CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY GIFT OF Mrs. Mack Swe;5ringen I 3 1924 066 295 209 XI Cornell University Library The original of this book is in the Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924066295209 1 ' *' y'' TO, :. . '77;//:iT"/''//f CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS' MONUMENT, JAClLSO^ lIOGRSPHICaL .. Vol. II d BiSTORICaL Memoirs EMBRACING AN AUTHENTIC AND COMPREHENSIVE ACCOUNT OF THE CHIEF EVENTS IN THE HISTORY OF THE STATE, AND A RECORD OF THE LIVES OF MANY OF THE MOST W^ORTHY AND ILLUSTRIOUS FAMILIES AND INDIVIDUALS - ' •'•^'?:_M£m^^^ IN TWO VOLUMES I LLUSTRATBD ©hjioago Tt)e QoodspoQd Publishjirig ©orqpar(y 1891 m^J.. ,0^ Av * w W. B. CONK.EV COMPANY, BINDERS '>:^ / $3 - ', ^'S '- JOHN MORRIS COMPANY, PRINTERS, CHICAGO IL.L.USXRATIONS. -^m^^ PAGE. Confederate monument, Jackson Frontispiece Indian cession map 27 Cliarles B. G-alloway 43 E. C. Walthall 59 Mrs. H. B. Theobold 75 Edmund Richardson 91 J. Z. George 133 Insane asylum, Jackson 155 Mississippi mills, View of 203 J. M. Stone 235 Siege of Vickshurg, Map of . . , 251 William Oliver , -367 Edward Mayes 315 Robert Lowrj' 331 W. A. Percy 368 Insane asylum, Meridian 379 D. B. Seal 411 R. Seal 427 H. S. Van Eaton 443 Jackson, Battle of 459 Tupelo, Battle of 459 J. McC. Martin 475 Charles Clark 491 John Hopkinson 507 William Starling 523 E. S. Wilson 539 PAGE. Stephen Thrasher 555 Agricultural college 571 Robert H. Peel " 587 L. T. Baskett 619 J. A. Payne 651 John P. Richardson 667 H. L. Taylor 683 W. W. :\loon' 699 Helena, Battle of 715 Raymond, Battle of 715 Brice's Cross Roads, Battle of 715 E. T. Clark 731 J. J. White 763 Fred Beall 779 R. P. Beck 811 J. H. Jamison 827 Corinth, Battle of 843 ('. Williams 859 B. F. Ward 891 M. G. Davis ', . . , 907 Thomas W. East 923 T. D. Isom 939 John Clark 955 E. F. Lowe 971 Blind asylum, Jacksou 987 ©ABLE OP (Contents. ( CHAPTER I. PAGE. Post-bellum organization - 11 CHAPTER II. Later legal and judicial history 23 j|fl^"^7^---^vs?:v CHAPTER in. Institutions and societies 37 CHAPTER IV. Water transportation, levees, etc ,i 60 CHAPTER V. Kailway transportation, etc . : •. . . 77 CHAPTER VI. - Growth and development 90 CHAPTER Vn. Political history J ; 137 CHAPTER VIII. Citi«B, towns and villages 147 CHAPTER IX. The press of Mississippi with a cursory glance at the literature of the state 242 CHAPTER X. Physicians and their associations 252 CHAPTER XI. Educational history 300 CHAPTER XII. Religious history of Mississippi 348 IV TABLE OF GONTENTti. CHAPTER XIII. PAGE. Records of ramilies and individuals, M °°^ CHAPTER XIV. Citizens' private memoirs, N ^"° CHAPTER XV. Records of a private nature, O ' '^^^ CHAPTER XVI. Sketches of individual life, P 547 CHAPTER XVII. Memoirs of a few families, Q 632 CHAPTER XVIII. Other prominent persons, R ~ "i , ' ^^^ CHAPTER XIX. Selected memorials, S -. '''1''' CHAPTER XX. Conspicuous residents of the state, T 876 CHAPTER XXI. A few special notices, TJ 937 CHAPTER XXII. A glance at individual records, V 941 CHAPTER XXIII. Brief notices of prominent persons, W 962 CHAPTER XXIV. Concluding individual and family notices, Y 1083 ERRATA : 1091 SUPPLEMENTARY INDEX FOR VOLUME I ." 1093 POPULATION OF 1880-1890 1094 INDEX '. nil Biographjical anb Ristorical UleTTioirs OF rv^ississippi. ©HAPTBI^ I. POST-BELLUM ORGANIZATION. HEN Mississippi came under the military law of the United States by the surrender of General Taylor's forces to General Canby, on April 9, 1865, Governor Clarke called a special session of the legislature — a legislature elected under the laws and constitution of the convention of 1861. It is not the province of this sketch to decide which idea of the status of the state at that time was the correct one; the purpose here is to show the actual changes in organization. The state, as far as actual power was concerned, was under the laws of war; this legislature, however, was the only means the people had of expressing themselves, and they forthwith passed acts providing for the appointment of com- missioners to Washington to confer on the new status, and also provided for the calling of a convention to remodel the constitution to suit the new order. Even while this legisla- ture was in session, the war department telegraphed General Ganby to disperse it as unlaw- ful, but before the new order was received the session had adjourned. The next day General Canby notified Governor Clarke that the president could not recognize any state government made since the ordinance of secession, and demand was immediately made for the turning over of all state property, archives, etc., to the officer of the army in charge. This was done at the capitol on May 22, over a month after General Taylor's surrender. However, the commissioners, Sharkey and Yerger (William), appointed by the governor, went on to Washing- ton in an unofficial capacity and presented the situation to the president. They found that the national government and the people back of it were themselves still undecided as to the next step to pursue. There were many plans afloat; the Southern states, in the opinion of some, were simply to repeal their secession constitutions, resume their old ones with amend- ments forever forbidding slavery and secession — the two points secured by war; a few even thought that slavery would still be held constitutional by the Supreme court — these few, how- ever, seemed unable to realize the laws of the war. At another extreme there were those who A 13 BIOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORIGAL determined not to admit a Southern state to its old footing until the negroes should be held by them as political and even social. equals— these, a large num)»er, too, seemed totally to for- get that in no part of this or any other country are |>eoplo all on an ecjual social footing. There were those, too, who held that slavery was a diseas;! [wlitic that required strong meas- ures, and that now was the time to forever root out its iufiueucw by seeing to it that every state which had held it should freely and fully allow the former slave all the political rights enjoyed by any other citizens, now and forever, and that this should be the power claimed on the laws of war. This latter seemed to be the one destined to prevail, although the presi- dent held the first view presented, when he received Messrs. Sharkey and Yerger, for on May 29 he issued his amnesty proclamation, and a few days later appointed, June 13, the first of these visitors, the Hon. William L. Sharkey, provisional governor. On July 1 Governor Sharkey issued a proclamation recognizing the exigencies of the situation and clearly pointing out what the war meant to the conquering power, and calling a convention for August 14 to prepare a constitution. This convention met and organized with one hundred delegates, seven of whom had been in the convention of 1861, and six of the seven voting against secession. It is interesting to note that, while the convention of 18G1 had eighty-four democrats and twenty-five wbigs, this one had seventy whigs, eighteen democrats and fi\'B conservatives. The officerfs of the convention were: president, J. S. Yerger, and secretary, J. L. Power. By the 24th of August amendments to the constitution were made striking out the slave article and inserting article !S, acknowledging slavery abolished forever, and making the twelfth item of the bill of rights provide for dispensing with grand jury action in certain cases. Ordinances were passed declaring all the acts per- taining to secession and rebellion null and void, and legalizing non-conflicting legislation since 1861, and providing for an election according to the constitution. On October 16 fol- lowing Gen. B. G. Humphreys was elected governor, and reorganization was effected under this amended constitution of 1832, as provisional only, for the state was not admitted to rep- resentation, and the whole territory of which the state was a part was under military power. On June 13, after Governor Humphreys' election, the famous "fourteenth amendment" was passed by congress to effect the enfranchisement of the newly-made freedmeu. It became a part of the national constitution on January 31, 1867, and in February Mississippi's legislature passed resolutions refusing to ratify it. Forthwith, on March 2, congress passed " an act to provide for the more efficient government of the rebel states," and on the 23d of the same month acts were passed by congress providing for an election to be held under mili- tary authority, to decide whether or not a convention should be called for the purpose of establishing a constitution and civil government for the state, loyal to the Union.'' These acts are known as the " reconstruction acts," and wise or unwise, they were considered by the controlling power the legitimate fruits of war. The results of the election were announced by genrral orders No. 42, from Holly Springs, the headquarters of Major-Geueral Ord, of the fourth military district, on December 16 of that year. The total registered vote of the state was one hundred and thirty-nine thousand three hundred and twenty-seven; votes cast seventy-six thousand and sixteen; "for convention," sixty-nine thousand seven hundred and thirty-nine; "against convention," six thousand two hundred and seventy-seven. At this point the feelings on both sides were probably more rancorous than even during the war, and neither side could consider the other as anything less than venomous. Whether fair or unfair, it was done, and that is the only fact with which this sketch has to deal. These orders indicated by name the persons who were elected, and on January 7, 1868 — exactly six years after the convention of secession — the delegates met ^ at Jackson and continued in session MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 13 until May 18, with B. B. Eggleston, of Lowndes - county, as president. A new constitution was adopted on May 15, and an ordinance passed to siibmit it to the registered voters for ratification, and to provide for the election of state officers, as it called for. This election took place on the 22d, and some days following, under the direction of the commanding- general. The election ordinance also provided that the legislature elected should meet on the second Monday after election was decided, and, before enacting any law, should adopt the fourteenth amendment. These provisions were carried out by general orders No. 19, of May 19, 1868, issued by command of Maj.-Gen. A. C. Gillem, with headquarters at Vicksburg. Provision was also made for meeting again in case of defeat of the constitution. This con- stitution was chiefly characterized by franchise provisions that would have excluded all who had voted either directly or indirectly for secession. The result was that it was defeated, and the convention proceeded to amend it by striking out those sweeping particulars. Con- gress ordered a new election and the commanding general removed Governor Humphreys in July, replacing him with a military governor — Gen. Adelbert Ames. On December 1 (1869), over a year later, this amended constitution was ratified by the people, and James L. Alcorn was elected governor, and the lieutenant-governor chosen was E. C. Powers. On the following February 23 (1870), congress passed an act of admission to representation, on condition that state officers and legislators take prescribed oaths that would exclude from those positions men who had held any of them at any time before they took part in rebellion and because the three national amendments were ratified. Governor Alcorn was elected to the national senate, and was succeeded as governor by Lieutenant-Governor Powers in 1871. Practically five years had elapsed since the surrender of General Taylor before Mississippi resumed her former official status in the Union, during which time she was practically under military power, although part of the time formally a civil state. Such an unfortunate con- dition is always one of strife and abuse, and the great mass of ignorant, newly enfranchised negroes, with exaggerated ideas of their newly found powers, made a complication of diificulties almost unparalleled in history, and a situation peculiarly humiliating to the high-spirited white citizens who had until then been the sole arbiters of the state's action. It is hardly possible that so great an accession of ignorant voters, with all the susceptibility to manipula- tion that ignorance implies, should not cause a weak, if not disastrous, financial and other management of the affairs of state. Intelligence in the majority of voters is an acknowledged fundamental condition of successful self-government; there can not be success without it; without it monarchy is better. It maybe, however, that out of the bitter experiences of. that period lessons have been learned by all concerned that will make the path for the future more plain. Since the enfranchised population in this state embraced so large a proportion of the whole, it is probable that the situation here was aggravated above that of other states, and thus gave more force to the demand for white supremacy, which might be justly interpreted the supremacy of intelligence, which is demanded everywhere. But mass and ignorance and intelligence with less numbers when pitted against each other from natural or artificial causes, furnish one of the worst conditions in which humanity can find itself. It is a condition that stimulates the worst powers on both sides, and apparently, like a disease, must run its course. Just such a strife continued during the first five years imder the new constitution and restored status of the state. The impeachment of Governor Ames, who was elected in November, 1873, was only an incident of the struggle, although the leading one, and led to his resigna- tion and the succession to that office of John M. Stone, the present governor of the state, then president of the senate in 1876. Governor Ames, in his message, charged the successful 14 BIOQRAl^niGAL AND IIIHTORIGAL movement with intimidation of the negro vote by an unlawful military organization and for the mere purpose of feeling their old mastery over the negro; while the legislature, charging Governor Ames and two other executive officers with corruption in office, began impeachment proceedings, which were dismissed uiion assurances of his resignation. This struggle reached its climax in the election of November, 1875, when, in what is known in political parlance as " the great revolution" occurred, which was a hotly-contested election, resulting in white supremacy or the supremacy of intelligence and property in the affairs of state. It is not the province of this sketch to determine whether the charges of intimidation are true, or if true a wrong; it is a matter of public knowledge, however, that these charges are the basis of the recently agitated national election bill. True or untrue, the charge was made, and involved the withdrawal of the large numbers of colored men who had been in prominent positions in the state and even in congress. It also resulted in the quiet and more economic administration which has since followed, and a growing prosperity that has given the state time to recuperate her wasted powers and take on the vigor of the new order. This is even more true of the condition of the colored population than the whites. During about twenty years under the constitution of 1868-9 few amendments were made, but many causes contributed to make a demand for a new constitution whose franchise provisions would eliminate a large mass of ignorant votes, and thus remove any basis that might remain of the long-standing charge. The constitution of 1868-9 was not that of 1832 revised, but a new instrument made by a part of the population of the state, almost entirely different from that which made the constitution of 1832 or the present one. A large propor- tion of the convention were of the then newly enfranchised race, while the white element was largely of a class not identified with the hitherto ruling element in the state. One fact will illustrate: A prominent republican club of New York city sent to the convention copies of all the state constitutions then in existence, to aid them in forming one with, if possible, the best elements of all. Whether they succeeded is not for this sketch to determine. It is but natural from the nature of the case that this assembly should be considered by the then opposition as a burlesque on conventions, and so it was dubbed by them the "Black and Tan convention," a cognomen that will probably indefinitely attach to it. On the other hand, the convention itself, amidst all its difficulties of composition and opposition, was ablaze with that enthusiasm which the newly enfranchised freedmen felt on assuming a part in self- government for the first time, however crude the part might be. The sight could not have been otherwise than almost outrageous and ludicrous to the eyes of those who beheld their former slaves posing as their lawmakers. The constitution made, however, was largely, if not entirely, the product of white men. While its phraseology and arrangement difi'ered from that of 1832, and its leading features had regard to securing the new order of things, its provisions were not very dissimilar, except in a few particulars, one of the most prominent of which was an elaborate system of public schools, which, while intended for all classes, was especially directed to the education of the colored race. The system provided for state and county supervision, a system now so com- mon and so costly, too, but one upon which its advocates believe the welfare of the state and nation both rest. The franchise was confined simply to all males of age, with the usual exceptions. After twenty years under this constitution, and about fifteen years after the " great revo- lution " of 1875, there was approved, on February 5, 1890, "An act to provide for calling a convention to amend the constitution." On March 11 Governor Stone ordered an election to be held for delegates on July 29 following. The composition of the convention was to MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 15 be the same as that of the house of representatives as to numbers, and fourteen delegates-at- large were to be elected. On August 12 they assembled at Jackson, and were called to order by Hon. George M. Govan, secretary of state. Hon. S. S. Calhoon, of Hinds, was chosen president, and Mr. E. E. Wilson, of the same county, was made secretary. There were one hundred and thirty-four members, of whom it is interesting to note the large proportion of lawyers and farmers; and that all were democrats, with the exception of four, two of whom were republicans, one a conservative and one a greenbaoker. The convention continued in session until November 1 (1890), when the new constitution was adopted. " Our mission here," said President Calhoon in his closing address, " has been accomplished as best it could be upon adjustment of the various opinions and interests of the different sections of Missis- sippi. Restricted by the Federal constitution, we have tried to secure a more elective fran- chise without race discrimination or injustice. We knew when we assembled what the nation will yet learn — that it is hardly possible for any two of the distinct types of mankind to co-exist with divided political sovereignty. The hopelessness of the complete success of such an experiment is illustrated by all history and proved by all reasoning from natural laws. Still, it falls to our lot to repeat the effort. We will do our part in good faith, and the failure, if it shall come, will not be the fault of either race, but will result from the laws of our being, which impel each to combine to achieve or resist the domination of the other. Apprehending that harmonious political cooperation of diverse races is extremely doubtful, if not impossible, we must, neverthe- less, do the best we can ; and we may congratulate ourselves that it is the negro who dwells among us, as his race more readily than any other takes on the semblance of the manners, customs, religion and civilization of our own. We tax ourselves more heavily in proportion to prop- erty values than, perhaps, any other people, to educate him, and this we shall continue to do, but with faint hope of obtaining any real political homologation. In the exercise of the right of suffrage it was to be expected that there would be occasional disturbances and local conflicts between the two races. These have occurred in the past, but in fewer instances, no doubt, than would have taken place under like circumstances in any Northern state. We hope to see none in the future. Political partisanship has naturally prevented an impartial view of our situation. This we can not avoid. We can only say to our sister states that, doing the best we can, we sit patiently under the flag and await events. To that flag we are all true, because we have aided in garlanding it with that glory which hangs about its folds. To the Union we are true, bsiause the cement of the whole is the blood of our ancestors. It is a union of strength, and should be a union of love to all its states and sections. We say to our brethren of the North, East and West, that we are willing to bear cheerfully our full share of the public burdens, to pour out our blood in equal measure for the common defense, to share in the misfortunes and rejoice in the welfare of our sister states; even willing, at their behest, to try the dangerous, and probably impracticable scheme of dividing political power with another and outnumbering race; willing to do all things except to yield up the common civilization of our common country, which civilization was constructed, has been maintained and can be continued only by the white race. There is but one sovereign by divine right. That sovereign is mind. I look in vain for any instance of African contribu- tion to the disclosure of undiscovered truths tending to ameliorate the individual or the social condition of man. The race up to this time has shown no science, no literature, no art, no enterprise, no progress, no invention. It sometimes develops a reflected light of civilization, but never yet the life-giving heat from internal fires of intellect and energy which impel to intelligent and systematic activities. I hope better things from it in future. Withdrawn from the envelopment of white civilization, the negro race seems unable to maintain even its 16 BTOOnAI'IIICAL AND HltiTORIOAL own imitative acquiremtnits. 11 seems unfit to rule. It seems to mean, as it always has meant, stagnation, the enslavement of woman, the brutalization of man, animal savagery, uni- versal ruin. Yet, confronted with this sad trial, it is our duty under the constitution of the United States to undertake the great task of carrying on intelligent republican government in Mississij^pi with his full cooperation, and with his rights and franchises, as guaranteed by the organic Federal compact, not only unimpaired, but fully protected. " Aside from the suffrage, gentlemen," continued the speaker, " you have perfected a judiciary system, the best I know where there prevails a dual system of law and equity pro- cedure. The limitations you have placed on legislative power in reference to local measures and other matters will soon, of themselves, largely overpay the cost of this constitutional con- vention, and will enforce a wiser and juster exercise of that power, and thus contribute greatly to the welfare and happiness of the masses of our people." Further on he said: " In my judgment the material interests and moral advancement and the people of both races here depend on the predominance, in government, of that virtue of intelligence which, for the present at least, can come only from that race which in the past has shown a capacity for the successful administration of free institutions. That race alone can now safely exercise the function of ruling with moderation and justice, and accomplish the great purpose for which governments are established. Your article on corporations has emancipated the people from the thralldom of combined capital incorporated by and under the sanction of the state. You have made the creature subject to its creator. Your article on education reflects the generosity for which our state is justly famed, and if erroneous, is along the lines of noble and magnanimous endeavor. If the pockets of our impoverished people can bear the draft, you are right and they will never complain. Viewing the instru- ment in all its parts and as a whole, I do not hesitate to declare the opinion that there is nowhere a better constitution than the one you establish." This instrument is practically a new constitution in provisions, arrangement and phra- seology. It is simply arranged in fifteen articles and a schedule, distributed under the following subjects: 1, Distribution of powers; 2, Boundaries of the state; 3, Bill of rights; 4, Legis- lative department; 5, Executive; 6, Judiciary; 7, Corporations; 8, Education; 9, Militia; 10, The penitentiary and prisons; 11, Levies; 12, Franchise; 13, Apportionment; 14, General provisions; and 15, Amendments to the constitution. It is most elaborate and detailed in its provisions, and indeed seems to have adapted the best fruits of the experience of this and other states to Mississippi's present and probable future needs. The leading features have been indicated above by the address extracts, and more detailed account must here be con- fined to the franchise article. This feature requires an elaborate time condition of residence and registration to be complied with, and that all taxes required must be paid, a part of which is a poll tax for school purposes. Besides these provisions, another is added that, after the first day of 1892, every voter must be able to read, or sufficiently interpret when it is read to him, the state constitution. Several ordinances were passed by the convention, among which was one providing that the system of balloting known as " the Australian system," now so generally in use, shall be used until January 1, 1896, to which time the terms of the leading state executives have been extended by a second ordinance. Others are incidental to the convention itself, in regard to penitentiary farm, the election of a land-commissioner in 1895, in regard to doubtful swamp- land claims, to issue $500,000 of bonds for levee purposes, in regard to the complete estab- lishment of Pearl river county, and one to exempt from taxation for ten years all permanent factories hereafter located in the state before the year 1900. Such is the present constitu- MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 17 tional condition of Mississippi after a little over a quarter of a century's existence of a new epoch in her career. The state capital has been at Jackson so many years that it might iiroperly be supposed to always have been so located, for he is a man older than the state itself who can remember its location elsewhere. The successive removals of the provincial and territorial capitals have been indicated. By the constitution of 1817 the first session of the legislature was to be held at Natchez and thereafter as determined by law. Ver}- soon afterward, February 20; 1819, a grant of two sections of public land was made by the United States in any portion where the title of the Indians had been secured, and which was to be located by the state. Almost two years later (February 12, 1821), at the time the monster county of Hinds was created to include the new Choctaw cession, a commission was chosen by the state to locate- their grant of two sections " within twenty miles of the true center of the state." Those com- missioners were Gen. Thomas Hinds, Dr. William Lattimore and James Patton, who reported their choice, and on November 28 following, provision was made for the survey and laying out of the present capital, " the town so laid out to be called and known by the name of Jackson, in honor of Major-General Jackson." Peter A. Van Dorn succeeded James Patton, and it is interesting to note the progress of the work in reserving lots or "greens" for the capitol, court- house, college or academy, executive mansion, and the sale of lots, one incident of which was to secure the immediate building of residences by giving ten preferred lots to those purchasers who would, within a year, build a representative log or frame house, " not less than thirty feet in length." On June, 30, 1822, the plans of the commissioners were ajaproved and the town established, whereupon the temporary state buildings were ordered and future sittings of the assembly were ordered there. We ma}' imagine the commissioners viewing the bare landscape and pointing to this hight and that as the most commanding one above which was to rise the dome of a future stately capital, finally deciding upon one that would overlook the ferry and valley of Pearl river, and as the map lay before them, afterward choosing the names Capitol, State, President, Congress and others for the streets. A decade passed, however, before the state was ready to grace the sites chosen with suit- able architectural stnictures to represent the dignity and power of the state as well as furnish the government a home. On February 26, 1833, measures were taken to effect this by pro- viding for the sale of lots and otherwise to grant §95,000 for the capitol and ?10,000 for the executive mansion. As is common in such cases the completion of the buildings was delayed several years, and the cost rose to several hundred thousand dollars in the end. William Nichols was the architect chosen to complete the buildings, and was made state architect in 1836. A commissioner of public buildings was appointed in 1838 and Charles Lynch was chosen, at which date also provision was made for the reservation of a commons or park. In 1841 the office of keeper of the capitol was created and William Wing appointed to it. On January 29, 1842, the apartments of the capitol were distributed as follows: In the basement story. No. 1 was given to the governor; No. 2, the secretary of state; No. 3 to the clerk of the high court of errors and appeals; No. 4 to government stationery; No. 5 to the keeper of the capitol; No. 6 to the adjutant- general; No. 7 to the chancery court; No. 8 to the chancellor; No. 9 to the archives; No. 10 to the attorney-general; No. 11 to the clerk of chancery court; No. 12 to the state treasurer; No. 13 to the state auditor. On the first floor, No. 1 was assigned to the senate; No. 2 to the senate committee; No. 3 to the secretary of the senate; No. 4 to the senate committee; No. 5 to the enrolling clerk of the senate; No. 6 to the high court of errors and appeals; Nos. 7 and 8 to the house com- mittee; No. 9 to the enrolling clerk of the house; No. 10 to the chief clerk of the house, and 18 BIOGRAPIHCAL AND HISTORICAL No. 11 t(i the house of representatives itself. On the second floor, No. 1 was given to the state agricultural society; No. 2 to the senate committee; No. 3 to the librarian; No. 4 to the library; No. T) to the judges of the high court of errors and appeals, and Nos. 6 and 7 to the house committee. Of course some changes have since occurred, among which may be mentioned the removal of the library to the basement facing in the rotunda. The capitol, now showing the effects of age and rough usage, is still a chaste and dig- nified piece of Greek architecture, with an Ionic face of six columns, looking down Capitol street, the main building being of a severe and somewhat earlier form, and all surmounted by a dome and extension, from which is gained a broad, picturesque view of the city, spread out in gently-rolling proportions on all sides except the east, where spreads the winding Pearl valley. Here have been enacted the varied experiences of the state for nearly three- quarters of a century, with the exception of a brief period during the war, when Columbus was the temporary capital; and in commemoration of that great tragedy of war in which was spilled much of the best blood of the state, the south part of the oblong grounds, neatly inclosed and extending along two blocks of State street, has been adorned by an elaborate and stately monument, on whose white marble one may read this legend: " To the Confeder- ate Dead of Mississippi." This was unveiled with splendid ceremonies, on June 3, 1891, before multitudes from every part of the South, as the results of five long years of earnest effort by the ladies of Mississippi, organized on June 1 5, 1886, as the Confederate Monu- ment Association of Mississippi. The piece is sixty-four feet high from the ground line, and is composed of four main parts : the die, a castled chamber thirteen feet high by fourteen feet wide, fitted to contain a life-size statue of Jefferson Davis, which is now in preparation; the plinth of four Egyptian columns, supporting an entablature, and seven feet square by nine feet high ; the spire shaft, three feet eight inches square at the base, tapering thirty feet to a top two feet square, and surmounted by a statue in Italian marble, of a Confederate soldier and gun in parade rest, six feet ten inches in hight. The first public suggestion for such a monument was made by Mrs. Luther Manship, of Jackson. Passing down Capitol street, one finds the third square on the right slightly elevated, and amidst its luxuriant foliage and lawn rises an elegant structure of Greek simplicity where the state's governors have long resided. To the north the executive mansion, first occupied by Governor Tucker in 1842, looks out upon the pleasing proportions of the public park, which occupies a square. The governors of Mississippi have usually been among her ablest sons, and not a few among them those whom the people delight to honor. The territorial governors began with Winthrop Sargent, in the summer of 1798. His unfortunate administration has already been referred to. It closed on the 22d of November, 1801, on the arrival of the second governor, William C. C. Claiborne, after a term of about three years. The second administration was the first really successful one, and resulted in the satis- faction of all classes. Governor Claiborne not only had to handle the affairs of the territory wisely, but kept so wisely in hand the complications due to proximity to the Indians and Louisiana that on December 2, 1803, leaving Col. Cato West, secretary of the territory, in charge, he went to New Orleans after two years of successful efforts, and became governor of that new territory in October, 1804. On January 26, 1805, Eobert Williams, of North Carolina, arrived at Washington, the capital, and succeeded Governor Claiborne. His was an administration notable for the state's prosperity and his own unpopularity. It was in this period that the famous experiences of Aaron Burr occurred, that part which occurred in this territory being due to the action of his MEMOIliS OF MISSISSIPPI. 19 secretary, Cowles Mead, acting as governor in his absence. It was then too that the people first elected their delegate to congress instead of the legislature. Alter four years he was replaced by a new appointment made by President Madison. Governor David Holmes, a native of Virginia, was the third executive, whose long administration of over eight years began in March, 1809, and closed with the career of the territorial form of government in December, 1817. These were the eventful and trying years of the Creek wars, the British war and the evolution of statehood, and successfully did the governor guide affairs through them. The state of Mississippi under its new constitution chose to honor Governor Holmes by election to the office he had held so long by presidential appointment; and he served during its organization for two years until 1819. The second governor was George Poindexter, who served one term to 1821, one of the ablest men that ever graced a gubernatorial chair anywhere. His codification and revision of the state laws is a masterpiece in that line. Governor Walter Leake served with ability during two quiet administrations (1821-5), his death occurring a few weeks before his second term closed, which period the lieutenant- governor, Gerard C. Brandon, acted as his successor. He was the first to be honored by reelection. The fourth governor, elected in 1825, was Mr. Leake's lieutenant-governor, Mr. Brandon, who was also the first governor and was a native of Mississippi. His four years of service as executive covered the period of agitation over the noted Planter's bank bonds, and that for a new constitution. Gov. Abram M. Scott entered upon the duties of his office in January, 1832, but died in November, 1833, before hia term was finished, Lieutenant-Governor Fountain serving the unfinished period. His administration was successful and marked chiefly by the adop- tion of the new constitution. The sixth governor, serving one term during 1834-5, was Hiram G. Runnels, whose able but quiet administration was uneventful. The administration of 1836-7 was that of Gov. Charles Lynch, the seventh governor. Alexander G. McNutt, the eighth man who had been elected to the office of chief executive, was one of the strongest men the state has produced. His two terms covering the years 1838-42 were agitated by not only national financial trials, but the famous struggle over the Union bank bonds, whose repudiation his bold efforts secured probably more than any other one influence. It was in 1840 that Gen. Andrew Jackson was so enthusiastically received as a guest by the state. The ninth governor, serving for 1842 to 1844, was Tilghmau M. Tucker, whose adminis- tration was quiet and successful. One incident of interest was the defalcation of the state treasurer, Eichard S. Graves, for about $50,000. Gov. Albert G. Brown was another of Mississippi's stalwart statesmen, whose adminis- tration (1844-8) was chiefly marked by the state's action in the Mexican war. His wisdom is indicated among other things by his efforts to secure to the state a public-school system on an adequate scale. The administration of the eleventh governor of Mississippi, Joseph Mathews, was une- ventful and covered the years from 1848 to 1850. Another prominent figure is the twelfth governor, Gen. John A. Quitman, who entered on his duties in 1850. His administration is complicated by his resignation, whereupon two successive presidents of the senate filled the unexpired term, namely, John I. Guion and 20 nioauArirrcAi. and iiitiTOiinjAL James Whitfield. Tlie rosignntion was for llio puri^se of trial fi)r complicity in the Lopez expedition against Cuba, bnt he was acqiiittiHl. This administration is marked by the anti- compromise convention of IS,")!. Gov. Henry S. Foote succeeded as the thirtetuith chief executive in 18-"):^, and was one of the brilliant men of the state. The repudiation of the Planter's bank bonds at the polls, after the senate had unanimously declared them legal and binding, and the decision of the high court of errors and appeals that the Union bank bonds were valid, were the two promi- nent events of his administration. The fourteenth governor served two terms, covering the years 1854-8, quiet but success- ful. This was Gov. John C. McRae. Gov. William Mc Willie's administration was also a quiet one of one term, 1858-60. In 1860 the sixteenth governor, John J. Pettus, was inaugurated, and under this vigorous executive the well-known events of the war were precipitated. He served two terms. Gov. Charles Clarke's administration began in 1864 and ended with military control; the incidents of this period are mentioned elsewhere. Judge William L. Sharkey was provisional governor in 1865. Gov. Benjamin C. Humphreys entered upon the duties of his office in October, 1865, and served until removed by the military forces. Gen. Adelbert Ames was made military governor, as has been indicated. On March 10, 1870, Gov. James L. Alcorn was inaugurated as an elected executive, but, as has been mentioned, he was succeeded by Lieut. -Gov. R. C. Powers, on his election to the national senate. Gov. Adelbert Ames was inaugurated in January, 1874. His administration was noted for confusion, proceedings of impeachment against him, his resignation, and " the great revo- lution," all of which belongs to the chapter on politics. The president of the senate. Col. John M. Stone, succeeded to the office of chief execu- tive by virtue of this office in 1876, and was elected in 1877, serving until 1882. Since his induction into this office the state has entered upon a career of quietness and prosperity in marked contrast to the years since 1861. The founding of the Agricultural and Mechanical college was accomplished during his term. Gov. Robert Lowry's administration was the longest in years that the state had witnessed; it was but two terms, but their length was four years instead of two, covering the years 1882 to 1890, a period of vast recuperation and development to the state. The establishment of the Industrial institute for girls, the East Mississippi insane asylum, and the Railroad commission, as well as the unprecedented construction of railways and increase in manufact- ures and other industries, place this period among the most remarkable ones in the career of the state. The present administration presents the unique and highly complimentary circumstance of the recall of a former governor to the executive chair after an interval of two terms. Gov. John M. Stone, having served six years so successfully in times of trial, entered upon his duties again in January, 1890. The adoption of the new constitution is the most promi- nent event so far in his administration. The present epoch, covering the last thirty years and characterized chiefly by the new political status of the negro, presents from a governmental point of view practically three periods— the first or military period, from 1861 to 1868-9; the second period under the con- stitution of 1868-9, from that date to 1890, and the present period under the constitution of 1890. The first period may fall into two sections, the one under secession and that part, from MEMOIlif< OF MIS.STSSim. 21 1865 to 1869, under military power. The divisions of the second period may be made on the basis of the predominance of races, the colored race previous to 187"', ;ind the white race afterward, the former covering about eight years of the constitutional period mentioned, and the latter about fourteen years. This division is, however, less governmental than political or partisan. As a constitutional epoch its periods are necessarily based on its relations to the national constitution as well as on its internal forms. Few governments of the world present more striking evolutions in the course of a little less than two centuries, or evolutions more worthy the interest of the most profound student of governments, than does the career of the people and the boundaries known as the state of Mississippi. But more pregnant with interest and mystery than all the past is the problem that confronts her at this moment — fortunately a problem whose magnitude no one realizes more than her own citizens, and one whose solution seems so far to bafile the best minds of the civilized world. It is a question which involves so many elements — elements so elusive, too — elements totally misunderstood to those not on the field, and elements almost equally distorted by the prejudices and passions aroused in one in the midst of them. Fortunately — a tame word in this case — it has been lifted out of dense and hideous depths of ignorance and passion by over a quarter of a cen- tury of that great purifier — Time; but it has not wholly escaped either the ignorance nor the passion and prejudice yet. No one, however, who has investigated the situation at all fairly, can doubt that all concerned are manfully setting themselves to its solution. All concerned includes the civilized world; for all are interested in the capacity of republican or democratic institutions to meet every condition; but those more immediately concerned may be named, without regard to order, as the white people of this state, the colored people, the national government, and those in all lands who have especially at heart the civilization of the African race. All these have plans to offer from their own view points more or less excellent, but none wholly satisfactory to the four interested nor to themselves in all respects. The conditions are: A population over half of which is colored and with all the ignorance and incapacity of ex-slaves as to the mass; an outnumbered white population with all the intelligence in it, refinement and culture, the product of years under a regime of aristocratic wealth; a forced political equality; the consequent struggle for mastery, because of numbers on the one hand and of intelligence on the other; both determined to stay in the state, the one because of home and property, the other because of home, inertia and climatic fitness; both bound by a certain dependence to the other, the white on the labor of the negro, appar- ently so necessary in this climate, and the negro on the intelligence and capital of the white people; and yet both separated by that peculiar and mysterious race instinct so beyond our grasp, and that too intensified by an irritated past. The alternatives are: A stumbling, blundering, ignorant and inexperienced government by a colored majority; or a skilled and able government by the minority white population, with some form of suppression of the ignorant majority. The point of issue seems to be that one race is determined to grow in self-government by blundering experiment involving the more intelligent race in the confusion, but is not strong enough to effect it; while the other race is strong enough, and is determined, by virtue of its intelligence, to govern the best for both, and let the negro grow in self-government the best he may under tutelage. It is a case in which "of two evils choose the less," and even many negroes, as well as the white race, believe the latter to be the less, and seem to be acquiescing. Meanwhile, as said above, plans of solution are rife. Among those of every land espe- cially interested in the civilization of the colored race, there are those that believe our colored 23 jhaaltAPlIiaAL ANJJ II/STOU/OAL population should be Hont to Africa or to somo givc^n region like the Indians in Indian terri- tory and colonized, but, with ihe exce|ition of a few educated or aggressive colored people interested in Siberia and the evangelization of Africa, the colored people receive this coldly, many insisting that the v?hole world shall Ixs free to thein, and that such a course would cut them off from the civilization gained by the European races. "Besides, how long would it be before white people would be so numerous in Africa that the question would simply be revived there?" they say. The plan is held as merely speculative, even by the white people. Another class hopes and believes that, whatever happens, another generation of education and a purer religious teaching, along with the possession of property and perfected family life, will find a silent but effective solution. The national government, when in the hands of those watchful for the infringement of the fourteenth amendment to the constitution, has proposed to resort to the measures of reconstruction, at least as far as the election of national officers is concerned, by a law that would ajjply equally all over the union, but, for many reasons, not the least being the fear of the precedent of introducing the army to the poles anywhere, this has not been effected. There is no doubt, too, that increasing general knowledge of the difficulties of the situation by the whole nation has also tended to discourage it. There are few, probably, who have really seen the situation but would look doubtfully uj^on such a measure. Besides, it would not be a solution, but only a return to the second alternative. The colored people's solution has been described, as held by many of them. Others pro- pose some joint divisioa of offices between the two races on a compromise ticket, as has been secured in places where the negroes are less agricultural than in this state and more largely educated and owners of property, and where the white people, in consequence no doubt, are more inclined to concession, and the negroes prompted less by a feeling of might and right in numbers. Finally, the white people of the state have undertaken what they hope to be an ultimate solution by an educational and tax qualification for franchise, which, while it may disqualify a few white men, will sift out large numbers of ignorant and shiftless negroes until the hith- erto legal colored majority will no longer be a menace to intelligent government. This will also make a class of conservative colored voters, and constantly impress the value and respon- sibility of franchise upon the rest, while holding out encouragement and inducement to that education and property responsibility, the former of which, at least, is the rock of safety upon which alone successful self-government can rest. MEMOIEH OF MISSTSSTPPI. 23 (©HAPTSr^ II. LATER LEGAL AND JUDICIAL HISTORY. (5 I HE war got itself finished and done with at last, and nothing was left to the shattered ' I state except to pull itself together as best it might and try to get oyer the dreadful ~^ wreck. On the 6th of May, 1865, Governor Clarke issued a proclamation to the people, in which, among other things, he informed them that he had called the legislature to convene at Jack- son on the 18th of that month. But he was not allowed to proceed. The legislature was forbidden to assemble by the Federal authorities, the governor was imprisoned in Fort Pulaski, the courts were all closed, the archives and public records of the state were seized, the administration of the laws was suspended, the civil government was totally over- thrown and all of its functionaries removed from their offices. The military power reigned supreme. What was the condition of the laws during this very critical period ? This question has received judicial consideration. On the 30th of May, one John Harlan stole a gun; he was afterward indicted and convicted; he moved an arrest of judgment on the ground that at the time of the commission of the offense the constitution and laws of the state were sus- pended or overthrown and destroyed by J;he military power of the United States, and that no such sovereignty then existed or was recognized as the state of Mississippi. Of this the supreme court said: " We entertain no doubt that the laws of the state, civil and criminal, as they stood at the date of the secession ordinance, continued in force afterward, precisely as before, unafpected by that ordinance, or by the war, or by the deposition of the state magistrates in the month of May, 1865. The laws themselves were not suspended during the administration of General Canby and Provisional Governor Sharkey, but only their administration was temporarily suspended." On the 1 3th of June President Johnson issued a proclamation, in which, declaring that the Eebellion had, in its revolutionary progress, deprived the people of the state of all civil government, he appointed the Hon. William L. Sharkey to be provisional governor of the state, defining some of his powers and duties. Governor Sharkey's first act was the issuance of a proclamation, dated July 1, 1865, by which he appointed in every county the judges and clerks of probate courts, boards of police, justices of the peace and all other county officers. No provision was made for the circuit and chancery courts. Two days later he issued an order that the " act in regard to the action of replevin, and the amendments thereto passed by the legislature of Mississippi since the 9th day of January, 1861, be and the same is hereby declared to be in full force from this date." This act was one approved December 3, 1863, making provision for the speedy recovery of 24 jiToaitAi'irroAL and niKTOmOAL personal property wrongfully taken or detained, by a summary replevin before two justices of the peiice. This was the only judicature created by the governor for the assertion of legal rights. All other rights of that character wore left, for the time being,wholly without redress. On July 1 'i was established a system of courts unknown to the constitution either of the state or of the United States. It was created by commissions, of which the material parts are as follows: "I, W. L. Sharkey, provisional governor of the state of Mississippi, do hereby appoint the said (George T. Swann) to the office of special judge,with equity jurisdic- tion in all contfacts for cotton or other personal property in this state, with power to proceed in a summary way on petition to enforce specific performance or rescind contracts on notice to parties." The judge was empowered to issue process, to punish for contempt, and to appoint a clerk; and it was made the duty of sheriffs to execute this process and enforce its decrees. On the 25th of the month a supplementary commission was issued to the effect that " in decreeing specific performance of contracts in reference to cotton, or other property, he (Swann, or other judge) has power to make his decrees in the alternative for the cotton or other property, or for its value, if the property itself can not be had." These courts, specially organized for the sole purpose of enforcing or rescinding contracts for personal property, left all other equity jurisdiction unprovided for. They completed, with those already mentioned, the system of jurisprudence which the provisional governor thought proper to put in opera- tion during his administration. In the case of Scott vs. Billgerry, 40 Miss., 119, it was objected to the special courts described last above that the governor had no power to create such tribunals, and that their actions were coram non judice and void; but our supreme court decided that we were a conquered territory, and in that respect, as in others, subject to the power of the conquerer, and that the president might delegate the authority. The court, however, said: " The governor was a Federal officer, appointed to administer the Federal rule over the state, and the war-making power of that government was the source of all his authority." This tribunal, as created by the provisional governor, was not a state, but a Federal court, deriving its existence and all its powers from the Federal government. In July also, Governor Sharkey, by proclamation, called a constitutional convention to meet in Jackson on August 14, to be composed of delegates who were loyal to the United States, for the purpose of "altering or amending the constitution,'' so as to enable the state to " resume its place in the Union." That body (the fourth in the state's history) met accordingly. It consisted of seventy whigs and twenty-eight democrats. J. Shall Yer- ger was elected president. Its membership included James T. Harrison, of Lowndes- David W. Hurst, of Amite; James S. Hamm, of Kemper; Locke E. Houston, of Monroe; George L. Potter, William Yerger and Amos B. Johnston, of Hinds; Hugh A. Barr, of Lafayette; James S. Bailey, of Tallahatchie; Thomas A. Marshall, of Warren; Will T. Martin, of Adams- Ephraim G. Peyton, of Copiah; John W. C. Watson, of Marshall; Eobert A. Hill, of Tisho- mingo; Hampton L. Jarnagin, of Noxubee; Robert S. Hudson, of Yazoo, etc. The convention did not frame a new constitution, but confined itself strictly to the pur- pose for which it was called — alteration and amendment, and the undoing of the work of the convention of 1861. The ordinance of secession, and all others intended to make it effectual were annulled. Slavery was abolished. All legislative enactments, and all official acts of officers, not in conflict with the constitution and laws of the United States, or the constitution of the state as it was on January 1, 1861, were validated, with a few minor exceptions, as also were the proceedings of the courts, and all marriages celebrated, since the secession. ' The provisions in regard to the judiciary were these: MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. - '35 The special courts of equity theretofore, and thereafter to be, established by the prqyis- ional governor (it seems that none were in fact afterward established) were recognized, and provision made for appeals to be taken from their judgments to the high court; but it was provided further that when the courts known to the constitution and laws of this state should be established, such special courts should be no further recognized than to allow them to conclude the cases then pending. The twelfth section of the declaration of rights in the constitution of ,1832 ran thus: " No person shall, for an indictable offense, be proceeded against criminally by information, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia when in actual service, or by leave of the court for misdemeanor in office." The convention added the proviso, which has continued in substance to this day, " That the legislature, in cases of petit larceny, assault, assault and battery, afEray, riot, unlawful assembly, drunkenness, vagrancy, and otjier misde- meanors of like character, may dispense with an inquest of a grand jury, and may authorize prosecutions before justices of the peace, or such other inferior court or courts as may be established by the legislature, and the proceedings in such case shall be regulated by law." This proviso has been considered to apply to all offenses below felonies, and to empower the legislature to dispense in such cases with any trial by jury. Section 18 of article TV was extended so as to confer on the probate courts jurisdiction in minors' business. Theretofore its jurisdiction of this class had been limited to orphans' business, and it could not, for instance, appoint a guardian of the estate or person of a child whose father was living. The legislature was empowered to direct sessions of the high court to be held at other places than Jackson; reserving to Jackson, however, the right to at least one session per annum. A general election was ordered for the first Monday in October for representatives in congress and all state officers and members of the legislature; also, a special election at the same time for all county, district, judicial and ministerial officers, all terms to begin on the third Monday. The legislature was directed to convene on that day. The validity of the convention itsel:^was in doubt, and, of course, that doubt attached to all of its measures. In the case of Thomas vs. Taylor, 42 Miss., 651, this question was raised, but the supreme court waived it so far as the point of the excess of power by the presi- dent in organizing the provisional government was concerned, "inasmuch as the congress of the United States have recognized the existing government of the state as a provisional one." The legislature met in October, as directed. They passed quite a number of statutes, in the effort to adjust the laws of the state to conditions so embarrassing and unprecedented. The most noteworthy feature of their work was that in reference to the newly emancipated f reedmen, and which, meeting the disapproval of many of the Northern people, earned for the laws of that session the unfavorable appellation of the Black Code. Generally speaking, the statutes regulated the right of the negroes to the acquisition and enjoyment of property, their power to sue and be sued and to prefer criminal charges, their marriages, their contracts and the performance of them, the apprenticing of negro children, their carrying or owning arms, and their breaches of the peace. The legislature of 1867 repealed most of the objectionable features of the acts of 1865; thereby abolishing the distinctions made in respect to the power to acquire property, the criminal laws, the apprenticing of children, etc., but left them still incompetent as jurors. The act of November 24, 1865, established county courts, to be held once a month in each county, by the probate judge, as president, with two associates chosen by the justices of the 26 nroilRAPIITCAL AND II ISTOltlGAL peace for the county from their own number. The criminal jurisdiction, concurrent with the courts ah-eady invested therewith, extended to all offenses less than felonies; and it was empowered to inflict, not only the jjunishments already prescribed by law, but also suspension by the thumbs. The civil jurisdiction, concurrent also, embraced all civil suits at law or equity, including ejectments, where the value in controversy did not exceed $250; except that replevins were without any limit of value ; and except that the jurisdiction over forcible entries and unlawful detainers was exclusive. The writ of habeas corpus could be issued and heard in all cases of crimes within their jurisdiction. Crimes were prosecuted by information; and they were authorized to employ county attorneys. Special courts of the same powers, and going under the anomalous names of " the county court of (Grenada, for instance) " were established in the towns of Jackson, Okolona, Grenada, Meridian and Corinth. Appeals from the judgments of justices' and mayors' courts were to be taken to the county courts, instead of the circuit courts; and the decisions of such courts thereon were final. Suits and prosecu- tions originating in the county courts might be appealed, under conditions, to the circuit courts. An act of October 30, 1866, amended the foregoing as follows: The probate judges were made the sole judges of these courts, even for those of the towns; the county attorney was made elective; certain concurrent criminal jurisdiction in small offenses not previously cognizable by them was conferred on justices of the peace, and the terms were fixed at differ- ent intervals in different counties, ranging from one to six months. In October, 1865, also, the election ordered by the convention took place. Judges A. H. Handy, William L. Harris and Henry T. Ellett were elected to the high court bench, and the first term of that tribunal since the war (a special one) was in January, 1866. Judge Handy was made chief justice. The circuit and other courts resumed work in November. In organ- izing the circuit court of De Soto county, on the 19th of February, 1866, Judge Trotter pref- aced his charge to the grand jury by the remark that " It is upward of four years, I believe, since a court was organized and holden in De Soto county." In February, 1866, occurred an interesting conflict between the courts and an officer of the Freedman's bureau. The case of one Charles Uitard, a negro apprentice, was before the county court of Madison county, apparently on a charge against him of running away from his master. The master was charged with using him badly. The matter coming to the ears of Lieut. -Col. R. S. Donaldson, acting assistant commander of the bureau, he addressed to the probate judge a letter, enclosing an order of Lieutenant- General Grant, then recently made, which gave to the military authorities the power to interfere for the protection of freedmen of all ages in cases of prosecutions for offenses and punishments where they were not treated in equal manner and degree with the whites. Besides the inclosure of this order, Colonel Donaldson undertook to instruct the judge as to what he should do in the premises. This communication was referred to Governor Humphreys, who sent it to the major-general com- manding, with a letter in which he pointed out the fact that, so far as the differences in the laws of apprenticeship were concerned, the advantages were with the black children. He concluded: " Why the legislature has discriminated thus in favor of the freedman is not for the executive to inquire, but to avoid collision between the military and civil authorities, it is important for the civil officers to know, with certainty, whether these laws are to be nullified." The matter ended with a letter from Colonel Thomas, the assistant commander, to Lieutenant- Colonel Donaldson, in which these passages occur : " Nothing but the most convincing proof that the child was inhumanly treated should have caused you to take any step for his release, and then, only after the refusal of the judge of probate to release him on the presentation of the MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 37 facts, as they were before you. It is the policy of the bureau to recognize the civil power of the state to the fullest extent, and infuse into the minds of the freedmen respect for the civil oflScers and government under which they must live at no distant day. It is not desired to nullify any state law, but to soften the application of those parts that may seem oppressive, and to interfere for the protection of freedmen only in individual cases, when local prejudices may cause the executive or judical officers of the state to deny the freedmen the rights which we are here to secure them. If you will examine the decision of Judge Campbell, attached to this paper, you will see that he is willing to give the law an interpretation that is liberal and just. It would be wrong for the bureau to assume any attitude that would injure this officer's influence. It is my opinion that the larger number of judges in the state would render the same decisions, and that only isolated cases occur where the law is interpreted oppressively. It is but treating them with due respect to make an effort to correct an evil through them, before any other method is. adopted. You will see on reflection that it was not proper to write a letter of instructions to any officer of the civil government. You will therefore, in the case of Charles Pitard, write a letter to the judge of probate at Canton, Miss., saying that you withdraw your letter of instruction,' ' etc. No fuller vindication of the impartiality of the judiciary during this trying period could be desired than is made in this " official " order of the Freedman's bureau. The legislature met in called session on October 15, 1866, continuing, with two recesses, through February following. An act was passed creating four high court districts, and requiring the court to be held in each district, for that district, once in each year, at the towns of Oxford, Jackson, Macon and Mississippi city. This act, however, the high court, in the case of M. & O. K. E. Co. vs. Mattan, 41 Miss., 692, decided to be unconstitutional in this: the business of the court held in a district was limited to the district, instead of embracing that of the entire state. So that the court continued, as before, to hold two terms in Jackson only. "An act for the encouragement of agriculture," passed at this session, and approved February 18, 1867, is worthy of note. The country was in a greatly distressed condition, because of the destruction of values through the war and its ending. All of the ordinary bases of credit were destroyed or nearly so, and it became necessary to devise something to serve that purpose. The act provides that all debts for money, supplies, utensils, work-stock or other necessaries for the farm, shall constitute a prior lien on the crops not exempt, and on the animals and implements used; that advances of money, clothing or provisions, made by any owner or lessee of lands to his laborer working for a share of the crops, should con- stitute a lien on the share of such laborer until paid; that such liens shall be enforced by a bill in chancery, with sequestration; that mortgages might be given on crops to be produced within fifteen months; and that crops shall not be levied on or sold by any process until matured and gathered. This statute is the origin of our present law on this important subject. It has been altered in many respects; but under various modifications it has been introduced into the codes of 1871 and 1880. The remedy has been much simplified, and is now by a summary seizure (on affidavit and warrant), much like the old distress at common law. If litigation arises, it is in the law courts, not in chancery. In January the legislature unanimously refused to ratify the fourteenth amendment to the constitution of the United States, proposed by congress. In March the congress passed, over the president's veto, the " Act for the more efficient government of the late insurrectionary states." It provided " that said rebel states shall be 28 BIOGRAPHIC AI. AND HISTORIOAL divided iuto military districts, and made stibject to the military authority of the United States;" that " it shall be the duty of each officer assigned (to the command of such dis- tricts) to protect all persons in their rights of person and property, to suppress insurrection, disorder and violence, and to punish or cause to be punished all disturbers of the public peace and criminals; and to this end he may allow local civil tribunals to take jurisdiction of and. try offenders; or when in his judgnitnt it may be necessary for the, trial of offenders, he shall have power to organize military committees or tribunals for that purpose, and all interference under color of state authority with the exercise of military authority under this act shall be null and void," etc. Mississippi was placed in the fourth district, and Gen. E. O. C. Ord made military commander. And thus, for a second time, the state was placed under a bayonet rule. In July another act of congress was passed over the piesident's veto, declaring that it was the true intent and meaning of the act of March that the district com- manders might remove all civil and military officers claiming under authority of the states, and fill their places by appointment; and that no such commander, nor any of his appointees, should be bound by any opinion of any civil officer of the United States. Moved by this legislation and the action inaugurated thereupon. Judges Handy, Harris and EUett, being the entire high court bench, resigned on the 1st of October. They were just in time. Had they held on but a little longer they might have shared with Governor Humphreys the honor of ejection at the points of bayonets. General Ames, having been made military governor of the state June 15, 1868, made root-and-branch work of it. Every- thing was removed. For months there were no incumbents of many of the offices; not even appointees. In many of the counties even a marriage license could not be obtained so late as the spring of 1869. The clergy subjected themselves to liabilities to fines, as for violation of the law, in celebrating the nuptials of their youth. Nevertheless the marriages went on. Two cases illustrative of the practical working of the military tribunals are those of McCardle and of Yerger. About the 1st of November, 1867, Col. William H. McCardle, a distinguished editor, of Vicksburg, was arrested by the military authorities, under charges of, first, disturbing the public peace; second, inciting to insurrection, disorder and violence; third, libel; fourth, and impeding reconstruction. He sued out a habeas corpus before the Federal court at Jackson, but was by that court remanded to the military authorities. He then prayed an appeal to the Supreme court of the United States. The right of appeal was placed on a certain act of con- gress, passed February 5, 1867. The supreme court of the United States itself, shall now tell the remainder of the discreditable story: "A motion to dismiss the appeal was made here and denied. The case was then argued at the bar, and the argument having been con- cluded on the 9tljL of March, 1868, was then taken under advisement by the court. While the cause was thus held, and before the court had time to consider the decision proper to be made, the repealing act under consideration (that of March 27, 1868), was introduced into congress. It was carried through both houses, sent to the president, returned with his objections, repassed by the constitutional majority in each house, and became a law on the 27th of March, within eighteen days after the conclusion of the argument. The effect of the act was to oust the court of its jurisdiction of the particular case then before it on appeal, and it is not to be doubted that such was the effect intended. Nor will it be questioned that legislation of this character is unusual and hardly to be justified except upon some imperious public exigency' ' (75. U. S., 85). It was perhaps well for the supreme court which had been subjected to an indignity so great to speak of it in measured terms, but there is, and should be, no real measure for the scorn meted to a congress which, in time of profound peace, could prostitute MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 29 the legislation of the United States in a conflict with the editor of a village newspaper, and that at the expense of the credit of the highest judicial tribunal of the nation. Yerger's case arose later. On June 8, 1869, Col. E. N. Yerger slew Capt. J. G. Crane, mayor of Jackson by military appointment. A military commission was promptly organized to try him for murder. Objection was made to the competency of the mode of trial, but over- ruled. Pending the trial, Yerger sued out a habeas corpus in the Federal court at Ja,okson, under a special agreement made between his counsel and the attorney-general of the United States, in order that the important questions involved might be submitted for the consideration of the supreme court. He was remanded by the lower court to the military authorities, and took his appeal. At the December term, 1869, the case was argued specially on the point of juris- diction, and the court held that the jurisdiction existed notwithstanding the repeal of the act of 1867, for the reason that other acts still in force gave it the power to revise the decisions of the inferior courts of the United States in such cases. But while this important question of whether there was or was not in the United States any judicial power which could, in time of peace, revise the work of a military court in the trial of citizens was being settled, the necessity for such remedies was passing away. The constitution of 1869 had been adopted, and the state restored to its rights. When the judges of the high court resigned in October, 1867, there was no election of their successors by the people, but by the military commandant, Thomas G. Shackleford, of Madison county, Ephraim G. Peyton, of Copiah county, and E. JefEords, of Issaquena county, were appointed. Judge Shackleford was made chief justice. The first term under this bench was a special term in April, 1868. In 1869 Judge Jeffords was succeeded by George F. Brown. At the October term, 1869, the important case of Thomas vs. Taylor, 42 Miss., 651, was decided. It involved the question whether the state was liable for the payment of about $5,000,000 of treasury notes, commonly called " cotton money,'' issued during the war, under the act of December 19, 1861. The court held that while, of course, the war and the acts leading thereto, did not abolish the state considered either as territory or as people, yet still, the government in charge of the state was not legal; it was a usurping power, revolutionary, and never recognized by the United States; that while the convention of 1865 had ratified most of its legislative acts, it had not ratified those in furtherance of the rebellion, and the issuance of the notes in question was an act of that character. The notes were void. In the year 1867 an election was held by the military authorities, in accordance with the reconstruction act cited above, and a supplementary act of March 23, on the question whether a constitutional convention should be held, and for the choice of delegates in case it should be ordered. At this election a large number of the best and most intelligent white citizens were excluded from voting, by test oaths, penalties, etc. ; while the negroes, ignorant and marshaled by unscrupulous adventurers, were allowed to vote without any pretense of a statute or constitutional provision of the state conferring that privilege on them. The quali- fication for suffrage was dictated by congress. Such was the foundation of the constitution of 1869. The "Black and Tan " convention met in Jackson, January 7, 1868. It comprised a number of able, patriotic and true men, but the majority of its members were ignorant blacks and reckless white plunderers. Their work was finished on the 15th of May, 1868, and was submitted to the people for ratification as directed by the act of congress. The election resulted in its rejection. The white people of the state were deeply incensed at the whole conduct of the convention, and were especially indignant at certain clauses in the proposed constitution 30 BIOORAPUIOAL AND IIiaTORIGAL whicli disfranchised some of the best citizens. Thoy therefore accomplished its defeat, ulthough the election was held under military control, with troops stationed at as many as sixty different (juarters in the state. The matter was brought to the attention of congress by a message of President Grant's on the 7th of April, 1809, and on the lOth a bill was approved, which authorized the president to resubmit the constitution to the electors, and, in his discretion, to submit separately any provision or provisions thereof. This was done. The election, held on the 30th of November and the 1st of December, resulted in the ratifi- cation of the constitution, except that section 5 of the article on franchise, and sections 4 to 13 inclusive of the schedule, were rejected. At this election state officers and members of congress were also voted lor, by direction of the act of 10th of April. It is to be observed that these reconstruction acts and the proceedings under them, introduced into our election system the practice of registering voters. It was incorporated into the constitution, and has been retained until now. The most striking new features of this constitution are these: The office of lieutenant-gov- ernor is restored; imprisonment for debt is forbidden unqualifiedly; property qualifications are forbidden for any purpose; the right of secession is disclaimed forever; simple manhood qualification for suffrage, regardless of color, is established; a system of free schools is ordered to be established; the pledging of the state's credit in aid of any association, corpo- ration or person, is forbidden, as also is the taking of stock by the state in any corporation or association; the assumption or payment of any obligation contracted in aid of the Rebellion is prohibited, as also is the making of any demand against the United States for emancipa- tion of the slaves ; the legislature is ordered to provide for the sale of delinquent tax lands, and the courts required to apply the same liberal principles in favor of such titles as in sales by execution. This extraordinary provision, generally understood as designed to enalsle the party in power to prosecute more successfully such white citizens as should be charged with political offenses, appears: "The legislature shall provide by law for the indictment and trial of persons charged with commission of any felony, in any county other than that in which the offense was committed, whenever, owing to jirejudice, or any other cause, an impartial grand or petit jury can not be impaneled in the county in which the offense was committed." This provision, it is believed, was never put into practical operation. Another interesting provision is section 22 of article XII: " All persons who have not been married, but are now living together cohabiting as husband and wife, shall be taken and held, for all purposes in law, as married, and their children . . shall be legitimate." This was intended to legalize the relations of negroes, who had married while they were slaves, and were therefore incapable of making any binding contract. In the case of Dickerson vs. Brown, 49 Miss., 357, and in two others it was held that iinder this provision, while even those who had been previously living in unlawful relations could become husband and wife without any nuptial ceremonies, yet still their consent and acceptance of the legal relation must appear. Not even a constitution can marry two together witliout their consent; and the mere continuance of their intimacy after the constitution became operative was not sufficient. The constitutional provisions in regard to the judiciary were of great importance : First, the name of the high court of errors and appeals was changed to that of the supreme court, and the terms of the judges extended to nine years; second, the circuit courts were retained, and their minimum jurisdiction raised to $150; third, chancery courts, with a distinct judiciary, were established in each county, the chancellors being assignable by law to convenient circuits, and with full jurisdiction in all matters of equity, divorce, alimony, testaments, administrations, minors' business, idiocy, lunacy and dower; chancellors and MEMOIliS OF MISSISSIPPI. 31 circuit judges to hold their offices four and six years, respectively; fourth, the civil juris- diction of justices of the peace was extended to cases of $150 value of principal; fifth, the name of the board of police was changed to that of board of supervisors; sixth, the judges and chancellors alike were to be appointed by the governor, by and with the concurrence of the senate. The effect of these provisions, and of certain statutes shortly passed in furtherance of them, was to abolish the probate courts and transfer their jurisdiction to the chancery courts; also, to abolish the county courts, and distribute I heir jurisdiction between the Circuit and the magistrate's courts. Existing terms were ended, and new appointments were to be made. The legislature was required to meet annually, and the first session began January 11, 1870. That body ratified the fourteenth and fifteenth amendments to the constitution of the United States, passed elaborate statutes on the subjects of public education (a full account of which and of its results will be found in the chapter on education), of apprentices, the supreme, circuit and chancery courts, justices of the peace, besides many others of impor- tance. By act of June 9 it was ordered that three commissioners should be appointed to revise, digest and codify the laws, and to propose such amendments, alterations and new laws as they might deem advisable. Accordingly, J. A. P. Campbell, Amos R. Johnston and Amos Lovering, were appointed. The result of their labors revised, changed in many particulars and finally adopted by the next legislature, was the revised code of 1871, in sixty-six chapters. Judge Johnston was a native of Tennessee. He came to Mississippi about 1830 and settled in Hinds county, living in Clinton, Raymond and Jackson at different times, as busi- ness called. Until 1839 he was an editor. In 1836 he was a member of the legislature. He was elected circuit clerk in 1839, and while in that ofSce studied lav?. He served two terms, and then, in 1845, was elected probate judge. He was a member of the convention of 1851, in which he advocated acquiescence in the compromise measures, and the preservation of the Union. The fact that he was a Union man and a whig kept him out of political office, but indeed he seemed to care little for it. He was a member of the constitutional convention of 1865, and in 1875 of the state senate. He was a dignified, courteous and sympathetic gen- tleman; a studious, painstaking, thorough and successful lawyer. He died in 1879. Under the direction of the new constitution, it became necessary to reorganize the judi- ciary. The supreme judges elected were Ephraim G. Peyton, Horatio P. Simrall and Jona- than Tarbell. They were installed about April, 1870, and their first term of court was the special May term of that year. Judge Peyton was chosen chief justice. This organization continued until May, 1876, when Judge Peyton resigned, and on the 1st Hamilton H. Chal- mers was appointed, while Judge Tarbell's term expired, and on the 10th J. A. P. Campbell succeeded. Judge Simrall was then made chief justice. Judge Simrall's term expired on the 9th of May, 1879, and he was followed by James Z. George, who was made chief justice. On the 19th of February, 1881, Judge George resigned, and was succeeded by Timothy E. Cooper, Judge Chalmers becoming chief justice, under the rule of the code of 1880, to the effect that he shall be chief justice whose term is to expire first. Under this rule Judge Campbell became chief justice on the 10th of May, 1882, and Judge Cooper on the 11th of May, 1885. On the 7tli of January, 1885, James M. Arnold succeeded Judge Chalmers, deceased, becoming chief justice on May 11, 1S8S. On the 1st of Octoljer, 1889, Thomas H. Woods was appointed, vice Judge Arnold, resigned, and became chief justice. In May, 1891, 33 BIOOIiAPIIIGAL AND HISTORICAL Judge Woods was reappointed, and Judge Campbell became chief justice for the second time. Cooper and Woods associates. Judge Ellett began his public life in Claiborne county. He was there a successful lawyer. In November, 1846, he was elected to succeed Col. Jefferson Davis in the United States congress, and served until March, 1847. Declining reelection, he returned to the practice. He represented his county in the state senate continuously from 1854 to 1862. He was one of the commissioners who framed the code of 1857. When he resigned from the high court bench in 1867, as related, he went to Memphis, and there engaged in the practice of law until his death, which occurred in 1887. He was an enlightened, thoughtful and judicious legislator and judge, a dignified and deeply learned lawyer, a graceful and accom- plished gentleman, a pure, genial and kind man. Charles C. Shackleford was probably a Kentuckian. At all events he took a law degree at Transylvania university, and then came to Mississippi. When appointed to the high court bench he was a citizen of Madison county. He served several years as circuit judge after his retirement from that position. He did most of the work of the court while on the bench, and his opinions are very respectable. Ephraim G. Peyton was born in Kentucky, October 29, 1802. He came to Mississippi at seventeen, and was admitted to the bar in 1825. Settling in Copiah county, he was elected district attorney in 1839. He was reelected several times, but finally resigned in order to devote himself to a more settled practice. He was violently opposed to secession, and a life- long antagonist to the democratic party. After the war he afiiliated with the republican party, and was appointed to the supreme bench. He died in Jackson, September 5, 1876. Judge Peyton was a profound and accomplished lawyer with extraordinary assiduity in his studies. He was, too, a sincere, honest, courageous, refined, cultured and kind man. His opinions as a judge are of the finest type. Judge Chalmers was bom probably in Halifax county, Va., about the year 1833. He graduated at the University of Mississippi in 1853, and engaged in the practice of law in De Soto county. He was devoted to his profession and quickly took high rank in it. Raised to the supreme bench in 1 876, he was reappointed on the expiration of his term, and died in office, January 4, 1885. Judge Chalmers was unusually gifted. Accessible, genial and even jovial, in his bearing, he still had great personal dignity. His was the fortunate talent for winning warm friends. As a lawyer, he was industrious, dexterous, faithful and successful. His speech was fluent, attractive and sometimes eloquent. He was a learned, careful, inde- pendent and conscientious judge, and his opinions are exceedingly clear and satisfactory, sometimes a little ornate. His sudden death was generally felt to be a great loss to the state, and the reputation which he left is most enviable. Judges Simrall, Campbell, George, Cooper, Arnold and Woods are still living, and for that reason no effort will be made to enumerate their individual characteristics. Let it suffice to say that their labors have illustrated the legal literature of the state, and have placed its supreme court on a plane as high as that occupied by any state court in the Union. The attorneys-general of the state since the war have been these: Hon. Charles E. Hooker (since, for several terms, a member of congress) was elected in the fall of 1865 and held until October, 1868. There was then a period during which the office was vacant and the state was represented by different lawyers, usually by Jasper Myers, described in the reports as "acting attorney-general." In the election of 1869 Joshua S. Morris was chosen, and held the office until the year 1874, when he was succeeded by George E. Harris, an ex-member of congress. Thomas C. Catching, afterwards and now a member of congress, followed Gen- MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 33 eral Harris in 1878 and peuding the October term 1877. In January, 1885, Thomas S. Ford was appointed, vice Catchings, resigned; and in 1886 he was succeeded by Hon. T. Marshall Miller, the present incumbent. The circuit judges of the period between the war and the reconstruction were James M. Smiley, James F. Trotter, Alexander M. Clayton, William Cothran, John Watts, J. A. P. Campbell, J. Shall Yerger, W. H. Killpatrick, W. D. Bradford, H. W. Foote, John E. Mc- Nair, William M. Hancock, Thomas Shackleford, James S. Hamm and B. F. Trimble. The judges for the period between the inauguration of the reconstruction and the political revo- lution of 1876 were James M. Smiley, W. D. Bradford, William M. Hancock, — Vance, — GifEord, — Thigpen, B. B. Boone, Jonathan Tarbell, Green C Chandler, A. AldersoUj Uriah Millsaps, Robert Leachman, Jehu A. Orr, Orlando Davis, Charles C. Shackleford, Ephraim S. Fisher, Jason Niles, W. Cunningham and George F. Brown. Those who have served since the year 1875 are James M. Smiley, James A. Green, John W. C. Watson, Samuel Powell, B. F. Trimble, William Cothran, James M. Arnold, James S. Hamm, A. G. Mayers, Sol S. Calhoon, J. B. Chrisman, Upton M. Young, Ralph North, Charles H. Campbell, Joseph W. Buchanan, Winfield S. Featherston, A. T. Roane, Samuel H. Terral, Warren Cowan, W. M. Rogers, James H. Wynn, Locke E. Houston, George Winston, J. D. Gilland and James T. Fant. The chancellors appointed by Governor Alcorn and Governor Ames under the act of 1870 were William G. Henderson, G. S. McMillan, Wesley Drane, Thomas Christian, Theodoric C. Lyon, O. H. Whitfield, Austin Pollard, Arthur E. Reynolds, DeWitt Stearns, J. Fred Sim- mons, Dallas P. Coffey, J. J. Hooker, Samuel Young, Edward Hill, E. Stafford, E. W. Cabinniss, G. R. Gowen, D. N. Walker, J. W. Ellis, E. G. Peyton, Jr., W. A. Drennan, J. R. Galtney, R. Boyd, J. J. Dennis, C. A. Sullivan, William D. Frazee, C. C. CuUins, L. C. Abbott, J. N. Campbell, Peter P. Bailey, Thomas Walton, William Breck, H. R. Ware, R. B. Stone, E. H. Osgood and Hiram Cassidy, Jr. In 1876, when the democratic party came into power, the chancery districts were reduced from twenty-six to twelve, and from that time until now the chancellors have been Lafayette Haughton, A. B. Fly, Joseph C. Gray, Charles Clark, Robert W. Williamson, L. Brame, George Wood, T. B. Graham, E. G. Peyton, Jr., T. Y. Berry, Upton M. Young, Ralph North, J. Bright Morgan, W. G. Phelps, H. S. Van Eaton, Frank A. Critz, James G. Hall, Lauch McLaurin, Warren Cowan, Baxter McFarland, B. T. Kimbrough, Sylvanus Evans and W. R. Trigg. In 1888 the chancery districts were reduced to six, but increased to seven in 1890. In 1876 and 1878 the counties of War- ren and Adams, respectively, were made separate circuit- court and chancery districts, the offices of judge and chancellor being held by the same person. This arrangement was termi- nated in 1884, those counties and Sharkey being made a district of the usual kind. In the spring of 1866 the Hon. Robert A. Hill, of Tishomingo county, was appointed district judge of the United States for Mississippi, and the court for north Mississippi removed from Pontotoc to Oxford. In the year 1882 an eastern division of the northern dis- trict was established, the court to be held at Aberdeen, and in 1887 a western division of the southern district, the court to be at Vioksburg, and in 1888 a southern division of the southern district was established, the court to be held at Mississippi city. In 1889 the northern dis- trict was incorporated into the fifth circuit. Theretofore it had been in none, the district court exercising circuit court powers. The literature of the legal profession, other than statutes and codes, shall now engage the attention for a period. The first series of reports issued after the war were those of Reuben O. Reynolds — the 84 BIOGIUrillCAL AND HISTOBIGAL 40th to 42d Mississippi. They embrace all of the decisions made subsequent to the war and prior to the reorganization of 1 S70. The reporter, Colonel Reynolds, was born in Morgan county, Ga., and reared in Monroe county, Miss. He took an A. B. at the University of Georgia, and a B. L. at the University of Virginia. Entered upon the practice in Aberdeen, in 1856. In the army he lost an arm and rose to be lieutenant-colonel of the Eleventh Mississippi. In 1 875 he was elected to the state senate, and served in that capacity for twelve years. He died in 1887. Colonel Eey- nolds was an accomplished, gallant and chivalric soldier, an exact, painstaking and satisfactory reporter, a most disinterested, vigilant, able, untiring and patriotic legislator, an adroit, ingenious, thorough and brave lawyer. He was a man of great versatility. Quick-tempered and impulsive, yet self-controled and generous, his varied virtues were crowned by an unob- trusive but genuine piety. Altogether it would be difficult to find his superior in the combi- nation of graces which go to make a strong, honorable and attractive man. His successor as reporter was Joshua S. Morris, the attorney-general. Coming into office in 1870, Judge Morris published six volumes — 43d to 48th Miss. — the last terminating with the April term, 1873. The legislature of 1870 had ordered, by act approved July 18, 1870, a compilation of the criminal cases in all the volumes of Mississippi reports to date, anno- tated, to be called " Mississippi state cases." General Morris did this work, and the book issued in two volumes, not embraced in his regular series. General Morris was a lawyer, especially a criminal lawyer, of considerable ability. He died at Natchez in the year 1890. He was succeeded as reporter in 1875 by Harris & Simrall, composed of George E. Harris, the attorney-general, and G. H. Simrall. They published four volumes — 49th to 52d Miss. — ^the last ending in the midst of the October term, 1876. Their successors were Joseph A. Brown and J. B. H. Hemingway, who published thir- teen volumes, 53d to 65th Miss.; the last terminating in the October term, 1888. This series is not a work of collaboration, strictly speaking. The reporters parceled out the work, except Vol. 53. Mr. Brown alone reported 54, 57 and 59 ; while 61 was reported almost entirely by J. Bowmar Harris, Esq., for him. The other volumes were reported by Mr. Hemingway alone. The next reporters are the present incumbents, Messrs. L. Brame (the ex-chancellor) and Charlton H. Alexander. The gentlemen have published two volumes, 66th and 67th Miss. In 1872 a digest of the Mississippi reports, from Walker to 44th Miss., inclusive, by James Z. George, Esq., in which, however, the title of limitation of estates was prepared by Judge Clayton, and that of criminal law by William E. Barksdale, Esq. This digest does not include the two chancery reports of Freeman and Smedes & Marshall. These two volumes seem to have been omitted from all digests since Smede's. In 1881 Garnett Andrews, Esq., of Yazoo city, published a digest, embracing 45th to 56th Miss., and intended as a supplement to George's digest, and in 1888 Daniel W. Heidel- berg, Esq., of Shubuta, Miss., pu])lished a digest, also intended as a supplement to George's, embracing from 45th to 64th Miss. In 1883 Marvin E. Sullivan, Esq., of Water Valley, issued the Mississippi citations, being a table of all Mississippi cases which have ever been mentioned in the opinions of the high court and the supreme court of Mississippi, from the organization of the state, includ- ing all the chancery and law reports down to Vol. 59, inclusive. Quite a useful book for briefing, but not so useful as it would have been had it included the citations of cases from other states. On the 27th of February, 1878, by an act of that' date, the legislature authorized the MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 35 Hou. J. A. P. Campbell to revise and codify all the laws of the state of a general nature, and to submit the same at their next regular meeting. This was done, and the new code was considered by the legislature, amended in some respects, and adopted on the 5th of March, to become operative (except where otherwise provided in itself) on the first of November follow- ing, and from that date it repealed all acts and parts of acts, the subjects whereof were revised, consolidated and reenacted therein, or were repugnant to its provisions. This code is made more available by foot-notes citing the Mississippi cases in which the several statutes have been construed or applied. It is a very conservative revision. As the distinguished compiler says in the preface, " the main body of the existing statutes was pre- served, and no change was made merely for the sake of change. Where alteration was not deemed important, the existing law was preserved." The most striking changes were tlie abolition of the estates of dower and of tenancy by courtesy, of the rule in Shelley's case, and of the use of private seals. During the period from 1880 to 1890 there was little of general interest in this branch of state history. But on the r2th of August, 1890, pursuant to the act of February 5 previous, a constitutional convention (the sixth in the state's history) met in the city of Jack- son. It elected Hon. Sol S. Calhoon president, and after a session of seventy-two days, adjourned on the 1st of November, after adopting, without submission to the people for rati- fication, the constitution of 1890. Some of the most noteworthy general features of this instrument are these: Ability to read any section of the constitution, or to understand the same when read, or to give a reasonable interpretation thereof, and the payment of taxes, are made additional conditions to the right to vote. The regular sessions of the legislature are fixed at intervals of four years, with special sessions (also at four year intervals) between, and at the latter, nothing is to be considered except appropriation and revenue bills, and such other matters as may be acted on at an extraordinary session called by the governor. No appropriation-bill thereafter passed shall continue in force more than six months after the next regular meeting of the legislature. The legislature is directed to pass laws to accomplish a number of objects of general interest, such as, to regulate the acquisition and holding of lands in this state by non-resident aliens, or by corporations, etc. Quite a number of prohibitions is laid upon the legislature; e. g. : it is forbidden to pass special or local laws, for the benefit of individuals or corporations, in cases which are or can be provided for by general law, or where the relief sought can be given by any court of the state; or to pass special or local laws on any of twenty-one designated subjects (such as granting divorces, etc.), or to make donations of the public lands to individuals or incorporations. The governor is forbidden to exercise the par- doning power before conviction, and he is empowered to suspend from office any alleged defaulting state or county treasurer, or tax collector, pending the investigation of his accounts, and to make temporary appointments to fill the offices meanwhile. The governor, lieutenant- governor, auditor, treasurer, sheriffs and county treasurers, are all made ineligible as their own successors. All state executive officers are to be elected by votes of counties and repre- sentatives' districts, after the manner of the electoral college, but the electors themselves are dispensed with in this scheme. County officers, both executive and judicial, are to be selected in such manner as the legislature shall direct, but legislators are to be elected by the people; nor shall the legislature elect any other than its own officers, state librarian. United States senators, and presidential electors. The terms of all elective and county officers are fixed at four years. The leasing of convicts from the penitentiary is prohibited after January 1 , 1 89'". Corporations shall be created only by general laws, and none granted a charter for private 36 BIOGBAPHIOAL AND HI8T0BIGAL gain longer than ninety-nine years, and their property shall be taxed to the same extent as that of individuals. Public education is guaranteed for four months in each year, out of the public treasury. Devises of lands or money, direct or indirect, to charities or religious associa- tions, are forbidden. The prohibitions against property qualifications, contained in the con- stitution of 1869, are omitted. Not much change was made in the judiciary provisions. The supreme judges must be chosen from their respective districts as well as for them. The terms of chancellors and cir- cuit judges are fixed at four years. If suits are brought into the circuit court, when they should have been brought into the chancery court, they shall not be dismissed, but transferred, and vice versa. The chancery court is given jurisdiction to decree possession, rents, improve- ments and taxes in all suits to try title and remove clouds, and in all eases in which it had jurisdiction auxiliary to courts of common law, it may exercise such jurisdiction, although the legal remedy may not have been exhausted or the legal title established by a suit at law, and it may entertain suits on the bonds of fiduciaries or public officers for property received, or wasted, or lost by neglect or failure to collect, or suits involving inquiry into mutual accounts. The jurisdiction of justices of the peace is raised to $200. An ordinance was adopted, introducing the Australian ballot system, with Dortch's modifications, in all elections except those for congress, irrepealable before January 1, 1896. Section 278 of this constitution provided that the governor should appoint three suitable persons as commissioners, "whose duty it shall be to draft such general laws as are contem- plated in the constitution, and such other laws as shall be necessary and proper to put into operation the provisions thereof, and as may be appropriate to conform the general statutes of the state to the constitution." The governor accordingly appointed on this commission Hons. Robert H. Thompson, George C. Dillard and Robert B. Campbell, all of whom were members of the convention. These gentlemen came to the conclusion that, in order to do properly the work exacted of them, it is necessary to prepare a new code, and they are now engaged in that duty. The draft will be submitted to the legislature of 1892 for its action. The legal and judicial history of Mississippi is now narrated to this date. But it would not be proper to end this chapter without some notice of certain gentlemen whose names have not yet been mentioned, or else mentioned so briefiy as not to indicate their merit. They held no judicial offices in this state, or but humble ones, and yet they made legal and judiciary history. The names of Fulton Anderson, Roger Barton, Walter Brooke, William F. Dowd, Wiley P. Harris, James T. Harrison, Joseph Holt, Lucius Q. C. Lamar, Daniel Mayes, John T. McMurran, James Phelan, Sargeant S. Prentiss, George L. Potter, John B. Sale, Harvey W. Walter, Edward C. Walthall, John W. C. Watson, George S. Yerger and others of similar genius, constitute a galaxy which any Mississippian will regard proudly. - Not all of them were gifted after the same manner. Some wielded the keen and glittering scimetar of Saladin, others the ponderous ax of Richard, but all were powerful. Nearly all are dead, yet their work remains, and with it, themselves. When the dull, cold days of winter have settled on the earth, and the glowing sunlight, the plashing and vivifying showers, the musical and strengthening breezes of summer are gone, who shall say that those beneficent and joyful agents have in truth passed away ? Have they not stored themselves in a rich fruitage, in corn and wine, and more than all, the possibility of renewed life ? So, the honored names above, even of those who are dead, are more than memories. They have illuminated our annals; they have enriched our jurisprudence; they have left us a noble legacy of lofty aspiration and high achievement. Let their posterity remember them lovingly and gratefully. MEMOIRS OF MI88I88IFPI. 37 (% BC (sHAPTSr^ III. INSTITUTIONS AND SOCIETIES. BODY of men acting as a state passes through experiences that are much like the emergence of a half-savage hunter into the highly organized life of an educated and ^cultured gentleman. The simply organization with a constitution, a state eapitol and executives is but the hunter's eyes, arm and gun compared with the power of educated men with laboratory, library, and machinery. The state begins to develop. It provides for its sustenance in its revenue, a financial basis that grows more complex and extensive as the state develops, a history of which in any state would form a volume of marvelous interest to the thoughtful reader, but which can only be touched upon in a sketch of these limits. Almost as soon it provides for protection both from without and within by a militia organ- ization, sometimes official and sometimes unofficial or voluntary, and this prospers or becomes weak, like a muscle, according to the varying need for its use. Protection from individuals is provided for in prisons, and as the state develops, these take on a penitentiary and reforma- tory character, when they fall more or less under the list of those institutions for the deformed, morally and otherwise. The deformed, as to speech, hearing, vision, or mind and often in body, are in earlier years of the state cared for by relatives and friends, but soon the people determine to share the support and aid of these under the state in schools, hospitals and asylums. At an early date the state provides itself a memory in the form of a library, which at first preserves only its necessary records made by its scribes or printers, and as the state enlarges its interests become a store of rich information, not only covering all its own affairs, but the thought and action of all states, wherein it takes continual stock of the resources of all ages. But this larger interest depends on the people individually, and so a system of public education is early begun, at first more or less primary, then slowly extending its scope to academies, high schools, normal or teachers' schools, colleges, training schools for occupations, professional schools, and universities for original inves- tigation, the success of all which efiForts is most marked when the population is homo- geneous. As the state enlarges in population and becomes complex in action and interests, a more or less elaborate system of regulation is organized; easy movements through, and in and out of the state become necessary, and flat-boat, raft, sail or steam vessel regulation becomes necessary on river or ocean, or boards for the construction and care of levees to hold the streams to a fixed course, while on land the pack-horse, and stage, giving way to rapid railways, make an organization necessary to regulate the varied interests of the state in these new complications for the movement of products and people. The occupation and development of waste and unoccupied lands is another interest important enough to place in 88 BIOGBAPEIOAL AND HISTOltWAL special hands; and this gives risf to the emergencies incident to an influx of population, an interest large enough to require the attention of one or more special officers. Increased population and greater intelligence usually lead to provision of officers or boards for the regulation of sanitary conditions, especially where epidemics are dangerous possibilities. In time the state advances to aggressive investigation of its ovs'n resources in various lines by bureaus or like agencies, in investigating its geological resources, in collecting information on its agricultural needs and possibilities, in studies of its wage-earners' conditions, its manufact- uring powers, in periodical stocktaking oftener than the national census, and so on ad infi- nitum. So far as Mississippi has undertaken any of these lines, the most important will be indicated, some in this chapter, and others, such as the systems of public education, sanitation and the judiciary, are assigned separate chapters. Many things are undertaken by the people associated in an unofficial or voluntary capac- ity, however; such as for mutual aid, social advantages, improvement, investigation, agitation, and the like. Such are the various fraternities and benefit associations, the state medical and •bar associations, the press association, the various political organizations, the temperance union of women, the association of teachers, all of which are treated in separate or allied chapters, while the historical society, the Conf^erate veterans' association and a few others will be given brief mention here. It is needless to say that the white race is referred to in speaking in this general line, for the intelligence and experience that is required for successful work in an organized capacity, at least any but the most crude and elementary, seems rot to have been reached to an appreciable degree yet among the colored race in this state. The militia has had a varied experience. Always provided for bylaw, both under the territorial governors and by every constitution, it has from the first been largely made up of volunteer companies. Many causes, both from conditions and sentiment, have contributed to make a considerable pride in excellent military companies, some of which, like the Natchez Fencibles, have had a remarkably long and well-known career. This fact in part explains the state's prompt response to calls upon it. From 1799 to 1836 the legislature passed about seventeen fragmentary acts, which were replaced by Fray's systematic act of May 5, 1837. Since then the militia has been systematically provided for in full in later constitutions. During the period immediately succeeding the war, the militia was composed largely of colored men, but since the change of administration in 1875 they have been chiefly drawn from the white population and always in excellent training. Great care is given to this because of the liability to race conflict. Still, there is not the very general attention given to it that there was in ante-bellum days, when, under the act of 1837, there were fifty-four regiments, while there are now but three under the name Mississippi National Guard actually main- tained by the state. The last report of the adjutant-general (1889) gives a roster of seven- teen hundred men of infantry, artillery and cavalry, in three regiments and two battalions, who meet in annual encampment. The permanent camj^-grounds are at Fort Henry near Pass Christian. The general headquarters are at Jackson, and the division headquarters at Biloxi, Joseph R. Davis, major-general commanding. The northern division. Brig. -Gen. J. S. Billups, headquarters at Columbus, with First infantry regiment. Col. E. M. Levy, center- ing at West Point, and the second. Col. C. L. Lincoln, at Columbus. The First cadet bat- talion (infantry), Maj. W. N. Hardee, headquarters at Agricultural and Mechanical college. Jackson is the rendezvous of the Third regiment, southern division. Col. George S. Green, and Biloxi of the First artillery, lieutenant-colonel commanding, E. W. Morrill. Other detached companies are the Gillsburg Eifles, Ealeigh Eescues and Prairie Eifles (Okalona). .UEMOTRS OF MISSISSIPFI. 39 The Mississippi state penitentiary's red brick walls may be seen on an elevation in Jack- son, nearly enclosing the third square north of the executive mansion. It has been nearly fifty-six years since this institution was established, the act passed being approved February 26, 1836, and directing its location within two miles of Jackson with an appropriation of $ / 5,000 to secure its erection. By its last report it now has within its walls fifty white males, three hundred and ninety-eight black males and twenty-four black females, a total of four hundred and seventy-two prisoners on December 4, 1SS9. During that year one hundred and sev- enteen had been discharged, fifty-one had escaped, twenty -five had been pardoned, nineteen had died, three were returned for new trial, and three hundred and niuet}' had been let out to contractors. In charge of these, under the board of control, are these paid officers: general manager, physician, bookkeeper, chaplain, two camp sergeants, a farm sergeant, a traveling sergeant, a wall sergeant, two gate men, two night watchmsn and eight wall guards. That year showed at the close a net income of $26,278.56, which shows the institution in an excel- lent financial condition, the board of control then consisting of J. F. Sessions, Walter McLaurin and J.C. Kyle. Measures are on foot to relocate the prison on a prison farm. The superinten- dent in 1887 was W. L. Doss and the general manager M. L. Jenkins. In its policy the reformatory and humane principles now so. insisted upon have placed it in line with the best managed institutions elsewhere. Its career before the war was marked more by a character of punishment, before the more humane, and possibly ultra-sentimental, teachings of later days had begun. The convict-lease system has been greatly abused at times, but public senti- ment has reacted against it. The labor of the convicts was used in building the Gulf-Ship Island railway to a large degree, and their use at the discretion of the governing powers in reconstruction days was a source of public dissatisfaction. This institution, like every other, suffered greatly during the war. The practice of leasing labor out through the state has found many opponents. As an illustration of the extent to which this subleasing system has been carried, take the situation in 1885, when about seven hundred convicts were sub- leased in as many as twelve different sections of the state in " camps," and on various kinds of labor. Many improvements were made during that year, however, some of which were a return to the policy of ante-bellum days when a cottonmill was in operation. It is probable that the new movement for the penitentiary farm will secure the abandonment of outside leasing. The first institution anything like an asylum was the Natchez hospital, incorporated January 18, 1805, and made a state institution. Vicksburg hospital received state aid in 1846. In 1848, March 4, an act was approved establishing an asylum for the insane at Jackson. This was not completed until 1854, however, and now embraces a property worth about §500,000, and located about two miles north of Jackson. At the beginning of 1889 there were one himdred and ninety-one male and two hundred and fifty female, a total of four hundred and forty-one inmates. During the year one hundred and twenty-five more were admitted, making five hundred and sixty-six. There were fifty-one discharged recov- ered, eleven improved, eight unimproved, two not insane, one escaped and thirty-three died, leaving four hundred and fifty -nine at the beginning of 1890. The large proportion of women is noticeable. The total admissions since 1854, however, equalizes the sexes, there having been thirteen hundred and eighty-seven males and thirteen hundred and two females received, a total of two thousand six hundred and eighty-nine. To show the work of the institution during its career, note still farther: Of two thousand six hundred and eighty-nine received, five hundred and five males and four hundred and sixty-one females have been dis- charged recovered, a total of nine hundred and sixty-six; one hundred and sixty were improved, two hundred and twelve remained stationary, seventy- six eloped, thirty proved not 40 BIOORAPHIOAL AND HISTORIOAL insane; four hundred and nineteen males and three hundred and sixty-seven females, a total of seven hundred and eighty-six, died. It is interesting to note that five of the present inmates were among those admitted the first year, 1855. The disbursements for'1889 were 157,143.18, and its farm products reached 112,797.55. This institution is under the control of a board of trustees, those of 1889 being J. B. Harris, D. P. Porter, P. Fairly, James Tripp and Marcellus Green. The able superintendent is Dr. Thomas J. Mitchell. The demands on the Jackson institution led to an act in 1882 for the founding of the East Mississippi insane asylum, which was secured by Meridian, the city donating five hun- dred and fifty-six acres to it. This institution was completed in 1884, and by January, 1890, had received three hundred and sixty-one males and two hundred and eighty-four females, a total of six hundred and forty-five patients, nineteen per cent, of which were epileptics. Out of one hundred and thirty-eight deaths since the beginning one-third were from epilepsy. In 1889, beginning with two hundred and fourteen, there were one hundred admitted, twenty- three were discharged recovered, fourteen improved, two unimproved, two not insane, two eloped and twenty-two died, due largely to an epidemic of dysentery and typhoid fever; and two hundred and forty-nine remained at the close of the year. The board of trustees in 1889 were Gov. Kobert Lowry, W. P. Brown, S. B. Watts, George S. Covert, H. M. Street and John Stinson. Dr. C. A. Rice was the superintendent, under whom the institution was organized and so ably conducted. The present incumbent of that office is Dr. J. W. Buchanan, whose management is preserving the well-known excellence of this younger of the state's two excellent means of caring for the most unfortunate and heavily afflicted of her people. The institution for the instruction of the blind was established in 1848, and is now in new quarters — a handsome structure at the north end of State street, Jackson, completed in 1 882 at a cost of over 140,000. It is a well-known fact that the number of blind are always far less than the number of insane and less than the number of deaf. In 1883 there were fifteen male and nineteen female pupils, a total of thirty-four; in 1889 there were thirty- nine. It undertakes literary, musical instruction and certain forms of suitable manual train- ing for both sexes, such as the manufacture of chairs, brooms, etc. The board of trustees in 1889 were C. H. Manship, H. H. Hines, J. A. Kausler, James R. Yerger and E. M. Parker. For many years Dr. W. S. Langley was superintendent, but on his death his daughter. Miss M. M. Langley, succeeded him, and Dr. P. Fairly, the present incumbent, became her suc- cessor at her death. He has a faculty of five teachers. The Mississippi institution for the education of the deaf and dumb greets the eye of the passer-by on North State street, Jackson, as one of the most beautiful grounds in the state. An act of 1854 founded the institution, and up to 1861, when the buildings were destroyed, it grew prosperously. The state secured the admission of pupils to the Louisiana institute for a few months. Prof. A. K. Martin was superintendent at this time. It was reorganized in 1871 under Dr. J. L. Carter with about fifteen pupils, and in October, 1877, he was suc- ceeded by Mr. Charles H. Talbot, at which time there were about forty-five pupils. In 1881, when the present superintendent. Prof. J. R. Dobyns, assumed the duties of that office, and with marked ability, there were fifty-four pupils. In 1882 several marked advances were made, among them the teaching of articulation, printing, carpentry and cabinet-work, and the establishment of a colored branch about one and a half miles in the country, where farm- ing is taught to pupils of both races also. The total enrollment is now eighty-five and the school is in high favor with people and law-makers. The value of buildings and grounds is estimated at 175,000, and in 1888 the average cost per capita was but $141.17. The trustees MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 41 in 1889 were Eev. John Hunter, D.D., D. N. Barrows, S. S. Carter, H. M. Taylor and Judge S. S. Calhoon. A force of several able instructors are employed. The state library, in its tasteful alcoves opening into the rotunda of the capitol, is said to l)e "the second in value of its kind in the Union, the Massachusetts library only outrank- ing it."* By this is meant, as a legal reference library. This condition is largely due to the efforts of a woman, Mrs. Mary Morancy, the first woman to hold a state ofiice in Mississippi, although she was elected by proxy, during the period she held office, namely, fourteen years. The library was established by an act of February 15, 1838, with the leading state officers as trustees. The institution improved up to the war, when it suffered serious injury, and only began to be rehabilitated in 1876 under Mrs. Morancy's care. As an illustration of its pro- gressive management the latest report, 1888-9, states that for that period two hundred volumes were added by purchase and six hundred and two by exchange, making a total of eight hundred and two volumes added in two years. Its list of its own laws, journals and reports, and the laws and reports of other states are remarkably complete. The state libra- rian is also keeper of the capitol. The present incumbent is Miss Rosa Lee Tucker, of Okalona. This library may be called a part of the memory of the state. Here the state recalls her acts and the names of her servants. Let her call over the names of some of the leading lives of her public servants. The congressmen of Mississippi have been generally her pride. In the senate, from December, 1817, to March, 1821, was Walter Leake, who resigned, to become a guberna- torial candidate, and was succeeded by David Holmes, who served by reelection to March, 1825, when he resigned. Thomas H. Williams served from December, 1817, to March 3, 1821. Powhatan Ellis was appointed to succeed Mr. Holmes, and served by election until March 3, 1832, when he resigned, and was succeeded by John Black, appointed, who, by elec- tion, served to March, 1838. He resigned, and James P. Trotter was appointed to serve until March, 1839. Thomas B. Eeed served from December, 1826, until his death, in Novem- ber, 1829, when Eobert H. Adams was elected to his place, but died in July, 1830. George Poindexter was then elected, and served to March 3, 1835, when Eobert J. Walker was elected, and by reelection served to March, 1845. In January, 1839, John Henderson began a full six-year term, and was succeeded, March 4, 1845, by Jesse Speight, who died May 3, 1847, and, by appointment, was replaced by Jefferson Davis. Mr. Davis resigned in the fall of 1851, but in 1857 was reelected, and on January 12, 1861, with all this state's congressmen, withdrew. John J. McEae served by appointment from 1851 to March, 1852, and Stephen Adams served by election to March, 1857. The other senator in January, 1847, was Henry S. Poote, whose term of service extended to January, 1852, when Walker Brookes' election followed, and covered the period between the months of March, 1852 and 1853. Here Albert Q. Brown's service began, that ended by his withdrawal with Mr. Davis. It was not until April 11, 1870, that the next senator took his seat — Adelbert Ames, who was succeeded by Henry E. Pease, the latter serving from February, 1874, to March 3, 1875, when the term of Blanche K. Bruce, colored, began, covering the period to March, 1881. In February, 1870, the first colored senator, Hiram E. Eevels, was elected, but was succeeded in 1871 by James L. Alcorn, whose service extended to March 3, 1877. Lucius Q. C. Lamar succeeded him, and served by reelection until March, 1885, when, by appointment, election and reelection, Edward C. Walthall entered a service whose present term will terminate March 3, 1895. In 1881 James Z. George succeeded Mr. Bruce, the colored senator, and by election and reelec- tion, is holding a term at present which closes in 1893. *New Tarli World, 1891. 42 BIOGRAPHICAL AND HI8T0RI0AL In the house of representatives, George Poindexter heads the list, from December, 1817, to March 3, 1819. Christopher Eankin then served until his death, at Washington, in Majj IM'iC), Mfhen his successor's election followed. This was William Haile, who, by reelection, served until his resignation in 1828, when Gen. Thomiis Hinds succeeded him, in a term covering the time to 1831. His successor, Franklin E. Plummer, served from 1831 to 1835. A second representative was elected in 1833 — Harry Cage, his term ending in 1835. Dr. David Dickson and John F. H. Claiborne were elected in 1835, but the former died in July, 1836, and his term was filled by Samuel J. Gholson, and he, with Mr. Claiborne, on their return' to the twenty-fifth congress, found their seats contested by Sargent S. Prentiss and Thomas J. Word, whereupon the house decided that neither was entitled to the seats, Jan- uary 31, 1838. A new election returned Messrs. Prentiss and Word, who served to 1839. Albert G. Brown and Jacob Thompson succeeded them in November, 1839, the former serv- ing to 1841, declining reelection, and again serving from 1848 to 1851, and the latter serving continuously to 1851. The interval between 1841 and 1848 above mentioned was covered by Dr. William M. Gwin, to 1843, declining reelection, and Robert W. Roberts to March 3, 1847; twro other representatives, William H. Hammet and Tilghman M. Tucker, in Novem- ber, 1843, serving to 1845. Jefferson Davis was elected in November, 1845, but resigned in May, 1840, to take command of his regiment, and Henry T. Ellett succeeded him, serving to 1847, and declining reelection. Patrick W. Tompkins and Winfield S. Featherston were elected in November, 1847, the former serving to 1849 and declining reelection, and the latter to 1851, in which year the service of William Mc Willie, the successor of Mr. Featherston, closed. In 1851 John D. Freeman and Benjamin D. Nabors were elected, and served two years. In 1853 were elected Daniel B. Wright, Otho R. Singleton, William S. Barry and Wiley P. Harris, the last three serving to 1855, and the first to 1857; Mr. Singleton, not declining reelection like the last two, was defeated by William A. Lake, but reelected in 1857, and served by reelection until the withdrawal in 1861. In 1855 ex-Gov. John A. Quitman and Henly S. Bennett were chosen, the former's service closing in 1857, and the death of the latter breaking his second term on July 17, 1858. John J. McRae was chosen to com- plete the unexpired term, and served by reelection to the withdawal of January 12, 1861. Reuben Davis and Lucius Q. C. Lamar were elected in 1857, and withdrew, the former in 1861, and the latter on December 20, 1860, to become a candidate for the state secession convention from his county. When representation began again after the war, those chosen in 1870 were George C. McKee, Jason Niles, L. W. Perce, Henry W. Barry and George E. Harris, all serving to 1873, except General McKee and Mr. Barry, who continued to 1875. In 1871 the service of Albert R. Howe, John R. Lynch (colored) and Joseph L. Morphis began, and closed in 1875. In 1873 L. Q. C. Lamar was elected, and served to his election to the senate in 1877. At the great revolution in 1875, he and Mr. Lynch, the colored repre- sentative, were the only ones reelected. Hernando D. Money, Charles E. Hooker, G.' Wiley Wells and Otho R. Singleton were elected at this date, Mr. Singleton serving by reelection to 1887, Mr. Wells to 1877, Colonel Hooker to 1883, and again to his present term, and Mr. Money to 1885. Mr. Lynch served in the forty-fourth congress, and also from 1882 to 1883, unseating James R. Chalmers. In 1877 Van H. Manning, James R. Chalmers and Henry L. Muldrow were elected. Mr. Manning served until unseated by James R. Chalmers, June 25, 1884, Mr. Chalmers until unseated by Mr. Lynch, April 29, 1882, and Mr. Muldrow by reelection until 1885. In 1882 Ethelbert Barksdale, Henry S. Van Eaton and Elza Jeffords were elected, the first two serving to 1887, and the last to 1885. In 1884 were chosen Thomas C. Catchings, James B. Morgan, John M. Allen and Frederick G. Barry. Mr. -aL^^^^-^^-^eyn^n-'-zx. MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 43 Allen's service closed in 1885, Mr. Barry's in 1889 and Mr. Morgan's in 1891. Mr. Catch- ings' service has extended to the present term, which closes in 1893. In 1 886 Chapman L. Anderson and Thomas R. Stockdale's election occurred, the former's service closing in 1891, and that of the latter extending to the present term, which closes in 1893. Clark Lewis was elected in 1888, and was reelected to his present term. The members elected to the first Confederate congress were seven in number; J. W. Clapp, Reuben Davis, Israel Welsh, H. C. Chambers, O. R. Singleton, Ethel Barksdale and John J. McRae. The governors of the state have already been mentioned in a preceding chapter. It is most unfortunate that the records of the state and the library branch of it should have been so despoiled during the war, that a connected list of very many lines of detail are thus ren- dered impossible to historical writings, and often, where apparently possible, wholly unre- liable. It is only those who have attempted historical work under such circumstances that will appreciate its difficulties. It may be of interest to note how Mississippi compares with other states as regards the salaries of her public servants, and to illustrate let one example be taken — that of the guber- natorial salary. The terms of governors in this country vary from one year, as in the case of Massachusetts, to four years, as in the case of about half the states of the Union, includ- ing Mississippi. The annual salaries also vary from |1,000, as in Rhode Island, Michigan, New Hampshire and Vermont, to the generous proportions of $10,000, as only the great and wealthy states of New York and Pennsylvania seem able to afford. Mississippi takes a stand midway and alongside of Massachusetts, Iowa, Ohio, Tennessee, Texas, Louisiana, Mary- land, North Carolina and Washington, paying 14,000 per annum to her governor. It may show her relative public spirit, too, to compare her legal holidays with those of other states, omitting Sundays and labor day, the latter a recent institution. Of fourteen such days recognized in all or parts of this country are: New year's day, January 1; anniversary of the battle of New Orleans, January 8; Washington's birthday, February 22; anniversary of Texan independence, March 2; fireman's anniversary of New Orleans, March 4; mardi-gras; anniversary of the battle of San Jacinto (Texas), April 21; Good Friday; memorial day, April 26 in Oeorgia; decoration day. May 30 in most Northern states; July 4; independence day; general election day; thanksgiving day and Christmas day; of which Mississippi makes legal holiday new year's day, independence day, thanksgiving and Christmas. This state's position politically among her sister states has always been a prominent one. It has rarely been that, like Indiana or New York, the term "doubtful" could be applied to her. As a general chapter on politics elsewhere in these volumes deals with this subject, only presidential majorities will be given here, and that only since 1824. In 1821 the state joined the era of good feeling and voted for Monroe and TopapMns, but in 1824 she turned out a democratic majority of one thousand four hundred and twenty-one for her idol, in whose honor, only a short time before, she had named her capital city — Jackson. In the next cam- paign she increased her democratic majority to five thousand one hundred and eighty-two for him, when the ticket was Jackson and Calhoun in 1828, while in 1832, with still increasing ardor for the doughty old general who whipped Indians, the money-king Biddle, the Brit- ish and most other enemies he atta6ked, Mississippi gave Jackson and Van Buren a demo- cratic majority of five thousand nine hundred and nineteen. In the thirties, however, they fell upon days of financial, disturbance and whig predominance, and in 1836 the democrats began to waver and the whigs to rejoice. These were the days of the great whig, Daniel u jnui^uAi'iiiaAi. AND nrsTomoAL Webster, and the popular old Hoosier, Gon. William Henry Harrison, and the big democratic majority of 1832 was, in IS36, cut down to the narrow margin of two hundred and ninety-one majority for Van Buren and Johnson. The financial troubles of the great panic of 1837 caused great popidar dissatisfaction all over the Union, as such times always do, and the whigs grew and waxed strong all over the broad land, emd with especial strides in Mississippi under the influence of the famous " hard cider " campaign, when, in 1 840, they did what has rarely been done in the entire career of the state of Mississippi — broke her democratic major- ity and gave the whig candidates, Harrison and Tyler, two Ihousand five hundred and twenty-three majority. This was destined to be but an incident, however, for the revival of financial confidence and the ominous mutterings of the fifteen or sixteen years' distant civil war led Mississippi to spring back with a bound, as if to her normal condition, with a demo- cratic majority in 1844 almost exactly to a figure the same as that of 1832 (five thousand nine hundred and nineteen), this of 1844 being five thousand nine hundred and twenty for Polk and Dallas. These were the years of the great compromises and compromisers, and the whigs made another stupendous effort in 1 848 with the great hero of the Mexican war. Gen- eral Taylor, and Mississippi, whose soldiers did such noble service rmder their old commander of Buena Vista, as if to do him honor, dropped their democratic majority of five thousand nine hundred and twenty to only six hundred and fifteen majority for the democratic candi- dates, Cass and Butler. The campaigns of the fifties witnessed the increasing welding pow- ers of the slavery agitation which swept Mississippi votes more and more into democratic lines. Of course these figures must be considered in connection with the fact of increased population — an increase in this style in round thousands by decades beginning with the year 1800: seven thousand, thirty-one thousand, seventy-five thousand, one hundred and thirty-six thousand, three hundred and seventy-five thousand, six hundred and six thousand, and seven hundred and ninety-one thousand in 1860. This shows almost doubling by decades, so the majorities must be interpreted by this fact. The first campaign of the fifties, that is in 1852, rose again to democratic majorities, state and national. Pierce and King receiving Missis- sippi's majority of nine thousand three hundred and twenty-eight, the largest so far ever given. In 1856 the increase is still greater, giving to Buchanan and Breckinridge a majority of eleven thousand two hundred and fifty-one. The heat of the campaign of 1860 raised the political thermometer still higher, and a majority of twelve thousand four hundred and sev- enty-four was given for Breckinridge and Lane, whose entire vote was only eight hundred and forty-five thousand seven hundred and sixty-three, the great mass of the democratic party of the country having gone for Stephen A. Douglas, with one million three hundred and sev- enty-five thousand one hundred and fifty-seven, while the republican candidate, Lincoln, went in with one million eight hundred and thirty-eight thousand one hundred and sixty-nine. The actual vote of this state was forty thousand seven hundred and ninety-seven for Breck- inridge; twenty-five thousand and forty for Bell, and two thousand two hundred and eighty- three for Douglas. This was when the free population was three hundred and fifty-three thousand nine hundred and one, and the slaves four hundred and thirty-six thousand six hun- dred and thirty-one, this state and South Carolina being the only states having an excess of slave population over free. This condition led to Mississippi's attempted withdrawal from the Union by unanimous vote, and the campaign of 1864 found her, with ten other states, jjractically defeated, and with no political status in the Union. Even the campaign of 1868 found her outside the pale when all the other of the eleven states were readmitted except herself, Texas and Virginia. Meanwhile preparations were making that provided an influx into her legal vote of the great MEMOIRS OP MISSISSIPl'I. 45 mass of her slaves of a few years ))efore. In 1860 the votes v^ere drawn from a white popu- lation of three hundred and fifty-three thousand eight hundred and ninety-nine, whose slave population was nearly a hundred thousand greater — four hundred and thirty-seven thousand four hundred and four — and the voters from these were all republicans. In 1870 both were increased, but bore somewhat similar proportions — that is, three hundred and eighty- two thousand eight hundred and ninety-six white to four hundred and forty-four thousand two hundred and one colored. Of course in the campaign of 1872, although for once only, the republican majority, which means practically the colored majority, was thirty-four thou- sand eight hundred and eighty- seven for Grant and Wilson. The great revolution of 1876, for white supremacy, however, threw the state into the democratic ranks as of yore, with fifty-nine thousand five hundred and sixty-eight majority for Tilden and Hendricks, and she has continued democratic and under white control ever since, with immaterial variation. In the campaign of 1880 the majority for Hancock and English was thirty-five thousand and ninety-nine; the plurality for Cleveland and Hendricks, in 1884, was thirty-three thousand and one; and Cleveland and Thurman's majority, in 1888, was fifty- five thousand three hun- dred and seventy-five. The relative population of 1890 was five hundred and thirtj'-nine thousand seven hundred and three whites and seven hundred and forty-seven thousand seven hundred and twenty colored, the latter, however, representing a great mass of ignorant votes, which the new constitution makes less of a menace to intelligent government, ))y providing both an educational and property qualification, somewhat as Rhode Island and Delaware has long had. The war has left many other scars and monuments in the state besides in its politics. As monuments to the tearfulness of the struggle are the all too-full cemeteries of the dead of both sides; the Confederate dead in multitudes of cemeteries throughout the state, and, the Federal dead in three of the seventy-nine national cemeteries scattered throughout the Union, all but twelve of which are in the South. These three are at Vicksburg, Natchez and Corinth ; that at Yicksburg containing sixteen thousand six hundred, of whom twelve thousand and thirty-two are unknown. These cemeteries are increasing somewhat in the number of their dead, especially on account of the deaths of colored men, of whom seventeen thousand eight hundred and sixty- nine out of Mississippi served in the Federal army. One of the greatest interests of the state, however, is its financial basis and its methods in dealing with the subject. It seems strange to the present generation that the state which now receives and disburses over $1,000,000 annually for current expenses should have at one time been the property of an individual in private life, but such it was, although it scarcely amounted to more than a technicality. In 1630 it was part of a grant made by the king of Great Britain to Sir Eobert Heath, and was transferred seven years later by Heath to Lord Maltravers. It afterward became the property of plain Dr. Daniel Coxe of the province of New Jersey. Now, however, a man is one of wealth if he but own a small share of this great state. Even in 1811, six years before the period of statehood began, the taxes col- lected for that year were $31,845.46, and economy was so well before the minds of territorial managers of the state's finances that the expenditures for that year were but little over half this amount, or $17,911.43, leaving a balance of $9,690.38. These were not the days of great state institutions, however. In 1817, the year statehood began, and but two years after the exhausting wars of the earlier half of that decade, the receipts reached a few thou- sand more — $45,836.66, while a balance of nearly the same proportions as above was still kept — namely, $8,269.92, after the disbursement of $37,506.74 for current expenditures. Aljout eight years after this the receipts rose considerably above this to the sum of $77,925.00, 46 BIOORAPHIOAL AND HISTORICAL but the expenditures rose only to $41,475. This was the year 1825, and in all these con- siderations of finance the remarkable increase of population, nearly or quite doubling by decades, must be taken into account. About a dozen years later, in 1838, the receipts of the treasury were the round sum of $157,198.41, and these were the days of the great panic and the bank explosions that play so large a jjart in Mississippi's financial history. Let us see what state banking facilities there were in 1836. First there was that stu- pendous concern, the Planters' bank of Natchez, whose capital reached the, for those days, fabulous sum of $4,000,000. It was what would now be counted a syndicate of banks, however, for it had branches at Manchester, Vicksburg, Port Gibson, Woodville, Monticello, Jackson and Columbus. Its president was James C. Wilkins. Then there was another company with a like capital of $4,000,000, one of those numerous companies that arose during the years when railroad building was in the raw exuberance of an overgrown boyhood. This was the Mis- sissippi & Alabama Railroad & Banking Company of Brandon, which also had a branch at Paulding. There were several institutions of a capitalized power of $2,000,000, and these were the Agricultural bank of Natchez, with a branch at Pontotoc; its president was Mr. A. Pisk; the Commercial bank of Natchez, president, L. E. Marshall; the Grand Gulf Railroad & Banking Company, president, Joseph Johnson, with a branch at Gallatin ; the Commer- cial & Railroad bank of Vicksburg, president, J. M. Taylor, with its branch at Vernon, and the Commercial bank of Manchester. Those of $1,000,000 capital were the West Feliciana Railroad & Banking Company of Woodville, president, Joseph Johnson; the Commercial bank of Rodney, president, Thomas Freeland, and the Aberdeen and Pontotoc Railroad & Banking Company; one other was the Princeton & Deer Creek Railroad & Banking Com- pany, president, Z. K. Fulton, and capital $600,000. This was in 1836, but in 1840, only four years later, there were twenty banks in the state with aggregated resources of $28,989,- 090.62, while the total capital incorporated for these purposes, between 1832 and 1838 reached the princely proportions of $53,750,000. This might indicate wealth in abundance through- out this great state, but in reality it was the most rank inflation and insolvency. The only railroad that resulted from it was a few paltry miles at Natchez, and scarcely fifty miles of the Vicksburg & Brandon route. Speculation ran riot, and it is said that the wild revelry of it was stimulated by a class of speculative adventurers who afterward left the state. These banks dealt in real estate too, dealt in bonds, exchange and bills of credit, made loans and issued their own notes for circulation The crash that began in 1836 seemed to make it all the more reckless, and men seemed to lose their heads and grasp at straws in their despair, and in 1837 the hue and cry led to another great bank of a capital of $1,500,000, and this was the famous ill-fateli Union bank of Mississippi, which led to the greatest stain upon the escutch- eon of this state, in the eyes of the world at large, that ever soiled it. The people of the state themselves were divided on the question for many years. A glance at the banking career of the state will explain this: Organized in territorial days the Bank of Mississippi was enlarged in 1818 with its location at Natchez, the metropolis of the state. The greatly increasing need of the growing young state for banking facilities led to the incorporation of the Planters' bank of the state of Mississippi on April 10, 1830, with $3,000,000 capital. The state was to take two-thirds of the capital stock and issue bonds on the market for it, the rest to be taken by individuals. The faith of the state was pledged to secure all losses either from principal or interest, and each and every stock- holder was made individually liable to make good all losses of any character. The bonds were to be sold by the governor for specie only, and almost every section emphasized the pledging of the faith of the state to recoup all possible losses. The state was to choose seven MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 47 of the thirteen members of the directory. The bonds were sold in 1830 to the amount of $500,000, and in 1833 the remaining $1,500,000 as the law directed, and the prosperity of the bank was unquestioned until the crash of 1837 throughout the union. Its bonds had " sold at a premium of thirteen and one-fourth per cent," says a writer in De Bow's Review in 1853, " so that after paying the bank two millions the state had left a net of $250,000 which was placed in the bank as a sinking fund, to which was to be added the dividends, and from which the interest was to be paid. As the dividend averaged ten per cent, for years the interest was kept up to September 1, 1839, when the state stock was transferred to the Natchez Railroad Company. At this time the balance sinking fund was about $800,000. This belonged to the state, but a large part of it was lost in the crash of 1836-9. A commission held the remainder, about $60,000 in 1851 — what next? By calculation, on paying $250,000 annually it would take twenty-two years to liquidate — about 1876." The result was, however, that in 1854 the debt of this bank was $3,518,080, as far as the state was concerned. The new constitution of 1832, however, put the following limit on the state's financial action: " No law shall ever be passed to raise a loan of money upon the credit of the state, or to pledge the faith of the state for the payment or redemption of any loan or debt, unless such law be proposed in the senate or house of representatives, and be agreed to by a majority of the members of each house, and entered on their journals with the yeas and nays taken thereon, and be referred to the next succeeding legislature, and published for three months previous to the next regular election, in three newspapers of this state; and unless a majority of each branch of the legislature so elected, after such publication, shall agree to and pass such law, and in such case the yeas and nays shall be taken, and entered on the journals of each house; provided, that nothing in this section shall be so construed as to prevent the legislature from negotiating a further loan of one and a half million of dollars, and vesting the same in stock reserved to the state, by the charter of the Planters' bank of the state of Mississippi." This was the condition of affairs on January 21, 1837, when the governor approved the Union Bank act " so far as the action of this legislature is recognized." This act provided that only citizen real estate owners of Mississippi could become stockholders, with privilege of transfer to other Mississippi real estate owners only after five years, with the especial stipulation that well-secured mortgages should be given even in that case. The faith of the state was pledged to secure both the capital and interest, and that she should issue seven thousand five hundred bonds of $2,000 each, eighteen hundred and seventy-five payable in twelve years, eighteen hundred and seventy-five in fifteen years, the same amount in eighteen years, and the same again in twenty years, bearing interest at five per cent. These were transfer- able to anyone by the governor, and special provision was made for payment of both capital and interest when due. A most elaborate security was hedged around the subscription to stock so that the certainty of its payment seemed absolute, even from that source. Of the thirteen directors, five were to be chosen by the legislature, and three commissioners were to be elected to see to the thoroughly solid condition of would-be subscribers. All the forms of law having been carried out, in 1838 the legislature repassed it as the limitation provided, and Gov. Alexander G. McNutt, who afterward loved to be called '' the great repudiator," approved it on February 5, (1838). Ten days later (15) a supplementary act was approved to clinch the bargain all the more firmly, so that, while these bonds were made as a loan to the bank the state was to take fifty thousand shares of the bank's stock and pay for it out of the proceeds of the bond sales, aud the profits of it were to go to the state funds for internal improvement and educational purposes. Its most marked provision, however, was that in the sales of bonds no sale was to be made uuder their par value, 48 BIOOliAPHIOAL AND EISTORIOAL The bonds, to the amount of $5,000,000, were put by the bank into the hands of the following gentlemen to negotiate sale: James C. Willdus, of Natchez; W. M. Pinckard, of Vicksbvirg; and E. 0. Wilkinson, of Yazoo city, who succeeded in disposing of them by August 18 to Nicholas Biddle, president of the United States bank of Pennsylvania, pay- ments being made in $1,000,000 amounts on November 1, 1838, and January 1, March l,May 1, and July 1, 1839. About $2,000,000 of these bonds were afterward resold by Mr. Biddle, tlirough the agency of the United States bank in Europe, and the remainder, with other state stocks, placed as security for money borrowed in England, France and Holland. " To the thinking, cool, clear-headed people, and there were many such at that day," says a recent writer, " the Union bank was foredoomed to a disastrous and ignominious failure. The entire banking system of that period was radically defective, but the theory upon which the Union bank was founded, that of 'relieving' people who were hopelessly insolvent, was a grotesque absurdity. The system of loans on mortgages of real and personal property, prescribed in the act of incorporation, for twelve months, renewable for eight years upon the payment of the interest and one-eighth of the principal, at the end of every twelve months, would have wrecked the Bank of England. The payment of the bonds as they fell due, and the interest thereon, which the bank was required to pay from the funds in its vaults, was a sheer impossibility. By the terms of the charter, the fifteen and a half millions of bonds, to be delivered to the bank, were made payable in four installments. The first installment was made payable in twelve, the second in fifteen, the third in eighteen, and the fourth in twenty years. In other words, the legislators of that period were insane enough to pledge the faith of the state for the payment of the enormous amount of fifteen and a half millions of dollars in the brief space of twenty years, together with the annually accruing interest, which amounted yearly to more than three-quarters of a million of dollars. And all this was to be the result of the profits of the Union bank in the course of t\\ o decades. Nothing can better expose the blind fatuity of the legislators of that day, or the mad, reckless temerity of the so-called financiers of the times."* Gov. Alexander G. McNutt had somewhat of the temper of the great enemy of the United States bank, Andrew Jackson, and "in his annual message of January 7, 1 840, he sounded the alarm for a general onslaught on the Ijanks of the state — Union, Planters' and all. He says: " I am induced to believe that a large portion of the property accepted as security for that stock is incumbered by judgments, mortgages and deeds of trust; that the valuations of the appraisers were generally very extravagant; that, in many instances, the titles to the property offered are yet imperfect, and that the whole management of the afi'airs of the bank has been disastrous to its credit, destructive to the interests of the state and ruinous to the institution. The cotton advanced upon by the bank, in some instances, has been attached and the suits decided against the institution. Many of the cotton agents and con- signees are defaulters, and great loss on the cotton account is inevitable. The post notes, issued in violation of law, have greatly depreciated, and if the decisions of several of our circuit judges are affirmed by the high court of errors and appeals, actions can not be main- tained on a large portion of the bills receivable of the bank. I signed and delivered to the managers last summer bonds to the amount of $5,000,000. The president of the l^ank was dispatched eastward to make a sale, but was unable to effect it. On the 1 8th of November, 1889, I received a letter from the cashier of the bank, together with two resolu- tions of the directors, one of which informed me that the remaining five million and a half of bonds were ready for my signature. Believing that there was no immediate prospect of sale f " Ilistory of MJssissiiipi," Ijowry & McCariUe, MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 49 of the bonds, and that further legislation might be required, I determined not to execute the remaining bonds.'' After showing the bank to have a debt due within a year of over SJt,000,000, he says: "To pay the residue the bank has 15,000,000 of state bonds, and exchange, bills receivable, etc., to make the amouut of $9,000,000. The state bonds can not be sold, and a sufficient smn can not be realized in time out of the other assets of the bank to pay the post notes due next April and May. It will take more than |250,000 of the available funds of the bank to pay in London the interest on the state bonds previous to the 1 st of September next. It is our duty to place the institution either in liqiiidation, or to repeal all that portion of the charter giving to private individuals stock in the bank and privileged loans. The state debt already amounts to about $7,500,000. The interest on $7,000,000 is payable abroad, and amounts to $375,000 annually. The rights of the stockholders are yet inchoate, and until the residue of the bonds are sold they can have no peculiar claims. Influenced by no motive save that of the public good, anxious to protect the rights of all, and to advance the interests of the state, I am bound to recommend that the $5,000,000 of the state lionds last issued shall be called in and canceled, and that no more shall be here- after issued for the Mississippi Union bank." Said he: " The existing banks can not be bolstered. Destitute as tliey are of credit and available means, it would be folly in us to attempt to infuse vigor and stability into their lifeless forms. They are jDowerless to do good, but callable of inflicting injuries irreparable." The facts afterward j^roved him right. The agitation begun Ijy the governor spread during the year, and in 1841 he struck another blow — this time at the validity of the bonds: "The situation and affairs of the Mis- sissippi railroad company, the Planters' bank of the state and of the Mississippi Union bank will demand your calm consideration. All those institutions are insolvent, and neither of them can resume specie payment for several years or make further loans. I submit, here- with, copies of my letters to those banks, calling for specific information in relation to their condition, and the answers and statements furnished. The Union bank has $4,349 in specie on hand. Her suspended debt in suit is $2,698,869; susjaended debt not sued on $1,777,337; resources, chiefly unavailable, $8,033,154; immediate liabilities $3,034,154; capital stock $5,000,000. The bank has been irretrievably ruined by making advances on cotton, issuing post notes, and loaning the principal portion of her capital to insolvent individuals and comjjanies. The situation of the Mississippi railroad company and the Planters' bank is equally bad." Therefore he plead that, because the Union bank bonds had been practically sold below par by sale on credit, and by the bank of which Mr. Biddle was president, whose charter made the action unlawful, except for those authorized by the Keystone state or the nation, therefore they ought to be repudiated. Both senate and house disagreed with him, however, and placed themselves plainly on record in favor of paying the bonds of both banks for which the faith of the state was pledged. The campaign of 1841 was on this issue — the whigs taking a stand against repudiation, but after a hard fight they were defeated and the repudiation of the Union bonds ensued at once — and the Planters' bonds, although practically repudiated, were not formally so until eleven years later. The total debt of the two, due in 1854, aggregating over $12,000,000, was thus repudiated — technicalities which were to prove more costly than the payment would have been, although the total revenue of the state at that time would not exceed $225,000. "That the suicidal act of Mississippi has killed the credit of the slave states in Europe," says a writer in De Bow's Eeview in 1853, "does not admit of a doubt; and what has been the effect ?" After showing that the East was getting all the credit necessary to bridge over the crash of 1837 and succeeding years, the writer continues, " The South has been forced into inaction and liquidation by the suspicion of capi- 50 BIOOBAPHICAL AND IIiaTORIOAL talists, here and abroad, though wielding the greatest power on earth— cotton." All Southern securities were held in suspicion. On account of the trials of these years " some of the finest portions of Mississippi became partially depopulated," says a writer in 1849. "Thus in the breaking up of our miserable banking system many unhappy consequences followed, the bale- ful effects of which have pursued the state, kept down its natural growth and prosperity, and are yet seen and daily felt in our courts of justice and halls of legislation." The last two banks of this system to suspend were the Northern bank of Mississippi and the Commercial bank of Manchester, both of which did so in 1857. This action in regard to these bonds, ever since the governor was ordered to proclaim it on February 20, 1842, has had to be reiterated in successive constitutions; the present one says: "The credit of the state shall not be pledged or loaned in aid of any person, association or corporation; and the state shall not become a stockholder in any corporation or association, nor assume, redeem, secure or pay any indebtedness or pretended indebtedness alleged to be due by the state of Mississippi, to any person, association or corporation whatsoever, claiming the same as owners, holders or assignees of any bond or bonds, now generally known as Union bank bonds and Planters' bank bonds." The close of the fifties saw the state in good financial condition. The total tax of 1860 was $740,276, and the disbursements of 1861 were $762,470. The two great sources of the state's wealth were cotton and slaves, and it was on these that the state expected to find a source of credit to carry on the war. The finance of the state was to be based on cotton reserves, and when it is considered that in 1859 alone Mississippi produced 145,000,000 worth of cotton, the course seemed eminently plausible. It is said that emancipation of slaves was a loss to the owners of about $600,000,000. It is natural that the war measures of the enemy should be directed to the destruction of these sources of power.* Confederate money came in use, too, and although at first at a slight premium, its depreciation was disastrous. In June, 1861, a dollar was worth ninety cents; December 1, it was eighty cents, and on the 15th, seventy -five cents; February 1, 1862, it was sixty cents; February, 1863, it fell to twenty cents; June, 1863, to eight cents; January, 1864, to two cents; November, 1864, it rose to four and one-half cents; January, 1865, it fell to two and one-half cents; April, 1865, to one and one-half cents, and after that it took $800 to |1,000 of Confederate money to equal a greenback dollar, and now it is sold as a curiosity. These circumstances will be seen by even the most uninformed observer to have been in themselves a fearful blow to this state. Then, too, the repairs of a public character during reconstruction days, together with the unskillful legislation of that time, as well as abuses, make an immense debt in 1872 a matter of no surprise. Add to this condition the $10,000,000 or thereabouts that was collected as a gov- ernment cotton tax within the space of three years, and the reader is prepared for this condi- tion in 1872. The state debt was then $2,377,342.38; the receipts in 1871 were $1,338,150.49, which, with funds, mostly of a worthless nature, in the treasury, of $828,114.16, gave a total of $2,166,264.65, from which was disbursed $1,326,161.57, leaving a nominal balance of $840,103.08; but, as the uncurrent proportion of this was $795,936.48, the current balance was but $44,166.60. The public school system was one great source of expense, too, and the increase in the state levy on the assessed valuation of land was startling. It was ten cents on a dollar in 1869, and in the successive years of 1871, 1872 and 1874 it became respect- ively, four times, eight and one-half times and fourteen times as great as in the first- mentioned year. The uprising of 1875-6 was a taxpayers' movement as well as a racial one. *It Is said that if the total cost ot the Civil war was dlviaed by the number of slaves set free it would make emanci- pation cost about $700 per slave. MEMOIRS OF MISaiSSIPPI. 51 In 1876 the state debt proper was $1,100,685.22, while the total debt, permanent and other- wise, was $3,226,847.42, distributed as follows: Due to the Chickasaw school fund, $814,- 743.23; interest on the same, $20,671.86; due the common-school fund, $878,572.67; interest on the same, $65,327.63; outstanding warrants, $590,368.52; certificates of indebtedness. $26,882; bonds due on January 1, of 1877, 1878, 1879 and 1896, $690,300.00; interest on the same, $32,189.50; railroad tax, $8,579.35; interest on insurance deposits, $14,476.67, and interest on bonds, $84,736. In 1882 the total debt was reduced to $2,974,832.06, and after deducting the permanent debt and cash, the debt proper was only $341,275.06. This is an excellent showing when it is recalled that from 1871 to 1875 property valuation had decreased $42,000,000, and about twenty-seven per cent, of the total area of the state had been for- feited for taxes. Taxation was reduced from nine and one-half mills in 1875 to two and one- half mills in 1883, and lands had been redeemed or purchased with the exception of seven hundred thousand acres. In his message in 1890, Governor Lowry said: " There was cash in the treasury on the 1st day of January, 1890, $555,450.02. There can be no doubt that in the course of four years, with the present rate of taxation and the natural increase of values, the payable debt of the state can be anticipated and the bonds retired." The bonded debt of the state in 1890 was $902,437 and the floating debt $2,600,571, making a total of $3,503,008 in 1890, as against $3,324,084 in 1880, any sinking fund being deducted in both cases. As the popula- tion has increased (13.96) thirteen-and-ninety-six-hundredths per cent, during this decade, however, the per capita rate of indebtedness (less any sinking fund) has been reduced from $2.94 in 1880 to $2.72 in 1890. If the total county debt of the state be added to the totals of these two years, making a grand total (less any sinking fund in both cases) in 1880 of $4,- 456,847 and $4,709,807 in 1890, the per capita rate has been reduced from $3.94 in 1880, to $3.65 in 1890. Comparing this with other states in the Union may make her standing more clearly evi- dent. Including county indebtedness, the state having the largest total indebtedness, less any in 1890, was Virginia, with nearly thirty-three millions ($32,874,672), and that having the smallest was Vermont, with only ($153,524) a little over one hundred and fifty thousand; the per capita in these two cases however, are respectively $19.85 and forty-six cents, neither the highest nor the lowest in the Union, and, if the territories are included, Utah falls to the lowest place with a total debt of only $49,859, and the lowest per capita of only twenty-four cents. In total debt Mississippi ranks nearest to New Jersey, almost a million below Min- nesota, Nebraska or Colorado, but above such states as Maine, New Hampshire, and nineteen other states and territories. In per capita rate she is likewise midway, the lowest in 1890 being Utah with twenty-four cents and the highest being the District of Columbia with $85.86, or omitting that, Arizona with $46.35, or again omitting all but states — Nevada with $28.89, Oregon with one cent, as the lowest; aild Iowa with thirteen cents, coming next near- est to it, and Virginia with $18.76, as the highest among the states, is the status, excluding county indebtedness. In per capita rate the state ranks along near Ohio, New Jersey, Florida, Illinois and Michigan, if county indebtedness is included, or, if not included, with Idaho, South Dakota, Michigan and Florida. Compared with other Southern states, however, her state per capita rate is almost the lowest, Texas being the extreme, with $1.93, and Florida only ten cents lower than Missis- sippi ($2.72), while Virginia, with $18.76, and Louisiana, with $14.31, are the highest two. But, including the county debt, the per capita of Mississippi is not even surpassed in lowness by Texas, and only Florida falls below her, and that only sixteen cents less. 53 BWOIiAPlTTGAL ANT) in^TOHTOAL This excellent fiiuiuoial condition has not pr(n-ent((il the state from embarking in geolog- ical stock-taking at times, or in milking efforts to develop the resources by investigating them and making them known to the outside world. But these can only be, with many other subjects of interest, tonched upon or altogether omitted in a sketch of these limits. Among the many unofficial associations covering the state, a few, not elsewhere mentioned, may be noticed in this sketch. The Confederate veterans of Mississippi was organized as a grand camp on October 15, ISS!), at Aberdeen, this state, with these officers: Gen. E. C. Walthall, grand commander, Grenada; Gen. W. S. Featherston, first lieutenant grand commander, Holly Springs; Gen. S. D. Lee, second lieutenant grand commander, A. & M. college; Gen. Will T. Martin, third lieutenant grand commander, Natchez; and appointed officers of staff, Maj. E. T. Sykes, adjutant-general, Columbus; Maj. L. W. Magruder, Vicksburg, Capt. T. C. Carter, Meridian, aides-de camp. Beginning with but three local associations, it has increased to fourteen, with a grand total membership of between fifteen hundred and two thousand veterans, these camps being located at Meridian, Aberdeen, Columbus, West Point, Vicksburg, Natchez, Lake, Hickory, Hattiesljurg, Fayette, Holly Springs, Jackson, Crystal Springs and Tupelo, all organized and numbered in this order. General Walthall was succeeded in command on October 15, 1890, by Gen. W. S. Featherston, who served until his death on May 28, 1891. The present officers are Gov. John M. Stone, first lieutenant grand commander, Jackson ; Gen. J. A. Smith, second lieutenant grand commander, Jackson; Capt. E. O. Sykes, third lieuten- ant grand commander, Aberdeen; Maj. E. T. Sykes, adjutant general, Columbus; Capts. W. H. Hardy, Meridian, and Fred J. V. Le Cand, Natchez, aides-de-camp; Gen. Joseph R. Davis, inspector- general; K. P. Lemans, quartermaster general; Dr. C. A. Rice, surgeon- general, and Rev. Louis Ball, chaplain general. The general scope of the association is indi- cated by the following: "Shall be strictly social, literary, historical and benevolent, and its labors shall be directed to cultivating the ties of friendship between all survivors of the armies and navies of the late Confederate states; to keep fresh the memories of our comrades who gave up their lives for the lost cause, in battle or in other fields of service, or who have died since the war; to the perpetuation of the records of their deeds of heroism, by the collec- tion and dis2iosition in the manner they judge best, of all materials of value for future histo- rians; to aiding and relieving to the extent of its ability all members, their widows and orphans, in extreme cases of sickness and want, and to providing homes for them when neces- sary." Their headquarters are at Columbus. The Sons of Veterans also have an organiza- tion, of which R. K. Jayne is chief. The Mississippi Historical society, whose object is "to discover, collect, preserve and perpetuate facts and events relating to the natural, aljoriginal, civil, political, literary and ecclesiastical history of the territory and state of Mississippi and the territory adjoining thereto," was but recently chartered, although it has shown such vigor that its archives in the library building at the state university, its headquarters, are already of great valixe. Its first meeting was held at the chancellor's office, university, on May 1, 1890, the charter members being Robert Lowry, R. H. Thompson, John Hunter, A. B. Learned, W. H. Sims, T. A. McWillie, J. T. Fant, R. B. Pulton, Edward Mayes, and William R. Sims. Professor Mayes was chosen president. Professor Fulton keeper of archives, and Prof. W. R. Sims secretary and treasurer. Measures were at once taken toward gathering files of old news- papers, war relics, Indian relics, pamphlets, books, etc., in which they have been most successful. They have the earliest files in the state, except a collection owned by Mr. Stuart, of Natchez, a descendant of the first editor in the state. Its membership now embraces in MEMOIRS OF Mrssrssrppf. r.3 the honorary list: Hon. C. C. Jones, Jr., Atlanta, Ga ; Hon. E. C. Walthall, Gen. A. P. Stewart, St. Louis, Mo.;, Prof. W. H. N. Magruder, Baton Eouge, La.; Dr. John N. Waddell, Clarksville, Tenn. ; Mrs. V. Jefferson Davis, Beauvoir; Hon. Charles Gayarre, New Orleans; Gen. Charles W. Darling, Utica, N. Y. ; and in the active list: Hon. T. J. Wharton, E. Mayes, W. P. Harris, R. W. Jones, J. L. Alcorn, R. H. Thompson, William R. Sims, E. H. Dial, J. B. Stratton, Fred Beall, H. S. Halbert, A. G. Mayers, L. T. Fitzhugh, G. T. Mc- Gehee, C. B. Galloway, J. S. McNeilly, A. H Stone, G. D. Shands, C. Firman Smith, S. D. Lee, R. B. Fulton, F. K. Henderson, G. R. Hill, J. G. Deupree, Jackson Reeves, Schuyler Poitevent, R. M. Leavell, J. A. Orr, W. T. Martin, T. D. Isom, H. P. Simrall, Miss Mollie Duvall, W. T. Lewis, C. B. Howry, J. W. Johnson, A. H. Whitfield and P. H. Eager. Its funds are partly derived from slight membership fees and annual dues. The society ought to be earnestly supported in aggressive efforts. Among the extensive farmers' organizations are: The State grange, of which S. L. Wilson is master; T. L. Darden, overseer ; and J. P. Dearing lecturer. The State alliance, with R. C. Patty, of Macon, president;; and C. T. Smithson, of Newport, secretary; and the Patrons' union, with headquarters at Lake, and of which J. B. Bailey is president; J. T. Hamilton vice president; J. S. Scott, secretary; and J. I. Robinson, treasurer. These are all extensive and well-organized associations, characterized by purposes of improvement in the science and art of agriculture, agitation and combination to secure legal and commercial advantages, and for social and experimental purjaoses. The growth of these societies has been coordinate with the general movement throughout the United States since the war. Detailed information seems unobtainable. The State Horticultural society is the product of an agitation for the scientific prosecu- tion of all branches of horticulture in Mississippi, and its success has been marked. Dr. H. E. McKay, of Madison station, is its president, and W. H. Cassell, of Canton, its secretary. It met at Jackson on January '.iTi, 1883, and organized with a constitution. Its work will be noticed elsewhere. The labor organizations are represented by the Knights of Labor, the Ancient Order of United Workmen, and various trade societies too numerous to mention. Among religio-fraternal societies may be noticed that of the Jewish people, and the twelve branches of Catholic Knights of America, at Macomb City, Jackson, Vicksburg, Natchez, Canton, Meridian, Holly Springs, Columbus, Bay St. Louis, Greenville and Scran- ton, with a total membership of three hundred and seventy-two in the state. The first lodge of the time-honored order of Free Masons* established in Mississippi was at Natchez, in October, 1801, the Grand lodge of Kentucky having chartered Harmony No. 7, on the 16th of that month. The Grand lodge of Tennessee chartered Andrew Jackson lodge No. 15, also at Natchez, August 13, 1826, and Washington lodge No. 17, at Port Gibson, April 19, 1817. The officers of these lodges, with several past masters, and other members of the craft, assembled in convention at Natchez July 27, 1818, and resolved that it was expedient and highly necessary to form a Grand lodge for the state of Mississippi. Henry Tooley was chosen grand master; Christopher Rankin, deputy grand master; Israel Loring, senior grand warden; Edward Turner, junior grand warden; Henry Postlethwaite, grand treasurer; Chilion F. Stiles, grand secretary; Christopher Miller, senior grand deacon; John Corn, junior grand deacon; Joseph Newman, grand tyler. A committee was appointed to prepare a constitution, which was reported and adopted August 28. ♦Contrilmted by J, L, Power, r,4 BIOQRAPIIIGAr. AND IHSTORIOAL Those who have filled the station of grand master are; Henry Tooley, 1818; Christopher Eankin, 1819; Edward Turner, 1820-21; Israel Loring, 1822-5; John A. Quitman, 1826-37- 40-5-6; Robert Stewart 1838-9-41; George A. Wilson, 1842-3; S. W. Vanatta, 1844, died during term and succeeded by Deputy Grand Master Harvey W. Walter; Benjamin S. Tap- pan, 1847; Charles Scott, 1848-50; Charles A. Lacoste, 1849; William H. Stevens, 1851; James M. Howry, 1852; Joseph W. Speight, 1853; Carnot Posey, 1854; Giles M. Hillyer, 1853-4; William R. Cannon 1857; William Cothran, 1858; William P. Mellen, 1859; David Mitchell, 1860; Richard Cooper, 1861-3; William S. Patton, 1864-5; George M. Perkins, 1866; John T. Lamkin, 1867; Thomas S. Gathright, 1868-9; George R. Fearn, 1870-71; W. H. Hardy, 1872; Richard P. Bowen, 1873; A. H. Barkley, 1874-5; John Y. Murry, 1876-7; Charles T. Murphy, 1878; Prank Burkitt, 1879; William French, 1880; John F. McCormick, 1881; Frederic Speed, 1882; P. M. Savery, 1883; Robert C. Patty, 1884; J. B. Morgan, 1885; B. T. Kimbrough, 1886; E. George DeLap, 1887; M. M. Evans, 1888; WiUiam G. Paxton, 1889; John Riley, 1890; John M. Ware, 1891. Of these David Mitchell, George R. Fearn, W. H. Hardy, A. H. Barkley, John Y. Murry, Frank Burkitt, John F. McCormick, Frederic Speed, P. M. Savery, J. B. Morgan, B. T. Kimbrough, E. George DeLap, M. M. Evans, William G. Paxton, John Riley and John M. Ware are still living (in 1891). Some of the other stations have been filled by citizens eminent in the various walks of life, and whose memory will ever be cherished by the craft. William P. Mellen served as grand sec- retary for eighteen years. The present grand secretary, J. L. Power, was elected in 1869, and is now (1891) serving his twenty-second year. On the completion of his twentieth year he sub- mitted a retrospective sketch of the twenty years, giving the following interesting figures: Initiated, eight thousand seven hundred and ninety-two; passed, eight thousand four hundred and ten; raised, eight thousand one hundred and twelve; total degrees conferred in all the lodges for that period, twenty-five thousand three hundred and fourteen; affiliated, five thou- sand six hundred and seventy-three; reinstated, four thousand and twenty-two; dimitted, eight thousand seven hundred and two; suspended for non-payment of dues, eight thousand one hundred and thirty-nine; suspended for unmasonic conduct, three hundred and eighteen; expelled for unmasonic conduct, two hundred and thirty; died, three thousand five hundred and one. Received and accounted for in the way of dues, 1186,927.87; special relief funds, 178,298; total, $265,225.87. The Grand lodge has issued four hundred and thirteen charters. The total in force (1891) is two hundred and seventy-three. Quite a number of lodges were organized during the war period, and were known as " Army lodges." These, of course, ceased to work on the restora- tion of peace. Others have become consolidated, and others became extinct by the removal of members from the country to railroad towns. The numerous beneficial orders, with life insurance features, have also attracted many who might otherwise have united with the Masonic fraternity. During and immediately after the war, there was a great rush to the lodges, so that at the close of the year 1868 the total membership was twelve thousand three hundred and eight. The total membership at the close of 1890 was eight thousand three hundred and ninety, a net gain of three hundred and eighty-eight on the preceding year. The Grand lodge meets annually, during the second week in February, and for several years it has been " on wheels." There are usually about two hundred and twenty-five lodges represented, whose delegates, with grand and past grand officers, make a total of nearly three hundred. The business is usually transacted in two days. The representatives are paid mileage and per diem from the funds of Grand lodge, which are derived from an assess- MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 55 ment on each lodge of seventy-five cents per member, and SI on each degree conferred — aggregating about |8,000 per annum. In addition there is a charity tax of ten cents per capita, which realizes about $800, and |5()() of this is annually appropriated toward the support of the Protestant orphan asylum, at Natchez. The principal topics that have occupied the attention of the Grand lodge of late years are the saloon question and the establishment of a Masonic widows and orphans' home. A regulation has been adopted that no saloonkeeper can become a member of a Masonic lodge. A fund of several thousand dollars has already been collected toward establishing and endow- ing a home, and the interest in that behalf is steadily increasing. The Masons of Mississippi have not only the will, but the ability to thus provide for the shelter and support of the des- titute widows and orphans of their brethren. The officers of the Grand lodge for 1891 are: John M. Ware, grand master; J. L. Spinks, deputy grand master; W. A. Roane, senior grand warden; Isaac T. Hart, junior grand warden; Rev. J. A. Bowen, grand chaplain; R. B. Brannin, grand lecturer; A. P. Barry, grand treasurer; J. L. Power, grand secretary; C. N. Simpson, senior grand deacon; W. R. Woods, junior grand deacon; John Y. Murry, Jr., grand marshal; S. G. Stern, grand sword bearer; A. G. Wood, grand pursuivant; Henry Strauss, grand tyler. The standing committees are: Law and jurisprudence, Frederic Speed, John P. McCor- mick, M. M. Evans; complaints and appeals, Frank Biirkitt, John Y. Murry, James T. Harrison; finance and printing, William G. Paxton, E. G. DeLap, James H. Duke; state of the craft, P. M. Savery, chairman; foreign correspondence reporter, Rev. A. H. Barkley. Pursuant to dispensation issued by the deputy general grand high priest of the General Grand chapter of the United States, dated at Baltimore March 12, 1846, the representatives of four chapters assembled in Vicksburg May 18, 1846, and organized the Grand chapter of Mississippi. Vicksburg chapter No. 3 was represented by Thomas J. Harper, Thomas Rigby and James Trowbridge; Columbus No. 4, by N. E. Goodwin; Wilson No. 5, by J. B. Day; Jackson No. 6, by A. Hutchinson, William Wing and Robert Hughes. The grand ofiBcers elected were: B. S. Tappan, grand high priest; A. Hutchinson, deputy grand high priest; Charles H. Abert, grand king; William F. Stearns, grand scribe; William Wing, grand secre- tary; Thomas J. Harper, grand treasurer; T. C. Thornton, grand chaplain; J. Trowbridge, grand marshal. The first chapter organized in Mississippi was at Port Gibson, chartered September 15, 1826. A charter was issued for a chapter in Vicksburg September 17, 1841, atid dispensations for chapters in Holly Springs October 30, 1841, Columbus February 7, 1842, Jackson August 28, 1843, which were chartered September 12, 1844. The Grand chapter, like the Grand lodge, moved serenely along until its labors were interrupted by the Civil war. There were no sessions in 1862 or 1883. The convocations of 1864 and 1865 were held at Columbus, and the proceedings were printed on " Confederate'' paper. There have been one hundred and fourteen charters issued by the Grand chapter. The number in force in 1890 was forty-four, embracing a membership of eleven hundred and eighty. Its highest membership was in 1869 — twenty-five hundred and sixty-five in seventy- six chapters. The grand high priests from 1846 to 1891 are as follows: Benjamin S. Tappan, 1846-7; Walker Brooke, 1848; William H. Stevens, 1849; T. C. Tupper, 1850; Charles Scott. 1851; Charles S. Spanu, 1852; A. V. Rowe, 1853; William S. Patton, 1854; William R, Cannon, 1855; William Cothran, 1856; James M. Howry, 1857; Amos R. Johnston, 1858; 56 RWOliAPniUAL AND lIISTOIiWAL M. S. Ward, 1859; Giles M. Hillyer, 1800; S. H. Johnson, 1861-4; George T. Stain- baok, 1865; William S. Patton, 1866; William D. Ferriss, 1S67; J. O. Lusher, 1868; George D. Fee, 1869; K. B. Mayes, 1870; Charles T. Bond, 1871j H. 0. Eobinson, 1872; George E. Fearn, 1873-4; John Y. Murry, 1875; Harvey W. Walter, 1876-7; John S. Jones, 187X; Robert B. Brannin, 1879; Frederic Speed, 1880-81; William Eichards, 1882; B. T. Kimbrough, 1883; William French, 1884; S. C. Conley, 1885; Eichard P. Bowen, 1886; Charles T. Chamberlain, 1887; N. W. Bouton, 1888; A. D. Bailey, 1889; W. E. Trigg, 1.S90; P. M. Savery, 1891. The Grand chajiter and Grand council adopted what has been termed "the Merger," or " Mississippi plan," by which the cryptic degrees were transferred to and conferred in the chapter. This created some disturbance in the General Grand chapter and General Grand council — the coiirse of the Mississippi companions having been ably vindicated in the General Grand bodies by Companions Harvey W. Walter, James M. Howry and Frederic Speed. After an experience of twelve years, the "Merger" was a generally admitted failure, and, by common consent, the Grand council was reorganized in February, 1889, the Grand chapter resigning all control of the degrees of royal and select master. The officers of the Grand chapter for 1891 are: P. M. Savery, grand high priest; J. K. McLeod, deputy grand high priest; Frank Burkitt, grand king; William Starling, grand scribe; Eev. J. A. Bowen, grand chaplain; A. P. Barry, grand treasurer; J. L. Power, grand secretary; G. A. Logan, grand captain of the host; G. J. Bahin, grand principal sojourner; James T. Harrison, grand royal arch captain; Hiram Hood, grand master third vail; M. M. Evans, grand master second vail; S. E. Lamb, grand master first vail; Henry Strauss, grand sentinel The present grand treasurer has been in office since 1 869, and grand secretary since 1870. A convention of Councils of Eoyal and Select Masters was held at Natchez, January 2, 1856, by the mandate of the Grand Council of the Princes of Jerusalem of the state of Missis- sippi. This convention drafted a constitution, which was approved by the said Grand Council of Princes of Jerusalem. The councils represented in the convention were: Natchez No. 1, E. Craig; Vicksburg No. 7, B. Springer, William Middleton; Cayuga No. 10, William E. Lackey; Lexington No. 26, ^\'illiam P. Mellen, William A. McMillion. The convention adjourned to meet at Vicksburg, January 18, 1856, adopted the consti- tution, and on the day following organized the Grand Council of Eoyal and Select Masters of the state of Mississippi by the election and installation of grand officers. On January 26, 1856, the Grand council held an adjourned convention, when the formal ratification and confirmation of the above proceedings by the Grand Council of the Princes of Jerusalem, of the state of Mississippi, and their grant and conveyance of jurisdiction of these degrees, dated at their Grand Orient in Natchez, January 23, 1856, were presented, received and filed. A pamphlet of thirteen pages, printed in 1855, gives the proceedings of a meeting of Eoyal and Select Masters, held in the Masonic hall, at the city of Jackson, January 10, 1854, when a Grand council of Eoyal and Select Masters was formed. The councils at Jackson, Lexington and Holly Springs were represented, and twenty- six other Eoyal and Select Mas- ters were present, several of them very prominent in the craft of that day: Howry, Brooke, Cannon, Tupper, Barrows, Foute and others. The officers elected were T. C. Tupper, thrice illustrious grand master; Walker Brooke, illustrious deputy grand master; William E. Cannon, principal conductor of the work; William H. McCargo; captain of the guard; L. V. Dixon, recorder; Burton Yandel, treasurer; G. W. Johnson, sentinel. MEMOIRS OF jnSSISSlPPI. The next assembly was held in Jackson, January 11, 18')."). Seven councils were i sented. A constitution was adopted. Amos R. Johnston was elected thrice illustrious j master. This appears to be the last of this organization, which was superseded l\v the ( council formed in January, 1856, under the auspices of the Grand Council of Prin( Jerusalem. The most puissant grand masters, from organization to 1891, are: Benjamin Spr 1850; William P. Mellen, 1857; Jacob P. Foute, 1858; Daniel Eosser, 1859; William ran, 1860; Jacob P. Foute, 1861; William S. Patton, 1864-5; James M. Howry, 1866; Lusher, 1867; Giles M. Hillyer, 1868; Morris Cook, 1869; B. S. Trice, 1870-72; E. G De Lap, 1873; Harvey W. Walter, 1874-5; P. M. Savery, 1876 [merged alter 1876]; iam Richards, 1889; Frederic Speed, 1890-91. There were no sessions in 1861 and The highest membership was reached in 1866, nine hundred and eighty-live in fort councils. The total membership, December 27, 1890, was one hundred and eighty-u seven councils. The rite has beauties that will not fail to enlist the zealous and intel of the royal craft in its dissemination. There are, at this writing, seventy-eight thousand eight hundred and eighteen Ki Templar in eight hundred and forty-three commanderies in the Vnited States. The ( commandery of Massachusetts and Rhode Island is the senior grand body, having organized May 6, 1805. Mississippi ranks twelfth as to age, having been organized Ja: 21, 1857, under letters of authority from Grand Master W. B. Hubbard, dated Coin: Ohio, December 22, 185(3. Three commanderies were represented, as follows: Missi No. 1, Sirs Thomas Palmer, E. P. Russell, Thomas W. Caskey; Magnolia No. 2, Sirs G P. Crump, Benjamin S. Tappan, Christopher A. Manlove; Lexington No. 3, W H. Dyson, William A. McMillion, A. V. Rowe. A constitution was adopted on th« following. There were no grand conclaves in 1862, 1863, 1864, 1865. In January. 1866, whc Grand commandery assembled in Yicksburg, Grand Commander Tappan made appro and ])athetic reference to the four years of pilgrimage that severely tested the fait constancy of those who endured it; and after fitting reference to the chivalrous and kn: dead, he said: ' We once more, knights and companions of our order, set our watclie pitch our tents around the hallowed temjjle of Zion. The civil convulsions and the i conflicts through which we have passed have but proved the constancy of our faith i great principles upon which that temple is founded, and that which will make it as perm as the religion it represents, and upon which, in every great and rmlooked-for emerc like that which has so long suspended the functions of our Grand commandery, it is our ilege to look for aid." The grand commanders, from organization, are: William H. Stevens, 1857; Geoi Crump, 1858; Giles M. Hillyer, 1859; Harvey W. Walter, I860; Benjamin S. Tappan, Edward Lea, 1866; Christopher A. Manlove, 1867; Fleet C. Mercer, 1868; John K. F 1S69; Charles T. Bond, 1870; William S. Patton, 1871; E. George DeLap, 1872; Henry, 1873; P. M. Savery, 1874; Gideon W. Cox, 1875; Oliver Clifton, 187(5; Willi; Fairchild, 1877; William G. Paxton, 1878; Charles M. Erwin, 1879; William G. Benl 1880; William French, 1881; James T. Meade, 1882; H. M. Romberger, 1883; W. P. T( 1884; JohnH. Gordon, 1885; B. A. Vaughan, 1886; N. S. Walker, 1S87; Frederic S 1888-9; James J. Hayes, 1890; J. E. Leigh, 1891. The annual conclaves are held at the same place as Grand lodge, and on the Tu preceding. 58 BIOGRAPHWAL AND HISTOEIOAL The officers for .1891 are: J. E. Leigh, grand commander; W. A. Bodenhamer, deputy grand commander; S. W. Ferguson, grand generalissimo; J. C. French, grand captain of the guard; Kev. William Cross, grand prelate; James H. Gunning, grand senior warden; Frank Burkitt, grand junior warden; G. J. Bahin, grand treasurer; J. L. Power, grand recorder; King Dorwart, grand standard bearer; J. E. Mcintosh, grand sword bearer; T. A. Teasdale, grand warder; C W. Bolton, grand captain of the guard. There are ten commanderies, with a membership of three hundred and twenty. The Independent Order of Odd Fellows, on December 31, 1889, had a total lodge mem- bershij) in the United States of six hundred and thirty-four thousand three hundred and thirty-five, an increase over the previous year of thirty thousand seven hundred and ninety- eight; and the relief distributed amounted to nearly $3,000,000. It is one of the great benevolent forces of the world, and, including the " Manchester Unity " in England, and membership of the order in other parts of the world, makes a grand fraternal host of nearly one and one-half million. In some of the Eastern and Western states it exceeds all other fraternal associations in numbers, but it has not been so popular or prosperous in the South- west. Pursuant to a charter granted by the Grand lodge of the United States to Past Grands M. Euffner, William Dale, E. P. Pollard, S. L. Goddard, William Cannon, Joseph B. Robinson and William S. Robinson, contributing members of Mississippi lodge No. 1, and Washington lodge No. 2, both at Natchez, the Grand lodge of Mississippi was organized in that city on May 6, 1836, when Mr. RuflPner was elected grand master. The organization was conducted and the officers installed by Past Grand Sire Thomas Wildey, who founded the order in the United States on February 26, 1819. He appears to have taken a special interest in planting the order in Mississippi, and that his fostering care was appreciated by the Grand lodge is shown by the fact that he was its "permanent " grand representative for a number of years. He communicated frequently with the Grand lodge, and his recommenda- tion always had great weight. The Grand lodge, for several years, indulged in quarterly communications, but the quarterlies were discontinued as new lodges were established throughout the state. The order appears to have attained its greatest strength in the second term in 1860, when there were fifty-seven working lodges, a total membership of seventeen hundred and ten, two hundred and eighty-one initiations, and a total revenue of $14,127.69. There were no sessions in 1863, 1864 or 1865, so that the session in Meridian in May, 1891, was the fiftieth session and the fifty-third year of the order in Mississippi. On December 31, 1890, there were twenty-eight working lodges, with a total membership of nine hundred and ninety-four, but when the Grand lodge met in May following, the membership exceeded one thousand, so that the Grand lodge was again entitled to two representatives in the Sovereign Grand lodge. The order was greatly revived in the state in 1890, through the efforts of Grand Master Wiley N. Nash. Its grand masters have been; M. Euffner, William Doyle, Benjamin Walker, S. Halsey, George J. Dicks, Richard Griffith, S. B. Newman, J. E. Stockman, William H. Brown, Thomas Reed, D. N. Barrows, C. H. Stone, William Crutcher, A. M. Foute, N. G. Bryson, J. K. Connelly, W. A. Strong, A. H. Arthur, L. K. Barber, John L. Milton, H. L. Bailey, William Wyman, A. E. Love, J. P. Hawks, R. B. Mayes, C. Parish, O. T. Keeler, S. C. Cochran, George Torrey, G. K. Birchett, Ira J. Carter, Isaac T. Hart, J. S. Cain, H. S. Van Eaton, D. P. Black, R. L. Saunders, A. B. Wagner, J. H. McKenzie, Joseph Hirsh, T. J. Hanes, W. J. Bradshaw, J. L. Power, G. W. Trimble, Isaac D. Blumenthal, H. r^ ^ MEMOIRH OF MISSISSIPPI. 59 C. Eoberts, James C. Lamkin, William M. Strickland, Amos Burnett, Eobert C Patty, Wiley N. Nash. Most of these have joined the " great majority," a few have been dropped, and fifteen remain affiliated with the order. The grand master for 1891 is J. T. Thomas, of Grenada, and the grand secretary is Hon. George G. Dillard, of Macon. The session of 1892 is to be held at Holly Springs, May 3. The saying, " Tall oaks from little acorns grow," has been forcibly illustrated in the remarkable history of the great and growing fraternity, the Knights of Honor. Organized in the city of Louisville, Ky., on June 30, 1873, with seventeen members, it had a total strength on April 1, 1891, of one hundred and thirty-eight thousand and twenty-nine; the number of subordinate lodges being two thousand five hundred and seventy, and thirty-six grand lodges. The death benefits paid during its first year amounted to $1,093.65; the death benefits paid for the year 1890 amounted to S3, 848, 500; the total benefits paid from organization to June 1, 1891, $34,787,034.26; the value of certificates outstanding, $256,045,000. At the fourteenth annual session of the Grand lodge of Mississippi, August 25, 1891, the total membership in the state was six thousand and forty, a net gain of three hundred and thirty-eight on preceding year. Number of lodges, one hundred and twenty-four, six having been instituted during year. There were sixty-eight deaths during the year and the benefits paid families amounted to $135,000. Total deaths in Mississippi since organi- zation of Grand lodge, April, 1891, seven hundred and eighty-three; total benefits for same period, $1,566,000. It is fair to presume that within the next five years the membership will reach ten thousand. It is claimed that the order is stronger in Mississippi, in proportion to white population, than in any other state in the Union. There were more applications filed at the office of the supreme reporter for the month ending July 11, 1891, than from any other state, except New York and Texas. Hon. George G. Dillard, of Macon, is grand dictator; E. W. Smith, Hernando, grand reporter. The order of the Knights & Ladies of Honor was organized in 1878. Its membership on June 30 of that year was nineteen hundred and twenty-five. Its membership December 31, 1890, reached sixty-seven thousand five hundred and forty-eight; benefits paid to September 1, 1891, $5,875,714.62. The benefits are from $500 to $3,000, according to division. Females are admitted on same terms as men, and it has been demonstrated that females are better risks than males. It is not necessary now, as formerly, that a person should be a Knight of Honor, or the female relative of such, m order to become a member of the Knights and Ladies of Honor; and hence the rapid growth of the order during the last few years. Mississippi had a total membership of one thousand eight hundred and eighty- one on July 1, 1891. There were twenty-eight deaths during the year ending that date, and the beneficiaries received the sum of $47,000. The Grand lodge meets annually, in July, and the representatives and grand officers numbered at last session about seventy gentlemen and ladies. Hon. Thomas J. Wood, of Starkville, is grand protector for 1891-2; Mrs. O. A. Hastings, Port Gibson, grand secretary. The great beneficial order, the American Legion of Honor, was organized in 1878, had a membership on January 1, 1891, of sixty-two thousand five hundred and seventy-four, and paid benefits to that date to the amount of $17,956,278.21. The benefits range from $500 to $5,000. It has twenty-seven councils in Mississippi, with a membership of about twelve hundred. It is among the most prompt of the benevolent orders in paying death losses. It has, as yet, no state organization. The very popular benevolent order, the Knights of Pythias, is growing rapidly in Mis- D CO BIOORAPHIOAL AJTD HIBTOBIOAL sissijipi. On December 31, 1S90, its total membership was three thousand one hundred and eleven; lodges, fifty-six. The endowment rank has about one thousand two hundred mem- bers, carrying an insurance of over 13,200,000. The order in the state has paid to the endow- ment rank 1387,491.10, and received in death benefits $456,107. This order, on December 31, 1889, had a total membership in the United States of two hundred and sixty-three thou- sand eight hundred and forty-seven; subordinate lodges, three thousand seven hundred and twenty-four. The amount paid for relief during that year reached the magnificent sum of $789,455.53. Rev. William Cross, Greenville, grand chancellor; Joseph L. Maganos, Vicks- burg, grand keeper of recorc^s and seals for 1891-2. The Ancient Order of ijnited Workmen is also being introduced into the state, and has strong lodges in Jackson and other places. . (§HAPTBI^ ly. - WATER TRANSPORTATION, LEYEES, ETC. (5 I HE friction of mind against mind is one of the greatest sources of our civilization, and * I nothing produces this friction so much as facile means of transportation, and nothing -^ intensifies it so much as any means of greater rapidity in such intercommunication. This feature of rapidity and the other of mere facility may each be easily marked, by the most casual student of civilizing influences, as the chief characteristics that distinguish our country and our century from other countries, and centuries now past. The amazing growth of "the great republic" and the century that has been called the "age of steam," "the age of electricity," "the railway age," "the age of iron and steel," "the age of invention," "the age of rapid transit," "the century of ocean greyhounds," and what not, springs from this one source of rapid transportation to a far greater degree than from any other direct cause. A great story of civilization lies in the simple and homely facts : A man walks about three miles an hour; a horse trots about seven miles an hour; a steamboat averages about eighteen miles an hour ; and a railway train reaches near to sixty miles an hour. Civiliza- tion has moved in like manner. But if variations in rapidity of transport make such stupendous differences in immediate results, variations in facility are equally great. The most cursory glance at the several continents will show this feature of facility of intercommunication, when climate does not interfere, to be a very practical measure of the civilization of that continent; the greater the facility of intercommunication — natural, especially — the greater the civilization. Indeed, the two continents most widely separated in degree of civilization, Europe and Africa, are also the best and worst illustrations of facility of intercommunication, although adjoining one another, and the latter even having centuries of advantage in seeds of advancement. Whatever difference of views may be held as to the bearing of race qualities on the subject, ME3I0IR8 OF MItitilSSIPPI. 61 there can be no doubt that the number and depth of the water inlets into Europe, and the practical absence of them in Africa, the small continent of Europe having the longest coast line, and the vast continent of Africa having the smallest, has led to Africa being the last continent to be opened up, and that, too, by artificial means, while Europe has been advanc- ing with an excellence and rapidity unequaled in the history of continents before the rail- way age. It is Mississippi's good fortime, in this respect, that not only gave her an exceptional Indian civilization, but makes her one of the earliest to begin in that larger one of Europe. It was her ocean coast -line of magnificent harbor advantages that gave her her first settle- ment; her river coast-line on the longest waterway of the globe, reaching over four thousand miles from the delta to the mountains, that gave her an early and wealthy metropolis long before many of the trans-Mississippi commonwealths were deemed a possibility. Her coast-line, including the islands which are a part of the state, aggregates five hundred and twelve miles; but it must be remembered that the Mississippi allows the travel of large steamers for two thousand one hundred and sixty-one miles, while for small boats her branches in the state reach a navigation of as high as two hundred and twenty-eight miles on the Yazoo; and other branches having an easy course of over fifty miles, are the Sunflower, with two hundred seventy-one, the Tallahatchie with one hundred seventy-five, the Issaquena with one hundred sixty-one, not counting the several rivers of the sound, which are quite equal in their pro- portions. It is needless to repeat here how these watercourses determined settlement in Missis- sippi, like such courses have in all countries before the railway age, as it is needless to show that the most advanced settlements have the best waterways. Settlements were even described by the waterway: a man lived " on the Yazoo," " over on the Big Black," "upon the Tombigbee," or " down on the Pascagoula." It was on foot that De Soto's caravan entered this state's territory in 1540, and over a hundred years later (1690) that horses were first known to the Chickasaws. Canoes were used by those early explorers from the French posts above, and the British adventurers of the Northeast. The ocean ships of Iberville and Bienville were the first to touch her harbors on the sound, in 1699, "because of the sheltered bay or roadstead, where small vessels could come and go in safety at all times," wrote Iberville in his report. It was not until 1736 and 1739 that bateaux or barges ascended the Mississippi river, when Bienville did so to prosecute the Chickasaw war. This was the best means then known, and these voyagers were the first. "Tuesday, the 9th, Mons. de Nouaille also set out in a separate transport," says a journal of one of his officers. "Wednesday, the 10th of June (1739), we set out at break of day, and moved with might and main to stem the terrible cur- rent of the Mississippi; a storm coming up from the northwest at about 7 a. m., we made a second landing, having gone three leagues of our route." On the 14th, when they stopped again, they were sent to barracks to rest from the fatigues of heat "and the swift currents of the river, which we had been compelled to stem." "On the 23d of September," he says, "we found ourselves engaged at the dinner hour among the three channels of the river, which are comprised within the limits of the 'Natchez' settlements. We took the middle one, fearing the currents in that on the left. We found here from three and one-half to four feet of water, and so fierce a current that half our boats were driven aground, the rest in the meantime having proceeded to encamp at the head of the channels on the right bank of the river." On the 10th of October they reached the mouth of the "Hyazous," in which one readily recognizes the Yazoo, which they could not ascend, because of the drift wood. They 62 BIOanAPHICAL AND HISTOBIOAL "coutinned to encountoi- very rapid currents, which placed several of our boats under the necessity of hauling themselves up along the shore by means of ropes." His journal illus- trates the difficultio.-i of transportation up the river at that time so v?ell that it is here given entire, up to his arrival iit the mouth of the Arkansas river; "The 13th found lis aboard at daylight, when we took the channel to the right, having on our left a small isle which lies at its head, and along which we were compelled to be towed, owing to the strength of the current. After much difficulty, we were compelled to sleep in our boats, two leagues above a channel called ' Couroit,' or ' Kourois,' so named from its being frequently visited by that nation. "On the 14th we disembarked at daylight, to take breakfast at the foot of a small cliff. Each of the boats here provided itself with some ashwood, with which to shape some oars, which we all were more or less short of. Having, after dinner, taken up our route in the channel of a bank on the left, we found at the end that there was not sufficient water to pro- ceed, and were compelled to retrace our course. Having then succeeded in clearing the bar, we crossed to spend the night on the opposite side of the river, having merely landed a strong guard. "On the 15th took all aboard as soon as there was sufficient light to permit it, and having gone three and three-fourths leagues that day. slept in our boats at the lower end of the island farthest toward the north, it being one of three which we had found on our course, and where we were joined by a boat coming down from our depot to meet Mons. de Bienville. " On the 16th, having gotten aboard at the usual hour, we proceeded. One hour after- ward one of the boats sprung a considerable leak, a hidden stump having stove in the star- board bow. I immediately went to its assistance with another of our boats. We passed several hawsers beneath it to keep it afloat, and having discharged it of its load, I directed my boatswain to replace its side planks by new ones, which being done with but little delay, we reloaded it and pursued our course. We encamped in a grove at the extremity of a lengthy island, opposite that called ' Isle a la tete des morts ' (the island with the heads of tlie dead). "On the 17th October, all being embarked at dawn, we spent the subsequent nio-ht in our boats near the first island we had encountered that day, having made four leagues. " On the 18th we set out with the early morn, and in the afternoon were compelled to make use of the tow-lines whilst rounding an extensive sand bank in a southerly direction, owing to the fierceness of the current. We crossed the end of the bar at sunset towards the right, and again passed the night aboard, at a distance of half a league above what is called ' the small Pointe Coupee.' " On the 19th we set out before day, and having passed to the left of the islands, we encamped upon a large bank on our left for a short stay. " On the 20th, being stationed on a bank over which there flew a large number of geese and ducks, we dispatched a large number from daybreak until seven in the morning, in which time we were met by a conveyance going down to New Orleans from the depot. From it we learned that our first convoy had arrived there on the 12th, the day after the arrival of the Canadians, who, including the Indians among them, were to the number of four hundred men. We also learned, from the same source, that the second convoy had lost six soldiers and one ensign. " The 21st, after roll-call, we embarked one hour before day, and having passed to the left of the first island on our route, we slept in our boats that night one-half league beyond the island, no one having lauded, owing to the fact that the landing was muddier than any previ- MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 63 ously met. We had observed, during all that day, that the waters having gone down from nine to ten feet, had caused a large diminution in the force of the current. " The 22d we departed one hour before day, the river still falling, and encamped five in the afternoon on a bank to the right. Here we discovered the pirogue of four Arcanoas Indians, who were on a hunting expedition, such being the sole occupation of all the nations in this vicinity. " On the 23d we decamped one hour before day, and were joined soon after by a pirogue belonging to the convoy of Mons. de Bienville, from which we learned that the latter was only two leagues distant, on his way up to Arcanqas, in the center channel of the three which we had discovered and was now ascending. We finally moored our vessels ashore, one-half a league further up to the left, each boat arriving separately and at intervals, owing to the violent currents which we had encountered. At ten o'clock at night we were joined by several boats belonging to the convoy of Mons. de Bienville, which soon left us to regain the latter on the opposite shore and a little above us. " On the 24th we continued on our journey at five of the morning, and overtook Mons. de Bienville at eight o'clock. The wind being north, and the weather rainy and very threatening, both convoys set out together only after twelve. We slept two leagues further, in our boats near each other, with a separate guard on shore, of which our own was to the right. " On the 25th, at three in the morning, the roll was beat separately, and Mons. Bienville having started, we embarked, but, half an hour afterward, taking to the channel on the left of the first island on our course, we encamped to the number of twelve boats at the first mouth of Arcaneas river. " On the 26th we were overtaken at five in the morning by one of our boats which had been unable to keep up with the rest on the preceding day, and were, consequently, unable to proceed before eight o'clock. We passed the mouth of the ArcanQas river on our left. This river appeared to me to run in a north-northwest direction. The lodges of the Arcanqas nation are distant seven leagues from the Mississippi. It is of considerable size, and can furnish four hundred warriors, who have ever been much attached to the French. Passing to the left of two islands, we encamped on a bank on our left, one-quarter of a league from the last of the two." This was in 1739, when no better means was known the world over. Besides these barges or bateaux were the flatboats and keelboats, the latter the more pretentious of the two, and more or less permanent, while the flatboats were made for one trip and used for lumber at the end, of the route, for they were used on the down-stream voyage. The craft used for both directions were the keelboats and barges. The keelboat, the more common one, was long, narrow and pointed at the ends, with a gangway along the gunwale for boatmen, as they poled or warped up the stream, the oars being available only when in eddies. This kind of boat only needed to have added to it a long, low, house-like structure between the gangways to be the finest boat then afloat, and bearing the more luxurious name of barge. All these vessels had immense oars for steering, the flatboats having them fixed on the sides on pivots. These were the means of transportation, not only during the days before 1798, when Mississippi was made a territory of the United States, but all the rest of that and for ten years into the present century. It must be remembered that it was only in 1753 that the first steam motor of any kind appeared in this country, and it was only ten years before Mississippi was admitted into the Union, that Eobert Fulton first succeeded in applying it to boat movement as a mere experiment on the Hudson river. It is difficult for us to realize that up to 1811 no steam craft of any kind had ever floated on the thickly dotted waters before Natchez and Vicksburg, but so it was. 64 BWOltAPUWAL AND IIISTOBIOAL Two years after the success of Mr. Tulton's Hudson river exploit, his friends began to consider its adaptability to Western streams, and especially the Mississippi, between New Orleans and Natchez, the latter being the only considerable settlement below the Ohio. It was proposed to build a boat at Pittsburgh for this purpose, and Nicholas J. Roosevelt, the inventor of the boat's vertical wheel, undertook the necessary investigation of the river, which, if favorable, would determine the building of it by Chancellor Livingston, Mr. Fulton and Mr. Roosevelt, the latter to superintend the building of the boat and engine and the oth- ers to furnish the capital. "He accordingly repaired to Pittsburgh in May, 1809," says a dis- tinguished Baltimore lawyer in an address before the historical society of his state. "The only means of conveyance to New Orleans, where his investigations were to terminate, were the keelboats, barges and flatboats," which have been described above. "None of those then in use were suited to Mr. Roosevelt's purpose, and as the accuracy of his examinations, rather than the speed of his voyage, was important, he determined to build a flatboat which should contain all necessary comforts for himself and wife, and float with the current of the Ohio and Mississippi from Pittsburgh to New Orleans. This he accordingly did, and with the excep- tion of some three weeks passed on the shore at Louisville, and some nine or ten days in a rowboat between Natchez and New Orleans, the flatboat was the home of Mr. and Mrs. Roos- evelt for the next six months. Cincinnati, Louisville and Natchez were then the only places of even the smallest note between Pittsburgh and New Orleans." His difficulties and the remarkable incidents connected with the birth of steam power in this great valley, and for Mississippi's metropolis first, are so striking that the extract is con- tinued: "Furnished with letters of introduction to their leading men, the travelers were most kindly received and most hospitably entertained. Mr. Roosevelt's explanations were listened to respectfully, as he stated his purpose in visiting the West, and narrated what steam had accomplished on Eastern rivers. But he was evidently regarded as a sanguine enthusiast, engaged in an impracticable undertaking. From no one individual did he receive a word of encouragement. Nor was this incredulity confined to the gentlemen he met in society; it extended to the pilots and boatmen, who, passing their lives on the Ohio and Mississippi, possessed the practical information he wanted. They heard what he had to say of the expe- rience of Fulton and Livingston, and then pointed to the turbid and whirling waters of the great river as a conclusive answer to all his reasoning. That steam could be made to resist them they could not be made to understand. Nothing, however, shook the confidence of Mr. Roosevelt. He had made up his mind that steam was to do the work of the Western world, and his present visit was but for the purpose of ascertaining how best the work could be done upon its streams. The Ohio and Mississippi were problems that he had undertaken to study, nor did he leave them until he had mastered them in all their bearings. He gauged them; he measured their velocity at different seasons; he obtained all the statistical information within his reach, and formed a judgment with respect to the future development of the coun- try west of the Alleghanies that has since been amply corroborated. Not only did he do this, but finding coal on the banks of the Ohio, he purchased and opened mines of the mineral; and so confident was he of the success of the project on hand, that he caused supplies of the fuel to be heaped upon the shore, in anticipation of the wants of a steamboat whose keel had yet to be laid, and whose very existence was to depend upon the impression that his report might make upon the capitalists, without whose aid the plan would, for the present at least, have to be abandoned. "Arriving at New York in the middle of January, 1810, Mr. Roosevelt's report, bearing on its face evidence of the thoroughness of his examination, impressed Fulton and Livingston MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 65 with his own convictions, and in the spring of that year he returned to Pittsburgh, to super- intend the building of the first steamboat that was launched on the Western waters. "Pittsburgh, when Mr. Roosevelt took up his residence there in 1811, had but recently commenced the career which has now entitled it to the name of the Birmingham of America. On the Allegheny side, which was liable to overflow, there were but few buildings in ISll. Close by the creek, and immediately under a lofty bluff, called Boyd's hill, was an iron foundry, known as Beelen's foundry, and in immediate proximity to this was the keel of Mr. Eoosevelt's vessel laid. The depot of the Pittsburgh & Connellsville railroad now occupies the ground I am speaking of. "The size and plan of the first steamboat had been determined on in New York, and had been furnished by Mr. Fulton. It was to be one hundred and sixteen feet in length, and twenty-foot beam. The engine was to have a thirty-four-inch cylinder, and the boiler and other parts of the machine were to be in proportion. " The first thing to be done was to obtain the timber to build the boat, and for this pur- pose men were sent into the forest, there to find the necessary ribs and knees and beams, transport them to Monongahela, and raft them to the shipyard. White pine was the only material for planking that could be obtained without a delay that would be inadmissible. The sawing that was required was done in the old-fashioned and now long-forgotten saw-pits of 1811. Boat-builders, accustomed to build the barges of that day, could be obtained in Pittsburgh, but a ship-builder and the mechanics required in the machinery department, had to be shipped from New York. Under these circumstances, Mr. Roosevelt began the work. One of the first troubles that annoyed him was a rise in the Monongahela, when the waters backed into his shipyard, and set all the materials that were buoyant afloat. This occurred again and again, and on one occasion it seemed not improbable that the steamboat would be lifted from its ways and launched before its time. At length, however, all difiiculties were overcome, by steady perseverance, and the boat was launched, and called, from the place of her ultimate destination, the New Orleans. It cost in the neighborhood of $>iS,0( )(). " As the New Orleans approached completion, and when it came to be known that Mrs. Roosevelt intended to accompany her husband on the voyage, the numerous friends she had made in Pittsburgh united in endeavoring to dissuade her from what they regarded as utter folly, if not absolute madness. Her husband was appealed to. The criticisms that had been freely applied to the boat by the crowds of visitors to the shipyard were now transferred to the conduct of the builder. He was told that he had no right to peril his wife's life, however reckless he might be of his own. But the wife believed in her husband, and in the latter part of September, 1811, the New Orleans, after a short experimental trip up the Monongahela, commenced her voyage. "There were two cabins, one aft for ladies, and a larger one forward for gentlemen. In the former were four berths. It was comfortably furnished. Of this Mrs. Roosevelt took possession. Mr. Roosevelt and herself were the only passengers. There was a captain, an engineer named Baker, Andrew Jack (the pilot), six hands, two female servants, a man waiter, a cook and an immense Newfoundland dog. Thus equipped, the New Orleans began the voyage which changed the relations of the West — which may almost be said to have changed its destiny. " The people of Pittsburgh turned out en masse, and lined the banks of the Mononga- hela, to witness the departure of the steamboat, and shout after shout rent the air, and hand- kerchiefs were waved and hats thrown up by way of God speed to the voyagers, as the anchor was raised, and, heading up stream for a short distance, a wide circuit brought the 66 BIOGBAPIIIGAL AND III8T01UQAL New Orleans on lier proper course, and, steam and current aiding, she disappeared behind the first headland, on the right bank of the Ohio. " Too much excited to sleep, Mr. Roosevelt and his wife passed the greater part of the first night on deck, and watched the shore, covered then with an almost unbroken forest, as reach after reach and bend after bend were passed at a speed of from eight to ten miles an hour. The regular working of the engine, the ample supply of steam, the uniformity of the speed, inspired at last a confidence that quieted at length the nervous apprehensions of the travelers. Mr. Jack, the pilot, delighted with the facility with which the vessel was steered, and at a speed to which he was so little accustomed, ceased to express misgivings and became as sanguine as Mr. Roosevelt himself in regard to the success of the voyage. The very crew of unimaginative men were excited with the novelty of the situation ; and when the following morning assembled all hands on deck to return the cheers of a village whose inhabitants had seen the boat approaching down the long reach in the river, and turned out to greet her as she sped, it probably shone upon as jolly a set as ever floated upon the Ohio. " On the second day after leaving Pittsburgh, the New Orleans rounded to opposite Cin- cinnati, and cast anchor in the stream. Levees and wharfboats were things unknown in 1811*. Here, as at Pittsburgh, the whole town seemed to have assembled on the bank, and many of the acquaintances came off in small boats. 'Well, you are as good as your word; you have visited us in a steamboat,' they said; ' but we see you for the last time. Your boat may go down the river; but, as to coming up; the very idea is an absurd one.' This was one of those occasions on which seeing was not believing. The keelboatmen, whose shoulders had hardened as they pressed their poles for many a weary mile against the current, shook their heads as they crowded around the strange visitor, and bandied wit with the crew that had been selected from their own calling for the voyage. Some flatboatmen, whose ungainly arks the steamboat had passed a short distance above the town, and who now floated by with the current, seemed to have a better opinion of the new comer, and proposed a tow in case they were again overtaken. But as to the boat's returning, all agreed that that could never be. "The stay at Cincinnati was brief, only long enough to take in a supply of wood for the voyage to Louisville, which was reached on the night of the fourth day after leaving Pitts- burgh. It was midnight on the 1st of October, 1811, that the New Orleans dropped anchor opposite the town. There was a brilliant moon. It was as light as day almost, and no one on board had retired. The roar of the escaping steam, then heard for the firnt time at the place where now its echoes are unceasing, roused the population, and, late as it was, crowds came rushing to the banks of the river to learn the cause of the unwonted uproar. A letter now before me, written by one of those on board at the time, records the fact, that there were those who insisted that the comet of 1811 had fallen into the Ohio and produced thehubub! "The morning after the arrival of the vessel at Louisville, Mr. Roosevelt's acquaintances and others came on board, and here the same things were said that had been said at Cincin- nati. Congratulations at having descended the river were, without exception, accompanied by regrets that it was the first and last time a boat would be seen above the falls of the Ohio. Still, so far, certainly, Mr. Roosevelt's promises had been fulfilled, and there was a public dinner given to him a few days after his arrival. Here any number of complimentary toasts were drank, and the usual amount of feeling on such occasions was manifested. Sed revocare gradum, however, was still the burden of the song. " Not to be outdone in hospitality, Mr. Roosevelt invited his hosts to dine on board the *rievees were knowa la New Orleaas almost a Imndred years befoi-e. MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 67 New Orleans, which lay at anchor opposite the town. The company met in the forward or gentlemen's cabin, and. the feast was at its hight, when suddenly there were heard unwonted rumblings, accompanied by a very perceptible motion in the vessel. The company had but one idea. The New Orleans had escaped from her anchor, and was drifting toward the falls, to the certain destruction of all on board! There was an instant and simultaneous rush to the upper deck, when the company found, that, instead of drifting toward the falls of the Ohio, the New Orleans was making good headway up the river and v?ould soon leave Louis- ville in the distance down stream. As the engine warmed to its work, and the steam blew off at the safety valve, the speed increased. Mr. Roosevelt, of course, had provided this means of convincing his incredulous guests, and their surprise and delight may readily be imagined. After going up the river for a few miles, the New Orleans returned to her anchorage. " It had been intended, on leaving Pittsburgh, to proceed as rapidly as possible to New Orleans, to place the boat on the route for which it was designed, between that city and Natchez. It was found however, on reaching Louisville, that there was not a sufficient depth of water on the falls of the Ohio to permit the vessel to pass over them in safety. Nothing was to be done, therefore, but to wait, as patiently as possible, the rise in the river. That this delay might, as far as practicable, be utilized, to the extent, at least, of convincing the incredulous Cincinnatians, the New Orleans returned to that city, where she was greeted with an enthusiasm that exceeded even what was displayed on her descent from Pittsburgh. No one doubted now. In 1832," continues the address, "I was detained for several days in Cincinnati, on my return from a visit to the South. There were numbers, then alive, who remembered the first advent of steam, and from some of these I learned what is here stated in regard to the public feeling at the time — the universal incredulity at the first visit — the unbounded confidence inspired by the second. •" " Keturning to Louisville, the greater interest of all on board the New Orleans centered in watching the rise in the Ohio. Rain in the upper country was what was wanted, and of this there seemed small promise. There was nothing in the aspect of the heavens that indi- cated it. On the contrary, there was a dull, misty sky, without a cloud, a leaden atmosphere that weighed upon the spirits, and the meaning of which would have been better understood at Naples, under the shadow of Vesuvius, than on the banks of the Ohio. The sun, when it rose, looked like a globe of red-hot iron, whose color brightened at noon, to resume the same look when it sank below the horizon. All day long one might have gazed on it with unflinch- ing eyes. The air was still heated, and a sense of weariness was characteristic of the hours as they wore slowly by. At last, and when a nervous impatience affected every one on board, it was announced one morning that there had been a rise in the river during the night. Morning after morning the rise in the river during the night was reported, and finally, in the last week in November, it was ascertained that the depth of water in the shallowest portion of the falls exceeded by five inches the draught of the boat. It was a narrow margin, but the rise had ceased. There was no telegraph in those days to tell hourly what was the weather in the country drained by the Ohio, and Mr. Roosevelt, assuring himself, personally, of the condition of the falls, determined to take the responsibility and go over them if he could. It was an anxious time. All hands were on deck. Mrs. Roosevelt, whom her husband would willingly have left behind to join him below the falls, refused to remain on shore, and stood near the stern. The two pilots — for an extra one had been engaged for the passage through the rapids — took their places on the bow. The anchor was weighed. To get into the Indi- ana channel, which was the best, a wide circuit had to be made, bringing her head down stream, completing which, the New Orleans began the descent. Steerage way depended upon 68 BIOGBAPHIGAL AND HISTOBIOAL her speed exceeding that of the current. The faster she could be made to go the easier it would be to guide her. All the steam the boiler would bear was put upon her. The safety valve shrieked; the wheels revolved faster than they had ever done before, and the vessel, speaking figuratively, fairly flew away from the crowds collected to witness her departure from Louisville. Instinctively each one on board now grasped the nearest object, and with bated breath awaited the result. Black ledges of rock appeared only to disappear as the New Orleans flashed by them. The waters whirled and eddied, and threw their spray upon the deck, as a more rapid descent caused the vessel to pitch forward to what at times seemed inevitable destruction. Not a word was spoken. The pilots directed the men at the helm by motions of their hands. Even the great Newfoundland dog seemed affected by the appre- hension of danger, and came and crouched at Mrs. Roosevelt's feet. The tension of the nervous system was too great to be long sustained. Fortunately the passage was soon made, and with feelings of profound gratitude to the Almighty, at the successful issue of the advent- ure, on the part of both Mr. Roosevelt and his wife, the New Orleans rounded to in safety below the falls. There was still the same leaden sky, the same dim sun during the day, the same starless night; but the great difficulty had been overcome, and it was believed that there would now be nothing but plain sailing to the port of destination. It was yet to be seen how far the expectation of those on board, in this respect, would be realized." This birth of steam in the great valley was so great an event that even the stars and the pent-up fires of the depths of the earth were destined to celebrate it. The great comet of 1811 had now disappeared; then came the great earthquakes of that year, which, like the legend- ary dragons that threaten to devour, become the slave of and do obeisance to its conqueror's bravery, as the great convulsion of New Madrid seemed to do to the audacious little firecraft of Mr. Roosevelt. Says Tilr. Latrobe still farther: "The first shock that was observed was felt on board the New Orleans while she lay at anchor after passing the falls. The effect was as though the vessel had been in motion and had suddenly grounded. The cable shook and trembled, and many on board for a moment experienced a nausea resembling sea-sickness. It was a little while before they could realize the presence of the dread visitor. It was wholly unexpected. The shocks succeeded each other during the night. When morning came the voyage was resumed, and while under way, the jar of the machinery, the monotonous beating of the wheels, and the steady progress of the vessel prevented the disturbance from being noticed. " It has already been mentioned, that, in his voyage of exploration, Mr. Roosevelt had found coal on the Ohio, and that he had caused mines to be opened in anticipation. Their value was now realized, and when he reached them on his way down the river, he took on board as much coal as he could find room for. " Some miles above the mouth of the Ohio, the diminished current indicated a rise in the Mississippi. This was found to be the case. The bottom lands on either shore were under water, and there was every sign of an unwonted flood. Canoes came and went among the boles of the trees. Sometimes the Indians attempted to approach the steamboat, and, again, fled on its approach. The Ghickasaws still occupied that part of the state of Tennessee lying below the mouth of the Ohio. On one occasion a large canoe, fully manned, came out of the woods abreast of the steamboat. The Indians, outnumbering the crew of the vessel, paddled alter it. There was at once a race, and for a time the contest was equal. The result, how- ever, was what might have been anticipated. Steam had the advantage of endurance, and the Indians with wild shouts, which might have been shouts of defiance, gave up the pursuit, and turned into the forest from whence they emerged. MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 69 " While the crew was more amused than alarmed at this incident of the voyage, Mr. Eoose- velt, who had not forgotten the visit to the flatboat on the preliminary exploration, was not sorry, now, when he lost sight of the canoe. That he bestowed a second thought on the mat- ter, illustrates the nervous excitement that prevailed on board. Mrs. Koosevelt and himself were still discussing the adventure when they retired to rest. They had scarcely fallen asleep, when they were aroused by shouts on deck, and the trampling of many feet. The idea of the Indians still predominant, Mr. Eoosevelt sprang from his bed, and seizing a sword — the only weapon he had — hurried from the cabin to join battle, as he thought, with the Chickasaws. It was a more alarming enemy that he encountered. The New Orleans was on fire, and flame and smoke issued from the forward cabin. The servant who attended them, had placed some green wood too close to the stove, in anticipation of the next day's wants, and, lying down beside it, had fallen sound asleep. The stove, becoming overheated, this wood had taken fire; the joiner's work close by had caught, and the entire cabin would soon have been in flames, had not the servant, half suffocated, rushed on deck and given the alarm. By dint of great exertion,' the fire, which by this time was making rapid headway, was extin- guished, but not until the interior woodwork had either been destroyed or grievously defaced. Few eyes were closed for the remainder of the night, nor did the accident tend to tranquillize the nerves of the travelers. "A supply of provisions had been taken on board the New Orleans, at Louisville, amply suiEcient for the voyage to Natchez, and this was occasionally supplemented by purchases at settlements along the river. These, however, were few and far between, and not at all to be relied upon. The crew, accustomed to the simple fare of boatmen on the Mississippi, were easily provided for. The commissariat of the voyage, therefore — longer than a voyage to Europe now — gave no trouble. " Early in the afternoon of each day the steamer was rounded to and fastened to the bank, the crew going ashore to cut the wood required, after the coal was exhausted, for the next day's consumption. On some of these occasions, squatters came on board with tales of their exjjerience upon the land, which they insisted shook and trembled under their feet. At New Madrid, a great portion of which had been engulfed, as the earth opened up in vast chasms and swallowed up houses and their inhabitants, terror-stricken people had begged to be taken on board, while others, dreading the steamboat even more than the earthquake, hid them- selves as she approached. To receive the former was impossible. The would-be refugees had no homes to go to; and ample as was the supply of provision for Mr. Roosevelt and his wife, it would have been altogether insufiicient for any large increase of passengers, and as to obtain- ing provisions oil the way, the New Orleans might as well have been upon the open sea. Painful as it was, there was no choice but to turn a deaf ear to the cries of the terrified inhabitants of the doomed town. " One of the peculiar characteristics was the silence that prevailed on board. No one seemed disposed to talk; and when there was any conversation it was carried on in whis- pers, almost. Tiger, who appeared, alone, to be aware of the earthquake while the vessel was in motion, prowled about, moaning and growling; and when he came and placed his head on Mrs. Roosevelt's lap, it was a sure sign of commotion of more than usual violence. Orders were given in low tones, and the usual cheerful 'Aye, aye, sir,' of the sailors, was almost inaudible. Slesplessness was another characteristic. Sound, continuous sleep was appar- ently unknown. Going ashore for wood was the event of each twenty-four hours, and was looked forward to by the crew with satisfaction, notwithstanding the labor it involved. And yet the men, if not sullenly, toiled silently; and if the earth shook, as it often did, while 70 BIOGBAPIIIOAL AND IIISTOlilCAL they were at work, the uplifted axe was suspended, or placed quietly on the log, and the men stared at each other until it ceased. Nor was this depression confined to the steamer. Flat- boats and barges were passed whose crews, instead of bandying river wit, as they had done when met on the voyage from Pittsburgh to Louisville, uttered no word as the New Orleans went by. Before the travelers had been many days on the Mississippi, they fancied, as they looked at each other, that they had become haggard. Mrs. Roosevelt records ' that she lived in a constant fright, unable to sleep, or sew, or read.' " Sometimes Indians would join the woodchoppers, and occasionally one would be able to converse in English with the men. From these it was learned that the steamer was called ' Penelore,' or ' fire canoe,' and was supposed to have some affinity with the comet that had preceded the earthquake, the sparks from the chimney of the boat being likened to the train of the celestial visitant. Again they would attribute the smoky atmosphere to the steamer, and the rumbling of the earth to the beating of the waters by the fast revolving pad- dles. To the native inhabitants of the boundless forest that lined the river banks, the com- ing of the first steamboat was an omen of evil ; as it was the precursor of their own expul- sion from their ancient homes, no wonder they continued, for years, to regard all steamboats with awe. As late as 1834, when the emigration of the Chickasaws to their new homes, west of the river, took place, hundreds refused to trust themselves in such conveyances, but preferred making their long and weary pilgrimage on foot. "One of the most uncomfortable incidents of the voyage was the confusion of the pilot, who became alarmed, and declared that he was lost, so great had been the changes in the channel caused by the earthquake. Where he had expected to find deep water, roots and stumps projected above the surface. Tall trees that had been guides had disappeared. Cut-offs had been made through what was forest when he saw it last. Islands had changed their shape. Still there was no choice but to keep on. There was no place to stop at. There was no possibility of turning back. "In the first part of the voyage when the steamboat rounded to at night she was made fast to the river bank, but when it was seen that these would occasionally topple and fall over, as the ground beneath them was shaken or gave way, it was thought safer to stop at the foot of an island, which might serve as a breakwater, taking care the trees were far enough from the boat to obviate apprehension from them. Once, however, when such a fastening had been made and a plank carried ashore, and the woodchopping had been finished at an hour earlier than usual, a new experience was had. No shock had been felt during the day, and Mrs. Roosevelt anticipated a quiet rest. In this, however, she was disappointed. All night long she was disturbed by the jar and noise produced by hard objects grating against the plank- ing outside the boat. At times severe blows were struck that caused the vessel to tremble through its entire length. Then there would follow a continuous scratching mingled with the gurgling sound of water. Driftwood had caused sounds of the same sort before, and it was thought that driftwood was again busy in producing them. With morning came the true explanation. The island had disappeared; and it was the disintegrated fragments sweeping down the river that had struck the vessel from time to time and caused the noises that Mrs. Roosevelt had been disturbed by. At first, it was supposed that the New Orleans had been borne along by the current, but the pilot pointed to landmarks on the banks which proved that it was the island that had disappeared while the steamboat had kept its place. Where the island had been, there was now a broad reach of the river, and when the hawser was cut, for it was found impossible otherwise to free the vessel, the pilot was utterly at a loss which way to steer. Some flatboats were hailed, but they, too, were lost. Their main effort was MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 71 by dint of their long oars to keep where the current was the strongest. This was evidently the best place for the New Orleans. It was not without its peculiar risks, however. In the bends, where the rushing waters struck the shore to whirl around the curve, and glance off and form a bend in the opposite direction, the deepest water was immediately under the bank, and here the trees, undermined by the current, would be seen at times to sink into the stream, often erect until the waters covered their topmost twigs, sometimes falling against each other, interlacing their great arms, as strong men might do struggling for life when drovming. Sometimes they fell outward into the water, and then woe to the vessel that happened to be near them in the bend. This danger, however, steam enabled the New Orleans to avoid. Referring to it all, it is not wonderful that the survivor still speaks of it as ' one of anxiety and terror.' "As the New Orleans descended the river, it passed out of the region of earthquakes, and the principal inconvenience was the number of shoals, snags and sawyers. These were all safely passed, however, and the vessel came in sight of Natchez, and rounded too, opposite the landing place. Expecting to remain here for a day or two, the engineer had allowed his fires to go down, so that when the boat turned its head up stream it lost headway altogether, and was being carried down by the current, far below the intended landing. Thousands were assembled on the bluff and at the foot of it; and, for a moment, it would have seemed that the New Orleans had achieved what she had done, so far, only that she might be overcome at last. Fresh fuel, however, was added, the engine stopped that steam might accumulate; presently the safety-valve lifted — a few turns of the wheel steadied the boat — a few more gave her headway; and, overcoming even the Mississippi, she gained the shore, amid shouts of exultation and applause." To this vivid account of Natchez' great contribution to our great valley's civilization, it may be added that Samuel Davis, who was the first to ship cotton by this boat on this trip, was standing among the spectators, when a colored drayman exclaimed: "By jolly, mass' Sam, ole Mississippi got her massa dis time ! ' ' Other steam vessels were built, the next ones being the Vesuvius and .^tna, and the great Father of waters has been dotted with them in increasing abundance ever since. It was only eight years later that the steamer Savannah did for the Atlantic what the New Orleans did for the Mississippi. The London Times of May 18, 1819, said: " Great experiment: — A new steam vessel of three hundred tons has been built at New York, for the express purpose of carrying passengers across the Atlantic. She is to come to Liverpool direct." In 1820 local steamers were put on, the Mississippi being one of the first owned locally, as the most of the business was done by through steamers until nearly 1840. About the first regular packet between Vicksburg and New Orleans was the Sultana under Cap- tain Tufts, whose son-in-law, Captain Pease, afterward ran a second Sultana, which was built by Abijah Fisk, of New Orleans. These old river captains were noted characters, many of them, one of the earliest being Capt. John W. Kussell, on one of the through steamers. Capt. Abram Auter, of Vicksburg, whose life has extended into the decade just closed, was a contemporary of these old commanders, and in 1842 built and ran the Mazeppa to New Orleans, and later on ran the first steamer run above Yazoo city, even running twenty-five miles up the Yalobusha. This latter craft bore the suggestive appellation The Bully Woods- man. It was in 1843 that the floating palaces were introduced with their high style of liv- ing, by Capt. St. Clair Thomasson with his Concordia. Only a few years later he put on the Magnolia, between Vicksburg and New Orleans, and this was the passenger queen of ante-bellum days. She was sunk by a collision early in the fifties. Among other well-known 73 BIOORAPIIICAL AND HISTORICAL captains were, C. J. Brenham, John W. Cannon, James M. White and Commodore Thomas P. Leathers, the commodore's boats almost always bearing the name Natchez. The marvelous increase and supremacy of the shipping interests in the carrying trade from those days on, until the rise of railroads, is a matter within the memory of those now of middle age. But Natchez distinguished herself in this line still more, late in the thirties. Not content with being the inland metropolis of the lower Mississippi, she agitated for becoming an ocean port with direct trade with Liverpool. The result was that in 1839 the legislature incorpor- ated the Port Gibson & Grand Gulf Shipping Company and the Mississippi Importing Com- pany. The scheme was so successful that by 1840 ships were ascending the river as high as Vicksburg, but on account of the financial disasters of those panicky times, and possibly for other reasons, the plan was not long after abandoned. Instead of the leading river ports continuing as Natchez and Vicksburg, they have become Vicksburg and Natchez, one great reason for this, no doubt, being the construction of the old Southern, now the Alabama & Vicksburg railway. Now, as an illustration only of river traffic, let us note the principal lines of steamboats touching at Vicksburg: The St. Louis & Vicksburg Anchor line, with several fine boats; the Vicksburg & Greenville Packet Company, owned at Vicksburg; Merchants & Planters' line to Skipwith; Vicksburg & Natchez Packet Company; Vicksburg and Davis Bend line; New Orleans & Vicksburg steamboat T. P. Leathers; New Orleans, Vicksburg & Greenville steamboat Pargoud; New Orleans & Ohio River line — a large freight line; the steamboat Headlight, up the Sunflower river; the Parisot line, up the Yazoo; the Mulhollands line, up the Yazoo, besides the steam ferry line and numerous highwater lines. Intimately connected with the Mississippi river transportation is its levee system, which may be considered before turning attention to the coast and land transportation, especially because not a little of the railway system has been dependent on the building of levees. Only the lowland portions, of course, have any dependence on levees or dykes to protect them from overflow in times of highwater, thus rendering them cultivable and inhabitable. In the case of Mississippi, the portion of such a low level as this indicates is an immense oval- like region, formed by the river making a vast detour from Memphis to the west, and curving back on Vicksburg, and the bluffs, back of the lowlands, debouching in a similar vast curve to the east between those two cities. This vast oval is about one hundred and eighty miles long and about seventy-five miles wide, and, containing a vast area of over four million acres, about half of which is woodland, and all of which, subject to the overflows and accumulation of decayed vegetation of centuries, is of literally inexhaustible richness. To protect this from overflow was to not only make the river a better channel for transport, but practically create a country which would develop both new river and new railway transpor- tation; but to protect a river frontage of such stupendous proportions on the greatest water- course in the world was an undertaking so vast that it had to await a late day of greatly increased population. Of course there were local lines; even in 1811 a company was incor- porated for one at Warrenton. So many, however, had settled in the higher unoverflowed lands of this Mississippi- Yazoo delta, as it is called, that in 1840, before it was leveed, it produced thirty-nine thousand bales of cotton, and by 1850 a total of forty-two thousand annually. But after some meager leveeing had been done, the production increased, so that in 1860 the crop was one hundred and thirty-six thousand bales! The land, unsalable before became at once salable. But what were these levees ? The first levee on the Mississippi was begun at New MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 73 Orleans in 1717, and not completed until 1727. The work extended, until by 1770 over fiftr miles were completed. Says a recent writer in the Memphis Commercial : '" There was a time, within the memory of men now living, when each man owning property on the great Mississippi built and kept up with his own effort the little ridges which, at that time, bore the name of levees. There were stretches of front owned by the state or government, or by non-resident land-grabbers, and these would have no protection whatever; and a levee system, above all things else, must have continuity. Its stability in all other places would be of no avail if there were gaps unfilled. " It was then that planters took upon themselves the task of systematizing the con- struction of these banks of dirt, which have grown to be scientifically constructed dikes, which in time will become magnificent pikes from the bluffs almost to the sea. At first they contributed so much labor per annum, which was generally called out in one big squad, with each planter or overseer commanding his own hands. Of course, as the country opened up for some miles back, the dwellers along the river front began to feel the injustice of being compelled to keep up levees to protect men who need not do anything unless they so desired. County boards were organized, which had powers of expending the funds which were raised by taxes levied by the county police jury. The powers of these boards were enlarged as the growing importance of the interests involved and the new condition constantly being met required, until levee boards were powerful corporations, vested by the legislature with power to tax and to have the lands in the district sold for its purposes." An act of December 2, 1858, organized a levee board, and a tax on all lands of the state was provided for levees, except on certain trust lands for school and other purposes, and about that time the government granted this land to the state for levee purposes. The delta people got in debt, too, in their efforts, and the oncoming war destroying levees, both as a war measure and by neglect, left the whole delta a wilderness as before. An act of 1865 reorgan- ized it, but became effective in the act of February 13, 1867. Other acts followed, and by 1871 the levee district included the counties of Bolivar, Washington, Issaquena, Coahoma, Tunica, De Soto, Sunfiower, Yazoo, Tallahatchie and Penola. The total acreage then in account for levee taxes was 3,484,278; the bonds issued aggregated $670,000; the state auditor became ex-officio levee commissioner; and the debt crept up, by 1876, to the round sum of $923,666,58. By 1880 the debt had fallen to 1444,568.78 or nearly $500,000, and it was divided into two levee districts. By 1882 the debt had fallen to the small sum of §135,329.- 06, and funds were available for clearing it all, but for a claim set up by the Mississippi & Vicksburg railway. The floods of 1882-3 caused such disaster that an additional board was organized, called ths Yazoo Mississippi Delta board, and the entire system was complete by 1886. Says the writer above quoted: " Amendments have been submitted to and passed by successive legislatures until to-day the board of Mississippi levee commissioners — embracing in its jurisdiction the great coun- ties of Bolivar, Washington, Sharkey and Issaquena — is one of the mightiest corporations on earth. It has six members who select its secretary and treasurer, engineer and cotton-tax collector from outside its membership. This body is empowered by law to tax, not only the lands and personality in these counties, but the very products of the soil. They may issue bonds without consulting any constituency to an amount that seems fabulous, and these are held sacred and binding for all time to come — in fact,- are a lien upon the taxable property in the district. No state court can enjoin this great corporation from taking private prop- erty for its use, and the just compensation is often necessarily ascertained after the appro- priation by the board. The very elaborate and perfect levee laws now in force in this dis- 74 niOORAPIIIGAL AND IITHTOUIGAL trict are the work of that able and untiring worker in tliis field, the late Col. W. A. Percy, whose efforts are being more and more appreciated as th(! years roll by. "For many years past this board has been constantly enlarging existing embankments, and raising tliem to a uniform grade, until now there is a line of levee which will hold any ordinary high water, and an extraordinary one, if it is not too prolonged nor the weather too windy. "The work of laying out, enlarging and general supervision of a line of leaves fully two hundred miles long, is under the care of the chief engineer in this district, Maj. William Starling, one of the most accomplished engineers in the country. He looks the soldier and scholar and practical man of affairs all happily combined. His place is no sinecure at any time, but in high- water seasons it is one of the most exacting and onerous that can be imag- ined. People living on high hills can not imagine how one feels behind a piece of dirt which looks awfully large in summer and autumn, but is, oh, so frail when the chilly winds of March lash the waters into a seething, restless mass, seeking freedom from their artificial barriers. It is there that your chief engineer is a more important personage than governor or president. He must be apparently ubiquitous. The elements must not stand between him and any threatened point. Competent assistants are often unable to satisfy the popular demand for the chief. I have seen men after fighting for hours in mud knee deep, abandon all hope and quit;- utterly broken in spirits, resume work with renewed zeal at the bare sight of the martial-looking chief, whose nerve and energy seemed to have no limit. "A few facts in regard to the construction of levees may be of interest to your readers, many of whom have no proper idea of the subject. We shall take Skipwith as an example, as the crevasse at that point renders it a noted place. The levee, at the point which gave way, was an, old one, and had been enlarged within three years past, and no fear was felt for its safety. After the break it was remembered that there was too little berme to it, and a cur- rent had washed under it until the entire structure caved in. " It may not be understood what this berme is, and what its office in the levee may be. In all well-regulated levee building there is an unbroken strip of earth between the base of the levee and the barrow pits. This berme varies from ten to thirty feet in width, and adds greatly to the strength and length of life of the embankment. There is, of course, a very strong pressure of water against the under side of these structures, and the force is greatest at the bottom of the barrow pits on the end next to the levee, and this berme adds greatly to the power of the levee to resist the percolation of sipe water through it. Many breaks have occurred, no doubt, attributable to lack of berme in light, spongy soil. The muck ditch was at one time a very insignificant affair, which had no particular object, except the search for trees or holes in the center of the proposed embankment. Recent levee construction demands a muck ditch which will serve as a protection from sipe and crayfish. "The Skipwith levee has under it a muck ditch six feet deep, six feet wide at bottom, and twelve feet wide on top. The board has not stopped at the size of the ditch, but on every piece of new work there is an inspector appointed to see that this muck ditch is free abso- lutely from all vegetable matter of any kind, and that nothing but the purest buckshot dirt finds its way into it, no matter what the character of soil through which it passes, and this is often a work of great difficulty, as on one or two sections of the new levee at Mound Land- ing the contractors, Messrs. Carey & Bradburn, were compelled to haul dirt nearly a quarter of a mile to get the right material. "At this point the inspector is Judge J. L. Root, who is a levee man of great ability and experience, and whose practical knowledge of the subject makes him the terror of the con- ''■eCoo.hiindKbCiCki MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 75 tractor. The inspector sees that every shovelful of dirt that goes into the great muck ditch is thoroughly packed by boys on mules continually riding over it every fevy seconds. The result is a core as hard as concrete, which will add a hundredfold to the stre ngth of the embankment. "Levees are built now with six feet of base to every one foot of hight, and if there is variation from this rule it is on the side of wider base. The slope is gentle and will s taiid the greatest amount of wave-wash with the least amount of w ear. "These embankments are let to contractors by the cubic yard at prices ranging from ten cents to forty cents per yard. The cubic yard appears to be a very small lump of dirt until one begins to pull it with mules or push it with man -power up into the body of the work. There it looks and is of great bulk and weight. " Irishmen monopolize most of the barrow work, while the negro has the call for driving the gentle and innocent mule. The negro is as good a day man as the Irishman, but the lat- ter outdoes him in doing what is known as ' station work.' The colored man will not do any more by the job than by the day, and does not often tackle any sized stations. "In levee building, as elsewhere, one sees a great deal of human nature among the work- ers. The Irishman, for example, will quit a good place if his grub varies in the smallest degree from his standard, and there is no rhyme nor reason in his manner of quitting. ' I am going to quit; give me my toime,' is often all that is heard. The writer knew a con- tractor to lose one hundred Irishmen at the very rush of completing his contract in time, because the baker did not have light bread ready for breakfast. A worthy Irishman explained to me the other day that his countrymen went south ' wid de geese in winter and came back wid 'em in spring.' As a rule they seem to enjoy camp life until they get a notion to move on; then all power can't stop them — go they will. "There is a great deal of talk by outsiders about the amount of timber put in .levees and railroad beds by dishonest contractors — a great deal more than the facts warrant — simply because it would not pay to do it. That it is done occasionally is shown by the following story, which is told as gospel truth: A certain contractor was not content with beating the levee board, but would not pay his laborers unless forced to do -it. One of his men waited until the engineer was in easy hearing, then called out to the conductor: 'Say, now, if you don't pay me my wages, I'll set fire to your d n dump.' " The ' dump ' is the technical term for the body of an embankment in course of con- struction, deriving its name from the necessary dump of scrapers or wheelbarrows of their loads of dirt. Another story has it that an engineer, in taking up some levee completed, missed his dog, and after looking around everywhere, heard him barking in the ' dump,' and before he could have a hole dug in to rescue him, the dog bounded out one hundred feet or more away. Of course there can be no such thing under the present system, and no fears need be indulged on this score in future. "The taking charge of these great works by the national government will give a new impetus to the already rapid development of the country protected by them. They can and will be made to confine the great river in one safe, deep pathway to. the sea." But Mississippi has an ocean transportation, and a straight coast of over one hundred miles, with one of the most magnificent natural harbors in the world. So thought Bienville, in 1699, and now, after nearly two hundred years, it has four flourishing harbors — Pascagoula, Biloxi, Mississippi city and Shieldsburg. Unlike the levees, however, the states and nation have not seen fit to do much for it. Even in the year 1876 there were over seventy vessels entered and cleared for the coast- wise, and over a hundred for the foreign trade at Pascagoula 7G BIOOBAPUWAl. AND BIsrORWAL alone, this being the largest shipping point at that time. Its great drawback has been its absence of direct railway connection with the center of the state, a struggle for which has been made since early in ante-bellum days, jand is identical with the career of the Gulf & Ship Island railway scheme,, that has lagged along in the history of the state. Thus far the lumber interests have had the bulk of the shipping, the proximity of New Orleans divert^ ing from it many lines that might otherwise enter. The state's desire regarding it can not be better shown than by a memorial on the subject in 1872: "For the last half century the state of Mississippi has encouraged by legislation the construction of a line of railroad that would place the different parts of the state in communication with the gulf coast, and for this purpose has granted charters to companies with immunities and privileges of a most liberal character. Having on her gulf coast a deep and safe harbor, that of Ship island, with a con- stant depth of water twenty-four feet, \^ith saife channels of ingress and egress, and in which was sheltered the British fleet in the war of 181 '2, and the Union fleet during the late war. Manifestly a wise policy dictates that this fine harbor should be made available, and the products of Mississippi's fertile soil should be transported to that point for shipment to the markets of the world. Mississippi is the largest producer of cotton of any of the Southern states, her annual crop averaging between eight and nine hundred thousand bales; and all this yield of natural wealth is carried without her borders, and pays tribute to cities beyond her limits. The mighty Mississippi flowing along lier western borders, bears upon its bosom the bounteous yield from the alluvial valleys of the Yazoo and its tributaries, and the valley of the Mississippi, to the city of New Orleans. The Chicago, St. Louis & New Orleans rail- road, running through the center of the state, gathers up from that portion of the state its products, and pours them into the crowded warehouses of New Orleans. The Memphis & Charleston railroad, skirting her northern line, carries to Memphis the cotton from that part of the state, and the Mobile & Ohio railroad, running along her eastern boundary, conveys to Mobile the product of that region of the state. Thus it will be seen that the state of Missis- sippi — rich beyond her sisters in the production of that great staple that brings so much national wealth — pays a large annual tribute to cities and communities foreign to her and her people; building them up and sustaining them in prosperity by that which should be con- trolled for her own benefit and the welfare of her people. Let us see what this annual rev- enue or tribute amounts to, that is reaped by the points hereinbefore designated. We can safely place it at 15 per bale; this includes storage, drayage, commission, labor, weighing and compressing; and by this amount let us multiply the minimum figure stated as the annual crop of Mississippi, say eight hundred thousand .bales, and we have the round sum of 14,000,000 that Mississippi pays annually, a tribute to enrich cities of her sister states, when every dollar of this sum should remain with her and her people, to build up within her own territory a city that should rival those of her neighbors as a port of entry and shipment, and add to her revenues in the enhancement of the value of property subject to taxation. From the Potomac to the Rio Grande all the other sea-coast states have their port of entry and ship- ment, from which people derive profit and wealth and the state's increased yield of taxes. Texas has Galveston and other ports, and freights with her products vessels for all places of demand. Louisiana has New Orleans, at whose wharves are seen flying the flags of all nations. Alabama has Mobile, inviting to safe harbor and full-return cargoes the commercial marine of the world. Florida, Pensacola and San Augustine, where may be seen loading ships from all parts of the world with her cotton, sugar, timber and tropical fruit. Georgia has Savannah, and none have a better natural harbor than that of Ship island and Missis- sippi sound. The future is bound to make use of it." MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 77 (^HAPTEI^ U. RAILWAY TRANSPORTATION, ETC. S valuable as Mississippi's water transport facilities have been in furnishing communi- cation with the outside world, she was for many years handicapped by a land trans- portation attended with unusual difficulties, incident to her heavy forests and numerous intercepting water courses. The difficulties attending the long route by national roads through the Chickasaw nation to the northeast settlements, and through the Choctaw country to the lower Tombigbee community have been noticed elsewhere. The long years of dependence on stage routes and horseback riding, tollroads and ferries are within the mem- ory of many now living, and no doubt the great plantations and the comparatively meager internal commerce it fostered had much to do with it. The vast predominance of agriculture and the minimum of commerce with its consequent meager offspring of cities, the natural product of commerce, all tended to discourage it no doubt, while incidentally the public finances of the state, elsewhere noticed, was no small ingredient in the final solution. Certain it is that railway development is confined largely to the last two decades, and that, too, by far the most vigorous in the one just closed. As water development was a characteristic of ante-bellum transportation in this state, so the development of railways has been the leading feature of post-bellum intercommunication, and has been the fruitful mother of a— for this state -numerous brood of fast-growing cities, towns and villages, which will be noticed else- where in these volumes. There is one marked difference between the two systems — the inflexibility and per- manence of the water courses made, in their days of predominance, no uncertainty as to the location of population. Not so with the railway; in certain ways far more powerful than water courses, their projectors determine their course, and their course determines the chief seats of inhabitance. No greater illustration of this new institution's power in this respect need be sought than in the early growth of railways in this state. We are wont to forget that the first loco- motive used in this nation was only in 1820; but it was as late as 1828 that the first actual railway was in operation, so that when it is known that three years later, 1831, the Wood- ville people incorporated the West Feliciana railroad company to build a road from Wood- ville to St. Francisville, or Bayou Sara, Mississippi is seen to be near the head of the line. Vicksburg & Jackson railroad was incorporated the same year, and in 1833 the Port Gibson & Grand Gulf company. The Jackson people proposed to connect themselves with Mobile, and incorporated the Mississippi & Alabama railroad, and the same year Natchez and Jack- son proposed a line joining them and extending to Canton and northward; this was the Mis- 78 BIOORAPITIOAL AND BISTORIOAL sissippi railroad company. By this time the proposition of railway construction became epi- demic in its proportions. Paper railways came thick and fast, as the sometime "leaves of Valombrosa," a total of twenty-two from 1831 to 1841: The Tombeckbee, from Columbus to the Jackson line; the Lake Washington & Deer Creek, the Benton & Manchester, the Gains- ville & Narkeeta; the Yazoo, from Leflore in C:irroll county; the Tallahatchie, from that river to Tillatoba; the Mississippi Sjirings & Clinton, and the Aberdeen & Pontotoc, all in 1836; the New Orleans & Nashville; the Hernando company, from Jefferson to the great river; the Pontotoc, Oxford & Delta; the Mississippi City company, the Grenada & Douglas, all in 1837; the Eagle & Pascagoula line, the Raymond & Bolton, the Paulding & Pontotoc, the Newton & Lauderdale, all in 1838; the Kosciusko & Canton, in 1839; the Brandon & Jackson, the Holly Springs & Tennessee, the Commerce, Hernando & East Port, and the Canton & Jack- son in 1841. It will be noticed that these were the years of Mississippi's great financial dis- tress; but they kept on; in 1846, the Southern railroad company, from Jackson toward Selma, Ala., and the Panola & Delta, and Locopolis & East Highlands, and in 1848 the Mobile & Ohio, the Hernando & Mississippi, Cold Water & Panola Hills, and the Deer Creek com- panies. With all this, however, we are much surprised to have a letter of 1849 sum up the state railway facilities with: "For several years we have had a railroad from Vicksburg to Jackson"! It was graded, also, to Brandon, but no tracks laid. The meaning of this was that the financial panic of those years caused all to collapse totally, not even allowing visible progress, except Natchez, which built about thirty-five miles of her line, and then sold out and allowed it to be abandoned, and the Vicksburg & Jackson line, the solitary instance of a permanent construction. The space allowed here will not permit of an entrance into the subject of the state's aid to railways, interesting as it would be; sufiicient to say that, besides money grants and loans at various times, land grants were made on the Jackson & Ship Island route, Jackson & Meridian and Mobile & Ohio, below Columbus. Neither can the connection of the railway and levee system be treated, and the mazy and numerous changes in names and combinations of railways of the state down to the present would be as uninteresting as they are inaccessible. No attempt will be made to do more than indicate the general growth to present conditions. Moving forward about a decade from the point last noticed, it will be seen that in 1857 the Southern railroad had taken up the road east of Jackson to a junction with the new Mobile road, and was now graded to that junction, now so famous, but then scarcely named, and track laid to Brandon, with expectation of completion by January, 1 860 — three years. The Mobile & Ohio had grown rapidly during the decade, and was now complete to Crawfords- ville station, in Lowndes county, a distance of two hundred and twenty miles from Mobile, and prospects of being through the state in three years. The New Orleans, Jackson & Great Northern, incorporated when the fifties began, and destined to become the great Illinois Cen- tral, was rapidly nearing completion from the south to Canton. The Mississippi Central was now completed sixty-two miles south of the Memphis and Charleston junction, with eighty- two miles yet to join the Great Northern at Canton. The Mississippi & Tennessee had now reached sixty miles out from Memphis toward Grenada, and with prospects of completion to that point by January, 1859 — two years. But these were all. The Ship Island agitation, begun in 1837, came to an act of legislature by 1850, and resuscitation «as attempted Ijy another act in 1854, but so far in vain. As a mere indication ot the way the state had taken hold financially, by 1858, almost $20,000,000 had been invested within the state; over $10,000,000 iu stock was there held, although it was quoted at fifty per cent, below par. The state itself owned $743,571. 7*j in stock, and held the bonds of various companies aggregating $825,396.29. MEMOIRS OF MltiSISSrPPI. 79 By 1859 the Great Northern had reached two hundred and six miles to Canton, and was rapidly grading toward Aberdeen. All but twenty miles of the Mississippi Central was completed, and that little gap was above Canton. The Mobile & Ohio and Mississippi & Tennessee had made large progress, but the southern tracks seemed inclined to halt at Brandon. The Memphis & Charleston had over thirty miles in the northeast corner, and the Gulf & Ship Island road had now achieved organization. This is practically the railway status of the state when the war began to paralyze the arts of peace. In 1860 the railway mileage of the state was put at eight hundred and sixty miles. The power of the railways as connection with base of supplies, made them one of the first things to be destroyed by the army whose enemy they served. Their vast destruction is a matter of national history; suffice to say that in 1864, while there were five hundred and forty -five miles left undestroyed, only three hundred and sixty-five were in operation*. By 1870, however, the old figure of 1860 was recovered, and increased upon to nine hundred and ninety miles in the state. In 1880 the increase had reached to a total mileage of one thou- sand one hundred and twenty-seven. Up to this point the growth had been comparatively slow, but the decade of 1880-90 made such strides that by its close, the year 1890 saw the grand total of two thousand three hundred and sixty six miles of railway in actual operation, and more in prospect. This was considerably over a double in mileage in one decade. Note the progress in the decade: Eleven hundred and twenty-seven miles in 1880; thirteen hun- dred and three in 188'2; eighteen hundred and forty-four in 1884; twenty-one hundred and nine in 1887, and twenty-three hundred and sixty-six in 1890, when the Georgia Pacific, the Ship Island, and the Fort Scott, Natchez & New Orleans were prospective. Compare the increase by decades in the United States: Twenty-three miles in 1830; twenty-eight hundred and eighteen in 1840 — but little more than the total in this state now: ninety hundred and twenty-one miles in 1850; thirty thousand six hundred and thirty-five in 1860; fifty-two thousand nine hundred and fourteen in 1870; ninety-three thousand two hundred and ninety- six in 1880, and in 1888 a total of one hundred and fifty-six thousand and eighty-two. This showing is very favorable to Mississippi, considering the great losses of war. This twenty-three hundred and sixty-six miles of railway is distributed among the fol- lowing lines: The Illinois Central, the largest, with 636.06 miles; the Louisville, New Orleans & Texas with 584.8 miles; the Mobile & Ohio with 306 miles; the Georgia Pacific with 202.2 miles; the New Orleans & Northeastern with 153.42 miles; the Alabama & Vicksburg with 143.39 miles; the Kansas City, Memphis & Birmingham with 142.89 miles; the Natchez, Jack- son & Columbus with 98.6 miles; the Louisville & Nashville with 73.83 miles; the Gulf & Chicago with 56.56 miles; the Memphis & Charleston with 33.4 miles; the Alabama Great Southern with 18.78 miles; the East Tennessee, Virginia & Georgia with 7.73 miles, and the Gulf & Ship Island with 7 miles. Thus it will be seen that the Illinois Central is much the largest, a railway that in the season of 1882-3 carried to New Orleans nearly forty-eight thousand bales of cotton more than that carried by all the rivers and bayous carrying to that port together — a total of four hundred and twenty-six thousand eight hundred and thirty- nine bales. A little more detailed sketch of each road may be of interest, at least so far as materials are accessible. The Illinois Central railroad is the great central artery of the state. To this railroad the settlement and prosperity of Illinois, Iowa, western Kentucky, western Tennessee, Mississippi and eastern Louisiana are very largely indebted. So early in the history of Illinois as 1832, Senator A. M. Jenkins suggested a road from Cairo to Peru. In 1835 William S. Waite, of Bond county. 111., suggested the necessity of a rail- *TUe Confederate States Almanac, 1864, 80 BIOOBAPUWAL AND HISTORICAL road, and in October of that year Judge Sidney Breese urged tlie construction of one from Cairo to Galena. Senator Stephen A. Douglas, Senator James Shields, Eepresentatives Bis- sell, Harris, McClernand, Eiohardson, Wentworth and Young, with other prominent econo- mists of that period, desired a central road connecting the territory of the great lakes with that of the Mississippi, and their desire was so manifestly in the interest of the state that the act of January 18, 1IS3G — special charter — incorporating a company to build a road from Cairo to the foot of the proposed Illinois & Michigan canal, was received with favor. Let us see what the harum-scarum legislature of 1836-7 aimed at. There were $250,000 appro- priated toward building the Great Western railroad from Vincennes to St. Louis; 13,500,000 to build the Central from Cairo to La Salle, and thence to Galena; $1,600,000 to construct a road from Alton to Mount Carmel and Shawneetowu, to be kuown as the Southern Cross rail- road; $1,850,000 to build the Northern Cross railroad from Quincy, on the Mississippi, to the Indiana state line; $650,000 to build a branch from the Illinois Central toward Terre Haute; §700,000 for the Peoria & Warsaw railroad; $600,000 for the branch from the Illinois Cen- tral to Lower Alton; $150,000 to build a road from Belleville to a junction with the Alton & Mount Carmel railroad; $350,000 to construct a road from Bloomington to Mackinaw, and the Freemont & Pekin branch of that proposed line, all making the modest sum of $9,650,- 000 at a time when the scattered citizens of Illinois had not the proper shelter from the inclement winter. Experience is a great school, but an expensive one. The next legislature repealed the act of the madmen and saved the state from irretrievable bankruptcy. In 1837 an appropriation of $3,500,000 was made under the internal improvement act of February 27, 1837 ; the construction of the road was entered upon in May of that year, but the credit of the state being unequal to her aspirations, she had to be content with the Northern Cross road from Menadosia to Springfield, as completed in February, 1M42, at a cost of $1,000,000. Further work was abandoned. On March 6, 1843, the Great Western Railway Company was granted a preemption right, and Darius B. Holbrook and his fellow members of the Cairo City & Canal Company of 1837, became identified with railroad history in the West. The work accomplished by the state on the Central railroad was to become the property of the new company at a stated price; but the company was bound to pay into the state treasury one- fourth of the total net income, after twelve per cent, per annum had been distributed among the stockholders. In December, 1843, this company, through Congressman Breese, petitioned congress for the right of preemption to a portion of the public lands; but Doug- las opposed the petition, and in 1 844 introduced a bill providing that the lands should be preempted to the state. It won little attention. Similar bills introduced in January and December, 1846, by Judge Breese, failed to obtain the approval of congress, and the question of building a railroad was exactly where Holbrook & Co. found it. The Great West- ern Railroad Company lost their charter March 3, 1845, and for a time the contest between Chicago, represented by Douglas, and Dubuque, represented by Breese, was closed. From February, 1842, to February, 1847, the cross roads proved a losing venture, and in 1847 this $1,000,000 deal realized $21,000 in state indebtedness. The Great Western Railroad Company was revivified in 1848, and the legislature returned its charter April 13, 1849, and it may be said donated all the railroad work performed by the state in 1837, as well as right of way from Cairo to Chicago. The governor was appoined trustee in futuro to hold such lands as congress might donate to aid the construction of a central railroad, and altogether the Great Western Railroad Company appeared to be singularly well endowed with the friend- ship of the commonwealth. The return for the charter was foreshadowed by the technical defeat of Douglas' direct bills for aid to the Central railroad of 1848-9 by congressional MEMOIRS OF MISSItJSIPPI. 81 action. On February 1, 1849, when Judge Breese introduced a general land grant bill pro- viding for the parceling out to the several states slices of the public domain, it was purely in the interest of this road, though general in character. The senate approved the measure, but the house rejected it, thus leaving the field open to Douglas and Shields. The senate, and, indeed, the house of representatives, saw at once the sincerity of the Little Giant and of the hero of the Mexican war, and received their direct land-grant bill of January, 1850, with favor. The promise made by the senators that the grant would not be used in the interest of speculators, as members of the Great Western railroad company, alias Holbrook & Co., were known to be, won support for this measure, and further, Alabama and Mississippi derived benefit, as the act of September 17, 1S5(\ approved September 20, pro- vided for the grant of lands in the states named, as well as in Illinois, as aid in the construc- tion of a great central railroad from La Salle, 111., to the Ohio river at Cairo (with branches to Dubuque, via Galena, and to Chicago), and thence to Mobile, Ala. Senator George W. Imes, of Iowa, urged the Dubuque clause; Thomas Childs, Jr., of New York, the Mobile clause, while Douglas and Shields watched Chicago's interests so closely that a great ovation was given to them on their return. On this occasion, each gave testimony to the work of John S. Wright in pointing out forcibly the advantages of such a grant and to the action of the congressmen from Illinois in their able support of the bill. The action of congress did not pass unnoticed by the moneyed men of New York. No sooner was the act approved than they considered its relation to themselves, and on December 2S, lsr)0, signed a memorial to the legislature of Illinois, showing forth their plans for con- structing the Central road and its branches. This memorial was signed by Robert Schuyler, George Griswold, Governor Morris, Franklin Haven, David A. Neal, Robert Rantoul, Jr., Jona Sturges, Thomas W. Ludlow and John F. A. Sanford. The much-talked-of plan to give all control to the state and make the stock a basis for banking, as United States bonds are now in the system of national banks, opposed the plans of the Eastern men, but the people had little faith in the business qualities of this political machine, and on February 10, 1851, James L. D. Morrison's substitute for Asahel Gridley's bill, incorporating the Illinois Central railroad company, was passed. The names of the corporators were those given above as signers of the memorial, with Joseph W. Alsop, LeRoy M. Wiley and William H. Aspinwall, all of whom are gone to the dreamland of railroad builders, with the exception of Franklin Haven. On March 19, 1851, the special charter was accepted by the company, and in the shadow of former failures, work was commenced. Roswell B. Mason, of Bridgeport, Conn., was appointed chief engineer, March 22. and before May 20, he and staff were at Chicago, ready to enter upon surveying the route. In September, 1851, a mortgage for 117,000,000, on two million acres of the lands granted to secure the construction bonds, was executed. James F. Joy and Mason Brayman were employed to secure right of way in Chicago, and had their work countenanced by the ordinance of June 14, 1852, signed by Walter Smith Gurnee, mayor. John B. Calhoun, who named the original stations along the road, was accountant and financier. David A. Neal purchased eighty thousand tons of iron rails in England (at from $38.50 to S43.50 per ton, on board ship at Liverpool), and had them deliv- ered in Chicago early in 1852, through Clark & Jessup, and on May 20 of that year the fourteen miles of track from Thirteenth street to Calumet station, now Kensington, were com- pleted, and Michigan Central trains ran into the city on that day. Indeed, the Michigan Central railroad company made a loan to the Illinois Central to further the construction of this portion of the road. In February, 1852, charts of the road were placed before the com- missioner of the land office at Washington, D, C, and in March that olficial approved the 83 BIOORAPHIGAL AND III8T0RWAL selection of about two million acres of the public lands. The last construction contract was entered into October 13, 1852, and one year after the Michigan Central trains steamed into Chicago over the Illinois Central tracks, sixty-oue miles of the road between Bloomington and La Salle were in operation, and a temporary bridge erected over the Illinois river. In July, 1854, the road between Chicago and Urbana (one hundred and twenty-eight miles) was opened for traffic; early in November, 1854, trains were running between Freeport and Galena, and later that month passengers for the South were brought to Cairo via the Chicago & Mississippi railroad to St. Louis, the Ohio & Mississipj^i to Sandoval, and thence one hun- dred and eighteen miles on the completed southern end of the Illinois Central to Cairo, William K. Ackerman, president of the company from 1877 to 1883, being one of the through passengers. The main line, La Salle to Cairo, three hundred and one miles, was not com- pleted until January 8, 1855; the track from Galena to Dunleith was completed June 11, 1855, and from La Salle to Dunleith, on June 12; the Chicago branch, 249.78 miles, was completed September 2f), 1850, and on September 27, that year. Engineer Mason reported that the last rail on the 705.6 miles of road was placed, after a total expenditure of $35,110,- 609.21, or over 118,000,000 above the estimate cost, and over the amount of the original capital stock. From September, 1856, to the beginning of the Civil war, little beyond rou- tine work was accomplished. The Peoria & Oquaka railroad was built from Gilman to El Paso in 1857, connecting the main line with the Chicago branch. During the Civil war, the road, in all its departments, was taxed to its greatest capacity. Many of its employes entered the army, thus reducing the number of experienced railroad men; the department of war required it to carry troops and military supplies gratuitously; refugee negroes and deserters looked upon it as an eleemosynary institution, constructed solely to haul them away from danger, while war prices exercised no small influence on the company's treasury, for they balanced, if they did not overbalance, the extraordinary earnings of those terrible years of war. The views of Congressmen E. B. Washburne and others led to the observance of the charter, but congress, recognizing the services of this railroad, decided that the roadbed, and not the equipped railway, was only subject to use by the United States, and appropriated a sum equal to the value of the train service rendered. In the fall of 1867 the Central company leased the Dubuque & Sioux City railroad and began the construction of the Dunleith-Dubuque bridge, which was completed January 1, 1869, and the transfer ferry cast aside. Later, in 1869, the Cedar Falls & Minnesota rail- road (fifty-four miles in length) and the Iowa Falls & Sioux City railroad (forty-nine miles in length) were begun. They were completed in 1870, thus making the Iowa system four hun- dred and two miles. During the last-named year the Belleville & Southern Illinois railroad came into use as a connecting line between Cairo and St. Louis, and in 1871 the Gilman, Clinton & Springfield railroad was constructed, connecting the Chicago branch with Spring- field, December 3, that year. On November 17, 1874, the trains of the Baltimore & Ohio railroad company first entered the city over the tracks of the Central, and continued to use such tracks until 1891, notwithstanding the notice of 1884 and the order of the court, requir- ing that company to evacuate. The lake front act of 1869 was conceived in 1866 in the interest of local speculators, known as the Chicago Harbor & Improvement company. This improvement company did not succeed in obtaining legislative sanction for their designs. A similar measure was intro- duced in 1869 and passed, but was vetoed by the governor, John M. Palmer, April 14, 1869. Two days after the legislature passed the bill over the veto. This act of 1869 turned over to the Illinois Central, the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy MEMOIRS OP MISSISSIPPI. 83 and the Michigan Central (which used then the same depot) the three blocks of land between Randolph aind Monroe streets, they to pay therefor 1800,000 to the city. With the two northern blocks the state had nothing whatever to do, they having been given to the city direct by the general government for park purposes. The block between Monroe and Madi- son the city held under a different title. The land had passed from the general government to the canal commissioners, and had been dedicated by them to public uses. The railroad tendered $200,000 as first installment, but the city refused acceptance, and hence litigation. On July 3, 1871, the United States proceeded to stop the company from encroaching upon the lake, and on Ajiril 15, 1873, the peculiar act of repeal, abolishing the privileges given by the legislature in the act of 1869, was passed. Litigation of course resulted and the decision of United States Circuit Judges Harlan and Blodgett, given February 23, 1888, is awaiting final approval or disapproval by the United States supreme court. The year 1871 was an uneasy one for Illinois railroads, but more particularly for those entering Chicago, where the great fire destroyed buildings, rolling stock, grain and merchan- dise, as if they were so many tinder boxes. The direct loss was $300,000: but the insurance ])eing carried by a trans-Atlantic company, who paid all policies, this loss was reduced to a nominal sum, leaving the heavy indirect losses only to be considered. The fire, after all, was only the echo of the earthquake. The granger legislature of that year enacted laws which, if left on the statute books, would have before this wiped out great enterprises in Illinois and left railroads, like some of the churches, to be operated according to one thousand different notions. The supreme court declared the foolish law unconstitutional, but mobs continued to interfere materially with the management and property of the road, causing heavy losses. Prior to 1878 the rude primitive sleeping cars built by the company were in use. That year the contract with the Pullman palace car company was perfected. On May 26, 1 880, the beginning of the town of Pullman was made, and later that year the Central company saw that the time had come to establish a thorough suburban service different in toto from that which obtained from 1856 to 1880. In 1882 two tracks for freight trains, two tracks for passenger trains, and two tracks for suburban trains were built from the Chicago yards south to the ruins of 1871, known as the Central depot, and in 1883 the South Chicago railroad, from a point near Seventieth street east to Yates avenue, and thence to South Chicago, was completed. The ordinance approving plans for a bridge over the main river, to be built by the company, was passed December 1, 1862, but not until 1879 was the bridge constructed. The St. Charles air line railroad bridge over the south branch meeting the requirements of the company up to that time. In 1 880 the Kankakee & Southwestern railroad was extended to the northern division at Minonk, and the independent connection with the Chicago branch created. The erection of the six-himdred-thousand-bushel elevator at Cairo, the Randolph street viaduct, two docks, and the extension of terminal facilities must be credited to 1882, while the building of the South Chicago branch dates to 1883. From 1866 to 1872 communication between the Northwestern and Southern states was mainly confined to the Mississippi. In the last mentioned year this company desired to establish a thorough line which, in a measure, would meet the spirit of the act of congress by bringing New Orleans, rather than Mobile, into direct communication with Chicago. A contract was made with the owners of the roads grouped under the title, the Mississippi Central railroad, the length of which system was two hundred and thirty-two miles, and the New Orleans, Jackson & Great Northern railroad, two hundred and six miles in length. Both systems were then under one management, and the owners not only agreed to an inter- change of traffic with the Illinois Central, but also for the extension of the first named road 84 BIOGRAI'IIIVAL ANIJ IIISTORIGAL one hundred and eight miles north from Jackson, Tenn., to a point o|)posite Cairci, 111. The contract provided that the Illinois Central railroad comjjany should invest oiKveighth of the earnings from traffic to and from the roads named in their consolidated mortgage bonds for a decade at the rate of $100,000 per annum, but later an opportunity to purchase $200,000 of such bonds annually to the amount of 16,000,000, was given so as to enable the Southern men to build the one hundred and eight miles and impro\e the road generally. The gap was completed December 24, 1878, and Chicago and New Orleans, nine hundred and thirteen miles apart, were connected by iron rails. Later the Illinois Central company exchanged ¥'"1,000,000 worth of its five per cent, bonds for $5,000,000 worth of the seven per cent, bonds of the Southern roads and agreed to purchase the road under stated conditions, even in the face of a debt amounting to 118,372,834. On March 1(1, 1876, the Southern com- panies failing even to pay interest, the property was sold under foreclosure, passed into the receiver's hands, and on January 1, 1878, became an integral part of the Illinois Central' under the title Chicago, St. Louis & New Orleans railroad company. On January 1, 1882, the Southern lines — five hundred and forty-eight miles of main track, thirty-one miles of branches, one hundred and six locomotives, two thousand two hundred and forty-one cars, !? 1,000,000 five per cent., one thousand nine hundred and fifty-one bonds, ? 12."), 000 six per cent, bonds, and $623,043.70 in cash were surrendered to the Illinois Central company. The methodical system of James C. Clark, thoroughly inculcated in the minds of employes, also fell into the hands of the new proprietors and the bright day dreams of the railroad promoters of 1835-51 were fulfilled. During the seven years ending December 31, 1890, this great central trunk line made progress imdreamed of before. The Canton, Aber- deen & Nashville railroad was begun in 1883; a controlling interest in the one hundred miles of road from Grenada to Memphis was secured; the Ohio river bridge at Cairo was constructed, and the old ferry transfer abolished; the South Chicago branch 4.76 miles in length, with double track, was built and equipped for heavy suburban and freight service; the middle division was extended to the main line near Bloomington, giving a total length of 131.26 miles. In 1886 the work of constructing the Chicago, Madison & Northern railroad was entered upon, and in August, 1888, this road was opened from Chicago to Freeport, Mad- ison and Dodgeville, while in 1890 the right of way through Chicago was acquired. In 1887 the Chicago, Havana & Western railroad (one hundred and thirty miles in length) was pur- chased from the sheriff, and the Kantoul narrow gauge, connecting West Lebanon, Ind., with Leroy, 111. (seventy-six miles in length), was acquired similarly. The gauge of the lat- ter road was changed subsequently. In 1885 the Chicago, Burlington & Northern railroad sought right of way between East Dubuque and Portage Curve, and had thirteen miles of the Illinois Central company's right of way condemned. The supreme court decided the con- demnation proceedings illegal, and the new road was purchased by the Illinois Central com- pany, who lease it to the original builders. In 1S8S the stock of the Dunleith & Dubuque bridge company was purchased by the Central company, who use it jointly with the Chicago, Burlington & Northern railroad and the Chicago, St. Paul & Kansas City railroad. The Cherokee & Dakota railroad (one hundred and fifty-three miles in length) extending from Cherokee, Iowa, to Sioux Falls, Dak., and from Cherokee to Onawa, was built, and also a road from Manchester to Cedar Eapids, Iowa. The securities of the Dubuque & Sioux City rail- road company (one hundred and forty three miles in length) and of the Iowa Falls & Sioux City railroad company (one hundred and eighty-three miles in length) were purchased, and those roads became practically the property of the company, Two grain elevators were erected, and pretentious depot buildings constructed, as at Jackson and Holly Springs, Miss,, and other important points on the road, MEMOIRS. OF MISSISSIPPI. 85 In October, 1850, the company paid $45,000 under protest to the United States for the grant of the unused portion of the Fort Dearborn reservation. As has been stated the first depot was at Thirteenth street, and the first train to enter the city was one of the Michigan Central company's. This depot was used from May 20, 1852, to July, 1853. On June 14, 1852, the city council granted permission to lay down tracks within the limits along the mar- gin of the lake, in accordance with the legislative act of February, 1852, authorizing a branch road from Twelfth street north to the south pier of the inner harbor, and this permission was accepted March 28, 1853. Lands for depot purposes were acquired north of Randolph street, from the United States, as shown above, or by purchase from private owners and, south of Twelfth street, by purchase. From Sixteenth street to Randolph street piles were driven in the lake bed and the track constructed thereon between 1852 and 1854. After the fire of 1871 individuals as well as the company made this piling the breastwork of a dump- ing ground for debris, and since that time a large area from a point northeast of Randolph street southward, has been filled in in like manner. The congressional grant to Illinois was two million five hundred and ninety-five thousand acres, and of the grant by the state to the railroad company, one hundred and seven thousand six hundred and fourteen acres were first conveyed to jsreemptors. By the close of 1856 over one million acres were sold, and up to Jan- uary 1, 1890, there were two million four hundred and fifty-six thousand eight hundred and twenty-nine acres sold, yielding a total of $28,742,002 or about three-fourths of the total cost of the road up to that time, 135,110,609. From 1856 to October 31, 1889, the company paid into the state treasury 111,873,337. 14, being the amount of the statutory seven per cent, on the gross income, or about $350,000 per year. The road withstood the Schuyler frauds of 1853-4, the panic of 1857, the panic of 1873, the granger laws of 1871, the fire of 1871, the Iowa restrictions of 1876, the Valentine scrip of 1878, the great strike, and the latter day attacks on its Chicago right of way. Its progress in modern times is phenomenal, when its conservative policy is compared with the extension of the system and the introduction of improvements in permanent way, rolling stock and running schedules. Only on October 29, 1889, the great bridge over the Ohio was opened, giving an all-rail route between the Gulf of Mexico and Chicago. This bridge is three miles and four thousand seven hundred and twenty feet in length, and was constructed at the cost of $2,700,000. The approaches, com- pleted in 1891, included the elevation of the tracks above flood level and entailed an extraor- dinary cost. By July 1, 1890, the system embraced 1,398.48 miles of Northern lines; 593.34 miles of Western lines, and 896.65 of Southern lines, or a total of 2,888.47 miles. The presidents of the road were Robert Schuyler (deceased), March 19, 1851 to July 11, 1853; William P. Burrall (deceased), .1853-4; John N. A. Griswold, January, 1855 to Decem- ber, 1855; William H. Osborn, December 1, 1855 to July 11, 1865; John M. Douglas, 1865 to March 14, 1871; John Newell, April 14, 1871 to September 11, 1874; Wilson G. Hunt, September, 1874 to January 28, 1875; John M. Douglas, January, 1875 to July 17, 1876; William K. Ackerman, October 17, 1877 to August 15, 1883, and James C. Clark, August 15, 1883 to May 18, 1887. Stuyvesant Fish elected May 18, 1887, is now president. The names of the pioneers of this now immense system are given in former pages. The directors elected February 10, 1851, all of whom except Franklin Haven, are deceased, were men prominent in building up the country in its infancy as they were in building railroads. In 1851 Morris Ketchum (deceased) was elected a director; in 1852, Gov. Joel A. Mat- teson (deceased); in 1853, William P. Burrall (deceased); in 1854, J. Newton Perkins (deceased); William H. Osborn, Frederick C. Gebhard (deceased), J. N. A. Griswold and James F. Joy; in 1855, Thomas E. Walker (deceased), and Ebenezer Lane; in 1856, Gov, 80 BIOGltAPlIlGAlj AND IJISTOllIUAL William H. Bissell (di^ceased), and Abram S. Hewitt; in 1857, Pierre Ghoteau, Jr. (deceased), and Gustavus W. Smitli; in IS,")',), William Tracy (deceased); in 1H60, Gov. Eichard Yates (deceiised), and Nathaniel P. Banks; in ISfil, John M. DougJas; in 1862, James C. Fargo, William E. Arthur, H. H. Hunuewell, and Edwin H. Sheldon; in 1863, James Caird and Cunningham Bothwick; in IS64Gov. Eichard Oj^lesby, Henry Chauncey and William G. Hunt; in 1865, Ambrose E. Burnsid(^ (deceased), and E. D. Wolterbeck; in 1808, Gov. J. M. Palmer, and George Bliss; in 1871, J. Pierrex^ont Morgan, Louis A. Von HoflFman, John Newell, Lucius Tilton (deceased), and William H Gebhard; in 1872, William K. Ackerman; in 1873, Gov. John L. Beveridge, and L. V. F. Eandoph; in 1875, Abram E. Van Nest (deceased), Frederick Sturges, and Constantino Menelas; in liS76 Gov. Shelby M. CuUom; in 1877, A. G. Dulman, Stuyvesant Fish, Ben. F. Ayer, James C. Clarke and John Elliott (deceased); in 1S79, W. Bayard Cutting: in IS82, Sydney Webster; in 1883, Gov. John M. Hamilton; in 1884, Gov. E. J. Oglesby (second term), Walter Luttgen, Eobert Goelet and S. Van E. Cruger; in 1885, William W. Astor; in 1886, Oliver Harriman and Levi P. Morton; in 1888, John W. Auchincloss; in 1889, Gov. Joseph W. Fifer, J. C. Welling, Charles M. Da Costa (deceased), and George Bliss, and in 1 890, J. W. Doane and Norman B. Eeam. A biography of the directors of this great corporation would bring to light many points in its history and present to the reader subjects both interesting and instructive. A sketch of each of the presidents from 1851 to 1891 would in itself make a volume worthy of study, for in it would be found an exposition of all those executive principles which lead to failure or success. Fortunately for the Illinois Central, the men who held this responsible position were, with one exception, true and capable. To the present incumbent of the office success is credited in everything, and nothing succeeds like success. The road lines in this state are the main line, the Kosciusko branch, the Memphis divis- ion, the Canton, Aberdeen & Nashville (Kosciusko to Aberdeen), the Yazoo & Mississi})!:)! valley, and Jackson to Parsons. Its passenger earnings for this state in 1889 were $596,561,- 65; its freight earnings $2,674,581.84, and its taxes for nine months of that year were $106,425. The Louisville, New Orleans & Texas railroad is the great outlet of the Yazoo delta) running parallel to the great river. It was completed January 1, 1885, aad of course has a brief career, although it is the second line in the state. Its branches are: The Glendale & Eagle Nest, the Leland & Huntington, the Wilzcinski & Glen Allen, the Lamont & Eosedale and the Slaughter & Woodville. The general offices are at Memphis, and the officers are as follows: President, E. T. Wilson; general manager, James M. Edwards; secretary, C. H. Bosher; treasurer, F. H. Davis; comptroller, William Mahl; assistant general manager, A. M. Cooke; general superintendent, T. J. Nicholl; general freight and passenger agent, E. W. How; auditor, J. T. Penton, and general counsel, Yerger & Percy. Its passenger earnings for 18S9 were $721,085.53; freight earnings, $1,686,746.02, and taxes paid, $64,684.12. The Mobile & Ohio railroad was completed April 22, 1861, and although a comparatively old road the facts of its career seem unobtainable. Its branches from the main line along the eastern border of the state are the Aberdeen & Muldon, Artesia & Columbus and Artesia & Starkville. Its passenger earnings in 18S9 — in every case for Mississippi — were $185,- 317; its freight earnings, $883,0()9.57, and its taxes, $47,054.29. The Georgia Pacific railroad is another late arrival, and was completed only July 8, 1889. Its branches are: Stoneville to Sharkey, and less than a mile at Columbus. Its pas- senger earnings for the year chosen were: $37,619.56; freight, $72,456.41, and taxes are exempt, except as to levees, MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 87 The New Orleans & Northeastern railroad was chartered March 16, 1870, Adam Thomp- son being the first president and G. Ingram being the first chief engineer of the company. Surveys were made, but the project lay dormant for some time. In 1 881 surveys began for actual construction under -lohn Scott, president, and W. H. Hardy, of Meridian, vice presi- dent. Construction began at the close of 1881, and the road was completed through from Meridian to New Orleans in 1883. It was opened for traffic from Meridian toPachuta, 26.64 miles, October 25, 1882, and to New Orleans November 1, 1883. The road is 195.9 miles long, of which one hundred and fifty-oue thousand five hundred and ninety-five miles are in Mississippi. The total cost was |5,61'2,278.24. Its earnings in 1889 were: freight, 1631,774.35; passenger, $157,399.47, and taxes, $16,366.34 for 1888. The Alabama & Vicksburg railway, from Meridian to Vicksburg, was originally built to five-foot gauge, and changed in May, 1886. Deeds for right of way, in possession of the Alabama & Vicksburg Railway Company, date back to the year 1 835, and were made to the Commercial & Railroad bank of Vicksburg and to the Southern Railroad Company. The road was first built from Vicksburg to Jackson, and building of the road from Brandon to Meridian commenced in January, 1857, and was completed June 3, 1861, when the first train ran over the entire road from Vicksburg to Meridian. At this time the road was owned by the Southern Railroad Company. M. Emanuel, president, in his annual report to the board of directors dated March 1, 1865, wrote as follows regarding the vicissitudes of the track and road bed during the war: " The first direct injury done to the read by the Federal army occurred at Newton station on April 24, 1863. Grierson's raid took it by surprise. The depot building, contain- ing the books and papers of that ofiice and some freight, was soon in' flames. A half mile of track was torn up near the station, and ten trestles destroyed. It took nine days to repair the road. The second time the road was damaged by the enemy was in May, 1863, daring the time that Grant's army occupied Jackson, previous to his march on, and investment of, Vicksburg. They then burned the Pearl river bridge and trestles, and partially destroyed the road for three miles west of Pearl river, and on their march to Vicksburg destroyed about seven miles of track between Jackson and Big Black river, including the bridge over that river and the long trestle connected with it; also Baker's Creek bridge and a number of other small ones. In July, 1863, a large army from Vicksburg, in pursuit of Gen. Joseph E. John- ston, to Jackson and thence to Brandon, again tore up the track and destroyed the bridges and trestles to such an extent, between Jackson and Brandon, and they could not run from Meridian farther west than Brandon before January 6, 1864. The last damaging blow that the road received from the enemy was in February, 1864, when General §herman marched his army from Vicksburg to Meridian on a parallel line with the railroad, and near enough to it for the cavalry to make sudden dashes at any station on the road that he wished to destroy. The station houses at Brandon, Morton, Lake, Newton and Meridian were burned. The machine shops and other company buildings were destroyed at Lake station, forty miles west of Meridian. The enemy reached Meridian on Sunday, the 14th of February, and remained there seven days, in the meantime doing a vast amount of damage to the several roads ter- minating and passing there. Seven miles of track of the Southern railroad was as effectually destroyed as ingenuity and labor could do it; seven thousand feet of bridges and trestles were also destroyed, including two Chunky bridges, Tallahatta, Okatibba, and several smaller ones ; also eighty-three trestles along the line of the road. The work of repair was comnwneed on March 29, and prosecuted with skill and energy. The repairs were completed by May 7, 1864, when the trains resumed their regular business between Meridian and Jackson." In 88 BIOORAPIIIOAL AND IITSTOBIOAL 1867 the uame of the company was changed to the Vicksburg & Meridian railroad company. The road was sold under foreclosure February 4, 1889, and a new company organized March 18, 1889, under the name of the Alabama & Vicksburg railway company. Its freight earn- ings in 1889 for four and a half months were $112,989. 66; its passenger earnings, $76,817, and its estimated taxes about $19,000. The Kansas City, Memphis & Birmingham Railroad Company was formed February 1, 1 887, by the consolidation, in accordance with the laws of Tennessee, Mississippi and Ala- bama, of the Memphis & Birmingham Railroad Company, a corporation duly organized under the general laws of Alabama, with the Kansas City, Memphis & Birmingham Railroad Com- pany, a corporation existing under the laws of Tennessee and Mississippi, and which had been formed July 26, ISSf), by the consolidation, in accordance with the laws of said last two states, of the Memphis & Southeastern Railroad Company, a corporation organized under the general laws of Tennessee, with the Kansas City, Memphis & Birmingham Railroad Com- pany, a corporation existing under an act of the legislature of Mississippi entitled " An act to incorporate the Kansas City, Memphis & Birmingham Railroad Company," approved Feb- ruary 18, 1886. The original corporation was chartered by an act of the legislature, approved November 23, 1859, as the Holly Springs & Mobile Railroad Company. By an act approved February 20, 1867, the uame was changed to Memphis, Holly Springs, Okolona & Selma Railroad Company. By an act approved July 21, 1870, the name was again changed to the Selma, Marion & Memphis Railroad Company. In 1 874 the comf)any was reorganized as the Memphis, Holly Springs & Selma Railroad Company. In 1881 the name was again changed to Memphis, Selma & Brunswick Railroad Company. The name was again changed to the Memphis, Birmingham & Atlantic Railroad Company, and the same confirmed by an act approved January 22, 1886. The Kansas City, Memphis & Birmingham Railroad Company of Mississippi and Ten- nessee, above referred to, absorbed the Memphis, Birmingham & Atlantic by purchase in September, 1886. The main line was completed to Birmingham and opened for business on October 17, 18S7; the branch to Aberdeen, Miss., January 1, 1888, and the branch to Bessemer, Ala., March 15, 1888. Its earnings for 1889 were: Freight, 51.6 per cent, of total, $719,593.15; passenger, 51.6 per cent, of total, $246,244.46, and taxes between January and September, 1889, $258.96. The New Orleans, Mobile & Chattanooga Railroad Company, now the New Orleans, Mobile & Texas, leased by the Louisville & Nashville, was originally chartered in Alabama, in November, 1866; and on the 7th of November, 1867, an act was passed and approved by the state of Mississippi, recognizing the charter, as granted by the state of Alabama, and giving the road the same powers, privileges and franchises in the state of Mississippi. Under this charter the railroad between New Orleans and Mobile was completed, and has tended to build up numerous towns and villages on the lake coast, within the state of Mississippi. Such places as Scranton, Ocean Springs, Biloxi, Pass Christian and many other villages have been rapidly settled up and made accessible to New Orleans on the one side and to Mobile on the other, and through them both to all the world. This railroad, now known as the Louis- ville & Nashville railroad, runs five or six passenger trains daily through all of these towns on the Mississippi coast, is rapidly developing new industries in these towns, and large numbers of people from the North and West are making their homes there during the winter, finding a delightful and healthy climate. Much of the winter travel and sojourn- ing which accrued to Florida is passing to this lake and gulf coast, which presents many MEMOIR.^ OP MISSISSIPPI. 89 superior advantages to aiiytbing to be found in Florida or other localities. The soil is remark- ably productive when properly cared for ; the roads are good, the air exhilarating and health- ful. Ne\y Orleans is reached from these towns and villages in from one to three hours, according to the distance. The time made on the trains from New Orleans to Mobile is about four hours, a distance of one hundred and forty miles. The railroad company and the inhab- itants on the lake shore are in accord in their desire to develop new industries along the line and to invite immigration. Milton H. Smith, Esq., is now president of the Louisville & Nashville railroad com- pany. Its passenger earnings in this state were, |'212,504.C)9; freight earnings, 127)1,964.59: and taxes in 1887 were $9,619.07. The Gulf & Chicago railroad is a consolidation of August 1, 1889, of this road with the Ripley, Ship Island & Kentucky and the northern division of the Gulf & Ship Island, with a lease covering the rest of the last mentioned road. Its earnings for 1889 were, freight, 117,748.90; passenger, 113,668.42; and taxes in 1888, $611.45. The Memphis & Charleston railroad, although so small iu mileage in this state, had passenger earnings in 18S1J of $59,836.62; freight, $103,917.29; and taxes of $4,271. The Alabama Great Southern railroad extends from Chattanooga, Tenn., through Ala- bama to Meridian, Miss., a distance of two hundred and ninety-five miles, only 18.781 of which are in Mississippi. The portion in Mississippi was built by the Northeast & Southwest Alabama railroad company, which was incorporated by the legislature of Alabama, December 12, 1853. The Alabama & Chattanooga railroad company acquired the ownership of the Northeast & Southwest Alabama railroad company December 19, 1868, and on February 11, 1870, the state of Alabama loaned its credit to the Alabama & Chattanooga railroad company for the purjDOse of expediting the construction of its railroad, " provided that the entire line between Meridian and Chattanooga be completed by March 1, 1871." In 1877, the Alabama Great Southern railroad company acquired the ownership of the Alabama & Chattanooga railroad. Its passenger earnings were, in 1889, ?33,534; freight, $79,188.00; and taxes estimated at $2,587.62. The Natchez, Jackson & Columbus, a narrow gauge road, was completed October 6, 1882, with 98.6 miles. Its passenger and freight earnings were respectively, 862.405, and $1 16,249. This is known as the " Little J. " The East Tennessee, Virginia & Georgia railway, with only 7.73 miles in this state, used the Mobile & Ohio tracks from Lauderdale to Meridian. This state's proportion of the earn- ings were, passenger, §10,163; and freight, $34,021; audits taxes in 1888 were 81,019.50. The people of Mississippi have generally been friendly to these railways, but the last decade had not progressed far when it seemed wisest for the state to exercise some regulative powers over them. Accordingly', on March 11, 1884, an act was passed providing means for this in a body called the board of railroad commissioners. After its organization the appre- hensions of the great railways were aroused, and all but seven, of the sinaller ones chiefly, enjoined them against further proceedings, and the oases were carried up to the state courts, the " Little J " even taking it into the Federal courts, but all received decisions favorable to the commission, and the work of this body has since been carried on with the best success, Sc'curing a common regulation of all the railway transportation of the state, and with no diminution in the increase of railway building certainly. 90 BIOORAPHIGAI. AND HISTOBIOAL GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT. EFOKE considering the growth of any one of the states not included in the old thirteen originals stretched along the Atlantic from New Hampshire to Georgia IN-'-' inclusive, one should recall that the other thirty-one are the creatures of the old thirteen in a measure, and get a clear idea of their relative periods of creation in order to fully appreciate the rapidity and magnitude of the growth of some of them. Mississippi may be called one of the old states, when we consider that in the century since " Little Rhody, " the last of the thirteen*, ratified the constitution, and during which the thirty-one have been admitted, about half were created in the first half or before 1840; but Mississippi is one of the oldest states — while not the oldest of the valley sisters, like Kentucky, she follows not many years later. Vermont, the first admitted, was a mere creation of convenience; Kentucky, the second, in 1792, was the first real creation. In the next twenty-five years came at due intervals Tennessee, Ohio, Louisiana, Indiana, and, a year later than the Hoosier state, the Bayou state of Mississippi. In these words are easily seen the advancing footprints of the giant valley, and Mississippi was the sixth, not counting Vermont. Now she is almost exactly three quarters of a century old — older than the great states of Illinois, Alabama, Maine, Missouri, Arkansas, Michigan — all born in the first half of our national career. As to the later states, she is nearly thirty years older than Iowa, and a half century older than Nebraska. She has witnessed the birth of twenty- four younger sisters of Uncle Sam's numerous progeny. In her relative progress in population, ever since her most unfavorable period began, namely, 1850, and with the disadvantage over the later trans-Mississippi states of few rail- ways until the present decade, she has more than kept her midway place, as these figures illustrate. In 1850, when there were thirty-three states, Mississippi was fifteenth in popu- lation; in 1860, with thirty-six states, she was fourteenth; in 1870, with thirty seven states, she was eighteenth; in 1880, with thirty-eight states, eighteenth; and in 1890, when the number sprang to forty-four, she was still on the larger side of the dividing line, and, as twenty-first in population, still counted among the larger states of the Union, there being twenty-three states with less and only twenty states with a greater population. Before noticing the state's actual growth in figures, it may aid in realizing its great- ness in size and population to compare it with some foreign countries. With an area of forty-six thousand eight hundred and ten square miles, Mississippi is about the size of Roumania; almost exactly the size of Guatemala; a little larger than Honduras; slightly *1790. ~~ '~~~~' Ci-y-JT? ^ C'; 'llC'alo MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 91 smaller than Nicaragua, and some larger than Orange Free state. From these it varies comparatively little in area, while it is considerably over fonr times the size of Belgium; over three times the size of Switzerland; nearly four times the size of Denmark; nearly as large again as Bulgaria or Greece, and four and a half times the area of Hayti. But while Mississippi is about the size of Roumania, she has only about a fourth the population of her European sister; while almost exactly the size of Guatemala, considerably less; but as to Honduras and Nicaragua, which she approaches in area, the Bayou state is over four times their population, and Orange is so much less that it is not worth consideration. Its contrast with the other European states is more striking. Four times the area of Belgium, that country has nearly five times as many people; an area three times that of the Swiss republic, yet with less thaa half the inhabitance of the Alpine state; four times Denmark's area, but about three-fifths her population; nearly as large again as Bulgaria or Greece, but only about two-fifths and three-fifths their respective populations. Mississippi's counter- parts in number of inhabitants approach most nearly to Ecuador, Tripoli and Wurtemberg; but in relative area and population no country so nearly reaches her size in both these features as the five-year-old republic of Guatemala. It should be remembered, however, that the comparison extends no farther, as the simple fact of the 1884 railway mileage — twenty-six miles in Guatemala to one thousand eight hundred and forty- four miles in the Bayou state — will testify; while in other respects it might not be unlike a comparison of our times of popular education with those of 1215, when, of the twenty-six English barons who signed the great Magna Charta, only three could write their names instead of making their marks. Numbers and area have most significance only when associated with the precious elements of our civilization, and Mississippi, among our United States, is twenty-eighth in area and twenty- first in population, a population but very little larger than that of the great metropolis of this valley, Chicago, a name, by a curious coincidence, that this state came near to bearing as its own, for Vega's account of De Soto's discovery of it says the name of the great river was " Chucagua," and it was so called by many early European geographers. Mississippi's population is now one million two hundred and eighty-nine thousand six hundred souls, distributed between the races, giving the larger number, seven hundred forty- seven thousand seven hundred and twenty to the negroes, a less number, five hun- dred and thirty-nine thousand seven hundred and three to the whites, and a comparatively insignificant number, two thousand one hundred and seventy- seven to the Chinese, Japanese and Indians. The white population entered, in the handful of men at Biloxi, in 1699. Some took Indian women as wives, but in 1720, says a local writer, "thirty girls from the Saltpe- triere in Paris, arrived in the colony. The priests complain of the prospensity of the colonists, and especially the Canadians, for Indian wives. The dusky maidens of Missis- sippi, with their flashing eyes, and their voluptuous forms, and their delicate hands and feet, and their merry laugh, and their raven hair that brushed the dewdrops as they walked, modest, chaste, drooping their glances at the approach of a warrior, were pre- ferred to the pale-faced conventional women of Paris, and the simple-minded fathers were astonished." But this all changed, and only twenty years later, 1740, says a writer in De Bow's Review*, " The population of the French colony received a fresh accession in a large number of poor, but virtuous girls, transported from France at the royal expense, and endowed by royal bounty with a small tract of land, a cow and calf, a cock and five hens, a *De Bow's Keview, 1851, New Orleans. F 92 BIOORAPHICAL AND HISTORIOAL gun and ammunition, an ax and hoe, and a supply of garden seeds. Each of these girls, with her dower, was given by Vaudreuil in marriage to some one of the soldiers, who received an honorable discharge. This importation continued annually until the year 1751, and from this source have sprung many worthy families in Louisiana, and, doubtless, in Mississippi, too." So came the first white male and female population. The first cargo of negro slaves arrived in 1720 and a council ordinance declared a good adult negro should be rated at $176, to be paid for in three annual payments of tobacco and rice. The census of 1721, when a considerable part of the colony was in Mississippi, gave five thoiisand four hundred and twenty whites and six hundred slaves. By 1785 the Natchez settlement alone contained over five thousand. Fifteen years later the present bounds of Mis- sissippi began the present century with a population all told of seven thousand six hundred, scarcely more than the present city of Jackson contains. In 1810 it had sprung up to thirty- one thousand three hundred and six, more tha,n quadrupled. Only two years later, 1812, it had reached forty thousand three hundred and fifty-two, of which twenty-three thousand two hundred and sixty-four were whites, owning seventeen thousand and eighty-eight slaves, and this population was all in Natchez and Washington, the two towns, and eleven counties of the Southwest, the rest being in the hands of Indians. In 1816, just before statehood, the total was forty-five thousand nine hundred and twenty- one, and four years more closed the decade with seventy- five thousand four hundred and forty-eight in 1820, more than doubling on the previous census. Of these, forty-two thousand one hundred and seventy-six were whites, four hundred and fifty-eight free blacks, and thirty-two thousand eight hundred and fourteen slaves, scattered over seventeen counties in the south and southwest, excepting Monroe county, and its largest city being Natchez, with two thousand one hundred and eighty-four inhabitants. Another decade passed with the usual doubling up of population, with most remarkable gains in slaves, so that it became a subject of great concern to pub- lic men, for heretofore the white majority had been considerable. The total population in 1830 was one hundred and thirty-six thousand six hundred and twenty-one souls. The decade from 1830 to 1840 was marked by the opening up of Indian lands. The red race, even in 1721, had about thirty-six thousand in the state, but over a hundred years later, in this decade, the year 1834, there were resident in Mississippi twenty-three thousand four hundred Indians of the several nations. North Mississippi was an Indian wilderness, and its opening up was the signal for an influx that considerably more than doubled on the previous census, giving a grand total of three hundred and seventy-five thousand six hundred and fifty-one souls, of whom one hundred and ninety-two thousand two hundred and eleven were slaves, leaving of the whites and free blacks a minority of one hundred and eighty-three thousand four hundred and forty-one. Even the state cen- sus of 1837 gave a total of three hundred and eight thousand seven hundred and forty- four, with one hundred and sixty-four thousand three hundred and ninety-three slaves to one hundred and forty four thousand three hundred and fifty- one whites. From 1840 to 1850 the increase was still great, but most marked in the Indian lands. A writer of 1849 says of that region: " Fifteen years ago it was an Indian wilderness, and now it has reached and passed, in its population, other portions of the state of ten times its age." The census of 1850 nearly doubles on the previous one, with six hundred and six thousand five hundred and twenty- six, of which the entire colored population was three hundred and ten thousand eight hundred and eight, including free blacks and mulattoes. These figures tell a wondrous story, and will always be kept in view by the careful student MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 93 of this state's history. They are the indices of her great power and her greatest weakness, and the explanation of multitudes of her characteristic traits. They developed in the next decade — 1850-60, and the year 1860 beheld a population of seven hundred and ninety-one thousand three hundred and five, with a wealth of cotton, and four hundred and thirty-seven thousand four hundred and four, practically all slaves — a number almost equal to the entire present population of Honduras, Nicaragua, or Para- guay. No wonder the name planter took on a significance of prince! The decade of the great tragedy seriously affected population. A powerful institution had turned over; slaves became citizens, and princely planters became poor. Soldiers were killed; the freedmen to the number of seventeen thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine became soldiers to fight their former masters, and also were thinned by death, while some left the country. Some from the invading army came in, it is true, but the population by census of 1866 showed a falling off to seven hundred and twenty-four thousand seven hundred and eighteen, there being still an excess of blacks — three hundred and eighty-one thousand two hundred and fifty- eight; and whites to the number of three hundred and forty- three thousand four hundred and sixty, showing a total loss of seventy-five thousand five hundred and eighty-five, or ten thousand four hundred and thirty-nine whites, and sixty-six thousand one hundred and forty-six blacks. After this the state advanced somewhat, so that the census of 1870 showed a population of eight hundred and twenty-seven thousand nine hundred and twenty-two, the colored part being four hundred and forty-four thousand two hundred and one, and the white three hundred and eighty-two thousand eight hundred and ninety-six, while eight hundred and twenty-five, a small showing of Mongolian and Indian races, appears, the great mass of the Indians, as mentioned elsewhere, having been removed in the thirties and forties. During this decade much of Mississippi had become a practical wilder Qess; the Yazoo delta, which had been partly reclaimed by levees during the previous decade, was again at the mercy of overflows, and only now began to be regained. The political troubles, and the prominence of the swamp delta region gave the state an unfor- tunate reputation, so that, for the first time in her history, an effort at distinctive advertising of her resources seemed necessary to attract immigration. An act of April 6, 1874, provided for representation in the centennial exhibition, and a later act appropriated 15,000 for that purpose. A building was built of sixty- eight varieties of the state's timber, and among her exhibits were forms of cotton and woolen stuffs, corn, rice, broomcorn, syrup, tobacco, etc. On July 10, 1876, Gen. A. M. West, president of the board of managers, made an historical address on Mississippi, which gave the state an improved status. Said he: "With these vast fields of enterprise, and inspired by such important coming events, Mississippi can not be idle, but must, of necessity, join the march of enterprise and improvement, which, now, like the waves of the ocean, are moving in every direc- tion, and pouring upon the globe a grand luminous array of the triumphs of mind over matter, as is so forcibly exemplified by this centennial exhibition; and by the rapidity with which the productions of human labor and skill are transported from farm to farm, from factory to factory, from city to city, from ocean to ocean, from county to county, exhibiting, to the amazement of the world, an activity in all the industrial pursuits of life commensurate with man' s capabilities. It is a noteworthy fact that, although the late war left more than one-half the population of Mississippi homeless and penniless, and the remainder greatly impoverished, and all without credit, and frenzied by political conflicts and social disturbances, society was rapidly reorgan- ized, domestic and social economy restored, and personal credit reestablished. Their commer- cial obligations, in this and other cities, have been more promptly met the past season, than 94 BIOGRAPHWAL AND IIISTOBIOAL hiive been the obligHtions of the people of many of the other states. As these sudden and rapid changes ufPecting, as Ihey did, society in all its varied, social, domehtic and political relations, are unprecedented in the history of communities and nations, impartial judges must conclude that the resources of Mississippi are extraordinarily great, and historians must give to white and colored races credit for marvelous capacity for adaptation to circum- stances, and for unparalleled recuperative powers." A considerable immigration came in up to 1880 from the northern part of the Mississippi valley, and by the close of the decade , — 1880 — the population had arisen from eight hundred and twenty seven thousand nine hundred and twenty-two, to the marked total of one million one hundred and thirty-one thousaud five hundred and ninety- seven; both races had increased in numbers, but the colored the most, the total blacks being six hundred and fifty thousand two hundred and ninety-one, and the whites four hundred and seventy-nine thousand three hundred and ninety-eight, with the increased showing — one thousand nine huudred and eight— of third and fourth races. These figures tended still more to impress the conviction that still greater efforts should be made to stimulate immigration of Northern whites and north European people. The decade from 1880 to 1890 witnessed strong efforts. Even Governor Alcorn had recommended efforts of this kind, and a bureau of immigration had been organized before the seventies began, and efforts were still continued during the seventies, but it remained for the reorganization of the eighties to effect the greatest results, under the commissioner- ship of a most able manager, Maj. E. G. Wall, in the first half of the decade. These efforts were systematic and effective, aiming not only to attract agriculturists, but lumber- men, manufacturer."!, tradesmen, capitalists and all that make for development and internal growth, and the vigor with which it was prosecuted receives abundant testimony in the excellent statistics that work has left, as well as the diffusion of more just ideas regarding the state among people of our own and foreign countries. An exhibit was made at Louisville, too, in 1883, and with little effort to make a strong showing, premiums were taken to the amount of over 13,000. At New Orleans also, in 1884, an excellent effort was made, under the direction of Com. S. A. Jonas, and this gave especial impetus to thelumber interests and manufactures. The railways took up the refrain, and began that sybtematic advertising of the country along their routes that has developed the entire nation so rapidly. The result has been that while the state has witnessed more growth and development materially in this decade than in others, the population also has increased, and the census of 1890 shows an advance from one million one hundred and thirty-one thousand five hundred and ninety-seven to the total of one million two hundred and eighty- nine thousand six hundred. The race proportions are as follows: the larger part colored, seven hundred and forty- seven thousand seven hundred and twenty; and the whites numbering five hundred and thirty -nine thousand seven hundred and three; with two thousand and fifty-four Indians, one hundred and twenty-two Chinese and one Japanese. Thus it will be seen that while the per cent, of increase was only 4.6 from 1860 to 1870, and 36.7 from 1870 to 1880, the last decade has shown a good one of fourteen per cent. To view more closely, take the figures for successive decades beginning with the year 1800: Seven thousand six hundred, thirty-one thousand three hundred and six, seventy-five thousand four hundred and forty-eight, one hundred and thirty-six thousand six hundred and twenty-one, three hundred and seventy- five thousand six hundred and fifty-one, six hundred and six thousand five hundred and twenty-six, seven hundred and ninety-one thousand three hundred and five, eight hundred and twenty seven thousand nine hundred and twenty- two, one million one hundred and thirty-one thousand five hundred and ninety- seven, and one million two hundred and eighty-nine thousand six hundred. MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 95 But take the figures of the whites alone, begianiug with 1850: Two huQdred and ninety- five thousand seven hundred and eighteen, three hundred and fifty-three thousand eight hundred and ninety-nine, three hundred and eighty-two thousand eight hundred and ninety- six, four hundred and seventy-nine thousand three hundred and ninety-eight, and five hun- dred and thirty-nine thousand seven hundred and three. This shows a percentage of increase of 19.67, 8.19, 25.20, and 12.58, or an actual increase of fifty-eight thousand one hundred and eighty one, twenty-eight thousand nine hundred and ninety-seven, ninety six thousand five hundred and two, and sixty thousand three hundred and five. Compare the figures for the colored population alone during the same period, begin- ning with 1850: Three hundred and ten thousand eight hundred and eight, four hundred and thirty-seven thousand four hundred and four, four hundred and forty-four thousand two hundred and one, six hundred and fifty thousand two hundred and ninety-one, and seven hundred and forty-seven thousand seven hundred and twenty in 1890. This shows succes- sive increase as follows: One hundred and twenty- six thousand five hundred and ninety -six, six thousand seven hundred and ninety-seven; two hundred and six thousand and ninety, and only ninety-seven thousand four hundred and twenty-nine in 1890. Given in per- centages it is: 40.73, 1.55,46.40, and 14.98 in 1890. So it will be seen that while the whites increased 1 2. 58 per cent, in 1890 the blacks made a gain of 14. 98 per cent. ; but this is a far better showing for the white increase than the previous decade, when the per cents, were as 25. 2 to 46. 4 in favor of the negro. The fact that Mississippi is 41.85 per cent, white and 57.98 per cent, colored, is the great question of all questions in her social and political life. In this she stands alongside of but two other states — South Carolina and iVIississippi — but as Louisiana is so evenly balanced, being only 49.59 per cent, white to 50.32 per cent, colored. South Carolina is practically the only one to compare with her. That state is in a slightly worse condition, being 39.82 per cent, white and 60.16 per cent black. Other states hardly compare at all — Georgia is nearly fifty-three per cent, white, Alabama nearly fifty-five per cent., Florida over fifty-seven per cent. , Virginia over sixty-one per cent. , North Carolina nearly sixty-five per cent., Arkansas over seventy-two per cent., Tennessee over seventy-five per cent., Texas nearly seventy-eight per cent., and so on up. It will be of interest to notice what parts of Mississippi are characterized by this excess of blacks over whites. The state has seventy-five counties in all, and thirty-seven have white and thirty-eight black excess of population, almost equally divided. Those with black excess are: Adams, Amite, Bolivar, Carroll, Chickasaw, Claiborne, Clay, Coahoma, Copiah, De Soto, Grenada, Hinds, Holmes, Issaquena, Jefferson, Kemper, Lauderdale, Leflore, Lowndes, Madison, Marshall, Monroe, Noxubee, Oktibbeha, Panola, Pike, Rankin, Sharkey, Sunflower, Tallahatchie, Tate, Tunica, Warren, Washington, Wilkinson, Yalobusha and Yazoo, the greatest excess being in Washington county in the Yazoo delta, with thirty-five thousand seven hundred and three blacks to only four thousand six hundred and sixty-nine whites. It will be noticed that thete countries are chiefly either characterized by cities or lowlands, toward both of which the blacks tend to gravitate. Since this colored element has always been the pivotal point in this state's career, we may trace it by itself, ^s has been said, the first cargo of black slaves came in in 1720, just one hundred years after their first arrival in this country; and one hundred years later — 1820 — there were thirty-two thousand eight hundred and fourteen black slaves, and four hundred and fifty-eight free blacks in this state. This last item — four hundred and fifty- eight free blacks — indicates the widespread feeling against slavery and the numerous cases 96 BIOGliAPUIGAL AND IIISTOlilOAL of voluntary emancipation by the Christian classes. This feeling was so strong in 1823 that on the presentation and advocacy of the following police measure by Mr. Poindexter, the state's constitution maker, he was defeated because of its passage: " Section 1. Be it enmied hy the Senate and House of Jiepresentatives of the State of Mississippi in General Assembly convened, That If any master, overseer or employer shall knowingly permit any slave or slaves, not belonging to him or her, to be and remain in and about his or her house or kitchen, or upon his or her plantation, ahove four hours at any one time, without leave of the owner, overseer or employer of such slave or slaves, he or she so permitting shall forfeit and pay $10 for every such offense. And every master, etc., who shall, without such leave, permit or suffer more than jive negroes, or slaves, other than those in his or her own employment, to be and remain on his or her plantation or quarter, at any one time, shall forfeit and pay $10 for every such negro or slave, which said several for- feitures shall be to the informer, and recoverable with costs, before any justice of the peace of the county or corporation where such offense is committed. Birovided always, that nothing herein contained shall be construed to prohibit negroes or slaves of the same owner, though living at different quarters, from meeting, with their owner's or overseer's leave, upon any plantation belonging to such owner; nor to restrain the meeting of slaves on their master's or overseer's business, at any public place, nor on any other lawful occasion, by license or writing, from their master, employer or overseer. " Sec. 2. All meetings or assemblies of slaves or free negroes or mulattoes, mixing or associat- ing with such slaves, ahove the number of five, at any place of public resort, or at any meetinghouse or houses' in the night, or at any school or schools, for teaching them reading or writing, either in the day or night under whatsoever pretext, shall be deemed and considered an unlawful assembly, and any justice of the peace of the county or corporation wherein such assemblage may be, either from his own knowledge or the information of others, of such unlawful assemblage or meeting, may issue his warrant, directed to any sworn officer or officers, authorizing him or them to enter the house or houses where such unlawful assemblages or meetings may be, for the purpose of apprehending or dispersing such slaves, free negroes or mulattoes, and to inflict corporal punishment on the offender or offenders, at the discretion of such justice of the peace, not exceeding thirty-nine lashes, in the manner hereinafter directed. " Sec. 3. The said officer or officers shall have power to summon any person or persons to aid and assist in the execution of any warrant or warrants directed to him or them, for the purpose aforesaid, who, on refusal, shall be subject to a fine, at the discretion of any s\ich justice of the peace, not exceeding $10; Brovided, that nothing herein contained shall be so construed as to prevent the master, employer or overseer of any slave or slaves from giving permission in writing to his, her or their slave or slaves to go to any place or places whatever, for the purpose of religious worship, Bro- vided, that such worship be conducted by a regularly ordained or licensed white minister, or attended by at least two discreet and reputable white persons, appointed by some regular church or religious society.'' It is well known that efforts had been made long before to prevent importation of slaves, and in 1828 Governor Brandon urged this upon the legislature: "The Southern states generally, having passed laws to prevent the importation of slaves for the purposes of traffic, has left Mississippi almost the only receptacle for the surplus black population of the middle states, where their labor is not found so productive as in the Soulh; the vast number annually imported into our state has excited uneasiness in the minds of many of our fellow-citizens, and caused them to feel much solicitude that we should adopt the policy of our neighboring states. Slavery is an evil at best, and has invariably operated oppress- ively on the poorer class of every community into which it has been introduced, by destroy- ing that mutual dependence which would otherwise exist between the rich and the poor, and excludes from the state, in proportion to the number of slaves, a free white population, through the means of which alone can we expect to take rank with our sister states. With these reflections I submit it to the wisdom of the general assembly to say whether the period has not arrived when Mississippi, in her own defense, should, as far as practicable, prevent the further introduction of slaves for sale." It has been said, a little caustically, that "the French first introduced yellow fever and MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 97 slaves, OQ the seacoast of Mississippi. The British afterward prosecuted the trade. And then our Northern brethren embarked in it, and by their superior energy soon monopolized the business of kidnaping Africans to sell to the Southern planter. And they received in payment indigo, tobacco, rice, sugar and cotton produced by the kidnaped slaves." Another however has spoken more truly, and truly because more fully: "They were kidnaped on their native shores by the North for money, sold to the South for money; the South bought them to make money, and kept them for money." But Mississippi aided the American Colonization society, and manumission became so frequent as to be a source of pos- sible disorder, due no doubt to the sight of the free by the bondsmen, so that the legislature forbade it, and in 1831 free negroes and mulattoes were ordered to leave the state unless special permission was granted to remain. In 1837, when there were one hundred and sixty-four thousand three hundred and ninety-three slaves in the state, about twenty thousand more than the whites, the importation of slaves into the state was forbidden. It was at this time that such events as the following not unf requently occurred. Isaac Ross, of Jefferson county, died in 1836, and among numerous similar provisions in his will a few may serve to illustrate. "First, To his granddaughter Adelaide Wade, he gave his cook, a woman named Grace, and all her children living at the time of his demise, unless the said Grace should elect of her own free will to go to Africa, in which case she and her children were to be transported there with his other slaves as hereinafter provided for. And then the said Adelaide, in lieu thereof, was to have an additional $2,000 besides her other bequests. "Second, His aforesaid granddaughter shall take charge of and maintain comfortably during their natural lives, testator's negro man Hannibal, and his three sisters, and he gave Hannibal $100, annually, for life, and to each of his sisters $50, annually. But should they elect to go to Africa, they shall be permitted to go with and on the same footing with the other slaves; and should he so elect he shall be paid when he embarks $500, in silver, in lieu of the aforesaid legacy. "Third, Enoch, wife and children were to be conveyed free of expense, in twelve months, to the free state they might prefer, there to be manumitted and receive $500, in coin, or to Africa if they chose, on the same footing with the others, and receive $500. " Fourth, Excepting Tom, William, Joe, Aleck and Henrietta and Jeffers (who are to be sold as hereinafter provided), all the slaves aged twenty-one and upward, within ten days after the growing crop shall be gathered, shall be called together by the executors and the provisions of the will be fully explained. Those electing to go shall be sent to Africa under the authority of the American Colonization society. And the remainder of his estate, real, personal and mixed (excepting always the negroes whose names are mentioned above), be offered for sale at public auction, one-half the purchase money to be paid in cash and the balance in twelve months. The proceeds of sale, and any money on hand or due, after deducting enough for the aforesaid legacies, to be paid over to the American Colonization Society, provided it will consent to appropriate it as follows, to-wit: First, To pay the expense of transporting to Africa to such of my slaves as may elect to go. Second, To expend the remainder for their suppDrt and maintenance while here. "Fifth, Should the slaves refuse to go there, they (except those that have been specially named) are to be sold, and the proceeds paid over to the American Colonization society, to be invested at six per cent., the interest to be employed for one hundred years in maintain- incf an institution of learning in Liberia, in Africa. If there shall be no government in Liberia, the said fund to be transferred to the state of Mississippi for a similar institution.' 98 BIOGRAPUIGAL AND HISTORICAL This will was contested under the anti-manumission laws of the state, but failed. Judge James Green, of Adams county, emancipated one hundred and fifty negroes and provided for their colonization at Greenland, Africa. A letter from a Presbyterian minister, also a slave-owner, to General Quitman, in 1831, may illustrate another feature by a short extract: "Honored and Bear Sir: I doubt not that you will excuse me for trespassing upon your attpntion for a few moments — especially when you learn the occasion. The church of Pine Ridge, within whose bounds you have a plantation, is now making an effort to give the gospel to every rational being under its care — the young as well as the old — the bond as well as the free. " In order to do this effectually, it is necessary to adopt the system of plantation preaching, which is now acknowledged to possess more advantages than any other. It requires, however, a greater number of preachers, than where all can be assembled in one place. " One minister can take charge of about nine plantations, giving them instructions, preaching and catechising every second or third Sabbath; preaching during the week when desired, celebrating mar- riages, visiting the sick and burying the dead. " There are already two assistants employed in my parish, and thus far the plan has succeeded admirably. " Nearlv all the planters here feel their responsibility for their servants so deeply, that they have united to provide regular and frequent religious instruction for them by good and competent teachers. In this way the servants are made accountable for themselves, and the master is relieved from his most solemn responsibility in this respect. " Nearly every plantation has adopted the plan, and by uniting, the expense is very trifling, about $1 per head, for all over four years of age. The services of an educated man (and none others are so well suited to the work), can not be obtained for a salary less than |500 or I In 1840 there were one hundred and ninety-six thousand five hundred and seventy- seven blacks and mulattoes, of whom over two thousand were free. The danger of rapid manumission as a menace to order was felt long before this, and with the forcing of the extremists North and South, a resistance to it arose, based on the old right of non-interfer- ence, and in 1846 the prohibition of slave importation was repealed. The rest is well known; the colored population at once arose in 1850 to three hundred and ten thousand eight hundred and eight, and in 1860 to four hundred and thirty- seven thousand four hundred and four. In 1866 there were three hundred and eighty one thousand two hundred and fifty-eight, a falling o£F elsewhere explained. Beginning with 1870, the figures by decades are: Four hundred and forty-four thousand two hundred and one, six hundred and fifty thousand three hundred and ninety-one, and seven hundred and forty-seven thousand seven hundred and twenty in 1890, when in all the United States there were but six million five hundred and eighty thousand seven hundred and ninety -three. Slavery, as a labor institution, has never yet been treated fully as it deserves, and the limits of such an article as this forbid more than an indication of a few of the features connected with its change to free labor. It will have been noted by this time that no efPort has been made to show up the abuses of slavery; this has been intentional, for the abuses have received plenty of public emphases in the last half century, while so very little has been said on the other side that a work in that line recently issued from a Tennessee press ^has been hailed with surprise. It is the conscience side of a question that always wins, and an effort has here been made to show that side. Ex-Governor Alcorn will be admitted by all to be as fair a judge of the transition period as can be found, and his being governor in the midst of it might warrant his being called the transition governor, as Governor Pettus was called the war governor. Said he to the mixed legislature of 1871: " When it is remembered that you came together at the bidding of a MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 99 revolution, that several of you had but just been inducted into freedom when you were called on to legislate; that very many of you, though free from birth, had had no experience in the affairs of government, and that but comparatively few of you had ever before sat in a deliber- ative assembly, you showed in the work of last session a moderation and wisdom highly creditable." In his treatment of comparative statistics of 1860 and 1870 in six representa- tive counties he says: "A new feature in the census of 1870 is that of wages. An outcrop amongst us of the new order of things, this head of national stock-taking is one of peculiar interest. According lo the forgoing table wages amounted, in six counties producing forty two thousand eight hundred and eighty bales of cotton, to a total of $1,355,203. This, be it understood, includes the value of board also. Now the aggregate value of farm products in those counties amounts to 16,262,144, and if this value is supposed to be the result of the wages paid for labor — be the falling off in the amount of our production what it may; be the crippling of our powers of production, for want of capital, what it may — we can congratu- late ourselves on a very early restoration of these shortcomings, in presence of the fact of an income on the farming of six counties in 1869-70 to an amount approaching $5,000,000." Again he says: " T was a slave owner. Apprehensive that the restraints of reason would have been insufficient in the case of a people who had been held under lifelong restraints of force, I did not accept the facts of reconstruction without some lingering doubts," and he goes on to show hopeful proofs of growth, with all the trials of the situation : Marriage licenses among the colored people were issued in thirty-one counties from 1865 to 1870 as follows in percentages of total colored population: .23, 1.53, 1.47, 1.17, 1.49, 1.43, prov- ing ' ' conclusively that the colored people are striving to rise to the moral level of their new standing before the law, to the extent of a strict adherence to, at all events, the formularies of sexual propriety." " Biit the marriage contracts of the negroes are not mere formularies," and he shows evidence of it. "Slavery is forever dead; though flowers may not be strewn upon its tomb, as they were on the tomb of Nero, freedom can well afford to bend over it to pay its memory a tribute of justice. The peculiar institution was in truth a tender nurse! Explain this by self-interest, as you will, the fact still remains. And that nursing care with- drawn by the proclamation of freedom, I feared, in my more despondent moments, that there was something in the bad prophecies which foretold of negro annihilation." He then shows the case of children to be hopeful even in their poverty, a fact in great contrast to results in Jamaica after freedom. Colored churches in six counties numbered from 1865 for a half- decade of years : One hundred and five, one hundred and twenty-five, one hundred and sixty- five, two hundred and one, two hundred and thirty-five and two hundred and eighty-three, while in twenty-two counties the report of colored preachers employed during these years were: seventy- three, one hundred and two, one hundred and thirty-four, one hundred and seventy-seven, one hundred and ninety-four, and two hundred and sixty-two; and schools, opened in twenty counties, ran: nineteen, fifty-three, eighty-one, ninety-two, one hundred and twenty-six, one hundred and forty-eight, with teachers in eighteen counties: eighteen, forty-seven, eighty-seven, one hundred and seven, one hundred and twenty-five, one hundred and seventy. The number of colored stores ran: Seven, twenty-seven, forty-three, thirty- four, sixty, sixty; of this he says: " The upward tendency of the colored people is still put in proof in the above table, and put in proof with some force when it is remembered that they enter into competition with the whites as traders, at a starting point which found them incapable of owning capital. But the number of stores other than whisky- shops is especially significant in the fact of their increase in five years of one hundred per cent, amongst the whites, for this increase points to the breaking down of the spirit of monopoly, over which 100 BIOGRAPMIOAL AND HISTORICAL comes in, with the rush of a flood, all the previously peut-up energies of the masses of the people. The hundred customers of the new order of things demand the competition that was cut off by the system which placed the demand of that hundred customers at the disposition of an individual. And thus does the regime of freedom in Mississippi appeal to the man of small means to spring into the field of that commercial activity from which he had been excluded pre- viously by a system that carried with it, as one of its coincident evils, a business of long credits. Because of its direct bearing on the increase of merchant stores, I ask you to glance back to the agricultural summary given above for that novelty in our industry, a system of wages. In six counties, containing at the present time a total population of seventy-six thousand eight hundred and forty, the amount of wages paid out for the crops of 1869 was $1,355,203; this would give an annual wage in the whole state to the amount of $11,000,000 or 112,000,000. Forty per cent, of this may be set down as offsetting the board which the returns of the census include. Deducting that, the balance placed in the hands of our laborers may be estimated, annually, at $6,000,000 or $7,000,000. The necessities of our present want of capital once superseded, we may look confidently for that activity of mercantile business, with the ' quick sales and light profits ' incident to cash custom, which is sure to follow wherever labor throws out into trade, as the heart throws out supplies of blood into the system, a weekly wage of from $120,000 to $140,000. And as we observe business growing in all the towns of the state to dimensions that are expanding those towns into cities, so we may look for a continued increase of the number of our merchant-stores until competition shall have pressed to the limits of a moderate profit all the energies placed at its service by a system of universal liberty. The freedom of the negro, throwing thus open new fields of investment and energy, has expanded largely the freedom of the whites." In mechanic trades two results of the transition were remarkable. Colored shoemaker shops for the five years beginning with 1865 in seventeen counties ran: Twenty-oue, twenty- eight, twenty-four, forty nine, fifty-four, sixty-three, and the blacksmiths: forty, sixty three, seventy-four, eighty-three, ninety-eight and one hundred and thirteen. Said he regarding these figures: "They show that the shoemaker that was the servant of an individual in 1860 is now a servant of the public. The smith, who was confined in his usefulness to the demands of one great planter is, on the contrary, available now to shoe the horse and share the plow of a score of small farmers!" As to propertj' he says: "Tenant farming has expanded amongst the whites since 1860 about one hundred per cent. In that year it was of course unknown amongst the negroes." The product in cotton on such farms for two years is given for twenty-three counties: In 1869, whites, twenty-seven thousand and seventy-five bales, and blacks, forty thousand five hundred and sixty-one bales; in 1870, whites, twenty thousand eight hundred and ninety- three, and colored, fifty thousand nine hundred and seventy- eight. "While the industrial monopoly of the old system is seen, thus, in the act of partition amongst the masses of the people, the popularization of our production comes to us accompanied by the further grati- fying fact that the negro has advanced in four short years to the condition of employing, as a farmer, active capital of his own! From twenty counties I have received full returns of the amount of cotton grown by colored people as owners of the soil. While one hun- dred thousand six hundred and ninety-seven bales were grown in those counties by white landowners in 1869, the number grown by colored landowners in those counties in 1869 was four thousand six hundred and forty-five. The white owner of the soil produced in those counties one hundred and two thousand four hundred and ninety-one bales in 1870; the col- ored owner of the soil produced in them during the same period six thousand one hundred MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 101 and forty-one bales! The surprise with which these facts will come in proof before you, gentlemen, can not be greater than that with which they have come in proof before me. And my pleasure in the case is hardly less than my surprise, for one of the most serious fears for the working of reconstruction lay in the absence of a middle class constituting a link between the masses of our property-holders on the one hand, and the masses of our ballot casting labor on the other. "In seven counties selected as an illustration of the results shown by the national census, I find the following surprising evidence of negro thrift:" Sixty-nine real estate colored owners' property valued at $30,680, three thousand seven hundred and ninety-eight holding personality of $630,860, and one hundred and seventy- eight holding both realty and personality to the amount of $220,700. "Amongst forty three thousand negroes of AVashington, Madison, Holmes, Rankin, Neshoba, Jones and Lauderdale, who had been plucked penniless four short years ago from the clutches of the unwise legislation of 1865, three thousand four hundred and forty-one accumulated wealth — what the economists hold to represent the political virtue of denial — to the enormous amount of $882,240!" The language is here quoted exact, '^verbatim et literatim et punc- tuatim," so it may be realized that what is now plainly evident was not so much so twenty years ago, and it may serve to illustrate the apprehensive feeling on all sides. It would be interesting to multiply studies of this kind, but enough has been given to illustrate, and that is all the limits of this article will allow. While the negro was the pivot of this transitional movement, and so becomes the center of the problem, and, may be, attracting from its students more than its share of attention and prominence, it is a fact that the results effected by the transition on the white popula- tion are pregnant with as great, if not greater, interest to the student of economics. This phase has hardly been touched upon yet, and so intricate a situation deserves more than the mere hints that can be made in limited space. The old regime developed planters who were princely and a very poor lower class whites; there was no great middle class, such as is now seen everywhere. The planters were, and had to be, men of large executive ability and far-seeing sagacity. Their wealth was chiefly in labor, their ownership of human labor; but they had great capital too, and the combination made, for them, remarkable resources. These gave them the opportunities and advantages, in a lavish degree, afforded by the whole earth. It enabled the women to become queenly and the men royal in all phases of life. Their hospitality is a matter of common fame. Their artistic, literary and like acquirements became their pride — and justly so. Political, military and professional careers were considered the fit courses for them to pursue. Their vast superiority over the masses of humanity nearest them gave them a sense of power that could brook little opposition, and the duel was natural; while in the minds of their inferiors a halo of hero-worship surrounded them, that is not common where a great middle class intervenes. These conditions made a sentiment against manual labor. They made a dependence on another's labor, and the inferior, relieved of all responsibility, became childishly dependent on his master. They made a lofty pride in the one that was the parent of finest virtues as well as vices; and in the other a servility attended with like results. Every condition has its compensations. The overturning came. The loss of wealth and labor, while not tending to create those beautiful character products that we admire as we do a statue, yet awakened new powers and energies in these old families and a self-reliance in them, especially the younger gener- ation — which, grafted on to the old, are making the world tarn to look at the new South, 103 BIOGBAFHIOAL AND HiaWBIOAL and placing a new term in the literature of the day — " Southern writer" — that has become its most marked feature. But still more — a great njiddle class has arisen and is still rising, which loudly demands and secures recognition. Among others in this class may be found the sons and daughters of the once so-called poor whites, of which Mississippi had a less number than most Southern states. The rise of this class gives labor a new status in the sentiment of the public. But this change is only in the horizon of its progress. Two items at this point may serve to show this state's excellent condition in regard to all classes. The number of paupers in almshouses in the United States is a little over seventy- three thousand. New York has the largest number — ten thousand two hundred and seventy-two, and New Mexico the smallest — one. Mississippi comes along among the lowest states, with only four hundred and ninety-four, of which two hundred and five are whites and two hundred and eighty-nine colored. The number of county-jail prisoners in the United States on June 1, 1890, was nineteen thousand five hundred and thirty-eight. Penn- sylvania had the largest number — two thousand three hundred and eighty-six, and North Dakota the lowest, with but twenty-five; while Mississippi came below midway, with but two hundred and eighty-four — only forty-eight being white and two hundred and thirty-six colored. From the people turn to the land development. "In one sense of the word," says Maj. A. B. Hurt, in a government report in 1884, "Mississippi is still a new state, with its immense natural advantages as yet mainly unappropriated. Its great forests of valuable woods have been comparatively little depleted; many of its numerous fine mill and manu- facturing sites await the power of skill and capital; more than one-half of its area remains untouched by the husbandman, while the part already in cultivation may be made double its productive power by improved methods of agriculture." And while the opening up, by various agencies before referred to, had changed this considerably since that date, the fact in general may still be used with some allowance. In June, 1845, there were ten million four hundred and nine thousand and thirty-four acres of unsold public land, out of a total state acreage of twenty-nine million nine hundred and fifty-eight thousand four hundred. Of this enormous amount one million and eighteen thousand one hundred and fourteen acres had been on the market five years; four hundred and fifty-one thousand three hundred and ninety had been offered for ten years; two million nine hundred and seventy-four thousand and ninety-seven acres in market for fifteen years; nine hundred and thirty-four thousand one hundred and thirty- one for twenty years; eight hundred and ninety-four thousand four hundred and twenty-four for twenty-five years; two million nine hundred and twenty-four thousand one hundred and seventy-two for thirty years; and one million two hundred and twenty-two thousand seven hundred and six for over thirty years — and all at the low rate of $1.25 an acre! Says Mr. Harper, the geologist, in 1857 of the Yazoo delta: "It is still a wilderness, the retreat of the bear, wolf and panther. The prejudice of its unfitness for cultivation has only lately been removed from the minds of the inhabitants of our own and other states, and the ax of the woodman scarcely begun its ravages." Note what the war did. Says Governor Alcorn in 1871: "Our improved land has decreased in breadth one- ninth. This fact is very encouraging, seeing that we still retain, substantially, our conquests from the forest. The small decline of our improved land in farms, combined with the large decline in our areas of unimproved land in farms, points to the conclusion that our young ' settlements ' have been given up again to the bear and MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 103 panther. But, though progress is seen thus to be, for the time, arrested, we still hold, in fact, the great mass of our landed wealth of 1860. It is true the value of agricultural estate now shows a falling off on that of 1800 of nearly seventy per cent., but the basis of that wealth still unchanged in its breadth, the restoration to be effected in that case is that mainly of the establishment of order and the elevation of labor.'' Then came the great for- feiture of land for taxes. Between 1871 and 1875, said Governor Lowry: " About twenty- seven per cent, of the total area of this state was forfeited for taxes;" hxithj 1883 all except about seven hundred thousand acres had been redeemed or purchased. Between 1875 and 1885 about five million acres were restored to the tax rolls of the state; and between 1880 and 1885 the large amount of four million two hundred and three thousand one hundred and ninety acres of public land had been sold, of which five hundred and one thousand four hundred and fifty acres had been taken up under homestead laws. It should be recalled that since the congressional act of September 25, 1850, down to 1883 Mississippi had received about three million acres of swamp lands, and under the act of September 4, 1841, about five million acres for internal improvement purposes. On the first day of 1890 there remained unsold of the swamp land two hundred and twenty -seven thousand six hundred and thirty-two acres, and of the internal improvement lands only two thousand six hundred and eighty-three acres. In the two years preceding that date over twenty thou- sand acres of the former at a dollar an acre, and nearly ten thousand acres of the latter at fifty cents per acre show how fast available lands of all kinds have been taken up. In 1888 there was still an area of seven million acres under cultivation, less than one-fourth, but extension in this direction has been rapid since that date. The census of 1890 wil] show, when made public, considerable change from these figures, for the opening up of lands in the delta and elsewhere, due to railway extension, has been remarkable as a leading feature of the decade of the eighties, and especially the latter half. Said George W. Carlisle, commissioner of immigration, writing in the year 1888: "In the past two years, about one million three hundred thousand acres of land have been sold by the commissioner of lands. Most of the lands were purchased by parties from beyond the limits of the state. During the same time the register of the United States land office, at Jackson, Miss. , sold in our state about one million acres of government lands. These large sales of lands prove conclusively that capitalists have confidence in our state and its prosperity. By an act of congress, approved May 16, 1888, all United States lands are withdrawn from sale by cash purchase in Mississippi; the only way by which these lands can be obtained from the government is under the homestead laws." When this increased interest in lands began to be most marked, in 1881, Major Hurt showed the average value of land per acre was $17.79, while the averages in Illinois, Indi- ana and Iowa were respectively $38.65, $45.66 and $23.52, when the average acre-crop values were but a little more than half that of Mississippi's rate — $12.21 per acre. Said he: "It appears from the above, price of lands, or their market value, in Mississippi, bears no just proportion to their real intrinsic value. Lands that will average a money value prod- uct of $12.21 per acre should average a market value of at least $50 per acre, especially in such a temperate, healthy climate. Without discussing the cause of the low price of lands, it may be remarked that there is too much land for the population and capital. Land is plentiful, easy to obtain, and, therefore, cheap. If Mississippi could double or treble its population by the addition of thrifty, industrious immigrants, possessed of some capital, the price of lands would, no doubt, increase to something like their real value. This is now being accomplished, and it is stated, on the authority of the state commissioner of immigra- 104 BIOQRAPHIOAL AND HISTORICAL tion, that lands have advanced from fifty to one hundred per cent in the past two years. It is to be regretted that the state has so little stalistical data to illustrate in detail the progress made since the last census. Unfortunately, there is no statistical bureau in Mississippi." The foregoing will add new significance to the growth of Mississippi in wealth. This need not consider slaves after the consideration hereinbefore accorded that subject, and indicating that as the greatest source of wealth. Of the general subject it has been said that the emancipation of slaves was a loss of over $600,000,000 to their owners; and that, were the total cost of the civil war to be divided by the number of slaves set free, that freedom would cost $700 per slave. To illustrate the general wealth development, a glance at census matter for the years 1812, 1840, 1857, 1870, 1880 and 1887 must suffice, as these dates indicate somewhat nearly the beginning, middle and close of the old labor system of slavery, and like periods in the new system. In 1812 there were one thousand three hundred and thirty private looms at work in the state, making annually three hundred and forty-two thousand four hundred and seventy-two yards of cotton cloth, four hundred and fifty yards of linen and seven thousand eight hun- dred and ninety- eight yards of woolen stuffs. There was one carding machine and twenty- two mills with eight hundred and seven spindles. Ten tanneries produced $39,595 worth of leathers, while the distilleries numbered six, and the tin-shops one. The largest number of looms were in Madison and Amite counties, while the woolens were entirely in Adams, Claiborne and Wilkinson. The tanneries were in Adams, Jefferson, Claiborne, Wilkinson and Washington, while Madison reveled in over half of the entire number of distilleries. This is no small showing, and is indicative of only one line, and that the least developed line of industry — manufactures. Its agriculture, cotton, slaves and stock were its great wealth. In the absence of statistics these must be inferred for the present. Nearly thirty years later, 1840, one hundred and thirty-nine thousand seven hundred and twenty-four whites were employed in agriculture, one thousand three hundred and three in commerce, four thousand one hundred and fifty-one in manufacture and trades, thirty-three were ocean and one hundred were river sailors, while the professions enrolled one thousand five hundred and six. In stock there were in the state one hundred and nine thousand two hundred and twenty- seven horses and mules, six hundred and twenty-three thousand one hundred and ninety- seven neat cattle, one hundred and twenty-eight thousand three hundred and sixty-seven sheep, one million one thousand two hundred and nine swine, and poultry to the value of $369,482. The granaries were full: One hundred and ninety- six thousand six hundred and twenty six bushels of wheat, eleven thousand four hundred and forty-four of rye, thirteen million one hundred and sixty-one thousand two hundred and thirty-seven of Indian corn, one thousand six hundred and fifty- four of barley, and six hun- dred and sixty eight thousand six hundred and twenty-four bushels of oats. Potatoes scored a total of one million six hundred and thirty thousand one hundred bushels; wax, six thousand eight hundred and thirty-five pounds; tobacco, eighty -three thousand four hundred and seventy- one pounds; rice, seven hundred and seventy- seven thousand one hundred and ninety-five pounds; wool, one hundred and seventy-five thousand one hundred and ninety- five pounds, and the great king product, cotton, J'ising to the immense proportions of one hundred and ninety -three million four hundred'and one tiitjustod live hundred and seventy- seven pounds — all showing wealth in these line's. " The dairy made a product of value $359,585, the orchard made $14,458, and lumber $192,794, while tar, pitch and turpentine rolled out two thousand two hundred and forty-eight barrels. Trade and manufactures MEMOIRS OP MISSISSIPPI. 