Joseph Alexander Mabry IIFred Brown

''Knox News'', June 5, 2011 (January 26, 1826 – October 19, 1882) was an American folk figure and businessman active primarily in

Knoxville, Tennessee Knoxville is a city in and the county seat of Knox County, Tennessee, Knox County in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, Knoxville's population was 190,740, making it the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Di ...

, in the mid-nineteenth century. Mabry earned a fortune through land and railroad speculation during the 1850s, and was known throughout the South for his herd of race horses.Laura Holder
Mabry-Hazen House
''Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture'', 2009. Retrieved: 11 August 2011. During the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

, Mabry donated a large supply of uniforms and tents to the

Confederate Army The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighting ...

, and was rewarded with the rank of

general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...

. For the remainder of his life, he was thus often referred to by the

sobriquet A sobriquet ( ), or soubriquet, is a nickname, sometimes assumed, but often given by another, that is descriptive. A sobriquet is distinct from a pseudonym, as it is typically a familiar name used in place of a real name, without the need of expla ...

, "General Mabry."James B. Jones Jr.
A Blood Feud in Nineteenth Century Knoxville: The Mabry, Lusby, and O'Connor Killings, 1881-1882
''The Courier'', Vol. 49, No. 2 (June 2011), pp. 11-15. Retrieved: 11 August 2011. In his day, Mabry was one of Knoxville's most influential citizens. In 1853, Mabry and his brother-in-law, William G. Swan, donated the initial acreage for the city's

Market Square The market square (or sometimes, the market place) is a Town square, square meant for trading, in which a market is held. It is an important feature of many towns and cities around the world. After the Civil War, Mabry quickly made amends with the city's pro-

Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

businessmen, and continued to champion railroad development. By the 1870s, however, his business ventures had mostly failed, leaving him heavily in debt. In 1882, Mabry and his son were killed in a shootout with banker Thomas O'Connor in downtown Knoxville, an incident later chronicled by

Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has p ...

in his book, '' Life on the Mississippi''. The Mabry–Hazen House, built by Mabry in 1858, still stands in Knoxville.

Biography

Early life

Mabry was born near modern

Concord Concord may refer to: Meaning "agreement" * Pact or treaty, frequently between nations (indicating a condition of harmony) * Harmony, in music * Agreement (linguistics), a change in the form of a word depending on grammatical features of other ...

in west

Knox County, Tennessee Knox County is located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, the population was 478,971, making it the third-most populous county in Tennessee. Its county seat is Knoxville, which is the third-most populous city in Tennessee. K ...

, to state legislator and farmer Joseph Alexander Mabry and Alice Hare Scott. In 1837, the elder Mabry was killed in a

duel A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two people, with matched weapons, in accordance with agreed-upon Code duello, rules. During the 17th and 18th centuries (and earlier), duels were mostly single combats fought with swords (the r ...

Tuscaloosa, Alabama Tuscaloosa ( ) is a city in and the seat of Tuscaloosa County in west-central Alabama, United States, on the Black Warrior River where the Gulf Coastal and Piedmont plains meet. Alabama's fifth-largest city, it had an estimated population of 1 ...

, leaving Mabry to be raised by his older brother, George (builder of the Mabry-Hood House). After completing school in Knox County, Mabry is believed to have attended the Holston Seminary (in

New Market New Market may refer to: Bangladesh *New Market, Dhaka *New Market, Khulna, in Sonadanga Model Thana *New Market, Chittagong, near Government City College, Chittagong India * New Market, Bhopal *New Market, Kolkata Jamaica *New Market, Jama ...

), and possibly

Tusculum College Tusculum University is a private Presbyterian university with its main campus in Tusculum, Tennessee. It is Tennessee's first university and the 28th-oldest operating college in the United States. In addition to its main campus, the institution ...

, although the latter has no record of his attendance.

