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The
Mayors
of
Memphis
... From 1827
to the Present |
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In
1819, James Winchester, Andrew Jackson, and John Overton founded a
city on the fourth Chickasaw bluff. At that time this
settlement was four blocks wide with a population of fifty and
Winchester named the settlement "Memphis". A charter was
drawn up, creating the office of Mayor and a board of aldermen.
The aldermen would be elected by all the people in town, and the
mayor would be elected by the board of aldermen. The first
Mayor was Marcus Winchester, son of James. |
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Once
the mayor had been chosen the issue was how to pay for
the newly installed government. So taxes were assessed on
property owners. The peddlers, tavern keepers, doctors
and lawyers paid a business levy. In addition each free
male and slave were levied a 25 cent tax for residing in
Memphis. Since that time, Memphis has maintained various
mayor-council forms of government. Today there are 13
seats on the council with seven positions being elected from
single-member districts, and two districts electing three
representatives each. The mayor is elected by the entire
voting population. All of the Memphis Mayors from 1827
to the Present are covered below . |
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Click on small photos to
see larger images |
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Marcus B. Winchester
1827 - 1829 |
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Marcus Winchester, son of founder James
Winchester, had made the Chickasaw bluffs
settlement his home. He had served as a real
estate agent and opened the first store in the town.
He was also one of the first five members of the
Quarterly Court and was elected Register in 1820.
When the city was incorporated in 1826, he was elected
the first Mayor. He also operated a ferry and
served as postmaster until 1849. Around
1823, Winchester married Mary, whom most historians
agree was a "woman of color" and his career did
decline. His grave is "somewhere" in
the area of Winchester Park, which originally was the
Winchester Cemetery. |
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Isaac Rawlings
1829- 1831 |
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Isaac Rawlings was a pioneer settler and the 2nd
Mayor. After the incorporation of Memphis
he remained a populist leader, being elected
Mayor twice. He became a great student of
law and was honored with the title of "Squire
Rawlings." He always considered
Memphis a "rowdy, river town" and insisted that he not
be buried in Memphis. His grave is in the nearby
old Raleigh Cemetery. |
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Seth Wheatley
1831- 1832 |
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Seth
Wheatley was a lawyer with ability who stood up for the
"poor man". During his administration Memphis became
the object of fierce contention between the states of
Mississippi, Arkansas, and the Chickasaw Indians.
All three claimed the city was built on part of their
land. A re-survey settled the dispute. After
his stint as mayor, Wheatley became President of the
Farmers and Merchants Bank of Memphis. |
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Robert Lawrence
1832- 1833 |
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From the
beginning of his term, the voters of Memphis made it clear
they wanted a stronger
leadership than Lawrence provided.
Shortly after his election, a census was taken that
revealed that the population of Memphis had increased to
906. So the town limits were expanded to bring in
more tax. |
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Isaac Rawlings
1833- 1836 |
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Isaac Rawlings was a pioneer settler and the 2nd
Mayor. After the in corporation of Memphis
he remained a populist leader, being elected
Mayor twice. He became a great student of
law and was honored with the title of "Squire
Rawlings." He always considered
Memphis a "rowdy, river town" and insisted that he not
be buried in Memphis. His grave is in the nearby
old Raleigh Cemetery. |
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Enoch Banks
1836- 1837 |
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During the
administration of Enoch Banks, Memphis purchased a fire
engine as an expanded town service. And a
board of health was appointed to report all causes of
disease, and the printing of death notices was begun. |
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John H. Morgan
1837 - 1838 |
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John H.
Morgan also attempted to improve conditions in Memphis.
The board of aldermen passed an ordinance requiring the
operators of dray wagons to obtain a license for ten
dollars per year, and if a driver was found "...guilty of
staling of of having received stolen goods, he shall
forfeit license and be thereafter prohibited from driving
a cart, dray, or wagon within corporate limits." A
few months later the aldermen passed a more stringent law
that imposed "a penalty on persons shooting, whooping,
gambling or swearing within the limits of the town."