105 loomed up too. There were seven commercial companies, sixty-seven commercial houses in the foreign trade with a capital of 1673,900; seven hundred and fifty-five retail dry goods stores, with a capital of 15,004,420: two hundred and eighty-eight in the lumber trade, with 1132,175 capital; fifty-three cotton factories had three hundred and eighteen spindles employing eighty-one hands and capital to the sum of 16,420; 15,140 worth of hats and caps were made by thirteen persons on a capital of 18,100; one hundred and twenty eight tanneries employed one hundred and forty-nine hands and had a capital of .f70,870; forty- two other leather factories produced $118, 167 worth of goods on a capital of $41,945; one pottery had two hands producing wares to the amount of $1,200 on $200 capital; four drug and paint stores, with an aggregate capital of $500, sold $3,125 in profits; $10,500 worth of confectionery made in two places; machinery made to the amount of $242,225; brick and lime making was rewarded by $273,870 product on $222,745 capital; three hundred and twelve thousand and eighty-four pounds of soap were made; thirty-one thousand nine hundred and fifty-seven tallow and ninety seven pounds of wax candles were made; wagonmaking scored $49,693, with one hundred and thirty- two men on $34,335 capital; sixteen flourmills made one thousand eight hundred and nine barrels of flour, worth $486,864, on $1,219,845 capital; $13,925 was spent in building vessels; forty-one men made furniture worth $34,450 on a capital of $28,010; fourteen distilleries produced three -thousand one hundred and fifty gallons of liquor; two breweries, on a capital of $910, made one hundred and thirty-two gal- lons; the state boasted of one hundred and forty-four stone houses and two thousand two hundred and forty-four wooden ones, aggregating a value of $1,175,513; there were twenty- eight printing offices, one bindery, two dailies, one semi- weekly and twenty- eight weeklies, employing ninety-four men and $83,510 in capital. The total manufactured product was worth $1,797,727. There were three colleges, with two hundred and fifty students; seventy- one academies, with two thousand five hundred and fifty- three students; three hundred and eighty-two primary schools, with eight thousand two hundred and thirty-six pupils; and eight thousand three hundred and sixty whites over twenty years of age who could neither read nor write. These latter facts are given to indicate the general intelligence connected with this wealth. Seventeen years later, 1857, figures had grown larger: There was money at interest to the amount of $6,713,658, and merchants had a trade of the comely proportions of $15,- 552,194. Bank stock was held to the amount of $615,100, and auctioneers had a business of $51,772. Such items as eleven thousaad four hundred and eighty- six carriages valued at $1,666,079, or thirteen thousand nine hundred and forty-one watches worth $815,140, or eighteen thousand five hundred and ninety-nine clocks worth $168,939, indicate a luxurious wealth over years then past, along with $223,178 in gold and silver plate, or two thousand two hundred and thirty-three pianos worth $494,628. Counting herds of cattle only above twenty head there were two hundred and twenty thousand six hundred and sixty-four, while six thousand four hundred and forty-three horses, worth $896,044, were taxable totals in that line. Taxable slaves numbered .three hundred and thirty-four thousand eight hundred and eighty-six to a total free white poll of fifty three thousand three hundred and one. The taxable land acreage was fifteen million nine hundred and thirteen thousand five hun- dred and twenty-two, worth $88,705, 203..- Now add to this a season product of cotton — taking that of 1859, two years later, for example — one million three hundred thousand bales worth $45,000,000, and the slave period «loses with striking figures in wealth. Governor Alcorn's comparison of 1860 and 1870 in six representative counties showed a decrease of melancholy proportions in everything save oats and molasses, both of which 106 BlOORAPniOAL AND IIISTORIOAJj bad increased. The decrease in improved farm lands was eleven per cent. , in unimproved farm lands thirty-four per cent., farm values sixty-niue percent., farm implements sixty-one per cetit., stock values forty-six, cotton bales of four hundred and lifty pounds sixty- three per cent., corn sixty-five, slaughtered animals fifty-six, horses forty-nine, mules thirty- six per cent., cows twenty-seven per cent., a decrease of forty-seven per cent, in oxen, forty- three per cent, in other cattle, thirty-eight in sheep, sixty-five in swine, eighty-six per cent, in wheat, ninety-eight in rye, sixty in rice, thirty-nine in tobacco, eighty-nine in peas and beans, eighty-three per cent, loss in Irish potatoes, sixty-four in sweet potatoes, seventy- six in wool, sixty-three in butter, ninety-six in cheese, sixty-two per cent, loss in home manufactures, and eighty two in orchard produce. And these counties represented about an eighth or ninth of the state in wealth and population. Compare 1870 and 1880. Corn, fifteen million six hundred and thirty seven thousand three hundred and sixteen bushels in 1870 to twenty-one thousand three Jajndred and forty in 1880; cotton, five hundred and sixty-four thousand niae hundred and thirty-eight bales in 1870 to nine hundred and sixty-three thousand one hundred and eleven in 1880; oats, four hundred and fourteen thousand five hundred and eighty- six bushels to one million nine hun- dred and fifty-nine thousand six hundrld ahxfiwenty; wheat, two hundred and seventy- four thousand four hundred and seventy-nine bushels to two hundred and eighteen thousand eight hundred and ninety, a fallfng off; hay, eight thousand three hundred and twenty-four tons to eight thousand eight hundred and ninety-four; molasses, two hundred and nineteen thou- sand six hundred and seventy-four gallons in 1870 to three hundred and thirty-six thousand six hundred and twenty-five in 1880; rice, three hundred and seventy-four thousand six hun- dred aad twenty-seven pounds to one million seven hundred and eighteen thousand nine hun- dred and fifty-one in 1880; Irish potatoes, two hundred and fourteen thousand one hundred and eighty-nine bushels in 1870 to three hundred- and three thousand eight hundred and twenty-one; sweet potatoes, one million seven hundred and forty-three thousand four hun- dred and thirty-two bushels in 1870 to three million six hundred and ten thousand six hun- dred and sixty-three; orchard values, $71,018 to $378,145, a remarkable gain full of signifi- cance; stock, one million seven hundred and twenty-four thousand two hundred and ninety- five head to two million three hundred and ninety-eight thousand nine hundred and thirty- four in 1880, a great gain; butter, two million six hundred and thirteen thousand five hun- dred and twenty-one pounds in 1870 to seven million four hundred and fifty-four thousand six hundred and fifty seven in 1880, right in line with the last; and wooT, two hundred and eighty-eight thousand two hundred and eighty-five pounds to seven hundred and thirty- four thousand six hundred and forty-three pounds in 1880, and the entire assessed valuation in 1880 was $110,628,129. At this writing the census returns for 1890 are not available. A comparison of 1880 and 1886 will show to what an advance it may be expected to reach, however. Cotton rose from over nine hundred and sixty-three thousand bales in 1880 to over one million in 1883, and only fell to eight hundred and thirty-eight thousand six hundred and ninety -two bales in 1886, valued at $37,120,000, a less variation than in most other Southera states. Corn rose from over fifteen million bushels in 1880 to twenty-five million five hundred and seven thou- sand in 1886. Wheat fell again from over two hundred and eighteen thousand bushels in 1880 to one hundred and seventy three thousand bushels in 1886, but oats sprang up from over one million nine hundred and fitty-nine thousand in 1880 to three million three hundred and sixty-eight thousand bushels in 1886. Tobacco rose from over four hundred and fourteen thousand .pounds to about five hundred and twenty five thousand; Irish potatoes from over MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 107 three hundred and three thousand bushels to about six hundred and thirteen thousand; sweet potatoes from over three million six hundred thousand bushels to about four million two hun- dred and eighty-five thousand in 1886; butter made the remarkable rise of from over seven million four hundred, and fifty-four thousand pounds in 1880 to about fifteen million eight hundred and twenty-five thousand pounds in 1886; hay, also, rose from eight thousand eight hundred and ninety four tons to fourteen thousand five hundred tons, and molasses from over three hundred and thirty-six thousand gallons in 1880 to about six hundred and fifteen thousand gallons in 1886. The acreage in farm products increased from five million two hundred and sixteen thousand nine hundred and thirty-seven acres in 1879 to five million five hundred and twelve thousand in 1886 as follows: In 1879 it was five million two hundred and sixteen thousand nine hundred and thirty-seven; in 1882 it was five million three hundred and two thousand; in 1883 it was five million three hundred thousand; in 1884 it was five million four hundred and sixty-five thousand; in 1885 it was five million four hundred and ninety-two thousand ; in 1886 it was five million five hundred and twelve thousand. The value of the yield for those years varied between about $62,000,000 in 1884 and about 169,- 000,000 in 1883, the value, however, being less a measure of increase than the acreage, for the former often decreases in proportion to the increase of product. These items serve merely to illustrate the state's increase in wealth, not to indicate her varied sources nor totals of wealth. These must be considered separately, farther on, as far as results are obtainable. Her wealth was once largely in but two properties, slaves and cot- ton; or, at an earlier date only tobacco and cotton; or, at a still later date chiefly cotton without the slaves, but now it has become divided among numerous lines. Labor and capi- tal were once largely tied up in cotton production so in advance of all other industries as to throw them in the background, but now see the great wealth in lumber, in stockraising, in fruit culture, in manufactures, in trade, in dairy products, and numerous other lines. This is development as well as mere increase, and means a real wealth for which the past decade has been remarkable above all predecessors. Let this illustrate and prove it: The assessed valuation per capita in the state was $97.76 in 1880; in 1890 it was $122.15, an increase of 42.39 per cent., and this too when the increase in population was only 13.96 per cent. This is a better showing than for the nation as a whole, for the United State.s' increase was only 48.46 percent, with 24.86 per cent, increase in population. These figures are for both personal and real pr.operty, and they mean comparative increase and development, not com- parative amount of wealth, for while Mississippi has surpassed many states, even the nation at large, in rate of development, she is still below many in amount of wealth. For example, the comparison with Massachusetts' total assessed valuation in 1890 of $2,154,134,626 with that of the Bayou state, $157,518,906 is almost as twenty to one. Mississippi's assessed wealth comes more nearly reaching that of Vermont, Nebraska, West Virginia, or South Carolina, being less than the first three and greater than the last mentioned state. Those who are working to advance Mississippi's manufacturing interests find abundant encour- agement in the contrast between this state and Massachusetts, the contrast of an agricultural with a manufacturing state. Mississippi's per cent, of increase, however, is almost the same to a figure as that of the wealthiest state in the nation, New York, whose assess sd valuation is $3,775,325,938, namely 42. 39 per cent, and 42. 36 per cent, respectively, a showing slightly more favorable to this state. But as this state probably never can be wealthy from mining, and is still only in its infancy in manufactures, it may be of interest to see to what degree it is an agricultural state. "The importance of agriculture to the people of Mississippi," said Maj. A. B. a 108 BIOGRAPHIGAL^ AND HISTOBIOAL Hurt, ia his government report of 1884, "may be better appreciated when it is remembered that three hundred and thirty-nine thousand nine hundred and thirty-eight, or more than eighty-one per cent, of its entire working population, are engaged in agricultural pursuits. The distribution is as follows; All occupations, four hundred and fifteen thousand five hun- dred and six; agricultural laborers, two hundred and fifteen thousand four hundred and seventy-two; farmers and planters, one hundred and twenty-three thousand three hundred and eighty-two; gardeners, nurserymen and vine-growers, six hundred and twenty; stock- raisers, drovers and herders, ninety-three; turpentine farmers and laborers, two hundred and forty-eight, and others in agriculture, one hundred and twenty-three. Total, three hundred and thirty-nine thousand, nine hundred and thirty-eight." Since this is the case, let the progress of this department of industry be traced. "Several years elapsed after the establishment of the French colony at Biloxi," writes State Geologist B. L. C. Wailes, in 1854, ' ' before even the common vegetables of the gar- den were cultivated, and the sterile soil of the seashore was not calculated to invite a more extended culture, if the character and habits of the colonists, chiefly soldiers, deriving all their supplies from the mother country, had inclined them to such pursuits. It was, there- fore, not until the province came under the control of the Company of the Indies that the tillage of the earth became to any extent a fixed pursuit. The first impulse was then given to planting by the large grants to European capitalists, who sent out laborers to open and improve their lands. The most efficient of these were German redemptioners; but the nature of the climate and the heavy labor of removing the dense forests, rendered the prog- ress of improvement tedious and discouraging. It was soon found necessary to resort to Africa for suitable operatives for the prosecution of agricultural enterprise. These were introduced by the company from time to time, to a limited extent, and disposed of to the colonists at established and moderate rates, payable in annual installments in the product of the soil. These products were naturally confined, for a considerable period, to articles of necessity for home consumption, and notwithstanding some large grants were made near Natchez and on the Yazoo, ostensibly for the cultivation of tobacco and indigo; and, although some ' large plantations, with extensive improvements,' were established near the former place, it does not appear that anything beyond the spoils of the chase or the peltries procured by traffic with the Indian tribes, was exported from the country. By the massacre of the inhabitants by the Natchez, in 1729 and 1730, these establishments were broken up, and from this period the French were too much engaged in exterminating the Natchez and in hostile incursions among the Chickasaws, to reoccupy and cultivate, advan- tageously, their regained possessions. It was, therefore, under the occupancy of the country by the English that we trace the first germ of successful and systematic agriculture in Mississippi. The emigration which ensued, on the change of rulers, being chiefly from the Carolinas, Virginia, Jersey and New England, was from a class differing essentially in habits from their more volatile and restless predecessors, the French, who were more addicted to the chase and to trafficking with their Indian neighbors than to more laborious and settled pursuits. Many of these settlers were accustomed to agriculture, and being generally accompanied by their families, resorted at once to the tillage of the earth as a means of support. Their cultivation was necessarily rude, and their implements few and imperfect; yet their products were varied and, for the purpose of subsistence, ample. Almost every article of prime necessity which the soil could yield was produced by them to the extent of their wants," such as in 1775 Mr. Dunbar mentions — rice, tobacco, flaxseed, indigoseed, corn, buckwheat, barley, peas and other things. MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 109 The account proceeds: "Cattle and swine required little other attention than protection from the bear and wolf of the forest, and were raised abundantly, whilst the small farms, frequently confined to a few acres, exhibited a variety of production that is now (1854) rarely found together in the county. Indian corn, wheat, oats, rye, rice and potatoes, cotton flax, tobacco and indigo, were almost universally cultivated, but rarely, if at all, for exporta- tion. In the early stages of the settlement of the colony, many of the common conveniences of life were necessarily dispensed with, or supplied with such substitutes as ingenuity or skill could devise or fabricate from the productions of the country. Not many years since, were to be seen the molds in which the head of one of the most respectable and wealthy families of the present day (1854) was wont to cast the pewter platters and spoons which constituted the only plate of himself and neighbors. The inventories of the confiscated efPects of some prominent, and, as then regarded, opulent persons, yet preserved among the Spanish archives, exhibit a simplicity of attire and furniture in strong contrast with that which would now (1854) satisfy those of very contracted means or humble station. The scarcity and high price of iron, and the consequent imperfection of agricultural implements was perhaps most felt and least easily remedied. At that period cut nails were not invented, and the wrought nail cost $1 a pound. Tools and all iron implements bore a corre- sponding price, owing in some degree to the high freight on heavy articles up the Mississippi, the voyage from New Orleans to Natchez, made by keelboats and barges, requiring several weeks. A set of plow irons was, therefore, an acquisition of no little value. Iron entered into the composition of few of the wagons or carts, and the wheels were often made of a transverse section or disk sawed and properly fashioned from the trunk of a tree of suitable diameter. These trucks constituted, to considerable extent, the only means of transportation of heavy articles. Even as late as after the introduction of Whitney's saw-gin, a now (1854) opulent planter, a venerable and highly respected citizen, a native of Adams county, states that in a wagon of this kind he hauled his crop of cotton for two years to a neighboring gin — a framework of cane serving in lieu of plank in the construction of the body. Not many years before the same gentleman was reduced to the necessity of fabricating his only plow by framing a common mattock to a beam, that being the only implement suited to the purpose left on his plantation by the depredating Indians. This was only about sixty-five years since (i. e. before 1854), and occurred within ten miles of Natchez, and to an individual belonging to one of the most opulent and influential families in that day. Flax was raised chiefly for shoe thread and similar uses, but in some families linen cloth was made. Leather was commonly tanned throughout the country in large troughs dug out of the trunks of trees. From the earliest occupancy by the English, cotton in small quantities, sufficient for domestic purposes, was habitually cultivated. It was of the black or naked seed variety, was planted in hills and cultivated with the hoe. Fifty or sixty pounds was the ordinary quantity gathered in a day. The seeds were picked out by the hand, or separated from the lint by means of the small roller gin. It was spun and woven at home, and constituted the chief apparel of the inhabitants; the small quantity of indigo then grown, and the numerous dyestuils the forests afforded, supplied all the coloring materials required for dyeing the cloth. Eice formed an important article of diet, supplying largely the deficiency of flour; the colonists, especially the French, accommodating themselves slowly and reluctantly to bread made from the Indian corn. It was prepared by pounding in common wooden mortars, and perhaps was not as fair as that which we now (1854) purchase, but of far richer flavor and more nutritious. In the absence of millstones, when they could not be obtained, the Indian corn was reduced to meal by pounding in the same way. Large herds of cattle were owned by no BIOQRArniCAL AND nrsToniOAL the more opulent inhabitants, for which the garrison at Natchez afforded the chief market, and some were driven to New Orleans shortly previous to the change of government. The price of common stock cattle was about the same then as at this time" (1854). As this narrative so well shows both the early and closing years of the slave epoch, in contrast, it is continued freely: "When the country came under the dominion of Spain a market was opened in New Orleans; a trade in tobacco was established, and a fixed remu- nerative price was paid for it, delivered at the king' s warehouses. Tobacco thus became the first marketable staple production of Mississippi. The tobacco plant, indigenous to the county, soon came into general cultivation. The larger planters packed it in the usual way in hogsheads. Much of it, however, was put up in carrets, as they were called, resembling in size and form two small sugar-loaves united at the larger ends. The stemmed tobacco was laid smoothly together in that form, coated with wrappers or the extended leaf, enveloped in a cloth, and then firmly compressed by a cord wrapped around the parcel, and was suffered to remain until the carret acquired the necessary dryness and solidity, when, together with the surrounding cloth, it was removed, and strips of lind bark were bound around it at proper distances, in such a manner as to secure it from unwrapping and losing its propor- tions. The rope used for this purpose was manufactured by the planter, from the inner bark of the lind, or basswood, then one of the most common trees of the forest. In those days, when the roads were indifferent, and wagons and carts few, the tobacco hogsheads were frequently geared to a horse by means of a pair of rude temporary shafts, connected with the heading, and in this manner rolled to the shipping point, or to market at Natchez; much being transported in this way from the settlements on Cole's creek, and from greater dis- tances. To convey the tobacco to market in New Orleans, it was usual for several planters to unite and build a flatboat, with which one of the number would accompany the joint adventure, deliver the tobacco at the public warehouse, and, if it passed inspection, receive the proceeds, and return home by land, generally on foot; the payment being made on a written acknowledgment, or bon, as it was called, which entitled the holder to receive the amount from the governor or commandant at Natchez, thus obviating the labor and risk of packing the specie several hundred miles. The monopoly of the tobacco trade was retained by the king of Spain, and the price paid for all that passed inspection at his warehouses was uniform. The price was regarded as liberal, and yielded a fair return for its production, whilst the stability and certainty of a market encouraged an increased cultivation; the county began to prosper, and the planters were able to make purchases of slaves, the current price of which averaged about $350. There was no classification in the sale of tobacco. If the article passed inspection, it was taken, and the quality was generally such that for that cause it could not be rejected. Nevertheless, it sometimes happened that an unobjectionable article was left upon the planter's hands, if, from ignor- ance of established usage, he had omitted the customary douceur to the inspector. Whether these usages, reacting upon the producers, had any affect upon the quality or condition of the tobacco in the end, is not, perhaps, altogether clear, but it is certain that, from some cause, either from fraud in packing, the falling off in quality, or the competition of the Kentucky tobacco introduced into New Orleans, under General Wilkinson's contracts with the Spanish authorities, or by their connivance, the price was so reduced that the further cultivation of it in Mississippi, for exportation, was in a few years wholly abandoned, greatly to the injury and embarrassment of the planters, who had, for the purchase of slaves, contracted debts which they now found it difficult to discharge." Indigo had not been cultivated in the Natchez district as late as 1783, and until the MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. Ill failure of the tobacco business it was produced only for the seed, which was supplied to the various settlements below. Continuing the narrative: "The tobacco crop, being no longer profitable, indigo, which had been cultivated for some time in Louisiana, was now resorted to. This most ofPensive and unwholesome pursuit was, nevertheless, the most profitable one in which the planter could engage. Seed was obtained at the cost of about 150 per barrel, and some of the small farmers engaged in cultivating the indigo exclu- sively for the seed to supply those whose larger means enabled them to erect the necessary fixtures, and to prosecute the cultivation and manufacture on a profitable scale. Indigo ferra tinctoria, from which the indigo pigment of commerce is prepared, said to have been introduced from India, flourishes luxuriantly in the Southern states, where a variety termed the atramentum anil is said to grow spontaneously. It was cultivated in drills, and required careful handling when young and tender, the subsequent cultivation being similar to that of the cotton plant. ^Yhen mature, in good land, it attained the hight of about three feet. It was then, previous to going to seed, cut with a reap-hook from day to day, tied in bundles in quantities suited to the capacity of the steeping- vats, to which it was immediately transferred." "The whole process was of the most disgusting character. Myriads of flies were generated in it, which overspread the whole country. The plant itself, when growing, was infested by swarms of grasshoppers, by which it was sometimes totally destroyed, and the fetor arising from the putrid weed thrown from the vats was intolerable. The drainings from these refuse accummulations into the adjacent streams killed the fish. Those in Second creek, previously abounding in trout and perch, it is said were destroyed in this way. It is not surprising, therefore, that the cultivation of indigo was abandoned in a few years, and gave way to that of cotton, so remarkable for its freedom from the disagreeable concomitants of tobacco and indigo cultui'e, and comparatively so light, neat and agreeable in its handling." Cotton is from the Italian word cotone, and so called because of its resemblance to the quince down or cotogni. Its botanical name is gossypium. It was well known to the ancients, and introduced in England so late as 1640, whence, in 1719, it was placed in South Carolina, whose first provisional congress, in 1775, " recommended to its people to raise cotton." Georgia led ofF, and the first cotton was shipped to Liverpool in 1784, and five years later the Sea Island variety was introduced from Jamaica. It is probable that the French introduced it into Mississippi, as it was growing in Katchez in 1722, and Bien- ville reports its cultivation in 1735. The Sea Island variety grew on the Eeaboard; the upland and Tennessee varieties were grown also; but the Mexican soon became the leader. This, it is said, was introduced from Mexico by General Wilkinson's special envoy — Walter Burling, of Natchez, who, wishing to secure some of the seed from the viceroy of Mexico, was told it was against the law, but, as Mexican dolls were not in the forbidden list, although stuffed with cotton seed, the friendly viceroy assured him he could carry all the dolls home he desired. This was in 1806. The first gin used was much like a clothes- wringer in principle and size; then a treadle was added, and so used about 1764. A few improvements were made, and bowing was used. It was on March 14, 1794, that a Yankee machine lifted the repressive difficulty of seeding off of cotton culture (Whitney's cotton- gin), and in a single decade the nation's crop was increased from about 1150,000 to at least 18,000,000. In 1795 Daniel Clarke, near Fort Adams, had one of these gins made, and in 1798 cotton was shipped from the gin on Pine Ridge, near Natchez, belonging to Thomas Wilkins. David Greenleaf became probably the first ginwright, and in 1807 Eleazer Car- ver began their manufacture near Washington. In 1838 he made excellent improvements 113 BIOGBAl'UIOAL AND IIISTORIGAL on the original. Cotton culture received such an impulse that the ginmakers could not supply the demand, and this state became one of the leading manufacturers of it in the United States. The stalks and seeds were burned. About 1779 square bales were made in a rough lever press. In 1801 Mr. Dunbar secured an iron screw-press from Philadelphia for $1,000, and proposed to begin the manufacture of cottonseed oil. Soon the McComb and Lewis presses were invented by Mississippians. Said Mr. Wailes in 1854: " Hoop iron has been introduced of late years, but the use, as yet, is confined to a few large planters." Indian corn was seen by De Soto to be "of such luxuriant growth as to produce three or four ears to the stalk," and in 1854 Mr. Wailes said: "With us, as an article of food, it has become by far the most important that our soil produces. The varieties which seem best adapted to our climate are the Tuscarora, the gourd seed and the white and yellow flint." Again: ''Thirty bushels are accounted a very fair crop per acre and forty a large one. The total production of corn in the state in 1849 was stated at twenty-two million four hundred and forty-six thousand bushels, equal to about thirty-seven bushels to about each individual inhabitant." Wheat only reached a production of one hundred and thirty-eight thousand bushels in 1849. It didn't pay to raise it when the product of the Northwest could be secured so much more easily. Oats was heavily grown, so that the year 1849 produced one million five hun- dred thousand bushels, chiefly spring and winter or black oats. Kye and barley were past- uring crops, and only produced ten thousand of the former and two hundred and twenty- nine of the latter in 1849. Chicken corn, broom corn and "Hebron corn" were grown also before the war. Eice was generally cultivated in the southeast, especially near Mississippi city, and produced two million seven hundred thousand pounds in 1849. Sugar cane reached a crop equal to three hundred and eighty-eight hogsheads and about eighteen thousand gallons of molasses. The latter was made as far north as Chickasaw county, and many planters in the south part of the state made all their own sugar. There were sugar mills in Pike, Amite, Marion and Perry counties. The sweet potato was cultivated in five varieties, and in 1849 made the stupendous crop of four million seven hundred and forty-two thousand bushels, worth morelhan $2,000,000 -the state taking fourth rank in this particular. The Irish potato was confined to the garden, and the crop of 1849 was only about two hundred and sixty thousand bushels. The cornfield pea was extensivelj' grown, the crop of 1849 reaching one million bushels. It was a splendid stock feed. The Bermuda and other grasses were grown, but none compared with the magnificent Bermuda. These were the chief agricultural products. In 1836 there were one million forty- eight thousand five hundred and thirty acres cultivated and three hundred and seventeen thousand seven hundred and eighty-three bales of cotton raised. In 1849 Mississippi was third, with four hundred and eighty-four thousand two hundred and ninety-three bales, and in 1859 she scored one million three hundred thousand bales, worth $45,000,000. In 1840 and 1850 there were produced of corn thirteen million one hundred and sixty-one thousand two hundred and thirty-seven and twenty-two million four hundred and forty-six thousand five hundred and fifty-two bushels respectively, of wheat one hundred and ninety- six thou- sand six hundred and twenty-six and one hundred "and thirty-seven thousand nine hundred and ninety respectively, of rye and oats six hundred and eighty thousand and sixty eight and one million five hundred and fifteen thousand eight hundred and ninety- four bushels respectively; of sweet potatoes, one million six hundred and thirty thousand and one hun- dred, and four million seven hundred and forty- one thousand seven hundred and ninety-five MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 113 bushels respectively; of rice, seven hundred and seventy-seven thousand one hundred and ninety-five, and two million seven hundred and nineteen thousand eight hundred and fifty- six pounds respectively; of horses and mules, one hundred and nine thousand two hundred and twenty-seven, and one hundred and seventy thousand and seven, one hundred and fifteen thousand four hundred and sisty of the latter being horses; of cattle, six hundred and twenty three thousand one hundred and ninety-seven to seven hundred and thirty-three thousand nine hundred and seventy in 1850; of sheep, one hundred and twenty-eight thou- sand three hundred and sixty-seven to three hundred and four thousand nine hundred and twenty-nine; and of swine, one million one thousand two hundred and nine to one million five hundred and eighty-two thousand seven hundred and thirty-four in 1850. These are sufficient to indicate the condition of agriculture in the closing years of the old regime. This is a view from the standpoint of 1854; let a view now be taken from the view-point of 1884, after about a quarter of a century of the new regime, in the midst of its best decade: " From the time when the first European settlement was established at the Bay of Biloxi, in 1699," wrote Major Hurt in 1884, "a variety of causes have intervened to retard that systematic, thorough, intensive cultivation of the soil, in connection with a variety of products which are required to develop to their full extent the natural advantages of an agricultural country. The system of agriculture which obtained in this state prior to the emancipation of the slave was not conducive to this end. It was an area of large estates, devoted almost exclusively to a single product, and this not with the idea to obtain the greatest results from a given area of land. Under the new order of things, after the Civil war, the farmers of Mississippi found themselves without capital with which to cultivate their lands — the only species of property, save a remnant of their stock, left to them. Millions of dollars' worth of their property had been swept away, and thus impoverished, they were compelled to invoke the yoke of debt, backed in many cases by mortgages on real estate, from which they are not yet entirely free. The system of large planting was quite extensively resumed after the war. Advance of supplies and money to make the crops were usually obtained from the local merchant, reaching the farmer after having passed through the hands of several middlemen, and compelling him to pay to them very liberal, not to say exorbitant, profits and rates of interest. The end of the year frequently found the farmer unable to meet his obligations for supplies obtained upon these terms, and in this way many fine estates were sacrificed under foreclosure of deeds of trust. Probably no other country except that of cotton production could have withstood, and even slowly prospered under, these adverse circumstances. The agriculture of Mississippi has run the course common to most states — improvident, careless farming on rich lands, exhaustion and restoration. It is now the period of restoration, and while the state has abundance of fertile land yet untouched, a great deal is being accomplished by the improvement of lands which have been heretofore impoverished by previous careless agriculture. There has been a marked improvement in the methods of culture, the treatment of the soil, and the diversification of crops in the past few years. A very encouraging advance has been made in agricultural methods, but much remains to be done to bring the state up to that high degree of agricult- ural prosperity which nature seems to have designed for its people to enjoy. New ideas are rapidly taking hold of the people. The obsolete agencies of the slave period have been discarded for methods better suited to the new regime. Improved implements, intensive cultivation, diversification of crops, fine stock, fruit and vegetable production, are the means which are quietly effecting a revolution in agriculture. The progress has been especially 114 BIOGBAPHWAL AND HISTOBIOAL rapid in the last four years; lands have advanced in value, and there is a hopeful, cheerful, contented feeling abroad in the state." The causes of these changes are interesting. Not the least of them were agitation for them among the farmers themselves, smaller farms, competition, and educational efforts of all kinds. The State grange and similar societies represent the first movement mentioned. This was organized on March 15, 1872, at Kienzi, Miss., by O. H. Kelly, secretary of the National grange, and Gen. A. J. Vaughn was chosen master of the state organization. His successors have been: W. L. Hemingway, elected in 1874; Capt. P. Darden, in 1876, serving until his death in 1888; Dr. J. B. Bailey, serving from then until the election of the present incum- bent in 1890 — Hon. S. L. Wilson. Capt. W. L. Williams, of Alcorn county, served as secretary until 1880, since which date Mrs. Helen A. Aby of Claiborne has served. The successive annual meetings have been held as follows: Columbus, 1872; Jackson, 1873-4; Kosciusko, 1875; Jackson, 1876; Holly Springs, 1877; Okalona, 1878; Forest, 1879; Brook Haven, 1880; Durant, 1881; Jackson, 1882; Meridian, 1883; Jackson, 1884; Durant, 1885; Jackson, 1886-7; Newton, 1888; Forest, 1889; and Hickory, 1890. In March, 1872, there were but six local granges, with one hundred and twenty-three members; in December there were fifty-six, with one thousand six hundred and eighty members. The movement has enrolled from the first as high as thirty thousand members in the state, but it now has forty- six local granges, and about two thousand members. This is taken as an old and represent- ative illustration of similar movements in the state. These movements led to the establish- ment of agricultural schools as means of advancement. These schools — one for white and one for colored, with one for white girls — are treated at length in the proper place. It must suffice to say here that they are having in their respective spheres a success that proves the wisdom of their founding as powerful allies to these efforts to put all phases of agricultural life on the highest basis possible. The change in size of farms is another vastly important feature in developing and econ- omizing land resources. " One of the most encouraging features in the agriculture of MisT sissippi, " said a recent writer, " is that the large plantations are being gradually subdivided into smaller holdings. As before remarked, the system prior to the close of the late war was one of large estates, and there was a strong tendency among slave-owners to enlarge annually the size of their plantations with the increase of slaves. Today, just the contrary policy is pursued; the tendency is to contract the size of the larger plantations, intensify and improve the cultivation, and generally to obtain the highest results from a given area of land. The individual cultivation of fewer acres by improved methods is now the popular idea. The statistics of the census show that the progress in this direction is quite marked, a fact that will be gratifying to those who believe that the agricultural prosperity of the state and the value of lands will be increased by the subdivision of large plantations, and the acquisition of homesteads by an intelligent and industrious class of immigrants." From 1850, when there were thirty- three thousand nine hundred and sixty farms with an acreage of ten million four hundred and ninety thousand four hundred and nineteen, and an improved acreage of three million four hundred and forty-four thousand three hundred and fifty-eight, and with an average size of three hundred and nine acres, to 1850, when there were forty- two thousand eight hundred and forty farms of fifteen million eight hundred and thirty-nine thousand six hundred and eighty-four acres, with an improved acreage of five million sixty-five thousand seven hundred and fifty -five, and an average farm size of three hundred and seventy acres, the gain in number of farms was only twenty-six per cent. MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 115 Prom 1870, when there were sixty- eight thousand and twenty-three farms of thirteen mill- ion one hundred and twenty-one thousand one hundred aad thirteea acres, with an improved acreage of four million two hundred and seven thousand one hundred and forty- six, and an average size of only one hundred and ninety-three acres, to 1880, when there were one hundred and one thousand seven hundred and seventy-two farms of fifteen million eight hundred and fifty-live thousand four hundred and sixty-two acres, with an improved acreage of five million two hundred and sixteen thousand nine hundred and thirty-seven, and an average size of only one hundred and fifty-six acres, the gain in number of farms was within a small fraction of fifty per cent. It will be noticed that the average size was in 1880 two hundred and fourteen acres less than in 1860, a twenty years' interval. This is striking proof of the tendency to small farms. Said Colonel Power, writing in 1889: "Large farms will soon cease to be the rule in Mississippi," and adds that in 1890, " there will be fully one hundred and twenty-five thousand farms. Lands are still very cheap, because in larger tracts than they can be profitably cultivated under the present labor sys- tem, and hence necessity forces the sale of all that can not be held or cultivated." By acres, the distribution of number of farms was as follows in 1880: eighty-four farms were below three acres; two thousand three hundred and thirty-six farms between three and ten acres; eleven thousand nine hundred and thirty six farms between ten and twenty acres; twenty - six thousand eight hundred and thirty-six farms between twenty and fifty acres; nineteen thousand three hundred and eighteen farms between fifty and one hundred acres; thirty-five thousand four hundred and ninety-three farms between one hundred and five hundred acres; three thousand nine hundred and thirty-six farms between five hundred and one thousand acres; and only one thousand eight hundred and eighty-three farms of over one thousand acres. In this connection it is important to note certain leading features of the labor system in agriculture, as having a most serious bearing on this greatest interest of the state. It can not be better done than by using the words of Major Hurt: " The problem of labor lies at tho very foundation of all agricultural prosparity. There can be no permanent advance- ment in agriculture when the labor by which the soil is tilled is indolent, uncertain and diffi- cult to control. Ever since the emancipation of the slaves, this great question has been anxiously and seriously considered by the planters of Mississippi. While it can not be said that a solution has been reached, the question is not discussed as extensively as formerly. The colored people, who form the great bulk of agricultural laborers in this state, have of late years manifested a deeper interest in their own material welfare; they have taken less interest in politics; they are no longer harassed by fears that their freedom is in peril; they realize that all the rights of citizenship are accorded them, and that as long as they live in the midst of the whites there is an interdependence of interests between the two races, to an extent that whatever promotes the welfare of their white neighbors must necessarily redound to their own advantage. They begin to understand and appreciate the full force of this mutuality of interests, and with this better understanding has come a marked improvement in their usefulness as laborers. Left to themselves, and free from the influences of design- ing politicians, it is but just to say that they afford perhaps the best class of laborers for the large cottonfields, especially in the Yazoo delta. Many planters, indeed, consider negro labor the only kind suited to the existing methods of cotton culture, with which long experi- ence has made them familiar. Frequent attempts have been made to introduce labor from abroad, especially from the European countries. But little success, however, has attended these attempts, probably owing to the fact that there was no systematic and organized effort 116 BIOQUAPHIOAL AND HISTOBWAL to obtain and retain this class of laborers, and the further fact that they wore not introduced in sufficient numbers to overcome the objectionable competition with the colored labor already established. The difficulty was not one of climate, as has been erroneously sup- posed. There is no climatic bar, a fact which has been practically established. There are many instances of Swedes and others, from more northern latitudes, working successfully and without any great inconvenience throughout the hottest summer months. The main body of farm labor is, moreover, accomplished before the heated term comes fairly on, and besides there is generally a gulf breeze in Mississippi which greatly tempers the rays of the summer sun. Early corn is laid by before the hot season, while the attention whici cotton requires in midsummer may be given in the cooler portions of the day. Of course there is no diffi- culty of this kind in the way of native white labor, as more than one-third of the cotton prod- uct of the state is the result of white labor. ' ' As to systems of labor, he continues: "There are three systems of cultivation as respects labor in vogue among the landowners of Mississippi, each having its advantages and defects. They are the wages system, the share system and the rental system. The wages plan, under which the laborer receives a certain stipulated sum by the month or year, is preferred by many farmers, especially those who labor for themselves, for by tak- ing the lead and exercising close supervision they obtain better results than is possible under either of the other two systems. By this plan the farmer can control his labor, superintend the cultivation of the soil and hold in perfect discipline the forces with which to make and harvest the crops, and also to carry on the improvements necessary to keep the farm in good repair. It is not always, however, that laborers can be obtained on this plan. As a general thing, the colored people are adverse to working for wages, preferring a semi- proprietorship or partnership in the products of their labor. The share system, originat- ing soon after the war, is quite extensively adopted throughout the state. It is, however, considered by many objectionable, as under its operation the lands are allowed to deteriorate in value, the laborer caring little for their preservation and for future results. To this system, perhaps more than anything else, may be attributed the slovenly and unremunera- tive methods of agriculture sometimes met with in this state. When the share system is adopted the landowner furnishes the supplies necessary to make the crop to the laborer, he has a lien to that amount, without the formality of writing, on the laborer's share of the crop, under the provisions of the existing agricultural lien law, and in like manner the laborer has a lien for his wages. In other cases the laborer gives a mortgage to the mer- chant on his share of the crop to secure the value of supplies advanced. The rental system has grown quite popular wilih many landowners. By this method the farms are rented for a specific amount of money, or pounds of cotton, the tenants making their own terms for supplies and assuming all risks. Under existing law this plan is quite safe for the land- owner, for he is entitled to the crop, to the exclusion of all others, as fast as harvested, until his rent is satisfied. As to the earnings of the laborer, of course much depends on the character of the soil, season, markets and the prudence and energy exercised in cultivation. One thing, however, may be said of labor in Mississippi — the prudent and indubtrious laborer need not long remain simply a laborer, as the rewards of labor are nowhere more certain; land is cheap and easily secured, can be bought on long credit, and in a brief time the frugal and industrious laborer becomes himself a landed proprietor." Interesting as it would be to enter more in detail into these subjects, but one more feature can be noticed, namely, the restoration of land by the use of fertilizers of various sorts. Says a recent student of this subject: "The era of restoration of exhausted soils MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 117 and the pr.eservatioa of the fertile lands of the state, too long delayed, is now fairly inaugurated, and it is expected that there will hereafter be a large annual increase in the use of these means, promising results of the highest practical importance. More attention is being paid to the care, collection and application of barnyard manure, which costs but little time and no money, and which, by itself, supplies the ingredients necessary to insure permanent and active fertility. It is said that European agriculturists consider that anyone who even sells the manure which accumulates on his land, instead of returning it to the soil, is fast ruining his estate. The agriculturists of Mississippi have not yet reached that point of appreciation for the materials necessary to keep their soil fertile and to restore already exhausted lands, but the improvement in this respect is notable, and promises well for the future. The materials for cheap and ready fertilizing are abundant throughout the state. There are many beds of marl, calcareous and gypseous, marsh and pond muck, lignitic clays and other substances suitable for composting, and, above all, is cottonseed and its product, cottonseed meal, which have no rivals as fertilizers. The valuable purposes to which cottonseed may be now applied are such that the seed is no inconsiderable part of the profits of the crop. Many years ago cottonseed was looked on as a nuisance, and often attempts were made to get rid of it by burning in a heap, the planters seeming to entertain no suspicion of its value as an application to the land. It is said to have been a common practice with the planters of the Mississippi bottom, with whom cottonseed was a drug, to get rid of it by hauling it to the bayous, where a part was eaten by the hogs and the rest washed away. The stalks also were generally pulled up or knocked down and burned on the field." This is all changed. Fertilizer manufacturers are now in almost every city in the state, and the trade is now recognized as one of the permanent ones. Let some of the results of the different lines of agriculture be considered. Take the great line of cotton. Says Prof. Eugene Hilgard: " There is no natural cause why Missis- sippi should ever cease to be what she has been for some time past, the banner state for cotton production. Texas, with its vast area, paay surpass Mississippi in total product by force of numbers as it were; but it would be difficult to cut out of that state an area equal to that of Mississippi which would equal the latter state as a whole in capacity of production. ' ' The product in 1883 was one million and fifty-two thousand one hundred bales, valued at $46,292,400, and other years of the past decade have approached that figure, and it is acknowledged that the yield of this state is safer and surer than that of other states. About one-third is raised by white labor. It is noticeable, too, that the state is beginning to con- sume a large amount of its cotton product, as is indicated by the fact that the last two years has witnessed the consumption of over thirty thousand bales within the state. Take the fruit-growing and vegetable lines. Truck farming on an improved scale was begun in Copiah county in 1874. Eev. J. W. McNeil and Mr. Stackhouse were pioneers at Crystal Springs. About twenty years since Mr. Cassel of Canton began advancements in horticulture, and in 1872 the McKay brothers — Dr. H. E. , John and W. T. McKay — began the present extensive strawberry culture. Said a writer in a New Orleans paper in 1887 : " In the central and southern portions of Mississippi fruit and vegetable production as a business has been found so profitable as to obtain a firm footing there within the past few years. This part of the state possesses many advantages for this, and is attracting the attention of market gardeners of the North and West. The winters are mild and short, and successive crops of a large variety of vegetables can be raised during the year with outdoor culture. It is claimed that in the extreme southern portions of the state, with reasonable attention, green peas, lettuce, radishes, and a number of other vegetables, can be raised every month in the year. 118 BIOQBAPHIOAL AND HISTOBIOAL ' ' The most successful fruits in the state are the peach, apple, plum, pomegranate, pear, fig, orange, and of the smaller fruits, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, etc. "Of peaches there are shipped from Crystal Springs, Terry and Hazlehurst annually not less than one hundred and fifty thousand boxes, of one-third a bushel each, to New Orleans and Western markets. There are not less than two thousand acres cultivated in the peach belt, which extends about seventy-five miles along the Illinois Central. New orchards are being planted annually, and more interest has been shown during the last few years, owing to the profitableness of orchards and their not being killed as much as formerly by frosts. The most profitable varieties are the Early Rivers, May Beauty, Early Rose, Tillot- son, Thurber, Crawford' s and Picquet Late. The lands best adapted to peach culture are the black sandy piny woods and the deep red limy lands. Peaches which grow on this soil are noted for their beautiful red color and deliciousness, similar to those of the famous Michigan peach lands, which, before the yellows predominated, were valued at |],000 per acre. Peach culture is one of the growing industries of the state. Some attention has also been given to the cultivation of early varieties of apples, as the Astrachan, Carolina, June and Early Harvest varieties. They generally bring remunerative prices. The Le Conte pear is being successfully introduced. " Strawberries are also cultivated for the Northern markets, especially along the line of the Illinois Central railroad. Crystal Springs, Terry, Jackson and Durant being favorite localities. The area in strawberries at these points is two thousand one hundred and fifty acres. The most prolific varieties are the Charleston, Wilsons, Crescent Seedling and Sucker State. Strawberries have always paid well, because they get into market early. The crop this year has not been as profitable as in the past, the unseasonable spring having somewhat affected and delayed it. "The orange grows mainly on the coast of Mississippi. Those- produced there are pronounced equal to any in the market, and sell for |10 per thousand at the orchard. The severe winter of two years ago inflicted a heavy loss on the growers, killing a number of the young trees, but the industry is reviving. " Grapes of various kinds grow throughout the state, largely on the Gulf coast, and some wine is made there, but the industry has never reached the proportions it should. The Concord, several varieties of Ives Seedlings, and some of the table grapes of France succeed well, but the native grape, the Scuppernong, is the peculiar boast. It requires no parti- cular care and little or no pruning. "In Winston and other more northern counties the Black Scuppernong, Flowers, Tender Pulp, Thomas, and the Sugar of the Scuppernong varieties, also, the Hartford, Ives, Concord, Delaware, Martha, Lindley, Allen's Hybrid and others are cultivated. All do well, and a dry sweet wine is made from them. One vineyard, only twenty-four acres in extent, produced one thousand two hundred gallons of wine, which sells at $2 per gallon. Other farmers in the neighborhood have lately established vineyards. There are four hundred acres in Winston county alone under cultivation in grapes, all of which are doing well and proving profitable. ' ' The vegetable business has assumed large proportions in Mississippi. From thirty thousand to forty thousand boxes of tomatoes are annually shipped from Crystal Springs. Melons, cucumbers, beans, peas, asparagus, egg-plant, pepper, squash, Irish potatoes and early sweet potatoes are also grown in large quantities to supply the increasing demand of Western cities. Sweet potatoes have proved to be a profitable crop, bringing $1 per bushel in the West. MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 119 " Crystal Springs makes the largest shipments of fruits and vegetables of any point in the state, the most profitable crops being strawberries, cantaloupes and tomatoes. The aver- age yield of these is from $200 to $250 per acre. The shipments include radishes, aspara- gus, onions, potatoes, beets, beans, peas, strawberries, plums, peaches, tomatoes and melons. ''The Tiffany refrigerator cars, now used by the railroads, have given this early fruit and vegetable industry a great impetus. The fruit formerly sent by express paid such heavy freight charges that all the profits were eaten up, whereas now a large number of refriger- ator cars are run on the Illinois Central, Mobile & Ohio, and New Orleans & Northeast- ern roads, carrying the fruit to the Northern markets cheaply, and getting it there in good condition. " The Illinois Central railroad transported of fruit, from points along its line in Missis- sippi, two hundred and fifty-nine thousand four hundred pounds in 1884, seven hundred and thirty-six thousand seven hundred pounds in 1885, and one million two hundred and thirty- one thousand six hundred pounds in 1886. No accoant is given of the vegetables trans- ported. The Louisville & Na'^hville railroad carried, during 1886, two hundred and fifty one thousand eight hundred pounds of fruit and vegetables raised in the state; the New Orleans & Northeastern, five million seven hundred and ninety-eight thousand pounds ; and the Vicks- burg & Meridian, two million seven hundred and fifty thousand pounds. " The total production of the state of fruits and vegetables for the past year has been $1,260,000, of which nearly two-thirds was shipped out of the state, New Orleans, Chicago and St. Louis being favorite markets. The production in 1880 was of fruit $378,145, of vegetables $61,735, so that some idea can be formed of the increase in this line and the wealth thus added to the state. ' ' But take^other lines, so well described in the article above referred to. "It is only within the present decade that the advantages of Mississippi for stock grow- ing and dairying have been fully recognized, and it has pushed forward and become the lead- ing dairy state of the South. It now boasts of more creameries than any of the Gulf or Southwestern states, more breeders of blooded cattle and more high grade-cows. Difficul- ties have been encountered and overcome, and the great advantages far more than compen- sate for these. "Mr. S. A. Jones, commissioner from Mississippi to the late World's industrial exposi- tion, in his report to the Times- Democrat^ calls attention to the fact that before the war almost every Mississippi farmer was a stockraiser and that thousands of blooded cattle then fed upon her prairies and luxuriated in the rich grasses of her valleys. ' ' It was one of the theories of Western farmers that the South could not compete with that section in grasses. The idea is to-day thoroughly exploded. It is now proved that in Mississippi, particularly in the rich lime belt in the eastern portion of the state, and even in the piny woods, grasses of all kinds, cultivated as well as native, will grow. No- where does Kentucky blue grass do better than here, and clover yields from six thousand to nine thousand pounds of hay per acre when planted late in October, after the other crops have been harvested, improving the land at the same time. "Indeed, Mississippi hay has become so popular that the astonishing circumstance is seen of rich New Yorkers purchasing it in the New Orleans market for the purpose of using it in their fancy stables. "The exhibit of grasses made by the state at the World's exposition showed its stock and dairy possibilities. It demonstrated the fact that every county was well adapted to 120 BlOOllAl'IIICAL AND HIsrOMCAL grass-growing and stock- farmiog. This exhibit consisted of fifty-two bales of hay, includ- ing timothy, Japanese clover, water grass, wild millet, white clover, red clover, buiT clovei-, crab grass, boar grass, Bermuda grass, chicken corn, red top, pea vine, Milo maize, velvet grass, all of the best quality. "Such a display naturally gave a new impetus to the dairy industry, and in central and eastern Mississippi the amount of land planted in grass has since increased with each year. "In consequence of the success in raising these grasses, Mississippians began improving the breed of their cattle and imported blooded stock. No state in the South has gone more extensively into the business, and every breed has been thoroughly experimented with and tested. The agricultural department, in its report on the condition of cattle in Mississippi, calculated the improvement in the standing of its stock by the importation of and crossing with better breeds, at thirty-five per cent. The following is the view taken of the cattle industry in Mississippi by the department in its last report, published but a few months ago: " The farmers are manifesting a determination, with a true spirit of progress, to make stockraising a success. They are improving their cattle, horses and mules by introducing fine blooded stock. A large number of counties report intense interest taken in raising horses and mules, and will, ere long, raise a sufficiency for home use. Correspondents report gi'eat improvement in building shelters for stock, and providing large quantities of hay for winter supply. They are fencing in large pastures for grazing purposes, and sowing grasses for early spring use. A very remarkable feature in the reports is, not one mentions disease of any kind among horses, mules or cattle. ' "Mississippi has the largest number of breeders of fine stock of any Southern state, the number of breeders of Jersey being two hundred and fifty, and the Jerseys registered and entitled to registration in the state being two thousand out of a total of seven thousand four hundred and twenty-five in the South. "There ia but one herd of Brittany cattle in the South — the largest in the country, and one of a very few herds owned at Starkville, Miss. One of the largest herds of Ayrshire, numbering about twenty, is also to be found in eastern Mississippi. Of Devons, there are several breeders in the state. Large importations were made of this cattle two or three years ago, but they did not do as well as other breeds and many of them died. The Agri- cultural and Mechanical college possesses the only herd of Herefords known to be in the state. The Holstein cattle are in great favor, and rank in point of numbers second in Mississippi; and in Holsteins and Jerseys Mississippi is far ahead of its neighbors. There are some thirty- five breeders of the former cattle, and the herds number one hundred and twenty-five, one or two being over twenty each. There are some Galloways around Stark- ville,- almost the only ones in the South. Of Shorthorns, there are one hundred and fourteen breeders in the state, and some six hundred cattle. "Creameries are springing up so fast in Mississippi that it is almost impossible to keep count of them. There §,re two at Starkville, around which there has been the greatest development in stockraising and dairy-farming — one belonging to the State Agricultural and Mechanical college, and- the first creamery established in the South (and it is to be noted that this college has the only professorship of dairying in the country), one at Meridian, and others near Bolton, Macon, Aberdeen, Corinth and West Point, and a separator at Vieks- burg, owned by a very eminent breeder of Jerseys — the first separator in the state. Since the success of these crearderies,. central and eastern Mississippi have been encouraged to embark in the dairy business, and creameries are now under way or proposed at Durant MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 121 Holly Springs, Hernando, Crawford, Oxford, Flora, Clinton, Yazoo city, Jackson and Stan- ton. Macon and Aberdeen have cheese-making machinery. " The butter made at the State Agricultural college at Starkville has gone to many of the markets of the South. It outsells creamery Elgin, and is better. From Novem- ber to May, the milk of the college herd averages about one pound of butter to sixteen pounds of milk; and it has reached as high as a pound of butter to fourteen and one-half of milk — the highest average known. The herd from which this milk is taken is one-half native ca'^^tle, mixed with Jerseys and a few Holsteins. " The dairy products of Mississippi have now reached a very respectable figure. In 1870 only two million six hundred and thirteen thousand three hundred and eleven pounds of butter were produced in the state; in 1880, seven million four hundred and fifty-four thou- sand six hundred and forty-three pounds; in 1885 and 1886, an average of fifteen million eight hundred and twenty-five thousand pounds, worth $3,800,000. This is a splendid growth for six years, and the promise is even better for the future. There has been a large increase in the number of milch cows in the state, and in their average yield. The hay crop, moreover, is steadily increasing, being fourteen thousand eight hundred and seventy-five tons now against eight thousand eight hundred and ninety-four in 1880. "In the matter of stoekraising, an average of ten acres of Mississippi land is sufiScient to furni.sh each animal with ample grazing, making the cost of pasturing a steer only $2 per year, since nothing is paid for attendance on herds grazing at will on farms. This is less than one- quarter of the same item in Illinois. "The advantages enumerated in favor of cattle-growing and dairying in Mississippi, as compared with the Western states, are: The cheapness of the land; the excellent pasturage to be had through the year, requiring the cattle to be fed only one or two months at most during the winter; the natural grasses and canebrakes, which afford the cattle so much extra food; the climate, which allows them to run at large without any danger; the abundance of water, etc., needed for the stock; and the nearness to excellent markets. ' ' Dr. W. E. Gates, of Warren county. Miss. , one of the most successful raisers of Jersey cattle in the South, says: '" After several years' experience in breeding and raising thoroughbred Jersey cattle, Southdown sheep, Berkshire and Poland China swine, I do not hesitate to say that Warren county, Miss., is equal, if not superior, in some respects, to the famous blue-grass region of Kentucky. It only needs the life-giving touch of the skilled husbandman to convert the hills and valleys into gardens of Eden. Clovers luxuriate in our soil. The Bermuda grass covers nearly all our hills and valleys, and it will pasture, acre for acre, more stock in sum- mer than the blue-grass lands of Kentucky. Its power to resist drought is greater, and anal- ysis places it, pound for pound, in value with blue grass. On our meadow land as much as three and a half tons per acre have been cut of very superior hay.' "The raising of sheep, the production of wool and of mutton, has met with several very serious blows lately, growing out of economic causes, principally changes in the wool tariff. In Mississippi, however, sheep-raising still continues a profitable industry, the smaller breed of sheep being in favor, as the animals are grown principally for their wool. The pastures of the state, abandoned by the cotton planters on account of the presence of the Bermuda, may be made far more profitable as a sheep walk than when under cotton culture, with less labor, worry and risk involved in planting. "It should be remembered that Mississippi took the first prize at the London world exhibit of thirty years ago for its wool, and that, at the World's industrial exposition, there were no less than fifty-one exhibits of wool from twenty-eight counties. 122 BIOORAPHIOAL AND HISTORIGAL " Hogs of any breeds do well in the state, but the white breeds are not much sought after. The Berkshires and Essex are popular, on account of the readiness with which they fatten at any age. The Poland China ranks next. The Jersey reds, Yorkshires and Sus- sex are also among the better breeds in favor. ' ' The number and value of stock in the state is as follows : Horses, one hundred and thirty thousand one hundred and sixty, $9,187,566; mules, one hundred and fifty-three thousand four hundred and twelve, $12,953,958; milch cows, two hundred and eighty-three thousand and seventy-three, $4,076,251; oxen, four hundred and twenty-four thousand six hundred and sixty-two, $3,823,653; sheep, two hundred and forty-two thousand nine hun- dred and seventy-one, $348,664; hogs, one million one hundred and fifteen thousand one hundred and seventy-two, $3,345,516. Total, $33,735,608. As compared with $24,287,717 in 1880, this shows an increase of thirty-eight per cent., the greatest improvement being in milch cows. "No one now disputes that Mississippi led the entire Union in the exhibits of woods at the World's industrial exposition in New Orleans. In nothing was the exposition so well represented as in the exhibits of the forest products of the Southern states, and in these Mississippi stood at the head of the list with one hundred and thirty- four varieties of wood. One specimen, a yellow poplar from Holmes county, showed a log more than twelve feet in diameter, while others were five, six and seven feet. "There are nineteen million nine hundred thousand four hundred and ninety- two acres of forest land in Mississippi, some sixty per cent, of the entire area of the state, and nearly all of it is in wood of valuable varieties, such as pine, gum, oak and cottonwood. " The timbers as yet most utilized in the state are pine, cypress and oak. Pine covers the southern half of the state, and constitutes about two-thirds of the lumber produced. The merits of the Southern pine need not be recapitulated here. It is one of the heaviest, strongest and most durable of woods, and is employed in all heavy edifices, in the construc- tion of cars, for beams, etc. It is now the principal lumber used in Latin America, and large quantities are shipped there. It has also grown in favor in the North and West, and is sold extensively in the Chicago and New York markets. While rather coarser than the white pine of Michigan, it is stronger and more durable, and offers a good substitute for it. Recognizing the fact that the yellow pine forests of Mississippi must soon come into use to supply the deficiencies caused by the destruction of the woodlands in the Western states, the 'pine barons' of Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin have bought up large areas of these lands in Mississippi, estimated at one million five hundred thousand acres; but little of which has yet been cut or utilized, but is being reserved for the time when good pine lumber becomes scarce — a time not far distant. This land, which was bought at an average of $2 per acre, has. standing on it, lumber worth $30 to $35, sawed on the place. "The following is the estimate of the pine still standing in the state: "Longleaf pine — standing west of Pearl river, six billion eight hundred million feet; east of Pearl river, seven billion six hundred million feet; region of mixed growth, three billion eight hundred million feet; total, eighteen billion two hundred million feet. Shortleaf pine — standing in the northwestern region, one billion six hundred million feet; standing in the northern portion of state, five billion one hundred and seventy-five million feet; total, six billion seven hundred and seventy- five million feet; grand total, twenty- four billion nine hundred and seventy-five million feet. " Along the Gulf coast and the Illinois Central and New Orleans & Northeastern railroads are many sawmills, including two of the largest in the South, which are extensively engaged MEMOIRS OP MISSISSIPPI. 123 in sawing lumber lor foreign market. Mississippi supplied all the lumber used in the con- struction of the buildings at the World's exposition, and now supplies a large portion of the yellow pine used in Chicago in the construction of heavy buildings, while the exports from Pearl river, Pascagoula, Moss Point and other towns on the coast, go to South America, Europe, and even to Africa. A considerable portion of the lumber used in the work on the Panama canal is from Mississippi, and within the past two months there have been heavy shipments from that state to the Canary islands. " The Yazoo valley is as abundantly wooded as the coast region, but in different varieties of timber, gum, oak, cypress and magnolia predominating. Its importance as a lumber region for the future, and the immense supply of available timber there, have only recently been recognized. As a result there have been large purchases by companies and syndicates of these woodlands, over one million two hundred thousand acres having been purchased in the last three years. ' ' In this valley stands the largest area of sweet gum in the world, a timber that promises to take, in time and with the proper treatment, the place of black walnut as a cabinet wood. The gum grows to a large, straight tree, ninety feet high, furnishing a considerable amount of lumber. This lumber has been found to be eminently adapted for cabinet purpo=es. Polished, it attains a rich and elegant satiny gloss far superior to black walnut. The wood has only one inconvenience, it warps very badly, and, unless this evil can be corrected, it will not grow in favor. This defect, however, it is claimed, can be remedied. A considerable amount of gum is now being shipped to Cincinnati and other cities engaged in the manu- facture of furniture, and fine desks, armoires and tables have been made from it. It is also extensively used in house building, and lasts well. " The rapid disappearance of black walnut, nearly all of which has been destroyed in the Northern states, renders it necessary to discover some substitute for it, and it is suggested that the sweet gum will take its place. The supply of it is practically inexhaustible, and it grows in large clumps, and is generally easy of access. During the past few years several syndicates have made extensive purchases of lands in Mississippi, well wooded, largely in gum, with the intention of bringing this lumber into general use for cabinet purposes. Ex- periments have been made with it, whereby its defects have been, it is said, corrected. If this can be done, it will make gum the furniture wood of the country during the next twenty years. ' ' One of the great advantages the timber lands of the Yazoo possess is that after the tim- ber is cut from them, they are even more valuable than when it was standing. The soil is fertile, unlike that of most other wooded sections, and land which when timbered, was worth only 110 to §25 an acre, becomes worth |25 to $50 when cleared and suitable for crops. ' ' The other principal woods of the state are walnut, cypress, ash, red oak, white oak, red gum, white gum, black gum, tupelo gum, poplar, pecan and hickory. The red and other gums are used for furniture, and the Singer sewing machine company employes them almost exclusively for the woodwork of their machines. The white oak staves are sent to New Orleans and exported thence to Spain, France and other wine-producing countries, bringing at New Orleans from $75 to $140 per thousand. ' ' The following figures will give some idea of the improvement that has taken place in the lumbering industry of the state: Number of establishments 1886, five hundred and ninety- eight; capita], $2,698,400; hands, three thousand one hundred and twenty-five; products, $3,975,000. Number establishments 1880, three hundred and ninety-five; capital, $922,595; hands, one thousand one hundred and seventy; products, $1,920,335. H 124 BIOGRAPHIGAL AND HISTORICAL "It is iri ita manufactures that Mississippi is most backward. And yet it possesses all the advantages for leading in certain lines of industry. It ought to be one of the largest producers of cotton cloth in the world. It has the cotton within easy reach of the mills, and it has a fine market for the product. It ought to be the center of the lumbering indus- try of the country as it possesses the greatest variety of fine woods, and of furniture fac- tories, carriage and wagon factories, etc. It formerly paid little attention to these indus- tries, but it is now beginning to recognize the importance of greater diversification in its industries, to see that it does not benefit a state to devote itself wholly to agriculture. The towns which were formerly merely commercial and social centers are growing in population and anxious to increase their factories. "The good will of the people of Mississippi toward manufactures, the inducements they hold out, are shown in the act of the legislature passed in 1882, exempting from taxation, for a period of ten years, the machinery used for the manufacture of cotton and woolen goods, yarns or fabrics, etc. "As a consequence of the encouragement held out, the product of manufactures has almost doubled within the last seven years. The new industries established have been organized almost wholly with home capital. "As is natural, this manufacturing has been confined mainly to turning the raw products of the state into more valuable forms, making the cotton into cloth, the cottonseed into oil, the timber into planks, etc. "The cottonmills of Mississippi have been particularly prosperous, and the Mississippi mills at Wesson now turn out more goods than the whole state did in 1880. The cotton fac- tories now give employment to two thousand and twenty-three hands, with a total annual output of $1,686,000. The products are shipped to the Northeast and West, only a small proportion remaining at home. During the past two years four new cottonmills have been erected in the state. "Of the cottonseed oilmills that at Yazoo is the largest in the state, with an annual production of 1150,000. The bulk of this product is shipped to New Orleans, whence it goes to Europe, the oil to Italy and France, to return as olive oil ; the meal and cake to England for fattening cattle. Barely one-tenth of the product of the oilmills remains at home to fertilize the land and fatten stock. "There are foundries in Jackson, Columbus, Vicksburg, Meridian, Corinth, Natchez, Canton and other points. Most of the railroads also have repair shops for the repair and rebuilding of their engines, cars, etc. "Other industries are woolenmills, grist and flouringmills, pottery works, etc. "The chief manufacturing interests and the amount of their products are the following: Lumber, $3,975,000; flouring and gristmills, 12,136,000; cotton goods, $1,686,000; cotton seed products, $1,120,000; woolen goods, $815,000; all other industries, $4,424,000. "The following shows the increase in manufactures in the state in the past seven years: Number of establishments for the year 1886, two thousand three hundred and forty-two; value, $13,656,000. Number of establishments for the year 1880, one thousand four hundred and seventy-nine; value, $7,518,802. This is an improvement of seventy-nine per cent, in seven years. " The Baltimore Manufacturers' Record, in reviewing the new industries established in the South, shows that the amount of capital invested in manufactures in Mississippi during the first quarter of 1887 is five times as great as during the corresponding quarter of 1886. "Mississippi has never been regarded as much of a mineral state, and it is only MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 125 ■within the last few years that the discoveries in Alabama have caused any examination to be made. The result has been the discovery of some minerals of undoubted and immediate value, and others whose value has not yet been definitely determined, but from which there is every reason to hope for important returns. "The following are the most important of Mississippi minerals: " Iron, found at Duck Hill, Enterprise and generally throughout the eastern and north- ern portions of the state. The ore averages from forty to seventy-five per cent, of metallic iron, sufficient to work it with great profit. "Lignite or wood coal, underlying the entire yellow loam region in the northern portion of the state. " Hydraulic limestone of excellent quality exists in the northeastern portion of the state. Cement made from it sets almost as rapidly as plaster of Paris, and becomes very hard. Prof. W. D. Moore, after making an examination of this limestone, said : ' I need not enlarge upon the importance to the immediate district and to the whole state of such a mineral deposit of hydraulic limestone, sufficient to supply the entire Mississippi valley with cement for generations to come, which can be worked easily, and from its vicinity to the Tennessee river, be easily transported to every part of the South and Southwest.' " Limestone, for quicklime, building stones, grindstones and flagstones is also found in various parts of Mississippi. ' ' Gypsum, of a pure quality, has been found in considerable quantities throughout Mississippi, especially near Cato, in Rankin county, and near Kosciusko, Clinton, West Hinds and other places. " The kaolin deposit in Tishomingo county is declared by Professor Harper to be the largest deposit of this mineral in the world. " White sand fit for glass-making is found along the coast, and, indeed, a glass factory was successfully carried on at Moss Point until burned. A very superior article of glass sand is also to be obtained along the branch of the Illinois Central railroad, between Kosciuako and Aberdeen. Professor Hilgard declared that the Pearl river and its tributaries furnish ' drifts of white sand that often vie in purity with those of Ste. Genevieve in Missouri, whence the Pittsburg glassworks receive a large part of their supply. ' " Last bat not least are the marls of various kinds found throughout the state. They are found in all the lower half of the state, differiug somewhat in quality, but all well worth using. "Professor Hilgard, who examined them thoroughly, said: 'My deduction from all the examinations I have given these marls is that they are far superior to the green sand marls of New Jersey in potash, for which the latter are chiefly distinguished, and also contain many other valuable elements of food life that the New Jersey marls totally lack.' "A better manure can hardly be found. It is superior to all manure that the farmer can obtain from the farm, and is equal to guano and in some respects better, for while guano will produce a large crop the first year, its efPect is not felt subsequently, while marl will exert its influence on the crop for ten years to come. In the first year its efiPect is but slight; it is better the second, third and fourth years. While these marls do not compare in commercial value nor in their effect upon the soil with the celebrated phosphate rocks that now make South Carolina famous and add millions of dollars a year to its wealth, yet their abundance, accessibility and diffusion make them a vast, inexhaustible source of wealth to the country where they are found, and they insure its fertility for centuries to come. ' ' The fisheries of the state are confined wholly to the gulf coast. Since the closing of 126 BIOQBAPEIOAL AND HISTORICAL Bonnet Carre crevasse, which formerly allowed the water from the MissiHsippi to run into Mississippi sound, there has been a great improvement in the oyster beds off the gulf coast, and the oysters are now shipped not only to New Orleans, but to the North as well, where they are much relished, five canning factories being engaged in canning and preparing them. "The fish caught off the coast are sent mainly to New Orleans and Mobile, few of them going North. The average annual catch of fish and oysters is now $225,000. "These streams, with the railroads, give the planters four thousand and twenty-seven miles of route to market. Some of them are not to-day in complete navigable condition, but can be made so at small expense. "The representatives of the United States statistical bureau estimate the traffic of Mis- sissippi as follows: "Cotton and cotton goods, $39,732,320; cottonseed oil and cake, $1,100,000; wool and woolen goods, $257,952; lumber, $8,940,000; fruit and vegetables, $250,000; fish and oysters, $235,000; cord wood, 11,500,000; total, $47,015,272. Of this $41,465,000 isexported from the state and represents its annual net earnings. Unfortunately most of this large sum goes for provisions brought from the West and manufactured goods, cottons, etc., from New England. If Mississippi raised these articles itself, as it is well able to do, it would keep all this money at home, and would soon become one of the richest states in the Union. "In consequence of the building of railroads and the erection of factories, there has been a decided increase in population and commercial and industrial activity in the towns. Vicksburg, Natchez, Meridian, Jackson, Holly Springs, Grenada, Starkville, Columbus, Yazoo city, Water Valley, Greenville, Canton, Macon, Wesson, Brookhaven, Summit and Enterprise are all growing and prosperous places." It is greatly to be regretted that the census of 1890 is not available to make a later exhibit, especially as other sources are incomplete and therefore unavailable. Enough has been given, however, to illustrate, if not measure, Mississippi's great growth under two different systems of labor." MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 137 (©HAPTsr^ UII. POLITICAL HISTORY. IT is obvious to the reader that it would be impracticable to embrace within a single chapter in minute narrative and critical form a political history of the state of Missis- sippi, extending, as it does, through some of the most eventful periods of the general government, and covering a space of seventy-one years. It is, however, the design of the writer to state all of the important facts and interesting incidents properly belonging to such a history, accurately, uncolored by sectional prejudice or party-bias, for public infor- mation and USB. On June 12, 1797, President John Adams recommended the establishment of a govern- ment in the district at Natchez, and accordingly, by act of congress, approved April 7, 1793, all that tract of country described as bounded on the west by the Mississippi river, on the north by a line to be drawn due east from the south of the Yazoo to the Chattahoochie river, on the east by this river, and on the south by the thirty-first degree of north latitude, was constituted one district and called the Mississippi territory, and the president authorized to establish a government therein. The territorial government, thus established, existed for fifteen years. Winthrop Sar- gent of Massachusetts; William Charles Cole Claiborne, of Virginia; Robert Williams, of North Carolina, and David Holmes, of Virginia, were the territorial governors. The most notable event which occurred at that time in the history of the territory and the United States, was the War of 1812. Maj. Thomas Hinds, for whom one of the most considerable counties in the state is named, and in which the capital is situated, with a battalion of Mis- sissippi dragoons, was ordered to report to General Jackson at New Orleans. Their prowess and valor displayed upon this celebrated battlefield in history won for them the following plaudits of congratulation and praise from the General, who, possessing in an eminent degree the quality of courage and spirit of patriotism, readily discovered and generously applauded their exhibition in others. By military order he said: " The cavalry from the Mississippi ter- ritory was always ready to perform every service which the nature of the country enabled them to execute. The daring manner in which they reconnoitered the enemy on his lines excited the admiration of one army and the astonishment of the other." Under Governor Williams' administration (extending from 1805 to 1809) of the terri- tory this interesting episode took place. Colonel Burr and his retinue of men arrived opposite the capital site Washington, at the mouth of the Bayou Pierre run, in January, 1807, with a grotesque flotilla of nine flatboats. He soon learned that the territorial authorities would oppose his descent. Colonel Burr in a letter to the governor " disavowed any hostile intentions toward the ter- ritory or the country; that he was en route to the Ouachita to colonize his lands and that any attempt to obstruct him would be illegal and might provoke civil war." A deputation of gen- 1S8 BIOGBAPEIOAL AND HISTORICAL tiemen, among them George Poindexter, was sent to interview Burr, with a letter from the governor. Colonel Burr, judging from all appearances, sneered at the idea of his having any hostile designs upon the country, saying that he would have gone direct to Natchez to see the governor (a point six miles distant from the capital) but for the information received at Bayou Pierre and the fear of assassination. Burr presented himself before Judge Rodney and gave his recognizance in the sum of $5,000, with sureties for his appearance at a called session of the supreme court to be held ou February 2. George Poindexter was then the attorney-general for the territory. He moved the discharge of the grand jury. This was on the ground that in the depositions submitted to him by the court, he found no testimony which brought the offense charged against Colonel Burr within the jurisdiction of the courts of the Mississippi ter- ritory. He asked for the conveyance of the accused to a tribunal competent to try and punish him if guilty, and asked for the discharge of the grand jury. Judge Bruin declared against the discharge of the grand jury unless Colonel Burr was also discharged from his recog- nizance. The grand jury presented no bill against Colonel Burr, after a session, and were dis- charged. Colonel Burr then demanded a release from his recognizance^^ which the court refused, and he fled, forfeiting it. At the close of the War of 1812, an exhaustive strain having been made upon the mate- rial conditions of the territory, they were appreciably stimulated with new life by increase of an enterprising population and influx of capital. The question of admitting the state into the Union was now canvassed with ardor and that pardonable sentiment o'f national pride which the American instinctively feels toward the government of the United States. On March 1, 1817, President Madison approved an act to enable the people of the ter- ritory "to form for themselves a constitution and state government, and to assume such name as they deemed proper, and the state, when formed, was to be admitted into the Union upon the same footing with the original states." Qualifications of freedom, color, residence, and payment of territorial or county tax, authorized a vote in selecting delegates to form a constitution. In accordance with this enabling act and the election held under it, the delegates, as chosen, assembled in the town of Washington in July, 1817, the convention adjourning on the 15th of August of that year. The qualifications prescribed by the constitution of 1817 for the governor were: Residence of five years in the state, the age of thirty years, posses- sion of a freehold estate of six hundred acres of land within the state, or real estate of the value of 12,000. For the new lieutenant-governor the qualifications were the same. For a state senator: Twenty-six years of age, four years' residence in the state, to own in his own right one hundred and fifty acres of land or an interest in real estate of the value of 1500 at the time of his election and for six months previous thereto. Every free white male of the age of twenty-one years or upward, a citizen of the United States, who had resided in the state one year, and the last six months in the county, city or town, and who had been enrolled in the militia, unless exempted by law from military service, and shall have paid a state or county tax, was declared to be an elector. The judicial and executive officers were made elective by the legislature. The first constitution of Mississippi was, there- fore, formed and put into operation in the forty-second year of the independence of the United States of America. The earlier governors of the state under the constitution of 1817, in their consecutive order of election to office, were as follows: David Holmes, of Virginia; George Poindexter, of Virginia; Walter Leake, of Virginia; Gerard C. Brandon, a native of the territory, and Abram M. Scott, a native of South Carolina. David Holmes, the last terri- torial governor, was fitted by experience and ability to put into operation the machinery of the government jn conformity with the provisions of the new constitution. MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 129 George Poindexter, of Virginia, is of national reputation, having been a member of both houses of the Federal congress. He is the author of Poindexter' s Code of Mississippi, a work of high rank and great value in the judicial and legal annals of the state. In 1835, when Mr. Poindexter became a candidate for reelection to the United States senate, he was defeated by Eobert J. Walker, who was secretary of the treasury under President Polk. The administration of Walter Leake was rendered conspicuous by the assembling of the constitutional convention of 1832, the convention which changed the whole structure of the organic law of the state. The second term of Governor Brandon, covering the years 1830-31, is memorable in the state for the passage of two acts, one to establish the Planters' bank of the state of Missis- sippi and the other calling a convention to revise, modify or make a new constitution. Twelve years had elapsed, when the state had greatly increased in population; its agriculture had been extensively developed and the state was growing rapidly. The legislature of the state, at its annual session in 1830, determined, despite the exclusive privileges conferred upon the bank of the state of Mississippi, to incorpoiate an additional bank, to be known as the Planters' bank of the state of Mississippi, with a capital of $3,000,000. This act of incor- poration was approved February 10, 1830. Two-thirds of the capital stock was reserved for subscription by the state, and the governor was authorized to subscribe for twenty thousand shares of the capital stock in the name and on behalf of the state, aggregating $2,000,000. The second section of the act of incorporation pledged the faith of the state to make good all losses which might accrue from a deficiency of the funds of the said bank, or by other means, in proportion to the amount of the stock which the state should have therein. The governor was empowered to have prepared and issued the bonds of the state of Mississippi for the sum of 12,000,000, to be signed by the governor and countersigned by the auditor of public accounts, and when so signed and countersigned it was made the duty of the governor to deliver the said bonds to the president and directors of the Planters' bank in payment of the subscription of the stock made for and by the state. It was also made the duty of the president and directors of the Planters' bank to sell the bonds delivered to them by the governor for specie only. The said bonds were to be under the seal of the state, signed by the governor and countersigned by the auditor of pub- lic accounts, and made assignable by the endorsement of the president and cashier of the bank to the order of any person, or the bearer. The faith of the state was pledged for the payment of the principal and interest of these bonds upon their maturity, as well as the stock of the bank. It was also provided that if a dividend arising from the stock subscribed by the state, as specified, should be insufficient to meet the interest accruing on the bonds and the payment and extinguishment thereof when due, the bank was to supply such deficiency and charge the same to the account of the state, and for the payment thereof the faith of the state was pledged. Of the bonds of the state authorized to be delivered to the Planters' bank of Mississippi in payment of the stock subscribed for in the name of the state in that institution, $500,000 worth was sold in the year 1831 and the remaining $1,500,000 worth was disposed of in the course of the year 1833, and the money received therefor placed in the vaults of the bank. The constitution of 1817, unlike that of 1832, contained no clause prohibiting the state from pledging its face, and hence the legislature was clothed with plenary power in the premises. The bonds had been sold by the agent of the bank in strict conformity with the provisions of the law authorizing their issue, and for specie only, and the proceeds were properly paid over to the officers in charge of the insti- tution. The bank was conducted on what are usually regarded as sound business principles 180 BIOQBAPHIGAL AND HISTOBIOAL and was in a highly prosperous condition until the great financial distress of 1837 came, which involved the commercial prosperity of the whole Union. At this time the question of changing the constitution was debated, the state having out- grown the original constitution of 1817, and an organic law was demanded better calculated to meet the needs and conditions of a more prosperous and growing state. The question of the expediency and necessity of a constitutional convention was submitted by legislative act to the people, and a decided majority pronounced in favor of calling the proposed constitu- tional convention, which was accordingly done by legislative act passed and approved Decem- ber 16, 1831. The convention convened in pursuance of the act, the 10th day of September, 1832. The material change and distinguishing feature which characterized the constitution of 1832 was the enlargement of the liberty and power of the people through the ballot-box, by conferring authority on them to elect their own public servants, without reference to a prop- erty qualification. The most radical change, however, was that made in the judicial depart- ment of the government, making judicial functionaries, from the highest to the lowest, elective by the people. A superior court of chancery was authorized to be established and the chancellor was made elective by the people. A high court of errors and appeals was provided for, composed of three judges. Circuit and probate courts were provided for and these judges were all elected by the people, as also the district attorney. The constitution of 1832 made Mississippi the pioneer state in embodying in her organic law the right of the people to select through the ballot box their judicial officers from those who presided over inferior tribunals to the court of last resort. At that time neither the constitution nor the laws of any state in the Union provided for a judiciary elected by the people, and in the interim, between 1832 and 1861, every state in the Union followed the example of Mississippi in this respect. The tenure of office prescribed by the constitution of 1832 was two years, prohibiting the same individual from holding the office more than four in any six consecutive years. The powers conferred and the duties imposed on the executive were copied, in the main, from the constitution of 1817, the material difference being that the latter provided for, and prescribed, the duties of lieutenant-governor, while these duties under the constitution of 1832 were to be performed by the president of the senate when rendered necessary by reason of the death, resignation or removal from office of the governor. Alexander G. McNutt, a native of Virginia, was the third governor of Mississippi, under the constitution of 1832, having been nominated by the democratic party, which, at that time, in 1837, had a large majority in the state over the whig party. Under his admin- istration, the great era of the Flush Times existed, so inimitably described by Judge Bald- win in his interesting work of that name, and in his Party Leaders. The capital of the banks of the state incorporated by the legislature in less that six years after the formation of the constitution of 1832, aggregated the enormous sum of 153,750,000. To most of the railroads was given the privilege of banking; they were authorized to issue their own notes for circulation, to make loans and deals in exchange, bonds and bills of credit. The era of innumerable mushroom banks, inflated credit systems, and frenzied spirit of speculation produced an abundant harvest of distress and bankruptcy for the people of Mississippi. As this financial policy signally drew the line of division between the two prevailing parties of the state, the whigs and democrats, it will be somewhat disclosed in detail, giving rise, as it did, to a spirited and important political contest. -The people at that time seemed to im- agine that this species of legislature could provide substantial sources of revenue, and MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 131 bring about permanent prosperity. They clamored for more banks and a still larger issue of worthless promises to pay. In obedience to this public demand for more money, the legislature early in the session of 1837 passed an act to incorporate the Union bank of Mississippi, with a capital of 115,500,000, which was approved January 21, 1837, "so far as the action of the legislature is recognized." In the original act of incorporation, in order to facilitate the said Union bank in its negotiation for this loan of $15,500,000, the faith of the state was pledged both for the security of the capital and interest, and ordered that there should be issued seven thousand five hundred bonds of |2,000 each, payable in four installments of twelve, fifteen and twenty years, and bearing interest at the rate of five per cent per annum, to be signed by the governor of the state to the order of the Mississippi Union bank, and countersigned by the state treasurer, and under the seal of the state. The bonds were made transferable by the endorsement of whomsoever or to the bearer, and the capital and interest of the bonds were payable by the bank at the time they severally fell due. The charter of the Union bank, as originally enacted, authorized the isibuauoe of the bonds of the state for 115,500,000, and their delivery to the bank as a loan. The bank was required to secure the payment of .these bonds, and the prompt payment of the accru- ing interest by mortgage upon the property of the stockholders of the bank, but this did not satisfy the legislators of that day. They passed an act to incorporate the subscribers to the Mississippi Union bank, requir- ing the governor to subscribe for, in behalf of the state, fifty thousand shares of the original stock of the bank, the same to be paid for out of the proceeds of the state bonds, as provided to be executed to the bank by the charter, and that the dividends and profits accruing and declared by the bank on stock subscribed for on behalf of the state, should be held by the bank subject to the control of the state legislature, for the purposes of internal improvement and promotion of education. The president and directors of the Mississippi Union bank, or the managers, had ample power to appoint three commissioners to negotiate and sell the state bonds, provided for in the act incorporating the subscribei's, in any market within the United States, or in any foreign market, under such rules and regulations as might be adopted by the president and directors, or managers, not inconsistent with the provisions of the charter of the bank providing against the sale of bonds under their par value. This supplementary act was approved by Governor McNutt on February 15, 1839, but a short time after the date of his approval of the original charter of the Union bank, after its passage by two successive legislatures, in obedience to the requirements of the constitution, during that year, bonds of the state to the amount of $5,000,000 were prepared, signed by the governor, countersigned by the treasurer of the state and delivered to the president and directors of the Union bank. The bank appointed three commissioners of integrity and purity of character to negotiate the bonds. They succeeded in disposing of the entire 15,000,000 worth of bonds to the honor- able Nicholas Biddle, then the president of the United States bank of Pennsylvania. When the intelligence of the consummation of this negotiation reached the people of Mississippi they were wild with excitement, and the event was celebrated by great rejoicing and public demonstration. In the meantime. Governor McNutt had inaugurated an unrelanting war against the Union bank, as well as all the other banks in the state. Two years previously, he had approved a law providing for the election by the legislature of three bank commissioners, who were to examine once a year into rhe condition of the several banks in the state and ascertain their capacity to meet their obligatious, which, however, from many practical diffi- 182 BIOORAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL culties, was not productive of any good. In the governor's annual message to the legislature January, 1840, he recommended an immediate repeal of the charters of all the banks that were not able to meet promptly their obligations to their note-holders and depositors. In support of this proposition, he urged "the existing banks cannot be bolstered. Destitute as they are of credit and available means, it would be folly to attempt to infuse vigor and stability into their lifeless forms. They are powerless to do good, but capable of inflicting irreparable injuries. ' ' In his next annual message, bearing date January 5, 1841, the governor renewed his assaults upon the Mississippi Union bank with great vigor, calling attention to the insolvent condition of the Mississippi Railway company, the Planters' bank of the state and the Missis- sippi Union bank, and their inability to resume specie payments or to make further loans. He favored, like his party (the democratic), the repudiation of the Union bank bonds. He argued that they were sold on a credit, instead of for cash, at their par value; that they had been purchased in the name of an institution — the United States baijk of Pennsylvania — the charter of which absolutely prohibited that bank from buying or selling bonds or stocks other than issued by authority of the United States, or of the state of Pennsylvania. The legislature of that year, however, differed with the executive, and both houses, by decisive majorities, passed resolutions declaring that the honor of the state demanded that both the Union and Planters' bank bonds should be paid, both principal and interest. The subject now had reached the proportions of a tremendous party question, and the whole state was stirred upon it with great popular excitement and partisan zeal. The demo- cratic convention which assembled in January, 1841, nominated Tighlman M. Tucker for governor, and other ofiBcers, but made no reference in the platform adopted to the bond question. There was an ominous silence upon this point. A little later, the whigs met in convention and nominated a full ticket with Judge David O. Shattuck as governor, all in entire accord with the convention on the bond question, which had taken in its platform strong ground in favor of paying the state bonds. After one of the most exciting political campaigns in the state, the democratic party was successful in electing its whole state ticket, and a majority in both branches of the legislature. The largest taxpayers were of the opinion that the obligation on the part of the state thus created should be met honestly, basing their advocacy of payment upon the broad ground of equity and fairdealing. Leading citizens of the state at this day, survivors of that period, regard the policy of repudiation, then adopted, as a blunder of the magnitude which Talleyrand said was worse than a crime. It was a thrilling party fight. The ablest men of the time — and there were many in the state then — were engaged in it on either side of the great question. It was upon this question that the golden mouthed orator furnished by the great state of Maine to the youth- ful southwestern Commonwealth, then in the zenith of his fame, extending with the confines of the Union, shed the transcendent glory of his imperial genius upon that memorable con- troversy in behalf of the good name and honor of Mississippi. It has been well said that he was to the whig party of Mississippi then what Charles Fox was to the whig party of England in his day. Albert Gallatin Brown, of South Carolina, was the fifth governor of the state chosen under the constitution of 1832. He was elected for two terms. During his second administration war commenced with Mexico, and with the aid of his skill, judgment and patriotism the first regiment of Mississippi, under the call made for volunteers from the Federal government, was organized and sent to that historic scene of international warfare, contributing much of the renown, prowess and varor which the American arms shed upon the flag of the United States. Governor Brown was one of the most prominent men of the MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 188 state, and a strong pillar of HISTORICAL president. This constitution has existed for sixteen years of democratic administration of the state government, and when it was changed, many leading democrats in t&e party of to-day, among them Gen. Edward Walthall, now in the United States senate from Mississippi, opposed it. After the adoption of the constitution of 1868, a republican convention met and nomi- nated B. B. Eggleston for governor and a full republican ticket. The democrats nominated B. G. Humphreys. Humphreys and Charles E. Hooker, who had been nominated as attor- ney-general on the democratic ticket, made a vigorous canvass of the state, as there was an estimated republican majority of twenty thousand to contend with, including the whites, then disfranchised. General McDowell, who was then in command of the military district, issued an order removing Humphreys and Hooker and other state officers, as obstructive to the reconstructive policy, and appointed Adelbert Ames as military governor of the state. The democratic canvass was made under the direction of John D. Freeman, chairman of the democratic state executive committee. Humphreys refused to obey the military order of McDowell, and continued to hold the oiHce of governor, from which he was ejected by a mili- tary company under the order of Governor Ames. On the 15th of January, 1870, Governor Ames transmitted to the legislature copies of the fourteenth and fifteeth amendments to the constitution of the United States, which the two houses ratified, according to the prescribed terms of a resolution of congress. James L. Alcorn was elected governor of the state in 1869, as the candidate of the republican party, and was thus the nineteenth chief magistrate of the commonwealth, and the first chosen under the constitution of 1868. It may be here remarked that the only material change in this constitution from that of 1832 was making the judiciary appointive by the governor, by and with the advice and consent of the senate. The office of lieutenant- governor was also reestablished. In Governor Alcorn's first inaugural address, he said: " The military government which I have the happiness to bow this day out of the state, was no more a subject of pleasure to me than it was to any other Mississippian whose blood glows with the instinct of self-govern- ment." He also said that "The ballot-box, the jnry box and the offices of the state should be thrown open to the competent and honest, without distinction of color." Previ- ously to his accession to the gubernatorial office he had been elected United States senator, and therefore he did not remain in the office of governor long. Ames and Alcorn were now the United States senators, and both of them, from some antagonism engendered upon the floor of the senate, decided to become candidates for gov- ernor of the state at the next election. The conservative republicans favored Alcorn, and the extreme wing of the party supported Ames. The democratic party, in convention, deter- mined by resolution that it was "inexpedient in the approaching state election to nominate a state ticket. " This left the contest to be determined between the republican candidates, and Ames was elected and installed in office in January, 1874. During his administration there was considerable race trouble and prejudice engendered through the politics of the time, the negroes then being induced to take an interest in public afPairs. They, however soon discovered that without some probationary training for this exercise of a new right, which was once suggested by President Grant, that it was a fruitless field for them, as they did their voting at the will of others, who reaped the spoils of office, and they have mani- fested a marked indifference to politics from that day to the present time. In December the governor called an extra sessien of the legislature, which was based upon alleged disorders in Warren county. The people, who paid now a state tax of $1.40 on MEMOIRB OF MISSISSIPPI. 139 the dollar of assessed value of land and exorbitant levies in the counties, had insisted that the sheriff and other officers should execute new and sufficient bonds, or surrender their trusts. Taxpayers' conventions were held all over the state. The democratic state convention assembled on August 3, 1875. It was largely attended, and gray-haired men, who had not been to the state capital for years, or participated in any political scene for a quarter of a century, were there. L. Q. C. Lamar addressed the convention, depicting with his vivid eloquence the depressed condition of the state, and the oppressive policy of taxation which had been pursued, but inspiring hope for the ultimate survival of peace, order and good government. Senator J. Z. George was elected chairman of the democratic state executive committee. The platform demanded the reduction of taxation, honest, impartial and economical government, biennial session of the legislature, an able and competent judiciary, a discontinuance of special and local legislation, protests against the arming of militia in times of peace and the encouragement of agriculture. Ex-Governor and ex-Senator A. G. Brown, then an old man, retired from the conflict of public life, at a public meeting in his county, offered the following resolution: "That, without equivocation or mental reservation, we intend to carry out the principles enunciated in the platform of the democratic party, and to this we pledge our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor." At this time Judge Wiley P. Harris, an eminent lawyer of the state, and democrat, addressed a club of his party, suggesting a union of the Southern people with the liberal republicans of the North, who deprecated the gross mismanagement of the Southern states under reconstruction laws, but who thought it right and wise that the constitution of the Southern states should rest on the basis of impartial suffrage. The campaign of 1875 was organized with great spirit and skill. Clubs were formed all over the gtate, which was soon converted into a perfect blaze of political excitement. General George, the chairman of the democratic state executive committee, wired the attorney-general of the United States that there were no disturbances in Mississippi, and no obstruction to the execution of the laws. General Grant, though importuned to interfere, refused to do so. There were some spasmodic collisions between the leaders of the respec- tive parties, which led to bloodshed of both whites and blacks, but there was no race conflict in the state. The public speeches delivered by the democratic orators were temperate and conservative in tone, but fi.rm and not to be mistaken, thousands of negroes concluding at last that it was better to cast their destinies with the white leaders of public opinion, whom they had always known and could confide in. A democratic legislature was elected and an entire democratic delegation returned to congress. Notwithstanding the charge which had been made against Governor Ames for his numerous, repeated and flagrant violations of the constitution, almost immediately after the election a democratic meeting held in one of the counties of the state passed the following resolution, showing the temper and spirit of that party, to bring about peace and harmony and satisfactory government under existing conditions, if possible: ' ' Eesolved, That we desire that Governor Ames will persevere in the measures of retrenchment and reform heretofore recommended by him, and calculated to lighten the burdens of the people, and we hereby respectfully request our representatives, in both branches of the legislature, to give to him their confidence and support in all matters of state policy, desiring to advance the true and permanent interests of the state; and, further- more, and as the sense of this meeting, it is right that the past be forgotten, and that the chief executive of the state, the legislature and all others of the state, act henceforth in union and harmony, and with an eye single to the public good." I 140 BIOQBAPHWAL AND EI8T0RI0AL The governor's message to the legislature unfortunately was not in this spirit, as he indulged to some extent in traducing the white people of the state. In pursuance of a resolution oEFered to inquire into the official conduct of Adelbert Ames, a committee was appointed to make an investigation accordingly. On the 22d of February, its report was submitted, recommending the impeachment of the governor for official mis- conduct, on eleven separate and distinct charges. The substance of these was that he had in several specified instances refused to remove certain officials as required by law, and had in other cases made removals without cause; that he had caused a conflict between races, attended by bloodshed, at Vicksburg, in December, 1874, by directing Peter Crosby's return, in violation of law, and sustaining him in taking possession of the sheriff's office of Warren county, and that he had attempted to incite a war of races in Hinds county, in October, 1875, by causing a company of colored militia, which had taken part in the Clinton riot, to parade the streets of that town, armed and defiant. The report and the resolution of impeachment were adopted by the house February 25, by a vote of eighty-six to fourteen, all the repub- licans present, and two democrats voting in the negative. Twenty-three articles of impeach- ment were prepared and adopted. On the 13th of March, all the preliminary proceedings of the court were taken, and the trial was to begin on the 29th of March, when the follow- ing letter, addressed by the governor to his counsel, was submitted to the house: "Gentle- men : In regard to your suggestion, I beg leave to say that in consequence of the election of last November, I fouad myself confronted with the hostile legislature and embarrassed and baffled in my endeavors to carry out my plan for the welfare of the state and of my party. I had resolved, therefore, to resign my office as governor of the state of Mississippi. Bat meanwhile, proceedings of impeachment were instituted against me, and of course I could not, and would not retire from my position under the imputation of any charge affect- ing my honor or integrity. For the reasons indicated, I still desire to escape burdens which are compensated by no possibility of public usefulness; and if the articles of impeachment presented against me were not pending, and the proceedings were dismissed, I should feel at liberty to carry out my desire and purpose of resignation. I am very truly yours, Adelbert Ames." The house then passed the following resolution: " That the managers on the part of this house, in the matter of the impeachment of Adelbert Ames, governor of said state, be, and they are hereby directed to dismiss the said articles against the said Adelbert Ames, governor, as aforesaid, which were heretofore exhibited by them against him at the bar of the senate. ' ' The proceedings were accordingly dismissed in the senate by a vote of twenty-four to seven. Governor Ames immediately resigned, and Col. J. M. Stone, president pro tern, of the senate, was at once installed in the office of governor, in joint convention of the two houses. Articles of impeachment had also been presented against the colored lieutenant-governor of the state, Alexander K. Davis, charging him, while acting as governor in the absence of Governor Ames, with receiving a bribe as consideration for granting a pardon to a man con- victed of murder. He was tried and convicted, by a vote of thirty-two to four, six republi- cans, one of them colored, voting guilty. The four voting not guilty were all colored republicans. Sentence was passed on the 23d of March, by a vote of twenty-five to four, removing Mr. Davis from office, and disqualifying him from holding any office of profit, honor or trust in the future. Articles of impeachment were also pending against T. W. Cardoza, a colored superin- MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 141 teadent of public education, for coavertiug to his own use funds of a colored normal school of the state, while treasurer of the institution; for obtaining money from the state for unnecessary books for the public schools, a portion of which was for his own benefit; and with proposing with another to divide and convert to their own use a portion of the school teachers' funds of Warren county. Mr. Cardoza asked permission to resign his otfice, and have the proceedings dismissed, which was accordingly done. Two amendments to the constitution of the state were adopted. One of these abolished the office of lieutenant-governor, and the other provided for a biennial session of the legis- lature, beginning in January, 1878. The republican party of the state held a convention at Jackson on the 30th of March, 1876, to appoint delegates to the national convention at Cincinnati, to nominate candidates for the presidential election, and choose a state executive committee. The following were some of the clauses of the platform adopted: We adopt the sentiment of General Grant: "Let no guilty man escape," and we further say. Let every guilty man be brought to punishment. In view of these sentiments, we arraign the democratic leaders of Mississippi, and charge them with prosecuting impeachments for partisan purposes, and to consolidate power obtained by violence, intimidation and fraud. They charged the late governor, and the late superintendent of education, with high crimes and misdemeanors. If guilty, they should be punished; if innocent, justice and truth ha%'e been wantonly violated; whether guilty or innocent, could only be known upon a full, fair and impartial trial. This the accused parties were not onlj- entitled to, but justice demanded it. lustead, assuming their charges to be true, democrats have compounded felonies, and have thus added another serious crime to the long catalogue of high crimes and misde- meanors on their part. We, the republicans of Jlississippi, therefore arraign the democratic party of the state before an enlightened public sentiment, and charge that party with corruption in order to secure public offices for partisan purposes. The history of impeachment shows this, and nothing less. They have usurped the power from the people, first by violence, intimidation and fraud, and thereby providing that a senator, elected as such, shall be governor, thus refusing to let the people say who shall 'be governor. Themselves illegally elected, the}' seek to maintain power by unheard-of legislation in the interest of the democratic party, without regard to the rights or will of the people, and in disregard of both. The}' have gerrymandered the state by most outrageous, unj ust and partisan alteration of the con- gressional districts. As important and vital as are the great principles in the foregoing, we present to the people of the state and of the whole country, as underlying and overriding all other issues, as containing all that is dear to us, as one that will invade the North and West if not arrested and crushed out, the question of the freedom of the ballot. Violence at elections is a blow at free institutions, and these, with us, are practically a mockery. This violence will destroy all other interests, social, educational, financial, business and religious. The democratic state convention, for similar purposes, was held at Jackson on the 14th of June, and put in their answer and defense to the indictment against it, contained in the republican platform, as follows: Resolved, That the democrats and conservatives, in convention assembled, iiroclaim their heartfelt gratitude for the complete victory which was won by the advocates of reform, in the election of 1875, liver the incompetent, corrupt and prescriptive political organization which had held unlimited control of the state government for six years, and that the}- emphatically repelled the imputation that their triumph was won by any other than the legal, honest and sincere efforts which the justice of their cause, and their duty as freemen to maintain unimpaired their inalienable rights, demanded them to make. That in proof of the sincerity of the pledges of the victorious party in that election to reduce ex- penditures to an honest and economical standard and elevate the scale of official qualifications, we point with pride and pleasure to the acts of its late session, to which body the thanks of the whole people are due, for its faithful discharge of duty in correcting the abuses of the public service; in diminishing the burden of taxation; in dismissing the supernumerary officials from the various branches of the public 143 BIOaBAPHIGAL AND HISTORICAL service, who consumed the earning of labor without rendering an equivalent; in dispensing the blessings of just laws without distinction of race, color or class; in holding faithless public officials to strict accountability for their misconduct; and especially does the popular branch of the legislature standing as the grand impress of the commonwealth deserve thanks for investigating the acts of the guilty officials whom it arraigned for malfeasance, corruption and usurpation of unconstitutional powers, and for driving them by the perils of the ofEeudey have formed among themselves two organizations: a Young Woman's Christian association and a literary society. The institute has thus far cost the state 190,- 000, and, it is claimed, has recompensed it a thousand fold. A. H. Beals, president, took charge of the institute June 14, 1890. John A. Nelson is the proctor. The town of Columbus was incorporated in 1822, and William L. Moore was the first mayor. The first house erected on the present site of Columbus was a small split log hut, built by Thomas Thomas in 1817. There was nothing like a settlement till about the middle of June, 1819, when Thomas Sampson (who was afterward probate judge), William Vizer- spirous Roach and William Poor came to the place, and a short time afterward the citizens of the neighborhood had a meeting, and at the suggestion of Silas McBee, Esq., the town was called Columbus. About this time came Thomas Townsend, Green Bailey, Dr. B. C. Barry, Silas Brown, Hancock Chisholm, William Conover, William Fernandes, John H. Leech and several others. In September, 1 830, the treaty of Dancing Rabbit creek was held by the United States and the Choctaws, whereby they were required to remove during the falls of 1831-3. In 1832 the government made a treaty with the Chickasaws at Pontotoc creek, and both nations were removed by 1833. This threw open an immense body of the finest lands in the South for settlement, and the county rapidly filled with a wealthy and enter- prising population. The Columbus Whig and Columbus Democrat were two of the first newspapers of the town. The former was edited by W. A. Short and William P. Don- nell, and the latter by Worthington & Thompson. The first death in Columbus was that of Mrs. Keziah Cocke, wife of William Cocke and stepmother of Hon. Stephen Cocke. In 1837 occurred the hanging of the gamblers at Vicksburg and Natchez. This caused a stampede of large numbers of those who congregated in Columbus. They were all well dressed and fine looking men. They turned every room they could get into a gambling resort, and in every part of the public streets could be heard the rattling dice and poker chips. The mayor (Squire Donald) was determined to get rid of them, and notified them that they must leave, at which they were very defiant, and proceeded to arm themselves, buying up all the ammunition and arms that they could get and fortifying themselves in up-stair rooms. The mayor gave them one week to leave and ordered two companies of volunteers to report to him with am uunition and arms on the following Monday. The gamblers held out until Friday, when nine of them applied to Dr. T. H. Mayo, then stage manager, for seats, paid for them and left at dark. The next morning several more applied, and in the next few hours all the vehicles that could be had were carrying the gamblers out of town, and by Monday all had disappeared. Tombigbee Cottonmills company was organized in 1887, with H. Johnston president, W. C. Richards vice president and W. Johnston secretary and treasurer. The building, which is a four- story brick 50x200, with two wings, was completed in 1888 at a cost of about $44,000. It is well equipped with modern machinery at a cost of about $75,000. The mill is in operation the year round and employs about one hundred men and women. They manufacture shirting, sheeting, osnaburgs and B drilling. Columbus lodge No. 5, A. F. & A. M., was organized February 24, 1821. The first MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 189 officers were: Thomas Sampson, W. M. ; William Cocke, S. W. ; B. C. Barry, J. W. ; William W. Bell, treasurer; E. D. Haden, secretary; Titus Howard, S. D. ; Edward Kewen, J. D. ; Samuel Cowell, secretary and treasurer. The lodge did not get its charter until January 8, 1822, when it was granted to the following charter members: Gideon Lincecum, W. M. ; E. D. Haden, S. W. ; John H Morris, J. W. ; Oyid P. Brown, Silas Brown, B. C. Barry, Thomas Sampson, John Pitchlyn, Thomas Townsend, David Folsom, William Cooke, William W. Bell, Littlebury Hawkins, John Bell, D. Lawrence. The present officers are: T. B. Franklin, W. M.; J. H. Stevens, S. W.; W. H. Coburn, J. W.; C. L. Lincoln, treasurer; C. S. Franklin, secretary; E. S. Donald, S. D. ; A. J. Owings, J. D. ; Charles Calhoun, tyler. The lodge meets on the first Friday night of each month. The membership is ninety five. For the year 1890 it conferred about two hundred and fifty degrees in the different ranks of its order. Covenant lodge No. 20, I. O. O. F., was organized October 1, 1846, with William Cady as noble grand. McKendree lodge No. 32, I. O. O. F., was organized October 7, 1847. From these two lodges emerged Union lodge No. 35, I. O. O. F. They consolidated in 1868 and the new lodge received its charter August 5, 1868. The first officers were: W. C. Heam, N. Gr. ; G. T. Stainback, V. G. ; J. P. Krecker, secretary; H. Hale, treasurer. The present officers are: J. D. Hutchinson, N. G. ; H. M. Lanier, V. G. ; J. H. Stevens, secretary; C. L. Lincoln, treasurer. The lodge meets Monday night each week. The membership is fifty- five. This organization owns its hall and three-story building with store and offices, all of which are rented. The property is valued at $15,000. The lodge has also a fine cemetery consisting of thirty acres, known as Friendship cemetery, a portion of which was purchased in 1848. The first person buried therein was Mrs. Elizabeth St. Clair. Joachim lodge I. O. O. B. No. 181, was instituted October, 1871, belonging to districts Nos. 7 and 6. In November, 1872, district No. 7 was made independent, with headquarters at Memphis, Tenn. At the same time an endowment law was enacted which gave $1,000 to the widows of deceased brothers. The first officers were: S. Liohenstadter, president; J. Bluhm, vice president; Charles Schuster, secretary; L. Fleishman, financial secretary; J. Hirshman, treasurer. The present officers are: S. Wolff, president; Mr. Loeb, vice president; S. Schwab, secretary; L. Fleishman, treasurer. The lodge meets first and third Sundays of each month. Its membership is twenty- one. Columbus lodge No. 26, K. of H, was organized on March 20, 1877, with thirteen charter members. Its officers were composed of W. B. Bryan, past dictator; J. W. Worrell, dictator; George Whitfield, vice dictator; C. H. Worrell, assistant dictator; A. J. McDowell, reporter; S. Lichenstadter, financial reporter; E. E. Spiers, guide. The time of meeting is on first and third Thursday nights in each month. The membership is fifty-eight. Tombigbee lodge No. 12, K. of P., was instituted July 10, 1889. Its first officers were W. L. Kemp, C. C; W. A. J. Jones, V. C; H. A. Osborne, prelate; C. S. W. Price, M. of Ex.; George F. Shattuck, M. of F. ; S. Schwab, K. of E. & S. ; E. E. Spiers, M. at A. Its present officers are W. A. J. Jones, P. C. ; D. P. Davis, C. C. ; A. A. Wofford, V. C. ; W. L. Jobe, prelate; S. Schwab, K. of E. & S.; Mr. Loeb, M. of F.; George F. Shattuck, M. of Ex.; E. E. Spiers, M. at A. The lodge meets on the first and third Tuesdays in each month. The membership is forty-four. The last election for mayor and council in Columbus occurred December 1, 1890. There was no opposition to the democratic ticket. Captain Moore has been elected mayor three times, and his administration of affairs has given great satisfaction. E. T. Sykes, J. M. McGown, D. M. Eichards, W. W. Westmoreland, J. M. Street and C. S. Franklin con- stitute the board of councilmen. Among the several villages of this county are Crawford, Arteria and Caledonia. 190 BWOBAPHICAL AND HI8T0RWAJ. Aberdeen, the seat of justice of Monroe county, and one of the oldest towns in the northern part of the state, is situated on the west bank of the Tombigbee river, and has a population of about three thousand four hundred and forty-five. It is beautifully located and has a good trade, although it is not as extensive as formerly, as only branch lines are built to Aber- deen. The Mobile & Ohio, Kansas City, Memphis & Birminghan and the Illinois Central lines all have branches terminating at Aberdeen. The United States courthouse and post- office building cost in the neighborhood of $100,000, and is a beautiful and imposing struct- ure. The town has a cotton campus, an ice factory, a spoke factory and other manufactures, and two flourishing banks; The First National, organized May 1, 1887, with a capital of 175,000, formerly the private bank of Jinkins Bros., and the bank of Aberdeen, organized October 10, 1888, with a capital stock of $50,000. The city has one of the finest and most complete public school buildings in the state, and several elegant church buildings. Aberdeen possesses many advantages as a manufacturing and distributing center, and will in the course of time develop into an important city. The present conspicuous advantages of Aberdeen will be greatly improved with the completion of prospective rail- roads, which, besides giving increased transportation facilities, will also place it in direct communication with the great coal and iron districts of Alabama, located within a reasonable distance, and giving access to the great forests of valuable timber which form one of the most valuable, while least appreciated, of the resources of the Southern states. Prof. Lawrence C. Johnson, of the United States Geological survey, recently expressed himself as follows, concerning Aberdeen and its surroundings: " At the head of navigation, this is the natural and nearest outlet to a large territory of both Mississippi and Alabama. It should control the coal and iron regions of at least Lamar and Marion counties, Ala., and have an equal chance at the grand coal fields of Walker. With your population and position you already possess two kinds of capital necessary to enter the lists in the great iron industries of what we may term the New South. Your position, geologically considered, is advantageous. Situated at the eastern edge of what the books call the Eutaw formation of the cretaceous group, you have behind you all the wealth of the calcareous soils of the prairie. Beyond the Tombigbee you have thin soils, it is true, in the sharp hills of what we call the Tuscaloosa formation; but these hills are clothed with the finest timber, and when that is removed it becomes the land of the mulberry, grape, peach, and all the fruits of our climate. In this formation let it be understood that you have no gold, no silver, no lead, nor any coal; do not waste your time upon them; but you have an abundance of iron ores, carbonates and limonites of various grades. In Lamar county, from ten to fifteen miles of the Mississippi line, there are many deposits of limonite ore. The old Hale & Murdock mines are well known. This is not an accidental, sporadic case of the occurrence of ore, but belongs to a system — belongs to the lower division of the Tuscaloosa formation, which we have traced from Autauga county, Ala., to Tishomingo county, Miss. It may not be discovered as a continuous iron belt, because erosion has played a big part here, and has cut many gaps in it; and another later formation, called the Orange sand, has in many places covered up, and now conceals the older strata. The Tuscaloosa formation has another in its upper division; not as rich, perhaps, as the lower, and is still more interfered with by erosions and by Orange sand deposits, but of much importance to Aberdeen, because it lies up and down the headwaters of your river and approaches quite near to your city. This might well be called the Greenwood springs belt, for it appears in Monroe county in greatest force in that vicinity. It is two or three miles in breadth, extending to the high hills east of Buttahatchie river, opposite MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 191 the mouth of Sipsey, and southeastward from that point; on the west of the Buttahatchie it tends northward, up Sipsey. This belt exhibits two classes of ore: one superficial, found only on the tops of the ridge, as well as seen in two of the cuts of the Kansas City, Mem- phis & Birmingham railroad, east and west of Wise's gap; the other ore springs from a different source, and is found in the foot hills near Greenwood springs. This last is a limonite that is formed from a change of the carbonate; a carbonate I did not actually see, but know its presence, not only from the resultant ziodic chambered ore seen there, but from the abundance of springs charged with bicarbonate of iron. Of these the chief is "Greenwood." Aberdeen commandery, U. D.. was organized in 1891. Frank P. Jinkins is eminent commander. Wildy lodge No. 21, I. O. 0. F., is an old lodge, of which W. S. Lindamood is noble grand. Eureka lodge No. 719, Knights of Honor, organized about 1875, with Dr. William G. Sykes as dictator, is in a prosperous condition. It has about one hundred members, and J. M. Acker is the dictator. Castle Gray lodge No. 198, Knights of the Golden Eule, organized December 21, 1881, by Deputy Supreme Commander J. E. Hodges, has about one hundred members. Apollo lodge No. 14, Knights of Pythias, established in 1878, with William Howard as chancellor commander, now has a membership of about forty-five, and Kirby Laun is its chancellor commander. Aberdeen lodge No. 32, A. F. & A. M., was organized iu 1837, with J. H. Lawson as worshipful master, and the following members: David Hall, Nathaniel W. Walton, T. B. Pollard, John Franks, James G. Williams, Daniel Burnett, Thomas J. Ford, George Weight- man, Parker Alexander, A. R. Hunter, A. J. HoUiday, John Abbott and Alex Baker. Dr. William G. Sykes is now worshipful master. In 1884 the lodge erected a magnificent three- story brick temple at a cost of about $38,000. This beautiful structure, which also contains the operahouse, has a seating capacity of six hundred. Amory lodge No. 165, A. F. & A. M. , at Amory, organized with Hon. Wright Cun- ningham as worshipful master. W. A. Griffith is now worshipful master. This lodge was formed by the consolidation of lodges Nos. 165 and 178. Buphemia Royal Arch chapter No. 13, at Aberdeen, was organized in 1847, with R. H. Dalton as high priest. Frank P. Jinkins is the present high priest. Aberdeen council, E. & S. M., No. 28, was organized iu 1860, with B. B. Barker, J. N. Walton and W. S. Vestal as first officials. Present officers are R. B. Brannin, C. N. Siinpson and S. H. Berg. Other towns in this county are Amory, Smithville, Quincy, Gattman, Strongs, Reynolds, Prairie and Muldon. Water Valley is situated on the Illinois Central railroad, about ninety miles southeast of Memphis, midway between Jackson, Tenn., and Canton, Miss. Water Valley has risen from a heap of ashes since the war and grown to a population of two thousand, eight hundred and twenty-eight and in wealth to several millions. The Indians still roamed the forest in the neighborhood in 1840, while some rude habitations indicated the thrift with which a live pop- ulation were beginning to enter upon the work of reducing to civilization an unbroken wil- derness. The first house in or near the town was built about this time by a Mr. Ragland, and is now occupied by Dr. Askew. It was a stage stand along a public highway between Oxford and CofPeeville. About 1847 Capt. P. D. Woods built near the same spot a rude storehouse and kept a stock of goods which would not now compare with the most unpreteu- 193 BIOQRAPHIOAL AND HISTORICAL tious house in the city. The goods were brought by chance wagons from Memphis and other points. Capt. William Oarr had already built a log house which now stands near the center of the business portion of town, east of the railroad. Mr. Rasha Robinson settled about a half-mile north. The town was incorporated in 1848 and B. H. Collins was the first mayor. About 1850 there had sprung up two or three business houses near the present site of the town. In 1856 the Mississippi Central railroad was complete to this point, and the little town of a half-dozen business houses began to assume the airs of a railway station. In 1861 there were perhaps a dozen places of business. A company was raised in the town and sur- rounding country which for gallantry and courage stand prominent in the history of the lost cause. The Federal army pushed its way to the city in the winter of 1862-3 and burned the little wooden village, and its people returned to find the rewards of their industry a heap of ashes. In 1865 there were left from the ravages of war two or three business houses. Oxford and Holly Springs suffered also, and at the latter place the car shops of the railroad were burned. Inducements were offered to the railway company to rebuild its shops in Water Valley, which was determined upon in 1867. Now began an era of prosperity, and hand- some buildings sprang up like magic. With the meager facilities merchants were scarcely able to handle the immense business which crowded upon them, but it seemed well nigh im- possible to overtax the resources and tact of those who guided the destinies of the young city. Buildings sprang into existence every day and the population increased faster than industry could furnish shelter; yet the spirit of improvement never flagged, and in 1874 the popula- tion had grown from two hundred to twenty-five hundred. Already the city had overshad- owed her plucky little neighbor. CofEeeville had wrung from her a division of the courts, and was fast absorbing the trade that formerly went to that place and Oxford. Other causes tended to cause a cessation of growth for some years; but her plucky business men faced the storm of depression and maintained a brave front, and now have finally overcome all difficul- ties and are on a solid financial basis. Within the past three years many handsome buildings have gone up. Real estate has nearly doubled in value. The population is increasing. Water Valley bank was chartered in 1888. The company is successor to Bryant & Shackelford, who began business in 1882. Mr. G. D. Able, formerly of Oxford, is the cashier, and Mr. John Wagner bookkeeper, the latter the son of Mr. D. R. Wagner. Both of them are native Mississippians. The bank does a daily business of about $15,000. The cotton factory enterprise was begun by a joint stock company about 1870. The build- ing was nearly completed by the company when itfailed,and it stood idle for some years, when Mr. D. R. Wagner determined that an enterprise so important to the city should be enlivened by the hum of machinery. He, with his associates, purchased the property and imported the machinery at once. The value of this property to the city may easily be estimated when it is known that seven hundred and fifty thousand pounds of cotton are consumed yearly, and the gross earnings amount to nearly $40,000, a large part of which is paid to operatives, and the surplus of profit on the capital invested, goes into investment here. The Water Valley Manufacturing company, which began operations in 1866, was later merged into the concern controlling the mills. Around Water Valley, imbedded under the soil, is the best of clays for the manufacture of earthenware. The factory commenced operations a little more than two years ago, and has demonstrated the fact that a profitable enterprise is open for development here. The planingmill and sash, door and blind factory is doing a good business. Water Valley lodge No. 132, A. F. & A. M., was chartered in 1847. Valley City lodge MEM0IM8 OF MISSISSIPPI.^ 193 No. 402 was organized July 5, 1888. St. Cyr commandery No. 6, K. T., was organized January 25, 1867. Water Valley lodge No. 82, I. O. O. F., was chartered January 23, 1867; Grand Eacampment No. 22, March 1, 1887. Knights of Honor loige No. 1062, is a pros- X^erous organization. Lochinvar lodge No. 55, K. of P. , was organized May 14, 1890. The Water Valley Courier was established April 5, 1867, by E. A. Goodland, editor and proprietor. It was afterward sold to W. B. Yowell, who changed its name to the Southern Eagle. About one year later it was sold to P. W. Merrin, who called it The Vallonian, and afterward restored to it its original name. In 1882 he moved the plant to Plant City, Fla., where the paper is published as the South Florida Courier by S. W. Merrin & Son. The Mississippi Central was founded in 1869 by Capt. E. M. Brown and A. V. Rowe. In 1875 it was purchased by S. B. Brown. In 1881 it was published by Johnson Ater, with E. A. Garland as editor. In 1885 it was changed to the F'ree Churchman, and edited by M. B. Fly. In 1887, as the People's Friend, it was published by G. Ayoock. In 1888 it was pur- chased by McFarland & Lee, and published as the North Mississippi Herald. The Progress was founded in 1882 by S. B. Brown as editor and publisher, with his son, T. D. Brown, as assistant editor. The Cumberland Presbyterian church of Water Valley was organized October 14, 1843. Rev. Angus Johnson was first pastor, with James M. Morrison and Robert Nickle as elders. The organization was originally known as the Otuckaloffe church, but its name was soon after changed to Water Valley church. W. V. Johnson had charge in 1848-59; E. C. David- son, 1860-78; J. W. Roseborough, 1878-80; S. I. Reid, 1881-2; H. M. Sydenstricker, 1883-5; J. T>. Lester, the present pastor, came in 1886. The church now has a member- ship of one hundred and ninety-three, and the house of worship was completed in 1868 at a cost of $8,000. Mr. Lester, the present pastor, is a native of Union county, Tenn., and was ordained in 1883 at Memphis, Tenn. He is stated clerk of the synod of Memphis, and clerk of the North Mississippi presbytery. The elders of the church and the dates of their ordination are: J. C. Mury, 1859; A. G. Butord, 1861; W. E. Benson, 1883; R. R. Pate, 1 883, and Baron Leland, 1883. Elder T. J. Price, ordained in 1887, died in 1890. Methodist Episcopal church of Water Valley was organized in 1858, by Rev. Robert Martin, with a membership of twenty. Services were held in the Masonic building. In 1859 the church erected a house of worship, completed in 1861, which was replaced by the present building in 1870, at a cost of |6,000. Rev. Mr. Martin was succeeded by Revs. M. D. Fly, W. S. Harrison, J. M. Boone, J. W. Honnol, J. W. Price, J. S. Oakley, J. M. Wyatt, and the present pastor, Rev. T. W. Dye. The church has a membership of three hundred and fifty, and its Sunday-school numbers three hundred. The church received its largest accession of membership during the labors of Rev. Harrison, a most noble man, now of Starksville, Miss. Missionary Baptist church of Water Valley was organized August 19, 1859, with a membership of five, all of whom are now deceased except Mr. and Mrs. Shaw, of Natchez, Miss. The present membership is about one hundred and fifty. Rev. E. L. Wesson is pas- tor. There are other religious organizations represented here. CofEeeville is one of the goahead cities on the Illinois Central, and has a population of eight hundred. It is one of the county seats of Yalobusha, located in the southwestern por- tion of the county, and is surrounded by a rich country and was incorporated in 1836. It has no boom, but each year shows a large increase of population. It has good schools, good society, and many churches. The business men, as a class, are spirited, enterprising, pro- gressive, sagacious and public- spirited merchants, and a more generous or wholesouled class 194 BIOQRAPHIOAL AND HISTOBIOAL was never gathered in one city of its size. Ttie new and elegant courthouse and many fine stores and buildings are evidences of thrift and prosperity. The Coffeeville high school has qviite recently moved into new buildings. The number of pupils enrolled has greatly increased during the current year. By the introduction of all the many branches taught in the higher schools, the advantage to be derived from attending this school has been greatly increased. An endeavor is being made to make the school so thorough that it will not be necessary for students to go from home to receive an education. The school has been brought to such a standard that it has few rivals in Mississippi. The Wynu and Preston institute, with a large two-story building, was founded in 1890. Coffeeville was a very popular and flourishing city in the antebellum days, and had among its citizens some of the highest men of the South. The first paper published at Coffeeville was the Yalobusha Pioneer. The pioneer editor was E. Percy Howe. Beginning about 1850, the Southern Appeal was published for some years. Coffeeville Masonic lodge No. 83 was founded in 1818. The first merchants of Coffeeville were D. M. Eayburn, Bridges & Shaw, and James Jones. The first white child born in Yalobusha county was James D. Haile, now bookkeeper for Herron & Co., of Coffeeville. S. McCreles built the first house in Coffeeville some time in 1830, and gave the place its name. The Methodist church was probably the first religious body formed here'. It now has a neat building and a membership of about eighty-five. The Cumberland Presbyterian church was organized by Rev. W. S. Burney, of Oxford, Miss., in 1845. Eev. Mr. Burney was succeeded by Dr. J. C. Provine, now of Nashville, Tenn., and he by Dr. E. S. Thomas, the present pastor, for over forty years in charge of the church. When he came in 1848 the church had only eight members. The present membership is sixty-five. The first building was erected in old Coffeeville in 1850, the present brick struc- ture in 1877. The Baptists have a building here. Their pastor is Eev. Mr. Farris. The Coffeeville academy was founded by Dr. Thomas in 1850, and flourished until the war. The Coffeeville institute, founded in 1867, flourished about ten years. Other towns and villages in this county are Torrance, Oakland, Garner and Tillatoba. Ceffeeville, Water Valley and Torrance are on the Illinois Central railroad; the other places mentioned, on the Mississippi & Tennessee railroad. Pine Valley is an old and well-known business point. Tabernacle lodge No. 340 was organized there with thirty members. Taber- nacle Methodist Episcopal Church South was organized in 1840. It now occupies its third house of worship, a lai>ge structure, with a Masonic hall in connection. Corinth, the seat of justice of Alcorn county, is the most prominent city in northern Mississippi, and has a population of twenty- five hundred. It is situated on the Memphis & Charleston and Mobile & Ohio railroads, ninety-three miles from Memphis. During the Civil war it was occupied successively by the Federal and Confederate forces, it hav- ing been regarded as a point of much strategic importance. The Confederate army fell back on Corinth after the battle of Pittsburg landing. Upon its evacuation by Beauregard, Corinth was invested by Halleck. General Eosecrans made his headquarters at Corinth while in command of the district. General Van Dorn attacked Corinth later and made determined battle, directing his troops in person, but was driven back and pursued by Gen- erals Harlbut and Ord, but escaped beyond the Hatchie river. Corinth has grown steadily and substantially since the war. It has ten churches, is MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 195 amply supplied with good public schools and other institutious of learning, and has numer- ous commercial, manufacturing and financial institutions. Jacinto, the former seat of justice, is a small place but the center of considerable local trade. Other towns are Danville, Rienzi, Wenasoga and Gleudale. Eienzi has a popula- tion of three hundred and seventy-five. Its first plat was near its present site, where at the outbreak of the war quite a village had grown up which had considerable prestige until the division of Tishomingo county. In 187-") Rienzi was visited by a destructive storm by which it was destroyed and a number'of its citizens were killed. The Methodists, Baptists and Cum- berland Presbyterians all have good houses of worship; they now meet in the Methodist church and in Mason's hall. Grenada, the capital of Grenada county, is a bustling, thriving little city of twenty- three hundred inhabitants, beautifully located on a level plateau at the head of navigation of the Yalobusha river, and on the main line of the Illinois Central railway, and is the terminus of the Mississippi & Tennessee railroad, a branch of the Illinois Central from Memphis to Grenada. Grenada has four churches: Methodist, Baptist, Presbyterian and Episcopal. Each has a good congregation and a flourishing Sunday-school. The Grenada Collegiate institute, costing S40,000, for the education of young ladies, and under the supervision of the North Mississippi conference, is located here and has about two hundred students. There is a high school for boys, and several smaller schools, besides two free schools (one white and one colored), with large attendance, presided over by com- petent teachers. Two public-school buildings, one for each race, have been erected, costing 115,000. In the management of the corporate affairs the strictest business rules are observed, and everything is done upon a cash Isasis. There are in successful operation a cotton com- press, a cottonseed oilmill, a steamgin and gristmill, a collar factory, a tannery, a cream- ery, ice factory and cold storage warehouse and other smaller enterprises. Other enterprises could be opened with profit, and the people of Grenada will advance means to worthy and comjjetent persons coming here to engage in creditable enterprises. There is a bank here with a paid-up capital of $60,000, and deposits of over §100,000, and a building and loan association which has proven a benefit to the community. The assessed value of the property in the city is over 1650,000. All branches of the mercantile business are represented. Grenada is one of the largest receivers of cotton on the Illinois Central railway, the average receipts being about fifteen thousand bales. The various secret orders are represented, and flourish- ing lodges of Masons, Odd Fellows, Knights of Pythias, and Knights of Honor are here. The city proper is just one mile square, and is laid off into beautiful lots and wide streets. The stores are handsome, and the residences comfortable and convenient. Many of the houses are of the latest styles of architecture. The cotton trade is extensive and growing, two thousand bales being handled each year. The town has the additional advantages of a cotton compress, which was erected in 1SS5. The business portion of Grenada lies about half a mile from the railroad. It comprises between forty and fifty stores. Every branch of business is well represented, some of the houses doing a very heavy trade. There are three good hotels and two lively newspapers. In banking facilities the city is well to the front. The Merchants' bank has a paid up capital of $40,000, and a large support from the district. A handsome new building has been erected for it on the public square. Grenada is not as yet rich in manufactories, biit there are a successful oilmill and gristmill and gin. 196 BIOGRAPHIOAL AND HI8T0BWAL The trade which supports thin active^ town is drawn from a circuit of seventy to eighty miles, and extends over five counties. There is a fair jobbing trade, and in some branches, notably hardware, dry goods and drugs, Grenada merchants launch out far beyond the limits of their territory. I<3xcellent freestone water is supi)lied by wells and pumps, and there is good natural drainage. Tlie system of sidewalks is complete and commendable. The most prominent building is the courthouse, an ornate structure of brick, erected in 1884 at a cost of $25,000. There is also a large public hall, with a capacity of eight hundred. Grenada has had some rough experiences. The town is older than the railroad. In 1847 it was devastated by a cyclone. In 1855 it was partially burnt. Early in 1884 the sudden failure of a bank sadly demoralized the business of the town. On the 16th of August, in the same year, a disastrous fire laid one side of Grenada in ruins, doing damage to the extent of more than if '250,000. To crown all these misfortunes the remaining bank closed its doors before the end of the year. The stores were rebuilt more substantially than ever; money was forthcoming; a sound financial system replaced the erratic methods of the broken institutions, and Grenada is to-day in every way, stronger, healthier and more prosperous than at any period of its existence. All the buildings on the public square are now of brick, with metal roofs. Property is increasing in value, and mauy new enterprises are in contemplation. Grenada lies in the mineral district of which Duck hill is the most prominent expo- nent. It is notable, also, that Grenada capitalists are largely interested in Duck hill's min- eral land company. The town is located on the land which John Donly, a mailcarrier for the Choctaw Indians, obtained by the Dancing Rabbit treaty. On this land, which lies on the left bank of Yalobusha river near the center of what is now Grenada county, sprang ujj the thriving vil- lage of Pittsburg, and on an adjoining tract of land and only a short distance away grew up the village of TuUahoma. They were rivals for some years, neither surrendering its name to the other, and they finally compromised on the name of Grenada, under which it was incorporated in 1836. In 1882 Grenada Female college was transferred to the north Mississippi conference, and has since been known as Grenada Collegiate institute, with Eev. Thomas J. Newell, a gradu- ate from Emory and Henry college, Virginia, aspresident. There are five instructors besides the president, and the school has a dormitory for about eighty boarding pupils, and a chapel with a seating capacity of about three hundred. The Methodist is probably the oldest church society in Grenada county, it having had an organization in Grenada as early as 1836. It erected a building about 1837, and in 1852 built its present house of worship. The Presbyterians organized about 1837 and built a house soon after. The Baptists came next, and built about 1845, but their house was destroyed in 1846 by a tornado. They at once built another struct- ure and occupied it till 1891; they have just completed a handsome brick building. The old Baptist church is now owned by the Cumberland Presbyterians, who organized a society in 1891. In 1851 the Baptists founded Yalobusha female institute at Grenada, and began the erection of a large four-story brick building, which was completed about 1857 at a cost of 147,000. Some time afterward the name was changed to Mercer institute, owing to a liberal endowment by a Mrs. Mercer. During the war the building was used as a hospital for the Confederate soldiers, and sometime after the war the institution fell into the hands of private individuals, and later into the possession of a Mr. Radsdale, who expended about $10,000 in improving the building, etc. MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 197 Grenada lodge No. 31, A. P. & A. M., was iucorporated iu 1838. The Graysport lodge No. 289, A. F. & A. M. , was organized a few years after the war, and was in existence some ten years, when it surrendered its charter. Grenada lodge No. 6, I. 0. 0. P., was chartered about 1840, with Mr. Tyler as uoble grand; has a membership of about fifty, and owns a fine brick hall, and is in a flourishing condition. L. P. Doty is noble grand. Grenada lodge, K. of H., No. 983, was organized iu 1878 with A. V. B. Thomas as dictator. The membership is about sixty. J. Ash is the dictator. Grenada lodge No. 158, K. & L. of H., was organized iu 1879. The membership is about forty-five. Ivanhoe lodge No. 8, K. of P., was organized in March, 1876, and has about fifty mem- bers. W. P. Pergusou is chancellor commander. Calumet encampment, I. O. O. P., No. 16, first organized about 1853, and surrendered its charter about 1880. It was chartered in 1891), and ha.s aboat fifteen members. Julius Ash is chief patriarch. Protection lodge No. '2, A. O. U. W., chartered about 1877, in 1878 paid out aboiit !f4tl,<'00 as a result of the yellow fever. It has about twelve members, and Rias Carl is mas- ter workman. The Orenada Bulletin was doubtless the first newspaper published iu what is now Grenada county, having been issued as early as 1836, by Wiiliam McClellan. Other papers that were published from time to time were the South Rural Gentleman, by Jerry Da^'is, followed by the Whig, the Grenada Republican, the Locomotive, the Grenada Gazette, after- ward the New Em, and the Grenada New South. The Grenada Sentinel succeeded the Locomotive in 1855, and is now the only paper in the county. Volume XXXVI is the cur- rent volume. J. W. Buchanan is the editor and proprietor. Other towns in this county are Elliott, Graysport and Hardy. Holly Springs, the beautiful and attractive seat of justice of Marshall county, dates back as far as the year 1836. Long before the war it was a prosperous town. Unfortunately, in the course of events Holly Springs suffered terribly. It was almost entirely destroyed during the war, and has never yet thoroughly recovered its status. Holly Springs is famous historically as the scene of Van Dorn's raid on the Federal stores. Many interesting incidents of the raid are told by the old residents. The old courthouse was burnt by Grant and most of the rest of the city by Van Dorn. Soon after the war the present courthouse was erected. It is a large two-story brick building, surrounded by an unusually well-kept grass lawn, at whose edge shade trees in great and rare variety give an additionally charming effect. Holly Springs is the market town of a varied and productive district. Cotton is the chief item of trade. A prominent druggist of Holly Springs has a very complete creamery near at hand, with fifteen Jersey cows and fifteen graded. He ships milk and cream to Memphis, besides supplying a portion of the home demand. Holly Springs also boasts of the only Holstein registry in the state. This is under the direction of Capt. Buchanan, and is doing excellent service. Trotting horses are being raised to quite an extent. There are some superb Kentucky stallions here. The farmers are devoting much attention to the breeding of horses and mules. Holly Springs is an injportant station on the Illinois Central railroad. The railroad company have established here an excellent hotel. The Memphis & Birmingham branch of the Kansas City, Port Scott & Gulf road also runs through here. This road connects the West with the Ala- bama mineral district. The public schools of Holly Springs are of a high grade of 198 BIOGRAPHICAL AND HISTOBIOAL excellence, and this is the site of the State Normal Colored school, the Maury Institute for girls, the Franklin Female college and the Bethlehem academy. Holly Springs has a population of two thousand two hundred and thirty-two. It is built on the west side of the ridge that divides the state on a north and south line, and Memphis is only fifty miles away. The soil round about, very much like the famous Mississippi swamp lauds, is fertile in the extreme, and the surface of the county is beauti- ful. From the beginning there it was patent that the town would become one of importance, and it soon left other towns in the territory far behind in the race for commercial and muni- cipal supremacy. The stream of immigration was then flowing southward and it bore to Holly Springs many well known planters, eminent lawyers and talented and scholarly physicians, who at once identified themselves with its interests, and were instrumental in [)lacing it upon a solid foundation conducive to future growth and prosperity. With the early history of Holly Springs such names as Roger Barton, Hon. Joe Chalmers, Gen. Alexander Bradford and John W. Watson are inseparably connected. From an early day the average population of the county was refined and educated, and down to the present time no community has stood higher than that of Holly Springs. Its business men as a class have been noted for the most rigid commercial integrity. Its banks have been strong and reliable. Its professional men have stood high at the bar of the county and state and upon the roll of those who elevate their lives to the alleviation of the suffering of their fellow- men. Its churches have been strong numerically and of farreaching spiritual influence, its preachers, some of them, among the most noted divines of the South. Its educational institutions, including its excellent public schools, have been thorough, efficient and popular, some of the men and women having oversight of them distinguished in literature and art. Holly Springs is a pushing, enterprising, advancing city, full of enterprise and ambition, and in the highest degree typical of the progressive spirit of the new South. Byhalia, Redbank, Victoria and Potts' Camp on the Kansas City, Memphis & Birming- ham railroad, and Waterford and Hudsonville on the Illinois Central railroad, are small railroad towns of growing importance. The following villages and trading points in the county have no railroad facilities: Early Grove, Mount Pleasant, Bainesville, Oak Grove, Cornersville, Bethlehem, Chulahoma Watson and Wall Hill. The city of Canton is situated almost in the center of Madison county, upon the main line of the Illinois Central railroad, at an altitude of three hundred and twenty feet above the Gulf. The site is a very desirable one, and Canton does not without good cause claim to be the prettiest city in the state. The streets are wide, and well graded and guttered, aggregating some twenty miles. The principal business center is the public square, around whose four sides the merchants have erected their establishments, many of which are large, ornamental and costly brick structures, while the immense stocks carried indicate that a very large and flourishing trade is enjoyed in every line. In the residence portion are found many large and ornate homes, indicative of wealth and a cultivated taste, while an air of solidity is everywhere observable that is both refreshing and confidence-inspiring to the stranger. One of the pleasing features of Canton is the large numbers of noble trees by which its streets and private grounds are shaded. The county courthouse occupies the center of the public square, and is a beautiful and imposing brick, stone and iron structure, which was erected in 1852, but is in a splendid state of preservation. It stands in the center of a four-acre plat, surrounded by stately trees. MEMOIRS OF MISSTSSIPPI. 199 and the ground is covered with a thick carpet of grass. Both the brick and stone of which this building was constructed are products of Madison county. The Illinois Central railroad runs through the corporation in the western portion, and Canton is conceded to be one of the greatest cotton and live stock shipping stations between Durant and New Orleans. Near the depot are seen a large cotton seed oilmill, several large cotton warehouses, icehouses, etc., which give the place an air of activity. The local man- ufacturing establishments are the oilmill, two steam gristmills and gins, two carriage and wagon shops, a planingmill and a number of minor shops, including a fruit and vegetable box factory. A large cotton factory was in operation some time ago. Canton, being situated on an altitude of three hundred and twenty feet above the Gulf, on a rolling, well-drained site, which guarantees immunity against epidemics and infectious diseases generally, besides having a rich, well settled tributary country, which insures cheap living for employes, is certainly well adapted for the location of large factories, from these material and important standpoints. Being also located on a great trunk line railroad, its transportation facilities for reaching all the important markets and consuming centers of the country are most excellent, while the near future will doubtless witness the building of one or more competing lines, notably one from Canton to Vicksburg, to connect with the Missis- sippi river and the railroad systems centering at that point. Several miles of this road have already been graded, and there is no doubt of its ultimate completion. Socially, Canton is a delightful place, and its people are widely known tor culture, intel- ligence and their many accomplishments. This is made apparent by the city's educational facilities, both public and private, which are of the very highest order, placing the benefits of a thorough and practical education within the reach of all. Six church buildings, repre- senting the leading denominations, are found, while the colored portion of the population worship in not less than five separate edifices. The civic societies, as Masons, Odd Fellows, Knights of Pythias, and others, are represented by strong and fiourishing lodges. A large and well arranged hall serves for the reception of dramatic companies, who frequently con- tribute to the social pleasure of the citizens. The city government is vested in a mayor and six aldermen, city clerk, treasurer, marshal and taxcollector. These offices are held by citizens of probity and integrity, who manage the city's affairs wisely and well. Real estate values have an upward tendency, although nothing resembling a boom has ever occurred to inflate them, the increase and advance being rather of a steady and sub- stantial kind, which, after all, is the safest and best in the end. There are two substantial and amply capitalized bankinghouses in Canton, which, as yet, are all that its commerce demands. Some little jobbing business is transacted in a few lines, but the retail trade forms the principal industries among the merchants, who, as a general thing, are strong, solvent and rated high in commercial circles. The press is well rfspresented by one daily and two weekly publications, which evince more than the ordinary editorial ability of journals published in towns of this size. Out- side of Vicksburg, Natchez and Meridian, this city is the only one in the state that supports a daily paper, which speaks well for the enterprise and liberality of its citizens. The Picket, daily and weekly, is a progressive, live journal, alily conducted by a gentleman widely and favorably known among, as well as outside, of the profession, Capt. Emmett L. Ross. This journal, as well as the Citizen, may be taken with profit to themselves by Northern peo- ple who contemplate immigrating to Mississippi, as they always contain many items of interest concerning the city, county and state. Canton's population does not exceed twenty- five hundred souls, resident therein, but it 200 BIOGRAPHICAL AND EISTORIOAL is a nucleus around which will gradually gather new and fresh elements, which will eventually result in the upbuilding of a large, prosperous and wealthy commercial and industrial city, a distinction to which its geographical position, rich tributary country, excellent transporta- tion facilities and the enterprise of its citizens clearly entitle it to aspire. The Canton cotton warehouse was built during 1888 by a company organized for that purpose. Over $6,200 have been invested in a fine brick and iron building, 62x120 feet, fitted up with sliding doors, and all the features which go to make up a standard warehouse according to insurance rules. Its capacity is fifteen hundred bales. Platforms and office ))uilding8 have also been erected, and a large business has been developed. A new bridge across Pearl river was built a few years ago at a cost of $4,000 by the county and private subscriptions combined. This serves to largely increase Canton's trade territory from the counties lying east, whose people have heretofore gone to other markets. Madison and Flora are prosperous railroad towns in Madison county of large and increas- ing business. Bay St. Louis, the seat of justice of Hancock county, is located in the southeastern part of the county, on the Louisville & Nashville railway, and on the shore of Mississippi sound. It has a population of twenty -two hundred, and is a prosperous and pleasant little city, popular among health and pleasure seekers of the South. Pearlington, on Pearl river, was intended liy its founders to become a place of much commercial importance, and they dedicated a large area of land for the purpose of build- ing up a city. That was in the old territorial days, and Pearlington for a time had a small boom. Its population is now eight hundred and fifty. Gainesville, farther tip the Pearl river, has a population of two hundred and twenty- seven. The town of Macon, the seat of justice of Noxubee county, was laid out by Charles W. Allen in April, 1 834. It was called Macon in honor of Nathaniel Macon, one of the first settlers of the place. It is located on the line of the Mobile & Ohio railroad, and has a population of twenty-two hundred. Early in the forties a two-story brick courthouse was built there. Just before the war the present courthouse was built, at an expense of $60,000. The town has five churches where white people worship : Methodist, Presbyterian, Baptist, Episcopal and Catholic; and two for colored people: Methodist Episcopal and Baptist. Stockman lodge No. 19, I. O. O. F., is one of the oldest lodges in the state. Its charter and records were destroyed by fire in 1 878, and the lodge was granted a new charter July 22, 1879. Macon lodge No. 40, A. F. & A. M., was instituted February 7, 1840. The first officers were: F. C. Ellis, master; E. D. Barker, S. W. ; Samuel Moore, J. W. The present ofacers are: C. C. Sessions, master; J. L. Ford, S. W. ; W. S. Farmer, J. W.; W. T. Hodges, treasurer; \\. P. Minor, secretary; J. W. Halbrook, Sr. D. and P. M.; F. W. Bransby, J. D. ; Jacob Faser, S. and T. This lodge has a total membership of sixty-eight, owns its hall and has money at interest. It meets on the second Friday night of each month. Macon chapter No. 11, K. A. M., was organized in 1849, with F. G. Ferguson as high priest. Its membership is now thirty-nine, and it meets on the third Friday night of each month. Mauldin lodge No. 2937, K. of H, was instituted April 6, 1883, with twenty-six char- ter members. The first officers were: George D. Dillard, P. D. ; Jacob Holberg, D. ; J. S. Scott, V. D.; J. J. Callaway, A. D.; E. E. Jeffries, reporter; W. G. Sellick, F. E.; J. W. MMMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 201 Patty, Jr., treasurer; W. M. Jones, guide; Thomas Foote, sentinel; trustees, A. Klaus, W. B. Barker, E. K. Wooten. The present officers are: J. W. Patty, D. ; M. L. Wells, V. D.; A. Klaus, A. D. ; J. S. Scott, reporter; W. M. Jones, F. R. ; Jacob Holberg, treasurer; T. J. O'Neill, guide; T. T. Patty, guard; Lewis Luclis, sentinel; trustees: C. M. Carter, J. L. Griggs, G. D. Dillard. The lodge meets on the second and fourth Tuesday nights of each month. The membership is twenty-eight. Noxubee lodge No. 63, K. of P., was instituted June 19, 1890, with twenty-six charter members. The first officers were: H. F. Van Kohn, P. C. C. ; T. J. O'Neill, C. C; W. S. Farmer, V. C; J. L. Patty, prelate; W. T. Hodges, M. E. ; L. M. Scales, M. F. and K. E. S.; J. W. Holt, M. A.; G. A. Freeman, I. G. ; L. Ludi, O. G. The present officers are: T. J. O'Neill, P. C. C; C. C; F. W. Bransby, V. C. C; S. J. Feibeman, K. E. S. and M. F. ; George A. Freeman, prelate; W. Xi. Hodges, M. E. ; J. W. Holt, M. A.; Luther Freeman, I. G. ; L. Ludi, O. G. The membership is forty-four. The lodge meets on the first and third Tuesday nights of each month. Besides Macon the towns in Noxubee county are Brookville, Shuqualak, Summerville and Cooksville. Mississippi City, the seat of justice of Harrison county, is located on the Louisville & Nashville railroad near the Mississippi sound, and has a population of three hundred. This city; Biloxi, population two thousand; Pass Christian, population one thousand; Handsboro, population six hundred and ten, and Beauvoir are dotted along the coast, with ample hotel accommodations at Mississippi City, Pass Christian, Biloxi and Handsboro, which are fre- quented the year round by visitors from north, east and west as well as by thousands of Mississippians. Beauvoir is noted as having been long, and until his death, the residence of Hon. Jefferson Davis. Handsboro is the seat of Gulf Coast college. Stonewall, Long Beach and De Lisle are flourishing towns in this county. Public schools are maintained throughout the county for a term of four and five months during each year, and in Pass Christian and Biloxi for eight months. The Catholic churches of Pass Christian and Biloxi are in the lead in Mississippi, next is the Episcopalian, next the Methodist, next the Presbyterian, and then the Baptist. The leading industries are the planting of oysters, canning of the oysters and vegetables, milling and truck farming. Starkville, the county town of Oktibbeha county, is located at the intersection of the Mobile & Ohio, Illinois Central and Georgia Pacific railway lines, and has a population of two thousand. It is the largest town and principal shipping point of the county. Ihere are in this town live congregations of the following named religious denomina- tions, all of whom own good houses of worship: Methodist, Baptist, Presbyterian, Associate Eeformed Presbyterian, Cumberland Presbyterian and Episcopalian. There are three colored churches, two Methodist and one Baptist, all with substantial buildings and large congre- gations. The Starkville Female institute, a chartered institution opened in 1NS9 by Eev. T. G. Sellers, D. D., provides a complete collegiate course for young ladies. The average attendance for the past seventeen years has been nearly two hundred pupils. This school takes first rank among the seminaries of the South. Starkville high school, founded in 1880 by its present principal, Mr. W. E. Saunders, prepares its students for practical business lives or to enter college. This school has an average attendance of one hundred and fifty. There are also several private schools, besides two colored schools. The Agricultural college of Mississippi 203 BIOGRAPHTOAL AND HiaTORIOAL was opened in 1880; it is pleasantly situated just outside the city limits, and has an average attendance of three hundred and fifty students. This college is ably managed by its presi- dent, S. D. Lee, and a large faculty of the best men that can be secured in the country. It has enjoyed iinusiial prosperity, is popular with the people of the state, and takes first rank with the agricultural colleges in the country. $325,000 have been expended in the equip- ment and support of this college. The curriculum embraces technical training of students in agriculture, and to carry out this work a large farm has been equipped as a model farm, on which the breeding and feeding of stock, the growing of all crops adapted to the climate, fruits, vegetables, nursery stock, etc., is pursued in a skilled manner. Among other things the college carries on a creamery, from which butter and cream are shipped daily through the year to towns in this and other states. The influence of the college is felt in the sur- rounding country, and is shown by the attention being paid to stockgrowing and the improve- ment of the lands, which is carried to a greater extent than will be found in any other portion of the state. Three papers are published in Starkville, The Southern Live- Stock Journal, devoted specially to the live-stock interests of the South, a well edited paper, and having a wide cir- culation. It is the leading stock and agricultural journal of the Southern states. The East Mississippi Times and Oktibbeha Citizen, political and general newspapers, both have a good circulation in the eastern portion of the state. Abert lodge No. 89, A. F. &. A. M. (formerly Oktibbeha lodge), was organized under a dispensation granted in 1847 and was chartered 1848. O. L. Nash, past master; William R. Cannon, W. M. ; Simeon Muldrow, S. W. ; S. W. Easley, J. W. ; Moses F. Westbrook, treas- urer; William G. Lampkin, secretary; John T. Freeman, S. D. : Alex Walker, J. D. ; Charles Dibrell, S. and tyler. Other lodges A. F. &. A. M. in this county are Big Creek lodge No. 204, Double Springs lodge No. 251, and Whitfield lodge No. 365, the last at Sturgis. Ridgeley lodge No. 23, I. O. O. F., was organized December 23, 1846, with A. J. Maxwell as N. G. E. L. Tarry is the present N. G. Starkville lodge No. 783, K. of H., was oi'ganized October 29, 1 877, with W. E. Saunders as dictator. T. M. Cummings is the present dictator. Starkville council No. 900, A. L. of H., was established April 1, 1882, with C. E. Gay as commander. The original membership was twenty-seven; the present membership is fifty- seven. Oktibbeha lodge No. 38, K. of P., was established November 23, 1883, with Simon Field as C. C, and a membership of twenty-five. The members now number twenty-six, and T. J. James is C. C. Whitfield, Salem and Montgomery are other towns in Oktibbeha county. Hazlehurst, the seat of justice of Copiah county, is favorably located a little east of the center of the county and has a population of one thousand five hundred and fifteen. It is •A station on the Illinois Central railway, has much business activity and commands a good trade. There is perhaps no point on the line of the Illinois Central railroad of more interest to the agricultural and farming communities than Wesson, Miss, (population two thousand), the point at which the celebrated Mississippi mills are located. This cotton and woolen manu- factory employs a large number of hands, furnishing not only work for many men and women, but it necessarily creates a local demand for all kinds of farm produce which is felt in all that section of country. We quote from an address of Gen. A. M. West, of Holly Springs, delivered before the international exhibition at Philadelphia, Penn., July 10, 1878, the fol- lowing concerning the great enterprise at Wesson: "In 1847 Col. J. M. Wesson, of Geor- Q. DL 0) CO 0) » s <^ C Z [Ij to CO ^ -1 ° 9r « 9: I CO CO CO CO MEMOIRS OF MI88I88IPFLI 203 gia, organized a company for manufacturing cotton and woolen goods, cornmeal and flour, and located in the same year in Mississippi, and commenced operations in 1848. This enterprise was eminently successful. It commenced with a capital of 150,000, and within a few years increased the same to $300,000. It was destroyed by the Federal army in 1864. Colonel Wesson, encouraged by previous success, located, after the war, in a vast pine forest in Copiah county, and named the place Wesson, and entered at once upon the erection .of suitable factory buildings, which he soon furnished with machinery and put into operation. These mills were destroyed by fire and were then rebuilt by Mr. E. Richardson." The further history of this great industrial enterprise is given elsewhere in this volume. Quite a large town is growing up around the mills. There is a demand for all the goods they can make, and they are unable to keep up with orders for styles. Large sales are made in the Western states, in New York, and what is better they have a large local and home patronage; thus demonstrating that cotton can be more economically manufactured in the immediate vicinity of its production than elsewhere. The town of Wesson has never had a saloon, deeds for the lots containing a clause which prohibits forever the sale of intoxicating liquors on them. There are three white churches, Methodist, Baptist and Presbyterian, all handsome structures, and one colored church, though the population is made up almost exclusively of white people, there being not more than a score of negroes living within the corpoi'ate limits. The town is well supplied with water for protection from fire through the public spirit of the mill company in placing fire plugs at convenient points, the supply coming through the company's pumps at a creek and reservoir a mile distant. There are lodges of Masons, Odd Fellows, Knights of Honor and other like organizations. The banking business of the place is transacted through the Mississippi mills. The town raised 110,000 bonus and the site to secure the location of the state female college which, however, went to Columbus, not- withstanding Wesson was the home of one thousand four hundred young ladies, drawn thither from various counties by the prospect of employment in the mills. There is a large and successful free school in session the entire year, besides several private schools. Wesson was visited on April 22, 1883, by a cyclone, the most destructive ever known in the state. Its track was one-fourth of a mile wide and thirty miles long, sweeping away in its course two tovms, Beauregard and Georgetown — Wesson, however, suffering severely. The storm cloud came from the southwest, at about three o'clock in the afternoon, and with a frightful roar carried away houses, trees, fences, human beings, and all manner of debris in indescribable confusion. There were one hundred and ninety persons wounded and seventy- six killed, while hundreds were left homeless and destitute. An associate society of Bed Cross for Copiah county was formed at Wesson, and over five hundred and fifty destitute people received aid in this vicinity, exclusive of aid given by agents of the society along the track of the storm. The society received and disbursed $7,943, exclusive of large supplies of food and clothing. Other towns in this county are Crystal Springs and Beauregard. Crystal Springs has a population of one thousand one hundred and twenty-five, and is a flourishing station on the Illinois Central railroad. It is a well built and handsome place, widely known for its exten- sive garden truck and fruit-growing interests. Beauregard, on the same railway line, has a population of six hundred and three. It was almost totally destroyed by a cyclone in 1883 and has been only partially rebuilt. Hazlehurst lodge No. 25, A. F. & A. M., consolidated in 1870 with Gallatin lodge No. 25, has twenty-six membersj and D. B. Low is worshipful master. Quitman lodge, A. F. & M 204 BIOORAPHWAL AND. H18T0BIGAL A. M., is located at Rockport postoffice, near Pearl river, and has twenty- nine members, its worshipful master being M. D. L. Crawford. Charles Scott lodge No. 136, A. F. & A. M., is located east of Crystal Springs. J. M. Wesson lodge No. 317, of Wesson, has sixty-seven members, and Miles Cannon is worshipful master. Copiah lodge No. 1422, Knights of Honor, was organized in 1879. Its first dictator was Judge T. E. Cooper. It now has about sixty-six members and Hon. Geo. L. Dodds is dictator. Excelsior lodge No. 365, Knights and Ladies of Honor, of which Capt. J. L. Ard is protector, has about thirty-five members. There is a Knights of Pythias lodge in the county known as Copiah lodge No. 60. Signal Assembly No. 5739 Knights of Labor, has a goodly membership, and there is a lodge of A. L. of H. The following lodges are located at Crystal Springs: Knights of Pythias No. 21, established about 1880, which has about fifty- one members. Knights of Honor No. 1420, established about 1879, and has about one hundred and five members. At Wesson are Harmony lodge Knights of Honor No. 1851, a Knights and Ladies of Honor lodge, an I. O. 0. F. lodge, and a Good Templars lodge. West Point, the seat of justice of Clay county, on the Illinois Central & Mobile & Ohio railroads, has a population of twenty-two hundred, and is a trading point of growing importance. West Point has a fine brick public school building. Its churches areas follows: Missionary Baptist, Christian, Methodist, Cumberland PresbyteriaD, Old School Presbyterian and the Protestant Episcopal. The Baptists were the first to organize here. Secret societies are represented thus: Cannon lodge No. 159, A. F. & A. M., of which Moses Jordan was the first worshipful master, and J. H. Shipman is the present one, and which has surrendered its charter twice, and been twice revived; Star lodge No. 84, I. O. O. F., established January 1869, with W. J. Howell as noble grand, and of which Tol. Hobbler is present noble grand; West Point lodge No. 527, Knights of Honor, organized March, 1877, with nine members, J. H. Shipman first dictator, and now having one hundred and sixty-one members. West Point lodge No. 224, Knights and Ladies of Honor, which was organized January, 1880, with thirty-four members, I. W. Foster first protector, and now has sixty-one members; Fred Daggett being protector. Prairie lodge No. 42, Knights of Pythias, which was organ- ized in June, 1885, with W. E. Motford as chancellor commander, and Security lodge No. 254, Knights of the Golden Eule. Tibbee, Palo Alto and Siloam are several small towns in this county. The village of Abbott is situated near the geographical center of Clay county, eleven miles northwest from West Point, the county seat, and eight miles from Muldon on the Mo- bile & Ohio railroad, which is the nearest railroad point. That a railway will be built here at an early day seems probable. There has been a line surveyed from Muldon station, and an excellent route, affording easy grades and but few bridges, has been located. It is believed that the Mobile & Ohio railroad company will recognize the necessity of building this important branch soon. When it is borne in mind that at least two-thirds of the twenty thousand bales of cotton annually shipped from West Point come from the country around and naturally tributary to Abbott, some idea of the importance of a feeder into this district becomes apparent. At present the population of Abbott scarcely reaches two hundred. There are three mer- cantile houses doing an annual business of 135,000, a saddlery and harness shop, a wagon shop and blacksmith shop, gristmill and gin. There is also a double daily mail. Abbott was named in honor of Capt. F. M. Abbott, its founder, a native of the state of Pennsylvania, who located here immediately subsequent to the war, has since that time devoted MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 205 himself to making a home worthy of the name, and to proving by living witnesses that not only can a Northern man live, be respected and prosper here, but also that improved modes of farming and diversified agriculture can be carried on as successfully, and even carried to a higher point of perfection, than ia any of the Northern or Eastern states. Winona, the county seat of Montgomery county, is situated on the Illinois Central rail- road, at its intersection with the Richmond & Danville road, two hundred and seventy-one miles from New Orleans and two hundred and seventy-nine from Cairo. It has a population of twenty-one hundred people, contains between twenty and thirty substantial stores, and does a trade of over half a million dollars a year. Winona has a good bank with ample cap- ital, which moves the extensive cotton business of the town, which amounts to over two thou- sand bales yearly, the bulk of which goes East. Winona is said to be the name given by an Indian chief to his first-born female child. The building of what is now the Illinois Central railroad caused a small town to spring into existence within two miles of Middleton, then the educational center of Mississippi. The new town was christened Winona, and it soon distanced its older neighbor. Middleton is now a place of the past; its famous schools have been scattered over the state, but Winona lives and grows. Winona has two banks. Its railroad facilities make it a very desirable location for mills and factories of any kind, and such enterprises would receive great encour- agement and support in the town. At present there are here two carriage and wagon facto- ries and a gristmill. A compress has been talked of, and will soon be built if it has not been already. Among the other institutions of Winona is the rifle corps, of which it is justly proud, an exceedingly well-drilled body. The town also has a brass band and a capacious public hall. Winona is in no respect lacking in educational facilities. There are three very well organized public schools, largely attended. Two private academies of a high order are also located here. Winona is in the mineral district in which Duck Hill is the most conspicuous point, and must profit by the general development of the district, some of its capitalists being interested in Duck Hill's mineral land company. Winona has the following named churches: Methodist Episcopal, Presbyterian, Baptist and Christian, all strong of membership and having good houses of worship; and Methodist, Baptist and Presbyterian colored congregations all have adequate buildings. Here are two Masonic lodges, one of white men, the other of blacks. The business buildings in Winona are mostly of brick, and with few exceptions they are large and in every way creditable to their owners and to the town. The Winona Times is published by Walter N. HurJ. It is in its ninth volume, in size a five column quarto. The Winona Democrat was published for a time under that name and was afterward known as the Advocate. Duck Hill is the name given to a pleasant little town in Montgomery county, and situated on the Illinois Central railroad between Winona and Grenada, at a distance of two hundred and eighty-two miles from New Orleans, ninety-nine miles from Jackson, and two hundred and sixty-eight miles from Cairo, 111. Duck Hill lies in one of the most beautiful valleys in the state, which extends for miles up to the road. Near the town towers the real hill called after the Indian chieftain Duck, while on either side, for miles up the valley, and running back for miles on ridges — on either side lie the hills lately discovered to be rich in ores. Almost within a stone's throw of the town in its rear there appears to be a solid mountain of iron. Professor Johnson, the well-known United States geologist, has distinctly located these ores. A strong company of local and outside capitalists has been formed under a state charter to purchase and to operate these mineral lands. 206 BIOORAPHIOAL AND HISTORICAL Other towns in Montgomery county are Lodi, Mayfield, Sawyers and Kilmichael. Tupelo, the seat of justice of Lee county, is a town of on6 thousand five hundred and twenty-five inhabitants, at the junction of the Kansas City, Memphis & Birmingham and Mobile & Ohio railroads, two of the greatest trunk line railways on the continent. During the past three years over one hundred new residences, about fifteen elegant brick store- houses, four factories, and a number of other substantial improvements were made. The trade has been largely increased, and prosperity is evidenced on every hand. The citizens are wideawake, enterprising and progressive. They intend that Tupelo shall, with her superior advantages, be the leading cotton and manufacturing town in northeast Mississippi. With a 115,000 public school building, a splendidly equipped operahouse, three excellent hotels, five factories, two solid firms of cotton buyers, a number of the wealthiest merchants in the state, an immense cottou compress and cotton warehouse, a fine dairy farm, and one of the richest agricultural sections on the globe to support the town, there seems no reason to . doubt that their expectations will be realized. The cash cotton buyers, representing eastern mills, Liverpool and Manchester, England, located in Tupelo, have the means to pur- chase all the cotton produced in the state of Mississippi, and are determined to handle large quantities of the fleecy staple in this section of the state if the highest cash prices will buy. The leading merchants, Messrs. Clark, Hood & Co., J. J. Rogers, Greener Bros. & Co., F. Elliott, and others, purchase all the cotton brought to Tupelo by wagons, and sell it to the exclusive cottou buyers representing the Eastern mills. Besides its commercial advantages, Tupelo is one of the healthiest places of its size in the state. Within her limits are twenty-seven sparkling and free-flowing artesian wells, pro- viding pure water. Tupelo has one splendid banking institution — B. C. Clark, president; John Clark, vice president; H. A. Kincannon, cashier, T. M. Clark, assistant cashier. Its capital stock is $80,000, and deposits about 1100,000. Tupelo has to-day one thousand five hundred and twenty-five people, seven churches, thirty business firms, two splendid hotels, one 115,000 schoolbuildiiig, two jewelers, one fur- niture factory, one spoke factory, one livery stable, one fine operahouse, one photograph gal- lery, one tin shop, five superior physicians, one extensive dairy, twelve lawyers, two meat markets, four painters, six brickyards, one cotton compress, two first-class railroads, two newspapers, one bank, six boardinghouses, one colored school, one ice factory, one chair factory, one broom factory, two barber shops, three blacksmith shops, o-ie excellent bakery, one small graveyard, three firms of exclusive cotton buyers, thirty-seven artesian wells, twenty-five brick masons, one bakery and lunchhouse, a number of contractors and builders, fifty mechanics, one large cotton warehouse. An institution that will add much to Tupelo's prosperity is the handsome two-story brick public schoolbuilding now in course of erection in Freeman's grove at West End. This building will be a monument to the progressive spirit of its enterprising citizens for years to come. The old schoolhouse was incapable of accommodating the pupils of the town. Tupelo lodge No. 318, A. F. & A. M., was organized in 1869 with twenty members. Royal Arch chapter No. 7 has forty-three members, the Royal Arch commandery fifty-one members, the local organization of Knights of the Golden Rule has fifteen members. Tupelo Methodist Church South was organized in 1868, with about twenty members, with Rev. Mr. Plummer as pastor. A frame house, 40x60 feet, was built in 1872, on Church street. The church has about one hundred members. Rev. A. G. Augustus is pastor. The Presbyterian church of Tupelo has a membership of eighty-five, and a fine brick house of worship. It is in charge of Rev. G. H. Steen, pastor, formerly of Okolona, Miss. The Cum- MEMOIRS OF MISSiaSTPPI. 207 berlaud Presbyterian church has a membership of sixty and a good frame house. The pastor is Rev. T. H. Padgett, from Bowling Green, Ky., who began his ministerial career in Missis- sippi, and subsequently continued it for a time in Missouri. The Baptist church of Tupelo, Miss., was organized August 19, 1850, at a place called Hickory Grove, then Pontotoc county, in a loghouse about three miles west of its present site, by Elders E. Smith, C. C. Malon and Elijah Moore, with eleven members. Elder E. Smith was the first pastor chosen, and served the church until 1853. J. O. R. Word first church clerk. At the December meeting 1850, B. Jenkins, Burrell Jackson and Robert Fears were chosen deacons. In 1851 the Hickory Grove Baptist church was admitted into the Chickasaw association. The membership of the church increased gradually under the pastorate of Eldor E. Smith until 1853, when he was succeeded by Elder A. L. Stovall. In 1S53 the congregation built a nice frame meetinghouse a short distance from the old loghouse in which they organ- ized. The church increased her membership rapidly under the ministrations of Elder Stovall, and in connection with a few other churches organized the Judson association in October, 1853. The membership of Hickory Grove continued to increase, and in eight years from her organization numbered one hundred and sixty-three members, eighty-seven having been received by baptfem. December, 1859, Elder A. L. Stovall resigned the pastoral care of the church, after having ser\'ed them faithfully and acceptably for six years, and Elder William Young succeeded him as pastor, and continued in charge until the breaking out of the Civil war, in 1861. At night, on April 4, 1860, the Hickory Grove church house was fired by an incendiary, and burned down. In August, following, the church decided in conference to build a new house of wor- ship, and selected Tupelo for its location, since which time it has been known as the Tupelo Baptist church. Elder A. L. Stovall was again called to the pastorate of the church in Octo- ber, 1861, and continued to serve them as pastor continuously, escept the year 1866, up to the time of his death, which occurred July 4, 1872. From the year 1872 to April, 1891, the following pastors have supplied the Tupelo Baptist church: G. W. Potter, J. T. Freeman, J. T. Christian, of Kentucky; then J. T. Freeman, L. R. Burress, J. L. Tumage, J. R. Sum- ner and S. G. Cooper, the present pastor. Saltillo, Lee county, is a place of two hundred and fifty, and a station on the Mobile & Ohio railroad. It was settled by James Kyle, but little business was done there until after the completion of the railroad. After the county was organized the first grand jury met here previous to meeting at Tupelo. The town has five church organizations. The Presbyterian church was organized about 1850, the Methodist church in 1868, the Baptist church in the early seventies. These three denominations had a union church erected about 1875. The Christian church owns a build- ing valued at $1,000, erected in 1876. The Catholic church has an adequate building. Saltillo was incorporated about ten years ago. James Heidleberg was its first mayor. The present incumbent of the office is J. D. Barton. The town has seven stores and a gin and a sawmill. There is here a good public school, of three departments, with an average attendance of ninety. Saltillo lodge No. 294, A. F. & A. M., was organized in 1868, and has a membership of fifteen. The growing village of Nettleton was named in honor of George H. Nettleton, the Kan- sas City railroad magnate, and is situated in Lee and Monroe counties, about half in each county, on the Kansas City, Memphis & Birmingham railroad. It was laid out in the fall of 1887. Dr. M. M. Davis & Co. built the first storehouse. Soon after another was built by 208 BIOGRAPHICAL AND EI8T0RICAI Mullens, Frances & Co. The town now has two churches and two more are being built. The Nettleton Hardwood Manufacturing company, organized in 1890 with a capital of $50,- 000, has an extensive sawmill with a capacity of forty thousand feet per day, which gives employment to eighty hands. Providence college, situated near by, was charterd in the spring of 1886. It was ;i frame building, built by subscription, 40x100 feet in size, with a capacity for seating five hundred students. The average attendance is about three hundred, and five teachers are employed. Nettleton Missionary Baptist church, knovni as the Town Creek church, was organized about 1855, with Rev. William Hood as pastor, with only five or six members. In 1858 a frame church was built. At that time there were about forty members. In 1880 the church declined, and had preaching only occasionally, till 1888, when it reorganized, with Rev. W. F. Davis as pastor, with about seventeen members. At the end of 1 888 it had fifty members. Rev. D. J. Austin is the pastor at this time, and the church has about fifty-three members. Nettleton Christian church was organized in 1888, with Rev. Patterson as pastor and twenty-five members, increased now to thirty. The house of worship, a 40x60 frame structure, was built in 1889, at a cost of |1,500. It has a seating capacity of about three hundred and fifty. Rev. Armont is pastor. Two other organizations hold meetings in the same house, the Methodist Episcopal Church South and the Cumberland Presbyterian church. Rev. M. E. Tumbin is pastor of the Methodist Episcopal Church South, and Rev. Blanton of the Presbyterian church. Baldwyn is situated in Lee and Prentiss counties, about equally divided between the two, but the postoffice is in Lee county, on the Mobile & Ohio railroad. It was named in honor of Mr. Baldwyn, who was one of the principal projectors of the Mobile & Ohio railroad. Its first storehouse was built in 1860 by Col. Robert Lowry. E. Oliver, Zebedee Williams, 1. E. Wallis all built before the war. Since the war the population has grown to five hun- dred. The town has four churches, a gristmill, sawmill and cottongin all combined, and a gristmill and cottongin combined. Masonic lodge No. 108, of Baldwyn, was organized in 1849 at old Carrollville, with only seven members. It was moved to Baldwyn in 1860, and now has thirty-six members. Cumberland Presbyterian church, at Baldwyn, was first organized at old Carrollville in an early day, and moved to Baldwyn in 1860, when a frame house, 35x60, was built. At that time all Christian denominations of the community worshiped in it. The first pastor was Rev. William Wear. The church now has about thirty members, and a good Sunday- school, with Rev. J. E. McShan now as pastor. The Missionary Baptist church at Baldwyn was organized about 1862, with Rev. L. R. Burress as pastor. The congregation built a frame house in 1870, 50x90 feet, with a seating capacity of about four hundred, well finished and elegantly appointed. Since its foundation various ministers have been employed by the church, but at present has its first pastor, Rev. L. R. Burress. The membership is about forty-five, and there is a good Sunday-school, with J. W. Burress as superintendent. The Methodist Episcopal church at Baldwyn was established about 1851 at old Carroll- ville, and moved to Baldwyn just after the war. A frame house was built about 1869 with a seating capacity of four hundred. That house vyas torn down and a new one built about 1876. The church now has about fifty members, with Rev. K. M. Harrison as pastor. It has a successful Sunday-school. The Christian church of Baldwyn was organized about 1869. An early, if not the first, pastor was Rev. E. B. Trimble. The church was erected in 1873 and cost about $3,000. The membership is seventy-five. Rev. H. M. Armor is pastor. MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 209 The Presbyterian church of Baldwyn was organized November 23, 1872. The constitu- ent members were A. Cox, Mrs. N. T. Cox, Mrs. M. A. Stevenson, A. G. Weseott, John Stev- enson and W. M. Cox. The present membership is about fifty. The pastor is Rev. J. H. Gaillard, who is concerned in the organization of the church. Shannon, Lee county, was laid out in 1858, by G. F. Simonton, and named in honor of Col. E. G. Shannon, and is favorably situated on the line of the Mobile & Ohio railroad. The first building was erected for a store, by John M. Simonton, and goods were sold from it by Simonton & Buchanan, general merchants. Soon afterward other stores were built, and Shannon became quite a trading point. The population is four hundred and fifty. The Methodist Episcopal Church South, at Shannon, was organized about 1869, with Rev. E. B. Plummer as pastor. The members numbered seventeen — seven males and ten females. The house of worship was erected about 1872, at a cost of about §1,000. The present pastor is Rev. C. P. Barnes. The members number seventy- five. The Baptist church at Shannon was organized about 18G7, with about seventy members, with Rev. William Thomas as pastor. A frame church was built about 1873, and dedicated by Rev. J. R. Graves. It has a seating capacity of five hundred. The church numbers about sixty-five members, and is under the pastoral care of Rev. T. H. Padgett, of Tupelo. The Cumberland Presbyterian church at Shannon was organized at an early day, at a place near by, and soon after moved to Shannon and erected a frame building with a seating capacity of five hundred. Palmetto Lodge No. 152, A. P. & A. M., organized at Palmetto Church, west of Verona, before the war, and transferred to Shannon about 1868 or 1869. It has a membership of twenty-five. Shannon Graded institute was chartered in the spring of 1890, has a frame building 40x80 feet, two stories high, employs five teachers, and has an attendance of from one hundred to one hundred and twenty -five students. The house is situated on a beautiful hill, is well ven- tilated and is the best seated and equipped school building in the county. It was built by subscription through the efforts of Prof. W. T. Poster, the principal. This gentleman is a native of Tennessee, and has been a successful educator for thirteen years. Five miles southwest of Baldwyn is Bethany, a small trading point. Here was organized the Associate Reformed church of Bethany, on Saturday, June 5, 1852, agreeable to an order of the Associate Reformed presbytery of Alabama, by Revs. H. H. Robison and J. L. Young, assisted by ruling elders Maj. Robert McBryde, Alexander Poster and Hugh Wiseman. The following persons became members of the church by certificate: Thomas Bryson and wife, Mrs. Martha Bryson, Miss Jane Bryson, Miss Elizabeth A. Bryson, Miss Mary Bryson, Miss Eliza Bryson, Miss Emily Bryson, Hampton Bryson, Samuel Bryson and wife, Mrs. Jane Bryson, David Lemmon and wife, Mrs. Martha Jane Lemmon, Mrs. Margaret 0' Shields, and Mrs. Margaret I. Young, from Providence church, Laurens district, S. C. ; James Turner and wife, Mrs. Nancy C. Turner, John Watt and wife, Mrs. Sarah Watt, and Mrs. Martha E. McGee, from Generostee church, Anderson district, S. C. ; John K. Crockett and wife, Mrs. Rachel Crockett, from Ebenezer church, Tippah county. Miss. Besides these white persons, four colored members were at the same time received, viz.: Lunnon, Patience and Joseph, servants of Rev. J. L. Young, from Providence church, Laurens district, S. C, and Nelly, ■servant of John Watt, from Generostee church, Anderson district, S. C. There was at that time a total membership of twenty-five persons, twenty-one being whites and four colored. Thomas ^ryson, Samuel Bryson and John K. Crockett were elected ruling elders. Thomas 310 BIOOliAPHlCAL AND HISTOMIGAL Bryson had been ordained a ruling elder at Providence, S. C. Samuel Bryson and John K. Crockett were ordained on June 5, 1852. During the war, Tupelo and other points in Lee county witnessed many exciting scenes. Early in 1862 the war drew nearer and nearer to them. The battle of Shiloh was fought April 6 and 7, 1862. Corinth became a military camp, commissaries scoured the country, gathering up all the beeves and forage they could obtain. Hospitals were established at Gun town, and citizens brought sick soldiers to their homes and nursed them. This state of excitement continued till the last of May, when General Beauregard evacuated Corinth, and moved the Southern army to Tupelo. The retreat then became a visible reality to the people. Many of the blacks fled to the Federal lines. General Chalmers had a picket line at the church and along the Pontotoc road, and no one was permitted to pass without permission of the military authorities. And, to add to the troubles of the time, in January, 1863, the smallpox was brought into the neighborhood, and several good citizens died, among whom was Dr. Washington Agnew. The year 1 863 may be termed the year of raids. As soon as the spring opened, raids from Corinth became common. There was a cavalry fight at Bir- mingham, on April 24, 1863. The next week another raid passed down the railroad, burn- ing the Guntown steammill. May 4, 1863. From that time on, raids were reported every few weeks in some part of the country. In consequence of them, the citizens were compelled to hide their stock and valuables, to prevent them from falling into the hands of a foe as ruth- less as the Vandals of the middle ages. June 10, 1864, a battle was fought immediately around Bethany, which has been variously designated as the battle of Guntown, the battle of Tishomingo creek, the battle of Brice's crossroads and Sturgis' defeat. In the official medical history of the war the losses on both sides in this engagement are given as follows: Federals killed, two hundred and twenty- three; wounded, three hundred and ninety-four; missing, one thousand six hundred and twenty-three. Confederates killed, one hundred and thirty-one; wounded, four hundred and seventy-five. Guntown, in Lee county, on the Mobile & Ohio railroad, has a population of three hun- dred. Shortly after the Revolutionary war an heir to a baronetcy in England, possessing the warlike name of Gunn, proved himself a tory of the most notorious stripe. Bather than live in commune with the creatures of a republic, he joined the Chickasaw Indians and becam^e a chief. He married a fair daughter of the tribe, and by the marriage a lovely child was born, and Okalallah became the pride of the Chickasaw nation and was noted for her beauty, comeliness and modesty. Hence the name of Guntown. In the early fifties a village was started on nearly the highest point between Cairo and Mobile, and in 1855 D. N. Cayce arrived, bought a plantation, opened a store and made things hum. There were two stores on his arrival, and Guntown grew until about half a dozen establishments were doing business, when the war clarion sounded. D. N. Cayce was a Tennesseean, who located at Fulton, Miss., in 1842, and moved therefrom merely to invest, and maintained his home at Fulton, where he died about three years ago, deeply regretted. He had been a power in the land, owning several plantations and several stores, but always eschewed official ambition. His son, J. M. Cayce, was born in Lawrence county, Teun., and studied at the celebrated Emory and Henry college, Virginia. When his father purchased the Guntown properties he was made overseer, and with this region he has been prominently identified ever since. The town of Fayette, the seat of justice of Jefljerson county since 1825, was incorporated in 1842, Its first mayor was J. B, Carpenter, its first clerk G. A. Guilminot, its first council MEM0IM8 OF MltiSISSIPPI. 211 M. C. Dixon, E. H. Truly, Thomas Devenport. Its present mayor is W. F. Faulk, its pres- ent clerk Henry Key, its present council George D. Forman, James McClurg, Jr., S. Hirsch. The town contains three churches, viz. : Methodist Episcopal, Presbyterian and Chris- tian. Its schools are the Fayette female academy, the boys' high school and the public or free school. There are within its borders the following brick buildings: The courthouse and jail, three churches, the female academy and five business houses. The courthouse was erected in 1881 at a cost of S]r),000. The jail cost S10,000. The Fayette academy was chartered in 1827 through the efforts of Gov. Cowles Mead. The Rev. Mr. Sanford and wife were the first principals. In 1858 the charter was amended and collegiate power given, its name being changed to the Fayette Female college. This institution has a large two-story brick building, nicely located on a rise of ground in the eastern part of the city. The first Baptist church in Jefferson county was established by Rev. Richard Curtis, Jr., near the south fork of Coles creek in 1798. It was called Salem. He (Rev. Curtis) was at one time with one of the members of his church, named Stephen De Alvo, a converted Span- iard, banished from the territory by Gov. Gayoso De Lemos. The Fayette Methodist Epis- copal church was organized about 11S25 by Rev. John C. Johnson. The present pastor is Rev. Ralph Bradley. The number of members is eighty-five. The denomination had an organization in the county as early as 1802, meeting at the old Spring Hill church, four miles south of Fayette. The organization was effected by Rev. Tobias Gibson, and is still kept up. The society at Fayette has a large and commodious house of worship, a brick building erected in 1829. The first Presbyterian church in the county was organized in 1804 by Rev. Joseph BuUen, of Vermont, who was sent as a missionary to the Chickasaw Indians in the year 1800. The Fayette Presbyterian church was organized December 9, 185-1; its first pastor, Henry McDonald; first clerk, J. H. Darden. The original membership was thirty- three. The present pastor, W. B. Bingham; the present clerk, P. K. Whitney; the present membershij), fifty-eight. A good Sunday-school is kept up. The house of worship is a good brick structure. There is regular preaching twice each month. The Christian church of Fayette was organized March 29, 1851, by Rev. J. T. Johnston, of Kentucky, and has a brick house of worship. Among the original members were David Darden, John P. Darden, James Stowers and John D. Burcli. The present pastor is Rev. Philip Vawter. The physicians of Jefferson county, in the order of their advent, have been Drs. J. H. Duncan, Key, Thomas H. Young, Farrar, B. F. Fox, James Brown, William C. Walker, Thomas Walton, Peuquite, E. J. H. White, A. K. McNair and R. C. Love. Jefferson lodge, I. 0. O. F., No. 14, was chartered in 1821. Among the charter mem- bers were Thomas Reed, J. C Fletcher and others. The present noble grand is James McClure, Jr. J. A. Donald is secretary. The membership is twenty-five, and the lodge is in a good financial condition. Thomas Hines lodge No. 5S, F. & A. M., was chartered April 12, 1843. John H.' Dun- can was first worshipful master, the first senior warden was Philip O. Hughes, the first junior warden Isaac Dunbar.' The charter members were Philip O. Hughes, J. H. Duncan, Isaac Dunbar, S. B. McLeod, Charles We.st, Thomas M. Nash and Chesley S. Coffey. The officers of this lodge in 1890 were: Charles Cooper, W. M. : G. D. McNair, S. W. : C. E. Robertson, J. W. ; J. J. Robertson, S. D. ; James McClure, Jr., J. D. ; James McClure, treasurer; Henry Key, secretary; T. J. Key, S. & T. The membership was forty- one. The organization is .strong financially, owning a hall and lot and having money in the treasury. Fayette lodge No. 1389, Knights of Honor, was chartered in October, 1879. The charter 313 BTOOBAPHIOAn AND ITT8T0RWAL members were: Ben Eiseman, Henry Key, William Thompson, 0. M. Eiseman, W. L. Stephen, O. H. McGinty, P. Krauss, C. Cooper, S. Heildron, I. B. Stewart, E. M. Keyes, W. L. Guice, E. H. Truly, G. W. Rembert, M. Eisman, N. Eilbott. Fayette lodge No. 404, Knights and Ladies of Honor, was chartered April 9, 1889. The official members were: W. D. Torrey, protector; T. L. Darden, past protector; William Gohazen, vice protector; Mrs. M. I. Key, secretary; L. R. Harrison, treasurer; C. W. Whitney, guide. The old childhood home of Jefferson Davis was at old Greenville, the old county seat of Jefferson county, where he lived with an elder brother. Aaron Burr was arrested on the banks of Coles creek, in this county. Buena Vista plantation, owned by General Taylor at the time of his election to the presidency, is located on the Mississippi river, eight miles below Rodney. General Jackson was married at the residence of and by Thomas Green, near old Fort Gayoso. General Gayoso first resided in this county. The Rodney Gazette, published at Rodney by Thomas Palmer, Thomas J. Johnson editor, politically whig, was established in 1830. The Fayette Watch Tower was estab- lished at Fayette in 1839 by William B. Tebo, editor and proprietor. The Fayette Times was published in 1858 by J. H. King. The Jefferson Journal was started in 1862 by Andrew Marschalk, Jr. The Fayette Chronicle was established by W. A. Marscbalk in 1865. In 1870 he sold the paper to B. B. Paddock and F. H. Cully, and Mr. Paddock became its editor. In 1872 he sold it to R. H. Truly. Flora McDonald, celebrated in romance as the savior of Charles Edward after the bat- tle of Culloden, resided at Fayette for a time. Harriston, located at the junction of the Louisville, New Orleans & Texas, the Natchez, Jackson & Columbus railroads, northeast of Fayette, contains six general stores, one drug store, two hotels, one newspaper, three saloons, two livery stables, three lodges and one church building, a frame structure now in course of erection, to cost 12,000. The secret societies mentioned are the Knights of Pythias, the American Legion of Honor and the Order of Railroad Sectionmen. The postoffice was established in January, 1885; Mrs. M. L. Jones was first postmistress. The office is now in charge of Mrs. E. B. Hammond. Griffin & Ration are the publishers of a bright and newsy local paper, which was established in the fall of 1890. The town was incorporated in 1886 with James M. Love as mayor and John Gillis and C. H. Gates as members of the town board. July 4, 1864, a fleet under General Ellett, landing at Rodney, sent a detachment of troops through this county in search of cotton. They met four companies of Confederate cavalry at the crossroads near Dr. Coleman's place, now known as Clifton. A brief but sharp engagement took place and the Federals were driven to their boats, with slight loss. The Confederates lost four killed and several wounded. Major Morman led the Confed- erates. Harriston, near Fayette, is a thriving village. Greenville, once the seat of justice, is now a cotton field, but there are those who can still point to the locality of the county buildings, the gallows and other landmarks. Lying almost in the center of Claiborne county, occupying an advantageous and beauti- ful location in the midst of a fine cotton, corn, fruit, vegetables and grass-growing section, is found the pretty little city of Port Gibson, one of the state's oldest municipalities, as the county also is one of the oldest, having been organized in the beginning of the present century, or in 1802, on January 27. Port Gibson, the beautiful county seat of Claiborne MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 313 county, was first f(5uiided and laid out by Samuel Gibson, Esq. ; who was a native of South Carolina, born August 1, 1748. Mr. Gibson came to Mississippi in 1772, at the age of twenty- four, and first settled in what is now known as Jefferson county. The records in the national land olfice at Washington, D. C, show that in October, 1777, he obtained from the British authorities, then in power here, a grant of land on Boyd's (now Cole's) creek. He also acquired two tracts of land on St. Catharine's creek, in Adams county, one tract bearing date of 1784, the other 1788. He obtained from the Spanish government then established at Natchez, which had supplanted the British, a grant of eight hundred and fifty acres on the waters of Bayou Pierre. This tract covered the site of Port Gibson, since the first settlement of which, therefore, over ninety-nine years have passed. Mr. Gibson was the second man to penetrate so far from the river into the untrodden forest and wil- derness. All around him, and for an unknown distance to the east, stretched a trackless forest, inhabited only by savages and wild animals. The pioneer who preceded Mr. Gibson to this neighborhood was Jacob Cobun (in all probability his father- in law), who the year before, January 11, 1787, had located a Spanish grant of eight hundred acres near here, which land was subsequently held by Elizabeth and Ann Cobun, sisters of Mrs. Samuel Gibson, and lay three or four miles south of Port Gib- son, on Eed Lick road. When Mr. Gibson settled on the beautiful plateau of country now the site of Port Gib- son, it was an almost impenetrable forest, with a huge undergrowth of cane. Port Gibson was in its early days known as Gibson's Landing, but in 1803 an act was passed by the leg- islature, declaring the name should be changed to Port Gibson. At the same time the above act was passed by the legislature Messrs. Thomas White, Daniel Burnet, G. W. Humphreys and John McCaleb were appointed commissioners to buy two acres of land from Samuel Gibson, and to contract for the erection thereon of a courthouse, jail, stock, pillory and whipping-post. Accordingly two acres of land were purchased, the site of the present courthouse and jail, aod Joseph Davenport iindertook the erection of the public buildings. They were completed that winter, and in February, 1804, the justices held their first meet- ing in the new courthouse. The first license to keep a public house (tavern) in Port Gibson was granted in July, 1803, to Moses Armstrong and Robert Ashley. Immediately after, Gibson's Landing, or Port Gibson, was chosen by the legislature as the county seat, people began to purchase lots from Mr. Gibson and to build. The first sale was made July 10, 1803, to Frederick Myers, and the price paid was $115. It was lot No. 3, in square No. 8, and soon there was a brisk demand for lots, and by November, 1804, the village contained thirt}- houses, with a total population of about one hundred souls. In the early history of Port Gibson the pseudonym Gibson's Landing clung to it, but in the course of twelve to fifteen years the former name prevailed. The first tire company in Port Gibson, so far as known, was a chartered organization incorporated by an act of the legislature passed January 26, 1821. The charter members were as follows: Amos Whiting, James Burbridge, Harvey Bradford, James Hughes, Orran B^aulk, Tobias Gibson, Horace Carpenter, Cornelius Haring, John H. Esty, Benjamin Shields, George Lake. Alfred Faulk, A. G. Cage, W. R. McAlpine, Thomas Cotton, John L. Buck, Fieldner Offutt, James Maxwell, Joseph Briggs, David D. Downing. The Bank of Port Gibson was incorporated in May, 1836. A company was organized under the name of the Grand Gulf & Port Gibson Exporting company, in 1829. Previous to the war Port Gibson was noted far and wide for the wealth and culture of 314 BIOORAPTIWAL AND niSTORIOAL its inhabitants, as it was the home of a large number of Mississippi's most wealthy cotton planters. It still retains the reputation of being the home of a cultivated, refined and hos- pitable population, and is indeed one of the most charming little cities in the state, being a seat of learning of no mean importance, and containing a very superior citizenship, among which the social graces and amenities are assiduously cultivated. The advent, a few years ago, of the Louisville, New Orleans & Texas railroad had the efPect of placing Port Gibson in direct communication with the outside world, and served to stimulate its commercial and industrial activity to a gratifying extent, and since then its growth has been marked, steady and substantial. Its population in 1890 was one thousand six hundred, and new accessions are being received. The municipality embraces something more than one-half mile square, the streets being regularly laid out and well improved, while good sidewalks prevail. A profusion of ornamental trees shade the streets, giving the place a charming, home-like appearance, whilei the many beautiful residences indicate the wealth and cultivated tastes of the inhabitants. la the business portion are seen many large, sub- stantial mercantile houses, some being modern structures of elegant architectural design; their heavy stocks showing plainly that a large and lucrative business is transacted. Inves- tigation only confirms this, and the merchants, as a class, are regarded as far above the aver- age in point of solvency and reliability. The corporation is also out of debt, and its warrants are worth their face value. The town handles, annually, from twelve thousand to fifteen thousand bales of cotton, and the receipts are increasing each season. The citizens have dis- played the most commendable zeal and activity in the efforts to locate industrial enterprises, and have now two very important ones in operation, namely, a cottonmill and a cottonseed oilmill, which are successfully conducted and add largely to the commercial and economical prosperity of the place. Trade is principally confined to Claiborne county, and the cotton receipts reach fifteen thousand bales per annum. Some thirty-seven business houses, of different kinds, constitute the commercial world at present, and no line is, we learn, overdone; hence the merchants are prosperous and rate high in commercial circles. As an educational center Port Gibson occupies a commanding position among Misissippi towns, and its female college and male academy are educational institutions which attract pupils from all parts of the state, as well as other states. There are also two public schools which afford ample educational facilities for the youth of both races, the scholastic term extending over a period of six months. In the important matter of educating its youth, "Claiborne county is by no means remiss, as is shown by its seventy-nine public schools, and the 110,000 annually paid for their support by the taxpayers. That a Christian and moral people comprise the population is well attested by the fact that there are five white and three negro churches, the former Methodist, Episcopalian, Presbyterian, Catholic and Christian, the latter being Methodist, Baptist and Christian. The principal civic societies are also represented and have flourishing, well attended lodges and well equipped halls. A very good and well arranged hall serves to accommodate dramatic troupes who visit the place during the theatrical season. The location is a healthy one, the town site being rolling and allowing of perfect natural drainage. Water of excellent quality is obtained from wells and cisterns, and is abundant and pure at all seasons. As a consequence of these advantages, there is no danger of the outbreak of dangerous fevers and epidemics, and such ordinary diseases as prevail are easily controlled by the resident physicians. The city government is a safe and conservative one, and is vested in a mayor and five aldermen. MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 215 The First Methodist Episcopal church in Claiborne county, Miss., was organized in 1828; Hebron Methodist Episcopal in February, 1830; the Presbyterian church was organized in 1827. The Masonic order was organized in Port Gibson, 1818, and was known as Washington lodge No. 17. Its charter was surrendered and a new charter was granted to Washington lodge No. 3, under which name the lodge still exists. Grand Gulf lodge No. 41 was char- tered February 6, 1840, under a dispensation granted January 10, 1839. Franklin lodge No. 5, I. O. O. F., was organized at Port Gibson January 12, 1848. The first academy in the neighborhood of Port Gibson was the Madison academy. It was situated about three miles from Port Gibson, on land belonging to ^^'illiam Lindsay. The tract was afterward owned by Dr. Dorsey and now is the property of Mrs. Clara Pur- nell. On the 5th of December, 1809, the territorial legislature passed an act of incorpora- tion whereby "the school on the north fork of Bayou Pierre, in the neighborhood of Port Gibson, now under the direction of Henry C. Cox, is erected into an academy, hereafter to bear the name of Madison academy." By the same act the following trustees were appointed: Samuel Gibson, Thomas White, Stephen Bullock, Peter Lyon, Thomas Barnes, Ralph Regan, Allen Barnes, Waterman Crane, Daniel Burnet, Samuel Cobun, Edan Bra- shear, Andrew Mundell and Hezekiah Harman. The act provided that students of all denominations should enter the institution on an equality and be admitted to the same advan- tages. The trustees were authorized to raise by lottery, for the benefit of the academy, a sum not exceeding $2,000. In 1810 Mr. Lindsay gave the academy twenty-four acres of land, including the buildings in which the institution was established. It would seem, however, that it did not prosper, owing probably to the fact that its situation between the two forks of Bayou Pierre rendered it difficult of access during the frequent occurrence of high water. It is likely that there were a few boarders, but its chief patronage must have been from day scholars. At any rate, whatever the reason may have been, the legislature in 1814 authorized the trustees to remove the academy to a "more eligible site, not to be more than three miles from Port Gibson." There are no means of learning to what place — whether to Port Gibson or elsewhere — the school was removed, nor what its after- fortunes and fate were. St. James' church, Port Gibson, dates its history from the 9th of _^ April, 1826, when the Rev. Albert A. Muller visited Port Gibson and organized a parish of the Protestant Episco- pal church, under the name of St. John's church. On the 17th of May in the same year eleven clerical and lay delegates, representing this newly -organized parish and three others, met in convention in Trinity church, Natchez, for the purpose of organizing a diocese of the Protestant Episcopal church in the state of Mississippi. St. John's church was represented by the Rev. John Wurts Cloud, rector-elect, and the Hon. Joshua G. Clarke, chancellor of the state, and Mr. I. W. Foote, lay delegates. In 1848 a reorganization of the parish was effected under the Rev. F. W. Boyd, and its present name of St. James' church was adopted. Under a succession of rectors services were held in the courthouse and in hired rooms. In 1860 a further and final reorganization was effected and the sum of $5,000 was promptly subscribed toward the purchase of land and the erection of a church edifice. A lot was selected and partly paid for, but during the Civil war which ensued, although the organization was kept alive, the results of the previous efforts to secure a place of worship were engulfed in the general disaster. The amount subscribed was not realized and the purchased lot was lost. After the war a ladies' aid association was organized and incorporated. Its energy was soon rewarded by success in 216 BIOGRAPHWAL AND HISTORICAL raising |2,500, with which a plat, of ground on the corner of Church and Jackson streets was purchased. It contained a dwellinghouse (a small portion of which, said to have been originally built of logs and more recently clapboarded, is, as is claimed, the oldest building in Port Gibson,) which being removed so as to front on Jackson street, was converted into a rectory, leaving ample space for the erection of a church upon the corner. In the meantime the congregation worshiped in the brick building (now used by a colored congregation) on Church street, in the northern part of the town. At this time (1869 to 1876) the rector of the church was the Rev. James S. Johnston, now bishop of western Texas. In 1881, under the energetic administration of the Eev. Nowell Logan (now rector of Holy Trinity church, Vicksburg), the work of raising funds for the building of a church was renewed, and with success. On the 30th of October, 1884, the cornerstone of a handsome brick church, designed by W P. Wentworth, architect, Boston, was laid by the grand lodge of F. & A. M. of Mississippi. The building was completed early the following year, and presents a very attractive appearance, both without and within, being one of the most prominent of the few striking architectural features of the town. The total cost was 15,600. Of its stained-glass windows, the triple lancet over the altar is a memorial of the late Rev. Charles B. Dana, D. D., who was rector of the parish (1861-1866) throughout the gloomy period of the Civil war. One of the side windows is a memorial of Mr. Charles A. Pearson, a devout layman of the parish who died in 1878. A fund has been raised by the Sunday-school guild toward the purchase of a peal of bells, which will be placed as soon as sufficient tower room can be erected. The parish received its charter in 1882 and the Ladies' Aid association deeded the prop- erty, church and rectory to the incorporated parish. But the association has continued its existence and still renders efficient service in the parochial work. The parish made material progress during the reotorate of the Rev. Mr. Logan (1881 to 1888). It now reports seventy communicants. Its present vestry is composed of Dr. W. Myles and Capt. N. S. Walker, wardens, and Capt. W. W. Moore, Capt. A. K. Jones, chancery clerk, John A. Shreve and Sen- nator Stephen Thrasher vestrymen. The present rector, the Kev. Arthur Howard Noll, entered upon his duties in October, 1889. He is a New Jerseyman by birth, and was called to the bar of that state in 1876. He was engaged in railways in Mexico 1882-5, and then prepared for the ministry. He entered upon his missionary work a deacon in 1887 in western Texas. He was ordained a priest in Eagle Pass, Tex., in 1888, by the Rt. Rev. James S. Johnston, bishop of western Texas, wholly unconscious that in a year's time he was to become the successor of that prelate in his first parish. Ministers of the Methodist church preached occasionally at Port Gibson before 1820, but no regular organization was made until 1827, when Rev. Thomas Griffin gathered some persons into the church. Port Gibson at that period was considered quite an irreligious community, and Mr. Griffin met great opposition. Among the early members were the Humphreys and Jeffries families, Joshua Kelley and his wife, Mrs. Isabella Kelley, Thomas Loury and Mrs. Susan Loury, James S. Mason and J. L. Foote. Of these, Mrs. Kelley, Mrs. Loury and Mr. Foote still survive. In the early history of the church it was favored with the ministrations of those eminent men, Dr. William Winans, Dr. Bill Drake, Rev. John G. Jones and Rev. Elias Porter. For a time the congregation, as all others, worshiped in the courthouse. A church was erected in 1830, which was in a few years destroyed by fire. Another was then built on the same spot. This was removed, and the present impos- ing brick structure was completed on the old site in 1859, costing |20,000. The church now numbers one hundred and fifty. Rev. E. H. Moureger is the present pastor (1890). MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 217 Besides Port Gibson, the towQS of Claiborne county are Grand Gulf, Eocky Springs, St. Elmo, Hermanville, Carlisle, Tillman and Martin, all, except Kocky Springs and Grand Gulf, on the Louisville, New Orleans & Texas railroad. The history of Grand Gulf is inter- esting in its way. It was once a bustling little river city and handled forty thousand bales of cotton every year. Its first and a subsequent location caved into the river; it was three times visited with destructive fires, the last time burned by Federal troops; a cut- off of the Mississippi placed it two miles from the river, and its only railway, extending from Grand Gulf to Port Gibson, was not only abandoned, but taken up, and Grand Gulf is little more than a memory. The city of Brookhaven is located on the Illinois Central railroad one hundred and twenty-nine miles north of New Orleans, fifty-five miles south of Jackson, the state capital, and seven hundred and eighty-six miles south of Chicago. It is five hundred feet above tide- water and is the highest point on the Illinois Central railroad between New Orleans and Holly Springs, Miss. It is the county seat of Lincoln county, where all county business is transacted. The corporate limits embrace a square mile, of which the railroad depot is the center. The first settlement of the place was in the fall of 1856 and spring of 1857. John Storm, who closed a useful and well-spent life a few years ago, after having raised a large family who are now among Brookhaven' s most active and respected citizens, and Mr. Jesse Warren, who also raised a large family and was long circuit clerk of the county, were among the first settlers. Messrs. Warren and Storm were also the first regular merchants of the town; what few shops existed before they opened business in the spring of 1857 having been of a very inferior and unpretentious order. For a year or two the railroad extended no farther from New Orleans than Summit, which was its northern terminus and the distributing point for freights for all of the sur- rounding towns and counties. Finally, however, the road was completed to this point, and in May, 1857, the first train reached Brookhaven. It was a freight, and Mr. A. O. Cox, ex-sheriff of the county, who was the first station agent of the railroad, stated that the tariff on the cargo for delivery at this place was $1,350. For eight or ten months Brookhaven continued as the northern terminus of the railroad, and during this time its growth was very rapid and its business large. The first year it was a railroad town, the shipment of cotton amounted to eighteen thousand bales. But the railroad was soon completed to Beauregard, Hazlehurst and other points farther north, thus dividing the business, and from that time its growth was more gradual and business settled down to the permanent basis which it has since maintained. The population has increased steadily and is now fifteen hundred. The business of Brookhaven is of a stable and promising character. The record will show that there have been fewer failures among her business men than in any other town of like size in the state. It is the market and trading point of a majority of the people of the county, as well as a very large proportion from Franklin, Jefferson and Lawrence counties. The building of the Meridian and Northeastern and the Mississippi Valley railroads has no perceptible effect toward drawing away trade, nor is it feared that it will, as this will only take off a few from the outskirts of Brookhaven' s trade territory and will be more than offset by the constant development that is going on. The twenty-seven sawmills of the county, with their hundreds of employes and dependents, and the sturdy agricultural population will sustain and continually increase its commercial importance. The city is under the direction of a board of mayor and aldermen and a marshal (who is also ex-officio taxcolleeter), elected every two years. 218 BIOGRAPHTOAL AND HISTORICAL Brookhaven has ever been uoted for the beauty of her women and the gallantry of her men, and in point of intelligence, culture and animation her society circles will com- pare favorably with those of any other community. \Vith schools the city is peculiarly favored. First and foremost among these is the now famous Whitworth Female college. In addition to this a male academy of high grade is conducted, and several competent and experienced teachers; each conducts a mixed school for small boys and girls. The public schools of the city are also run four months of each year. The Presbyterians, Catholics, Methodists, Baptists and Episcopalians all have commo- dious and comfortable churches, and all except the latter have regular religious services and Sunday-schools. Though owning no synagogue the Jewish citizens also maintain a religious organization and hold worship at stated periods. The colored population likewise display .a creditable interest in raligious matters, and support one Baptist and two Methodist churches with very comfortable houses of worship. Secret societies are represented by lodges of I. O. O. F. , Masons, Knights of Honor and Knights and Ladies of Honor, which meet in a large and commodious hall built and owned by the Masonic fraternity. Heuck's hall, capable of seating six hundred persons and equipped with a well arranged stage and fine scenery, furnishes accommodation to various excellent traveling combinations during the winter months, and amusement to lovers of the drama. Other towns in this county are. Bogue Ohitto, Montgomery and Caseyville. Bogue Chitto, about ten miles south of Brookhaven on the. Illinois Central railroad, is situated on the Bogue Chitto river. It is one of the oldest towns along the road, having been in existence ever since the railroad was built. Owing to various causes, the growth of this town has been very slow. Its buildings being entirely wooden structures, it has been twice destroyed by fire and until within the past few years iias had a hard struggle for existence. The population of Bogue Chitto is two hundred ancOwgnty-five, nearly double what it was a few years past, and is increasing rapidly and steOTiHy. Its volume of busi- ness has swelled until it is ten times greater. There are five dry goods and grocery stores. Messrs. B. E. Brister & Co. pwn two large saw and planingmills, besides doing a flourish- ing mercantile business. J.'M. Tyler also owns a fine watermill and gin about a half-mile from town. The lumber manufacturing interests of Bogue Chitto are equal to those of any and superior to those of a great many places of much greater pretensions. There are seven mills for manufacturing rough and dressed lumber in the vicinity of the place. The annual shipment of lumber is about $40,000 to $50,000. Messrs. Wesson & Money own one of the finest bodies of pine timber in the country, with a narrow gauge railroad and locomotive running through it to a distance of eight miles east, and there is a probability that the road will be extended to Pearl river. The Natchez, Bogue Chitto & Ship Island railroad will possibly become a fixed fact in the near future, though it may take a different name, and in view of that fact the value of property in and around Bogue Chitto is increasing. The corporate limits of the town include about a mile square. There are some very sightly resi- ences and very fine sites for many more. The school facilities are fine. There are two churches, one white (Methodist) and one colored (Baptist); one Masonic and town hall. Woodville (population one thousand) the seat of justice for Wilkinson county, is one of the oldest towns in the state, and prior to its incorporation (which dates back to about 1808) was one of the earliest settlements in the then Natchez district. Peopled by one of th MEMOtRSnOF MISSISSIPPI. "519 proudest races on earth, its population comprised men whose sense of honor was the most exalted, and whose chivalry, exhibited whenever occasion presented, led them to deieds of valor and heroism. It would be difficult to point out a location for a town that would combine more advan- tages than that of Woodville. Situated upon an elevation four hundred aiid fifty feet above the river level at Bayou Sara, the breezes of the gulf are here distinctly felt and enjoyed. The topography of Woodville and its immediate environments is one that is admirably, adapted to thorough drainage and perfect sanitation. The watershed of the town is four- fold, and drainage occurs at the four cardinal points of the compass. The inevitable conse- quence of all this is that Woodville is one of the most healthful spots in the country, and enjoys unusual immunity from the ills that flesh is heir to. Woodville is supported wholly by the trade afPorded by its surrounding agricultural country, whose inhabitants raise principally cotton, corn, oats, hay and live stock for the market, the county being specially adapted to the successful cultivation and growing of. either. Wilkinson county contains twenty-five townships, ^nd has a population of about seventeen thousand five hundred and sixty-foar, the principal portion of which is engaged in agricultural pursuits. Were its arable lands wholly occupied it could, with ease, sustain a population of from sixty thousand to seventy-five thousand souls. It will thus be seen that excellent opportunities exist for the acquirement of land and homes by immigrants from other states and countries. Quite a number of large, well supplied stores provide the agri- cultural population with all needful supplies, and during the busy cotton season this town wears an aspect of thrift and bustle that would be creditable to much larger business places. The enterprise and promptness of her business men are proverbial. Perhaps no town in the state takes greater pride in her secret organizations than Wood- ville. The Masons have a lodge, a Royal Arch chapter and council, all of which have large membership and are in first-rate financial condition. The Odd Fellows have a lodge and encampment in like excellept^standing. This latter order is in a flourishing state financially. The Knights of Honors-have a large membership and a flourishing lodge, the order being justly popular here. .*^4ie American Legion of Honor is also represented in a lodge num- bering about forty-five members. The Protestant Episcopal church (St. Paul's) is one of the oldest churches in the town, and has its pulpit regularly supplied. This church has a fine organ and a choice choir. The Catholic congregation of Woodville has an attractive, commodious house of worship, where services aTe held every fourth Sunday in each month. The Methodists have a large congregation and a handsome church edifice, where they worship every Sunday. The Bap- tist church is likewise a very handsome building. This denomination is also a large one. They have services on the first and third Sundays in each month. The Presbyterian con- gregation worship in a large and comfortable church in the town, and number among their worshipers a goodly list of the old residents of the town and county. The Hebrew popula- tion of Woodville numbers about twenty families, who hold their regular weekly services in the Jewish temple, Beth Israel, which was built in 1878. The congregation wasorganized a few years prior to the construction of the temple. Rabbi Henry Cohen, formerly of Kingston, Jamaica, and London, England, is the spiritual head of the congregation. Besides filling the pulpit at the synagogue here, his labors extend to Bayou Sara, where he has a large Sabbath-school, and to other neighboring localities. There is also a Jewish cemetery here, which was dedicated about twenty years ago. There is a large public school for whites in Woodville, in a most satisfactory and flour- 380 BIOGRAPHICAL A2fD HISTORICAL ishing condition. There is also a public school for colored people in the town. This is perhaps one of the best colored schools in the South. The late Judge Edward McGehee donated, during his life, a handsome sum of money toward the education of the youth of Woodville, which was one of the many generous benefactions bestowed by this big-hearted philanthropist. The donation is represented in a fine building and ample grounds, in the corporate limits of Woodville, and is under the management of the conference of the Meth- odist Episcopal qhurch. Though controlled by the Methodist church the school is in no wise sectarian. The public schools throughout the county are sufiBciently numerous to meet the requirements of the school population, and here, as elsewhere in the South, there are ample educational advantages for all. Woodville has only one direct connection by rail with Bayou Sarah, via the West Feliciana railroad, over which trains leave Woodville at 7 a. m., on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays; returning, arrive here at 4:30 the same day. A mail is carried over this route. There is also a regular hack line (conducted by Mr. G. M. Petty), which connects Woodville with the Mississippi Valley railroad. The hack leaves Woodville every morning at 7:30 o'clock, making close connection with the south-bound train at Centerville, Miss. The hack lays over and connects also with the north-bound train, and, returning, arrives here at 4:30 p. m. This gives Woodville a daily mail from New Orleans, as well as from the North. The Woodville Republican is the name of the local paper, whose editor and proprietor, Mr. J. S. Lewis, devotes himself assiduously to its publication. The Republican is a hand- some county paper and deserves to be well supported. The patriotic ladies of Wilkinson county organized themselves into a Confederate mon- umental association, and through their noble efforts, ably seconded by the veterans of the lost cause in the town and county, erected a beautiful monument in a square lot opposite the south side of the courthouse, "In memory of the Confederate soldiers of Wilkinson county — 1861 to 1865." • The foregoing inscription appears upon one side of the shaft, near the base, and just above the word "Confederate." Upon another side appears the Confed- erate battle-flag, and just beneath a private soldier wearing the gray, his musket held at rest. On a third surface is the coat of arms of the Confederate states, and upon the front a Confederate cavalryman, mounted and equipped for battle. Above this figure a second battle-flag is unfurled. The shaft is sixteen feet high and surmounts a mound covered with an evergreen sward. It is a very handsome monument, and the entire work reflects credit upon the dutiful daughters of patriotic old Wilkinson. A suitable iron railing to inclose the monument square completes the work. Fort Adams was settled by Wilkinson's army in 1798, when the soldiers were in canton- ment until about 1807. Fort Adams was named in 1800, in honor of the president. Pinck- neyville, the original seat of justice, was founded in the first settlement of the territory. It was platted in 1805 by Thomas Dawson, and its plat was recorded in 1806 by Jamea Johnson, clerk. Jackson academy, incorporated in 1814, was located in what is now John A. Eedhead's yard, where the site is still to be seen. The school flourished for a number of years, and afterward the place was known as a stand for physicians. The Wilkinson lodge No. 10, 1. O. O. F., was started in 1846. Asylum lodge No. 63 was chartered about the same time. The Baptist church in Woodville was incorporated in 1824; the Presbyterian church at MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 221 Cold Spring in 1825; St. Paul's Episcopal church in 1825; Consolation church below old Mount Pleasant, in this county, in 1831; Bethel church, at the old camping grounds near Thompson creek, the present site of Bethel church, was first built of logs by Edward McGrehee, William James and friends, and was dedicated by Rev. Lewis Hobbs in 1813. Some years after this building was replaced by a frame church, that later by a brick building, which stands as a monument to the honor of Judge Edward McGehee. The Methodists had a church at Pinckaeyville some years before this, and another at Loftus Heights. The next oldest church was at Midway, first known as Grave's church, founded by the Bowman family and established about 1815 or 1817 by Mark Moore, afterward moved to Centerville, where there is a flourishing organization with a membership of one hundred. The Presbyterian church of Centerville has a neat frame building and a membership of fifty. The Baptist church at same place numbers about thirty-five members. In the western part of Wilkinson county, Miss., is a stream running almost due north and south. It runs through an alluvial country and in many places has high banks. With almost every overflow, like the Mississippi river, it changes its current and causes large caving of the banks. For many years these caving banks have brought to light remains, such as bones, tusks and teeth, of some extinct animal, said to be the mastodon. In one instance a tusk was found measuring five feet, from the point, in length, and six inches in diameter at the largest part. Unfortunately this specimen was neglected and gradually crumbled away from the action of the air. If varnished with common copal varnish these specimens may be preserved indefinitely, otherwise they soon crumble and perish. There are in the county many valuable specimens, such as jaw teeth, front teeth, points of tusks and larger bones, which have been treated with varnish and are well preserved. One spec- imen consists of the jawbone with the teeth all in good state of preservation. The negroes gather up these remains after an overflow, and for a consideration bring them to the curi- ous in such matters. The supply seems to be inexhaustible. Oxford, the seat of justice of Lafayette county, is a flourishing town of two thousand population on the line of the Illinois Central railroad. The city was almost totally destroyed by the Federal army during the war. The legal bar of Oxford has always ranked high, and in the biographical department of this work will be found sketches of the leading lawyers of the past as well as the present day. The Bank of Oxford was organized February 1, 1872, with a paid-up capital of 133,333.33, and an authorized capital of $100,000. W. L. Archibald was the first presi- dent, and W. A. West its first cashier. A. T. Owens is the present president, and Ben Price cashier. It is one of the sound and prosperous banking institutions of the state. Another bank at Oxford is the Merchants & Farmers, which was established in September, 1889, with a capital of $50,000. Charles Roberts was its first and he is its present president, and W. A West is cashier. Other towns in Lafayette county are Taylor, Springdale and Abbeville. Scranton, the seat of justice of Jackson county, is a growingly important town of one thousand one hundred and fifty inhabitants, on the Southern border of the county and state on the shore of the Mississippi sound, and on the Louisville & Nashville railroad. Other towns in this county are East Pascagoula, West Pascagoula and Ocean Springs. The two Pascagoulas depend on Scranton for mail facilities. Ocean Springs, which is noted chiefly for the extensive pecan culture of Col. W. R. Stuart, has a population of five hundred. Pascagoula lodge No. 202, A. F. & A. M. , is situated at Moss Point, and has seventy- 323 BIOGRAPHICAL AND HISTOIilOAL five members. It was organized at East Pascagoula in 1855. Its charter members were Thomas L. Sumrall, W. M. ; A. E. Lewis, S. W. ; W. G. Elder, J. W. ; J. E. Sarozin, secretary; Cheri Sarozin, treasurer; W. Griffin, S. D. ; Lyman Kandall, J. D. ; Bernard Gillsley, tyler. The lodge was cordially supported, and grew and prospered till 1862, when the environments of war became too great for it, and in common with nearly all other interests it was compelled to succumb. Nothing is found of its work till it was reorganized in 1866 by H. B. Griffin, senior warden, holding over from 1862, H. L. Houze, a past master of Wilson lodge No. 72, acting as W. M. ; J. M. Mclnnis, J. W. ; A. H. Delmas, secretary; H. Krebs, treasurer; W. G. Elder, J. D. ; J. B. Delmas, tyler. After its reorganization the lodge took on its old-time vigor and prosperity, and speedily took high rank among the Masonic insti- tutions of the state. About this time it was removed to Moss Point, where a suitable build- ing awaited it. It soon numbered among its members nearly all the leading citizens of the vicinity, and has for many years impressed itself upon the morals of the community, as well as contributed largely to all charitable enterprises. Its charities reach away up into the thousands. In each of the yellow-fever epidemics of 1874 and 1878, this lodge dispensed hundreds of dollars indiscriminately to initiated and profane alike. In the Masonic councils of the jurisdiction of Mississippi, Pascagoula lodge No. 202 has not been without her honors. In 1881 one of her past masters, J. W. Morris, was appointed senior grand deacon, and another, M. M. Evans, district deputy grand master, in 1880 and 1881. The same individ- ual was appointed deputy grand master by the lamented Grand Master Patty, in 1884, and was elected junior grand warden in 1886, senior grand warden in 1887, and grand master in 1888; was appointed on the committee of complaints and offenses in 1889 and 1890, and on the committee of law and jiiri.sprudence in 1891. J. K. McLeod, another past master, was appointed on the committee on complaints and offenses in 1886 and 1887. The lodge at this writing is occupying its accustomed position among the lodges in the state, and will doubtless continue to write itself in the history of Free Masonry in Mississippi. Its wor- shipful masters were: Thomas L. Samrall, two years; A. E. Lewis, five years; W. G. Elder, one year; H. B. Griffin, one year; H. L. Houze, seven years; S. A. Mclnnis, three years; M. M. Evans, three yeais; J. K. McLeod, six years; J. W. Morris, one year; T. A. Coulson, two years; W. AVatkins, one year; J. H. Rolls, one year; J. AV. Stewart, present incumbent. H. L. Houze R. A. chapter No. 108, situated at Moss Point, was organized January 17, 1876. with the following charter members: H. L. Houze, H. P. ; D. M. Dunlap, king; Nel- son Wood, scribe; W. H. Eolls, C. Of host; J. W. Griffin, P. S. ; W. C. Morrow, R. A. C. ; George Wood, M of third V. ; D. A. Yates, M. of second V. ; C. W. Calhoun, M. of first V. ; H. C. Horens, treasurer. This chapter was named in honor of its first high priest, a patri- arch in Masonry. One who had devoted much of his life to its service, and who has always loved Masonry for its pure and elevating infiuence, his life has been an exemplification of Masonic tenets and principles. It was therefore but a just tribute to call the chapter which he did so much to < stabli.^h and maintain after his name. H. L. Houze chapter No. 108 has contributed its share toward charitable enterprises, always joining with Pascagoula lodge for that purpose. Among the leading members of the grand chapter, she has her representative in the person of J. K. McLeod, one of the past high priests, who was installed grand prin- cipal sojourner in 1887, grand captain of host in 1888, grand scribe in 1889, grand king in 1890 and deputy grand high priest in 1891. Pride of Moss Point lodge No. 1913, grand united order of Odd Fellows in America, composed exclusively (>t colored persons, was organized in 1879, with the following as charter members: D. Anderson, C. S. Colland, A. Haskins, B. J. Mayo and W. W. Mclnyon. MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 223 It now has thirty members, and is devoted to the care of the sick and destitute of its mem- bers. It expends considerable in this direction. Scranton lodge No. 45, I. O. 0. F., was instituted April 5, 1886. Its charter members were W. F. A. Parker, J. H. Eolls, E. P. Blalack, S. J. Armstrong, J. S. Blalack, W. K. Mead and J. W. Mead. It has at present writing eighty members, and is a thrifty and prosperous lodge, embodying most of the prominent citizens of Scranton and vicinity among its members. It annually dispenses large amounts in charity, and is a useful, moral agent. Its members are liberal in its financial views, having built a very imposing edifice for the occupancy of the lodge, with several rooms and halls for rent for offices and other purposes. This building cost upward of $5,000 and is a beauty in architecture. Scranton lodge No. 45, stands in the front rank of Odd Fellows' lodges in the state, and will doubt- less impress itself upon the history of that order. Gulf lodge No. 2884, Knights of Honor, situated at Moss Point, Miss. , was organized June 8, 1881, with the following charter members: AV. D. Bragg, W. E. Bingham, A. Blumer, S. J. Bingham, George N. Cook, Burton Goode, AV. Fred Herrin, John W. Morris, E. C. Woods and D. A. Yates. It numbers at present seventy-five members, including most of the leading persons of the community. It has always been a useful adjunct to the moral and financial forces of the county, having in its brief existence contributed largely not only to the healthy, moral sentiment of the town and vicinity, but has dispensed to the widows and orphans of its deceased members amounts aggregating $18,000. Escatawpa lodge No. 3115, Knights of Honor, was organized in 1884 with sixteen charter members. It now has thirty-two. It has paid out 16,000 in benefits. Gulf lodge U. D. , A. F. & A. M. , is in process of organization at Scranton, Miss. Its charter members are S. T. Hariland, M. C. Pankey, W. M. Denny, R. D. Smith, J. A. Miller, M. C. Allman, W. A. Chapel, C. P. Bowman and 0. H. Alley. They are all weU- known gentlemen and will doubtless conduct this new lodge successfully. Greenwood, the county seat of Leflore county, is located on the left bank of the Yazoo river about three miles below where that river is formed by the confluence of the Yalobusha and Tallahatchie rivers and has a population of one thousand souls. Here also the Yazoo & Mississippi Valley railroad has an incline for the ready transfer of fieights from steam- boats, a number of which ply daily carrying on a lucrative business up and down the river from this point. The growth of the town in the past six years has been almost phenom- enal, it having grown in that time from a village tt about five hundred inhabitants. Beside a large local trade there are several large wholesale establishments located at Green- wood and a number of cotton buyers and it is a lively business point. It has three churches, Methodist, Presbyterian and Episcopal, for the whites, and a large Methodist church for the colored population, besides two public schoolhouses one for each race, also an elegant opera- house and ample lodgerooms for the various secret and benevolent orders. A number of manufacturing companies have been incorporated and facilities will be supplied to handle the immense amount of cotton shipped from this and adjacent points. Here too a packery of beef could find the material necessary for carrying on that business, since a large number of cattle are raised in this and adjoining counties. South of Greenwood, on the line of the Yazoo & Mississippi Valley railroad, is the thriving village of Rising Sun, at which place the railroad taps the Yazoo river, and there is probably the best dirt road in the country leading from there to the hill country on the east. Ten miles south fi-om Greenwood on the same railroad where it taps the river is the 324 BIOORAPHICAL AND EI8T0BI0AL town of Sidon, second in size and importance in the county which has kept proportionate pace in improvements with the county seat, and where a number of roadscoming in from the hill country make a desirable trading point where are ample church and school facilities and a live whole-sonled people. Going north from Greenwood ten miles is found the third town of size and importance in the county, Shell Mound, on the right bank of the Tallahatchie river, which is the entre- pot of supplies for a large territory embracing the farms on the McNutt lake and Quiver river, where is raised the finest staple of cotton in the world. McNutt, situated on a lake of the same name, was once the county seat of old Sunflower county, and while the march of improvement has turned aside from this once thriving inland town, it still boasts of its school and church and is noted for the hospitality of its people. Emmaville is a pretty village on the right bank of the Tallahatchie. Railway facilities which are promised will cause Red Cross, Shannondale and Minter city, three beautiful little villages on the Tallahatchie river, to develop into towns of some size. Sheppardtown, ten miles south from Sidon, on the right bank of the Yazoo river, is another thriving village having the rich land of Bear creek from which to draw its trade and still farther down the Yazoo at stated intervals can be found large storehouses where clever merchants do a good business. Between Sidon and Rising Sun, on the right bank of the river, is Roebuck landing, one of the best trading points in the county, where an immense business is done Going west from there around Roebuck lake, a cutoff of the Yazoo, are to be found several stores, and at Itta Bena, where the line of the Georgia Pacific railroad crosses that lake, quite a village has been built. Fort Loring, where the same railroad crosses the Yazoo river three miles west from Greenwood, has attained importance. Besides Greenwood, this county has the following towns and villages: Itta Bena, Sidon, Shell Mound, Minter city, Sunnyside, Old McNutt, Rising Sun and Red Cross. Friar's Point, the seat of justice of Coahoma county, is located on the Mississippi river and on the Louisville, New Orleans & Texas railroad, and has a population of seven hundred and seventy-six. Coahoma county was established February 9, 1836, and its courthouse and public offices have been located at various times at Delta, Port Royal, again at Delta and at Friar's Point, where good county buildings have been erected. Since the construction of the railroads, of which several lines intersect the county. Friar' s Point has greatly improved, and is now, with a good hotel, several manufacturing eslablishraents and the bank of Friar's Point, Friar's Point Improvement company, and the Friar's Point Building & Loan associa- tion, and many large mercantile houses, one of the busiest towns of its size in any state. Clarksdale is a new town, having been built up since the advent of the railroad in 1884, but is now the metropolis of the county, with eight hundred. It is a railroad junction of importance, and its site is well chosen, beautiful and advantageous, on high ground above overflow at the head of navigation of Sunflower river. Clarksdale, Coahoma county, has grown up since 1884. Until then its site was occupied by only the store of John Clark, the owner of a plantation including the site. The advent of the Louisville, New Orleans & Texas railway, about that time, caused the beginning of the growth of a town which now has a population of eight hundred and is incorporated. Clarksdale lies in the very heart of the great delta region, one hundred and seventy-seven miles from Memphis and three hundred and eighty-three miles from New Orleans. The amount of cotton handled reaches fifteen thousand bales per season, with good prospects for from eighteen thousand to twenty thou- MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 335 sand bales during the present one, based upon the increased acreage and unusually fine crop prospects. Clarksdale has recently been made an interior town by the New York cotton exchange, something unusual for a place of its population. One among the largest and most complete cotton- seed oilmills in the South is located there, and a cotton compress has been built. There are also a large sawmill, public gin and gristmill in Clarksdale, and a substantial banking house, the Clarksdale Bank & Trust company, the successors of the Central City bank, organized in 1888. The civic societies, Masons, Odd Fellows, Knights of Pythias, Knights of Honor and others, have flourishing lodges and strong memberships. About fifty-five years ago the wife of a Choctaw chief gave her name to Attala county, and the settlement known then as Bedbud was rechristened after the illustrious Polish hero. Kosciusko, in its early days, must have been a wild place. It was the haunt of robbers and desperadoes of all kinds, but it has undergone a very radical change, so that at present Mississippi knows no more orderly, peaceable or proportionately solid constituency. The county seat of Attala is a cotton town of one thousand six hundred and fifty inhabitants. Kosciusko enjoys the trade of three adjoining counties — Leake, Winston and Neshoba. It also draws a little from Choctaw and Montgomery counties. The country around is almost entirely in the hands of white small farmers, and a large proportion of the colored people own their own lands. About twelve years ago Kosciusko became a railroad town, and is now one of the most prominent stations on the Canton, Aberdeen & Nashville branch of the Illinois Central rail- road. The coming of the railroad naturally helped to develop the place. The Yockanowkaney river, one and a half miles from the town, affords a wonderful nat- ural water power, which would be invaluable for mill purposes. Kosciusko would, in fact, be a first-rate location for a mill or factory. Already two wagon factories are in full opera- tion here and are supplying all the home demand. All except the wheel timber is of l^cal growth. Other industries here are a barrel factory, a furniture factory, two sawmills, a gristmill and gin and an extensive flouringmill. Kosciusko is a well-governed, orderly, breezy little city. It boasts of a cozy little opera house, has good public schools, open ten months in the year, and its churches are eight in number, of which three belong to the colored people. The denominations represented are Presbyterian, Methodist, Cumberland Presbyterian and Baptist. Eev. Dr. J. H. Alexander has been pastor of the Presbyterian church since 1855. The town was named Pekin in 1833, was later called Paris, and since about 1830 has been known as Kosciusko. Trinity lodge No. 88, A. F. & A. M., Eoyal Arch chapter No. 20, the local lodge K. & L. of H. , and Farmers' Alliance No. 105 are flourishing societies at Kosciusko. Other towns in this county are Ethel, named in honor of a daughter of Capt. S. B. Mc- Connies; Sallis, named in honor of Dr. James Sallis, and McCool, named in honor of Hon. James F. McCool. The Methodists and Presbyterians have good houses of worship at Sallis. Quitman, the seat of justice of Clarke county, was named in honor of Gen. John A. Quitman. The land upon which the town is built was owned and laid off into town lots by Gen. John Watts, afterward for many years judge of the circuit court. The population is four hundred and ten. Enterprise, Miss., lies in the northwestern portion of Clarke county, and has both the Mississippi & Ohio and New Orleans & Northeastern railways to carry its products to all the great markets of the country. It also lies at the junction of Chunkey and Tibbee creeks, which here form the important Chiokasawhay river, which in times gone by was navigable 826 BIOGBAPHWAL AND HI8T0BI0AL to the gulf, and from this place alone was wont to transport sixty- five thousand bales of cotton annually. This place was founded by John J. McRae, afterward governor of the state. Its popula- tion, one thousand one hundred and thirty, and its annual cotton shipment amounts to four thousand bales. It has a number of substantial business houses, a cottonmill, gristmill and gin and the Wanita woolenmills a short distance from the corporation limits. There is also a line of street railway which connects the two depots, furnishing transit between the east and west ends, as the river divides the town. Schools, churches, and civil societies are found here, and as a place of residence it is highly spoken of. An excellent agricultural country surrounds the town, and its trade is largely drawn from adjoining counties, whose people find a good market. Take the agricultural and timber resources of the county alone and they will, when fully developed, serve to support a place of ten thousand inhabitants, but when to these be added inexhaustible deposits of the richest iron ores, it will rightly be conjectured that Enterprise has a magnificent future before it, and that a second Birmingham will soon be found here. From the explorations already made, it has been determined that heavy deposits of liminite ores exist in this vicinity, covering an area of country four miles wide by ten long, the trend being from northwest to southeast, ajid the dip of the strata being about thirty feet to the mile. From the analyses given farther along, it will be observed that being exceedingly rich in quartz, clay and lime, it will require little if any other additional flux; but if it should, there exist in close proximity, great ledges of the finest limestone, which will yield an abundance of flux for centuries. The ore stratum is solid and well defined, and runs in an average depth of twelve and one- half feet, although it often reaches a depth of twenty feet and more. Another peculiarity of this ore is that it is easily mined, and it is loose as a gravel bed almost, and can in many places be mined with a steam shovel. That it is exceedingly rich in iron and is easily reduced, the analyses show and furnace tests will confirm this. It now only remains for some one to erect a blast furnace between the two lines of railway, northeast of the city, right in the heart of the ore beds, where excellent water is abundant, and where charcoal can be made in the great forests surrounding. There is a most excellent site In the locality mentioned that ought, and doubtless will be, utilized for that purpose. But in the event that charcoal should not be found desirable for reduction purposes, it is but a short distance to the Warrior coal fields and great coke arms at and near Birmingham, with a line of road directly to them, or to the Patton mines reached via the Mississippi & Ohio and Grand Pacific railways, either of which could lay the coke down here at rates that would render the smelting at this point profitable. The Alabama Land & Development company has more than one hundred thousand acres of land in Clarke county. The following analysis of the iron ore found at Enterprise will prove conclusively that the deposits of iron in this section, while inexhaustible, are also of remarkable richness and very easy of reduction, besides containing the requisite flux without the addition of lime- stone. Of a specimen of iron ore received from Mr. L, B. Brown for Dr. Moore, Enterprise: Carbonate of protoxide of iron, 37.5; peroxide of iron, 17.14; sulphuric acid, 1.52; phos- phoric acid, 1.4; carbouate of lime, 5.5; quartz, sand, clay and organic matter, 36.; metallic iron in ore, 30.12; phosphorous in phosphoric acid, .62; sulphur in sulphuric acid, .61. Extract from a letter from Joseph Albrecht, analytical chemist, New Orleans, accom- panying the above analysis: "The ore contains no manganese and no other deleterious matters except those stated in the analysis; it must be roasted before it can be melted, but it is of easy reduction, wants no addition (in my opinion), as the quartz, clay and lime will form MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 337 the necessary flux or slag required. ' ' Report of analysis by Charles Mohr & Son, analytical chemists, Mobile: "The material sent to us has been submitted to chemical analysis with the following results: Volatile matter (moisture and combined water and organic matter), 24.3; oxide of iron, 45.4; other metallic oxides, principally alumina, 7.8; silica (sand), 22.5. The 45.4 per cent, ferric oxide represents 35.58 per cent, metallic iron." Pontotoc, the seat of justice of Pontotoc county, was long the second town in North Mississippi in population and importance. The location of the land offices for the Chickasaw Indians, it early became a favorite field for commerce and speculation, and was the scene of busines transactions involving goodly amounts for the time. Among its early men of promi- nence were: William Y. Gholson, Charles Fontaine, Thomas J. Word, Judge R. Miller, William and James Davis and others equally well known. In point of intelligence the men and women of Pontotoc have always ranked above the average, and many of them amassed good fortunes and lived lives of leisure, devoted to the pursuit of art, literature and science. The United States court was held here for some years. The town was incorporated in 1837, and now has a population of about one thousand. It is located on the Gulf & Chicago railroad, being the terminus of the Pontotoc & Middleton branch of that system, and is the only place in the county except Cherry Creek (population one hundred and seventy-five) that has railroad facilities. Its business men are enterprising and progressive, and it is the center of a good country trade. Ripley, the seat of justice of Tippah county, has a population of seven hundred and fifty, which ranks high for refinement, intelligence and enterprise, and is an important station of the Gulf & Chicago railroad. It is the center of a growing trade, and has attracted the attention of manufacturers. Its merchants, lawyers, physicians, and business men generally, are noted for their integrity and their ability. Other towns in Tippah county are, Dumas, Falkner, Brooklyn, Ruckenville, Guyton, Tiplersville, Cotton Plant, Blue Mountain, Lowrey, Silver Springs and Brigaba. luka, the seat of justice of Tishomingo county, has over one thousand inhabitants and is situated on the Memphis & Charleston railroad. One hundred and fifteen miles east of Memphis, six miles from Alabama line, seven miles from the Tennessee river, upon one of the most elevated sections of Mississippi; readily accessible by the Memphis & Charles- ton railroad and its connections. The country around is hilly, and has been termed "The Switzerland of Mississippi." The corporation is one mile square. Every house is sur- rounded by ample grounds of orchard, park and garden. There are five churches, all with active, earnest membership, and a flourishing normal school. Cordial, hospitable, wide- awake, and energetic, the inhabitants of luka are pleasant people with whom to cast one's lot. Its people are educated and refined, and its business is flourishing and growing. Other towns in the county are Bay Springs, Cartersville, Eastport and Burnsville. The site of Yazoo City, the justice seat of Yazoo county, was an Indian reservation, entered by Greenwood Le Fleur in 1827, under the provisions of the treaty of Washington, concluded January 20, 1825, with the Choctaw Indians. Yazoo City was first called Han- non's Bluff and afterward incorporated as Manchester, and subsequently as Yazoo City, the name having been changed about 1845. This town, the gem city of the world-famous Yazoo, Miss., delta country, is situated upon the eastern bank of the Yazoo fiver. The site is a well- chosen and wonderfully advantageous one, gently sloping back to the bluffs in the rear. A better or prettier site for a city could not have been selected. At its wharves are 328 BIOORAPHIGAL AND HIBTOBIOAL always seen steamboats loading and unloading, while along the levee run the tracks of the Illinois Central railroad, its depot, freight and warehouses presenting an equally busy scene. Along its principal business street are large, substantial brick business houses, fronted with iron, stone and plate glass, presenting a metropolitan appearance, giving the stranger an agreeable impression of its commercial importance. The streets are broad, beautifully graded, macadamized with gravel and well guttered. Its population is five thousand two hundred and forty-seven, and its growth is steady, it having more than doubled since the close of the war. During the past few years improve- ments have been more rapid and of a much superior nature. Owing to its splendid navi- gation and railroad system it should, and doubtless will, become Mississippi' s greatest indus- trial city. Its present industries consist of one large sawmill, a cotton seedmill, containing all the latest improved machinery, a large, first-class compress, a mill and gin, one ice factory and four substantial brick cotton warehouses. There are also brickyards, making an excellent quality of brick, used locally and shipped to other points. Two creameries are in operation, turning out large quantities of fine butter. Two amply capitalized banking houses furnish satisfactory facilities. Two steamboat lines run regular packets from Yazoo City. The river navigation extends north over two hundred miles, and to the Mississippi river south, connecting with the Big and Little Sunflower rivers, and Lake George, etc. Some twelve hundred and fifty miles of navigable rivers, penetrating the South' s greatest cotton and corn regions, are made acces- sible and tributary to Yazoo City, which, by reason of its comprehensive railroad and river navigation system, should naturally develop into a great jobbing center, as well as an indus- trial city. In the "matter of public schools, Yazoo City is well supplied, there being not less than three, with a large enrollment of pupils. Thd1-e are also private schools, notably, the con- vent or Catholic school. There are also five white churches in the city, some of whose edi- fices of worship are noble and imposing specimens of architectural beauty. The principal civic societies are also represented by flourishing lodges, while a public library and social club are attractive and pleasing features. There is an operahouse with a seating capacity of seven hundred. The city limits extend one mile north and south, and a mile and a half east and west. The sidewalks are usually of brick. Another attractive feature is the great number of orna- mental trees by which the streets are shaded, as well as the evergreen shrubbery and semi- tropical exotics adorning the grounds of the different residences. The city has an efficient and well-equipped fire department, having two engines and one hook and ladder company. The county courthouse, a beautiful and imposing structure, was erected at a cost of $80,000. A substantial city jail has also been built at an outlay of $12,500. A fine iron bridge has been built across the Yazoo river, in order to facilitate trade from the west, at a cost of 130,000. Socially, as well as in a business sense, the people of Yazoo City are a very superior class, being noted for enterprise and progressive tendencies. They have full faith in the future of their charming little city, and are ever ready to further its interests by all means within their power. The city government is vested in a mayor and board of aldermen, numbering eight, a clerk, treasurer, assessor and collector, attorney and city marshal. It is a popular administration, and is made up of men who guard the interests of the public with conservative care. The local capitalists are not averse to engaging in new enterprises, and will meet out- MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 229 side men of means half way in the matter of sites for manufacturing establishments or taking stock in the same. But Yazoo City has something better to offer the manufacturer and capi- talist than a mere subsidy of money or land, and that is location, which, after all, is what insures the success of every industrial enterprise. By its railroad system not less than thirty counties in Mississippi and six different states and territories are reached, while its fine nav- igable river makes tributary the most fertile and productive portion of the lower Mississippi valley, with all the tributary streams of the Father of Waters. The raw material can be floated to its factory doors, almost without cost, while the same highway, aided by the rail- road, serves to distribute the product to every great consuming center in the country. The First National bank was organized in September, 1886, with a capital paid up of $50,000, to which has since been added a large surplus. It is located in a new building at the corner of Main and Bridge streets, specially arranged for the business, the interior being arranged in modern style, while tire and burglar-proof vault and safes effectually guard the treasure. A general banking, exchange, deposit and collection busine&s is transacted by this bank, and any one requiring the services of a reliable correspondent in this section will do well to engage its services. The officers of the First National are: L. Lippman, president; Charles Mann, vice president; and E. L. Bennett, cashier, under whose careful and conservative management its affairs have thriven and the business widely extended. The di"rectoryis made up of L. Lippman, Charles Mann, L. B. Warren, J. H. D. Haverkamp, John Lear, E. A. Jackson and E. Drenning, who are all well known as leading capitalists, merchants and pro- fessional men of Yazoo City. The bank's correspondents are the Mercantile National, New York; Union National, New Orleans; Kentucky National, Louisville; and the Prairie State National, Chicago. The establishment of this bank was the outgrowth of Yazoo City's urgent demand for increased banking facilities. The Bank of Yazoo City, the pioneer banking house of Yazoo City, was established in the year 1876, with a paid-up capital of $100,000, to which has since been added a large surplus. This bank has the handsomest and most attractive building on Main street. The interior is fitted up in elegant style, such as prevails in metropolitan banking houses, and is equipped with fireproof vaults, steel safes and time lock. The building was erected at a cost of $10,000. This institution does a general Ijanking business in all its branches, and is regarded as one of the safest banks in the state. Its correspondents are the National Park bank. New York, and the Louisiana National bank, of New Orleans. The officers are R. C. Shepherd, president; Charles Roberts, vice president, and S. R. Berry, cashier, men of extensive expejience as bank managers, who are well known and stand high in financial circles. The directors are R. C. Shepherd, J. H. D. Haverkamp, J. J. Fouche, J. N. Gilruth, J. F. Powell, William Hamel, W. C. Craig and Louis Wise, all of whom will be recognized as being among Yazoo City's leading capitalists, largest and most successful business men and manufacturers. Walthall is the seat of justice of Webster county. It is located near the center of the county and has a population of two hundred and fifty. It was named in honor of Senator AValthall. This is a good interior trading point, which, though remote from railroads, has attained to some local commercial importance. Among the secret orders represented in Webster, as elsewhere, the Masonic order is prominent. Among the A. F. & A. M. lodges organized here are the following: Adelphi ]od»e No. 174 of Walthall, which was chartered January 17, 1853, and for many years held its meetings at BBllefontaine; Eldorado lodge No. 184, at Cumberland; New Hope lodge, which for some years met at New Hope church, now meets at Maben, Oktibbeha 330 BIOGRAPHICAL AJfD HISTOBICAL county, and Groensboro lodge No. 49, which was chartered early in the forties, and is the oldest lodge in the county. Eupora, on the Richmond & Danville railroad, is a point of growing importance. Waynesboro, the seat of justice of Wayne county, is situated northwest of the center of the county, on the Mobile & Ohio railroad, and has a population of three hundred. The first county seat of this county was Winchester, five miles south of Waynesboro, and on the Mobile & Ohio railroad. About 1822 the courthouse at Winchester was destroyed by fire. It was rebuilt and is now standing. The old jail also yet stands at Winchester, built in the forties, with walls three feet thick of heavy hewed pine, by John McDonald, at a cost to the county of $400 or $500. The county seat was located at Waynesboro in 1870. Schools were introduced in this county by itinerant teachers. One of them, Samuel M. Dickson, taught a classical school three miles and a half south of Winchester, on the Mobile road. Patterson taught on the Ridge next; Jacob Collins taught also on the Ridge east of Win- chester; General Falconer and John A. Edwards alternated at the Ridge about 1828. Among early churches in Wayne county were: Zion (Baptist), on the Ridge, of which William Powell and Nathan Clay, Jr., were early pastors; Salem (Baptist), in the present town of Waynesboro, though it stood at first on the Winchester road, William Morris, noted for his arbitrary rulings, acting as pastor in the twenties. Rev. Mr. Chambers was another early Baptist preacher here. The Methodists preached in the old Winchester courthouse in early days. Rev. William A. Cotton was a noted early circuit rider, and is said to have been something of a fighter when occasion demanded. _ Magnolia, on the Illinois Central railroad, is the seat of justice of Pike county. It had its start upon the completion of the railroad to that point in 1856. The county seat was located here in 1875. Among Magnolia's early business men were: L. R. Jones, carpenter, who built the first business house in the town; Robert L. Carter, W. H. Joyner, W. H. B. (Jrosswell, Joseph Evans and Abraham Hiller, merchants; L. Gournly, first postmaster, and E. M. Bee, the first depot agent, who served nineteen years. The population is seven hun- dred and fifty. Holmesville was the first incoi'porated village of the county. It was incorporated in 1817. Osyka was the next, and for two years was the terminus of the Illinois Central rail- road. Meadville, the seat of justice of Franklin county, is located near the center of the county, and has a population of two hundred and fifty. The Franklin Journal was the first newspaper published in this county. It was issued in the summer of 1866 by one Crawford, who was a deaf mute. After several changes in ownership it became known as the Franklin Banner, and was published under that name by a son of Judge McGee for three years, until the death of the publisher. The Franklin Herald was established at Hamburg in 1886. In . 1890 P. C. Thompson bought the material and took it to Knoxville, and there published the Southern Progress until the latter part of that year, when it was removed to Garden City, where it is still issued, with C. P. Thompson as editor, and P. C. Thompson as manager. Hamburg, on the Louisville, New Orleans & Texas railroad, in Franklin county, has a popu- lation of one hundred and fifty. Roxie, south of Hamburg, on the same line, dates its history from 1885, and has a population of two hundred and twenty-five. Knoxville, on the railroad still farther south, has a population of one hundred and fifty. The county seat was at first located at Franklin, which was two and a half miles west of the site of Mead- ville. Early churches of this county are mentioned elsewhere. MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 331 Indianola, the seat of justice of Sunflower county, is a thrifty and prosperous little town on the Georgia Pacific railroad, in close proximity to some plantations and farms, and has grown steadily since the date of its location. Its population at this time is three hundred and seventy-five. It was incorporated in 1886, and its fi.rst mayor was I. C. W. McLeod. The first seat of justice of this county was at McNutt, later it was removed to Johnsonville, on Sunflower river, and thence, a few years after, to Indianola. De Kalb, the seat of justice of Kemper county, is located as nearly as maybe in the geo- graphical center of the county, and has a population of three hundred and four. It has no railway facilities, but is the trading point for a considerable area round about and is prosperous in all its interests. The Free-Will Baptist church was founded in Kemper county in 1882 by Kev. C. F. Johnson, a sketch of whose life appears in this work. The doctrine of the church indicates salvation free to all and obedience and faith in Christ, also free communion at the Lord's Supper with all orthodox Christians, and baptism by immersion exclusively. The govern- ment is congregational. The church consists of about thirty members. The courthouse in Kemper county, with the county records and public documents, was burned in 1881. Other towns in this county are Oak Grove, Scooba, Wahalak, Moscow and Kellis Store. Neshoba county is remote from railroads and has never felt the iniluence of railway facilities upon its development. Hence its towns, though enjoying a good local trade and peopled by a sturdy, enterprising and intelligent class, have none of them attained to any considerable size. Philadelphia, the seat of justice, has a population of about one hundred. Other villages within the borders of the county are Dowdville, Laurel Hill, Dixon, New Hope, Java, North Bend and Milldale. Booneville, the seat of justice of Prentiss county, is a thriving station on the Mobile >*fc Ohio railroad, and has a population of eight hundred. It is the center of a good trade, and has good schools, ample church accommodations and an intelligent, well-educated, progres- sive class of citizens. Other towns in this county are Marietta, Carrollsville, Elma, Baldwyn (See Tupelo, Lee county, etc.), old Cairo and Beulah. Monticello, Lawrence county's seat of justice, was incorporated in 1818. Monticello academy was established in 1836 with John E. McNair as its first principal. Mr. McNair was afterward a circuit judge of great popularity. One of the first papers was the South- ern Journal, edited by John R. Chambers. Among local papers well known in this part of the state may be mentioned the Monticello Advocate, by S. W. Dale, and the Sunny South, by C. N. Jones. The Lawrence County Press, by Joseph Dale, son of S. W. Dale, is an able journal, and the only paper now published in the county. The first church in the county was established at Monticello. It was of the Methodist denomination. The ' Baptists organized a few years afterward. Silver Creek Baptist church was organized in 1815, and has a membership of two hundred. Bethany church (Baptist), on White Sand, was organized in 1819, under the labors of Elder John P. Martin, one of the leading pioneer ministers of the state, who was succeeded by Norvel Eobertson for more than forty years. A branch of the Planters' bank was established at Monticello soon after 1830. Monticello at one time did a large and extensive business, and had an able bar, comprising some of the best talent in the South. The superior court was held at this place for some years, 383 BIOGRAPHICAL AND HI8T0BI0AL and the vice chancery court until 1854. It was here that the lamented S. S. Prentiss received his license to practice law. Monticello vs^as selected as the site of the state capi- tal at a session of the legislature convened at Columbia — just before Jackson was made the capital of the state — when Mr. Runnels was in the senate and Mr. Cooper in the house of representatives. They were both prominent citizens of Monticello and leaders in selecting Monticello as the state capital, and by their efPorts it was located here. After they had secured the vote in favor of Monticello, they returned to their home to bear the news of their success to their constituents, and in their absence a motion was made to reconsider the vote, and Jackson was then given the honor thus unfairly wrested from Monticello. Following is Monticello' s church and society directory: Churches: Baptist — Third Sunday and Saturday in every month at 11 o'clock a. m. ; Sunday-school every Sun- day at 3 p. M. ; Rev. R. W. Hall, pastor. Presbyterian — First Sunday in every month at 11 o'clock A. M. and 7:30 p. m. ; Sunday-school every Sunday at 10 a. m. ; Rev. George G. Woodbridge, pastor. Methodist — Fourth Sunday in each month at 11 a. m. and 7:30 p. m. ; Rev. R. Havers, pastor. A. F. & A. M. lodge — Third Saturday in every month at 10 o'clock A. M. ; Z. P. Jones, W. M. Menticello Farmers' Alliance — First Saturday in every month at 3 o'clock p. m. ; Will C. CannoD', president. Sardis, one of the two seats of justice of Panola county, was incorporated in 1857, and Dr. S. F. Dunlap was its first mayor. The town was named by Mr. W. H. Alexander, who was the first postmaster and is now proprietor of the town of Mastodon in the western part of the county. The church houses in Sardis are Methodist (South), Presbyterian, Baptist, Episcopal and Catholic. Other denominations have organizations but no house of worship. Sardis has a population of one thousand, and is an enterprising station on the Illinois Central railroad. Batesville, farther south on the same line, is the seat of justice of the second judicial district of Panola county. It has a population of six hundred and twenty-five. Belen and Marks are the towns of Quitman county. Belen, the seat of justice, has a population of about one hundred and twenty-five. There are in this county good public schools and quite a number of churches of different denominations. Brandon, the county town of Rankin county, is a station on the Alabama & Vicksburg railroad and has a population of six hundred. It was named after Gov. Gerard C. Brandon and was early known as the seat of the famous Brandon bank, of which Col. William H. Shelton was president. Situated on the highest point between Vicksburg and Jackson, this place is exceptionally healthy. For years it was the terminus of the Vicksburg & Meridian railroad and the trading point for several adjacent counties. For more than twenty-five years the Brandon Female college has been in charge of Miss Johnston, one of the most celebrated teachers in Mississippi, who has perhaps done more to enrich the culture and intelligence of the town and its vicinity than any one else. Other towns in this county are Steen's Creek, Cato, Fannin, Pelahatchee and Armistead. Paulding, the county seat of Jasper county, has a population of two hundred and thirty. It is situated a little east of the center of the county and has no railway communication. It has a good country trade, however, and is the center of a considerable business. It was in Jasper county that Dr. J. N. Waddell, who afterward became chancellor of the University of Mississippi and later of the Southwestern university at Clarksville, Tenn., began his career as a teacher. The Clarion Ledger was first edited here under the name of the Eastern Clarion. MEMOIRS OP MISSISSIPPI. 233 Garlandsville, Heidelbiirg, Lake Como and Vosburg are other towns in this county. Louisville, the county seat of Winston county, has a population of three hundred and seventy-five, and is a thriving and progressive inland town with no railroad connection. It contains several good store buildings, some sightly church edifices and a creditable court- house. The land on which the county buildings are located was donated to Winston county by Jane Dodson. The first newspaper issued in Winston county was the Times- Tablet and Mississippi. Gazette, published in 1844, at Louisville. The next paper was the Chronicle, established prior to the war, and after the war came the Bulletin, and later the Banner, followed by the Index and the Signal. The last mentioned paper was started by W. J. Newsom, present editor and proprietor. Louisville lodge No. 75, A. F. & A. M. , was organized under a dispensation granted in 1845, and was chartered January 10, 1846. Other lodges in the county are Webster lodge No. 205, Winstonville lodge No. 277, and Perkinsville lodge No. 331. In Winston the Masonic society. Odd Fellows, Grange, Alliance, etc., are represented. There are several normal and low-grade schools throughout the county. At Louisville, Plattsburg and Betheden there are churches of the Methodist, Baptist, old style Presby- terians, Cumberland Presbyterians, Catholic, Lutheran and Campbellite or Christian denom- inations. The county seat of Scott county, in 1836, was established at Hillsboro, which was well located and has grown to a prosperous little town of about one hundred and seventy five. Thirty years later it was removed to Forest, on the Vicksburg & Meridian rail- road, a good trading point, which has six hundred and three inhabitants, with good schools, a number of churches, several stores and manufactories, and other claims to growth and prosperity. Other towns in this county are Lake, Raworth and Morton. Charleston, the county seat of Tallahatchie county, is a flourishing trading point of four hundred and seventy-five population, situated east of the center of the county, in the forks of the Tillataba. Sharkey and Graball are small trading points. Harrison station on the Illinois Central railroad has a population of three hundred. Churches abound all over Tallahatchie county, the prevailing denominations being Bap- tist, Presbyterian and Methodist. The educational advantages afPorded are equal to those in other counties, except in those having cities and large towns. The common-school system is well sustained. There are in this county thirty-two free white schools and thirty eight col- ored. The white educable children number one thousand four hundred and forty- one — seven hundred and thirteen males and seven hundred and twenty eight females; two thou- sand one hundred and six colored; of these, one thousand and ninety-two males and one thousand and fourteen females. There are two high schools in the county, each with a com- modious and handsome building, one at Spring Hill (the Cascilla Male and Female high school, established in 1889), and the other at Cascilla (the Tallahatchie high school, estab- lished in 1889). The school at Charleston is also of high grade and prospering. George Washington lodge No. 157, A. F. & A. M., at Charleston, is the oldest lodge in the county. It was chartered in 1851 and James W. Rhew was its first worshipful master. Glasgow lodge No. 354, at Harrison Station, has a good membership. Cascilla lodge No. 411 was established in 1890, with Thomas Denman as worshipful master. Tallahatchie lodge once flourished. Sycamore and Hood lodges have a healthy existence. A. Mason Leigh lodge No. 3233, K. of H. , at Charleston, was organized in 1886. Charleston lodge No. 384 BIOGRAPHIGAL AND HISTORICAL 108, I. O. O. F., was establiaheil March 4, 1880. T. W. White was its first noble grand. Eebecca degree No. 3 was established in 1891. Sam Lawrence lodge No. 110, I. 0. O. F., at Cascilla, was established in April, 1890, with H. M. Moore as noble grand. Rebecca degree No. 2 was chartered in 1891. Westville, the seat of justice of Simpson county, was named in honor of Col. Cato West. It is located a little south and west of the center of the county and has a population of two hundred. Aa a business point it draws a good trade from the surrounding country, and it is peopled with an educated and intelligent population and well provided with churches and schools. Jaynesville and Harrisville are other towns in this county. Raleigh, the county seat of Smith county, received its name in honor of the dashing but ill-fated Sir Walter Raleigh. It is located a little west of the center of the county, and has a population of two hundred. Its churches and schools are adequate to its needs, and its people are refined, educated and intelligent. It has a good variety and number of business places, and its merchants and professional men take high rank for integrity and talent. The first seat of justice was four miles distant from Raleigh, and was called Fairfield. In this county Parkville grew up on the west side of Strong river more than forty years ago, and Trenton, on the east side, had its beginning a few years later. Other towns and trading points are Sylvarena, Pineville, Taylorsville and Bunker Hill. Carrollton, on the Richmond & Danville railroad, is the seat of justice of Carroll county, and has a population of four hundred and seventy-five. It has a good local trade, and its future is as promising as that of any town of its size in that part of the state. A Baptist church was organized ten miles from Carrollton, in 1833, with nine members, and was moved to Carrollton in 1839 and named Carrollton church, afterward growing rapidly. Its first pastor was Rev. Joseph Morris. About 1839 Rev. S. S. Lattimore, one of the first and most prominent preachers in the state, served one year as pastor. In all, the church has had nineteen pastors, some of them very talented men. The Presbyterian church was established here about 1836, and the church house was built about 1837. The Method- ist Episcopal and the Protestant Episcopal churches were established before the war. Carrollton lodge No. 36, A. F. & A. M., was organized about 1837, Judge Blanks, V. M. Butler and O. L. Kimbrough being among the early members. This lodge had at one time about seventy-five members, and has now abQut twenty-eight. Its present master is G. S. Fox. Benjamin Roach has been secretary, since 1856. Vaiden, on the Illinois Central railroad, is a flourishing town of nine hundred popula- tion. Black Hawk and Shongaloo are other towns in Carroll county. When the Mississippi Central railroad was built the people of Carrollton projected two large enterprises: The factory and the Carrollton Female college. They erected a massive structure for manufacturing, covering an acre of ground. The Carrollton Female college building they made ample and commodious. It has been under the management of some fine educators, among whom, worthy of especial mention, are Rev. Mr. Colmery and Captain Belcher. Under its present management, that of Rev. Z. T. Leavell, its success has been remarkable. The, faculty is not excelled by any institution for young ladies in the state, for thoroughness and conscientious work. The friends of the college are now very sanguine as to its future. Senatobia, the seat of justice of Tate county, is located on the Illinois Central railroad a little south of the center of the county, and has a population of one thousand one hundred MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 235 and twenty-five. This town is one of the most enterprising of the smaller important towns of the state, is handsomely located and well sustained in its every interest, business, profes- sional, religious, educational and social. It is a cotton-shipping point of prominence and has a large general trade. Other towns in this county are Coldwater Depot, Arkabutla, Independence, Looxahoma, Tyro and Strayhorn. Houston, the seat of justice of Chickasaw county, is an attractive town of six hundred and fifty population, located near Chico creek, west of the center of the county. It was incorporated in May, 1837. Okolona, the metropolis of Chickasaw county, on the Mobile & Ohio railroad, has a pop- ulation of nineteen hundred and fifty, and is a good business point. The town is forty odd years old, and the post office was formerly Hose Hill, about one mile west of where the town now is. It has Presbyterian, Baptist, Methodist and Catholic churches. There is a tine brick public school building erected in 1890, at a cost of about 118,000. M . . Prof. H. B. Abernethy, founder of the Mississippi Normal college, Houston, is a native of Mississippi, born near Troy, Pontotoc county, in 1854. His father, J. T., and his mother, Emmaline (Porter) Abernethy, were natives of Alabama and South Carolina, respectively. They reared a family of eight children, of whom Professor Abernethy is the eldest. The father, who was a farmer, and was for a number of years bailiff of the county, died in 1875; the mother is yet living. No educational advantages, other than those afforded by public schools, were given our subject up to the time he was grown ; such school he attended not less than four months in the year. At eighteen years of age he began teaching, and followed that occupation four years, and during the vacations in which there were no schools he con- ducted a farm. He married, in 1876, Miss SallieL. Gossett, a native of Pontotoc county, a graduate of the Baptist Female college, and at the time of her marriage a teacher. Four years later they attended the National Normal university at Lebanon, Ohio, where they remained two years, graduating in 1882, Mr. Abernethy with the degree of B. S., Mrs. A. with the degree of A. B. Immediately upon their return they opened a school at Troy. At its start, in 1882, that now noted school, the Mississippi Normal college, the first of its class in Missis- sippi, was located at Troy, Pontotoc county. It was opened with four teachers: Prof. H. B. Abernethy, the founder, was principal; Mrs. S. G. Abernethy, assistant; J. U. Abernethy, in charge of the preparatory class; Miss Dora Abernethy, teacher of music. The school was the private enterprise of Professor Abernethy. The buildings used were Professor Abernethy' s one building, 30x60, two stories high, with six recitation rooms and a large hall. There was a separate boardinghouse, with a capacity for forty boarders. This was for ladies only; gentlemen boarded at private houses. The first year the school had one hundred and seventeen pupils, principally local, only about twenty-five being boarders. The succeeding five years, during which the school was located at Troy, were marked by steady growth, until the last year three hundred and twenty pupils were enrolled, twelve teachers were employed, and the institution had primary, preparatory, teachers,' commercial, scientific, classical, music (instrumental and vocal) and art departments. Mr. and Mrs. Abernethy have a son named Jene, born in 1878. Okalona, the seat of the second judicial district, where the circuit and chancery courts are held, is a town of about two thousand inhabitants on the Mobile & Ohio railroad near the eastern border of Chickasaw county. It is surrounded by a fertile prairie and has consider- able commercial importance and the best of educational and religious advantages. 336 BIOQRAPHIOAL AND HISTOBIOAL Palo Alto, Buena Vista and Sparta are flourishing interior villages having good local trade. The founders of the Buena Vista Normal college, appreciating the great need of an institution where a liberal education could be obtained at a minimum cost, organized that institution in 1885, and the state legislature chartered it in 1886. The great advantages ofPered by this institution have been recognized from the beginning. Its magic growth rests on the fact that it offers superior advantages and facilities for obtaining an educa tion at less cost than any school of equal merit in the South. Neither money nor labor has been spared in maintaining the elevated position of the Buena Vista Normal college. Young men and young women who want an education, and are willing to study and work for it, can find here all the advantages and aids wanted. The charges for board and tuition have been placed at the smallest figures that can be afforded. Board, 17 to $10; tuition, 12 to $4; music and use of piano, 14; art, $2 to |4 per month. Prof. W. S. Burkes, the president of this institution, is an active, energetic, industrious and thoroughly equipped educator. The college is under the supervision of the following board of directors: Dr. J. T. Murdock, J. T. Parker, M. D., Capt. J. L. Pulliam, Dr. U. S. Williams, Maj. L. C. Sugg, G. T. Stillman, A. J. Aycock, A. A. Thompson, J. Y. Ball, J. C. Williams. Prairie lodge No. 87, A. F. & A. M., was chartered in 1848, with Isaac Mullen as worship- ful master. Okolona chapter No. 27 is a flourishing institution, with W. J. Lacy as high priest. Ivanhoe commandry No. 10 was chartered about 1872, with P. M. Lavery as com- mander. W. A. Bodemhimer is the present commander. Okolona lodge No. 37, I. O. O. F. , and Eva Clara lodge No. 5, Knights of Pythias, have large lists of members. Chickasaw lodge No, 720, Knights of Honor, was chartered in 1877, with J. S. Dugger as dictator. Victor lodge No. 199, Knights of the Golden Rule, was established in 1888. Atlanta lodge No. 362, A. F. & A. M., at Atlanta, is a popular institution of that place. Tunica, the seat of justice of Tunica county, is a town of four hundred and fifty inhab- itants, on the Louisville, New Orleans & Texas railroad, which is a shipping point for much cotton and has a large general trade. Its churches and schools are adequate to its needs, and its inhabitants are intelligent and well educated as a class. It has numerous stores and other business enterprises. Other towns in the county are Austin, Hollywood. Evansville and Eobinsonville. Chester, the seat of justice of Choctaw county, has a population of two hundred. It is an interior trading point which is gaining in importance. French Camp has two hundred and seventy- five inhabitants and a good local trade. Oneof the best schools in the state is at French Camps, Choctaw county, under the man- agement of the Central Mississippi presbytery, and is in two divisions: first, the Central Mississippi institute for females, established in 1886, Rev. A. H. Macklin being president of the faculty; second, the French Camps academy for males, established in 1887, of which J. A. Macklin is president. Each has commodious buildings and boardinghouses, and a beautiful campus, about $15,000 having been expended on these improvements. These insti- tutions have a high course of study, including the languages, arts and sciences, fitting students in some branches to enter the state university. Among the societies of Choctaw county m^y be mentioned: Snowsville lodge No. 119 A. F. & A. M., which met for some time at Bankston, then at different places, and afterward for a time at Chester, now meets at Ackerman; Bankston lodge No. 296, A. F. & A. M. which was organized and for some years met at Bankston, and at Chester since 1889; La Grange MEMOIRS OP MISSISSIPPI. 237 lodge No. 263, A. F. & A. M., at La Grange; Ackerman lodge No. 1290, K. & L. of H., which was established in 1888 with E. R. Seward as protector; French Camp lodge No. 1312, K. & L. of H., at French Camp, and lodge of K. of H. , which was recently organized at Ackerman. Hartford, the original seat of justice of Calhoun county, is now extinct. It was origi- nally an old Indian settlement. In its prime it had several stores and other business and small manufacturing interests. Hartford lodge, A. F. & A. M., No. 155, was organized there ia 1850, and in 1853 was removed to Pittsborough, where it became known as Pittsborough lodge No. 155. Early in the settlement there a Methodist church was organized and a house of worship was erected, and a large membership secured. The religious and all other interests here later clustered around Pittsborough. Pittsborough was first settled in 1850. The Methodist Episcopal church was organized there in 1852, and the house of worship was erected in 1858. The Baptists erected their church in 1860. Thomas Odom put up the^tirst building in the place for a grocery; Mr. Johnson the first hotel. Judge D. N. Bessy was the oldest settler. The town now has a population of three hundred and twenty five. Benela, originally an old Indian settlement, was settled by whites about 1840 by James McCright, and Richard Griffin came soon after. Capt. T. T. Enochs was the first merchant there. Benela lodge No. 140, A. F. & A. M., was organized in 1840; had at one time six hundred members, and is the oldest lodge in the county. The Methodist Episcopal church was organized soon after 1850 and has a large two-story building, which was built in 1886 at a cost of $1,000. Bentley was settled in 1844 by the Bentley family. The postoffice was established in 1878, and the first store was opened in 1879 by Patterson & St. Clair. Bethlehem Methodist Episcopal Church South was organized by the first settlers, and had at one time about eighty members. A good building was erected in 1880. There is here a good graded school conducted in a fine two -story building. Slate Spring was settled about 1857. The first house was built by Joseph Fox. This is the seat of one of the best graded schools in the county, with three hundred pupils, under the principalship of Prof. J. J. Higgins. Bethany church was organized in 1857 and has a membership of one hundred and fifty. The Methodist Episcopal church was organized in 1887. Slate Spring has a population of two hundred and fifty. The first store at Sabougla was built by Stevens & Holden. The postoffice was estab- lished in 1878. The Cumberland Presbyterian church is the oldest organization in the place and was organized in 1884. It was a fine church building that cost $1, 500. The Baptists have a church of small membership. Big Creek was settled by Henry and James Bounds and D. A. Covington. J. J. Ramsey built the first store in 1846 and was succeeded as merchant here by J. R. M. Du Barry. The present village site was settled by the Boland family, and M. M. Boland began merchan- dising there in 1871. Chapel Hill lodge No. 227 was organized in 1857. The Methodist Episcopal Church South erected its house of worship in 1856 and has a membership of one hundred and fifty. Cole's Creek was settled by Samuel F. Provine in 1838. R. N. Provine established the first store in 1868. The postoffice was established in 1870. Shiloh Baptist church was organized in 1870, but a Baptist organization had existed here since 1840. There is a membership of one hundred. The school known as Cole's Creek academy was founded by B. N. Provine. 238 BIOORAPHIOAL AND HISTORICAL At Baaner, William Redvyiae started a cooper shop, the first enterprise on the ground Brower & McOord were the first merchants. Banner lodge, A. F. & A. M., No. 329 was organized in 1870. The Methodist Episcopal church was organized in 1858, and has a membership of fifty. The Banner academy was founded in 1886 by C. P. Gilmore. A. M. Arnold is its oldest settler now living in the place. Spring Creek Missionary Baptist church was organized by some of the first settlers, and has a membership of one hundred and fifty. Turkey Creek Missionary Baptist church was organized in 1840, and has a membership of one hundred and twenty-five. Sarepta was settled early. Theodosia lodge, A. F. & A. M., No. 182, once flourished here, but is now extinct. The Baptist church here has a membership of forty. The Methodists organized soon after 1830. Mr. A. McDonald is the oldest merhant and settler now living in the place. The seat of justice of Union county is New Albany, which is located at the intersection of the Gulf & Chicago and Kansas City, Memphis & Birmingham railways, and has a popula- tion of eleven hundred and twenty-five. It is the center of a growing local trade, and a shipping point of importance. Its schools and churches are numerous, and its business and professional men and citizens generally are of a class unusually intelligent, well educated and refined. Wallerville, Ellistown, Blue Springs, Keownville, Baker, Ingomar, Rocky Ford and Myrtle are the other towns and trading points in Union county. Poplarville, the seat of justice of the newly created Pearl River county, is located near the center of the county on the New Orleans & Northeastern railway, and has a population of about two hundred. Derby and Hillsdale are railway trading and shipping villages. Rosedale, the seat of justice of Bolivar county, was incorporated in 1882. Ten years after it became the county seat, whichin 1872 was removed from Beulah, six miles southwest, this point affording many advantages over the latter. Outside of the new addi- tions recently laid out, the corporation contains fifty-two acres, the site being particu- larly well chosen and thoroughly protected from the encroachments of the river by the splen- did levees of the lower levee district. The river does not flow directly up to the city, but about three fourths of a mile distant, a great advantage in itself, while Rosedale is at the same time the only river point touched by the Louisville, New Orleans & Texas railway (Bolivar loop) between Friar's Point and Greenville, a fortunate circumstance, as it is thus made a competitive point between river and rail transportation lines, and insures favorable rates to eastern and European markets. Until the completion of the Bolivar loop line from Greenville, in December, 1888, Rosedale did not show any signs of ever becoming anything beyond a river town of one or two hundred inhabitants, and made little if any progress after the excitement attendant upon the county seat removal had died out; so that whatever of improvements one sees at present dates from that time. These improvements are many, and of a very creditable and substantial character indeed, and new buildings, public and private, representing an outlay of over 175,000, have been erected since the railroad entered the corporation limits, among them the new county courthouse, a beautiful and imposing structure of pressed brick, trimmed with white stone, which occupies the square in the center of the city. This is one of the handsomest courthouses in the state, and was erected at a cost of more than $30,000. In its rear has been built a handsome brick jail, which cost $16,000. The building occupied by the Bank of Rosedale also attracts much attention. The business of Rosedale is represented by four general stores, one drug store, one hotel, a number of liquor stores, restaurants, liv- MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 239 ery stable, two blacksmiths, a public gianery, an ice house, one butcher, barbers, two news- papers and one bank, which has a paid-up capital of $100,000. There are also eleven attor- neys, one insurance agent, three physicians and two real estate agents. Carthage, the county town of Leake county, is located near the geographical center of the county and has a population of four hundred and twenty-five. It is an enterprising and progressive town and its citizens are ambitious and pushing. The former name, Leakeville, was superseded by the present name of Carthage, July 31, 1834. Other towns in this county are Ofahoma, Thomastown, Edinburgh, St. Anne, Good Hope, Lena, Grove and Madden, all small places, but each the center of a good local trade. Augusta, the seat of justice of Perry county, is situated on the Pascagoiila liver north of the center of the county, and is a good local trading point. The population.is one hun- dred and twenty-five. Hattiesburgh, with a population of six hundred and fifty, is the only important town in Perry county. Perry lodge, Enon lodge and Hattiesburg lodge and chapter (at Hatties- burgh) are the Masonic bodies of Perry county. Crescent lodge No. 47, Knights of Pythias, at Hattiesburgh, is the only Pythian lodge. There was one lodge of Grangers of quite a mem- bership which formerly existed; there are several lodges of the Farmers' Alliance, and there was formerly a lodge of the K. of L. The only pretentious schools in Perry county are at Hattiesburgh, Augusta and Central. The Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian and Catholic denominations are all represented, the Baptist and Methodists having the larger memberships, the Presbyterian churches numbering two and the Catholic one. Rolling Fork, the county seat of Sharkey county, is located west of the center of the county, and is a junction station on the Louisville, New Orleans & Texas railway. * It has four hundred inhabitants and does a good local and shipping trade. Other towns in the county are Egremont, Smedes, Anguilla, Nitta Yuma and McKinneyville. The Methodists were the first to hold religious services within the present limits of Sharkey county. In 1840 Rev. John FuUerton preached in a log schoolhouse on the Rolling Fork plantation, built by Thomas Y. Chaney for his private use as a schoolhouse. Here, in 1840, Mr. Fullerton founded the first Methodist society in the county, known as Union church. This society afterward held services in the Masonic hall till 1888, when it erected a frame building of its own on Race street, Rolling Fork, the first church house in the county. Soon after the war, under the influence of Colonel Ball, the Baptists organized a society at Rolling Fork, and they held services in Masonic hall. In 1886 J. C. Burruss organized a society of Universalists at Vickland church, which now has a membership of twenty-five. In 1874 Bishop W. H. Green organized an Episcopal church at Rolling Fork, where services are still held. ■ Decatur, the seat of justice of Newton county, was named in honor of Commodore Stephen Decatur, and has about two hundred inhabitants. Hickory, on the Alabama & Vicksburg railroad, has a population of two hundred and ninety-four; Newton, on the same line, has a population of five hundred. Lawrence is a smaller railroad station. A good local trade is done at all these points. In Newton county Masonic lodges are established at Newton, Decatur, Conehatta, New Ireland, Pinckney, Chunkey and Hickory; Masonic Royal Arch chapters at Newton and Decatur; one lodge of K. of P. at Newton, one of K. of H. at Newton. 240 BIOORAPHIOAL AND HISTORICAL There are three academies or high schools for white boys and girls at Newton, Conehatta and Hickory. The county supports eighty free schools, four months each year, forty-six white and thirty-four colored. The churches of this county are as follows: Baptist, regu- lar white churches, twenty-four; colored, twelve; primitive white, five; members white regular Baptists, one thousand six hundred; colored, one thousand two hundred; white primitive, one hundred and fifty; total, three thousand nine hundred and fifty. Methodist white churches, ten; colored, six; white members, about eight hundred; colored members, about six hundred. Presbyterian white churches, four; members, two hundred and fifty. The first Baptist church was instituted in 1836. The first Baptist members conducting the churches and living in the county at that time were Revs. James Merchant and Cuder Price. The great citilizer and missionary of east Mississippi, Rev. N. L. Clarke, of the Regular Baptist church, now in his four-score years, lives at Newton, edits the Mississippi Baptist, supplies his churches and travels to the neighboring country when called to preach the Word. Liberty, the seat of justice of Amite county, has a population of four hundred and twenty- six. It is a handsome village and has always supported and encouraged schools. Its college hall was burned by Federal soldiers during their occupancy of the town in 1863. The build- ings that were spared were later acquired by Prof. C. F. Manales, a native Amite countian and an educator of successful experience. Other towns in the county are Gloster and Gilliaburg. The educational institutions at Bast Fork and Ebenegon are liberally patronized. Hernando, the seat of justice of De Soto county, on the Illinois Central railroad, has a population of six hundred and twenty. It is a busy town full of men of vigorous enterprise, and was incorporated in 1839. E. W. Caldwell was its first mayor. Joseph Payne its first marshal. It has five churches for whites and two for colored people. The Methodist Episcopal South, JBaptist, Episcopal, Presbyterians and Cumberland Presbyterians have houses of worship. There is a good school for white and another for colored pupils. The town has twenty business houses and an ax-handle factory. Ashland, the seat of justice of Benton county, was named in honor of the home of Henry Clay. It has a population of two hundred and twenty-seven, and does a good local trade. Other towns in this county are Lamar, Michigan City and Hickory Flat. Rosedale, the seat of justice of Bolivar county, is a prosperous and^attractive town of three hundred and fifty inhabitants. It has fine public buildings, and its financial and mer- cantile concerns are substantial and adequate to the demands of its trade. Benoit, Bolivar, Shaw, Huntington, Shelby, Cleveland, Alligator, Duncan, Australia, Concordia and Beulah are all business points of local importance. Willi am sburgh, the seat of justice of Covington county, had a population of one hun- dred and twenty-four in 1890. It is located about in the geographical center of the county, and though it has no railway facilities as yet, has a good local trade. Its bar is able, and its business men are enterprising and successful. Mount Carmel and Jaynesville are trading points in this county. Leakesville, the seat of justice of Greene county, has but a small population and no railway advantages, but its school, church and other interests are well promoted and its prospects are improving. It was named in honor of Hon. Walter Leake, formerly governor of the state. State Line, in the southeast corner of the county, on the Mobile & Ohio rail- road, is a local trading point, MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 241 Mayersville, the seat of justice of lasqueua, was named ia honor of David Mayer, an exten- sive cotton planter, formerly of that county, novy of Vicksburg, is located on the Mississippi river and is a shipping point of importance, veith good educational and religious institutions and a progressive class of business men and citizens. Lexington, the seat of justice of Holmes county, is a town of ten hundred population, on the Illinois Central railroad, which has long been noted for the refinement and intelligence of its people and commands a fair trade. Holmes county has churches of the Methodist, Baptist, Presbyterian, Episcopalian and Catholic denominations, all strong and owning houses of worship. There are colored Meth- odist and Baptist churches, two of them with buildings. The Masonic order, the Knights of Pythias and the Knights of Honor are all represented in this county. Durant is a junction town with a population a little larger than that of Lexington, in which business of all kinds is flourishing. Tchula Junction is also a town of some importance in its relations to the surrounding country. Fnlton, the seat of justice of Itawamba county, is located about the center of the county north and south, and a little west of the center east and west, and is the only town in the county, though there are stores at different points in all directions. The population was two hundred and seventy-nine in 1890. It has no railway facilities, but is in the center of a sub- stantial country trade, and has good educational and religious institutions. Ellisville, the seat of justice of Jones county, is situated as nearly as may be in the geo- graphical center of the county, and has a good trade with the township round about. Other small towns in the county are Laurel, Sandersville, Estabutchee and Tuscaloma. All of the points above mentioned are stations on the New Orleans & Northeastern railroad. Carthage, the seat of justice of Leake county, is situated in the geographical center of that county and has a population of four hundred and twenty-five. It is a prosperous town, the center of the local trade of near portions of the Pearl river valley, peopled with enterprising, progressive business men and farmers and their families and possessed of ample church and school facilities. Its progress has been measurably restricted by its remoteness from railways, and a line from Macon to Jackson, which is the natural order of development, will be constructed almost inevitably, would do much to advance the interests of this pretty inland county town. Other towns and trading points in this county are Ofahoma, Edinburgh, Thomastown, Good Hope, St Anne, Madden, Grove and Lena. Columbia, the county seat of Marion county, was long the only town within its borders. Kichburgh, Purvis and Piotona, on the Northeastern railroad have developed within the past few years and are advancing with much rapidity. Purvis has three hundred and twenty- five population, Columbia about two hundred. The latter has no railway facilities, but is pleasantly situated on the west shore of the Pearl river a little north of the center of the eastern half of the county. Its business and professional men take high rank and it is well supplied with churches and schools. 343 BIOGBAFHIGAL AND HI8T0BI0AL @HAPTBI=^ IX. THE PRESS OF MISSISSIPPI, WITH A CURSORY GLANCE AT THE LITERATURE OF THE STATE. 6T^ HE press of Mississippi, in a most remarkable manner, has kept in advance of the actual * I wants and necessities of the people, and the enterprise, progress and stability of the state. The publishers, printers and editors, from the very year of the introduction of the first wooden hand printing press to the present day, with all its rapid, complicated and ponderous hand and steam printing machinery, and telegraph and railroad facilities, have been men of a very high order of intellect, genius and perseverance, men of remarkable sprightliness, patriotism, determination and courage, men who have adorned in all the walks of life the communities in which their lots have been cast, men who have contributed most wonderfully to the onward march of the state and its rapid advancement in all that consti- tutes true greatness and nobility. At the early period (we may say, indeed, from 1800 to 1860) the village and town printer, or editor, as he was usually termed, was a man of all work in and about the newspaper print- ing office. That is to say, he was, almost invariably, jjrinter, publisher, reporter, business manager and editor, all combined. The cities were the only exceptions to this rule. In the cities, the editors were usually resident lawyers, temporarily called to lead a -campaign, or prospective or actual candidates for official positions ; but it is true that the best equipped and most successful editors of the early times were from the ranks of the men who came into the state from other sections of the Union, and worked their way from the printing office proper to the editorial room and into the editorial harness. We assert it as a truth, and, in our judgment, the statement must be admitted as a truth by all who passed through any number of the years of the early times, that there was a something about the old-time news- paper printing office which suddenly transformed the intelligent, observing, industrious and conscientious youth connected therewith, however slight may have been his previous oppor- tunities, into the accomplished, self-reliant and successful editor, the most useful and valued citizen, the highly popular and most substantial public servant. The first printing press introduced into what is now known as the state of Mississippi, was brought here by Mr. Andrew Marschalk, between the years 1790 and 1800. Mr. Mars- chalk was a Marylander by birth, and as an ensign, came down the Mississippi river with the first detachment of United States troops that appeared after the withdrawal of the Spanish authorities. The detachment to which he belonged was on duty for some years, we believe, on the river at and between the first rude forts constructed by our government at the points now known as Vicksburg and Natchez. The press was quite diminutive, and was made of mahogany, and came originally from London, England. Its first work in this country was MEMOIRS OF MlSSISalPPI. 243 turned out at Walnut Hill, or Fort Nogales (now the city of Vicksburg), and was. a song, printed at the full capacity of the press, which was -1x6 inches. Soon after this, say in 1800, Mr. Marsckalk himself built a press, a larger press, no doubt using a part of the London press in its construction — one capable of printing a foolscap sheet, 11x14 inches, and upon this large, Mississippi manufactured press was printed at Natchez the territorial laws soon after the organization of Mississippi territory. At no distant day Mr. Marschalk sold this press to one B. M. Stokes, who at once commenced the publication at Natchez, on a foolscap sheet, of the first newspaper published and printed in what is now known as the state of Mis- sissippi, and it was called the Mississippi Gazette. The Mississippi Gazette proved quite a success supplying " a want long felt," and the field enlarging, and there being a demand for a larger sheet, and the facilities having increased, Robert Green reached Natchez, from Baltimore, Md.,with a printing press, and another paper was soon established, but its life was short. Then, as now, the business could be overdone, and newspaper enterprises, however deserving, could not in e\ ery case be crowned with suc- cess. With the declining fortunes of Mr. Green's journal, Mr. Marschalk again entered the field, and with largely increased facilities, and issued at Natchez, the Mississippi Herald, in the year 1802 or 1803 — say about five years after the organization of the territory, and four- teen years before the admission of Mississippi as a state into the Federal Union. And soon after the appearance of the Herald, came the Halcyon, the Messenger, and other papers, all manifesting industry and talent; in almost every instance, however, they proved unsuccess- ful ventures, but they supplied the famishing people with what they craved, viz. : Political reading as well as the news not only about their homes but from the old states from which they had come. In 1810, or thereabouts, John A. Winn, a man of education and business energy, estab- lished the Chronicle at Natchez, and a year or two later appeared a paper, also at Natchez, under the management of Peter Isler, who, years afterward, established a paper at Jackson. Then came the Ariel, then the Natchez, and others followed, not only in Natchez, but in the towns in the adjacent counties. The Woodville Republican, if we are not mistaken, was established about 1812. A paper is still published carrying that name. From 1810 to 1820, as from the first, very nearly all the j)rinters, as well as very nearly all the printing material in the territory, remained at Natchez, which was then, as for many subsequent years, the overshadowing and ruling locality — the center of intelligence, wealth, political power and influence — and then and there commenced the fierce political battles for which Mississippi has ever been noted. The Natchez, a journal under the management of James H. Cook, soon after its estab- lishment became a power in the state, bringing to its political views many of the most prominent, influential and wealthy men of what was then known as the Natchez countrj', which embraced perhaps a half dozen of the counties which now constitute the extreme southwestern corner of the state. In time it became the champion of what was known as the John Quincy Adams party — the forerunner of what was subsequently known as the whig party — and, consequently, the opponent of Gen. Andrew Jackson. There were then but few, very few, native Mississippians, the population consisting almost exclusively of enterprising and ardent young men, immigrants from the states north and east; some of them mere adventurers, and men of desperate fortunes, but for the most part true men, and uieu of unblemished character and great intelligence and brilliancy. The two political parties were well arrayed against each other as early as 1822, and very soon the Statesman appeared as the exponent and defender of the Jackson party, established by Mr. Marschalk (the same 344 BIOGBAPmCAL AND HIBTORWAL who brought into the country the first printing press), with distinguished and able gentlemen presiding over the editorial columns. The political fight was very warm and decided from the beginning, and all intelligent citizens at once became jjoliticians. As years rolled along Col. I. F. H. Claiborne (afterward a member of congress) became its editor, and again Bobert J. Walker (afterward United States senator, secretary of the treasury, etc.). During this interesting period (1820 to 1830) the newspaper press commenced pushing its way with surprising rapidity into the interior of the state, north and east, keeping pace with, if not leading, the tide of immigration as it appeared in those early times. The delight- ful climate, the virgin soil of unequaled virtue for cotton and other agricultural productions, the multiplicity of navigable streams (for the small flat boats of the early times) and the very superior class of men who were pushing forward and making settlements in every part of the state, combined to bring Mississippi to the front in a most enviable light, and soon the state commenced filling up with wonderful rapidity for those early times, and with highly intelli- gent, wealthy and substantial men from all the old states, east to the Atlantic and north to the lakes, and especially from Virginia, the Carolinas, Tennessee, Kentucky, etc., who, with their slaves, at once commenced opening up the wilderness, removing impediments, organiz- ing new counties, building courthouses and establishing newspapers of the most sprightly character. The newspapers were, without exception, political journals, all specially charged with politics, personal, state and Federal, outspoken and defiant for Jackson or Adams, for Clay or Van Buren, whig or democratic. There was no Northern or Southern party then, no talk of anti-slavery or secession. It is true, at a great distance there was a cloud, about the size of a man's hand, which threatened nullification, but the idea found no lodgment among the then Union-loving people of Mississippi. At an early day the Mississippi Free Trader was established at Natchez, by Besaucon and others, with Colonel Claiborne and Forbes as editors, and at once assumed the position as the leading Jackson or democratic paper of the state, and continued to hold that proud position for many years. And with the Free Trader came very soon the Natchez Courier, as the exponent of the gallant old Henry Clay or whig party. And very soon other bright, influential and forcible journals followed, always political, with eminent men as editors among whom were Black, Mellen, Van Winkle, Baldwin, Risk, Duffield, Prewitt, Hillyer, etc, Like the B\'ee Trader the Courier remained a power in tlie state until about 1860. The press assumed its proper position at Vicksburg during this period. Here the first press was planted (the wooden one brought from England by Mr. Marschalk), and here was received and operated many years afterward the first power press introduced into the state. The Republican, the Advocate, the Mississippian, the Sentinel, the Register, the Sun, and others, led the Jackson or democratic hosts, with such editors as Fall, Hagan, Green, Jenkins, Jones, Roy, Wood, McCallum and others; while the grand old party led by Henry Clay was represented at different times by papers of very superior ability and nerve and of wonderful resources and vitality. The Whig continued from its establishment (by Marma- duke Shannon), one of the leading journals of the state, if not of the Southwest, until the entire establishment was destroyed by fire in 1863. Shannon and Henderson were its founders, and Shannon continued as its publisher to its last isssue. It was for a considerable period, between 1840 and 1860, the only daily paper in the state, and its influence was always very great. It had as its editors, at different times, some of the brighest editorial lights of the Southwest, some of whom we may name: Griffin, Tyler, McCardle, Hammet, A. H. Arthur, R. Arthur, Carnes, Brooks, Partridge, etc. Between 1830 and 1840 came the Vicksburg Mississippian, with Gen. H. S. Foote (after- MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 245 ward governor and United States senator), and his brother-in-law, F. H. Catlett, as editors and publishers. They were both Virginians, and both lawyers, having little, if any, previous knowledge of the publishing business. In a year or two they moved their paper to Clinton, Hinds county, and from there it soon found its way to Jackson, which had become the state capital, and soon it became one of the leading democratic papers of the state, which position it continued to hold until 1862. The Southern Intelligencer, the True Issue, the Constitution- alist, the Southern, and sundry other creditable journals appeared at Vicksburg during the same period, with McCreery, Hurst, Miller, Buck, McCardle and others as editors, but their existence was temporary. Jackson, now the state capital, sprang into existence and importance long after the set- tlements made at Natchez and Vicksburg. Indeed, for years after the first printing jsresses were operated at the points named, the country where Jackson now stands in all its beauty, prosperity and importance, was a howling wilderness and the property of the red man, and the red man was its occupant. The Anglo-Saxon put in his appearance there between 1820 and 1830, and true to his character and customs, he brought with him the great civilizer and christianizer, the political newspaper. Many were the journalistic ventures, which came with its early history, and which continued until about the time of the Civil war. The Mississippian as the organ of the democratic party, with Foote, the Howards, Price, Fall, Barksdale and perhaps others, as editors, was ever a vigorous and popular journal and ever enjoyed the patronage of the democratic party. It ever gave a hearty support to McNutt, Brown, Jeffer- son Davis, McEae and the other leaders of the party, and ever enjoyed a large patronage, which must have been highly remunerative. The Southern, the Flag of the Union and two or three other journals, under the editorial management of A. R. Johnston, Thomas Palmer, Dr. Pickett, H. V. Barr, Colonel Purdom and others, ever commanded the admiration and generous support of the old whig party, giving their support to Prentiss, Guion, Tompkins, Bingaman and a host of other leaders in opposition to General Jackson. While the Reformer, under the control of the Smythes, with the brilliant John Marshall as editor, stood very high in the affections of both of the political parties of its day. The first power printing press in Jackson was brought in by Price & Fall, about 1848 ; and another was introduced in January, 1852, by Thomas Palmer, for the purpose of execut- ing public work (The Flag of the Union, Mr. Palmer's paper at that time), having been elected state printer by the union- whig legislature of that year. The Eastern Clarion was established at Paulding, Jasper county, between 1830 and 1840, with John I. McEae (afterward governor and member of congress) as editor. Soon, however, it passed into the hands of Simeon E. Adams, who made it a power, not only in east Mississippi, but throughout the state, drawing not only a tremendous circulation, for that period, but an influence which was coextensive with the state, and freely acknowledged at all hands. Under the leadership and superior tactics of the Clarion east Mississippi became the political power of the state, and for some years had but to assert its wants and they were cheerfully accorded. Upon the death of Mr. Adams, about the year 1859 or 1860, the Clarion was bought by Col. J. J. Shannon, who removed it to Meridian about 1 8(i2, and in 1865 or 1866 it was removed to Jackson, where it is now, as a part of the Clarion-Ledger, under the control of Messrs. I. L. Power and R. H. Henry. Mr. Shannon continues his editorial labors in east Mississippi. Port Gibson was settled at a very early period, and was a growing and thriving town when Mississippi territory was admitted into the union as a state, in 1817, and when by far 346 BIOGRAPHICAL AND HiaTORIGAL the larger portion of the territory was inhabited by the red mau. The printing press was put in motion there before the state was organized, and first-class papers have been issued there from the first, conducted by Marschalk, Mason, Morris, etc. The first paper at Macon, Noxubee county, on the Alabama border, was established in 1836 and was called the Mississippi Star. It was established by A. Gr. Horn, afterward of the Meridian Mercury, a gentleman of very superior literary attainments and wonderful per- severance. He died but a few years ago. The three decades which we are now endeavoring to trace (1830 to 1860) were prolific of political papers. They appeared as it by magic, in every village, town and city in every part of tlie state from the great river to the Alabama line, and from the Tennessee border to the galf. The mania for banking, the excitement as to railroads, the building of new towns (real as well as visionary towns), the purchase of the land itora the Chickasaws and Choc- taws, the creation of new counties, the demand throughout the world for more cotton, the rapidly increasing population through emigration from the old states as well as from Europe, the opening of the delta of the Mississippi with its virgin lands of truly wonderful productiveness, with the extraordinary political contests of 1840, 1850, 1851 and 1860, no doubt combined to cause the extraordinary increase in the number of public journals, and to build up and strengthen those already long established. During the bank period, especially, from 1836 to 1840, the wildest schemes for villages and towns and cities were planned, and every one had its newspaper, while the whole state resounded with the woodsman's ax and the plowman's merry song. No other people on the continent, perhaps, were ever so prosperous as were the people of Mississippi from 1845 to 1860, and it was a substantial and solid pros- perity ; and the press was in its glory. Holly Springs, Columbus, Aberdeen, Coffeeville, Canton, Hernando, Oxford, Yazoo City, Carrollton and Lexington, in the northern part of the state, and Liberty, Woodville, Monti- cello, Fayette and various others, then mere villages, in the southern counties, came to the front, and in each was planted one or more printing presses, and from them were issued creditable journals, brimful of political matter, state and Federal. There was no use for neutral or independent papers in those stirring times, for the public appetite craved politics, politics only, in good column articles, at the hand of the newspaper. Among the towns hewn out of tlie high hills and dense pine forests at this period (be- tween 1830 and 1840), was Raymond, for the county seat of Hinds county. The geograph- ical center of the county was found, and there a courthouse was to be built, and Raymond was the name taken, and Raymond at once assumed an air of importance, and a very con- siderable town arose from the thick forest, as if by magic, and to the prospective city at once removed a number of the ablest young lavfyers of the state. Among them were H. S. Foote, Anderson Hutchison, A. R. Johnston, T. J. Wharton, E. W. F. Sloan, John Shelton, William M. Rives, etc., and for a decade or more the sessions of the court in Raymond had a bar from abroad, consisting of S. S. Prentiss, Powhattan Ellis, Governor McNutt, P. W. Tompkins, W. A. Lake, John I. Guion, Judge Sharkey, and other men of like repute. Before a house was fully completed a printing press was brought in, and the Public Echo, by S. T. King, a 10xl2-inch sheet, was issued, which was succeeded, in 1836, by the Raymond Times, by King & Dabney; which gave place, in 1841, to the Southwestern Farmer, by King, North, Jenkins & Phillips; which gave place, in 1844, to the Raymond Gazette, by George W. Harper and S. T. King. In 1852 King retired, and Harper continued as publisher and editor until 1884 — making an uninterrupted editorship of forty years by George W. Harper — when he turned the establishment over to his son, SamuelD. Harper, who had been engaged MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 347 in the office since 1870, by whom it is still edited and published — perhaps the oldest con- tinuously published paper in the state. During its publication the office was once destroyed by fire (1859), and once by General Grant's invading army (1863). Within the same time Raymond had the Comet, the Snag Boat, the Fencible, and the Young Christian, all of which were short lived. Brandon, Rankin county, came to the surface as a progressive town about the year 1830. Andrew Harper established a creditable newspaper there, which in 1852, became the prop- erty of A. J. Prantz, who continues its publication to this day, having breasted triumphantly all the storms which have howled so fiercely and so unmercifully around him. A number of other papers have appeared in Brandon since the establishment of the Republican, some before the Civil war, and some since the war, but they have fallen by the wayside. During the war period, 1860 to 1865, the fortunes of the newspaper press in Mississippi were most trying and overwhelming. The first great difficulty that presented itself was the want of practical printers — men to set the type, work the press, and manage the office. Printers, of all classes of American citizens, are eminent when the country needs friends and protection, when patriotism calls, when honor is at stake. It is not strange, then, that when the drums beat for volunteers in 1861, that very nearly every able-bodied printer was anxious to enroll; that the printers, almost to a man, shouldered muskets and fell into line, announcing their readiness and anxiety to march instantly for the hottest of the fight. Very nearly every printing office in the state was at once without a working force, while many were left utterly prostrate — editors, printers, pressmen, devils, and all, having taken up arms in defense of their beloved Southland. And very soon a greater difficulty presented itself. Females and children could in time acquire some knowledge of type-setting and the routine work of the small printing office — but paper, paper on which to print — was soon the great overshadowing want. It could not be obtained. It was not in the Confederacy in anything like a sufficient supply — it could not be manufactured here, for the material was wanting and the machinery was not within reach. It could not be brought from abroad, for the North would not supply it, nor would the Northern gunboats allow it to be brought from foreign countries. Frequently were papers seen in 1863 and 1864 printed on coarse brown wrapping paper, on common wall paper, on sheets torn from large blank books, etc. The invading armies, too, contributed largely to the suppression of the newspapers. The print- ing offices, as the invading armies came upon them, were pretty generally destroyed, some by fire and some by ordinary means of destruction. We do not now remember that, when the war closed, April, 1865, there was a legitimate newspaper in the state in regular publi- cation. The invaders had swept the field, had blotted out the newspaper press, and in a manner before unheard of in the annals of civilized warfare. For instance, an Iowa regi- ment was quartered for a day or two (in 1868) in Raymond. Some of its men proceeded at once to the village printing office, which they found utterly unprotected. They used the material for their own purposes, and then dumped it into an adjacent well, forty feet deep! Other printing offices, as they encountered them on their onward march, were treated even more harshly. With the brushing away in 1866 of the terrible and fearful effects of the war, no people in the state went to work more energetically and efficiently than the journalists, editors, pub- lishers and printers, and no industry was guided by more skillful hands, more earnest desire, or was more successful. The old papers, for the most part (at least in name), were permitted to slumber, and new papers came bristling forth from almost every town and city of the state, north, south, east and west. New type, new and improved printing machinery, and new edit- 248 BIOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL ors (for the most part), had the field, and patriotically and well did they improve the oppor- tunity afforded. Jackson, Vioksburg, Natchez, Meridian, and the other cities of the state, especially, at once came up abreast with the cities of the surrounding states, issuing sheets which, in their contents, compared most favorably with any in the land, and for a time all were highly successful as literary, political and pecuniary ventures. At Jackson, there was the Mississippian, by Yerger; the Clarion, by Shannon; the Standard, by Power, Hamilton and Jones, with A. R. Johnson as editor, and others. At Vicksburg, there was the Herald, by Swords and Partridge; the Times, by McCardle, Manlove and H. Shannon. At Natchez, there was the Democrat, \)j Botto; the Courier, by Hillyer, and others; at Meridian, the Mercury, Tropic, etc. And in every other part of the state the press was up with, if not far ahead of, all other enterprises, and gallantly battling for the rights of the people, for the rights of the state, and for its favorites for the public offices. In June, 1866, some of the editors and publishers met for the purpose of organizing a press association. The meeting was held at the capitol in Jackson, and J. M. Partridge, of the Vicksburg Herald, presided. The following was the membership roll at this first meeting : Jackson Clarion and Standard — J. J. Shannon, Jones S. Hamilton, B. F. Jones, J. L. Power. Jackson Mississippian — E. W. Yerger; Christian Watchman, A. N. Kimball, H. M. Aikin. Brandon Republican — A. J. Prantz. Meridian Tropic — Jere Gibson. Vicksburg Herald — J. M. Partridge, J. M. Swords. Vicksburg Journal — T. B. Manlove. Handsboro Democrat — P. K. Mayers. Lexington Ad,vertiser — J. D. Houston. Canton Mail — Singleton Garrett. Brookhaven Journal — S. W. Dale. Panola Star — M. S. Ward. Natchez Demo- crat — J. P. Mead. Mississippi Conservative — J. L. McGullum, P. T. Cooper. Journalism had assumed its proper business proportions and its proper attitude when the 1870 decade was ushered in. Almost every county in the state had its newspaper journal or journals, and its well-known editor or editors, and the Mississippi was marching on in the faithful discharge of its duty. There was the Jackson Clarion, with Power & Barksdale; the Natchez Democrat, with Thomas Grafton; the Goodman Star, with McCullum & Wal- pole; the Brookhaven Citizen, with Cassidy; the Hazlehurst Copiahan, with Vance; the Port Gibson Reveille, with J. S Mason; the Handsboro Democrat, with Mayers; the Winona Democrat, with Boothe; the Oxford Falcon, with Thompson; the Vicksburg Herald, with Spears & Jewel; the Crystal Springs Herald, with Stackhouse; the Canton Herald, with Garrette; the Water Valley Central, with Brown; the Charleston News, with Hall; the Brandon Republican, with Prantz; the Eaymond Gazette, with George W. Harper; the Holly Springs Reporter, with Falconer; the Panola Star, with Eandolph; the Senatobia Times, with Shands; the Summit Times, with Cooper; the luka Gazette, with Davis; the Scooba Spectator, with Woods, etc. It is true that at this period the Federal government was holding Mississippi by the throat, but the newspapers, with but here and there an exception, were outspoken, bold and defiant. Indeed, as shown by the press, there was fire in the air, and they were but awaiting a favorarble opportunity to restore the proud state of Mississippi to the custodianship of the Anglo-Saxon people vi'ithin its borders. The Press association organized in 1866, was revived in 1874, and on its rolls were entered not only the business and practical men of the press, but the editors, publishers and reporters. In 1875 it was in its prime, and its ranks contained the following heroic list: Jackson Clarion, E. Barksdale, J. L. Powers; Jackson Sunburst, S. R. Jones; Jackson Vin- dicator, E. G. Wall, D. Denneit, E. Elliott; Jackson Banner, Rev. C. B. Galloway; Vicks- burg Herald, W. H. McCardle; Brandon Republican, A. J. Prantz; Yazoo Herald, J. L. MEMOIRS OP MISSISSIPPI. 349 McCuUum; Summit Sentinel, H. S. Bonney, N. P. Bonney; Mississippi Democrat, J. D. Burke; Crystal Springs Monitor, J. S. Harris, C. N. Harris; Raymond Gazette, George W. Harper, Samuel D. Harper; Southern Homestead, J. J. Shannon; Enterprise Courier, W. J. Adams; Forest Register, S. Davis; Calhoun Democrat, I. T. Blount; Columbus Index, G. C. Tucker; West Point Citizen, D. L. Love; Winona Advance, H. D. Money, B. r. Jones; Canton Mail, E. L. Eoss; Holly Springs Reporter, W. J. L. Holland; Holly Springs South, H. C. Myers; Oxford Falcon, I. M. Howry; Rural Gentleman, J. M. Davis; Durant Advertiser, J. S. Hoskins; Central Star, R. Walpole: Nev?ton Ledger, R. H. Henry; Hernando Press, Ira D. Oglesby; Handsboro Democrat, P. E. Mayers; Talla- hatchie News, L. G. Polk; Yazoo Democrat, Frank Campbell; Aberdeen Examiner, H. R. Dixon; Carthagenian, L. W. Garrett; Panola Star, J. A. Pope; A^'inona Pioneer, C. M. Erwin; Water Valley Courier, F. M. Merrin; Senatobia Times, G. D. Shands. In 1875 occurred the grand overthrovr of carpetbag and negro rule in the state, which had prevailed for five or six years, and the reestablishment of white supremacy, and it may be justly said that the battle was fought, on the part of the white race, by the journals and journalists enumerated above. Great credit was awarded them at the time and the recollec- tion of their efforts in behalf of the white people and their rights under the Federal constitu- tion are not yet forgotten. The press of Mississippi to-day is infinitely stronger and more commanding in its influence than ever before, and its number is greater. The papers are, in the main, larger, better printed, better edited and better arranged than ever before, and it is reasonable to conclude that they are better supported, that is to say, have a better paying and more com- manding patronage than at any former period. Besides, the association and other causes, have brought about a better understanding among the business managers and editors, and to-day a better feeling exists among the newspaper journals and journalists, than ever before. And hence it is, tBat the newspaper press now commands a respect from the educated and patriotic people, and has a pecuniary support, in and out of the state, never before enjoyed. A half century ago there were two magnificent newspaper journals at Washington city, whose political utterances controlled the newspapers of the country, and in turn the newspapers out- side of Washington formed the political sentiments of the two grand parties of the country of those years. One was the National Intelligencer, the national organ of the old whig party; the other, the Globe, the organ of the old democratic party. The two old parties received their orders through the two magnificent papers named, and there were none to object — none to rebel. Now, however, Washington city and its newspapers do not inspire the people of distant states — have really no influence whatever in molding public opinion or controlling public sentiment — certainly not in Mississippi. The public men and newspapers of the state now mold and control public sentiment here; and hence it is that more care is observed in the conduct of the state press, and that more patronage is bestowed. It is safe to say that the seventy-four counties of the state have to-day more than one hundred daily, weekly and monthly journals, and that all are well conducted and apparently prosperous. It is true, that now, Claiborne, Marschalk, McCardle, Price, Adams, Prewitt, Mason, Johnston, Hillyer, Botto, Grafton, Jenkins, Cooper, Barksdale, Watson and a host of others, who were magnifi- cent editors in past years, are gone from the press — gone, as to the most of them, to that land whence no traveler returns, yet the press of the state to-day stands out in all its grand- eur, purity and strength, challenging the admiration of all intelligent and patriotic men of every race and nationality. Mississippi, a rural state, without other publishing houses than„ those controlled by the 250 BIOORAPHWAJj AND TITSTORWAL county newspaper press, has offered few temptations and little encouragement to bookmakers, and yet if time was afforded — and considerable time would be needed — to assemble the facts the commonwealth would make quite a presentable showing. In the matter of history, Col. J. H. F. Claiborne, of Natchez, in his story of the settle- ment and progress of the commonwealth, has left to chroniclers an amount of data that is invaluable. Hon. Jefferson Davis, of Beauvoir, has given the world in his memoirs, — completed by his wife— a work that is destined to hold a lasting place in literature. Gen. Reuben Davis, of Aberdeen, in his recollection of Mississippians written in his old age, has given the world a book of generally conceded power and merit. Ex-Governor Lowry and Col. William H. McCardle, of Jackson, have just issued from the Clarion-Ledger press, of that city, a history of Mississippi that in addition to being exhaust- ive in its reach and scope is a work exhibiting literary excellence, and is soon to be followed by a school history from the same pens and press. Miss Duval, of Sardis, has published a school history of Mississippi that possesses great merit and has been adopted as a text book in several counties. Chancellor Edward Mayes, of the state university, has just completed — to be published under the auspices of the United States Bureau of Education — a history of education and educational institutions in the territory and state of Mississippi that will take rank as among the ablest books of the kind ever given to the American press. Capt. John R. Lynch, of West Point, published, a few years ago, a book on the bar and bench of Mississippi that had an extensive sale and possessed great merit. He also pub- lished in book form a history of the thrilling events that occurred in Kemper county during the days of military reconstruction, that has been regarded as an important addition to the literature of that stormy period. In general history, the rector of St. James (Protestant Episcopal) chui*h of Port Gibson, Rev. Arthur Howard Noll, has written a small work of original research, bearing the title, A Short History of Mexico. Mr. Noll is also a magazine writer. Several books of poems have been published by ladies of West Point since the war, chiefly meeting local demand. Col. Holt, of Natchez, deceased, was the author of several works of fiction of rare excellence. Prof. E. W. Hilgard, while a member of the faculty'of the state university, v^rote and pub- lished a work upon the geology of Mississippi that has ever since been regarded as an authority upon the subject. He was followed in the same line by Prof. Harper, with a valua- ble publication. Miss Ellen Martin, of Vicksburg, has written a novel of considerable power, and has written much in other lines. Miss Poitevant, of Pearlington, Miss., Johnnie Hunt, of Vicksburg, and many others whose names I can not hastily recall, have published charming collections of poems, and from the earliest days of Mississippi her local journals and those of Mobile, New Orleans and Memphis, have contained poems from the pens of Mississippi's sons and daughters that would be regarded as gems wherever published or read, and you can seldom open an issue of New Orleans Sunday paper, without finding in some poem or other writing of merit over a Mississippi name and date. Magazine writing has largely engaged the attention of our people, and as we have no such publications within our bounds, the little waifs have generally found auditors among strangers, May 25 to July 4,1863. CON FEDERATES... Z7^\V//=\\ FEDERALS [ ONE WILE The very hilly condition of the country is not shown on the map. A. ZE£SE Si CO.. ENGRS . CHI. MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. ' 251 and the authors have been content to accept pecuniary compensation in lieu of local fame and neighborhood praise. It is the vicinity of the factory and machine shop that prompts mechanical research and encourages inventing or at least patenting. It is the vicinage of publishing houses and mag- azine offices that encourages literary production and stimulates ambition to appear as authors or bookmakers. A iew years ago, Maj. K. M. Bradford, of Aberdeen, wrote a most charming and beautiful fairy tale. Had a publishing house been convenient, he vyould probably have sought an audience, but being very poor and forced to work hard for a livelihood, he delayed sending forward his production, and it is probably now moldering among other hoarded papers. Prof. G. M. Lovejoy, of Aberdeen, has recently written an epic poem that will make a book of several hundred pages, and probably create a decided sensation when given to the world. Men and women in various parts of this state are taking out a livelihood by receipts from prominent publications for stories, essays and poems. In dialect stories and poems — Negro dialect — many of our people have obtained entry to leading journals and magazines, and many a " prose poem " has come from pens, the world ought to know — in the way of news- paper communications — that were of very high and rare literary excellence. In the lecture field and in the matter of contributions to medical journals and associa- tions, we have heard and read many wonderful Mississippi productions. Among the authors at this writing the following names occur: Dr. Hill, of Macon; Dr. Ward, of Winona; Drs. J. M. Greene, E. P. Sale, John T. Lowe and W. G. Evans, Jr., of Aberdeen; A. H. Whitfield and Edward Mayes, of Oxford; P. G. Barry, of West Point; E. H. Bristow, of Aberdeen; Major Magruder, of Vicksburg; Bobert Mcintosh, of Meridian; E. L. Bussell, of Tupelo; Gen. S. D. Lee, of Starkville. Among the writers who have published books in Mississippi upon practical or progres- sive themes, one may recall Dr. D. L. Phares, of Woodville, whose work upon the grasses and herbage plants of the gulf states is exhaustive upon those subjects and regarded in all quarters as standard authority. Dr. Phares has also published a work of great merit upon the diseases of domestic animals. In the progressive line Mr. A. B. Hurst, of Winona, under commission from the agri- cultural department, a few years ago compiled and published a very valuable book in regard to the resources and productions of Mississippi. In the field of statistics we have had many able writers, while finance and tariff have supplied texts that have given Mississippians great audiences through the magazines and metropolitan press. Among these writers in olden times was Eobert J. Walker, whose pen won him the Federal treasury portfolio. Lacking other fields, the tendency of Mississippi writers has been toward the newspaper press, and to-day one finds them mainly filling the Memphis " sanctuaries," and upon lead- ing journals in all large American cities, while in our state there are many obscure country journals whose columns in each succeeding issue contain as able editorials as the American press can anywhere exhibit. These people if invited into a broader field would win fame and fortune, but literature is timid as a general rule, and its true devotees are wofully lack- ing in all of the aggressive attributes of the pioneer. They do not know their own power, as a general rule, and where knowing it doubt their ability to obtain acknowledgment from others. 252 BIOQBAPHIGAL AND HiaTOBIOAL (©HAPTBP^ X. PHYSICIANS AND THEIR ASSOCIATIONS. (5 I HE repeated references lo the old physicians of Miseissippi, made in other chapters * I of this work, leaves little to be written here. In all the principal American settle- ments of the state the physician was then found, but the sparse population and com- parative freedom from dangerous diseases, afPorded him but little opportunity to exhibit those high qualities of mind and body which are manifested daily by his brother of modern times. There is scarcely a necessity for him to think; for he felt that " God takes the good, too good on earth to stay, And leaves the bad, too bad to take away." In 1828 some exception was taken to their views. Dr. Reuben Davis disagreed with their method of treatment pursued by Drs. Gray and Holland during the pneumonia epi- demic of that year. Their patients dying daily, even Dr. Davis confessed to a man named Harall that he killed one of his negro boys by the same treatment that Gray and Holland observed. Davis' bold confession and his advocacy of whisky and Peruvian bark, attached the people to him, and he was very successful. In 1838 he moved to Aberdeen from Athens. The rebellion against old methods has been carried on from that time down to 1870, when the whole system appears to have been revolutionized, and new ideas of cause, effect and remedy installed. Dr. Wirt Johnston, in his address to the medical association, in April, 1883, reviewed the profession in Mississippi as it stands to-day. He pointed to the progress made by the professon, and credited the association of physicians with that progress. He said: "The association together of the members of a learned and liberal profession is not purposeless. The advancement of medical knowledge, the elevation of the character and standing of the profession and the enlargement of its sphere of usefulness to the public, and, incidentally, the enjoyment of social pleasures, are among the definite and practical objects in view. I dare say there is not one among us who does not return to his home after these annual meetings with a consciousness that something has been learned, with a more elevated opinion of his profession, and with freshly-aroused interest in the work before him. It is true that by individual efPort one may acquire' distinction and wealth, but it is to be expected that well-directed organized work alone will result in general and permanent good to the whole profession. I am proud to-day to be able to congratulate you upon the success and standing of this association. It is strong in numbers and intelligence, and upon its roll of members are the names of many of the most learned and eminent of the medical profession in the state. It can be said to be on a sure and permanent foundation, and it MEMOIRS OP MISSISSIPPI. 