Nashville Tennessee Genealogy

Lambert, John A. – Obituary

John A. Lambert was born in Nashville, Tenn., Feb. 10, 1845, and died July 28, 1917, making him 72 years, 5 months and 18 days old. From Nashville he went with his parents to Illinois, and from there to Missouri.. In 1864 his parents died and he with an older brother crossed the plains, arriving in Oregon in December, 1869. He was converted and joined the Methodist Church of which he was a lifelong member. He was united in marriage to Miss Mary Ellen Coovert, March 13, 1870. Their home was on a farm four miles south of Dayton until … Read more

Biography of Benjamin B. Harris

Benjamin B. Harris, attorney at law, City Clerk of San Bernardino, and treasurer of the Society of California Pioneers-of San Bernardino County, was born in Hanover County, Virginia, in 1824. When seventeen years of age he went to Nashville, Tennessee, and was there educated, graduating at Nashville University in 1845; studied law in a private office in that State, and was admitted to the bar of Tennessee. In 1847 he went to Panola County, Texas, expecting to remain there permanently, but the climate being malarious he suffered with liver troubles, which necessitated a change in his purposes. After the discovery … Read more

Biographical Sketch of Robert Waller Deering

Deering, Robert Waller; university dean; born, Hogansville, Ga., June 27, 1865; son of Rev. John R. and Fannie (Covin) Deering; A. M., Vanderbilt University, 1885; A. M., Ph. D., University of Leipsiz, 1889; married Jessie Winn, of Mt. Sterling, Ky., Sept. 9, 1891; adj. prof. Germanic languages, Vanderbilt, 1890-1892; prof. Germanic languages since 1892, dean, Grad. Faculty, since 1893,. Western Reserve University. Editor: The Little Gipsy (translated from Cervantes La Jitanilla), 1891; Schiller’s Wilhelm Tell, 1894; Schiller’s Wilhelm Tell, spl. edit., 1900; Goethe’s Egmont, 1903; also monographs and reviews on philol. subjects.

Biography of Hon. W.W. Gordon

Hon. W. W. Gordon was born in Winchester, Tennessee, May 20, 1848. His father, Dr. Amzi B. Gordon, was a native of the county of Bedford, moving to Franklin County in about the year 1841, where he began the practice of medicine, soon building up a large and lucrative practice. He was a zealous member of the Baptist Church and one of the founders of the celebrated Mary Sharp College, at Winchester. He died in 1855. His mother is a daughter of John March, a highly respected farmer of the county, and a sister of Hon. Hayden March, who represented … Read more

Slave Narrative of Jenny Greer

Person Interviewed: Jenny Greer Location: Nashville, Tennessee Place of Birth: Florence, Alabama Age: 84 Place of Residence: 706 Overton Street, Nashville, Tennessee “Am 84 y’ars ole en wuz bawn in Florence, Alabama, ’bout seben miles fum town. Wuz bawn on de Collier plantashun en Marster en Missis wuz James en Jeanette Collier. Mah daddy en mammy wuz named Nelson en Jane Collier. I wuz named atter one ob mah Missis’ daughters. Our family wuz neber sold er divided.” “I’se bin ma’ied once. Ma’ied Neeley Greer. Thank de Lawd I aint got no chilluns. Chilluns ez so bad now I can’t … Read more

Governor Houston at His Trading Post on the Verdigris

In February, 1828, the vanguard of Creek immigrants arrived at the Creek Agency on the Verdigris, in charge of Colonel Brearley, and they and the following members of the McIntosh party were located on a section of land that the Government promised in the treaty of 1826 to purchase for them. By the treaty of May 6, 1828, the Government assigned the Cherokee a great tract of land, to which they at once began to remove from their homes in Arkansas. The movement had been under way for some months when there appeared among the Indians the remarkable figure of Samuel Houston. The biographers of Houston have told the world next to nothing of his sojourn of three or four years in the Indian country, an interesting period when he was changing the entire course of his life and preparing for the part he was to play in the drama of Texas.

