Thomas Shadrack "T.S." Weaver (1850-1911) and wife Martha “Mattie” Strong Cheatham Weaver (1853-1919) built Sevenoaks in 1890 on Murfreesboro Rd. and near the site of the current Nashville airport. T.S. constructed Sevenoaks because he did not want to push his sister Mary Weaver Harris and her husband Joseph E. Harris out of Kingsley, their family estate.
The Kingsley and Colemere mansions were nearby. Thomas and Martha were married in 1872. Thomas was the son of Dempsey and Frances L. King Weaver of Kingsley, and Martha was the daughter of Dr. William Archer Cheatham and (first wife) Mary Emma Ready Cheatham. Thomas was an attorney and principal with the Pilcher and Weaver law firm, a businessman, and a trustee of Vanderbilt University.
Because of controversy with his management of Belmont and his unwillingness to move to Washington, D.C., Dr. Cheatham and Adelicia separated and by 1884, Adelicia left for New York. Dr. Cheatham went to Sevenoaks and stayed with Martha and Thomas. In 1894, Thomas was appointed Clerk and Master of the Chancery Court for 6 years.
After Weaver died in 1911, their son William Cheatham "Will" Weaver inherited the property. His older brother Dempsey lived at Colemere. In 1910, Will had a wholesale business McWhorter-Weaver Company in downtown Nashville. He married Irene Evans Morgan. Their children were Henrietta Weaver and William C. "Bill" Weaver. Irene Weaver married Ridley Wills, the esteemed Nashville historian. After 1943, the family sold Sevenoaks because it was too big for the heirs. Irene Weaver Jackson married Granbery Jackson, Jr., and they moved to 775 Norwood Dr. off Franklin Rd. Later, when Irene became a widow, she moved to the old Wellington Arms Apartments on Harding Rd. Sevenoals burned down in the mid twentieth century.
He and the family moved to St. Petersburg, FL at some point - probably after 1900 when Dr. Cheatham died. Seven Oaks Park, located south of Murfreesboro Rd. and Briley Parkway, and the neighborhood area of Sevenoaks remain to recognize the demolished mansion. See Colemere, Kingsley
Sources:
Nashville Pikes #7 , Ridley Wills, p. 215
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