Hugh Comer
Hugh Moss Comer (1842 – February 26, 1900) was an American businessman. He was a president of the Central of Georgia Railway and co-founder of Bibb Manufacturing Company, in addition to having several directorships and self-owned companies.
Hugh Comer | |
|---|---|
 The Comer House in Savannah, Georgia | |
| Born | Hugh Moss Comer 1842 Spring Hill, Alabama, U.S. |
| Died | February 26, 1900 (aged 58) Savannah, Georgia, U.S. |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Businessman |
| Known for | Presidency of the Central of Georgia Railway |
| Spouse(s) | Mary E. Bates (m. circa 1868–1875; her death) Lilla Hall (m. circa 1800–1900; his death) |
| Relatives | B. B. Comer (brother) J. W. Comer (brother) |
One of his former residences, located at 2 East Taylor Street, in Monterey Square in Savannah, Georgia,[1] is known as the Comer House today. It was built in 1880. Jefferson Davis, president of the Confederacy, was a guest at the house in 1886.[2][3]
Early life
Comer was born in 1842 to John Fletcher Comer (1811–1858) and Catharine Lucinda Drewry (d. 1898). He had five brothers: John Wallace Comer (1845–1919), St. George Legare Comer (1847–1870), U.S. senator and Alabama governor Braxton Bragg Comer (1848–1919), John Fletcher Comer, Jr. (1854–1927) and Edward Trippe Comer (1856–1927). There was also at least one daughter in the family.[4]
Comer's father was a cotton planter who also owned a lumberyard and a corn mill. He married Catharine Drewry in 1841, but left her a widow with six children when he died in 1858.[4] She was assisted by Laura Beech Comer (1817–1900).[5]
Career
In addition to his presidency of the Central of Georgia Railway, Comer co-founded Bibb Manufacturing Company in Macon, Georgia, was a director of Banking Company of Georgia and president of Savannah Cotton Exchange and Ocean Steamship Company. He was also partner in the fertilizer firm Comer, Hull & Co.[6]
Personal life
Comer married Mary E. Bates in or before 1868, the year they moved to Savannah, Georgia, where he quickly became a prominent businessman.[7] One of their children was Annie Comer, who married Clark Howell five months after her father's death.[1] They also had a son, Hugh M. Comer, Jr.[7]
Mary died in 1875, a couple of weeks after their five-month-old second daughter, Mary Emma, died,[7] and Comer married Lilla Hall, a Connecticut native, around 1880. They had three children: John, Mary and Lilla.[7] Daughter Lilla married Dr. John Kirk Train, a Savannah physician, in 1909.[7]
In 1896, Comer purchased Old Town Plantation from Atlanta businessman James L. Dickey. Comer passed the property to his son, Hugh.[6]
Death
Comer died on February 26, 1900, aged 58, after a long illness.[8] He is interred in Savannah's Bonaventure Cemetery.[9]
References
- "CLARK HOWELL MARRIED.; Wedded to a Daughter of the Late President Comer of the Georgia Central." - New York Times, July 13, 1900
- Comer House: Jefferson Davis - Georgia Historical Society
- Comer House - Historical Marker Database
- Comer Family Papers, 1860-1864 - UNC Libraries
- The Other Beecher: Laura Beecher Comer, Plantation Mistress and Daughter of the Confederacy, 1846 - 1900 - Carol Ann Băchl Dennis, Auburn University (2012)
- An Examination of an Ice House at Old Town Plantation - Elizabeth A. Gillispie, Georgia Southern University (2012)
- "Hugh Moss Comer family papers" - Georgia Historical Society
- Death List of A Day - New York Times, February 27, 1900
- Georgia's Landmarks, Memorials and Legends, Lucian Lamar Knight (The Byrd Printing Company, 1914)
External links
- Hugh Comer at Find a Grave
- Estate of Hugh M. Comer - The Atlanta Constitution, May 26, 1900