{{Short description|American riverboat captain (1841–1904)}} {{Use American English|date = September 2019}} {{Use mdy dates|date = September 2019}} {{Infobox person | name = Tom Ryman | image = Photograph_of_Thomas_Ryman.jpg | alt = <!-- descriptive text for use by speech synthesis (text-to-speech) software --> | caption = | birth_name = Thomas Green Ryman | birth_date = {{Birth date|1841|10|12}} | birth_place = Tennessee, U.S. | death_date = {{Death date and age|1904|12|23|1841|10|12}} | death_place = Nashville, Tennessee U.S. | other_names = Capt. Ryman<br/>Capt. Tom<br/>Tom Ryman<br/>T.G. Ryman | occupation = Riverboat captain<br/>Businessman | years_active = 1865&ndash;1902 | known_for = Ryman Auditorium | spouse = Mary Elizabeth Baugh | children = }} '''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. He built the Union Gospel Tabernacle, later known as the Ryman Auditorium, a live performance venue and National Historic Landmark in Nashville, which is named in his honor.<ref name=Tennessean-StoryBehindRyman-2014>{{cite news|last1=Davis|first1=Louise|title=The real story behind the Ryman Auditorium|url=http://www.tennessean.com/story/money/industries/music/2014/07/13/ryman-auditorium-history-thomas-ryman/12569715/|work=The Tennessean|date=13 July 2014|language=en}}</ref><ref name=TNStateArchives-Blog-BeforeItWasRyman-2016>{{cite news|last1=Byrne|first1=Ed|title=Before It Was the Ryman|url=http://tslablog.blogspot.com/2016/06/before-it-was-ryman.html|work=Library & Archives News|publisher=Tennessee State Library and Archives|date=27 June 2016}}</ref>

== 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.<ref name=FamilySearch-USCensus-1860>{{cite web|title=Thomas Ryman: United States Census, 1860|url=https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M8YM-ZQD|website=FamilySearch|date=22 June 1860}}</ref><ref name=TNStateArchives-Ryman-EarlyLifeOfMyFather>{{cite book|last1=Coggins|first1=Daisy Ryman|title=The Early Life of My Father|publisher=Ryman Auditorium, Tennessee State Library and Archives|url=http://teva.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/p15138coll12/id/7}}</ref>

== 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.<ref name=NashvilleAmerican-Obit-1904>{{cite news|title=Capt. Ryman Is Dead: Prominent River and Churchman Passes Away Will Have Public Funeral. Revs. Sam Jones and George Stewart to Conduct Services at Tabernacle Accumulated a Fortune and Dispensed Charity With Lavish Hand|work=The Nashville American|date=24 December 1904|page=3|id={{ProQuest|951949673}}}}</ref> 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.<ref name=Tennessean-StoryBehindRyman-2014 /> 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 meeting in Nashville in 1885,<ref name=Tennessean-StoryBehindRyman-2014 /> Ryman proposed the construction of a tabernacle that would allow the people of Nashville to attend large-scale revivals indoors.<ref name=HousesOfGod-2000>{{cite book|last1=Williams|first1=Peter W.|title=Houses of God: Region, Religion, and Architecture in the United States|date=2000|publisher=University of Illinois Press|location=Urbana, IL|isbn=978-0-252-06917-8|pages=123–124|oclc=47361692}}</ref> 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 {{US$|100,000|1892}}.<ref name=Ryman-CaptainTomRyman>{{cite web|title=Captain Tom Ryman|url=https://ryman.com/history/captain-tom-ryman/|website=Ryman Auditorium|date=2 November 2016}}</ref><ref name=Ryman-InteractiveTimeline-History>{{cite web|title=Interactive Timeline: History|url=https://ryman.com/history/|website=Ryman Auditorium|date=22 October 2016}}</ref> However, Jones held his first revival at the site on May 25, 1890, with only the building's foundation and {{convert|6|ft|m|adj=on|spell=in}} walls standing.<ref name=Ryman-InteractiveTimeline-History /> Architect Hugh Cathcart Thompson designed the structure. Exceeding its construction budget, the tabernacle opened {{US$|20,000|1892}} 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.<ref name=BitterSoutherner-WherSoulNashville-2016>{{cite news|last1=Justus|first1=Jennifer|title=Where the Soul of Nashville Never Dies: the Ryman|url=http://bittersoutherner.com/soul-of-nashville-the-ryman/#.Wl08HpM-d24|work=The Bitter Southerner|date=2016}}</ref>[[File:ThomasRymanStatue.JPG|thumb|Thomas Ryman Statue at the Ryman Auditorium|left|251x251px]] == Personal life == In 1869, Ryman married Mary Elizabeth Ryman (née Baugh).<ref name=FamilySearch-Marriage-1869>{{cite web|title=T G Ryman: Tennessee State Marriage Index, 1780-2002|url=https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VN4K-PRZ|website=FamilySearch|date=2 Feb 1869}}</ref><ref name=TNStateArchives-Ryman-MaryElizabethRyman>{{cite web|title=Mary Elizabeth Baugh Ryman|url=http://teva.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/p15138coll12/id/55|website=Ryman Auditorium, Tennessee State Library and Archives}}</ref><ref name=TNStateArchives-Ryman-Wedding-1869>{{cite book|last1=Roundtree|first1=Mrs. John A. "Sis Tom"|title=A Reconstruction Wedding: Mary Elizabeth Baugh and Thos. G. Ryman: 1869|date=1869|publisher=Ryman Auditorium, Tennessee State Library and Archives|location=Nashville, TN|url=http://teva.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/p15138coll12/id/11}}</ref> They had seven children.<ref name=NashvilleSites-CaptRymansHome>{{cite web|title=Historical Markers - Nashville Sites: Captain Ryman's Home|url=https://www.nashville.gov/Historical-Commission/Services/Historical-Markers/Nashville-Sites.aspx#captainrymanshome|website=Nashville.gov}}</ref>

