Crandal Mackey

Crandal Mackey (December 15, 1865 – March 31, 1957), sometimes spelled Crandall, was an American lawyer and newspaper publisher. He served as the commonwealth attorney of Alexandria County, Virginia, from 1904 to 1916, and led raids in Rosslyn, Virginia, of gambling dens in 1904.

Early life Crandal Mackey was born on December 15, 1865, in a Confederate ambulance in Shreveport, Louisiana, to Thomas Jefferson Mackey and his wife Rosina Lloyd. He could trace his ancestry to James Mackey, who fought in the American Revolutionary War as a sergeant in a South Carolina regiment, and his son John Mackey who fought under Andrew Jackson in the War of 1812. His father had fought in the Palmetto guard during the Mexican American War, as well as served as secretary to Robert Kingston Scott (who would remain loyal to the Union and later served as governor of South Carolina). In 1860, Thomas Mackay and his family lived in the household of Rosina's father, wealthy and prominent Washington DC lawyer Richard Lloyd, for whom they named their eldest son.

However, as the American Civil War began, Thomas Mackey accepted a commission as captain of engineers for the Confederate States Army and moved south, serving on the Staff of General Sterling Price during the conflict. After his civil rights were restored, Mackey allied with Congressional Reconstruction and became a Charleston alderman and trial judge by 1870, and a decade later a judge of the circuit court for South Carolina's 35th district (south of Charlotte, North Carolina).

Thus, the family (which also included brother Beckford also born in 1865, Argyle born in 1868 and T.J. Mackey Jr. born in 1870) moved to rural Chester, South Carolina. He assumed office in January 1904 and was re-elected twice times, serving until 1916. Starting in May 1904, commonwealth attorney, Mackey led raids on gambling dens and houses in Rosslyn, Jackson City and St. Asaph Racetrack. Local publisher and developer Frank Lyon also attended those raids. The raids caused gambling houses in Rosslyn and Jackson City to shutter, including the St. Asaph's poolroom. After the Rosslyn sites were closed, St. Asaph's continued, and Alexandria County also had amusement areas with occasional vice issues called "High View" near Pimmit Run upstream along the Potomac River, and "Luna Park" near Four Mile Run downstream near the Alexandria border.

One of Mackey's most reported cases involved a murder on the Long Bridge into the District of Columbia, and Governor Swanson commuted the death sentence of Joseph Wright, a former slave from Loudoun County, to life imprisonment. However in 1915, Mackey faced the most serious challenge of his career, with four serious challengers and allegations that he had created a courthouse crowd and a "holy roller" reputation for the county. Mackey withdrew from the contest in October, and Frank L. Ball won in a landslide, with 68% of the votes, with Charles Thomas Jessee, endorsed by the 'Monitor' newspaper receiving only 9% of the vote.

After giving up his job as prosecutor, Mackey became editor and publisher of a newspaper in Arlington called The Chronicle. He was also a director of the Arlington National Bank and the National Mortgage and Investment Company. He was one of the organizers of the Arlington Trust Company and was a member of the Board of Trustees of George Washington University. He later broke his hip in an automobile accident in 1951.