Peter Turney

Peter Turney

Peter Turney (born September 27, 1827 in Jasper , Marion County , Tennessee , † October 28, 1903 in Winchester , Tennessee) was an American politician and the 29th governor of the state of Tennessee.

Early years and political advancement

Peter Turney was the son of Hopkins L. Turney , who sat for Tennessee in both houses of Congress . The family moved to Winchester at an early age, where the son attended local schools. He then graduated from a private school in Nashville before studying law with his father. In 1848 he was admitted to the bar. Until 1857 he practiced together with his father and then with his brother as a lawyer in Winchester.

Turney was a staunch supporter of the southern states and as such he voted for secession in 1861. He had already supported the candidate of the South, John C. Breckinridge , in the presidential elections in 1860 . Turney recruited volunteers from Tennessee and set up an infantry regiment with them, which he commanded as a colonel and subordinated to the Confederation . This regiment was subordinate to the Army of Northern Virginia during the entire war and was involved in their battles. Turney was wounded several times. At the time of the surrender in 1865, he commanded the eastern district of Florida .

After the Civil War, he returned to his law firm in Winchester. From 1870 to 1886 he was a judge on the Tennessee Supreme Court . In 1876 he ran for the US Senate without success . In 1886 he was elected Chief Justice of Tennessee; he held this office until 1893.

Governor of Tennessee

The Democratic Party was looking for a new candidate for the gubernatorial elections of 1892 after the previous governor, John P. Buchanan, had fallen out of favor with the party for his behavior during the miners' strike in the east of the state. The Democrats chose Peter Turney as their new candidate. Buchanan ran again as an independent candidate and was supported by the farmers and the populist party . Turney won the election clearly against Buchanan and Republican George W. Winstead and became the 29th governor of Tennessee.

As governor, he ended the system of lending convicts and bought land to build new prisons. His party nominated him again for the 1894 election. Re-election was not as easy as expected. When the votes were first counted, Republican candidate H. Clay Evans was about 700 votes ahead. The Democrats challenged the result on suspicion of electoral fraud. The matter was eventually decided by parliament, in which the Democrats had a majority. After another count, Turney was declared the election winner with a lead of over 2000 votes. But the matter retained a negative aftertaste. The dubious circumstances of this election overshadowed Turney's second term. Turney himself decided after these experiences never to run for office again.

Old age and death

After the end of his second term in 1897, Turney moved back to Winchester. There he worked as a lawyer until his death on October 28, 1903. Peter Turney was first married to Cassandra Garner and later to Hannah Graham. He had a total of twelve children.

literature

• Robert Sobel and John Raimo (Eds.): Biographical Directory of the Governors of the United States, 1789–1978 . Volume 4, Meckler Books, Westport 1978. 4 volumes
• The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography. Vol. 7. James T. White & Company, New York.

Web links

• Peter Turney in the National Governors Association (English)
• The governors of Tennessee (English)
• Peter Turney in the database of Find a Grave (English)