Willie Elizabeth Harding of Tennessee

The daughter of Elizabeth Hoggatt Clopton and William Harding, Willie Elizabeth Harding was born September 25, 1832, in Davidson County Tennessee. She was a direct descendant of William Clopton, Gentleman and Ann (Booth) Dennett Clopton. On May 23, 1850, she married David H. McGavock, the son of Francis McGavock. Willie died December 23, 1895. They had two children, Frank Owens McGavock and Elizabeth Clopton McGavock.

As a prominent citizen of the Nashville, Tennessee area, Willie was active in social affairs and was particularly interested in the Methodist Episcopal Church South. The Methodist Episcopal Church South was organized in 1845 when the slavery issue deeply divided the Methodist Church into two conferences, the Northern and Southern Conferences. She was considered a great philanthropist and was generous with her time, energy and money.

Sarah E. H. Haskins' Women and Missions, documents one example of Willie's contributions to her church.

It was through Mrs. Willie Elizabeth (Harding) McGavock that the CLOPTON SCHOOL in Shanghai, China, was established. A strong appeal was made by Mrs. J. W. Lambreth urging the women of the Methodist Episcopal Church South, at Nashville, Tennessee, to launch out upon their first foreign missionary undertaking.

A contribution in money derived from the gift and sale of Mrs. David H. McGavock's (nee' Willie Elizabeth Harding) wedding diamonds, made possible a building for a school which carried with it the name "Clopton" in honor of her mother, Elizabeth Hoggatt Clopton. This school continued as the "Clopton Boarding School."

One of her Clopton cousins, The Reverend Samuel Cornelius Clopton, Sr., of Virginia, became the first missionary appointed by the Southern Baptist Foreign Mission Board in 1846, where he served in Canton, China. Her grandson, Spence McGavock, presented a large oil portrait of Willie to the woman's Missionary Council which was hung in their headquarters in Nashville. The painting shows Willie in her bridal gown and veil.

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Based on :

An Article by Sarah E H. Haskins, "Women and Missions" Published in 1920
and The Ancestors and Descendants of William Clopton of York County, Virginia
Compiled by Gene Carlton Clopton, Phoenix Printing, Inc., Atlanta, Georgia