Theodore Tiffany (T. T.) Turnbull (July 7, 1881 – January 13, 1944) was an American lawyer, cotton plantation owner, and state legislator in Florida from 1915 until 1929. He served as Speaker

Pro Tempore ''Pro tempore'' (), abbreviated ''pro tem'' or ''p.t.'', is a Latin phrase which best translates to 'for the time being' in English. This phrase is often used to describe a person who acts as a '' locum tenens'' ('placeholder'). The phrase is ...

of the

Florida House of Representatives The Florida House of Representatives is the lower house of the Florida Legislature, the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida, the Florida Senate being the upper house. Article III, Section 1 of the C ...

and

President of the Florida Senate This is a list of presidents of the Florida Senate. In Florida, the president of the Senate is elected by the Senate membership to a two-year term. They appoint committees and their chairs and route bills to the committees. They also co-ordina ...

Early life

T.T. Turnbull was born in

Jefferson County, Florida Jefferson County is a county located in the Big Bend region in the northern part of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 14,510. Its county seat is Monticello. Jefferson County is part of the Tallahassee, F ...

July 7, 1881, a descendant of prominent pioneer families in Florida. He studied at

Emory University Emory University is a private university, private research university in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It was founded in 1836 as Emory College by the Methodist Episcopal Church and named in honor of Methodist bishop John Emory. Its main campu ...

in Georgia.

Career

Turnbull had an extensive cotton plantation. He was elected to the Florida House in 1915-1917 and Florida Senate for six sessions, representing

. He was also the Senate President in 1923. Turnbull is in a photo of Monticello High School. In 1927 he was appointed as attorney for the railroad commission. In 1937 he was elected as the chairman of the State Democratic Executive Committee, a position he held for five years. In 1942 he was a candidate for the

Florida Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Florida is the state supreme court, highest court in the U.S. state of Florida. It consists of seven justices—one of whom serves as Chief Justice. Six members are chosen from six districts around the state to foster geog ...

, standing against

Harold Sebring Harold Leon Sebring (March 9, 1898 – July 26, 1968), nicknamed Tom Sebring, was a Florida Supreme Court justice, and an American judge at one of the Subsequent Nuremberg Trials of German war criminals after World War II. Sebring was a native o ...

who won the seat. Turnbull had stood down from his position as State Railroad Commission attorney when deciding to run, but returned a year later after his failed run.

Personal life

He married Pearl Whetstone of Gainesville in 1911. He had a son and grandson with the same name. He died at home January 13, 1944 after having the flu for several days. He was survived by his widow, son and two daughters.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Turnbull, Theodore 1881 births 1944 deaths Democratic Party members of the Florida House of Representatives Democratic Party Florida state senators Presidents of the Florida Senate Emory University alumni People from Monticello, Florida Florida lawyers Infectious disease deaths in Florida 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century American landowners Deaths from influenza in the United States 20th-century members of the Florida Legislature