Coal Mine Slaves

CALDWELL CO. (Mary E. O’Malley) [HW: Ky 6] Coal Mine Slaves: In 1836 large numbers of slaves were brought into Caldwell and worked by the owners of the ore mines, which necessitated extra patrols, interfered with local workmen, and so on. The taxpayers complained to the Legislature and an extra tax was allowed to be levied for the benefit of the county. In other books we find that the owners of the slaves who worked in these mines was President Andrew Jackson who brought his slaves from Nashville to the iron and lead mines in Caldwell and Crittenden counties; he … Read more

Slave Narrative of George Washington Buckner

Interviewer: Lauana Creel Person Interviewed: Dr. George Washington Buckner Location: Evansville, Indiana Date of Birth: December 1st, 1852 Ex-Slave Stories District #5 Vanderburgh County Lauana Creel A SLAVE, AMBASSADOR AND CITY DOCTOR [DR. GEORGE WASHINGTON BUCKNER] This paper was prepared after several interviews had been obtained with the subject of this sketch. Dr. George Washingtin [TR: Washington] Buckner, tall, lean, whitehaired, genial and alert, answered the call of his door bell. Although anxious to oblige the writer and willing to grant an interview, the life of a city doctor is filled with anxious solicitation for others and he is always … Read more

Descendants of William Sumner of Dorchester, MA

The Sumner family, to which the late Mrs. George Barstow Stetson belonged, is an old and prominent family of New England, descended from one William Sumner, who was born at Bicester, England, in 1605, son of Roger Sumner, of Bicester, Oxfordshire, and his wife Joane (Franklin).

William Sumner, the only child of Roger and Joane, married Oct. 22, 1625, Mary West, and they came to America with their four children in 1636, locating at Dorchester, Mass. He was made a freeman of the Colony May 17, 1637, and held many offices of importance, being selectman for nearly a quarter of a century. He was deputy from Dorchester to the General Court for eight years. He died Dec. 9. 1688, surviving his wife, who died June 7, 1676. Both are buried at Dorchester.

Biography of L. L. Rowland, M.D.

L.L. ROWLAND, M.D. – L.L. Rowland, M.D., LL. D., F.R.S., was born at Nashville, Tennessee, September 17, 1831, and came with his father, Judge Jeremiah Rowland, across the plains to Oregon in 1844. He dutifully remained and helped at home on the old Donation land claim, North Yamhill, until the day he was twenty-one, when he entered the district school with the ambition and hope of finally finishing, if possible, a full classical course of education in some Eastern university. By working somewhat successfully in the California gold mines in 1849 and 1851, giving his father for his time half … Read more

Biographical Sketch of E.J. Evans

E. J. Evans, commercial traveler for Weel, Connell & Riddle, dry goods, shoes, clothing, etc., Nashville, was born in 1850 in the District of Columbia, and now resident of Smithville. He is the son of John G. and Lucinda (Vick) Evans. The father, born in 1819, in Dekalb County, Tenn., is the son of Joseph Evans, a native of Maryland, who, when a boy, came to Tennessee and settled where Liberty, Dekalb County, is located, among the very earliest white settlers. John G. had learned the carpenter trade under his father, and after his marriage in 1844, he settled in … Read more

Biography of Timothy S. Givan

Timothy S. Givan, editor and proprietor of the Tullahoma Messenger, one of the prominent weekly papers of Middle Tennessee, was born in Hardin County, October 8, 1845. He is the son of James M. and Mellona (Needham) Givan, both of whom were born in Kentucky, the former November 4, 1811, and the latter September 19, 1819. The parents, married October 9, 1834, had ten children born to them, six of whom were boys, and of these our subject is the youngest. The mother died April 4, 1854, and in 1856 the father married Rachael Clark. He died October 5, 1859. … Read more

Slave Narrative of Rev. John Moore

Person Interviewed: Rev. John Moore Location: Nashville, Tennessee Place of Birth: Georgia Place of Residence: 809 7th Avenue So., Nashville, Tennessee “I wuz bawn in Georgia (exact time not known) en mah mammy wuz half Indian en mah daddy a slave. Both ob dem owned by William Moore. Sum time atter dat Marster Moore sold mah daddy en den de Moore Sistuhs looked atter me en wuz allus good ter me. “Lawdy, dey wuz good white folks.” “Durin’ slavery times de slaves would hab ter git fum dere marster a pas’ ‘fore dey could visit dere own people on de … Read more

