NASHVILLE, TENN. -- In honor of Women’s Suffrage Anniversary Month, Nashville City Cemetery is hosting a celebratory “Second Saturday” tour that focuses on fascinating females from Nashville’s history who have been laid to rest in the cemetery.
The tour, which starts at 10 a.m. on Saturday, August 10, is free and open to the public. Carolyn Gregory, a writer, editor, and researcher who serves on the Nashville City Cemetery Board will lead the tour and share stories about the lives of the select cemetery residents.
The tour features historical anecdotes regarding the following women, among others:
Lucinda Bedford -- Born as a Bedford family slave in 1800, Lucinda lived 93 years and died as a free woman who was also Nashville’s wealthiest woman of color at the time. Details regarding her emancipation are uncertain, but it is recorded that Lucinda served as Mr. Bedford’s “housekeeper” and bore his child.
Charlotte Reeves Robertson -- Charlotte was the wife of James Robertson, one of the founders of Nashville. Known as the “heroine of the Battle of the Bluff,” she is credited with saving the lives of the men of Ft. Nashborough during an Indian attack, when she released a pack of over 50 dogs to create a necessary diversion.
Louisa Pocahontas Gordon Zollicoffer -- Louisa was a descendant of Pocahontas of Jamestown, Virginia, and she married Confederate General Felix Zollicoffer, the first Confederate general to die in the Western Theater of war. Although she gave birth to 13 children, only six survived. Her descendants still reside in the Nashville area today.
Interested participants do not need to pre-register for this event, they can simply arrive at the cemetery (1001 Fourth Avenue South) by 10 a.m. on Saturday, August 10.
The Nashville City Cemetery Association, Inc. is a membership organization that works to protect, preserve, restore and raise public awareness of the Nashville City Cemetery in collaboration with the Historical Commission of the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County, Tennessee. For more information, visit thenashvillecitycemetery.org.
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