Joseph Carrington Mayo (November 16, 1795 – August 8, 1872) was a Virginia lawyer and politician. He served in the
Virginia House of Delegates
The Virginia House of Delegates is one of the two houses of the Virginia General Assembly, the other being the Senate of Virginia. It has 100 members elected for terms of two years; unlike most states, these elections take place during odd-numbe ...
, as attorney for the City of
Richmond
Richmond most often refers to:
* Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada
* Richmond, California, a city in the United States
* Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England
* Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...
and as the city's mayor (and chief magistrate) from 1852 through the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...
. Mayo surrendered the city to the Union Army on April 3, 1865, and was twice deposed by Union generals during the military occupation and
Congressional Reconstruction
The Reconstruction era was a period in US history that followed the American Civil War (1861-65) and was dominated by the legal, social, and political challenges of the abolition of slavery and reintegration of the former Confederate Sta ...
.
Early and family life
Joseph Mayo was born on November 16, 1795, at Powhatan Seat, a plantation in
Henrico County, Virginia
Henrico County , officially the County of Henrico, is a County (United States), county located in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population wa ...
, about two miles east of what would become downtown Richmond. His background was intertwined with the city and with slavery.
The Mayo family intermarried with established First Families of Virginia - including Poythress, Tabb, Bland, Randolph, Bennett.
Joseph C Mayo's father was Joseph Mayo (1771-1820) and his mother was Jane Poythress (1773-1837). His grandfather was Joseph Mayo (1739- c.1802) m Martha Tabb (1744-1792). His great-grandfather was emigrant William Mayo (1684-1744), the surveyor who struck the dividing line between Virginia and North Carolina and who was featured in Wm Byrd's manuscript on that expedition. William Mayo also laid out the city of Richmond before his death in 1744. Joe Mayo had an elder brother Philip Mayo (1793-1857) and younger brothers Peter Poythress Mayo (1797-1857), Judge Robert Mayo (1807- _) of
Westmoreland County, Virginia
Westmoreland County is a County (United States), county located in the Northern Neck of the Virginia, Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 United States census, the population sits at 18,477. Its county seat is Montross, Virginia, Montross ...
, and John Bland Mayo (1812-1868), as well as sisters Agnes (b. 1831), Elizabeth Mayo (b. 1804-1864), Lucy Ann Mayo and Martha Tabb Mayo.
His paternal great grandfather, the aforementioned William Mayo, helped found the town of Richmond, working with
illiam Byrd(who owned the land and built his own stately mansion). During Henrico County's first personal property census, in 1783 (two years before the birth of the future Mayor Mayo), his grandfather Joseph Mayo owned 37 enslaved persons, compared to the county's largest slaveowner, Peter Randolph (who owned 74 enslaved persons) and about a dozen other wealthy individuals (including the estate of lawyer
Robert Carter Nicholas which owned 41 slaves). His son John Mayo (1769-1818) (this Mayor Joseph Mayo's uncle) built the first bridge across the
James River
The James River is a river in Virginia that begins in the Appalachian Mountains and flows from the confluence of the Cowpasture and Jackson Rivers in Botetourt County U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowli ...
to
Manchester
Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...
(annexed to the City of Richmond, long after Mayor Mayo's demise).
Another Joseph Mayo Esq (1756-1785), a close family member whose parentage has not yet been established, but who was likely descended from William Mayo's (Surveyor) brother Joseph (who emigrated with William from Barbados to Virginia) wrote a will in 1780 in which he attempted to free his slaves (as was illegal at the time, so he asked his executors to seek special legislation after his death to free them), and as an alternative asked his executors to divide them among named relatives. Litigation ensued after his death, which went before the
Virginia Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of Virginia is the highest court in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It primarily hears direct appeals in civil cases from the trial-level city and county circuit courts, as well as the criminal law, family law and administrativ ...
. In November 1791 (two years before young Joe Mayo was born), the judges decided that Mayo's slaves were freed by special legislation and divided the rest of the property among the named heirs (his descendants as well as those of his brother and Paul Carrington).
