William Ellerson (Bill) Hodges was mayor of Morristown at the close of the Second World War, serving 1945-1946. He was the son Jacob Iulus Hodges and Ida Love Smith, who were the owners of a famous Morristown landmark, The Hodges Hotel, which has unfortunately been torn down. It stood on Main Street, just east of Wilmyer Court.
Bill Hodges was born October 26, 1897 and would become an important businessman in Morristown. He served for 47 consecutive years on the Hamblen County Court. He was chairman of the board of Burke and Hodges Lumber Company. (Burke being Jim Burke, another mayor of Morristown.) He was also a director of the Hamilton National Bank, a treasurer of the Tenn-Flake Corporation and director of the Morristown Chamber of Commerce. Mr. Hodges was a major real estate developer in this area, was a member of the First Baptist Church of Morristown, and was also a member of the Elks Lodge.
He married, first, Sara Elizabeth Green ( March 8, 1899 - May 31, 1998), daughter of Davey Greene (Davey Greene bridge was named after him) and Bobbie Campbell Greene. They built and lived in a notable white house in Lyn Mar Hills, and had one child, Robert Hodges.
He married, second, Johnny V. Thomasson (September 27, 1902 - May 22, 1968), daughter of John Thomasson and Miranda Jane Williams Thomasson. They had two children: Will Ellen Hodges (m.) who died in infancy in 1945, and William Hodges, Jr.
On January 28, 1966, Bill Hodges died at the Morristown Hamblen Hospital following a brief illness. Special thanks to his descendant, Ben Hodges, for giving me so much of this information.