Title: John C. McLemore Collection

Date/Date Range :   1820-1993 (bulk 1820-1822)

Extent: 0.2 linear feet

Abstract:

The John C. McLemore Collection, 1820-1993 (bulk 1820-1822), consists primarily of McLemore's logbook from 1820-1822, which includes entries on bank balances, purchases, notations of travel, and other information. Also included in the collection are four articles from the Commercial Appeal (Memphis), dated 1974 and 1991-1993.

Call number: MS-2441

Repository: University of Tennessee Special Collections Library, Knoxville, TN

Aquisition Information:

This collection was purchased by Special Collections.

Access Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Copyright:

The copyright interests in this collection remain with the creator. For more information, contact the Special Collections Library.

Preferred Citation:

[Identification of Item], John C. McLemore Collection, MS-2441. University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Special Collections Library.

Collection consists of two folders.

John Christmas McLemore was born on January 1, 1790. After coming to Nashville, TN, in 1809, he became a surveyor's clerk and then succeeded his uncle as Surveyor General of the Tennessee Military Tract. McLemore married Elizabeth Donelson and befriended her uncle Andrew Jackson. The two cooperated in land development in Alabama and West Tennessee, resulting in towns named McLemoresville and Christmasville. He is also attributed as the fourth founding father of Memphis, TN, having owned 800 acres of land in the city and donating some for the Memphis Court Square. McLemore speculated in nearby Fort Pickering and the LaGrange and Memphis Railroad. In the California gold rush, he tried to find new wealth, returning a decade later to Memphis, where he died on May 20, 1864.

The John C. McLemore Collection, 1820-1993 (bulk 1820-1822), consists primarily of McLemore's logbook from 1820-1822, which includes entries on bank balances, purchases, notations of travel, and other information. Also included in the collection are four articles from the Commercial Appeal (Memphis), dated 1974 and 1991-1993.

• McLemore, John Christmas, 1790-1864.
• Shelby County (Tenn.) -- History.
• Shelby County (Tenn.) -- Economic conditions.
• United States -- Description and travel.