On March 16, 1819, this Joseph C. Mayo married Marianna Tabb in
Mathews County, Virginia
Mathews County is a county located in the U.S. state of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 8,533. Its county seat is Mathews.
Located on the Middle Peninsula, Mathews County is included in the Virginia Beach-Norfolk- Newpo ...
. Their children included lawyer Abel Upshur Mayo (1821-September 14, 1865), Sarah Emory Mayo (1824–1854), Henrietta Augusta Mayo Cornick (1828–1904), Marianna C. Mayo (1832–1860) and Lottie Mayo (1836–1855).
Career
After admission to the bar, Joseph Mayo for thirty years served as Richmond's city attorney, handling both civil and criminal matters from 1822 until he assumed the mayoralty in 1853. A civic booster, he wrote a city guide in 1820. In 1832, Richmond opened the reservoir and pump house that Mayo had advocated for firefighting purposes.
In 1846, Richmond voters elected Mayo to represent them in the Virginia House of Delegates (a part-time positions). Re-elected several times until his election as Mayor disqualified him from legislative service, Mayo was ultimately replaced by
Thomas P. August, who had represented Richmond in the
Virginia Constitutional Convention of 1850
The Virginia Constitutional Convention of 1850 was an assembly of elected delegates chosen by the voters to write the fundamental law of Virginia. It is known as the Reform Convention because it liberalized Virginia political institutions.
Backgro ...
and would later be elected to the
Virginia Senate
The Senate of Virginia is the upper house of the Virginia General Assembly. The Senate is composed of 40 senators representing an equal number of single-member constituent districts. The Senate is presided over by the lieutenant governor of Virg ...
. In December 1851, Mayo became president of the new Southern Rights Association of Richmond; the association opposed abolitionists, with D.H. London as its original President and W.F. Ritchie as secretary.
Meanwhile, after the new 1851 state constitution broadened suffrage, Richmond's voters elected Joseph Mayo to the city council in 1852. When the city's mayor of more than a decade, General
William Lambert, died on March 23, 1852, the city's recorder
Samuel T. Pulliam became the interim mayor, then voters elected Joseph Mayo as Lambert's successor. Although challenged by bricklayer Martin Meredith Lipscomb, mayor Mayo won re-election easily in 1853, so in the next election Lipscomb instead ran against city sergeant John Milton Fergusson, a fifteen year veteran whom he defeated in 1854. In 1855 and 1856, Mayo ran on a unified
Know Nothing Party
The American Party, known as the Native American Party before 1855 and colloquially referred to as the Know Nothings, or the Know Nothing Party, was an Old Stock nativist political movement in the United States in the 1850s. Members of the m ...
ticket with Lipscomb. In 1853, Mayo spoke at festivities marking the first anniversary of the locomotive shop added to the
Tredegar Iron Works
The Tredegar Iron Works in Richmond, Virginia, was the biggest ironworks in the Confederacy during the American Civil War, and a significant factor in the decision to make Richmond the Confederate capital.
Tredegar supplied about half the art ...
. The Tredegar Iron Works had been founded by
Joseph Reid Anderson (who would represent Richmond in the House of Delegates for several terms). Other speakers included councilman Samuel D. Denoon (who had founded a brass foundry after rising from artisan ranks), Whig A. Judson Crane and New York born
Oliver P. Baldwin (editor of the ''Richmond Republican'' and the state senator representing Richmond in 1855-1856).
Mayor Mayo continued to promote Richmond. He ordered new fire engines after a fire destroyed the Virginia Woolen Mills and Haxall Mills in the summer of 1853, and in 1857 ordered out the Young Guard and artillery to protect a prisoner accused of assaulting a child (the convicted defendant was later sentenced to 20 years' imprisonment). He also led many public meetings, including dedication of the new equestrian statue of General George Washington in Capitol Square in 1858 and greeted the Prince of Wales during the royal visit of 1860.
