Robert Tracy McKenzie noted that George Mabry declined to take the Confederate loyalty oath, which complicated his ability to travel to his west Knox County farm while the region was under the control of the Confederacy.
[3] The family's wealth, prominence and political connections are illustrated by how Jeanette Mabry avoided harm during the U.S. Civil War.
Robert Tracy McKenzie reports that Mrs. Mabry threatened to return to Scotland if the South was successful, and informed her husband that she would not live in the C.S.A.
Her wealth, prominence and being female, as well as having Joseph Mabry - an early secessionist leader - as a brother-in-law, are cited as reasons she was not harmed.
The Mabry Hood House was one of several antebellum plantation homes located along Kingston Pike in the western Knox County.
Unlike Knollwood, which was located on the top of Bearden Hill, the Mabry Hood House sat close to modern-day Kingston Pike, and near grade.