Draft:Paddy Meagher

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Paddy's Hens and Chickens (Islands 42 43 44 45) on 1862 map of the Mississippi River published in Harper's Weekly

Paddy Meagher was a tavern operator of early 19th-century Tennessee.

all the actual factual[1]

camp follower[2]

outlaws[3]

tavern gossip[4]

stage to Memphis by way of Jackson - Joab Bean gunsmith[5]

"paddy meagher killed a bar"[6]

He was the namesake of Paddy's Hens and Chickens, four islands on the Mississippi River.

The Sultana exploded near these islands in 1865.[7]

"Legend says that Andrew Jackson had some conneetion with Fort Pickering, and desired a quiet retreat from his military cares. He bought a small farm on a nearby island, the story goes, and there settled the fam- ily of Paddy Meagher, later proprietor of Bell Tavern in Memphis. In this spot, called first Jackson's, then President's, Island, the General spent his leisure hours. There is no evidence that Jackson had this association with the Memphis post, but, since he was the beloved hero of all Tennessee, traditions of his abode or ownership, often mythical, are as abundant in his home state as the number of beds in New England in which George Washington is said to have slept. The island, and the large mound in De Soto Park, both were named for Jackson by early Memphis land owners, most of whom were his personal friends. He himself had a share in the Rice tract to the north, on which the original town was built, but parted with it by sale and exchange."[8]

Andrew Jackson allegedly caned a man who suggested that he was the father of a girl called Sally Meagher who lived near the Third Chickasaw Bluff (now Memphis) and what is now called President's Island; "the account published of this caning by his enemies, some fifteen years later, was very prejudicial to Jackson. It was even stated that several of his friends stood by with cocked pistols, threatening to kill the fellow if he moved. The General gave some grounds for this charge by his excessive fondness for Sally, and the common opinion was that he would either adopt her or do something handsome for her."[9] Paddy Meagher was some kind of vassal to Jackson, although no one entirely understood the arrangement. As for Sally, "Jackson once thrashed a fellow for talking about Sally. Sally was short and thick, and had red hair and a ready wit, all of which she inherited from Paddy. She had talented legs as well as a talented tongue, and could outdance the rest of the young women of the neighborhood. She drew custom to Paddy's bar, where a free and easy manner reigned."[10] In 1822, either the first or second property deed ever registered in Memphis (a town that began as a land speculation of Jackson, John Overton, and James Winchester) was lot 43, recorded in the name of Sally Meagher.[11] Both Paddy Meagher and Sally Meagher eventually died of alcohol dependence-related illnesses.[11]

In 1827, Meagher placed a runway slave ad in the Memphis Advocate seeking the return of an enslaved 16-year-old named Crese whose "nose was inclined to Roman" and who was "extremely forward and pert when spoken to."[12]

References

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  1. ^ Keating, John M. (1888). History of the city of Memphis Tennessee; with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers. Syracuse, N.Y.: D. Mason & co.
  2. ^ Insurance Institute of America (1910). Proceedings of the ... conference of the Insurance Institute of America. S.l.: s.n.
  3. ^ Coates, Robert M. (1930). The outlaw years; the history of the land pirates of the Natchez trace. New York: Macaulay company.
  4. ^ Miller, William D. (1957). Memphis during the progressive era, 1900-1917. Memphis: Memphis State University Press.
  5. ^ Sioussat, St George L.; Provine, William Alexander; De Witt, John Hibbert (1915). "article". Tennessee historical magazine. Tennessee Historical Society. ISSN 2333-9012.
  6. ^ "Old folks' record". Volume t.p. for 1874/1875 has title:Old folks' historical record: v. 1874.
  7. ^ Neville, Bert (1961). A glance at Old Cahawba, Alabama's early capital. Selma, Ala. p. 43.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  8. ^ Gambill (1941), p. 14.
  9. ^ Davis 1873 pages=125–130
  10. ^ "Old Bell Tavern Pays Debt to Time". The Commercial Appeal. 1914-10-11. p. 7. Retrieved 2025-01-11.
  11. ^ a b "Buying Property Here In 1820 Was No Profitable Job". The Commercial Appeal. 1932-05-02. p. 7. Retrieved 2025-01-11.
  12. ^ Carey (2018), p. 58.

Sources

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