American Civil War
Mayo remained Richmond's mayor throughout the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...
. On May 29, 1861, Mayor Mayo greeted Confederate President
Jefferson Davis
Jefferson F. Davis (June 3, 1808December 6, 1889) was an American politician who served as the only President of the Confederate States of America, president of the Confederate States from 1861 to 1865. He represented Mississippi in the Unite ...
, and with the City Council arranged to give him a refurbished mansion originally built by Dr. Brockenbrough (and later owned by J.A. Seddon) for use as the
White House of the Confederacy
The Second White House of the Confederacy is a historic house located in the Court End neighborhood of Richmond, Virginia. Built in 1818, it served as the main executive residence of the sole President of the Confederate States of America, Jef ...
. Mayor Mayo chaired a public meeting after the
First Battle of Manassas
The First Battle of Bull Run, called the Battle of First Manassas
. by Peninsular Campaign
The Peninsula campaign (also known as the Peninsular campaign) of the American Civil War was a major Union operation launched in southeastern Virginia from March to July 1862, the first large-scale offensive in the Eastern Theater. The oper ...
in mid-1862. On May 15, 1862, Mayo spoke at a public meeting called by Governor
John Letcher
John Letcher (March 29, 1813January 26, 1884) was an American lawyer, journalist, and politician. He served as a Representative in the United States Congress, was the 34th Governor of Virginia during the American Civil War, and later served in ...
and helped organized the city's defenses, including organizing a Home Guard of all males between 16 and 18 and over 45 years old. Although Union forces retreated after the
Battle of Seven Pines
The Battle of Seven Pines, also known as the Battle of Fair Oaks or Fair Oaks Station, took place on May 31 and June 1, 1862, in Henrico County, Virginia as part of the Peninsula Campaign of the American Civil War.
The Union's Army of the Po ...
, food shortages plagued less wealthy residents of the Confederate capital. On March 13, 1863, a factory on Brown's Island in the James River that manufactured ammunition for Confederate troops exploded and burned down, killing many women and girls, so Mayor Mayo organized donations to assist their families. Weeks later, on April 2, 1863, Mayor Mayo addressed a crowd of women and young boys marching on the Confederate commissary and plundering food from stores. After speeches by President Jefferson Davis, Governor Letcher and bishop McGill also failed to stop the rioters, the Public Guard led by Captain Gay, fired upon and dispersed them.
While Mayo's only son, lawyer Abel U. Mayo, did not serve in the military (possibly because of his age), two of his brother Robert's lawyer sons rose from initial commissions as Majors in the Confederate States Army to full colonels, and also held Virginia government offices after the war. Nephew Joseph Campbell Mayo Jr., a
Virginia Military Institute
The Virginia Military Institute (VMI) is a public senior military college in Lexington, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1839 as America's first state military college and is the oldest public senior military college in the U.S. In k ...
graduate, commanded the
3rd Virginia Infantry, including at the
Battle of Antietam
The Battle of Antietam ( ), also called the Battle of Sharpsburg, particularly in the Southern United States, took place during the American Civil War on September 17, 1862, between Confederate General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virgi ...
(in which he was wounded) and surrendered at
Appomattox Courthouse at the war's end, ultimately becoming
Virginia State Treasurer
The Virginia state treasurer is the head of the Virginia Department of the Treasury. They are the primary manager of the state's multi-billion dollar investment portfolio and oversee the issuance of bonds and management of debt in excess of $15 b ...
in 1872. His brother
Robert Murphy Mayo
Robert Murphy Mayo (April 28, 1836 – March 29, 1896) was a Virginia lawyer, Confederate officer and politician who served in the Virginia House of Delegates and briefly in the United States House of Representatives as a member of the Readj ...
, another VMI graduate, served in the
47th Virginia Infantry before becoming a member of the
Virginia House of Delegates
The Virginia House of Delegates is one of the two houses of the Virginia General Assembly, the other being the Senate of Virginia. It has 100 members elected for terms of two years; unlike most states, these elections take place during odd-numbe ...
and (briefly) the U.S. House of Representatives.
