James M. Whitworth (Nashville, TN)

Photo courtesy Paper Money Magazine, volume 35, No. 6.

James M. Whitworth (September 27, 1816 – July 6, 1899)

Biography

• Name: James M. Whitworth
• Birth: Sep 27, 1816 Sumner County, TN
• Death: July 6, 1899 Nashville, TN
• Spouse: Martha A. Keeling (1832-1904) (Married 1849)
• Davidson County Judge 1856-1865.

James M. Whitworth was born September 27, 1816, in Sumner County, Tennessee. No record of his middle name can be found, but his maternal grandmother's maiden name was McInteer, and it was customary at the time to use family names for middle names. When he was 13 years old, his father, James Whitworth, died, leaving his wife and eleven children. The early life of James Whitworth was full of hard work and poverty. In 1842, at the age of 26, he moved to Nashville and began reading the law at the law office of Edward and Andrew Ewing. In 1843 he formed a law partnership with the Ewings. In 1856 he was elected judge of the Davidson County court, and remained there until 1865, drawing no salary through the war years.

He helped organize the Fourth National Bank of Nashville February 16, 1867, and on March 13, 1867, charter 1669 was granted to it, with the bank opening for business on May 1, 1867. James was elected as it's first President, and served from 1867 until he resigned on November 30, 1882, and was elected Vice-President, where he stayed until 1894. At the time of his resignation, he was President of the Rock Dale Manufacturing Company and wished to spend more time developing that business. He also became President of the Tennessee Manufacturing Company later in his career, as well as serving as Director of the Louisville & Nashville Railroad Company. He died on July 6, 1899, at his home in Nashville. He is buried in Mt. Olivet Cemetery, in Nashville.

Bank Officer Summary

During his banking career, James Whitworth was involved with the following bank(s):

• Fourth National Bank/Fourth and First NB, Nashville, TN (Charter 1669): President 1867-1882, Vice-President 1882-1894

Original Series $20 bank note with pen signatures of John Porterfield, Cashier and James Whitworth, President. Courtesy of Heritage Auctions, www.ha.com

References

• Bio info from Greg Culpepper post on the Facebook NBN Collectors Group, December 6, 2019.
• Additional bio info from Ancestry.com & Findagrave.com https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/86029249/james-m.-whitworth
• Obituary in The Tennessean (Nashville, TN), July 7, 1899, p5. (Newspapers.com)
• Banks & Bankers Historical Database (1782-1935), https://bbdata.banknotehistory.com