About the Chapter Titles
Each chapter title in “Townmania: Marcus Winchester and the Making of Memphis” is a nod to Memphis’s connection to music history, particularly blues, gospel and rock ‘n’ roll. The city’s diverse cultural landscape served as a melting pot where styles converged, giving rise to music in genres of all kinds. Memphis is often hailed as the home of the blues and the birthplace of rock ‘n’ roll, with landmarks like Beale Street, The Memphis Rock ‘n’ Soul Museum, Graceland, Sun Studio, and STAX Museum of American Soul Music playing a pivotal role in reminding visitors around the world of its significant contribution to the entertainment industry.
Table of Contents
Introduction: Going to Memphis
Marcus Winchester and the birth of Memphis
Part One
Chapter One: All American Boy
The Winchester family settles in Tennessee
Chapter Two: Baby Let’s Play House
Construction of James Winchester’s Cragfont, James Overton’s Traveller’s Rest, and Andrew Jackson’s Hermitage
Chapter Three: We the People
Marcus’s father, James Winchester, and the War of 1812
Chapter Four: Good Morning Baltimore
Marcus’s grandfather, William Winchester, arrives in America and founds Westminster, Maryland
Chapter Five: Trouble, Heartaches & Sadness
James Winchester’s military reputation destroyed
Chapter Six: Big River
History of the Fourth Chickasaw Bluff
Chapter Seven: Hello Memphis
John Overton purchases the John Rice tract
Part Two
Chapter Eight: There’s No Love in Tennessee
Marcus Winchester with Andrew Jackson at The Jackson Purchase
Chapter Nine: Memphis Blues
Andrew Jackson sends Marcus Winchester to the bluff
Chapter Ten: Walking in Memphis
Marcus Winchester and William Lawrence arrive and begin surveying the bluff
Chapter Eleven: Changes Comin’ On
Marcus Winchester takes care of business in Memphis
Chapter Twelve: Considering a Move to Memphis
John Overton advertises the new town on the east bank of the Mississippi River
Chapter Thirteen: That’s How I Got to Memphis
The new town of Memphis begins to grow under Marcus Winchester’s leadership
Chapter Fourteen: Memphis Bound Blues
Marcus Winchester befriends Isaac Rawlings, David Crockett, and Francis Wright
Chapter Fifteen: Anywhere But Memphis
Death and disease come to the city on the bluff
Part Three
Chapter Sixteen: Tired of Being Alone
Marcus Winchester marries Amatante Loiselle, a free woman of color from St. Louis
Chapter Seventeen: Trouble, Heartaches & Sadness
The battle over slavery
Chapter Eighteen: Soul Man
Racism impacts the Winchester family
Chapter Nineteen: Memphis in the Meantime
Culture, hospitality, and community development come to Memphis
Chapter Twenty: Memphis Money
Marcus Winchester and the fight for Memphis’s first bank
Chapter Twenty-one: Born Under a Bad Sign
Marcus Winchester loses it all
Chapter Twenty-two: Love and Happiness
Marcus Winchester marries Lucy McLean
Chapter Twenty-three: Berry Rides Again
Marcus Winchester attempts a comeback
Chapter Twenty-four: From Graceland to the Promised Land
Marcus Winchester dies with his harness on
Chapter Twenty-five: Trying to Live My Life Without You
Lucy Winchester becomes a celebrity
Chapter Twenty-six: I Forgot to Remember to Forget
Marcus Winchester, Isaac Rawlings, and other early founders of Memphis are remembered
Other Biographies by R. Scott Williams
The Forgotten Adventures of Richard Halliburton: A High-Flying Life from Tennessee to Timbuktu
An Odd Book: How the First Modern Pop Culture Reporter Conquered New York
The Accidental Fame and Lack of Fortune of
West Tennessee’s David Crockett
Townmania:
Marcus Winchester and
the Making of Memphis