Sam Bertram

Samuel Adkins Bertram (1871-1945) was a prominent teacher in several northern Cumberland Plateau counties, and also served as the fourth mayor of Oneida from 1927 to 1929.

See Also: Mayors of Oneida
Preceded By: William C. Terry • Succeeded By: Inman Terry

Early Life

Sam Bertram was born in the Sunnybrook community of Wayne County, Ky. on April 24, 1871. He was the son of Elsa L. Bertram and Mary Jane Manning Bertram.

Bertram married Electa “Telie” Hancock in 1895. They had three children: Benedict Jerome, born in 1897; Ann Davis, born in 1900; and Robbie Pemberton, born in 1904.

Teaching Career

Known as Professor Sam Bertram, Bertram served as a teacher in Fentress, Morgan and Scott counties in Tennessee for more than 40 years until he died in 1945.

Bertram graduated from East Tennessee Teacher’s College in Johnson City, Tenn., which is now East Tennessee State University. He also held a degree from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville.

Bertram began his teaching career in Fentress County around 1900. He was apparently dismissed from that position, or at least made to feel unwelcome, according to a 1920 book, “History of Fentress County, Tennessee,” written by Albert Ross Hogue. He left and began teaching at Sunbright School in Morgan County, where he eventually became the school’s principal.

Bertram was elected mayor of Oneida after he moved to Scott County to continue his teaching career in the Oneida Special School District. His last job was at Oneida High School, where he resigned in 1944 as his health declined.

Mayor of Oneida

Bertram was elected Oneida’s fourth mayor in the 1927 municipal election. At the age of 56, he was Oneida’s oldest mayor at the time. By contrast, the mayors before him had been elected in their 20s.

Bertram succeeded William Claude Terry Sr., whose three-term tenure as mayor had seen marked growth in Oneida. Bertram’s single term as mayor was not without its own growth. However, his time in office ended with the Wall Street crash of 1929 and the dawn of the Great Depression, which hit Oneida hard.

Civic Life

Bertram returned to teaching after his time in office, but he was also active in the Masonic Lodge in Oneida, as well as in the First Baptist Church of Oneida. He served as a men’s Bible class teacher at the church for 11 years.

Death

Bertram died of a stroke on Nov. 18, 1945 at the age of 74. His popularity resulted in two funeral services — one at Oneida First Baptist Church and another at Sunbright Baptist Church, where Bertram had served as a school principal.

Bertram was buried at Sunbright Cemetery.

Tealie Bertram died on Nov. 21, 1951 and was also buried at Sunbright Cemetery.