Francis Mallory (December 12, 1807 – March 26, 1860) was an American

naval officer An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service. Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer, or a warrant officer. However, absent context ...

, physician, and railroad executive, who as a Whig politician served two terms in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

representing

Virginia's 1st congressional district Virginia's first congressional district is a United States congressional district in the commonwealth of Virginia. It is a district split between a suburban north and rural south. Virginian politicians now sometimes refer to it as "America's F ...

. He later served two terms in the

Virginia House of Delegates The Virginia House of Delegates is one of the two parts of the Virginia General Assembly, the other being the Senate of Virginia. It has 100 members elected for terms of two years; unlike most states, these elections take place during odd-numbe ...

representing

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

Early and family life, military service and education

Francis Mallory was born in 1807 in

Elizabeth City County, Virginia Elizabeth City County was a county in southeastern Virginia from 1634 until 1952 when it was merged into the city of Hampton. Originally created in 1634 as Elizabeth River Shire, it was one of eight shires created in the Virginia Colony by order ...

, part of the

Hampton Roads Hampton Roads is the name of both a body of water in the United States that serves as a wide channel for the James River, James, Nansemond River, Nansemond and Elizabeth River (Virginia), Elizabeth rivers between Old Point Comfort and Sewell's ...

seaport and (now) metropolitan area, to the former Frances Lowry Stephenson (1786-1845), and her husband, Charles King Mallory (1781-1820), who briefly served as Lieutenant Governor of Virginia in 1812. His grandfather and namesake, Col. Francis Mallory (1740-1781) was a Virginia militia officer who married three times before his death in the Skirmish at Waters Creek while defending Hampton during the Patriot's Siege of Yorktown near the end of the American Revolutionary War. Young Francis Mallory had a sister Mary (1810-1853) and two younger brothers, William Stevenson Mallory (1817-1857) and Charles King Mallory (1820-1875). He attended the private Hampton Academy and began a career as a naval officer after his father's death in Norfolk in 1820, accepting a

midshipman A midshipman is an officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Canada (Naval Cadet), Australia, Bangladesh, Namibia, New Zealand, South Afr ...

's commission in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

and serving from 1822–1828. Dr. Mallory graduated from the medical department of the University of Pennsylvania in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

in 1831. He may have had a first wife who died in 1830. He married Mary Francis Wright, and in 1850 the family lived at

Old Point Comfort Old Point Comfort is a point of land located in the independent city of Hampton, Virginia. Previously known as Point Comfort, it lies at the extreme tip of the Virginia Peninsula at the mouth of Hampton Roads in the United States. It was renamed ...

in Elizabeth City County with their sons Francis Jr. (1834-1863) and Charles O'Connor (Connor) Mallory (1842-1877) and daughters Abby, Mary, Kate and Alice. Two other sons died in infancy, and their parents would choose to be buried beside them. Dr. Mallory's namesake son would die at the

Battle of Chancellorsville The Battle of Chancellorsville, April 30 – May 6, 1863, was a major battle of the American Civil War (1861–1865), and the principal engagement of the Chancellorsville campaign. Chancellorsville is known as Lee's "perfect battle" because h ...

in 1863 and his fellow C.S.A. officer/cousin Charles King Mallory days later. Charles O'Connor Mallory (1842-1877) enlisted as a private in the

6th Virginia Infantry The 6th Virginia Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment raised in Virginia for service in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. It fought mostly with the Army of Northern Virginia. 6th Infantry Regiment organized at Norf ...

in April 1861, rose to the rank of Sergeant Major after being transferred to the 55th Virginia Infantry, surrendered at Appomattox Courthouse, became a farmer in

Essex County, Virginia Essex County is a county located in the Middle Peninsula in the U.S. state of Virginia; the peninsula is bordered by the Rappahannock River on the north and King and Queen County on the south. As of the 2020 census, the population was 10,599. ...

and had sons to carry on the family's military tradition.

Tenure in the House of Representatives

Dr. Mallory established a medical practice in the area surrounding

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Incorporated in 1705, it had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous city in Virginia after neighboring Virginia Be ...

. He won election to the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

to represent

in 1836, but lost to Democrat Joel Holleman two years later. During that re-election campaign, Holleman promised that he would resign if a Whig became

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

in 1840.

William Henry Harrison William Henry Harrison (February 9, 1773April 4, 1841) was an American military officer and politician who served as the ninth president of the United States. Harrison died just 31 days after his inauguration in 1841, and had the shortest pres ...

did win the Presidency and Dr. Mallory won the election to complete the rest of the term, as well as the following election, thereby serving as the area's Congressman until March 1843.

Career after Congress

He also served as Navy Agent in

during the administration of President Millard Fillmore (a fellow Whig) in the early 1850s. His political career continued as a Delegate in the

Virginia General Assembly The Virginia General Assembly is the legislative body of the Commonwealth of Virginia, the oldest continuous law-making body in the Western Hemisphere, the first elected legislative assembly in the New World, and was established on July 30, 161 ...

