Ira Oliver McDaniel was a cotton merchant, farmer and newspaper man in early Atlanta, Georgia

Atlanta, Georgia

Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...

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In the 1830s he lived in Monroe, Georgia

Monroe, Georgia

Monroe is a city in Walton County, Georgia, United States. The population was 13,381 at the 2008 census. The city is the county seat of Walton County, Georgia.-Geography:Monroe is located at ....

 with his wife Rebecca Walker (November 10, 1819 – April 19, 1854) where their son, Henry McDaniel, a future Governor of Georgia was born. There he was one of the first professors at the new Mercer Institute

Mercer University

Mercer University is an independent, private, coeducational university with a Baptist heritage located in the U.S. state of Georgia. Mercer is the only university of its size in the United States that offers programs in eleven diversified fields of study: liberal arts, business, education, music,...

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The family moved to Atlanta in 1847 and two years later he co-founded its first successful daily newspaper, the Daily Intelligencer

Daily Intelligencer

The Daily Intelligencer was first published on June 1, 1849 as the young city of Atlanta's first successful daily newspaper.The founders were Benjamin Bomar, Z.A. Rice, Jonathan Norcross and I.O...

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In 1849, he did critical research to resolve the ownership claims on the central land lot 77, part of which had been donated to serve as the first rail depot and park in the town. In 1852 he was elected to the city council where he served with mayor Thomas Gibbs

Thomas Gibbs

Thomas Fortson Gibbs left Atlanta fairly soon after finishing his term as its fifth mayor.In John H. James' remembrances of this time, he describes the mayor as "Dr. Gibbs" but doesn't explain what sort of doctor. He represented Elbert County, Georgia in the state house in 1837 and came to Atlanta...

. That same year he was one of the incorporators of the Atlanta Bank which was founded on a stock of $300,000. On January 15, 1855, he ran for mayor as a Know Nothing Party candidate but was defeated by Allison Nelson

Allison Nelson

Allison Nelson was the ninth mayor of Atlanta, Georgia, as well as a brigadier general in the Confederate army during the American Civil War....

 who ran as a Democrat and days later the Know Nothing faction unsuccessfully contested the election. In 1857, he represented the Fifth

Fifth Ward (Atlanta)

Atlanta's Fifth Ward encompassed mainly what is now the part of downtown and midtown between the west side of Peachtree and the Western and Atlantic Railroad.-1854:...

 Ward

Atlanta ward system

From its incorporation in 1848, the municipal boundaries Atlanta, Georgia were extended repeatedly from a small area around its railroad station to today's city covering .Prior to 1954, Atlanta was divided into political divisions called wards...

 in city council with Dr. James Alexander.

He is buried with his wife and parents at Oakland Cemetery. McDaniel Street which connects the Castleberry Hill

Castleberry Hill

Castleberry Hill is a neighborhood in central Atlanta, Georgia located adjacent to and southwest of the Central Business District. It is a federally recognized historic district since 1985 and became a City of Atlanta Landmark District in 2006...

 and the Mechanicsville

Mechanicsville (Atlanta)

Mechanicsville is a neighborhood of Atlanta, Georgia. It sits in the shadow of both downtown Atlanta and Turner Field. The neighborhood is bounded by:* I-20 on the north, across which is Castleberry Hill and Downtown Atlanta...

neighborhoods in Atlanta is named for him.