253 is safe to predict for it a future of great usefulness. Its scientific papers will compare favorably with those of kindred organizations, and have received favorable comment from the medical press of the country. This, while gratifying, should only serve to stimulate us to greater improvement. "Scientific contributions, original in character, while being those most desired, receive the largest share of attention, and are calculated to reflect the greatest amount of credit upon their authors. But to originate, it is evident that the most patient research and investigation and careful observation are necessary. There are, however, broad, unculti- vated fields before us into which all earnest workers would be welcomed and which give promise of a rich harvest. The profession to-day seeks eagerly for every original contribu- tion and is ready to honor the author of every new discovery. We constantly encounter diseases v?hose etiology and pathology are imperfectly understood and whose treatment is not based upon sound principles. The list is long, and soine time would be required to even enumerate them. "There is one cause of disease especially, however, whose influence is so widespread and whose manifestations in their protean forms are so often encountered that it deserves and should receive a large share of our attention. To ascertain what malaria is would immortalize any one. To ascertain the exact pathology of and proper treatment for hsema- turic and other forms of hemorrhagic malarial fever, and malarial continued fever, would surely bring distinction. I venture to suggest to the association, as a means of encour- aging original investigation and research among our members, that prize essays be invited. A commendable spirit of competition might thus be aroused, which would, no doubt, result in the production of papers that would add to the reputation of their authors and reflect credit upon the association. The essays should be original in character and upon some practical subject. At each annual meeting a sum of money could be appropriated out of the treasury for the procru-ement of a suitable prize, a subject selected and a com- mittee appointed to decide between the competitors and award the prize. The prize essay and such of the others as may be deemed worthy and of sufficient interest could be read before the association. A number of interesting and valuable contributions to the literature of the profession might by this means be obtained. "For the elevation of the character and standing of the medical profession and to enlarge its sphere of usefulness, this association, while it has already done much, is capable of doing more. Through it the physicians of the state are brought together annually for interchange of views, to place upon record such information of value as they may have acquired, and for the discussion of matters of interest to the profession with a view to the advancement of its interests. By it also the public are made aware that the physicians of the state are not behind in the inarch of progress, but are active in their efforts to advance science and are desirous, as citizens, of discharging the duty to the state for which they are peculiarly fitted by virtue of their calling. "It was through your efforts that a law was enacted by the last legislature to regulate the practice of medicine in this state. A law which, if it should continue in operation, and is wisely administered, is sure, in the course of time, to elevate the character of the profes- sion. It will not only accomplish this, but will also result in even more good to the people of the state, as by it they will be protected in life from the ignorance of the incompetent, and in purse from the cupidity of quacks. Section seventeen of the law is liberal in its spirit, and was so construed by the attorney-general, and under its provisions some obtained , license, it is true, who fall short of the standard erected by this association for the admission 354 BIOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL of its members and who are not physicians in accordance with a strictly technical definition of the term. This section became inoperative after June 30, 1882, at which time the pros- pective operation of the law commenced. Now only two kinds of licenses are provided for, one of which serves a temporary purpose only, as it becomes void at the time of the first meeting of the censors succeeding its issuance, aud which, under the rules of the board of health, can only be issued to graduates; the other can only be procured after passing a sat- isfactory examination before the censors. It seems to me that the standard thus erected is high enough, and that the only point in the law as it now stands upon which there could be any difference of opinion among the members of the regular profession, is the requirement that those holding diplomas from medical colleges of good standing shall also undergo an examination. It was doubtless thought by the authors of the law that it would be proper in urging its passage to give to the legislature the assurance that regular graduates were willing to be subjected to the same test as to competency as it was asked should be applied to those who hold no diplomas. "As it may be of some interest to those present to learn something of the number and char- acter of the licentiates, as well as the result of the examinations by the censors, the follow- ing statement is made: , Number of licenses issued under the provisions of section seventeen of the law, 1,785; number issued after examination by the censors, 55; making a total of 1,840 licentiates. This, it is fair to presume, approximates closely to the number of practi- tioners of medicine in this state. Taking the last census of the state it shows that there is one licentiate to about every 615 of population. There are, as shown by the applications, 1,180 graduates, 149 non-graduates, and 511 who fail to state whether or not they are grad- uates, and whom it is fair to suppose are not graduates, or they would have so stated in their applications. The licentiates belong to the different schools of practice as follows: Eegular and allopathic, 158; eclectic, 84; homeopathic, 11; botanic, 7; botanic and eclectic, 4; allo- pathic and mineral, 5; eclectic and allopathic, 8; mineral, 11; allopathic and botanic, 2; eclectic or reformed, 1; hydropathic, 1; eclectic, allopathic and homeopathic, 1; dosimetric, 1; physio-medical, 1; idiopathic, 1; herb doctor 1; root doctor, 1; and 119 who either state no school or use obscure expressions. The censors have examined 60 applicants, of which 55 received a favorable endorsement and 5 were refused license. ' 'In another particular, gentlemen, you are not only up with the times, but occupy a posi- tion in the front of the army of progress. It was with you that the idea of a state board of health originated, and through your efforts that it came into existence. At first, it is true, it was created without power and pecuniary means, but by your assistance it is now clothed with ample power, has abundant resources at its command, and is in a position to render efficient service to the state. ' ' Preventive medicine, yet in its infancy, has made wonderful progress in late years, and has already been of incalculable benefit to mankind, but it is reasonable to assume that future investigations, conducted with the same precision that has characterized them in the past, will elucidate much that is now obscure in the etiology of disease, and as a consequence lead on to accurate methods of prevention. Let me suggest that this subject presents an inviting field for investigation and is worthy of the attention of every one who is desirous of contributing to science or who has the good of mankind at heart. That the public are not fully informed of the great protection that proper sanitation offers to their health and lives is but too evident. It is a subject which does not receive the share of attention it deserves, and upon us especially it devolves to inform the people of its importance." In the early years of the state Dr. Samuel Brown, Dr. William M. Gwin, Dr. Stephen MMMOIBS OF MiaSiaSIPPI. 355 Duncan, who was also president of the Bank of Mississippi, and other physicians, directed the profession along the Mississippi front. Dr. Eobert Dalton, who came from North Carolina to Aberdeen, Dr. John Clopton, Dr. Hatch, Dr. John M. Tindall, the Sykes brothers, all of Aberdeen; Dr. Green, of Pontotoc, Dr. Higgason and Dr. Reuben Davis, of AtheUp; Drs. Gray and Holland and a few younger men controlled the profession in the eastern counties. Sixty years ago their rulings on medical and sanitary subjects were laws to be observed. Today physicians wonder how any one escaped from their hands alive. Changed conditions of life did necessarily suggest changes in practice, so that the youngest physician in the state to-day knows a thousand methods and remedies which were hidden from the pioneers of the profession here. The roll of members of the Mississippi State Medical association in 1891 is as fol- lows:* William Aills, Steen's Creek, Rankin; W. N. Ames, Starkville, Oktibbeha; W. H. Anderson, Pickens, Holmes; J. A. Alexander, Bolton, Hinds; M. J. Alexander, Austin, Tunica. John Brownrigg, Columbus, Lowndes; J. L. Baskin, Itta Bena, Leflore; J. W. Ben- nett, Brookhaven, Lincoln; T. G. Birchett, Vicksburg, Warren; O. C. Brothers, West Point, Clay; J. H. Blanks, Nashville, Tenn. ; H. P. Brisbane, Vicksburg, Warren; W. H. Barr, Starkville, Oktibbeha; T. T. Beall, Vicksburg, Warren; G. P. Blundell, Yazoo City, Yazoo; J. M. Buchanan, Meridian, Lauderdale; J. C. Brooks, Bolivar, Bolivar; F. A. Brizzell, Areola, Washington; E. L. Buck, Jackson, Hinds ; A. J. Borroum, Corinth, Alcorn; J. B. Bailey, Conehatta, Newton; J. T. B. Berry, Brandon, Rankin; G. M. Barrier, Alsatia, La. ; W. D. Bragg, Moss Point, Jackson; H. D. Butler, Wilzinski, Washing- ton; T. E. Butler, Glen Allen, Washington; E. R. Bragg, Moss Point, Jackson; A. S. Baugh, Polkville, Smith; J. D. Barfield, Mayfield, Montgomery; J. P. Bailey, Bailey's, Lauderdale; E. S. Beadles, Water Valley, Yalobusha; Patton R. Brown, Liddell, Mont- gomery; William Ball, Greenville, Washington; C. W. Bufkin, Vosburg, Jasper; W. T. Bolton, Perkinston, Harrison; W. C. Brooke, Meridian, Lauderdale; Mimms Blewett, Meridian, Lauderdale; J. A. Barber, Meridian, Lauderdale; E. M. Bishop, Corinth, Alcorn; M. Britt, Como, Panola. J". A. Crisler, Livingston, Madison; C. P. Conerly, Summit, Pike; N. G. Carter, Rip- ley, Tippah; N. L. Clarke, A. S., Meridian, Lauderdale; Matthew Clay, Vicksburg, War- ren; J. T. Chandler, V. P., Oxford, Lafayette; A. P. Champlin, Bay St. Louis, Harrison; B. B. Carson, Durant, Holmes; G. M. D. Chester, Free Run, Yazoo; B. L. Culley, Jack- son, Hinds; B. D. Cooper, Mansfield, La.; Henry Christmas, Tchula, Holmes; J. M. Catch- ings, Georgetown, Copiah; A. L. Cannon, Indianola, Sunflower; P. M. Catchings, George- town, Copiah; S. K. Coleman, Canton, Madison; L. M. Clark, Newton, Newton; J. G. Cherry, Lumberton, Pearl river; H. L. Crook, Pelahatchie, Rankin; H. C. Cook, Augusta, Perry. J. D. Dabney, Tchula, Holmes; Chesley Daniel, Holly Springs, Marshall; M. G. Davis, Greenwood, Leflore; R. L. Dunn, Yazoo City, Yazoo; B. F. Duke, Lake Como Jasper; G. T. Darden, Blanton, Sharkey; B. A. Duncan, West Point, Clay; J. C. Denson, Ludlow, Scott; S. R. Dunn, V. P., Greenville, Washington; J. W. Dulaney, Rosedale, Bolivar; D. M. Diggs, Black Hawk, Carroll; S. T. Dunning, Utica, Hinds; J. L. Dodge, Bolivar, Boli- var; S. R. Deans, Abbott, Clay; John E. Davis, Ben Lomand, Issaquena. *Throughout the list the letter P. denotes service as president; V. P., vice president; E. S., recording secretary: C. S., corresponding secretary; A. S., assistant secretary; T., treasurer; 0., orator; *, removed from the state. 356 BIOOBAPEIOAL AND HISTORICAL C. C. Ewing, Aberdeen, Monroe; W. A. Evans, Jr., Aberdeen, Monroe; J. W. Elliott, Lake City, Yazoo; L. C. Elliott, Yazoo City, Yazoo; J. D. Egger, Caledonia, Lowndes. J. M. Farrish, Satartia, Yazoo; J. S. Featherston, Brooksville, Noxubee; T. W. Fulli- love, Vaiden, Carroll; F. B. Forbes, Othello, Tunica; T. B. Ford, Columbia, Marion; F. L. Fulgham, Jackson, Hinds; T. W. Foster, Zeiglerville, Yazoo; Frank Ferrell, Asl^and, Benton. Harris A. Gant, Water Valley, Yalobusha; W. P. Gatlin, McComb City, Pike; W. R. Greenlee, Harriston, Jefferson; S. C. Gholson, Holly Springs, Marshall; W. F. Gresham, Durant, Holmes; N. C. Gulledge, Durant, Holmes; T. H. Gordon, Oakland, Grenada; N. L. Guice, P. Natchez, Adams; F. H. Gulledge, Jackson, Hinds; H. S. Gully, Meridian, Lauderdale; J. M. Greene, V. P., P., Aberdeen, Monroe; J. B. Gresham, V. P., P., West Point, Clay; D. M. Gardner, Oxford, Lafayette; R. W. Gulledge, Durant, Holmes; F. L. Gipson, Pelahatchie, Rankin; D. W. Goodman, Matherville, Wayne; J. W. Gilbert, Verona, Lee; Walton S. Greene, Aberdeen, Monroe; J. C. Gathings, Prairie Station, Monroe. S. H. Howard, Tchula, Holmes; A. C. Halbert, Cobb Switch, Lowndes; J. D. Harrell, De Soto, Clarke; C. R. Henderson, Deasonville, Yazoo; A. B. Holder, Memphis, Tenn. ; C. M. Henderson, Sardis, Panola; J. J. Harralson, Conehatta, Newton; George W. Howard, Vicksburg, Warren; W. F. Hyer, T., V. P., P., Meridian, Lauderdale; J. C. Hall, Anguilla, Sharkey; William Preston Hughes, Port Gibson, Claiborne; George K. Harrington, Jackson, Hinds; H. H. Harralson, Forest, Scott; O. A. Harrison, Meridian, Lauderdale; J. E. Halbert, V. P., Mound Landing, Washington; W. W. Hamilton, Brooksville, Noxubee; R. E. Howard, Durant, Holmes; C. S. Hudson, Yazoo City, Yazoo; T. R. Henderson, Greenwood, Leflore; T. A. Heath, Hays' Landing, Issaquena; J. P. Hamer, Kilmichael, Montgomery; J. M. Hicks, Goodman, Holmes; J. F. Hunter, T., Jackson, Hinds; G. S. Hunter, A. S., Bolton, Hinds; W. W. Hall, Meridian, Lauderdale; W. R. Harper, Rolling Fork, Sharkey; D. S. Humphreys, Leota Landing, Washington; A. G. Hall, Natchez, Adams; R. M. Hand, Shubuta, Clarke; H. B. Hunter, Decatur, Newton. Thomas D. Isom, Oxford, Lafayette; T. G. Ivy, West Point, Clay; B. W. Inman Woodville, Wilkinson; Henry Izard, Meridian, Lauderdale; George Izard, Meridian, Lauderdale. Wirt Johnston, R. S., P., Jackson, Hinds; R. B. Johnson, Kirkwood, Madison; Charles H. Jones, Greenville, Washington; C. W. Jordan, West Point, Clay; R. E. Jones, Crystal Springs, Copiah; W. T. Johnson, Black Hawk, Carroll; J. W. Jordan, Black Hawk, Carroll; E. P. Jones, Herman ville, Claiborne; L. H. Jones, Phoenix, Yazoo; L. C. Jones, Madison Station, Madison; J. O. Jones, Beulah, Bolivar; W. W. Johnson, Melvin, Choctaw. R. S. Knox, Enterprise, Clarke; Carroll Kendrick, Corinth, Alcorn; B. F. Kittrell, V. P., O., P., Black Hawk, Carroll; D. A. Kinchloe, Star Place, Panola; A. C. Kuykendall, Grenada, Grenada; W. G. Kiger, Brunswick, Warren; J. G. Knox, Toomsuba, Lauder- dale; W. T. Kendal], Meridian, Lauderdale; W. S. Kent, Sharon, Madison. W. B. Loyd, Myles, Copiah; T. P. Lockwood, Crystal Springs, Copiah; John H. Lucas, * Greenwood, Leflore; W. C. Lawrence, Crawfordsville, Lowndes; Robert Lowry, Canton, Madison; M. J. Lowry, Meridian, Lauderdale; John Long, Coffadeliah, Neshoba; J. H. Love, Newport, Attala; George W. Luster, Cayuga, Hinds; Buford Larkins, Oakdale, Lawrence. M. V. B. Miller, Meridian, Lauderdale; C. M. Murry, Ripley, Tippah; S. A. Morris, Belzonia, Washington; H. C. McLaurin, Brandy wine, Claiborne; W. H. Miller, Okolona, MMM0IB8 OF MISSISBIPPI. 257 Chickasaw; J. H. Murfee, Okolona, Chickasaw; D. McCallum, V. P., Westvil]e, Simpson; P. J. Maxwell, Columbus, Lowndes; Thomas H. Mays, Columbus, Lowndes; L. M. Mays, Graysport, Grenada; P. J. McCormick, Yazoo City, Yazoo; T. J. Mitchell, Jackson, Hinds; J. P. Moore, V. P., Yazoo City, Yazoo; T. H. Marselis, Nunnery, Amit% George H. McNeil, Newton, Newton; A. G. McLaurin, Trenton, Smith; J. F. Moore, Enterprise, Clarke; W. Myles, Port Gibson, Claiborne; William McSwine, Grenada, Grenada; R. C. Mylea, New York; H. A. Minor, Macon, Noxubee; E. L. McGehee, Wood- ville, Wilkinson; L. W. Mabry, Goodman, Holmes; Aurelius Martin, Hardy, Grenada; Daniel M. McGehee, Shell Mound, Leflore; D. D. Montgomery, Greenville, Washington; J. Y. Murry, Eipley, Tippah; Joseph L. Murrell, Benoit, Bolivar; W. H. McParland, Vaiden, Carroll; J. S. McCain, Lexington, Holmes; J. L. McLean, Winona, Montgomery; A. McCallum, Edwards, Hinds; A. K. McNair, Fayette, Jefferson; James L. Minor, Mem- phis, Tenn. ; M. D. Morgan, Jackson, Hinds; G. M. Mott, Ellisville, Jones; A. L. Morris, Lena, Leake; J. H. Maddox, Concordia, Bolivar; E. D. Miller, Clinton, Hinds; Anthony Miller, Rosedale, Bolivar; J. W. Malpus, Meridian, Lauderdale; F. McCormack, Vosburg, Jasper; W. J. McNair, Quitman, Clarke; J. L. Myers, Meridian, Lauderdale; W. O. McNeill, Eucutta, Wayne. R. Anderson New, Rodney, Jefferson; E. A. Neely, Memphis, Tenn.; N.Y. Nelson, Myles, Copiah; J. O. Newman, Vicksburg, Warren; J. E. Noble, Fannin, Rankin; F. B. Nimocks, Lawrence, Newton. J. L. Owen, Bonoit, Bolivar; J. F. O'Leary, Shreveport, La. ; T. T. Orendoff, Rolling Fork, Sharkey; C. E. Oatis, Hazlehurst, Copiah. A. B. Pitts, Hazelhurst, Copiah; K. P. Perkin, Batesville, Panola; J. H. Plunkett, Flora, Madison; W. O. Porter, Meridian, Lauderdale; W. M. Paine, Aberdeen, Monroe; Joseph B. Perkins, Choctaw Agency, Oktibbeha; J. R. Priace, Summerville, Noxubee; Isaac P. Partin, Meridian, Lauderdale; E. B. Poole, Clinton, Hinds; George C. Phillips, Lexington, Holmes; G. L. Pope, Stoneville, Washington; B. J. Pate, Sidon, Leflore; C. S. Priestley, Canton, Madison; D. L. Phares, Madison Station, Madison; J. B. Pease, Con- cordia, Coahoma; W. W. Payne, Meridian, Lauderdale; E. E. Patrick, Lynwood, Rankin. R. A. Quin, T., Vicksburg, Warren; D. H. Quin, McComb City, Pike; O. B. Quin, McComb City, Pike. P. W. Rowland, Coffeeville, Yalobusha; S. D. Robertson, Dover, Yazoo; W. D. Redus, Port Gibson, Claiborne; S. M. Rainey, Osborne, Oktibbeha; C. A. Rice, Meridian, Lauder- dale; J. H. Rhodes, Learned, Hinds; J. C. Roberts, Centerville, Wilkinson; W. B. Rogers, Memphis, Tenn. ; E. W. Rowland, Flora, Madison; S. D. Robbins, Vicksburg, Warren; E. A. Rowan, Wesson, Copiah; L. S. Rogers, West, Holmes. B. A. Sheppard, Lexington, Holmes ; H. Shannon, V. P. , Nashville, Tenn. ; J. S. Sizer, Fort Stevens, Yazoo; E. G. Southall, Jr., Areola, Washington; Z. Y. Scott, Crystal Springs, Copiah; S. O.Smith, Ellisville, Jones; A. H. Smith, V. P., Meridian, Lauderdale; J. Mell Smith, Coffeeville, Yalobusha ; 'John W. Spellman, Columbus, Lowndes; S. D. G. Scruggs, Grenada, Grenada; A. B. Smith, Hatton, Yalobusha; Nolan Stewart, Fort Apache, Ariz.; A. P. Sims, Morton, Scott; L. Sexton, Wesson, Copiah, Newton C. Steele, Chattanooga, Tenn.; H. L. Sutherland, Bolivar, Bolivar; W. J. Sykes, P., Aberdeen, Monroe; Rob- ert Smith, Kosciusko, Attala; A. J. Sanderson, Vaiden, Carroll; E. P. Sale, V. P., P., Mem- phis, Tenn.; W. B. Sanford, Corinth, Alcorn; O. J. Sherman* Harrison, Tallahatchie; J. D. Staples, Huntsville, Montgomery; J. M. Shivers, Sidon, Leflore; J. M. Shamburger, Toom- suba, Lauderdale; W. J. Stevenson, Lauderdale, Lauderdale; J. D. Smythe, Greenville, 958 BIOORAPHIOAL AND HISTOBIGAL Washington; E. F. Shuler, Greenville, Wasbington; J. A. Shackleford, Greenville, Wash- ington; G. A. Spivey*, Texas; C. C. Stockard, Columbus, Lowndes; A. G. Sinclair, Mem- phis, Tenn.; Owen Stone, Stoneville, Washington; John Seay, Glenora, Washington; O. H. Spence, Utica, Hinds; W. S. Sims, Meridian, Lauderdale. J. M. Taylor, V. P., P.; Corinth, Alcorn; R. S. Toombs, P., P. P.; Greenville, Wash- ington; T. R. Trotter, Duck Hill, Montgomery; G. W. Trimble, O. P.; Grenada, Grenada; J. E. Talbert, Memphis, Tenn.; W. E. Todd, R. S., S. ; Jackson, Hinds; W. A. Taylor, Booneville, Prentiss; M. J. Thompson, Meridian, Lauderdale; J. F. Taylor, Anguilla, Shar- key; George A. Teunisson, Montioello, Lawrence; B. F. Travis, Heidelburg, Jasper; J. C. Terrell, Leland, Washington; M. H. Turner, Brownsville, Hinds; E. S. Turner, Ashland, Benton; R. L. Turner, Ellisville, Jones; J. R. Tackett, Pickens, Holmes. B. A. Vaughan, V. P., C. S., P., Columbus, Lowndes; G. W. Vassar, Carrolltou, Carroll. J. D. Walker, Kings, Rankin; W. E. Whitehead, Greenwood, Leflore; R. G. Wharton, V. P., Port Gibson, Claiborne; John Wright, Sardis, Panola; T. L. Wilburn, Winona, Montgomery; S. L. Wynne, Looxahoma, Lea Williamson, Como, Panola; B. F. Ward, O., P., Winona, Montgomery; A. A. Wheat, Harrison, Tallahatchie; William H. White, V. P., Brandon, Rankin; C. Weathersby, Clarksdale, Coahoma; T. W. Wright, Pickens, Holmes; J. D. Weeks, Ackerman, Choctaw; Edwin Wright, Sardis, Panola; J. L. Walker, Nicholson, Hancock; J. H. Watson, Thornton, Holmes; F. L. Walton, Quitman, Clarke; W. H. Whit- tle, De Soto, Clarke. H. Yandell, Yazoo City, Yazoo; J. W. Young, Grenada, Grenada. The honorary members of the Mississippi State Medical association are: Hon. E. Barks - dale, Jackson; Hon. F. G. Barry, West Point; T. J. CrofEord, M. D., Memphis; W. Y. Cad- berry, Yazoo City; Frank Johnston, Esq. , Jackson; J. C. Longstreet, Grenada; Ex-Gov. Robert Lowry, Jackson; A. H. Smith, M. D. , Meridian; W. D. Powell, M. D., Torrance; Gen. J. S. Sharp, Crawford; L. M. South worth, Carrollton; D. Sutton, M. D. , Lexington; John Tackett, M. D. , Richland. Throughout the state are many local associations; all organized on the principles of the state society. The Columbus and Lowndes association of 1872, the Marshall county of 1872, the Lee county, of 1878 ; the Copiah county, of 1878, and the Grenada Medical association, of 1876, are represented in the state society. The Mississippi State Medical association was organized in 1866-7, and the first annual meeting held in 1868. An old roll of membership credits P. T. Baley of Jackson, L. P. Blackburn of Natchez, M. S. Craft of Jackson, A. H. Cabaniss of Jackson, S. C. Farrar of Jackson, W. Y. Gadberry of Yazoo City, J. F. Harrington of Jackson, W. B. Harvey of Canton, W. B. Williamson of Edwards, with joining the association in 1866; D. W. Booth, William H. Baird, James R. Barnett, E. G. Banks, T. G. Birchett, W. M. Compton, John S. Featherston, C. B. Galloway, A. J. Curtiss, W. D. Bragg, J. H. Gibbs, J. M. Hunt, E. T. Henry, S. V. D. Hill, J. R. Hicks, J. D. Harrell, Thomas D. Isom, J. R. Kirkland, John D. Kline, Edward Lea, James M. Lewis, A. A. Lyon, W. L. Lipscomb, John D. McConnell, W. E. Monette, C. J. Mitchell, Frank Nailer, J. Nailer, D. B. Nailer, N. Pettit, B. B. Palmer, Robert A. Quinn, D. H. Quinn, George E. Redwood, J. L. Reilly, H. Shannon, J. W. M. Shattuck, James Steinriede, A. H. Smith, J. C. Spinks, L. Shackleford, J. S. Sizer, C. Y. Thompson, J. M. Taylor, Z. T. Woodruff, P. F. Whitehead, B. H. Whitfield, M. F. Wakefield and E. M. Alexander became members between April, 1869, and December, 1871. It appears that no permanent organization was effected until 1868, but as the minute MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 359 books for 1866, 1867, 1868, 1869, 1870 and 1871 can not be found, nothing can be stated with certainty respecting meetings or officers. The fifth annual meeting was held at Holly Springs in April, 1872, Dr. W. M. Gomp- ton, the outgoing president, presiding with Dr. J. W. M. Shattuck, secretary. The election of officers took place April 4, when Dr. C. B. Galloway of Canton was chosen president; D. W. Booth, W. M. Lea, J. D. Burche and L. Shackleford, vice presidents; J. W. M. Shat- tuck, recording secretary; P. F. Whitehead, corresponding secretary, and W. G. Sykes, treasurer. The delegates to the American Medical association then appointed were J. R. Hicks, W. Y. Gadberry, W. L. Lipscomb, Thomas D. Isom, Lee Shackleford, W. M. Comp- ton, J. M. Taylor and S. C. Gholson. A motion by Dr. Capers to refuse affiliation with the national association, owing to "legislation partisan in its course" being on their record books, was not entertained. The motion of Dr. Gadberry, to publish the proceedings of the fifth meeting of the association with names of members, constitution, laws and papers on special subjects, was adopted and the work therein outlined cariied out in the Excelsior book and job office at Columbus, Miss., under the supervision of Drs. A. A. Lyon, J. W. M. Shattuck, and C. B. Galloway. The roll of members of 1872 presents the following names: *E. M. Alexander, Ripley; *William H. Baird, Vicksburg; *P. T. Baley, Jackson; *W. T. Balfour, Vicksburg; E. G. Banks, Clinton; *J. R. Barnett, Vicksburg; T. G. Bir- chett, Vicksburg; *D. W. Booth, Vicksburg; W. D. Bragg, Garlandsville; J. D. Burche, Yazoo City; J. F. Butler, Holly Springs; *A. B. Cabaniss (1873), Jackson; A. H. Cage, Canton; *L. G. Capers, Vicksburg; J. L. Carter, Jackson; * William M. Compton, Jackson; *M. S. Craft, Jackson; A. J. Curtiss, Meridian; F. W. Dancy, Holly Springs; J. R. Dougherty, Holly Springs; Chesley Daniel, Holly Springs; J. S. Davis, luka; K. C. Devine (moved in 1872), Madison county; W. J. Dulaney, Madison county; R. L. Dunn, Yazoo county; J. C. Pant, Macon; J. S. Featherston, Macon; Frank Ferrell, Salem; *C. B. Galloway, Canton; *W. A. Galloway, Canton; W. Y. Gadberry (first president), Yazoo City; S. C. Gholson, Holly Springs; J. H. Gibbs, Meridian; J. W. Gray, Hud- sonville; J. D. Harrell, De Soto; J. F. Harrington, Jackson; W. B. Harvey, Canton; *E. T. Henry, Vicksburg; *J. R. Hicks, Vicksburg; *S. V. D. Hill, Macon; J. M. Hunt, Vicksburg; W. F. Hyer, Chulahoma; Thomas D. Isom, Oxford; *Robert Kells, Jackson; H. B. Kidd, Yazoo county; V. O. King, Black Hawk; J. R. Kirkland, Meridian; B. F. Kittrell, Black Hawk; John D. Kline, Meridian: Edward Lea, Holly Springs; W. M. Lea, Holly Springs; R. O'Leary, Vicksburg; C. J. Mitchell, Vicksburg; *W. E. Monette, Vicksburg; Frank Nailer, Vicksburg; J. Nailer, Vicksburg; R. A. Quinn, Vicksburg; *H. Shannon, Vicksburg; *P. P. Whitehead, Vicksburg; *Z. T. Woodruff, Vicksburg; James M. Lewis, Kosciusko; W. L. Lipscomb, Columbus; A. A. Lyon, Columbus; J. W. M. Shuttuck, Columbus; B. A. Vaughan, Columbus; *J. D. McConnell, Brownsville; J. P. Moore, Jackson; D. D. Nailer, Warren county; B. B. Palmer, Lake; *D. R. Pettit, Warren county; George E. Redwood, Meridian; L. Shackleford, Meridian; A. H. Smith, Meridian; J. L. Riley, Lake; J. S. Sizer, Yazoo county; H. Yandell, Yazoo county; B. H. Whitfield, Clinton; M. F. Wakefield, Starkville; J. C. Spinks, Fort Stephens; James Steinride, Ben- ton; W. G. Sykes, Aberdeen; J. M. Taylor, Corinth; C. Y. Thompson, Macon. The president's address is not given in the first printed report. Special papers by C. B. Galloway on Chloroform in obstetrics, by J. M. Taylor on Chronic constipation, by J. W. M. Shattuck on Hypodermic medication, by James M. Lewis on Treatment of pneu- *Deceased or removed trom the state. 360 BIOOBAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL moaia, by B. A. Vaughaii oa Clinical theriuonietry and critical days, by E. H. Anderson on Malarial hsematuria, by A. A. Lyon on Conservative surgery and by J. M. Taylor a Report of cases in practice. A synopsis of proceedings of the Columbus and Lowndes County Medical society for the year ending March 26, 1872, was printed to prove what a local society may accomplish in the study and discussion of medical and surgical subjects. The sixth annual meeting of the association was held at Vicksburg in April, 1873. There were enrolled the following named members: D. W. Adams, W. L. Ainsworth, William Aills, W. H. Armistead, M. T. Anderson, J. W. Bennett, R. B. Banks, J. D. Beck, J. M. Boyle, R. L. Boyle, W. G. Davis, F. M. Fitzhugh, George W. Howard, C. R. Henderson, A. C. Hulbert, Wirt Johnson, Dudley W. Jones, George L. Latimer, P. T. McCormick, N. W. McKie, R. D. McLaurin, W. H. McDougal, L. M. Mays, W. J. N. E. Smith, James C. Newman, R. Anderson New, William E. Gates, J. F. O'Leary, Thomas A. Phillips, L. Richardson, James M, Smith, H. C. Stackhouse, R. R. Stockard, H. L. Suther- land, George Sumrall, R. S. Toombs, A. M. Waddill, L. White, R. G. Wharton, W^ B. Williamson. The expenditure of the association for the year ending March 31, 1873, was 1125, all of which was paid for stationery, printing reports and postage. The election of officers resulted in the choice of J. M. Taylor, president; M. S. Craft, B. A. Vaughan, P. F. "Whitehead and J. W. Bennett, vice presidents; J. W. M. Shattuck, permanent recording secretary; W. A. Galloway, correspondent; W. J. Hyer, treasurer, and J. R. Hicks and Wirt Johnson, orators. The death of Dr. John R. CofPman, of Grenada, was reported January 1-6, 1873. The delegates to the American association were J. F. O'Leary, I. F. Harrington, P. J. McCormick, B. A. Vaughan, E. G. Banks, B. G. Wharton, J. W. M. Shattuck, A. A. Lyon, W. Y. Godberry, M. S. Craft, and S. V. D. Hill. The constitution and by-laws were revised during this meeting and measures suggested for improving the condition of the pro- fession. C. B. Galloway delivered the president's address; A. A. Lyon, the annual ora- tion; J. P. Moore, a paper on Malarial hsematuria; S. V. D. Hill, one on Cerebrospinal meningitis; J. W. M. Shattuck, one on the Sequelae of malarial diseases; J. R. Barnett, one on Scarlatina and its sequelae; A. A. Lyon, one on Conservative surgery; J. D. McConnell, one on Dysmenorrhoea; D. W. Booth, one on the Progress of materia medica and therapeutics during the years 1871-2; P. F. Whitehead, one on the Epidemic of 1871 at Jackson, Vicksburg and Natchez; M. S. Craft, one on the Epidemic at Jackson; William M. Compton, one on Medical experts; J. M. Hunt, one on Removal of ovarian tumor; P. F. Whitehead, one on Tetanus treated with calabar bean; A. A. Lyon, one on Loss by sloughing with reproduction of the glans penis; J. R. Barnett, one on Entra abdominal orchitis; J. R. Hicks, one on fracture of the femur treated by simplification of Smith's anterior splint; D. W. Booth, one on Operation for strangulated femoral hernia, and J. M. Taylor, one on Skin grafting. In 1874 Dr. P. P. Whitehead was elected president. The eighth annual meeting was held at Vicksburg in April, 1875. Dr. P. F. Whitehead presided, with Dr. R. A. New, recording secretary. Dr. Richard O'Leary, then mayor of the city, delivered the address of welcome. Papers by R. R. Stockard and J. H. Murfee were read. One by P. J. McCormick, on the Use of chloroform in obstetrics, was ably dis- cussed by several members. Dr. Whitfield's papers on Double hearing and monstrous dentition; Dr. W. A. Galloway's, on Syphilis; Dr. R. G. Wharton's, on the use of Electricity as a therapeutic agent; Dr. E. G. Bank's, on Meningitis; Dr. R. J. Turnbull's Report on MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 361 oases; Dr. J. R. Hicks', oa Endemics and epidemics of 1874; Dr. W. L. Lipscomb's address; Dr. B. H. Whitefield, on the Eye, and Dr. E. A. Quinn's, on Traumatic tetanus and strangulated inguinal hernia, were ordered to be published. The election of officers resulted in the choice of M. S. Craft, president; B. A. Vaughan, B. W. Hughes, W. H. Armistead and John Brownrigg, vice presidents; R. A. New was reelected recording sec- retary; John W. King, correspondent; J. A. Campbell, treasurer; E. G. Banks and R. A. Quinn, orators. The ninth annual meeting was held at Jackson, in May and June, 1876. P. J. McCor- mick was elected president, R. G. Wharton, A. G. Smythe, W. W. Hall and D. C. McCal- lum, vice presidents; C. A. Rice, corresponding secretary; Wirt Johnson, recorder; Robert Kells, treasurer; B. F. Kittrell and M. S. Craft, orators. There were one hundred and seventy-five members on the roll at the close of the year. The address by Dr. M. S. Craft, a paper on Electro-therapeutics, by R. G. Wharton; one on Ramollissement, by W. M. Comp- ton; one on Cerebro-spinal meningitis, by John Brownrigg; one on Hemiplegia, by B. F. Kittrell; one on the Antiseptic treatment of wounds, by J. M. Taylor; one on A Case of necrosis of inferior- maxillary bone, with festulous opening on lip and plastic operation, by J. M. Taylor; one on Capillary bronchitis in children, by R. Fowler; one on Chloroform and ether, by E. G. Banks; one on Indigenous remedies of Mississippi, by B. H. Whitfield; and one on Diseases of north Mississippi, by E. W. Hughes, were read before the associa- tion in Centennial year, each being an excellent review of the subject under notice. The tenth annual meeting was held at Grenada in April, 1877. B. A. Vaughan was chosen president; E. W. Hughes, T. R. Trotter, T. P. Lockwood and J. T. Parker, vice- presidents; Wert Johnston, recording secretary; C. A. Rice, corresponding secretary ; Robert Kells, treasurer; and D. W. Booth and J. E. Halbert, orators. The papers read comprised The Mission of medicine, by B. F. Kittrell; The State board of health, by W. M. Comp- ton; Puerperal fever, by S. V. D. Hill; Veratrum in puerperal convulsions, by P. F. Whitehead; Scarlatina anginosa heated with sulpho-carbolate of sodium, by H. C. Mc- Laurin; Four cases of laceration of the perineum, by S. V. D. Hill; Resuscitation from death by chloroform, by C. A. Rice; Ergot in the treatment of pneumonia, by J. E. Hal- bert; Method of treating epidemic dysentery by the use of iodine, by J. C. Hall; Opera- tion in a case of vesico- vaginal fistula, by C. A. Rice; The Surgical history of Missis- sippi, by W. W. Hall; and Surgical cases, by M. S. Craft. The historical paper by Dr. Hall covers a large number of surgical cases throughout the state. The subject is treated so exhaustively that it would make a volume in itself, at once practical and instructive. The eleventh annual meeting was opened at Jackson April 3, 1878. B. L. Kittrell was elected president, R. G. Wharton, H. Hanslow, G. W. Vasser and E. P. Sale, vice presi- dents; Wirt Johnston, recorder; M. S. Crafts, correspondent; Robert Kells, treasurer; E. G. Banks and John Brownrigg, orators. The members in 1878 are named in the history of the board of health. Dr. Vaughan' s address was a masterly review of medical methods; Dr. Halbert's oration was historical and descriptive, but, like other annual orators, he indulged in lashing the ancient physicians for their supposed ignorance, when in fact they were as learned in the diseases and remedies of the ancients as the physicians of the present are in the diseases of the moderns. The ancient physicians were learned, honorable men, who always acknowledged the ideas they received from the tribal doctors of an earlier civilization. Dr. Wirt Johnston treated the Manufacture and uses of salicylic acid. Dr. P. F. Whitehead, the Treatment of diphtheria; Dr. Hill, A Case of poisoning with arsenious acid; Dr. J. R. Barnett, A Case of suppuration of antrum highmorianum; Dr. William Powell, Syphilis in 262 BIOORAPHIOAL AND HISTORICAL the negro as difPering from syphilis in the white race; Dr. H. J. Ray, A Case of hydrophobia; D. L. Phares, Posture in treatment of colic; Dr. J. W. Holman, Croupous pneumonia; Dr. Thomas Bryan, Malaria, what it is, how jH'oduced and how prevented; Dr. R. G. Wharton, Chronic catarrh; Dr. H. Hanslow, A Case of poisoning by hydrate chloral and camphor, and report on the wound of plantar arch; Dr. J. E. Halbert, Chloral hydrate in obstetrics; Dr. B. F. Kittrell, Treatment of cholera; E. W. Hughes, Epidemic of cerebro-spinal meningitis round Grenada in 1862; Dr. J. T. Parker, Early management of the infant; A. H. Cage, Typhlitis, and Dr. "\V. AA'. Hall, Continuation of surgical history of Mississippi. Each paper is a testimonial to the earnestness of its author and a valuable addition to medical and surgical literature, as well as to sanitary science. Dr. W. T. Balfour, who located at Jackson, Miss. , in 1837, and shortly after moved to Vicksburg, to fight the yellow-fever epidemic, died there December 12, 1877; Dr. LeGrand G. Capers died December 2, 1877; Dr. H. B. Kidd, who located at Yazoo City in 1845, died there August 11, 1877; Dr. L. L. Gadberry died at Yazoo City, December 12, 1877; Dr. Henry C. Stackhouse, born at Crystal Springs, Miss., died at Utica in 1877, and Dr. C. B. Galloway, of Canton, died there in 1877. The twelfth annual meeting was held at Aberdeen, April 1, 2 and 3, 1879. The first two days were devoted to memorial services for the members of the association and other physi- cians who died while on duty during the epidemic of 1878. On the 3d, members to fill vacancies on the state board of health were nominated as follows: First district. Dr. E. P. Sale; second district, Dr. John Wright; third district. Dr. S. V. D. Hill; third district, Dr. B. F. Kittrell; fourth district, George B. Redwood; fifth district, Dr. J. W. Bennett; sixth district. Dr. C. A. Rice. The officers chosen were: E. P. Sale, M. D., Aberdeen, president; AV. F. Hyer, M. D., Hudsonville, first vice president; W. C. Jarnagin, M. D. , Macon, second vice president; William Powell, M. D. , Torrance, third vice president; J. S. Cain, M. D., Okolona, fourth vice president; Wirt Johnston, M. D. , Jackson, recording secretary; M. S. Craft, M. D., Jackson, corresponding secretary; George K. Harrington, M. D., Jackson, treasurer; B. F. Ward, M. D. , Winona, orator; and W. H. Baird, M. D., Indian Bayou, alternate orator. The papers read before the association in 1879 were: Address, by Dr. B. F. Kittrell; The Spas of Mississippi, by Dr. D. L. Phares; Helenium tenifolium, by Dr. D. L. Phares, Bayou Sara vs. Yellow fever, by Dr. D. L. Phares; Surgical diseases of the rectum, by Dr. M. S. Craft; Malarial fevers, by Dr. N. L. Guice; Intentional ansesthesia, by Dr. J. M. Taylor; Ligation of the femoral artery, by Dr. E. P. Sale; Use of the obstetric forceps, by Dr. S. V. D. Hill; Climo-therapy of phthisis pulmonalis, by Dr. John Brownrigg; New remedies, by Dr. B. A. Vaughan; Report of a case of meningitis, by Dr. A. G. Smythe; Diagnosis and treatment of yellow fever, by Dr. W. F. Hyer; Wound of the knee joint, by Dr. S. V. D. Hill. The members of the association who fell in the epidemic of 1878 were: W. H. Armi- stead, Lee Shackleford, D. W. Booth, P. F. Whitehead, A. H. Cage, W. M. Lea, G. C. McCallum, E. W. Hughes, D. A. Kinchloe, W. B. Williamson, W. M. Compton, N. W. McKie, W. W. Hall, P. F. Fitzgerald, W. J. Nesmith, J. R. Hicks, W. E. Monette, R. S. Ringgold, Z. T. Woodruff, and H. W. Johnson. The physicians who were not members, but who died while attending the sick, were: Dr. V. F. P. Alexander, Greenville; Dr. M. Blackburn, Vicksburg: Dr. Barber, Vicksburg; Dr. Birdsong, Vicksburg; Dr. George Dickson, Crystal Springs; Dr. J. S. Roach, Vicks- burg; Dr. Sappington, Vicksburg; Dr. W. B. Wilkerson, Vicksburg; Dr. Gilliland, Vicks- MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 263 burg; Dr. Hayes, Vicksburg; Dr. Happolat, Vicksburg; Dr. Glass, Vicksburg; Dr. E. W. Hughes, Grenada; Dr. Lindley, Grenada; Dr. W. B. May, Grenada; Dr. G. W. Woolfolk, Grenada; Dr. Gillespie, Grenada; Dr. Hawkins, Grenada; Dr. J. L. Milton, Grenada; Dr. Lewis, Holly Springs; Dr. Leach, Holly Springs; Dr. Thomas Manning, Holly Springs; Dr. W. O. McKinney, Holly Springs; Dr. Frank Fennell, Holly Springs; Dr. J. M. Fen nell. Holly Springs; Dr. Fenton, Holly Springs; Dr. M. J. McKie, Canton; Dr. J. S. McCall, Greenville; Dr. William Montgomery, Greenville; Dr. James Newman, Vicksburg; Dr. J. P. Norris, Vicksburg; Dr. Potts, Vicksburg; Dr. M. C. Blackman, Vicksburg; Dr. A. S. Gardner, Greenville; Dr. Stafford, Greenville; Dr. J. J. Tate, Lake; Dr. Powell, Hernando; Dr. W. D. Sprott, Port Gibson; Dr. J. C. Strowbridge, Port Gibson; Dr. Thomas Young, Port Gibson; Dr. Blickfeldt, Port Gibson; Dr. Barber. Dr. William Henry Armistead, son of John and Julia E. (Gaines) Armistead, was born in Randolph county, N. C. , on the 5th of Aiigust, 1820. At the age of fifteen his father removed to Alabama. Of his early education but little is known. He graduated at the University of Louisville, Ky., in the spring of 1848; commenced the practice of medi- cine in the county of Choctaw, Miss., where he continued until May, 1854, when he removed to Shoogalo, Carroll county. Miss., and married Miss Mary E. Wilson. After a time he removed to Vaiden. While Dr. Armistead was all his life engaged in practice, he was, from time to time, a representative from the counties of Choctaw and Carroll, in the state legis- lature. He was a member of his county medical society; also a member of the state and American Medical associations, and served as a delegate to the latter in Louisville in 1875. In the latter years of his life Dr. Armistead suffered much from rheumatism, declining rap- idly, and finally fell a prey to paralysis, and died at his residence in Vaiden, on the 30th day of November, 1878, aged fifty-eight years and three months, leaving a wife and several chil- dren to mourn his irreparable loss. Honored and respected by all who knew him. Dr. David W. Booth ^yas born in the city of Vicksburg, Miss., of American parents, who were of English and Irish origin, on the 17th of July, 1840. Received his elementary education at Hampden Sydney college, Virginia, and his medical training at the University of Louisiana, where he graduated in the spring of 1861. During the late war he served as assistant regimental and brigade surgeon, also as medical inspector. At the close of the war he settled in his native city. In 1865 he was elected physician to the city hospital, of which he continued in charge until 1869. In 1875 he leased the same and established the Hill City infirmary, of which he was in charge at the time of his death. He fell a victim to the terrific plague of yellow fever, at his home in Vicksburg, on the 27th of August, 1878, aged thirty-eight years, leaving a wife and four children to mourn his untimely death. Thus has fallen, in the prime of life and eminent usefulness, one of our fellows, who was an ornament to the profession, and who bid fair to attain to an elevated position in the ranks of the med- ical men of the state. Of his private life and social relations we know but little, but presume they were pleasant and honorable. Said to have appeared to be cold, stiff and formal to strangers, but warm, genial and generous to a fault with friends and acquaintances. Pa.r ad rejus memoria. Dr. Peter Flanagan Whitehead, a descendant of English and Irish ancestry, was born at Winchester, Ky., on the 9th of June, 1838. Was educated at the academy of his native town. Studied medicine at Jefferson Medical college, and graduated in 1859. Remained in Philadelphia hospital one year, after which he located at Independence, Mo. At the com- mencement of the late war he entered the Confederate army, in which he served three years as regimental surgeon, and one year as chief surgeon of General Loring's division. After 264 BIOGnAPHtOAT. AND BiSTORtCAL the war he settled in the city of Vickshnrg, where he soon obtained a respectable and lucra- tive practice. In 1874 he was chosen president of this association, and represented it in the American Medical association in 1875. He was also a member of the state board of health. He was an occasional contributor to the current medical literature of the day, and nearly every recent volume of our transactions contained one or more papers from his pen, of bold, pointed and practical articles. On the approach of the late epidemic of yellow fever, he remained at his post, and fell a victim to that terrible scourge on the 5th day of September, 1878, in the prime of a life of honorable usefulness, mourned by his family and lamented by his friends. Dr. Willis M. Lea, of Marshall county, Miss. , was born at Leesburg, in North Carolina, on the 5th day of November, 1802. He took the degree of A.. B. at the university of his native state, in 1821, and the degree of M. D. at the University of Pennsylvania in the year 1826. Located and practiced in his native town ten years, after which he removed and set- tled near Holly Springs, in Marshall county. Miss., where he engaged in practice and plant- ing until he was disabled by a fall from a horse, which misfortune was followed by paraly- sis. His early training and close application placed him above a large number of those by whom he was surrounded. He was for many years president of his county medical society; was a member of the state convention which passed the ordinance of secession. He died of paralysis in Marshall county. Miss., on the 8th day of December, mourned by his family, and respected and venerated by a large circle of friends and acquaintances. Dr. John R. Hicks was born on the 18th of November, 1839, in the city of Vieksburg. Of his early education the committee knew nothing. Received his professional training in the medical department of the University of Louisiana, graduating in 1861. Was vale- dictorian of his class. Entered and served in the army of Virginia until the latter part of 1862. W^as transferred to the department of Mississippi, serving as surgeon to the close of the war. Married Miss Ida Yerger in 1865. Located in his native town. Had charge of the city hospital for a time. Died in Alabama, where he was resuscitating his health, on the 7th of October, 1878. Particulars not known. Dr. Z. Taylor Woodruff was born in Tuscaloosa, Ala., on the 22d of June, 1849. Removed to Vieksburg when a youth. Studied medicine with hospital advantages; took his course at the University of Louisiana, graduating in 1872. Practiced one year at St. Louis, Mo. , and for a time in Hale county, Ala. ; but finally settled in Vieksburg, where he was made health officer, and continued to fill that office up to a short time before his death. His health being seriously impaired, he went to Turk, Ala., where he had friends, at which place he died just fifteen days after leaving Vieksburg, and on the 17th of July, 1878. Ita est vita. Dr. Gr. 0. McCallum, son of Judge A. McCallum, was born near Claiborne, Jasper county, Miss., od the 9th~ day of August, 1845. Received his primary education at the neighboring schools of the county. He graduated in the medical department of the Univer- sity of Louisiana, in March, 1867. In January, 1870, married Miss M. J., daughter of the late S. R. Adams, of Paulding. He was located at Lake Station, Miss., where he died of yellow fever on the 7th of September, 1878. His whole family, except a son of six years, having died of the same scourge. Dr. Edward W. Hughes descended from Irish ancestors, and was born on the 15th of March, 1819, in Charleston, Va. Received his education, first at the academy of his native town and last at the Classical and Mathematical high school, in Washington City. He graduated at the University of Louisville, Ky. , in March, 1847, and settled in Grenada, Miss. MEMOIRS OP MISSISSIPPI. 265 Was a member of his county society, also its president. Was vice-president of this associa- tion, and but for his extreme retiring modesty, would have been its president. \\s.s a member of the International congress in 1876, and a member of the state board of health. Author of many valuable papers. Had a large and interesting family. He fell with his armor on in the cause of humanity, August 31, 1878, battling against disease, suffering and death, in the terrible scourge which visited the doomed little city of his home. He died as he had lived, a faithful physician, a man of honor, and Christian gentleman. Dr. W. E. Monette was born in Warren county, Miss., the 7th of January, 1834. Obtained his early education at Oakland college. Graduated at the University of Pennsyl- vania in 1857. Attended a course at the University of Louisiana, and practiced for a time in that state. Served as a brigade surgeon in the Confederate army. Had resided in his native county since the war. Was a member of this association. Fell a prey to the epi- demic of 1878. It is to be regretted that the day of his death, place and circumstances of his last illness are unknown to the committee. Dr. David Anderson Kinchloe, of Scotch-Irish parentage, was born in Barren county, Ky., October 18, 1823. Was educated at Farmington academy, Missouri. Studied medi- cine and graduated on the 4th of March, 1846, in the medical college of Ohio. Located at Belmont, Panola county, Miss., but on the declaration of war with Mexico he entered the volunteer service as surgeon under contract. Was afterward commissioned and assigned to duty in the Second regiment of Mississippi volunteers. Was afterward placed in charge of the hospital at Buena Vista, where he remained until the close of the war. He served as captain, and afterward as surgeon in various commands, and finally as chief surgeon in the staff of Major-General Withers, in the Confederate army, and was surrendered with the army of Tennessee at Greensboro, N. C. After the war he located at Sardis, Miss., and was in practice when able until he was prostrated by disease. He contracted chronic bron- chitis in Mexico, from which he suffered in his last illness. But the final cause of his death was chronic enlargement of the liver, inflammation of the stomach and alimentary canal. Dr. K. was a fair contributor to the medical literature of his time. He died at Sardis on the 9th day of September, 1878, aged fifty-five years. Dr. William Boswell Williamson was born on the 23d of November, 1812, at Sussex courthouse, Va. Graduated at the University of Pennsylvania in 1835. Was surgeon of volunteers in the revolution of Texas in 1836. He afterward settled and remained several years in Hinds county. Miss. He removed to New Orleans, but returned and settled at Edwards. He was secretary of the first state medical society formed in Mississippi. Was a member of the Medico -Physico society of New Orleans. He was a member of the Hinds County Medical association. He was superintendent of the state lunatic asylum in 1857 and 1858. He was a surgeon in the Confederate states army during the Civil war. He died with yellow fever at his home in Edwards, on the 27th day of September, 1878. Dr. William McCorkle Compton, of American parentage and Irish ancestors, was born in Madisonville, Hopkins county, Ky. , on the 4th of March, 1833. His early education was obtained in Alabama. His professional course was commenced at Louisville, Ky., and com- pleted at Jefferson Medical college, where he took the degree of M. D. in 1854. He com- menced practice in Marshall county, Miss. During the war of the states he served as a private and as surgeon in the Confederate army. He was a member of the state legislature in 1861, and a delegate to the constitutional convention in 1865 and 1868. He removed to the city of Jackson to take charge of the state lunatic asylum, and was superintendent eight years. While he was a general practitioner he devoted much time and study to special 266 BIOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL subjects — insanity, public health and kindred subjects. Was author of a number of papers upon various topics in relation to medicine of high character and peculiar merit. After the expiration of his time of service as superintendent he removed to Holly Springs, where he was preparing to erect a private asyhim or hospital for the treatment of the insane. He was not engaged in practice at the time of his death. He was member of the state and Amer- ican Medical associations and had been president of the former. He was a member of the state board of health for the state at large, and was probably a member of the International Medical congress at Philadelphia in 1876. He was probably one of the most prominent general practitioners in the Southern states. In the prospect of a brilliant success in his new enterprise he fell a victim to the terrible scourge of yellow fever. He died at his home near Holly Springs on the 23d of October, 1878, leaving seven motherless children to mourn his untimely death. Dr. Oompton was the last physician who died in the epidemic in this state. Dr. Nathan W. McKie, son of Dr. M. J. McKie, was born in Canton, Madison county, Miss., on the 5th day of July, 1849. His elementary education was obtained at Canton and Sharon, in his native county, and was a superior scholar of the grammar-school class. Had charge of the postoffice in Vicksburg in 1866. Commenced the study of medicine quite early under his father. Took his first course at New Orleans, in 1868, and graduated at the Washington university, of Baltimore, Md., in 1870, dividing first honors with two others in a class of forty or fifty. Immediately after his return commenced to practice at Sharon with his father, even rivaling him in the estimation of the people. Married Miss Molly McCool in 1871. Removed to Canton in 1877, and after a time he in a measure secured the conti- deuce and practice of the lamented Cage during the temporary absence of the latter. At the breaking out of the yellow fever at Canton, when all was confusion and dismay, he, like a true hero, remained at his post surrounded by disease, suffering and death, doing his utmost to relieve suffering humanity until stricken himself, and fell a victim to the relentless plague on the 19th of August, 1878. Thus has passed from the stage of life, in the full vigor of manhood, with the prospect of a long life and a brilliant future in the practice of the pro- fession of his choice. He left a wife and three small children to buffet the cold charities of a hard world. The late lamented Dr. William Wood Hall was (probably) born at or near Grenada, Miss., on the 17th of August, 1839. His early education was chiefly obtained by his per- sonal exertion, and it may be said truly that he was a self-made man. He began the study of medicine under the direction of the late Dr. E. W. Hughes, and took his course at the University of Nashville, where he graduated in 1861. Practiced one year in the swamp region ; entered the Confederate army, a lieutenant, then a captain, promoted to be regi- mental surgeon of Taylor's regiment, serving with credit to the close of the war. Went to Coffeeville, but removed to Grenada in 1866, and settled permanently and did a fair and successful practice; was at one time vice president of this association; was and had been engaged by appointment of the same for two or three years in collecting material and writ- incr the surgical history of the state, which labor bid fair to be an honor to the author and an ornament to the professional literature of the state and county. Dr. Hall had received the appointment to fill the chair of gynecology in the new medical college at Memphis, Tenn. Dr. Hall died as he had lived, sacrificing his life to his profession and humanity. Thus has fallen at the premature age of thirty -nine years, at the very threshold of a new field where his energy of character and persevering labor were almost sure to have been crowned with success. He fell a prey to the fell destroyer on the 29th of August, 1878, like a hero with his face to the foe with no hope of success. Sic transit. #*" -i^^^y MEMOIRS OF MI88T8SIPPI. 267 Dr. Peter Fletcher Fitzgerald was born in Smithville, Brunswick county, N. C, on the 2d of November, 1836; was raised at Grenada, Miss. ; received a liberal academic education; took his first course at the University of Nashville, and graduated at the University of Louisiana in 1858; located twelve miles south of Grenada, in the county of Carroll, and commenced practice; married Miss Eliza A. Purnell; entered the war of the states as a private, was promoted to assistant surgeon and served to the end of the war; returned and married a sister of her former wife, she having died some years before. At the time the epidemic made its appearance in Grenada, Dr. Fitzgerald tendered his services to the board of health, which were not accepted for the reason that he would be likely to fall a prey to the disease, but urged that he await and hold himself in readiness to meet it provided it should, as it did, spread to the country. He met it as a hero should meet a foe, face to face, and although not strong physically, he continued to respond to all calls, until, worn out and exhausted, he fell a prey to the relentless plague of yellow fever, on the 13th of October, 1878. He was a man of modest and unpretending demeanor, animated by a generous sympathy and possessed an unblemished character. Dr. Lee Shackleford was born in Perry county, Ala., December 15, 1833, and died May 19, 1878, being in the forty-fifth year of his age. He graduated in medicine in the Univer- sity of Louisiana, New Orleans, in 1858, and subsequently attended a course of lectures at the Jefferson Medical college, Philadelphia. He commenced the practice of his profession at or near Meridian, Miss., 1860, but the war breaking out soon after he volunteered as a private in the Thirty -seventh Mississippi regiment, then under the command of Col. Ro. McLain, but was detailed as a surgeon of the same. He was soon promoted, upon examina- tion, to the full work of surgeon, in which capacity he served on various duties, with great fidelity and ability till the close of the war. He then resumed practice in Meridian, and prosecuted it with distinguished ability and success till stricken down by disease. Dr. A. H. Cage, of Canton, Miss., was forty-seven years old and graduated in medicine at the University of Louisiana, in March, 1846. He was an educated, polished, Christian gentleman and physician far above mediocrity. Always courteous and hospitable to his brother physicians, kind and sympathetic in the sick room, the rich and the poor were alike the recipients of his faithful care. His health of late years had been much impaired, and for this reason he thought that to remain in Canton during the epidemic would be certain death to him, and frequently so expressed himself, but when urged to leave by both citizens and physicians, his reply was that death to him was preferable to disgrace, and that the pro- fession should not suffer dishonor at his hands. The thirteenth annual meeting was held at Vicksburg in April, 1880. The address of Dr. Shannon in welcoming the association was the beginning of one of the most interesting and instructive conventions of the association ever held. He said: "As chairman of the committee of arrangements, and in behalf of the physicians of Vicksburg, it becomes my duty and pleasure to welcome you to our city. We welcome you as citizens of a great and populous state, as patriots and Christian gentlemen, as well as members of a learned and honorable profession. Since Vicksburg was last honored by the presence of this association, our fair city, as well as many portions of our beloved state, has been desolated by an epi- demic which will ever stand as a memorable epoch in history. I need not remind you, that when so many fell victims to the scourge, that some of the brightest and most useful mem- bers of this association went down at the post of duty. The places of such men as Hughes, Hall, Whitehead, Booth and others whom I could name, are not easily filled in society or in the ranks of the profession. Difficult as the tiask may seem, we have an abiding faith that Q 268 BIOOMAPSWAL AND HISTORICAL the younger members of the profession, full of hope, of energy and of professional pride, will strive to emulate the example and worth of the illustrious dead, and push forward the car of progressive medicine. We are hopeful for the future prosperity of our city. Though we have some days of darkness and discouragement, the light is breaking and a brighter day is dawning. And when the association again assembles in this place in the near future, we hope to show you our restored harbor, a quickened commerce, successful factories and a city of largely increased wealth and population. We have recently been honored with a visit from that distinguished civil engineer, Capt. James B. Eads, whose fame is only coextensive with the splendor of his scientiiic achievements. Under his wise leadership, aided by a generous appropriation by the general government, we hope to show you in successful operation the most wonderful feat of engineering skill ever devised — the subduing and absolute controlling of the turbid and turbulent waters of the mighty Mis- sissippi. This fact demonstrated as it must and will be, to the satisfaction of the commer- cial world, who can foretell its measureless influence in the development and enriching of this great and fertile valley ? Our historic city has withstood the rude shock of war, for months beleaguered by sword and famine. She has been wasted by a pestilence appalling and almost without parallel. She has been left high and dry by the great Father of Waters in his tireless march to the sea. Yet, by the energy and enterprise of her chivalrous people, she is destined to achieve a greater glory, and in the very heart of this marvelous cotton belt, sit enthroned like a crowned and sceptered queen amid her thousand hills. In addition to many other attractions, we may be able to show you the completion of the several railroad lines now contemplated, leading to this city and emptying here their untold treasures of wealth. Especially as we hope you may see here the completed transcontinental railroad, that indis- soluble iron band that shall link together the great oceans, one on the east and the other on the west, along the thirty-second parallel of latitude. Then, in the days of her increased prosperity, Vicksburg will open her heart and welcome the men whose heroic deeds at the bedside of the sick and dying, in hovel as well as mansion, are too often unknown and unappreciated, save by Him who ruleth above and with whom dwelleth all wisdom. In con- clusion, gentlemen, we congratulate you upon the large number of intelligent and experi- enced medical men present, and express the hope that this reunion of the Mississippi State Medical association may be harmonious and profitable not only to thosepresent but to the profession and people at large." The following gentlemen were admitted to membership at this session: Drs. E. E. Howard, W. G. Stone, C. S. Hudson, W. E. Satterfield, George C. Phillips, O. B. Quin, John H. Lucas, T. J. CrofFord, A. P. Harris, E. Fox, Daniel M. McGehee, R. T. Edwards, W. G. Kiger, G. W. Baskett, T. R. Henderson, J. A. Hull, W. P. Younge, F. M. Hal- bert, T. T. Beall, T. J. Murray, J. B. Pease, W. R. Blailock, S. D. Bobbins, E. L. Mc- Gehee, O. S. Iglehart, J. R. Hill, Thomas A. Catchings, S. R. Dunn, F. W. Forbes, T. B. Ford, T. J. Lee, C. Hoover, R. E. Jones and W. F. Toombs. The memorial to the senate and house of representatives, and the draft of a bill to incorporate the Mississippi State Medical association with power, to regulate the prac- tice of medicine in the state of Mississippi, were presented. Dr. Taylor, in reviewing the history of this attempt to regulate medical practice, said: "It will be observed that in drafting this bill the two fold object aimed at was kept in view, and the provisions intended solely for the charter of the association were restricted to the three first sections, whilst all the balance of the bill was devoted to the subject of regulating the practice of MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 269 medicine. This whs done that the charter might not fail on account of any objections to the balance of the bill, as it would be easy to strike off all after the third section. The bill was introduced in the senate, read and referred to the judiciary committee, from which it was never reported. The failure of the bill was not at all unexpected, and should not at all discourage its advocates. A measure of such vast importance should not be adopted until after it has been carefully and thoroughly considered, and, as far as possible, perfected. The bill, as presented, was not supposed to be free from imperfections and objections ; but its principles and objects were thought to be sufficiently clearly indicated to serve as a basis for a more perfect bill to be presented and urged at the next session of the legislature. But it was thought a formal presentation of the subject before the legislature, even in an imma- ture form, would bring it before the profession and the public more prominently and more forcibly than could be done by any other course. It is a subject which needs only to be fairly presented to commend itself to all intelligent minds. The better it is understood the more highly its importance will be appreciated. The enactment of similar laws in other states will cause hundreds of peripatetic charlatans to migrate into our state, where they can pursue their nefarious calling with impunity, inflicting upon the uninformed and credulous untold injury in purse and in health. A similar law in Illinois, passed in 1877, had the effect, in one year, to drive fourteen hundred of these gentry from that state, and to send four hundred and fifty non-graduated practitioners to medical schools to qualify. themselves for practice. The officers elected in 1880 were: W. F. Hyer, M. D., Hudson ville, president: D. L. Phares, M. D., Woodville, first vice president; H. Shannon, M. D., Vicksburg, second vice presi- dent; E. S. Toombs, M. D., Greenville, third vice president; W. D. Carter, M. D., Kipley, fourth vice president; Wirt Johnston, M. D., Jackson, recording secretary; M. S. Craft, M. D., Jackson, corresponding secretary; George K. Harrington, M. D., Jackson, treas- urer; S. D. Bobbins, M. D., Vicksburg, orator; S. K. Dunn, M. D., Greenville, alternate orator. The papers read before the association in 1880 are of interest even to-day. The sub- jects treated were: The duties we owe to our women, by E. P. Sale; Medicine in the cotton states, by B. F. Ward; Recent advances in surgery, by S. V. D. Hill; Recent advances in obstetrics, by N. L. Guise; New remedies, by B. A. Vaughan; Ascyrum crux-andreae, for pertussis, by D. L. Phares; Malarial hematuria, by J. M. Greene; Hemorrhagic malarial fever, by B. P. Kittrell; Treatment of wounds by C. A. Rice; Operation for strangulated inguinal hernia, by John Brownrigg; a Case of amputation of both legs — thymol being used as a dressing in one and salicylic acid in the other, by Wirt Johnston; a Case of amputation of the leg in which secondary hemorrhage occurred, by Wirt Johnston; a Case of traumatic tetanus that resulted in recovery, by Wirt Johnston; Notes on some cases of interest, by W^. A. Taylor; Removal of urethral calculi by perineal section, by J. E. Hulbert; a Case in practice, by John S. Featherston; a Case of lithotomy, by J. W. Bennett; an Unusual case of congenital malformation of the anus, by J. C. Hall; a Simple uterine and vaginal irri- gator, by John S. Featherston ; a Case of artesia, vaginae, complicated with pregnancy, by E. P. Sale, and the History of yellow fever at Concordia in 1879, by John B. Pease. The deaths of Drs. Turner, Sykes, Dulaney, Lowe, MoLaurin and Davis were recorded in 1879-80, and the following tributes placed on record: The tribute to David B. Turner, M. D., was written by T. L. Wilburn, M. D., of Winona, in 1880. "After hearing the report on necrology, and comparing its smallness to the long list of those faithful martyrs who perished at the post of duty during that memor- 270 BIOGBAPHIOAL AND HI8T0BI0AL able year 1878, we are forcibly struck with the gentleness with which a benign Providence has seen fit to deal with us since the last meeting of our association. But while we have abundant reasons for gratulations and rejoicing, the black angel, death, has not been entirely stayed in his work of destruction, but has seen fit to appear again in our ranks and select, as his victim, one of our most worthy, esteemed and useful members. I refer to Dr. David B. Turner, who, in the prime of his manhood and usefulness, when the hand upon the dial- plate of time denoted the sun had just crossed the meridian, and life to him was offering its sweetest charms, was called to rest from his labors, it was my good fortune to meet him fre- quently when I first espoused the cause of the healing art — a time in our history when we feel so sensibly the need of wise counsel and encouragement, which he always gave in such a manner as to impress me so forcibly with his strict integrity of character as a man and physician — I deem it nothing more than a simple act of justice to pay some human tribute to his memory. "He graduated in the medical department of the University of Louisiana in 1859; moved to Winona and commenced the practice of medicine there in 1861, where he remained, doing a lucrative practice until his death in September, 1879. His wife died soon after he moved to Winona, and he afterward married Miss Laura Moore, daughter of Col. O. J. Moore, who now, with five children, mourn their irreparable loss. In his death we can truly say a good man has fallen — one who ever enjoyed the confidence and love of his patrons and friends, and commanded the respect and esteem of his professional brethren. He was of the highest order of professional honor and medical attainments; if not seemingly as impressive as some, it was due to that modesty and unobtrusiveness which ever characterized his nature. "Kind and attentive to his patients, generous to a fault, he faithfully performed his mis- sion: Going about doing good. In August, 1878, when it was announced the fair city of Grenada was visited by a scourge unparalleled in her history for the immensity of its proportions, we watched with eagerness the daily mortuary reports, bearing the sad tidings of departed loved ones, until at last it was flashed across the wires, "Drs. Hall and Hughes are no more." Dr. Turner remarked upon receiving the sad intelligence, "Two men have gone whose places in society and in our ranks will be hard to fill." Soon his own town was visited by the same destroying angel, and, her citizens thrown into sudden con- sternation, were fleeing hither and thither, seeking refuge from the grim monster, until the business little town of Winona, almost depopulated, assumed the aspect of some of Sherman's sentinels in his famous march to the sea. He remained faithful at the post of duty, con- tending with the insiduous foe, alleviating pain, and smoothing the path of the doomed to the grave. ' ' "The tribute to Luciaa Melville Sykes, M. D., was written by E. P. Sale, M. D., of Aberdeen, in 1880. Dr. Sykes, thii-d son of the late Dr. William A. and Bebecca Barret Sykes, was born in Decatur, Ala. , May 4, 1838. Whilst quite young his father moved near, and afterward to Aberdeen, Miss., where the subject of this sketch was brought up. Having been prepared by excellent high-school teaching for a collegiate edu- cation, he entered, in 1854, the University of Mississippi at Oxford, where be graduated in 1857, with credit to himself and alma mater. After graduation Dr. Sykes chose medicine for his profession, and with this in view he entered the medical department. University of New York, in 1858, where he attended one course of lectures. His inherited delicate constitu- tion refused to tolerate heavy drafts made on it in following his professional studies, conse- quently he was compelled to abandon them and engage in an occupation not so taxing to his health. He decided on farming, and having received as his patrimony, a plantation in Boli- MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 271 ver coanty, Miss., he moved on it and remained until the commencement of the late war. He enlisted amongst the first volunteers from his county, and vras in the Confederate army until its surrender. After the war he collected the debris of a once handsome fortune and determined to complete his medical education, which he did by again entering the medical department. University of New York, where he gi-aduated in March, 1866. He selected for his field of labor a point in the prairie district, northeast Mississippi, near what is now the railroad depot, Muldon, on the Mobile & Ohio railroad. Having well fitted himself for the practice of his profession. Dr. Sykes brought to bear in its pursuit great energy and skill, until he soon attained, for a young practitioner, quite an enviable reputation. About the period of the acme of his professional success, his health for the second time gave way, and for about a year he had almost abandoned his profession; but upon it's restoration he recommenced an active practice in which he continued up to the period of his death, which occurred suddenly from lightning stroke July 16, 1879. In April, 1868, he married Miss Lou A. Walker, daughter of the late John A. Walker, a prominent citizen and planter of Monroe county, Miss. To them were born three children — two girls and a boy, the latter, his namesake." "The tribute to William J. Dulaney, M. D., was written in 1880, by Wirt Johnston, M. D. , of Jackson. Dr. Dulaney was born in Orange county, Va., in 1813. His family was an old and highly respected one, and ho was a most worthy descendant of a worthy line of ancestors. He evinced a partiality early in life for the study of medicine, and graduated in his chosen profession at the University of Virginia in the year 1833. Of a strong and inde- pendent character, anxious to work out his own fortunes unaided, he came to the state of Mississippi in 1835, and located at Society Ridge in Hinds county, where he resided until about the year 1846. He then removed to Madison county where he resided at the time of his death, which sad event occurred on February 14, 1880. Dr. Dulaney was sincerely devoted to his profession, and of a kind and sympathetic nature; he was ever ready to respond to the calls of the afflicted. He did a large and arduous practice, extending over a number of years, and the last days of his life were devoted to a patient afflicted with a fatal disease. He was a close student, a strong and original thinker, and a successful practitioner of medicine. As a professional man he not only won in early life, but he retained to the end the confidence of his neighbors and friends. As a citizen, as a father and husband, and, indeed, in a word, in all the relations of life, he was an admirable and exemplary char- acter. He was just and fair in all of his dealings with his fellowmen, and was evidently actuated in all things by strong conscientious convictions." "Dr. Hugh C. McLaurin, son of Daniel McLaurin, a Scotch emigrant, was born in Marl- borough district, in the state of South Carolina, on the 80th day of September, 1813. His father moved to Wayne county, in this (Miss.) state. Living there only two years, he removed first to Covington, then to Simpson county, in 1822, continuing there the remain- der of his life. In 1835 Dr. McLaurin went to South Hanover college, in Indiana; after a tinae, he went to the celebrated school of Hudson, in South Carolina; he read medicine in the office of Dr. Eobertson, of Fayetteville, N. C, in 1839, and attended his first course of lectures, the following winter, in the medical department of the University of Pennsyl- vania; returned to Simpson county, and commenced the practice of medicine; graduated in the same school in 1844; married Miss Harriet E. Lowe, of Madison county, December 16, 1845; continued to practice in Simpson county, until he removed to Hinds county, in Decem- ber, 1860. He removed to Brandon in 1865, where he established a respectable and success- ful practice, and maintained it up to the time of his death, which occurred suddenly,, from 372 BIOORAPHIGAL AND HISTORICAL a paroxysm of apoplexy, of only about tbirty-six hours' duration, on the 13th day of July, 1880, aged sixty-six years ten months and thirteen days.'' "James Shelton Davis, third son and fourth child of James R. Davis and Elenora Tinsely Davis, was born in Madison county, Ala., March 24, 1819, and died at luka, Miss., November 29, 1879. When quite young, he removed, with his parents, to Limestone county, where he received a common English education, and a slight acquaintance with the Latin language. In 1837, he removed to Athens, Ala., where he did business in the mercantile house of J. H. & R. Hine. In 1839 he entered the office of Dr. John C. Spotswood, with whom he read medicine. He married, July 21, 1838, Nancy E., daughter of Samuel Tanner, of that place. In 1839 he attended a course of medical lectures at Louisville, Ky., and engaged in the practice on his return home, the following spring. In 1845 he removed to Marshall county. Miss., where he practiced till 1852, when he moved to Salem, Tippah county, Miss. In 1860, he was elected to the Secession convention at Jackson, and served in that body, voting for the ordinance of secession, the proudest act of his life. He was connected with the war that followed. After the convention, he moved to luka, and eoon after commenced editing the luka Springs Gazette. He graduated in medicine at the Jef- ferson Medical college, Philadelphia, in 1854. At the commencement of the University of Louisville, Ky. , in 1871, the ad eundum gradum was conferred upon him. In 1872 he was one of the democratic electors for president and vice president, for the state of Missis- sippi, on the O' Connor ticket. ' ' The fourteenth annual meeting was held at Winona, in April, 1881. Papers were read in the following order: Surgery of Mississippi, by M. S. Craft; Cases, by Dr. Brownrigg, E. A. Cunningham, E. E. Blailock, J. H. Banks, W. D. Carter, S. V. D. Hill, P. E. Daniel, J. M. Green, B. F. Kittrell, L. M. Mays, A. P. Harris and M. S. Craft. Dr. W. Y. Gadbury explained the new appliance for fracture of lower extremities. Dr. Hyer delivered the address. A paper on the Abortive treatment of pneumonia was read by Dr. ' W. Y. Gadbury; one on New remedies by B. A. Vaughan; one on Diphtheria by Dr. J. B. Gresham; one on Eecent advances in general pathology by Dr. B. F. Ward ; one on the Diseases of gastroenteric mucous membrane in infancy and childhood by Dr. B. F. Ward; and one on the Rights, duties and responsibilities of physicians before the courts by J. S. Morris. Two members were expelled from the association on April 6. The officers elected in April, 1881, were B. F. Ward, M. D., president, Winona; J. P. Moore, M. D., first vice president, Yazoo City; T. W. FuUilove, M. D., second vice president, Vaiden; John Tackett, M. D., third vice president, Eichland; W. W. Hart, M. D., fourth vice president, Lodi. Wirt Johnston, M. D. , recording secretary, Jackson; M. S. Craft, M. D., corresponding secretary, Jackson; G. K. Harrington, M. D., treasurer, Jackson; F. E. Daniel, M. D. , orator, Jackson; T. R. Henderson, M. D., alternate orator. Greenwood. The members of the executive committee appointed were: J. M. Taylor, M. D., Eobert Kells, M. D., E. G. Banks, M. D., E. G. Wharton, M. D., B. A. Vaughan, M. D., A. G. Smythe, M, D., D. C. McCallum, M. D., B. F. Kittrell, M. D., S. V. D. Hill, M. D., W. F. Hyer, M. D., B. F. Ward, M. D., N. L. Guice, M. D., George E. Eedwood, M. D. Of the judicial committee: W. Y. Gadbury, M. D., Wirt Johnston, M. D., secretary, George K. Harrington, M. D., treasurer, S. V. D. Hill, M. D., B. F. Ward, M. D., B. F. Kittrell, M. D., J. M. Taylor, M. D. Of the committee on publication: M, S. Craft, M. D., Robert Kells, M. D., P. T. Baley, M. D., T. J. Mitchell, M. D.. Of the committee on necrology: A. G. Smythe, M. D., W. W. Hart, M. D., Eobert Smith, M. D. And of the committee of arrangements: J. T. Chandler, M. D., T. D. Isom, M. D., and Paul A. Burt, M. D. MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 273 The only death recorded was that of Dr. W. P. Fialey. He was born in Madison county, Miss., on December 25, 1836, and died at Fannin, Rankin county, Miss., May 15, 1881, of pneumonia with asthma, being forty-four years of age. He graduated in the med- ical department of the University of Louisiana, in 1859. Soon after this he began practice in Kosciusko, and thence moved to Greensborough, Choctaw county. Miss. The war coming on, he was made regimental surgeon in the army of northern Virginia, in which capacity he served his couutry with success and credit. He was married during the war to Miss K. C. Carlton, of North Carolina. Dr. James Wilson Holman died of meningitis, at Winona, Miss., April 21, 1881. He was born in Perry county, Ala., October 5, 1829. At an early age his parents moved to Mississippi. His father, by great industry, frugality and integrity, amassed a large fort- une. The deceased might, if it had suited him, have lived the life of an idler, as so many of our young men have done who were similarly situated, but Dr. Holman was made of a different kind of material, and as soon as he reached man's estate he detennined to pursue the profession of medicine, believing that no calling could be more honorable than that of alleviating human sufpering. He graduated at Louisville, Ky. , in the year 1851, and immedi- ately located at Middleton, Miss. Soon after this he married Martha W., daughter of E. W. Bennett. After the war between the sections, when the town of Winona rose upon the ashes of Middleton, he located there, and from that day until the hour of his death his name was inseparably interwoven with the history of the busy and prosperous little city of Winona. The rules and regulations adopted by the board of health in March, 1882, for the gov- ernment of boards of censors, in their examination for license to practice medicine under the provisions of "an act to regulate the practice of medicine in the state of Mississippi," approved February 28, 1882, were stringent, though few in number. The fifteenth annual meeting was held in April, 1882, when the following-named officers were chosen for the year ending April, 1892: Wirt Johnston, M. D. , Jackson, president; J. M. Greene, M. D., Aberdeen, J. E. Halbert, M. D., Leota Landing, J. T. Chandler, M. D., Oxford, B. L. McGehee, M. D., Woodville, vice presidents; T. W. Fullilove, M. D., Vaiden, recording secretary; M. S. Craft, M. D., Jackson, corresponding secretary; Robert Kells, M. D. Jackson, treasurer; G. W. Trimble, M. D., Grenada, orator; J. B. Sanford' M. D., Corinth, alternate orator. Dr. J. y. Murry, chairman of the committee on the nomination of delegates to the American Medical association, and other state medical associations, reported the following as delegates to the American Medical association: Drs. B. F. Ward, B. F. Kittrell, E. L. McGehee, J. P. Moore, W. D. Carter, T. J. Mitchell, J. H. Blanks, C. E. Gates, W. F. Hyer, William Powell, C. A. Rice, R. M. Young, T. D. Isom, J. E. Halbert; J. M. Greene, T. R. Trotter, H. A. Gant. To Tri- State Medical association: T. J. Chandler, W. R. Blailock, Frank Ferrall, W. B. Sanford, S. N. Walker, R. E. Howard, J. M. Hicks, T. J. Crofford, F. W. Dancy, R. S. Toombs, O. J. Sherman. Alabama association; J. M. Tay- lor, B. A. Vaughan, R. E. Jones, P. J. McCormiek, L. W. Mabry, W. E. Todd, F. P. Bibby. The papers read before the meeting included: on Alcohol, by Dr. B. F. Ward; New remedies, by Dr. B. F. Kittrell; Senecio lobatus, by Dr. D. L. Phares; Retained placenta, by Dr. T. R. Trotter; Scarlet fever, by Dr. F. W. Dancy; Traumatic tetanus, by Dr. H. A. Grant; Abortive treatment of puerperal convulsions, by Dr. T. H. Gordon; Infantile convulsions, by Dr. J. P. Moore; Puerperal eclampsia, successfully treated with veratrum 374 BIOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL viride, with cases, by Dr. N. L. Guice; Case of perforation of the illium by worms, by Dr. T. J. Crofford; Three cases of embryotomy, by Dr. J. D. Talbert; Spinal curvature, by Dr. Ohesley Daniel; Surgical cases, by Dr. W. E. Blailock, and Report on the surgery of Mississippi, by Dr. M. S. Craft. Cases were reported by Dr. T. J. Crofford, of Coffeeville, Dr. R. C. Cunningham, of Verona, Dr. George C. Phillips, of Lexington, Dr. J. M. Taylor, of Corinth, Dr. D. C. Montgomery, of Greenville, Dr. R. E. Jones, of Crystal Springs, Dr. E. L. McGehee, of Woodville, Dr. J. E. Halbert, of Leota Landing, Dr. J. M. Green, of Aberdeen, Dr. S. V. D. Hill, of Macon, Dr. R. F. Edwards, of Edwards, Dr. F. W. Dancy, of Holly Springs, Dr. W. R. Blailock, of Carthage, Dr. W. B. Sanford, of Corinth, Dr. C. R. Henderson, of Deasonville, Dr. R. M. Young, of Corinth, Dr. J. H. Blanks, of Meridian, Dr. M. S. Craft, of Jackson. The sixteenth annual meeting was held at Meridian in April, 1883. Col. W. H. Hardy, welcoming the physicians, said: "We understand the objects of this association to be to combine and direct the moral and intellectual forces of the profession, to incite its members to reach out and up for higher planes of professional excellency; and to guard the profession and the public from quacks and charlatans. It is, therefore, with unfeigned pleasure that we hail you as true philan- thropists, real benefactors, and we deeply regret that our facilities for entertaining you are not what we would wish them to be, for our little city is an unpretentious child of the new South, scarcely sixteen years old. We have no ancient classic halls, whose towers look down upon the buried ages; no monuments of marble or brass perpetually proclaiming the renowned achievements of warriors and statesmen; no splendid parks, studded with trees and fragrant with flowers; no towering mountains reflecting the golden beauty and glory of a Southern sunset to ravish your visions. We have only our youthful blushes, our generous hearts, our humble but hospitable homes, and to all these, in the name of all our people, I bid you a most cordial and thrice hearty welcome. ' ' The officers elected were: J. M. Greene, M. D., Aberdeen, president; S. N. Walker,- M. D.,Baldwyn, D. McCallum, M. D., Westville, vice presidents; W. E. Todd, M. D., Clinton, recording secretary; J. F. Hunter, M. D. , Jackson, assistant secretary; Robert Kells, M. D., Jackson, treasurer; M. S. Craft, M. D. , Jackson, corresponding secretary. An election to make nominations to fill the vacancies on the state board of health, resulted as follows: S. V. D. Hill, M. D., first district; J. P. Moore, M. D., fourth district; J. W. Bennett, M. D., Robert Kells, M. D., fifth district; R. S. Toombs, M. D., sixth district. The subjects discussed were the objects of the association, treated in the president's address, by Dr. Wirt Johnston; Intemperance as a disease, by Dr. G. W. Trimble; Recent advances in surgery, by Dr. S. V. D. Hill; Malarial hematuria, by Dr. J. E. Halbert; Hypodermic use of sulphate of quinine, by Dr. N. L. Guice; Vaccination, by Dr. B. A. Vaughan; a Splint for Barton's fracture of the radius, by Dr. John Brownrigg; Appliances for the treatment of fracture of the femur, by Dr. John Brownrigg; External urethrot- omy, by Dr. John Brownrigg; Rupture of uterus, by Dr. "W. E. Todd; Typhoid pneumonia, by Dr. W. E. Todd; Whooping cough, by Dr. E. L. McGehee; Trismus nascentium, by Dr. T. J. Hancock; Abortive treatment of pneumonia, by Dr. T. J. Hancock; Puerperal convulsions, by Dr. L. W. Mabry; A case of chronic hydrocephalus, by Dr. B. F. Kittrell; Mumps (Metastasis), by Dr. D. L. Phares; A surgical case, by Dr. R. S. Toombs; Case of chronic synovitis, by Dr. J. W. Bennett; and Surgical cases, by Dr. M. S. Craft. The death of Dr. A. I. EUis, at Sardis, occurred April 1 1, 1883, He was sixty-one years of age, MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 275 The seventeenth annual meeting was held at West Point, April 2, 3 and 4, 1884. No less than forty-three papers were read, together with the address of President Greene. As recorded they are named in order: President's address, Dr. J. M. Greene; The Germ theory, Dr. W. D. Carter; Diphtheria, Dr. W. E. Todd; Endometritis, Dr. J. T. Hancock; Areolar hyperplasia of the uterus, Dr. E. P. Sale; Third stage of labor, Dr. Samuel Walker; Chronic inflammation of the bladder, Dr. S. V. D. Hill; Small pox, Dr. W. D. Wall; A case of twin labor, Dr. B. F. Kittrell; Vaginismus, Dr. B. F. Ward; Epidemico- zootic plagues, Splenic fever. Dr. D. L. Phares; Abdominal palpation in obstetric prac- tice. Dr. C. C. Stockard; Empyema, Dr. B. F. Ward; The disposal of wastes, Its relation to public health, B. A. Vaughan. Surgery of Mississippi, cases reported: Gun shot wound, Dr. John S. Featherston; Removal of a breach pin of a gun from the brain, fol- lowed by recovery, Dr. T. B. Elkin; Excision of tumor, Dr. B. F. Duke; Tracheotomy, Dr. B. F. Duke; Imperforate anus, with operation, Dr. C. M. Jordan; Excision of left mam- mary gland, for hand cancer, Dr. W. N. Ames; Wound of the carotid artery. Dr. W. N. Ames; Double amputation — death, Dr. Luther Sexton; Twelve gallons of pus removed from peritoneal cavity at seven tappings — recovery. Dr. Luther Sexton; New operation for hydrocele, by laying open and obliterating the sac, Dr. Luther Sexton; Abscess of liver, incision into abscess and recovery. Dr. W. T. Balfour; Railroad injury. Dr. W. T. Balfour; Strangulated hernia — operation and recovery. Dr. W. H. White; Fracture of a skull into frontal sinus, Dr. B. A. Duncan; Severe wound of abdomen, involving stomach and liver, Dr. B. A. Duncan; Fatty tumor of abdomen successfully removed. Dr. B. A. Duncan; Two cases of gunshot fracture of femur. Dr. C. A. Rice; Double Hey's opera- tion, Dr. W. H. Barr; Polypus of the rectum. Dr. C. Kendrick; Traumatic gangrene, amputation — death; Retention of urine from stricture, relieved by aspiration, Dr. C. C. Stockard; Epithelioma, with operation, Dr. John Brownrigg; Stone in the bladder, with operation, Dr. J. M. Greene; Strangulated hernia, Dr. S. V. D. Hill; Pott's fracture, Dr. S. V. D. Hill; Osteo sarcoma. Dr. S. V. D. Hill; Death from syphilis. Dr. M. S. Craft; Epithelionia of the cervix uteri. Dr. M. S. Craft; Two cases of benign stricture of rectum relieved by operation. Dr. M. S. Craft, and Second case of stricture. Dr. M. S. Craft. The officers elected in 1884 were: D. L. Phares, M. D., A. and M. College, Starkville, president; J. B. Gresham, West Point, and W. A. Taylor, Booneville, vice presidents; W. E. TdoA, M. D., Clinton, recording secretary; N. L. Clarke, M. D. , Hickory, assistant secretary; M. S. Craft, M. D., Jackson, corresponding secretary; John F. Hunter, M. D. , Jackson, treasurer. The members of the judicial council were N. L. Guice, M. D., Fayette, W. D. Carter, M. D. , Rij)ley, William Powell, M. D., Torrance, each for one year; S. V. D. Hill, M. D., Macon, J. P. Moore, M. D., Yazoo City, B. F. Kittrell, M. D., Black Hawk, each for two years; J. M. Taylor, M. D., Corinth, R. S. Toombs, M. D., Greenville, B. F. Ward, M. D., Winona, each for three years. The officers of judicial council were W. D. Carter, M. D., president, and B. F. Kittrell, M. D., secretary. The delegates to American association were Drs. M. S. Craft, B. A. Duncan, N. L. Guice, J. M. Greene, S. V. D. Hill, Wirt Johnston, T. J. Mitchell, C. A. Rice, W. A. Taylor, R. S. Toombs, W. B. San- ford, B. F. Ward, S. N. Walker, F. R. Van Eaton and S. R. Dunn. The eighteenth annual meeting was held at Greenville in April, 1885. The following were nominated to fill the vacancies on the state board of health : E. P. Sale, M. D., first district; John Wright, M. D., second district; S. V. D. Hill, M. D., third district; J. H. Blanks, M. D., fourth district; R. T. Edwards, M. D., and N- L. Guice, M. D-, sixth district, 376 BIOOBAPEICAL AND STSTOBICAI. The committee on delegates to American Medical aBsociation reported the following names for the year 1885: Drs. J. B. Pease, M. S. Craft, E. P. Sale, J. M. Taylor, W. A. Taylor, W. Y. Gadbury, J. S. Walker, J. C. Denson, William H. White, T. T. Beall, T. W. Fullilove, Aurelius Martin, J. C. Brooks, E. S. Toombs, J. E. Halbert. Any member who desired to attend the American association as a delegate would, by notifying the secre- tary, be furnished with proper credentials. The papers and reports on medical topics read before the meeting included those entitled: Two cases of abscess of the liver, treated by incision and free drainage, by Dr. J. H. Shackleford; Removal of nails, by Dr. E. L. McGehee; Veratrum and gelseraium compared, by Dr. J. Brownrigg; The euphorbiacese or spurgeworts, by Dr. D. L. Phares; Tracheot- omy for membranous croup, by Dr. Luther Sexton; Case of traumatic tetanus — recovery, by Dr. B. F. Ward; Some of the recent improvements in the treatment of fractures, by Dr. J. Brownrigg; Report of a case, by Dr. W. H. White; Alcohol, its effects on the sys- tem in health and in disease, by Dr. J. C. Robert; The sanitary examination of water, by Joseph Waldauer, Ph. G. The cases reported by Dr. Wirt Johnston were : Abscess of the liver. Empyema (pyothorax). Aspiration of the bladder. Two cases of hydrocephalus. Amputation of the arm. Wound of the brachial artery. Fracture of arm near elbow- joint, and Morphia administered hypodermically. A paper entitled Vaginismus, by Dr. E. P. Sale; Diagnosis and treatment of lacerations of the cervix uteri, by Dr. J. H. Blanks, were also read. The officers of the association for the year 1885-6 were J. B. Gresham, M. D., of West Point, president; J. B. Pease, M. D., of Concordia, and S. R. Dunn, M. D.,of Greenville, vice presidents; W. E. Todd, M. D., of Clinton, recording secretary; G. K. Harrington, M. D., of Jackson, assistant secretary; M. S. Craft, M. D., of Jackson, corresponding secre- tary; John F. Hunter, M. D. of Jackson, treasurer. The members of the judicial council were N. L. Guice, M. D., Fayette; W. D. Carter, M. D., Ripley; William Powell, M. D., Torrance (each for one year); E. P. Sale, M. D., Aberdeen; W. F. Hyer, M. D., Holly Springs; B. P. Kittrell, M. D., Black Hawk (each for two years); J. M. Taylor, M. D., Corinth; R. S. Toombs, M. D., Greenville; B. F. Ward, M. D., Winona (each for three years). The officers of judicial council were J. M. Taylor, M. D. , president; B. P. Kittrell, M. D., secretary. The nineteenth annual meeting was held at Jackson April 21 and 22, 1886. The officers of the association elected were R. S. Toombs, M. D., of Greenville, president; W. B. San- ford, M. D., of Corinth, and G. W. Trimble, of Grenada, vice presidents; W. E. Todd, M. D., of Clinton, recording secretary; P. W. Rowland, M. D. , of Coffeeville, assistant secre- tary; M. S. Craft, M. D., of Jackson, corresponding secretary; John F. Hunter, M. D., of Jackson, treasurer. The members of judicial council were N. L. Guice, M. D., Fayette; W. D.Carter, M. D., Ripley; William Powell, M. D., Torrance; W. F. Hyer, M. D., Holly Springs; E. P. Sale, M. D., Aberdeen; B. F. Kittrell, M. D., Black Hawk; N. L. Guice, M. D., Fayette; W. D. Carter, M. D., Ripley; S. V. D. Hill, M. D., Macon. Drs. Guice and Carter were appointed by the president at the meeting at West Point in 1884 for a term of three years, and were elected at the meeting in Jackson in 1886 for a term of three years. Governor Lo wry, in welcoming the delegates, said: " It is safe to assume that the learned profession to which you belong has made greater progress in the last quarter of a MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 377 century than that of any other; indeed, the advancement has been more marked in the last thirty than the preceding fifty years. I may add, in this connection, that the state medical association and state boards of health have given to the people a security and confi- dence for the protection of life and health never before felt in the American Union. But a few years ago this commonwealth was subjected to epidemics, occurring in neighboring states, and entirely powerless to invoke the necessary sanitary and quarantine preventives. I remember, in this hall, to have witnessed a meeting, composed not only of eminent physi- cians, but of representative business men of the gi-eat Mississippi valley, when there was a free interchange of opinions touching the public health, which culminated in the cooperation of the sanitary council of the Mississippi valley with the several state boards of health, which rendered the latter more effective. From that day a better understanding has prevailed between neighboring states, and when occasion required those of your number charged with the duty have in a great measure prevented the spread of contagious and infectious dis- eases. The friendly intercourse betvreen boards of health of the several states, and each with that of the general government, insures the most prompt information; so that in any emergency active steps are assured to prevent the spread of epidemics." Addresses on medical topics were delivered in the order of the following record: Address of president. Dr. J. B. Gresham ; Antiseptic treatment of pulmonary diseases by means of pneumatic differentiation, by Dr. J. H. Blanks; A case of puerperal nephritis, by Dr. N. L. Guice; Traumatic tetanus in a child of five years, by Dr. George C. Phillips; External urethrotomy, by Dr. J. A. Shackleford; Ulcerative tonsilitis, by Dr. B. F. Duke; Cocaine, by Dr. B. F. Kittrell; Report of a case of glaucoma, by Dr. R. B. Carson; The use of anti- septics in obstetrics, by Dr. E. P. Sale; Malarial flux, by Dr. E. L. McGehee; Dysentery, by Dr. W. H. White; A Case of opium poisoning, by Dr. T. T. Beall; Lacerated cervix operations, by Dr. T. T. Beall; Five cases of cataract extractions, by Dr. A. G. Sinclair; Some of the complications of typhoid fever, by Dr. Henry Izard; The treatment of mala- rial hsematuria, by Dr. J. C. Hall; Surgery of Mississippi, report by Dr. M. S. Craft, chair- man of cases for 1886; by Dr. C. W. Jordan, West Point, Tracheotomy for the removal of a cockleburr; by Dr. J. G. Knox, Toomsuba, A case of herniotomy; by Dr. C. C. Stockard, Columbus, Amputation for recurring hemorrhage sarcoma; by Dr. W. W. Hamilton, Brooksville, Elephantiasis; by Dr. J. Brownrigg, Columbus, Dislocation of the thumb, Occlu- sion of the vagina; by Dr. L. W. Magruder, Congenital absence of os uteri; by Dr. B. F. Duke, Fistula in ano; by Dr. E. L. McGehee, A punctured wound through the abdominal and uterine walls; by Dr. J. C. Robert, A Case of laceration of bladder, with probable wound of intestines; by Dr. John M. Whitson, Pistol-shot wound in the chest. Excision of a tumor of the face. Extraction of a calculus from the urethra of a two-year-old baby ; by Dr. Luther Sexton, Don't mix surgery and obstetrics. Fluid extract marigold, Extensive burns, Needle in the foot for eighteen months; by Dr. T. R. Lockwood, Pirigoff's opera- tion ; by Dr. W. B. Sanford, Two operations for lacerated perineum ; by Dr. J. W. Bennett, Tracheotomy; by Dr. W. B. Sanford, Two operations for strangulated inguina hernia; by , Aneurism of the femoral artery. Gangrene and death; by Dr. J. W. Dulaney, Wounds of abdomen from kick of a horse; and by Dr. M. S. Craft, Reports of tumors. The twentieth annual session was held at Jackson April 20, 21 and 22, 1887. The address of welcome was delivered by Charles E. Hooker. The papers on professional topics read before the association are named as follows: Erysipelas, by Dr. W. A. Galloway; Uterine surgery, by Dr. J. A. Shackleford; A case of embolism, by Dr. B. F. Kittrell; A case of ovariotomy. Presenting some features of interest, by Dr. W. F. Hyer; Case of malarial 378 BIOGRAPHICAL AND HiaTORICAL cachexia of two years' duration, Purgative action of minute doses of strychnine, by Dr. N. L. Guice; A few suggestions of the treatment of diseases of the eye and ear, by Dr. J. L. Minor; Chloral hydrate as a remedy in two forms of acute malarial diseases, by Dr. T. T. Beall; Hereditary progressive muscular atrophy, by Dr. J. W. Bennett; Modified phimosis operation, by Dr. T. T. Beall; Iritis, by Dr. A. G. Sinclair; Abscess of the liver treated by aspiration and incision, by Dr. J. B. Halbert; A case of fracture of the skull, by Dr. B. F. Duke; Two cases of chronic suppurative inflammation of the middle ear (atorrhea) successfully treated by boracic acid, by Dr. T. T. Beall; Suppurative hepatitis, by Dr. G. L. Pope; Report of three cases of fluid in plueral cavity, and One case of extirpation testicles for sarcocelle. Dr. O. B. Quinn; Wound of the head, with considerable loss of brain, by Dr. W. G. Lawrence; An unusual sequence to reduction of dislocation of hip joint, by Dr. T. T. Beall; Fatal issue from intrauterine injection, by Dr. T. T. Beall; Epidemic dysentery, by Dr. W. E. Herring; Modern treatment of phthisis pulmonalis, by Dr. S. V. D. Hill; Report of two cases of urethral stricture, with opera- tion and results, by Dr. R. B. Carson; Phlegmasia dolens, by Dr. Sexton; Serious result of a trivial wound, by Dr. W. H. White; Treatment of pneumonia, by Dr. H. H. Haral- son; Abcess of the anterior mediastenum, by Dr. A. L. Morris; Heart disease, by Dr. E. L. MoGehee; Malarial flux, by Dr. E. L. McGehee. The first true effort made since 1878 by the committee on necrology was that of this year. Doctors Sexton and Blanks reported that the following names were found on the roll though the parties had been dead for years (too long, many of them, to obtain any correct data for report): J. L. Cloud, Water Valley; E. Fox, Forrest; C. C. Lee, Graysport; W. D. McMartin, Black Hawk; A. G. Smythe, Baldwyn; J. O. Saunders, Carrollton; L. White, Utica. Dr. C. E. Hoover died of some heart trouble in 1886. He graduated in the medical department of the University of Louisiana, and practiced medicine at Summit and MeComb up to the time of his death. He had been a consistent member of the association for years, and loved his profession next to his family and his God. He was district surgeon of the Illinois Central railroad, and had acted as sanitary inspector of the state board of health during the epidemic of small pox in Pike coitnty in 1884. Dr. T. A. Phillips died at Fort Smith, Ark., in 1886, of Bright' s disease of the kidneys. He practiced at Canton for a decade. Dr. W. L. Ainsworth, of Copiah county, though he had been dead for several years, his name still appeared on the roll. The doctor was a graduate of the medical department of the University of Louisiana, and practiced at Hazlehurst for four or five years after graduating. Finding that he was physically unable for the task of an active practice, he reluctantly gave up his profession and accepted the office of county treasurer of Copiah county, which office he filled at the time of his death. The officer.s of the association elected in April, 1887, were: N. L. Guice, M. D., Natchez, president; L. Sexton, M. D., Wesson, and M. J. Thompson, Meridian, vice presidents; W. E. Todd, M. D., Clinton, recording secretary; W. M. Paine, M. D., Aberdeen, assistant recording secretary; M. S. Craft, M. D., Jackson, corresponding secretary; John F. Hunter, M. D. , Jackson, treasurer. The members of judicial council chosen were: J. E. Halbert, M. D., Mount Landing; B. F. Ward, M. D., Winona; Luther Sexton, M. D., Wesson; W. F. Hyer, M. D., Holly Springs; B. P. Sale, M. D., Aberdeen; B. F. Kittrell, M. D., Black Hawk; N. L. Guice, M. D., Fayette; W. D. Carter, M. D., Ripley; S. V. D. Hill, M. D., Macon. Drs. Guice and Carter were appointed by the president at the meeting at West Point, in 1884, for a term of three years, and were elected at the meeting in Jackson, in 1886, for a term of three years. MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 279 The twenty-first annual meeting was held at Jackson, April 18 and 19, 1888, when the following named officers were elected: Luther Sexton, M. D., Wesson, presideutf E. E. Howard, M. D., Durant, first vice president; E. F. Shuler, M D., Greenville, second vice president; W. E. Todd, M. D. Jackson, recording secretary; George S. Hunter, M. D.. Bolton, assistant recording secretary; John F. Hunter, M. D., Jackson, treasurer; W. A. Galloway, M. D., Jackson, corresponding secretary. The members of judicial council were: J. E. Halbert, M. D. , Mount Landing, B. F. Ward, M. D., Winona, and Luther Sexton, M. D., Wesson, each to serve until 1890; W. F. Hyer, M. D., Holly Springs, B. F. Kittrell, M. D., Black Hawk, and E. L. McGehee, M. D., Woodville, each to serve until 1891; N. L. Guice, M. D., Natchez, W. D. Carter, M. D., Ripley, and S. V. D. Hill, M. D. , Macon, each to serve until 1889. The address of welcome was delivered by E. Barksdale, who referred to the death of Dr. M. S. Craft in the following words: "Tour reunion is saddened by the recent death of one of the most beloved and distinguished of the resident physicians of this city. Dr. M. S. Craft, whom you have been accustomed to meet around your council board, and in pro- fessional and social life. He has crossed the river and rests in the shade of the trees beyond. His duties have been transferred to a higher sphere of existence. A strong pillar of your profession has fallen. The able physician who fought many a successful battle for the relief of suffering humanity, has succumbed to the last enemy. He fell in the zenith of his fame, and his usefulness, as the ' great oak uplifted by the storms, fell with its garlands of ivy around it. ' If the beautiful legend be true that the spirits of the dead revisit the scenes they loved in life, we may cherish the hope that our departed friend is not absent from us in spirit to-day ' ' The following papers were read on medical subjects: Intestinal obstruction, J. A. Shackelford, M. D. , Greenville; Diseases common to manufacturing towns, and sanitary recommendations for same, Luther Sexton, M. D., Wesson; Typho-malarial fever, P. W. Eowland, M. D., Coffeeville; Brass pin in Wharton's duct, W. E. Herring, M. D., Terry; Abdominal pregnancy, Laparotomy, John S. Featherston, M. D., Brookville; Post-mor- tems, A. B. Holder, M. D., Crow Agency; A Case of moist gangrene, B. F. Duke, M. D., Lake Como; Quinine, B. A. Vaughan, M. D. ; Malarial cachexia, B. F. Travis, M. D., Heidelberg. Of the physicians who died during the year, the committee on necrology succeeded in obtaining facts from which the following sketches were written: Mijaman Sidney Craft was born in Jackson, Miss., August 6, 1827, and was educated in the town schools. Early in life he manifested a desire to learn the healing art, and when he was nineteen years of age he began his professional studies under the supervision of the late Dr. William E. Gist, as preceptor, and continued them for three years. He then attended two courses of lectures at the University of Louisville, where he graduated, and afterward two courses at the Jefferson Medical college, where he enjoyed special privi- leges and facilities through the kindness of the elder Pancoast, then in the zenith of his fame. He began the practice of medicine in Jackson, Miss., in 1853, and had firmly estab- lished himself when the Civil war began. He was appointed surgeon in the provisional army of the Confederate states. May 18, 1861, and was assigned to duty with the Twelfth Mississippi regiment, which formed part of that famous brigade, commanded at different times by Featherston, Posey and Harris. He was at Corinth when he received his commis- sion, having already joined his fortunes with the Confederacy. He served until February 6, 1865, with the Army of Northern Virginia, when, on account of ill-health, he was relieved 280 BIOORAPHIOAh AND HISTORICAL from duty with tbat army and directed to report to Medical Director Scott, at Meridian, Miss., for hospital duty. The estimate which the soldiers put upon him is well expressed by one of them who has not seen him since the war. Writing for a contemporary newspaper since Dr. Craft's death, he says: "We, of the line, had a blind confidence in the ability of Dr. Craft, and our anxiety was, that if wounded he should pronounce on the ease. That confidence was second only to that so implicitly placed in Generals Lee, Jackson and A. P. Hill." After the war Dr. Craft resumed the practice of his profession in the city of Jackson, where he soon secured an enviable patronage and reputation. He was often urged by friends to seek a larger field for the exercise of his brilliant talents, but he was too much endeared to the people among whom he had been reared to entertain the thought of going among others. He was one of the promoters and organizers of the Mississippi State Medical asso- ciation, and its third president, serving in that office during the years 1875-6. For many years he had made a collection of the cases of surgery in Mississippi reported by the mem- bers, filling out short or deficient reports, pruning voluminous ones, and making this feat- ure of the transactions of the association an honor to the medical profession. He con- tributed many valuable papers himself. In December, 1878, following the terrible epidemic of that year, the lower house of congress created a select committee to inquire into the ori- gin, introduction and prevention of epidemic diseases in the United States, with power to employ experts and scientists, not to exceed seven in number, and to act in connection with a like committee created by the senate. Dr. Craft was selected as one of the experts, and in conjunction with his associates and members of the committee visited many of the points where the fever had been epidemic, and assisted in procuring and furnishing the evidence on which the report of the committee was based. While Dr. Craft's tastes ran in the line of surgery, he having performed, first and last, nearly all the capital operations, his knowl- edge of the practice of medicine and therapeutics was profound. His abilities were not appreciated at home alone, for many of his patients came to him from a distance, and wherever he went he received the most distinguished attention. He was happily married in 1871 to Miss Julia Barr, and was the father of four children, of whom the first born died in infancy. The others, with his devoted wife, survive him. He died in Jackson, Miss. , April 8, 1888, of locomotor ataxia, after a lingering illness of more than twelve months. Robert Kells was born near Hudson, N. Y. , in the year of 1818, and died in Jackson, Miss. , April, 1888. He came to Mississippi in 1840 and located at Edwards, Hinds county, where he engaged in the practice of medicine and planting. He married Miss Mary Phillips, January 13, 1846, with whom he lived until her death, June 15, 1871. Dr. Kells always took an active interest in the State Medical association and State Board of health. He was superintendent of the state lunatic asylum for seven years, including the war period. After retiring from this position he engaged in the practice of medicine at Jackson, where he enjoyed the confidence of a large clientage until old age, and his large property interest caused him to give up active practice. He still retained his interest in the State Medical association and a position on the State Board of health until his death. J. W. Ellis was born in West Point, Miss. , in 1851, and graduated when twenty-one years old, with the honors of his class, at Jefferson Medical college, Philadelphia. He practiced his profession in the Delta up to 1879, when he located in Canton, Miss., where he soon made many warm friends, and built up a lucrative practice. He was married to Miss Adah Lowry in 1875, who with two sweet little girls survives him, and to whom he has left an hon- orable name as a priceless legacy. MEMOIRS OF MI88ISSIPPI. 281 W. W. Hart, son of Henry and Judith P. Hart, was born in Robinson county, Tenn., April, 1828. After receiving a liberal education he studied medicine in Clarksville, Tenn. , and graduated in the University of Louisville in 1849. He then moved to Mississippi and settled in Carrollton, where he remained actively engaged in the practice of his profession until the breaking out of the Civil war. He volunteered and went out with the first company that left Carrollton; was soon after appointed surgeon, in which capacity he served with distinc- tion until the close of the war. After hostilities ceased he returned home and located near Lodi, in Montgomery county, and commenced again thepracticeof his profession, and remained in active practice until his death. May 27, 1887. He was married three times. Miss Laura A. Peoples, June 4, 1850; Mrs. Mary Laggins,' January 11, 1871, and Mrs. A. F. Adair, May 2, 1872. His last wife survives him. He was a good citizen, a kind and indulgent father and husband, an eminent physician and surgeon. He represented his county one term in the state legislature. The twenty-second annual meeting was held at Jackson April 17, 18, and 19, 1889. The address of welcome was delivered by T. M. Miller, who, after paying a high tribute to the profession, said: "I would speak to you from a politico-legal point of view. You all have your hobbies, so bear with mine. One doctor rides full tilt on quinine; another phos- phates, another mustard, and so on. My hobby, now, or rather what seems to me to be the crying evil of our state and time, is the light esteem in which human life is held in our midst. To you I appeal to help in righting this wrong thing; in bringing about a higher standard in elevating public opinion; in cultivating a popular sentiment against it. You are drawn from the upper classes of society — from the cultivated and refined — yet you not only have access to these, but to all. Your hold on the affections of your patients, your influence in the families where you practice, is unbounded. To whom do they turn for help, counsel, and sympathy but to the family doctor ? The radius of that influence extends to the haunt of infamy, where the step of the minister is never suffered; to the den of ignorance, where the schoolmaster has never penetrated; to the retreat of lawlessness, where the officer of the law is baffled. You leave the deathbed of the outlaw, your soul harrowed by his remorse, or shocked by his effrontery, to visit the desolated home of his victim. Who can draw such a moral; who can tell such a tale; who can speak with such dreadful force as you?" The officers elected in 1889 were: Dr. J. E. Halbert, Mound Landing, president; Dr. W. A. Evans, Jr., Aberdeen, first vice president; Dr. W. H. White, Brandon, second vice presi- dent; Dr. W. E. Todd, Jackson, recording secretary; Dr. B. D. Cooper, Jackson, assistant recording secretary; Dr. J. F. Hunter, Jackson, treasurer; and Dr. J. M. Buchanan, Meridan, corresponding secretary. The members of judicial council chosen were: J. E. Halbert, M. D., Mound Landing; B. F. Ward, M. D., Winona; Luther Sexton, M. D., Wesson; W. F. Hyer, M. D., Meridian; B. F. Kittrell, M. D., Black Hawk; E. L. McGehee, M. D., Woodville; J. W. Bennett, M.' D., Brookhaven; J. Y. Murry, M. D-, Eipley; J. C. Hall; M. D., Anguilla. The papers read in 1889 are recorded by title and reader as follows: President's address, by Dr. Luther Sexton; Medical legislation, by Dr. B. F. Kittrell; Report of surgi- cal cases, by Dr. J. M. Greene; Some cases in practice, by Dr. John S. Peatherston; Pelvic reflexes, by Dr. W. F. Hyer; Treatment of dysentery, by Dr. D. L. Phares; New method of performing hysterectomy, by Dr. T. J. Crofford; Reflex phenomena incident to perineal rupture, by Dr. M. J. Thompson; Therapeutic progress, by Dr. H H. Haralson; Placenta previa, by Dr. T. W. Fullilove; Penetrating wounds of the cornea, ))y Dr. W. S. Sims; When is the induction of premature labor justifiable? by Dr. E. L. McGehee; Heroic 383 BIOOBAPHIGAL AND UISTOBIOAL conservatism, by Dr. E. L. McGehee; Amputation on account of diseased joint, by Dr. C. Kendriok; Management of insane asylums, by Dr. T. J. Mitchell; Antagonism of thera- peutic agents, by Dr. B. A. Vaughan; Medicine and law in Mississippi, by Dr. A. J. Jagoe; Mammary tumors, by Dr. W. B. Rogers; Pelvic cellulitis, by Dr. F. B. Nimocks; Scarlet fever, by Dr. P. W. Eowland; and Fever with special reference to its thermogenesis, by Dr. Gus Evans. The twenty-third annual meeting was held at Jackson, April 16, 17, 18, 1890. Capt. Frank Johnston delivered the address of .welcome. He reviewed the history of the profes- sion from a serio-comic point of view, and in his comparison of law and medicine, spoke as follows: "Gentlemen, your profession, like my own, has been the subject of witticisms since the beginning of the world. Some of us might say, though not witty ourselves, we ' are the cause of wit in others.' But the world can not get along without us, laugh and jest as it may. When a man wants a doctor he is like the chap in Texas and the pistol, who said he did not need a pistol often in Texas, but when he did he wanted it bad." The conclusion of his address was an eloquent tribute to physicians. The papers read before the meeting were the president's annual address. Dr. J. E. Hal- bert; Three cases of orthopcedic surgery. Dr. S. K. Coleman; Ligation of femoral artery for popliteal aneurism. Dr. W. M. Paine; Two cases of abdciminal tumors. Dr. William Aills; Obstruction of the bowels, Report of two cases, Dr. F. B. Nimocks; Chloroform and alleged double rape in dentist's office, Dr. D. L. Phares; Diseases of the eye in renal disorders. Dr. A. G. Sinclair; Craniotomy, Dr. P. J. McCormick; A few points in the treat- ment of endometritis. Dr. T. J. Crofford; Some cases in gynecological surgery. Dr. T. T. Beall; A rare case of delivery. Dr. B. A. Vaughan; Pelvic abscess. Dr. J. M. Thompson; Pistol ball through left lung — recovery. Dr. B. A. Duncan; Bxsection of scaphoid, etc.. Dr. M. J. Dowry; Operation for the extraction of hard cataract, and a report of twenty-six cases. Dr. W. S. Sims; Some observations during a visit to Cooper's well, Dr. E. L. McGehee: Malaria, Dr. Gus Evans; A case, Dr. T. P. Lockwood. The officers for 1890-91 are: G. W. Trimble, M. D., Grenada, president; J. Y. Murry, M. D., Ripley, first vice president; P. W. Rowland, M. D., Flora, second vice president; W. E. Todd, M. D., Jackson, recording secretary; B. L. Cully, M. D. , Jackson, assistant record- ing secretary; S. K. Coleman, M. D., Canton, corresponding secretary; J. F. Hunter, M. D., Jackson, treasurer. The members of the judicial council chosen were: W. F. Hyer, M. D., Meridian; B. F. Kittrell, M. D., Black Hawk; E. L. McGehee, M. D., Woodville; each to serve until 1891; J. W. Bennett, M. D., Brookhaven; J. Y. Murry, M. D., Ripley; J. C. Hall, M. D., An- guilla— each to serve until 1892; J. E. Halbeit, M. D., Mound Landing; B. F. Ward, M. D., Winona; Luther Sexton, M. D., Wesson — each to serve until 1893. The deceased members* are named as follows: W. L. Ainsworth, Hazlehurst; William T. Balfour, Vioksburg; P. T. Baley, Jackson; M. S. Craft, Jackson; *'F. W. Dancy, Holly Springs; *R. T. Edwards, Vicksburg; *T. B. Elkin, Aberdeen; J. W. Ellis, Canton; E. Fox, Forest; *W. A. Galloway, Jackson; *S. V. D. Hill, Macon; W. W. Hart, Lodi; C. Hoover, McComb City; R. E. Hutchins, Greenville; W. E. Herring, Terry; Robert Kells, Jackson; L. C. Lee, Graysport; *T. J. Lee, Philadelphia; * James McWillio, Jackson; J. A. Mead Pearlington; C. J. Mitchell, Vicksburg; Thomas L. Neal, Ben Lomond; *William Powell, Grenada; T. A. Phillips, Canton; George C. Redwood, Meridian; L. Richardson, Bolivar Landing; *Sid B. Smith, Grenada; James M. Smith, Eggs Point; J. 0. Sanders, Carroll- ton; J. D. Staple, Huntsville; L. White, Utica; A. S. Thompson, Buena Vista. *Dled during tlie year. MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 283 Dr. Sid B. Smitt was born in Tuscaloosa county, Ala. , and died of consumption at Lane Park, Fla., May 13, 1889, aged forty-four years. Dr. Smith enlisted in the Confederate army at the early age of fifteen years, and commanded a company of sharpshooters two last years of the war. He was wounded six times during that memorable struggle. After the war he studied medicine and graduated at Mobile Medical college. He went to Grenada at the hight of the yellow-fever epidemic in 1 878, and was for seven years a partner of Dr. Gr. W. Trimble, of that city. Dr. James McWillie was born in Madison county, Miss., December '1\, 1847, and died at his home in Jackson, Miss., March 1, 189(1. He was a brave and fearless soldier of the Confederacy, and after the war studied medicine. He graduated with honors in Balti- more in 1870. In 1871 he was appointed assistant superintendent of the state lunatic asylum and retained that position until a few months before his death when he resigned in conse- quence of bad health. He made an efficient officer and was devoted to his profession. Truth, honor and unswerving fidelity to his sense of duty were fixed principles of his life. In 1875 he married Miss Nannie Compton, who, with five children, survive him. Dr. W. A. Galloway was born in Kosciusko, Miss., February 9, 1851, and died in Jackson, Miss., March 1, 1890, in the thirty-ninth year of his age. He prosecuted the study of his profession in the medical colleges of Louisville, but graduated in New Orleans, having attended his last course of lectures in the medical department of the University of Louisiana. After graduating he was associated with his father in the practice of medicine in Canton, Miss. In 1879 he married Mrs. Bettie Williams, of Jackson, Miss., who survives him. He moved to Jackson in 1883, where he resided at the time of his death. Dr. Galloway was a man of brilliant gifts, and his distinguished ability was recognized by the profession all over the state. He died in the prime of life and in the possession of a large and appreciative patronage. Dr. William Powell was born in Nottoway county, Va., January 20, 1819. He grad- uated in medicine in Louisville, Ky. , in 1838, and afterward graduated in Cincinnati, Ohio, where he was an intimate friend of Professor Drake. He began the practice of his profession in Yalobusha county, Miss., in 1839. His distinguished abilities soon won for him a large and lucrative practice. He was at the organization of the State Medical association and was afterward often urged to accept its presidency, but always declined, perf erring the labors of a more subordinate position. Modesty was one of his chief characteristics. In the death of Dr. Powell this association has lost one of its most valued friends and honored members. He retired from active work in 1889 and died of prostatitis, February 15, 1890. Dr. T. B. Elkin was born January 21, 1837. He was educated in the common schools of the neighborhood. He attended his first conrse of medical lectures in Jefferson Medical college in the winter of 1857-8 and attended the University of the city of New York during the following summer. He graduated at Jefferson Medical college in March, 1860, and attended lectures in New Orleans during the winter of 1860. He was appointed assis- tant surgeon of Forty-third Mississippi regiment and afterward promoted to surgeon. After the war he again attended lectures in New Orleans. One of his colleagues has said of him: "As a practitioner of medicine he was studious, earnest, well informed, evenly balanced, careful, conscientious and able. As a man he was honest, noble, honorable and true; as husband, father and brother, he was one of the most loving, kind, considerate men I have known." He died on the 9th of March, 1890. Dr. Thomas Jefferson Lee was born in Farmersville, Ala., August 26, IS-IU, and died at Philadelphia, Miss., February 14, 1888, aged forty-four years, five months and nineteen E 284 BIOGRAPHICAL AJfB IIISTOIIIGAL days. As a physician Dr. Lee was skillful, popular and unusually successful; as a phy- sician he was beloved and honored. Being a leading man in his community, his death is sorely felt. He leaves a wife and several children to mourn his loss, and to them we tender our sympathies. Dr. Joshua C. Fant was born in South Carolina in 1832, and moved with his parents to Noxubee county, Miss., when quite a small boy. Hegraduated in medicine in Charleston, S. C, in 1857, and located in Macon, Miss., where he lived until removed by death, October 25, 1889, fifty-seven years of age. Dr. Pant was a true and faithful Christian, a useful and honored citizen, and a popular and successful physician. The deaths of Dr. Edwards, of Vicksburg, and Dr. Sherman, of Harrison, were reported in 1890. Samuel Van Dyke Hill was born in Nashville, Tenn., January 25, 1835, and died in St. Louis, Mo., whither he had gone for medical treatment, October 14, 1889. Dr. Kittrell states: "In his eighth year his father removed the family from Tennessee to Chickasaw county. Miss,, and in this state Dr. Hill resided continuously for forty-six years, except dur- ing his absence in the Confederate army. He was educated in the schools in his vicinity, and at the Columbus high school. He attended courses of medical lectures at the University of Louisville, and the University of New York, graduating from the latter institution in March, 1857. Until the breaking out of the war he practiced his profession at Palo Alto, Miss. In January, 1861, he was appointed assistant surgeon in the Confederate army, and was appointed to be surgeon in January, 1863; from October, 1862, to the end of the vpar, he was in charge of Quintard general hospital. October 10, 1861, he married Miss Jennie Calvert, of Chicka- saw county, Miss., who, with true wifely devotion, accompanied him to Virginia, and remained near him during the war. At the close of the war, in October, 1 865, he established himself at Macon, Miss, where he remained actively engaged in practice until the inroads of fatal disease compelled him to desist from his labors. He was a member of the State Medical associa'tion from its organization after the war until his death, and was elected and served as its president in 1871. He was a member of the American Medical association, having been several times elected a delegate from the State Medical association. He was elected a dele- gate to represent the state association in the International Medical congress that convened at "Washington. He was appointed a member of the state board of health at its organization in 1877, and was continuously reappointed at the expiration of each term of his service. He was twice elected president of the board, and was filling that position at the time of his death. The twenty-fourth annual meeting was held at Meridian in April, 1891; Col. J. E. Mcintosh delivered the address of welcome, and the following-named papers were read: Some remarks on fevers. Dr. J. M. Greene; Vessical hemorrhage. Dr. H. A. Gant; Recent advancement in therapeutics, or new remedies. Dr. Chesley Daniel; Infant feeding. Dr. N. L. Clarke; The nose, its diseases and their treatment, Dr. B. M. Bishop; Two cases of external urethrotomy, Dr. J. A. Shackleford; The value of albuminuria in diagnosing dis- eases of the kidney, Dr. J. M. Buchanan; Noise, Dr. B. F. Duke; Glandular disease of strumous character, Dr. E. C. Gulledge; Knife wound penetrating abdominal cavity. Dr. Henry Izard; Laparotomy for gunshot wound of abdomen. Dr. Henry Izard; Phimosis, a report of cases, Dr. E. S. Beadles. The officers elected for 1891-2 were: J. Y. Murry, M. D., Ripley, president; W. E. Todd, M. D., Jackson, first vice president; N. L. Clarke, M. D., Meridian, second vice presi- dent; H. H. Harralson, M. D., Forest, recording secretary; G. S. Hunter, M. D., Bolton, MEMOIRS OF MiaaiaSIPPI. 285 assistant recording secretary; B. F. Duke, M. D., Como, corresponding secretary, and J. F. Hunter, M. D. , Jackson, treasurer. The judicial council chosen comprises J. W. Bennett, M. D., Brookhaven; E. S. Toombs, M. D., Grenada; J. 0. Hall, M. D., Anguilla; J. E. Halbert, M. D., Mound Landing; B. P. Ward, M. D., Winona; Luther Sexton, M. D., Wesson; W. F. Hyer, M. D., Meridian; B. F. Kittrell, M. D., Black Hawk; E. L. McGehee, WoodviUe. Dr. John Ames Mead was born in Portland, Me., July 16, 1842, and died in New Orleans, La., January 30, 1891. In his infancy his parents moved to Massachusetts, where he attended the public schools and Woburn high school. He afterward attended Amherst college, but left in 1862 to enlist in the Thirty-ninth regiment Massachusetts volunteers. He was taken a prisoner in 1863, and remained such one year. After his release he returned home and finished his collegiate course. He studied medicine in Harvard Medical school, of Boston, from which hja graduated in 1869. He came south in October, 1869, and settled in Pearlington, Miss., where he practiced his profession up to death. In 1880 he married Miss Am'elia S. Mead, of New Orleans, La., who with two children — a daughter, age nine years, and a son, age six years — mourn his loss. Dr. Jaraes D. Staples was born near Huntsville, Miss., November 13, 1850, and died of pneumonia at Huntsville, Miss. He graduated at the University of Nashville, in the class of 1871. He died in the prime of life and iii possession of a large and appreciative patronage. As a physician he was studious, earnest, well informed, evenly balanced, careful, conscien- tious and able, not given to criticism of his professional brethren, " not a man, who for the poor renown of being smart, would leave a sting within a brother's heart." Dr. F. W. Dancy died November 7, 1890. He was born near Roanoke river, in Warren county, N. C, in the year 1810. Having prepared for college in the classical schools of Huntsville. Ala., and vicinity, he entered the University of Nashville, Tenn., from which he graduated in 1831, beginning soon after the study of medicine under Dr. I. W. .Bibb, of Athens, Ala. He matriculated in the medical department of the -tlniversity of Pennsylvania in 1832, becoming a private pupil of Prof. W. E. Horner. At the opening of his second course his health was so impaired that, by the advice of Drs. Jackson and Physick, he returned to Alabama. At the end of a year, with recovered health, he entered the medical depart- ment of Transylvania university, in Lexington, Ky., from which he graduated in 1885. He first settled in Greensboro, Ala., where he remained eight years, removing to Holly Springs, Miss., in 1844. He was a member of the Marshall County Medical society, of which he was president, of the State Medical association, sanitary commissioner for the state at large, member of the board of health of the state of Mississippi, organized on the 7th of April, 1877, and a permanent member of the American Medical association. He was married in his twenty-seventh year to Miss Rebecca Elizabeth Mason, of Jackson, Tenn., who died in 1866. The result of this union was eleven children, nine of whom are yet living. In 1876, ten years after the death of his first wife, he married Mrs. Kate McCorkle Nelms, who sur- vives him. The profession of medicine in Mississippi is fast rising to the same position in national estimation which the old bar attained. Throughout the state physicians are found who for two decades have reflected honor on the state and county. The association has exerted a most beneficial influence during the twenty years of its active life, and the time is at hand when the medical and surgical practice of the state must claim the same attention from phy- sicians throughout the country that the Mississippi law reports claim from lawyers. The system of homeopathic medicine was introduced into the state about the year 1849 386 BIOOBAPHIOAL AND HI8T0B10AL l)y the late Dr. Davis, of Natchez, and Dr. Harper, of Vicksburg, both allopaths who embraced the homeopathic practice and carried it on with remarkable success until their death within the last half decade. In 1851 Dr. J. W. Hough introduced the practice at Jackson and is to-day the oldest and most successful homeopathic physician in the state. Dr. Hardenstein resided at Jackson for some years, until his removal to Vicksburg after the war, and died there about seven years ago, leaving a large practice and reputation to his son, Dr. Otto Hardenstein. Dr. Gilman, a contemporary of Dr. Harper, died about fifteen years ago. Dr. Gilbert, who died in September, 1891, at Jackson, practiced there for several years. Dr. Pierce, who settled at Jackson in 1891, is a younger member of the school, being a graduate of the Hahnemann college of Chicago. Dr. French, of Natchez, settled there a short time before the death of the pioneer. Dr. Davis, and Dr. Chase have practiced there for over a quarter of a century. The names of homeopathic physicians registered are: F. A. M. Davis, the first old school, now homeopathic, B. D. Chase and J. D. Smith, of Adams county; J. W. Hough, Hinds county; J. Galdeohens, Hinds county; H. J. Coleman, Jefferson; E. T. Harding, Pike; A. O. Hardenstein, Warren; T. J. Harper, Warren; G. O. Furry, Warren. The registry of Mississippi physicians dates back only to 1882. Of the total number, one thousand eight hundred and sixteen whose names and records are entered in the books of Secretary Johnston of the board of health, all presented evidence of their right to prac- tice medicine in Mississippi in 18S2, with the exception of one who registered in 1884 and fifteen in 1890. In the record the allopathic school is represented by seventeen-eighteenths of the whole number. The eclectic school claims seventy-six members exclusive of those who are both allopathic and eclectic physicians; the homeopathic school claims ten mem- bers, and sundry other schools twenty-six members. The number of physicians in each county, according to the record of 1882, is shown by the following table: Adams, fifteen; Alcorn, twenty-four; Amite, twenty; Attala, thirty- eight, two in 1890; Benton, twenty-two; Bolivar, seventeen; Calhoun, thirty-one, one in 1884; Carroll, twenty- four, one in 1890; Chickasaw, thirty-five; Choctaw, twenty-one, one in 1890; Claiborne, twenty-seven; Clay, twenty-seven; Clarke, twenty; Coahoma, twenty-one; Copiah, fifty- four; Covington, nine; De Soto, thirty-six; Franklin, seventeen; Greene, four; Grenada, eleven; Hancock, seven; Harrison, eleven; Hinds, fifty-eight; Holmes, forty; Issaquena, eight; Ita- wamba, twenty-four; Jackson, sixteen; Jasper, eighteen; Jefferson, eighteen, one in 1890; Jones, eleven; Kemper, twenty-five; Lafayette, thirty-seven; Lauderdale, thirty-six; Law- rence, twenty-two; Leake, thirty-two; Lee, fifty-four; Lincoln, twenty-five; Lowndes, forty- four; Le Flore, nineteen, two in 1890; Madison, thirty-five; Marion, three; Marshall, forty-one; Monroe, forty; Montgomery, twenty-five, three in 1890; Neshoba, eighteen; Newton, twenty- three ; Noxubee, thirty, two in 1890; Oktibbeha, twenty-seven; Panola, fifty; Perry, four; Pike, thirty-five; Ponotoc thirty-four; Prentiss, twenty-four; Quitman, three; Rankin, twenty-six; Scott, twenty; Sharkey, thirteen, one in 1890; Simpson, nine; Smith, eighteen; Sunflower, eight; Tallahatchie, twenty; Tate, thirty-three; Tippah, thirty; Tishomingo, twenty-one; Tunica, seven; Union, twenty-five; Warren, thirty-six, one in 1890; Washington, thirty- seven; two in 1890; Wayne, ten; Webster, twenty-three; Wilkinson, thirteen; Winston, twenty-five; Yalobusha, thirty; Yazoo, forty-two. The Botanic school enrolls seven members; the mineral school, thirteen; the dosimetric one; the Esculapian, one; the hydropathic, one, and the idopathic one. Joe Barnes' name appears as herb doctor of Lowndes county and Ned McDuff's as root doctor of Leake county. Among the systems of practice or schools written in the record the following are given: MEM0IB8 OF MISSISSIPPI. 287 " Don't recognize any," " scientific," " ordinary standard or allopathic," " allopathic and eclectic," " the legitimate profession," "old school," "clinical medicine and gynecology," "common school or regular," " botanic and eclectic," " truth and common sense," " old regular school," " the regular advanced science," " mineral, mineral or allopathic, '' " old blue school," " whatever is indicated," " medical reform," " homeopathic,'' some combine eclectic with allo- pathic practice. The state board of health was created by an act approved February 1, 1877. Under authority vested in the governor by section number one of this act, he commissioned Drs. W. M. Compton,* F. W. Dancy,* and D. L. Phares members from the state at large; J. M. Taylor,* and A. G. Smythe,* from the first congressional district; T. D. Isom and John Wright,* from the second; E. W. Hughes* and S. V. D. Hill,* from the third; C. B. Gal- loway and P. J. McCormicl<,* from the fourth; Robert Kells* and C. A. Rice,* from the fifth; and R. G. Wharton and P. F. Whitehead,* from the sixth district. The meeting to organize was held at Jackson, April 7, 1877, Dr. Whitehead presiding, with Dr. Rice, secre- tary. The members present were those whose names are marked thus * in the foregoing list. Drs. Compton, Taylor, McCormick, Kells and Rice were chosen members of an executive committee for six years; Drs. Phares, Isom, Hughes, Wharton, and Whitehead, for four years; Drs. Dancy, Smythe, Wright, Hill, and Galloway, for two years. Dr. Kells was subsequently elected president and Dr. Wirt Johnston, secretary. Reporters or writers on special subjects pertaining to sanitation were appointed in the following order: Epidemic and endemic and contagious diseases, Dr. J. M. Taylor; Diseases of the swamp district. Dr. P. J. McCoi-mick; Diseases of the prairie region,f Dr. S. V. D. Hill; Diseases of the sea coast and the sea coast as a sanitary resort,f Dr. D. L. Phares; Vaccination and compulsory vaccination, f Dr. E. W. Hughes; The influence of syphilis on public health. Dr. P. F. Whitehead; The effects of food and clothing on public health,t Dr. F. W. Dancy; Drainage, Dr. John Wright; Indigenous remedies of Mississippi, Dr. D. L. Phares; Cleanliness, its general and special influence,f Dr. A. G. Smythe; The influence of alcohol,f Dr. W. M. Compton; The architecture of prisons, asylums and hospitals,f Dr. C. A. Rice; The proper organization and objects of city, county, state and national boards of health, includ- ing the registration of births, marriages and deaths, f Dr. J. M. Taylor. The subjects marked f were ably treated before the close of the year, and papers on the prevailing diseases of the sixth congressional district by Dr. R. G. Wharton, and of the first congressional district by Dr. A. G. Smythe were read. The sanitary commissioners appointed in the order of congressional districts, were: Drs. Smythe, Isom, Hill, Galloway, Rice and Wharton. A resolution of thanks to the state librarian for permitting the meeting to be held in the senate chamber closed the first meeting of this board. An epidemic known as phlegmonous erysipelas appeared in that part of Tishomingo county, now Prentiss county, in February, 1845, and before the close of May carried off a number of women and girls, but no adult males. One third of the sufferers succumbed to the disease and the recovery of the others was slow. This statement is taken from Dr. Smythe's paper read before the state board of health in 1877. In 1877, Secretary Johnston com- municated with sanitary associations throughout the country, and mailed one hundred and sixty-four circular letters to physicians throughout Mississippi. Before the close of the year many responses came in and the march of old and the introduction of new diseases are accounted for. The death of Dr. C. B. Galloway at Canton, June 3, 1877, was made part of the record of the board. The papers presented brought forth clearly the preventable side of disease and showed that by proper attention to personal cleanliness and the least attention to 288 BIOORAPHIOAL AND HISTORICAL the laws of sanitatiou in the house, village aad city, the great majority of diseases could then be banished from the state. The meeting of April, 187S, was presided over by Dr. Kells, with Dr. Wirt Johnston secretary. The latter was then memlier of the board from the state at large, vice W. M. Compton, deceased. In December C. A. Rice presided as president pro tem. His address tells of the action of the board during the prevalence of the yellow fever, and makes special mention of Dr. Johnston and the late Dr. Crafts. Resolutions on the death of Drs. Hughes, Whitehead, Cage and Compton were adopted; measures were proposed for guard- ing the state against disease, and copies of rules and regulations were sent to the county and municipal boards, organized under the amendment of 1 878. In November, 1878, the American Public Health association met at Richmond, Va., and there Mississippi was to be represented by Drs. E. G. Wharton, J. M. Taylor, P. J. McCormick, S. D. Robbius, F. W. Dancy, George E. Redwood and Wirt Johnston, but Drs. Johnston and Eobbins, with Mr. Marshall, were the only delegates present to present the report from this state. The following roll embraces the membership of the Mississippi Medical association in 1878. The letters and marks after each are explained thus: P., last president of associ- ation; V. P., vice-president; R. S., recording secretary; C. S., corresponding secretary; T., treasurer; O., orator; * removed from the state; f deceased. The star before a name denotes the president of a county or city board of health in 1878-9. D. W. Adams, Ploreyville; W. G. Allen, Skipwith's Landing; E. M. Alexander, Ripley; *William Aills, Steen's Creek; *W. N. Ames, Starkville; William H. Armistead, Y. P., Vai- den; W. L. Aiusworth, Hazlehurst; M. T. Anderson, Brownsville; T. M. Anderson, Pickens; Theodore Artaud, Jackson; W. H. Baird, Vaiden; *P. T. Baley, T., Jackson; W. T. Balfour f, Vicksburg; E. G. Banks, V. P., O., Clinton; R. B. Banks, Jackson; J. R. Barnett, C. S., Vicks- burg; *J. D. Back, Corinth; J. W. Bennett, Brookhaveu; T. G. Birchett, Vicksburg; John Brown- rigg,V. P., Columbus; W. Y. Gadberry, first president, Yazoo city; "j"L. L. Gadberry, Yazoo city; *Harris A. Gant, Water Valley; S. C. Gholson, Holly Springs; J. H. Gibbs, Meridian; *John Gordin, Corinth; *J. W. Gray, or H. W. Gray, Holly Springs; W. P. Gresham, West Sta- tion; T. H. Gordon, Grenada; *N. L. Guice, Payette; F. H Gulledge, Duraut; A. C. Hal- bert, Artesia; J. D. Harrell, DeSoto; W. B. Harvey, Canton; C. R. Henderson, Deasonville; B. T. Henry, P., Vicksburg; J. R. Hicks, O., Vicksburg; S. V. D. Hill, P., Macon; George W. Howard, Vicksburg; E. W. Hughes, V. P., Grenada; J. M. Hunt, Vicksburg; *W. F. Hyer, T., Chulahoma; J. 0. Hall, McKiuneyville; William Preston Hughes, Port Gibson; George K. Harrington, Jackson; A. E. Hardin, Abbeville; W. W. Hall, V. P., Grenada; John L. Hebron, Bovina; J. W. Holman, Winona; J. E. Halbert, Leota Landing; W. W. Hart, Lodi; J. J. Houston, Tillatoba; H. Hanslow, V. P., Hazlehurst; Thomas D. Isom, V., P., Oxford; Henry Izard, Garlansville; D. W. Jones, Hazlehurst; Wirt Johnston, R. S., Jackson; R. B. Johnson, Madison county; H. W. Johnston, Clinton; Robt. Kells, T., Jack- son; Carroll Kendrick, Corinth; H B. Kidd, Yazoo City; D. A. Kinchloe, Sardis; J. R. Kirkland, Meridian; William T. Balfour, Jr., Vicksburg; J. M. Bogle, Raymond; *R. L. Bogle, Raymond; D. W. Booth, V. P., O., Vicksburg; W. D. Bragg, Garlandville; O. C. Brothers, Artesia; J. D. Burch, V. P., Yazoo City; Samuel T. Birdsong, Conway; T. C. Bryan, Pope; W. F. Bark-idale, Hardy's Station; A. M. Brown, CofEeeville; Charles Basker- ville, Horn Lake; A. H. Cage, Canton; *J. S. Cain, Okolona; LeGrand G. Capers,f Vicks- barg; J. A. Campbell, T., Sliaqaalak; Matt. Clay, Brooksville; William M. Compton, P., Holly Springs; *E. A. Cjx, Baldwyn; M. S. Craft, C. S., V. P., P., Jackson; N. G. Carter, MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 289 Eipley; *E. C. Cunningham, Verona: *r. W. Dancy, Holly Springs; Oliesley Daniel, Holly Springs; J. S. Davis, luka; *M. G. Davis,. Greenwood; J. E. Dougherty, Holly Springs; *W. J. Dulaney, Jackson; E. L. Dunn, Yazoo City; F. G. Ervin, Columbus; A. I. Ellis, Sardis; J. T. Evans, Oakland; C. C. Ewing, Aberdeen; E. D. Parish, Mayersville; J. C. Pant, Macon; *J. S. Peatherston, Macon; *rrank Perrell, Ashland; P. M. Fitzhugh, Warren county; W. P. Pinley, Pannin; Dr. Pielder, ; P. P. Fitzgerald, Grenada; *T. W. rullilove,Vaiden; C. B. Galloway, Pf, Canton; W. A. Galloway, C. S. Beauregard; *B. P. Kittrell, V. P., O., P., Black Hawk; John D. Kline, Meridian; John W. King, C. S., Vicksburg; D. A. Kinchloe, Jr., Sardis; W. M. Lea, V. P., Holly Springs; * James M. Lewis, Kosciusko; W. L. Lips- comb, O., Columbus; T. P. Lockwood, V. P., Crystal Springs; L. C. Lee, Graysport; C. J. Mitchell, Vicksburg; W. H. Miller, Okolona; J. H. Murfree, Okolona; D. McCallum, V. P., Westville; P. J. Maxwell, Columbus; Thomas H. Mays, V. P., Columbus; L. M. Mays, Graysport; J. D. MeConnell, E. S., Brownsville; P. J. McCormiok, V. P., P., Yazoo City; W. H. McDougal, Eienzi; N. W. McKie, Sharon; E. D. McLaurin, Sidon; T. J. Mitchell, Jackson; W. E. Monette, Warren county; *J. P. Moore, Yazoo City; G. C. McCallum, Lake; W. Myles, Utica; H. C. McLaurin, Brandon; William MoSwine, Grenada; James McWillie, Jackson; J. M. McFarland, Water Valley; C. J. P. Meriwether, Charleston; J. L. McLean, Winona; E. C. Myles, Burtonton; Frank Nailer, Vicksburg; J. Nailer, Vicksburg; D. B. Nailer, Warren county; W. J. Nesmith, Vicksburg; E. Anderson New, P., E. S., Port Gibson; James C. Newman, Vicksburg; William E. Gates, Vicksburg; E. O'Leary, Vicksburg; J. F. O'Leary, Vicksburg; T. T. Orendorf, McKinneyville; S. L. Paine, V. P., Coriuth; T- A. Phillips, Canton; J. T. Parker, V. P., Buena Vista; William Powell, Torrance; D. E. Pet- tit, Warren county; K. P. Perkins, Eureka; A. J. Pulliam, Grenada; D. L. Phares, Wood- ville; E. A. Quinn, T., Vicksburg; D. H. Quinn, Suipmit; *H. J. Eay, Grenada; *George E. Eedwood, Meridian; W. D. Eedus, Port Gibson; L. Eichardson, Bolivar Landing; 0. A. Eice, C. S., Brandon; J. L. Eiley, Lake; E. S. Einggold, Grenada; E. W. Eoland, Oakland; H. Shannon, Vicksburg; Lee Shackleford, V. P., Meridian; J. S. Sizer, Fort Stephens; A. H. Smith, V. P., Meridian; James M. Smith, Egg's Point; A. G. Smythe, V. P., Baldwyn; John W. Spillman, Columbus; J. C. Spinks, Shubuta; A. P. Sims, Morton; Newton C. Steele, Kossuth; E. E. Stockard, Greenville; Joseph Steinride, Benton; H. L. Sutherland, Glencoe; W. J. Sykes, T., Aberdeen; Eobert Smith, Kosciusko; B. A. Shepherd, Goodman; A. J. San- derson, Vaiden; *E. P. Sale, V. P., Aberdeen; J. Mell Smith, CofPeeville; J. O. Sanders, Carrollton; J. M. Taylor, P., Corinth; C. Y. Thompson, Macon; E. S. Toombs, Greenville; E. J. Turnbull, Duncansby Landing; G. W. Trimble, Grenada; J. Tackett, Eichland; David B. Turner, Winona; *T. E. Trotter, V. P., Duck Hill; J. D. Talbert, Cold Water; W. E. Todd, Clinton; F. E. VanEaton, Dowd's Landing; *B. A. Vaughan, V. P., C. S., P., Colum- bus; *G. W. Vassar, V. P., Carrollton; A. M. Waddill, Polling Fork; M. P. Wakefield, Starkville; *E. G. Wharton, V. P., Port Gibson; L. White, Utica; P. P. Whitehead, C. S., P., Vicksburg; B. H. Whitfield, Clinton; John Wright, Sardis; *T. W. Wright, Pickens; W. B. Williamson, C. S., Edwards; Z. T. Woodruff, Vicksburg; *J. S. Walker, Greenville; A. M. West, Holly Springs; T. L. Wilburn, Winona; S. L. Wynne, Looxahoma; Lea William- son, Como; *B. F. Ward, Winona; N. M. Woods, Oakland; *H. Yandell, Benton; J. W. Young, Carrollton. The presidents of county municipal boards in 1878-9, who were not then members of the state medical association, are named as follows: T. J. Jackson, Liberty; T. S. Sharpe, Natchez; J. A. Cooper, Friar's Point; G. W. Purnell, Hazlehurst; W. E. Jones, Quitman; J. W. George, Chester; Alex. Fairly, Williamsburg; J. E. McEachin, West Point; J. P. H. 290 BIOORAPHWAL AND HISTORICAL Westbrook, Hernando; Geo. N. Smith, Pass Christian ; Edward Latham, Bay St. Louis; W. W. Durden, Lexington: B. D. McGown, Mayersville; W. G. Bailey, Claiborne; E. F. Grif- fin, Scranton; L. M. McLendon, Sucarnochee; J. T. Chandler, Lafayette; B. Noah Ward, Leake Co. ; B. T. Semmes, Canton; T. B. Ford, Columbia; C. P. Parton, Decatur; M. N. Phillips, Batesville; D. T. Price, Booneville; M. R Fontaine, Pontotoc; J. W. Ellis, Deer Creek; William Giles, Westville; A. H. Bays, Walthall; W. D. Carter, Eipley; J. E. Slaton, Senatobia; A. S. Kirk, Louisville; L. W. Magruder, Woodville; W. J. Nelson, Austin; C. A. Pegues, Abbeville; J. H. Hays, Byhalia;S. P. Lester, Batesville; S. F. Sorsby, Byram; Frank Mcintosh, Beauregard; O. B. Cooke, Cumberland; C. K. Norman, Cato; F. L. Fulgham, Crystal Springs; A. A. Powell, Coffeeville; W. K Blailock, Carthage; John B. Pease, Concordia; E. B. Carson, Durant; A. L. Kline, Enterprise; J. W. Lack, Hillsboro; D. H. Bryant, Liberty; M. H. Allen, Lodi; J. L. Gresham, Lake; J. A. Fox, Louisville; D. P. Eawles, Morton; D. U. Ford, MoComb City; D. C. McCampbell, Mt. Pleasant; A. Le Blance, Magnolia; H. A. Minor, Macon; J. W. Cutrev, Osyka; W. E. Manniece, Pontotoc: J. W. Bynum, Eienzi; T. W. Coleman, Eodney; W. D. Heflin, Sardis; J. E. Sample, Sum- mit; L. W. Tuttle, Satartia; B. F. Archer, Taylor's Depot; O. S. Iglehart, Vicksburg; J. Pitts, Waynesboro; E. W. Eea, Wesson. The report of Dr. T. B. Ford on small-pox in Marion county, in the spring of 1878 ; that on the epidemic in Grenada was presented by Dr. H. J. Eay; in Canton, by Dr. A. T. Semmes : that on the epidemic at Lake, Scott county, by Dr. F. E. Daniel, of Jackson, Miss. ; that on Holly Springs, by Dr. F. W. Dancy; that on Greenville, by Dr. E. S. Toombs; that on Water Valley, by Dr. H. A. Gant ; that on Hernando, by Dr. J. M. Jones ; that on Harri- son county, by Charles Pelaez; that on Pass Christian, by Dr. George N. Smith; that on Tillatoba and vicinity, by Dr. T. H. Gordon; that on Yazoo City, by P. J. McCormick; that on the epidemic at Y. F. Griffin's house, near Summit, by Dr. W. W. Moore; that on Winona, by Dr. B. F. Ward; that on Meridian, by Dr. P. H. Griffin; that at Valley Home, by Dr. J. M. Calhoun. The several reports form a history well worthy of study. Each one goes from the beginning to the end of disease in 1878, deals with the causes and effects and points out where care and cleanliness could have averted the troubles of that year. The history of quarantine regulations in the counties and towns of the state was contributed by Dr. T. S. Sharpe, of Adams; J. T. Chandler, of Lafayette; G. W. Vasser, of Carroll; C. Y. Thompson, of Noxubee; Frank Ferrell, of Benton; T. J. Jackson, of Amite; Alex. Fairly, of Covington; H. H. Holbert, of Scott; B. N. Warde, of Leake; K. P. Clark, of Lincobi; W. F. Stansbury, of Holmes; A. T. Semmes, of Madison; E. C. Cunningham, of Lee; C. P. Partin, of Newton; J. S. Cain, of Chickasaw; George M. Powell, of Yazoo; W. N. Ames, of Oktibbeha; George E. Eedwood, of Lauderdale; W. L. Carter, of Tippah; H. J. Eay, of Grenada; J. A. Cooper, of Coahoma; T. B. Ford, of Marion; A. L. Kirk, of Winston; E. G. Wharton, of Claiborne; M. G. Davis, of Le Flore; James D. Beck, of Alcorn; A. H. Bays, of Sumner; Marshall E. Smith, of Issaquena; W. E. Jones, of Black; W. J. Bailey, of Jasper; J. P. Pitts, of Pontotoc; and J. S. Walker, of Washington. Eeports on the quarantine of 1878 were also made, by H. A. Minor, of Macon; N. L. Guice, of Fayette; B. A. Vaughan, of Columbus; J. M. Lewis, of Kosciusko; M. D. Vance, of Oxford; F. L. Fulgham, of Crystal Springs; H. S. Van Eaton, of Woodville; John B. Peace, of Concordia; H. Wood, Jr., of Scooba; J. A. Hartin, of Banner; J. D. Talbert, of Cold Water; E. B. Carson, of Durant; I. B. Luck, of Mount Pleasant; E. Thompson, of Hillsboro; N. Vernor, of Cornersville; Howell Whitsill, of Wahalak; W. D. Heflin, of Sardis; J, E. McEachin, of West Point; E. H. Parham, of Michigan City; Mayor George W. Eice, MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 391 of Harrison; L. W. Tuttle, of Satartia; J. A. Fox, of Louisville; J. P. Alvis, of Waterford; W. E. Jones, of Quitman; Wyatt Wooten, of Forest; D. T. Price, of BooneviUe; A. T. Whitfield, of Artesia; J. W. Bennet, of Brookhaven; A. C. Webster of Toccopola; C. E. Norman, of Cato; Frank Mclutosh, of Beauregard; D. N. Lawrence, of Crawford; W. L. Lee, of EUisville; H. D. Thrower, of May hew; D. P. Kawles, of Morton; W. F. Cross, of Lexington; M. G. Davis, of Greenwood; S. A. Cooper, of Friar's Point; Mayor S. Hearle, of New Albany; P. T. Eaeford, of Byhalia; G. W. Vasser, of CarroUton; T. W. Wright, of Pickens; Thomas Bryan, of Pope; J. S. Smith, of Chester; Mayor J. W. Woods, of Love's station; W. J. Nelson, of Austin; W. A. McAuulty and William F. Wallace, of Kossuth; Mayor C. C. Shipp, of Springdale; J. L. Plunkett, of Carthage; Mayor Josiah Hester, of Martinsville; M. W. Howard, of Fulton; Henry Yaudell, of Benton; C. M. Williamson, of Kaymond; John H. Morgan, of Ashland; Thomas G. Brewer, of Lamar; J. R. Slaton, of Senatobia; C. Baskerville, of Horn Lake; H. C. McLaurin, of Brandon; P. H. Hamilton, of Shuqualak; T. R. Trotter, of Duck Hill; Mayor W. J. Taylor, of Charleston; J. D. Dabney, of Tchula; W. R. Minniece, of Pontotoc; V. W. Fullilove, of Vaiden; E. P. Sale, of Aberdeen; H. W. Gray, of Pleasant Hill; G. W. Tribble, of Gun town; J. T. Parker, of Buena Vista; AV. T. Holland, of Marion; G. H. Gray, of Raleigh; S. P. Lester, and W. O. Harris, of Batesville; F. W. Coleman, of Rodney; A. W. Hunter, of Tupelo; J. S. Ros- borough, of Como; W. D. Carter, of Ripley; A. Le Blanc, of Magnolia; J. T. Alvis, of Taylor; L. M. Sykes, of Muldon; Benjamin F. Kittrell, of Black Hawk; Mayor Thomas H. Hull, of Grand Gulf; W. E. Thomas, of Leakesville; G. S. Matlock, of Hickory Flats; Mayor H L. Dicken, of Newport; Mayor L. A. Powers, of West Station; J. G. Sallis, of Sallis; B. F. Archer, of Taylor's Depot; J. B. Greaves, of Edwards; D. H. Wallace, of Goodman; C. A. Pegues, of Abbeville; J. R. S. Pitts, of Waynesboro; Mayor J. B. Shaw, of Pittsboro; H. C. Mayer, of Meadville; A. A. Powell, of Coffeeville, and G. S. Henderson, of Birmingham. The measures taken, according to the reports, were effective in checking the march of disease and were so far useful. Had they been taken before the disease appeared there would be little or nothing to fear and regulations opposed to commerce and personal liberty would not have to be enforced so radically as it became necessary to enforce them. The transactions of the board for 1870 were insignificant when compared with those of 1878. The members and people rested after a year of alarms, fatigues and losses. Dr. F. W. Dancy was reappointed by the governor a' member of the board and was present at the annual meeting, April 5, 1879. B. F. Kittrell was commissioned a member, vice E. W. Hughes, deceased. George E. Redwood, vice A. H. Cage, deceased, and C. A. Rice, vice P. F. Whitehead, deceased. E. P. Sale, John Wright, S. D. V. Hill, and J. W. Bennett were appointed or reappointed members. In August, 1879, the foJ- lowin'^ points were established as quarantine stations: Osyka, Michigan City, Fort Adams, and a point between Commerce and the Tennessee line on the Mississippi river. The quarantine ofiicers appointed were Dr. W. C. Warren at Osyka, Dr. J. M. Taylor at Corinth, Dr. C. A. Rice at Polk's Lauding, uear Commerce, Dr. E. L. McGehee at Fort Adams cind Dr. Geo. E. Redwood at Michigan City. Prior to November 8th, all the stations were vacated, including the station at Horn Lake, established at the close of August. The fever at Concordia, Oak Grove and Harrison Station was stamped out immediately, the national board of health appropriating money toward that end. The annual meeting of 1880 was held at Jackson in April, 1 S80. Dr. S. V. D. Hill was elected president, and Dr. Johnston reelected secretary. The law approved March 4, 1880, abolished county boards of health and provided for the appointment of a county health officer, by the governor, on the nomination of the state board. 292 BIOGRAPHICAL AND HiaTORIOAL The chief health oflfioers of counties appointed under the net of March 4, 1880, and holdiny office in ISSO-1, wero: Adams, Dr. T. S. Sharpe, Natchez; Alcorn, Dr. W. B. San- ford, Corinth; Amite, Dr. C. H. Bates; Attala, Dr. J. M. Lewis, Kosciusko; Benton, Dr. T. L. Jackson, Michigan City; Bolivar, Dr. J. W. Dulaney, Rosedale; Calhoun, Dr. W. L. Dottery, Beutley; Carroll, Dr. G. W. Vassar, Carrollton; Chickasaw, Dr. J. S. Cain, Okolona; Clai- borne, Dr. W. D. Redus, Port Gibson; Clarke, Dr. A. V. Wolverton, Enterprise: Coahoma, Dr. J. A. Cooper, Friar's Point; Copiah, Dr. G. W. Purnell, Hazlehurst; Covington, Dr. Alex Fair- ley.Mt. Olive; Clay, Dr. J. E. McBachen, West Point; De Soto, Dr. J. H. P. Westbrook, Her- nando; Greene, Dr. B. F. Hamrick, State Line; Grenada, Dr. G. W. Trimble, Grenada; Holmes, Dr. G. C. Phillips, Lexington; Jefferson, Dr. N. L. Guice, Fayette; Jones, Dr. John M. Baylis, EUisville; Kemper, Dr. L. M. McLendon; Lafayette, Dr. J. T. Chandler, Oxford; Lauderdale, Dr. A. H. Smith, Meridian; Lawrence, Dr. James A. Rowan, Silver Creek; Leake, Dr. W. R. Blailock, Carthage; Lee, Dr. R. C. Cunningham, Verona; Lincoln, Dr. E. J. Bowen, Brookhaven; Lowndes, Dr. B. A. Vaughan, Columbus; Le Flore, Dr. M. G. Davis, Greenwood; Madison, Dr. A. T. Semmes, Canton; Marshall, Dr. A. M. West, Holly Springs; Monroe, Dr. J. M. Greene, Aberdeen; Montgomery, Dr. B. F. Ward, Winona; Neshoba, Dr. T. J. Lee, Philadelphia; Newton, Dr. C. P. Partin, Decatur; Noxubee, Dr. H. A. Minor, Macon; Oktibbeha, Dr. W. N. Ames, Starkville; Panola, Dr. A. I. Ellis, Sardis; Pike, Dr. B. U. Ford, McComb City; Prentiss, Dr. W. A Taylor, Booneville; Rankin, Dr. P. Fairley, Brandon; Scott, Dr. J. L. Gresham, Forest; Sharkey, Dr. J. C. Hall, McKinney- ville; Simpson, Dr. William Giles, Westville; Smith, Dr. A. G. MoLaurin, Raleigh; Sumner, Dr. A. H. Bays, Walthall; Sunflower, Dr. W. H. Baird, Indian Bayou; Tallahatchie, Dr. James Calhoun, Garner's Station; Tippah, Dr. W. D. Carter, Ripley; Tishomingo, Dr. Carroll, Kendrick, Corinth; Tunica, Dr. J. M. Phillips, Austin; Warren, Dr. W. T. Balfour, Vicksburg; Washington, Dr. R. S. Toombs, Greenville; Wilkinson, Dr. L. W. Magruder, Woodville; Yalobusha, Dr. H. A. Gant, Water Valley; Yazoo, Dr. R. L. Dunn, Yazoo City; J. R. Slaton, of Tate; A. A. Wheat, of Tallahatchie, and G. K. Harrington, of Hinds county, resigned; R. D. Parish, of Issaquena, declined to accept the office, and Dr. H. C. McLaurin, of Rankin cjuQty, died. The reports of health officers and of quarantine affairs at Pascagoula occupy a large space in the annual reports for 1880 and 1881. In March, 1882, the board adopted rules for the guidance of censors or examiners of physicians seeking a license to practice in this state. Dr. Johnson resigned the oiifice of sec- retary on March 17, so that the tenure of the office should be fixed, and was immediately elected to fill that position for a term of six years. Dr. F. W. Dancy was elected president. During the year five hundred and seventy oases of small pox were reported, but inspectors were only sent to De Soto, Panola, Coahoma, Bolivar, Pike, Tallahatchie, Le Flore, Holmes and Warren counties. In September the question of guarding against the introduction of yellow fever, then prevailing at Pensacola, Matamoras, Brownsville and Havana, was dis- cussed; quarantine regulations were ordered to be enforced in Jackson county and at Osyka. The reports on the small pox epidemic of 1 882, given in the report of the state board for 1882-3, are valuable contributions to the history of this disease in Mississippi. The number of licenses issued under section 17 of the act of March 17, was seventeen hundred and eighty- five, exclusive of twenty-six temporary licenses and eighty- four after examination by the cen- sors. Dr. J. M. Taylor was elected president in May, 1883. The annual meeting of 1884 resulted in the choice of Dr. B. F. Kittrell for president. Correspondence on the subject of the small-pox epidemic claimed attention first and reports of health officers next. Small-pox was reported in nineteen counties during the year 1884, MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 298 as follows: Adams, Amite, Claiborue, Clarke,' Copiah, Hancock, Hinds, Holmes, Jefferson, Lee, Marshall, Pike, Prentiss, Sharkey, Sunflower, Warren, Washington, Wilkinson and Yalo- busha, continuing in Warren county from 188.S. A case in a county warranted mention, but the state may be considered as free from disease. In 1885 Dr. Kittrell was reelected presi- dent. Owing to reports from New Orleans, La., on June 10, the necessity for establishing (quarantine stations on the New Orleans & Northeastern railroad and the Louisville, New Orleans & Texas railroad appeared urgent, and preparations were at once made to quarantine against New Orleans. Fortunately nothing more than preparation for defense was neces- sary, aad the year became noted as one in which the state reveled in good health. The issue of a circular by the board, drawing the attention of the people to the possibility of a cholera invasion and pointing out the means to prevent or restrict it, was not the least of the good deeds of this body. In April, 1886, Dr. E. P. Sale was elected president and chief health officers nominated for thirty-eight counties. The epidemic of yellow fever at Blloxi and one case of small-pox at Natchez were the only blots on the very healthful condition of the state. The record of 1 887 was equally good. In March, 1888, Dr. J. M. Taylor was elected president pro tem. and Dr. Wirt Johnston reelected secretary for six years. On November 12, 1889, the death of Dr. Hill was announced and Dr. Taylor was elected president to fill the vacancy occa- sioned by such death. The report of the secretary presented in 1^89, is substantially as follows: "It gives me pleasure to report that during the years 1888 and 1889, the state has been comparatively ex- em2)t from contagious and infectious diseases. Cases of scarlet fever, diphtheria, measles, mum])s and whooping-cough were reported in a few localities, and a case of small-pox in Lowndes county, but- nothing occurred to excite general alarm except the limited outbreak of yellow fever in Jackson in 1888. "On account of the prevalence of yellow fever in Florida in 1888, it was deem'ed prudent ))y the executive committee to declare quarantine against the infected places in that state, and this was accordingly done on August 13th, and steps were at once taken to establish stations as follows: On the Mobile & Ohio railroad, near state line, Dr. G. L. Izard, quar- antine officer; Louisville & Nashville railroad, near Murray Station, Dr. W. A. Cox, quaran- tine officer; Alabama Great Southern railroad, near Kewanee Station, Dr. J. M. Buchanan, quarantine officer; East Tennessee, Virginia & Georgia railroad, near Bell Station, Dr. E. F. Crowther, quarantine officer; Georgia Pacific railroad, near Steens Station, Dr. A. C. Hal- bert, quarantine officer; Kansas City, Memphis & Birmingham railroad, near Gattman Station, Dr. W. A. Evans, Jr., quarantine officer; Memphis & Charleston railroad, near luka. Dr. H. G. McEachin, quarantine officer. The quarantine property of the board, which was stored at Osyka and Nicholson Station, was used for the partial equipment of these stations, and Adjutant General Henry, of the State National guard, kindly permitted us to use a sufficient number of tents and cots, belonging to that department, to complete their equip- ment. This property was shipped from Pass Christian for the purpose and afterward re turned to that point by us." In December, 1889, Dr. Taylor, then president of the board, issued his address on the work of his associates since organization. He states: " Scarcely had the members of the board returned from the first annual meeting to their several homes, when, like a besom of destruction, the great scourge of 1878 swept over the state, as if intended by an outraged Providence to teach a lesson which no amount of argument or reason could teach. In this epidemic, three members of the board, ' the noblest Romans of them all,' fell at their posts 394 BIOOIiAPHIGAL AND RI8T0BI0AL of duty, and many hundreds of good citizens, and millions of dollars, were lost to the state. Since that time the board has subserved the purpose of a convenient scapegoat, if nothing (I'lse. A small appropriation has been made, not to pay for valuable services, but to defray actual expenses, and a pittance for lost time. The result of this epidemic visitation vyas a literal demonstration of the truth of a statement made by our worthy secretary in his first report: 'When epidemics come to blight the prosperity of their towns, to carry off their most useful citizens, to rob them of their loved ones, and to bring mourning into their house- holds, communities are struck with awe. They turn to the medical profession for protection. Thus aroused to the realization of the insecurity of the population against pestilence, and the powerlessness of the board of health to afford any protection, it is true the legislature did make a very liberal appropriation for the prevention and control of epidemic diseases, for which it is entitled to the gratitude of all benevolent citizens. But it is also true that the management of epidemics is only a part, and that not the most important part, of the duties devolving on a state board of health.' " While epidemics appall and paralyze the whole country by their violence and sudden- ness of attack, they come only occasionally, and in many instances it is possible to evade them by flight or other precautions, but it is a fact well known to all sanitarians, that there are many agencies constantly and silently at work everywhere, causing sickness and death at all seasons, and in all ranks of society, which might and should be prevented. Many of these causes are enumerated in the law, and the board of health is authorized and instructed to abate them, but, notwithstanding the total of sickness and deaths, and consequently loss to the state from these causes is far greater than those from all epidemics combined, no appropriations have ever been made for the former, while, as before said, ample provisions have been made for the latter. "It is very gratifying to know that, from the first organization of the board to the present time, it has uniformly had the sympathy and moral support of the governor, and the uniform and substantial support of the press is no less creditable to the newspapers of the state than it is gratifying to the board. The columns of the papers have ever been open for any communication in behalf of state medicine and public health. I am free to say that, without this support, the board could never have succeeded. The newspapers of the state, like the board of health, have done much gratuitous service, for which they are entitled to the gratitude of all right-minded people. Now, after an active service of thirteen years, the state board of health can refer with pride to its record for the manner in which it has discharged its duties with the means at its command. Its action has been characterized throughout by the strictest economy compatible with efficiency. We claim that no department of the state government can show a cleaner record than ours. "As this is probably the last official paper which I shall ever have the honor to write, I desire to renew the unqualified testimony of the entire board of health to the beneficent results of the law to regulate the practice of medicine in the state. The law is not perfect, by any means, but it is such an improvement on the old regime that we are loth to have any radical changes made in it. Pecuniarily, it is self-sustaining, and every year it is becoming more and more efficient. But not until the licentiates under section seventeen of the law have disappeared, will the full force of the law be realized. Unavoidably, many totally incompetent and unworthy persons were licensed under that section. This was clearly fore- seen, and carefully considered in the formulation of the law, but it was deemed best, for obvious reasons, not to produce any violent and sudden perturbation in the status of the medical profession of the state. This class of practitioners will constantly decrease, and MEMOIRS OP MISSISSIPPI. 295 finally cease, in a few years, by natural limitation. In the meantime, both the people and the profession will adapt themselves to the new order, the change being so gradually and quietly effected that it will scarcely be appreciated, except in the improved character of the practice which it will secure. The process of elimination might have been greatly expedited by incorporating in the law a clause for the revocation of license for incompetency and immorality. But the same conservative and cautious policy which characterizes all the medical legislation in the state, prevented the urging of such a measure. " Some legislation should be enacted to facilitate the co-operation of our board with other state boards of health. Interstate co-operation should be encouraged, as the most effectual way to prevent such senseless and ruinous panics as we had last year throughout the Southern states. With the proper interstate regulations, there could lie no necessity nor excuse for local or shotgun quarantines. And any incorporated town should be held respon- sible for all damages caused by unnecessary interference with commerce and travel. I can not discuss these subjects further now, nor have I any definite or matured propositions to make. But their importance demands, and should receive, the most careful consideration of the legislative department of the state government. It is very unjust to require delegates appointed to represent our board of health in conventions and conferences with other boards of health, not only to give their time and services, but to pay their own expenses, as has been the practice heretofore. Some conditional appropriation, at least, should be made for this purpose. "I feel it to be my duty, as a medical censor of the state, to protest against the enact- ment of special laws for the exclusive benefit of pretenders claiming to have specific remedies or methods for the treatment of cancers, consumption and other diseases, many of them incurable, obtained from Indians or other equally absurd source. Often, too, the parties so favored are totally illiterate and make no claim to any knowledge of the first principles of medicine. Such legislation not only ignores all medical science but licenses unfeeling har- pies to filch the last cent from the poor drowning wretch who will ever grasp at a straw. It is no less cruel to the poor deluded sufferer than unjust to the qualified practitioner, and should receive the prompt veto of the governor." The following report on the yellow fever at Jackson was presented in 1889. " On September 20, 1888, at about noon, two of the local physicians, Drs. Harrington and Morgan, reported that they had patients sick with a suspicious fever. The former declared his belief that his patient had yellow fever, and the suspicions of the latter were so strong as to almost amount to a conviction that his two patients also had the disease. It was at once arranged for me to visit the patients. Before doing so, however, fully appreciating the great responsibility involved in a final decision as to the character of the disease, and after consultation with Dr. J. F. Hunter, a member of the executive committee, it was decided to telegraph Drs. Bobbins and Iglehart, of Yicksburg, and invite them to come out on the evening train to see the cases with the local physicians. Then, in company with Drs. Harrington and Galloway, I visited Mr. Calhoun, the patient of the former. In company with Drs. Morgan, Galloway and Harrington, the two patients of Dr. Morgan were then visited, viz.; Mr. Lorance and Mr. Lee. After a careful examination of the cases, a consul- tation was held by the physic ians named, and it was agreed to pronounce the cases as sus- picious, and to await the arrival of the physicians from Vicksburg before positively deciding -the character of the disease. We were all of the opinion that the disease was yellow fever, but appreciating the gravity of the situation preferred to see the cases again before announc- ing a final decision. At the conclusion of this consultation the cases were announced as sus- 396 BTOQRAPHIOAL AND HI8T0RI0AL picious. Upon the cirrival of Dr. If^lnliurt, |)icsideut, of tlic Vickshurg board of health, and Dr. Ptiniell, of Ihe hospital of that city, at six o'clock p. m., tli(^ following local physicians, in company with them, visited the i'a.4os, viz. : Drs. Harrington, Morgan, Galloway, Todd, health officer of the county, Hiintkl, all of theso oeutlemen agreed that the disease was yellow fever, audit was at once reported as such. Under the laws of \\n' state, the state board of health assumed control of the sanitary management of the town, and the following was issued: " To the citizens of Jackson: Under the laws of tiie state of Mississippi, the state board of health assumes control of the sanitary affairs of the city. All persons who have not been exposed to the disease are advised to leave the city at once. Certificates should be obtained at the office of the state board of health. Wirt Johnston, secretary state board of health. "The first object in the way of preventing the spread of the disease was depopulation, and this had already commenced upon the first announcement of the fever, and was being rapidly accomplished without much assistance from us. Many of the citizens sought refuge in the surrounding country, and arrangements were made with the Illinois Central railroad, through Captain Mann, superintendent, to run special trains to convey the people to north- ern points. A census taken at the time showed that the following population remained: Whites, three hundred and ninety- eight; colored one thousand five hundred ninety-three; total, one thousand nine hundred and ninety-one. Whites protected by an attack of the disease, one hundred and twenty-six; colored protected, two hundred and ninety-nine; total ])rotected, four hundred and twenty-five. Only a few of the citizens had been exposed to the disease, and those who had not been and applied for it before leaving, were provided with a certificate to that effect. It would have been perfectly safe to have admitted the citizens who had not been exposed into any place. In the sanitary management it was our purpose to protect not only the citizens of Jackson, but of the entire state. "Arrangements were made as speedily as possible for the establishment of a refugee camp for the safety of those who had not been able to leave the town. This camp was not, however, used to any great extent, on account of the fortunate termination of the fever. " The town covers a considerable area, and the residences for the most part have large grounds and are widely separated. The exodus of citizens almost depopulated the infected district, and created long distances between inhabited dwellings. " Guards were stationed at the infected houses, with instructions to permit no one to have access except physicians and nurses; and an effort was made to keep under observation every one who had been exposed to the disease. The houses were designated by yellow flags. "As soon as the depopulation of iht- town had been accomplished, as far as practicable a night and day force of guards were stationed on all aveilues of esca])e, with instructions to permit no one to pass either in or out without written permission. "Three of the four railroads entering the town were compelled to stop running their trains on account of the quarantine restrictions along their lines. Only one road, the Illi- nois Central, continued to run its trains, and on this road a mile and a half north of the town, we established a quarantine station, where trains stopped, under the supervision of a quarantine officer, and freight and express matter was discharged; which was subsequently brought into the town by a locomotive located there. No person was permitted to get on board or oft the cars at this station, and no freight or other article from the town was per- mitted to be taken on board. All cars on sidetracks were detained. No mails left the town. MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 397 not that we thought they would be dangerous after fumigation, but because other localities refused to receive them. "As soon as practicable, disinfection was resorted to as follows: Infected bedding was burned, linen and cotton fabrics were boiled in a one to five hundred bichloride of mercury solution; the floors and walls of infected houses were scrubbed with the bichloride solution, and the rooms with their contents were subjected to sulphurous fumigation^ Of the thirteen cases reported five died. All the persons attacked were employed around the Illinois Central depot. The last cases were reported September 22, but quarantine was continued until October 12." The officers for 1890-2 are: J. M. Greene, M. D., jaresident, Aberdeen; Wirt John- ston, M. D., secretary, Jackson; members for the state at large, W. F. Hyer, M. D., Meridian; B. F. Ward, M. D. , Winona; Wirt Johnston, M. D. , Jackson; members for the first district, J. M. Taylor, M. D., Corinth; J. M. Greene, M. D., Aberdeen; for the second district, H. A. Gant, M. D., Water Valley; Chesley Daniel, M. D. , Holly Springs; for the third district, T. K. Trotter, M. D., Winona; B. P. Kittrell, M. D., Black Hawk; for the fourth district, M. J. Lowry, M. D., Meridian; R. E. Howard, M. D., Durant; for the fifth district, J. F. Hunter, M. D., Jackson; L. Sexton, M. D., Wesson; and for the sixth district, K. S. Toombs, M. D., Greenville; E. L. McGehee, M. D. , Woodville. The executive committee comprises Wirt Johnston, M. D., J. F. Hunter, M. D., L. Sexton, M. D. The transactions of the board for the two past years are not yet compiled. The reports made by the chief health officers of counties since 1 SS4 form an important part of the transactions of the board. A report from each of forty-four counties is appended. All would be given for this year were it possible to obtain them; but all which could lie obtained find a place as a" supplement to the history of the board of health, and as a record of the recognition by the people of the value of sanitary science and knowledge of health condi- tions. What was written a year ago on the health of Mississippi, applies more strongly to-day , In every particular the sanitary conditions of the state have been improved and the people show the result of such improved conditions in feature and movement. There are genei-al exceptions, of course. Malarial districts are found here as in every other state east of the Mississippi, and people are found inhabiting them. Careless men and women exist here, also, who fail to recognize the fact that disease is the companion of un cleanliness. The board of health has tried every argument with such persons, but not always with success. A general communal effort in this direction, such as that resorted to to clear a county of horse-thieves, is necessary now; for a neighbor who noes not observe cleanliness and the laws of sanitation robs village and city life of a treasure much more valuable than horses and should have no place in a community. The records of the Board of Health and State Medical association points out the variety of ailments, ordinary and extraordinary, which come under the notice of Mississippi physi- cians. The great majority of such ailments are common throughout the United States, and of the minority it may be said, that they are more virulent in some of the Northern states than in the South. Like la grippe, they are not native. They have been brought hither, and under certain conditions grow into epidemics. Such conditions are explained in other pages and the efforts to abolish them told. The principal disease of Mississippi is malarial fever, which is widespread during the summer and fall seasons, seldom or never proves fatal in the hill region, but often becomes pernicious in the alluvial or bottom lands, and fatal when it takes a hemorrhagic character. 298 BIOQRAPHIGAL AND HISTOTtlOAL In 1856 two cases of pernicidus malarial fever wtire brought, under the observation of Dr. E. W. Hughes for the first time in his life, while in later years a few cases of malarial hemor- rhagic fever were reported near Sidon on the Yazoo. During the winters of 1848, 1850, 1855 and 1858 typhoid fever prevailed in Carroll, Grenada, Tallahatchie, Yalobusha ;ind adjoining counties. Before the habits of the monster were understood many patients died under a too active treatment, but for the last quarter of a century there have not been twenty-five cases of true typhoid brought under the notice of physicians in northern Mississippi. In ]86() a disease which has been called continued fever appeared. The symptoms resembled those of cerebrospinal meningitis. The first extensive inroad of cholera into north Mississippi was made at Duck Hill, Mont- gomery county, in 1866, when one, Hazlehurst, was stricken by the disease. Of the total number of inhabitants — sixty — twenty- two were attacked; and of that number thirteen died. The stagnant ponds and lakes in the neighborhood aided in bringing on the village this ter- rible scourge. Scarlatina has been known here since 1846. In 1854 every form of this disease was presented at Grenada. In 1853, 1854, 1857 and 1858 the winter brought with it this scourge. Dysentery, sporadic, is common from April to September, but easily mastered. In 1849 and 1852 dysentery, epidemic, took possession of Carroll and Grenada counties. So severe was it in 1852, that two Caucasians and ten negroes were carried off, within the first fifteen days of July, on the plantation of Henry Purnell, and all cases might have proved fatal had not the whites and negroes removed to camps on July 1 6 of that year. The epidemic of erysipelas of 1844 was the most serious ever known in northern Missis- sippi. Since that time cases are occasionally presented, but never in epidemic form. Diphtheria was common in the upper Yalobusha and Tallahatchie country before the war, particularly in 1859 and 1860. In one case tracheotomy was resorted to with success by a Dr. B. B. Drane. la the sntnmsr of 1858 it appeared in Tippah county. Small-pox was introduced by Memphis, Tenn., negroes in 1872, into Grenada. Of ten Cau- casians attacked all recovered; but twenty-five of the fifty negro sufferers died. Whooping-cough, measles and mumps present themselves annually as in all other sec- tions of the country. Pneumonia, phthisis, rheumatism and other diseases common through- out the world are presented here occasionally, but generally wanting in virulence. In Nov- ember, 1862, however, rheumatism took possession of the negroes working on the forts at Grenada, and before April, 1863, one hundred of them died of this disease. The epidemic of 1871 at Jackson, Vicksburg and Natchez assumed a type so peculiar in characteristics that for a long time physicians were slow to pronounce it yellow fever. On July 22, 1871, an Englishman residing at Vicksburg was attacked; but the fever did not reach its highest point until November 1, that year. The disease at Natchez was called yellow fever by all the physicians there except Dr. Bonduvant, who inclined to the belief that it was typho-malarial fever. Dr. P. E. Whitehead, writing on the subject in 1872, inclines to the opinion that the disease at Natchez was of local origin, beginning under the hill and extend- ing to the city. Dr. M. S. Craft places the date of the first case at Jackson, September 7, 1871, and pronounced the epidemic yellow fever. Of thirty cases within the United States garrison at Jackson, twenty-four were fatal. Dr. Craft's paper, given in the reports of the medical society for 1873, is a brief but extraordinarily complete description of the dreaded disease as diagnosed by him at Jackson in 1871. The first mention of yellow fever in Mississippi is made under date August 22, 1701, when MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 299 Autoine Lemoyne Sauvolle died at Fort Maurepas, near Biloxi. The disease was carried from St. Domingo by one or more of the ships touching at that point, and was not then, nor is it now, indigenous. Over a century and a half passed away before any serious invasion was made. In 1853 many persons were carried off; again, in 1871 it was introduced, but not until 1878 was the character of the dreadful scourge realized. In dealing with the botany of Mississippi, in the first chapter, the names and character of the medicinal plants of the state were not given, as such a list appeared to belong to this chapter, pointing out the fact that where disease is there also is the remedy. There are at least eighty-six species of medicinal plants in the state, which may be distributed under the following heads as arranged by Dr. B. H. Whitehead: Tonics — Dogwood, American col- umbine, poplar, magnolia, sweet bay, umbrella tree, wild cherry, willow, boneset-thoroughwort, dogfennel, wild camomile, swamp dogwood, button bush, century plant. Sedatives — Yellow jasmine. Narcotics — Thorn apple, Jamestown weed, lobelia, American water hemlock, cherry laurel, swamp laurel, locust, mountain ivy. Aromatic Stimulants — Indian turnip, sweet flag, cedar, hoarhound, peppermint, spearmint, horsemint, spicewood, laurus benzoin, wild ginger, Canada snakeroot. Astringents — Persimmon, white oak, black oak, Spanish oak, live oak, dewberry, blackberry, sumac, dock, water lily, wax myrtle, chinquapin, common thick shell hickorynut, pecan, shellbark, witch hazel. Spastics — Poison oak. Emetics — Milkweed, bloodroot, pocoon, pokeroot, pokeberry, latherwood. Cathartics — American senna, wild senna, pahna christi, may apple, elder, black walnut, wild potato vine, castor oil plant. Dia- phoretics — Sassafras, butterfly weed, pleurisy root, holly, hercules club. Diuretics — Bur- dock, dandelion, purslane, dwarf stinging nettle, hydrangea seven barks. Blennorhetics — Long-leaf pine, short-leaf pine, pitch pine, trailing arbutus, ground laurel, mayflower, sweet gum. Eminenagogues — Spanish needles. Alteratives — Southern prickly ash, China briar, sarsaparilla. Demulcents — Red elm, slippery elm, mullien, pansy violets. Anthel- mintics — Pink root, worm seed, Jerusalem oak, China berry tree. Other indigenous remedies are the sneezewood, an erbine, and the mulberry. The remedies named are here to meet the natural troubles of the body. Many of them were known to the Indian medicine men and were the only remedies resorted to prior to the settlement of the country by the Caucasians. When new diseases were introduced by viola- tion of natural laws, stronger remedies were called for, and as civilization advanced calls for still more radical remedies increased, until now there is scarcely a place for the medicinal plants of Mississippi in the pharmacopoea. 300 BIOGRAPHIOAL AND HISTORIOAJ. ©HAPTEI^ XL P Mif EDUCATIONAL HISTORY. ^ ROM the period of the first Protestant-English settlements in what is now the state of Mississippi, in the latter half of the last century, the majority of those settlements sus- tained small neighborhood schools. These schools were of the very simplest character. Usually they were kept in log houses, with rough plank benches for the only furniture. They were supported wholly by private contributions, or by the tuition fees paid. The course of study rarely embraced more than the rudiments : reading, writing by copy, and arithmetic so far as the double rule of three. However, where conditions were favorable, as along the Mississippi river, in the rich-land counties, would be found a gathering of families compara- tively wealthy and often highly cultivated, whose schools would be of a better type, and include the classics and English grammar. Noteworthy among these were the Swayzes, of Adams county; the Lymaus, of Claiborne; the Vicks and Cooks, of Warren. The first known public school of any reputation in the territory was a female school established at Natchez, in the year of 1801, by the Eev. David Ker. He was assisted by his wife and daughters, who were highly finished scholars and very elegant ladies. He was of Irish birth, was an ex-professor of the University of North Carolina, and 1802 was appointed judge of the superior court. He left descendants of his name, who are yet about Natchez. Jefferson college, located at Washington, Adams county, was incorporated on the 13th of May, 1802. The institution still exists. It had no endowment at the first, the plan being that it should be supported by voluntary contributions. A site was donated by John and James Foster and Randall Gibson. On the 3d of March, 1808, congress granted to it a township of land and some lots in the city of Natchez. These grants, however, did not yield any available funds for a number of years. The city lots were adversely held, and litigation ensued, while the township lands were not yet subject to entry. Toward the close of the year 1810, an arrangement was effected whereby the buildings and subscriptions of the Washington academy, which was at work under the Eev. James Smiley, were transferred to the college, and thereby the institution was enabled to make a beginning. It was opened, on the 1st of January, 1811, on the footing of an humble academy, under the charge of Dr. Edwin Reese; Mr. Samuel Graham, assistant. In the year 1812 about |5,000 was derived from a grant of escheats made by the legislature. In 1816 the sum of $6,000, payable in four annual installments, was appropriated by the - territorial legislature, and a Mr. James McAllister employed as principal. In August, 1817, the suit with the city of Natchez over one of the lots granted by congress, was compromised by the payment to the college of 15,000; and thereupon the east wing of the college edifice was erected. In 1818 the town- ship lands began to yield something, and about $8,000 was obtained from that source. MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 301 This sum, with about $13,000 more, borrowed from the state and from bank, was applied to the completion of the buildings. Shortly afterward the values of lands declined, and the policy of the Federal government, in making land-grants on extraordinarily liberal terms, practically excluded competition, so that the college was disappointed in its expectations of further revenue from that source. A period of great financial difficulty ensued, from which it was not rescued for years, and in which executions were sometimes levied on its property, which was preserved only by the generous intervention of its trustees, who paid the debts, in some instances, from their private means. In June, 1821, Mr. McAllister retired. The academy was kept up, on a reduced scale, until 1826, when the instructor then in charge died, and the institution was closed for a period. This emergency led to a final compromise of the remaining litigation with the city of Natchez by which it was agreed to sell the property in controversy and divide the proceeds. StiU, but little benefit was derived from this expedient. Sales were slow, and at low prices. However, an agreement was made with Mr. E. B. Williston, as president, and Maj. John Holbrook, as superintendent, on a five years' lease, for the reopening of the college, on the West Point plan, at their ovm expense. It was so reopened becember 1, 1829, and with great success. In 1832, however, Mr. Williston resigned, because of failing health, and Major Holbrook died. Capt. Alden Patridge, formerly superintendent at West Point, succeeded as president. He remained but a few months. The military system was then abandoned, and the trustees determined to employ teachers at fixed salaries. One of those teachers, Mr. Charles L. Dubuisson, was made president in June, 1835. The school, however, did not flourish. It so decHned that in March, 1838, there were only twenty-five students, of whom only five were in the college proper. The collegiate department was therefore suspended for one year, and a thorough reorganization effected. Work was resumed in 1840, with an extensive course of study and a faculty of five professors. Rev. A. Stephens, president. The attendance of students was largely increased. At this time the estate of the college amounted to $251,671. This included the site and buildings, library and apparatus, bank stock, and purchase-debts of the lots in Natchez and of the township lands, the latter having been at last located and sold. Most of these funds were, however, soon lost by unfortunate investments. In 1845 the college was under the charge of Professors Jacob Ammen, John Rowland and Orrick Metcalfe, and was flourishing. In October, 1850, it passed into the hands of President Ashbel Oreen, son of Dr. Green, president of Princeton college. In April, 1853, the Kev. Charles Reighly became president, and he was followed, in July, 1856, by the Rev. E. J. Cornish. On his death, which occurred in 1859, Prof. J. J. Critchlow was appointed presi- dent pro tempore, and remained in charge until the summer of 1861. At this time, owing to the stress of finances caused by the war, salaries were suspended, and Professor Critchlow and the Rev. W. K. Douglass, as associates, were employed under a special arrangement. They conducted the school until the summer of 1863, when it was suspended. The buildings were later occupied by the Federal troops as barracks, and were not restored to the trustees until November, 1865. For seven years thereafter the college was presided over by Mr. Jesse Andrews. In the summer of 1872 Prof. J. S. Raymond, the present president, was elected, and authorized to employ an assistant. Tuition was made free, and so remained until the summer of 1875. The session of 1879-80 was a very prosperous one, and the employment of two additional assistants was authorized. Since that time the history of the college has been one of success. President Raymond is at present assisted by Prof. Matthew C. Harper and Prof. Jackson Reeves, both graduates of the state university. The effective endowment is about $40,000. This institution occupies the interesting attitude that its 302 BIOQRAPHIOAL AND HISTOBIOAL charter was the tirst granted in Mississippi for any purpose; that it is the oldest existent school in the entire South perhaps, outside of North Carolina and Virginia; that it has still never granted a baccalaureate degree ; that its students have included J. F. H. Claiborne, B. L. C. Wailes, A. G. Brown and Jefferson Davis; and that the great naturalist, J. J. Audubon, was once its drawing master. The story of Jefferson college has carried us far beyond the period of its origin. It will be necessary now to return to the date, about 1802. The limits fixed for this publica- tion forbid a full history of all the excellent schools of which information more or less satis- factory is attainable. Many quite deserving of distinct chapters will have to be dispatched with brief mention. It is to be remembered, too, that many other fine schools are not only extinct, but also lost to memory. The Franklin Society academies. — By an act passed January 8, 1807, Cato West and twenty-one others were incorporated as The Franklin society, for the purpose of establish- ing an academy at the town of Greenville, or its vicinity, in Jefferson county. The academy was successfully established, in two distinct branches, one for each sex. The Rev. and Hon. David Ker was in charge of the female academy for a period about 1810. Madison academy. — By an act passed December 5th, 1809, Samuel Gibson and twelve others were incorporated under this name, and empowered to establish the academy in the county of Claiborne, on the north fork of the Bayou Pierre, near the town of Port Gibson, under the presidency of Henry C. Cox. By an amendatory act, passed December 1, 1814, the removal of the academy to any site within three miles of Port Gibson was authorized; it was removed to that town. Washington academy, at Washington, Adams county; established about 1808, by Rev. James Smiley. In 1810, it was absorbed by Jefferson college, as related. Rickhow's academy was established for boys, at Natchez, in 1811, by the Rev. Jacob Rickhow, from New Jersey. It continued for several years. Mr. Rickhow was one of the pioneer Presbyterian ministers, and is a historical character in his church. Green academy was located in what was then Madison county, Mississippi territory, but what is now the vicinity of Huntsville, Alabama. It was incorporated in 1812, and received a donation from the territory of $500, in 1816. Washington academy was locatfd in what was then Washington county, Mississippi territory, but is now Washington county, Ala., at Fort St. Stephens. It'was incorporated in 1814, and received a donation from the territory of 1500, in 1816. The Jackson academy, in Wilkinson county, was a mixed boardingschool. Mr. William Connell was principal: Mr. Booth, steward. Board and washing were restricted to |60 per annum. It was incorporated December 27, 1814; Daniel Williams, Sr. , and eight others, incorporators and trustees. The Pine Grove grammar school, in Amite county, was established in 1814; perhaps earlier. Rev. James Smiley was principal; Mr. H. Wiley, assistant. It was -a boarding- school, with a steward. Tuition, board and washiog, $100 per annum. This was merged in the Amite academy, at Liberty, Amite county, which was incorporated December 8, 1815; James Smiley and ten others, incorporators. A $1,500 house was erected by sub- scription. The school prospered for a time, but wasted away, and in 1829 the house was occupied by a sixteenth section free school. The Pinckney ville academy, at Pinckneyville, Wilkinson county, was incorporated Decem- ber 23, 1815: Gerard C. Brandon and eight others, incorporators and trustees. It was still at work in 1825-6; Mr. William Smart, principal. MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 303 The Wilkinson academy, two and one-iialf miles east of Woodville, was incorporated December 23, 1815; Abram M. Scott (afterward governor) and eight others, incorporators and trustees. In the year 1825-6, Mr. Charles H. Talbot, late of Tennessee, was principal; in 1826, Mr. S. Hill; in 1831, Mr. J. A. Shaw; in 1832, Samuel McLelland; in 1833, Mr. Z. S. Lyons; and in 1834, a Mr. Black. Shortly after this, it seems to have become extinct. Richard Pearce and Israel Spencer, elders in the Presbyterian church, conducted a high school in Natchez from 1815 to 1820. The Shieldsboro college, located at Shieldsboro, in Hancock county, was incorporated in 1818. The first aid extended by either Federal or state government to the cause of common- school education, came in the establishment of the sixteenth section funds. On April 7, 1798, the Mississippi territory was organized. In offering the public lands, acquired from the Indians, for sale, the government pursued the usual policy of reserving in each township the section numbered sixteen (or some other in lieu thereof, whenever that section had been otherwise lawfully disposed of), for the support of schools within the township.* The act of congress of January 9, 1815, inaugurated a policy of leasing the lands on short terms. The state statute of February 5, 1818, passed pursuant to the injunction of the constitution of 1817, adopted the same plan. At first the lands were managed by the county courts, but the act of January 9, 1824, authorized the election, by the resident heads of families, of trustees, who were empowered to rent, collect and disburse the rents, erect school- houses, employ teachers, etc. The act of February 27, 1833, authorized the sale, on a credit of one to four years, of ninety -nine year leases; the purchase money to be secured by lien on the lands. The pro- ceeds, when collected, to be invested in the Planters' bank stock. The amendment of February 27, 1836, allowed the proceeds to be lent to private borrowers, at ten per cent., with security or to be invested in stock of solvent banks. Various alterations of detail were made by statute; but the foregoing system was substantially adhered to for many years. The act of 1842 required the distribution of the proceeds among all the schools of the township, in proportion to the resident scholars attending There was much mismanagement. The money invested in Planters' bank stock was lost; that invested in other banks met the same fate; many of the purchase notes were permitted to become barred by the statute of limitations ; many that were collected were so collected after protracted and costly litigation ; much of the money lent out proved to be lent on worthless endorsements, etc. It is a disgusting story. Even where there was a fund preserved it was practically useless, except in rare instances. It was a troublesome business, and the trustees were generally indifferent. Where they were not, they were embarrassed to the point of paralysis by uncertainty as to the laws._ By the year 1845, no less than fifty-three statutes, local and other, had been passed in reference to these lands. Those statutes were scattered through numerous volumes of session laws. None knew where to turn for certain knowledge. The statues were generally ill drawn, hardly ever requiring the officers to give bonds for the discharge of their duties. The landssharks were about, of course. Plots to lease cheap, plots to engross the desirable parts of a section, and defy competition as to the residue, etc. , abounded. Timber thieves were not wanting either. *A somewhat different policy was adopted in the Chiolcasaw cession, embracing about the northern one-fifth of the state; whence came the Cliiclcasaw sclioolfund, of which later. 304 BIOOBAPHIGAL AND HI8T0BIGA1. Governor Brown, in his message of January 6, ] 846, called the attention of the legisla- ture to the manner in which this interest had been most shamefully neglected, and urged the establishment of a systom of schools under a general head responsible to the state. Nothing was done. Notwithstanding the governor's message the matter went as before. In a few counties there was a semblance of attention; in the most, none; and after the Civil war, in the days of reconstruction, the greater part of what was left was either squandered or stolen. Meanwhile, the lands are out of hand for ninety-nine years, with a few exceptions where they have not been in request. They will begin to revert about 1933; but what will then be their value agriculturally, after a century of skinning, it needs no prophet to foresee. As the county superintendent of Sharkey county put it, "boards of supervisors are, from time to time, donating, as it were, to individuals valuable sections of land belonging to the people, upon the virtual condition that, after enriching the happy individual and his offspring, it shall be turned over, worn out and worthless, to the remote posterity." To sum up, there are fifty- seven counties that should be largely endowed from this source. Of that number, nineteen have no trace of the fund left; three have an income for the whole county of less than $100; twelve others have incomes of 1300 or less; seven others, incomes between $300 and $500; two others, incomes of about $800; three others, between $1,000 and $2,000; and one, an income of about $3,000. Eleven others report lands of more or less value still on hand (mainly of little account) ; and the remaining counties make no report. The Beach Hill academy and Methodist meeting-house (sic) was incorporated on February 6th, 1818; Isaac Dunbar and four others being incorporators and trustees. The Elizabeth Female academy, located at Washington, Adams county, was the first high school exclusively for girls in the state; and was the first school established by any Protestant denomination in all the extreme South. In the year 1818 Mrs. Elizabeth Roach donated the land and buildings, on condition that the donees, the Mississippi conference of the Methodist Episcopal church, should maintain there a high school for the education of girls. It was incorporated in 1819. It maintained until the day of extinction a very high character for thoroughness of tuitional work. In all but name it was a college. The first presi- dent was Mr. C. Stiles, from Claiborne county; Mrs. Jane B. Sanderson, governess. Mr. Stiles died in 1822, and was succeeded by the Rev. John C. Burruss, a most accomplished gentleman. Under him, Mrs. Caroline M. Thayer, a near relative of Dr. Warren, the hero of Bunker Hill, was governess. Prom 1828 to 1832 the Rev. Benjamin M. Drake was presi- dent. In 1833 he was followed by the Rev. J. P. Thomas, and Mrs. Thayer was succeeded by Mrs. Susan Brewer. In 1836, the Rev. Bradford Frazee became president; and in 1839, the Rev. R. D. Smith, Miss Lucy A. Stillman being governess. There is extant an old report which shows the number of boarders (but not of the day schoLirs) for the first eleven years. They were as follows: for 1819, twenty-eight; for 1820, twenty-eight; for 1821, seventeen; for 1822, thirteen; for 1823, eighteen; for 1824, twenty-five; for 1825, ten; for 1826, thirty; for 1827, forty; for 1828, forty-five; for 1829, sixty-three. The course of study embraced penmanship, English, French, Latin, geography, ancient and modern history, belles lettres, arithmetic with the elements of mathematical sciences, astronomy with the use of the globes, chemistry, natural, moral and mental philosophy, constitution and government of the United States, the Bible and evidences of Christianity. About 1844, after a career of about twenty- five years of great usefulness, the academy was abandoned, other schools more favor- ably located having drawn its patronage away. MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 306 The Natchez academy was iueorporated February 12, 1819; Dr. John Hosmer and thir- teen others being incorporators and trustees. Dr. Hosmer was the principal. He and his wife had come from Lexington, Ky., in the December previous, for the express purpose of opening a female academy, "as good as any in the United States." The institution seems to have perished soon. Its charter and property were used later, as will be shown under the date 1829. Pearl River academy, in Lawrence county, was incorporated February 12, 1819; William Cooper, Sr., and four others being incorporators and trustees. The Wilkinson Female academy, of Wilkinson county, was incorporated February 19, 1819; John Joor and five others being incorporators and trustees. The Columbian academy, of Marion county, was incorporated February 10, 1820; Benjamin Lee and seven others being incorporators and trustees. The first effort made by the state in aid of general education was in the establishment of the literary fund. This was done by the act of 26th of November, 1821. All escheats, confiscations, forfeitures, and derelict; all fines, penalties and forfeitures not otherwise ap- propriated; aU goods of persons dying intestate and without heirs, were appointed to this fund. It was directed to be invested in bank stock or leut on security. Its object was, first, to aid in the education of poor children; secondly, to endow and encourage schools. Such portion of the fund as should be left unused in the education of poor children was to be divided among schools to be kept in the different counties, for such purposes as the legis- lature should deem best for the promotion of literature; but no distribution of this kind could be made until the surplus should amount to 150,000. The Planters' bank, in the stock of which nearly all, if not quite all, of the fund was in- vested, failed, and was put into liquidation in 1844. Its stockholders realized nothing from their stock. The fund proper was wiped out of existence at one sweep. It would hardly have been worth while to dwell on the Literary fund, so barren was it of visible fruit, except that the establishment and cherishing of it for a period of eighteen years discloses an anxiety in the minds of the people of the state to further the cause of education, and except for the further fact that it was one of the progressive steps by which, through failure and disaster, the present stage was reached. The Franklin academy, located at Columbus in Lowndes county, was established in 182 1 , by authority of the legislature. It was, by twenty-four years, the earliest free school of note and permanency in the stale. It was and is a sixteenth section school. At the time of its foundation the county of Lowndes formed a part of Monroe, and was separated from the residue of the state in white occupancy, by the intervening lands of the Choctaw Indians. The school section was divided into lots and leased for ninety-nine years. At first they paid an annual rental of about $8,000; but in the financial troubles of 1837-40, a system was in- augurated of forfeiting the leases, and releasing at lower rates, the result of which was that the income dwindled to about $2,400 per annum from that source. It has, however, been supplemented by taxation so as to maintain the school on an efficient basis. From the begin- ning, there were distinct male and female departments. Until the year 1839, there was a full collegiate course free, but at that time, owing to complaint that the resources of the institu- tion were taxed for the support of a high curriculum to the partial exclusion of the children of the poor, a reorganization was made by which the higher courses, especially of Latin and Greek, were left off. In 1842, there was a further modification, by which the course was di- vided into five classes, all except the first being required to pay tuition fees ranging from |4 to $12 per session of four months. Under this management less attention was paid to the 306 BIOOBAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL higher branches, and other schools were established for them. Later, the Odd Fellows school was destroyed by fire, which led to the gradual re-establishment of the former high grade at the academy ; and that high grade has been maintained ever since that time. In 1876, a branch for colored children was established. A very handsome additional building has been recently erected, and the school is kept open for nine months of the year. So early as 1837 the attendance of pupils had reached about two hundred; but prior to the reorganization of 1839, it had fallen away to about one hundred. That measure immediately brought the number up to about four hundred. The numbers since have varied. The annual attendance is now about one thousand, of which about six hundred and fifty are white. A full account cannot now be given of the various principals. In 1836, Prof. Robert B. Witter was in charge of the male department, with two assistants, while Mrs. M. A. Innes and an assistant were in charge of the female department. In September, 1837, a Mr. Swift was in charge, and he was followed, in June, 1838, by the Kev. H. Eied. In July, 1839, Mr. James T. Hoskins was elected prin- cipal of the male branch and given two assistants, while Miss C. Mathieson was placed in charge of the female, also with two teachers. In 1841 the male department was under Mr. J. J. W. Payne, with one assistant; and the female, under Mr. McLean and wife. Passing over the long list of other teachers, it remains to note that the academy is now under the presidency of Prof. Pope Barrow, a graduate of Eandolph-Macon college, and that he has a corps of eleven assistants in the white branch alone. This school has been always a progressive one. As far back as 1841, is to be found a communication in the Argus making a protest against "the new experiment now being tried in Columbus of teaching our children to spell before they learn their alphabet." The Sligo academy, of Wilkinson county was incorporated November 20, 1821; John B. Posey and seven others being incorporators and trustees. Brevost's academy was established at Natchez in 1822. Mr. Brevost employed the eel - ebrated naturalist, John J. Audubon, to teach drawing. The Lancastrian academy was in operation in Natchez in 1825. Mr. A. Kinsey conducted an academy for young ladies in the same city at the same time. Cicero Jefferson and Alva Parnsworth kept a classical school on Main street, in Natchez, in 1825, and it had an evening-school feature. The Flower Hill academy was incorporated in 1825, but the statute does not name the location of the school Fox academy, a boardingschool for girls, was opened near Woodville, in March, 1826, by the Eev. James A. Fox, an Episcopalian clergyman. His wife assisted. The school con- tinued a number of years. Burroughs seminary was opened at Woodville in 1826, by three sisters: Hannah, Cor- nelia A., and Caroline M. Burroughs. It was a boardingschool for girls. Music and dancing were taught. A popular and useful school for, at the least, ten years. The Port Gibson academy was incorporated in 1826, under the name of Clinton academy. The name was changed by an amendatory act in 1829. Who first had it in charge is not known. In 1835 the principals of the female branch were E. A. and S. Eoyce. In 1838 it was under the presidency of a Mr. Smith, who was " an experienced teacher and a graduate of Brown university." He was assisted by his wife and two others. The senior course embraced mineralogy, geology, trigonometry, mensuration, astronomy (including astronomical calculations), political economy, mental and moral philosophy, logic, elocution, analogy, sacred history, Latin, Greek, French and German. There were art and music depart- ments on a considerable scale. In 1840 Mr. Smith was succeeded by Prof. George P. Strong, just from Mississippi college. The school SQems to have failed about the year 1844, MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 307 The Mississippi college. The foundation of this institution was laid in 1826 by the incorporation of the Hampstead academy, located at Mt. Salus (now Clinton). It is note- worthy as being the first school of a successful character established in the territory acquired by the treaty at Doak's Stand, by which the Chootaws ceded the country lying, roughly speaking, between the south boundary of Hinds and the north boundary of Holmes, the east boundary of Eankin and the Mississippi river. The school was, at first, a village school, the fruit of private enterprise. It began work in January, 1 827. In February its name was changed to the Mississippi academy, and the state granted to it for five years from February, 1825, the rents of the seminary lands. At this time Mr. G. F. Hopkins was principal, and there were over thirty pupils. Males and females had separate rooms. The classics, higher mathematics, with their practical applications, chemistry, astronomy, rhetoric, etc., were taught. In 1829, Daniel Comfort was president; there were about ninety pupils; and the state lent the institution $5,000 for the purpose of erecting buildings. In 1830 the name was changed to the Mississippi college; two handsome buildings were completed, one for boys and one for girls. In June, 1832, there was a grand commencement, and two young ladies. Miss Lucinda F. Bagley, of Covington, La., and Miss Caroline H. Couluer, of Vicks- burg, graduated, and received degrees. The president delivered a baccalaureate. The first degrees conferred in this state, therefore, were conferred on women. In 1834 the college was organized into two distinct departments, one for each sex; each with a distinct faculty, but under a common president. In 1835 and 1836, the male branch was under I. N. Shep- herd and E. W. F. Sloane. It was thriving. The teachers claimed their course of study to be of the best. They delivered public lectures on natural philosophy and chemistry every Friday evening. The female branch was under Mrs. Thayer (late of Elizabeth Female academy), and a Miss Parker. Until October, 1836, however, there was no president. Prof. E. N. Elliott, of the Indiana university, was then engaged, and there was a complete change of faculties. President Elliott took personal charge of the male department with two pro- fessors. The female department was placed under Profs. Henry and George P. Strong and Mrs. Sarah K. P. Failes, as associate principals, with three assistants. At this time the institution became involved financially. Unable to meet its engagements to the professors of the male department, they resigned in November, 1837. Toward the end of 1839, Professor Strong gave up the female branch, and both departn:ents were then placed under Prof. H. Dwight, then lately from the University of Louisiana, who was assisted by his wife and a Miss Potter. After an unsuccessful attempt, in 1841, to negotiate for the adoption of the college by the Methodists for their Centenary college (then in the process of establishment), it was placed, in 1842, under the fostering care of the Clinton presbytery. A strong faculty was then organized: Rev. Alexander Campbell, former president of Sharon academy, was president; assisted, in the male branch, by Rev. Robert McLain, Rev. C. Parish, Dr. E. Pickett and U. W. Moffit; in the female branch, by Miss H. E. Gillespie. For some years the college did well. In July, 1845, Mr. M. A. Foute, of Jackson, received the degree of bachelor of arts, and is therefore the first male graduate of this institution. At this time the Rev. A. Newton, an educator of high standing and great experience, was in charge of the female department with two assistants. In 1846 the Rev. P. Cotton was president. He was followed, in 1848, by the Rev. C. Parish. Again financial troubles arose and the college began to decline- Whereupon, in July, 1850, the presbytery .surrendered their control over it. In the following November the property was transferred to the Mississippi Baptist state convention, and in the same fall, the first session under that management was opened. The female feature was 308 BIOOBAPHICAI. AND fflSTOBlOAL dropped. It did not at first aspire to he oousidered a college. Mr. I. N. Unier was made principal. Eighty-four students were enrolled, and the session closed with three teachers. In 1851 a movement was inaugurated to secure an endowment of $100,000 by subscriptions. In 1853 college classes were organized, and in 1854 Mr. C. C. Granberry graduated, the first under the Baptist management. In 1858 the subscription to the endowment had reached $102,800, and a special subscription was started for the building of a chapel, to be used also as a church. This building was completed in 1860 at a cost of about $30,000. In that year, also, Mr. Urner was formally made president. When the war broke out some of the students and three of the professors formed the company called the Mississippi College Eifles and joined the Confederate army. A small school was continued at a heavy expense. The war was very disastrous. Not only was the endowment fund practically annihilated, but, also, the owners of the scholarships which were purchased by such parts of it as had been paid up, called for their rights of free tuition, so that receipts from that quarter were very largely prevented. However, they struggled along. In September, 1867, Dr. Walter Hillman, a graduate of Brown university, was elected president. He began with one assistant and eleven pupils. The total enrollment for the year was twenty-nine. Year by year there was improve- ment. In 1872 Dr. Hillman resigned and was succeeded by the present incumbent. Dr. W. S. Webb, a graduate of Madison university. In that year, also, another endowment subscrip- tion was started. It soon grew to about $40,000, but the financial crash of 1873 rendered it almost worthless. In 1891 a third effort was made to this end, and at last success has crowned the so persistent labor, the sum of $60,000 having been secured. The convention furnishes, from jear to year, a contribution to the running expenses. This institution, after all of its interesting vicissitudes, seems to be at last on an assured basis. There are in the faculty the president, five professors, a principal and an assistant for the preparatory depart- ment. There is a high collegiate curriculum, and about two hundred and fifty pupils attend annually, while the troublesome scholarships of the date prior to the war have been all, or nearly all, surrendered. Fayette academy — Incorporated in 1827 and organized with distinct male and female departments at Fayette, in Jefferson county. Its earliest management is now unknown, but in 1831 the male department was under the charge of Messrs. J. J. Sanford and Charles Clarke, gentlemen of collegiate training, the female department being managed by Mr. Sanford and his wife. In 1837 a Mr. Scheling and his wife assumed charge of the academy, and they were followed, in November, 1838, by Mr. Thomas Brown, Jr., of Carlisle, Penn. , his wife (a French lady) and her sister. In December, 1 840, the Browns left and the academy passed into the hands of Miss Ann Jenkins. She was followed, in 1842, by Rev. Mr. Morris, son and daughter. They, in turn, in 1850, by Rev. William M. Curtiss, a Methodist clergyman, then of New Orleans, whose extensive personal influence brought the academy to a measure of success it had not before known. Mr. Curtiss resigned in 1855. In 1857 the charter was amended so as to authorize the transfer of the academy to the Mississippi presbytery. This being done. Rev. Mr. Tenney was made principal. Under this arrangement the school pros- pered. There was an average attendance of about eighty boarding pupils, with the usual complement of day scholars. After the Civil war a Mr. Hay conducted the school, but it languished and he resigned. The building became dilapidated, the property passed into the hands of the county and was used for free school purposes. In 1883 it was retransf erred to the presbytery, and this body, in 1884, appointed Miss Kate Wharton principal. This lady, in the following year, purchased the property and it has prospered with her. There are about sixty scholars; property worth about $20,000. This is the oldest existing female school in the state. MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 309 The Westville academy, of Simpson county, was incorporated in 18'27. The Spring Eidge academy, of Madison county, was established in the summer of 1828 under the charge of Eev. M. Marshall. In ] 830 he associated with himself the Rev. A. Newton. Apparently the first high school north of Clinton, it was incorporated in 1833. The Natchez academy seems to have been revived in the spring of 1829. The old charter and the same building were used. It was opened in September; Rev. Isaac S. Demund, principal. Latin, Greek, French, the higher mathematics, and the usual English branches were taught. Edward Turner and John A. Quitman were members of the board of trustees. In 1832, the academy was under N. Shotwell and S. H. B. Black, as coprin- cipals; in 1833, under Mr. Black alone. It seems to have become extinct about the year 1840. Zion Hill academy, in the northern portion of Amite county, was flourishing in 1829, and before. Messrs. Borden and Taylor, Northerners, founded it, and were credited with great industry and ability. In 1839, the school was still at work, under Mr. L. E. Davess. Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence kept a high school in Natchez in 1829. Nathaniel Hunt kept another in the same city, at the same time. Baldwin's seminary, a boarding school for girls, was flourishing in the same city in 1829; M. W. Baldwin was principal, assisted by the Misses Rogers and Dunlap; Mrs. Richard Walsh music teacher. Mrs Cornell's academy, another boarding school for girls, was also kept in Natchez in 1829, by Mrs. M. F. R. L. Cornell. This lady in 1832 had associated with herself as coprincipal Mr. John H. Black, A. M. There were teachers of modern languages and of music, and a scientiflc apparatus. Elvah academy was established in 1829, at Brighton, on Second creek, in Adams county. It was a flourishing and noted school for a number of years. In 1841, a Mr. John S. Mosby was principal. He was much praised. In 1848, a Mr. Cykaski was instructor in French, music, fencing and gymnastics. In June, 1850, the Rev. Joseph Brown, of Memphis, Tenn. , was engaged to take charge of the mathematics and the classics, and in November of that year Mr. Mosby added a department of natural sciences. The Pearl River academy, at Brandon, in Rankin county, was incorporated in 1829. In the year 1834, the male branch was in successful operation, and efforts were making to estab- lish a female branch. A lottery was on foot for that purpose. In 1837 and 1838 the male department was under a Mr. Boynton, who gave great satisfaction. In 1836, 1837, and until July, 1838, the female department was under Miss Cynthia A. Lovell, of Vermont (afterward Mrs. Miller). She then died, greatly regretted, and the school passed into the hands of a second Miss Lovell. In 1846, the male department was under Mr. H. H. Horner. The Benton academy, at Benton in Yazoo county, was incorporated in 1829. This school is remarkable as being the first to be incorporated north of what is now the Vicksburg and Meridian railroad. Levin and Bynum's academy, with male and female departments, was opened in Wood- ville, May 10th 1830, by Lewis C. Levin, afterward a member of congress from Pennsylvania. In April, 1831, he associated Mr. Alfred Bynum, afterward editor of the Woodville Republican. Levin retired in August, and the school seems to have suspended for a period. It was revived in 1833, and was conducted through two years, perhaps longer. The Brandon academy was flourishing in 1830, near Fort Adams in Wilkinson county. It was a noted and useful school. Mr. John J. Michie was principal; followed in July, 1832, by the Rev, Samuel R, Bertron. This was a sixteenth section school, named in honor of 310 BIOOBAPHIGAL AND HISTORICAL Governor Braudoii ; a boardingscliool. In the years 1834 and 1835, James O. H. VanVacter was principal; in 1836, the Rev. Dr. John Gibson. The Hampden academy, of Raymond, Hinds county, was incorporated in 1830. The Union academy, of Jefferson county, was incorporated in 1830. The Marion academy, of Wilkinson county, was also incorporated in that year. Oakland college, located in Claiborne county, was established in 1830, mainly through the efforts of the Rev. Dr. Jeremiah Chamberlain. It was under the care of the Mississippi presbytery. Dr. Chamberlain was the first president. It opened May 14th as a mere grammar school, with three pupils; but at the end of the session there were sixty-five, two of whom were sophomores and five freshmen. Mr. John Chamberlain gave instruction in mathematics and English. In 1831 a charter was obtained, as the institution of learning, under the care of the Mississippi presbytery. The first commencement was held in 1883, and Mr. James M. Smiley, afterward vice chancellor of the state, received an A. B., being the first man to take a degree at any institution in this state. The principal object of Oakland col- lege was to educate young men for the ministry. Dr. John Ker, son of the Rev. David Ker, secretly denoted the sum of $25,000 for the endowment of a theological professorship; and in 1 837 the Rev. Zebulon Butler was made temporary professor. In a short time the Rev. S. Beach Jones, of New Jersey, was elected to that chair. This professorship was continued only until 1841, but during that time many young men entered, by its aid, not only the Presby- terian ministry, but also that of other denominations. In 1839 the college was transferred to the synod of Mississippi, under which management it remained until the year 1871. At this time the college was very prosperous. It owned two hundred and fifty acres of land; there were three professors' houses, fifteen cottages, a main building of three stories in the course of erection, an apparatus which had cost $1,500, a library of one thousand volumes, two socie- ties' libraries of three thousand volumes more, and an endowment subscription of $100,000. Improvements were made from time to time, until it became one of the handsomest and most equipped institutions of its period in the South. In September, 1851, Dr. Chamberlain was killed. The Rev. R. L. Stanton, D. D., succeeded him. The faculty at this time was composed of five members ; one thousand youths had attended the different sessions, and of them one hundred and twenty had graduated. The Rev. James Purviance followed Dr. Stanton as president; and he, in turn, was followed in 1860 by the Rev. William L. Breck- inridge, of Kentucky. The Civil war soon terminated his service. After the cessation of hostilities the institution resumed it labors. The Rev. Joseph Calvin, D. D., was made president, but he soon died, and on that event the doors of the college werjs. virtually closed. In 1871, because of the destruction of its resources through the calamities of war, the property of the college was sold to the state, which used it for the establishment of the Alcorn uni- versity for colored youths. The funds remaining after the payment of debts were transferred by the synod to the presbytery of Mississippi for the establishment of an institution of learn- ing; and thereupon, in 1877, the presbytery established the Chamberlain- Hunt academy, at Port Gibson. Incorporated in 1877, it was named after Dr. Chamberlain and David Hunt, one of the most generous founders of Oakland college. The fitst session was that of 1879. The buildings are mainly of brick, and are large and well arranged. The library has about two thousand volumes. The endowment is about $40,000. In the academic department are taught Latin, Greek, French, English, English literature, natural sciences, bookkeeping, history, and mathematics as far as, and including trigonometry and surveying. Prof. W. C. Guthrie, A. B., of Washington and Lee, is principal, and has been from the beginning. There are four other teachers, and an annual attendance of about one hundred and twenty pupils. MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 311 Mount Carmel academy was situated at Mount Carmel, in Covington county. Founded by John Ryan, Esq., at a date not exactly known, but prior to 1830, it is remarkable as the first school of the class established in southeast Mississippi. On Mr. Ryan's death, about 1832, there was a suspension of several years; but in 1835 it \\ as revived, and three build- ings, designed for the male and female departments and music hall, were erected by subscrip- tion. About this time it was conducted by Rev. W. H. Taylor, a graduate of Brown univer- sity, recommended by Doctor Wayland. On the 13th of May, 1837, it was incorporated, Samuel Hemphill and eleven others being incorporators and trustees. For two years there were seventy to eighty students. After that, a suspension for a few months caused by want of suitable teachers. In 1840, Mr. Robert C. Cohean, an able teacher and accomplished scholar, was engaged, and he conducted several prosperous sessions. About 1842, the Rev. Azariah R. Graves, a Presbyterian minister, took charge. Mr. Graves did not long maintain this school. Having determined that another locality in the same county offered better advantages, about the year 1S45 Mount Carmel was finally abandoned in favor of Zion seminary, also in Covington county. In this connection, Mr. Graves deserves more than a passing notice. His was one of those admirable souls filled with a deep and fruitful sympathy for the poor and the ignorant. He was a missionary in a remote extremity of the presbytery, where schools were almost unknown. The earliest history of him now obtain- able is that, in the early winter- of 1837-8, he was employed, under strong recommendations from Rev. Dr. Chamberlain, president of Oakland college, and other distinguished gentle- men, a man of unblemished character, a ripe scholar and a skillful teacher, to conduct the Monticello academy. He remained at Monticello only one year, leaving in the autumn of 1838, under the highest commendations both as teacher and minister, for a better field in the neighborhood of Gallatin, in Copiah county. At Zion, seminary buildings vfere erected; teachers vrere brought from the North, who in several instances, being ministers, combined the work of an evangelist with that of a teacher ; instruction was offered upon such easy terms that all who wished could avail themselves of it; and the expenses of the institution were pro- vided for by donations solicited by Mr. Graves from benevolent patrons in all parts of the presbytery. This process was kept up for a series of years, and the good effects of it were seen in the elevation of a generation of youth, and in the general diffusion through the commu- nity of a conviction of the value of mental and religious culture. It had been Mr. Graves' hope that the school he had begun would become ultimately self-sustaining, or so well endowed as to become permanent, but this hope was frustrated by the calamities attend- ing and following .the war. The institution was suspended and finally was abandoned, and Mr. Graves himself did not long survive its extinction. From the outset, he had placed Zion seminary under the care and supervision of the presbytery. Mrs. Dunlap's academy was at work in Woodville, in the year 1831. The Meridian Springs academy, of Hinds county, was incorporated in 1831. W. H. Bruner and wife were conducting an academy in Vicksburg, in and before the year 1832, probably the Vicksburg institute, incorporated in 1831. Prior to 1837, they re- moved to Natchez. Mrs. Callan's female academy was opened in Vicksburg, March, 1832. Leigh's classical school, in Vicksburg, was established by Junius E. Leigh, in March, 1832. The Mount Hope seminary, one and one-half miles east of Woodville, a boarding-school for girls, was opened in January, 1832, by the Misses A. and L. Calder. It was moved into Woodville, nearly opposite Baptist church, in 1836, and was called the Wilkinson Female seminary. A solid and lasting school, it was still at work in 1849. 312 BIOORAPfflGAL AND HISTORICAL Marshall's classical school for both sexes was opened in Wilkinson county, in 1832, by the Rev. Mr. M. Marshall, formerly of Spring Ridge academy, Madison county. Mrs. Stark's boarding school for girls was at work in Woodville in 1832; probably continued into, or through 1885. The Gallatin male and female academies at Gallatin in Copiah county. The female academy was incorporated in 1 833 ; the male academy in 1836. In 1 839, the female academy, taught in the Masonic hall, was prospering under the government of a Mrs. Speer, late from Natchez ; the male academy, with a building of its own, under a Mr. Monfort. The Oak Ridge academy, in Warren county, was opened, for girls exclusively, in 1833. Mr. and Miss Goddard opened a sixteenth section school of high grade, for both sexes, in Warren county, in 1833. Bristol and Featherston were conducting a classical school in Viekeburg, in 1833. The Pearl River academy, of Madison county, was incorporated in 1833. A good school, of a long career. It was at work in 1846, under the charge of J. W. Dana. The Yazoo academy, of Benton, in Yazoo county, was incorporated in 1883. It had a long and chequered career. In 1842 the female department was under charge of Mrs. A. Goodrich and Miss Healy, Mr. Alfred Goodrich pirofessor of music; the male department was under Mr. John Fulton, late of Kentucky. In the fall Mr. Fulton was succeeded by a Mr. Campbell; and a Mr. Keeparis appears as classical teacher and assistant in physical sciences. When the county seat was removed to Yazoo City, about 1850, the old courthouse was donated for school uses. In 1864 the schoolhouse and boardinghouse were destroyed by the Federal army ; rebuilt since, by private enterprise, but on a reduced scale. Merged in the Benton high school, chartered in 1883 through efforts of Prof. J. G. Wooten, then principal. Present principal, C. D. Thompson; annual attendance about ninety ; and confers degrees. The Judson institute was remarkable for two reasons: it was the first appearance of the Baptists in the educational work, and of the manual labor plan. The movement was inaug- urated by the Baptists of Hinds county, and perhaps of other counties, in March, 1835. In May, 1837, upward of 1135,000 had been subscribed, and between 16,000 and 17,000 had been collected. A tract of land containing more than six hundred acres had been purchased a farm was going on, and the institution was ready for the reception of students. Provision was made for the education of pious young men for the ministry. The institute had been incorporated in the year previous, and the location was at Spring Ridge, near Palestine church, five miles south of Raymond, in Hinds county. It was not a convention school, but belonged to an independent society styled the Mississippi Baptist Education society. S. S. Lattimore was its first financial agent, and L. B. HoUoway the first teacher and presi- dent. In November, 1838, Mr. Holloway had been succeeded by Rev. W. H. Taylor, a graduate of Brovm university, who had taught successfully at Mt. Carmel. The farm it seems, had been purchased in part on credit. 1839 efforts were making to sell residence lots to persons desirous of living at the institute to educate their children; the proceeds to be devoted to paying for the farm, and in part to the erection of suitable buildings. In 1839 the location in Hinds county was abandoned, and the institution moved to Middleton in Carroll county, Mr. Taylor continuing a classical school at the old site, under the name of Taylor's institute. The move to Middleton did not produce the good results hoped for. There seems to have been an indifference to the institution which was fatal. The great financial disasters of 1837-40 apparently prevented the collection of any great part of the subscriptions which had been made. An attempt of the convention of 1842 to adopt the MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 313 institution was defective, for want of an amendment of the charter. The Judson does not seem to have ever rallied, but fell into other hands and was lost to the denomination, and, indeed, lost to everybody. The Grand Gulf academy was opened in April, 1835, under the charge of Calvin Miller, a former student of the Miami university and the United States Military academy. In 1837 Mr. Miller moved to Clinton, to practice law; and the academy passed into other hands. The Tuscahoma academy was opened at Tuscahoma, in Tallahatchie county, in 1835. The Rev. Francis Rutherford and wife were placed in charge. A spacious two-story brick building was erected, and a high grade of study was established. Incorporated in 1838. The Holly Springs Female institute was organized in 1836 — the same year in which the Chickasaw cession was organized into counties. Trustees were appointed at a meeting of the citizens held for the purpose, and a Miss Mosely was employed to teach the first session. In 1837, a Mr. Baker and his wife were principals. In the same year Holly Springs was incor- porated. The sum of §10,500 was appropriated by the corporate authorities for the develop- ment of the academy. In 1838, Mr. Thomas Johnson was made principal; a more desirable lot was purchased, containing four acres; the cornerstone of a handsome brick structure, two stories high, and 60x64 feet, was laid, and pianos were purchased. There were about eighty pupils. The music department was under the care of Mr. and Mrs. Kenno, and was well conducted. There was a collegiate department, with a high curriculum. In May, 1839, Mr. Johnson was succeeded by the Rev. C. Parish, late a professor in the Holly Springs univer- sity. He was assisted by Miss Ruth Beach, Rufus Beach, Esq., and his daughter Eliza were the music teachers, and Mrs E. Langley in the ornamental branches. In this year the insti- tute was incorporated. In January, 1842, Mr. Parish resigned. He was followed by the Rev. C. A. Foster, an Episcopalian clergyman, under a lease for five and a half years. He was assisted by the Rev. A. P. Merrill and wife, and Miss Martha W. Frazer; J. F. Goneke and daughter music teachers. A fine cabinet of minerals, a good philosophical apparatus, and a library, were provided, and part of the grounds was laid off as a botanical garden. The attendance of pupils for 1842 was about one hundred, for 1843 about one hundred and twenty, for 1844 about one hundred and fifty. In 1843 Prof. Goneke and daughter were succeeded by a Mr. Morse, late of Jackson, and a Miss Covington. The school made quite an enviable reputation. The examinations were held in public, and the pupils were questioned on the higher branches, such as geometry, geology and mental philosophy, and were required to con- verse in public in the French tongue. In 1845 Professor Foster resigned and was succeeded by the Rev. James Weatherby, late of the Oxford Female academy. The Rev. G. W. Sill became president in the fall of 1848, and under him the institute came to its best career. The buildings were all completed, and the haUs were crowded with bright girls from all the country round about. In 1856 the Rev. N. Chevalier became president, and he was suc- ceeded in 1858 by J. H. Hackleton. This gentleman remained in charge until the Civil war swept the institution out of existence. It was burned by an incendiary. The University of HoUy Springs gives the first appearance in the state of a title so pre- tentious. It was first agitated in the summer of 1836 (being' the same year in which the Chickasaw cession was organized into counties) by the Rev. Robert Hardin, a Presbyterian minister who had come down from Maury county, Tenn., on a prospecting expedition. There was a town meeting, there were addresses, committees were appointed, and a board of trustees organized; but there the matter stopped for a while, on Dr. Hardin's final determina- tion to remain in Maury county. However, a classical school was established and placed under the care of Mr. F. A. Brown. The question of the university was revived in June, 314 BIOORAPHIOAL AND HISTORIGAL 1887, by Dr. W. P. King. The trustees were increased; a subscription, aggregating $22,- 650, was raised. A two-story brick building was erected in 1837, and the academical depart- ment of the school opened with consideralile ;idvertisement, under the charge of Rev. C. Parish and Mr. Brown. The collegiate department was opened in 1838; Rev. Joseph Travis, president pro teiii.; Rev. C. Parish, professor of ancient languages; J. B. Clausal, professor of mathematics and natural philosophy; Charles R. Lemauski, professor of modern lan- guages; William H. Blake, principal of preparatory department. In 1839 the university was incorporated. Being pressed for money and patronage, it was shortly afterward trans- ferred to the Methodist church, the faculty remaining unchanged. This experiment proved also a failure; and the church soon gave it up. The Holly Springs Gazette of November 4, 1842, says of it: "With the buildings sufficient for a college, it seems to have been neglected, if not wholly abandoned. " In 1843, an effort was made to reanimate the university. The services of Elisha Bass, Jr., and Frederic Sanborn were secured. Still no success followed. It is a significant fact that editorials in the Gazette, of date December 1, 1 843, and December 13, 1844, on the schools of Holly Springs, make not the least mention of the university. Richland academy, located at Shongalo, a village now deserted, but formerly in Carroll county, about one mile west of Vaiden, was incorporated in 1836. A two-story building, 26x46 feet, with three apartments, sufficiently large for the accommodation of one hundred pupils, was erected in 1837-8. The first session began April 22, 1839, under Mr. and Mrs. Emmons (formerly of the Raymond Female academy); with Mr. A. P. Hill, A. B., from the South Carolina college, as assistant in the male department, with fifty pupils. The Carrollton academy was also incorporated in 1836. In January, 1840, the male department was placed in the hands of Mr. James M. McLean, who gave general satisfaction, and was still in charge in July, 1841. The Paulding academy, at Paulding, in Jasper county, was, incorporated in 1836. It took rank quickly as a first-rate school. In 1845 and 1846 it was under John E. Seaman, as principal. The Madisonville academy, and the Canton Female academy, both in Madison county, were incorporated in 1836. The Monticello academy, located at Monticello, once capital of the state, and in Law- rence county, was founded by A. M. Keegan and others by voluntary donations. Incorporated February 4, 1836, Arthur Fox, president of the trustees. Distinct male and female depart- ment; in 1838 Rev. A. R. Graves was in charge of the former. Miss Sophia Royce, of the latter; in 1839, Prof. J. M. Ellis was in charge; in 1840, Francis P. Montfort, late from Gallatin, was preceptor of the former; Mrs. S. J. Sawkins, preceptress of the latter. Prop- erty, a handsome two-story building, lot ninety-nine feet square; valued at $4,000. The Oakland Female seminary, located at Oakland, in Claiborne county, near Oakland college, was opened in January, 1836, by J. Black. The Port Gibson seminary was established in Port Gibson in the fall of 1886, by Mann Butler, a gentleman who brought to his work an experience of several years, acquired in some of the best institutions of Kentucky. Still open in the winter of 1840-1. The Raymond academy probably was the successor of the Hampden academy of 1830. Perhaps no school in Mississippi more thoroughly exemplified the evil of an unceasing change of teachers. It was bad everywhere, but here was at its very worst. The female department was capable af accommodating one hundred pupils, and in 1836 was under Mr. and Mrs. Emmons; in 1838, under Miss L. Parker; in 1839, under the Rev. Bradford Frazee, some time president of Elizabeth academy; in 1840, under Mrs. Jane Clark, from CyCAAjj-A/)^ (ji MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 315 Carlisle, Penn., and later Columbia, Tenn. Exactly when Mrs. Clark left is not now known, but in 1845-6 the principal was E. Ames. After this, the school seems to have failed, as there were in 1847 a number of private schools, and no mention made of the academy. The male department was, if possible, even worse. In 1836 it was under Mr. C. Ramsay ; in 1837, under James C. Campbell, A. M., of New York; in 1838, under Mr. Heywood Foote; in 1839, under Mr. F. D. Cowles; in 1840, under W. Richard Ellis, A. B., and Jean Joseph Giers, associates, of Kentucky, in 1841, under Albert W. Ely, A. B., in January, and S. E. Goddard, in June. There is no further history, except a notice in the Raymond Times of October 10, 1845, that the building was tumbled to pieces, discreditable to our town and neighborhood. The Woodville Female academy was opened in August, 1836, at the house formerly occupied by Mrs. Stark (see date 1832) by a Miss Chapman, late from Tuscaloosa, Ala. In June, 1838, Miss Chapman was succeeded by Mr. and Mrs. Halsey, who retained control of it until 1846, when Miss Clarissa M. Chapman (afterward Mrs. Dunbar) succeeded them and conducted the academy successfully for a number of years. The Natchez Female academy, kept by Rev. W. H. Bruner and wife, who had for- merly taught in Vioksburg (see date of 1832), was probably open before 1837. At all events, it was at work in November, 1837, and continued until the summer of 1839. The Liberty academy, located at Liberty, in Amite county, was probably a con- tinuation of the old Amite academy. In April, 1837, it was under the management of Mr. George W. Rudd. He was followed in February, 1839, by Mr. John R. Caulfield. At this time the old charter was revived by the legislature. In November, 1841, Mr. J. R. Knox, a graduate of Miami university, was principal, and he was followed in February, 1844, by J. H. Black, A. M. The Mississippi Female college, located at Columbus, was the first exclusively female school to assume the name of college. Exactly when the institution was established is doubtful, but it is certain that it was at work in 1837. The Rev. Abram Maer was president; a man described as of extensive literary research, of long tried worth and established reputation, and possessing that rare faculty of governing with ease and communicating knowledge with facility, which constitute at once the ornament and usefulness of an instructor. The building was tasteful and elegant in its structure, and commodious in the number and arrangement of its apartments, situated on the most elevated point in the town. Thomas G. Blewett was president of the trustees. The curriculum embraced, besides the common branches, belle lettres, French, Latin, geometry, algebra, natural philosophy, chemistry, botany, mental philosophy, evidences of Christianity, music, drawing and painting. The college was incorporated in 1840. In 1838 there were about ninety pupils. In July, 1844, Mr. Maer had left, and the college was probably suspended. The Louisville academy, located at Louisville, in Winston county, was incorporated May 9, 1837; founded by contributions, aggregating $5,152. The building was a two-story frame structure. James Martin was president of the trustees. The first teachers were: John W. Morrison, in the male department, and James Martin, in the female department. In 1842 the male department was under George G. Snedicor, who was followed in July, 1843, by the Rev. J. I. Jones and Mr. D. W. Seiders. In 1843 the female department was under Mr. and Mrs. Godden. The college and academy at Sharon, in Madison county, at first a university school of the Methodist, Baptist, Old School and Cumberland Presbyterian churches, was incorporated in 1837. The town was created for and by the school. The female academy was opened 316 BIOORAPHWAL AND HISTORICAL in April, and was in the hands of Misses J. H. and H. W. Copes, of Maryland. Early in 1R38 the preparatory department of the male school was opened, with about forty pupils; and in the October following the college proper got under way. Five professors were elected to the faculty, four of them clergymen; one from each of the patronizing denomi- nations. The idea was to distribute the chairs after that plan, so as to prevent the exclu- sive sectarian influence. The Eev. Alexander Campbell was president of both schools. In the college Rev. Eichard Beard, William L. Williford and John F. Little were of the faculty. In the academy Rev. H. W. Smith was principal, assisted by his wife and Miss Stratton; Mr. C. Brachus, music teacher. There were two distinct lots, with buildings, for the two schools, and a subscription of about $20,000 for endowment. The pupils in the college, including preparatory, for 1839, were one hundred. In 1841 President Campbell resigned, accepting the presidency of Mississippi college, and the schools seem to have been placed under Profes- sor Beard. In the early part of 1843 the female academy was transferred to the Mississippi conference of the Methodist Episcopal church. It was reorganized under the name of the Sharon female college. The male school seems to have become extinct, probably because of the vicinity of Mississippi college, then fostered by the Presbyterians, and of Centenary col- lege, then fostered by the Methodists. Rev. E. S. Robinson was made president of the female college, assisted by his wife, Mr. C. W. F. MuUer and others. There were over eighty students that year. In 1845 President Robinson was succeeded by the Rev. Pleasant J. Eckles. Under him the reputation of the college greatly increased. He was followed, in 1854, by the Rev. J. W. Shelton. He was soon succeeded by the Rev. Mr. Guard, who had charge until 1861, when the Rev. William L. C. Hunnicutt, now president of Centenary college, became president. Dr. Hunnicutt soon enlisted as a chaplain in the Confederate army, and was followed by the Rev. Samuel D. Aikin. In 1867 Dr. Aikin removed to Texas, and Dr. Hunnicutt again became president. He was followed, in 1869, by the Rev. Josiah M. Pugh, formerly of Madison college, who retired in the following year, when Dr. Hun- nicutt still again took charge; and again, in the next year, 1871, Dr. Pugh succeeded Dr. Hunnicutt. In July, 1872, Dr. Pugh accepted the presidency of Marvin college, in Texas, and was followed by the Rev. Mr. Moss, from Alabama, but the college had run its course. The class of 1872 was the last to graduate, and the doors were soon closed. This failure was the result of several causes, mainly the shifting of population, the impoverishment of the surrounding country, and an unfortunate fire in 1868, which destroyed the main building. The Cayuga academy, at Cayuga, in Hinds county, was opened in February, 1837. A new, spacious and comfortable building was provided. Mr. R. A. Carloss and wife were principals. The Lane academy, named for the Eev. John Lane, a Methodist minister of prominence who was devoted to educational interests, and located at Vicksburg, was incorporated in May, 1837. A. B. Reading, Esq., gave a building lot, valued at $10,000, for the site. Revenue was drawn from the sixteenth section funds. In 1838, the academy was at work, imder the Rev. A. W. Chapman, a Methodist minister, with two assistants. In December, 1839, Mr. Chap- man retired, to devote himself to the female academy recently established, and this school passed under the control of Mr. Richard Griffith, of Ohio, a graduate of the Ohio university, and of Mr. Robert D. Howe. In October, 1844, Mr. Griffith had retired, and Mr. Howe was assisted by Mr. J. G. Parham, Jr. The Greensboro academy, at Greensboro, in Choctaw county, was incorporated May 11, 1837; Erasmus L. Acee, and forty others being incorporators and trustees. There was a tine building. In 1842 Mr. and Mrs. Melton were in charge; but differences among us had " about ruined our schools." MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 317 The Pinckney academy, at Pinckney, Newton county, was incorporated May 13, 1837; Michael Thomas and six other being incorporators and trustees. The Marion academy, in Lauderdale county, was incorporated in 1837. The Hernando academy, at Hernando, in De Soto county, was incorporated May 11, 1837, being the first incorporated in the Chickasaw cession. Eev. McMahon (sic) and eight others were incorporators and trustees. The first principal of the female department of whom any trace is now diseoTerable was Mrs. Dockery, in 1839. She was followed in December by Mrs. Caroline C. Jones. In 1845, Mrs. M. W. Simmons was in charge, and the Rev. A. P. Henderson, a graduate of Glasgow college, opened a male school in the male academy. In 1847 a better building, containing three rooms, was erected. In 1850, by authority of the legislature, the academy was transferred to the Methodist Church South; new buildings were erected. Col. Warner M. Yates, an eminent teacher, was called to pre- side over it, which he did with great success for several years. He was succeeded by Mrs. M. A. Moseley, who for several years prior to 1861 maintained a school highly approved and numerously attended. Meanwhile debts accumulated, and the trustees were finally forced to sell the property, which passed into private hands, but is still used for school purposes. The Preston academy was established in Yalobusha county as early as 1887. In that year and in 1838 it was under Thomas J. Jenkins, as rector. The village itseli was planted exclusively for the encouragement of education, like Sharon. In 1842, and before, Mr. E. G. Wilder, was rector, and the trustees boasted of the character of Preston as one of the oldest and most respectable seats of learning in north Mississippi. Mr. A. \Y. Kilpatrick took charge in April, 1843. The Colbert Male and Female academy, of Lowndes county, was incorporated February 15, 1838; Timothy L. Rogers and six others being incorporators and trustees. It was opened January, 1838, under the Eev. Jacob Lindly, assisted by Mrs. Maria M. Gay, both originally from Pennsylvania. In June, Mr. Lindly, who took charge only to start the school, with- drew in favor of Mrs. Gay, with Miss Lindly as assistant. An accomplished music teacher was engaged. In July, 1841, Miss Charlotte Paine, from the Oxford Female academy, took charge; but her health failed, and, in January, 1842, she was followed by the Eev. W. W. Burch and wife. The Aberdeen Female academy, located at Aberdeen, in Monroe county, was opened February 1, 1838, under the charge of James A. McLean and wife, assisted by Miss Norris; musical department under Mrs. Brown. It was incorporated in 1845. The Jjiberty Female seminary, at Liberty, in Amite county, was opened in the spring of 1838, by the Misses Eing, who proposed to teach the whole system of female education generally adopted in female schools. They were followed, in 1843, by Misses S. T. and S. A. Eussell. The Vieksburg Female seminary, under Eev. Samuel W. Speer, with four assistants, in 1 838 justly ranked among the best institutions iu the state. It became extinct in 1840, or about that time. The Union Female academy is the earliest of the Attala county schools traceable. It was twelve miles above Kosciusko, and in 1838 was under the charge of Mrs. M. P. Caffrey. The Oxford Female academy, located at Oxford, Lafayette county, was incorporated in 1838. The first principal was Miss Charlotte Paine, whose first session closed in December, 1839, with a roster of thirty-four scholars. She was succeeded by the Eev. James A. Weath- erby, with three assistants. In 1842 there were eighty-four pupils, drawn from three states. The building was a two-story brick structure. In 1844 S. Leak Slack, of Philadelphia, took 818 BWaRAPHWAL AND H18T0BI0AL charge. He was assisted by his wife, Miss Ann C. Smith and Miss E. D. Ware. After a short time he was followed by a Mr. Collins, from Vermont. In 1854 the school was trans- ferred to the Cumberland Presbyterian church and reincorporated under the name of the Union Female college. Under this name and management the school is still a working institution of high order. Its presidents have been successively: Rev. Dr. Stanford G. Bar- ney, afterward professor of English in the university, and now principal of the department of theology at Cumberland university; Eev. Dr. C. H. Bell, now of St. Louis, Mo.; Prof. Robert J. Guthrie; Rev. J. S. Howard; Prof. W. I. Davis; and Prof. H. N. Robertson, the present incumbent. This college, although the Payette academy was established many years before it, still enjoys the distinction of being the oldest female school in the state of unbroken history (leaving out of view the interruption of the war). Its first class under the charter of 1854, graduated in 1856. It has graduated two hundred and thirty-one. The average attendance is about one hundred and fifty. Young boys are admitted as day scholars. The premises are ten acres in extent, and the main building is a large and commodious three- story brick. The old structure is still in use as a music hall. Franklin Female academy, located at Franklin, Holmes county, was opened in the sum- mer of 1838, under Mrs. Rose and Miss Merriwether. In July, 1842, it was taken in charge by Col. G. D. Mitchell, from Grenada academy. The Emery academy, located at Emery, Holmes county, was established in January, 1 839, under the auspices of the Mississippi conference of the Methodist church. Rev. Bradford Frazee and wife were the principals; incorporated that same year; Hon. David O. Shattuck and thirteen others being incorporators and trustees. The Richland Male and Female academy, located at Richland, Holmes county, was opened before 1839; but in January of that year, its capacity was enlarged, by the addition of a new building, to one hundred and thirty pupils. It was under Mr. Hollis Holman and his sister, Mary B. Holman. In 1842 Rev. D. L. Russell, assisted by his wife, took charge; Mr. P. Kenna and wife having the musical department. This institution seems, in 1848, to have been superseded by the Eureka Masonic college, incorporated that year, and located at the same place. Lemuel Doty was president of the trustees; Rev. D. L. Russell was president and professor of moral and mental science; Mr. Z. Mott Lawrence, professor of languages; Mr. W. L. Wright, professor of natural sciences, and principal of the primary department. The Winston Female seminary, in Winston county, was opened in January, 1839, under Mr. Eugene Ferris and Susan B. Micou. No day scholars admitted. The Vicksburg Female academy was established at a meeting of citizens on July 24, 1839. Rev. John Lane and eighteen others were elected trustees. Rev. A. W. Chapman, who had been acting as agent on subscription and building, was continued. The academy was opened on the fourth Monday of October, 1 839, Mr. and Mrs. Chapman principals. The buildings were large and convenient, with accommodation for fifty boarders; incorporated in 1840. It derived some revenue from the sixteenth section. The Misses Grandier were assist- ants. In September, 1840, Miss A. M. Foster was engaged in addition. In 1841 there was a library of six hundred volumes. Striby was professor of music. In 1844 Miss Sarah Boyer was assistant in the literary department; P. Schmidt, music; Mons. Vallett, French, etc. In 1846 Professor Nash was iii charge of the music. The Woodville Male academy was established in January, 1839, by Mr. Halsey, then principal, also, of the Woodville Female academy. He was assisted by Rev. Mr. Mudge, formerly a member of Wesleyan university, and who, in 1837, had opened a classical and scientific school, which was merged in this. Mr. Mudge left in 1841, and was followed by MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 319 Mr. Ulysses Chapman, a graduate of Wesleyan university. In 1845, Mr. Halsey, having relinquished the female academy, took personal charge, but in 1846 he was succeeded by a Mr. Soule, and he, in turn, and in the same year, by John S. McLean. In June, 1847, Mr. McLean was followed by Mr. George H. Wiley, who, however, soon moved to Jackson, La., and accepted a position in Centenary college. The Woodville Classical school was incorporated February 14, 1839. It was promptly opened in the basement of the Presbyterian church, S. A. Phelps, A. B., principal. In Sep- tember, at the beginning of the third term, Mr. M. B. Green, A. M., was engaged as a coprin- cipal, and the school divided into two departments. How long this school continued to exist is not now known. It was at work in the session of 1842-3. The Wahalak Female academy, in Kemper county; the Farmington academy, in Tisho- mingo county; the Plymouth academy, in Lowndes county; the Wyatt Male and Female academy, in Lafayette county, and the Chulahoma academy, in Marshall county, were also incorporated in 1839. The Sylvestria academy, male, was opened at Sylvestria, in Marshall county, in 1839, by Z. D. Cottrell, late principal of the Oxford Female academy. It was converted into a female academy about 1841. The Centenary college originated at a convention of the members of the Mississippi con- ference of the Methodist Episcopal church held at Jackson on the 7th of August, 1839. It was there determined to commemorate the centennial year of Methodism by raising a chari- table fund, of which seven-tenths should be devoted to the establishment of a college to be located as near the center of the conference as practicable. The Bev. C. K. Marshall was appointed canvassing agent by the December conference, and a committee on location was appointed. In a few months subscriptions, in the shape of the purchase of scholarships, to the amount of $76,000 had been raised, in addition to some donations of lands. Much of this subscription was, however, never paid. In 1841 the college was located at Brandon Springs, in Rankin county. An extensive and valuable property, originally designed for a watering place, was purchased at 180,000, on favorable terms as to payments, and was con- sidered a great bargain. The first session opened in 1841. Dr. Thomas C. Thornton was president and professor of moral science and sacred literature; Dr. James B. C. Thornton, M. D., was professor of natural sciences; N. W. Magruder was professor of ancient lan- guages, and James B. Dodd was professor of mathematics. There was a preparatory depart- ment, of which the Rev. E. S. Robertson, A. M., was principal, and Mr. Robert D. Howe, assistant. The college opened well, the attendance of pupils being sixty in the first month. In 1842 a school of medicine was established, and placed under the charge of Dr. James Thornton, and a law school projected. In the fall of that year the college opened with one hundred and seventy-five students in attendance. In 1843 a charter was granted to the col- lege. In 1844 a great deal of discontent arose in regard to the management of the college, both as to tuition and finances. This spirit became so intense as to cause the resignation of Dr. Thornton. The Rev. David O. Shattuck, of Carroll county, was then elected president pro tern., and the institution was reorganized so far as to establish an exclusively English and classical school, and to place the preparatory classes under the direct charge of the respect- ive professors. This allayed the discontent, and the session of 1844-5 opened well; but the trustees still determined that the location at Brandon Springs was a mistake. The sur- rounding country was poor and the population was sparse. The result of it all was that in 1845 the institution was moved to Jackson, La., where it now is. The Rocky Spring academy, located at Rocky Spring, in Claiborne county, was opened 830 BIOQRAPEIOAL AMD HI8T0BIOAL on the 1st of January, 1839, under the direction of Mr. Holmes, a graduate of Miami uni- versity. The Summerville academy, a female school of high grade, was established at Summer- ville, in Noxubee county, in 1839; Mrs. Vaughn, principal. The Middleton Female academy seems to have been an appendage of the Judson ins- titute after its removal to Middleton. In 1840 Dr. E. J. White was principal, assisted by his wife and a Miss Bustead. In 1843 Mr. B. Holt, of Vicksburg, became its jjresident. There was a chemical and philosophical apparatus, and in 1846 Colonel Holt added a supe- rior astronomical apparatus. Shortly after this, however, the school became extinct. The People's academy was also located at Middleton. In fact, this now almost forgotten village, about two miles west of the present Winona, was, at this time, quite an educational center. It was a prominent candidate for the location of the university. This was the Presbyterian school. In 1841 it was under the charge of the Eev. Elijah Graves, assisted by his vrife and daughter. In 1842, the fema,le department was under a Mrs. Thompson; Mrs. Graves, music teacher. In 1843 Mr. Reuben Nason leased this academy, and seems to have converted it into a male school exclusively. He was still in charge in 1845-6. A sec- tarian controversy, it is said, destroyed the usefulness of both these schools. The Almucha academy, in (probably) Lauderdale county; the Thickwoods academy, of Amite county; the Eienzi academy, of Tishomingo county, and the Constantine Male and Female academy, of Noxubee county, were incorporated in 1840. The Grenada Male and Female academy, located at Grenada, in Yalobusha county (now in Grenada county), was incorporated February 15, 1839. It was preceded by certain classical schools, still traceable; by a Mrs. S. M. Orrel, in 1835; succeeded by Prof. G. D. Mitchell, from Tennessee, in 1836. Rev. Joseph E. Douglass, of the Methodist church, taught in 1837; followed, in 1839, by R. J. Mendum, from La Grange college, Ala. In 1838 a Mr. William Duncan had opened a female seminary of some pretensions. The academy seems not to have been organized until 1841 ; then with distinct establishments for the dif- ferent sexes — even distinct boards of trustees. The earlier schools were displaced by it. Professor Mitchell, assisted by Mr. Edward Hughes, Jr., took charge of the male branch. Professor Mitchell retired in 1842, leaving Mr. Hughes in charge. In 1844 Mr. G. B. Clark became principal; followed, in the same year, by Mr. John P. Povall; and in 1845 by Mr. A. L. Lewis, a graduate of the University of Georgia, under whom the school was removed to the building theretofore occupied by the female department. Mr. Lewis was followed, after one year, by Mr. John M. Sample, a graduate of the North Carolina university; and after him, the institution seems to have become extinct. The female department, in 1841, was put under the charge of Mr. Edward Hughes, Sr., and his wife, and the property formerly occu- pied by the Douglass school purchased for it. In 1842 Mrs. H. B. J. Eager, wife of the Bap- tist minister, took charge, but shortly afterward gave it up, when the academy was displaced apparently by a school conducted by the Eev. Joseph A. Eanney, assisted by Miss Catherine Sawyer, a lady of a high order of qualifications. In December, 1845, there was an effort to shake the trustees of the academy out of their Rip Van Winkle nap, and a Miss Harriet Washburn (afterward Mrs. Stratton) was employed to conduct it. The advertisement was prefaced by the editorial query, "Who knows when it will rain again?" and that was the last appearance. The Coffeeville Male and Female academy, at Coffeeville, in Yalobusha county, was incorporated in 1839; placed under Mr. Hughes, Sr., and his wife. They were followed in 1841 by Miss E. Lyman (afterward Mrs. Smith) in the female school. There is only the MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 331 most meager general iuformation about these schools. They seem to have been well kept. The building was destroyed by fire about 1850. The Macon academy, located at Macon, in Noxubee county, was incorporated in 1839. Mr. and Mrs. Melvin were the first teachers; afterward Mr. James "Wallace and wife were placed in charge. There were eighty-five students at the first term. The building was a two-story framed structure. By the same statute were also incorporated the Mt. Pleasant academy, which had been at work since March, 1838, under Eev. Mr. Archibald, and the Shuqualak academy, in the same county. The De Kalb academy, located at De Kalb, in Kemper county, was incorporated in 1839. There was a good two-story school building. The North Mississippi college, located at College Hill, Lafayette county, was incor- porated in 1840. A quarter section of land was donated for a site, and buildings regarded as of temporary character erected. Opened for reception of students in January, 1840. Rev. S. Hurd was president. Rev. D. L. Russell, vice president, and J. B. Clausel, professor of mathematics ; P. A. Yancey, tutor. Full collegiate courses were offered in Latin, Greek, mathernatics, chemistry, astronomy, engineering, mental and moral philosophy, etc. A bureau of correspondence was projected for the introduction into the state of desirable teachers for other institutions. This school continued to flourish for several years. It made some repu- tation and drew students from adjoining counties. The University of Mississippi was opened in 1848, only six miles away, and overshadowed it, however; the Civil war destroyed it. Its property is still used as the site of a public school. At one time it was under the charge of Professor Jeffreys, a man of considerable scholarship. Rose Hill seminary was opened in Natchez in 1841, by Miss E. Marcilly. French was the language of the family, and the students were required to use it both in their recitations and in their recreations. The school seems to have been a favorite with the Natchez people. The course of instruction, besides the lower studies, embraced algebra, astronomy, natural philosophy, chemistry, history, chronology, mythology, logic, ethics, French, Italian, Spanish, music, dancing, drawing, plain and ornamental needlework. The school was still flourishing in the year 1851. The Natchez institute (Brown's), a seminary for young ladies, was established near Natchez, in 1841, by Thomas Brown, Jr., formerly president of Fayette academy. General Quitman, ex-Governor Brandon, Hon. Edward Turner and other distinguished Mississip- pians were referred to as its patrons. After a period it was suspended by the removal of Mr. Brown from Natchez, but in March, 1847, he returned for the purpose of reopening the institute. The Natchez Free Trader, noticing this fact, says that his former teaching was successful. Ford's seminary for girls was opened in Natchez in November, 1841. The usual higher English branches were taught, also the Latin, French and Italian languages, music, draw- ing, painting and perspective. Montrose academy, at Montrose, in Jasper county, was founded in 1841, by Eev. John N. Waddel, its proprietor. James Denison and Henry Sturgis were assistants. Property, eighty acres of wild land and a |1,000 building. No apparatus; a small library. From such meager outfit Mr. Waddel built up a school whose reputation survives to this day. No degrees were conferred. Students were thoroughly prepared for the junior class in college- They came from the adjoining counties, and the annual examinations drew visitors from so far as Jackson. The largest patronage was about seventy-five per annum. Mr. Waddel was elected professor of ancient and modern languages at the university in 1848, and the acad- emy was then abandoned. 322 BIOOBAPHIOAL AMD HISTOBIOAL The Carrollville Literary institution, of Tishomingo county, was established in January, 1841, with Rev. M. B. Feemster the first principal. The Jackson Female seminary was. opened in January, 1841, by Miss Silphina M. Ros- coe, from Nashville, Tenn. It was developed into quite a considerable school. In 1842 the services of Prof. A. S. Villeplait (a native of Paris, and late professor of modern languages at the university at Nashville) and his wife were secured. In 1845 this academy was sus- pended, and Miss Eoscoe took charge of the Woodville Female academy. The Oakland Male and Female academy, of Yalobusha county, was incorporated in 1841, but did not commence work until January, 1843. At this time the Rev. Marcus C. Hender- son was principal of the female department, and James Moore president of the trustees. This institution, with varying fortunes has continued up to this day. The Wahalak Male academy, of Kemper county; the Commerce academy, of Tunica county, and the Williamsburg Male and Female academy, of Covington county, were also incorporated in 1841. The Whitesville academy, of Wilkinson county, was established in 1 841. It was a six- teenth section school, of high grade, fund about $3,200 at ten per cent interest. D. L. Phares was first president of the trustees. It was ably managed for about ten years by Messrs. Morell, W. McPhaul and others, only one teacher being employed at a time. In 1847 there were forty-two pupils. The free pupils were taught an average of thirty-three weeks each; the pay pupils much more. Became extinct about 1850. The Newton Female institute, also at Whitesville, and also drawing aid from the sixteenth section fund (tovmship one, range one west), was organized at his own expense, in 1842, by Dr. D. L. Phares. Supplied with a fine apparatus, a library of over two thousand volumes and all other appliances. There was a full collegiate curriculum. A celebrated school of great merit and influence. Dr. Phares, at various times, was assisted by his wife, Miss Irene Mer- rill, Misses M. E. and Sarah Swan, Mrs. Lavinia D. Wright (of New York city). Miss Laura Stebbins, Dr. and Mrs. Slosson, Miss Mary J. Putnam (a relative of old Israel's) the Misses and Hattie Dailey, Miss Fay, Miss Rachel Harris, Miss M. L. Phares, Prof. Alexander Ellett (a man of gigantic mind, versed in many sciences, and several modern languages), L. Berg and C. Brackenhoff. The number of pupils in attendance rose to about seventy-five per annum. Quite a large number of the pupils became teachers. After the war, the property having been much depredated upon, and the health of Mrs. Phares failing, the institute ceased to be in 1865. The University of Mississippi owes its origin to the acts of congress of March 3, 1815, and February 20, 1819, by which thirty-six sections of public land were conveyed to the state in trust for the support of a seminary of learning. The lands were located in 1823; for a few years the policy was adopted of renting them on short leases; but this was abandoned in 1833, and the lands sold at public auction, bringing in notes running one, two and three years with ten per cent, interest, the sum of 1277,332.52. Of this, the sum of 1129,800, including interest, was invested in stock of the Planters' bank, and thereby lost when that institution broke, about 1840. About 190,000 was collected and used by the state — about its ordi- nary expenses. The remainder was never collected. No steps were taken to establish the seminary until 1840, when a committee was appointed to visit seven designated towns and make report to the next legislature as to the best site. In January, 1841, on the reception of the report, the location was made at Oxford by a majority of one vote over Mississippi City. The citizens of Lafayette county had already donated conditionally a beautiful section of land adjacent to the town for the site. Still the university was not incorporated until the MEMOIRS OP MISSISSIPPI. 823 24th of February, 1844. The first meeting of trustees was ou the 15th of January, 1845, but nothing substantial could be accomplished for want of funds. In January, 1846, how- ever, the legislature appropriated 150,000, and with that money the buildings were immedi- ately undertaken. This work progressed during 1846, 1847, and a part of 1848. In Janu- ary, 1848, an income was provided by the act of the 25th of February which made an appro- priation slightly variable, but which amounted to about $11,000 per annum. In July the first faculty was organized. George Frederick Holmes, an Englishman by birth, and then a professor at William and Mary college, Virginia, was made president, and assigned to give instruction in mental and moral philosophy, logic, belles lettres, political economy, and inter- national law. Albert Taylor Bledsoe, a native of Kentucky and a graduate of West Point, was elected a professor of mathematics and astronomy, John Millington, M. D., an English- man and a professor in William and Mary college, was elected to the chair of natural philo- sophy and chemistry, and John N. Waddel, D. D., was elected professor of ancient and modern languages. On the 6th of November the first session began. Thomas E. Bugg, of Chickasaw county, was the first student enrolled. The total attendance was eighty. At the close of the first term President Holmes returned to Virginia, and Professor Bledsoe acted ad interim. In July, 1849, Rev. Augustus B. Longstreet, D. D., was chosen president, and the foundation of the library was laid by a donation of books from the Hon. Jacob Thomp- son. In March, 1 850, the legislature directed an agricultural and geological survey of the state to be made under the direction of the university, and to that end established the chair of agricultural and geological sciences, with an assistant, and added §3,000 per annum to the college revenues. This work was prosecuted until the year 1874, when it was completed. The first graduating class was that of 1851, with fifteen members, and in this year a chair of modern languages was established. In 1854 the law school was established, and William F. Stearns, Esq., of Holly Springs, was elected professor, continuing in office until the war. The first class embraced seven members. In 1856 the legislature appropriated the sum of $100,000 to the aid of the university, payable in five annual installments. An additional dormitory, a new steward's hall, the observatory, and the magnetic laboratory were then erected, and large additions were made to the apparatus and collections, including the Markoe collection of minerals and the Budd cabinet of shells. The faculty was increased by the election of four tutors. In July President Longstreet resigned and was succeeded by Prof. Frederick A. P. Barnard, LL.D., who had in 1854 followed Bledsoe as professor of mathe- matics and astronomy. In 1858, chairs of English and mathematics were established. In 1859 the title of president was changed for that of chancellor. In 1860 the law school had so enlarged that a second professorship was established and Hon. James F. Trotter elected. When the Civil war broke out many of the students formed a military company called the University grays, and joined the Confederate army as a company in the Eleventh Mississippi regiment. The exercises of the institution were suspended. In July 1865 measures were taken to reopen. Dr. Waddel was elected chancellor; Dr. John J. Wheat, professor of Greek; Dr. Alexandre J. Quinche, professor of Latin; Gen. Claudius W. Sears, professor of mathematics, and Gen. Francis A. Shoup (in October) professor of physics, astronomy and civil engineering, and Dr. Stanford G. Burney, professor of English. Dr. Eugene W. Hilgard, state geologist, was requested to discharge, provisionally, the duties of professor of chemistry, geology and min- eralogy. College opened in October, and the attendance for the year was one hundred and ninety-three. In June, 1866, Hon. Lucius Q. C. Lamar was elected professor of ethics and metaphysics, while Dr. Hilgard was also made a professor. It was determined to reestablish 324 BTOOBAPHIOAL AND HISTORICAL the law school, and Hon. H. F. Simrall was elected professor, Mr. Lamar being requested to discharge the duties provisionally. In 1867 Judge Simrall having failed to accept, Professor Lamar was transferred to the chair of law. The ethics and metaphysics were assigned to Professor Shoup, who was relieved of a portion of the work heretofore done by him by the election of Dr. Landon C. Garland as professor of experimental philosophy and astronomy. In 1870 there was a reorganization of the university, a result of the reconstruction acts of con- gress. None of the professors were removed. Mr. Lamar, however, resigned. He was fol- lowed by Hon. Henry Craft, Jordan M. Phipps, assistant. There was a general remodeling of the scheme of work in the literary department, and arran,gements were made for thirteen professorships, of which, however, only eleven were actually filled. By the revised code of 1S71 the charter was altered in some respects, the most material of which was the substitu- tion of a general annual appropriation of $50,000 for all previous arrangements. This year, also, Mr. Craft resigned, and Thomas Walton, Esq., was elected professor of law. Also two- fifths of the income from the agricultural land-scrip fund, amounting to about $7,600 per annum, was assigned to the university, and a department of agriculture established. Professor Hilgard being made professor of agricultural chemistry and the special geology and agri- culture of the state. Dr. M. W. Phillips was made adjunct professor of agriculture and superintendent of the farm. This enterprise was never very successful. The means for the establishment were never provided by the state. In 1875 the appropriation for the support of the university was reduced to 135,000, and in 1876 to $21,000, whereupon the agricultural department was abandoned. In July, 1874, Dr. Waddel resigned the chancellorship, and was succeeded by Gen. A. P. Stewart. In 1877 Edward Mayes, Esq., was elected law pro- fessor. In 1877, also, Dr. Cowles M. Vaiden, a member of the board of trustees, began to send large numbers of poor but deserving boys to the university; the plan being to lend them the money needed, on their personal notes. At one time there were one hundred of those beneficiaries, but when he died the practice ceased. In 1879 Col. Felix Labauve, of De Soto county, died and left by his willa residuary legacy in trust, that the net income should be devoted to the education of jioor orphan boys of that county at the university. This fund now amounts to about $20,000, paying about $1,500 per annum, and on it five Ijeneficiaries attend the university each year. In 1882, the doors of Ihe institution, were opened to females, and from that time there has been an attendance of girls every year. They have done exceedingly well. Girls have graduated in five classes," and in two instances made the highest records of the class: Miss Sallie Vick Hill, of Macon, in 1885, and Miss Mattie J. Smythe, of Leake county, in 1888. The largest attendance for one year was twenty three. No modified curriculum is provided for them, but they take exactly the courses prescribed for all students. There are now (1890-1) four female candidates for the post-graduate degree of master of arts. In July, 1886, the chancellor resigned. Professor Mayes was chosen chairman of the faculty, and the chancellorship abolished; but in 1889 the office was restored and Professor Mayes made chancellor. At the same time the scheme of education was revised, and the work of the institution divided into schools, of which nine- teen, each being independent of the others, were established: Latin, Greek, French, Ger- man, English, belles lettres, mathematics, physics, astronomy, history, political economy, mental and moral philosophy, logic, botany, zoology, mineralogy, geology, theoretical chem- istry and practical chemistry. The courses in several of the schools were made more exten- sive, especially in mathematics, French and German. The school of belles lettres was entirely a new introduction. In 1890 four fellowships were established, designed to encour- age graduates to pursue higher work, and thus to qualify themselves for life as scientists or MEM0IR8 OF MISSISSIPPI. 325 professors. One such fellowship had been previously established. The five are now iu chemistry, natural history, physics and astronomy, mathematics and English. Elocution was at this time added as a twentieth school, and is, as it has been for several years, under the charge of Miss Sallie McGehee Isom. Since its establishment four thousand three hundred and thirty-three students have attended the university, of which four hundred and six have been law students. Of these, six hundred and sixty-seven have taken baccalaureate degrees, two hundred and sixty-five the degree of bachelor of laws, and twenty-three that of master of arts. The average attendance in the literary department has been two hundred and three, while that in the law school has been twenty-two. The Vicksburg Female institute was established under the Rev. A. B. Lawrence, some time editor of the New Orleans Observer, and his wife, in February, 1842. In 18-14 it was conducted in that extensive building formerly knowu as the Vicksburg hotel, and William H. Vick was president of the trustees. The Friendship Male academy of Panola county was established in 1842, under the charge of Joseph Y. Boyd, a graduate of Miami university, incorporated in 1844, Mr. Boyd being still principal. The Kosciusko Male and Female academy, in Attala county, was at work iu 1842, Mr. and Mrs. Charles W. Emmons principals. They were followed, in 1843, by a Mrs. Mc- Cary. The Baleigh academy, of Smith county, was incorporated iu 1843. The Port Gibson Female college, in Claiborne county, was founded in September, 1 S43. Mr. John Harvie was in charge, assisted by his wife and four other teachers. The grounds and buildings were worth about $15,000, and there was an extensive apparatus. In 1854 it was incorporated as the Port Gibson Collegiate academy. In 1859 the Rev. Benjamin Jones was president, and again in 1871. In 1869 it was taken into the connection of the Metho- dist Church South. The Rev. John A. B. Jones was president from 1875 to 1881. He was followed by the Rev. Thomas C. Bradford from 1882 to 1887. In 1888 the Rev. Edwin H. Mounger was made president, and is so still. The turmoil of the late Civil war did not inter- rupt the work of this college, and consequently it can claim the longest uninterrupted career of any female school in the state. The attendance has ranged from sixty to one hundred and twenty-five, and to date it has graduated sixty-four young ladies. St. Thomas' hall, located at Holly Springs, in Marshall county, in January, 1 S44, by the Rev. Dr. Francis L. Hawkes, former rector of St. Thomas church, New York city, with an able and learned corps of teachers, it achieved a high reputation, and attracted a large number of pupils. One of the best schools ever in the state. The necessary grounds and biiildings were donated by the citizens of the county. The first faculty were Dr. Hawkes, president and professor of English literature; John Q. Bradford, A. M., professor of Latin and Greek; Claudius W. Sears, of the United States Military academy, afterward brig- adier-general of the Confederate States of America, and for over twenty-four years professor of mathematics in the University of Mississippi, professor of mathematics; Thomas K. Wharton, professor of French and drawing. In January, 1845, the insti- tution suffered a serious and for a time apparently irremediable loss in the departure of Dr. Hawkes for New Orleans, where he was made president of the University of Louisiana. However, a rally was made, and the hall was reopened in October, under the auspices of the Protestant Episcopal church, probably the first appearance of that body in the educational work of the state. The Rev. David C. Page, rector of Christ church, was principal. On the 4th of July, 1846, there was a grand celebration, one feature of which 336 BIOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL was a parade of tlie student military company, Ed. C, Walthall, ensign. In LS47 Prof. Henry Whitehorne was teacher of ancient languages, a Mr. Wright being prof essor of math- ematics. In 1857 Professor Whitohorne was elected to the chair of Greek in the university. In 1849 the institution was reorganized as a military school; the Rev. J. H. Ingraham, LL. D., president and professor of English; C. W. Sears, commandant and professor of math- ematics; William A. Clark, A. M. , professor of Latin and Greek. At this period the average annual attendance was about seventy-five. This excellent school continued until the Civil war. During that calamitous period the buildings were destroyed, and the institution has not been revived. The Wesleyan Female college, located in Jackson, was in operation in 1843. Mrs. Louisa C. W. Judd was principal. It had considerable success. The faculty for the year 1845-6 was as follows: Mrs. Judd, Col. Guilford D. Mitchell, Misses A. and M. Mitchell, M. L. Julienne, professor of French; Mr. Stribey, of music. In the year following Colonel Mitchell established an independent school, and Mrs. Judd reorganized her faculty thus: C. M. Murch, music; Julienne, modern languages; Mrs. J. H. Kimberly, ornamental work; Miss Hannah Merrill, primary. In 1847 the school seems to have been suspended, and the prem- ises occupied for school purposes by the Rev. Amos Cleaver, an Episcopalian clergyman who had opened a high grade female school in the year 1846. About 1850 a company bought the property, and Mr. A. R. Green opened a fine female academy there, which was maintained until the outbreak of the war. The Oakland institute, a school for girls, was established at Jackson in 1844, by Mr. and Mrs. Oakley. It had a prosperous career of near twenty years, continuing until the Civil war. The Lexington Male and Female academy, at Lexington, in Holmes county, was incor- porated in 1844. The male department was under Mr. G. Zelotes Adams, a graduate of Washington college, Connecticut, who had already taught seven years South. The Houston academy, located at Houston, Chickasaw county, was incorporated in 1844. A lot was procured and a schoolbuilding erected. The building was destroyed by fire; and the lot, being deemed ineligible, was abandoned. A more desirable one was obtained, upon which was built a two-story structure at a cost of $5,000. By authority of an act of the legislature passed in 1884, the county authorities conveyed the property to the town of Hous- ton; which, in turn, leased it for twenty-five years to Prof. H. B. Abernathy, for the uses of the Mississipi^i Normal college (q.v.). The Decatur academy, located at Decatur, in Newton county, was incorporated in 1S44. Mount Sylvan academy, for boys, located at Mount Sylvan, in Lafayette county, was established in 1845, under the Rev. S. G. Buruey, D. D. , and the Rev. Robert Morris, D. D. Col. James Brown was its chief benefactor, by his donations of more than $1,200; Hon. Jacob Thompson made valuable donations of books and public documents, and many others were generous. In 1846, the pupils numbered fifty-five. This school continued for a number of years one of the best. Quite a number of youths there received the education which afterward enabled them to assume prominent positions in church and state. Doctor Burney, later, held for a number of years the chair of English in the university, and is now at the head of the theological school of Cumberland university. The Chulahoma Female institute, located at Chulahoma, in Marshall county, was in operation in 1845, under the management of Mr. and Mrs. Howze, Mr. D. Brewer professor of music. Long a prosperous and useful school. MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 327 The Seneca institute, for girls, located at Brandon, Rankin county, was opened in 1845, under Mr. Robert Anderson, a graduate of South Carolina college. Philip L. Bode, pro- fessor of music. A good school. The Natchez institute was opened in 1845. It originated with Alvarez Fisk, who donated to the city property valued at $13,000, on condition that it would establish a school for the gratuitous education of the youth within its limits. The condition was agreed to, and an annual tax ordered of 16,000, which was increased $542.60 by private subscriptions and by the literary fund. Although Franklin academy was established in 1845, yet inasmuch as it was supported by the sixteenth section fund, the Natchez institute may fairly claim the credit of being the first free school established on individual and municipal liberality. It was successful from the beginning. The principal, Mr. Joshua Pearl, A. M., of Yale college, was a ripe scholar and a laborious and experienced teacher. Much of the permanent success achieved must be attributed to his skillful initiative. He was assisted by two male and five female teachers. The attendance of the first term was : Males, two hundred and twelve ; females, one hundred and ninety-six. The total of the second year was six hundred; the third year opened with five hundred in attendance. A board of visitors visited the school regularly, examined the teachers, and established by-laws. Many of the children had been nuisances in the streets, but were made orderly, studious and ambitious. Latin, Greek and the higher mathematics were taught from the first. We may not follow this fine school through its long but not very eventful career. It is happy in having but little history. It is still in existence and flourishing. The Vicksburg institute, similar to that at Natchez, and yet in existence, was founded in the same year. The Salem High school^ on Leaf river, in Greene county, was established in 1 845 by a class of citizens known as North Carolina Scotch Presbyterians. Prominent among them was the Rev. James H. Thomson. No endowment. The school was supported by annual contributions from the trustees and by the tuition fees. A log house, 30x50 feet, was built, and later three others were added, with a small framed building for a musicroom. Incor- porated in 1850. The first session began in October, 1846; David Moore, A. M., a graduate of Lafayette college, principal; Mrs. S. D. Pierce, female department; Mary Stewart, music; R. S. Shannon, primary. In 1852 W. E. Hall succeeded Mr. Moore. He was followed by Lewis Tice, M. D., of Union college, New York, and he by E. W. Larkin, A. M. The assist- ants at various periods were Angus R. Fairley, John R. Fairley, E. F. Grilfin, Miss Godfrey, Miss Black, Miss Shannon, Miss Mary E. Connelly and Mrs. Mary Hall. The apparatus was good, and the library contained about five hundred volumes. The average attendance was about one hundred, of whom about two-thirds were from a distance. About one-fourth took courses which may be considered as of collegiate grade. Suspended in 1862, and never revived. The college in Jackson was organized by Dr. Thomas C. Thornton immediately after his resignation from Centenary college. It was opened on January 1, 1845. Doctor Thornton was president and professor of history, political economy, intellectual and moral philosophy; Rev. Norman W. Camp, A. M., professor of ancient languages and rhetoric; J. M. Pugh, A. M., professor of mathematics and civil engineering; James B. C. Thornton, M. D., pro- fessor of natural history, experimental philosophy and chemistry and medicine; Louis Julienne, teacher of French; Daniel Mayes, Esq., professor of law. The college was kept in the old Eagle hotel, on the site now occupied by the residence of Joseph Brown, Esq. The plan was to make it a college of higher grade than the state had yet seen, and to get it 828 SWORAPHIOAL AND HISTORtOAL taken under the patronage of the state and of the city. It was incorporated in 1846, but the effort to procure subsidies for it failed. After two years it was abandoned, having gradu- ated four students. The common schools. In 1846 was passed the first statute in Mississippi contemplating the establishment of a uniform system of free schools, supported by license fees and taxa- tion. Through a faulty construction of the statute, however, as well as a narrow interpreta- tion of it, the enterprise did not get well under way. While efforts were made to put the system into operation, and with some success in a few localities, yet as a whole the under- taking proved a failure. Numerous local acts were passed inaugurating various schemes. There was neither unity of plan nor perseverance in effort. The schools of Hinds county flourished, and presented some semblance of the present system; but in all other parts of the state the movement was more or less crippled, and in many completely paralyzed, by the want of a uniform and vigorous policy. Milton academy, about three miles west of (present) Vaiden, in Carroll county, was established in 1846 by the Eev. W. H. Harris, who conducted it very successfully until his death in 1855. He was followed by the Rev. S. S. Brown. In 1859 Mr. Brown sold to Prof. J. Smith Colmery, who converted it into a female school, under the name of the Milton Female seminary, and as such conducted it until 1875, when it was abandoned. Some of Mississippi' s best men were educated at Milton academy. Morey's school, established in Carroll county, about three miles north of Carrollton, is interesting as a forerunner, by some forty years, of a style of school now quite common in the state under the name of Normal schools. H^ advertised it the Practical school, on a time and money- saving plan! The Planters' academy, in the southern part of Attala county, was at work in 1846, and gained some reputation. The Pleasant Grove Female academy, in Marshall county, was in operation in 1846, under Miss Mary C. McCollum. The Central academy, in Marshall county, about eight miles southwest of Holly Springs, was flourishing in 1846 and 1847. The female school was under Mrs. M. A. Holliday, and the male school under Mr. Elden. The Pontotoc Male academy was incorporated in 1846. The Black Hawk Male and Female seminary, located at Black Hawk, in Carroll county, was organized and incorporated in 1846, Mr. D. A. Bland and Miss A. Nixon in charge. The male and female schools were situated in different parts of the village. The buildings were comfortable. In January, 1847, Mr. Tripp and Miss Kingsbury were in charge; Prof. George Wear, music; Mrs. Wear, art. In 1848 Miss Kingsbury was in charge, with a lady assistant. From 1849 to 1853, inclusive, the Rev. Benjamin Holt, a Methodist minister, was principal, assisted by Miss Harriet Magruder. In 1850 the institution. was enlarged, and the female department incorporated under the name of the Eudocia Female college. In 1853 Mr. Holt was succeeded by Mr. James Gillespie, and he, in turn, by Dr. W. S. Young, from Vicksburg who remained until June, 1856. Meanwhile the male department was, in 1850 and 1851 taught by Dr. William Bennett, from North Carolina. He was succeeded by the Rev. S. S. Brown, from Ohio, who remained until the summer of 1855. Mr. Gillespie, and, after him Mr. Robert R. L. Harris taught for a few months; and then came, in June, 1856, Mr. William H. Johnson. At this time it was determined to reduce the scale of the school. Mr. Johnson purchased the property, and consolidated the two branches. He conducted the consolidated school until the outbreak of the Civil war. He joined the Confederate army, and the school MEMOIRS OP MI88I88IPFI. 3j9 was taught, during most of the war period, by a Mr. Akin. On the termination of hostilities Mr. Johnson resumed the control, and remained until the summer of 1867. Mr. C. T. Adams, from Virginia, took charge in the fall of 1868, but leaving before the year was out, he was followed by the Rev. Charles B. Galloway, A. B. of the University of Mississippi, and now a bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church South, assisted by Miss Patty Cross and Miss McCrosky. About September, 1869, a Mr. Combs took charge; followed in 1872 hy Rev. Thomas A. S. Adams, afterward president of the Centenary college. At this time it was brought into the connectional relations of the Methodist Church Soutli, and so remained until the end. In 1875 it was reincorporated under the name of the Yazoo District High school. In 1875-6 a Mr. Carter was in charge; and in 1876-7 Miss Alice Kittrell. Then came Edward W. Tarrant until 1 883 ; at which time it passed into the hands of Mr. John P. Marshall. After him came, in quick succession, Mr. William H. Johnson, again, in 1885; Miss Sallie Morgan and a Mr. Shivers, in 1886; Mr. B. P. Patterson, in 1887; and in 1S88 Mr. Leland B. Abell, LL.B. of the University of Mississippi, under whom it remained until destroyed by fire 1890. The curriculum was high; and the last two or three years of its existence was under the name of the Winona District High school. The Franklin Female college, located at Holly Springs, in Marshall county, was founded in 1846, by the Rev. S. G.Starks, an eminent Methodist minister. For a number of years it was under the patronage of the denomination. Its faculty was the best, and its attendance amounted to three hundred pupils, coming from Louisiana and south Mississippi. There was a valuable apparatus, and a well selected library. Mr. Starks was succeeded in 1857 by the Rev. David J. Allen, and he, in 1859, by the Rev. J. E. Douglass. In 1862, when the wounded from the battle of Corinth were brought to Holly Springs, the school was suspended and the buildings used for hospitals. After the war closed, they were used by the United States soldiery for barracks. In 1869 they were thoroughly refitted, and leased by Capt. William Clark, a finished scholar and eminent teacher, associated with the Rev. H. H. Paine, a Presbyterian minister. In 1870, Mr. Paine retired. In 1878, Mr. Clark fell a victim to the great epidemic of yellow fever, and was succeeded by his widow, Mrs. Mary B. Clark, daughter of the celebrated lawyer, Roger Barton. Under her, the college maintained its high reputation. She died in 1888, and was followed by her sister, Mrs. F. A. Tyler, and daughter, Mrs. R. H. Tunstall, ladies well qualified for the position. Since the war, the pupils have ranged from seventy-five to one hundred and fifty, from one half to three-fourths in the collegiate course. The first class to graduate was that of 1850, and its alumnae embrace many of the most accomplished ladies of the state. Of late years, the patronage is mainly from Mississippi, although pupils still come occasionally from Louisiana, Arkansas, Tennessee, Alabama, and Texas. Incorporated in 1873. Wildmarth hall, at Natchez, was established by Mrs. A. F. W. Speer, in the fall of 1846. A select school, limited at first to twenty-five pupils, and enlarging gradually, and always full. Patronized largely by Louisianians. The Rev. S. W. Speer taught for his wife the classes in mental and moral philosophy, sciences and astronomy ; Mons. F. Prou, professor of modern languages; T. Crouch, professor of music; Misses Maria H. Weldin, C. B. Arming- ton, and Eliza A. Dodson, assistants, composing the faculty for 1848-9. In 1852, the insti- tution seems to have been enlarged. It wa^ incorporated as Wildmarth Female college. Rev. Mr. Speer being principal. The Brandon college was established by Dr. Thomas C. Thornton, and Professor Pugh in 1847, after the failure of the college in Jackson. They took the old academy, with the two commodious buildings erected in 1838, and reorganized it into a college, obtaining a 380 BIOORAPHICAL AND HiaTOBIOAL charter in 1849. In 1^51, it was abandoned under the circumstances explained in the notice of Madison college. Eight students had graduated; among them Miss Veturia J. Finley, probably the first young lady in this state to complete the entire collegiate course prescribed for young men. When Dr. Thornton left the school was taken in charge by W. H. Potter, of Mystic, Conu., who conducted it until 1855 as an academy. Afterward it changed hands frequently. In 1865, it was taken in hand by Miss Frank A. Johnson, who has held it until now. In February, 1807, it was incorporated under the name of the Brandon Female col- lege, and for a period was the only institution of high grade in the state under the manage- ment of ladies alone. Under Miss Johnson it has been a successful and most useful school. The attendance has ranged from sixty-five to eighty-five per annum. It is now one of the separate district schools, having been adopted as such by the town. The Crystal Springs academy, in Copiah county, was opened in 1847: John P. Mapes, principal; Livingston Mims in the male department; Mrs. Asenath Evans in the female department; Prof. E. A. Haug music. The Marshall Female institute, located in Marshall county near the Tennessee line, was established in 1848, under the auspices of the Methodist church. The Rev. Joseph E. Doug- lass was president, assisted by his wife, Prof. John J. Steger and Miss Anna Boley. This was a very celebrated, useful and prosperous school for many years. From 1852 to 1856 the matriculations averaged about two hundred. The course of study was high. In 1856 the building was burned by an incendiary, and President Douglass entered the itinerancy, being succeeded by Dr. Speer; but he returned the following year, the house having been rebuilt. In 1859 Professor Watkins was made president. In 1 863 Mrs. Douglass became principal, and in 1868 Miss Margaret Johnson. Various iufiuences have caused it to decline from its former proud position. It was made a district high school of the church under a Professor Johnson from Virginia. In 1874 it was destroyed by fire. The Columbus Female institute was incorporated and established in 1848. There were four collegiate classes in addition to the usual preparatory ones, with a frdl curriculum of ancient and modern languages, mathematics, sciences, philosophy, art and music. A frame building was erected at a cost of $3,330; about $9,000 was realized from the sale of perpet- ual scholarships, and devoted to the further improvement of the property. In 1860 the building was destroyed by fire. The sum of 132,465 was then raised in cash, bonds and subscriptions, for the purpose of rebuilding. A large brick dormitory was commenced, which, however, was not completed (until the state did so later). Only the interior of the first story was finished for the present. In 1862 the school was suspended for about six months, as the building was used as a hospital. There were on resumption in 1863 one hundred and thirty- seven pupils. In 1872 a scheme was agitated to make the institution a female department of the university, but it came to nothing. In 1875 another plan to make it a part of the Frank- lin academy, thus bringing it into the public school system, but neither did that result in anything. Finally, in 1 884, it was donated to the state, and formed the basis for the present establishment of the industrial institute and college. The following academies not elsewhere mentioned, for they are now getting too numer- ous to describe in detail, were incorporated about this period: 1848 — Enterprise academy, Clarke county ; Raymond Female institution, Hinds county; Pleasant Hill Male and Female academy, Jasper county; Canton Male academy, Madison county; the Female institute, Noxubee county. 1850. — Pearl River Female academy, Madison county; Polkville Male and Female academy. Smith county : Almucha academy (the second), Lauderdale county; Kemper college Kemper county. ■'.f , TiVv'^-^^ ^/^ ^^ ■r'l^ny MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 331 1852. — Collegiate High School of Odd Fellows, Columbus; Coldwater Baptist Female seminary (Chulahoma), Marshall county; Mary Washington Female college (Baptist), Pon- totoc; Mississippi Female college, Hernando; Greenwood Female institute, Jasper county; Maple Spring Male academy, Tippah county; Masonic and Odd Fellows' high school (Banks- ton), Choctaw county; Pleasant Eidge Male and Female academy, Tippah county ; Middleton Female seminary, Carroll county; Southern Scientific institute, Claiborne county; Simpson Male and Female seminary, Simpson county; Yalobusha Baptist Female institute, Yalobusha county; Choctaw Collegiate institute (Baptist), Choctaw county; College of St. Andrew (Episcopalian), Jackson, Hinds county; Canton Female institute, Madison county; Presby- terian Female Collegiate institute, Pontotoc; Crawfordville Male and Female institute, Lowndes county. 1854. — Good Hope academy, Leake county; Westminster academy, Tippah county; Hill City Collegiate institute. Vicksburg; Central Mississippi Female college, Lexington; Monroe Female institute, Aberdeen; Octograde seminary, Yalobusha county ; Union seminary, De Soto county. The Chickasaw school fund originated in the sale by the state of the lands donated by congress for common-school purposes to the inhabitants of that portion of the state which was ceded by the Chickasaw Indians. This sale was made in 1848. The state appropriated the money to general uses and acknowledged itself debtor therefor. The amount of the fund is now about 1816,617, on which is paid semi-annually to the counties entitled interest at six per cent, per annum. The Liberty Female institute, at Liberty, in Amite county, was opened in July, 1849; Rev. A. B. Lawrence and his wife, formerly of Yicksburg, principals. They were assisted by able teachers. Chalmers institute, located at Holly Springs, was founded in 1850 by the Eev. Samuel McKinney. It was possessed of the property of the old university of Holly Springs, and was regarded as the successor of that institution. In 1873 it was incorporated. Meanwhile it had been in operation since its foundation as a male school. In 1 854 it was under charge of Messrs. Hackleton, Hoole, Pike and Hume, and they established a military feature. From 1855 to 1861 it was presided over by Rev. S. I. Reid, A. Enloe, Henry Paine, WiUiam M. Walkup and Rev. W. C. Young (now of Center college, Kentucky). During the war its work was interrupted. Exercises were resumed in 1865. In 1869 the military feature was revived. In 1879 the school was suspended. The following gentlemen had been connected with it since the war: Rev. S. I. Reid, William M. Walkup, Col. George M. Edgar, M'. A. Ander- son, A. S. Marye, John Creighton and William M. Rogers. The Mississippi Female college, located at Hernando, Dfe Soto county, was established, under the name of the De Soto Female seminary, in 1850, by subscriptions of the citizens of the county. It was incorporated under the general laws of the state. A brick building was erected in 1850-51, at a cost of |6,500. The Rev. William Cary Crane, an Episcopalian clergyman, was elected president in the fall of 1850, and the school opened successfully in the spring following. In 1852 a charter was granted by the legislature, under the name above. In 1856 President Crane was succeeded by Prof. James C. Dockery, former pro- fessor of French at the University of Alabama. In the spring of 1858 he was followed, pro tern, by Dr. H. M. Jeter, and early in 1859 Rev. Champ C. Connor was made president. The college had been successful, and enlargements were about to be made; but in the winter of 1859-60, a fire destroyed the buildings. In 1861 a handsome new brick building was completed, but the Civil war interrupted. In 1865 Mrs. Mary Pope kept a successful school 332 BIOORAPHIOAL AND HISTORIGAL in the building, followed in 1866 by Mrs. Emma Holcombe, who, in turn, was succeeded in 1869 by Mrs. M. P. Southworth, of Memphis, as a lessee, until 1874. The property was then sold for debts growing out of the rebuilding, and passed into private hands. Since that time it has been constantly used for school purposes. Madison college was established at Sharon, in Madison county, in 1851, by Dr. Thomas C. Thornton and Professor Pugh, in response to an invitation extended by the citizens of that village. It was conducted at first in a frame building formerly used for a hotel; but soon a good brick house was built at an outlay of $5,000. The faculty was shortly after the opening enlarged, and was composed of Dr. Thornton, president and professor of moral and intellectual science and sacred literature; Rev. J. M. Pugh, vice president and professor of mathematics, natural philosophy and astronomy; H. W. Pierce, professor of English litera- ture; Rev. W. L. C. Hunnicutt, professor of ancient languages; J. C. Pitchford, principal of the preparatory department; Wm. H. Hartwell, professor of music. During the most pros- perous period, from 1852 to 1859^ the annual attendance of pupils was about one hundred and fifty, of whom about two-thirds were usually in the college proper. In March, 1860, President Thornton died. He was succeeded by Professor Pugh, but in December he re- signed to take the presidency of Centenary college, and was followed by Prof essor Pierce. After the interruption of the late Civil war, the college was reopned in 1866, Rev. Harvey W. Johnson president. In 1867 President Johnson left to take charge of Whitworth college, and was followed, in 1868, by Dr. Hunnicutt. At this time Rev. Charles B. Galloway was a professor there. In 1870 Dr. Hunnicutt was succeeded by Dr. Pugh again. In 1872 the institution suspended finally, for want of endowment and patronage. The Yalobusha Baptist Female institute was founded in 1851, by the Yalobusha Baptist association. For its accommodation the existing edifice was erected at a cost of $30,000. The Rev. Dr. W. S. Webb, now president of Mississippi college, was its president. He con- ducted it successfully for six years, when he was followed by Mr. Greorge Granberry. It continued to prosper until the outbreak of the war, when it met the common fate of suspen- sion. After the war ceased the property was sold for debt and was purchased by Geo. W. Ragsdale, who refitted it and leased it to Mrs. Holcombe in 1867. She opened then the Emma Mercer institute. After several years she failed and was followed by Prof. R. A. Irwin. He did well, having about eighty pupils. In 1875 the property was again sold for the debts of its owner, and it was purchased by a joint-stock company of citizens, who changed its name to the Grenada female college. Rev. D. D. Moore was made president. In 1879 he was followed by Dr. N. T. Scruggs, and he, in 1881, by Rev. Dr. T. C. Weir. In 1882 the property was purchased at a low price by the North Mississippi conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church South, and the Rev. Thomas J. Newell made president. He has filled that place ever since. A charter was obtained in 1884 as the Grenada Collegiate insti- tute. The faculty embraces eight teachers in addition to the president. The annual at- tendance is about one hundred and seventy-five. The alumni number to date is twenty-two. The Hernando Male seminary was incorporated under the general laws of the state about the year 1852. Stock to the amount of $6,000 or $7,000 was subscribed, and a suit- able building of six or seven rooms, including two large study halls, erected. A good school was maintained until 1861, patronized by the surrounding counties. In 1866 the building was burned, but the school was continued under Rev. S. I. Reid, and in 1867 the house was rebuilt. The Rev. J. W. Tipsey then took charge, under a lease. He was followed in 1869 by R. N. J. Wilson. The school was finally displaced by the free-schools, under the system of 1870. MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 333 The Coffeeville academy was established in 1852, chartered under the general laws of the state. Miss Margaret Stein conducted it until 1854, when she was succeeded by the Eev. E. S. Thomas, of the Cumberland Presbyterian church, with Misses Ingles and Patton assistants. In 1856 Mr. Thomas retired, and the ladies conducted the school until 1857, when Prof. Eli G. Burney, A. B. of the university, took it. He was followed by Miss Bettie Martin, who kept it until the war broke it up entirely. Enon high school, located in the central-western portion of Perry county, was incorpo- rated in 1852. It was in operation about ten years, with a yearly attendance of about one hundred, and did great good for that portion of the state. The Kosciusko Masonic Female college, at Kosciusko, Attala county, was incorporated in 1852. Mrs. Tilton, from New York, was principal; succeeded by Prof. Hatfield. Assist- ants were employed as needed. Attendance about seventy-five, mostly local. No endow- ment, but occasionally aided by the Masons. During the war, and later, it was presided over by the Rev. J. H Alexander, assisted by Mrs. West and Mrs. Thompson, daughters of Rev. John N. Waddel. Situated on a desirable lot, and with three good houses (one of brick), in 1870 the Masonic fraternity sold it to the public school ofScials for 14,000, and it became, and now is, one of the separate district schools. Newton college, located in Wilkinson county, was about one-fourth of a mile from New- ton institute. It was established in 1852, for youngmen; incorporated in 1854. Dr. Phares was president until 1859, and then Prof. Alexander Ellett, who continued until the school ceased to exist, which was in 1861. William Baxter, P. H. Rislay, J. H. McKay, H. Kirk Baxter, and others, served as professors. A number of gentlemen were educated at this col- lege, some becoming distinguished in the learned professions. The Central Female institute, located at Clinton, in Hinds county, was founded in 1853, under the patronage of the Baptist church. Its first president was Prof. William Duncan. He was soon followed by the Rev. Walter Hillman, who has remained in charge until the present time. The attendance of pupils has averaged about one hundred and twenty per annum, and it is now completing its thirty- seventh year of uninterrupted work; the late Civil war causing no suspension. President HiUman has six assistants in his facidty. There are two large dormitories, a variety of smaller buildings detached, and a very handsome main building completed within the year. The equipment of apparatus and specimens for illus- tration of the sciences is exceptionally fine. The Summerville institute, located at Summerville, in Noxubee county, was established in 1853, as a private enterprise, by Thomas S. G-athright, from Alabama. With two or three assistants each year. Professor Gathright maintained an unusually fine school for many years. The yearly attendance was about eighty, the expenses about |200. About 1877 Professor Gathright moved to Texas, and the school was abandoned. Many of the best men in the state received education there. The St. Stanislaus Commercial coUege, located at Bay St. Louis, in Hancock county, was established in 1855, by the Brothers of the Sacred Heart, of the Catholic church. Pleasantly located on the shore of Mississippi sound, and the buildings spacious. The special object of the institution is to prepare young men for a mercantile life. At first the attendance was small, but soon it grew large, and students came from the surrounding states. During the late war, efforts were made to continue the work, but a suspension was forced by the drift of events. Labor was resumed when peace came. There was no endowment. The members of the society contributed the means needed to erect buildings, etc. At first, there were three professors for the commercial department, but it soon became necessary to appoint 334 BIOORAJPHICAL AND HI8T0RI0AL two others. Incorporated in 1870. The course of study is divided into four grades. The highest includes geometry, with applications to drawing and mensuration, trigonometry, sur- veying, navigation, astronomy, conic sections, calculus, physics, chemistry and commercial law. There are nine professors. The attendance has averaged about one hundred and fifty per annum. The A\'arren Female institute, located at Oxford, Lafayette county, was founded about 1855, by Mrs. Harper, wife of the professor of agriculture and geology in the university. She was followed by Miss Sallie Giles; and she by Miss Hull, now Mrs. Smither, of Oxford; and she, by Miss Lewis, in whose hands it was well attended, and tided over the criti- cal period of the Civil war. During all this time it made but little pretension beyond that of a good grammar school, but about 1870, a Mrs. Hays took charge, elevated the course and did much toward its improvement. She was succeeded by the Misses Miller. In 1S80 Mrs. C. A. Lancaster, the present owner and principal, from Virginia, took the school. She still further elevated the grade, gave it the present name, and it was incorporated in 1 882. An excellent school; buildings, a two-story framed structure, with accommodations for twenty-five lodgers. The Odd Fellows' Female college, located at CarroUton, in Carroll county, was opened under the auspices of the Odd Fellows in 1857. The first principal was J. Smith Colmery. Provided with a fine lot of about three acres and a commodious framed building of three stories. The school was at once successful. In 1859 there were one hundred and thirty pupils. After varying fortunes of prosperity, decadence and suspension, and several changes of ownership, it is now flourishing in the hands of the Eev. Z. T. Leavell, a Baptist minister. The Vernal Springs Male and Female academy, located in the south central part of Greene county, was founded and incorporated in 1860; J. B. Smith, principal; Kate Smith, assistant. Its career, though brief, was prosperous. Average attendance, about fifty; about one-fifth boarders. There was a small patronage from Alabama and Texas. The Woodville Female academy, located at Woodville, Wilkinson county, was founded in 1860, by the liberality of Hon. Edward McGehee, who donated the land and erected the buildings at his own cost. The building was not completed when the war broke out, but a small school was taught in it. Professor Holcombe, principal. In October, 1865, the academy proper was opened. It was a Methodist church school, and the Rev. W. T. J. Sullivan was principal, with eight lady assistants. The academy was quite prosperous at first, drawing patronage from Louisiana as well as from Mississippi; but in' the fall of 1867 an epidemic of yellow fever caused a back-set from which it never entirely recovered. Dr. SuUivan retired in 1870. Since then the school has led a rather precarious existence. Its name has recently been changed to Edward McGehee college, and under the presidency of the Bev. H. Walter Featherston a larger future is promising. The bu.ildings cost about 110,000; and the property is now worth about that amount. The following additional academies, many of them of great merit, were incorporated at this time: 1856. Oak Bowery academy, unknown; Byhalia Male academy, Marshall county; Oko- lona Male academy, Chickasaw county; Canaan Male and Female academy, Tippah county; Mississippi Masonic Female college, Claiborne county; Calhoun institute (Macon), Noxubee county; Eastport Female institute, Tishomingo county; Okolona Female institute, Chicka- saw county; Amite Female seminary, Amite county. 1858. Semple Broadus college (Baptist), De Soto county. MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 335 1S60. Brandon State Military iastitution, Eankin county; Aberdeen Masonic Male high school, Monroe county; Amite County Female academy (Liberty), Amite county; Will- ard Male and Female academies, De Soto county; Masonic Female seminary (Mount Pleasant), Marshall county; Yazoo Educationalassociation, Yazoo coimty. Whitworth female college, located at Brookhaven, in Lincoln county, was founded in 1859, by Key. M. J. Whitworth, a Methodist preacher. It was incorporated in 1860, and opened in the spring of that year, under Rev. J. P. Lee as president. A frame building was erected, at a cost of about §15,1)00. In June, 1861. President Lee because of the war, resigned, and the school was suspended until April, 1862. It was then reopened, with Eev. E. L. Crosby president. In the following July, however, Mr. Crosby died, and the buildings were then used for a hospital until the close of the war. In January, 1865, the Eev. George F. Thompson was elected, and conducted the school with moderate success until 1867. In Ajjril, of this year, Eev. Harrey W. Johnson, then president of Madison college, was elected, and under him the college had extraordinary success. He repaired the property, paid off a debt of 82,800 and built the chapel and music hall, at a cost of ?8,500. In 1S78 a handsome brick dormitory, valued at §15,000, was erected, and in 1883 a commodious brick main build- ing, worth about S'-iOjOOO. This valuable property, erected from the earnings of the school, with some generous assistance from others, was by President Johnson donated to the confer- ence. In August, 1886, Dr. Johnson died, and Prof. Lewis T. Fitzhugh, principal of the high school of the uuiversitj-, was elected to succeed him. Under this gentleman the school has greatly prospered. The annual attendance is about two hundred and fifty pupils. There is a conservatory of music, organized on a large scale, with about two hundred pupils. The faculty in the college embraces seven teachers, besides the president. That in the conserva- tory embraces six others. There is also an art department. The alumni are three hundred and fifty-five in number. The suspension of hostilities at the close of the late Civil war was immediately followed by a resumption of labor in the field of education. Cooper Normal college, located at Daleville, in Lauderdale county, was established in 1865, under the name of the Spring Hill Male and Female academy, by the Eev. J. L. Cooper. It was a private enterprise. The property was worth about 85,000; there was no endow- ment. The library contained about two thousand volumes. Mr. Cooper was assisted by three able teachers. In 1873 the institution was chartered as the Cooper institute. There were then seven assistants, three thousand volumes in the library and about one hundred and sixty pupils, coming from four states. The museum contained about three thousand speci- mens, and there was a fine illustrative apparatus. A three-months' commercial course had been organized. In 1885 the institute passed into the hands of Prof. Thomas T. McBeath, and in 1886 was incorporated anew, as the Cooj^er Normal college. There are five assistants. There are five courses of study: The literary, the scientific, the classic, the languages and literature, the commercial and technical. The last includes bookkeeping and business forms, shorthand, typewriting, telegraphy and engineering. There is also a department of peda- gogics; also one of music and fine arts; average attendance about one hundred and seventy- five per annum; that for the year 18SS-9 was two hundred and fifty; total graduates, about two hundred and fifty; property, one hundred and ninety-two acres of land, three large two- story frame buildings and six cottages; library, about forty-five hundred volumes. The Meridian Female college was established in 1865, and ran a successful career of many years, and the Newton female academy, of Crystal Springs, was founded at the same time and incorporated. 336 BIOOBAPHIVAL AND HISTORICAL In 1866 were incorporated the following academies: St. Joseph's School for Females at Natchez (Catholic); Pass Christian college, in Harrison county; East Mississippi Female coUege, at Aberdeen, and the Franklin Masonic high school, at Meadville. The University of Columbus, located "at Columbus, was established in 1867, by Profs. Thaddeus C. Belsher and George B. McClelland, under the name of the Columbus Male high- school. An effort was made to raise the standard of scholarship above that of the schools of the country then in existence. In 1873 a charter was obtained under the present name. This was the most prosperous period of the school. In 1875 there were one hundred and twenty-two students, from four different states, five professors, a collegiate department and a commercial course. Since that time there has been a shrinkage in patronage. There is now only one teacher. The library contains two thousand volumes, and the building is the old Methodist church, a handsome brick structure; The State Teachers' association was organized at Jackson in January, 1867. An earlier organization had been effected in the year 1838, which continued during four years. The association of 1867 was, therefore, the second. Its second meeting was in July, 1867, also at Jackson. Forty-two teachers were present. There was discussion of the educational funds, of a system of common schools, on music in education, on the education of the negro. This organization, however, dissolved in the anxieties and troubles of the reconstruction. The meeting appointed for 1868 was never held. On Wednesday, August 8, 1877, a third organization was effected at a meeting held in Jackson for that purpose, thirty-four teachers being present, of whom four were colored. This association has continued - until the present time, meeting in Jackson every year during the Christmas holidays, and discussing all sub- jects of interest to the profession. Besides the state association, three minor associations, known respectively as the East Mississippi, the Northwestern and the South Central Teach- ers' associations, have been formed. The Stonewall institute, at Arkabutla, in De Soto county, was at work in 1867 under Prof. B. L. McElree, with two assistants. The Oak Hill academy, in De Soto county, was flourishing at the same time, under Prof. S. S. Robinson, as also were the Horn Lake academy, under E. R. Gill; the Sylvarena insti- tute, in Smith county, under Prof. Lewis T. Fitzhugh, incorporated; the Hebron academy, in Rankin county, under R. A. Whitfield; the Union high school, at Pleasant Hill, under D. W. Bristol; the Anna Lee institute, under W. D. Howze; the Charleston seminary, in Talla- hatchie county, under W. J. Blanks, and the Fair Lavm institute, at Jackson, under the Misses Moseley, incorporated in 1871, and a most useful school for many years, besides the schools and colleges described in the chapter in Volume I of this work, and in addition, of course, to many others, the names of which have not reached the writer. In this year were incorporated, also, the Ripley institute, of Tippah county; the Live Oak academy, of Jackson county; the Bluff Spring academy, of Tippah county; the Russell institute, at Hickory, in Newton county; the Zion Hill high school, of Jefferson county; the Verona Male academy (under Prof. Richard M. Leavell, now of the state university), and the Shubuta Female institute, of Clarke county. The Peabody public school, located at Summit, in Pike county, was established in 1868 by the joint agreement of Dr. B. Sears, general agent of the Peabody fund, and the town. The former agreed to contribute $1,000 per annum from the fund, and the latter |2,000 per annum from taxation. Rev. Charles H. Otken was elected principal; Mrs. Josephine Newton, assistant. Pupils registered the first year, one hundred and forty-two; in the second, two hundred and twenty-nine pupils and three assistants. In 1870 a charter was obtained for MEMOIRS OF MTSSTS.srPPr. 337 the Peabody Educational association, which erected a good building, with capacity for five hundred pupils, at a cost of $7,000. A high school feature was adopted. Students of the third session, three hundred and forty-seven, of which forty-seven were in the high school; six teachers. A full collegiate curriculum was offered. The school was adopted as a part of the general free-school system of the state, and drew some revenue from that fund. Enroll- ment for 1871-2 (fourth session), three hundred and thirty-eight, of which sixty-two were high school. A large immigration was drawn to the town by the school. Factions arose, however, and led in 1875 to the abolition of tuition fees in the high school, and a still fur- ther reduction of income. The allowance from the Peabody fund was thereupon reduced to 1500. The high school was then abolished in June, 1876, and from that date the school has been conducted as an ordinary grammar school. In June, 1877, the principal's salary having been reduced from $1,200 to 1800, Dr Otken resigned and established Lea Female college. The StarkviUe Female institute, in Oktibbeha county, was founded in 1869 by Mr. W. B. Montgomery and the Rev. T. G. Sellers. Dr. Sellers, a Baptist minister of high cult- ure, has remained at the head of the institute from that time until now. Incorporated in 1873. Average attendance about one hundred and eighty; number of graduates, eighty- eight; value of property, about $10,000; library, about ten hundred volumes; eight assistant teachers. The Blue Mountain Female college, at Blue Mountain, in Tippah county, was founded in 1869, by Gen. M. P. Lowrey, a prominent member of the Baptist church. It was opened in 1873; General Lowrey, principal, with two assistants. Fifty students were enrolled. Prom that time the school, being a favorite of the Baptists, and generously patronized by them, has steadily grown. In 1877 it was incorporated. In 1885 General Lowrey died, and was succeeded by his son, the Bev. W. T. Lowrey. The annual enrollment is now about two hundred and twenty-five, two-thirds of whom are boarders. The faculty num- ber seventeen, prominent among whom is Bev. W. E. Berry, A. M. , who became at the opening of the fourth session one of the proprietors, and professor of Latin and Greek, and has done much toward the success of the school. The school property has been enlarged and improved until it is valued at $25,000. The alumni number seventy-five. Instruction is given in music, art, and various industries; and there is a library of about six hundred volumes. The Bethlehem academy, at Holly Springs, a Catholic institution, was established as a female school in 1869, by the Sisters of Charity, from Nazareth, Ky., and has been a pros- perous and useful school until now. The Tougaloo university, for colored youths, was founded in Madison county, on the co-educational plan, in 1869, by the American Missionary association. Designed to be an agri- cultural and mechanical school, five hundred acres of land, with buildings, were purchased and improved at an outlay of $25,000. In May, 1871, it was incorporated, and a normal depart- ment was organized. In January, 1872, this normal department was taken rmder the pat- ronage of the state, the annual sum of $4,000 being appropriated for the support of it. This appropriation has been continued ever since that date (reduced in amount, however), except that none was made for the years 1878 and 1879. In 1873 a theological school was added. There is a music department, a library and readingroom, and a quarterly journal is published. The graduates have been thirty-seven, of whom eleven were women. The institution has received valuable aid from the Slater fund. Its property is valued at $60,000. The present faculty consists of the Eev. Frank G. Woodworth, president, and eleven teachers. 338 BIOGBAPHWAL AND HISTORIC Al. The common schools: At the teachers' meeting of January, 1867, resolutions were adopted, looking toward the establishment of a common school system, and of normal schools for the education of colored teachers, but the reconstruction measures interfered and stopped all action of a public character: The constitution of 1869 made it the duty of the legislature tu establish a uniform system of free public schools, to be supported by taxation, or otherwise, for all children between the ages of five and twenty-one years. This injunction was obeyed by the act of July 4, 1 870. Schools were ordered to be maintained for four months in each year, a state board of eihication was provided for, and a state superintendent of public education and a county superintendent in each county. At first there was much opposition to the system; more in some localities than in others. It was regarded as a system of taxation without representation, imposed by adventurers and plun- derers, rather for the purpose of riveting their fetters on the people of the state than for any humanitarian object. However, that opposition gradually died away. The system, with some minor alterations and adjustments of details, has been not only preserved, but even enlarged, since the democratic party regained control of the state affairs. The new constitution of 1890 devotes to the common schools all the poll taxes collected in the respect- ive counties, and such additional sum from the general funds in the state treasury as shall be necessary in order to maintain the schools for at least four months. Any county or separate school district is authorized to levy such further local taxes as may be desired for the purpose of continuing the schools beyond the four months. It is estimated that the amount needed to carry on the four months' term will be 1800,000 per annum, to which must be added the further local levies for the prolonged terms. The expenditures for • common schools for the year 1888-9 aggregated 11,117,110.82. The children enrolled were: whites, one hundred and forty-eight thousand four hundred and thirty-five; colored, one hundred and seventy-three thousand five hundred and fifty- two. The teachers employed were: whites, four thousand and eighteen; colored, three thousand and ninety-seven. The separate district schools constitute a most important feature of the common-school system. The act of 1870 provided that any incorporated city of five thousand inhabit- ants might constitute itself a separate district for school purposes, with the privilege of rais- ing and extending its school work, and with the power to collect special ta?;es to that end. Subsequent statutes have admitted smaller cities t(j this privilege, until now any town of one thousand or more inlialjitants may exercise it. Under this plan numerous such schools have been established at intervals, and that work is still going on. Aberdeen, Bay St. Louis, Biloxi, Brookhaven, Canton, Coffeeville, Corinth, Crystal Springs, Greenville, Gre- nada, Hazlehurst, Holly Springs, Jackson, Kosciusko, Macon, Meridian, Oxford, Okolona, Port Gibson, Sardis, Starkville, Tupelo, Water Valley, Wesson, West Point, Winona aud Yazoo City have established fine schools, in many instances at an outlay for buildings and equipment of from 125,000 to 150,000. So, also, the existing schools, already mentioned, at Brandon, Columbus, Natchez, Summit and Vioksburg have been brought into this system, and form parts of it, although themselves founded long before that system was inaugu- rated. The general plan of this class of schools is, the division into annual grades (from six to thirteen in number), and the extension of the free term from four months, as in the ordinary school, to terms ranging from seven to ten months. Several of them are pro- vided with large corps of teachers, and are ready to prepare boys for the sophomore classes of college, and to carry young ladies to a very respectable graduation. The Toocopola academy, in Pontotoc county, was founded in 1870 by W. B. Gilmer; incorporated in 1873 as the Toccopola college. A music department was established, and MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 339 seveu teachers were employed. Patronized from five states, about one-fourth of the students being boarders. Highest attendance, two liundred and three. This was a most useful school for many years. Noteworthy as being the only academy that ever sent a youth to the university prepared for the junior class, and it sent two. Now under J. \V. Furr, B. S., of the university. The Cato high school, of Rankin county, was established in 1870. William Buchanan was principal. He was followed in 1873 by P. B. Bridges, and he, in 1876, by H. M. Long. This also was long a useful school. The Shaw university, at Holly Springs, now called Bust university by the act of 1^90, was established in 1S7(^ by the Mississippi conference of the Methodist Episcopal church, for the education of colored youths, and was incorporated in the same year. It has been in operation, more or less successfully, ever since that time. It has a commercial and a medical school; also a preparatory academy located at Meridian. Rev. C. E. Libby is president, and the faculty is composed of nine members. There are fifteen alumni. Females are admitted. The State Normal school, at Holly Springs, also for colored youths, was established by the state in 1S7(). For two years the normal department of Shaw university was leased; afterward distinct quarters were provided. Professor Gorman was first principal; in the second year Miss M. E. Hunter. She was followed in 1875 by W. B. Highgate, and he, in 1886, by the present principal, J. H. Henderson. The average attendance has been, of males, eighty-three; of females, forty-three. The appropriations made by the state aggre- gate $96,950. The grounds embrace about five acres, and, with the building of brick, cost $10,000. There is a good chemical and physical laboratory, and a library of about three thousand volumes. Incorporated iu 1890. The Alcorn Agricultural and Mechanical college, at Oakland, iu Claiborne county, was also established by the state for the education of colored youths, iu 1871. The property of old Oakland college was purchased for it at a cost of §42,5(X\ Designed for higher educa- tion, it opened February 7, 1872, under the presidency of ex-Senator Hiram R. Revels, who had two assistants. An agricultural department was added in 1872. In 1873-4 the faculty had increased to nine members, aud a superintendent of mechanic arts was added. In 1S82 J. H. Burrus, of Tennessee, was made president, and yet holds that office. In 1884 females were admitted, and more or less of them have attended on each subsequent ses- sion. The attendance for the last ten years hi's averaged one hundred and eighty-four. The graduates numljer forty-six. The appropriations by the state have been as follows: For the years 1871 to 1874, 6175,000; from 1875 to 1891,895,640; total, 1270,640. To this must be added the interest from the agricultural land-scrip fund, being the congres- sional donation, which is §5,678.75 per annum; total, §116,991.25. In 1871 the Masouic Male and Female institute was flourishing at Pleasant Hill, in De Soto county, under Prof. S. B. Pankey, and in 1872 under D. W. Bristol. In the same year the following academies were incorporated: Tlie Coffeeville Female seminary of Yalo- busha coimty; the St. Joseph academy, of Hancock county; the Baptist Female seminary, at West Point, Clay county; the Guntown Male and Female institute, of Lee county; the Belmont academy, of Carroll county. The Kosciusko Male and Female institute, at Kosciusko, in Attala county, was founded in 1871 by the Methodist church at that place. It had no endowment, but at the first a little aid from the Peabody fund; property worth about §2,500; attendance for 1S72, one hundred and seventy. In 1874 the institute was taken into the connection of the North Mississippi conference and the Rev. W. P. Barton made principal. In 1879 Mr. Barton was 340 BIOGltATlIIGAL AND HiaWHIOAL succeeded by the Eev. T. A. S. Adams, who had three assistants. Incorporated in 1878. In 1884 Dr. Adams resigned, and shortly afterward the institute became extinct. The East Mississippi Female college, located in Meridian, Lauderdale county, was estab- lished in 1871 under the auspices of the Mississippi conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church South. Incorporated in 1872. Prof. S. P. Eice, of Florence, Ala., was first presi- dent. In 1873 he was followed by the Eev. John W. Adkisson, of Shelby ville, Mo., who remained in charge until 1883. Under his administration the college so prospered that the faculty was increased from three assistants to six. Accepting the presidency of Central college, in Texas, he was followed by the Eev. A. D. McVoy, and he, in turn, was succeeded in 1888 by the Eev. E. M. Saunders, former president of Norfolk college, Virginia. The alumni are one hundred and twenty in number; attendance about one hundred and fifty, from five states. The course of study embraces the following schools: English language and literature, including Anglo-Saxon; ancient languages, modern languages, mathematics, history, physical sciences, mental and moral science, music and fine arts, industrial arts. There is a good library; also a fine collection of minerals; also a good scientific apparatus. The buildings are of brick and are commodious. The faculty includes eleven members. The Slate Springs Male and Female college, located at Slate Springs, in Calhoun county, was established in 1872 by Mr. Fuller Pox, with two assistants. Incorporated in 1873. Buildings with accommodation for three hundred students were erected and a music depart- ment added. The Paine high school, at Booneville, in Prentiss county, was established in 1872 by the luka, Verona, Columbus and Macon district conferences of the Methodist Episcopal Church South. Citizens of Booneville subscribed $10,000 toward the necessary funds. The build- ing was completed in 1874 and the sch jol opened in September, with Prof. C. M. Verdell as principal. Meanwhile the financial crash of 1 873 caused the loss of much of the subscrip- tion. In 1876 the property was sold for a debt due the builders and was purchased by the town. Judge J. P. Povall was then chosen principal and the school became a mixed school for two years. In 1878 George W. Turner and W. E. Davenport became joint principals. In 1881 John W. Johnson, A. B. , of the university, became principal, and under him the institution was chartered as the Johnson institute. In 1886 Prof. H. L. Atkinson was elected principal, and one year afterward Prof. J. C. Benedict, of Ohio. In 1872 the Coldwater Male and Female iastitute was in successful operation in De Soto county, under Ihe supervision of Maj. E. Porter, and the Masonic institute at Senatobia, under Mr. Samuel F. Massey. In 1873 the Mississippi Military institute was in operation under E. H. Murphy, super- intendent, at West Point, Miss. It was incorporated in 1875, and was removed to Aberdeen. It registered one hundred and nine students in the session of 1875-6. Shortly afterward it seems to have been removed to Pass Christian, Miss., where it was maintained for a few years. From this place Colonel Murfee went to Arkansas to accept a chair in the university, and the school became extinct. In 1873, also, the Brandon Male high school, under Gen. J. A. Smith, as also was the Jackson high school, under George W. McLaurin, was in successful operation, and the follow- ing academies were incorporated: The Corinth Female college, of Alcorn county; the Lang- ston school, at Holly Springs, the Colfax institute, at Spring Valley, Choctaw county; the Baldwin Female college, of Prentiss county; the Educational society of South Mississippi and East Louisiana, and the Summit commercial college, both of Summit, in Pike county; and the Mississippi Female institute, for colored girls, now located at Clinton, Miss. MSMOIRS OP JII.SSI.SSIPPI. 341 In 1874 the Sardis Female college, of Panola county, and the Abbeville Female college, of Lafayette county, were incorporated; and the Mississippi Female college, under Miss Josephine Freeman, her sister, and a Miss Morgan, was in gooJ conditioa at Jackson, beiag taught at St. Andrew's church. In 1875 the Stonewall-Jackson institute was organized at Harperville, in Scott county. In 1881 it was incorporated under the name of Harperville college. In 1884 the Hunt and Huddleston College Faculty association was incorporated, with power to maiutain a principal college and establish preparatory and high schools as auxiliaries. Harperville college has about one hundred and twenty-five students annually, drawn from four states; about three- fifths collegiate. It is a mixed school, and offers three degrees, viz.: B. A., B. S., and M. E. L. There is a good apparatus, and a library of about seven hundred and fiftj' volumes. In 1875, also, were incorporated the West Point Female institute, of Clay county; the Brookhaven Male Academical association, of Lincoln county; and the Southern Christian institute, near Edwards, in Hinds county. The last is a school for colored people of both sexes, with an industrial and a normal feature, established at a cost of about S10,000 by the Christian church, with a special view to the preparation of young colored men for its miuistry It was opened in 1882. Randall Faurot was the first president. He died in October, 188'.!, and was followed by Jephtha Hobbs. The attendance grew to about three hundred, but the free school was discontinued in 1887, and the attendance was thereby much reduced. The Lea Female college, at Summit, in Pike county, was established in 1877, by Bev. Charles H. Otken, and was incorporated that same year. The attendance has averaged about sixty-five per annujn, of which about one-half were of collegiate grade, and about one- third were boarders from a distance. The facult}- has five members. Music and accounts are taught. The Corinth Female college (now existing), of Alcorn county, was founded in 1877, by Mary C. Conally. with two assistants. It was incorporated in 1878. In 1887 Miss N. Lena Elgin became president. The attendance is a little over one hundred per annum, of which about forty per cent, are of collegiate grade, and about one-eighth boarders. There is a framed two-story building; property worth about 84,000. This school works in coujimction with the free-school system of Coriath, as part of it. In 1877 the Calhoun institiite was established at Macon, and the following schools, all for females, were incorporated: The Elisha Calloway Female institute at Macon, in Noxubee county; the Edg worth Hall Female college at Aberdeen, in Monroe county; the Sardis Female college in Panola county, and the Xorth Mississippi college at Terona, in Lee county. Zealy's seminary, by Dr. J. T. Zealy, was at work in Jackson in 187S. with a full corps of teachers. It was incorporated that year, and so were the following: The luka Presby- terian Male high school of Tishomingo county; the Beth Eden collegiate institute, of Winston county; the Batesville high school, of Panola county; the Grange Agricultural school, of Coa- homa county; the name of the last being changed to the Clarksdale high school, by the act of 1890. The Agricultural and Mechanical college, located at Starkville, in Oktibbeha county, was incorporated February 28, 1878. It was the outcome of an act of congress passed July 2, 1862, whereby was donated to each state, which should provide colleges for the benefit of agriculture and the mechanic aits, an amount of public land equal to 30,00* I acres for each representative and senator in congress. The half of that fund, amounting to Sll3,57"i. was secured to this institution by its charter; on which sum is realized an annual interest income ^42 BIOORAPHIOAL AND niSTORIGAL of 14,928. 75. In addition to that inconi€i the state has made the following appropriations for the support of the college: In 1880, 185,000; in 1882, $120,000; in 1884, $65,000; in 1886, $50,000; in 1888, 135,320, in 1890, $58,760. The college was opened, after the purchase of the necessary farm and the erection of the proper buildings, in the fall of 1880. The average attendance has been three hundred and fifteen students per annum. Only Mis- sissippi boys are received, since they exhaust the capacity of the institution. The military methods are followed. The literary schools are divided into a preparatory department and a college. In the college are taught drawing, bookkeei)ing, English history, rhetoric, mathematics, natural philosophy, natural history, chemistry, political economy, constitution of the United States, moral science, astronomy, civil engineering, literature, physiology, veterinary science, in addition to the schools of agriculture, horticulture, biology, dairy husbandry and military science, which the undergraduates are required to attend. The academic building is of brick, 127x70 feet, and three stories high; the dormitory, brick also, and three stories high, is 275x140 feet, with capacity for two hundred and fifty students. There are, besides, a chemical laboratory, a mess hall, residences for the professors, and a large outfit of barns, stables, etc. The property is valued at $188,617. From its founda- tion the college has'been under the presidency of Gen. Stephen D. Lee, whose able man- agement has extended its reputation far beyond the limits of the state. The faculty is usually composed of about eighteen professors and assistants. There is a readingroom and a library of about three thousand volimies. Connected with the college is an agricultural ex- periment station, established under the act of congress of March 2, 1887, and supported by annual payments from the United States. This station is a department of the college, but has its distinct functions, and its separate working force and equipment. At the same time the farming department of the college proper is much relieved by it, both of work and expense, and it furnishes a continual and valuable object lesson to the students. The station has published one annual report and ten bulletins, which are sent free of charge to all farmers of the state who apply for them. Already the influence of the Agricultural and Mechanical has been sensibly felt in the agriculture of Mississippi, and if no short-sighted policy cripples it, great things may be expected in the near future. In 1 879 and prior thereto St. Margaret's hall, a boarding and day school for girls, was successfully conducted in Jackson by Mrs. S. B. Ware. In 1888 Mrs. Lucy S. Smith was principal. The Holly Springs normal institute was founded in 1879 by Maj. T. C. Anderson, using the property of the old university of Holly Springs. It was incorporated. There were four assistants. The attendance of pupils ranged from one hundred and fifty to three hundred, and a few of them took collegiate grade. The Poplar Springs normal college in Union county was founded in 1880 by Jasper N. Davis. Incorporated in 1886, the first class graduated in that year. There are teachers', business, scientific and classical courses. J. M. Langston and D. H. Davis are co-principals, with three assistants. The attendance of pupils is about two hundred. The school property is worth about $3,000. The library is valued at $1,000 additional, and there is a scientific apparatus. In 1880 were incorporated the Waverly institute, of Byhalia, in Marshall county, the Dido Male and Female academy, the Prewitt Center Kidge academy, the West Point semi- nary, and the Carrollton Female college. The last is now prospering under the presidency of the Eev. Z. T. Leavell, a Baptist minister. " The Okolona Male academy was flourishing in 1880, with G. W. Turner and W. E. Har- MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 343 per as principals, while the Okolona Female college was prospering under the presidenc} of Prof. J. Gr. Deupree, now of Mississippi college. In the same year Anselm H. Jayue estab- lished the Jackson high school, and the Rev. L. M. Stone founded the Shuqualak Female col- lege. Invested in the last institution is about Sl(),O0U. There is a music department, also one of art. The Sallis Male and Female academy was founded in 1881; P. W. Corr, principal. Incorporated in 1886. The Eiverview seminary, Mr. and Mrs. Snead, principals, was founded in Vicksburg in 1881. It still continues to thrive. The luka normal institute, of Tishomingo county, was organized in 1882 by Profs. H. A. Dean and John Neuhardt. Two well-known schools, the luka Male academy and the luka Female institute, had been previously conducted in that place. Their buildings were leased for a term of years by the normal institute. This school opened with a faculty of six. It has been very prosperous. The attendance has averaged about two hundred and eighty. There are eight departments: Primary, preparatory, training, commercial, scientific, classic, music and fine arts. In 1885 it was incorporated, and Professor Dean became sole proprie- tor. The property is valued at ST, 000, and there is besides a good scientific apparatus and a library of seven hundred volumes. The Mississippi normal college was founded at Troy, in Pontotoc county, in 1882, by H. B. Abernethy. Incorporated in 1S84. In 1888 it was removed to Houston in Chickasaw county. Average attendance about two hundred and forty. It is of the same type as the preceding school. Telegraphy, typewriting and phonography are taught. The faculty com- prises eleven members. There is some apparatus, and a library of three huadred volumes. The school property, formerly occupied by the Houston Male and Female academies, is owned by the town, and is leased to Professor Abernethy for twenty-five years. The Ashland academy, of Benton county, was established in 1882 by a joint stock com- pany. Rev. Enoch Wines was the first principal, with two assistants. Incorporated in 1888. Graded into primary, intermediate and coUegiate. Music is taught. The attendance has ranged from forty to one hundred. Prof. W. P. Gunn is now principal, with two assist- ants. The Maury institute, an excellent female school at Holly Springs, was established in 1882, by Miss E. D. Watson, incorporated in 1884, and continues to flourish. In 1882, also, the following institutions were incorporated: the Palo Alto academy, of Clay county; the Guntown Male and Female academy, of Lee county; the Blue Moimtain academy, of Tippah county; the Camp Ground academy, of Jonesboro, in Tippah county; the Louisville Male and Female seminary, of Winston county; the Fannin high school, of Rankin county, and the Rose Hill institute, of Jasper county. Kavanaugh college, at Holmesville, in Pike county, was founded, in 188-1, by the Rev. Walter Featherstun, and shortly afterward was taken under the patronage of the Methodist Episcopal Church South. It was designed to accomplish a missionary work by carrying education to a large class of youth of the poorer country who were unable to seek it away from home. A mixed school; and music and art were taught. The faculty comprised four members. The attendance ranged from one hundred to one hundred and fifty. The property was valued at about 11,500. In 1889 the institution was sold to the Baptists, Mr. Featherstun taking charge of Edward McGehee college. The Union Church high school, of Jefferson county, was founded in 1884 by the Rev. C. W. Grafton, a Presbyterian minister, and an A. B. of the State university. A most pros- 344 BIOOltAPHIOAL AND HISTORICAL perous and useful school, now having about one hundred and fifty scholars. There are pri- mary, academic and collegiate departments. Music is taught. Boys and girls admitted. The faculty are five in number. The Montrose high school, of Jasper county, was founded in 1HS4 by W. B. Massey, with one assistant. There are now three. The attendance has ranged from seventy-seven to one hundred and sixteen. The three departments of primary, preparatory and collegiate exist. Incorporated in ] 887. Patronized by the Brandon district of the Methodist Episco- pal Church South. The Pittsboro Male and Female college was founded, in 1884, by private subscriptions; W. Wyatt principal, with three assistants. Incorporated in 1 886, and presided over then hj Prof. George L. Gordon. This gentleman called the school the Calhoun Graded Normal col- lege, and published a catalogue under that name. Bev. William Rivers, B. A., of the Uni- versity of Mississippi, was president in 1889. Attendance about one hundred and seventy- five. Music is taught. Property valued at $2,000. The Industrial institute and college, for white girls of Mississippi, was chartered in 1884. Miss Sallie E. Reneau, of Grenada, first agitated in this state the question of state aid for the higher education of girls. Her labors began in 1856, and were prosecuted at intervals until 1874, but without any substantial success. In 1879 Mrs. Annie C. Peyton, of Hazlehurst, took up the cause. She had many zealous and influential colaborers, and after several discouraging failures success crowned their efforts in 1884. The legisla- ture appropriated $40,000 for the years 1884-5. To win the location of it the city of Columbus donated $50,000 of city bonds and the property of the old Columbus Female insti- tute. The Industrial institute and college was opened in October, 1885, under the presi- dency of Richard W. Jones, ex-professor of chemistry of the university. Its entire success was at once assured, and its career of prosperity has been unbroken. The Industrial insti- tute and college is designed to fit women for particular spheres and lines of work, and to open up to her new avenues to employment and to wider and more varied modes of useful- ness. Its organization contemplates collegiate education, normal training and industrial preparation. Under the last head are taught music, oil pain^ting, free-hand drawing, design- ing, wood carving, modeling, crayon portraiture, hammering in thin metals, decoration of porcelain ware, needle work (fancy and plain), dressmaking, phonography, typewriting, book- keeping, telegraphy, practical printing and housekeeping. The Normal school and the col- lege are fully developed and of high grade. The attendance of pupils is on scholarships awarded by the county superintendents of education in the several counties. Of these there are four hundred and six, one half with the privilege of board in the dormitories, and one- half without such privilege. The latter class of students get board out in the town. The scholarships are distributed among the counties of the state as follows: Of those with privi- lege of board in dormitory, the counties of Bolivar, Claiborne, Coahoma, Covington, Greene, Grenada, Issaquena, Le Flore, Perry, Quitman, Sharkey, Sunflower, Tunica, Washington, Wayne and Wilkinson, have one each; Adams, Amite, Benton, Choctaw, Clay, Hancock, Holmes, Jasper, Jefferson, Lawrence, Madison, Marion, Montgomery, Neshoba, Noxubee, Oktibbeha, Simpson, Tallahatchie, Warren and Winston, two each; Alcorn, Clarke, De Soto Franklin, Harrison, Jackson, Kemper, Leake, Lincoln, Rankin, Scott, Smith, Tate, Union, Webster and Yalobusha, three each; Carroll, Chickasaw, Hinds, Itawamba, Jones, Lafayette, Lowndes, Marshall, Newton, Pike, Pontotoc, Prentiss, Tippah, Tishomingo and Yazoo, four each; Attala, Lauderdale and Lee, five each; Calhoun, Copiah, Monroe and Panola six each. Of scholarships without privilege of board in the dormitory each county has a similar number. MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 345 Further appropriations have been made as follows: In 1886, 159,875.50; in 1888, $45,- 177.50; in 1890, 150,000. Large a(3ditions have been made to tlie buildings. The dormi- tory is a massive brick structure, three stories and a mansard high, one hundred and seventy- five feet front, and running back one hundred and fifty feet. It has a large and well arranged, well lighted and ventilated diningroom, capacious kitchen for instruction in cookery, washing- room, room for soapmaking, boilerroom, irouingroom, bathroom, waterclosets, seventy- six well-built and ventilated rooms for sleeping, and a parlor. Connected with this building by a covered passage is the new chapel building, which is three stories high, well and strongly built, which has a large assembly room, president's office, secretary's office, eight recitation rooms, chemical and physical laboratories and storage rooms, all arranged with full regard to convenience, health and efiicient work. In 1878 President Jones resigned to accept the presidency of Emory and Henry college, and Charles H. Cocke, of Columbus, was elected to succeed him. In March, 1890, President Cocke resigned, and the duties of his ofSce were temporarily discharged to Miss M. J. S. Callaway, mistress of mathematics. In June, 1890, Prof. Arthur H. Beals, of Paducah, Ky., was elected president for one year. la Juae, 1891, he was not a candidate for re election. The office has not, at this time, been filled. The faculty comprises twenty members besides the president. The Cool Springs academy, of Cool Springs, in Union county, was incorporated in 1884. The Buena Vista Normal college, of Chickasaw county, was chartered in 1885. It was very prosperous for a time under J. S. and L. T. Dickey, of Kentucky. In 1887-S the attendance of pupils was three hundred and two, and the faculty numbered nine. Music and art were taught. It was patronized from seven states, and from thirty-nine counties in Mississippi. In 1889, however, it had retrograded, and the faculty was reduced to four. Profs. W. S. Burks, of Texas, and W. M. Morrison, of Virginia, then leased the property, and organized a new faculty. In 1891 Eev. E. A. Smith and Prof. E. L. McDonnold took charge. The standard has been raised under every new administration, and this school has few equals in the state. The Phcenix high school, of Yazoo county, was established in 1885, with E. W. Jones as principal, and one assistant. M. I. Bass became principal in 1888. There are two buildings of moderate cost, also an endowment income of about $125 per annum, and a rental of $300 from school lands. The attendance is about one hundred. The Pass Christian institute for girls, under the auspices of the Protestant Episcopal church, was incorporated in 1885. Its president was and is the Eev. H. C. Mayer. Attend- ance about sixty, drawn from four states. Music, phonography, typewriting, telegraphy and dressmaking are taught, in addition to the usual studies. There are seven teachers and four lecturers, in addition to thi~ president; among the latter. Bishop Thompson. This school is beautifully located on the Mississippi sound. It has a library of about four hundred volumes. The Liberty Male and Female college, of Amite county, was incorporated in 1886; founded by J. R. Edmunds, with two assistants. The attendance is about one hundred. There are seven departmeuts^the model, normal, business, music, art, preparatory and col- legiate. The present faculty are J. H. Patterorn, principal, and four assistants. Property valued at $15,000. In 1886 were also incorporated the following schools: The Durant academy, of Holmes county; the Gibson high school, at Rienzi, Alcorn county; the Knoxville White Male and Female academy, at Knoxville, Franklin county. 346 BIOORAPHTOAL AND HT8T0RWAL In 18.S7 the Scooba bigli school, of Kcinpcr county, was established; F. E. Porter, 2)rin- eipal, with two assistants. The attendance of the first year was fifty five. Music is taught. There is a good building with four rooms. Incorporated in I8SS. At the same time the Fairview White Male and Female institute was flourishing at Binnsville, in Kemper county, and was incorporated in 188S. The same year witnessed, also, these incor[)orations: Thi^ Mount Carmel normal college, of Covington county; the Jefferson High School association, of Carroll county; the Tombigbee normal institute at Fulton, Itawamba county; the Phila- delphia high school of Neshoba county; the Deasonville high school, of Yazoo county; the Providence Male and Female college, at Nettleton, Lee county; the Newton Male and Female college, of Newton county ; and the Centre high school of De Soto county. The Houlka high school, of Chickasaw county, was established in this year; Kev. E. A. Smith, principal, until June, 1891. Incorporated in 1890, its growth has been slow, but steady; and it has more advanced students, and a higher moral tone, than many institutions of far greater pretentions. Banner college, located at Banner, in Calhoun county, was established in 1887, and incorporated in 1888. Cortez P. Gilmer, M. A., of University of Mississippi, was president, with four assistants. There was a collegiate course, and one of commerce. Music was taught also. Attendance about one hundred and seventy-five. The Mississippi normal high school, of Troy, in Pontotoc county, orginated in 1888, from the removal of the Mississippi normal college to Houston. A school was continued at Troy, under the name above given, and under the management of B. M. Bell. The Lexington normal school was established at Lexington, in Holmes county, by Piof. Dickey ; was formerly of the Buena Vista normal college in 1888-9. It has been a flourishing school. The Meridian normal college, located at Poplar Springs, in Lauderdale county, two miles from Meridian, was established in 1888 by W. E. Johnson and Rev. E. F. Johnson, with seven members of the faculty. The first session enrolled one hundred pupils. There is a philosophical apparatus, and a library of about one thousand volumes. The St. Aloysius Commercial college was established October 10, 1879, by the Brothers of the Sacred Heart, of Vicksburg, Miss. The present building is a large three-story brick structure at Grove and First North streets, and the corner-stone was laid in the month of June, 1878, by Rev. Father McManus, and was completed at a cost of about $18,000. It comprises eight classrooms, and various other room accommodations for two hundred and fifty pupils, and the school, at the present time, has all the pupils it can accommodate. They have primary, scientific and commercial courses, and also teach modern languages. This admirably conducted educational institution is under the charge of Brother Charles, who was one of the original brothers who assisted in arranging the course. The establishment was chartered in 1882, and is acknowledged to be one of the finest institutions in the state, if not in the South. It is devoted to the education of boys and young men, and many of the graduates have reflected great credit upon its management. Millsaps college, established by the two conferences of the Methodist Episcopal Church South in Mississippi, was incorporated in 1890. The munificence of Maj. R. W. Millsaps, of Jackson, who contributed $50,000 to the institution, on condition that the church should bestow a similar sum, and the zeal and influence of Bishop C. B. Galloway, who canvassed the state and procured subscriptions wherewith to meet the offer of Major Millsaps, have equipped this infant college with more than $100,000 of endowment. Efforts are still mak- ing by those gentlemen, on the same terms, to add $50,000 more. The people of the city of MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 347 Jackson, by subscription, have donated property an J money to the extent of about S'4(),000, for site and buildings, to induce the location of the college in their midst, and this has been done. It is expected to have the new institution at active work by the fall of 1892. In addition to the institutions already mentioned, the following were incorporated in 1890: The Castalian Springs graded institute, the Goodman high school, the Ebenezer high school, and the Pickens high school, all of Holmes county; Harper's Baptist college, near Gloster, in Amite county; the Hickory White Male and Female institute, of Hickory, in Newton county; the Pleasant Hill high school, of Jasper county; the Hebron high school, of Lawrence county; the Cedar Bluff high school, of Clay county; the Belief ountaine Male and Female high school, of Webster county; the Shannon graded institute, and the Saltillo high school, of Lee county; the Louisville normal school, and the Winston normal high school, at Plattsville, both of Winston county; the Waynesboro normal institute and college, of Wayne county, and old Myrtle normal college. Also at this time (1890) the following schools not yet mentioned were flourishing. Of these, some are schools of many years' standing, but the exact dates of the foundation of them are not obtainable. The Ltimberton high school, of Marion county; the McBride school, of Jefferson county; the Cascilla Male and Female high school, of Tallahatchie county; the Capital Commercial college, of Wyatt and Sharp, at Jackson; the Rural Hill high school, of Winston county; the Decatur college, of Newton county; the French Camps academy, con- ducted for now many years by the Rev. James A. Mecklin, with great success, in Choctaw county, and the Central Mississippi institute for girls, also at French Camps, conducted by J. A. Sanderson. It only remains to say that it is not claimed that this chapter and the corresponding chapter in Volume I exhaust the subject of education in Mississippi. Scores of schools of great merit have probably been left without mention. The labor of a lifetime even would have been insufficient for the accumulation of material for an exhaustive history, for the reasons: first, that all record and memory of many are lost, and secondly, that the schools change so constantly that a chapter complete to-day would be incomplete to-morrow. It is claimed that these two chapters come far nearer to a complete history than any ever before given. 348 BIOORAPHIGAL AND HISTORICAL @HAPTBF^ XII. RELIGIOUS HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. HE record of the Protestant Episcopal church in Mississippi, of which we are asked to write an historical sketch, goes back to the Spanish domination, when what is now the state of Mississippi formed part of the Natchez district of the province of west Florida. The Key. Adam Cloud, a Virginian by birth, settled on St. Catherine's creek,-in Adams county, in 1792. Though all public worship not under control of the Roman curia was still interdicted by the Spanish government, he baptized the children and buried the dead of the Protestant families in his neighborhood, preaching also an occasional sermon and ministering as best he could to their spiritual needs. At the end of three years, however, he was arrested, put in irons and sent to New Orleans, to be tried for preaching, baptizing and mar- rying people contrary to the laws of the existing government. After long delay Governor Carondelet submitted to him two alternatives. Either to be sent to Spain to be tried by an ecclesiastical court, under the specified allegations, or to leave forever the Spanish dominions. Too familiar with the history of the Spanish inquisition to risk himself before one of its courts on a charge of heretical preaching, he chose the latter alternative, and spent the next twenty years of his life in South Carolina and Georgia. In 1816 he returned to Mississippi and settled in Jefferson county. In 1820 he organized the parish of Christ church, at Church Hill, in that county, of which he remained rector for many years. Mr. Cloud was followed by the Rev. James A. Fox, the Rev. James Pilmore and other devoted missionaries, and congregations were established and churches erected wherever an opening was afforded. On the 17th of May, 1826, the first convention of the Protestant Episcopal church in the state of Mississippi met in Trinity church, Natchez. There were present of the clergy the Rev. Albert A. MuUer, rector of that pai'ish; the Rev. James Pilmore, rector of Christ church. Church Hill; the Rev. James A. Fox, of St. Paul's, Woodville, and the Rev. John W. Cloud, of St. John's, Port Gibson. The Rev. Adam Cloud, residing then in Jefferson county, was not present. The lay delegates to this primary convention were John I. Griffith, Joseph Dunbar, Levin R. Marshall, Robert Moore, A. P. Merrill, M. T>., and Col. Henry W. Huntingdon, of Natchez; Gen. John loor. Judge Randolph and Judge Prosser, from Woodville ; Hon. Joshua G. Clarke, chancellor of the state, and J. W. Foote, from Port Gibson, and Col. James G. Wood and Dr. S. G. Cloud, from Christ church, JefEerson county. As no other congrega- tions are mentioned in the journal of this convention, or in that of the one succeeding, it is MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 349 proper to conclude that the only then existing parishes were those of Natchez, Church Hill, Woodville and Port Gibson. We have seen, however, that the Eev. Adam Cloud had been actively at work in this frontier territory since 1820, and that the work had also been prosecuted by other devoted mis- sionaries of the church for some years prior to this movement for a diocesan organization. In the proceedings of this convention we read that the Rev. Mr. Pilmore arrived in Mississippi in 1822, and finding several families in Natchez and the vicinity attached to the communion of the Episcopal church, organized a congregation. Steps were at once taken for the erection of a church, which was commenced in May, 1822, upon a large and expensive scale and completed in 1825. The number of communicants reported for this parish, then as now, numerically the strongest in the diocese, was thirty-live. The Rev. James A. Fox, the minister of St. Paul's, Woodville, reports to the convention that he began his ministerial duties in this state in August, 1823, at the village of Pinckney- ville, in Wilkinson county, and soon after visited Woodville, in the same county, and held divine service. At Woodville he found a considerable number of families attached to the church, and by the spring of 1825 a very neat frame building had been erected, which stands to-day, unaltered as to its identity, a monument to the honesty and thoroughness of the workmen of sixty years ago. In May, 1825, the Rev. Mr. Fox, who, after Mr. Cloud, seems to have been the pioneer in the work of the diocese, visited Port Gibson, in Claiborne county, where a parish was organized under the name of St. John's (changed many years after to St. James; for what reason does not appear), which was represented in the primary conven- tion of the diocese. He visited also Jefferson county "for the purpose of inquiring into the state of a society of the Episcopalians formerly established in the neighborhood of Green- ville." He found their number much diminished by deaths and removals; yet Christ church of Church Hill, in Jefferson county, was represented in the first convention and still remains in union with the council. In striking contrast to the methods adopted in the latter days, and elsewhere, these four feeble parishes, the. strongest of them numbering thirty-five communicants, proceeded to organize the diocese of Mississippi, and to elect "two clerical and two lay delegates, who may represent this diocese (sic) in the general convention of the Protestant Episcopal church in the United States of America, to be held in Philadelphia in November next." The gentle- men elected, says the journal, were "the Eev. Albert A. Muller and the Eev. James A. Fox, of the clergy, and Levin Covington and J. W. Foote, Esqs., of the laity." They also adopted a constitution and canons for the government of the church in the "diocese of Mis- sissippi," and set forth a declaration of conformity to the constitution and canons of the Prot- estant Episcopal church in the United States of America. Having done this the convention adjourned to meet again in Trinity church, Natchez, on the 2d of May, 1827. The president of this first convention of the diocese was the Rev. Albert A. Muller, and the secretary the Rev. James Pilmore. In his closing address to the convention the presi- dent said: "But a few years have passed away since in this place the lawless savages of the forest held their feasts of revelry and meditated their hostile plans of revenge and murder, and now a Christian people stand in their places devising suitable means for the advance- ment of that gospel which has brought 'peace on earth and good wiU toward men.' May we not then in regard to this opening of our church, adopt the forcible and appropriate lan- guage of the Psalmist, 'Thou, O God, hast brought a vine out of Egypt; Thou hast cast out the heathen and planted it. And may we not hope that its fruit may cover the hills, and its limbs be like the goodly cedar, whose boughs shall extend to the sea, and its branches unto the river.' " 350 BTOGRAPHIOAL AND HISTORIC A] . The brief space allotted to this sketch will not suffer us to follow very closely the growth of the vine planted in a faith so sublime and a hope so heroic. We pass on to the year 1832, when the dioceses of Alabama and Mississippi, and the clergy and churches in the state of Louisiana, were authorized to associate and join in the election of a bishop. A convention was accordingly held in Christ church. New Orleans, on the 4th and 5th days of March, 1835, which resulted in the election of the Eev. Francis L. Hawks, D.D., rector of St. Thomas' church, New York, as bishop of the southwestern diocese. Dr. Hawks, however, declined his election and the project fell through. In 1838 we find the Et.-Eev. Leonidas Polk, missionary bishop of Arkansas, exercis- ing Episcopal jurisdiction in the diocese of Mississippi by authority of the general conven- tion, an arrangement which continued in force until the spring of 1841, when Bishop Polk, having been elected to the episcopate of Louisiana, the Rt.-Rev. James H. Otey, bishop of Tennessee, was by the convention of that year chosen provisional bishop of Mississippi. Bishop Otey sustained this relation to the diocese until the election of Bishop Green, although in the meantime more than one attempt was made by the brave and struggling diocese to elect a bishop of her own. In his address to the convention of 1844, Bishop Otey strongly urged the election of a diocesan for Mississippi. He tells the convention that " eight years ago there was not more than one regular settler and officiating minister in the diocese." In the journal of 1844 we find seventeen names on the clergy list and the num- ber of parishes increased to twenty. In accordance with this urgent desire and recom- mendation of the provisional bishop, the convention proceeded to an election, and the Rev. Francis L. Hawks, D. D., rector of Holly Springs, Miss., was chosen. The general conven- tion, however, failed to confirm the election of Dr. Hawks, and Bishop Otey resumed charge of the diocese. The twenty-third annual convention met in Natchez May 17, 1849. Bishop Otey having again resigned the office of provisional bishop, requesting to be relieved for reasons of increasing infirmity as well as accumulated labor, the convention proceeded, on Saturday, May 19, to the election of a bishop, which resulted in the unanimous choice of the Rev. Will- iam Mercer Green, D. D., of the diocese of North Carolina, who also was by agreement to become rector of Trinity church, Natchez. The Rev. Dr. Green accepted his election, and was consecrated on Sunday the 24th of February, 1850, being the festival of St. Matthias. The Rt.-Rev. James H. Otey, late provisional bishop, was the consecrator. He was assisted by Bishops Polk, Cobb and Freeman, all of whom had at some time performed Episcopal offices in the diocese. The journal of the first convention over which Bishop Green pre- sided shows a clergy list of seventeen names and a roll of twenty-four parishes. "The Rt.