Draft:Paddy Meagher

Paddy's Hens and Chicks - islands on the Mississippi

Andrew Jackson allegedly caned a man who suggested that he was the father of a girl called Sally Meagher who lived near the Third Chickasaw Bluff (now Memphis) and what is now called President's Island; "the account published of this caning by his enemies, some fifteen years later, was very prejudicial to Jackson. It was even stated that several of his friends stood by with cocked pistols, threatening to kill the fellow if he moved. The General gave some grounds for this charge by his excessive fondness for Sally, and the common opinion was that he would either adopt her or do something handsome for her."{{Cite web |last=Davis |first=James D. |date=1873 |title=History of Memphis : The history of the city of Memphis, being a compilation of the most important documents and historical events connected with the purchase ... |url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uva.x000086596&seq=144&q1=Benton |access-date=2025-01-11 |website=HathiTrust |pages=125–130 |language=en}} Paddy Meagher was some kind of vassal to Jackson, although no one entirely understood the arrangement. As for Sally, "Jackson once thrashed a fellow for talking about Sally. Sally was short and thick, and had red hair and a ready wit, all of which she inherited from Paddy. She had talented legs as well as a talented tongue, and could outdance the rest of the young women of the neighborhood. She drew custom to Paddy's bar, where a free and easy manner reigned."{{Cite news |date=1914-10-11 |title=Old Bell Tavern Pays Debt to Time |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-commercial-appeal-old-bell-tavern-pa/162765842/ |access-date=2025-01-11 |work=The Commercial Appeal |pages=7}} In 1822, either the first or second property deed ever registered in Memphis (a town that began as a land speculation of Jackson, John Overton, and James Winchester) was lot 43, recorded in the name of Sally Meagher.{{Cite news |date=1932-05-02 |title=Buying Property Here In 1820 Was No Profitable Job |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-commercial-appeal-buying-property-he/162765358/ |access-date=2025-01-11 |work=The Commercial Appeal |pages=7}} Both Paddy Meagher and Sally Meagher eventually died of alcohol dependence-related illnesses.

In 1827, Meagher placed a runway slave ad in the Memphis Advocate seeking the return of an enslaved 16-year-old named Crese whose "nose was inclined to Roman" and who was "extremely forward and pert when spoken to."{{sfnp|Carey|2018|p=58}}