Encyclopedia

Mexican War hero, governor, and minister to Brazil, William Trousdale was born in Orange County, North Carolina. In 1796 he came with his parents, James and Elizabeth Dobbins Trousdale, to settle in Sumner County, Tennessee. Trousdale first experienced military duty…

Ernest Tubb, pioneer of the "honky tonk" sound in country music and an important Nashville record shop entrepreneur, was born in Crisp, Texas, on February 9, 1914. After hearing a Jimmie Rodgers record, "In the Jail House Now," Tubb determined…

The successful Union campaign in Middle Tennessee in the summer of 1863 was a turning point in the Civil War. In just eleven days, and with very little fighting, the Army of the Cumberland maneuvered the Confederate Army of Tennessee…

Thomas B. Turley, lawyer and U.S. senator, was born in Memphis on April 5, 1845, to Thomas and Ora Battle Turley. His uncle was Judge William B. Turley of the Tennessee Supreme Court. After attending local schools, Turley in 1861…

William B. Turley was called "the most brilliant judge we ever had" by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Horace H. Lurton of Tennessee. (1) This reputation was forged during fifteen years on the Tennessee Supreme Court as part of the legendary…

Tina Turner, one of Tennessee's most popular performers, gained international fame and attracted record-breaking audiences with her choreographed, fast-paced dancing, her musical blend of rhythm-n-blues and pop rock, and her electrifying stage show artistry. She has won seven Grammy Awards,…

Governor and State Supreme Court Justice Peter Turney was born in Jasper, Marion County, in 1827, the son of Hopkins and Teresa Francis Turney. He attended local schools in Franklin County and a private school in Nashville and read law,…

Tusculum College is the oldest college in Tennessee, having been chartered on September 9, 1794, by the legislature of the Southwest Territory. It was founded as Greeneville College by the Reverend Hezekiah Balch and Reverend Charles Coffin and later merged…

Lawrence Tyson, Tennessee's only World War I general, was born on a plantation near Greenville, North Carolina, on July 4, 1861. Tyson won a competition for appointment to West Point and graduated from the military academy in 1883. Lieutenant Tyson…

This Chattanooga-based trucking firm, in business since 1985, has grown to be the fifth largest publicly owned truckload carrier in the United States. U.S. Xpress is also the ninth largest private employer in Tennessee, with an estimated 7,300 employers. The…

Located in the mountains of upper East Tennessee, Unicoi County covers approximately 186 square miles, of which approximately 50 percent is owned by the U.S. government. Unicoi is a Cherokee word meaning "white," "hazy," "fog-like," or "fog draped." The county's…

Union County was formed in 1850 from portions of Anderson, Campbell, Claiborne, Grainger, and Knox Counties. The enabling legislation was initially passed January 3, 1850, but due to legal challenges and complications the county was not formally created until January…

Located in Jackson, Union University is a private institution of higher learning affiliated with the Tennessee Baptist Convention and traces its lineage through two earlier institutions. Jackson Male Academy opened in 1823 and was chartered by the state in 1825.…

In 1888 Baton Rouge druggist Leon Jastremski returned from a visit to the annual reunion of the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) with an idea to form a similar fraternal organization for Confederate veterans. Simultaneously, a Chattanooga businessman, J.…

The first Methodist publishing efforts began as the Methodist Book Concern in Philadelphia in 1789 with a loan of $600. Its publications were delivered by traveling preachers known as circuit riders. The Concern later relocated to New York City and…

The United Sons and Daughters of Charity Lodge Hall in Bolivar, Hardeman County, is one of the oldest African American lodge buildings in West Tennessee. Listed in the National Register of Historic Buildings, its unassuming architecture reflects the types of…

First established as an arm of the Continental Army, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has both military and civil missions. Since the Revolutionary War, it has provided topographic reconnaissance and mapping, fortification design and construction, and related services for…