Judge Robert Looney Caruthers

1800 - 1882  (82 years)

• Name	Robert Looney Caruthers  [1, 2, 3]
  Title	Judge
  Birth	31 Jul 1800	Carthage, Smith, Tennessee, USA   [1, 3]
  Gender	Male
  Residence	1828	Lebanon, Wilson, Tennessee, USA
  	(The Beeches)
  		Home-Beeches Manor Caruthers's Beeches Manor
  Military Service	1834	Tennessee, USA   [1, 4]
  	Brigadier General in the Tennessee militia
  Education	1842	Cumberland University, Lebanon, Wilson, Tennessee, USA   [4]
  	Established Cumberland University, serving as the first president of its Board of Trustees, and cofounder of Cumberland School of Law
  Census	1860	Wilson County, Tennessee, USA   [3]
  	Age: 60; Married to Sallie
  Elected	Aug 1861  [4]
  	Represented Tennessee in the Provisional Confederate Congress
  Obituary	Oct 1882	Nashville, Davidson, Tennessee, USA   [5]
  	The Distinguished Dead - Robert L Caruthers • The Daily American • Nashville, Tennessee • Mon, Oct 16, 1882 • Page 8
  		Obituary-CARUTHERS Robert L Obituary of ROBERT LOONEY CARUTHERS • The Daily American • Nashville, Tennessee • Mon, Oct 16, 1882 • Page 8
  Occupation	Justice on the Tennessee Supreme Court  [4]
  Religion	Elder in the Cumberland Presbyterian Church  [4]
  Death	2 Oct 1882	Lebanon, Wilson, Tennessee, USA   [1]
  Burial	Cedar Grove Cemetery, Lebanon, Wilson, Tennessee, USA   [1]
  	Sarah Sanders and Robert L Caruthers, buried together
  		Burial-CARUTHERS Sally and Robert Sarah Sanders and Robert L Caruthers, buried together - Cedar Grove Cemetery, Lebanon TN + https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/7645250/ https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/5771631/
  		Cedar Grove Cemetery Lebanon, Wilson, Tennessee Find a Grave: #10335
  Person ID	I14891	A Tree Called Smith
  Last Modified	21 Jul 2025

  
  

  Father	Samuel Caruthers,   b. 1767, Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, USA d. 29 Nov 1813, Trousdale County, Tennessee, USA (Age 46 years)
  Relationship	natural
  Mother	Elizabeth Jane Looney,   b. 1764, Sullivan County, Tennessee, USA d. 1803, Smith County, Tennessee, USA (Age 39 years)
  Relationship	natural
  Family ID	F4473	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Sarah 'Sally' Sanders,   b. 11 Mar 1807, Lebanon, Wilson, Tennessee, USA d. 20 Oct 1870, Lebanon, Wilson, Tennessee, USA (Age 63 years)
  Marriage	16 Jan 1827	Wilson County, Tennessee, USA   [2, 6]
  Family ID	F5411	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	21 Jul 2025

  
  

• Event Map

  Birth - 31 Jul 1800 - Carthage, Smith, Tennessee, USA Marriage - 16 Jan 1827 - Wilson County, Tennessee, USA Residence - (The Beeches) - 1828 - Lebanon, Wilson, Tennessee, USA Military Service - Brigadier General in the Tennessee militia - 1834 - Tennessee, USA Census - Age: 60; Married to Sallie - 1860 - Wilson County, Tennessee, USA Obituary - The Distinguished Dead - Robert L Caruthers • The Daily American • Nashville, Tennessee • Mon, Oct 16, 1882 • Page 8 - Oct 1882 - Nashville, Davidson, Tennessee, USA Death - 2 Oct 1882 - Lebanon, Wilson, Tennessee, USA Burial - - Cedar Grove Cemetery, Lebanon, Wilson, Tennessee, USA  = Link to Google Earth

  
  

• Biographies and Histories

  History-Beeches on the Hill Charlotte Reedy -- For the USA TODAY NETWORK - Tennessee (Then and Now is sponsored by the Robertson County Historical Society.) - https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/local/robertson/2017/06/27/beeches-hill/103222936/

