- I.O. McDaniel
Ira Oliver McDaniel (
January 19 ,1807 –August 28 ,1887 ) was a cotton merchant, farmer and newspaper man in earlyAtlanta, Georgia .In the 1830s he lived in
Monroe, Georgia with his wife Rebecca Walker (November 10, 1819 – April 19, 1854) where their son,Henry McDaniel , a future Governor of Georgia was born. [ [http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-2806 New Georgia Encyclopedia: Henry McDaniel (1836-1926) ] ] There he was one of the first professors at the new Mercer Institute.The family moved to Atlanta in 1847 and two years later he co-founded its first successful daily newspaper, the
Daily Intelligencer .In 1849, he did critical research to resolve the ownership claims on the central land lot 77, part of which had been donated to serve as the first rail depot and park in the town. [Garrett, Vol I, p.281-282] . In 1852 he was elected to the city council where he served with mayorThomas Gibbs . [Garrett, Vol I, p.342] . That same year he was one of the incorporators of theAtlanta Bank which was founded on a stock of $300,000. [Garrett, Vol I, P.346] OnJanuary 15 ,1855 , he ran for mayor as aKnow Nothing Party candidate but was defeated byAllison Nelson who ran as a Democrat and days later the Know Nothing faction unsuccessfully contested the election. [Garrett, Vol I, p.387] In 1857, he represented the Fifth Ward in city council with Dr. James Alexander. [Garrett, Vol I, p.425]He is buried with his wife and parents at Oakland Cemetery. McDaniel Street which connects the
Castleberry Hill and the Mechanicsville neighborhoods in Atlanta is named for him. [ [http://www.mcdaniel-tichenor.org/aboutmt.htm Welcome to the McDaniel Tichenor House Website - A HISTORICAL Treasure! ] ]References
* Garrett, Franklin, "Atlanta and Its Environs", 1954, University of Georgia Press.
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