Wordless Wednesday

Cavitt House 30 53 51 N / -96 23 41 W, [1/2 mile west of Wheelock on FM 391], Map The ante-bellum Cavitt house was built by Ann Cavitt and her family on 300 acres of the Sterling Robertson Grant near the town of Wheelock. The house was designed by a Mr. Charleton, a New England architect, who was traveling through the area. Construction began in 1845 and was completed in 1854. The three-story mansion contained eleven rooms. Woodwork, cornices, balustrades, and mantelpieces were hand-carved of Cypress and Pine. Door latches, hinges, and square nails as well as the glass for the windows were made on site. The six fireplaces were fashioned of pink brick and ironstone. The house served as a staging point on the Old Spanish Road, linking San Antonio with Nacogdoches. Among the visitors were Sam Houston, a longtime friend of the Cavitt family. Texas Historic Marker reads: "Old Cavitt House. Republic of Texas homestead established when log cabin was built 1836. Main house of hand finished lumber, begun in 1842, completed in present form 1854. Sam Houston, friend and frequent guest here, who gave a desk to Volney Cavitt." The Cavitt House is one of 12 buildings or groups of buildings in Robertson County that is preserved in the U.S. Library of Congress American Memory Collection. Architectural drawings and floor plans of this historic building from this collection are featured to the left and below. http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~txrober2/HistoricWheelockTour.htm

Ann Cavitt was born 1801 in Knoxville, TN and died 1882 in Wheelock, TX. She married Andrew Cavitt. He was born in Virginia in 1796 and died in Millican, TX in 1836, they were married 8 April 1821 in Madison, AL. They were distant cousin's. She first married Anthony Cavitt Armstrong who may have also been a relation.

The children of Ann and Andrew were Richard Whitley Cavitt, Volney E Cavitt, Josephus Cavitt, Sheridan Cavitt, Andrew franklin Cavitt, James Alexander Cavitt, William Moses Norris Cavitt. She had a son with Anthony Cavitt Armstrong, Thomas Elias Armstrong.