Cash Mosby, born in Kentucky in 1851 to parents also from Kentucky, was described in the 1910 census as "mulatto," a term then used for people of mixed Black and white ancestry. This term is outdated today and may be considered offensive.

Mr. Mosby was a skilled self-promoter, as evidenced by various newspaper articles from the time. By age 36, he had earned the nickname "Captain Cash Mosby" or the "Boss Excursionist." In modern terms, Mr. Mosby was a travel organizer, promoting popular train excursions to destinations throughout the South. At 40, he led one of the largest excursions from Huntsville to Chattanooga, transporting 400 passengers. That same year, he arranged another major trip from Corinth, Mississippi, to Chattanooga, providing locals an opportunity to visit friends before the season's end.

Beyond his role in travel, Mr. Mosby also managed performers, notably "elocutionists" who combined dramatic or poetic recitations with music, a novel entertainment style at the time. In 1892, he organized a performance at the Huntsville Opera House, which the Huntsville Gazette praised as a "rare literary treat." Sadly, the Opera House was destroyed in a fire in 1911.

Around the age of 52, Mr. Mosby married Carrie Mosby, significantly younger than he, and they had two sons, James H. and A.R., and two daughters, Mrs. W.C. Thomas and Mrs. John Sims. Tragically, in 1909, their son James H. Mosby passed away from typhoid fever at 32, leaving behind a widow as well as his family.

By 1910, Mr. Mosby was 59 and lived with Carrie, then 37, on Gordon Street in Huntsville. He owned their home outright and worked as a Commission Agent for the Southern Railway Co., likely a continuation of his previous work promoting travel. An advertisement for one of his trips in 1911 offers a glimpse of his excursions:

“… I will operate a special train from Huntsville to Birmingham. Accommodations for both white and colored. $2.25 for the round trip. The train will leave Huntsville Thursday morning, July 27, at 8:30 am sharp, arriving in Birmingham at 4:00 pm. Returning train will leave Birmingham Friday evening, July 28, at 9:00 pm.”

Cash Mosby passed away on March 10, 1916, in Huntsville from acute indigestion at age 65. He is remembered as a successful, influential figure and is buried in Glenwood Cemetery.

1910 United States Federal Census, Ancestry.com.

Huntsville Gazette (Huntsville, AL), August 27, 1887.

Huntsville Gazette (Huntsville, AL), August 1, 1891.

Huntsville Gazette (Huntsville, AL), September 12, 1891.

Huntsville Gazette (Huntsville, AL), February 13, 1892.

Historic Huntsville Quarterly (Huntsville, AL), January-March 1976.

The Journal (Huntsville, AL), September 2, 1909.

The Journal (Huntsville, AL), July 20, 1911.