Peter Turney

Prior to becoming governor, Turney was a prominent attorney in Winchester, Tennessee, practicing law with his father, and a Confederate colonel in the Civil War. He was a staunch Democrat and was Chief Justice of the Tennessee Supreme Court. As governor, his primary interests were education and prison reform. His re-election in 1894 was contested unsuccessfully. In tribute to his deep interest in prison reform, over seven decades after his service a new center for youthful offenders in Hickman County was named in his honor. At the time of his service, he was the oldest person ever to serve as governor of Tennessee, but this record was later broken by Robert Love Taylor.