The intriguing Williams papers, unearthed at an old downtown building that was being remodeled, give historians a new list of the names of Chattanooga's earliest citizens and businesses.
The papers from a lawsuit against pioneer Samuel Williams mostly relate to the late 1830s and the early 1840s, but also have a number of references to the time when Chattanooga was still Ross's Landing. The Post Office changed the name to Chattanooga in November 1838 after it was chosen in a citizens meeting. The Legislature did not get around to officially approving the unusual new name until Dec. 20, 1839.
Here are the names, as gleaned from the Williams papers, of those who were around in Chattanooga's early days. (Many are mentioned multiple times):
Solomon Aaron, Franklin Adams, Giles Adams, Hamilton Adams, Simpson Albright, Edward Adcock, William Alford, James M. Anderson, Josiah M. Anderson, William Walker Anderson, William Archer, Clinton Armstrong, Calvin Austin, George Austin, R.M. Aycock
William Baker, George Ballard, Jesse Ballard, William Bansit, David Basam, Elizabeth Baucom, Ezekiel Baucom, M.D. Bearden, Abel B. Beason deputy sheriff, Alsberry Beavert, Edley Beavert, John B. Beavert, William Beavert, David Newton Bell, John R. Bell, Joseph Bell, William Bell, Burrell L. Bennett, John Bennett, James Berry, William Biggs, Blackhaw, John Black, S.E. Black, Jesse G. Blackwell, William Blake, William Blancett, A.E. Blunt, -- Boatman, Solomon Bolton, E.E. Bowman, James W. Bowman, Alexander Boyd, John Boydston, Reese Bowen Brabson, James A. Braden, J.F. Bradford, Robert Bradshaw, Thomas Bradshaw, William Blake, E.E. Bowman, James W. Bowman, Robert Brashears, Benjamin F. Bridgman, John Bridgman, Abijah Brooks, Miles Broom, Archibald Brown, B.B. Brown, Berry Brown, C.H. Brown, Charles Brown, Elizabeth Brown, Mary Brown, Reuben Brown, William Brown, Willis Brown, John M. Bruce, Thomas Bryan, James S. Bryant, Austin Buffington, George Bullard, John Bullard, Henry Buntin, Thomas G. Burgess, George W. Burkett, Eliza Burkhart, E. Burris, James E. Burrows, Lovely Burton
Starling Callihan, Allen Campbell, Benjamin B. Cannon, Frank Capps, T.M. Capps, William Carmichael, Green Carnes, John A. Carpenter, E.J. Carter, H.C. Carter, John Casady, Clinton Christian, William Christian, Missouri Clack, A. Clark, Benjamin Clark, Thomas Clark, William Clark, James Clift, William Clift, Daniel F. Cocke, Meredith Coffee, Jesse Colleton, Henry Collins, J.H. Collins, John H. Colville, Nathaniel Colston, William Compton, Dennis Condray, Laban Condray, Lilburn Condray, Sterling Condray, James C. Connor, John S. Connor, Thomas Connor, Wesley Connor, William Cook, A. Cooper, Mary Cooper, Willis Cooper, Willis Cooper, Henry Cornett, William Cornett, John Cowart, Jonathan Cox, James Crawford, John H. Crawford, Mathias Crawford, Pleasant Cressy, Charles Cross, Samuel Cross, William Crow, E. Croxton, John Crutchfield, Mrs. Crutchfield, Thomas Crutchfield, G. Cummings, Leroy Cummings, David Cunningham, James Cunningham, M. Cunningham
J. Dady, Calvin Dail, James Dail, Noah Dail, John Daley, A. Daugherty, G.M. Daugherty, John Daugherty, Thomas Daugherty, Henry Davidson, Alfred Davis, Lewis Davis, Miller Davis, Wesley Davis, William M. Davis justice of the peace, Gilbert W. Dearing, Shipley Dearing, Asa Dickson, Lawrence Dickinson, R.H. Dixon, A. Dobbins, James Dobbins, William A. Duke, E. Durham
