Maginnis, Arthur Ambrose, Jr.

Submitted by Mike Miller

Maginnis, Arthur Ambrose, Jr., the second son of A. A. Maginnis, known by his intimate friends as Ambrose Maginnis, was born in New Orleans, Aug. 30, 1848. He attended the local public schools until 1862, when, as a mere lad sharing in the martial spirit that was then enthusing his elders, he enlisted under command of his brother-in-law, Capt. John Tilghman Nolan, and was known as the youngest Confederate in active service, being then 14 years old. When the command to which he was attached was disbanded, he reënlisted in 1863 in the Miles Legion, with which he continued until Dec., 1864, when he was honorably discharged from service. He first returned to New Orleans, where he secured employment from the Lafayette Warehouse Co., owned by his father, and in 1867 he went to New York as manager of a cotton seed oil company, which had headquarters in Connecticut. In 1871 he returned to New Orleans to become identified with the firm of A. A. Maginnis Sons, afterwards merged into the Maginnis oil and soap works. His business enterprise and energy were soon recognized, and he became president of the Maginnis cotton mills, the Lafayette Warehouse Co., the Planters Fertilizer Manufacturing Co., the Hermitage Planting and Manufacturing Co., and the resident vice-president for Louisiana of the American Surety Co. of New York. Mr. Maginnis was always to the fore. He was a member of the celebrated organization known as the Knights of the White Camelia, organized shortly after the war, and when the dark days of reconstruction were brought to a close, there was no more highly honored name on the roles of the Crescent City White League than that of Col. Maginnis. He figures as a prominent member of the committee of 100 and was one of the leaders in each of the political reform movements of the Y. M. D. A. in 1888 and of the Citizens' League in 1896. He was one of the organizers of the Southern Yacht club, reorganized the Mistick Krewe of Comus and was a valued member for many years; was a member of the Pickwick, La Variete, French Opera and Louisiana Jocky clubs and was the moving spirit in several other carnival organizations. His philanthropy was shown on many occasions and in many ways. Interested in the Morris public baths located in the front portion of the 1st ward, he ran them for more than 2 years at his own expense, for the benefit of the great army of indigents who would have been compelled to go unwashed had it not been for these baths. In addition to this, when epidemics were menacing the health commerce and property of the city, Mr. Maginnis from his private resources, provided for pumping apparatus for the flushing of the gutters and gave it his personal time and attention. The Harlequin called him a typical American philanthropist in pursuance of its policy of applauding whatever is genuine, saying: "This man courts no popular favor, and has no mawkish sentimentality. Beneath an independent exterior, that of a successful man who owes the world nothing for what he has achieved, he has a quiet, big heart and a gentle mercy whose quality is not strained. His flushing of the gutters of New Orleans during the warm months is an act of kindness in which a population of 350,000 souls is concerned. He made no great fuss or flurry over the matter, organized no society of high-sounding names with titled officers and press exploitations. The gutters were dirty, the heart of the city was endangered. He saw what was necessary, and seeing it, did what he thought should be done for the health of the community and the city is the better for it. A hundred other things he has done and is doing, in the same quiet way, to the little orphans of the city, whose friend he has always been." When Mrs. Jefferson Davis came to Beauvoir for the last time to look over all the contents of the cherished place and select those souvenirs she desired to save for herself and family, previous to turning the home over to the state of Mississippi, she turned to Mr. Maginnis, who had managed her business affairs, for advice. Many of these souvenirs she gave to her family, but the beautiful and historical ones she presented to Memorial Hall in memory of her daughter Winnie. A number of boxes containing other precious relics were packed and sent to the warehouse of that ,"dear old friend of the Davis family, Col. Ambrose sorrows that have come to each in the death of loved ones, united the living members more closely together. By a special message from Mrs. Davis at the time of Winnie's death, Mr. Maginnis was with her in all her trouble and sorrow. So when Mr. Maginnis was suddenly taken sick with pneumonia at the Waldorf-Astoria hotel in New York, Mrs. Davis lost no time in going to his bedside. It was a most gracious act that is cherished by the Maginnis family, as he was alone until members of his family joined him there. Archbishop Blenk, in his address at the church of the Immaculate Conception, said: "One of the marked traits of the character of A. A. Maginnis was, that he was a worker." Although his life was comparatively short, all testimony showed that he did a great deal. From his youth he strove to serve his state and country with all his might. In mature middle life, in commercial activities, in charity, in all that related to the city and the state, there was no more enlightened or efficient worker than he. It is needless to recount his deeds. Some are well known, but it would be impossible to tell the extent of his benefactions or of his goodness and kindness because he kept them a secret. He strove not to let his left hand know what his right hand did, and it was only after his death, when the disposition of his affairs was made public, that it became generally known that he had rewarded the faithful services of his old servant, Peter Brown, by making him comfortable the rest of his life. Peter had served his master faithfully in war as well as in peace, and "Mars Ambrose" had not forgotten to remember him in the days that were to come when the master had passed on to the great world beyond.

Source: Louisiana: Comprising Sketches of Parishes, Towns, Events, Institutions, and Persons, Arranged in Cyclopedic Form (volume 3), pp. 545-547. Edited by Alcée Fortier, Lit.D. Published in 1914, by Century Historical Association.