May 6 1926
Mahlon Haworth was born at Haworth's Bend Farm on the Holston River near New Market, Jefferson County, Tennessee in the year 1840 and died at Maryville, Tennessee on May 1, 1925, lacking five days of being eighty-four years and seven months old.
He was the last of the fifth generation of Haworths in America, descendants of George Haworth who migrated to America with William Penn in 1699.
Mr. Haworth was born on the lands granted to his grandfather, Richard Haworth, by the State of Franklin (before it became the state of Tennessee).
He obtained his educational training in the public school of Jefferson County and in the Friends Academy boarding school of Friendsville, Blout County. While in the academy, he met and afterwards, on November 5, 1861 married Sarah E. Lee. There were born into the Haworth family eight children of whom six are living.
Mr. and Mrs. Haworth began their married life together on the old farm on the Holston River, where Mr. Haworth for many years was farmer, stockman, merchant and postmaster.
(This article left out the move to Friendsville from 1874 - 1879 when they lived across the road from the William Russell family where the oldest son, Wayne Lewis met his future wife, Eva Russell)
In 1884, they moved to New Market in order to educate their children in New Market Academy. While living at New Market, Mr. Haworth still retained and managed his farm but also became Trustee of Jefferson County and was for several years Postmaster at New Market. (In those days, trains were the common means of transportation and it was possible to travel from town to town over the rails).
In 1893, he organized the hardware firm of Haworth, Armstrong and Black in Knoxville, TN. Afterwards, he moved to Maryville, where for more than a quarter of a century he resided continuously until the time of his death, May first.
Mr. Haworth, being of an energetic nature, soon entered actively into the business, religious and political life of Maryville and Blout County. He became General Manager of the Maryville City Mills, which he conducted successfully for a number of years. He also took an active interest in politics, being elected to the fifty- fourth General Assembly as Representative from Blout County. He was also elected Congressional Committeeman of Blout County and then became Postmaster at Maryville under President Roosevelt. (Theodore, that is).
In 1921, Mr. and Mrs. Haworth, as the culmination of a long, eventful and happy married life, celebrated their sixtieth wedding anniversary, surround by their family and neighbors.
Mr. Haworth was a lifelong member of the Society of Friends, tracing his Quaker ancestry for more than two hundred years back to the time of George Fox, the founder of the Society of Friends. For more than a quarter of a century, Mr. Haworth had been a leading Elder in the Maryville Monthly Meeting of Friends and a faithful and consistent attendant upon all the business and religious services, whenever the condition of his health permitted.
Throughout his long career of more than fifty years in his business social and political life, Mahlon Haworth retained the confidence and esteem of the people. He was liked by everyone and toward the close of his life, he was often heard to say that he had so lived that, as far as he knew, he didn’t have an enemy in the world! This sentiment has often been expressed by his numerous friends and acquaintances.
(Another newspaper in town, the Maryville Times, had a short obituary telling that Mahlon Haworth was buried in the Magnolia Cemetery in Maryville. That he had not been in good health for some time and that he was one of the best known men in the county of Blout, a leader in the Friends Church and interested in every progressive move for the up building of the town of Maryville. Listed were his four living sons: Riley Haworth, Rev. Samuel Haworth, Wayne Lewis Haworth and Oliver Haworth and his two daughters, Mrs. Ann McMurray and Mrs. Ida Duren, both of California. Also it is mentioned that his wife, Sarah, died two years ago.)
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