John Marion Cordell

John Marion Cordell (1842-1885) was a Scott County Judge in the 1870s and early 1880s.

See Also: Mayors of Scott County
Preceded By: Joshua J. Duncan • Succeeded By: James C. Parker

Early Life

Born March 9, 1842, John Marion Cordell was the son of John R. Cordell (1811-1889) and Mary Diadema Crain (1816-1876). He was born in Monroe County, Tenn. His father moved to Scott County in the mid 1850s.

Cordell married China Whitecotton on Jan. 24, 1861, when he was 17 and she was 15. She was the daughter of William Wayne Whitecotton (1811-1863) and Mary Owens (1821-1885). They had six children: Wayne Cordell, born 1864; John, born 1866; George, born 1867; Young, born 1871; Della, born 1877; and Young Wallis, born 1879.

Adult Life

Cordell served the Union during the Civil War as a member of the Scott County Home Guard. It is written that he killed a Confederate soldier on Brimstone Creek in 1863. It has also been written that he had his home ransacked by Confederate soldiers during the war and was left destitute.

Following the war, Cordell was appointed county surveyor and was then elected county court clerk. He was elected to the Tennessee House of Representatives in 1866, representing Scott, Fentress, Morgan and Cumberland counties, and was the Republican candidate for clerk of the House, which he narrowly lost.

Cordell served as an attorney in Scott County, where he was the leader of the local Republican Party.

Mayor of Scott County

Cordell served as Scott County Judge from 1873 to 1882. He took office on Jan. 1, 1873, replacing J.J. Duncan. He served until Dec. 31, 1882, and was succeeded by J.C. Parker.

Death

Cordell died on Feb. 13, 1885, at the age of 42. He was buried at Cordell Cemetery near his home in the Low Gap community. Following his death, his wife moved to Kentucky, where she died in 1917.