Armstead Cheatham
Sometimes it can seem like history ends at the end of a tour or with the close of a book cover. But for the individuals and their descendants who lived through that history, this is not the case.
We recently received a call from Ken Rhines. While researching his family genealogy he stumbled across a family connection to one of the estate employees at Belmont Mansion – Armstead Cheatham. Armstead served as the Cheatham’s coachman in the 1880s.* His half-brother, John P. Rhines, was Ken’s ancestor.
Both Armstead and John were born into slavery. Armstead and his mother Caroline lived in Nashville, but were sold and taken to Virginia, separating them Anderson Cheatham, Armstead’s father. John was later born in Lee County, Virginia. This information provided yet another link in Ken’s research of his own family tree. Here is the record which documented this, a family statement written at the time of Armstead's death (from the archives at UT Knoxville - MS 1649):
Armstead Cheatham eventually returned to Nashville, where he married Fanny Watkins and spent the rest of his life working as a carriage and wagon driver for various companies. His half-brother, John P. Rhines, became one of the few practicing African American attorneys active in Nashville during the early 20th century. His son, John T. Rhines would become a prominent undertaker in Washington D. C.
While no images have been found of Armstead, Ken was generous enough to share images he had of both John P. Rhines (left, colorized) and his son, John T. Rhines (right).
*Current research has not found a connection between the extended family of Adelicia’s third husband, William Cheatham, and Armstead Cheatham.