==Death and funeral== Ryman died in 1904 at his home in Nashville.<ref name=NashvilleAmerican-Obit-1904 /> 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.<ref name=HistoricalMarkerDatabase-2016>{{cite web|title=Thomas Green Ryman Historical Marker|url=https://www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?marker=61941|website=The Historical Marker Database|date=16 June 2016}}</ref> He asked all who agreed with the suggestion to rise. According to ''The Nashville American'''s December 26, 1904, account of the service, "as one person, the thousands who heard him were on their feet."<ref name=Ryman-CaptainTomRyman /><ref name=NashvilleAmerican-Funeral-1904>{{cite news|title=Capt. T. G. Ryman: Funeral Service is Held for Him at Tabernacle with 4,000 Persons Present. Revs. Sam P. Jones and George Stewart Come Here to Pay Their Last Sad Tributes to His Memory -- Most Affecting Scenes Are Witnessed|work=The Nashville American|date=26 December 1904|page=5|id={{ProQuest|938074370}}}}</ref> Tom Ryman's final resting place is in Mount Olivet Cemetery (Nashville).

== See also == * Ryman Auditorium

== References == {{Reflist|30em}}

== Further reading == * {{cite book|last1=Coke|first1=Fletch|title=Captain Ryman at Home: His Family and Neighbors on Rutledge Hill|date=1982|publisher=J & J Printers|location=Nashville, TN|oclc=8650326}} * {{cite book|last1=Davis|first1=Louise Littleton|title=Frontier Tales of Tennessee|date=1983|publisher=Pelican Publishing Co.|location=Gretna, LA|isbn=978-0-882-89084-5|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nn_ygasqcMgC|chapter=Steamboatin' Tom Ryman|oclc=970744461}} * {{cite book|editor1-last=Gossett|editor1-first=Charmaine B.|title=Captain Tom Ryman: His Life and Legacy|date=2001|publisher=Hillsboro Press|location=Franklin, TN|isbn=978-1-577-36239-5|oclc=48544688}}

== External links == * [http://ryman.com/history/captain-tom-ryman Captain Tom Ryman] at Ryman Auditorium * [http://teva.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/search/searchterm/Ryman%20Family%20Papers/mode/exact Ryman Family Papers] (digitized content) at Tennessee State Library and Archives * [http://tsla.tlcdelivers.com:8080/#section=resource&resourceid=4414318&currentIndex=0&view=fullDetailsDetailsTab Ryman Family Papers, S-19, AC. NO. 81-015] at Tennessee State Library and Archives *{{Find a Grave|8010205}}

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