, representing Norfolk city from 1854-1859. For many years, Mallory lobbied the Virginia General Assembly on behalf of a railroad line to Norfolk, despite rival railroad and shipping interests from

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

and Petersburg. In 1851, Dr. Mallory and the Norfolk interests finally succeeded in obtaining a legislative charter as well as financing from the

Virginia Board of Public Works The Virginia Board of Public Works was a governmental agency which oversaw and helped finance the development of Virginia's transportation-related internal improvements during the 19th century. In that era, it was customary to invest public funds ...

to form the

Norfolk and Petersburg Railroad The Norfolk and Petersburg Railroad was built between Norfolk and Petersburg, Virginia and was completed by 1858. The line was of track gauge. It played a role on the American Civil War (1861–1865), and became part of the Atlantic, Mississip ...

(N&P). In 1853, the new railroad hired a 26-year-old

civil engineer A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing ...

and

Virginia Military Institute la, Consilio et Animis (on seal) , mottoeng = "In peace a glorious asset, In war a tower of strength""By courage and wisdom" (on seal) , established = , type = Public senior military college , accreditation = SACS , endowment = $696.8 mill ...

graduate from

Southampton County Southampton County is a county located on the southern border of the Commonwealth of Virginia. North Carolina is to the south. As of the 2020 census, the population was 17,996. Its county seat is Courtland. History In the early 17th centur ...

named

William Mahone William Mahone (December 1, 1826October 8, 1895) was an American civil engineer, railroad executive, Confederate States Army general, and Virginia politician. As a young man, Mahone was prominent in the building of Virginia's roads and railroa ...

. Small-statured "Little Billy" Mahone was frugal with expenses yet managed to build the N&P to high construction standards. He designed and implemented an innovative corduroy roadbed through the

Great Dismal Swamp The Great Dismal Swamp is a large swamp in the Coastal Plain Region of southeastern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina, between Norfolk, Virginia, and Elizabeth City, North Carolina. It is located in parts of the southern Virginia indepe ...

between

South Norfolk South Norfolk is a local government district in Norfolk, England. Its council is based in Long Stratton. The population of the Local Authority District was 124,012 as taken at the 2011 Census. History The district was formed on 1 April 197 ...

and

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...

. The design included a log foundation laid at right angles beneath the surface of the swamp, and rented enslaved labor built it. Still in use 150 years later, it withstands immense tonnages of export coal traffic en route to

coal pier A coal pier is a transloading facility designed for the transfer of coal between rail and ship. The typical facility for loading ships consists of a holding area and a system of conveyors for transferring the coal to dockside and loading it into t ...

s at Norfolk's

Lambert's Point Lamberts Point is a point of land on the east shore of the Elizabeth River near the downtown area of the independent city of Norfolk in the South Hampton Roads region of eastern Virginia, United States. It includes a large coal exporting facilit ...

. Mahone was also responsible for engineering and building a 52 mile-long

tangent In geometry, the tangent line (or simply tangent) to a plane curve at a given point is the straight line that "just touches" the curve at that point. Leibniz defined it as the line through a pair of infinitely close points on the curve. More ...

track between

and Petersburg which remains a major artery of modern

Norfolk Southern The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Railroad classes, Class I freight railroad in the United States formed in 1982 with the merger of Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway (U.S.), Southern Railway. With headquarters in Atlanta, the ...

rail traffic (although rebuilt after the American Civil War).

Personal life

Dr. Mallory survived the

Yellow Fever Yellow fever is a viral disease of typically short duration. In most cases, symptoms include fever, chills, loss of appetite, nausea, muscle pains – particularly in the back – and headaches. Symptoms typically improve within five days. In ...

epidemic which swept through Norfolk in 1855 and killed 2,000 of its 6,000 citizens. However, the many deaths as well as financial hardship delayed construction of his new railroad for more than a year. After the railroad was completed in 1858, he stepped down and Mahone became its new president. Francis Mallory owned 17 slaves in 1840. Either census information has been lost or misindexed, or he only owned slaves indirectly during the last census in his lifetime; his brother Charles Mallory owned 11 slaves in nearby Hampton in 1850, and 13 in 1860.

Death and legacy

Dr. Mallory died in Norfolk on March 26, 1860, and was buried in Elmwood Cemetery. His son was killed at the

, and is buried there. Francis Mallory Elementary School of the

Hampton City Public Schools Hampton City Schools is the school division of Hampton, Virginia Hampton () is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. As of the 2020 United Sta ...

and Mallory Street in Hampton's historic

Phoebus Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label=Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label= ...

section near

Fort Monroe Fort Monroe, managed by partnership between the Fort Monroe Authority for the Commonwealth of Virginia, the National Park Service as the Fort Monroe National Monument, and the City of Hampton, is a former military installation in Hampton, Virgi ...

are named in his honor.

Electoral history

1837; Mallory was elected with 50.26% of the vote, defeating Democrat Joel Hollerman.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mallory, Francis 1807 births 1860 deaths 19th-century American railroad executives Members of the Virginia House of Delegates People from Elizabeth City County, Virginia Politicians from Norfolk, Virginia Physicians from Virginia United States Navy officers Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania alumni Whig Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Virginia 19th-century American politicians