-Rev. William Mercer Green, D. D., LL.D., the first bishop of Mississippi, was sixty and six years in the ministry of Christ and His church. He was thirty- seven years in the episcopate, and in spite of the burden and weight of age. and the remonstrance of friends and sudden illness falling oft upon him, and perils of travel and inclement seasons, and of exposure, he pressed on with a resolute and heroic courage, fondly hoping to die in the very act of duty. He was born May 2, 1798. He died the 13th of February, 1887, in the midst of his kindred and friends, and in the shadow of the great university he helped to found. He was buried in the capitol of his own diocese, by his successor in office, his clergy and his people, the triumphant song of the church filling all that quiet grove in which we laid him. * ** * * * * ***************** Let us look for a riioment at the period of his episcopate. He was consecrated in Feb- ruary, 1850. Then followed eleven years, which we may call day, in which a man ought MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 351 to work. Then came the war four years. Following these, ten years during y?hich the whole state lay prostrate and bleeding at every pore. When these ten years were ended and the night, the long night, was fairly over, our bishop was now in the seventy- eighth year of his age. He was never a strong man, and seventy-eight years are a heavy load to bear. But to his honor be it remembered ever that, even at his age, he held the diocese together during a crisis that threatened the very life of many of our Southern churches; and who does not know that there are conditions when merely to maintain life and organization a force is needed that, under favorable auspices, would manifest itself in a decided and rapid onward movement. It is interesting to note that during the war his aged and venerable form was familiar to both armies, that he was enabled to do what perhaps no other man in the state could have done. He visited both within and without the lines of the contending forces. He held up his Episcopal banneret, and he held it full high advanced, and the stars and the stripes and the stars and the bars willingly made way for it. Again and again he passed through the lines of the besieging and the besieged upon a mission against which there is no law. "Our bishop was a gentle man and his had been in the main a gentle and a calm life, and yet he had, like others, his periods of storm. He had known sorrow and become acquainted with grief. Of these trials he rarely spoke. Now and then upon a long and tire- some journey, meditating as men will at such times, he would lift the veil and suffer you to glance for a moment at the tracks of blood that he had left behind him, and upon the dark arena which had been the scene of his fiercest battles. But these times were rare. For the most part he took into his council and innermost cabinet only the Almighty Comforter and Lord of Life, who has the balm of Gilead for our wounds, a lethe and a grave for our painful memories, and an immortal crown for our reward."* So writes one who, better able than any other for the task, delivered before the council of 1887 the most beautiful and touching memorial it was ever our fortune to hear. "His life had been in the main a gentle and a calm life," he tells us, and yet into this life had fallen the bloody rain of a^ruel and fratricidal war, followed by the fiery trials of a period ten times more cruel, "which tried men's souls" as war itself has never tried them! But founded upon a rock, the church of which he was the chief pastor in this diocese came out purified and exalted, with not so much as even the smell of burning upon her garments. During the period of the war between the states, the diocese of Mississippi, following the tradition of the Catholic church in all ages, united with her sister dioceses of the South in a convention which formed that branch of the Holy Catholic church, known for four brief years as the Protestant Episcopal church in the Confederate States of America. Upon the cessation of hostilities and the return of the state to the Federal Union, the dio- cese of Mississippi in common with the other Southern dioceses, resumed her connection with the general convention of the church in the United States. During Bishop Green's administration the church continued steadily to advance as she became known, though hindered as we have seen by events of unusual character and far- reaching consequence. The Bishop, never a strong man physically, had to contend with difficulties in the discharge of his episcopal functions which are now hardly credible. Nights and days of anxious waiting upon the river bank for the arrival of an uncertain steamer, long journeys by land over well nigh impassable roads and across creeks and rivers swollen often by sudden freshet, and frequent exposure to inclement weather made the annual visitation of his diocese a serious task for one who when he entered upon it had already passed the meridian of life. *Memorial address, Kt.-Eev. W. E. Adams, D. 0. L., 1887. 852 BIOQBAPHIGAL AND HISTORICAL At length in the thirty-sixth year of his episcopate he asked that an assistant be given him, and at tlie meeting of the fifty-fifth annual* council an effort was made to afford the Bishop the needed assistance. On the 19th of April, 1882, the council met in Christ church, Vicksburg, and on the third day of its session proceeded to the election of an assist- ant bishop, voting by orders and parishes. The Et.Rev. W. F. Adams, D. C. L., now bishop of Easton, was the first choice of the clergy, but this choice failed of confirmation by the laity. The Eev. Dr. Alex. I. Drysdale was then nominated by the clergy, but this nomination was also rejected by the laity. A third attempt resulted in the election of the Et-Eev. J. H. D. Wingfield, missionary bishop of northern California. Bishop Wingfield, however, being unable to sever his connection with his important jurisdiction, declined the election. A special council was then called by the Bishop, which met in St. Andrew's church, Jackson, November 28, 1882, and unanimously elected the Eev. Hugh Miller Thompson, S. T. D. , to be assistant bishop of the diocese of Mississippi. Dr. Thompson accepted his elec- tion and was consecrated on St. Matthias' day, February 24, 1883, in Trinity church. New Orleans, Bishop Green being the corsecrator and the bishops of Alabama, Louisiana, Georgia, Arkansas and Michigan assisting. Bishop Thompson is too well known to make necessary, and this not the place for, any distinctly personal sketch of that distinguished prelate and scholar. Suffice it to say now that his accession to the episcopate was like the infusion of new blood into the diocese, and yet nothing about him was more admirable than his filial regard for the a,ged bishop, and his absolute subordination to his every wish. On May 8, 1884, however, the Bishop transferred the administration of the diocese to his coadjutor, and retired to Sewanee, where as chancellor of the University of the South, he continued to reside, making brief annual visitations to his diocese, until he was called to his reward. Upon the death of Bishop Green, February 13, 1887, Bishop Thompson became bishop of the diocese. It remains now to give some brief account of the diocese as it is to-day. We have seen that in the primary convention of 1826 only four "parishes were repre- sented, viz., those of Natchez, Woodville, Church Hill and Port Gibson. Of these places Natchez is the only one which even now can properly be called a city, and nothing is more remarkable as an illustration of the changed aspect of many things since the war than the decadence of prosperous parishes drawing their support from the neighborhood settlements of wealthy planters, now planters no more, and the coming into prominence of railroad towns and cities as the centers of educational and religious effort. The parish of Natchez, the oldest and most important in the diocese, attained its great- est growth under the Eev. Alex. Marks, for thirteen years rector of the parish, a member of the standing committee of the diocese, dean of the convocation of Natchez and deputy to the general convention. He entered into rest on August 28, 1886. The parish numbers now some three hundred and fifty families and four hundred and eleven communicants, owning also besides the church a large and commodious rectory and a parish building used for school and other purposes. The Eev. F. A. De Eosset, who succeeded Mr. Marks, is the present rector. One of the first parishes of any note, added to the courageous and faithful four compris- ing the primary convention, was the parish of Christ church, Vicksburg, which appears first upon the jourual of the convention of 1839. The Eev. Dr. George Weller, then rector, reports the number of communicants as twenty-seven, and says "at present we worship in a *Chaugecl from convention to council in 1869. MEMOIBS OF MISSISSIPPI. 353 large room over a storehouse, but active exertions are making for the erection of a handsome church, the corner-stone of vrhich was laid by Bishop Polk, during his visitation of that year, on February 19, 1839. The parish now and for twenty-five years, under the care of the ven- erable rector, the Eev. Henry Sansom, D. D., numbers nearly two hundred communicants and four hundred and fifty souls. Its church, chapel and rectory are complete and commodious, and the parish is a power for good in the city of Vicksburg. The increasing membership of Christ church which kept pace with the growth of the city led to the formation of the parish of the church of the Holy Trinity, Vicksburg, which was organized September 29, 1869, and soon became one of the leading parishes of the dio- cese. To the untiring energy of its first rector, the Eev. W. W. Lord, is due the massive and imposing edifice in which the congregation now worships. This, by far the most beautiful church building in the diocese, was completed in 1874, at a cost of about $70,000. Dr. Lord was succeeded by the Rt. -Rev. W. P. Adams, D. D. , now bishop of Easton, under whom the parish grew and flourished. The present rector is the Rev. Nowell Logan, who succeeded Bishop Adams in 1888. St. Andrew' church, Jackson, was organized in 183S, and admitted into union with the council in 1843. This parish, including withiii its limits the state capital, is one of the most important in the diocese. St. Paul's, Columbus; St. Mark's, Raymond, and St. Paul's, Gre- nada, were admitted into union with the convention in 1840, and Christ church, Holly Springs, in 1842. Other important points now occupied by parishes of later date are Aberdeen, Biloxi, Grreenville, Meridian, Oxford, Yazoo City, etc. Our space does not permit us to give more than a very general view of the statistics and present condition of the diocese. The diocese of Mississippi is co-terminous with the state, and therefore covers some forty thousand three hundred and forty square miles. The number of families reported in the journal of 1891 as attached to the church is one thousand eight hundred and seventy-eight em- bracing some seven thousand souls. The communicants reported are three thousand and sixty- six, and confirmed persons, three thousand four hundred and forty-six; but as these figures cover only the reports from. parishes, and some of these very defective, they do not fairly rep- resent the strength of the church in the state. The proper total of communicants, could it be ascertained, would be found not far from four thousand. The number of clergy reported in 1891 is thirty-two, parishes and missions seventy- seven, church edifices fifty-six, rectories and parish buildings twenty-five. The contributions for all purposes during the last year as reported were $45,028.94, and the total value of church property reported by the parishes, $828,155. To this should be added the property of the diocese, including the bishop's residence on Battle Hill, near Jackson. Here on the very site of the old residence of Bishop Green, destroyed by the Federal troops, during the war, is situated the Episcopal residence where Bishop Thompson dispenses a hospitality as refined and generous as it is scriptural. The residence and ground occupy about twenty acres, forming a gentle eminence called Battle Hill, upon the side of which looking toward Jackson is to be built a stone chapel in memory of Bishop Green; most of the material being now on the spot. The present officers of the dioceses are the Rt.-Rev. Hugh Miller Thompson, S. T. D., LL. D., bishop, whose residence, as we have seen, is at Battle Hill, Jackson; the Rev. Henry Sansom, D. D., president of the standing committee; the Rev. Nowell Logan, secretary and registrator; Mr. A. M. Leigh, treasurer; Hon. William G. Yerger, of Greenville, chan- cellor; the Rev. William Cross, secretary, and Dr. G. W. Howard, treasurer of the missionary 354 BIOOBAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL committee, and Messrs. R. L. Saiinders, Q. O. Eckford and Frederic Speed, trustees of the Episcopa} fund and church property. In bringing to a close this brief and imperfect sketch, we can not do better than to quote the language of one of our bishops. Bishop Thompson in his latest charge to the clergy and laity of the diocese, summing up the progress of the diocese in the first septennate of his administration, says: " It seems fitting, in this seventh anniversary of presiding in this council, to make you an address and charge, as it were, instead of the usual council sermon. One need not believe in the doctrine of mystic numbers to be impressed with the passage of a period of seven years of his life in a new office and responsibility, and to desire to review somewhat and take account of his work in them. Seven years and a month ago the fifty-sixth annual council met in Grace church, Canton, and I presided, for the first time, in the diocese of Mississippi. * * * * Seven years ago, including the bishop and assistant, and the Rt. -Rev. Dr. Adams, there were in the diocese twenty-seven clergy. Of these six were non-residents, leaving twenty-one as our actual working force. There are now twenty six j)riests, seven deacons and the bishop. Thirty-four in all, of whom but two are not engaged actively in the work. There have been ten churches built during these years where none existed before, three of them brick. Nine churches have been restored, enlarged, completed or cleared of debt. Two have been built to take the i)lace of others burned; each a great improvement upon its pre- decessor. Seven rectories have been built or purchased. One parish building, creditable to any parish in the church, has been erected at Natchez, and a very neat and sufficient one at Biloxi. A residence for the bishop has been built in this city, and above all a church school for girls, by the devoted faithfulness of one clergyman, has been established, worked to a high prosperity, and housed in perhaps the most elegant and perfect school building in the state. "Seven years ago there was no missionary board and no missionary fund. A canon creat- ing such a board was passed in the council of 1883. No funds came to be administered till 1884. At that date we began our present system of pledges, and since then we have dis- pensed, in support of missionaries, in educating candidates, in helping in church building — the purposes for which the board exists — something over $10,000. During the same period the obligations of the diocese to its episcopate have been, in contrast to a long previous experience, promptly met, at least, at every year's close, and all in the face of my first year's experience, the loss by a treasurer's failure of all our diocesan funds. Certainly there has been a bracing up of our diocesan administration, a confidence and feeling of strength on which we may congratulate ourselves, and take courage for the future. " Thus have we endeavored to follow the growth of the ' vine planted in the wilderness ' so many years ago. It will be seen that the church has kept pace steadily with the state, sharing the fortunes of the commonwealth in the evil days as in the good. But the hand of man can not really come near to do her evil, for she is of God. Her boughs are 'like the goodly cedar whose branches shall extend to the sea and her boughs to the river ' ; and she must increase and prosper, until in His good time shall come to pass the saying that is writ- ten, ' the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.' " The Presbyterian church in Mississippi began its existence as an organized body in Mis- sissippi in the first decade of the present century. Prior to this date, during the long predominance of the French and Spanish authorities in the region known as west Florida in which Mississippi was included, no toleration was extended to the professors of Protestant MEMOIRS OP MISSISSIPPI. 355 Christianity. After the requisition of this region by the United States, and the erection by congress of a part of it, first into the territory of Mississippi, in 1798, and subsequently, in 1817, into the state of Mississippi, all such obstructions were removed, and representatives of the different Protestant denominations poured rapidly into the country. The first settle- ments were made in the southwestern section of the territory, in the counties bordering on, or contiguous to, the Mississippi river, in what was called the Natchez district. The northern part of the territory was claimed and occupied by the Choctaw and Chickasaw Indians. Many of the emigrants came from the Carolinas, and were of Scotch and Scotch- Irish descent, strongly tenacious of their Presbyterian traditions and usages. Others of a kindred type came from the Western states, and some from New England. The first stage in the history of the church may be said to extend from 1800 to 1815, and may be called the pioneer period. The effort to organize the Presbyterian material in Mississippi began in 1801, when this frontier region was visited by three clergymen — the Rev. William Montgomery, the Kev. James Hall and the Rev. Jamos Bowman — under a com- mission from the synod of Carolina. They made their way on horseback, through the wilderness, to Mississippi. These ministers spent part of a year in the territory, exploring the country, preaching in the different settlements, and gathering the Presbyterian popula- tion into congregations. They were followed in 1803 by the Rev. Joseph Bullen, a native of Massachusetts, and for many years a pastor in Vermont, who had been sent out by the New York Missionary society to establish a mission among the Indians in the northern part of the territory. After spending four years in this work, Mr. Bullen removed with his family into the southern settlements, where he had purchased a tract of land, about twenty miles northeast of the town of Natchez. Here, besides cultivating his farm, he occasionally taught a school, and statedly held religious services among the neighboring communities. In 1 804 he constituted, in regular form, the first Presbyterian church in Mississipjji, at Uniontown, in Jefferson county, under the name of the Bethel church. From this date till 181'-! the work of organizing congregations into regular churches was carried on by Mr. Bullen and other ministers who had come into the territory, until the number had reached eight. Four ministers were in the field sup])lying these flocks with the means of grace — the Rev. Joseph Bullen, the Rev. James Smylie, the Rev. Jacob Rickhow and the Rev. William Montgomery. The second stage in the progress of the church may be noted in 1815, when the above- named ministers and churches were constituted by an act of the synod of Kentucky into a new aud independent presbytery, to be known as the Mississippi presbytery. The first meeting of this presbytery was held at the Salem church on Pine ridge, in Adams county, on the 6th of March, 1816. The territory assigned to the Mississippi presbytery was origi- nally of immense extent, and in some directions without limit. It embraced a large part of Alabama, the whole of Mississippi and Louisiana, and portions of Arkansas and Texas. In 1817 that part of the Mississijapi territory which now constitutes the state of Mississippi, was by act of congress admitted into the Union as a sovereign state. From this fact it will be seen that the population of Mississippi had been largely increased. The interior of the state had been penetrated by immigrants, and the section previously occupied by Indians had been, after their removal, rapidly peopled by settlers. Presbyterian communities and churches were multiplied in proportion to this increase of population. As the result of these changes within the twenty years succeeding the creation of the Mississippi presbytery the vast field originally included in that body was subdivided by the carving of new presbyteries out of its territory until 1835. Instead of being the sole ecclesiastical judiciary of the Presbyterian order in the Southwest it found itself reduced to the position of one of a numerous sister- 356 BIOOBAPHIOAL AND HISTORICAL hood of presbyteries. The period now under coiisideratioh was one of great activity in the Presbyterian church. The obligation to carry the gospel to parts beyond was fully recog- nized, and the work of propagating religion was prosecuted in every available direction. Besides the care of organized churches missions were maintained among the Indians, plans for the religious instruction of the slave poi)ulation were adopted in all the presbyteries, and special attention was given to the founding of schools of learning. The records of the Missionary society of the Mississippi presbytery abound in traces on the part of its agents of a zeal and a hardihood in enduring labor and trial that were truly apostolic. The work of these men was that of quarrying stones from a mass of shapeless rock for the rearing of a future temple. One of them, the Rev. John H. Vancourt, in his report, made in 1823, gives this notice of his visit to Jackson, now the seat of government of the state Mis- sissippi: "On the 29th of May I arrived at Jackson. This town now contains about a dozen families. There are likewise several settled in the country around within a few miles of the town. There are in the town three members of the Presbyterian church and several Presbyterian families. There is no regular preaching here of any kind. The pious mourn over the loss of religious privileges and ardently desire to have some one to break unto them the bread of life. I preached three times to this people." It is, perhaps, not claiming too much to say that at this early date the Presbyterian church was the forerunner of all others in the work of popular education in Mississippi. As an evidence of its zeal and of its actual achievement in this department it may be mentioned that in 1829 the presbytery of Mississippi resolved to establish within its bounds an institution of learning of the highest order then oxisting in the country. This project was consummated in 1830 by the inauguration of Oakland college in a rural district in Claiborne county, about four miles distant from the town of Eodney, on the Mississippi river. The Rev. Jeremiah Cham- berlain, D. D. , was installed as its first president, under whose administration the institution rapidly attained a respectable maturity. After preserving its useful mission for more than forty years, Oakland college was constrained through loss of funds consequent upon the Civil war, to close its doors. Its property was purchased by the state of Mississippi for the pur- pose of founding the Alcorn university for colored young man. The funds of Oakland college, after the joayment of its debts, were devoted to the establishing of the Chamberlain- Hunt academy at Port Gibson, an institution of a high order, which has ever since con- tinued to maintain a vigorous existence. During its whole history Oakland college was sus- tained entirely by the contributions of private individuals, mostly Presbyterians, in Mississippi. The church reached the third stage of its history in 1835, when by act of the general assembly of the Presbyterian church in the United States of America, the present synod of Mississipjjl was formed. Under this act it attained organic completeness, presenting in a gradation of courts the development of the Presbyterian idea of church order. The synod of Mississippi was composed of all the presbyteries lying within the bounds of the state of Mississippi (except two on the northern border, which from contiguity were attached to the synod of Memphis), together with those belonging to the state of Louisiana. The synod of Mississippi has ever since constituted a bond of union among the churches of the state, exercising within constitutional limits the power of review and control over all the presby- teries. Under this arrangement, from 1835 to 1861, the church continued to expand and prosper.. Its ministry and eldership included in them men of marked ability, and its policy was distinguished by zeal and activity in every department of evangelical work. The doc- trinal complexion of the churches was strictly in harmony with the standards of Presby- MEMOIRS OP MISSISSIPPI. 357 terianism, as formulated by the Westmiuster assembly of diviues, and lias continued to be so until the present time. This conservatism was evinced v?hen, in 1 837, the rupture which divided the Presbyterian church in the United States of America into the old school and new school parties occurred. The synod of Mississippi on that occasion, with the exception of a single presbytery, decided to adhere to the old school party. In this connection it remained, being annually represented in the general assembly of that body, through com- missions from its presbyteries, till the secession of the Southern states, and the opening of the Civil war threw such obstacles in the way of fellowship with the Northern section as required the churches within the bounds of the Confederacy to dissolve their connection with it and organize themselves as a distinct corporation, under a general assembly of their own. This change of relation marks the fourth and final stage of the Presbyterian church in Mississippi. The Presbyterian Church South was regularly constituted under the title of the Presbyterian Church in the Confederate States of America, by the convening of a gen- eral assembly, composed of commissioners from the presbyteries of the seceding states, at Augusta, Ga., on the 4th of December, 1861. Representatives from most of the presbyteries belonging to Mississippi were present at this meeting. The reasons which justified the act of severance were published to "all the churches of Jesus Christ throughout the earth" in an able address prepared by the Rev. Dr. Thornwell, of South Carolina. The separation thus created between the Presbyterian Church North and South, survived the reunion of the states at the close of the war, and has been maintained till the present day. It is main- tained, however, solely as an organic arrangement and in consistency with the most cordial fraternal relations between the two bodies. After the extinction of the Confederacy the title of the Southern church was changed to that of the Presbyterian Church in the United States. Of this body the churches of Mississippi have, since 1861, formed a constituent part. The disastrous effects of the Civil war in the state of Mississippi was as apparent in the department of religious life and work as they were in all others. For the first fifteen years after that great convulsion the Presbyterian church, in common with all other denominations, was enfeebled by the exhaustion and embarrassed by the confusion which prevailed throughout the country. Its resources were enormously reduced by the extinction of slavery and the general depreciation of property. Agriculture was impeded by the introduction of a new and experimental system of labor. The survival of debts, where assets and incomes had disappeared, involved the leading landholders largely in bankruptcy. The unsettled state of society and the absence of means of livelihood arrested immigration, and in fact, led to a considerable drifting of population away from the state. As the result, the strong churches at the commercial centers became weak; and the rural churches, which were depend- ant for their support upon planting neighborhoods, unable to maintain an organization by their own efforts, sank into the position of missionary stations or became extinct. Happily this season of depression has passed away. Within the last decade a marked revival in the enterprise and prosperity of Mississippi has been witnessed. The state has become inter- laced by a system of railways, new marts for traffic have spung up in every direction, some of them rapidly reaching imposing dimensions, the relations of capital to labor have been adjusted to new conditions, manufactories have been introduced, new industries have been inaugurated, and a new commonwealth is rising out of the wreck of the old. The stimulus of this healthful reaction has been felt by the churches, and the Presbyterian church has kept pace with the others in the attempt to meet the moral and religious wants created by the new era. It may be said to have guided itself, at the close of the century, with the missionary 368 BIOORAFHIOAL AND HI8T0RI0AL armor which it wore and wielded so effectively at the beginning of it. It is aiming to raise its fallen sanctuaries, and to plant new ones in infant settlements, to increase the ranks of its ministry, and by a wide system of evangelistic work, supplemental to that of the local pastor- ate, to convey the influence of Christian doctrine and ordinance into every destitute portion of the state. The territory of the state is divided, ecclesiastically, into 1. The presbyteries of Chick- asaw and north Mississippi, in connection with the synod of Memphis. 2. The presbytery of Tombeckbee. 3. The presbytery of central Mississippi. 4. The presbytery of Missis- sippi. 5. Parts of the presbyteries of Louisiana and New Orleans, includiag the southern counties of the state, to the Gulf of Mexico. These presbyteries report as having under their care some two hundred churches, and about eighty-five ministers, with several licentiates, and a number of candidates for the ministry. In addition to these, there are in Mississippi, at least, six colored churches and four or more colored ministers of the Presbyterian order, besides two licentiates and five candidates. It is an interesting fact that at the last meeting of the synod of Mississippi, in November, 1 890, in compliance with the petition from the parties, all the colored ministers and elders within the bounds of the synod were erected into a separate presbytery. The number of communicants in the Presbyterian church in Mississippi may be stated, proximately, as ten thousand. The church has, from the beginning, thrown its influence into the scale of every philan- thropic movement and every scheme of social reform which has been projected in the state. It has been the vigilant guardian of the sanctity of the Sabbath. It has been the patron of literary and benevolent institutions. It has advocated the purity of public morals. As early as 1829 we find on the records of the Mississippi presbytery a resolution in which the minis- ters pledge themselves to abstain from the use of ardent spirits, and earnestly and affection- ately call upon the churches under their care to co-operate with them in the effort to suppress the enormous evil of intemperance. The attitude of the church at the present time on this subject is stated in certain resolutions of the last synod, to the effect that " while we heartily sympathize with every legitimate and judicious effort to check the prevalence of intemper- ance, and urge upon our ministers and church sessions renewed diligence and faithfulness in dealing with the subject, we hold that the political aspects of the temperance question do not fall within the province of our body as a church court, and that we are, therefore, not at liberty to recommend any particular course of legislation respecting the matter to the civil government" It only remains to say that the Presbyterian church in Mississippi has always been recognized as a potent and a wholesome leavening element in the body politic. Its mem- bers have been prominent factors in every community in which they have been found. Its ministry has uniformly received the respect to which it has entitled itself by the culture, the integrity and the disinterested devotion to its work which have characterized its mem- bers. With a few exceptions, these men have consented to live and to die under a yoke of privation and of penury which would have been considered an insuperable objection to an entrance upon any other walk of life. The heroic fathers who led the van in the moral conquest of this primitive wilderness have passed away, and some of them are sleeping in unmarked if not forgotten graves; but their work abides, and a new generation, apparently emulous of their zeal and their prowess has entered into their labors. The Cumberland Presbyterian church in Mississippi, although fourth in point of mem- bership among the other Protestant denominations of the state, is not widely known over the MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 359 state, especially in the southern part, the reason being that its organized membership is confined exclusively to the northern half of the state. Because of this fact it is but justice to this denomination to allow a brief statement in this sketch, defining its position in the general family of Presbyterianism. The denomination grew out of what at first appeared to be an unavoidable doctrinal schism in the Presbyterian church in Kentucky. Its first presbytery, from which the church took its name, was organized by Samuel McAdow, Samuel King and Finis Ewing, regularly ordained ministers in the Presbyterian church. This was the Cumberland presby- tery, and embraced parts of Tennessee and Kentucky. It was organized in ISIO. Soon after the organization, a brief authoritative statement was given to the world, setting forth the reasons for the organization of another Presbyterian church. We can do no better than to give that statement here: "The founders of the Cumberland Presbyterian church; in their licensure and ordination by the Presbyterian church, were permitted to ' except the idea of fatality,' as they believed it to be embraced in the doctrines of unconditional election and reprobation, and an atonement limited to a definitely elected number, as taught in the Westminster Confession of Faith. Subsequently, having for this been cut off from the parent church, in fixing a standard of doctrines for the Cumberland Presbyterian church, which they organized, they adopted the Westminster Confession of Faith (which is the Presbyterian confession), modified in the fol- lowing particulars: First. That there are no eternal reprobates. Second. That Jesus died, not for a part only, but for all men, and in tht' same sense. Third. That all infants dying in infancy are saved. Fourth. That the Holy Spirit operates on all the world, all for whom Christ died, in such a manner as to render all men responsible, and therefore, inexcusable."' * The first work done in Mississippi by Cumberland Presbyterians was l)y Rev. Robert Bell, who was sent as a missionary to the Chickasaw Indians in 1820. This was in the north- east part of the state. Soon after Bell's settlement among the Indians he was joined by Rev. John 0. Smith. Bell continued in this mission for several years, until the agitation of the removal of the Indians, and the final removal resulted in the abandonment of the mission. In the meantime, many white settlers penetrated into this Indian territory. To these early pioneers Mr. Bell and his co-laborers preached, but it was rather incidental, as their time and strength were consumed in maintaining schools among the Indians. But from this incidental seed-sowing sprang the first white Cumberland Presbyterian churches in Mississippi. It should be noted that much of the immigration into this Indian country was from the sections where Cumberland Presbyterians had established churches. By and by demands began to increase for Cumberland Presbyterian preaching. This was not true of south Mis- sissippi, which had been settling up long prior to this, even before 1810, when the church first assumed an independent existence. Very few Cumberland Presbyterians went to that portion of the state. Most of the settlers in this part of the state were from the Atlantic states, where Cumberland Presbyterians never attempted to penetrate, so numerous were the calls in the West. This fact accounts largely for the absence of the church in lower Missis- sippi. The first congregations were not organized much before the beginning of the removal of the Indians (1833). It was stated in the church paper in 1836 that all the congregations in the state had been organized in the preceding five years. The first presbytery, known as • For a fuller statement see " Our Position, or Cumberland Presbyterians in Relation to the Presbyterian Family," l>y Kev. "VV. J. Darby, D. D., Cumberland Publishing House, Nashville, Tenn. 360 BIOORAPHIOAL AND EtSTOBJOAL the Mississippi, held its first meeting at Gallatin, in Copiah county. Its original memlDers were Thomas J. Bryan, Robert Molloy, Samuel W. Sparks and Isaac Shook. This first meeting was in April, 1832. During the early period the struggling congregations suffered much because of the secu- larization of many of the ministry. For several years after the opening of the Indian country the spirit of speculation ran high and wild. This period was regarded as a golden opportunity to amass fortunes. This wild s])irit seized the ministry. The sentiment was largely prevalent that Mississippians would not listen with any respect to a preacher who let this golden opportunity for independence slip, and then expected the people to support him. The advice to the preacher was: "Get yon a plantation and hands to cultivate it; get them paid for; and then you can go preach as much as you please." Unfortunately for the Cum- berland Presbyterian church in Mississippi, and other churches as well, too many of the min- istry acted on this advice. One instance will suffice to illustrate this secularized condition of the ministry. I quote from McDonnold's history: "In the diary of the Rev. Isaac Shook is an account of a visit to a Mississippi town in 1834 There were seven hundred inhabitants, and among them five Protestant ministers all secularized. One was a merchant, one a school- teacher, one a lawyer, and two slavedrivers, as Shook calls them. They were seizing the golden opportunity to secure independence. Shook began a series of meetings. By and by the schoolteacher began to attend. There was a revival. Then the merchant, who also sold whisky, came of nights and grew wonderfully zealous, but he still sold whisky. The others would drop in occasionally, but took no special interest. The meeting closed. One of these preachers was afterward silenced; all of them utterly lost the confidence of the people. The town became noted for its contempt of Christianity." During this early period much was lost to the church because of the scarcity of conse- crated preachers. An illustration of this we find in the history of the evangelistic labors of Mr. Shook. In May, 1832, finding himself, as if by accident, in the then little town of Columbus, he was prevailed upon to hold a series of services. The interest spread. He held meetings in the surrounding country. Within two months there were three hundred conversions. Of these. Shook received only twenty into the Cumberland Presbyterian church. The reason of this, as given by Mr. Shook, was that he did not encourage them to join the Cumberland Presbyterian church, because he saw no means of supplying them with the word. He says these twenty would go nowhere else. Besides those already mentioned, who figure in the early establishment of the church in Mississippi, many others should be mentioned. The evangelistic labors of H. H. Hill were greatly blessed. This was in 1832. Especial mention should be made of Rev. R. L. Ross, who was a convert of these meetings. Many are the congregations that were established by him. About the last work of his devoted life was the establishment of the church in Merid- ian. In 1 834 Rev. W. S. Burney began his work in the state by holding camp meetings. He was assisted by A. P. Bradley. Great success attended them. To these names should be added those of Jefferson Brown, Joseph Harrison, Cyrus Wilson, Elane Waddell, Jabez Hickman and F. M. Pincher. Later on came Wayman Adair, Joe Bell, James W. Dickey and F. E. Harris, besides others equally as worthy of mention. While the Cumberland Presbyterian church in Mississippi has never established male schools of a high grade, being convenient to Bethel college and the Cumberland university, Tennessee, denominational schools, yet she has not been indifferent to the matter of education. Very early (1838) we find one of her leading ministers, the Rev. Richard Beard, afterward professor of theology in the Cumberland university, in charge of Sharon academy, in Madison county. His influence and labors were of great help to the church in the state. MMM0IR8 OF MISSISSIPPI. 361 In this connection especial mention should be made of the Eev. Stanford Gr. Burney. Through the special efforts of Rev. "W. S. Burney and Elder James G. Trigg, of Oxford, Mr. Burney was induced to come to Mississippi from Tennessee, and take charge of what was known as Mount Sylvan academy, in Lafayette county, and which had been established the year previous by the Rev. Robert Morris, of Masonic fame. This was in 1846 or 1847. In the meantime Mr. Burney was active as a preacher. When the church estalished Union Female college, Oxford, Mr. Burney became its first president. This was in 1S54. This school is still maintained by the Mississippi synod of the Cumberland Presbyterian church. As a teacher Mr. Burney did much good for the denomination. For years he was pastor at Oxford, succeeding the Rev. W. S. Burney, who organized the congregation. Perhaps no preacher throughout north Mississippi had greater reputation and influence than S. G. Burney. He is now professor of theology in Cumberland university. But this sketch would not be complete without a notice of the educational efforts of the Rev. Leonard Cooper. Soon after the war he established at Daleville a school of high order — Cooper institute. Mr. Cooper continued this school for many years^ educating many young men for the ministry of the church. Not only so, Mr. Cooper took rank as one of the lead- ing educators of the state. All things considered, perhaps Mr. Cooper contributed as much, and probably more, to the educational interests of the state, and of the denomination in the state, as any other one Ctunberland Presbyterian. Space forbids a further notice of those among the laity, as well as among the ministry, living as well as dead, who have given of their thought and substance in the establishment of the Cumberland Presbyterian church in Mississippi. As pickets they have stood faithfully on the border line of the denomination. In serving their church, they have served the state none the less. To the social, material, educational and religious interests of the state Cum- berland Presbyterians have contributed faithfully and liberally. Cumberland Presbyterians are Presbyterian, though not Calvinistic (they reverence John Calvin as much as any man, living or dead, should be reverenced), and that means they are a liberty-loving and a liberty- guarding people, whether in the church or in the state. With them the liberty of conscience and head is a priceless jewel and they have but little respect and less patience for the man or institution who would interfere with either. The Cumberland Presbyterian church in Mississippi, while not large, is making a steady advance. Like other churches and institutions of the state, it suffered much by the war and the reconstruction period. Also by the shifting of the white population from the rural dis- tricts to the towns and cities. But the denomination is fast adjusting itself to this new con- dition of things. Its ministry is all the time improving, comparing favorably with that of any other denomination in the state. The outlook is encouraging. The membership is becoming more and more active to the matter of state evangelization. Infant congregations are all the while being planted under the supervision of a state superintendent of missions and Sunday-school work, but unfor- tunately the calls for such work are more numerous than can be supplied. Yet there is one encouraging feature in the failure to answer all the calls, namely, that the denomination as such is appreciated and demanded in the state. There are at present, 1891, in round num- bers seven thousand communicants. This does not include baptized children, but the actual membership in communion. There are one hundred and fifty congregations. There are fifty- one regularly ordained ministers, and twenty-four licentiates and candidates, making a total of seventy-five. There are now five presbyteries : Bell, Oxford, Mississippi, New Hope and the Yazoo. These are all embraced in one synod, the synod of Mississippi, and they include 362 BTOOHAPHtOAL ANT) HISTORICAL the nortliern half of the state, there being no congregations, or few at least, south of Winston and Attain counties. Tliere iire congregations at Corinth, Tupelo, Oxford, West Point, Colum- bus, Starkville, Meridian, Coffeeville, Grenada, Batesville, Kosciusko, LouiHville, Water Val- le_v, besides other smaller towns. Of course the country districts come in for a large share. The entrance of thti Methodist church into Mississippi was the commencement of Prot- estant Christianity in the same country. On March 30, 1798, the Spanish government ceased to exist in the western part of the Mississippi territory, then known as the Natchez country, and was immediately succeeded by that of the Uniti^d States. For more than thirty years before this a Protestant population had been gradually accumulating in the Natchez district. This country, not very accurately defined, was claimed as belonging to the English colony of Georgia, and after the Eevolutionary war it was claimed as belonging to the United States. This afforded reasonable belief to border settlers that Protestant Christianity would soon be protected. But the first Protestant families coming into this country had to endure much liardship and persecution from the Spanish Catholics. At this time Bishop Francis Asbury was general superintencfent of the Methodist Episcopal church in the United States. So soon as he had learned that the Spanish government in the Natchez district had been super- seded l)y that of the United States he determined to send missionaries into it, and the Rev. Tobias Gibson, of South Carolina, volunteered for that service; and accordingly, at the next meeting of the South Carolina conference, Mr. Gibson was appointed to that new, important and hazardous ministry. Mr. Gibson was then twenty-eight years old and in the eighth year of his ministry. At that time the white settlements in Mississippi were confined to a very narrow strip of country extending along the Mississippi river from Fort Adams to Wal- nut Hills, now Vicksburg. All the rest of Mississippi, all Alabama, with the exception of some settlements close around Mobile, and a considerable part of Georgia was an unbroken wilderness, inhabited solely by Indians. As a journey through this trackless wilderness would l)e extremely hazardous, Mr. Gibson took the more circuitous route by way of Nash- ville, Tenn., and the Mississippi river. So, after traveling six hundred miles on horseback, he reached the Cumberland settlement, then in the state of Georgia, at or near where Nash- ville now stands. Here he sold his horse and procured a canoe, into which he packed his traveling equipage, with a supply of provisions, descended the Cumberland, then the Ohio and then the Mississippi, and landed at Natchez about the last of March, 1799. Mr. Gibson's ministry was the only Methodist, and with very little exception the only Protestant ministry within five hundred miles of Mississippi for several years. It was very successful. In the first year he gathered into the church sixty members. The second year the church was increased to eighty, and in 1801 to a hundred. This Natchez country was now included in the South Carolina conference. This Natchez country took its name from a large and powerful tribe of Indians who once inhabited this region, but the name in time came to be confined to the then little town of Natchez and Fort Eosalie. The South Caro- lina conference, of which Mississippi was a territorial portion, formed Natchez into a circuit, as its geographical country pastorates are called. They generally consist of four or five local country churches under one pastorate. This Natchez circuit included nearly or quite all of the Mississippi territory. Mr. Gibson was reappointed to Natchez in 1801 and again in 1802. In 1802 he traveled on horseback to a conference held in Harrison county, Ky., to procure ministerial help. At this time this Natchez circuit was placed in the Western con- ference, so called, which then included the states of Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, Illinois and part of Virginia. Mr. Gibson was for several years the only Methodist preacher within five hundred miles of his field of labor. Although Methodist preachers were increasing every The Emisj„ei J3„(, Q,, ChcaQ'- MEMOIRS OP MiaSiaSIPPI. 363 year, the demand for their services in the West increased in a greater ratio. At this session of the Western conference, held in Kentucky, Moses Floyd, a young preacher from Georgia, volunteered to go to Natchez and was accepted by the bishop. At this conference Natchez circuit was placed in the Cumberland district, with John Page as presiding elder. Mr. Gibson's health having seriously failed, the Natchez church was placed in charge of Mr. Floyd. Mr. Gibson's health continued to fail and he died in April, 1804. In 1805 Natchez circuit had two preachers, Launer Blackman and T. C. N. Barnes. It throws light on these times to state that during the first five years of his ministry Mr. Black- man traveled in five states — Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, Kentucky and Mississippi. In order to reach Natchez he traveled fourteen days in the savage wilderness, and eleven of the fourteen nights he slept on the ground, with his saddlebags for his pillow and the sky for his covering. He was an orator of high order and of social qualities that endeared him to all classes. At the session of the Western conference held in Scott county, Ky., Natchez circuit was divided into four circuits, Wilkinson on the south, Claiborne on the north and Opelousas, in Louisiana, being added. These four constituted a district called the Mississippi district, and Mr. Blackman, though only twenty-four years of age, was appointed presiding elder. He was the first presiding elder ever in Mississippi. He was a man of extraordinary labors, visiting many places and organizing churches. In 1806 Natchez had two preachers, Mr. Barnes and Thomas Larley. In 1807 C. W. Cloud was appointed to Natchez circuit. This year the first church edifice was built in Natchez. Drifting down those brief sketches, necessarily in great haste, we come to 1810. Here we meet with Miles Harper, a most extraordinary man. He came from Tennessee, was junior preacher on Natchez circuit. Though not a man of extensive learning he had rare gifts as a public speaker. His voice was strong, musical and captivating. The power of his preach- ing was immense. His converts were many. But he was not a student, and like many preachers who cease to study, he to a considerable extent outlived his usefulness. In 1829 he retired from the itinerancy and died a local preacher in 1843. Perhaps the most remarkable man of the Natchez preachers in those times in some respects was John Johnson. He was from Virginia. He was entirely illiterate until about twenty years old. Working daily on a farm, he engaged the services of an old negro man to teach him to read. Spending his evenings in this way he soon mastered the spelling book and could read the Bible. He was licensed to preach and soon became a power in the pulpit, and was received a member of the Western conference, preached two years in Ohio and then came to Mississippi, and for many years was one of the most powerful and effective preachers of his time. Another of the most noted and most useful preachers of the Southwest in those early times was William Winans. He was a very complete self-made man ; never went to school; bom in 1788; worked in an iron foundry; was admitted into the Western conference in 1808; trav- eled two years in the Northwest and was sent to Mississippi in 1810 and was soon appointed presiding elder. He was a very constant reader and with great natural endowments soon acquired a high position. He was a member of every general conference from 1824 until his death in 1857. He was uniformly regarded one of the best debaters in the general con- ference. To notice the preachers who distinguished themselves in those early times would lengthen these brief notes too much. Natchez district, which included this whole region of country, W b64 BIOORAPHIOAL AND HISTORICAL continued a portion of the Western conference, whicli included nearly the entire Mississippi valley until 1813, when the Mississippi conference was organized. This improved things greatly. Now we have a conference at home. The first session of the Mississippi annual con- ference was held at the residence of the Eev. Newet Vick, about five miles southwest of where Fayette now is, in Jefferson county, Miss., on November 1, 1813. Present: Samuel Sellers, president; members, Miles Harper, Eichard Nolley, Lewis Hobbs, John S. Ford, John Phipps, Johu Shrock, William Winans, Thomas GrifiSn, John I. E. Bird; William Winans, secretary. The bishop ordering the conference could not get there on account of Indian troubles, but appointed a president pro tem. At the next session, in 1814, Simon Gentry, Jonathan Kemp, Peter James and Josiah Dougherty were received on trial. This second session has been for some time confounded with the first, but Rev. J. G. Jones, in his history of Methodism in Mississippi, holds as above, which is, no doubt, correct. The conference now embraced what is Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana, with other adjacent, but not well-defined territory. For a few years the operations of the church were considerably interrupted by hostile armies or troops. The Greek Indian war, and the British invasion caused much disturbance, but still the church increased. The first conference attended by bishops was in 1816. Bishop Robert R. Roberts trav- eled some four hundred miles on horseback, mostly through a wilderness country to get to it. It was held in the country near Natchez. Ten preachers were assigned to as many pastoral charges. Five of these were in Mississippi, two in Alabama and three in Louisiana. These were all circuits, each one including several separate congregations. The first station was Natchez, in 1826. This much of detail has been necessary in order to give the reader some idea in outline of Methodism in this country in its formative state. Henceforth the necessary brevity of these notes require that we proceed much faster and deal less in particulars. After the Indian and British troubles were settled the church increased much more rapidly, and a few years separate annual conferences were set apart in Louisiana and Alabama respectively, and the Mississippi conferences were confined to the state of Mississippi and included that part of Louisiana lying east of the Mississippi river, except the cities of New Orleans and Baton Rouge. These notes are understood to refer to Episcopal Methodism, but after about 1880 the Protestant or non-Episcopal Methodists became organized, and for many years had quite a number of circuits in several parts of the state, but in 1871 they disbanded, that is, those in Mississippi, and united in a body with the Episcopal Methodists. These notes must not omit to mention what this writer regards as the most extraordinary preacher of modern times the world-renowned John Newland Mofiit. In 1836 he visited Natchez, where he spent a considerable portion of the year, but the points of that brief min- istry will long remain. And also Charles K. Marshall, who for half a century was always recognized as a master of pulpit eloquence, standing a head and shoulders above other men. He died at his home in Vicksburg in 1891. For twenty years and more after about 1830 the wilderness part of the state opened up largely and rapidly to agriculture, commerce, education and religion. And the Mississippi conference increased greatly both in its ministry, laity and educational institutes. There was before the war scarcely a township (fourteen miles square) of land in the state not occupied by the Methodist ministry. In 1858 the Mississippi conference had eight colleges, viz. : Centenary college, with a MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 365 president and seven professors, one hundred and seventy-five students, with buildings, appa- ratus and endowment worth $150,000, and library of seven thousand five hundred volumes; Sharon Female college, ninety students and buildings worth $10,000; Feliciana Female insti- tute, buildings, $4,000; Walls' Female institute, fifty pupils; Port Gibson collegiate academy, eighty pupils, building $10,900; Southern Female college, eighty-five pupDs, property $8,000; Mount Hermon Female institute, seventy pupils, property $5,000; Madison college, one hundred scholars, building $8,000. The first Sunday-school in the United States south of Philadelphia, was permanently organized in the Methodist church at Natchez in 1827. In 1855 the Mississippi conference established a book and tract society at Vicksburg for the more ready sale and distribution of religious literature. Its capital was raised by volun- tary subscription. This, together with its business, increased until in the time of the war it amounted to some $6,000 or $7,000. But on the fall of Vicksburg it fell into the hands of the army and was destroyed. It has always been a leading policy of Methodism in the South to preach the gospel to the colored people, no more nor no less in Mississippi than in other Southern states. Before the war where the negroes were somewhat numerous, separate churches were built for their accommodation, or otherwise ample galleries were built in almost all the churches for their use. The number of colored members was sometimes nearly or quite equal to that of the whites, but generally the number of colored members jvas probably half that of the whites. Large plantations were generally supplied with a missionary, or sometimes two adjoining places. On the division of the church at the general conference at New York, in 1844, of course Mississippi allied itself with the other conferences in the South in a separate organization under the name of the Methodist Episcopal Church South. This, however, made no change of any sort in the annual conferences, and the church continued to prosper until its labors were measurably interrupted by the tramp of hostile armies in 1862 and thereafter. The war produced a state of things in the church in Mississippi, and in other parts of the South, quite anomalous and rarely, if ever, encountered by any church before. The entrance of the United States army into Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, etc. , in its march southward had the natural and necessary effect of dividing the Methodist Episcopal Church South into two churches, with an impassable wall of tire between them. This separation, as things turned out, was but temporary, continuing only four or five years, when they came together again. But for the time it was complete. When this army line came to be estab- lished, seven of the annual conferences, or the greater part of each, were found to lie north of the army line, viz. : Tennessee, Louisville, Western Virginia, Indian Mis- sion, Arkansas and Missouri, with all the rest of the conferences south of the main army line. Of course, the Mississippi conference fell in the Southern group. So that for the space of four years or more, in common with its neighbors, its public operations were very much restricted and confused. Its annual and quarterly conferences were much frustrated and neglected. Local disturbance created general disturbance. The church or denomination of which the Mississippi conference formed a part suffered disruption for a time, not only from the near presence and hostilities of the contending armies but from legal consequences. Wars disturb the possession as well as titles to property. Conquest gives ownership to property, and it requires treaties of peace and diplomacy to settle these things afterward. As this war turned out much of this church property was restored after the war, though much in a damaged condition. Churches, colleges, schoolhouses and private residences had been long used as hospitals, army quarters, etc., and many of them damaged or totally destroyed. 866 BIOGBAPHIOAL AND HISTORICAL But on the close of the war, in 1865, the church in Mississippi, as elsewhere, rallied rapidly, so that in 1870 it was found necessary to divide the Mississippi conference into two conferences. This was done by the general conference of that year, which sat in Memphis, Tenn., by an east and west line, dividing Yazoo and Holmes counties and following other county lines; the southern portion retaining the name of Mississippi conference, and the northern taking that of Northern Mississippi. But these lines do not follow state lines strictly, for the Mississippi conference still includes those parishes of Louisiana which lie east of the Mississippi river except the cities of New Orleans and Baton Rouge. Educational interests have been reasonably well attended to by the Methodists of this state from the first. Besides primary schools, which have generally been plentiful, the Elizabeth Female academy, of Washington, in Adams county, was established in 1824, and was kept in successful operation about three-quarters of a century, and was one of the best and most useful colleges for girls in the United States. Centenary college was established in the centenary of Methodism and named in com- memoration of it. It was first located near Brandon, Miss., in 1839, and was afterward, in 18-15, removed to Jackson, La., near the line dividing those states, but still in the Missis- sippi conference, and has since borne the title of Centenary College of Louisiana, though mainly patronized by Mississippi. At Brandon, Dr. Thomas C. Thornton, Judge D. O. Shattuck, Prof. W. H. N. Magruder, and other distinguished educators, were connected with it. At Jackson, La., money was largely expended in erecting handsome buildings, which still adorn its campus. The late Judge Edward McGehee and others gave largely for these buildings and endowment, etc. Among its presidents were Dr. R. H. Rivers,, W. H. Wat- kins, John C. Miller, before the war, and Dr. 0. G. Andrwes, D. M. Rush and Dr. T. A. S. Adams since the war. The present president is Dr. W. L. C. Hunnicutt. The present faculty consists of ten professors and teachers, and the number of students last session was one hundred and thirty-eight; of these twenty-two are licensed preachers and fifteen others sons of preachers, all of whom receive tuition free of cost. The college has an endowment of over $60,000, which fund is increasing. The two literary societies, the four libraries and the Y. M. C. A. are very valuable adjuncts to the college. All its professors and teachers are members of the Methodist Epis- copal Church South, and Christianity is emphasized in all its teachings. The trustees, at their last meeting, invited persons who are able to endow scholarships and professorships in the college. Millsaps college, of Mississippi, is in its embryo state, but is destined in the very near future to become one of the best colleges in the Southwest. Maj. R. W. Millsaps, a wealthy gentleman of Jackson, Miss., a few years ago proposed to give 150,000 to found a first-class college for boys in Mississippi, on condition that the proposition should be accepted by the two annual conferences of the state, and that a like amount be raised by private subscrip- tion for the same purpose. In 1889 the two conferences respectively accepted the proposi- tion of Mr. Millsaps and encouraged the raising of the requisite 150,000 to be added. Bishop Galloway, who also resides at Jackson, and several other ministers, took hold of this enterprise, and in some months the other $50,000 was on hand. It was understood that the proposed college should be in Mississippi, without designating any particular location. And also, besides the 1100,000, as above, other funds were raised for permanent endow- ment. Several towns and other handsome sites were ready to take the college, and this competition had the effect of raising an endowment fund of over |100,000, and which is MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 367 still being increased. A short time ago, in this present year, it was decided by the trustees to locate the college at Jackson, the capital of the state. A very handsome piece of ground has been selected for this purpose, north of the city. The buildings are commenced and ample facilities will soon be afforded for the best collegiate training. The college is in the hands of a \erj competent board of trustees. Several architects have for some time been at work on the proposed buildings, and before the close of 1892 they, with their enclosures, are expected to present a handsome appearance. Since the war it is probable that no state. North or South, is much, if any, ahead of Mississippi in furnishing educational facilities to the negro population. The restricted limits of these notes will not admit of enlargement on this subject. The public records must be looked to for such information. But colored schools are sure all over the state at about every crossroad and in every city, town and village. Several of the colored churches in the state are Methodist and furnish their full share of teachers and pupils for the various schools. The public schools, primary and of high grade, all over the state, are numerous. These are patronized by the Methodists in common with other denominations. The limits of this chapter will not admit of particular mention of them. Besides these, the state has five Meth- odist female colleges of high character and respectable patronage, viz. : Whitworth Female college, at Brookhaven; Port Gibson Female college, at Port Gibson; East Mississippi Female college, at Meridian; Grenada Female college, at Grenada, and Edward McGehee College for Girls, at Woodville. The strength of Methodism in the state may be gathered in a general way from the fol- lowing figures : The Mississippi conference has one hundred and fifty-five traveling preachers, and the North Mississippi conference one hundred and sixty-six. Total, three hundred and twenty-one. Of local preachers, the Mississij^pi conference has one hundred and sixty and the North Mississippi one hundred and fifty-five, making three hundred and eleven. Whole number of preachers, six hundred and thirty-two. The North Mississippi conference has forty thousand nine hundred and ninety-one members, and the Mississippi thirty-six thousand two hundred and twelve. In all, seventy-seven thousand two hundred and two. There are in the- state, that is, in the two conferences, which includes a fraction of east Louisiana, not easily separated, four hundred and thirty-two churches in the Mississippi and five hundred in the North Mississippi conference. Total, nine hundred and thirty-two. The value of these church buildings is $905,858. Of Sunday-schools exclusively under Methodist control, there are eight hundred and forty-eight, nearly equally divided between the two conferences, with thirty-six thousand nin6 hundred and sixty-three scholars, besides officers and teachers, which would increase the number of persons engaged in Sunday-school work to something over forty thousand. These statistics refer to the reports of 1890. Besides these, there are a considerable number of mixed Sunday-schools. In inany sparsely-settled regions where the Methodists are not strong enough to have a Sunday-school of their own, or where other churches are not strong enough, they unite in mixed schools. Including the Methodists in these schools, it will swell the Methodist Sunday-school of these two conferences to over fifty thousand strong. Mississippi has furnished two bishops for the church. Bishop Robert Paine was born in North Carolina in 1799, but spent most of his life, especially the latter part of it, in Mississippi. He was ordained a minister in early life, preached mostly in north Mississippi and west Tennessee, and was a number of years president of La Grange college, in Tennessee. He was elected and ordained bishop in 1846, which active service he continued during life. He died at his home in Aberdeen, Miss., in 1882. 368 BIOGBAPHIGAL AND HISTORICAL Bishop Charles B. Galloway is a native Mississippiiui, the youngest man ever ordained bishop in the Methodist church. He graduated in the University of Mississippi in 1 868, and immediately ou his return home from school was licensed to preach, and at the same time was recommended for the traveling connection, and was received into the Mississippi conference at the earliest period allowable by the law of the church and soon took a leading position for a man of his age. He was several years editor of the New Orleans Christian Advocate, and was elected and ordained bishop in 1886, which office he now holds. The history of the Christian church in Mississippi is less important than in most of the Southern states, as their membership is smaller, the progress of the church being greatly impeded by the late war. Since that time the great mass of emigration has gone West, made up mostly from the central states, where the Christian church is very strong, and it furnished a great many emigrants, and consequently is very strong in the West as well as in central states. The first organization of this church in the st^te was at Battle Springs, about the year 1836. This congregation was organized by Gen. William Clark, who preached for them once a month for many years after. This church was about eight miles from Jackson, but no organization has existed there for many years. An organization was effected at Utica, about thirty-three miles from Jackson, on the Jackson and Natchez road, about the same time as the one at Battle Springs. Jefferson H. Johnson was the organizer of this church. About the year 1838 President Tolbert Fanning, of Tennessee, and James A. Butler, two promi- nent ministers of the church, organized a congregation at Columbus, in the northeastern part of the state, while William E. Mathes, an able minister, organized several small congregations in Wilkinson county. Gen. William Clark, who was state treasurer, and Joseph E. Mathes, state auditor, organized a congregation in Jackson in 1841. The first regular pastor laboring for the Jackson congregation was T. W. Caskey, a talented man, who served from 1854 to 1860, when he went into the army as a chaplain, where he served in that capacity very acceptably till the close of the war. Since then the church has been ministered to by Elisha Pinkerton, Elder Snow, of Virginia, George A. Smythe, for several years, and laterly by Joseph Sharp, Robert Mayes, T. A. White, and by the present pastor, M. F. Harmon. The congregation in Jackson previous to the war was one of the wealthiest and most influential churches in the state. The church house, which was a brick, and a good one for its day, was greatly damaged by soldiers during the war and was in 1884 condemned and torn down. A small, neat chapel stands in the rear of where the old church stood, and a fine modern style building is soon to be erected on the old site. There are in the state now thirty-two church houses reported, and valued at $34,000. There are about sixty organizations in the state, thirty of them having no meetinghouse, and there are about forty little unorganized bands. The total white membership is between five thousand and six thousand. There are about thirty-two preachers who give part or all their time to the ministry, and about fifteen who give but little or none of their time. There are twenty-seven colored congregations in the state, with about two thousand mem- bership; twenty-one church houses valued at $8,630, and thirty-two fireachers. This church teaches strict adherence to the New Testament as the " all sufficient rule of faith and prac- tice," are opposed to all human creeds, believe in the co-operation of all their congregations in sending the gospel to all parts of the earth. They believe in every Christian reading, studying and interpreting the Bible for himself. They have an educated ministry and believe in a consistent Christian life. They hold, in common with all the so-called evangelical churches, the fundamental principles of Christianity, rejecting from their faith and prac- tice only those things which are not commanded in the New Testament, or are not of divine MEMOIRS OF MI.SSISSIPPI. 369 precedent. They believe in the union of all Christians upon the Bible, and the Bible alone. They call themselves Christians or Disciples, as the foUovcers of Christ were called in the beginning. This people believe in missions, both home and foreign. Besides collections taken from the congregations at regular times for foreign missions they have a regular state board of missions that keeps an evangelist in the state all the time. This state work was begun with the labors of F. W. Caskey from 1841 to 1854, and William E. Hooker and Robert "Ursey labored in the same capacity from 1854 to 1860. B. P. Manire, a tal- ented Christian minister, evangelized throughout the state for several years independent of any board. The Mississippi Christian Missionary convention, which is operating now in doing state missionary work, was organized in 1884, with Dr. D. B. Hill, of Palo Alto, president, who served till 1887. From that time to the present (June, 1891) Dr. D. L. Phares, of Madison Station, has been president. This board holds annual conventions, the last week in August, for the purpose of reviewing the work of the past, and planning for the future. Their work is altogether advisory. Joseph Sharp was the iirst evangelist under the new board, serving from 1885 to 1890, A. C. Smither serving from January, 1890, to August of same year. January, 1891, John A. Stephens accepted the position of evangeli.st, and is filling it accept- ably yet. Newton college, located near Woodville, was opened March 7, 1843, to both sexes. It closed in 1860. A great many young men were educated here, several for the ministry, who have made useful men. A number made distinguished doctors, lawyers and educators. A great many grand women were educated here. Southern Christian institute is a mission school with plantation, organized in 1877, for the colored people, with an organized slock basis of $10,000. The present site of the institute was selected in 1882, near Edwards, in Hinds county, twenty-six miles west of Jackson, on the Virginia & Mississippi railroad. The plantation consists of eight hundred acres of num- ber one cotton land. The school at present is under the control of J. B. Lehman and wife, thorough educators. In 1875 S. E. Jones edited a paper known as the Unitist, in the interest of the church. It continued for a year. or more and suspended. An attempt or two has since been made to publish a church paper, but owing to the weak condition of the churches, and perhaps more properly to bad, inefficient management in the projectors, none of these attempts have amounted to much, except the last, which promises to prove a valuable church organ — the Messenger, an eight-page, three-column paper, published monthly in Jackson, by M. F. Harmon. It would be unjust to the man, as well as the church in Mississippi, to fail to make special mention of B. F. Manire, a consecrated minister, who has spent a great portion of his life in evangelizing throughout the state, and adding more souls to the church than any other man of his church. The Christian church stands in the front ranks in every reform movement that is calculated to benefit humanity. The early history of the Baptist denomination in the territory of Mississippi is rendered obscure in consequence of there having been so little attention paid to church records and other written documents. The fact that so many of the early settlers were illiterate, and many in aftertimes looked with indifference, Qot to say contempt, on the early Baptists and their labors in this country, is the main reason why they were almost forgotten. Tet by dil- igent search and comparing many documents, a tolerably accurate history of these early pio- neers can be written. From this obscure beginning they have grown to be a great and pros- perous people. 370 BIOGRAPHIGAL AND HISTORICAL T. M. Bond, the only historian of this early period, relates that in the spring of 1780, there was a number of emigrants who left South Carolina for the country of the Natchez. On arriving at the Holston river, in Tennessee, they provided themselves with boats, three in number, and undertook the perilous task of passing down the waters of Tennessee, Ohio and Mississippi, to their place of destination. Among these emigrants were some ten or a dozen members of the Baptist church. One of the members was Richard Curtis, a licensed minister, with a large family. "We have also learned the following names, as heads of families, viz. : John Courtney, John Jones, Daniel Ogden, William Ogden, Perkins. The emigrants, in descending the streams, had to pass through the country owned by the Cherokee and other Indian tribes, having to pass shoals and narrows, and bends that very much exposed them to the hostility of the Indians, who availed themselves of one of these places, and fired on the foremost boat, in which was Elder Curtis and his family. The wife of William Curtis shielded her husband with a thick poplar stool, which caught one or more bullets, while he was plying the oar. Another female sized the steering oar, tha't her husband might use his rifle, and with dauntless heroism guided the vessel, until disabled by a wound. The second boat passed unharmed. The third boat was considerably behind, in conse- quence of having the small-pox on board, and the Indians captured it and massacred all on board, except one woman, who was taken captive. She remained two or three years among the Indians, when, by treaty, she was restored to her friends. She stated that the Indians took the small-pox, and great numbers of them died. The other two boats after a long and perilous voyage, landed at Cole's creek, a few miles above Natchez, and formed a settlement. After they had reared their cabins in the forest, they immediately instituted the worship of God in these far western wilds, by holding meetings in their private houses, which were blest of the Lord to the comforting of the followevs of the Savior. This was the first Prot- estant community formed in all the wide region of the Southwest, below the Cumberland settlements in middle Tennessee. At that period the Natchez county nominally belonged to Great Britain, but after the treaty of 1783 passed, for a time, into the hands of Spain. In this community was soon organized a Baptist church called Salem. It was consti- tuted without a presbytery, or even the presence of a single ordained minister. They simply agreed to meet together statedly, and worship God according to His word, and to exercise gospel discipline over one another, and called Elder Curtis to preach to them, whose labors were eventually greatly blessed. This course was a matter of necessity with them, and the Lord greatly owned and blessed his labors in the conversion of many sinners. As it was probable that they would never see an ordained Baptist minister the converts were baptised by Curtis. We know but little of the church and its affairs until 1793 or 1794. About that time a Spanish Catholic, by the name of Stephen de Alvo, renounced the Eomish religion and joined the Baptists. This, together with the denunciation of the Catholics by a man by the name of Harigail, greatly incensed the Catholics, so that they determined to make an example of some of the leaders. William Hamberlin, Eichard Curtis and Stephen de Alvo were selected as the chief offenders. A letter was written by Gayoso, the Spanish commandant, to Curtis, expostulating with him upon his course. To this Curtis replied bluntly, and an order for his arrest was issued and he was brought before Gayoso April 6, 1795. After threatening to send Curtis, Hamberlin and de Alvo to the mines in Mexico, they were discharged, with an injunction not to offend again. An edict was also issued that if nine persons were found worshiping together, except according to the form of the Catholic church, they should suffer imprisonment. But the church continued to meet privately for worship, and Mr. Curtis MEMOIRS OP MISSISSIPPI. 371 officiated publicly in a marriage ceremony in 1795. This was considered a violation of the law, and an attempt was made to arrest him, but he made good his escape in company with Hamberlin and de Alvo, and they made their journey across the country to South Carolina, where they arrived in the fall of 1795. At the end of two years and a half Curtis returned, having been ordained during his stay in South Carolina. The country now passed into the hands of the United States, the Baptists had rest and prospered greatly. In 1800 a church was constituted in Wilkinson county, four miles from WoodviUe, by a part of the Ogden family and others. About the same time one was constituted on Second creek, and possibly was called New Hope. In 1805 the New Providence church, Amite county, was constituted, and Ebenezer in 1806. These five churches met, by their delegates, in September, 1806, and organized the first association and called it the Mississippi. It has had a long and honored career and still exists. The denomination grew rapidly. In 1812 there were seventeen churches in the state with a membership of seven hundred and sixty-four. In 1836 there were one hundred and seven churches, ninety-two pastors, and four thousand eight hundred and sixty-five members. In 1860 there were five hundred and ninety-six churches, three hundred and five pastors, forty-one thousand four hundred and eighty-two members. In 1820 the Pearl River and Union associations were organized. In 1835 there were six associations, and in 1859 there were twenty-one associations. A Baptist state convention was organized in 1822. The sixth annual session was held October 21, 1828. After that period the convention declined and soon afterward became extinct. The present state convention was organized at Palestine church, Hinds county, in 1837. Rev. L. B. Holloway preached the introductory sermon from the words: " Thy King- dom Come." Rev. Ashley Vaughn was president. Prominent in the counsels of this meet- ing were Benjamin Whitfield, W. J. Denson, S. S. Lattimore, Ashley Vaughn, L. B. Hollo- way, Charles Pelder, Lee Compere, R. G. Green, Norvel Robertson and T. S. N. King. The call for this convention was mad.e by the Mississippi association, at its session October, 1836. The following resolutions were passed by that body: Resolved, that this association deem it important that the Baptists in this state should unite in convention by delegates at a proper time and place, to take into consideration the adoption of some systematic plan by which the efliorts of the denomination may be united, her resources drawn out, the gospel preached to the destitute, religious information disseminated, and such other objects as may be important to the advancement of the Redeemer's kingdom promoted. Resolved, that we unite in recommending a meeting consisting of delegates from churches, missionary societies, and also of individuals in good standing in the regular Baptist denom- ination, to be held in Washington, on Friday before the fourth Lord's day in December next, to consider the propriety of forming a state convention of our denomination. The Bethel association joined in with the call from the Mississippi, and accordingly the meeting was held at Washington preliminary to the organization of thestate convention. An address was drawn up by Ashley Vaughn, S. S. Lattimore and T. S. N. King. " The pro- ceedings of these two associations," declared the address, " were in perfect accordance with the feelings and wishes of a large number of the churches and individuals belonging to the various associations in the state." An extended editorial in the Luminary for November, 1836, disclaims for the conven- tion all right to usurp any authority whatever over churches, or associations, or individuals, and makes the following points in favor of the state convention : What, then, are the advantages which it is supposed will accrue to the cause of Christ from the formation of a state convention ? 373 BIOGRAPHfOAL AND HISTORICAL 1 . The gospel will be more extensively and habitually preached to the destitute in the bounds of the state. 2. Feeble and destitute churches will be sought out and visited, and encouraged to "strengthen the things that remain that are ready to die." 3. A more general interest will be taken in relation to the extension of the Redeemer's kingdom in foreign lands. 4. The strength and energies of the denomination in the state will be more entirely and harmoniously concentrated. 5. Religious information, generally, will be more widely disseminated, and the cause of education — particularly the religious education of youth — encouraged. 6. Christian intercourse, and Christian fellowship, and Christian union, will be greatly promoted. The meeting was accordingly held at Washington. The constitution that was adopted is strikingly like the one the convention now has. The second article sets forth that the objects of this convention shall be to organize and digest an operative system of measures in relation to missionary exertions throughout the state of Mississippi; to promote religious edu- cation; support missionary service among the destitute, both at home and abroad; and to adopt from time to time such measures as shall be considered by the convention calculated to promote the general interest of the Redeemer's kingdom, particularly within the bounds of the state. At this preliminary meeting at Washington, and at the first annual meeting at Palestine, the convention put itself squarely upon missionary and educational grounds. So far back as 1811, the Mississippi association had taken steps to supply the destitution in her own borders, and the convention organized upon the basis of missionary work. At a very early period Mississippi Baptists began to move in educational matters. Their first efforts were far from successful, but they never faltered till ultimate success was reached. Dr. William Carey Crane wrote of these early efforts: " Prior to the adoption of the college at Clinton by the convention, sad failures were made. The Judson institute was located on Society ridge. Hinds county, in 1836, under the charge of Elder L. B. HoUoway, but the location (so says a circular of 1841) was found so unhealthy that, after having expended a considerable amount of money, our denomination saw the necessity of removing it, and accordingly removed it to Palestine, in an opposite extreme of the same county, to which, after two years' experience, it was found that there existed not only the same objection, but another, if possible, worse — the surrounding country was too poor to support a school. It was then determined to locate and found the school at Middleton, and accordingly, under the presi- dency of Elder S. S. Latimore, and A. S. Bayley and R. Nason, professors, the institution lived a fitful life till about 1842, it declined, and the convention, in 1844, appointed a com- mittee to ascertain what connection it had with it, inasmuch as the legislature, which had chartered it, had never passed any act recognizing a conventional connection with it. Since that time it has never been spoken of in the convention. An abortive effort was made to pur- chase the Mississippi Springs property, in Hinds county, in 1847." But at this time Mississippi college became the property of the Baptists. It was one of the oldest schools of the state. It was chartered in 1826 as Hemstead academy, and was the first school in the state that ever conferred a diploma. In 1830 its name was changed to Mississippi college; in 1842 it was transferred to the Presbyterians, and in 1850 passed into the hands of the Baptists. This was the long-hoped-for opportunity. An agent was put in the field, and by 1860 a cash endowment of $100,000 was raised, with $80,000 more jaledged MEM0IB8 OF MISSISSIPPI. 373 and $20,000 worth of buildings erected. Unfortunately, the whole endowment was lost by the war and the college suspended. At this period female colleges were in successful operation at Grenada, Chulahoma, Clinton, Lexington, Hernando and Castilliau Springs. The history of Baptist newspapers in the state, preceding the war, is suggestive of wise reflection. Dr. Crane, writing in 1858, says: "The Southivestern Luminary was con- ducted by Elder A. Vaughn through the year 1837, and in February, 1838, was merged into the Mobile Monitor and Southwestern Luminary, under the care of Elder G. F. Heard. The Mississippi Baptist was commenced in January, 1846, by Elder W. H. Taylor, who was asso- ciated with Elder W. C. Crane from July, 1847, to July, 1848, in its editorial care. It was then placed under a committee, consisting of W. C. Crane, W. H. Taylor and L. J. Cald- well. In January, 1849, it was placed under the editorial management of the lamented Elder J. B. Hiteler, and %vas discontinued in April of that year. A committee, consisting of Elders I. T. Tichenor, G. W. Allen, L. J. Caldwell and G. H. Martin, edited it for a short time. In January, 1857, it was revived at Grenada, under the editorial care of Elder J. T. Freeman, and removed to Jackson. It is now spreading itself like the green bay tree, and commanding the warmest regard and cordial support of the denomination throughout the state." But, like every other institution of the state, the Mississippi Baptist was wrecked by the war. From 1861 to 1865 the whole country was desolated by the ravages of war. The Missis- sippi Baptist suspended publication, our institutions of learning were closed, some of them never to open again; missionary work ceased, except among the soldiers, wealth gone, the churches disrupted, the Baptist denomination had scarcely more than a name to live. Worse than all of this, the war had fired the fiercest passions of the human breast, and the terrible days of reconstruction blighted and demoralized the moral and religious sentiment of the entire country. It took brave and stout hearts for leaders in those days; but the Lord did not fail for men to stand before Him. Gen. M. P. Lowry, Col. L. Ball, and a host of others, laid aside the sword and musket, declined every political preferment, and gave themselves to the moral uplifting of the state. It was an arduous work, but the results have been entirely satisfactory. One of the first things done was to reopen Mississippi college. Not only was the endowment swept away, but a great debt in the shape of scholarships threatened the existence of the college. Dr. Walter Hillman became president, and through his management the debt was removed and the success of the institution was assured. For nearly twenty years Rev. W. S. Webb, D. D., has been the efficient president. The college now has an endow- ment of about 150,000, and the outlook is encouraging. The catalogue of 1890-91 shows eight instructors and two hundred and fifty students. A number of flourishing female colleges have also been established. Central Female institute, now Hillman college. Dr. Walter Hillman, president; Blue Mountain Female col- lege. Dr. W. T. Lowrey, president; Starkville Female institute. Dr. T. G. Sellers, president; Shuqualak Female college, Eev. L. M. Stone, president; Lea Female college. Dr. C. H. Otkin, president, and Carrollton Female college, Eev. Z. T. Leavell, president, all have an hon- ored history. Besides these, numerous high schools have been planted in various localities, and it is likely that many more will be founded. Following the war, as we have intimated already, there was a great missionary work to be done. The Baptists were scattered and discouraged, while the destitution was appalling. For a time every man worked on the wall over and against his own house, and did that which 374 BIOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL was right in his own eyes. After a time organized work was begim in associations, and the Domestic Mission board was able to do something. In 1873 the convention met at Aberdeen, Miss. A committee consisting of T. J. Walne, C. Smith, W. H. Hardy, J. A. Hackett and E. Smith reported a plan of work as follows: 1 . That this con\ention appoint a board on state missions, to be known as the " State Mission Board of the Mississippi Baptist State Convention." 2. This board shall be located at Hazlehurst, Copiah county. Miss., and shall be com- posed of fifteen members, who shall elect from their own number a president, two vice presi- dents, a recording secretary and a treasurer. 3. This board, when duly organized, shall have charge of the domestic mission work within the bounds of this convention, and shall be empowered and instructed to employ a corresponding secretary ; to secure the closest and heartiest co-operation possible with all the churches and associations within our bounds in domestic mission work; to raise funds, employ missionaries, and supply, so far as possible, the destitution throughout the state. Thus was the State Mission board organized, which under God did such a great and mighty work. Oxford at length became its local habitation, and Eev. T. J. Walne became corresponding secretary. He served faithfully and successfully for eleven years, when he was succeeded by Eev. L. Ball. This board strengthened the places that were ready to die, preached the gospel in many waste places, and was a powerful agency in putting the Baptists of the state in the front rank of missionary work. In 1885 the convention again met at Aberdeen. It was felt that the work of the state must be put upon still broader basis. Accordingly the old State Mission board, which had done so grandly, was abolished, and the convention board was organized and took its place. It was declared that this board should take collections for state missions, home missions, foreign missions, Mississippi college, ministerial education and sustentation. Eev. J. B. Gambrell, who had been foremost in presenting and urging this plan, was elected corresponding secre- tary. He served two years, and resigned on account of other pressing duties. Eev. J. T. Christian, the present incumbent, was then elected. The work of this board has been suc- cessful from the start. It has now sixty missionaries in the field, and its financial report for the year just closed aggregated over $70,000 for missions and educational purposes. A Baptist newspaper was established in Jackson in 1867 called the Christian Watchman. It lived only a few months. It was, however, not until 1877 that a successful enterprise of this kind was established. Eev. M. T. Martin began the publication, and Eev. J. B. Gam- brell became editor of the Baptist Record. This paper continues to be a great power for good. The general association had an organ called the Southern Baptist, which was merged into the Baptist Record. It now has a paper edited by Eev. N. L. Clarke, called the Mississippi Baptist. The progress of the denomination has been great. The statistics in 1891 are as follows: White and colored, ninety-seven associations, one' thousand five hun- dred and eighteen ministers, two thousand five hundred and eighty-seven churches, and one hundred and ninety-one thousand four hundred and twenty-four members. The history of the American continent for the most part, up to the present century, is practically a history of the Eoman Catholic church. We have but to recall the names of Columbus, De Soto, Joliet, La Salle, Marquette and multitudes of others to remind ourselves of the fact. This is partly because state and church were united, and what the church of Eome did was credited to the state from which the instrument of the deed came, or what France, Spain, Italy and other Eoman Catholic countries did were all done in the name of MEMOim OF MISSISSIPPI. 375 the church. Thus so intimately intertwined are the deeds of both on this continent in early days, that history of that period is history of both church and state. This is true of the territory covered by the state of Mississippi previous to 1798, when it came under the government of the United States, where church and state were and have ever been separate. Since that time the Catholic church has not prospered in Mississippi as has other churches, and, since it is smaller, is so intimately connected with early history iu general as to receive considerable mention, but especially because the facts of its career here have been so inaccessible, this sketch must be limited to scarcely more than a general description. It is well known that De Soto had his priests along with him in 1539-42, when he crossed the present limits of the state, but it was over a hundred years later that we hear much about missionary effort among the Indians of this region by Roman Catholic missionaries. In 1682 Ricollet, Father Zenobius Membre, of La Salle's company, was probably the first to celebrate mass among the Natchez Indians. This was on March 29, 1682, as is learned from Father Membre's account of it. In 1699, when Bienville settled at Biloxi, his chaplain was De Bor- denac. In 1701 Father Joliet de Montigny visited the Natchez and Tunicas, but as he made no converts, he returned north to Quebec again. " Father Davion and Montigny arrived at Biloxi in a pirogue," says a local writer. "Father Davion had originally settled at Natchez for a year, but making no converts he went to the Tunicas, and erected a cross on the highest bluffs, where he said mass every morning. It was called Roche a Davion until 1764, when it became known as Loftus Heights, and afterward and ever since as Fort Adams. To this remote cliff, conciliating the various tribes as he traveled, the devoted priest had come bearing upon his shoulders the sacred symbols, with no hope of earthly reward, sustained only by the sublime faith that triumphs even over the terrors of death. Father Montigny had come from the posts on the Illinois to" inquire for him, and to take his place if he had perished; and hearing from the Indians of the colony at Biloxi, they journeyed thither, down the Mis- sissippi, down the Mauchac, along Lakes Maurepas and Ponchartrain, through the Rigolets and along the Mississippi sound, under the burning sun and profuse dust of July, camping on the desert shores at night amid myriads of mosquitoes, with no refreshment but a cala- bash of tepid water and a little dried meat or parched corn ! Ten days only they allowed themselves to commune with their countrymen, and then these devoted men set out, as they came, -the one to resume his labors among the Tunicas, the other to establish a mission on the Yazoo, or river of death." By 1722, when the colony had five thousand four huudred and twenty whites and six hundred negroes, about as much in four states as is now in the single city of Jackson, it was organized into three ecclesiastical divisions: From the mouth of the Mississippi to the mouth of the Illinois was the first, and placed iu charge of the Capuchin monks; between the Illinois and Wabash was given to the Jesuit fathers; and at Biloxi, Mobile and Toulouse fort were placed the Carmelites. Thus Mississippi's present territory was under the Capuchins and Carmelites in its first organization. It was but a couple of years later that laws were passed, as a feature of the union of church and state, compelling owners to bring up their slaves in the faith of the Catholics, or, if the owners were not good Catholics themselves, their slaves should be owned by the government; amalgamation of races was forbidden also; Jews were expelled and no other religion was to be tolerated. These laws were called the Black code. Father Philibert, a Capuchin, was cur6 at Natchez about this time, and certainly in 1727. For the n^xt half century the church grew among the Indians, as well as among the 376 BIOORAPHICAL AND HI8T0RI0AJ. Caucasian and Negro inhabitants, and was the only church within the present boundaries of Mississippi. Under the Spanisli control of Don Gayoso, and others, later in the eighteenth century, and when Natchez was the metropolis, it bore a prominent part in public life. "The Catholic religion was the only one tolerated in the country," said an old citizen of Natchez, resident there at that date. "The priests exercised much influence, and were very generally loved. They had great power and used it very mildly. Irish priests were usually selected for Natchez, because there were so many English-speaking people. I well remem- ber Father Brady — the best shot, the best rider, and the best judge of horses in the district. And Father Malone, with a wink and a joke, and a blessing and an alms for every one — welcome at every wedding, every frolic and every dinner — most exemplary in the discharge of every duty, but with a slight weakness for his national beverage on St. Patrick's day, when his patriotism would prove stronger than his head. However, in these days, and for years after, the clergy of all denominations took their morning nips and their midday toddy and were always considered the best judges of Maderia. Attempts were made by several Protestant ministers to preach but were not encouraged. The only sermon I remember to have heard during the Spanish rule was preached by an Episcopalian named Cloud. [Bev. Adam Cloud. See sketch of the Episcopal church in these volumes — Ed.] Governor Gayoso was present and walked home with my father after the service. He expressed himself in their conversation as being individually in favor of religious toleration, 'but', he added, 'you know I have a master. ' The next day Cloud was notified that he must not preach again ; but, he, persisting in doing so, was shortly arrested and sent out of the country." It was the friction of the intense Protestant and Catholic feeling against each other in those days that added to the discord of the transfer of the territory to American hands. The first governor-sergeant, native of a Puritan region, unused to the customs of Catholic countries, such as attending ipass in the morning and attending picnics, and having similar pleasures in the afternoon, even contemplated seizing the Catholic church building and using it for a courthouse, and was only prevented from doing so by motives of expediency. One reason for the decrease of the church after 1798 was the removal of many Catholics in sympathy with the Spanish power beyond the boundaries of Mississippi territory. During the present century, however, they have not decreased, but while reaching far below the numbers of the great denominations of the state, it has made substantial progress and extended all over the state. In the year 1876, they had within one of as many orgaS- izations as the Episcopal church, and was next in size to the Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian and Episcopalian churches. At that date there were thirty-two organizations scattered over the state, chiefly in the cities and along the gulf coast. There were nine chapels erected, and in various parishes there was a total of twenty-six priests, four of whom were not employed in parish work. They also had several flourishing institutions, one of which was a literary one for young men; for the young ladies there were five female academies; and the primary work for children was cared for in eleven parochial free schools. In their care for orphans they had provided two schools, one for each sex. The extra Catholic population at this time, including all members of Catholic families, was estimated at twelve thousand. It is very difficult to compare churches bearing the organizing principles of this one with those of a different method of government and arrangement. The membership of the Catho- lic church includes all who are born into it as well as those who enter by conversion. Even their communicant list includes all above an age that varies between nine and eleven years > while such denominations as the Baptist church seldom have members below the age of matur- ity. Therefore, when it is stated that the Catholic church in Mississippi had eleven thousand MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 377 three hundred and forty-eight communicants in 1890, the membership of mature age would be considerably less. This (eleven thousand three hundred and forty-eight) was the num- ber in 1890. The great mass of these are chiefly in five different counties, and the larger number in the respective counties is indicated by the order in which they are mentioned: Harrison county, with one thousand nine hundred and fifteen; Hancock, with one thousand six hundred and eighty-two; Warren, with one thousand four hundred and twenty-six; Jackson county, with one thousand one hundred and forty; Adams, with one thousand and fifty. All other counties contain less than five hundred each, the smallest number being seven in Coahoma county, and the largest, four hundred and fifty in Madison county. The total num- ber of organizations in the state is sixty-seven, the largest number, ten, being in Harrison county, and the second largest in Hancock county. There are nearly as many church edifices as organizations,, the number being sixty, the largest numbers of these in any one county being in those last mentioned, and they are capable of seating in all about thirteen thousand four hundred and forty-eight persons. The value of the property of the church in this state is $321,525, the most expensive proportions being in Natchez, Vioksburg, Meridian and the coast counties. There are but three counties in which property is not owned, where there is a Catholic population, and there are thirty-seven counties that have such population, namely: Adams, Alcorn, Bolivar, Chickasaw, Claiborne, Clarke, Clay, Coahoma, Copiah, Covington, Hancock, Harrison, Hinds, Holmes, Jackson, Jasper, Jefferson, Lauderdale, Leake, Lee, Leflore, Lincoln, Lowndes, Madison, Marshall, Monroe, Neshoba, Noxubee, Panola, Perry, Pike, Warren, Washington, Wilkinson, Winston, Yalobusha and Yazoo. The church in Mississippi is in the province of New Orleans, and the diocese of Natchez, which is coincident in its boundaries with the boundaries of the state. The bishop of the diocese is located at Natchez, whose beautiful cathedral is one of the prominent historical and architectural features of the city. As the city of Natchez has always been the headquarters for Catholicity in the state, it may suggest some further features, for two years before the site was chosen for a city a per- manent mission had been established there. The priests located at this time were as follows : Father St. Cosme among the Natchez, Father Montigny among the Tensas, and Father Davion among the Tunicas. In 1702 Father Foucault was among the Yazoos, and was the OTst martyr of the region, being killed by his treacherous Koroas guides. Father Charlevoix visited the place in 1721, and found that for several years no priest had been there to replace the dead. In 1729 Father Du Poisson was the first victim of the great massacre, and these martyrs are remembered by three arrows in the coat of arms of the bishop of Natchez. From 1763 to 1783 under British rule, no mention of priest or church can be found.* In 1779 the new Spanish Governor Grandpr6, re-established the services, and on April 11, 1788, the square included in Franklin, Rankin, State and Wall streets was bought for a parochial resi- dence, and a two- story frame church in the center of Natchez was erected, and three Irish priests arrived before 1790: Revs. William Savage, Gregory White and Constantino McKenna, the superior being Rev. Savage. Very soon, March 29, 1798, the clergy retired with the Spanish government, and on the theory of union of church and state, the property fell to the United States government. Natchez was under the Havana see in 1793, and later on of New Orleans and Baltimore. After the governmental change the first priest to return was Rev. F. Lennon, and in 1802 Father Boudin. In 1819, after several years of misfortune, a Kentucky priest arrived, and from 1820 to 1824 Rev. Maenhut was priest. ♦Sketch o£ Catholic Church in Natchez, pamphlet of 1886. 378 BIOQRAPHWAL AND HISTOMIOAL Other priests followed, but on December '2.S, 1832, the church building was destroyed by fire, and in 1838 Father Van de Velde was sent to make preliminaries for the establishment of an episcopal see, and the next year Father Brogard became pastor and remained until after his consecration in Baltimore. March 14, 1841, Bishop J. J. Chanohe, the first Natchez bishop arrived, and the diocese, covering the state, began with two priests only and not a church in the state. His first services were at Mechanics' hall, and on February 24, 1842, there was laid the corner-stone of the noble cathedral of St. Mary's. Among his earliest mission- aries to the central parts of the state were Rev. Father Francois, A. Desgaultiers, L. Mul- ler, S. H. Montgomery and G. S. Bohtne. In 1849 several came, and among them was the Very Rev. M. F. Grignon. Bishop Chanche died July 22, 1853, after a service of years marked with great growth. His successor was Bishop Van de Velde, December 18, 1853, but the prevailing epidemic caused his death only two years later on November 13, 1855. He it was who began the college, besides increasing the mission. Bishop William H. Elder was his successor — a name very dear to the people of his church, and to the sufferers whom he relieved during the bloody scenes of war. On account of his refusal to comply with a military order in 1863 that public prayer should be offered for the president, and for the rebellious intents he. construed it to indicate, he was removed to Vidalia, but on petitions was released August 12 of that year. On January 30, 1880, he was appointed to the archiepiscopal see of Cincinnati, and was succeeded here by Bishop F. Janssens on May 7, 1881. The cherished work of this bishop has been that of education, and it is largely to his efforts that the schools before 'mentioned are in existence. After his promotion to the arch- bishopric of New Orleans, he was succeeded by the present incumbent — the Rt. -Rev. Thomas Heslin, D. D., who is too well and favorably known to need comment. While the larger religious bodies are the Methodists, Baptists, Presbyterians, Cumber- land Presbyterians,,Protestant Episcopalians, Christians (commonly called Campbellites, after their great leader), and Roman Catholic, there are numerous other smaller churches and miscellaneous religious and reformatory bodies that deserve mention. In the northern part of the state is a considerable body of the Associate Reformed Presbyterians, and also numbers of the Primitive Baptists, whose strict tenets have won them the sobriquet of Hard Shell among the uninitiated. To the south are some Seventh Day Adventists, and scattered here and there in the state some English Lutherans. Here and there are a few Congregationalists also, but their work is chiefly among the colored people and of an excellent character. One mission of the Latter Day Saints exists. Jewish synagogues also may be found in the leading cities. Among other religious societies are the Young Men's Christian association, the Young Women's Christian association, the Woman's Christian Temperance union, the King's Daughters and the Young People's Society of Christian Endeavor, their relative size being estimated in this order. The temperance movement has been distinctive enough to warrant a separate sketch of that. The largest of the others, the Young Men's Christian association, was not very vigorous until the year 1887, when the first state convention was held at Colum- bus, on March 25-29. Annual conventions have been held since at Greenville, Meridian, West Point and Natchez, and several associations have been organized through the state, a few of which have women's auxiliaries. The state has five hundred and thirty-nine thousand seven hundred and three white people, and the above refers chiefly to religious activity among them; but the state has seven hundred and forty-seven thousand seven hundred and twenty colored people, and two thousand one hundred and seventy-seven Indians and Chinese, and the religious life among them, while MEMOim OF MISSISSIPPI. 379 crude and not unmixed with superstition in the mass, has made rapid strides in improvement in the last decade. Previous to the war the slaves were attached to the churches of their masters, and at service usually had seats in a gallery to the rear. Many masters secured preachers to minister to their slaves, and many an old "uncle," with his old "missus" to read and interpret the Bible, held services on the plantation in the "quarters." As the Methodist, Baptist and Presbyterian churches were the largest, the great mass of the colored peo^jle, who were thus interested, were organized separately in those denominations after the war, and those now embrace by far the greater part of the church membership among them. In the larger educational centers, where an educated ministry are used, the service is not far below that of many white churches among the laboring classes of Northern states, but in the country, where the old "uncle" still holds forth, the scenes are often as ludicrous as they are sad, and the interpretations of the Scriptures take on the wonders of the Arabian Nights' Entertainment, yet withal their rapid progress gives large hopes for the future, as they are the subject of the interest and efforts of every religious body in the United States, as well as of the white churches of their own state. The Woman's, Christian Temperance union. In 1881 Miss Frances E. Willard, pres- ident of the National Woman's Christian Temperance union, left the first Woman's Christian Temperance union footprint made on Mississippi soil. Miss Willard was then on that grand pilgrimage — the most heroic ever attempted — to every town in the United States numbering ten thousand inhabitants. Constrained by an overmastering pity for human blight and weakness to preach a gospel men did not wish to hear; to meet limp fingers, hearts frost- bitten by indifference, custom, prejudice, conservatism outraged by a woman's public speak- ing—all braved for the sublime faith in everybody's noble soul, if it could only be gotten at, that— "She who most believes in man, Makes him what she believes" — thus it was that the Woman's Christian Temperance union introduced itself to Missis- sippi, "coming up," as Miss Willard said in a personal letter, "forlorn enough, all alone, from New Orleans; taking tea with Mrs. Judge Sharkey in Jackson, to whom I had a letter; speaking to a small audience, convened, I think, by a Good Templar, and leaving on the night train for Georgia. Nothing came of that, to human vision." In 1882 Miss Willard, accompanied by her private secretary. Miss Anna Gordon, invested the month of January in Mississippi. It rained the whole month, with that lavish prodigality for which the South is famed; and "surely," as Miss Gordon remarked, "their work ought to grow and the seed to sprout, for it was literally sown under water." Quoting from the above mentioned letter. Miss Willard says: "I came by invitation of Judge J. W. C. Watson, of Holly Springs, one of the ex- Confederate senate, a graduate of the University of Virginia, and one of La Fayette's attendant guards when he visited the Old Dominion. This good and earnest Presbyterian elder and temperance man had kindly welcomed me, I think, on that pioneer trip in 1881, and visited Lake Bluff, near Chicago, the following sum- mer, inviting us to make this visit, he paying traveling expenses and providing entertain- ment. He was circuit judge and made my engagements in his own district, at Holly Springs, Grenada, Oxford, Water Valley, etc., and taking Anna and me to the capital, where I spoke before the legislature, Eev. Dr. C. K. Marshall presiding, and making me altogether at home by his noble, bfotherly words. He was a good friend always. I have been enter- tained in his Vicksburg home, and earnestly lament his loss to every good cause. Colonel Inge, of Corinth, was speaker of the house that winter, and through him and his wife we 880 BIOQBAFHICAL AND HISTORIGAI. were invited to Corinth. I have been in Natchez, Meridian, Fayette and several other Mis- sissippi towns, but most of all enjoyed the convention at Crystal Springs, where you were present. On that trip we had a meeting at Jackson, making three in all, and this time in a church. That showed decided gains, and I verily believe it was Presbyterian at that." It was in the good old Methodist church, that has always helped those women; but Eev. Dr. Hunter,, the well beloved pastor of the Presbyterian church at Jackson for more than thirty years, was in the pulpit, and Mr. Charlton Alexander, a Presbyterian elder, intro- duced Miss Willard. Eev. Drs. W. C. Black and C. K. Marshall, of the Methodist church, were also in the pulpit. Miss Willard spoke to an overwhelming, enthusiastic and represent- ative audience of Jackson. On January 19, 1882, Miss Willard made an address in Oxford. Sixteen ladies gave their names to form a W. C. T. U., and the number was soon increased to thirty-six. Mrs. A. P. Stewart was elected president, and was virtually state president (this being then the only union in Mississippi) till November 20, 1883. At that date Miss Willard and Miss Gor- don came to Corinth, wishing to organize a state W. C. T. U. Colonel Inge, Eev. Dr. Steel, Rev. J. A. Bowen and others took the matter in hand and advertised it as freely as possible- In the afternoon and evening of that day Miss Willard made two addresses. That night the state W. C. T. U. was formally organized, with Mrs. F. E. Steele, of Corinth, president. The following are the minutes of that convention: The next morning Miss Willard made another address, and the Corinth local union was formed, with Mrs. Dr. T. Wilson as president. Mrs. Steele explains that this first state organization had its officers all from Corinth because but one lady from outside that town was present. Mrs. Steele also states: "It seemed almost impossible to arouse the women. We sent out an organizer and partly formed several unions, but they soon fell through for lack of heljj and information. In the summer of 1884, 1 heard of Mrs. M. E. Ervin, of Columbus, and appointed her to represent Mississippi in the national W. C. T. U. convention at St. Louis. At the instance of Miss Frances E. Willard, of Chicago, president of the Women's National Christian Temperance union, a large meeting was held at the Methodist Epis- copal Church South, in Corinth, November 20, 1883, for the purpose of organizing a State Woman's Christian Temperance union. The object of the meeting was explained by Miss Willard, prayer offered by Rev. Amos Kendall, Colonel Inge was elected chairman and Rev. Eugene Johnson secretary of the meeting. Committees were appointed as follows: On credentials — Rev. I. D. Steele, Miss Anna Gordon and Mrs. S. E. McCord. On plans and constitution — Dr. N. C. Steele, Elder M. Kendrick, Eev. E. Young, Mrs. N. S. Moore, Mrs. W. G. Kimmons, Mrs. T. D. Duncan and Miss Anna Gordon. On nomination of officers — Col. J. D. Bills, Col. 0. W. McCord, J. M. Martin, Mrs. J. E. Gift, Mrs. W. M. Inge, Mrs. T. B. Hale and Mrs. Kirk Hall. After some routine business and short addresses the convention adjourned till the following morning at nine o'clock. A mass meeting was held at night in the Cumberland Presbyterian church, at which time and place Miss Willard deliv- ered an able and heartily appreciated address to a crowded house of listeners. "Officers for the state union: President, Mrs. N. C. Steele, Corinth, First congressional dis- trict; vice president, Mrs. W. M. Inge, Corinth, First congressional district ; vice president. Miss Lizzie Watson, Holly Springs, Second congressional district; vice president, Mrs. Dr. Slack, Friar's Point, Third congressional district; vice president, Mrs. Octavia Wofford, Okolona, Fourth congressional district; vice president, Mrs. Mary Hoskins, Lexington, Fifth congres- sional district; vice president, Mrs. Neilson, Natchez, Sixth congressional district; vice presi- dent, Mrs. C. B. Galloway, Jackson, Seventh congressional district; recording secretary, MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 381 Miss Mamie Caldwell, Corinth; treasurer, Mrs. Kirk Hall, Corinth; corresponding secretary, Mrs. S. E. McCord, Corinth; superintendent of temperance literature, juvenile work and publications, Mrs. N. Steele, Corinth." Mrs. Ervin says: "When I received Mrs. Steele's letter in October I had never heard of the state organization. I replied that I was the Lord's and He could send me wherever he willed in His service. I had ever regarded this glorious work as a vine of His own plant- ing. It had been dear to me since the 'Crusade days' when a 'shut-in' invalid. I had crept to the closet many times a day to pray with those who were going into the saloons to pray. Although I had less than a week's notice, 'I will direct thy work in truth' was a proven promise, and I went." A state convention had been called to meet at Winona, Miss., two days after the national convention. Owing to the iUness of her private secretary Miss Willard failed to meet her appointment but sent Mrs. C. B. Buell, national corresponding secretary, and Mrs. Sallie F. Chapin, superintendent of Southern work. A local union had been formed at Columbus and Mrs. M. E. Ervin elected to represent it at Winona. Lifted skyward on the afflatus of the great St. Louis meeting, these three sisters entered Winona. Doors were all open for delegate^. Speakers were ready, but where was the convention ? Rev. L. E. Hall, of Shubuta, and Mrs. Ervin represented the whole state! Even the president, Mrs. Steele, was absent, detained by sickness in her home. There was a rousing time anyhow, for Mrs. Chapin's tragic eloquence and Mrs. Buell's sledge-hammer logic brought out crowded houses and applied power at their end of the lever raised Mississippi up into range of vision. Mrs. M. L. Wells, of Tennessee, gave six weeks of pioneer service this year to Mississippi, organizing many unions that still hold up a brave standard. Governor St. John also visited the eastern portion of the state in 1884; he was heartily welcomed and the pro- hibition banners he set up then have never been furled, nor will be till they have signaled the destruction of the liquor traffic from the dome of the state capitol. In September, 1885, the state held its first delegated coQvention at Meridian. Nine- teen local unions had paid state dues that year and seventeen were represented in convention. On account of failing health Mrs. Steele had resigned the state presidency immediately after the annual meeting at Winona; by her appointment Mrs. M. E. Ervin acting as president. At Meridian the following state officers were elected: Mrs. M. E. Ervin, president; Mesdames S. P. Clark of Shannon, A. E. Harper, Payette, vice presidents; Mrs. M. M. Snell, corresponding secretary; Miss Jimmie Petty, Meridian, recording secretary; Mrs. P. E. Steele, Corinth, treasurer. Annual conventions have been held since at Jackson, Columbus, Natchez, Crystal Springs, Oxford, Brookhaven. Mrs. Ervin resigned at Natchez and Mrs. Lavinia S. Mount was elected president. Mrs. Chattie Beall of West Point and Mrs. M. J. Quinche of Oxford have served the state as vice presidents; Mrs. Helen E. Garner of Columbus, Mrs. E. C. Hurlbutt of Meridian and Mrs. Vic Gambrell of Brookhaven, as corresponding secretaries. Mrs. Chattie Beall, Mrs. M. L. Hood, of Tupelo, and Miss Zelle McLaurin, of Meridian, as treasurers. Mrs. L. S. Mount, Miss Madge Montgomery, of Stockville, as recording secretaries. The W. C. T. U. has brought here Mrs. Caroline BueU, Mrs. S. P. Chapin, Mrs. Lydia Hoffman, Mrs. J. K. Barney, Mrs. Mary T. Lathrop, Mrs. Mary Eeade Goodale, Mrs. M. L. Wells, Miss Anna Gordon; and Mother Wallace gave a month's work in the state. It is due to this brave oM friend of women to say that nobody ever came at our call who so uni- versally won the people's heart, and great was the lamentation in Mississippi when the news of her recent violent illness was made public. Men, rather more than women, paid her 882 BIOQRAPHIGAL AND HISTORICAL homage, as might have been expected in a state which in a constitutional convention has brought the question of woman's enfranchisement, with an educational qualification, into open discussion and serious consideration; introduced by Hon. John Tewell and supported by such men as Gen. S. D. Lee, Judge J. B. Chrisman and Judge Woods, of the supreme bench. The greater part of the public men of Mississippi favor woman's ballot, limited by an educational test. Every community has its advocates. That it is an open question in the state is perhaps due to the noble handling of the subject by Mrs. Zerelda Wallace in her progress through the chief towns, as well as to a universal habit of justice to women in the state's administration, as evinced by the perfect equality of men and women before the law respecting property. The chief legal measures which the W. C. T. U. has influenced have been the removing of the liquor licenses from the public education fund; the raising of the age of consent from ten years to protection for a woman of any age; the making a woman eligible to the state office of librarian. Mrs. H. B. Kells was perhaps the first person to advocate the latter through the press, claiming that the person who discharged the duties of the office should be voted for as though an elector. Mrs. Mary Morancy, of Jackson, had filled the place for fourteen years, and by her superior qualification had piade that of Mississippi the second state library in the nation. The measure which has most universally received the support of the W. C. T. U. is scientific temperance instruction for the public schools. This department was adopted in 1885, and Mrs. H. B. Kells appointed superintendent. A bill was introduced into the legis- lature of 1886, which received sufficient support to be appended to an amendment of the educational laws, but it was lost in engrossment. The legislature of 1888 passed another bill by a unanimous vote in the senate and an overwhelming majority in the house. This bill was vetoed by Governor Lowry, on the ground that the teachers were not educated sufficiently to teach physiology with reference to the effects of alcohol and narcotics on the human system, and because the books would cost too much. In 1890 another bill was lost by a majority of two, owing to the fact that many members of the house were at home in the custody of la grippe. The subject, however, has been introduced into the highest grade of the public schools, and is taught probably in every county in the state, through the personal efforts of the superintendent with county superintendents of public instruction and teachers' institutes and with presidents of private schools and colleges and the state university. No history of the Mississippi W. C. T. TJ. would be complete without mention of Mrs. MoUie McGee Snell, of Columbus, who has been identified with the temperance movement since its infancy in Mississippi. Her bold, incisive pen and fearless advocacy on the platform have done much to create sentiment, and hers is one of the best known names in the cause in the Southwest. When Mr. Jefferson Davis opposed constitutional prohibition just as Texas was about to vote on it, it was Mrs. Snell who most ably and successfully answered his arguments. Nor would W. C. T. U. annals be complete without notice of W. H. Patton, of Shubuta, and Henry Ware, of Pass Christian. It was the former who sent Eev. L. E. Hall to Winona in representation of the prohibitionists of Mississippi in the convention which failed to con- vene at Winona. There has been no hour in which his brotherly hand has not grasped ours, in which it has failed to hold sympathy, cash, aid in every line, for the W. C. T. U. He has stood by us when no other man cared to face the music of public criticism. Friends have deserted, enemies have been converted, foes have been routed and have overwhelmed us, but through all the din of battle, persistent as fate, W. H. Patton has come out of the cloud MMMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 383 of defeat, the tumult of triumph, serene and in steady step with the women who never know when they are defeated. Henry Ware is one of the clearest thinkers in the South on prohibition questions. He is impervious to questions of expediency; he believes God leads in this cause, and that those who have enlisted under the god of battles must follow without questioning or attempts to change the plans of battle to suit the weak-kneed or non-combatants. He has furnished more money for prohibition than any man, perhaps more than any other hundred men, in the state. He says he believes in God and the good women, and he acts as if he did. Many a time the waves would have seemed too deep for the W. C. T. U. had it not been for the timely outstretching of his strong, full hand and his hearty "Sister, be of good cheer!" He is the best loved Roman of them all, and it will be a sad day in Mississippi when his venerable, obstinate, clear-thinking head no longer crowns the W. C. T. U. conventions. One other work the W. C. T. U. has made successful. They own and publish, print and edit the strongest W. C. T. U. paper in the land. Now, in its fourth year, it is the organ of the Southern W. 0. T. U., established at Waynesville, N. C. Mississippi is the strongest of the Southern state W. C. T. IT. organizations, and has nearly doubled its number of unions since May 1. It believes in prohibition and no compromises. It has many warm friends and cordial enemies, whose persecutions have but taught it to bear burdens like good sol- diers. Using a strong figure for small trials, certainly the blood of the martyr has proved its seed as much as of the church : "In Christ it beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things." It loves Frances Willard, and believes her called of God to this work, and is raising up an army of young women to follow her, led to-day by Miss Belle Kearney, of Madison county, who is state organizer for the Y's. ; a brilliant young woman, native born, who has already won her laurels, and of whom the world may expect to hear more. The chrysanthemum is the chosen flower of the Mississippi union. The state motto is its inspiration: " Give to the wind the fears, Hope and be undismayed. Grod hears thy sighs. He counts thy tears; He shall lift up thy head." 384 BIOGBAPHIGAL AND HISTOBIOAL ©HAPTBI^ XIII. RECORDS OF FAMILIES AND INDIVIDUALS, M. URING the year 1816, and on the 24th of June, John Mackey, one of theoldest citizens of Coahoma county. Miss., was born in South Carolina, being the second of ten chil- IB' _^- X_^ dren born to Thomas and Martha (Bowdon) Mackey, they being also natives of South Carolina. The former moved from his native state to Mabama, and at the end of thirteen years went to Tennessee, and fifteen years later came to Marshall, Miss., where he remained a worthy citizen and planter until his death, in 1864. His parents were Charles and Lydia (Isom) Mackey, the former being a Revolutionary soldier under Francis Marion, with whom he served through- out his entire campaign. He and his wife were each eighty-seven years of age at the time of their deaths. He was one of the leaders in the capture of a band of tories by Marion, at the time the latter painted the mouths of cannons on the logs of the breastworks. John Mackey's great-great-grandfather was an Irishman by birth, and was considered a rebel by the En- glish government and was compelled to flee the country. He was smuggled to America on board a sailing vessel. The maternal grandfather, Travis Bowdon, was a native of South Carolina. John Mackey was reared principally in Alabama, and was educated by his mother, who was a highly cultivated lady. At the age of twenty-five years he came to Mississippi and located where he now lives and engaged in planting. He has been honest and industri- ous, and is now the owner of six hundred acres of land, of which two hundred and sixty- seven are under cultivation. He is one of the oldest and most prominent citizens of the county, is well posted on the general topics of the day, and is an entertaining and intelli- gent conversationalist. Although he had never held an ofiicial position, he has always been a stanch democrat, and for some time he has been chairman of the democratic executive com- mittee. He was first married in 1838 to Mrs. Julia C. Moore, a native of Virginia, who was a Miss Adams prior to her first marriage. To this union one child was born: Henry N., who died in infancy. Mrs. Mackey died in 1839, and in 1847 Mr. Mackey took for his second wife. Miss Dorothea R. Cammack, native of Kentucky, and a daughter of Lomax and Dorothea (Robinson) Cammack, natives of Virginia and Kentucky respectively. This wife died in 1877, leaving five children, only one of whom is now living, John B. Mr. Mackey married a third time in 1882, but his wife lived only nine months after their union. Among the very foremost of the professional men and also of the sturdy and independent class of planters of the state is James H. Maddox, M. D. , physician and surgeon, and dealer in general merchandise, drugs, staple and fancy family groceries, Perthshire, Boliver county, Miss. He was born in Mercer county, Ky., on the 2d of July, 1849, the eldest of three children born to James and Ellen (Duncan) Maddox, both of whom were "born on blue grass soil. The former was an extensive planter in his native state, but dropped his farming MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 385 implements for service in the Mexican war, at the end of which he returned to planting, and in 1854 came to Mississippi, where he died in 1873, at the age of sixty-one years. He inherited Welsh blood of his parents, who were Virginians by birth, in which state their ancestors settled during the colonial history of this country. Dr. James H. Maddox came to Mississippi at the age of five years, but at the end of five years he was put to school in Louisville, Ky., the greater part of teu years being spent in educational institutions of that city, during which time he became an exceptionally well-informed young man. His learning was not confined merely to books, but he was well posted on general topics, and possessed an original and thoughtful mind, being, in fact, admirably qualified for a successful and useful career. He returned to Mississippi, and for the past twenty years has been a resident of Bolivar county. In 1870, at the age of twenty-one years, he commenced for himself without any capital whatsoever, but by applying himself diligently to business has made for himself not only the reputation of being a good physician, but a fortune of at least $50,000. He is extensively engaged in planting and is the owner of nine hundred and fifty acres of fine land, eight hundred acres being under cultivation, on which he is erecting a residence which, when completed, will cost at least $6,000, and will be a handsome and modern structure. His plantation is one of the most fertile in this section, and everything about it shows that a man of enlightened and progressive views and energy is at the helm. In 1876 he was united in marriage to Miss Laura A. Blanchard, a daughter of John and Mary (Whitson) Blanchard, and by her is the father of two bright and interesting children: Mary E. and John C. His present wife, whom he married in 1890, was formerly Miss Laura Love. Dr. Maddox is a worthy member of the A. F. & A. M. In personal appearance he is quite distinguished and possesses a fine physique. His hair and eyes are black. He is kind, generous and hospitable, and in him are found the characteristics of the true gentleman. Hon. James S. Madison, who is classed among the most prominent and successful of Mississippians, is the son of L. W. and Frances Delilah Tucker, the father a native of Laurens district, S. C, bom in 1818, and the mother of Marengo county, Ala., in 1829. The parents removed to Lovmdes county. Miss., in December, 1850, and after remaining there five years removed to Noxubee county, that state, where they now reside. James S. Madison, one of a family of ten children, was born in Marengo county, Ala., in March, 1834, and was married in Noxubee county in 1876 to Miss Nettie Carpenter, of the same county. Their union has been blessed by the birth of six children, five of whom survive: Edmund C, James J., John L., Josie Inez, Winnie Lee and an infant daughter. Mr. Madison has been engaged in planting all his life, and from his extensive and very productive plantation he raises from one hundred and fifty to two hundred and fifty bales of cotton annually. Mr. Madison was a member of the state troops under Colonel Patton, and in 1876, on the restoration of white rule, he was elected justice of the peace of his district. In 1885 he was elected to represent his county in the lower house of the legislature, and succeeded himself in 1887 and 1889. On the organization of the house in Jannary, 1890, he was chosen its speaker by acclamation, a com- pliment never before paid in the selection of a presiding oificer. Among the members, when the vote was taken, were six republicans, all colored. On the expiration of the session of 1890, Speaker Madison was the recipient of many valuable presents; one of these, a silver - water pitcher, was much prized because of its peculiar significance, in that it was presented by the six colored members as a token of their appreciation of his firm and impartial ruling during the session. Speaker Madison also received from the pages a gold-headed cane as a testimonial of their respect. On accepting it he exjaressed the hope that at some future day they (the pages) might rise to the distinction of representing their people, that some might 886 BIOGRAPHIOAL AND HI8T0BI0AL attain to speaker, but expressed a fear that none of them would ever become as big a man as their present speaker. (Mr. Madison weighs three hundred and twenty pounds.) In 1888 Mr. Madison was the author of the bill for the relief of certain soldiers, sailors and servants of the late war between the states, resident in Mississippi, which feature has since been engrafted upon the constitution of the state. He was also the author of the bill requiring chancery clerks to keep ledger accounts against each office, each official and each line of road in the state; a bill making it a misdemeanor for failure to pay poll-tax, which bill the late constitution virtually repeats; the Madison assessment bill, a bill to equalize assessments which threw the counties into iive different grades and the lands in each county iu seven different classes, with a cash value upon each class. On the adjournment of the legislature Speaker Madison was by acclamation recommended to the people as a delegate to the con- stitutional convention, state at large, but circumstances intervened preventing his standing for the position. Mr. Madison is president of the Noxubee County Farmers' Alliance, which office he has held for two years, and he is a member of the Masonic fraternity. His brother, Hon. John E. Madison, third child of the above mentioned union, was educated at Washington and Lee university, Virginia, and took a degree at law at the Mississippi State university, at Oxford. He was a prominent lawyer at Macon, and was the youngest member of the legis- lature of 1880. He was at one time editor of the Mississippi Sun, and later of the Noxubee Democrat, and a practitioner at the Macon bar at the time of his death, which occurred in April, 1890. Hon. Eugene C. Magee was born in Ireland. In 1830 he was practicing law at Vicks- burg. In 1835 he represented Warren and Washington counties in the state senate. Laurin R. Magee has resided in Covington county. Miss., since his birth, in 1825, and is one of a family of the following children: Mary A. , Sarah, Caroline, Amanda, Turpen D., Laurin E., Jehu G., Emanuel I., Robert P., Warren G., Jane and Martha. The parents, Robert and Margaret (Graves) Magee, were natives of Chesterfield district, S. C. The father was born in 1791, and grew up to be a soldier in the War of 1812. His father, Philip Magee, was a native of either Virginia or South Carolina. Laurin R. passed his youth in his native county, and served in the war with Mexico under General Quitman. He was in the siege of Vera Cruz, and was a faithful and gallant soldier. At the close of this war he returned to his home, and before the gold fever had abated determined to go to California. In the spring of 1850 he made the journey, and after his arrival there he engaged in mining. Afterward he was engaged in packing supplies to the mines, and remained there until 1856, when he came back home. He was then married to Miss Euphemia Milloy, and engaged in agriculture, which occupation he has since followed. In 1863 he enlisted in the Fourth Mis- sissippi cavalry under Col. T. R. Stockdale, and served until the close of the war. Once more he returned from the battlefield to the pursuits of civilization, which have not been interrupted by the bugle call since 1865. Mr. Magee owns a plantation of one thousand acres of good land, and is one of the most successful planters in the county. He was presi- dent of the board of supervisors for the years 1886, 1887, 1888 and 1889. He belongs to the Presbyterian church and occupies a high social standing in the community. He and his wife have reared a family of nine children: Martha I., wife of A. I. Walker; Belle, wife of W. N. Williamson; Sallie, wife of E. A. Campbell; Virginia, Mary, Leroy, Eddie, Wade H. and Estella. Dr. John W. Magee, a prominent physician and planter of Lincoln county, who lives seventeen miles northwest of Brookhaven, was a native of that part of Copiah county which was set off in the formation of Lincoln county. He was born in 1851, and is a son of Chester MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 387 and Rachel (Hartley) Magee. His father was a native of Tennessee, his mother of Missis- "Tr'ii T't'QY •^"'•o married in Copiah county at the residence of Jesse Thompson, the father of Mrs. Magee, who had been previously married to a Mr. Hartley, and by whom she had four children: Jessie, Harvey T., Susan N. and Catherine. She has borne Mr. Magee six children — four sons and two daughters: Mary M., the wife of B. F. Anding, a planter living in Lincoln county, and who has nine children — four sons and five daughters — of whom seven are living; James M., who married Anna Macillas, who is a schoolmaster, living in Texas and who has had, five children — two sons and three daughters — of whom one is deceased; Thomas C, who died at Corinth, during the war, and was brought home for burial; Evan, who died at home during the war, leaving a wife, formerly Miss Margaret Anding, and one child; Eliza J., who married J. L. Anding, and died leaving five children, of five sons and two daughters born to them. Dr. Magee was the youngest of six children. Both his father and mother died in the same week in 1866. At that time the subject of our sketch was fourteen years old, and he found a home with an uncle, J. H. Thompson, and three years later he took up the battle of life for himself as a schoolteacher. Later he attended the Summerville institute at Noxubee, coimty, Miss. After teaching for a time, he entered the employ of Thompson, Lamkin & Co., of Beauregard, Miss., as a clerk in a mercantile establishment. After serving there faithfully for a year, he engaged in planting, but after making one crop, he took up the study of medicine, in due time entering the University of Louisiana, from which he graduated after the usual course. In 1874 he began practicing medicine in Copiah county. Miss., where he has continued with much success until the present time, being in great demand throughout Copiah and Lincoln counties. In 1882 Dr. Magee was married to Miss Anna E. McRee, daughter of David and Epsey (Leech) McEee, who was born in Mississippi in 1853. (See sketch of Samuel P. McRee.) Mrs. Magee was educated at Whitworth Female college, at Brookhaven. She has borne her hus- band four children, three of whom are now living: David, Lamar, Johnnie, all of whom are living at home, Ida Belle having died in infancy. The family have occupied their present resi- dence since December, 18S2. The Doctor and his wife are members of the Methodist Episco- ]3al Church South. Politically, he is a democrat, but he is not, in the ordinary sense, a very active politician, never having sought or accepted offices of any kind, but, at the same time, his interest in the public weal is deep and abiding, and he has ever been a strong and will- ing supporter of churches, schools, and all laudable public enterprises. He is very promi- nent as a physician, and, socially, he is regarded very highly by all who know him. M. G. Maggard is an Alabamian by birth, in which state he first saw the light of day in 18-19. After attaining manhood on a farm he removed to Lauderdale county. Miss., in 1860, where he turned his attention to planting, with which calling he was thoroughly familiar. He is now one of the thriftiest and most practical of the planters of the county, and owns one hundred and sixty acres of its choice land. He is one of those progressive planters who makes his land strictly self-sustaining, and to this end raises a diversity of crops, corn and cotton, however, predominating. He began life for himself at the close of the war in very straitened circumstances, but at the present time is entirely free from indebtedness of any kind and is the owner of a fertile and well-kept plantation. During the twenty-two years that he has devoted to agriculture he has never purchased a bushel of corn, which is more than the majority of the planters from his section can say. In the tilling of his land he employs home composts and commercial fertilizers, and being strictly self made, his example is worthy of imitation by others. He is of an honest, frank and generous disposition, is ener- getic and capable, and moves in the best society. He is a Methodist in his religious views 888 BIOGRAPHICAL AND HISTOBIOAL and leads an exemplary life. In 1869 he was married to Miss MoUie Coker, of Lauderdale county, by whom he has six children: John, EfBe, Pernecia, Maggie, Zula and Cynthia. Three children are married. The father of M. G. Maggard, David Maggard, was a Vir- ginian, born about ISIS, and after reaching manhood was married to Miss Pernecia Gary, of Alabama. J. H. Magruder, D. D. S., is a skilled and experienced dentist of Jackson, Miss., who, by his superior workmanship and his accommodating and agreeable manners, has built up an extensive practice. He was born in Yazoo City, Miss., in January, 1858, being the second in a family of eleven children born to Dr. A. F. and Julia (Abbey) Magruder, both of whom were Mississippians. The paternal grandfather, John H. Magruder, came to this state from Maryland, and at a very early day settled at Washington, Miss., near Natchez, but later he removed to Madison county, where he spent the remainder of his days. A sketch of the maternal grandfather. Rev. R. Abbey, of Yazoo City, appears in this work. Dr. A. P. Magruder, after finishing his literary education, began the study of medicine at Louisville, Ky., graduating as a medical doctor in 185ri. After practicing in Louisiana and Madison county. Miss., he went to Yazoo City in 1870, where he was residing at the time of his death, in 1884. He was a fine general practitioner,- but was especially skilled in surgery, and had a large practice. He was of a modest and retiring disposition, was a public-spirited citizen and his death, which occurred on the 14th of December, at the age of fifty-three years and eight months, was a great loss to his family and the community in which he labored. He was a trustee and a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church South. His widow, who survives him, also belongs to that church. Their son, J. H. Magruder, is a steward in the First Methodist church, Jackson. Their marriage was celebrated on the 2d of May, 1 855. J. H. Magruder was educated at Yazoo City and in and near Nashville, Tenn. He began the study of dentistry in 1877, and graduated from this department of the Vanderbilt university, of Nashville, in the session of 1881-2. He first began practicing in St. Joseph, La., then at Hazelhurst, Miss., and finally settled in the city of Jackson, in January, 1889, and although he has been here a comparatively short time, he is already well known and has built up a splendid reputation and a fine practice. He is progressive and enterprising and gives every promise of becoming eminent in his profession. He is first vice president of the Mississippi State Dental association and keeps fully abreast of the progress made in his pro- fession. He is a member of the A. F. & A. M. lodge of Jackson. He was first married in October, 1883, to Miss Emma Wailes, daughter of Col. E. Floyd Wailes and niece of B. L. C. Wailes, a native of Louisiana, who died at Yazoo City on the 2d of January, 1885. In 1888 Dr. Magruder was again married to Miss Agnes Harris, of Hazlehurst, a daughter of Capt. L. B. Harris, a prominent lawyer of that place. She is a worthy member of the Meth- odist Episcopal Church South and has borne her husband two children: Julia Ella and Freeland B. Dr. Thomas B. Magruder (deceased) was born September 25, 1800, at the ancient family mansion, near Upper Marlboro, Prince George's county, Md., and had he lived one month longer would have reached the age of eighty-five years. After graduating in his pro- fession. Dr. 'Magruder determined to venture out to the then sparsely populated Southern states, and in 1822, rode on horseback from his native county to this region through the wild, unsettled intervening country, and at the end of a journey of two months, reached Port Gibson, which city and vicinity continued to be his home until his death. He entered at once upon a successful professional career, and he it was who established the first drug store in the town. A year or two after his arrival in this country he was united in MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 389 marriage to Miss Elizabeth Harrington, by whom he became the father of three sons : Calvit, Hon. W. T. (see sketch), and the late gallant Captain Joseph M., who fell in defense of the lost cause and the land of his nativity. Mrs. Magruder died on the 5th of July, 1844, at the age of forty-six years, after having lived a useful and truly Christian life. In her day it was the custom of the Choctaw Indians, who then inhabited Claiborne county in great numbers, to camp at Grruders, as they pronounced the name, and they were always kindly treated by the mistress of Cabinwood. At her death large numbers of them attended her funeral and expressed the deepest sorrow for the loss of the friend whose kindness and consideration for them never wavered or knew diminution. She was noted for her many acts of charity, and her truly Christian character is well worthy of emulation. In 1845 the Doctor wedded his second wife, Mrs. Sarah Olivia (Dunbar) West, daughter of Isaac Dunbar, of Adams county. Four sons and five daughters blessed this union, one son and two daughters of whom are dead. Those yet living are: Isaac D., Eobert W., Mrs. Alice McDougal, Herbert S., Mrs. Anna T. Wade and Rosa. Dr. Magruder was an active participant in public affairs for sixty odd years, and scarcely a public meeting was held in which he did not figure conspicuously, and always in a useful way. He possessed an excellent memory, and the reminiscences of his career would fill a volume. There was not one of the olden time homes in the county which he had not visited in his professional capacity, nor a square mile which he had not traveled over. Very often in his early life he was called upon to act as arbiter in personal difiicul- ties, and although of quick temper and great personal courage, he always advocated peacea- ble adjustment as the best way. He was for many years the only survivor of those who were participants in the Ross-Gibbs duel in 1826, being present in the capacity of surgeon and attended upon each of the participants when the affair was over. In 1839 the Doctor was elected to the lower house of the state legislature as a whig, of which party he was an earnest advocate and leader, and in 1842 was re-elected to the position. In the following year he was his party's candidate for the state senate against Gen. Parmenas Briscoe, but was defeated by one vote. In I860 he was brought out by his adherents and admirers as a candidate for the state convention, which passed the ordinance of secession, and as he was a Union man in sentiment he was not a strong supporter of the measure, but advocated a convention of all the Southern states to secure united co operation before adopting the meas- ure. As the secession measure had found great favor with the masses, and owing to the great ability and popularity of his competitor, Hon. Henry T. Elliott, he was defeated. After the war was over he became an active, prominent and trusted democrat, and as a testimonial of his worth he was elected to the state legislature in 1881, at the age of four-score years. He was very active and earnest in his desire to do himself and his friends justice, and notwith- standing his advanced age he made an able and intelligent legislator, and during his entire term of service he was never absent from his seat. Although he was reared in the Episco- pal faith he became connected with the Methodist church after coming to Mississippi, but upon the establishment of an Episcopal church he at once transferred to it his membership, and with it remained connected until his death, its impressive and solemn burial service being read at his funeral and over his grave. He was also buried with Masonic honors, for of that order he had been a member from 1825, holding membership in Washington lodge No. 3. A volume could be profitably filled in writing of the life and adventures of this venerable and worthy man, but panegyric is not praise, nor is adulation a biographical ornament. He pos- sessed very social and refined tastes and his hospitality was often enjoyed by his numerous friends. Although he had his ups and downs in business life he always maintained the strictest integrity, and always managed to surround his family with many comforts, and give 390 BIOQBAPHIOAL AND HI8T0BI0AL his children good educatioaal advantages. During his last illness his physician, Dr. Redus, gave him constant attention, and his devoted children, grandchildren and sons-in-law v?ere ever at his bedside anticipating every want with tenderness and affection. He told his phy- sician it was useless to minister to so feeble a frame, in which there was nothing to rally, nothing recuperative, and he expressed willingness and desire to leave his earthly lite behind him and be at rest. He died Sunday evening, August 22, 1885, and was buried Monday afternoon from St. James' Episcopal church, Eev. Nowell Logan officiating. An immense concourse of relatives and friends paid their last respects to the dead and followed his remains to the city of the dead, where they now repose in peace. Of him it may be said: " Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright, for the end of that man is peace." R. W. Magruder, his son, was educated in the public schools of Port Gibson, and completed his literary education in the Port Gibson academy. At the age of eighteen years he began earning his own living, and in 1875 began the study of law under J. D. Vertner, of Port Gibson, being admitted to the bar in November, 1877. He successfully followed the practice of his profession until after the death of his father-in-law, Mr. Sims, at which time he took upon himself the man- agement of the latter's entire estate, in which capacity he has displayed much executive ability. He was married to Miss Carrie J. Sims, who was born July 7, 1860, and died December 10, 1880, having borne one child, John M. Mrs. Magruder was highly accom- plished, and owing to the many Christian qualities which she displayed she won the affec- tion and respect of all who knew her. Mr. Magruder is a democrat in politics, and is a suc- cessful and thoroughly practical business man. He possesses many of his father's amiable (qualities, being hospitable, generous and kindhearted. Hon. William T. Magruder (deceased), was one of the county's most illustrious citizens, and from the time of attaining his majority until his death he occupied himself incessantly with plans for the political and industrial advancement of his section. He was born in Port Gibson, Miss., January 16, 1825, and in that city was reared, his education, which thor- oughly fitted him for a life of usefulness, being received in his native city and in Oakland college. After attaining his senior year in this institution he left college to take up the study of law, but later abandoned this to become a disciple of .Slsculapius. Failing eye- sight, however, compelled him to give up a professional life, and as he had been brought up to a knowledge of planting he began ardently to devote himself to this calling, being at that time in his nineteenth year. Being a young man of strong character and tireless energy he soon began to gather about him considerable means and, though assuming a debt of $5,000, soon purchased for $18,000 the plantation known as Askamala ; his sole property which was free from incumbrance being, two or three slaves and the same number of mules given him by his father. By careful management and industry he afterward became very wealthy and purchased two large tracts of land in addition to his home place, one being the Oak Grove plantation, making him the owner of nearly three thousand acres of some of the best land in the county, one thousand and three hundred acres being under cultivation. Mr. Magruder was deeply interested in the proper management and cultivation of his broad acres, and as he at all times endeavored to keep out of the beaten path and to adopt new and improved methods his operations were attended with remarkably satisfactory results. He possessed a brilliant intellect and his views, in nearly every instance, were intelligent, broad and comprehensive, and being devoted to the interests of the planters, their affection and respect for him was unbounded. His fidelity to his section and party was rewarded, and in 1884 he was elected by his numerous friends to represent Claiborne county in the state legislature, a position he filled with eminent ability for two terms. While a member of this MEMOIRS OP MISSISSIPPI. 391 body he was the founder of the Industrial Eeform bill, and on the 25th of January, 1886, made an able and eloquent speech in its defense, solving the industrial features of the race problem. This speech was delivered in the hall of the house of representatives, was a model of logic, eloquence and strength, and thoroughly exhausted every detail of the subject and wielded a widespread influence among the members. Mr. Magruder was considered one of the deepest thinkers of the county, and was the inventor of several agricultural implements, one being a cotton planter, which he had patented in 1887, and which has met with universal satisfaction wherever used throughout the South. He always interested himself in the political affairs of the state and was an earnest patron of education. At the time of his death, on the 8th of December, 1889, he was a member of the house of representatives. His death, which was mourned by all who knew him, was caused by an apoplectic stroke. He was married to Maria, daughter of Benjamin Hughes (see sketch of William Hughes), her birth occurring in this county in 1833, and her death on the 25th of April, 1871. She was educated in Port Gibson Female college, and throughout the greater portion of her life she was an active and earnest worker in the Presbyterian church. She and her husband con- tributed some of the brick which was made on his place, for the erection of the Presbyterian church of Port Gibson, of which Mrs. Magruder was an active member, and to which she was always a liberal contributor. She was a devoted mother, an earnest Christian and a faithful friend, beloved by all who knew her. She bore her husband thirteen children, eight of whom are living: Joseph, who married Miss Priscilla Daniell, resides on the old Windsor plantation. Robert H. was educated in the university of Oxford, and resides on the home place. Benjamin H. also attended at that institution for two years, after which he entered college at Danville, Ky., graduating in 1882. Since that time he has taught school four years, being in the Chamberlain & Hunt academy for two years, at Okolona, Miss., one year, and one year at Pecos, Tex. He is now bookkeeper and assistant cashier in the Port Gibson bank. Lizzie is the wife of George Disharoon. She was educated in the female college of Port Gibson, and she and her husband reside on the home place with his parents. Thomas was educated in the schools of Port Gibson, and is now filling a trusted position with the Delta Bank, Loan & Trust company of Vicksburg; Mary and Nannie were given the advantages of the Port Gibson schools and the schools of Holly Springs, Miss. ; James also attended the schools of Port Gibson, and Henry, who died at the age of twenty-three years, attended school at Port Gibson and the military institute of Kentucky, being a bright and promising young man. The> brother of Hon. William T. Magruder, Joseph Magruder, attained his majority in this county, and was married to a Miss McCray, by whom he had one daughter, Mrs. W. B. Lean, now of New Orleans. Joseph was captain of a company in the Confederate army, and while making a charge at Canton in 1868, was killed. Mr. William T. Magruder reared his family to honorable manhood and womanhood, and they are now classed among the leading citizens of Claiborne county. M. Mahorner is a planter and stockdealer at Macon, Miss. , but is a native of Baltimore, Md., where he was born in September, 1837, to M. and Sarah A. Mahorner, the former of whom was born in Virginia and the latter in Baltimore. The father was a captain on the high seas until 1839, at which time, having married in Baltimore, he immigrated to Mississippi, and engaged in planting in Noxubee county. He was very successful, became wealthy, and his broad acres were carefully tilled and cultivated by his numerous slaves. In 1869 he moved back to Maryland, and there died in 1872, his wife dying at the same place two years earlier. They reared a large family of children only two of whom survive; M. Mahorner, of Macon, Miss., and E. Mahorner who is in the comptroller's office at Austin, Tex. Five sons were 392 BIOQRAPHIOAL AND HIBTOBIOAL in the Confederate army daring the war, and Bernard and Harris, who were wounded in the battle of Gettysburg, died from the eii'ects of the same. Lewis was captured at Fort Morgan and died in prison at Elmira, N. Y. Matthias and Eienzi both went through the service. Mathias Mahorner, the subject of this sketch, resided in Baltimore from the time he was sixteen until he was twenty-two years of age, during which he served an apprenticeship in the machine shop of Poole & Hunt, and was after- ward employed in a commission house. In 1860 he came to Mobile, Ala., where he was employed as bookkeeper until the war broke out, but upon the opening of the war in 1861, he dropped his pen and enlisted in the Third Alabama regiment. In 1863 he was transferred to the First Maryland cavalry, in which he served until the close of the war, taking part in many cavalry engagements. Since the close of the war he has been a planter of Noxubee county. Miss., and in addition to this calling he has given considerable attention to the raising of line stock, his herds of Jersey cattle and Southdown sheep being especially fine. He also raises an excellent grade of horses and hogs, and keeps a fine lot of fancy poultry. He is the owner of three thousand acres of fine land nine miles southeast of Macon, of which about one thousand one hundred acres are under cultivation, and eight hundred acres devoted to pasturage. All kinds of native grasses grow in abundance on this tract and Bermuda, Lespedeza, red clover and Johnson grass ate also grown for the benefit of his stock. The greater part of Mr. Mahorner' s attention is given to stockraising, at which he has been, remarkably successful. He was married in 1871 to Miss Mary A. Teague, of Sumter county, Ala., by whom he has one son, Mathias, Jr., who is attending college at Spring Hill, Ala. , near Mobile. Mr. Mahorner is a member the Farmers' Alliance, is a wideawake and enterprising gentleman, and is well fitted for the calling in which he is engaged. Maj . Lewis C. Majet, planter, Grenada, is a native of the Old North state, born in 1836, and is the second of four children — two sons and two daughters — born to the union of Nicholas and Sarah (Walters) Majet, natives also of North Carolina, born in 1787 and 1801 respectively. The parents made their home iti their native state until 1836, and then removed to Yalobusha county. Miss, (now Grenada county), and settled ten miles east of Gren- ada, where they improved a good farm of about eight hundred acres. They were among the pioneers, and there they passed the remainder of their days, the father dying in 1859 and the mother in 1872. He was an old line whig, was very active in politics and all matters of public interest. He was a great hunter, horse-racer and general sportsman, but after remov- ing to Mississippi, abandoned all those amusements but hunting, and became a prosperous planter and a representative citizen. His father was a descendant of one of the old French Huguenot families of North Carolina. The maternal grandfather, Lewis Walters, died in North Carolina. He was at one time sheriff of I^orthampton county. His father was of English descent and Was a soldier in the Revolution. Maj. Lewis C. Majet is the only one living of the four children born to his parents. They were named as follows: Cuthbert, who served in the Confederate army and was wounded at Port Hudson. He has never been heard from since Christmas, 1865, when he' stopped at a house in Mississippi, enroute from his home in Arkansas to Mobile, Ala. It is supposed he was murdered for his money; Eliza- beth was the wife of Capt. N. B. Ingram (deceased), and died of yellow fever in 1878; and Caroline was the wife of Dr. S. C. Glover, and died about 1880. Major Majet received the rudiments of an education at home and later attended Grenada and Oxford and finished his education in the military institute at Frankfort, Ky., just before the war broke out. He then joined company E, Fifteenth Mississippi infantry as a private, but was afterward made ser- geant- major,' and with the exception of about six months on detached service in an artillery, he MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 393 served in that command until the close of war, fighting at Pishing Creek, Vicksburg, Port Hudson, Baton Bouge and was in the Georgia and Atlanta campaigns. He was then sent back to Corinth, Miss., and served for some time in the commissary department. He was then sent back to join General Johnston, whom he reached just prior to the surrender. Returning to Mississippi, he followed farming, and in 1867 was married to Miss Louise Ingram, who was born in the house in which she is now residing in Grenada county, and w.ho is the daughter of Capt. N. B. and Margaret Ingram. Captain Ingram was married twice, his first wife being the mother of Mrs. Majet. He and first wife were born in South Carolina, but came to what is now Grenada county about 1837, and settled a number of miles east of Grenada, where he improved a good farm. He subsequently removed to Grenada and followed merchandising until his death in 1874. To Mr. and Mrs. Majet have been born eight children, two sons and three daughters now living. When first married Mr. Majet lived about twelve years in Le Flore county, then in the neighborhood where his boyhood days were spent and recently in Grenada. He is one of the leading planters of the county, owning about three thousand acres with twenty-five hundred acres in the bottoms of Le Flore county, mostly the result of his own efforts but partly the result of inheritance. He is sparing no pains to educate his children and make his home pleasant. Dr. Thomas J. Malone's residence in Mississippi dates from the year 1835, when he moved from Madison county, Tenn., and settled within the present limits of Marshall county, eight miles south of what is now Holly Springs. He was born in Sussex county, Va. , December 31, 1806, and was the son of Thomas and Rebecca (Green) Malone, natives, also, of that county and state. The father was a prosperous planter, removed to Alabama in 1825, and there continued his former calling until his death, in about 1837. He was a lead- ing Methodist in Virginia, and his home was the gathering place of all the early preachers. The Malone family is of Irish-English extraction. Dr. Thomas J. Malone received his edu- cation in the common schools of Virginia, where he remained until, in his eighteenth year, he removed with his parents to Alabama. He was engaged in teaching school for about three years, and in 1833 was maiTied to Miss Julia Owen, a native, also, of the Old Dominion. The following year he and wife settled in Madison county, Tenn. , remained there one year, and in 1835, as above stated, came to Mississippi, settling in Marshall county. He located among the Indians, purchased four hundred and eighty acres in 1836, and remained in that place two years. He then purchased his present plantation, sixteen hiin- dred acres, south of the present site of Waterford, and has cleared most of this tract. He became at once active in politics, and in 1845 was elected by the democratic party to the state legislature. He was re-elected in 1849, but declined renomination in 1852. For ten years after that he followed planting, and greatly improved and beautified his place. Mrs. Malone died in 1853, and the Doctor was married the second time, in about 1857, to Mrs. Lucy Alderson, widow of Maj . James Alderson, and soon moved to Holly Springs, where he has since resided. He had the misfortune to lose his second wife in 1887. Both ladies were members of the Methodist church. Dr. Malohe has been a member of the same church since boyhood, a worker and officer for years, and a liberal supporter of the same. He is also a strong supporter and liberal contributor to all educational matters, and has been a trustee of Rust university since its establishment. He was a director in the bank for years. The Doctor studied medicine for individual benefit, has never practiced, but is universally called Doctor. He accumulated a large fortune prior to the war by planting and speculating in land, and this was mainly swept away diiring the struggle. He was a plain and pronounced Union man before secession, treated his negroes well and was thought much of by them. He 394 BIOQUAPHIOAL and mSTOBIOAL has many old servants around him now, to some of whom he has given property. Although he lost much during the war, he soon recovered his fallen fortune after cessation of hostili- ties, and for years has been a donator and contributor to all worthy or laudable enterprises. He has given much to his relatives, and often gives a tract of land or bonds to an old servant. He is one of the oldest persons in the county, has resided here since its earliest white settle- ment, and is loved and respected by every one. Although a leading and prominent politician when elected to the legislature, he was no officeseeker, being naturally modest and retiring, and his entrance into the office was accidental. He is a fluent speaker, a shrewd reasoner, and a man of keen perception and intelligence. Although of a yielding temperament, yet he is firmly rooted to practical demonstrated facts. He is now studying Methodist history, is active for his age, and transacts all his business. He owns property adjoining town, and also about five thousand acres throughout the county. His social relations have been of the pleasantest, and he was never sued but once. He bought railroad bonds before the war, and after that eventful period was for a long time the only bond man in the county. He is strictly honest and upright, and has been known for years as an advocate and promoter of Marshall county's interests. S. H. Mangum, a native of Mississippi, born in 1837, is a well-known planter of this section, and his plantation which comprises one thousand and forty acres, with about two hun- dred acres admirably tilled, yields a fine crop of corn and cotton annually. His ideas in regard to agriculture are shrewd, practical and progressive, and a secret, no doubt, of his success is that his work is very congenial to his tastes. He takes great pride in' keeping his plantation in admirable order, and everything about the place indicates his care and attention. He has erected a fine sawmill on his place, and the attention which he devotes to this industry and time he bestows on his plantation and in the raising and care of his stock, keeps him fully occupied. He is every respect a trustworthy gentleman, and the respect which is bestowed upon him by all who know him speaks volumes in his prais^ He has taken much interest in the polities of the county and has been a member of the A. F. & A. M. since 1856, at which time he became a member of Cato lodge No. 230. He was also a charter member of the grange, which he joined in 1875. On the 15th of December, 1867, he was married to Miss Minnie J. Martin, who was born in Mississippi in 1844, and their union has resulted in the birth of the following children: W. P., Nancy C, J. S. , E. L. , Emma and Augusta, all of whom are living. During the war he was a member of company D, Forty-sixth Mis- sissippi infantry and served throughout the entire war. His parents, Solomon and Zilla (Chapman) Mangum, were born in Georgia and Kentucky respectively, the former's birth occurring in 1787. Their union was consummated in 1818 and resulted in the birth of nine children: G. W., Nancy C, Caroline, Eliza, William, Mary, Alfred, W. P. and S. H., of whom four are deceased. Solomon Mangum came to Mississippi in 1812 and located in Rankin county, where he died December 29, 1852, his widow surviving him until February 21, 1879, when she, too, passed away. Theophilus J. Manley, chancery clerk of T?illahatchie county, was born in the old town of Belmont, Fayette county, Tenn., in 1854. His parents were Capt. T. J. and Mary R. Manley, cousins, the former a native of Virginia, the latter of Payette county, Tenn., born about 1822 and 1829 respectively. They were married in Fayette county, Tenn., and removed from there to Pine Bluff, Ark., and during the war to Tunica county. Miss., and thence to Cold Water, where they remained until 1865 when they removed to Charleston, removing thence four years later to a plantation, where the father was engaged in farming until 1871, when his death occurred. Captain Manley was a planter during most of his life. MEMOIBS OF MISSISSIPPI. 395 He organized, drilled and was made captain of a company for the United States service in the Mexican war, which, however, was never formally accepted by the government. He was a prominent Royal Arch Mason and took the highest degree in the I. O. O. F. , his connection with the last mentioned order extending through many years. He has long been a devoted member of the Methodist Episcopal church, is highly honorable, strictly moral and temperate, and is everywhere recognized as a high-minded man. The mother of our subject is living at Charleston. She had four children: Clarence W. , architect and builder of Charles- ton; Ida A., wife of W. B. Marshall, a lawyer of Charleston; T. J. and Mary, who died when two years old. Theophilus J. Manley received a limited common-school education, and in 1871 started out in life for himself as an employe in a printing office at Charles- ton, and after five years' experience purchased the Tallahatchie News, a paper upon which he had been working, and which he published about one year. At the end of this time he sold out and engaged in clerking in a store in 1879, when he bought the Charleston News, which he published till 1884, when he again relinquished newspaper work and was connected with a mercantile establishment till his election in 1887 to the office he now holds. He has been clerk and treasurer of the board of aldermen in his town for eight years. He is a prominent member of the I. O. O. F., and a charter member of the Charleston lodge No. 108, of which he has twice been noble grand. He is a prominent member of the Methodist Episcopal chui'ch, earnestly and actively interested in Sunday-school work. Dur- ing his journalistic career he took a prominent part in the meetings of the Press association, which called him to various parts of the country, which, in connection with his prominence with the Odd Fellows and in church and Sunday-school work has given him a wide acquaint- ance in Mississippi, and made him very popular among the best classes of citizens. Saunders J. Manor, Yazoo City, Miss., a thoroughly reliable planter of Yazoo county, was born in Rutherford county, Tenn., March 31, 1825, and is the eldest of a family of seven children. His parents, Levi and Levina (Jarrett) Manor, were natives of North Caro- lina and Virginia, respectively. The father removed to Mississippi in 1834, and was prom- inently identified with the early political history of the community in which he resided; he was a candidate for sheriff of Yazoo county at the time of his death which was in 1839. His widow lived until 1884 The paternal grandparents of our subject were Aaron and Ehoda Manor. The maternal grandparents were Thomas and Susan Jarrett, Virginians by birth. Saunders J. Manor grew to maturity in the county where he was bom; he acquired a plain, practical education in the private schools of that day, fitting himself for all the duties which have fallen to his lot. He is a planter by occupation, owning one hundred and eighty acres of land; he has placed sixty acres under cultivation which yield a generous harvest. He was married in 1848 to Miss Margaret J. Swain, a native of South Carolina. They have had born to them a family of twelve children: William T. (deceased), Levi D., Elizabeth A. (deceased), Ehoda O., Evelyn H., Mary S., Margaret S., Drucilla, Roxanna L., Ada W., Sam R. and Giles M. Mr. Saunders is a member of the Farmers' Alliance, and in his political convictions sympathizes with the Democratic party. He has contributed liberally to all public enterprises which have had for their object the upbuilding of the community and the uplifting of the moral and religious element of society. He is a man plain of manner and speech, and a citizen who has the respect of the entire community. Clifton H. Marshall, a planter of Monroe county, whose postoffice address is Nettleton, Lee county, Miss. , was born in 1849, a son of William L. and Eliza P. Marshall. His father was born near Rome, Ga., in 1825, and came to Monroe county in 1844, locating on a farm near that on which he and his son Clifton now live. He was married in 1847 to Eliza Conni- Y 396 BIOOBAPHIOAL AND HISTORICAL ■way by whom he had five children: Clifton H., Leonora M. (deceased), Oscar P., Eichard L. and Comauder. Mr. Marshall is the son of Neighev/ Marshall, who was born in Georgia and came to Monroe county in 1845, was u planter for the remainder of his life. Richard Conniway, father of Mrs. William L. Marshall, was one of the first settlers west of the Tom- bigbee river, who began life by buying land of the Indians, later becoming a wealthly plan- ter and slaveholder. Although he received but a common-school education, Clifton H. Mar- shall is one of the most intelligent men of the county; a diligent reader of the newspapers, and well posted not only upon current events but upon historical subjects generally. In 1871 he married Fannie E. Johnson of Monroe county, and they had five children: Hattie, Daisy, Clarice L., William A. and Dellie V. In 1889 he was elected justice of the peace, and is yet serving efficiently in that office. He and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. He is an extensive and successful planter, genial and very popular. In Madison county, Ala., January 1, 1812, Judge John P. Marshall first saw the light of day. His father, Thomas M. Marshall, was born in South Carolina, and there married Mary Malone, a daughter of William Malone, of South Carolina; his father. Col. James M. Marshall, was a native of the same state, and was a soldier in the war of the Revolution where he distinguished himself in gallant service to his country. The Marshalls are of English descent. Thomas M. Marshall was a planter in South Carolina, and removed to Alabama, settling near Huntsville, Madison county; there he lived until his death which was in 1844; his wife died in 1831; John P. is one of a family of seven sons and four daughters, and he and two brothers are the only surviving members; Hon. Benjamin T. is a planter in the county of Carroll, and Samuel G. also resides in Mississippi. John P. passed his youth in Madison county, Ala., and acquired the best education his limited circumstances afforded. At the age of twenty-one years he came to Mississippi and settled in Hinds county; two years later he went to Choctaw county, where he resided about one year. In 1835 he was married to Martha B. Long, a native of Mississippi, and a daughter of the Rev. Stephen Long, of the Methodist Episcopal church. In 1837 he removed to Carroll county and bought land on Palucia creek. This was in a wild, uncultivated state, but he had willing hands and a determination to succeed, and this is as good capital as a pioneer needs. He built a cabin, cleared some of the land, and made a comfortable home. In 1849 he removed to the place where he has since resided; here he had the same obstacles to overcome, but he cleared away the forest, and now has three hundred acres of as fine farming land as can be found in the county of Carroll. In his political opinions Mr. Marshall was formerly a whig, and was opposed to the late war. In 1889 he was elected ranger, and in 1842 he made the first assessment of lands ever made in this county, which is said to be a marvel of accuracy. In 1843 he was elected justice of the peace, and a greater part of the past twenty-six years he has held that office. In 1865 he was appointed probate judge by Judge Sharkey, and soon after he was appointed chancery clerk. He was next elected to that office, and continued to hold it for a period of eighteen years, winning the reputation of being the best clerk in the state. In 1852 Mrs. Marshall died leaving three sons and three daughters, only three of whom are living: Mrs. M. A. Wood, Mrs. T. H. Oury, and William B. Marshall, a planter of this county. The Judge was married a second time, December 23, 1852, to Mrs. Martha W. Baskett, a widow, a daughter of Russell Beall, member of a prominent family of Mississippi ; she died December 7, 1888; there were no children of this marriage. Judge Marshall was married October 16, 1884, to Mrs. Florence Ory, a Virginian by birth. He has reared a number of orphan children, and now has two grandchildren with him. He and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. He belongs to the Masonic lodge, being a member of MEMOIRS OP MISSISSIPPI. 397 both the chapter and eommandry. He is the oldest living member of the Carrollton lodge. Judge Marshall is a man who gives character to a community; he is a philanthropist; he has a keen sense of right and wrong, and as a public servant gave entire satisfaction. The most elegant hospitality is always dispensed in his home, and as a citizen he stands with few peers and no superiors. Levin R. Marshall (deceased), one of the wealthy bankers and business men of Natchez, formerly, was born in Alexandria, Va., on the 10th of October, 1800; was the son of Henry Marshall, who was a native of Maryland, but who spent his latter years in Virginia. The elder Marshall was of English parentage and he was of the same family as the distin- guished Chief Justice Marshall. Levin E. received a good practical education and when about seventeen years of age went to Mississippi, located in Woodville, where he was soon made cashier of the United States bank at that place. While there, and in 1826, he married Miss Maria Chotard, daughter of the celebrated John Marie Chotard (see sketch. ) She was born in Mississippi territory in 1807 and died in Natchez in 1834. She was the mother of four children, all deceased but Hon. George M. Marshall, of Natchez. Mr. Marshall after- ward married Mrs. Sarah E. (Elliott) Ross, widow of Isaac Ross and daughter of Dr. Elliott. The latter came to Port Gibson at an early day and spent the balance of his days as a suc- cessful physician and a prominent citizen. His wife's maiden name was D'Evereux. She was a native of the Emerald isle and a sister of John D'Evereux, who was an officer in the English army and who, after the Irish troubles, was under Robert Emmett and served in a very satisfactory way to Ireland. For this he was banished from the country and after a short time in Baltimore, Md. , he went to South America, where he was made a general under General Bolivar, serving in the Bolivian army. After this he was pardoned by the English government and allowed to return home, and there spent the closing scenes of his life in peace and quiet. He made frequent visits to his relatives and numerous friends at Natchez, but made his permanent home in his native county. By his second marriage Mr. Marshall became the father of eight children, only two of whom survive: Josephine E., wife of J. R. Ogden of New York, and Stephen Duncan Marshall, who was born in Natchez, educated principally in New York, and who married Miss Catharine Maria Calhoun in 1872. She was a native of Natchez and a daughter of the late Dr. Gustavus Calhoun, a Pennsylvanian by birth but a pioneer of Natchez, where he died. Mrs. Calhoun is still living at Natchez and is quite aged. Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Marshall are prominent members of the Episcopal church. As a financier and general business man Levin R. Marshall was probably not excelled in the Southwest. He began for himself with no capital, but by his untiring indus- try and excellent business ability he became a leader in financial circles in the palmiest days of Natchez. He began his career at Woodville and, as before stated, he became cashier of the United States bank. In 1831 he removed to Natchez and became cashier of the United States bank there. He was afterward instrumental in establishing the Commercial bank at Natchez, of which he served as president for a number of years. He also followed merchandising quite extensively and was at one time connected with the commission house of J. B. Byrne & Co. , of New Orleans, also the commission house of Marshall, Reynolds & Co., at Natchez. He became the owner of extensive'sugar and cotton plantations, and soon after removing to Natchez he erected a magnificent suburban residence one mile south of the city, it being known as Richmond. He passed his time alternately between that place and Westchester county, N. Y., and his death occurred in the last named place on the 24th of July, 1870, after a long and useful life. He was one of the class of men singled out by nature to show what a man can do when he sets his mind on 398 BIOORAPHIOAL AND HI8T0BI0AL accomplishing a certain object. He was a self-made man, and what he accomplished in the way of this world's goods and personal achievement was wholly due to his own good fighting qualities. He was all that goes to make up a true, noble and generous man. His widow still occupies the old Richmond house and is eighty-eight years of age. She is an accomplished and much esteemed lady and has been a prominent member of "the Presbyterian church for many years. Hon. George M. Marshall, representative of Adams county, and a prominent planter of the same, was born in Woodville, Miss., in 1830, and is the son of Levin R. Marshall and the grandson of Henry Marshall, who was a native of Maryland, but who spent the closing scenes of his life in the Old Dominion. Levin R. Marshall was born in Fauquier county, Va., in 1800, received a fair scholastic education, and when a young man left the par- ental roof to seek his fortune in the Southwest. He located first in Natchez, and then at Woodville, Miss. , became cashier of a branch of the United States bank, and in 1826, while holding that position, he met and married his first wife, whose maiden name was Maria Chotard. She was a daughter of the celebrated John Marie Chotard, whose sketch appears in another part of this work. In 1831 Mr. Marshall removed to Natchez, became cashier of the branch of the United States bank there, and afterward was instrumental in establishing the Oommercia. bank, of which he was the first president. He had previously engaged in mer- cantile pursuits, and was at one time prominently connected with the well known commission house of J. B. Byrne & Co. , of New Orleans, and with the firm of Marshall, Reynolds & Co. , commission merchants of Natchez. Mrs. Marshall died in 1834. To this union were born four children, Hon. George M. Marshall being the third in order of birth and the only one now living. Mr. Marshall took for his second wife Mrs. Sarah E. Ross (nee Elliott), a native of Maryland. She is still living. Mr. Marshall started in life in moderate circum- stances, and his vast estate was the result of his own efforts altogether. He owned extensive sugar and cotton plantations and at the time of his death, which occurred in West- chester county, N. Y. , on July 24, 1870, he left one of the most valuable estates in Mississippi, besides a large estate in New York. For many years he was a leader in the financial circles of Mississippi, and much of the early enterprise and success of Natchez was due to his great ability as a financier and general business capacity. He was a man of firmness and great decision of character and his high sense of honor, his integrity and liberality of heart, won for him many warm friends, who honor and respect his memory. Hon. George M. Marshall received his earlier education in JefFerson college and finished at Princeton college, N. J., where he received the degree of A. M. In 1852 he mar- ried Miss Charlotte Hunt, a native of Jefferson county. Miss., born in 1831 and the daughter of David and Ann (Ferguson) Hunt, the father born in New Jersey in 1779, and the mother in Mississippi in 1797. David Hunt came to Mississippi when a boy with an uncle, Abijah Hunt, who was a native of New Jersey. At an early day the latter went to Ohio, thence to Mississippi territory, and there became one of the most exten- sive merchants and planters of the territory, owning large establishments and public gins at Natchez, Washington, Greenville, Port Hudson and Big Black. By his intelligence, enterprise and wealth he exerted a great social and political influence, and was a decided partisan of what was then known as the Federal party. He took an active part against George Poindexter, and as a result Hunt was challenged to fight a duel. This took place in Louisiana a short distance above Concordia, opposite Natchez, and Mr. Hunt received a wound in the abdomen which proved fatal in a few hours. His death occurred on June 8, 1811. David Hunt married, settled in Jefferson county, and became a very wealthy planter. MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 399 There he received his final summons in 1861. His widow followed him to the grave in 1874. Both were prominent Presbyterians. Mr. Hunt was intelligent, generous and warm-hearted in all his social relations and to everything pertaining to his town and county he was a public-spirited citizen. He was one of the founders of Oakland college, now Alcorn university. To Mr. and Mrs. Marshall were born seven children, three of whom survive: Ann Hunt, wife of Henry B. Gaither, of Natchez; Sarah E., wife of Theodoret Bartow, of Long island, N. Y., and George M., Jr. The two daughters were educated at Natchez and New Orleans, and the son received his education at Natchez and Baltimore, Md. Mr. Marshall resided near Natchez with his father until 1855, when he erected his fine residence, having already embarked in the planting industry in 1853. In the spring of 1862 he joined the Natchez southrons as a private and served in Chalmers' s brigade, participating in the battle of Shiloh, but after a few months' service he was discharged on account of disability. Prior to the war he had served about five years as a member of the board of supervisors of Adams county, and about three years of that time he was president. In 1888 he was elected to •represent his county in the state legislature and was reelected in 1890. During the sessions of 1888 and 1890 he was chairman of the committee on contingent expenses, and served as a member of the committee on appropriation and education. He has always been an active worker for his party, and for the advancement of the town and county, and has frequently been a delegate to state and other conventions. He was one of the two who were appointed by Governor Stone as delegates from his state senatorial district to attend the Southern state immigration convention held at Asheville, N. C, in December, 1890, but Mr. Marshall did not attend. He is a member of the Bluff City lodge No. 1145, Knights of Honor, and of Natchez lodge No. 3, Knights of Pythias. He and wife are quite prominent Episco- palians and he is one of the vestry of Trinity church, Natchez. Judge Thomas Alexander Marshall is a Kentuckian by birth, born March 29, 1812, at Augusta, in which town he was reared and educated, graduating from Augusta college when eighteen years of age. His parents, Martin and Martha Battaile (Taliaferro) Marshall, were Virginians, and his grandfather, William Marshall, was a Baptist minister of considerable renown, who settled at Shelby ville, Ky., at a very early day. After finishing his literary education, Judge Thomas A. Marshall entered the clerk's ofBoe of Mason county, Ky. , where he remained three years, and then began the study of law under -Judge Key and his father, at Augusta, and was there admitted to the bar in 1835, his first law suit being tried before Jesse Grant, Esq., the father of the distinguished General Grant. In 1836 Mr. Marshall came to Mississippi on horseback, and had the distinction of being one of the few men of his class who did not carry arms. The February following his arrival he was admitted by the high court of errors and appeals, at Jackson, to practice his profession throughout the state of Mississippi, and as Vicksburg, at that time, was an inviting field for lawyers, he determined to make that city the field of his future operations. He entered the office of Harrison & Holt, who were the ablest and most extensive lawyers of the place, but after- ward formed a partnership with William C. Smeder, who was a noted attorney of Missis- sippi, their partnership being a very strong and able one. He devoted his life to his large law practice, but did not seek political preferment, his remarkable modesty, independence of character and contempt for the arts of the demagogue being distasteful to him. However he was elected to the state legislature on the Union ticket in 1851 by his numerous friends, and served throughout 1852. He was also elected to the secession convention of 1861 as a Union man— an unsought honor, but conferred upon him by the people of "Warren county as the best exponent of their opposition to disunion. He was one of the thirteen members who 400 BIOGRAPHICAL AND HI8T0BI0AL voted agaiust secession, but when the war became iaevitable his age and delicate health unfitted him for military service. After the capture of Vicksburg he was invited there by General Grant, who urged him to use his efforts to end the strife. Although Mr. Marshall, like all his family, was devoted to the Union, he submitted to the decision of his own people, and cast his lot with them. After the close of the war he returned to Vicksburg, and was a member of the reconstruction convention of 1865, being almost unanimously elected. He took the position that Mississippi had never been legally out of the Union, and was, there- fore, entitled to all the rights of states, and this view, advanced by him and other Southern- ers, and practically conceded by Chief Justice Chase, as much as the magnanimity of the conqueror, saved the South from the usual consequences of armed resistance to national authority. In 184-4 Mr. Marshall married Miss Letitia, daughter of Maj. Anderson Miller, who was of a Kentucky family of Virginia descent, and was one of the pioneers of steamboat navigation of the Western rivers, and also in the cotton-seed oil manufacture, being at the time of his daughter's marriage United States marshal of Mississippi. After a long and successful career at the bar, Mr. Marshall's health gave way, and since 1873 he has been retired from the active duties of life. He has been an invalid for years, and his peaceful old age is cheered by the affection of his family and friends, who highly respect and honor him. Martin Marshall, his son, was born in 1846, and until 1862 was educated by private tutors. He then entered the military institute of Virginia at Jackson, and in 1864 joined a cadet corps of Confederate troops, and was badly wounded at New Market in May, 1864. In 1865, at the close of the war, he began the study of law with his father, and in 1867-8 he attended the law university of Virginia, and began practicing in 1870, which calling has received his attention ever since. He has followed in his illustrious father's footsteps, and is one of the foremost attorneys of the state. In 1878 he was elected a member of the house of representatives, being on the judiciary committee, and in 1884 he was elected to the state senate. In 1871 he was married to Miss Ella Bush, of Hinds county, a daughter of John Bush, a pioneer of that county, and six children have blessed their union. G-eorge Marshall is a Kentuckian by birth, born at Augusta, March 5, 1829, the seventh child born to Martin Marshall and Matilda B. (Taliaferro) Marshall, natives of Virginia, the former of whom was a distinguished lawyer and practiced his profession in Kentucky. He represented the county in which he lived in the state legislature of Kentucky for one term, and in that state passed from life in 1853, his wife's death having occurred in 1846. Her people were farmers. George Marshall came to Mississippi in 1850, and for a number of years lived with his brother in Vicksburg (the Hon. T. A. Marshall). He attended the common schools until fitted for college, after which he entered Augusta college, of Kentucky, where such eminent men as Tomlinson, Bascom, Trimbell, McCowan and Robbins were pro- fessors. After graduating from this institution he came to Vicksburg, where he read law with his brother, but never practiced. In 1855 he began planting, and followed this calling up to the breaking out of the war. Prior to this he had been a stanch Union man, but after the state of Mississippi had seceded he took up arms in defense of the Confederate cause, and in 1861 went to the front with Cowan's battery, with which he remained one year. He then became a volunteer on General Green's staff, soon after which he was appointed adjutant of the Ninth Mississippi cavalry, and took part in the battles of Vicksburg, Champion hill, Atlanta, Jonesboro and Franklin. In the latter part of the war he had charge of the courier department, so far as orders were concerned, from Sugsville to Demopolis, Ala. Upon being paroled by General Canby he returned to Mississippi and went into the real estate business in Vicksburg, where he remained two years. He then moved to his plantation on Big Black MEMOIRS OP MISSISSIPPI. 401 river, where he has remained ever since, living the quiet life of a planter. Mr. Marshall came into possession of his plantation in 1855. It contains seven hundred acres, nearly all of which is fine bottom land in Hinds county. He has five hundred acres under cultivation, and although cotton is his principal crop he also raises some corn. Mr. Marshall was mar- ried in 1853 to Miss Harris, daughter of Dr. Hartwel] Harris, of Virginia, the latter being a very early settler of Mississippi and becoming the owner of a ]arge amount of real estate. To Mr. and Mrs. Marshall four children have been born: Leila, Thomas A., Elizabeth. C. and T. D. Leila and Thomas A. are deceased. Elizabeth became the wife of Hon. Marye Dabney, a prominent attorney of Vicksburg, of which city T. D. Marshall is a rising attor- ney, the latter having graduated from Oxford university with second honors. Mr. Marshall is very fond of field sports, and takes an eight or nine mile chase with his hounds almost daily, his vigor and energy being remarkable for one of his years. His residence, which is situated in a handsome grove of oak trees, is situated about one-half mile from Smith's Station. E. J. Martin, president and general manager of the Progress Manufacturing company, of Meridian, Miss., was born in Clarke county of this state in September, 1851, the only child born to Norman and Eleanor (Chapman) Martin, the former a native of Georgia, and the latter of Alabama. They were married in Mississippi, whither they had removed at an early day, she being his second wife. He was first married to Miss Anna Morrison, by whom he became the father of four sons and three daughters. He was a planter and stockraiser by occupation; was a plain, practical and successful planter, and prior to the Civil war was the owner of a large amount of land, and between seventy-five and one hundred slaves. He never aspired to any official position, but quietly pursued the even tenor of his way, and was highly respected by all who knew him. He was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and died in Clarke county, Miss., in 1883, his widow (the mother of the subject of this sketch), who was a member of the Baptist church, breathing her last in Lauderdale county, in 1886. Only four of Mr. Martin's children are now living. E. J. Martin began making his own way as a planter after attaining his majority, and is still following this calling in connection with his manufacturing interests. He has been associated with the Progress Manufacturing company since its organization, the plant at that time being worth about $16,000. It has since so increased in value that it is now worth at least 140,000. Mr. Martin has been the president of the concern since 1888, and their cotton and hay presses, their engines and boilers are of admirable workmanship, and readily demonstrate the fact that none but skilled mechanics are employed in the establishment. They also do a general foundry and machineshop business and give employment to about fifty hands ihroughout the year. The annual business done amounts to about $100,000, is founded on a substantial basis, and bids fair to double its capacity in a short time. Mr. Martin has been a member of the city council two terms, is a conservative democrat, and has never participated in the political afl'airs of the county to any great extent. He was married in 1878 to Miss Jennie McLemone, of Lauderdale county, and by her is the father of four sons and two daughters: Louella, Percy, Edwin, Leon, Mary and Robert. Mr. Martin and his wife are members of the Baptist church, and socially he is a member of the A. F. & A. M. and the K. of P. fra- ternities. He is the owner of one hundred acres of land near Meridian, also considerable land in Clarke county, and is the owner of other valuable property. He has been liberal in con- tributing of his means to schools and churches, etc., and is a public-spirited and useful citizen. He is now devoting his time and energies to the successful management of th« Progress Manufacturing company. 402 BIOORAPHIGAL AND HISTORICAL One of the brightest lights and ornaments in Mississippi journalism and one of the state' s most widely and favorably known citizens is Edward L. Martin, editor of the Missia- sippian, a leading democratic journal published at Jackson, Miss. Mr. Martin is a native of Copiah county, Miss., where he first saw the light of day in 1861, Studious, ambitious and energetic, his youth was spent in the schoolroom and in work whereby he might acquire suflficient means to complete his education. He left the state university in 1879 with a splendid record for deportment and scholarship and after a few years spent in the railway service embarked in journalism, becoming joint owner with his brother, John H., of the New Misslssippian of Jackson. He assumed the business management and by his personal popularity and untiring energy soon trebled its circulation and patronage. Though modestly conceding to his brother the control of the paper's editorial policy, his frequent valuable contributions to its columns and earnest sympathy with the cause of reform attracted gen- eral attention and favorable comment. He connected himself with the Independent Order of Grood Templars and the Farmers' Alliance movement. As delegate from Mississippi he attended the international meeting of the former organization at Saratoga, N. Y., and enjoyed the distinction of being the youngest and tallest of six hundred members present from all quarters of the globe. He three times represented Mississippi in the national alliance and was chairman of the committee that framed that order's first platform of demands for national legislation. He has held the positions of respondent to the address of welcome, essayist and annual orator in the Mississippi press association, and was chosen to represent that body in the national editorial convention which met at San Antonio in 1888, at Boston in 1890 and St. Paul in 1891. He attended both the latter and was each time honored with appointment as member of the standing committee on legislation. His address at the St. Paul meeting on the subject of the country weekly, before one thousand journalists from every state of the Union, won for him at a single bound a national reputation, being univer- sally pronounced the most humorous and eloquent delivered on that occasion. Mr. Martin is the constant recipient of invitations to make alliance, temperance and political speeches and has made the annual literary address before no less than a dozen male and female col- leges of the state. His hight, commanding bearing, clear articulation, easy grace of manner, choice language and ringing musical voice have won for him the justly deserved sobriquet of the silver-tongued editor of Mississippi. Mr. Martin jocularly declares ' that he has never been a candidate for anything but matrimony, but nevertheless he has held the posi- tions of secretary of the legislature and the late constitutional convention, and is conceded to be the best public reader in Mississippi. No public convention ever assembles at Jackson without enlisting his services as secretary or reading clerk. As he is just entering his thirtieth year, the horizon of his life is bright with the rainbow of hope and promise. Mr. Martin has been recently chosen president, at a handsome salary, of the Gulf Coast Building and Loan association, with an authorized capital of $5,000,000. Mississippi has had no son who at the early age of twenty-five achieved more signal success and widespread reputation as a litterateur and journalist than the subject of this sketch. Born in Pike county, Miss., in 1862, he developed a youthful precocity and love of learning that made him famous in that section of country before he reached the age of seven. In Shaksperean dialogue and recitation he was completely at home and participated in many public theatricals, in which he won lasting renown. His tastes and talents carried him, at the age of fifteen, into the newspaper business, and he went to the top at the first bound. In Westville, Brookhaven, Crystal Springs, Utica and other places he conducted papers of his own with unvarying success. At the age of twenty-two, with his brother E. L. Martin, MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 403 he purchased the New Mississippian, of Jackson, Miss. , and assumed editorial control. His facile pen, at one time mirthful and humorous, at another bitterly sarcastic, again tender, pathetic aad kind, and always brilliant and eloquent, moving the hearts and minds of men as with a magician's wand, soon attracted the attention of the state. His versatile genius burst upon them suddenly and with dazzling splendor, as though the sun, too impatient to ascend by regular gradations the heavealy horizon, should, without premonition, burst upoQ a startled and unexpectant world in all its meridian brilliancy and glory. Prison reform, prohibition, governmental reform, etc., found in him a bold, brilliant and uncom- promising champion. With one acclaim prohibitionists and others interested in the movements seeking to elevate humanity proclaimed him leader. He stumped the state for temperance and rendered invaluable assistance in reclaiming more than half its territory from the curse of the licensed saloon. As a speaker he united the wit and humor of Mark Twain, the strength of Edmund Burke and the flowery and impassioned eloquence of Prentiss. His addresses bore the polish of the cut diamond and shone resplendent with all the bright Lues that mark its luster. The State Press association had showered their honors upon his head and heaped them with profuse hand at his feet. In him were centered at once their hopes and pride. The tragic occurrence on May 1, 1888, ia which he and his assailant. General Adams, both instantly lost their lives, spread a pall of gloom over the city atid state. He was at that time a candidate for congress, with excellent promise of success. The funeral cortege to his old home at Brookhaven, fifty-five miles south on the Illinois Central railroad, was besieged with large crowds at every intermediate station. Floral tributes were presented by the ladies and temperance bands until the car could hold no more. Loving hands ten- derly laid him away in the city of the dead, and above his breast was inscribed in silver the words: "John H. Martin — 1888 — Pure and noble. He died as bravely as he lived." John Martin, a prominent planter of Lincoln county, whose poatoffice address is Bogue Ghitto, lives ten miles south of Brookhaven. He is the son of James and Mary (Grill) Martin, who were born and married in North Carolina, where the subject of our sketch was born in 1813. Their other children — John, Thomas, James and Daniel — are deceased. Melinda is the wife of Warrick Brister, a prominent farmer of Lincoln county, and is the mother of eight children. The mother of our subject died in 182-"). Mr. Martin married for his second wife, Alice Gill, and to them were born four children, of whom two — Albert J. and Hamilton — are now living. Mr. Martin was a very prominent planter in his native state. He came to Mississippi with his family in 1809 and located in Lawrence county on the farm on which he lived the life of a planter until his death. John Martin began active life for himself when still quite young. While having no educational advantages, he managed to get a large amount of general information, being observing of everything about him, and an apt student of human nature, which, with his other good qualities, caused him to become a highly respected and highly influential citizen of Lawrence county. He was married in 1846, to Mrs. Elphany (Obier) Weathersby, who, at that time had five children by her former marriage with Ludwick L. W^eathersby. The names of the children are as follows: Lewis, Missouri, Virginia, William J. and Solomon C. This lady was a native of South Carolina, and a daughter of John and Elizabeth (Adams) Obier, to whom were born four children: James, William, Mary and Elphany, now Mrs. Martin. To Mr. and Mrs. Martin one child has been born — a son — John O. , who married Miss Julia Gardner, and after her death he married Miss Doi-a Huffman, who died after having borne him one child. He then married Miss Maggie C. Smith, who has borne him a family of five children: Smith, Nellie, Pollie, Virginia and John A , This son with his family lives with Mr. and Mrs. Martin, and he assists his 404 BIOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL father in the management of the plantation. In 1 S63 Mr. Martin was drafted to serve in the Mississippi state militia and went into service in Captain Grag's company of Colonel Quin's regiment. He served a very brief time, and then came home on a furlough and did not return. Mr. Martin may truly be called an Andrew Jackson democrat, for he east his first presidential vote for Old Hickory, and has voted the democratic ticket ever since. He is a supporter of churches, schools and everything that has a tendency to promote the general welfare. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church and a Master Mason. He came upon his present plantation in 1866 and was obliged to clear the land and erect build- ings for himself and his family. His home is one of the most comfortable in the county, and the hospitality of the family is such that it is truly a home to all who seek admission. Hon. John H. Martin was born in Albemarle county. Va., in 1790. He was a soldier under General Jackson during the Indian wars and was made a major in recognition of dis- tinguished services. He commanded the Tennessee troops at the battle of New Orleans. After the war he practiced law with success at Glasgow, Ky., until 1826, when he removed to Nashville, Tenn. , and associated himself with Hon. John Bell and Judge Henry A Crabb. Later he was a partner of George S. Yerger, and that firm prepared Martin & Yerger's Tennessee reports. Later he was for a short time circuit .judge by appointment. He removed to Vicksburg in 1836 and died of yellow fever in 1841. Hon. Jonathan McCaleb Martin is a personage of such importance and prestige in his county and district, as well as in the state, that a brief review of his career will be of more than passing interest to the readers of this volume. Although his early manhood was devoted to the cause of secession and was full of thrilling incidents his subsequent career has been devoted to peaceful pursuits and his success has been a steady and con- stant growth, for he is possessed of excellent judgment, strong common sense and indom- itable energy, and in his life and character have evinced great symmetry, completeness and moral standing of a high order. He was born in Claiborne county. Miss., June 2, 1846, being the sixth in a family of ten children, six sons and four daughters, of whom only four are living. The names of his brothers and sisters are as follows: Caroline M. , a liter- ary lady of note residing in New York city; George H. , a resident of Wichita Falls, Tex., and Fletcher C. , who is a graduate of the University of Texas, and is now practicising law in Seymour of that state. Those deceased are: Jones E., who was a student of high rank in Williams college, after leaving which he began devoting his attention to agriculture. He entered the Confederate service as captain in a company of infantry and during his career as a soldier showed remarkable courage and bravery. He was killed at the terrible battle of Sharpsburg, having, just prior to his death, been promoted to the rank of lieutenant- colonel in the Forty-eighth Mississippi infantry volunteers. William M., another brother, entered the Confederate service in the Claiborne guards, in which he was soon promoted to first lieutenant, but resigned this position to return home and raise a cavalry company in connec- tion with Captain McGruder, in which he assumed the role of first lieutenant. In an engage- ment which took place soon after, Captain McGruder was killed and Lieutenant Martin was promoted to the captaincy of his company. Captain Martin was shot three times and was killed at Harrisburg, Miss., in 1864. He was a young man of brilliant prospects, was a graduate of Yale college, and was expecting to make law his profession. Charles Henry, who died in early manhood, possessed a fine analytical mind and gave every promise of making name and fame for himself, but ere these expectations could be realized his sun had set forever. Sarah H. was a graduate of the famous Female college of New Haven, Conn., of which Mrs. Edwards was president, and died in 1866. Mary E. died of yellow MEMOIRS OP MISSISSIPPI. 405 fever in 1878, she having also been a graduate of the Female college of New Haven. Melinda A. died at the age of nine years. The father of these children, William Hejward Martin, was born in Maryland in 1800, and was a graduate of the famous Princeton college of New Jerse\-, afterward becoming an eminent lawyer in his native state. He first read law under William Bullit, and after graduating in his calling moved to Louisville, Ky., where he formed a partnership with Humphrey Marshall, a man of renown, stability and wide reputation. After making his home in Louisville for one year he came to Port Gibson, Miss. , where he opened a law office, and soon won the reputation of being one of the most talented lawyers of Claiborne county, if not of the state. After a time, at the solicitation of his wife, he gave up his chosen profession and engaged in looking up his large landed interests, which were wrecked by the war. He died in 1878 of that terrible scourge, yellow fever. He often told of witnessing the passage of the British ships up Chesapeake bay and also saw the bombardment of Fort Williaai Henry. His wife, whose maiden name was Mary M. McCaleb, was born in Mississippi in 1 SI -land died in 1865. Hermother was a native of South Carolina and her grandfather was a soldier in the Revolutionary war. The paternal grand- father of the subject of this sketch, Dr. Ennels Martin of Maryland, was surgeon's mate of Dr. Shippen's staff. Hon. J. McC. Martin's early education was received under a govern- ess and private tutor, also the country schools, from which he entered the Seidlitz school at Port Gibson, Miss. His education was interfered with by the bursting of the war cloud which was hanging over the country, and he left the halls of erudition at the early age of fifteen years to shoulder his musket, don his suit of gray, and defend his country. Prior to his enlistment, however, he had taken part in the battle of Port Gibson, and only three days after entering the service he had his horse shot from under him, this beiog at the battle of Harris' Landing. He became a member of the Fourth Mississippi cavalry in 1863, and was assigned to Mississippi River department, but was afterward transferred to the famous Gen. Bedford Forrest's command and took part in the engagements at Flenker's Field, where Col. Frank P. Powers was his commander; Harrisburg, Miss., where his brother was killed within a short distance of him; Johnsonville, Tenn. , where the Confederates destroyed the' arsenal and sunk several steam and gun boats, and where Captain Martin came very near being killed by a bursting shell. He also took part in the engagement at Oxford, Miss., the fight taking place on the campus of the college grounds. In this engagement Captain Martin was promoted to fifth sergeant for gallant conduct, by Capt. Charles E. Buck. He next took part in the engagement at Selma, Ala., and surrendered Kt Gainesville of that state, soon after returning home. He at once engaged in hauling cotton and superintending wagoning, for as he had not a dollar in his pocket he concluded that there was no time to waste in vain regrets, but with his characteristic energy, immediately put his shoulder to the wheel in order to retrieve his fallen fortune. He had to commence at the very bottom of the ladder, but he wisely saved the money he earned and with it determined to finish his education. He entered the famous University of Virginia, at Charlottsville, in 1866, and after taking a general course for two years he returned home and began teaching school in Copiah county, the money he thus earned being sent to his brother, with which to cultivate the home farm. Ho afterward fol- lowed agricultural pursuits for a short time, then decided to take up the study of law, and with this end in view went to New Orleans, but iinding that he must engage in some business in order to carry on his course of study, he applied for, and obtained the chair of English and mathematics in Prytonnia high school of that city. In 187i he engaged with the White league in the famous battle of the Levee, and narrowly escaped being shot as a ball passed 406 BIOOEAPHIOAL AND HISTOBIOAL through his hat close to his head. He was admitted to the Louisiana bar in 1875, but shortly after left New Orleans, having received a telegram from his sister calling him home on important business, and here he drifted into politics. In 1875 he was the prime organizer of the revolt against the republicans and pushed his venture to a successful issue. Three years later he was elected to the house of representatives and was re-elected in 1879 and 1881, and was also chosen to the state senate from Claiborne and Copiah counties. His meas- ures which were successfully handled and perfected were the following: The Emigration law of 1880, The State census of 1880, The Compromise of Mobile and Ohio rail- road, of money borrowed from the Chickasaw school fund in 1857, The Act creating the Mississippi institute and college for the white girls in 1884, ' ' which bill he drafted, and secured its passage after a bitter light. He had been a trustee of the college ever since its erection, and at the present time about four hundred names are enrolled. He commenced the practice of law in 1876, and is considered by all the leading members of the bar as one of the best counselors of the state, and his work as a skillful, shrewd and farseeing attorney has won for him a national reputation. By his earnest endeavors he has amassed a fortune of 160,000, and by dint of perseverance, ability, industry, frugality and honest toil, has arisen to an exalted position in the state. During the first four years of his career as a pro- fessional man, he was a partner of the late chancellor of Mississippi, L. McLaurin, now of Dallas, Tex. , but since that time has been associated with several gentlemen who have formed the basis of their legal education under the admirable tutelage of Hon. J. McC. Martin. One young gentleman, S. K. Bertron, a graduate of Yale college, is now prominently con- nected with the Equitable Loan and Trust Company, of Boston, Mass. Hon. J. McC. Mar- tin also educated his brother Fletcher C. in the University of Texas, the latter being now a successful legal practitioner. Mr. Martin is trustee of the Industrial institute aud college of Columbus, Miss. ; is a member of the I. O. O. F. at Port Gibson, Miss. , and is also a mem- ber of the Knights & Ladies of Honor and the American Legion of Honor. He is a gentle- man who firmly believes in insurance and is now carrying over $30,000 in the heavy stock companies of the East. He was married to Miss Amanda M. Myles, a native of Mississippi, and a daughter of Dr. William and Amanda (Wood, nee McCall) Myles. Mrs. Martin is an accomplished and intelligent lady and received her education in the Columbian Female institute, at Columbia, Tenn. Mr. Martin is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church South, of Port Gibson, and his wife of the Episcopal church of that place. He is an openhanded and generous gen- tleman, whose benevolence is well known by all who are acquainted with him. He is ever awake to the demands and interests of his country and state and at all times uses his influence for the advancement of morality, intellectual vigor, the rise and growth of the country and the general welfare of the race. Although his legal learning is profound he is yet a close student, and in his handsome and well appointed library many pleasant and profitable hours are spent. His law library contains twelve hundred volumes, valued at 14,000, and his library of general works is remarkably well selected, contains eight hundred volumes, worth about 12,000. He possesses strong and resolute will, great firmness, practical sagacity, a keen insight into the motives and methods of men, and in all respects is admirably fitted for the profession he has followed. His home in Port Gibson is one of the most beautiful and attract- ive private residences of which the city can boast ; an air of refinement and taste pervades all its surroundings, and the generous and truehearted, yet unostentatious hospitality dis- played there by himself and his accomplished wife is the delight of the many friends who gather beneath their roof tree. MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 407 Norman Martin is the sixth son of Norman Martin, Sr. , who was of Scotch descent, born ia South Carolina ia January, 1798. His son, Norman, was born in Lauderdale county, Miss. , in 1842, was brought up to a farm life and was educated in the common country schools. In 1860 he began work on his own account, but in 1861 responded to the call of the Confederacy for troops, and being at that time a resident of Louisiana he joined the Nine- teenth Louisiana regiment, under command of Colonel Hodge, afterward successively com- manded by HoUingsworth, Winding, Turner and others. Although his regiment partici- pated in the battle of Shiloh, he was sick at the time and did not take part in that battle but was afterward at Chickamauga and Missionary ridge. He was at Atlanta with John- ston, was at Resaca, New Hope church, was at Atlanta again on the 28th of July, after which he went with Hood on his Tennessee campaign, participating in the battle of Nashville. Upon Hood's army being routed he made his escape from Tennessee and arriving in Missis- sippi went to Spanish Fort, Alabama and after the close of hostilities came home and once more engaged in agricultural pursuits at his old home in Clarke county. He was given one- hundred and sixty acres of land by his father, which by good management he has increased to between eight hundred and one thousand acres of average land. From the cultivated portion of this land he raises about twenty-live bales of cotton each year, the average being about one-half bale of cotton to the acre. The average yield of corn is about twenty bushels to the acre, but oats, potatoes and sugarcane are also raised to a considerable extent. He uses home compost and commercial fertilizers and considers it a paying investment. He was married in 1866 to Miss Martin Anderson, of Lauderdale county, Miss. , by whom he has five children : George W., Lucy C, Joseph L., Thomas P. and Sarah Hayes. He was elected a member of the board of supervisors in 1876 and was twice re-elected, doing much to improve the county during his term of service. His well known efficiency has again brought him before the public for the position this year (1891) and he no doubt will again be elected. He is a member of the Farmers' Alliance, and he and his wife are members of the Baptist church of many years standing. Mr. Martin is liberal and charitable, is a warm patron of education, is thrifty and industrious and occupies a high social position. Judge Thomas N. Martin (deceased), a prominent and distinguished attorney at law, was born in North Carolina in 1807, being the third son born to William Martin. The eldest son, James was a pioneer minister of the Baptist church, and it is said of him that though illiterate he did untold good for the cause of Christianity. The second son, Osborn, was an itinerant Methodist minister. As Thomas came of humble parentage he only received about three months' schooling in his boyhood, his time being spent in tilling the soil. When about twenty-one years of age he secured a position in an iron foundry on Broad river, North Carolina, being in the employ of a Mr. Black, who afterward became a congressman. The political preferment of Mr. Black served as a spur to the ambition of Mr. Martin and he set- about securing a better education than he had. About the time he had attained his majority he had married a Miss Parthenia Howser, the daughter of a well-to-do planter of Dutch parentage, after which he remained in the employ of Mr. Black until about 1835 or '36, when he removed to Mississippi and settled in what is known as the Dark corner of Chickasaw county. He chose for his home a sterile piece of land because he discovered that a spring of clear water flowed through it, and here he opened a school and cleared him a little farm. The story of his early struggles against privation, the hardships he endured and the dangers he encountered are but the repetition of the story of other worthy and ambitious pioneers. At about the time the county of Chickasaw was organized he was appointed one of the com- missioners to lay out a road from Houston to Grenada, also served as a member of the board 408 BIOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL of police and was afterward made a justice of the peace. His next advancement upon the ladder of success was when he was elected clerk of the probate court, although at that time he was still a resident of an obscure portion of the county, being elected to this ofSce about th^ year 1840. He removed to Houston in 1841 and served in the capacity of clerk for about twelve years. In 1852 or '53 he became assistant clerk of the house of representatives, in which capacity he was faithful, efficient and upright. In 1846 his genius found an outlet as editor of the Houston Patriot, of which he continued to be the successful editor and pro- prietor for five or six years. Under his able management the paper became a decided success and became largely patronized. In 1865 Judge Martin was elected a member of the state senate, and during his term as senator he became noted as a conservative, thorough and ardent democrat. He was instrumental in securing the passage of a number of important bills, but the one which won him his greatest distinction and in which he took greater pride than in any other act of his senatorial career was an act providing for the recovery of the Chickasaw school funds from the several railroads to which it had been loaned. In Novem- ber, 1869, Mr. Martin was elected to congress, his opponent being a Mr. Railsback, receiving a very flattering majority, but was not permitted to take his seat in congress. This closed his political career. His ambition aspired to greater honors and his advancing years made the latter part of his political career odious to him. Mr. Martin was admitted to the bar without special preparation, save that which was gained from his service as a public officer. He at once took rank with the leading members of the local bar, which at that time was very able. Realizing his defective early education, he formed a partnership with J. M. Thomp- son, now of Birmingham, Ala. , and together they built up a very successful and lucrative practice. This partnership lasted up to 1858, at which time Mr. Martin associated himself with his son-in-law, William S Bates, of Pontotoc, under the firm name of Martin & Bates, which partnership lasted up to the time of Mr. Martin's death, May 19, 1886. By the time the war opened Judge Martin had acquired a large property, consisting principally of real estate. When the war opened he began merchandising, but had the misfortune to lose a considerable amount of his property in the general collapse that followed. He had how- ever, prior to his death, been able to partially retrieve his fortune, and was the owner of fifteen hundred acre? of good land in Chickasaw and adjoining counties. To himself and wife the following children were born: Mary Jane, widow of William Scott, of Houston- Sallie A., widow of Judge S. A. Dulavey, of Houston; Susan, wife of Judge William S. Bates; William O., who grew to be a young man of excellent principles and fine intellect joined the army of Virginia in 1862 as a private in the Eleventh Mississippi infantry and was killed at the battle of Malvern hill; Virginia, wife of Capt. J. W. Howell, of Greenwood Miss. ; Martha O., widow of Mr. Roberts, and Laura S., widow of Clay Prewit, of Houston. Judge Martin was from boyhood a member of the church and was for the last twenty years of his life an elder in the Presbyterian church. His widow, who survives him, is also a member of that church. He was a leading member of the local lodge of the A. F. & A. M. of Houston, represented his lodge in the grand lodge of the state and was at one time assist- ant lecturer of the state. He was an advocate of temperance and identified himself with temperance organizations. He was a man who possessed very superior mental qualifications and weight and power accompanied all his words and writings and inspired respect. His leading characteristics were extreme frankness, honesty of purpose, indomitable will and energy. Full of generosity and charity he rarely suspected others of sordid or improper motives, and his criticisms, when provoked, were tempered with mildness and forbearance. In the domestic circle he was devoted to his family and in social life he was highly esteemed MEM0IB8 OF MISSISSIPPI. 409 for his kindly and courtly manners. He was keenly alive to the sufferings and misfortunes of others, and no one ever appealed to him in vain for consolation or succor. William B. Martin, M. D., of Indianola, Miss. Among the pioneer families of Mississippi that settled in Oopiah county, was that of the Rev. Dr. Martin, who took up his abode there about 1816. He was a pioneer minister of the Baptist faith, but in addition to attending to the spiritual wants of his fellowmen he was engaged in planting also, and reared his family on his plantation in that countj'. Hon. W. W. Martin, his son and father of Dr. William B., was born in one of the Carolinas about the year 1814, but fi-om his infancy until the time of his death he was a resident of Mi.ssis- sippi. Miss Mary A. Miller, a native of Copiah county and a daughter of Squire Miller, a prominent and wealthy planter of that county, became his wife, after which they settled on a plantation and in time became wealthy. He interested himself in the political affairs of his day, showed excellent qualities of leadership, was a thoroughly independent thinker and for the sound judgment and practical ability which he at all times manifested he was elected to represent Copiah county in the general assembly of the state one or more terms. He was called from life in 1858, his widow surviving him until 1890. Dr. William B. Martin was the youngest of their five sons and two daughters that grew to mature years, and his youth, like that of his father, was spent in Copiah county, on a plantation. Besides receiv- ing his primary education at home he finished his education in Mississippi college, nearly completing the regular course of that institution. His first work in the way of earning his own living was as a school teacher in Holmes county, being principal of the Wesson high school for one year, where he earned the reputation of being an able insti'uctor and a fine disciplinarian. While in that town he studied medicine under Drs. Eea and Sexton, two local physicians of the place, and took his first course of lectures in Tulane Medical college of New Orleans in the winter of 1884-5. After completing his first course he returned to Wesson, and during the summer of 1885 was there engaged in the practice of his profession, after which he returned to his former alma mater and finished his medical course, graduating in the spring of 1886. Soon after this he came to Indianola and here has been actively engaged in practicing ever since. He has done much to alleviate the ills of suffering humanity in this section, and has shown that as a physician he is possessed of more than ordinary skill and talent. He brings the magnetism of his presence to bear upon his patients, and his cheerful countenance, his cordial ways and encouraging words, aid largely in carrying out the work which his medicines inaugurate. In 1888 he formed a partnership with Dr. Cannon and the following year this firm opened a drug establishment and are now carrying a fine line of drugs and medicines that would do credit to a much larger town. They have a fine trade and practice and are the leading physicians of Sunflower county. Dr. Martin was married here in November, 1887, to Miss Georgia Smith, a native of the county, being reared here by an uncle, G. K. Smith, now a resident of Oxford, Miss. Mrs. Martin is the daughter of William and Nannie (Gillespie) Smith, both of whom died when she was a child. The Smiths were among the prominent early families of this section. Mrs. Mar- tin, as well as the Doctor, is a member of the Baptist church. The latter is a member of the state board of medical examiners and also belongs to the state board of health. He is one of the leading inhabitants of Indianola and is public-spirited and enterprising. The individual members of the firm of Martin Bros., merchants, Hardy Station, Miss., are Dr. A. Martin, J. A. Martin and W. F. Martin, who are classed among the prominent business men of the county. They are the sons of James A. Martin and the grandsons of AureliuB Martin, after whom Dr. A. Martin was named. Grandfather Martin was a native of 410 BIO&RAPHIGAL AND HISTORICAL South Carolina and came to Mississippi witb his fiunily in the forties, settling in Yalobusha county, where he resided for a nnmber of years. He afterward moved to a place near Cof- feeville, then the county seat of that county, and there his death occurred. He was the father of six children, three sons and three daughters, all of whom lived to be grown and settled in the vicinity of the home place. Only one, Savanah, is now living. She first mar- ried Jesse Hardy and after his death was united in marriage to J. E. Laycook. She now resides on the old home place and in the same house built by her father. The children deceased were : Joseph, John, James A. , Elizabeth and Rebecca. Joseph and John died when young, on the home place, and just after completing their education. Elizabeth was the wife of Thomas Atkinson, and after his death was married to J. W. Harris, now of Hardy Station. Rebecca married Col. Richard Stokes, and both are now deceased, she dying in 1881 at the age of forty-seven years. Their sons are prominent merchants of Hardy Sta- tion. James A. Martin was born in Edgefield district, S. C, on the 11th of October, 1831, and there received his education. He was married to Miss Marthy Hill, daughter of Joel Hill, of South Carolina, who afterward moved to Mississippi and became one of the foremost planters. She was educated at Grenada and afterward taught school in the academy for a number of years. She was a member of the Baptist church and was a good and noble woman. She died when her youngest child was eight months, leaving three children, who now compose the above mentioned firm. The father was married the second time to Miss Frances Griffis, daughter of Jesse GriflSs (see sketch of John W. Griffis) and by her became the father of three children : Jannie, a graduate at the school at Columbus, Miss., and who is now completing a musical course at luka, of this state. Blanche is attending school at Columbus, and John E. is a bright little fellow of eleven years. In 1862 Mr. Martin settled in Hardy Station, commenced merchandising and continued this until his death, on the 9th of December, 1889. He had won the reputation of a good, law-abiding citizen, a kind neighbor, a generous friend, an honest merchant and a successful farmer. His house was so emphatically the home of hospitality that strangers as well as friends nat- urally gravitated to it for its generous kindness. Mr. Martin was intelligent, genial, and warmhearted in all his social relations and was a kind, loving and devoted husband and father. He took a very active part in politics and was one of the foremost democrats of the county. He was a member of the Baptist church in early life. He was a member of the A. F. & A. M., Grenada lodge No. 31, and was buried by the beautiful ritual of the Masonic order. Dr. A. Martin, the senior member of the firm of Martin Bros., is a graduate of the University Medical college at Louisville, Ky., and commenced his practice at Hardy Station in partnership with Dr. Barksdale, of that place. He has not married. He is a member of the I. O. O. F., Ivanhoe lodge No. 8, at Grenada. James A. Martin was educated in the vicinity of Hardy Station and was married to Miss May Smith of that place, she being a daughter of Joseph and L. A. Smith. James A. is a member of the grand lodge of Odd Fellows, No. 6, is a Knight Templar in the Masonic fraternity and is a member of the Knights and Ladies of Honor. He first engaged in merchandising at Hardy Station about five years before the death of his father, and after the above firm was established they succeeded the latter in the mercantile business. William F. Martin, the junior member of the firm, was educated at Oxford, Miss., and is now depot and express agent, also postmaster at Hardy Station. The brothers, like their father, are all stanch democrats and take a lively interest in politics. They are the owners of large tracts of lands in Yalobusha and Talla- hatchie counties and with several hundred acres under cultivation. They handle about three hundred and fifty bales of cotton every year and are live, energetic business men. ^~i /7 a L^ MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 411 T. Staige Maiye, resident of Greenwood, Miss., has for many years been prominently identified with the history of Le Flore county, and is justly entitled to the space allotted him in this record of the leading citizens of the state of Mississippi. He was born at Port Gibson, Claiborne county. Miss., August 12, 1849. James T. Marye, his father, was born in Virginia, about the year 1814, and came to Mississippi when a young man, and settled at Port Gibson. There he married Mary P. Hoopes, a native of the city of Philadelphia, and a daughter of Passmore Hoopes, one of the pioneers of Claiborne county and a leading merchant of Port Gibson for a number of years. He died there about the year 1868, his wife following him three years later, in 1871. Our subject is one of a family of two sons and two daughters who grew to maturity. He spent his youth in Port Gibson, and received his education there. When he started out in life for himself he came to what is now Le Flore county, and engaged in planting on Roebuck lake. In a few years he went to Cali- fornia, but Our Italy failed to chain him to the Pacific coast, and at the end of a year he returned. He then entered the mercantile trade at Greenwood, and did business there for a number of years; he finally removed his store to his plantation, and has carried on a neighborhood and plantation store. He was one of the prime movers in the establishment of the oilmill at Greenwood, in 1890. On the organization of this company he was elected treasurer, secretary and manager. The mill was in running operation in February, 1890, and is doing a fine business; two forces of men are worked, so the mill runs day and night; about sixty tons of seed are used every twenty-four hours. This is a very important institu- tion to Greenwood and the surrounding country. The pay roll amounts to $400 per week, and the industry is one of the most profitable. In addition fo his commercial interests Mr. Marye takes an active part in local politics. He is a strong adherent to democratic prin- ciples, and zealously supports all the men and measures of that body. He is one of the county board of supervisors, and has occupied this position for the past ten years. He is president of the present board. He has served as the mayor of Greenwood, carrying out an economical and satisfactory policy. He is vice president of the Delta bank, being elected to this office on the organization of that institution; he is a member of the Yazoo and Mississippi River Delta Levee board, and has belonged to this body since its inception in 1884. Mr. Marye was married in Le Flore county, Miss., in 1870, to Miss Mary Emma Harper, a native of Le Flore county, and a daughter of J. P. Harper. Mrs. Marye was reared in Le Flore county, but received her education in Carroll county. She is the mother of one son, W. S. Marye. Our subject is one of the heaviest landowners in Le Flore county; he has two thousand acres, thirteen hundred of which are under excellent cultivation. About eight hundred bales of cotton are produced annually. This places Mr. Marye among the largest planters of the state, and he is known to be among the most public-spirited and enterprising of her citizens. Presly Mason, of Meridian, Lauderdale county. Miss., was born in 1840 in Richmond county. N. C, and, coming to Lauderdale county. Miss., in 1870, settled in the southeastern part. Isaac Mason, his father, was born in Richmond county, N. C. , about 1815, and was married about 1837, to Miss Hicks, of North Carolina. He was a soldier in the Confederate states army. Presly Mason also went to the war, enlisting in company D, Capt. A. T. Cole commanding, twenty-third North Carolina regiment. Colonel Hoke's command; was in the battles of Williamsburg, Seven Pines and South mountain, and in the campaign to Maryland; captured at Antietam, and imprisoned at Fort Delaware for one month; exchanged and paroled, he went back with his old regiment; was at Gettysburg, was here slightly wounded and again captured, and imprisoned at Point Lookout, Md. ; remained there eigh- 412 BIOGRAPHIOAL AND HISTORIOAL teen months, during which time he suffered much from cold and hanger, from the effects of which he has never fully recovered. He held some non-commissioned positions during his war service; was appointed orderly sergeant by his captain as a token of merit. After the general surrender of the Confederate forces he engaged in agriculture in North Carolina, and, as indicated above, removed to Mississippi. He owns three hundred acres of land and has been engaged in sawmilling and ginning. Among the branches of his agriculture may be mentioned stockrnising, truckfarming, etc. He aims at extensive and intensive farming and has much faith in truckfarming. Mr. Mason was married in 1867 to Miss S. J. Coving- ton, of North Carolina, and has had ten children: John C, Maggie J., Francis I., Corrie M. , James D. , Sudie M. , Sadie F., Ruby, Presly Edwin and Bessie. Eight of these survive. Miss Sue Covington, a sister of Mrs. Mason, resides with the family. Mr. Mason acquired his education in the common schools. His son, Francis I., is a student of the Agricultural and Mechanical college, at Starkville, while his daughter, Miss Maggie J., is a student at the East Mississippi Female college, at Meridian, Miss. Mr. Mason is a friend to education, and the principal founder of the Pleasant Hill high school, an institution of worth and merit, located near his home. Mrs. Mason is a lady of literary turn of mind and presides with dignity over her interesting family. Mr. Mason has affiliated with the Masonic order, is a member of the Alliance, a stanch democrat, and is a Missionary Baptist. He is of a benev- olent disposition, and bestows charity with a liberal hand. December 10, 1884, his oldest son, John C. , was killed by a boiler explosion on the premises. He was a young man of promise and his death threw a gloom over the family which can never be wholly dispelled. How true it seems, in this fbstance, that death loves a shining mark. Little Bessie, a tender flower, was transplanted to unfold its loneliness in a fairer world. Mr. Mason is deservedly popular with his people, being a man of prudent, conservative ideas as regards the financial and political condition of the country. He has been solicited to represent them in the legis- lature, though he prefers the quiet walks of life. George M. Massingale, general merchant and planter, of Quitman, Clarke county, Miss., was born near Goldsboro, N. C, in 1830, a son of George W. and Polly (Cotton) Mas- singale. His father was a native of North Carolina, and was reared on his father's farm, at an early day starting in life as a farmer, an occupation which he followed all his life. He was married in North Carolina, and reared a family of ten children : Young B. , Eobert B. , Allie C, Epsie, Mary A., George M., Curtis B., Julia A., Julian A., Julius M. The family emigrated to Alabama in 1881, and from there to this state in 1846, living a short time in Jasper county and locating permanently in Clarke county. He was a successful planter and became a well to-do citizen. He was a public spirited man, an active member of the Baptist church, and died in this county in 1863. The mother, a native of North Carolina, and a member of the Baptist church, died in Jasper county in 1857. Mr. and Mrs. Massingale were amoflg the early pioneers of this section of the state, and had their share in the troubles and vicissitudes of that peiiod. Four of the brothers of our subject served the Confederate cause during the, late war, in which he also did gallant service. Young B., Eobert B., Julian A. and Julius M. are all of them now residents of Mississippi except Julius M., who lives in Arkansas. The boyhood and youth, of our subject were passed at Quitman, and he was reared to a thorough knowledge of farm and plantation work. At the age of twenty-one he engaged as a clerk in a store of that town, and in September, 1859, he was married to Martha M. McGowan, a daughter of Elbert McGown, a native of Alabama, who became a well known planter of this county. Mrs. Massingale was born in Pickens county, Ala., in 1839. After his marriage Mr. Massingale accepted a position as a book- MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 413 keeper at Shubuta, where he remained till he entered the Confederate service in 1862 in company E, of the Thirty-seventh Mississippi volunteers, in which he was lieutenant, and later became captain. He participated in the battles at luka and at Vicksburg, where he was wounded in the left leg by a rifle ball so severely as to disable him for a year and prevent his going into action again. He surrendered in 1865. On returning to Clarke county he was elected probate clerk, a position he held for three years, when he engaged in his pres- ent occupations of farming and merchandising. He does a large mercantile trade, and is the owner of about five thousand acres of land in Clarke county, where he is heavily interested in planting. Mr. and Mrs. Massingale have eight children: Howard, who is in the mercan- tile business at Quitman, and has a family of wife and three children; Estelle, who died at college; Maud, who married James A. Terral, and is dead;Sallie, wife of Mr. C. B. Weir, an attorney at Heflin, Ala. ; George M., at home; Samuel C, at the State University of Mississippi ; Nannie and Earl, at home. He and his family are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, in which he holds the office of steward. He represented his county in the state legislature in 1875 to 1877, and has been president of the county board of super- visors of Clarke county for two years, besides serving his fellow-townsmen in the city council. He is a self-made man in the best sense of that often-abused term, and what he owns he became the possessor of by right of laborious acquisition. He is a democrat in politics, and takes a deep and abiding interest not only in state and county afPairs but also in small local matters that promise to benefit the population among whom they have arisen. Edwin Mathis, of Energy, Clarke county. Miss., is a son of Frederick Mathis. The latter was born in South Carolina and lived successivefy in South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi and Texas, and died in the latter state in 1862. He maiTied Miss Sarah Waites, of Georgia. Edwin Mathis was born in Henry county, Ga., in October, 1825, and came to Mississippi in 1844 and settled in Lauderdale county. He received an ordinary education in the schools of the period and locality. At the age of twenty-one years he began farming for himself. He was married in 1851 to Miss Caroline Bontwell, of Choctaw county, Ala., and has eleven children: Sarah Levisa, George W., John C, James Buchanan, Amelia, William Breckinridge, Mary Ellen, Louvenia Caroline, Edwin Jones, Mattie Ann, and Ann Eliza. He purchased land in 1847 and by additional purchases now owns a great deal of average Clarke county land. His usual crop of cotton is fifteen bales, and his average yield of corn is twenty or twenty-five bushels per acre. He also produces oats, sugarcane and potatoes. He uses commercial fertilizer and home compost. A part of his land is covered with fine, longleaf pine timber and hard woods. In 1863 he enlisted in the Eighth Mississippi regiment. Col. Wilkinson commanding, and was io the battle of Missionary ridge, falling back to Dalton and taking part in the defense of Atlanta. He was wounded at the battle of Kenesaw mountain, and went into Marietta hospital. After remaining there for a short time he went to Atlanta, La Grange and Columbus, successively, and was in the battle of Jonesboro. He returned to his command at Atlanta and was present at the evacuation of that place. He then went with Hood to Tennessee and took part in the battle of Franklin, as a member' of Claiborne's division, of Lowrey's brigade in Lashly's company of Tyson's regiment. There Captain Lashly was killed and Mr. Mathis was wounded and went into the hospital at Columbia. He rejoined his command at Corinth and came home on a furlough, and then became sick and had not recovered at the time of Lee's surrender. Mr. Mathis re-engaged in farming with much energy and stands to-day as the most successful representative of agriculture in all his section of the country. He was once elected justice of the peace of his district. In 1874 he 414 BIOGRAPHICAL AND EISTOBIGAL ■was chosen a member of the board of supervisors of his county, and served two years. Mr. Mathis is a Mason; is a member of the Methodist church of forty-three years' standing; Mrs. Mathis is also a Methodist. Their children are highly respected and most of them are mem- bers of the Methodist church. All of his children survive except William Breckinridge, who mysteriously disappeared years ago in Texas, whither he had gone to try his fortune. Tbe supposition is that he perished at the hands of an assassin. E. J. Mathis is a prac- titioner of medicine in Louisiana. He graduated from Mobile medical college in 1890. Prior to this he graduated from the Bowling Green, Ky., business college, and is one of the leading men, financially, in his county, having a standing second to none. An old and highly respected citizen of Covington county, Miss., Neill Mathison, was born in Twiggs county, Gra. , in 1818, and is a son of James Mathison, a native of South Carolina. His father came to Mississippi when he was an infant seven months old, and lived in Jackson county during the first three yea^s of his residence here. He then went to Perry county and lived there four years. He finally settled in Covington county, where our subject grew to manhood. During his youth he became initiated into the mysteries of agri- culture, and for a short time during the winter season attended the common schools; his advantages in this direction, however, were extremely limited, as the public-school system of that day had not reached a point when it could be called a system. In 1860 Mr. Mathison was married to Miss Damie, a daughter of Wesley Gray. Her father was a substantial planter, owning a considerable amount of property before the war. Mr. and Mr. Mathison are the parents of nine children, six of whom grew to maturity. The eldest son, Louis, was a promising young man, possessed of an excellent education; he died at the age of twenty-five years, when he was sheriff of the county. Mr. Mathison has been prominently connected with much of the history of Covington county, and is a representative man. For two terms he was a member of the state legislature, serving with much credit to himself and the entire satisfaction of his constituency. He is a member of the Masonic order, belonging both to the Blue lodge and chapter. He is an active member of the Presbyterian church. He is living quietly on his plantation a few miles southeast from Mount Carmel, where he is enjoying the fruits of his earlier days of toil and industry. Ex-Governor Joseph Matthews, who was well known throughout the length and breadth of Mississippi, first made his entrance in this state as a government surveyor. He made a permanent settlement near Salem, engaged in planting, and this was his principal occupation through life. He became very prominent as a politician, and was frequently a member of both branches of the state legislature. In 1850 he was elected governor of Mississippi, and served in that honorable position one term. He was one of the first stump speakers in the state, was original and peculiar, and wielded a great influence both socially and politically. He was a man of rigid economical habits and lived quite plainly. His death occurred in 1863 or 1864. during the war. He reared several children, all of whom became honorable and useful citizens. R. F. Matthews, M. D. , although born in Huntsville, Ala., has been a resident of Lowndes county. Miss., since about 1844, at which time he removed thither with his mother, who was widowed. His parents, Thomas and Kittie (Hughes) Matthews, were born in the Old Dominion, but were among the early settlers of the state of Alabama. The father was a planter, but while in the meridian of life was cut down by death. His widow died in 1862, having borne a family of five children, two of whom are living: Dr. R. F., and Samuel, of Louisiana. Dr. E. F. Matthews spent a considerable portion of the early part of his life in the state of his birth, and was given a public school education, afterward attending school MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 415 in Tuscaloosa. He was quite a youth when he entered upon the study of medicine, and after becoming sufficiently fitted he entered the medical college at Transylvania, Ky. (which was merged with the Louisville school in 1845), and after graduating immediately came to Columbus, Miss. , of which place he has since been a resident and an active practitioner. He was post surgeon at Macon, Miss. , during the war, and was also a member of the board of surgeons at Columbus. Dr. Matthews is undoubtedly a skilled physician, and during his many years of practice in this county his success has been phenomenal. Being of a cheerful and happy disposition, his very presence in the sickroom does much toward inspiring his patients with hope and confidence, and therefore greatly augments their recovery. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, and he and his worthy and amiable wife are members of the Presbyterian church. In 1846 he was married to Miss Amanda Barry, a sister of Col. W. S. Barry, a member of congress from this district. They have one child living: Mary S., wife of T. B. Bradford. Capt. S. A. Matthews, one of Pike county's oldest settlers, was born in Brook county, Va. , June 27th, 1822, and while an infant his parents removed to JefPerson county, Ohio, locating at Smithfield, where his father engaged in mercantile pursuits. His father, Wil- liam Matthews, was a Virginian by birth, and married Mary Pennel, a native of Lancaster county, Penn. The father of Mrs. William Matthews, William Pennel, was one of the early pioneers in Brook county, Va., and was a companion of the celebrated Poe brothers. He was a valiant warrior, participating in the Indian wars of that period, and serving in the War of 1812 under Gen. William Henry Harrison. He had also when a mere lad served in the Revolutionary war as a light horseman. Mr. and Mrs. Matthews had five children born to them, three boys and two girls, of whom two only survive, viz. . William Matthews, named after his father, and Capt. S. A. Matthews. The Captain is the oldest child of this worthy couple and spent his early boyhood days in JefPerson county, Ohio, in the primitive days of that section of the state. At about the age of fourteen he entered the Grove academy at Steubenville, Ohio, and remained there for two years. He then entered upon a course of btudy at Franklin college. New Athens, where he had for a room mate an intimate associate Gen. G. W. McCook. Hon. John A. Bingham, who was afterward elected to the United States sen- ate from Ohio, and was appointed special judge advocate in the trial of the assassins of Presi- dent Lincoln, was also a student at this college and a friend of Captain Matthews. A third associate student was Hon. William Lawrence, who was elected to represent his state in the United States congress. In 1840 Captain Matthews began the study of law at Steubenville, Ohio, under the tutelage of General Stokely, who was then a member of congress from that district. He remained in General Stokely' s office until the winter of 1842, when he took a trip through the South with a view to locating in some advantageous portion of the country, and, after visiting New Orleans and various places, settled permanently at Holmesville, Miss. Here the position of teacher in the public schools was tendered him, which he accepted, in the meantime continuing his law studies. In April, 1843^ though yet under age, he was admitted to the bar, after passing an examination and being granted a liscense by Hon. Van Tramp Crawford, district judge of Pike county. Captain Matthews at once began to prac- tice law in the village of Homesville, which he continued until 1849, when he was elected to the lower branch of the legislature, and sat during the regular session of 1850 and the extra session of 1851 , acting as a member of the committee of military affairs. While he was rep- resentative he cast one ballot for Jefferson Davis as United States senator. He was very active in his efforts to secure the charter for the construction of the Illinois Central railroad through the state, this road at that time being known as the New Orleans & Jackson rail- 410 BIOaiiAPHIOAL AND HI8T0BI0AL road. This bill, after having passed both houses, was vetoed by General Quitman, who was then governor of the state of Mississippi, but after a hard struggle the bill was passed over his head. During all this time Captain Matthews' efforts to push this bill through were inde- fatigable, and it was largely due to him that the charter was secured when it was. In 1851 he helped to establish and became a stockholder in The Southron, a weekly paper pub- lished at Holmesville, and the first democratic paper of the county. For the ensuing year he was engaged as managing editor of the paper and resigned this to accept the position of probate clerk, to which he had been elected in 1852. Afterwards he was elected circuit clerk and took charge of both offices till the year 1860, when he devoted his attention to his profession till the war cloud burst which had been hovering so long over the horizon. On April 15, 1861, he was mustered into the service of the state as captain of the Quitman guards, which he himself had organized. This company was mustered into the Confeder- ate service May 27, 1861, and was known as company B, of the Sixteenth regiment, Mis- sissippi volunteers. This regiment was attached to the Army of Northern Virginia, under the command of General Ewell. Captain Matthews served with this company in all of its engagements until January 1, 1864, when he was transferred to the department of trans- Mississippi, under Gen. E. Kirby Smith, and was placed on special duty on account of dis- abilities incurred in the hard service he had seen. He surrendered at Shreveport, La., Jiily, 1865. Upon his return to his old home in Pike county he resumed the practice of law, and in 1868 he removed with his family to Magnolia, and from there he moved again to Summit, in 1871, where he formed a law partnership with H. Q. Bridges. In 1875 he was elected justice of the peace, serving until 1887. In 1888 he gave up his law practice, being appointed county superintendent of education, which position he held for two years. In July, 1887, he was also appointed notary public, which position he still holds. June 9th, 1849, he married Carrie J. Ellzey, a native of Pike county. Miss., and a daughter of William Ellzey, a prominent planter here. They have four offspring: Ida B. , now Mrs. C. H. Hosmer, of Summit; George D., messenger of the Southern Express Company, and resides at New Orleans; Mamie E., who is married to H. C. Dunn and resides at Macomb City; and Eugene W., the eldestchild, who was accidentally killed at Indian Bay, Ark., in 1879. Captain Matthews has been a member of the Masonic order since 1854; is a prominent member of the I. 0. O. F. and is serving his second term as D. D. G. M. of the tenth district of Mississippi. John B. Mattingly is a coal merchant and president of the Home Insurance company and of the Hill City Electric Light company. He was born in the city in which he is now residing in 1844, being the eldest child born to Austin D. and Mary (Bobb) Mattingly, who were born in Kentucky and Mississippi respectively. The maternal grandfather, John Bobb, was born in Philadelphia, Penn. , and came to Mississippi at an early day, settling at Natchez, where he engaged in contracting and building. After remaining 'in that city for a short time he came to Vicksburg, and here followed the same calling, erecting the marine hospital, besides many other of the handsome structures of the city. He was the owner of a good brickyard, being the first manufacturer in his line in the city, and this, as well as his build- ing operations, brought him in a substantial income. He in later years retired to a small plantation near the cLty, upon which he died, in 1863. Austin D. Mattingly was reared and educated in the state of his birth, but in 1823 came to Mississippi, and for some time was engaged in teaching at Washington, nearthe city of Natchez. He soon removed to Vicks- burg, and first engaged in the manufacture of shingles, then in lumber, and afterward established a sawmill, which for a time was one of the largest in the state. In 1855 he began planting in the upper part of the county, and as his plantation was large bis business MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 417 was correspondingly extensive until the opening of the war. During the Rebellion he served with General Cheatham's division as assistant commissary, and after the war he returned to Vicksburg and began work with Victor Wilson in the coal business, and soon became a part- ner and a short time after sole proprietor. He then built up the business known as Mat- tingly. Floweree & Co., afterward Mattingly, Son & Co. He was deeply interested in the prosperity of Vicksburg, and was usually one of the organizers of its numerous enterprises. He died July 6, 1889, and his wife in 1854. John B. Mattingly was educated in Bardstown, Ky. , but left school in May, 1861, to enlist in the Confederate army, beeopiing a member of Wirt Adams' company and a participant in the battle of Shiloh. He was also in the engage- ments around Corinth, and was fighting Sherman during the latter' s raids in and around Vicksburg. He was in the Georgia campaign; was with Hood in Tennessee; then came back to Mississippi, and was near Tupelo at the close of the war, but was paroled at Jackson. He was captured at Mechanicsville, but made his escape by jumping from a steamboat near Friar's Point and working his way, with great difficulty and many dangers, through the swamps back to the Confederate lines. After the war he began planting in the southern part of Warren county, continuing until 1878, when he moved to Vicksburg and engaged in business with his father, purchasing the interest of Mr. Floweree, the firm then becoming Mattingly, Son & Co. He is now in business with his son Walter, and the firm, which is doing a coal and milling business, is known as Mattingly & Son. Mr. Mattingly was one of the organizers of the Home Insurance company, of Vicksburg, in 1886, of which he was elected president; is president of the Hill City Electric Light company, which was organized in 1887 with a paid up capital of $25,000, and is one of the finest plants in the state; and has been otherwise interested in the welfare of the city, there being few industries which have not received his support. He made a faithful soldier, is a stirring and enterprising business man, and is a worthy and honorable citizen. He is prepossessing in personal appearance, and is courteous and agreeable in manners. In 1865 he was married to Miss Catherine Hullum, a native of this county and a daughter of B. S. Hullum, one of the early settlers and planters of this county. To Mr. and Mrs. Mattingly a family of seven children have been born, but only three are living at the present time: Walter, who graduated from the Montgomery Bell col- lege, of Nashville, and is now the electrician of the electric light company of Vicksburg; Mary, who is the wife of D. N. Road, of Yazoo county, and Irene. Mr. Mattingly and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, and he is a member of the K. of P., the K. of H. and the A. F. & A. M. Hon. H. P. Maxwell was born on the farm on which he now lives, eight miles northwest of Ashland, the county seat of Benton county, the eldest son in a family of two sons and three daughters, born to Harrison P. and Charlotte (Mooman) Maxwell, natives of Kentucky and Virginia respectively, but who were married in Tennessee. The father immigrated to Mississippi at an early day and bought land of the Indians— a fact which entitled him to rank among the pioneers of this county. He was a brickmason by trade, but after locating in Mississippi he engaged in planting, which was his lifelong occupation. Prior to the war he was very successful, becoming owner of fourteen hundred acres of land and one hundred slaves. He was well and favorably known throughout the country, not alone as one of its earliest settlers, but as one of its most prominent citizens. He was a liberal contributor to schools, churches, and to all public institutions, and he and his wife were members of the Old School Presbyterian church. At the time of the war he was too old for military service, but for some time acted as agent for the Confederacy, buying up small arms through the country. He died iu 1876, aqd bis wife in 1884; at their old homestead where they liyed all 418 BIOQBAPHIOAL AlfD HISTORICAL their married life, and upon which our subject was born and has lived until the present time. At the age of twenty-two H. P. Maxwell began life for himself as a farmer and planter. He was married in 1870 to Miss A. E. Treadwell, daughter of F. L. Treadwell, who bore him four sons: Harrison P. (deceased), Louis, Mooman T. (deceased), and Robert 0. He was a member of the county board of supervisors for one term, and in 1886 his fellow- citizens still more strongly expressed their confidence in him by electing him to represent them in the state legislature. He is well and favorably known throughout this section of the state; is indus- trious, enterprising, honorable and a highminded gentleman; a most successful planter and a man of uncommon integrity. He and his wife are members of the Cumberland Presbyte- rian church, toward the support of which he is very liberal, as he has been for the support of other churches, as well as schools and other benevolent institutions. He is the owner of seven hundred and forty acres of land, four hundred of which are under cultivation. He is a member of the Knights of Honor, and he and his family rank high in social circles. P. J. Maxwell, M. D. , is a physician and surgeon whose reputation for skill and ability has become widespread. The first work he did as a practitioner of the healing art was as a surgeon in the Confederate army during the turbulent times of the Rebellion. He was born in Charleston, S. C, January 3, 1834, a son of William R. and Anna M. (Johnston) Maxwell, natives of South Carolina, and of English origin. His great-grandfather was born near Stirling in Scotland, and immigrated to America in the reign of George III., or about 1756. The lands he settled on, known as Jashey island, at the mouth of the Port Royal river, South Carolina, are now in possession of Hon. William Aiken. His grandfather, James Maxwell, was a graduate of the Edinburgh college, and finished his education in that institu- tion of learning in 1776. He became a wealthy planter of South Carolina, and died at Charleston, S. C, when in the prime of life, leaving two children, William R. and Sarah Pringle, both of whom are now deceased. William R. Maxwell was a rice planter on the Santee river, in Georgetown district, S. C. , and in 1871 removed to Columbus, Miss., and died there some three years later. His wife died in 1866, having borne him five children who grew to maturity, three of whom are now living : Mrs. Wilson, William J. and Dr. P. J. The latter was reared in the Palmetto state, and received his education in Charleston. He began the study of medicine when quite young with Dr. W. M. Michel, and graduated from the Medical College of the State of South Carolina, at Charleston, in 1854. After attending the University of Philadelphia, Penn. , for some time, he entered the Bellevue hospital of New York city, in which institution he acquired a practical knowledge of his profession. In October, 1858, he crossed the Atlantic to Europe and studied in the Hotel Dieu of Paris, Prance, remaining abroad eighteen months to perfect himself in his studies. He returned to his native land in time to witness the bursting of the war cloud that had so long hovered over the country. He' immediately enlisted as a surgeon of the Charleston light dragoons, and served on the coast of South Carolina with that company. He was afterward trans- ferred to the twenty-fourth South Carolina regiment under command of Col. E. Capers, attached to Gist's brigade, Hardee's corps, of Bragg' s army, following Joseph E. Johnston through his Georgia campaign, at the close of which he found himself in charge of a hospital in Columbus, Miss. At the battle of Jonesboro, Ga. , late in the evening, a number of wounded were lying on the platform at the station, and the doctor was busily attending to them, when he came across a Federal soldier, an Irishman, who was bleeding to death. He set to work at once to stop the flow of blood by tying up the artery, and while so doing was tapped on the shoulder by a Federal cavalryman, who said, "You are my prisoner;" whereupon the Irishman remarked with an oath, "Leave the doctor MEM0IM8 OP MISSISSIPPI. -tl9 alone, he is trying to save my life. " The cavalryman, leaving his horse quite near, went into the station office, and the doctor, taking advantage of his absence, mounted his horse and made his escape. Notwithstanding bullets whistled thick, fast and furious in close proximity around him, he succeeded in reaching the Confederate lines and rejoining his r5gTBa«aJ4,_much to their joy and surprise, as they had made sure of his having been captured. He returned to his old home at the close of the war to see what property the war might have left him, and soon returned to Columbus, in which place he settled peiToanently in 1866. He has built up a very large practice among the leading citizens of this section, and is considered by all to be an exceptionally skillful and successful medical practitioner and surgeon. He is a member of the American Medical association, the State Medical association and the Lowndes County Medical society. He has attained to the chapter in the A. F. & A. M., and for ten years has been treasiu'er in the Episcopal church. He has been and is a stockholder in nearly all the public institutions of Columbus. He owns many cottages and cabins in Columbus, besides other valuable property, all of which he has earned since coming to this city. He has been president of the Building & Loan associa- tion, in which he is a stockholder. He was married in 1865 to Miss F. N. , daughter of John C. Ramsey, by whom he has one child, John Ramsey. One of the best examples of what may be accomplished by perseverance and industry is to be seen in the career of V\ . L. Maxwell, druggist and grocer, who is now one of the prominent business men of Camden. He was born in Madison county, Miss., in 1838, and of the ten children born to his parents, Willis and Catherine (Cooper) Maxwell, he was third in order of birth. The parents were natives of Georgia and North Carolina respectively. They came to Madison county at quite an early day and both are still living, the father at the age of eighty-four and the mother at eighty years of age. Seven of their children are living in this county and are useful and law-abiding citizens. W. L. Maxwell entered the Confederate service in 1861, company G, Eighteenth Mississippi infantry, as a private, and was promoted to the rank of lieutenant, which position he held one year. He then resigned and joined Word's battery, light artillery, Poague's battalion. Third army corps. Army of Northern Virginia, and served one year in the battery. He was appointed to the medical department as hospital steward for the chief surgeon. At Appomattox he lost all his medicine, it being captured by the enemy, and after surrendering he returned to Camden, where he established a drug store. This business he has continued to follow and has added a general line of dry goods, etc. He takes an active part in politics, but has never aspired to any political position. He started in business on a borrowed capital of $1,000, but he is now out of debt, has a stock of goods valued at $3,500 and is the owner of three hundred acres of land with one hundred and fifty acres under cultivation. His marriage, which occurred in 1868 to Miss Fanny Thornhill, has been blessed by the birth of seven children: Willis A., in the dry goods business in Camden; Gus C, who conducts the drugstore; Lillie, Kitty, Annie, Magruder and John (twins). Mrs. Maxwell is a worthy member of the Methodist church and an active worker in the same. Albert Quitman May, Chancery clerk, Westville, Miss., was born on a farm within nine miles of Westville, Miss., on the 17th of June, 1857, and his father, William May. who comes of an old Kentucky family, is also a native of that state, born in Pike county. The father removed to Simpson county. Miss. , when a boy and was there married to Miss Nancy Ross, the mother of our subject. After this he gave his attention exclusively to planting and is now a resident of this county. Prior to the war he was probate judge of Simpson county and held other offices of trust. He was an old school democrat and favored secession, but 430 BIOGBAPHWAL AND HWTORWAL since the war be has steadfastl}- refused to accept any political honors. He is an active member of the Baptist church. Albert Q. May received his early education in the schools of his locality and at Westville, but later attended Mississippi college at Clinton. The two years following after leaving school he was engaged as clerk and bookkeeper in a general mercantile establishment at Harrisville, Simpson county, and while there he was elected sheriff (1881) being the youngest official for that position in the state. He declined to be- come a candidate for a second term and in the spring of 1884 he was appointed by Judge Mayers to fill the unexpired term of ^\^ L. Drummond and was elected to that position by a special election ordered by the board of supervisors in May of that year. Mr. May was elected by an overwhelming majority, his popularity as a public official being evinced in that manner. In 1887 he was elected by an immense majority over a strong candidate and in the campaign of 1889 he came out as a candidate for state treasurer only two months before the election and made a very limited canvass. Under the circumstances he developed a greater strength than his friends had dared to anticipate, receiving a very complimentary ballot. Mr. May is a very popular young man and wields an enviable influence. He is- at present a member of the democratic state executive committee. The strength developed by Mr. May and the esteem in which he is held by his large circle of friends, cause him to be looked upon as a most promising subject for future honors. One of the leading residents of Biloxi, Miss., J. W. Maybin, M. D., is descended from a long line of English ancestors, many of whom have been prominent in the politics of the country. He was born in Natchez, Miss., October 12, 1837, and is a son of Lawrence and Caroline Maybin, natives of Tennessee and Mississippi respectively. His grandfather Alexander was a native of North Carolina and a member of the colonial congress from that state. He was a lawyer by profession and became one of the most eminent members of the bar. Lawrence Maybin, grandson, was a planter by occupation. He was one of the first settlers in Natchez and was elected a member to the legislature from Adams county, but from ill health did not serve. He was a man of wealth, owning a large amount of real estate, personal property and slaves. Dr. Maybin is the only child of his parents. He was reared on the plantation in Yazoo county and received his education at Centenary college, Miss., and at the University of North Carolina. At the age of nineteen years he began the study of medicine and was graduated from Jefferson Medical college, Philadelphia, in the class of 1856. He returned to Mississippi and located in Yazoo county, where he was at the break- ing out of the Civil war. In 1863 he served as a surgeon in the Eightieth Tennessee regi- ment and served until the end of the war. At the surrender of Atlanta he was in the hospital at Marietta, Ga. , and remained there until the cessation of hostilities. When he returned to Yazoo county it was a discouraging prospect, indeed, and required all the bravery of heart and determination he could summon to take up again the pursuits of civilization. He resumed his professional work and superintended his planting until 1876, when he removed to Canton, Miss. He practiced there until 1880, going thence to Jackson, Miss. He resided there until 1882, when he came to Biloxi. Here he has established himself among the lead- ing practitioners of the county and has won a large and intelligent patronage. He was first married to Miss Mary Brien, one son being born of the union, William H. Maybin. Dr. Maybin was married a second time in 1876, being united to Miss Lee, a daughter of Dr. L. • C. Lee, of Grenada, Miss. , a cousin to Gen. Eobert E. Lee. Two children were born to the Doctor and his wife: Warren (aged fourteen years) and Willie (aged four years). William H. Maybin is a promising young lawyer of Biloxi, Miss. He was graduated from the Uni- versity of Oxford, Miss,, in 1886, and later from the law department of the Tulane university. MEMOIRS OF MI88I8SIPFI. 421 He was married, May 23, 1888, to Miss Bulah Alvis. Dr. Maybin is a member of the Masonic fraternity and of the I. O. O. F. He also belongs to the Episcopal church. Dr. Maybin is a brilliant orator and a forcible speaker, as will be seen by the following extracts from Mississippi newspapers. The following extract is taken from the American Citizen : " On Friday evening, the 12th instant, a large and intelligent audience assembled at the courthouse to listen to the speeches of Hon. Eobert Powell and Dr. J. W. Maybin, who had been elected by the Democratic club to entertain our citizens on that evening. The meeting was opened by the president of the club, Mr. J. M. Anderson, Sr., who briefly introduced Mayor Powell. The latter gentlemen made a few remarks in his own happy way. He appealed to his hearers to stand by the good old democratic party and its nominees, and fired a hot shot at all independent candidates. He was glad to see the ladies present, was glad to see the interest they manifested in the political welfare of our country. He said he must necessarily be brief, because he knew the audience was impatient to hear the gallant orator who would follow him. He then introduced Dr. Maybin. The fame of this gentle- man as a political speaker was known to many of his auditors, but none there were prepared for the brilliant effort that crowned the occasion. Commencing in a calm, silvery voice, the gifted orator carried his audience spellbound, as it were, to the very acme of delight. Long, loud, and deafening applause followed the words of wisdom and patriotism that fell from his lips. Time and again the noble speaker was compelled to pause in his impassioned utter- ances before the tumult of cheers that followed his lofty eloquence. After a time, which seemed only too short to his charmed hearers, the Doctor closed his address with a beauti- ful, poetic, and touching tribute to the fair daughters of the sunny Southland. As he retired from the rostrum, cries of 'Go on!' 'Go on!' proceeded from every side. Never have we seen an audience so completely charmed by the power of words. Later in the evening the speaker was serenaded at his residence. We but echo the universal wish of our citizens when we say we hope to hear Dr. Maybin again at an early day." The Canton Mail, in speaking of the same occason, alludes to Dr. Maybin as follows: "Dr. Maybin was then loudly called for, and, when the noise had subsided, began one of the most entertaining addresses it was ever our privilege to listen to. His language was chaste, and his utterances soul-stirring and eloquent. He fairly brought down the house in wild and enthusiastic applause, so great at times that it was almost impossible for him to proceed. Dr. Maybin proved himself on this occasion to be one of the best campaign orators in the democratic party. His address occupied about forty minutes' time, but his audience would have cheerfully listened to him for another forty minutes." The following extract we take from the Chicago Tribune: " The Canton (Miss. ) Mail contains a full account of a democratic meeting, in that town recently, at which Dr. J. W. Maybin made a speech, the spirit of which can be understood by the following extracts: ' In 1875 we awoke as from a death-like sleep, arose in our man- hood, wrenched from our benumbed limbs the great political hand-cuffs that bound our man- hood ; our tongues became as the pen of ready writers, and by the help of Almighty God and the double-barreled gun and Colt's repeaters, we drove them back from our own sunny South to their own cold, heartless and selfish Northland. Last but not least of our demo- cratic sisterhood comes Ohio, the great state of Ohio, from whence comes the fraudulent president, Eutherford B. Hayes. Though Ohio has been on the wrong side of politics for many weary years, she is right to-day and appreciates as we do the outrage and wrong of placing a man in the presidential chair by corrupt and fraudulent means. She spurns the insult heaped on her and the American people. Yes, from the cold and frozen regions of Maine to the flowery groves of FloridEi, along the orange groves of Louisiana au4 42a BIOOBAPHICAL AND HiaWRWAL the gulf coast to the Rocky mountains, to the golden shores of California, has the fraud been rebuked in thunder tones. * * * These are the blows dealt by a solid South upon the cooler metal of the North that will arouse and weld its people into a unity of action and purpose as solid as that which inspired us during the bloody years of the Rebellion. Go on, gentlemen. ' Providence moves in a mysterious way his wonders to perform. ' ' ' The following letter was received by Dr. Maybin from Governor Lowry: Demi, Doctok: — I have carefully read your speech, which you had the kindness to sejid me, and if I am any judge, the matter is most excellent. Your description of our wrongs and sufferings could not fail to find a hearty response in the hearts of our jjeople. The description of the moral and intellectual worth of the Southern people is certainlj' not overdrawn. The distinction drawn between the carpet- bagger and the good citizens of tlie North was most apt and a truth that onr people should under no cir- cumstances forget. We need and want good people, representing all the various industries, to settle among us and become identified with us. The appeal to your hearers to preserve their political integ- rity could not be surpassed; indeed, this was the only safety for our prosperity, the defeat of the demo- cratic party would have entailed untold suffering on the people of the South, and at the same time revived and placed firmly in power the wreckers to whom we are indebted for all the wrongs and oppres- sions which you describe. I was equally impressed with the soundness of j^our views on agriculture; the correction mentioned must be adopted or poverty will be the result. On the whole your speech came up to the full measure of a good one, and I am only sorry that you could not have made it all over the state. AVitli assurances of high regard, I am very truly your friend, Robert Lowry. Doctor Maybtn took an active part in politics from his early manhood, and during the reconstruction of his native state, being an ardent and zealous democrat, and being a states- rights man of the strictest construction, took the stump in Mississippi in 1875-6 irv defense of her people and denounced the carpet-bagger and scalawag at every available opportunity until home rule was accomplished. Doctor Maybin never asked for or held office, feeling that the private station was the post of honor. Judge Alonzo Gustavus Mayers' professional career embraces an eventful and interest- ing period of forty years. He was born in Winchester, Wayne county, Miss., March 6, 1821, a son of James Mayers, who was a native of Richmond, Va. He removed to Wayne county. Miss., early in life, where he married Miss Jane Cole and became a man of considerable local prominence, filling with abilit}' nearly every office in the county. He died in 1834. Judge Mayers left home at the early age of fourteen years to make his own way in the world, at which time he had a very limited education and no means, but with the energy and determination that has since marked his career he began at once to seek his fortune and secured a position in a store at Quitman, and later at Garlandsville, in the mean- time availing himself of every opportunity for self-improvement. He began reading law with Judge Watts, at Garlandsville, and was admitted to the bar at Winchester before he was twenty-one years of age. Some time afterward he formed a partnership with his former preceptor with whom, however, he was associated only a short time. In 1844 he located at Raleigh, where he practiced until 1847, when he removed to Paulding and was associated with Judge Mounger until the death of the latter in 1851. During this time, in 1845, he was a candidate for district attorney in a strong democratic district and though a whig was defeated by only two votes. In 1852 he removed to Brandon (where he has since resided), and in 1860 formed a partnership with Ex-Governor Lowry, whose tutor he was and with whom he remained professionally associated for sixteen years. In 1876 Governor Stone appointed Mr. Mayers judge for the Eighth judicial district, to which he was reappointed by Governor Lowry in 1882 and in 1888. Notwithstanding his advanced age Judge Mayers is possessed of an excellent constitution and elasticity of step that might well be envied by MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 423 many men a quarter of a century his junior. His mind is as clear, active and bright as in his early manhood, and his sound judgment and sagacity admirably fitted him for the responsible position of judge. He was presiding judge in the famous trial of Col. Jones S. Hamilton, charged with the murder of Roderick D. Gambrill, at the February (1888) term of the circuit court of Rankin county, which occupied forty-six days and created more excitement than perhaps any criminal case in the history of the state. Judge Myers was married in 1848 to Miss Elizabeth C. King, of Rankin county. Mrs. Mayers died in 1852, leaving two children who died that year, and in 1856 the judge married Miss Nancy L. Mc- Laurin, of Covington county. Miss., by whom he has four children: Mary, wife of Olin Green of Meridan; Daniel, a merchant of Brandon; Henry, an insurance agent of Union City, Tenn., and Miss Nannie. Judge Mayers is a conservative democrat, a prohibitionist and a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church South. Edward Mayes, a prominent lawyer of Oxford, and chancellor and professor of law in the university of the state of Mississippi, was born in Hinds county. Miss., December 15) 1846. He is the youngest of a family of four children born to Daniel and Elizabeth (Rigg) Mayes. The father was a native of Virginia, but grew to manhood in Kentucky. After serving on the circuit bench and in the law professorship of Transylvania university, he removed to Jackson, Miss., and engaged in the practice of law; this was in 1839. Edward Mayes was' prepared for college at Jackson by the private schools, and in 1860 he became a student at Bethany college, Virginia, now West Virginia. He was driven home by the breaking out of the Civil war, and was employed as a clerk until the destruction of Jackson by the Federal troops in May, 1863. He was then engaged in teaching in Carrollton for three or four months. In April, 1864, he volunteered as a private in- company H, Fourth Mississippi cavalry. Confederate States Army, and served until the termination of the war. In October, 1865, he entered the freshman class of the University of Mississippi, and was graduated with the degree of A. B. , taking the four years' course in three years. In 1869 he received the degree of B. L. from the same institution. In 1869-70 he taught in the university. May 5, 1869, he was united in marriage to Miss Frances Eliza Lamar, daughter of Prof. L. Q. C. Lamar, of the law department of the university, now Justice Lamar, of the United States supreme court, and granddaughter of Dr. A. B. Longstreet, second president of the university. In 1871 Mr. Mayes began the practice of law at CofPee- ville. Miss., but in May, 1872, he removed to Oxford, where he has since resided. In 1877 he was elected to the law professorship in the university, and has occupied that chair from that date until the present. Upon the reorganization of the faculty in August, 1886, he was elected chairman of the faculty by that body. In June, 1889, the ofQce of chancellor hav- ing been reestablished, he was elected to fill it. Mr. and Mrs. Mayes are the parents of seven children: Mary L. ; Lucins L., who died at the age of four months; Elizabeth L. ; Edward W. , who died at the age of six years; Lucius L., Francis L. and Basil R. The family are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, and are quite active in church work. Mr. Mayes was a member of the general conference held at St. Louis in 1890, and is lay delegate to the ecumenical conference of 1891. He is a member of the Knights of Honor, and was a member of the constitutional convention of 1890, serving as chairman of the com- mittee on bill of rights and general provisions. George F. Maynard, attorney. Friar's Point, Miss. Mr. Maynard's parents, Decatur B. and Mary E. (Saunders) Maynard, were natives of Virginia and Alabama respectively, and descendants of old and very prominent families of those states. His paternal grandfather was a native of Virginia, received his final summons in that state, and was a prosperous 434 BIOGRAPHIOAL AND HISTORICAL mercliant and a very wealthy man. The Maynard family is of Norman French descent and was among the early settlers of the Old Dominion. Decatur B. Maynard came to Missis- sippi with an elder brother (Magnus L.) and settled in Coffeeville. There Magnus married Miss Frances Saunders and later Decatur was wedded to her sister, Miss Mary B. Saunders, both daughters of George N. Saunders. This last named gentleman was a planter and pur- chased a tract of land near Friar's Point. This is still known as the Old Saunders place. He made extensive improvements and there received his final summons in 1875. He was a veteran of the war of 1812, was at the battle of New Orleans, and was a brave and patriotic soldier. He was also with General Jackson in the Indian war. He was a substantial and prosperous citizen. The Saunders.family is of Irish descent. His wife v^as a relative of Pres. William H. Harrison. One of his sons, Capt. B. F. Saunders, was a soldier in the Mexican war, and later filled the position of sheriff of Coahoma county. The captain lost his right arm in an accident while hunting, but raised a company at the outbreak of the Civil war, served as captain through the stirring scenes of the war and was noted for his bravery. He was an active citizen and a man highly esteemed for his many good qualities. He died at Asheville, N. C, in 1868. Decatur Maynard removed to Washington county (now Coahoma), Miss., soon after his marriage and later came to Friar's Point, where he was a land speculator and merchant, being one of the early merchants of that place. He could not enter the army on account of physical disability and after the war he did not take advantage of the bankrupt law but paid to Northern creditors 160,000 all of which he made after peace was declared. He had been ruined by the war and the freedom of the slaves. He was a tender and loving husband and father, and after his wife's death in 1873 he never recovered from the shock, but died of grief, it is said, the following year. He left a large estate but slightly encumbered, .and this his daughter cleared from all claims. Both Mr. and Mrs. Maynard were members of the Methodist Episcopal Church South, and he was a most pious and devout Christian. He was of small stature and had quite a fair complexion. George F. Maynard, whose birth occurred in Friar's Point in 1853, was the sixth of eleven children borh to his parents. He was reared at Friar' s Point, graduated at Emory and .Henry college, Virginia, in 1875, and then taught school in order to obtain the means to take him through his law course. Three years later, or in 1878, he graduated in law at Mississippi university, Oxford, and in 1879 he began practicing at Friar's Point in partner- ship with E. M. Yerger. In 1880 he took a short course at the University of Virginia, and nine years later he formed his present partnership, Fitzgerald & Maynard. The firm own about three thousand five hundred acres of wild land. Mr. Maynard is president of the Friar's Point oilmill, is secretary and treasurer of the Friar's Point Building and Loan asso- ciation, and has assisted in organizing all the enterprises of the place. He is one of the rising lawyers of the state. He owns a plantation of six hundred acres with three hundred and fifty acres under cultivation at Burk station. Col. Samuel Mills Meek was born in Tuscaloosa, Ala., on Nov. 11, 1835, and graduated at the university of his native state in 1850. After leaving college he engaged in teaching for two years in the county of Oktibbeha, Miss., and afterward for one year filled the position of assistant to Prof. Thomas B. Bailey, now of the Agricultural and Mechanical college, of this state, in the Odd Fellows' Collegiate high school at Columbus, which he made his home, and where he now resides. Having adopted the law as his profession. Colonel Meek was admitted to the bar at Columbus in 1854. About this time, being an ardent, zealous democrat, he was chosen by his party elector for the county of Lowndes, and in con- junction with Capt. Thomas I. Sharp, who was his colleague, made a vigorous canvass against MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 425 knownothingism. The ability he displayed at once gave him prominence, and his party attested its appreciation of his worth by nominating him, in 1858, for the position of district attorney of the sixth judicial district. In the race he was opposed by three or four popular and formidable competitors, but was elected by an overwhelming majority. In 1856 he married Miss Mary L. Cannon, daughter of the late Col. William R. Cannon, who represented for several terms Chickasaw and Oktibbeha, then a senatorial district, in the state senate. When the war between the states came on, with true patriotic ardor Colonel Meek enlisted in the service of his section as a private soldier, though by virtue of his office be was exempt from military duty. He was at an early day promoted to a lieutenancy of infantry. Whilst holding this position he was, in 1862, re-elected district attorney. He preferred, however, to remain in the army, and was shortly afterward made lieutenant- colonel of a Mississippi regiment which was for a long while attached to Price's command, and which followed the fortunes of the army of the West from Bowling Green to Vicks- burg. When the war closed he again pursued the practice of his profession, in all the branches of which he gained a high and enviable reputation. As a criminal lawyer he has been en- gaged in the prosecution and defense of more capital felonies than perhaps any man of his age in the state or county. In civil practice also he has been eminently successful. During the memorable campaign of 1872 Colonel Meek was a democratic elector, during which he espoused warmly and vigorously maintained the cause headed by Horace Greeley. During this campaign he made a thorough canvass of his district, delivering eighty-two speeches in behalf of the cause of reform and local self-government. Although a wheelhorse in the ranks of democracy, ever willing and ready to respond to any call, he has yet never 'sought a political office. In the summer of 1880, yielding to the urgent solicitations of friends, he allowed his name to be used as a candidate for congress in the First district. He was defeated in the convention after about four hundred ballots, and gave way gracefully, and to his credit it must be said never gave sign that he cherished any ill will toward any of his opponents and never displayed any of the acerbities of a foiled politician. Indeed, it can v?ith truth be said that Colonel Meek possesses many noble attributes. Free as he is from petty jeal- ousies that so often dwarf the character of public men, he rejoices in the" success of others when that success is attained through merit. In the arena of politics, as in that of law, he has never asked or claimed anything but an open field and k fair fight. Generous to a fault, his rivalry never exceeds the emulation of a noble mind; and after a contest is declared at an end he seeks to forget whatever of acrimony may have been engendered and to cherish only a desire to soothe the hurt feelings and wounded pride of his antagonists. In person Col. Meek is of majestic statue, standing, like Saul, a head and shoulders above his fellows. His countenance is of the cast that wins you on approach. Kindness, benignity and amiability shine forth in its every lineament and proclaims the friend of man. In his intercourse with others he brings much of the bonhomie so indicative of an open, candid and truly genial nature. Col. Meek is remarkable for his success in criminal cases. His reputationin this branch of his profession has extended beyond the limits of the state. No one, it is said, is more happy in selecting jurors than he, and he displays much tact in the management of delicate cases which oftentimes involve the life of his clients. In the style characteristic of him in the speeches he delivers, one would say he modeled after Burke, giving to the class of declamation the varnish and coloring of Curran and Phillips. In manner he has evidently carefully studied the examples of those three great men who have passed away from the stage of action; and he prefers their stately periods and lofty 426 BIOORAPEIOAL AND HI8T0RI0AL address to the buffoonery of modern foemen. As an advocate in the criminal branch of the law, to which he has devoted so much time and labor, and in which he has won so many- bright and enduring laurels, he has probably not an equal, certainly not a superior in the Southwest. His native powers of mind, magnetic, and remarkably quick in thejr move- ments, seize the strong points of cases in which he is interested, or trials in which he is engaged, as they spring up in discussion at the time, and grasping with remarkable celerity and masculine force their weight and bearing where they may prove favorable or prejudicial to his clients, presents them with a strength, a vigor and a cogency, at the same time a clear- ness, which carries conviction to bench, jury and audience. In many respects he resembles the late Ool. John T. Brady, of New York. In the case of the latter it has been said that no emergency ever arose to which he was not equal, and the more closely he was pressed the greater the resources he displayed and the readier, happier and stronger he appeared. The same can be said of Colonel Meek, and as with Mr. Brady, it can with truth be remarked of him the faculty of readiness in debate has contributed much to the brilliant success he has achieved. In the management especially of difficult uncertain cases. Colonel Meek is justly regarded as one of the safest and most reliable lawyers in the South. His conception takes in at a glance all the difficulties likely to arise when an issue is joined, and enables him like a skill- ful general to be strong at every weak point. He rarely, if ever, no matter what the circum- stances may be makes blunders, and to this fact is largely due the reputation he enjoys. Colonel Meek belongs to a long line of distinguished ancestry. His grndf ather on his father's side was a soldier in the American Revolution, and lost a leg at the battle of Cowpens. His father was a distinguished physician, for twenty years president of the medical board of the state of Alabama, and also. a Methodist minister. His mother was a Miss McDowell, a native of Charleton, S. C, but a relative of the celebrated Virginia family of that name. Governor McDowell being her second cousin. His immediate family have all been dis- tinguished. Five brothers graduated at the University of Alabama, with high honors, one of them. Judge A. B. Meek, eminent as a poet, orator and statesman, is very well known throughout the country. His younger brother, B. F. Meek, LL. D., is now prof essor in the University of Alabama. His other brothers died before they were old enough to gain anything more than a collegiate reputation. Colonel Meek is now in the prime and vigor of manhood and we trust will live long to battle for the interest of his native section. Colonel Meek has in his possession some rare relics, among which is a tomahawk said to have been owned by Pocahontas, who saved the life of John Smith in the seventeenth centurv. This was handed down by the Col. William S. Bollinger family, and Smithsonian institute of Washington, D. C, has offered a handsome price for it. This is without doubt genuine. Another relic is a pair of large fieldglasses which was presented by Louis Napoleon to the great cavalry leader Geri. N. B. Forrest, who used them during the Civil war. They were presented to Col. S. M. Meek by Gen. Forrest at his death. Thomas M. Meeks and J. T. Meeks comprise the firm of T. M. Meeks & Sons, promi- nent planters, merchants and sawmill men of Alcorn county. Miss. T. M. Meeks owes his nativity to Bedford county, Tenn. ; born June 30, 1829, and lived there until five years of age, when he came with his parents to Mississippi and remained there until nineteen years of age receiving his education. He then returned to Tennessee, remaining there five years. While there he was married, in 1852, to Miss Sophia A. Moore, daughter of Henry and Bethenia (Hill) Moore, both natives of the Old North state. Mr. Moore was a farmer, and followed that occupation in Tennessee until his death. The mother also died in that state. ?^^ 1^1.^/1^ MEMOIRS OP MiaaiasiPPi. 427 Both were members of the Christiaa church. To Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Meeks were born four children: William L., deceased; James W., deceased; Robert G., deceased, and J. T. Meeks. Thelatter married Miss Dona McPeters, a native of Mississippi, and the daughter of Robert and Hattie F. (Grains) McPeters; Mrs. McPeters being a direct descendant of old General Gains, who distinguished himself in the War of 1812 at New Orleans under GeneralJackson; Mrs. McPeter's father was a distinguished Methodist preacher in north Mississippi and Alabama. Robert McPeters was a native of Alabama. He was reared and educated there, and was a successful planter in that state until 1852. He then moved to Mississippi and opened a large plantation, which he ran successfully until his death, which occurred in 1861, and now lies buried in the Shiloh cemetery, in Alcorn county. His widow was remarried to W. R. Richardson, in 1870, a native of South Carolina. To J. T. Meeks and wife were born three children; Hubert E., Lula M. ,and T. DeWitt. J. T. Meeks was educated at Henderson, Tenn. , under the management of Rev. George Savage, now principal of the Southern Bap- tist university, of Jackson, Tenn. Miss Dona Meeks was educated at the Female college at Corinth, Miss. In 1864 our subject, Thomas M. Meeks, enlisted in the Confederate army under Colonel Lowry, company B, Mississippi infantry from Mississippi. He went to Bowling Green, Ky. ; then being discharged returned to Mississippi; then enlisted in the Seventh Mississippi Partisan rangers under Col. W. C. Falkner, and was in the battle of luka and Burnt Mills. He was in the retreat from Burnt Mills to Tupelo. He joined Van Dorn at Ripley and went to Poca- hontas, Tenn. , thence to Corinth, Miss. , and was in the battle at that place. He returned from there to Holly Springs on his retreat. He was in the battle at Davis' Ferry; return- ing from there he went to Hernando; from there he went to Grenada, Miss., then to Houston, from there to Oxford, then to Varona and from there to the state of Alabama. Then he returned to Mississippi. He was in the battle of Collierville, Tenn. , and at Wyatt. He was also in the battle of Leaf river, and was in several skirmishes in north Mississippi and Alabama. He was discharged in 1865. Mr. Meeks is a democrat in politics, fad socially he is a member of the Masonic order. He has been a member of the Missionary Baptist church ever since 1859, and his wife is also a member of that church. He has been post- master at Theo since 1879. He and J. T. Meeks (his son) now own three thousand six hundred acres of land, a sawmill and store, and have been successful in each occupation. He is one of the prominent men of Alcorn county, and is the son of Littleton and Millie (Morris) Meets, natives of Franklin county, Ga, the father a prominent planter of his county, who at an early date moved from his native state to middle Tennessee, thence to Mississippi, and settled in Tippah county. He followed farming there for several years and then went to Arkansas, where his wife died. He afterward returned to Mississippi and died there in March, 1848. Both he and wife were members of the Primitive Baptist church. He had been married three times, his first union being to Miss Susie Womick. They had three children: John W., Melissie and Minerva, all deceased. The mother of these children died about 1824, and Mr. Meeks' second union was to Miss Millie Morris, who bore him five children: Mary, Thomas M. (subject), Frances, Sarah, Nacy and James, all deceased but the subject of this sketch. The mother died in July, 1844, and is buried in Arkansas. Mr. Meeks' third marriage was to Mrs. Conner. His death occurred in 1848, and his wife followed him to the grave soon afterward. His parents were Nacy and Frances (Holt) Meeks, natives of Georgia, it is supposed. Nacy Meefcs was a farmer and a Primitive Baptist minister. He was the father of ten children, of whom Littleton was second in order of birth: John, Littleton, Martin, James, Nacy, Josephus, Martha, Jane, Mary and Nancy, all AA 428 BIOORAPHIOAL AND HISTORICAL of whom emigrated to Texas at an early date except three: Littleton and James and Martin, who died in the state of MiBsissippi. Jefferson county, Miss., has many estimable citizens, but she has none more highly respected, or for conscientious discharge of duty in every relation of life, more worthy of respect and esteem than is Abram J. Melton. He has been intimately connected, not only with the farming and stockraising interests, but also with mercantile life, and as each of these branches of busineSs has received his attention from early boyhood, he has gained for himself a reputation which may be a source of pardonable pride. His birth occurred in Selma, Ala., January 17, 1839, and as he was thrown upon his own resources at an early day, his opportunities for obtaining an education were somewhat limited. At the early age of thirteen years he entered a general mercantile store at Selma, where he remained as a clerk for about six years, thus obtaining a thorough knowledge of mercantile life. When the mutterings of war first resounded throughout the land he cast aside all personal consid- erations, gave up his position and with the enthusiasm of youth and full of patriotic devotion to the land of his birth, espoused the cause of the Confedieracy, enlisting as a private soldier in company F Fourth regiment of Alabama infantry, but was soon promoted to the rank of lieutenant. Later he was transferred to the Third Alabama cavalry with the rank of captain, and at a still later period was promoted to the rank of quartermaster. He was a participant in many of the leading engagements of the war and on four different occasions was severely wounded, first at Manassas, second at Shiloh, third at Perryville and fourth at Murfreesboro. He remained in the service until the 26th of April, 1865, when he returned to his home. On the I2th of February, 1863, he had married Miss Chestina Farley, a daughter of G. P. and Charlotte P. Farley, of this state and county, and upon the close of hostilities he settled here and engaged in planting, but with the expectation of bettering bis financial condition he went to the state of Louisiana, but while there unfortunately lost a large amount of property and money by the overflow of the Mississippi river. Nothing daunted, he returned to Jefferson county, Miss. , and with the courage, perseverance and indomi- table pluck and energy which have ever characterized his endeavors he set about retrieving his losses, and on land which he rented he once more started anew. This state of affairs did not last long, however, for being a man of exceptionally shrewd views and very pushing, it was not in the nature of things that he should long remain a renter, and he soon gathered about him considerable means. In time his well established reputation as an able financier brought him safe returns and he is now the possessor of six thousand acres of valuable land, well improved and well tilled, for all is under his watchful eye. A fine steam cottongin and grist- mill add much to the appearance of prosperity which surrounds his property, while on his broad acres a fine herd of five hundred head of cattle, as well as a large number of horses and mules, are pastured annually. Mr. Melton does not confine himself merely to the raising of cotton, but also raises hay and his own corn. He has at all times endeavored to keep out of the beaten path, and the new, improved and valuable farm machinery that is used on his plantation fully testifies to his progressive, enterprising and intelligent views. He ships large quantities of tomatoes and small fiuits to different cities in the spring of the year, also. He has an excellent blacksmith and repair shop on his place, and in his mercantile house, which he established in 1885, he cairies the best assortment of general merchandise to be found in the county. He gives emplo) ment to about two hundred Africans the year round, and will soon require the help of many more in a large oilmill which he expects to erect in the year 1891. Here he will use about nine hundred tons of cottonseed during the year. He has already purchased this year, for shipment, about seven hundred tons of seed, and MEMOIRH OP MISSISSIPPI. 429 twelve hundred bales of cotton. His handsome and commodious residence is beautifully located on a rising piece of ground near the center of his plantation, and in this typical Southern mansion he and his accomplished and amiable wife delight to welcome their friends. In disposition Mr. Melton is genial and liberal, distributing his wealth with an unstinted hand wherever it is essential to the pleasure or welfare of himself and family or those around him, and as a result commands the respect and liking of all with whom he comes in contact. He and his wife have no children of their own, but they have reared and educated two orphan children, a boy and girl, both of whom are now grown. For the past fourteen years Mr. Mel- ton has served as a member of the board of supervisors, and in this capacity has had abundant opportunity to display his practical and intelligent views. The term self-made man may be appropriately applied to Mr. Melton, for since a young lad he has earned his own living and the magnificent property of which he is now the owner has been earned by his own efforts. For the admirable way he has conquered the many difficulties that have strewn his pathway he deserves great credit, and where many others would have fainted and fallen by the way- side, he has kept sturdily on, and is now reaping his reward in the shape of a handsome competency and the admiration and respect of his numerous friends. E. W. Melvin, farmer and merchant, Camden, Miss., is a descendant of Irish ancestors on his father' s side, his grandparents being natives of the Emerald isle, from which they emigrated to the United States in about 1790. His father, Robert E. Melvin, was born in Washington county, Penn., but was married in Kentucky to Miss Nancy Waller, a native of Shelby county, Ky. In 1845 they removed to Pike county. Mo., thence to Hinds county in 1851 and settled in Jackson, where he acted as deputy clerk for a number of years. During that time he studied law under Judge Clifton, and practiced his profession until the opening of the conflict between the North and South. In 1875 he entered the ministry of the Baptist church which he continued until his death, in August, 1890. The mother died in 1864. Four of the five children born to this union grew to maturity, and one besides our subject is now living; Mary E., wife of J. A. Fleming, of Madison county. E. W. Melvin was born in Pike county, Mo., in 1849, but until eleven years of age was reared in Hinds county, of this state. He then went to live with an uncle, with whom he remained six years, but on atjcount of the uncle not living up to his promise of sending him to school, he ran away and came to Madison county. He began attending school when in his nineteenth year, and spent six years ia getting an education. He attended the Cooper institute, in Lauderdale county, for one year, and by close application to his books received a good education. He subse- quently came to Camden, taught school from 1875 to 1878, and in 1880 began merchandis- ing where he is now located. He started with a stock of general merchandise valued at about 12 000, aad has increased this from time to time, until at present he carries a stock of goods valued at about 18,000, and does an annual business of about 140,000. About 1887 he bought two hundred acres of land, engaged in farming, and has since added six hundred acres, making eight hundred altogether. He also owns several small tracts in the county, amounting to about eight hundred acres more. On his farm here he has a large water- mill and gin, which he operates successfully. He is actively engaged in raising Poland China hogs, and has at the head of his herd a tine thoroughbred animal imported from New York. - Mr. Melvin was married in 1875 to Miss Elizabeth A. McMurtray, daughter of J. A. and Telitha (Cobb) McMurtray, natives of the Palmetto state. To this union have been born six sons: Marion E., Walter G., James H., Robert A., George M. and John W. Socially Mr. Melvin is a member of the Knights of Honor. He aud Mrs. Melvin are mem- bers of the Presbyterian church at Camden, of which he is elder, and he has been superin- tendent of the Sunday-school for the past ten years. 430 BIOGRAPHIGAL AND HISTORIOAL Hon. T. L. Mendenhall was born August 19, 1830, in Anson county, N. C. When fifteen years of age his father, Dr. William Mendenhall, died, in consequence of which he received only an academic education. In 1849 he emigrated to Westville, Simpson county, Miss., where he now lives. In 1855 he was elected clerk of the circuit and probate courts of said county, and performed the duties of these offices twelve years, having been reelected five times. During his service as clerk, he devoted his spare time to reading law, and after he declined to become a candidate for reelection, in 1867, he obtained licease to practice law, which profession he has followed ever since. In 1873 he was elected democratic state sena- tor from the counties of Simpson, Smith, Covington, Jones and Wayne, for the term of four years, and consequently was a member of that body during the notable impeachment trials of Governor Ames, Lieut. -Gov. A. K. Davis and G. W. Cardoza. In 1890 he was elected a delegate to the state constitutional convention from Simpson county and represented his county in that capacity. Mrs. Roena V. Mendrop was born in Southampton county, Va., a daughter of Newet Drew, who was born in the Old Dominion in 1804. He was a farmer and distiller, and was the owner of an immense amount of land and an .extensive distillery. He was married to Miss Lucy Wesbrook. His father was a planter by occupation, and soldier during the Revolutionary war. Mrs. Mendrop received only a common school education, and at the age of eight years ^he left her native state with her mother's family, and with them located first near Memphis, Tenn. In January, 1851, she came to Vicksburg and settled on a plantation belonging to Judge Noland, on the Big Black river, but at the end of two years purchased the Morgan place, and in 1864 became the owner of her ^present plantation, which consists of three hundred and twenty acres, two hundred of which are under cultivation. She was maiTied January 3, 1856, to C. A. Betts, of Virginia, and by him became the mother of four children: James T., Carious E., Lucy A., and Mary A. Mr. Betts was a planter by occupa- tion, and while just in the prime of life was cut down by the hand of death in December 1865. On the 15th of May, 1869, his widow married E. W. Mendrop, a Prussian by "birth, who served in the Confederate army in Barnes' cavalry company, Stark's regiment, enlisting in 1861, and continuing in the service until 1865. During this time he was a participant in the battles of Shiloh, Murfreesboro, Corinth, Forts Henry and Donelson, MissionaiTr ridge, the engagements before Atlanta, Port Gibson, and other important engagements. To Mr. Mendrop and his wife the following children have been born: Susie, Herman Roena, George, Grace, Ernest and Elden; Herman is deceased. Mr. Mendrop, who died in 1884, was an honorable and useful citizen, and his death was regretted by a large circle of friends and acquaintances. Mrs. Mendrop is a member of the Baptist church and is justly proud of the large family she has reared. Dunbar Surget Merrill, planter and stockbreeder, Natchez, Miss. Major Merill, the great-grandfather of Dunbar S. Merrill, held the rank of major in the Revolutionary war and was one of those who assisted in removing the British prisoners to Canada, which many others refused to do. His son, Dr. Ayres P. Merrill, was a native of Pittsfield, Mass., and a man of education and learning. He came to Natchez when a young man and was married there to a Miss Jane Moore, a native of Adams county. Miss. The Doctor was cashier of the Agricultural bank a number of years, but afterward removed to Memphis, Tenn. where he resided for some time. During the last years of his life he was an invalid and died in St. Cloud hotel. New York city, in 1874. He was a surgeon in the Seminole war. His son Hon. Ayres P. Merrill, was born in Natchez, Miss. , where he was ably tutored, and he was a graduate of Harvard college in the class of 1849. After this he studied law in New MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 431 Orleans, with the late distinguished Hon. S. S. Prentiss, and practiced his profession in that city until about 1854, when he returned to Natchez. He was there man-ied to Miss Jane Surget, who was a native of Adams county, Miss., and who died in 1864. She was the daughter of Frank Surget, a wealthy planter of Adams county, and a granddaughter of Peter Surget (see sketch of James Surget). Her mother was a Miss Dunbar, daughter of Sir William Dunbar. After his marriage Mr. Merrill settled at Elmscourt, a place in the suburbs of Natchez, and engaged in planting until after the war, when he removed to New York city. He was there engaged in the firm of Goodman & Merrill, Southern commis- sion merchants, and continued with the same until the death of Mr. Goodman, when business was suspended. He continued to reside in New York and during General Grant's first term in the presidential chair he served about three years as minister to Belgium. He was then compelled to resign on account of paralysis. He died at his home near Natchez in 1883. He was the owner of considerable real estate there, valuable business interests, and was the owner of residence property in New York city, and a summer residence at Newport. To his marriage were born seven children: Catherine B. ; Ann M., wife of H. Albert de Bary, of Antwerp, Belgium; Dunbar Surget, Ayres P., Jennie, Frank and Surget. The third child in order of birth, Dunbar Surget Merrill, was born on Elmscourt plantation, near Natchez, in 1859, and was educated at Brussels and Paris. Since the return of the fan^ly to Natchez he has followed planting and is an energetic young man. He was married in 1887 to Miss Charlotte Stanton, who was born at Brandon hall, Adams county. Miss., and who is a daughter of Aaron Stanton and the great-granddaughter of ex-Governor Gerard Brandon (see sketch of Aaron Stanton). Since his marriage Mr. Merrill has lived on his present farm. Hedges plantation, consisting of eighteen hundred and fifty acres, which he has greatly improved since becoming the owner. He is engaged in breeding a fine grade of Ayershire, Devon and Jersey cattle. To Mr. and Mrs. Merrill have been born two interesting children. Ayres P. Merrill, a prosperous planter of Adams county, Mississippi, is residing at his beautiful country seat, Elmscourt, which is situated about one and one half miles from Natchez. He was born in 1862 to Ayres P. and Jane (Surget) Merrill, both of whom were born in Adams county, the father receiving his literary education in Harvard college, after which he studied law and practiced for a short time. He afterward turned his attention to planting but was also in business in New York city as a commission merchajit. During President Grant's administration he was sent as a minister to Belgium but died in his native land in 1882. His father, vi'ho also bore the name of Ayres P. Merrill, was a physician and a native of Massachusetts. In an early day he became a resident of Natchez and for some time was a surgeon in the Mexican war. He was connected with the commercial bank and other business enterprises and died at the St. Cloud hotel in New York in 1S73. His wife was a Miss Moore. Mrs. Jane (Surget) Merrill was a daughter of Frank Surget, an early pioneer and the richest and most successful planter of this section, who passed from life here on his home plantation. Mrs. Merrill died in 1865. Ayres P. Merrill, the immediate sub- ject of this biography, is one of a family of ten children, seven of whom are living: Catha- rine, Anna M. , wife of H. Albert de Bary, of Belgium, Dunbar S.. Jennie S., Ayres P., Frank S. and Eustis. Ayres P. Merrill was educated in Burlington, N. J., and at Brussels. Bel- gium. In 1883 he was married to Miss Pauline, daughter of Dr. Walter, a native of New York, and Jane Stewart, a native of Natchez, Miss., the former of whom came to Natchez, Miss. , in youth and was married here, this place afterward being the home of Mr. and Mrs. Stewart until their death, which occurred during the war. Mrs. Stewart was a daughter of Hon. Aylett Buckner, a Tirginian who went with his parents to Kentucky, coming in 1832 to 433 BIOGRAPHICAL AND HISrOBIGAL Natchez, where he practiced law until just prior to the war, when he retired from active life. He was United States attorney for the closing up of the Mississippi state bonds of the Plant- ers' bank, was a faithful official, and was noted as a talented and brilliant attorney. His wife was Charlotte Buckner, who was born in Adams county and died here about 1886. Mrs. Merrill was born in Natchez but was given a thorough education in the city of New Orleans. She and Mr. Merrill are members in good standing of the Episcopal church, are prominent people of this section, aid move in the highest social circles in Natchez. Elmscourt, their home, is one of the old-tiriie houses of A-dams county and is still kept in good condition and style. It has one hundred and forty-two acres of park, woodland, garden and cultivated fields, and the house, which is a stately and imposing mansion, is situated on rising ground and is completely embowered by a magnificant park of magnolias and liveoaks. Flowering plants and shrubs border the driveway to the house, and taken all in all it is an ideal home. Dr. J. F. Merritt was born in Fayette county, Ala., and when but a child was brought to Tippah county, where he grew to manhood and received a common school education. At the breaking out of the Civil war he entered company C, of the First Mississippi cavalry, and served until the battle of Selma, Ala., in 1864. Here his command was captured, but Dr. Merritt succeeded in making his escape and returned to his home in Mississippi and engaged in teaching sCjhool and studying medicine. In 1869 he entered the Medical University of Kentucky at Louisville, and after leaving this institution he located at Connorsville, Marshall county, Miss. , where he remained until 1 873. Since that time he has resided at Blue Moun- tain and has devoted his time to the practice of his profession, his name becoming a very familiar one in many homes. He has shown himself eminently worthy the trust and confi- dence reposed in him by all classes, and has unquestionably shown himself to be' a physician of decided merit. At the time of his locating in Blue Mountain there was but one family in the place, Gen. M. T. Lowrey's, bat it is now a thriving little town and Dr. Merritt is its leading physician. He is a member of the Tri-State Medical association, which comprises Mississippi, Tennessee and Arkansas, and is eminently capable of successfully practicing his calling, for he makes a point of keeping thoroughly posted in his profession, and also relies upon his own sound judgment in the treatment of his cases. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, and has been a member of the Baptist church since 1860. He has been remark- ably temperate all his life and is a liberal patron of all worthy enterprises, aiding them by every possible means. He was married in 1858 to Miss Sarah J. Eobinson, of Tippah county, by whom he has four daughters and two sons. Oren Metcalfe has been a resident of the state of Mississippi since the year 1833, and dur- ing the long term of years that he has resided here he has been earnest and able in his advocacy of what he thinks best calculated to promote the best interests of his country. Being a man of indomitable will power he has been the means of pushing many enterprises that have come up before him to a successful issue, and as his leading characteristics are extreme frankness, honesty of purpose and energy, his influence is widespread. He was born in Connecticut in 1810, the youngest of twelve children born to Thomas and Sybil (Chapin) Met«alfe, the former a native of New Hampshire and the latter of Connecticut. The paternal grandfather came from England and settled in New Hampshire, but his son Thomas after- ward moved to Connecticut, where he met and married Miss Chapin. In this state he resided for many years, but in 1819 he again made a change of residence, this time taking up his abode at Chardon, Ohio; but here he passed from life three years later, having been one of the honorable, successful and worthy tillers of the soil of the different states in which ' he resided. His widow, who lived to be ninety-three years of age, passed from life in Ohio, MEMOIRS OP MISSISSIPPI. 433 having been an affectionate mother and a true Christian. After leaving the common schools, where he received his education, Oren Metcalfe began clerking in a store, a calling he followed for some years, but in 1830 made a trip to Natchez to visit his brother Asa B., who was a prac- ticing physician, but soon after returned to Ohio, where he remained three years longer. He then took up his permanent abode in the state of Mississippi and for some time thereafter was engaged in merchandising. In 1838 Miss Zuleika, a daughter of Joseph B. and Amora (Cox) Lyons, became his wife, and after a married life of thirty-three years he was called upon to mourn her death, the date of her demise being May, 1871. To them a family of twelve children were born, three sons and two daughters of whom are living: Zuleika (wife of George D. Lawrence, who is a resident of Vicksburg, Miss., and is the present superintendent of the southern department of the Louisville, New Orleans & Texas railroad), Anna (wife of James S. Fleming, merchant, a resident of Natchez), Eichard Inge (a clerk in a bank), James B. (a lawyer at Seattle, Wash., he being the first attorney-general of that territory and now the head of a well-known legal firm of that city known as Metcalfe, Turner & Burleigh), and William, who is a lawyer of Oregon. The members of the family that are deceased are as follows: Joseph A., Thomas W., who was killed during the war; Julius O., Charles, John Inge, Medora and Belle. Mr. Metcalfe followed the occupation of merchant until 1850, being also engaged in planting; but in 1851 he was elected to the office of county sheriff, and as the duties of his trial term was discharged in a manner highly satisfactory to all, and very much to his credit, he was reelected to the position at each succeeding election until he had filled the office for twelve years, at the end of which time he was appointed for one year longer by Governor Sharkey. At the end of this term he once more embarked in mercantile life, and for five years followed an active business life, during which time his efforts to accumulate some worldly goods were highly successful and reflected great credit upon his ability as a financier, his sound judgment and practical views. At the end of this time he engaged in his present business, that of general life and fire insurance, and now represents the Queen insurance company of England, the Providence of Washington, R. I. , the Security of New Haven, Conn., and the Home of Georgia. In May, 1850, Mr. Metcalfe was appointed trustee of Jefferson college, and four years later was elected treasurer of that institution, which office he has since continuously held, being the oldest trustee and officer. He is an elder in the Presbyterian church of this place, a position he has filled for some thirty-five years, and for his many Christian qualities, his kin(ftiess, charity and love for his fellowmen, his friends are numerous and his enemies extremely few. P. S. Miazza, proprietor of the Commercial hotel of Greenville, Miss. , was born in Jack- son in 1866, the fifth of six children born to Angelo and Elizabeth (Quinn) Miazza, the for- mer a native of Italy and the latter of Illinois. P. S. Miazza attended school until he was eleven years only, at which age he began working in a printing office at Jackson, later enter- ing a telegraph office, where he remained tvvo years. He then went to Wesson, Miss., where he secured employment in the Mississippi mills. In January, 1881, he became an olfice boy in a hotel belonging to L. Fragiacomo in Jackson, and during this time his evenings were spent in attending night school, where he finished a commercial course in about a year and a half. He was soon advanced to the position of clerk in the hotel and for several years there- after was manager of Mr. Fragiacomo's hotel. After remaining with him until July, 1890, he came to Greenville and purchased the Scobely house, near the Louisiana, New Orleans & Texas railroad depot, and changed the name of this establishment to the Commercial House. He had it thoroughly renovated, repaired and refitted up from garret to basement and now has seventeen well appointed sleepingrooms, a pleasant parlor, samplerooms, etc., and a 484 BIOOBAPUIGAL AND HISTORIOAL commodious diningroom. Mr. Miazza is an experienced hotel man, is anxious to please his patrons, spares no expense in keeping his table supplied with the delicacies of the season, and being a jovial and agreeable companion, his house is a popular resort, especially for the trav- eling public. Although young he is exceptionally intelligent, for he was early compelled to rely upon his own resources, and is self-educated. He possesses rare business qualifications, his hotel is rapidly growing in popularity, and a bright future is before him. He was mar- ried on the 31st of December, 1.SS9, to Miss Emma Spengler, a daughter of H. Spengler, Sr., of Jackson, and to their union one child has been born, whom they have named Emma. Both Mr. Miazza and his wife are worthy members of the Catholic church. Daniel A. Mickle, planter. Duck Hill, Miss., is another of the many prominent citizens of Montgomery county, Miss., who owes his nativity to the Palmetto state, his birth occurring in Barnwell district on the 17th of December, 1820. His father, John M. Mickle, was born in the same state and district in 1787, and his grandfather was a native of the Emerald isle, but an early settler of South Carolina and a soldier in the Eevolution. John M. Mickle was married in Barnwell district to Miss Elizabeth Touchstone, daughter of Stephen Touch- stone, who was of German parentage. Mr. Mickle moved to Alabama about 1832, located on a farm and there reared his family. He was a soldier in the War of 1812 and held a lieutenant's commission. About 1850 he moved to Mississippi and spent his last days with his son", his death occurring in 1871. His widow died about 1874. Daniel A. Mickle, who was one of the children born to the above mentioned union, remained with his parents until eighteen years of age and in 1838 came to Carroll county, now forming a part of Montgomery county, and bought land near his present residence. He followed farming until 1 864, when he enlisted in the Confederate army, and his regiment was located at Grenada for home pro- tection. Eeturning to his home after cessation of hostilities he remained there until 1870, when he moved to his present property, consisting of about seven hundred acres, with one hundred acres under cultivation. Mr. Mickle was married in this county in 1846 to Miss Jane Margaret Sally, daughter of Capt. John H. Sally, and a native of South Carolina, although reared in Mississippi. Mr. and Mrs. Mickle have no children of their own, but have reared a number of orphan children. Mrs. Mickle holds membership in the Missionary Baptist church. Mr. Mickle is one of the successful and substantial citizens of Montgomery county, and boasts of always having raised his own corn and fattened his own meat. He is a social, honorable gentleman, and is highly esteemed by his friends and neighbors. Edward E. Middleton, a planter of Yazoo county, was born in Franklin county, Miss. , in 1833, and is the elder of two sons of Martin and Lucretia (Epps) Middleton. His parents were born in South Carolina, where they grew up and were married. They removed to Mis- sissippi in the pioneer days of the state, and endured all the privations and trials incident to the settling of a comparatively new country. His mother came to Mississippi from South Caro- lina when she was only five years old, in 1819, and his father came in 1812, when he was seven years old. The father died in 1835, in Franklin county. Miss., but the mother still survives. Edward E. passed his boyhood and youth in Hinds county, Miss., and at the age of twenty- three years started out in the world to seek his fortune. He had been trained to agriculture, so he began planting for himself. He settled in Yazoo county in 1852, but at the end of two years he removed to Holmes county. In 1862 he entered the service, enlisting in company D, First Mississippi light artillery. He passed through the hardships of warfare, and was a brave and faithful soldier until the declaration of peace. In 1856 he was married to Miss N. C. Barksdale, a daughter of Joseph and Annie (Carter) Barksdale, who were among the early and influential settlers of Mississippi. Mr, and Mrs. Middleton are the parents of twelve MEMOIRS OP MISSISSIPPI. 435 children, ten ""of whom are living: Louisa M., wife of E. S.Evans; Edward and Joseph, farmers; Lily, William, Fannie, Eva, Annie, Eufus and Pearl. Mrs. Middleton is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. Middleton belongs to the Masonic order in Benton, of which he has been W. M. four years. He gives his attention to planting,* and owns three hundred and seventy-eight acres of good land; one hundred and fifty acres are under culti- vation, and yield abundant harvests. He has traveled frequently through the southern por- tion of Mississippi, and has been a witness to the wonderful changes which have been wrought by the hand of industry since the place was laid desolate by the ravages of war. Rufus M. Middleton was born in Franklin county, Miss., January 9, 1835, and is the son of Martin C. and Lucretia (Epps) Middleton, natives of South Carolina. There were two children, and Rufus M. was but six weeks old when the father died. Two years after- ward the mother was married to the Rev. Preston Cooper, a member of the Methodist Epis- copal conference of Mississippi. The family removed to Hinds county, Miss., in the fall of 1837, and settled on a farm. About the year 1840 Mr. Cooper discovered the mineral wells known as Cooper's wells, which are considered of excellent quality. Mr. Middleton's two sons grew to maturity, and are still living; the mother also survives, and resides at Hazlehurst. Eufus M. Middleton grew to manhood in Hinds county, and spent his school days at Ray- mond. In 1853 he came to this county, and engaged in farming. In 1859 he purchased the plantation on which he has since lived; he cultivates half of the four hundred acres of which the farm consists at the present time ; his first purchase was of two hundred and eighty acres of land which was little improved; this he had in a good state of cultivation at the breaking out of the Civil war, but at the close of the conflict there was little left to tell of what had been; the improvements were all swept away, and the livestock and crops were stolen. In 1862 he entered the Confederate service as a member of company B, Wither's light artillery. He was at Port Hudson, Harrisburg and Blakely, and in numerous smaller engagements. At Port Hudson he was taken prisoner, was paroled, and again, at Blakely he was captured. When the war was ended he returned to his home, and set bravely to work to retrieve his broken fortune. Of late years he has given special attention to improving the breeds of farm stock of all kinds. Politically he affiliates with the democratic party, and is actively interested in all the movements of that body. He has served as magistrate, and is a member of the school commission. He belongs to P. B. Tutt lodge No. 17, A. F. & A. M. , also to the W. D. Farris chapter, R. A. M. , and to the Knights of Honor. He has been secretary of the Blue lodge for twenty years. Mr. Middleton was united in marriage in Yazoo county in 1855, to Johanna A. Mays, a daughter of John and Mary B. (Churchwell) Mays. Mrs. Middleton's parents were of English ancestry, and removed from Virginia to Mississippi. Mr. and Mrs. Middleton had born to them eight children: Mary L., wife of F. B. Thompson, of Madison county; Laura H. , wife of James P. Rose, of Benton; Henry P., who married Miss Birdie Carmouche; Rufus M. , Jr., of Madison county; John D. , of Louisiana; Frank E., Maud G. and Allen F. Mr. Middleton has been a witness to the advance of Yazoo county since the war, and, as all true Southerners are, is an ardent admirer of the courage and will with which the men of the South applied themselves to the rebuild- ing of their shattered fortunes. E. S. Middleton was born at Crosswicks, N. J., January 13, 1831, the eldest of three children born to Aaron and Martha S. S. (Cottongood) Middleton, the latter inheriting Dutch blood of her ancestors. The great-great-grandfather of E. S. Middleton came from England and settled in New Jersey, and nearly all the male members of the family down to the present day have been farmers and tanners. Aaron Middleton was a blacksmith by 436 BIOGRAPHICAL AJfD HISTOBIOAL ♦ trade, but farmed the most of his life. He was a well-informed man, having received an academic education in his youth, was progressive and enterprising in his views and of kindly and charitable disposition. E. S. Middleton attended the old fieldscliools up to the age of sixteen years, then went to the city of brotherly love, where he began learning the car- penter's trade, afterward working at the same for five years in Philadelphia, five months in Georgia, six months in St. Louis, after which he came to Mississippi, and settled in Hinds county, working on the insane asylum of Jackson in the fall of 1853. He afterward took charge of a sawmill for A. G. Grant for about six months, and after quitting his employ began contracting as a carpenter, which calling he continued to follow until the breaking out of the war. He then joined the Confederate army, but only remained in the service for a short time, his services being principally required as a shipbuilder. He spent four months iu Savannah, where he helped to repair and refit an ironclad which had been made in Scot- land to run the blockade. When the war closed he returned to Hinds county. Miss., where he has since been engaged in farming. Ho made considerable money prior to the opening of the war, but lost it all, and had, like many others, to commence the battle of life anew after hostilities had ceased. In payment of a debt he took some cotton, which he sold for $8,000. He now owns two thousand acres of land, about seven hundred and fifty of which are under cultivation, and on which he raises two hundred and twenty-five bales of cotton and one thousand five hundred bushels of corn annually. He has a fine steam cottongin and grist- mill, the former of which turns out about six hundred bales each year. He keeps constantly- on hand about eighty head of cattle, which he fattens for beef, and ships some occasionally to New Orleans. He also raises quite a large number of cattle each year. In 1881 he was elected a member of the board of supervisors of Hinds county, and during the four years that he served he filled the position of president of the board two years. During this time a large portion of the county debt was paid off. The board was very economical and made a new issue of bonds to cover a debt of $100,000, all of which bonds the president of the board was compelled to sign. He also served in the capacity of magistrate during Alcorn's administration as governor. He was married in 1862 to Miss Mary Baskins, of Madison county. Miss., and by her has three sons and two daughters: E. S., Jr., who attended the high school of Philadelphia, Penn., for four years, and afterward graduated from the law department of the University of Mississippi, standing very high in his class; Elwood Kirby, who attended Clinton college three years; Caleb S., who spent two years in the Agricultural and Mechanical college and studied medicine in Philadelphia, Penn. ; Jesse Stewart and Anna, both of whom are graduates of Hamilton college, of Lexington, Ky. Mr. Middleton is and has every reason to be proud of his family, for they all promise to become upright, useful and intelligent citizens. Mr. Middleton is of a kindly and charitable disposition and is liberal in the use of his means in aiding the poor and needy and in encouraging worthy enterprises. Dr. J. D. Miles is a prominent and skillful dentist of Vicksburg, but was born in Natchez, March 15, 1829, being the third child born to David and Eleanor (Brownjohn) Miles, the former of whom was born in Wales. He came to the United States and settled in Natchez, Mississippi, in 1816, and there followed his calling, that of a civil engineer, and laid out many of the streets of that city, at the same time being engaged in street contracting. He died in 1830. The mother was born in London, England, a daughter of John Brownjohn, and in 1816 came with her people to the United States, settling in Natchez, where her father and mother died. After the death of her husband Mrs. Miles married a Dr. R. Chambers and removed to Illinois, where she resided until 1850, when they returned and settled in MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 437 Vicksburg. Dr. R. Chambers was a popular and successful dentist and followed his profes- sion in Vicksburg until his demise. The mother died in March, 1886, at the age of seventy- nine years, having been an earnest member of the Episcopal church. To her union with Dr. Chambers six children were born, only Mrs. J. P. Baum being now alive, her home being in Vicksburg— Dr. J. D. Miles resided in Illinois until he was sixteen years of age and there received the principal part of his education. He began the practice of dentistry in 1851 in Natchez. The following year he was married to Miss Hattie Paine, a daughter of Thomas Paine, an old settler of Natchez, and in 1855 came to Vicksburg, where he has been in the constant practice of his profession ever since. He has devoted the greater part of his life to his profession and is a skilled operator, his patronage being large and lucrative. In 1875 he with six other dentists organized the Mississippi State Dental association in his office in Vicksburg, was its first president and has since been its president on two different occasions. He has for five years served as a member of the Mississippi state board of dental examiners, and has in numerous other ways shown a deep interest in his profession. To Dr. Miles and his wife six children have been born: John Joseph, a broker at Seattle, Wash.; MaryM., wife of George A. Myer of Washington, D. C. ; Charlotte, who died in infancy; Benjamin C, who is in the transfer business at Vicksburg; Freddie Baum, who died of yellow fever in 1878, and Eliza J., wife of S. Q. Kline of Vicksburg. The family are members of the Epis- copal church and move in the highest social circles of Vicksburg. Rev. E. D. Miller, principal of the State normal school at Holly Springs, and an edu- cator of prominence, is a native of the Buckeye state, his birth occurring in 1827, and was the eighth in order of birth, and a twin, of ten children born to Godlove and Susanna (Sims) Miller, both natives of Virginia. The parents were married in the Old Dominion, but moved to Ohio in 1818, and there the father followed mechanical pursuits and farming until his death in 1837. The mother died in 1877. She was a member of the Baptist church. The paternal grandfather was a native of Germany, and came to America in colonial times, set- tling in Virginia, where he reared four children. He was a Baptist minister, and was well known as a ripe scholar and a great linguist, few individuals at that time being his equal in scholarship. The maternal grandfather, George Sims, was a native Virginian and of English descent. He was also a Baptist preacher, and left a large family. Rev. E. D. Miller received a thorough theological education at Georgetown, Ky., and graduated there in 1854. He sub- sequently went South, settling in Decatur, Ala. After one year he went to Elizabethtownj Ky., was in charge of a church there for one year, and then, in 1857, came to Mississippi, set- tling in Marshall county. He lived on a plantation, and in connection with his ministerial duties carried on farming there for some time. In 1870 he came to Holly Springs, and four years later became actively connected with educational matters. In 1878 he was appointed county superintendent of schools, and served in that capacity with credit to himself and satis- faction to the people for twelve years. During that time he made many changes in the schools of the county, advocated and employed the best systems of instruction, and thus elevated the tone and credit of the schools. In 1884 he was appointed one of the trustees of the State normal school, and in 1889 was appointed superintendent of that institution. He is a student of psychology, as it relates to the child and its power of learning, also the theory and practice of teaching, and is also studying history and theology. He has a good, useful library and a pleasant home. He was married first, in 1857, to Miss Margaret E. Ford, a native of Virginia, who died in 1878. The second union occurred in 1881 , Mrs. Mary V. Mayer, nee Mallory, a native of Alabama, becoming his wife. Judge Hugh R. Miller was born in South Carolina in 1815, He came to Pontotoc, 438 BIOQBAPHIOAL AND HISTORICAL Miss., about 1840, and immediately made his influence felt at the bar of his county. By his genius and close application to the duties of his profession he climbed to the top- most round of the ladder in his legal practice of this section. Way back in the forties he was elected to represent his county in the legislature. He was elected circuit judge, and was noted for the fairness of his decision. Eefusing reelection, he resumed the practice of his profession, in which he continued until the opening of hostilities between the North and South. He organized a company in Pontotoc and went directly to Virginia, participating in the battle of Manassas junction, where he distinguished himself so largely that, at the solicitation of his commanding officers, he returned home and raised the Forty -third regi- ment of Mississippi volunteers, which he commanded with great credit until his brilliant military career was cut short by his death at the battle of Vicksburg. Eev. Irvin Miller, merchant, Walnut Grove, Miss., was born in the Blue Grass state, Marion county, near Lebanon, on the 11th of November, 1836, and is of Scotch descent, his paternal grandfather being a native of that country. His father, James Irvin Miller, was born in Pennsylvania, and there grew to manhood. He went from there to Kentucky, and was married in that state to Miss Adaline Evans, daughter of Edward Evans, a native of the Old Dominion and a pioneer settler of Kentucky, in which state Mrs. Miller was born and reared. Soon after his marriage Mr. Miller settled in Marion county, followed farming, and there reared his family. He was an active member of the Presbyterian church, and an elder in the same for a number of years. He died in 1846, and his wife followed him to the grave in 1879. Rev. Irvin Miller was educated in his native county at Lebanon Male seminary, under the supervision of Prof. W. T. Knott, and after completing his studies, or in 1855, he came to Mississippi, locating in Hillsboro, Scott county, where he engaged in clerking. He there practically learned the mercantile business. In 1859 he began merchandising at Damascus, and sold goods up to 1863, when in January of that year he enlisted, first, in the Fourth Mississippi cavalry, which was afterward reorganized and known as the Second Mississippi. Mr. Miller served until the close of the war, and participated in a number of important engagements. He was wounded at Spring Hill, Tenn., by concussion of shell and disabled from further active duty. After sufficiently recovering he served on detached and post duty until cessation of hostilities. Returning then to Damascus, Miss., he resumed merchan- dising, and continued this occupation successfully until 1868, when he removed to Walnut Grove, located where he now resides, and has been in active business since. He was the second man to locate and engage in business at this place; the surrounding country was a wilderness, and there were only a few farms scattered here and there. He erected a large store building, a good residence, and has been an active business man here since. In connection he has also been engaged in farming for a number of years, and is the owner of several farms in Leake county. Mr. Miller was married oil the 4th of December, 1856, to Miss Melissa Brewer, daughter of Wiche Brewer, one of the early settlers of Scott county. Mrs. Miller was born in Alabama and reared in Scott county, Miss. The fruits of this union were six children, viz.: John E., married, and depot agent at Hatties- burg, Miss.; Ada M., widow of Prof. W. W. Graham, who was a native of Leake county, and a teacher in the Lone Star state (Mrs. Graham has one child. Miller, a boy of two years); Jennie, wife of Dr. W. A. Kelly, who is a physician of Walnut Grove; Gussie, wife of Luther Sparling, a farmer of Leake county; Irvin K., a lad of twelve, and Edith Love, nine years old. Mr. Miller joined the Methodist Episcopal Church South, in 1848, and was licensed to preach in 1865, and has been an active minister of the same ever since. He is a local preacher, and has regular appointments. He is an eloquent and gifted speaker MEMOIRS OP MISSISSIPPI. 439 on nearly all subjects, and has the faculty of holding the attention of his audience, He has never aspired to political honors, but was elected to represent Leake county in the last constitutional convention. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, and of White Plains lodge No. 192, joining the same in 1859, and is master of his lodge. He is also a member of the Knights of Honor. He has served as postmaster at Walnut Grove for the past twenty -three years, and at Damascus eleven years prior to his removal to Walnut Grove. Mr. Miller is a typical Southern gentleman, hospitable and chivalrous, and no man stands higher in the estimation of the people than he. Prof. John C. Miller, of Clay county, Miss., was a well-known and successful educator up to 1886, but since that time has devoted his attention to farming, milling and stockrais- ing. He was bom in Spartanburg, S. C, in 1836, to Alexander and Sylvia (Whetstone) Miller, both of whom were born in the Palmetto state, the former's birth occurring in 1800. He was a farmer and mechanic, and about 1844 moved to Mississippi, and settled in that part of Chickasaw county that is now Clay county. He died at the home of his son John C. in 1875. To his marriage, which occurred in 1825, the following children were born: William H., a resident of Clay county; James M., who was killed in the battle of Chickamauga dur- ing the war; Nancy M., wife of William Linn, both deceased; John C. ; Mary J., wife of S. McKenney, deceased, of Clay county; Thomas W., a resident of this county; and two children deceased. John C. Miller was educated in the state university of Mississippi at Oxford, and was graduated from that institution in 1858. He immediately began teaching in Long Branch academy near Palo Alto, and up to 1886 followed this calling, with the exception of the time that he was in the army, teaching nine years at one place. He also carried on planting in connection with these duties, but since the above mentioned date has given up pedagoguing. In April, 1861, he joined company A, Seventeenth Mississippi regiment, and served until after the first battle of Manassas, in which he participated. After this he was taken ill and honorably discharged. Upon recovering he again enlisted in the service, but this time became a member of company F, Ninth Mississippi cavalry, and before the close of the war took part in many engagements, and was appointed quartermaster sergeant. He was paroled at Gainesville, Ala., in 1865, and returned to his home in Mississippi. He has since filled the offices of justice of the peace, a member of the school board in Chickasaw county, and in 1872 was elected to the office of county supervisor, a position he filled with ability for two years in Chickasaw county. He has been very successful as a planter, and is now the owner of one thousand five hundred and twenty acres of land, and has five hundred acres in cultivation. There has never been a mortgage on any of his property, and he has always been abundantly able to live up to his obligations, and to meet all demands upon his purse. He is a member of the Methodist church, of Pikeville lodge No. 85, of the A. F. & A. M., at Buena Vista, the Golden Rule, the Farmers' Alliance and the Patrons of Husbandry (grange). In all these he held important and prominent positions. He was married in 1866 to Miss Jennie Brownlee, a daughter of A. M. and Plorinda Brownlee, and to them a family of twelve children have been born: Cheves, wife of Dr. J. S. Evans; Dora L., deceased; Zalla, successful schoolteacher; Florinda, James M., Walter V. (deceased), John C, Jr., Evans, Goldie L., Una E., Albert P. and Percy De W., all of whom any parent might be proud. John H. Miller, planter, Waterford, Miss. There are a number of men prominently identified with the agricultural affairs of Marshall county, but none among them is more deserving of mention than John H. Miller, who, in the management of his farm, displays excellent judgment and thoroughness, qualities which can not fail of success. He is a native 440 BIOORAPHIOAL AND HISTORlOAL « Virginian, and comes of old Virginia stock, his parents, John and Mahala (White) Miller, being natives also of the Old Dominion. The paternal grandfather was a native of Scotland. The parents vsrere reared in their native state, were there married, and there reared a family of eleven children, six of whom are now living, and all iu Virginia, with the exception of John H. The parents both died in Virginia, the mother in 1875 and the father in 1885. John H. Miller, the eldest son of the above-mentioned family, was married in his native state in 1846 to Miss Mary Susan Harris, of Buckingham county, Va., and daughter of Col. John M. Harris. In 1848 he moved to Mississippi, located in Marshall county, and has been a resident and honored and respected citizen since. His marriage was blessed by the birth of eight children — six sons and two daughters — five sons and one daughter now living. Mr. Miller is the owner of nine hundred acres of land, five hundred acres under cultivation, and is eno-aged in raising cotton principally. He is a practical agriculturist, and keeps thor- oughly apace with the times. His sons are all farmers, but in connection also deal largely in mules. His sons, Eugene and J. C, have a large livery business in Greenwood, Miss., and are successful business men. Mr. Miller and wife are members of the Christian church, Mr. Miller having joined nearly fifty years ago. He is now iu his seventy-fourth year, but is still hale and hearty. He has been a resident of Marshall county for forty-two years, and his reputation in that and adjoining counties is that of a first-class citizen, and an honest, upright man. He is universally respected, and no man stands higher in.^he estimation of the people. He was appointed by Governor Lowry as one of the commissioners to represent the state at the State fair of Georgia, held at Atlanta. The Miller family is one among the old- est of Marshall county, and the members have ever been honorable and esteemed citizens. Among the substantial and reliable men of Greenwood, Miss., is Eugene L. Miller, a native of Marshall county. Miss., born December 17, 1851. John H. Miller, his father, was born in the state of Virginia, where he grew to man's estate. He was there imited in mar- riage to Mary S. Harris, also a Virginian by birth. He removed to Mississippi about the year 1849, and was one of the pioneer settlers of Marshall county. He opened a plantation near Holly Springs, where he now resides, and is one of the prominent planters of the county. Eugene L. Miller is one of a family of five sons and one daughter, all of whom have grown to maturity, and three of whom are heads of families. Our subject spent his youth on his father's plantation, receiving a common English education in the county in which he was born. After reaching his majority he engaged in planting in Marshall county; also trading and dealing in livestock. He removed to Greenwood in January, 1889, and in that city erected a large barn and embarked in the livery business. He buys large numbers of horses and mules, and is one of the most successful livestock dealers in Le Flore county. He has won for himself an enviable position in the business circles of Greenwood. He was married in Virginia, in October, 1874, to Miss Mary Ann Lipscomb, daughter of George Lipscomb, Esq., and a native of Virginia. Mr. and Mrs. Miller have one son,' Robert Miller, a lad of thirteen years. Mr. Miller is a member of the Masonic fraternity, and also belongs to the Knights of Pythias and the Knights of Honor. He is a man of genial disposition, enterpris- ing and public-spirited, and possessed of those sterling traits of character that go to make the best citizenship. A livery stable is a most essential institution, both for pleasure and convenience, and to be able to command at any moment a horse aud rig for a drive in the country, or for business or other purposes, is a great privilege, indeed. Foremost among the prominent business men of Booneville stands the name of J. T. Miller, who is a native of this state, born in Marshall county on the 25th of July, 1841. His father, Kedar Miller, was born in Tennessee in 1815, MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 441 and the latter's first marriage was to Miss Ann Campbell, daughter of John K. Campbell. She died, leaving three children: John, Thomas and Mary. Mr. Miller was then married to Miss Parthenia Dalton, daughter of Terry and Nancy (Low) Dalton, and five children are the fruits of this union: Kedar, James T. (subject of this sketch), Anna L., William L. and Emma. The mother of these children was a member of the Methodist church, and died in Prentiss county in 1852. Subsequently Mr. Miller took for his third wife Pris- cilla Forbes, who bore him five children: Parthenia, Jessie, Benjamin, Sallie, and Katie (who is in the millinery business at Booneville). Mr. Miller died about 1S76. He was a member of the Methodist church, and was active in his support of all public affairs of a laudable nature. He was a Mason, and in his political views was a democrat. Kedar Miller was the son of James and PoUie Miller, both of whom died when their grandson, James T., was small. It was the latter's lot to grow up with a farm experience, but at the age of twenty-five years he started out to fight life's battles for himself. Miss Sallie Perkins, who became his wife, and who was the daughter of E. M. and Elizabeth Perkins, was a native of Tennessee. This felicitous union resulted in the birth of six children: Ebby Terry, William Albert, Elizabeth, Katie, Lucian and Esma, all now living. Mr. Miller followed farming until about 1870, when he moved to Booneville and engaged in the draying business. Later he embarked in the livery business, and has won the reputation of being one of the thorough, wideawake business men of the place. He is what is called a self-made man, and what he has acquired in the way of this world's goods is the result of hard work and close atten- tion to business. He is a member of the Methodist church, and in politics is strongly demo- cratic. He espoused the cause of the Confederacy, and in 1861 enlisted in a company of the Twenty-sixth Mississippi, under Captain Davenport. He was in the battles of Collinsville and Town creek, and was wounded in the ankle at the former place, beiug disabled from duty for a month. He then enlisted in the Seventh Mississippi cavalry, company A, Capt. • Tom Ford, Colonel Falconer, and was in regular service for two years, participating in the battles of Harrisburg and Tupelo. He was discharged in 1865. Aside from his livery busi- ness, Mr. Miller is the owner of two hundred and eight acres of land on Wolf creek, and has about one hundred acres of this under cultivation. He also owns property in Booneville. William D. Miller's parents, Calvin and Catherine B. (Comfort) Miller, were natives respectively of North Carolina and New Jersey, and his father left his native state to locate in Hinds county. Miss., in 1836. He was reared in North Carolina, but was educated at Miami, Ohio, and later entered the West Point Military college, where he was not able to finish his course on account of ill health. After leaving the school he was offered an appoint- ment in the navy, which he did not accept, but instead accepted a professorship in Washing- ton, D. C, which he held up to the time of his removal to Mississippi. Soon after being admitted to the bar of the supreme court he practiced law in Jackson, Miss., until 1839, when he removed to Panola county, where he had a very successful practice for nearly forty- two years. As a lawyer he was well read and profound, and his argumentative powers were clear, vigorous and incisive. He never saw but one side to a case, and that was his own. He possessed to an eminent degree the two most requisite characteristics of a successful lawyer — patience and perseverance. He had an aversion to politics, and could never, though often solicited to do so, run for any political office. He was a Mason of high rank, and was instru- mental in establishing many lodges of that order in the state. He was a gifted and polished gentleman, and a strict member of the Episcopal church. It is said of him that he never swore an oath in his life, and never permitted any one to tell a vulgar joke or story in his presence. His death occurred in 1881, and his widow followed him to the grave seven years 442 BIOOBAPHIOAL AND EI8T0RI0AL later. The paternal grandfather, John Miller, was one of North Carolina's most prominent meji, and lived on a farm that was first settled by Daniel Boone. He was a member of the state senate of North Carolina. The maternal grandfather, Daniel Comfort, was a native of New Jersey, and came to Clinton, Miss., at an early day. He accepted the presidency of the school at that place, and retained his position in the college until his death in 1859. He was an educator of rare ability, and many prominent men of Mississippi, among whom are several ex-governors, received their education under him. He was a minister in the Presby- terian church. William D. Miller was born in Hinds county. Miss., on the 17th of Novem- ber, 1840, and was the second in order of birth of three children born to his parents. His boyhood days were pased in Panola county, and his literary education was obtained at La Grange, Tenn., and Frankfort, Ky. He subsequently attended law school at Oxford, Miss. , but was kept from graduating by the breaking out of the war. Soon after leaving school he entered the Confederate army, attached himself to company P, Twenty- eighth Mississippi cavalry, commanded by Col. P. B. Stork, and participated in the battles of Franklin, Atlanta, siege of Vicksburg and surrender at Oakland, Miss. When the war ended he returned to Panola county, began the practice of law and has continued this up to the present time. He is an able attorney, and as custodian of the people's interests he has ever been vigilant and watchful. His practice has been very gratifying and satisfactory in every way. From 1878 to 1879 Mr. Miller was a member of the legislature, and his career as a public man has been characterized by honesty and perseverance. He has inherited many of his father's good qualities, and his aim in life is to do credit to his father's memory. He is the owner of nine hundred acres of land, a handsome residence in Sardis, and a well-equipped office. In 1871 he married Miss Annie Gillion, a native of Mississippi, and a daughter of John Gillion, who was born in Georgia. This union resulted in the birth of two children : Katie Heard and Caloin. The daughter was educated at Stanton, Va., and the son is now in school at Oxford. Mr. Miller and family are members of the Episcopal church. Maj. R. W. Millsaps, president of the Capital State bank, of Jackson, Miss., is a native of Copiah county, Miss., where he was born on the 30th of May, 1833, being the second in a family of eight children born to Reuben and Lavinia (Glowers) Millsaps, both of whom were Georgians by birth. The paternal grandfather, William Millsaps, who was also a Georgian, came to Mississippi with his family in 1830, and was a resident of Copiah county when that country was a wilderness, inhabited by wild animals and Indians, having first made a temporary residence in Jasper county. He became a planter, reared a large family of children, and died in 1834. His family, which was of Irish lineage, settled in South Car- olina during colonial times. The maternal grandfather, William Clowers, was bojn in Geor- gia and came to Mississippi about 1830, settling in Copiah county, where he became a prom- inent citizen. Reuben Millsaps was reared in Copiah county, and by his own eflPorts secured a good education, becoming the first schoolteacher of that county. He afterward married, and became a planter, but throughout life was deeply interested in the cause of education, and gave his children good advantages. He was called from life in 1854, his wife having died the year previous, both being earnest members of the Methodist Episcopal church. Maj. R. W. Millsaps was educated in Hanover college, which he attended two years, afterward entering Asbury university (now De Pauw university), from which he graduated in 1854. After returning to Mississippi he taught school, in order to obtain means to enter the law depart- ment of Harvard university, from which he was honorably graduated in 1858, locating soon after at Pine Bluff, Ark., where he practiced until the opening of the late war. He then joined company A, Ninth Arkansas infantry, and on the day on which it was organized he was //^^cr<& MBM0IM8 OP MISSISSIPPI. 