Maxey Dell Moody

Maxey Dell "Max" Moody (December 12, 1883 – 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. Moody also founded the American Road Builders' Association and was known as the "oldest construction machinery man in Florida."

Early life

Max Moody was born on December 12, 1883, in Ocala, Florida, to Eliza and Sloman Moody. 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.

M. D. Moody

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

Maxey, center, at American Cast Iron Pipe Company in Birmingham, Alabama around 1921.

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. On April 14, 1909 Max married Ethel Muller, who was born in Germany, at the Church of the Immaculate Conception. Maxey and Ethel were going to Washington, D.C. for their honeymoon but changed it to Tampa due to his mother's illness. Four years later Moody's first son, Maxey Dell Moody, Jr., was born.

In 1913 Moody established a local road construction company called M. D. Moody in the LaVilla area of Jacksonville. M. D. Moody was initially affiliated with the Cyclone Fence Company until the 1920s. Moody held multiple positions at M. D. Moody 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. 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. 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.

The Florida Times-Union published an article on Maxey's death noting his legacy as the oldest construction machinery man in Florida, founding the American Road Builders' Association, and his memberships in the Scottish Rite and Morocco Temple. Maxey established his business M. D. Moody & Sons and was President for 31 years until his death. Maxey's son Maxey Dell Moody, Jr. became President and diversified its assets with establishments of MOBRO Marine, Inc. in 1962, Moody Fabrication & Machine, Inc. in 1994 and Dell Marine in 2004. Maxey's business M. D. Moody became one of the oldest family-owned construction equipment distributors in the United States under Maxey Dell Moody, Jr. until his death in 1987 and then under Maxey Dell Moody III. After 100 years since its foundation in 1913 M. D. Moody was forced to liquidate. However, three Moody subsidiaries of M. D. Moody still in operation as of 2017 are MOBRO Marine, Dell Marine, and Dell Marine Tug and Barge.