Submitted by
Peggy Ackerman
© 2004
Thomas P. Ackerman was born on June 13, 1818, in Kentucky, probably in Logan County. His parentage is not established, but most likely his father was Jacob Ackerman, an early settler in Logan county. In 1841, Thomas P. declared his intention to be a Cumberland Presbyterian minister, this in the Logan Presbytery which was meeting that year in Adair County, KY. On June 12, 1843, Thomas P. married Susan Garrett in Sumner County (Descendants of Jesse and Bathsheba Perry Garrett). Susan and Thomas's first three children died in early childhood. The next born child, Thomas H. Ackerman, was the grandfather of George Link Ackerman, my husband.
Thomas P. and family were counted in the Sumner censuses of 1850 and 1870; they were listed in the Davidson County censuses of 1860 and 1880. Thomas P.'s service as a Cumberland Presbyterian minister is partially covered in his obituary (Obituary of Thomas P. Ackerman). He died in Nashville on December 19, 1887, and, according to a newspaper account, was buried at Old Beech Cemetery. No tombstone survives. Susan was born in Sumner County on January 22, 1822. She died in Nashville about 1897 and likely is buried at Old Beech also, though documentation is not available. Both Thomas P. and Susan were members of the Old Beech congregation. Photo of Thomas P. Ackerman and Susan Garrett
The children of Thomas P. and Susan are as follows:
1. Mary Catherine Ackerman, born August 24, 1844, died November 11, 1844.
2. Jesse G. Ackerman, born July 10, 1846, died June 13, 1847.
3. Amanda Ackerman, born June 5, 1848, died May 16, 1854.
4. Thomas H. Ackerman, M. D., born June 6, 1851. Thomas married Martha Hall of Dickson County, TN. on January 28, 1875. She bore him three children and died about 1882. Thomas next married Mary Elizabeth Callaway Ingram, a widow, in Cleveland County, Arkansas on October 3, 1885. Thomas died in Rison, AR. on April 22, 1913, and his wife died in Rison on December 21, 1932.
5. Rachel Sardinia Ackerman, born June 22, 1855, married J. R. Hall in Nashville in 1875. She died about 1912 in Nashville.
6. Lovie Ann Ackerman, born May 16, 1856, married George T. Spencer in Nashville on May 16, 1889.
7. Robert H. Ackerman, born April 10, 1859 and died in 1911 in Memphis. He was married to Lucy Jones.
8. William M. Ackerman, born September 20, 1861, and died April 20, 1888 in Nashville. Newspaper accounts say he was buried at Old Beech. He was not married.
9. Susan Ackerman, born April 11, 1865, married Chester Marker in Nashville in 1888. Susan died on November 8, 1915, in Nashville.
10. Lula Ackerman, born April 11, 1865, married Ralph Hall in Nashville in 1887. (A will for Lula E. Hall is listed in Davidson county archives; April 27, 1918). Ralph Hall was born on June 10, 1860 and died July 18, 1896.
11. John Garrett Ackerman, born January 13, 1868, married Emma Higgins on November 20, 1894. John Garrett died on March 10, 1940, in Nashville. Emma was born August 8, 1874 and died July 27, 1954.
Sources: census data, Cumberland Presbyterian documents, the John Garrett Ackerman family bible, obituaries and death notices from newspapers (Nashville Banner, Nashville Daily American, Nashville Christian Advocate, Cleveland County Herald).
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