Michael McKinney
Michael McKinney | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | October 18, 1840 Monroe County, Tennessee, U.S. |
| Died | August 9, 1925 (aged 84) Blue Ridge, Georgia, U.S. |
| Resting place | McKinney Cemetery |
| Spouse | Hepsy Adeline McClure |
| Children | 11 |
| Relatives | Carol M. Highsmith (great-granddaughter) |
| Residence | Colonel Michael McKinney House |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  Confederate States of America |
| Branch/service | Confederate States Army |
| Rank | Colonel |
| Commands | Georgia Militia |
| Battles/wars | American Civil War |
Colonel Michael McKinney (October 1, 1840 – August 9, 1925) was an American businessman, militia officer, and founder of Blue Ridge, Georgia. He established the town in 1887 when he developed a railway there.
Biography
[edit]McKinney was born on October 18, 1840 in Monroe County, Tennessee to James Isaac McKinney and Sarah Hawkins McKinney.
During the American Civil War, he served in a command of the Georgia Militia.
On April 2, 1861, he married Hepsy Adeline McClure. They had eleven children.[1]
McKinney was a pioneer railroad man who built the Marietta and North Georgia Railroad,[2] the first railroad ever built in East Tennessee.[1] He later moved to the lumber business.
In 1887, he founded Blue Ridge, Georgia, becoming the towns first citizen.[1][3] He built his home, the Colonel Michael McKinney House, in what is now the city's downtown.[4]
He died on August 9, 1925 in Blue Ridge.[5] A funeral was held at First Baptist Church in Blue Ridge and all stores in the town were closed in mourning.[1] He was buried in the McKinney Cemetery in Fannin County.[3]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d "Obituary for Colonel Mike McKinney (Aged 83)". The Atlanta Constitution. 1925-08-11. p. 4. Retrieved 2025-02-05.
- ^ "Escape to Blue Ridge". www.escapetoblueridge.com. Retrieved 2025-02-05.
- ^ a b Highsmith, Carol M. (2017-01-01), Gravestone in Blue Ridge of Col. Michael McKinney and his wife, Hepsy Adaline McClure McKinney, (identified here as just "A McKinney"), founders of the community in far-northwest Georgia, near the Tennessee line, retrieved 2025-02-05
- ^ Highsmith, Carol M. (2017-01-01), In the mountains of northern Georgia in a settlement called Chestnut Gap, this is the home built for Col. Michael McKinney and his wife, Hepsy Adaline McClure McKinney, founders of the city of Blue Ridge in far-northwest Georgia, near the Tennessee line, retrieved 2025-02-05
- ^ Unknown (September 1937). In Memoriam -- Col. Mike McKinney & Hepsy Adeline McClure.
- 1840 births
- 1925 deaths
- 19th-century American railroad executives
- 20th-century American railroad executives
- American businesspeople in timber
- American colonels
- American railway entrepreneurs
- Baptists from Georgia (U.S. state)
- Businesspeople from Georgia (U.S. state)
- Businesspeople from Tennessee
- Confederate States Army officers
- Georgia (U.S. state) militia
- People from Blue Ridge, Georgia
- People from Monroe County, Tennessee