James Easter, Solomon Easter, James Eaton, Alpheus L. Edwards, James S. Edwards, John S. Edwards, P.J.R. Edwards, George Elliott, James Ellis, Joseph Ellis, George Washington Evans, William Evans, George Fagle, John K. Farmer, Samuel Farris, George Fielding, Jonathan Fielding, David Fields, Willis Fields, James H. Finley, Benjamin Ford, James Ford, William Ford, Tomlinson Fort, E. Foster, George D. Foster, N.J. Foster, Shepherd Foster, Stephen Foster, James C. Francis sheriff, George Frazier, Matthew Frazier, E.H. Freeman, Jacob Frizzell, Jeremiah Fryar, Pleasant Fryar, William Fryar
Robert L. Gamble, Catherine Gann, George Gann, A.S. Gannion, Thomas Gardenhire, Thompson Gardenhire, William Gardenhire, Alfred Gaut, Nancy Gaut, William Gaut, William Gentry, Leonard Gibbons, R.W. Gibson, R.R. Gist, A.H. Glascock, Capt. John G. Glass, John H. Godsey, T.C. Golden, James Goodman, Absalom Goss, Claiborn Gott, Hope Graham, Ross Graham, Samuel Green, S. Griffith, Lawson Guthrie deputy sheriff, George B. Gwaltney, Covington C. Gwinn, John Gwinn
Jackson Haggard, Alfred Haines, Charles Haines, Miles Haines, Larkin Hair, William Hale, Charles Haley, James Haley, John C. Haley, Caswell Hall, Ignatius Hall, John R. Hall, Joseph Hall, Lewis Hall, Charles T. Halsey, Samuel Hamill, Lewis Hancock, Allen Haney, G. Haney, James M. Haney, Richard Haney, William Haney, Alexander Hanna, J. Hanna, W.K. Hargroves, Dr. Nathan Harris, John J. Harrison, Jacob Hartman, John Hartman, Margaret Hartman, Martin Hartman, Samuel Hartman, Alfred Haynes, James C. Heatin, Peter Helton, Mrs. (Daniel) Henderson, Richard Henderson attorney, James Henley, William Henson, Martin Heoffer, Jesse Hibbs, A. Hilliard, John Hilliard, Peter Hilton, John Hix, C. Hixson, Daniel Hixson, David Hixson, Ephraim Hixson, William Hixson, John G. Holland, John Holloway, Samuel Holman, John A. Hooke justice of the peace, Judge Robert M. Hooke, Alfred Hooper, Charles J. Hooper, Greenway Hooper, attorney J. Hooper, Alvin Hornsty, John Howell, B.K. Hudgins, T.L. Hudgins, R. Hudson, Aaron A. Hughs, Emery Hughs, James Hughs, Martin Hughs, William G. Hughs, Charles L. Hulsey, J.W. Hunter deputy sheriff
John Igou, John B. Inlow, George Isaac, Levi Isbill, William Isbill, John Ivy
Robert Jack, Alfred Jonathan Jackson, Nimrod Jackson, Andrew James, Spencer Jarnagin, Ed Jenkins, Phagan V. Jett, A.H. Johnson, Jackson Johnson, James A. Johnson, John Johnson, Joseph Johnson, Joshua Johnson, L. Johnson, Robert L. Johnson, Thomas Johnson, William M. Johnson, Henry Jones, Jonathan Jones, Thomas Jones, William Jones
Levi Kash, Anna Keeney, James Keeney, John Keeney, William Keith, Bert M. Kellums, John Kellums, Alexander Kelly, James Kelly, Thomas P. Kelly, Allen Kennedy, G.W. Ketcham, Bart Killian, William Killian, William King, James Kincaid, William Kincaid, John Kinny
Isaac Lackings, A.B. Lacy, William C. Ladd, J. Lander, -- Latta, William Latty, Jacob Laudermilk, William Lawrence, Archibald Lawson, Bartley Lawson, Mark Lawson, Allen Lea, F.W. Lea, James Lea, Richard Lea, John W. Leckie, Elisha Lee, James Lee, Jesse Lee, Richard Lee, A.S. Lenoir, George Levi, Samuel M. Levi, Bill Lewis, Davis Lewis, John Lickin, M.P. Light, Benjamin Lindle, David Little, D.F. Locke, William Logan, Carroll Long, Henry Long, Burgess Longwith, A. Looney, Henry Long, John Pomfret Long, B. Longwith, Samuel M. Love, Gideon Lovelady, John Lovelady, Joseph Lovelady, McKinney Lovelady, William Lovelady, Robert Lumpkin, G.W. Lusk, Jonah Lusk, Josiah Lusk
