Joseph Alexander Mabry

Joseph Alexander Mabry
Joseph Alexander Mabry
Member of the Tennessee House of Representatives; from the Knox County district
	In office; 1835–1837
Personal details
Born	March 19, 1796; Westmoreland County, Virginia, U.S.
Died	April 19, 1837 (aged 41); Tuscaloosa, Alabama, U.S.
Cause of death	Stabbing
Spouse	Alice
Children	5, including Joseph
Occupation	Politician; farmer; militiaman;

Joseph Alexander Mabry (March 19, 1796 – April 19, 1837) was an American politician from Tennessee. He served two terms in the Tennessee House of Representatives.

Early life

Joseph Alexander Mabry was born on March 19, 1796, in Westmoreland County, Virginia. One of his ancestors was Robert de Mowbray. At a young age, he moved with his family to Tennessee and settled in Knox County, Tennessee.^[1]^[2]

Career

Mabry served in the 1834 Tennessee constitutional convention.^[1]^[3] He served two terms in the Tennessee House of Representatives, representing Knox County, from 1835 to 1837.^[1]^[2]^[4]

Mabry was a farmer and trader.^[1] He had a farm west of Knoxville.^[2] He was brigadier general of the Tennessee state militia.^[3]

Personal life

Mabry married Alice and had five children, including Joseph Alexander Mabry II. His son Joseph was also a farmer and politician.^[1]^[2] His son and two grandsons Willie and Joseph Alexander Mabry III also died violent deaths.^[2]

Death

On March 31, 1837, Mabry fired a pistol at Dr. William A. Leland in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. He was subsequently stabbed multiple times by Leland with a Bowie knife.^[4]^[5]^[2] He died weeks later on April 19 in Tuscaloosa.^[4]

References

1 2 3 4 5 History of Tennessee. The Goodspeed Publishing Company. 1887. p. 1001. Retrieved January 25, 2026 – via Archive.org.
1 2 3 4 5 6 Monkkonen, Eric H., ed. (1992). Crime & Justice in American History: The South, Part 2. pp. 436–437. Retrieved January 25, 2026 – via Archive.org.
1 2 The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography. Vol. XI. James T. White & Company. 1909. p. 563. Retrieved January 25, 2026 – via Archive.org.
1 2 3 "Melancholy Occurrence". Nashville Republican. April 8, 1837. p. 3. Retrieved January 25, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
↑ "Rencoutre". Tuscumbia. April 14, 1837. p. 2. Retrieved January 25, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.

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[tn-1] 1 2 3 4 5 History of Tennessee. The Goodspeed Publishing Company. 1887. p. 1001. Retrieved January 25, 2026 – via Archive.org.

[south-2] 1 2 3 4 5 6 Monkkonen, Eric H., ed. (1992). Crime & Justice in American History: The South, Part 2. pp. 436–437. Retrieved January 25, 2026 – via Archive.org.

[bio-3] 1 2 The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography. Vol. XI. James T. White & Company. 1909. p. 563. Retrieved January 25, 2026 – via Archive.org.

[obit-4] 1 2 3 "Melancholy Occurrence". Nashville Republican. April 8, 1837. p. 3. Retrieved January 25, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.

[5] "Rencoutre". Tuscumbia. April 14, 1837. p. 2. Retrieved January 25, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.

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