Williamson Hartley Horn (1799-1870) was an American Masonic leader and Whig politician. He served as the Mayor of

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 1853 to 1854.

Early life

Horn was born in

Lynchburg, Virginia Lynchburg is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. First settled in 1757 by ferry owner John Lynch (1740–1820), John Lynch, the city's populati ...

on July 15, 1799.Friends of Metropolitan Archives of Nashville and Davidson County, TN
/ref>
/ref> His father was Frederick Horn and his mother, Clarisa (Hartley) Horn. They moved to Nashville in 1809.

Career

Horn owned W. H. Horn and Son, a painting store at 15 South College Street, currently Third Avenue in Nashville. Horn was elected to the Nashville Board of Aldermen from 1845 to 1846, in 1852, 1856, 1859, and in 1860. He served as Mayor of Nashville from 1853 to 1854.Nashville Public Library: Mayors of Nashville, Tennessee
/ref> During his mayoral term, he introduced a bill that established free public schools in Nashville. Horn was a

freemason Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

. In 1826, he became a Master Mason in the Cumberland Lodge. He was also a Knight Templar, a Knight of Malta, and Grand Treasurer of the Grand Chapter, Council and Commandery.

Personal life and death

Horn married Nancy Carpenter in 1817. They had four sons, Ed. H., Richard H., Fletcher. W., Charles. F., and two daughters, Caroline (Dascum) and Nancy C. Horn (Price). They lived in an apartment on top of his store. He died on March 8, 1870, 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

1799 births 1870 deaths Politicians from Lynchburg, Virginia Mayors of Nashville, Tennessee Tennessee Whigs 19th-century American politicians American Freemasons {{Tennessee-politician-stub