443 elected lieutenant, and was soon after chosen adjutant, and was afterward made lieutenant- colonel. The regiment was sent to Kentucky and Tennessee, during which time he particijjated in the battle of Shiloh, where he was wounded. After remaining in the hospital at Jackson for some time, he rejoined his command at Corinth in 1862, and was in the movements about Vicksburg in 1863, being a participant in the battle of Champion's Hill. He then joined Bragg's army in Georgia, after which he was transferred to the inspector's department, and was inspector-general of Loring's division, with the rank of major. He was in all the fighting about Atlanta, was then with Bragg on his Tennessee campaign, was a participant in the battle of Franklin, and was wounded in the engagement at Nashville. Following this, he went to North Carolina with Johnston, and was in the last battle of the war at Bentonville. While on his way back to join the trans-Mississippi department, and had reached Jackson, Miss., the news came of Lee's surrender. Immediately succeeding this, he ttirned his atten- tion to cotton dealing in several counties until 1866, when he began merchandising at Brook- haven, where he continued in business for about sixteen years, having branch establishments at Hazlehurst and Union Church. In 1880 he closed out all his interests in Mississippi, and went to St. Louis, Mo., where he started a wholesale grocery and cotton commission business, under the firm name of Millsaps, Magee & Co. In 1884 he closed out this business, and for one year thereafter traveled with his family in Europe. After returning to America, he established the Merchants and Planters' bank at Hazlehurst, of which he had charge until 1887, when he moved to Jackson, and the next year, with a few others, bought out the Capital State bank, and was elected its president. He is also a stockholder and director of the Delta Trust and Banking company, of Vicksburg; the First National bank, of Greenville; the Bank of Greenville; the Merchants and Planters' bank, of Greenville; the Bank of Rosedale, at Kosedale, and the Clarksville Bank and Trust company, of Clarksville. He owns large planting interests in Washington and Sunflower counties, some of his land being the finest in the state. He is president of the Jackson Compress comjsany, treasurer of the Jackson Fertilizer company, and a director of the Jackson Light, Heat and Water company. Major Millsaps was married in 1869 to Mrs. Mary F. Younkin, a daughter of Horace Bean, a wealthy banker, of New Orleans, and as their union has not resulted in the birth of any chil- dren, they have an adopted daughter, named Josie. The Major and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church South, in which he is a very active worker. It has long been a cherished scheme of Major Millsaps to found a college in Mississippi, for the general and economical education of the youth of the state, the germ of this idea being originated in the fact that his own early opportunities for obtaining an education were very meager, not- withstanding the fact that he was very desirous of obtaining a good education. A short time since he offered $50,000, should a like sum be raised, to make a fund of $100,000, to found a college at some point in the state. Although various towns were anxious to secure the honor of the site, Jackson finally won, and the ground for the same was donated by Major Millsaps, who also made further cash contributions, amounting to nearly $75,000 in all. The college will soon be an established fact, to the pride and satisfaction of all loyal Mississippians and to the honor and credit of Major Millsaps. Although the Major has been compelled to make his own way in the world from earliest youth, he has been successful, for he has been devoted to his business, and is now one of the wealthiest and most prominent men of the state. He is of unpretending disposition, but his numerous admirable qualities are well known and highly appreciated. Judge Uriah Millsaps, a retired lawyer and a prominent citizen of Hazlehurst, a son of Thomas and Elizabeth (HoUiday) Millsaps, was born in Copiah county in 1828. His father BB 444 BIOOBAPBIOAL AND HISTORICAL was born in Pendleton district, S. C, January 1, 1799, and his mother was born in Georgia about 1804. They came to Mississippi with their parents, and were married in Copiah county, about 1824, beginning life in the woods, near the waters of Bayou Pierre.' There Mr. Millsaps cleared and improved a plantation, and Ihere he lived until his death in 1882, his wife having died in 1841. Mr. Millsaps married Mrs. Hanna Griffith, of Covington county, the second time. He was one of twelve children, who came with their parents to Copiah county. The educational advantages were limited, but he was an energetic and suc- cessful business man, who had the respect of the community at large. His father was Will- iam Millsaps, of South Carolina, who lived in that state until about 1810, when he came to Perry county. Miss., moving his family and all his earthly psssessions through the then wilderness. He located in Copiah county, about 1823, and both he and his wife died about ten years later, while on a visit to a son in Perry county. He was a successful planter and amassed a considerable property. Some of his sons became well known in the state. His father, Thomas Millsaps, was a native of Ireland. Ayres Holliday, Judge Millsaps' grandfather on his mother's side, was a Georgian, who removed to Washington parish. La., at an early date, and thence to Copiah county, afterward returning to Louisiana, where he died. Thomas Holliday, one of his sons, was for many years sheriff of Copiah county. Our subject was the second of three sons and three daughters born to his parents: William died when young; Martha, who is also dead, became the wife of John S. Beesley; Mary, married Thomas E. MiUsaps; Sarah is the widow of the Rev. William Wadsworth, a Method- ist minister; Hon. Thomas J. Millsaps, the youngest brother of the Judge, was born in Copiah county in 1834. He passed his early life on a farm, receiving his primary educa- tion at the country schools, afterward attending Hanover college, in Indiana, and later attending the Centenary college, in Louisiana. He afterward read law until the begin- ning of the war. In 1862 he joined the Thirty-sixth Mississippi infantry as a private. He was in the battles of Corinth, luka and Vicksburg, being captured at the last-named place, and held as a prisoner for some time. Rejoining the army just before it reached Atlanta, he came back with Hood's command to Franklin and Nashville and on the retreat south was taken sick and was in the hospital at Macon, Ga., at the time of the surrender. After his recovery he walked home to Copiah county. Soon after his arrival he engaged in planting, which he has continued till the present time. In 1870 he was married to Missis- sippi, the daughter of Hon. John Patheree, and a native of Holmes county, which he once represented in the legislature with much honor. After his removal to Copiah county he became one of the leading planters, and one of the most prominent citizens. He was a widely known and brilliant member of the Masonic fraternity. When he died he was uni- versally respected. Mrs. Millsaps, his daughter, was born in Copiah county. In 1887 Mr. Millsaps was elected to represent Copiah county in the state legislature. He was reelected in 1889, and served as chairman of the committee on commerce and manufactures. He was a member of the executive committee of the state alliance, and was in every way a useful citizen, honored for what he has accomplished. Our subject, Judge Uriah Millsaps, was educated at Hanover college, Indiana, and at Danville, Ky., where he graduated. He after- ward studied law with Judge Daniel Mayes, of Jackson, and was admitted to the bar in 1854. He hung out his professional shingle at Gallatin, and was a successful legal practi- tioner there for some time until after the war, when he removed to Hazlehurst, where he has since lived. In 1856 he married Sarah Lewis, the daughter of Bryant Lewis, who was born in Copiah county, being one of nine children, two of whom are still living. Her father was a native of South Carolina and removed to Copiah county, where he became a promi- MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 445 nent citizen, and there ended his days. In 1862 Judge Millsaps joined the Confederate cavalry as a private, but later he recruited the company in which he was first lieutenant, and afterward captain, which was attached to the army of the West, and which he com- manded until the close of the war. After peace was established he resumed the practice of his profession. In 1869 he was appointed judge of the fifth judicial district, and served with much honor until 1876, when he again returned to his legal practice, in which he has since been practically succeeded by his son, H. T. Millsaps. He is the owner of consider- able real estate, the management of which requires much of his attention, and which brings him a comfortable income. He is a Boyal Arch Mason, and he and his wife are members of the Methodist church. Judge Millsaps is practically a self-made man, and he is a good and well-known citizen, and a member of one of the best families in the state. Major Mill- saps, of Jackson, the founder of Millsaps college, is a son of one of his father's brothers. Dr. William D. Mims, physician, Wall Hill, Miss., the great-grandfather of David Mims, who married Miss Martha Dinguid, the 5th day of October, 1773. To them was born a son, Dinguid Mims, who was married to Miss Martha Massie the 1st day of November, 1804, of which marriage David Henry Mims, the father of Dr. Mims, was born on February 9, 1806. Dr. Mims' parents, David H. and Eliza A. (Cochran) Mims, were natives of Vir- ginia and Georgia, respectively, and both came to Mississippi when single, settling in Mar- shall county early in the thirties. They were married in that county, and there the father followed planting for the most part, but was also engaged in merchandising for some time in the thirties. Both died in Marshall coimty, the father in 1872, at the age of sixty-six years, and the mother in 1877, at the age of fifty-nine years. Both were consistent members of the Methodist Church South. They were the parents of ten children — five sons and five daugh- ters — eight of whom are yet living. Dr. William D. Mims was born in Marshall county, Miss., on the 24th of November, 1840, and when twenty-one years of age enlisted in the Con- federate army, company B, Seventeenth Mississippi infantry, under Col. W. S. Featherston, and was in the army of Virginia, participating in nearly all the hard fighting in that state. He was in the first Manassas, Leesburg, Eichmond, Sharpsburg, Petersburg, Wilderness and various others. He was wounded and captured at Gettysburg, was in the hospital at David's island, N. Y., for nearly four months, and was then paroled and sent to Eichmond. He rejoined his old command the following March and was captured again on the 6th day of April, 1865, near Petersburg, a few days before the surrender. He was taken to Point Look- out, Md., and was on the road back to Petersburg when General Lee surrendered. He was kept a prisoner until July, 1865, and after being released he returned to his old home in Marshall county. Miss. He engaged in farming for about five years and then took up the study of medicine in 1871, graduating at the University of Louisiana, now Tulane univer- sity, in 1873. He began practicing the same year at Eed Banks, Miss., and removed to Wall Hill in the fall of the same year. There he has practiced his profession ever since, and has been very successful. He has availed himself of all new ideas and has put them in practice. He is in partnership with Dr. J. W. Sharp, under the firm name of Sharp & Mims. Aside from his profession the Doctor is now the owner of eight hundred acres of land four hundred of which are under cultivation, and his principal crop is cotton, averaging one fourth of a bale to the acre. His farm is ran by tenants. The Doctor also owns a nice residence in Wall Hill, where he makes his home. He was married in 1866 to Miss Martha E. Horn, of Byhalia, and two children were born to this union, both now deceased. Mrs. Mims died in 1870, near Byhalia. The Doctor's second marriage occurred in 1881, to Miss Emma Knight, daughter of E. K and Violet (Aughey) Knight, the father a native of Ten- 446 BIOGRAPHIOAL AND HISTORIGAL neseee and the mother of New York. Mr. and Mrs. Knight were married near Memphis, Tenn., and had a family of seven children — three sons and four daughters— Mrs. Mims being the eldest of the family. The parents are still living and Mr. Knight is engaged as an educator. The Doctor and Mrs. Mims are both members of the Methodist Church South, and the Doctor has been a member of the Masonic fraternity for twenty years, Albert Pike lodge. Dr. Mims being a native of Marshall county, the people have had every opportu- nity to judge of his character and qualification, and he is not only one of the prominent physicians of the county, but one of its most esteemed citizens. Gov. Don Stephen Minor (deceased) was a Pennsylvanian by birth, and comes of fi, well-known and prominent family. He was given excellent educational advantages of a high order, and being a young man of enterprise ^nd energy he, at an early day, pushed westward, visiting while enroute Pittsburgh, Vincennes and St. Louis, at the latter place making the acquaintance of Colonel Howard, au Irishman in the Spanish service. By this gentleman he was sent with dispatches to the governor-general at New Orleans, and upon holding audience with that gentleman created a very favorable impression, as he invariably did on all whom he endeavored to please. He was soon commissioned a captain in the Eoyal army, and was assigned to duty at Natchez, Miss., where he remained until the final evacuation of that post by- the Spanish, in 1798. He was then appointed governor to succeed Gayoso, ai^d was also one of the commissioners for Spain in the location of the boundary line in that year. Tief was always held in high esteem, and had the unbounded confidence of the Spanish authorities, and it may with truth be said that he wielded more influence than any other "foreigner in their service. He was a man of commanding and dignified presence, well calSiilated to maintain the honor of his position, possessed a brilliant, shrewd and practical mind, and with these admirable qualities was blended a social temperament, retre conversational powers and a winning manner, that inspired ease and confidence in his presence. His financial abilities were of a high order, and he rapidly accumulated property, but was very liberal and charitable with his means. He purchased the home of Governor Gayoso (Concord) upon the removal of the latter from Natchez, and in this home he lived in princely style, dispensing a splendid hospitality until his death in 1815. No mansion in Mississippi has so many historic memories clustering about it as the old Gayoso-Minor house, which is still standing in the suburbs of the city. Governor Minor was married twice, his second union being to Miss Catharine Lintot, who was born in Con- necticut in 1770, and bore her husband five children: Fannie, wife of Maj. Henry Chotard (see sketch); Catherine, wife of J. C. Williams; Stephen, William J., and one that died in infancy. Dr. H. A. Minor. The citizens of Noxubee, as well as the surrounding counties, are familiar with the name that heads this sketch, for the greater part of his life has been devoted to healing the sick and afflicted throughout this section, and a portion of his reward has been received in this world, for he has the respect, confidence and love of his fellowmen, and the consciousness that he has driven sorrow and despair from many homes by his skill and taleat as a physician. He was born in Mooreville, Limestone county, Ala. , Febru- ary 25, 1835,' a son of Dr. William T. and Fannie (Washington) Minor, natives of Virginia, who emigrated to northern Alabama in about 1818, where the father practiced medicine throughout the remainder of his days. He was a graduate of Jefferson Medical college, of Philadelphia, Penn., about 1817, and as a professional man his life was a success. He died in 185'4, and his widow in 1879. Their union resulted in the birth of nine children, three sons and four daughters, of whom are living: Dr. Lucian of Alabama; Dr. H. A.; W. MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 447 P. ; Mary A. (Mosely) of Decatur, Ala.; Louisa (Lisle), of northern Alabama; Minnie (Wal- don) and Sallie (Ferris), also of that state. Dr. H. A. Minor was reared and received his lit- erary education in the state of his birth, but completed his knowledge of books in the high school near Nashville, Tenn., and in the college at La Grange, Ala. After deciding to make the practice of medicine his calling through life, he entered the University of Virginia, from which he was graduated as an M. D. in 1857, and immediately entered upon the practice of his profession in Decatur, Ala. In the spring of 1859 he moved to Macon, Miss., where he continued to follow his calling until the opening of the war, in 1861, at which time he aban- doned the calling of .^Isculapius to become a votary of Mars, and enlisted in company F, Eleventh Mississippi infantry, which was the first company from this place that was sent to Virginia. He was wounded at the first battle of Manassas by a gunshot in the leg, and in September, 1861, he was commissioned assistant surgeon in P A , Confederate States, and was assigned to the Nineteenth Mississippi regiment, in which capacity he served until February, 1862, when he was made surgeon of the Ninth Alabama regiment, in which he served until the surrender at Appomattox. He then returned to Macon and resumed his practice, since which time he has continued a zealous and laborious physician. January 1, 1866, he formed a partnership with Dr. S. V. D. Hill, an eminent physician of the state, and their partnership lasted harmoniously for nineteen years. The Doctor has been health officer of Noxubee county for about twenty years, and a trustee of the A. M. college for five years. He is a member of the state Medical society, the Tri- state Medical society and the county association. Socially he is a member of the A. F.- & A. M. and the I. 0.0. F. He was married in November, 1865, to Mrs. Kimble, a daughter of Dr. H. Dent, of Macon, by whom he has five children living: Anna D., wife of A. T. Dent; H. Dent, an attor- ney, of Long Island, N. Y. ; Fannie; Henry M. , in business in Birmingham, Ala., and Launcelot, at home. The mother of these children died in 1883, after whiph the Doctor married Mrs. Baechtel. He has been a member of the Methodist Episcopal church for the past twenty-five years, and has risen to prominence in his profession as well as a citizen. The Doctor is a grandnephew of Col. William Washington, and his first wife was a niece of Gen. James Longstreet, and grandniece of Judge Longstreet, of Oxford. The Doctor is also a nephew of Prof. John B. Minor, of the University of Virginia, who Ifas been connected with that institution for over fifty years. Capt. Matthew K. Mister, postmaster at Grenada and proprietor of New Era planta- tion at Blaine Station, Miss., was born in Baltimore, Md., in 1845. The father, Matthew K. Mister, was born in Maryland, in 1810, and was married in that state, in 1835, to Miss Julia A. Lake, also a native of Maryland, born in 1812. In 1840 they moved to Grenada, Miss., but only resided there until 1845, when they returned to Baltimore. After making their home there until 1850, they again came to Grenada, and here the father, in connection with merchandising, engaged quite extensively in planting until 1873. He was a member of the Mississippi legislature from Yalobusha county in 1870, when Grenada county was formed. In reconstruction times he was appointed judge of the county court of Yalobusha county ; also alderman of Grenada, by the general in command at Vicksburg, but was removed by General Ames. He was a stanch Union man during the war, but was not an extremist. In his religious views he was a Methodist all his life, and a liberal supporter of that church. His death occurred in 1880. The mother, who was also a member of the same church, died in 1873. The paternal grandfather of our subject, Lowder Mister, was probably born in Maryland. Capt. Matthew K. Mister was the third of nine children — six sons and three daughter — five of whom are living: James F., an attorney, now living in Kansas City, Mo., 448 BI00RAP3I0AL AND HISTORICAL was attending college when the war broke out. He joined Wise's legion of Virginia, University grays, and remained in service for twelve mouths. He then returned home and joined General Forrest's cavalry, serving with him until the close of the war. He was capt- ured near Holly Springs and imprisoned at Alton, 111., and other places until exchanged in 1863 in Virginia. He then rejoined his command and served until the close of war. He was reporter of the Missouri supreme court. Prof. Wilbur F., of Piano, Tex., and a teacher by profession, was educated in the University of Mississippi, Princeton, N. J., and Columbia, S. C, graduating from the last-named institution. He is now a teacher and minister of Texas. He was in company G, Fifteenth Mississippi regiment, at Vicksburg and vicinity a short time, and was afterward chaplain in General Forrest's cavalry until the close of war. Edward C, a traveling salesman of Baltimore, was educated at Grenada, and Eugene, a merchant of Texas, was also educated at Grenada. At twelve years of age Matthew K. Mister left school and clerked in his father's store until the breaking out of hostilities. He then joined the Fifteenth Tennessee as first lieutenant and was assigned staff duty in the first brigade and first division of General Forrest's cavalry, acting assistant adjutant- general until the surrender. He was in many severe engagements in Tennessee and Mississippi and was paroled at Meridian, Miss., by General Canby. After the war Captain Mister engaged in merchandise in partnership with his father until 1873. Since that time he has been engaged in planting, and is the owner of two thousand seven hundred and sixty acres, with about one thousand six hundred under cultivation, producing three hundred bales of cotton and hay and corn to supply the plantation. He is a director in the Grenada creamery, Cold Storage company, and of the Alliance Warehouse company. In 1882 he was made post- master, served in that capacity until 1885, and was appointed to the same position in May, 1890. He is a member of the I. O. O. F., Grenada lodge No. 6, and is county lecturer of the Farmers' Alliance. He is also a Knight of Honor, Grenada lodge No. 983. The Captain was married in 1878 to Miss Jennie Topp, a native of Nashville, Tenn., and a mem- ber of the Episcopal church. Her parents, Dixon C. and Mary Topp, were natives of Tennessee also, and were there reared and married. Mr. Topp, who was a planter and com- mission merchant, died at Holly Springs in 1890. Captain Mister is a self-made man, and owes his success to his own industry and good management. He is a republican in principle and is prominent in politics, being the choice of his party as a candidate for congress in 1890. Eli S. Mitchell, real estate agent, is one of the first settlers of Corinth, and is a man of thought and action, as is clearly shown by the achievements of his long and useful life. He was born in east Tennessee on the 1st of December, 1819, and was the son of H. B. and Mary (Houston) Mitchell, and grandson of Adam Mitchell, a native of North Carolina and a farmer by occupation. The father and mother were both natives of Tennessee and the father was a merchant and farmer, and followed these all his life. The mother was a second cousin of Sam Houston, of Texas. Eli S. Mitchell, the eldest of eight children (Nancy A., Adam, Houston, L. B., Martha, Catherine and Mary, two besides our subject now living, L. B. and Nancy), came with his parents to Alabama when an infant, but subsequently moved back with them to Tennessee. He made his home in McNairy county, Tenn. , and Alcorn county, Miss., until 1840, when he went to Indian territory, following merchandising there for thirty years. From there he went to Fort Smith, Ark, and then back to Alcorn county. Miss., where he has followed the real estate business ever since. He always consid- ered Alcorn county his home, and in 18r)4 he and his brother, Houston, together with a Mr. Hamp Mask, bought the ground where Corinth now stands, laid it off in lots, and began sell- MEMOIRS OP MISSISSIPPI. 449 ing these. Mr. Mitchell came to Corinth in 1877 to take charge of the business, sell lots, etc. There he has resided ever since. He is a gentleman of extensive general information, is thoroughly versed in his business, and all business entrusted to him receives his prompt attention. He was married in 1850, in Alcorn county, to Miss Martha A. Phillips, a native of Tennessee, born in 1830, and the daughter of Joe and Mary (McQueen) Phillips; the father a native of Virginia and the mother of Tennessee. Mrs. Mitchell was one of eleven children: Avarilla, Mary, Louisa, Martha A., Susan, Virginia, John, Hill C, Joseph J., Thomas J. and Malcom. Mr. Mitchell was suttler for a Choctaw regiment for the Confederate army from 1861 to 1865. He is a democrat in politics, but has never aspired to any public office. Mrs. Mitchell is a member of the Presbyterian church, and he is a believer in the same and contributes liberally to religious and educational enterprises. Hon. James C. Mitchell was born near the Peaks of Otter, in Virginia, to which fact he sometimes laughingly attributed his lofty stature and his soaring ambition. He removed to east Tennessee at an early age, and turning his attention to the law rapidly rose to eminence. He was a whig in politics and a warm admirer of General Harrison. He was, while in congress, a warm personal friend of Gen. Sam Houston. At the expiration of his term in congress, in 1828, he was elected to the circuit bench of Tennessee. He was the author of Mitchell's Justice. He came in 1837 to Hinds county, Miss., then advanced in years, and died there in 1843. Dr. T. J. Mitchell, superintendent of the state insane asylum, at Jackson, Miss., was born in Livingston county, Ala., in 1830, the eighth of nine children born to Cullen and Mary T. (Sykes) Mitchell, who were born in North Carolina and Virginia, respectively, the former being one of the early pioneers of Alabama, in which state he successfully followed the calling of a planter until his death in 1832, his wife dying in 1849, both members of the Methodist Episcopal church. The paternal grandfather was of Scotch-Irish ancestry, and a pioneer of the Old North state. James Sykes, the mother's father, a planter of Virginia, was of English descent, and served in the continental army during the Revolutionary war. Dr. T. J. Mitchell was educated at Tuscaloosa university, Alabama, but left while in his junior year, in 1848, to begin the study of medicine, graduating from the University of Penn- sylvania as an M. D. in 1852. He at once began practicing at Jackson, but in order to perfect himself in his profession he abandoned his practice to pursue his medical studies and researches in Europe, where he remained during 1856-7. In 1862 he entered the Confed- erate army, as surgeon of the Thirty- ninth Mississippi regiment, but as his health at this time was rather poor, he only served irregularly. After the war he practiced in Jackson until 1878, when he was appointed by Governor Stone to his present position at the insane asylum, which he has held by reappointment ever since. Under his management the institu- tion has attained a high degree of perfection, and as his reputation for wonderful cures has gone abroad the attendance at the asylum is large. The Doctor is especially skilled and well posted in that branch of his profession which treats of abberation of the mind, and there could be found no more fitting person for the position than he, for aside from possessing the above mentioned qualification, he is kind-hearted, considerate, and possesses sound judgment. He was married in 1858 to Miss Annie McWillie, a daughter of ex-Governor Mc Willie, a sketch of whom appears in this volume. To their union five children were born : Kate, wife of Carroll Johnston, of New Orleans; Ida, wife of J. W. Robinson, a merchant of Jackson; Henrietta, Thomas J. , and Cullen Calhoun. The mother of these children, who was a worthy member of the Episcopal church, was called from life in 1878, having been an earnest Chris- tian and an exemplary wife and mother. The Doctor is also a member of the Episcopal 450 BioaiiAi'niaAL and histobioal church. He is the ownor of some three thousand acres of land in Copiah and Attala coun- ties, which is considered very valuable land. Hon. Alexander Montgomery was born and reared in Natchez in the old territorial days. He received an exceptional literary education, and then addressed himself to the study of law. He is regarded as having l)een one of the most profound lawyers ever produced by this state. In ISIJl he was appointed judge of the supreme court, but his official career as such was terminated the following year by the elective judiciary introduced under the new consti- tution. On retiring from the bench he resumed the practice of his profession in Natchez, where he was for a time a partner of the distinguished Samuel S. Boyd, and was an active practitioner to a very advanced age. He died at the home of a relative in "Warren county. Hon. A. A. Montgomery, farmer, Osborn, Miss. Mr. Montgomery's parents, Samuel A. aud Elizabeth (McClary) Montgomery, where natives of the Palmetto state, the father born in Fairfield district in 1824, and the mother near Charleston about 1830. The paternal grand- father, Charles Montgomery, who was also a native of South Carolina, was of Scotch-Irish origin. The latter left his native state, removed to Oktibbeha county, Miss., and settled on the present site of Osborn, where he purchased a large tract of land. The maternal grand- father, David McClary, moved from South Carolina to Alabama, and thence to Columbus, Miss., when Mrs. Montgomery was but a child. He was a prosperous planter. Samuel A. Montgomery reached the age of nineteen years on his father's farm in South Carolina, and then came with the latter to Oktibbeha county, Miss. Two years later his father gave him a small farm, and he started out for himself as an agriculturist. In 1847 or 1848 he married Miss Elizabeth McClurg, who bore him three interesting children: Sanuella (deceased), Alvin A. and Samuel A. (who is now a successful physician of Osborn). Samuel A. Montgomery, Sr. became the owner of about four hundred acres of land in Oktibbeha county, and there his death occurred in 1854. His widow survived until 1878. Both were members of the Old School Presbyterian church, and he was an elder in the same. Alvin A. Montgomery was born in Oktibbeha county. Miss., in 1851, and comes of a prominent and highly respected family. Until seventeen years of age his time was divided between assisting his father on the farm and in attending the common country schools. He then engaged as clerk, and con- tinued this three years, first, one year at West Point, then a year at Mayhew, and finally a year near Osborn. He then began farming where he now lives, cultivating about one hundred and thirty acres; has about seventy-five acres in native grass and the remainder in timber. His principal crops are corn and cotton. He is also interested in stockraising, horses and cattle principally, and is a prosperous young planter of the county. He was married in December, 1 890 to Miss Lulu Muldrow, a native of Lowndes county. Miss. , born in 1 866, and the daughter of Eobert and Annie (Oliver) Muldrow, natives, respectively, of South Carolina and Georgia. Mr Montgomery was elected to the state senate in November, 1887. For a number of years he was judge of elections in the county. He is a member of the Farmers' Alliance, and he and Mrs. Montgomery are members of the Presbyterian church, in which he holds the office of elder. His brother. Dr. Samuel A. Montgomery, was born in Oktibbeha county. Miss, and was also reared on a farm, receiving the foundation of his education in the com- mon schools, which he attended until about fifteen years of age. He then entered Salem colletre Garnettsville, Ky., remained there two years, and subsequently took a literary course in Erskine college. South Carolina, for the same length of time. After this he took a full course in medicine at a medical college in Nashville, Tenn. , and graduated in 1872. After practicing his profession for three years at Osborn, Miss., he removed to Starkville, where he resided seven years. On the loth of December, 1S74, he wedded Miss Margaret Watt, a MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 451 native of Oktibbeha county, born in 1852, and the daughter of Dr. William and Virginia (Childs) Watt, the former from South Carolina and the latter from Mississippi. After leaving Starkville, Dr. Montgomery engaged as agent with Illinois Central railroad, and in this capacity he still serves. In connection he is also engaged in farming, owns two hundred acres of land and has one hundred acres under cultivation. He raises cotton and corn, and is also engaged in stockraising. He is a member of the Knights of Honor, at Starkville, and he and wife are members of the Presbyterian church, of which Dr. Montgomery is deacon. He is the father of four children: Eva May, Bessie Lou, Grace and Ruth. Dr. D. C. Montgomery, the second in order of birth of nine children born to W. P. and Catherine (Cameron) Montgomery, owes his nativity to Franklin county. Miss., where his birth occurred in 1835, and is of Scotch-Irish descent. His parents were natives of South Carolina and descendants of representative families in that state. The father grew to manhood in North Carolina, and after marriage came to Mississippi, settling in Adams county about 1820. Some time after this he came to the present site of Greenville, and, with his brother A. B. and others, entered a tract of five thousand acres. He made many and vast improvements until his death, in 1886. The mother had died in 1852. Both were members of the Presbyterian church. Mr. Montgomery opened about twelve hundred acres of land and became an extensive planter. Of their large family of children only three are now living. Dr. Montgomeiy was educated in Centenary college, Louisiana, and gradu- ated in medicine from the University of Pennsylvania, in 1855. One year later he located in Bolivar county, and at the breaking out of hostilities during the late unpleasantness, he enlisted in the Confederate service as a private in the Bolivar troops. He was in the battles of Shiloh and Corinth. In 1862 he was appointed surgeon of the First Mississippi cav- alry, and was taken ill while in Hood' s retreat from Nashville. Later he was captured and detained until July 23, 1S()5, when he returned to his practice in Bolivar county. In 1869 he came to Greenville, and here he has since been located, being justly regarded as one of the thoroughly reliable and efficient physicians of Greenville. He was married first in 1866, to Miss Fannie Semmes Harris, daughter of Judge William L. Harris, of Columbus. She died in 1881. One child, Harris, who died at the age of three years, was the fruit of this union. Dr. Montgomery's second marriage occurred in 1 S.S3, to Mrs. M. N. Sims, nee Fin- ley, daughter of Dr. John L. Finley, of Greenville. To this union one child, Cameron, has been born. Mrs. Montgomery had two children by a former marriage. The Doctor is- a member of the state medical association, and is a vigorous supporter of all enterprises of local interest. The family are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. William Eugene Montgomery was the son of William Pinckney Montgomery and Cath- erine Cameron, and was born in Franklin county. Miss. W. P. Montgomery was born in South Carolina, and was the son of William Montgomery and Agnes Barclay, who moved from South Carolina and settled in Adams county. Miss. , about the time the state was admitted into the Union. Catherine Cameron was the daughter of Daniel Cameron and Mary McMil- lan and came from North Carolina about the same time, settling in Franklin county. Miss. They were all of Scotch parentage. In 1857 W. E. Montgomery married Mary Adelia Clark, the daughter of Charles Clark, who was the governor of the state of Mississippi at the close of the war between the states. W. E. Montgomery was appointed first lieutenant in the First Mississippi battalion of cavalry, then to the rank of captain and then to that of major, and commanded the First Mississippi battalion until the surrender. At the date of the surrender he was operating with a portion of his battalion in the swamps of Mississippi, along the Mississippi river, and owing to the floods from the Mississippi river at the time of 452 BIOOBAPHIOAL AND HISTORICAL the surrender, be did not receive orders to surrender from Col. William S. Yerger, with whose regiment he had been consolidated, until long after the surrender of the state. The order to surrender from Colonel Yerger was delivered to Major Montgomery under a flag of truce by a Green Boat captain, to whom he surrendered his command near the mouth of White river and were probably the last Confederate troops surrendered in Mississippi. Major Montgomery has two brothers residing in Washington county, -Miss., Dr. Daniel Cameron Montgomery, who was brigadier-surgeon in General Armstrong's cavalry brigade, and Captain John Malcom Montgomery, of Col. Richard A. Pruson's regiment in same brigade. Both served until the close of the war. W. E. Montgomery resides at Natchez, Miss. Col. F. A. Montgomery, attorney at law, of Rosedale, Miss., was born in Adams county, of this state in 1830, the only child that lived beyond infancy born to Thomas Jefferson and Martha (West) Montgomery, who were also natives of this state, the former being a planter by occupation and dying when the subject of this sketch was three years of age. The Montgomery family originated in the famous old Waxhaw settlement of South Carolina, and like the majority of the settlers they were of Scotch ancestry, but previously residents of the north of Ireland. They became wealthy settlers of South Carolina, for those early days, but were robbed and impoverished by the British tories during Revolutionary times. Alexander Montgomery, the first of the name known in this country and the grandfather of the immedi- ate subject of this sketch, was born in South Carolina, and first removed from his native state to Tennessee, thence to Mississippi, at which time he was wholly without means. He received limited educational advantages, but he possessed a vigorous and inquisitive mind and always desired to know the why and wherefore of everything, great or small. He rapidly acquired property and position, became a leader of the republican party, was year after year placed at the head of the legislative ticket, filled the prominent and responsible position of speaker of the house, and had he lived two years longer would have undoubtedly been elected governor of the state of Mississippi. He first married a daughter of Maj. Richard King, and secondly a Miss Swayze, both members of highly respected and very prominent families that came to Natchez when the country was under Spanish rule. By these wives he became the father of a large family, and a number of his sons became prominent in Mississippi history and left many descendants who now reside in the state. He himself came of a very influential fam- ily, and was related both by blood and marriage to some of the most noted and prominent people of the South. It is to such men as Mr. Montgomery that the gratitude of the pres- ent generation is due, for he was not only a believer in law and order, but he was a patron of all good works and his efforts in behalf of suffering humanity were unceasing. The mater- nal grandfather, Cato West, was born in Halifax county, Va. , was of an influential family and sprung from an ancient earldom of England. He was a man of talent, education and fortune, and, with his father-in-law, Col. Thomas Green, emigrated to Georgia, thence to Natchez, where he settled and became an ardent republican, leading the opposition to Governor Sargent. He became secretary of the territory under Claiborne, and after the latter went to New Orleans, he conducted the executive office. He was frequently elected to the legislature, and on several occasions presided over the senate. He possessed an original and brilliant mind, was a forcible writer and speaker, and during early times was a leader of the territory. He was a resident of Pickering (now Jefferson) county, and was a very extensive and prominent planter there for many years. Col. F. A. Montgomery, whose name heads this sketch, was educated chiefly at Oakland college in Jefferson county, but also spent one year at Allegheny college, in Meadville, Penn., after which he returned to his home. In 1848 he was married to Miss Charlotte Clark, of Ohio, whose father came to this MMM0IB8 OF MISSISSIPPI. 453 state in early life, here spending the rest of his days. Her brother Charles, who was a lawyer, came to this state also at an early day, and being exceptionally talented soon rose to eminence. His qualities of leadership were signally displayed in the arena of politics, and he was regarded as one of the most able, active, indefatigable leaders of his party in the state, his numerous friends showing their appreciation of his ability by electing him to the legislature. He went out as a oajatain of a company in the Second regiment of Mis- sissippi volunteers for the Mexican war; was soon elected colonel, in which capacity he served until the war ended. When the Civil war came he was first a brigadier- general of state troops, afterward becoming major-general, and as soon as the Confederacy was formed he was appointed, by Jefferson Davis, a brigadier-general in the Confederate army aud com- manded a division at the battle of Shiloh, where he wa's wounded in the shoulder. He also commanded a division at Baton Rouge, at which place was so severely wounded in the hip that he was unfitted for further duty. At this time he was taken prisoner and conveyed to New Orleans, where he was exchanged and returned home. He was at once elected governor (in 1862) of Mississippi, at the end of which term he was re-elected. After the war closed he was taken a prisoner to Fort Pulaski, aud upon being released returned to his home in Bolivar county and resumed the practice of law, receiving the appointment, in 1876, of chancellor of his district, and died in 1877, while serving in oflice. He was for many years a conspicuous leader in the affairs of the state and was well known for his sagacity, skill and sound and practical views on all subjects. After the celebration of Mr. Montgomery's nuptials, he con- tinued planting, first in Jefferson county, but since 1855 has been a resident of Bolivar county. In 1858 he opened up a plantation on the Mississippi river, which he called Beulah, and where the present village of that name now stands he cut the first cane and made many improvements in the way of buildings, etc., which were destroyed by the Federal soldiers during the war, with the exception of one negro cabin. "The first election in the county after his arrival was held in 1855, and at that time he was elected president of the board of super- visors, a position he held until the oj)ening of the war, when he cast aside personal considera- tions to enlist in the Confederate army in defense of iiome and friends, and was chosen captain of a cavalry company, which he organized, called the Bolivar troops, it being the first com- pany to be organized in the county. He was in many bloody combats along the Mississipjji river, the most noted of which was Belmont, aud upon the reorganization of his regiment he was elected lieutenant-colonel, an office he held until the war closed. He often commanded his regiment and was in the campaigns of Hood aud Johnston, and while with them was captured at Selma, Ala., and was taken to Columbus, Ga. Here he was sick for some time and after being paroled returned to Mississippi and entered upon the practice of law. He was elected to represent the county in the stale legislature in 1879, serving by re-election for three terms when he declined further re-election and once more began giving his time exclu- sively to his practice, and for years has been one of the leading lawyers of the comity. He is one of three oldest men who came as pioneers to this county, and it can with truth be said that there is not a man of greater personal popularity or who possesses intelligence of higher or more practical or useful order than does he. As a citizen he has been of material benefit to the section in which he has resided, and as an officer he was cool in judgement, fruitful in resources, skillful in planning, excellent in execution and no braver or more courageous sol- dier ever faced the enemy. Colonel Montgomery about seven years ago united with other old comrades in forming an association, which has met annually since in some part of the state, and with the pledge, as lono' as any are left, to continue to meet. This association is composed of surviving 454 BIOORAPHIOAL AND HISTORICAL members of the four regiments, comprising a cavalry brigade commanded by Gen. Frank C. Armstrong, a splendid man and gallant soldier, who now lives in Washington, D. C, and whose name is a household word among them. From its organization till the present time Colonel Montgomery has each year been honored by being elected the president of the association, and its gallant commanders were honored by being permitted to name it the Armstrong Brigade association. The brigade was composed of the First (of which Colonel Montgomery was lieutenant- colonel), Second, Twenty-eighth and Ballentine's Mississippi cavalry regiments. General Armstrong's letter, which follows, explains itself, and is here inserted as a well deserved tribute to this gallant soldier, who, though not a Mississippian, commanded Mississippi troops, and is closely allied to the family of the late Col. W. A. Perry, of Gainesville, Washington county. It is signed Frank C. Armstrong, and dated Washington, D. C, May 80, 1891: Col. a. p. jroNTGOMERY, President of Akmsthong's Bkigade Association: My Denr Colviiel:—! am in receipt of a notice of the annual reunion of tlie "Armstrong Brigade,'" which I had the honor to command. It is with more than usual regret tliat I am compelled to write that my engagements will not permit me to be with you on the 3d of June. Each year I have promised myself the great pleasure of meeting in reunion my dear old comrades of the great war time, but I am again disappointed. My heart and sympathy are, and always will be, with the Confederate soldiers, and though the banner under which we marched and fought together has gone down, the sentiments of honor and courage inculcated outlasted the war, and will always be the heritage of those who survive it. The lesson of faith, self-reliance and soldierly manhood were never stronger than among those who shared the blanket, drank from the same canteen, and divided the last rations. I should have particularly liked to have been present and added my share of respect, honor and love to those heroic Mississippians who gave their lives imder the battle flag of our states and our cause. I will do it, in spirit, in memory. I Avill never forget the fortitude, courage and unfaltering valor of the First, Second, Twenty-eighth, and Ballentine's Mississippi cavalry, during all my service with them, and particularly in the last days of the Confederacy, when all was dark, and delay the only hope. Every regiment, company and man seemed to vie with each other as to who could stand the most in the front of overwhelming odds, and the manly, soldierly manner in which they all did their duty to the end. I hope the association will be made a per- manent one, and the yearly reunions many. Again regretting that I can not be with you and my old com- rades, I am, faithfully your friend. Colonel Montgomery is descended from families historic in the early days of Mis- sissippi, and has been an honor not only to. the state, but also to his illustrious name. His residence was the first to be erected in the town of Rosedale, and besides the ground on which his residence is located he owns several acres in the town. To himself and wife twelve children were born: Louisana, who died in 1868, at the age of nineteen years; Jefferson, who is married and a successful lawyer of Rosedale; Tillie, principal of the schools of Rosedale; Martha, wife of E. H. Moore, a sketch of whom appears in this work; Harriet, wife of Dr. John W. Dulaney, of Rosedale (see sketch) ; Frank, who is married and the leading law- yer of Tunica county; Lottie, Fadjie; Joseph, a lawyer of Quitman county, and Anna. Two children died unnamed. The family are members of the Methodist Episcopal church and Mr. Montgomery may be said to be the father of the church of that denomination at Rosedale. He has contributed to it large amounts of money and has in all ways aided its advancement and the handsome structure is a monument to his Christian spirit and liberality. He was the first city attorney of Rosedale, a position he filled one year, and socially is a member of the A. F. & A. M., Bolivar lodge No. 210. The Colonel is stately and commanding in appearance, being tall and slender, in complexion is a blonde, and is known throughout this section as a charitable, kind and hospitable gentleman. Lafayette Montgomery is the efficient passenger agent for the Illinois Central railroad at Jackson, but in 1855 was born in Madison county, the third in a family of eight chil- MEMOIRS OP Mississippi. 455 dren born to Andrew J. and Susan L. (Dixon) Montgomery, who were also born in this state, the father's people being among the earliest settlers of southwest Mississippi, and the mother's, who were of English descent, of Jefferson county. Andrew Montgomery was a planter, in which occupation he become quite successfnl. He died in Madison county in 1868, his widow still surviving him. Lafayette F. Montgomery was educated in the public schools, which he attended until 1868. In 1870 he become an employe on the Illinois Cen- tral railroad, in the employ of which company he has been continuously ever since. In 1878 he remained faithfully and fearlessly at his post, notwithstanding the fact that yellow fever was raging, and for this act of bravery and disinterestedness he was promoted to an easier and more lucrative position soon after. He first filled the position of telegraph operator, then became chief clerk of the freight office, was then made assistant ticket agent, then ticket agent and is now agent of the passenger depot at Jackson, which position is a responsible one. In 1884 he was married to Miss Clara Atkinson, a native of this county and a daughter of Hon. . Thomas Atkinson, a sketch of whom appears in this volume. Mrs. Montgomery was called from life in 1885, leaving one child, which also soon died. Mr. Montgomery is a gentleman in every sense of the word and is a pleasing and entertaining conversationalist. He is a member of the Knights of Honor and the Knights of Pythias. Capt. W. A. Montgomery, of Edwards, Hinds county, Miss., is one of the successful and talented attorneys of the state and has made his way to the front in the practice of his profession, for he possesses in a more than ordinary degree the natural attributes essential to a successful career at the bar and in public. He was born in Winston county, October 18, 1844, a son of C. W. and Olivia F. (Moore) Montgomery, the former of whom was also born in Mississippi, although his ancestors were natives of the state of South Carolina, coming thither about 1820 and settling near Starkville. The mother's father, Gen. William Moore, was a Tennesseean, and won his title while serving in the War of 1812 and Indian war, and was a representative to the Tennessee legislature for many years Capt. W. A. Montgomery was called from school at Murfreesboro, Tenn., by his father, who desired that his son should be near him during the pending struggle between the North and South, and soon after returning to the state of his birth he enlisted in the Hinds county light guards for three years or during the war. This enlistment was, however, against his father's wishes, and the latter was instrumental in securing his release. He was later made a member of the Raymond fencibles, of the Twelfth Mississippi regiment, and remained with this regiment until the spring of 1862, when he was discharged, on account of ill health; went into the service again in the fall of the same year, with the First Mississippi regiment of state militia. In May, 1863, he rejoined the regular army as a scout, reported to General Pemberton for duty, and the first work given him was the burning of the Dillon bridge over Fourteen-mile creek, which he performed successfully, and with seventeen men and a hastily constructed breastwork impeded Grant's whole army for almost an entire day. He took part in the battle of Champion's hill, and during the progress of that noted battle made himself so conspicuous for gallantry that Gen. Wirt Adams had him detailed as a regular scout, after which he took part in the engagements at Clinton, Jackson, Livingston, second battle of Champion's hill, Coleman's plantation, Mechanicsburg, Concord church and Grand Gulf during which time he so won the respect and admiration of his superior officers that he was commissioned captain March 4, 1864, and was authorized to raise a company of mounted men for service on the Mississippi front. During his career as a scout he captured many prisoners, and kept the Union army in constant dread of Montgomery scouts. The Captain served his state most conspicuously during the oppressive carpet-bag reign of 456 BtOOttAPHtOAL AND itlSTORtGAL Governor Ames, when he was among the number who incited the populace by his leadership to such determined opposition to the governor that he was compelled to disband his colored troops, stationed at different points throughout the state, and a great eyesore to the whites. He commanded the five hundred men who marched to Jackson and brought Governor Ames to a full knowledge of their determination, and to stibmission. Captain Montgomery was elected to the state senate from Hinds and Eankin counties, to fill the unexpired term of A. R. Johnson, in 1868, and ably and faithfully did he discharge every duty of this responsible position. He has interested himself in all enterprises looking to the advancement of his county and state, and is exceptionally well known, respected and liked throughout Hinds county. He was first married to Miss Mella Dupree, a daughter of Capt. James Dnpree, of Brownsville, Miss., with whom he lived happily until 1882, when he was called upon to mourn her death. To their union five children were born: Patrick H. , Charles \V., Ollie, Hugh R. and W. A., Jr. In 1884 he was married to Miss Bettie C. Henry, of Mississippi, by whom he has one child, William A. The Captain is a Royal Arch Mason, and also belongs to the T. O. O. P., the K. of P., the K. of H. and the American Legion of Honor. The Captain has always been a man of indomitable pluck and energy, and in addition to his Ijrilliant career as a soldier he ranks among the highest civilians, and has been a valuable acquisition to the county of Hinds. He is a strict member of the Baptist church, and joins heartily in all the moral reforms advocated by that sect. B. S. Moore, planter, Kosciusko, Miss. On his present homestead of one hun- dred and sixty acres of good tillable soil, one hundred acres of which are under cultivation, Mr. Moore is actively engaged in stockraising in connection with his farming. His parents were natives of Alabama, and in that state their nuptials were celebrated. They moved to Mississippi in January, 1855, located in Scott county, and there the father died in 1875, after following the life of a successful agriculturist. He was a member of the Methodist church, a member of the Grange, buttock very little interest in politics. His widow is still living and makes her home at Walnut Grove, Leake county, Miss. The patei-nal grandfather was a native of Tennessee but was a resident of Scott county, Miss., at the time of his death. The maternal grandfather, Benjamin Sims, was a native of Georgia, and was a Baptist minister. He died in Mississippi. B. S. Moore, the only child born to his parents, owes his nativity to Mississippi, his birth occurring in Scott county in 1855, shortly after his parents moved to that county. He grew to manhood there, received his education and in December 1876 he was united in marriage to Miss Bailey, a native also of Scott county. Miss. Since that time Mr. Moore has been engaged in planting, and although his farm is not as large as some it is one of the best improved in the county. He raises a superior grade of stock, principally Jersey cattle, and is enterprising and progressive. He has ever taken an active part in politics and at the present time is a candidate for circuit clerk. He is a worthy member of the Metho- dist church, contributes liberally to the same, and gives his hearty support to all worthy movements. He is a Royal Arch Mason, having joined Morton lodge No. 254 in 1879 and he obtained a dimit from that lodge and joined Bethel lodge No. 107, in 1886. He is senior deacon of the same. He is also a charter member of Springdale lodge, Alliance, held the office of vice president for two terms, and is now the incumbent of that position. C. C. Moore, merchant and planter, was born in 1842, in Chickasaw county, where he still resides, three miles from Houlka, on a plantation of which he is now the owner. His father, Lewis Moore, was born in Georgia in 1803, a son of John and Willie (Rice) Moore, both of whom were native Georgians and at an early day removed to Alabama. John Moore became a wealthy planter, and he and his wife reared a family of seven children, of whom Lewis MEM0IR8 OF MISSISSIPPI. 457 was the eldest. The latter was reared in Alabama, and his early advantages for acquiring an education were rather limited, although he was an intelligent and well informed man. His marriage to Miss Rice took place about 1828, at which time she was in her fifteenth year, a daughter of Hopkins Rice, a very successful planter of Greene county. Miss. , origin- ally from North Carolina. Mr. Moore became a resident of Chickasaw county, Miss., in 1840, settling on the plantation of which the subject of this sketch is now the owner, at which time he purchased three sections of land, and some years later a section of prairie land at Egypt, Miss. Lewis Moore and wife reared ten out of the eleven children born to them, all of whom married with the exception of one who was killed while serving in the Confederate army. They are: Elizabeth J. (wife of B. F. Fitzpatrick, of Mobile, Ala.); John P. (a banker, real estate agent, planter and merchant, of Helena, Ark.), Mary A. (the deceased wife of Dr. J. B. Rockett), "William T. (a merchant and planter of La Grange, Ark. ), J. H. (who commanded company H, Eleventh Mississippi infantry, and was killed at the battle of Gettysburg on the 5th of July, 1863), L. C. (is a planter of Chickasaw county), C. C, J. B. (a planter and magistrate of Pickens county, Ala.), Cora F. (widow of S. C. Pippin, of Helena, Ark), and Dora A. (wife of Mr. Bass, a merchant of Helena, Ark.). The parents have been members of the Baptist church for many years, in which church Mr. Moore held the position of deacon. He died on the 16th of February, 1866, his wife's death having occurred on the 5th of February. The boyhood days of C. C. Moore were spent on a plantation near Houlka, Miss. , but at the age of fourteen years he was sent to Marietta, Ga., where he attended a military school for some time, and attended an edu- cational institution at La Grange, Ala., until the opening of the war. In 1861 he organized a company of infantry (company D), of which he was elected first lieutenant, and became a part of the Fourth Confederate regiment, so called because it was made up of companies from Alabama, Mississippi and Tennessee. He was a participant in the battles of Fort Pillow, New Madrid, Island No. 10, being captured in the last named engagement and con- veyed to Camp Chase, at Columbus, Ohio, thence to Johnson's island in Lake Erie, three miles from Sandusky, where he was kept nine months and was then exchanged. He then returned to Vicksburg, but soon went to Jackson, where he joined General Tillman's com- mand, and was in the battle of Baker's creek. He was next at Vicksburg, from whence he retreated across the state to Montgomery, Ala., where his regiment was recruited, and acted as military conductor on the railroad between Montgomery, Ala., and West Point, Ga., in which capacity he served until the close of the war. Upon his return home he engaged in planting, on his own account, on the old homestead, on which he has ever since been actively engaged in planting. He is the owner of two sections of land, and is actively engaged in cultivating about five hundred acres. He makes cotton his principal crop, raising a sufficient amount of other products to make his plantation self-supporting. He is a progressive planter, believes in building up and enriching the soil, and is at present experimenting with the commercial fertilizer. He gives some attention to stockraising. At the beginning of 1878 he engaged in merchandising at Houston, purchasing the stock of goods belonging to A» L. Hill & Son. At first the firm name was Jamison, Moore & Co., but in January, 1889, Mr. Moore sold his interest in the business and started for himself with a new stock of goods. He has been a successful business manager, has proved himself an able financier, and now commands a large patronage. He was married on the 19th of March, 1866, to Miss Mollie L. Jamison, who was born in Pontotoc county, Miss., July 23, 1851, a daughter of Andrew J. and Amarilla (Stone) Jamison, a sketch of whom appears in this work. Mr. and Mrs. Moore have four living children : Andrew J. (the eldest, is a clerk and bookkeeper 458 BIOGRAPHIOAX AND HISTORIGAL in hig father's store at Houston; he was married December 31, 1890, to Miss Nettie Evans, daughter of Dr. J. L. Evans, of Houston), L. Evans (is attending school at Starkville), Inez and C. C, Jr. (are at home). Zelia A. and Paul Bertram died in childhood. Mr. Moore is a member of the Masonic fraternity, and is a charter member of the Knights of the Golden Rule, of Houston. He and his wife are members of the Methodist church at Hous- ton, in which he is a steward. His sound and practical views on all subjects, his capability and his honorable business methods admirably lit him for any position within the gift of the county, but he does not aspire to political life, the turmoil and strife of politics being very distasteful to him. Edward H. Moore, lawyer, Rosedale, Miss. Judge William H. and Margaret C (Harris) Moore, natives respectively of North .Carolina and the Old Dominion, were the parents of fifteen children, of whom the subject of thi» sketch was second in order of birth. The father is now residing in Alabama and is an able lawyer. The paternal grandfather, Edward Moore, was born in North Carolina, and followed the occupation of a planter. He was the brother of Gabriel Moore, governor of Alabama. The maternal grandfather, B. D. Harris, was of old Virginia stock. He emigrated to Tennessee at an early day. Edward H. Moore was born in Alabama in 1849, and although reared in that state he received the principal part of his education at Lexington, Ky. He then began reading law in his native state with Judge Lewis, and in 1873 came to Bolivar county. Miss., where he was admitted to the bar the same year. He has been practicing in this county since and is one of the leading lawyers. He is courteous and pleasant and a gentleman highly esteemed for his many estimable qualities. In connection with his practice he also carries on agricultural pursuits, and is the owner of twelve hundred acres, with five hundred acres under cultivation, most of which he has cleared himself. The soil is rich and tillable, and everything about the place indicates the owner to be a man of good judgment and advanced ideas. In 1890 he improved, remodeled and rebuilt his residence, and has a pleasant cottage home. He has been rather active in local politics, and in 1889 was elected a member of the board of supervisors, of which he was made president. He was married in 1873 to Miss Mattie Montgomery, daughter of Colonel Montgomery (see sketch), and one child has blessed this union, Lottie Clarke. The family are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, Mr. Moore having joined that denom- ination in boyhood. He is an earnest advocate and gives his hearty support to all measures to improve Rosedale or benefit Bolivar county. James Moore, senior member of the firm of James Moore & Co. , Oakland, was born near that place October 7, 1839, a son of James and Harriet Gaston (Davidson) Moore, born near Wadesboro, N. C, July 5, 1800, and about 1808, respectively. They were married at Wadesboro, and from there moved to Dyer county, Tenn., whence they came to Yalobusha county and settled on a small improvement near where Oakland now is, where Mrs. Moore died in 1844. Mr. Moore took for a second wife Martha A. Henderson, a daughter of a Methodist minister well known throughout this part of the country. In 1850 Mr. Moore moved to Tallahatchie county and located in the valley north of Charleston, where he died in 1857, at Eolia, where he had established a postofiiee and store. He was a man of gqod attainments and had inherited considerable property. His business qualifications were first class, and he left a considerable estate. He and his wife are prominent in the Methodist church. Mr. Moore had nine children by his first wife and three sons and two daughters by his second wife. Of his family by his first marriage Green D. died in 1888; Caroline H. became the wife of James H. Rayburn and they are both deceased; Alexander H., Sidney and Anne died young; Harriet A. married T, M. Harton, a planter of this county; James The location of the subordinate commands, as shown in the map of the battle of Jackson above, must not be considered as definitely estabUshed From the best information obtainable, however, the troops were posted as here shown. MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 459 and John M. are living, and Lawrence died when quite young. Of the children by the second wife Marcus H. , Edward M. and Adelaide died young. Henry Moore, of the firm of James Moore & Co., is a young business man well known throughout this section. Lawrence Moore, grandfather of the subject of this sketch, was born and lived out his days in North Carolina. He served his country as a soldier duriDgthe Revolutionary war, and represented his district a number of times in both branches of the North Carolina legislature. He was active and prominent in all public matters and one of the most successful planters in his part of the state. He reared a large family of sons and daughters, some of whom have become prominent in Alabama, Louisiana and other Southern states. Many of his descendants are living in different parts of the South, all of them honored and respected wherever their lots may be cast. Mr. Moore's great-grandfather, James Moore, was also a North Carolinian planter, and died in that state. He was a man of exceptional talent, a fine classical scholar and an able lawyer and physician. He was colonel of a regiment dur- ing the Revolutionary war, and was a member of the colonial assembly of North Carolina. Mr. Moore's maternal grandfather. Green Davidson, was also a native of North Carolina, where he lived for maay years, but removed to Tennessee, whence in 1836 he came to Yalobusha county, where he became a well known planter and died in 1861. He was of English descent and in every sense a prominent citizen. Our subject was reared on his father's plantation and acquired an intimate knowledge of the details of planting. He received a good English education and became a fair Latin and Greek scholar. At the age of seventeen he became a clerk in a drygoods store at Memphis, Tenn. In this position he labored for three years. In 1859 he married Emily J., daughter of Benjamin and Sarah A. Carson, who are natives of South Carolina and Mississippi, respectively, and both of whom came to Tallahatchie county about 1836, where the parents of both Mr. and Mrs. Carson died. Here Mr. and Mrs. Carson married and lived the balance of their lives. Mr. Carson died in 1848 and his wife in 1856. Mr. Carson's father, William Carson, was one of the first settlers of Tallahatchie county, and became one of its best known planters. Mrs. Car- son's father, William Lott, was an early settler where Charleston now stands. Mrs. Moore was born ia Tallahatchie county and is the mother of three sons and one daughter:, James B., who died in infancy; Green Harris was educated at the home school and at Oxford, and was married in February, 1891, to Zana Herron; Benjamin C. received a good common school education, and, as does his brother. Green D. , finds employment at the store of James Moore & Co.; the daughter was an infant, unnamed. Soon after his marriage Mr. Moore engaged in merchandising in Charleston, which he continued up to the time of the war. He was a member of the First Mississippi cavalry regiment, furnished a substitute and was honorably discharged from service in 1862, afterward doing service in the state militia and in McLendon's battery, to which organization he belonged until the end of the Civil war. He had been an old line whig and had strenuously opposed secession. After the war he was a planter in Tallahatchie and lived there until 1878, when he took charge of the store of his brother, Green D. Moore, at Oakland, which he managed until 1881. In the year last men- tioned he turned his attention to planting, which he gave his undivided attention to until 1886, when the firm of James Moore & Co. was organized, to succeed Green D. Moore & Sons, who had succeeded Moore & Davidson, the successors of Buntin & Moore, who had become proprietors of a business which had been established by Green D. Moore a short distance from the present town of Oakland. James Moore & Co. are one of the best known mercantile firms in northern Mississippi. They own about five thousand acres of land in different tracts, and handle about twelve hundred bales of cotton annually. Mr. Moore owns CO 460 BIOOBAPHIOAL A2fD HISTOBIGAL about eighteen hundred acres individually and produces about two hundred bales of cotton annually. Mr. Moore's success in life has been great, although it was interrupted by the war. Since the war period he has accumulated this fine property and placed himself at the head of this magnificant business through his own untiring effort, by the exercise of his well-known enterprise, unimpeachable honor and integrity. He has for many years been con- nected with the Masonic fraternity, and is worshipful master of Oakland lodge, A. F. & A. M., No. 82. He stands high, not only in this order, but also in the Knights of Honor, being a member of Scott lodge, Knights of Honor, of Oakland. Mr. and Mrs. Moore are prominent members of the Methodist church. The former is a cousin of Senator Isom G. Harris and of Hon. J. D. Adkins, of Tennessee. James Bright Morgan, of Hernando, was born in Lincoln county, Tenn. , March ]4, 1835; was brought by his parents to De Soto county. Miss., in 1840, where he has since resided; received an academic education; studied law at Hernando, under John K. Connelly, and was admitted to the bar in 1857; when not engaged in the public service, has practiced his profession; was elected judge of probate before the war; resigned, and was mustered into the Confederate states service as a private; was elected captain, and in the organization of the Twenty-ninth Mississippi infantry was elected major; was promoted lieutenant-colonel and colonel; at the close of the war was again elected judge; was a member of the state senate of Mississippi in 1876, 1877 and 1878, and was chairman of the committee on the judiciary; was appointed, in October, 1878, by the governor, chancellor of the Third chancery district, and served for four years; was elected to the XLIXth and Lth congresses, and was reelected to the List congress as a democrat, receiving thirteen thousand nine hundred and seventy-eight votes, against five thousand eight hundred and seventeen votes for James Reynolds Chalmers, republican, and one hundred and seven votes for James Witherspoon, independent candidate. Hon. John M. Moore, mayor of Oakland, proprietor of the Craig hotel, planter and liv- eryman, was born near Oakland in 1841. He is the son of James Moore, a sketch of whom appears in these pages. He received a good common-school education in the schools of Oak- land and vicinity. At eighteen he became a salesman in a store, an occupation which he fol- lowed until 1862. In that year he served sixty days as a private. Later he was engaged for some years in planting and after that was for considerable time a merchant at Harrison. From 1873 to 1882 he traveled for the firm of Bishop Brothers, of Cincinnati, Ohio, and during this time, in 1877, he was elected to represent Yalobusha county in the legislature and served two years to the entire satisfaction of his constituents. During the past ten years he has been repeatedly elected mayor of Oakland. He was chairman of the county democratic central committee for some years and held this position during the perilous times of the notorious A. T. Wimberley, a period of greenbackism, and took an active part in allaying the disturbances which were then rife in that part of the country. He is a member of the Oakland lodge of the I. O. O. F. and is prominent in that order. He has held every official position in his lodge and has been district deputy grand master and several times a representative to the grand lodge. He is also a member of the Oakland lodge of the Knights of Honor and has identified himself with the Farmers' Alliance. In 1862 he was married to Mrs. P. D. Shaw, a daughter of Sampson Bridgers. She died in 1887, and in 1889 Mr. Moore married Mrs. M. J. Craig, a daughter of Dr. Preston W. and Amanda Caro- line Davis, who were natives, respectively, of Kentucky and Tennessee. The marriage occurred at Oakland, Miss. Dr. Davis was for many years engaged in the practice of his profession with marked success at Nashville, Tenn., where he died in 1878, aged about MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 461 eighty-one years. He received his medical education at the Transylvania college, at Lexing- ton, Ky., and died a devout member of the Christian church. His widow survived him and made her home with her daughter, Mrs. Moore. Mr. and Mrs. Moore are prominent Metho- dists. They own together about one thousand acres of land and their planting .operations are very extensive. The Craig hotel is very popular among traveling people, and Mr. Moore is widely known as one of the most genial and accommodating landlords in this part of the state. He stands high as a citizen, and as a public ofiScial has acquitted himself with much ability and credit. Mrs. M. J. Craig, whom Mr. Moore married, was the widow of Capt. Blunt Craig, a large planter of Yalobusha and Tallahatchie counties, who responded to the first call for volunteers to serve in the late war, raised two companies during the war, was elected captain by acclamation and made a brave and noble officer, returning bearing the laurels of honor and respect, beloved by friends and comrades and dying at his home in Oak- land in 1869. James Craig, his father, a soldier of the War of 1812 under General Jackson, and a wealthy planter of Limestone county, Ala. , moved to this state among the first settlers. While the Indians still claimed their hunting grounds and race tracks he purchased much of his land from them. He was an extensive and successful planter. Owning a large number of slaves he made generally from five hundred to one thousand bales of cotton each year. He lived in a beaatiful country home near Oakland, surrounded with such comforts and luxu- ries as enabled him to act the part of a bountiful host and most pleasing entertainer, his home being known far and near for its almost lordly hospitality. James F. Moore was born in Lauderdale county. Miss., in September, 1850, and is a son of James and Caroline (Price) Moore, natives of North Carolina and Alabama respect- ively. The father went from his native state to Alabama at the age of twenty- three years, and was married there at the age of twenty-eight years. For ten years he was engaged in agricultural pursuits, his work being that of overseer. In 1845 he removed with his family to Lauderdale county. Miss., and bought land, which he immediately began to place under cultivation. His efPorts in this direction were rewarded with more than ordinary success. When the war arose, he had accumulated a considerable amount of property, and owned fifteen slaves. He enlisted in the state militia, and was first lieutenant of his company. While the war was in progress he was employed by the Confederate government to tan hides, as he had a large tannery on his farm; much of the leather he had manufactured into boots and shoes, the tanyard, ginhouse, and thirty bales of cotton were burned by Sherman's army in 1864. After the war he passed through the trials experienced by the whole Southern population in regaining a foothold in the business world. Mrs, Moore died in June, 1878, on the home plantation. She was a consistent member of the Baptist church. Mr. Moore is living in the seventy-eighth year of his age, and is strong and active, and in full possession of his mental faculties. He has been a deacon in the Baptist church for thirty years. They reared a family of ten children: William H. died in 1872; Thomas J. died in the army in 1861; Sallie, the wife of A. J. Cansler is deceased; Susan, wife of M. G. Terry, is not living; James F. is the next in order of birth; Martha died at the age of twenty- one years; Elizabeth died in infancy; Cornelius D. is unmarried; Margaret is the wife of C. W. Jones; Georgia is the wife of John T. Ethridge. James remained at home until he was twenty-one years of age, and then took charge of his father's farm on his own account. He was married at the age of thirty years to Mary E. Miller, a daughter of Daniel and Mary (Pippin) Miller. Her mother was a native of Alabama, and her father was born in Pennsylvania. They had five children born to them: Daniel I., Caroline, Thomas M., Virginia, Jane E. Mr. Moore owns one hundred and ten acres of land, three miles from Meridian, and devotes his time to 402 BIOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL truck gardeniug and fruit culture. He also owns residence property in Meridian. He is public weigher of Meridian, his duties being to weigh and reweigh cotton. He is the land inspector of the British American Loan company, and is considered one of the most pro- gressive and energetic young business men in the county. He is well known throughout the surrounding country, and the family name is honored and respected wherever it is heard. Mr. Moore was employed as a clerk by A. Threefoot & Son one year, but he prefers outdoor work, and so stays on his farm in the summer, and spends the winter season in Meridian. He and his wife are members of the Baptist church, and he belongs to the Knights of Honor. His brother Cornelius and he are associated in business, and both are membere of the Farmers' Alliance. James S. Moore is a prosperous farmer and stockman of Tate county. Miss., but was born in Marshall county of this state on the 24th of December, 1840, a son of Robert J. and Elva (Clementine) Moore, both natives of South Carolina. Here they were reared and married, but in 1834 removed to Marshall county. Miss. , which was before the Indians had been removed from the state. They continued to reside in Marshall county until 1850, then came to Tate county, Mr. Moore purchasing an unimproved tract of government land. He also speculated in land to some extent, and at his death, which occurred in 1859, he was in good circumstances. His wife survived him until February, 1890, when she passed away at the age of seventy-five years. They reared a family of eight children, six of whom are still living: Jane C, widow of William Embry; Mary, wife of William T. Meeks of this county; James S., Eliza P., living with her brother John; Margaret A., wife of W. J. Veazey, Jr., of this county, and John A., a planter on the old homestead. James S. Moore spent his school days in this county, and in the spring of 1862 he entered the Confederate service. He became a member of company B, Forty second Mississippi infantry, which was commanded by Capt. L. G. WooUard, Hill's army corps, army of northern Virginia, and was in all the battles from the seven days' tight near Richmond until the surrender. He was wounded at Falling Water, and in the battle of Wilderness. He served until the 2d of April, 1865, when he was captured, and on the 2d of July he was paroled from Point Lookout, Md. , after which he returned home. From that time until 1870 ho farmed on the old homestead, then purchased the plantation on which he is now residing, having rented it two years previous to making the purchase. This place amounted to three hundred and twenty acres, to which he has added from time to time until he now has sixteen hundred and thirty acres in three bodies, of which some eight hundred acres are under cultivation. He had to practice the closest economy and the most untiring industry upon first starting out for himself, and in this he was aided largely by his faithful and estimable wife, who assisted him in ginning cotton and in other outdoor work. Their efforts have been rewarded, and they now have a comfortable fortune and a pleasant and commodious home, which they enjoy to the utmost. Although their prudence has gathered around them an excellent amount of worldly goods, they have been the friends of the poor and needy, and have always been interested in the upbuilding of schools, churches and all worthy enterprises, and have given liberally in their support. In 1870 he was married to Miss Laura E., daughter of William J. and E. J. Veazey, who were among the early settlers of this county. To Mr. and Mrs. Moore five children are living of seven born: Laura E., James v., Robert S., Mary A. and Jessie L. Mr. and Mrs. Moore are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church South, in which he is a steward. He has always taken an active interest in politics, and has affiliated with the democrat party for many years. James W. Moore, who is not only a successful planter of the county, but a business man MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 463 of considerable experience, was originally from the Palmetto state, his birth occurring in Lawrence county. His father, George M. Moore, was also a native of South Carolina, and was married in that state to Miss Elsie M. Crook, who owed her nativity to that state also. After the birth of their son, James W., they removed to Chattooga county, Ga., and resided there six or seven years, the father engaged ia farming. Prom there he removed to Marshall county, Miss. , settled near Eed Banks, purchased land, and became one of the prosperous planters of the county. He died in 1873, at his home near Eed Bank, in the sixty-third year of his life. Mrs. Moore is still living, and although seventy-four years of age, is still hale and hearty. Of the six children born to this union, of whom our subject was the eldest, only three sisters and James W. are now living: Mary, the widow of James Hardy; Sallie, wife of P. L. Gray, of Memphis, and Eliza. James W. Moore began life for himself by enlisting in the Confederate army. Seventeenth Mississippi infantry, under Colonel Feather- stone, in the spring of 1862. He was in the army of Virginia, and was in the battles of Gettysburg, Fredericksburg, Chickamauga, Knoxville, and others. He served through it all without being wounded or captured, and surrendered with General Lee at Appomattox. He then returned to his home and resumed farming. He was married in 1869 to Miss Jane McFadyen, who bore him five children: George P., Thomas A., Mary P., Edna C. and Elsie C. Mr. Moore owns two thousand acres of land, eight hundred acres under cultiva- tion, and is one of the prominent men of the county. He is also engaged in merchandising at Red Banks, under the firm name of Moore & Crook, and is doing well. The Moore family was among the first settlers of the county, and was highly respected. Mr. Moore was deputy sheriff for eight years, and at the present time is deputy United States marshal and has held the position two years. Among the prominent business enterprises of a town and county that of merchandising takes a leading part. Mr. John R. Moore, who is a merchant of Booneville, has been a resi- dent of Prentiss county. Miss. , since 1847, and is thoroughly identified with the business interests of the same. He was originally from Bedford county, Tenn., born June 23, 1834, and his parents, Thomas and Nancy (Allen) Moore were natives of Wake county, N. C, and Warren county, Tenn., respectively. The father was born on March 17, 1804, and was the son of Randolph Moore, a native of Virginia and a soldier in the Revolutionary war. The latter came to Bedford county, Tenn. , in 1830, bringing his family in a wagon, and there his death occurred three years later. He was the father of the following children: Elizabeth, Stansill, Nathan, John, James, Thomas, Zilpha, Rebecca, Celia and Piety, all of whom lived to be grown except Elizabeth, and all to a ripe old age except the father of our subject, the latter dying at the age of fifty-fire y^ars. Celia lived to be over eighty years of age, and died in Lincoln county, Tenn. The paternal grandmother of our subject, Eliza- beth (Stansill) Moore, died in Bedford county, Tenn., in 1843 or 1844. Thotnas Moore, father of subject, was reared in Bedford county, Tenn. and in 1847 came to Mississippi. His death occurred in 1859. In 1833, while a resident of Bedford county, Tenn., he married Miss Allen, and after coming to Mississippi he was engaged in agricultural pursuits until his death. He opened up a small farm three miles west of Rienzi. He and his wife, who was born in 1812, were members of the Methodist church. Her father, John Allen, was a native of Mecklenburg county, N. C, and an early settler of Tennessee. Mr. Allen's wife, Nancy (Carr) Allen, was born in the same county in North Carolina. Her father, Joseph Carr, was a native of Ireland, and was a soldier in the Revolutionary war. He and wife were residing at Mecklenburg Courthouse at the time of the signing of the declaration of independence. Mrs. Moore, mother of the subject of this sketch, was one of the follow- 464 BIOGBAPHIOAL AND HISTOBIOAL ing children: William, Joseph, Mary, Margaret, Nancy, John, James, Newton and Abigail. Of these James and Newton are still living — Newton at Shelby ville, Tenn., James in this county. To Thomas and Nancy (Allen) Moore were born seven children, three of whom are yet living: John K., Newton and George, all residents of Prentiss county. Those deceased were Violet, Margaret, Milton M. and Thomas. Milton was killed at Peach Tree creek, on July 22, 1863; Thomas died in Texas in 1873; Violet was the wife of George Anderson, and died in this county, leaving seven children, and Margaret, who was the wife of M. B. Armor, died at Eienzi, Miss., in 1881. John R. Moore, the eldest child liv- ing, was reared within six miles of his present place of residence, and since 1867 has been engaged in business in the county. He secured an ordinary education in the common schools of the county, and followed farming until the breaking out of the war. He enlisted in company A, Thirty-second Mississippi infantry as a private, and served as orderly sergeant, then first lieutenant, and held that position until the surrender. He was in the battles of Chickamauga, Springhill and Franklin. He surrendered at Greensboro, N. C, after which he returned to Prentiss county. Miss Sarah Anderson, who became his wife in 1856, was born in Bedford county, Tenn., in 1839, and died in 1868, leaving four children: Virginia Ann, now the wife of Thomas L. Bettersworth, who is the editor of the Prentiss Plaindealer, Booneville, Miss. ; S. Thomas, WiUiam P. and John E. , Jr. S. Thomas is in a bank at Union city, Tenn.; William P. is engaged in photography at Aberdeen, and JohnR., Jr. , is in a railroad ofiSce at Artesia, Miss. Mr. Moore was married a second time in 1872, to Miss Sallie Marshall, a native of Virginia, and the daughter of Dr. E. T. Marshall, also of the Old Diminion. She was the eldest of six children, two besides herself now living: Robert and Hamilton. To Mr. Moore's second union were born two children: Elizabeth M. and Mary H. Mr. Moore was elected a member of the board of police of Tishomingo county in 1865, and was also appointed a member of the board of supervisors of Prentiss county, holding that position until relieved by Governor Ames. He was appointed to the latter position by Governor Alcorn upon the organization of Prentiss county. In politics he is strictly democratic. He is a member of the A. F. & A. M., Booneville lodge No. 305; was the first one to join that lodge; and was secretary for several years. He is a member of the mercantile firm of John E. Moore & Co., which firm does an annual business of about $18,000. John E. Moore, planter, Holly Springs, Miss. The subject of this sketch needs no introduction to the people of Marshall county, for he is well and favorably known all over the same. His birth occurred in this county in April, 1840, and he is the eighth in order of birth of twelve children born to Austin B. and Elizabeth (Eeeves) Moore, the father a native of North Carolina and the mother of South Carolina. The Moores are of Irish and the Eeeves of Scotch descent. The parents were married in Tennessee, and there resided until 1837, when they moved to the wilds of Marshall county. Miss. They were among the earliest settlers, and the father bought his land from the government. His estate was near Holly Springs, and he followed farming on the same the remainder of his days, his death occurring there in 1874, at the age of seventy years. The mother died in 1878. Both were consistent members of the Methodist church. Of the large family of children born to this union there are only six now living, John E. being the only son surviving. The daughters are: Mary, wife of W. T. Cooper; Zenobia; Nannie, wife of James McAlexander; Elizabeth, wife of F. E. Waller; and Donia, wife of Dr. G. E. Kelsey. John E. Moore and two brothers enlisted in the Confederate army, and one of the brothers was killed at the battle of Chickamauga. The other died in the evacuation of Atlanta, John E. alone surviving the MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 465 bloody struggle. He was wounded by a minie-ball iu the right side at Heraando, Miss., and was so disabled from his wound that he was unfit for active service from that time on. He remained in the army until the close and surrendered at Memphis. Eeturning home he resumed his former occupation, farming, and was married in 1882 to Miss Sophia H Lord, daughter of William and Ellen D. (Smith) Lord. The result of this union was one son, Warren, who died when nearly two years old. Mr. Moore is the owner of one thousand one hundred acres of land, has four hundred acres under cultivation, and has a nice frame resi- dence situated four miles from Holly Springs. He is a practical farmer, is advanced and progressive in his ideas, and is one of the county's thoroughgoing citizens. Mrs. Moore is a member of the Methodist church. Both she and her husband obtained their education in the common schools of the county. They are held in high estimation by all who know them. Joseph F. Moore, M. D., of Estabutchie, Miss., was born in Fairfield district, S. C. December 16, 1829. His parents were William F. and Lydia A. (Stanton) Moore, both also natives of Fairfield district, S. C, where they were reared and married and lived until they moved to Sumter county, Ala., where the father died in 1881 and the mother in 1883. Of their six children Doctor Moore was the eldest except one. He moved to Alabama with his parents when quite young, and was educated at Oxford, Ala. , and Marion, Miss. Early in the spring of 1853 he began to read medicine under the direction of W. C. Silliman and John Gambrell, of what was then Payneville, Ala. In the winter of 1853-4 he attended medical lectures at the Tulane university of New Orleans, La. After availing himself of this course of lectures, he went to Enterprise, Miss., and entered the office of Dr. J. L. George. Under his instructions he read and practiced medicine until the winter of 1854-5, when he took his second course of lectures at the University of Louisiana, graduating with the degree of M. D. March 15, 1855. Returning to Enterprise, he began the practice of medicine, entering upon a partnership with his old preceptor. Dr. J. L. George, which con- tinued until the beginning of the war, in 1861. In the years 1856 and 1857-8 he attended two courses of lectures as a post-graduate in the Tulane university of Louisiana. Dr. Moore then gave up his practice and accepted a position as surgeon in the Eighth Mississippi regiment, and received his commission as such from Gov. John J. Pettus, August 7, 1861. When the regiment was transferred to the service of the Confederate States, he was commis- sioned by Secretary Judah T. Benjamin as surgeon of the Confederate States army, October 11, 1861, after an examination by the army medical board, and as such served during the remainder of the war, acting as chief inspector of recruits for the state of Mississippi, with headquarters at Enterprise, also having charge of the hospitals there at the same time. During this period he served as surgeon at Pensacola, Fla. , for one year, and was in charge of the hospitals at that place. During the last year of the war he was surgeon of_ General Lowering' s division of General Johnston's army in northern Georgia. He was paroled at Meridian, Miss., May 13, 1865, and immediately returned to Entei-prise, Miss., and resumed the practice of his profession. In 1882 he was one of five commissioners, and being the only physician of the board he was given charge of the erection of the insane asylum at Meridian, Miss., Col. H. M. Street directing its financial department, everything connected with its style of construction left practically to his dictation. Early in 1889 he removed to Esta- butchie, Miss. , where he has since lived. Under his supervision the Estabutchie Lumber Manufacturing company was chartered and organized in 1889, and he still retains an inter- est in it. Dr. Moore was married at Shubuta, Miss., in 1859, to Matilda D., daughter of Gen. A. Carr, of Shubuta, Miss. , who died in 1880, having borne him .five children : 466 BIOaBAPHWAL AND EI8T0BI0AL Pinkie, Terrie L., Joseph F., Bessie F. and James A. In 1884 the doctor married for his second wife Kate Virginia, daughter of William Griffin, of Moss Point, Miss. They have no children. The doctor is a member of the State Medical association and of Lauderdale Medical association, and he also is a Mason. He is a man of more than ordinary enterprise, and during his whole life has been prominently connected with many of the most important interests of the communities in which he has livad. At Estabutchie he ranks among the leading business men, and there are few who have done more than he in the assistance of the public welfare. Lod Moore was born in Alabama in July, 1821. Robert Moore, his father, was born in Kentucky in 1790, and moved to Tennessee with his parents in 1805, and his wife, Ladocia Hamilton, was born in Tennessee in 1800. His parents were married in Tennessee in 1816, and had nine children, of whom our subject is the third in order of birth. His father removed from Tennessee to Greene county, Ala., in 1819, and located where Greensboro now stands, and was there engaged in a mercantile business, with Mr. Peck as a partner, and was one of the early settlers in that part of the country. In 1824 he moved to Marengo county, of the same state. He followed planting for a livelihood, and in 1831 located in the rich portion of Sumter county, Ala. In 1834 he moved to Kemper county. Miss. , where he died in 1836. After the death of his father our subject returned to Alabama with his mother, and grew to manhood there. His mother married, for her second husband, Eobert Allison, of North Carolina, then resident in Alabama, by whom she had one child. His father served under General Jackson in the War of 1812, and took part in that useless battle — New Orleans. In 1842 Lod Moore married Elizabeth Thompson, a daughter of Daniel and Sarah Thompson, of Georgia. Lod Moore is a prominent planter, who has a family of twelve children. His daughters Sarah, Fannie, Margaret, Ellen, Donna and Kate were educated at Whitworth college, Mississippi. Mr. Moore and his family, as were his parents before him, are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. Moore is connected with the Masonic fraternity. He is the owner of two thousand acres of land, about one-fourth of which is improved and under cultivation, and of three store buildings in Forest, where he is interested in the mercantile establishment of the local Farmers' Alliance. In 1863 Mr. Moore enlisted in the state militia, under Capt. J. C. Harper, and served until the close of the war, when he returned home, and engaged energetically in planting and business opera- tions. Although obliged to work against many disadvantages and discouragements, he has met with satisfactory success, and ranks among the well-to-do planters and business men of this county. The subject of this sketch, Dr. L. E. Moore, was born in Sumter county, Ala., in 1833. He was one of a family of thirteen children who sprang from the union of his parents and lived to smooth the declining years of the old couple. His father was Alfred Moore and his mother Catherine (Hamilton) Moore, who were natives of Tennessee and Kentucky respectively. Alfred Moore was born in 1792, and was a veteran of the War of 1812. He was a planter by occupation, at which he proved himself very successful. Dr. Moore came to Scott county. Miss. , when he was thirteen years of age and has continued to live here the most of the time ever since. In 1862 he obeyed the patriotic impulses of his heart and enlisted in the army, but his will being stronger than his body, he was placed in hospital service instead of active duty in the field. This opened up an opportunity for him to study medicine, which he at once embraced, and after the war continued his studies by attending a series of lectures at the University of Louisiana, New Orleans. He located in Morton in the year 1866, where he has ever since plied his profession with untir- MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 467 ing zeal. The Doctor first took unto himself a wife in the person of Miss Virginia Simms, who presented him with two children, all of whom died during the war. Later he again married, this time to a Miss Patti Pettus. Dr. Moore is a member of the Masonic frater- nity. He is also an active member of the Methodist Episcopal Church South, of which he is an acknowledged leader, having been steward in the church for twenty-two years. Col. O. J. Moore, one among the pioneer settlers of Montgomery county, was origi- nally from the Old Dominion, born in Mecklenburg county in April, 1812, and his father, Capt. Warren Moore, was also a native of that state. The elder Moore was a man of fair education and commanded a company in the War of 1812. He contracted disease in the army and died from the effects. He married Miss Elizabeth Worthington, a native also of Meck- lenburg county, Va. , and a descendant of an old and prominent family of that state. Our subject's paternal grandfather was an Englishman. Colonel Moore was one of four sons and one daughter born to the above mentioned union who grew to mature years, and he is the only one now living. After the age of nine years he was reared by his guardian and received a fair business education at a private school. After arriving at mature years Mr. Moore moved to Greenville county, Va., where he bought an interest in a tannery and followed this business for about four years. He was married in Virginia in 1834 to Miss Rebecca N. Gee, daughter of Benjamin Gee, of a prominent Virginia family. After his marriage Colonel Moore located in Brunswick county, Va. , and engaged in farming, which he carried on for about ten years. In 1844 he moved to Mississippi and located in what is now Montgomery county, about one mile from the present town of Winona. In 1848 he bought the place where he now resides, which was then but partially improved, and he now has a fine planta- tion. On the building of the Illinois Central railroad, in 1860, Colonel Moore laid out the town of Winona, which was incorporated about four or five years later and now is the county seat of Montgomery county, and a town of about two thousand inhabitants. The Colonel has been an active planter all his life and is one of the successful ones of this county. He has always espoused the principles of the democratic party and has held several local posi- tions of honor and trust. He was a member of the old Virginia cavalry, commanded a com- pany, and was afterward made colonel of a regiment. After coming to Mississippi he was made colonel of the Mississippi militia, which was organized during the war for home protection. He served on the old board of police jury, was a member of the town board and was treasurer of same for a number of terms. Colonel Moore's residence, which once stood isolated and alone, is now surrounded on every side, the town gradually growing up around it. He is a prominent member of the Methodist church and has been an officer in the same since 1834, serving as recorder and steward for a number of years. He was a delegate to the Memphis general conference in 1870 and also to the Louisville conference, in 1874, and is still active and foremost in church matters. He is a Knight Templar in the Masonic fraternity, which organization he joined in 1856, and he has -represented his lodge in the grand lodge of Mississippi. Mr. and Mrs. Moore have reared five children: Benja- min died in the fall of 1860, just after reaching his twenty-first year; Dr. E. D. graduated in medicine and practiced his profession for a few years ; his death occurred in 1889 in Nor- folk, Va. ; L. N. is a prominent merchant of Winona, Ella A. is the wife of J. T. Lay, of Winona, and Laura J. is the widow of Dr. D. B. Turner. The last named daughter resides with her parents. She is the mother of four children, one of her daughters being the wife of A. A. Green, of Jackson, Miss. One of her sons is a student of medicine at New Orleans and another son is attending the Memphis Commercial college. The youngest child, a miss of fourteen, is at home. 468 BIOaRAPHIOAL AND HiaTOBIOAL Capt. R. J. Moore, farmer, Hazel Dell, Miss. Iq the early settlement of Mississippi, and among the families who were closely identified with its material affairs and associated with its progress and development, were the Moores. The respected representative of this family is found in the subject of this sketch, who was born in Itawamba county, Miss., on the 16th of March, 1837, and who was the fourth in order of birth of seven children born to Stephen R. and Lucy (McDougal) Moore, both natives of the Old North state. The paternal grandfather was of Irish descent, and lived to be ninety years of age. He removed to Alabama at an early date, thence to Mississippi in 1838, and settled in Tishomingo county, where he died in 1860. The maternal grandparents also moved from North Carolina to Alabama at an early date. The parents of Captain Moore were reared in Alabama, and were married in Lauderdale county of that state. There they resided for sev- eral years, and then in 1836 moved to Itawamba county. Miss., bought land, and were among the first settlers. The father was a plain, practical farmer and never aspired to any official positions. He removed from Itawamba to Tishomingo county in 1844, and resided there until the breaking out of the war. He was then taken from his home by the Union troops, placed in prison at Alton, 111., and there his death occurred in 1863, four months after being imprisoned. His wife had died in 1845. Their family consisted of five sons and two daughters: Sarah, wife of G. T. Millican; Horatio R., resides at Huntland, Tenn. ; John J., resides at luka. Miss.; Capt. R. J.; Rebecca, wife of William Young, of Dallas, Texas; Hugh B., makes his home at Marietta, Miss.; and James K. , resides at Huntland, Tenn. All the SODS enlisted in the Confederate army in 1861, went direct to the front and were in all the engagements of their command. Capt. R. J. Moore was elected second lieutenant of his company at its organization, and in 1863 was promoted to the rank of captain, and filled that position' ably and well until peace was declared. He was at the battle of Fort Donel- son. Baker's creek, siege of Petersburg, and was wounded and captured at the last named engagement. He was taken to Johnson's island prison, retained there about three months, and was captured again at Fort Donelson. He was placed in the same prison and remained there six months, nine months in all at Johnson's island, being there at the final surrender. He was paroled in June, 1865, and then returned to his home in Tishomingo county. Miss., where he engaged in farming. He was married in 1864 to Miss Nancy S. Gaines, daughter of John S. and Eliza (Patton) Gaines, who came from Alabama to Mississippi in 1838, and were among the early settlers of the country. Mr. and Mrs. Gaines were the parents of thirteen children, five of whom 'are now living, Mrs. Moore being third in order of birth of the children. Mr. Gaines was a successful farmer and had accumulated con- siderable property before the war, being the owner of a large number of slaves. He died in Prentiss county. Miss., in 1879, at the age of sixty-five years. Captain Moore was elected county surveyor in 1888, and is the present incumbent of that position. He was a candi- date for representative in 1878, but was defeated. He has made farming and milling his chief occupations during life, and has been quite successful in his chosen callings. Socially he is a member of the Masonic fraternity and the Knights of Honor organizations. He is public-spirited and enterprising, and extends a liberal hand to all laudable public enterprises. He and Mrs. Moore are members of the Christian church. To their marriage were born two children: Minnie, and Eddie (deceased). Nelson Moore. The gentleman whose name heads this sketch is one of the oldest and most highly esteemed residents of Lauderdale county, Miss., for he was born in Darlington district of the Palmetto state in the month of January, 1808, the second in a family of nine children born to John and Betsey (King) Moore, both natives of North Carolina and of Rev- MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 469 olutionaiy descent. They afterward became residents of South Carolina, where the father followed the calling of a farmer and for some time filled the position of justice of the peace. He and his wife were members of the Methodist Episcopal church at the time of their deaths. In 1838 Nelson Moore removed from South Carolina to Mississippi and located in Lauderdale county, wheie he is now living, before the Indians had gone from the country. Prior to leaving his native state he was married to Miss Icie Delt, by whom he became the father of four sons and three daughters: James, who died in Virginia in 1862 wliile in the Confederate service; Elias, who died in 1861; Mary, wife of John E. Cocke; Sarah, wife of William A.. Eogers; John B., Thomas J., and Eliza, wife of William A. Eogers. Mr. Moore was among the very earliest settlers of this county and has been a resi- dent of the county longer than any man now residing in it. His long residence here and his many noble qualities of mind and heart, have made him well and favorably known, and he is regarded by all as a high-minded old gentleman and as a useful, upright and worthy citizen. He has made farming his exclusive business through life, and is now the owner of one thousand five hundred acres of land, of which about four hundred acres are under cultivation and well improved. He is plain, practical and unassuming, and prior to the war was an extensive slaveowner. His wife, who died at her home in Lauderdale county in 1851, was a consistent member of the Methodist Episcopal church. Thomas J. Moore, their son, was educated in the common schools of the country and also attended Summerville college, of Noxubee county, Miss. , for about three years. In 1863 he dropped his books and enlisted in company C, of the Second Mississippi cavalry, in Capt. William A. Eoger's company, under General Forrest, and was with him throughout the various raids, and also with Hood in his Tennessee campaign, taking part in the battle of Franklin. He was wounded at Pulaski on the 25th of December, 1864, being shot through the left arm, after which he returned home and did not again enter the service. He was married in 1869 to Miss Sudie Twiley, a daughter of George Twiley, of Lauderdale county, and to their union three sons and two daughters have been born: Zadie (deceased), Jeffie B. , George N. , Heustis and an infant not named. Thomas J. Moore resides on his father's plantation, and looks after the interest of the place, as his father is quite feeble. He and his worthy wife are highly esteemed in the community in which they reside and she is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. William Walton Moore, M. D. , one of Pike county's most eminent physicians, was born in Amite county, Miss., August 18, 1839, being the eldest of two sons and four daughters born to his parents, Thomas L. and Elizabeth (Swearingen) Moore, worthy and honored residents of Amite county. Thomas L. Moore was a prominent and extensive planter, and was born on the plantation on which he spent his life and died, his demise occurring in December, 1868. Although he was of a quiet, retiring and modest disposition, he was well known as one of the county's most benevolent and public- spirited citizens, and the good which he did in various unobtrusive ways will long be felt by those who survive him. His father, Samuel Moore, was the first of the family to settle in the county, having immigrated to this region from South Carolina about the year 1800. He, as well as his descendants, was prom- inently identified with the history and development of Amite county, and the prosperity which the rising generation are now enjoying was won by the unswerving energy and indom- itable perseverance of such sturdy pioneers as Mr. Moore. William Walton Moore spent his boyhood days upon his father's plantation and in acquiring the foundation of his educa- tion in the neighboring schools and under his mother's care and guidance. By the time he attained his eighteenth year his knowledge of books well fitted him for entrance at a higher 470 BIOGEAPEIGAL AND HISTORICAL iastitution of learning, and he accordingly entered MissiBsippi college, at Clinton, where he pursued his studies with diligence for two years. Having acquired a taste for the study of medicine, he decided to make that his life calling, and in 1859 began the study of that science in the Eclectic Medical college at Cincinnati, Ohio, and was graduated as an M. D. in 1861. Immediately following this he attended one course of lectures, but before he could enter upon the practice of his profession to any great extent the coining clash of arms caused him to cast aside personal considerations to take up arms in defense of his home and section. In the summer of 1861 he enlisted as a member of company C, Seventh regiment of Mississippi volunteers, and was attached to the Army of Tennessee. He participated in all the engage- ments in which his command was engaged, including the battles of Shiloh, Chickamauga, Missionary Eidge, Fort Craige, Murfreesboro, Franklin and others, and at all times he bore himself in a manner becoming a soldier and gentleman. He officiated most of the time as surgeon and assistant surgeon, and at the battle of Murfreesboro he was left in charge of the wounded, and remained inside of the Federal lines for several months in the discharge of his duties. He afterward rejoined his regiment and surrendered with his command at Jonesboro, N. C. , and after his return home the following fall entered the New Orleans school of medicine, and from this institution graduated in the spring of 1866. In April of that year he commenced practicing his profession at Summit, and here has since made his home, his services in a professional way being in great demand throughout the section in which he resides. In addition to this calling he is also interested in agriculture, and is the owner of plantations in Pike and Amite counties, particular attention being devoted to the raising of fine stock, in which he has wielded a wide influence through the county, the majority of plantations being well supplied with fine horses and cattle. He was the originator of the South Mississippi Fair association of Summit, of which he has been president since its organ- ization. He also assisted is organizing, and is one of the stockholders as well as president of, the Summit cottonmills, which position was tendered him in recognition of his indefati- gable efforts in securing the establishment of the industry at the town of Summit. He is a stockholder in the bank of Summit, and has always taken special interest in the upbuilding of the school system of the town, and for a number of years was a member of the board of education. To his efforts the splendid schools of Summit are largely due, and he always indorses every word and act that leads to progression and civilization, and is a man of very superior mental endowments, which have been strengthened and enriched by the highest culture. He is gentlemanly and cou7'teous, and is very popular with all, not only profession- ally but socially, and may be said to be in a large measure a self-made man. He is a member of lodge No. 93 of the A. F. & A. M., in which order he has attained the chapter; and he also belongs to Summit lodge of the I. O. O. F. , Summit lodge of the Knights of Pythias, and is a member of the Knights of Honor. In September, 1865, he was married to Miss Ary A. Felder, a native of Amite county. Miss., and daughter of James W. Felder, and grand- daughter of Kev. Charles Felder, one of the pioneer Baptist ministers of this section, and a prominent man in his day. Mrs. Moore is an honored member of the Baptist church of Summit, and is active in woman's work. The Doctor is a leading democrat of his section, and has been a delegate to both state and county conventions, and chairman of the demo- cratic executive committee of Pike county. Capt. William Walker Moore, planter and merchant, was born in Madison, Miss., Jan- uary 12, 1841. His parents were James J. and Elizabeth (Fleming) Moore. His father was born in Haywood county, N. C, in 1808. His mother was a native of York district, S. C. His paternal grandfather, Dr. William Moore, was of Scotch descent. The Flemings came MBMOIBS OP MISSISSIPPI. 471 from the north of Ireland, and on the maternal side of the latter family he traces his descent to Pennsylvania stock and to the Garolinaa. His granduncles participated in the Revolu- tionary war, one of them, William, dying after the v^ar from vyounds received in battle. Gen. Francis Marion, being a cousin of the Moores of that generation, it is not improbable that some of them were of his cavalry force. Walker Fleming, uncle of our subject, served in the War of 1812, and family history places him at Fort Moultrie at the time of the attack on Charleston. James J. Moore, Capt. Walker Moore's father, was left an orphan by the early death of his father, and at an early age went forth to battle with the world, almost entirely untrained except to physical toil. Going to South Carolina he married there in 1830. In 1835 he removed to Madison county, where he remained until his death, in 1844, at the age of thirty-six. During his residence there, by industry and economical management, he obtained a sufficiency for the support and education of the large family. Not long after his removal to Mississippi he and his wife, although they had long been connected with the Presbyterian church of the old school, became members of the Cumberland Presbyterian organization then springing up in that part of the country, and in the faith of this church they lived and died. The mother survived to see the youngest of the children grown and married and passed away in 1878. The children in order of their birth are: Jane, Eliza, Mary Fleming, John Leander, Gustavus Adolphus, Roxana, William Walker, Catherine F. and Josie M. Of these all the males served in the late war until their mili- tary service was terminated by death or discharge. John Leander was in Texas when the war began and served with the Texan troops during its entire period. Gustavus Adolphus enlisted in company M, of Wirt Adams' regiment of cavalry, in 1862, and was one of the sergeants of that company. He contracted measles in the camp in northern Mississippi and partially recovered, but died of a relapse brought oa by exposure. Capt. William Walker Moore attended the country schools near his home in his boyhood and then spent one and one-half years at Bethel college, Tennessee, and entered the sophomore class of the University of Mississippi in 1859. In 1861, while a member of the junior class, he joined a company of cavalry which had been organized by Captain, afterward General, John Davis, nephew of President Davis, which was nominally in the Tenth Mississippi regiment, although it was really the second regiment in order of organization. He also soon fell a victim to measles, became unfit for duty and was finally discharged in 1861. A part of the time he spent in the marine hospital near Pensaeola. Returning home, his health was so far recruited as to enable him to assist in raising a company in answer to a call from the governor for sixty- day troops, and he was in the field again within three months from the time of his discharge. Of this company he was chosen orderly sergeant. Its captain was R. B. Campbell, a brother of Judge Campbell, of the supreme court and a veteran in the Mexican war. The com- pany was of Bartlett's regiment and Alcorn's brigade. Notwithstanding the shortness of the campaign upon which it entered scarcely a man in the company escaped sickness. Returning home after being mustered out of service, Captain Moore assisted in enlisting men for a cavalry company which was organized by the election of W. R. Luckett as its captain, Addison Harvey as first lieutenant, William Walker Moore as second lieutenant, and John Smith, Jr., as third lieutenant. They received marching orders about June, 1862, to join Wirt Adams' regiment in northern Mississippi. Mr. Moore served in this company and this regiment until the close of the war. He became first lieutenant of the company, when Lieu- tenant, afterward Captain, Harvey was detached, and became its captain when Captain Luckett was killed. He served through the various skirmishes and battles in which the company participated from the battle of Boonville, July, 1862, to the battle of Sipsey, April 473 BIOGBAPHIOAL AND HISTORICAL 3, 1865, under command at different times of Generals Chalmers, Crosby, BillJaekson, Arm- strong, Adams and Forrest. Tiere were many instances in Captain Moore's military career which would make interesting reading, did space permit their narration in these pages. They show that he was an intrepid soldier and that he possessed many of the qualities of a military leader. He was in command of the outposts under General Gregg at the battle of Raymond, May, 1863, when the Confederates surrendered to superior numbers only after a severe fight. July 4, 1864, he was placed for a time in command of Captain Yerger's com- pany, which was in front of the charge which routed Elliott's brigade. After the surrender of Vicksburg, the Captain placed himself in command of a party of retreating scouts, who were being liard pressed by the Union cavalry, and saved the day for the Confederate cause. During the following November, while on a furlough, he hastily got together a small body of volunteers and did gallant service, though some may think it reckless, in defense of the Mississippi Central railroad bridge, near Canton, which was finally saved by Captain Yerger's arrival with two companies after Captain Moore and his devoted followers had been worsted by overwhelming numbers. The Captain was paroled at Gainesville, Ala., May 10, 1865. He married Miss Ernestine Watson, of Jefferson county. Miss., September 7, 1865. His wife's parents were Louis C. Watson and Martha Blanton, both natives of Jefferson county. Miss. The children by this marriage were: Anna, Gustavas Adolphus, Lewis C. Watson, Blanton Fleming, and James, Jr. He lived in Jefferson county until 1875, engaged in agri- culture, has since lived in Issaquena and Sharkey counties, where he has planting interests, and in Vicksburg, but his home at present is in Port Gibson, Miss. He married his second wife, Miss Julia Rowan, whose parents were Thomas Rowan and Miss Clara Green, of Jefferson county. Miss. The children of the last marriage are: Clara C, Eliza, William Walker (deceased), Lilly, Kate and Helen Ross. In religion Mr. Moore is an Episcopalian, and he has a license from the bishop as lay reader, in which capacity he has acted since 1880. His wife is a Presbyterian. He served part of a term as magistrate for the people of Jeffer- son county. Miss., an office which he resigned on his removal to another locality. He ran for the legislature in Sharkey county, and was defeated. He was elected and served a term as a member of the board of levee commissioners from Sharkey, and was elected a member of the town council at Port Gibson and resigned on account of conflict of official duties with private affairs. He has had invitations at every election since becoming a citizen of Clai- borne county to become a candidate for a member either of the house of representatives or the senate of the state legislature, but has declined. He is a member of no secret society. Prof. Waldo W. Moore, president and principal of the Fairview college, located at Binnsville, Miss., is one of the most prominent educators of the state. The school which he now controls was opened in 1887, and has continued with an increased attendance each year. The faculty is composed of able and experienced teachers, each of whom is fully equal to the demands of his position. Binnsville is to be congratulated upon having a school so well equipped, as all well-ordered educational institutions must elevate the tone of the community. Professor Moore was born in Sumter county, Ala. , February 26, 1860, and is a son of Capt. A. M. and Martha (Elliott) Moore. His father was born in Marengo county, Ala., August 6, 1830, and is a son of Robert and Ladocia (Hamilton) Moore, natives of Ten- nessee and North Carolina respectively. The paternal grandparents removed from Tennessee to Mississippi in 1816. Captain Moore was married in Sumter county, Ala., May 9, 1851, and four children were born of the union : Margaret E. , now Mrs. McCaskill ; Ladocia, who died in August, 1863 ; Rev. Marcus H. , a minister of the Methodist Episcopal Church South ; and Waldo W. The mother of these children was born in Greene county, Ala., in January, MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 473 1831, and was a daughter of Andrew and Anna (Knox) Elliott, natives of Tennessee. She died January 8, 1862. Captain Moore was married again in September, 1865, to Mary McCaskill, a daughter of Allen McCaskill, of South Carolina. She was born in South Car- olina, in March, 1837. The result of this marriage was six children: Fannie C, Kate, Etta, Hans H., Andrew M. (who died in May, 1875) and Carrie. Mrs. Moore died January 25, 1891. In 1861 Captain Moore enlisted in company I, Fortieth Alabama volunteer infantry, of which he was elected captain. In 1864 he was taken prisoner in Georgia, and was sent to Johnson's island, Ohio. The most noted engagements in which he took part are Vicks- burg, Atlanta and Lookout Mountain. He resigned in 1865. In January, 1867, he came to Kemper county, and located three miles south of Binnsville, where he followed farming for thirteen years. In 1881 he embarked in the mercantile trade, opening a store in Scooba. The same year he was elected a member of the house of representatives of Misi-issippi and filled the office very acceptably one term. He and his wife are members of the Method- ist Episcopal Church South, as was also the mother of Professor Moore. The Captain was at one time a member of the Masonic order. , Professor Moore was educated at the Soiithern university at Greensboro, Ala., and was graduated June 24, 1S85. His first engagement was with the Methodist Episcopal Church South, in Lawrence county, Ala., where he remained until the opening of the school which he so ably conducts. He was married January 21, 1886, to Miss Hattie C. Jagers, a daughter of A. and Cornelia (Le Gette) Jagers. Her mother was a native of South Carolina, and removed to Kemper county about 1851. Her fath'er was born in Mississippi. Professor Moore and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church South. He is democratic in his political opinions, and stanchly supports all issues of the party. Benjamin H. Morehead is a successful merchant and planter at Ingleside, and is one of the best known, most popular and successful citizens of which Claiborne county, Miss. , can boast. His birth occurred here in the month of July, 1841, to Bushrod W. Morehead, a native of Kentucky, in which state he resided until grown, receiving there his literary education. He then entered the Philadelphia (Pennsylvania) Medical college, and after graduating came to Mississippi to practice his profession, settling at Grand Gulf. After remaining there but a short time he came to Port Gibson, and followed his profession until his death in. 1843, having obtained an eminent position as a practitioner and a very large practice among the leading citizens of this section. He was married to Miss Mary Ann Hughes, who was born and reared in Claiborne county. Miss., her father being Benjamin Hughes, a native of Kentucky, who came to Mississippi in his early manhood. One of his sons. Col. Henry Hughes, wrote a very creditable book on sociology, and during the war was first a private in the Claiborne guards, was afterward made captain of the same and was pro- moted to the rank of colonel of the Twelfth Mississippi regiment, serving jintil the reorgan- ization of the regiment, and dying in 1862 of inflammatory rheumatism, which was the result of exposui-e. Mary Ann (Hughes) Morehead was the eldest of four children, all of whom lived to be grown and were educated in Claiborne county, with the exception of Mrs. Morehead, who was an attendant of the female seminary kept by Mrs. Tevis, at Shelbyville, Ky. After graduating and retui-ning to her home in Mississippi she was married to Mr. Morehead, by whom she became the mother of three children: Julia Tevis (McAlpine), who resides on a plantation near Ingleside; Benjamin H. and a child that died in infancy. After the death of Mr. Morehead his widow married R. W. Harper, M. T>., a native of Maryland, but at the time of his marriage a practicing physician of Port Gibson, which place continued to be his home until his death in April, 1867. This union resulted in the birth of one son, 474 BIOGRAPHICAL AND HISTOBIOAL Henry H., who is now an eminent lawyer of Barnum, Tex. He graduated from the law department of the University of Texas, since which time he has been in the active practice of bis profession. The mother of these children remained a widow until her death, which occurred in the fall of 1876, she being an earnest member of the Presbyterian church and also of the benevolent aid society at the time of her death, which occurred at the home of her daughter, Mrs. McAlpine, near Ingleside. Benjamin H. Morehead attained his majority in the county of his birth, and with the exception of the time spent in the service of the Con- federacy and when at school, has always resided here. He had just entered the senior class of the Oakland college when the war broke out and he immediately dropped his books, and in May, 1861, enlisted in the Claiborne guards, with which he served until after the seven days' fight around Eichmond. He was wounded at Frazier's farm on Monday evening, June 30, 1862, his right arm being broken by a minie-ball. He then remained at home on fur- lough until he could again use his arm, when he became a member of the Fourth Mississippi regiment, of which he was made adjutant, serving in this capacity until the close of the war. He was in the skirmishes around Port Gibson and the engagement at Harrisburg, this being the principal battle in which he participated. He was active and faithful and did honorable service for the Confederacy, and won an excellent reputation for courage and fortitude. He was paroled at Jackson, Miss. , in 1865, and returned home to take up the duties of planting and merchandising, and although he commenced at the bottom of the ladder, he has made steady progress toward the top and is now in easy circumstances financially. After following merchandising in Grand Gulf for three years he for one year worked with Mr. McAlpine. The following year he was married to Miss Mary T. Session, a native of Claiborne county, born and reared where she now lives, and after their marriage they settled on a plantation belonging to the latter, and about the time of the construction of the Louisville, New Orleans & Texas railroad Mr. Morehead opened a store at what is now called Ingelside, where he has since been doing a good business, the place receiving its name from the plantation of which he is the owner. Mrs. Morehead was educated at home by a private tutor, but finished her education in New Orleans. She is a daughter of Richard W. Sessions, a native of Adams county. Miss., and an early planter of that county. To Mr. and Mrs. Morehead seven children have been born, whose names are as follows: Robert H., who was educated at Chamberlain & Hunt's academy, at Port Gibson, is the depot agent at Ingleside; Richard S. , who assists his father in the store, received his education in the same institution as his brother; Benjamin H., Howard S., Maria, William H. and Julia, all of whom are attendants at the above named academy. Mr. Morehead is a member of the Knights of Honor and Knights of Pythias at Port Gibson, is a democrat in politics and has been a member of the board of supervisors of the county, and in this capacity, as well as in everyday affairs of life, he is well liked and very popular. Mrs. Morehead is a member of the Presbyterian church and is a worthy and estimable lady. John D. Morgan, of the well-known firm of Morgan, Robertson & Co., wholesale and retail grocers of Columbus, Miss. , was born in the town in which he is now doing busi- ness in December, 1841, a son of John M. and C. L. (Prowell) Morgan, natives of South Carolina. The father came to Lowndes county. Miss. , in 1835, his wife's arrival in this state preceding his by three years, and here they met and married. He was born in 1808, and consequently upon his arrival in this state he was about twenty-seven years of a»e. He first made his way hither on horseback in 1833, in order to view the country and buy land, and here purchased a tract in 1 833, about seven miles west of Columbus, which was totally unimproved. He moved his effects hither in 1835, crossing the Tombigbee river on what -'^^li^MMMhlts <:./reM^^^^'" MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 475 was know as " Cold Friday," the coldest day that was ever known in the history of this country. He immediately located on and began improving his plantation, and in a little log cabin, which he erected, he lived in until 1846, when he moved to the house in which John D. Morgan is now residing, near Columbus, on the east side of the river. Here he died in 1877, his widow still surviving him, being now in her eighty-fourth year, and probably the oldest resident of the county. They were married in 1837, and their union resulted in the birth of three children, two of whom are living: Mrs. E. M. Moore and John D. The Morgan family originally came from Virginia, but in an early day became residents of South Carolina. The paternal grandfather and grandmother died in Mississippi and South Carolina respectively, the maternal grandmother, Mrs. Prowell, dying in the former state. The maternal grandfather was a soldier in the War of 1812. John D. Morgan was reared and educated in Columbus, but in 1861 left home and friends to take up arms in defense of the Confederate cause, beconiing a member of the Tombigbee rangers. After serving until 1862 he received a discharge on account of disability, and went to his farm in Texas to recuper- ate. After some time l^e enlisted with General Maxy's command, with whom he served until the 'close of the war, surrendering in June, 1865, at Hempstead, Tex. He continued to make his home in Texas until 1869, after which he returned to Columbus, Miss. , and in 1 870 engaged in the mercantile business in the building now occupied by Walker & Donoghue, with whom he remained until 1884, when he built the large three-story brick building, 120x87^ feet, where he is now doing a wholesale and retail business. Mr. Morgan has large landed interests in Texas, besides some excellent property which he owns in Lowndes county, and in the city of Columbus. He is a practical and experienced man of business, is a shrewd financier, but his property has not been acquired at the expense of others, or by wronging a soul. He was married in 1866 to Miss Mary C. Couch, a native of Alabama, by whom he has three children: Judson A., John M. and Eugenia R. Mrs. Morgan and her children are members of the Baptist church. John H. Morgan, clerk of Benton county, Miss., was born in Shelby county, Tenn., and there passed his boyhood and youth. On account of the breaking out of the-war his early educational advantages were not of the best, but being a man of thought and observa- tion he has made up for this to a great extent. He located in Tippah county. Miss., in 1868, and was residing where he now lives when the county of Benton was formed off Tippah and Marshall counties. He erected the first residence in Ashland, and was appointed a member of the board of aldermen of the town at the time of its organization. In 1871 he was appointed chancery clerk, a position held for one year, and then held the position of deputy chancery clerk under Allen Talbot and William Heedspeth. He then returned to Germantown, Shelby county, Tenn., in 1873, and was there married to Miss Mary Rogers, daughter of Jerry Rogers, of that place. The fruits of this union have been four interesting children. In 1877 Mr. Morgan was elected mayor of the town and was its first postmaster. He held the former position until 1883, when he was elected county clerk, and has held that office since. He discharges the duties of this office in a very efficient manner, and has fully testified to the wisdom of the people's choice. Mr. Morgan is a son of Dr. William N. and Mary (Welburn) Morgan, natives of Virginia and Alabama, respectively. Dr. Morgan graduated in medicine in Philadelphia, and was extensively known as a successful physician and surgeon. He died in 1867, at the age of fifty-three years. He had a brother, Rev. J. H. Morgan, who was a famous minister in the Cumberland Presbyterian church, and who ministered to the spiritual wants of his fellowman during almost his entire life. J. H. Morris is the president and general manager of the Morris Ice company, of Jack- DD 476 BIOGRAPHICAL AND HIBTORIOAL son, Miss. , and in discharging the duties of this position he has shown himself to be thor- oughly competent and reliable. He was born in the city in which he now resides in 1846, the second of five children born to William and Martha (Jarvis) Morris, the former a native of New York and the latter of Maryland. William Morris came to Mississippi about 1837 and settled at Clinton, as a jeweler, but removed to Jackson in a short time and started a bank, which was the. first and only one in the city until his death in 1864. Mrs. Morris survived him until 1866, when her death occurred. J. H. Morris was a resident of Jackson until the opening of the war, and there received a thorough and practical education. In 1861 he enlisted in the Burt rifles of the Eighteenth Mississippi regiment, army of northern Virginia, and was with this command until 1863, participating in all the engage- ments until the battle of Seven Pines. He was then discharged from the service on account of being under age and returned to Jackson, but was soon after appointed to the rank of lieutenant by General Johnston, later to first lieutenant, and finally brevet captafti, and com- manded his company for some time. He surrendered at Greenville, Ala., in 1865. His brother, William P., was born in 1844 and entered the Confederate army in 1862, and served until the close, mainly in the medical department. He was in the siege of Port Hudson when captured, was exchanged at the close of the war, and died in 1865, soon after his return home. Upon his return to Jackson, J. H. Morris became assistant agent of the Illinois Central railroad at that place, and retained this position until 1872, when he began dealing in ice and coal. In 1880 he built the first ice factory in Mississippi, but this was unfortunately burned in 1884. Mr. Morris at once erected his present factory, which is one of the very best in the country, and supplies, not only Jackson, but the surrounding country with ice. In 1884 the business was incorporated as the Morris Ice company and Judge J. A. T. Campbell was chosen president, and J. A. Morris, secretary, treasurer and general manager. The latter is now president and manager. Mr. Morris is an active and progressive man of business, and has made the business in which he is now engaged a decided success. He is the owner of much valuable property in West Jackson, and has erected and is the owner of several stores. He has been a hard worker for the democratic party, and although he has been a member of numerous conventions and on many important committees, he would never accept any office, much preferring to devote his attention to his business. He was married on the 12th of March, 1891, to Miss Lavinia Shelton, a daughter of Judge David Shelton (see sketch). Mr. Morris is a handsome gentleman of medium stature, has black hair and eyes, and is most courteous, genial and social. He has a very pleasant residence, and is devoted to his wife and home. J. W. Morris, planter, Lexington, was born in South Carolina in 1842, and his parents, James and Mary Malvinia (Weems) Morris, were also natives of that state. The parents moved to Mississippi in 1845, and the father followed planting in Holmes county until his death in 1875. He was born in the year 1811. He was not a politician, but preferred the quiet, uneventful life of a farmer. J. W. Morris, the only child born to the above mentioned union, was but three years of age when he came with his parents to Mississippi. He was married in 1867 and subsequently resided in Durant for some time. From there he moved to Kentucky, made his home there for ten yeai's, and then, returning to Holmes county, he located on his present place, where he has resided ever since. He has followed the occu- pation of a planter and is also the owner of a steam sawmill. His farm, which consists of sixteen hundred acres, has about six hundred acres under plow. His principal crops are cotton and corn. Mr. Morris enlisted in the Confederate army in 1861 as a private and served during the entire war in company G, Fourth Mississippi regiment. He participated in the MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 477 following engagements: Fort Henry, Fort Donelson, was in all the battles of Hood's raid, and was at Port Gibson, Snyder' s Bluff, Franklin and Blakely. Since that time Mr. Morris has followed planting and is one of the thoroughgoing, substantial men of the county. He is pleasant and social in his intercourse with all and has many wairm friends. He is a mem- ber of the Methodist church and a liberal contributor to the same. John T. Moseley (deceased) was a prominent merchant and banker of Kemper county, Miss. , at Old Wahalak. He was born in Powhatan county, Va. , in 1797, and was a son of William and Rebecca (Townes) Moseley. His father was a native of Virginia and became a prominent lawyer. Mr. Moseley was reared and married in Virginia. His wife was Mary W. Montague, daughter of M. Montague. She has borne him ten children: Nancy Rebecca, SaUie I., Wortley, Mariah, William X., George M., Mary W., Pattie, John T. and Anna B. Mr. Moseley moved to Mississippi in 1835 and located at Old Wahalak. He was for many years engaged in planting and selling general merchandise, and there in 1837 he opened the first bank, of which he was general manager and cashier. He was one of the most success- ful business men in this section, an Odd Fellow, and his wife a member of the Baptist church. He was a strong democrat, and while a resident of Virginia held several official posi- tions in the state of Virginia. He was a prominent feature in the controversy which has become so well known in this county. He died in 1883 and was buried at Old Wahalak. His wife died in 1882 in the same county. He left a large estate, which included a considerable tract of land. John T. Moseley, Jr. , was born in this county in 1845, at Old Wahalak. He received his early education here, and spent one year in school at Virginia. In 1863 he enlisted in company F, of the First Mississippi cavalry, though then but eighteen years of age. He took part in many hotly contested conflicts. He was in an engagement at Frank- lin and in many battles and skirmishes throughout Georgia. He was made a prisoner of war at Selma, Ala., but escaped and came home. After the war he engaged as a clerk for a grocery firm at Mobile. In 1872 he engaged in farming and has a tract of twelve hundred acres of land, which was a portion of his father' s estate. For four years under the adminis- tration of President Cleveland he was in the railway mail service on the Mobile & Ohio railroad. Robert J. Mosley, a well-known agriculturist of Kemper county, was born in Monroe county, Ala., in 1834, and is a son of Robert and Mary (Butler) Mosley. Robert Mosley was born in the year 1800, and is a son of Joel Mosley. He was a native of North Carolina, and was married in that state, immigrating to Kemper county. Miss. , in 1838. He was first married to Rachel Riddle, but the children of this union are deceased. The second mar- riage, to Mary Butler, took place in Alabama, and eight children were born to them : William, Mary A. , Conbacy, Sarah, Robert J. , Amanda, Travers and Drucilla. The mother was born in South Carolina in 1812, and died in 1876; she was a member of the Baptist church. The father died in 1860 ; he was a prosperous planter, and a man of excellent business qualifications. He also belonged to the Baptist church. Robert J., the subject of this notice, was reared on a farm in Kemper county, and now resides on his father's old planta- tion, which consists of six hundred acres. He was married September 9, 1858, to Marian Gewin, a daughter of Thomas and Ruth (Newcomb) Gewin, natives of Alabama and Virginia respectively. Mrs. Mosley was born in Mississippi in 1843, her parents being early settlers of Kemper county. Her father was a man of wealth and influence, and an honored citizen. Mr. and Mrs. Mosley have had born to them thirteen children, three of whom are deceased: Mary E. is Mrs. Dr. Gewin, Anna is Mrs. Tartle, Robert lives in Meridian, Emma is Mrs. Davis, Gewin, Earl, Mattie, Howard, Walter and Ernest; those deceased are Richard, 478 BIOOBAPHIOAL AND HISTORICAL Donnie B. and Mariao. The parents are members of the Baptist church. Politically, Mr. Mosley is identified with the democratic party. He is a member of the Masonic order. In 1862, when there was a call for volunteers in the defense of the Southern cause, he enlisted, and served three years and four months. He was in the Thirty-fifth Mississippi volunteer infantry. He participated in the siege of Vicksburg; was at Corinth and Atlanta, Jones- boro and Chattanooga, and a number of skirmishes. He was taken prisoner at Vicks- burg, and again at Blakeiy, from which point he was sent to Ship island, where he was held until the end of the war. He was a faithful and valiant soldier, and was loyal to his con- victions to the end. Mrs. Mosley died October 30, 1887, and was buried at Blackwater church. B. F. Moss, whose postoffice address is Mieo, Jasper county. Miss., was born in Jones county, of this state, January 16, 1834. He is a son of Benjamin and Sarah E. (Hossey) Moss, both of whom were natives of South Carolina. Coming to Mississippi at an early day, they located in Wayne county, subsequently removing to Jones county, where he died in 1837. His widow Removed to Jasper county, where she later married Rev. Isaac Anderson, and moved with him to Greene county, where she died in 1871. She was the mother of ten children, namely: Elizabeth, John, Ann, Samuel, Benjamin F., Andrew J., and three who died in infancy, by Mr. Moss, and one by Mr. Anderson, named Almeda. Benjamin F. Moss was educated in the home subscription schools of Jasper county, and since he was sixteen years old has fought the battle of life single-handed. He was married in Jasper county, Miss., September 22, 1853, to Miss Jane J., the daughter of William and Jennie (Collins) Hossey. After his marriage he located in the southwest part of Jasper county, and remained there until 1869, when he located upon the plantation upon which he now resides, and which has been his home ever since, except during two years, when he resided at Paulding, Miss. In 1874 he was elected to the office of assessor of Jasper county, in which he served with great fidelity for two years. In 1881 he was elected sheriff of Jasper county, and served one term to the entire satisfaction of his fellow- citizens. His wife died in March, 1882, and in 1883 he married Mrs. Mary E., the widow of John Wade, deceased, and a daughter of James and Pernelipa Ellis. Mr. Moss became the father of nineteen children, named as fol- lows: Madison, Sarah J., William P., Saphronie A., deceased; Benjamin D., deceased; Beulah, Ada, Elizabeth E., Robert L., deceased; John W., deceased; Benjamin B., Samuel, Bert, B. L. These children were by his first wife, and Virgie V., Luther B., William F. and George H., who were twins, and an infant son, who died unnamed. Mr. Moss is the owner of one thousand nine hundred and fifty-five acres of land, of which there are about one hundred and sixty-five acres under cultivation. In 1861 he enlisted in company E, of the Eighth Mississippi regiment, and served until the close of the war. Upon the organiza- tion of the company he was elected a lieutenant of it, and in 1862 he was promoted to the rank of captain, and served in this rank. He participated in a number of battles, and was wounded in the left hand at the battle of Missionary Ridge. Besides this engagement, he was in engagements at Murfreesboro, Resaca, Selma, Ala., and a number of skirmishes. At Selma he was captured by the Federals, but made his escape by swimming the Alabama river, and came home to Jasper county. He is a member of the Masonic order and of the Baptist church. In all the relations of life he has the esteem of those with whom he comes in contact. His interest in the affairs of the town and county is great. He is always ready with his influence and money to aid any worthy movement, having in view the enhancement of the public weal. Lewis A. Moss is a merchant of Edwards, Miss., who was born in New York city MEMOIRS OF MISSiaaiPPI. 479 March 8, 1840, the youngest of thirteen children born to Benjamin A. and Alice (Davis) Moss, both of whom were born in England, and came to the United States in 1832, settling in New York city where the father followed the calling of a merchant until 1849, when his death occurred. Lewis A. attended the public schools until about twelve years of age, when he ran away from home and went to California, where he remained until 1855, at which time he returned to his home in New York. While in the wild West he made plenty of money, receiving for his services as high as 1150 per month and board. Upon his return to New York he began conducting an auction business, which he continued until he came South, in 1857. He first settled in Georgia where he remained until 1861, at which time he entered the Confederate service, joining company E, Fourth Georgia infantry, his entire service being confined to the state of Virginia, during which time he participated in the seven days fight at Richmond. He was ill in the hospital for some time, which prevented him taking part in the invasions of Maryland and Pennsylvania. He surrendered with Johnston, at Charleston, N. C. , after which he came to Vicksburg, Miss. , and engaged in general merchandising at which he was quite successful. Since 1875 he has conducted his present business in Edwards, and from a small beginning the business has increased to immense proportions, and now amounts to about $100,000 annually. He is the owner of about sixteen hundred acres of land, which he operates in connection with his store, of which twelve hundred and one acres are under cultivation, devoted to the raising of cotton and corn. He is said by many to be one of the greatest politicians of the state, but has interested himself in politics only at the earnest solicitation of his many friends. He has never held any political office himself, nor does he desire to, but has been instrumental in adding largely to the votes received by his political friends, and has always been a stanch democrat. He has been an alderman of Edwards for fourteen years, and is one of the school trustees, in both of which capacities he has done effective work, being especially interested in the cause of education. He has donated large sums of money to public enterprises and is very generous in aiding the needy and deserving poor, the generous and kind bestowal of his gifts, being warmly appreciated. Socially he is a member of the Masonic order and Royal Arch chapter, the K. of P. , the K. of H., the American Legion of Honor, the Free Sons of Israel, and the I. O. of B. B. Mr. Moss was married April 14, 1871, to Miss Fannie Weil, a native of France, and by her became the father of nine children, three of whom are living, Carrie, Benjamin and Jacques, the other children dying in infancy. Although Mr. Moss began life for himself with no means he has been very successful, and now worth about 175,000, all the result of honest and per- sistent endeavor and good financial ability. His career, although somewhat checkered, has been an honorable one. and he has few, if any, enemies. Dr. R. P. Moss, College Hill, Miss., has been prominently identified with the history of Lafayette county, for the past forty-seven years, and is well worthy of mention in this connection. He was born in Spartanburg district, S. C, in June, 1815, and is the seventh of a family of twelve children born to James and Emily (Harrison) Moss, natives of North and South Carolina respectively. The paternal grandfather was the son of one of six broth- ers who immigrated to America in the colonial days, and settled in Virginia; the mother was of Scotch descent. The parents reared their family in South Carolina, and there passed the remainder of their days. The father was a farmer, and a man of plain, practical habits; he died in 1859, and his wife died in 1829, in Spartanburg district, S. C. Dr. Moss, and one brother who lives in Texas, O. H. Moss, are the only surviving members of the once large family. The Doctor came from South Carolina to Abbeville, Miss. , in 1844. He was then a single man, and a graduate of the medical department of the University of Pennsylvania, 480 BIOOBAPHWAL AND HISTORICAL He at once entered upon the practice of his chosen profession which he continued in Abbe- ville and vicinity for four years. In 1847 he was married to Miss Lucy A. E. Blakeley, a daughter of Samuel Blakeley. The following year he bought the farm on which he now lives ; he continued his practice in connection with his agricultural pursuits until the out- break of the Civil war. He was conscripted into the service in 1862, and served in the state militia under Colonel Brumley, doing guard duty. After the war he resumed his labors on the farm, and has continued to earn his living by tilling the soil. He and his wife have had born to them eleven children — six sons and five daughters: James A. (a practicing phy- sician at College Hill), Samuel W., Oliver M., Robert L., Susan E. (wife of Dr. G.G. Buford), Sarah E. (wife of William P. Wadkins, of Memphis), Joseph E. W., Frances C. and Harriet Irene; the other two died in infancy. The Doctor is an unassuming man of practical habits, and takes no part in political affairs. He owns six hundred and forty acres of excellent land, three hundred of which are in a high state of cultivation. His son Robert attended the University at Oxford two years. Three daughters, Caroline, Elizabeth and Harriet, are students at the Female college of Oxford; Susan is a graduate of the Clarke Female insti- tute. The family move in the best circles of society, and would be considered a desirable addition to any community. They have lent not only their influence to educational and religious enterprises, but have contributed liberally of their means. They are consistent members of the Presbyterian church. Gren. Christopher H. Mott (deceased) was a prominent lawyer and politician of Marshall county for many years. He was born in Holly Springs, Miss., and was a student of Dr. Whitehorn. He served in the legislature several terms. He entered the Confederate army as a private, was elected colonel and subsequently brigadier-general and was killed at Will- iamsburg. He left a beautiful and accomplished wife, who afterward married Maj. John Phillips, of Columbus, Miss. Like many of the representative citizens of Oktibbeha county. Miss. , Capt. W. C. Muldrow was originally from the Palmetto state, his birth occurring in Darlington district in 1828, and his parents, Simon C. and Louise Adaline (Cannon) Muldrow, were natives also of that state. Simeon C. was born in Sumter district on the 18th of February, 1798, and was the son of John and Mary (Ellison) Muldrow. John Muldrow was reared in tJie Palmetto state and was married on the 7th of November, 1785, to Miss Ellison, who bore him six children, of whom Simeon C. was the youngest. The eldest son, Robert Muldrow, was at one time presi- dent of a railroad in South Carolina and a very wealthy man ; a daughter, Agnes, married a Mr. Wilson; John Boyd Muldrow is a farmer in South Carolina; Matthew E. is also a farmer, and Mary married a Mr. Bingham. Simeon Connell was reared on a farm in Sumter county, educated at Princeton college and then studied law. He was married in Darlington district to Miss Louise A. Cannon, a native of Darlington district, born January 3, 1809, and the daughter of William H. and Sarah Ann (McTyre) Cannon. After his marriage Mr. Muldrow began practicing law in Darlington district, continued this three or four years and then removed to Claiborne county, Ala., where he followed tilling of the soil for two years. From there he went to Lowndes county, Miss. The six children born to his marriage are named in the order of their births as follows: William Cannon (subject), Robert (deceased, see sketch of Col. Muldrow), Sarah Ann Cordelia (deceased), Mary Louise (deceased), Eliza Jane (deceased) and Henry Lowndes (now in Starkville, see sketch of Colonel Muldrow). The father of these children continued farming in Lowndes county for five or six years and thea removed to Oktibbeha county, where he was engaged in the same occupation up to the time of his death, which occurred on the 18th of December, 1853. He came to Mississippi MEU0IR8 OP MISSISSIPPI. 481 with limited means and amassed considerable wealth. He was a man of fine intellect and was a great reader. Although he took no active part in political afPairs he was well posted on all the popular topics of the day. He was a member of Oktibbeha (now Albert) lodge, A. F. & A. M. , at Starkville, and he and wife hold membership in the Presbyterian church of old school. Four years after his death his widow married Isaac N. Davis, a native of Elbert county, Ga. , and a gentleman who stood high in state affairs. He was a state elector on several occasions, served a number of years as state senator and was an orator of great eloquence at one time. He was educated for the legal profession, but followed agricultural pursuits the principal part of his days. He was a whig politically, but after his marriage with Mrs. Mnldrow he changed to the democracy. Mr. Davis died on the 26th of June, 1860, and his widow survived him eight years, her death occurring on the 6th of June, 1868. William C. Muldrow received but a limited education in the public schools of his native district, but by his own exertions has become well posted on all subjects of interest and now has a good practical education. After the death of his father he took his place behind the plow, assumed charge of the plantation and, besides supporting the family, he paid off a debt on his father's estate amounting to 125,000. This property consisted of five hundred acres, to which William 0. has added to, from time to time, until it increased to about twenty-five hundred acres. He sold that and now owns nearly seven hundred acres of land, five hundred acres of which are under cultivation. Like most of the farmers in the county, his principal crops are corn and cotton, and he is interested in stockraising. His farm is located on the Illinois Central railroad, five miles from West Point and one-half mile west of Muldrow. His brother, Colonel Muldrow, owns a large tract of land east of Muldrow Station. The land owned by our subject is in a high state of cultivation, and his system is productive of excellent results. He takes great pride in his farm, which, as before stated, is less than half a mile from the station which was erected by the Illinois Central railroad for the con- venience of Captain Muldrow and his brother, Colonel Muldrow, of Starkville. Captain Muldrow' 8 residence is beautifully situated and is surrounded by a fine park of about five acres, which is dotted here and there with great oak trees and many beds of choice flowers. The Captain exhibits great taste, not only in the selection of plants, but in the care and training of them. An archway covered with sweet-scented honeysuckle is over the front gate, the entrance to the house is up a broad flight of steps and from the front balcony a lovely view is obtained of the surrounding country. Everything is cozy and convenient about his place and his doors are ever open to his friends, of whom he has a host. In the latter part of 1860 Captain Muldrow enlisted as a private in company C, Fourteenth Missis- sippi infantry, serving about six months. At the battle of Fort Donelson he was captured and taken to Camp Douglas, where he was kept about nine months. He was exchanged at Vicksburg, Miss. By permission of President Davis the brother of our subject organized an independent company of cavalry, which Captain Muldrow joined as second lieutenant. He was promoted to first lieutenant in about a year and a half, and then became captain. He was in all the battles of General Sherman's raid and was in the engagements in Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia and South Carolina up to the line of North Carolina. He surrendered at Washington, Ga. , and after returning home resumed his former occupation. The Captain has never married, his "home life," to quote his own words, "being so pleasant that I did not think of leaving it." He is a very genial, whole-souled gentleman and bears his years as lightly as many twenty years his junior. His farm is his pride and his most constant thought. Col. Henry L. Muldrow, the most prominent lawyer of Starkville, and president of the 483 BIOORAPHIOAL AND HiaTORIOAL People's Savings bank at that place, was born in Lowndes county, Miss., in 1838. His parents, Simeon 0. aad Louise A. (Cannon) Muldrow, were natives respectively of Sumter and Darling- ton districts, S. C, the father born in 1798 and the mother in 1809. The elder Muldrow, passed his youth on a farm, received good educational advantages, and subsequently gradu- ated from Princeton college. New Jersey. After this he studied law and practiced his pro- fession for a few years in South Carolina and then removed to Claiborne county, Ala., where he led the life of an agriculturist. He was married in his native state about 1826, and in 1837 removed to Lowndes county. Miss., where he was among the first settlers. He located in the woods on Tibbee creek, improved a good farm, and there resided until about 1845, when he removed a few miles farther west into Oktibbeha county, again settling in the woods. He was a man of talent and excellent judgment, who by his honesty and industry amassed a good property. He never aspired to public positions, but was ever ready and willing to assist in all enterprises of a laudable nature. His death occurred in 1853. He was amember of the Presbyterian church. He was one of three sons and three daughters, born to the marriage of John Muldrow, who was of Irish descent and probably a native of the Palmetto state. The latter spent all his life, following the occupation of a planter in South Carolina, and served under General Marion in the Revolutionery war. The mother of Colonel Muldrow died in 1868. She was a member of the Presbyterian church, and a lady of rare accomplish- ments, having received her education at Barromville, N. C, a school of considerable note at that time. Her father, Hon. William H. Cannon, was of Scotch-Irish origin, was a wealthy planter, and one of the prominent men of South Carolina, representing the same in the state senate. He reared two sons and four daughters, the eldest son, Capt. William H. , holding the rank of captain in the Florida war. Col. Henry L. Muldrow was one of three sons and three daughters, born to his parents, all the daughters dying when young. The eldest son, Capt. William C. Muldrow, is now one of the leading planters of Oktibbeha county. He was a captain in the Confederate army. Another son, Maj. Eobert Muldrow, was a graduate of the State University of Mississippi, and when a young man represented Oktibbeha county in the legislature. His residence was in Kentucky, but died in Mississippi, in 1878, while visiting relatives. He served as major in Wirt Adams' cavalry during the war and was once wounded. Col. Henry L. Muldrow' s early educational training was good, he having gradu- ated from the literary department of the University of Mississippi in 1856, and from the law department in 1858. He then practiced at Starkville until April, 1861, when he joined the Oktibbeha rescue, afterward company C, Fourteenth Mississippi infantry as lieutenant, and was captured at Fort Donelson. He was imprisoned at Johnson's island for about seven months and was then exchanged. Upon the reorganization of the company he was made captain and operated in the Western campaign, in many of the most severe engagements until after the fall of Vicksburg. He then received orders from the war department at Rich- mond to raise a company of mounted scouts, which he did, and was then authorized, with Col. R. O. Perrin, to organize a regiment of which the latter was made colonel and Captain Muldrow, lieutenant-colonel. Upon the death of Colonel Perrin, which occurred soon after, our subject became colonel and commanded the regiment in General Johnston's army until the close of the war, surrendering with him after struggling gallantly with the enemv for four years. Prior to the war, in 1860, Colonel Muldrow was married to Miss Eliza D. Ervin, a native of Lowndes county, Miss. , and the daughter of James W. and Ann J. (Jennings) Ervin, the father born in South Carolina and the mother in Georgia. Mr. and Mrs. Ervin were married in Mississippi, and after the death of the latter in 1860, Mr. Ervin removed to Alabama, where he followed planting until his death. To Colonel and Mrs. Muldrow was born a daughter, MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 483 Annie Louise, who is still living. Mrs. Muldrowisamember of the Presbyterian church. After the war Colonel Muldrow resumed the practice of law and his official career began in 1870 as district attorney of the sixth judicial district, serving about two years. He represented Oktibbeha county in the memorable legislature of 1876, and also served with credit and distinction in the XLVth, XLVIth, XLVIIth and XLVIIIth congress, declining re-election. In 1885 he was appointed first assistant secretary of the interior by President Cleveland, served until the close of the administration and then resigned. He then returned to his practice with his former partner, Hon. Wiley N. Nash, also one of the prominent lawyers of Mississippi. Colonel Muldrow was made president of the People's Savings bank, at Starkville, upon its organization in 1889 and he has since filled that position. He is also largely engaged in planting. The Colonel is a true type of the Southern gentleman, genial and hospitable, and he has secured a wide circle of friends, whom he holds tenaciously. John J. Mulligan, of Vicksburg, Miss. , is probably the most successful and extensive plumber in the entire South. He came to Vicksburg in youth as a mechanic, having pre- viously learned the trade of a tinsmith. He soon engaged in business for himself, and is now doing a very large, reputable and lucrative business. He does an extensive wholesale business in tin, copper and sheet iron, tinners' supplies, fire and burglar-proof safes, engines, boilers, etc. He owns valuable property in Vicksburg, on Mulberry street, where he car- ries his stock, and from which he does his extensive business. He has recently completed the plumbing and cornice work on the new Vicksburg hotel and the Piazzo hotel. His fine work may be seen throughout Mississippi and adjoining states. Besides being a first-class plumber, he is filling the following responsible positions creditably to himself and satisfac- torily to the citizens of Vicksburg: Treasurer of the Vicksburg Building association, treas- urer of the Vicksburg fire department, president of the Washington fire department, and first lieutenant of the Catholic Knights of St. John. Robert Mullin (deceased) was a resident of Grenada county, Miss., for over half a cent- ury, and during that period was one of the county's most active and prominent citizens. He was born in Belfast, Ireland, in 1818, and when a mere boy crossed the ocean to America, locating first in Dayton, Ohio, with a sister, Mi-s. Margaret Thompson, who had immigrated to the United States a number of years before. In 1829 Mr. Mullin went to Kentucky and from there to Mississippi in 1838, locating at old Troy, Yalobusha county, a few miles below Grenada, on Yalobusha river, where he engaged in shipping cotton. Later he embarked in merchandising on a small scale, having but little to start with, but by his energy and close atten- tion to business, soon became one of the leading merchants of the place. In all other enter- prises undertaken by him he was very successful, and he purchased large tracts of land to which he added from time to time. About 1850 he purchased the place that he afterward named Evergreen plantation, consisting of twenty-two hundred acres of the choicest land in the county, and on this erected a large, two-story brick house, a very handsome and imposing structure. This building, standing on an elevation covered with magnolia and evergreen trees, commands a lovely view of the surrounding country and is picturesque in the extreme. On retiring from merchandising, Mr. Mullin made this place his home, where he wished to spend the rest of his days in quiet, but during the war he lost a great deal of his means, and after cessation of hostilities, he again engaged in merchandising in Grenada. There he worked with the vigor of former years and soon became one of the leading merchants of the county. He continued in business until 1884. He was a man of strong, vigorous mind, great originality, and was possessed of a high sense of honor and excellent judgment, which exerted a great influence over those with whom he came in contact, and he was often con- 484 BIOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL suited for his opinion on different subjects. No one ever thought of doubting his word or impunging his motives. He was very conscientious, strictly honest in all his dealings and a thorough Christian man, although not a member of any church. In his early life he had joined the Methodist church, but thought he could not comply with all its rules and there- fore withdrew. He led a good, moral life and those who knew him best loved and appreci- ated him most. He always contributed liberally to all worthy enterprises brought to his notice and with a willingness that made him popular with all. His death, which occurred on the 31st of May, 1885, was the occasion of universal sorrow, for all felt the loss that would be sustained by the departure of such a man. He was married in May, 1843, to Miss Mary Walton, a native of Tennessee, and daughter of Harris and Mary (Edwards) Walton, natives respectively of Tennessee and Georgia. Harris Walton and his family moved to Mississippi as early as 1838, settled in Marshall county, but the same year came to Yalobusha county, where he opened up a large plantation. He died at the age of fifty-eight years, and his wife when forty-six years of age. Both were members of the Methodist church. They were the parents of seven children, four of whom are yet living, and Mrs. Mullin being the eldest. She was nearly grown when she came with her parents to Mississippi. She is still living, is a member of the Methodist church and resides in Grenada with her daughter, Mrs. Laurance. She was a true companion to her husband and is one of the best of women, esteemed and respected by all. To Mr. and Mrs. Mullin were born nine children, six of whom survive at the present time: Appolis, wife of Capt. J. B. Wilson, resides in Bowling Green, Ky. ; Annie, wife of Mr. Lake, of Memphis, Tenn. ; Cora married John W. Griffis, of Grenada; Lillie, wife of F. G. Winn, of Clairmont, N. H. ; Blanch married Samuel Lau- rance (deceased), who was a member of the firm of Doak & Laurance, merchants of Grenada, and to this union was born a bright little girl. The youngest of this family, Eobert W. Mullin, was born on Evergreen plantation and supplemented the primary education received at Grenada by a thorough course in Roanoke college, Virginia, from which he graduated in 1882, taking a special course. Prom there he went to Bowling Green, Ky., engaged in stock trading for a few years and then returned to the old home place, where he has since resided engaged in stockraising. He is advanced and progressive in his ideas and is one of the prominent planters and stockfarmers of Grenada county. He selected for his companion in life Miss Effie Thomas, daughter of B. F. Thomas, and her death occurred on the 17th of April, 1890, at the age of twenty-one years. She left an infant daughter, Mary. Mrs. Mullin was educated at Blue Mount college, Ripley, Tenn., and was a lady of refinement and culture. Mr. Mullin adheres to the democratic party in his political views. P. W. Mulvihill, dealer in general hardware, tinner and plumber, of Natchez, Miss., is the son of Michael and Mary (Creigan) Mulvihill, natives of Ireland; the father born in County Kerry and the mother in Limerick. The parents were married in their native country, and in 1848 sailed for Canada, where they remained but a short time and then moved to New York state. There they remained for about two years, and then moved to Illinois, and thence in 1858 to Natchez, Miss. Later yet they moved to Vicksburg, where the mother received her final summons, and where the father still resides. Although now retired from the active duties of life, he was formerly a railroad contractor and a merchant. He is a member of St. Mary' s cathedral. He had two brothers and two sisters to cross the ocean to America. Mr. Mulvihill was the father of eleven children, only three sons now living, as follows: M. J., a prominent merchant at Vicksburg and one 'of the city's representative citizens, E. P., who is a hardware merchant at Colorado, Tex., and subject. Two daughters and four grandchildren died with yellow fever in Vicksburg in 1878. P. W. Mulvihill was MEMOIRS OF MI38IS8IPPI. 485 born in New York city in 1850, secured a liberal education at the Brothers of the Sacred Heart, in Natchez, and in 1866 learned the tinner's trade, at which he worked for seventeen years. In the meantime he established himself in the hardware business, and now has an annual trade of probably $20,000. He is an energetic, thoroughgoing business man, and has the confidence and respect of all who know him. For four years he has been alderman of the Second ward ; is a director in the Natchez Safe Deposit and Trust company; is president of the PhcBnix Fire Company No. 7; was treasurer of the St. Joseph Total Abstinence and Benevolent society, and was once an officer of the state Knights of Workmen of Mississippi. He was married to Miss Bridget Gleeson, a native of Ireland, and daughter of John and Mary Gleeson, natives also of the Emerald isle. Her parents came to the United States and settled in Natchez in 1853. There they both died, the mother in about 1880 and he ten years later. To Mr. Mulvihill's marriage were born nine children, and he and family are members of St. Mary's cathedral. There is no name more worthy of mention in the memorial department of these vol- umes than that of Jesse P. Myer, of Ellisville, Miss. , who is the largest and most extensive retail merchant and cotton dealer in southern Mississippi, if not the largest in the state. This gentleman is a native-born Mississippian. His birthplace was in Jasper county, and he was born July 15, 1855. His father was Solomon Myer, who was born in Metz, Germany, about the year 1819, and came to the United States when quite young, settling about 1851 in Mississippi, where he married Miss Amanda Alexander, subse- quently removing to Jasper county, where he became a merchant. Later he became a merchant of Clarke county and removed thence in 1883 to Jones county, where he died in February, 1891, his wife, who survived him, making her home with her son, Jesse P., at Ellisville. They were the parents of ten children: Joseph (deceased), Mary E., Amelia L., Jesse P., Josephine R. , Sallie O. (deceased), Alexanders, (deceased), Nettie Forest, Charles S. and Ada C. Mr. Myer was educated at Shubuta, Miss., and at the age of seventeen years became a salesman in the employ of M. Greenhood, of Shubuta, a merchant of that place, in whose service he remained for several years. In 1879 he formed a co-partnership with N. B. Shelby to carry on a mercantile business at that place. This partnership was terminated by mutual consent in 1883, and Mr. Myer came to Ellisville, Miss., where he opened a store individually. Beginning with limited capital he gradually increased his stock as his trade warranted until now his business is very extensive. Some idea of its growth may be obtained when it is stated that in the first year he shipped three hundred bales of cotton and in 1890 he shipped more than four thousand bales. He carries the largest stock of general merchandise in southern Mississippi and ranks among the leading merchants in the state. He makes a specialty also of dealing in wool. He draws a very extensive and rapidly increasing trade from an area extending from sixty to seventy-five miles in all directions, and he has come to be known in the mercantile circles throughout the South. The town of Ellisville may be said to be coexistent with his enterprise there, and he has led in all improvements and done more perhaps than any other one man to secure its advancement and commercial prosperity. Mr. Myer was married in Heidelberg, Miss. , May 14, 1884, to Miss Alice Lee Weens, a daughter of Lewis H. and Mary (Bachelor) Weens, who had four children : Alice Lee, Rutledge, Clara and another who died in infancy. Mr. and Mrs. Myer have had two children, Charles S. , deceased, and Alma A. Mr. Myer is a member of the Knights of Pythias, and he and his wife are members of the Baptist church. The career of Mr. Myer illustrates what may be accomplished by characteristic American pluck and energy combined with unswerving honesty and faithfulness to commu- 486 BTOORAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL nity and to self; and such sketches as this point examples to the rising generation that may be followed with credit and success and result in still greater glory to Mississippi and the new South. Prof. C. H. Myers was born in Union county, Miss., in February, 1861. He is a son of P. B. and Martha (Goodrich) Myers. His parents were natives of Alabama, and in that state they grew to maturity and were married. They removed to Union county in 1851, where Mr. Myers bought land and engaged in planting. About the beginning of the war he removed to Memphis Tenn., where he became a merchant. After the war he removed to a plantation near Memphis, which he managed in connection with his mercantile business until 1866, when he removed to Marshall county, Miss. His wife having died while he lived in Memphis, he married Miss Elizabeth Bridgewater. She soon died also, and he married for his third wife. Miss Jennie Wesson, of Marshall county. By his first wife, he had seven children, by his second wife, he had one child, and by his present wife, he has had three children. From Marshall county, he removed to Union county, where he engaged in plant- ing. He was practically a successful business man, who never sought political preferment. Professor Myers began life for himself as a planter and schoolteacher. Having a great desire to so educate himself that he might become a successful teacher, he became a student at the State university at Oxford, in 1883. In 1884 he established a private school at Myrtle, Union county, where he has remained until the present time. His success here has been such that he has built up a small college, of which he is principal and owner. This institution has been of great usefulness to this part of the state, and its continued success seems assured. The number of pupils enrolled in 1891 was one hundred and fifty. In 1884, solely with his own capital, he built a good school building, which is adequate to the demands of the time. In 1887, the school having grown so rapidly that the accommodations were insufiicient, he erected an additional building, and the college is now well equipped, both as regards buildings and apparatus. The institution is known as the Myrtle normal college, and is attended by students of both sexes. In 1890 Professor Myers obtained a charter of this college from the state legislature. Some idea of the growth of this institu- tion may be had from a comparison of the roll of 1884 with that of 1891. The total num- ber of students in the first mentioned year was sixteen. The college has good boarding facil- ities, and the college property embraces twenty acres of land on which are the college buildings and a fine residence, all of which Professor Myers is the sole owner. He deserves, and has been awarded great credit for his success in this useful enterprise, which is constantly growing in the confidence of the people in this and surrounding counties. The Professor is assisted in the management of the college by Mrs. Myers, who graduated at Oxford in the class of 1880. He married Mrs. Myers, who was Miss Jennie M. Ritz, in 1887. She is a daughter of Edmond and Jennie (Lark) Ritz. Her father was a native of Germany, and her mother was born in South Carolina. They were married in the state just mentioned in 1859, and removed from there to Washington, D. 0., where they lived for ten years, when they located in Oxford, Miss. Mr. Ritz died in Memphis, Tenn., in 1883. Professor Myers is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and Mrs. Myers a member of the Baptist church. Professor Myers is almost wholly absorbed in the building up of the college, and it has been an honor to himself and a lasting benefit to the community, but he finds titoe and means to devote to laudable public enterprises of all kinds, which are of advantage and benefit to the community in which he lives. On page three hundred and sixty-seven of this volume appears a biographical sketch of the late Hon. R. F. Beck (deceased). Mr. Beck died August 18, 1891, after the article MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 487 mentioned had been printed, and it is deemed proper to supplement the above mentioned sketch with further details of the life of this remarkable man. In addition to the many pub- lic offices which he held, and the duties of which occupied so much of his valuable time, he still found leisure to devote himself to the demands of official positions such as the following: Herwas president of the following organizations: The Vicksburg Building association (for twelve years), the Yazoo and Tallahatchie Transportation company, the Vicksburg Builders and Traders' exchange, and the Gibraltar Publishing company, and he was an officer in the Vicksburg Wharf and Land company, the Delta Wharf and Land company, the Vicksbufg Transfer company, the Vicksburg ^Vharf, Boat and Elevator company, the Delta Wharf, Boat and Elevator company, the Mississippi Home Insurance company, the First National bank of Vicksburg, the Vicksburg Fair association, the Vicksburg Driving club, the Benev- olent Protective Order of Elks, and the Catholic Knights of America. All of these organi- zations held special meetings and passed suitable resolutions in respect to his death, and each sent to his late residence a beautiful floral offering. Almost every carriage, public and private, in the city was brought into requisition at his funeral and large numbers of people attended on horseback. The board of mayor and aldermen attended in a body and the city had a delegation of mounted police in uniform present. The carriages that bore the floral offerings were all beautifully draped in mourning, and the horses and drivers were decorated with crape. The procession to the cemetery was probably the largest ever seen in Vicks- burg. The following account is taken from a local paper: Such an assemblage of the people as turned out yesterday to pay the last honors to the remains of Hon. R. F. Beck, has not been seen in many years. No less than seventy-six vehicles were in the pro- cession, which extended several blocks, and spacious St. Paul's, where the funeral rites were celebrated, was so densely crowded that it seemed impossible for another person to gain admission. The ceremo- nies, which were grandly impressive, consisted of a requiem high mass, by Rev. Father ^Monti, and a chastely eloquent funeral oration, delivered b}' Rev. H. A. Picherit, whose polished and beautiful thoughts were never more appropriately expressed, even though he has delivered on frequent occasions productions which have moved the most stoical to tears, than on this occasion. His long friendship for the deceased gave him abundant qualifications as his eulogist, and this was most fittingly demonstrated in his touching tribute to his many virtues. Tl\e ceremonies at the church took place about 9 a. ji. At their conclusion the mournful pro- cession was reformed; the casket, buried beneath rai-e flowers, was reverently borne to the funeral car, and the march to the cemetery began. There were present in the funeral cortege JIayor R. Y. Booth and the other members of the city council, preceded by Jlarshal Hammett and a detachment of police on horseback, the members of the Builders' exchange and representatives of all the city's institutions and organizations. Upon reaching the cemetery, the last rites of the church were pronounced by Rev. Father Picherit, the casket was deposited in its last resting-place, and the sorrowing throng turned sadly away. During the morning business was generally suspended by the members of the Builders and Traders' exchange, in honor of their deceased president. Mr. Beck was a friendless young stranger when he located in Vicksburg at the close of the war, but he was possessed of brains, health, industry, good habits and indomitable energy. He soon became a builder and contractor, in which avocation he met with great success and which he followed until the day of his death. He was so constituted that he was a leader in whatever I he devoted his energies to, whether it was business, political or social in its character. In the exciting events of the period following the war he took an active part, and was a prominent factor in the movement that overthrew radical rule in Vicks- burg. He was Erst elected aMerman and afterward mayor of Vicksburg. Soon after he was elected sheriff of his county, and re-elected two or three times. Later he was again elected mayor of Vicksburg for two successive terms. He took great interest in every 488 BIOOBAPEIOAL AND HISTORICAL movement that promised to aid the growth or welfare of the city, and no movement for the public good failed to receive help from him. His death while in the prime of life and at the zenith of his mental vigor, was a loss to Vicksburg and to the state. He was a devout mem- ber of St. Paul's congregation, and it was his regular custom to attend mass in the sacred edifice. In his death the church lost a true and stanch friend, and this may be said {Ho of schools, which he assisted and encouraged in the moat liberal and praiseworthy manner. His character may be summed up in the statement that he was a devoted husband, a loving father, a true friend and a thoroughly good man, and his place in the community will be hard to fill. (sHAPTBi^ xiy. CITIZENS' PRIVATE MEMOIRS, N. lapt. George W. Naron, a member of the mercantile firm of Naron, Son & Mancill, at Maben, also the firm of G. W. Naron & Sons, Atlanta, Chickasaw county, was born in Coweta county, Ga., April 16, 1828, and was the third of nine children born to Thomas and Mary (Corker) Naron, natives respectively of South Carolina and Kentucky. The parents were married in Coweta county, Ga., and from there removed to Chambers county, Ala., thence to Randolph county, and in 1842 came to Chickasaw county, Miss., set- tling in a tent in the woods. Two years later they removed to near Little Rock, Ark., and there on the 22d of July of the same year (1844) Mr. Naron received his final summons.* Mrs. Naron died two days later. The father was something of a speculator, and was of rather a roving disposition. He was a man of great endurance and was thoroughly acquainted with Indian life, having served in the Creek war as a sergeant, leaving a wife and several children at home, who were frequently obliged to protect themselves from the Indians by hiding in the woods. Mr. Naron was one of seven sons and one daughter born to the marriage of Eli Naron, who came to Chickasaw county in 1844, followed planting, and there passed his last days. He was in the War of 1812. His father was from the old country. Capt. George W. Naron became thoroughly familiar with the duties of the farm at an early age, but his educa- tional advantages were not of the best, never having attended school more than six months altogether. He began for himself when sixteen years of age, and during the Mexican war he was in the quartermaster's department, serving about eight months in General Taylor's command. He then returned to Mississippi and in 1849 married Miss Mahala Few, a native of Morgan county, Ga. , born in 1822, and the daughter of Clement and Sallie Few. Mr. Few was a successful planter, and died in Chickasaw county. Miss. His wife died in Georgia. Mrs. Naron, who died June 11, 1890, was the mother of seven children, four of whom are now living, viz.: Sara F., deceased wife of Rev. R. P. Gore; William W., a merchant of Eupora; J. Riley, died in 1891; Martha J. was the wife of F. P. Sinclair, of Eupora; Alonzo C, a MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 489 merchant of Atlanta, Miss.; Rebecca O. , wife of T. J. Mancill, of Maben; and Laura E., died in infancy. The mother of these children was a devout member of the Baptist church. Captain Naron was one of the early settlers of Chickasaw county, where he made his home until recently, when he moved to Maben, Oktibbeha county. He has followed the occupation o^ya farmer all his life, and is the owner of about thirteen hundred acres in Chickasaw, Cal- houn and Webster counties, all the result of enterprise and industry on the part of the family. About 1875 Mr. Naron began merchandising at Atlanta, and since then has devoted his atten- tion largely to that business, owning a large store at Maben and another at Atlanta. Early in the war Mr. Naron was made lieutenant of company H, Thirty-first Mississippi infantry, and later became captain of the company, operating in Mississippi the first year or two. He fought at Chickasaw Bayou, Baker's Creek, Jackson, and then on to Resaca, fighting all the way to Atlanta. From there he went to Franklin and Nashville, back to Mississippi, and rejoined General Johnston in North Carolina, surrendering with him after over four years of hardship and suffering. He was wounded three times. During that time his wife and chil- dren struggled hard to make a living and battled vigorously against all opposition. The Captain was for a number of years a prominent member of the Masonic fraternity, Atlanta lodge No. 362, having taken the past master degree, and he is now a member of New Hope lodge No. 224, at Maben. He is a member of the Baptist church. His wife was a noble companion, and much of his success in life the Captain attributes to her. She displayed wonderful fortitude during the war and supported the family instead of going to her people. Wiley Norris Nash, of Starkville, Miss. , is the son of Stephen Evans and Mariah Jane (Stanton) Nash. His father was born in South Carolina, October 27, 1807, and died on his plantation in the western part of Oktibbeha county, July 16, 1863. His mother, a native of North Carolina, was born October 12, 1822, and died in Starkville, Miss., October 26, 1859. His mother's family were among the pioneers of Alabama, and his father's family were pioneers, both of Alabama and Mississippi. The antecedents of this gentleman, when both lines are considered, have, first and last, occupied important places of trust and honor in positions religious, legal, political and military, extending back to and including the Revolu- tionary war. From this family have sprung worthy and honorable ministers, soldiers, judges and statesmen. The Nashes do not claim lineage from any great or titled family, yet the older members, or a number of them, claim a traditional motto, of which they are very proud, the English of which is " Faithful in everything." Stephen E. Nash, the father of the immediate subject of this sketch, acquired a liberal education, and was a man of fine literary taste. He was a lawyer and practiced his profes- sion for many years. At the date of his death he had retired from practice, and was farming somewhat extensively, and besides was a large owner of uncultivated woodlands mostly in the western portion of Oktibbeha county. Miss. In politics, before the war of 1861 broke out, he was a whig. He did not favor secession at the time and in the way it was brought about. When the troubles of 1861 confronted the people of the South he was a co-operationist, believing in the wisdom of all the slave-holding states co-operating together, and demanding in the Union, and as a whole their rights of property guaranteed to them by the constitution. He further believed that if war resulted it was best for the state to fight for its rights under the stars and stripes, and if a withdrawal was ultimately decided upon, as for the best for all the states to withdraw together. Although he was of this mind, when the war actually began, he went with, and heartily supported his section, and the action of his state taken in her sovereign capacity to the day of his death. To make the Southern cause a success, he gave up two of his sons, they being the only two near military age, and sent them to the front, 490 BIOORAPHIOAL AND HISTORtOAL before they were rarely able to bear arms, to do battle for their home and for their country, which was then invaded. Both of his boys were in the Confederate service at the surrender and on active duty at the front. As some evidence of the extent that this gentleman and this family were wrapped up in the fate of the young Confederacy, two incidents may be very prop- erly mentioned in passing. The father (S. E. Nash) was almost heartbroken at the stl^- render of Vicksburg. It is said he hardly saw a well day after he heard positive news of the capitulation, its particulars and its extent. Vicksburg fell on the 4th day of July, A. D. 1863, and Stephen E. Nash died the 16th day of July, 1863, only twelve days later. The eldest daughter, Elvira Jane Nash, at the surrender was a schoolgirl at the Judson, in Marion, Ala. Owing it is said to some exposure, and the excitement and sorrow caused by the news of the surrender of the Southern armies, she sickened and died but a few days thereafter. Though in perfect health at that date, yet she lived but a short time after the fall of the Confederacy. The surrender took place in May, 1865, and her death occurred on the 4th of June following. Wiley Norris Nash was born in Noxubee county. Miss. , some fourteen miles south of Starkville, on the 6th day of April, 1 846. His early childhood was passed less than thirty miles from where he now lives, in Noxubee and Winston counties, his father having moved to Starkville, Oktibbeha county, when this son was about six years old. Here mo.st of his youth was spent, and here his mother, a lady of great worth and 6f a pure and lovely Christian character, died. The family moved when he was fifteen out in the western portion of Oktib- beha county, where they were living when the war broke out. Up to this time our subject's education had been well conducted, as it was for some twelve months thereafter. When the war began he was a mere boy, anxious even then to enter the service, his elder brother, James H. Nash, having joined the army soon after hostilities began. He was, however, kept at home and at school during the early part of that sanguinary conflict, but enlisted in the Con- federate service at sixteen, being quite small for his age, weighing only ninety-six pounds. He served first, but not long, with state troops. He joined Adams' regiment of cavalry just before the fall of Vicksburg, with which he served a short time, being detached within a few months on extra hazardous duty with Harvey's scouts, with which command he served regularly until the day of the surrender, being at that date one of the sergeants of this com- pany. When hostilities ceased he had seen hard service in Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee, mostly in Mississippi and Georgia. In each of these four states named members of this company lost their lives in the service of their country. In Mississippi, Mr. Nash saw most of his service in that portion of the state lying between Yazoo City and Natchez, and in that lying between Vicksburg and Meridian, and the larger part of this service was in Hinds, Warren and Claiborne counties. In Georgia he served in the campaigns of Generals Johnston and Hood. Harvey's scouts was organized under special military orders and was commanded by Capt. Addison Harvey, of Canton, Miss., one of the tried, one of the truest and one of the bravest sons of the South, a typical Southern soldier. This command served as a company daring about one-half of the war, and carried on its roll first and last one hundred and twenty-eight men. Of this number during the time it was in service it lost in killed, wounded and captured, fifty-seven men. That is to say, there were twenty-nine captured, of which number sixteen made their escape and twelve were killed; there were six- teen wounded, of whom four were wounded twice. One of this four was wounded near Natchez, Miss. , in a close fight with infantry, being shot and bayoneted in the same action. Of the wounded another was badly cut across the head in a fight with cavalry near Atlanta, Ga. Mr. Nash was severely wounded near Eome, Ga. In another fight during the time he ''m'' i ^SSN;3^^^j>§^^i^5i? MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 491 was in service he had his gun struck with a ball. He also had two of his horses slightly wounded, one while he was in a cavalry charge in Mississippi, and the other in Georgia in a fight with infantry. At the time Mr. Nash was wounded he was in charge of a squad of four men with orders to leave the company, then on the south bank of the Etawa river some ten miles above Rome, cross over and cut the telegraph wire just on the other side and return promptly. The party of five entered a rough boat or flat, and when within about twenty yards of the northern bank of the river some Federal infantry, before that time concealed, opened a deadly fire on the little squad. Mr. Nash, who was standing up in the boat, was shot through the outer muscle of the right thigh and fell overboard. He contrived to catch to the gunwale of the boat, however, as it was turning toward the southern shore, and was thus saved. The enemy continued to pour in their tire, splintering the boat at every volley, twice wounding Corporal Portwood, and killing outright J. Catlett, a brave and gallant soldier. Meanwhile Captain Harvey, with his company on the other side, opened fire on the Federal force, and under cover of this fire the party in the boat effected their escape. This company, though such was not its leading line of duty, did necessarily much special secret service, such as scouting for information, where generally one, two or three men were engaged, and squad scouting, where ten or fifteen men were, according to circumstances, sent out under a lieutenant or non-commissioned officer. The foregoing service was merely incidental, so to speak, or collateral to the main service in which Captain Harvey himself engaged personally and with the company proper. Mr. Nash, as a matter of preference as well as owing to his age, made a personal request of his captain to always keep him with the com- pany, and never send him away from the command on special duty when this could possibly be avoided. This request Captain Harvey remembered and generally complied with. Captain Harvey always kept together as many of his command as possible, generally about thirty, and always in perfect fighting trim, ready to move together in a body on a moment's notice, as emergencies required. His program was to reconnoiter every position possible, and every force of the enemy moving or operating within range, never halting until he struck it, fighting whenever and wherever necessary. He moved very rapidly and would often strike a large command front, flank and rear in less than twenty-four hours, and be able to report to the nearest brigade or division commander the strength of the enemy's cavalry and infantry, supply wagons, ambulances, artillery and the name of the commanding officer, his objective point, etc. Mr. Nash was almost constantly with Captain Harvey during these expeditions and most of the time one of the non-commissioned officers, he not only saw but participated in much of this hazardous service. Though not the first sergeant, he often acted in that capacity, which position in any company, and especially in a company Hke this, is one of great trust and responsibility. In Georgia one of the special duties of Captain Harvey was to cut off Sherman's supply trains and impede in every way possible his trans- portation and means of communication. In this he was so successful that General Sherman found it necessary at one time to detail ten thousand men to look after his lines of communi- cation, guard his supply trains, depots, railroad bridges, etc. Gen. Joseph E. Johnston, in his narrative, speaks very highly of the operations of Captain Harvey in the rear and on the flanks of Sherman's army in Georgia. General Sherman himself compares Harvey's scouts to "a nest of yellow jackets continually buzzing about my trains, and stinging severely when I attempted to drive them away." Gen. Stephen D. Lee, very high authority, says, speak- ing of this command: "They were everywhere conspicuous for activity, enterprise, persistence and intrepidity." In many instances no account was kept of the enemy kUled and captured by Harvey's scouts, and those occasionally detailed to act under Captain Harvey's orders, EE 492 BIOQRAPHIOAL AND HiaTORICAI. and especially is this the case as to the time they were following Hood into Tennessee, or pursuing Wilson's command, which left Eastport on its famous raid just before the surrender. The following, however, is believed to be very near the mark: Harvey's charge into Jackson, Miss., killing Colonel Cromwell and capturing twenty-eight of his men, twenty-nine; killed in the light with infantry at Natchez, Miss., forty; killed and captured in Sherman's campaign to Meridian, one hundred and thirty-eight; killed and captured in Sherman's Georgia compaign, one thousand three hundred; total, one thousand five hundred and seven. Most of the foregoing pertaining to the army and the army life of Mr. Nash is taken from a sketch of Harvey's scouts by Col. J. F. H. Claiborne and designed by him as a part of his second volume of Claiborne's History of Mississippi. The second volume, unfortunately, was burnt, and Colonel Claiborne having departed this life, was never issued. The sketch alluded to, however, was published partly in the weekly Clarion, Jackson, Miss., and partly in the East Mississippi Times, Starkville, Miss., and the whole was afterward printed in pamplet form for private distribution. It would be proper, in this connection, to mention the following incidents which further illustrate the soldier life and soldier qualities of the subject of this sketch. In the Georgia campaign he saved in battle the life of John Lorance, who was badly cut with a sabre in a close fight with cavalry. To do this, after the fight was over, he went back to where it took place, passing beyond the Confederate lines. In front of the house where he found Lorance wounded, he captured two mounted Federal soldiers, one belonging to the quartermaster's department, the other a cavalryman. The wounded man had lost his horse in the fight that morning, had been captured by the enemy, and left at this farmhouse, being too badly injured to be moved at that time. Mr. Nash mounted his comrade on one of the captured horses and brought him back into the Confederate lines, had his wound dressed at his own expense, gave him one of the captured horses and sent him farther on to the rear, Mr. Nash returning to the front. This wound proved so severe that Lorance was never able again for military duty; he lived many years after this and died but recently in Jackson Miss., where his family are supposed to reside at this time. He was also largely instrumental in saving the life of another comrade, Alfred Land (now a practicing lawyer in Shreveport, La.), who was the party already mentioned as shot through and through and bayoneted in the breast, in a charge made by Captain Harvey, with his company of cavalry, on a much superior force of Federal infantry, near Natchez, Miss. These are the facts in connection with this incident: The infantry were routed and driven back inside their breastworks, leaving forty of their number dead on the field. The fight being over, Captain Harvey (who had himself been wounded in the action), supposing he would at once be pursued by an overwhelming force of fresh troops, gave orders to fall back by the road along which the fight had occurred. Land had been wounded in the hottest of the fray, and near the close of the fight and his wounds were supposed to be mortal. Two men were left with him, after the command had gone some little distance, a rear guard being established. They continued to move on in the direction of Washington, a small town a few miles almost east of Natchez, while P. L. Jordan and Mr. Williams (Jordan in a buggy that had been pressed into service, and Williams on horseback) were sent back after Land. Mr. Nash, being with rear guard, as they came along, volunteered to go back also. As they went on it was soon agreed that it would be unsafe and imprudent to go farther with a buggy, so it was deci led that Jordan should stop where he was with the buggy, and that the other two should go on and see if the wounded man could be found. The two rode on for some distance, and over much of the battleground. It was soon evident that Land was not on that part of the field where he had been wounded. The thought here MEMOIRS OP Miaaisaippi. Am occurred to Mr. Nash that Land might be somewhere in the immediate vicinity, and that the place where he would be most likely found was off to the left of the Natchez road, in the woods a few hundred yards from where the fighting ceased. Supposing the two men with the wounded man would have tried to leave the field in that direction, Mr Nash proposed to Mr. Williams that if he would stay in the road and picket well toward Natchez, he would leave the road and go on to the left and in the woods and see if Land could be found. This being agreed, Mr. Nash went forward to attempt what he had volunteered to do. Going down some distance in the direction stated, he called for Land, but no voice replied that he could hear. He then rode still farther forward and still nearer Natchez toward a house in the woods. There he learned that three men had been seen going off in a certain direction; supposing these were the parties, he galloped down in the direction indicated and among some ravines, after calling Land and searching about a little, he found him at last and alone, down in a gully, his horse hitched near by. Mr. Land was deathly pale and to all appearance in a dying condition. Mr. Nash dismounted and tried to get him to mount; this he would make no effort to do, in his helpless condition. He could hardly speak above a whisper. He said he would certainly die, and desired to be left alone. Mr. Nash next brought Mr. Land's horse up and tried to lift Land so he could mount, but found this to be impossible. Mr. Nash's pony was small and much lower than the horse; Land was also lying or reclining upon the side of the gully. Taking in the situation he led his pony down on the lower side, or bottom of the gully, having thus the advantage of the ground, and with all the strength possible, and with some little efPort on the part of the wounded man, he was thus enabled to lift him in the saddle. Land clasped the front of the sadle ; he could not or did not take the reins so as to guide the horse. Mr. Nash, then mounting Land's horse and taking his pony's reins in hand, started back, riding Land's horse and leading his pony, which Land was now riding. He soon reached Mr. Williams, next the buggy, in which, by the side of Jordan, Land was placed, they driving off in the direction Captain Harvey had gone with his command. This done Mr. Nash again took his place with the rear guard. When Mr. Nash was wounded, as before stated, he received a sixty days fourlough; the day it expired he was back with the company, and though his wound troubled him at times, he served constantly, and on active duty until the close of the war. Mr. Nash was in Columbus, Ga., when it was heard that the army in Virginia had surrendered; Captain Harvey having followed to this point Wilson's raid from Eastport, Miss. The company after the death of Captain Harvey, who was killed in Columbus, Ga., turned and made its way with some difiiculty back to Gainesville Ala., to Gen. W. H. Jackson's division of cavalry, to which Harvey's scouts belonged. The cavalry was then being paroled every day. Mr. Nash, with others of the company, con- cluded they would not surrender, but would make their way to the Mississippi river, cross over and join the army on the other side. Each of this party was to go home, spend a few days and all meet near Rodney, ■ on the river, on June 4, then only a few days off. Mr. Nash having then no home, his father having died while he was in the army, and the family having broken up housekeeping, spent the few days allowed him with relatives, near Gainesville, Ala., but left in' time to reach the Mississippi river on the evening of June 3, the day before the time agreed upon to meet. There he learned, for the first time, that the army on the other side had also surrendered. After resting himself and his horse a day or so, he went back some fifteen or twenty miles to Port Gibson, Miss., and surrendered, being paroled by the Federal ofiicer in command of that post. He then started back again across the state of Mississippi, to Gainesville, Ala. At the surrender Mr. Nash was but a few days past eighteen. Owing to the results of 494 BIOORAPHIOAL AND SISTOBIOAL the war, Southern families, as a general rule, at that time had but little available means. Greatly desiring to complete his education, he started to school, for the first six or eight months attending the common schools of the country and then entering the University of Mississippi, first in the literary and then in the law department. He holds a certificate from the univer- sity, showing that at the time he entered the law class he was entitled to graduation in all the studies finished anterior to the senior year. Owing to limited means, and in order the sooner to be able to help his younger brothers and sisters he was compelled, in the fall of 1867, to leave the senior class in the literary dejmrtment. This he regretted very much, being a regular member in good standing in the class of 1868, and all its members being among his nearest and dearest friends. Having studied law during two vacations under Hon. C. F. Miller, of Starkville, Miss., a tirst-class lawyer and a man of sterling worth and integrity, he was in the fall of 1867 enabled, on a strict examination, to enter (in everything except real estate) the Kenior law class of the University of Mississippi, under Hon. L. Q. C. Lamar. The jun- ior class then being in real estate, he concluded to try and graduate the following commence- ment. For some four months he carried on both the junior and senior law studies, reciting with the juniors in the morning and the seniors in the evening. Later on he caught up with the regular senior class, leaving the juniors and becoming a regular senior about the first of January, 1868, graduating with his class the following June. This was at a time when the law course (as a general rule) required two years. While at the university, during the last six months of his second year, and during the whole of the last year, he labored under great financial embarrassment. Along with many other Mississippi boys, supposed to be in the same situation, in order to economize their means and be enabled to complete their education, they boarded themselves and thus reduced the cost of living to a minimum. They did their own marketing, made their own fires, cut their own wood, did their own cooking, washed their own dishes, etc. From such and similar action on the part of certain boys at the University of Mississippi, arose at that institution the system called "batching," Mr. Nash being among the first to "batch," by which many young men of limited means were enabled to gain a first-class education. He not only boarded himself in the manner stated, but sought, and during the greater part of the time he was in the law department, after he had become a regular senior, served in a position in the clerk's ofiice of the United States district court at Oxford, Miss., where he worked until about two o'clock in the afternoon and then went and recited with the law class; thus most of the day was consumed; he did most of his study- ing at night* It might be said at this point that Colonol Lamar trusted Mr. Nash for his tuition while a student in the law class, as well as loaned him, from his private library, the necessary law books; and thus he was enabled to pursue his studies to advantage. Again, when he left Oxford to purchase his first law books, he received a loan of $50 from Mrs. A. M. Quinche, the wife of one of the professors, and a noble Christian woman, and thus he was enabled to begin his law practice. Mr. Nash began the practice of law in Starkville, Miss. , in the fall of 1 868, still owing some $300 money borrowed to complete his education and to begin his law practice. As soon as possible, and out of the first money he made, he paid his indebtedness. After that he assisted largely in the education of his brothers and sisters, advancing freely of his own means as he accumulated, trusting them to refund the same when able. The children owned some wild lands, yet it was not available, there being no market for such lands at that time. He j^reatly assisted two of his brothers in securing their education, one graduating at the dental college in Baltimore, Md., the other at one of the •The above position he secured tlirough tlie influence of Hon. K. A. Hill, United States judge, and George K. Hill, one of his classmates. MEMOIRS OP MISSISSIPPI. 495 medical schools in Louisville, Ky. Two sisters owe their education largely to his assistance, and both graduated at first-class female colleges. After practicing law for several years he took a regular commercial course, graduating on the 19th day of August, A. D. 1873, at Eastman's National Business college, Poughkeepsie, N. Y. Mr. Nash has been a practitioner before the supreme court ot "ississippi for many years. In Washington, D. C, on January 19, 1881, on motion of Hon. Jharles Devens, attorney general of the United States, he was duly admitted and qualified as an attorney and counsellor of the supreme court of the United States. In 1 874, Mr. Nash and Miss Alice Ervin were married. They have two children, Harry and Evie, Harry being the elder. The father of Mrs. Nash, Mr. James W. Erviu, was for a long time a large planter in the eastern portion of Oktibbeha county. Miss. Mr. Ervin belongs to a family from which has sprung some of the best citizens in Mississippi, many of whom have held important positions. Her father was among the first settlers of east Mississippi, was a leading citizen, a captain in the Confederate service, and for many years before his death a ruling elder in the Presbyterian church. After the war he moved to Pleasant Kidge, Ala., where he died a few years since at a ripe old age. Mrs. Ann C. Ervin (form- erly Miss Ann Jennings) was the mother of Mrs. Nash; she died when Mrs. Nash was about three years old, regretted and beloved by all who knew her; she was a noble, kiud-hearted Christian women. Shortly after Mr. Nash began the practice of law he received unsolicited the appointment of county attorney of Oktibbeha county, Miss. This position he resigned in a short time, preferring to follow his general practice. In 1875, " the year de white folks riz," he was elected district attorney. The district composed then the counties of Clay, Lowndes, Noxubee, Oktibbeha, and Winston. This office he held until 1880. In 1884, with Hon. J. S. Montgomery, he was elected to represent Oktibbeha county in the lower branch of the state legislature, in which capacity he served two years. In the legislature of 1884 he took an active part in all important legislation, and especially in the passage of the bill establishing the Industrial Institute and College for the White Girls of Mississippi. He labored faithfully for the passage of this bill from the time it came from the senate until it becanie a law a month or more thereafter. This bill passed the house of representatives at the night session, Wednesday, March 5, 1884, by a close vote of forty-five to forty-three. The speech made by Mr. Nash that night in support of the bill was printed and largely cir- culated over the state. Mr. Nash is a member of the Baptist church, and has always been liberal in his religious views. His father's family are generally Baptists ; one of his father's brothers, Kev. 0. L. Nash, was a Methodist minister, however, and as such, quite distin- guished in the early days of Mississippi. His mother's family are generally Methodist; she however, after her marriage connected herself with the Baptist church, both father and mother being members of that church at their death. Mr. Nash's wife's family are Presbyterians, though his wife since their marriage has connected herself with the Baptist church. Two of his sisters are members of the Christian church. His stepmother, his father having mar- ried twice, and a half-sister are members of the Methodist church. Such facts tend to make most persons conservative and liberal in their religious views. Among several other fraternal, charitable and benevolent societies Mr. Nash belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows in the grand lodge of Mississippi, and of this order he was in 1888 elected grand warden, in 1889, deputy grand master, and in 1890, he was elected grand master. At the expiration of his term as such, the grand lodge held in Meridian in May, 1891, unanimously passed a resolution most complimentary to Mr. Nash. Since Mr. Nash began the practice of law, not to mention many political speeches delivered in active and heated county, district 496 BIOGBAPHIGAL AND HISTOBIOAL and state campaigns, he has made a number of public literary addresses before different societies, schools and colleges in Mississippi. He joined while at college in 1868 the dem- ocratic party, and has voted with, and acted with that party ever since in both state and national matters. The first vote he ever polled was against the constitution of 1868, with its proscriptive clauses framed by aliens and by negroes who had been recently set free, and which was attempted to be forced upon the people of Mississippi at the point of the bayo- net. In the many political, as well as social troubles through which the South has passed since the war Mr. Nash has always borne his part; some of them were fraught with great risk, peril and daiiger. When Mr. Nash started out in life, Starkville was quite a small inland tovm of some five hundred, or seven hundred inhabitants, with no lines of public transportation. It is now an important point in Mississippi with a population of two thou- sand, and has good railroad facilities with the Mississippi Agricultural and Mechanical college, a state institution located near the corporate limits. These improvements were secured mainly, some entirely, through the efforts of the public-spirited citizens of the town and county. This gentleman has been closely connected with, and has taken an active part in, every enterprise looking to the improvement of the town of Starkville, or of the county of Oktibbeha. He has given liberally of both his time and his means ; he has labored hard whenever and wherever the interest and the prosperity of his town or county were concerned. Mr. Nash is now in the prime of life, is a lawyer in active practice and a close student, resid- ing still in Starkville, Miss., where he was raised, where he first settled, and living among the same people to whom, he says, he owes most of his success in life. His present partner in the practice is Hon. H. L. Muldrow, a prominent lawyer, and one of the leading public men of Mississippi. Mr. Nash is regarded as a safe and successful practitioner, and an able advocate of any cause he espouses. As a speaker, he is convincing and forceful, at times brilliant. As a citizen, he has the good will of all who know him, and in politics, he is respected by his opponents. Yalobusha county, Miss., is the home of many enterprising and prosperous agricultur- ists, and the history of the leading men of the state would not be complete without a sketch of some of the more prominent. James L. Nations was born in Yalobusha county. Miss. , in 1856, and is the son of Calvin and Anna (Higgs) Nations, also natives of Mississippi. Joseph Nations, the father of Calvin, was a native of Tennessee, where he lived to man's estate; he then removed to Alabama and lived there until 1835, then coming to Yalobusha county. Miss., and engaging in farming. He continued this business until his death, which occurred when he was eighty-two years of age. He devoted the greater part of his time to the raising of livestock, and was very successful in this. He married Lucretia Brown, a native of Tennessee. She lived to be three- score and ten years old, the age allotted to man. She was a member of the Baptist church. Of this union there were born several children, three sons and three daughters of whom lived to maturity, and one of whom is living yet — James C. Nations, of Calhoun county. Miss. Calvin Nations was one of the younger mem- bers of the family. He died in Yalobusha county in the spring of 1858 at the age of twenty - six years, leaving a wife and one child. A second child was born after his death, Samuel C. Nations, who resides in this county and is a farmer by occupation. James L. Nations, our subject, is the other child. The mother died in 1865. She was married, a second time, to David Murphree, of this county, by whom she had two sons: David W. and Holland, both residents of this county. James L. Nations spent the greater part of his youth in his native county and received his edu«ation there. At tb« ago of fourt«»n yaarr he began to attend the free schools, and MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 497 finished his schooling at the Banner academy. When he was twenty-two years of age he began teaching school in Calhoun county, and has followed the profession more or less ever since. Mr. Nations was united in marriage December 23, 1880, to Miss Josephine Gore, of Calhoun county, a daughter of Caleb Gore, a prominent pioneer of the county. Six children have been born to her parents, and she is the fifth and youngest daughter; born June 23, 1860. She was educated in the common schools of her native county. One child, Zelma, was born to Mr. and Mrs. Nations, October ~>, 1 882. They are among the most prominent families of the community, aiding in every movement that has for its object the advancement of the public, and thoroughly worthy of the respect in which they are held. In 1885 Mr. Nations settled on his present place, and has been actively engaged in tilling the soil and developing his farm. He has cleared considerable land until he has reached six hundred acres. Two hundred and sixty acres are under good cultivation. The plantation is one of the finest in the Pine Valley settlement, and few better are found in the county. Starting in life with nothing, George Washington Neel, planter, Sardis, Miss., has made all his property by his own indomitable will and excellent management, and is not only one of the substantial men of the county, but is honored and respected as a representative citizen. He was born in Knoxville, Tenn., on the 2d of October, 1832, and was the fifth of seven children born to Joseph and Elizabeth (Mathes) Neel, natives of Kentucky and Tennessee respectively. The father was of Irish and the mother of Dutch- Welsh descent. Joseph Neel went to Tennessee when a young man and soon after his marriage removed to Alabama (Mor- gan county), where he remained only a few years and then came to Tishomingo county, locat- ing in Panola county, where he made his home for twenty-four years. He moved to Arkansas in 1866, located on the Arkansas river about twelve miles above Arkansas Post, and there his life terminated in 1867. He had followed planting all his life in a modest way and to a limited extent. George W. Neel passed the principal part of his boyhood days in Panola county and his advantages for an education were quite limited. Being endowed with much natural ability, however, he has improved all his spare moments and is to-day a well informed man. He has also been quite successful in other respects and is considered one of the best business men in the county. During the struggle between the North and South (or in 1861) Mr. Neel enlisted in the Confederate army, company C, Twenty-ninth Mississippi regiment and participated in the battles of Chickamauga, Corinth and Missionary ridge, where he was captured and carried to Kock Island. There he remained for sixteen months and was then exchanged at the mouth of James river, re.'iching home just a few days before peace was declared. He immediately began to work on his badly wrecked farm, and to rebuild, for his house had been burned, and although the outlook was discouraging he never faltered but went resolutely to work and is to-day endowed with plenty. He is the owner of one thousand acres of land in Quitman and Panola counties and has one hundred and seventy-five acres under cultivation He has sold most of his real estate and invested the proceeds, with the exception of $40,000 stock in a mine in Park county, Colo., ia good notes. His nuptials with Miss Fannie Rouzee, a native of Mississippi and the only child of James and Pauline E. (Neel) Rouzee, were celebrated in 1860. Mr. and Mrs. Rouzee were natives respectively of Georgia and Tennessee, and Mr. Rouzee's paternal grandfather was a Frenchman who came to America at an early period. Mrs. Neel is an Episcopalian, and Mr. Neel, though not a communicant, is a strong believer in and supporter of that church. James E. Negus, president of the First National bank of Greenville, was originally from the Keystone state, his birth occurring in 1842. He was the third child of James E. and Isa- bella (Van Syckel) Negus, natives of Pennsylvania and New Jersey respectively. Both were 498 BIOGBAPEIOAL AND HISTORICAL representatives of old and prominent families. James E. Negus, Jr., remained in his native state until twelve years of age, after which he went to Europe and attended school in Ger- many for five years, and then spent two years more in France, Italy and other countries. Eeturning to his own country after the Civil war began, he entered the Federal army at the age of nineteen, in the Fifteenth Pennsylvania cavalry, and served until the close of the war, participating iu many campaigns and in the battles of Murfreesboro, Chiokamauga, Chattanooga and other engagements. After the war he went to New York city, in the employ of Hoyt, Spragues & Co. for about two years, but in 1867 he went to St. Louis and engaged in mercantile pursuits. From there he went south to Vicksburg, and thence in 1870 to Greenville, Miss., where he has since made his home. For about ten years he owned and managed most successfully the immense wharfboat business on the Mississippi river, which, prior to the railroads, was the most important interest to Greenville. After this he was one of the chief promotors in the building of the first railroad in the delta country, now the Georgia Pacific railroad. Still later he embarked in the banking business and was made president of the Merchants' bank. In 1887 this was organized into the First National bank, and Mr. Negus continued as president, and is the largest stockholder. This bank has a capi- tal of $100,000 and a surplus of $30,000, and it is to-day one of the foremost banks in the state. In 1887 Mr. Negus was active in organizing the Planters' Compress and Warehouse company, with a capital of $100,000, and was elected president of this also. He is the owner of much valuable property in the city, including tho substantial bank building, the large Temple building, his fine residence and others. In 1876 he married Miss Louisa Mosby McAllister, who was born here and was the daughter of Gen. A. W. McAllister, a native of Georgia, and one of the pioneers of this section of Mississippi. Four children were born to this marriage: Wade Hampton, Carrie Belle, William Engle and Susie Engle, all members of the Presbyterian church with their parents. Mr. Negus is to-day one of Greenville's most substantial and conservative citizens, and no one is held in higher esteem or has a more honored name in her commercial, social or religious circles. Capt. Charles A. Neilson, a planter of Tallahatchie county. Miss., was born in Lowndes county, September 14, 1826. His parents are William W. and Sarah F. (Frazier) Neilson. His father was born in Ireland, and came with his parents to America at the age of six.. He settled in Maryland and there his parents died. Mr. Neilson served as lieutenant in the United States army in the War of 1812; resigning, he was for a time in Philadelphia, where he married, soon after moving to Mississippi. At the time of his arrival there was but one log cabin where Columbus now is, and he may be recorded as having been one of the earliest pioneers in Lowndes county. He located nine miles northeast of the site of Columbus, where he cleared land, improved a good farm and passed the balance of his life as a successful farmer, dying about twelve years ago. He was the only member of his family who came to Mississippi. His wife was born in Philadelphia and died about 1836, a devout Episcopalian. Mr. Neilson was married a second time to Louisa P. Abert, a native of Culpeper county, Va. , who came to Mississippi with her brother. Mr. Neilson and his family were members of the Methodist Episcopal church. Capt. C. A. Neilson was the third in order of birth of seven children, three sons and four daughters, born to his parents: Anna D., who became the wife of John M. Symons, of Columbus, and is now deceased; Capt. Edward Neilson was killed at Prairieville, Ky. ; he was captain of a company known as the Reyburn Rifles, and previous to the war he had served several years as midshipman in the United States navy ; Capt. Charles A. ; Jane C, who became the wife of Capt. R. B. Covington and died in Texas; Captain Coving- ton served through the entire period of the war, and was killed at Mobile almost immediately MBM0IB8 OF MI8BI8SIPPI. 499 after Lee's surrender; William W. died ia Lowndes county in 1863; Catharine C, the wife of Dr. James W. Hopkins, a physician and dentist at Columbus; Elizabeth B., died in infancy. By his second wife Mr. Neilson had four children: Of these the Hon. James A. Neilson, a well-known planter and lumberman, is the present state senator from Lowndes county; Sallie D. was the second born ; Prof. John A. Neilson is the proctor of the Agricultural and Mechan- ical college in Columbus; Sophia married Sylvester Lewis, who is engaged in the banking business at St. Louis. Captain Neilson in his youth attended the public schools near his home, and was afterward for about eighteen months a student at La Grange college in Ten- nessee. During the Mexican war he enlisted in the Lowndes guards of the Second Mississippi infantry, commanded by Col. Keuben Davis, with which he did valiant service. During a portion of the time he was on garrison duty at Saltillo and Monterey. Returning to Missis- sippi after the war, he was married in 1852 to Julia A., a daughter of Benjamin P. and Catharine L. Clifford, both of whom were born near Charleston, S. C, where they were reared and married. At an early day Mrs. Neilson's parents came to Lowndes county. Miss. , where Mr. Cliiford was killed by a horse about thirty years ago. His wife survived until a few years since, dying in Tallahatchie county. Both were members of the Baptist church. Mrs. Neil- son was born in Mississippi, and bore her husband no children. In 1861 Mr. Neilson joined the sixty-day troops, and served during the term of his enlistment, most of the time at Bowling Green, Ky. Later he enlisted in company H of the Thirty-fifth Mississippi infantry, and soon after was made commissary of that regiment, which position he filled till about the close of 1864, at which time, failing to secure a reappointment, he joined General Chalmer's cavalry, with which he served till the close of the war, surrendering at Gainesville, Ala. He was in the siege of Vicksburg and in various hard-fought engagements and skirmishes in Georgia and Mississippi. In 1867 he removed to Tallahatchie county, and lived in different places in that county until 1870, when he returned to Lowndes county; a year later, however, he went back to Tallahatchie county, locating on his present farm, ten miles west of Harrison Station. He is the owner of fourteen hundred acres of land, five hundred acres of which are under cultivation. The war left him comparatively bankrupt, but by industry and good management he has since retrieved his fortunes to a considerable extent, and is looked upon as a successful man. He has been for many years a member of the Columbus lodge No. -1, A. F. & A. M. Captain Neilson is a very pleasant gentleman to meet and a fine conversa- tionalist, while he is respected by all who know him as an honest, straightforward man. Hon. J. C. Neilson is a native of Lowndes county, Miss., where he was born on the 15th of April, 1838, to William W. and Louisa (Abert) Neilson, the former of whom was born in Ireland in 1792, and when about six years of age he was brought to the United States, and until he attained his eighteenth year was a resident of Baltimore. He then joined the United States army and became captain of a company in a regiment of United States regulars. After serving twelve years, during a part of which time he served in the Seminole war, he resigned at Pensacola, Fla., about 1821, and started North overland. Ashe passed through the coun- try he saw its natural advantages so clearly and became so infatuated with it that here he concluded to make his future abiding place. He entered a large tract of land and after- ward purchased other property during his lifetime, thus acquiring a large amount of real estate, a large part of which his son, J. C. Neilson, now owns. He found that the life suited him much better than soldiering and made this his calling until his death, which occurred in 1869. J. C. Neilson attended the common schools when young, after which he spent two years at an institution in Greene county, Ala. At the youthful age of seventeen years he began to engage earnestly in planting, which he followed with success until 1861, when he 500 BIOQRAPHIOAZ AND HISTORICAL enlisted in a cavalry company. Possessing all the ardor of youth wnd of the native South- erner, he was very desirous of at once entering into active service and would not wait for his company to be ordered out but joined an infantry company as a private (the Columbus Rifles) of the Fourteenth Mississippi, and went to Corinth for organization. He was put into Buckuer's division and at the battle of Fort Dpnelson was captured and was sent as a prisoner of war to Camp Douglas, Chicago, where he was kept in captivity for about four months. He then succeeded in making his escape by medium of a forged pass and made the best of his way home, where he remained until his regiment was reorganized at Clinton, Miss. He then rejoined his command and went to northern Mississippi. In the latter part of 1863 his command was joined to Johnston's army, after which he participated in the bat- tles of Franklin; captured at Nashville, Tenn., sent again to Fort Douglas, but was released by exchange at the end of four months and sixteen days, he going to New Orleans, thence to the mouth of Eed river for exchange. He was in the siege of Atlanta, and was promoted to second sergeant. His career as a soldier was marked by courage, faithfulness and endurance, and he was conspicuous for his strict adherence to duty. He returned to his home at the close of the war, where he at once set to work to rebuild his fallen fortunes. He was still the owner of a good sawmill, which had escaped the general destruction, and immediately succeed- ing the war this yielded him an enormous income and was the means of once more rendering him independent financially. Much of the lumber, which he sold during this period at good prices, was raised on bis own land and sawed in his mill, and was thus clear gain. He is now the owner of ten hundred and forty acres of land, of which he has four hundred acres under cultivation, sixty of which are devoted to pasture and the rest to cotton principally. In addition to successfully conducting his sawmill and plantation he operates a gristmill for grinding corn and a fine steam cottongin, which does his own as well as some of his neighbors' ginning. He was first married in 1866 to Miss Mary B. Barry, a native of Lowndes county, whose parents were South Carolinians. To their union five children were born, three of whom are living: Louisa A., Anna Barry and Catherine Simms. The mother of these children died in 1878, and Mr. Neilson's second union was consummated Decem- ber 3, 1879, to Miss Catherine Barry, by whom he has three children: J. Crawford, John Bruce and Sarah Danbridge. His children are all exceptionally refined and intelligent, and he takes much interest in their preparation for the active duties of life. Mr. Neilson has identified himself with the democratic party since the war, and in 1876 was elected by his numerous friends to the state legislature from Lowndes county, and while a member of that body he was the author of a bill for the protection of fish and for the manufacture of domestic wine. He was on the committee that framed an act for the protection of game, also the committee of registrations and elections and unfinished business, and in his encounters with members during their deliberations the admirable and lucid style in which he expressed himself, and his sound views on the subjects under discussion, placed him at once among the active and useful members of the legislature. In 1887 the distinction of state senator was conferred upon him, and owing to the faithful and able manner in which he has looked after the interests of his section he has since filled this position. He advo- cated bills for organizing the national guards, equalizing assessment of taxes, and supported the bill pensioning Confederate soldiers. He ojiposed the repeal of the law granting exemp- tion to corporations, and was on the committee of agriculture and chairman of the committee on military affairs. Hon. Benjamin F. Nelson, a retired planter of Copiah county, was born in Fauquier county, Va. , in 1817, a son of George and Elizabeth (Porter) Nelson, who were born in Vir- MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 501 ginia. His father devoted his entire life to agricultural interests. He served his country in the War of 1812 and 1814. He and his wife reared eight children to manhood and woman- hood, six of whom are now living: James M., of Booneville, Mo.; Louis P., of Virginia; Agnes, wife of B. B. Booth, of Virginia; Virginia, wife of Gus Ficklin of Virginia; Kate N., wife of T. Stark (deceased), of Virginia, and Benjamin F., of Copiah county. Miss. Our subject came to Copiah county in 1836, locating at Gallatin, where he served for about one year as assistant county surveyor. For three years thereafter he engaged in the mercantile business, but going out of trade he devoted his entire attention to planting. In 1841 he married Elma Graves, a daughter of James and Sarah (HoUiday) Graves, of Copiah county. They had twelve children, the following of whom — five in number — are living: George B., of Hazlehurst; Dr. Thomas Y., of Copiah county; Anna, wife of Hiram B. Giant, of Hazle- hurst; Agnes V., who lives at home; Sallie F., wife of Dr. Young, of Copiah county. Mr. Nelson has twenty-eight grandchildren, young and old, of whom he is justly proud. His wife died in 1889. For many years he has held the office of deputy sheriff in this county, and in 1840 he was elected a member of the legislature, in which capacity he served during one term. Mr. Nelson is one of the most respected residents as well as one of the oldest inhabitants of the county. His natural abilities are of a high order, and his business opera- tions have been so successful that he has amassed considerable wealth. Although nearly seventy-five years of age, his health is yet good and he is active and mentally bright. His busi ness and social standing are good, and his long experience has given him a fund of reminis- cences which makes him an enjoyable and instructive companion to those who have any interest in listening to the tales of the past. Frank C. Nelson, real estate agent of Jackson, Miss., was born in CarroUton, Carroll county, Miss., in 1858, the eldest of seven children born to James H,, and Mary E. (Fend wick) Nelson, the former of whom was born in Tennessee. In 1846 the father came to Mississippi and until 1875 was engaged in merchandising in Carroll county. He was then elected to the position of deputy state treasurer, in which ofBce he remained until his death in the fall of 1883. He was very successful as a man of business and filled the position of deputy state treasurer to the complete satisfaction of all concerned. His widow survives him and is a member of the Presbyterian church. The paternal grandfather, Richard E. Nelson, was a native of Tennessee, a lawyer by profession and came to Mississippi in 1846, locating at CarroUton, where he practiced his profession. He was a very able lawyer and was elected to the office of circuit judge, in which capacity he served for years. After retiring from the bench he for years enjoyed a large and profitable practice and was always spoken of in the highest terms. At the time of his death he was one of the most popular and prominent pol- iticians of his county, and also held high rank as a citizen. Mary E. (Fendwick) Nelson was brought to Mississippi by her parents when an infant, but they died soon after, leaving her an orphan, consequently but little is known of them, but it is supposed that they originally came from Delaware. Prank C. Nelson was educated in CarroUton but at an early age began active labor for himself in a~store, which calling he continued to follow in Greenwood for eight years. In 1876 he came to Jackson and in 1882 became interested in the Yazoo and Mississippi Delta Land business, which syndicate he represents in the controlling of two hun- dred and ninety-six thousand acres, all of which iS in the delta, and placed on the market at liberal terms. He is the owner of five thousand six hundred acres of land in the delta, the most of which is exceptionally fertile and a considerable portion under cultivation, the rest being heavily covered with timber. Aside from this he owns some fine residence property in the city of Jackson and four hundred and eighty acres in Carroll county, which he is rapidly 503 BIOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL clearing and improving and will soon have a magnificent property. Mr. Nelson is an ener- getic young man of a high order of business attainments, and by giving earnest and careful attention to business he is enabled to transact any commission expeditiously, and to warrant satisfaction in every instance. He was one of the organizers of the Capital Cooperage and Manufacturing company, and is treasurer of the same. In 1881 he was united in marriage to Miss Ida Langley, a native of Jackson and a daughter of Willis Langley, a well known merchant of the city. To Mr. and Mrs. Nelson the following children having been born: Frank C, Jr., Fred., Bessie May, William Nugent, and Annie Marion. Mr. Nelson and his wife are members of the Episcopal church, in which he is a vestryman and secretary of the Sunday- school. Mr. Nelson's brothers and sisters are as follows: Willie F., who is engaged in planting in Carroll county; Mary, Samuel, Prentiss, Flora and Lillie, the two last named being still in school. Dr. J. C. Nelson has been a resident of the town of Austin, Tunica county, Miss., since 1850, but has been a worthy citizen of the state since 1840. He was born in Tennessee October 5, 1818, to Robert and Mary (Combs) Nelson, both of whom were born in the Pal- metto state, but were married in Tennessee, where they reared a family of six sons and two daughters, Stephen C, a resident of Humphreys county, Tenn., and Dr. J. C. being the only ones who are living. Those deceased are: George L., Joshua, William A., Robert L., Myra J., and Cora G., who became the wife of William B. Foster, of Tennessee. The parents of these children spent their declining years in Tennessee, and were there called from life in 1873 and 1878 respectively. Dr. J. C. Nelson is the only one of the family who came to Mississippi, and in Marshall county, of this state, he was married in 1845, Miss Mary C. Fer- guson becoming his wife and in time the mother of his four children: Dr. William J., of Tunica; Mattie A., wife of W. G. Jaquess, clerk of the county court of Tunica county; Florence G., wife of W. A. Warfield, and Cora G., wife of Dr. M. J. Alexander. The mother of these children, who was a most estimable and intelligent lady, was called from life at Austin, Miss., in 1868, and the following year the Doctor's second marriage was consum- mated, his wife being Mrs. Virginia Perry, of Marshall county, Miss. Their union resulted in the birth of one child that is dead. The Doctor obtained his medical education in his native state, and his first practice was done in Pontotoc county, Miss., in 1845, since which time he has practiced continuously, now ranking among the oldest and most successful prac- titioners of the state. His success in life as a member of the medical fraternity, and his high position as a practitioner of the healing art have been obtained rather by the force of native talent and culture than by tact, and owing to his thorough knowledge of his profession and his long practice, it is conceded by all competent judges that he ranks among the eminent members of the medical brotherhood. His second wife was called from life in 1870, at her home in Austin, and the Doctor now makes his home with his daughter, Mrs. Cora Alexander, whose son, William J., is one of the leading physicians of the county. Although in his seventy-third year. Dr. Nelson shows but little the ravages of time, either mentally or phys- ically, and yet has a good and paying practice. He has been a resident of the bottoms for over forty years, and as his health has always been very good, he has never been obliged to move to other climes to recuperate. He has always interested himself in the political affairs of his section, and his public services have been characterized by a. noticeable devotion to the welfare of the county, and his fidelity and faithfulness in discharging the duties of the posi- tions he has filled have been an excellent example to his successors, and has tended to make and keep the public service pure. His intelligent views on all subjects and the interest he took in public affairs soon placed him as a leader of his party, and in 1850 he was elected MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 503 by his numerous friends to the position of clerk of the court of Tunica county, Miss., at which time there were but forty-eight voters in the county, he receiving forty-five of the votes polled. He filled this position with ability for twelve years, at the end of which time he was elected probate judge, in which capacity his sterling integrity, sound judgment, broad intelli- gence, and liberal and progressive ideas were exercised for the benefit of mankind. His decisions were not made without careful and painstaking study of the evidence adduced, and upon retiring from the bench at the end of three years he bore with him the confidence and respect of all. He was postmaster of Austin for a number of years, and is a worthy mem- ber of the Masonic fraternity. Mrs. Luly L. Nelson, widow of Samuel Nelson, formerly a planter of Issaquena county, Miss., was born in this county on the farm where she now resides, and is the daughter of Zach and Martha (Bowie) Leatherman. Zach Leatherman was born in Mississippi in 1813, and like his father and grandfather before him was a wealthy planter and a slaveowner. He moved to Issaquena county in 1836, resided on Dunbarder plantation and managed the same for Mr. Dunbar for a number of years. He then bought the farm on which Mrs. Nelson now resides, which then consisted of five hundred and twenty-one acres, but which has since been added to until it now numbers fifteen hundred acres with seven hundred acres improved. It is now one of the handsomest plantations on the river. During the late war Mr. Leatherman practiced medicine and continued this for a few years afterward in Arkansas, where he made his home during those troublesome times. His death occurred in 1883, but his wife still survives. After his death she married Captain Burns, of Canada. By her first marriage she became the mother of three children, only Mrs. Nelson now living. One child died in infancy and the other, James B., received his final summons in January, 1891. Mrs. Nelson's paternal grandfather, Samuel Leatherman, was a native of Mississippi, and her great-grandfather was a native of the Keystone state, having emigrated to Mississippi when it was French territory. Her maternal grandparents, John J. and America ( Watkins) Bowie, were natives of Louisiana and Mississippi respectively. The Bowie family was originally from Scotland, three brothers of that name having emigrated from that country to this at a very early period. One settled in Maryland, the other two in North Carolina, and the branch of the family of which Mrs. Nelson is a descendant came from the last named state. She is a relative of ex-Governor Bowie of Maryland, and is also a grand-niece of Col. James Bowie, after whom the world- famed bowie-knife was called, and who was one of the most wonderful men of his day. He was a brother of her grandfather Bowie. Mrs. Nelson was married to Samuel Nelson in 1873. He was a native of Tennessee, and was the son of Samuel Nelson, Sr. , who was a soldier in the War of 1812. The elder Nelson moved to Mississippi at an early day and was quite prominent in the early settlement of Issaquena county. Samuel Nelson, Jr., served with distinction as a scout in the Confederate army during the Civil war and afterward became one of the prominent young planters of the county. He filled the office of levee commissioner and was holding that position at the time of his death, which occurred in 1883, at the age of forty-four years. By his marriage he became the father of one child, J. Howard Nelson, who is attending school at Memphis, Tennessee. Previous to this marriage Mr. Nelson had mar- ried a Miss Emma Holden of Thibodeaux, La., whose parents came from the Buckeye state. The fruits of this union were four children, three living: Emma H. N, wife of W. B. Wilmans, of Dallas, Texas; Samuel, of the Merchants' National bank, at Yicksburg, and William P., who resides in Greenville, Miss. Mr. Nelson was a member of the Knights of Pythias, Hay's Landing, lodge No. 16, was the first chancellor commander of the lodge, and the first member of the same to die. Mrs. Nelson is an intelligent and cultured lady and a very interesting 504 BIOQRAPBIGAL AND HI8T0BI0AL conversationalist. She resides on her fine plantation near Arcadia, and uses excellent judg- ment in its management. Shepherd S. Neville, a prominent planter and merchant of Giles, Kemper county. Miss., was born in Sumter county, Ala., in 1858, and is a son of William H. and Sharah H. (Spen- cer) Neville. William H. Neville, his father, v?as born in South Carolina in 1812, and was a son of William and Elizabeth (Lindsey) Neville. He merchandised for some years and afterward retired from business and engaged in planting, and removed to Sumter county, Ala., at an early day. He was married in Pickens county, Ala., in 1848, and reared a family of seven chjldren: Robert S., William H., Jr., Belle, Helen, Shepherd S., Martha W., and Mary R. He was a man who was prosperous in business, and who took a deep interest in home enterprises. Politically he was a stanch democrat. He represented his county in the legislature in 1882, and was chairman of the democratic county committee of Sumter county. He was a member of the Masonic fraternity. His death occurred in 1887, in the month of July, in Sumter county, Ala. His wife was born in South Carolina in 1829, and she was a daughter of Shepard and^ Elizabeth (Harrison) Spencer. Her parents were both natives of South Carolina, and died in Noxubee county, Miss. She is living in Sumter county, Ala. Shepherd S. Neville was born in Sumter county, Ala., at Grainesville, in 1858, and received his education in the common schools of that day. At the age of seventeen years he engaged in the milling business and planting, which he continued until 1888. In that year he was united in marriage to Miss Maria C. Giles, only daughter of Simmons H. and Maria F. (Jones) Giles. He and his wife are zealous members of the Episcopal church. He is a demo- crat in his political views, and is a zealous supporter of the movements of that party. He owns about eight thousand acres of land in Sumter county, Ala. , and Noxubee and Kemper counties, Miss. Simmons H. Giles was a conspicuous character in the early settlement of Kemper county, where he located with his father in 1835. He was born in North Carolina in 1827, April 6th, and was a son of Jacob and Nancy L. (Harrison) Giles, natives of North Carolina. Jacob Giles was born July 27, 1799, and died April 22, 1860. He was a son of John Giles, a son of Nathaniel and Charity Giles, who was born August 29, 1750. Jacob Giles, as before stated, came to this county in 1835. He had poor educational advantages in his youth, but at the time of his death was one of the best informed and most public-spirited men of his day, whose sterling integrity and uprightness of life commanded the love and respect of all. Giles postoffice is named for him, he being the first settler in that community. He was married in North Carolina to Nancy L. Harrison, and they reared one of the four children born to them. He died in Kemper county, April 22, 1860, and his wife- died January 8, 1885. Simmons H. was born in North Carolina April 6, 1827, and was educated at Jackson, Tenn. In 1854 he was married to Maria F. Jones, a daughter of Dr. B. A. and Maria (Cross) Jones. The father was a native of Virginia but removed to Tuseumbia. Ala., where he practiced medicine a number of years and finally settled in Sumter county, Ala., where he died in 1858, having given up medicine and successfully engaged in planting for twenty years in that county before his death. His wife died the same year. After his mar- riage Mr. Giles settled in Kemper county, and opened up a fine plantation, on which he built a beautiful residence. In 1860 he removed to the old plantation where his father had died. He and his wife reared one child, Maria C, who was born February 20, 1859. She is the wife of Shepherd S. Neville. In 1863 Mr. Giles enlisted in the Confederate service, and fought until the surrender. He was ever a friend of home enterprises, and contributed liberally of his means in the support of churches and educational institutions. He was a democrat MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 505 and a staach adherent to the principles of his party. He was a very prosperous planter, owning about twelve thousand acres. He carried on a successful mercantile business in Scooba up to the time of his death, which occurred September 8, 1870. In his death the county lost a valued citizen, one whose sterling traits of character were an inspiration and in whom the poor and needy found ever a true friend and willing helper. William Neville, a substantial merchant at Giles, Kemper county, Miss., was born in Sumter county, Ala., and is the eldest son of A. L. and Mary (McDow) Neville. The father was born in South Carolina in 1820, and removed thence to Greene county, Ala., in his boy- hood; afterward he went to Sumter county. He was a son of William Neville, Sr., and Elizabeth (Lindsey) Neville. He was married in Greene county, Ala., in 1840, and seven children were born of the union: William, Samuel, Lucy, Mary, Andrew, Robert and James H. The mother died in 1852. She was born in 1820, in South Carolina, and was a daugh- ter of William L. McDow. She was a worthy member of the Presbyterian church. After her death William Neville was married a second time, being united to Mrs. Nancy James. They had born to them three children: Pope, Fannie and George. The father died in Giles, Kemper county, in 1882. He was a member of the Presbyterian church, and in his political opinions adhered to the principles of the democratic party. At one time he was taxcolleetor of Sumter county. He was a merchant in Mobile, Ala.j and was very pros- perous. He was a man of deep integrity of character and a loyal citizen. Two of his sons were in the late war, William and Samuel; both were wounded, the latter at Seven Pines; he was an attorney by profession and died in Texas. William Neville spent his early days in Mobile, Ala. , where he was a clerk in a store. In 1861 he enlisted in the Confederate army and was attached to the Third Alabama regiment. He saw some very hard service, participating in the battles of Seven Pines, Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville. At the last named place he received a gunshot wound which necessitated .the amputation of his right foot. He was then discharged and sent to the hospital. After his recovery he went back to Sumter county, where he was engaged in merchandising. Later he became interested in farming. He was married in 1869 in Kemper county, Miss., to Miss Sallie P. Blocker, a daughter of George M. and Margaret (Perrin) Blocker. She was born in South Carolina in 1846 and was taken by her parents to Kemper county. Miss., in 1851. Mr. and Mrs. Neville are the parents of three children: Mary, George B. and Samuel A. The, mother died in 1881. She was a member of the Episcopal church. Mr. Neville is identified with the demo- cratic party and is well posted on all the leading issues of the day. He devotes his time and attention to his mercantil* interests in Giles and is very successful. He is a member of the Episcopal church, and belongs to the Knights of Honor. James H. Neville, district attorney of the second district of Mississippi, and practicing attorney at Scooba, Kemper county. Miss., was born in the state of Alabama, September 28th, 1852, and is the sou of A. L. and Mary (McDow) Neville. His father, was a native of South Carolina, born in 1820 and a son of William Neville. He was a wholesale mer- chant and cotton factor at Mobile, Ala., for ten years before his death, which occTjrred in 1882. He was actively interested in the political questions of the day, being allied with the democratic party. He was reared to the occupation of planting, but soon after he came of age he embarked in the mercantile trade, which he made his life's vocation. He was married in 1840 and seven children were born of the union: William, Lucy, Samuel, Mary, Andrew, Eobert and James H. Mr. Neville was a man of rare business qualifications and held a posi- tion in the commercial circles of his county of which any man might have been proud. The mother of our subject was born in Greene county, Ala., and died in 1852, three days after the 606 BIOORAPHIGAL AND EI8T0RI0AL birth of James H. The father was married a second time to Mrs. James, of Mobile. Three chil- dren were born to them: Pope, Fannie and George. James H. Neville was reared in Sum- ter county, Ala., and was educated in the common schools. In 1871 he began the study of law and two years later he was admitted to the bar of Sumter county. In 1875 he removed to Kemper county. Miss., and located at Scooba, where he has since resided. In 1878 he was married at Scooba to Miss Susan Hart, a daughter of James E. and Susan (Harwood) Hart. They are the parents of three children: Florence, William and James. The parents are members of the Presbyterian church and take an active interest in all the movements of the community which tend to elevate the morals and improve the educational facilities. Mr. Neville is a democrat in his political views. He was elected district attorney in 1883 and was re-elected in 1887; was renominated for district attorney in July, 1891, for his third term without opposition. From 1878 to 1884 he was engaged in journalistic work, being during that time the editor of the Kemper Herald. He is a member of the Masonic order and of the Knights of Honor. In all his public career he has been a friend to the oppressed and a champion of the weak. He has displayed an unusual fitness for the work to which he has been called, and has reflected great credit upon his constituency. Joseph and Edwin Newberger, who comprise the firm of Newberger Bros. , are the sons of Leopold Newberger. The father began business in CofFeeville in 1842, and gamed for himself the title of Old Reliable. No man in the state of Mississippi is more favorably and honorably known. He was born in Felheim, Bavaria, Germany, and emigrated to the United States at the age of sixteen years. He landed at Philadelphia in November, 1840, and journeyed thence by stage to Grenada, Miss., where his uncle, William Tandler, was a pioneer. The uncle gave him a stock of goods valued at about $20, with which he began to peddle in the country. He had but a limited education in his native language, and his know- ledge of English was decidedly meager, so that his first business experience was anything but flattering; however, he was blessed with a great deal of determination, which is strongly characteristic of the German race, and he persevered until his efforts were crowned with success. He had been in this country but a year when Judge Carberry induced him to come to CofFeeville and go into business. Although he had but a few hundred dollars to invest, he rented a building and put in as large a stock as his means would permit; as his patronage grew he was enabled to increase his stock, and in an incredibly short time he took the lead among the merchants of CofFeeville He also dealt largely in slaves, being local agent for Forrest & Walton, of Memphis. In 1872 he went to New Orleans and engaged in the cotton commission business with the firm of R. Nugent & Co., remaining there for a period of three years, daring which time he managed successfully both houses. He returned to CofFeeville, and in 1868 he established a branch store at Oakland, Miss., which is under the management of a son, Silvan Newberger. Mr. Newberger now resides in Louisville, Ky., where he has made his home since 1886, at which time he turned his business over to his sons. He was united in marriage in Louisville, Ky., in 1856, to Miss Esther Lichtenstader, whose father was a gentleman of great learning, a professor of one of the universities of Frankfort, Ger- many, and a member of a distinguished Jewish family; four of the brothers are connected with famous institutions of learning in Europe. Mrs. Newberger was a woman highly educated and of rare attainments; she took an especial delight in the rearing and training of his children, and was an ornament to the high social position which she occupied; she died in 1885, at the age of forty eight years; she was born in Germany, and came to this country in 1856. To Mr. and Mrs. Newberger were born fourteen children, ten of whom are yet living: Joseph, Silvan, Charles, Dora, Hellen, Cornelia, Ths QaDdshssaPJi. Co Chi'^'i'J^ >^**-<^-*t. MBM0IR8 OF MISSISSIPPI. 507 Edwin, Samuel, Isadore B. and Alma I. ; those deceased are: Max, William, Josephine and Marcella. When a resident here Mr. Newberger took no especial part in politics further than to look after the interests of his people and the protection of his property. He is a man self-made, self-educated; he has been a constant reader and is thoroughly informed on all the leading topics of the day. In 1884 he became a Mason, joining CofPeeville lodge No. 83. For many years he was an alderman of the place and also served as town treasurer. He had a most beautiful home, which was known far and wide as the seat of the most ele- gant hospitality. Distinguished visitors to the place were often entertained there, and it was known as the home of prominent politicians when making a canvass. The children have been well educated, and in this a legacy has been bequeathed them of which no man can deprive them. Joseph Newberger, the eldest of the family, is a member of the CofPeeville lodge No. 83, A. F. & A. M., and he also belongs to Oakland lodge, I. O. O. F. In politics he takes an active interest and was tendered the nomination of state senator but declined; in a recent canvass he made more than twenty speeches in behalf of W. V. Moore, candidate for representative, and carried the election. Charles Newberger is also a member of the Masonic order. Joseph Newberger was the prime mover in the building of "the new court- house, and it was through his energy and untiring efforts that it was carried through. New- berger Bros, are the most extensive cotton dealers in northern Mississippi; they handle some twenty thousand bales yearly and do a business of $300,000 per annum. They buy cotton at all stations of the Illinois Central railroad of the Memphis branch, and have pur- chasing agents at Oxford, Coffeeville, Grenada, Vaiden, Eupora, Water Valley, Torrance, Winona, West Station, Tillatoba, Oakland and a number of smaller places. The property of the Newberger family is yet undivided, but it is all managed by the sons, each working for the interest of the whole. Charles Newberger is a traveling salesman for the firm of L. Moses & Co., Louisville, Ky. John Newbery, Yazoo City, Miss. The gentleman whose name heads this brief bio- graphical sketch dates his birth from the city of New Orleans, La., February 23, 1845. There were four children in the family, of whom he is the second. His parents were John P. and Caroline (Bower) Newbery, natives of North Carolina and Pennsylvania respectively. The father became a resident of Mississippi in 1855 and-followed. planting until his death, which occurred in 1867. His wife died the following year. Tfie subject of this notice was reared in Mississippi and attended the private schools of the neighborhood until 1860, when he entered Dolbear's Commercial college at New Orleans. He was graduated from this insti- tution in 1861, when he returned to his home to engage in husbandry. He now owns four hundred acres of land, cultivating two hundred and forty-five acres of the same. He was married in 1870 to Miss Lucy Ogden, of Mississippi, a daughter of Theophilus and Mary Ogden, who were also Mississippians by birth. Mr. and Mrs. Newbery are the parents of four children: Ella N., Kate H. , Lucy and Estelle. When the late Civil war came and there was a call for volunteers Mr. Newbery enlisted, in 1861, in company F, Eighteenth Mississippi volunteer infantry, and was a member of this regiment until the battle of Gettys- burg, when he was captured and carried to Fort Delaware; there he was held fifteen months, and after his release did not enter the service again. He participated in the engagements at Malvern hill, the seven days' fight around Richmond, the two battles of Fredericksburg, Gettysburg and Sharpsburg. Politically he affiliates with the democratic party. He is a member of the Masonic order. In all the walks of life he has exhibited that probity and honesty that have won for him hosts of friends and given him a place in the front ranks of the citizens of Yazoo county. FF 508 BIOGRAPHICAL AND HI8T0RI0AL As a man of business Mr. David B. Newman's name and fame are coextensive with Jefferson and the surrounding counties. Every step of his financial and commercial career has been illustrated with acts of liberality, and with each vital interest of his section and his people he has been closely identified. If industry, bard work and ceasless activity, united with a stron'T and determined perseverance, can accomplish anything in this world, Mr. New- man will undoubtedly become wealthy, for in him are to be found all the cUtlracteristics mentioned, and he deserves more than ordinary credit for his career thus far in life. He was born in Franklin county, Miss., October 15, 1860, his father. Maxwell Newman, being also born there. The grandfather, Solomon Newman, was a native of South Carolina, but when a young man came to Mississippi, and after some time being spent engaged in planting in Franklin county, of this state, he returned to the Palmetto state and married, return- ing hither with his bride. He became a wealthy planter, and on his large plantation he reared his family and resided until his death, having filled with success a number of local offices. Maxwell Newman was married in Franklin county to Miss Margaret Herring, a native of the county. Like his father before him he was an agriculturist, and on the plantation where he had labored faithfully to obtain a competency for himself and family he quietly breathed his last in 1864. His widow survives him at this writing, having borne her husband three sons and four daughters, all of whom grew to mature years. B. S. is a planter of Franklin county, and A. M. a merchant of Vicksburg, Miss. One sister is now deceased. The early boyhood of David B. Ne.wman was spent in his native county, and in Hiwasse college he acquired a thorough practical education, completing an English course of study in 1879, soon after which he began teaching school, following this occupation in Jefferson county for one year, after which he clerked in a store at Union Church for a num- ber of years. His next venture in earning his own living was to open a mercantile establish- ment near that place for one year, after which, in 1885, he formed a partnership with his brother, A. M. Newman, built a store and began business at McNair, their establishment being the second one opened at that point. The present firm of D. B. Newman & Co. was formed in 1890, and as their store room is large and roomy, their stock of general mechan- dise is well selected and large. Their trade, which amounts to about $40,000 annually, has been secured by honesty, fair dealing, and by studying and supplying the wants of the pub- lic. Mr. Newman has shown the best of judgment and tact, and as a natural result he is doing a thriving and constantly increasing business, and although he is yet a young man his outlook for the future is bright and promising. His marriage, which was celebrated in Franklin county, December 17, 1790, was to Miss Addie McNeil, a daughter of George McNeil (deceased). Mrs Newman was born and reared in Lincoln county, and being intelli- gent and well educated, she is proving a true helpmate to her husband. Eev. James Milton Nicholson, one of the leading ministers of Kemper county. Miss., was born in Clarke county, Ala., February 12, 1830, and is a son of Theophilus and Rebecca S. (Goode) Nicholson. Theophilus Nicholson was a native of North Carolina and a son of Josiah Nicholson. He was married in Clarke county, Ala., having removed to that point from South Carolina in 1818. He was a farmer and was in good circumstances. In his politics he was a democrat. He died in 1844 and was buried on his plantation, which is now owned by the subject of this notice. He reared to mature years three of the seven children born to him and his estimable wife: Theodore L. (deceased), Josiah J. and James M. The mother of these children was born in Georgia in 1803, and was the daughter of William and Sarah (James) Goode. Her family were from Virginia, where they were well and favorably known. The maternal grandfather of our subject was a first cousin to Thomas Jefferson. MEM0IR8 OF MISSISSIPPI. 509 The mother died in Clarke county, Ala., in 1839. James M. spent his early life in this county, to which he removed with his father in 1839. His father purchased a large tract of land in Kemper county, and at the time of his death owned fourteen hundred acres. He received his education in his native state, principally at Howard college, Marion, Ala. In 1858 he entered the ministry and took charge of the old Wahalak Baptist church, of which he was pasfor until 1866. The two years following he was at Meridian, Miss. , and at the end of that time he came back to his plantation. He owns about fifteen hundred acres of land, which he has improved and brought to a high state of cultivation. Mr. Nicholson was married in 1856 to Miss Sallie E. Grordon, a daughter of James and Mary (Marsh) Gordon, natives of North Carolina. Mrs. Nicholson was born in Clarke county, Ala., in 1838. She died in 1880, and was buried in Sumter county, Ala. Two children were born to this union: James Milton, Jr. , and Mary E. , who died in childhood. James M. , Jr. , lived to be thirty- one years of age. He was born in Kemper county in 1857, and was educated at Meridian and at Howard college, Marion, Ala. He was married in 1884 to Miss Middleton E. Wig- gins, a daughter of Thomas P. "Wiggins. Four children were born to them, two of whom are living: Thomas Howard and James Milton, Jr., who reside with their grandfather. Mr. Nicholson, the son of our subject, was democratic in his political views. He belonged to the Grange in its palmy days. The Rev. Mr. Nicholson has for fifteen years been prominently connected with the ministerial work of this community. He has assisted in organizing a number of churches, and was the founder of the Baptist church at Binnsville, Kemper county. He has done a great amount of pioneer work in the church, and has been faithful and conscientious in the discharge of his duties. Dr. J. E. Noble has devoted the greater part of his life to relieving the pains and ailments to which the human body is heir, and to his skill and talent the gratitude of hundreds is due. He is a native of Smith county, Miss., and was born in 1847 to Dr. Ezekiel and M. A. L. (Gammage) Noble, the former of whom was born in South Carolina and the latter in Alabama. The father was a graduate of the University of South Carolina and also of the Charleston Medical college, in which institution Prof. Samuel H. Dixon was a member of the faculty, occupying the same position thirty years later in Jefferson college, Philadelphia, of which noted institution of learning Dr. J. E. Noble was also a graduate. Dr. Ezekiel Noble removed to Smith county, Miss., in early manhood, where he became quite an extensive planter and popular and successful medical practitioner. His brother, Maj. Samuel Noble, represented Smith county, Miss., in the state legislature before the war. Dr. J. E. Noble received his initiatory training in the best schools in the section of the state in which he lived and later took a literary course in the State university at Oxford. Upon leaving college he taught school for a short time in Jasper county, and in the autumn of 1868 he entered the medical department of the University of Virginia, where he took one course of lectures. The following year he entered the Jefferson Medical college of Philadelphia, from which he graduated in 1870. He began the practice of his profession in Jasper county. Miss. , and was there married in 1871 to Miss Florence E. Bender, a daughter of G. M. Bender, of that county. Succeeding this Dr. Noble practiced for a short time in Brandon, but in January, 1872, located at Fannin, near his mother, whose health was very bad, where he gave his exclusive attention to his profession for many years. He is a member of the Mississippi State Medical association. In the fall of 1880 he began merchandising, but the business grew so rapidly that it required the most of his attention, and he gradually retired from his professional duties, and for the past two years he has given his almost exclusive attention to his mercantile interests. He has a large interest in the Jackson Grocery company, of which 510 BIOOBAPHIOAL AND HISTOBIOAL he is vice president, and also owns a large amount of land and stock. He has always been interested in local and state politics, aad although he has never sought ofiBce he has often represented his section in state and other conventions. He has been solicited through the local papers aa well as by prominent citizens to become a candidate for the state senate, but has never yet accepted. He is an active member of the Baptist church, in which he is a deacon, and superintendent of the Sunday-school. William S. Noble, planter. Canton, Miss. Not without justice Mr. Noble is conceded to hold a representative position among the prominent and successful planters of Madison county, and has continued steadily to pursue the even tenor of his way, which, no doubt, accounts for his prosperity. He was born in Madison county, Miss., May 24, 1833, and was the fourth in order of birth of five children born to William and Mary (Stowers) Noble, both natives of Mississippi. The father was a planter, and followed that occupation in his native state until his death in 1835. The mother followed him to the grave two years later. The paternal grandfather was a native of Maryland, and the maternal grandfather was born in Mississippi. William S. Noble became familiar with the duties of the farm at an early age, and secured a good practical education in the private schools of Mississippi. When it became necessary for him to choose some occupation, he very naturally selected that of planting, and this he has continued to pursue up to the present time. He was married in 1859 to Miss Fanny B. Helm, a native of Mississippi, and this union has resulted in the birth of six children: William H., Otway B., Battle, Minnie E., Birdie F. and Fanny. Mr. Noble is a member of the Farmers' Alliance, and in politics affiliates with the democratic party. He extends a liberal and willing hand to all laudable enterprises, and is prominent in all good work. He is a man of good business qualifications and excellent judgment. Leland Noel, Lexington, Miss. The Noel family are of French descent. Their ances- tors were among the Huguenots who were driven from France by religious persecutions in the latter part of the seventeenth century. They went to London, England. From there Edmond Noel came to Virginia about 1680, and located on the Rappahannock river. He engaged in mercantile and agi-icultural pursuits. His son James succeeded him, and was well circumstanced. James Noel had six sons: Edmond, Theodoric, James, William, Leonard and Callis, and two daughters. All of his sons served in the Revolutionary war, Callis being slain in battle. Theodoric was a Baptist minister, and served as chaplain. One of the daughters married Alfred Monroe, a brother of President James Monroe, and the other married Robert Grarnett. Edmond Noel had seven daughters, three of whom were never married, and of the other four, Elizabeth was married to a Mr. Purdie, Nancy to George Turner, Niecie to a Mr. Richardson, and Sarah to a Mr. Motley, and after his death to a Mr. Sale. E. F. Noel, his youngest child and only son, was born in Essex county, Va., in 1793. He received a good education. Ho was married to Elizabeth F. Barton, daughter of Maj. Thomas Barton, and granddaughter of Ross Jones, a man of wealth and prominence. E. F. Noel engaged in farming and accumulated a large estate, including numerous slaves. He represented his native county with distinction in one or more terms of the Virginia legisla- ture. He was a talented writer, and the author of several able essays against monopolies and the national banking system. He was one of the pioneers of Mississippi, having pur- chased a large tract of land near Franklin, in Holmes county, in 1835, which he placed in charge of his two oldest sons, Leland and Edmond B. He died in 1871, and his wife at about the same time. He had four sons: Leland, Edmond B., William L. and Henry R., the latter a physician of prominence in Baltimore, and who was one of the youngest surgeons in the Confederate army. E. F. Noel had seven daughters, two of whom, Emily and Julia, MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 511 were never married, and of the other five Frances waa married to the Rev. James Henshall, Eliza to Dr. John J. Wright, Rebecca to Dr. D. Sutton, and Louisa to Warring Lewis, who after her death married her sister Susan. Leland, assisted by Edmond B., managed his fathers plantation until 1848, when he purchased one of his own. At the beginning of the war he was in prosperous circum- stances. In 1864 he lost his sight, but has continued to be interested and posted on all current matters. On April 2, 1851, he was married to Margaret, a daughter of Dr. B. W. Sanders. They were the parents of nine children, one of whom died in infancy, and the others are: Thomas D. ; Elizabeth B., who is married to W. B. White; Edmond F., (see sketch); Benjamin S., Mary A., Henry L., Fannie J. and Annie S. Fannie J. was beautiful, amiable and one of the most dutiful and affectionate of daughters. She died October 21, 1890. Leland Noel has ever been an active supporter of the principles of the democratic party. Prior to the war he was a delegate to nearly all of the political conventions, and numbered among his friends many of the most prominent men of this state. With his wife and daughters he moved to Lexington, in 1886, leaving his old plantation in charge of his son Thomas D. Edmond Favor Noel was born on his father's farm in Holmes county, Miss., on March 4, 1856. His father, Mr. Leland Noel, came from Virginia in 1835, being then about twenty years of age, and settled on a tract of land, a part of which he yet owns and has ever since cultivated. In 1835 his mother, Margaret Sanders, then but a few years old, was brought by her father. Dr. B. W. Sanders, from North Carolina to Franklin, in Holmes county, to which place his grandfather, Col. D. M. Dulaney, had by four or five years preceded him. The parents of E. F. Noel were married April 2, 1851. Nine children were born of that union, he being the second son and third child. Until his seventeenth year he had only such educational advantages as were afforded by irregular coantry schools, performing in the meanwhile such labor in the fields, and otherwise, as usually befalls a country boy of moder- ate circumstances. Prior to the war his father had been a well-to-do and successful farmer and a public-spirited citizen who actively participated in political affairs, though never aspiring to office, and who had the esteem and confidence of all who knew him. During the war, while sick, Mr. Noel was captured by Federal troops and subjected to such exposure in bad weather as caused the permanent loss of health and of his eyesight. Business reverses, immediately after the war, lost him all but land, and involved that. His uncle. Maj. D. W. Sanders, one of the leading lawyers in Louisville, Ky. , took charge of E. F. Noel's educa- tion, in September, 1872, and sent him to the public high school of Louisville for three years, and afterward furnished him the opportunity of reading law at the high school in a class largely over a hundred students. He took third to the highest honor for general scholarship that year; the next to the highest the second year, and the third year, the very highest in the class. In March, 1877, he was admitted to the bar at Lexington, Miss., and commenced practicing law there, possessed of nothing but his professional services. At first he cleared expenses by abstracting land titles, and other services rendered older attorneys. He soon acquired a fair share of the law business of his county. His paternal and maternal ancestors had repeatedly represented the states of Virginia and North Carolina respectively in their legislatures. His grandfather. Dr. B. W. Sanders, was a member of the Mississippi legislature from Holmes county in 1838, at the time of his death. His granduncle, Thomas Dulaney, had formerly, and his uncle, D. W. Sanders, had subse- quently held the same position. In 1881 E. F. Noel was, by a practically unanimous vote, elected to the legislature from that county. In the session that followed he served on the 513 BIOGBAPEICAL AND HISTOBIOAL judiciary aad other important committeeB. In company with a Btrong minority he supported bills for an equitable taxation and supervision of railroads, and earnestly opposed those pro- visions of the railroad charters passed at that session which exempted from taxation for twenty years their property of all kinds, and which virtually contracted away to those rail- roads the state's future right of supervision. He introduced and secured its passage through the house a constitutional amendment similar to the one just coming in force, fixing the terms of all state and county officers at four years, with quadrennial elections. This, how- ever, failed in the senate. In 1881 there were five candidates for the democratic nomination for district attorney before the convention for the Fifth judicial district, which embraces seven counties. After a spirited contest E. F. Noel received a considerable majority of the entire vote of the dis- trict, and his competitors, who ranked among the ablest and most popular lawyers of the district, withdrew, and he was nominated by acclamation, numbering among his most zeal- ous suppoi-ters some of those who most earnestly opposed him in the election previous. At the election in 1887 he defeated, by over six thousand majority, the present United States district attorney, the most popular and influential republican in the district. He is now finishing his fourth year as district attorney. B. F. Noel was married to Miss Lula Hos- kins, at Lexington, Miss., on June 4, 1890. All his life he has been a moral and temperate man, not using tobacco or intoxicating liquor. He has always been an unwavering and working democrat. He has served twice on the democratic state executive committee, twice on the congressional executive committee, and resigned the chairmanship of the democratic executive committee of his county in 1887 on entering the canvass. No man in the state has ever served his country in an official capacity with more fidelity and sincerity than E. F. Noel. As a public prosecutor he is just and energetic, searching, sifting and thoroughly weighing every fact and circumstance material to the issue involved. He takes no unfair advantage, but presents his case strongly and irresistibly, and when he is once convinced that the defendant is innocent he seeks not his conviction, but immediately enters a nolle prosequi. Henry Peyton Noland enjoys the reputation of being a substantial and progressive planter, and an intelligent and thoroughly posted man in all public affairs. He was born in Warren county, November 16, 1841, a son of Judge Pierce and Elizabeth L. (Galtmy) Noland, the former a native of Virginia and the latter of Adams county, Miss., where she was born in 1801, being descended from an old Dutch family of New York, the Killands, who were originally from Holland. Judge Pierce Noland was descended from a Revolutionary soldier, and at the age of thirteen years left home and came to Mississippi, and in time, by industry and frugality, he amassed quite a comfortable fortune. He also by self applica- tion fitted himself for the duties of a good citizen, and became an exceptionally well-informed man, although he never attended school but about three months during his life. He was judge of the county court of Jefferson county during the twenties, and in this capacity served with faithf alness and ability. He gave his eight children good advantages, and one of his sons, T. V. Noland, graduated from Princeton college and became a prominent attorney and citizen of Mississippi. Three of the other children graduated from Oakland college. Henry Peyton Noland attended a private school until he was twelve years of age, and at the age of fourteen entei'ed Mississippi college, but a short time after returned home on account of ill- health and remained under the care of his parents for about six months. The following twelve months were then spent in Oakland college, and after remaining on the home place for about the same length of time, two months were spent in the Nashville military school. MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 513 Some fifteen months afterward he married Miss Annie Aldridge, a daughter of Dr. William O. Aldridge, of Kentucky, who acquired his medical education in New Orleans Medical col- lege, and practiced his profession in Madison and Hinds counties. Mrs. Noland was bom December 12, 1842, and received a high school education in the city of Jackson. Mr. Noland followed the calling of a planter until the opening of the war, then became a member of Capt. J. J. Cowan's company of artillery, First Mississippi regiment, stationed at Vicksburg, but was physically incapacitated for service and was discharged at the end of nine months. In 1863 he moved onto the plantation on which he is now residing, where he now owns about one thousand acres of land, of which three hundred are under cultivation. After the close of the war he began taking considerable interest in political matters, and has since been an active democrat. He filled the position of justice of the peace from 1876 to 1880, during which time he made an enviable record for himself. His sessions of court were models of order, and all concerned were given to understand that no favors would be shown, as had been the custom, but that even-handed justice would be meted out to all. He and his wife are Episcopalians in religious views. Their children are: Mary, Thomas Vaughn, Lily, Hugh Aldrich, Myra Buth, Annie Aldri6h and Edna Aubrey. Mary, Lily and Hugh are deceased. In connection with his practice Dr. John R. Nolen, physician and surgeon, Tomnolen, Miss., is engaged in planting, and is alSo the present member of the state senate from Choc- taw and Webster counties, Miss. He is a resident of old Greensboro, Webster county, Miss., where he was born in 1856, and is a son of Prof. John and Elizabeth (Dukins) Nolen, the former a native of Georgia, born in 1812, and the latter of Kentucky, born about 1827. Professor Nolen was of Irish descent, was a man of education and learning, and when still single, or in 1839, he came to what is now Webster coanty, where he taught school for a number of years. In 1843 he was elected circuit clerk of Choctaw county, and held that position for twelve consecutive years with credit to himself and his constituents. He was married in Greensboro, and there resided until his death, in 1868. Both he and wife were members in good standing in the Missionary Baptist church. He was a man of considerable influence and ability in his community, and was active in all public matters. He was the only member of his family who died in this county. During the latter part of the Civil war he served in the Confederate army. He showed his appreciation of secret organizations by becoming a member of Greensboro lodge No. 49, A. F. & A. M. His wife was a stepdaughter of Judge Thomas N. Davis, who came to Greensboro with his family in 1836. To Mr. and Mrs. Nolen were born nine children, who are named in the order of their births as follows: Alonzo, a soldier in the late war, was captured at Fort Donelson and was retained at Fort Delaware during nearly the entire war (he was killed in Arkansas in 1873); Susan is the widow of Frank Holloway; Edgar P., died in 1890 (he was a merchant and planter); Thomas; Dr. John R. ; WiUiam C, a planter of Choctaw county; Eva, now Mrs. Stiff, of Texas; Lillian, died at the age of five years; and Lee, who is engaged in merchandising at Tomnolen station. Dr. John R. Nolen was reared to farm life, attended the Greensborough school until thirteen years of age, and then entered Hico academy, near Paducah, Ky. He subsequently studied medicine, first with Dr. D. M. Simmons, of Kentucky, and then with Dr. A. H. Bays, now of Eupora. During the winter of 1876-7 he attended the Louisville Medical college, and in 1878 graduated from Vanderbilt university, Nashville, Tenn. He at once began practicing at Greensboro, where he has since continued and is considered not only one of the leading physicians of the county, but is one of the most popular public men. In 1883 he celebrated his nuptials 514 BIOOBAPEIdAL AND HISTORICAL with Miss Zenie HoUoway, a native of Choctaw county, Miss. , and the daughter of William and Elizabeth Holloway. Mr. Holloway was a well-to-do planter of Choctaw county, where he died about 1874. His widow is now living at Greensboro. To Dr. and Mrs. Nolen were born four children. Dr. Nolen is the owner of nine hundred acres of land and has three hundred acres cleared, all the result of his own efforts. In 1887 he was elected to the lower house of the state legislature, and was chairman of the committee on public health and quarantines, also a member of the committee of ways and means and railroads. In 1889 he was elected to represent the thirteenth district, composed of the counties Choc- taw, Webster, Clay and Oktibbeha, in the senate. He is a member of the Masonic frater- nity, Greensboro lodge No. 49, and is past master. He is a member of the Farmers' Alliance, and he and Mrs. Nolen are members of the Missionary Baptist church. Thomas N. Norrell, a well-to-do planter of Rankin county, Miss., whose parents came from South Carolina to Mississippi in the year 1800, was born on the 4th of July, 1815, in Claiborne county, Miss., being the youngest of five brothers and one sister, surviving mem- bers of a family of sixteen children born to Levi and Kate (Gwin) Norrell, both of whom were natives of South Carolina, but afterward became residents of Mississippi; he died in this state in 1823, his wife's death also occurring in that year. In the state of his birth Thomas N. Norrell was reared to the life of a planter, and in his youth acquired a prac- tical education. He has been successful in the career he has marked out for himself, and his fine plantation comprises one thousand two hundred and sixty acres, located six miles south of Jackson, the principal part of the cultivated portion being devoted to the raising of cotton and corn. He also takes much interest in the raising of good stock, and, in fact, is a very practical and experienced planter and miller, the latter occupation having received his attention for many years. He justly merits the respect and esteem in which he is held by all classes, for his career has been honorable throughout, his kindly spirit has at all times manifested itself, and his intelligent and progressive views have placed him among the leading citizens of the county. He has been an active politician, and in 1880 his services to his party were recognized and he was elected by his many friends to represent JBankin county in the general assembly of the state, making a faithful legislator. He has also been a member of the board of supervisors of Rankin county two years. In 1854 he became a member of Evening Star lodge No. 70, of the A. F. & A. M., and has taken all the degrees in the Blue lodge. Since 1888 he has been a member of the Farmers' Alliance, which order he joined at Richland academy. He was married in 1845 to Miss Frances Parker, a native of Virginia, who was born in 1814, and by her has a family of seven children born, five of whom survive: Albert G. (who represented Yazoo county in the state legislature in 1882, 1884 and 1886, and for the past three years has held the position of United States commis- sioner in Utah territory), Mary E., William O., Laura F. , Florence. The two sons are in Salt Lake City, Utah, practicing law, their education having been received in Oxford, Miss. The youngest son of this family represented Rankin county in the legislature in 1886. During the war Mr. Norrell enthusiastically espoused the Confederate cause and did all he could to bring matters to a successful issue for the South in the way of service, money and stock. He is an active member of the Methodist Episcopal church, but his estimable wife has long been a Baptist. A. K. Northrop, D. D. S., Pass Christian, Miss., was born in St. Mary's parish. La., July 27, 1839, and is a son of Daniel and Christina (Knight) Nofthrop, natives of New Jer- sey and Louisiana, respectively. The father was a merchant, and removed to Louisiana in 1835, locating at Franklin, where he died of yellow (ever m 1839, He bad two sons, the MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI, S15 Doctor being the only surviving one. The mother was married, a second time, to John Hueston, editor of the Baton Rouge Gazette. Mr. Hueston was killed in a duel with L. C. Le Branch, a difference in political opinion being the cause of the encounter. By the sec- ond union two sons were born: J. C. Hueston, of 'the New York Times, and John Hueston, who was wounded and died in the Civil war. The widow now resides at Baton Bouge. The Doctor was educated at Baton Rouge, and was graduated fi'om the Baltimore Dental college. He engaged in the practice of his profession, and for several years was one of the most prominent dentists along the coast. When there was a call for men to go out in behalf of the South, he enlisted in company E, Third Texas regiment, and served until hostilities ceased. He was third lieutenant, and was promoted to the position of captain. In 1867 he came to Mississippi, and as before stated, was successfully engaged in the practice of his profession, having his headquarters at Pass Christian. In 1873 he abandoned dentistry for mercantile pursuits, and has since carried on the business with great profit. He keeps the best stock of goods in Pass Christian, and has won a large patronage in that place and the surrounding country. He also deals in real estate, and has made some heavy transactions in that line. Dr. Northrop has also been identified with the politics of the county, having been county treasurer four years, and sheriff for the same length of time, and a member of the national democratic convention held in St. Louis in 1888. He was mayor of the town for two years, and has always taken an active interest in the growth and prosperity of the place. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, and was largely instrumental in the erec- tion of the Masonic hall at the pass. He is also a member of the American Legion of Honor. Dr. Northrop was married April 20, 1867, to Miss Helena Elmer, of Biloxi, Miss. They are now the parents of six sons and two daughters: A. E., J. D., Guy, George, James, Newton, Christina and Ruby. They are members of the Episcopal church. Dr. Northrop owns some good property in Pass Christian, and is in good circumstances. Col. William Lewis Nugent, attorney at law, Jackson, Miss., is a native of Louisiana, and was born at East Baton Rouge parish, December 12, 1832, and is the son of John and Ann (Lewis) Nugent. The elder Nugent was born in the county of Westmeath, Ireland. He came to the United States when a lad of seventeen years, locating at Philadelphia, where he was employed as a clerk in the mercantile house of a Quaker. Two years later he was sent by his employer to Washington, Miss., to open up a branch house, where he continued in charge until he was twenty-one years of age, when the business was transferred entirely to him. Mr. Nugent successfully carried on this business until the year 1881, when he sold out and invested in a sugar plantation in Baton Rouge parish, which he operated two years, when he removed to Opelousas, La., where he reared his family. Mr. Nugent died in Jack- son, Miss. , in 1873, at the advanced age of eighty-five years. His wife was a native of Louisiana, and was the daughter of Judge Seth Lewis, a prominent lawyer of that state, and Nancy Hardeman, who was a native of Tennessee. The early life of William L. was com- mon to that of most planters' sons. At the age of eight years he was placed in the state school at Opelousas, where he pursued his studies until he was fifteen years of age. At this period he was sent to Centenary college, Mississippi, where he was graduated in 1852. in August of that year Mr. Nugent removed to Greenville, Miss. , where he continued to reside until 1872. For the first three years he was engaged as a private tutor. He then took up the study of law, reading in the office of A. F. Smith, and was admitted to the bar in the fall of 1856. He immediately opened an office and began the practice of law, which he continued with marked success until the breaking out of the war. He was then appointed inspector- general of the state. From this position he resigned in 1862, and entered the Confederate 516 BIOOBAPHIOAL AND HISTOBIOAL army as a private in company D, Eighteenth Mississippi, Col. P. B. Stiirke commanding. One of the principal engagements, while in this service, was at the battle of Franklin, Tenn., April 10, 1863, under Van Dorn. During the summer of this year he was promoted to the rank of captain, assigned to the adjutant-general's department, and ordered to report to Brig. -Gen. S. AV. Ferguson. He served in this capacity until the early part of 1865, when, upon the petition of officers and men, he was promoted to the colonelcy of the Twelfth Mis- sissippi cavalry. He was ordered west by General Beauregard to pick up the scattered men belonging to the command, and while out on this duty the surrender of the Confederacy was made. The war being over Colonel Nugent returned to his home in Greenville, and once more engaged in the peaceful occupation of the law. In 1872 he removed to Jackson, Miss. and became associated with W. and J. N. Yerger in the practice of his profession. His reputation as an able lawyer had preceded him, and he entered at once upon a lucrative practice. In 1875 he formed a copartnership with T. A. Mc Willie, under the firm name of Nugent & McWillie, which continues. Colonel Nugent was united in marriage November, 1860, to Eleanor, daughter of A. F. Smith. The issue of this marriage was one child, Eleanor, now the wife of Robert Somerville, of Greenville, Miss. Mrs. Nugent died December, 1865. Colonel Nugent was married the second time, February 25, 1870, to Aim^e, daughter of John S. and Cecile Webb, of Alabama. To this union five children have been born: Cecile, Aim6e, William L., Louis C, and Bessie W., all of whom are living at home. Colonel Nugent is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church South. In politics he is a democrat. This sketch would be incomplete without noting some of the personal characteristics of the subject. In form Colonel Nugent is tall, with a graceful, military bearing. His eyes are gray and beam with intellectual brightness, while his countenance, which is winning, is expressive of truth and goodness. He is a firm friend, a genial companion and a charitable neighbor. He was a firm believer in the right of secession and in the Confederacy, but since that question has been settled through the arbitrament of the sword he is a loyal and patriotic citizen of the Union. In one so gifted and versatile as Colonel Nugent it is diffi- cult to draw a line, or to determine in which professional excellence he is most distin- guished. He was endowed by nature with a mind of the finest quality, comprehensive, active, analytical and tenacious. The great powers of reason, imagination and memory are in perfect equipoise, and each the ready and faithful ally of the others. His collegiate edu- cation was more thorough than Ihat of most students, for the reason that he studied for the acquisition of knowledge, and with little reference to the class distinctions that he won. His professional studies were pursued in the same spirit and were attended with the same results. His great purpose was the mastering of the science of law, and he has come about as near its attainment as any jurist ever did. It is difficult to imagine anything in the wide field of professional effort beyond the scope of his powers. This remarkable capacity is supplemented by an equally remarkable and untiring industry. Indeed, the form in which the admiration of his professional brethren is most frequently expressed presents the idea of rare efficiency and indefatigable labor. He works with the greatest celerity and works all the time. Even the manual portion of his labors partakes of these character- istics. He writes with unusual facility, and in the longest, most difficult and com plex pleadings he rarely erases or interlines a word. He has practiced in all the courts known to our law system with great success, and the litigation in which he has taken part has been of an important nature. In the United States circuit and district courts, both at Jackson and at Oxford, and in the circuit, chancery and supreme courts of the state, he has MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 517 long been a leading practitioner. He has also appeared from time to time with credit to the profession before the supreme court of the United States. Colonel Nugent is equally able both at law and in equity cases. One who heard him for the first time addressing the court would be apt to underrate his powers before a jury, for it is rarely the case that excellence in both branches are united in one person, yet his listener would be soon undeceived. No juryman ever listened to his advocacy of a cause who was not influenced by his legal argu- ments and logical reasoning. While making little pretension to oratory his language is a "well of pure English undefiled," and his expressions are so apt, his conceptions so clear, accompanied in the delivery by an electric-like energy, employing at the same instant both the flash and the stroke, that it becomes quite impossible to withstand their effect. He has the power of gathering all the facts of a cause in the grasp of his mind and retaining them for use at exactly the right point in his argument, and the manner of their employment is so just and their disclosed relation to each other so manifest, and yet so original and strik- ing, that his arguments to the jury are often a revelation to those who have given the closest attention to the evidence. This is a much rarer faculty than is generally supposed. Indeed, it is really one of the attributes of genius. Colonel Nugent' s briefs in the Missis- sippi reports disclose his tine style as a law-writer. They cover a period extending from the close of the late war to the present time, and these, with his pleadings, might be taken as models of composition by students of the profession. If it is true that a good bar makes a good bench, and that the labors of a lawyer largely contribute to the accuracy of the judge, then Colonel Nugent is in no small degree connected with the grand structure of Missis- sippi jurisprudence. He is yet in the meridian of his powers and is wholly engrossed by the calls of an extensive and lucrative practice, a great part of which relates to railway and other corporations. In association with his brethren of the bar he is ever courteous and considerate, and while faithful at all times to clients his high standard for the proprieties of the profession would prevent him from taking undue advantage of any laches that might be committed by opposing council. This is a quality that is not as common in the pro- fession as it ought to be. Colonel Nugent is ever respectful and courteous to the court and enjoys the confidence and esteem of all the judges before whom he has practiced. Maj. R. J. Nugent's parents^ John and Ann (Lewis) Nugent, were natives respectively of Ireland and Louisiana. The father came to the United States about 1810, located first in Philadelphia, Penn. , and later in Washington and Adams counties of that state, where he fol- lowed merchandising. In 1831 he moved to Louisiana, engaged in planting, and after the war passed the remainder of his days with his children. His death occurred in Jack- son, Miss., in 1873. The maternal great-grandfather came to Mississippi in 1770, and set- tled on Black river. His son, Seth Lewis, became a prominent lawyer and was appointed supreme judge in 1800. He afterward went to Louisiana, was appointed probate judge, and died in that state about 1844. Maj. R. J. Nugent was born in Louisiana in 1834, and of the family of children born to his parents he was fourth in order of birth. He comes of old Welsh and Irish stock. He secured a liberal education in a college in Louisi- ana, and when a stripling of sixteen went to New Orleans, where he engaged in clerking. There he remained until 1862, and then entered the Confederate army in the Louisiana guards, as lieutenant of one of the companies. After the fall of New Orleans he went to Richmond, and was appointed to go to Louisiana and open the salt mines at New Iberia. He was subsequently attached to Morton' s division, under General Taylor, and was in the battles of Banks' campaign as commissary. He was sent as a bearer of dispatches to Rich- mond by General Buckner, and was at Chester, S. C, at the evacuation of Richmond. He 518 BIOORAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL worked his way to Washington, S. C, and joined President Davis. After the war he engaged as bookkeeper in New Orleans, remained there for some time and then went to Washington county, Miss. , and thence to Bolivar county, where he has since resided. He is the owner of fourteen hundred acres of land, Reville and Arcadia plantations, and is one of the foremost planters of the county. He was married in 1859 to Miss Coralie Smith, of Mississippi. She was a descendent of an old and honored family, and a relative of JefPerson Davis' family. Her death occurred in 1867, and she left three children: Ann, Mary Coralie and R. J., Jr. In 1884 Major Nugent was elected a member of the town board, was re-elected in 1890, and is the present incumbent of that position. He is an upright, conscientious and most highly respected citizen, not only in Bolivar county, but in the entire Yazoo delta. He is active in politics, but is no office seeker. Maj. E. F. Niinn, farmer and stockman, Shuqualak, Miss. John Nunn was born in Georgia on Christmas day, 1796. He was married to Miss Jane Tubb, of Tennessee, and afterward followed planting for many years, although later in life he was engaged iu mer- chandising. He emigrated to Noxubee county, Miss , in 1835, and purchased land from the government. He died in 1873. His son, E. P. Nunn, was born in Perry county, Ala., in 1826, and his early life was spent on a farm in that state. When but nine years of age he removed with his father to Noxubee county, Miss., where he attended the common schools at intervals. He engaged in farming on his own account at the age of nineteen years, and in 1849 he was married to Miss Mary Louise Anderson, of Winston county, Miss. He continued planting until the Civil war opened, when he went out as captain of a home com- pany, which later formed a part of the Third Mississippi battalion, Hardcastle commanding. He saw his first fighting on Shiloh's bloody battlefield. Afterward his battalion was organized into the Thirty-third Mississippi regiment, with Hardcastle still commanding. After the battle of Perryville his regiment became the Forty-fifth Mississippi, commanded by Col. John D. Williams, of Tupelo, Miss., with Mr. Nunn as major. Major Nunn was in almost every engagement of Johnston's campaign before Atlanta, and later with Hood at Franklin. At that place he lost a hand almost on the spot where General Cleburne fell. At this time he was captured, taken to Nashville, and after a month's stay was taken to Fort Dela- ware, where he remained two months before he was exchanged. At the close of hostil- ities he engaged in planting and merchandising at Shuqualak, Noxubee county. Miss., and other points. Major Nunn is identified with all that goes to constitute the solid advance- ment of the state. He owns and operates ten thousand acres of land, principally in Noxubee county, and is engaged in milling, merchandising and stockraising. He is breeding Jer- sey cattle, fine horses and mules. He is a man of fine taste, as his registered cattle and other fine stock indicate. The Major is^^ « MEMOIRS OP MISSISSIPPI. 619 wife of W. G. C. Gresham; William E., farmer of Prentiss county; JohnT., undertaker and dealer in furniture, of Booneville; Oscar, a successful merchant of Tyler, Tex.; James J., at Hillsboro, Tex., engaged in merchandising, and Mrs. Sarah E. Burns, wife of the pres- ent county treasurer. Dr. D. T. Price supplemented a common-school education by attend- ing the academy at Kienzi. He commenced the study of medicine at the latter place in the fall of 1860 under Dr. J. M. Taylor, a leading physician of the place and now one of the most prominent in the state, and attended lectures at Eichmond, Va. , in 1864 and 1865. With the exception of the time he took lectures he served as hospital steward of the Twenty- sixth Mississippi regiment during the war. He attended lectures at Richmond, Va., by special permission from the secretary of war. He graduated from Jefferson Medical college in 1866 and came to Booneville, where he commenced practicing his profession. There he has continued since and is one of the leading physicians of the county. He is the present health officer of the county and stands in the front ranks of the medical fraternity. He was married to Miss Victoria McCrory, a native of Marshall county, Tenn. , and the daughter of Kobert and Nancy (Williams) McCrory, who came with their family to Mississippi in 1848. To Dr. Price and wife were born five children, four now living: Claude B., John W., E. C. and Eobert G. The one deceased died unnamed. Claude B. is acting midshipman on the United States ship Baltimore', with headquarters at Washington, D. C. He was a graduate of the United States naval academy, at Annapolis, from the engineering division of the class of 1 890, standing second in his class. During the four years he was in that institution he stood twenty-third in his class the first year, nineteenth the second year, twelfth the third year and second the last year in the engineering division of the class. The graduating class, according to a recent act of congress, is divided into the line and engineering divisions in order that each cadet in the last year's course may receive special instruction to better qualify him for his particular work or line of service. Mr. Price chose the engineering division and graduated in that division as above. He is now in his twenty-third year. John W. completed the course for the junior year at the Mississippi Agricultural and Mechanical college, and is now studying medicine with his father. He is past the junior year at the Agricultural and Mechanical college of Mississippi and will later attend the University of Vir- ginia. The other children are at home. Dr. Price and family enjoy a very pleasant home adjoining Booneville, where he is engaged in fruit-growing in connection with his practice. He is a member of the state horticultural society, in which he takes a deep interest. Politi- cally he is a democrat. In the commercial circles of Yalobusha county, Miss., no name stands higher than that of George W. Price, proprietor of the Blue Front store of Water Valley, Miss. He was born in Pontotoc county, Miss., July 9, 1842, and is a son of John and Nancy (Eagland) Price, natives of Georgia. His father was born February 4, 1808, and his mother in March, ISIU; they were married in Jasper county, Ga., February 9, 1831, and removed to Mississippi, set- tling in Pontotoc county. To them were born six children — two sons and four daughters. The father died April 2, 1872, honored and respected by all who knew him. His father, John Price, Sr., a descendant of the Prices of Virginia, was a very successful planter, and for many years a magistrate. After the death of his first wife, in 1845, he was married to Miss Tabitha Thomas, of Georgia, who died in 1876. The father and mother of Mr. Price were members of the Primitive Baptist church, of which Mr. Price's father was also a mem- ber. The eldest and first child of Mr. Price's father's family, born December 11, 1831, was named Julia Ann. She married Eobert C. Helium, and died October 19, 1855, leaving three children: John W., William Lewis and Mary Ellen Helium, and her husband, who mar- MM 630 BIOORAPHIOAL AND HISTORIOAL ried again, died in 1863 while in service in the late war. The second, a daughter also, named Martha Jane, married Wilson or "Dock" Helium, a brother of Eobert C. Helium. She was born September 22, 1833, and died May 4, 1860, leaving five children: Nancy, George W., Julia Ann, John T. and Robert Wilson Helium ; her husband, who was a member of company K, of the Seventeenth Mississippi regiment, died in the army at Richmond, Va., in 1864. ;. The third daughter, Susan Caroline, was born August 6, 1835, and married Samuel T. Crimm, who was also a member of company K, of the Seventeenth Mississippi regiment, and died during the war (1862) at Richmond, Va. ; she had three children by Mr. Crimm: Mary Ann, Rachel and Samuel T. She afterward married John F. Stewart, by whom she had five chil- dren. The family settled near Sherman, Grayson county, Tex., in 1878. The fourth daugh- ter, Mary Morgan, was born September 28, 1837, and married Henry Lynch in 1858, and he died near Atlanta, Ga., in 1864, a member of company E, of the First Mississippi cavalry. She had by him two children: Madora Tobitha and Mary V. Lynch. By her second hus- band, Hardy McGIaune, she had three children named Francis, Helen and George Washing- ton McGlaune. She and her husband removed to near Temple, Bell county, Tex., in 1878, where she died May 21, 1883. Dr. John Ragland Price, the fifth child and eldest son, was born September 16, 1839, and was educated at Sparta ac^emy in Calhoun county. Miss. He was third lieutenant of company E, of the First Mississippi cavalry, and was wounded in the knee at Abbeville, Miss., and is a cripple for life. He married Miss Maggie Duncan, a daughter of Dr. M. I. Duncan, of Sarepta. He is a high Mason, and was county treasurer of Calhoun county. Miss., in 1869 and 1870. After the war he sold goods at Pittsboro and at Banner. Later he took up the practice of medicine, and has devoted himself to it during the past eighteen years, and is regarded as one of the leading practitioners of the county. He has had nine children, two of whom are dead. The eldest two, William Duncan and John Washington, are twins, and were born November 30, 1864; the second is a daughter, named Minnie; the others are named James, Eddie, Dale,, Lou, Claude and Ruby. Dr. Price is the purchasing agent for the Alliance at Banner, Miss. One of his two sons, John Washington Price, is a candidate for county treasurer of Calhoun county. George Washington, the youngest of the family, was born July 9, 1842. To return to the gentleman whose history follows: He passed his early youth in the county of his birth, and received his education in the common schools, and in the academy at Sarepta, Calhoun county. Miss. In 1861, when there was a call for men to go to the defense of their country, he abandoned his private inter- ests, and enlisted in company K, of the Seventeenth Mississippi volunteer infantry, of Barks dale's brigade, for one year; he was soon made third sergeant; at the battle of Bull Run he acted as orderly sergeant, and at the battle of Yorktown he was made third lieutenant. He was soon promoted to be second lieutenant, and was finally made captain, but never received his commission on account of losing his right leg below the knee at Fredericksburg. He was wounded at the same time in the left foot, and was slightly wounded also at the bat- tle of Bull Run. He was afterward in many important engagements, and was again slightly wounded in the right thigh at the battle of Antietam, and in the battle of Fredericksburg. Of the twenty- eight men who were at the pontoon crossing below the market house, twenty- three were killed or wounded, he being one of the twenty-three, and receiving such serious wounds in the right leg and left foot that amputation was necessary, and, although the cap- taincy had been conferred upon him, he was unfit for the duties of the office. He had an arti- ficial limb made, and was able to take part later in several cavalry scouts, serving until the close of the war. The art of making artificial limbs has been brought to such perfection that Mr. Price has been enabled to supply the missing limb with such success that he suffers , little MEMOIRB OP MISSISSIPPI. 631 inconvenience. While he was in a crippled condition at Harrisburg, he captured two prison- ers and two horses by himself. After the close of the war he returned to Pontotoc county, but shortly went to Mem- phis, Tenn., where he engaged in the livestock business. After a time he came back to Pon- totoc county and embarked in the mercantile trade, and in 1866 formed a partnership with H. J. Ragland, his uncle, at Banner, Calhoun county, Miss. This relationship was ended by the death of Mr. Eagland in 1870. Mr. Price continued the business alone till 1873, at which time he came to Water Valley and formed a partnership with H. W. Rogers and A. Collum, the firm being known as Collum, Price & Rogers. Mr. Price retired and entered into busi- ness relations with Capt. W. A. Herring. Four years later the firm of G. W. Price & Co. was established, and did a large and successful business lentil the yellow-fever epidemic in 1878 swept over the South. After this a partnership was formed by Mr. Price with H. E. Wag- ner, who died. Four yejars later Capt. Z. D. Jinnings became a member of the firm, and Mr. Price finally sold his interest in the business to Z. D. Jinnings & Son. He then retired to his farm and followed agriculture for a time and merchandising at Belen, Quitman county, Miss, for two years. He then rented his land and returned to Water Valley, and in Febru- ary, 1890, established his present business. He carries a fine, fresh stock of general mer- chandise, and does a thriving business. Mr. Price was united in marriage to Prances Oregon Freeman, a daughter of Simeon Freeman, who was born in Jasper county, Ga., in 1808, and came to Mississippi in the early history of the state, and there reared a family of thirteen children. Mrs. Price grew up in Pontotoc county, and received her education at the academy of Sarepta, Calhoun county. Miss. She became the mother of five children: Guy Hartwell (aged sixteen years), Mary Ida (aged nine years), Frances C. (aged four years), Edgar E. (second child, who died at the age of fourteen years), and Elnora C. (first child, who died when but five months old). Mrs. Frances O. Price is a member of the Knights and Ladies of Honor. Mr. Price is a member of the A. O. U. W. , of the Knights of Honor, and of the Knights and Ladies of Honor. In his political opinions he adheres to the principles of the democratic party. He is now the nominee for county treasurer. Mrs. Price is an earnest member of the Presbyterian church. The family is one of the leading ones of the county, and its members have the respect and esteem of the entire community. Dr. J. J. Price is one of the prominent druggists of Clarksdale, and by his social and pleasing manners has built up a good trade and won a host of warm friends. He is the third of five children born to John J. and Sarah R. (Hunter) Price, his birth occurring in Alabama in 1844. The parents were natives of South Carolina, in which state their nuptials were celebrated, and in 1837 or 1838 they removed to Alabama, where the father was engaged in tilling the soil until his death in 1850. He was an officer of the county militia. The mother's death occurred in 1888. Both were members in good standing in the Methodist Episcopal church. J. J. Price attained his growth and received a good practical education in Alabama. In 1861 he came to Mississippi, settled at Enterprise, Clarke county, and early in 1862 entered the Confederate Military hospital at Enterprise as assistant druggist. There he remained until December, 1862, when he enlisted in Company B, Thirty- seventh Missis- sippi regiment infantry, and was in many of the most prominent engagements, from the battle of Resaca to Atlanta. For a time he was in the medical department, then in the ranks, and was with General Hood in his campaign in Tennessee, taking part in all those bat- tles — Franklin, Spring Hill, etc. He was at Greensboro, N. C, at the time of the surren- der. After this he went to Enterprise, followed farming until the fall, and then engaged in clerking, which he continued until 1872. He went from there to Augusta, Ark., and three 682 BIOORAPHIOAL AND HI8T0BI0AL years later embarked in business for himself as a merchant under the firm name of Price & Wise. In 1875 he sold out and came to Clarksdale to take charge of the mercantile business of John Clark. Eemaining with Mr. Clark until December, 1879, he then started his pres- ent drug business at Clarksdale. He erected a neat cottage residence a few years ago, and in 1889 erected his fine buaioess building and another brick store on Front street; he also owns a tract of timber land. Mr. Price was married in Hinds county. Miss. , in 1870, to Miss Bettie McEae, a native of that county, and the daughter of William McEae. Her mother's maiden name was Wells, and she was a descendant of an old and very prominent family. Mrs. Price is also related to Governor McEae. To Mr. and Mrs. Price have been born five children, two daughters living and three sons deceased. Those living are Maud and Blanche. Mr. Price was one of the organizers of the Clarksdale Bank and Trust company, and has been a member of the city council since the incorporation of Clarksdale, with the exception of one year. He is one of the promoters of all public enterprises in Clarksdale, Coahoma county. He is a member of the Knights of Honor and the Knights of Pythias orders. In addition to the complete stock of drugs that he carries, Mr. Price has toilet articles, paints, oils, glass, school books, and stationery. Melville C. Priddy, planter, owes his nativity to the state of Tennessee, his birth hav- ing occurred in Shelby county, October 10, 1838. He was the third of eight children born to his parents, John H. and Mariah A. (Priddy) Priddy, native Virginians. The father removed from his native state to Tennessee about 1830, and was a contractor and builder and a very fine architect of Shelby county for many years. Ip 1870 he removed to Memphis, where he is now residing at the age of seventy-seven years. He was left a widower in 1870, and four years later he married a Mrs. Smith of Memphis. The Priddys are of Scotch-Irish ancestry and were among the oldest and most prominent families of Virginia. The paternal grandfather, William Priddy, and the grandmother, whose maiden name was Crenshaw, were also natives of the Old Dominion. Melville C. Priddy was brought up in Memphis, but was educated in Macon, Tenn. At the age of thirteen years he became a salesman in a country store, where he remained three years, after which he went to Memphis and kept books for John C. Lonsdale for three years, subsequently becoming clerk on a steamboat plying on the Mississippi. He retained this position until the breaking out of the war when he, from New Orleans, enlisted in company H, Miles' Louisiana legion, and was at once made orderly sergeant. Soon after this he was promoted to sergeant major of his command and in the siege of Port Hudson received a slight wound. Being cut off from his command after the surrender of this place he joined Morton's Tennessee battery of Forrest's artillery and served until the war closed, participating in all the engagements of his company. He surren- dered at Gainesville, Ala., in May, 1865, and returned to Memphis, where he remained two years, after which he came to Coahoma county and began merchandising. Seven years later he went to Friar's Point and for four years held the office of chancery and circuit court clerk of the county, after which he entered the employ of the Mobile & Northwestern railroad company as bookkeeper and cashier, in which position he remained three years. He then filled a responsible and remunerative position in Helena, Ark., for six years, and in 1887 came to his present plantation, which contains two thousand three hundred and eighty-two acres, of which six hundred and fifty are under cultivation. All this property he has made through his own exertions, and although his early labors were severe he surmounted the many diffi.culties that strewed his pathway and in the various employments in which he has been engaged he has acquitted himself creditably. He is genial, hospitable, and pos- sesses a kind heart, and his intercourse with those around him has been very harmo- MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 623 nious and cordial. He was married in 1870 to Miss Emma Stothart, a native of Tennessee, but her death occurred three years later. In 1876 Mr. Priddy took for his second wife Miss Blanche Miles, of Mississippi, a daughter of William P. and Musidora (Alcorn) Miles, the mother being a sister of ex-Governor Alcorn. To Mr. and Mrs. Priddy one child has been born, Miles, who is attending school at Clarksdale, Miss. Mr. Priddy is a mem- ber of the Methodist Episcopal church, is a Mason and a member of the American Legion of Honor. His wife is a member of the Presbyterian church. Capt. John T. Priestly, planter, Canton, Miss. Captain Priestly's father, James Priestly, was born in Tennessee, and came to Mississippi in 1832, locating among the first settlers of Canton, the coimty seat of Madison county. He was quite a prominent physician, and min- istered to the physical wants of his fellow-men in that coimty until his death, in 1855, of yellow fever. He married Miss Susan Nelson, also a native of Tennessee, and her death occurred in 1890. His parents, John T. and Hannah Priestly, were natives of Tennessee, and the maternal grandfather, Bevily Nelson, was also born in that state. Of the seven children born to James and Susan Priestly, Capt. John T. was the third in order of birth. He was born in Madison county. Miss., April 3, 1840, and was educated in the Canton high school until 1857, when he took a commercial course in Gundrey's Commercial college, Cin- cinnati, Ohio, graduating the same year. He has figured quite prominently in the politics of the county, was sheriff from 1875 to 1881, and was an efficient officer. He is considered one of the leading citizens of Madison county. During the early portion of his life he fol- lowed merchandising, but failing health compelled him to retire to the farm, where he has resided since 1872. He is a planter, and, jointly with his wife, owns nineteen hundred acres of land, with nine hundred and fifty under cultivation. He also has some buildings in Can- ton valued at |3,000. Mr. Priestly was married, in 1868, to Miss Stella Shackleford, a native of Mississippi, and the daughter of Judge Thomas and Sarah T. (Moon) Shackleford, natives, respectively, of Mississippi and Tennessee. This union resulted in the birth of three chil- dren: Thomas S., Pauline and Sadie. During the Civil war, or in 1861, Mr. Priestly enlisted in company I, Tenth Mississippi regiment infantry, a volunteer company known as the Madi- son rifles, and served in the same until 1862, when the company was disbanded, the time of enlistment having expired. He then went to Virginia with Gen. S. D. French, and was with him until after the fall of Vicksburg. After this he joined a company known as Harvey's scouts, with which he remained until tlie war closed. He was in all of General Sherman's raids, and being with a scouting party was in many dangerous places. He was shot through the left lung while in the mountains of Georgia, and was disabled for duty for a short time. He was in active service at the time of the surrender. Mr. Priestly and family are members of the Episcopal church, and he has shown his appreciation of secret organizations by becom- ing a member of the Masonic fraternity. Knights of Honor and Knights of Pythias. He has ever been identified with the best interests of the county, and is held in high regard by his friends and neighbors. Francis M. Prince, the present sheriff of Kemper county, has for many years been promi- nently connected with the history of this section of country, and is deserving of a place in the record of Mississippi's loyal citizens. He was born at Jones' Bluff, Sumter county, Ala., September 25, 1835, and is a son of Eichard and Susan R. (Jackson) Prince. The father was born in Virginia in 1804, and was a son of John Prince; he removed with his father from Virginia to South Carolina at an early day, and there received his education in the common schools. In his . youth he determined to follow husbandry, and removed to Alabama, locating in Sumter coimty, where he became a prosperous planter. He was mar. 634 BIOGRAPHICAL AND HI8T0BI0AL ried in Barbour county, Ala., but resided in Sumter county until his' death, which occurred in 184r). He was a member of the Baptist church, and a stanch adherent to the principles of the ilemocratic party. He was a soldier in some of the Indian wars, and was once justice of the peace. The mother of our subject was born in Alabama in 1812, and was a daughter of Raudie Jackson; her family were from Georgia, but removed to Barbour county, Ala., at an early day. Richard Prince and wife were the parents of children named: Martha, Sophronia, Francis M., John R., William, Enos, Mary and Jefferson. The mother died in 1880. She belonged to the Baptist church. Francis M. grew to man's estate in his native county, and then removed with his mother and the rest of- the family to Noxubee county, Miss., where they settled on a farm. Just before the war he was married to Miss Sarah E. Coleman, a daughter of James Coleman, and a native of Sumter county, Ala. , born in 1837. Her father was a native of Georgia, and her mother was born in Alabama; both died in Mississippi. Mr. and Mrs. Prince have reared a family of three children: Maud, Ina and Ella. Maud married H. F. Weever, and Ella is the wife of J. J. Chetham. Mr. Priuce enlisted, in 1861, in company C, Third Mississippi volunteer infantry, and took part in many of the fiercest of battles; apiong them, Shiloh, Missionary Ridge, Chickamauga, Perryville, Murfreesboro and Franklin, but he was never taken prisoner. On coming home he engaged in agriculture, and in 1865 he removed to Kemper county, harvesting his first crop in 1866. He and his wife are both members of the Christian church. Politically he is a democrat. In 1878 he was elected justice of the peace, and again in 1889, the people of the county further showed the confidence which they repose in Mr. Prince by electing him sheriff of Kemper county. He has been a brave and most efficient official, and has been true to his convictions under all circumstances. He is a member of Summerville lodge No. 133, A. F. & A. M., and also belongs to the chapter. He is a member of the Farmers' Alliance. He has met with marked success in all his business undertakings, and especially in his farming; he owns about eleven hundred acres of land, and in view of the fact that he has accumulated his property solely through his own efforts, too much can not be said in praise of his excellent judgment and wise man- agement. One of the wealthiest planters of the state is Capt. W. Berry Prince, CarroUton, Miss. He was born in Jefferson county. Miss., September 26, 1826, and is a son of the Hon. W. Berry Prince. The father was a native Mississippi an, and a well-known planter of Washing- ton county. He was a member of the legislature ^at the time of his death, which occurred about the year 1830. Captain Prince passed his boyhood and youth in Washington county; he attended school at Alton, 111. , and at Frankfort, Ky. ; he finished his college course at Oakland college, Mississijipi, graduating in the class of 1849. In June, 1850, he was united in marriage to Miss Eliza K. Terry, a daughter of the Hon. William Terry, of Jefferson county. Mr. Terry afterward became a resident of Carroll county, and was one of the most successful planters within her borders, accumulating a large estate. Mrs. Prince was born near Rodney, Jefferson county. Miss., and is one of a family of three daughters: Mrs. Will- iam Helm is now deceased; Mrs. Sarah T., wife of Evan Jeffries, of Claiborne county, and Mrs. Prince. The mother of Captain Prince, after the death of her husband, was married a second time; her second union was with Mr. John A. Miller, of Greenville, Miss. He was a large planter, and left a fine estate. Mrs. Miller had four daughters by her second marriage. Captain Prince is the only son. Soon after his marriage he located in Carroll county, on Pine Bluff plantation. Before the war he was the second largest planter in the state of Mis- sissippi, but in 1862 he abandoned his private interests, and enlisted in the Confederate army. MEM0IR8 OF MISSISSIPPI. 625 He was made captain of a company, and served as a scout and home guard. At the close of the first year he was compelled to resign on account of failing health; after a short rest at home he took a number of his slaves and went to the Alabama Salt works, and manufactured salt for the Confederate army, remaining there until the close of the war. After the final surren- der he returned to his home in Carroll county, and again took up the pursuits of peace. He has devoted his time and attention exclusively to planting, and has been eminently success- ful. At this time he is one of the most extensive planters in the state, owning two planta- tions in Carroll county, one in Le Flore, and another in Washington county. Captain and Mrs. Prince have had born to them two children: Eobert Prince, and a daughter, Shelby, a young lady greatly beloved for her many fine traits of character. Captain Prince and family reside on the plantation adjoining the town of Carrollton; this place is well improved, having a large, two-story dwelling, and many modern conveniences. Mrs. Prince is a lady of aniiable disposition, and has won many warm friends. William B. Prince, grandfather of Eobert Prince, planter, Greenville, Miss., was one of the first settlers of Washington county, Miss., locating on Lake Washington, and was among the best known of the pioneers of that county. He acquired a good property, held numerous positions of trust and honor, and died at Clinton while on his way to the legislature at Jack- son, to represent his people in that body. He was a man of sterling qualities, and had the respect of all. His son, William B. (father of subject of this sketch), is a resident of Carroll county. Miss. , where he is well known and highly esteemed, and was a gallant ofScer in the Confederate army during the Civil war. He was married to Miss Eliza K. Terry, a native of Mississippi and daughter of Maj. William Terry, a man well and favorably known in cen- tral Mississippi. Kobert Prince, who was born to the above mentioned union, owes his nativity to Claiborne county. Miss., born March 26, 1851, and was reared on his father's plan- tation. He attended preparatory school at Dinwiddie Station, Va., and afterward entered Washington and Lee university, Virginia, where he remained two years. He subsequently attended the Western Military academy of Henry county, Ky., at that time presided over by Gen. Kirby Smith, where he completed the course. He then returned to Washington county. Miss., and has since been engaged in planting. He has always favored all enterprises of a laudable nature, is liberal and whole-souled, and a man who has a host of warm friends. He devotes his time and energy to his plantation, and is now the owner of twenty- two hundred acres of land, with twelve hundred under cultivation. He has farmed extensively and success- fully and is one of the leading men of Washington county. He now resides in Greenville, whither he lately moved in order to educate his children. Hon. R. N. Provine is a native-born resident of Calhoun county. Miss. , his birth occurring within a few rods of where he now lives, in 1840. His parents, Samuel and Elizabeth (Creek- more) Provine, were married and settled the above place in 1839. There the father resided until his death in 1846. He was born in Tennessee in 1808, and was the son of John Provine, a native of South Carolina, who moved from his native state to Tennessee, and was one of the founders of the Cumberland Presbyterian church. The latter died in the last named state at the age of seventy years, an honored and esteemed citizen. His family consisted of five children — four sons and one daughter — all of whom lived to be grown, but all now deceased with the exception of the youngest son, who is now living in Tennessee. The latter is a retired minister in the Cumberland Presbyterian church, and is one of its most noble and earnest workers. The father of our subject was the eldest member of this family and was reared in Teimessee. He came to Mississippi in about 1836, settled below Grenada, and there sold goods until coming to the above place at Cole's Creek. His marriage to Miss Creekmore 626 BIOORAPHIOAL AND HISTORICAL occurred after coming to this state. Mrs. Provine's father, Dr. Creekmore, was a native of North Carolina, but moved from that state to Tennesse and thence to Mississippi, where he was among the early settlers. The country was then in a wild and unbroken state, Indians were plentiful, and Dr. Creekmore, although often warned to leave the country, continued to reside there and practiced his profession until age prevented. He was a man universally respected, and was e\'er ready to extend a helping hand to all in distress. He was a liberal supporter of the church, and was in favor of all Christian denominations. He was strongly opposed to secret organizations, and was a man of more than ordinary intelligence. He was a soldier in the War of 1812, and for his services his second wife now draws a pension. He died in 1868, at the age of seventy-seven years, and was one of the county's best men. To ■ his first marriage were born ten children — five sons and five daughters — two of his sons being killed in the war, James M. , at Seven Pines, and Leonidas at a battle in Virginia. His daughter Elizabeth (Mrs. Provine), is also deceased. She was born in Tennessee in 1823, and died in the year 1866. She was a member of the Baptist church, and one of the most active and earnest workers in the same. Her father was married the second time to Miss McKelvy, of Mississippi, who is yet living on the old home place, settled by him in 1835. She is in her seventy-second year, is highly respected, and is a worthy member of the Baptist church. The remainder of the children by the Doctor's first marriage are: Hiram C, Will- liam E., H. C. (resides in Texas), Mrs. Nancy E. Martin (resides near the home place), Mrs. Sarah G. Simpson (near by), Mrs. Mary F. Bryant (resides at Grenada), Millinium (wife of Dr. West of Grenada), and Robert (who died at the home place after the war). After his marriage Mr. Provine resided on the home place, and carried on farming until his death, as above stated, in 1846. He was a member of the Baptist church. At his death he left a wife and four children, of whom R. N. is the eldest. John W. enlisted in the Forty-eighth Mis- sissippi regiment in the army of north Virginia, and was killed at the battle of Spottsylvania, Va. , on the 12th of May, 1864. Poster is a merchant of Coffeeville, Miss, (see sketch), and Nancy J. (wife of I. C. Steele) resides in Banner, Calhoun county. The mother continued to reside on the home place until 1857, when she was married to Mr. T. A. Mitchell, who located in Pittsboro, Miss., where they resided until the war, after which they returned to the home place in Calhoun county, and there she died soon after. Mr. Mitchell died in 1888. R. N. Provine passed his youthful days on the home place; and as he was but a boy six years old when his father died, a great prospective responsibility rested on his shoulders, he being the eldest child. He was married at the age of twenty years to Mrs. Nancy Goyen, a native of Alabama, in Pickens county, born 1840. She was left an orphan at an early age, was reared by her brothers and sisters, and received her education in the common schools. To Mr. and Mrs. Provine have been born nine children — eight sons and one daughter: J. Finley was edu- cated at Oxford university. Miss., and the Nashville university, and is now engaged in mer- chandising at Coffeeville, Miss; John W. is now in Germany, taking a special course in chemistry (in 1888 and 1889 he was assistant professor of chemistry at Oxford, Miss., where he was educated and where he was appointed to the position. He always stood at the head of his classes, and is an unusually bright young man) ; Robert F. also attended the University of Oxford, and is also well educated (he is now engaged in merchandising at Big Creek, Miss.); Charles graduated at Oxford in 1890, was well advanced in his classes, and is now taking law courses in Austin, Tex. ; George H. is in the junior class at Oxford; James M. is now in the sophomore year in the same institution; Edgar, in the preparatory depart- ment; Oscar T. is at home taking lessons under his brother, preparatory for the university; and Lizzie May, attending Lancaster Female college at Oxford. Mr. and Mrs. Provine are MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 627 rearing an orphan, Emma McMahan; though not taking their name she is treated in all respects as one of their own children. They have taken great pains to educate their family, and before sending their children away to school Mr. Provine erected a school building, employed a teacher, and had school ten months every year. This school he kept up until 1 890, making it free to all the poor of his neighborhood. He has been very successful as a planter and merchant, and assists liberally in all public enterprises for the good of the county. During the late war he enlisted in company P, Twenty-ninth Mississippi regiment volunteer infantry, and served from 1862 until the close of the war. He was in the battles of Murfrees- boro and Chickamauga, and was slightly wounded at the battle of Lookout Mountain, where he was captured. He was sent to Johnson's island, and there remained until the surrender. He was in command of a company all the time of his service, and held the commission of first lieutenant. When not in command of his company he was in command of some other, taking charge of a company of sharpshooters at one time. When peace was declared he left Johnson's island, returned to the home place, and met his wife and child, whom he had not seen since August, 1862. In speaking of it, Mr. Provine says, " That day was the hap- piest day of my life." After the war Mr. Provine had very little left, but eighty acres of land, and on this he laid the foundation of his present fortune. He is now the o\\ uer of four thousand five hundred acres of choice land, and has about fourteen hundred acres under cultivation, lying along Yalobusha river. This he has well stocked, and under a fine state of cultivation. In 1 868 he had one store at Cole's Creek, and an interest in one at Coffeeville, Miss. He is now one of the leading merchants of the county. Mrs. Provine and all her children are members of the Baptist church, and liberal supporters of the same. In politics Mr. Provine is a democrat, and represented Calhoun county. Miss., in the legislature in 1882 and 1883. L. F. Provine is the senior member of the firm of Provine Bros. & Co., Coffeeville Miss., and occupies a conspicuous position in the business circles of Yalobusha county, where he was born in 1844. He is a son of Samuel P. and Elizabeth (Creekmore) Provine, natives of Tennessee. The father was born in 1808, and was the son of John Provine, a native of Kentucky, who was a son of John Provine, a native of North Carolina. His father was also named John, and he emigrated from Ireland to America, although he was descended from a family of French Huguenots. The grandfather was a minister in the Cumberland Presby- terian church. He was married in Tennessee to Nancy Calhoun, whose family had been early settlers in that state. To them were born five children — four sons and one daughter. The father of our subject was the eldest child. He was reared near Lebanon, Tenn., and received his education in the common schools. He remained under the paternal roof until he was twenty-five years of age, and then came to Natchez, Miss. In 1837 he came to Yalo- busha county, and invested in lands. He was engaged in farming, and also dealt in real estate to a large extent, owning lands in Chickasaw and Calhoun counties. He was a stanch whig, and member of the Baptist church. His death occurred in 1846, in December. His wife was born in 1823, and was a daughter of Eobert W. Creekmore, an early settler of this county. He was born in Virginia in 1795, and was a soldier in the War of 1812. He came to Tennessee from Virginia, and was there married to Nancy McGowen, of Virginia. They settled in Tallahatchie county, Miss., and in 1835 they came to Yalobusha county, where they passed the remainder of their days. Mrs. Creekmore died in 1856. To them were bom ten children, all of whom lived to be grown. Mrs. Provine died in 1866. She was married a second time to Thomas A. Mitchell, of Mississippi, but no children were born of this union. The result of the first marriage was four children, all of whom lived to maturity: Eobert N. , 628 BIOORAPHIOAL AND HISTORIGAL a.partnor of the firm of Provine Bros. & Co., is a large planter iu Calhoun county, and a prominent citizen; John W., was killed in the battle of the Wilderness, Virginia, leaving a wife and two daughters; Nancy J., is the wife of I. C. Steele, and resides in Calhoun county; L. F., passed his youth in Calhoun and Yalobusha counties, and obtained his education in the common schools. In 1861, when there was a call for men to go to the defense of the country, he forsook all his private interests, and enlisted in company C, Blythe's battalion, which was afterward known as Blythe's regiment. The most important engagements in which he participated were Shiloh, Murfreesboro, and Missionary Ridge. He was flagbearer after the battle of Shiloh, and was in many skirmishes around Corinth. He was paroled in North Carolina, and then returned to Pittsboro, Calhoun county, where he engaged in the more peaceful pursuits of mercantile life. One year later he came to Coffeeville, remaining there until 1872. He then went back to Calhoun county, resuming the same business, and iu 1878 he came to Coffeeville again. The firm is one of the most substantial in the state, and does an annual business of 170,000. They pay cash for everything they buy, but never refuse credit to good men. Mr. Provine was married to Miss Ada P. Barker, a daughter of William and Isabella (Harris) Barker, natives of North Carolina. They came to Mississippi about the year 1 840, and there reared a family of six children, of whom Mrs. Provine is the youngest. Mr. and Mrs. Provine are the parents of ten children: Kate, Broxton B., Fin- ley, Pearl, Sallie M., Alline, Eobert F. and Frank P. The other two died in infancy. The parents are members of the Cumberland Presbyterian church, and are zealous, active workers. Mr. Provine is a member of the Knights of Honor. Politically he affiliates with the demo- cratic party. He is a typical Mississij)pi gentleman, has excellent business qualifications, and is in every way worthy of the high regard in which he is held. James W. Prowell belongs to that sturdy, honest and independent class, the planters of Mississippi. His plantation comprises four thousand four hundred acres, is very fertile, and is so carefully tilled that it yields a large annual income. Mr. Prowell was born in Richland county, S. C, April 5, 1817, a son of David R. and Rachel (Morris) Prowell, both of whom were born in the Palmetto state, and were of French descent. James W. Prowell and his brother William resided in the state of their birth until the spring of 1832, when they came to Lowndes county, Miss., settling on a tract of land of which about two acres had been cleared by the Indians, the Choctaws. The following spring the father, David R. Prowell, removed to Lowndes county, Miss. , with his family and, preempted one hundred and sixty acres of land at $1.25 per acre, which is now in possession of his son, James W. The grandfather was a soldier in the Revolutionary war, and died in the state of South Car- olina. The father resided in his adopted state for only two years, and on a visit to his brother in Tennessee was taken with cholera, and died in 1835. He was a soldier in the War of 1812; his wife then received a land warrant, which is still in the possession of her son, James W. His widow survived until 1872, when she was called from earth. James W. Prowell was educated in the schools of Plymouth, and afterward finished his knowledge of books in La Grange college, Alabama. In 1842 he was married to Miss Catherine, daughter of Joseph and Louisa Caldwell, natives of Virginia. His wife died in 1851, having borne him five children: Virginia, William, Eliza, Joseph and John. J. Mr. Prowell's second mar- riage took place in 1855, Miss Mary Madry becoming his wife. They have three children: Edward, Mary and James. Mr. Prowell is a member of the A. F. & A. M., of which order he has been a member for forty years, is a democrat politically, and is the oldest settler of the county. It was but natural, perhaps, when starting out in life for himself, that James T. Pryor, MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 639 of Slate Spring, Miss., should select planting as his chosen occupation for life, for his father, Samuel O., and both his paternal and maternal grandfathers followed that calling all their lives. The father was born in Tennessee in 1811, and when but a boy went with his parents to Tuscaloosa county, Ala., where he grew to manhood. There he met and married Miss Tnity Fox, a native of Tennessee, born in 1810. and who also removed to Alabama with her parents when young. After marriage, or in 1836, they came to Choctaw, now Webster county, and settled in the woods on Lindsey's creek, where they improved a good farm and there passed the remainder of their days, the mother dying in 1855 and the father in 1859. Both were members of the Missionary Baptist church for many years. The grandfather, Joseph Pryor, was probably born in Kentucky, but was married in Tennessee, and at iin early day went to Tuscaloosa county, Ala., where his death occurred. He was of Scotch- Irish descent. Grandfather Henry Fox also removed from Tennessee to Tuscaloosa county, Ala., and in 1835 came to Choctaw county, now Webster county, where he also received his final summons. He was one of the very first settlers of this vicinity, James T. Pryor is the sixth of seven sons and seven daughters, all of whom' are living but two. Four of the sons served in the Confederate army, viz.: James T. (subject); Joseph, enlisted in the Fif- teenth Mississijjpi infantry, was captured at Fishing creek, and was in prison at Fort Dela- ware for about eight months (after this he was captured again at Atlanta, Ga., and was in prison until the close); Jacob D., served in company K, Fifteenth Mississippi infantry, until the fall of Vicksburg, after which he was in the Third Mississippi of Forrest's cavalry until the close (he was a member of the board of supervisors two years, and then, from 1866 to 1890 he was sheriff of Webster county) ; John was in General Forrest's cavalry for two years. James T. Pryor was born in Tuscaloosa county, Ala., in 1836, but was reared on a farm in the wilds of Choctaw county. He received a limited common-school education and when eighteen years of age began for himself as a farmer. He was married in 1857 to Miss Mary J., daughter of Alex. B. and Isabell H McKee, who came from Alabama to what is now Webster county, Miss., in 1839, and there passed the remainder of their days, the father dying in 1859 and the mother after the war. Both were members of the Missionary Baptist church. He was a wealthy planter and was justice of the peace for many years. Mrs. Pryor was born in Choctaw, now Webster county. Miss., and by her marriage became the mother of eight children, six now living: Belle, wife of J. B. Spencer, a merchant of Slate Springs; James, a merchant ot Grenada; Alonzo, farmer and merchant with his father; Cora, wife of Prof. W. J. Taylor, a teacher of Winona; Min- nie and Samuel Tilden. Mr. Pryor lived on the old farm until the father's death, and then settled on Sabougla creek, where he remained until 1870. He then removed to Slate Spring, and has resided alternately there and on his farm ever since. He owns six hundred acres with three hundred acres cleared, and has improved it all since 1873, at which time he settled in the woods. All this he has accomplished by his own exertions. Since 1871 he has also been engaged in merchandising at Slate Spring, Grenada and Duck Hill respectively, the present firm being Spencer & Pryor. They do an annual business of about $6,000. In 1861 Mr. Pryor joined company G, Forty-second Mississippi infantry, and served in the army of Vir- ginia until the close. He was on provost duty at Richmond for a long time, and the first general engagement was at Gettysburg. After this he was in the battle of Falling Water, Wilderness, Spottsylvania, and around Richmond and Petersburg. After this he obtained a furlough and came home. He was captured soon after the battle of Gettysburg, but was soon after released. He was also wounded in the first day's fight at Gettysbui'g, and after the war he returned to his family. He filled the office of justice of the peace for a number 630 BIOGBAPHIOAL AND HISTORICAL of years, and has been junior and Heiiior warden of the Masonic fraternity, Slate Spring lodge. He and wife and family are members of the Missionary Baptist church. Mr. Pryor is one of the most energetic, thoroughgoing planters of Webster county, is strictly honest and is well and favorably known. He is giving his children good advantages for au education. James Pryor, of the firm of James Pryor & Co., dealers in dry goods, groceries, millinery, etc., at Grenada, although young in years is one of the wideawake, thorough- going business men of the town. He was born in Calhoun county. Miss., in 1862, and is a son of James T. and Mary J. (McKee) Pryor, natives respectively of Alabama and Mississippi. When young the elder Pryor came with his parents to Mississippi, and after growing up was married in Choctaw county, where he resided until 1890. He then removed to Winona and is now retired from the active duties of life. He is one of the prominent farmers and has also been engaged in merchandising for many years. He lost a handsome property during the war and was obliged to start anew. He was all through the war in the Virginia army, and served in a creditable manner as a private. After the war he began at the bottom of the ladder, but has been very successful and is probably worth 150,000. He is the owner of about six hundred acres, producing about one hundred and fifty bales of cotton per year, and has everything convenient and comfortable about his place. He has been a member of the Masonic fraternity for a good many years. His father, Samuel O. Pryor, came from the Old Dominion to Mississippi many years ago, was a planter, and died before our subject was born. Mr. and Mrs. Pryor have been prominent Baptists for many years. Their family consisted of eight children, six now living, named in the order of their births as fol- lows: Belle (wife of J. B. Spencer of Slate Spring, Miss.), James, Alonzo, Cora (wife of William J. Taylor, of Winona), Minnie and Tilden. James attended the public schools until sixteen years of age and then began business for himself at Slate Spring, where he continued for four years. After this he was at Duck Hill for two years, and in 1886 he came to Grenada, where he was engaged in business for the same length of time. He was subsequently book- keeper for E. Cahn & Co. for some time, and on the 1st of January, 1891, the firm of James Pryor & Co. was established. Honest in his dealings and representations Mr. Pryor merits the esteem with which he is regarded. He is sole proprietor of the Grenada Saddlery com- pany, which does an annual business of about $5,000. He is a stockholder in the Grenada bank and of the Building and Loan association. He was married in 1882 to Miss Jimmie McCord, a native of Calhoun county, Miss., and the daughter of James and Angie McCord, natives of Calhoun county also. Mr. McCord was killed in the early part of the war, while in service at Water Valley. His father, T. K. McCord, was a native Scotchman, who came to Mississippi at an early day and died in Greenwood, Miss. To Mr. and Mrs. Pryor have been born four children. Mrs. Pryor's maternal grandfather, William Cook, who was of Irish descent, at an early day settled in Calhoun county, where he still resides. He is about eighty- two years of age and is a wealthy planter. Mr. Pryor is a member of Grenada lodge. Independent Order of Odd Fellows, No. 6, and he and wife hold membership in the Baptist church. James C. Purnell, president of the Citizens' bank at Winona, is a native born resident of Carroll, now Montgomery county. Miss., and was born March 17, 1847. He is the son of M. T. and Eunice E. W. (Read) Purnell, natives of the Old North state. His father was born in 1801, and his mother in 1809. M. T. Purnell was a man of fair business education, who carried on a merchandise business in connection with extensive planting. He moved West at an early day, and first located in west Tennessee, removing in 1839 to Carroll county. Miss. Mrs. Purnell died December 15, 1848. Her husband did not long survive her, dying August MEMOIRS OF MI8SISSIFPL 631 26, 1849. He left a goodly estate in land and negro slaves to his five surviving children. The war swept away most of this property before the subject of this sketch had reached his majority. The five children were: M. T. Purnell, Jr., who died December 3, 1862, leaving no children; M. A. Purnell, who died September, 1866, leaving two boys: W. A. Purnell and M. A. Purnell; Elizabeth Helen, who married Capt. E. E. Foltz, a sketch of whom appears in this work; Eliza E., who is the wife of Capt. B. W. Sturdivant, of Tallahatchie county, and James C. Purnell, the youngest, the subject of this sketch. The three latter are the only survivors of the family at this date. Left an orphan at an early age, James C. Purnell grew to manhood in his native county, and received a fair education at Salem and Oxford, N. C. After completing his studies, and at the close of the war, he returned to Carroll county, and engaged in planting near Vaiden. May 24, 1870, he was married to Miss Jennie B. Hawkins, daughter of Maj. Frank Hawkins, a sketch of whom appears in this history. She was born and reared in Carroll county, but was educated at Jackson and Memphis, Tenn. In 1871 Mr. Purnell moved to Winona, and entered merchandise, in partnership with Joe C. Kittrell, the firm being Kittrell & Purnell, doing a successful business for three years. Mr. Purnell then formed a partnership with his brother-in-law, Frank Hawkins, Jr., under the firm name of Purnell & Hawkins. They carried on business successfully from 1874 till 1888, when they were burned out. They carried a large stock of general merchandise, and did a large fur- nishing business. After being burned out, the firm formed a private banking company, and engaged in banking. In September, 1890, a stock company was formed, and the Citizens' bank organized, when Mr. J. C. Purnell was made president; T. H. Somerville, vice president, and Frank Hawkins, Jr. , cashier. Mr. J. C. Purnell is one of the enterprising business men of Winona, and is connected with a number of public enterprises. He was a town alderman for some years, president of the board of trade, and also of the Winona Land and Improve- ment company. He was the originator and first president of the Winona Warehouse com- pany. Success has crowned all his various enterprises. Mr. and Mrs. Purnell have had eight children: Frank M., Mary H., Jennie H., James C, Jr., Anna E., Eunice Read, Ehesa H. and Eunice Elizabeth. Eunice Read died in August, 1884. Mr. Purnell is a member of the Episcopal church, of which he is junior warden, and also past master in the Masonic fraternity. 682 BlOORAPEIOAL AMD RISTORIOAL @HAPTBP^ XUII. MEMOIRS OF A FEW FAMILIES, Q. H. Quin, M. D., McComb City, Pike county, Miss. Peter Quin, Sr. , grand- father of the subject of this sketch, came to Mississippi from Spartanville, S. C. B .^ Jl~^ in 1808, and settled on Tangipahoe. In 1812 he laid out the town of Holmesville, Pike county. Miss., as it now stands. He acted as governor of Mississippi territory for a short time. He was made a member of the convention that framed the first constitution of Mississippi. He had four sons, Daniel, Kichard, Henry and Peter, and one daughter, Nancy. Dr. D. H. Quin is a descendant of his second son, Richard Quinn, who was a farmer by occupation. During his long life he was almost always connected with public duties. The Doctor was born February 16, 1821. At the age of fifteen he went to Kenyon college, Ohio, and finished his literary education there, and thence to Philadelphia, and finished his medical education in the Pennsylvania university. He was a physician in the hospital for two years, and graduated in the session of 1845 and 1846. He was married in 1848 to Mary F. Bickham. By this marriage were born two sons and two daughters; James and Oliver being the sons. O. B. Quin is now a physician and practitioner in McComb City, Miss. After the death of his first wife, the Doctor, in 1860, was married to Nannie Elezay, who died a short while after without issue. In the fall of 1864 he was married to Anna Beattie Long. They have two sons, Hillary and Richard. Hillary, the eldest, is a graduate of Mississippi university, Oxford, and now a professor at Fayette, Miss. Richard is yet young and unmatured. Judge H. Murray Quin is among the pioneer families of Pike county, and among the more prominent in all its history this family has always taken superior rank. Col. Peter Quin, his father, who came to Pike county about 1813 and settled near where the town of Holmesville now is, was a native of South Carolina, having been born in York district of that state in 1787. He was reared and educated there and married Martha Moore, a native of North Carolina, and born and reared in Rutherford county. She was born in 1794. Soon after his marriage Mr. Quin emigrated to Mississippi, locating in the territory now embraced in the county of Pike. He assisted in the organization of the county and gave land at Holmesville upon which was erected the first county building, and at the first county election he was elected to represent the county in the legislature. He served also as a delegate from Pike county to the constitutional convention. Through all his active life he was one of the most prominent and useful citizens of the county. He died in 1839, his widow surviving him till 1864. Of the children of these worthy pioneers. Judge H. M. Quin is probably the best known. Mrs. S. A. Nicholson, widow of Dr. George Nicholson, is his eldest daughter; L. J. Quin, of McComb City, is also well known ; he was sheriff of the county several years ; Mrs. Louisa Bosworth, another daughter, is now dead; Dr. Irvin M. Quin, formerly of Bran- MEMOIRS OF MiaaiaSIPPI. 633 don, was state senator from Kankin and Scott counties for eight years, and died at Areola, in Sunflower county, in 1887, and was a prominent man in his day; Mi-s. G. M. Leland, widow of Dr. L. C. Leland, late of Panola, resides at Holmesville; Col. Peter C. Quin, deceased, was state senator, representing Pike and Lawrence counties for four years; Capt. Josephus R. Qiiin, a prosperous merchant in Summit, was killed at the battle of Harrisburg, Ky. , in 1864; DeWitt C. Quin, the youngest son, represented Pike county in the legislature, and died while a member of that body; Mrs. C. M. Wallace, another daughter, who became the wife of Dr. Jesse Wallace, died in New York. Judge Quin's younger days were passed upon his father's plantation, and it was in the common schools of his neighborhood that his education was begun ; later he was a student for one year at Oakland college, afterward reading law at Holmesville, and being admitted to the bar in 1840, though he did not engage in the practice of his profession for several years thereafter, being in that year elected treasurer of Pike county, and serving in that capacity for four years. He was next elected, in 1845, to the office of circuit clerk; later, in 1846, he was elected to the office of clerk of the probate court and continued in that position as clerk of both circuit and probate courts for ten years, until his election as probate judge, in which office he served for eight years. After his retire- ment from office he contmued his practice of law until 1871, when he became mayor of the town of Summit, since which time he has lived retired from active labor, devoting his atten- tion to planting with much success. He first had as a partner in his law practice Judge Hurst, late judge of the supreme court, but later he became connected with Col. T. R. Stock- dale, present member of congi'ess, and later Judge H. Cassidy, Sr. , also became a partner in said law firm. Excepting when the incumbent of some office, he was in the active practice of his profession from 1842 to 1871, a period of nearly thirty years. Prior to the war he became the owner of considerable property, including quite a number of slaves, but, in com - mon with the rest of his friends and business associates of the South, he lost heavily as a consequence of the struggle. During the last twelve years he has served as justice of the peace, and he was one of the supervisors of the State Lunatic asylum, appointed by Governor Humphreys, serving in that capacity for six years. He was married September 1, 1842, to Miss Delilah Bearden, a daughter of Jeremiah Bearden, late of Pike county. Mrs. Quin, who was a native of this county, died in 1866, having left her husband five children: Dr. L. M. Quin, of Holmesville; Emma E., wife of L. W. Connerly, of Baton Rouge, La. ; Wallace W., a farmer near Summit; George M. (now dead), and Lulu, who married Charles H. Rowan, and living at Point Pleasant, La. In May, 1867, Judge Quin married Miss Nannie Sumrall (his second wife), a daughter of Henry Sumrall, of Copiah county, by whom he had two children: Henry N. , a bright young man of nineteen, who graduated from Jackson Commer- cial college in 1890, and is now a bookkeeper at Poplarville, Miss. , and Ina M. , who has recently graduated at Edward McGehee's college at Woodville. Judge Quin has been a Mason since 1848, and has been a Royal Arch Mason since 1855; is a member of the Holmes- ville lodge, A F. & A. M. , is a member of the consistory of the Scottish Rites Masons, having taken eighteen degrees, and for the past thirty years has been a member of the Meth- odist Episcopal Church South. As a politician, he was a leader of the old whig party in his county, and after the late war he allied himself with the democratic party. He has occupied public positions in his county for fifty years and discharged his duties in all with such con- summate ability as to gain unusual esteem and the confidence of his constituents. 634 BIOQRAPHIOAL AND HISTORIGAL (SHAPTBr^ xyiii. OTHER PROMINENT PERSONS, R. C. Radgesky, merchant, Gunnison, Miss., a live, energetic business man, is a native of Europe, and when but a child four years of age came with his parents to the United States. They landed at New Bedford, Mass., in 1859. His father, Joseph Rad- gesky, upon coming to this country, first located in Mississippi, was one of the first settlers of Greenville, and was, it is believed, the third merchant at that place; and the fire in Greenville in 1875 or 1876 burned him out. He died there of yellow fever during the epi- demic of 1878. In 1870 J. C. Radgesky embarked in business for himself at Concordia of this state, was very successful, and in 1872 and 1873 went to South Bend, Ark., where he opened a branch store on the Arkansas river in partnership with Clay Rice, then sherifF of Lincoln county, who died in 1873, when Mr. Radgesky returned to Concordia. Recognizing the advantages of Gunnison he located there in 1890, soon after the establishment of the station, and was the second to start business enterprises there. It is worthy of note that the business element of Gunnison is made up mostly of merchants and citizens of Concordia. There Mr. Ragdesky has invested in considerable property and has erected seven buildings, which he rents, and is completing a number more. In the winter of 1890 and 1891 he erected the first building at the station of Round Lake and now has a business interest there. He is also expecting to build on property in Rosedale. He has been rather active in politics and served as alderman of Concordia for three terms, filling that position in a creditable and satisfactory manner. The ancestors of Samuel E. Ragland, planter. Delay, Miss. , were originally from Wales, his grandfather having emigrated from that country to the United States with his parents when but an infant. His father, Pettis Ragland, was born in Hanover county, Va. , about 1768 and followed tilling the soil and teaching school during his lifetime. He was a popular man and was ever ready with his time and means to assist in all enterprises pertain- ing to the welfare of his county. He was married to Miss Martha Carter, a native of North Carolina and a woman of marked intelligence and refinement. She was the daughter of Phillip Carter, who was an honorable and upright citizen and who served during the Revolu- tionary war. Samuel E. Ragland, who has Virginia blood in his veins, was born in Halifax county of that state on July 6, 1811, and was the eldest of seven children born to Pettis and Martha (Carter) Ragland. He had limited educational advantages during youth, but by observation and contact with the world he has become a well-informed man. At the age of seventeen, he began fighting life's battles for himself and located in Monroe county, W. Va. , where he remained until 1832, when he located at Lynchburg. While a resident of that MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 635 town he was engaged in the stage business, which he followed until 1835. While thus employed, he was elected to convey President Jackson's famous message of the nullification of South Carolina. This he accomplished Buccessfully, making the distance of eighty miles in one night's ride. While a resident of Lynchburg he was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth K. Hobson, and in 1836 they moved to Lafayette county, Miss. There Mr. Eag- land was employed as manager and overseer on some of the most extensive plantations in the county, and in every instance his success was almost phenomenal, being commented on far and near. Besides this, he conducted a plantation of his own. When the war broke out he had charge of the big plantation of the Price heirs on the Yocona river in Lafayette county. There was his power and ability as an overseer and manager brought into full play. Not a single slave escaped that was in his charge, and he made a note of all the property carried away by the Union troops, the heirs being thereby enabled to collect damages from the government for the amount lost. By his efforts the county records were saved, as he had them boxed, and with two of his own teams hauled them home, a distance of fourteen miles, where he concealed and saved them. His wife died in 1866 leaving a family of five children, three of whom are still living. In 1870 he married Mrs. Elizabeth M. Hobson, who bore him one son, S. E. Kagland, Jr. Mr. Eagland is extensively engaged in farming, owns about three thousand acres of land and raises a good grade of horses, cattle, hogs and sheep. Although eighty years of age he is still active and energetic. He is of medium size and has a pair of keen black eyes. He is a man noted far and near for his bravery and nerve, and when he once undertook a task he kept steadily at it until it was accomplished. In reviewing the lives of men, their abilities and attainments, we observe a marked difference in ages at which success is reached. To some it comes in early life, to others, not until the decline of life, and to some it is denied altogether. So that it is with pleasure we record the history of a man to whom many of the good things of the world have come within his first three-score years. William A. Ragsdale was born in Grenada, Miss., February 24, 1860, and is a son of George W. Ragsdale, who was born in Pickensville, Ala., about the year 1821. William Ragsdale, the father of George W., was also a native of Alabama, of Scottish ancestry. George W. grew to manhood in his native state, and received his educa- tion there. He came to Mississippi in 1841, and located at Grenada, where he became interested in a flouringmill; he continued in this business until after the late Civil war, and is now the owner of several large sawmills, being one of the heaviest lumber dealers in the state. His residence is at Macomb, Miss. William A. Ragsdale is one of a family of six children — four sons and two daughters. He spent his youth in his native town, attending the common schools, where he acquired a fair education. After leaving school he went to Mobile, Ala., where he entered the machine shops, and thoroughly mastered the machinist's trade. For several years he followed this business, and then went on the road as traveling salesman for an Eastern manufacturing company located at Chambersburg, Penn. He remained in the employ of this firm for three years, his territory being Mississippi. In 1890 he resigned this position, and established himself in business at Greenwood, Le Flore county, Miss. ; he erected a large brick store, and placed a most complete stock of hardware on sale there. His early training in the machine shops and his later experience in handling these goods have fitted him for the work he has taken up, so that we anticipate for him a more than ordinarily pros- perous future. He has also built and fully equipped an extensive foundry and machine shop, where any work in the line of casting and machine repairs can be done in the best style. Greenwood is greatly indebted to Mr. Ragsdale for this, one of the leading enterprises. NN 636 BIOGRAPHICAL AND HI8T0RIGAL Although he began life without means, he has accumulated a handsome property, and has come to be recognized as one of the most substantial business men of the community. He was married in Grenada, Miss., November 18, 1882, to Miss Mary Wright, daughter of P. S. Wright, of Grenada. Mrs. Ragsdale was born, reared, and educated in Grenada. Two children have been born of this marriage: Emma, died at the age of four years in 1888; Mary, aged three years, survives. The parents are worthy members of the Methodist Epis- copal church. Mr. Eagsdale is an active leader in the Knights of Pythias lodge. Wilber Eisk Eainey is a prominent and influential planter of Coahoma county. Miss., but was born near Atlanta, Ga. , March 12, 1848, being the eighth of eleven children born to Isom S. and Mary E. (Bell) Rainey, natives of North Carolina and Georgia, respectively. Isom S. Kainey came to Mississippi in 1848 and located in Monroe county, where he engaged in planting and merchandising, being very wealthy at the breaking out of the war. He took a prominent part in the political affairs of his section, and served two terms in the state legislature, acquitting himself with great credit. He died in 1872, his widow surviving him until 1882. The maternal grandfather, General Bell, was an eminent and distinguished politician and lawyer. Wilber Pisk Eainey was reared to manhood in Clay county, Miss., and received his literary education in the high school of West Point. After leaving school he sold goods in a mercantile establishment for seven years, at the end of which time he began planting and merchandising on his own account, and has continued in this business very successfully ever since. He began life for himself with |285 and by his own exertions has accumulated property, including one thousand acres of land, about four hundred acres of which he opened and improved himself; he also is a stockholder in the oil mills at Priar's Point. He is one of the most substantial of citizens, for he is public- spirited and enterpris- ing. He is, a true and steadfast friend, and has won the respect and esteem of all who know him ; he takes great interest in church work, and is especially interested in the moral training of the young of the community. He is affable and agreeable in manners, and is very chari- tably inclined toward all his fellow creatures. As a planter he is systematic and thorough, and everything about his buildings and grounds shows neatness and order at once commendable and worthy of emulation. He is courteous.and accommodating, and cheerfully and willingly extends the right hand of fellowship to those less fortunate than himself, and sends no one hungry from his door. Ho was married December 5, 1872, to Miss Mollie C. Brady, a native of this state, and a daughler of John and Mary Brady, native Tennesseeans, her father being a Confederate soldier during the Rebellion, dying in the service. Mr. Rainey and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, and he is a member of the American Legion of Honor, and the K. of P. He has held a number of offices of trust in this county, and in every instance proved a faithful and competent official. Of his brothers, William E., Thomas E., Preston, S. K. and A. Rainey were all members of the Confederate army, the first named dying during the service in Virginia. Preston was wounded at the battle of Corinth, but survived it. Thomas J. Ramsey, a well-known planter of Copiah county, was a native or Jasper county, Ga., where he was born in 1819. He is the son of Noah and Elizabeth Ramsey, both natives of Georgia, his father having been born in 1764, and his mother in 1784, both of whom lived to be eighty-six years old, and both died in the same house in Copiah county. In his youth Mr. Noah Ramsey served hi.s apprenticeship at the saddler's trade, at which he worked during his earlier days. In 1822 he moved to Lawrence county. Miss. , where he located on a farm, which he cultivated, also working at his trade. He was the son of William Ramsey, one of the noble heroes who fought in the Revolutionary war under General Han- MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 637 cock. He married Elizabeth Deering, the daughter of William and Elizabeth Deering, of Georgia. Thomas J. Ramsey came to Mississippi with his parents at about the age of three years, and lived with them in Lawrence county until 1838, and then they moved to Copiah county, locating on the farm upon which he now lives. He was married in 1850 to Rebecca Womack, of Copiah county, a daughter of Jacob and Hezekiah Womaek. To them have been born eighteen children — nine girls and nine boys — named as follows, fifteen of whom are yet living: Louzeuberg B. ; Melville; Emma; Silas; Anslum; J. Leonidas; Adela, deceased; Mattie; Joan; John W. ; Cora, deceased; Jasper, deceased; Elizabeth; Lula; Simeon D. ; Belle; Thomas; Rebecca. In 1847 he entered the Mexican war, enlisting in company B, First battalion of the Mississippi rifles, and served during the war. He was one of those veterans of that war who entered the Confederate army in the war of secession. In 1861 he enlisted in company B, of the Sixth Mississippi regiment, commanded by Colonel Thornton, of which he was first lieutenant, serving continuously until 1865. On account of the illness of his captain, he took command of the company a great portion of the time. Among the several engagements in which he took part were those of Harrisburg and Shiloh. Mr. Ramsey has been a member of the Masonic order since 1851, when he united with the Quitman lodge. In after years he became a Royal Arch Mason at Hazlehurst. He served four years as a member of the board of supervisors of this county. He and his wife are both worthy mem- bers of the Baptist church. Mr. Ramsey is a successful planter, and has property which is considered amongst the finest in this part of the state. His record as a business man and citizen is such that he commands the respect of the best people of this and surrounding couhties. L. Randall, one of the most prosperous and influential business men of Moss Point, Jackson county, was born in New England, in the town of Richmond, N. H. , April 17, 1810. He was reared on a farm, attending school two or three months of the year, and spending the remainder of his time in the duties that usually fall to the lot of the boys on a farm. At the age of seventeen years he went to Boston, Mass., and was employed there in a hotel two or three years. Early in the thirties he removed to New Orleans, making the trip on a schooner. He secured a situation in a cookery house which he filled three years. In 1835, to escape the yellow fever, he came from New Orleans to ^Vest Pascagoula, Miss., and stopped at the MeCrea house, which was then owned by Governor McCrea, and was a very popular hotel. Later, he went to Mobile, Ala., and was clerk in the Mansion house, of which Charles Cullom, a man widely known throughout the South, was proprietor. In the year 1840, Mr. Randall's friends, in the spirit of a joke, brought out his name as a candidate for the legislature against a prominent opponent. Greatly to the surprise of every one, he was elected by a large majority. He now declares that he knew nothing, and should have been on the farm, but he served through the session with much credit to himself. In 1847 he was elected sheriff of Jackson county, and held the office six years. These two offices are the only public positions he has held, or for which his name was ever offered. He was a member of the senatorial convention when Jefferson Davis made his first political speech. Mr. Randall was for some time a manufacturer of shingles at Scranton, Miss., and he has been in the mercantile and milling and steamboating business for many years. He is one of the old residents of Jackson county, and has witnessed many changes in the people and their surroundings. He has met with many ups and downs in his career, but with a buoy- ancy and courage characteristic of him he has risen to the top, and has made a success of every undertaking to which he has given his attention. He was married in 1842 to Miss I. M. Delmas, of Pascagoula, by whom he has had ten children. 