Lawson D. Franklin Estate Administration Book
This large, leather-bound ledger records the settlement of Lawson D. Franklin's estate, in the absence of a will. It begins with ten pages setting out the 29 articles of agreement between Franklin's heirs - I.W.R. Franklin of Jefferson County, Tennessee; W.A. and Caroline E. Montgomery of Washington County, Texas; R.H. and S.A.L. Armstrong of Knox County, Tennessee; and John M. and J. June Boyd of Knox County, Tennessee; and the two administrators, F.M. Taylor and Robert M. Barton, hired to fulfill that agreement. One of these articles requires Taylor and Barton to keep a book, available to all heirs, recording every step of closing Franklin's estate. To that end, this book provides over 450 pages of documentation that includes inventories of assets, records of actions and disbursements, bills of sale, arbitration agreements, and twenty semiannual reports. These are all written out in a clear hand, with occasional cross-references noted.
Dates
- 1847 October 2-1880 May 11
Conditions Governing Access
Collections are stored offsite and must be requested in advance. See www.special.lib.utk.edu for detailed information. Collections must be requested through a registered Special Collections research account.
Conditions Governing Use
The UT Libraries claims only physical ownership of most material in the collections. Persons wishing to broadcast or publish this material must assume all responsibility for identifying and satisfying any claimants on www.special.lib.utk.edu for detailed information. Collections must be requested through a registered Special Collections research account.
Extent
0.75 Linear Feet (2 boxes (1 quarter box, 1 flat box))
Abstract
This large, leather-bound ledger records the settlement of Lawson D. Franklin's estate, in the absence of a will. It begins with ten pages setting out the 29 articles of agreement between Franklin's heirs and the two administrators hired to fulfill that agreement and then goes on to provide over 450 pages of documentation covering every step taken by those administrators over the seventeen years required to finish.
Biographical/Historical Note
Lawson D. Franklin was born on January 19, 1801 in Rutledge, Virginia to Owen and Betsy (Roper) Franklin. In 1825, Franklin married Elizabeth Rogers (1809-1846); their six children were Isaac W. Rodgers, Elizabeth Caroline, Jane June, Louisa, Robert O., and Lawson D. The elder Lawson Franklin married again in 1850, this time to Catherine Smith, divorcing her in 1851.
Lawson D. Franklin was a businessman in Jefferson County, Tennessee. Franklin's many business interests - including plantations and merchandising stores throughout the Southeast, a railroad company to Leadvale, and the Rogersville Bank - eventually made him East Tennessee's first millionaire. With his money, Franklin built three large mansions. One stands near Leadvale on the arm of Douglas Lake, where Franklin lived with Elizabeth. The second was built near White Pine, Tennessee for Isaac W. R. Franklin, Sr. and his wife, Dorcas. Franklin built the third, called Bleak House, on Kingston Pike in Knoxville, Tennessee for Louisa Franklin and her husband, Robert H. Armstrong. This mansion was used as headquarters for General Longstreet during the Battle of Knoxville in the Civil War; it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Lawson D. Franklin died on April 8, 1861 and is buried in Jefferson County, Tennessee.
Acquisition Note
This collection was donated to Special Collections by Herb S. Walters.
Repository Details
Part of the Betsey B. Creekmore Special Collections and University Archives, University of Tennessee, Knoxville Repository