Thomas Emmerson
| Thomas Emmerson | |
|---|---|
| Mayor of Knoxville, Tennessee | |
|
In office 1816–1817 |
|
| Preceded by | (none) |
| Succeeded by | James Park |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
June 23, 1773 Lawrenceville, Virginia, United States |
| Died | July 22, 1837 (aged 64) Jonesborough, Tennessee |
| Resting place | Old Cemetery Jonesborough, Tennessee |
| Spouse(s) | Rachel Burwell (1795–1832, her death); Catherine Jacobs (m. 1833) |
| Alma mater | William & Mary College |
| Profession | Attorney |
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 on the Tennessee Superior Court of Law and Equity (1807) 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.
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.
In 1807, Emmerson was appointed to the Board of Trustees of East Tennessee College (the forerunner of the modern University of Tennessee), and served as the Board's secretary from 1812 to 1820. In 1811, he was appointed to the inaugural Board of Trustees of the Knoxville Female Academy. That same year, he was appointed to a commission charged with establishing the Bank of Knoxville, and later became the bank's director.
Knoxville incorporated as a city on October 27, 1815. To govern the city, the charter called for the election of a Board of Aldermen, who would then choose from one of their own the city's mayor (the law was changed in 1839 to allow popular mayoral elections). Emmerson was elected to the city's inaugural Board of Aldermen, and was elevated to mayor by his fellow aldermen on January 13, 1816. The Emmerson-led Board established tax rates, created licenses for merchants and bars, appointed tax assessors, and arranged for the construction of a market house on Main Street (later moved to Market Square).
Following his resignation from the court in 1807, Emmerson formed a law partnership with Pleasant M. Miller. In 1818, Emmerson and Judge John Overton published a two-volume collection of state supreme court decisions entitled, Tennessee Reports. 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.
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