- John Avery McIlhenny
John Avery McIlhenny (1867–1942) was an American
businessman ,soldier ,politician andpublic servant . He was the eldest son ofTabasco sauce inventorEdmund McIlhenny .Background
Born on
Avery Island ,Louisiana , McIlhenny was educated on the Island by private tutors before attendingDr. Holbrook's Military School in Sing Sing (now Ossining),New York andPhillips Academy inAndover, Massachusetts . He later attended business school in Poughkeepsie, New York, as well as Tulane and Harvard universities (although he did not complete his studies). [Shane K. Bernard, "Tabasco: An Illustrated History" (Avery Island, La.: McIlhenny Company, 2007), p. 58.]In the late 1880s McIlhenny worked as a
clerk on a ship in theGulf of Mexico , but returned to Avery Island on the death of his father in 1890. Assuming control of Tabasco operations, he ran McIlhenny Company for eight years, expanding and modernizing production, and increasing promotion and advertising of the increasingly famous product. [Shane K. Bernard, "Tabasco: An Illustrated History" (Avery Island, La.: McIlhenny Company, 2007), p. 58, 65.]As Rough Rider
In 1898 McIlhenny resigned from the company to serve in the
Spanish-American War , joiningTheodore Roosevelt 'sRough Riders volunteercavalry regiment. " [B] y his high qualities and zealous attention to duty," wrote Roosevelt in his memoir of the campaign, McIlhenny "speedily rose to a sergeantcy, and finally won his lieutenancy for gallantry in action." [Theodore Roosevelt, "The Rough Riders" (New York: Da Capo, 1990), pp. 41-42.] McIlhenny participated in theBattle of Las Guasimas and theBattle of San Juan Hill and continued to serve despite suffering frommeasles andmalaria . [Shane K. Bernard, "Tabasco: An Illustrated History" (Avery Island, La.: McIlhenny Company, 2007), p. 75.]Public service
On his return to civilian life, McIlhenny served in the
Louisiana State Legislature , winning a seat in theLouisiana House of Representatives from 1900 to 1904 and in the state Senate from 1904 to 1906 as a Democrat. A close companion of Theodore Roosevelt, in 1906 he accepted then President Roosevelt's offer to help oversee theUnited States Civil Service Commission , during which he enacted numerous reforms that streamlined the federalbureaucracy . McIlhenny retained his position with the commission under Roosevelt's successor,William Howard Taft , as well as underWoodrow Wilson . He resigned in 1919, however, to accept a position with theU.S. State Department asFinancial Adviser toHaiti during the island republic's occupation by the U.S. Marines. During his time in Haiti, he clashed with Haitian presidentPhilippe Sudré Dartiguenave over economic issues, which resulted in McIlhenny suspending Dartiguenave's salary, causing a diplomatic crisis and inviting private criticism from the U.S. State Department. [Shane K. Bernard, "Soldier, Patriot, Christian, Gentleman: A Biographical Sketch of John Avery McIlhenny," "Attakapas Gazette" (Attakapas Historical Association / Center for Louisiana Studies, University of Southwestern Louisiana, 1993), 7, 9, 17-20.]Retirement and death
McIlhenny retired in 1922 and settled in a
farm house near Charlottesville,Virginia . Over the next several years he renewed his interest in McIlhenny Company, helping with its reorganization as a majorshareholder in the family-owned company. After a prolonged illness, McIlhenny died in 1942 and was buried inArlington National Cemetery . [Shane K. Bernard, "Tabasco: An Illustrated History" (Avery Island, La.: McIlhenny Company, 2007), p. 85.]References
References
* Shane K. Bernard, "Tabasco: An Illustrated History" (Avery Island, La.: McIlhenny Company, 2007).
* Theodore Roosevelt, "The Rough Riders" (New York: De Capo, 1990).ee also
*
Edmund McIlhenny
*Edward Avery McIlhenny
*Walter S. McIlhenny
*Tabasco sauce
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