Latest from the Blog
A History of African-American Lawyers in Nashville
by Lewis L. Laska African-American lawyers have practiced in Nashville at least since 1868, when Alfred Menefee, a grocer, received a license to practice before justices of the peace. Menefee thus became the first black office holder in Nashville, also being named magistrate by 1897. Nineteenth century licensing, rather informal, involved two types of licenses…
Public Executions in Nashville
by Lewis L. Laska. On January 25, 1866, four young men were hanged in the yard of the Tennessee State Prison, located on Nashville’s Church Street. They were known as the Hefferman (Heffernan in some sources) killers. The oldest was 20, two were 17, and the youngest, who was so small that he bragged his…
Nashvillians Who Stood behind the Sit-ins: C. The Quiet Allies
by Kathy B. Lauder. We would be remiss if we neglected to mention some of the quiet heroes who provided support to the protests with their time, money, and encouragement. Among the most generous were two Nashville couples – Dr. Charles and Mary Celeste Richardson Walker, and Dr. McDonald and Jamye Coleman Williams. Georgia native…
The image at the top of the page is a detail from a woodblock print of the Parthenon by renowned Nashville artist Ernest A. Pickup, 1887-1970. (Used by permission of the family.) The postcard photo of the Tennessee Capitol is from the NHN collection.
You can find more Nashville and Middle Tennessee history at these links:
Nashville History: Nashville lore from the earliest times to the present: https://nashvillehistory.blogspot.com/
The Greenwood Project (biographies of important individuals buried in Nashville’s Greenwood and Mt. Ararat cemeteries): https://www.facebook.com/Greenwood-Project-344314112391974
Information about the Nashville City Cemetery http://www.thenashvillecitycemetery.org/
The Nashville Retrospect shares podcasts and videos at https://nashvilleretrospect.com/ and has a Facebook presence at https://www.facebook.com/nashretro/ Be sure sign up for The Dispatch, a free e-mail newsletter.
History of a Nashville neighborhood that galvanized and enriched the city’s musical legacy: https://www.jeffersonstreetsound.com/
“This Honorable Body”: African American Legislators in 19th Century Tennessee: https://sharetngov.tnsosfiles.com/tsla/exhibits/blackhistory/index.htm
African American history and genealogy in Nashville and Middle Tennessee: https://aahgsnashville.org/
From Slaves to Soldiers and Beyond – Williamson County, Tennessee’s African American History: http://usctwillcotn.blogspot.com/
Stories from Nashville’s rich history of baseball: https://baseballinnashville.com/, including a series of spellbinding video chats: https://baseballinnashville.com/media-by-skip-nipper/
The Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture: https://tennesseeencyclopedia.net/
A remarkable assemblage of Tennessee portraits from both public and private collections: https://tnportraits.org/
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