638 BIOGRAPHICAL AND HI8T0BI0AL William F. Randolph was born in Virginia, December 7, 1832. His father, Robert Lee Randolph, was a native of Fauquier county, Va. , and his grandfather, Robert Randolph, was a captain of cavalry in the Revolutionary war, and was captured by the celebrated Colonel Tarleton, and sent to England as a prisoner of war. This family are related to John Ran- dolph of Roanoke. They are also related to the celebrated Lee family of Virginia, our Robert Lee Randolph being a first cousin of Gen. Robert E. Lee. The history of these two distinguished families is, in a sense, the history of this great country. Mr. Randolph's mother was Mary Magill, a daughter of Col. Charles Magill, who was an aid to Gen George Washington and General Gates. He was wounded at Cowpens, when the colonial army was so badly defeated. The Magills were among the best known people of the Old Dominion. Our subject's parents always resided in Virginia, on the old home plantation — Eastern View — which was in the family many years, and is now owned by Alfred M. Randolph, a brother of William F., and bishop of Virginia in the Episcopal church. Robert Lee Randolph and wife had four sons and one daughter. They were: William F., Alfred M., Beverly R., Buckner N. and Mary M. , wife of Edward C. Turner, of Fauquier county, Va. All these children are residents of Virginia except William F., and are people of prominence and respectability. Buckner M. served with distinction in the Confederate army during the late war. William F. was reared upon the old plantation in Virginia. His education up to the time he was eighteen was acquired under private teachers at home, but was very thorough and practical. A short time after reaching his eighteenth year the gold fever was at its hight in California, and our young Randolph gained his father's consent and made the trip to that Eldorado via Panama. He mined there with varying success for five years, and in 1855 returned to his old home in Virginia. The next year he came to Mississippi and located on Deer creek, in Washington county. He brought with him thirty or forty negroes, given to him by his father, and from the time he came to the state to the breaking out of the war he was a prosperous and prominent planter. On learning of the secession of Virginia he returned to his native state, joined the Sixteenth Virginia cavalry, as a private, and served four years, until after the Valley campaign against General Banks, and after that he was captain of a company he had recruited, and which was placed with General Ewell as a body guard. He served with him until at the second battle of Manassas General Ewell was severely wounded, when the company was sent to Gen. T. J. Jackson, celebrated in history as Stonewall Jack- son, to serve in like capacity. Sixteen men under the command of Captain Randolph con- stituted the guard on the night on which he received the wound that, with pneumonia, was the cause of his death. The loss of this gallant soldier was the dire result of a mistake incident to a panic among some raw North Carolina troops belonging to Lane's brigade. Of the sixteen men who were the escort only Captain Randolph escaped, every one of them having been killed or mortally wounded, and he escaped only by spurring his horse right through the column, amid a galling fire. Captain Randolph saw much hardship and much active service, and was a gallant iind intrepid officer. One of the tenderest chords of his nature is touched when he speaks of and recalls the death of his beloved commander. A short time after the battle of Getlysbiirg, Penn., he was captured, and held a prisoner of war at Johnson's island until the close of the war. When he returned to Mississippi he found his slaves gone and his plantation devastated. He was united in marriage with Miss Nannie B. Carter, a native of Mississippi, and a daughter of Alfred G. Carter, one of the early settlers of Washington county, Miss., and a descendant of an old and respected Virginian family. By this union he has four children: Eleanor C, Alfred G., Hebe G. and Nannie B. Mr. Randolph's plantation consists of six thousand acres of land, two thousand acres of MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 639 which are under a high state of cultivation. He has devoted his time to planting since he came to Mississippi with such success that he ranks among the well-to-do planters of this part of the state. He is a public-spirited, liberal-minded citizen, and has at heart the development and advancement of all of the best interests of this county and state. W. T. Eaney was born in Choctaw county, Ala., in 1862, but since 1SS3 has been a resi- dent of Lauderdale county, Miss., where he has been engaged in farming on his own account since 1884. After a short experience in merchandising, he found that planting was much more congenial to his tastes, and accordingly gave up the former calling to obtain his living from the soil. In 1883 he made a purchase of land, which, by constant addition, now amounts to four hundred and sixty acres, all of which is exceptionally fertile land, well and carefully tilled. This land is located nine miles southeast of Meridian, and is devoted prin- cipally to the raising of cotton and corn. He has a large amount of timber land, on which is some of the finest longleaf pine in the state, and in addition to planting he is also engaged in lumbering. He has an interest in a sawmill plant, valued at 11,500, which turns off five thousand feet of pine lumber per day. Although the early educational advantages of Mr. Eaney were poor, and the obstacles which beset his pathway many, yet he has surmounted all difficulties, soon paid off the debt which he owed upon starting out in life for himself, and is now well to do, and highly esteemed by all who know him. Although he is still young in years he has already manifested business ability of a high order, and bids fair to become one of the wealthiest citizens of the county. He is a member of the Farmers' Alliance. In December, 1887, he was married to Miss Maggie Brewster, by whom he has three children: Daniel, Hiram and Ethel. W. T. Raney is a son of Daniel H. Raney, who was born in Georgia about 1816, and was afterward united in marriage to Miss Matilda Carlisle. William M. Rankin (deceased) was identified with the early history of Marion county. Miss., having removed there from South Carolina in 181S. He was born in Virginia, Octo- ber 14, 1792. When he came to Mississippi he engaged in keelboating, which he carried on successfully for many years. He was married in the year 1820, to Martha, daughter of John Warren, and a native of Georgia. The result of this union was the birth of eleven chil- dren, ten of whom grew to maturity: Eliza L. (deceased) was born February 23, 1821; Will- iam J. (deceased) was bom November 20, 1822; Mary J. (deceased) was born January 9, 1825; Martha R. (deceased) was born September 6, 1826; John W. (deceased) was born April 16, 1828; George W. was born March 31, 1830; H. Emily was born April 29, 1832; Elizabeth A. was born January 13, 1834; Louisa (deceased) was born November 6, 1835; Thomas J. (deceased) was born August 24, 1837, and S. Ed was born October 5, 1839. William J. Rankin married Miss Linian Harvey, and they had born to them four children, three of whom lived to maturity: Sarah E., William and Eliza. John W. married Miss Mary J. Fenn, and to them were born five children: J. Warren. Martha E., Floyd (wife of John Baylis), T. Jesse and Frank F. George W. married Miss Annie Feim, and they reared five children : Harriet, Mary, Emily, Carrie and George M. Thomas J. had one son, G. Henry, a merchant at Spring College, Marion county. S. Ed married Miss Mary A. Ford, and unto them was born one son, S. Jesse. When the war between the North and South was begun in 1861, all the sons of William Rankin enlisted in the Seventh Mississippi regiment, and served faithfully and gallantly in the cause they had espoused. Jesse died at Brook- haven in 1861, and William J. was assassinated at his home before the conflict was ended. The Rankin family occupy a leading position in the social and political circles of Marion county. All the offices within the gift of the people have been bestowed upon some member of the family, who in turn have shown a great aptitude and ability for the discharge of pub- 640 BIOORAPUIOAL AND HIHTORWAL lie business. S. Ed Rankin occupies a dwelling whose walls, if they could speak, would unfold many pages of history. The house was probably erected as early as 1812, and was the first to be built on the Pearl river in Marion county. General Jackson occupied the house for a time during the War of IS] 2, and a stockade was erected about it. General Davidson, of the Pedfral army, with his division of cavalry, passed a night and a day there during the winter of 1864. In tlie same bouse was held a convention before the state of Mississippi was established, to fix the line of division between Mississippi and Alabama, Among the wealthy plantation owners of Jasper county, Miss., is S. S. Eatcliffe, of Gar- landville. He was born in Perry county. Miss., in the year 1821, and remained there during his early childhood. In 1826 he moved to Mobile with his parents, and there received a com- mon-school education and attended Penney's college. His parents were born, reared and married in South Carolina, and removed to Mississippi in 1819. They had born to them seven children, of whom S. S. Ratcliffe was the second. The father was a farmer by occupa- tion, but in the period of 1830-5 was engaged extensively in milling at Mobile. He sold his mills in 1835, and was most of the time until 1839 engaged in merchandising. In the year last mentioned he removed from Mobile to Jasper county. Miss., where he was a successful planter until 1856, when he again became a merchant at Enterprise, Clarke county, and carried on a profitable business until his death, which occurred in November, 1863. His wife survived until August, 1887. Both were worthy members of and liberal contributors to the Methodist Episcopal church. The subject of this notice spent a por- tion of his youth in Jasper county. He was united in marriage, in the year 1851, to Miss M. E. Boulton, a daughter of A. A. Boulton, a farmer of Jasper county. Miss. Of this union were born nine children. Mr. Eatcliffe engaged in farming near Garlandville, Miss. , and followed this occupation until the breaking out of the late war. In 1863 he enlisted in Captain Porter' s company, and was in the siege of Vicksburg, where he was wounded. He served through the conflict, and after peace was declared he returned to his business, which he has continued ever since. He owns fourteen hundred acres of choice land, six hun- dred acres of which are cleared and under excellent cultivation. He has given the closest attention to the pursuit of husbandry, and has followed it both as an art and science. Among his neighbors he is esteemed very highly, and as a citizen he would be an ornament to any community. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity. John S. Ratliff, the pioneer of Verona, Miss., was born in Lincoln county, Ga., in 1806, a son of William and Mary Eatliff. He moved from Lincoln, Ga. , to Monroe county, Ga., and there, in 1826, married Miss Grace Durham, a daughter of Matthew and Fannie Durham. He removed to Noxubee county, Miss., in 1833, and lived there about eighteen years. In December, 1850, he located at Verona, where he bought land of Newton Davis, and was a pioneer settler. Among the other early settlers here may be mentioned the Davises (Newton and Marion), Eichard D. Scales and John Armstrong. The first store was opened here in 1850 by John O'Carrell, and that was the nucleus about which grew iip the present town, its development from that time having been very rapid. Mr. Eatcliff engaged in merchandising, and also carried on planting to a considerable extent. Before the war he had at one time forty-two negroes, twenty-seven of whom were men. To Mr. and Mrs. Ratliff were born eight children: Fannie D., now Mrs. Armstrong; Lucy, now Mrs. Stovall; Mary, now Mrs. Ledbetter; Elizabeth A., now Mrs. Wear; Josephine, now Mrs. Caruth; Camilla, who became Mrs. Brown, and died in 1890; Georgia C, now Mrs. Anthony, and James William, who is a resident of Texas. They are members of the Baptist church, and Mr. Ratliff is a democrat in politics. It was in 1850 that this pioneer began to clear MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 641 land at Verona, Miss. The Baptist church was organized there about 1852 with eight mem- bers. Its first house of worship was a log structure. The present more sightly building was erected in 1862, and the membership is now seventy. Not only in church advancement, but in every respect has Mr. Katlifl witnessed great changes since coming here. When he came the country was practically a wilderness, almost untouched by the hand of progress. What memories of the past a comparison of the site of Verona forty years ago with the busy town of to-day must bring to him — memories marked by successive steps in the work of civil- ization ! All honor to the pioneer ! Long may he be spared to enjoy the fruits of his toil, and to tell of the days before the railroad and the telegraph, the days of hardship and incon- venience, but of pleasures and sports unknown to the Mississippian of the present generation. It is such whose names most fittingly adorn the pages of local history. Capt. William Eatliff was born in Madison county, Miss., in 1832, a son of John Ratliff, a native of Tennessee. The latter removed to Alabama early in life, where he married Miss Catherine Densou, after which he resided for one year in Rankin county. Miss. At the end of this time he moved to Madison county, where he operated a plantation and kept hotel on the old Natchez road. In 1835 he moved to Rankin county, and during the year 1849 he died. He accumulated considerable wealth, sufficient to give his children a good start in life, and also saw that they received fair educations. William Ratliff received his initiatory training in the common schools, and finished his education at St. Mary's college of Bardstown, Ky. Upon finishing his collegiate course he devoted his attention to the management of his plantation until the opening of the war. On the great issue that gave rise to the war, Mr. Ratliff stood with a great number of the best men of his section in favor of secession, for which his first vote was cast. Early in 1861 he enlisted as a private in com- pany A, Eighteenth Mississippi regiment, and was assigned to duty in General Lee's army. In the winter of 1862 he was elected first lieutenant of the company, and was afterward promoted to captain. His career as a soldier was marked by intrej)idity and courage, and he was highly respected and esteemed by his superior ofiicers, as well as those beneath him in rank. At the time of the surrender he was in charge of a brigade, and he refused to surrender until his little remaining squad was literally overpowered, even then refusing to surrender his sword to a Federal lieutenant who demanded it, telling him that he would not surrender to an officer beneath him in rank. After the war he conducted a mercantile estab- lishment for a short time at Forest, Miss., and in 1866 opened a similar business in Brandon, which he managed with remarkable success until he was burned out in 1868, from which he suffered a complete loss of everything invested in the business. After this unfortunate cir- cumstance Captain Ratliff again took charge of his plantation, to which he has since given his chief attention. He has prospered, and is now the possessor of about eighteen hundred acres of land, well improved and stocked. In addition to this he also owns a store, and does a business that is constantly on the increase. For many years he has taken an active interest in local and state affairs, and in 1880 he was elected a member of the state senate, serving one term. While a member of that body he was recognized as an able, conscientious and incorruptible member, and did admirable service for his section. He has recently been solicited by many friends throughout Rankin county to allow his name to be used as a candidate for the senate for the ensuing term, and should he be elected he will be ranked among the leading members of that body. He has been married twice, his first wife being Miss Margaret Lucy, who died one year after their marriage, in 1860. In 1868 he was wedded to Miss Jennie Cavit, of Hinds county, by whom he has three sons and seven daughters. 642 BIOGBAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL Rev. William P. RatlifP is a Mississippian but was born in Leake county, on the 9th of February, 1847, his father, Z. L. Ratliff, lieing a native of Alabama. The latter took up his abode in Mississippi about 1828, and until he attained manhood he was a resident of Madi- son county. When a young man he became one of the early settlers of Leake county, and vs^as married to Miss Sarah L. Adams, a member of a well known pioneer family of Attala county. Her father was a ijromincnt member of the Methodist church, in which he was for many years a class leader. Z. L. Ratliff farmed up to 1856 in Leake county, at the end of which time he located and now resides in Attala cotmty. He has been very successful as a planter, and is now in good circumstances. He is one of the stewards of the Methodist Episcopal church, is a member of the A. F. & A. M., and is a public-spirited and law abiding citizen. He served in the Confederate army for a short time under Colonel George. Rev. William P. Ratliff is the eldest of his five sons and five daughters, all of whom are living and all of whom are heads of families, with the exception of three. Mr. Ratliff attained manhood in Attala county, and received his primary education in the common schools. The war came up and he joined the Confederate forces in 1 863, first going into the service as a substitute for his father, but afterward joining on his own account. He l)ecame a member of Colonel Lay's regiment, Adams' brigade, and did service in Louisiana until the close of the war. After its close he returned home and engaged in planting in Attala county, and on the 22d of October, 1868, he was united in marriage to Miss Cornelia B. Mitchell, a daughter of Albert Mitchell, a member of one of the old families of the county. Mr. Ratliff was left destitute at the close of the war and had to once more commence the battle of life for himself. Being a good manager and full of pluck he fought the battle of life bravely and successfully, and although his first purchase was small and on time, he succeeded in paying off the debt and soon after purchased more land. He now has three good plantations, comprising one thou- sand one hundred acres of land, and is one of the thriftiest planters of the county. One of the plantations is located near Ethel and on this place about eleven acres are devoted to straw- berries, at the raising of which Mr'. Ratliff has had remarkable success. In 1866 he joined the Methodist church and in 1878 was licensed to preach, since which time he has been a local preacher and is one of the prominent and leading members of the church in Kosciusko. He is a member of the A. F. & A. M. , and in his political views is a democrat. He has held several local political positions in the county, and in 1875 was elected county assessor and made two assessments of the county. Mr. and Mrs. Ratliff are the parents of the following children: Anna L., Mary Belle, Sudie, John B., Zach M., Katie E., Florence C, Albert W., Pinkney and Grady. Mr. Ratliff purchased some excellent residence property in Kosciusko in 1890, and moved with his family to town in September of that year, for the purpose of giving his children the advantages of the town schools. He is, himself, mostly self-educated since coming to years of maturity. He has a well-selected library, and keeps well posted on the current topics of the day. He is progressive, enterprising and successful as a business man, and is a superior manager and a shrewd financier. He is very kindly and social in his manners, and is a man whom to know is to honor. Capt. William C. Raum is one of the leading citizens of Vicksburg, Miss., but was born in Charleston, Jefferson county, Va., in 1829, being the second child born to the union of William C. Raum and Elizabeth Moody, both of whom were born in the Keystone state, the father being reared and educated in Cannonsburg. He studied medicine at Baltimore, graduating from a fine medical institution of that city, and his first practice was done in Gettysburg. After a time he moved to Charleston, Va., where he made his home until his death, being one of the leading medical practitioners of this town. His ancestors were of MEMOIRS OP MISSISSIPPI. 643 German descent and were early settlers of what is now Shippensburg, Penn. , his grandfather having been born in that town. The Moody family are of Irish lineage and became resi- dents of Pennsylvania during colonial times, the grandfather. Eev. John Moody, being born at Shippensburg on the 4th of July, 1776. Dr. William C. Eaum died in 1863, but his widow survived him until 1888, whea she died at her old home in Virginia. They were earnest members of the Presbyterian church, in which the father had been an elder. Capt. William C. Eaum received his education in Charleston academy and began life as a clerk in Virginia. In 1848 he came to Vicksburg, Miss., and after working as clerk for some time engaged in the dry goods business for himself, but at the end of two years turned his atten- tion to auctioneering and the real estate business, which callings he continued to follow until the opening of the war. Although opposed to secession, when Mississippi withdrew from the Union he remained true to what he considered her interests, and in 1861 raised a com- pany for the Confederate army and entered the service as a first lieuteuant. In about one month he was chosen captain of the company and particijiated in the engagements at Shiloh, Perryville, Murfreesboro, -Nashville, Franklin, and all the battles of the Georgia campaign. He was paroled at Greensboro, N. C, after which he returned to Vicksburg, and for two years followed the calling of a planter, being compelled to commence anew the battle of life, as nearly all his property had been swept away during the war. After giving up planting, he followed the calling of a clerk for a short time, and then secured an interest in a steamboat and became captain of the Era, No. 8, which plied on the Sunflower and Yazoo rivers. He continued as a steamboat captain for about seven years, then devoted one year to the auction and furniture business. In 1878 he was made deputy United States revenue collector for his district, and filled this position to the satisfaction of all concerned until 1881, when he was appointed United States marshal for the southern district of Mississippi by President Arthur, and held the office for four years. In the month of April, 1890, he took charge of a trader ship in the Indian territory, but one year later, in the month of May, he entered the postoffice of Vicksburg as assistant postmaster, the duties of which position he is still discharging. He was married in 1852 to Miss Ann Gwinn, a native of Viiginia, who came to Vicksburg in youth, dying in Mississippi in 1865. The Captain's second marriage took place in 1866, to Miss Augusta Henshaw, a daughter of Major Henshaw, of Louisiana, and resulted in the birth of five children, who are living: William C. , who is chief clerk of the Singer Sewing Machine company of Mississippi and Louisiana; Emma, wife of Dr. Sherard, Vicksburg; Elizabeth, Jennie and John. The family are regular attendants at church, and although Captain Eaum is not a member of any religious organization he gives liberally of his means in their sup- port. In appearance he is of mediiim stature, rather portly, has gray hair and mustache, and possesses agreeable and courteous manners. Eaumville is a beautiful suburb in the southern part of Vicksburg, consisting, originally, of about twenty-seven acres, on which many handsome residences have been built. It is proving very popular as a residence sec- tion, for it overlooks the river, and the view, as far as the eye can reach, abounds in beautiful scenery. It was laid out and named by Captain Eaum, who now owns some fifteen of its dwellings. His own residence, which is in this suburb, is a very handsome one, and is sur- rounded by fine old forest trees. Maj. John Eawle, who is a leading business man of the city of Natchez, Miss., was born at Point Plaquemine, La., August 21, 1837, being the youngest son of the late Judge Edward Eawle and Appolina S. C. Saul, daughter of Joseph Saul, of New Orleans. Judge Edward Eawle was born in Germantown, a suburb of Philadelphia, September 22, 1797, but was mar- ried in the city of New Orleans on April 19, 1827, his wife dying on February 27, 1844, The 644 BIOORAPHIOAL AMD HI8T0BI0AL Judge departed this life at New Orleans November 4, 1880. He was a graduate of the Uni- versity of Pennsylvania on January 15, IS IT), having been one of the founders of the Philo- mathean society of that institution in 1813. January 2, 1823, he was admitted to the Phila- delphia bar and afterward became a member of the Washington Benevolent society of Philadelphia, and on February 22, 1823, he delivered the annual address on Washington, before that body. In 1S24 he moved to New Orleans, at which place he became the founder of the public-school system, and was a member of the first school board of the second munici- pality, acting as its president for many years. He was one of the founders, and a life mem- ber of the Second Municipal Public School Lyceum and Library society of that city, and in 1839 was chosen attorney for the second municipality, in which office he served for several years. In 1S56 he was elected a fellow of the New Orleans Academy of Science, and for many years he was a prominent member of the Keystone association of New Orleans, and for a portion of that time acted as its president. Prior to this he was appointed associate judge of the city court and upon his retirement from the bench he resumed the practice of law, which he continued until advancing years forced him to retire from active life. He was a man of high aspirations, of noble character, and his brilliant intellect was strengthened and enriched by the highest culture. His mind was well poised and analytical and the most difficult subjects were handled by him with ease. As a lawyer he was one of the most brilliant of his time and as an orator his style was pleasing, convincing and forcible, and impressed one at once with his depth of mind and breadth of views. His father was the distinguished jurist, William Kawle of Philadelphia, one of the honored and trusted friends of George Washington. He held the office of United States district attorney in Pennsylvania during that eventful era known as the whisky rebellion of that state, and in the prosecution resulting therefrom he acquitted himself with great distinction and ability. The crowning act of his life was his commentary upon the Federal constitution, written in 1787, in which he displayed remarkable judgment and a high order of statesmanship. So admirably were the objects of this work devised and so skillfully were they matured, that it became a standard text-book in many or all of the colleges of the United States at that time, and up to about 1860 was used in the military academy at West Point. A life-size medallion of himself now adorns Medallion hall in the beautiful municipal buildings of his native city, Philadelphia. This distinguished family is of English descent. An ancestor of the Ameri- can branch came to this country with, and was secretary for, William Penn. In 1724 one Francis Eawle, wrote a work on political economy entitled Ways and Means for the Inhabitants of Delaware to Become Rich. This book was the first that was ever printed by Benjamin Franklin. A reprint, for private distribution, was made in 1878, by William Brooke Rawle of Philadelphia, a copy of which, with the following letter, is full of interest, historically. Philadelphia, March 33, 1878. My Dbak Uxcle: I have had reprinted a few copies of a small book, or pamphlet, as we should call it in these days, written hy our ancestor, Francis Rawle, who came over with his father in 1686, from Plymouth, Devonshire, to settle here. I send you a copy of it by book post. The only copy of the origi- nal was lost for some years, and has but recently been found. I have fulfllled a vow, that in case the book should ever turn up, I would thus save it from oblivion. The book is interesting for several reasons. Franklin told your father at Passy,in 17830that this was the first book he ever printed with his own hand. It is supposed to ha^•e been the first book on political economy which issued from the press of this, if not of any American colony. When we consider that at the time it was written, 1724, there were few books and no libraries in this country, I think the work shows its author to have been a man of consider- able information and education. Yours very sincerely, WiLLiAJi Brooke Kawle. Hon. Edward Rawle. MEMOIEa OF MISaiaaiPPI. 645 The following extract from the life of Benjamin Franklin, by Jared Sparks, refers tu the preceding: "One day at his dinner table at Passy, France, surrounded by men of rank and fashion, a young gentleman was present who had just arrived from Philadelphia. He showed a marked kindness to the young stranger, conversed with him about friends he had left at home, and then said: 'I have been under obligations to your family; when I set up busi- ness in Philadelphia, being in debt for my printing materials, and wanting employment, the first job I had was a pamphlet written by your grandfather. It gave me encouragement, and was the beginning of my success.' " This young stranger was the Hon. William Eawle, grandfather of the immediate subject of this sketch. Maj. John Eawle was educated in New Orleans, and in 1853 began life as a mercantile clerk, but the coming clash of arms caused him to cast aside personal considerations to enlist as a private soldier, April, 1861, in the Louisiana guards, Drew's battalion, and he was promoted through the various grades until in June, 1863, he was made major, and was apj^ointed chief of artillery in General For- rest's army. He was in many battles, and at all times was found in the performance of his duty, but providentially escaped without a wound. After the war was over he returned to New Orleans and embarked in the cotton commission business, but came to Natchez, Miss., in 1867 and began planting. In 1877 he founded his present business, that of an insurance and real estate agent, and as he is unerring in his estimate of values, his judgment is sought and relied upon by capitalists, who consider him one of the most cautious as well as enter- prising and successful followers of the business. He is regarded as authority upon such matters throughout this section, and deals in all classes of property, from residence sites in towns to plantations in this and adjoining states. In his insurance branch he represents the best companies in the United States, and does a general business in life, fire, marine and tor- nado insurance. He is a practical business man in every sense of the word, possessed of untiring energy, and is one of the leading men of Natchez. By leniency, fair dealing and honest integrity he has won many warm friends. He was married in 1867 to Miss Elizabeth H. Stanton (see sketch of Stanton family), and to them seven children have been born: Juliet (wife of L. E. Martin), Bessie (wife of W. C. Martin), Ethel, Hulda, John, Jr., Georgie (deceased), and Cecil. Major Eawle- and his family are members of the Episcopal church, and of this church he has been senior warden for many years. He is a member of the A. P. & A. M. , the K. of H., the K. of P. , the A. L. of H., and the I. 0. O. F. He is president of the M., A. & G. railroad, and secretary of the Mississippi Valley railroad. He has never been in politics, but he has been active in agitating railroad projects and other public enterprises for Natchez, and several of them may yet be developed for the future pros- perity of this city. The Major's home is the mansion erected by his wife's father in 1857, and is one of the most beautiful and stately of Southern homes which were erected in ante bellum days. It is furnished throughout in almost royal magnificence, and here he and his wife dis- pense hospitality with true Southern generosity to the numerous friends who delight to gather beneath their roof-tree. Dr. Eobert W. Eea, a prominent physician and surgeon of Wesson, Miss., was born at Old Gallatin, the old county seat, in 1844, a son of George and Sarah (Simpson) Eea. His father was born in Clarion county, Penn., in 1808, an^ the mother in Feliciana parish. La., in 1813. The former received a moderate education in his native state, and there also acquired a knowledge of the tailor's trade. After leaving Pennsylvania, he worked as a journeyman tailor in New Orleans and Louisville, and in other places, finally locating at Gallatin about 1833, There he was married the following year, and lived during the balance 646 BIOOBATHIGAL AND HISTORIGAL of his life, gaining a reputation as an honest, upright and progressive citizen. He abandoned his trade, however, before the war, and engaged in planting, vyith such success that he accu- mulated considerable property. Previous to the war, he served his county as a member of the board of supervisors, as school commissioner, and in other official positions. Not long after the war he was appointed sheriff of the county, in which capacity he served for a short time. Though he was not identified with any church, he was a strictly moral man. He was a member of the A. F. & A. M. and I. 0. O. F. He was a great reader, which rendered him conversant with general history and the Scriptures, and he was noted as being a fine conver- sationalist, and the fact that he was one of the pioneers of the county, made his reminiscences peculiarly interesting for the residents of this part of the state. He was one of seventeen children born to Joshua and Sarah Rea, who were born and passed their lives in Pennsyl- vania, though his father was of Scotch origin. Mrs. Rea is still living, and is possibly the oldest inhabitant of the county. She is the daughter of Samuel Simpson, who is thought to ha\e been born in Kentucky, and gone from there to Louisiana, where his wife died while Mrs. Rea was an infant, and where he married again and remained, Mrs. Rea being brought by her aunt, Mary Cairns, while yet an infant, to Gallatin when central Mississippi was an almost unbroken wilderness and inhabited chiefly by wild animals and Indians. Mrs. Rea is the mother of twelve children, six of them yet living: Captain William, now circuit clerk of Copiah county (he was captain of company G, of the Twelfth Mississippi regiment, and served with the army of Virginia) ; George, deceased (he was first lieutenant of company G, of the Thirty-sixth Mississippi regiment, and died at Mobile, from the effects of a wound received at Nashville) ; Thomas, now at Port Gibson, was with company B, of the Twelfth Mississippi regiment during the entire war period; Dr. Robert W. , our subject; Sarah E., wife of Capt. A. L. Ard; Anna, wife of Albert Carter; Ellen, who is unmarried. Dr. Robert received his primary education in the public schools. It was not until after the war that he was enabled to take advantage of better educational opportunities. In 1862 he joined com- pany G, of the Thirty-sixth Mississippi regiment, and fought at Farmington, luka, Corinth, Cold Water, and in the siege at Vicksburg; he was also with General Johnston's army at Resaca, Ga. , and fought in the Atlanta campaign, and back under Hood to Franklin and Nashville, and on their retiring to Mobile, where he was detailed, and was located at Colum- bus, Miss., at the time of the surrender. During a portion of this time he held the rank of first sergeant. He was quite severely wounded at Corinth. Returning home, he taught school and read medicine with Dr. William Shan, of Galla- tin; graduated from the Louisiana university of New Orleans in 1869. After practicing for a few months at Gallatin, he located at Wesson, where he has since resided, and built up a large and still growing practice, having come to be recognized as one of the leading physi- cians of the county, as well as one of its most prominent citizens. He is the owner of about seventeen hundred acres of good timbered and tillable land, all of which he has acquired by his own efforts. He is a member of the A. F. & A. M., and he and his family are members of and attendants upon the services of the Presbyterian church. He was married in 1874 to Rilla E. , a daughter of Capt. William and Mary (Calloway) Oliver. Mrs. Rea was born in Georgia and educated at Staunton, Va. She has borne her husband eight children, five of whom are living. She is a woman«of fine intellect and attractive social qualities, and is respected and admired by a large circle of friends. Her mother died in 1883. Her father. Captain Oliver, was born in Georgia in 1828, was reared there, and there was married at the age of nineteen. About this time he removed to Louisiana and engaged in merchandising, which he followed with marked success until the war, when he entered the Confederate serv- MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 647 ice, serving in the quartermaster's department of the Western army, with a rank as captain, with great distinction until the close of the war. After the war he located at Trenton, La. , and again engaged in trade as a general merchant. A short time afterward he became a partner of John T. Hardy, a prominent and wealthy commission merchant of New Orleans, who was also owner of the Mississippi mills at Wesson, Miss. In 1870 the Captain pur- chased an interest in these mills, which then constituted only a small factory compared with the dimensions of the present concern. The following year the original mills were burned, but they were at once rebuilt on a much larger scale. Since his connection with the mills the Captain has devoted his entire attention to their management, and it is due in no small degree to his extraordinary business capacity that they have become one of the most complete and extensive cotton and woolen factories in the South. The Captain is a born financier, and possesses an indomitable will and energy combined with the best natiu-al abilities. These qualities, backed up by his long business experience, have naturally made the Captain a man of wealth. He has gained a wide reputation as being one of the foremost business men and financiers of the South. When Dr. Rea resumed the battle of life after the war, he found himself so broken in fortune as to be practically destitute, but his devotion to his pro- fession and business interests has been so great that he has attained not only the highest pro- fessional standing but ranks among the prominent business men of this section. John J. Reaves, planter, Bently, has been a resident of Calhoun county. Miss., for the past forty years, and his principal occupation during that time has been farming. He has attended to his adopted calling with such energy and thoroughness that successful results have been reaped, and he is at the present time possessed of a large tract of land, and has over two hundred acres under cultivation. His grandparents, Stephen and Sarah (Flowers) Reaves, were natives of Georgia, and the grandfather was accidentally killed while spiling posts in a water gap in that state. He was a democrat in politics, and he and wife were members of the Baptist church. She lived to be quite aged. Both were very highly respected, and were the owners of considerable property. Of their nine children all lived to be grown, and one is now living, Mrs. Sarah Huckelby, who resides in the Lone Star state. The father of John J. Reaves, William Reaves, was the fourth in order of birth of this family. He was born in Virginia in 1805, but was reared in Georgia, where in 1827 he was married to Miss Sarah Lakey, also a native of the Old Dominion, born in 1810. There they resided until 1852, when they emigrated to Mississippi, settled near Bentley, and there made their home until 1887. The father was a very successful planter in early days, and owned a consider- able amount of property, but in a later period his fortunes were less bright. He was in the Indian war in Florida in 1836. In politics he affiliated with the democratic party. He was a consistent member of the Primitive Baptist church, as is also his widow, who now resides with her youngest son near the old home place. Their family consisted of nine children, three, besides John J. , now living: William, resides in Webster county, Miss. ; Josiah Thomas, also in Webster county; and Susan, wife of C. G. Bently. Those deceased were : Mrs. Sarah McDowell, died in Webster county, leaving four children; Mrs. Mary J. Rigell, died at Bentley, Miss.'; Mrs. Amanda Tabb, died in Webster county, leaving one child; and Benja- min, died in Alabama from the effects of a wound received during the war. The others died when small. John J. Reaves was born in Georgia in 41833, but attained his growth in Mis- sissippi, whither he had moved with his parents. At the breaking out of hostilities he enlisted in company B, Thirty-first Mississippi regiment, infantry, and served until the close of war. He was wounded in the ankle and foot near Dalton, and was captured at Baker's creek in the first attack of Vicksburg, Miss.; taken to Indianapolis, Ind., and thence to Fort Delaware, 648 BIOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL Md., where he was exchanged four months later. He afterward returned to his regiment in Alabama, and at the time of the surrender was in the hospital. Prom that time to the present he has never been free from pain in his ankle from the wound. Returning to Mis- sissippi after the war he resumed agricultural pursuits, and in ] 866 he was wedded to Mrs. T. J. Few, nee Tobitha Bently, widow of Jasper Few, who died during the war. By Mr. Few she had two children, William C. Few, and Susan, who died when ten years of age. To Mr. and Mrs. Reaves have been born two children, Samuel D., died near Denver, Colo., in December, 1889, at the age of twenty-two years, and J. Charles, who died at his home in 1887, when seventeen years of age. William C. Few is the only child now living of either marriage. He was reared by Mr. and Mrs. Reaves, and resides with them at the present time. He was married to Miss Connie Douglas, a native of Bently, and the daughter of T. J. Douglas, who is now deceased, but who was sheriff of Calhoun county for some time. Mrs. Douglas resides on the home place in Bently, and has seven living children. One, Dr. Thomas O., is a successful physician of Bently. In politics Mr. Reaves is a democrat. He was a member of the board of supervisors of Calhoun county, Miss., in 1885 and 1886, and he an.d Mrs. Reaves are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, Atlanta lodge, of Chickasaw county. Miss. Dr. Joseph Redhead, one of the early settlers of Wilkinson county, and a prominent physician and planter, was a native of England, and was born October 14, 1812, in Northum- berland county, and was the eldest of a family of three daughters and two sons born to John and Anna Redhead, natives of England. When Dr. Joseph was seven years of age they came to the United States and settled in Cincinnati, Ohio, where the father engaged in an iron foundry. The parents remained in that city until their respective deaths at advanced years. Dr. Joseph started out for himself at the age of sixteen years, and coming South clerked for a time in Alabama. He carefully saved his earnings, and returned to Cin- cinnati, where he read medicine under one of Cincinnati's most prominent physicians, and later graduated with distinction from the Cincinnati Medical college. He then went to Springfield, 111., where he practiced successfully for a time, during which period he became very well acquainted and was upon intimate terms with Abraham Lincoln, who took up his residence there in 1837. From Springfield the Doctor went to Peoria, where he remained several years practicing his profession. He finally started down the Illinois river on a flat- boat, his sole possession being a horse, saddle and saddle-bag. Landing at Natchez in 1834 he rode to Woodville, and from there to Rose Hill, Amite county, where he practiced his pro- fession, remaining with Mr. Eli Cappell for three or four years. He then came to Wilkin- son county and settled at Montrose plantation, which had been the stand of several other physicians. This stand for doctors was the site of the Jackson academy, incorporated in 1814 and named in honor of General Jackson. It flourished for a number of years and was the resort of many of the leading physicians of this county. After the college went down it was known only as the stand for physicians. The Doctor soon after settling at Montrose married, March 25, 1847, the lady of his choice in Amite county. She was Mary, the daughter of Agrippa and Margaret Gayden. The Gaydens were early settlers from South Carolina. Mrs. Redhead was born March 17, 1830, and was from a family of three daughters and three sons, all of whom are deceased but Ivlson G. Gayden, who served in the Mexican war. He now lives in East Feliciana parish. La., engaged in planting. George and Frank settled in Bolivar county, Miss. Frank was a soldier in the late war and was the first prisoner exchanged between the North and the South. He was captured in Missouri and exchanged the same day. He held a captain's commission and died several years after MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 649 the war. George died in 1861. Minerva died in girlhood, and Mary became the wife of Mr. Bedhead. Elvira married A. G. Cage, of Terre Bonne parish, La., a prominent sugair planter. She died in 1863, leaving six small children. Mary, mother of John A. , was edu- cated in Liberty, Amite county, and died April 21, 1851. She was a member of the Presby- terian church. She was a good woman and a dutiful wife and mother. By this union were born two children, Mary H. and John A. Mary H. first married Dr. Hamilton, and upon his death a Mr. Morrill, and lives in Newburyport, Mass. John A. lives on the home place. Dr. Redhead was actively engaged in the practice of medicine until abo\it the close of the war. He was a public-spirited man, but would not accept an office, and was a Jacksonian democrat. After the war he devoted his time and attention to his plantation. While being a man of social temperament, fond of life and its enjoyments, he was withal a philosopher, and always looked at life with practical though charitable eyes. He traveled a great deal, spending his summers in the cool resorts of the North. He was a natural mechanical genius- — could make anything — and at one time made an artificial leg for General Brandon, and a hand for Albert Cage, the latter being so perfect that he could use the hand to write with. He died September 7, 1881, with congestion of the bowels. He came in possession of a large estate through his wife, and was among the county's most respected and well-to-do citizens. He was a member of the A. F. & A. M. and the I. O. O. F., in which he took very active part until late in life. His son, John A., was born October 28, 1849, on the place where he now resides, and was educated at Albert Lyon's high school, in Pike county, Miss., and by private tutors at home, and by his own exertions. He was married in 1878 to Miss Julia Norwood, of Bast Feliciana parish, La. She was the daughter of Judge Nor- wood, a very prominent man of Louisiana. Mrs. Redhead was educated in Clinton, La. , and is a very highly respected and very estimable lady. To this union were born three children: Joseph, John and Ella. John A. served two terms as a member of the board of supervisors of this county, and was elected in 1878 to the legislature. He is devoted to his family, and is one of the most successful and progressive planters in the county. He has about one thousand eight hundred acres well under cultivation, and is a member of the A. F. & A. M. and K. of H. He has a beautiful residence located near the site of the old Jackson academy, on an elevation of ground and surrounded with handsome shade trees. D. M. Redmond, of Osyka, Pike county, Miss., was born in this county, near where he now resides, December 6, 1825. Jesse Redmond, his father, was born in Barnwell district, S. C, April 4, 1791, came to Mississippi when a young man in 1812 and settled in the terri- tory now embraced in Pike county. February 7, 1825, he married here a Miss Elizabeth Carter, also a native of Barnwell district, S. C. After his marriage he located where the town of Osyka has since grown up, becoming a well-known planter. He served in the War of 1812 as a soldier under General Jackson, and received a pension from the government until his death in 1876, which, after his death, was paid to his widow until she died, which occurred June 10, 1888. D. M. Redmond is the eldest of a family of ten, of whom four sons and one daughter died young. He was reared in this county and received such an educa- tion as was afforded by the public schools. May 25, 1855, he was married at New Orleans to Miss Bridget Joyce, a native of Ireland, but who was reared in the state just mentioned. Soon after his marriage Mr. Redmond located where he now lives in Osyka, having previously purchased part of .the old homestead of his father, adjoining the village. Although he has never operated on a very extensive scale, he has been a very successful planter and acquired a competency, owning at this time, besides his plantation, considerable residence property in Osyka. His political affiliations are with the democratic party. He has held many local 650 BIOGRAPHICAL AITD SISTORIOAL positions of trust and honor, being at this time mayor of Osyka and a justice of the peace. He is highly esteemed for his integrity and sterling qualities. He has three children grown to manhood and womanhood, and occupying honorabje positio^is in society. They are: Florilla, a young lady of superior education and tine abilities, who occupies the position of telegraph operator at Osyka; James M., a well-educated young man of good business capacity, who is the station agent at Aquila, Sunflower county, Miss., and Mary E., wife of P. E. Triche. Mr. Redmond is a member and holds the office of treasurer of the Baptist church of Osyka. During his long life Mr. Redmond has been faithful to every trust reposed in him, and in every relation of life to which he has been called he has done his whole duty with an honesty of purpose which has been his distinguishing characteristic, and now in his old age he is loved and venerated by his family and wide circle of friends, and is highly esteemed by the entire commvinity. Among his most interesting reminiscences are those of his services in the Confederate army during the late war. In 1862 h? enlisted as a private in company F, of the Fourteenth Mississippi cavalry. He was soon promoted to be orderly sergeant, and as such served till he received, his discharge at the close of the war. He participated in a number of important engagements and was captured at Liberty while on detached duty as courier for Colonel Dillon, and was held a prisoner of war at Liberty, Baton Rouge and New Orleans, but the most of the time at Ship island, where he was kept in close confinement until the end of the war came. During his military life Mr. Redmond often found himself in the thick of some of the hardest fought battles of the war, with mis- siles of war flying fast and furious on all sides of him, but he escaped, almost miraculously as it were, without even a bullet hole in his clothes. W. B. Redus, Shannon, Lee county, Miss. The Rev. J. W. Redus was born in Marion county, Ala., November 15, 1820. At the age of thirteen years he united with the Methodist Episcopal Church South, and in 1856 was licensed as a minister. He preached throughout northern Mississippi, and in 1863 enlisted in the Confederate service under Captain Welter- all. He passed through all the experiences of warfare, being taken prisoner in the battle of Egypt; he was held twenty-two days, and then released. He was a son of William Redus. The father was born in Tennessee in 1796, and the mother in South Carolina in 1799. Her maiden name was Brown. John W. Redus was united in marriage November 20, 1845, to Miss Emily Saunders. She was a daughter of John F. and Catherine Gilberth. Their union was blessed by the birth of four children: Mrs. Catherine Cunningham, widow of William Cunningham; Laura, wife of C. A. Henly; R. C, a lawyer of Birmingham, Ala.; and W. B., the subject of this sketch. He was born in what was then a portion of Pontotoc county, now Lee county. Miss., March 31, 1850. The war, with all its disasters, deprived him of a collegi- ate education, but he made the most of the opportunities that were afforded him in the ungraded schools of the country. When he left school he was employed as a clerk by W. M. Cunningham for a period of nine years. He acted in the same capacity for F. G. Thomas for four years. In September, 1878, he embarked in business for himself at Shannon, and has met with more than ordinary success. His long years of experience in the service of older merchants have been invaluable to him. He carries a stock of 110,000, and does a large business. In 1872, November 27, Mr. Redus was married to Miss Sallie J. Wright, a daugh- ter of Judge N. C. and J. K. Wright, natives of Tennessee. She was born April 22, 1854. Her father was a soldier in the late war, and is a Mason of high degree. He is a strong advocate of prohibition, and is a member of the Farmers' Alliance and of the Knights of Labor. He is now a resident of Shannon, and has a wide circle of friends. At the age of twenty-one years he united with the Cumberland Presbyterian church, and has been an elder '''■liy ::{B/S77:: S^nsM^^-y^'"^'^ C^O Cyc:^^^. MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 651 of the church ever since. Politically he affiliates with the democratic party. His -wife's maiden name was Jennie McDaniels. She is now deceased. They had born to them six children: Mattie, wife of John Lasetter; James T.; Annie E. (deceased) was the wife of Silas Nelson; Mary B., wife of John S. Henley; Fannie (deceased) was the wife of G. A. Henley, and Sallie J., the wife of Mr. Redus. Mr. and Mrs. Redus are the parents of five children: LenaD., James N., J. Frank, Minnie Gertrude, and Fannie, the fourth-born, deceased. Mr. Redus is a zealous supporter of democratic principles, having cast his first presidential vote for Samuel J. Tilden. For thirteen years he was express agent at Shannon, and discharged the duties of this position with much promptitude. He and his wife are members of the Cumberland Presbyterian church, and he has been an elder since they united with the society in 1864. He has been a citizen desirous of aiding in the growth and development of the county, and has contributed both by giving his means and influence to all enterprises of public benefit. He has traveled over the United States, usually on business, but has seen nothing to compare with the sunny South. Maj. Thomas Reed, a citizen of Mississippi, who was -esteemed as a man of high integ- rity and ability, and a lawyer of reliability and talent, was born on April 11, 1817, in Butler county, Penn. His father, Thomas Reed, :was a native of the same state, and his mother, Mary Patterson, was from the state of Virginia. When only three years of age Major Reed's parents removed to Warren county. Miss., and in the neighborhood in that county known as Warrenton, about ten miles distant from the city of Vicksburg, which was then but a small village, Major Reed spent several of his happy boyhood years. He often referred to his childhood days in that vicinity as a pleasant remembrance. As early as 1828 he came with his mother's family to Natchez, and here and in the adjoining county of Jefferson he spent the remaining long and useful years of his life. When but a small boy his father died of yellow fever in Alvaredo, Mexico, whither he had gone on a business venture, leaving the widowed mother with very little means to support herself and several children. Still, she was a woman of persevering ability and energy, and above all a devoted Christian. By industrious effort, aided by the children themselves, she raised three of her children (the others having died while quite young) to honored manhood and womanhood, a comfort to her until her death, which occurred in the city of Natchez on November 18, 1863. Major Reed's education was, by reason of his mother' s circumstances, limited to that obtained in ordinary day schools, and a short attendance upon Jefferson college, a high school for boys situated in the historic town of Washington, about six miles from Natchez. But he loved books, and soon learned to be a student. His reading was extensive and thorough, and he became a man whose mind was well stored with varied knowledge and useful information. His great attachment for books was shown by the large library of publications of the best grade which he accumulated. During his long life he made many addresses before schools and literary societies, and was always in thorough sympathy with the educational interests and efforts in the state of his residence. Acting often in the capacity of trustee, or as a member of the visiting committee to these institutions of learning, he also gave liberally of his means toward the support of the various colleges and schools. Major Reed was not only well known as a speaker and a lecturer, but was also known as a writer. Often did he give aid and encouragement to a worthy cause by well-written and strong communications to the state press, and to the journal that was the official organ of the church to which he belonged. In 1876, by appointment and request, he prepared a Centennial history of Jefferson county, where he then resided, which was published with many favorable comments. While grow- ing up he clerked in stores and learned the mercantile business, and before he was of legal 00 652 BTOORAPHIOAL AND EI8T0RIOAL age, with his brother James, who was only two years his senior, though well matured for his age, he engaged in general merchandising on quite a large scale. But neither he nor his brother seemed suited to this kind of life, and their career as merchants was soon ended by an adverse turn in their business affairs, causing the failure of the firm of J. P. & T. Reed. After this they both studied law, but James P. Reed returned in a few years to his favorite work as a pharmacist, and Thomas Reed, having held the office of clerk of the criminal court for several years, entered upon the active practice of law, which profession he followed for nearly a half century, and until his death. These brothers, who had been so intimately associatetl with each other during their boyhood and early manhood, seemed now, by the vicissitudes of life, to be separated. For while quite a young man James P. Reed, moved by a spirit of adventure which always seemed strong within him, and a desire to champion the weak but deserving side of every struggle, went to Texas and fought with the noble men of that state for their independence. He was a brave and daring man. Having served also in the capacity of scout and special interpreter for Gen. John A. Quitman during the war with Mexico, and though advanced in years and enfeebled by former hard service, he enlisted in the Confederate army, and with the boys who wore the gray battled for the lost cause. The remaining years of his life were spent in the city of San Antonio, Tex. , and in that place he died in July, 1887, after some years of suffering, caused by wounds and injuries received during his career as a soldier, leaving a wife and three sons, who still live to cherish the mem- ory of a true man and kind father. Major Reed studied law with the well-known firm of Quitman & McMurran. General John A. Qaitman, of that firm, was his warm personal friend. After practicing some years in Natchez he moved to Jefferson county in 1852, and there residing on his plantation two miles from the town of Fayette, he for about thirty years successfully followed his profes- sion. He then removed to Natchez, the home of his early days, and in this picturesque city of the bluffs he spent the remainder of his long and useful life in his chosen pro- fession. He was widely known as a lawyer whose character was above reproach, who would not stoop to any trick or dishonorable act, and his clients had great confidence in him. A brother lawyer, in referring to him, said, that he was an honorable, kind-hearted, courteous gentleman, who amid all the dusty purlieus of the law had kept the whiteness of his soul; that his strict integrity amidst all of the temptations of his profession was an eloquent and convincing evidence of a singularly pure and virtuous heart. He was a patriotic politician: he loved his country, and was always willing to do what he could for its welfare and pros- perity. He was prominent in conventions, and made many political speeches, being gen- erally a leader, but he was not an officeseeker; he did not follow politics for gain. The good of his native land was uppermost in his heart. He was for a long number of years a whig, afterward and during the remainder of his life a democrat. He volunteered for service during the Mexican war. His friend. General Quitman, appointed him major on his staff, but before he saw service the war had ended. However, the title of major followed him ever after. At the time of the Civil war, he opposed secession, but when his beloved Mississippi withdrew from the Union he felt it his first duty to fight for his own state, and he at once enlisted, and served as an officer of the Jefferson artillery until after the battle of Shiloh, when his health having entirely failed he returned to his home, and as soon as he sufficiently recovered he began duties as a civil officer of the Confederate govern- ment. He was glad when the unfortunate struggle was over, and was an active and faithful worker in the effort to restore to proper order and prosperity the affairs of the state. Major Reed was a faithful and consistent Christian, being from the time of his youth a member MEMOIRS OFaMISSISaiPPI. 653 of the Methodist Episcopal church. He followed closely the footsteps of his Divioe Master. His heart seemed to overflow with love for his fellow-man. He was long engaged in the Sunday-school cause, being for about thirty-five years a superintendent. Through every portion of the state he was known as a Christian worker. He with soldier-like firmness championed the religion of Jesus, and at last gave his pure soul to his Captain, Christ, under whose banner he had served so long. Major Eeed was twice married; in 1847 he married Lavinia West, the daughter of Charles West, who was a descendant of Cato West, a provincial governor of Mississippi. This lady a few years after her marriage died, leaving two children, Kate, who died when about fourteen years of age, and Charles W., who now resides in the city of Natchez. In October, 1852, he married Miss Mary J. Forman, the daughter of Stephen S. Forman and Keziah Howell. This marriage took place at the very historic residence on Springfield plantation in Jefferson county, which was then and for a long number of years owned by the late William Holmes, one of the honored citizens of the state, who was a dear and fatherly friend of Mrs. Reed. This residence is a substantial brick structure, erected over one hundred years since by Thomas Green, one of the pioneer leaders of the state, and a relative of both the West and Forman families. It was on this place that Gren. Andrew Jackson was married, and near it that Aaron Burr was captured. Both the West and Forman families were am.ong the oldest and most prominent in the state; the two families being closely connected and related. To Major Eeed and his second wife five children were born: Mary, who married Jacob Guice, and died some years since; Janie, who died in infancy, and Susan Holmes, Richard Forman and Thomas James, all of whom now reside with their mother in Natchez, Miss. The tender devotion and loving care shown by Mrs. Reed to her husband during the closing years of his life is a blessed memory now to their children and friends. In truth, the kindness of heart and unselfishness of service to all with whom she is associated, have drawn to Mrs. Reed many loving friends. While Major Reed was early separated from his brother, as has been stated, still during the long years of his life he has been closely associated with his sister, Mrs. Susan R. Guice, who was the wife of the late Stephen L. Guice, an able lawyer and good man. She is a woman of many excellent traits of character, having a clear and strong intellect, a tender, loving heart, and with all being a consecrated Christian, it is a privilege to be with her, and she is held in high esteem by a large circle of friends. Mrs. Guice survives her brother and now resides with her daughter, Mrs. F. A. Dicks, in the city of Natchez. After having lived seventy-four years of active usefulness, on August 4, 1891, in the city of Natchez, where he had so long resided. Major Reed passed from his earthly dwell- ing-place to his eternal home in heaven. During his last sickness he was tenderly cared for by his family and many friends. The great esteem for him by the people was shown at his funeral, when every class of persons was largely represented, besides the attendance in a body of the Masonic fraternity,, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Con- federate veterans. He had been for nearly half a century a member of the I. O. O. F. , and was the oldest living past grand master of the order. He also took an active interest in the two other associations named. He was a good man, a patriotic citizen, a consecrated Christian. His life was an honor to his state, and the beneficial influence therefrom will be felt for long years to come. The following is a portion of a notice of Major Reed's life, published a day or two after his demise in an influ- ential Southern newspaper: "Major Reed has from early manhood taken a great interest in politics. Though he was never an offlceseeker he always took a prominent part in the 654 . BIOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORIOAL councils of the democratic party. During the Mexican war he was appointed to the rank of major on General Quitman's staff, but the war closed before he saw any active service. He served in the late Civil war in aid of the Confederate cause. He was, at the time of his death, the oldest living past grand master of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows in the state. For more than forty years he had been a prominent member of this order. From early boyhood he was a member of the Methodist church, and he lived a sincere and faithful Christian life. One who knew him well said to the writer this morning that he made it a rule never to allow anything to stand in the way of church duties. He said further that he had never seen him absent from Sunday-school in the Jefferson Street church until he was taken sick two weeks ago. Major" Eeed leaves a devoted widow and a family of three sons and one daughter, all grown, to mourn his death. To them and his numerous relatives and friends we tender our sympathy. The funeral proceeds from the Jefferson Street Methodist church at five o'clock this evening. The Mississippi lodge of the Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows will attend in a body." W. S. Reed, Free Hun, was born in Yazoo county. Miss., in 1847, and is the son of J. H. and Elizabeth L. (Hurst) Reed. The father was born in Adams county, Miss., and is a son of the Hon. Thomas B. Reed, United States senator, of Adams county, who settled in l^ia- sissippi about the year 1816. Senator Reed died in 18^9. The mother of our subject was a daughter of Thomas Hurst, a pioneer pf Adams county. J. H. Reed was educated in Kentucky at Center college, and settled in Yazoo county in 1837. He opened up and improved a large plantation near Benton, where he was an influential and honored citizen. He died in 1874, but his wife still survives. They reared a family of four children, two of whom arn deceased. Ella E., wife of J. W. Waterer, and Betty, wife of W. E. Philipps, are not living; Mary C, wife of Dr. J. E. McGehee, and W. S. are the other members of the family. The maternal grandfather was a native of Virginia, from which state he removed to Mississippi in the 'year 1806. Mr. Reed spent his boyhood and youth in Yazoo county, where he received his education. In 1 864 he entered the Confederate service, enlisting in company K, Woods' Mississippi cayalry. He was at Gainesville, Ala., at the time of the surrender in 1865. After the close of the war he engaged in farming. In 1860 the family had settled on the place which he now occupies. It now covers an area of four hundred and forty acres, two hundred being under cultivation. Mr. Reed was wedded in 1869 to Miss Florence Hurst, a daughter of Chatham and Ann (Gaskins) Hurst, who were from Vir- . ginia. Six children have been born of this union: I. Shelby ,i John H., Chatham, William and Pearl (twins), and Dudley. Mrs. Reed and the eldest son are members of the Meth- odist Episcopal church. Mr. Reed belongs to the Knights of Honor, arid is reporter of his lodge. He has always discharged his duties of ."citizenship faithfully, and is, a man who has the entire respect of the community. Among the representative, thoroughgoing and efficient officials of Prentiss county, Miss., there is probably no one more deserving of mention than . Hon. W. H. Rees, chancery clerk, " Booneville, Miss., for his residence within this state has extended through his entire life, his birth occurring in- Tishomingo county (now Prentiss), near Rienzi, in 1847. ^le.is a son of John and Elizabeth. (Whitaker) Rees, and grandson of John Rees, a native of Virginia, who was one of the early settlers of Lincoln county, Tenn. The Whitaker family were originally ffom Kentucky. - Grandfather Whitaker was a wealthy planter and a very active member of the Baptist church, taking great interest in all religious matters and building churches where he lived. The parents of W. H. Rees were natives of Lincoln county, Tenn., and came to Mississippi about 1834 or 1836, settling in Tishomingo county, where the father became one MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 655 of the most prosperous and successful planters of the county, a model farmer in every respect. He died in 1859 at the age of fifty-eight years. He was a democrat in politics, was never an officeseeker, but took a very active part in polii;ical matters, and was influential in the politics of the county for some time. He was a member of the Methodist church, and socially was a member of the Masonic fraternity. Previous to his death his wife had received her final summons. They were the parents of nine children, five of whom are yet living: Mrs. Anna Bynum (of Rienzi), Mrs. Mary Bynum (of the same place), R. A. (resides in Lincola county, Tenn.), Hardy W. (makes his home in Prentiss county) and W. H Those deceased died young, with the exception of the eldest sou, Jordon L., who was killed in the storm that swept over the county in 1875. W. H. Rees was the sixth in order of birth of the above mentioned children. He espoused the cause of the Confederacy, and at the break- ing out of hostilities between the two sections he enlisted in company A, Thirty-second Mis- sissippi regiment infantry, and served until the 8th of October, 1862, when he was wounded at the battle of Perry ville, losing his left arm from, the' shoulder from the explosion of a shell. He was the first one of his company injured, and was captuyed by the Union soldiers. He wg,s confined at Louisville but a short time, and was then exchanged at Vicksburg in Decem- ber of the same year. After this he served in the quartermaster's department at Montgomery, Ala., until the close of the war, being paroled at Columbus, Miss., in May, 1865. Return- ing home he entered school at Oxford in I8685 and graduated from the law department of that institution, in a class of twenty, in 1869. He subsequently located at Booneville, Miss., and practiced his profession until finally ill health drove him to his jfarm. When he returned to his profession he was elected a member of the legislature fpr iiljorntand Prentiss coun- ties as a floater, serving two terms, and in 1883 he was elected chancery clerk, and re-elected in 1887 without opposition. In politics he is active for the interests of the democratic party, and the very efficient manner in which he has discharged the duties 'of the different official positions he has held and is holding, testifies to the wisdom of the people's choice. The con- fidence they have in him is intelligently placed, for they have known him -from boyhood and have had every opportunity to judge of his character and qualifications. He was married in Hinds county. Miss., to Miss Mary Parris, a native of Tishomingo ^county, and the daughter of A. J. Farris, who is a near relative of the Sivleys of Hinds connty. . Mrs. Rees was edu- cated at Jacinto, and in a select school near luka, Miss.,tatigljt by Mrs. ^rame. Mr. and Mrs. Rees are the parents of these children: John Jordon, Louise, William H., Jr., Mary Annie, Hamilton Sivley and Jefferson Davis Boone. Mr. Rees is a Knight of Honor, and he and wife are members of the Methodist church. ,. Mr. Rees' house, with most of its contents, was burned in 1891. They had a beautiful and pleasant home.- Jesse J. Reeves, of Summit, was born in Pike county. Miss., November 14, 1820. He is the eldest of nine children born to John and Martl;ia (Price) Reeves, both natives of South Carolina. John Reeves came to Mississippi in 1811, when the place was a territory inhabited by the Indians and wild beasts. He engaged in planting, which he contiaued until his death, which occurred in 1861. He was well known as one of the pioneers of the state. Jesse Reeves' paternal grandparents were Lazarus and Elizabeth Reeves, natives of Vir- ginia. His grandfather settled on a farm about one-half mile from the present residence of Mr. Reeves. His maternal grandparents were William and Elizabeth Price, natives of South Carolina. Our subject was reared and educated in Mississippi, attending the private schools near his home. He is now a planter and owns four iTundred and forty acres of land, about two hundred and fifty acres of which are under cultivation. .In 1848 he was married to Miss Olive McCollough, a native of Mississippi and a daughter of William 656 BIOGRAPHIGAL AND HISTORICAL McColloiigl). To them have been born twelve children: Mary A., Sarah J. (now deceased), James E. G., Tabitha, William H. C, Vashti P., Jasper M., Hannah B., John E., Martha A., Reuben W. (also deceased) and Dolly. Mr. Reeves and his family are members of the Baptist church. Mr. Reeves did not start out in life for himself until the age of twenty- eight years, and when he did begin for himself he had no means, but by close application and careful management has succeeded in collecting enough of this world's goods to live very comfortably the rest of his life. He is descended from one of the oldest families in the state, who were of English-Irish origin. Mr. Reeves is a Mason and a member of the Farmers' Alliance. He is deeply interested in all enterprises tending to the public good, and is a liberal contributor to the same. William S. Regan (deceased). Among the earliest settlers who came to Marion county. Miss., and endured the privations and hardships incident to pioneer life, was John Regan, a native of North Carolina. He was married and reared a family of five children: Stephen A., Joe, William S., Nancy P., and Mary A. Stephen A. Regan married Elizabeth Apple- white, and they had thirteen children born to them, ten of whom grew to maturity: Ralph, Sarah A., John A., Mary J., William S., Nancy P., Rebecca B., Joe R., Melissa, and Thomas G. William S. Regan married Catherine Pittman, and they had a large family of children: Robinson, Rufus, Henry P., Elizabeth, John, Sarah, William P., Stephen A., Willis, and Nancy P. William S. Regan, son of Stephen A. Regan, was born April 27, 1832, and in 1851 he was married to Sarah A. Loe, by whom he had five children: Elizabeth, James K., Oorinne, Abigail, and Caroline. The mother of these children died in 1863, and the father was married a second time, being united to Mrs. Susan Luter, widow of John Luter, and daughter of Daniel Scarborough. Eight children were bom of this marriage: Mary J., Joseph, Willy, Nettie, Thomas G., Stephen A., Laura, and William H. Mr. Regan was an excellent business man and accumulated a considerable amount of property. At the time of his death he owned a large tract of land six miles south of Columbia. He was an honored member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and being possessed of many sterling traits of character, he had won an enviable position in the community in which he had resided so many years. Judge H. P. Reid (deceased), was born April 28, 1839, at Greensboro, Ala., and was a descendant of an old and much honored family. He was left an orphan at an early age and was adopted by an uncle, Harrison P. Maxwell, who was one of the leading farmers of Tippah county. The Christian name of the uncle was given to young Reid. About the year 1854 or 1855 he was apprenticed in the Ripley Advertiser ofiice, and before the war, and when still quite young, he worked on the Bulletin and other Memphis papers. When war was declared between the states he promptly entered the Confederate army and served with credit and ability throughout the entire struggle. He afterward entered the political field, served in the legislature and in party conventions, and was the means of accomplishing a great deal of good for the democratic party and the state of Mississippi. He was very con- servative, and by his course set a good example in the community by which he was honored as a public servant and esteemed as a citizen. Judge Reid removed to Briar's Point before the war, and returning to that point after that eventful period he was almost without means. He started the Coahomian and conducted that paper for several years. During that time he studied law and was admitted to the bar in his county, afterward practicing in the courts of his own and adjoining counties and in the supreme court of the state at Jackson until the time of his death on the 3d of March, 1884, when Vjut forty-five years of age. He was a self-njade man in every sense of the word. He was married in 1869 to Miss Mary S. MEMOIRS OP MISBiaaiPPI. 057 Robinson, who now resides in Friar's Point, and to this union were born the following children : James Baxter, Alexander Morton, Frank Eochester, Harry Patton, Louie Wortham (died at the age of six months) and Samuel Warren (who also died in early boyhood). The Judge received his final summons at his home, from the exposure suffered on his trip to Jackson, Miss., to defeat a county site removal bill before the legislature. At his death he left a widow and five sons, one child having preceded him. He was the nephew of Dr. Bryan, a Presbyterian minister of Memphis, but he and his wife were members of the Meth- odist Episcopal Church South. He was tall and well formed, with dark brown hair, fair complexion and blue eyes. Joseph Keid has for many years been noted for honorable, upright dealing, and his record is a clean and worthy one. The first of his family of whom he had any definite knowl- edge was his grandfather, Joseph Keid, who was of Scotch descent but a Virginian by birth. During the Revolutionary war, with three brothers, he served in that struggle against the Brit- ish, holding the rank of lieutenant. He became a well-to-do planter of South Carolina, in which state he, for some time, filled the position of magistrate. He was also married in that state to Miss Isabella Baskin, of Irish descent, but a native of the Palmetto state. He died about 1830, and his widow in 1845, both being members of the Presbyterian church at the time of their deaths. Their son, Thomas B. Reid, the father of the subject of this sketch, was reared in Pickens district, S. C, his boyhood being spent on a farm. He was one of a family of three sons and six daughters, being the eldest son and the second of the family in order of birth. He received a common-school education, and throughout his entire life followed the calling of a planter, to which occupation he had been reared by his father. In 1823 he was married to Miss Sarah Nicholson, a native of Pickens district, S. C, and a daughter of William and Martha (Richardson) Nicholson, her father having been a planter in good circumstances, and died about 1820, being survived by his widow a number of years. In 1834 Thomas B. Reid removed with his family to Sumter county, Ala., where he remained one year, then came to Mississippi, reaching Chickasaw county December 25, 1835. He immediately purchased a section of laud, and the succeeding year purchased a half section, and by the time of his death had accumulated a good and valuable property. He was in the war with the Seminole Indians, and was ensign in Captain Kelly's company. He died in 1858, his wife's death occurring in 1843, the latter being an earnest member of the Presby- terian church. They became the parents of eleven children, eight sons and three daughters: Joseph, William R. , president of the topographical and engineering corps of Argentine Con- federation, South America; Isabella (deceased), Thomas B., who was killed in Virginia dur- ing the Civil war; Samuel, who resides with the subject of this sketch; Lemuel N., who resides in Houston; Evan R., who was killed during the war at the battle of Seven Pines; Martha, widow of John G. Brooks, of Opelousas, La.; Sarah (deceased), Warren D., who resides with the subject of this sketch, and George, who was killed in the battle of Gaines' Mill, Va. The boyhood days of Joseph Reid were spent in his native state and Chick- asaw county. Miss., and up to the age of seventeen years attended the common country schools five or six months throughout the year. At the age of twenty-one he began life for himself as au overseer on his father's plantation, continuing until the latter's death, when he purchased a portion of the old home place, afterward adding an addition to his share. He is now the owner of four hundred acres of fertile and well-tilled land. He was captain of militia prior to the war, and in 1862 was elected a member of the board of police, in which capacity he served until 1868 or 1869. From 1870 to 1872 he was a member of the board of supervisors, and in the discharge of all his ofiicial duties he was intelligent, faithful and 668 BIOGBAPSIGAL AND HISTOBIOAL Hctive. He is a member of the Presbyterian ciiurch, and is unmarried. His brother, War- ren D. Eeid, was a sergeant in company H, Eleventh Mississippi, and while with the army of Virginia was wounded in a skirmish, from the effects of which he lost the use of his left arm. He was elected to the position of circuit clerk in 1886, the duties of which he faith- fully discharged for two years. In December, 1S65, he was married to Miss Jane McJimkin, a native of South Carolina, by whom he became the father of eight children, seven of whom are living: L. B., a teacher in Palestine, Tex.; Bessie C, Joseph B., James M. , Minnie, Sam- uel E. and Warren D. Lemuel N. Reid, another brother of Joseph Eeid, was in the same company as his brother, Warren D., during the war, and while in the battle of Gettysburg received two severe wounds in the thigh. After remaining at home on furlough for some time he soon recovered from the effects of his wounds, and endeavored to rejoin his com- mand, but owing to communication being cut off he was unable to do so, and joined a cavalry company, with which he served in the winter of 1864-5. He was married to Miss Anna Moffett, a native of Houston, Miss., and a daughter of William Moffett, by whom he became the father of four children: William J., Harriet, Sarah and Thomas B. Samuel Eeid, another brother, was also in company H, Eleventh Mississippi, and was captured at the bat- tle of Gettysburg and taken to Port Delaware, whence he escaped with a companion, and made his way to the Confederate lines. He went to the Black Hills during the gold fever, where he remained ten years. He is now the postmaster of Eidge, Miss. He is unmarried. D. Eeinach, merchant and planter, Eiverton, Miss. The firm of Frank & Eeinach, at Eiverton, Bolivar county. Miss., carry a stock of goods valued at $20,000, and do an annual business of about $100,000. They are live, energetic business men, and in their dealings and representations, merit the esteem with which they are regarded. In 1884 they erected their large store building, one of the largest in the county, and their stock of assorted merchandise is of a character to suit the locality. Mr. Eeinach was born in Bavaria in 1842, and his parents, Samuel and Mena (Arent) Eeinach, were natives of that country also. There they passed their entire lives, the father dying in 1859 and the mother in 1875 or 1876. D. Eeinach was educated in Bavajia and in 1860 came to the United States, residing for a short time in New York, after which he went to Cincinnati, O., and from there to Chicot county, Ark., where he clerked in a store at Grand Lake for nearly two years. He then came to Bolivar county. Miss., followed the same occupation for a short time, and then entered the Confederate service, Company H, First Mississippi cavalry, called Bolivar -troops, and served in this company under Captain Montgomery during the entire war. He speaks in the highest praise of his late Captain, and quotes him as being one of the bravest and most fearless soldiers. Mr. Eeinach embarked in business at Carson's, this county, in 1865, and there remained until 1869, when he came to his present locality, then called Pride's Point, but since changed to Eiverton. He is a self-made man in every sense of the word, and although he could hardly speak the English language when coming here, he has, by his industry, good management and strict attention to business, become one of the most prosper- ous men in the county. The business grows under his supervision and is annually increasing. He also has a large plantation interest, about four thousand acres, and has two thousand acres of this under cultivation, it being thoroughly improved with gins, good bviildings, etc. He has been postmaster at Eiverton for a long time and was county treasurer for four years. Although formerly quite active in politics, he gives very little attention to the political issues of the day at the present time. He is a member of the Masonic order. He has a fine residence at Eiverton and one of the largest orchards in the county. The following is a brief sketch in memory of Isaiah P. Eembert, one of the most promi- MEMOIRS OP MISSISSIPPI. 659 nent pioneers or landmarks of early Mississippi. He was born in 1826, a sou of John and Sarah Rembert, natives of South Carolina, who moved to Louisiana and from there came to Mississippi in 1820. He was one of nine chlidren: George, Judith, Nancy, Andrew, Amelia, Frank, Isaiah, Melissa and Sarah, all of whom are citizens of their native state and deserving of a remembrance in the memorial pages being dedicated to the subject of this sketch, who chose for his career, in his early manhood, a farmer's life. He was reared amidst the surroundings of a pioneer life. In 1850 he married Sarah Holliday, born in Copiah county in 1830, a daughter of John Johnson and Mary (Mangum) Ainsworth Holli- day, the latter a daughter of James and Elizabeth Ainsworth. The former was a native of Georgia, the latter of Christian county, Ky., and they emigrated to this state Id 1S'20, and here lived until death summoned them. They will be remembered as having been good citizens and useful workers in the Master's cause. At the opening of the war Mr. Rembert was a prosperous aud contented man, whose large accumulations were due to his diligence and good management; but, like all true Southern men, he answered his country's call, leaving his happy home and large, splendid plantation of eleven hundred acres to the supervision of his wife and her mother, the latter, though, preferring her own home, living with her daughter, her Christian virtues, benevolence and experience rendering her capable of giving advice, such as none could fear to follow. Early in the war Mr. Rembert enlisted in Captain King's company as lieutenant, iii which office he served faithfully, but, owing to his corpulency, he was considered unfit for active duty, and was transferred to the com- missary department, in which he served until the close of the war. After the war he again engaged in planting, combining with his farm occupation the raising of hogs and horses. His widow resides on the old homestead. She has no children. Mr. Rembert was a mem- ber of the Hazlehurst lodge A. F. & A. M. In religious faith he worshiped with the Methodists. His wife is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church South. The Rem- berts are of French descent, the first of the family having come to America and settled in South Carolina, before the war of the Revolution, in which they faithfully served their foster country. Mr. Rembert died April 8, 1 884, after a protracted illness. His widow is a lady noted for her gentle, refined ways, and the modestj' which is characteristic of her. Isham B. Rembert, D. D. S., was born in Copiah county, Mj^s., July 14, 1859, the youngest of six children born to Frank M. and Sarah E. (Patrick) Rembert, natives of Mis- sissippi, the former being born and reared in Copiah county, where lie obtained such educa- tion as could be had in the common schools. He was reared on a farm and trained to hard work, but in later years he turned his attention to merchandising, in which he became very successful, accumulating valuable property. He is now residing in Hazelhurst. His father, John Rembert, was a native of South Carolina but emigrated to Mississippi in early life and was one of the first settlers of Copiah county. Isham B. Rembert received a good English education in his native county and in 1881 graduated in dental surgery from the Indiana Dental college at Indianapolis, Ind., immediately after which he located at Fayette, Jefferson county, where he practiced one year. At the end of this time he became a practitioner of Natchez, but in 1883 came to Jackson, where he has since remained. He has been exception- ally successful in the practice of his profession and now controls a large and lucrative patronage, which he well deserves, for he is careful and painstaking in his work and keeps fully abreast of the times in his profession. He is first vice president of the Mississippi State Dental association and is a rising young dentist, sure to make his mark in the world. He is gentlemanly and courteous in his intercourse with his fellows, and is a worthy member of one of the oldest and best known families of the state. In 1888 he was married to Miss 660 BIOGRAPHIOAL AND HIBTORIGAL Alma Eyrich, a native of Mississippi, and daughter of George C- and Virginia Byrich, but i n 1 889 was called upon to mourn her untimely demise. He is a member of the Episcopal church. Ed. J. Eew, planter, Sageville, Lauderdale county, Miss., is a son of Southey Rew, who was born in Currituck county, N. C, about 1780, and was in the se«pnd war with Great Britain. His father, Southey Rew, was a patriot of the Revolution and figured in that struggle with distinguished credit. Southey married Mrs. Fannie Rew, of Craven county, N. C, about 1805, and died in December, 1836. Their son, Ed. J. Rew, was born on the banks of the river Neuse, Craven county, N. C, on March 31, 1815. He moved to Alabama in 1 837, settled in the cane brake region, and remained there for fifteen years. He came to Lauderdale county, Miss. , in 1 852, settled in the southern portion, seven miles from Meridian and ten miles from Enterprise, Clarke county, where the weight of his energy and enterprise has been felt in church and state. He served as justice of the peace in his early manhood and sustained himself in that capacity, as only one appeal from his decision was ever made. He was married in 1839 to Miss Eliza J. Hooks, daughter of Charles Hooks, and granddaughter of Hon. Charles Hooks, of North Carolina, but afterward a citizen of Montgomery county, Ala. Mrs. Rew was educated at the Presbyterian institute at Tusca- loosa Ala. She is related to the celebrated Whitfield and Haywood families of North Carolina. Mr. Rew followed the trade of a mechanic in Alabama and was forward in devel- oping the resources of the country in its pioneer days, He acquired a competency at his trade, but later engaged in agricultural pursuits, and was quite successful in this occupation. In 1860 he was appointed to canvass the county in favor of Bell and Everett. In this canvass he met the supporters of the opposing candidates, and stood boldly for what he con- ceived to be right. At the breaking out of the Civil war, Mr. Rew was successfully operating an extensive farm, tannery, mills, etc. One of Mr. Rew's exploits during the war is worthy of mention: When General Johnston was maneuvering to keep General Grant from Vicks- burg, Major Young, quartermaster, stood in great need of mules. He therefore dispatched over twenty men to different sections to secure the needed supply; Mr. Rew was among the number. Of the three hundred and fifty mules secured, three hundred and thirty were due to the energy and enterprise of Mr. Rew, who was materially aided by Hon. Frank Lyon, Alfred Hatch, Captain Curry, quartermaster, and many others of Marengo county, Ala. The first named was a fine lawyer, the next a vast planter, and the others are first-class men in their professions. Toward the close of the war Mr. Rew was in the service of the state and Confederate departments. His position as a disunionist rendered him a conspicuous ob- ject for the wrath of Sherman's men, and accordingly his entire premises, dwelling house excepted, were burned and sacked. Among the losses he felt most bitteily were some of his most valuable agricultural records, etc. But for his Masonic allegiance and a sign accordingly from his wife, Mr. Rew vcould not have been left a single article. After the war he re-commenced farming and milling, and followed this with success. In 1872 Mr. Rew says the per-capita circulation was $52 and times flush, and accordingly, in the light of suc- ceeding events, he attributes the recent stringency to the contraction of the currency. Mr. Rew has had an eventful history as the foregoing sketch discloses, but one laden with honor to himself and conformity to truth and sound principle, as reason enabled him to see, disdaining at all times a compromise with his convictions of right. Mr. Rew is the father of the following children: Fannie, Hattie B., Edward, Henrietta, Bettie, Charles H., George, and Comb; six are now living. The first Grange of Lauderdale county was or- ganized in Mr- Rew's parlor by Major Wall, of Jackson, and Colonel Dennet, of New MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 661 Orleans. Mr. Revv has been loag identified with the mechauica] and agricultural interests of the county, such as fairs, organizations, etc., and is an uncompromising Alliance and sub- treasury man. He corresponds with the agricultural department and also with North- west scientists. Mr. Rew is scientifically inclined, and has a splendid collection of marl, mineral and fossils.% Mr. Rew is a Methodist in his religion and has been from childhood, and is identified with the ch\irch's best interests. His daughter, Miss Mary Fannie Rew, is the promoter of an enterprise, already charteied, for the education of orphan children, and she now has in care two widows and fi%'e children. Mr. Rew, by keeping abreast of the times, has been foremost in labors for the Agricultural and Mechanical college, takes great interest in all educational matters, and is prominently identified with other colleges, and in the development of a port of entry at Gulf Port, with its railroad contingencies. Mr. Rew is now in his seventy-sixth year, in robust health of body and mind, and as much interested in the public weal as ever. ^ Col. Reuben O. Reynolds (deceased) was born in Morgan county, Ga., and died at his home in Aberdeen, Miss., on the morning of Sunday, September 4, 1887. When he was yet a child, his father. Dr. Reynolds, removed with his family to Monroe county. Miss., and made his home a few miles north of Aberdeen. It was here at a school hard by that }'oung Reynolds began his education. He fitted to enter La Grange college in Alabama, whither he went, but did not remain long before proceeding to the University of Georgia, where he graduated, receiving the degree of bachelor of arts. In 1855 he received the degree of bachelor of laws, from the University of Virginia, and returning to Aljerdeen he soon wedded Miss Mollie English, who died shortly after. In 1856 he entered upon the practice of law in Aberdeen, and from the start gave promise of the high rank which he after- ward attained. During 1856-7 he was associated in his practice with William G. Hen- derson, afterward chancellor of the Sea Coast district of this state; but in 1858 entered into partnership with Hon. Lock E. Houston, and until just prior to his death, when Judge Houston accepted a place on the circuit bench, the partnership continued unbroken, and at its dissolution was perhaps the oldest law firm in Mississippi. In 1861 Reuben O. Reynolds was among the first in his section to seek the Confederate service. He went to the field as first lieutenant of his company, the Yan Dorn reserves, and by promotion successfully won the stars of captain, major and lieutenant colonel of the Eleventh Mississijjpi regiment. Colonel Reynolds was every inch a soldier, accomj^lished, gallant and chivalrous. He was twice wounded in battle; once in the leg at Sharpsburg, and later, near the close of the war, at the last engagement of Petersburg, and an empty sleeve ever remained as a reminder of the last wound. Early in 1865 he married Miss Sally B. Young, daughter of the late Col. George H. Young of Waverly, and their union was blessed by six children, who with his devoted wife survive him. In 1866 he was chosen reporter of the sujjreme court of Mississippi, then designated as the high court of errors and appeals, a position which he filled faithfully and efficiently. In the political revolution of his state, in 1875, Colonel Reynolds was elected to represent his district in the state senate and was a member of that body until his death, three successive terms, during which he was thrice elected president pro tem. of the senate. It was here that his high abilities and great usefulness began to attract general attention in the state. Few men were as ready and effective in debate; fewer still had his great capacity for mental labor, and his eager industry as a legislator, and no man in his time, of like capacity and influence, had fewer selfish purposes to hinder his pursuit of public duty. A co-worker with him through years in the senate, asserts that amid the vast legislative work he was identified with, no man can point to a sin- 662 BIOORAPHIGAL AND HISTORICAL gle act he ever t^ngineered fcir his own aggrandizement, or point to a private ax he ground for his own benefit. He was free from demagogical display and ostentatious service of the people, although always on the alert to oppose a fraud upon the state or to defeat the per- sonal aim of a crooked bill. Through those twelve years of senatorial life, while he largely influenced the choice of governors, judges and United States senatorgj no man can justly charge him with pipe laying to achieve any of these fine positions for himself, although his influence was so potent that it required, perhaps, only self assertion and political barter to have brought any of these places within his grasj). As a lawyer, Colonel Reynolds ranked among the ablest and most efficient in the state. He pursued his profession with pride; was devoted to the elevation of its standards and kept abreast with its progress and reforms. He was a member of the American Bar association and one of the founders and chief promoters of the Bar association of Mississippi. His practice in the courts, both state and Federal, was for many years large and lucrati-^, and his great ability made it easy for him, unconsciously, to lead associates in the conduct of cases. He seemed to be a tireless mental laborer. He was e((ually effective before court and jury, equally efficient in criminal and civil practice. He was adroit and ingenious as a pleader, painstaking and elaborate in the preparation of his cases; skilled, spirited and earnest in presenting his client's side to the jitry, and his mental agility surprised his adversary and delivered him from mishaps. In his legal arguments before the courts he was ever clear and concise, seeking to show the golden thread of principle which ran through all and did all unite. He did not seek rhetor- ical finish or oratorical phrasemaking, but spoke with directness and force. His fine clarion voice and knightly bearing, however, often thrilled the hearers with the tremor of genuine eloquence. No client ever had truer or more devoted counsel. He fought with dash and fire every inch of his rights. While quick of temper and impulsive of nature, in heated controversy, he never lost self-control, and was ever courteous, considerate and genial, and one of the pleasantest of legal adversaries. In private life, as citizen, friend, husband, father, it would be difficult to find a better example. He was a genuine patriot, and loved his country, his state and his town. While the state has experienced a great loss in his withdrawal from the legislative halls, Aberdeen has sustained a loss that for years will not be reparable, and which she sadly mourns. Mr. Reynolds was active in all her public enter- prises, and gave without stint of purse, time or talent, to everything tending to secure her advancement or prosperity. He was frank, affable and sincere, independent in thought and action; free in the expression of his opinion, courageous, quick to resent and repel an insult and injury, but equally free and prompt to forgive. His nature was sympathetic and noble. He was clean of heart and hand, and his uprightness and integrity were unas- sailable. His religious convictions were clear'and simple, and though he lived without cant or pretense to great piety, he ever struggled to imitate the example and obey the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, and died a member of the Presbyterian church of his town, to which he had given much of his time and substance. The eminent juror, the honored legislator, the beloved husband and father, had been called to a higher sphere, and the sorrow of a great loss rests upon the state. There was little in his character to condemn, much to admire, and more to imitate and cherish. In the sanctity of the tomb he sleeps beneath the quiet of the stars in the land his genius defended. Dr. John Henry Rhodes needs no introduction to the inhabitants of Hinds county, Miss., tor in his professional capacity, as well as socially, he is well and favorably known, his skill and talent as a physician and his kindly and courtly manners in social circles winning him many warm friends. He was born in Rankin county. Miss., August 7, 1859, the third of four MEMOIRS OP MI8BI88IPP1. 668 children born to Samuel D. and Jane (Ormand) Rhodes, natives of Mississippi and Alabama, respectively, the former's birth occnrringin Rankin county in 1837. He was reared in the county of his birth and has been engaged in various industrial pursuits, and at present is engaged in farming. He has been sheriff of his county, is a member of the board of super- visors, and served tkrough the Civil vrar vrith the Thirty- ninth Mississippi regiment. He was captured at Port Hudson and was imprisoned for twelve months. His parents, Henry and Katie (Crook) Rhodes, were native South Carolinians and were among the first settlers of Rankin county, where they were engaged in planting. Dr. John Henry Rhodes was reared in the county of his birth and was educated in the University of Mississippi, at Oxford, where his record as a student was very creditable and promising. He was editor of the university magazine while in college, and under his management it was a bright and newsy sheet. He afterward entered and graduated from the Louisville Medical college, and was valedictorian, completing his course in 1882, after whjph he immediately began practicing in Learned, Hinds county. Miss., where he has since remained, doing a large and constantly increasing practice. He has been chief health officer of the county for some time, and although a young man, has gained and sustained a reputation as a physician which many far older practi- tioners might well envy. He is not only a fine physician, but is a good business man as well, and is the owner of about eight hundred acres of land, and an excellent and well-appointed drug store in Learned. His life thus far has been crowned with success, and his future is bright with promise. He was married in 1887 to Miss Ella Sivley, a native of Mississippi and a daughter of William R. and Josephine (Stokes) Sively, both of whom were born in the state of Mississippi, and to this union one child has been born — John Sively. Mrs. Rhodes is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and the Doctor is a member of the A. F. ct A. M. He is prepossessing in personal appearance and possesses many excellent traits of character. His fine intellect and thorough knowledge of his profession place him among the leading members of the medical fraternity, and he is a mem1)er of the Mississippi State Med- ical association. Dr. Arthur H. Rice, physician and planter, Oktoc, Oktibbeha county. Miss., was born in Talladega, Ala., August 21, 1852, and comes of prominent and distinguished families on both sides of the house. His parents, John W. and Augusta (Hopkins) Rice, were natives, respec- tively, of South Carolina and Alabama, the father born in Chester district in 1 SI 5. The latter was educated at the University of Columliia, was a lawyer by profession, and when still a young man and after serving one term in the legislature, removed with his parents to Alabama. There he followed agricultural pursuits until the breaking out of the Mexican war when he raised one of three companies in Alabama and soon was commissioned captain of Comjjany I, Thirteenth United States infantry, and commanded this one year. Then on account of his father's death he resigned his commission to look after his father's estate, which was partly in Alabama and partly in Mississippi. His share of the property was in Mississippi, and he removed to Oktibbeha county and there followed the occupation of a planter. He was elected on the democratic ticket to represent Oktib))eha and Chickasaw counties in the state senate, holding that position at the time of his death, in 1857. He was first cousin of Governor and Senator Albert G. Brown, of Mississippi, first cousin of Judge William H. Foote, of Macon, and double first cousin of Samuel F. Rice, chief justice of Alabama. Mr. Rice was married in 1851 to Miss Augusta Hopkins, a native of Huntsville, Ala born in 1831, and reared in Mobile. She was the daughter of Arthur F. Hopkins, who, although a whig, was elected justice of the Supreme court of Alabama by a democratic legis- lature and was made chief justice by his associates. Judge Hopkins was one of three 664 BIOORAPBWAL AND HISTORIOAL commissioners sent by Alabamca to Virginia to induce that state to secede from the ITnion. He was several times whig candidate for the United States senate and feeveral times elector at large. He was also president of the Mobile & Ohio Railroad company. To John W. Rice's marriage were born two children — Arthur H. (subject) and Nannie H., wife of J. Simpson Walker, a civil engineer, now of Birmingham, and a son of Judge Richard W. Walker, of Alabama. Mrs. John W. Rice is still living, and makes her home first with one of her children and then with the other. She is a member of the Presbyterian church. John W. Rice's parents, John Sanders and Nancy Herndon Rice, were natives of Virginia and North Carolina, respectively, and the father was a public-. spirited, enterprising citizen, who accumulated a considerable property. Dr. Arthur H. Rice was reared in Mobile, Ala. , but spent a portion of each summer on the plantation in Oktibbeha county. He was educated in the private and public schools of Mobile, and when fourteen years of age went to Europe, spending three years in the schools of France and two years in the schools of Germany. Upon returning to the United States he began the study of medicine in Mobile Medical col- lege, graduated in the class of 1873, and in the fall of that year went to New York, after practicing that summer in the county, and in the spring of 1874 graduated at the College of Physicians and Surgeons, taking an ad eundem degree. He subsequently spent six months in hospital service in the OrthopcBdic Dispensary and Presbyterian hospital, and then went to St. Louis, Mo., where he practiced one year and was assistant to the clinic for women and children at the Sisters' hospital. In the winter of 1875, on account of failing health, he returned to this county and engaged in planting, in connection with his practice, until 1885, when he went to Mobile, practicing there during that and the following year. While in Mobile he served as visiting physician to the city hospital for one year, and then returned to Oktibbeha county, where he has since resided engaged in practicing medicine, planting and stockraising. He is the owner of one thousand seven hundred and sixty acres and has about eight hundred acres under the plow. He raises principally corn and cotton, and his stock- raising is confined to trotting and pacing horses and Jersey cattle. In 1870 Dr. Rice was married to Fannie M. Smith, a native of Charlestown, Mass., and the daughter of Joseph H. and Harriet (McGar^and) Smith, the father of Vermont and the mother of Massachusetts. Mr. Smith came to Mobile when a young man, engaged as clerk and was in the Confederate service. After the war he embarked in the railroad business; was at one time division superintendent of the Mexican Central railroad, and was afterward in charge of the railroad hotel system of the Southern Pacific. He is a first cousin of Senator Justin Morrill, of Ver- mont. To Dr. and Mrs. Rice have been born five interesting children: Augusta, Arthur, Frances, Nannie and Joseph. The subject has just been nominated by the democratic pri- maries for representative of Oktibbeha county in the state legislature. E. P. Richards was born in Columbus, Miss., and save for a few years, has been a resi- dent of the city from that time. He was at the University of Virginia at the inception of the war and returning home^ joined company A, Blythe's battalion Mississippi troops. He was with his command continually and participated in the battles of Belmont, Shiloh, Mun- fordville, Murfreesboro, Chickamauga, Missionary ridge and the battles of the Georgia cam- paign until he was wounded at Atlanta in the engagement of July 22, 1864, and saw no more active service. He entered the sheriff's office as deputy in 1880, and filled these duties until his election as chancery clerk in November, 1883, which office he has held continuously since. Col. W. C. Richards, president of the First National bank of Columbus, Miss., was born to David C. and Elizabeth S. (Parrish) Richards in the year 1828, in Shelby county, Ala. His parents moved to Columbus, Lowndes county, in the year 1833, where he was reared and MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 665 educated. He enlisted in the Confederate service March 27, 1861, going out as second lieu- tenant in Capt. W. B. Wade's company, the Southrons. In June, 1862, he was appointed major commanding the Ninth Mississippi battalion of sharpshooters, and was mustered out of the service as colonel of the Ninth Mississippi regiment, at Greensboro, N. C, upon the surrender of Gen. Joseph E. Johnston to General Sherman. He took part in almost all the battles in which the army of Tennessee was engaged and was twice severely wounded. After the surrender he returned to Columbus, took an active part in public affairs and became interested in most of the business enterprises of this prosperous little city. In 187(1 he was united in marriage to Miss Sarah P. Evans, of Columbus, Miss., by whom he has had four children: William, Prank, Anna and John. Edmund Eichardson. There is, in the intensified energy of the business man, fighting the every day battle of life, but little to attract the attention of the idle observer or reader in search of a sensational chapter; but to the mind fully awake to the reality and meaning of human existence there are noble and immortal lessons in the life of the man who, without other means than a clear liead, a strong arm and a true heart, conq uers adversity, and who, toiling on through the workaday years of a long and arduous career, closes the evening of his life with an honorable competence and a good name; and it is to those who appreciate the value and would emulate the excellence of such lives that these pages are addressed. The history of the great commonwealths of the South contain many characters whose elements compose the great worth and excellence of American liberty and progression. The South has furnished its full quota of the men who have conserved and enriched the grand principles of our noblest of governments, men who have furnished practical illustrations of the value to society of the cardinal virtues of business life. The history of a country is best shown in the lives of the men who aid in making it great, and the record of the people of a state is the only true basis upon which to form judgment of the right of that state to the fullest enjoy- ment of the broad privileges accorded by the constitution that governs the whole. So true is this that the writers of human achievements stop to portray individual character before at- tempting to philosophize on civilization. The history of individuals, and not of events, has been the fundamental and the most popular theme from the beginning of the world, and the custom of recording their life accomplishments has descended, hoary with antique and solemn associations, to the present day. Men who live in the eye of the public, as inciunbents of office conferred by the suffrage of the people, attain places in history by the force of circum- stances, as well as by personal worth and the faithful employment of great abilities for the good of the nation. Men in business life can rise into prominence, and become objects of high consideration in public estimation, only by the development of the noblest attributes of man- hood in enterprises that largely affect the well being of communities. The accidents of birth and fortune, and the adventitious aids of chance and circumstance, can do little to give these men position in history whose resources are wilfchin the limits of their brains and hands. The record of the life of Colonel Eichardson finds easy and graceful pla.ce in history, not alone of his state, but in the records of the great commercial centers of America. It stands out pre- eminent, among the truly great men of his time, as a noble character whose force, whose sterling integrity, whose fortitude amid deep discouragements, whose good sense in the gov- ernment of complicated affairs, whose control of agencies and circumstances, and whose marked success in establishing large industries and bringing to completion great schemes of trade and profit, have contributed more than any other to the development of the vast re- sources of two great commonwealths. In person he was of commanding presence; over six feet in hight he was stout in proportion, and in his younger days must have been a type of 066 BIOGRAPHICAL AND BISTORWAL manly strength and physical perfection. The line steel engraving of Colonel Eichardson which faces this sketch was made expressly for this history, and is an excellent likeness. He may be justly termed a representative Southern man. He was by far the largest planter of cotton in the world, having for many years over twenty-three thousand acres of land under cultivation. To the practical planter, familiar with the difficulties of cotton planting, these figures speak volumes; no one else can appreciate the executive ability requisite to conduct successfully such immense planting operations. In other fields of enterprise Colonel Richardson was equally prominent; the largest manufacturer of cotton in the South, he was also owner of extensive oilmills at Vicksburg, Miss., and was head of the firm of Richardson & May, New Orleans, the "largest cotton com- mission house in the United States. Of his minor enterprises, such as his insurance busi- ness and his many stores in various places, there is not space here to speak in detail. As a capitalist he took first rank in the South. His great wealth, aggregating several millions, was accumulated in legitimate industry, and has never been used to crush feeble competitors. Communities have been made richer and thousands happier by his enterprise; in his mills alone, at Wesson, two thousand operatives and laborers find employment; nearly all of them have been drawn from the country in the vicinity of the mills, and by a liberal system of recompense and encouragement have been transformed into well-dressed, happy, self-sup- porting workers. With his careful attention to his own interests. Colonel Richardson com- bined much public spirit. His purchase of the Vicksburg, Shreveport & Pacific railroad required the expenditure of a large sum, kept the control of the road at home, and insured its completion. From its recent sale he derived a large profit. It is indicative of the nature and aspirations of the man and of the largeness of his operations, that while in the notes written out for a sketch of his life he enumerates with some pride the industrial honors conferred upon him, he omits all mention of his almost single-handed purchase of this rail- road. But' in the biography of any prominent and successful man, tJie most interesting part after all is that which tells the story of his early life. His later career is known to many; it is, so to speak, public property; but the early influences that determined his course in life, first set his feet in the path of success, and shaped his career are generally less known, although of most importance because the lesson they teach can be applied by others for their own benefit. Colonel Richardson was born in Caswell county, N. C, six miles from Dan- ville, Va., then only a village, on June 28, 1818. His father, James Richardson, was a ' c'ountry merchant and planter, and died in 1826, leaving a widow and seven (ihildren. When about ten years of age Edmund Richardson was sent to what was then called an oldfield school. Even the limited opportunity for getting an education afforded him was diminished by the necessity he was under in assisting the field hands on his mother's farm on Satur- days, when other children of his age were either studying or enjoying their weekly holiday. That his efforts to secure an education did not cease with these four years of primitive school- ing, and that he must afterward have studied diligently in his brief hoiirs of respite from hard work, is shown hj letters written by him, which are clear, precise, well worded, and such as any well-educated man might write. When the boy was fourteau years old his mother obtained for him a situation in a store in Danville, at $30 a year and board. That mother must have been a woman of great force of character and energy ; so anxious was she that her boy should be able to save his salary that she had his clothes spun and woven at home, besides furnishing him with scanty pocket money for candy and other boyish necessaries of existence, and for an occasional visit to some passing circus. "And how much," he asks " do you suppose I saved out of that salary of |30 a year?" " Why, just |30." MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 6&7 In 1833, at the age of fifteen, lie went to Brandon, Miss., where he took a position in a store at |40 per year. He held this position for two years and then continued for a working interest in the firm, and afterward at the settlement of his mother's estate, in 1840, the executor having turned over to yoTing Edmund $2,800 in money and a few negroes, he added this money to his savings and bought out the firm and continued the business in his own name, establishing other mercantile houses in Canton and Jackson, Miss. Prom the day he obtained his situation in Brandon he was an ambitious student and was soon well up with the young men of his time and competent to keep the books and do the financiering for the firm. Nearly all the men who have risen to distinction in any walk of life have always been eager to make known their obligation to a mother's influence; to these Colonel Richardson is no exception; in concluding his own account of his career he said: "I owe my great success to early lessons in economy received from my mother, and to the assistance of my partners in business." He is careful to give full credit to the latter, say- ing in another place: "I have been very fortunate in partners." In 1847, while in New York buying goods, he met Margaret E. Patton, of Huntsville, Ala., a sister of ex- Governor Robert Patton of that state, who was visiting in New York, and in May, 1848, he married her. Prom the hour of the solemn ceremony to the end of his life, Colonel Richardson's marriage was of the most satisfactory and happy nature. It was a union of two affec- tionate hearts, with kindred impulses, sympathy and lofty ambitions, encouraged by high moral purpose; it was characterized throughout by the most gentle consideration and loving kindness, each to the other and both alike. It was a life-long honeymoon, that scattered sunshine over the lives of many and made their cares lighter and lives brighter by coming in touch with its warmth and gentleness. For more than a third of a century this sacred union continued, the advancing years adding to the honor and peace of the preceding ones. The tie was interrupted only by death. On January 11, 1886, Colonel Richardson was stricken with apoplexy and died in a few minutes. Mrs. Richardson was completely broken by her sad loss' .and on December 9th of the following year she followed her beloved husband to that mysterious realm of which we know only the brightness of a beautiful promise. From their marriage there were seven children, two of whom died: James S., William P., John P., Charles P. and Susie P., now the wife of William W. Gordon, of New Orleans, being the survivors of the family, James S. the eldest son being at the present time the head of the estates; interesting and instructive histories of whom will be found in the following page's. In 1850 Colonel Richardson went into business at Jackson with his brother and John W. Robinson as partners, and opened branch stores at Brandon, Canton, Morton and Newton. In 1852 he entered the cotton commission business in New Orleans, retaining his plantatation and country store interests until 1860, when he sold them. When the war broke out Colonel Richardson's house, Thornhill & Co., in New Orleans, sus- pended business, having acceptances out to the amount of $500,000; its assets amounted to between eight and nine hundred thousand dollars, but of course, most of these were lost. He had besides, some individual liabilities, and was working five plantations, most of them on the Mississippi river. The negroes on these were set free and the teams, stock and outfits, mostly lost or destroyed. The close of the war found Colonel Richardson seriously embarrassed financially and with his plantations in a dilapidated condition. As he himself said: "I would gladly have given up all I had to be free from debt;" but he felt that it was useless to remain inactive and nurse vain regrets. In the fall of 1865 he attempted to reorganize his places for planting, and with five hundred bales of cotton saved from the general wreck, reopened his commission house in New Orleans. He sold his plantations for pp 668 BIOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL good prices in cash, and his cotton enabled him to control his acceptances by paying half cash and extending the balance for twelve months. He then controlled the paper of his cus- tomers and went earnestly to work, collecting from some, compromising with others, settling in some way with all whose paper he held. In twelve months he was out of debt, and soon had capital in his business. The traveling which Colonel Eichardson did in these and the next succeeding years was marvelous; his activity was ceaseless; wherever his presence could be of service to his inter- ests or those of his firm he managed to be. The whole reestablishing of his fortune was an exhibition of energy and masterful appliance of the means at command, such as had scarcely ever before been witnessed, even under similar exceptional circumstances. Impossibilities were Colonel Richardson's opportunities, and what to most men would seem insurmountable obstacles Colonel Richardson leveled to his own convenience and order by the exercise of a courage, the remarkability of which was equaled only by its unswerving purpose.. At the breaking out of the war Colonel Richardson owned eight hundred slaves and many large plan- tations, a possession so great as to sound like a romance. For four years during the war this vast business was entirely suspended. After the dissolution of his partnership with Mr. Thornhill in 1867, on account of the ill health of that gentleman, Colonel Richardson began to look around for a partner; he did not know Mr. A. H. May personally, but had heard of his great business qualities, and he started out to find him. He went to New Orleans and met Mr. May in front of No. 40 Perdido, and introduced himself; after a very few minutes' talk the firm of Richardson & May was formed; they stepped inside the office, 40 Perdido, and asked for a sheet of paper, and the articles of copartnership were written and signed, and Colonel Richardson hurried to catch his train, he having agreed to do the country work while Mr. May was to conduct the office. As he left Mr. May he said, "rent that office," which was done, and they have remained in the same office ever since. The Mississippi state peniten- tiary was, directly after the war, a great burden on the state; there were many prisoners and no money. Colonel Richardson made a proposition to the military governor to lease the pen- itentiary from the State for three years for 118,000 per annum, and in 1868 he became the lessee, and inaugurated the system of making cotton with convict labor. In 1871 the civil governor induced him to keep it another year. In order to employ all the prisoners he purchased many fine cotton plantations and leased many others. During the war the levees protecting the alluvial land of Mississippi from overflow were broken, washed away and caved into the river. There was no hope of reclaiming those valuable lands except by protection from overflow. Southern securities were not then wanted by capitalists. Colonel Richard- son made a proposition to build these levees and take bonds for the work. The proposition was accepted, the levees built, and those magnificent lands reclaimed. He held these bonds until they were of good value, and it was always a source of pride to him to see the levee bonds, which had been such a drug, so eagerly sought after. A few years before his death the fifth district levee board of Mississippi decided to issue $200,000 of bonds. Colonel Eich- ardson was wired to; he was then in New York. His reply was prompt that he would take the whole issue at par, and he took them. In 1873 Colonel Richardson had a talk with an Eastern gentleman well posted ia cotton spinning of the world, and especially that of the East. Colonel Eichardson argued that the place for the cotton mills of this country was near the cotton fields. The Eastern man argued that that was an impossibility, as the quality of the white labor in the South was not intelligent enough, and such a thing would not be pos- sible in the South. ColoneFEichardson decided to make the experiment, and built the Mis- sissippi mills at Wesson, Miss. There is no foreign labor in the mills except Mr. John Hop- MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 669 kinson — Englishman — the superintendent, who has been with the mills since they were started, and to whom the great success of these mills is partly attributable. William Oliver, who was secretary and treasurer from the first, was a man of wonderful sagacity and energy. Mr. Oliver died in June of this year. Colonel Eichardson was president of the World's Exposition in 1883. In 1879 the Northern Louisiana & Shreveport railroad was ordered foreclosed to pay the first bondholders, amounting to |1, 250,000, and other cash liabilities amounting to about $400,000. Terms of sale, $60,000 cash to be deposited. Colonel Rich- ardson bought the road, paid off the $400,000 cash, and assured the payments of the bonds. He ran the road for nine months, and sold the same to the Erlanger syndicate. This was a big job, the road in the worst possible condition, ties all rotted and rails worn and bent, and the roadbed in a dreadful state, requiring a great outlay of money to put it in shape so that it could be used. Colonel Richardson was in partnership with Gen. N. B. Forrest in planting cotton on Prest island, near Mem2)his, from 1872 to General Forrest's death. He was also in partner- ship with Gen. Wade Hampton in planting cotton in Washington county. Miss. In addi- tion to his many other engagements he was partner in Commendum, in the well known big grocery house of Goodrich & Raily, from 1869 to 1872. There are many remarkable instances upon record of the marked philanthropic character of Colonel Richardson; records that establish his great humanity to man and sympathy to those in distress. These rec- ords are living examples of Colonel Richardson's grateful remembrance of the friends of his early life and struggles, and of his great generosity to those who served him. Through all the many incidents placed before the eye of the writer, as indeed Colonel Richardson's whole life has proven, there is the ennobling presence of that high, moral purpose and unswerving allegiance to truth, so characteristic in the lives of truly great men. There is not space in this history to enumerate half of his kind acts to his fellowmen, or to set forth the footprints of his wonderful progress. Therefore a few of the incidents only can be related. When Colonel Richardson was on his way from North Carolina to Clinton, Miss., his horse died just before he reached there. He looked about to find someone from whom he could obtain a horse, and found a Mr. Hobson, who was a North Carolinian, and he cheer- fully loaned him a horse to finish his journey. Mr. Hobson died shortly before Colonel Richardson's death, and one of the last acts of Colonel Richardson's life was to erect a monument over Mr. Hobson's grave, in remembrance of his kind act to him when he was a strange boy in a strange land. Among the bridal presents at the wedding of Colonel Rich- ardson there were three valuable slaves: Dick Richardson, Martha Douglass and Sallie Rother. Dick was the trusty coachman until he was too old to do service, and was then given a monthly allowance until his death. During the war the family was in the Federal lines, and Dick was the messenger between his master and his family, making regular trips and carrying much money and valuables back and forth. He could have had his freedom any time, but he preferred to serve his master, for whom his devotion was worship. Sallie was the cook from 1848 to 1870. Martha Rother was the black mammy, who raised all the children. These three negroes were with the family in and out of the Federal lines many times during the war, never desiring to change their happy condition; they remained in the service of the family until their death. James S. Richardson. It is the knowledge of the circumstances that tend to the forma- tion of character, or the conditions which influence and direct the happiness of life, that con- stitute the advantage gained by the world from the publication of the lives of individuals;, and the only objection which can possibly be raised against the time-honored custom of 670 BIOOBAPHIOAL AND HISTORICAL recording the lives of men while they live is that truth, in the hands of less painstaking biographers, is apt to be buried in panegyric. Under such circumstances there is an appear- ance of reason for the objection, and yet there are so many others against the objection that the balance is all on the side of truth and the usefulness and eminent propriety of memoirs. That we speak favorably of the subjects admitted in this history ought not to be considered a fault, as if we had nothing favorable to say of them they would not be admitted at all. It is not the design of history or the practice of historians or biographers to lavish praise indis- criminately, but rather to gather facts and state them fairly in a graceful manner; and such facts, published during the life of the subject, can with more certainty be relied on than such as may be gathered from his friends after death, when the maxim de mortuis nil nisi bonum, is most generally strictly observed. A virtuous life demands our reverence; public and pri- vate worth, our admiration; long and practical usefulness, our gratitude. It is the livipg presence of those elements that robs the task of the biographer of its melancholy and leaves it an agreeable duty to be performed for the instruction and guidance of the footsteps of those who follow after. Honor and fame are the legitimate reward of virtue and talent. Like wealth they may sometimes be unworthily bestowed and sometimes unworthily worn; but when yielded to merit or won by industry they adorn the wearer like a graceful robe, imparting dignity and commanding respect. Through the operation of the printing press and the careful writer they become the property of the present and the future, and appear as trophies to be won and worn by those who successfully contend against indolence and vice; and it is of rare occurrence in the history of any country that superior mental attainments, in alliance with moral worth, judiciously directed and actively employed, have failed in their attainment. An additional attestation of this universal truth will be found in this memoir. Mr. J. S. Richardson, in many respects, is one of the most remarkable men in our his- tory. He was born in Huntsville, Ala., on the 22d day of February, 1849, and is the eldest child of the late Col. Edmund Kichardson, who was the founder of the great cotton firm of Richardson & May, as well as the greatest cotton planter in the world. His mother was Margaret Elizabeth Patton, a sister of ex-Governor Patton, of Alabama. Mr. J. S. Richard- son's early education was obtained in the common schools at Brandon, Miss., where his father lived before the war, and at Huntsville, Ala. , where he also spent part of his boyhood with his grandmother. During the war he had no opportunities for school. In 1863, when quite a boy, he was sent by his father into the Federal army to look after property belonging to his mother. He was arrestod as a spy by General Granger and held a prisoner eight months at Huntsville, Ala., during which time he contracted the measles and had a relapse and came near dying. During General Granger's absence his adjutant took pity on the sick boy and released him and had him passed through the lines at Whitesburg. Being weak, without money or friends, and where no mail communications could reach his family, he had to walk nearly a hundred miles, when he borrowed an old mule and proceeded to where his father was refuging. Immediately after the war he was sent to Wilson's preparatory school in Alamance county, N. C, and he remained there a year, thea entered the Virginia Military insti- tute at Lexington, and having a taste for business, he was anxious to embark for himself. He left the military institute after the second year and went to Memphis, Tenn., and bought the interest of E. E. Clark, in the largo cotton firm of Clark, Ely & Co., the firm then con- tinuing under the name of Ely, Harney & Richardson. In 1876 he bought his partners out and continued the business under the name of Rich- ardson & Co. The yellow fever of 1879 forced him to move his office from Memphis to St. Louis. While there he determined to close up the cotton business in Memphis. He bought MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 671 an interest in the well-known large grocery business of C. M. & G. M. Flanagan, the firm then becoming Flanagan & Eichardson. This business was continued under that name for three years. The business of his father was increasing so fast that he needed help. Mr. Eichardson sold his interest to his partners in 1881 and went South to assist his father, who was a firm believer in the gradual enhancement of values of good cotton lands, and Mr. James S. Eichardson commenced in 1875 to follow out his father's idea — bought some cotton plantations and has continued ever since to enlarge his planting interest. When Colonel Eichardson died, in 1886, he left no will, and the brothers and sisters of Mr. Eichardson immediately issued powers of attorney and Mr. Eichardson was put in the entire charge of the large estate of his father, which amounted to many millions. In the meantime Mr. Eichardson's mother died, and afterward, when everything was in snug shape and ready for division, a meeting of all the heirs was called and the entire estate was divided pleasantly and to the entire satisfaction of all concerned, Mr. Eichardson having caused large additions to his father's accumulations. The planting property of Mr. Eichardson, inherited in addi- tion to what he previously owned, makes him the largest cotton planter in the world, he hav- ing in all forty thousand acres of the fine alluvial cotton land, of which twenty thousand acres are in cultivation this year. The cotton firm of Eichardson & May continues, and the Eichardsons still own their father's stock in the Eefuge Cotton oilmill at Wesson, which institution is now working over two thousand operatives. Probably one of the most remark- able incidents in Mr. Eichardson's life was in 1871, during the yellow fever epidemic, while on a steamboat going up to his father's plantation he was taken sick with this fever. The crew and passengers became panicstricken with fright, and in the rain and wintry weather of November he was put ashore. The only house near was an old dilapidated one without chimneys, floor, doors or windows. He was placed in this house until friends came to his rescue, and in a short time, with the use of cloths, the openings were closed and a clapboard floor put in and straw and mud chimneys hurriedly built. The physician pronounced his recovery impossible, but his strong constitution pulled him through. One of the great attests of public faith and honor in the social organization of New Orleans, than which there is not a finer code in its usefulness and worthiness in the world, the annual election of the king of the carnival is the most distinguished. The selection of this personage is made solely upon personal popularity and worthiness; and it calls for an exhibition of great dig- nity, broad and liberal hospitality, and a distinguished personal appearance. There are no set rules for the ethics of the king upon this day, simply a prepared programme of his grand disembarkation from the steamer that has conveyed the royal host and party up the Mississippi river to the city, and the reception by the municipal authorities, and their escort of the king and his party to the city hall, where the keys of the city are turned over to Eex; the interpretation of the proper address of a king, his royal manner and dignity, before the eyes of a hundred thousand people is an ordeal of no common nature. More particularly is this true when the character is assumed by one of such pronounced American spirit as Mr. Eichardson. In 1891 Mr. Eichardson was elected to this distinguished social honor, and it is a matter of record, that while being full-charged with the spirit of democracy and liberty, Mr. Eichardson possesses the high attainments requisite to the assumption of kingly favor and dignity. In personal appearance Mr. Richardson is six feet high and weighs about two hundred and thirty pounds. He has a compact figure and quick, decisive movement. His eyes are nearly as black as his father's and have the same searching, yet kindly, sympathetic, expression. He is the soul of considerate kindness, and is accessible to rich and poor alike. Among his happiest accomplishments is the one, which is truly a family trait, of placing strangers entirely at their ease. 673 BIOOBAPHICAI. AND HISTORICAL At his lovely home, on St. Charles avenue, or in his city offices, Mr. Eichardson can always be seen, and he will interrupt his busiest hour and give audience to friend and stran- ger alike. His liberality is a matter of note, and causes him no small degree of trouble. To all deserving public enterprises, he subscribes liberally ; and whiln his private donations to those is distress are not Imown to the public, they are many, and are of the highest possible consideration, from the very fact of their silence. Of course, Mr. Richardson does not give to every supplicant, for if he did, he would be kept busy at that and nothing else. An instance of his appreciation of a good thing, and his quick wit, is related in the following incident of a begging letter of recent date : The pastor of some obscure church wrote Mr. Richardson a long letter, extolling his great charities and said, " I know you do not belong to our persuasion, but I know you will give liberally to this project — which is to build a church. You see, sir, we have a world of land, but no church, and we are anxious to raise the money to build one," — and asked for an immediate reply. It was sent, and was as terse and crisp as any of the replies made by men of note, and deserves to be recorded here. It consisted of three words, " Sell some land." Mr. Richardson has never used his great wealth to oppress anyone or anything. His delight is to see every one prosperous and happy, and he will stop his royal four-in-hand on the roadside and talk to some lowly old darkey, who seems to bear life's burdens poorly, and with a few kind, cheering words, and a consistent amount of money, he will brighten and lighten the man's journey and forget all about it the next moment. To those who serve him he is ever just and kind, and for extra service, he always returns extra reward. Mr. Richardson has no political ambition whatever. He would decline a place in the United States senate for one-half the time with his friends and the people. His servants all love and respect him, and are as faithful to his interests as was Diana to her master. Mr. Richardson has traveled the world over, has driven through Prance and England, and is an ardent admirer and a friend of the horse, of which he keeps twelve in his city stables for pleasure driving. Very few men emulate the example of their fathers. Mr. J. S. Richardson is one of the few. When death came into his household, he assumed all the authority that was necessary. His acts were fully ratified by every member of the family, and what he has done for the great estate of Ool. Edmund Richardson has been remarkable in the highest degree. His integrity is unquestioned, and his good name above reproach. John P. Richardson, Wesson, Miss. It is a particular felicity of American institutions that they throw no impediment in the way of merit other than the competition of rival abilities. Into this career it may enter without encountering the repulses of artificial rank or royalty. As the father of an American family divides his favor and his fortune alike among his children, so the constitution of our greatest of republics giVes the same impulse to all her sons, and receives in turn a larger contribution of their talents and services. The more conspicuous a manis rendered by his talents, energy, decision of character and unswerving principles, the more will he become the favorite of some, and the object of envy and reproach to others. In no country in the world are men's principles tried at the bar of public opinion as in America; nothing can alter this custom, this unwritten law, or change the result; nor is it desirable that it should be other- wise, unless, indeed, the bitterness and coarse invective of the indolent, the mentally shift- less, the morally indifferent, who oppose the advance above them of their opposites, should tend to moderate the custom or lessen its effect. Nothing is more becoming to a country, or affords better proof of the excellent spirit of its people, than to find the reward of popular praise, and popular honors bestowed upon those whose labors have been guided by a wise philanthropy, and whose objects b£iY§ been, largely the welfare aud betterment of naaokind. MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 673 There are maay, no doubt, who have overcome greater embarrassments, who have had harder battles to fight, than the subject of this sketch, but there are few who have grasped the op- portunities presented by the gods, and grasped them more firmly or to a better purpose, or who have made better use of the fruits of the possession than the typical American and Southern gentleman, of whom it is our pleasant task here to relate. John P. Eichardson was born at Brandon, Miss., May, 4, 1854, and is the second eldest son of Col. Edmund Richardson, whose brief biography appears in this history. The history of his boyhood is that of most boys who are blessed with wealthy and indulgent, but painstaking parents. He was educated at a private school at Jackson, Miss. , until the age of fourteen, when he entered the Bellview high school for one year, and the follow- ing year entered a regular academic course of two years at the Virginia Military institute, at Lexington, Va., and finished his scholastic career with a term at the noted Kenmire high school, at Amherst Courthouse, Va. During all this time he was an earnest and conscien- tious student, and stored his brain with the knowledge which has so admirably captioned his business and social career. After his return home from school he accepted a position as assistant superintendent of the Mississippi mills, later removing to New Orleans, where he managed an agency for the mills. In 1879 he established a wholesale dry goods business at New Orleans, which business was successfully conducted under the firm name of Richardson & Cary, Mr. Richardson remaining a partner or sole owner until 1889, when the present firm of Richardson, Williams & Co. was organized. In 1886, after the death of his father, he was elected president of the Mississippi mills, and at once assumed the duties of this responsi- ble position. He is a thorough, practical and methodical business man, and the organiza- tion of which he is the head has profited largely under his judicious management. Aside from his interests in this line, he is extensively engaged in planting and is the owner of eighteen thousand acres in the delta region of the state, all of which are under cultivation and require eight supply stores. On February 4, 1879, he was married to Miss Ella Oliver, a daughter of the late Oapt. William Oliver, of Wesson. Pour children have blessed this union, of whom one son and one daughter survive. An examination of the magnificent steel engraved portrait which faces this sketch will convey to the reader a true impression of the kindly elements that compose the character of Mr. Richardson. He is full six feet in hight, and has been abundantly favored by nature. Mr. Richardson weighs about two hundred pounds, and to the casual observer presents the appearance of being a finished student of some school of athletics. He is quick in his movement, with- out seeming to be in haste, and while in no way influenced by nervousness, he possesses an active, decisive temperament, that brooks no delay in the promulgation of his plans. He possesses his full share of the family courtliness and ethical consideration for those around him. He is, in a word, a broad-gauged gentleman, incapable of small or mean action. A bit of industrial history worthy of mention here, which serves to illustrate, not only the characteristics outlined in the preceding paragraph as belonging to the subject of this sketch, but to the father and all the sons alike, is this: In England, or in fact in the great weaving cen- ters of the Niiw England states of America, a manager or a proprietor of a cotton or woolen manufactory, would no more think of permitting another manufacturer of a similar line of goods to enter his factory, than he would of permitting a stranger to enter upon the secrets of his domestic affairs. In fact, in England, the visitor is obliged to take an oath that he is in no way, directly or indirectly, connected with any similar business that is directly or indirectly connected with or influenced by said mill or industry in England or elsewhere, before he can get a peep into the workings of the miD. The Eichardsons are a remarkable 674 BIOGRAPHWAL AND HISTORIGAL opposite to that rigid and narrow understanding. Mr. James S. Richardson once almost dumbfounded a noted English cotton and woolen manufacturer who visited them at Wesson, l)y proposing to show him all the workings of their great mills. " What?" gasjied the Eng- lishmen, "you propose to permit me to enter your mills?" "Certainly," responded Mr. Richardson, and he forthwith proceeded to escort the rival manufacturer through each and every department, permitting him to examine at his leisure all of the original and improved methods, and to hel[) himself to as much information as possible; saying, in the meantime: "What you see in mechanism for the protection of weave and advanced finish of fabrics is nearly a century in advance of English methods; but it is only the rudiments of American geuius and our own original device; and when Europe creates its equal, we will proceed to step out another century in advance." The son of the Englishman, who was also present, was so impressed with the truth of what Mr. Richardson said, and with what he had seen, that he decided to remain in the United States; and he has done so, taking up his residence in the South, and devoting his time to re-learning the art of cotton and woolen spinning. What is probably a more remarkable evidence of their just confidence in the great strength and advantage of the Mississippi mills, came under the observation of the writer only a few days since: A gentleman from Carrollton, Miss., and the president of a new, necessarily com- petitive, cotton mill at that place, was visiting Wesson, and in company with the writer was shown through the vast labyrinth of machinery, and had the different workings described by the genial president, Mr. John P. Richardson, himself. These incidents may seem very unimportant to the casual observer, but to the mind fully informed as to the modus operandi of large manufacturing establishments even in America, they speak volumes in behalf of the advanced liberality and kindness of this noted family, and of the worthy example they set, even to those of superior years and pretentions. The Mississippi mills. Wesson, Miss., a great industry, affording employment through which thousands of the citizens of a state are made brighter, happier and better, certainly lose identity as a mere place of mechanics, a work shop, and assume the advanced posi- tion of a leading factor in the organized methods of the social, moral and physical advance- ment of that state, and become as much a part of the deserving history of the state in which it is conducted as possibly can be ascribed to political organization or the organization of any great scheme for the betterment of mankind, for it is the inspiration of the latter and conserves the former. Particularly is this true where great industries bear so remarkable a likeness to the character, humanity and liberality of the master minds that worked so hard to make it great. There is no industry in the South, nor in the North, nor anywhere in the United States, that is blessed with so much of the broad-gauged humanity of its organizers, that is enriched with so complete a record of justice, equity and fellowship as that of the great institution of which it is our pleasure here to record. Within its massive walls dur- ing the busy work-a-day hours assigned to man, through which to discharge his obligations to the laws of creation, and earn his daily bread, there is a sufficient number of souls to populate a goodly sized city. Happy and contented, free from labor organization, free from trade's-union dictation, this honest little army of workers have for nearly a quarter of a cen- tury received their liberal pay without the cessation of a day. Regularly each morning, in response to the morning whistle of the mills, two thousand happy, bright faced healthy men and women flock from their pretty homes and enter the great white walls ; within all is order, cleanliness and industry; the picture of cheerfulness observed upon the faces of the employes, while outside of the workrooms, is not in any degree lessened when they are at work; on the contrary it is enriched by the satisfaction they all have in knowing the MEMOIRS OP MISSISSIPPI. 675 importance of their work, for each and every individual in the great works has been edu- cated by a system of liberal reward and kindness to feel that the success, the reputation of the mills, is in part dependent upon the character and faithfulness of his or her individual effort. They therefore take great pride in all they do. Such institutions as this cease to be a common place of toil. It is a vast school of labor, a college of instruction in the sacred precepts of American liberty and independence. The mind that for so many years directed them in their work, .protected them in their rights, sympathized and aided them in their troubles, and who is now quietly sleeping the sleep of the just in the little churchyard at Wesson, never spoke of them as one of our men, or one of our factory hands, but as my people, my girls, my boys. He knew every one of the people by name, knew their condition in life, and this knowledge he used always to their betterment and satisfaction. Personally, Col. Edmund Richardson was little known at the mills, but the beneficence of his spirit was ever present, and the people knew him almost as well as thougli his life had been spent among them. In every kindness, every evidence of thoughtful regard for their welfare which was made known to them, the people could trace the master mind of Colonel Richardson, and the kindly, executive hand of his al-le partner, Captain Oliver. It was impossible then even to look forward to the time, when, according to the course of human events, the grave must close upon the labors of these two men, without a feeling of profound sadness, for such men are the ornaments of every and any age. They arise only at dis- tant intervals, to enlighten and elevate the human race. Death came. Like a flash of deadly lightning it grasped the towering mind, the strong physique of Colonel Richardson, when he has scarcely even approached the evening of his time, and leveled it to common earth. A wave of intense sorrow spread itself like a cold pall over the great commonwealth, and at the mills the two thousand operatives went about their work in a hushed and saddened manner. Great changes were anticipated by those who knew nothing of the delicate finish of the set principles of the great organization. But the great wheels turned just the same, the thou- sands of spindles flew just as fast. The man was dead, but his works still lived. Almost before the solemn cypress had been removed from the heads of those who mourned the death of Colonel Richardson, Captain Oliver was stricken down, and died. Again great changes were predicted. New and untried hands were to grasp the helm, and much fear was felt that there were breakers ahead for the interruption of the happy course of mill life ; again were the outsiders disappointed, for it is ever a disappointment to those who predict all sorts of evil for mankind to learn the falsity and foolishness of their own minds. The son of his father came to the front, and assumed the chief executive. A meeting of the heirs and stockholders of the mill was held and John P. Richardson was elected president. Some changes were made, but they were only the changes suggested by a younger mind that perhaps was in closer touch with the world. The changes were only the abrogation of a few of the customs that had grown old and unnecessary by use. Like machinery and men, customs must grow old and as they can not be advanced to the improvement of a new age without rebuilding, they must be discarded. Hence the changes made by the sons of Edmund Richardson were for the greater happiness of their many people. And looking upon them to-day with a judgment sobered by time it is seen that they were just such alterations as would have been made by the father himself could he have lived to note their application to the needs of the time. These mills are located at Wesson, Miss. , about one hundred and thirty- five miles north of New Orleans and forty-five miles south of Jackson, on the Illinois Central railroad. A few years ago this was but a pine forest, worth at most $1 per acre, and now there stands here 670 BIOQBAPHIOAL AND HiaTORICAL one of the most substantial towns anywhere along this line of railroad. Wesson, to-day, has a population of about four thousand, and a valuation of property of over one and one-half million of dollars. The Mississippi mills alone pay taxes this year on nearly $1,000,000 worth of property, and they have a large investment exempt from taxation for ten years, which will bring their property alone to nearly $1,500,000 dollars. It might be interesting to those who do not know anything about this large enterprise to know some of the particu- lars concerning it, and we here give a synopsis of the size and number of mills and their pro- ducts. There are three mills, all of brick, as follows: No. 1, three stories, 50x350 feet; No. '1, four stories, r)0x'.^12 feet; No. 3 (new building), five stories, 50x240 feet, two towers, six stories high, twenty feet square, with five thousand gallon water tanks and automatic sprink- lers throughout. The tower between No. 1 and No. '2, is eight stories, with a twenty thousand-gallon water tank, leading throughout every part of the works to automatic sprink- lers, efPectually obviating the danger of destruction by fire. A fourth building is 40x100 feet, two stories high, besides which the loom shed jnst erected is one story and basement, 175x340 feet. In these buildings there are twenty-five thousand cotton spindles, twenty-six complete sets of woolen machinery and eight hundred looms, the latter to be increased to about twelve hundred in the near future. Besides the above mentioned there is an abundance of machinery used for dyeing, finishing, etc. It requires four engines with a combined force of one thous- and horse power to furnish the necessary motive power. In connection with the above build- ings, the mills have a large cotton warehouse, capacity 10,000 bales of cotton, which is about their requirements annually. In the basement of the loom shed they have a storage capacity of two million pounds of wool, and it will require almost this much after this year to supply their wants. The system of waterworks of these mills is excellent. They have a one hun- dred and fifteen thousand gallon cistern, connected with fire pumps and a six-inch water main and hydrants at convenient points for attaching hose, which form an efficient system of water works, driven by two Worthington pumps capable of forcing water over the highest building. The supply is taken from a spring creek, one and one-quarter miles distant and is inexhaustible. One of the reasons for the success of these mills, is the great variety of their products. There is hardly any article in staple goods, made of cotton and wool, but what they can sup- ply. The following is a list of their productions: Cassimeres, jeans, doeskins, tweeds, lin- seys, flannels, wool knitting yarn, cotton knitting yarn, cotton rope, cotton warp yarn, cotton- ades, flannelettes, gingham plaids, cheviots, checks, plaids, stripes, hickory, brown sheeting, shirting, drilling, eight-ounce osnaburgs, ticking for feathers and mattresses, sewing thread, sewing twine for bags and awnings, wrapping twine, honey comb towels, awning, balmoral skirts, etc. Samples and prices of all goods will be cheerfully furnished on application. Very soon they will be running knitting machinery which will turn out hose and underwear of a superior quality. These goods have a reputation for excellence that is not surpassed by the product of any mills in the world, and the trade for them is drawn from almost every state and territory in the union. These mills now employ about a thousand hands, but will have almost double that number when all the new machinery is started up. The present monthly pay roll is from $18,000 to $20,000, which will be almost doubled when the increase of hands is required. These employes are for the most part taken right from the surround- ing country and adjoing counties. One of the blessings of this great enterprise is its benev- olence in supplying employment for women and children that would be almost helpless without some work of this kind. The people are happy and contented, and everything moves MEM0IB8 OF MISSISSIPPI. 677 along harmoniously. In order that any who may have a desire to immigrate this way, may see what inducements are offered, we attach hereto an article from the board of immigration, which offers inducements to home builders to come to the vicinity, well worth considering. In a letter to Mr. A. E. Eandle, of Washington, D. C, dated Aderdeen, Miss., October 5, 1890, the Hon. S. A. Jonas, United States Senator, speaking of the cotton industry of the South, said: — "I do not doubt but that you are familiar with the plant and operations of most of our Mississippi factories, yet the following items may be interesting: The Mississippi mills, at Wesson, manufacture in woolen goods a more extensive assortment than any other factory in this country, and probably in the world. This is due to climatic advantages, suitable water for bleaching, etc., and the excellence of our native wools; while in cotton fabrics their range is very extensive, and in addition to cloths and threads, includes a vast line of cord- age. The making of the peculiar twine used for fishing purposes on the North Pacific and Alaska coasts, has long been an extensive branch of their trade. The buildings of this fac- tory cover about six acres of ground, are from three to five stories high. The factory proper includes three mills, huge brick affairs of most approved model. No. 1, three stories, 50x3.50 feet; No. 2, four stories, 50x212 feet; No. 3, completed last year, five stories, •")0x24:0 feet, surmounted by two towers six stories high, with water tanks of 5,000 gallons capacity. There is another tower eight stories high, containing a 20,000 gallon tank, from which pipes and automatic sprinklers convey water for extinguishment of fires to all parts of the buildings. A fourth building is 40x1,000 feet and two stories high, and there is also a one story loom shed, 175x340 feet. To people Uving beyond our bor- ders, and even to most of our own people, these figures are astounding. " In these buildings are thirty thousand cotton spindles, thirty complete sets of woolen machinery and eight hundred looms; the latter to be increased to one thousand two hun- dred within the next few weeks. In addition to this plant is a complete outfit of the most approved machinery and appliances for dyeing, finishing, packing, etc. , and the motive power is supplied by great engines aggregating over one thousand horse-power for actual service. These mills also have storage warehouses for six thousand bales of cotton, and wool rooms with capacity for over two million pounds. This amount of material is, I think, about the quantity of staples required annually by these mills. The cisterns have a capacity of one hundred and fifteen thousand gallons, supplied by pipes from a creek over a mile from the mills. In addition to other plants, they are now putting in knitting machinery, and will enter the market this season with hose and underwear made from our wonderful Lake wool. The number of hands employed now is two thousand, and I have good authority for saying that the force will be increased as soon as all of this new machinery is in place. A large proportion of the hands are women and children, and all, except the foreman and machinists, are from the surrounding country. You and I well remember when this mill site was a pine forest, hardly worth fifty cents an acre, and now it is a bustling factory town of about four thousand people, and the mill, though enjoying exemption for a term of ten years upon its new build- ing and plant, still pays taxes on nearly a million dollars worth of property, and probably yields dividends of from thirty to forty per cent. " I cite this mill particularly to show you the results of judicious management in that line in Mississippi, for it may be said that almost every dollar that is in this factory came out of it and was earned by it, with Mississippi owners, managers, employes, staples, water and fuel, they use wood; and every bit of machinery not controlled by patent outside is sup- plied by state builders, These mills and those at Natchez, Enterprise, Wanita, and else- 678 BIOORAPHIOAL AND HI8T0BICAL where in the state are crowded with orders, and always pushed to full capacity of plant. Wlieu out at Cheyenne, Wye, in 1888, I was surprised and gratified to find Governor Moon- light of that territory, Eegister Wilson, the secretary ot state, the surveyor-general, and many other prominent officials, clothed in goods from the Wesson mills, and in 1882 both of the Mississippi and Georgia senators were clothed in beautiful suits of cloth made by the Wanita mills, of our state. But I tire you. I will only add that Mississippi offers greater advantages and facilities to the cotton and woolen manufacturers than any other state in the Union, and I am anxious to see you at once utilize this grand CarroUton property. Remem- ber, that under the operation of the long and short haul of the inter-state commerce law, we enjoy a vast advantage over eastern mills in the trade with the trans-Mississippi country, China, Japan and the islands of the South seas in the all- controlling matter of freights to western seaboard." Robert E. Williams, Wesson, Miss. , although but a short time a resident of Mississippi, Mr. Williams has made himself decidedly popular with those around him, and as secretary and treasurer of the Mississippi mills, a position to which he was appointed in August, 1891, his career will be noted with no common interest. Mr. Williams was born at Port Royal, Va., June 11, 1846. His father was Dr. G. A. Williams, and his mother was Miss M. R. Blackmore, both native Virginians. At the age of fourteen he removed with his parents to Missouri, and his earlier efforts in life were those of assisting his father on the farm. Later in life he removed to St. Louis, Mo. where he engaged in commercial pursuits until his appointment to his present position. Mr. Williams has no organic connection with any church, but is a believer in divinity and christian organization. He is unmarried, and like most bachelors, contented with his lot. Personally, Mr. Williams is of a decidedly retiring disposition and of as equally pronounced modesty. He is of medium hight and good build and robust constitution. He has an open, frank face that wins confidence at once and a manner of speech that bids the stranger welcome. He is a brother of Mr. Williams of the large wholesale dry goods firm of Richardson, Williams & Co. of New Orleans. Mr. Williams' whole life since he arrived at early manhood has been devoted to clerical labors in which he is an expert. He was one of the organizers of the OflBce Men's club of St. Louis, a club of more than usual note. In reviewing the names of the men in Newton county, who have made a career for them- selves worthy of record, that of W. B. Richardson is found among the most prominent. He is a native of Caswell county, N. C, but was taken during his infancy by his parents to Chris- tian county, Ky. There he passed an uneventful youth until the breaking out of the Civil war. He at once enlisted under Capt. Tom Woodward, of Christian county ; the company went at once to Clarksville, Tenn., to be sworn into the service; thence, to Camp Boone, and afterward was the first company to enter Bowling Green, Ky., attended by eight other com- panies. Mr. Richardson's war record was rather phenomenal ; he went through the entire conflict without receiving a single wound. Upon the declaration of peace he went back to his old home in Kentucky, remaining there until the fall of 1866; at that time he came to Brandon, Rankin county. Miss., and entered the employ of Stephens, Willis & Co., in whose service he continued three years. In 1869 he embarked in the mercantile trade at Newton on his own responsibility. The experience he gained while with this successful firm was the foundation of his own fortune. While at Newton, a period of three years, he did an extensive business of $250,000 under the firm name of Richardson & Co. He also established a business at Jackson, Miss., still retaining control, of the business at New- ton. In 1880 he returned to Newton, bought out his partner, and is now doing a business of MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 679 $150,000 annually; he handles more cotton than any firm between Vicksburg and Meridian, in the state of Mississippi. Mr. Eichardson was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth, a daughter of Col. Thomas E. Helm, of Jackson, Miss. She died in 1886, and he was married a second time to Miss Mattie Brown, daughter of A. J. Brown. Two sons have been born of this union: W. B., Jr., and James. Believing most earnestly in the bonds of friendship fostered in fraternities, Mr. Eichardson is connected with the Knights of Pythias and the Knights of Honor. His wife is a consistent member of the Methodist Episcopal church. The father of W. B. Eichardson was James Richardson, who was one of a family of four sons and four daughters. Prof. S. E. Eioketts, A. M. , one of the professors of Whitworth college, was born at Vicksburg, Miss., in 1843. He is the son of Eev. E. B. and Martha (Cosby) Eicketts, natives respectively of Kentucky and Georgia. His father was born in 1794, and was a son of Abraham Eicketts, of Maryland, and who was of Scotch and Welsh decent. The professor's great-grandfather was the original settler of the family in this country, and located at New Castle, Del., among the pioneers at that point. His son, Abraham, followed farming, and removed from Delaware to Marys ville, Ky., where he became a well-to-do planter, and where he reared a large family of sons and daughters, of whom Eev. E. B. Eicketts was the young- est. The latter grew to maturity in Kentucky, and was there educated. Eemoving to Jefferson county, Miss., in 1833, he settled near Payette, where he engaged in planting, in which he continued with considerable success. In 1839 he joined the Mississippi annual conference of the Methodist Episcopal church. In 1843 he removed to Louisiana and engaged in sugar planting, remaining there until 1860, when he took up his residence in Iberville parish, where he engaged in cotton planting until the war. After the war he removed to Baton Eouge, where he was made steward of the deaf and dumb asylum, which position he held until 1868, when he purchased a plantation near Summit, Pike county. Miss., from whence he removed in 1873 to Brookhaven, where he died in 1879. Although not all of his life engaged in preaching, he was ever an active worker for the church, devoting heart and soul to all of its varied interests. In politics he was a whig, and upon those questions which the division between the North and South turned, he espoused the Union cause. His wife was born in 1809, and was a daughter of James Cosby, a native of Georgia. Her mother, who was Miss Margaret (McCall) Cosby, was also a native of the same state and a first cousin of the wife of Judge Edward McGehee, of Wilkinson county. (See sketch of Judge McGehee.) The mother of our subject was one of a family of five children, four of whom were daughters, she being the youngest in order of birth. She was reared in Wilkinson county, Miss., where she had removed with her parents in her childhood. The other members of the family were: Eliza, who married Mr. Williams, and after living in Wilkinson county for a number of years removed to Hinds county, thence to California in 1869, dying there quite recently; Harriet married James Fuqua, and lived in Wilkinson cojinty a great portion of her life, removing to Clinton, Miss., and thence to Baton Eouge, where she died; Louisa, who married Eob'ert Germany, and lived' and died in Centerville, Miss. (See sketch of Charles Germany). Martha, the mother of Prof. Eicketts, died in Summit in 1873, having been for many years an earnest and devoted worker in the Methodist church; Scott lived in Wilkinson county and died there in middle life. The father of Prof. Eicketts was first married to Miss Shaw, of Jefferson county, Miss., by whom he had two sons who removed with him to Baton Eouge and died while at college. His mother was first married to Mr. Chrissman, of Woodville. To Mr. and Mrs. Eicketts were born three sons aud three daughters, of whom two sons and two 880 BIOGMAPHWAL AND HISTORICAL daughters are yet living. Barron 0. died in the army; Mary L. is now Mrs. Woodside, of Baton Rouge, La. ; Patti died in her thirteenth year; Henry P. is the city editor of the Memphis Scimitar; Lucy is a teacher in the public schools of Memphis, Tenn. Prof. Ricketts was reared near Baton Rouge and principally at the collegiate institutions of that time. Later he attended Centenary college, at Jackson, La. After receiving his degree at the last named college, he taught school for a short time in the collegiate institute, until 1862, when he joined the Second Louisiana cavalry, and a few months later he was tranferred to the Signal corps at Port Hudson. He was captured at the time of Bank's first movement at Port Hudson, and was a prisoner for a time at New Orleans. After his release on parole, he went to camp at Enterprise, Miss., being exchanged only after a year of inac- tivity. He reported to G-eneral Forrest, at Columbus, Miss ., and was sent on signal duty to a point near Grand Gulf, where he remained until the close of the war, when he was paroled at Jackson, Miss. Removing with his family to Jackson, La., he taught for a short time in the collegiate institute, until he was appointed to a position in the United States revenue office at Baton Rouge, which he filled until February, 1867, when he removed to Port Gibson, and became a teacher in the collegiate academy, remaining there until 1873. During the last year of his connection with the institute he held the position of principal. He then became connected with Whitworth college, in which he has foimd a field of labor since, having taught the advanced classes in all of the departments, but having for the most part filled the chair of professor of mathematics. For years he was Dr. Johnson's chief assistant. His career as a teacher has been one of almost unexampled success, and his connection with this institu- tion has brought to it much well deserved credit and prosperity. He married Miss Bertha Burnley, a graduate of Whitworth college, and a daughter of Col. Edwin and Maria Burnley, of Copiah county. Miss. Her father was a native of Virginia, who came to Missis- sippi in 1830, locating in Copiah county, and becoming a well-to-do planter. He was a very ^ popular and influential man, having at one time held the office of secretary of state in Vir- ginia. Her mother was a native of New Jersey, and came to Port Gibson as a teacher in 1848. She taught there and elsewhere in Mississippi. She is yet living, making her home with Professor Ricketts and his wife. She became the mother of three sons and one daughter, named: Robert, Edwin, John and Bertha. Professor Ricketts was first married to Miss Katy Bessy, the daughter of Judge T. T. Bessy, and who died in 1873. Mr. and Mrs. Ricketts are members of the Methodist Church South, and among its most liberal supporters. Prof. Ricketts is a member of the order of Knights of Honor. Gen. Benjamin S. Ricks, Yazoo City, is entitled to a space in this record of the leading men of Mississippi, both on account of personal worth and the position he occupies in the business circles of Yazoo county. He is a son of Benjamin Sherrod and Frances (Winter) Ricks, natives of North Carolina and Virginia, respectively. His father was born in 1882, and was reared in Halifax county, N. C. He was graduated at Chapel Hill college, in 1823, and was also a graduate in medicine; he did not, however, enter into the practice of the profession, but in early life devoted himself to planting in Mississippi, to which state he had removed in 1830. In 1840 he went into the commission business in New Orleans in partnership with John Carroll, which he continued until 1862, though in the meantime he was associated with other men. He was a most excellent business man, and acquired a large fortune before the war. He was not an aspirant to political honors, and would never accept public office. Politically he was an old line whig, and a true and loyal friend of the sunny South. The maternal grandfather of our subject was Major Winter, a native of Virginia. The Ricks family is of Welsh extraction, and the Winters family is of English stock. The MBM0IR8 OP MISSISSIPPI. 681 grandmother Winter was a daughter of Bailey Washington, who was a first cousin to Gen. George Washington. General Ricks was born in Madison county, Miss., May 24, 1843. He was educated at the Bingham school and Princeton university. The war coming on before he had finished hiw course, he left his books to go to battle. He enlisted in company C, Twenty-eighth Mississippi cavalry, and was promoted to first lieutenant and adjutant of his regiment. In 1880 he was made major general of the state militia by Governor Lowry. He served through the entire war with W. H. Jackson's division of cavalry in Frank Arm- strong's brigade. He was in the battles of Atlanta and Adairsville, and in the latter engage- ment was wounded. After his recovery he was in many hard-fought battles in Tennessee. He was in Gainesville, Ala., at the time of the surrender. After his return from the war, he began planting in Yazoo county, where he has lived a retired, quiet life on his plantation, Belle Prairie. In 1882 he removed to Yazoo City, where he had built a handsome home. In 1873 he was married in Geneva, Switzerland, to Miss Fanny Jones, of Charlotte, N. C, a daughter of Edmond P. Jones, also a native of North Carolina. General Kicks has been a member of the levee board since 1884, and has done efficient service. He is one of the largest planters of the Yazoo delta, raising about three thousand bales of cotton annually. He owns not less than eighteen thousand acres of land, six thousand acres being under cul- tivation. He is interested in the Cotton Compress & Warehouse company, and other important enterprises of his city. Although not a member of any church, he has ever main tained a high moral standing, and as a citizen, business man and neighbor, he has few equals and no superiors. William W. Rife, planter, Bolivar, Miss. , is a Mississippian by birth and bringing up, and his parents, William and Martha J. (Collins) Rife were natives of that state also. The father was a pioneer of Washington county. Miss., and settled near the present site of Green- ville before that town was founded. He was a farmer by pursuit and died in that county in 1843 or 1844, respected and honored by all. The mother received her final summons in 1853. William W. Rife was born near Greenville, Washington county, Miss., in 1835, and was liberally educated in Centenary college, Jackson, La. He came to Bolivar county in 1869, and as he had been traiiied to the duties of the plantation from early boyhood he very naturally chose that as his life's occupation. He now has about five hundred acres adjoin- ing the village of Bolivar and has three hundred and fifty acres under a fine state of cultiva- tion. This was formerly the home of General Vick, of "Vicksburg, but it was a wilderness at the time Mr. Rife purchased it. He has it well improved and stocked and everything about the place indicates to the beholder that a thorough hand is at the helm. He is also the owner of a good steam cottongin with improved machinery, etc. Thomas Rigby (deceased) who was for many years a resident of Vicksburg, was born in Manchester, England, in 1802, a son of George and Martha Ellen (Houson) Rigby, the former of whom was a minister of the Methodist church and came to America about 1820, locating in Missouri, where he preached the gospel and resided until his death, his wife also passing from life in that state. Thomas Rigby was educated in England and came to America with his parents, locating with them in Missouri, in which state his boyhood days were spent in tilling his father's farm, and in attending the public schools. After attaining a suitable age he taught school, but at about the time he attained his majority he determined to seek fresh fields and came to Vicksburg, Miss., which place was then known as Walnut Hills, Here he followed the calling of a builder and contractor for two years, at the end of which time he purchased a grocery store, which he successfully conducted for several years. During this time he also purchased some land from time to time, and in this manner soon 682 BIOORAPHIGAL AND HISTORICAL became one of the largest landholders of the county. In the fifties, with several others, he purchased the railroad from Vicksburg to Jackson, and these gentlemen with their own private means completed the road to Meridian. After serving for many years as vice presi- dent of the road, Mr. Kigby became its president, continuing such until it was purchased by a syndicate, when he retired' in 1882 at the age of eighty years. Prior to the Civil war he was very wealthy, but during the struggle between those two great factions he lost 1500,000. In 1846 he erected the home on Grove street, where his widow now resides. He was mar- ried to Mrs. Mary Ann Stovall, nee Jewell, a native of Maine and a daughter of Joseph Jewell, who died in the North. Her first husband, Mr. Stovall, died in 1842, leaving one child, another child being born after his death. Mr. Rigby's marriage took place in 1845 and resulted in the birth of two sons and two daughters: Thomas M. died in infancy, George Henry died at the age of three and a half years, Mary Ellen became the wife of E. F. Beck, Thomasina became the wife of M. Wolsey, and resides at Selma, Ala. During the last six years of Mr. Rigby's life he was an invalid and died March 30, 1889, at the age of eighty- seven years, having been an earnest member of the Methodist church for many years, of which church Mrs. Rigby has been a member for fifty years. He had long been a well- known citizen of Vicksburg, and not one of its residents stood higher in the estimation of the public or lived a truer Christian life. He was about five feet ten inches in hight, with blue eyes and fair hair, and his face was always smoothly shaven. In disposition he was amiable and was kind to and' considerate of the wants of his family. He was a self-made man, quite an extensive traveler, and almost from the foundation of the town he was identified with its progress and development. Mr. Rigby was a very old and very high Free Mason, and was buried with every Masonic honor. His widow survives him at the present writing (1891), a true type of noble womanhood. Among the residents of Franklin county, Miss., the name of Dr. Reuben J. Right is a familiar one, for during the twenty-nine years that he has practiced his profession in this section he has become eminent as a medical practitioner, and is also highly respected and esteemed as a citizen and neighbor. He was born in this county in 1884 to Kendle and Louisa (Millsaps) Right, the former of whom was born in the state of Georgia in 1807, and about 1814 removed with his parents to Adams county. Miss., settling on a woodland plan- tation east of Washington. After residing here only a short time they became residents of Franklin county, taking up their abode on what is now known as Right' s camp ground, on the Homochitto river. On this property the paternal grandfather died when the subject of this sketch was a small boy, being survived only one year by his widow. Kendle Right inherited German blood of his father, and many of the sterling business principles and char- acteristics of the German people, among which may be mentioned honesty, industry and frugality. He was married in Copiah county, but the first years of his married life were spent in this county, after which he moved to Copiah county, his death occurring there in 1857. He was a moderately successful planter, and had long been an earnest and worthy member of the Methodist Episcopal Church South. His widow died on the 13th of November, 1890, having attained to the advanced age of eighty-one years. She was also a Methodist in religious belief. Her father, William Millsaps, came from Alabama to Copiah county when this region was almost a wilderness, engaged in planting here, and soon became well known, for his intelligence and enterprise placed him among the leading men of this section. Dr. Reuben J. Right was one of twelve children born to his parents, five of whom lived to years of maturity: Elijah, who is residing on the old home place in Copiah county; Uriah W. , deceased, was a prisoner at Camp Chase, Ohio, and died there, being captured on Hood's MBMOim OF MISSISSIPPI. 688 raid through Nashville; the subject of this sketch is next in order of birth; Sarah E., wife of George W. Mock, of Kansas, and Margaiet J. , widow of Frank Sessions. The Doctor was given the advantages of the common schools of Copiah county, and in 1858 began puisuiug the study of medicine, for which he had a natural inclination, and under the able instruction of Dr. Hugh McLaurin he made rapid progress in his studies. While preparing himself for the practice of medicine he was also engaged in teaching school for about four years, and in 1860—1 he attended the University of Louisiana, and since 1862 has practiced his profession with success, his first experience being in Adams county, where he was married, in March, 1861, to Miss Sarah E., daughter of Benjamin P. and Sarah Tate, who came to this state from Virginia, the latter dying in 1859, on the plantation of Robert Tate, the former in 1872 in Franklin county, at the residence of the Eights. Mrs. Tate was formerly a Miss Stephens, a relative of Alexander H. Stephens. Mrs. Right was born in Washington, Adams county. Miss. , and after having lived an earnest Christian life died in 1874, leaving, besides her husband, a family of four children to mourn her death: Lula, wife of Ralph L. Weibiu; Robert J. ; Alice and Margaret J. Since 1867 the Doctor has been a resident of Franklin county, and has owned and operates Magnolia Grove plantation, which is situated about three miles southwest of Roxie and contains sixteen hundred acres, of which three hundred acres are under cultivation. Besides this he has five hundred and forty acres on Homochitto river, and the most of his property has been acquired by his own efforts. Since 1891 he has resided in Roxie. His second marriage was consummated in 1876, Miss Sarah E. Black becoming his wife. She was born in Pike county, and died in 1887, a member of the Meth- odist church. She bore the Doctor seven children, two of whom are living: Cecil and Stacy Ellen. The Doctor is a member of S. B. Stampley lodge No. 222 of the A. F. & A. M. , at Roxie, in which order he has attained to the council degree. He is a man who ranks high in his profession, possesses excellent business qualifications, and is progressive and public- spirited in his views. He has been one of the substantial citizens of Franklin county, and would give prestige to any community in which he might choose to make his home. F. L. Riley, Sr. , a merchant of Hebron, Lawrence county. Miss. , was born in this state in 1835, a son of E. M. and Mary (Shows) Riley. His father was a native of Georgia and a prominent planter, and his mother a native of Mississippi. F. L. Riley, Sr., is the sixth son and tenth child in a family of thirteen children, named as follows: John S., Elizabeth, Nancy, Ellender, James C, William, Mary, George W., Andrew J., Franklin L. (the subject of this sketch), Edward M. , Sophronia A. , and Missouri J. Mr. Riley received his educa- tion in this county, and afterward taught school for five years, until 1861, when he enlisted in company B, of the Sixteenth Mississippi regiment, under Captain Funtches. Being among the first volunteers he was sent to Virginia, and placed under the command of Stonewall Jackson. He took part in all the battles fought during Jackson's campaign in the Shenan- doah valley, and in the seven days' fight around Richmond. He was in the engagements at second Bull run and Antietam. In the latter he was wounded and sent to Lynchburg, Va. , where he remained a short time, until sent home on a furlough. He was at home about two months, and during that time married Miss Balsorah I. Weathersby. He rejoined his regiment at Fredericksburg in time to participate in the battle at that place, afterward tak- ing part in the battles of Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Spottsylvania, and all the other prin- cipal engagements in the Virginia campaign. A few days before the general surrender he was captured in Fort Gregg, in front of Petersburg, and taken to Point Lookout, where, after being kept a prisoner about three months, he was paroled July 1, 1865, and returned home. First he turned his attention to planting, and then, in 1871, he opened a store at 684 BIOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL Hebron, Lawrence county, Miss. , and has since done a successful business as a general merchant. To Mr. and Mrs. Riley have been born a large family, eight of whom are now living: Mollie E., Franklin L., Jefferson D., Balsorah, John B., James D., Ellen, and May. Those deceased are: Edward D., Robert E., and Maud E. Mollie is now the wife of Dr. J. E. Berry, and resides at Hebron. Mr. Riley is a democrat, and cast his first presidential vote for James Buchanan. He is a Master Mason, and he and his wife are members of the Baptist church. Besides a large and well-stocked store at Hebron, he owns about one thousand acres of land, a good proportion of which is in a high state of cultivation. Mr. Riley is an able business man and a very popular citizen. He gives his support to every- thing having a tendency to benefit the public. F. L. Riley, Jr., son of F. L. Riley, Sr. , was born in Simpson and reared in. Lawrence county. After receiving a preparatory education in the common schools, he entered Missis- sippi college in 1884, where he received the degree of A. B. in 1889, taking first honors in a class of nine. He received the degree of A. M. in June, 1891. While in college he was editor-in-chief of the Mississippi College Magazine, and first lieutenant of the Mississippi College Invincibles. During the four and one half years of his college life he never received a demerit or a reproof from any member of the faculty of that institution. Immediately after graduation he was employed as principal of Hebron high school, and since that time has successfully conducted the affairs of that institution. He was married to Miss Fannie Leigh in July, 1891. She was born in Cleburne, Texas, but when quite young, owing to the death of her parents, made her home with her aunt, Mrs. M. L. Powell, in Grenada, Miss. She graduated at the Central Female institute in 1886. After graduating she taught in this institution two sessions. For the last two sessions she has been teaching music in the Hebron high -school. Mr. Riley is a democrat, being a member of the democratic executive committee of Lawrence county. He is a very talented and promising young man, with a bright future before him, if his life be spared. In reviewing the pioneer history of Carroll county, the name of Benjamin Roach is found as early as 1835, in which year he located near CarroUton; the town then consisted of a few houses, as it had but recently been laid out, and the time since it had been made the county-seat had not long passed. Mr. Roach made his home with Col. John L. Irwin, for three vears, and one year of that time he was tutor to the Colonel's children. He next came to CarroUton and started a tannery, and did a large business for six years; in connection with this he carried on the manufacture of boots, shoes and saddles, attracting a fine pat- ronage in this line of trade. Disposing of his manufacturing interests, he went to the country and engaged in farming, but in 1852, he returned to town and re-embarked in the mercantile trade, to which he has since devoted his time and energies. Mr. Roach is a native of Davidson county, N. C, born October 30, 1812; he was reared and educated in the county of his birth. John Roach, his father, was also a native of North Carolina; he was a man of good abilities, and had an unusually fine education for the time in which he lived; he was a surveyor by profession. The Roach family are descendants from English ancestors. John Roach married Margaret Miller, a native of North Carolina, and of Ger- man lineage. Benjamin Roach, their son, was married in Carroll county, Miss., September 6, 1838, to Nancy Ann Goodson, who was born in Hinds county. Miss., and is a daughter of James and Elizabeth Goodson. She died March 26, 1885, mourned by all who had known her. She was the mother of four sons and four daughters: Elizabeth, the wife of Joseph H. Lawrence, of Hinds county, Miss..; Margaret, wife of D. Mayes, of Oxford, Miss.; Ellen, wife of Dr. T. H. Matthews, of CarroUton, Miss. ; Nannie, wife of M. Russell, of MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 685 Canton, Miss. ; the sous were Thomas J. , who was a soldier in the Confederate army, and was killed at the battle of Gettysburg; B. F., a merchant of Carrollton; James L., deceased leaving a wife and four children; and Charles B., who died at the age of seventeen years. Mr. Roach is a member of the Baptist church, and has been clerk of the same church for fifty years, his accomplishments in the way of penmanship well fitting him for that office. He also belongs to the Masonic fraternity, and is a royal and select Master Mason; he has served as secretary of his lodge for thirty years. Dr. Joseph C. Robert, a physician of Centerville, Miss., is a native of Beaufort district, S. C. , and is the second child and eldest son born to the marriage of William H. Robert and Greorgia W. Clark, the former of whom was a native of the same district and the lat- ter of Columbia, S. C. William H. Robert was born July 15, 1821. He was the son of James Jehu and Phoebe (McKenzie) Robert, natives of South Carolina and of Savannah, Ga., respectively. James Jehu Robert (who was familiarly known as Deacon Jehu), was the son of John and Elizabeth (Dixon) Robert; John Robert was the son of Jacques and Sarah (Jaudon) Robert, both of whom were natives of South Carolina; Jacques Robert was the son of Pierre and Judith (Videaunt) Robert; Pierre was the son of Rev. Pierre Robert (who was born near Basel, Switzerland), and Jean (Bayer) Robert (also a native of Switzerland). The father of Rev. Pierre Robert was Daniel Robert, of Saint Imier, Switzerland, whose paternal ancestors were from Wales. His wife was a Huguenot lady whose Christian name (Marie) only is known. Daniel Robert was born about the year 1625. One of his sons, Pierre Robert (mentioned above), was a minister. He was born in 1655, and being exiled by the revocation of the edict of Nantes, he came with other Huguenots to South Carolina in 1685 and settled near the Santee river. Of his presence there, Ramsey, the historian of South Carolina, makes prominent mention. He was pastor of the church at Santee from 1685 to 1715. He is mentioned by the Presbyterian his- torian. Rev. Dr. Howe, as a Waldensian pastor of Piedmont. The French colony on the Santee is thus described by Lawson, who visited them from England in 1700. He says: "They lived as comfortably as any planters in these Southward parts of America." He commended them for their temperance, industry and brotherly affection. "They are all of the same opinion of the Church of Geneva, there being no difference among them respecting the punctilios of their Christian faith. There is a happy and delightful con- cord in all other matters throughout the whole neighborhood, as kindred, everyone making it his business to share in the misfortunes and rejoice in the advance of the others of the community." Rev. Pierre Robert died in 1715, leaving three children: Pierre, Jean and Elias. Pierre, the eldest son, was born at Basel, Switzerland, in 1680, and came with his parents to South Carolina in 1685, and married Judith Videaunt in 1706. He died in March, 1731, leaving four children: Captain Pierre, Jacques, Madeline and Elizabeth (who married Elias Jaudon, a prominent man in the public affairs of the South Carolina colony). Jacques Robert, the second son, was born April, 1711, was married to Sarah Jaudon in 1735, and died in 1774. He left seven children: James, Peter, Elizabeth, John, Elias, Sarah and Judith. John Robert, the fourth child, was born in July, 1742, married, April 19, 1770, Elizabeth Dixon, a granddaughter of Landgrave Smith, and died February 24, 1826, leaving nine children: Mary H , Elizabeth Ann, John H., Thomas S., William H., James Jehu, Benjamin N. , Sarah D. and Lucia. James Jehu, the sixth child, was born in November, 1781, and in 1802 he married Charlotte Lawton, by whom he had seven children: Thirza, Benjamin J., Joseph T., Eliza J., Alexander L., Sarah H. and Benjamin J.; and by his second marriage (in 1817 to Phcebe McKenzie) he had twelve children: Law- 68ti BIOGRAPHIOAL AND HISTORICAL rence J., William H., Milton G., Adaline E., Juliana E., Charlotte H., Alexander J., Francis W., Richard F., J. Story, Benjamin F. and Edward A. The father of these chil- dren was a man of wealth and education, was highly religious and well respected. He was famous for his hospitality and generous disposition, and was prominent in everything he Undertook. He was deacon of the Baptist church in Eobertville, S. C. , for thirty years. Of his nineteen children, thirteen lived to be grown, and at his death, in 1852, twelve were yet living. The first wife was descended from Landgrave Thomas Smith, of England. She was born in 1788, and died in 1817. Her husband, James Jehu Eobert, was descended from the same Thomas Smith on his mother's side. The second wife was born in 1797, and died in 1854. She was a woman of sterling Christian character, and was the granddaughter of Dr. George Mosse, deacon of the Baptist church at Savannah, G'a. William H. , the second child of the second marriage, was born July 15, 1821, near Eobertville, S. C, where he was reared. He was educated at South Carolina university. He started in business as a planter, and was married in 1840, becoming a Baptist minister about 1844, at his native town. He moved to Georgia in 1851, where he was pastor of the first Baptist church of f By first marriage : Thirza Benjamin J. Joseph T. Eliza J. Alexander L. Sarah H. Benjamin J. By second marriage: ["Eloise E. Daniel ( Jean r Pierre Pi-e^ Pierre j^SIL ( Elias James Peter Elizabeth John ( Elias (^Elizabeth Sarah 1^ Judith Mary H. Elizabeth A. John H. Thomas S. William H. James J. Benjamin N. Sarah D. Lucia By first marriage : Joseph C. William P. By second marriage : Fannie R. Henry H. Shelby A. James Jehu Lawrence J. Joseph C. • -{ William H. \ William H Milton G. James J. Adaline E. 1 Sallie P. Juliana E. i Charlotte H. Alexander J. Francis W. Richard F. J. Story Benjamin F. Edward A. Atlanta, from 1852 to 1854. He filled the chair of mathematics at Cherokee Baptist college at Cassville, Ga. , for two years, and was pastor of the Baptist church at Marietta, Ga. , for two years. He was president of the Southern Female college at La Grange, Ga. , for several years, and during the latter part of the war was appointed missionary to the Confederate troops. After the war he went to Little Rock, Ark., where he became pastor of the First Baptist church. He has- been recently living in Denison, Tex. , and was there engaged in ministerial work. Georgia W. Clark, his first wife, was born in Columbia, S. C, December 22, 1822, and died in 1870. She was the daughter of John W. and Mary (Eoach) Clark, of Columbia, S. C. She was finely educated, and was a model Christian mother. To her marriage were born eight children, five of whom lived to be grown, and four of them are yet living: Eloise B., married Rev. Charn'er T. Scaife, of South Carolina, and died in 1872; Joseph C, the subject of this sketch; William H., who is now a druggist of Denison, Tex.; James Jehu, a prominent physician of Hillsboro, Tex., and Sallie P., who married J. W. Whitaker, of Wilkinson county, Miss. The father of these children was married the second time to Mrs. Power, nee Miss Lea, of Alabama, a lady of marked intelligence and piety, a sister-in-law of Gen. Sam Houston, of Texas. She died January 24, 1891. Dr. MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 687 Robert, the subject of this sketch, was born in 1844; was reared in Georgia, and was educated at the Cherokee Baptist college and at the Georgia Military institute. In 1862 he became a mem- ber of company E, Fourth regiment, Georgia infantry, and was afterward commissioned a lieutenant in the Confederate provisional army. At the close of the war he studied medicine, and graduated at the Nashville Medical college, Nashville, Tenn., in 1868. He then went to Arkansas where he practiced his profession for five years; then moved to Wilkinson county. Miss. (1873), locating in Centerville in 1874, where he has since resided and practiced his profession. He was married in March, 1870, to Miss Rebecca Whitaker of this county, who was born in 1849, and died in 1877, leaving a family of two children: Joseph C, now in the senior class of the Agricultural and Mechanical college of Mississippi, and ^Villiam Pierre, of the United States Naval academy at Annapolis. The Doctor's second marriage was in January, 1879, to Fannie Harris, daughter of H. J. Harris, a prominent Methodist minister of this state. She was born in 1842 in Mississippi, and has borne her husband four children : Fannie R. , Henry H., Shelby A. and James Jehu. Mrs. Robert is a member of the Method- ist church, and Dr. Robert is a member and deacon of the Baptist church of Centerville. In the midst of the failures and disasters of life it is a real pleasure to review the career of a man whose efforts have finally been crowned with success. Charles Roberts is an Amer- ican by adoption, having been born in Plymouth, England, November 24, 1831. He was educated in the land of his birth, and did not emigrate to the United States until 1852. He spent six years in the East and the state of Ohio, and in 1858 he came to Mississippi, making a permanent settlement in Oxford. Since that time he has taken rank among the most pro- gressive citizens of the town. At the outbreak of the Civil war he abandoned his business and entered the Confederate service. He was in Stanford' s battery for two years, and par- ticipated in many a hard-fought battle. Among the most important are: Perryville, Mur- freesboro and Chickamauga. He was offered at the end of two years a position in the quar- termaster's department, and served as acting brigade quartermaster until the close of the war. He then returned to Oxford and was the first to resume business there. He erected a business building on the ruins of the former town, the business portion of which had been destroyed by the Federal soldiers. He soon won a very large patronage, and for many years past has been one of the leading merchants of the county. He has always taken an active' interest in the young men in his employ, impressing on them that capacity and integrity was all the capital a young man required to insure success in life. He has three dry goods stores in the state, located at Oxford, Durant and Gunnison. These enterprises are in a flourish- ing condition, and the managing partners are all young men, selected on his theory that capacity and integrity are equivalent to capital. From 1878 to 1883 he was out of business in Oxford, and during that time was in New Orleans engaged in the cotton trade in the firm of Varden, Hawkins & Roberts. In 1875 he was one of the organizers of the Southern bank of Oxford. He is now president of the Merchants' and Farmers' bank of Oxford, and is vice president of the Bank of Yazoo City. He has assisted in the organization of many of the banks of Mississippi, and is a stockholder in seven different banking institutions. In 1854 Mr. Roberts was married, but this union was of short duration as his wife soon after- ward died. He was married a second time to Miss Maggie McKee of Yazoo county, and this wife died in 1890, leaving four children. The Roberts home is one of the finest and most complete in the state. It is artistically furnished, surrounded by well-kept grounds, which are shaded by majestic water-oaks. Among other blessings, Mr. Roberts has always enjoyed the best of health, and is now in the prime of a vigorous, well-ordered manhood. He is a selfmade man in every sense of that term, having come to America without any means 68S BIOORAPHIGAL AND HI8T0BIGAL except that capital with which he had been endowed by nature. In the war he lost all that he had accumulated previously, and like so many other sons of the South, had to begin the struggle of life over again. He now pays taxes on thirty-seven thousand acres of land. Mr. Roberts has been a member of the Presbyterian church for the past twenty-five years. In the list of the business establishments of Jackson, Miss., the insurance agency of AVharton & Roberts occupies a prominent position. H. C. Roberts, the junior member of the firm, was born near Edwards, Hinds county. Miss., in 1860, the youngest of three chil- dren born to Isaac and Martha (Todd) Roberts, the mother being the daughter of John Read, who was one of the earliest settlers of the county, and died at the age of eighty-four years. Isaac Roberts was a Mississippian by birth and spent the greater part of his life in Hinds county, in the progress and prosperity of which he was deeply interested. He was the owner of quite extensive plantation interests near Edwards, and prior to the Civil war was one of the largest planters in his section. In his latter years he was an invalid and died in July, 1874, at the age of eighty-four years, an earnest member of the Methodist Episcopal church. The maternal grandfather became the father of quite a large family, four of his sons serving in the Confederate army, Maj. Charles Read being a naval ofScer of considerable note. After the war he ran a vessel from New Orleans to Central America, his home being in the former place, where he held government of&ces. He died in 1890. John Read, another son, is now a Presbyterian minister in the Indian nation. William Read is a physician of Bryant, and another son, Joe, is a druggist of the same place. H. C. Roberts was educated in the University of Mississippi, but left school in 1881 and engaged in the mercantile busi- ness at Raymond with a brother, the firm name being J. W. Roberts & Co., which still continues to do the largest business of that place, a full supply of general merchandise and plantation supplies being kept constantly on hand. The stock which they carry amounts to about $15,000, and their annual sales equal $75,000 at least. In October, 1890, Mr. Roberts opened an insurance agency in Jackson, where they do fire, marine, life and accident insur- ance. The proprietors of this firm are business men of experience and sound judgment, and under their guidance the business has attained its present excellent proportions. Mr. Roberts owns a plantation of one thousand acres near Raymond, of which four hundred acres are in a fine state of cultivation. Mr. Roberts is a member of the A. F. & A. M. , and as a business man, possesses ability of a high order. On A.pril 26, 1888, he was married to Miss Corabel Wharton, a daughter of P. A. R. Wharton, an early settler of Mississippi, and to their union, one little daughter has been born: Corabel. Although young in years, Perry B. Roberts, stockman, Calhoun, is one of the pros- perous men of Madison county, Miss., and is engaged in the stock business at the present time. He was born in Iowa on the second of April, 1866, and was the second of three chil- dren born to Isaac P. and Margaret (Marr) Roberts, the father a native of New York state and the mother of Pennsylvania. The former was professor of agriculture in the Iowa State Agricultural college and has held several other important positions which he filled in a very creditable manner. Since 1873 he has been professor of agriculture in the Cornell university, Ithaca, N. Y., and is one of the prominent men of that state. His father was Edmond Rob- erts. The maternal grandparents, James and Mary Marr, were natives of Indiana. Perry B. Roberts was reared in York state and educated in Ithaca high school until seventeen years of age. He then entered the Cornell university in 1883, graduated from that institution four years later, and then came to Mississippi, where he has since been engaged in the stock busiaegs. He has three thousand acres of pasture and twenty-two hundred cattle, ranging all the way from calves to four year old steers. He does not raise, but buys and sells. He MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 689 pastures about one thousaud or twelve huadred through the'summer and then fattens four or live hundred during the winter for market. He raises his own feed of various kinds suit- able for fattening purposes, and thereby dispenses with the expense of buying his feed. He also handles sheep but not extensively, having about six hundred head last year. He has a trade all over the state, selling to butchers in different parts of the same, and he also ships to Chicago, New York and New Orleans. It pays better, however, to ship to points in the state and he makes that a specialty. He is a thoroughgoing, energetic young man and is justly deserving of success. He has a fine education and takes a great deal of interest in all modern literature. Capt. Stokeley B. Roberts, of Fulton, Itawamba county, Miss. , has a war record of which any man might well feel proud. In 1862 he enlisted at Columbus, Miss., in the Sec- ond Mississippi cavalry under Colonel Gordon, and was elected captain of one of the compa- nies composing that regiment. He did gallant service in the battle of Harrisburg, and in various other engagements and skirmishes in northern Mississippi and Alabama, and was paroled at Decatur, Ala., in the spring of 1865. He was born January 23, 1825, a son of John and Sarah (Multins) Roberts, both of whom are natives of Georgia. He was educated in the common schools of Itawamba county. In 1847 he married Elizabeth R. Spearman, a native of Mississippi and a daughter of Elijah and Sydney Spearman, both natives of Ten- nessee. To Mr. and Mrs. Roberts have been born thirteen children, eight of whom lived to maturity: Sarah E., Mary M., Ophelia A., Ada E., Ida, Zerah, Riibuster, Cleo; and Lafay- ette, J. E., Ella, Elijah A. and another unnamed, all deceased. Mr. Roberts is a democrat politically, and is a member of the Farmers' Alliance. He served as deputy marshal for four years. He and his wife and all his children are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. He lives on a beautiful plantation, surrounded by all the comforts and most of the luxuries of life, and also owns a valuable farm of six hundred acres in Texas. As a citizen he stands deservedly high, having contributed his full share toward the development and improvement of the county, and takes a deep interest in all political questions, local, state and national. Charles Henry Robertson, Hernando, Miss., has lived in De Soto county since he was a child three years of age. He was born in Hardeman county, Tenn., December 19, 1839, and is the youngest of a family of eight children. His parents, Gen. J. C. N. and Mar- garet (Reagan) Robertson, were natives of Washington county, Tenn. The father was born in 1792, and was well and favorably known throughout Tennessee. He was brigadier-gen- eral of the state militia, and for fifteen years was sherifp of Hardeman county. He was a member of the constitutional convention of the state, and was afterward a member of the state senate. He removed to Mississippi in 1842, and settled in De Soto county, three miles from Hernando, and engaged in planting. There he passed the remainder of his days, his death occurring in 1880. He was a soldier in the war of 1812, holding an official position. He was grand master of the Masonic lodge of Tennessee for a number of years. His wife survived him, and is still living, at the age of ninety-live years. She was born in 1795. The paternal grandparents were George and Susan (Nelson) Robertson, both of whom lived to be very old. They were of Scotch extraction. The maternal grandparents were John and Martha (Black) Reagan, the former being a native of Ireland, and the latter of North Carolina. The Blacks were originally from England. Charles Henry Robertson was sent to the public schools of his own county, and was also a student at La Grange, Tenn. Soon after leaving school, in 1860, he was united in marriage to Miss EmmaL. CafiFey, who was born in Hernando, Miss., a daughter of Thomas Y. and Louisa (Hanks) Caffey. (See 690 BIOGRAPHICAL AND HI8T0BIGAL sketch of T. Y. Caffey.) Five children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Eobertson: Thomas Caffey, Charles Eeagan, Emma L., John W. and Annie Bell. After his marriage Mr. Eob- ertson embarked in the mercantile trade, and has followed the business continuously ever since. When there was a call for men to go to the country's aid he enlisted in 1862, in company I, Twenty-ninth Mississippi volunteer infantry, and served as sergeant-major for two years. He was in the battles of Stone river and Chickamauga, and at Lookout mountain he was taken prisoner. He was sent to Eock Island, where he was held until the sur- render. After his release he returned to his home, and set about rebuilding his shattered fortunes. He has been successful in this effort, as he is now the owner of twenty-five hun- dred acres of land, two thousand of which are iinder cultivation. He also owns a half interest in the business of Eobertson & Goodman, who handle $50,000 annually, and carry a stock valued at 110,000; they own their store building, which is worth $5,000. The people of De Soto county attested their confidence in Mr. Eobertson by calling him to fill the office of treasurer, which he did for six years in a very satisfactory manner. He is a mem- ber of the Knights of Honor and of the I. O. O. F. fraternity. His wife is a consistent member of the Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. Eobertson takes a just pride in his career, and is well worthy of the high esteem in which he is held by the people of his county. He gives freely of his means for the benefit of the public, and no more loyal citizen can be found. G. M. Eobertson was born in Huntsville, Ala., in 1842. During the Civil war he served in the Confederate army under Bragg, Forrest and Wheeler, was captured at Franklin, and imprisoned at Camp Chase, Ohio. He came to Noxubee county, Miss. , in 1866, and in 1870 was wedded to Miss Ophelia Herron. They have five children: G. J., John M., William M., S. Lyttleton and Mary. Mr. Eobertson was engaged in the mercantile business for fifteen years, and at the same time farmed very successfully — owning at present about thirteen hundred acre^ of choice land. He makes a specialty of growing lespedeza striata and meli- totus alba. His sales from these two varieties of seeds, with the hay, aggregated $10,000 in the past five years. He contemplates the propagation of other grasses suited to the Southern climate. His hay and seed interests are very extensive, and his correspondence extends throughout the entire country south of, and including New York, Pennsylvania and Califor- nia. Mr. Eobertson also pays some attention to stockraising on his Oak Lawn seed and stock farm, located at Deer Brook, eleven miles northeast of Macon, and six miles east of Brookville. He is a thoroughgoing, progressive business man. Socially he is genial and pleasant, and is highly esteemed by the citizens of his county. Dr. S. D. Eobertson, physician and surgeon, Dover, Yazoo county. Miss., was born in Fairfield, S. C, in 1837, and is the second of a family of ten children. His parents are B. H. and A. M. (Dixon) Eobertson, natives of South Carolina, where they still reside. The father is a farmer by occupation. He was a soldier in the Black Hawk, Mexican and Civil wars, and three of his sons served in the last named conflict. Seven of the ten children lived to maturity: Sarah, wife of Capt. Thomas Perry, of South Carolina; S. D. ; Barnes, who fell at the charge of Drury's Bluff; Dixon, a planter of Fairfield, S. C. ; Lee, a merchant of the same state, and two daughters who are living in South Carolina. Dr. Eobertson was educated in the military school of Columbia, S. C, and came to Mississippi in October, 1857. Having chosen the profession of medicine for his life work, he entered the University of Pennsylvania, from which famous institution he was graduated in 1861. In May of the same year he entered the Confederate service, enlisting in company I, Eighteenth Mississippi vol- unteer infantry as first lieutenant. He was assigned to the army of Northern Virginia, MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 691 and upon the reorganization of his regiment in 1862 he was elected captain of his company. He was wounded at Gettysburg, Penn. , by a musket shot, after which he was on post duty for several months. He served through the entire war, and at the close of the struggle he returned to Mississippi, and located at Dover, Yazoo county, being among the earliest settlers there after the war. He entered on the practice of his profession, in which he has been very successful. With the exception of a short residence in Texas, he has been in Yazoo county since the war. He has a comfortable home, and is surrounded with peace and plenty. He was married in Hinds county, Miss., to Miss Sallie Garrett, a daughter of John and Mary Garrett. Five children were born to them and two lived, Annie and Mabel; the others died in infancy. Mrs. Robertson died in 1877, and in 1879 the Doctor was married a second time, being united to Miss Fanny Wilson, a daughter of S. J. and Caroline Wilson. They are the parents of three children : Wilson S. , J. D. and Barnes. Dr. Robertson is a member of the Masonic order, belonging both to the blue lodge and chapter; he also belongs to the Knights of Pythias and the Knights of Honor. Mrs. Robertson is a member of the Baptist church, in which she is a zealous worker. The Doctor is a stanch supporter of all home interests, and an ardent believer in both the developed and the undeveloped resources of Yazoo county. W. T. Robertson, of Forest, Miss., was born in Georgia in 1836. His father, W. H. Robertson, was a native of Virginia, born in 1807. His mother, Elizabeth Hardman, was born in 1809. They had nine children, of whom our subject was the fourth in order of birth. The marriage occurred in Georgia in 1828. There Mr. Robertson engaged in planting, and lived there until his removal to Scott county,, Miss., in 1815, where he followed the same occupation with considerable success. Mr. and Mrs. Robertson were members of the Meth- odist Episcopal church. The latter died in 1854, and the former in 1862. W. T. Robertson grew to manhood in Scott county. Miss., receiving a common-school education. He was mareied in 1860 to Miss Lou Moore, daughter of Lod Moore, and a native of Scott county. They have had born to them four children, all of whom are living: W. T. Robertson, Jr., was educated at Harperville, Miss., graduating in 1880; Anna B. graduated from the same place in the class of 1885; while Pattie was educated at French Camp. Misses Anna and Pattie are successful schoolteachers, and the son, W. T. Robertson, Jr., is a bookkeeper at Greenville, Miss. Mr. Robertson has about five hundred acres of land, about two-fifths of which are under cultivation. He and his wife are members of the Methodist church. He is identified with the Masonic fraternity and with the Knights of Honor, being a member of the lodges at Morton and at Forest respectively. In 1861 Mr. Robertson enlisted in the Thirty- ninth Mississippi regiment, commanded by Col. W. B. Shelby. He fought at Port Hudson, Chickamauga, Murfi'eesboro, Atlanta, Kenesaw mountain, Columbia and Franklin. He was once slightly wounded, but served until the close of the war, returning home from Ship island in 1865. Mr. Robertson is a liberal friend of schools, churches, and all public institutions, and takes a great deal of interest in all matters pertaining to the good of the community. Dr. J. R. Robinet, of Learned, Miss. , was born in Yazoo county of this state in 1836, only child of J. R. and Winifred (Clark) Robinet, the father a native of the same state as himself. His ancestors came to the United States with the Count de Rochambeau during the Revolutionary war. Dr. J. R. Robinet received good educational advantages in his youth, and up to the age of twelve years was educated by a private teacher, at which- time he was sent to a military school near Raymond, then to the Mississippi college at Clinton, from which he graduated in 1855 with the degree of A. M. He then entered upon the study of medicine in the office of Dr. M. D. Brown, and in 1856 went to Albany, N. Y. , entering a 693 BIOGBAPHIVAL AND IIISTORWAL medical college of that place, where he remained ten months, at the end of which time he went to New York city and took a course of lectures in the Bellevue Medical college. His next move was to Philadelphia, Penn., in which city he graduated from the Jefferson Medical college in May, lSr)8, after which he returned to his home and for one year was a jjractitioner at Richmond. Then on account of poor health he returned to the hill country and located at Bennett's Wells, where he practiced during the year 1859. Since then his practice has been confined to the country adjacent to his home. In addition to his profession he con- ducts a large planting interest which he commenced in 1865. He purchased the Bphraim Wells place in 1870, containing live hundred and eighty eight acres of land, three hundred of which are under cultivation and one hundred acres heavily covered with valuable timber — oak, gum, poplar, etc. At the opening of the war the Doctor enlisted in the Charleston rides, and was soon promoted to the medical department and assigned to the Second Arkansas regiment, then in the department of Tennessee. He took part in the Atlanta campaign and Bragg' s invasion, during which time he was in Gen. Pat Cleburne's division. In 1859 he was married to a.Miss Bush, a native of Mississippi, by whom he became the father of ten children, the following of whom are living: John Bush; Anna B., wife of Dr. Nelson, of Copiah county; Martin, Marshall, Frederick E. and J. R. Dr. Eobinet has taken great interest in educational matters, is a member of the Farmers' Alliance, and he and his wife are members of the Presbyterian church. Col. Jephthah Robins has for many years been a most conspicuous and influential mem- ber of the bar of Mississippi, and is worthy of mention in this record of the men who have been important factors in the development and cultivation of the resources of the state. He is a native of Pickens district, S. C, born in 1814, and is a son of Albert and Susan (Norton) Robins, natives of South Carolina and Virginia respectively. Albert Robins was a son of Michael Robins, a native of North Carolina, and a farmer by occupation. When Albert was a mere lad his father removed to Greenville Courthouse, S. C. The father was one of a family of eight sons and four daughters. He and all his brothers were soldiers in the Revo- lutionary war. He lived to the allotted age of man, three score and ten years. He reared a family of four sons and four daughters, all of whom lived to be grown. Albert was next to the youngest child, and Was reared in South Carolina, where he resided until 1841. He then came to Fulton, Miss., where he lived at the time of his death, in 1849; he was seventy- eight years of age. His wife died two years later at about the same age. She was a consistent member of the Baptist church. To them were born three children : Levi died in South Caro- lina; Mrs. Arminda Copeland died in Fulton, Miss.; the Colonel was the second born. He passed his youth in South Carolina, and received his education in the common schools. When he had reached his twentieth year he went to Moulton, Ala., where he clerked in a dry goods store for one year. Thence he went to Fulton, Miss., in 1836, and there he was employed as a clerk for some time. He then engaged in the mercantile trade on his own account, and while in this business he was elected treasurer of the county of Itawamba. After dis- charging the duties of this of6.ce for one term he was elected probate clerk for two years. He was then made clerk of the chancery court, the district comprising Itawamba, Monroe, Chickasaw and Tishomingo counties. He held this oiiice eight years, and during that time he read law, and was admitted to the bar at Aberdeen, Judge Rogers presiding. He prac- ticed his profession at Fulton until 1852, when he came to Lee county, and located at Gun- town. For several years be devoted himself industriously to the law, but of late years he has paid more attention to agriculture, and has turned his practice over to his son, John Quitman Robins, a partner of the Hon. John M. Allen. Colonel Robins was attorney for the MEMOIRS OP MISSISSIPPI. 693 Mobile & Ohio railroad, which position brought him many duties, and he still attends to all legal matters pertaining to the road. He is a man well read in all points of law and every class of literature. He is a man of rare judgment, quick insight and keen observation. He has won a wide reputation, and his ability is recognized in all legal circles throughout the South. He was married to Eliza D. Allen, a sister of the Hon. J. M. Allen, a native of Vir- ginia. (See sketch of John M. Allen.) Nine children were born to this union, one of whom is deceased : Mrs. Belle Gore, Mrs. Mollie Allen, John Q. , Jephthah (deceased), William, James, Edwin, Annie, and Harrison Lamar. The younger children are now attending some of the best educational institutions of the South, and all have had superior advantages in that line. Colonel Robins served on detached duty during the late Civil war, and was on intimate terms with Jefferson Davis, McNutt, Poote, Prentiss and Poindexter. He was a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows at Aberdeen, btit the lodge is no longer in existence. He and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. The Colonel is a selfmade man, and is fully deserving of the honors that have been conferred upon him, and entirely worthy of the high regard in which he is held in the state. Robinson & Brother, merchants. Friar's Point, Miss. These gentlemen are the proprie- tors of one of the largest, if not the largest, establishments in Friar's Point and have a patronage established that indicates appreciation of their reliable goods and fair dealing methods. They carry a full and well selected stock of dry goods, boots and shoes, hats and caps, groceries, hardware and a general line of plantation supplies. They do an annual business approximating $50,000. The members of the firm, Frank D. and James D. Rob- inson, are young men, natives of the town and are thoroughgoing and enterprising. Frank D. Robinson, senior member of the firm, was born in Friar's Point, Coahoma county. Miss., in 1854, and was the third in a family of eight children born to James D. and Catherine E. (Morton) Robinson. The father was one of the first settlers and merchants of Friar's Point and is spoken of as a good man and a law-abiding citizen. In 1861 he moved to Memphis, embarked in business as a cottonf actor and died there in 1868. The family then returned to Friar's Point, where the mother resides at the present time. Frank D. was educated in the common schools, took a legal course at Oxford, and graduated from that institution in 1878, standing fourth in a class of thirty-six. He at once began practicing with Messrs. Reid & Wynn, under the firm name of Reid, Wynn & Robinson, which continued until fall of 1879. Having previously graduated in bookkeeping in 1 872, he gave up law and accepted a lucrative position at the desk, where he remained until 1882, when he and his brother formed the above-mentioned firm. In 1891 he was married to Miss Emma E. Slack, daughter of Dr. J. J. Slack, of Friar's Point. Mr. Robinson assisted in organizing the bank of Friar's Point, in which he is a stockholder, and is also a stockholder in the Friar's Point Build- ing and Loan association, besides being a promoter of other corporations at Friar's Point. He held the position of postmaster at that place for over eight years, giving eminent satis- faction. Though not a member of any church he is a Christian in its broadest sense, and his wish is to see all sects united in one faith, one purpose and one eternal hope in work- ing out the greatest good to all mankind. Mr. Robinson is a member of the Knights of Honor. In personal appearance he is a little under rather than above the medium size, and has brown hair and gray eyes; is quick and active in his movements and shows the thorough business man in word and action. He is now at the head of one of the most substantial firms in Mississippi. James D. Robinson, the junior member of the firm, was born in January, 1860, and educated in Friar's Point, his native place. For some time he filled the position of clerk in the drugstore of Dr. J. A. Cooper, and afterward held the posi- 694 BIOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORIOAL Uou of HHsistant bookkeeper in tho large furnishing house of J. W. Crowley & Co. In 1886 he was married to Miss Mattie L. Fisher, a native of Alabama, whose people were old settlers of Coahoma county. To them have been born two children: James and Milton. Mr. Eob- iason was one of the organizers of the bank at Friar's Point and is a director in the same. He and brother both own town property and a lot next to the bank building, on which they expect to erect a three-story brick block in the near future. Mr. Robinson is a member of the Knights of Pythias and he and his wife are both members of the Methodist Episcopal Church South. In personal appearance he is a blonde, of medium size and active in his movements; also a shrewd buyer and good salesman. John L. Robinson is a native-born resident of Madison county. Miss., his birth having occurred on December 0, 1852, and comes of one of the prominent families of the state. He is the eldest of the children born to John and Sarah (Lowe) Robinson, natives of Mis- sissippi. The father was an extensive planter in Madison county, and was one of its leading citizens. He died in 1879. The mother died in 1859. The paternal grandparents, John and Nancy (Collins) Robinson, were natives of Georgia and Mississippi, respectively, and the maternal grandparents, John and Sarah (Gatlin) Lowe, were natives of Mississippi. Our subject, John L. Robinson, is now residing on the old homestead. He was reared there, attended the public schools of the county until seventeen years of age, and then entered the Summerville institute, Noxubee county, Miss. , where he remained for two years. Since that time he has followed planting, and of the two thousand five hundred acres in his plan- tation, one thousand five hundred acres are under cultivation. Miss Annie S. Hinton, who became his wife in 1878, is a native of Mississippi and the daughter of Eugene H. and Annie (Jones) Hinton, natives of the Old North state. Five children have been born to this union: Annie M., Helen B., Sarah, John and Pauline. Mr. and Mrs. Robinson are mem- bers of the Episcopal church. Mr. Robinson is also a member of the Knights of Pythias. He is democratic in his political views. All worthy movements receive his hearty support and he is a liberal contributor to the same. He is pleasant and agreeable in his intercourse with all and has many warm friends. John W. Robinson, (deceased,) who was for many years one of the foremost business men of the state of Mississippi, was born in Chenango county, N. Y. , and began life as a clerk in a country store in his native county. After continuing this occupation for some time he determined to seek his fortune in the South, and prior to attaining his majority he located in Jackson, where he continued his labors as a clerk for some time. He afterward engaged in business for himself in partnership with William Richardson, a brother of Ned Richardson, who in later years became the cotton king of Mississippi, and although he started out with limited means to begin with, he possessed correct business principles, and even then gave promise of becoming a shrewd and successful financier. Prior to the Civil war he became a citizen of Jackson, and here he opened a mercantile establishment in connection with a Mr. Windley, which they successfully conducted until the opening of the war. After Lee's sur- render and the war-worn soldiers had returned home, the business of Robinson & Stevens was established and became one of the most extensive and prosperous wholesale and retail establishments in the city. He was one of the incorporators of the Mississippi cotton mill at Wesson, which is now one of the largest in the South; owned the Edwards house, one of the finest and best conducted hotels in Jackson; built the Jackson street railway, which he managed until his death, and also erected the Robinson operahouse of Jackson, besides many fine business houses of the city. After being prominently identified with the business life of Jackson for many years, Mr. Robinson was called from life in April, 1881, after MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 695 which the mercantile firm in Jackson was dissolved. He was an exceptionally able financier, was a man of great force of character and profound intelligence, and his leading character- istics were a kindly and generous disposition, extreme frankness, honesty of purpose and indomitable will and energy. From a very small beginning he built up a business of mag- nificent proportions, and at his death he left a large fortune to his widow and cbildren. He was keenly alive to the sufferings and misfortunes of others, and was never appealed to in vain for consolation or succor, for his early struggles to gain a foothold on the ladder of suc- cess made his heart warm for those less fortunate than himself. He was in every respect a model American citizen, and his career is eminently worthy of being emulated by the youth of the present day. He was married to Miss Mary J. Bradford, a native of Huntsville, Ala. , and to their union six children were bom, five of whom are now living: Mattie L. ; Annie M. , wife of E. L. Saunders (see sketch) ; John W. ; Mary J. , wife of C. M. Williamson (see sketch); Joseph F. ; and a child that died in infancy. Mr. Robinson was a member of and an earnest worker in the Episcopal church, in which he had long been a vestryman, and socially he was a member of the A. F. & A. M. He was prepossessing in personal appearance, was above medium stature and had black hair, and clear, intelligent gray eyes. John W. Robin- son, his eldest son, was born in the city of Jackson, in 1862, and in his birthplace he received a thorough and practical education. In 1890 he opened a wholesale and retail grocery house in Jackson, in connection with H. C. Roberts, of Raymond, Mis?., and they are now doing an excellent annual business, which testifies to the correct business principles which they practice and to the reliability and variety of the goods they carry. Their place of business is situated on Pearl street, and was formerly occupied by Mr. Robinson's father. Mr. Robinson possesses in a marked degree the business attributes of his distinguished father, and these combined with a careful consideration for the needs of the public, have made his establishment a recognized synonym for all that is popular, progressive and honest. Mr. Robinson is the owner of a large amount of city and plantation property, one plantation being in Hinds county, and another in Madison county, there being seven hundred and eighty acres in each with one thousand two hundred acres under cultivation. All this land is fertile and that portion which is under cultivation is finely improved. In Januarj', 1891, he was married to Miss Ida, the beautiful, accomplished and amiable daughter of Doctor Mitchell, and granddaughter of ex-Governor Mc Willie, of Mississippi. Mr. and Mrs. Robin- son are worthy members of the Episcopal church. Joseph F. Robinson, a brother of John W., is a partner and the elficient treasurer of the Friedman-Shelton Clothing company, of Jackson, and was born on the 28th of January, 1869, the youngest son born to John W. and Mary J. (Bradford) Robinson, but was educated at Sewanee, Tenn., where he acquired a thorough and useful education. In 1886 he became correspondent for the First National bank of Jackson, the dvities of which position he ably discharged for four years. On the 2d of March, 1891, he was one of the organizers of the Friedman-Shelton Clothing company, of Jackson, which has a capital stock of $20,000, and was immediately elected its treasurer. Their stock of goods, which is valued at §45,000, comprises a large line of ready-made clothing of all grades, including the finest imported goods and the best domestic fabrics. This establishment is fitted up with every convenience and auxiliary adapted to its success- ful prosecution, and as great care is taken in the selection of the stock, a large trade is enjoyed. Joseph F. Robinson owns some valuable business and residence property in Jack- son, besides four fine plantations in Hinds, Yazoo and Rankin counties. Mr. Robinson is the youngest merchant of Jackson, and has adopted a business career from choice. Both he and his brother are destined to follow in their father's footsteps, and are agreeable and satisfactory gentlemen to meet. 696 BIOaRAPHWAL AND HISTORIOAL Lee B. Eobinson is a rising and successful young banker residing at Gloster, Miss., and as a business man has displayed a more than average amount of shrewdness, tact and ability. In all ages of the world's industry, perseverance and energy, where intelligently applied, have achieved the desired result, and Mr. Eobinson is a striking example of what can be accomplished when the spirit of determination is exercised in connection with the every- day afPairs of life. His enterprises have resulted most satisfactorily, and he is now wealthy. He was born near Liberty, July 4, 1850, to Col. John G. and Thirza (Jenkins) Robinson, a short history of whom is given in the sketch of Van W. Eobinson, that appears below. The paternal grandfather, Moses Eobinson, was of Scotch descent, was from one of the Carolinas, but during the early history of this section became one of its pioneer settlers. When only three years of age Lee B. Eobinson was left motherless, and two years later his father also died. In his boyhood he was deprived of any great amount of schooling, but, like his brother, he possessed a naturally active mind, and managed to pick up here and there a con- siderable amount of valuable information. At the age of eighteen years he began clerking for G. H. Barney & Co. ,- one of the leading firms of business men of Liberty, and here he was grounded most thoroughly in the practical and useful part of the business, and laid a solid foundation for future success. After remaining with this firm for about five years he engaged in the mercantile business for himself, but in a very humble way, and notwith- standing the fact that he had no money of his own, and that his capital was borrowed, he soon acquired a fair trade, for while with Barney & Co., he had, by his genial, accommodating and friendly manners, acquired many friends who gave him their patronage in his hour of need. By methodical business habits and superior management his business grew rapidly, and in connection with this he also dealt in cotton, and of late years has handled as high as two thousand bales annually. The annual sales of his mercantile establishment soon amounted to 1200,000, but this establishment he sold out in December, 1889, with the view to taking a respite from his labors. In the summer of 1890 he decided to engage in the banking business at Gloster, and at that place he erected a suitable building, formed a stock company with G. H. Barney as president, L. B. Eobinson, cashier, and E. S. Atkinson, assistant cashier. This bank was opened for business the first of September with very flattering prospects, and each month the business increased very rapidly and beyond the expectations of all. He was married in Liberty, November 21, 1873, to Miss Helen Barney, daughter of G. H. Barney, a pioneer, and one of the most successful business men of the county, and to them seven children have been born: Bertha, Emerson, Helen, Ary, Clara, Lee B., Jr. and Julio B. Mrs. Eobinson was reared and educated in Liberty, and she and her husband are members of the Presbyterian church. Mr. Eobinson belongs to the Masonic fraternity, in which he has attained to the council, and in this lodge has held official position. Mr. Eobinson inherits many of the worthy traits of his Scotch ancestors, and is careful, prudent and economical, but not in the least penurious, and those who know him best recognize in him a good friend. He has a beautiful and pleasant home in Gloster, and here he and his intelligent and amiable wife dispense hospitality to their numerous friends. Van W. Robinson is the leading officer of the law in Amite county. Miss., and in the discharge of his duties has proved himself courageous, conscientious and faithful. He was first elected to the office in November, 1883, and so noticeable was his devotion to the pres- ervation of law and order, that he has been chosen to the position at each succeeding elec- tion, and his fidelity and ability have made a lasting impression on this sphere of public duty. As he was born in this county, near Liberty, on April 21, 1848, and has made his home here all his life, he is naturally interested in the progress and development of this section, and in MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 697 his official capacity has done not a little to raise the standard of morality of the masses. His father, Col. John G. Robinson, was also born here, his birth occurring in the year 1812, and here he attained manhood and married, his wife, also of this county, being Miss Thirza Jen- kins, a daughter of James Jenkins. Mr. Robinson was a practical farmer, and besides giv- ing attention to the calling of an agriculturist found time to act in the capacity of a magis- trate, as well as in other local positions of honor, and for some time was colonel of militia. He died in 1855, his wife having passed from life in 1852, and thus three young children were left to fight the battle of life for themselves without a father or mother's guidance. Their names are: Lee B., whose sketch appears herein; Ary, wife of Dr. J. R. Sample, a physician and druggist of Summit, Miss., and Van W. The latter spent his youth on a plantation, and, owing to the free and active life he led, became a healthy and vigorous young man, so that at the early age of sixteen years he was better fitted than the average to enlist in the service of the Confederacy. He became a member of the Tenth Mississippi cav- alry, and served until Lee's surrender, when he was paroled at Gainesville, Ala. His com- pany served as scouts, and was in a number of engagements and skirmishes. After the war he returned to his home in Mississippi, and for two years thereafter he attended school near Liberty, and during this time, as he was studious and naturally apt, made rapid progress in his studies. In 1869 he went to Texas, and after farming in that state for two jears returned to Liberty, and went into a store with his brother, following the calling of a clerk for several years. He was united in marriage to Miss Emma Ratcliffe, a daughter of Peter RatclifFe, a former sheriff of Amite county and one of the old and highly respected residents of the county. To Mr. and Mrs. Robinson five children have been born: John Worth, , Ernest, Junius, Van and Myrtis. Mr. Robinson is a member of the Masonic fraternity, the K. of H. and the K. of P. He is one of the most social, hospitable and generous of men, as the numer- ous friends he has gathered around him can testify. William W. Robinson, one of the successful business men of Ripley, was born in Madi- son county, Tenn., in 1835, and is the son of Hugh B. Robinson, who was also a dative of Tennessee, born in Maury county. The elder Robinson left his native state and removed to Tippah county. Miss., in 1839, remaining there until his death in 1851. He was a man who took a deep interest in the welfare of his county, was tax assessor and sheriff, and was a leader of the democratic party there. He followed planting with considerable success up to the last years of his life. His father, James Robinson, was probably a native of North Carolina, whose parents immigrated direct from the Emerald isle. William W. Robinson was but four years of' age when his parents located in Tippah county. He grew to mati^rity and was liberally educated in the schools of that county. While growing up he was afflicted with white swelling, and this has made him a cripple for life. When but fifteen years of age he was thrown on his own resources, and he has since been fortunate in the different occupations he has pursued. He has followed planting, merchandising and is now senior proprietor of the Southern Sentinel, of Ripley, which paper has an extensive circula- tion. Mr. Robinson is a representative citizen and has been connected with every office in the countv. His method of conducting the duties assigned him was never questioned and never has he betrayed a trust confided to him. He was married in 1862, to Miss Armissa L. Wigington, a native of the Palmetto state, and they have four living daughters, of whom the ' eldest married L. Pink Smith, of Greenville, Miss. The others are at home. Mr. Robinson is a member of the Cumberland Presbyterian church, while his wife and two daughters hold membership in the Baptist church. He is a worthy member of the A. F. & A. M. and K. of H. organizations, and is a genial, pleasant gentleman, but one who makes little or no dis- 698 BIOQBAPHIOAL AlfD BTSTORlOAL play. He is public-spirited and his name is associated with every enterprise for the advance- ment of the interests of his county. He owns a beautiful residence in Ripley, and is also an extensive land-owner. Willie W. Robinson, of the wholesale and retail grocery lirm of W. W. Robinson & Co., at West Point, Miss., was born in the town in which he is now residing April 21, 1866; a son of Capt. William Woodard and Margaret (Kilgore) Robinson, the former of whom was born in Pickens county, Ala., April 12, 1837, and reared on a farm, receiving a moderate education. He came to Mississippi when young, and in early life was engaged in merchandising when the town of West Point sprang into existence, and he was one of the first to embark in merchandising in that place. He continued with success until the war opened, when he organized a company with which he served under the Confederate flag until the war closed, doing good service in the cause he espoused. After the close of hostilities he resumed merchandising, which he continued with his usual success until his death, December 3, 1881, aged forty-four years. He was one of West Point's foremost citizens, active in everything for the town' s advancement. It was said that his memory was so won- derful that he could call nearly every one for fifty miles around by their given names. He was a member of the A. F. & A. M. , the K. of H. and the Methodist church, and his death was not only a loss to his family but to the public as well. He was one of a large family of children born to Alexander Robinson, the latter of whom was a planter and died in Clay county since the close of the war. The mother of the subject of this sketch was born in Chicka- saw county, August 22, 1840, and died August 10, 1872. She was a daughter of Dr. Benjamin and Mary Dudley Kilgore. Her father, a native of South Carolina, at an early day came to Mississippi, settling near where West Point now is, where he practiced medicine and was engaged in planting for many years, dying at about the close of the war.*. His acquaint- ance extended over a large territory, for he was well liked in his professional capacity as well as socially, and had been a resident of the county for many years. Willie W. Robinson, whose name heads this sketch, was the second of three children. Sidney, the eldest of the three, was educated in the schools of West Point and in the State university, and Minnie who was educated in West Point also, is now engaged in teaching in the public schools of the place. Willie W. was educated in the state university at Oxford. He then clerked until 1887, at which time he established himself in the mercantile business at West Point, and for three years successfully conducted his affairs alone. In 1890 the firm of W. W. Robinson & Co. was established, and they are now doing a business of 150,000 annually, theirs being the leading grocery house in West Point. Mr. Robinson commenced business with a small capital, but was energetic, and the excellent business methods and practical ideas that he inherited from his father led to his prosperity. He is a genial, whole-souled gentleman, and is a member of the Methodist church. He is unmarried. It will be seen from a perusal of this sketch of the life of M. T. Roby that his educa- tional advantages in youth were quite meager, and, although perhaps deficient in general learning, his vigorous mind has so grasped and embraced the opportunities presented, that he is accounted one of the most intelligent and learned men of Attala county. He was from the very first taught everything connected with planting, and this has thus far been his life work. He was born in Georgia in 1828, and after becoming sufficiently qualified, taught for some time in the common schools. In 1853 he came to Mississippi, and soon after settled on the plantation on which he is now residing. He had been married in 1850 to Miss Mary *See sketch of K. D. Kilgore, Clay county. -^'ty-ii^JH^/faT ^fsJ^ ^ #-^ MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 699 Jane Boswell, of Georgia, and their union has resulted in the birth of the following children; Williamson B. , who was born in 1852; D. C, born in 1854. M. L., born in 1856; J. E., born in 1859; E. Q. C, born in 1860; two daughters, Aurie S. and Virginia H., were born in 1864; Minnie L., bom in 1870; Lilian, born in 1872; Edna E., born in 1874. The son, D. C, is a successful merchant of Durant, Miss. In May. 1861, Mr. Roby enlisted in company A, Fifteenth Mississippi regiment, and in May, 1862, was transferred to the Third Mississippi cavalry regiment, company B, commanded by Gapt. T. M. Griffin. While in service he was in the following engagements: Fort Pillow, the three days' fight at Old Harrisburg, Miss., where he had two teeth shot out, and in the several battles during the siege of Atlanta, Ga. The last engagement in which he took part was at Eutaw, Ala. Upon his return home he resumed planting, and is now the owner of one thousand eight hundrecJ and forty acres of land, the principal crop being cotton and corn. The success which has attended his efforts is well merited, for the property he has acquired is the result of honest industry and perse- verance. He has been a member of the Masonic fraternity since 1857, and is now a member of the chapter. He is a courteous, agreeable and accommodating gentleman, well versed on all the current topics of the day, and is decidedly public spirited. He has a very handsome and comfortable residence about six miles from Sallis, and is well situated to enjoy the reward of his industry. His father, W. B. Eoby, was born in Maryland in 1808, but his first work as a tiller of the soil was done in Wilkes county, Ga. From this place he removed to Putnam county, where he was married to Miss Elizabeth E. Sherman in 1826, their union resulting in the birth of four children: M. T., Aurie E., Henry W. and James R. W. B. Roby was quite an active politician, and filled the position of sheriff of Jasper county, Ga. , a number of times. His father was a native of Maryland, and was there married to Miss Anna Roby. James Sherman, the maternal grandfather of the subject of this sketch, was a Georgian, and in the state of his birth also passed from life. Dr. John U. Rochester, Friar's Point, the oldest practicing physician in Coahoma county and one of the few who connect the remote past, the pioneer period of Coahoma county with the present, was originally from Mercer county, Ky., where his birth occurred on February 8, 1818, and is a representative of a prominent English family. The paternal grandfather, John Rochester, was a native of Virginia and came to Kentucky at an early day. He was a farmer and merchant and a very active man in that day and time. He was a warm friend of Gen. Jackson, and although he was not in the war of 1812 (on account of his size, weighing over three hundred pounds) he contributed liberally to the cause and was a stanch believer in General Jackson. He died of cholera in 1833. The maternal grandfather, John Warren, was also a native of the old Dominion but came to Kentucky at an early period, and there followed the occupation of a farmer and merchant. He was quite active politically and was the private secretary of Governor Shelby, the first governor of Kentucky. His death occurred about 1822. Dr. John U. Rochester was the third in a family of four chil- dren born to William and Letitia E. (Warren) Rochester, both natives of the Bluegrass state. The father was a successful agriculturist and he received his final summons in 1824. Dr. Rochester was reared in Kentucky, attended college at Danville in that state and then clerked for an uncle for some time. In 1840 he began the study of medicine in the office of a physician at Danville, and later entered Transylvania college, where he received his medi- cal education. He located at Friar's Point in 1846 and has practiced his profession here or in this county since. In 1848 he was married to Miss Margaret H. Saunders, a native of Tennessee, who was reared in this state, and whose father, George N. Saunders was an early pioneer. To Dr. and Mrs. Rochester were born four children, three deceased: Letitia E. EE 700 BIOORAPUIGAL AND HISTORIOAL (died fit the age of four years), two died in infancy, and Mariah Louise (wife of M. B. Col- lins a planter residing near Jonestown in Coahoma county). Mrs. Rochester is a member of the Methodist Episcpoal church. The Doctor is a mernber of the Masonic fraternity. In his personal appearance the Doctor is tall and venerable looking, walks erect, and were it not for his gray hair and long white beard he would pass for a much younger man. He is well educated, is a fluent and pleasing conversationalist and is one of the most highly esteemed citizens of Coahoma county. Hs was formerly engaged in planting but recently sold his interests. As a tiller of the soil Capt. Lloyd W. Rogau is doing well, for although his plantation is not as large as a great many, yet the soil is very fertile, and as it is admirably tilled it yields a larger annual iocome than many more extensive places. In connection with looking after his plantation, which comprises eighty acres, he is also agent for the Port Gibson oil works, from which he derives a fair income. He was born in Vicksburg, Miss., in 1846, to William and Fi-ances A. (Buley) Rogan, who were born, reared and married in Maryland, removing about 1833 to Vicksburg, Miss., at which time the place was a mere village. After the death of Mrs. Rogan, which occurred there in 1854, Mr. Rogan married again, his second wife being Mrs. Barnes, and for a third wife he took a Mrs. Smith, and spent the last of his life in Hinds county, dying in 1868. He was a merchant of Vicksburg, a planter of Hinds county, and in the former occupation acquired a large fortune, but was unsuccessful in the latter calling. He was quite a prominent member of the I. O. O. F., Warren lodge, of Vicksburg, and was an earnest member of the Methodist church. His father, Charles Rogan, was in all probability born in Ireland, but died in Maryland. He had two sons and a daughter that came to Vicksburg, the other sons and the daughter dying in that city. Capt. Lloyd W. Rogan is the fifth of nine children born to his father's first marriage, and is the only one of the family now living. Three elder brothers were in the Confederate army: James W. being a colonel in Rogan' s regiment of Arkansas infantry, serving throughout the war and dying at Somerville, Tenn., in 1874, being a merchant of Memphis, Tenn., at the time of his death. He was a graduate of Sheron college, Mississippi, at which time it was one of the finest edu- cational institutions of the South. Thomas G. was a private in the Eighteenth Mississippi infantry, and after being discharged from the service in 1861 on account of ill health, he died on his way home. Charles was a member of the Appeal battery of Memphis, and was killed in the siege of Vicksburg. Capt. Lloyd W. Rogan was educated in Hinds county, and upon the opening of the late war, although only fifteen years of age, he, with youthful enthusiasm, enlisteJ in the Confederate service, becoming a member of Gov. A. G. Brown's company, of the Eighteenth Mississippi infantry, Longstreet's corps of the army of Virginia, and fought at Leesburg, Savage Station, Sharpsburg and many others. In the summer of 1863 he was discharged, but soon after joined Wirt Adams' cavalry, and operated in Mississippi and Alabama until the close of the war, taking part in many severe engagements. After sarrendering at Gainesville, he returned home, and until 1868 was successfully engaged in planting in Hinds county, when he came to Rolling Pork, and for some years was agent for different plantations. He was married, in 1873, to Miss Mattie, daughter of Bailey and Catherine A. Cbaney, natives of Louisiana and Missis- sippi respectively. They were married in Wilkinson county, and died near Rolling Fork in 1874, the former having been a planter by occupation. Mrs. Rogan was born in this county", and of the nine children she has borne Mr. Rogan, six are living. Mr. Rogan was a justice of the peace for eight years, and socially is a member of Auburn lodge No 166 of the A. F. & A. M. of Hinds county. Mr. Rogan comes of a fine family, but throughout MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 701 life has depended entirely upon his own merits, and has the respect and esteem of all who know him. Simeon Rogers, the father of J. H. Rogers, of Pachuta, Clarke county, Miss., was bom in South Carolina. He was married to Miss Margaret E. Hardee, of Mississippi, in August, 1858. Upon coming to Mississippi he settled in Clarke county, near the present town of Pachuta, and spent his life in agricultural pursuits, dying in 1871. His wife died in 1884. J. H. Rogers, the eldest son of Simeon and Margaret E. (Hardee) Rogers, was born August 18, 1859, near Pachuta, and began farming on his own account at the age of sixteen years. By his grandfather's death, which occurred at this time, he found himself at the head of the family affairs. Mr. Rogers attended the common schools and may be said to have had only ordinary advantages, educationally speaking. In 1882 he married Miss Sarah Gordon, a resident of the western part of Clarke county, Miss. , a daughter of Sampson Gordon, one of the best citizens of this county. Mr. Rogers has four children: S. Rufus, Alma, Vane and Sheley. Mr. Rogers' brother. Rev. P. S. Rogers, is a graduate of Mississippi college. At the time of his marriage Mr. Rogers owned no landed interest. He now owns five hundred and sixty acres of the average land of the county, level and well waiered, and produces corn, cotton, peas, potatoes, etc. He has begun fertilizing recently. His yield of cotton is twelve bales (one half a bale per acre), of corn eighteen bushels per acre. He has much fine longleaf pine and does a turpentine business amounting to $800 annually, supplying Pachuta distillery. He also gins cotton by horsepower. He is a member of the Alliance and treasurer of the County Alliance, and he and his wife are members of the Missionary Baptist church and, though quite young, he has held the office of church clerk for eight years. Mr. Rogers is a friend to education and is identified with every movement tending to the upbuilding of the country on this line. Timothy Rogers has been a life-long citizen of Covington county, Miss. , having been born there in October, 1828. All these years he has lived within six miles of the scene of his birth. His father, Meshach Rogers, emigrated from South Carolina in 1822, and lived on the plantation where he first settled, until his death which occurred in 1875. He was an industrious, energetic man, a lover of law and order, and a citizen whom every one respected. He was an active member of the Missionary Baptist church for half a century. He was born in Pendleton district, S. C, about the year 1790, and was a son of Shadrach Rogers, a native of North Carolina, and a soldier in the war of the Revolution, who was noted for his bravery and courage, and high sense of hono.r. He removed to Covington county in 1822. His family consisted of eight children, named as follows: Timothy; Ailsey, wife of William West; Redock; Israel; Nisa, wife of Mr. Thames; Shadrach; Meshach; Elizabeth, wife of Matthew Thames. Meshach Rogers, the father of our subject, married Lucy Bran- son, and they had born to them ten children: Sarah, wife of James M. Speed; Elizabeth, wife of Charles Carter; Caroline, wife of Jackson Edmundson (who at the time of her marriage to him was the widow of Benjamin Duckworth); Shadrach (deceased); Josiah; Timothy; Nerval; Martha, deceased, wife of James West; Benjamin, and William. Six of the above are still living, and all of them reared families. Timothy Rogers was married in 1849 to Sarah E. Duckworth, and they had four children: Frances, who married Ransom Welch; Martha E., wife of J. S. Thompson; Mary A., wife of J. N. Welch; Nancy E., wife of J. M. Welch. The mother died in 1863, and Mr. Rogers was married a second time in 1866, to Miss Rebecca Duckworth. One child was born of this union, but died in infancy. In 1862 Mr. Rogers enlisted in the Confederate service, and participated in the siege of Vicksburg, went through the Georgia campaign, and was in the battle of Altoona. At the close of the war 702 BIOQRAPHIGAL AND HISTORICAL he returned to his home, and has since devoted his time and energies to agriculture. He owns seventeen hundred acres of excellent land which is well stocked. He is a member of the Baptist church at Leaf river, and has been a deacon since 1865. He is noted for his honesty and integrity, and is highly respected for his many sterling traits of character. W. A. Rogers, planter, was born in Greenboro, Ala., in November, 1830, the eldest in a family of nine children, born to Alexander and Sally (Jolly) Bogers, the former of whom was born in Virginia, and the latter in Alabama. Alexander Rogers became a resident of the latter state when a young man, was married there, and there reared his family on a planta- tion. He died in 1853, but his widow still survives him, being a resident of Sumter county, Ala. W. A. Rogers began life for himself at the age of twenty years "as a school teacher, a calling he followed for several years. In 1857 he was married to Miss Sallie Moore, a daughter of Nelson Moore, of Lauderdale county. Miss., and by her became the father of three sons and three daughters. His wife died in 1872, and he took for his second wife Miss Eliza Moore, a sister of his former wife, their marriage being celebrated in 1S73. To them, also, have been born six children, live sons and one daughter. In 1862 Mr. Rogers enlisted in the Confederate army, becoming a member of company C, of the Second Mississippi cavalry, and being elected first lieutenant of the company, served in that capacity until the latter part of 1862, when he was promoted to the position of captain, and was in the battles of Dallas, Georgia, and in all the hard fighting around Atlanta. In one engagement he was shot through the thigh. He was captured at Oxford, Miss., and although he was to be imprisoned at Alton, 111., he managed to make his escape from the boat just as they pulled into Alton, and returned to his command, with which he served until the close of the war. He was with General Forrest in all his raids, and after surrendering and being paroled at Gainesville, Ala., he returned to his home with the consciousness of having performed his duties with faithfulness and ability. After the war he resumed teaching, but after a few months began speculating in land, in which he met with remarkable success. He is now the owner of about five hundred acres of land, of which about one hundred and fifty acres are improved and under cultivation. The Captain has made planting and stock-dealing his chief business for several years, and now has some fine racehorses, which are his chief diverson, and in which he has been qaite successful. He has spent large sums of money in educating his children, for he has given them the advantage of the best schools in the country, and has considered his money well spent. Eight of his children are living at the present time, and all of the older ones are especially well educated. Although Captain Rogers is not a member of any religious organization, he has always contributed liberally of his means in their support and, in fact, is generous toward all laudable enterprises. He is a member of the A. F. & A. M. and the K.. of H., and is a wideawake, enterprising and public-spirited gentleman. The medical fraternity of Bay St. Louis was reinforced in 1888 by the accession of Dr. W. B. Rohmer, a native of East Feliciana parish, La., born October 16, 1811. His father. Dr. F. J. B. Rohmer, was born in Alsace, France, and emigrated to America at the age of eighteen years. He was graduated in the first class of the University of Louisiana, taking his degree from the medical department. He located in East Feliciana parish, La., where he practiced his profession many years. He afterward moved to Baton Rouge, La., where he enjoyed an extensive practice. For some time he was surgeon -general of the state of Louisiana, and he also served as surgeon in the Confederate army, having charge of a labor- atory at Mobile, Ala., where he exclusively manufactured chemicals and medicines for the Confederate government. He removed to Mobile, Ala., on account of its school facilities, and was appointed physician to Spring Hill college, a position which he held for a long }rEMOIRS OF MIStirSSIPPl. 7(13 uumber of years, uatil forced to resign on account of advanced age and declining health. He is now retired from active work. Dr. Bohmer was born in 1812, and married Alena Bell, of East Feliciana. To them were born six children, of whom Dr. W. B. Bohmer is the eldest son. He received his literary education at Spring Hill college, but in 1861, when there was a call for volunteers to go out in defense of the South, he abandoned his studies and went into the battlefield. He enlisted in the Mobile Cadets, which was the first com- pany that left Mobile for service. He was in General Lee's army. After the surrender he entered Tulane university, resuming his studios as a resident student of the charity hospital, having been admitted into that iustitutiou, an unsurpassed school of clinical medicine, through the influence of Dr. Warren Stone, the world-renowned surgeon and noble-h-iarted man, with whom Dr. Bohmer was in the greatest bonds of friendship. He was graduated from this college in 1866 and began his professional work in Mobile, Ala. He was there but a short time when he was appointed assistant surgeon of a government hospital, a position he filled one year. At the end of that time he returned to Mobile, and practiced there and in that vicinity until 1888. As before stated, he came to Bay St. Louis in that year, and has been successfully engaged in professional duties. He is a physician to St. Stanislaus college and St. Joseph Female academy, and has won a large practice outside of these insti- tutions. He is ambitious to keep up with the times in all medical discoveries, and is well posted on the various leading questions under discussion by the members of the profession. Dr. Bohmer was married in 1864 to Miss Octavia Duval, and they have six children. Emanuel Bose is one of the substantial German- American citizens of Washington county. Miss., and since coming to America he has indentified himself with every interest of his county, and his inherited characteristics of honesty, industry and thrift have been put to good use. His parents, Simon and Caroline (Bose) Eose, were also native Germans, and his father was a successful grain speculator and died in his native land in 1875. the mother hav- ing passed from life in 1844. Emanuel Bose came to this country in 1852 and began deal- ing in horses and cattle, a calling he followed for a few years, after which he began mer- chandising and has continued in that capacity ever since. He was educated in the common schools of Germany and iu 1864 began business for himself, but prior to this, in 1861, he enlisted in the Twenty-seventh Louisiana infantry and was in the battle and siege of Vicks- buro-, in which engagement he was also wounded. In 1863 he received an honorable dis- charge and returned home. He was married in 1887 to Mrs. Caroline Kauf aian, a native of Louisiana, and a daughter of Jacob Sartovins, a native German. She was reared in Louis- iana, and educated in Memphis, Tenn., and by her first husband became the mother of six children: Cora, Ike, Alfred, Mozart, Sophia and Birdie. By Mr. Bose she has no family. Since his Twenty-second year Mr. Bose has been making his own way in the world, and all of the property of which he is now the owner he has earned by the sweat of his brow and by his own good management. He is one of the pioneers of Leland, and almost ever since the town was organized he has been a member of the city council. He has a considerable amount of land in the county, some real estate in Leland and carries a stock of general mer- chandise valued at $18,000. Mr. Bose possesses excellent business qualifications, is a kind and considerate husband and is considered by all to be one of the substantial, .progressive and enterprising residents of the county. He was a warm supporter of the Confederate cause, and until disabled fought bravely under the stars and bars. As he has resided in the South since coming to this country he has made her interests his own, and can at all times be relied upon to support any enterprise tending to her advantage. Marx Bosenbaum, De Kalb, Kemper county, Miss., was bom in Germany in 1813 and 704 BIOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL died at Meridian, Miss., in 1883. He was married in his native land to Caroline Heyman and soon after bade farewell to the scenes of his childhood and sailed away to the new world to seek the fortune which is always the portion of the industrious and temperate. He landed in New York and left his wife there while he came to the South. He was first employed as a traveling salesman and thus had an excellent opportunity to judge of the true merits of the country. He finally settled in Sumter county, Ala., and started a store at Patton Hill. In 1845 or 1847 he removed to Kemper county, and in 1852 he established a general mercan- tile trade in De Kalb; this he conducted until 1878, when he went to Meridian, where he passed the remainder of his days. In addition to his other possessions he owned a large tract of land in Kemper county, which was cultivated under his supervision. When the Civil war broke out he was too old to enter the service, but for a short time was in the state service. In his political opinions he occupied an independent position and after the war was identified with the republican party. He reared a family of ten children: Nannie died at the age of thirteen years; J. was killed in the battle of Gettysburg; Aaron was killed in Georgia during the war; Abraham is a dealer in real estate and resides at Meridian; Charles; Henry is in the general mercantile business at Scooba; William has a general store at De Kalb; Lewis and Joseph, twins, are planters in Kemper county; Isaac died in infancy. The mother of these children died in 1876, in De Kalb, Miss. Charles Rosenbaum was born in Kemper county, Miss., and was educated at Summer- ville institute and in his native county. When a young man he entered his father's store, where he clerked until 1871. In that year he was appointed deputy sheriff and for five years held the position, W. W. Chisholm being sheriff. Since leaving the office he has been engaged in general speculations. He is a heavy real estate dealer and owns four thousand acres of land. He also has some commercial interests which are valuable. Politically he affiliates with the republican party. He is unmarried. George W. Ross, a prominent merchant and planter of Calhoun county, Miss., owes his nativity to Monroe county, of that state, his birth occurring July 1, 1839, and is a son of John Leland and Mary Thompison (Boyd) Ross, natives of South Carolina. The parents were married in Monroe county. Miss., and there the father died October 11, 1850, at the age of forty years. They were members of the Primitive Baptist church, and in politics he adhered to the whig party. The mother was born on July 4, 1818, and was the daugh- ter of Samuel Boyd, who^'was originally from South Carolina, Mr. Boyd moved to Monroe county. Miss., in 1826, and there resided until his death in 1850. He was the father of a large family of children. A|j,er the death of her first husband Mrs. Ross was united in mar- riage to his brother, Cyrus L. Rbsg, April 12, 1856, who died on May 20, 1890. To the first union were born six children, two besides our subject yet living: Frances Malinda (widow of Gilbert Garner), andMary E. (wife of Thomas Garner). Those deceased are Lydia Caroline (who married James Sikes and both died, leaving one child), William L. (killed at the Peach Tree creek fight during the war) and Newton P. (took the measles at Bowling Green, Ky., and died while on the way home). To the second union were born these children : John C. (residing in Monroe counry), Sarah C. (also a resident of Monroe county and the widow of Samuel Gregory), Margaret E. (wife of J. J. Sealey) and Ebby (wife of John Cain). The paternal grandfather, John Ross, was born in Spartanburg, S. C. , and with his son, John Leland Ross, moved to Monroe county, Miss., in 1837, taking a large number of slaves with him. He began clearing a farm, a small portion of which had been opened by the Indians, and the following year he brought his family from South Carolina. He made his home in Monroe county until his death in 1880 at the age of ninety-three years. He bad been bale and MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 705 hearty all his life until a few years before his death. He was a soldier in some of the early Indian wars. As long as he continued farming he was very successful, but later in life he embarked in the milling business and lost considerable property. At the time of his death he was living with his fourth wife. His son, John Leland Eoss, was born to his lirst mar- riage with a Miss Furguson and was one of the following children : Nancy 0. (single and resides in Mississippi), George (resides in Monroe county, where his death occurred), Eliza (married John Miller and is now deceased), Miles F. (died near ^Vater Valley), Frank (resides in Texas) and Cyrus L. (who married the mother of our subject, and thus became his stepfather, died in Monroe county). The father of these children took for his second wife a Miss Ross, who bore him two children: William F. (died of measles during the war) and Francis M. (who also died during the war). Mr. Eoss' third wife was a Miss Fowler, and after her death he married a Mrs. Angland, who was formerly a Miss Wells. She was born in Lowndes county. Miss., and is still living. By her first husband she had four chil- dren — two sons and two daughters: Almeta (married a Mr. Johnson and resides in Monroe county. Miss.), the other daughter married a Mr. Webb and is now deceased; Thaddeus A. and William H. (both reside in Tippah county, Miss.). George W. Ross began for hiniself as a farmer in Monroe county, Miss., in 18.58, and in 1860 he moved to Calhoun county of this state. In 1861 he entered the Confederate army, served in the Magnolia guard corps and later in company K, Seventeenth Mississippi regiment, participating in all the engage- ments in which his regiment took part. He was captured at Knoxville, Tenn. , and was carried to Eock Island, 111., where he was confined for eighteen months and twenty days, or until the close of the war. At the time of his capture he was holding the rank of sergeant. Returning to Monroe county after the war he continued to reside there until September,- 1865, when he moved to Calhoun county of that state, and there he has since made his home. His principal occupation has been farming, but in 1872 he began merchandising in Banner,, and has continued this in connection with planting up to the present time. He held the position of postmaster from 1873 to 1877, and is the present/ mayor of Banner, which ofSce he has held since 1886. He was appointed by the governor and then elected at the general election of 1889. Mr. Eoss was married on March 4, 1866, to Mrs. Sarah C. Brown, nee Tedford, a native of Mississippi, born and reared in- Monroe county. She came to Calhoun county in 1854, and was first married to L. W'. Brown, of Mississippi, by whom she had one son, William J. (who died in Arkansas on May 1, 1889). . To Mr. and Mrs. Eoss have been born the followiog children: Mary C. (wife of J. H. Gors, of Banner, Miss.), Ulor B. (mar- ried and resides in Banner), Dennis V. (at home), Eleanor H. (resides in Belle county, Tex), George Hicks (at home), Tapy (at home), Eva (at home) and three children that died in infancy. Mrs. Eoss is a member of the Primitive Baptist church. Mr. Eoss is a member of Banner lodge No. 329, A F. ,& A. M., and in his political views is strictly democratic. He comes of a prominent family and is one of the substantial men of the county. Benjamin Row, a distinguished planter of Wilkinson county, residing near Fort Adams, was born in West Feliciana parish, La., and was' educated at the Brandon academy, in this county, with the Brandons, Pettibones and others. He is the son of Jacob Eow and Sarah Gustavus, natives of Mississippi and Tennessee, respectively. Jacob was born in 1784 in Natchez, and was the third child born to John and Margaret Row, natives of Germany, born near Strassburg, the principal town of Alsace, on the Rhine. They came to America and settled in the Natchez district, where they resided for some years. To them were born five children: John, George, Jacob, Mary and William, all of whom lived to be grown and married. Three of the sons reared families, and Mary, the daughter, had one son who also 70(i BIOQMAFHICAL AND HISTOBIOAL passed away at the time of her death. She iirst married a Mr. Thompson, by whom the son was born, and after his death she married James Tanner. William married and settled in Louisiana, where he lived until his death. John died, leaving a large family in Louisiana. George also died in Louisiana, leaving a fine family. Jacob settled in West Feliciana par- ish, La., where he resided until his death in 1845, at the age of sixty-one years and nine months, and during life was an active, successful and extensive planter. He lived a quiet, unostentatious life, and died in comparatively early years full of honors with the highest respect of his neighbors. He was eminently a self made man, having educated himself, and built up his own career of usefulness and honor. His father, John Row, died about 1791, while the family were on the way to Louisiana, and lies buried at Clarksville, Miss. The mother of Benjamin died in 1868; she was born about 1786. To the parents of Benjamin were born ten sons: John G., George S., Micajah, William, who died an infant; Jacob A., Lewis, Henry, Francis, who died an infant; Vincent and Benjamin. John G. died in 1863 and left two sons. George died in 1850 but left no family. Micajah died in 1883, leaving four sons and two daughters. Three of his sons served gallantly in the Confederate army. Dr. Lewis Row, his eldest son, is deceased, but the others are yet living. Jacob died in 1872 leaving a family of ten children. Lewis died single in 1840. Henry died at twenty- one years of age. Vincent died in 1886 leaving eight children. He moved to Wilkinson county in 1849, where he resided and reared his family. Benjamin Row, the subject, just after the death of his father, was called home to take care of the property, and since that time has been engaged in planting. He settled on the present home place in 1853, where he has since lived. He continues to cultivate his land in Louisiana and in this county. Dur- ing the war he was detailed by the secretary of the Confederate cabinet, under Majors Ewell and Mathews, to carry the mail across the Mississippi river from Fort Adams. While thus serving the South he had at one time 120,000,000 of Southern money in his house that belonged to the Confederate government, the same having been brought to this place from Richmond, Va. It was delivered to parties waiting on the river opposite who took it on to Alexandria, La. , and sent from there to Kirby Smith, at Shreveport, to be used to pay the military expenses of the trans- Mississippi department. Since the war Mr. Row has devoted his time to his home. He has been an invalid since 1860, takes no active part in politics, but is well informed on public affaire. He was married in 1851 to Miss Eliza E. McNulty, a native of this county, the daughter of John and Evelyn (Orr) McNulty, natives of Missis- sippi and Pennsylvania, respectively. Her father came to Mississippi when a young man and engaged in merchandising in Fort Adams, where he was married to Miss Orr, who was born and reared in this county, her parents having been among the first settlers here. The grandfather of Evelyn Orr was Ruffin DeLoach, of French-Huguenot descent, who came to South Carolina at an early day. Mrs. Row died in 1855, leaving two little daughters, Ella Evelyn and Sarah Eliza, the latter now the wife of Darling Babersa, a prominent merchant of Fort Adams. Benjamin was again married in January, 1859, to Miss Sarah George, of Rapides parish. La. She was the daughter of Richard George, a native of Tennessee, who came to Louisiana early, and was married to Mrs. Lewis, nee Jones. William Jones, the father of the latter, was one of this county's very early settlers and prominent men. He married Miss Ogden, of this county, and moved to Louisiana. The Ogdens were also very early settlers and were very wealthy. To Benjamin and his second wife were born five chil- dren: Herbert, the eldest, died in 1864; Toly, married J. M. Lessley, a son of Dr. Lessley; Benjamin, died in 1868; Stella is yet single, living at home, and Bennie, Jr. The elder daughter was educated at Summit Lee college, and the younger, at home, by private tutors. Bennie is attending Jefferson college. MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 707 Hon. Elias Alford Rowan, M. D., a prominent physician and business man of Wesson, Miss., a son of Samuel and Jeanette (Alford) Rowan, natives of North Carolina, was born near Crystal Springs, December 31, 1837. His parents came to Mississippi in 1833, and located in the woods near the present site of Crystal Springs, where Mrs. Rowan died about 1888, aged seventy-live years, and where her husband (who will be eighty-six September 1, 1891), is still living. During the greater part of his life his occupation was that of an architect and builder, and his success is connected with the growth and development of this part of the country. He became known during his active career as an honest, industrious and thoroughly reliable man, and is held in high esteem and veneration by his present gen- eration of friends, as possibly the only remaining pioneer whose fortunes have been identi- fied with the history and progress of the county for sixty years. His family was of French descent. James Alford, the maternal grandfather of Mr. Rowan, was born in North Caro- lina, and was of Scotch and Irish descent, and came to Mississippi with Mr. Rowan, was a planter here, and here ended his days. The Doctor is the third of four sons and live daughters, of whom two sons and four daughters are living. He was reared on his father's farm, but received quite a liberal education. After reading medicine with Mr. J. M. K. Alford he attended lectures at the University of Louisiana (now Tulane university) in the session of 1860-1. In May, 1861, he enlisted in the Twelfth Mississippi infantry, but was soon taken sick and had to retire from the service. It was not long, however, before he recovered health and joined company G of the Sixth Mississippi infantry, and was made first lieutenant at the reorganization of the army; was detailed but served as assistant surgeon about two years, when he was promoted to the captaincy of his company. He was in engagements at Baker's creek. Port Gibson, and other points in the Georgia campaign; came back under Hood to Franklin, was in the Franklin battle and fights in front of Nash- ville, where he was captured in 1864, and kept a prisoner on Johnson's island, in Ohio, where he suffered much until released in June, 1865. Returning home, he resumed his medical studies and graduated from Tulane university in 1866, and went into the practice of his chosen profession, locating on Pearl river, in Lawrence county. Here he remained for three years and then removed to Wesson, in his native county. He has aided largely here in building up the town for twenty-one years, financially, morally and religiously, where he still resides, and where he has built up a large practice and become a leading physician, and is a member of the Mississippi Medical association, and also of the American Medical associa- tion. He is a working member of the Baptist church in Wesson, and always on hand to assist his pastor and brethren in church labors. He has been superintendent of the Sunday- school of that church for fifteen consecutive years, and largely to his efforts and influence with the children is due to the fact that it is the largest Sunday-school in the state, numbering at present over four hundred pupils and teachers. Three years ago he aided in organizing the inter-denominational Sunday-school convention in the county, and has been its president for three terms, declining at its last meeting a reelection, wishing a president chosen from some one of the other denominations. He is a member of J. M. Wesson lodge, A. F. & A. M. ; of the Harmony lodge No. 1851 of the Knights of Honor; of the Knights and Ladies of Honor; the I. O. O. F., and of the I. O. G. T. In the Odd Fellows he has served as noble grand, he has served as chief templar of the Good Templar's lodge of Wesson, and is at present grand chief templar of the State lodge. In March, 1880, Dr. Rowan wrote and published in the county newspaper a strong arti- cle against intemperance, attacking the legalized liquor traffic prevailing at that time, when retail and pint saloons were common throughout the state. Many of his best friends T(t8 BlOQIiAPIIIOAL AND HISrOMWAL thought that hia attack on the saloons was an unwise step, but with a determination that nothing ia the way of policy or the risk of personal populaiity could shake his determi- nation and will to succeed, he pressed the subject on the attention of the people, and three years later, in the legislature of 1884, of which he was a member, secured the passage of a prohibition enactment on petition for his county, and two years later he was one of the leading members who carried through the local option act, permitting each county to decide by vote upon the question of license within its own limits. In the contest in Copiah county, in the matter of prohibition, the personal liberty party made a determined fight, and there were no available means spared to carry their point, but Rowan and the friends who rallied to his side in the contest had the gratification of counting a majority of twelve hundred and seventy-eight votes in their favor. Nor has he abated in his zeal in behalf of prohibition, but hand to hand with its leading advocates in the state he is labor- ing and hoping for the time when the blot of licensed iniquity shall be removed from Mississippi. Politically his motto might be. Independent in all things, neutral in noth- ing. A consistent and uncompromising democrat, through his whole political record he holds that democracy as well as democrats should be consistent and uncompromising, and in the late trouble brought on by the irresponsible and unauthorized action of a convention which was not appointed with any view to political control or even advice in reading out of the democratic party the element that was affiliated with the Farmers' Alliance, he promptly took sides with the laborers and producers in pressing their just demands, and largely by an active and persistent canvass made, if not a victory, a very honorable drawn battle in this first skirmish between organized capital and rapidly organizing labor. He was married in December, 1867, to Miss Mary Augusta Mobley, of Lawrence county, who died in May, 1869. In December, 1874, he married Julia L., daughter of Isham and Martha B. Lamb, natives of Tennessee, who removed to Copiah couniy, where Mr. Lamb became a well-to-do lumber- man, and died some years since. Mrs. Rowan was born in Tennessee, the second of seven children. She is connected with the Methodist Episcopal church. Dr. Rowan was elected to the state legislature in 1875, leading in the overthrow of radical and carpetbag rule in his county, and represented his county during the me'morable sessions of the legislature in 1876 and 1877, acting as chairman of the committee on benevolent institutions, and aiding in the impeachment of Governor Ames and others. He was reelected in 1883, and again in 1885. Financially, politically, socially and professionally he has been largely successful. As an evidence of his unabated popularity and the undiminished confidence felt in him by the people may be cited the fact of his election by a very large majority, at the late primary, as chairman of the democratic executive committee of Copiah county for the ensuing four years, over his opponent, Hon. W. C. Wilkinson, one of the ablest, truest and most eflPectively zealous democrats of the state. Dr. Rowan is a medium-sized man, strongly built. An excellent constitution, unimpaired by excesses, enables him to perform an immense amount of work. There are few men, possibly none, in Copiah county, whose influence equals his, or who devotes more time to the public- interests than he. Taking the lead in all measures for the upbuilding of the people financially, morally and religiously, he is well and favorably known, not only through his own and adjoining counties, where he has spoken and served in leadiag campaigns for prohibition, etc., but throughout the state at large, and this reputation he richly deserves. James H. Rowan, planter, Natchez, Miss. Daniel Rowan, grandfather of James H. , was a native of the Emerald isle but when a young man came to America, settled in Tennessee, and was there married to Miss Sarah Basley. Mr. Rowan was high sheriff of MEMOIRS OP MISSISSIPPI. 709 Dickson county, Tenn., for a number of years and was a man of no little influence and power. His death occurred in that state, and in 1798 his widow and seven children: Beal, Thomas, Lani, Mary, Jane J., James J. and Lion, moved to Mississippi. They settled in the wilderness about fourteen miles east of Natchez and on the farm they called Eowandale, where James H. Rowan now resides. There Mrs. Rowan died when the latter was but a little boy. James J. Rowan, her son and the father of James H., was born in Davidson county, Tenn., was reared onafarm in Adams county, Miss., and received a very meager education in the common schools, never attending more than three months altogether. Being naturally bright and quick witted, he became a man of rare business ability, and at an early age engaged in merchandising at Natchez. He soon became one of the foremost merchants and cotton buy- ers of the place, haodling as many as thirty thousand bales of cotton annually. He was still engaged in business in that city when he married Mrs. Elizabeth (Handy) Leatherburg, a native of Sailsbury, Md., and the widow of Dr. Leatherburg who died in that state. She afterward came to Natchez. Mr. Rowan served as clerk of the county, and also filled the position of treasurer for a number of years. After a successful business career of many years, or in 1836, Mr. Rowan returned to the old homestead, where his death occurred in 1856. He was a prominent Mason and a member of the Methodist church. He was respected and esteemed by all. His wife, who was a member of the Episcopal church, was called to her final home in 1842. Her father. Dr. Handy, died in Maryland and but little is known of the family. Mrs. Rowan was an amiable, generous, noble woman, was very popular and a leader in society and in all works of charity or benevolence. By her union to Mr. Rowan she became the mother of two children: Alfred W., who graduated from Cambridge, Mass., became a well-to-do planter and his death occurred in 1872. The other and younger son, James. H. Rowan, was educated at home under a private tutor. In 1850 he was married to Miss Helen M. Merrick, a native of Natchez and the daughter of Phineas P. Merrick, who was born in Wilbraham, Mass. , on the 7th of September, 1796. Mr. Merrick's wife, Han- nah M., a native of Elizabethtown, N. J., born on the 15th of November, 1802, he married in St. George's church, New York city, on the 11th of August, 1822. They at once came to Natchez, and there for several years Mr. Merrick was engaged in merchandising, which he continued with success until his death on the 13th of May, 1833. He was vestry- man in the Trinity church. He had been city clerk, and at the time of his death was prom- inently connected with the Agricultural bank of Natchez. He was a prominent Mason and a man of considerable wealth. His widow afterward married Judge William A. Stone, and died on the 14th of June, 1841. Samuel Merrick, the grandfather of Mrs. Rowan, was also a native of the Bay state, where he spent all his life. His father, James Merrick, was a son of Noah Merrick, who, it is supposed, came over in the Mayflower. Mrs. Rowan is one of five children, only she and a brother, Charles P. , are now living. She was educated in New York city. To Mr. and Mrs. Rowan were born five children: Charles H. , of Tensas par- ish. La., Mary E., wife of A. P. Miller, of Mew Mexico; Helen M., wife of William L. Pos- ter; Lelah P. , who died in 1873; and James B , who-died December 29, 1885, from the effects of an accidental discharge of a gun while he was engaged in Christmas festivities. He was at that time a student of JefFerson college and a very promising young man. Mr. Rowan has spent nearly his entire life on the old homestead of his grandmother, and is now the owner of about seventeen hundred acres. He^is trustee of Jefferson college, and since 1878 has been a member of the board of supervisors. He is a man of unblemished character, and his word is as good as his bond. He is one of the few men of his age who were born in Adams county and still resides there. Mrs. Rowan and daughter, Mrs. Foster, are members in good standing in the Presbyterian church. 710 BTOGRAPHWAL AND HISTORICAL E. Knbel, meichanh, Oorititb, Miss., is numbered among the prominent citizens of Alcorn county and is a member of the prominent mercantile firm of Abe Rubel & Co. He came originally from that grand old country, Germany, which seems somehow to instill into her sons the traits of character that make them successful, prosperous and popular wherever fate leads their footsteps. He was .born in Bavaria on the 20th of June, 1 837, to the union of Jacob and Veronica (Frauenthal) Rubel, both of whom were natives also of Germany, in which country they passed their entire days. E. Eubel was the ninth in order of birth of twelve children, nine of whom are living, but only our subject now in America. The latter emigrated to this country in 1854, peddled a short time in Philadelphia and country in Pennsylvania, and then attended boarding-school nine months in Bucks county of that state. He subsequently accepted a situation as clerk in a dry-goods business at Lexington, Va. , and remained there two years, and returned to Philadelphia in April, 1858, remained there until May, and then accepted a clerkship with M. Simon & Co., Memphis, Tenn. , where he continued until the fall of that year, when M. Simon opened a store at Corinth, Miss., in copartnership with James Dobbins, of that town, and Mr. Rubel came from Mem- phis to represent M. Simon in the business at Corinth. They started with a stock of general merchandise valued at about $3,500 under the firm name of Simon & Dobbins. About two months later the firm dissolved and was made Simon & Rubel, under which title the business was carried on by E. Rubel until the spring of 1862. Mr. Rubel, who was enthusiastic in the cause of the South, after the outbreak of the war collected funds for the purpose of making a uniform for the first company that had left Corinth for the seat of war at Pensacola, Fla. , under command of Captain Kilpatrick and First Lieutenant F. E. Whit- field, Jr. Mr. Rubel purchased the goods and trimmings and had the uniforms made at Corinth, and forwarded the same to the company at Pensacola, Fla. After the battle of Shiloh he was requested to give up their storehouse for the use of the Confederate govern- ment and army, in consideration of which the government gave him transportation for him- self and goods to Memphis, Tenn., and he left Corinth with his goods for Memphis on a train loaded with wounded soldiers from the battlegrounds of Shiloh and Pittsburg Landing. After ai'riving in Memphis he and Mr. Simon disposed of their goods, and Mr. Rubel started to Europe to visit his parents, of whom he had heard nothing during the war. Returning in the fall of 1863 he went again to Memphis, and engaged in merchandising and buying cotton, and immediately after the war started business again in Corinth, Miss., the firm known as E. Rubel & Co. , L. Sekeles being the company. This continued until 1876, when Mr Eubel's nephew, Abe Rubel, who prior to this clerked for the firm, was admitted into the business, and the firm title was changed to Rubel, Sekeles & Co. This continued until the spring of 1882, when E. Rubel sold his interest to the other members of the firm, and started in the cloak manufacturing business in Philadelphia, Penn. Later he gave this up, and, in connection with Abe Rubel, bought out Mr. Sekeles in 1889, the firm name being changed to Abe Rubel & Co. Abe Rubel has been connected with the firm since 1866. E. Rubel selected as his companion in life Miss Pauline Hochstadter, of Philadelphia, Penn., but a native of Fayette, Jefferson county, Miss., and their nuptials were celebrated in 1869 at Philadelphia. They became the parents of nine children, seven of whom are living: Flor- ence, Carrie, Jacob, Jennie, Milton, Rose and Alfred. Florence and Carrie are graduates of the Philadelphia (Penn.) Normal High school; the eldest of the sons, Jacob, is attending the Philadelphia Manual Training school, and the younger members of the family are in school in Philadelphia, where E. Rubel has resided since his marriage. In his business career at Corinth the firm commenced on a small scale, but it has prospered, and has now MBM0IR8 OP MISSISSIPPI. 711 one of the largest wholesale and retail enterprises in the state. They have a very handsome business building, erected by Rubel & Sekeles in 1873-4, and superintended and built by Mr. E. Rubel in person. He made his own brick, arranged everything, and the building, which is four stories in higbt with a seventy-five foot front, cost over 140,000, and is not only an ornament to the city, but an honor to Mr. Rubel. They have a fine basement under all and carry a stock of goods valued at about $100,000. Their custom extends to Alabama, Tennessee and Mississippi. E. Rubel resides in Philadelphia, as above stated, but Abe Rubel resides in Corinth, and is a live, energetic business man. The latter was married to Miss Rachel Hirsh, of Memphis, Tenn., and is the father of seven children: Simon, Jacob, Char- lotte, Lee, Milton, Carrie and Frank. Atlas F. Rush, De Kalb, Miss., who for sixteen years has been chancery clerk pf Kem- per county. Miss., is entitled to the following space in this record of the leading men of the state. He was born in Kemper county, within six miles of De Kalb, in 1842, and is a son of William C. and Elizabeth (Crawford) Rush. His father was born in North Carolina in 1814, and removed to Kemper county in 1834, bringing his wife whom he had married in his native state. He was a planter and speculator, and was very successful. He was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and belonged to the Center Ridge lodge, A. F. & A. M. He was a man of wide and deep sympathies, whom the woes of the people touched, and it was to him the poor and needy were apt to turn for succor, knowing always that they would recieve aid. He died in 1873. His wife was born in North Carolina; she was a daughter of Mastin Crawford, and a woman of rare force of character. She belonged to the Methodist Episcopal church. Her death occurred in 1883. They reared a family of ten children: Thomas, Mastin, John, Charlotte, Julia, Mary, Atlas F., James, William and Mattie. Thomas, Mastin, Mary and James aredeceased. Atlas F. was rearediu thecounty of his birth, and received his education in the common schools. In 1861, at the age of eighteen years, he enlisted in company I, Twenty-fourth Mississippi volunteer infantry, and went out to aid the Confederate cause. He saw some active service, participating in the battles, of Perry- ville, Murfreesboro, Chickamauga and Lookout Mountain; he was captured in the last named engagement, was sent to Johnson's island, where he was held twenty-two months, being paroled at the end of that period. He enlisted as a private, and was promoted to a lieuten- ancy before his capture. When the war was ended he returned to his home, and embarked in the mercantle trade in the town of De Kalb. He has a plantation of one thousand acres within two miles of De Kalb, which he has brought to a high state of cultivation. Politi- cally he is identified with the democrat party. For the past sixteen years he has been clerk of the chancery court, and has discharged the business of that office with skill and fidelity that has won him a wide reputation. He is a member of the Masonic order, and also belongs to the Farmers' Alliance, Mr. Rush was united in marriage December 19, 1865, to Miss Cornelia Holton, a daughter of Col. John B. and Katie (McAlister) Holton, natives of North Carolina. Mrs. Rush was born in North Carolina in 1842, and is an only child. Ten chil- dren have been born to our subject and his wife: Inda H. is the wife of R. M. Hight, of Green- wood, Miss. ; Anna married Dr. M. M. Warren, of Macon, Noxubee county. Miss. ; Holton C. ; Frank C. (deceased in 1888); Hugh B. ; Kittle; Attie F. ; Cornelia; and two who died in infancy. The parents are worthy members of the Baptist church. Charles E. Rushing, the subject of this sketch, was born in Meltonville, Anson county, N. C, July 27, 1819. Leaving home at the early age of fifteen years to make his way in the world, he rode across the states on horseback to Mobile, Ala., accepting employment there as clerk in a wholesale shoe store. He married there in February, 1842, Miss Bridget C. 712 BIOGRAPHICAL AND HI8T0BI0AL Collin. He remained in Mobile about two years after thiB, when his health failing he came to Marion, Lauderdale county, Miss., being one of the early settlers of the county. He there started in mercantile business, and how well he succeeded was attested by the fortune he was the possessor of when the war began, being the owner of many slaves, the largest land owner in the county, and interested in three mercantile houses. He was opposed to secession, but when the inevitable came he did his duty as a man and citizen. He held the office of tax assessor during the war. The only office that he ever held previous to this was county treasurer, which office he held for fifteen consecutive years. After the war he was elected and served as a member of the constitutional convention to frame a constitution for the state under the rconstruction act. He then set about to gather another fortune, one hav- ing been lost by the vicissitudes of war. He started a new mercantile business at Columbus, Ky., and continued in that until February, 1866, when he was elected vice president of the Mobile & Ohio railroad, in which capacity he served until May, 1874. He then returned to Marion, Miss. , where he spent the remainder of his days in peace and quiet on his farm, dying December 30, 1881. His was a busy life. Many have cause to remember him for his charities, for he was a friend to the orphan. He was blessed with several children — four sons and two daughters — his two oldest sons being victims of the war. His oldest living son, H. P. Rushing, married Miss Anna J. Cole, of Meridian, Miss., in February, 1873, and settled at Toplin, Miss. , on a farm, where he now resides, and does business as farmer and merchant. He owns one of the finest herds of Jersey cattle in the state, and has a dairy with all the latest improvements, run by steam. He has also a system of private water works to supply his house and cattle with water. J. C. Rushing, the other living son resides in Meridian, Miss., and is in the railroad business. The two daughters reside at the old homestead at Marion. The following is another account of Charles E. Rushing. One of the useful citizens of Mississippi for many years and during his lifetime very prominent in public affairs was Charles E. Rushing (deceased). He was born in the Old North state in 1819 and after reaching manhood removed to Mobile, Ala., where he resided two years and was married to Miss Bridget Collin, a native of County Kildare, Ireland, where she was born in 1817. After theif marriage they removed to Mississippi, settling at Old Marion, Lauderdale county, in 1844, where Mr. Rushing engaged in merchandising. After a few years he also established a good store at Marion station, on the then new Mobile & Ohio railroad, and at both these places he did a prosperous business until the opening of the Civil war. He filled the position of county treasurer ably and efficiently for some time and was otherwise interested in the political affairs of his section. When the war opened he was elected tax assessor of Lauderdale county, but was afterward in the commissary depart- ment and was instrumental in relieving the wants of those who were deprived of help and means by the devastations of war. When hostilities ceased he was completely bankrupt, much of his valuable property being destroyed by General Sherman's army. He was an extensive planter also in connection with his other enterprise, but after the war was over he embarked in the commission business in Columbus, Ky., and had been and was a director of the Mobile & Ohio railroad, and in 1866 was elected vice president of that road, which posi- tion he ably filled for nine years. After a well spent life he died at Old Marion, Miss. , in 1881, his widow surviving him until 1889. Miss Clara L. Rushing, their daughter, resides with her sister, Mrs. M. E. Robinson, on the old homestead. These ladies are engaged successfully in conducting the plantation, Mrs. Robinson being chief of the domestic inter- ests while Miss Rushing superintends the plantation. They have two thousand acres of good land, the cultivated portion of which yields from forty to fifty bales of cotton yearly. Their MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 713 house is located seven miles east of Meridian, is pleasantly situated and makes them a com- fortable and cozy home. These ladies are proving themselves good business women and. are intelligent, wideawake and self-reliant. Mrs. Eobinson has two sons: Clarenge E. ^nd Collin E. The Rushing family are Catholics. Charles E. Eushing was one of the incor- porators and was afterward president of the Peoples' bank. Meridian, Miss. Elijah Eussell is a native of the state of South Carolina, born in the year 1817. He is a son of James D. and Susana (Gayden) Eussell, also natives of South Carolina, of Irish descent. The family removed from South Carolina to Georgia where they remained two years, and in 1829 they came to Mississippi, and settled in Warren county, where the father died in 1834 and the mother died in Yazoo county in 1853. They were the parents of eleven children- all of whom grew to maturity excepting two, and all of whom have passed away excepting two. Elijah Eussell spent his early boyhood days in his native state. In 1843 he came to Yazoo county, and engaged in mercantile pursuits at Benton; he followed this busines a few years and then was employed in overseeing and farming for some time. He has resided on his present farm about ten years ; it consists of three hundred acres of land, a portion of which is de voted to the raising of live-stock another to fruit, and the balance to general farming pur- poses; he has a fine herd numbering thirty head of graded Jersey breed, and six hundred bearing peach-trees, besides a great many apple, pear and quince trees. Mr. Russell was united in marriage January 16, 1845, to Miss Martha A. Erwin, a daughter of Abner and (Howard) Erwin. By this union eleven children were born, live of whom are still liv- ing: Mary, wife of John Birdwell of Louisiana; Abner, a farmer of Yazoo county; Reuben G. , who resides in Indian territory; Howard, a resident of Washington county, and DeErance, a resident of the same county. Mr. Eussell lost the mother of these children in 1870. Three years later he was married to Mrs. Lucy (Hearn) Foster, a daughter of John and Mary (Montgomery) Hearn, natives of South Carolina. Four children have been born of this mar- riage: Ina, who died at the age of five years; Sera, Gaydon and Irene. The mother is a member of the Eock Springs Baptist church, and Mr. Russell belongs to the Methodist Epis- copal church of Benton. He is also a member of the Masonic order. He is a man of public spirit, and has contributed both of his means and personal influence largely to the growth and advancement of Yazoo county. Mrs. Laura V. Russell is the widow of W. H. Russell, who was born in Warren county, Miss , in 1828, a son of Arnold and Elizabeth (Grover) Russell, natives of Tennessee. Col. Arnold Russell came to this state while it was yet a territory, and entered quite a large body of land on the Yazoo river. A considerable portion of this property he afterward ' sold, but a large portion of what he reserved is now the property of Mrs. Laura V. Russell. Colonel Russell and his brother, James, were in the war of 1812, at which time the former was only nineteen years of age. James B. attained the rank of captain, and both afterward served with distinction in various Indian wars. W. H. Russell was educated in the schools of Nashville, Tenn., and was one of the finest educated men in Mississippi. Although he preferred the life of a planter to any other calling, many professions were opened to him, for his father was wealthy and generous, and would gladly have given bis son every advantage. During the Rebellion W. H. Eussell enlisted in the Confederate service, but owing to delicate health he was unable to stand the hardship and privations of army life, and shortly after he joined he was honorably discharged. He was the owner of quite a number of slaves but, of course, during the war lost them all, and after the cessation of hostilities found himself in a destitute condition. Not heeding the dark outlook he set energetically to work and possessing shrewd and practical views his efforts were well repaid, and at the time of his death was the 714 BIOQRAPHTOAL AND HI8T0RI0AL owner of the old Russell estate consisting of about three thousand acres, and an estate of his own, the entire amount of land under cultivation on the two places amounting to eight hundred acres. In 1855 Mr. Russell was married to Miss Laura V. Jackson, and their union resulted in the birth of ten children, all of whom survive: Annie D., wife of C F. Cassey, M. D. , of Satartia, Miss.; Laura J., W. H. and Lauretta, twins; Seymour, Arnold, Mellen, Lee, Ruth and Ruby, twins. Mr. Russell was a Knight Templar in the A. F. and A. M. of Vicksburg, was very popular and well known throughout the county, and was highly honored and respected by his neighbors. Personally, and in every private relation and duty of life, he was liberal, generous and high minded, was the life of social intercourse, and the soul of true honor and unbounded greatness of heart. Mrs. Russell's parents, Stephen M. and Ann Dunn (Hill) Jackson, were natives of Virginia, being members of leading families of that state. Mrs. Jackson was a member of Dr. Dunn's family of Memphis, Tenn., who was quite a prominent citizen of this city. The maternal grandfather of Mr. Jackson was Littleberry Mason of Virgina. John Y. Mason, Sr. , was his uncle, and John Y. Mason, Jr., of Confederate fame was his cousin. It was he who was with Slidell on recruiting service for the Confede- racy in Canada, and was there captured. Mr. Jackson died in 1839, while just in the prime of life, and Mrs. Jackson, after remaining a widow eighteen years, married Dr. Seymour Halsey, of Vicksburg, who was one of the leading surgeons of Mississippi. He served in this capacity in the war with Mexico, throughout which war he was with Jefferson Davis. He was a member of the Halsey family of New Jersey, and when a young mait came South, and first located at Baton Rouge, although the greater part of his life was spent in Vicks- burg. He was very widely known, and a man whom to know was to honor. He died in 1851, and his widow in 1885, at the age of seventy-seven years. She bore Dr. Halsey no children, but her union with Mr. Jackson, who was born in 1800, resulted in the birth of tour children, two of whom are living: Mrs. Laura V. Russell and Dr. D. D. Jackson^ of Greenville. Samuel D. Russell, planter and merchant at Missionary, Jasper county. Miss. , was born near Decatur, Newton county, Miss., in 1854, one of the six children of Alexander and Eliz- abeth W. (Wilson) Russell (born, McDowell). Alexander Russell was born in Anson county, N. C, in 1816, and left home when but a youth to seek his fortune in the West, but located in Newton county, Miss., early in its history, and, while a resident there was engaged in planting, and in operating a small tannery on his place. In 1869 he became a merchant at Decatur, and as such proved a success, establishing a few years later a branch store at New- ton, his partner in this enterprise being M. J. L. Hoye, his son-in-law. Mr. Russell was a man of remarkable business ability and great energy. Our subject, Samuel D. Russell, was reared in Newton county, where he received his primary education in the common schools, and later was a student at the college at Clinton for a year. He married Miss Bettie M. Longmire, daughter of Dr. G. E. Longmire, a native of Alabama. To Mr. and Mrs. Russell have been born three children: G. Longmire, R. Alexander and Samuel D., Jr. Mr. Russell located where he now lives in February, 1884, and is the owner of twenty-one hundred acres of land all in one body, besides about fifteen hundred acres in other tracts. In connection with his planting operations he has a general store, which is well stocked with such mer- ,chandise as is in demand in the country round about. He also has an interest in the store of Walton, Gallaspy & Russell, at Hickory, Miss. He is a thoroughgoing young man with the best business principles, and has made a success of each one of the several enterprises in which he has been engaged — his home store and the one at Hickory, each having a large trade, and his planting operations being as extensive as those of any other planter in his vicinity. -»-*fto:r'*-' 'f*^flBS?K( 'i'*"? 7 ,%-* y^s / .■- u H KI EX A, .'ii ./ 4fA, ?S6'5. CONFEDERATES .tr-. -J : V^'A/ ''':S\ >.----: k. } r> ^^T'^? #*** > f^lVtR \ ^ ;{ ! /■"■'^- -" Tv^£p --M,r(... , , -..J Jill i^t^iMiy '.■•■' <:■: V .Ffl<'K..^;.|,, alid their ilnsi.r ,U,1!,«- !>., wlfn'of C. i'. CitHhH., •, Iwiui-.. .Si'Viiionr, Ariioi(i, .Vi' :. . -1 • 1 i:is,>*,'-r"i of ii'iKjing fHTOiii'-.-i .,lf HjA). ' li ( ij- ■ Ui'mi.fiis, Tenn., who was qiut- ■' .••!'i«,u!^>«ih-r of i!', JiHikHoii wa;.-. !.,iTt.ieb"- r-- : ■ ■;■■,■.■!*■. ji-i III >h'h-'- V Mhsou, Jr., of Confederal +; •• !'■■ S...iiir-]J oil rocrnitiui^' swrvice fen- i.lie C'orit'ede- -■•1 .i,)eka,-id;>i^'- •siua^f'Oii.s of JlisoJasipi'S, He sj^rved -"ri ^■i \=:.?. ],;-■.-,■ :^i„i »i ,, , •; ,;,uitg ii-'...! <'a!ufi Bouih, tT--' L, ■ f"!^, ; v>? .WrilS .>! -ii'.^fJv'v ..:,d-Bli2,- BATTLE OF RAYIVCOND, May 12ih, 1863. BRICES CROSS ROADS, June 10th, 1864. ^A~ZEFSE & CO^.-ENGRS.T'gHir MEMOIRS OP MISSISSIPPI. 715 James M. Rutherford, aherifp, Ripley, Miss., was chosen to occupy his present respon- sible position by his party in October, 1881, and is now discharging the duties of that office in a manner highly creditable to himself and to the satisfaction of the community at large. This introduction is hardly necessary, for the people of Tippah county are not only perfectly familiar with Mr. Rutherford as a trustworthy official but honor and respect him as a man. He was born in Union county, Ga. , in 1834 and was the second in a family of eleven children born to Thomas and Margaret A. (Lemmonds) Rutherford, natives of the old North State. The parents were reared in thab state, and after their marriage, or in 1832, they moved to Georgia where they made their home until 1848. From there they moved to Tippah county, Miss., and there their family grew to maturity. The father was a mechanic, but in con- nection also carried on farming and was quite successful in both pursuits. He died on the 4th of February, 1891, at the age of eighty-seven years. James M. Rutherford was reai'ed in Tippah county as above stated, and when the war broke out he was filled with an enthu- siastic desire to assist the Confederacy. In April, 1862, he enlisted with three other brothers and with them served until the close. These brothers are all living at the present time. Another brother joined the cavalry and lived until 1890. After the final surrender, Mr. Rutherford returned to Tippah county with the consciousness of having served his cause faithfully and well. Previous to the war, in December, 1857, he selected Miss Harriet Reed as his companion in life, and their marriage has been blessed by the birth of four chil- dren, all of whom are now married and the heads of families. Mr. Rutherford followed planting until 1881, when he was elected to his present position. He now resides in Ripley and rents his farm. Although he makes no outward display, Mr. Rutherford attends strictly to the duties of his office in a manner highly trustworthy. Dr. Charles Ryan, Elma, Miss., who is one of the successful physicians of Prentiss county, is a self-made man in every sense of that much abused term, and what he has accumulated in the way of this world's goods is the result of industry, perseverance and indomitable will power. His early life was one of hardship and privations, and, although in his subsequent career for many years he had a hard struggle to keep above water, he finally triumphed, and is to-day one of the substantial and much esteemed citizens of the county. He was born in Tuscaloosa county, Ala. , on the 29th of January, 1820, and was the youngest of three children born to Charles and Sarah (Spaulding) Ryan, the father a native of one of the Carolinas, and the mother of Alabama. The parents were maiTied in Alabama and there resided until the death of the father in 1820, the same year in which the Doctor was born. The mother was afterward married to Dorn Patton, who proved a hard task- master. This union resulted in the birth of eight children, one son and seven daughters. The mother died in Texas in 1868. Dr. Ryan, who was placed under his stepfathers care when a little child, did not fare very well at his hands, in fact, had a very hard time of it, and when about eight years of age had his left arm paralyzed by a limb from a tree striking it. This he has had to carry through life. When about ten years of age he was driven from home by his stepfather and started out to struggle for existence for himself. He engaged first as mail carrier from Waynesboro to Shelbyville, Tenn., receiving for his services the munificent sum of $5 per month. He followed this for eleven months, during which time his wages were increased to $15 per month, and after giving up his Tennessee contract he went to Alabama, where he succeeded in getting a position as mail carrier from Jasper to Blount Springs. There he remained for one year, receiving for his services |8 per month, and then went to Tishomingo county. Miss., where he took the contract for carry- ing the mail from Jacinto, Miss., to Tuscumbia, Ala., and rode that route. He retained ss 716 BIOaBAPHIOAL AND HiaTOBIOAL that position for one year at $8 per month, and after that he began working in the office of the chancery clerk in Tishomingo county, Thomas Pate, assisting him in writing for three months. However, as he received nothing for his services except his board and clothes, he gave this up, and as he had studied hard when he had opportuaity, he had sufficient educa- tion to teach a school of children. While thus employed he studied medicine, and at the end of six months, his school term ending, he went back to Alabama where he spent what money he had earned for books, and being the owner of a small pony, gave that to the pro- fessor of Spring Hill academy for ten months tuition in his school. He attended the fall term of 1844, and by that time, having obtained a fair literary education, he returned to Tishomingo county. Miss., in 1844, and engaged a five months school. This he taught, and in the following year was elected county assessor, when in his twenty-fifth year, serving one term in that capacity. In 1847 he was married to Miss Elizabeth Martin, who bore him nine children, three sons and six daughters: Sarah F. (wife of George T. Goddard), Kizzie A. (wife of A. J. Wilson), Elizabeth A. (wife of A. C. Stevens), Arthur M. , Mary J. (wife of James E. Shackleford), Maggie 0. (wife of "W. 0. Weems), Charles A., Melverdie R. (wife of Stephen W. Millican) and William P. Dr. Ryan is the owner of three hundred and forty-five acres of land in Preutiss county, aud has one hundred acres of this under cultivation. As before stated, while teaching school he studied medicine, and decided to make that his profession, applying himself faithfully to this study for years. In 1853 he commenced practicing in Itawamba and Prentiss counties, and continued practicing until 1859, when he entered Memphis Medical college, graduating from that institution in 1860. He subsequently located at Bay Springs, Tishomingo county, remained there one year, and then moved to the farm where he now lives, three miles east of Elma. He was there during the war and had an extensive practice, being exempt from service on account of his crippled arm. He was about the only physician left in the county and had frequently to ride thirty miles to see a patient. The Doctor is still practicing, but in connection is also engaged in the drug business, having a store on his farm. He carries a stock of goods valued at about $1,000, drugs and general merchandise. Dr. Ryan's religious belief is as follows: He believes, "That the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments contain a revelation of the character of God, and of the duty, interest, and final destination of mankind; that there is one God, whose nature is Love, revealed in one Lord Jesus Christ, by one Holy Spirit of Grace, who will finally restore the whole family of mankind to holiness and happiness; that holiness and true happiness are inseparably connected, and that believers ought to be careful to maintain order, and practice good works, for these things are good and profitable unto men." He has been a member of the Masonic fraternity since 1866. He is well and favorably known all over the county. He was deputy sheriff of Itawamba county for about two years, and was an able and efficient officer. He has been a resident of Mississippi since 1835, and has ever been a liberal contributor to schools, churches, etc. MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 717 ^HAPTEP^ XIX. SELECTED MEMORIALS, S. (S>l\ LEADING merchant and planter of Coahoma county, Miss., is William R. Sadler, fmX who was born in Franklin county, Ala., December 24, 1843, being the sixth in a y^lsV^ family of thirteen children born to Joseph M. and Maria E. (Owen) Sadler, the former a native of North Carolina and the latter of Tennessee. In the year 1846 they came to Mississippi, locating in Chickasaw county, where the father spent the remainder of his life as a progressive planter and a worthy and public-spirited citizen. At the opening of the late war he was strongly opposed to secession, but when the ordinance of secession was passed, he remained loyal to his state, and bent all his energies to the establishment of the Confederacy. He was one of the pioneers of the state, and here was called from life in 1882, at the age of seventy-six years. The paternal ancestors of William R. Sadler were from Ger- many, and settled in Pennsylvania upon coming to this country, where they became substan- tial, industrious and prosperous citizens. "William R. has been a resident of Mississippi from the time he was three years of age, and in the schools of Chickasaw county he received his education. While fitting himself for college the war broke out, and as a loyal Southerner he joined the Confederate forces, becoming a member of company C, Thirteenth Missis- sippi cavalry, and served until the long struggle ended. He was one of the first to join his company, and was in every engagement in which it participated, but was never wounded, and during his protracted service he never received a furlough. He was at luka, Corinth, Franklin, and in the Georgia campaign. He was as brave and faithful a soldier as ever shoul- dered a musket, and although the cause was lost, he was conscious of having performed every duty faithfully and well. He began his business career after the war closed as a merchant and cotton speculator, in both of which he was very successful. In addition to these he has carried on planting successfully, and has become the owner of two thousand acres of land, seven hundred of which are in a good state of cultivation. The most of this he has opened and improved at great expense. He is a stockholder in the Friar's Point oilmill, and is part owner of the drug establishment of Sadler & Jones, in Jonestown. Like so many of the prosperous business men of the present day, he is essentially self-made, and by persistent and continous effort he has acquired his present property. He has been a member of the board of supervisors of Coahoma county for two terms, and was one of the first to settle in what is now Jonestown, being one of its most reputable and public-spirited citizens. He lives a quiet and happy life, with no aspirations for political honors, and is a very social and pleasant gentleman to meet, being by no means void of that hospitality characteristic of the Southern people. 718 BIOOBAPHIOAL AND HISTOBIOAL J. Q. Sallis, M. D., is a talented and skillful physician, who is well known throughout the state of Mississijapi. He was born in Tuscaloosa county, Ala., October 28, 1825, and traces his ancestry back three generations to John Sallis, who was of English birth and came to America during its eq,rly history. His son, John S. Sallis, was born in Augusta, Ga., and became the father of John Sallis, the father of the subject of this sketch. John Sallis was born in Warren county, Ga. , but the marriage of his parents was consummated in Augusta, in a fort, during Bevolutionary times, their removal to Warren county taking place soon afterward. They became the parents of seven sons and seven daughters that grew to mature years. John Sallis, father of J. G. Sallis, M. D., was married in Warren county to Miss Mary Edmondson, a native of Warren county, and moved with his family to Tusca- loosa county, Ala,, wherie he made his home for a few years. In 1849 he removed to Mis- sissippi and settled in Attala county, where he died in 1866, at the age of seventy-six years. He had- been a successful planter throughout life, and had accumulated a comfortable fortune. Dr. J. G. Sallis is one of a family of seven sons and three daughters, all of whom grew to mature years and became heads of families. Four brothers and one sister are the survivors. The youthful days of the Doctor were spent in Alabama, and there he was edu- cated. In 1849 he came to Mississippi and began the fetudy of medicine in Attala county, taking his first course of lectures in New Orleans in 1851, from which he graduated in the class of 1853 from Tulane university. He immediately returned to Attala county, and here has been one of the foremost medical practitioners ever since. He has had a very large and lucrative practice for forty years, and is, in addition to attending to his professional duties, one of the most extensive planters in the county, and has eleven hundred acres in one body, .six hundred of which is open land in excellent farming condition. Upon the building of the Aberdeen branch of the Illinois Central railroad, a station was located on the Doctor's plantation, and was named Sallis, after him. He was married in 1852 to Miss M. A. Flem- ing, a daughter of John L. Fleming, of Madison county. Miss. Mrs. Sallis was born in Columbia, S. C, but reared in Madison county. Miss, and has borne the Doctor five children: William B., who is engaged in merchandising at Sallis; D. Fleming is attending medical lectures in Baltimore, Md. ; Hattie M. is the wife of R. S. Clark, of Starkville, Miss., and ' Mary E. is the wife of Oscar Boyett, of Sallis. One son, Robert, died in 1872, at the age of eleven years. The Doctor and his wife are members of the Baptist church, and are worthy Christians and estimable citizens. Although the Doctor is approaching his three score years and ten, his mind is as clear as ever and he is still active, physically. He has been active in all good works, but has been specially interested in church matters and for the past twenty- three years has been a deacon, and Sunday-school superintendent for twenty-three years. A. D. Sample, farmer, Richland, Miss. Mr. Sample's father, Isaac Sample, was one of the pioneer settlers of Mississippi, leaving his native state. South Carolina, to come to the wilds of Mississippi in 1836. He located on a farm near old Franklin, and was married in 1840 to Mrs. Mary H. Barbour, who bore him four sous: John (died in infancy), J. H. , A. D. and D. C. Mr. Sample was much attached to his family, was a kind and loving father, and a devoted husband. His death occurred in 1851. He was a member in good standing in the Masonic fraternity. His third son, A. D. Sample, is a native Mississippian, born in Holmes county in 1846, and there grew to manhood. He secured his early educa- tion in the Richland private schools, and in 1866 selected his companion in life in the person of Miss Ann Maria Ambrose, a native of Mississippi also. This union has been blessed by the birth of nine children. Previous to his marriage and when but sixteen years of age he enlisted in the Confederate army, as a private, in Harvey's scouts and their principal fields MEMOIRS OP MISSISSIPPI. 719 of operation were in Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee and Mississippi. He was- captured at Selma, Ala. , but escaped before the prison was reached. Returning home after cessation of hostilities, he resumed farming, has continued that vocation up to the pTesent, and is the owner of one thousand and fifty acres of excellent land and of this six hundred acres are in a fine state of cultivation. This farm is located two miles west of Richland, Holmes county, and there the mother of our subject died in 1879. Mr. Sample takes great pride in his chil- dren and is rearing them to be honest, intelligent men and women. Charles Sanger, builder and contractor, of Bay St. Louis, Hancock county, Miss. , is a native of Germany, born in Wiesbaden in 1853. He is a son of George and Elizabeth Sanger, also natives of the Fatherland. Mr. Sanger was a stonecutter by trade. His death occurred in 1863, but his wife still survives. They reared a family of four children: Charles, Helena, Theresa and Frederick. Charles Sanger is the only member of this family who came to America. He remained in his native land until he was fourteen years of age, receiv- ing a good education. In 1867 he sailed for the United States, and landed in New Orleans, where he had an uncle, Henry Sanger, a prominent builder and contractor of that city. The uncle died in 1870. Charles learned his trade from his uncle, and followed the business in New Orleans until 1878, when he came to Bay St. Louis, Miss. Here he has since resided. In 1871 he made a trip to the coast, being a contractor for the icehouses at Pass Christian and Biloxi. Since his residence at Bay St. Louis he has erected a great many buildings, and has taken some heavy contracts. He is a thorough master of the business, and his suc- cess is due to the excellent training he had under his uncle. He is now dealing exclusively in ice, and the most important part of this business is the sinking of artesian wells. He has sunk several, all of which have proven of best quality. Mr. Sanger was married in 1878 to Miss Lucy Jebenes, and one daughter has been born of the union, Aiigusta. They are members of the Roman Catholic church. Mr. Sanger is one of the most enterprising citizens of Bay St. Louis, and the superior character of all his work has won for him a first place in the business circles, not only of Hancock county, but also in the state of Missis- sippi. George F. Sanders, Bright, De Soto county. Miss., was born in Wilkes county, Ga., May 4, 1835, and is the eldest of a family of five children. His parents, Marion and Lucy (Murphy) Sandei's, were also natives of Georgia. The father was a planter by occupation. George F. was reared to farm life and received his education in the private schools of the neighborhood. At the age of nineteen years he started out in life for himself, with no capi- tal excepting that with which nature had endowed him. She had been more generous with him, however, than she has been with some of her children, so he was well equipped for the struggle that must come to every earnest and ambitious young man. By diligence and wise management he has become the owner of six hundred and fifty acres of fine farm land, two hundred and fifty of which are under cultivation. He has a large, convenient residence, and all the surroundiogs are indicative of prosperity. Mr. Sanders was married in 1883 to Mrs. Sallie (Lauderdale) McNeese, a native of Mississippi, and a daughter of Abner D. Lauder- dale, a full history of whom will be found on another page of this volume. This union resulted in the birth of four children: Marion A., Frank, both of whom are deceased: Lizzie W. and Millie. Our subject was a soldier in the late war, enlisting in the Thirty-seventh Georgia regiment, volunteer infantry. He took part in many battles, the most important being Resaca, Lost Mountain, Peachtree Creek and Murfreesboro. Although he served until the war was ended, he was neither wounded nor promoted. He has always been a liberal supporter of all public enterprises, and has been one of the most forceful factors iq 720 BIOQBAPHICAL AJSTD HISTORICAL the development, of his county. He has been successful in his business, but it has been through the exercise of good judgment and energetic efFort. He is kind, courteous and hos- pitable, and is greatly respected by the entire community. John W. Sanders, M. D. In reviewing the early history of Carroll county, the name of Sanders is conspicuous among the pioneers as far back as the thirties. It was in that decade that William Sanders, grandfather of our subject, emigrated to Carroll county and embarked in the mercantile trade. He was a native of Tennessee, where his ancestors were pioneers. Dr. John Sanders, the father of John W., was born in Carroll county in 1834. He was a man of more than ordinary attainments, being well educated both from a literary and profes- sional standpoint. He was miirried in this county to Miss Sallie Young, a daughter of Thomas Young and a sister of Mrs. Senator George, of this county. Dr. Sanders, Sr. , died in 1867, and Mrs. Sanders was married a second time to Judge Cothran, a former circuit judge of this judicial district, who died while in office. He was a very prominent man in political life, and was a Mason of high order. Mrs. Cothran survives him and is a hale, well-preserved old lady. Dr. John W. Sanders was born in Carroll county. Miss., July 5, 1859, and is one of a family of two sons. His brother. Dr. M. S. Sanders, of Terrell, Tex., is also a practicing physician. Our subject passed his youth in the county of his birth, and received a fair education in Clinton, Miss. He was in the junior class when he dropped his literary studies and took up medicine. His uncle. Dr. J. A. Sanders, was his preceptor for the first year. He took his first course of lectures at Louisville, Ky. , in 1878—9, and was graduated in the class of 1880. He then located in his native town and has since been actively engaged in the practice of his profession. He is a young man, full of energy, and ambitious not only to succeed, biit to succeed well. He devotes his time and thought to his work, and has won a large and loyal patronage. In 1890 he bought a stock of drugs and druggists' notions, and is doing a large business in that line. The Doctor was united in marriage, December 26, 1881, to Miss Delia Davis, a daughter of George Davis, deceased. Three children have been born to these parents: Sadie, Kittie and Malcolm. Dr. Sanders is a member of the State Medical society, and keeps well abreast of the times in all medical discoveries and professional improvements. The Doctor's wife and mother are both mem- bers of the Baptist church. K. L. Saunders. Jackson, Miss., has long been recognized as an important center of distribution for staple and fancy groceries of all kinds, and this business was among the earliest of all the mercantile branches to be established in the city. Many of the grocery houses of Jackson, both at wholesale and retail, are of old establishment and employ large capital and the best resources and facilities for carrying on a large business. The only wholesale grocery house of Jackson is the Jackson Grocery company, of which E. L. Saunders is president, which business was established in March, 1889, the stock of goods being valued at $20,000. This important and representative house has steadily car- ried on business since its establishment, and its history has been one of continuous growth, and the rapid expansion of its patronage is the surest evidence of Mr. Saunders' ability, popularity and correct system of conducting business. Mr. Saunders is a native Mississip- pian, born in 1848, the youngest of three children born to J. C. and Susan (Hudson) Saun- ders, both of whom were born in Tennessee. The father removed to Mississippi and here died soon after the birth of his son, R. L. Saunders. The latter was reared and educated in Jackson; began the battle of life for himself as a clerk, and in 1863 enlisted in the Twentieth Confederate cavalry, which operated in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, and surrendered at Gainesville in the latter state. Upon his return to Jackson he followed MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 781 clerking until 1878, when he became a partner in the business, the firm taking the name of Robinson, Stevens & Co., of which he was an active member until March, 1889. At that time Mr. Saunders organized the Jackson Grocery company and has since been its efficient president. Mr. Saunders is also vice president of the Jackson bank; president of the Jackson Fertilizer company ; president of the Light, Heat and Water Works company ; is treasurer of the Mississippi Compress and Warehouse company; was an organizer and is now a director of the First National bank; in 1881 became a director of the Mississippi mills at Wes- son, Miss., and is a trustee of the Deaf and Dumb institute. As a business man his record has been a very successful one, and by his own efforts he has succeeded in accumulating a handsome competency. He was married in 1878 to Miss Annie M. Robinson, a native of Mississippi and a daughter of John W. Robinson, who was born in New York and came to Mississippi at an early day, becoming one of the foremost merchants of this section. To Mr. and Mrs. Saunders the following children have been born : Mattie, Annie (who died at the age of four years), Robert L., Frank (a daughter), John W., Marion P. and Mary J. The family worship in the Episcopal church, in which Mr. Saunders is an active worker. He is president of the board of trustees of the church property of the state, and is treasurer and vestryman of the church in Jackson. In 1890 he was appointed by President Harrison one of the commissioners of the World's Fair. Phineas M. Savery, attorney at law, real estate and general insurance agent, is the senior member of the firm of P. M. & F. M. Savery, one of the most successful insurance agencies in the state. He is a native of New England, born in Massachusetts, July 30, 1830, a son of Dr. Phineas and Nancy (Messinger) Savery, natives of the same state. The said Dr. Phineas Savery was a leading physician of Attleboro, Mass., and a son of Phineas Savery who was bom April 8, 1757, and married Hannah Swift in 1796. Samuel Savery, born August 18, 1718, was the father of the first Phineas Savery. They were of French descent. The father of our subject died in Massachusetts, and the mother died when he was an infant. He was reared and educated in his native state, receiving a practical business training. At the age of sixteen years he went to New York city, and thence to Mexico. In 1851 he returned to the United States, and settled in Clay county. Mo. He was employed as a clerk until 1853, when he was married to Miss Amanda G., the eldest daughter of Henry F. Mitchell, a native of Maryland, and a leading attorney of the state of Missouri. Soon after marriage Mr. Savery took up the study of law, and was admitted to the bar in 1858. When the war broke out between the North and the South, he joined the state troops, in which service he attained the rank of colonel, as provost-marshal-general of the state. In 1862 he entered the service of the Confederate States as captain of cav- alry; was for a short time a major, as provost-marshal-general of army of the West and trans-Mississippi department, then resumed his place as captain of the Western rangers, a company of Missourians who went into service in May, 1861, and remained until the final surrender. After the fall of Vicksburg this company was consolidated with the Second Missouri cavalry, and was known as company C, of that regiment. In 1865 Mr. Savery resided in Memphis engaged as clerk and special collector. In 1866 he moved to Baldwyn, Miss., and went into business as commercial representative in Mississippi of University Publishing company of New York for a short time, then commenced the practice of law. In 1868 he entered into the life insurance business and in 1870 that of fire, since which time he has made insurance a specialty and confined his law practice to collection of claims. He moved to Tupelo in 1888, and still resides there, representing eighteen of the leading insurance companies of the United States. Mr. Savery takes great interest in societies and 1^2 BIOGRAPHICAL AND BISTORICAL fraternities. As a Mason be haa filled the highest office in each of the several grand bodies of Ancient York Masonry in Mississippi and is a member of Eoyal Solomon lodge at Jerusalem. He belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Knights of Pythias, Kuights of Honor, Knights of Golden Rule, etc., in each of which orders he has been highly honored. Mr. and Mrs. Savery are the parents of three children now living: Charles V., Fiunie M. and Mary A. F. F. M. Savery is a partner in his father's business of insurance and real estate. One son, James M. , died at the age of twenty-three years. Politically Mr. Savery and sons adhere to the principles of the democratic party. He and his wife and daughter are members of the Christian church or Church of the Disciples. Capt. W. H. Scales, merchant of Macon, Miss. As a man of business Mr. Scales' repu- tation has been an enviable one, and every step of his financial and commercial career has been illustrated with acts of liberality and kindness. He was born in Williamson county, Tenn., in February, 1840, to Dr. N. F. and M. A. (Webb) Scales, natives of the Old North state, who emigrated with their parents to Tennessee when the country was in a wild and unsettled condition. The paternal grandfather, John Scales, became a well-known citizen of Williamson county, where he followed the life of a planter until his death. Dr. N. F. Scales graduated from the Louisville Medical college and for some time practiced his pro- fession in Tennessee but in 1845 removed to Lowndes county, Miss., and located at Prairie Hill, where, in addition to practicing medicine, he carried on planting and merchandising successfully. He subsequently removed to Crawford, Miss., where he died in 1884, his wife's death occurring at the same place many years earlier, or in 1868. He was a man who com- manded respect and esteem from all who knew him, and professionally was one of the fore- most practitioners of the county. He and his wife became the parents of thirteen children, eight of whom are living: Mrs. E. Hosford, of Jackson, Tenn.; William H., of Macon; Thomas S., of Mobile, Ala.; Walter W. and Mrs. C. E, Gay, of Starkville; Samuel S., of Crawford; Noah, of Macon; and Charles M. , of Macon. After the death of the mother of these children the father took for his second wife Mrs. Brooks, by whom he became the father of three children: Ella, Mattie L. and Ewell. Three sons served in the Confederate army during the war: W. H, , Dr. T. S. and W. W. Capt. William H. Scales was reared in Lowndes county. Miss., and received his education in private schools. He was reared to a mercantile life at Crawford, but upon the bursting of the war cloud in 1861, he at once became a member of company C, First Arkansas infantry, under Fagan, enlisting from Cam- den, Ark. , to which place he had gone in 1860 and opened a mercantile establishment. He entered the service as a lieutenant, but after the battle of Shiloh he was promoted to a cap- taincy. He was at the battles of Manassas, Perryville, Murfreesboro, Chickamauga and was also in all of the Georgia campaign, under Gen. J. E. Johnston, the battles of Spring Hill and Franklin, Tenn., and Bentonville, N. C. He was slightly wounded at Murfreesboro, and Franklin. After the surrender he returned to Mississippi, and began merchandising at Crawford, removing to West Point in 1872, and in 1878 to Mobile, Ala. In this city he was a successful cotton factor until 1888, when he became a resident of Macon, Miss., where he has since made his home, with the exception of two seasons, which were spent at West Point in purchasing cotton. He is interested in a large mercantile establishment in Macon, estab- lished by his brother Noah, and owing to the honorable business methods they have always practiced and to their desire to please their patrons, they have built up a paying trade. He is also largely interested in planting, and in connection with his brother is cultivating about twelve hundred acres of their own lands in Noxubee county. Captain Scales was' married, in 1861, to Miss Sallie Flowers, of Arkansas, by whom he has four children: William MBMOIBS OF MiaSISSIPPI. T23 F., Lucius M., Anna E. and Mamie F. He and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, and with this church he has been prominently identified for many years. To show the extent of his mercantile operations, it is but necessary to state that he is a mem ber of the firm of W. W. Scales & Co., of Starkville, Miss., and of S. S. Scales & Co., of Crawford, Miss. , besides his business at Macon. Thomas M. Scanlan, Newton, Miss. Edward Scanlan, deceased, was born in Cecil county, Md., about the year 1816. When he was four years of age his parents removed to Philadelphia, Penn., where he lived until the age of sixteen. He then went to Port Gibson, Miss. , and in the year 1835 he located at the town of Union, the site of which was at that time in the northern part of Newton county; he embarked in mercantile pursuits, and con- tinued there and in Decatur for ten or twelve years. He then removed to a point within a few miles of the present site of Newt6n, where he engaged in planting. He was a devout Roman Catholic, and politically he was identified with the Whig party. He took an active interest in all public questions, but would not accept a public office. He married Miss Sarah, daughter of Wellington Blalack, one of the pioneer settlers of Newton county. Of this union nine children were born, five of whom are still living. Edward Scanlan' s father, Dr. James Scanlan, was a native of Maryland and a well-known planter and physician of Cecil county. He was largely interested in real estate in Pittsburgh, Penn. , aad Charlottes- ville, Va., and was a successful dealer. Thomas M. Scanlan, the subject of this notice, is the son of Edward and Sarah (Blalack) Scanlan. He was born in Newton county, Miss., in 1845, and grew to maturity in the county of his birth. He was reared to the occupation of a farmer, and attended the common schools of that day. Although they had not then reached their present advanced state, he acquired a practical knowledge which fitted him for all the duties which have fallen to his lot. At the tender age of sixteen years he entered upon the arduous labors of a soldier's life, enlisting in the Thirteenth Mississippi volunteer infantry, and served from 1861 until the battle of Gettysburg; in that engageibent he was wounded and captured. He was afterward paroled, and returned to his home. After the war he resumed his mercantile interests, and has since been connected with that line of busi- ness. He has a general store at Newton, and does an extensive business. He is a member of the Knights of Pythias, and also of the Knights of Honor, belonging to the lodges at Newton. He is an active member of the Presbyterian church, giving a liberal and hearty support to all its efforts in the cause of the Master. Mr. Scanlan was united in marriage, in 1872, to Miss Bettie Murphy, of Macon, Miss. This union has been blessed by the birth of eight children, seven of whom are still living. Hon. Isaac W. Scarborough is an able attorney of Kosciusko, Miss. He was born near Tarboro, Edgecombe county, N. C. , April 17, 1816, his father, John E. Scarborough, being a native of the same state and county, and his grandfather, a native of Wales. The latter immigrated to the states at an early day, and settled in North Carolina, afterward serving with distinction in the Eevolutionary war, holding the rank of major. He and a brother, William S., who settled in New York, are said to be the ancestors of all of that name in the United States. John R. was reared to manhood in North Carolina, and was married there to Miss Nancy M. Watkins, a native of Nash county, N. C, and in 1832 moved with his family to Alabama, where he made his home for several years. In 1838 he moved to Mississippi, and settled in Attala county, locating on the Big Black river, where he opened a large plantation, and resided until his death, January 80, 1846. His widow sur- vived him until October, 1847, when she was called from life. Isaac W. Scarborough spent his youth in his native state and Alabama, receiving a fair education in Greene county of 724 BTOGRAPITTCAL AND fflSTORTOAL the latter state. After becoming sufficiently qualified, he began teaching school in Alabama, but in February, 1.S89, came to Mississippi, and for three years was engaged in merchandis- ing, near the present town of Durant. In 1844 he removed to Kosciusko, which'was then a village of about two hundred people, and here sold goods for several years. In November, 1847, he was elected to the position of probate clerk, in which capacity he served by re-elec- tion for over eleven years, and during this time showed an aptitude for the position which the citizens of the county were not slow to recognize. In 1862 hin numerous friends elected him to the position of probate judge, and he served until removed by order of the government, in 1868. Prior to this, Mr. Scarborough had been a close student of law, and in 1869 he was admitted to the bar, and until a short time since when he retired he practiced his pro- fession with great success. Of late years he has been devoting his attention to planting, and has now a good plantation near the town, which, when he settled here, was covered with a heavy growth of timber. He married in Attala county, in 1848, Miss Lucy J. Harrison, a daughter of John B. Harrison, a pioneer of this state, from Virginia. Mrs. Scarborough was born and reared in Orange county, Va., and has borne her husband twelve children: Otis W. , an attorney of Arkansas; Othello C, a physician of that state; Fenton G., wife of J. W. Fletcher, a druggist of Batesville, Ark.; Isaac W., Jr., a dentist wf Nashville, Tenn., and Lucy Lee, a young lady at home. Six children died in infancy, and Sule Sims died April 22, 1884, at the age of twenty-one years. Judge Scarborough and his family are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, in which he is steward and trustee, having held these posi- tions since joining the church in 1855. He attends all district conferences as a delegate, and is very active in church work. In 1847 he became a member of the A. F. & A. M. , and is now a Knight Templar, serving as master and high priest. He has been a delegate to all the grand lodges of the state since 1849, and has always been a very enthusiastic Mason. He has always been an exemplary citizen, and is highly honored by his neighbors and friends as one of the finest and most useful citizens of the county. John W. Scarborough, M. D. , is an eminent, skillful and experienced physician and surgeon of Kosciusko, Miss., and although he has resided in Attala county. Miss., since 1838, he was born in Edgecombe county of the Old North state in March, 1821. He is a son of John E. and Nancy M. (Watkins) Scarborough, for a sketch of whom see biography of Hon. Isaac W. Scarborough. Dr. John W. Scarborough attained manhood in Attala county, and with his father followed the calling of a planter. He was given the advantages of the schools of Carroll and Attala counties, and was also instructed by private tutors. He began the study of medicine with Dr. Bates, and took his first course of lectures at New Orleans in 1843-4, after which he practiced in Attala county, and again attended lectures during the winter of 1844-5, finishing the course in the spring of the latter year. After practicing until 1848 he entered the St. Louis Medical college, from which he gradu- ated in the class of 1849, and has since been an active and highly successful medical practi- tioner of Kosciusko, and is the oldest resident physician of the place. He has served in the capacity of county physician, and as he has devoted the greater part of his life to healing the sick, and has met with the best of success, he has received a portion of his reward in this world, for he has the confidence, respect and love of his fellowmen, and the conscious- ness that he has driven sorrow and despair from many homes by his skill and talent as a physician. He has been married three times, first in Attala county in 1842 to Mrs. Mc- Carter, who died a few weeks after their marriage. He next married Miss Martha E. Hanson, who died in 1873, and his third union was consummated in Kosciusko, his wife being Mrs. (Campbell) Nash, a sister of Judge Nash. The Doctor is a member of the MBMoins OF Miaaissippi. 725 Methodist Episcopal church, but his wife is a Presbyterian. He belongs to the A. F. & A. M., in which he has attained to the chapter. Emile Schaefer, Yazoo City, Miss., was born in Hanover, Germany, February 24, 1839, and is a son of Philip and Hannah (Benham) Schaefer. When he was a child his parents emigrated to America, and located in Biloxi, Harrison county. Miss. The father was edu- cated in Germany, and received that thorough mental training for which the German nation is justly noted. All his life he has been engaged Id mercantile pursuits, and has been fairly successful. He is still a resident of Biloxi, where he is an honored and respected citizen. Emile was reared in this place, and received his education there and in the city of New Orleans. When he was fourteen years of age he accepted a position as office boy in New Orleans, and was soon promoted with an increase of salary. In 1858 he went into business with his father, the partnership continuing until the war. He then enlisted in company A, Third Mississippi voluateer infantry, and served through the entire conflict. After peace was declared he came to Yazoo City, where he became an active member of commercial cir- cles. He embarked in the dry goods trade, and by the exercise of excellent judgment he rapidly accumulated a comfortable fortune. In 1883 he disposed of these interests, and began planting, in which he has met with equal success. In 1886 he invested in the Yazoo Oil works, being elected treasurer of the corporation; these duties he has discharged faith- fully and efficiently ever since. He owns about fifteen hundred acres of land in the Yazoo delta, and makes about two hundred and fifty bales of cotton annually. Politically he affiliates with the democratic party, of which he is one of the leaders in Yazoo county. He was a mem- ber of the city council for several terms, and was chairman of the democratic county com- mittee; he served on the board of supervisors for two terms, and in all these positions he has proven himself worthy of the confidence reposed in him. He is a Mason of high standing, and has been Master of his lodge for years. He belongs to the I. O. O. F., and has filled some of its most important offices, among them those of grand high priest and deputy grand master of the grand lodge of Mississippi, I. O. O. F. , as well as K. of H. In social, political and commercial circles he has been honored with positions of trust Mr. Schaefer was married in 1860 to Caroline Weinschenk, a native of Louisiana, and a daughter of Solomon Weinschenk, who was born in Germany. She died in 1873, leaving five children: Valerie, Stella, Florence, El vine and Cuthbert; three are married and live in Vicksburg and Hazlehurst, Miss. In 1877 Mr. Schaefer was married again to Julia Marx, who was born in Germany. This union resulted in the birth of four children: Marx, Hilda, Adeline and Solomon. Chancellor Charles Scott was born in Knoxville, Tenn. , on November 12, 1811. He was a descendant of a Virginia family noted for its production of many distinguished soldiers and eminent statesmen. He first began the practice of law in Nashville, Tenn., where he married and soon afterward removed to Jackson, Miss., and there pursued his profession in copartnership with George S. Yerger, who had married his sister. This firm was eminently successful, and enjoyed distinguished reputation; and the ability and stanch integrity of Charles Scott, together with his high sense of honor and amiability of character, commended him so highly to the people, that in a few years he was elected to the office of chancellor of Mississippi, and long presided over the superior court of chancery with great ability, and with the universal commendation of both bar and people. It was he who first rendered the decree in the great case of Johnson vs. the state of Mississippi, establishing the liability of the state for the payment of the bonds of the Union bank, that case having been first instituted in the chancery court; and notwithstanding that the popular sensibilities 736 BIOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORIOAL were adverse to the result, the ability, purity and sincere integrity which characterized his deciwion caused it to be generally received as a satisfactory emanation of conscientious duty, It was affirmed by the high court of errors and appeals. In 1859 Chancellor Siiatt removed to Memphis, Tenn., where he conceived a broader and more prolific field was presented to the practice of his profession, which he there entered upon with the opening prospects of a brilliant career, but so soon as the clouds of the war began to gather along the horizon he returned, in 1861, to Jackson, Miss., determined to cast his lot with his adopted state in the impending struggle. He had been a devoted friend of the Union, but when Mississippi seceded he promptly yielded to the demands of duty, and his heart and hand became warmly enlisted in her cause. He lived, however, but a short time after his return to Jackson, where he died, and was buried by his beloved brethren of the Masonic fraternity. Chancellor Scott was a most devoted Mason, and as such had a national reputation. He was for many years master of Silas Brown lodge, in Jackson, and afterward was grand master of the grand lodge of Mississippi. Chancellor Scott was not only an ardent, thorough student of the law, but he was also a ripe classical scholar, and was familiar with the standard poets and writers of modern times, particularly surpassing most of his contemporaries in his knowledge of that greatest of all modern poets, Shakespeare. His researches had even extended farther, and much of his time was devoted to sacred writers, while his knowledge of the Bible was thorough and extensive. His studies in this direction had convinced him of all the truths of religion, and he was an exemplary Christian. This sentiment pervaded his whole nature, and quickened a tender conscientiousness and amiability, which not only rendered him an orna- ment to society, but especially fitted him for the high office of chancellor. He was a man of noble candor and knightly courtesy, gentle and affable in his manners, devoted to his friends, unwearied in the performance of duty, and unswerving in fidelity to his high trust. A bright Mason, he cherished the virtue of charity ; a cultivated lawyer, he loved the principles of justice; an able and upright judge, he promulgated the purest doctrines of equity, and a good man, his heart flowed in sympathy and generosity toward his fellowmen. Many of his comrades and friends are still living in Mississippi, and cherish his memory with sincere affection. E. M. Scott, general manager of the Rosedale Grocery and Commission company, is a native of Jackson, Miss., born in 1842, and a son of Hon. Charles Scott (see sketch). He was educated in his native state and the University of Nashville, leaving the latter institu- tion to enter the Confederate army in the spring of 1861. He enlisted in company K, Eighteenth Mississippi regiment, and was in the battles of Manassas, Ball's Bluff and Rich- mond. He was subsequently promoted and ordered to the western army as aidde-camp to Gen. David W. Adams' Louisiana brigade, army of Tennessee. He was in the battles of Perryville, Murfreesboro, Chickamauga, and later in northern Alabama, where he participated in the New Hope Church battle and the Selma engagement. At the time of the surrender he was at Jackson, Miss., and after this he went to Vicksburg, where he clerked in the Prentiss hotel for fifteen months. He then went to Jackson, and was in Hotel Edwards for three years. In 1874 he embarked in merchandising, continuing at this in Jackson until 1887, when he came to Rosedale and carried on the same business until January 1, 1891, when he became manager for the Rosedale Grocery and Commission company, a large mercantile cor- poration of that town, of which his brother, Charles Scott, is president. The value of the stock is $30,000 and the store is one of the largest in the delta, if not in the county. Mr. Scott has been twice married, first, in 1867, to Miss Josephine Julienne, of Jackson, Miss., and daugh- ter of Louis Julienne, an old resident of the latter place. Mrs. Scott died in 1874, leaving MEM0IB8 OF MISSISSIPPI. 737 three children: Julienne, Charles and Edward M., Jr. Mr. Scott's second marriage was to Miss Eula Buckner, of this state, by whom he became the father of five children: Laura, Lizzie, Frailk, Ida and Malcomb. Mr. and Mrs. Scott are members of the Catholic church. Mr. Scott predicts a prosperous future for Rosedale. He has chosen this city as his per- manent home, and in 1890 erected one of the finest residences here. George Y. Scott, sheriif of Bolivar county, Miss., is a painstaking, capable and zealous official, and is well qualified for the position, not only on account of his sound judgment but for his self-command and coolness in personal danger. He was born in Jackson, Miss., in 1845, the second of seven children born to Charles and Elizabeth M. (Bullus) Scott, for a sketch of whom see sketch of Hon. Charles Scott. In his native city George Y. was reared, but also spent a considerable portion of his youth in Memphis, Tenn. , and received his education in the Nashville military college, which institution he left to enter the Confederate army at the early age of sixteen years. He served for two years as a private in company K, Wirt Adams' cavalry regiment, and was in the bloody battles of Shiloh, Bear Creek and Jackson, besides numerous sharp minor engagements and skirmishes. When Colonel Adams was made brigadier-general, Mr. Scott was promoted to first lieutenant and served through- out the remainder of the war as his aid-de-camp, and was afterward with Johnston and Hood until the close of the war, and at the time of General Lee's surrender he was at Gaines- ville, Ala. Mr. Scott immediately returned^ to Jackson, Miss., but soon after located in Vicksburg, as a clerk in the postoffice, where he remained for two years. At the end of this time he determined to try a different line of work, and with this end in view moved to Wash ington county. Miss., and engaged in planting on Deer creek. In 1870 he began the study of law in the office of Nugent & Yerger, at Greenville, and was admitted to the bar at Memphis, Tenn., and began the practice of his profession in Bolivar county, where he located in 1871. Two years later he formed a partnership with his brother Charles, with whom he remained associated until 1881. Two years later he was elected sherifP and tax collector of Bolivar county, and so ably in every way did he discharge the duties of this position that he was re-elected to the position in 1885-7 and 1889, which fact speaks volumes as to his popularity. He is interested in all measures of reform, and every movement for the improvement of the county or for the benefit of mankind finds in him a hearty and willing supporter. In 1873 Miss Lettie M. Baldwin of this county became his wife, and their union has resulted in the birth of a daughter, Annie B. Mrs. Scott is a daughter of George C. Baldwin, of Natchez, he, as well as his wife, being an early resident of Mississippi, his wife being a sister of Gov. Charles Clarke of this state. Mrs. Scott is an intelligent and amiable lady, is a kind and devoted wife and mother, and is an earnest member of the Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. Scott is a member of the A. P. & A. M. , the Knights of Pythias and the Knights of Honor. In 1872, ia connection with his brother Charles, he built the first land office and was the first lawyer of Eosedale, and the reputation he has gained as an attorney has been acquired largely through his own individual efforts, and at the expense of diligent study and hard practical experience. He erected him a pleasant and comfortable residence in 1886, an excellent two-story brick store in 1888, and in 1890 a two-story frame store build- ing. He is one of the stockholders in the Bank of Rosedale and also of the Rosedale Grocery and Commission company. Mr. Scott is of a very practical turn of mind, and his career from an humble beginning in life to the present position which he occupies has been one of honor and reflects great credit upon him. In 1891 Mr. Scott received the demo- cratic nomination for state senator from Bolivar county. The nomination being equivalent to election, it is reasonable to suppose that he will serve his county for the next four years as senator. 