Edward Bushrod Stahlman
{{Short description|American railroad executive, newspaper publisher}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Edward Bushrod Stahlman
| image = Stahlman-maj-e-b-lg.jpg
| caption = Portrait of Stahlman by Charles Hoover
| birth_name = Friedrick Heinrich Eduard Stahlmann
| birth_date = September 2, 1843
| birth_place = Güstrow, Mecklenburg, Germany
| death_date = August 12, 1930 (aged 86)
| death_place = Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.
| resting_place = Mount Olivet Cemetery
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| occupation = Railroad executive, newspaper publisher, real estate investor
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| spouse = {{plainlist|
- Mollie T. Claiborne
- Sarah Shelton
}}
| children = 4
| parents =
| relatives = Marcus B. Toney (brother-in-law)
James Geddes Stahlman (grandson)
Mildred T. Stahlman (great-granddaughter)
}}
Edward Bushrod Stahlman (September 2, 1843 – August 12, 1930) was an American railroad executive, newspaper publisher and real estate investor. He was the vice president of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad and the Louisville, New Albany and Chicago Railroad. He built The Stahlman, a skyscraper in Nashville, Tennessee, and he was the publisher of the Nashville Banner for 44 years.
Early life
Edward Bushrod Stahlman was born as Friedrick Heinrich Eduard Stahlmann on September 2, 1843, in Güstrow, Germany.{{cite web|title=Metro Davidson County Collection - Nashville Public Library: Stahlman, Edward Bushrod (1843-1930)|url=http://www.tnportraits.org/stahlman-edward-b-metro.htm|website=Tennessee Portrait Project|publisher=National Society of Colonial Dames of America in Tennessee|accessdate=December 19, 2017}}{{cite news|title=E. B. STAHLMAN, PUBLISHERS' DEAN, DIES. NASHVILLE BANNER OWNER FAMED NEWSPAPER FIGURE. Was Conspicuous many Years in Railroad Circles. Burial to take Place Wednesday. Had Remarkable Career Throughout Life.|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/353303665/?terms=%22Edward%2BBushrod%2BStahlman%22|work=The Leaf-Chronicle|date=August 12, 1930|location=Clarksville, Tennessee|pages=1–2|via=Newspapers.com|url-access=registration }} Stahlman and his family emigrated to the United States, settling in West Union, Virginia. He had seven siblings.{{cite news|title=AGED PUBLISHER NASHVILLE BANNER DIED TUESDAY AFTER LONG ILLNESS FROM OVERWORK|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/12931091/?terms=%22Edward%2BBushrod%2BStahlman%22|work=Corsicana Daily Sun|date=August 12, 1930|location=Corsicana, Texas|page=9|via=Newspapers.com|url-access=registration }} One of his sisters married Marcus B. Toney, a Klansman and Masonic leader.{{cite news|title=Famous Confederate Soldier, Held in Elmira Prison, Dies; Spoke in City 16 Years Ago|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/276605028/?terms=%22Marcus%2BB.%2BToney%22|accessdate=May 25, 2018|work=Star-Gazette|date=November 4, 1929|page=2|via=Newspapers.com|url-access=registration |quote=The veteran often boasted of having been one of the few survivors of the original Ku Klux Klan. [...] He and his brother-in-law, Major E. B. Stahlman, publisher of The Nashville Banner, both started their careers as employees of an express company.}}
Career
During the American Civil War, Stahlman worked as a railroad builder near Gallatin, Tennessee, only to become a clerk shortly after. He was subsequently hired as an auditor by the Southern Express Company in the twin city of Bristol, Tennessee-Bristol, Virginia, and he settled in Nashville, Tennessee in 1866. Stahlman joined the Louisville and Nashville Railroad in 1871 as a "contracting freight agent". By 1878, he became a "general freight agent", and he was later promoted to "general traffic manager." From 1885 to 1890, he served as its vice president.{{cite news|title=Major E. B. Stahlman|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/168035091/?terms=%22Edward%2BBushrod%2BStahlman%22|accessdate=December 19, 2017|work=The Tennessean|date=August 13, 1930|page=4|via=Newspapers.com|url-access=registration }} He also served as the vice president of the Louisville, New Albany and Chicago Railroad, and he was a commissioner of the Southern Steamship and Railway Association.
File:The Stahlman in Nashville.jpg
Stahlman purchased the Nashville Banner in 1885. He was its publisher for the next 44 years of his life.{{cite news|title=DIXIE PUBLISHER IS DEAD|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/66883720/?terms=%22Edward%2BBushrod%2BStahlman%22|accessdate=December 19, 2017|work=Lincoln Journal Star|date=August 12, 1930|page=1|via=Newspapers.com|url-access=registration }} In 1907, Luke Lea launched The Tennessean, a competing newspaper in Nashville.{{cite web|last1=Sumner|first1=David E.|title=Nashville Banner|url=http://tennesseeencyclopedia.net/entry.php?rec=965|website=The Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture|publisher=Tennessee Historical Society and the University of Tennessee Press|accessdate=December 20, 2017}} According to the Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture, "Lea and his political associates conspired unsuccessfully to have the German-born Major Stahlman declared an "alien enemy" after World War I began." Stahlman's obituary in The Tennessean highlighted, "From a small and modest paper, with little influence and small circulation in the late '80s, it became under the direction of Major Stahlman one of the leading and outstanding newspapers of the South."
Politically, Stahlman was responsible for lowering the cost of "postal rates" for newspapers through his involvement with the Southern Newspaper Publishers' Association. He was also a supporter of Cordell Hull.
Stahlman invested in real estate in Nashville. He purchased the Nashville Union Stockywards in 1881. He built The Stahlman, a skyscraper in Nashville, in 1906.
Death
Stahlman married Mollie T. Claiborne in 1866 and they had three children. After she predeceased him in 1915, he married Sarah Shelton, and they had a child. Stahlman was a 32nd degree Mason, and a charter member of the Masonic Widows' and Orphans' Home.{{cite book|last1=Toney|first1=Marcus B.|title=The Privations of a Private|date=1905|location=Nashville, Tennessee|page=140|url=https://archive.org/stream/privationsofpriv00tone#page/140/mode/2up|via=Internet Archive}} He was also a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South.
Stahlman died of "overwork" on August 12, 1930, in Nashville, Tennessee, aged 87. His funeral was held at the McKendree Methodist Church, later known as the West End United Methodist Church, and he was buried at Mount Olivet Cemetery. His portrait hangs in the Nashville Public Library.
References
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Category:Emigrants from the German Confederation to the United States
Category:People from Rostock (district)
Category:People from Nashville, Tennessee
Category:Businesspeople from Tennessee
Category:19th-century American railroad executives
Category:19th-century American newspaper publishers (people)
Category:20th-century American newspaper publishers (people)