Fines ranged from five dollars for swearing to ten dollars
for discharging a firearm and fifty dollars for gambling. |
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Enoch Banks
1838 - 1839 |
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2nd
Term, Enoch Banks : See above ... |
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Thomas Dixon
1839 - 1841 |
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Mayor
Thomas Dixon expanded the anti-crime measures implemented
by Mayor Morgan. He realized the constable
couldn't patrol the town 24 hours a day, so the board of
aldermen hired two night watchmen to patrol the town's
streets from 10- PM to daylight. Dixon and the
aldermen also passed an ordinance requiring dog owners to
buy a license and place an identification collar around
the dog's neck. If a dog was found without a collar,
it would be shot by the town;s constable. During this
administration a larger fire engine was purchased.
In spite of Dixon's accomplishments in fighting crime and
expanding city services he was defeated for reelection by
William Sickernagle in the next election. |
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William Spickernagle
1841 - 1842 |
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Prior to
this time, the office of Mayor had few powers and didn't
even pay a salary. This now changed under
Sickernagle's tenure, when a salary of $500 per year was
provided. And he addressed another major concern:
Flatboat operators had refused to pay city fees when they
docked at the city-operated wharf. This severely
restricted the ability of government to provide services.
Sickernagle hired Dick Davis as Wharf Master, offering him
25% of his collections and promised to stand by him.
Soon wharfage fees filled the city's treasury. |
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Edwin Hickman
1842 - 1845 |
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Edwin
Hickman defeated Sickernagle in the next election.
The rage of the flatboat operators over paying a tax
turned bitter in 1842. 500 Flatboats were docked at
the wharf. One owner brandished a spiked club and
threatened to "comb the wharf master's head" with his
club. He continued the same threats when the
wharf master showed up. The gathering crowd of seamen now
boosted his moral. The militia came out ... and this
event ended after the boat owner went to sea and
continued to taunt the militia. They fired upon his
boat, killing him. This decisive action by Hickman
and the Wharf Master broke the power of the flatboat
men and secured this important revenue for the city's
treasury. |
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Jesse J. Finley
1845 - 1846 |
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Jesse J.
Finley was born near Lebanon, Tennessee and pursued an
academic course. He studied law and was admitted to
the bar in 1838. In 1842, he moved to Memphis and
continued the practice of law. He served as mayor of
Memphis in 1845. In 1846 he moved to Florida where
he remained the rest of his life. |
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Edwin Hickman
1846 - 1847 |
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3rd Term.
See Above ... |
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Enoch Banks
1847 - 1848 |
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3rd Term:
Memphis and South Memphis merged adding significantly to
the revenue in the Treasury. |
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Gardner E. Locke
1848 - 1849 |
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Gardner E.
Locke tied for votes with his opponent forcing the Board
of Aldermen to choose. After two ballots they chose
Gardner. In a short time he convinced the alderman
to pass a big ordinance establishing free public schools
in Memphis. Two new schools opened shortly.
Opposition arose over the funding of public schools and
called for discontinuance of free education, but it was
quickly rejected. Locke introduced a new
ordinance guaranteeing that "all white children between
the ages of six and 16 had the opportunity to attend a
free public school." Opposition to this bill caused a
big divide in the next election and Locke was defeated. |
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Edwin Hickman
1849 - 1852 |
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3rd Term:
When Hickman resumed his Mayoral duties he remained a
dedicated foe of crime as one would expect of the executive who
had crushed the flatboat insurrection. During his
3rd
Term, ordinances were passed making gambling, illegal, as
well as organized
prostitution, animal cruelty. All
businesses were now required to close on Sundays. |
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A. B. Taylor
1852 - 1855 |
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South
Memphis had been added to the growing boundaries of
Memphis and these
additional voters shifted the political balance to elect
A. B. Taylor as mayor. He served until 1855.
Taylor established a city high school, constructed a new
jail, and improved local transportation by having wooden
planks laid on the surface of Adams and Madison.
An ordinance was also passed authorizing the city hospital
to treat destitute Memphians who couldn't afford medical
treatment. He was also one of the founders of
Elmwood Cemetery. |
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