Alexander Allison (c. 1799–1862) was an American politician. He served as the

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

from 1847 to 1849.

Early life

Allison was born about 1799 in

Lifford Lifford (, historically anglicised as ''Liffer'') is the county town of County Donegal, Ireland, the administrative centre of the county and the seat of Donegal County Council, although the town of Letterkenny is often mistaken as holding this ...

County Donegal County Donegal ( ; ga, Contae Dhún na nGall) is a county of Ireland in the province of Ulster and in the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Donegal in the south of the county. It has also been known as County Tyrconne ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. After immigrating to the United States, he established a successful dry goods business in Nashville.

Career

Allison served as Mayor of Nashville from 1847 to 1849. He was appointed by Governor Neill S. Brown as one of the commissioners to establish a " hospital for the insane" in Nashville, designed by architect

Adolphus Heiman Adolphus Heiman (April 17, 1809 – November 16, 1862) was a Prussian-born American architect and soldier; later becoming a Confederate States Army, Confederate officer during the American Civil War.Christine Kreyling (ed.), ''Classical Nashville ...

. He also served on the building committee of First Presbyterian Church. Allison owned twelve slaves in Nashville and twenty in Davidson County.

Personal life and death

Allison was married to Madeline T. Alcorn. Their son James Hart Allison died at the

Battle of Monterey The Battle of Monterey, at Monterey, California, occurred on 7 July 1846, during the Mexican–American War. The United States captured the town unopposed. Prelude In February 1845, at the Battle of Providencia, the Californio forces had ouste ...

of 1846 at the age of twenty-two and John Allcorn Allison died of

apoplexy Apoplexy () is rupture of an internal organ and the accompanying symptoms. The term formerly referred to what is now called a stroke. Nowadays, health care professionals do not use the term, but instead specify the anatomic location of the bleedi ...

at the age of twenty-three. They resided at 9 Summer Place in Nashville, and one of their neighbors was

Samuel Morgan Samuel Dold Morgan (November 8, 1798 – June 10, 1880), was an American businessman, builder, and manufacturer, known as "The Merchant Prince of Nashville." Early life Samuel Dold Morgan was born in Staunton, Virginia. Career Morgan mov ...

. He died on November 3, 1862, and he is buried in the

Nashville City Cemetery Nashville City Cemetery is the oldest public cemetery in Nashville, Tennessee. Many of Nashville's prominent historical figures are buried there. It includes the tombs of 22,000 people, 6,000 of whom were African Americans. Overview Nashville ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Allison, Alexander 1799 births 1862 deaths Mayors of Nashville, Tennessee People from Lifford People from County Donegal 19th-century American politicians American slave owners