Maxey Dell Moody

Maxey Dell "Max" Moody (December 12, 1883^[1] – July 27, 1949), also known as M. D. Moody, was the founder of M. D. Moody & Sons, Inc. in 1913 and the patriarch of the Moody companies. His business, M. D. Moody, became the oldest family owned construction equipment distributor in the United States and at one point the largest crane dealer in the southeast.^[2] Moody also founded the American Road Builders' Association and was known as the "oldest construction machinery man in Florida."^[3]

Biography

Early life

Max Moody was born on December 12, 1883, in Ocala, Florida, to Eliza and Sloman Moody.^[4][5] His father, Dr. Sloman W. Moody (1838–1898), was born in Horatio, South Carolina, to plantation owners Susan and Slomon Moody Sr. Maxey's mother Eliza Moody (née Pearson, 1847–1918) was born in Orange Springs, Florida, to Confederate Captain John William Pearson and Sarah Pearson. Maxey's siblings, a mixture of half-siblings or full-blooded siblings due to Sloman's previous marriages, are Samuel Moody, Edward Moody, Carolina Susan Moody, John Pearson Moody, Elizabeth Richardson Moody, Slomon Moody, Vincent Fair Moody, Charles Elliot Moody, Adelbert Moody, Joseph Moody and Sarah Moody. Maxey's brother Adelbert was nicknamed Dell which is where his middle name comes from. Dr. Sloman became a physician in Marion County for over 30 years until he died on March 20, 1898, at the age of 64 when Maxey was 14. In 1901 Maxey contracted typhoid fever but he soon recovered. Maxey worked at a local drug store until moving to Jacksonville in 1901.^[6]

M. D. Moody

Maxey, right in black vest, delivering an Adams road grader from M. D. Moody in St. Augustine, Florida around 1923.

Logo of M. D. Moody from 1937.

In Jacksonville Maxey worked for Lancaster Automatic Railroad Crossing selling stock in Jacksonville, Ocala, Tampa and Cuba. By 1912 he became a salesman of tobacco.^[7][8] On April 14, 1909 Max married Ethel Muller, who was born in Germany, at the Church of the Immaculate Conception.^[9] Maxey and Ethel were going to Washington, D.C. for their honeymoon but changed it to Tampa due to his mother's illness.^[10] While only having a high school education he established his notable construction distributor business named after himself, M. D. Moody, and is only a coincidence with his father's title as an M.D. M. D. Moody was established in Jacksonville, in 1913 with his first and middle name, Max Dell, abbreviated leaving only his last name intact as the name of one of the oldest businesses in Jacksonville and the Southeast. He held multiple positions at M. D. Moody such as salesman, parts manager and serviceman. As President and founder of M. D. Moody, the business grew moderately. The outbreak of World War I in Europe forced Max to register for the draft in 1917 due to the Selective Service Act of 1916 but he was never sent overseas. One year later on April 23, 1918, his mother Eliza died. In 1919 Maxey was a passenger in a bad car accident when his friend, who was driving the car, turned over and was killed.^[11] On June 10, 1920 Maxey joined the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine and Scottish Rite at the Morocco Temple in Jacksonville. His business received numerous awards for his contributions to the Shriners.

During the 1920s M. D. Moody entered the marine equipment business by manufacturing their own marine engines and then with the Waukesha Engine dealership. During World War II the business supplied construction equipment needed for the expansion of military bases in Florida. In 1942 M. D. Moody became the sole distributor of the American Hoist & Derrick Company (American Crane and now part of Terex) in Florida. The two sons of Maxey Moody, Muller and Max Moody Jr., joined the business in the 1940s incorporating it as "M. D. Moody & Sons, Inc." Max Moody's business was still a relatively unknown construction equipment business by 1950. However, his son Maxey Dell Moody Jr. took over his father's business in 1949 upon his death in the same year of a heart attack.^[12] By the 1980s M. D. Moody under his son grew substantially to become one of the largest construction equipment distributors in the Southeastern United States.

Legacy

Maxey's sole legacy lies with his business M. D. Moody which became M. D. Moody & Sons, Inc. when his sons Max Moody Jr. and Muller Moody joined the business but also indirectly with the Moody subsidiaries bearing either his last name or middle name which are Moody Brothers of Jacksonville, Moody Machinery Corp., Moody Truck Center, Moody Light Equipment Rental, Moody Fabrication & Machine, Inc., Dell Marine Boat Sales and Dell Marine Tug & Barge.

Notes

References

• Weaver, Delores Barr and J. Wayne Weaver (2001). "Jacksonville: Crown of the First Coast". Towery Publishing, Inc.
• Taylor, Paul (2012). "Discovering the Civil War in Florida: A Reader and Guide". Second Edition. Pineapple Press