Biographical Sketch of S. J. McLemore

S. J. McLemore, a pioneer of Tullahoma, was born in Lincoln County, Tennessee, December 29, 1822, and is the son of S. J. and Martha (Whitaker) McLemore, natives of North Carolina. The father died in 1825 and the mother in 1880. Our subject reared on the farm, remained there until his marriage to Margaret J. Ward in 1841, when he removed to Nashville and entered the produce business. In 1851 he came to Tullahoma. He sold goods until the civil war and after the close of the same entered the livery business. In 1876 he began merchandising, continuing at that … Read more

Slave Narrative of Precilla Gray

Person Interviewed: Precilla Gray Location: Nashville, Tennessee Place of Birth: Williamson County TN Age: 107 Place of Residence: 807 Ewing Ave., Nashville, Tenn. I think I’se 107 Y’ars ole. Wuz bawn in Williamson County ‘fore de Civil wah. Guess de reason I hab libed so long wuz cose I tuk good keer ob mahself en wore warm clo’es en still do, w’ar mah yarn pettycoats now. Hab had good health all mah life. Hab tuk very lettle medicine en de wust sickness I eber had wuz small-pox. I’se bin a widah ’bout 70 y’ars. Mah mammy d’ed w’en I wuz … Read more

Biography of James M. Drake

James M. Drake is one of Riverside’s representative and well-known businessmen, and has for years been the treasurer of the city, which responsible and important office he fills with honor and credit to himself and the municipality whose interests he so ably guards. Although not a pioneer of Riverside, her history would be incomplete without a fitting mention of Mr. Drake’s eight or ten years’ association with her interests. He is a native of Louisville, Kentucky, and dates his birth April 12, 1837. His parents were Charles and Mahala J. (Jeter) Drake. His father was a native of Virginia, a … Read more

Slave Narrative of Julia Casey

Person Interviewed: Julia Casey Location: Nashville, Tennessee Place of Birth: Tennessee Place of Residence: 811 9th Avenue, So., Nashville, Tennessee I wuz bawn in West Tennessee en wuz six y’ars ole w’en war broke out. Mah Missis wuz Miss Jennie McCullough en she ma’ried Eldridge Casey. Mah Missis’s mammy wuz a widder en she gib me, mah mammy, man sistah Violet, mah two br’ers Andrew en Alfred ter Miss Jennie fer a wed’un gif’. Missis Jennie en Marster Eldridge brung us ter Nashville ‘fore de war sta’ted. Mah Missis wuz good ter us. I’se bin w’ll tuk keer ob, plenty … Read more

Biography of Middleton L. Perry, M. D.

Middleton L. Perry, M. D. Among the men of Kansas who are carrying on the highly important work of caring for the afflicted and irresponsible members of society, one of the best known is Dr. Middleton L. Perry, superintendent of the State Hospital for Epilepties, at Parsons. Doctor Perry was born at Lancaster, Dallas County, Texas, August 15, 1868, and is a son of Middleton and Ellen (Ellis) Perry. The family is of English extraction and settled during colonial times in Virginia, where the grandfather of Doctor Perry, Franklin Perry, was born. He was a farmer by vocation and in … Read more

Slave Narrative of Cecelia Chappel

Person Interviewed: Cecelia Chappel Location: Nashville, Tennessee Place of Birth: Marshall County, Tennessee Age: 102 Place of Residence: 705 Allison Street, Nashville, Tenn. “I’se bawn in Marshall County, Tennessee. I’m de olest ob ten chilluns en I’se 102 ya’rs ole. I feels lak I’se bin ‘yer longer dan dat. Mah mammy wuz brought ter Nashville en sold ter sum peeple dat tuck her ter Mississippi ter live.” “Mah Marster en Missus wuz named Bob en Nancy Lord. Eve’y slave had ter say Missus en Marster en also ter de white babies. I still says hit, en ef I kum ter … Read more

Slave Narrative of Alice Biggs

Interviewer: Miss Irene Robertson Person Interviewed: Alice Biggs Age: “Bout 70” Location: Holly Grove, Arkansas “My mother come from Kentucky and my father from Virginia. That where they born and I born close to Byhalia, Mississippi. My father was Louis Anthony and mama name Charlotte Anthony. “Grandma and her children was sold in a lump. They wasn’t separated. Grandpa was a waiter on the Confederate side. He never come back. He died in Pennsylvania; another man come back reported that. He was a colored waitin’ man too. Grandma been dead 49 years now. “Mama was a wash woman and a … Read more