Early Nashville - Special Collections Topics

Scope and content: Biographies, military records, obituaries, clippings, photographs, educational records, and other papers dating from 1899 to 1946, documenting the lives of S. George Cochron, a Nashville watchmaker, and his niece, Rebecca Evalyn Cochran Simmelink. (George and Rebecca spelled their last names differently.)

Scope and content: Silent, black and white film showing various scenes in Nashville, Tenn. around 1930. Quality is fair, though fine detail is blurry. Images include: the Parthenon and Centennial Park; views from War Memorial Plaza, including nearby buildings and the capitol; car races at the State Fairgrounds, showing crowds in the stands, a large building nearby, and races in progress; Sky Harbor airport near Murfreesboro, Tenn. including airplanes...

Scope and content: Fifteen interviews in various formats conducted mostly in 1977 and 1978 with individuals who were owners, or were the family of former owners of historic homes in Nashville, most of which had been in the same family for several generations. Several of the homes were constructed prior to 1800 during the early settlement period of Middle Tennessee. A few are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In addition to their...

Scope and content: Copies and digital prints of letters, photographs, family papers and original deeds (1860-1929) from the William and Ellen Crewe Longworth family of Nashville, Tennessee. Included in the photographs are a photo of William and Ellen Longworth and their children probably taken in the late 1880s as well as several of the Longworth siblings, spouses and children taken at the family home at 1409 12th Avenue South in the Edgehill neighborhood...

Abstract: The Nashville Electric Service Public Relations Records (NESPRR) includes approximately 16 linear feet of material covering a range of subjects relating to the history of the electrification of Nashville and Middle Tennessee, spanning the time frame of circa 1866 to 1989, with the bulk of the collection concentrating on 1900 to 1989. The materials found in the NESPRR collection help demonstrate how the use of electricity evolved from its...

Scope and content: Over 15,000 postcards, color and black and white, including some art prints and photocards. While the collection includes cards from many U.S. states and some foreign countries, the emphasis is upon Nashville and Tennessee scenes of the twentieth century, among which are Nashville street scenes, businesses, colleges and universities, homes and parks. The art prints include cartoons, greeting cards, and oversized postcards.

Scope and content: The collection contains material relating to the historical research and book publications of author-historian Sarah Foster Kelley, a seventh-generation descendant of General James Robertson and Charlotte Reeves Robertson. Includes numerous records about Robertson family history and research files on many of the families that were among the earliest settlers of what is now Nashville, Tennessee, such as the Cockrills, Dunns, Mays,...

Scope and content: Lists of Nashville and Tennessee historical minutiae covering a wide variety of subjects, including events, transportation, people, organizations, politics, religion, geography, natural resources, entertainment, crime, and other topics. Some topics are rather obscure or very specific, such as Body Snatching (grave robbing); Dog Laws; and Milk Sickness, to name a few.

Scope and content: Letters, mostly from the 1850s, written by William Hague from Nashville and Richland, Tennessee, and a few other locations, to his brother, Rev. Isaac Hague in Illinois, and other family. William Hague writes a great deal concerning agricultural matters, especially prices, livestock, and training horses. He also writes in some detail about his personal finances, his health, and land deals in Illinois, Iowa, and Texas. One letter...