728 BIOGRAPHICAL AND HI8T0RI0AL Hon. Charles Scott, lawyer and planter, Rosedale, Miss., is a native of the Bayou state, born in Jackson in 1847, and is the son of Hon. Charles Scott, who was chancellor of the state for many years (see sketch). Mr. Scott attended school until fourteen years of age and then, though under age, entered the Confederate army, in which he served gallantly until the close of the war. He was in the Washington cavalry, under Capt. W. B. Hunt, and par- ticipated in the battles of Franklin, Nashville, Jackson, Miss., and was at Gainesville, Ala., with General Johnston's army at the time of the surrender. He subsequently resided at Vicksburg, Miss., for one year, after which he came to Washington cotmty of that state, located at Deer Creek, and there, in connection with planting, he read law. In 1868 he was admitted to the bar and on the 3d of June of the following year he came to Bolivar county, with whose interests he has been closely identified since. He first located at Beulah, but when the county seat was removed to Rosedale he became a resident of that city. Mr. Scott is not only a most eminent lawyer, but is one of the South' s greatest planters and land owners. He has fourteen thousand acres in this county, the best in the delta, and has four thousand acres under cultivation. He owns vast tracts in different localities, embracing all kinds and qualities, both wild and improved, timber and grazing, and is the owner of Rose- dale, Triumph, and other plantations, on which he has made many improvements. In 1885 he opened a store, organized a stock company, Rosedale Grocery and Commission company, with a paid-up capital of 130,000, and is president of this. He also held the position of president of the levee board of commissioners for two years, and as this board had the dis- position of over 1250,000 per annum, the position of president was naturally an important and responsible one. Mr. Scott is now president of the Mississippi Central Valley Railroad company, which is just now opening the road from Rosedale to Grenada, and he is chief stockholder in the hotel at the former place. On the organization of the Bank of Rosedale at that place, in 1889, he was made president. This bank has a paid up capital of 150,000 and a surplus of fl 0,000. No man has done more to advance the interests of this town and county than Mr. Scott, who is essentially a modern man, full of energy, enter- prise and push, who by his own individual efforts has gained the proud position he now occupies. He ranks among the ablest and most distinguished jurists in the state, practicing in all the Federal and state courts, having carried to a successful issue many noted, impor- tant and complicated cases, and is very popular with both bench and bar. His practice is very extensive and is largely confined to important litigations involving large interests. He is the attorney for the Louisville, New Orleans & Texas railway company in Bolivar county. On the 26th of April, 1890, a convention of citizens from Arkansas, Illinois, Kansas, Ken- tucky, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee, was convened at Vicksburg, Miss. , for the pur- pose of considering the question of the improvement of the navigation of the Mississippi river and to endorse the levee system for protection from inundation. This convention formed itself into a permanent inter-state Mississippi River Improvement and Levee associa- tion, auxiliary to the Western Waterways association, and Mr. Scott, of Rosedale, was elected chairman of the association. On the 10th of March, 1870, Mr. Scott was married to Miss Malvina Yerger, daughter of Alexander Yerger (deceased), who was of Washington county, and by this union has four children: Alexander Y. (student at the University of the South), Lizzie, Malvina and Charlie. Prominent among the eminent and very successful attorneys of Friar's Point stands the name of D. A. Scott, who was born in Jackson, Miss., in the year 1852, and whose father. Chancellor Charles Scott, was an esteemed and respected citizen of Jackson, Miss, (see sketch). D. A. Scott was liberally educated at Bay St. Louis and at other places in Mis- MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 729 sissippi, studied law in the office of his brother, Charles, at Rosedale, and was admitted to the bar at that place in 1872. Later he came to Friar's Point, and has been engaged in the active practice of his profession since. He is the attorney for the Louisville, New Or- leans & Texas railroad, and the Western "Union Telegraph company for Coahoma county. In 1890 Mr. Scott was the main organizer of the Bank of Friar's Point, and is president of the same at the present time. This bank has a paid-up capital of 150,000 and a fair surplus. He is also one of the organizers of the Friar's Point Oilmill, and holds the position of vice president of the same. He assisted in organizing the Friar's Point Box and Woodwork factory, of which he is treasurer, and he is president of the Friar's Point Land, Loan and Improve- ment company, an organization for town development and improvement, which is doing good work for Friar's Point. Mr. Scott takes an active and leading part in politics, is an active worker for the democratic party, but is not an officeseeker. His marriage occurred in 187-t to Miss Maria Lou Yerger, a native of Washington county, Miss. , and the daughter of Col. Alexander Yerger, a prominent legal practitioner. The result of this union was the birth of five children: Nettie M., Charline, Elizabeth B., Daniel A., Jr., and Anna Louise. The family are members of the Episcopal church. At the present time Mr. Scott is engaged in erecting a large residence at a cost of about $8,000, and when finished it will be one of the finest in the county. He is also the owner of about five thousand acres of wild land. Mr. Scott's practice is very large, one of the largest in the state, and although he started with limited means he wields a remarkable influence, and to-day a review of his career demon- strates him to be an individual much above the ordinary. He is a leading spirit in all enter- prises that have for their object the good of the county. In fact, he is among the fore- most in every commendable enterprise. In personal appearance Mr. Scott bears a strong resemblance to a brother in Bolivar county, being rather slender and with dark hair and eyes, and his pleasing social qualities and courteous manners make him a pleasant com- panion and friend. He is a member of the Masonic and Knights of Pythias societies. Frank M. Scott, planter, Eosedale, Miss., son of Chancellor Charles Scott and Eliza- beth (Bullus) Scott (see sketch), was originally from Tennessee, his birth occurring in Memphis in 1859. He was educated in the University of Virginia and from 1878 until 1881 he was engaged as clerk in the office of his brother, Charles Scott, of Eosedale. During the fall of the last named year he entered the lawdepartment of the Oxford university, at Oxford, Miss., graduated from that institution in the summer of 1882, and at once entered upon the practice of his profession at Rosedale in partnership with Walter Sillers. In 1886 he was united in marriage to Miss Pearl Kirk, daughter of John C. Kirk, who located in Madison county. Miss., at an early date and who moved to Bolivar county in 1841. He located opposite the mouth of White river, on a large tract of land, made many improve- ments, and soon cleared two thousand acres. In character he was generous and whole- souled and straightforward to a marked degree. He died in 1887, when seventy-five years of age, leaving a widow and four children — two sons and two daughters: John M. (planter near Gunnison, Miss.), Pearl K., Albert L. and Anita (attending school at Columbia, Tenn.). Mrs. Kirk recently completed one of the handsomest residences in Eosedale. Mr. Scott owns two plantations, embracing eight hundred and fifty acres, with fom- hundred and sixty acres cleared, and this, with Mrs. Kirk's plantation, which he rents, he is engaged in cultivating— about one thousand acres in all. He and Mrs. Scott are members of the Episco- pal church. Mr. Scott was left an orphan at an early age, and during his youth was cared for and later educated by his brother Charles. Since then he has most successfully carved his way in life and although he might easily have risen in the legal profession, he preferred 730 BIOGRAPHICAL AMD HISTORICAL to follow the ever-promising pursuit of planting, which occupation now occupies his attention wholly. A family likeness runs through the Scott family, and our subject not only resembles his brothers but also the fine picture of Chancellor Scott, seen in the office of Charles Scott. Mr. Scott is about the average hight, well-knit frame, dark hair and brown eyes, an intellectual forehead, and is distinguished looking. His personal appearance is greatly enhanced by a generous hospitality, courteous and amiable disposition. N. B. Scott, lawyer, Eosedale, Miss., the third of five children born to William Parker and Fanny May (Bibb) Scott, owes his nativity to Yazoo county, Miss., his birth occurring on the 14th day of July, 1861. He is a nephew.of Chancellor Charles Scott (see sketch), and his paternal grandparents were Edward and Sallie (Corde) Scott. On his mother's side Mr. Scott is a descendant of Stephen and Jennie (Eaton) Haynes, who prior to the Revolu- tionary war settled in Halifax county, N. C. They were wealthy and influential people. One of their daughters, Jennie Eaton Haynes, married Clement Wood about the close of the Revolution, and their daughter, Fanny Mayes Wood, married David Mason Dancy. One of the latter' s daughters, Martha Haynes Dancy, graduated at Warrenton Female academy. North Carolina, and won the gold medal for scholarship in November, 1821. She moved with her parents to Mooresville, Limestone county, Ala., in 1821, where she mamed Dr. Joseph Wyatt Bibb, a native of Virginia and a very successful physician. Dr. Joseph Wyatt Bibb was a brother of William Wyatt Bibb, who was born in Virginia and removed to Georgia, where he was successively a member of the two branches of the legislature of Georgia and was a member of congress from 1807 till 1813, when he was chosen to the United States senate and retained his seat there till 1816. He removed to Alabama, then a territory, and was governor from 1817 to 1819, when it was admitted as a state and he was elected as its first executive. He died in July, 1820, and Thomas Bibb (another brother of Dr. Joseph Wyatt Bibb), who was then president of the Alabama senate, by virtue of his office became governor. He continued in office until 1821. Dr. Joseph Wyatt Bibb and wife were the grandparents of N. B. Scott. Their only daughter (Fanny May Bibb, mother of N. B. Scott), was born on the 6th day of October, 1827, at Mooresville, Limestone county, Ala. She married Rev. William Parker Scott, a native of Tennessee, and brother of Chan- cellor Charles Scott. Rev. William Parker Scott was an Episcopalian priest, and was ordained August 14, 1853. He lived in Yazoo county. Miss., at the time of his death, on November 9, 1865. He was educated at Knoxville, Tenn., and was rector of the church in Yazoo City, Miss., at the time of his death. His wife died -April 14, 1868. N. B. Scott, the subject of this sketch, was educated in Alabama, studied law in the office of his cousin, Charles Scott, in Eosedale, Miss., and was admitted to the bar April 3, 1886. He married Miss Elizabeth Thomas, a native of Bolivar county, Miss., and daughter of Oscar D. Thomas and Mary (Yerger) Thomas. Mrs. Scott is a w^thy member of the Episcopal chiirch. Mr. Scott is practicing law in Rosedale, Miss. Fourteen years devoted to the service of humanity sums up in a line the career, thus far, of Dr. S. A. Scruggs, who is one of the most successful and best known physicians of this section. The people of Lauderdale, as well as the surrounding counties, are familiar with his name, for twelve years of his professional career have been spent among them. He was born in Livingston, Sumter county, Ala. , the sixth of nine children born to Josiah L. and Temperance (Arrington) Scruggs, the former of whom was born in Buckingham county, Va., and the latter in North Carolina. They both grew to maturity and attained their majority before coming to Alabama, where they married and spent the remainder of their lives. Josiah L. Scruggs was for many years in the drug business at Livingston, Ala. He died in ■■:-.■ Ml" j :-«uit .>f pihtil ■. .. '' ■> ■ . ■' i'.l,.'-. ■,! .■ . ' ;iiji > 1 .-MS, i.-.-'i^^ir l.ij.- !-»,,,'♦':..,,., I. , ., .1.- . . ,^ ..■^'■^.^IjJiJiti, .-.! H^-i' Ulf h!i«* i ' 'if wf » 'flHIlC.-- ■■ "I- . .1 ■ ■■ '^i^ '..'«^4*^ »•; Xli* s '• ti iH ah'.iii lii*- iHTHf^f iiurii' •'VwJ! a....;. '. >.*■ > ««- «f»^ I'.t.-il.w.'ii'i' f:- 'fhv'Ki!, n t' ihi'.''. "'• Hi>' -'l.-ilf. .'vil.MS., i tid l.liin) . ' '-'V,- ^^!,-!r...., .. » '■'^ ■'XUy 3 '•ftf?{-.. -i.M ^!. . M'»Y ■ HiiilM Sioit, vwvf ills Qativitv h* V'-kiri i': :stv, "iji 4-^ 'j itl: o^tarri^tiij .w. .««• ! ■• i(iy ' ; July, f '•'!!. Ho is a iieplifw.of Chfti'i '■'<■■■ (Jj*.'. 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' --■ ■,-,.*■■ , ,■ ■•-, \>Mt>i f'iti; '.'isiiv ihf- ' .- .■'■ )■-•• ■' ,. - ■:■. • -Ajvn i* ■' ". :■-!■■.■• ' ''f ^i' ■•-'- •.i^&. 'i"''\ law Hi ^ - '•-■ ; > ^' ' ♦!■■•' ■■ .../-tcil !" the bf».-_ A|>y: •- '^ ' ! •.'• ■••Miiiiy, Miss , Hint irfs ■'■ ' •'..••! V, '.■!•.,- -ij^o!' ir- a ■worthy, miiriib'.'t ■ '. ■ :. ':-;-1'T !"-• ' ..-?..,'.. Mie"*, , • ;.!'!«■ SK.-xt'ji- u iii.ini.'iD'.ty -!jni- n|t in a iutv .-■. ■'•.. 'f ■•■ ".l».-» n^.^.■\'^ 'sHll and lir;vf .'■•!■>*■■ '■ '■ !.'> li.f s'l I rounding' ■ ■ - ' I • ' " - .' ii«t.j.*r J wve l>eftn s. • '-.. ■ '-■- .'!!.. •-li'it.H of iiiot) chii '■--, -■•rl'Oti"! 'i as !>or>i • .. ■• '''ij^r '•<•»' k) hiwtinity r-i- ■ • ! ' iitiii't'it ■' ii"d «].i'at ! (i .., '\ , '■~,,;r lj(l«.,., •■ .: '•■ ' '' '"■•-■■'«ril>><{ with aotp_oE i'.... ' • ^Vttt».jv-t ; .-. ' -- •■ ■■-■ '.;. >,.,;-i,^,r , 'v^ff, ij, Jj . -.•■.r\ ff...;. . -;. ruxiiuy m!.' ■,- ■• ..!'•• Mil- i.-l!i> i...»,i -Etyi ' Jf EBEulls Suns V"'^ ne Geadspeea luh C» ffliccjo MEMOIRS OF MItiSl8SlFFI. 763 works of Alabama; George came to Mississippi, and was a resident of Sharkey county until 1886, when he moved to Bolivar county, where he died in 1887, leaving a wife, four sons and three daughters (he was a soldier in the Confederate army); James A. C. comes next in order of birth; Jackson V. also served in the Confederate army and is now residing in Ala- bama, and Isaac, who is also a resident of that state. Two little daughters died in infancy. The father of these children was born in 1799 and died in Alabama in 1882, having, during the last years of his life, followed farming. His wife was called from earth in 1838, in Ala- bama, both being worthy members of the Methodist Episcopal church at the time of their death. When only thirteen years of age James A. C. Shrader began earning his own living, one-half of his time being spent at farm work and the other half in going to school. At the age of nineteen years he was married and began devoting himself to farming, continuing to reside in Alabama until 1856, when, with his family, he moved to Mississippi and took up his abode in the Yazoo delta. Where, after a few years, he purchased some land, on which he resided until 1865. Since that time he has been a resident of Sharkey county, but has only resided on his present plantation since 1869. He is the owner of several hundred acres of tine land, a considerable portion of which is under cultivation, and on which is located a good general store. He has been engaged in merchandising since 1876, but first conducted affairs on a very small scale, and gradually increased his business as his patronage demanded it, and now has a first-class stock of goods and is doing a prosperous business. His wife, formerly Miss Mary E. Logan, was born in Alabama, a daughter of James Logan, a planter of that state, and by her he has a family of four sons and two daughters, who are living at the present time: William Henry is married and resides on the Sunflower river; Samuel is married and lives near his father; W. P. is married, lives at home and is a bookkeeper in his father's store; James resides at home; Isabella is now the wife of Charles Lewis; she was first married to J. A. Overby (deceased), a planter; Bosa is the wife of W. J. Clark, a planter of Washington county. Miss. Mary B., another daughter, became the wife of Charles Lewis, a merchant of Percy, Miss. , and died at the age of twenty years; three other children died in infancy. Mr. and Mrs. Shrader are rearing a little orphan girl, Annie Hill, who is now in her twelfth year. Her parents died when she was very young, she being their only child, and she has since found a father and mother in her good friends, Mr. and Mrs. Shrader. Mr. Shrader is a typical Southerner, aad, upon the opening of the Civil war, espoused the cause he considered right and just and enlisted from Yazoo county, Miss., in Withers' light artillery, being taken prisoner at the siege of Vicks- burg. He was in the Chickasaw bayou fight, just before the engagement at Vicksburg, and after the siege he went to Texas, where he remained about one year. Upon returning to what is now Sharkey county. Miss., he was appointed by the governor as one of the members of the board of supervisors of the county, which office he efficiently filled for ten years. He is a democrat, politically, and he and his wife are members of the Universalist church. An organization of that faith, known as the Vickland church, was organized in 1886 by J. C. Burruss, editor of the Universalist Herald, which he publishes in Alabama, with Eev. Pope as the first pastor, the latter being from Illinois. There are about twenty- five members now on the roll. Mr. Shrader is a self-made man, is very highly respected and esteemed, is well to do, and is now residing in a beautiful residence, which has just been completed. Among the many enterprises necessary to complete the commercial resources of a town or city no one is of more importance to the community than the pharmacist, and prominent in this trade is John A. Shreve, who keeps one of the finest establishments of the kind in w 764 BIOGMAPHIOAL AND BI8T0RIOAL the town of Port Gibson, bis stock of goods being exceptionally large and well selected. He was born in Nelson county, Ky. , August 12, 1854, being the eldest child of his father's last marritige. A short sketch of his parents and brother Charles is given in the article imme- diately succeeding this. His brother, James B., is a resident of Chicago, and his sister, Ruth B., resides in Pott Gibson, Miss., and is a thorough student of the New England conservatory of music, Boston, Mass., being also a preceptress in the Port Gibson Female college. John A. Shreve obtained his early scholastic training in the schools of Port Gibson and at a later period became a student in Forest academy, near Louisville, Ky., in which he received a full academic course, which has thoroughly fitted him for the active business life he has led. He made his debut in the business circles of Port Gibson at the age of twenty-two years, succeeding to his father's fine drug establishment, and has proved himself a stir- ring, successful and popular business man. His aim is at all times to meet the wants of the public and to make bis store the central emporium of trade in his line of goods. In addi- tion to a most complete line of pure drugs and chemicals he keeps the standard school books, stationery, etc., and in fact all articles that go to make up an admirable drug store. He is a gentleman of genial, social and refined tastes and always courteously and cordially attends upon the wants of his customers, his efforts to gratify their wishes and desires being fully appreciated, as is fully attested by the large patronage which he has gathered about him. On the 28th of February, 1877, he was married in Natchez, Miss., to Miss Sue Willie Wickliffe, a native of Kentucky, who was born in the town of Bardstown, being the next to the youngest in her parents' family. The Wickliffe family is well known throughout the state of Kentucky, her great-uncle, Hon. Charles A. Wickliffe, having been governor of Kentucky and was also postmaster-general during President Tyler's adminibtration. Her great-grandfather, Robert Wickliffe, was a very prominent resident of Lexington, Ky. To Mr. and Mrs. Shreve a family of six children were born, only three of whom are living: Margaret H., born February 24, 1879, an attendant of Port Gibson Female college; Charles, born August 16, 1881, and John, Jr., born August 18, 1886. Mr. Shreve has not been an active politician, but has always exercised his franchise for the democratic principles, and for men wbom he deemed competent and honorable. He has been a member of the board of aldermen of Port Gibson, Miss., for a number of years, and his marked ability and his individual efforts in the interests of his city were so generally observed by the citizens, his constituents and associates, that upon his resignation a beautiful tribute was paid him in the form of a testimonial which was recorded in the minutes of the municipal body and a memo- rial copy presented him. For a number of years he was a trustee of the Port Gibson academy, a position he also filled with distinction after the incorporation of the Chamber- lain Hunt academy. la his relif^ious views he is a churchman and is a member and vestry- man of St. James Episcopal church at Port Gibson, of which church his wife is also a mem- ber. Mr. Shreve is one of that type of men who present a strong example for the younger generatiun to follow, for his life has been strictly upright and he has endeavored to follow the teachings of the Golden Rule. As far as he can at present judge he and his wife expect to make Port Gibson their future home, where, by their many kind, disinterested and benevolent deeds, as well as by their many admirable social qualities, they have gathered about them a host of warm admirers and friends. "In memory of Mr. Charles Shreve, who died of yellow fever August 31, 1878; Mrs. Margaret Shreve, his beloved wife, who died September 9, 1878, and their son Charles Shreve, who died September 11, 1878. The terrible scourge of yellow fever carried to their graves these excellent people, whose demise caused a pall to spread over our entire city. The MEMOIRS OP MltSSIISHIPPI. 765 position Mr. Shreve held in this commuaity, the integrity of his character, and his benevo- lent disposition render his death a serious public calamity and an irreparable loss to many who confided in him as a friend and a counselor. Mr. Shreve was born in Mount Holly, Burlington county, N. J., November 25, 1813. He was the fourth son of Charles and Rebecca (Cox) Shreve. He was left early without parental privileges, and was reared by an aunt who belonged to an old Quaker family. His paternal grandparents came to this country from Holland in the early jaart of the eighteenth century and settled in Burlington county, N. J. His maternal grandparents came from Scotland about the same time and settled in the same place. Dr. Alexander Ross, his great-grandfather, came to this country after com- pleting his course in Edinburgh university. He was an uncle of the Hon. John Ross, chief of the Cherokee nation, whose descendants have been the most prominent and influential men of the nation for many years. He was married to a Miss Becket, whose mother, a Miss De Normandie, belonged to a French Protestant family who fled from France after the revocation of the edict of Nantes. His mother, Rebecca (Cox) Shreve, was the daughter of Richard and Jane (Ross) Cox. Richard Cox was a major in the Revolutionary war. Mr. Shreve was twice married — first to Miss Corianna H. Brashear, of Kentucky, July 21, 1846, who died in Buffalo, N. Y., August 13, 1850. He was married, a second time, to Miss Margaret B. Hackley, of Kentucky, in August, 1853. He left one child by his first wife, Robert S. Shreve, now of Louisville, Ky. , and four by his second wife, one of whom, Charles Shreve, died a few days after his father. Mr. Shreve began life in that county's speculative age, when young men sought to lay the foundation for business by learning the principles of a profession. When about fifteen years of age he was received as an appren- tice into the well-known drug firm of John Hart, in the city of Philadelphia, and there by patience and industry he qualified himself for a signally successful business man. He first came South in October, 1835, and after remaining a few weeks in Natchez came to Port Gib- soQ and entered the drug store of Samuel P. Bernard, where he remained as clerk till 1836, when he went to Grand Gulf, where he continued in business until 1852, when he finally settled in Port Gibson. As a man of honor and integrity Mr. Shreve had no superiors. The nobility of his character won for him the highest esteem of his fellow-citizens. The ideal of his life was raised above the plane on which suspicion and criticism are wont to link. There was nothing covert or ambiguous about him. He would never allow himself to stand in a false position, and his fidelity to truth was unswerving. As a business man he was the full representative type of those old-fashioned principles which have become almost obsolete. He relied on industry, economy and strict perseverance as the elements of success. His economy was gilded with benevolence. The poor could pay a noble tribute to his memory. As a man of moral rectitude and sincerity of purpose Charles Shreve had no superior in Port Gibson. He was a thorough Christian gentleman and resigned himself complacently to his Almighty. Mrs. Shreve survived her husband but a few days. For many years she had been an invalid. She was born in Bardstown, Ky., where she continued to live until 1853, when she married Mr. Shreve, and came to Mississippi. For many years she had been a member of the Presbyterian church. She was affectionate and kind in her domestic relations, to which she particularly resigned herself. She was entirely free from all ostenta- tion or fondness for display. There is no compensation for the loss of a loving, faithful mother. In a few days Charles Shreve, Jr., died, in the twenty- third year of his age. He was a model young man, and was just budding into useful manhood. His moral character was unimpeachable, and he at all times exerted a wholesome influence over Lis associates. He had chosen the medical profession as his life duty, and had been read- 76t> BIOOMAI'HIUAL ANJJ HISTORICAL ing under the directions of Dr. Eussell with a view of attending the next term of lectures in the Jefferson (Philadelphia) Medical college. He was a young man of more than ordinary attainments naturally. He was advised to flee from the terrible scourge, but sacrificed his young life to remain with his adored parents. Thus were consigned to the tomb three per- sonages in the history of Port Gibson who were central figures in its business and social arena. ' ' Hon. Joseph K. Shrock, a prominent farmer and merchant of Attala county, Miss., was born in Kershaw district, S. C, on the 6th of May, 1821, and is next to the youngest of seven children born to Henry and Mary (Fletcher) Shrock. The father was born in Penn- sylvania, and was of German descent. When a youth he went to South Carolina, married Miss Mary Fletcher, who was of Irish descent, and in 1834 came to Madison county, Miss., entering three hundred and twenty acres of land near Camden. He served with the South Caro- lina troops in the War of 1812. He was a hard-working, industrious man, but owing to hard times and security debts he lost the most of his property in his old age. His death occurred in Madison county in 1854. The mother had died in 1824. Our subject's paternal grand- father was a native of Germany, and immigrated to the United States at an early day, settling in Penns) Ivania. Of the seven children born to the above mentioned union, six grew to maturity, but only two, besides our subject, are now living: Elizabeth Purivance, of Cam- den, and Nancy A. Shrock, who makes her home for the most part with Joseph K. The latter became thoroughly familiar with the duties of farm life at an early age, but owing to his father's straightened circumstances his educational advantages were limited. How- ever, his greatest dtsire was for a thorough education, and he took advantage of every oppoitunity to perfect himself in his studies. He was also favored in one or two instances, when he received instruction from a very thorough educator of the time. In this way he fitted himself for teaching, but owing to a delicate constitution he was obliged to abandon his intention of securing a collegiate education, being several times almost prostrated by over- exertion. Having taught several terms of school with gratifying success he entered a store as clerk, in Camden, and there remained in that capacity until 1847, when he and Mr. Pur- viance purchased the store and stock of goods. From that time until 1859 they carried on the most extensive business of any firm in Madison county, their sales in dry goods alone amounting to from $30,000 to $40,000 per annum, while in other lines it was in proportion. In 1859, on account of ill health, Mr. Shrock sold out his interest in the business, and bought twelve hundred acres of land in the edge of Attala county, having on it a steam saw and grist- mill. Living on this farm during the dark and stormy days of the Civil war, and surrounded by a community of needy white people, Mr. Shrock's mill was the means of relieving a great deal of the suffering. He assisted in clothing and feeding the destitute, and having a prac- tiial knowledge of physic he ministered to the physical wants of the community in many cases where medical skill could not be obtained. So skillful did he become in this that even to this day his advice in sickness is culled into use as much as any M. D. in the vicinity. In 1865 Mr. Shrock built a store aad put in a stock of general merchandise, which he has largely increased from time to time. As he is well advanced in years he has taken his sons into partnership with him, and the firm is now known as Shrock Bros. & Co. They do a general merchandise and supply business, and their stock invoices about $0,000. In politics Mr. Shrock is a conservative democrat, and in 1875 and 1876 he represented Attala county in the legislature. He was married on the 15th of October, 1848, to Miss Caroline Fitler, a daughter of William and Eliza Firler. Mr. Fitler was born in Pennsylvania, and of a wealthy family of Philadelphia. To Mr. and Mrs. Shrock have been born seveu children. MEMOIRS OF MISSrSSIPPT. 767 six of whom are liviug. Mrs. Shroek died in 1880. Socially Mr. Shrock is a Chapter Mason, and he is a liberal contributor to all worthy enterprises. Among the prominent members of the planting community of Anding, Miss., is Cole- man C. Sibley. He is a native of Madison county, Miss., born September 14, 1835, and is the eldest of ;i family of three children. His parents were John and Matilde (Thrasher) Sibley. The father was a native of Tennessee, and was engaged in planting the greater part of his life. He was among the earliest settlers of Madison county, and was a witness to its development from a wild, uncultivated country to a fertile group of plantations. He died in 1854. The jaaternal grandfather was Jesse Sibley, a native of South Carolina. Coleman C. was brought up amid the scenes of his birth, and acquired his education in the private schools. He chose for his vocation in life that of planting, and is the owner of six hundred and ninety acres of choice land. He has through his own efforts places of one hun- dred and seventy-five acres under cultivation. He has for many years been a leader of the democratic party in his county. He was elected to the office of assessor of the county in 1865, and again in 1866 and 1867, being removed by the government. He was also justice of the peace four years. He was a soldier in the Civil war, enlisting in 1861 in company I, Eighteenth Mississippi volunteer infantry, and serving until the close of the conflict. He was in the following named battles: Manassas, Leesburg, seven days' fight around Richmond, the Wilderness, Spottsylvania, Cold Harbor, Petersburg, Sharpsburg, Chickamauga. In the battle of Petersburg he was seriously wounded in his left arm, which was finally amputated; he was carried to the hospital in Kichmond, where he remained six weeks; he then returned to his home and did not reenter the service. Mr. Sibley was married in 1865 to Miss Mary E. Lee, a native of Mississippi, and n daughter of John and Susana Lee, natives, respecti\'t-ly, of South Carolina and of Georgia. They have had born to them seven children, Susanah L (deceased), Carrie B., John A., Adolphus M. and Jesse E. (twins), and Elwin and Ethel. The parents are worthy members of the Missionary Baptist church. Mr. Sibley is connected with the I. O. O. F. fraternity, and also with the Farmers' Alliance. Movements of public interest have ever received his sympathy and aid, and he has always been held in the highest esteem as a citizen and neighbor. Hon. Walter Sillers, one of the younger members of the Bolivar county bar, is a native of Jefferson county, Miss., born 1852, and the youngest of three children born to Joseph and Matilda (Clark) Sillers, the father a native of Mississippi and the mother of Ohio. The father followed the occupation of a planter and in 1854 came to Bolivar county, settling on Lake Beulah, where he opened a large plantation. He became one of the influential men of the county. In 1862 he entered the Confederate army in Colonel Montgomery's company and was promoted to the rank of lieutenant. He was taken prisoner in 1864, and died in the prison at Vicksburg in April, 1865. He was also a veteran in the jNIexican war; was in Cap- tain Crump's company and Col. Jefferson Davis' regiment. The mother was a sister of Gov- ernor Clark. The paternal grandfather, James Sillers, was a native of North Carolina. He came to Mississippi at an early period in that state's history, settled in Jefferson county, and became one of the most extensive planters of his time. He reared a large family of chil- dren, and his descendants are residing principally in Mississippi. Much of the youth and early manhood of Walter Sillers was spent in the school at Oxford, Miss., and after finishing his literary education, or in 1874, he entered the office of Colonel Montgomery, where he began the study of law. In the following year he was admitted to the bar at Ro=iedale and immediately began practicing his profession, although in connection he also carried on plant- ing. He is the owner of one thousand acres of land, with six hundred acres under cultiva- 768 BIOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL tion, and Las cleared about two hundred acres himself. He owns a good residence in Rose- dale and other town property. He has been twice married, first in 1880, to Miss Ida Gayden, a native of Bolivar county, who died in 1883, leaving one child, Maud, and his second marriage occurred in 1887 to Miss Florence Warfield, a daughter of Colonel War- field, of Kentucky. Two interesting children have blessed the last/»ninion — Walter and Mary. Mrs. Sillers is a member of the Presbyterian church, and Mr. Sillers is a menber of the Knights of Honor and Knights of Pythias orders. He is an active politician, and has been county attorney for the past eight years. In 1 886 he was a member of the general assembly. Like all native Mississippians who come of prominent families, Dr. J. L. Simmons, drug- gist, Clarksdale, Miss., is of an energetic, enterprising and intelligent disposition. He was the third of four children born to the union of Stearne and Elizabeth (Harper) Simmons, both natives of the state of Georgia. The father came to Yalobusha county, Miss., in 1830, cleared many acres of land and became one of the prominent planters of that section. He died in 1847 and the mother received her final summons about the same time. Both were con- sistent members of the Baptist church. Dr. J. L. Simmons was reared in Yalobusha county, received a thorough literary education there, and began the study of medicine in the office of a physician about 185S. He soon after entered the University of Louisiana and graduated from that institution in the class of 1861; then filled with a strong desire to aid the Southern cause he enlisted in company F, Twenty-first Mississippi regiment, and was in the battles around Richmond in 1862. He also participated in the battles of Harper's Ferry, Antietam, Gettysburg, and others, about eight in all. He was captured at the last-named engagement, but was released just prior to the surrender. Afterward the Doctor located near Dublin, Coahoma county, practiced his profession there for five years and then went to Friar's Point, where he started a drug store, at that time the only one in the county. In 1 884 he came to Clarksdale and started his present business, erecting a good business building. He carries a full line of drugs, cigars, tobacco, toilet articles, paints, oils and every description of drug- gists' sundries usually kept in a first-class store. In 1872 he was wedded to Miss Anna Davis, of Marshall county, and the daughter of Maj. W. L. Davis, a planter of that county. The fruits of this union have been three children — two sons and a daughter: Fannie, Lawrence and William. The Doctor is a member of the Knights of Pythias and the Knights of Honor orders. He is president of the Clarksdale Compress and Warehouse company, vice president of the Clarksdale Bank and Trust company, and is a stockholder in the Clarksdale Brick and Manufacturing company. In politics he is a stanch democrat, and has held a number of offices of trust and honor. He held the office of treasurer of Coahoma county for eight years, is at present a member of the board of aldermen and treasurer of Clarksdale. Dr. Simmons is the owner of six hundred acres of fine land in Texas, all well improved and an excellent piece of property. He also owns two hundred and seventy acres near Clarksdale, one hundred and thirty-five acres in cultivation. He is a good business man and has accumu- lated considerable property. He has retired from the practice of his profession. The Doctor is above the medium hight, has brown hair and beard and is a fine-looking man. Hon. Peter Simmons, planter, Lexington, Miss. Captain Simmons was born in Franklin county, Tenn., on November 8, 1831, and was the eldest of a family of four sons and two daughters born to Capt. John and Ann (Hudnall) Simmons, both native Virginians. The father was born in Bedford county, in 1796, went to middle Tennessee when a young man and there received his education. He was a man of superior literary taste and ability. He followed merchandising and planting in Tennessee until 1880, when he came to Mississippi, MEMOIRS OF MTS8T88TPPI. 769 made a location, and then returned to move his family there. They settled in Madison county in 1832, opened a large plantation, and Mr. Simmons became one of the wealthy and prominent men of the county. He resided there for forty years and then moved to Yazoo county, where his death occurred in 1880. His wife received her final summons five years later. Of the six children born to this union Hon. Peter and two sisters are the only survivors. The sons were all planters, and one of them, John, was one of Walker's soldiers and assisted in Nicarauga. Another son, William, was a soldier in the Confederate army, and Benjamin, the third son, also served in the Confederate army, holding the rant of lieutenant and was acting colonel of his regiment when killed. The two daughters, Mrs. Marietta Walker and Mrs. Bettes Cowan, are widows and are residents of Yazoo City. Capt. Peter Simmons passed his boyhood days in Madison county, and was educated at La Grange college, near Louisville, Ky., graduating in the class of 1850. He then returned home and remained with his father, assisting on the plantation, for several years. He subsequently began merchandising in Canton, sold goods there a few years, and then moved to Kosciusko county, where he carried on merchandising up to 1859. He was married in Holmes county in May of that year to Miss Margaret D., daughter of Col. W. H. Johnston, of Holmes county, but formerly from Louisiana, and a brother of Gov. Isaac Johnston of Louisiana. After his marriage Captain Simmons settled in Holmes county, near Tchula, and has been a planter in that and Yazoo counties ever since. He bought residence property and located his family in Lexington in 1865, and there has made his home up to the present time. He has a beautiful suburban home in the western part of the town, and has everything comfortable and convenient about his place. During the war he served in the state militia, and first belonged to an independent company for home protection and was stationed at Grenada and Holly Springs. He was captain of his company and was in some skirmishes, but no general engagements. He has ever been active in politics; was elected chancery clerk in 1875, and held that position four consecutive years. In 1 888 he was elected to represent Holmes and Yazoo counties in the legislature, served with credit and efficiency, and during that time was a member of several committees. He is a member of the Knights of Honor and the Knights of Pythias, and he and Mrs. Simmons are worthy members of the Presbyterian church, in which she takes a deep interest. They have reared two children: Mrs. Tullia Johnson, wife of J. C. Pinkerton, of Lexington, and Miss Maggie P. Simmons, attending college at Pass Christian institute, will graduate this year (1891). Mr. and Mrs. Simmons have one grand child, Katheryn Pinkerton. Col. John M. Simonton Shannon has been so closely identified with the history of Lee county, Miss., that a sketch of his personal career is a desirable addition to this work. He was born in Lawrence county, Tenn., in 1830, and is a son of Gilbreath F. and Evelina (Buchanan) Simonton. The father was bom May 13, 1799, in North Carolina, and was a son of John Simonton, a native of North Carolina. The paternal ancestors emigrated from Scotland to America, and served as soldiers in the Revolutionary war. The grandfather of our subject was a thrifty planter, and at one time owned twelve thousand acres of land in Tennessee, which he divided among his children. He married Jane Falls, a native of North Carolina, a daughter of Major Falls, of Revolutionary fame, who was killed at the liattle of jj mill. Gilbreath F. Simonton was reared in Tennessee, and was a merchant and planter by occupation. Politically he was a stanch Whig, but was not an aspirant to public office. In 1850 he removed to Mississippi, settling first at Carmengo; later he went to Shannon, where he passed the remainder of his days. He died July 24, 1881. His wife was born in 1814, and died March 21, 1878. She was a devoted member of the Primitive Baptist 770 BIOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORIC A L church, and was a woman of unusual force of character. They reared a family of eight children to mature years; two died in infancy: Dr. William F., Gr. F., Ethe Jane, Hant^y B., Eobert Eoss, Mrs. E. J. Raspberry, Mrs. Sarah A. Thomison, Mrs. Evelina M. Lowe, Margaret E. and John M. Colonel Simouton was educated in the common schools, and in the fall of 1850 he engaged in business at Carmengo, Miss. For six years he carried on a thriving trade, and then removed to Shannon, where he formed a partnership with Mr. Buchanan. In 1859 he v?as elected to the senate. When the war broke out he resigned his place in the senate, left his store in the hands of an agent, and went to the defense of the Southern cause. After the close of the struggle he was interested for a time in a saw- mill, and also gave some attention to farming. He was united in marriage to Miss N. Ruth Potter, of Giles county, Tenn., a daughter of W. W. Potter. Her father v?as a graduate of Yale college, and was one of the pioneer educators of the South. Mrs. Simonton was born in 1835, and died in 1881. She was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church from childhood. Six children were born to the Colonel and his wife: Sarah E. , wife of James K. Whitesides, Anna Ethe, Ruth P., John M., Jr., Gilbreath P. and William W. Our subject was married, a second time, April 8, 1885, to Miss Flora Porter, of Aberdeen, Miss., a daughter of Benjamin F. Porter. Colonel Simonton enlisted in the Confederate service, and from the beginning seemed destined to meet all the horror.s of war, as well as to receive the honors and distinction which courage confers. To trace his steps through all those live years of carnage would only serve to awaken the bitterness of the saddest of experiences. He was in many of the most noted engagements of the war, and was often thrown in the closest relationship with his superior officers. His great care for the men under his command won him innumerable stanch friends, who to this day are filled with gratitude to him. He had the greatest courtesy shown him on many occasions by the oiBcers of the opposing side, and certainly gleaned all the sweet that was mixed with the bitter. He was promoted from one rank to another, until he was finally made colonel of the First Mississippi infantry. He suffered some severe bodily ailments during his service, and had one operation which nearly cost him his life. Afler the war was ended he represented his district in the first session of the state senate, and was elected to the reconstruction convention in 1885. In 1866 he was elected to the senate to represent the district composed of Itawamba county, and was elected president of that body, but was not permitted to serve out his term, for reasons of disfran- chisement under the reconstruction acts of congress. He was relieved from disability by the general act of congress; elected to the senate from district composed of the counties of Itawamba, Monroe and Lee, in 1884, and for five years discharged the duties of this office. In 1890 he was a member of the constitutional convention. He has been chairman of some very important committees in the senate, where his excellent judgment gives his opinions much weight. He has always taken a deep interest in the welfare of the South, and has manifested that interest by an unflinching devotion to his rights of citizenship. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, and belongs to the Cumberland Presbyterian church. C. A. Simpson, Pass Christian, special deputy collector of customs of the Pearl River district, Miss., was born in the city of New York, January 8, 1859, and is a son of C. A. and Mary (Malay) Simpson, natives of Ireland. The parents immigrated to America, landing in New York city; there the father died in 1859. They reared six children, three of whom are living: John (superintendent of immigration. New York city), Rosanna, and C. A. (the subject of this biographical notice). After the death of tlie father, in 1863, the mother removed to Mound City, 111. She was married again in 1862 to Thomas Ryan, who was a shipcarpenter and foreman of the navy yard at Mound City. He died in Texas, and the mother came to MEMOIRS OP MISSISSIPPI. 771 Mississippi in 1867, and located at Pass Ciiristian, where she now resides. She has been postmistress at that place for eight years. C. A. Simpson was a child of eight years when lie came to Mississippi, and received his education at Pass Christian college. He mastered the art of telegraphy, and was made station agent at the Pass. He filled this position for five years, and for the following fifteen years was in the employ of the Louisville & Nash- ville railroad. He has been prominently identified with the political history of Pass Chris- tian, having served as postmaster and as mayor. He turned the office of postmaster over to his mother in 18'S1, when he was a^jpointed deputy collector of customs at Pascagonhi. In 1885 he went out of office under President Cleveland, and for two years was lessee and manager of the railroad eating house at Hattiesbiirg, Miss. He then purchased an English ship and took her to British Honduras, where he sold her for a good sum of money. In 188'.) he was appointed to the office he now fills. Mr. Simpson has always been a stanch repub- lican, and has worked zealously in the interest of his jsarty. He was a delegate to the national convention of the republican party held in Chicago in 1880, 18H4, 1SS8. Although he has hosts of friends among the democrats, he remains true to his convictions, and he is one of the republicans whom the press of Mississipjai has never attacked. In 1878 he was married to Miss Mary Duke, of Jasper county, Miss., and one child has been born to them, John. In 1881 he was married a second time to Miss Nettie Manders, and three children have been born to this union: Mary L., C. A., Jr., and Margarette. Mr. Simpson is a member of the Knights of Labor and of the Knights of Pythias. The family belong to the Roman Catholic church, and are highly respected throughout the community. F. M. Simpson, farmer and merchant, residing four miles east of Courtland, Panola county. Miss., was the youngest of nine children born to Andrew and Mary (Murphy) Simp- son, both natives of Tennessee, where they spent their entire lives. The mother died when F. M. was but thi-ee weeks old and the father received his final summons in 1862. All the nine children grew to mature years, and three besides our subject are now living: Susan, wife of James Patterson, of Tennessee; Caroline, wife of John Madaris, of Arkansas, and Grace, wife of John Clamor, of Madison county, Tenn. Those deceased were: Jane, Nancy, Newton, Jasper and John. F. M. Simpson was born in Carroll county, Tenn., in 1834, grew to manhood in his native state and in 1854, when about twenty years of age, he settled in Yalobusha county, where he bought and improved one hundred and sixty acres of land. From there he moved to Yazoo county four years later and was engaged in business for other people until the beginning of the war. In 1861 he espoused the cause of the Con- federacy and enlisted in the First Mississippi artillery, company B, under Capt. A. J. Herod, as a private and served five years. He was at Vicksburg, Holly Springs, Jackson, Miss., and many other engagements. He was captured at Port Hudson, retained at Enter- prise until exchanged, and was then assigned to heavy artillery at Mobile, Ala., where he remained until the surrender. In July, 1865, he married Miss Laura J. Rice, daughter of P. L. Bice, and afterward resided in Tallahatchie county for abqut three years. He then removed to Courtland, Panola county, and for the first twelve years in this county he was engaged in merchandising and farming. In 1880 he settled on his present farm, consisting of one hundred and sixty acres, and in connection is also engaged in general merchandising, his annual sales amounting to from $10,000 to $12,000. His principal productions from his farm are corn and cotton. Mr. Simpson is also the owner of a dairy farm in Shelby county, Tenn., and has about thirty good Jersey and Holstein cows. In his political views Mr. Simpson affiliates with the democratic party, and he has been a member of the board of supervisors of Panola county. He is also a member of Stonewall Jackson Blue lodge No. 772 BIOORAPHTGAI. AND HISTORICAL 332, at Couitland. To biw niairiage were born ten children: Mary F., wife of William Laurance, of Hill county, Tex.; \V. A., of Memphis; L. B., wife of George Baugh, of Memphis; Alonzo, Caskey, Pearl, Ada, Douglass, Bertha and Adonis, the seven youngest at home. Mr. and Mrs. Simpson are members of the Methodist church at Eureka and are lib- eral contributors to the same, as indeed they are to all worthy enterprises. Judge Horatio Fleming Simrall, ex-chief justice of the state of Mississippi, was born near Shelbyville, Shelby county, Ky. , February 6, 18 1 S. Prior to the Revolutionary war James Simrall, his grandfather, immigrated to America from Scotland, settling in Virginia. He served in the war for independence and rose to the rank of captain, and after the close of the war returned to Virginia, where he spent the remainder of his life. He left three sous and one daughter. The eldest of this family was a son, James, born near Winchester, Va., where he grew to maturity and married Rebecca Graham, a native of Lancaster county, Penn., who had removed when a child with her parents to Virginia. Immediately following their marriage the young couple emigrated to Kentucky. The perilous journey was made in wagons and on horseback, and consumed considerable time, and severely tried the fortitude on the part of those undertaking it, as the country was infested with murderous bands of savages who did not hesitate to attack emigrant trains. Mr. Simrall and his wife located in Shelby county, Ky., about a mile from the city of Shelbyville, then but a flourishing village. Tliere, surrounded by the dangers, and enjoying but the primitive advantages of the early times, they took up their permanent residence. There Mr. Simrall died, about 1823, aged about fifty-eight years. He was a prominent citizen in Shelljy county, and was elected from that county to the state legislature, and was at the time of his death a general of the state militia. He raised and commanded a battalion of cavalry in the War of 1812, and served in the northwestern frontier, and during his service he contracted rheumatism which ultimately caused his death. His widow survived him a number of years, her death having occurred at Louisville, Ky., in 1871. To James Simrall and wife were born five sons and one daughter, of whom our subject is the only survivor. He is the youngest son and the fifth child in order of birth. He was but a small child when his father died, and his mother soon after- ward removed to Shelbyville. There he grew to maturity. His early education becoming tlie especial care of his mother, who was an earnest Christian woman whose moral training exerted a powerful influence for good upon his after days. When of sufficient age he attended a select school in Shelbyville, taught by an efficient schoolmaster from New England, and continued his studies there until his seventeenth year, when he became a student at Hanover college, at Hanover, Ind., and there remained one year. Returning to his home at Shelby- ville, he became a tutor at the school he had attended. When pursuing his studies at Shelby- ville he had, as classmates and intimate associates. Bland Ballard and Caleb Logan, a near relative of Gen. John A. Logan. These friends, after much deliberation and consultation, chose the law as a profession and furnished a striking example of the result of determination and effort. Bland Ballard became district judge of the United States for the district of Ken- tucky, holding this position at the time of his death; Caleb Logan acquired prominence at the bar of Kentucky, and became judge of the chancery court of Louisville, and Mr. Sim- rall filled, in a most exemplary manner, the highest judicial position in Mississippi. He began reading law, while continuing his services as tutor in the school at Shelbyville, in the office of Johnston & McHenry, a prominent firm of attorneys there. In 1 838 he attended the law department of Transylvania university, at Lexington, Ky., and upon returning home he stopped at Frankfort, where he successfully passed an examination before the court of appeals of Kentucky, and was licensed to practice in all the courts of the state. Late in the fall of MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 773 188.S he came to Mississippi, making the journey hy boat. He stopped at Natchez, and early in 1839 located at Woodville, Wilkinson county, where he opened a law oifice and soon became a prominent figure in legal circles. The bar of that section was particularly a strong one. There appeared men who have become noted in the South as jurists and able expound- ers of the law. Among them, and with whom Judge Simrall was closely associated, were James Walker, who afterward became circuit judge; John Henderson, who afterward represented this state in the United States senate; ^Villiam H. Dillingham, an accomplished lawyer; the late Judge Hiram Cassedy, Hon. John I. Lainkin, and Hon. David W. Hurst, all of whoQi were noted for their ability, and of whom personal sketches are given elsewhere. At Natchez were Gen. John A. Quitman; Samuel Boyd, at that time one of the ablest law- yers in the state; Eli Montgomery, and John T. McMurran, and others of promiupuee. During the jseriod from 1S46 to 1S4S he represented Wilkinson county in the state legislature. During his term there he worked with characteristic energy for the passage of a bill establish- ing a public-school system in the state. In this, however, he was defeated, but he succeeded in securing the establishment of a system of public education in Wilkinson county, which continued in oj^eration until succeeded by the present system. The system he introduced was supported by the funds deri\ ed from the lands donated by congress in the various town- ships for isrimary education, supplemented by county taxation. In 1857 he was invited to the law professorship in the University of Louisville, and removing to that city he filled that position with honor until the outbreak of the Civil war. In the summer of 18(il he returned with his family to Wilkinson county. Miss., where he still owns a 2:)laDtation. Shortly after his arrival there he received a telegraphic communication from Bowling Grreen, Ky., stating that he had been elected lieutenant-governor of state government, which had been established in the southern portion of the state, in sympathy with the Confederacy, and invited his ■ return to that state. Upon his arrival at Bowling Green he found General Johnston's army retreating from Kentucky, which necessarily interrupted the designs of this newly established government, and rendered its continuance impossible. The excitement of the war having passed, he resumed the practice of his profession at Woodville, remaining there until ISfiT, when he removed to Vicksburg, and there successfully continued his practice. During this time the courts of the state were being superceded and the administration of justice seri- ously interfered with by the military tribunal, whose rulings were ofttimes arbitrary and unconstitutional in this state, and Judge Simrall spent much of his time in the defense of per- sons unjustly tried before these court martials, contending that the law of the state should be administered by her courts alone, and that the court martial could not, with any sense of justice, punish a citizen for any act not designated as a crime in the code of the state, based upon her accepted constitution, and in this opinion he was upheld by the Federal judge, Kobert A. Hill, and also by the department of justice at Washington, and this view of the case was established by the United States district judge who, at Judge Simrall's solicitation, released, on a writ of habeas corpus, parties who had been confined in the state penitentiary upon the sentence of the military tribunal for an offense not so punishable by the law of the land. The Judge had many important cases before the military tribunal, of which Gen. Adelbert C. Am.es, afterward governor of the state, was the presiding officer. In 1870 he was appointed to the supreme bench, at the solicitation and earnest request of the leading members of the bar of the state, and he occupied the position nine years, the last five years as chief justice. His associates were Judges Peyton and Tarbell, and, for the last five years. Judges Josiah A. P. Campbell and Ham. Chalmers. As a member of this court. Judge Simrall's record has been a most exemj)lary and hon- 774 BIOGRAPHWAIj AND HISTORICAL oialjle one, reflecting credit not only upon himself, but upon his state. The Civil war had interfered to a great extent with the affairs of the court, and as chief justice, he found an overcrowded docket and much delayed work. With characteristic energy, he applied himself to the duties of discharging the large number of cases, and won a distinction for his efficiency. It is a fact worthy of mention that no decision rendered by this court while he was at its head was ever reversed by the supreme court of the United States, although many were sul)- uiitted to that body. The energy displayed did not in any way interfere with the efficiency and thoroughness of the court, for it won the confidence and admiration of the bar of the state. Particularly ha\e his efforts been of great value to the i)eople of the state in his decisions rendered upon equity and constitutional law, and decisions systematizing the laws of the state relative to the rights of married women in the holding of separate estates. One of the most important cases which occupied his attention was the famous lottery case of the state of Mississippi vs. Moore, which was probably the first case decided in any of the states to uphold the power of the legislature to repeal lottery grants and privileges. In this case just cited, the legislature of Mississippi in consideration of a sum of money to be devoted to edu- cational purposes, had granted a charter to a lottery company. A subsequent legislature repealed this charter, and the case came before the supreme court of the state. Judge SimraU, after a careful review of the case, rendered a decision upholding the last act of the legislature, holding that private or corporate interests, even though instituted by a special act of the legislature, \vere, and rightfully should be, subservient to the public good, and as the con- tinuance of this lottery would be damaging in its effects upon the public morals, he rendered his decision accordingly. The case was taken to the supreme court of the United States on a writ of error, and in that court his decision was unanimously sustained. Another notable case of great importance to the people of the country was that of Hawkins vs. Carroll county. The question under consideration was one of the validity of bonds voted for the improvement of the county, when all her voters were not represented at the polls. The lower courts had interpreted the provision requiring a two-thirds majority as applying to the number of votes cast. Judge Simrall ruled that the proper interpretation was that a two-thirds vote of the qualified voters of the county was necessary to grant bonds, and in this decision he was also sustained by the supreme court of the United States. The principle of this interpretation was a new one, and was afterward sustained by the supreme court in a case taken before it on a similar ruling from one of the Western states. In another case brought to recover dam- ages for cotton burned during the war by order of the Confederate military commander, the owner of the cotton sought to recover damages from the person who set fire to the cotton, but the Judge ruled that as this was an act of war, the individual could not be held responsible for the same, and in this he was sustained by the supreme court. Adelbert C. Ames had been elected governor of the state, and had taken his seat as such. The legislature introduced articles of impeachment against him, and the constitution requiring the chief justice to act as president of the senate when that body was sitting in impeachment trials, this duty fell upon the shoulders of Judge Simrall. In this matter the Judge was devoid of any per- sonal feelings and losing all personality, was prepared to give Grovernor Ames an impartial trial, but the resignation of the governor made the trial unnecessary. After the Judge had retired from the supreme bench, in 1879 he returned to Vicksburg, where for the following year he attended to his practice, and then retired. In 1881 he located on his plantation in Warren county, where he now resides, choosing to spend the remainder of his life in quietness and domestic enjoyment. In f 870 he was appointed trustee of the University of Mississippi ))y Governor Alcorn, and his appointment was confirmed by the senate. Again, in 1S7G, MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 775 he was reappointed by G-overnor Stoue, and again in 1882, and in 1888 by Governor Lowry, and is now the oldest trustee of the university in number of years of service. He is also serving his second term as trustee of the University of the South at Sewanee, Tenn. In 1881 the University of Mississippi conferred upon him the title of LL. D. In 1867 at the reor- ganization of the University of Mississippi after the war, he was tendered the professorship of law, which he declined, on account of pressing business at home. In 1890 he was unani- mously elected a member of the constitutional convention of the state, acting as chairman of the judiciary committee, and was the author of the report of that committee as to the constitutional right of the convention to adjust the right of suffrage, notwithstanding the condition in the act of readmission of the state by the congress of the United States in 1870, that the state should not alter or change the franchise article in the constitution of 1 869, abridging or denying suffrage to any person by that constitution entitled to it. The argument of the report was that the state was sovereign over the question and condition of suffrage, and that congress was without right to impose conditions of suffrage upon one state not common to all. He also reported the judiciary system which was afterward adopted by that convention. Judge Simrall has always taken an active interest in all movements of public interest, par- ticularly in the improvement of the Mississippi river, and was president of a committee to properly lay before congress the necessity of such improvements, and the constructions of levees to protect the lower lands from overflow, and was a member of a committee of seven chosen to i)roceed to Washington and bring the matter before congress. February 22, 1842, he married Lydia Ann Newell, of Wilkinson county, and this union resulted in the birth of live children, three still living. The family are members of the Episcopal church of Vicks- burg, and for years, the Judge has been a member of the vestry. Politically, the Judge is a republican on national matters, but in state affairs votes with the people of the state, the democratic ticket. He is a venerable appearing man, his hair being snow white, but the brilliancy of his intellect is undimmed, and his memory as active as ever. Thomas M. Sims, an old and prominent citizen of Panola county. Miss., was the fifth of eleven children born to David and Nancy (Strong) Sims, both natives of Virginia. His great- grandfather Sims emigrated from the Emerald isle to America and settled in the Old Dominion. David Sims followed planting in Virginia, was a man of moderate means but a good, sub- stantial, honorable citizen, and had no political aspirations. He was a soldier in the War of IS] 2. He died when about sixty-eight years of age and his wife survived him a number of years later. Thomas M. Sims was born in Louisa county, Va., on the 8th of February, 1S19, and passed his boyhood and youth in that state. His advantages for an education were limited, but experience and observation have taught him much. He left the state of his nativity in 1836, went to Fayette county, Tenn., and after remaining there one year removed to Marshall county. Miss., where he resided for five years. From there he went to Tippah count}, remained eight years engaged in the tailor's trade, and then went to Oakland, Yalobiisha county, where he continued his trade in connection with gents' furnishing business. In 18r)5 he came to Panola county, and here he has since resided, engaged in planting. In 1879 he began mer- chandising in Pope, continued this for seven years and then retired from business, since which time he has lived a retired life. He is a man of pleasant, cheerful disposition, is upright and honorable in all his relations with the public, and is universally respected. He served in the war from 1864 until the close, but was never in any regular engagement. He was a member of the board of supervisors for four years, and in 1877 he was nominated for the legislature, ))ut as the republicans were in the majority and he ran on the democratic ticket, he was defeated by a few votes. He was married in 1848 to Miss Eunice Rpgers, who was born in Tennessee 776 BIOQRAPIIICAL AND UISTOBIOAL and who was the diiughter of Thomas Rogers, a native of Tennessee. Mrs. Sims died in 1864 leaving five children: Mary M., now Mrs. Shields, vvidow of Joseph Shields; Lou T., now Mrs. E. P. Collins; John I. (deceased); Frank C, in Texas, and Sue N., now Mrs. George Tinen. Mr. Sims and family are members of the Metliodist church. He is a pioneer of Mississippi and has served faithfully in his sphere. William H. Sims is a Georgian by birth, having emigrated to Mississippi from the former state just before the opening of the late; Civil war. He was born in the village of Lexington, Oglethorpe county, about fifty years ago, in that middle section of Georgia which has given to the state her greatest sons. Oglethrope was the home of William H. Crawford and Thomas W. Cobb, the latter a relative, on his mother's side, to the subject of our sketch. The adjoin- ing county of Wilkes was the home of Robert Toombs. The adjoining county of Clarke, where Henry Grady was born, was the home of Thomas R. R. Cobb, Georgia's great lawyer, and Howell Cobb, his brother, secretary of the treasury under President Buchanan. Taliaferro county, hard by, was the home of Alex. H. Stephens; while Greene county, near it, furnished Georgia a United States senator in the person of Crosby Dawson. All of these now notable citizens of Georgia were in the habit of gathering twice a year at the sitting of the circuit court at Lexington Courthouse, and the aspiring youth was wont to attend upon their great speeches at the bar or upon the hustings. Young Sims was among this number. He was the sou of Dr. James Saunders Sims and Amanda Booker Moore, both of Virginia extraction. His father, Dr. Sims, was a physician of great learning and eminent in his profession in that portion of the state. His practice was not confined to his own county, but he was sent for from far and near in critical cases by the sick of surrounding regions. By middle life he had acquired such a competency through his professional success, that he retired from active professional work and gave himself to his books and scientific farming. The early schooling of W. H. Sims was obtained at Meson academy, at Lexington. When a little more than sixteen he entered the junior class of the University of Georgia ; and as he frequently regretted, graduated before he was nineteen. Shortly after graduating he became a student of law at Athens, Ga., in the office of Thomas R. R. Cobb, and in less than a year was admitted to the bar at Lexington. Being young in years and anxious to acquire greater learning in his profession before entering upon his duties, he spent a year at Cambridge, Mass., in attendance upon the Harvard law school. Returning home to Georgia, he lingered at his old home, casting about where he should enter upon the field of professional labor, and desiring to go West, he decided to settle at Columbus, Miss., whither he went in the latter part of 1859. Here he found many Georgians from the region of his ))irth, the Baldwins, the Claytons, the Whitfields, the Harrises, the Billupes, the Moores, the last two families being nearly related to him on his mother's side. After a few prelim- inary months of reading in the office of William S. Barry, at Columbus, to acquaint himself with the local statutes and decisions, W. H. Sims was numbered in the year 1860, among the young attorneys of the Columbus bar, then distinguished as one of the .strongest in Missis- sippi, and nearly all of whom have been gathered to their fathers at this writing. James T. Harrison, Charles R. Crusoe, George R. Clayton, William S. Barry, Henry Dickenson, Isham Harrison, McKinney Irion and Beverly Matthews, were among the most distinguished members of the local bar at that time, not one of whom is now living. About this time the war clouds commenced gathering. The coixntry was agitated with political discussions lirought about by the allignment of the North and the South in separate political parties. The election nf Mr. Lincoln determined the leaders in Mississippi to seek redress for her anticipated ills outside of the Federal Union. In December, 1860, Jefferson Davis and L. MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 777 Q. C. Lamar made speeches at the fair grounds at Columbus, Miss., containing much of warning and gloomy forebodings of the Southern future. The country soon became aflame with excitement; volunteer companies for service in the anticipated war lietween the sections began to form. Among the first in this section of the state was the formation of a com- pany, intended for cavalry service, before the close of 1860, known as the Tombigbee rangers. Samuel Butler was its first captain, and W. H. Sims its first orderly sergeant. It was mustered into state service at Columbus, Miss., February 28, 1861. Captain Butler, having become restless to get into active service, had gone to an infantry regiment, called into service in Virginia, and J. H. Sharp, the first lieutenant of the rangers, became his successor as captain, while W. H. Sims was promoted to second lieutenant, to fill the vacancy created by the company officers moving up. After a tiresome waiting for weeks for a call as a cavalry company, the rangers finally abandoned that feature of their military purpose, and early in the spring of 1861 rendezvoused at Union City, Tenn., as infantry, as a part of a Confederate command which Gen. Frank Cheatham was there forming. Then began the active Confederate service which shifted the rangers, as company A, Bly the's battalion ; afterward company A, Blythe's Mississippi regiment; afterward company A, Forty-fourth Mississippi regiment, from Union City to Columbus, Ky., during the winter of 1861-2; to the battle of Shiloh in April, 1862; to Saltillo, Miss. ; to Chattanooga; to Murfreesboro, Tenn., and the seven days' fight on Stone river; and thence back to TuUahoma, Tenn. ; and thence, under Bragg, to Kentucky, where as a part of.Chalmer's high-pressure brigade, it joined in the daring attack upon the fortress at Munfordsville, Ky. It participated in the battle at Perrysville, Ky., and with Bragg, retreated through Cumberland Gap, and on back to near the place where it started its aggressive march. It shared the victory of Chickamauga, and the defeat at Missionary ridge; fell back and wintered at Dalton in 1863-4; stubbornly fought under Joseph E. Johnston against Sherman's outnumbering ranks from Eesaca to Atlanta and Jonesboro, Ga. , through four months of comparatively every day fighting, dur- ing the spring and summer of 1864. Johnston's Fabian policy having lost him nineteen thousand troops, in killed, wounded and missing, between Dalton and Atlanta, without his giv- ing battle or obtaining any coigne of vantage; but on the contrary, in the opinion of the Con- federate authorities, losing it, while in the possession of a splendid army and without daring to fight for it, he was supplanted by Hood, who had become famous in Virginia as the com- mander of a Texas brigade and a fighting division. W. H. Sims had shared the fortunes of his company all along through these events. At Shiloh he participated in both days' battles, commanding his company on the last day. Though not wounded there, he narrowly escaped it, having a grape shot to pass through his haversack and cut it loose from his per.son. The commander of his regiment. Col. A. K. Blythe, having been killed at Shiloh, Lieutenant Sims was detailed to bring his body to Columbus, Miss., for interment, and upon the recir- ganization of his company during his few days' absence, his captain, J. H. Sharp, was elected colonel of the regiment and W. H. Sims was elected hy his comrades from the position of second lieutenant to that of captain of company A. At Chickamauga, while in command of his company. Captain Sims received, early in the action, a severe wound in the arm, which carried him to the rear and caused his absence on leave for a month or more. He was again wounded slightly in the same arm at Jonesboro, when his horse was killed under him. During a year of the time mentioned, under Gen. Patton Anderson, Gen. Tucker, and Gen. Sharp, commanding tlie brigade successively. Captain Sims was on detail duty as inspector-general of the brigade, but on the flank move- ment of Hood's army from below Atlanta around Sherman's rear to the Tennessee river at 778 BIOGHAPHiaAL ANJJ lilSTOlilVAL Decatur, he w;ib recalled to his regiment, promotdd to the rank of lieutenant-colonel, and put in command of it, and with it fought in the l)attle of Franklin, Tenn. , in December, 1864, where he received a severe wound in the knee, which resulted in the loss of the lower portion of his leg. Shot down at the locust thicket near the breastworks, on the left of the line, about ten o'clock at night, he was several hours crawling off the fiidd to a place of safety. Carried to an improvised hospital at a farmhouse by some cavalry men who picked him up, he lay there for eighteen days, until Hood's army uas bfuiten from in front of Nashville^ and were retiring pell-mell through Franklin to the Tennessee river. Colonel Sims, having partly recovered from his wound, was taken by a friend in a wagon and endeavored to escape with Hood's army. But a secondary inflammation setting uj) in his leg during the two days' travel in tlie rain, and in an open wagon without springs, over a road originally rough, and badly cut up by artillery and wagon trains, lie was obliged to stop at Columbia, Tenn., where he was captured. Here he remained three months on his back in a hospital. When he got up on his crutches, after a hard battle for lite, soine time after Lee's surrender, he was sent on to the Federal military prison, at Nashville (which was the state penitentiary), where he remained three weeks. Thence he was carried to the United States military prison, at Louisville, Kj'., where he was detained until August, 1805, being among the lew unfortunates who came under the opera- tion of President Andrew Johnson's order, that conscious rebels should not be discharged from prison, but should be held for trial for treason. The line was drawn by President Johnson, at field ofdcers, and those who had been at the United States military schools. Colonel Sims, when he entered the military prison, at Louisville, found himself in company with nine thousand C(m- federate prisoners, and saw them all discharged except three, himself, a major in an Arkansas regiment, and a captain of the Confederate navy, who had enjoyed some benefits of a military training at Annapolis. These three were detained weeks after the other body of the prisoners were paroled, during which period amusing comments were made from time to time by the editor of the Louisville Courier-Journal, then George D. Prentiss, concerning the ridiculous detention of these officers. Finally paroled, however, in August, 1865, Colonel Sims returned South to the home of his boyhood, at Lexington, Ga. , where his parents were still living. In the summer of 1866 he came back to Columbus, Miss., and resumed the practice of his pro- fession in partnership at law with Col. S. M. Meek. During the fall of that year, he was elected probate judge of the county of Lowndes, and held the position three years, from ] 866 to 1 869, when he was removed by the military governor to make room for an office- seeker in sympathy with the republican reconstruction policy in the South. Colonel Sims now gave his whole time and energy to the practice of law. In August, 1870, he was married at Lexington, Ga., to Miss Louie Upson, daughter of Judge P. L. Upson, of that place, and granddaughter of Stephen Upson, one of Georgia's great lawyers. Their union has been blessed with one child, Harry Upson Sims, now about eighteen years of age. Colonel Sims, while often invited to counsel with his fellow -citizens on public matters affecting his county and state, was Tiever an officeseeker, nor an active pol- itician. But in 1875 the times of reconstruction were upon the people of his state. For ten years aftei- the war the situation of affairs in Mississippi, like that in nearly all the Southern states, was exceedingly depraved. The state and county offices were, in the main, from the high- est to the lowest, occupied by radical republican politicians. They were generally tramping car])etbaggers from the North or renegade Southerners ol low origin or association, ignorant and unscrupulous. Many of the minor places and some of the higher ones, including legis- lative and congressional representatives, were filled by negroes, chosen not for their fitness, but for their pliant subserviency to the ends of their carpetbag and scalawag associates in ii. "k-^' ^-•x !,/ .^, r. ! i-i- - ' Ml'. !,)W(-.. •i..rtii »;:*', >-ry. Oarr;<;tI !. " I- '■' ■■• I'l: 'if '•■ h«v ii«?n ■ •■f-iHil't; Hlui S\' ;-■ IVitiriii^/ . r:i.iuiig fmrd) i<'«over--.- .fliVcl tn H'l- l:ii. ■■,, ,■ 1- ' •■'■' •■;' -irv.ik'i-- ' .- '■■■.,■'•'. . ■'• -Wy.t ■•^ crv,;-,-;!!.®, ft''- ' ' '• . Tl""- ■ •'.,■ .{(Ida; .: ■ -■■■■■'. ■ -i !_;^iJi8cLar^. ,' - ■-■■ - '■< !. i i :>-..i,,nt -. ■-•. •■'-'■■ i ' i- ■■■ -..u'--:^ ooh,-.i^ • ....>-. , .il ,,_,,■ :■, ,,-. .^ ■ fi-d«>i;i: ,■ navy, wlm ;j;iJ enl >)'>■■: .-.,r.i<- ijt- ., .ii -.,••',;: ■. ■. ■ " -■ ^-W'-i aft.-: i-l.ifM.tlierJ'Ojy of tliOj. .,;;.,- ■ ' ■' ■■■■' '■■'" i"'>'t' . *r<;..i» tinu' to time i.x '.,■ '■ ''iSiH^s, ,.nr. rnJ.jK' thi' ridicule! -.'!i,'--c >"'•" i > V. ■;! ! Sixn^i retiirn'-.l ■•■■»''■ • ^ •■•' *"" '4:11 1h-itji^ - '" ■ '■- . i-'it!;!:>-->.>f 'ur ,.,. ,, ■a •* *'«i'-. lie WuJ ■•..\. !«»■«*< y«arh, from ^ ■-...■ r;i,nn Jitr an oflici-- ■ ^ ^ ■ If'.. ^V ; . ■.••!ii-,(.-! u .r i, ;,, , , , ' '''■ '''■ ■' "' •'■-'■ . <;, ^ '.... hifili- ' ' "' ''' ■'■•'•■■■ ■.-..,., ^ ■ , , ,, ..,^,,,jj(j^ ..■■j'!,.ii .-V •■;1;»-5 !)(i,f_v ., ;, . , ■■■■,is. ., ...... . -...iaativ..- w-re fillw! hy .,. ., ,:L,«-.„ . ,./«,. U:ciJ iitn^^:.. ^^.^.^^ MEM0IM8 OF MISSISSIPPI. 779 office. The burden of taxation upon the white peojile became enormous. Official corruption was common. Respectability was cowed, and from constrained silence and submission Mis- sissippians of the better classes nearly approached the condition of Rome to which Tacitus referred when he said: "We would have lost our memory together with our freedom of speech, had it been as easy to forget as to be silent." The iniquitous rule of carpetbagism had cul- minated in such enormities about the year 1875, that the white people of Mississippi came to realize that their civilization required a tremendous effort, and gathering around the banners of democracy, called upon all the good men of the state to unite and overthrow this jeopard- ous rule. At a meeting at West Point, in Clay county, Colonel Sims, without notice or con- sultation, was nominated as one of the state senators from the eighteenth district, composed of the counties of Lowndes, Oktibbeha and Clay. This nomination, with Hon. F. G. Barry, of Clay, as his colleague, was immediately endorsed by the democratic party in Lowndes and Oktibbeha counties. Fully alive to the peril of the hour, and answering to duty's call, Colonel Sims accepted the nomination, and with Mr. Barry entered upon the active canvass of his district, speaking from day to day through its length and breadth wherever occasion collected the excited multitudes. The democratic appeal and rally of good citizenship pre- vailed at the election in November, 1875, and Messrs. Sims and Barry were triumphantly elected state senators. The new democratic legislature assembled at Jackson in January, 1876, and promptly began the cleansing of the government corrupted by years of maladmin- istration by the radical party. Gen. Adelbert Ames, the military governor, and his mulatto Lieutenant-Governor Davis, were successfully impeached and brought to trial for high crimes and misdemeanors. Adelbert Ames resigned to escape conviction; Davis was convicted and deposed. J. M. Stone, who had been elected president pro tempore of the senate, succeeded imder the constitution, to the executive chair vacated by Ames; and W. H. Sims, who was unanimously chosen president of the senate in the place of Stone, succeeded to the lieuten- ant-governorship. In 1877 Governor Stone and Lieutenant-Governor Sims were nominated by the democratic party, and without opposition were elected by the people to the places they respectively held for the term of four years, from January, 1878. About this time the firm of Meek & Sims took into their law partnership Judge J. A. Orr, under the firm name of Orr, Meek & Sims. Colonel Meek withdrawing in a few years to unite with his son, the law firm of Orr & Sims was formed, and continued through the years since. The duties of member of the senate and president of that body were performed by the Hon. W. H. Sims, with great satisfaction to his constituents and friends. He soon made a reputation throughout the state as a debater of ability, fairness and force. As a presiding officer, he was recognized as one of the best who had ever presided in the senate of Mississippi. In 1882, having declined to become a candidate for re-election to the place he had then filled for six years, W. H. Sims returned to his law office and a lucrative practice at the bar, ranking among the foremost lawyers of Mississippi. At the democratic state convention at Jackson in 1885 for the nomi- ination of a governor and state officers, Hon. W. H. Sims was unanimously chosen its tempo- rary and permanent president. The convention was a very large one, composed of about six hundred delegates, and from disputes growing out of contesting representatives, was inclined to be turbulent. President Sims, by reason of his learning and readiness as a parliamenta- rian, his tact, patience, and decision of character, won golden opinions from the members of the convention and the people and press of the state. At the democratic state conventiou of Mississippi in May, 1888, .Governor Sims was elected, by the leading majority, a delegate from the state at large to the national democratic convention called to assemble at St. Louis in June following. At St. Louis the Mississippi delegation was organized by selecting Gen. WW 780 BIOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORIOAL W. T. Martin as its chairman; Hon. S. S. Calhoun, member of the committee on permanent organization; Hon. A. F. Fox, on credentials, and Hon. W. H. Sims, on resolutions and plat- form. This committee on resolutions and platform, composed of one delegate from each of forty-seven states and territories, organized at the Southern hotel at St. Louis by the election of Hon. Henry Wattersou, of Kentucky, as its president, and W. H. Sims, of Mississippi, as its secretary. A sub- committee of nine to prepare a platform was selected by the general committee. W. H. Sims was also a member of this committee, in association with Hon. Alfred E. Burr, of Connecticut; Senator Turpie, of Indiana; Hon. Henry Watterson, of Ken- tucky; Gov. Leon Abbet, of New Jersey; Hon. Edward Cooper, of New York, and Senator A. P. Gorman, of Maryland. The deliberations of this committee, occupying about eighteen consecutive hours, were attended by much debate and contention concerning the expression of democratic principles to be embodied in the platform to be reported to the convention. A division arose over the tariff reform plank of the platform. Hon. Henry Watterson, of Ken- tucky, led the adherents of one view, and Senator Gorman, of Maryland, led those of another. The committee, nearly equally divided between these views, entered upon a debate in which a ten minutes' speech was permitted to each member, with little prospect of being reconciled. Governor Sims, who had supported Mr. Watterson for chairrfian of the commit- tee, spoke to the question on the side of Mr. Gorman with such effect as to be credited with being largely instrumental in effecting that reconciliation. Senator Gorman and Hon. Will- iam L. Scott, of Pennsylvania, were very openly complimentary in their remarks concerning Governor Sims' good offices, and Senator Gorman having gone before the Mississippi delega- tion and communicated the facts to them, in recognition of Governor Sims' services in that behalf, the delegation adopted the following resolutions: Hbadquabtbks Mississippi Delegation, ) St. Louis, June 7, 1888. ) At a meeting of the Mississippi delegates to the national democratic convention held at these head- quarters this day, on motion it was unanimously resolved that the thanks of the delegation are due and are hereby tendered to the Hon. W. H. Sims for the very able and effective service rendered by him on the national committee on platform and resolutions. And they have heard, with great gratification, of the happy influence exerted by him in producing harmony in said committee and elaborating a satisfac- tory platform. Will T. Martin, Chairman. Attest, C. M. Williamson, Secretary. Full accounts of the whole proceedings and copies of the resolutions were published throughout the press of the state upon the return of the delegation to Mississippi, and Gov- ernor Sims' course was commended, and his able representation of the state emphasized. Governor Sims, although often mentioned in connection with the highest offices of the state by the most influential portion of the press and people, has never been an office- seeker; indeed has declined, in several instances, to be put forward for public place when the way seemed open to success, because he did not wish to antagonize friends who, he stated, had more claims upon the position. It is well understood among his friends that positions, both upon the circuit and supreme court benches, have been within his reach, and he would have been appointed to them Mid he indicated an acceptance. At present he resides at Columbus, busy with extensive personal interests, his books, and such attention as he chooses to give to the practice of law. In 1888, upon the solicitations of the citizens of Columbus, he was appointed by Gov- ernor Lowry as a member of the board of trustees of the Mississippi Industrial institute and college for girls, to fill a vacancy. In 1890 he was reappointed by Governor Stone for six years. Governor Sims is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church at Columbus. During his life W. McD. Sims (deceased) was one of the leading planters of the state of MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 781 Mississippi, and was especially well known in Claiborne (his native) county, where he was known not only as an. able financier but as a man whose love of justice and right was one of his prominent characteristics. He was born on the 19th day of Maj, 1810, to David Sims and wife, the former of whom came to Mississippi when a child with his parents from his native state of North Carolina and located in what was known as the Red Lick neighborhood, in what is now Jefferson county, where he grew to manhood. He was one of a family of four sons and several daughters, all the members of the family coming to the state, with the exception • of the daughters. W. McD. Sims inherited quite a handsome fortune from his father, but being careless of the future he soon spent it all and was then compelled to look about him for something to do in order to support himself and family, and after his marriage turned his at- tention to planting. He was married on the 3d of December, 1 8,16, to Mrs. Eebecca J. (Har- mon) Neal, who was born on the 9th of June, 1826, and by her became the father of two chil- dren: Louisiana E. and Carrie J., the former of whom died October 24, 1865, at the age of eight years. The latter became the wife of R. W. Magruder and died December 10, 1880, at the age of twenty years, five months and three days, leaving a son, John M. Mrs. Sims' par- ents, Joseph and Eliza (Sims) Harmon, were born in Mississippi, the birth of the former oc- curring on the 6th of March, 1795, in what is now Claiborne county, his death occurring on the 17th of July, 1834. Their marriage was consummated on November 2, lS20, Mrs. Har- mon at that time being seventeen years of age, a daughter of David and Abigail Sims, early settlers of this county. To Mr. and Mrs. Harmon three daughters were born: Elizabeth Ann, who was born October 8, 1823, and died July 28, 1838; Rebecca J. (Mrs. Sims), was born June 9, 1826, and Phoebe F., who was born September 6, 1828, and died June 2, 1852, the wife of John Venable. Mrs. Eebecca J. Sims was first married to Joseph Neal, a native of Pennsylvania, whose death occurred of yellow fever, September 14, 1858. By him she became the mother of three children: Prances B., Martha and Ida (twins); Martha being the wife of Isaac Magruder. Mrs. Sims traces her ancestry back to her great-grandfather, James Har- mon, who is supposed to have been born in North Carolina, October 3, 1731, inheriting English blood from his ancestors. He was one of the very earliest settlers of Claiborne county. Miss., having come here when the country was under Spanish rule and entering land on the Bayou Pierre river. He died on this plantation, September 18, 1819, over eighty- eight years of age. His son, Hezekiah Harmon, was born on the 22d of June, 1763, being the only son reared by his father, two of his brothers being killed by Indians. He attained manhood in the territory of Mississippi, where he entered land with his father, and was here first married to Miss Mercy Leonard, by whom he became the father of two sons and three daughters, all of whom, with the exception of one, lived to be grown and married: Polly, Rebecca, Elizabeth, James and Joseph (twins). They all settled in Mississippi, where they became the heads of families, but James died on the 24th of February, 1825, at the age of twenty-nine years. The mother of these children departed this life April 14, 1795, aged twenty-eight years, two months and one day. Mr. Harmon then married Mrs. Catherine Murphy, the widow of John Murphy, their union liking place on the 28th of August, 1811, and resulting in the birth of two children, one of whom died in infancy. The other, Heze- kiah, lived to be grown and removed to Yazoo county, where he died soon after. Mr. Sims was one of the leading stockholders in the Port Gibson & Grand Gulf railroad, and when it was sold after the war he purchased it, putting it in good running order, after which he sold it. He was also a member of the Masonic fraternity and as a business man was shrewd and far-seeing, but strictly honorable in every transaction. He possessed a char- itable and kindly disposition and gave willingly of his wealth to all who needed his aid or 783 BIOOBAPHIOAL AND HI8T01U0AL assistance. He took a deep interest in educational matters and besides giving his own children excellent educational advantages, he educated some nieces and nephews and gave them a start in life. He lost 175,000 by the failure of a commission merchant just be- fore the war, but afterward retrieved much of his losses, leaving at his death, February 7, 1882, an estate comprising six thousand acres of land, of which about three thousand are under cultivation, of which K. W. Magruder has the charge. Mr. Sims at one time endeavored to settle his land with white people and t,ent to Germany for emigrants, but the plan was not a success. In 1872 he peopled his land with whites from the eastern portion of the state and gave them the land free of rent for a number of years as an inducement. He was a citizen of whom any community might feel proud, for he was not only industrious and honest, but he was also very enterprising in his views and had the interests of the county warmly at heart and supported her institutions with both purse and influence. His widow and children reside on the home place in a commodious, substantial and pleasant residence, fronting Kussum station. W. S. Sims, physician, surgeon and oculist of Meridian, Miss., was born in Lauderdale county. Miss., in 1854, a son of Jphn I. Sims, a native of Georgia, who came some time in the thirties when a boy to Mississippi with his parents. _ His father is a planter of Lauder- dale county and is the owner of considerable property. The Doctor received his literary edu- cation in the Marion school under the direction and tutelage of Captain Day, who was regarded very highly as an educator. At the age of nineteen he began the study of medicine, to which he devoted himself assiduously, graduating at Mobile, Ala., in 1878. While taking a special course on the eye and throat, he practiced his profession for three summers. He look a three years' course in his specialties in New York and New Orleans, La., since which time he has devoted himself to them almost exclusively. He has built up a fine practice, and is highly regarded both as a general practitioner and as a specialist. He is a member of both state and county medical associations, and is the vice president of the latter. He read an article before the state medical asbociation, entitled " Operation for the extraction of hard cataract," with a report of twenty-six cases, and introduced another paper before the state board at Jackson, Miss., entitled "Penetrating wounds of the cornea in which the iris is involved and treatment for the same," accompanied by a report of five cases, which won for him a wide reputation. He is a member of the order of Odd Fellows. In 1887 he married Miss Elizabeth Mahan in Marion, MiSs., by whom he has two children: Euth and "W. S. Sims, Jr. Elbert D. Sinclair, planter, Oxford, Miss. On the 30th of June, 1810, in Chatham county, S. C, there was born to the union of Hezekiah and Sarah (Moiphis) Sinclair, a son, the third in order of birth of six children. This son, who was named Elbert D. Sinclair, had very limited scholastic advantages, and what he obtained was the result of his own exertions. His father was born about 1770, and was a son of Peter Sinclair, who served during the Revolutionary war, and who acquitted himself with credit and honor in every instance. He was slain by the tories in 1779. Mr. ^clair's maternal grandfather, John Morphis, was also a native of the Old North state, and was one of the most popular men in the section where he was known. He was public-spirited, and every worthy enterprise found in him a strong advocate and supporter. His liberality amounted almost to prodigality, and he was reverenced by all who knew him. When the Eevolutionary war broke out between America and the mother country he was the first to buckle on his armor in defense of his country, and among the last to sheathe his sword after the grand victory. Mr. Sinclair removed with his parents to Tennessee, and while on the road at Bedford the father breathed his last. The MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 783 mother, with her family of children, came on to Henry county, where the children all grew to maturity, and where, in 1836, Mr. Sinclair married Miss Nancy Broach, an estimable lady, who bore him six children, two sons and four daughters. Five of these children are now liv- ing, one son having died while attending the state university. In 1879 Mrs. Sinclair died, having lived a Christian life, and being at the time of her death a member of the Primitive Baptist church. Mr. Sinclair has been a member of the Primitive Baptist church since 1831, and has lived an honest, upright life, and one worthy of imitation. His honesty and tnith- fulness are proverbial, and he has made the Golden Kule a part of his life. Before the war he owned and operated a large plantation, but during that eventful period everything was swept away, and he began, though an old man, with energy to retrieve his fallen fortune. He has been successful, and is now the owner of a good plantation only two and a half miles from town, and attends to the management of it in person. William R. Sivley is a Hinds county Mississippian, born on July 23, 1843, the second of five children born to Eawley and Eliza H. (Burleson) Sivley, the former born in Hunts- ville and the latter in Decatur, Ala. The father was reared and educated in his native city, but in 1841 became a resident of Hinds county. Miss., and here resided on a plantation until his death in 1887, at the age of eighty-one years. His widow;_who survives him, is seventy- one years of age and is residing on the old homestead. Eawley Sivley was successfully, engaged in agriculture and at the opening of the Civil war was worth about $250,000. Not only was he one of the most prosperous and enterprising of the planters of Hinds county, but he was also one of her most enterprising and public-spirited citizens. He was a son of Andrew and Rebecca (Denton) Sivley, who were born in Virginia and Tennessee respectively, and from his paternal ancestors, who settled in Virginia at an early day, he inherited Dutch and Welsh blood. The maternal grandfather of the subject of this sketch, Jonathan Burle- son, was a native of I'ennessee. This was one of the first families to settle in Alabama, and perhaps there is not a family in the state that has done more to develop its resources than the Burlesons. They are a numerous people and at the present time number about four thousand members in the United States, some of whom have been the ablest statesmen of the South, eminent divines and professional men. Among the latter may be mentioned Dr. Euf us C. Burleson, president of Baylor university of Waco, Tex. , in which state the Burle- sons have taken an important part in every great era for the past fifty years. This family have been the Indian fighters and pioneers of civilization, and during the Revolutionary war seven brothers, sons of Aaron Burleson, who came from Wales and settled in North Carolina in 1726, assisted the colonists in their struggle for liberty, four of whom were killed dur- ing the war. William E. Sivley was brought up in Hinds county and was educated in Clinton college. The war came on when he was about eighteen years of age and with the zeal that has ever characterized those of his race, and with the enthusiasm of youth and the native Southerner, he left school to take up arms in defense of his home and country. In 1861 he enlisted as a volunteer in company E, of the Third Mississippi regiment, with which company he remained two years, participating in the siege M Vicksburg and Baker's creek. In 1863 he was transferred to company C, Balantine's cavalry regiment, Armstrong's brigade, and was a participant in the battles of Franklin, Nashville, Atlanta, Peach Tree creek and the Ten- nessee campaign, surrendering at Demopolis. He was twice taken captive but was never a prisoner over ten days at a time. When the war closed he returned to his Mississippi home only to find his father's plantation laid waste and in a desolate and discouraging condition. With the same courage which he had displayed on the field of battle, he at once took upon himself the burden of repairing the broken fortunes of the family, and for four years there- 784 BIOaBAPHIOAL AND HI8T0RIOAL after assisted his father by every means in his power. In 1869 he purchased a plantation near where he now lives, and as he has devoted his attention to this calling ever since, and is H shrewd and far-seeing man of business, he is now the owner of four thousand acres of land of which about two thousand are under cultivation. He is also the owner of fine property in Oakley, where he lives and conducts a large mercantile business. He erected him a beautiful home at Oakley in 1884, which is one of the handsomest in the county, conveniently and beautifully arranged and fitted up with all the modern conveniences and luxuries. His plantation, Oakley, was named by his wife and is one of the finest and best tilled places in this section of the country. Mr. Sivley believes in land being self-supporting, and as a means to this end, raises a diversity of crops and vegetables and sufficient stock to supply them with meat throughout the year. He owns stock in some of the most firmly established banks of the state, is very public-spirited and is liberal and generous in the use of the wealth he has so honorably earned. His contributions to churches, charitable institutions and to the cause of education are generous, and he has ever been a friend to the poor and needy. He is a fine-looking gentleman and is a very entertaining and agreeable conversationalist. He was united in marriage in 1866 to Miss L. J., daughter of Dr. Young and Mary A. (Gray) Stokes, natives of Virginia and Alabama respectively. Mrs. Sivley was born in De Soto county. Miss., and is the mother of three children: Emma S. , now the wife of Dr. Rhodes, of Learned, Miss.; Clarence L., and Lena E. The mother of these children is a worthy member of the Presby- terian church, and Mr. Sivley is a member of the A. F. & A. M., the Knights of Pythias and the Knights of Honor. Dr. J. J. Slack, physician and druggist. Friar's Point, Miss., the second of three children born to Rev. William M. and Sarah (Johnson) Slack, owes his nativity to Madison county, Tenn., where his birth occurred in 1848. His parents were natives of Ohio and Tennessee, respectively. The father was a Baptist minister and physician, studied medicine at Louis- ville, Ky., and later settled at Denmark, Tenn., where the subject of this article was born. His father soon gave up medicine, and devoted his time to teaching a classical school, first at Belmont, and afterward at Denmark, where he remained in charge of a high school for eight years. In 1853 he came to Pontotoc, Miss., and became the president of the Mary Washing- ton college, filling that position successfully for four years, having also the care of the Baptist church at that place, which he retained for more than twenty-three years. He then embarked in commercial pursuits, which he continued until the second year of the war, then resuming the practice of medicine for two or three years, after which he, with the assistance of his wife, opened the Baptist Female college, of which he made a complete success, continuing it for nearly sixteen years. This school was one of the first educational institutions in the state, and from it went out many teachers, building up colleges of their own, such as Blue Mountain college, Houston Normal and Slate Springs school, all of Mississippi. On account of failure of his voice, Rev. W. L. Slack gave up his school, and removed to Friar's Point, Miss., in 1881, where he had considerable interest in cotton planting, and engaged in the mercantile busi- ness. After a few years of retirement he Ment to Memphis, and assumed the care of Rowan Baptist church. Dr. J. J. Slack was reared in Pontotoc, Miss., from the age of five years, and received good educational advantages prior to the war, but during the continuance of the unpleasantness had very little opportunity for study, on account of there being no schools during the chaotic condition of the country. In 1865, though only sixteen years old, he began the management of a drug business for his father, which, under his careful handling grew to be quite an extensive mercantile establishment in a few years. Realizing now the value of an education, he at once commenced a course of private study after business hours MEMOIRS OP MISSISSIPPI. 785 and at night, contimiiug it under many difficulties, until after several years of hard study he completed a full collegiate course. In 1867, in addition to his other studies and his extensive business engagements, he commenced the study of medicine, and contiuued it with unremitting assiduity for about ten years, but without an opportunity to attend college, on account of his business cares. In 1870 he was admitted as a partner in the business with his father, which was successfully continued until 187S, when the partnership was dissolved. Dr. Slack then came to Friar's Point, Miss., where he immediately opened a drug business, commencing January 1, 1879. Three years later, or in 1882, he finished his medical course, graduating at the well and favorably known Kentucky School of Medicine, at Louisville, having taken a special course each in diseases of women, gynecology, surgery and microscopy, which branches he intended to practice as specialties. His practice has been entirely satis- factory. In his drug store Dr. Slack dispensed entirely with the sale of all kinds of spirit- uous liquors, wines and brandies, and added in place jewelry, watches, clocks and fine watch repairing, thereby freeing his business from all the objeotional features of retailing liquors, and has therefore organized a new departure by adding to the full line of drugs, medicines, paints, oils, glass, etc., a complete jeweler's stock, and has the best equipped repair depart- ment in any town of its size in the entire state, employing two skilled watchmakers con- stantly. In the whole list of professions there are no two usually kept distinct that admit of more satisfactory blending than that of physician and druggist, hence an appreciative public recognizes the benefit of the amalgamation, and favors the establishment of Dr. Slack in its dual capacity. The Doctor was married in 1871 to Miss Annie Suddoth, a native of Friar's Point, and the daughter of John A. Suddoth, one of the pioneers of the Mississippi delta. Mrs. Slack died early in 1878, leaving two daughters: Emma and May, the first since mar- ried to Mr. F. D. Robinson, one of the most progressive merchants of Friar's Point. The Doctor's second marriage occurred in October, 1879, to Miss Emma Suddoth, a sister of his former wife, and to this union have been born two children — a son and a daughter: Aylmer and Vera. Dr. Slack is a member of the Masonic fraternity, the Knights of Pythias and the Knights of Honor. He is president of the Friar's Point Building and Loan association (a live local investment company, which recently declared a dividend on its stock of thirty per cent.), a director in the Friar's Point Box and Woodwork factory, and is a stockholder in the bank. He bought the former residence of Governor Alcorn, which he tore down, and on its site erected a nice home. He has been engaged in cotton planting to some considerable extent, but has no desire to continue it longer, though he has a small farm near town. The Doctor is pleasing in manners and address, is of medium size, with dark hair, eyes and beard. William David Sledge was born in La Grange, Tenn., on the 30th of June, 1837, and is the eldeBt of six surviving children born to the union of Norfleet E. and Catherine E. (Jones) Sledge, natives of North Carolina. The father removed to La Grange, Tenn., when a young man, married there, and in 1838 went to Marshall county. Miss., where he remained until 1847. From there he went to Panola county, settled at what is now known as Old Sledge- ville, where he was engaged in merchandising and planting very extensively. In 1868 he located at Como, embarked in business there, and there continued until his death, in 1881. Since that time the business has been perpetuated by his three sons, W. D., N. E. and O. D., who had for some time been associated in business with him. Mrs. Sledge received her final summons in 1884. Mr. Sledge was prudent and temperate in his habits, was a man of excel- lent judgment, and was one of the most successful business men in the state. At the break- ing out of the war, he was worth over $500,000, all of which he had made himself. His eldest son, William David, was reared in Panola county, and received all his schooling before 786 BIOQRAPBICAL AND HISTORICAL fourteen years of age, for, after that, lie was in his father's store at Sledgeville, until twenty years of age. He was then married to Miss Mary J. Brown, a native of Mississippi, and the daughter of Joshua T. and Clara (Grady) Brown, natives of Tennessee. To Mr. and Mrs. Sledge have been born five living children: Joshua T., now engaged in merchandising and planting at Redfork, Ark; Ruffin F., engaged in the same at Duncan, Miss.; Joseph B., at Duncan with his brother; Katie Lee, now Mrs. Ernest Taylor, of Como, and Sallie W. , attend- ing school at Memphis. After marriage Mr. Sledge began planting, and continued this until 1 869, w hen he went into business with his father at Como, but at the same time continued his planting interests. In 1S()2 he enlisted in the Confederate army, company F, 28th Missis- sippi cavalry, but remained with this only four months, when he was discharged on account of physical disability. He was in no regular engagement, but participated in several sharp skirmishes. Mr; Sledge has been president of the board of supervisors for some time, and is one of the most prudent, clear-headed men in the county. His life has been a quiet, unas- suming one, but marked with success and active business enterprises. The three brothers are associated in almost all business matters. Mr. Sledge now owns about four thousand acres of land, most of which is open land. He is largely interested in business at Memphis, under the firm title of Sledge &Norfleet, cotton commissioners, and has business enterprises at Lula, Mas- todon and Como. He has an elegant home in the latter place, and considerable real estate in the county. His first wife died in 1887, and he was married again in 1888 to Mrs. Bessie N. Cruse, a native of Alabama, and the daughter of Dr. Newman, of Huntsville, Ala. Mr. and Mrs. Sledge are members of the Episcopal church, and are highly respected in the neighbor- hood. Norfleet R. Sledge, merchant, Como, Miss. , was the second child born to N. R. Sledge, Sr. (see sketch of W. D. Sledge), his birth occurring in Marshall county, Miss., on the 25th day of January, 1839, and was reared in Panola county, having moved with his father there when about eight years of age. He attended the University of Oxford, graduated in 1857, and afterward returned home, where he remained until 1861. He was then married to Miss Catherine E. Jones, a native of Mississippi and a daughter of F and Pauline J. (Moore) Jones, natives of North Carolina. In 1862 Mr. Sledge enlisted in the Confederate army, company F, Twenty-eighth Mississippi cavalry, and was soon after made lieutenant of the company. He served a considerable portion of his time as adjutant and was finally pro- moted to the captaincy, in which capacity he was serving when he was captured while covering General Hood's retreat from Nashville, Tenn. He was taken to Fort Delaware and retained until June, 1865. He participated in the battles of Murfreesboro, Franklin and others. While he was never wounded he had two horses shot from under him and was a daring and fearless officer. After being paroled he returned home, engaged in business with his father, and was the first one of the sons thus associated with the father, the firm name being N. R. Sledge & Co., until the other two brothers entered the copartnership, when it became N. R. Sledge & Sons. This continued until 1881, when the brothers bought the father's business and it became Sledge Bros., in which it is now conducted at Como. Mr. Sledge is also interested in the same business, of Sledge & Norfleet, in Memphis and at Lula and Mastodon, Miss. At Lula, Mr. Sledge and his brother, O. D., own a large tract of land and raise about one thousand bales of cotton on it annually. Mr. Sledge is the owner of about five thousand acres of land, much of which is under cultivation; is also the owner of considerable real estate in Como, and owns a very handsome residence between Memphis and Grenada. In business circles Mr. Sledge stands forth as an honorable and conscientious merchant, and as a citizen he is thoroughly respected and esteemed. His first wife died in MEMOIRS OF MISSrSSTPPI. 787 1880, leaving two children: Inez, who graduated from Ward's seminary, Nashville, Tenn., with highest honors over a class of fifty-seven when but seventeen years of age, and who the following summer, in company with Miss Clara Conway, of Memphis, made a trip to Europe, visiting London, Paris, Berlin, Vienna and other noted cities of the old world. In 1888 she was united in marriage to Dr. M. Campbell, superintendent of the East Tennessee asylum for the insane, and is now the mother of two interesting children : Lucille S. and Michael. Norfleet E. is now with his father in the store. In 1882 Mr. Sledge selected his second wife in the person of Miss Lucille Merriwether, a native of Mississippi and a daughter of James and Lucy Merriwether, natives of Georgia. To this union have been born two children : Olivette and N. E. Mr. Sledge has been a director of the Mississippi & Tennessee railroad, and is now a director of the Illinois Central railroad. Though often solicited by his numerous friends to become a candidate for office he has always declined, preferring his business at home. He owns stock in the Union and Planter's bank of Memphis, Tenn., and many other good business enter- prises. Of thorough business capabilities and moral sentiments, his career has been one of modesty and yet activity. A promoter of all that is good, he brings into practice the virtues taught, and thereby commends the respect of all he meet§ in a business or social way. He is a liberal contributor to all religious and benevolent institutions, and is a whole-souled, pleasant, agreeable gentleman to meet. O. D. Sledge, a prominent business man of the county, owes his nativity to Marshall county. Miss., where he was born in October, 1840, and is the youngest member of the well known firm of Sledge Bros. He was reared in Panola county, but received the principal part of his education in Florence, Ala. He espoused the cause of the Confederacy, and in 1861 life enlisted in the army, participating in the battles of Shiloh, Coiinth and Fort Pillow, where he was wounded and disabled for about six months. As soon as able he joined General Forrest's cavalry, with which he remained until the close of the war, surrendering at Selma, Ala. He returned home and superintended his father's planting interests until the partner- ship with his father was formed, and then he and his brothers became interested in that busi- ness. In 1874 Mr. Sledge was married to Miss Dora Jones, a native of Mississippi, who died in 1 886, leaving one child, Oliver Lee, who is now attending school at Sewanee, Tenn. In 1 888 Mr. Sledge was married to Miss Mattie L. Brahan, a native of Mississippi, and a daugh- ter of Col. John C. Brahan. Mr. Sledge is associated in business with the other brothers, and owns about as much property as either of the others. He and wife are esteemed mem- bers of the Episcopal church, and he contributes liberally to all laudable enterprises. He is an excellent business man, and is an adept at making money, as are also the other brothers. He has a happy, contented disposition, and is universally esteemed. W. B. Sloan is the genial and popular clerk of the circuit court of Tate county. Miss., but is a native of Mecklenburg county, N. C, where he first saw the light of day August 13, 1835, being the third child born to John and Dovey (Barry) Sloan, also of that state and county. Finishing his education in the county of his birth, he turned his attention to busi- ness, but gave it up to enter the army, enlisting in May, 1861, in company B, Twenty-third North Carolina infantry, under Capt. George W. S'eigle. Entering as sergeant of his com- pany, he was promoted the second year of his service to second lieutenant, winning an honor- able discharge at the close of the year on account of a wound received at the battle of Seven Pines. He was also in the engagement at Williamsburg. Mr. Sloan took up his residence in Coldwater in 1870, where he now resides in his own comfortable home. He was appointed and filled the office of deputy chancery and circuit clerk of his county two years — 187") and 1876. In May. 1878, he was elected mayor of the town of Coldwater, which office he filled 788 BIOGRAPHICAL AND HI8T0BI0AL for two years, at the expiration of which term he declined a re-election, on account of other business which occupied all of his time and attention. He was elected to the office which he now holds in 1883, serving with such merit that he was re-elected in 1887 without opposition. He is a generous, warm-hearted gentleman, and is a great favorite in local society, being a member of the Presbyterian church and the A. F. & A. M., lodge No. 76, of Senatobia. His parents, John and Dovey (Barry) Sloan, were blessed with six children, all of whom are still living. They are: Dr. A. B., of Coldwater; Dr. R. F., of Cass county, Tex.; W. B., the subject of this sketch; Ruth M., wife of J. T. Patterson, of Murphy, N. C; Mary A., widow of T. A. Gillespie, and John D., who still resides in Mecklenburg county, N. 0. Mr. Sloan, Sr., was an active, progressive farmer and an ardent democrat. He died in November; 1845, at the age of forty-live years, the death of his wife occurring the previous year, at the early age of thirty-eight yt^ars. Dr. A. B. Sloan, eldest brother of W. B. Sloan, engaged in the mercantile business in his native county of Mecklenburg, N. C, when but twenty years old, and continued in this line of business for about ten years, when he abandoned it for the profession of dentistry. In 1854 he married Miss Sarah J. Cooper, also a native of North Carolina, and in 1859 they removed to Mississippi. Three children gladdened their home and have left it to form homes of their own: J. E., a merchant in Alma, Ark; Ida C, now Mrs. W. F. Baker, of the same place, and William T , who is in business in St. Louis. Mrs. Sloan died in 1863, and June 6, 1865, Dr. Sloan married Miss L. P. McCully, of Holly Springs, Miss. Like his brother. Dr. Sloan saw service in the war, enlisting in the Confederate army in the spring of 1863 as first lieutenant in Ballentine's regiment, Journegan's company, Mississippi cavalry. He reluctantly retired from the service after little more than one year's experience on account of a severe attack of rheumatism contracted on the field. Dr. Sloffti follows his profession at Coldwater, where he is a well-known and respected citizen, as well as a skillful dental practitioner. He is active in all public enterprises, is an ardent politician, and is a Master Mason of lodge No. 409, of Coldwater. Dr. and Mrs. Sloan are members of the Presbyterian church, and take an active interest in the social life of the town. Gen. Charles E. Smedes, Mississippi City, Miss., is a Kentuckian by birth. Nine broth- ers, several of whom have reached high and eminent stations in life, have contributed to the dignity and honor of the family home. Two were talented Episcopal clergymen, and two attained prominence at the bar. General Smedes studied law under S. S. Prentiss, and prac- ticed for a short time, but tiring of the confinement, he engaged successively in the wholesale grocery business at Vicksburg, and in the cotton brokerage and commission business at New Orleans. He was a soldier in the Mexican war, a member of the historical first regiment, Mississippi rifles, Jefferson Davis commanding. At the opening of the late war he promptly entered the Confederate service, attained the rank of brigadier-general, and served with dis- tinction to the close of the conflict. Like so many others, when he returned to his former scene of business life he found utter desolation, and only those possessed of great buoyancy of nature and untiring energy were able to regain quickly the equilibrium of commercial life. A change in the management of the St. James hotel, New Orleans, made it possible for him to secure its lease, and this he did without delay. The success following his regime was phe- nomenal. General Smedes notably excels in the comprehension and mastery of the innumer- able details of a hotel, and the comforts and wishes of guests are of the first consideration. The cuisine is unsurpassed in the houses he has had under his control. He has been con- nected with the Maxwell house, Nashville; Marnes hotel, Mississippi City; Blount Springs, Ala.; Beersheba Sjjring.s, Teim. , and the Planters' house, Augusta, Ga., and has gained a rejiutation extending over almost the entire Union. In 1878 he secured the leasehold of what MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 789 was then known as Barnes hotel, Mississippi City. He has converted it into au elegant hos- telry where there is at all seasons of the year a welcome to the invalid, the pleasure seeker, the sportsman, and the stranger. The house has been rechristened Gulf View, and is largely patronized by the wealthiest classes of merchants, professional people and planters. General Smedes takes a just pride in his military career. At the battle of Monterey he was promoted from the ranks to the office of captain, and was placed upon the staff of Gen. John A. Quit- man. He was a gallant, faithful soldier, and fully deserving of the honors conferred upon him. Dr. A. H. Smith is a retired physician. He was born in Charlotte county, Va. , in the year 18] 5, a son of John and Elizabeth (Elam) Smith, who were also natives of the Old Dominion. The father of Dr. Smith, at an early age (about fourteen years), enlisted in the cause of American freedom, and fought as a soldier in the army of the Revolution. He was a farmer by vocation, and after the war resumed his previous life, and died in Tennessee. He was the father of nineteen sons and daughters, born of two mother,^. Dr. Smith w as reared on a farm in Wilson county, Tenn., receiving an academic education at Laguardo academy, in the immediate neighborhood. He began to study medicine when eighteen years old, and graduated in the year 1837, in the medical department of Transylvania university, Lexing- ton, Ky. He began the practice of his profession at Sumterville, Ala., where he remained (except six years spent at Gainesville, a neighboring town), till 1868, when he came to Meridian, Miss., and has made his home in this city ever since. On account of infirm health, Dr. Smith has not engaged actively in the practice of his profession for the last thirty years, and in 1 887 was paralyzed in the right arm and leg, which has incapacitated him for walking ever since. He was elected to the legislature from Lauderdale county in 1870, and by contest was turned out after six weeks by the radicals. Dr. Smith was married in 1841 to Miss Louisa David- son, who became the mother of three children, only one of whom, a daughter, Emma, is hving. She is the wife of John D. Mclnnes, of Meridian. The Doctor married a second time, in the year 1858, a Miss Jane Moors. Dr. Smith is a member of the Baptist church, while his wife is a Presbyterian. He is a Mason, also a member of the I. O. O. F. The family to which Addison B. Smith belongs was among the earliest settlers of Missis- sippi, and the grandfather. Judge Edmond Smith, was born in the state and was one of the early residents of old Sunflower county, in which he became a prominent and leading man in county affairs. He was an active politician, and so greatly was he admired, and so popular did he become, that he was chosen to represent the coiinty in the state legislature, where his knowledge of law and the soundness of his propositions received immediate recognition. He also admiirably filled the position of probate judge and held other offices of trust and honor to the satisfaction of all concerned. James H. Smith, his son and the father of the subject of this sketch, was born in the Yazoo delta in 1826, and there attained manhood. He was married to Miss Fannie Stubblefield, a native of Georgia and a daughter of Squire Stubble- field, one of the pioneers of Yazoo county, and there followed merchandising for a number of years, being a practical pharmacist. During the Civil war he served in the medical depart- ment of the Confederate army for about two years, but when just in the prime of life in 1863 he was called from life. He was a man of liberal, generous and high minded impulses, and manifested the instincts and training of a true gentleman in his daily walk and conversation. He was a Royal Arch Mason and throughout life was a warm admirer of that order. His widow survived him until 1885, when she was called from life. Addison B. Smith is the youngest of three sons, and although his advantages were limited in early life he has by con- tact with the world and the active interest he has taken in the business affairs of life become 790 BTOOnAPHIGAL AND HTHTORTOAL an exceptionally woll informed man. At the age of Ki^vonteen years \w. b(^gan clerking in the county in which he is now liviu^, and for several years this oocui)ation received his attention. Here he reo(>ived a practical Ijusiuess education and training and laid the foundation for future success. In liS,S3 he embarked ill business for himself in a small way, as his capital was exceedingly limited, but so thoroughly did he attend to every detail, so honorable was he in every respect, and so earnestly did he try to please his patrons that in time success crowned his efforts. He increased his stock of goods from time to time, as his purse permitted and his patronage demanded, and now, as a reward for his early labors, he has a large store filled with a select stock of general merchandise, and commands a large trade. He is a man of superior business qualifications, for besides possessing much discernment in the selection of his stock, ho takes projier care of it after it has come into his possession. In 1888 he was appointed postmaster of Indianola and since that time has served continuously in this capacity, and has made a faithful and capable ofiioial for Uncle Sam. He was married on the 29th of November, 1888, to Miss Beatric(^ Holt, a daughter of W. J. Holt, and by her is the father of one child, a little daughter named Mary A. Mrs. Smith was born, reared and educated in this state, and is an intelligent, agreeable and social lady. They are now residing in their handsome residence in Indianola, which has lately been erected, it being situated on a beau- tiful building site on the north side of the bayou. Allen N. Smith, the popular sheriff of Issaquena county, was the elder of two children born to John and Esther (Mills) Smith, natives of Louisiana. The parents were married in their native state, and at an early day emigrated to Madison county. Miss., where Mr. Smith died when Allen N. was but a small boy. The other child, Rufus, died at the age of thirty- eight years. Mrs. Smith was a passenger on the first steamboat that plowed the waters of the Mississippi river. After her husband's death she married J. L. Mitchell, of Kentucky, a school teacher by profession. They became the parents of one child, Joseph, who now resides in Holmes county, and is a planter by pursuit. Mrs. Mitchell died at the age of forty-five. Allen N. Smith, who was born in Madison county, Miss., February 22, 1834, was fairly educated in the common schools of his native county, and at the age of seventeen years started out to follow the occupation to which he had been reared, farming, and this he has continued the principal part of the time since. He has been a resident of Yazoo and LeFlore counties, but came to this in 1887, and in 1889 was elected sheriff and tax collector, the duties of which of&ce he is filling in a manner highly creditable to himself and to the satisfaction of the community at large, and was re-elected July 6, 1891, for the term of four years. He has been inspector of the levee, and is a man of intelligence and influence. He has a fair complexion, is about six feet tail, weighs about two hundred and ten pounds, and, although very gray, is still erect and dignified. In 1866 he was married to Miss Sid- ney Skidmore, daughter of C. S. Skidmore, of Madison county, and the fruits of this union have been four children: Clifton B. (deputy sheriff and a merchant of Mayersville, of this cou7ity), Sidney, Allie May and Rosa Lee. Austin \V. Smith, planter of Saragossa plantation, is a native of Natchez, Miss., born on the 22d of May, 1843, and his father, Walton Pembroke Smith, was born in Madison county, Va., on the 7th of August, 1810. The elder Smith was educated in Maryland and Middletou, Conn., and when a young man came with some of his people to Adams county, Miss., where he was married to Miss Anna Elizabeth Williams. He became the owner of large landed estates in Adams county. Miss., Louisiana, Missouri and Virginia, and held various minor offices in Louisiana. He was a stanch union man and at one time during the war, while at home sick, and with no one present but his wife and one or two small children, MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 791 his house was surrounded by about twenty-seven Federal soldiers who commenced an assault upon it. This frightened all the inmates very much except Mr. Smith, who told the others to secret themselves as best they could while hetook up his trusty gun and prepared to defend his home. He fired upon them and killed two, after which the others fled. The house was riddled with bullets. He was at one time president of the police jury in Concordia parish, La., and was also a tutor of John Perkins, who became a very prominent man in the Con- federate congress. Mr. Smith died in August, 1866, while in Missouri. His father, William Haslett Smith, was born in Maryland on the 9th of June, 1 777, and was an educated and well informed gentleman. He was a very extensive planter but was formerly a wine mer- chant and importer in Baltimore. His wife, Mary Bell Madison was a daughter of Francis Madison who was a brother of President James Madison. She was born in the Old Dominion in 1773 and died in 1812. Mr. Smith died on the 15th of July, 1829. Their family consisted of three children, two sons and a daughter, Walton Pembroke Smith being the second in order of birth. In 18ir), Mr. Smith took for his second wife Miss Hannah Level, a native of Kentucky, who died in 1819. He had extensive planting interests in Louisiana and Virginia, and was a man of great resources. His father, David Smith, was born in Cecil coimty, Md. , on the 27th of August, 1739, and was a graduate of Princeton college. He was married on the 6th of December, 1768, to Miss Martha Haslett, and they became the parents of three sons and one daughter. David Smith was sheriff under George III of Cecil county a number of years and spent all his life there. He was tutor of Rutledge, one of the signers of the Declaration di Independence. His father, John Smith, was born near Londonderry, Ireland, in 1701 and died September 9th, 1772. He came to America in the early part of the eighteenth century with his father, John Smith, (of Scotch-Irish decent) who settled in Penn- sylvania on the Susquehanna river. John Smith, Jr. , younger brother of James Smith was a prominent lawyer in York, Pa., was one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence and was one of the committee who called that body together. He was a colonel in tlie Revo- lutionary war and a member of the Continental congress. Austin Williams, the maternal grandfather of Austin W. Smith (our subject), was born in Jessamine county, Ky., on the 24th of June, 1780, and died on the 19th of October, 184(i. When a young man he came to Adams county. Miss., and was there married to Miss Caroline Matilda Eouth. They spent the balance of their days there, Mr. Williams becoming quite wealthy as a planter. He was a captain at the battle of New Orleans, V. S. A. His father, Charles Pierce Williams, was born near Petersburg, Va. but moved from that state to Kentucky, where his death occurred. He married Miss Elizabeth Redd, a daughter of Mordica Redd and granddaughter of (Jol. John Minor of Revolutionary fame. Charles P. Williams was the son of Barney Williams, who came from Wales to Virginia in 1700. Job Routh, the father of Mrs. Williams was a very early settler of Adams county and became one of the largest land holders and planters, being the owner of forty thousand acres in Louisiana. He left a large family of well known sons and daughters. Austin W. Smith was the second in order of birth of the following children: Dr. John Davidson (deceased) was a man of fine education. He was lieutenant in a Louisiana com- pany of cavalry under General Taylor in the Confederate army, and was a physician at Natchez. His death occurred in 1885; William Madison was killed in a steamgin in Con- cordia parish, La. He was a courier for Gen. Majors in the Confederate army, Haller Routh was killed in February, 1867, liy the accidental discharge of a gun at Saragossa; Austin W. Smith was educated under private tutors, among them Frank Waterhouse, president now of the high school of the city of Boston, Mass., and later attended Oakland and JefEer- 793 BIOORAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL son colleges, also Fredericksburg, Va. In I8f31 wlieii not eighteen years of age, he joined company E, Fourth Louisiana battalion. Confederate States army, and served as corporal and sergeant. At Atlanta he was promoted to ensign and afterward served in that capacity in the Pelican regiment. He fought in the campaigns in West Virginia and in the fall of 1861 he was sent to Savannah, Ga., operating in the extreme south until 1863. After this he was around Vicksburg, Chickamauga, Chattanooga, Missionary ridge and at Resaca. He was wounded at the last named place and afterward joined his command at Atlanta. He then went back with Hood to Tennessee, was on detached service, went from there to Mobile, thence to Meridian, Miss., and started to join Johnston with his company, but was soon ordered back to Meridian to surrender. He is now the only ensign living of the fifteen in his brigade. After the war he returned to planting and in May, 1807, he married Clara Ann Montgomery, a native of Jefferson county. Miss., and the daughter of Prosper K. and Mariah L. (Darden) Montgomery. Mr. Montgomery was born in Adams county, in 1808, and was married in Jefferson county, to Miss Darden, a native of the last named county. Her death occurred in that county, in 1864, and Mr. Montgomery's death followed in 1886. Mrs. Montgomery was a daughter of Buckner Darden. To Mr. and Mrs. Smith were born, three living children. Since 1868, Mr. Smith has lived on his present property, and the house, an old Spanish building, was formerly surrounded by a brick wall, probably for protection against the Indians. The plantation consists of eighteen hundred acres, and Mr. Smith owns four hundred acres in Louisiana. He is a member of the Veteran association and his wife is a member of the Presbyterian church. He is a descendant of a very old, intellligent and aristo- cratic family and one of which he may well be proud.- Isaac C. Smith, a prominent farmer of Lincoln county, living three miles northeast of Brookhaven, was born in December, 1848, in the house in which he nov/ lives. He was a son of Leonard and Lenora (Maxwell) Smith. Her mother was a daughter of Maj. Jesse Max- well and Priscilla (Kees) Maxwell. The Maxwells had a large family of children, three sons and three daughters of which are now living. Of these, Carroll resides on Pearl river, near Monticello; Thomas K. , lives near him; Joel P., is married and lives in Lincoln county, near his father's old homestead; Amanda P., is the wife of Mr. A. Price, and lives on a plantation near Bogue Chitto; Lenora, the mother of our subject, is a member of his family, having made her home with her children since the death of her husband in 1854; Pernecia is the wife of John Ray, and lives on a plantation in Lincoln county; Conway died, leaving a family of three children; Louis W. died at Grenada, leaving two daughters; Martha M, bore her husband, Fleet Cooper, two daughters, and she and her husband are now deceased ; Sallie married Ambrose Bull, and both died in Arkansas, leaving four children. Carroll, Thomas K. and Amanda P. all had large families. Leonard Smith, the father of our subject, was the fifth son in order of birth of his parents' children, named as follows: Isaac, who died when young; Isham, also deceased; Lott (deceased) and leaving a large family; William, who died leaving four children; Leonard, the father of our subject, who left three sons and a daughter; Everett (deceased), who left three children; Martin, who was killed by a train while riding on a hand car, and who left one son ; Sallie, who married A mbrose Bull, died leav- ing four children; Nancy (deceased) was the wife of Richard Coke, who is also dead; Emily J. married Anslom H. Jayne, and both are deceased, leaving one daughter; Mary (deceased) was the wife of Solomon Carpenter, who is also deceased, and left a large family ; Jane is the widow of John Hart, and lives in Yazoo county, having reared a large family. Leon- ard Smith was born in 1808 in Georgia, and located with his parents where his son, Isaac Smith, now lives. There he made his home until his death in 1854, as above mentioned. MEMOIRS OP MISSISSIPPI. 793 his wife surviving him. To them were born four children, three sons and one daughter: Louisa J., who was never married, lives on the old homestead with her brother; she is a member of the Baptist church. Jesse M., who was born December 28, 1850, married Miss Julia Tyler, a native of Lawrence county, Miss., being a daughter of Marvin and Frances (Hardy) Tyler. Her father was a native of New York, and her mother of Alabama. Their children were: Julius, Martha, Julia, Emma and Thomas, the latter being deceased. Jesse M. and his wife are both members of the Baptist church. They have had three children: Ernest (deceased), Alva and Herbert. Joel I., another son of Leonard Smith, was born March 1, 1853. He received his education at the common schools of Lincoln county. He has lived with his brother Isaac, and has assisted him in planting. He cast his first presi- dential vote for S. J. Tilden. He is a member of the Baptist church. Isaac, the first son and the second child in order of birth in his father's family, received a limited education at the common schools, in consequence of the death of his father, which left a portion of the family support on him, and was prevented from pursuing his studies farther. He was married December 21, 1876, to Miss Cornelia E. Ross, who was born in Lawrence county in 1856. She is a daughter of Simeon and Margaret (Wiley) Ross, both natives of Lawrence county. Mr. and Mrs. Ross have had three children, two daughters and one son, named as follows: John W., Susana and Cornelia. To Mr. and Mrs. Smith was born one child, Estus C, who was born November 14, 1877. His mother died December 28, of the same year. Mr. Smith is a democrat, politically, and cast his first vote for Horace Greeley. He is a member of the board of supervisors of Lincoln county, and he and his brother, Jesse M. , are members of the Farmers' Alliance. He is a Baptist, and a strong advocate of the temperance cause. He contributes liberally to churches, schools and all enterprises, believ- ing thoroughly in everything that he thinks has a tendency toward the good of the people, and the upbuilding of the cause of Christ. He has landed property, comprising in area about twelve hundred acres, and he is the owner of a steam gristmill, canemill and cotton- mill combined. James C. Smith, general merchant and vice president of the Crystal Springs bank, was born in Edgefield district, S. C, in 1830, a son of James and Nancy (Clement) Smith, natives of North Carolina, who were married in South Carolina, in Edgefield district, and lived there until about 1838. At that time they came to Copiah county, settling four miles north of Crystal Springs, amidst a wide extent of forest, this part of the state being at that time much of it in a primitive condition. Mr. Smith cleared and improved a farm, upon which he lived until his death, which occurred in 1858, at the age of sixty-one, his widow surviving him till 1870, when she died at the age of seventy- five years. Mr. Smith was of English descent, and his family were not numerous, his sister, Mrs. Wood, who lived near Aberdeen, having been his only relative in Mississippi. He was an honest, indus- trious man, modest and retiring in disposition, a good citizen and successful planter. The subject of this sketch was the second of six children born to his parents, three of whom are still living: John, who was a member of the Sixteenth and afterward of the Thirty-sixth Mississippi infantry, and died at the old homestead; William J. served in company C, of the Sixteenth Mississippi infantry all through the war; Isaac served during most of the period of the war in the Thirty- sixth Mississippi infantry; Sarah Ann (deceased), who became the wife of Jack Young; Elizabeth (deceased) married William Clark. Our subject passed his boyhood days on the plantation, receiving a common-school education. At the age of twenty he began planting on his own account, which he continued for two years. He then engaged in the mercantile business near his old home, which he continued until the railroad 794 BtOORAPHIOAL AND HI8T0RI0AL was built in 1858, when he saw a more advantageous position near Crystal Springs; and removing to that point, became the first merchant there. His career since that time has been one of most gratifying success. He not only enjoys the distinction of being the pio- neer merchant of that section, but one of the leading merchants as well. His operations before the war were so extensive that some years he did as much as $75,000 in trade, and his business now aggregates about 135,000. During the last year of the war Mr. Smith served in Mississippi in Major Roberts' cavalry. He was married, in 1851, to Matilda, a daughter of Calvin and Martha Cox, natives of South Carolina, whence they came to Ala- bama at an early day, removing from there to Copiah county, where they passed the remainder of their lives. Her father, who was a well-known planter, died soon after the war. Mrs. Smith was a native of Alabama. She has borne her husband nine children, seven of whom are still living: William Eobert, James C, Jr., Wiley T., Augustus, Andrew, Mattie and Anna. Mr. Smith was the first president of the Crystal Springs bank, which position he held for two years, and has since been its vice president. His familiarity with the mercantile business was extensive, and his acquaintance extends through all parts of the state. Mrs. Smith died in 1889, having for many years been a member of the Baptist church and is remembered as a most estimable lady, devoted to her children, of a charitable disposition and most pleasing manners. Mr. Smith is a consistent and helpful member of the Baptist church. In person Mr. Smith is rather tall and spare built, is courteous, affable and friendly, and has the faculty of drawing to him and retaining many friends. He has led a quiet, but in a certain sense, a very active life. He has made a great financial success. He exercises the right of suffrage for the good of the community at large, but does not neglect his business for politics. He has given much attention to the education of his children, all of whom are worthy members of society, and several of his sons are con- nected with his business in diflferent capacities. Murray F. Smith is an attorney of the firm of Miller, Smith & Hirsch, and for the past seventeen years has been a resident of Vicksburg, Miss., and one of its most eminent and successful lawyers. He was born in Milton, Caswell county, N. C. , in 1850, the youngest of seven children that gi'ew to maturity born to George A. and'Adaline (McGehee) Smith, who were born in "Virginia and North Carolina, respectively. The father was a merchant and a prosperous tobacco manufacturer. He died in 1860 and his wife in 1858, both having been earnest and consistent members of the Presbyterian church. The paternal ancestors for many years back were residents of Virginia, the mother's people being wealthy and influen- tial residents of the Old North state. Murray F. Smith was educated in the state of his birth having been an attendant of Bingham school, a noted educational institution of North Carolina and later graduated from the "Washington and Lee University of Lexington, Va., in 1870. Immediately upon leaving this institution he began the study of law in Judge Pear- son's law school at Eichmond Hill, Yadkin county, N. C, and graduated therefrom in Janu- ary, 1872, being admitted to the bar by the supreme court of that state in 1872. He at once began practicing in Greensboro, N. C, continuing there until April, 1874, when he came to Vicksburg, Miss. He was married the same year to Miss Kate Wilson, of Vicksburg, a daughter of Victor F. "Wilson, a merchant for many years of this city, who died about 1865. In the fall of 1874 he became a regular practitioner of Vicksburg, and in 1878 formed a partnership with John A. Klein, which continued for one year. In 1880 he became associ- ated with A. B. and W. B. Pitman, the firm being Pitman, Pitman & Smith until 1883, but since January, 1884, has been associated with his present partners, they being now the at- torneys for the Louisville, New Orleans & Texas railroad, the Delta Trust and Banking com- MEMOinS OF MISlSia81PPI. 795 pany, the St. Louis & New Orleans Anchor Line Steamboat company, the Yazoo & Talla- hatchie Transportation company, the Refuge Oil Mill company and the Vicksburg Street Railway company. This firm have a yery large private court practice and handle in a mas- terly manner the many large and important suits entrusted to them. Mr. Smith has been quite an active politician, has attended many conventions, and every state convention since 1880. In 1887 he was elected to the lower house of the state legislature for the session of 1888, and served on several important committees. He was a member of the state- constitu- tional convention in 1890, and in every official position in which he has served he has added luster to his name and has shown that he is possessed of mental qualities of no ordinary merit. He is active in the affairs of the city and is in all ways an exemplary citizen. He has always been a careful and painstaking student and gives the most devoted attention to his cases. He is a member of Vicksburg lodge of the A. F. & A. M., Lee lodge of the K. of P., is an Elk, and K. of H. , and also belongs to the American Legion of Honor. He is a good financier and has erected a handsome residence on Prince street, besides having an interest in a plantation in this county. He and his wife are members of the Episcopal church and are the parents of four interesting children : Victor Conway, Murray Forbes, Jr. , Ada McGehee and Clarence Carroll. Mr. Smith is a director of the D. M'. Froweree Ice company and has manifested much interest in other worthy enterprises. Robert M. Smith, planter, Mayersville, Miss. This branch of the Smith famUy is the oldest now living in the county, the father, Robert M. Smith, Sr., having settled herein 1845, and there is but one other family now in the county who settled here at an earlier period. Robert M. Smith, Sr., was born in the blue grass regions of Kentucky, but came to Missis- sippi in 1832, and was married in 1847 to Miss Margaret Charr, a native of Tennessee. Mrs. Smith went on a visit to Missouri and there, in the year 1848, Robert M. Smith, Jr., was born. The elder Smith was a man of more than usual influence in the community, was firm in his convictions and was sensitive of his honor. Public offices were bestowed upon him on account of his intelligence, tact and integrity, and these talents commanded for him the respect of every citizen in public affairs. He served as magistrate for many years, also held the office of treasurer of the county, was a member of the board of county police, and was also a member of the levee board. He was not in active service during the Civil war, but was provost marshal in Issaquena county a portion of that time. He was a manager for twenty-seven years, twelve years for William Cannon, and fifteen years for Stephen Duncan. He commenced planting for himself in 1858, and during the war lost nearly all his property, having to commence almost at the beginning in 1865. He was unusually successful in that occupation, and at the time of his death, in 1877, he was one of the sub- stantial men of the county. To his marriage were born nine children, Robert M. being the eldest. The others were: W. J. (died in 1883); Martha C, wife of F. B. Hill, of Patter- son, La. ; Mamie E., wife of Will E. Collins, of Mayersville; Preston H., resides in Issaquena county; Lee S. , of Louisiana; L. W. (died in July, 1890); Lurena, wife of James P. Heath, of this caunty; and Hampton P. (deceased). The mother of these children is still living. Mr. Smith was a member of the I. O. O. F. and the A. F. & A. M. , being a charter member of the old Preston lodge, the first in the county. Robert M. Smith, Jr. , was educated in Issaquena county, and at the age of twenty-two started out to make his own way in life. His first venture was in the mercantile business at Clover Hill, this county, where he remained from 1867 to 1873, when he closed out and engaged in planting. In 1878 his father' 8 estate demanded his attention, and he took charge of this, remaining thus employed until 1890. He has been twice married, first in December, 1873, to Miss Linda Sibley, XX 796 BIOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORIOAI. daughter of John T. Sibley, of New Orleans, La. She died in July, 1874, and on the 1st of January, 1890, Mr. Smith took for his second wife Miss Emma Woodry, daughter of John Woodry, of New Orleans, La. Both of her parents died when she was quite small. Mr. Smith's first wife was a member of the Presbyterian church, but his second wife is a Metho- dist, and Mr. Smith holds membership in the same church. He is a member of the American Legion of Honor of Vicksburg, Miss. Mr. and Mrs. Smith are the parents of one child, a son, EobertM., who was born on the 13th of January, 1891. The eldest son for three suc- cessive generations has been named Robert M., thus retaining the old family name. Mr. Smith is the owner of seven hundred and eighty acres of land, with five hundred acres under cultivation, on which are annually raised about three hundred and fifty bales of cotton. He has one of the finest city residences and owns considerable property besides. He is quite a popular man in the county, and makes many warm friends wherever he goes. He is extremely fond of hunting, and always keeps a number of fine dogs. His complexion is quite fair, and he is about five feet eight inches in hight, and weighing about two hundred and twenty pounds. No work devoted to the history and the commercial and professional interests of Mississippi could be complete without some mention of the well-known gentleman, Dr. Sidney O. Smith, a native-born Mississippian, who has attained high rank in his chosen profession. His parents were John D. and Margaret P. (Mize) Smith. The former was a native of Georgia, born in 1809, the latter of Alabama, born 1829. They were the earliest pioneers where they first settled in Mississippi, and where they spent the greater part of their lives, removing in 1870 to Covington county and thence to Lincoln county. There the father died in 1884, the mother surviving him. They weTe the parents of six children: Ophelia R. , Lerona V., Cornelia, Neulan B. , Sydney O. and another who died in infancy, unnamed. Of this family the subject of this notice was the first born September 17, 1861, and was educated principally at the Byhala high school, of Lin- coln county. Miss., and in 1878 began the study of medicine, under the direction of Prof. "W. H. Dixon, and Dr. E. A. Rowar, of Wesson, Miss. In the winter of 1880 and 1881 he attended lectures at the medical department of the Tulane university, at New Orleans, La,, formerly known as the University of Louisiana. Later he read medicine for a time at Raleigh, Miss., under the instructions of his brother, Dr. D. L. Smith, and was at the same time engaged in teaching school. In the fall of 1881-2 he took a second course of lectures at Tulane university, from which he was graduated with high honors in March, 1882. He soon after located in Lincoln county. Miss., and, for a short time, practiced his profession there, but removed to Wesson, Miss. , where he was a resident practitioner until March, 1884. From that date until June, 1884, he was engaged in the practice of medicine at Natchez. Miss. At this time liis father was taken with his final illness, and Dr. Smith returned home to render him such assistance as was in his power to give. After his father's death, he returned to Wesson, Miss. , where he resumed his practice, and on the 27th of Novem- ber 1884, he was united in marriage to Miss Anna M . a daughter of W . W. and Anna L. (Waddell) Robeson. In January, 1885, he again took up his residence in Natchez, Miss., where he practiced with some success until October, 1885, at which time he returned to Wesson, Miss. He removed in January, 1889, to Ellisville, where he has since remained, having acquired a successful and extensive practice, and won the confidence of the public generally, and also that of his professional brethren. In April, 1891, he formed a partner- ship with Dr. Robert L. Turner, a sketch of whom appears elsewhere in this work. The Doctor is a member of .the State Medical association, of the Masonic order, of the Knights MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 797 of Pythias and of the Baptist church, while his wife is identified with the Methodist Episcopal Church South. They are the parents of three children: Sydney W., Annie J. and Nellie L. William M. Smith, merchant and farmer, Booneville, Miss. Between the years 1830 and 1840 the state of Mississippi received many emigrants from other states, and among those who sought out homes in the wilderness were Joseph and Nancy (Mussy) Smith, natives of Georgia and the parents of our subject. They were married in their native state, but subsequently moved to a place near Birmingham, Ala., thence to Fayette county of that state, and in 1836 they came to Mississippi, locating six miles south of Eipley, in Tip- pah county. The country was wild and unsettled, and Indians were numerous, but during the year 1886 many settlers poured into the state. Mr. Smith was a blacksmith by trade, but in connection with this he also engaged in tilling the soil in Tippah county, until 1844, when he removed to what is now Prentiss county, near Blackland. There he resided until the breaking out of hostilities between the North and South, when, with his wife and daughters, he moved to Fayette county, Ala. There his death occurred when eighty- three years of age. He was a stanch democrat, took an active part in politics and was well posted on the issues of the day. He was a soldier in the War of 1812 with General Jack- son, of whom he was a great admirer and one of his most earnest supporters. He was a leading member of the Methodist church, as was also his wife, and was a very liberal sup- porter of the same. He was one of a large family of sons in Georgia, but he was the only one who came West. His marriage was blessed by the birth of seven children — five sons and two daughters — all of whom lived to be grown, and four are yet living: John died in Corinth, Miss., just before the war; Mrs. Eliza Roseman (deceased); James B. was in the army of Virginia, and was killed at the battle of the Wilderness; he left a wife and several children, one of his sons serving in the army with him. E. Allen (retired) resides in Fayetteville, Ala., and was a saddler in early life; he was born in the year 1819, and was a soldier in the Civil war, holding the rank of captain of a company at Shiloh; William M. (subject); Thomas B. was a soldier in the Civil war; he is now keeping hotel at Fort Worth, Tex. ; and Mrs. Mary Ann Hubbert resides in Walker county, Ala. William M. Smith emigrated to Mississippi with his parents when fifteen years of age, received his education in the schools of the county, and in 1842 began working for himself. One year later he went from Tippah to Prentiss county, settled in Blackland in the west part of the county, and there entered wild land, which he continued to cultivate until 1880, when he came to Booneville. He was mar- ried to Miss Nancy Ray, a native of Tippah county, Miss., born in 1821, and the fruits of this union were three children, all sons, two of whom are yet living. The mother of these children died about 1855. She was a worthy member of the Cumberland Presbyterian church. The children were named: A. Gaines Smith, Franklin Smith, who died when young, and Dr. William A. Smith, the latter a practicing physician at Sherman, Miss. He served in the cavalry during the latter part of the Civil war. A. Gaines Smith, now a prom- inent merchant of Booneville, was borti in Tippah county. Miss., and reared in what is now Prentiss county. He received a good practical education in the common schools, and during the war served in Hawkins' battery of sharpshooters in General Wood's brigade, Claiborne's division, as sergeant. He was in the battles of Perryville, Murfreesboro, Chickamauga, etc., and was captured on the 22d of July, 1864. He was carried to Camp Chase, Ohio, and retained there until May, 1865. After being released he returned to his home, began farm- ing, and in September, 1866, he came to Booneville, where he has been engaged in merchan- dising ever since, with the exception of one year in Mobile, when he was interested in the produce commission business. He is now engaged in a general dry goods merchandising 798 BIOQRAPHWAJ. AND HISTORICAL business. Mr. Smith is a democrat, and one of the leading men in the place. He was mar- ried to Miss Lou M. Norwood, a native of Kentucky, born near Bowling Green, and the daughter of B. F. and Ann M. (Webb) Norwood, both natives of North Carolina. Her parents were married near Carthage, Tenn., and Mrs. Smith was the eldest of the children born to this union. Her people came to Missishippi about the breaking out of the war, and the father followed the occupation of a tobacco grower to some extent. He is now deceased, but the mother is living, and resides in Mississippi. To Mr. and Mrs. Smith were born nine children: Edgar G., Jessie, Willie, Annie Lee, Lota, Ray, Dora, Douglas, Bessie and Lil- lian, all daughters but two. Edgar married a Miss Johnson, and resides in Monroe county, Miss. The father of these children is a member of the Presbyterian church. He is quite a prominent Mason, was master of his lodge for live years, district deputy grand master for four years, and was re-elected to that position of the first district of Mississippi in 1891. To return to the father of the above-mentioned gentleman: After the death of his first wife, William M. Smith married Mrs. Martha E. Pressley, a native of the Old North state. To this union were born two daughters: Anna P. and Dora (deceased). Anna P. is the wife of P. M. Walker, who is a merchant of Booneville, and a brother of Dr. Walker, of Baldwyn, Miss. Miss Dora, who was educated at Florence, Ala., and who was a highly accomplished young lady, died in 1886. The mother of these children died on the 24th of September, 1889, when about seventy-two years of age. She was a member of the Baptist church, in which she was a very active member and a devoted worker. She was educated at Wake Forest, N. C, and was the daughter of Oscar Pressley, a sailor on the ocean. During the war Mr. Smith took no active part. In politics he affiliates with the democratic party, and socially he is a member of the Masonic fraternity, Brownville lodge No. 305. He has held the office of taxcollector and other minor offices in the county. Dr. A. J. Smythe, physician, Bethany, Miss. ,• was born in old Pontotoc county (now Lee), Miss. , on February 29, 1856, and was the only child born to the union of Anson G. and Caroline (Humphreys) Smythe, both natives of South Carolina. The paternal grandparents removed from South Carolina to Alabama at an early day, resided there for several years, and then removed to Carroll county Miss., near Vaiden, where the grand- father located and passed the remainder of his days, his death occurring in 1868. In con- nection with his occupation as a farmer he also followed the blacksmith trade. The mater- nal grandparents came to Mississippi in 1839. Anson G. Smythe studied medicine in the office of Dr. Cross, at Lexington, Miss., in his youthful days and subsequently attended med- ical lectures at New Orleans. He located in Prentiss county, near Baldwyn, in 1842 he practiced bis profession there, and was married the same year in the house where his son. Dr. A. J. Smythe, now lives, one mile east of Bethany, Prentiss county. In his youthful days he followed surveying a considerable portion of his time. His wife died at Bethany in Novem- ber, 1876, and was a consistent member of the Bethany Presbyterian church. The father died on July 2, 1884, at the same place. He -was a free thinker and was one of the leading physicians in the county. Dr. A. J. Smythe was educated at the Kentucky Mili- tary institute near Frankfort, and in the fall of 1877 and winter of 1878 he attended medical college at New Orleans at what is now known as Tulane university, although prior to that he had read medicine for several years in his father's office. He graduated at Bellevue Hospi- tal college. New York, in 1881, and then returned to Prentiss county; began practicing his piofession at Bethany, where he has remained up to the present writing. He was married in 1878 to MIhs Emma Richey, daughter of Robert Richey, of Lee county, Miss., and they had born to their union six children, two sons and four daughters: Mabel, Caroline, Nancy, Gor- MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 799 don, Emma and Andrew J. Dr. Smythe owns one hundred and sixty acres of land, has sixty acres under cultivation, but gives this very little attention, for his whole time is taken up with his large and lucrative practice. He has resided in the community where he now lives all his life, with the exception of a few years during the war, when his father moved with his family to Aberdeen for protection, and remained there until the war closed, when they returned to their former home. The Doctor is a member of the Knights of Honor and Mrs. Smythe is a member of the Presbyterian church. John A. Snell is the present efficient incumbent of the office of county treasurer and was born in Lowndes county in 1847, a son of Reuben H. and Elizabeth (Love) Snell, natives of South Carolina, but early emigrants to Lowndes county, Miss., where they spent the remainder of their lives, the father having followed the calling of a planter. Their union resulted in the birth of seven children. John A. Snell was reared on his father's plantation and was given the advantages of the public schools of Lowndes county, in which he improved his time to the utmost and became a proficient scholar. In January, 1864, he enlisted in company I, Sixth Mississippi cavalry, and served until badly wounded at Harrisburg. Miss., July 14. 1864, his right leg being taken off by a shell. After being confined to the hospital for about two months he returned home and was engaged in planting until be was elected assessor in 1875, and county treasurer in 1877, the duties of the last named position being filled by him continuously and with ability ever since. The people of this section have known him from his birth and the confidence which they have in him is therefore intelli- gently placed, for they have had every opportunity to judge of his character and qualifica- tions. He has shown himself to be capable and trustworthy and his kindness and courtesy have won for him much popularit)' and the good will of all. He is an earnest member of the Presbyterian church, and socially belongs to the K. of H. W. P. Snowden, planter, Deerbrook, Noxubee coanty. Miss. W. P. Smwlen is the son of James A. and Sarah S. (Holder) Snowden, who were born in Utica. Oneida county, N. Y., in 1806, and Winchester. Franklin county, Tenn. , respectively. The parents were married in 1835 in Winchester, Tenn., and their son, the subject of this sketch, was born in that place in 1837. In 1845 he removed with his parents to Chickasaw county. Miss., where they settled on a farm. Here his mother died in 1849. The father, with five children, removed to Monroe county, near Aberdeen, in 1851, at which place the family resided when the Civil war broke out in 1861. W. P. Snowden was one of the first men mustered into the Confederate service in Monroe county. He went out as a private in the Eleventh Mis- sissippi, commanded by Col. W. H. Moore, and after reaching Harper's ferry was put in the brigade of General Bee. He was in all the engagements of the Virginia army prior to the battle of Gettysburg, where he received two severe wounds, and was captured by the enemy. Previous to this battle he received three wounds, one at Malvern Hill and two at Sharpsburg. After his capture at Gettysburg he was imprisoned at Johnson's island, where he remained until exchanged, March 14, 1865. After returning to his command he suc- ceeded to the captaincy of his company. On reaching home, after the surrender of General Lee's army, he found that all his property had been destroyed or confiscated by the Fed- eral cavalry, not having as much as a change of clothes left. He then began life anew as a tiller of the soil, went to work and by industry and economy soon regained a part of his fallen fortune. Mr. Snowden was married in 1872 to Miss Dora Blanche Henson, of Aber- deen, who died in 1874, leaving an infant, Dora Blanche. He was afterward married to Miss Mollie G. Bush, of Noxubee county, where he now resides with his family. He has two daughters by his second marriage: Eva Bush and Cori-ie Delle. His family are all living 800 BIOGBAPEIOAL AMU HISTORICAL with him. Mr. Snowden is now in comfortable circumstances, and has considerable landed interests in Noxubee, Lowndes and Monroe counties. The career of Mr. Snowden since the war presents an example of industry, perseverance and good management, rewarded by substantial results, well worthy the imitation of all those who start out in life, as he did after the war, with no capital except a good constitution and a liberal supply of pluck and energy. Martin U. Sojourner, a planter of Copiah county, was born in Orange district, S. C, in 1833, the son of Roderick and Lovisa Sojourner. His father, also a native of South Car- olina, led the life of a planter from his youth up. He married Mrs. Lovisa Sallie Young. This lady was three times married; her first husband, Mr. Young, was the father of four children, all of whom are deceased; to her and Mr. Bolin, her second husband, were born two children, one of whom, the widow of D. F. Fanning, is now living; by her last husband, Mr. Sojourner, she has three children: Friday W., killed at the siege of Vicksburg; Bridges H., of Copiah county, and Martin U. Roderick Sojourner was a member of the Masonic order, and he and his wife were both identified with the Baptist church. He came with his family to Mississippi, locating in Copiah county in 1841, where he remained until his death. At the age of twenty-one, our subject began life for himself by taking up the career of a planter, and he has proved himself to be a very successful farmer. His plantation is in good repair and almost invariably produces good crops. His life-long interest with the planting business has naturally inclined him toward movements that will benefit agricult- ure, so that one expects to know that he is a well known member of the Farmers' Alliance. In 1853 he. married Amanda E. Sandifer, a daughter of William T. and Catherine Sandifer, and of a very old and estimable family of Copiah county, who has made him the father of three children: Lafayette B., of Copiah county; Mary A., wife of Albert Trayler, Copiah county; John C, who is deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Sojourner and their family are all members of the Baptist church. Our subject pursued his vocation so successfully that he is now regarded as much more than a well-to-do planter. In addition to his other operations he raises thoroughbred Jersey cattle and fine hogs. He has reache.d that point in his career where he is enabled to take life easily, but though having a sufficiency of this world's goods for all he needs, he does not relax one whit in his brisk business methods. He is a man who stands deservedly high in the community, and one who is equally well liked for his jovial ways. Hon. Thomas H. Somerville, lawyer, Winona, Miss., inherits sturdy Scotch blood from his paternal ancestors, his grandfather, James Somerville, having been a native of Scotland but emigrated to the States prior to the Revolution. The latter' s son, Samuel Somerville, was a native of the Old Dominion, and was reared to mature years in that state. He was mar- ried there to Miss Jennie B. Farish, also a native of that state, and the daughter of Colonel Far- ish, of an old and prominent Virginia family. Mr. Somerville followed farming in Culpeper county, was a successful farmer, and in that state reared his family. He was an honest, indus- trious citizen, and a man respected by all for his noble qualities of mind and heart. His family consisted of six sons and four daughters. One of his sons, Hon. Thomas H. Somerville, subject of sketch, was born in Culpeper county, Va., on September 19, 1850, and there passed his boyhood days, and received his education at Washington and Lee university, graduating from the law department of that institution in June, 1872. After finishing his education he came West, located first at Carrollton, Miss. , where he entered into a law part- nership with his cousin. Col. James Somerville, and two years later he located at Vaiden, Carroll county, where he continued practicing law until 1876. He then returned to Carroll- ton and continued his law practice at that place for a number of years. Mr. Somerville is a MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 801 stanch supporter of the principles of democracy, and was elected to represent his county in the legislature in November, 1879, serving in the lower house. He served on a number of committees and was chairman of the committee on corporations. After his term in the legis- lature he resumed his law practice at Carrollton and there continued until 1887, when he moved to Winona, Montgomery county, forming a law partnership at that place with Mr. McLean, his present law partner. Mr. Somerville is also associated in the practice with Hon. Monroe McClurg, of Vaiden, and is a man of good legal ability. He is noted for his pertinacity, industry and strict fidelity to the interests of his clients, and as a safe counselor he has the confidence of the people. He devotes his entire time to the practice of his profes- sion. Mr. Somerville was married at Carrollton on June 4, 1878, to Miss Ella Yasser, a native of Carrollton and the daughter of Dr. G. W. Yasser (see sketch). Mrs. Somerville was educated at Bardstowu, Ky., and at New Orleans, La. Four children are the fruits of this union: Hugh Yasser, Theresa, Mary Hartwell and Ellen Douglas. The last named died at the age of five years. Prank Souter, the subject of this sketch, was born in Lawrence district, S. C, in 1829, where he lived until he was eighteen years old, when he came with his parents to Pontotoc, Miss. There he made his home until his marriage, which occurred in December, 1850, to Miss Mary A. Duncan. He purchased a farm of eighty acres of land, upon which he was successfully engaged in planting until 1858, when he embarked in the sawmill and lumber business, which he continued until the outbreak of the Civil war. He enlisted in the Con- federate army in 1861, and after two years' service was discharged on account of disability. Returning home, he was elected to the ofiice of supervisor, which exempted him from further participation in the war. He was a member of the board of supervisors from 1862 till 1866. He was an ardent supporter of Governor Alcorn, believing his principles to be siich as were best for the general public. In 1866, finding himself physically unable to conlinue in the lumber business, he began merchandising at Toccopola, in the western part of the county, where he carried on a successful trade on the same floor for twenty-two years. He was burned out in November, 1887, and shortly afterward located in Pontotoc, where he became a member of the firm of Wood & Souter, and engaged somewhat extensively and exclusively in the handling of hardware. Mr. and Mrs. Souter became the parents of ten children, only three of whom are now living: Laura, the wife of W. H. Wood, of Pontotoc; Sue, who is a member of her father' s family, and J. B. , who is studying medicine. Mr. Souter is an active member of the Pontotoc lodge, A. F. & A. M. He is a member of the Mi-ssionary Baptist church, and has been since 1848. As a Christian gentleman, he has ever been ready to aid in the upbuilding of the cause of his acknowledged Master. His liberality is well known in that direction, wherever his acquaintance extends. It is with pleasure that we chronicle the history of a man whose career has been so short and yet so full of the successes of public life. Hon. Lewis M. Southworth, attorney, Carrollton, was born in Carroll eounty, Miss., August 15, 1863, and is a son of Judge H. H. Southworth. The father was born in Kentucky and was educated in that state at Center college; he chose the profession of law, and about the year 1847 he came to Carroll county, where he at once entered into active practice. In 1852 he was elected to the legislature of Mississippi and was twice re-elected, serving three consecutive terms. He was an old line whig, canvassed the state in the interest of the whig ticket and was a presidential elector before the war. He became a resident of Le Flore county, was elected to the office of pro- bate judge and served in this position for a number of years. During the latter years of his life he retired to private life, residing on a plantation on the Yazoo river. His death 802 BIOORAPHIOAL AH I) HISTORIC A I. occurred in 1878. He was united in marriage at Jackson, Miss., to Miss Mary Morgan, a daughter of Dr. J. B. Morgan, who was at one time a candidate for governor of the state on the whig ticket. Mrs. Southworth was born and reared in Mississippi. She was the mother of three sons and two daughters: Susie S. is the wife of L. P. Yerger, a well- known attorney of Greenwood; Mary S. married A. McC. Kimbrough, also a prominent attorney of Greenwood; the sons are H. H., a planter in Le Flore county; Fisher M., a law student, and Lewis M., the subject of this notice. He passed his youth and early man- hood in Le Flore and Carroll counties, and was given the advantage of a thorough lit- erary education, which he acquired in the universities of Mississippi and Virginia; he took the law course at the latter institution and was admitted to the bar in 1887, when he began his professional life. In 1883, before he was yet twenty years of age, he was appointed superintendent of education; in 1884 he was elected mayor of the city of Car- rollton and in 1885 he was elected to the house of representatives from Carroll county; in 1887 he was re-elected to the legislature, and has the distinction of being the youngest man ever elected to that position in the state of Mississippi. He was presidential elector in 1888 for the state-at-large, the youngest man ever elected to that position in the United States, being only twenty-four years old, being elected over Col. W. C. Falkner, of Ripley, one of the most widely known men of the state. Mr. Southworth' s abilities are recognized not only at home, but in distant states; he was invited to assist in the last presidential cam- paign in Indiana by the campaign committee, and also addressed a large meeting in Louis- ville before the canvass was cloeed. In 1889 he was elected to the senate of Mississippi, the opposing candidate being Col. James R. Binford, of Montgomery county, who was at that time a member of that body; the election was contested, owing to some technicality, and was finally decided at Jackson by the democratic state executive committee in favor of Mr. Southworth. Aside from his public interests he has had a large law business, has con- ducted some very important criminal and civil cases, in the management of which he has exhibited a superior ability. It is exceptional that the first three score years or even less of a man's life should bring honor, position and influence that usually are not attained short of sixty years. Taking the beginning of this career as an index, there is nothing possible of human attainment we might not predict for the future, with a most reasonable hope that the prophecy may be fulfilled. Aaron Spain, planter, Booneville, Miss., who has been a resident of Prentiss county for over forty years, has lived an honorable upright life, and is one of the county's most success- ful planters. His father, James Spain, was a native of North Cai'olina, born near Raleigh, in 1805, and was one of six children born to John and Jane (Hunter) Spain, the grandfather having been married three times. The grandmother died in Wayne county, Tenn., in 1840, and the grandfather in the same county in 1860. James Spain moved to Bedford county, Tenn., at an early date, and was there married about 1827 to Miss Lydia Gambrill, who bore him eleven children, six of whom they reared: Elizabeth, Mrs. Davis, resides in Boone- ville; John, died at the age of twenty-two years; Henry, in the livery business in Booneville; James, in Booneville, and Mechanic. Three others, Martha, Ella and Polly, died when some age, but the others died in infancy. The father of these children moved to Mississippi in 1850, bought land, and at the time of his death was the owner of two hundred acres. He was a thrifty farmer and a self-made man. He died in Prentiss county in 1859. The mother died at Booneville, this county, at the age of seventy-seven years, and was a member of the Baptist church. Their son, Aaron, was born in Wayne county, Tenn., July 27, 1837, passed most of his school days in Prentiss county, assisted his father on the farm, and at the age of MEMOIRS OF MIS8T8SIPPI. 8ii;j twenty-two bought land on which he began farming for himself. He is now the owner of four hundred acres of what is known, as black land, and is also the owner of another tract of land east of Booneville. He was married in I860 to Miss Margaret Rone, daughter of Samuel and Susan (Anderson) Rone, and a native of Bedford county, Tenn., of which her parents were also natives. This union has resulted in the birth of eight children, two sons and three daughters living: James William, farmer, residing near Booneville, and quite well-to-do, mar- ried Miss Mattie Elder, and is the father of two children, Ora and Clarence. John S. , married Miss Ava Price, daughter of William Price, and has one child, Louise. He owns a good farm. Caddie, Mrs. Perkins, formerly Mrs. Johnson. She has two chddren by Mr. John- son^ Baxter and Samuel; Eugenia and Eudora, twins. Mr. Spain lost three children, Joseph, Mary and Oscar. In 1862 he enlisted in company C, Thirty-second Mississippi infantry, was in the battles of Chickamauga, Perryville, Atlanta, Franklin, Bentonville, and was paroled at Greensboro, N. C. Since that time he has followed agricultural pursuits and has been successful. He is interested in educational and religious matters, and gives liberally of his means to all worthy enterprises. He is a democrat in his political principles, and he and wife hold membership in the Methodist Church South. In September, 1885, Mr. Spain moved to Booneville to educate his children, and during that time, five years, was engaged in the livery business. In 1890 he returned to the farm. Alexander Spain, one of the prominent planters of Prentiss county. Miss. , resides three miles west of Booneville and is well and favorably known all over the county. He is a native Tenuesseean, born in Lawrence county in 1838, and was early trained to the arduous duties of the farm, attending school as he could until the age of eighteen years. In 1861 he enlisted on a sixty days' service, but after that expired he returned and enlisted in com- pany C, Thirty-second Mississippi Infantry. He was in some severe battles, among the most prominent being Chickamauga and Perryville, and also participated in a number of severe skirmishes at Missionary ridge. He took a prominent part in all actions, but was never wounded or taken prisoner. He was paroled at Columbus, Miss., at the close of the war and then came home, where he afterward engaged in the active duties of the farm. He was married, in 1859, to Miss Molly Johnson, daughter of William and Jane Johnson, and to them were born six children: Theodore, Mary, Richard, Edward, Robert and Lee. Mrs. Spain died in 1877, and his second marriage was to Mrs. Vianna Green, daughter of S. Rones. Two children, Alonzo and Oscar, were the fruits of this union. Mrs. Spain received her final summons in 1880, and Mr. Spain was married to Miss Martha Prichard, daughter of John H. Prichard. Mr. Spain has attended to his adopted calling with care and perseverance and with such energy and thoroughness, that successful results have been reaped, and he is to-day classed among the prominent agriculturists of the county. He is the son of Henry and Roena (Armstrong) Spain, natives of North Carolina and Tennessee, respectively. Henry Spain was born on February 2, 1807, and was a son of John Spain, who was an old pioneer of the Old North state. The grandfather died in Ten- nessee about 1852 or 1853. Henry moved to Tennessee at an early day, engaged in farm- ing, and was there married to Miss Armstrong. Later they moved to Mississippi, and in 1850 located in Tishomingo (now Prentiss) county, where they bought 200 acres of land. He was the father of eight children by this union, seven of whom lived to be grown and who are named in the order of their births as follows : James (killed in the battle of Shiloh), Caroline (now Mrs. Stewart, of Texas), Alexander, Jane (Mrs. Parter, a widow resid- ing in the Lone Star state), John W. (see sketch), Huldah (Mrs. Johnson, a widow of this county), and Amanda (Mrs. Gambill of Tennessee). The father of these children was mar- 804 BWORAPHIOAL AND RISTORWAL ried threti times, Miss Armstroiig being his second wife. She was a member of the Baptist chin-ch anil died about 1852. The Armstrongs were a prominent family of Tennessee. Mr. Spain was also a member of that church, and died February 1, 1887. He was a successful farmer and a hard-working, industrious man. His first wife was a Miss Johnson, and one daughter, Caroline, was the result. His third marriage was to a Miss Mary E. Plaxico, who bore him two children, George F. and Francis M. Tennessee has given to Prentiss county many estimable citizens, but she has contributed none more worthy of respect and esteem than John VV. Spain, planter, Booneville, Miss. This gentleman was born in Lawrence county in 1846, and although he started out in life with limited means he i.s now the owner of a tine farm of four hundred and forty acres four miles west of Booneville, and has everything comfortable and convenient about his place. He is the son of Henry and JRoeaa (Armstrong) Spain, the father a native of North Caro- lina and the mother of Tennessee. (See sketch of Alexander Spain.) John W. Spain atten- ded school until sixteen years of age, and at the breaking out of hostilities between the North and South he enlisted in the sixty-day troops and went to Bowling Green, Ky. After returning home he joined the cavalry, company B, and was in active service at Jackson, near Atlanta, Ga., and at Selma. He was in a great many battles and fought all over the country and county where he now lives. He was discharged at Columbia, Miss., in 1865, and then returning home resumed work on his father's farm. In 1870 he bought land and began in earnest for himself, marrying the same year Miss Mary Lowry, a native of Tennessee, born in 1846, and the daughter of C. and E. Lowry. She came with her parents to Mississippi when a little girl, and was the eldest of five children; Green. William, Ida and Alma. Ida is now the wife of Mr. Stain, of Texas, and Alma is Mrs. Miller, aud*'resides in Prentiss county. Mr. Lowry died about 1884, but Mrs. Lowry is residing in this county with her daughter, Mrs. Miller. To Mr. and Mrs. Spain were born three children: Modenna E., John L. , and Guy W. Mrs. Spain was a consistent member of the Baptist church and died on the 7th of April, 1888. She was a descendant of one of the oldest families in the state. She was a true Christian, a kind mother, and a loving, thoughtful wife. Mr. Spain's second marriage was to Miss Ora Williams, who was one of five children: Frederick, Richard, Mary and Ethel, born to Dr. Ben and (Flake) Williams, formerly of Prentiss county. Both parents are now deceased. Mrs. Spain is a member of the Methodist church. Mr. Spain is a thoroughgoing planter and is advanced and progressive in his ideas. He has one hun- dred and seventy-five acres under cultivation and during the season has abont ten plows in the field. He is a democrat in politics and alive to the interest of the party. He takes a prominent part in all enterprises tending to the advancement and growth of the county. A. P. Sparkman, M. D., of Magnolia, Pike county. Miss., was born in Pike county, November 8, 1840. E. F. Sparkman, his father, was a native of North Carolina, and was born in 1798. He was reared and educated there, but removed to Mississippi when quite a young man, locating in Pike county. He married here Miss W. N. Pierson, a native of South Carolina. Mr. Sparkman was a well-known planter and business man of Pike county, was a colonel in the state militia, and served his county as sheriff for a number of years. He was also a prominent early merchant at Holmesville, the old county seat, where he lived until 1845, when he died. His widow still survives him, a well preserved, healthy, old lady of eighty-five years. Dr. Sparkman was one of a family of three sons and five daughters, who grew to mature years. He has four sisters living, all of whom are the heads of respect- able families. He received his early education at Holmesville, later studying medicine and attending lectures at the University of Louisiana, at New Orleans, where he graduated in 1861, MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 805 just before the opening of the war. In 1861 he enlisted in company E (known as the Quit- man guards), of the Sixteenth Mississippi infantry, and served until wounded and perma- nently disabled in the battle of Gross Keys, Va. He lay in the hospital for seven weeks, and was then discharged and returned home to Holmesville. As soon as the Doctor had somewhat recovered his health, he engaged in the practice of medicine. In 1875 he was elected circuit clerk of Pike county, and has been re-elected at each succeeding election, having served at this time for twenty six consecutive years, and having th& reputation of being the best circuit clerk in the state. His attention to all the duties of his position is proverbial. Of course he had had opponents at each of the above elections referred to, but he has been victorious in each by a handsome majority. He is a candidate for re-election in the fall of 1891, and there are few who entertain any doubt of his success, for, though the clerkship of the circuit court is a very desirable position, the Doctor's popularity is so well established that there are few who will offer to make the race against him. He retired from the practice of his profession about the beginning of his oificial career. In March, 1863, the Doctor was married to Miss M. E. Vaught, the only sister of Chancery Clerk Vaught, and a member of another of the prominent families of Pike county. Mr. and Mrs. Spark- man have a family of four sons and three daughters: William A., N. P., J. A. (who is deputy circuit clerk), Leontine, Anna, Joseph Logan and Ruth. Miss Leontine Sparkman is a very popular young lady. Ruth is a little miss of seven years, who, at the age of four years began to play upon the piano, and has since become so expert a performer that she rivals the accomplishment of many older musicians. The Doctor and his family stand high socially, and are on terms of intimacy with the best families throughout Pike county. J. P. Spearman,*a prominent planter, lives near Tremont, in Itawamba county, Miss. , was born in this state in 1835, a son of Elijah and Sidney (Cotton) Spearman. His parents were born in Tennessee and there married, coming to Mississippi at an early day. Mr. Spearman's youth was spent on a plantation. He received a limited education in the com- mon schools, and began the stern battle of life while yet quite youthful. He married Nancy E. Stone, a sister of J. H. Stone. (A sketch of this gentleman is given elsewhere in this work). Her parents were both natives of South Carolina, and she was born in Alabama in 1848. Mr. and Mrs. Spearman have had born to them six children, of whom the following five are living: Marquis deL., Robert Lee, Manly N. 0., Eva T. , and Hattie. In April, 1862, Mr. Spearman enlisted at Columbus, Miss., in company E, of the Second Mississippi cavalry, which was commanded by Captain McCarty, attached to Armstrong's brigade of Jackson's division. He was in battles at luka, Corinth, Brookhaven, Ponchatoula, La., and for meritorious service at Vicksburg during the seige he was promoted to be first sergeant. He also fought at Clinton, Baker's creek, West Point, Jackson, Rome, Atlanta, Dallas and Jonesboro, Ga., Franklin, Nashville, Murfreesboro, Spring hill and Pulaski, Tenn., and at Okalono, Macon and Tupelo, Miss. He received his discharge from the army in 1865, never having from the time of his enlistment been absent from his company for one day without leave. He is a democrat and takes a deep interest in all public questions. He served his county one term as a member of the board of supervisors. He is a Master Mason, and his family are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. He is the owner of about fifteen hundred acres of land. He is also owner of a gristmill and a cottongin. The latter has a large capacity. He is an energetic, helpful and highly respected citizen, and he has the satisfac- tion of knowing that he has attained success by his own efforts. Frederick Speed, an attorney and an active real estate owner, was born in Ithaca, N. Y., in 1841, the youngest of five sons of John J. and Anne (Morrell) Speed. The Speed 806 BIOORAPIIIGAL AND HISTOBIGAL family being of Englisb doscent, immigrated to America at an early day, and settled in Vir- ginia about 1700, but the grandfather of Frederick Speed removed in New York about the year 1812. His father was a constructing engineer, and built the first line of telegraph west of Buffalo, and many other important works in the Western states. He was a member of the state legislature, a speaker of the assembly and an active politician up to the time of the defeat of Henry Olay. Having been a Harrison elector, he was a leading man in the poli- tics of his day and time, and the town of Speedsville, N. Y., was named in his honor. He moved to Detroit, Mich., in 1847, but in 1860 he went to Maine, and while living there he constructed the United States and Independent telegraph lines from Portland to Washington, after which he retired from active business life, and made his home in Brooklyn until his death in 1867. His widow survived him until 1877, until she, too, passed away. Federick Speed was educated in the public schools of Detroit, but in 1860 went to Portland, Me. , with his parents and was there residing at the opening of the war. He raised the first com- pany for the war in that state. As he was too young to hold office he enlisted as a private soldier, but was mustered into service as sergeant major of the Fifth Maine regiment of infantry, serving in the army of the Potomac, and was soon promoted to the adjutantcy of the Thirteenth Maine regiment, Col. Neal Dow, which formed a portion of the New Orleans expedition, with General Butler. In 1862 he was made assistant adjutant general, serving on the stafPs of Generals Dow, Dudley, Weitzel, Emory, Thomas W. Sherman, Dana and Canby, as they respectively succeeded to the command of the brigade, division and army corps to which he was assigned, being with the last named at the close of the war, at the headquarters of the military division of west Mississippi. He participated in the engagment at Bull run, siege of Port Hudson, and in nearly all the battles of the department of the gulf, and was at Mobile, Ala., at the termination of hostilities. In the fall of 1865 he settled at Vicksburg and the three following years were spent in sawmilling, during which time he also read law, being admitted to the bar in 1868. In 1867-8 he served as circuit and chancery clerk of Warren county by appointment, and during 1869-70 he was judge of the criminal court. From 1878 to 1885 he practiced his profession extensively in all the courts, but since that time he has given his attention principally to real estate law. In 1880 he purchased sixty-nine acres adjoining the southern part of Vicksburg, now known as "Speed's addition,'' and which is now one of its most beautiful suburbs, the improvements on which have been principally made by Mr. Speed's own efforts. He was married in 1871 to Miss Esther Adele Hillyer, a daughter of Col. Giles M. Hillyer, who was one of the early and successful newspaper men of Natchez. Mrs. Speed was born in Aberdeen and to them five chil- dren were born: Hillyer Koylston, Frederic Gordon, Esther Adele, Liscomb and Annie M., who died in infancy. The family are members of the Episcopal church, in which Mr. Speed has been a vestryman for some eighteen years. He is also a member of the standing committee and one of the trustees of this diocese, and has for several years been a delegate to the gen- eral convention of the church. While his legal residence was still in Maine he became a member of the Masonic fraternity in 1866, and the following year, having taken up his domi- cile permanently at Vicksburg, Miss., he affiliated with Vicksburg lodge No. 26, of which he has been many times worshipful master. He was grand master of the grand lodge of Masons in Mississippi in 1883, and was grand high priest of the Grand Royal Arch Chapter in 1880-1. He is now past eminent commander of Magnolia commandery No. 2, and was grand commander of the grand commandery of the state in 1888-9. He is at present grand master of the grand council of royal and select masters of the state, and has been for a num- ber of years chairman of the jurisprudence committee of all the Masonic grand bodies of the MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 807 state. He has also, for some years, filled the position of deputy of the supreme council of the thirty-third degree of the Southern jurisdiction of the United States, and is the only thirty- third degree Mason in Mississippi. A. man of literary tastes and inclinations, he is the owner of one of the largest and most complete Masonic libraries south of the Potomac river, and has contributed many articles of note to Masonic, secular and religious journals. He is an elegant and forcible speaker and has delivered numerous speeches and addresses. He was the first commander of Vicksburg post No. 7, G. A. R., and is the senior vice commander of the department of Louisiana and Mississippi. Leading an active and useful life, he has endeavored by the example of an honorable and upright career to impress upon the young men of his acquaintance the importance of qualifying themselves for the duties and respon- sibilities of life, and it was but natural to find him unanimously chosen as the president of the Young Men' s Christian association, an organization which is exerting a beneficial influence in the community and in whose behalf he is an untiring worker. One of the most influential of the Mississippi state papers in speaking of him recently said: "Judge Frederic Speed is a good lawyer, has had experience on the bench, is in the prime of life, full of energy, fertile in resources, a sound thinker and forcible speaker, and positive, but courteous, in announcing his convictions." Another state paper, in referring to him, adds: " Judge Speed came to this state as a Federal of&cer during the war, but not like most of the Federal soldiers, returned North, or else remained to indulge in the rich pillage that followed, but joined his efPorts as one of the victors to aid the conquered in building up and restoring the waste places. And right well has he done this in practical work, but also in the work of reconciliation and the bringing about kindly relations-between the sections. A man of legal learning as well as of large general information and culture, a Christian gentleman who has been eminent in good deeds by reason of the modesty with which they were perform.ed, largely acquainted throughout the state, and where known respected, one loyal to his party, and yet in no instance offen- sively antagonistic to his political opponents, he has won for himself a position of honor which commands the trust and esteem of all as a lawyer, earnest member of his party and public- spirited citizen." Hon. Samuel M. Spencer is one of the progressive and enterprising citizens of the county of Washington, Miss., and has done a great deal to build up and improve the section in which he resides. He was born in Port Gibson, Miss., on the 19th of September, 1838, being the fifth of ten children born to Horatio N. and Sarah (Marshall) Spencer, natives of Connecticut and Mississippi respectively. The father came to Claiborne county, this state, in 1829, and for about fifteen years was an able and successful lawyer of Port Gibson, having graduated from Yale college in 1821. Retiring from the practice of law, he sought a more quiet life, accordingly purchased land and began planting. In the meantime he fulfilled the duties of president of the Port Gibson bank, and also of the Port Gibson & Grand Gulf railroad. Planting proved very congenial to him, and he continued it up to the day of his death in 1876, having, prior to the war, amassed a large property, the most of which was swept away in that struggle. His parents were I. S, and Temperance Spencer, natives of Connecticut, as were also his grandparents (the great-grandparents of the subject of this sketch). The familv orginally came from England, during the early history of the colonies, settling in Connecticut. The mother's father was Samuel Marshall, a native of Pennsylvania, of Scotch and Irish ancestry. Both branches of the family were in their faith Presbyterians, and the three sons now living all are ruling elders in that church. Hon Samuel M. Spencer received his education in Center college, Danville, Ky. , and in that admirable institution of learning, 808 , BIOORAPHJOAL AND HI8T0RI0AL Yale college. After leaving school he engaged in agricultural pursuits, and when the war opened, he warmly espoused the Southern cause, and helped to organize a company in Wash- ington county, of which he was made second lieutenant. On reaching Bowling Green his company was organized into an artillery company, but he retained his position as second lieutenant, and was taken a prisoner at the fall of Fort Donelson, and was taken to Johnson's island where he was kept in captivity for about six months, after which he was taken to Vicks- burg and exchanged. He immediately rejoined his command, and at the battle of Ohickamauga was promoted to first lieutenant. So many of the members of his company were killed that the handfull that remained were consolidated with Cobb's battery, and Mr. Spencer was assigned to conscript duty, and was sent to Louisiana, which ended his fighting. He sur- rendered at Jackson, Miss., at the close of the war and returned home to resume his farming operations, soon after which, in 1866, he was married to Miss Carrie T. Hogg, a native of Mississippi, and a daughter of Dr. Thomas H. and Eose (Eussell) Hogg, the former from Tennessee and the latter a native of Mississippi. To Mr. and Mrs. Spencer five children have been born: Rose E., who died at the age of fourteen years; Carrie M., Samuel M., Jr., Thomas H. and Mary G., all of whom are at home. Mr. Spencer is the owner of forty-six hundred acres of land, of which twenty-six hundred acres are under cultivation, about one- half of which he has himself opened, and on which he has expended a large amount of money in improvements. He is a citizen of whom Washington county may well feel proud for he has done a great deal to improve this section of the country, and on his own land laid out the little village of Glen Allan and induced the Louisville, New Orleans & Texas railroad company to build to the place. They afterward extended the line from Hampton to EoUing Fork and withdrew the passenger train from running to Glen Allan, for which reason the village has not continued to build up. The place is situated on the shore of Lake AVashing- ton and is one of the most attractive sites in the state. Mr. Spencer is a zealous member of the Presbyterian church, in which he is an elder, is especially interested in the moral train- ing of the young, and is endeavoring to rear his children to honorable manhood and womanhood. He has served in the capacity of^magistrate, has been a member of the l)oard of supervisors, and in 1884-5 was a member of the state legislature from this county, filling these positions with ability, although he had not sought them. He has a beautiful home in Glenn Allan, fronting Lake Washington. It sets well back from the street and is sur- rounded by a beautiful lawn thickly dotted with handsome shade trees. William H. Spencer. Among the many enterprises which have made Jefferson county. Miss., noted for its commercial enterprise, may be mentioned the mercantile establishment belonging to Mr. Spencer, of which he has been the proprietor since about 1878. It is complete in its appointments, and by excellent business ability and foresight he has built up one of the largest and most prosperous trades in the county. He first saw the light of day in Charlotte county, Va., in the month of October, 1843; J. B. Spencer, his father, being a native of the same state and county, where he was married to Sarah Lyle, of Prince Edward county, daughter of Rev. Matthew Lyle, a well-known and eloquent minister of the Presbyterian church. Mr. Spencer was a farmer in his native county throughout life, was a man of progressive and enterprising views, and took an active part in religious matters, being an elder in the Presbyterian church. He died in the fall of 1876, his wife having passed from life when their son, William H., was a child. The boyhood days of the latter were spent in his native county, where he received a thorough practical education, but in 1861 the clash of arms caused him to cast aside all personal considerations, and with the enthusiasm of youth he enlisted in the Confederate service in the fall of that year, being MEMOIRS OF MiaStaSIPPI. y(J9 first in an independent company. He was afterward transferred to the Eighteenth Vir- ginia infantry, and in time was promoted to the rank of sergeant in company K. At the evacuation'of Petersburg he was wounded in the thigh by a gunshot, was taken prisoner and for several months was held in captivity, the most of which time it took him to recover fj-om his wound. After being paroled he returned home, having been an active participant in the seven days' fight around Richmond, the battle of Gettysburg, all the principal engage- ments around Petersburg, a number of minor engagements and numerous skirmishes. The year 1867 is the date of his arrival in the state of Mississippi, his first location being in Claiborne county, where he was engaged in teaching school and planting. After following this calling up to 1872, he moved to Jefferson county, and after being a clerk in a mercan- tile establishment here for some six years, he became a member of the firm, and three years later became the sole proprietor of the establishment. By the honest measures he has always followed, by his methodical business habits and by his industry, perseverance and desire to please, his trade is a large and lucrative one. He was appointed postmaster at Red Lick in 1876, and this position is holding at the present date. All measures of morality, education, temperance and others of like nature find in him a strong advocate; in fact he is found among the foremost in any reliable, uplifting movement. He was married in 1878 to Miss Mary F. Barker, a daughter of John W. Barker of Jefferson county, and their union has resulted in the birth of four children: Sarah M., Lillie Lyle, John Blair, and William H., Jr. Mr. Spencer is a thorough and practical business man and since 1879 has been engaged in farming in connection with his mercantile operations. By his own endeavors he has accumulated a fair share of this world's goods and is prepared to enjoy his good fortune to the utmost. He is at present a member of the Knights of Honor. Augustus D. Spengler was born in Vicksburg, Miss., October 22, 1870, the eldest of six surviving children of S. and Elizabeth (Miller) Spengler, natives of Germany, the former of whom came to the United States in early manhood and was first engaged in the sawmilling business in California. In 1850 he came to Mississippi, locating in Vicksburg, where he continued to reside until his death, in 18^9. He was a successful business man, amassing quite a fortune, and in 1885 purchased the entire estate known as the Cooper wells, which consists of one hundred and sixty acres of good land. The famous wells which are on this property are noted for their medicinal qualities. An analysis of one gallon of the watei-, by Dr. J. Lawrence Smith, gives its gaseous contents: Oxygen, 6.5 cubic inches; nitrogen, 4.5 cubic inches; carbonic acid, 1 cubic inches; and the solid contents: sulphate of soda, 11.705 grains; sulphate of magnesia, 23.28 grains; sulphate of lime, 32.132 grains; siil- phate of potash, .608 grains; sulphate of alumina, 6.120 grains; chloride of sodium, 8.360 grains; chloride of calcium, 4.322 grains; chloride of magnesium, 8.480 grains; peroxide of iron, 3.362; chreuate of lime, .311; chreuate of silica, 1.801, the total being 105.471. Soon after making his purchase Mr. Spengler erected near the springs two elegant buildings for the accommodation of guests, and a fine building at the springs, at a cost of about $85,000. The hotel is open from May 1 to November 1, and during this time is largely pat- ronized by those who wish to leave the turmoil and heat of the city behind them for a time, as well as those who are afflicted by disease. A few yards, from the hotel and approached by a good, substantial walk is the large two story pavilion erected over the well, with a seating capacity for over one hundred persons. A full corps of attentive attendants are kept busy at all hours drawing by windlass and pumps fresh supplies of water, which is handed around to the guests. There is in connection with the well, a sulphur well, eighty-two feet deep, over which is a large bath house, which has lately been erected, fourteen by seventy- 810 BIOORAPHIOAL AND III8T0RICAL five feet, having cold and hot baths, The main hotel building is two hundred and twenty- live feet long, sixty feet wide, and two stories high, with large commodious double galleries on the front. The addition to the main building is one hundred and seventy-five feet long, sixty feet wide, and three stories high, with large double galleries on front and ends. The rooms are large and airy, having high ceilings, and are elegantly furnished in the latest modern style, the furniture being uniformly substantial. Every room is connected with electric call bells and ventilating blinds and patent transom lifts to insure perfect ventila- tion, and in the spacious dining rooms all the luxuries of this season are spread before the guests, especial attention being paid, by competent cooks and assistants, to the cuisine. There is a large billiard hall and ten-pin alley, with ample accommodations for all its guests, and the ladies' drawing room contains a fine grand piano,, where, in the evenings, musical entertainments are given. The latest papers and periodicals are tp be had at any time, the mail being delivered daily from all part's- of the country. Augustus D. Spengler was reared in Vicksburg, and received a thorough business education in a private school. In 1889 he assumed complete control of ihe Cooper's well property, and has been its efficient manager ever since, it becoming very prosperous and largely patronized while under his care. Mr. Spengler is a fine business man and possesses social qualities of a high order, attributes which make him very popular in the business in which he is engaged. The wells were first dug about 1842, by a man who had a dream concerning their curative properties, and upon digging them found them to be just as he had dreamed. Not much was done with them, however, until they were purchased by Mr. Spengler's father, in 1885. Since then it has been quite a health resort for people of the South, and especially Mississippians. Mr. Speng- ler and his brothers and sister are interested in a large sawmill at Vicksburg. Mr. Spengler is a member of the Catholic church. Hubert Spengler is the senior partner of the firm of Spengler & Sons, JacTcson, Miss. , and owners and proprietors of the Spengler house. His sons, A. H. , F. C. and L. Spengler, manage the grocery business, and H. Spengler, Jr., is in charge of the hotel. Its history embraces many interesting periods and incidents and its registers bear the names of many noted people, who h'ave found a pleasant home beneath its hospitable roof. Mr. Spengler was born in Alsaee, JTrance, in 1820, being the third son born to Joseph and Francisco (Sherno) Spengler, who came to America at an early day; the father was the owner of two large sawmills, run by water power, 'that did a large business, and also a lumberyard and woodyard. Hubert Spengler was the eleventh of his parents' twelve children, he and his sister, who now relsides in Vicksburg, being the only ones of the family that are now living. Of this family four sons and three daughters came to America and settled at Vicksburg and Jackson. Hubert Spengler left home at the age of sixteen years to seek his fortune in the new world, and in. 1836 landed at' New Orleans, after an ocean trip on a sailing vessel of sixty-five days. In 1852, with his wife and two sons,- he took a trip to Europe, and made the run from New York to Liverpool in ten days, and back from Havre tO New York in twelve days. He at once went to yicksburg, Miss. , where his elder brother Joseph was located as a builder, for whom he at once went to work. After remaining with him about twp years in Vicksburg and two years in Jackson, he, some two years later, opened a billiard hall and saloon. Some time later he added a stock of groceries to his establishment and has since continued that business. During the Civil war he served in the Confederate States militia for a short time. In 1848 he purchased a lot at the corner of State and Capi- tol streets, of Jackson, on which he erected buildings covering nearly one-half square, but these were all burned by the Federal soldiers during the turbulent times of the war, the '"m. y'r4 .'((•ifni.Uv furriistmfi in tj.f- >>. ■■:'-■';■■', ■.; thf fn\-' 1 -t /- 'i.? /Sl'lS JCTl^ . J^'2Sir/c 7"ie Ca;' '>-.'?£- ■■sdf7i.d. /-i, • MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 811 entire stock in these stores being also destroyed. Afterward he set energetically to work to rebuild his fortunes and resumed the grocery business, at which he has been remarkably successful. In 1884 he and his eldest sons became half owners with his brother, S. Speng- ler, of Vicksburg, in the Cooper's well property, the firm name being S. and H. Spengler, a full description of which noted summer resort is given in the sketch of S. Spengler. Mr. Spengler owns a considerable amount of valuable city property, about twelve acres in all, on which are erected some excellent buildings. He has taken an active interest in the city's welfare; in 1859 was a member of the board of aldermen; in 1870-1 he was a member of the board of supervisors, and in 1876 was again elected alderman, in which capacity he served with great credit to himself and the satisfaction of all concerned, for nine years. In 1845 he was united in marriage to Miss Mary E. Nahrgang, a native of Hesse, Germany, only four years old when brought by her mother to America. To her union with Mr. Spengler ten children were born, seven of whom are living: A. H., who is in the grocery business, is married and has a family; F. C. is also in a lucrative busioess, is married and has five children; Catharine, the widow of George Muh, has six children: Hubert, Jr., who assists his father in the management of the Spengler House, in Jackson, is married and has five children; Louis and Jennie are single, and Emma is the wife of Peter Miazza, pro- prietor of a hotel at Greenville, and is the mother of one child. George died at the age of eleven years, and Elizabeth and Charles died in infancy. Mr. Spengler is the oldest mem- ber of the Catholic church in Jackson, and the only one of the old members now living. He remained in that city during the terrible yellow-fever epidemic in 1878, during which time he was an active worker, was fearless in regard to his own danger, and rendered valuable aid in nursing the sick and burying the dead. He and his eldest son kept the only store open during the epidemic where the sick could find something to eat. Joseph Spengler, a brother of Hubert Spengler, came to America in 1831, and after a short residence in New Orleans he went to Cincinnati, Ohio, and engaged in carpentering, but was unfortunately burned out, after which he located in Vicksburg, Miss., as a builder. In 1838 he came to Jackson, and here soon opened a grocery establishment, which he conducted successfully. In 1852 he built a cotton factory, but before he could equip it with machinery, he died of yellow fever in 1853. He was a progressive and enterprising man of business, and had he lived would have undoubtedly become wealthy. He was married and left a family of children. Amand Spengler, another brother of Hubert's, came to America in 1836, settled at Vicksburg, and began work in the new world as a carpenter, and made considerable money at this calling. In 1839 he returned to Europe, where he married and remained, succeeding to his father's business. Seraphin Spengler, his brother, arrived in this country in the year 1841, soon after which he engaged in the sawmill business in the vicinity of Jackson. About 1850 he was taken with a severe attack of the gold fever and started for California, and in that region remained for four years. Upon his return he resumed sawmilling in Vicksburg, and in this pursuit made a large amount of money from the start. He became one of the wealthiest men of Vicksburg, and for his many admirable traits of heart and head was highly esteemed and respected. He was alderman of the city and was the first president of the first loan association. He was a partner with his brother in Cooper's wells, in addition to which valuable property he owned other real estate of value. He was accidentally killed in Vicksburg in July, 1889, by his horse running away with him. Hubert Spengler, Jr., son of Hubert Spengler, Sr., was born in Jackson in 1855, and was educated in the college at Cape Girardeau, Mo., from which institution he graduated. After clerking for his father and brother for a few years, he became a partner YY 812 BIOORAPHIOAl AND HISTORICAL in tbe business, the firm taking the name of H. Spengler & Sons. In 1881 he was married to Miss Nannie E. Miazza, to which union five children have been born : Hubert, Thomas, Mildred, George, and Angelo. In 1884, after the completion of the new hotels at Cooper's wells, he was located at that place as manager, and did much to build up and make the place the popular resort that it novy is. He has, however, been the efficient and popular manager of the Spengler house in Jackson for some time, and the whole management, the perfect system and thorough adaptation of every detail to secure the approval of guests, indi- cate the fact that intelligent and careful direction is exercised. He has an interesting fam ily, and resides in a pleasant home near his parents. Antone H. Spengler, a son of Hubert, Sr., was born in Jackson, February 1, 1846, and received his initiatory training in the city of his birth, finishing his education in St. Mary's college, in Marion county, Kentucky. He left school on account of the opening of the war, after which he clerked at Jackson and Selma, Ala., until 1864, when he entered the Confederate army, and was with General Wirt Adams, in General Forrest's command, participating in the last battle of Jackson. After the war he clerked in his father's store, who, after he had become proficient in the business, as was his usual custom, took him in as a partner, when the firm became Spengler & Sons. He, like his brothers and father, before him, is a successful and honorable business man, and is thouroughly posted and up with the times. He is of the stufP of which model citizens " are made, and the career of the entire family, as men of business, has been one round of success. J. C. Spight is a worthy and representative agriculturist of Tippah county, Miss., and acquired his knowledge of the calling from his father, Thomas Spight, and the knowledge thus gained has been put to a practical experience. He was born in Jones county, N. C, in 1820, in which state and county his parents were also born, the father in 1779 and the mother, whose maiden name was Eebecca Mumford, in 1783. They were married in their native state in 1805, and there Mr. Spight, in addition to following the calling of a planter, was engaged in merchandising, in both of which he was quite successful. After the death of his wife in 1833 he took for his second wife Mrs. Evans, their nuptials being celebrated in Trenton, Tenn. , in 1884. His last union was without issue but his first wife bore him nine children: Thomas, John, Pollie, James M., Simon E., J. C, E. R., Sallie P. B., wife of William Robertson; and Rebecca T., all of whom are deceased except Simon E., J. C. and Sallie P. B. The father of these children died in 1858, having, for many years, been a mem- ber of the Baptist church. J. C. Spight commenced to make his own way in the world in 1844, and during the years of 1853-4-5-6 he was also engaged in merchandising. By the opening of the war he had accumulated a comfortable competency, but like the majority of Southerners, lost very heavily during that time. He did not participate in the war owing to the fact that his eyes were quite weak. In 1845 he was married to Miss Nancy K. Chapman, a daughter of Turner Chapman, a prominent and successful planter of Jones county, Ga., and their union has resulted in the birth of the following children: Thomas (deceased). Tur- ner C. (deceased), Elizabeth P. , wife of M. L. Clark, who has borne Mr. Spight his only two grandchildren, Jodie George, and Prank Early Clark; Sallie J., wife of F. S. McKnight, James M., J. C. and Nannie L. 'Mr. Spight has resided on his present plantation sine 1845, and of the one thousand acres of which he is the owner he has one hundred and fifty acres in a good state of cultivation. He is a member of Ripley lodge. No. 47, of the A. F. & A. M., and he and his worthy wife and all his children are members of the Baptist church, to which they contribute liberally of their means. Mr. Spight's grandfather was also a native of Jones county, N. C. He died in 1815 in the seventy-fifth year of his age. MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 813 Capt. Thomas Spight, lawyer, Eipley, Miss., is a native Mississippian, born near Ripley, Tippah county in 1841, when the country was comparatively new. His father being a plan- ter, Captain Spight was early trained to the duties of the farm and in the meantime had the advantage of good schools. He attended college at LaGrange, Tenn., but was prevented from graduating by the breaking out of the war, at which time he hastened home to engage in the strife. He entered the Confederate army as a private and rose step by step and was commissioned captain of infantry before reaching his majority and was in the command of the remnant of his regiment at the close of the struggle. After this he followed school teach- ing for a number of years and was eminently successful as an educator. In December, 1865, he was united in marriage to Miss M. Virginia Barnett whose father, A. G. Bamett, a suc- cessful merchant, was one of the pioneers of Tippah county, coming here at a time when the country was still inhabited by Indians. After his marriage the captain turned his attention to planting and from the experience gained from his early life on the farm, continued this successfully together with teaching for a number of years, but in the meantime was a diligent student and commenced the active practice of law in 1874. He served three successive terms in the Mississippi legislature, from 1874 to 1880. In March, 1879, he commenced the pub- lication of the Southern Sentinel at Kipley, in the interest of the democracy against the greenback party vchich was then making rapid progress in Mississippi. He dealt some telling blows against the opposition and saved the county to the democracy. In 1880 he was presidential elector on the Hancock ticket and made an active and successful canvass of his district. In the fall of 1883 he was elected district attorney of the district in which he resided and was re-elected in 1887 and this position he held, giving entire satisfaction, until the close of the year 1890. He then declined re-election, preferring to devote his time to the practice of law at home and to planting, which he still conducts with the ardor of his youth. Captain Spight's father, James M. Spight, came from North Carolina to West Tennessee, thence to Mississippi at an early day, and thus became one of the pioneers of Tippah county. He became the owner of extensive plantations well stocked with mules, etc., and also had a large slave interest prior to the war. He was a man of unblemished character and one whose sterling qualities made him respected far and wide and he instilled into his son the elements which formed the basis of his future success in life. At the close of the war Captain Spight found himself, in common with most youug men of his section, without means, his father having died on March 11, 1861, and his property which consisted mainly in negroes having been swept away as the result of the war; but with faith in himself, and by the help, coun- sel and encouragement of a noble, cultured. Christian wife who was distinguished alike for her indomnitable energy and womanly virtues, he entered the arena of life determined to succeed. Dr. J. C. Spinks, a prominent and practicing physician of Shubuta, Clarke county. Miss., was bom in Wilcox county, Ala., in 1831, on the 29th of August. His father was John Spinks, and his mother was Margaret (Kelly) Spinks. His father was bom in North Carolina in 1785, and was a son of Presley Spinks. During his early life his father was a carpenter, but in his later days he devoted his energies to planting. He came to Mississippi in 1 834, and located in Kemper county, and engaged in farming, thus becoming one of the pioneers of that part of the state. He and his wife were members of the Baptist church. They reared nine children: Mary, Peter, Presley, Jane, Margaret, Sarah, John, Raleigh, and Enoch. His father died soon after the time of the war in Kemper county, the mother having preceded him in 1853, the latter was a native of South Carolina, and was born in 1796, being a daughter of Peter Kelly. Mr. and Mrs. Spinks were married in Wilcox county, Ala. 814 BIOOBAPBIOAL AND HI8T0BI0AL Of nine children only five are living. Our subject spent his boyhood days in Kemper county, where he enlisted in 1861 in the Kemper Legion, in the Thirteenth Missis- sippi regiment. He began his military career as a private, but in 1863 was promoted to the position of assistant surgeon, which he held during the remainder of the war. He was in the fights at Leesburg, Fredericksburg, Millword, and numerous others, important and other- wise. When Knoxville was taken by the Federals in 1863, the Doctor was in charge of a Confederate hospital at that place. He was educated at the University of Louisiana, in New Orleans, and established himself in Kemper county, in 1855, in the practice of his profession. He was married in 1866 to Laura Hand, daughter of Dr. T. J. Hand of Kemper county, who has borne him seven children, five of whom are living: Gilmore; Bertha and Sherrid, who died in infancy ; John, Mary, Manley and Peter. Mr. and Mrs. Spinks are members of the Baptist church. The Doctor is a prohibitionist in his principles, though he acts and votes with the local democratic party. He has been an active worker in the prohibition cause at home. As a physician, he has been successful, having acquired a large and remunerative practice, and he is a member of the County Medical association. He is an enterprising and public-spirited man, deeply interested, in everything that pertains to the welfare of his fel- low-men. To churches and schools he is especially dev'oted, and it is known that he can always be safely counted upon to contribute of his means or otherwise aid any worthy object in which his fellow-citizens are interested. E. E. Spinks, D. D. S., of Meridian, Miss., was born in Kemper county, of this state, in the month of October, 1835, a son of John and Margaret (Kelly) Spinks, natives of North Carolina and Kentucky, respectively. They came to Mississippi in 1 833, spending the remain- der of their lives in Kemper county. The father was one of the honest sons of the soil and became reasonably well-to-do. Dr. E. E. Spinks was the youngest of their nine children, and was reared in Kemper county, receiving his education in the common schools. In 1861 he enlisted in the Confederate service, the following year becoming a member of company A, Thirty-fifth Mississippi regiment, with which he served until the surrender. The first twelve months of his service he held the rank of first sergeant, after which, until the war closed, he held the rank of second lieutenant. He was captured at the siege of Vicksburg, but was soon paroled. At the battle of Franklin, in November, 1864, he was seriously wounded by a gun- shot in the head, which came very near ending his life. He was given the most careful atten- tion, and, after a long sickness, was once more restored to health. When the war was over he began the study of dentistry, and for the past twenty-five years has been an active practi- tioner, and in the twenty years of this time that he has been a resident of Meridian he has become widely known as a skillful and experienced dental surgeon. His office is well fitted up and furnished, and he has all the latest improved instruments for the successful conduct of his work. In 1858 he was married to a Miss Ball, by whom he has one child, Maggie. His second union took place in 1 873, Miss Vallie Garner becoming his wife and the mother of his seven children: Garner, Mary, Enoch, Vallie, Henry, Virginia and Euby. Dr. and Mrs. Spinks are members of the Baptist church, and, socially, he is a member of the A. F. & A. M., belongs to Mount Barton lodge of the K. of P., the American Legion of Honor, the K. of H., and the Knights of the Golden Rule. He has passed all the chairs in the K. of P. fraternity, and has been treasurer of the K. of H. since its organization. Louis Spotorno, one of the progressive merchants of Bay St. Louis, Hancock county. Miss. , and the present city clerk of Bay St. Louis, has been identified with the interests of the place since 1888. He was born in New Orleans in 1851, and is a son of Louis Spotorno, Sr. His father was also a merchant in Bay St. Louis from 1854 to the time of his death, MEMOIRS OP Miaaisaippi. sis which occurred in 1871. Young Louis Spotorno was brought to the Bay when a child three years of age, but was taken back to New Orleans during the Civil war. He received his education at St. Stanislaus college, Bay St. Louis. At seventeen years of age he entered a wholesale establishment at New Orleans, in which he was a clerk for eight years. He then embarked in the mercantile business on his own account. In 1 888 he came back to Bay St. Louis, and has since made it his home. He carries a good stock of merchandise, and has a free delivery of goods system, which is a great convenience to the patrons of his store. Mr. Spotorno was elected city clerk in 1890, and has made an efficient officer. He is a member of the American Legion of Honor and of the Knights of Pythias. He was united in marriage in New Orleans, to Miss Matilda Olivari, by whom he has seven children. Emory J. Spratlin, planter, was born in Arkansas county, Ark., March 7, 1863, and in his native state and Mississippi he was reared, although the greater part of his education was obtained in the schools of Tennessee. His advantages were excellent, for his father was a warm patron of education, and while acquiring his knowledge of books, his time was improved to the utmost, thereby fitting himself for a practical and useful life. In 1884, at the age of twenty-one years, he began an independent career with a small capital, but instead of squandering it, as many would have done, he gradually increased his capital, and is now the owner of a large plantation, situated on the bank of the Mississippi river, live miles west of Rolinsonville, which is a thrifty little town on the Louisville, New Orleans & Texas rail- road, twenty-eight miles south of Memphis. His land comprises four hundred and eighty acres, two hundred acres of which is in a good state of cultivation, and very fertile, producing as large crops as any like amount of land in the county. He possesses many sterling quali- ties and habits, prominent among which are honesty, morality, industry and perseverance. He is a member of the K. of P. fraternity, and he and his brother, William A., are democrats in politics, and are deputies to J. W. Johnson, who is sheriff of Tunica county. They are reliable and trustworthy young men, and although William is an aspirant for the office of sheriff, they have taken but little interest in politics, preferring to devote their time to their business, the latter being a wideawake young business man of Tunica. In personal appearance, Emory J. is tall and slender, and has dark hair and eyes. He has been a resi- dent of Mississippi since 1875, and on his plantation has a beautiful and comfortable resi- dence. He was the third of five children born to John W. and Martha (Montgomery) Spratlin, the former of whom was born in Alabama, and the latter in Arkansas. John W. Spratlin was a stockman, while a resident of the state of Arkansas, and in that state was called from life in 1872. He warmly espoused the Confederate cause during the Civil war, and served throughout the entire war, making a faithful, brave and efficient soldier. H. P. Sproles, D. D., pastor of the Baptist church of Jackson, Miss., was born in Holmes county of this state in the month of January, 1844, the second child born to Wilson E. and Mary Ann (Fortune) Sproles, who were native North Carolinians. The paternal grandfather, Richard Sproles, came to Mississippi about 1836 and settled in Holmes county, where he opened and dug the Castalian springs, which afterward became one of the finest summer resorts in the state of Mississippi. Mr. Sproles first tilled the soil, but later became a merchant, in each of which occupations he made money. He served for some time in the Confederate army, making a brave and faithful soldier. He died in 1882, his wife having passed from life in 1851. Rev. H. P. Sproles was an attendant of the common schools until the opening of the Civil war, when he enlisted in company D, Pirst Mississippi light artil- lery, and served until the war terminated, being wounded on several different occasions. He was in the engagements around Vicksburg, and just two days before Lee's surrender he was 818 BIOOBAPHIOAL AND RISTOBIOAL badly wounded at Mobile, Ala. lu 1 865 he studied under Rev. C. C. Lee, of Holmes county, continuing until September, 1866. He then entered the Southern Baptist Theological sem- inary, and, by studying during vacations also, he graduated in May, 1870, soon after becom- ing pastor of the Baptist church at Carrollton, Miss. After remaining at this place for nine years, he in 1880 came to Jackson, where he has since been located. In 1890 the board of trustees of Mississippi college conferred the degree of D. D. upon him. He is president of the convention board of missions of the Baptist state convention, and since locating in Jack- son he has built up the membership of the church, and is held in high esteem by his congre- gation as well as by his ministerial brethren. He is laboring hard for the erection of their new church edifice, and in every respect is a faithful worker in his Master's vineyard. He was married in 1870 to Miss R. A. Pickel, a native of the Palmetto state, and by her is the father of four children: Mary P., Marion Olive, H. F., Jr., and James Arthur. Capt. John T. Stanford, Carrollton, Miss., was born in Duplin county, N. C. , February 17,1 834, and is a son of Samuel and Sarah (Maxwell) Stanford, who were also natives of Duplin county, N. C. The father was born in 1799, and in the year 1840 removed to the state of Mississippi, settling in Carroll county, where he passed the remainder of his days. He died in 1880, and his wife survived until December, 1888. Our subject is the third of a family of four sons and four daughters: A. D., a planter of Warren county Miss., was a soldier in the Confederate army and was wounded in the service ; J. H. was also a soldier and was killed at Harrisburg, Miss. ; Sam was killed in the battle of the Wilderness, and one sister is deceased. John T. spent his youth in the neighborhood of his birth, and in 1861 he enlisted in the Eleventh Mississippi volunteer infantry, and was promoted from one office to the next until he was made captain in 1863 after the battle of Gettysburg; he participated in the engagement of Seven Pines, the seven days' fight around Richmond, Malvern Hill, Boonsboro, Sharpsburg, and Gettysburg; in the last named he received a wound which disabled him for some time; he was taken prisoner and held for fifteen months at Baltimore and Fort Delaware; he was paroled, came home, was exchanged, returned to the front, and was finally paroled at Appo- mattox courthouse, having followed General Lee's army through the war. After the surrender he returned to Carroll county and settled on the old home plantation. He was married here in April, 1867, to Miss Mildred Taliaferro, a native of Alabama, and a daughter of John and Celina Taliaferro. The Captain and his wife have six children: Samuel, Sarah Clementine, James H., Anna Laura, John T., Jr., and Margaret P., who is now ten years old. Before the war Captain Stanford was a member of the whig party, but he is now a conservative democrat; he is a member of the Farmers' Alliance and is president of the local Alliance. He is also a member of the Masonic fraternity, and is a council Mason. He and his wife belong to the Presbyterian church, also all of the children with the exception of the youngest. Captain Stanford is a man of high integrity of character and moral worth, and is highly esteemed in the community as a neighbor, friend, and citizen. In the time of his country's need he went to the front and fought and bled in the cause which he had so heartily espoused. Aaron Stanton, a prominent planter of Adams county, Miss., is a resident of Stanton sta- tion, where he has a fine home, Brandon Hall. He was born on Traveler's Rest plantation, twelve miles east of Natchez, in 1840, and is the son of David and Anna (Winston) Stanton. David Stanton was born in Belfast, Ireland, in 1812, and in 1820 came with his parents to Natchez, Miss. He was educated at Jefferson college, and after marrying, settled near Wash- ington, where he followed planting until about 1843, when he removed to Natchez. There he followed merchandising until the breaking out of the war. He then joined the Tenth Mississippi infantry as lieutenant and served until the fall of 1862, when he resigned, having MEMOIRS OF MiaaiaSIPPI. 817 fought at Shiloh, Munfordsville, Shelbyville, etc. After the war he carried on his planting industry imtil his death in August, 1890. He was a selfmade man, of good business ability, conservative in politics and industrious in his habits. He accumulated a fortune before the war, but met with reverses afterward. Two of his brothers, Frederick and William, came from the Emerald isle to Natchez, Miss., about 1816, engaged in merchandising, and in 1S20 returned to their native country and brought over their parents, Aaron and Varina Stanton, who died here. Frederick and William became prominent and wealthy citizens and both died shortly before the war. Mrs. Stanton, the wife of David Stanton, was born at Traveler's Eest plantation in Adams county, and is still living. She is an Episcopalian in her relig- ious preferences. Her father. Gen. Samuel L. Winston, was one of three brothers who were triplets, born in Ealeigh, N. C, in 1788. In 1795 he came with a brother- in-law, Mr. Williams (who afterward became lieutenant - governor of the state) to Adams county, and there pa*ed the life of a successful planter until his death in 1831. He served in the Seminole war and was aid-de-camp to General Jackson in the War of 1812 at New Orleans. His two brothers. Judge Lewis and William, also came to Adams county at quite an early day and were prominent lawyers. The former died here in 1825 and the latter in 1834. Judge Lewis was at one time judge of the southern district of Mississippi. Their father. Major Joseph Winston, was a native of the Old Dominion but died in North Carolina. He was a major in the Eevolutionary war and was presented with a sword for gallantry at the battle of King's mountain. Ann W. Hoggatt, who became the wife of Gen. Samuel L. Winston, was also born on Traveler's Rest plantation in Adams county in 1800, and died in the same neigh- borhood in 1882. Her father, James Hoggatt, was born in Bedford, Va. , in 1753, and from there he went to Tennessee, where he married a Miss Bell, who died in Tennessee. Afterward Mr. Hoggatt married Miss Grissella Newell, and about 1800 came to Adams county, where he purchased large tracts of land east of Washington. He became an extensive planter and a breeder of race horses and had a training track on his plantation. There he passed the clos- ing scenes of his life in affluence. Aaron Stanton, the subject of this sketch, was one of four children, only one besides himself now living, Samuel W., who is a planter at Natchez. Aaron was educated at Jefferson and Oakland colleges and at the breaking out of the war he joined a company of cavalry and served as lieutenant, most of the time under Gen. Patrick Cleburne, until the close of the war. He fought at Murf reesboro, Chickamauga and all through the Georgia and Atlanta campaign. He went back with General Hood to Tennessee, and fought at Franklin and Nashville, and then retreated into Mississippi. He afterward rejoined General Johnston in North Carolina and surrendered with him. He was wounded at Kesaca, Ga. After peace was declared he returned home and on the 12th of October, 1865, he married Miss Elizabeth Elmina Brandon, daughter of Girard and Charlotte (Smith) Bran- don. The father was a son of Gov. Girard C. Brandon, born in Wilkinson county in 1818, and his wife in Adams county in 1821. They were married in the last named county about 1841, and at once settled on the plantation known as Brandon Hall, at Stanton station, where Mr. Brandon erected a fine mansion in 1856, the one in which Mr. Stanton now resides. Here Mr. Brandon spent the remainder of his days as one of the most prosperous farmers in Adams county, owning at the breaking out of the war about $1,000,000 worth of slaves. He died in 1874 and his widow three years later. Both were members of the Episcopal church. Mrs. Stanton was born at Brandon Hall, and by her marriage became the mother of four children, viz.: Charlotte S., wife of Dunbar Surget Merrill; Anna W., wife of Arthur E.Shaw, who is secretary and treasurer of Bessemer rollingmills at Bessemer, Ala. ; Agnes and David Brandon. The latter is now finishing his education at the University of the South at 818 BIOaRAPHICAL AND HI8T0BIGAL Sewanee, Teiin. The eldest daughter was educated at Hollings institute, Virginia, and the younger, Agnes, at Columbus college, Mississippi. Mr. Stanton lived on Cedar Grove plantation near where he was born until 1 875, and since then on the old Brandon Hall place, which contains about eighteen hundred acres and produces about three hundred bales of cotton annually. Mr. Stanton has never aspired to office, but is active in the interest of his party and for the general welfare of the county. He is a typical Southern gentleman and a man of many friends. His wife and all the children are active members of the Episcopal church at Natchez. Frederick Stanton (deceased). There are few selfmade men but what have had an interesting history connected with their early struggles, and a few facts connected with the past life of the above mentioned gentleman will give some idea of his usefulness in the different walks of life. He was born in Belfast, Ireland, in 1798, and in 1817 immigrated to the United States, forming, while on the voyage, the acquaiilkance of A. T. Stewart, who afterward became a merchant prince of New York city. After a short time spent at this place Mr. Stanton came direct to Natchez, where he at once began to make his own way in the world as a clerk, but by 1820 had accumulated sufficient means to enable him to embark in business for himself, and he soon after established the flourishing cotton houses of Stanton & Buckner, of Natchez, and Buckner & Stanton, of New Orleans, which at one time were the strongest firms in both cities. So in love did he become with his adopted country, and in such a prosperous condition were his business affairs, that he soon sent for the other mem- bers of his family in Ireland, and the numerous people of that name in Adams county are the descendants of this family. In addition to his mercantile interests, Mr. Stanton also gave a considerable amount of his attention to planting, and in this he likewise prospered. In 1 827 he was married to Miss Huldah Helm, of Kentucky, a daughter of Thomas Helm, and ' by her became the father of ten children, four of whom are living: Frederick, Newton H., Elizabeth, wife of Maj. John Rawle, and Verina B., widow of Mr. Gaither. In 1857 Mr. Stanton erected the magnificent residence in Natchez, which is, perhaps, the finest private residence in the state of Mississippi to-day. The residence occupies the site of the old fort of the Natchez Indians, the grounds occupying the block embraced by High, Monroe, Pearl and Commerce streets. It was erected at a cost of $130,000, was magnificently furnished at a cost of $40,000, and the beautiful marble mantels, which adorn each room, were carved in sunny Italy. The wood carving is also very artistic, beautiful and unique, and the chande- liers are works of art. The furniture was all made in Paris, and in making a tour of the wide and spacious halls, the stately parlors, receptionrooms, the diningroom (which can seat half a hundred gxiests) and the sleeping apartments, the effect is, indeed, almost oriental in its beauty. The grounds are no less beautiful, for stately live-oaks shade this ideal home. Mr. Stanton did not long survive to enjoy the beauty and comfort which, by his own unaided efforts, he had acquired for his loved ones, and in 1859 he was called from the scene of his earthly labors, leaving to his children the record of an untarnished name. His widow sur- vives him, and with her son-in-law, Maj. John Rawle, and family, still occupies the home erected for her by her husband. Maj. William Starling, chief engineer of the Mississippi Levee district of Greenville, was born in Columbus, Ohio, in January 25, 1839, and was the third in a family of nine children born to Lyne and Maria (Hensley) Starling, the parents natives of the Bluegrass state. The father was a merchant of New York for mauy years, and in 1858 moved to Illinois, where he followed agricultural pursuits. At the breaking out of the war he was appointed assistant adjutant-general under General Crittenden, and later held the rank of lieutenant-colonel. He MEMOIRS OP MISSISSIPPI. 819 was in the battles of Shiloh, Stone river, Chickamauga, and the whole Atlanta campaign. lu 1866 he came south, followed planting in Mississippi, and then bought a large estate, Sunnyside, situated twelve miles belo\v Greenville. The plantation was one of the finest in this section, and there were one thousand six hundred acres under cultivation. Mr. Starling, who was a worthy member of the Presbyterian church, died in 1876. The mother is still liv- ing, and makes her home with her sons, William and Lyne, both residents of Greenville, where the latter is engaged in merchandising. She is also a member of the Presbyterian church. Maj. William Starling was educated at the University of New York, which he entered when fourteen years of age; graduated in 1856, and immediately began reading law in the office of Alexander & Green, then, as well as now, an eminent firm of attorneys in New York; removed with his parents to Illinois in 1858. In 1861 he entered the volunteer ser- vice as lieutenant of company G, Third Kentucky cavalry. Federal army, and was afterward transferred to the Ninth Kentucky infantry with the rank of captain. He was subsequently promoted to the rank of major, and retained that rank in the veteran corps, and besides numerous minor engagements, was in the great battle of Murfreesboro. Mr. Starling has an enviable war record, and retired from the service only on account of sickness. After the war he came South, and joined his father in Arkansas in 1867. In 1882 the estate was sold to the Calhoun land syndicate, and the same year Mr. Starling, who had removed to Green- ville, entered the service of the Mississippi levee board as assistant engineer. In 1884 he was promoted to the position of chief engineer, and still continues to hold that office. He became identified with the interests of the South, and is enthusiastic as to its prosperity. He has attained considerable prominence in the Masonic fraternity. He is at present grand scribe of the Grand lodge of Mississippi; is commander of Delta commandery No. 16 of the * Knights Templar, and high priest of the chapter. He is an active member of the American Society of Civil Engineers. The Starling & Smith company, general merchants at Greenville, established their busi- ness in that city in 1888, and carry a stock of goods valued at about 130,000. They do an annual business of about 1300,000, are live business men and merit the success by which their efforts are rewarded. In 1890 they erected a fine two-story brick block on Poplar street. Lyne Starling was originally from Kentucky, his birth occurring at Frankfort in 1848, and is the son of Lyne and Maria (Hensley) Starling (see sketch of William Starling). He was educated at Yale college and graduated from that institution in 1871, after which he resided on his father's plantation in Arkansas until 1882. He then came to Greenville and engaged in the Bank of Greenville as corresponding clerk until he went into business for himself. He was married in 1872 to Miss Kate C. Watson, of Kentucky, the daughter of Henry Watson, who was from one of the old families of the state. To this marriage were born four chil- dren: Henry, Lyne, Jr., Inez and Maria. Mrs. Starling and her son, Henry, are members of the Presbyterian church. Mr. Starling is vice president of the Citizens' bank, and a direc- tor of the Greenville cotton compress. He is the owner of considerable town property. Mrs. Martha Steele, who is engaged in planting, and is a well-known lady of Copiah county, is the widow of Archibald Steele, and was born in Mississippi in 1836, a daughter of James D. and Lucretia (Corley) Cammack. Archibald Steele was born in Tennesste in the year 1819, a son of Peter and Anna Steele. Peter Steele died in Tennessee about 1828, and in 1830 his wife came with her family to this state, first settling in Marian county, but after living on a plantation there for about fifteen years, they removed to Copiah county, where Mrs. Steele lived till her death. Her son was a selfmade man, who, beginning with very little capital, but a willingness for hard work, gained an enviable reputation among the 820 BIOGRAPHICAL AND BISTORIOAL planters of this state. He served during the entire period of the late war under General Lee's command as captain of company G, of the Fifteenth Mississippi regiment. At the close of the war he resumed planting, in which he was successful. He was first married to Eliza Catching, who bore him two children : Whitman, a resident of Copiah county, and Julia, wife of Dr. J. T. Alford, of EockjJort, Miss. Our subject, the relict of Archibald Steele, was married to him in 1857, and to them were born eight children, six of whom are living: Mary, wife of Frank Catching, of Copiah county; James B., at home; Archella, wife of Dr. J. M. Catching, of Hazlehurst, Miss.; Abner P., at home; Oscar, at home; Bennajuh, who also lives at home. Mr. Steele was a member of the Masonic order, and was for a long time })rior to his death identified with the Methodist Episcopal church, of which denomination his wife was also a devout member. The leading characteristics of Mr. Steele were industry, frugality and unswerving honesty. He was a model planter, indulgent husband and father, and as a citizen was widely known and respected. • Johan Otto Steeu, father of Otto Steen of Enterprise, Clarke county. Miss., was born in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 1797. He was the son of Johan Otto Steen, Sr. , who died in 1842, at the great age of one hundred and three. The first mentioned was a great machinist and a polished artisan, who executed the finest styles of work in metals. The Danish government employed him in the manufacture of the finest naval instruments, compasses, lanterns, etc. He sjjent ten years in visiting the shops of the famous artisans of Europe, which went far toward his preparation for his life-work. He was married to Miss Jacobini Bless, in 1826. She also was a native of Copenhagen, born in 1809. Otto Steen, the eldest son of Johan Otto Steen, Jr., was born April 5, 1834, in Copenhagen, Denmark. He attended the schools of his native city, and at fourteen years of age was apprenticed to the trade of metalworking in a shop of which his father was superintendent and head workman. Here began that train- ing which was to develop in young Steen the finest powers as a mechanic in his chosen branch. It is not out of place here to remark that the Danish government requires all males to learn a trade. After four and one-half years of continuous service, Mr. Steen passed the required examination and was admitted to the grade of journeyman workman. Among the require- ments for promotion to this rank was the execution of a most artistic and difficult piece of work in hammered brass. This exquisite piece of work, which is now in the possession of Mr. Otto Steen, has been examined by the writer, and is certainly a testimonial of the mas- terly skill of the maker. After serving his apprenticeship and after his graduation from the Polytechnic institute, Mr. Steen visited Germany and Great Britain, and, in the autumn of 185!^, came to the United States. Landing at New York, he immediately found employment on Pearl street. He spent two years in Greenwich street, later, and, in 1854, went to New Orleans, La. In March, 1854, he removed to St. Louis, Mo., and later returned to New Or- leans. Becoming interested in Mobile, Ala , he removed there in December, 1854. Here he was employed until 1857 in a steamboat shop, owned by Robert S. Kirk. He then went into the same business on his own account, which he continued until 1860. In that year he re- moved to Enterprise, Miss., where he continued the business of metalworking. On the out- break of hostilities in 1861, he was employed by the Confederate government, in whose service he continued during the entire war. Mr. Steen' s wide reputation as a skilled machinist caused his services to be sought by the Mobile & Ohio, the Vicksburg & Memphis, and the Memphis & Charleston railway companies, and by others also. Simultaneously he was doing difficult and finished work for the Confederate government. The close of the war found Mr. Steen, like other Southerners, well nigh broken up; but with characteristic energy he set himself about the task of rebuilding his broken fortunes. His services had now be- MEMOIBa OF MISSISSIPPI. 821 come indispensable to the roads employing him, and he was continued in the employ of the Mobile & Ohio company, which connection existed till 1 870. Mr. Steen has kept in connection with his shop a stock of merchandise hardware. His services are yet sought far and near when work of most intricate character is demanded. Mr. Steen was married in 1858 in Mobile, Ala., to Miss Alena Robertsen, born in 1836, a native of Marstral, Denmark, which is not far from Copen- hagen. They have had eight children: Emma, Otto, Laura, Mary, Clara, Lena, Minnie and James, of whom the first, third, sixth and seventh survive. Miss Laura married Mr. Tib- betts, a gentleman from Minnesota. In religious affiliations Mr. Steen and his wife are Lutherans, while their daughters are Presbyterians. Mr. Steen is financial reporter for the Knights of Honor, which position he has filled for the past five years. He is eminently a successful man, having never been embarrassed in business. He is one of the pillars of his town, and a citizen of whom his countrymen are justly proud. Dr. W. J. Stegal, of Evergreen, Itawamba county. Miss., was born in this state in IS-IT, and is a prominent physician and planter. His parents were Stanley D. and Dollie A. (Thomas) Stegal, his father having been born in North Carolina and his mother in Alabama. Of a family of four children, Dr. Stegal was the only son. He attended medical lectures at Mobile, Ala., in the winter of 1872-3, and has been successfully engaged in the practice of his profession ever since. He was married, November 9, 1882, to Miss Mary A. Armstrong, who was born in Mississippi, February 5, 1855. She is a daughter of Maj. J. M. Armstrong. To Dr. and Mrs. Stegal have been born five children: Carrie Janet, William T. , deceased, James Stanley, Annie L. , deceased, and Fraukie R. In 1864, Dr. Stegal enlisted in the company of Capt. F. M Armstrong, known as company C, of the Second Mississippi regiment. He served in the Confederate army until the close of the war, when he was paroled at Macon, but did not j^articipate in any engagements. Politically, he is a democrat, and as a citizen he is public-spirited and helpful. He has a large practice, which extends over a large territory, and as a physician he has been unusually successful. He owns and operates a large planta- tion, raising considerable quantities of cotton and other products, and is regarded as one of the leading planters of this section. He and his wife are members of the Baptist church. William L. Stephen is well worthy of being classed among the substantial residents o£ Jefferson county. Miss. , for since near the close of the war he has been a leading merchant of Fayette. His parents, G-eorge and Barbara (Schneider) Stephen, were born in Germany, and a few years after their marriage immigrated to the United States, landing at New Orleans in 1832 with three small children. Unfortunately it was the year of the cholera siege at that place, and though they remained in New Orleans but about three weeks, they were called upon to morn the loss of one of their little ones. From New Orleans they went to Cincinnati, but after a residence of two years in that city they bought a farm in Warren county, Ohio, and on this farm the father breathed his last in 1845, he being at that time sixty-three years of age. He left a widow and seven children, three sons and four daughters. After his death his widow continued to reside on the farm, and with the assistance of her sons cultivated the land until 1854, when she sold out and moved with her family to Clarke county. Mo., where she remained about two years. At the end of that time she came to Fayette, Miss., and here the rest of her days were spent, her home being in the family of her son, William L. She was born May 14, 1796, and departed this life October 6, 1875. Lieut. William L. Stephen was born May 21, 1836, in Warren coimty, Ohio, and although his early opportunities for obtaining au education were somewhat limited, he made the most of the few months of country schooling that was afforded him each year. At the age of sixteen years, being ambitious of securing a better education, he obtained permission to work for 822 BIOGRAPHIGAL AND HI8T0MI0AL , wages on an adjoining farm in order to obtain sufficieul means with which to enter the Maine- ville academy, a school of high order located iu the eastern part of Warren county, and after completing his studies he went to Missouri and began working for his brother on a farm, remaining with him one jear. At the end of this time, at the solicitation of his uncle, who was a merchant of Fayette, Miss., he came here for the purpose of assisting him in his grocery store, and to this work devoted his time and attention until the war cloud, which had so long hovered over the country, burst in all its fury, at which time he left the store to take up arms in defense of the Confederate cause, enlisting May 4, 1861. During the first year of the war he was fourth corporal of company D, Nineteenth Mississippi volunteer infantry, army of north Virginia, but the second year he was promoted to orderly sergeant, and while acting in this capacity was often called upon to command the company. The third year of the war he was made lieutenant, and discharged the duties of this position faithfully and well until the close of the war, participating in all of the battles fought by the army of north Virginia. He was the last officer commissioned for his company, and at the time of the surrender was with General Lee. He was neither wounded nor taken prisoner during his service. At the close of the war he returned to Fayette and once more engaged in the mer- cantile business, and so well did he succeed in this calling that he has followed it up to the present time. His stock of goods consists of an assortment of general merchandise, and as he disposes of his goods at reasonable rates, and is strictly honorable in all his transactions, he commands a large trade. In 1878 he was married to Miss Elizabeth Paul, daughter of F. C. Paul, a former citizen of Natchez, but now a resident of this county. Their union has been blessed in the birth of three sons and two daughters: Barbara, Frederick William, Adolph, Lewis W. and Isabelle. Mr. Stephen is a member of the A. F. & A. M. lodge of Fayette, and for three successive years ofBciated as worthy master. It is remarked by those who were members at the time he took his seat, that the lodge was in a very dejjressed con- dition, but that during his administration a new interest was awakened, many accessions were made, and the lodge brought into good working condition. He is also a member of the Knights of Honor, of which order he is now treasurer, having filled all the offices within the gift of that organization. He at present holds the position of commander in the camp of Confederate Veterans lately organized at this place, called J. J. Whitney camp No. 10. He at all times manifests a deep interest iu the advancement of education, and is treasurer of the board of trustees of the Fayette high school. He has at different times held the position of alderman of the city, besides other offices of trust. His family are members of the Presby- terian church, and his wife is a most devoted Christian and is highly respected and beloved by her acquaintances. She is a devoted mother, and is endeavoring to train her children in the ways of usefulness and right living. Mr. Stephen inherits many of the sterling qualities of his German ancestors, prominent among which may be mentioned ffl,ithfulness of purpose, honesty, industry and frugality. Col. M. D. L. Stephens, the subject of this notice, was born in Williamson county, Tenn., November 9, 1829. His father, Denuis Stephens, the son of Thomas and Martha Stephens, was born at Fort Nash, now the city of Nashville, in May, 1796. Thomas Stephens was born near Lynchburg, Va., in 1760, and his grandfather took part -in what is known in history as the Bacon rebellion, in 1675, in which Bacon and his adherents were either killed or banished from the country by the British government. W. H. Stephens being one of the prominent actors in this rebellion, was banished and all of his property confiscated. He took his wife and went west, and settled on the James river, near where Lynchburg now stands, being obliged t( ) raise his family amid the most adverse circumstances, in rugged wilds, amongst MBMOIBa OF MISSISSIPPI. 833 the Indians, witliout any schools or advantages for his family. From this family Thomas Stephens sprung, and the many families bearing this name and that of Stevens who have spread over the South and West. Georgia's great statesman, A. H. Stephens, belonged to this family. Thomas Stephens and Martha Davis were united in marriage near Knoxville, Tenn. , in what was then the territory of North Carolina, in June, 1790. Soon after their marriage Thomas Stephens moved to Fort Nash, and at or near this fort Dennis Stephens was born. He was reared in Montgomery and Murray counties, with but little educational advantages. In 1822 he was united in marriage to Jane Hudson, the only daughter of John and Elizabeth Hudson. John Hudson was of Irish nativity, and his wife was Elizal^eth Spratt, who was the daughter of Andrew and Elizabeth (Blythe) Spratt. Andrew Spratt was born in north Ireland and was educated for a Presbyterian minister, but when he had grad- uated he fled to America instead of embarking in the ministry. He settled at Charlotte, N. C, where he established a school in 1760. In a short time he was united in marriage to Eliza- beth Blythe, who had a brother. Dr. Blythe, who was a surgeon in the Continental army. Andrew Spratt left his family, to serve some years in the army. At the close of the war he found himself very poor, with a large family to support. Dr. Blythe was the owner of a large tract of land in what is now Tennessee, which he gave his sister, and there this family set- tled. Sixteen children of this family lived to be grown. John Hudson and his wife came out to Tennessee with Mr. Spratt, and settled here in 1 800. A postoffice was soon e.stab- lished in this settlement, named Bethesda. The eldest daughter of Dennis and Jane Stephens was Susan T. J., born in 1825; the next child was a daughter, Martha E. N., born in 1827; Marcus D. LaFayette, the subject of this notice, was born in 1829, and Melissa A. E. was tiorn in 1M32. Dennis Stephens left Tennessee with his family and moved to what was then called the Chickasaw Nation, and set- tled in Marshall county. Miss., near Tallaloosa, in January, 1838. Sarah married W. H. Daniel, February 14, 1844, and became the mother of three daughters, Dora, Scott and Fannie, and three sons, Duruyter, William L. and Robert Lee. Mrs. Daniel died in 1871. The children are now residents of Nevada and California. Martha married Berry O. Best in 1847, and became the mother of five daughters and three sons. All are now residing in Tallahatchie county, Miss., being all married except one. Melissa married Jerard Burch in December, 1852. They have two daughters and one son, and all are married. R. L. Burch married Cora Weathers; Nora married R. J. Thompson; Ella married Newton Matthews. Mrs. Best and Mr. Burch are both living. LaFayette, the subject of this notice, the only son, engaged with his father in working a small farm on Pigeon Roost creek, in Marshall county, until he was seventeen years old, working on the farm, and going to school through a few months of the year. His parents were in straitened circumstances and had hard work to keep the daughters in school, but LaFayette was enabled to get a fairly good Eng- lish education. He began teaching school in the neighborhood and afterward taught in Tippah and Panola counties, in Mississippi, for the purpose of making money with which to complete his education. In 1851 he took up the study of medicine in connection with teach- ing, and in 1853-4 he attended lectures at Louisville, Ky. His preceptor was Dr. R. M. Grlover, of Tallaloosa, Marshall county. Having completed his education, he located at Ban- ner, in Calhoun county, and entered into a large and lucrative practice. He remained at Banner until 1858, when he removed to Sarepta, in the same county, some eight miles east of Banner, and continued the practice of his profession in partnership with Dr. J. M. Lyles until 1860, when he was nominated on the union co-operation ticket for a seat in the state convention which had been called by Gov. J. J. Fetters to consider the question of the seces- 824 BIOORAPHIOAL AND HISTOBIOAL sion of the state of Mississippi. He voted against the ordinance of secession in all of its \arious forms presented to the people of the convention, but on its final passage he recorded his vote for it with these remarks: "I was elected to this convention on what is known as the CO- operation ticket, and every vote I have cast since this ordinance has been before the convention has been cast in good faith to carry out the pledges made to my people. The question now having narrowed down to secession or submission, and as between the two I am for secession, I cast my vote for the ordinance, feeling at the same time that a different course should have been pursued; but I am a Mississippian to the core — the bones of my ancestors sleep iipon its hills — and all I am and have, and ever expect to be, are within her borders; and whatever my destiny may be, I am with her heart and soul." Immediately after the state had seceded he wrote home to his partner. Dr. Lyles, that war was imminent and that they must organize to resist, and directed him to enroll his name on the muster roll of a company then organizing by Dr. Lyles. Upon his return home he found the company organized, and on the 7th day of April, 1861, he mustered into the state service under General Lowrey, of Pontotoc. At the breaking out of the war Mr. Stephens was engaged in a lucrative practice and stood at the head of his profession. February 1 4, 1 856, he was united in marriage to Mary Jane Duff, the daughter of James Madison and Jane (HuUam) Duff, who were married in South Carolina in 1837 and settled near Sarepta. The result of this union was the birth of two daughters and two sons: Mary Jane Duff, the eldest, was born March 29, 1839; William Duff, the eldest son, joined Captain Wheeler's company of mounted men, attached to Col. Robert Pinson's First Mississippi cavalry, and was killed at the battle of Island No. 10, holding the rank of first lieutenant at the time; Mittie N. married A. McDonald, and died in 1872, leaving no children; James F. Duff joined the same regiment that his brother did and served as a private until the close of the war, taking part in all the engagements in which the regiment participated. He married Miss Mary Scott Mayes, the eldest child of W. D. and Mary Jane Mayes. He is now living in Water Valley, Miss. The Magnolia guards, the company into which Mr. Stephens enlisted, was called into active service May 29, 1861, and ordered to Corinth, Miss. Here this company was attached to the Seventeenth regiment of Mississippi volunteers, with W. S. Featherston as colonel, John M. Guirk, lieutenant-colonel, and John M. Lyles, major. Captain Lyles having been promoted, W. L. Duff was elected captain of the Magnolia guards, now company K. Mr. Stephens was tendered the position of assistant surgeon, but declined, preferring to remain with the company as second lieutenant. The regiment was ordered to Manassas Junction, Va., June 9, 1861. The regiment was attached to General Jones' brigade, which was composed of the Fourth and Fifth South Carolina regiments and the Seventeenth Missis- sippi regiment. July 17 Lieutenant Stephens was sent with a detachment from the Seven- teenth regiment to guard Conrad's ford, on Bull Run, and he reported the enemy advancing in force, and that evening he was joined by the entire brigade of General Jones, General Longstreet guarding Mitchell's ford. On the morning of the 18th the enemy advanced on Longstreet and a sharp engagement ensued, when the enemy was repulsed and withdrew. On the morning of the 21st the heavy boom of artillery announced the attack of the enemy on the left, near the stone bridge, or above. In the afternoon the regiment advanced in the direction of Centerville, and was confronted by twelve pieces of artillery. The enemy sent shot and shell upon the regiment so heavy that they fell back in a deep ravine and there sent forward skirmishers to keep posted on the movements of the enemy, when they found that the enemy had fallen back. The regiment was then ordered back to position on Bull Run, and spent the night in bivouac. This was the first battle of Manassas, or Bull Run, as it is called. MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 825 Lieutenant Stephens' regiment was then ordered to Leesburg, Va., to report to Gen. G. Evans, Joining that brigade, they went to Levettsville on the Potomac, near Harjjer's Ferrj-, captured and sacked the town and returned to Leesburg. Here they remained in camp a few days, when the company was ordered to the Potomac to do picket duty. Captain Duff camped the company at Big Springs, near the residence of Mr. Bell. From here tlie regiment went back twelve miles to Grouse creek, near Aldic, where they were soon ordered to the brigade, consisting of the Eighth Virginia regiment of volunteers. Colonel Hunton; the Thirteenth Mississippi, Colonel Barkdale; the Seventeenth Mississipi^i, Colonel Featherston; the Eight- eenth Mississippi, Col. E. K. Burt, and the Richmond hunters, with four pieces of artillery. When the brigade returned to Leesburg Captain Duff and his company were ordered back to the Big Spring, and pickets placed on the Potomac river. The evening of October 20 General Evans visited this company and told them to be on the lookout, as the enemy was making some movement, and if they crossed the river to fight them. Lieutenant Stephens asked him what was to be done if they came in overwhelming numbers. General Evans replied, "Fight them if they come twenty thousand strong." In the morning the company was notified that the enemy had crossed the river at Ball's bluff. They hastily organized, there being only forty-eight men, the rest being on picket duty. They moved rapidly in the direction of'the firing and met a detachment of the Fifteenth Massachusetts regiment on the crest of Ball's bluff, with five hundred men. A sharp encounter ensued, and the enemy was driven back. The company was relieved by the appearance of two companies from the Eighteenth and Thirteenth Mississippi regiments, and with their aid succeeded in driving the enemy back to Ball's bluff. This was a complete victory for the company, as they had not a man killed or taken prisoner, and they were outnumbered by the enemy. After this engagement the regiment went into winter quarters near Leesburg. In the battle of Leesburg or Ball' s bluff Lieutenant Stephens also participated. Early in February, 1862, Lieutenant Stephens was granted a leave of absence and ordered to report to Col. J. A. Orr in Mississippi. He did so, and raised com- pany D in his, the Thirty-first Mississippi regiment, and at the organization, after several weeks, was elected lieutenant-colonel. The regiment was ordered to Corinth, soon after the battle of Shiloh, and was placed in a brigade in General Breckinridge's division, going then to Vicksburg to join General Pendleton. This was in June, and they remained there during the bombardment, until the last of July, going thence to Baton Rouge, La., where they participated in the battle at that place. Thence they went to Grand Junction, pressing the enemy back, and then returned to Davis' mill. General Breckinridge then left the regi- ment, and with his division went to join Bragg's army in north Georgia. Under Van Dorn, the regiment then went to Holly Springs, and remained until after the battle of Corinth, when they went to Coffeeville, where a sharp engagement ensued, which resulted somewhat disastrously, and the regiment retreated to Greaada, Miss. Here they remained inactive until the spring of 1863. Van Dorn in the meantime took the caval- ry and attacked the enemy at Holly Springs, which induced Grant to retreat to Memphis. In July, 1863, the regiment was ordered to Jackson, Mississippi, where they remained for a short time, going thence to Snyder's bluff, on the Yazoo river, and from there went up Deer creek to meet a detachment of the enemy coming through Black Bayou and Deer creek to Vicksburg, where the enemy met a defeat and was driven back to Black Bayou. The regi- ment then went to Grenada, Miss., and from there to Edwards depot, near Big Black river. They met the enemy at Baker's creek, where they were defeated, and the army fell back to Vicksburg. Loring's division, of which Lieutenant-Colonel Stephens' regiment was a part, retreated to Jackson, where they were joined by General Johnston, and 826 BIOORAPHJOAL AMD HISTORICAL went to Canton, Miss., where a small army was formed which moved on toward Vicks- burg, when the news of the surrender reached them and they fell back to Jackson, with the enemy in close pursuit. Eemaining at Jackson for some days, the regiment then fell. back to Brandon, Miss. During the siege of Jackson, the Thirty-first regiment lost quite a num- ber of men, among them being Maj. Henry E. Topp, who was mortally wounded while directing the left wing of the regiment repelling an assault from the enemy. After going to Brandon, they went to Forest, and later to Newton Station, where Colonel Orr turned over his regiment to Lieutenant-Colonel Stephens, and went home to engage in the canvass for congress. The command then went to Enterprise, Miss., and thence to Demopolis, Ala., where they remained till winter, when they went to Montevallo, Ala. In the spring they, with the rest of Johnston's army, now commanded by General Polk, went to Rome, Ga., and from there by rail, went to Eesaca, where they met and repelled the enemy coming through a mountain gap. The regiment took part in two or three brisk engage- ments at this point, and then fell back to Adairsville and Cassville, where preparations were made for a final stand, but were ordered back to Cartersville and encamped for several days in the Altoona mountains. They met the'enemy at New Hope Church, and after an engage- ment in which the regiment was victorious, it was mustered into Peatherston' s brigade, Loring's division of Polk's corps. Lieutenant-Colonel Stephens had been promoted to the colonelcy after the resignation of Colonel Orr, who was elected to congress. Colonel Stephens received his commission February 12, 1864. The regiment then went from the line at New Hope to Lost Mountain, and from there to Noonday creek in front of Kenesaw mountain, and fell back after a short skirmish on this creek to the mountain, where they were attacked by a heavy force June 27, but repulsed the enemy at every point and then fell back to Smyrna church and fortified a line, but soon abandoned it and fell back to Chattahoochee river, and on the 17th of July crossed the river and formed a line on Peachtree creek. July 1 8, Johnston was removed and General Hood took his place in command. July 21, the regiment attacked the enemy on this creek and took their breastworks, but were compelled to fall back. Colonel Drane was severely wounded and Maj. F. M. Gillespie was killed, and two hundred and sixty-five men were either killed, wounded or captured. On the 22d of July, the regiment supported General Hood on the right at Atlanta, and on July 28, supported him on the left. He then encircled the city of Atlanta, and put up temporary breastworks and the siege of Atlanta began, which lasted till September, when the enemy struck General Hardee' s corps at Jonesboro. On the evacuation of Atlanta, the regiment joined General Hardee at Lovejoy station, where they remained for some time, then crossed the Chattahoochee, and came to the railroad at Big Shantv, where a sharp engagement ensued between Peatherston' s brigade and the enemy. The regiment sustained some loss and the horse of Colonel Stephens was shot and the fort cap- tured. Then the regiment moved on Acworth, which surrendered without a fight. Gen- eral Frendi's division attacked Alatoona, and was repulsed after a severe engagement. The regiment was still with General Loring, but Gen. A. P. Stewart was the corps commander, and went to Cedartown and back across the Coosa river and struck the railroad at Resaca. The regiment then moved off up the river, tearing up the road as far as Dalton, where it deflected to the left and went to Summerville, Ga. From there it went to Summerville, Ala., and thence to Decatur, where the enemy was attacked by the brigade. The command halted at Tuscumbia, Ala., where they remained a few days. They took up the line of march for Nashville, Tenn. At Franklin General Hood attacked the enemy in his stronghold behind three lines of breastworks. Hood's army suffered a fearful loss. Colonel Stephens had his MEMOIRS OF MiaaiaSIPPI. 837 right leg broken with a minie-ball just lielow the hip, and fell against the breastworks of the enemy. In this charge he lost one hundred and eighty- four men, in killed and woundetl, forty-five dying on the field. He was himself captured by the enemy and taken in the direc- tion of Nashville, across the H river, where he was abandoned by them in an old field. The ground was frozen and the north «ind was blowing and he would doubtless have died but for the kindness of a Federal soldier, who kindly wrapped him up in a pair of his blank- ets, and another soldier who put a fire at his feet. This no doubt saved his life, and in the morning the men of his own regiment found him and took him to Major McGorvick's resi- dence, where he was cared for till an uncle in the neighborhood. Miles R. Hudson, removed him to his house, where he remained till the army went to Nashville. He feels under many obligations to Mr. Barr of the One Hundred and Sixty-fifth Illinois regiment for ban- daging his wound on the battlefield, and for moving him from between the lines of the enemy and for watching over and protecting him, and to Colonel Stewart, of the same regiment, for his kindness and consideration to him while in his lines, and to the soldier, Mr. Hindman, who built the fire at his feet to warm him on that bitter cold night, and to a soldier belong- ing to an Iowa regiment for kindly giving him a pair of United States blankets to keep him from freezing. He and these soldiers are fast friends, and have exchanged photos, and he points with much pride to these pictures of his friends in blue, who came to his relief on the battlefield in the hour of danger. He fell back with the army across the Tennessee river, and made his way home, arriving there January 1, 1865, having ridden three hundred miles with his broken leg fastened to the horn of the saddle, with his negro boy walking in the road before him and riding behind him across creeks. He was eighteen days making the trip from Franklin to Sarepta, his home in Calhoun county. Miss. This ended his military career, as he was confined to his bed for nearly two months and was obliged to use crutches for more than a year. He took no further part in the war, but attended the session of the legislature in March, 1865, at Columbus, Miss., and took a part in its deliberations. When the surrender came he was at home with his family, consisting of his wife, a son Eudolphus and his daughter, Cleora. He was without a single dollar; the Confederate money he had was utterly worthless, and everything was gone but his family and some land, and he on crutches. He at once resumed the practice of medicine, but soon found that his broken leg would make it impossible for him to ride much on horseback. He gathered a little money and engaged iu merchandising with Capt. H L. Duncan, his former companion in arms. They soon took in a 2)artner, S. E. Kirkwood, and opened a store in Water Valley, Miss., with a capital of §1(),0()0. Captain Duncan soon sold his interest in the store to W. D. Mayes, and took up the practice of law. Stephens & Co. now did a large, paying business. In 1871 W. D. Mayes withdrew from the firm, and Stephens & Kirkwood continued the business. He wah elected to the legislature of Missis- sippi in the fall of 1 863, at the time Colonel Orr was elected to congress, but he kept in the field all the time except when the legislature was in session. He did not resign, for the men would not permit him to leave them. In the spring of 1865, soon after the surrender of the forces east of the Mississippi river, Gov. Charles Clarke called the legislature, and Colonel Stephens, being a member, went to Jackson with C. A. Lewers, his co-representative for Cal- houn county. Neither of them had a cent of money; iu fact, there was no money in the country. They got transportation on the railroad and reached Jackson, and arranged to board with the family of Col. C. E. Hooker, Colonel Stephens drawing rations from the commissary, by order of Governor Clarke, to pay the board of himself and Lewers. The legislature was in session about three days, the city full of Yankee soldiers and negroes; the zz 828 BIOORAPHWAL AND UIHTOIUCAL legislature did nothing, could do nothing. The third day Governor Clarke informed Stephens that there was an order for his arrest, and that the boys had better scatter, and soon after that warning they adjourned The proceedings of this assembly have never been pub- lished, and are perhaps unwritten. The Colonel got home without spending a dollar. He was elected to the state senate in October, 1 S6fi, from the district of Calhoun and Yalobusha, and served one session, and until, by the reconstruction act of congress, he, together with all the officers of the state, was turned out, and the state placed under military government. His business as a ruerchant j)rospered until contraction Ijrought ruin to the country, culminat- ing in 1878 in suspension and the surrender of everything to his creditors, and he once more took a new start in the world, and went to clerking to support his wife and seven children. In 1879 he was elected to the legislature and served in the session of 1880, and assisted as one of the committee in making the code of 1880. Soon after his return from the Jegislature he was appointed deputy chancery clerk, and served in that capacity till 1888, when he was elected chancery clerk. He served four years in this position. In 1S8H he was elected recorder of the city of Water Valley, and in 1890 re-elected recorder, in whittb position he is now serving. His wife and seven children are still here with him. His eldest daughter, Millie, married John W. Smither, December 22, 1890. His sons are unmarried. Since he came to Water Valley he has served as alderman and school trustee; in fact he is one of the founders of the magnificent grade of public schools in Water Valley, which has now enrolled more than six hundred and fifty pupils, and there is a tine building of twelve rooms for the accommodation of the pupils. Colonel Stephens was made a Master Masou in Theodosia lodge No. 182, in Sarepta, June 18, 1855. He represented this lodge in the grand lodge of Mississippi which assembled in Vickslmrg, January, 1856. He joined the chapter and council at Duncansby, Miss., in 1863, and was made a Knight Templar Mason in 1878. In 1866 he represented Theodosia lodge in the grand lodge at Jackson, and was elected grand senior warden for this year. He delivered the memorial address to the lodges of Calhoun city in the spring of 1866, which address was published in pamphlet form and is now among the records of the grand lodge. He was master of TJieodosia lodge for seven years and master of the Water Valley lodge; high priest of Water Valley chapter and eminent commander of St. Cyr commandery at Water Valley. He has ever been a true and loyal Mason, and devoted much of his tima in his younger days to the work of the lodge, and was a bright Mason in the various lodges to which he has belonged. Z. M. Stephens is foremost among the lawyers of the state of Mississippi. He is a resident of New Albany upon which city his name sheds luster. He was born near Fulton, Itawamba county, Miss., in the year 1852 and lived there until 1865. Then he removed with his parents to Memphis, remaining there until 1 870. In 1 873 he located in New Albany and began the study of law, for whicli profession he was pre-eminently fitted. In 1 874 he was admitted to the bar and has since practiced his profession with increasing and gratifying success. He has been engaged in some of the most noted criminal cases in northern Mis- sissippi and, owing to the masterly manner in which he has conducted them, he has been almost uniformly victorious over his opponents. Colonel Stephens is one of the most exten- sive land owners in the state and is one of its leading business men. He was first elected to the state legislature in 1873 and served during the session of 1874-5. He was returned in 1883 and served with distinction during the succeeding session and has since then devoted his time almost exclusively to the practice of law. He was an elector on the Cleveland ticket in 1884. His father, Dr. Stephens, was a prominent physician and surgeon of New Albany, who during a long career won the respect of all who knew him, and died deeply lamented in January, 1891. MEMOIRS -\0F MISSISSIPPI. 829 J. H. Stevens is one of the reliable business men of Lowndes county, Miss., and although he has only followed the calling of a merchant in Columbus since November, 1889, his eiforts have been prospered and his patronage is now large and lucrative. He was born in Colum- bus, in the month of January, 1838, to Hardy and Elizabeth (Myatt) Stevens, who were born in Raleigh, N. C, the former of whom came to Mississippi on horseback about 1830, being one of the earliest settlers of this region. Although he was brought up to learn the details of planting he began learning the carpenter's trade upon coming to Columbus, and some of the first houses in the town were erected by him. He followed this calling for many years, and in 1889 died at the age of eighty-four years; his wife's death occurring in 1882. Their mar- riage was blessed in the birth of eight children, six of whom are living at the present time: Mrs. Taylor, of Kentucky; J. H. , of Columbus, Miss. ; Mrs. Pg,lmer, of Columbus, Miss. ; John A., of West Point, Miss. ; and J. A. Stevens, and Mrs. J. B. Cobb, of Texas, all of whom are mar- ried and settled in life. Hardy Stevens was a member of the board of county supervisors for many years, was a member of the city board of aldermen and also Ijelonged to the Masonic fraternity. J. H .Stevens was reared and educated in Columbus and at the age of sixteen years started to make his own way in the world as deputy probate clerk, a position he filled to the satisfaction of all concerned for three years. He next became a clerk in a mercantile estab- lishment, a calling he followed until the opening of the war, when he became a member of company K, Old Columbus rifleman (which is still in existence), serving as a private until the surrender of General Lee at Appomattox. When at Bowling Green, Ky. , he was clerk of a court martial, but he afterwards became a member of company H, Thirty-fifth Mississippi regiment under Col. W. S. Barry, serving six months until company K returned from Camp Douglas, when he rejoined that company and served till the close of the war. After the sur- render he returned home and embarked in the mercantile business, which he continued to follow until 1874, when he was appointed deputy chancery clerk, serving throughout that year and in 1875. In 1876 he was made clerk of the circuit court, in which capacity he made a faithful and zealous official until 1888. He then turned his talents toward making a plat and index of land numbers of the county, and for the admirable manner in which he carried out this work he was well paid. In November, 1889, he once more embarked in merchandising, and is now one of the leading men engaged in this business in the county. He was married in Columbus, Miss., in 1869, to Miss Ophelia Wallace, who was born in Lebanon, Tenn., by whom he has two living children : L. W. and Allie M. He and his wife and daughter are members of the Christian church, and socially he is a Knight Templar in the A. F. & A. M. , and a member of lodge of Perfection, at Columbus, and secretary in the lodge of I. O. O. F., in which position he has served fourteen years. Capt. John P. Stevens was born in Caswell county, N. C, November 'SO, 1835, the third of ten children ))orn to Eev. George and Susan P. (Richardson) Stevens, the former a native of Georgia and the latter of North Carolina. The father was a minister of the Methodist Episcopal church and moved from the state of his birth to Christian county, Ky. , where he devoted his life and energies to his calling until his death, in ISSl. He was a strong suppor- ter of his church and served the cause of the Master faithfully throughout a long career. His widow survived him until 1888, when she died at the age of seventy-four years. The mother was of English descent, but the father was of Scotch-Irish lineage. Capt. John P. Stevens, was reared in Christian county, Ky., and in Hopkinsville received a common English educa- tion. At the age of fifteen years, he left the shelter of the parental roof and after spending two years in Cadiz, Ky., he came to Jackson, Miss., and from 1858 until 1861 he was a salesman with the firm of Robinson, Winelly & Co. He then became a member of company 880 BIOGRAPinOAL AND HISTOMJC'AJ. A, Sixth Misaissiijpi regiment, participating in the battles of Shiloh, Port Gibson, Baker's creek and siege of Vicksbnrg. Dining this time he served as captain of his company. After being paroled and exchanged, he reportefl to General Forrest at Corinth, was promoted to the staff of Generiil Buford and went through Hood's campaign. Upon his return from that campaign he was sent from luka to Aberdeen in charge of the ordnance train, and npoii reaching his destination was assigned to duty at Enterprise, to relieve Captain Freeman, col- lector of provisions for the army. He remained at this place until the surrender, then went to Pickensville, Ala., and followed tlie calling of a merchant for about ten months. He then came to Jackson, Miss., and here, in connection with John W. Robinson, he successfully fol- lowed the calling of a merchant until 1881, when Mr. Robinson died and Mr. Stevens contin- ued the business under the name of Stevens & Saunders until 1889, when the stock of goods was closed out. Mr. Stevens and Mr. Saunders then organized the Jackson Grocery Conijiany, in which Mr. Stevens is a large stockholder. He also owns six thousand acres of land, of which some two thousand acres are under cultivation. He is a stockholder in the Jackson Fertiliz- ing Company, and the Jackson Compress Company, and he has been one of the thrifty and pros- perous men of the city and a fine business man, He is moral, religious and honorable and his standing is high in both business and social circles. He was married in 1868, to Miss Sidney E. Green, a native of Mississippi and a daughter of Thomas and Mary J. (Stuart) Green, the former of whom was born in Baltimore, Md. To Mr. and Mrs. Stevens, two children have been born: Sue Stuart and John Price, Jr., both of whom are at home. Mr. Stevens and his wife and children are members of the Methodist Episcopal church and he is a member of the A. F. & A. M. , the Knights of Honor, the A. L. of H., and the Knights and Ladies of Honor. W. G. Stevenson is a native of the Palmetto state. He settled in Alabama in 1851, and engaged in building machinery. He then moved to Noxubee county, Miss., continuing his former business. In 1802 he joined the Forty-first Mississippi regiment, and was detailed in the ordnance department. In 1863 he was ordered to the commissary department for the erection of flouring and sawmills, and remained there until the close of service, surrendering at Meridian to General Canby. In 1865 Mr. Stevenson became a citizen of Meridian, was made a member of the city council of the rising town, and was also ex-ofScio trustee of the public schools. Meridian becoming a separate school district, he was elected president of the board of trustees, but prior to that had been president of the city council. He still holds the former position. Mr. Stevenson is one of the strongest advocates of education. In 1885 Meridian had five small schools, three white and two colored, with an attendance of two hundred and seventy. Now, with her three magnificent new buildings, and other structures, and two thousand students in attendance, she presents a striking example of progress and enterprise. The city has received more substantial aid in population, etc., from her schools, than through any other source. In 1884 the city did not own a dollar in school property, but she now owns 170,000 worth of fine property. The negro school, numbering seven hun- dred pupils, is the largest in the state. Mr. Stevenson and Prof. A. A. Kincannon, who was superintendent of the schools, were sent by the city to the northwest and northeast to investi- gate the progress of school architecture, etc. On returning, their plans were adopted by the trustees and city council. The system put into effect is essentially the one used at James- town, N. Y. Mr. Stevenson is the originator of the industrial featiire of the Meridian public schools, which he considers a success. Ho^ is Anglo-German by descent, and inherits a turn for machinery. The medical profession is ably represented in Lauderdale county, Miss., by W. J. Stev- MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 831 eusou, M. D., for his eiforts as a medical practitioner have been attended with the best of suc- cess and he is well posted and u]i with the times in his profession. He was born in Clinton, Green county, Ala., November '24, ]sr)6, the son of W. G. and Eliza J. (Shepherd) Steven son, both of whom were born in Newberry district, S. C, and emigrated to Alabama with their parents, where they met and afterward married. After remaining there several years they removed to Mississippi in 1860 and located in Noxubee county, where Mr. Stevenson followed the calling of a machinist. W. J. Stevenson was educated in the common schools of Lauderdale county, and at the age of twenty -one began the study of medicine, entering, in 1879, the Alabama Medical college at Mobile, from which he graduated in March, 18SI. He entered upon his practice in De Kalb, Eemper county. Miss., but at the end of six months, or in the fall of 1881, he located at Lauderdale, Miss., where he has continued to reside up to the present time. In connection with the large practice which he commands, he is also engaged in the drug business, at which he is doing well. He is a young physician of acknowledged ability, and his agreeable and pleasant disposition fits him in an eminent degree for his calling. He is the owner of about live hundred acres of laud near Lauder- dale, of which about two hundred acres are improved, and his stock of drugs is valued at about ?8()0. In 1885 he was married to Miss Sorinthia L. Simmons, a daughter of J. L. Simmons, and to their union three children have been born: Martha (deceased), Willie (deceased), and Katie. Dr. Stevenson and his wife are members of the Presbyterian church and he is also a member of the A. F. & A. M. of the K. of H. They move in the highest circles of society and are liberal contributors to all enterprises that deserve their patronage. Isaac D. Stewart is an extensive planter and dealer in general merchandise and planta- tion supplies, his residence being one mile west of Fayette. He is a young man of good business ability and coming, as he does, of one of the best families of the county, he is highly respected, not only on this account, but for his own merit also. He is a son of Will- iam and Martha J. (Mayberry) Stewart, the former of whom was born in New Jersey and raised in Illinois, Ijut came to Jefferson county, Miss., while yet a young man, this being about the year 3839. He soon became a clerk iu the store belonging to J. B. Carpenter, and after- ward became a partner in the concern. He married Miss Mayberry in 1 849, and went into business for himself, opening a store of his own. He continued to follow this occupation with excellent success until 1855, when he sold his business in Payette and moved to his farm four miles south of that point and lived there until his death. In company with a man named Drake, he merchandised at Rodney, Miss., in 1856 and .1857. He sold out to his partner, Drake, in 1858, and attended to his farm. He died March 1, 1S59. He was a man of shrewd financial views and owned a fine plantation of about eight hundred acres. He at all times manifested a Christian spirit and for many years had held official position in the Methodist Episcopal church. He left a widow, two sons and three daughters to mourn his loss, all of whom are now residing near Fayette, Isaac D. and his family residing on hi.s place about a mile west of the town. William C. Stewart is a dentist and is doing a large and floutishing business in that line at Fayette; Mary L., is the wife of Jirdson J. Gordon, a merchant of Fayette; Fanny E., is the wife of Dr. George Rembert, a dentist of Natchez; and Mattie M. is the wife of C. R. Freeman, a farmer of Jefferson county. Mrs. Stewart, the mother of these children, is the daughter of Abraham Mayberry, a planter and native of Tennessee. He became a resident of Mississippi when a young man and was here married to Miss Lucretia Boles, who was born in this county near Fayette, she being a daughter of James and Mary Boles. Mrs. Stewart has one brother and three sisters living: Henry J., MaryE., S33 BI09RAPHIOAL AMD HISTORICAL Kate v., and Fanny. Henry J., was a soldier iu the Coafederate army during the late war. The Stewart family are members of the Methodist Episcopal church and are liberal in their support of enterprises deserving their patronage, and at all times manifest a very charitable and christian spirit. A jjaternal uncle of Isaac D. Stewart was presiding elder of the Meth- odist church and died about twenty-five years ago at Mount Pleasant, Iowa, having been a powerful and eloquent divine. Isaac D. Stewart was born on the 1 Tith of December, 1852, and was educated at Fayette. On the 10th of April, 18S9, having come to the conclusion that it is not good for man to live alone, he was married to Miss Josie J. Whitney, a daughter of Wesley Whitney, a planter of the county. She was born on the 4th of Novem- ber, 1867, and has borne her husband one child, a girl named Virgie. Mr. Stewart ranks among the most active business men of the county, is largely engaged in stock raising and has control or supervision of several extensive plantations. No man in the county is more universally respected and to know him is to have a high admiration for him, for he is pos- sessed of those sterling characteristics which make a true man. Genial and hospitable in his intercourse with those around him, he has a host of warm friends and very few, if any, enemies. Col. James D. Stewart is an influential and well-known citizen of Jackson, Miss., and is of Scotch descent, his paternal great-grandfather, James Stewart, having been a fugitive from Scotland to South Carolina in 1745. After residing for some time in that state, he removed to Tennessee, of which he was one of the first settlers, and did his full share in the develop- ment of the section in which he lived. His son, James, was born on his plantation in Ten- nessee; was there reared and educated, and followed in the footsteps of his father, inasmuch as he made the calling of a planter his chief occupation throughout life. His efforts were rewarded by substantial success, and his latter days were spent in the enjoyment of a com- fortable competency. He died while on a visit to his sons in Mississippi, about the year 1826. His son, William, the father of Col. James D. Stewart, was also born in Tennessee, but about 1805 he came to Mississippi, and, like many of his ancestors before him, began devoting his time and energies to planting, a calling to which he had been reared, and to which he was thoroughly adapted. He was of a very active and energetic temperament; and, possessing sound and practical views, he was very successful in the enterprises in which he engaged, and became very wealthy. He interested himself in, and was a liberal contributor to worthy enterprises, and became president of a branch of the Planters' bank at Woodville, Wilkinson county, which position he was filling at the time of his death in 1835. In this state he was married to Miss Frances M. Smith, whose ancestors were amorig the earliest settlers of Wilkinson county. Miss., her grandfather, Peter Smith, having emigrated to this state from South Carolina about 1785. He followed the life of a planter, and at his death, which occurred in 1837, at about the age of seventy years, he left a valuable estate and a large family of children to inherit it. Among his sons, Coatsworth Pinckney Smith became a noted lawyer, and became chief justice of the high court of errors and appeals. He died in 1862. Col. James D. Stewart was born in Wilkinson county. Miss., in 1824, the fourth of his parents' children. He was educated in the University of Virginia, from which institution he graduated in 1 843, after which he continued the study of law at Cambridge, under Story & Greenleaf. Upon returning to his Mississippi home, he commenced the battle of life as a planter of Wilkinson county, and in 1850 was married to Miss Amanda Terger, a daughter of George S. Yerger, a distinguished lawyer, and about 1852 moved to Hinds county. Three years later he took up his abode in the city of Jackson, and here practiced law for a short time. In 1863 he entered the Coafederate army as chief of ordinance for Mississippi, reoeiv- MEMOlHtS OF Ml^tilH^lPl'l. ^<33 iug his appoiatment from the governor, aud held this position until the close of the war. He is a veteran of the Mexican war also, having served in company B, Jefferson Davis' regi- ment. Although the Colonel has never been an ofi&ce seeker, yet he has been prominent in the affairs of his section, and the people of Wilkinson early showed their appreciation of his ability by electing him to the lower house of the state legislature, in which body he was an active and useful memlwr during 1 S.id. In 1870 he was elected to the state senate from Hinds and Rankin counties, discharging his duties in ISSO aud ISS'.!; and during those years he introduced liills which became laws, one being an act to prevent prize-fighting, and another for the prevention of cruelty to animals, both of which were wise and humane measures. In 1878 he was elected president of the Howard association, soon after the organization of that society, and was one of its most active and useful members during the yellow-fever epidemic of 187M. He visited patients day and night during that dark period, being utterly fearless in regard to his own danger, and many owe their lives to his faithful and watchful care. In 18S5 he was appointed registrar of the United States land office at Jackson, which position he efficiently filled for four years. Of nine children born to Colonel Stewart and wife, the following are living: Ida, wife of Percy Lemly, a leading grocer of Jackson; George Yerger, a druggist; William N., a physician of Louisiana; Noland, a physician in the employ of the government, and Amanda. The family are members of the Episcopal church. William Stewart (deceased), one of the county's very early settlers and prominent citizens, was descended from the noble family in Scotland of that name. He came to North Carolina in 1 7:{l ), with several children and was at that time a widower. Soon after locating near Raleigh he met Jannet Williamson, a former lady-love of his single days who had come a widow to the Caroliuas with her children. This acijuaintance was renewed and resulted in their marriage, and by this union a family was reared. Patrick Stuart, one of the elder sous of William was a tory during the Revolution aud a captain in the British army, and Duncan Stewart refused to spell his name as his brothers, owing to differences in jjolitical views. Thus the name is spelled by the others Stewart. Patrick Stuart was progenitor of Capt. J. Madison Bachelor, now of Yicksburg, Miss. , who is the only representative of that branch of the family, being the great-grandson of Patrick. Duncan, James and Charles were the other sons of William by his first marriage, and he had also two daughters. These were: Mrs. Ventress, grandmother of the Ventress Bros., of LaGrange, ^Tilkinsou county. Miss., and Janet, wife of John Stewart, a native of Scotland, and a half-pay British captain, who on the king's birthday always appeared in full regimentals much to the disgust of the patriots of Woodville, Miss., on one occasion narrowly escaping violence at their hands. Captain Stewart aud his wife left no issue. Duncan and James emigrated to Ten- nessee in about 1797 or 1798, and settled in the vicinity of Clarksville. Duncan Stewart came to Mississippi territory and settled in Wilkinson county in aljout 1 8( )8 or 1800, and located the Stewart ijlantatiou in the southeastern laortion of the county, became very wealthy as a planter aud one of the most prominent citizens. He had been a member of the legislature while in Tennessee, and afterward became surveyor-general and lieutenant governor of Mississippi. He was a man of more than ordinary ability, a thorough politician, a man of learning, was very generous in his habits, brave and fearless, notably honorable and well respected, with a brilliant mind, and as a debater of public affairs had few equals in the state. He died in 1815, aged sixty years. He entered the Revolution- ary army as a private, and was promoted to the rank of colonel ; but owing to delicate health was compelled to quit the service before his undoubted military genius had time to develop ao4 BIOGUAPHIOAL AND HI8T0BI0AJ. itself. He was marric^d to Penelo[>o Jones, of North Carolina, daughter of Tignal Jones of that state, who was also a colonel in the Eevolutionary army. Mrs. Stewart died February 25, 1843, aged sixty- four years. By this union were born William (who died in infancy), Tignal Jones, James A. , Charles D., Catherine, and Eliza. Tignal J., the eldest that lived to be grown, was well educated, and a man of iine attainments. He was elected state senator from this district, also to the house, where he was founder of the bill protecting the rights of married women in holding property, real estate, etc. He was a man of prominence, and one of this county's ablest and best citizens. He was honorable, generous and pojmlar, and very fond of field sports, hunting, etc. , and through it all, was a polished gentleman. He married Miss Sarah A. Eandolph, daughter of Peter Eandolph, United States district judge, of Mississippi, appointed by Andrew Jackson in 1 8'23, and by this union was born two daughters, Sarah A. and Penelope. Sarah A. married William J. Fort, and owns a portion of the old home place. She now resides in Louis- iana, West Feliciana parish, and is very highly respected, and a cultured lady. She is a widow. Penelope is the widow of Charles L. Mathews, of the same parish, where she resides, com- fortable and happy. Tignal J., the father of these two daughters, died March 20, 1855. He was born April 20, 1800, in Tennessee. His widow is yet living with her daughter, Mrs. Fort, in her eighty-second year, an honored and respected lady, and one of the best of women, hospitable, kind, and loved for her many noble social qualities. James A., the second son of Duncan and Penelope Stewart, was born July 14, 1811, and died August 28, 1883. He was educated at Nashville, Tenn., and Troy, N. Y., and followed planting in Wilkinson county, where he became very prominent. He possessed fine business ability, and was dis- tinguished for his generosity. He became very wealthy and highly respected. He married Juliana Eandolph, sister of Sarah, who married Tignal J. Stewart. She was a beautiful woman, of sprightly disposition, and possessed unusual social graces. She was educated by the wife of John James Audubon, the famous naturalist, and at the Convent Ursuline, at New Orleans. She is now living with her youngest daughter, Mrs. Simpson, both of whom are members of the Episcopal church. To James A. and Juliana Eandolph -were born nine children, seven of whom are yet living: Penelope J., widow of J. B. Sterling, at Leland, Miss., Duncan Stewart, who married Caroline, the daughter of Judge Edward and Mary Burruss McGehee, and lives at Laurel Hill, La., where Mr. Stewart is engaged in planting and raising fine stock, among which are Devonshire cattle, and a fine grade of horses. He is among the leading planters of the parish, and one of the most honored and respected citizens. He was reared in Wilkinson county, but his birth occurred October 7, 1836, at Bay St. Louis, Miss. , while his parents were there spending the summer. He was educated at home by a jirivate tutor, and at the University of Virginia, and for a time also attended Yale college. Eeturning home from school he managed a sugar plantation for his father in Pointe Coupee parish, La., until the breaking out of the war; he entered the secret service of the Confederacy during the latter part of the war. Soon after the war he located at the present place, Laurel Hill stock farm. He is a member of the police jury of West Feliciana parish, which office he has held for many years. He was chairman of the democratic executive committee of the parish, which ended carpet- bag rule. He is a Master Mason of Woodville lodge. No. 63. To him and wife were born eight children, of whom two are deceased: George McGehee, Mary B. (who died aged nine- teen years), Louise F., Ida Eandolph, Henry Martin, and Eugenia McGehee, Kate B. (deceased), and Edward McGehee. The family are highly esteemed, and enjoy a pleasant home. The third child of James A. is Catherine, the wife of J. Burruss McGehee, one of MEMOIRS OF Miaaiaaippi. '^'■i-^ the prominent and leading citizens of West Feliciana parish, La., and a sou of Judge Edward MoGehee. They have one son, J. Stewart McGehee, who lives on the Bowling Green plantation. Tignal J., the fourth child of James A. and Jxtliana Stewart, was a highly respected and educated gentleman, and served during the late war in the Confederate army, in the Washington artillery of New Orleans, and was commissioned lieutenant on Deering's staff during the latter part of the war. He married Mary Heyward, and now lives in New Orleans. Kosa Stewart, the fifth child of James A., was married first to St. Clair Suther- land, of Maryland, a near relative of the Knickerbocker family of New York, and secondl}- to her present husband, Capt. Hiram Sharj), of Alabama. They reside on a part of the old home place. She is a lady of fine social attainments, very highly cultured and a fine con- versationalist. Henry M., the sixth child of James A. and Juliana, was drowned in the Mississippi river from a burning Ijoat, while trying to save a lady passenger, at the age of twenty-one years. He was a soldier in the late war in the Thirty-eight Mississippi regiment, was twice wounded and was distinguished for his Ijravery and coolness. He always kept his gun loaded, and when ordered by a superior officer to shoot a prisoner, he avoided the murder by stating that his gun was not loaded to shoot unarmed prisoners. He was the only man in the company who was known to have a loaded gun. He was a brave and daring soldier, and was loved and resjjected. Cornelia Randolph, the seventh child born to James A. and Juliana, a very beautiful and highly cultured lady, is the wife of Dr. Albert Bachelor, of Pointe Coupee parish. La. Ida, the eighth child born to James A. and Juliana, married Lenox Simpson, of Washington, D. 0. , a nephew of the celebrated Jurist Lenox, of Wash- ington. She is a highly cultured and attractive lady, now a widow. She and her mother travel a great portion of the time and own valuable property in Birmingham, Ala. Charles Duncan, the third son of Duncan and Penelope Stewart, was highly educated and settled in Pointe Coupee parish. La., where he became wealthy. He married Julia Black, daughter of Judge Black, who became United States senator. They have a son John Black Stewart, who has distinguished himself as an author favorably known as "Archibald Clavering Gunter," and who resides in New York city. He is the author of "Mr. Barnes of New York," "Mr. Potter of Texas,'' 'That Frenchman,"' "Miss Nobody of Nowhere," "Small Boys in big Boots," "The Daughters of America," "Ten Nights in Home," and several others. "Mr. Barnes of New York," was dramatized and brought out under the management of Frank W. Sanger, of the Broadway theatre. New York, and is one of the most successful plays now on the stage. The above novels have had, and are yet having, a phenomenal sale. "Mr. Barnes of New York," had, in 1889, reached its oue hundred and ninetieth thousand, "Mr. Potter of Texas," its one hundred and fiftieth thousand, "Miss Nobody of Nowhere," its seventieth thousand, and the others in large numbers. "Small Boys in big Boots," a story for children, became at once very popular and had a large sale. His writings are characterized by vigor, boldness of conception, originality, are never dull, always singularly fresh and sparkling, and are filled with unexpected and powerful dramatic effect. The press of the United States is unanimous in his praises. Even the Thunderer, the great Times of London, England, of November 4, 1S8S, says of him: "Mr. Gunter's books are more read than perhaps those of any other living writer.'' He married a highly accomplished lady, from New Jersey, Miss Elizabeth Luzby. Charles D., died in 1886, aged seventy-three years and in his middle life lost a great deal of his property by losing his eyesight, but the excellent management of his estimable wife regained the fortune. Catherine, the fourth child born to Duncan and Penelope, married Judge Harry Cage, by whom she had two sons, Albert and Duncan. Catherine died February 12, lS2y, 830 BIOORAI'HWAL AMD IIlSTOItWAL aged (ueuiy-four years, four iiiontlis and nim- days. Her two sous served in the Mexican war, and in the late war, Duncan as colonel and Albert as captain. They were well to do planters l)ofore the war, both of whom lia\'e since died leaving large familes, now living in Louisiauii. Eliza, the fifth child born to Duncan and Penelope Stewart, and the wife of Gol. W. S. Hamilton, died in 1870. She had a large family, most of them deceased. Mr. Hamilton was of excellent parentage and highly respected. His son. Col. Jones S. Hamilton, held the office of sheriff in Wilkinson county, and was state senator from this district. He was the youngest official of note ever elected to office in this county. The family of Stewart is represented in all of the Southern and southwestern states, and is connected by ties of blood or marriage with many of the leading families of the United States. Through the Randolphs they are connected with ex-President Madison, Thomas Jefferson, the Claibornes, Monroes, Pages and Nelsons of Virginia. Charles, the twin brother, of Duncan, lies buried at the Ventress place one mile north of Holly Grove, the old Stewart estate, which is still owned by the family. Prof. W. P. Stewart is one of the able, experienced and successful educators of the South, and his place among the leading men engaged in his line of work has been won by his own persistent endeavors and indomitable perseverance. He is a native of Mississippi, a thoroughly self-made man in every respect, and, although his parents were poor and unable to give him the advantages he craved, by many diligent hours of study by the fireside he managed to secure sufficient education to teach in the public schools of his native state. In this way he secured means to pursue a higher course of education, and first attended the Buena Vista college, Mississippi, afterwards the luka Normal institute, and last the National Normal university, of Lebanon, Ohio, where he graduated in the college of science, receiving the degree of B. S. in 1891. B. J. Stinson, son of John and C. J. (Clark) Stinson, was born January 18, 1859, a native of Lauderdale county. Miss., and grandson of Burwell Stinson, of North Carolina, born in ] 777. In his early manhood he began teaching school, which vocation he has followed almost continuously to the present time. In 1881 he was married to Miss M. E. Pickett of Lauder- dale county. He has had five children, four of whom — May, Effie, Elsie and Mary, are living. Mr. Stinson is the junior member of the firm of Stinson & Son, nurserymen, who are experi- menting in the propagation of a November jieach and who are sanguine of success. This firm is testing all the new varieties of fruits and berries with a view to supplying this latitude with paying stock. He has already given to the world the finest September and October peaches known in this section of the South: Stinson's September Cling and Free, and Stinson's Octo- ber by name. This is an institution which promises to be of great benefit to the section in which it is located, and indeed to the whole South, over which a correspondence and patron- age is fast spreading. Mr. Stinson is personally very social in his nature and has many friends. He is an educated gentleman, having graduated with the class of 1889 at Cooper Normal college. He is truly a representative, public-spirited citizen, and reflects credit on the county of his nativity. William H. Stinson, a son of John and C. J. (Clark) Stinson, the former of whom began life in Alabama in 1825, and a grandson of Burwell Stinson of North Carolina, born in 1777, was born in Lauderdale county, Miss., in 1861. He was married in 1884 to Miss S. S. Eth- eredge. Providence has blessed him with two little ones — Bessie and Lawrence. Mr. Stin- son deserves great credit for the patience and perseverance he has displayed in reaching his present attainments. He graduated from Cooper Normal college in 1889, five years after his marriage. Few men nxi' so persistent for an education as (o undergo like hardships, which MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. S37 renders Mr. Stinson's achievements all the more commendable. He has established the Pleasant Hill high school, six miles southeast from Meridian, Miss., iu Lauderdale comity, which has already wrought for itself a character which has reached beyond county lines. Fortunate in the selection of a site, blessed with fine water, e.xcellent drainage, good society and a wideawake patronage, it seems that nothing should interfere to prevent its complete success. The splendid furniture and latest school equipments found in the school are proof positive of the new life that has possessed the rural districts of the South in regard to educa- tional development. Mr. Stinson is a Baptist, but not at all sectarian in his school. Ai, present (1891) he stands as the choice of the democratic party for one of the three legisla- tive representatives of Lauderdale county. Miss. As to his election there can be no doubt, since he has no ojjposition wliatever. William B. Stinson, farmer and gardener. Canton, Miss. , is a natixe of Kershaw county, S. C, born in 1840, and is the fourth of six children born to William and Martha (George) Stinson, both natives of South Carolina. The father followed (he occupation of a farmer, was very successful in this, and died in 1845. The mother died about ]8sr5. The children grew to mature years and four are now living: Sarah, wife of J. L. Jones of the Palmetto state; Robert S., a farmer of Madison county; George, died at Pensacola in 18B1; William B., and Annette, wife of R. J. Cunningham of Texas. William B. Stinson passed his boyhood days in his native state, and received his education at a South Carolina college, graduating in 1860. The following year he enlisted in company G, Eighteenth Mississippi infantry, under Colonel Burt, and was assigned to Longatreet's corps, army of Virginia. He was in the engagements at Manassas, Leesburg and Malvern Hill, where he was wounded in the right arm. At Sharpsburg he was severely wounded in the left leg and hip and was left on the field. He was cared for by the enemy and iu a few mouths was taken to Baltimore, where he remained until able to be exchanged. He then returned to his company, but was not able to serve. He acted as staff officer to General Humphrey, and was then assigned to the invalid corps, acting as recruiting officer for Mississipj)i, and remained in that position until cessation of hostilities. He entered the service as a private and served through the various ranks up to captain, while in active service, and as major iu the invalid corps. His j)romotions were unsolicited by himself, and were the reward of bravery and faithfulness. After the war Mr. Stinson settled in Madison county, and was married in 1867 to Miss Kate Anderson, daughter of Dr. E. A. and Eliza (Green) Anderson. The result of this union has been nine children: Edward, William, Kate, Sallie, Mattie, Thomas, Louis, Annette and Eliza. Mr. Stinson engaged in merchandising in 1866, followed this occupation for several years, and was then obliged to abandon it on account of ill health. He subsequently engaged in farming and gardening, being one of the first of the place, and he has since found it both pleasant and profitable. He also has a farm of five hundred acres near this j'lace, and has two hundred acres under cultivation. For ten years he held the office of superintendent of public instruction in Madison county, and filled that position in an efficient and highly capable manner. He is a member of the Knights of Honor, Knights of Pythias and the Masonic fraternity. He and Mrs. Stinson are members of the Presbyterian church, and he is elder in the same and is superintendent of the Sunday school. Mrs. Penelope J. Stirling is a lady whose many admirable traits of character, whose kindly disposition and whose Christian life has endeared her to the hearts of many. She was born in Wilkinson county. Miss., in 1835, to James A. Stewart, a native of the same state and county, of which he became a prosperous planter. He was sent to Schuectady, N. Y., to be educated, and there made a good record for himself as a student, as he did for himself in after 838 BIOOMAPIIIGAL AND niSTOUWAL life as a I'l'l^lic spirited citizen. He was married to Miss Juliana Randolpli, a native of Vir- ginici, who still survives him, beiug seventy-four years of age. Mr. Stewart passed from life in lS8r). The grandfather, Duncan Stewart, was a native of Tennessee, became a government surveyor and laid off the state of Tennessee, Stewart county being named in his honor. He became a man of considerable prominence and served in the legislatures of North Carolina, Tennessee and Mississippi, and at the time of his death was holding the position of lieuten- ant governor of the state of Mississippi. His wife was formerly Miss Penelope Joniis, a native ol' Orange county, N. C. His father was descended from James I of Scotland, and was ban- ished from his native land. The grandmother's father, Ool. Tignal Jones, was a North Caro- linian, and during the Revolutionary war served in the Colonial army. The mother was the daughter of Judge Peter Randolph, of the supreme bench of Mississippi, who was descended from Sir Edward Randolph, who was Queen Elizabeth's friend and adviser and ambassador to the courts of Russia and Prance. The maternal grandmother was a Miss C^ocke, of Vir- ginia. Mrs. Penelope J. Stirling was reared in "Mississippi and was educated by tutors and governesses at home. She was married in 18r)4 to James B. Stirling, who was born in Louis- iana, and by calling was a sugar planter. He came to this state in 1857, and successfully followed the calling of a planter in Washington county, until his career was closed in 187U. His father, Henry Stirling, was a native of Louisiana, and his grandfather was born in Scot- land, who, after coming to America, was married to Miss Ann Alston, of South Carolina, and was employed by the Spanish government to lay off the state of Louisiana. He was after- ward incarcerated in Moro castle, Cuba, by Spanish authorities, on account of his son's con- duct in an insurrection against the Spanish government, ]jut was afterward released by order of Napoleon. To Mr. and Mrs. Stirling ten children were born: Julia Anna, Mary Isabel, Louisa Butler, James Stewart, Henry S., Mary Cornelia, James Bowman, Penelope, and two children who died in infancy. The only ones who are now living are Julia A., Louisa B. and James B. Mrs. Stirling is the owner of a fine plantation of five hundred acres, four hundred and fifty of which are devoted to the raising of cotton, and calls her place Avondale. Beside this she owns. one thousand seven hundred and fifty acres in Alabama. She lives on her plantation, all alone the most of the time, and successfully controls and manages the sixty negroes who work her land. She is very intelligent and versatile, is an interesting conversa- tionalist, and, although she is now somewhat advanced in years, she thinks it a small matter to get on her horse and ride all over her plantation to see that everything is in good working order. She is kindness itself to the negroes who are on her place, and it is a rare thing when she has any difficulty with them. She is a strict member of the Episcopal church, and over her renters she exerts a good moral influence. She is benevolent and hospitable and her home is a favorite resort of her numerous and warm friends. Mrs. Sarah H. Stirling was born on Lake Washington, Miss., on the 13th of April, 183H, being the second of five children born to John A. and Sallie Steen (Jefferies) Miller, natives, respectively, of Kentucky and Tennessee. When still in their early youth, they came to Mississippi, and Mr. Miller at once engaged in i)lanting in Washington county, at which occupation he became very wealthy, being at the time of his death the richest man in the county. His daughter, Sarah H., became the wife of William H. Stirling in 1856, the latter being a native of Louisiana, and at that time operating a large sugar plantation in his native state. There he remained until ]87?>, when he came to Mississipj^i and located at the head of Lake Washington, on the plantation on which his widow now resides. Here he engaged in cotton planting, and at the time of his deatli was one of the wealthiest planters in the Yazoo delta. He devoted alidul f3n,0()0 to improving their home shortly after their marriage. MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 889 and it is now a commodious, substantial, well furnished and remarkably pleasant home. Mrs. Stirling was reared in Mississippi, and received her literary education in the city of New Orleans and Frankfort, Ky., and has given her four children excellent advantages also. Their names are Mary, Georgie Miller, Sallie Steen and Eleanor Corinne; all accomplished, intelligent and refined ladies. Mrs. Stirling is a practical business woman, and since her husband's death has successfully managed her large plantation, consisting of two thousand aces, of which about nine hundred acres are under cultivation. She is of Scotch descent, and comes of an exceptionally line family, that settled in Louisiana while it was still under con- trol of the Spanish government, and is a great-granddaughter of G-en. Evan Shelby of Ten- nessee. Her husband was a son of Henry and Mary (Bowman) Stirling, natives of Louisiana and Pennsylvania, respectively, the latter inheriting German blood of her ancestors, who came to this country at a very early period and settled in Pennsylvania. Mr. Stirling was a lineal descendant of Lord Belmore of Ireland. Mrs. Stirling and her daughters are mem))ers of the Episcopal church. C. C. Stockard, M. D., a prominent physician of Columbus, Miss., has shown himself to be a physician of decided skill and merit, and is worthy the confidence and trust reposed in him by all classes. He was born in Macon, Noxubee county. Miss., July 24, lS5;:i, a son of J. J. and V. A. (Bupert) Stockard, natives of Tennessee ftnd Georgia, respectively, l)ut about 1 S-tO became residents of Noxubee county. Miss. Mr. Stockard opened the first mer- cantile establishment at Brooksville and sold the land to the Mobile A: Ohio railroad for their depot at that point, and he it was who named the town Brooksville. He carried on busi- ness at this point until 18'">1, but was interested in the same calling at Macon until 18r)8. He then became a commission and cotton factor under the firm name of Rupert, Stockard & Co., at Mobile, Ala., in which business he was very successful until the opening of the war. During the early part of the war of secession he served as a cotton buyer for the government, but was subsequently in the militia, after which he again embarked in the commission business in Mobile, under the firm name of Cozart, Stockard & Co. This firm consisted of eight wealthy men who conducted business on an extensive scale, carrying on their operations at -Mobile, Memphis, New Orleans and New York, and continued in existence several years. Succeeding this Mr. Stockard moved to his plantation in Chickasaw county, but after a short time removed to West Point, Miss., where he was engaged in the hardware business for some time with Messrs. Bonner & Poster. He opened the First National bank at West Point, which was the second national bank to be ojiened in the state, and in numerous ways was an enterprising and pushing man of business. He is now a resident of Chattanooga, Tenn., and although in his seventy- fourth year is yet hale and vigorous. To himself and wife, a family of five children were born: Rupert, M. D., of Columbus; Dr. C. C; Sidney Lea; Thomas W., died in 1878; Arthur, and Daisy, wife of C. V. LeCraw. C. C. Stockard, M. D., was reared principally on a plantation and was an attendant of the country schools until he was seventeen years of age. He then entered the University of Mississippi at Oxford, where he took a three years course in engineering, at the end of which time this branch of study was abolished in the institution, after which be decided to study medicine. In the fall of 1875 he began attending lectures at Nashville, and in IN77 graduated in his profession from Vanderbilt university. His first practicing was done in Washington county. Miss., where he remained until January, 18S(), at the end of which time he went to Europe for the purpose of taking a clinical course. He spent the most of his time at Vienna, Austria, in the hospital of that place, the largest one in the world, and during this time pursued his researches with Prof. Carl Braun, a noted man of that country. 840 BIOGRAPHICAL AND IID^TORWAL He was absent from his native land about one year, but returned to this country with the con- sciousness of having improved every opportunity and of being able to take upon himself the arduous diities of a physician. He then came to Columbus, which city has since been his home and where, owing to his ability, he has built up an extensive and lucrative practice. He keeps thoroughly apace with the progress made in his profession, and is a member of the state medical association and the Lowndes County association. Hon. Thomas liingland Stockdale is a memljer of congress from the sixth district of Mississippi, and as an American is all that the word implies. In his nature are embodied all those principles of sterling integrity, determination of purpose and indomitable energy so characteristic of tlif' American people, and these have placed him among the foremost of his fellows. Just after the war of the Revolution, when the dark cloud that for seven long years had hung over tlie Western continent had cleared away, revealing in all its resplendent glory the new republic, that had risen from the altar of sacrifices, to take its place among the nations and powers of the world, the oppressed and down-trodden of the Eastern dynasties saw in the new government an organization destined to become the Mecca of those who sought the blessings of fraternity, liberty and equality. Among those who were attracted by the bright gleam of the star of the new republic, was one James Stockdale, who, leaving behind him the tender associations of kindred and home, came to the new world, and located in Pennsylvania, where he soon married a Miss Weir, and became the father of one son and four daughters. His son, William, was born in Greene county, Penn., where he spent his childhood. He had scarcely attained his eighteenth year when the War of 1812 plunged the country again into all the horrors of war, and threatened with disaster the flag that had floated so proudly above a peaceful and prosperous land. The spirit of liravery and patriotism of thqse who called the country theirs knew no limit. Immediately following the cry for aid came the steady tramp, tramp, tramp of those sturdy pioneers marching forth for the defense of their country and their homes, and among them was William Stockdale. He was married to Miss Hannah McQuaid, a Pennsylvanian, of Scotch-Irish descent, and they lived and died in Pennsylvania. Their union was blessed by four sons and three daughters, and of these James, who is deceased, was a member of the Maryland legislature, representing a Baltimore district. John M. , now a resident of Washington, Penn., was twice chosen as Greene county's representative in the Pennsylvania legislature, and in 1884 was the democratic nominee for congress from his district. Robert P. Stockdale lives at Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, and Mrs. J. B. Wise of Washington county, Penn., is the only surviving daughter. Thomas Ringland Stockdale is the sixth child in his family, and was born in Greene county, Penn., February 28, 1828. Ihiring his boyhood, which was spent upon the farm, he experienced all the hardships and privations which fell to the lot of the youth of that period. The little district school near his home afforded him but meager advantages for an (Hlucation, but young Stockdale attended it for a few weeks during the winter months, apply- ing himself to his studies with energy and diligence, and thus with the aid of his mother, a lady of exceptional cultiire, he laid the foundation for his education. Those early struggles of the pioneers made a lasting impression upon their after lives. It constituted the tire which separated the gold from the dross and awakened the men and women to a stern realization of the difficulties and responsibilities of life, and it may be truly said that the privations endured in his youth by Thomas R. Stockdale, and in the obstacles he met and fearlessly overcame was laid the foundation for the resolute determination, the tireless energy, and the unimpeachable honesty which were the chief attributes of his whole after life. At the age of twenty-one years he entered college at Waynesburg, Penn., and in 1853 became a student in MEMOIRS OF MlaaiSSIPI'I. N41 Jefferson, now Washington and JeflBerson college, becoming in 1856 the proud possessor of a diploma from that institution. Later in the same year he came to Mississippi and soon found employment as a teacher in the schools of Covington county. In 1857 he became a resident of Pike county, where he accepted a position in the Holmesville academy, and while performing his duties he at the same time gave atten- tion to the study of law, and in 1858 had as his preceptor the Hon. John T. Lamkin, at that time one of the leading attorneys of the South and afterward the representative of his dis- trict in the Confederate congress. In the fall of 1858 he entered the University of Missis- sippi, where he applied himself with characteristic energy to the prosecution of his legal studies and by close application and assiduous effort completed both his junior and senior courses in one year, graduating in 1 859. Returning to Holmesville he entered upon the practice of his profession. When the first shot crashed against the walls of Fort Sumter and awakened the people of both North and South to a knowledge of the real character of the impending conflict, Mr. Stockdale was among the first to offer his services for the defense of his state, and in April, 1861, he enlisted in the Confederate service as a member of the Quitman guards and was soon elected lieutenant of his company. He soon won the appoint- ment of adjutant of the Sixteenth Mississippi regiment of infantry and before the close of ISOl was elected major of that regiment. Returning to Mississippi in 1862 he recruited and organized a company of cavalry and took the field as its captain. He was appointed com- mander of Stockdale's battalion of cavalry and in 1863 was commissioned major of volun- teers. As a reward for efficient service he was soon wearing the stars of a lieutenant colonel, and in 1 864 was assigned to the Fourth Mississippi cavalry. He was severely wounded while commanding his regiment at the battle of Harrisburg (one of the engagements near Tupelo), July 14, 1864. Colonel Stockdale was paroled from General Forrest's army May 12, 1865, after having performed gallant and continuous service since 1861. An amusing inci- dent is related at the Colonel's expense, and may, perhaps, be found of interest in this connec- tion. Upon one occasion when the regiment was drawn up in order of battle, awaiting the command to participate in the engagement, and he was riding down the line with words of cheer and encouragement for his men, he noticed a soldier, whom for the occasion we will call Smith, dodging a bullet that went whistling by in close proximity to his ear. The Col- onel laughingly reproved him, telling him of the impossibility of dodging a minie liall. The Colonel had proceeded but a short distance when a huge shell from the Federal liattery came shrieking through the air, and when directly above the Colonel burst with a deafening- roar. Nature was stronger than military discipline, and down went the Colonel's head. Smith, who had been watching him, thereuptfn called out: "That's all right. Colonel, you dodge the big ones, and I'll look out for the little fellows." In the roars of laughter which followed this remark those present all forgot for the moment the dangers of the situation. The war being over. Colonel Stockdale returned to Holmesville and resumed the practice of his profession. In February, 1867, he married Miss Fannie Wicker, a native of Amite county, Miss. , and a daughter of Adam Wicker, an extensive planter there. During that year they settled in Summit, Pike county. Miss., and in 1869 Colonel Stockdale became associated in the practice of law with the late Judge Hiram Cassedy, a prominent lawyer and leading jurist of the South. This partnership existed for twelve years, and the firrn was widely noted for its strength and ability. In 1868 Colonel Stockdale was a member of the National democratic convention, was presidential elector on the democratic ticket in 1872, and again in 1884. In 1886 he was elected to the Lth congress; in 1888 to the List congress, and was re-elected in 1890. In the Lth congress he was a member of the 842 BIOORAPHIGAL AND HIBTORIGAL committee on public lands and war claims, and in the List congress was a member of the committee on levees and improvements of the Mississippi river and public lands. The first session of the Lth congress will ever be memorable for its debates, the tariff discussion being the ablest ever had on that subject. It has shown more comprehensive grasp and more certain and detailed information among the members generally than has been heretofore displayed by even a few leaders. This has been both a school and an opportunity to the new man, and Mr. Stockade availed himself of the school and was equal to the oppor- tunity. His speeches are marked by vigor, clearness, logic and points, and at times rise into impassioned and commanding eloquence as in the peroration of his tariff speech on May 5, and in his eiilogy on the soldiers of the war. He has a strong sense of humor, tells a story well and has surprises and qtiaint terms in his speech which keep the listener on the qui vive. His talking has not interfered with his work, since few constituencies have had so tireless and efficient a representative. In this long session which, lasted ten months, he was absent only about a week and never missed a meeting of his committees — war claims and public lands. He voted on every proposition that came before the house. Out of the seven thousand cases before the war claims committee, he reported all from Mississippi and many from other states, and never had a report reversed by his committee, which is a most emphatic compliment to his industry, intelligence and sense of justice. He framed bills to remove the quarantine stations on the Mississippi coast; to hold a term of the federal court at Mississippi City; joint resolution to withdraw the public lands from sale; bills to build a bridge at Natchez across the Mississippi river; secured appropriations for the harbors and rivers in his district and bills giving pensions to many of his constituents. His speech on the bill forfeiting land grants to railroads favored forfeiture for reasons clearly shown, whether the grants were earned out of time prescribed or not at all. He spoke also most effectively on the timber clause of the homestead bill. His speech on the claim of Mr. Poitevent, one of his constituents, was one of the ablest ever made on a private claim bill. He clearly exposed and unmercifully ridiculed the idea, which seems to have been the polar star of the Southern claims commission and still held by many republican members of con- gress, that a man in the South was necessary disloyal because a relative happened to have been a Confederate soldier, or because he was never hanged or had his house burnt over his head by the Confederate authorities. He illustrated by his own case a Confederate whose father, brothers and kin were all loyal Pennsylvanians. This speech let the light into many dark j)laces and set Northern members to thinking. He put himself on record against extensive pleasure grounds for the few rich at the expense of the many poor, whether at Washington or in Yellowstone park, contending that the best use of the public lands is for homes for the peo- ple, and fields, woods and mines for their industry and enterprise. In his remarks upon the proposition to take the diity off of salt, he attacked the protection by the reductio ad absurdum' and said that the protectionists proposed to help God and alter the plan of creation. All his speeches are fiill of crisp, solid sentences that stick in the memory and turn up handy for (juotation. He support,ed with energy the bill to create a department of agriculture. Showed that it was in no sense class legislation, and that the prosperity, wealth, and even life of the nation depended upon the farmers. This tribute to the honest farmers will be appreciated in Mis- sissippi, which is essentially an agricultural state. Mr. Stockdale gave more study and thought, perhaps, to his tariff speech than to any other, for he realized that in that long array of able debaters and eloquent orators, if he would be heard at all, what he did say must be well said. His speech met the high expectation of his friends, was immediately recognized BATTLE OF CORINTH Oct 3-4, 1862. CONFEDERATES i=3 FEDERALS ^ I OPiE MILE. I P R AT ■' Si U n .'' '-'" CORINTH, A^ay 30th. 1862. CONFEDERATES .\'. Stone, the fifth of their twelve children, was born in Boone county. Mo., July 20, 1840, and received his initiatory training in a log schoolhouse in S56 BIOORAPHIOAL AND HISTORICAL Columbia. He afterwHrd fitted liiniseif for the ;ic(ive duties of life in the University of Missouri, from which he was graduated in 1S59, soon niter which he began the study of law. When the war broke out he, with the enthusiasm of youth, determined to become a votary of Mars, and soon became second lieutenant of a local company, which was afterward attached to the Confederate army. After serving six months he joined another company, and although he was at one time captured he succeeded in making his escape, after which he joined the Confederate army at Tupelo, Miss., and took service in the quartermaster's department. In December, 1862, he joined the army of General Hindman at Fort Smith, Ark. ,■ and while participating in the varied fortunes of that command he was, in a few months, made lieuten- ant, and was shortly afterwaid promoted'te the rank af eai^tain of company E, Ninth Mis- souri infantry. He was in the battles of ftairie Grove, Ark. ; Mansfield, Pleasant Hill, and in all the engagements in which General Price participated on his Missouri raid. He did much staff duty under the various commanders of the brigade, and surrendered at Shreve- port. La., in 1865. After some time Captain Stone returned to his old Missouri home, but after a very short stay there he came South to Mississippi (1866), and although his finances at that time were at a very low ebb, he began merchandising at Greenville in a small way, soon after turning his attention to planting, which occupation has received the greater part of his attention ever since. That he is admirably fitted for this calling is undoubted, for he is now owner of six thousand acres of some of the most valuable and fertile land in the state, the twenty-five hundred acres which are under cultivation being almost wholly cleared and improved by himself. This land is in four plantations, all of which are favorably situated for agricultural purposes, and show that a man of enterprise and energy has the management of affairs. Since 1875 he has taken an active interest in politics, and in 1882 he was elected to the state legislature. So ably did he discharge his duties in this capacity that in 1885 he was elected state auditor, the same distinction being conferred upon him in 1889, which term will expire in 1896. The functions of this office he fills to perfection, for in every detail the most perfect arrangement is manifested, showing the workings of an intelligent and well-directed mind. He is efficient, punctual and honorable and uniformly courteous to all with whom he comes in contact. He has been many times a delegate to state conventions, and has other- wise interested himself in the political affairs of his section. His marriage to Miss Ella Holt took place iti 1869, she being a daughter of Dr. Holt, of New Orleans, an eminent phy- sician and a member of the secession convention of Mississippi. He died in 1881. To Captain and Mrs. Stone a family of nine children have been born, the following of whom are living: Alfred Holt (who is now practicing law in Greenville, Miss.), Annie, Lillian, Ella and Aimee. Captain Stone has been quite active in promoting the commercial develop- ment of Greenville, and is a stockholder in several of its most important enterprises. Socially he is a member of the A. F. & A. M. , the K. of H., and has been a member of the K. of P. He is a member in good standing of the Christian church, while his wife holds to the Presbyterian faith. The Stonewall Manufacturing company, manufacturers of 4-4 A. A. sheeting, 7-8 A. A. shirting, C. C. drills, 8-oz osuaburgs, carpet warps and yarns, has its extensive cotton mills at Stonewall Station, Clarke county. Miss., immediately on the line of the Mobile & Ohio railroad, three and a quarter miles south of Enterprise, eighteen miles south of Meridian, and eight miles north of Quitman, Miss. The locality is as healthy as the average of this section of the state. Women and children compose fully three-fourths of the working force in the mills, very few men being needed, who have to be skilled in cott6n manufacturing. Boys and MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 857 girls from ten to fifteen years old are employed in spinning, floffing, imd other light work, which children can do quite as well as grown peoj)le, and are paid usually by the piece, and earn from $8 to 11 '2 per month, the average being about $1 at these ages. Boys and girls from fifteen to sixteen years do similar work, and earn from §10 to §15 per month. Grown young ladies are employed at weaving, spooling, reeling, speeder and warper tending, all light and easy work, but requiring skill and close attention, at which they earn from $1 5 to 125 per month according to their capacity, all being paid by the piece. The above prices are for skilled help. While learning they are paid less, say $5 to §S per month for boys and girls, and §10 per month for grown young ladies. It usually requires two to four weeks to learn the work, after whicli they are paid for all they do. A few industrious EtLing ladies earn from |25 to $30 per month. The cost of living is low. Rents for houses range from $2 to ?<7.50 per month, according to size of house. A house of two rooms and two fire-places, with gallery, etc., rents for $3.25; three rooms and two fire-places, 14.25; four rooms and two fire-places, closets and gallery, $5.25 per month. Yards and gardens are neatly fenced in, and all repairs to houses, fencing, wells, etc., are done free, and kept in good order. Young ladies can get board in private families at $8 to $10 per month. A resident physician lives on the place, and is sub- ject to call at all times to any member of a family, for which medical services a charge of fifty cents per month is made for those only who work in the factory. As the work is light and genteel, and inside of a comfortable building, it is specially suitable for women and children. The morals of the village are as good as those of any place in the South, no drunkenness, profanity or other immoral or unbecoming conduct being tolerated. There are two very handsome church buildings — one Methodist and the other Baptist — both of which have serv- ices regularly, and Sunday-schools every Sabbath. There is also a public free school, main- tained four months in the year, and occasional private schools in the intervals. The manage- ment of the mills is as lenient and conservative as is consistent with good discipline and well - established business principles. The mills have been in operation about twenty-two years, and have never passed a pay-day without having paid off the operatives in full. The entire management and employes are Southern people, and nearly all from the surrounding counties in Mississippi and Alabama. The company is under the management of Dr. O. F. Cawthorn, president and treasurer, and T. L. Wainwright, superintendent and secretary. Dr. O. F. Cawthorn has been president since May, 1879. He is a man of worth and the highest or^er. of business and executive ability; being the pioneer successful manufacturer of artificial ice, and the first to establish a successful electric light plant in Mobile, Ala. Mr. T. L. WaiU: Wright, youngest son of W. D. and Mary A. Wainwright (nee Taylor), was born in Greene county. Miss., November 30, 1851. His parents removed to Washington county,. Ala., when he was two years old. He grew to manhood in Alabama, and at twenty years of ag6 caflie.to Clarke county. Miss., and settled at Stonewall. In youth he attended country schools eiid at twelve years of age went to boardingschools. After attending other schools, he entered a special school at Beaver Meadow, Ala., under W. J. White, a graduate of Chapel Hill. Here he pursued special branches, viz. : Latin, bookkeeping and civil engineering, for two years. On comino' to Stonewall he became accountant for the Stonewall Manufacturing company, and continued in that capacity until March, 1875, when he became superintendent and secretary to succeed Mr.. B. N. Taylor, which position he now holds.- The mill formerly contained thirty-one hundred and sixty-eight spindles and one hundred looms, and the machinery was mostly old style and much worn. In 1879, under Dr. Cawthorn's management, new machinery, engine, etc., were added and the mill became a paying investment. In 1882 its capacity was 858 • BIOORAPHIOAL AND HISTORICAL increased to fifty-nine hundred and fifty-two spindles, and in 1S89 it was brought up to seventy-three liundred and fifty-six spindles, consuming thirty-five hundred bales of cotton annually. About two hundred hands are (>inployed. Steam is the motive power employed and wood is used for fuel. The products of the mills are sold chiefly in Northern markets; at St. Louis, Mo., New York, Philadelphia and in Mobile, Ala., some being exported to South America and to China. The capital stock of the company is .|200,000. ; its annual output amounts to $250,0(10, its pay-roll aggregating 14,000 per month. Mr. Wainwright married Miss Rosa Harvey, of Clarke county. Miss., a native of Holmes county, November, ISTTi. They have had five children: Cecil, Helen, Ralph, Orville and Zoe. He is a Missionary Baptist, a democrat, a member of the Masonic fraternity and a Knight of Honor, while Mrs. Wainwright is a Baptist. Of the many prominent citizens of Bolivar county who are of foreign birth Edward Storm, merchant and planter. Storm ville, Miss., stands among the foremost. His birth occurred in Prussia, in 1842, and he was the second child born .to the marriage of Morris Storm, who with his wife resides in Prussia at the present time. Edward Storm came to the United States when seventeen years of age to join his elder brother, Samuel, who was located at Greenville, Miss. He landed at a point on the Mississippi river where he now resides and which has since been called Stormville. This was then a wilderness, but it has since been cleared by Mr. Storm, who is now the owner of twelve hundred acres of fine land, with four hundred acres under cultivation. He has a gin and sawmill, and in addition to this is inter- ested in merchandising, having started this business in 1869. His stock of goods is valued at 110,000, and his annual sales bring him about 130,000. In 1862 he enlisted in the Con- federate army, Washington cavalry, under Captain Hunt, was captured at Atlanta and paroled and exchanged at Natchez at the close of the war. He was married in 1880 to Miss Kuhn, of Greenville, Miss., who has borne him four children, all daughters: Frankie, Emelie, Lula and Ollie. Mr. Storm is a member of all secret societies. He has always been quite active in politics and was elected a member of the board of supervisors, serving as president of that body for ten years. He erected his fine residence in the seventies, has a pleasant, comfortable home and has the confidence and respect of all. He is postmaster at Stormville. His brother Saul, was on the steamer Kentucky when it blew up at Columbus, Ark. , in 1 862, and was killed. He was a prosperous merchant at Bolivar. John C. Stowers, member of Adams county board of supervisors from the fourth district and one of the county's leading planters and stockbreeders, resides on his plantation, Oak- land, ten miles north of Natchez, in the house in which he was born, in 1832. His father Caleb Stowers was probably born in the same neighborhood in 1785, and his first marriage was to Miss Elizabeth Wade, who was born in Adams county, and who died there, leaving three sons and three daughters: James, John, Abijah, Margaret, Eliza and Emily, all deceased except the last named, who is the widow of Col. Richard Parkinson, and now resides in Bowl- ing Green, Claiborne county, Miss. In 1826 Mr. Stowers married Miss Anna M. Montgom- ery, mother of the subject, who was born in Concordia parish, La., in 1806. Both spent the last years of their life on the farm where John C. now lives. Mr. Stowers was one of the success- ful and enterprising planters of Adams county, and at the time of his death, which occurred in 1860, he left a very handsome estate. He enlisted in the War of 1812, but was not called into service. He assisted in the capture of Aaron Burr in Jefferson county. He was a mem- ber of the Presbyterian church, and his last wife, who died in 1842, was a member of the Methodist church. His father, John Stowers, who was probably born in the Palmetto state was one of the first American settlers of Adams county, where he died a well-to-do planter. "'«*»«, '«S^l»fft-» --*it«^ (Z^'^t MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 859 He had four sons, all of whomnbecame wealthy planters, viz. : Caleb, Lewis, James and Joseph, and three daughters, Louisa, Nancy and Mary, all deceased. Our subject's maternal grandfather, Joseph Montgomery, was a native of Louisiana, it is thought, and he there reared a large family and became a wealthy planter. John C. Stowers, subject of this memoir, was the third of eight children born to his parents: Amanda (deceased), Joseph, Louisiana, Indi- ana and three others who died when small. He received his education in the common schools, was early taught the duties of farm life, and in 1861 he joined the Jeff Davis legion as a private soldier, serving in the Virginia army in Butler's division and Hampton's corps. The last two years he was orderly sergeant and fought at Seven Pines, the seven days' light around Richmond, Sharpsburg, Brandy's Station, Boonsborough, Md.; Fredricksburg, the battles around Petersburg, Wilderness and many others until January, 1 865, when he was sent South and joined Johnston's armv. He fought at Bentonville, N. C. ; Raleigh and other places, and surrendered with Johnston. He had two horses shot from under him, but was never wounded or captured. After the war he came home on horseback and resumed his farm duties. On the 6th of June, 1866, he was united in marriage to Miss Mary Kurtz, a native of Louisville, Ky. , whose father died when she was an infant and her mother in 1840, the latter dying from injuries received in the tornado that swept over Natchez during that year. She was then residing on Natchez island. Mrs. Stowers, being left an orphan, was adopted by a Mrs. Pat- terson of Natchez, wliere sJie was reared and principally educated. She was afterward a teacher of mathematics in Fayette academy. To Mr. and Mrs. Stowers have been born six children: Martha C. ; John 0. , Jr.; Samuel P., died in 1889, the day before he would have graduated from Jefferson college; John died at the age of four years; Mary P. died at the age of nine years, and one died in infancy. Mr. .Stowers has spent all his life on the farm of his birth, and is the owner of about four thousand acres, one thousand two hundred acres being in Louisiana. This is principally the result of his own energy. He does not make a specialty of raising cotton, but devotes his attention more to stockraising, breeding the Booningle and the Lewis E. Smith horses (trotting stock), Durham cattle and Berkshire hogs. He is also a stockholder in the Rosalie cottonmills. He was master of the Pine Ridge grange during the existence of that order, and since 1886 he has been a member of Adams county board of supervisors, having been elected three times. He is a member of Harmony lodge No. 1, A. F. & A. M., Bluff City lodge No. 1145, Knights of Honor, Natchez lodge No. 3, Knights of Pythias, and he is an elder in the Presbyterian church at Pine Ridge. Mrs: Stowers is also a prominent member of that church. Mr. Stowers is not an aggressive politician but an active worker in local political affairs. He is giving his chil- dren the advantages of the best local schools. Rev. Joseph Buck Stratton, the pastor of the Presbyterian church of Natchez, Miss., comes of good old English stock, and members of his family have been known in the history of this country almost since the landing of the Pilgrim fathers. Upon braving the dangers of an ocean voyage in a sailing vessel and the unknown horrors and privations of a new and unknown country, they settled in New England. John Stratton, one of the early ancestors of the immediate subject of this biography, removed to Long Island in 1649 and founded East Hampton, after which the family moved to New Jersey, where they lived for many years. Nathan Leake Stratton, the father of Rev. Joseph Buck Stratton, was born in New Jersey, and was there married in the early part of 1815 to Miss Hannah Buck, also a native of that state, and for many years after his marriage followed the occupation of a merchant at Bridgeton. He was a man of most estimable character, did much to improve and benefit the county in which he lived, and in the year 1862 died very suddenly, mourned by a large circle BBB 860 BIOGRAPHIOAL AND HISTORICAL of friends as well as his immediate family. His wife had passed from life about 1854, both having been worthy and active members of the Presbyterian church. The maternal ances- tors were also English, and Joseph Buck, the grandfather, was an officer in the Kevolutionary war, was with Washington at Yorktown and witnessed the surrender of Cornwallis. He was in many of the noted battles of that war, and tradition has it that he was a brave and intrepid soldier. He afterward became sheriff of his county. Kev. Joseph Buck Strat- ton was born in Bridgeton, N. J., December 24, 1815, and in his youth was given educational advantages far above the average. After enjoying the advantages of the high school at Law- renceville, N. J., he completed his course of study at Princeton college, receiving the degree of A. M. in the year 1 833. Subsequently he entered upon the study of law, the first two years of his study being under Judge L. Q. C. Elmer, of Bridgeton, the remaining two years being spent under the able guidance and instruction of Hon. John Sergent, of Philadelphia, Penn. In this city he was admitted to the bar in ] 837, and there continued to practice until about 1840, at which time he joined the Presbyterian church, and in the fall of that year entered the theological seminary at Princeton, with the intention of making the ministry his life calling. While in this institution his career was characterized by a devotion to his work, and in the spring of 1843 he was graduated. He had been invited to take charge of the chtirch at Natchez, Miss., which invitation he accepted and in the month of May, 1843, he arrived at his destination. He had had no experience in the saving of souls but his heart was in his work and he eagerly and hopefully entered upon his duties. In December, 1 S43, ht' was formally ordained and installed as pastor of the church, and here has been expounding the doctrines of his denomination and the principles of Christianity with fervor and zeal for nearly half a century. During this time he has been the pastor and the faithful friend and adviser of one of the most important Presbyterian churches in the South, and although he is now advanced in years he yet shows the fire, life, and eloquence of his younger years. His labors in the vineyard of the Lord have not gone unrewarded, and besides having the love, confidence and esteem of his large congregation he has been the means of bringing many to the feet of Christ. He has often been urged to take other positions, but has always declined and will in all probability end his ministerial career where it began. He has been a close student all his life, possesses literary tastes of a high order, and has written largely for the periodicals of the day, besides publishing several works on theological subjects. In 1856 he received the degree of D. D. from his alma mater, Princeton college. Miss Mary L. Smith, a native of Philadelphia, Penn., became his wife in 1844, but after a married life of four years she died, leaving her husband with two small children to care for, their names being Sidey V., now a prominent architect in New York city, and Mary, who died in 1863. Dr. Stratton's second marriage took place in 1852, Miss Caroline M. Willian^s, a native of Natchez, Miss., becoming his wife. To them one child was born, whom they named Joseph B. He died on the 16th of September, 1888, having been married to Miss Ruth A. Britton, by whom he had three children. H. M. Street, of Meridian, Miss., was born in Moore county, N. C. His parents, Don- ald Street and Lydia McBryde, were natives of the same county. His grandfather, Eichard Street, was a native of Virginia, and moved with his parents, Richard Street and Elizabeth Clapton, to North Carolina, where he married Ann McQueen, who came over from Scotland when quite young with her father, Murdoch McQueen, Donald Street was a farmer. While in North Carolina he represented his county in the legislature and filled other places of trust. His wife, Lydia, was the daughter of Hon. Archibald McBryde, a native of Scot- laud. He came to America in early manhood and married Lydia Ramsey, of Chatham MEMOIRS ow MiaaiasiPPi. sei county, N. C. He was a large planter aud a lawyer of ability, and represented his district in congress. H. M. Street was educated at Carthage academy, a high school in his native county, and in his earJy days devoted himself to agriculture. He came with his father to Mississippi in 1858, and settled in Tishomingo county. He enlisted in the Confederate army in 1861, and remained in the service until the final surrender. He was elected in 1869 to represent Tishomingo county in the legislature. In response to the wishes of his constitu- ents he secured the passage of a bill dividing his county, putting himself in the new county of Prentiss, which he represented for five successive terms. During this time he was twice elected speaker of the house of representatives. lu 1882 he removed to Meridian, and in 1889 was elected to the legislature from Lauderdale county. He prepared the bill calling the constitutional convention which met at Jackson, August VI, 1>)9(). He was elected one of the three delegates from Lauderdale county, and assisted in framing the present constitu- tion of the state. He has been nominated by the democrats for re-election to the legislature. The election takes place in November, 1891, aud the nomination is considered equivalent to an election. He has been engaged for the past seventeen years in the fire insurance business, and for several years has had general charge of the interests in Louisiana aud Mississippi of the Phenix Insurance company, of Brooklyn, N. Y. He is a director in the Citizens' bank, and identified with other interests. He is a Presbyterian, a member of the Masonic frater- nity and of the Enights of Honor. In 1858 he married Miss Charlotte Prindle, by whom he has five children living: Charles Richard, Albert Jackson, Bessie Lee, Ethel McQueen and Lottie Prentiss. His sons both reside in Chicago. In 1887 he married for his second wife Miss Charlotte Ryder, a first cousin of his first wife. Richard Street, a brother of our sub- ject, was killed in battle in front of Atlanta, July 22, 1864. He was a member of the Thirty- .second Mississippi regiment, Lowry's brigade of Cleburne's division. H. M. Street was named in honor of his great-uncle, Hugh McQueen, once attorney-general of North Carolina, and afterward a resident of Texas. Maj. William M. Strickland, of Holly Springs, Marshall county. Miss., is a native of North Carolina. He came to the state with his father, Matthew Strickland, who settled in Panola county, in January, 1837. Major Strickland is recognized as one of the prominent citizens and leading lawyers of north Mississippi. He is well informed upon all subjects connected with agriculture, the principal industry of the state, and has engaged actively, as a democrat, in every political campaign since the war. He has never been an aspirant for office, but has acted upon the maxim, that the post of honor is the private station. Thomas H. C. Strong, planter, Batesville, Miss. In Monroe county. Miss., on June 1, 1844, there was born to the union of Gen. Elisha and Ann S. (Hill) Strong, a son, whom they named Thomas H. C. The latter was the fifth of six children and passed his boyhood days in his native state. He was a student in the University of Alabama, at Tuscaloosa, when the struggle between the North and South began, but he laid aside his books and in 1861 enlisted in company K, Second Mississippi battalion, with which he remained two years. He was then changed to Armstead's regiment, company I, and remained with the same until peace was declared. He enlisted as an orderly sergeant, but in 1863, at the battle of Lafayette, Ga., he was made lieutenant for gallantry on the field. He afterward served as captain for two years and was in the following engagements: Manassas, Cedar Creek, Leesburg, Harper's Ferry, Sharpsburg, Frederick City, South Mountain, Marietta, Resaca, Atlanta, Lafayette, Rome, Spanish Fort, Blakely, Oxford, Gadsden, Whistler and Mobile. He was slightly wounded in the foot by a shell at Sharpsburg, but was not disabled from service. He was paroled at Gainesville, Ala. , about one month after General Lee surrendered. 862 BIOGRAPHICAL AND BISTORIOAL Mr. Strong then returned to his home, engaged in merchandising for two years, and then started out as a planter, which pursuit he has since continued. He is the owner of four thousand acres of land, one thousand three hundred and seventy-five acres under cultivation, and he is now one of the largest planters of the county. Besides his landed interests he with a company erected a large warehouse at Aberdeen, Miss., covering one and one-quarter acres of land, and at a cost of $14,000. He was married in 1867 to Miss Susan A. Strong, a native of Georgia, as were also her parents, Charles and Adaline (Kennon) Strong, and to this union have been born iive children, two living: Charles and Leila. Mr. Strong and family hold membership in the Methodist church, and are highly esteemed in the county. Mr. Strong is a member of the Masonic fraternity and a member of the Knights of Honor. In politics he affiliates with the democratic party. He is one of the county's substantial citizens, and is ever ready to give his weight to any enterprise that will assist the same. His parents were both natives of Georgia, and the father was a very extensive and wealthy planter. He was the owner of a great many slaves prior to the war. He came to Mississippi in 1835 and died in 1878. His wife, who was also a native of Georgia, died in 1878. The father was quite a noted military character, having served as colonel in the War of 1 812, and was also gen- eral of the state troops. The paternal grandparents, Charles and Sarah (Thompson) Strong, were natives of the Old Dominion. The grandfather was in the Revolutionary war with General Washington and was present at the surrender of Lord Cornwallis. The maternal grand- parents, Thomas and Sallie (McGehee) Hill, were born in Georgia. Edward Stuart is one of the pioneers of Coahoma county, Miss., but was born in Eussell- ville, Ala., April 13, 1823, the eldest of seven children born to Samuel D. and Elizabeth (Louis) Stuart, the former of whom was born in North Carolina and the latter in Tennessee. The father was a wheelwright and spent the most of his life in Alabama and Tennessee, dying in the latter state in 1849. His father was a Scotchman, who came to America from his native land and made his home in the Old North state. Edward Stuart was reared in middle Tennessee and was educated in a private school. At the age of twenty-three, or in 1845, he was married to Miss Winnie A. Baugh, whose birth occurred in the Old Dominion, of which state her parents, William and Sarah (Cheatham) Baugh, were also natives. To Mr. and Mrs. Stuart a family of seven children have been born, six of whom are now living: Mary E., Martiia A., Emma G., Lou Lee D., William E. and John H. At the age of nine- teen vears Mr. Stuart began to make his own way in the world, and for twelve years worked in a wagon and carriage shop in Fayette county, Tenn. , at the end of which time he engaged in the lumber business, continuing for eight years. He then came to Coahoma county. Miss., and here commenced his mercantile career, which he has continued with success up to the present time. In connection with this he has planted to some extent, and is now the owner of a good residence and his place of business in Lyons, his stock of general merchan- dise being valued at about $4,000. He is also the owner of some real estate in Shufordsville, Miss., and has always been found to be a safe and reliable man of business. He i^an active and devoted member of the Methodist Episcopal church, in which he has held the position of steward for some time. Although he has lived a quiet and peaceful life, his career has been one of honor and usefulness, and when called upon to serve in any public cajiacity he has shown sound judgment and an earnest desire to discharge every duty faithfully and well. He has been a member of the board of supervisors, and in this capacity won the respect and esteem of all, for he evinced a thorough knowledge of county affairs, and his desire to make Coahoma one of the leading counties of the state was undoubted. He is well informed on general topics, and in his modest and unassuming way endeavors at all times to do his duty. MEMOIRS OP MiaSiaaiPFI. 863 During his long residence in the county naught has ever been said derogatory to his honor, and for his many estimable qualities he has many warm personal friends. He has done his part in converting the wilderness into productive fields of cotton, and no more worthy pioneer can be found in the county. Col. William R. Stuart, an old resident o£ Ocean Springs, Miss. , is entitled to distinc- tion as the chief promoter of pecan culture in the South. He is a plain, unpretentious man, with strong convictions of right and wrong. Politically he affiliates with the democratic party. He has been prominent in public affairs, and was a member of the Louisiana consti- tutional convention of 1852. He was born near Centreville, Kent county, Md., November 18, 1820, a son of William R. and Ariana (Prazier) Stuart. His paternal and maternal grand- fathers were both natives of Scotland, and early settlers in Maryland. In that state Mr. Stuart was reared, and there he remained until he was twenty years of age. In 1840 he came down the river from Wheeling, Va., during which journey he made the acquaintance of Col. Nolan Stewart, who resided in Baton Rouge, La. At the invitation of Colonel Stewart, who had taken a fancy to the young man, Mr. Stuart visited him, and remained with him between two and three years. During that period he received some excellent commercial training, and when he left the Colonel was well equipped for the struggle of life. He went to New Orleans, and embarked in the sugar business, and also did some trading in cotton. He conducted this business until 1871, and then came to Ocean Springs, Miss. While a resident of Louisiana he owned a fine plantation. Since coming to Mississippi he has done much to improve the breeds of livestock in this state, and has given a great impetus to the culture of the pecan tree. He sells plants and seeds from Maryland to California, and in Jamaica and Australia. He has fifty acres of trees, and in an excellent paper read before the executive committee of the Mississippi horticultural society, he gives an interesting bit of his experience. He says: "Pecan culture is my hobby. When I was fifty-six I bought the largest and best paper-shell pecans I could find, paying $1 per pound for them, and planted the nuts. When sixty-eight I sold $305 worth of pecans; when sixty-nine, I sold $700 .worth. This year I will get $1,500 to $2,000 from the sale of my young trees and nuts. Pecans have off years. A planter putting out five hundred trees in a grove, ought to plant une hundred trees every year, then he will have plenty of pecans every year." The Atlanta Constitution said of him recently: "Mr. W. R. Stuart, of Ocean Springs, Miss., is the father of pecan culture in the South. ' I began,' said he, 'at fifty-six years of age. I am now seventy-one, and make more money out of pecans than I do out of cotton. The young men of the South ought to think of this. There is unlimited money in pecan culture in the South, and I am anxious to see our people plant pecan trees just as they do apple or peach trees. They will make the South rich.' " The report of the secretary of agriculture for 1890 contains a full-page illustration of Colonel Stuart and his pecan orchard and makes complimentary mention of his enterprise: The Hickoria pecan is one of the best of allnuthi, and is found wild only in North America. It abounds in the rich river and creek bottom lands of the ^lississippi \alley, especially in Texas. Louisiana and Jlissis^ sippi, Indian territory, Arkansas and ^Missouri. Kven as far north as southeastern Iowa it grows wild : but tlie region of profitable cultvu-e does not probably extend so far north as the other species of the hickory fam- ily. In the Gulf states is found the best climate for this nut, and already there are considerable orchards of it planted there. It is needless to expect success in poor soil, for like all nut trees the pecan grows to the o-reatest perfection in rich, moist alluvium. Many of the lands subject to periodical floods along the Mississippi river and tributary streams might be planted to the pecan with great profit. Once well estab- lished, these orchards in rich bottoms would yield large quantities of the very best nuts, and would not be injured by the floods, which usually occur long before the time of gathering the crop. There is great 864 BIOGBAFHIOAL AND HISTORICAL AariatioD in the uiits :is to size, sliapo, tliickucss of alioU, and (luality oi' thi; kernel. Tlie illustration I'latc 1, fig. ], sliOANK the chara(ttpr of the this office. It is only just to mention that in addition to the above the following pi^rsons ha\'c large and delicious pecans, which it will pay any one who con- templates growing this nut to procure: T. Y. ^luuson, Denison, Tex.; O. D. Faust, Bamburg, S. C; B. M. Young, ^Morgan City, La.; Artliur Brown. Bagdad, Fla. The illustration on plate 2 is of a tree thirteen years old, on the farm of Col. \V. R. Stuart, of Ocean Springs, Miss., and shows the typical size and shape of a pecan tree grown in the open field. It has been bearing for thrcp years past. Dr. W. W. Stuart, physician, Clarksdale, Miss. , for many years a leading physician at Olarksdale, Coahoma county, Miss., was the second of seven children born to Enoch and Ann (McNeill) Stuart, his birth occurring in North Carolina in 1835. The parents were also natives of North Carolina and the father followed the occupation of a farmer the principal part of his life. The elder Stuart moved to west Tennessee in 1839, and from there to Coahoma county, Miss., in 1856, receiving his final summons there in 1864. Upon coming to Coahoma county he settled in the eastern part, opened a farm, and was among the early pioneers, the country being at that time wild and unsettled. The mother died in Tennessee in 1849. Both were consistent members of the Methodist Episcopal church. Dr. Stuart passed his boyhood and youth in west Tennessee and was well educated at La Grange, of that state. In 1856 he began the study of medicine, and attended lectures at Cincinnati, Ohio, graduating in 1858. In 1859 he began practicing in the vicinity of what is now Clarksdale, and has been in constant practice here since. He ranks among the oldest physicians (in practice) of Coahoma county, and has been identified with the section of country in the vicinity of Clarksdale since his early manhood. He is of studious habits, is highly esteemed in the community and has always had a large and lucrative practice. Several years ago he opened a drug store at Lyons, this county, and though not giving it his personal supervision, still conducts the business here. He has a good store and a fair share of the trade. