Portrait from the 1937 Albemarle City Directory.
Following on the heels of July 13th's profile on Stanly County, North Carolina resident Crayon Cornelius Efird, another curiously named resident of that county is accorded a write-up here, Mackamie Jay "M.J." Harris. A multi-term mayor of Albemarle, North Carolina (the Stanly County seat) Harris served over two decades as mayor of that city, and this article would not have been possible without the efforts of Lewis Bramlett, a Stanly County historian and fan of this site who graciously sent along not only several articles and photos concerning Crayon Efird, but was also kind enough to send me a 1941 obituary for Mayor Harris, as well as information regarding Harris' full dates of service. Without Lewis's input and help, this article would not have been possible!
Born in Cabarrus County, North Carolina on March 23, 1874, MacKamie Jay Harris was the son of Mcamy and Margaret Harris (as per the 1880 census.) Recorded by period sources under the initials "M.J." or "M. Jay", Harris' first name was located via Find-a-Grave, which denotes that name as it is inscribed on his tombstone. His middle name, Jay, was revealed via the 1940 Albemarle city directory. Nothing is known of Harris' early years or education in the county of his birth, and around 1900 he removed to Albemarle in Stanly County to take work with the Cabbarus Bank and Trust Company, which had established a branch there. Harris would marry in Mecklenburg County on October 30, 1901, to Margaret Louise Caldwell (1875-1959), who survived him upon his death in 1941. The couple would have at least one son, Mackamie James, who died age two in 1910 after being afflicted with "toxine poisoning".
A short period following his resettlement in Albemarle, M. Jay Harris was named as the assistant cashier for the Cabarrus Bank and Trust Company's Albemarle branch, a post he would continue to hold for a number of years afterward. He would later assume the post of cashier for that bank, serving in that capacity until his death in 1941. In addition to his banking interests, Harris served for a time as Secretary-Treasurer of the Albemarle Building and Loan Association and also was a 33rd degree Mason, being remarked as "the only 33rd degree Mason" residing in the city.
M. Jay Harris entered the political life of his city in 1911 when he took office as Mayor of Albemarle. He would be continually reelected until at least 1918, when he resigned from office, shortly after a board of aldermen vote that repealed "the blue laws which had recently been placed in effect and of which the mayor was sponsor." By 1925 Harris had been reelected as mayor, and, according to the records of Lewis Bramlett and various Albemarle city directories, was continually reelected until retiring from the mayor's office in May 1941.
In addition to his long mayoralty, Harris was a senior elder in the First Presbyterian Church of Albemarle and in 1927 was appointed by the board of county commissioners as chairman of the board of trustees of the Stanly County Public Library, which had been established a short time prior. Just one month after stepping down as mayor M. Jay Harris died on June 17, 1941, at his Albemarle home of a heart attack, aged 68. Following burial at the Old Albemarle Cemetery, he was memorialized in the Stanly News and Press as:
"A man of high ideals, loyal to his friends and to the community. He was always in the forefront in movements designed to improve the community, and he was always held in high regard by all those who knew him."
From the Stanly News and Press, June 20, 1941. Courtesy of Mr. Lewis Bramlett.
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