Pre-Civil War businesses

In the early 1850s, Mabry formed a landholding company that speculated in land on the periphery of Knoxville. In 1853, Mabry and his brother-in-law, attorney William G. Swan, donated what is now Market Square (then empty pastureland just north of the city limits) to the city for the establishment of a market house, where regional farmers could sell produce. During the same period, Mabry used his connections in the Tennessee state legislature to obtain funding for railroad construction, acquiring over the years millions of dollars in bonds for the Knoxville and Kentucky Railroad (by the time the railroad was placed in

receivership In law, receivership is a situation in which an institution or enterprise is held by a receiver—a person "placed in the custodial responsibility for the property of others, including tangible and intangible assets and rights"—especially in ca ...

in 1869, it had been loaned over $2.3 million by the state). Mabry was named president of this railroad in 1858, and had begun building the first stretch of this line to

Clinton Clinton is an English toponymic surname, indicating one's ancestors came from English places called Glympton or Glinton.Hanks, P. & Hodges, F. ''A Dictionary of Surnames''. Oxford University Press, 1988 Clinton has frequently been used as a given ...

when the Civil War halted construction. Mabry raised prized

racehorse Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic pr ...

s that competed in races across the South, and in 1860 he listed his occupation as "stock raiser." In 1858, Mabry built what is now known as the Mabry-Hazen House on a hill in East Knoxville, where he lived for the rest of his life. Mabry also served as a trustee for East Tennessee University (now the

University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee (officially The University of Tennessee, Knoxville; or UT Knoxville; UTK; or UT) is a public land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee. Founded in 1794, two years before Tennessee became the 16th state, ...

Civil War

By the early 1860s, Mabry was one of Knoxville's largest

slave Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

holders, and like most

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

s, he generally supported secession. During the secession crisis that followed

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...

's election in November 1860, Mabry waffled between angrily calling for "immediate secession," and seeking a peaceful resolution to the crisis.Robert McKenzie, ''Lincolnites and Rebels: A Divided Town in the American Civil War'' (New York: Oxford University Press, 2006), pp. 38-42, 53, 100, 178. In April 1861, Mabry chased away a Confederate brass band attempting to interrupt a speech by pro-Unionist

Andrew Johnson Andrew Johnson (December 29, 1808July 31, 1875) was the 17th president of the United States, serving from 1865 to 1869. He assumed the presidency as he was vice president at the time of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Johnson was a Dem ...

. The following day, however, Union supporter Charles Douglas was shot by a Confederate soldier on Gay Street in an incident for which Mabry was later charged as an accessory. In December 1861, William "Parson" Brownlow, the vitriolic pro-Union editor of the '' Knoxville Whig'', was jailed by Confederate authorities on charges of

treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...

. While most of Knoxville's secessionists celebrated the arrest and called for Brownlow to be hanged, Mabry nevertheless lobbied on Brownlow's behalf, and managed to secure his release. Brownlow never forgot this gesture, and during the

Reconstruction period The Reconstruction era was a period in History of the United States, American history following the American Civil War (1861–1865) and lasting until approximately the Compromise of 1877. During Reconstruction, attempts were made to rebui ...

following the war, Mabry was one of the few ex-Confederates spared the wrath of Brownlow's regime. During the war, Mabry established a supply depot that provided uniforms and tents to Confederate soldiers. He later claimed to have donated $100,000 to the Confederate cause, although historians point out that he may have earned upwards of one million dollars in contracts with Confederate purchasing agents during the course of the war. Furthermore, when the Union Army occupied Knoxville in September 1863, Mabry quickly switched sides, and offered his assistance to the occupying forces. He took the United States Oath of Allegiance on January 29, 1864.

Post-war activities

After the war, Mabry continued championing railroad construction. Working with fellow Confederate-turned-Unionist

Charles McClung McGhee Charles McClung McGhee (January 23, 1828 – May 5, 1907) was an American industrialist and financier, active primarily in Knoxville, Tennessee, in the latter half of the nineteenth century. As director of the East Tennessee, Virginia and Geor ...

, Mabry helped extend the Knoxville and Kentucky Railroad to modern Caryville, providing invaluable railroad access to the lucrative coalfields of western Anderson County. By 1869, however, the railroad was bankrupt and placed in

. Mabry's fortunes began to decline, and in subsequent years he fell deeply into debt. Throughout the 1860s, Mabry consistently quarrelled with Knoxville attorney John Baxter, who accused Mabry of opportunism and profiteering during the war. In 1869, after the Knoxville and Kentucky was placed in receivership, Baxter sued Mabry, claiming that Mabry had practically pillaged the company. The two assailed one another in the press, and filed

libel Defamation is the act of communicating to a third party false statements about a person, place or thing that results in damage to its reputation. It can be spoken (slander) or written (libel). It constitutes a tort or a crime. The legal defini ...

suits and counter libel suits against one another. Finally, on June 13, 1870, Mabry approached Baxter in front of the Lamar House Hotel, stated, "Business is business," and shot Baxter in the wrist. Baxter managed to run away, and for reasons unknown, never pressed charges.

