Mark R. Cockrill
| Mark R. Cockrill | |
|---|---|
| Born |
December 2, 1788 Nashville, Tennessee, U.S. |
| Died |
June 27, 1872 Nashville, Tennessee, U.S. |
| Resting place | Mount Olivet Cemetery |
| Occupation | Cattleman, horse breeder, planter |
| Parent(s) |
John Cockrill Anne Robertson Johnson Cockrill |
| Relatives | James Robertson (maternal uncle) |
Mark R. Cockrill (1788-1872) was an American cattleman, horse breeder and planter. He was the owner of a large farm in Davidson County, Tennessee and a cotton plantation with 135 slaves in Mississippi. He won many prizes for his sheep-rearing both nationally and internationally, and he became known as the "Wool King of the World". He was a multi-millionaire prior to the American Civil War, and he loaned gold to the Confederate States of America during the war.
Early life
Mark R. Cockrill was born on December 2, 1788 in Nashville, Tennessee.[1] His father was John Cockrill.[2] His mother was Anne Robertson Johnson Cockrill.[2] His parents owned a farm in modern-day Centennial Park.[2] His maternal uncle, James Robertson, was an explorer and the co-founder of Nashville.[1]
Career
Cockrill raised cattle and bred horses on his 5,600-acre farm on Charlotte Pike in Nashville called Stock Place.[1] He also raised swine and sheep.[3][4] As early as 1815, he purchased merino sheep from William Jarvis for his farm.[1] Additionally, Cockrill purchased the 1,000-acre Tulip Grove from Andrew Jackson Donelson for US$53,000 in 1854.[5] He was also the owner of a cotton plantation in Mississippi, with 135 African slaves.[6]
Cockrill won many prizes at the Middle Tennessee Fair and the Tennessee State Fair, two agricultural fairs.[3] Additionally, he won a prize for the finest wool on exhibition at the 1851 World's fair in London, England.[3][7] He was also the recipient of a gold medal from the Tennessee legislature "as a testimonial of distinguished merit and unrivaled success in wool-culture, and other agricultural pursuits" in 1854.[2] He was featured in De Bow's Review for the superior wool of the sheep he raised.[3] Additionally, he considered building cotton mills with four other planters in his county.[6] He became known as the "Wool King of the World".[1] Prior to the American Civil War, he was worth an estimated US$2 million, and he was the richest Tennessean.[1]
Cockrill was a proponent of the Confederate States of America.[1] He loaned US$25,000 in gold to the CSA.[1] When the Union Army invaded, they took his land and stole his cattle.[1]
Personal life
Cockrill married Susan Collingsworth. They had three children.
Death and legacy
Cockrill died on June 27, 1872 in Nashville, Tennessee.[1][7] He was buried at the Mount Olivet Cemetery.
Cockrill was inducted into the Tennessee Agricultural Hall of Fame in 1944.[8] The same year, a bronze plaque in his honor was installed at the Tennessee State Capitol.[1]
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Moore, Wayne C. (December 25, 2009). "Mark R. Cockrill". The Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture. Tennessee Historical Society & University of Tennessee Press. Retrieved February 10, 2016.
- 1 2 3 4 Williams, Samuel C. (June 1944). "Ann Robertson: An Unsung Tennessee Heroine". Tennessee Historical Quarterly. 3 (2): 150–155. JSTOR 42620838. (registration required (help)).
- 1 2 3 4 Winters, Donald L. (1994). Tennessee Farming, Tennessee Farmers: Antebellum Agriculture in the Upper South. Knoxville, Tennessee: University of Tennessee Press. pp. 176–177. ISBN 9780870498602. OCLC 30624508. Retrieved February 11, 2016.
- ↑ Bergeron, Paul H. (1979). Paths of the Past: Tennessee, 1770-1970. Knoxville, Tennessee: University of Tennessee Press. ISBN 9780870492747. OCLC 5008369. Retrieved February 11, 2016.
- ↑ Ballard, Michael B.; Cheathem, Mark R. (2013). Of Times and Race: Essays Inspired by John F. Marszalek. Oxford, Mississippi: University Press of Mississippi. p. 18. ISBN 9781621030522. OCLC 793991524. Retrieved February 11, 2016.
- 1 2 Collins, Herbert (August 1946). "The Southern Industrial Gospel before 1860". The Journal of Southern History. 12 (3): 398–399. doi:10.2307/2198222. JSTOR 2198222.
A more systematic and detailed method for inaugurating cotton mills was formulated by Mark R. Cockrill, a large-scale sheep raiser in Tennessee who worked one hundred and thirty-five slaves on a cotton plantation in Mississippi.
- 1 2 "Death of an old Citizen.". Nashville Union and American. June 28, 1872. p. 4. Retrieved February 10, 2016 – via Newspapers.com. (registration required (help)).
- ↑ "Tennessee Agricultural Hall of Fame". Tennessee Agricultural Museum. Retrieved February 11, 2016.