Charles Macy, John Malone, Winfield Mann, Miles Mao, A.D. Maroney, Archibald J. Martin, Hugh Martin, Joseph Martin, William Mason, -- Massengill, Charles Massey, John M. McAfee, Pleasant McBride, Samuel McCallie, Thomas McCallie, Alexander McCandless, John R. McCauly, Darby D. McClure, D. McCollum, Paul McCollum, Daniel McDaniel, William McDaniel, James S. McElroy, W.T.H. McEwen, T.G. McFarland, X.G. McFarland, A.C. McKamy, William McKamy, R.C. McKee, Samuel A. McKenzie, Anderson McMillin, David McPherson, George McPherson, James McPherson, John McRee, Robert C. McRee, Alfred McSpadden, James McSpadden, David McNabb, William Melton, William Metcalf, E. Milburn, Wesley Miles, William S. Miller, Cornelius Milliken, Samuel P. Mills, Westly Mills, Mrs. Mincher, John A. Minnis attorney, John Mitchell, L. Mitchell, S. Mitchell, E.W. Mobley, Jett Mobley, Lafayette Monds, R. Monds, Benjamin Rush Montgomery, S. Moon, Samuel Moore, Thomas Antipass Moore, William A. Moore, William H. Moore, E.W. Morgan, Thomas Morris, A.C. Morrow, Dr. William J. Morrow, Joseph Murphy, William C. Murdock, Joseph Murphy, Abraham Myers, Ezekiel Myers, B.K. Mynatt
James Nabors, John Nave, Samuel Nave, Wylie Nave, A.B. Nelson, David Nelson, M. Nettles, Mrs. Harriet Newell, L.B. Nichols, John Norman, Samuel Norwood
Spencer Ogle, Thomas Oxley
S.L. Pace, G.W. Pankey, James Pankey, F.A. Parham, M.B. Parham, Allen Parker, Thomas J. Park, Elisha Parker justice of the peace, Thomas Parker, William R. Parker, James Parson, R. Patterson, Obediah Patty, Riley Payne, James R. Peck, Russell Peck, Isham Perkins, John B. Perkins, Joshua Perkins, Stephen Perkins, Lane V. Perry, William Peterson, Obediah Petty, David Phipps, Solomon Phipps, Peggy N. Pickett, George Pines, Caleb E. Pleasant, Hasten Poe, T.R. Porter, Joseph L. Potter, Rector Preston, Hugh Price, Green H. Pryor, J.H. Pryor, A.G.W. Puckett
Reynolds A. Ramsey, Samuel Ramsey, David Rankin, James Rankin, Asahel Rawlings, Daniel J. Rawlings, Rezin M. Rawlings, E. Reaves, Armstead Redman, Andrew Reece, David Reese, Martin Reece, David Rice, E.C. Rice, John Rice, Miller F. Rice, William F. Rice, B. Riddle, Brittain Riddle, Mr. Ridge, James Roark, Emerson Roberts, William Roberts, Francis Rockholt, James Roddy, A.S. Rogers, Edley Rogers, Jacob Rogers, James Roberts, John Rogers, Joseph Rogers, William Jefferson Rogers clerk, John A. Rowell, William Runyan
John W. Sanders, Willis Sanders, John Sappington, John Sattee, Gross Scruggs, Elisha Sexton, P. Shadwick, Timothy Shadwick, Isom Sharp, Samuel Sharp, West Shelley, R. Shelton, Lampkin Sherrell, Thomas Shirley, Adam Simmons, Miles A. Simmons, Daniel Sivley, George Sivley, Lawrence M. Sivley, Peter Sivley Sr., Samuel Sivley, William Sivley, William Slape, Jeremiah Sloan, Joshua Smalley, Whiteman Smedley, A.O. Smith, Burrell Smith, C.W. Smith, D.L. Smith, Edward B. Smith, G.W. Smith, James M. Smith, Jesse Smith, Joseph G. Smith, Dr. Milo Smith, Moses Smith, Robert Smith, William Smith, G.W. Snodgrass, Alfred Sparks, W.G. Sparks, William Standefer clerk and master, T.W. Spicer acting justice of the peace, Capt. William Isaac Standifer, A. Stanley, Albert Stanton, E. Starling, John Starling, Wiley Starlin, Benjamin Stephens, M. Stephens, Robert Stevens, D. Stewart, Joseph Stewart, James Stinnett, (S)L.M. Stokes, Alfred Street, William H. Stringer, James Sublett, William Sublett, Charles Sullivan, Samuel Sutton, John P. Swinney, Robert Swinney
