Sources |
- [S101] 1880 Census, Boyds Creek, Sevier County, Tennessee, 468A.
Name Relation Marital Status Gender Race Age Birthplace Occupation Father's Birthplace Mother's Birthplace
Timothy CHANDLER Self M Male W 60 TN Farmer NC DE
Mary E. CHANDLER Wife M Female W 50 TN Keeping House VA VA
Joseph CHANDLER Son S Male W 29 TN Farmer TN TN
Dell CHANDLER Dau S Female W 20 TN At School TN TN
Rebecca CHANDLER Other S Female B 12 TN Servant TN TN
Shannon CHANDLER Other S Male B 10 TN Servant TN TN
Allick BRYAN Other M Male B 26 TN Farm Laborer TN TN
Ann BRYAN Other M Female B 23 TN Servant TN TN
- [S106] The Mountain Press, 30 Jan 2012.
Upland Chronicles: Portrait of Timothy Chandler comes home
by CARROLL McMAHAN
A picture of the original folk-ark par trait portraying Timothy Chandler.
The copper horn Timothy Chandler was holding while posed for the painting.
Richard Parker (left) and Josh Underwood (right) points to the painting of Timothy Chandler. The gentleman pictured in the bottom portrait is Samuel Timothy Chandler McMahan, great-grandson of Timothy Chandler.
In a manner of speaking, Timothy Chandler has returned home.
Courtesy of the East Tennessee Historical Society, a reproduction of a folk art portrait of a young Timothy Chandler now hangs on the wall at Wheatlands Plantation, where generations of the Chandler and McMahan families resided for over 140 years.
According to Michele MacDonald, curator of collections at East Tennessee Historical Society, the person who created the watercolor and pencil drawing is unknown but could possibly have been one of several folk artists who traveled throughout the region soliciting business from wealthy families.
Timothy Chandler, who was born May 24, 1820, was a young boy when he posed for the portrait holding a copper horn with his black dog jumping at his side and dressed in a blue dress, which was a common garment for young boys at the time.
He was a son of John Chandler, who built the distinguished two-story brick house known as Wheatlands around 1825, after a fire destroyed the original farmhouse.
Young Timothy was named after his grandfather Timothy Chandler, who was Revolutionary War veteran.
Known as a man of fine character and a good sound businessman of integrity and reliability, Timothy married Mary E. Smith Chandler, who was the widow of his older brother, William Chandler, and reared his brother’s four children as if they were his own.
Adella Calphernia “Miss Dell” Chandler McMahan lived in the house longer than any of its other inhabitants.
The only daughter of Timothy Chandler, Miss Dell was born in the house on Oct. 3, 1859, and died there on Feb. 2 2, 1936.
Miss Dell received a fine education in schools such as Rogersville (Tenn.) Synodical College and Hollins Women’s College near Roanoke, Va.
In documents recorded by her daughter-in-law, Blanche Clabough McMahan, Miss Dell recalls an incident during the Civil War when a man who was mistaken for her father was shot and killed in a nearby barn.
She was only 6 years old when her father and grandfather, who were Confederate sympathizers, fled to Knoxville to avoid capture by Union loyalists.
Miss Dell’s recollections revealed that she was carried to safety by her stepgrandmother, Anne Wayland Erwin Chandler, just moments before a rock was thrown through the window of her bedroom landing where she had been sleeping.
She further disclosed that the ladies of Wheatlands got along well with the Union soldiers. Her reminiscing divulged that soldiers would travel to other parts of the county to raid farms and return with turkeys, hams and vegetables.
After the slaves prepared a big feast, little Dell would sit among the hungry men while they all enjoyed the delicious repast.
Along with other valuable possessions, the portrait was probably hidden during the war to avoid the possibility of being taken or destroyed by marauding soldiers.
Although undergoing several modifications, which included facade renovations and changing the name from Wheatlands to Ler-Mac after Miss Dell married Isaac Newton McMahan, the unique portrait of Miss Dell’s father was displayed with honor in the home throughout her life.
Miss Dell willed the property to her only grandson, Samuel Timothy Chandler “Sonny” McMahan Jr. When he died in 1963, the house fell to his mother Blanche, the last family member to occupy the house.
In the period between 1966 and 2011, Wheatlands Plantation had several owners, including Mr. and Mrs. William Gheesling, Col. And Mrs. James W. Holley, Christine J. Paul and Darrel Keen. In 2011, John Greer Burns III and Richard A. Parker purchased the house with six remaining acres of the plantation that once included an extraordinary 4,700 acres featuring a mercantile store, granary, tannery, slave houses and a legal distillery.
Through Internet research, Burns and Parker discovered the portrait of Timothy Chandler on Case Antiques Auction and Appraisals website. However, further investigations revealed the painting had already been purchased by the East Tennessee Historical Society and placed in its permanent museum collection.
Discouraged that they had come so close to recovering an original Wheatlands artifact, Burns and Parker contacted the historical society and found they not only possessed the portrait but also the copper horn Timothy was holding in the painting.
Not interested in selling their acquisition, the historical society graciously agreed to allow the portrait to be scanned so the home owners could have a true copy to hang at the Wheatlands Plantation. Burns and Parker immediately agreed to pay the related expenses.
On Thursday, Dec. 29, 2011, several invited guests gathered for refreshments, a tour of the plantation as well as the unveiling of the portrait. “Timothy Chandler with his dog and his copper horn,” now hangs in the original parlor where the original hung for over 140 years.
Timothy Chandler has returned home!
Carroll McMahan is the special projects facilitator for the Sevierville Chamber of Commerce. The Upland Chronicles series celebrates the heritage and past of Sevier County. If you have suggestions for future topics, would like to submit a column or have comments, please contact Carroll McMahan at 453-6411 or email to cmcmahan@scoc.org; or Ron Rader at 604-9161 or email to ron@ronraderproperties.com.
- [S34] In the Shadow of the Smokies, Smoky Mountain Historical Society, (1993), 213.
s/o John & Eleanor
|