Thomas "Tom" Green Ryman (October 12, 1841 – December 23, 1904), known as Capt. Tom Ryman, was a riverboat captain and riverboat company owner and businessman from

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

. He built the Union Gospel Tabernacle, later known as the

Ryman Auditorium Ryman Auditorium (also known as Grand Ole Opry House and Union Gospel Tabernacle) is a 2,362-seat live-performance venue located at 116 Rep. John Lewis Way North, in Nashville, Tennessee. It is best known as the home of the ''Grand Ole Opry'' fr ...

, a live performance venue and

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...

, which is named in his honor.

Early life

Ryman was born south of Nashville, the oldest male child of Capt. John Ryman and Sarah “Sallie” Ryman's five children, three older sisters and a younger brother.

Career

In 1864, Ryman followed his father into the riverboat business and bought his first steamer. He started three river businesses that he consolidated into the Ryman Line in 1885. At its peak, his Nashville-based fleet consisted of more than 30 boats, making him one of the most successful steamboat men on the

Cumberland River The Cumberland River is a major waterway of the Southern United States. The U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed June 8, 2011 river drains almost of southern Kentucky and ...

. He also owned a waterfront saloon, at one time the largest in the city.

Union Gospel Tabernacle

After hearing the Rev. Sam Jones speak at an outdoor

tent revival A tent () is a shelter consisting of sheets of fabric or other material draped over, attached to a frame of poles or a supporting rope. While smaller tents may be free-standing or attached to the ground, large tents are usually anchored using g ...

meeting in Nashville in 1885, Ryman proposed the construction of a tabernacle that would allow the people of Nashville to attend large-scale revivals indoors. Ryman had attended one of Jones' 1885 revivals with the intent to heckle, but was instead converted into a devout Christian, and soon after pledged to build the tabernacle. Construction took seven years to complete and cost . However, Jones held his first revival at the site on May 25, 1890, with only the building's foundation and walls standing. Architect

Hugh Cathcart Thompson Hugh Cathcart Thompson (1829–1919) was an American architect from Tennessee. Early life High Cathcart Thomson was born in 1829. Career Thompson designed fifty-six buildings during his career as an architect in Nashville, Tennessee.Christine ...

designed the structure. Exceeding its construction budget, the tabernacle opened in debt. Jones sought to name the tabernacle in Ryman's honor, but Ryman denied the request several times. After Ryman's death, the Tabernacle was renamed in his honor.

Personal life

In 1869, Ryman married Mary Elizabeth Ryman (née Baugh). They had seven children.

Death and funeral

Ryman died in 1904 at his home in Nashville. An estimated 4,000 people attended his funeral, held at the Tabernacle on Christmas Day. The Rev. Jones spoke at the service and once more proposed changing the Tabernacle's name to the Ryman Auditorium. He asked all who agreed with the suggestion to rise. According to '' The Nashville Americans December 26, 1904, account of the service, "as one person, the thousands who heard him were on their feet." Tom Ryman's final resting place is in

Mount Olivet Cemetery (Nashville) Mount Olivet Cemetery is a cemetery located in Nashville, Tennessee. It is located approximately two miles East of downtown Nashville, and adjacent to the Catholic Calvary Cemetery. It is open to the public during daylight hours. History Antebe ...

References

External links

Captain Tom Ryman
at

Ryman Family Papers
(digitized content) at

Tennessee State Library and Archives The Tennessee State Library and Archives (TSLA), established in 1854, currently operates as a unit of the Tennessee Department of State. According to the Tennessee Blue Book, the Library and Archives "collects and preserves books and records of hi ...

Ryman Family Papers, S-19, AC. NO. 81-015
at

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ryman, Thomas Green 1841 births 1904 deaths People from Nashville, Tennessee Burials at Mount Olivet Cemetery (Nashville) 19th-century American businesspeople