Memphis entrepreneur and Catholic leader Eugene Magevney was born in
1798 in County Fermanagh, Ireland. He studied for the priesthood but
changed his mind and became a school teacher. In 1828 he immigrated to
the United States and settled in Memphis in 1833. Magevney supported
himself by teaching in a small private school, where he accepted land as
payment from cash-strapped families.
Within a few years, Magevney's land acquisitions had become large enough
to permit him to leave teaching and concentrate on real estate
development, where he made his fortune. Soon recognized as a community
leader, he served as an alderman and in 1848 led the fight to establish
public schools. Always ready to defend his fellow Irishmen, Magevney
wrote editorials in the local newspaper protesting the prejudice to
which they were subjected.
A devout Catholic, Magevney helped to establish the city's first
Catholic church and parochial school. In 1839 the first mass was
celebrated in Magevney's house on Adams Avenue, where the first marriage
(his own) and the first baptism (his daughter Mary) were also
celebrated. Magevney was also one of those responsible for the founding
of St. Peter's Catholic Church, located next to his house. In 1941 the
Magevney heirs donated the house to the City of Memphis. It is now part
of the Memphis Museum System and open to the public.
Source: tennesseeenxyxlopedia.com