Richard Boone Cheatham (December 8, 1824 – May 7, 1877) was an American politician based in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

. He was serving as the

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

Nashville Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

, during the opening years of the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

. After the war he served as alderman of the city, and later as a representative to the State House, 1869-1871.

Early life

Cheatham was born in

Robertson County, Tennessee Robertson County is a county located on the central northern border of Tennessee in the United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 72,803. Its seat of government is Springfield. The county was named for James Ro ...

, in 1824. He had two brothers,

Edward Saunders Cheatham Edward Saunders Cheatham (July 31, 1818 – December 21, 1878) was an American politician and businessman. Early life Edward Saunders Cheatham was born on July 31, 1818, in Robertson County, Tennessee. His father, Richard Cheatham, served as ...

and Boyd M. Cheatham. Their father Richard Cheatham was a Whig politician and was elected in 1836 to the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

. Richard's two brothers,

(1818-1878) and Boyd M. Cheatham, both served in the Tennessee state legislature. Cheatham graduated from the

University of Nashville University of Nashville was a private university in Nashville, Tennessee. It was established in 1806 as Cumberland College. It existed as a distinct entity until 1909; operating at various times a medical school, a four-year military college, a ...

Politics

Cheatham entered politics after college, serving as the clerk of the

Tennessee House of Representatives The Tennessee House of Representatives is the lower house of the Tennessee General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Tennessee. Constitutional requirements According to the state constitution of 1870, this body is to consis ...

. At the age of 34, he was elected as an alderman in 1858, and as the Mayor of Nashville in 1860. He was removed from power by military governor

Andrew Johnson Andrew Johnson (December 29, 1808July 31, 1875) was the 17th president of the United States, serving from 1865 to 1869. The 16th vice president, he assumed the presidency following the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Johnson was a South ...

when Union forces occupied the city beginning in 1862. After the American Civil War, Cheatham was elected as an alderman of Nashville in 1865, and as the president of the board of aldermen in 1866. Cheatham was elected during the Reconstruction era as a member of the

, serving from 1869 to 1871. His district included Davidson County as well as Robertson, Cheatham and Montgomery counties. He also served on the county court.

Personal life and death

Cheatham married Frances Ann Bugg. They lived at his family residence, the Mansfield Cheatham House in Springfield, Tennessee. Cheatham died on May 7, 1877, in Nashville, Tennessee. His funeral was held at the First Presbyterian Church. He was buried at Mount Olivet Cemetery in Nashville. One of his daughters, Katherine "Kitty" Cheatham (born in 1864), became a famous singer of children's songs and "plantation melodies" she remembered her African American "Mammy" singing during her childhood. His cousin was Major General Benjamin Franklin Cheatham.

Early life

Politics

Personal life and death

References

Further reading