  
  

  Burials

  Burial-CARUTHERS Sally and Robert Sarah Sanders and Robert L Caruthers, buried together - Cedar Grove Cemetery, Lebanon TN + https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/7645250/ https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/5771631/

  
  

  Obituaries

  Obituary-CARUTHERS Robert L Obituary of ROBERT LOONEY CARUTHERS • The Daily American • Nashville, Tennessee • Mon, Oct 16, 1882 • Page 8

  
  

  People

  CARUTHERS-Judge Robert L Robert Looney Caruthers (31 Jul 1800 – 2 Oct 1882) was an American judge, politician, and professor. He helped establish Cumberland University in 1842, serving as the first president of its board of trustees, and was a cofounder of the Cumberland School of Law, one of the oldest law schools in the South. He served as a Tennessee state attorney…

  
  

  Places

  Home-Beeches Manor Caruthers's Beeches Manor

  
  

• Sources

  [S1620] Find a Grave: CARUTHERS Robert L 1800-1882, Robert Looney Caruthers. BIRTH 31 Jul 1800 Smith County, Tennessee DEATH 2 Oct 1882 (aged 82) Lebanon, Wilson County, Tennessee BURIAL Cedar Grove Cemetery Lebanon, Wilson County, Tennessee Show Map MEMORIAL ID 7645250 U.S. Congressman. Successful in mercantile pursuits, he attended Greenville College, studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1823, was clerk for the Tennessee State House of Representatives in 1824, clerk of the Chancery Court of Smith County and editor of the Tennessee Republican. He also was Tennessee State’s Attorney, (1827-32), a member of the Tennessee State House of Representatives in 1835, was the founder of Cumberland University Tennessee, in 1842 and of its law department in 1847. In 1841, he was elected as a Whig to the Twenty-seventh Congress, serving until 1843. After his term, he was a judge of the Supreme Court of Tennessee, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/7645250/robert-looney-caruthers [S266] Ancestry.com, Tennessee, State Marriages, 1780-2002, (Name: Ancestry.com Operations Inc; Location: Lehi, UT ; Date: 2008;). Tennessee, State Marriages, 1780-2002 [S93] Ancestry.com, 1860 United States Federal Census, (Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT ; Date: 2009;), Year: 1860; Census Place: District 10, Wilson, Tennessee; Roll: M653_1280; Page: 337; Family History Library Film: 805280. 1860 United States Federal Census Year: 1860; Census Place: District 10, Wilson, Tennessee; Roll: M653_1280; Page: 337; Family History Library Film: 805280 [S1281] Wikipedia: Robert L Caruthers, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_L._Caruthers. Robert Looney Caruthers (July 31, 1800 – October 2, 1882) was an American judge, politician, and professor. He helped establish Cumberland University in 1842, serving as the first president of its Board of Trustees, and was a cofounder of the Cumberland School of Law, one of the oldest law schools in the South. He served as a Tennessee state attorney general in the late 1820s and early 1830s, and was a justice on the Tennessee Supreme Court in the 1850s and early 1860s. He also served one term in the United States House of Representatives (1841–1843). In 1863, he was elected Governor of Tennessee by the state's Confederates, but never took office. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_L._Caruthers [S1621] Newspapers.com: Obituary of Robert Caruthers • Nashville Tennessean - Oct 1882 - Page 8, (Name: The Tennessean; Location: Nashville, Tennessee; Date: 16 Oct 1882;), Robert Looney Caruthers Obituary -- 16 Oct 1882. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/11964535/the_tennessean/?xid=637 Obituary-CARUTHERS Robert L Obituary of ROBERT LOONEY CARUTHERS • The Daily American • Nashville, Tennessee • Mon, Oct 16, 1882 • Page 8 [S5428] Find a Grave: SANDERS Sally Caruthers 1807-1870, Sarah Sanders Caruthers. BIRTH: 11 Mar 1807 DEATH: 20 Oct 1870 (aged 63) BURIAL: Cedar Grove Cemetery, Lebanon, Wilson County, Tennessee MEMORIAL ID: 5771630 https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/5771631/mary-jane-caruthers