Davidson County TN Archives Biographies.....Tyne, Thomas J. 1868 - 
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Author: Will T. Hale

   HON. THOMAS J. TYNE. A Tennesseean whose achievements and character are such

that he was one of the strongest candidates in 1912 before the people for the

nomination to the office of governor, Thomas J. Tyne is an eminent Nashville

lawyer and a man who gained success through hard work, a rugged native ability

and thorough honesty and integrity.



   Thomas James Tyne was born at Nashville on the 29th of November, 1868, a son

of James W. and Katherine (Healy) Tyne. His father was a successful contractor

in Nashville, but died when his son Thomas was an infant.



   Mr. Tyne has spent practically all his life in his native city, where his

early education was obtained partly in private schools and partly in the public

schools. He was only a boy when he began making his own way, and from the

proceeds of his own work he paid for all his training for a professional career.

He was about fourteen years old when he became a clerk in the office of the

Adams and Southern Express companies, and he showed such proficiency and

trustworthiness that in a little while he was promoted to messenger, and though

one of the youngest of his associates was given some of the important and

responsible runs. While in this work he matriculated in the law department of

Vanderbilt University, and in 1890, at the age of twenty-two, was graduated with

the degree of LL. B. and soon was admitted to the bar. In university he was a

member of the Kappa Sigma fraternity and the Philosophic society, and was a star

player of baseball.



   Shortly after his graduation Mr. Tyne formed a partnership with Hon. P. M.

Estes, under the firm name of Tyne & Estes, and later became a partner of Hon.

Ernest Pillow, under the firm name of Pillow & Tyne. He is now general counsel

of the National Life & Accident Insurance Company, a Tennessee company that is

one of the largest of the kind in the country. Mr. Tyne took a very prominent

part in the organization of this institution. Mr. Tyne in 1896 was the first

general counsel for the Tennessee Exposition Company, and perfected its legal

organized and contributed much to the subsequent success of the centennial.

During the past ten years Mr. Tyne has probably been associated with as many

important cases as any other member of the Nashville bar. His knowledge of the

law, his skill as counsel and advocate, his unlimited courage, have all brought

him to first rank in his profession, and he is one of the big men of the state

in the present generation.



   In 1893 Mr. Tyne was elected to the legislature from Davidson county, and

though one of the youngest men in the house he was at once put forward as a

leader and was a member of nearly every important committee during the session.

He was chairman of the committee that reported for the impeachments of Judge

DuBose, of Memphis, and Shelby county, and was one of the three house members

who prosecuted the impeachment before the senate. His work while in the

legislature brought him prominently to the attention of the public, but at the

close of his first term he decided to abandon politics and devote himself

entirely to the law, in which success came to him very rapidly. In 1912 Mr. Tyne

announced that he would enter the race for the nomination as governor on the

Democratic ticket, and for several weeks he made a brilliant campaign through

the principal centers of the state. He stood upon a very progressive platform of

proposed sound legisla tion and executive action, and acquired a large following

among the Democracy of the state. Though the choice of the primaries selected

another man, the campaign resulted in Mr. Tyne becoming one of the best known

men of the state and has increased his opportunities for broad and useful public

service in the future.



   Mr. Tyne was married on June 7, 1898, to Miss Jane Ratterman. His ancestry is

Irish and he is a member of the Catholic church.





Additional Comments:
From:



A history of Tennessee and Tennesseans : the leaders and representative men in

commerce, industry and modern activities

by Will T. Hale

Chicago:  Lewis Pub. Co.,  1913



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