Henry Irby
Biography
The son of a harness maker, Irby was born in York County, South Carolina, on January 26, 1807. In 1833, he married Sardis Walraven, with whom he had two sons. He later moved to Georgia for unknown reasons.{{Cite news |url=https://www.mdjonline.com/neighbor_newspapers/northside_sandy_springs/man-credited-w-founding-buckhead-making-comeback/article_3ee568f8-90ff-11e8-9c79-27208a30af4b.html |title=Man credited w/ founding Buckhead making comeback |last=Kennedy |first=Thornton |date=2018-07-26 |work=Marietta Daily Journal |access-date=2019-10-31 |language=en}} On December 18, 1838, Daniel Johnson sold Irby 202.5 acres of land (known as Land Lot No. 99) in what later became Buckhead for $650. Soon after this purchase, Irby established what became known as Irby's Tavern, a combination of a tavern and a grocery store.{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UXSjh5f3EUsC&pg=PA160 |title=Atlanta and Environs: A Chronicle of Its People and Events: Vol. 1: 1820s-1870s |last=Garrett |first=Franklin M. |date=2011 |publisher=University of Georgia Press |isbn=9780820339030 |pages=160 |language=en}} The previously sparsely-populated area around the tavern became known as Irbyville.{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PJxWCiqiOVcC&pg=PA15 |title=Buckhead: Atlanta's First Address |last=Hickel |first=Jan |last2=Botha |first2=Candace T. |date=2003 |publisher=Indigo Custom Publishing |isbn=9780972595100 |pages=15 |language=en}} Irby remained the owner of Buckhead until his death on February 20, 1879.{{Cite web |url=https://www.buckhead.com/history/ |title=The History of Buckhead: What Makes it Great |website=Buckhead |language=en-US |access-date=2019-10-31}} Irby Avenue in Buckhead is named after him, as is the apartment complex "The Irby" located on that street, which was under construction but nearing completion as of February 2019.{{Cite web |url=https://atlanta.curbed.com/2019/2/22/18236119/buckhead-irby-apartment-tower-alliance-residential |title=Named for Buckhead's founder, 'The Irby' is on the rise in retail hot zone |last=Keenan |first=Sean |date=2019-02-22 |website=Curbed Atlanta |language=en |access-date=2019-10-31}}
=Origin of the name Buckhead=
Irby is credited with inadvertently giving Buckhead its name when he prominently displayed the head of a buck that had been shot near his tavern.{{Cite web |url=https://www.atlantamagazine.com/great-reads/will-this-ever-actually-happen/ |title=Will This Ever Actually Happen? |last=Lake |first=Thomas |date=2010-05-01 |website=Atlanta Magazine |language=en-US |access-date=2019-10-31}} Several details of this story are uncertain. For example, it is unclear who exactly shot the deer, though it may have been Irby himself, his neighbor John Whitley,{{Cite news |url=https://www.mdjonline.com/neighbor_newspapers/northside_sandy_springs/opinion/gun-that-likely-killed-the-buck-should-be-protected/article_656ddc7e-8881-11e9-9157-a79a005b2ef5.html |title=Gun that likely killed the buck should be protected |last=Kennedy |first=Thornton |date=2019-06-12 |work=Marietta Daily Journal |access-date=2019-10-31 |language=en}}{{Cite news |url=https://www.reporternewspapers.net/2009/12/11/whodunit-john-whitley-kill-famous-buck-2/ |title=Whodunit: Did John Whitley kill the famous buck? |last=Mitchell |first=W. Wright |date=2009-12-11 |work=Reporter Newspapers |access-date=2019-10-31 |language=en-US}} or an anonymous Native American. It is also uncertain whether the buck's head was mounted on a yard post or over the door of the tavern.{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LlVLzcsrnnYC&pg=PA15 |title=Buckhead |last=Barnard |first=Susan Kessler |date=2009 |publisher=Arcadia Publishing |isbn=9780738567549 |pages=15 |language=en}} The year of this occurrence is also uncertain, but it was soon after Irby first purchased the area, around 1838 or early 1840.
References
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Category:People from York County, South Carolina
Category:American city founders
Category:Businesspeople from Georgia (U.S. state)
Category:Businesspeople from South Carolina
Category:19th-century American businesspeople
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