People

Ralph E. W. Earl, portraitist, was the son of Connecticut painter Ralph Earl (1751-1801) and his second wife, Anne Whiteside of Norwich, England. Born in England, Earl studied under his father in Northhampton, Massachusetts, before traveling to London in 1809…

Born into a prominent family, John Henry Eaton was the son of John and Elizabeth Eaton. His father, a chaise maker, was county coroner, a member of the state assembly, and the owner of five thousand acres of land in…

Born to William O'Neale, the owner of a Washington boarding house and his wife Rhoda, the young Margaret and her five brothers and sisters were well known in political Washington. Leading congressmen and senators stayed at the O'Neale establishment (later…

Belle Edmondson, Confederate smuggler, was born in Mississippi. On the eve of the Civil War her family moved to a Shelby County farm on Holly Ford Road (now Airways Boulevard), about three miles from the Mississippi border and eight miles…

Few folk artists can claim the widespread recognition by the world of fine art that William Edmondson achieved during his lifetime. The first African American artist to have a one-man exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art, Edmondson continues to…

Buford Ellington, governor of Tennessee from 1959-63 and 1967-71, alternated power both times with uncertain ally Frank Clement. The differences between Ellington's first and second stints as chief executive, especially in terms of the South's ageless political issue of race,…

Sarah Barnwell Elliott, novelist, short story writer, and advocate of women's rights, was born in Savannah, Georgia, the daughter of Stephen Elliott, a bishop of the Episcopal Church who was a leader in the founding of the University of the…

An early voice in Tennessee for abolition, Elihu Embree was the son of a Quaker minister who moved from Pennsylvania in 1790 to the northeast corner of what would become the new state of Tennessee. Elihu and his brother Elijah…

Ralph Emery became the dominant disc jockey in country music in the late twentieth century, featured on major syndicated radio programs and national cable television networks. Born in McEwen, Tennessee, in 1933, Emery spent the first seven years of his…

Henri Erni, Tennessee's first consulting chemist, was born in Switzerland in 1822. Erni studied at the University of Zurich, where he excelled in chemistry, although he may not have received a degree. In 1849 Erni emigrated to the United States,…

Andrew Nelson Eshman, minister, educator, author, and leader of the segment of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church that rejected the 1906 merger with the Presbyterians, USA, was born on June 1, 1865, in Mt. Pleasant and raised on a farm in…

The first woman to win a statewide election in Tennessee, Jane G. Eskind was raised and educated in Louisville, Kentucky. She attended Brandeis University, married Richard Eskind, completed her undergraduate degree at the University of Louisville, and settled in Nashville…

John Adam “Sleepy John” Estes, was born in Ripley, Tennessee, around 1900. A highly skilled blues musician, Estes played a pivotal role in reestablishing rural blues within the American music canon during the folk blues revival of the 1960s. His…

Henry Emerson Etheridge, important West Tennessee Whig politician and Union loyalist, was born in Currituck County, North Carolina, in 1819. In 1833 the family moved to Weakley County, Tennessee. Etheridge became a lawyer with a practice in Dresden, the county…

Harry W. Ettelson, Rabbi of Temple Israel in Memphis from 1925 to 1954, was born in Lithuania and reared in Mobile, Alabama. Ettelson's diverse scholarly background included a B.A. from the University of Cincinnati, where he was Phi Beta Kappa;…

Silliman Evans Sr. was owner and publisher of the Nashville Tennessean from 1937 until his death in 1955. During his years as publisher he also held directorships at American Airlines and Maryland Casualty and key positions in the state and…

Chattanooga businessman and politician Henry Clay Evans was born in Juniata County, Pennsylvania, to Jesse and Anna Single Evans. In 1844 his family moved to Wisconsin, where he attended public schools, and he graduated from a Chicago business training school…

Joe L. Evins was the "Dean" of Tennessee's congressional delegation during the 1960s and 1970s. Born in 1910 in DeKalb County to James Edgar Evins and Myrtie Goodson Evins, Joe L. Evins attended Vanderbilt University, graduating in 1933. The following…

A major contributor to the arts in Memphis from the 1950s until his death in 1985, Edward Spencer Faiers was significant as a teacher and an artist. He moved to Memphis in 1952 and joined the faculty of the Memphis…

Randall M. Falk has advanced Jewish-Christian relations and understanding as an author, professor, and rabbi of The Temple, Congregation Ohabai Sholom in Nashville. Born in Little Rock and educated at the University of Cincinnati and the Hebrew Union College, Falk…