Mabry–O'Connor shootout

In December 1881, Mabry's son, Will, was shot and killed by Constable Don Lusby during a barroom brawl at Snodderly's bar on Gay Street. Lusby was arrested for murder, but acquitted of the charge in April 1882, leaving the Mabry family outraged. For several weeks, Mabry and Lusby exchanged threats. In August 1882, a chaotic brawl erupted at the Knox County Courthouse involving Mabry, his son Joseph Mabry III, Lusby, Lusby's father, and several others. During the fracas, Lusby and his father were shot and killed. Mabry and his son were charged with the murder of the Lusbys, but were acquitted. In 1880, Mabry sold a parcel of land to Mechanics' National Bank president Thomas O'Connor under the stipulation that O'Connor give the land to Mabry's son, Will. After Will's death, the land became O'Connor's, leading Mabry to suspect that O'Connor had somehow arranged for Will to be murdered. On October 17, 1882, a visibly intoxicated Mabry confronted O'Connor at the Fair Grounds in

South Knoxville South Knoxville is the section of Knoxville, Tennessee, United States, that lies south of the Tennessee River. It is concentrated along Chapman Highway (US 441), Alcoa Highway (US 129), Maryville Pike ( SR 33), Sevierville Pike, and adjacent roads ...

, but O'Connor backed off, saying it was neither the time nor place to settle their dispute. That evening, Mabry sent O'Connor a message, stating he would "kill him on sight." On the morning of October 19, 1882, O'Connor stepped outside the Mechanics' Bank and spotted Mabry walking down Gay Street. O'Connor quickly grabbed a

double-barreled shotgun A double-barreled shotgun is a break-action shotgun with two parallel barrels, allowing two single shots to be fired in quick succession or simultaneously. Construction Modern double-barreled shotguns, often known as ''doubles'', are almost u ...

, and emptied both barrells into Mabry, killing him instantly. Hearing the commotion, Joseph Mabry III, hurried toward the bank, and upon seeing his father's body, drew a pistol and shot O'Connor. As O'Connor fell mortally wounded, he managed to fire one final shot, killing the younger Mabry. Along with these three deaths, seven bystanders were wounded by stray

shot Shot may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Shot'' (album), by The Jesus Lizard *''Shot, Illusion, New God'', an EP by Gruntruck *''Shot Rev 2.0'', a video album by The Sisters of Mercy * "Shot" (song), by The Rasmus * ''Shot'' (2017 fi ...

from O'Connor's gun. Mabry family

Legacy

Mabry and his son, the latter representing the third consecutive generation of the family killed in a gunfight, were buried next to Will Mabry in

Old Gray Cemetery Old Gray Cemetery is the second-oldest cemetery in Knoxville, Tennessee, United States. Established in 1850, the cemetery contains the graves of some of Knoxville's most influential citizens, ranging from politicians and soldiers, to artists an ...

after a funeral at the Mabry-Hazen House on October 20, 1882. O'Connor was buried in the same cemetery the following day. Chapter 40 of Mark Twain's 1883 book, '' Life on the Mississippi'', references an account of the Mabry-O'Connor shootout. Mabry's granddaughter, Evelyn Hazen, eventually inherited the Mabry-Hazen House, and lived there until her death in 1987. The house has since been transformed into a

historic house museum A historic house museum is a house of historic significance that has been transformed into a museum. Historic furnishings may be displayed in a way that reflects their original placement and usage in a home. Historic house museums are held to a ...

. During the 1960s, Mabry's descendants sued the City of Knoxville over the demolition of the Market House on Market Square, which the city replaced with the Market Mall. The family argued this action violated the 1853 Mabry-Swan deed, which stipulated the land must be used for a Market House for farmers, or its ownership would revert to Mabry and Swan, or their heirs.

References

External links

*
The Mabry-Hazen House Museum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mabry, Joseph Alexander Jr. 1826 births 1882 deaths 19th-century American businesspeople People from Knoxville, Tennessee Businesspeople from Tennessee American slave owners