Excerpts for May:
MAY 1
1900, Chattanooga. Concern was expressed that the use of cocaine was spreading throughout the city. It was found in half a dozen preparations on the market such as remedies for hay fever and catarrh.
MAY 2
1855, Memphis. The Memphis Weekly Appeal exhorted its readers to contribute substantially to the volunteer fire companies so they would "be held in the estimation and honor which is ever grateful to the hearts of men who labor...for the public good."
MAY 3
1825, Nashville. The Marquis de La Fayette arrived in Nashville on board the steamboat MECHANIC at 8:00 P.M. He was on board the NATCHEZ but it was too big to float in the Cumberland River. Thus the switch was made.
MAY 4
1825, Nashville. Curious and excited crowds assembled in the public square.
In the midst of speeches, cheers and flags, the Marquis de LaFayette had arrived in the city. He was to stay at the residence of Dr. Boyd McNairy.
MAY 5
1825, the Hermitage. La Fayette boarded the steamboat MECHANIC and visited Andrew Jackson at the Hermitage, leaving Nashville about 5:00 or 6;00 A.M.
MAY 6
1860, in Nashville the National Typographical Union, one of the first labor unions in America, held its annual meeting. The delegates met in the Senate Chamber of the State Capitol Building.
MAY 7
1834, Lowell, Massachusetts.. David Crockett, while on his tour of the New England states, visited the famous Lowell textile mills. Mr. Lawrence, the owner of one of the factories, presented him with a wool suit. Crockett praised the quality of the cloth. His tour was to support the Whig party which was in opposition to President Andrew Jackson.
MAY 8
1918, Nashville. The United Daughters of the Confederacy opened its annual Meeting. Many patriotic speeches were made urging Tennesseans to continue the tradition of valor established by Volunteers in previous wars.
MAY 10
1899, Chattanooga. Printers ended a strike begun in November 1898. They demanded an eight hour day.
MAY 11
1898, Chattanooga. The Daily Press warned that "an army of crooks....from all over the country are preparing to invade Chattanooga...." They would follow the U.S. Volunteers that would arrive at Camp Thomas (now Fort Oglethorpe) on their was to fight in Cuba during the "Splendid Little War" with Spain.
MAY 13
1927, Nashville. The Ryman Auditorium was the scene of the first Fiddler's convention for the Southern Championship. Atlantan Clayton McMichen won with his rendition of "Bully of the Town."
MAY 14
1879, Nashville. The cornerstone of Meharry Medical College was laid. Meharry was the first Negro Medical School in the Mississippi Valley.
MAY 15
1846, Memphis. A mass meeting was held to recruit men for the U.S. Army to fight in the war with Mexico. Within two weeks over 500 men had formed seven companies.
MAY 16
1868, Washington, D.C., the Senate Chamber. The Senate took its vote on one of the articles of impeachment against President Andrew Johnson. The move failed by one vote.
MAY 17
1862, Nashville. Two Confederate women called on U.S. Army Colonel Matthews, yet refused to pass under "Old Glory," saying they would never bow to the squalid rag of Lincoln.
MAY 18
1907, Humboldt, Tennessee. It was reported that never before had the strawberry crop been so bad in Gibson County. Acreage was reduced but it was hoped there would be a bumper crop. Prices were better, however, and strawberries were selling for $3.00 a crate.
MAY 19
1886, Memphis. Ida B. Wells attended her first professional baseball game and apparently was carried away with enthusiasm. She wrote in her diary: "...lost my temper & acted in an unladylike way toward those in whose company I was [in]...."
MAY 20
1880, Nashville. The Mills' equestrian statue of Andrew Jackson was unveiled on the capitol grounds. It was purchased for $5,000 with funds appropriated by the state legislature.
MAY 21
1902, Pulaski. The Giles County Medical Society met and heard a paper on "Trachoma." The next week's paper was on the subject of "Gastro-Intestinal Catarrh in Children Under Two Years Old."
MAY 22
1850, Nashville. The first wire for the Nashville suspension bridge was stretched across the Cumberland River, near the site of the Woodland Street bridge.
MAY 23
1913, Nashville. The first commencement at what would become Tennessee State University took place.
MAY 24
1886, Memphis. The Shelby County Court approved the payment of poll taxes owed by Richard Haynes and Lois Jones. They wanted to pay in wildcat pelts.
MAY 25
1987, Chatel-Chehery, France. Russell Hippe, Chairman of the Tennessee Historical Commission, shepherded a delegation of interested Tennesseans to place a plaque in the small French town which is near the battle ground where Alvin C. York conducted himself so heroically during World War I.
MAY 26
1827, Memphis. At the utopian Nashoba Community Managers Whitley and Richardson decreed: "No slaves shall...be allowed to receive money, clothing or...anything...from any person...at this place...and that any article so received shall be returned in the presence of the slaves and trustees....slaves shall not be permitted to eat elsewhere than at public meals."
MAY 27
1933, Unicoi. Two hundred white enrollees arrived at Unicoi to establish Civilian Conservation Corps Camp Cordell Hull.
MAY 28
1923. The Governor's Flag design was finished by the United State War Department. No act of the state legislature, however, has established it as the official governor's flag. The design was described as: "...on a wreath of silver and red is a green hill upon which is a hickory tree bearing three five-pointed stars, each one separated from the other two and all three silver."
MAY 29
1895, Covington. A crowd between 3,500 and 5,000 witnessed the ceremony of the unveiling of a Monument to Confederate soldiers from Tipton County. The monument was placed on the south lawn of the Court House.
MAY 30
1994, Columbia. Lieutenant Simon W. Cummings, Confederate States Navy, was laid to rest in Columbia after being interred in South Africa for 131 years.
MAY 31
1865, Nashville and Chattanooga. It was announced that between January 21 to May 31, 5,203 Confederate deserters from the Army of Tennessee were received by the Union Army.
April's Archived Excerpts
Return to the Tennessee History Resource Page
Please call +1 (615) 896-9575 or e-mail
James B. Jones, Jr.to purchase a book version of Every Day in Tennessee History.
