The announcement of the death of Judge M. P. Jarnigan of Mossy Creek, was received with great surprise and deep sorrow by his many friends in this city yesterday.

About five weeks ago, Judge Jarnigan and his wife left the city to pay Judge Jackson of the United States Supreme Bench, a visit. The two men were at one time law partners and were very close friends ever afterward. From Nashville, Judge Jarnigan and wife went to Memphis and sailed to Louisiana to visit relatives.

Last Thursday the judge was stricken with paralysis and lingered until Sunday morning when he peacefully passed away. The judge had been duly forewarned for some time that his end was not far away. Some time ago he was thrown from a horse, receiving injuries from which he never fully recovered. Later he suffered from a very severe attack of the grippe and this left his system in a weakened condition.

Before he left for Memphis, he was examined by a leading physician who told him then that he had an incurable case of Bright's disease. At Memphis, this examination was corroborated by another eminent physician, who told him his days on earth were certainly prescribed within the period of a year, possibly a month and advised him to take his attention from business cares as much as possible. The end came as stated, his wife being with him.

Judge Jarnigan was as was stated, by a leading business man of this city, yesterday, one of the best known men in the state. He was successful as a lawyer, judge, advocate, banker and businessman. He was in nearly every sense of the word, one of nature's noblemen. He was sixty-nine years of age and a native of East Tennessee. He leaves a wife and five children.

He went to Memphis at the close of the war where he practiced law and acquired considerable wealth and moved back to East Tennessee some ten years ago to Mossy Creek. He was the first president of the City National Bank of Knoxville and was a director of the bank at the time of his death. The bank will be closed at noon today. He was president of the Mossy Creek Bank, president of the Mossy Creek Woolen Mills, a trustee of the University of Tennessee and a great main-stay of the Carson-Newman College at Mossy Creek. He owned a dairy and one of the finest farms in the south, stocked with the finest breeds of cattle.

He was a man esteemed in the highest degree, by all who knew him. The funeral will take place at Mossy Creek today. A large number of friends of this city will attend the services taking the 8:30 morning train and returning on the vestibule.

Source: The Knoxville Daily Journal, Tuesday, May 14, 1895

Transcribed by Robert McGinnis