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Judge John
Overton (c. 1815) |
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In 1804, John Overton was appointed judge to the Superior Court
of Law and Equity in Tennessee, which was the forerunner of the
state Supreme Court. This position required him to travel about
the state and attend special sessions of the county courts. According
to tradition, Overton named his Nashville plantation Travellers
Rest during these years of prolonged absences from home traveling
the countryside as a judge. In 1811, he assumed a judgeship on the
bench of the newly created Tennessee Supreme Court. In collaboration
with Judge Thomas Emerson, Overton published the Tennessee Reports,
the first official compilation of published decisions by Tennessee’s
highest courts. These cases set legal precedents for land law in
the state.
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