Parson Brownlow
PHOTO: TN State Library and Archives
PARSON BROWNLOW

Some people are hard to describe unless you have a lot of time. William G. "Parson" Brownlow -- the most controversial person to ever hold the office of Tennessee governor -- was one of those people.

He started as a Methodist preacher, and in the 1850s became the editor of a newspaper called Brownlow's Whig. It, and its editor, could be harsh. For instance, in those days the leaders of the Baptist and Methodist churches argued and argued about which denomination was right. Brownlow became the most ardent defender of the Methodist church in that era, attacking Baptist leaders with every word he could conjure up.

Brownlow was not against slavery; in fact, he was a slaveholder himself. But when Civil War broke out, he became one of Tennessee's most vocal unionists. Since East Tennessee was held by the Confederate Army for much of the war, Brownlow was imprisoned for his beliefs and eventually sent north, where he became nationally famous as a southern-born critic of the Confederacy. "I know the origin of the rebellion, and I know the originators," he once said in a speech. "Nothing short of an old fashioned orthodox hell that burns with fire and brimstone will reward them adequately for their services."

When the war ended, Brownlow replaced Andrew Johnson as the governor of Tennessee. He was re-elected to that position in 1867 -- an election in which everyone who had fought for the Confederacy was not allowed to vote. Largely because of this, Brownlow was hated in many parts of the state. And it was while Brownlow was governor that a rebellious organization called the Ku Klux Klan was first formed in Tennessee.

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