Bedford County Bar

Among the early distinguished members of the Bedford County bar were:

Abraham Martin, who was district attorney at one time, and who afterward removed to Montgomery, Alabama, where he was elected to the bench.

Archibald Yell, who afterward removed to Little Rock, Ark., and of which State he was elected governor and also representative in Congress, William B. Sutton; William Gilchrist; I. J. Frierson, a member of the Legislature at one time: William H. Wisener, at one time a member of the Legislature and speaker of the Lower House.

Henry Cooper, who was judge of the circuit court for a number of years, and who was also a member of the Legislature and for several years president of the Lebanon Law School and United States senator for one term.

Hugh L. Davidson, who for ten years was judge of the circuit court and attorney-general for one term.

Thomas C. Whitesides, who was district attorney for a while. The bar at present is composed of Edmund Cooper, who was a member of the Legislature one term, served one term as congressman, was first assistant secretary of the United States Treasury under President Johnson, and was also chosen by President Johnson as his private secretary.

Thomas H. Caldwell, who was at one time chancellor of this division, attorney-general for the State, was a Grant and Colfax and Blaine and Logan presidential elector, and was Tennessee's State commissioner to the Philadelphia Centennial in 1876.

James A. Warder, who was United States district attorney, and is at present one of the nominees of the Republican Party for supreme judge.

R. B. Davidson; F. B. Ivey; Walter Bearden: Charles S. Ivey; Gen. Ernest Caldwell, who is the present member of the Legislature and who was commissioned a brigadier-general by Gov. Hawkins, and W. B. Bate.

 AHGP Tennessee

Source: History of Tennessee, Goodspeed Publishing Company, 1886.