George W. Pickle

George Wesley Pickle (March 6, 1845 – April 18, 1917) was an American lawyer and Confederate veteran who served as Tennessee Attorney General and Supreme Court Reporter from 1886 to 1902. Over a sixteen-year tenure, he edited twenty-four volumes of Tennessee Supreme Court reports and represented the state in major litigation before the Supreme Court of the United States.

Early life, education, and military service Pickle was born on his family's homestead farm in Knox County, Tennessee, one of eleven children of Jonathan and Margaret (Underwood) Pickle.

Pickle was elected Attorney General and Supreme Court Reporter of Tennessee in 1886 and was thereafter re-elected in 1894, serving until 1902. During his tenure he personally edited and twenty-four volumes of Tennessee Supreme Court reports, published between 1887 and 1903. He argued major cases on behalf of the state, including tax litigation against the Pullman Palace Car Company and various express companies in the United States Supreme Court, and represented Tennessee in the Virginia boundary line case, all of which were decided favorably to the state. As legal adviser to the governor he also played a role in the establishment of the convict lease system, planning a new penitentiary, and addressing the Coal Creek War in the early 1890s.

Pickle also served as president of the Brushy Mountain Land Company and the Bryn Mawr Mining Land Company and was active in the Masonic fraternity. He remained a zealous supporter of the Democratic Party but held no elective office other than Attorney General.

Personal life and death On June 1, 1881, Pickle married Minnie A. Fain of Dandridge, daughter of George A. and Mary Ruth Fain. They had one child, Minnie Wesley Pickle.

Pickle died in Knoxville after a period of ill health, at the age of 72. His funeral was conducted at Church Street Methodist Church.