Mabry Family

William Clifton Mabry
Aug. 28, 1877-April 3, 1950

First board chairman at East Central Community College, Newton County superintendent of education, sheriff, senator, newspaper publisher, and postmaster.

L-Click the link below for Kent Prince’s 33 Page
Mabry Family History
By Kent Prince, His Grandson, Revised September 2019
(Requires Adobe Reader)

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
 

From The Newton Record, 
Anniversary Edition,
Volume 50, Number 2,
Thursday, 6 December 1951.

    William Clifton Mabry was born August 28, 1877, in Newton County, and lived in the county all of his life. He attended local schools and the Poplarville Institute. He was married to Miss Virgie Eddie Thornton of Decatur October 19, 1902, and they had four children, Wilmer C. Mabry of Jackson, Mrs. Winner K. Prince of Newton, Mrs. Cleon C. McClenahan of Lake, and Miss Annie Rose Mabry of Newton, all of whom, with Mrs. Mabry, are living today.

     Mr. Mabry was prominently connected with the Newton County School system for many years. As a young man he served as principal of a number of schools in the county and one term as County Superintendent of Education from 1908 to 1912. He helped organize and establish Newton County Agricultural High School at Decatur, that later grew into East Central Junior College, and served as chairman of the Board of Trustees for more than 30 years. He also was a member and had served as chairman of the Newton Public School board of Trustees.

     Mr. Mabry was deputy sheriff of Newton County eight years, and later served as Sheriff and Tax Collector for one four-year term. In 1924, after serving as a county official for 16 years, he moved from Decatur to Newton, where he represented the Reliance Life Insurance Company for approximately three years, after which he purchased The Newton Record in December, 1926. He and members of this family have edited and published the Record for the past 25 years.

     Mr. Mabry served as State Senator during Governor Conner’s administration. He was one of the original group of legislators to see the possibilities of a state sales tax as the means of getting Mississippi on a sound financial basis. In 1933 he was appointed Newton Postmaster and served in this position for 12 years. He retired from government service in January, 1944, on account of ill health, and had been inactive in business since February, 1946, succumbing on April 3, 1950. He was active in Methodist Church affairs, a charter member of the Newton Rotary Club, and a member of the Masonic Lodge. He was a man of clean habits, moral stability, and keen intellect, giving the people of the county the very best he had in fostering its growth and progress.