell Mansion exchanged hands. Edward Pointer McGavock returned to Richmond and Cloyd McGavock settled in Wytheville, Virginia. Cloyd McGavock later married Willie Wolf McGavock who conducted much family business for Edward Pointer McGavock. Edward Pointer McGavock died in 1950 and Cloyd McGavock in 1951.

Acquisition information:
Donated by Shirley McGavock McConnell in 1989.
Physical description:
178 folders.