| Sources |
- [S75] Atchley Funeral Home Records, Volume II, 1955-1973, Larry D. Fox, (Smoky Mountain Historical Society), 15 Feb 1964.
Juanita Massey Paine obituary
- [S118] History of early Sevier County Doctors , Beulah Linn, (www.sevierlibrary.org/genealogy/doc/doc.htm).
Dr. Massey, son of Robert Hardee and Rena Brown Massey, was born Nov. 14,1864 at Big Pine near Marshall, North Carolina. He received his early education in North Carolina, and taught school at Marshall 1882 - 1886. He received his medical degree from Louisville Medical College in 1888, and began his practice in Wears Valley in 1889. He was a sometime physician and surgeon for the Tennessee State Penitentiary. He was a Captain and Surgeon in the 6th U.S. Volunteer Infantry, and assistant surgeon in the Spanish American War.
He was postmaster of Sevierville 1899-1909. As State Senator, he represented the counties of Sevier, Blount, Cocke, Hamblin, and Jefferson in the 54th, 55th, and 63rd General Assemblies 1905 - 1909. He was elected to fill the vacancy occasioned by the death of Walter P. Brownlow, and served from Nov. 8, 1910 to Mar. 3, 1911. He then resumed his practice in Sevier County. He kept no books, so if the patients didn't pay, they were not billed.
Dr. Massey was a member of the Baptist Church, a Mason, the I. O. O. F., and a member of the Board of Managers for the National Soldiers Home. On Nov.25,1886, he married Sally Josephine Mullendore, daughter of John and Dialtha Rogers Mullendore, and had five children: Beulah Massey Pack; Roy Massey; Blanche Massey Wood; Cleo Massey Wilson; Juanita Massey Paine.
Dr. Massey died on July 13, 1923, and is buried in the Shiloh Cemetery.
Information furnished by E.W. Paine
- [S101] 1880 Census, Warm Springs, Madison County, North Carolina, 111C.
- [S106] The Mountain Press, 12 Sep 2011.
Upland Chronicles: Massey only one from the county to serve 1st District
by CARROLL McMAHAN
Sevier County has been part of the 1st Congressional District of Tennessee since it was formed in 1813 when the Tennessee At-large seat was divided among multiple districts.
In 198 years, only one resident of Sevier County has held the seat.
46-year-old Dr. Zachary David Massey of Sevierville was elected on Nov. 8, 1910 to serve the unexpired term of Congressman Walter P. Brownlow who died on July 8, 1910. While Dr. Massey was on the ballot to serve Brownlow’s unexpired term in the 61st Congress, Sam R. Sells of Johnson City ran simultaneously and was elected to the seat in the 62nd. Therefore, the only U.S. Congressman from Sevier County served only 85 days in the House of Representatives.
Dr. Massey’s predecessor, Rep. Brownlow was responsible for securing funds for the establishment of the National Home for Disabled Veterans near Johnson City which was developed on an unprecedented scale and modeled after the European tradition of institutions providing care for disabled soldiers. Today the campus houses a major Veterans Affairs Center as well as the East Tennessee State University College of Medicine and Pharmacy.
Although Rep. Brownlow was a hard act to follow, Dr. Massey was capable and served his constituency well. During his short tenure in office, he missed only three of 66 roll call votes. Important bills brought before congress during his term included a vote on the division of lands and funds of the Crow Indian Tribe in Montana and a bill to restrain the Secretary of the Treasury from receiving bonds issued to provide money for the building of the Panama Canal as security for the issue of circulating notes to National Bank. Rep. Massey voted in favor of both bills and both of them passed.
Zachary David Massey was born Nov. 14, 1864 in Madison County, N. C. He taught school in Marshall, N.C., from 1882 until he moved to Sevier County and married Sally Josephine Mullendore in 1886.
Sally Mullendore was a daughter of John and Dialtha Rogers Mullendore. The home where Sally Mullendore grew up burned in 1921 and a new six-room house was constructed which today houses the Applewood Restaurant.
Dr. Massey received a medical degree from Louisville Medical College in 1888 and set up his practice in Wears Valley. At one time, he was a physician and surgeon for the Tennessee State Penitentiary.
The Masseys had five children. Their first, a daughter named Beulah, married Charles Pack. Their son, Roy, became a baseball star and played major league baseball for the Boston Braves. Their younger daughters were Blanche (Wood); Constance (Wilson) who was called Cleo and Juanita,wife E.W. “Cap” Paine.
Dr. Massey served in the Spanish-American War as first Lieutenant; Assistant Surgeon in the regiment commanded by General L.D. Tyson and was a surgeon and captain in the 6th U.S. Volunteer Infantry which served as an occupation force in Porto Rico.In 1894, the Massey family moved to College Street (currently called Cedar Street) in Sevierville where they resided in two different homes over the next 30 years.
Dr. Horace Yarberry bought the property in 1945, demolished the house and built Yarberry Hospital. Interestingly, the building constructed for a hospital on property where a prominent doctor once lived is the current home of the Sevier County Public Health Department.Dr. Massey never kept a ledger of his patients who paid and who didn’t. He never refused treatment regardless of the patient’s financial situation or social status which endeared him to the entire community.
He served as postmaster of Sevierville from 1899 until 1904 at which time the post office was located in the old Masonic Temple. His wife, Sally, acquired the position after her husband. She was postmistress from 1904 until 1912.
Dr. Massey was among the original stockholders of Sevier County Bank. He trained his bird dog to take deposits from his office to the bank. Once inside the dog always went to the same teller, made the deposit and promptly returned to Dr. Massey’s office with the deposit slip.
Before serving in the U.S. House of Representatives, Dr. Massey was elected three terms as state senator representing Sevier, Blount, Cocke, Hamblin and Jefferson counties.
In the summer of 1923, Dr. Massey diagnosed himself as having an aneurysm. Just before he died, his family wanted him to seek medical treatment in Knoxville. He told them he would rather not because if what he thought had happened, it wouldn’t make any difference. He died on July 13, 1923 at his home in Sevierville. He was 58 years old.
One of Dr. Massey’s grandchildren, David Massey Pack, continued the family’s political tradition serving as state highway commissioner under Governor Frank G. Clement from 1963 until 1967 and Commissioner of Insurance and Banking from 1967 to 1969 under Gov. Buford Ellington. He became Tennessee Attorney General in 1969 and served in that office until 1974 when he was one of 12 candidates seeking the Democratic nomination for Governor. That primary was won by Ray Blanton, who went on to win the office, defeating Lamar Alexander. Blanton later left the office in disgrace.
Although Dr. Zachary David Massey served in state senate and U.S. Congress with distinction, he is best remembered in the community where he lived as a devoted and compassionate doctor. — Carroll McMahan is the special projects facilitator for the Sevierville Chamber of Commerce. The Upland Chronicles series celebrates the heritage and past of Sevier County. If you have suggestions for future topics, would like to submit a column or have comments; please contact Carroll McMahan at 453-6411 or email to cmcmahan@scoc.org; or Ron Rader at 604-9161 or email to ron@ronraderproperties.com.
- [S106] The Mountain Press, 26 Dec 2014.
Upland Chronicles: Cousins Hendricks and Green were captured in Texas
- [S34] In the Shadow of the Smokies, Smoky Mountain Historical Society, (1993), 359.
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