William Matt Brown (September 15, 1815 – September 12, 1885) was an American Whig politician.Friends of Metropolitan Archives of Nashville and Davidson County, TN
/ref>Nashville Public Library: Mayors of Nashville, Tennessee
/ref> He served as the mayor of

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

, from 1865 to 1867.

Biography

Early life

He was born on September 15, 1815, in

Franklin County, Kentucky Franklin County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 51,541, making it the second-least populous capital county in the United States after Hughes County, South Dakota. Its county seat ...

Career

He served as mayor of Nashville from 1865 to 1867. He believed the 1867 election was fraudulent, and was forced from the courthouse by armed federal soldiers, declaring "I want it understood, gentlemen, that I yield to the bayonet and that alone."

Personal life

He married Mary Jane Morton in 1844. They had eight children, four of whom died infancy. Their four surviving children were William Matt Jr., Mrs. Carrie Rather, Mary Ellis Brown and Jeannie Brown. He died on September 12, 1885, at his house on South Summer Street in Nashville.

References

1815 births 1885 deaths 19th-century mayors of places in Tennessee People from Franklin County, Kentucky Mayors of Nashville, Tennessee Tennessee Whigs {{Tennessee-politician-stub