On April Fool's Day, 1865, Mayor Mayo protested when he heard about Confederate General
Robert E. Lee
Robert Edward Lee (January 19, 1807 – October 12, 1870) was a general officers in the Confederate States Army, Confederate general during the American Civil War, who was appointed the General in Chief of the Armies of the Confederate ...
's order of several weeks previous, that evacuating troops should destroy all government-owned cotton, tobacco and military stores in the city. Major Isaac Carrington had reported to General
Richard Ewell even before the defeat at the
Battle of Five Forks
The Battle of Five Forks was fought on April 1, 1865, southwest of Petersburg, Virginia, around the road junction of Five Forks, Dinwiddie County, at the end of the Siege of Petersburg, near the conclusion of the American Civil War.
The Union A ...
that Richmond warehouses contained little cotton but much tobacco. Furthermore, ordinance officer Josiah Gorgas had suggested ruining the tobacco by pouring turpentine over it, which would not endanger surrounding buildings if it were burned. The following day, President Jefferson Davis invited Mayor Mayo and Virginia's Governor
William "Extra Billy" Smith
William "Extra Billy" Smith (September 6, 1797May 18, 1887) was a lawyer, congressman, the 30th and 35th Governor of Virginia, and a major general in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. On his appointment in January 186 ...
to attend a cabinet meeting before the Confederate officeholders left by rail for
Danville, Virginia
Danville is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Virginia, Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The city is located in the Southside (Virginia), Southside Virginia region and on the fall line of the Dan River ( ...
. Thus, Mayo heard orders to pack up remaining vital Confederate archives and to prepare for evacuation. Mayor Mayo also called a city council meeting that afternoon, where members agreed that to destroy liquor in the city, lest drunken residents sack Richmond as the troops left. The meeting also ordered the city's gas works shut down as a fire precaution.
After the Confederate government left Richmond on April 2, 1865, the departing troops burned the tobacco storehouses as Mayor Mayo and city council president
David J. Saunders had feared. The resulting conflagration destroyed much of the city. Early the following morning, Mayo rode his carriage eastward out of the city, seeking a Union officer to whom to surrender Richmond, as well as plead for assistance in suppressing the fire. His carriage passed the last Confederate unit evacuating Richmond, led by Gen.
Martin Gary of South Carolina, who passed westward and would cross the burning Mayo bridge before it collapsed into the James River. Near the intersection of the Osborne Turnpike and New Market Road, At
Tree Hill Farm about two miles from the city center and three miles from the Virginia Capitol building, Mayor Mayo encountered Union Major Atherton Stevens and his 40 men of the 4th Massachusetts Cavalry. The mayor handed over a surrender note (written by another but signed with Mayo's characteristic flourish). After receiving assurances that the Union army would protect people and property, Mayor Mayo accompanied the mounted troops into his city. When they reached the city hall, Major Stevens dictated orders to protect inhabitants and property. About an hour later, Stevens' commanding officer, Gen.
Godfrey Weitzel
Godfrey (Gottfried) Weitzel (November 1, 1835 – March 19, 1884) was a German-American major general in the Union army during the American Civil War. He was the acting Mayor of New Orleans during the Union occupation of the city and also captur ...
, rode with his staff on the same turnpike into Richmond, and Mayor Mayo repeated the symbolic surrender. Gen. Weitzel then filled out a military telegraph form for his commander, General
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was the 18th president of the United States, serving from 1869 to 1877. In 1865, as Commanding General of the United States Army, commanding general, Grant led the Uni ...
, disclosing the city's surrender at 8:15 a.m., the fires, and the enthusiastic reception his troops received.
