Adelicia Acklen
Adelicia Hayes Franklin Acklen Cheatham (March 15, 1817 – May 4, 1887), best known as Adelicia Acklen, became the wealthiest woman in Tennessee and a plantation owner in her own right after the 1846 death of her first husband, Isaac Franklin. As a successful slave trader, he had used his wealth to purchase numerous plantations, lands, and slaves in Tennessee and Louisiana.
Adelicia Acklen | |
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Portrait by William Brown Cooper | |
| Born | Adelicia Hayes March 15, 1817 Nashville, Tennessee |
| Died | May 4, 1887 (aged 70) New York, New York |
| Resting place | Mount Olivet Cemetery |
| Occupation(s) | Planter, socialite |
| Spouses |
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| Children | 10, including Joseph H. Acklen and William Hayes Ackland |
| Relatives | Richard Cheatham (third father-in-law)Sarah Ewing Sims Carter Gaut (cousin) |
In 1880 Acklen sold four contiguous plantations in Louisiana as one property. These have formed the grounds of the Louisiana State Penitentiary (also known as "Angola" after one of the plantations) since 1901.
When married to her second husband, Joseph Alexander Smith Acklen, Adelicia Acklen built the Belmont Mansion in Nashville, Tennessee. She sold the property in 1887; it was converted for use as a girls' school and later junior college campus. It is now operated as a museum at the center of what is now known as Belmont University.