Thomas H. Malone (1834-1906) was an American

Confederate Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...

veteran, judge, businessman and academic administrator. He served as the President of the Nashville Gas Company from 1893 to 1906. He served as the second Dean of the

Vanderbilt University Law School Vanderbilt University Law School (also known as Vanderbilt Law School or VLS) is a graduate school of Vanderbilt University. Established in 1874, it is one of the oldest law schools in the southern United States. Vanderbilt Law School has consiste ...

from 1875 to 1904.

Early life

Thomas H. Malone was born in 1834 in

Limestone County, Alabama Limestone County is a county of the U.S. state of Alabama. As of the 2020 census, the county's population was 103,570. Its county seat is Athens. The county is named after Limestone Creek. Limestone County is included in the Huntsville, AL Metro ...

. His father, James C. Malone, was a large planter. Malone graduated from the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...

in 1855. He clerked with Houston & Brown, a law firm in Nashville, and he was admitted to the state bar in 1859.

Career

Malone started his legal career with Houston, Vaughn & Malone in the early 1860s At the outset of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

, he served as lieutenant in the

Rock City Guards The Rock City Guards were a militia battalion raised in Nashville, Tennessee in 1860 in anticipation of the American Civil War. 327 men joined the organization; among them were George Maney, who served as captain; lawyer Thomas H. Malone, who ser ...

, a Nashville militia. He subsequently served in the

Confederate States 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 ...

, first under General

Dabney H. Maury Dabney Herndon Maury (May 21, 1822 – January 11, 1900) was an officer in the United States Army, instructor at West Point, author of military training books, and a major general in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. E ...

and then under General

Joseph Wheeler Joseph "Fighting Joe" Wheeler (September 10, 1836 – January 25, 1906) was an American military commander and politician. He was a cavalry general in the Confederate States Army in the 1860s during the American Civil War, and then a general in ...

. He was caught by Union forces in

Shelbyville, Tennessee Shelbyville is a city in and the county seat of Bedford County, Tennessee, United States. The town was laid out in 1810 and incorporated in 1819. Shelbyville had a population of 20,335 residents at the 2010 census. The town is a hub of the Tenness ...

. After the war, Malone co-founded the law firm DeMoss & Malone. He worked for the firm until 1892. He was elected as a judge on the chancery court of the 6th division of Tennessee and later served as its chancellor. Malone served the President of the Nashville Gas Company from 1898 to 1906. Malone served as the second Dean of the

from 1875 to 1904. One of his students was

Jacob M. Dickinson Jacob McGavock Dickinson (January 30, 1851 – December 13, 1928) was United States Secretary of War under President William Howard Taft from 1909 to 1911. He was succeeded by Henry L. Stimson. He was an attorney, politician, and businessman ...

. Malone was a recipient of the Southern Cross of Honor from the Bate Chapter of the

United Daughters of the Confederacy The United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC) is an American neo-Confederate hereditary association for female descendants of Confederate Civil War soldiers engaging in the commemoration of these ancestors, the funding of monuments to them, ...

Personal life

Malone married Ellen Fall in 1866. They had two sons, Thomas H. Malone Jr. and Edward F. Malone, and two daughters, Jane (who married William T. MacGruder) and Julia. After she died in 1897, he married Milbrey Ewing Fall. Malone was a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. He was also a

Knight Templar , colors = White mantle with a red cross , colors_label = Attire , march = , mascot = Two knights riding a single horse , equipment ...

Death and legacy

Malone died in 1906 in Nashville, Tennessee. His funeral was conducted by

Collins Denny Collins Denny (May 28, 1854 – May 12, 1943) was an American clergyman and educator. He was Professor of Mental and Moral Philosophy at Vanderbilt University from 1891 to 1910. He served as bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South from 1 ...

. Malone bequeathed his Honeywood Farm to his widow while his sons received stocks from the Nashville Gas Company. Moreover, one of his sons, Thomas H. Malone Jr., was elected to the Board of Directors of the Nashville Gas Company; he was also Assistant Professor at the

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Malone, Thomas H. 1834 births 1906 deaths People from Limestone County, Alabama People from Nashville, Tennessee University of Virginia alumni Confederate States Army officers American lawyers Businesspeople from Tennessee Vanderbilt University Law School faculty 19th-century American businesspeople