Thomas Emmerson

Thomas Emmerson (June 23, 1773 – July 22, 1837) was an American judge and newspaper editor, active in the early 19th century. He was a justice of the Tennessee Superior Court of Law and Equity and the Tennessee Court of Errors and Appeals (1819–1822), both of which were predecessors of the Tennessee Supreme Court, and served as the first Mayor of Knoxville, Tennessee (1816–1817). In his later years, he moved to Jonesborough, where he published an influential newsletter, The Washington Republican and Farmer's Journal.

Early life and legal career

Emmerson was born in Lawrenceville, Virginia, the eldest child of Arthur Emmerson, an Episcopal clergyman, and Anne (Tazewell) Emmerson. He was educated at William & Mary College before moving to Knoxville, Tennessee, in 1800. In 1807, he was appointed by Governor John Sevier to the Tennessee Superior Court of Law and Equity, at the time the state's highest court, but resigned later that year.

Following his resignation from the court in 1807, Emmerson formed a law partnership with Pleasant M. Miller. In 1819, Governor Joseph McMinn appointed Emmerson to the Tennessee Supreme Court of Errors and Appeals, which had succeeded the Court of Law and Equity as the state's highest court. Emmerson served on this court until 1822. He quickly developed a fascination with experimental farming practices, and helped introduce the first cast iron plow to the region in 1825.

In 1833, Emmerson purchased The Farmer's Journal, a newspaper that had been established in 1825 by Jonesborough printer Jacob Howard (Howard is perhaps better known for printing two abolitionist newspapers, The Emancipator and the Manumission Intelligencer).

In early 1837, Emmerson sold the Washington Republican to Jonesborough publisher Mason R. Lyon.

Governor William G. "Parson" Brownlow (1805–1877) began his journalism career by publishing several anonymous articles in Emmerson's Washington Republican. Impressed, Emmerson encouraged Brownlow to enter the newspaper field. In 1839, Brownlow launched the Whig, which would become one of the most influential newspapers in Tennessee, and would bring Brownlow national fame and notoriety. For several years, Brownlow published the paper in partnership with Emmerson's successor, Mason R. Lyon. In the 1840s, Brownlow frequently clashed with Landon Carter Haynes, editor of the Tennessee Sentinel, the paper that had been founded by Emmerson's associate, Lawson Gifford.