After President Lincoln's assassination (which happened on the same day Confederate General Robert E. Lee returned to Richmond to great acclaim), General Grant ordered Mayor Mayo arrested, along with any city councilor who had likewise not yet taken the oath of allegiance. However, when the Union-sympathizing Virginia Governor,
Francis Pierpont
Francis Harrison Pierpont (January 25, 1814March 24, 1899), called the "Father of West Virginia," was an American lawyer and politician who achieved prominence during the American Civil War. During the conflict's first two years, Pierpont served ...
, arrived in Richmond on May 26, he allowed Mayo to resume office. Thus, on June 7, the Mayor's court reopened for the first time since April 1. It was then suspended again on June 13 until after the election, while the Virginia General Assembly met to reorganize the city government and remove certain constitutional restrictions.
When
Congressional Reconstruction
The Reconstruction era was a period in US history that followed the American Civil War (1861-65) and was dominated by the legal, social, and political challenges of the abolition of slavery and reintegration of the former Confederate Sta ...
began, Virginia's military administrator, Gen.
John Turner
John Napier Wyndham Turner (June 7, 1929September 19, 2020) was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 17th prime minister of Canada from June to September 1984. He served as leader of the Liberal Party and leader of the Opposit ...
, hearing complaints about vigilantes rounding up blacks and charging them as vagrants in the Mayor's court, where Mayor Mayo threatened to return them to slavery, instructed his subordinates not to obey directions from Mayor Mayo or other city officials. Governor Pierpont formally removed Mayor Mayo from office, then on July 3, 1865, appointed city council president
David J. Saunders Richmond's Mayor to replace him. However, when municipal elections were held on April 6, 1866, voters attempted to return Mayo to office. The military governor (now
John Schofield
John McAllister Schofield (; September 29, 1831 – March 4, 1906) was an American soldier who held major commands during the American Civil War. He was appointed U.S. Secretary of War (1868–1869) under President Andrew Johnson and later serve ...
) again removed Mayo from office on May 4, this time appointing New York-born
George Chahoon
George Chamberlin Chahoon (February 2, 1840 – July 29, 1934) was an American politician from Virginia and New York. He was Mayor of Richmond, Virginia, from 1868 to 1870, and a Republican member of the New York State Senate from 1896 to 1900 ...
Richmond's Mayor on May 6, 1866. Mayo continued his political activities nonetheless. On June 1, 1867, he chaired the committee which the city council had formed to greet President Andrew Johnson.
By this time Mayo was visibly ill, as well as depressed because of his son's death in September 1865 and the loss of his family's slave property and plantation. He did not run to regain his office after
Congressional Reconstruction
The Reconstruction era was a period in US history that followed the American Civil War (1861-65) and was dominated by the legal, social, and political challenges of the abolition of slavery and reintegration of the former Confederate Sta ...
ended in 1870.
Death and legacy
In his final years, Mayo suffered "softening of the brain" (
dementia
Dementia is a syndrome associated with many neurodegenerative diseases, characterized by a general decline in cognitive abilities that affects a person's ability to perform activities of daily living, everyday activities. This typically invo ...
), and was placed in an asylum. The Mayo family lost control of their Powhatan Seat plantation in 1866, and the structure was demolished in the 20th century. Joseph Carrington Mayo died in Richmond in 1872, and was buried at
Shockoe Hill Cemetery
The Shockoe Hill Cemetery is a historic cemetery located on Shockoe Hill in Richmond, Virginia.
History
Shockoe Hill Cemetery, as it is presently called, was established in 1820, with the initial burial made in 1822. It was earlier known as th ...
.
Ironically, his nephew, Peter C. Mayo, built the first factory to manufacture cigarettes in Richmond in that same year 1872, and another nephew Joseph C. Mayo Jr. became Virginia's Treasurer.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mayo, Joseph Carrington
1795 births
1872 deaths
Virginia lawyers
People of Virginia in the American Civil War
People from Henrico County, Virginia
Mayors of Richmond, Virginia
Members of the Virginia House of Delegates
19th-century American lawyers
19th-century members of the Virginia General Assembly
Southern Historical Society members