Edward T. Seay (c. 1869 – August 19, 1941) was an American lawyer and a politician. He served as the speaker of the

Tennessee Senate The Tennessee Senate is the upper house of the U.S. state of Tennessee's state legislature, which is known formally as the Tennessee General Assembly. The Tennessee Senate has the power to pass resolutions concerning essentially any issue rega ...

from 1901 to 1903. He represented the

Louisville and Nashville Railroad The Louisville and Nashville Railroad , commonly called the L&N, was a Class I railroad that operated freight and passenger services in the southeast United States. Chartered by the Commonwealth of Kentucky in 1850, the road grew into one of the ...

, and he was the acting dean of the

Vanderbilt University Law School Vanderbilt University Law School (also known as Vanderbilt Law School or VLS) is a graduate school of Vanderbilt University. Established in 1874, it is one of the oldest law schools in the southern United States. Vanderbilt Law School has consiste ...

from 1929 to 1930.

Early life

Edward T. Seay was born circa 1869 in

Hartsville, Tennessee Hartsville is a town in Trousdale County, Tennessee, United States. It is the county seat of Trousdale County, with which it shares a consolidated city-county government. The population of Hartsville was 11,615 as of 2020. Hartsville now shares ...

. His father, George Seay, was the chancellor of the district court of Sumner County, and Seay grew up in Gallatin. He graduated from

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and rail magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1-million ...

, where he earned a bachelor of laws in 1891.

Career

Seay began practising the law with Dismukes and Seay in Gallatin in 1891. He later joined Seay, Stockwell and Edwards. In 1907, he co-founded Keeble and Seay with John Bell Keeble. It later became Keeble, Seay, Stockwell and Keeble. He was also a "special judge" on the

Tennessee Supreme Court The Tennessee Supreme Court is the ultimate judicial tribunal of the state of Tennessee. Roger A. Page is the Chief Justice. Unlike other states, in which the state attorney general is directly elected or appointed by the governor or state le ...

and the

Tennessee Court of Appeals The Tennessee Court of Appeals (in case citation, Tenn. Ct. App.) was created in 1925 by the Tennessee General Assembly as an intermediate appellate court to hear appeals in civil cases from the Tennessee state trial courts. Appeals of judgments m ...

. He represented the

throughout his career. He was also involved the Scopes Trial. Seay was elected to represent Sumner County in the

in 1899. He served as its speaker from 1901 to 1903. Seay began teaching at the

in 1907. Shortly after John Bell Keeble's death in 1929, he became the acting dean, and he was succeeded by Earl C. Arnold in 1930. He was elected to Vanderbilt University's board of trust in 1937, and also served on the board of

Fisk University Fisk University is a private historically black liberal arts college in Nashville, Tennessee. It was founded in 1866 and its campus is a historic district listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In 1930, Fisk was the first Africa ...

Personal life and death

Seay was married to Polly Barr, and had two daughters. He resided at 3702 Richland Avenue in Nashville. He was a member of the Vine Street Christian Church and the First Presbyterian Church. He was also a "32nd Degree Mason, a Shriner and a Knight of Pythias." Seay died of a heart attack on August 19, 1941. He was buried in Gallatin, Tennessee.

References

1860s births 1941 deaths People from Gallatin, Tennessee Politicians from Nashville, Tennessee Vanderbilt University alumni Vanderbilt University faculty Tennessee state senators Tennessee lawyers Louisville and Nashville Railroad people American Freemasons People from Hartsville, Tennessee {{Tennessee-politician-stub