James Tankesley, Floyd Tanner, H.L. Tatum, A.D. Taylor, Bud Taylor, Dillon P. Taylor, Fox Taylor, Jack Taylor, John. E. Taylor, N.B. Taylor, R.L. Taylor, Reubin S. Taylor, William B. Taylor, Mrs. Thatcher, Samuel S. Thatcher, Elisha Thomas, John S. Thomas, Granville Thompson, Hampton Thompson, James M. Thompson, Leonard Thompson, William Thompson, Edwin Thurman, Elijah Thurman, Stephen Thurman, Mr. Thursby, -- Tidwell, J.C. Tipton, David Tittle, William Todd, Levi Trewhitt, John Tucker, Robert Tunnell, John Tyner, Lewis Tyner, R.J. Tyner, S.B. Tyner, Henry Tymannus
Bryant Underwood, M. Upshaw, William B. Upshaw
John Vail, Mrs. Vail, T. Nixon Van Dyke, Isom Vandergriff, Jacob Vandergriff, Joseph Vandergriff, Rebecca Vandergriff, Catherine Vann, Robert Vann, James Varnell, William Varnell, M.H. Vaughn, Charles Vickry, Delilah Vinsant, Thomas Vinsant
William B. Wafford, D. Wagonner, David Walker, Jesse Walker, Noah Walker, Campbell Walling, Jesse Walden, Joseph Walling, William Walling, J. Ward, James Wardlaw, James Warner, Richard Waterhouse, A.G. Watkins, Robert Watkins, C. Watson, J.C. Wayland, William Wear, William Weaver, James E. Webb, Jesse Webb, Wiley Webb, Allen White, John R. White blacksmith, Lewis Whitehead, James A. Whiteside, Elias Wilburn, Morgan Wilburn, D.A. Wilds, A.S. Wilkins, Benjamin Williams, E. Williams, George Washington Williams Sr., George Washington Williams Jr., Jesse Williams, Samuel Williams, Silas Williams, Thomas Williams, James Williford, John Wilson, Green Woodley, John Woods
Nancy Yearout
Here are the names of the businesses mentioned in the Williams papers:
A&H Johnson, A. Holcomb Haynes & Co., Anderson & Bennett, Anderson & McMillin, Boyce & Co., Bryan & Underwood, C. Fischer & Co., Caleb E. Pleasant & Co., Canfield & Brothers, Carmichael and Blair, Chandler & Rogers, Charles Sullivan Co., Cranfield & Brothers, Dowell & Godsey, F&H Adams, C. Fischer & Co., Guinn & Hanna, Hargrove, Fort & Co., Gist & Caldwell, J&W Sanders, J.S. Edwards & Brothers, J&S Hicks, J&S Martin, Jacob Rogers & Son, James Hughs & Brother, Kemp & Buckey, King & Co., L. Guthrie & Brother, Martin & Coffee, M.B. Parham & Co., McCallie & Hooke, Norris & Beatty, P&R Edwards, Parham & Kennedy, Park, Wofford and McAfee, Pleasant & Co., R. Patterson & Co., Ramsey and Kennedy, Rawlings & Divine, Rhea, Ross & Co., Rogers & Collins, Rogers & Stringer, Samuel Williams & Brothers, Shepherd & Foster, Shipley & Roddy, Shipley & Dearing, Sloan & Owens, Slone & Queen, Smith, Edwards & Co., Smith, Shelton & Co., Smith, Shields & Co., Shipley & Roddy, Smith, Edwards & Co., Taylor & Buntin, Thomas Elms & Co., Tolbert Jones & Co. of Baltimore, Underwood & Bryan, W&S Wyman, Watkins, Dungan & Rust, Whiteside & Brabson, Whiteside, Montgomery, Minnis, Rowls, W.S.M. & Co., Williams & White, Williams, Black & Co., William King & Co., Williams & Divine, Williams & Oxley, Williams, Whiteside & Co.
* * *
The links to the Williams papers on Sam Hall's website are here.