Lem Motlow

The home of Lem Motlow (1869–1947) at the Jack Daniel's Distillery in Lynchburg, Tennessee, United States. Motlow, a nephew of Daniel, ran the distillery from 1911 until his death. The house was built circa 1870, and is now used by the distillery for office space.

Lemuel Motlow (November 28, 1869 – September 1, 1947) was an American businessman, politician, landowner and Tennessee Walking Horse breeder. He was the owner of Jack Daniel's, and he served in the Tennessee House of Representatives and the Tennessee Senate.

Early life Motlow was born on November 28, 1869, in Moore County, Tennessee, near Lynchburg. His father was Felix Motlow and his mother, Nettie Josephine Daniel. He had four brothers. His maternal uncle, Jack Daniel, was the eponymous founder of the whiskey manufacturer. Due to Prohibition, he was unable to sell whiskey from 1920 onward. By 1947, Jack Daniel's was the only whiskey distillery in Tennessee, then a dry state.

Motlow owned thousands of acres in Moore County and Coffee County, where he bred Tennessee Walking Horses. His horses competed in the Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration in Shelbyville.

Personal life and death Motlow was married twice. He married his first wife, Clara Reagor, in 1895, and they had a son, J. Reagor Motlow. She died in 1901, and he married Ophelia Evans, with whom he had three more sons: Cliff Conner Motlow; Dan Evans Motlow; and Robert Motlow, and a daughter, Mary Avon Boyd.

Lem Motlow suffered a stroke in 1940. He died of cerebral haemorrhage on September 1, 1947, in Lynchburg, at age 77. He was buried in the Lynchburg cemetery.