Thomas Jeffers
Thomas Jeffers (born July 1838 in Macon, Georgia) was a railroad mechanic and the 6th Mayor of Birmingham, serving from 1878 to 1882. He is best remembered for defeating James Powell in the 1878 mayoral election.
Jeffers attended school in Georgia until he was 14, at which time he apprenticed himself to the Wilmington Machine Company of Wilmington, North Carolina. He was trained as a machinist and engineer and, at the age of 20, went to work for the Wilmington & Manchester Railroad. In 1863 he was assigned to detached service, remaining with with railroad as it transported troops during the Civil War, but also fulfilled other engineering duties on behalf of the Confederate government.
In 1871 Jeffers was appointed master mechanic for the South & North Alabama Railroad shops. In 1878 he entered into a partnership with Jackson & Morris, sawyers and lumber dealers.
In the 1878 election, Jeffers faced off against former Mayor James Powell, one of the owners of the South & North Railroad, who had been summoned out of retirement in Yazoo, Mississippi by Birmingham business interests. During the campaign, Jeffers was able to connect more closely to voters than Powell, the former "Duke of Birmingham", who seemed to carry himself with an imperious attitude.
Jeffers was re-elected in 1880. While Mayor he inaugurated the city's sewer system. He also organized the First Avenue Street Railway Company and the Birmingham Gas Company. After leaving office he served as superintendent of both the gas company and the Birmingham Electric Light Company.
Jeffers was also a partner in Jeffers & Thomas, a lumber yard, planing mill and coalyard on the corner of 1st Avenue North and 17th Street. He resided on the south side of 4th Avenue North, one house east of 18th Street.
In March 1885 Jeffers was elected vice president of the Birmingham Gun Club.
| Preceded by: Henry Caldwell |
Mayor of Birmingham 1878-1882 |
Succeeded by: A. O. Lane |
References
- Dubose, John Witherspoon (1887) Jefferson County and Birmingham, Alabama: Historical and Biographical Birmingham: Teeple & Smith, Publishers; Caldwell Printing Works.