Robertson Topp (1807 - 1876)

Born 20 Apr 1807 in Davidson County Tennessee

Descendants

Died 13 Jun 1876 at age 69 in Memphis, Tennessee

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Biography

Colonel ROBERTSON TOPP died in his residence in Memphis, June 13, 1876; burial today. [Burial in lot 573, Turley section, Elmwood Cemetery, Memphis. According to the BIOGRAPHICAL DIRECTORY OF THE TENNESSEE GENERAL ASSEMBLY, edited by Robert M. McBride, Nashville, 1975, volume 1, page 731, TOPP was born in Davidson Co., Tenn., April 20, 1807; his twin brother was Dixon Topp, Miss., who survived him; he began practice of law in Columbia, Tenn. but moved to Memphis where he attained prominence; served in the state legislature, House of Representatives, 1835-1839, representing Shelby County. The encomium to his memory in "Bench and Bar, " Memphis Bar, volume 1, page 107:

Robertson Topp.

In writing of the lawyers in the City of Memphis, the list would be incomplete without mention of Robertson Topp.

Robertson Topp was born in Davidson County, Tennessee, on the 20th day of April 1807. At the age of sixteen he left his home, entered the office of his brother, John S. Topp, then a distinguished lawyer in Lebanon, Tennessee, and commenced under his guidance and tuition to prepare himself for the bar. When he finished his studies he practiced a while in Columbia, and in the twenty-third year or his age, moved to Memphis, arriving in January 1831. In 1835 he was elected to the Legislature from Shelby County. He served two terms in the Legislature, and afterwards declined re-election. ____ He made a large purchase of South Memphis stock in addition to that which he owned before, and though still practicing his profession, was busy laying out and opening the streets of the new town of South Memphis, which was an addition to the old town. While attending the Legislature, he met Miss Elizabeth L. Vance, who afterward became his wife, in 1837. In the spring of 1841 they were living in their home on Beale avenue where he lived the balance of his life. In July 1841, he held the first public sale of town lots, and in 1842-43 he commenced to build the Gayeso House. From 1851 to 1861, there was no scheme of public advancement nor any political change in which Mr. Topp did not take parts and in all of which he responded freely, and gave his time, talents and money to their success. Robertson Topp towered among his contemporaries like an oak of the forest. Endowed with the 'highest order of natural gifts, his mind was richly stored with knowledge, and his conversational powers were equaled by few men. His speeches were marvelous for their ability and sound logic, his legal arguments were luminous and exhaustive. The energy of his nature was irrepressible and his sanguine nature made him invariably hopeful. He lost heavily by the Civil war, having put large amounts of money in plantations and negroes. He died in June 1876, survived by a widow, and eight children, being sixty nine years of age at the time of his death. In the truest sense or the word, he was one of the builders of Memphis, one or its most devoted and faithful citizens.

Sources

• Firsthand Information
• Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/25452135/robertson-topp : accessed 11 March 2022), memorial page for Col Robertson Topp (20 Apr 1807–13 Jun 1876), Find A Grave: Memorial #25452135, citing Elmwood Cemetery, Memphis, Shelby County, Tennessee, USA ; Maintained by Pam (contributor 47212213) .