- Robert L. Caruthers
Robert Looney Caruthers (
July 31 1800 –October 2 1882 ) was a distinguished attorney and politician who was electedgovernor of the state ofTennessee . He is buried inCedar Grove Cemetery inLebanon, Tennessee .cite web | url = http://www.wilsoncountycvb.com/images/tour.pdf | title = Lebanon, Tennessee: A Tour of Our City | format = PDF | publisher = Lebanon/Wilson County Chamber of Commerce | accessdate = February 5 | accessyear = 2007]Career
Caruthers had a distinguished career as an
attorney and educator. He served as theTennessee stateattorney general (1827-1832), and after as a member of the Tennessee statelegislature and theUnited States Congress . He and his brother, Abraham Caruthers, foundedCumberland School of Law , inLebanon, Tennessee , which is one of the oldest law schools in the United States, by formalizing an arrangement between it andCumberland University . During the 1960s Cumberland University sold Cumberland Law School toSamford University inBirmingham, Alabama .Governorship
Caruthers was elected during the
American Civil War when the Confederate states controlledTennessee in 1863. However, by the time that he was to have been inaugurated, the Confederate Government controlled a relatively small portion of Tennessee, so he never actually served or was inaugurated as governor. Therefore, Caruthers is not counted in official lists of those who served asgovernor of Tennessee . But the fact that he was elected is one reason for discrepancies in reference works, which state the number of people have served as governor of Tennessee.References
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