Category: Tennessee History
-
Townmania: Marcus Winchester and the Making of Memphis
After three years of work, countless early mornings and late nights in front of my laptop and many weekends at numerous libraries, my biography of Marcus Winchester will soon be available on Amazon and in bookstores. Memphis and Shelby County Room at the Mempis Public Library For a man who played such an important role…
-
My Ancestors’ Journey West
Photo: Tennessee, 1826. Created and published in Baltimore by Fielding Lucas Jr. (1781-1854), this color map shows Tennessee shortly after the Chickasaw cession opened the lands between the Tennessee and Mississippi rivers to settlement. Photo credit: the Tennessee State Library and Archives, TSLA Map Collection. / I recently wrote about finally finding time to read…
-
Samuel Cole Williams and the Beginnings of West Tennessee
Photo: Collection of Samuel Cole Williams items auctioned off at recent auction / I’ve long been aware that ancestors on both sides of my family migrated from Bertie County, North Carolina to West Tennessee. They played a role in the earliest years of development in the region following the Chickasaw land cession of 1818. Several…
-
Shiloh National Military Park
Last Sunday, my family and I took a slight detour on our way home to Memphis from Middle Tennessee and visited Shiloh National Military Park. I already knew the park had several special events planned because the 150th anniversary of the battle fell later that week. I did not, however, plan well enough to get…