Edward Bushrod Stahlman

Edward Bushrod Stahlman (September 2, 1843 – August 12, 1930) was an American railroad executive, newspaper publisher and real estate investor. He was the vice president of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad and the Louisville, New Albany and Chicago Railroad. He built The Stahlman, a skyscraper in Nashville, Tennessee, and he was the publisher of the Nashville Banner for 44 years.

Early life Edward Bushrod Stahlman was born as Friedrick Heinrich Eduard Stahlmann on September 2, 1843, in Güstrow, Germany. Stahlman and his family emigrated to the United States, One of his sisters married Marcus B. Toney, a Klansman and Masonic leader.

Career During the American Civil War, Stahlman worked as a railroad builder near Gallatin, Tennessee, only to become a clerk shortly after. He also served as the vice president of the Louisville, New Albany and Chicago Railroad, and he was a commissioner of the Southern Steamship and Railway Association. In 1907, Luke Lea launched The Tennessean, a competing newspaper in Nashville. According to the Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture, "Lea and his political associates conspired unsuccessfully to have the German-born Major Stahlman declared an "alien enemy" after World War I began." He was also a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South.

Stahlman died of "overwork" on August 12, 1930, in Nashville, Tennessee, aged 87. His funeral was held at the McKendree Methodist Church, later known as the West End United Methodist Church, and he was buried at Mount Olivet Cemetery. His portrait hangs in the Nashville Public Library.