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, Shufordsville lodge, and is a member of the Knights of Honor. He is also a member of the National Association of Railway Surgeons, and health officer of his county. Dr. Stuart is of medium stature, with fair complexion, and has dark hair, eyes and beard. Marleii Stubblefield, one of the leading agriculturists of the farming community of Ben- ton, Yazoo county, was born in Dallas county, Ala., in 1818, and is a son of William H. and Agnes (Etherage) Stubblefield, natives of the state of Georgia. The father came to Yazoo county, Miss., in 1832, and settled seven miles east of Benton on a quarter section of land, where he spent the remainder of his days. He was very successful in his farming, and at one time owned ten thousand acres of land in this county. He died in 1858, and his wife died in 1826. He married a second time, and this wife lived until 1883. He was the father of six children, five of whom are living: Marlen, the subject of this notice; W. Henry, ex-sheriff of Yazoo county; Stephen, who lives in Texas; David, a farmer of this county; and Simon, a son of the second marriage, who lives on the old homestead. Mr. Stubblefield came to Yazoo county with his parents at the age of thirteen years, and grew up amid the scenes of MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 865 pioneer life. At the age of twenty-four years he bade farewell to his father's home, and started out in the world for himself. He was first employed as overseer and manager of plan- tations, and by economy and good management he succeeded in saving money to invest for himself. He purchased eight hundred acres of land and four negroes. At the breaking out of the Civil war he owned twenty-five slaves and stock enough to work the whole farm. He raised all the meat and provisions, and all the supplies that could be home-made. During the war he was in the home militia, being first lieutenant of cavalry. At the close of the war he resumed his agricultural pursuits. For the past eight years he has lived on his present farm; it consists of three hundred and twenty acres, but he has owned as high as fifteen hun- dred acres of land, which he has divided among his children. He has always taken an active part in the political affairs, and has ever been an ardent supporter of home industries. He was married August 3, 1847, to Miss Elmira MeCormick, a daughter of John C. and Sarah (Dukes) MeCormick, natives of Georgia. Three children have been born of this marriage who have lived to mature years, and three died in infancy. William Henry is a farmer in this county. Fountain B. , resides at home, and Wyech F. lives at Benton. Mr. Stubblefield is a member of the Masonic order, and of the Farmers' Alliance. He and his wife belong to the Baptist church, and the sons are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. He is a man of more than ordinary experience, and is well informed on all the topics of the day. He has been identified with the growth and development of the county, and has contributed liberally of his means to all charitable purposes. Thomas B. Stubbs was born in the state of Georgia, February 20, 1820, and is a son of Thomas B. and Catherine P. Stubbs, also natives of Georgia. His father was a merchant and jjlanter, and before the war was possessed of great wealth. He died in 1863, at the age of seventy-four years, and his wife passed away in 1867. Both were bnried in the family graveyard in Tippah county, Miss. Thomas B., Jr., is the third child and the first son of a family of fourteen. He came to Mississippi in 18-11, and embarked in the mercantile trade at Holly Springs ; he remained there about a year, taking his stock at the end of that time to Pontotoc, where he was but a short time; thence he moved to Carroll ville, where he carried on both a mercantile and agricultural business until 1871. In that year he located in Bald- wyn, Lee county, and has devoted his time and attention to commercial interests. For four- teen years he has been postmaster, and has made a faithful and efficient officer. In August, 1852, he was married to Miss Virginia L. Marks, a native of Virginia, bora August 3, 1827, and a daughter of Lewis L. and Mary Marts. Eight children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Stubbs: Sarah E. ; Thomas F., who married MissMollie Elliott; Catherine P., deceased; Mary L., wife of Robert E. McKinney; Edward P. ; M. E., deceased; Kozelia D., deceased, and Charles H Mr. Stubbs is a democrat, but has never aspired to public office. His first vote for president was cast for General Harrison. He is a Mason of high degree, and belongs to the Methodist Episcopal church. Mrs. Stubbs, Sarah E. and Mary L. are members of the Christian church, while Thomas P. is a Baptist. The war played as serious havoc with Mr. Stubbs' fortunes as it did with so many others, but by energetic effort he has succeeded in regaining a portion of his property. He is an advocate of all enterprises that tend to the elevation of the masses, and the progress and growth of the country. Capt. Zacheus P. Stutts, Yazoo City, Yazoo county. Miss., is the youngest of a family of five children, born November 23, 1835, to Henry and Elizabeth (Burroughs) Stutts, natives of North Carolina. The father was a wealthy planter; he died in 1852, and his wife passed away in 1848. The paternal grandparents were Jacob and Frances Stutts, of Pennsylvania. The maternal grandfather, Zacheus Burroughs, a very wealthy planter, was a native of North 868 BIOGBAFHIGAL AND HI8T0RI0AL Carolina. Our subject was reared and educated in the place wliere he was born, "Moore county, N. C, and was trained to tlie business of planting; he has always followed this voca- tion, and is the owner of five hundred acres, two hundred being under cultivation. He also owns an interest in three thousand two hundred and eighty acres known as Tyrone plantation. He has been twice married: October 26, 1856, he was united to Mrs. E. L. Pruitt, of Ala- bama; July 13, 18N6, he married Miss Josie V. Carter, of Mississippi, a daughter of R. N. and Elizabeth Carter, natives of Alabama. In 1862 he raised a company of cavalry, of which he was chosen captain; he held this position until 1864, when he was compelled to resign on account of ill health. In 1861 he had volunteered his services to his country but was refused admittance to the army, on account of disability. In his political opinions he adheres to the principles of the democratic party, with whose action he has been prominently connected in this county. He was twice elected a member of the board of supervisors, in 1887 and 1 889, and made president of the board both times. He is now a candidate for the state legislature, and bids fair to win in the race, having received the nomination by a large majority over all his opponents. He and his wife are members of the Missionary Baptist church, and he belongs to the Masonic fraternity. He has been a stanch supporter of home enterprises, and has been a telling factor in the development of the county. He is honored and respected as a citizen, is kind, hospitable, and obliging as a neighbor, and an ornament to his community. John A. Suddoth, mayor of Clarksdale and secretary and treasurer of the Clarksdale Compress and Warehouse company, is a native-born resident of Mississippi, his birth occur- ring in Chickasaw county in 1849. He was the eldest in a family of seven children born to John O. and Mildred (Taliaferro) Suddoth, the former a native of the Old Dominion and the latter of South Carolina. The father emigrated to the state of Mississippi at an early day and engaged in merchandising at Houston, Chickasaw county. In 1859 he came to Friar's Point, opened a store and became a most extensive merchant, continuing in trade until his death in 1865. He was an active citizen, and in his personal appearance was rather tall, with auburn hair and brown eyes. His people were among the prominent families of Virginia and other members of this family are now residing in Coahoma county. The mother died in 1888. Both were members of the Baptist church. John A. Suddoth was ten years of age when he came to Coahoma county, and as his educational advantages during youth were rather limited he is mainly self educated. He began clerking at an early age and followed this for a long time, continuing the same occupation after coming to Clarksdale in 1873. In 1878 he began business for himself and carried this on until early in 1890. In 1880 he was appointed the first mayor of Clarksdale, and so ably and well has he tilled that position that he has been re-elected each successive year. By his marriage, which occurredin 1880, to Miss Ruby Miles, a native of Mississippi and a niece of Governor Alcorn, Mr. Suddoth became the father of four children: Ittaline, Gertrude, Marie and Norwood. He has been quite active in politics aod was a member of the board of supervisors of Coahoma county from 1878 to 1881, being for two years president of that body. He is one of the leading and public-spirited citizens of Clarksdale. In all enterprises that promise to contribute to the good of Clarksdale or Coahoma county Mr. Suddoth may be counted on to take a leading part. In 1889 he was one of the organizers of the Compress and Warehouse company, and he was then elected sec- retary and treasurer of that corporation. He is the president of the Clarksdale Building and Loan association, and is a stockholder in the Clarksdale Bank and Trust company. He is the owner of considerable city property. • John L. Sullivan, Greenwood, Miss, The subject of this notice is a native of Missis- MEMOIRS OP MISSISSIPPI. 867 sippjfand was bom November 14, 1864, iii Calhoun county. His father, Jesse S. Sullivan, was also a native of Mississippi, born about the year 1817; he married M. C. Baily, a daughter of Samuel Baily, and also a native of Mississippi. The father died about 1867, when John was yet a small boy; the mother is still living. John L. Sullivan is one of a family of five sons and one daughter. He spent his youth in Tallahatchie county, where he received a fair business education. In January, 1881, he came to Le Flore county. In 1!SS8, although he had been a resident of the county but two years, he was appointed to the responsible position of deputy sheriff, serving under Mr. Terry and Captain Bashet. He did a large portion of the office work, and became familiar with all the details of the business. At the general election in 1889 he was elected sheriff of the county, and has filled the office with great credit to himself, and to the entire satisfaction of his constituency. He is a candidate for re-election, and will in all probability succeed himself. When he came to the county he was a poor boy, his only capital being that with which nature had invested him. He has, however, used that to the best advantage, and has made his way to a position of influence in the county. Mr. Sullivan was united in marriage in Le Flore county, November 27, 1888, to Miss Ella O. Lucas, a native of Grenada, Miss., and a daughter of John O. Lucas, now deceased. Mr. Sullivan is said to be the youngest sheriff in the state of Mississippi, and is a member of the Association of Sheriffs of Mississippi, of which he is secretary, and of which A. E. Anderson, sheriff of Sunflower county, is president. He is a member of the Knights of Pythias, and of the Knights of Honor. He is a young man of unusual qualifications, and extraordinary business talent. He is possessed of sterling traits of character, and there is little that may not be anticipated for a man who has made so striking a record so early in life. Jacob Sumral], a prominent farmer and miller of Clarke county, was born in that county November 28, 1835, the eldest of six children of Elisha Woods and Margaret (Watts) Sum- rail. His father was born while his parents were en route from North Carolina to Tennessee, in 1809, a son of Levi and Agnes (Gibson) Sumrall. He was reared to farm life, and in 1832 settled with his jsarents in Clarke county, the father dying in that county in 1849. Mr. and Mrs. Sumrall were married in 1830, the mother having been a daughter of James and Nancy Watts. Her father was a native of South Carolina who moved to Georgia; her mother, born in South Carolina, came with her parents to Mississippi at an early day, locat- ing in Wayne county. There Mrs. Margaret Sumrall was born in 1815, and there married at the age of fifteen years. Mr. Watts was a planter all his life, and lived in Clarke county from 1836 to 1862, when he died, his wife having died the previous year. The father of our subject died in 1849. He was a life-long member, and from 1841 to the time of his death was a minister of the Baptist church. His inother is still living at the age of seventy- six, making her home with Jacob Sumrall. The six children born to this union were: Jacob, Nancy, Elisha, Elijah, John and James. Of these John, Jacob and James are living. J'heir maternal grandfather, James Watts, served in the Indian war. Mr. Sumrall was reared and educated in Clarke county. He entered the employ of the Mobile & Ohio Eailroad company at the age of eighteen, remaining with that corporation twenty-one years, becoming one of their most trusted and popular conductors. In 1875 he resigned this position and was then engaged in farming and in the manufacture of turpentine until 1888. In 1890 he estab- lished a saw, gin and gristmill. He began to buy land in 1856 and gradually added to his possessions, until he is now the owner of about one thousand acres in Clarke county, about one-tenth of which is under cultivation. He is also largely interested in stookraising. In 1856 he married Mary, a daughter of Thomas and Lucinda (Raspberry) Sumrall, who were old residents in Clarke county, their grandparents having been pioneers in this state, ilrs. 868 BlOOliAl^EIOAL AND MI8T0BIVAL Sumrall was born in this county in 1837. She has presented her husband with severchil- dren: Melissa E. , uow Mrs. Kogers, of this county; Gehu, a resident of Texas; Eufus W., of Clarke county; Grace E., now Mrs. Meets, also a resident of Clarke county; Milton B., Jerusha and Laura, who are living at home. Mrs. Sumrall is a member and her family are attendants upon the services of the Baptist church. Mr. Sumrall is a successful, selfmade man, who, while acquiring a competency for himself, has been liberal in his aid to all general interests. His public spirit is proverbial. Politically he is a democrat, a member of the Masonic order, also of the coimty fair committee, upon which he is active and influential. James Surget, planter and fine stockbreeder, in Adams county. Miss., is the son of James and Catherine (Lintot) Surget. The father was born in Baton Eouge, La., in 1785, and the same year he was brought by his parents to Adams county, where he spent the bal- ance of his days as a very successful planter, accumulating all his property by push, economy and industry. He became quite wealthy. His death occurred in 1855. His wife, who was born in Adams county, died in 1838. She was the daughter of William Lintot, a native of Connecticut, in which state he married Miss Grace Mansfield, also a native of Connecticut. They came to Adams county at a very early day, passed through all the hardships of pioneer life and passed the closing scenes of their life here. He was a well-to-do planter. Peter Surget, the grandfather of our subject, was a native of Rochelle, France, and while a young man came to New York, where he married Mrs. Catherine Hubbard. While there Mr. Sur- get was engaged in merchandising, trading with the West India islands. He afterward removed to Baton Rouge and from there, in 1785, he came to Adams county, where his death occurred in 1796. He was a man possessed of indefatigable will power, energy and industry. He was thoroughgoing and a very successful business man, as well as a shrewd trader. He was the father of six sons and five daughters: Peter, Jacob, Frank, William, Charles, James (father of our subject), Mrs. Jane White, Mrs. Stocker, Frances, Mrs. Catherine Char- lotte Bingaman and Catharine Pilmon. Several of these sons became successful planters. James Surget, Jr., was born in Adams county, in 1837, and was the second of three children — a son and two daughters. One of the daughters died in infancy and the other, Mrs. Kate S. Minor, is the widow of the late John Minor, who was born at the old Concord, or Governor Gayoso place, near Natchez, in 1831. The latter was educated at Natchez and later gradu- ated from Princeton college. He was married in 1855 and spent the remainder of his days in Adams county as a prominent planter and stockbreeder. He resided at Oakland, near Natchez, but at the time of his death, which occurred in 1869, he was in New York, whither he had gone for his health. He was a son of William J. Minor, who was a son of Don Steven Minor, who was jsrominent in the Spanish times of Mississippi (see sketch). James Surget was educated in Adams county, and at an early age was left a handsome prop- erty by his father. This he has since managed with success, owning two fine plantations in Louisiana, viz.: Ashley and Waterloo, and four in Adams county, viz. : Featherland, in part; Cherry Grove, the home place, eight miles southeast of Natchez ; Linuwood and Rokeby. For twenty years or more Mr. Surget has been extensively and successfully engaged in the breeding of fine stock, thoroughbred running horses, perhaps the best in the state, also Ayer- shire and Devon cattle, Southdown sheep and'Essex hogs. One of his plantations he devotes almost wholly to the breeding and raising of stock. He was married in 1873 to Miss Cath- arine Boyd, a native of Adams county, and a lady, possessed of all the qualities that make a cultui'ed and noble woman. She was the daughter of the late Judge S. S. Boyd, a native of Portland, Me., where he remained until a young man. He then came to Natchez and was there married to Miss Catherine C. Wilkins, a native of Adams county and still a resident of MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 869 NatcSfez. She is an accoinpliahed and refined lady. Judge Boyd was a lawyer of great al)ility and of widespread reputation. In his death the state lost one of its brightest legal lights. Capt. Micajah Surratt (deceased) was a prominent lawyer, a prosperous merchant and a very successful farmer, of Prentiss county, iliss. He was born in Alabama, graduated from the North Bend, Indiana, school, and became the husband of Miss Amanda Surrell, a nativi^ of Georgia. They became the parents of one child, Thomas, who was killed in war. Mr. Surratt was elected to the legislature from Tishomingo county a number of terms, before the war. He was a secessionist, and when the war came he volunteered in the spring of 1861 as a private in the Second Mississippi regiment infantry, under Colonel Faulkner, and B. B. Boone as lieutenant-colonel. He was promoted in the latter part of 1861 to regimental (jiiartermaster, and continued to serve in that capacity until the surrender. Se was in the campaign of Virginia, and was a true man to the cause he fought so bravely to defend, hold- ing the love and esteem of all by his many noble qualities of mind and heart. After the war he was appointed express agent at Booneville for the Mobile & Ohio railroad, and at the same time carried on a large merchandising business in that place. He was also quit<^ deeply interested in agricultural pursuits in Prentiss county. He practiced law before the war, but after that eventful period abandoned it, preferring to pass the remainder of his days as a planter and merchant. His ^eath occurred on his farm in Prentiss county and he was interred rit Booneville. Mrs. Surratt is still living, and resides with her sister, Mrs. Fannie Cobb, near Athens, Clarke county, Ga. She is a member of the Methodist church, and he also held membership in the same. Mr. Surratt was a distant relative of Mrs. Surratt, who was hanged for conspiracy in the assassination of President Lincoln. Mr. Surratt reared a number of homeless children, and was one of the kindest and most hospitable of men. His doors vn^te ever open to the distressed and needy, and a warm welcome was accorded to one and all. Samuel R. Swain is a South Carolinian, born in 1838, but since his boyhood he has been a resident of the state of Mississippi. His father, William B. Swain, was born in the Pal- metto state in 1811, was a planter by occupation and followed this calling in Mississippi and Texas, moving to the last named state in 1871, passing from life in Hunt county in 1887. His wife was formerly Miss Susan Williams, of South Carolina, and two year? prior to the death of her husband was called to her long home. The paternal grandmother was a Miss Ray, a native of Ireland, and the maternal grandfather was John B. Williams, of Scotland, who became a planter after becoming a subject of Uncle Sam. The wife of the latter was Drucilla Johnson, also of Scotland. In the common schools of the state of Mississippi Sam- uel R. Swain was educated, and in the year 1863 began an independent career. Being a warm supporter of the Confederate cause, he, with youth's enthusiasm, enlisted in company D, First Mississippi light artillery, afterward participating in the battle and siege of Vicks- burg, the engagements at Mobile and Pensacola, and a number of skirmishes. He was mar- ried in 1860 to Miss Harriet A. Sales, a native of South Carolina, and a daughter of William M. Sales, also of that state, whose wife was Janes A. GufRn. To Mr. and Mrs. Swain a fam- ily of six children were born: William B., Mary Eay, Jennie Olivia, Nettie Arthur, Alonzo Paul and Sally. Mr. Swain has devoted his life to the occupation of planting, and now owns a half interest in six thousand three hundred acres of land, two thousand acres of which are under cultivation, and one thousand five hundred' acres in woodland. On Walnut bayou he has one thousand four hundred acres of land, and of this one thousand and fifty acres are cultivated, three liundred and fifty acres being woodland. Mr. Swain is an excellent finan^ cier, is very practical in his views, and keeps fully apace with the progress of his adoj)ted 870 BIOGRAPHIOAL AND HT8T0MI0AL calling in every particular, and, as a reward, is iii affluent circumstances. He is ftuch esteemed by all his acquaintances, and is especially liked by his farm hands. In the occupa- tion of planting he is connected with Capt. W. W. Stone, the present auditor of the state of Mississippi, and on their largest plantation they principally employ convict labor. Mr. Swain is an affable and pleasant gentleman, and as a conversationalist is intelligent and enter- taining. Henry Clay Swayze, planter and stockraiser residing on Pairview plantation, is a descend- ant of old and honored families on both sides of the house. He was born near Kingston, Miss., in 1830, and his father, Solomon Swayze, was born in the same neighborhood on July 4, 1777. Solomon was married, in IS'.^"), to May Custard (n6e Boyd), a native of North Carolina, born on May 3, 1 792, and they passed the closing scenes of their lives in Kingston neighborhood, Mr. Swayze 'dying on September 7, 1833, and his wife in 1854. Mr. Swayze was the first American child born in the settlement. He was educated at home, and although he started out for himself with limited means he became quite a wealthy planter. He was the son of Richard Swayze, who came from New Jersey with a brother, Samuel, in 1772 and a colony of about thirty families settled on the Mandamus grant, which consisted of about twenty-five thousand acres, made by the English government to Capt. John Ogden. Samuel Swayze was a local Congregational minister and an active and prominent man. They left many descendants, and at one time there were twenty of the Swayzes in Kingston precinct. Grandfather Boyd came with his family from Tennessee down the river on a flatboat and settled on what is known as Boyd's lake, near Hutchins' landing, where Mr. Boyd became quite an extensive planter and where he probably spent his last days. Solomon Swayze was married twice, first to Elizabeth Carter, who was of the colony, and two children were born of this marriage: Richard and William Swayze; and his second marriage was to the mother of our subject, who had also been previously married to Morris Custard, who was one of the Swayze colony too. Henry Clay Swayze is the youngest of three sons living: Benjamin P., a planter of Wilkinson county, and Alexander Montgomery, a planter of Adams county. Henry Clay secured a fair education in Brighton, Adams county and was married in 1861, to Miss Catherine I., daughter of Hardy and Missouri (Thomas) Lajourner, the father born in the Palmetto state and the mother in Tennessee. Mr. Lajourner was a brickmason by trade, and also followed the occupation of a planter. He left four sons and four daughters, his daughter Catherine having been born in Adams county. To Mr. and Mrs. Swayze and wife were born twelve children, six sons and three daughters now living. For fifty years Mr. Swayze has lived on the old Mandamus plantation, and now has five hundred and thirty-three acres, with about four hundred and fifty acres cleared. He has been a member of the A. F. & A. M. fraternity. Harmony Lodge No. 1 , for many years, and is a respected and law-abiding citizen. H. S. Swayze, planter and dealer in livestock, Evans, was born in Yazoo county, in 1842, and has passed all his life within the borders of this county. He received his education in the common schools, and was trained to agricultural pursuits. In 1862 he entered the Con- federate service, enlisting in company B, Withers' artillery. He was in the siege at Vicks- burg, and at Port Hudson he was taken prisoner; was paroled and exchanged, and at Mobile was again captured and held until the surrender; he was taken to Ship island, where he passed many weary days until the release came. In 1866 he was wedded to Miss Jennie Handley, a daughter of Sebourn and Elizabeth (Stubblefield) Handley. When he began farming on his own account he had three hundred and twenty acres of land. By wise management and habits of industry he succeeded admirably, and to-day is the owner of twelve hundred and twenty acres, all of which is well improved, and one-half under excellent MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 871 cultifation. He gives special attention to the breeding and raising of fine horses, and has made a record in this branch of husbandry. He takes an active part in local politics, and is a member of the democratic county committee. He is an honored member of the Knights of Honor. Mr. and Mrs. Swayze are the parents of seven children : Josephine, wife of James D. McKie, of Yazoo county; Hayes, a student of medicine uader Dr. Blundle; Lizzie, Nathan, Hardy, Clayton and Katie. The father and mother are consistent members of the Midway Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. Swayze has been steward of this society for six- teen years, and has always contributed generously to the support of religious and educational movements in the community. His parents, Richard and Mary E. (Sojourner) Swayze, belonged to the earliest and most prominent of Yazoo county families. Among the legal practitioners of Montgomery county, Miss., stands the name of Capt. David L. Sweatman, whose long residence here and his intimate association with the various affairs of importance have gained for him an extensive acquaintance. He was born in Han- cock county, Miss., on the 25th of December, 1832, and is the son of D. L. and Penelope (Jolly) Sweatman, both natives of Georgia and she a daughter of Peter Jolly. Mr. Sweat- man located in the southern part of the state, on the coast, in 1X25, and there he resided until his death, when Capt. David L. was but a child. After the death of her husband Mrs. Sweatman returned to Alabama. Capt. David L. Sweatman grew to mature years in Ala- bama, received a good education in the private schools, and when a young man returned to Mississippi. There he taug"ht school in Noxubee and Winston counties for some time, and subsequently read law with Gen. W. P. Brantley, at Greensboro. In 1860 he was admitted to the bar and afterward formed a partnership with General Brantley, which continued until the death of the latter in 1871. During the late unpleasantness between the North and South, Captain Sweatman entered the Confederate army in 1861, Fifteenth Mississippi regiment infantry, and after serving with the same about two years and a half, on the reorganization of his regiment he was made first lieutenant of company D. After a year and a half with this regiment he was transferred to the quartermaster department, and the following years he was quartermaster of his regiment with the rank of captain. After this he joined General Brantley and served on his staff until the close of the war, following that general in the varied fortunes of the soldier until the surrender. He participated in a number of important engagements : Shiloh, where he received two wounds and was disabled for some time; Vicksburg; and at Baker's Creek, where he was with Long's division, and with him made his escape. He also participated in the battles of Franklin, Nashville and Resaca. After termination of hostilities Captain Sweatman formed a law partnership with Judge Williamson, now circuit judge of this Judicial district, and this partnership con- tinued until the appointment of Mr. Williamson as chancery judge. The Captain then formed a partnership with Walter Trotter, and this has since continued. They have a good law practice, and have had a number of important criminal and civil cases. Captain Sweatman has been the attorney for the Illinois Central railroad for a number of years, and stands at the head of his profession in that part of the state. He has been quite active in politics, and has ever given his support to the principles of the democratic party, but he has never been an aspirant for office. He was first married in Choctaw county, Miss., in 1867, to Miss Mary Peebles, a native of Choctaw county. Miss., and the daughter of Alpha Peebles. She was educated in Alabama, was a devoted wife and mother, and was a con- sistent member of the Methodist church. She died in 1881. There were born two children to this union, both daughters: Mary A. and Davis, both attending the Female institute at Jackson, Tenn. Captain Sweatman's second marriage occurred in 1882, to Mrs. Mary E. S12 btOGRAPBlOAL AND HISTOBlCAl Kittrell, a native of Georgia, but who was reared in Mississippi, receiving her education principally at Jackson. Mrs. Su eatman has four children by a former marriage and they are nearly all grown. This family are members of the Methodist church. Captain Sweat- man is a member of the Masonic fraternity, Blue lodge, chapter and council, and has repre- sented his lodge in the grand lodge at different times. He is a member of tbn Bench and Bar association. James M. Svvitzer has been a resident of Bolivar county. Miss., almost from the time of its formation, and is one of its substantial and progressive planters. He was born in Mont- gomery county, Ind., September S, 1S31, the fourth in a family of eight children, born to John and Mary (Randolph) Switzer, the former a native of Kentucky, and the latter of Virginia. John Switzer was a mechanic by trade, which occupation he followed all his life. His father was a native of Germany, and came to America at a very early day, identifying himself with the interests of his adopted country, and proving a useful, progressive and highly honorable citizen of the state of Kentucky, where he finally located. The maternal grand- parents were Virginians, in which state their ancestors settled in colonial times. In the year 1X45 James M. Switzer became a resident of the state of Mississippi, but prior to this was educated in the public schools of the state of Indiana. Upon his arrival in the state of Mississippi, he had little or no means, but by. close application to business, he soon began to accumulate some means, and now his property, which is value at about 18,000, all the result of earnest, persistent and determined effort. He has two hundred acres of fine land, of which one hundred and fifty acres are under cultivation, besides a valuable amount of personal prop- erty, and is one of the substantial citizens of this section. In 1854 he was married to Miss Sarah Betty, by whom he became the father of nine children, three of whom are living at tlie present time: Alice F., Charles H. and Hattie D. Mr. Switzer has always thoroughly identified himself with the South, and when the late war opened, espoused the Confederate cause, and in 1862 became a member of the Forrest Scouts, under General Forrest, and was in active service until General Lee's surrender, proving himself a courageous, faithful and competent soldier. Upon his return home he commenced to upbuild the fortunes of his family, and his labors have placed them beyond the reach of want. He is beloved and popu- lar throughout the section in which he resides for his many worthy traits, and his kindness and simplicity of manner. He is an excellent neighbor, a faithful friend, and has proved himself a thorough gentleman and Christian in his walk through life. Col. E. T. Sykes, of Columbus, is one of the foremost attorneys of Lowndes county. Miss. For nearly twenty years he has been associated in the practice of law with Capt. W. W. Humphries, under the firm name of Humphries & Sykes, and is in command of a large client- age. He was born in Decatur, Ala., March 15, 1838, and is a son of Richard and Martha A. Sykes, who were natives of Greenville county, Va., and cousins, the maiden name of Martha lieing likewise Sykes. The family connection was a large one. About the year 1834, the first of the name moved to Decatur, Morgan county, Ala., where in a few years all of the immediate family connection had moved and become extensive planters, as they had ))een in Virginia. In a few years thereafter, the Sykeses had also become large owners of the rich prairie landi in Lowndes and Monroe counties, Miss., and by 1842 most of the name had removed to the latter state, taking up their residence in Columbus and Aberdeen, Richard settling in Columbus. The Sykeses were among the first settlers of this section, and all of them became extensive and prosperous cotton planters, and though they lost quite heavily by the results of the war, they were nevertheless in good circumstances at its close. Richard, the father of Col. E. T., died December 19, 1870. His wife, who died September 4, 1866, MEMOIRS OP MISSISSIPPI. 878 bore him ten children, only three of whom are now living, viz.: Col. E. T. and Dr. E. L., of Columbus, and Dr. W. S., of West Point, Miss. The eldest of the ten children, Maj. A. J. Sykes, died in Aberdeen, Miss., on September 14, 1882, leaving, as his widow, Mrs. Georgia A. Sykes, one of the most accomplished ladies of the state, and four promising children; the eldest of whom, and who bore his name, has since died, while attending the law dejiartment at the Vanderbilt university, Nashville, Tenn. He also left a large estate, which has been successfully managed by his widow and eldest son, Clifton R. Sykes. Eichard Sykes, a great-uncle of Capt. E. T. Sykes, was an officer in the Eevolutiouary war, and was killed in one of its battles. Colonel James, a maternal uncle of the subject of this sketch, was a colonel in the War of 181 2. E. T. Sykes was reared and obtained his early education in Columbus, Miss. , but in 1 S-'iS he graduated from the literary department of the University of North Carolina, after which he became a law student in the University of Mississippi, at Oxford, from which he graduated in June, 1860. On March 27, 1861, he enlisted in Capt. George Lipscomb's company, which responded to the first call for troops by the president of the Confederacy, and as color bearer of the company left on same day for service at and near Tuscola, Fla., under Gen. Braxton Bragg, Confederate States army. He was soon after pro- moted to the position of adjutant of his regiment, in which capacity he served until after the battle of Shiloh, when he was made captain of company K, Tenth Mississippi infantry, and so continued until after the campaign in Kentucky in November, 1862, at which time E. C. Walthall was made brigadier-general, and Captain Sykes was commissioned and assigned to duty upon his stafE as adjutant-general. He remained on General Walthall's staff as adju- tant-general until June, 1864, when, and during the Georgia campaign, he was transferred to W. H. Jackson's division of cavalry, with which he served as division adjutant-general until the close of the war. Upon the cessation of hostilities he returned to Columbus, Miss., and once more entered upon his legal practice, where, in 1883, his knowledge of his profession, and his popularity with all classes, led him to be elected to the state senate, in which body he served with distinction and honor for a term of four years. He is one of the leading attor- neys of the state, is an able, forcible and eloquent speaker, is wise in counsel, cool in judg- ment, and is well qualified in every way to become eminent at the bar. He is a Knight Tem- plar, is past grand chancellor in the K. of P., which order he has represented in the supreme lodge, and is also a member of the K. of H. He has been an ardent friend and promoter of all public enterprises, and his zeal and influence in everything affecting the general weal, either of his city, county or state, has given him a wide and popular reputation. On Novem- ber 16, 1863, he was united in marriage to Miss Callie, daughter of Col. Isham Harrison, who was killed July 14, 1864, at the battle of Harrisburg, Miss., and Julia E., daughter of ex-Gov. James Whitfield, of Columbus. Of five Harrison brothers, two, viz. : James and Thomas, of Waco, Tex., were brigadier-generals of cavalry; Eichard, a twin brother of Isham, was colonel of infantry, and Moses K., a brigade surgeon. Colonel and Mrs. Sykes have four children, viz.. Isham H., who is married to Miss Lida Williams, of Greenville, Miss.; Julia T., wife of William B. Hamilton; Augusta J., and E. T., Jr. Although Colonel Sykes ha.s all the while been interested in planting, he never gives his farming interest his personal attention, but devotes his time e.xclusively to his profession. He is and has been for several years a member of the city council, is adjutant-general of the Grand Camp of Confederate veterans of Mississippi, and he and his accomplished wife are worthy church members — he of the Methodist and she of the Baptist. Capt. Thomas B. Sykes, attorney at law, Aberdeen, Miss., was born in Decatur, Ala., in May, 1834. He was the son of Dr. William A. and Eebecca J. (Barrett) Sykes, who were 8'r4 BtOGRAPHlCAL AMD ElSTOBtCAL mitives of Virginiii. Both the great-grandfather and the grandfather were patriotic soldiers of the Revolutionary war. The parents of Captain Sykes emigrated to Virginia in 1830 and to Monroe county in 1844, where they purchased a plantation. The father was a physician, being a graduate of a medical college in Philadelphia, but after coming to Mississippi, he gave up his practice and devoted himself exclusively to planting. He died in I S78 and his wife died in 1850. Only five of his ten children are living, viz. : Thomas B., Mrs. R. . J. Morgan (of Memphis), Capt. E O., Mrs. Paulina Cunningham and Dr. W. G. Captain Sykes was but nine years of age on coming to Mississippi, where he lived the life of a farmer's boy, going regularly to school; afterward he attended the University of Mississippi, where he graduated in 1854. He immediately entered the law department at Lebanon, Tenn., gradu- ating in 1856. In the fall of that year he went to Leavenworth, Kas., in time to see the bloody scenes enacted in the border warfare which tore that state almost asunder. He prac- ticed his profession in Kansas till 1861, also acting as agent for the Delaware tribe of Indians for the last two years of his stay there. In May, 1861, he returned to Mississippi and enlisted in company B, of the Twentieth Mississippi regiment. He went out as lieutenant and was promoted as captain of the company, but was soon transferred to the adjutant-general's department, serving as inspector of infantry; he was again transferred to Jackson's division of cavalry, where he remained till the surrender. He took an active part in all the engage- ments of the Tennessee army. He was captured at Fort Donelson, and kept a prisoner for six months, principally at Johnson' s island. He was selected from this prison as a delegate to meet delegates from other prisons to arrange about making an exchange of prisoners. Fifty in all were chosen, but this number being considered too large, it was cut down to nine by General Wood. Captain Sykes was one of the nine, and going to Richmond, brought about the only general exchange of prisoners that took place during the war. After the close of the war he returned to Aberdeen, Miss. , where he farmed for two years and then resumed the practice of his profession. He has been the recipient of many honors at the hands of his townsmen, being twice elected to the office of the mayoralty of Aberdeen. He has ))een a member of the Methodist Episcopal church with his entire family for years, and the superintendent of its Sunday-school for eighteen years; president of the board of stewards, and president of the board of trustees for ten years. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity. Knights of Honor, and Knights and Ladies of Honor. In February, 1865, he was married to Miss Maria H. Jones, of Hinds county. Miss. They have two daughters: Corinne and Mary D. He and his charming family live a quiet life on the plantation his father bought so many years ago, and where he died. It is one of the oldest and also one of the most beautiful places in Aberdeen. One of the most attractive and endearing features of the place are the magnificent groves of jnagnolia trees which were planted by the mother's hands so long ago, and which serve to keep her ever in fragrant remembrance. Dr. William G. Sykes, of the firm of Clopton & Sykes, fire insurance agents of Aberdeen, was born in Monroe county in 1845, the son of Dr. William A. and Rebecca J. Sykes. Dr. W. A. Sykes, the elder, was born in Northampton county, Va. , where he was married and moved to Decatur, Ala., and about 1842 came to Monroe county and settled on the prairie, seven miles southwest of Aberdeen, where he died in 1873, his wife having died in 1850. Both were devout members of the Methodist church. After the death of his first wife Dr. Sykes was married, a second time, to Miss S. A. Hobson, of Columbus, Miss. Dr! Sykes was a farmer's lad and received his common-school education in his native state, afterward graduating from the University of Pennsylvania at Philadelphia, and practiced medicine with great success till he moved to Aberdeen, when he retired from active life and devoted MEMOIRS OF MItiSLSSIPPI. 875 himself to his plantation, thereby acoumulatiug a handsome property. He was a man of sound judgment, good financial ability and active in all public duties; was a prominent democrat, but not an ofliceseeker; was the mayor of Aberdeen and a power in all churcli affairs. Our subject is the youngest of nine children, of whom six are still living. The Doctor was educated principally at La Grange, Ala., where he was wlien the war broke out. He immediately left school, and joined com^iany F, of the Forty-third Mississippi inffintry. and served in the capacity of sergeant for a short time, when he was made an aid-de-camp to Gen. W. S. Featherstone, which position he held till just before the close uf the war, when he was made adjutant of the Third Mississippi regiment. After the war he attended the Universitj' of Toronto, Canada, one year, and then graduated from the University of New York city in 1870. After practicing about one year, he gave up his profession, and devoted himself to his planting interests. He owns two fine farms, one of which is the farm on which he was born. He owns in all about eighteen hundred acres of land, a portion of which he inherited, but to which he has added largely by his own eilort. He has been in the insurance business for several years. He is president of the Mississippi Exposition and Fair convention at Aberdeen, and stands high in social circles. He is a prominent member of the Knights of Honor, Eureka lodge No. 719, at Aberdeen, and was first dictator of the lodge. He is now the representative to the grand lodge, and for six years was a representative to the supreme lodge of the United States. He is also worshipful master of the Abenleeu lodge No. -j-, F. & A. M., in which he stands high. He was married in 1872 to Eliza Braudon Clopton, a daughter of William H. and Cornelia W. Clopton, who came from Alabama to Aberdeen about 1840. Mr. Clopton was a prominent planter, and died in 1879. Mrs. Sykes was born in Aberdeen, where she received her early education, later graduating with high honors from the Columbus Female college. She was a lady of high attainments and amiable disposition. She died in 1886, leaving three sons and one daughter to mourn her loss. Dr. Sykes is a man of fine presence and very elegant manners. He is deservedly one of Aberdeen's most popular and representative citizens. His fellowmen have entire confidence in him as a busi- ness man; his political record is unblemished, and he is among the foremost in social circles, and is a worthy member of his noted family. CCC 870 BIOOliAPHWAL AND HI8T0RIVAL ©HAPTEF^ XX. CONSPICUOUS RESIDENTS OF THE STATE, T. tALOBUSHA county has a prominent citizen and a successful planter in the person of James B. Talbert, who was born on the plantation on which he now resides, February 1, 1830. He was a son of Michael D. and Mary (Truitt) Talbert, the former of whom was born in Edgefield district, S. C. , in 1799, the latter in 1807. They were married in 1822, and ten years later they moved to Tennessee, and in the same year, Mr. Talbert came to Yalobusha county, where the following year he bought his home, which was then surrounded by a forest. There he passed the remainder of his life, dying in 1853. His wife died in IS77. He was a well-to-do planter and trader, and one of the prominent men of the county. He was the only one of his family except his sister, Mrs. Hartwell, who came to this state. Mr. and Mrs. Hartwell were both members of the Primitive Baptist church. Mr. Smith, the maternal grandfather of the subject of our sketch, lived and died in South Carolina. James B. Talbert was the eighth of twelve children of his parents, who lived to maturity. Of these five were sons and seven were daughters, and of this large fami- ily only Mr. Talbert and three of his sisters are living. Mr. Talbert and all of his brothers served during the war in the Confederate army. Edmund died at home, after one year's service, in the Twenty-ninth Mississippi infantry. Pinckney rose to the rank of captain, and died while a prisoner of war. John E. was discharged after a few months' service for dis- ability. He was in the Twenty-ninth Mississippi infantry. His death occurred in 1869. Joseph T., who had served from 1863 as a scout, was killed February 23, 1867, in Talla- hatchie bottoms. Our subject was educated at home, and began life for himself as a farmer and planter at the age of seventeen. October 29, 1861, he married Maggie E., daughter of Allen and Angelina Gattis, who came to Yalobusha county at a very early date. They passed their lives in this county, both dying near Oakland, the first in 1858, the other in 1867. Mr. Gattis, who was a well-known planter, was the son of Samuel Gattis of this county, who was a soldier during the Revolutionary war. Mrs. Talbert' s mother's father, Olsimus Kendrick, was also an early settler of this section, who had also served the colonies during the Revo- lution, and who died in Tallahatchie county. Mrs. Talbert was born in this county, one of eight children of her parents, who grew to manhood and womanhood. She has five children, four sons and one daughter, all of whom are well educated: Minnie L. became the wife of J. E. Aldridge, of Washington county. She was educated at the public school at home, and at the State Female college, of Memphis, Tenn. Robert B. began life for himself at the age of thirteen, and has made his own way with success ever since. He has been a resident of Texas for several years, and during the last few years has served in different capacities in banks, having been at one time cashier of the First National bank MEMOIRS OF MlaSISSlFPl. 877 of St. Angelo, Tex., and having been then known as the youngest national bank cashier in the United States. Joseph T. was educated at Oxford, and is now assistant cashier in a bank at Fort Worth, Tex. James B. received his education at Buena Vista, and in a com- mon school, and is now a telegraph operator for the Louisiana, New Orleans & Texas rail- road. Barksdale was educated at Hardy, and at the Capital Commercial college of Jackson, Miss. In 1862 Mr. Talbert joined company B, of the Twenty-niath Mississippi infantry, and fought at Corinth and at Munfordville, Ky. , where he was wounded in September of that year so severely as to disable him from further service. Since his return home, he has devoted his energies entirely to planting. He is the owner of about fifteen hundred acres of well -improved land, producing about one hundred bales of cotton yearly, and sufficient hay, corn and other products to meet his demands for home consumption. This tine prop- erty he has accumulated since the war, being a man of great business ability, everywhere recoo-nized as one of the best planters of this section. His standing as a citizen is high, and he is a liberal supporter of every movement for the general good. Strictly temperate in his habits, he gives his entire attention to his business affairs, and his success has been the suc- cess of a selfmade man. If there is one thing in which he takes more pride than in all others, it has been in properly rearing and amply educating his children, and his concern for the advancement of all the interests of his coiiaty has been deep and abiding. He has given considerable attention to blooded horses, of which he is a lover, and those he drives are among the best in the town. Mrs. Talbert is a lady of culture and intelligence, and amiable disposition, a model wife and mother, hospitable to the last degree. David S. Tankersley, College Hill, Miss. , whose name heads this short biography, was born in Birmingham, Ala., in April, 1829, and is the sixth of a family of ten children. His parents, Keuben and Aisley H. (Scott) Tankersley, were natives of Virginia and Alabama, respectively; they were married in Alabama where they lived for many years. Reuben Tankersley was magistrate there for a namber of years, and was also interested in agricult- ural pursuits. He removed with his family to Lafayette county, Miss., in the fall of 1842, and bought wild land there; he and his three sons cleared and improved his place, converting it into one of the most desirable plantations in the county ; he lived only two years after coming to the county, his death occurring in 1844; he was an elder in the Presbyterian church, of which he was a worthy and consistent member; he left a wife and nine children — three sons and six daughters: Jane C, wife of Newton Buford; James M. ; John F., Mar- garet, wife of Benjamin Smith; Mary M. , wife of Yancey Wiley; David S., the subject of this sketch; Nancy E., wife of Oliver Smith; Martha A., wife of Kobert Gray, of Pontotoc county, Miss., and Sarah S., wife of Jones Brooks, who resides near Waterford, Miss. The mother lived to see all of her children grown; she died in July, 1866; she was also a member of the Presbyterian church. At the age of twenty years David S. began life on his own responsibility, taking up agriculture. In the spring of \HiM he enlisted in the Confeder- ate army and served with his command until he surrendered at Charlotte, N. C, in April, 1865. He was under Bragg from Corinth until his removal; then with Johnston, through his campaign through Georgia, until his removal ; then with Hood, through Tennessee, and until his surrender at Charlotte, N. C, during the whole period in the quartermaster's department. He then returned to his home in Lafayette county, Miss., and resumed his occupation of farming. He was married March 4, 1869, to Mary S. Henlon, and of this union seven chil- dren were born — one son and six daughters —four of whom are now living: Sallie S., Ella W., Maggie L. and David N. Mr. Tankersley owns two thousand acres of land, one thousand of which are under cultivation. He has been a plain, practical farmer all his life, and has left 87y BIOQRAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL public life to other aspirants. He has lived ou his present plantation since coming to the state in 1842, and has a host of friends who esteem him for his sterling traits of character. He has always contributed liberally to all huidalile public enterprises, and is a generous sup- porter of the Presbyterian church, of which he and his wife are members. Charles W. Tatum, of Missionary, Jasper county, Miss., was born in Greene county. Miss., in 1836. When but two years of age he located in Jasper county, where he grew to maturity and was educated at the public schools. He was married in 1858 to Miss Martha McCormick, a daughter of that honored pioneer, J. J. McCormick. In 1861 he enlisted in company 0, of the Eighth Mississippi regiment, under Colonel Flint. At the close of the war he returned home and engaged in planting, and which he has continued with such suc- cess that he is now the owner of nearly a section of land. Mr. and Mrs. Tatum have had born to them a family of three children: James J., M. D., a practicing physician of this county; Lillian C, who married \V. H. Munger, and lives in Newton county; and William C. Mr. Tatum is a member of the local lodge of A. F. & A. M. , and has long been connected with the Methodist Episcopal Church South. He does a general planting business, raising cotton, corn and other farm products, besides a large amount of stock. Col. Caleb W. Taylor, who is now deceased, was born near Lexington, Ky., in 1811. He moved to Altibania when he was a young man, locating in Greene county, where he remained for a few years. Here he married Miss Lizzie Morton. Their union was blessed with two children — sons — one whom died during the war, near Lynchburg, Va., the other son will lie spoken of later in this sketch. Col. Caleb W. Taylor came to where Morton now stands about the year ISTjO, and busied himself in planting until the outbreak of the war. He was intensely loyal to the cause of the Confederacy, doing all in his power to aid it. His home, which stood only about one-fourth of a mile from Morton, was the only place where travelers through the then sparsely settled country could find refreshment for man and l)east. As lie was a typical Southern gentleman, it is needless to say that all comers were welcomed, par- ticularly in those troublous times. He was not an extensive farmer, but lived that happiest of all existences, an independent plantation life. Politically he was a whig; was a man very prominent in politics, and was a member of the seceding convention which was held at Jackson, Miss., March, ISlii, and at which he earnestly advocated the right of secession. He was also a member of the Methodist Episcopal Chiirch South, in whose service he was earnest and active, and it is not (oo much to say that he was a man whom everybody respecteil and honored in the highest degree, and one who, though dead, is not forgotten. -). A. Taylor, the second son of Col. Caleb W. Taylor, was born in Monroe county, Mis.s., in 1844, and came with his parents to Scott county in 1850. He has made this country his home ever since. He has been a most successfiil business man, owning at the present time an interest in a good paying mercantile business in the town of Morton, and he also has an interest in a store at Pelahatch(>e, Kankin county, Mi.ss., while he is also an extensive land owner in Scott county. In the fall of 1861 Mr. Taylor enlisted in company G, of the Twenty-eighth Mississippi regiment, serving the first year under the command of Peter B. Stark. Later he joined the Tennessee and Georgia division of the army, and remained with it until the close of the war. The service left him, as it did thousands of others, in a debil- itated condition, and he has never recovoi-ed from its ett'ects. Capt. Hillary L. Taylor, Bentonia, was born in Greenville, Ala., October 15, 1.S48, and is the third of a family of ten child)-en. His parents, Dr. Marion D. K. and Elizabeth (McDaniel) Taylor, were natives of Georgia and Alabama, resjjectively. The father was a well- known physician and a successful planter. He removed to Cass county, Tex., in 1846, and MEMOIRS OF MlnaiaaiPPl. 87fi was for seventeen years speaker of the legislature of that state. When his county was divided Marion county was named in his honor. He was also a member of the state senate, and has for many years presided over the democratic state conventions. He is now living at the age of seventy-three years, holding a high place in public estimation. In all the duties of life h(^ has acquitted himself with great honor and credit. Captain Taylor was reared in Texas, receiving only a common-school education. He remained under the paternal roof until ISfiJ, when he enlisted as a volunteer in company G, Third Texas regiment. He was i)romoted to the office of lieutenant, and finally to the command of his company. He participated in the battle of Oak Hill, Mo., and other engagements in the West. He was transferred to the army of the Tennessee, served under Generals Bragg, Johnston and Hood through Tennessee and Georgia, until the close of the war. He was wounded at luka. Miss., and was paroled at Liv- erpool, Yazoo county, Miss. He then settled in Yazoo county, where he has since resided. He has been engaged in planting and in mercantile pursuits. In I ST.") he was elected sheriff of Yazoo county, and re-elected in 1S77. InlSTU he was made jiresident of the board of county supervisors, and in 1881) he represented the people of Yazou county in the legislature. Captain Taylor has Ijeen twice married. First to Miss Mary G. Calvit, in November, 1865. She was a native of Mississippi, and a daughter of Charles Calvit. She died in 187'.), having borne four children: Nettie H, Marion D. K., Lizzie K. and Mary G. The Captain was mar- ried a second time, in 1881, to Mrs. A. E. Harris, a daughter of Col. -J. E. Mosley. Two children were born of this union, only one of whom survives, Annie Eoss. Mrs. Taylor passed away iu 18S;i Captain Taylor owns about five thousand acres of land, and large mercantile interests, doing about |60,<»0() business annually. He is a member of the I. O. O. F. and of the Knights of Honor. He is a man of public spirit, benevolent and hosjutable, and a citizen whose influence for good would be felt in any community. John Taylor (deceased), one of the early settlers of old Tishomingo coimty. Miss., was born in Leesburg, Loudoun county, Va., in February, I 77(). He was married to Miss Mary Knott in Granville county, N. C. , on the 2()th of May. 1^01, her birth having occurred in the county in which she was married December 28, 1 7S4, and her death on the 4th of August, 1^27. In 1818 or 1819 they moved to Caswell county of the same state, Irat afterward became residents of Clarke county. Ga., locating near Salem, but at a still later period they settled in Jackson county, where they purchased land and resided until the fall of IS^^S. They then removed to Tishomingo county. Miss. , and settled near th« town of Old Danville, where the father continued to make his home until his children had grown to maturity and started out in life for themselves. At the time of his death in 1864, he was living with his youngest son. He lived a life of usefulness, and by attending strictly to his farming interests he raised large crops, for which he received good prices. Although an old line whig and a great Henry Clay man, he was not an active jiolitician, and after the whig jjarty went down he remained neutral. He was a strong Union man, and opposed secession with all the strength of his will, but at the time of his death, was the owner of quite a number of negroes. Al- though not a member of any church he believed in the Christian religion, and was upright and moral in c'very respect. He was strictly temperate, a rare thing in his day, and was never heard to take an oath. One of his elder brothers was killed while serving in the Revolution- ary war, and one of his sisters married a Mr. Dorr and settled in the East. Mrs. Taylor was reared in the county of her birth, being a daughter of James Knott, who became the father of four sons: John, James, David and Eobert, all of whom reared families, and lived to be old men, and settled in Georgia, with the exception of Robert, who emigrated to Tennessee, iu which state many of his descendants yet live. Mrs. Taylor was an earnest member of the 880 BIOQRAPHIOAL AND EISTOBIVAL Methodist Episcopal church, and was a kind and faithful wife and mother, as well as an exemplary Christian. She bore bor husband thirteen children, whose names are as follows: Frances was born August 8, 1803, in Caswell county, N. C, and on the 24th of December, 1823, was married to George Swaiii, a brother of David Swain, of North Carolina, who after- ward became governor of that state, and at her death, which occun-ed the same year as her mother's, left her husband with one child to care for. This child afterward was reared by her grandfather Taylor, and, upon reaching womanhood, married Dr. Long, of Athens, Ga. , who became a prominent physician, and was said to have been the discoverer of anesthesia. He died a few years ago, in Athens, members of his family having moved to San Antonio, Tex. His wife was killed in a railroad wreck near San Antonio, Tex. , after having borne him two sons and four daughters, all of whom are living. The second child born to Mr. and Mrs. Taylor, was Kobert Knott, who was born May 3, 1804, and died in July, 1820, soon after his parents had moved to Georgia; Franklin was born May 3, 1805, and was married in Georgia, July 7, 1S31, to Miss E. A. Baring, and by her became the father of four sons and seven daughters. He moved to Chambers county, Ala., during the early settlement of that region, afterward to Claiborne parish. La., where he followed planting. In 1853, with a brother, he began merchandising, a calling he very successfully followed until the opening of the war. He afterward moved to Texas, where he died in 1871, leaving a large family of children; Elizabeth Taylor was born November 22, 1806, and died in October, 1807; John Taylor, Jr., was born May 8, 1808, removed to Mississippi with his pai'ents, and after a short residence at Columbus moved to Jacinto, the old county seat of Tishomingo, where he followed merchandising with a brothei-; he died at the home of his brother in 1875, a single man; Mary Ann, the next child, was born December 1, 1809; was married October 6, 1835, to Coday Fowler, who died in Tishomingo coimty. Miss., shortly before the war, leaving her with three sons and three daughters to care for, some of whom still reside in this vicinity; Martha was born May 26, 1812, and died in February, 1813; Calvin A. was born in Caswell county, N. C. , January 6, 1813, emigrating to Georgia with his parents when six years of age, and to Mississippi with them in 1838. He was educated in the common schools and at Eandolph-Macon college, Virginia, but soon after returned to Mississippi, his health having become very much impaired while in school. In 1839 he began teaching in Old Farmington, and in 1 840 opened a private school in Marshall county. The following year he was elected circuit clerk of Tishomingo county, and in 1842, while holding this office, he opened a mercantile establishment which he conducted for several years, being associated during this time with his next eldest brother. He also followed the same calling with his brother in Claiborne parish, La. In 1861 he was elected to the state legislature for the second time, which office he held throughout tlie war. Since that time he has held the office of county treasurer of Tishomingo county, besides various other offices of importance. After the forming of Prentiss county, in 1869, he removed to Eienzi, and until 1875 conducted a mercantile establishment at that place, being now a member of the firm of John E. Moore & Co., of Booneville. He has also been successfully engaged in planting near Eienzi. He was married in Tishomingo county to Miss Elizabeth Haigh, a native of Tuscumbia, Ala., she being the daughter of Jacob Haigh, a leading merchant of that place, and a German by descent. He removed from Alabama to Mississippi about 1836, and in 1857, became a resident of Arkansas county. Ark., where he died in 1870, leaving a large family. The wife of Calvin Taylor was his eldest child. She was reared in Mississippi, and has borne her husband five children who lived to maturity, their names being as follows: John J., who is married, and is engaged in merchandising in B.ooneville; George C, who is MEMOTRH OF MTHSFSSr ITl . S81 living in Nashville, Ark; James F., vs^bo is in tbe store of John E. Moore & Co.; Katie married E. F. Arnold, a well-known attorney of Graham, Tex., and judge of the circuit court; and Mollie, who became the wife of G. M. Street, and died in 188'), leaving three chil- dren, one of whom has since died. Katie E. and Mary E. have resided with their grandfather, Calvin Taylor, since their mother's death, their father beiug in business at Little Eook, Ark. Calviu Taylor and his wife are members of tlie Methodist Episcopal church; he is a democrat in politics, and since 1884 has been mayor of Eienzi. The ninth child born to John and Mary (Knott) Taylor was Elsa, born November -i-t, 1814, and on November 26, 1830, mar- ried James Eosamond, by whom she became the mother of live children. The next was Luther R., born November j!4, 1810, married Miss Louisa Brewster, December ^3, 1843, by whom he had four children. Sarah C, tl)e eleventh of the family, was born September 28, 1818, and on July 7, 184(1, was married.to A. B. Dilworth. Wdliam A. was bom January 26, 1821, in Jackson county, Ga. ; was married on June 6, liS49, to Miss H. P. McCrory, by whom he had two sons, one of whom is now deceased, and James M., who was born January 12, 1827, in Jackson county, Ga., being married on October 8, 1851, to Miss Mary E. Cox. Dr. William A. Tavlor is a son of John Taylor (deceased), a sketch of whom immediately precedes this, and although born in Georgia he was princijjally reared in Mississippi, whither he came with his parents. After receiving a good practical education in the common schools of Tishomingo county he began the study of medicine, and after attending lectures in the University of Louisville, Ky., he was graduated as an M. D., after which he returned to his home in Mississippi, for fourteen years thereafter practicing his profession at Danville, and Jacinto. Since that time he has been an active medical practitioner of Booneville, and in his jirofessional capacity has entered the homes of many of lier citizens. His long experience (since 1S60), his thorough knowledge of his jirofession and his sound good sense, have placed him among the foremost medical practitioners of the state, and he has been exceptionally successful in the treatment of diseases to which the human body is heir. While at Jacinto he was engaged in the mercantile and manufacturing Irasiness, but since leaving that place he had devoted his attention to his profession, with the best results. On the 6th of June, 1840, he was married to Miss Hannah P. McCrory, a native of Teunesse;; and a daughter of Eobert McCrory, who settled in this section in 1 846, following the calling of a planter near Eienzi. Mrs. Taylor was one of a large family and was reared in Mississippi. She has borne the Doctor two children, one of whom is deceased. Marcus E., their living son is a surgeon in the United States army, and is located at Vancouver barracks, opposite Portland, Ore., where he is post surgeon. He prepared himself for his profession at heme under his father, took lectures at Louisville, Ky., for a time, after which he taught school in Jack- son, Tenn., for a time, in order to obtain means with which to continue his medical studies, and later entered the Bellevue Hospital Medical college of New York, from which institution he graduated in 187r). While in this college he made application for a position in the United States army, was commissioned and sent to Jackson barracks, New Orleans, where he remained for three years. At the end of this time he was ordered to the Missouri depart- ment, thence to Fort Bliss, El Paso, Tex., remaining there four years, thence to Jefferson Isarracks, Mo., and afterward returned to his home in Mississippi on leave of absence. He was next sent to David's island, thence to Fort Stanton, N. M., remaining at this place four years, next to Boise City, Ida., and in 1890 to Vancouver barracks, where he now is. His literary education was acijuired in the University of Mississippi at Oxford, from which he graduated with honors in 1871. Clay Taylor, the other son, died at the age of ten years. Mrs. Taylor is a mendjer of the Cumberland Presbyterian church. Dr. Taylor is a member 882 BIOORAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL of lodge No. 305, of tho A. F. & A. M., of Booueville, is a lueuiber of the State Medical asso- ciation and the American Medical iissociatioii. Prior to the war he was a whig, but has since been a democrat. He keeps himself posted on all the issues of the day, and is alive to all matters of importance, both of a political and social nature, but is not an office seeker, pre- ferring to devote his time to his profession. He has a pleasant home and has given con- siderable attention to j)lanting and stockraising, his cattle being of the Devonshire breed. He was appointed a commissioner of the state lunatic asylum, while B. G. Humphries was gov- ernor, and is a particular friend of Governor Stone. He is a man of unblemished reputation and well liked. Dr. J. M. Taylor is an eminent ])hysician of the state, but is especially well known in Alcorn, and surrounding counties, where he has resided the most of his life. He is the youngest of the thirteen children born to John Taylor, whose sketch appears above. He came to Mississijipi with his father in 1839, and settled in the vicinity of Old Danville, now in Alcorn, then in Tishomingo county, \\here he attained his majority on the home farm and his education at home. Owing to the newness of the country at that time and the scarcity of schools, his advantages were very limited, ))ut being possessed of a strong will and a determination to become a well-informed man, he applied himself diligently to his studies, whenever he could find the time, and, with the assistance of his father, made quite a thorough study of astronomy, philosophy, etc. Although his father was somewhat opposed to more than an ordinary education, he was persuaded by an old friend to allow his son, J. M., to enter a good school, although it was understood that after one year's attendance he was to return home and assist his father for one year. This J. M. Taylor readily agreed to do, after which he took a thorough course in Greek and Latin. He remained with his father until he commenced the study of medicine, reading under an elder brother, Dr. W. A. Taylor, at Old Danville, attending his first course of lectures in 1848-9 at Louisville, Ky. He began practicing his profession at Jacinto, the county seat of Tishomingo county at that time. Upon his return from college and in the eighteen months that he remained at this place, his skill and success in his practice made him very popular. He obtained enough money during this time to enable him to enter the Jefferson Medical college of Phila- delphia, Penn., from which institution he was graduated as an M. D. Soon after this he located at West Point, Ga. , where he was engaged in the di'ug business for some time with a cousin, but he soon after gave up this work nnd went to Griffin, Ga., where he was mar- ried on the 8th of October, 1851, to Miss Mary E. Cox. A short time after the celebration of their marriage they came to Jacinto, Miss., where he resumed his former practice, but had only resided there a short time when they returned to Georgia, settling at McDouough. A short time after this he was urged so strongly by his many friends at Jacinto to return there that he did so, but with the intention of locating permanently at Rienzi, then a pros- perous village on the line of the Mobile & Ohio railroad, then under construction, where he successfully practiced his profession until the war opened. He then sold his property and came to Corinth in 1870, which place has since been his home and where he has built up an extended practice. Fate has always been the Doctor's friend. Indeed, his superior talents seemed to mark him as her favorite for his efficiency, skill and signal success are too well known to elaborate, suffice it to say that he does a large practice both in Corinth and adjoining towns, as well as in the country and on the railroads leading into the city. Although he has always done a general practice, circumstances early forced him to devote special attention to surgery and the diseases and accidents peculiar to women, branches very much neglected in the country, especially until the last few years. He has several times MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 888 performed the operations of lithotomy, tracheotomy, hemitomy, resection of bones, cata- ract, excision of tumors, etc., also a great many operations in plastic surgery. His office has been the starting point for several young men scattered over different states, who have become ornaments to the profession. His. first pupil, Dr. Elvis McCrory, became a distin- guished surgeon in the Confederate army. Having volunteered as a private in the Second Mississippi regiment soon after returning from college, he went immediately to the front in Virginia, where he was soon made a full surgeon. He died early in the war, with the rank of brigade surgeon. His funeral was one of the most imposing ever held in the army. Dr. T. L. Patterson, a jaromiuent physician in Charleston, Mo., studied medicine in Dr. Taylor's office before the war. Dr. W. H. McDougal and Dr. D. T. Price were students when the war began and went out with their preceptor, through whose influence they were retained in the medical service until the battle of Fort Donelson, at which place Price was captured with Dr. Taylor and retained as a prisoner of war until the general exchange. After the close of the war they returned to the Doctor's office and completed their studies, after which Dr. McDougal located at Eienzi, where he recently died, and Dr. Price at Boouville, Miss., where they soon became leading physicians and citizens. Dr. Feemster, another pupil located in Lee county. Miss., stands fair in the profession in his locality. Dr. W. C. Steele, after passing through his pupilage, did a general practice for a few years and then made a specialty of the eye, ear and throat, and located in Chattanooga, Tenn., where he does a good practice and occupies a professorship in the medical department of the U. S. Grant university. Dr. M. A. Taylor, a nephew and namesake is located in Honey Grove, Tex., and ranks with the best physicians in that country. Dr. Brewer, another pupil is doing a good practice in the Indian territory. Dr. G. C. Chandler, of Nacogdoches, La., has made considerable local reputation, both as a physician and surgeon. Dr. B. M. Bishop, after going through the ordinary course of study, commenced practice with his preceptor, and at once entered into h large and varied .practice. Within the first year of his practice, when only twenty-three years of age, he performed the operation of ovariotomy and also Tait's operation with com- plete success, and entire relief in both cases. The Doctor's son, Charles M. and I. T. Bynum, have recently commenced the practice, the former at Kossuth, Miss., and the latter in middle Texas, with satisfactory prospects. These young men were all famous sons, and obtained their preliminary education in the schools in their respective neighborhoods. Dr. Taylor always has taken a deep and personal interest in all his pupils, and succeeded admirably in infusing into them his own enthusiasm and devotion to his profession. He received most of them into his house, treating them as part of his family, and they have ever retained for him the profoundest respect, gratitude and confidence. He omitted no opportunity to impart instruction as far as he could, both by precept and example, and did not hesitate to employ restraint and correction whenever he deemed it necessary. He is one of the founders of the State Medical association, has done a great deal for the society, and is well and favorably known throughout the state, having been, from its organization, an active member of the state board of health, its organization being brought about in great part by his earnest efforts. He v^as for some time chairman of the executive committee of the State Medical association, which committee is the nucleus of the board of health; was president of the State Medical society in 1874; has taken a deep and abiding interest in both organizations, and has been a member of the American Medical association since 1873. He was vice president of the State Medical association for some time, and has always believed in medical legislation, having written many articles of note for medical journals while advocating this movement. His wife died after the war, having borne him four children: Robert M., a druggist; Charles 8S4 BIOORAPHWAL AND HISTORICAL M., a praoticiiif^ physician of Kossuth; Mary M., who is thf wife of a Mr. Eogers and resides at Grand Junction, Tenu. ; and Andrew B., who died at the age of nineteen years, besides four others who died in early infancy. Dr. Taylor was married, the second time, to Miss Sallie Murray, a cousin of his first wife, she being reared and educated in Griffin, Ga. She has borne the Doctor three children, only one of whom is living at the present time: Beatrice M., the wife of Dr. Bishop, who is associated in the practice of his profession with his father- in-law. Dr. Taylor; Glenmore, a little daughter, died when less than a year old, while her mother was on a visit to friends in Georgia; and Rush died at the age of nine years, a hand- some and promising lad. The Doctor and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, in which he is president of the board of trustees. He was a member of the A. F. & A. M. When the war opened he volunteered as a surgeon in the Twenty-sixth Mississippi Volunteer infantry and served as such until the fall of Fort Donelson, when he was captured and taken to Momid City hospital, where he was kept for a short time. He was then removed to St. Louis, where he was j^aroled to go to Camp Chase. While there. General Halleck kindly changed the order and sent him, at his request, to Indiaua2)olis, where he remained but one month. From that time until thi> prison on Johnson's island was ready for occupancy, he was at Camp Chase, after which he remained at the former place until surgeons were released, when he signed the cartel for the exchange of prisoners and was ferried across to Sandusky. Here he was left without friends or money, but he managed to make his way to Indianapolis, thence to Kentucky and home, but as the Federal troops occupied Corinth and vicinity includ- ing his home, he was compelled to prociire another parole from the Federal commanders. After they had evacuated Corinth he reported for duty, but was not again called on for duty, as his health was greatly impaired by the hardships he had undergone. The Doctor says his treatment by the Federal officers was very good, the commanding officers being very lenient with him, and recites many interesting and pleasant incidents of prison life. Before the war he was a whig in politics, but since that time he has been a democrat, although he takes no active interest in political matters. The Doctor has a very large and valuable med- ical and literary library. He is a profound and earnest student on general as well as medical topics, and although a highly educated gentleman, he is modest and unassuming in manners. Leroy T. Taylor, Yerona, a substantial citizen of Lee county. Miss., was born in Itawamba county, Miss., December 10, 1845, and is a son of Col. Clark W. and Louisa J. (Keys) Taylor. His father was born in Oglethorpe county, Ga., in 1820, and was one of two children of Col. Swepson and Sarah .T. (Mitchell) Taylor. The grandfather of our subject was a native of Virginia, born in 1796, and was a son of Clark Taylor. Sarah T. (Mitchell) Taylor was a daughter of Randolph Mitchell. The Mitchell family were of Scotch Irish descent, and the Taylors were of English ancestry. Clark W. Taylor was educated in Georgia, and in 1842 embarked in the mercantile trade in connection with his agricultural interests. He was elected to the state senate before the war, and in 1839 he removed to Mississip2)i. He was a Mason, and in his political views he sympathized with the democratic party, although before the war he was a whig. He died at Verona, Miss., in 1886, at the age of sixty-six years. He served in the Civil war for one year. He was a member of the Baptist church, and w!is a zealous supporter of any cause which he espoused. He and his wife had these children : Leroy T. , William C. , Samriel M., Lilla B., wife of W. C. Raymond, and Charles H. living. James S. was killed at Fort Donelson, and was eighteen at the time of his death; Samuel T. died at the age of eleven years; Zachariah W. died in 1877; Joseph di(^d in 1888. The mother of our subject, Louisa J. Keys, was a daughter of Judge James MEM0IB8 OF MISSISSIPPI. ssr, aud Susau M. (Thomas) Keys. Her fatlier was judge of the probate court, and was a prom- inent planter. She came to Mississippi at the age of seventeen years, and has resided here since that time. She lives in Verona. Leroy T. Taylor was reared to the life of n farmer, aud received his education in the schools of his native state. At the age of sixteen years he enlisted in company B, First Mississippi volunteer infantry, and was in some of the most severe service of the war. He was captured at Port Donelson, and was afterward released. He was in the liattle of Shiloh; was honorably discharged at Tupelo, and assisted in forming a company, of which he was elected second lieutenant. He was in many of the most noted engagements, following that period, until April 2, 1865, when he received a gunshot wound in the head. He was paroled in the May following. In 1865 he embarked in the mercantile trade at Mooreville, and in the next year he removed to Shannon. In 1867 he sold out the entire concern, and went on the road as a traveling salesman. He still retains a small ter- ritory, in which he travels in the interest of B. Sonensheiu & Bro., of Memphis, Tenn., but devotes the greater portion of the time to agriculture. In December, 18fiS, he was united in marriage to Miss Sallie C. Calhoun, a daughter of Dr. William H. and Jane S. (Orr) Calhoun. Dr. Calhoun was born and reared in South Carolina, and was a sou of James and Sarah (Cald- well) Calhoun, aud a nephew of John C. Calhouu. The Calhouus were of Scotch-Irish descent. The doctor was a planter and practicing physician. He represented Pontotoc county in the legislature of the state, and was a citizen whom all honored and respected. His wife was a sister of James S. Orr, speaker of the house l)efore the war, governor of South Carolina after the war, aud subsequently minister to Russia, in which country he died, at St. Petersburg, in 1871. Mrs. Taylor was born April 19, 18-17, and was one of a family of six children, four of whom are living: Cornelia, now Mrs. Tauker.sley; John C, William H. and Mrs. Taylor. To our subject and wife have been born two daughters and one son: E. L., the wife of V. C. Kincannou; Nellie, a student at college; and SwepsonD., a student at luka, Miss. The parents are members of the Baptist church. Mr. Taylor devotes his time to planting and to some business interests which he has in Plautersville, Lee county. Politic ally he affiliates with the democratic j^arty and strongly supports all its measures. He is a man of sterling traits of character, and has a host of friends and admirers in the community. Hon. Robert Hudson Taylor, attorney, Sardis, Miss., is second in order of birth of five children born to Lawson G. and Augusta (Rawliugs) Taylor, the father a native of Halifax county, Va., and the mother of North Carolina. Lawson Gr. Taylor came to Mississippi, when Robert Hudson was less than a year old, and located in Panola county, where he continued ■ his occupation as a planter. His life was one of quiet, honest industry, and he died in 1871, at the age of sixty-five years. He was a modest, unpretentious man, and one of the county's Ijest citizens. His father was a native of the Old Dominion, aud his grandfather, Taylor, was a native of Wales, coming to this country at an early date and settling in Virginia. On the Rawlings side, Robert H. Taylor is of Englisli extraction. The latter received a fair educa- tion in Panola county, where he was reared, and at the age of twenty-three years, while in the office of deputy circuit clerk of the county, he began the study of law. At the breaking out of war he enlisted in company H, Seventeenth Mississippi regiment of Panola vindicators, and was first lieutenant of the same, his company participating in the first battle of Manas- sas, Leesburg, and other shai-p skirmishes. His company drifted down on the peninsula, between the York and James rivers. In 1862 he joined the cavalry, and was given command of company K, Valentine's regiment, and was in constant service until peace was declared. He was in the Georgia and Tennessee campaigns, was at Holly Springs when General Van Dorn attacked General Grant's depot of supplies, etc., and was in front of Vicksburg, under 88(i BIOOHAPHIOAL AND Hlt^TORIVAL Geiieral Johnston. In fact he was in iihnost constant engagements, from the time he enlisted nutil the South laid down its arms. He was in the last fight of Forrest's command at Selma, Ala., and was in command of his regiment, which was surrendered by Gen. Dick Taylor in Alabama. Returning from the war, Mr, Taylor practiced law and farmed at Old Panola, then tlie county seat of Panola county. He selected as his life companion Miss Belle Alston, who was born in Mississippi, and who was the daughter of William and Mary (McLeod) Alston, natives of Georgia. The fruits of this union have been nine children: Mary Belle, Eugene B., Blanche Irene, Robert Hudson, Jr., James A.,, Clair and Edith. In 1873, the courthouse being removed to Sardis, Mr. Taylor followed and has since been a resident of that place. The same year he was elected to the state senate, held that honorable position for four years, and in 1890 was a member of the constitutional convention. As a lawyer, Mr. Taylor is straightforward, clear-headed, well-balanced and persevering. He has a large prac- tice, and is noted for pertinacity and strict fidelity to the interests of his clients. He is the owner of about five thousand acres of land in Panola county, and of this has about two thou- sand five hundred acres under cultivation. He is president of the Bank of Sardis, which has a capital of 175,000, with $10,000 surplus; it is doing a large business and is one of the most prosperous institutions in the county. Mr. Taylor is an excellent business man, and in all cir- cumstances he has been an earnest disciple of progress and enterprise, hence his life has been one of thrift and prosperity. As the guardian of the people's interests he has zealously prosecuted his undertakings, and has ever held the love and high esteem of his constituency. He is interested in whatever pertains to the welfare of his people. Mr. Taylor is an able attorney, an enterprising business man and a citizen of whom any country might well feel proud. He is pleasant and congenial and a fine conversationalist. Socially he is a member of the Masonic fraternity. Judge L. Temple, Nettleton, Miss., was born in North Carolina, in 1814, and is a son of Burrel and Harriet Temple, also natives of North Carolina. The fatlier was a democrat in his political belief, and a member of the Primitive Baptist church for fifty years. He was the able editor of two papers, known as the Primitive Baptist and the Freedom's Blade. He was connected with the former twenty- seven years, and with the latter fifteen years. He died in 1879, in North Carolina, on the place where he was born. His wife, Harriet, was the daughter of Henry Ivy, a native of North Carolina, born about 1705, and died in 1854. The subject of this notice received his education in the common schools, and was trained to the occu- pation of a farmer. In 1833, October 24th, he was married to Lydia Powell, who was born in North Carolina, March 20, 1811, a daughter of Matthew and Elizabeth Powell, natives of the same state. Five children were born of this union. The mother died October 12, 1879. The children were named as follows: Harriet, wife of Wesley Strickland, had seven children; Lucy A., deceased, married S. A. Shackford, and they had nine children; M. M. married Louisa Roberts, and they had born to them nine children, six of whom are living; Martha H. is the wife of J. G. Mario, and the mother of three children ; M. D. , married Miss P. A. Riley, and they have five children, all of whom are living; he is a successful farmer, controll- ing one thousand acres of land, over three hundred of which are in a high state of cultiva- tion. He is one of the leading agriculturists, a liberal supporter of all public enterprises, and a citizen whom all lionor and respect. All of the Judge's children are well settled in life, and are rearing children who will be an honor to their ancestry. Judge Temple has been prominently identified with the political history of his county. He is a stanch democrat, and has figured conspicuously in all the deliberations of that party. He has been justice of the peace three terms, and supervisor of the court seven terms. As he was jiresident of MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. W? court, at the time Lee county was orgaaized, it became his duty, according to the existing laws, to order an election to vote upon organizing Lee county. He belongs to the Farmers' Alliance, and is a prohiljitionist. He is a member of the Primitive Baptist church, and has always been a zealous worker in the cause of his Master. The Judge makes his home with his son, M. D, Temple, on the old plantation where he settled in 184S. He has witnessed a wonderful change in the face of nature since that time ; then he could stand in his doorway and shoot deer, turkey, and other wild game, while the redman roamed at will, com prising the greater portion of the inhabitants. The Judge is still able to assist in overseeing the plantation, and is comparatively strong and hearty. His friends and admirers insist upon his allowing his name to be used as a candidate for the state legislature, but he has no ambition or inclination in that direction. Too much cannot be said in praise of those hardy souls who took upon themselves the burden of going to the frontier in pioneer days and laying the foundation of the present advanced civilization, and tlie generation of this day shtiuld not forget the debt of gratitude they owe to their ancestry for the comforts and lux- uries they now enjoy. Moses R. Temple is one of the progressi\e planters of Lauderdale county, Miss., where he is the owner of one thousand two hundred and sixty acres of land, of which three hun- dred acres are under cultivation. This land is among the best in the county, and Mr. Temple being enterprising and energetic, it yields him large crops yearly. He was born in the county in which he now resides, in October, lsr)2, the fourth in a family of twelve children born to John W. F. and Sarah (Jones) Temple, the former of whom was born in North Carolina and the latter in Alabama. The mother was taken from the home of her birth to Kemper county. Miss., by her parents, when quite small, but Mr. Temple came to this section when a young man, and in Kemper county they met and married, remaining there about one year after their union. They then purchased land in Lauderdale county, and Mr. Temple made that the chief business of his life, accumulating a fair share of this world's goods. He was a member of the board of county supervisors for a number of years, and for about fourteen years filled the office of justice of the peace. He was well known throughout the county, and had the respect of all who knew him, for he possessed numerous worthy qualities. After a useful and well-spent life, he died at his home in this county, in 1880, his widow surviving him only three years. Of the children born to them, six sons and one daughter surA'ive them. Moses R. Temple remained under the shelter of the parental roof until he was eighteen years of age, at which early age he was married to Miss Ella Shepherd, a daughter of Will- iam and Ann (Cochran) Shepherd, natives of Mississippi and Alabama, respectively, the former of whom was killed while serving in the Confederate army at the battle of Atlanta. His widow afterward married Reuben Smith, and at the present time is residing in Lauder- dale county. After his marriage Mr. Temple set energetically to work to make a competency for himself and family, and as above stated, is now the owner of one of the finest plantations in the county.- He held the office of justice of the peace for two years, and at one time was bailiff for a short time. Like his father before him he has many warm friends, and ranks liigh in the estimation of all who know him. He is deservedly considered a high-minded and honorable gentleman, and he and his wile are active and worthy members of the .Methodist Episcopal church. He is also a member of the A. F. cV A. M. and the Farm- ers' Alliance, and contributes liberally of his means to worthy causes. To himself and wife two daughters have been born: Hattie and Mabel. Judge Samuel H. Terral, of Clarke county. Miss., was born in Jasper county of that state in 1835. His parents were James S. and AUetha (Heielburg) Terral. His father was 888 BIOGRAPIIlGAh AND UIsrORICAL horn in Wayne county, in 1809, a son of Edward Terral, of Welsh descent, who was born in South Carolina, but moved to Mississippi, going there at an early day and settling in Wayne county. He fought in the Eevolutionary war, in which he enlisted from the state of South (Carolina, where he then hved. His wife was a member of the Stevens family. The father was one of five children reared by his parents, the most of whom were ))orn in this state. He was one of the early settlers in this section of the state, and fjecame a jirominent planter. He was married in Perry county of this state, in 1831, and reared a family of five sons and three daughters. Of these, John H. died in ISdl; James S. Terral, who in \K)^ was elected district attorney of the eighth district, over a veiy popular incumbent. In 1861, when the call for volunte'ers was made, he left his circuit and raised a company for the war, of which he was elected captain. It was designed for an infantry company, but the need in that arm of service being supplied, he turned over the company to Capt. Melanothon Smith, a graduate of West Point, for the artillery service. In the fall of 1861, a new call for troops being made, with the aid of Major Welborne, he raised the Seventh Mississippi battalion, composed of seven companies from southeastern Mississippi, of which he was elected com- manding officer, lieutenant colonel. After a" short training, the battalion was attached to Little's division of General Price's army. It was in the affair at luka, September 19, and in the battle at Corinth, October 3, 1862. On the latter day, while leading his battalion, with spirit and gallantry, he was wounded in the left breast, and was still leading and encouraging his men in the thickest of the fight, when he was stricken to the ground by a minie-ball, which broke the bone of the thigh, just above the knee. His left leg was amputated and his wound had nearly healed when erysipelas set in, of which he died November 2, 1862. He was generous and brave to a fault and had the full confidence of his men. When death approached he sent a loving remembrance and farewell to his family, in which he expressed his content to die, in that he died for his country. The next in order of birth is the subject of this sketch, Edward S. Terral, who lives in Texas and was lieutenant of the Sixteenth Mississippi regiment; Milton was lieutenant of the Thirty-seventh Mississippi regiment, company C, and was killed at Corinth, October 4, 1862; Ardelissa was married to Mr. Munger and died in Jasper county; Nannie became the wife of Mr. Smith, and is living in Jasper county; Lucretia, who also married a Mr. Smith, is residing in Heidelburg. The father of these children died in Jasper county, February, 1879. He was a Mason of high standing and a member as well as a minister of the Baptist church. The mother, who was a daughter of Thomas C. Heielburg, was born in the state of Georgia, of which her parents were both nati ves, they coming here at an early date and locating for a time in Perry county, whence they removed to Jasper county, where they died, the mother at Quitman, in 1885. The early life of Judwe Terral was passed in Jasper county. He was educated in the common-schools and later attended Oxford university. Still later he studied law and hung out his shingle as a legal practitioner at Quitman, in 1 8ri8. He was district attorney of this county for eight years, and in 1861 was a member of the secession convention of this state. At another time he re'presented his county in the legislature. In 1882 he was appointed judge of the circuit court, a position which he has held with credit up to the present time. In February he enlisted in company C, of the Thirty-seventh Mississippi regiment, of which company he was elected captain and served with that rank till 1 863, when he was promoted to the rank of major. He was present at the engagements of luka, Corinth, Vicksburg, Atlanta, the Atlanta courthouse affair, Franklin, and Nashville, Tenn. Immediately after the war he settled per- manently at Quitman, and engaged in the practice of law. He was married in 1859 to Mary E. MoLeod, a daughter of Alexander McLeod, of Winchester, whose wife was Lydia Avera. MauoiBH OF Miaaisaippi. »8u Mr. McLeod was a native of South Carolina, who came with his parents to Mississippi when he was a small boy, the family locating in Greene county. He was a son of John and Mary (Bethune) McLeod. Mrs. Judge Terral's mother was born in Greene county, Miss., in IS 19, a daughter of Powell Avera and wife, who was formerly a Miss Susana Middleton, who early settled in Wayne county. They were married in Greene county, Miss. , in 1836, and Mrs. Terral was her only child. Mrs. McLeod died in February, 1S37, in Greene county, and her father married a second time, and by that union had four chil- dren: Kenneth, John, Laughlin and Margaret, who was named for her mother. Mrs. McLeod's parents, as were also her grandparents, were among the early pioneers of thiw state. Her father was a physician and died in 1855. Mrs. Terral was born in Greene county, in 1836, and has borne her husband six children, of whom four are living: James A., ii railroad man residing at Meridian, Miss.; he married Maud Massingale, of this county, who died leaving him one son, James A. ; Joseph E., a successful attorney at law; Mary A. and Samuel H., who are living at home with their parents; John S. and Milton K. are dead. Judge Terral has been interested in politics all his life, and has always done his full share toward the general development and improvement of the county. Many years ago he united with the Masonic fraternity, and he and his wife are both memliers of the Methodist Episcopal church. Dr. George A. Teunisson, now president of the Farmers' Alliance of Mississippi, is a practicing physician and life-long resident and planter of Lawrence county. He was born within six miles of Monticello, August 21, 1841. He is a son of John Henry and Mary Ann (Kennicott) Teunisson. His father was born in Amsterdam, Holland, July 4, 1800, and his mother was a native of Connecticut, born December 31, 1811, and was reared in Cattaraugus county, N. Y. John H. Teunisson was a son of John Teunisson, a Danish sailor, who married Susan Van Bergen, a native of Holland, and who followed a seafaring life between Holland and Denmark, dying in the latter place in 180".^. At one time during his life, he had been very wealthy, but his fortune became so reduced that, at his death, his family was left in very moderate circumstances. His wife died in Holland at a very advanced age, in 1 855, after fifty -three years of widowhood. She had several children, of whom the father of our subject was the youngest. He was apprenticed to learn the trade of chair-making. Later he took up the shoemaker's trade. When quite a youth he left home with a theatrical troupe, but, after a short time, returned to his mother, only to leave again in a short time for the sea. Embarking on board of ship, the vessel was wrecked on the coast of Cuba, and he and one other were the only ones saved. They were rescued by a ship bound for Brazil. In that country, the father of our subject remained for about one year, when he shipped for New Orleans, going soon to north Louisiana, where he engaged in planting and trading. He was at that time about eighteen years of age. He removed thence to Pike county, Miss. , where he followed the same occupation. In 1828 he engaged in merchandising, on Canal street. New Orleans, but later he sold out his store and invested his money in goods, intend, ing to bring them to Monticello, Miss., and there engage in merchandising, but the schooner, on which his goods were loaded was wrecked on Lake Ponchatrain, and all on board, except Mr. Teunisson and the captain lost their lives. They «ere obliged to remain three days in the rigging, before being rescued. Mr. Teunisson, having lost all of his possessions, was obliged to begin life anew. He began- planting for a time, in 1830, carrying out his original intention of engaging in the mercantile business, which he continued until about 1840, when he again engaged in farming, which he followed for some years. Alter a time he relinquished this occupation, and again turned his attention to the mercantile pursiiits, in Monticello, 890 BIOGRAPHICAL AND HiaTORICAL where he contintied 'With success until 1807, when he retired from business and removed to New Orleans, possessed of cf)usiderable property. Hf lived there quietly until 187;J, when in Keokuk, Iowa, he was attacked with cholera, and died. He was a man of great energy and force of character, honest in every sense, in all of his dealings. He was a member and an elder in the Presbyterian church, and was a member of the Eastern Star lodge, A. F. & A. jM., of Monticello, Miss. In politics he was a whig, and a Union man in sentiment and influence. His favorite recreation was chess playing, at which he was skillful. The mother of our subject still survives, and is a resident of New Orleans, though she is now quite feeble. She has been for many years a member of the Presbyterian church. Mr. and Mrs. Teunisson had ten children, four of whom are still living: Isabella E. married John S. Lamkin, of Magnolia, Miss. ; Charles E. is a merchant at Summit, Miss. ; Alice E. is the wife of Wallace Wood, of Madison, Wis.; James and Eugene died in childhood; Willie H. was a member of General Gordon's staff, acting as a courier, was captured by the Federals at Nashville, Tenn., and died at Camp Chase, Ohio, at the age of eighteen years; he was the youngest of the family and a general favorite with all who knew him; Helen L. married Col. M. A. Oatis, and lived in Monticello, where she died in 1866, leaving her hus- band two children. Two other children died in infancy, being unnamed. Dr. George A. Teunisson was reared in Monticello, Miss., and was educated at the common schools near his home and at the Monticello academy, he studied medicine, which study was interrupted for four years by the war. While a student at what is now Tulane Medical college, he enlisted in company A, of the Twenty-second Mississippi regiment, with which he served until the close of the war. He took part in the campaigns around Vicksburg, at Baton Eouge, and in the campaigns in Kentucky under General Johnston, being present at the battles of Corinth, Vicksburg, Rolling fork. Baton Eouge, Baker's creek, Jackson, Resaca, Atlanta, Ne^v Hope church, Peachtree creek, Decatur, Columbia, Franklin, and Nashville. He was in the rear D-uard, to which is given the credit of having saved Hood's army when retreating from Nash- ville. After the return of Hood from Tennessee, Dr. Teunisson received a furlough of sixty days and returned to his home, but rejoined the army at Demopolis, Ala., and was paroled at Meridian, May, 1865. He was regularly promoted from fourth sergeant of his company to that of adjutant of the Twenty-second regiment, but upon the reorganization of the regiment he was appointed first lieutenant of company A, Twenty-second Mississippi regiment. Returning home at the close of the war, he re-entered Tulane Medical college, but his studies were interrupted, this time by illness in his family, and he was prevented from im- mediately returning to the institution, from which he finally graduated in 1884. Soon after he began the practice of his profession in Monticello, and he has come to be regarded as one of the leading physicians of his county. He was married April 5, 1866, to Miss Anna C. Daughtry, a daughter of Enos Daughtry, a native of Anson county, N. C. Mr. Daughtry was bom December 6, 1806, and came to Mississippi when a child, with his parents, Enos and Catherine (Bryant) Daughtry. He was a member of a Quaker family, of Irish and French ancestry, who went to Ireland as refugees from France, and thence to America, at the time of the Huguenot massacre. The family landed at Natchez, and were residents near there for a time, later removing to Pike county. Miss., where Enos, the father of Mrs. Teun- isson, was reared. He was married in Pike county, and then removed to Hinds county in 1839, and thence to Lawrence county in 1846. He was a planter, a hotel- keeper and a merchant, during different periods of his life. His wife was Mary Ann, daughter of Richard and Anna (Stovall) Ratliff, who was born in South Carolina, August 30, 1816, and came, when a child, with her parents to Pike county, where she grew to womanhood. To this MEM0IM8 OF MISSISSIPPI. 891 union have been born five children, three of whom are living: Dr. J. B. Danghtry of Brook- haven; J. H. Daughtry of Houston, Tex, and wife of Dr. George A. Teunisson; Roy T. served as a soldier in the late war and was a prisoner of war for seven months at Point Look- out, and died at the age of thirty-two years; Clara died at the age of two years. To Mr. and Mrs. Teunisson have been born six children, five of whom are living: Mary A., who graduated from Whitworth college in 1891 ; and Alice, Rose, George E. and John H. are members of their parents' home. Dr. Teunisson is a democrat in politics and has twice represented his county in the state legislature, having been reelected in 1 880 and again iu 1880. He was elected vice pres- ident of the Farmers' Alliance of the state of Mississippi, and succeeded to the presidency on the death of R. C. Patty, the former presideiit. The Doctor is also much interested in Mas- onry. He was elected master of the Eastern Star lodge in 1868, and has held that position for twenty years. He is now a district deputy grand master of this order, a position which he has filled for the past ten years. He and his wife are members of the Presbyterian church, in which he has held the office of elder for twenty years, being also superintendent of the Sunday-school. He has been acting superintendent of education for two years, as a substitute for the appointed superintendent, who is a lady. Outside of his professional duties, the Doctor is engaged in planting, having a fine home near Monticello. His practice is large and lucra- tive. He is a member of the State Medical association. Dr. Andrew H. Thomas (deceased) was a very prominent physician, living near Cumber- land, Webster county, Miss., whither he had removed in 1857, but was a native of Nashville, Teun., born in 1818. His father, Andrew Thomas, removed to the Lone Star state many years ago, followed farming and trading, and there received his final summons. Dr. Thomas left his home in Nashville when about fourteen years of age, went to Pickens county, Ala., and worked there for a short time. He started life a poor boy and earned his first twenty- five cents by carrying brick all day. He afterward learned the blacksmith' s trade, and worked at the forge until he earned money enough to buy a negro, who was taken sick on the day he paid for him and died in a few days. He continued to work at his trade until he made money enough to buy another negro, for whom he paid $1,800. This negro he taught the blacksmith trade, and this way the Doctor continued to carry on blacksmithing, and iu connection, also, engaged in farming, for a number of years investing the proceeds in negroes, etc. About 1840 he married Miss Martha E. Walker, who was also born near Nashville, Tenn., in 1824. She went with her parents to Lowndes county. Miss., where she was mar- ried to Dr. Thomas. From boyhood. Dr. Thomas had had a taste for the medical profession, and prior to his marriage had taken a course of lectures, not with an intention, however, of making that his profession, but merely for his own satisfaction. An occasional professional call to a sick neighbor soon gave evidence as to his skill and ability as a physician, and after the Civil war, his slaves having been freed, he placed his farming interest in the hands of other men, he, himself, devoting his entire attention to his profession. This he followed with marked success until his death in January, 1891. He was a man of strong and vigorous mind and those who knew him best, loved and appreciated him most. The willing heart and ready hand that so often ministered to others in the alleviation of suffering and the prolonging of life was helpless before the Great Reaper. He left a devoted wife and a family of interesting children to mourn their loss. Noble, generous and hospitable, he had a kind word for everybody, and the child of want never went empty-handed from his door. He was influential and active in all that went toward the advancement of the town and county, and was ever ready to give his weight to any worthy enterprise for the public weal. He was a devout Methodist, and was for- ODD 892 BIOORAPHIOAL AND HISTORICAL merly a member of the Masonic fraternity. He was a good financier and left a handsome property. Soon after his marriage he settled in Nashville, Miss., where he resided until about 1 857, when he removed to what is now Webster county, where he made his future home. He was one of a large family of children. His widow, who still resides on the old farm near Cumberland, is an excellent lady and a devout Methodist, also. Her father, Mr. Walker, removed many years ago from Tennessee to Lowndes county. Miss. , where he died when Mrs. Thomas was a girl. Dr. Thomas was the father of ten children, viz. : John, died at nine years of age; Mary, now deceased, was the wife of Dr. F. N. Arnold, of Wal- thall; Sallie, wife of D. T. Hartley, a planter near Cumberland; Andrew H. was born in Lowndes county, in 1851, and passed his boyhood in assisting on the farm and in attending the common- schools. In 1868 his father placed him in his dry goods store at Bellefontaine, as a clerk, and after serving two years in that capacity he returned to his father's farm. In 1873 he engaged in merchandising at Cumberland, where he has been in business ever since, and is perhaps the leading merchant of the county, carrying a very heavy stock of general merchandise; he also has large planting interests. He is one of the most successful busi- ness men of northern Mississippi, is an excellent financier and is a gentleman in eveiy sense of the term. The next child, in order of birth, born to Dr. Thomas, was John A., also a prominent merchant at Cumberland. The latter was born in Lowndes county. Miss., in 1853, received a common-school education, and since 1870 has been merchandising. He also has large planting interests, and is a man not only respected and honored for his upright and honest dealing, but is one of the county's best citizens. The doctor's sixth child was Cath- arine C. (deceased), who was the wife of A. W. Dominick, of Houston. James L. died in infancy. James Walker was burned to death in a building in Winona, October 6, 1889. He was a merchant also, and had been to Memphis to purchase goods, and on his return stopped over night at that place to wait for the train. He was a young man of excellent habits, fine business ability, and had a bright future opening before him. He was educated at Cumberland and at the state university. Laura E., wife of J. E. Clark, an attorney, of Walthall, and Dr. Sylvester S., who is a practicing physician now on the old homestead. Sylvester S. received his education principally at Cumberland and graduated in his profession from Louisville (Ky.) Medical college. C. L. Thomas is a Hinds county Mississippian, born in the month of July, ] 829, and throughout life he has followed the calling of a planter, at which he has been reasonably suc- cessful. He is the fourth of eight children born to Andrew Thomas, a native of Tennessee, who came to the state of Mississippi when about eighteen years of age, and eventually became the owner of a large amount of real estate in Hinds county, and was one of its most substan- tial citizens prior to the opening of the Civil war. C. L. Thomas, like the majority of youths, was an attendant of the common schools during his youth, but at the age of fifteen years he entered Mississippi college at Clinton, where he spent four years, but did not complete the course. At the age of nineteen years he engaged in general merchandising at Clinton, con- tinuing until 1861, when he closed out his business, which had been a very profitable and pros- perous one. After the war he became assistant superintendent of the Alabama & Vicksburg railroad, continuing until 1866. Mr. Thomas' first purchase of land was on the Big Black river in 1868, a tract of ten hundred and eighty acres, on which he engaged in farming, and has been so occupied ever since. In 1870 he purchased another valuable tract of land, containing eleven hundred acres, the most of which is in pasture, and which he uses as a stockfarm. He is quite extensively engaged in the raising of horses, mules and cattle, about thirty colts being foaled each spring. He has two fine thoroughbred horses, also two MEMOIBB OF MISSISSIPPI. 893 pedigreed jacks,, and his herd of Jersey and Holstein cattle is an exceptionally large and fiut- one. His home place, which contains six hundred acres, was purchased in 1885, and on this place is a handsome and comfortable residence, pleasantly located. He has about fifteen hun- dred acres under cultivation, on which he annually raises about two hundred and fifty bales of cotton, and has three hundred acres devoted to grass, from which he secures two hundred and fifty tons of hay, which he is now selling at $16 per ton. Five hundred acres of his land are heavily covered with timber, the most valuable woods being oak, hickory and wal- nut. He is enterprising and progressive in every respect; is intelligent, well posted and up with the times, and has always been strictly honorable in all his business transactions. He has always manifested much interest in the cause of education, and for at least twenty years has been trustee of Central Female institute and Mississippi college. He was married in 1864 to Miss Cabbell, of Hinds county, which union has not resulted in the birth of any chil- dren. He is a worthy and earnest member of the Baptist church, in which he is a deacon, and socially is a member of the A. P. & A. M. B. F. Thomas, merchant, and manager of Chamberlain hotel, Grenada, Miss., was born March 23, 1846, in Sumter county, Ala., and was the youngest of a family of nine children born to Morrison and Patience (Horn) Thomas, natives of the Old North state. Morrison Thomas was born April 17, 1802, and was the second son of a family of eight children, seven sons and one daughter, born to the marriage of Theopolis Thomas, who was a native of the famous old Edgefield district, N. C. The latter's eldest son, Archibald, was the first husband of Mrs. Dr. Trimble (see sketch); Wade E., the third son, died in Meridian, Miss., leaving a wife and two children; John R. died in Alabama during the latter part of the war, and left a wife and child, both of whom were soon laid to rest; Edwin resides in Gainesville, Ala., where he is engaged in merchandising; Bennett B., makes his home in Sumter couijty, Ala., and there follows the occupation of a planter; James R. died in 1867, leaving a wife and two children, and Margaret E., the daughter, married W. B. Barnes, who came to Mis- sissippi in 1850, and who died eighteen years later, leaving a large family, two of whom are now living, Willie and Margaret. Morrison Thomas resided in Alabama for a number of years, and then, in 1849, immigrated to Mississippi, coming overland to this state. He settled on a place eight miles west of Grenada, and became one of the leading planters of the county. He was a stanch whig and kept himself well posted, being a constant reader of the news. He was a member of the Presbyterian church and a liberal contributor to the same. He was also a member of the I. O. O. F. lodge of Grenada, and a Mason of the same place. His death occurred on April 17, 1872, in Mississippi, after a long and useful life. His wife, whom he married in North Carolina, was born in 1805 and died on December 31, 1869, in full communion with the Presbyterian church. Both were kind, generous and hos- pitable, and won the respect and esteem of all with whom they came in contact. Of the large family of children born to this union, four lived to be grown and three survive at the present time: A. V. B., the eldest (see sketch of J. T. Thomas), and Rebecca P., who is the wife of C. C. Peete, formerly of Parson's station, and who is now keeping a hotel, the Brink- ley house, at Greenwood, Miss. She was educated at the Female institute. Her husband is one of the very early settlers of this county, having located and settled a place near what is now Parson's station, and this was named Peete postoffice, for him. B. F. Thomas came to Mississippi, with his parents, when but three years of age, and supplemented a common-school education by attending the Masonic acadeiny, where he received a thorough education. After the war he commenced for himself as a farmer, followed this occupation for about six years on the old home place, and on coming to Grenada clerked for Lake Bros., until 1876, 894 BIOGRAFHIOAL AND HISTORICAL when he was made deputy sheriff under Capt. E. N. Hall, continuing in that capacity until 1879, when he was in the brokerage business for a short time. He formed a partnership with his brother, A. V. B. Thomas, in the grocery business in 1882, and this they still con- tinue. In 1889 they took charge of the Chamberlain hotel, and are now keeping one of the best and most popular houses in the state, our subject haviug full charge of the same and his brother, A. V. B. , of the store. B. F. Thomas was married first to Miss Flora Lewis, daughter of John Lewis, a native of Tennessee and the niece of J. M. Dunkin (see sketch). She was born in 1847 and died iu 1869, leaving one child, Effie. She was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. Effie Lewis became the wife of R. W. Mullin, but is now deceased, leav- ing one child, Mary Mullen (see sketch of R. W. Mullin). Mr. Thomas was married the second time to his present wife, whose maiden name was Annie Poston, of Shelby county, Tenn., and who was the daughter of William King and Mary (Park) Poston, both decend- ants of wealthy and distinguished families. Mrs. Thompson was educated at the Female college, Memphis, and is a lady of culture and high social standing. Her father was a very eminent lawyer, but had never held public office, except that of member of the legislature in 1866-7. To the union of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas was born two children: Frank and Morrison. Mrs. Thomas is a member of the Methodist' church. Mr. Thomas entered the Confederate army, during the last eighteen months of "the war, in Ballentine's regiment, Armstrong's brigade, Jackson's division, and participated in all the battles fought by that regiment from that time until the retreat from Resaca to Atlanta. He is a member of the L O. O. F., Grenada lodge No. 6, Knights of Pythias No. 8, and the Masonic lodge No. 31, in which he is a Knight Templar. Mr. Thomas has been treasurer of the grand lodge of Knights of Pythias for eleven years, and in 1889 he was elected past grand chancellor of the state of Mississippi. He takes a great deal of interest in society work. In politics Mr. Thomas is a democrat and is well posted on all the political issues of the day. He attends closely to business and is popular and highly respected by all. He is a descendant of one of the most prominent families in the state. J. Talbert Thomas, cashier of Grenada bank, chancery clerk of the county and secretary of the Central Fair and Livestock association, the meeting of which was held at Grenada, Miss., and which embraces the counties of Grenada, Montgomery, Carroll, Le Flore, Talla- hatchie, Yalobusha, Calhoun, Choctaw and Webster, is a native of Mississippi, born in what is now Grenada county and reared in the city of Grenada. He is a son of Adrian V. B. and Mary E. (Nason) Thomas, grandson of Morrison and Patience (Horn) Thomas, and great- grandson of Theopolis Thomas, who was of Edgefield county, N. C. Morrison Thomas was born in the Old North state in 1802, and moved to Mississippi in 1849. He was a stanch whig in politics, and after moving to the last named state settled on what was afterward known as Whig island, on the Yalobusha river, where he reared his family and opened a large farm. He soon became the owner of large tracts of land, many negroes, and was one of the representative citizens of the county. Although a man of prominence and very active in political affairs, he was no officeholder. He was a leading member of the Presbyterian church, and died on the 17th of April, 1872, at the age of seventy years. His wife was born in North Carolina in 1805, died on the 31st of December, 1869, at the age of sixty-four years. She was also a member of the Presbyterian church. Of their eight children Adrian V. B. Thomas was the eldest, and is one of the three now surviving. His birth occurred on the Slst of March, 1835, and he was educated in Grenada. He served during the last three years of the war in Ballentine's regiment, Armstrong's brigade, Jackson's division, Mississippi cavalry, and was wounded and captured at the battle of Selma, Ala., on the 1st of April, 1865. He MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 895 was shot in the leg, below the knee, and from this injury he has never fully recovered. Soon after the war he settled at Grenada as a merchant, and was elected chancery clerk in 1876, holding that position in a satisfactory and creditable manner for eight years, or two terms. He is one of the best and most popular men in the county, as well as one of its oldest citizens; has a host of warm friends, and his uprightness and integrity are proverbial. He is social, kind, and very charitable. He is one of the leading merchants of Grenada, owns a one-half interest in Chamberlain hotel, is a director of the Merchants' bank of Grenada, and is also engaged in planting. He married Miss Mary E. Nason, of Grenada county, who was left an orphan when a child. Her grandfather was of Irish ancestry. This union was blessed by the birth of six children, five of whom are now living. The parents are leading members of the Presbyterian church, in which Mr. Thomas has been an elder for many years. He has been a member of the I. O. O. F. lodge No. 6, for nearly thirty years, and in politics is a democrat, having been very active in political affairs in early life. J. Talbert Thomas, the second in order of birth of the above mentioned children, is a selfmade man. At the age of sixteen years he commenced clerking in a store, and one year later was made deputy chancery clerk under his father, and at the early age of twenty-one years he was made circuit clerk. In 1887 he was elected chancery clerk and this office he is holding at the present time. The Grenada bank was organized in July, 1890, with J. W. Griffis, B. C. Adams, Edgar Wert, Walter Trotter and Judge A. J. Eoane as directors, and Mr. Thomas was made cashier in September, of the same year. This bank has a paid-up capital of $60,- OOO. Mr. Thomas is not only one of the county's most energetic, thorough-going business men, but, having the public interest in view, is foremost in the support of charitable, pro- gressive and praiseworthy enterprises. In politics he is strictly democratic. He is a member of the I. O. O. F. lodge No. 6, and is at present deputy grand master of the state of Missis- sippi, having attended all the meetings of the grand lodge since his election to the office. He is also a member of the Knights of Pythias. Like his father and grandfather before him, he is a worthy member of the Presbyterian church. He was married to Miss Ruth A., youngest daughter of Dr. and Mrs. R. L. Jones, on May 19, 1891. J. Y. Thomas, of Cardsville, ex-sheriff of Itawamba county, was bom in Hickman county, Tenn., August 30, 1819. He is a son of Samuel and Nancy (Sparks) Thomas, who were natives of Georgia. His parents were members of the Missionary Baptist church, and they had six sons and two daughters, seven of their eight children living to be grown. Of this family, J. V. Thomas was the first born. He was educated in Hardeman county, Tenn., and began life for himself, as a mechanic, at an early age. December 28, 1843, he married Miss Martha A. Bourland, who was born in Mississippi, a daughter of James S. and Mary (Hudspeth) Bourland, and who has borne Mr. Thomas six children, five of whom lived to maturity: Samuel J., Mary E., Rebecca, Eulalia, Eliza and Fleming H. , who is deceased. Mr. Thomas has lived on his present homestead since 1814:, and was one of the early settlers of this part of the county. He accumulated considerable property, and his influence in local matters is recognized by all his fellow- citizens. Politically he is a democrat, and on the democratic ticket was elected to the office of sheriff of Itawamba county, a position which he held with great credit during a period of seven years. His wife is a member of the Pres- byterian church, and he is a Master Mason of long standing. Liberal and progressive in his views, and generous and helpful by nature, he has done much to aid all worthy local causes, and has contributed his full share to the establishment and maintenance of churches, schools and other means of public advancement and enlightenment. Rev. R. S. Thomas, D. D. , the present pastor of the Cumberland Presbyterian church of 896 BIOORAPHIOAL AND HISTORICAL Coffeeville, Miss., is one of the most highly respected citizens of Yalobusha county. He was born in Wilson county, Tenn., in October, 1820, and is the son of Jacob and Mary (Donnell) Thomas. The parents were born in the state of North Carolina, and removed with their parents in childhood to Tennessee, settling in Wilson county; there they grew to mature years and were married. They had born to them fifteen children, thirteen of whom lived to be grown; there were nine daughters and six sons, all of whom are now deceased, excepting our subject and Mrs. McLean. Thomas D. and G. B., two of the brothers, also entered the ministry. E. S. Thomas was the fifth child born, and was educated in the University of Lebanon, Tenn. He did his first ministerial work at Dryesburg, Tenn., and thence came to Coffeeville, Miss., where he has since been engaged in the work of the Master. He has preached upward of sixteen hundred sermons and has been actively interested in educational affairs. He was the founder of the Coffeeville academy in 1852; this institution flourished until the breaking out of the war. Dr. Thomas being president and Misses Patton and Ingals assistant teachers. The school was re-opened, and continued until the present school was founded in 1870. Dr. Thomas had the degree of A. M. conferred upon him in 1859, and that of D. D. in 1877. He was married in Coffeeville to Miss Elizabeth L. Carr, a native of New Hampshire, who came to Mississippi in her childhood with her parents; she was reared and educated in Yalobusha county, and was a most efficient worker in the Cumberland Presbyterian church. She died in 1871. Dr. Thomas was married a second time to Miss Annie Raybum, a daughter of D. M. Rayburn, one of the very earliest settlers and founders of Coffeeville. He donated the land for the site of the place in 1834. He was the first clerk of Yalobusha county, and held the office for a number of years. He was the first merchant to do business in Coffeeville. He was a member of the Cumberland Presbyterian church, and was one of its most liberal supporters; he was an elder at the time of his death. Mr. Ray- burn was a native of Obion county, Tenn. He married Miss Harriet L. Buntin, a Virginian by birth, who came with her parents to Mississippi. She died in 1866, having had bom to her five children, three of whom lived to maturity, and only one of whom now survives, the wife of Dr. Thomas. One of the sons, Eutilius, died in the war in Tennessee. Mrs. Thomas is the eldest child, she was reared and educated in Coffeeville. The Doctor and his wife are among the most highly respected people of the county, and rank with the leading citizens of Coffeeville. Dr. Thomas at one time was a member of the Masonic fraternity, belonging to the Blue lodge and chapter. William B. Thomas is a native of Dinwiddie county, Va., where he was born on the 5th of December, 1858, the fifth in a family of six, born to Edward and Agnes E. (Thompson) Thomas, natives of Virginia. Edward Thomas was a planter, a calling he followed until the opening of the Civil war, when he enlisted in the Confederate service, serving until his death, which occurred in 1863, at the age of forty-seven years. The paternal grandparents, David and Annie Thomas, were also Virginians, their parents having been early settlers of that state, and among its most prominent citizens. William B. Thomas was educated in the private schools of his native state, and in 1880 became a resident of Mississippi, where he has since made his home. When only fifteen years of age he began to fight the battle of life for himself, and owing to his pluck, perseverance and energy he is now worth about $50,000. He is the owner of some eleven hundred acres of land, of which he has five hundred acres under cultivation, and is worthy the reputation he has won as a progressive, industrious and (enterprising agriculturist. He is very practical in his views, keeps fully apace with the progress made in his calling, and is ever ready to adopt new and improved methods upon his plantation. In 1887 his marriage to Miss Pattie Connell was celebrated, and their union MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 897 has been blessed in the birth of two little daughters: Eveline P., who died August 3, 1888, and Agnes E., who is an interesting and promising child. Mrs. Thomas is a daughter of W. C. Connell, who was born in Wilkinson county, Miss. , November 26, 1821, in which state he is still making his home, having thoroughly identified himself with its interests. Mr. Thomas is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. As a citizen his reputation is untarnished, and in all the affairs of life he has borne himself in an upright manner, and is now recognized as a man of true worth. He is extremely well informed and naturally intel- ligent, and as a conversationalist is very interesting and entertaining. His manners are easy, courteous and pleasant, and he has the grace and tact of putting all at their ease who enter his presence. He is a member of the Knights of Honor, of which he is a warm sup- porter, and he thoroughly approves of worthy secret organizations. He is of medium stature, and is of rather fair complexion. Bishop Hugh Miller Thompson, now at the head of the Episcopal church of Mississippi, was born in the city of Londonderry, Ireland, June 5, 1 830. "While he was yet a child his parents immigrated to the United States, locating first at Caldwell, N. J., where they remained eight years, when they removed to Cleveland, Ohio. John Thompson, the father of Hugh, was a contractor by occupation, and came to the United States with the view of having a better and a larger field for carrying on his business. The Thompson family were purely English, and belonged to the church of England. The mother, whose maiden name was Ann Miller, was of Scotch origin, and the family were strong Presbyterians. While on their way to the United States they were shipwrecked in the bay of St. Lawrence, losing every- thing they had. The father died in Columbus, Ohio; the mother is still living. The subject of this sketch received an academical education in the schools of Cleveland, and took his theological course at Nashotah house, Wisconsin. He was ordained deacon at that place June 6, 1852, by Bishop Kemper, and priest in St. John's church. Portage, Wis., August 31, 1856. During his deaconate he had charge of Grace church, Madison, Wis. In 1853 he removed to Maysville, Ky. , where he remained one year, and then returned to Wisconsin, where he was assigned to mission work at Portage and Baraboo. Immediately on his ordina- tion to the priesthood, he became rector of St. John's church, at Portage. In 1858 he was elected rector of St. Matthew's church, at Kenosha, Wis., and after remaining there one year removed to Galena, 111., and became rector of Grace church at that place. In 1860 he was made professor of ecclesiastical history of Nashotah and founded Kemper hall. In the same year he became editor-in-chief of the American Churchman, published at Chicago, 111., and continued in this ofiice until the Churchman was merged into the Churchman, at Hart- ford, Conn. In 1871 he became rector of St. James' church, at Chicago, which was burned in the great fire of that year. In January, 1 872, he removed to New York and took charge of Christ church, and with these duties were added the editorship of the Church Journal and Gospel Messenger. In 1875 he became rector of Trinty church, at. New Orleans, La., where he remained until he was consecrated assistant bishop of Mississippi, February 24, 1883. Four years later, upon the demise of Bishop Green, he succeeded to the position of bishop, and the following year attended the pan-anglican conference, in London, and in August, of that year, delivered the funeral oration of Bishop Harris, of Michigan, which was received by the clergy and laymen with great favor. Bishop Thompson was united in mar- riage in February, 1853, at Madison, Wis., to Caroline Berry, and two children were in time born to them: Annie, now the wife of James Pearce, of New York; and Frank who is a min- ister of the Episcopal church, and is at present chaplain in the United States navy, assigned to the flagship Charleston. Mrs. Thompson died in 1857, and the Bishop's second marriage 898 BIOOBAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL was consummated at Kenosha, in the year 1859, the maiden name of his wife being Anna Hins- dale, daughter of Henry B. Hinsdale, late secretary of the Northwestern Telegraph company. The issue of this union was the following children: Mary, wife of William T. Howell, of Wisconsin, attorney for the Northwestern railroad; and Hngh G. , a planter in Mississippi. Bishop Thompson is a man of medium stature, with a solid frame, a large intellectual head, covered with a liberal growth of hair turning gray. He is a man of deep thought and exten- sive research, and as a pulpit orator ranks high, his equals in the state being few. His com- mand of language is excellent; his diction pure and engaging, and his conclusions forcible as well as logical. His imagery, when indulged in, is brilliant and captivating. He is a ready conversationalist, his thoughts which come quick, either sparkling with wit or laden with wisdom. He is genial in character, courteous in manner, and a good entertainer. In the suburbs of Jackson he has an elegant home, where he is surrounded with those attractions that are essential to the happiness of a gentleman of culture. The church which he repre- sents is indeed fortunate to have so able and so popular a man at its head. Notwithstanding the onerous duties, incumbent upon him as rector and bishop of his church, he has found time to enter the literary field and is the author of several valuable books. In 1860 he pub- lished " Unity and its Eestoration," and in 1862, " Sin and its Penalty," following this, in 1868, was published "First Principles," and in 1872, "Absolution." In 1873 he brought out his work, " Is Romanism the Best Religion for a Republic ?" also " The Kingdom of God," and a volume of lectures published in 1885. " The World and the Kingdom" was issued in 1888, and in 1890 "The World and the Man" was published, which, is now in its third edition. Jacob Thompson, Lafayette county. Miss., was born in Caswell county, N. 0,, May 15, 1810. His father, Nicholas Thompson, was descended from a family which emigrated from England to the state of Peimsylvania, more than two centuries ago. In his youth Mr. Thompson was prepared for college at Hillsboro, N. C, and entered the university at Chapel Hill in his seventeenth year, graduating in 1831, with the first honors of his class. He was at once appointed tutor of the university, and discharged his duties faithfully for eighteen months, when he resigned and began the study of law in the office of Judge John M. Dick, of Greensboro. He was admitted to practice in 1835, when he removed to Missis- sippi and established himself at Pontotoc, where the United States land office had just been opened. His first political speech in the state was made at Pontotoc at a public meeting which was called for the purpose of favoring the policy of the state's endorsing the Union bank bonds for $5,000,000, and also for instructing the representatives in the legislature to vote for the endorsement. He was bitterly opposed to the proposition, and at the meeting in Pontotoc made a speech against it which attracted wide attention and brought him promi- nently to the notice of the people of the state. Banks at this time were springing up every- where over the state; banking had already become a craze. He predicted ruin and disaster to flow from it, and placed the Union bank in the same category with the rest. The current, however, could not be stemmed, and the resolution favoring endorsement was passed. This came to be one of the most vital questions that has ever affected the life of Mississippi, and much was heard of it in the years tha;f followed. The general collapse of the banks came in 1837, and gloom brooded over the state. In 1839 Mr. Thompson was first elected to con- gress on the democratic ticket with Hon. Albert G. Brown. The public lands of Mississippi having but lately been settled there was much confusion in the perfecting of titles, and num- berless conflicts of various kinds. It being a new country there were a great number of contracts for surveying and for carrying the mails, new postoffices having been opened and MEMOIRS OF MiaSiaaiPPI. 899 new routes located. All these matters, in which Mr. Thompson's constituency was interested, needed adjustment and settlement, and he being in Washington, as their representative, was situated so he could give his personal attention to the many necessary demands upon him, a task which he undertook with diligence and determination and accomplished to the satis- faction of each and all who called upon him for his friendly aid. By this means he won many friends among the masses of the people at home, and "after this period," says one, "his popularity was greater than his party strength." In 1840 he took an active part in the presidential canvass between Van Buren and Har- rison. He was an ardent supporter of the former. He desired to retire from public life on the expiration of his congressional term, but in 1841 he was unanimously renominated by his party convention, together with Hon. William M. Gwin. The great question of the states making good the Union bank bonds, which the state had rashly endorsed, forced itself into the canvass of this year. The bank had become bankrupt and its bonds dishonored. The catastrophe had come which Mr. Thompson had predicted and warned against. Payment of the bonds was refused by the governor on the ground that the state was not legally or mor- ally bound. Says Mr. Claiborne, in his history of Mississippi: "Mr. Thompson, being a can- didate for congress, was called upon for his views, and in a letter to Mr. Webster, of Vicks- burg, he maintained that the governor was right in his refusal to admit the binding obliga- tion of the state's endorsement. This letter," continues the same author, "stated the whole case with so much clearness, force and eloquence that it satisfied the jaublic mind, and from that day to this no one has been or could be elected to any position of honor by the people of the state who did not endorse the sentiments of that letter. The succeeding legislature, in proclaiming the position it took in regard to the Union bank bonds, embodied in substance the whole letter.'' In November of this year, Mr. Thompson and his colleague, Mr. Gwin, on the democratic ticket, were elected to congress; and at each succeeding election thereafter Mr. Thompson was a candidate for congress, on the democratic ticket, and triumphantly elected until 1851, during which year, on the 4th of March, his sixth term closed, making for him twelve years of continued service in the house of representatives. For one term he was chairman of the committee on public lands, and for two terms was chairman of the commit- tee on Indian affairs. He reluctantly consented to become a candidate again in 1851, hav- ing previously published a letter announcing his intention not to run again. This time he and the entire democratic ticket were defeated. In 1852 he was a delegate to the Baltimore convention which nominated Franklin Pierce for president, and was one of the committee who officially notified Mr. Pierce of his nomination. The latter, during his presidential adminis- tration, tendered to Mr. Thompson the consulship to Cuba, but it was declined. Governor Brown, of Mississippi, offered him the commission of United States senator on the resigna- tion of Hon. Eobert J. Walker, who, while Mr. Thompson was still serving as representative in congress, resigned his seat in the senate to accept a place in President Polk's cabinet. This commission was also declined. In 1855 he was prevailed upon to become a candidate for the United States senate, but in the party caucus it was decided to nominate Hon. Jeffer- son Davis. He was an active supporter of Mr. Buchanan for the presidency in 1856. After his election, President Buchanan tendered him a place in his cabinet, inviting him to take charge of the interior department, which, position he accepted. As secretary of the interior he systematized the work of the department and infused new life into it. The treach- erous conduct of a trusted clerk in the interior department served at one time as sufficient foundation for false and malicious charges against Mr. Thompson. The secretary of the interior was the custodian of the Indian trust fund, which consisted principally of the bonds 800 BIOGRAPHICAL AND HiaTORIOAL of different states and amounted to more than |3, 000, 000. The actual custody of these bonds, as were customary, was left in the hands of a clerk of the Indian bureau. Mr. God- dard Bailey, a young man whose character was above suspicion and reproach, was made appeal and disbursing clerk of this bureau and was given charge of this trust fund. For nearly four years, until near the end of Mr. Thompson's term, he discharged all his duties faithfully and acceptably. In the meantime a certain business firm, known as a transporta- tion company, Russell, Majors & Waddell, had entered into large contracts with the war department, amounting to millions of dollars. The funds of the company, for a long time thought by every one to be almost inexhaustible, in course of time began to run short, and in order to raise money the company secured permission of the secretary of war to anticipate its earnings, and to draw drafts for the amounts on the secretary. These drafts the secretary accepted and they were known in money circles as acceptances of the war department. In 1860 the earnings of the company proving less than what was anticipated, the leading members of the company applied to Mr. Bailey, the custodian of the Indian trust fund, to let him have these bonds; first, $150,000; at another time, $387,000; and various sums at other times, and to take in lieu thereof the company's notes, in order to save from protest the acceptances of the secretary of war. To this proposal, strange to say, the custodian of the bonds acceded, all without the knowledge of Mr. Thompson, and on each request delivered, to the party ap2Dlying, the bonds asked for. Whenever it became necessary to do so the clerk would submit his accounts all neatly and accurately made out as if everything was in proper order, in a manner easy to be done so as to excite no suspicion. Finally, Mr. Bailey, the clerk and custodian of the lionds, learning that Mr. Thompson was soon to resign, presumed that the time had come when the safe itself would be examined, and believing that he would soon be detected, hastened to make a confession of his guilt to the secretary of the interior and to explain why he had committed the crime. This was the first intimation Mr. Thomp- son had of the abstraction. With the secretary of state and attorney general, Mr. Thomp- son made an examination of the safe and found it all as represented. He on the next day informed the house of representatives officially of the matter, and asked an investigation. A special request he made of the speaker was that he select a committee to be composed only of those who were known to hold political opinions adverse to his own (the secretary's), which request was complied with, a committee of five being appointed. After a thorough examination, unanimous report was made, from which the following extract is taken: "They (the committee) deem it but justice to add that they have discovered nothing to involve the late secretary, Hon. Jacob Thompson, in the slightest degree in the fraud, and nothing to indicate that he had any complicity in the abstraction, or that he had any knowl- edge of it until the time of the disclosure of Groddard Bailey." This, however, was not to be the last of it. It afforded material sufficient for his political enemies to work slander out of from time to time when needed. The circumstance was brought fresh to the public mind again in 1 876, when Secretary of War Belknap was impeached, and when he resigned his office in order to escape conviction. The argument of General Belknap and his supporters was that having resigned, and being no longer an official, he could not be impeached. Mr. Chandler, then secretary of the interior, insisted that if congress should claim the right to prosecute General Belknap after he had resigned his office, that it had a right also to prosecute Mr. Thompson, even at that late date, after he had resigned, charging at the same time that Mr. Thompson had, while secretary of the interior, abstracted a large amount of bonds belonging to the Indian trust fund. Not only this, but Mr. Chan- dler stated that he would insist on Mr. Thompson's prosecution, if congress should continue MMMOIBB OF MISSISSIPPI. 901 the Belknap prosecution. On seeing a report of this, Mr. Thompson immediately went to Washington. After conferring through friends with Mr. Chandler, the latter promised to withdraw the charge as publicly as he had made it, brit after Mr. Thompson had left the city, instead of withdrawing the charge as promised, he instituted a civil suit against Mr. Thomp- son for recovery of $2,000,000 instead of a criminal action. To this civil action Mr. Thomp- son filed his plea of non assumpsit. A presidential campaign was on hand during that year, and this case was continued upon the docket through the campaign. It was used both for campaign purposes and for Belknap's protection. As soon as the presidential canvass was- over the bubble burst, the case was ordered by Mr. Chandler to be dismissed at the cost of the government, which was accordingly done. Mr. Thompson's vindication on this occasion was complete, and these old charges thus suddenly brought forward failed to serve the j)ur- pose for which they were renewed. When Mississippi seceded from the Union, January 9, 1861, Mr. Thompson resigned and returned to his home in Oxford, Miss. During the war he served for short periods in various capacities, and after the fall of Vicksburg he returned to his home, and represented Lafayette county in the legislature for two terms. In 1864 he was sent to Canada on a secret mission by the Confederate authorities; this mission failed, and in 1865 he started back to the Con- federacy; on his way from Montreal to Halifax he heard of the assassination of President Lincoln. To divert suspicion from Mr. Johnson, charges were made that implicated Mr. Thompson, and a proclamation was made offering a large reward for him and others. He and his family sailed for Europe at once and passed several years there. When he did return he removed from Oxford, Miss., to Memphis, where he lived a retired life as far as jDolitics were concerned; he was engaged in mercantile pursuits until his death, which occurred in 1885. He was a member of the Episcopal church, was a zealous supporter of all movements of an educational character, and served as a member of the board of trustees of the University of Mississippi from 1844 to 1864, with one interval of four years; he was the second president of that body, and filled that office until the law went into effect which made the governor of the state president ex-ofiicio. William Thompson, Oxford, Lafayette county, Miss. The gentleman whose name is found at the head of this sketch was born in the state of North Carolina, in the year 1818. He received his education in the university of his native state, and was graduated in the class of 1840. Having determined upon the profession of law as his calling in life, he began its study under Judge Pearson at Mucksville, N. C, and was admitted to the bar in 1842; he practiced there until 1845, and in that year he came to Mississippi, and settled in Pontotoc county. His residence there was of short duration, however. In 1846 he volunteered as a private in the Mexican war, and participated in the battle of Buena Vista. In 1847 he returned to Mississippi and settled in Oxford, where he resumed his professional work. The following year he was united in marriage to Miss Martha A. Jones, a native of Georgia, and a daughter of William S. Jones, a pioneer of this county. Mrs. Thompson died in 1877, leaving a family of seven children: Maria L., wife of Dr. Chandler, a sketch of whom appears elsewhere in this volume; William J., a resident of Mexico; Annie T. , wife of Ed Dial, of Meridian, Miss. ; Nicholas O.; Jacob, Lewis W. and Kate. The family are worthy and con- sistent members of the Episcopal church. Mr. Thompson belongs to the Masonic order. In ] 863 he raised a company in this county for the Confederate service, being elected captain. In connection with his professional work he has given a great deal of time and attention to agriculture. He owns thirty-eight hundred acres of creek and river bottom lands; this is in three different tracts, and five hundred acres are in an advanced state of cultivation. Mr. 903 BIOORAPHIGAL AND ITISTOIilVAL Thompson is a mau of a gonial disposition, and has a host, of friends iu Oxford and vicinity, where he has resided since his coming to Mississippi. The brothers and sisters of Mr. Thomp- son will be mentioned in the following order: A full sketch of Jacob Thompson will be found on another page of this history; James Y. was born in North Carolina in 1808, and was graduated in the university of his native state. He was married in Alabama to a Miss Shanklin, and afterward settled in Monroe county, Miss. , where he practiced the profession of medicine; became a prominent citizen, and was elected to the state legislature from that county. Dr. John Thompson was born in North Carolina, about the year 1816, and was graduated iu medicine from the University of Pennsylvania. In 1842 he began to practice in Lafayette county, Miss. He married Miss Laura E. Hunt, of Panolo county; he farmed quite extensively iu Calhoun county, and during the war served as a surgeon in the army. After the surrender he returned to Oxford, where he lived until his death, which occurred about 1875. He was also a surgeon in the Mexican war, and was in attendance upon Jeffer- son Davis at Buena Vista. The eldest brother, Joseph Sidney, spent his entire life in North Carolina, where he accumulated a large fortune; he was born in 1805. The youngest brother, George Nicholas, was born in 1833, and was graduated from the University of North Carolina; he studied law and is now practicing at Leasburg, N. C, residing on the old homestead; Ann Eliza Thompson married Yancy Wiley; Sarah Thompson married Abner Lewis; the sisters were both natives of North Carolina. John S. Thompson, a merchant and planter of Quitman, Clarke county, Miss. , was born February 4, 1838, in Sumter county, Ala. He was the second child in a family of five chil- dren born to William H. and Alice (Eosser) Thompson. His father was born in Washington county, Ala., in 1808. He spent his early life in that state, and was married there. In 1845 he removed to Clarke county, Ala., and settled on a farm, where he lived through life. He was a successful planter, and an extensive landowner, a public-spirited citizen, who died in 1871, in Newton county. Miss., having been for many years a member of the Methodist Epis- copal church. The mother of our subject was born in 1817, in Sumter county, Ala., and died in Newton county, Miss., in 1879. She was a daughter of Eleazer Eosser, and her father and mother both died in Alabama. Mr. Thompson's father removed to Newton county in 1867. His children are named as follows: Eliza J., John S., William D., Sadie E. and Martin J. The early life of John S. Thompson was passed in Clarke county, Miss., where he came with his parents at the age of seven years. He was educated at Quitman, and began life for himself as a soldier in 1861, enlisting in company D, of the Fourteenth Mississippi regiment, in which he was a sergeant. He was in the battles of Fort Donelson, Jackson, Miss., and in the engagements of the Georgia campaign and in those of the Tennessee cam- paign. At Fort Donelson he was captured and taken to Camp Douglas, at Chicago, where he was held a prisoner for seven months, until he was exchanged. After the war he settled at Quitman, and engaged in farming for the next two years. He then engaged in mercantile business, at which he prospered very well. He is the owner of a large tract of land in Clarke county. Mr. Thompson was first married in 1866, to Miss Mary McDonald, a daughter of William McDonald, of this county. Our subject has one child by this marriage, William A. , who is 'living in Quitman, and is a clerk in his father's store. Mrs. Thompson died in 1869. Mr. Thompson married again in 1870, to Miss Millie Bowen, the daughter of Eev. P. Bowen, of the Baptist church, who is now dead. By this marriage there were seven children born; there names are Nora E., Charles B., Henry C, Stella, John S., Sallie and Nellie. Mr. and Mrs. Thompson are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, of which Mr. Thompson is recording steward. In politics he is a democrat, and, although he has never sought office MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 903 ■ and is in no sense an active politician, he was at one time elected mayor of the town of Quit- man. He is an enterprising, public-spirited citizen, deeply interested and always ready to aid any cause, which in his opinion has a tendency to advance the interests of his fellow- citizens, and he is especially interested in schools, churches and charitable institutions. He can properly be termed one of the pioneers of Clarke county, and here he has lived during the greater part of his life, and built up a reputation for honesty and integrity which causes him to be highly regarded by all who know him. J. E. Thompson was born in October, 1841, in Monroe county, and is the son of William J. and Elizabeth (Rommoly) Thompson, natives of South Carolina. His father moved to Monroe county in 1839, and died in 1871. Mr. Thompson was reared on a plantation, and planting has been his only occupation through life. He received a fair education in the public schools, and was a student in 1861, when the war began. When the first call was made for volunteers he enlisted as private in the Fourteenth Mississippi infantry. The first fight in which he was engaged was the Fort Donelson fight, where he was cajjtured and taken to Camp Douglas, Chicago, and there held prisoner of war for eight months, at the end of which time he was taken to Vicksburg, and there exchanged. Rejoining his regiment he participated in the battles of Clinton and Jackson, Miss. , after which he was detailed to go to Choctaw county. Miss. , on conscription service, in which he was employed for eight months, afterward joining General Johnston's command, at Marietta. Later he was in the battles of Altoona, Atlanta, Franklin and Nashville. At the close of the war he returned to Monroe county, and was employed on his father's plantation until 1869. May 5, 1870, he married Ella, daughter of Joseph and Mildreth Johnson. They are the parents of eight children, and have lost one by death; those living are named: Willie J., Ruth A., Horace L., Sybil C, Guy, Russel R., Tolbe and Isma. Mr. Thompson, after his marriage, engaged in planting on his own account until 1863, when he removed to Carlville, Tenn. He remained there only a short time, however, when he returned to Monroe county, and purchased the plantation on which he now lives. Politically he is a democrat, but takes no active part in public affairs, his home interests demanding and receiving his undivided attention. As a planter he is successful, and as a business man has won the regard of the entire community in which he lives. J. T. Thompson, one of the oldest citizens of Chickasaw county and a planter, was liorn in Franklin county, Ala., in 1837, a son of John I. and Ann (Williams) Thompson, the for- mer a native of Virginia and the latter of Kentucky. They located in Franklin county, Ala., with their parents, the former at the age of fifteen, the latter in childhood. To their union eleven children were born, only seven of whom lived to maturity: Sarah L., wife of R. Longest; Evelina E., wife of J. W. Hamilton; James T., Mary Adaline, wife of John Curry; Hannah H., wife of R. T. Humston; John L., who died in the army at Chattanooga, and Susan D., wife of A. Delishment. John I. Thompson removed to Chickasaw county. Miss., with his family in the fall of 1838, at which time there were comparatively few settlers in this region. He chose a fine body of land two miles north of Houlka, which he cleared and on which he resided until his death in 1876, owning at this time a section of land. His widow still survives him, a worthy member of the Methodist church. The boyhood days of J. T. Thompson 'were spent in Chickasaw county, mostly on his father's plantation, but he received only such education as the schools of that time and place afforded, and acquired a common-school education. In 1860 he began farming for himself, on land which is now a part of his present plantation, his first purchase of land amounting to a quarter of a section. At the opening of the Civil war he entered the service with the first company sent out from 904 BIOGBAPHIGAL AND HISTORIOAL • Chickasaw county under CHptaiu Tucker, and in January, 1861, found himself in Pensacola navy yard. The company was afterward placed in the Eleventh Mississippi volunteer infantry and served in the. army of Virginia. Owing to failing health Mr. Thompson was discharged in July of the same year, and returned to his home in Mississippi, where he soon regained his accustomed vigor and ■ once more entered the service, becoming a member of Company L, Forty-first Mississippi infantr)'. In the battle of Murfreesboro he was slightly wounded and he also took part in the engagements at Atlanta, Chickamauga, Resaca, Frank- lin, as well as numerous minor engagements and skirmishes. He surrendered at Greens- boro, N. C, and upon returning to his home at once began to till and improve his land, which had been laid waste during the war. He has devoted his attention to planting throughout life, at all times aiming to be a practical farmer, and that he has succeeded is shown by his well-kept and productive plantation. For a short time he was interested in a store for grangers, but the entire stock of goods afterward passed into his possession and for some time he conducted the business, but with little success. In his planting operations he has made cotton his principal crop, but has made his place self-sustaining. He is the owner of about eleven hundred acres, eight hundred ;of which are in Chickasaw county and the remainder in Cross county. Ark. He was a charter member of the Houlka Grange, and has been a member of the Masonic fraternity, since he attained his majority, and at one time was senior warden for a number of years, and although elected worshipful master declined to fill the position. He is a member of John S. Kane lodge No. 259, of Redland, formerly, but now located at Houlka. Mr. Thompson, his wife, and family are members of the Baptist church, of which he became a member and was baptized while in the army during the war, being immersed by Dr. T. C. Teasdale, in Duck river, Tenn. He was married in 1867 to Miss Car- rie Delishment, a native of Chickasaw county, and a daughter of Seley and Mary A. (Rawes) Delishment, both of whom were born, reared and married in South Carolina. They came to Chickasaw county. Miss., about 1835, and here became well-to-do planters. Mr. Thompson and his wife have seven children: Annie L., John Seley, James F., Robert L., W. Henry, Mary, Sue and Benjamin A. Julius Thompson, the subject of this sketch, well and favorably known to a host of acquaintances in this section, was born in 1845, and, like many of the other residents of Washington county, is a native of North Carolina, Bertie county being the place of his birth. His father, Louis W. Thompson, was born in that state also, in the year 1812, being the third of four children, all of whom came to Mississippi in 1846, remaining her# until their death, with the exception of Noah Thompson, who went to Alabama in 1863. All were planters with the exception of a half-brother. Dr. William Sutton, who became a physician of Madison county. Miss. The brothers are now deceased. A sister, Margaret L., married John T. Johnson, of North Carolina. The father of these children became a prosperous planter of Madison county, Miss., which place was his home from the time of his arrival in the state until his death in October, 1888, at the age of seventy-six years. He was a success- ful financier, and at the time of his death left a fine property to be divided among his heirs. He was a Baptist. His wife was Martha Ellen Britton, of North Carolina, and their union resulted in the birth of eleven children, whose names are as follows: Margaret E. (who mar- ried Augustin Chew, a native of Maryland; he spent the most of his life as a planter of Mis- sissippi, and died in February, 1889; his widow, now residing in Washington county, near Holandale), Louis W. (died in infancy), Ellen (also dying when a babe), Henrietta E. (became the wife of Edward Tarry, of Virginia; both being now deceased), Lucius A. (lives in Washington county), Mary E. (is the wife of John D. Britton, a Virginian; now a cotton MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 905 merchant of New Orleans), Parmelia (wife of Henry Moorman, a native of Kentucky), Louis W. (died in infancy), Hattie (deceased, was the wife of G. A. Baldwin), and Herbert (who is now dead). The Thompsons are of Scotch descent, and the Brittons are English. Julius Thompson was reared to man's estate in Madison county. Miss., and received his education in its public schools. In 1868 he began for himself as a planter of Washington county, Miss., and by his own endeavors he has become the owner of two hundred and forty acres of land, besides three hundred and fifty acres inherited from his father's estate, two hundred and fifty acres of which he has put under cultivation himself, building thereon a residence begun in 1868, at a cost of ¥2,000. His marriage, which took place in 1870, was to Miss Hettie Moor- man, a native of Owensboro, Ky., and a daughter of Mercer Moorman, also of that state, and a merchant by occupation, his wife being a Miss Talbott, of Tennessee. To Mr. and Mrs. Thompson six children have been born: Louis W., Sarah M., Mercer M., Edward, Julius, and Herbert, all of whom are at home. This family are all members of the Baptist church, and are favorites in the social circles in which they move. In 1863 Mr. Thompson enlisted in the late war, becoming a member of company B, Third Mississippi cavalry, as a private, serving until the close of the war, and taking part in the following battles: New Hope church, Kenesaw mountain, and the engagements around Atlanta. At the surrender he was near Natchez, where he had been sent as a scout in Bradford's battalion, never having been seriously wounded during his entire service. Mr. Thompson is a very agreeable and enter- taining gentleman to meet, and is a very strict member of the Baptist church, taking great interest in religious matters and in training his children to be Christian men and women. No man in the county stands higher in public esteem than does he, and this good opinion he fully deserves. Although he gives proper attention to his plantation, he does not devote all his time to the accumulation of gain, for he has a higher idea of life than simply the acquire- ment of wealth, and believes that home is the place for a parent, and is usually found within the family circle. Dr. M. J. Thompson, of the firm of Thompson, Hyer & Partin. physicians and surgeons of Meridian, Miss., was born in Choctaw county, Ala., a son of William H. and Alice (Eosser) Thompson, natives of Georgia and Alabama, respectively. His father was a planter and removed to Mississippi in 1847, locating in Clarke county, though he ended his days in New- ton county. He had five sons, of whom Dr. M. J. Thompson was the fourth born. The Doctor was reared in Clarke county, and educated in private schools. At the age of twenty - one years he began the study of medicine, and graduated at Mobile, Ala., in the year 187-!. He took post-graduate courses at the New York polyclinic, 1 886-S. He practiced for m time in Lauderdale county, and removed to Meridian, Miss., in 1880. Seven years later he formed a partnership with Dr. I. P. Partin, and in November, 1888, Dr. W. P. Hyer was admitted to the firm, which then became known as Thompson, Hyer & Partin. Dr. Thomp- son takes high rank in his profession. He has served as vice president of the State Medical association, and as president of the Lauderdale County Medical association, and is, at this time, vice president of the Alumni Medical association of Alabama. He has also served as a member of the board of health of the city of Meridian, Miss. He has been too much devoted to his profession to take much part in other affairs, and he has attained to a high place in the esteem of his fellow practitioners. He has been especially prominent in the department of surgery, and has established at Meridian a private infirmary for surgical cases and the diseases of women. This was opened about two years ago and has accommodations for about fifteen patients. Dr. Thompson is a member of the Masonic fraternity and of the Knights of Pythias. He was married in 1875 to Miss Augusta Stennis, of Lauderdale county, Miss., who ^ 906 BIOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORIC AL has borne him seven children, six of whom are living: Sidney, Stennis, Gussie, Ida, Mamie and Ethel. The family are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. Pharaoh Carter Thompson. In the very early settlement of the state of Mississippi, among the families who wore closely identified with its affairs and associated with its progress and de- velopment, were the Thompsons, and a respected representative of this family is found in the subject of this sketch. He is a prominent planter and breeder of Holstein cattle and fine saddle horses and mules, and at the present time is the owner, in connection with his uncle, C. F. Thompson, and general manag-^i>-t^ MEMOIRS OF MISaiaSIPFI. 907 damages. This decision was sustained in the supreme court the following spring, 1887, which augmented the cost, making the total damages allowed 116,200. After this injury, which re- sulted in breaking his thigh bone in two places and his pelvis bone in two places, and causing a considerable wasting of the muscles, necessitated his abandonment of the mercantile busi- ness, though he kept up his farm. He finally settled down to planting and stockbreeding, and is now one of the most extensive and successful followers of these callings in this part of the state. He is the owner of two thousand eight hundred acres of laud, his residence being very pleasantly situated on the Leland plantation, at Garden City, making one of the most attractive homes in Franklin county. On the 1st of January, 1889, he purchased the Hamburg Herald, removed the press to Knoxville, and began the publication of the Southern Progress, where he continued until June 26, 1890, when he removed his plant to Garden City, and here has since continued the publication of h^s journal. In 1887 he was married to Miss Mary S., daughter of Samuel G. and Sina Marshall, who were born in Madison county, Ala., in 1834, and Hinds county. Miss., respectively. Mr. Marshall came to Mississippi when a young man, and he and his wife have since lived in different parts of the state, his principal business being that of a druggist. He was for some years deputy chancery clerk of Hinds county, was a faithful, painstaking and zealous official, and discharged the duties incumbent upon the office in a manner highly satisfactory to all. Mrs. Thompson was born at Raymond, in Hinds county, and by Mr. Thompson is the mother of two children. She is a Methodist, but her husband is a member of the Baptist church — a deacon. Mr. Thompson is one of the most progressive men of Franklin county, and, although he commenced life a poor boy, by his untiring efforts has become one of the foremost planters of the county. He has always been active in the general up -building of the county, is deeply interested in the progress and development of the same, and is a genial and agreeable gentleman to meet. He is kind, generous and hospitable in disposition, in the domestic circle is a model husband and father, and for this reason, has won numerous friends and lost few; Robert H. Thompson, a prominent lawyer residing at Brookhaven, Lincoln county, was born in Copiah county, Miss., August 25, 1847. He is the son of J. Harvey Thompson and Margaret Ann (Watson) Thompson, both natives of Mississippi, and both are still living. His grandfather, Jesse Thompson, who married a Miss Margaret Harvey of that state, was a prominent planter of Georgia, and came from there to Mississippi when it was a terri- tory. The father of the subject of our sketch was a man of prominence in the ante-bellum days of the state. He was the youngest of quite a large family, while the mother (Mar- garat A.) was the eldest of such a family. To these parents were born seven children; one son and six daughters. Julia is the widow of Capt. T. J. Chrisman, who was killed at the siege of Vicksburg, a Confederate soldier, leaving two children: Anna C. and Agnes. Anna C. lost her life in the Johnstown, Penn., flood, while on her way to Brazil as a missionary. Agnes and her mother are schoolteachers at Wesson, Miss. Mrs. Maggie T. Butler, the second sister, is the wife of Dr. John T. Butler, of Oregon, Mo. Laura, Emma, Margaret and Mary, sisters, are all dead. Robert H. Thompson received his primary education in Copiah county; he attended schools at Gallatin, Hazlehurst and other points until February, 1864, when he enlisted in the Confederate army, in Capt. T. J. Hargrave's company of the Twenty-fourth Mississippi regiment, under the command of Col. George Moorman. This regiment was in Wirt Adams' brigade of Forrest's command. Mr. Thompson served with it until the surrender, at Gainesville, Ala., in April, 1865. He was paroled April 12th, of the year last mentioned, and returning home engaged in planting. During the same year he entered the old Summerville institute, of Noxubee county, Miss., as a student, and EEE 908 BIOOtiAPHlVAL ANV HISTORICAL remained there two years. Entering the junior class of the UniverHity of Mississippi, at Oxford, in September, ISfiT, he graduated in June, 1869, with the degree of A. B. After his graduation from the literary department he remained as a student of law, which depart- ment was then in charge of Professor Lamar, now justice of the supreme court of the United States. In 18.S<», twenty years after his graduation, Mr. Thompson returned to the univer- sity and delivered an able address to the alumni association. He is now a trustee of this university, his alma mater, and takes much interest in the institution. He began to practice law in January, 1871, at Brookhaveu, only a few days after receiving his license at Gallatin, then the county site of Copiah county, Miss. Since that time lie has ))een engaged unremittingly in the 2)ractice of his profession. He is now regarded as one of the leading lawyers of the Mississippi bar, and one of the best judges of law in the South. He has prepared several papers of more than common interest for the Mississippi Bar associa- tion, of which he has been the president and is one of its leading spirits. He was married December 21, 1871, to Miss Mary Lou Coleman, of Madison county, Miss., a daughter of E. H. and Mary (Gilchrist) Coleman, who died shortly afterward. Mr. Thompson was mar- ried the second time, in 1876, to Mrs. Fannie P. Myers, widow of the late Hamilton Myers. This lady was reared in Natchez, Miss., and was a daughter of L. M. Patterson, a merchant o£ that city, Irat who was a native of Maryland. Her mother, Miss Lucy Gridley, was from New York. Of their eight children Mrs. Thompson was the youngest. Mrs. Thompson can trace her family genealogy on the maternal side back to the Mayflower. Three brothers, named Richard, Samuel and Thomas Gridley, came with the Pilgrims, and were among the fathers who settled the city of Hartford, Conn. Mrs. Thompson is descended in direct line from the last mentioned of these brothers. To Mr. and Mrs. Thompson have been born four children: Harvey, Robert, Gertrude and xVlildred, all of whom, the eldest being only four- teen, are living with their parents. Mr. and Mrs. Thompson are members of the Presbyterian church, and, with their family, are attendants upon its services. Mr. Thompson has had a somewhat interesting political career. He is a stanch democrat, and, on account of his age, was one of those who were com- pelled to cast his first presidential vote for Horace Greeley. In 1875 he was elected to the state senate by a large majority, to represent Pike, Lincoln and Lawrence counties. The campaign of that year in Mississippi is known as the political revolution, and the senate of which he was a member has passed into history as the historical senate. Of this body Mr. Thompson was the youngest member. He served with credit until the end of his term, comprising foirr years. In 1890 he was elected to represent Lincoln and Jefferson counties in the state constitutional convention, and acted as chairman of the legislative committee of that body. The report of this committee, brought in by Mr. Thompson as such chairman, was widely commented upon, and everywhere regarded as the ablest report of the convention. At the close of the session he was made chairman of the committee on revision, which was charged with the duty of arranging the various ordinances that had been passed, and with making the constitution harmonious and consistent in all its parts. This committee received the unanimous thanks of the convention for the able manner in which it performed its duties. The constitution then formulated required the governor to appoint a committee of three learned lawyers to revise the statute laws of the state, and prepare such other laws for adoption by the legislature as should be found necessary to put the new constitution in full operation and force. Of this committee Mr. Thompson was made chairman, and he is now engaged upon the work of preparing a new code of laws for Mississippi. In view of the facts that we have stated, it would be superfluous to say that Mr. Thompson is an influential MEMOIRS OP MISSISSIPPI. 909 and widely known citizen of Mississippi. At home, and where he is most intimately known, he is perhaps held in highest esteem; and there are few local interests that have not received his helpful support. He was unanimously elected the president of the Mississippi state democratic convention, which met at Jackson, in July, 1891, and presided over its delibera- tions with ability and grace. He was elected by the convention itself, an unusual but great lionor, the chairman of the democratic state executive committee, which office he now holds. E. W. Thornton, planter, Sardis, is a native born resident of the county, his birth occur- ring on November 28, 1863, and although young in years he is foremost among the planters of his locality. He is of English descent and the eldest of four children born to Benjamin W. and Jane (McKinney) Thornton, the father a native of North Carolina and the mother of Mississippi. Benjamin W. Thornton immigrated to Panola county. Miss. , before the Indians had left the state, engaged in planting, and continued that occupation until his death on Sep- tember 28, 1885. He was very successful, and accumulated quite a fortune. His father, Wright Thornton, was also of the Old North state. Mrs. Thornton's parents, Michael and Susan McKinney, were natives of Tennessee, and the family is of English origin. E. W. Thorijton was left motherless when quite small, and what he has won in the way of this world's goods is wholly due to his own good fighting qualities, for he started out for himself at the age of eighteen with no capital. He selected the occupation of a planter, and by his industry and good management has become the owner of three hundred and sixty-eight acres of rich land, one-half of which is on the Tallahatchie bank and is extremely productive. He has one hundred and forty acres under cultivation. He is wideawake, energetic and thor- oughgoing, and believes that what is worth doing at all is worth doing well. He is consid- ered one of the best farmers of his age in the county, and contributes liberally of his means to all worthy enterprises. In personal appearance he is tall, strongly built, black hair, dark eyes, fair complexion, and is a prepossessing young man. He is a democrat in political views. James B. Thornton, one of the most practical and progressive planters of Tallahatchie county, was born in the valley eight miles north of Charleston, in the neighborhood near where he now lives, in 1854. He is the son of Philip H. and Eliza A. (Bailey) Thornton, both of whom were natives of Tennessee. Mr. Thornton came as a young man to Talla- hatchie county. Miss., and was twice married; first to a Miss Baker, by whom he had one daughter, and who is now deceased; for his second wife he married Eliza A. Bailey, a sister of Col. James S. Bailey. (See sketch of Cul. James S. Bailey, which will be found in this work.) Mr. Thornton first lived some miles south of Charleston, and then a few miles above the same city, where he died while in the service of his country. His death took place in 1863. He was a good man and a progressive planter. He was the only son of his parents, and the only one of his family that came to Mississippi. The subject of this sketch was the fourth of five children: Sallie, who died young; Belle, now of Sardis, the widow of Judge J. G. Hall, who died in 1890 (he was a promising attorney, and had served as chancellor of his district); Eliza A., wife of C. S. Merriweather, a lawyer of Scranton, Miss.; the subject of this sketch comes next in order, followed by Philip H., a merchant at Charleston. James B. Thornton received a common English education, and resided with his aunt, Mrs. Caruthers, after the death of his father. When he was fourteen years of age he left the shelter of his aunt's home and went to Texas, where he lived about six years with his eldest sister, who had married and settled there. He then returned home and lived with Colonel Bailey for about one year, till he reached his majority, when he engaged in farming on his own account. He was married in 1882 to Maggie, a daughter of J. R. and Mary A. Davis, of Vaiden, Carroll 910 BIOGHAPUIOAL AND UlSTORWAL county, Miss. His wife's pai-ents were natives of Mississippi, and for many years they lived in Carroll county, where Mr. Davis has been circuit clerk for many years and still holds that office. Both of them are Presbyterians. The daughter, Mrs. Thornton, was born in Carroll county, one of three children. Since his marriage Mr. Thornton has lived on his iiresent plantation, which can in truth be said to be one of the finest if not the finest plantation in this county. The energetic h!il)its and progres.sive mind of the owner are easily seen ))y the prosperous condition of things in general about the farm, such as good suV)stantial buildings, good fences, and all that goes to make up a first-class plantation. There are eleven hundred acres in this plantation, which produce about one hundred and fifty bales of cotton annually. He inherited a part of this fine old place from his father, but the most of it has come through Mr. Thornton's own unaided efforts, a fact of which he may well be proud. On this planta- tion are eighteen tenement houses, a steam sawmill, a gristmill and a cottongin. Mr. Thorn- ton is a member of the Knights of Honor, of A. Macon Leigh lodge No. 3233, of Charleston, while his wife is a strong Presbyterian. Dr. J. J. Thornton, Gulf Port, Miss., was ])orn in Troop county, Ga., in 18IS3, and is a son of Jordan and Jemima (Mabry) Thornton, natives of Georgia. The father was a soldier in the War of 1812, and was promoted to the rank of major. He was a farmer by occupa- tion. He emigrated to Montgomery, A.la. , and died there in 1880. His wife died in lsri4. They reared a family of six sons and two daughters: Mrs. Mary McCane, P. M., Mrs. Georgia Horrelson, Andrew J. and J. J., the subject of this notice, are the only surviving members. The Doctor was reared in Wetumpka, Ala., and received his elementary education there. He began the .study of medicine at an early age, and was graduated at Mobile, Ala., in his twenty-first year, from the Alabama Medical college. He engaged in practice at Buyckville, Ala., where he remained several years. There he was married to Miss Sarah Buyck, and eight children were born to them: Buyck, Alice, Finlayson, Thomas M., Mary G., Clower, Laura and Jennie. In 1857 the Doctor removed to Scott county. Miss., and set- tled at Hillsboro, but at the end of the year he went to Conehatta, Miss. , and practiced there until 1870. His next place of residence was at Hattiesburg, Miss., where he practiced medicine and managed a hotel until 1888. In that year he came to Gulf Port, and built the Thornton house, which i.g a well equipped and managed hotel. The Doctor has abandoned professional work, and attends to the hotel; it is kept up in first-class style, and is a credit both to the proprietor and to the town. Dr. Thornton was married, in 1875, to Margaret Buyck, and one child was born of the marriage — Minnis. Mrs, Thornton died in April, 1889. The Doctor is a member of the Knights of Honor and of the Masonic fraternity. While a resident of Hattiesburg he was mayor for one term. Hon. Stephen Thrasher. This eminent attorney is one of the leaders of his profession in this section of the state, for his long experience in the practice of law, his brilliant intel- lect and his powers as an orator, ha^e tended to place him on the topmost round of the ladder. He possesses all the fire, vim and eloquence of the native Kentuckian, for in that state he was born February 24, 1833, being the eldest of seven children born to William and Henrietta (Hook) Thrasher, who were born in Kentucky and Maryland, respectively. The former was the fourth child born to his parents, and grew to manhood in Kentucky, where he was edu- cated, and where he settled, his attention being devoted to trading. He was born in April 1804, and is now a resident of Indiana, and makes his home with his grandchildren. His wife died in 1869, in that state, whither they moved about 1850, being an earnest and worthy member of the Christian church at the time of her death. Their children are as fol- lows: Stephen; Sarah (deceased); Mary, wife of Oscar Turner, is a resident of Eau Claire MEMOIRS OP MISSISSIPPI. !)ll Wis.; Henrietta, wife of a Mr. Golding, is a resident of Minnesota; John is a resident of Shelby ville, Ind., and David is a resident of Texas. Stephen Thrasher, the father of William, was born in Maryland, and after the Revolutionary war removed to Kentucky, where he became colonel of a Kentucky troop and participated in tJie War of 1812. He was a mem- l)er of the Kentucky legislature, and was a very prominent man in his day, taking an acti\e interest in politics. He was a participant in the early Indian struggles in Ohio, and was at the battle of Miami when Anthony Wayne was in command. He died about 1830, in his sixtieth year, his ancestors having been nati\es of England. His wife was a Miss Boyd, a grandniece of General Montgomery, of Revolutionary war fame. They reared a small family of children. Stephen Thrasher, whose name heads this sketch, began the battle of life for himself in the year ISii'i, at which time he came South. After remaining here a short time, he returned to Bloomington, Ind., where he entered an excellent institution of learning, and graduated in 1857. He then once more returned South, and settled at Port Gibson, where he followed the practice of law until the l)reaking out of the late war, at which time he cast aside personal considerations to enlist in the Claiborne guards, of Port Gibson, which was afterward incorporated in the Twelfth Mississippi regiment, with which he served until the close of the war, participating in the battle of Seven Pines, the seven days' fight around Richmond,'and Chancellorsville, where he was wounded in the left arm and side, and for some time was confined in the hospital at Richmond and Petersburg. After obtaining a furlough he came home, and later rejoined his regiment at Rapidan, and took part in the battles of Wilderness and Spottsylvania. He was captured in front of Petersburg, and was taken to Point Lookout, where he remained until hostilities had ceased. Upon his return home he formed a copartnershij) with his uncle, J. B. Tlirasher, in the practice of law at Port Gibson, aud since 1875 had been at his present stand. His plantation, on which he now resides, the property of his wife, is one of the finest and most valuable in the county, and was first settled by Capt. Thaddeus Lyman, it being a portion of the land granted by George III, of England, in 1775, and was among the first land grants made in the county, consisting of twenty thousand acres. In addition to the property of Mr. Thrasher, Mrs. Thrasher owns a fine plantation of about one thousand acres, under a high state of cultivation. Mr. Thrasher is a lawyer of experience, and possesses broad and liberal views. His mind is acute, and his reasonings void of sophistry, aud his reasons for his convictions are always clear and well defined, he has at all times the courage to express his views. He was first elected a member of the state senate in 1886, and was returned in 1889, serving two terms in succession, being a very strong supporter of the soldiers' monument appropriation. He is very conservative in his views, and does not seek political favors, being elected to the legislature much against his will. His reputation as a pure and intelligent legislator was of the very best, and while a member of that body he discharged the duties of his position with eminent ability, and to the satisfaction of all concerned. In 1875 he was married to Mrs. Lizzie (Belknap) Hamil- ton, a native of Tennessee, the Belknap family being noted throughout the South, and becoming early citizens of Mississippi. Mrs. Thrasher came with her mother to Grand Gulf in 1849,°at which place she was married to C. D. Hamilton in 1853, his death occurring in 1869, having been an extensive planter. To them seven children were born, five of whom are living: Richard; Mary J., wife of Amos Burnett; Nannie, wife of S. 0. Humphreys; Bettie, wife of B. E. Humphreys; Charles (deceased), and R. E. Lee, living near Grand Gulf. Mr. and Mrs. Thrasher have a beautiful home overlooking the Mississippi river, and are enjoying their prosperity as only people of education and refinement can do. They are members of the Episcopal church, and to every worthy project or institution they contribute 913 BIOORAPEIC'AL AND HISTORICAL liberally of tlioir means. Mr. Thrasher is a man who has made his way to the front by sheer force of will and native talent, and it is acknowledged l)y competent judges that he ranks among the highest civilians. He is a stockliolder in and president of the oilworks, and a stockholder in the brickyard and the bank at Port Gibson, and socially is a Knight Templar in the A. F. & A. M., in which order he has Iield various chairs. His uncle, J. B. Thrasher, with whom he was associated in the practice of his profession for some time, came to Mis- sissippi in 1.S26, and became very prominent in the legal circles of this section as well as in all matters of a public nature. He died of yellow fever in 1878, at the age of seventy-eight years. Cassius L. Tillman, the popular treasurer of Adams county and the surviving memb.er of the well known and reliable firm of I. Lowenburg & Co., the only exclusive wholesale dealers in groceries, tobacco, etc. , in Natchez, is a man of good practical judgment and business acumen which are the cardinal points of success. This business was established in 1864, and has an extensive and rapidly growing trade, competing with many of the wholesale houses of the larger cities. Mr. Tillman was born in Natchez in 1852, and is the son of J. L. and Ricka (Deutsch) Tillman, both of whom were natives of Bavaria, Germany, where they were reared. The parents came to Natchez, Miss., in the years 1832 and 1848, respectively, were married in that city and there made their future home. Mrs. Tillman is still living, but Mr. Tillman died in New York city in 1869, while there temporarily. The father followed mer- chandising in Natchez for many years and was very successful in this pursuit. Of the five chil- dren born to this union, Cassius L. was the third in order of birth, and is the only one now living. He received his early education at Natchez, and in 1865 graduated from Gurkeini college, Bavaria, after which he attended Gerke institute in New York city. After com- pleting his education he connected himself with the firm of I. Lowenburg & Co., with which he has continued ever since. Since the death of Mr. Lowenburg Mr. Tillman has been the sole proprietor of this immense business. Although yet a young man he has long been recognized as identified with the business interests of the city, and the position he now oc- cupies in social as well as business circles is a very high one. He has taken an active part in every measure or enterprise for the good of Adams county, and being public spirited, enter- prising and intelligent by nature, his career has been both successful and honorable. He is a director in the First National bank, was city alderman one term, and since 1880 he has filled the office of treasurer of Adams county in a very efficient and satisfactory manner. He stands high in social orders, having held all the offices in Andrew Jackson lodge No. 2, A. F. ■& A. M., and is a member of Royal Arch Chapter No. 1 ; Bluff city lodge of Knights of Honor No. 1145; the Knights and Ladies of Honor; the Knights of Pythias No. 3, and he is a member of the following Jewish orders: B'Nai B'rith and Kaisher. Mr. Tillman's wife, to whom he was married in 1880, was formerly Miss Mamie Hyms, a native of Charleston, S. C. They have four interesting children. Henry Tindall, planter, merchant and lumberman, of Grenada county. Miss., and one of the most progressive, thoroughgoing business men of the same, is the eldest of nine children born to James and Sarah (Gant) Tindall, both natives of the Old Dominion. The parents were married in North Carolina, and moved from there to Bedford county, Tenn., at an early day. There they resided, with the exception of a few months in Illinois, until 1849, when they removed to what is now Grenada county. There the father died in 1885. He had been married twice, his first wife being our subject's mother. She died in 1850. Both were Cumberland Presbyterians for many years. Mr. Tindall followed the life of a successful planter, although in North Carolina he engaged in milling for some time, and MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPf. fll3 never aspired to publicity. His father, James Tindall, died when comparatively a young man. The children born to Mr. and Mrs. Tindall were named iu the order of their births as follows: Henry; Anderson, died before the war; William, resides near CarroUtou, Miss., and is a mechanic and planter. He served all through the Confederate army, Fifteenth Mississippi infantry, company E, as a private, and was in the Georgia and Atlanta cam- paign; James, a planter of Grenada comity, was in the Fifteenth Mississippi also during the war; Thomas, was in the same company in the Confederate army, and is now a planter of Grenada county; John, a j^lanter of this county, was not in the war; George, was a private in the Thirty-first Mississippi infantry and was killed at Murfreesboro; Mary E., wife of Maxey Caffee, of Duck Hill; and Victoria, wife of William Bradford, of Walthall. Henry Tin- dall secured a fair education in the counnon schools of Mississippi and Tennessee, and when twenty-one years of age started out to fight life's battle's for himself. He first began as an overseer, continued this until the breaking out of the war. when he took aljout one hundred and sixty-three negroes and worked a few months on the fortification at Fort Pillow. He then returned home, and soon after joined company B, Fifteenth Mississippi infantry, Ten- nessee army, and engaged at Corinth and the siege of Vicksburg as conimissarian. He was captured and paroled, and was in parole camp at Demopolis, Ala., for about two months. He was then ordered to join his command near New Hope church, and was in the Georgia and Atlanta campaign. He then went back with Hood to Tennessee; down to Tuscumbia, Ala. , and then got a furlough and went home to look up clothing, etc. He was in Mississippi at the time of the surrender, and afterward returned to Carroll county, where he engaged in farming. In 1867 he embarked in the sawmill business at Duck Hill, and in 1869 built a mill at his present stand, then in the woods, and has followed this business ever since, now being the ow-ner of four different mills: one steammill near Duck Hill, a watermill seven miles east of that town, a steammill at home, and a watermill in Webster county. He also owns a good gin at each place. For eight years he has operated a good store on his place, and does an annual business of about $12,000. He is the owner of three thousand one hundred and forty acres of land in Grenada county, three hundred and twenty acres in Mont- gomery county, one hundred and twenty acres in Webster county, and has a two-acre block and a business block in Duck Hill, all the fruits of his own labor since the war. He is now one of the most prosperous planters and business men of the county. He is thoroughgo- ing, public- spirited, and has a host of warm friends, He was married in 1870 to Miss Jose- phine Neal, a native of Carroll (now Montgomery) county, Miss., and the daughter of Eobert Neal, who came from Tennessee to Carroll county. Miss., and followed the life of a planter. There his death occurred. To Mr. and Mrs. Tindall have been born twelve children, seven sons and five daughters, all of whom he has spared no pains to educate. He is postmaster at Misterton, which was established at his store about seven years ago. Mr. Tindall has often been urged to run for office, but as often refused. Col. William Henry Haywood Tison, of Baldwyu, Miss., the subject of this sketch, was born in Jackson county, Ala., November 6, 1822. He was the son of Richard and Nancy Tison, natives of North Carolina, who first emigrated tu Georgia, thence to Tennessee, thence to Alabama and finally to Mississippi. They both possessed iron constitutions, indomitable wills and untiring energy, which they transmitted to their son in whose home they spent their old age. The father was a soldier in the War of 1812; he died October Ifi, 1876. His mother, a most lovable character, died March 15, 1872. Col. Tison was a self- made man. He was reared without early educational advantages, and in his youth met and overcame impediments which an ordinary man could not have surmounted. The school 914 BIOQMAPHIUAL AND HISTOBICAL facilities of the county in which he lived wort^ poor, and his father was unable to give him opportunities above those known as old fieldschools. He served as an apprentice to learn the saddler's trade, in which he proved himself a master workman. While following this vocation in the now extinct ^■illage of Carrollville, he was married to Miss Sarah S. Walker, an estimable young lady, who showed her faith in the ambitious, rising young man, who even then was a hard student of books as well as men. How fortunate that he didn't spend his energy on material things! He entered the printing business in 1855 as editor of the East- port^Republican, with D. C. White as publisher. In the winter of 1855 the paper was moved to Jacinto, and the name changed to the Republican. He continued the paper through the year 1856 and sold it. In the year 1855 the democratic party was confronted by a secret organization known as the know-nothing party, and the warfare was bitter and uncompro- mising. Colonel Tison wielded a trenchant pen, and was never so happy as when throwing shot and shell into the know-nothing camp. He fought know-nothingism to the bitter end, and contributed as much as any other man to its defeat and destruction in the state of Mis- sissippi. Being a democrat of the Jacksonian school, he soon became the leader of his party. His first canvass was for representative from Tishomingo county, and resulted in his election. He prosecuted his canvass with the same zeal that he ever displayed in all his undertakings throughout life. Upon his entrance to the legislature he took a leading part in all of the deliberations of that body, which numbered among its members some of the foremost intel- lects of "the state at that time. He was repeatedly returned to the legislature before the war, and the journal of the house contains no record of service more faithful and more beneficial than his. In 1857 he was appointed, by President Buchanan, United States marshal for the northern district of Mississippi. In his application for the place he had the earnest and active support of Hon. Jacob Thompson, secretary of the interior, who was then, and ever remained his constant and devoted friend. When the war broke out he organized a company early in 1861, for the Nineteenth regiment of Mississippi volunteers, the Jake Thompson guards, which served under the gallant Mott in many of the battles of Virginia. After serving a year in Virginia, he was made colonel of the Thirty-second Mississippi regiment, and was transferred to Bragg's army in Tennessee. He participated in most of the prominent battles in that state and in Georgia, and was twice wounded, once at Eesaca, and again at Franklin. As a soldier, he was as true and brave a man as ever drew a sword. His courage was Spartan, and his skill as an ofiicer commanded admiration. His bearing on the field was superb. He was always at the front and dared to lead where any dared to follow. His spare slight figure, erect in his saddle, could always be seen where the battle raged fiercest. He became known throughout the army for conspicuous gallantry, and received from his commanding generals complimentary notices in their reports. At the close of the war he returned to his home and engaged in active business pursuits. Being disfranchised, he could not enter politics as an aspirant for office, but he took an active part in all that pertained to the wel- fare of his state, and exerted a controlling influence in the affairs of his county. He organized the democratic party and again became its leader. He was prominent in his opposition to the regime of that day (at the close of the war), but such was his honesty and courage that he commanded and maintained to a conspicuous degree the respect of his adversaries. This was notable in the first legislature of which he was a member during that eventful period. On the removal of his disabilities he was again elected to the legislature, and continued to represent his county till his death. At its last session he was elected speaker of the house, the duties of which he discharged with eminent ability. No man in the state has at- ME Mollis OF MISSISSIPPI. 1115 tained greater distinction as a legislator. The statute books show the imprint of his supe- rior wisdom in many of the measures of substantial benefit to the people, especially in those measures looking to retrenchment in expenditure of the public funds. He was gifted with a peculiar wisdom and acumen in this branch of legislation. In his death, the community in which he lived lost its most distinguished and useful citizen. As a husband he was gentle, faithful and true; as a father he was loving and kind; as a brother he was devoted and con- stant; as a Mason he lived up to the highest standard of the order. He was a proud man and erected a lofty standard to which he strove to elevate his family, and may his two sons and two daughters till the full measure of his hopes. As a neighbor he was generous and consid- erate; as a friend he was warm hearted and true. When he once placed his friendship, it become lasting and steadfast, and under it his confidence was given without reserve. He was conspicuous in deeds of charity. It is said of him that there was scarcely a poor man within reach of him, whom he had not materially befriended. His character was marked by strong traits. To a casual "observer he seemed austere and imperious. To those who knew him well he was yielding and placable. Nature made him an honest man, free from all dissembling and pretention. He abhorred all shams and alluring devices. He had no guide save principle; he was deep and strong in his convictions of right and duty, and obeyed them with earnest energy and unfailing courage. His will was inflexible and his nerve was iron. It was these noble traits that made him invincible before the people. He was truly a man of the people; he was ambitious, but subordinated his desire for preferment to a genuine respect for the people and their interests. In theii- behalf there was no task too laborious, no sacrifice too great for him to make. In their service he comprehended and felt the sternest and loftiest sense of duty and held in suju-eme contempt any allur- ments from its pathway. His large heart was always with them and its honest yearning was to serve them faithfully. In educational matters his views were broad and comprehen- sive. He was a leading advocate of measures designed to enlarge and build up that great cause, and bring its blessings within the reach of the whole people. The death of such a man is, under any circumstances, a sad event, but when so illustrious a citizen falls by the hand of violence, his death is a most deplorable calamity. The state has lost one whose deeds in her councils and on the tented field have shed luster on her fair name and added to her glory and renown. He was killed in Baldwyn, December 4, 1882. Like J. G. Holland he lived to accomplish his early wish: "To occupy a pure place in the popular heart; to be welcomed in God's name, into the affectionate confidence of those for whom life has high meanings and high issues; of being recognized as among the beneficent forces of society." We drop a tear to the memory of a wise statesman, a pure patriot and a noble Christian man. Among the residents of Washington county, Miss., the name of Dr. E. Saunders Toombs has become almost a household word, for so often has he entered their homes in his pro- fessional capacity, and so successfully has he practiced the healing art, that their confidence in him has become unbounded. He was born in Copiah county, Miss., August 12, 1844, to George H. and Winnie (Green) Toombs, who were born in Georgia and North Carolina, respectively, the former being a planter by occupation. When a young man he came to this state, and was married here soon after to Miss Green, dying in Copiah county in 1851 . The paternal grandfather and grandmother were from England and Ireland, respectively, and were pioneer settlers of Georgia, North Carolina and Virginia. The Toombs family became very well known throughout Georgia; Robert Toombs being in the United States senate from that state for al^ut twenty years, and for some time was secretary of state for 91 (i BIOOItAPHIOAL AND HIsrORIUAL Ww ConfediTHCy, durii]>,' Uio oiirly ])iirt of tlie war, but afterward resigned to take the rank of l)iigadier- general in the Confoderute army, distinguishing himself in the second bat- tle of Manassas. The maternal griindj)arouts of the subjt^ot of this sketch were William . and Mary (Taylor) Greon, natives of tlie Oarolinas. Nearly all the male members of the (ireen family were niiuisters of the Baptist church, becoming distinguished for their ability as divines, and for their sturdy habits and morals. They prided themselves upon main- taining a high standard of morals and Christian integrity, and possessed many of the charac- teristics of their Huguenot ancestors, who left their native land on account of their relig- ious belief. Dr. R. Saunders Toombs was reared in Mississippi, and received his education in Pleasant Hill academy, afterward pursiiing his medical studies in Vicksburg, and graduating in medicine in the Washington university, of Baltimore, Md., in 1868, after which he began practicing, and has since been one of the leading physicians of the state. When he was six years of age his mother was left a widow, and as his father had become security for many friends, the most of his fortune was swept away, and his family was left with comparatively nothing to maintain them. For this reason the Doctor had not only to support and educate himself, but to assist in supporting his mother besides. There was no such word as fail in his vocabulary, and the success that has attended his efforts and his many accomplishments are due to his ambition and his indomitable energy. During a time that he should have been in school the war came on, and in 1 862, at the age of eighteen years, he enlisted in the Confederate army, becoming a member of company K, Thirty- sixth Mississipi^i regiment, and soon showed himself to be a young man of undoubted cour- age and trustworthiness. Having manifested considerable ability as a scout, he was sent with important dispatches on various occasions, and at one time rode sixty-eight miles through snow and sleet, swimming his horse across three streams, nearly losing his life by his horse becoming- entangled in driftwood. On this occasion he was bearing important news from Gen. Wirt Adams to Colon(>l Scott. He was at the battle of Jackson, but soon after entering the army ill health caused him to give up heavy service, and he was assigned to light duty, and was made hospital steward in field service, under Chief Surgeon John M. Allen, of the di\'ision of cavalry. He was the first to reach General Gohlson after he was wounded in the tierce fight near Jackson, but just prior to this was engaged as superintendent in the cart- ridge manufacturing department in the arsenal" at Jackson. While in Jackson he had a most miraculous escape from death in the terrible explosion which occurred in that city, killing every inmate in the building, in which about forty chil- dren lost their lives, he being the only one left to tell the cause, which he thinks resulted from recharging some old shell. He had only thirty minutes before been transferred to the state treasury, and he considers his escape as a special act of providence, for his transfer was effected by telegram by one of his friends in authority, who had a premonition of his danger. Dr. Toombs was married in April, 1876, to Miss Fannie Kay, a native of Carrollton, Miss., and a daughter of Capt. William and Mary (Latham) Ray, both of whom were born in Mis- sissippi. To their marriage four children have been Ijorn: William Ray, Percy Walthall, Robert Henry, and Frederick S. The Doctor is the owner of a large landed estate in Wash- ington county, and besides this he owns several residences and one business house on Walnut street, besides several vacant lots on the same street, and the most of Toombs addition to the city of Greenville.. He has property in Memphis and Chattanooga, Tenu., and in Sheffield, Ala. He is a stockholder in the Merchants and Planters' bank and Citizens' bank at Greenville. The Doctor came to this point just at the outbreak of the terrible yellow- fever epidemic of 1878, and was at once made secretary of thg city board of health, and MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 017 is now a member of the state board of health, and was appointed by Goveruor Lowry to represent that board in the inter-state quarantine convention, held in Montgomery, Ala., in 1889. His practice has been equal to that of any physician in the county, for he has acquired great proficiency in his profession, and has contributed many valuable articles to the medical literature of the day. In 1886 he was elected president of the State Medical association of Mississippi by acclamation, and is now vice president of the National Association of the Eailway Surgeons of America. He and his wife are prominent members of the Baptist church, and were instrumental in the founding of the flourishing church of tliat denomination in Greenville. He has always taken great interest in church work, and was a liberal contributor to the endowment of Mississippi college (Baptist) at Clinton, whicli is one of the Ijest and most prosperous institutions of the state. He is a member of the A. F. & A. M., the K. of H. and the A. L. of H. Dr. Toombs possesses perfect manners, and at all times manifests the instincts and training of a true gentleman. When engaged in conver- sation he at once impresses one as a gentleman of intelligence, for his ideas on all subjects are shrewd and sound. John Torrey. Among the first pioneers to settle in the east part of Jeft'ersou county, was the Torrey family, the date of their arrival being ISOtl Dugald Torrey, father of John, was born in Robinson county, N. C, in 1.780, and in that state and county grew to manhood, marrying, in the month of September, 1804, Miss Flora Gilchrist, who was also of that state. and of Scotch parentage. Sometime after their marriage they removed to Tennessee, where they resided about one year, then came to Claiborne county, Miss., settling near Port Gibson, but at the above mentioned date settled in Jefferson county. Here he opened a very large plantation on which he reared his family, and on this farm, whicli he, himself, put in an ad- mirable state of cultivation, he breathed his last in 1 S53, his wife having passed from life ten years earlier. He was a son of George Torrey, a native of Scotland, who emigrated to the states, and was one of the pioneers of North Carolina, rearing his family in Robinson county. John Torrey is one of a family of three sons and six daughters, but is the only surviving member of the family at the present date. One brother, George Torrey, who died in Fayette, was well known, having been a former sheriff of Jefferson county. Wm. Torrey died on the Island of Cuba in 1S43. After attaining manhood in this county, John Torrey was married in the month of October, 1846, to Miss Margaret C. Cameron, a native of the county and a daughter of Archibald Cameron, one of the settlers of 181(\ Mr. John Torrey has been engaged in planting his entire life, and in following this calling has met with a more than average degree of success. He has been a resident of the plantation on which he is now living since January, 1S5(\ on which place was some open land that had been under cultivation for about forty years. Mr. Torrey commenced at once to clear more land and on this property erected a good residence, steam cottongin, and in other ways greatly improved it, making it one of the most desirable plantations in his part of the county. His land amounts to about one thousand acres at the present time, although he at one time owned over five thousand acres. He owned a large number of slaves during ante-bellum days, and over eighty-three were set free by the emancipation proclamation. Mr. Torrey is a man possess- ing much energy and decision of character and his judgment in matters of business, as well as upon all other topics, is shrewd, far-seeing and intelligent. A family of five children in time gathered about his board: Florah Ann, wife of John S. Gillis, a farmer of the county: Alice, wife of J. M. Riggs, a schoolteacher of the Lone Star state; Arlone Maddux, a widow; Dugald A. and Mary C. Like the majority of Scotch people, the Torreys are mem- bers of the Presbyterian chiKch, and are frugal, industrious and acquisitive, although not in gts BIOGRAPHIGAL AND HISTORICAL the least penuriously so. Thoy are among the most substantial of the county's residents and are hospitable, charitable and kindly people. Hon. William D. Torrey has l)ren long and worthily identified with Jefferson county, Miss., and no satisfactory history of his immediate vicinity would be complete which failed to make proper mention of his career. He was born on the -"Jth of August, 1850, and in his early days was given better advantages than the average l)oy, and for some time was an attendant of the University of Mississippi. After deciding to make the practice of law his profession, he began studying in the office of Shackleford & Cassidy, and on the day that he arrived at his majority, August 5, 1871, he was admitted to the bar. His views on legal questions soon won for him golden opinions, and while serving in the capacity of justice of the peace, which he did for several years, he became noted for the excellent decisions he made in all cases that appeared before him. He was not long allowed to remain as a mere jn-actitiouer, for his brilliant mind and thorough knowledge of all legal technicalities were needed in the legislative halls of Mississippi, and in 1880 he was elected by his numerous friends to that body and for some time was a member of the committee on education and corporations. He was a conscientious and scrupulously honorable legislator, and on all occasions endeavored to use his influence for the benefit of his state. He is now residing on the old homestead, a beautiful place situated about one and one-half miles north of Payette, which he purchased after the death of his father. Here he is extensively engaged in planting and stockraising, and the seven hundred acres of which he is the owner, have been made very productive by his system of farming. In 1881, Miss Mary F. Hunt, a daughter of Abijah Hunt, one of the early sc^ttlers of the county, became his wife and their union has resulted in the birth of two sons. He and his wife are members of the K. and L. of H, of which lodge Mr. Torrey is the chief officer. His father, George Torrey, was also born in this county, his birth taking place in the year 1 808, and the wife of the latter, Mary Ann (Barker) Torrey, was born on the 7th of March, 1821, their union taking place in 1840. Six of their children grew to maturity and two sons and one daughter are living at the present time: William D., George, who is a planter residing near Payette, and Effie, the wife of George D. Porman. George Torrey was an extensive and successful planter and was a man well known for his intelligent views on all matters. Por this reason, and from the fact that he possessed undoubted courage and determination, he was elected to the office of sheriff, and for eight years filled this position with credit. He served in both houses of the state legislature, was for many years a member of the senate, and throughout his entire manhood he was prominently before the public as a supporter of all matters pertaining to the welfare of the state and his county. He was chosen commissioner of immigration, and during his term of office made three trips to England, for the purpose of inducing white laborers to immigrate to the state of Mississippi. In this he was quite successful and many good families of this section came here owing to his influence. He lived an active and useful life, and for many years before his death, September 12, 1880, he had been a member of the Presbyterian church. His wife was left an orphan at a very early age, and from her nati\'e state of Kentucky she came to this state with an uncle. Dr. E. W. Harding, who set- tled in Greenville, formerly the county seat of this county, where he built up an extensive practice and died in 1887 at the age of ninety-one years. Mrs. Torrey was finely educated, was an exemplary Christian, and died on the 16th of September, 1889. James Clinton Totten, Holly Springs, a native born citizen of Marshall county. Miss., has become one of its most promising attorneys, and although young in years, he has prac- ticed throughout the entire judicial circuit for some time. His parents, Benjamin and Olivia MEMOIRS OF MI8SI8ISIPPI. 010 (Brooks) Totten, were born in Tennessee, but came with their parents to Mississippi when small children. They grew up, were married in Marshall county, and the fruits of their union were two children: James C, and Maggie, who is the wife of Dr. S. D. Hamilton of Waterford. The paternal grandfather was a native of Tennessee and of English descent. He had two brothers, A. O. W. Totten of Tennessee, for many years one of the judges of the su- preme court of that state, and Clinton Totten of Arkansas, who had served as circuit judge for many years in Tennessee, and was ii prominent politician and lawyer in Arkansas at the time of his death. James S. Totten, our subject's grandfather, came to Mississippi at an early day and he was repeatedly elected a member of the legislature from Marshall county, being speaker of the house for a number of years, before the war. He removed from Mississippi to Arkansas and was a very prominent attorney of that state for a number of years. There his death occured in 1 866. Benjamin Totten followed planting in Mar- shall county until the opening of the conflict between the North and South, and then, in 1861, enlisted as a private. He was in the battles of Corinth, Shiloh and many others, and in the last-named engagement received a wound in the foot, which incapacitated him from further service in the infantry, consequently he entered the cavalry. He was killed near Holly Springs, Miss., in 1863, by his horse falling on him. His wife had died sev- eral years previous and this left our subject and sister to be taken care of by their grand- father, Alfred Brooks, who was very kind to them, and to whose aid our subject acknowl- edges much credit for his success in life. James C. Totten was born on April 29, \H7u, and at the age of nineteen went to Oxford, obtained his literary training in the State university, and in 1879 he took a commercial course at Bryant and Stratton Commercial college at Louisville, Ky., graduating in 1880. After this he returned to Holly Springs, studied law with the firm of Watson & Smith, and was admitted to the bar in 1SS2. He then formed a copartnership with J. W. C. and E. M. Watson, of Holly Springs, but E. M. Watson was appointed assistant attorney-general, under Attorney-General Garland, in 1884. Mr. Totten has continued to practice his profession up to the present time and has also been engaged in agricultural pursuits, being the owner of one-half interest in one thousand acres of land in Marshall county, with five hundred acres under cultivation. His principal crop is cotton, and in 1890 he raised seventy-five bales and two or three thousand bushels of corn. He has never been elected to any office in the county, but is at present chairman of the democratic county executive committee. He has given almost his entire attention to the jjractice of his profession, and his efforts have been crowned with a reasonable degree of success. He is a member of both the Masonic and Odd Fellows frater- nities. His grandfather Brooks was born in North Carolina in 1802, and died in Marshall corinty, Miss., in 1887. He was a very extensive farmer. Capt. John V. Toulme, Bay St. Louis, Miss., proprietor of the Crescent hotel, and mayor of Bay St. Louis, Miss., was born in this place in August, 1827, and is a son of John B. and Uranie (Sancier) Toulme, natives of France and of the Dominion of Canada, respectively. The father immigrated to America in 1812, and the mother had come to the states two years before. They were married in Bay St. Louis, and Mr. Toulme carried on a large mercantile and stockraising business for many years. He was identified with all public movements, and was a member of the state legislature for one or two sessions. He was also mayor of the city for some time. He and his wife both died here. They reared a family of seven children, six of whom are living. John V. is the fourth child and the only son. He was educated at St. Mary's school, near Lebanon, Ky., and after completing his studies he engaged in mercantile trade and the raising of livestock. These he conducted 920 BIOGRAPHICAL AND III8T0BWAL successfully until the breaking out of the Civil war. At that time he paid taxes on five thou- sand head of cattle, and was the largest stockraiser of the state. However, when the call came, he abandoned his private interests, raised company F, Third Mississippi volunteer infantry, and went out as captain of the company. He served in this capacity until 1863, when he resigned and returned to his home. The desolation and destruction wrought by war «ould have completely discouraged many a man, but, realizing the uselessness of despair, he set to work at once to retrieve his fortunes. He opened a hotel, and has kept the best house in the Bay. He has just completed a large hotel of fifty-six rooms with all modern improvements. The management is excellent in every department, and the comfort of guests is of the first consideration. The house is known as the Crescent hotel, a name it has had since 1866. Captain Toulme has been mayor of Bay St. Louis, and has proven himself an efficient officer during the several terms he has filled the chair. In 1850 he was married to Martha E. Carr, and three children were born to them, all of whom are living. He was married a second time, in 1879, to Mrs. C. W. List. Five children have been born of this union. The Captain is a member of the Masonic fraternity. He is now captain of company C, First artillery battalion, Mississippi national guards, which he raised and organized in March, 1889. During the time of his service in the Confederate army he was captured in his home while on a furlough, but he managed to make his escape. He was a brave sol- dier, and is a loyal progressive citizen, zealously supporting all home interests. W. L. Treadwell was born in Rutherford county, N. C, on the 19th day of June, 1828, the second in a family of nine children who came to the home of T. L. Treadwell and Eliza (Allison) Treadwell, who were natives of North and South Carolina, respectively. The paternal grandfather was a soldier in the Revolutionary war, serving under the famous Gen- eral Marion. The parents of W. L. Treadwell were married in North Carolina, where they lived till the year 1836, when they moved to Marshall county, Miss., thus earning for himself the title of being one of the pioneers of this part of the state. He bought land here and engaged in farming, also opened up a store, trading principally with the Indians, as there were but few white people in and around old Lamar, the town he chose for his residence. He was quite successful both as a planter and a merchant, accumulating considerable property, and prior to the war owning one hundred slaves. As he was so well and favorably known, he was naturally elected to fill the offices at the command of his fellow townsmen. He was a man noted far and wide for his extreme generosity, especially to aught which pertains to the betterment of his community. After the war he engaged in merchandising in the new town of Lamar, and was thus employed at the time of his death in 1870. His wife died at old Lamar, in 1848, and he married Elizabeth E., widow of Samuel Haney. This wife died in 1889, in her eighty-seventh year; by his last wife there was no issue. Of his offspring there are only six living: Our subject; Allison C, Memphis; Robert A., of Jackson Tenn. ■ A. B., engaged in the wholesale grocery business at Memphis; A. E., wife of H. P. Maxwell- and Francis M., farmer in Marshall county; B. D. having died at Memphis, Tenn., leaving a family, and Mary A. (wife of W. B. Smith), and Amelia F., (wife of F. P. Long), having both died near Lamar. The subject was educated at Chapel Hill, N. C, and was a graduate in the class of 1851, after which he took a course of law under a private tutor, Judge Pear- son, of Rockford, N. C, and began the practice of his profession in Memphis in 1854 re- maining there until 1860. In this year he abandoned the practice of law and moved to Marshall county. Miss. , where he had bought land, and turned his attention to its cultivation. In 1862 he enlisted in company A, of the Seventh Tennessee cavalry, under Col. \V. F. Taylor this regiment being known as Jackson's escort. He served until the close of the war and MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. D:a was paroled at Gainesville, Ala., when he returned home and resumed his interrupted occupa- tion of planting to which he added the charge of the mercantile business, left at loose ends by his father's death at Lamar, and which he continued to oversee up to the year 1884. when he closed up this branch of his business, and retireil to his farm. Later lie gave up the man- agement of this also, and had it worked by renters. He ow ns twelve hundred acres of land, six hundred of which are under cultivation. It is situated two miles southeast of Lamar, in what is now Benton county. He was married in 1858, to Miss Lou A. Farabee, a daughter of F. B. Farabee, of Shelby county, Tenn. They have three children: Lucy, Kobert D., and Eliza A. , wife of J. M. Aldrich, of Michigan City, Miss. Miss Lucy was educated at Bethlehem academy at Holly Springs, graduating in 1877. Miss Eliza received her educa- tion at the Huntsville Female college at Huntsville, Ala. Robert went to school at Memphis and is now engaged with the wholesale dry goods house of Lemmon & Gale as traveling salesman. The faithful wife died in 1887, a consistent member of the Episcopal church, to which denomination the family all belong. The family occupy an enviable position in the county, aud their home is the resort of the elite of that part of the state. Mr. Treadwell is a Mason and is a man who delights in using his means and intiuenee to better the condition of his county to such an extent that he is deserving of the name of the generous man, which is aj)plied to him. He is a man to whom honor is due and to whom honor comes, but he prefers to use his influence in a private way, always declining his services for any office of profit. Hon. James M. Trice is a general merchant of Okolona, and also gives considerable attention to the calling of a planter, his land amounting to over one thousand five hundred acres. Mr. Trice was born in Lawrence county, Ala., in 1825, to James A. and Rhoda (Smith) Trice, natives, respectively, of Hanover and Louisa counties, Va. , in which state they were reared, educated and married. In 1816 they removed to Madison county, Ala., and in 1818 settled in Lawrence county, where Mr. Trice 'passed from life in 1853, and his wife in 1864, both having been earnest members of the Methodist church. The father received only an ordinary education in his youth, but possessing much natural ability he became an exceptionally well-informed and intelligent man. He possessed a strong will and a decisive character, and being industrious and honorable he became well-to-do. He was a soldier in the War of 1S12. His father, William Trice, was a Virginian, but died in Madi- son county, Ala., whither he had moved in 1810, a well-to-do planter. He was married twice and reared a large family of children, his first wife being the grandmother of Hon. James M. Trice. The maternal grandfather, Noah Smith, was also a Virginian, but in an early day removed to Roane county, Tenn., where he died, a worthy tiller of the soil. Hon. James M. Trice was the eighth of nine sons and three daughters, only two members of this family being now alive. One of the sons, Robert L., now a resident of Verona, Miss., served faithfully in the Confederate army, being in the army of the Tennessee, and partici- pating in the engagements of the Georgia and Atlanta campaign. James M. was reared on a farm, receiving a fair English education, and at the age of nineteen, or in 1844, he came to Monroe county, Miss., and for several years was engaged in trading. He was first married in 1846 in Lawrence county, Ala., to Elizabeth, daughter of John M. and Martha McGaughey, who were born and married in Tennessee, from which state they removed to Lawrence county, Ala., where they died, the father having been a prosperous planter. Mrs. Trice was born in this county and died in 1862, having borne a family of six children: Zachariah T., a merchant of Okolona, was in the state militia during the latter part of the war; Laura, wife of B. T. Clark, of Nettleton; Anna, widow of Charles Smith; John, of 1)23 BIOGBAPHIGAL AND UISTORWAL the John Trice Banking company, of Okolona, one of the most thoroughgoing and success- ful financiers of the county; Mollie, wife of Thomas M. Walton, a planter of Monroe county, and James A., a planter of Nettleton. James M. Trice resided in Monroe county, on the old plantation, until 1883, since which time he has been a resident of Okolona, where he has been connected with the mercantile business since 1876, the firm for some years being J. M. Trice & Co. , but for some time he has conducted affairs on his own responsibility. He is one of the most energetic, progressive and practical of business men, and the handsome fortune which he now enjoys is the result of his own efforts. In 1862 he served for some time in Col. William Inge's regiment of Mississippi cavalry, but owing to the failing health of his wife he was compelled to return home, and afterward hired a substitute. His second marriage was celebrated, in 1872, to Mrs. Margaret T., a daughter of Joseph Pickens, a native of South Carolina, who removed to Huntsville, Ala., where he passed from life prior to the war, his widow still surviving him. Mrs. Trice was born near Huntsville and is a member of the Cumberland Presbyterian church. Although Mr. Trice has never sought office his many friends deemed him a fitting man to represent them in the state legislature, and in 1S75 they elected him to this position, being again elected from Monroe county in 1881, during which session he was chairman of the committee on agriculture. After removing to Chickasaw county he interested himself in every worthy enterprise and soon became well known for his sound and practical views on all subjects, and in 1889 was chosen as a representative to the legislature from this county, and while a member of that body displayed such sound and practical views that he became a conspicuous figure in the legislative halls. He made an enviable record for himself and was an able and incorruptible legis- lator. He was a member of the committee on conventions, and worked for the interest of the bill providing for the new constitutional convention. He was formerly a member of Carnargo lodge No. 118, of the A. F. & A. M. , of which he was worshipful master; but he is now a member of Prairie lodge No. 87, of Okolona, in which he is a Knight Templar. Dr. G. \V. Trimble, a prominent physician and surgeon of Grenada, county health officer, surgeon for the Illinois Central railroad and president of the State Medical associa- tion, was born in Limestone county, Ala., in 1822, and is a son of Archibald and Margaret (Reese) Trimble, the father a native of the Old Dominion, and the mother of Tennessee. Archibald Trimble, who was of Scotch-Irish parentage, had three brothers in "the War of 1812. He moved from Tennessee to northern Alabama, was one of the first settlers of that state, and died there in 1827. He was a self made man. His wife died in Alabama in 1836. She had been married twice, Mr. Trimble being her last husband. The paternal grandfather, John Trimble, of Augusta county, Va. , moved to Tennessee at an early day, and thence to Claiborne county, Miss., where his life terminated. The maternal grandfather. Rev. Solomon Reese, was a Cumberland Presbyterian minister, and at an early day emi- grated to northern Alabama, his death occurring in Franklin county of that slate During the principal part of his life he ministered to the spiritual wants of his fellowman, and also wielded the ferule in the schoolroom. He was of Scotch Welsh descent. Dr. G. W. Trimble, the only child born to the above mentioned union, was educated in a printing office in Nashville, Tenn. , and Tuscumbia, Ala., beginning when but a small boy, and con- tinuing the printing business until he was twenty-three years of age. He then closed his editorial career at Aberdeen, where he published the Aberdeen Independent and the Aber- deen Bee for a few years. He began the study of medicine with Dr. J. A. Trimble, a half- brother, of Russelville, Ala., and graduated from the medical college of Louisville, Ky., in 1852, since which time he has practiced in Grenada and vicinity, being the oldest resident .^^-7 MEMOIRS OP MISSISSIPPI. 923 practitioner there. He was assistant surgeon in the Second Mississippi infantry, but was soon after disabled by getting his leg broken at Bowling Green, after which he did no further service, except at home. He has been a prominent member of the State Medical association since its formation. He was married, in 1842, to Miss Ella Barksdale, a native of Pickens county, Ala., and the daughter of John and Anna Barksdale, natives of the Old Dominion, where they were reared and married. Later the parents moved to Pickens county, Ala., and there both received their final call. The father was a planter by occupation. Mrs. Trimble was a member of the Baptist church, and died in 1846, leaving one son, Joseph H. The latter was educated in Alabama, and served as a private in the Confederate army. He was a trader, and died in 1875. Dr. Trimble's second marriage occurred in 1856 to Mrs. Rebecca Thomas, daughter of Frank Bullock, a native of South Carolina, who was a successful planter and merchant of Sumter county, Ala., where his death occurred. Mrs. Trimble was born in Old Fort, S. C, and by her marriage to Dr. Trimble became the mother of two children: Mary T. , wife of Curtis H. Guy (see sketch), and Charlie. The Doctor has been a member of the Grenada lodge No. 6, I. O. O. F. , since 1853, is a very prominent member, and is past grand master of the state, also past grand representative. Mrs. Trimble is a member of the Presbyterian church. The Doctor has planting interests and is one of the foremost men of the county. He is learned in his profession, and his career, as a practitioner and thorough student of medicine, has won for him no less a reputation than has his personal characteristics, as a citizen and neighbor. His advantages for schooling were very limited while growing up, for he was left an orphan when very young, and was compelled to be his own custodian; thus it may truly be said that he is a selfmade man. Like many of the prominent citizens of Winston county, Nimrod D. Triplett, planter, Perkinsville, Miss., owes his nativity to the Palmetto state, his birth occurring in Chester county, in 1839. His parents, Nimrod, Sr., and Dorothy (Moore) Triplett, it is supposed, were natives also of that county, and there they were reared and married. In the winter of 1848 and 1849, they removed to Winston county. Miss., whither the father had gone to purchase land in 1845, and settled on what was known as the Gentry place. They remained there only a short time, however, and then moved to the place where their son, Nimrod D., now resides. There the father's death occurred in September, 1861, at the age of seventy-one years. His wife is still living at the advanced age of ninety-nine years, and is doubtless the oldest person in the county. The father was a man of ordinary education, and in early life had followed the shoemaker's trade. This he had to abandon on account of ill health, but he afterward ran a still in South Carolina for some time, although his principal occupation during life was farming. He was a very temperate and industrious man. His father, Nimrod Triplett, was of Welsh descent, and was probably born in the Old Dominion, where he was married. From there he removed to North Carolina, thence to South Carolina, and settled in Chester county, where he followed agricultural pursuits. He was the father of two sons. The maternal grandfather, Thomas Moore, was born in Chester district, S. C, and there passed his entire life engaged in farming. He was but a boy during the Eevolutionary war, and he and his father were captured by the tories. The father was killed, but the boy escaped, and after- ward wreaked vengeance upon his father's murderer. Nimrod D. Triplett, subject of this sketch, was the tenth of thirteen children, four of whom are now living: George W., of Leake county, was in the Confederate army with General Ferguson; Solomon R., of Kemper county, was in the cavalry during the Civil war. Nimrod D. Triplett was reared on a farm, and 934 BIOORAPHIGAL AND HISTORIGAL received an ordinary education in the common schools. He began for himself at the age of twenty-one as an overseer, and early in 1861 he joined company F, Fourteenth Mississippi infantry in the v^estern army, and fought at Fort Donelson. He was captured and spent about seven and a half mouths in Camp Douglas. He was exchanged at Vicksburg, and afterward fought at Coffeeville, Baker's creek, Jackson, Dalton, and was in the Atlanta campaign. He then went back with General Hood to Franklin and Nashville, and after- ward joined General Johnston in North Carolina, with whom he surrendered after four years' hard service. Returning home after the war he engaged in farming, and in 1868 he was united in marriage to Miss America Richards, a native of Choctaw county, Miss., and the daughter of George W. and Lucinda Richards, the father a native of Alabama, and the mother of Georgia. The parents removed to Choctaw county, Miss., and afterward to Noxubee county, where Mr. Richards died in 1887. Mrs. Richards died about 1877. Both were Baptists, and he had followed planting all his life. They saw twelve of their children grow up and marry. To Mr. and Mrs. Triplett were born seven children, all of whom are living: Beulah A., wife of James M. Smith; George Edwin, Nimrod D, Samuel Orr, Laura Belle, Thomas Moore and John Henry. Since his marriage Mr. Triplett has lived on his present farm consisting of one thousand one hundred acres, and in connection with farming is quite extensively engaged in raising stock. He owns two hundred acres in another tract. He is a member of the Masonic order, formerly of Winston- ville lodge No. 277, was a charter member of Parkersville lodge No. 336, and has been secretary twelve years. He and Mrs. Triplett have been members of the Baptist church for many years, and are highly esteemed citizens. William E. Trotter is a successful planter and merchant of Clay county. Miss., and is well and favorably known to the majority of the residents of this section, for he has been a resident of the county since 1854. He was born in Lincoln county, Tenn. , in 1816, and when about five years of age was taken to Alabama by his parents and was there brought up on a plantation. Notwithstanding this, upon starting out in life for himself, it was as a clerk, and in 1852 he was sufficiently familiar with the business to embark in merchandising for himself at Moscow, Ala. Since becoming a resident of Mississippi he has carried on planting in connection with merchandising, and his plantation is a valuable one and beauti- fully located on the bank of the Tombigbee river. In 1842 he was married to Miss Sarah A. Moore, of-;Tennessee, a daughter of Maj. James Moore, of that state, and their union has resulted in the birth of these children; Mary F. (Kirk); John, who died at the age of two years; Charles M., also died when two years of age; James M., of Aberdeen; Sarah A. (Hodo), of West Point; Mattie A., wife of Dr. White, of West Point, Miss.; Ida (Dukemi- ner), who is deceased; Richard M., of West Point; Benjamin, a resident of Yinton, Clay county, Miss. ; Henry C, who died when two years old; Susie (Watts), of Starkville. Mr. Trotter is a member of the Masonic order, which he joined in Alabama in 1836, and while a resident of Moscow, Ala., in 1838, was appointed postmaster of that place by Martin Van Buren, who was then president of the United States. He has been postmaster at different places in Alabama and Mississippi ever since, a period of over fifty-three years. He and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church and are respected and honored by all who know them. Mr. Trotter is now in his seventy-fifth year, but carries his age remarkably well and looks much younger. He is a son of Dr. Thomas L. and Mary S. (Quarles) Trotter, who were born in 1777 and 1784, respectively. The former practiced medicine in Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee and Alabama, and being well posted in his profession, as well as on all the general topics of the day, he was successful and accumulated a comfortable compe- tency. He was a member of the Masonic fraternity, died in 1831 and his wife in 1861. MEM0IR8 OF Miaai88IPPI. ' 925 Hon. Jeff. Truly has early become a distinguished member of the bar, and during his career as an attorney he has shown himself to be endowed with superior ability, and his words are accompanied with weight and vigor. By hard study and conscientious practice his position is so well established that it is conceded by all competent judges that he ranks among the highest civilians. Mr. Truly has been deeply interested in everything per- taining to the welfare of Jefferson county, for in the town of Fayette he was born on the 2l8t of July, 1861. His father, E. H. Truly, was also born here, and was here united in marriage to Miss Mary Key, a native of Alabama, but reared in Mississippi. R.. H. Truly is a man of strong character, and intellectually is far the superior of the average man. He is personally acquainted with and has met socially nearly all the great statesmen of Mis- sissippi and the nation, and as he is very fond of traveling, and believes this to be a liberal education in itself, he has visited nearly all the great cities of the United States. He is of a very social and agreeable disposition, and his pleasant, winning manners, his kiiidly disposition and his intelligent conversation make him a most agreeable companion, and have won for him innumerable friends. Hon. Jeff. Truly had only limited school advantages in his boyhood, and is principally self-educated. Having always possessed a strong inclination for the study of law, he began the study of that profession in his native town, but later con- tinued to pursue his studies at St. Joseph, La., under Steele & Garrett, eminent attorneys of that place, and still later took a complete course in the law department of the University of New Orleans, completing the course before he attained his twenty- first birthday. After the completion of his course he returned to his home in Mississippi, and formed a part- nership with W. D. Torrey, his present partner, their union being blessed with abundant success from Ihe first. He has had some very important cases which he has brought to a successful issue, and the echo of his name and fame have extended over a wide territory. He has evinced quite an active interest in local politics, and in 1885 was chosen by his numerous friends to the state legislature, being one of the youngest members of that body, and distinctly in opposition to the administration at that time. He served as a mem- ber of the state campaign committee, also the state democratic committee, in both of which he distinguished himself. He is able and earnest in advocacy of what he thinks best calculated to promote the best interests of the country, and as he is studious and attentive to his business, abstemious "in his habits and laborious in research, he has never per- mitted the interests of his clients to suffer. He is at all times thoroughly prepared in his cases, and is rarely taken by surprise. His clients rely implicitly upon his word and his counsel. He was married in Payette, October 23, 1889, to Miss Mattie Whitney, a daughter of Dr. P. K. Whitney, whp is a native of Jefferson county and a member of one of the oldest and best known families in the county. Mr. and Mrs. Truly have one child, Ever- ette. Mr. Truly is a member of the Masonic fraternity and the Knights of Honor, and as he is a man of much native ability there is a bright future before him. John Thomas Trusty, Pine Valley, Miss., a successful merchant and planter of Yalo- busha county, was born in the state of Tennessee in the year 1840, and is a son of James G. and Eliza F. (Speary) Trusty, also natives of Tennessee. The maternal grandparents were natives of Pennsylvania and Canada. John Speary, the grandfather, was a millwi-ight who emigrated to Mississippi soon after 1830, and purchased a large tract of land in Pontotoc county, where he became an extensive real estate dealer. He afterward settled in Yalobusha county and put up a mill on Hurricane creek. There he lived until death, which came to him in 1858, at the age of sixty years. He was a Universalist in his religious faith. He accumulated a considerable property, and was highly respected by all 926 BIOGBAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL who knew him. He had two children: the mother of our subject and Mrs. Francis Tatum. Martha Speary, his wife, was born in Pennsylvania; she lived to be past seventy years of age. She was one of the charter members of the Methodist Episcopal church of Pine Valley, which was organized in 1840. The parents of Mr. Trusty were married in Will- iamson county, Tenn. , and came to Mississippi after the Speary family had removed to that state. The father is yet living, and is engaged in farming, being the owner of a consider- able estate. He is a member of the Baptist church, of which he has been a deacon since its organization. During the war he belonged to the militia, and in his political opinions he is democratic. His wife died in 1875. To them had been born thirteen children, five of whom are yet living: John Thomas is the eldest of these. He remained under the parental roof until the breaking out of the late war, when he enlisted in the Fifteenth Mississippi volunteer infantry, company F. He served until he was discharged at Chi- cago after the surrender. He was taken prisoner at Nashville, Tenn., while under Hood. He was wounded in the battle of Shiloh, by a spent shell, and again, in the battle of Cor- inth, he was knocked down by a spent shell, but was not disabled more than a few days. He was also at Franklin and Nashville, and in several skirmishes. In 1867 he was married to Mrs. Anna H. Bell, nee Palmore, a native of Virginia. She is one of a family of three sons and three daughters. Her mother died when she was but three years of age. She was first married to William A. Bell, a native of Winslow county, S. C. Of this marriage one child was born, Helen, the wife of Charles W. Wright, a resident of Arkansas. Of the sec- ond marriage five children have been born: Virginia, John L., William T. , Joseph H. (who died at the age of five years) and James R. Mr. Trusty is a member of the Tabernacle lodge No. 340, A. F. & A. M. Politically he affiliates with the democratic party, and in religious faith he is a Baptist. Since 1880. he has been engaged in the general mer- cantile trade, and is the proprietor of the Pine Valley store. He was commissioned post- master December 31, 1885, and has conducted the office in connection with his other busi- ness. He is the owner of several hundred acres of land, a large portion of which is under cultivation. Stockraising is also carried on extensively on this place. In these various industries our subject has call to exercise all of his business faculties, and that he has made a success of it is to be seen in the thrift and air of prosperity which pervades all his possessions. Joel A. Tucker owes his nativity to Marshall county, Miss., his birth occurring on the 7th of October, 1852, and although young in years, he is one of the substantial men of the county. He was the eldest in order of birth of four children born to Asa E. and Amanda E. (Ingram) Tucker, both natives of the Old Dominion. The father is a planter, has been very successful in life, and is one of the representative men of the county. He was president of the Bank of Sardis, where he resides, until on account of age and ill health he refused to serve any longer. He came to Mississippi at an early day, and became quite a noted char- acter in Panola county. Joel A. Tucker grew to manhood in Panola county, received his education in both public and private schools, and at the usual age of twenty-one years he began for himself as a planter. He started with some capital, and is now the owner of one thousand nine hundred and fifty-five acres of land, with four hundred acres under cultiva- tion. This farm is in a fine state of cultivation, and is considered one of the best in the county. Mr. Tucker is also the owner of a saw, gin and gristmill, a cotton and seedhuller. He was married in 1879 to Miss Irene F. Caldwell, who was born in Mississippi, and who is the daughter of Hon. W. W. and M. C. (Fowler) Caldwell, the father a native of Tennessee, and the mother of Alabama. Mr. Caldwell represented Panola county, Miss., in the state MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 927 legislature in 1884. Mr. and Mrs. Tucker's union has been blessed by the birth of four children: Willie B., deceased; Mary E., Asa C. and Casey L. lu his political views Mr. Tucker adhers closely to the democratic party. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, and he and his family hold membership in the Methodist church. He gives his hearty sup- port to all enterprises tending toward the growth and prosperity of the county. Mr. Tucker is the owner of a stone building in Courtland, a busy little town on the Illinois Central rail- road, sixty-five miles south of Memphis, and Mrs. Tucker is the owner of forty acres of land, two brick buildings in Batesville, and an interest in three hundred acres of land on Tallahat- chie river. Mr. Tucker comes of one of the oldest and most respected families in the county, and by his sociable ways has won a host of friends. J. W. Tucker, merchant, Chulahoma, Miss. Prominent among the successful business enterprises of Chulahoma stands that conducted by Tucker Bros. , the firm consisting of J. W. and his brother, Robert L. , both live, industrioiis merchants. They engaged in this enterprise in Chulahoma about 1880, and carry a stock of goods valued at |3,500, their annual business amounting to 120,000. Aside from this J. W. Tacker is the owner of one thousand three hundred and twenty acres of land, five hundred acres under cultivation and his principal crop is cotton. His farm is operated by renters principally. Mr. Tucker was born near Chulahoma, Marshall county, Miss., on the 24th of December, 1847, and is a son of Jesse C. and Mary E. (Port) Tucker, the father a native of Alabama, and the mother of North Carolina. They came to Mississippi with their parents when small, grew up and were married in Marshall county. They reared a family of thirteen children, eight sons and five daughters. The Tucker family was one of the earliest pioneers of the country, having removed from Tennessee to Mississippi in the thirties, when the country was full of Indians. Grandfather Tucker was a Baptist minister, and organized the church at Chulahoma and others in the surrounding country. He died in 1841, near Chulahoma. Jesse C. Tucker became a successful planter and died in 1868. The mother died in July, 1874. Ten of their children are now living, J. \\. being third in order of birth. In 1864, when but sixteen years of age, the latter enlisted in the Confederate army. Colonel Withers' regiment, and served until the close of the war. He afterward followed farming near Chulahoma. Previous to entering the army he had received a good practical education in the common schools, and his brother, Robert L., who had taught in the public schools for two years, took a commercial coarse at Memphis. The latter, who is the youngest of the boys, is six feet six inches in hight and weighs two hundred and thirty-four pounds. He was married in 1889 to Miss Matilda M. Odell, daughter of Denton and Fanny E. (Bloodworth) Odell, and they have one daughter, Robina E. He is the owner of farm land and a fine residence at Chulahoma. The Tucker family is well and favorably known all over Marshall county, and are excellent citizens and successful business men. J. W. Tucker is a member of the Methodist church, but his brothers, R. L. and B. C. , are members of the Baptist church. J. W. is also a member of the Masonic fraternity. Kate Tucker institute. The Kate Tucker institute, located at Byhalia, Miss., was founded in 1882 by Mrs. Kate E. Tucker, and is a shining monument that deserving merit has won its principal. By her indefatigable energy and industry, in the face of strong opposition and without capital, this institution has steadily grown in numbers, character, and especially in the esteem of its patrons, till it stands now among the first schools of the state. The great success of its noble work is realized in the many young teachers it has sent out, who are engaged in remunerative positions in this and other states. Their pride in their work reflects great credit upon their alma mater, whose training has fitted them for 928 BIOOMAPHJOAL AND HISTORICAL such success. The institution was chartered in 1889, and by special request of its patrons its present name was selected. The principal, Mrs. Kate E. Tucker, was raised and edu- cated in the school- famed city of Shelby villo, Ky. Her father, Mr. John Ross Doolan, died in 1854, when she was but six years old, leaving her mother with five small children to rear and educate. But the mother must have been animated by the enterprise that so eminently characterizes the daughter, for she not only reared, but she secured them the best educational advantages the town afPorded. The father being a Baptist the children were educated at the Baptist college of Shelbyville, then the most progressive, under that model teacher, the Rev. B. F. Hungerford. That the children responded to the ambition of the mother to leave them the priceless fortune of an education, is manifested in the fact that two of them, Prof. T. J. Doolan, of Finch ville, Ky., and Kate Eugenia, became teachers before they were seventeen. The latter filled with distinction a position as teacher in Bardstown, Ky. , from 1867 to 1870, when she came to Holly Springs, where she taught four years. Failing health obliged her for a period to abandon her loved profession. Like many others who visit the South, she became so charmed with the genial climate and the hospitality of its people that she determined to make it her future home. Again, in 1875, she accepted a position in the Winona Female college for one year, after which she returned to Marshall county, where she has since taught. From the first she has been a diligent reader of educational liter- ature. She has taken several normal courses, besides lessons in art, mathematics and pen- manship from celebrated specialists. In 1881 she was married to Hon. J. H. Tucker, of Marshall county, and the fall of the next year commenced the nucleus of Kate Tucker institute. Hon. J. H. Tucker, who is co-principal of Kate Tucker institute, waS born near Petersburg, Va., in 1840. His father, Joseph Tucker, moved to Marshall county in 1844. His mother, who became a widow when he was ten, managed admirably the estate left her, and spared no expense in the opportunities procured for her children. The greater portion of his education was acquired in Marshall county, till he entered the sophomore class in the University of Mississippi. He enlisted in the Eleventh Mississippi regiment soon after the first gun from Fort Sumter resounded, and served in General Bee's brigade in the first battle of Bull Run, where he lost his brother, Thomas Emmet. He was discharged, but soon re-enlisted in the Tenth Mississippi regiment, and served in Gen. James H. Chamlers' brigade, until he again resigned, and, on returning health, re-enlisted in General Forrest's cavalry. He was paroled at Gainesville, Ala. , and returned to his home to find it in ashes, and a comfortable fortune wasted by the ravages of war. He has been twice elected to the legislature of his state, which were the only interruptions in his vocation of planting, till 1882, when he became connected with the Kate Tucker institute. Hon. Edward Turner (deceased) was a man whose memory has been kept green in the hearts of the many who knew and loved him in life. His reputation remained unblemished throughout a long and useful public career, and his acts of charity, his liberality, his kind- ness of heart and his brilliant mental endowments, made him a favorite of all with whom he came in contact. He was born in Fairfax county, Va., on the 25th of November, 1778, but in 1786 was taken by his parents to the state of Kentucky, and in the healthful bluegrass regions of that state he was brought up. He was given the advantages of excellent schools, and in his early manhood graduated from the Transylvania college, soon after which he began the study of law with Col. George Nichols, and at the end of three years, when in his twenty- eighth year, he began practicing his profession. In 1802 he came to Natchez, Miss. , and as bis ability soon became known, he was elected a clerk of the house of representatives, and MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 929 was also the private secretary of Governor Claiborne. In September, 1802, he married a daughter of Col. Cato West, of Jefferson county, and to that county Mr. Turner removed and made his home. After a wedded life of nine years his wife was called from him, and in December, 1812, his union with Miss Eliza B. Baker, a native of New Jersey, was consum- mated. In 1815 he was elected to represent Adams county in the state legislature, and so admirably did he fill the obligations that were imposed upon him that for many years he was honored by re-elections. In 1816 the legislature confided to him the preparation of a digest of the statute laws, and at the time of the admission of Mississippi into the Union as a state, he was a member of the convention. He was twice elected speaker of the house of repre- sentatives, and in 1822 was appointed judge of the criminal court of Adams county, which led to his being elevated to the bench of the supreme and superior courts of the state by Governor Leake, and in 1830 received the appointment of attorney general. In 1834 he was elected chancellor of the state, but at the end of five years was elected judge of the high court of errors and appeals, during which time he displayed very superior mental endow- ments. Having a thorough knowledge of all the intricacies of the law, the most abstruse and complicated subjects were handled with ease and grace, and through his clear, forcible and convincing manner of expressing himself, were made plain and perceptible to the most ordinary understanding. When he retired from the bench he lacked three weeks of being sixty-five years of age, but, notwithstanding his advanced years, he was not long allowed to remain in retirement, but in 1844 was called to the state senate and for four years thereafter sat in the legislative halls of the state and assisted in making the laws by which he was to be governed. At the age of seventy years he withdrew from public life and spent the rernainder of his days at Woodlands, his pleasant home, situated one mile from Natchez, where he passed from life on the 23d of May, 1860, being then in his eighty-second year. He was a man of exceptionally noble character, generous to a fault, kind and considerate to his family, and a faithful and generous friend. He was fond of society and in social circles was esteemed for his rare conversational powers, his gracious and deferential manners. He possessed decided literary tastes, and had been an extensive reader on most subjects. He was a thirty-second degree Mason and for many years had been a devout member of the Episcopal church. In person he was of commauding presence, being six feet two inches in hight, and his complexion was fair. His widow survived him until September 16, 1878, when she, too, was called from life, having borne her husband four children: Mary Louisa, now the widow of John T. McMurran; Edward, who died in the month of August, 1823; Elizabeth Frances, who was born in July, 1827, and died the following year, and Elizabeth Frances (second), born December 7, 1829, and now the wife of Lemuel Parker Conner, a talented and successful lawyer. These two sisters live on the old homestead, which has been the abiding place of some member of the family since 1856, but the estate now comprises seventy-five acres. It was in former times a large cotton plantation and was very valuable. Henry C. Turner, merchant and planter, Canton, Miss., is one of the prominent men of Madison county, Miss. , who, singlehanded, have had to carve out his own career in life, and that he has been successful thus far is not to be doubted for a moment, when a glance is cast over his well-kept farm. He owns fourteen hundred acres of land, with eight hundi-ed acres under cultivation, and he is also engaged in merchandising, carrying a stock of goods valued at $500. He is wideawake and industrious, and being honest in his dealings and represen- tations merits the esteem with which he is regarded. He is one of the substantial citizens, and is ever ready with his means and influence to further any good cause. He was born in Wilcox county, Ala., on the 16th of August, 1844, and is the fifth of six children born to Reuben 930 BIOGRAPHICAL AND HI8T0BICAL P. and Phcebe A. (Bishop) Turner, natives of Georgia. The father, who followed planting all his life, came to Mississippi in 1858, and died in 1875. His wife died in 1870. His father was A. J. Turner, also of Georgia, and her mother was Patience (Alford) Bishop, of that state also. Henry C. Turner was reared in Georgia and Mississippi, and received his education in the private schools of the same. He has been married twice, first, in 1868, to Miss Emma P. Pace, a native of Mississippi, and the daughter of James M. and Amanda J. Pace, natives of Tennessee. They had one child, Emma M. , now deceased. In 1872 Mr. Turner married Miss Mattie E. HoUiday, who was born in Mississippi, and who is the daughter of Isaac N. and Elizabeth A. Holliday, both also natives of the Bayou state. To Mr. and Mrs. Turner were born four children: Trocher S., Ruloff P., Hooker and Grady S. Mr. Turner served during the late unpleasantness between the North and South, enlisting in 1863, in company C, Withers' light artillery, and was with the same a short time before the war ended. He was discharged in 1864 on account of ill health. Mr. Turner takes a prominent part in politics and is a nominee for the state legislature for his county on the democratic ticket. He and his family are members of the Methodist church. L. E. Turner is a native of Grenada county, Miss. , where he was born on the 2d of April, 1856, the eldest of five children born to the marriage of K. H. Turner and Martha Miller, the former of whom was born in South Carolina, and is by occupation a farmer. L. R. Turner was an attendant of the common schools of his native county up to the age of twelve years, at which time he entered college at Columbia, S. C. , in which institution he completed his junior year. He then read law for some time, but was not admitted to the bar, as he did not like the profession. In 1884 Mr. Turner was elected chancery clerk of Grenada county. Miss. , for one term, at the expiration of which he opened up a gen'eral mercantile establishment at Grenada, and for about one year his business was quite pros- perous. He then removed to his farm near the town of Grenada, where he remained for eighteen months, actively engaged in fitting it up for occupation. Of the nine hundred acres of land, of which he is nov>f the owner, he has six hundred acres under cultivation. Mr. Turcier came to Hinds cjuaty ia September, 1890, but until the month of January, 1891, remained in Raymond, when he purchased and moved to the Mrs. Estes' property, which contains two thousand two hundred and seventeen acres, of which nine hundred acres are at the present time given to pasture, the rest being under cultivation. His is one of the best improved plantations in Hinds county, the house alone costing 110,000 just after the war. Mr. Turner also has a five thousand acre tract in Tallahatchie county, but it is unimproved. Mr. Turner is a Master Mason and he and his estimable wife are members of the Episcopal church. He was married February 22, 1887, to Miss Evelyn Summers, a native of Hinds county, by whom he has one child: Lewis S. Mrs. Turner received her education chiefly at Bardstown, Ky., but did not get to complete her course of study on account of sickness. Mr. Turner is of a practical turn of mind, very wideawake and progressive, and although he is still a young man he has a beautiful and comfortable home, and bids fair to become very wealthy. Robert H. Turner, planter, and the present treasurer of Grenada county, was the youngest of five children born to his parents, Robert and Lovinda (Childs) Turner, his birth occurring in Abbeville district, S. C, on the 8th of October, 1825. The father was born on the Atlantic ocean in December, 1786, while his parents, Alexander and (Hood) Turner, were on their way to Charleston, S. C. , from Dublin, Ireland. Soon after landing at Charleston, Alexander's wife died, and he went on to Georgia, settling near Atlanta. The little son, Robert, who was left motherless, was taken and reared MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 931 by his aunt, Mrs. Anderson, in Abbeville district, where he grew to manhood. He was married there to Miss Childs, a native also of that district, who died in 1826, leaving five children: Eobert H. Turner being six months old at that time. The other children were Matilda, now the widow of Samuel Major, resides at Greenwood, Abbeville district, S. C. ; John C. , served as a soldier in the war and died at Tuscahoma, Miss., in 1870; Judith, was the wife of Wesley Major, and died at Abbeville, S. 0. , and Alexander died in South Carolina when young. The father was married the second time to Miss Dorotha Klugh, a ifative of Abbeville district, who bore him ten children, only one of whom is now living, Alexander K., who is a planter, and resides near Grenada. Those deceased are Paschal D., who died of consumption at the age of fifty years; he served during the Civil war, and received a medal for being the best and bravest soldier in a cavalry company during a march from the siege of Vicksburg; William A., was also a soldier in the Civil war, and was wounded and taken prisoner at Fisher's creek, but who was soon after paroled; he then remained with a family by the name of Jones until able to return to the company; he died in December, 1889; Rebecca, was the wife of Willis Davis, and was the mother of four children, all born in Mississippi; Carrie, was the wife of Stephen Dunlap, who resided near Grenada, and there she died, leaving two children; Mollie, was the wife of D. L. Holcombe, who resided at Tuscahoma, this county, and there she died leaving two children; Wesley was killed at the battle of Shiloh; he was a young man; James died at Tuscahoma, at the age of twelve years, and an infant, named Wesley, died in South Carolina. Mr. Turner came to Mississippi, with the younger members of the family, in 1846, settled at Tuscahoma, and opened up a large tract of land. There he reared his family. His death occurred in 1868, but his wife had passed away five years previously. Both were worthy members of the Methodist church. In politics he was democratic. Eobert H. Turner attained his majority in South Carolina, and came to Mississippi on horseback when a single man. He located at Tuscahoma, and there continued to reside until 1880, when he moved to Grenada, Miss. He selected as his life companion Miss Martha S. Miller, who was born in Tennessee in 1831, and who was the daughter of Lewis and Sybil Miller, both natives of the Palmetto state. Mrs. Turner was a well educated lady, having attended James A. Girault's school, and the school at Spring Hill, Miss. She was a member of the Methodist church, and was a noble and exemplary Christian. Her death occurred in December, 1876. To this union were born six children: Lewis R., who is cashier at the bank at Bolton, Miss.; Matilda, wife of B. R. Turnipseed, resides in South Carolina; Venie, is single, resides at Grenada, and is a highly accomplished young lady; Ellen, is the wife of Dr. J. H. Bitzer, of Temple, Tex.; Donna, married Harry O. Rollins, and resides at Greenwood, Miss., and Johnnie W. died in 1878. During the late unpleasantness between the South and North, or in 1862, Mr. Turner entered Gwaltney's company, Brumley's regiment, and soon after, when the Third Mississippi cavalry was formed, he became a member of it, and was in Colonel Barksdale's company. He was made captain by election of the company and participated in the following battles: Col- lierville, Jackson, Harrisburg, Atlanta and Jonesboro, besides numerous skirmishes. Mr. Turner received a contusion wound in his right arm at Colliei-ville, Tenn. Prom Pollard, Ala., to Pensacola, his regiment had a running fight with the Union soldiers and put them to flight. Captain Turner was paroled at Ramsey, Ala., on the 12th of May, 1865, and then returned to the homeplace, where he has since been engaged in planting. In 1889 he was elected county treasurer, which position he has held successfully up to the present time. He is a public-spirited citizen and is deeply interested in educational matters. While a resi- dent of Tuscahoma he was a trustee of the schools, and held other positions of like character. 033 BIOOBAPHICAL AND HiaTOBIOAL He owns a large tract of land, but is now manager for Captain Mister on the latter' s planta- tion, although he resides in Grenada. He is quite active in politics and votes with the dem- ocratic party. Dr. K. J. Turner, physician and surgeon, Bay St. Louis, Hancock county, Miss. , was born in Murfreesboro, Tenn., July 30, 1841, and is a son of Thomas J. B. and Sarah (Jetton) Turner. The parents were natives of middle Tennessee, where they lived and died. The father was a planter by occupation. He reared a family of five sons, three of whom served in the late war. The Doctor was the eldest of the family. He was reared in Murfreesboro, and received his literary education there. He began the study of medicine at an early age, and was graduated from the medical department of the University of Tennessee at the age of nineteen years. When the war b&gan he enlisted as a private in company I, First Tennes- see regiment. He was afterward appointed assistant surgeon. Confederate States Army, and served until, the close of the conflict. He had charge of a hospital at Kings- ton, Ga. While on field duty at Chickamauga he was wounded by a cannon shot and was picked up for dead. He finally survived, and Was in the hospital as a patient only two weeks. He was twice captured and left in the lines with his wounded. After the surrender he returned to Murfreesboro and began practice at Salem, a little town near Murfreesboro. Desiring to perfect himself further in his profession he entered Vanderbilt university and took a course of medical lectures. In 1878 he removed to Nashville, Tenn., and practiced there until 1881. He then came to Hancock county, Miss., and settled at Nicholson, where he was physician to the Northeastern railroad until 1883. In that year he removed to Bay St. Louis and has established himself in a large and paying practice. He is president of the board of health and is physician for several insurance companies. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, and he and his wife are worthy members of the Method- ist Episcopal church. The Doctor was married in 1865, to Miss Laura Butler, of Ruther- ford county, Tenn., a daughter of Capt. William S. Butler. They have one son living, F. B. Turner. Dr. Turner is a man who is interested in all the enterprises tending to the development of the county, and is a liberal contributor to benevolent movements. Robert L. Turner, M. D. , of the firm of Smith & Turner, physicians and surgeons, EUis- ville, Miss., was born in Jasper county, Miss., July 8, 1865. His parents were the Kev. Martin and Susan M. (Thompson) Turner, natives of Alabama and Georgia, respectively. The father was born in Wilcox county of the state just mentioned, November 1, 1838, and was the son of Martin D. and Harriet (Haddol) Turner, who were natives of Georgia and South Carolina, respectively, and removed to Mississippi in 1841, and thence to Texas in 1865, where the mother died in 1868, and the father in 1869. They were the parents of thirteen children, twelve of whom grew to be men and women. Rev. Martin C. Turner came with his parents to Mississippi in 1841, and has resided in the state ever since that date. In May, 1861, he enlisted in company F, of the Sixteenth Mississippi regiment, known as the Jasper grays, and served in that organization until the close of the war. April 2, 1865, he was taken prisoner at the battle of Port Gregg, near Petersburg, and was taken to Point Lookout, Md., where he was kept until June, 1865, when he was released and returned home. During the service he returned home on a furlough in 1864, and was married, September 16, 1864, to Susan M., a daughter of Zachariah and Charity (Duckworth) Thomp- son, who was born in Georgia, November 16, 1836. In 1866 Rev. Mr. Turner was elected assessor of Jasper county, and served in that capacity four years. He was afterward elected again and served three years. He has been a member of the Baptist church since 1853, and was licensed to preach in 1867, and was regularly ordained in 1874. In 1879 he was elected MEMOIRS OP MISSISSIPPI. 933 to the office of chancery clerk of Jasper county, Miss., and served two successive terms, during which time he attended to his ministerial duties also. In March, 1891, he removed to Ellisville, Miss. He has had born to him the following named children: Martin F., William A., Eugene L., Susan M., Ida L. (deceased), and Dr. Eobert L., above mentioned, the eldest member of the family. Dr. Turner was educated at the Agricultural and Mechan- ical college at Starkville, Miss., from which he was graduated in 1887. In 1888 he began reading medicine under Dr. C. W. Bufkin, of Vossburg, Miss., and in the winter of 1888-9 he attended lectures at the University of Pennsylvania, at Philadelphia, after which he returned to Mississippi, and resumed his studies, which he continued there until the winter of 1889-90, when he attended lectures at the Tulane university, at New Orleans, La. In the winter of 1890-91 he took his concluding course of lectures at the institution last mentioned, and the degree of M. D. was conferred upon him April 1, 1891. He returned immediately to Ellisville, Miss., and entered into a partnership with Dr. Sidney O. Smith. Drs. Smith and Turner rank among the best educated, most skillful and most successful physicians and surgeons in the county, and have a large and increasing practice. The social, political and business history of this section is filled with the deeds and doings of selfmade men, and no man in Jefferson county is more deserving the appellation than Robert Tweed, for he marked out his own career in youth, and has steadily followed it iTp to the present, his prosperity being attributable to his earnest and persistent endeavor, and to the fact that he has always consistently tried to follow the teachings of the golden rule. He was born in Ayrshire, Scotland, June 2, 1821, his parents, William and Mary (Orr) Tweed, being also born in that country, the father following the occupation of merchandis- ing at Irvine, Ayrshire, until his death, which occurred when the subject of this sketch was an infant. After Mrs. Tweed became a widow she bravely took up the duties of life and con- tinued her husband's business until she was called to her long home, which was in the year 1831. Robert remained in his native town until he was ten years of age, and after the death of his mother he spent four years in an adjoining village, Stevenson, attending school. He then went to the city of Glasgow, where he engaged in clerking, continuing for about four years, when he decided that in the New World there were better things in store for him, and time has proved the wisdom of his views. In 1839 he immigrated to the United States, and in the month of January, 1840, arrived in Rodney, Miss., and his first efforts in the way of making a living here was as a school teacher, a calling he followed for some four months, then accepted a position as clerk in a mercantile establishment, and during the four years that were given to this calling he managed to save some of his earnings, and in 1844 engaged in business for himself. After following that calling in Rodney up to 1850, he moved to the city of New Orleans, and there for a number of years, followed the same occupation. From 1857 to 1860 he was in business in New York, but in 1861 again returned to New Orleans, and in that city and Mexico he resided up to 1869, when he once more returned to Rodney, at which place he again opened a mercantile establishment. Here he has been in business ever since; and although he commenced life a poor boy, and obtained only a small salary by clerking, he acquired excellent and methodical business habits, and these, in connection with a naturally fine mind, perseverance and industry, have acquired for him a comfortable income. In former years he did a business at this point of from $50,000 to 160,000 annu- ally, but of late years business has been reduced, by the railroads cutting off the more dis- tant trade, and his sales have not been nearly so large, amounting to about $30,000 each year. He was married in Philadelphia, in 1851, to Miss Virginia Van Dxem, a native of Pennsylvania, reared and educated in the city of Philadelphia, a daughter of Louis Van 034 BIOORAPHIOAL AND HISrOItlOAL Uxem, a merchant of that city. For a number of years prior to her marriage, Mrs. Tweed was a teacher in Mississippi. She and her husband have two children: Mary, wife of Eev. J. J. Uhisholm, of Winchester, Ky., and Robert Tweed, Jr., a merchant of Wilkesbarre, Penn. Mr. and Mrs. Tweed are members of the Presbyterian church, and in this church Mr. Tweed is an elder, and is superintendent of the Sunday-school, in which capacity he has served for some forty years. They are earnest Christians; and although Mr. Tweed is nearly seventy years of age, he is remarkably well preserved, and gives promise of spending many more years of usefulness in this vicinity. The sons of Scotland are fairly represented in Jefferson county, and although with characteristic modesty they do not assume the bril- liancy in the forum, yet they hold conspicuous places in many pursuits, which makes the county of Jefferson a substantial star in the galaxy of Mississippi's many interesting counties; and prominent among these is Mr. Tweed. He and his wife lost two children: Louisa, who died in Brooklyn, N. Y. , at the age of four years, and Clara, who died in Rodney. Col. P. A. Tyler, a well-known citizen of Holly Springs and a man universally esteemed and respected, is the eldest child born to Nathan and Eliza (Brooks) Tyler. His paternal ancestors were of English descent, and settled in Massachusetts soon after the Pilgrims. On the maternal side the Brooks came over in the Mayflower. Col. F. A. Tyler was born in Massachusetts in March, 181'i, and was educated in Brown's university. Providence, R. I. He began the study of law at Bangor, Me., and also attended the law school at Cincinnati, being admitted to the bar by the supreme court of Ohio, in 1885. He then went to Vicks- burg, Miss., and entered the office of Prentiss & Guion. In 1836 or 1837 he purchased the Vicksburg Register, the tirst paper published in that place, and conducted this until 1839, when he sold to William H. McCargle. In May, 1839, he located in Grenada, Miss., formed a partnership with E. H. Fisher, and after practicing there one year bought a paper which he conducted for several years. He subsequently removed to Panola, started the first paper in that place, did well, and remained there for two years. He then bought a pla,nta- tion twelve miles north of Grenada, and after two years began the study of theology, at the Lane seminary at Cincinnati. During this time he boarded with Dr. Lyman Beeeher. He was licensed and ordained in Mississippi in 1848, and began preaching at Grenada, spend- ing twelve years in the ministry. He then removed to Memphis, having been elected by the Memphis synod to establish a church paper, called the Presbyterian Sentinel, at that place. This he conducted up to the war. He later became connected with the Memphis Appeal, of which he was for a time editor in chief, and he was also president of the Appeal Publishing company. He was elected superintendent of the schools of Shelby county, Tenn. , during 1871 and 1872, and then went to Washington city, where he edited the Sunday Gazette. In 1878 he came to Holly Springs, and took charge of the Holly Springs South, with which he continued until about 1886. During that time he did much to advance the interests of the place. He was married, in 1840, to Miss Virginia Ann Townes, daughter of Armstead Townes, of Virginia, a prominent man in the early days of the state. Mrs. Tyler died in 1879 leav- ing a son, who now resides at Gainesville, Tex. , and who is a prosperous merchant. They had five children, all of whom died previous to the death of the mother. Mr. Tyler was married at Holly Springs in June, 1880, to Mrs. Rosa Goodlow, daughter of Roger Barton (see sketch), and one child is the result of this union, Roger Barton. Socially Colonel Tyler is a member of the Masonic and Odd Fellows orders. It is said that he gave more to the Con- federate cause, according to his means, than any man in Memphis. He is now living a semi- retired life, though ably filling the office of magistrate of Holly Springs, and is engaged in literary work. He is a well-preserved and courteous gentleman. MEMOIRS OP MISSISSIPPI. 935 James M. Tyler, tlie proprietor of a sawmill, farmer and postmaster of Bogue Chitto, Lincoln county, Miss. , is a son of Derrell M. and Elizabeth (Jones) Tyler. He was born in 1847, in what was then known as Lawrence county, within ten miles of his present residence. He is now one of the most prominent and popular men of this town and county. His father was born in 1822, and was a son of Daniel Tyler, a native of South Carolina, who came to Mississippi among the pioneers of this section, bringing with him his wife, who was Miss Elizabeth Sistrunk, also a native of South Carolina. They lived to a good old age, and reared a large and respectable family. He was a whig in politics, and was a member of the Baptist church. Derrell M. Tyler was the youngest child but one, and was reared within a short distance of where he now lives, and is engaged in farming. He served in the militia during part of the late war. From principle he was a strong Union man, and for many years he has been connected with the Baptist church. His wife. Miss Elizabeth Jones, was a daughter of Vincent Jones, of South Carolina, and who was a soldier in some of the early wars. He came to Mississippi soon after his marriage, where he accumulated some property, consisting of land and negroes, becoming what was considered well-to-do. He died just before the war, and professed religion on his deathbed. His wife died about two years afterward. She was a member of the Baptist church. Politically her husband was a lifelong whig. They had children named as follows, foiir of whom are yet living, including the mother of our subject: Martha, became the wife of Rev. Bailey, a very aged mininster, who lives in this county; Mrs. Emily Busby, a widow, residing in this county, and who has raised a large family; Margaret, who became the wife of John A. Grear, of this county. Those deceased were Andrew V., Zacharias Berry; Mrs. Dolly Grear, Mrs. Phebe McLendon and Mrs. Cynthia Brister, who was the eldest child, and who died in 1871 (see sketch of B. E. Brister). To the parents of Derrell Taylor were born eight children, four of whom were sons: William M. died in 1888, leaving a wife and three children; Mrs. D. Summers; Mrs Dolly McCuUough, and Mrs. Emily Bailey, three of the daughters are residents of this county; Yincent Lafay- ette, who was accidentally shot in 1889, was postmaster of Brookhaven, his wife being appointed to succeed him, and is holding that office at the j^resent time; another daughter, Mrs. Martha Norman, is a resident of Pike county; Ira W. Tyler is a merchant at Bogue Chitto, Miss. Our subject is the second child in order of birth, and he attained his majority in this county, living on the home place until he was twenty-two years of age. He received his education principally at the common schools of his home. He was married February 21, 1871, and began farming in Lincoln county, near the old plantation. In the fall of that year, he was elected a member of the board of supervisors. Iq 1873 he was elected assessor, after which he was again elected a member of the board of supervisors. He was re-elected assessor in 1 879. Mr. Tyler is the owner of a fine plantation near Bogue Chitto, and of a sawmill four miles distant from his plantation, which is connected with Bogue Chitte by a tramway. He is also largely engaged in ginning. He was married to Miss Mary L. Brent, a native of Pike county, who was reared in what is now Lincoln county. She was a daughter of Jesse M. Brent, also a native of Pike county, and whose wife was Miss Mary Williams, and who was born in Lawrence county. Her mother died in 186(1; her father is yet living. To her were born two children: James M., a miller and a farmer of this county, and Mrs. Tyler. Mr. Brent is now living with his third wife, by whom he has had five children, and he also had two by his second wife. To Mr. and Mrs. Tyler have been born nine children: James C, Amanda Belle, Frankie E., Louis L, Jesse M., Derrell M., a baby called Pet, Willie W., aged five, and Mary E., who died at the age of ten years. Mr. and Mrs. Tyler are members of the Baptist church, of which he has been clerk almost continuously ever since his identifi- 936 BIOGRAPHIGAL AND niSTORIOAL cation with that organization, in 1S7I. He is a member of the Masonic order and a Knight of Honor. Politically he is a republican. Rev. John Tyler Christian, D. D. The subject of this sketch was born in Fayette county, Ky., near old Fort Boonesboro, December 14th, 1854. His mother was a Miss Martinie, a granddaughter of Charles Tyler. He thus comes of two of the oldest families of the state — the Christians and Tylers having emigrated to Kentucky either with Daniel Boone, or soon after that historical pioneer wen#to the state. Dr. Christian was born on a farm, and remained upon the farm until his seventeenth year. He then entered Bethel college and graduated with distinction from that institution in 1876. Soon after his graduation he moved to Mississippi and took the pastoral care of the Baptist church at Tupelo. It had been his intention to practice law, and he was already preparing himself for the bar, when he was called to preach. He consulted not with flesh or blood, but enthusiastically entered upon his work as a preacher. While pastor at Tupelo he was married to Miss Evylyn Quin, of West Point, Miss., and to her wise counsel and help he owes much of his distinction. After hav- ing preached six years in Mississippi with much success, he became pastor of the First Baptist church, Chattanooga, Tenn. The church grew rapidly, and nearly five hundred members were added to its fellowship during his pastorate. For over four years he has been the efficient missionary secretary of the Baptist denomination for Mississippi. In 1890 he received from Bethel college the honorary degree of doctor of divinity. As a mati Dr. Christian is sunshiny and genial, and consequently numbers his friends by hundreds. He is one of the best known men in the state, and while he is progressive and pronounced in his opinions, he is popular with all. He is a strong preacher and eminently evangelical. He has marked ability as a writer, and has been a frequent contributor for newspapers and magazines. During the present year he has published a volume upon Immersion, the Act of Christian Baptism. The book is having a remarkable sale, Three editions have already been called for, and the press is veiy pronounced in its praise. He is scarcely yet in the prime of life, and if he lives out the allotted time allowed man upon the earth, many years of service are doubtless yet before him. H. L. Tynes, M. D., Tynes, Tishomingo county. Miss., was born in Tuscaloosa county, Ala., February 20, 1850, a son of Eobert P. and Eliza Ann (Berry) Tynes. His father was a native of Virginia, and his mother of Georgia. They were married in Alabama and lived there for twenty years thereafter, where Mr. Tynes was engaged in planting and a portion of the time held a position as a bookkeeper for Robert Jamison, of Tuscaloosa county, a mail contractor who operated several stage lines and mail routes. Mr. Tynes and wife had twelve children, seven sons and five daughters, of whom six sons and two daughters lived to maturity. The family removed from Alabama to Mississippi in 1855, and bought land and located in Itawamba county, where Mr. Tynes engaged in planting, and accumulated con- siderable property in the period before the war, owning a good quantity of land, about fifty slaves, and having a snug sum of money at interest. He was a practical, progressive man of affairs, who had no political aspirations whatever. He took a deep interest in educa- tional and religious matters and was a consistent and helpful member of the Presbyterian church. He died in 1888 in Itawamba county, his wife having died in the same county in 1874. H. L. Tynes, M. D., began life for himself at the age of eighteen as a clerk in Brownville, Miss., a connection which he continued for four years. At the end of that period he. became a drug clerk in the same town in the employ of Smith & Brown. There he remained for the next two years, reading medicine in the meanwhile, and in 1874 he went to Mobile, Ala. , where he took a course in the Alabama Medical universitv. Return- MEMOIRS OP MISSISSIPPI. 937 ing home he soon afterward located in Union county, where he practiced his profession with considerable success until 1877, when he returned to Mobile and finished his course, graduating in the spring of 1877, with the degree of doctor of medicine. After this he again took up the practice of medicine in Union county, where he remained until the spring of 1880, when he came to Tishomingo county and located near Bay Springs. He built up an extensive practice and had a reputation among the people of. being one of the most successful physicians in the county ; while in (be profession he was regarded as being a man of much ability and undoubted skill. He was married, in 1872, to Miss Mattie A. Eogers, a daughter of Hugh Rogers, who has borne him nine children, five sons and four daughters: Carrie L., Myrtle V., Eoxie N., Humbert A., Robert R., Lucien Q. O. L., Clara Ann, Henry L. and James S. The Doctor is the owner of two hundred and forty acres of land, eighty acres of which are under cultivation. He pays very little personal attention to planting, however, his practice consuming his entire time. Though he is in no sense a practical politician, he takes a keen interest in all movements inaugurated for the benefit of his fellow-citizens. He has never been an aspirant for any official position, but, as a matter of convenience to his neighbors, he has for the past six years acted as postmaster of Tynes postoffice, which was named in his honor. The farmers' movements attracted his attention to a great extent, and he was the organizer and first president of the first wheel organized in Mississippi, of which he was at the head for two terms. He has always been a liberal contributor to schools, churches and all laudable enterprises, and is regarded as a useful and helpful citizen, whose presence in the community is a benefit to its general interests and an aid and encouragement to its citizens. (SHAPTBP^ XXI. A FEW SPECIAL NOTICES, U. 'FECIAL sketches in this work would be incomplete without mention of Alfred Augustus Ulman of Waveland, Miss. , who has given a greater impetus to the man- ufacturing interests of the state than any other one man. He was born in New brlea'ns, La., December 19, 1846, and is the son of James A. and Ellen (McDonald) Ulman. His father was born in Boston, Mass., and came to New Orleans in 1836, where he was a con- tractor and builderfor some years. In 184S he removed to Bay St. Louis, Miss., where he car- ried on the same business. He has been prominently identified with the history of the place since his residence, there began. For a number of years he was mayor of the place, and has also served on the board of supervisors. Having more than attained his three score years and ten, he has retired from active business pursuits, and leads a quiet life at the Bay. His wife was a native of Ireland. They reared a family of two sons and three daughters, of whom Alfred A. is the eldest. He was but five years of age when his parents 988 BIOORAPHIOAL AND HISTORIOAL removed to the place. He wms educated at St. Stanislaus college, and early ia life started out to seek his fortune. His iirst enterprise, was a blacksmith shop and a blackmgbrush factory; he carried on this business for some years. He served in the latter part of the Civil war under General Forrest. He was but sixteen years of age. When the war was over, in- stead of yielding to despondency, he promptly Ix^gan prospecting for the future. He went North, and after a thorough examination of the great industries of that section, returned to his' home, fully convinced that the n«iiral advantages of the South were superior to those of the North, and that the employment of the same means would insure similar results. Buoyed by this inspiration, he threw into the enterprise all his energies, and the end of the beginning was the woolen mills at Ulmanville, which are located within the corporation of Waveland. The spacious warehouses, the business offices, the extensive stores, and the operatives' cottages are models of convenience and taste. The factories are furnished with modern machinery, and the product of the looms finds a ready market throughout the South. When the woolen mills were established, a general store and sawmill were also put into operation, and the whole is conducted with an exactitude and harmony of which no common man is master. Mr. Ulman was elected mayor of Waveland in August, 1890. He adheres to the principles of the democratic party, and was a delegate to the convention of the state for 1891. In 1890 he was a delegate to the constitutional convention. He is vice president of the Homestead Building and Loan association, and was one of the originators of the Gaslight and Ice factory. In fact there is no home enterprise of importance that has not felt a strong impetus from his touch. He is the largest individual taxpayer in Hancock county, owning a vast amount of land and real_estate. Mr. Ulman is a man of many fine traits of character; he is generous and charitable, and his friends are the masses. He is deeply appre- ciative of the loyalty of his operatives, which he has rewarded by liberal gifts and the kindest consideration. He was married in 1873 to Miss Emma Nicholson. He is a devout memljer of the Catholic church. James A. Ulman, Bay St. Louis, Miss., was at one time one of the most active business men of Hancock county, but he has retired, and is now enjoying the fruits of his labors. He was born in Boston, Mass., in 1819, and is a son of Melchi and Martha (Smith) Ulman, natives of England. The parents were early settlers of Massachusetts, where they passed their last days. The father was a mechanic by trade. They reared a family of nine children, three of whom are living: Mary A., resides in Cambridgeport, Mass., and is now eighty - two years of age; Maria J., lives in the same place, aad James A., the subject of this sketch. He was reared and educated in Boston, and was trained to the occupation of a builder. At the age of twenty years he went to New Orleans, La., and soon made a place for himself among the best known builders and contractors of the South. He had large contracts in Louisiana and Texas, and was very successful in all his dealings. In 1848 he removed to Bay St. Louis, Miss., and two years later he brought his family, and has since made it his home. He has put up a vast number of buildings in the surrounding territory, which will be a monument to his industry and ability for years to come. During his residence in the South, Mr. Ulman has passed through many trying periods. In the epidemics that have at different times swept the South, he has nursed the sick and buried the dead ; the latter office he has performed unaided when there were none to help. During four years of the war he was at Selma, Ala., when he was in the state service. Since his residence in Bay St. Louis he has been prominently identified with the public affairs of that place. He was mayor for several terms, and was appointed mayor by Governor Ames for a short time. In 1852, 1853 and 1854 he was a member of the board of supervisors, and did most efficient service to his 'f^^ MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 939 county. In 1845 Mr. Ulman was married in New Orleans to Ellen McDonald. They have five children living: A. A., Clara A., Eosabella, Mary E., and James A. The father is a member of the Masonic fraternity, and was master of his lodge for a number of years. Mrs. Ulman died in 1889. S. E. Upshaw, Craigs, Miss., was born in Holmes county, Miss., in 1856, and is a son of Samuel W. and Margaret A. (Terrall) Upshaw, natives of Virginia. The father removed with his family to Holmes county about the year 1845, and engaged in farming, and to some extent in the mercantile trade. He then disposed of his commercial interests, and devoted himself exclusively to agriculture. He died in 1865, but the mother still survives. They reared a family of ten children, seven of whom are still living. Young Upshaw grew to manhood in the midst of husbandry, receiving but a limited education. The common school had not then reached its present advanced development, and many a lad of pioneer days was but poorly equipped for the battle of life, so far as literary attainment was con- cerned. At the age of nineteen years he began life for himself, hiring out on a plantation; he has always been industrious and economical, and was enabled to save a considerable amount from his wages. In 1885 he was married to Mrs. Betty Upshaw, widow of W. E. Upshaw, a brother of our subject. Mrs. Upshaw is a daughter of Thomas and Adaliue (Hill) Singleton, and upon her mother's side is connected with one of the earliest families of Yazoo county and one of much prominence in South Carolina. Mr. Upshaw now owns, on Silver creek, a fine farm of four hundred acres in cultivation, and as much more in timber. It is one of the best improved plantations in the county; he has a pleasant dwelling house; his tenant houses and barns are neat and in good repair, and all his surroundings are indica- tive of the thrift and wise management of the owner. In the cultivation of his lands he employs all the modern improvements in machinery, and reaps abundant harvests. Mrs. Elenora C. Urquhart was born on Lake Washington, in Mississippi, in 1838, to John A. and Sarah Steen (JefEeries) Miller, the former of whom was born in Georgetown, Ky., and the latter in Mississippi. Mr. Miller came to this state at the age of seventeen years, and after a time engaged in banking in Natchez, later removed to New Orleans, La., where he was in the cofEee business for a number of years, at the satae time following the occupa- tion of a planter in that state, a calling he continued until his death, which occurred at his home, Lelna plantation, in 1875, at which time he was the owner of a large estate. His father was John Miller, a native of Kentucky, a planter by calling, who lived and died near Georgetown, in his native state. The Millers are of German descent and possess the thrift, perseverance and energy characteristic of the German people. The maternal grand- parents were James and Priscilla (Shelby) JefEeries, the town of Shelby ville, Ky., being named for the latter's family. She died near Port Gibson, being the owner of a large plantation at the time of her death. Mrs. Urquhart was reared principally in this state, for some time attending school at Port Gibson, being afterward a student at Patapsco institute, near Baltimore, Md., from which institution she was graduated at the age of seventeen years. She was married in 1859 to William Urquhart, a cotton merchant of New Orleans, and from the time of her marriage until the death of her husband, was a resident of that city, with the exception of two years during the war, which they spent in Europe. His father, David Urquhart, was born in New Orleans, he and his wife becoming the parents of ten children: David, who died in New Orleans when a lad; Anna, who married Baron De Boigne, and is now residing in Paris, France; Emma, Rosalie and Eloise, who died in Paris, France, and were buried in Pere la Chaise cemetery, of Paris; Georgine was married to Robert McLane, minister to France under Cleveland, having formerly been minister to China and Japan GGG 940 BIOGRAPHICAL AND HiaTORIGAL under Buchanan. He was also minister to Mexico when the war began, being afterward a mem- ber of congress from Maryland, and still later filled the position of governor of that state; Eobert was a sugar planter in Louisiana, and is now deceased; James also followed the same occupation in that state, and is now deceased; Angelica, also deceased, married Henry Living- ston, a native ol New York; William, the husband of the subject of this sketch, comes next in order of birth; and David, the latter being now a retired cotton merchant of New Orleans. Mrs. Urquhart inherited her father's home, and has lived on it since 1875. She is the third of four daughters, the eldest of whom, Martha Priscilla, married F. A. Metcalfe, a native of Mississippi, of which state he was also a planter; Sarah Hannali married William Stirling, a planter of Louisiana, and Mary Georgiana married C. H. Smith, a native of Missouri. Mrs. Urquhart bore her husband six children: Sadie Steen, wife of J. B. Ferguson, a native of Kentucky, now living in Kansas City, Mo. ; William, who is located near Bristol, Tenn. ; Eloise, wife of McDuffin Hampton, a son of Gen. Wade Hampton, of South Carolina, who now resides in Bristol, Tenn., a civil engineer; Corinne, wife of William Griffin, a lawyer in Greenville; John, who died in Kansas City, Mo., in 1890; and George, who is in Bristol, Tenn. Mrs. Urquhart and her children are members of the Episcopal' church, and are highly esteemed wherever they have made their home. She is the owner of two thousand acres of land, one thousand two hundred acres of which are under cultivation, three hundred of which have been opened under her direction, and on this place she has put about $10,000 worth of improvements, her home being now a beautiful and comfortable one. She makes a charming and entertaining hostess, for all who enter within the portals of her home are made to feel welcome. She has always endeavored to make her home a happy one for her children, and that she has succeeded is abundantly testified in the warm affection and honor they bear her. S. T. Ussery is a planter who, in his operations, displays those sterling, characteristic and honorable principles so necessary to a successful career in any calling. He was born on the 2d of November, 1848, to Samuel and Mary D. (Shotwell) Ussery, both natives of South Carolina. The father removed to Tennessee about 1820, and after remaining there two years came to Mississippi, and entered and purchased about two thousand acres of land. Although he began life a poor man, before the war he paid tax on nearly 175,000 worth of property. He was a practical business man throughout his life, never following any occupation but farming, and died in 1878. He had four sons who served in the Confed- erate army during the war. One died at Danville, Ky., and another, who held the rank of lieutenant, was killed at Jonesboro, Ga. S. T. Ussery attended the common schools near his home until he was about twenty years of age, attending mostly during the winter months, at the end of which time he began planting for himself. His father gave him one hundred and sixty acres of land, loaned him a mule for one year, and boarded him for the same time. With heart and soul he entered upon his work and at the age of twenty-three began dealing in mules, buying and selling in Tennessee and St. Louis, and continued to carry on this busi- ness until he attained his twenty-eighth year, when he gave up this -calling. He sold one year for J. P. Brownloe, on commission, in Missouri. During the one winter that he followed this calling he made considerable money, his operations as a stockdealer and planter being also prosperous. Of the nine hundred and forty acres of which he is now the owner, he has five hundred acres under cultivation, and on this land is a fine artesian well one hundred and forty-five feet deep, which throws a stream of water one and one-half inch in diameter. There are also good springs on the place. Mr. Ussery has just completed a dwelling house at a cost of 12,500 and a barn that will shelter forty head of mules, both of which buildings are among the best and finest in this part of the state. Formerly Mr. Ussery operated a saw- MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 941 mill for twelve years, during which time he marketed all his valuable timber, a fact which he now regrets very much, although the money which he thus obtained was very much needed, for, a short time prior to this, he had lost by fire in Columbia about thirty-six bales of cotton. He now has on his plantation a steam cottongin, which has a capacity of about three hundred bales of cotton a year, about sixty of which he controls as the product of his own land. Mr. Ussery is also quite an extensive raiser of mules, but does not give as much attention to rais- ing horses as formerly, for he finds they are not as remunerative as the mules. He has four- teen mule colts, which were foaled in the spring of 1890-91, and sired by a wellbred jack of which he and his brother are the owners. About 1881 he opened a mercantile establishment on his plantation. He carries a well-selected stock of general merchandise, which brings him in an annual sum of about $5,000. On account of his youth his service during the war was very slight, but he lent considerable aid in the way of collecting and driving stock for the use of the Confederate army. While our subject was visiting in west Tennessee Hood invaded middle Tennessee. Mr. Ussery followed in his wake with a beef supply. He received for his services $3,000 per day in Confederate money. In October, 1879, he was united in marriage to Miss Jennie Nichols, a daughter of N. H. Nichols, a native of South Carolina, who was a well-to-do planter. This union resulted in the birth of two children : Mary Lena and Oscar Burdette. Mr. Ussery is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, but his wife is a member of the Cumberland Presbyterian church. He is the postmaster of Cherokee, the office being in his store, but is not interested in politics and has never been an aspirant for office. ^HAPTEI^ XXII. A GLANCE AT INDIVIDUAL RECORDS, Y. IN the commercial circles of Jackson county. Miss. , is E. A. Vancleave, of Ocean Springs, who was born in Hinds county, Miss., June 9, 1840, and is a son of Jon- athan and Elizabeth (Rowland) Vancleave. The father was a native of Mauiy county, Tenn., born April 1, 1800. The mother, a sister of Dr. David Rowland, of Louis- ville, Ky., was born in Kentucky in 1805. They were married in Hinds county. Miss., in 1837, having settled there in 1825. Their families are of English, French and Scotch-Irish descent. Jonathan Vancleave was a grand-nephew of Daniel Boone. He was a very pros- perous planter, and was well known among the merchants and farmers of the county. He died in 1886. By his first marriage he had a large family, all of whom are deceased. Four children were born of the second marriage, two of whom are living: Mellison R., and R. A. , the subject of this sketch. He spent his early youth in Hinds county, where he attended the common schools. He finished his education in Yazoo City, whither his father had removed. He remained under the parental roof until he had reached his majority, and then, in 1861, he enlisted in the Confederate service under General Price. He afterward joined 942 BIOORAPHWAJ. AND HiaTORIUAL the First Mississippi light artillery, and was taken prisoner at the fall of Vicksburg. He was soon paroled and spent .three years in active service. In 1867 he removed to Ocean Springs, and engaged in the mercantile trade. In 1872 he was appointed postmaster and held the office nearly ten years. This position was petitioned for by the citizens without his own personal solicitation. In 1885 he was appointed by President Cleveland special agent of the general land office of the United States, and assigned to duty in Mississippi, with headquarters at Ocean Springs. The duties of this office were to protect the public timber lands. He held this office until 1889, when he was removed by President Harrison, and the office was filled by a republican. Mr. Vancleave is one of the oldest merchants at Ocean Springs, having carried on the business there for twenty-four years. He now has two sons, George A. and Robert A., Jr., associated in business with him. He established a postoffice at Vancleave in 1868; this place was named in his honor, and is located twelve miles north- east of Ocean Springs. He was married in 1865 to Miss Eliza R. , a daughter of William Sheppard, a pioneer merchant of Yazoo City, Miss. Mr. and Mrs. Vancleave are the parents of seven living children: Fannie, the wife of Walter H. Covington; George A., Robert A., Jr., William S., Richard S., Sarah and June P. They have a beautiful residence, and are surrounded with all the comforts of life. Mr. Vancleave has a cousin in Chicago, James R. B. Vancleave, who is a prominent man throughout the state of Illinois; he is the present city clerk. Rev. J. H. Van Court was an early settler of the town of Natchez, Miss., coming from New Jersey about the year 1823, and for many years was a minister of the Presbyterian church and school teacher by profession. In disposition he was modest and retiring, but was earnest and indefatigable in his labors in the cause of the Master. His sincerity of pur- pose was manifested during the many years that he filled the position of clerk of the Presby- terian synod, and showed that he was a man of ability and popularity. He was married in this state to Mrs. Catherine (Smith) Swayzie, her father, Philander Smith, being a son of Rev. Jedediah Smith, who came to New Orleans from Massachusetts, with a family of ten sons. In the city of New Orleans, he was robbed of his library and much of his possessions by the Spaniards who were hostile to his religious views, and without them he started in an open boat up the Mississippi river to Natchez, this being in 1776, but owing to his advanced age, the exposures and hardships he was compelled to endure were too much for his strength and he sickened nnd died before he reached this place. Through his sons he has numerous descendants in this section, who are thrifty people, and who have been largely instrumental in developing and improving this section. Rev. J. H. Van Court turned his attention to planting, near Baton Rouge, La., after his marriage, but his latter years were devoted to teaching school. He died in this county, in 1867, his wife having been called to her long home in 1859; and their son, E. J. Van Court, was educated in Oakland college, from which he was graduated. He later turned his attention to the study of medicine and in 1853 graduated from the Medical university of Pennsylvania. He was married on May 25, 1870, to Miss Adeline B. Mitchell; a native of Adams county, and a daughter of Philo Mitchell and Varina (Stanton) Mitchell, both of whom are members of well-known families of this region. To Mr. Van Court and his wife four children have been born: Catherine S., E. J. Jr., Adeline Baker and David Benjamin Swayzie. The family are members of the Presbyterian church, and move in the highest social circles of Natchez. The paternal ances- tors of Mr. Va:n Court were of Holland descent, and originally came from the Island of Guern- sey to New Jersey, in 1710. E. J. Van Court has in his possession a testament, printed in the French, which was given to an ancestor of his, nearly two hundred years ago, and has descended to him. MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 948 The town of Shuqualak is to be congratulated on her good hotels, among which, Central hotel, conducted by A. M. Van Devender, ranks prominent. To the traveler the name of Central hotel has about it the ring of a true and tried friend. The genial proprietor, Mr. Van Devender, was born in Kemper county, Miss., in 1844, and when but seventeen years of age he enlisted in the Confederate army, with Major Nunn of Shuqualak, Miss, (see sketch). He was in nearly all the engagements of the army of Tennessee and surrendered with Gen- eral Johnston in North Carolina. In 1867 he was married to Miss Magarah E. Kellis and became the father of nine children: Walter, Horatio, Willie, Addie, Carrie, Eugene, Lillie J., Euth and John J., all living except the eldest. In 1883 Mr. Van Devender rented and opened to the public the Shuqualak East Side hotel at Shuqualak, Miss., and by rare man- agement became proprietor of this property, now known as the Central hotel. As a mana- ger of this enterprise he is a genuine success. Eight years ago he began the basiness with- out a dollar, under most unpropitious circumstances. To-day he is, by his energy, perse- verance and enterprise, an illustration of what may be done under adverse surroundings, with will power and industry for capital. Mr. Van Devender is in the highest degree a rep- resentative man of his vocation and therefore entitled to recognition in these pages. He has a son in the employ of the Western Union at Atlanta, Ga. , who stands among the best of his profession. A daughter graduated at Shuqualak in the class of 1891. Mr. Van Devender was the son of Jacob and Elizabeth J. (Pace) Van Devender, the father born in Virginia in 1809, and the mother of Tennessee. Jacob Van Devender removed to Alabama in 1829, or 1830, and later to Noxubee county. Miss. There he was married in 1841. It is truly said that a man can never be too wise or too learned to be a lawyer, for sooner or later, in the practice of his profession, his first and last resources will be called into action. Owing to this fact the profession of law has attracted the best talent of the country, and has brought into play the most brilliant talents, the most extensive knowledge and the strongest sentiments, moral, spiritual and material, of which humanity can boast. An instance of this is seen in Hon. H. S. Van Eaton who stands high with the bar in the state of Mississippi. H^ was born in the Buckeye state in 1826, being the eldest in a family of six children, but at the age of six years was taken by his parents to Morgan county, 111., and was brought up on a farm near Jacksonville. He attended the common and subscription schools until he attained the age of sixteen years, at which time he entered the preparatory department of Illinois college at Jacksonville, and six years later graduated with honors in a class of seven. At this time the South possessed great attractions for him and here he determined to cast his lot. He soon came to Mississippi and near the town of Woodville became an instructor in a common school, which position he retained to the general satisfaction of the patrons of the institution, for five years. During this time he formed a taste for the study of law, and began laying a solid foundation for his present enviable legal reputation. After reading law with Judge Stanhope Posey, the then circuit judge of the district, he was admitted to the Mis- sissippi bar, this being in the year 1854. He at once opened an office in Woodville where, four years later, he formed a partnership with John P. Dillingham, a native of Maine and a man of no little legal ability. Their connection was very amicable and mutually satisfactory and lasted until the opening of the Civil war, at which time, as he had fully indentified him- self with the South, and admired and loved her people and institutions, he cast his lot with the Confederacy, becoming a private soldier in company K, Sixteenth Mississippi regiment. He served with credit and distinction in the engagements at Winchester, Cross Keys, Mal- vern Hill, the seven days' fight before Richmond, and Fredericksburg, the second battle of Manassas, where he received a flesh wound from a piece of broken shell, and one contusion 1144 BIO&RAPHIGAL AJfD SISTOBIOAL wound by grape shot. In February, after the battle of Fredericksburg, he was promoted to the rank of captain and was transferred to the commissary department. He was as such in the campaigns at Chancellorsville and Gettysburg, and later was transferred from the army of northern Virginia to the western division under the command of Gen. Joseph Johnston, and was assigned to duty as post commissary at Mt. Carmel', Miss. , where he remained until the surrender. Prior to the war, in 1854, he was elected mayor of Woodville, was chosen state's attorney three years later, and in 1859 was elected to the state legislature. In the last named year he was united in marriage to Miss Anna Blount, who was born in Louisiana, May 21, 1838, her native parish being West Feliciana. She received her education in St. Mary's hall, Burlington, N. J., and upon graduating was considered one of the most brilliant and accomplished young ladies that ever left that institution. She was especially gifted in art and music and has all her life been a lover of good literature, and is considered an acquisition to any society. She moves in the highest social circles, and her manner is at all times characterized by grace, ease and dignity. Her father, Levi Blount, was born in North Carolina, but after leaving his native county of Beaufort, he took up his residence in Louis- iana, where he became a wealthy planter. He traced his ancestry back to the time of Charles I, of England, through the following men: Nathaniel Blount, an Episcopal minister of prominence who was ordained in St. Paul's church, London, England, in 1772-3; Keading Blount, Thomas Blount of Chocminity, N. C. , Thomas Blount of England, and Sir Walter Blount, who was created baronet by Charles I on October 5, 1642. About 1669 three of Sir Walter Blount's sons emigrated to America, one settling in Virginia, where he became the head of a long line of descendants, but the other two, James and Thomas crossed over into North Carolina, and settled in the country bordering upon Albemarle sound, Thomas becoming the father of a large family that he reared at Chocminity. One of his sons. Col. Jacob Blount, became the father of William Blount, who was an able officer in the Contin- ental army during the Revolution, and was a member of the Continental congress and a member of the convention that framed the constitution for the United States. He afterward became governor of the territory south of the Ohio river, and was a senator in congress from 1783 to 1797, from the state of Tennessee. Willie Blount, his younger brother, who was his private and official secretary while senator, and who succeeded him in the administration of the duties of governor of Tennessee, (which position he filled for many years), were cousins of Levi Blount, the father of Mrs. Van Eaton. The latter's mother was a native of Boston, Mass., and lived to be eighty-three years of age. Mr. and Mrs. Blount were active members of the Episcopal church, and will long be remembered for their many generous, charitable and kindly deeds. Rev. Nathaniel Blount became distinguished as a divine and was the founder and builder of the church in Washington, N. C, which still stands as a memento of his labor, and is still known as Parson Blount' s church. In 1880 Mr. Van Eaton was appointed to the office of chancellor of the district by Governor Stone, and in 1883, while on the bench, was nominated and elected to the XLVIIIth congress of the United States, and was afterward returned to the XLIXth congress, which position he filled with credit to himself and his constituents. He has advanced the interests of the section where he has so long made his home by every- means in his power, and has been an earnest champion of all measures for the improv- ing of his state. He was a strong advocate of the Morrison tariJBf bill, and all measures tending to political reform, and his reasons for his convictions are alway clear and well defined. During the campaign of 1889, when the question was asked, "Whom shall we have for governor of Mississippi?" Major Van Eaton's name was frequently heard men- MEMOIRS OF MISSiaSIFPI. 945 tioned as an admirable man for that respoosible position of trust, but he steadily refused to allow his name to go before the convention as a candidate. While he was grateful to his many friends and for the flattering remarks made of him in the journals of the state, and particularly the delta and southwestern portions, he thought it better to live in retirement from public life for a time. While chancellor of the tenth district he was considered a con- scientious and impartial judge, and soon won encomiums from all for the correctness of his dec!^ions. He was one of the directors of the West Feliciana railroad, as well as their attorney for upward of twenty years, before it fell into the hands of the present owners. In connection with his practice much of his attention is devoted to planting. He is a member of Woodville lodge No. 63, of the A. F. & A. M. ; the K. of H. and the I. O. 0. F., and has held various chairs in each order. He has been high priest of the chapter, worshipful master of his Masonic lodge and grand master of the state in the I. O. O. F. He has a very valuable souvenir, which was presented to him by the two lodges of Woodville, as a token of their esteem, which he values very highly. He has always been a warm patron of education, and was elected one of the trustees and treasurer of the board of the McGehee Female college. From 1853 until 1856 he edited the Woodville Republican, and being an able writer, as well as an eloquent and forcible speaker, his editorials on the current topics of the times were read with much interest and profit. He was appointed by President Cleveland as one of the board of visitors to the naval academy at Annapolis, in 1887, and was appointed by him, in 1888, as one of the commissioners to view the completed portion of the North- ern Pacific railroad. Mrs. Van Eaton accompanied her husband on this trip, joining the party at the Palmer house, Chicago, and went by special car to and from the Pacific coast. Mr. and Mrs. Van Eaton are worthy members of St. Paul's Episcopal church, in which Mr. Van Eaton is a vestryman. He and his amiable wife are highly esteemed in social circles, and in their beautiful and attractive home, where good taste and refine- ment prevails, they dispense the generous and true-hearted hospitality for which the South is famous. Mrs. Thirmutheus H. Van Eaton is an accomplished and refined lady, and is a member of one of the leading families of Coahoma county. She was born in Colbert county, Ala. , March 1, 1858, being the youngest of seven children born to Asa and Adaline (Ligor) Cobb, natives of Tennessee and Alabama, respectively. Asa Cobb came to Coahoma county. Miss., in 1858; was one of the first settlers of the county, and became one of its most influential citizens. He was for a number of years a member of the board of supervisors, and was a large slave and landowner before the war. He did not take an active part in the strug- gle between the North and South, but his eldest son Thomas was an active participant, was a member of a scouting company, and once distinguished himself by routing an entire company of Union soldiers who were intent on his capture, and were about to overtake him. He tiirned suddenly and began firing into them, shouting, come on boys, and they, thinking doubtless, that he had led them into the ranks of his own company, beat a precipitate retreat, and he then made his way to his company. The maternal grandparents were James and Mary (Ganneway) Ligon, of Alabama, the former of whom was one of the most prominent citizens of Colbert county, Ala., and held the office of sheriff of that county for twenty years, in the discharge of which duties he distinguished himself as a brave, tried and true custodian of the public's interest. Mrs. Van Eaton was reared in Coahoma county, Miss., and was educated at Pontotoc. In 1874 she was married to Frank R. Van Eaton, a native of Alabama, and the youngest of three children born to Dr. Isaac and Sarah E. (Martin) Van Eaton, the former a native of North Carolina, and the latter of Cincinnati, Ohio. !»48 BIOGRAPHIOAL AND HISTORICAL Isaac Van Eaton came to Mississippi in 1872, and located in Coahoma county, where he prac- ticed medicine, having graduated from the Ohio Medical college of Cincinnati. He arose to eminence in his profession, but died three years after locating in this section. Frank E. Van Eaton came to this state in 1870, having received his education in the schools of Lebanon, Ohio, and graduating from the same medical institution as his father. They practiced together in Mississippi, until the father's death, after which Prank R. prac- ticed alone, and also followed the occupation of planting, until he was called from liTe in 1891, at the age of forty-two years, his birth having occurred on the 31st of July, 1848. He was a cousin of Judge Henry Van Eaton, of Greenville. His maternal grandfather's real name was Emanuel Suezza, but when a lad of nine years he was stolen from his home by a crew of Englishmen, who brought him to America, landing at New York, where he managed to escape from them and found refuge with a man by the name of John Martin, whose name he afterward adopted. At the age of twenty- eight years he went to Cincin- nati, Ohio, where he married and lived for some time. Mrs. Van Eaton's union resulted in the birth of three children: Lula Lake, Isaac Hampton, and Addie Cobb, all of whom reside with their mother. Mrs. Van Eaton is the owner of eighteen hundred acres of land, seven hundred of which are under cultivation, and in the management of her prop- erty has shown herself to be shrewd and practical. She is an earnest member of the Baptist church, and is a talented and handsome woman. Thomas H. B. Van Hoozer, Torrance, Miss. , is one of the oldest settlers of Yalobusha county, and is fully entitled to a space in this record of the pioneers of Mississippi. He was born in Limestone county, Ala., in 1842, and is a son of John and Elizabeth (Powell) Van Hoozer, natives of Tennessee and Alabama, respectively. Mrs. Van Hoozer was a relative of the Burneys, of Oxford, Miss. She and her husband emigrated from Alabama to Missis- sippi in 1845, making the journey by wagons; they settled in the neighborhood of Torrance, and two years later purchased land near the same place. The father died in January, 1869, aged fifty-nine years; the mother died December 11, 1868, at the age of fifty-seven years. Ten children were born of this marriage, all of whom lived to maturity: Robert S. , a farmer, lives in Water Valley, Miss.; Ira L., lives west of Coldwater, Miss.; he is a farmer; Mattie is the wife of John Grillon, and resides near Torrance; Thomas H. B. is next in order; Tabitha E. , is the wife of Daniel G. Anthony, and resides with the subject of this sketch; Elizabeth is the wife of Frank M. Spears, and lives in Grenada county; Rosa married O. P. Farrell, and lives in Yalobusha county ; John B. is a farmer near Torrance; Agnes, married Charles Farrell, and lives in Grenada county; Mary, the eldest child, married G. W. Williams; both are deceased, leaving eight children. Our subject was reared in Yalobusha county, Miss. , within six miles of the place on which he is now living. His educational advan- tages were somewhat limited, but he acquired sufficient information to meet the demands of ordinary business life. He remained under the paternal roof until the beginning of the war when he enlisted in the Fifteenth Mississippi volunteer infantry. He was wounded in the battle of Franklin, Tenn., and at New Hope, Ga. ; at the former place he was captured, and was held prisoner until June, 1865. He was with Hood on his campaign from Georgia to Tennessee; he was taken to Nashville, Tenn., in December, 1864, and, as before stated, was not released until June, 1865. He resumed farming as soon as he was recovered from his wounds, which he continued until March, 1873, when he located in Torrance, and embarked in the general mercantile trade; at one time he was postmaster, and he has not wholly relin- quished his agricultural pursuits. Mr. Van Hoozer was married in 1868, to Miss Olivia Horton, a native of Mississippi, and a daughter of Robert Horton, one of the very earliest MBMoins OF Miasisaippi. 947 settlers of this county^ he assisted in the building of the first courthouse in the county. He married Louisa Ridley, and to them were born thirteen children, nine of whom lived to ma- turity. He died at the age of seventy-six years, and Mrs. Horton lived to be seventy-two years old. Mr. and Mrs. Van Hoozer have had born to them eight children, four of whom have died; those living are: Willie, Mamie, Alama and Ethel; Louisa, Thomas, Vincent and Benton are dead; the last named was burned to death at the age of two years. Mrs. Van Hoozer was educated at Grenada, Miss., and she is a member of the Baptist church. Mr. Van Hoozer is a member of the Masonic lodge at Coffeeville No. 83. He is a man of deep integrity of character, and holds a place in the esteem of his fellow-citizens of which any one might well be proud. John O. Vann, who has for many years been identified with the commercial and agri- cultural interests of Yalobusha county, will next claim the attention of the reader. He was born in Gates county, N. C, April 28, 1828, and is a son of Harrison and Julia Ann (Field) Vann, also natives of North Carolina. The father was born in 1790, and was the son of John Vann who immigrated to this country, from England, with his father, and settled in North Carolina, where he engaged in farming. He lived to be an old man, and reared a family of three sons and one daughter. Harrison, the father of John O., passed his youth on a farm, and in later years was occupied with house carpentering. He came to Mississippi in 1870, and died in January, 1871. His wife was born in 1800, and died in the state of Mississippi in the spring of 1870, before the arrival of her husband there. She was the daughter of Mills E. Field, a well-known citizen of Gates county, N. C. He was a man of fine educa- tion, and much more than ordinary ability. He lived to be more than seventy-five years of age and reared a family of four sons and one daughter. John 0. Vann has now in his pos- session the first dollar ever owned by Mills E. Field, and it is about one hundred and twenty- five years old. Harrison Vann and wife had born to them eleven children; one died in infancy, and the others lived to maturity. John O. is the youngest of the family, and grew to manhood in Gates county, N. C. He had but few opportunities for acquiring an educa- tion, as his parents were in moderate circumstances. At the age of twenty years he bade farewell to his home and friends and came overland to the state of Mississippi. He traveled with a man and family who were looking for a new home. At first he worked at anything that offered until 1850, when he went to Oxford and worked at his trade. The following year he spent in school at Mount Vernon, and June 3, 1852, he was united in marriage to Miss Ellen Spearman, a daughter of Eobert Spearman, a native of South Carolina. Mrs. Vann was born in 1817, February 19, and came with her parents to Mississippi, in 1842. She died September 20, 1885, leaving two children: John E. of the enterprising firm of Vann & Beadles, dealers in general merchandise, and Julia Ann, wife of W. D. York, a resident of Yalobusha county. The mother of these children was an earnest Christian, and a consistent member of the Baptist church. Mr. Vann was married a second time to Mrs. S. A. York. She was born in the state of Alabama in 1828, and is a daughter of Eobert Perkins, who emigrated from Virginia to Alabama when a young man; there he married Elizabeth Hooper, a native of Georgia, and they came to Mississippi in 1848, and settled near Coffeeville. They had ten children, all of whom lived to be grown. Mrs. Vann was the second child, and she was first married to Daniel York, a native of Tennessee. He was born in 1810 and died in 1870 leaving a family of eight children: William, Lucy, John, Sally, Elisha are still living; those deceased are Lizzie, Harriet and James. Mr. and Mrs. Vann are both members of the Bap- tist church. Mr. Vann enlisted in the regiment of Colonel Gordon, participated in many engagements, was taken prisoner at Selma, Ala. ; sent to a place near Atlanta, and finally 918 BIOORAPEICAL AND HI8T0BI0AL paroled, after which he returned to his home. He is now one of the largest planters of the county. Ill 1880 he embarked in the general mercantile trade at Coffeeville, and has since turned that business over to his son, J. E, Vann. He owns twenty-three hundred acres of land, one thousand of which are under good cultivation. He is a man of excellent business qualifications, and has made a success of life from every standpoint. Politically he affiliates with the democratic party. Mrs. Vann has a farm of eight hundred acres in her own name. This is also in a high state of cultivation. Samuel T. Van Norman. The family of Van Norman is originally from Holland, and the first member of the family of whom much is known is Aaron Van Norman, who was born in the state of New York. At an early day he became a resident of Indiana, and from that state came to Mississippi in the year 1831, and became a resident of Amite county. He served his country in the War of 1812, and made a faithful and efficient soldier. Hiram Van Norman, his son and father of the immediate subject of this sketch, was also born in New York, and during his father's different changes of residence he removed from place to place with him, but attained his manhood in the state of Indiana, where he was married to Miss Elizabeth Waldon, daughter of Moses Waldon. Mrs. Van Norman was reared in Kentucky, but soon after her marriage she and her husband came to Mississippi and engaged in planting and milling a few miles west of Liberty. Mr. Van Norman afterward moved to the town and established a tan yard and soon built up an extensive trade and a lucrative business. He continued this calling up to the breaking out of the late war. He was an honorable and useful member of society, was a man whose views of life were worthy and to his credit, and every enterprise in which he took an interest, was practically benefited by his notice. His brother, William Van Norman, was quite a prominent politician of Amite county, which he represented in both houses of the state legislature. He afterward took up his residence in the Lone Star state and there was called from life. S. T. Van Norman, whose name stands at the head of this biography, is the youngest son of a family of four sons and four daughters, and in Liberty, Miss., he first saw the light of day, September 5, 1837. He received but limited educational advantages in this county, but in 1858, with a determination to change this state of afPairs, he went to Missouri and for one year attended school in Chillicothe, where he improved rapidly in his studies. In his early youth he had learned the harness-maker's trade but abandoned that business for a few years to engage in planting, after which he returned to his native town and for a short time previous to the war was engaged in merchandising. The coming clash of arms caused him to cast every personal consideration aside, and with the enthusiasm of youth he, in September, 1861, enlisted in the Seventh Mississippi infantry, company C, and until the close of the war served the cause he espoused with that intrepidity, courage and fidelity for which the Southern soldier was famous. He was in the bloody and disastrous battle of Shiloh; at Murfreesboro, in the engagements around Atlanta, at Jonesboro; the two day's fight at Nashville, also taking an active part in many engagements of less importance. He served on detached duty for over one year, and surrendered with his regiment at Greenville, N. C, after which he returned to Amite county and settled down to the peaceful pursuit of planting on the plantation where he now resides. He has devoted his time and energies to this calling and as a reward for the indomitable industry, push and enterprise he has always displayed, he is the owner of seven hundred acres of valuable land adjoining the town of Gloster, which was laid out on his land, and here he sold quite a number of acres to advantage for town purposes. He has used his influence to build up the town and advance the interests of the place, and as the town of Gloster is a thriving and prosperous place, he may be said to have succeeded. Mr. Van Nor- MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 949 man is a man of good business habits and at all times manifests an enterprising spirit and a deep interest in the welfare of the county. He has always upheld the principles of democracy but has never been an aspirant for office. He has shown his approval of secret organizations by becoming a member of the Masonic fraternity, and has been much inter- ested in the workings of this order. In the month of January, 1861, he was married to Miss Naomi, daughter of G. B. McLain, one of the early and prominent farmers of Mississippi, and in time a family of eleven children gathered about their board, their names being as follows: Leila, Amanda, Albert, Florence, wife of J. B. Cason; Bessie, Robert, Jennie, Samuel, Curtis, Anna and Myrtle. Leila, the eldest daughter, married W. T. Caston. In the Baptist church of Gloster, of which Mr. Van Norman has long been a member, he holds the positions of deacon, church-clerk and treasurer. In the various afPairs of the county Mr. Van Norman exerts an influence which all feel, and as his friends are numerous, this speaks in an admirable manner of his many worthy qualities of mind and heart. John H. Vanslyke, an enterprising and wideawake merchant of EUisville, Miss., was born at Raleigh, Smith county. Miss., February 19, 1855. His parents were Jesse and Mary E. (Oonnerly) Vanslyke, natives of New York and Soath Carolina, respectively. They came to Mississippi at an early day,and were married in Smith county, and there passed the remainder of their lives. They became the parents of three children: Margaret E. ; Morgan, and John H. Of these, John H., our subject, was the eldest. He attended the home district schools in his county, and by diligent study and close application to his books, he acquired a thorough, practical education, which he supplemented by a course at Johnson' s Commercial academy. In 1877 he secured employment as a salesman in the store of John F. Cham- penois, of Shubuta, Miss., with whom he remained in this capacity until the 1st of March, 1883, at which time he became a partner with his employer and removed to EUisville, open- ing a store at that place. In February, 1885, he purchased the interest of Mr. Champenois, and has since conducted the business and is sole proprietor. He has gained an extensive trade, and in connection with the mercantile business is largely engaged in planting and stock- raising. He owns two thousand five hundred acres of land, which is very valuable. He was married at Shubuta, March 4, 1882, to Lulu E., the daughter of John and Fannie R. (Copeland) Champenois, who was born in Shubuta, May 12, 1864. Mr. Vanslyke is a member of the Masonic order, and he and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church South. Our subject is an enterprising citizen, of good principles, and has been successful in every enterprise which he has taken in hand. He enjoys, to a marked degree, the respect of his fellow citizens, and as a m.erchant and man of affairs, he has the confidence of all classes with whom he comes in contact. In the front ranks of Carroll county's professional men is Dr. George W. Vasser, physician and surgeon, Carrollton, Miss., whose career will be briefly outlined in the fol- lowing page. He was born in Halifax county, Va. , April 4, 1826, and is a son of Elijah H. Vasser, also a native of Virginia. The father of Elijah H. Vasser was a Virginian by birth, and of English descent. The Vassers are among the P. F. V.'s of Virginia. Elijah H. Vasser married in Halifax county, Va., Mary H. Womack, a native of that state and county, and a daughter of Capt. William Womack. He removed to Alabama about the year 1838, and located at Athens, where he resided five years, and then went to Monroe county, Miss. , settling near the present site of Egypt station; his death occurred there in 1847. George W. Vasser passed his youth in Mississippi and Alabama, receiving his education at a private seminary in Athens, Ala. After completing his literary studies he began to study medicine in Monroe county. Miss. He took his first course of lectures at the University of Pennsyl- 950 BIOGRAPHICAL AND HI8T0RIGAL vania, and waa graduated from this renowned institution of learning in 1848. He then returned to Monroe county, Miss., and entered upon his professional career. In 1854 he removed to Carroll county, continuing his practice. Since 1861 he has been a resident of Oarrollton. He is a skillful, conscientious physician, and has won a large patronage. He is a student to this day, never having abandoned the attitude of seeking information and advanced opinions, which he occupied in the beginning of his professional studies. He is a member of the State Medical society, where his skill and experience render his attendance of great benefit to younger members. He fills the office of health officer of Carroll county. Dr. Yasser was united in the holy bonds of matrimony, in Monroe county. Miss., in 1851, to Miss Eliza Roseborough, a naiive of South Carolina, but a Mississippian by adoption. One child, a daughter, Ella, has been born to the Doctor and his wife; she is the wife of the Hon. T. H. Somerville, of Winona, Miss. In his fraternal relations, our subject is identified with the Masonic order, being a Royal Arch Mason. He is past master, and has represented his lodge at the grand lodge of Mississippi on several different occasions. Dr. B. A. Vaughan's name has become almost a household word in Columbus, Miss., for he has been an active medical practitioner of that city since 1854, his many estimable qualities of heart and head drawing around him many warm friends and an extended medi- cal practice. He was born-at Scotland Neck, N. C, September 18, 1829, to George W. and Felicia (Norfleet) Vaughan, who belonged to prominent families of Virginia and North Carolina. They were of Scotch-English descent. His father was a soldier in the War of 1812 as a surgeon, and lost a thumb and finger in the service, the same ball pene- trating his hip and causing a severe wound, from which he suffered all his life. In early manhood he emigrated to North Carolina where he practiced his profession until his death. He was a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania. To this union three children were born, of whom Dr. B. A. Vaughan is the only survivor. Dr. Vaughan's general education was received in Columbus, Miss., at the Franklin academy. He attended medical lectures at the University of Virginia and the Jefferson Medical college of Philadelphia, Penn. , from which he graduated in 1854. Although practicing in every branch of his profession he makes a specialty of gynecology. He is a member of the American Medical association, the State Medical society of Mississippi and the Lowndes County Medical association, of which he was president in 1874-5, and is at present secretary and treasurer of a similar society. He was president of the State Medical society in 1877-8, and in 1876-7 was secretary of the section of practice of medicine and materia medica, of the American Medical association. He has written articles on the following subjects: Air as a physician; Water as a disease pro- ducing agent; Chemical thermometry; Quinine, its therapeutic characteristics (on which he has written a second paper); Uterine colic and improvement in the treatment of uterine dis- eases; Antagonism of remedies; Amblyopia caused by quinine, and other articles that have been widely read by physicians throughout this country. He was the principal of Franklin academy at Columbus, before he was grown, and has been alderman of the city. He held the position of chairman of the district executive committee (in 1873), and was a member of the same committf^e for Lowndes county in 1875-6, and was president of the board of school trustees of the city of Columbus. During the war he was surgeon of the Fourteenth Mississippi regiment, post surgeon at Macon and Lauderdale, Miss., surgeon in chief of the hospitals of Macon and Lauderdale Springs, and surgeon in charge of the camp of paroled and exchanged prisoners at Jackson, Miss. He was also chief surgeon of the Blind Asylum hospital at Jackson, Miss. Was surgeon for the state of Mississippi at Atlanta, Ga. , and was medical director of the state of Mississippi at close of the Civil war. A MEMOIRS OP MISSISSIPPI. 951 volunteer company was organized at Columbus, August 11, 1837. This company served during the late war and is still in existence, being a company of the Second regiment, First brigade of national guards. The Doctor has been a member of this company for some forty-four years. He is chief health officer of Lowndes county, and is assistant surgeon general of the First brigade of national guards. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity and is a past master, past high priest, past commander and past grand commander of Knights Templar, Mississippi; and is a thirty -second degree of the Scottish Rite. He also belongs to the U. S. B. fraternity, the K. of H, and is the president of the Tombigbee Railroad company. He was married, in 1853, to Miss M. Wade, a daughter of P. B. Wade, of Columbus, Miss., by whom he has one child, Jeannie. Doctor Vaughan is pursuing the practice of medicine among a people who have known his childhood, his boyhood and his professional life. He has lived in Columbus, Miss., since 1837. Henry B. Vaughan, planter and stockraiser of Commencement plantation, near Kings- ton, was born here in 1849, and is the younger of two children born to his parents, Charles N. and Ann Eliza (Farrar) Vaughan, the former born in Southampton county, Va. , in 1818, and the latter born in Kingston vicinity in 1827. The grandfather, John Vaughan, was a native Virginian, and a planter by occupation. Charles N. Vaughan was educated at Char- lottesville and the University of Virginia, being there at the time of the Turner insurrection, in which several members of the family were killed. The parents had died previous to this. Mr. Vaughan left college and joined the troops for the Mexican war, but at Vicksburg they were disbanded, and he, after stopping at various places in the state, finally came to Adams county. Miss., where he married about 18-t4. He settled in the Kingston vicinity, and there he carried on planting very successfully, until his death, in November, 1862. He was a mem- ber of the Masonic fraternity, and a man of wonderful energy, very industrious habits, and one who stood well in the community in which he resided. Mrs. Vaughan died in Septem- ber, 1889. After the death of Mr. Vaughan she had married Capt. George C. Comstock, deceased. To her first marriage were born two children, a son and a daughter, the latter, Ann Eliza, dying at the age of fifteen years. The son, our subject, was educated in the home schools at Kingston, and also attended school at Natchez for some time. At the age of fif- teen years he joined company C, Fourth Mississippi cavalry, and operated with General For- rest in many severe engagements, being frequently sent on light duty, on account of his youth. He surrendered at Gainesville, Ala., at the close of war, and in 1866 went to Europe, where he spent a year or two in France and England. After returning to the United States he passed a year in Bryant & Stratton's Commercial college in New Orleans, and subse- quently spent three years, or until 1871, engaged in merchandising. He then went to Clin- ton, La., where his mother was living, and resided there for twelve years. Ten years of the time he and his stepfather operated the Clinton & Port Hudson railroad, in which they had a controlling interest. Since that time he has resided on his estate, near Kingston, one of the finest upland plantations in Adams county. This magnificent plantation is well improved, and everything about the place indicates the presence of a thrifty and practical owner. He has one thousand three hundred acres in Commencement plantation, and one thousand acres in another tract, all the result of his own exertions, having started with nothing. In look- ing after the interests of his large plantation he does not lose sight of the stock industry, improving his cattle with the Holstein breed. He married Miss Bettie A. Slaughter, a native of East Baton Rouge parish, Louisiana, and the daughter of ^Yilliam and Elizabeth Slaughter, natives of Bowling Green, Ky., and East Baton Rouge parish, La. , respectively. When a boy Mr. Slaughter went with his parents to Louisiana, and there he married, and 952 BIOQBAFHICAL AND HIBTOBIOAL spent the remainder of his days near Port Hudson, as a wealthy planter and merchant. He was a practical business man and was conservative and liberal in all his views. To Mr. and Mrs. Vaughan have been born three interesting children. In 1886-7 Mr. Vaughan served as a member of the board of supervisors of Adams county. He has shown his apprecia- tion of secret organizations by joining the Knights of Pythias, American Legion of Honor, the I. O. O. F. and the A. F. & A. M. , all at Clinton, La. He has been through the chair in the I. O. O. F. , and has held various oflSces in the Knights of Pythias organization. Mrs. Vaughan has been a member of the Presbyterian church from youth. James Vaughan has been a resident of Yazoo county, Miss., since his birth in 1842, and is the seventh of a family of twelve children. His parents Henry and Emma (Reese) Vaughan, were natives of South Carolina, but emigrated to Mississippi in 1832, and settled on the plantation now occupied by the subject of this notice; there they spent the balance of their days; the father died in 1870, at the age of seventy years, and the mother passed away ten years later, at the ac;e of three-score and ten years. Nine of their twelve children grew to maturity, and three of them are still living: Mrs. Mary S. Guion, Mrs. Margaret Moore, deceased; Betsey, who died in infancy; Dr. Henry Vaughan, deceased; John A., who died in childhood; Charles B. , who was killed in the siege of Vicksburg; H. E. captain of company B, Eighteenth Mississippi volunteer infantry, who fell at Gettysbug; James; Mrs. Alice Burroughs of Yazoo county; Emma, deceased at the age of fourteen years; Frank, who died at the age of twenty-six years, and William E., who died at twenty-one years of age. James Vaughan grew to manhood in this county, and received a good education. He was a member of the sophomore class of Oxford university at the time the Civil war broke out, and left the schoolroom for the field of battle. He enlisted in company B, Eighteenth Missis- sippi volunteer infantry, and for one year served as sergeant; he then joined Wirt Adams' cavalry, and served until the end of the conflict. He participated in the first battle of Manassas, in the siege of Vicksburg, and many skirmishes both in Mississippi and Alabama. After the declaratioQ of peace he returned to his home, and resumed his farming. The plantation consists of fourteen hundred and forty acres, one thousand of which are under excellent cultivation; cotton and corn are the principal crops, but Mr. Vaughan is planning to devote more of his time to the raising of livestock with a view to improving the breeds of the county. He was married in 1867 to Miss Mary E. Anderson, a daughter of John W. and Adaline (Newell) Anderson, who were early settlers of Yazoo county. By this union nine children have been born, seven of whom are living: Emma, wife of H. F. Eussell of Washington county, Miss.; John A., Samuel, H. Y. , Mary, James and Charles. Mr. Vaughan is a member of the P. B. Tutt lodge No. A. F. & A. M. , and is also a Knight of Honor. He takes an active part in local politics, but is not an officeseeker. He and his wife are members of Bowman's chapel of the Methodist Episcopal church, to which they are liberal contributors. Thej^ have been foremost in all movements calculated to benefit the community in which they live, and are numbered among the leading familes of the county. James Alexander Ventress was born in Eobertson county, about twenty- five miles from Clarksville, Tenn., in 1805, and was the youngest son and second of the children of Lovick Ventress, who settled in that state in 1796. His paternal grandfather came from England about 1760, and settled first near Norfolk, Va. , where several of his children were born, and removed thence to North Carolina. His mother, Elizabeth Stewart, was of the Stewarts of Scotland, of noble lineage. While James A. Ventress was yet a small boy (in 1809), his parents accompanied his uncle, Duncan Stewart, afterward lieutenant-governor, and other members of the family, to the territory of Mississippi, settling in what was MEMOIRB OF MISSISSIPPI. 953 known as the Mount Pleasant neighborhood, near what is now Centerville, Wilkinson couQty. After his removal to Mississippi, Lovick Ventress bought a plaatation and engaged in planting, but, his health soon failing, he returned to Tennessee, where he died in the prime of life. His worthy widow survived him- many years, and died in ^^'ilkinson county, having been a faithful and affectionate mother and a worthy friend, guide and counselor to her fatherless children. Their eldest son, William C. S. Ventress, moved to Louisiana, and served his parish in the legislature of that state. He became a wealthy planter, his sugar plantations being very extensive and profitable. He lived to a ripe old age, and, dying, left two daughters, both of whom still survive him. He had two soqs in the Con- federate army, and one, James A. Ventress, attained the rank of major in that service. Eliza A. Ventress, the only daughter of Lovick and Elizabeth Ventress, became the wife of Major A. M. Feltus, who was a prominent planter, merchant and banker of Wilkinson county and was at one time quite wealthy. He was a native of New York, and he and his wife became the parents of a large family of children, four sons having been soldiers in the Confederate army. One, Abram M. Feltus, Jr., held the rank of lieutenant-colonel in the Sixteenth regiment of Mississippi volunteers, and on May 12, 1864, was killed at Spottsylvania Courthouse, Va. Another, P. Gassner Feltus, being the senior officer present, commanded and surrendered two regiments at Appomattox. Major and Mrs. Feltus were residents of Woodville. The former died at a good old age in 1861, and the latter in 1889, aged eighty-two years. After attending the schools which then existed in the county, and an academy in New Orleans, the subject of this sketch took passage for Europe, where he spent nine years in the prosecution of his studies, and with marked success. At the University of Edinburgh he was a pupil of the celebrated John Wilson — Christopher North — author of Lights and Shadows of Scottish Life; Noctes Ambrosianse, etc., who wrote of him that he was "an assiduous and successful student," and became so much impressed with his aptitude for philosophical studies that he u?ged him to remain and devote himself to that branch of learning, with a view of succeeding him in the chair of moral philosophy in that university. While a student in Scotland, he formed the acquaintance of Sir Walter Scott, and had the honor of being a guest at the banquet when Lord Meadowbank forced from that distin- guished writer a confession of the authorship of the Waverley novels. After leaving Scotland, he spent several years in Paris, a student at the Academie and a pupil of Jean Baptiste Say, the political economist, through whose kindness and influence he made the acquaintance of and was enabled to receive instructions in his studies from Jeremy Bentham, for whose philosophy he ever afterward entertained a high regard. While in Paris he was a frequent visitor at La Grange, the home of La Fayette, whose friendship he gained, and to whom he was indebted for many courtesies. It was during his stay in Paris that the revo- lution of 1830 occurred, and, being an exceptionally fine rifle shot himself, he readily noted the inferiority of the French troops as marksmen. He often remarked, when speaking of that occasion, that the people who had ascended to the housetops for safety, were in more imminent danger that were those in the streets, at whom the muskets were aimed, and that a single company of Mississippi riflemen would have done more execution. During his stay in Paris Mr. Ventress had the distinguished honor of being elected by the Conseil d'Admistration, on account of his lumieres et zele, a collaborateur correspondent of the Revue des Deux Mondes. He was also a contributor to several of the English and French scientific and literary magazines and had papers read before the Institute of France, receiv- ing the commendation of the scientific lights of Europe. He also translated several 954 BIOORAPHIOAL AND HISTORICAL works and wrote several plays, which were highly praised. After leaving Paris, he spent some time in Eome, and was a student for two years at the University of Berlin. Having already mastered the German language, he went there to continue the study of jurisprudence, carrying with him letters of introduction to Baron Humboldt. After his return from Europe, lyhere he had devoted a large portion of his time to the study of juris- prudence, he prepared himself for admission to the bar, and received his license to practice law, in 1841, from that eminent jurist, Wm. L. Sharkey, then chief justice of the supreme court of Mississippi. Being in affluent circumstances, however, he practiced but little, devoting himself instead to his planting interests, and his leisure to the study of general literature and the development of his taste for mechanics. His study and experiments resulted in numerous inventions, some of which he had patented, but it being a labor of love rather than of profit, he never attempted to make money out of them, though he per- mitted the use of some of them by manufacturers who were friends of his. While a student in Berlin, he presented to and received the thanks of the patriot government of Poland, then at war, for an improvement on the cannon then in use, and for a substitute for the cuirass worn by the soldiers of that unfortunate country. During the Civil war he invented a pat- ent bullet, which he presented to the Confederate government. While he was an omnivorous reader, he devoted himself principally to works on science, politics and history, and the library he collected and bequeathed to his children is probably the finest, if not the largest collection of rare works in the state. Endowed with a fine memory and unusal powers of ratiocination, he digested thoroughly and remembered accurately what he read. Mr. Ven- tress was a man of profound erudition, and throughout his useful and well-spent life he was a close and painstaking student. He was deeply interested in the political questions of his day, and his brilliant intellect, which was strengthened and enriched by the highest culture, was admirably displayed while in the arena of politics. He was prominent in the counsels of his party, and no one's opinion and advice in political matters was considered more weighty, or was more sought after than his. He was a ^uent, eloquent and convincing speaker and writer, and during his public career he had an opportunity of displaying the originality and versatility of his genius. He became a presidential elector and state senator, was elected a member and had the additional^ honor of being chosen speaker of the house of representatives, at a time when it numbered among its members the brightest minds that have adorned the history of the state and nation. He was, at one time, also offered the nomination for governor. Stimulated by a laudable ambition to be useful in his day and generation, he was sometimes impatient of opposition, but invariably acted on principles which he believed to be founded on justice and truth, and from the defense of which he could never be swerved. This trait and a habit of expressing his opinions with the utmost freedom on all questions, regardless of consequences, doubtless, in a great measure, contributed to prevent the political preferment to which his eminent abilities entitled him. To the wiles of the politician he was a stranger. In public as well as in private life, he was a constant friend to education and to his exertions while in the legislature was probably due, more than to those of any other one man, the establish- ment of the University of Mississippi, at Oxford, of which institution he was a trustee from the time of its organization in 1844 until his death. Iq politics he was a states' rights democrat and Union man. While he believed and maintained that the constitution of the United States guaranteed the right of secession, he was very much opposed to the exercise of the right, believing it to be best that there should remain one country; best for the South and best for the North. As a member of the convention called by the legislature, in 1851, to take W' £/^ ^/^J^^3) MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 955 measures for the redress of grievances, he labored eariiestl)' for the preservation of the Union. While North, in 1860, he wrote an open letter to the mayor of Philadelphia, which was copied by the press throughout the country and pronounced by competent judges one of the most statesmanlike papers of the day. After the die had been cast, however, and his state had severed its connection with the Federal Union, true to his states' rights principles, he gave his allegiance to her and the Confederate states of which she had become a member. In private life Mr. Ventress was known as a man of integrity, high sense of honor and great kindness of heart, one whose charities were as generous as they were unostentatious, and whose friendship was as unselfish as it was lasting; socially he was a delightful companion, being a most interesting and instructive conversationalist and raconteur. In 1848 he married Miss Charlotte Davis Pynchon, daughter oE Hon. Stephen Pynchon, of Massachusetts. On the paternal side, she was a lineal descendant of Col. William Pynchon, who came to America in 1630, was a charter member, first treasurer and assistant governor of Massachusetts Bay colony; was author of several theological works and the founder of Springfield, which was named in honor of his home in England; and of his son, John Pynchon, known as the worshipful major, commander of the troops of western Massachusetts in King Phillip's war, associate justice of the supreme court of the colony; one of the commissioners appointed by the British government in 1664 to receive the surrender of New Amsterdam, N. T. , from the Dutch, and a member of the council of King James II. The ancestor of the Pynchon family came to England in 1066, with William the Conqueror, and received, among other re- turns for his services, a grant of manors at Thorpet, in Kirby, Lincolnshire^ In 1167, Hugh Pincheun held seven knight's fees in that coiinty. The family drifted after several genera- tions to Northamptonshire and afterward to Essex. A grandson of one of them was Henry Chicheley, first privy councilor under King Henry VI. ; archbishop of Canterbury from 1414 to 1443; the founder of All Souls' college, Oxford, and who built the western tower of Canter- bury cathedral at his own expense. The branch of the family that emigrated to America was descended from Nicholas Pynchon, high sheriff of London in 1533, whose son, John, married Jane, daughter of Sir Richard Empson. From them were descended the earls of Portland, Sir Edward Pynchon and William Pynchon, the emigrant. On the paternal side, Mrs. Ventress was also a lineal descendant of Eev. William Hubbard, the early historian of New England, and of Gov. George Wyllys, colonial governor of Connecticut and owner of the celebrated Charter oak. The mother of Mrs. Ventress was Miss Sarah Trask, daughter of Dr. Israel Trask, of Brimfield, Mass., a Revolutionary veteran and member of the Massachusetts constitutional convention. His wife was Miss Sarah Lawrence, daughter of Dr. James Lawrence, a descendant of Sir Robert Lawrence, of Ashton hall, Lancashire, England, who accompanied Richard Cceur de Lion to the Holy Land, and at the siege of Acre was the first to plant the banner of the cross on the battlements, for which he was knighted. Stephen Pynchon, the father of Mrs. Ventress, was a graduate of Yale college, receiving his diploma in 1789. He afterward studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1791, settling in Brimfield, of which place he was a citizen the balance of his life. In 1805 he was chosen a representative to the general court, and in 1819 was appointed by Gov. John Brooks chief justice of the court of sessions of Hampden county, Mass. He served his county for sixteen years in the state legislature, of which body he was a member at the time of his death in Boston, February 5, 1823. He vyas a prominent Free Mason. The order was then a social and political power, and under its rites he was buried. He was a noble, worthy and generous man, and for his day was exceptionally well educated and intelligent. HHH 956 BIOGRAPHIOAL AND HISTOItlCAI, After completing her education in Springfield, Mrs. Ventress, at that time a beautiful and accomplished young lady, came to Mississippi with a cousin to make her home with her uncle, Maj. James L. Trask, who was a bachelor, and remained with him until hie death. Major Trask settled in Mississippi in 1805. He was a veteran of the War of 1812, and served under General Jackson at the battle of New Orleans. A man of remarkable energy and business tact, he amassed a large fortune, most of which he bequeathed to his niece. His brothers, Augustus and Dr. William P. Trask, also lived in Wilkinson county, and are buried in the family burying ground, as is also his eldest brother, Col. Israel E. Trask. Col. Trask was a man of considerable ability. Harvard university conferred on him the honorary degree of A. M. He represented his county in the legislature and constitutional convention of Massachusetts, and was one of the incorporators of Amherst college. As was the case with the planters throughout the South, the emancipation proclamation, and the amendments to the constitution passed in confirmation thereof, swept out of existence the slave property of Mr. Ventress, which constituted the major part of his wealth. Losing his property at an age when men usually retire from business, and worried beyond expression by the changed and unsettled condition of the country, his health, which had not been good for some time, gradually declined, and he at last succumbed to general bodily prostration, passing away quietly at La Grange, his home, on the 26th of June, 1867. His widow survived him until the 10th of May, 1877, when she, too, was called from a* life of Christian excellence, having been for many years a worthy and honored member of the Presbyterian church. Their fam- ily consisted of five children, three of whom lived to manhood; a son and a daughter dying in childhood. Those living are Lawrence T., born Aug. 5, 1850, educated at home and in the State university at Oxford; James A., born February 14, 1853, and William P. S., born May 28, 1854, both of whom were educated at home in the Norwood high school and the Uni- versity of Virginia. After leaving college the latter graduated in law from the University of Mississippi, at Oxford. He is at present a practicing attorney of Woodville. These sons reside at the La Grange plantation, and give their friends a royal welcome to the luiuries and comforts of their magnificent home. They are among the largest and most successful planters in Wilkinson county. Law- rence T. is the only one of the brothers who is married. His wife was Miss Mary Ellen Holmes, a finely educated and talented lady, eminently fitted, by virtue of her intelligence, grace, ease and dignity, to do the honors of her beautiful home. She is a charming and gracious hostess, and is highly esteemed in social circles for her conversational powers and her winning manner, which inspires ease and confidence in her presence. She is the daughter of Capt. Richard Holmes, of Natchez. Mr. and Mrs. Ventress have a beautiful little daughter, Charlotte E., now five years of age, and a son, Lawrence T., Jr., born May 6, 1891, in whom their hopes and affections are centered. Lawrence T. Ventress was elected a member of the board of supervisors in 1887, and re-elected in 1889 and 1891. During this time he has served as president of that body. William P. S. was elected to the state legislature in 1891. At an early day Major Trask built the first story of the now palatial residence occupied by the Ventress family. This building was raised one story, and an observatory added just before the war. This is one of the most beautiful, attractive and costly of Southern homes, and is provided with a fine billiardroom, spacious halls, library, parlors, drawing and sleeping rooms, and lighted with gas, and in this abode of refinement and good taste hospitality of the most generous and truehearted, yet unostentatious description, is extended to all. Newet J. Vick. The Vick family has been prominent in the history of Mississippi since the year 1806, at which time, or a little before, Newet Vick, the grandfather of the subject of this MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 957 sketch, became a resident of Jefferson county. This gentleman, like his father before him (Thomas Vick), was a Virginian, and when just in the vigor of early manhood removed to Raleigh, N. C. , where, for a short time, he was engaged in merchandising. The state of Mississippi next became his home, but after residing near Washington for some time he came to near what is now the city of Vicksburg, where he purchased a large tract of land, his plantation taking the name of Open Woods. He also purchased a body of land fronting the Mississippi river, including, for the most part, what is now Vicksburg, seven miles distant from Open Woods. He came to this state as a local minister of the Methodist Episcopal church, and being a man of excellent parts and of original and intelligent views, there was strong talk among his neighbors of his making the race for the governorship of Mississippi, and he was urged to stand for the nomination, but he would not allow his name to go before the convention, for he was very much averse to coupling the gospel with politics. He was warmly welcomed in high social circles, as a business man was quite successful, and was an esteemed minister of the gospel. Mississippi at this time was not specially lawless, being mostly settled by citizens from Virginia, and their families, trained to the usages of old society, though subsequently Vicksburg and other river towns earned an unenviable reputa- tion from the misdeeds of floating or transient characters. The first Methodist Episcopal conference ever held in the state was at his residence on the Open Woods plantation. He died of what was believed to be y411ow fever in 1818, at the age of forty-seven years, having lived a most useful and truly Christian life. To Open Woods he was accompanied by his relative, Foster Cook, a civil engineer and afterward planter, whose son. Colonel Cook, a venerable octogenarian, is still living. Thomas and Burwell Vick, brothers of Newet J. Vick, came to Mississippi about the same time as himself, or perhaps before, the former (Uncle Tommy, as he was familiarly called) living to be a very old man. He was noted throughout this section for his generosity, kindness and nobility of heart, and the affection, good will and respect which were bestowed upon him by all were fully merited. He became a well-to-do planter, but his wealth was not selfishly hoarded for his own benefit, but was lavished freely in behalf of those less fortunate than himself. Burwell Vick has descendants now living who are large landowners: Captain John Willis, at Pan- ther burn, and Mrs. Dr. Phelps, at Nitta Yuma, neighboring stations to Anguilla, on the Louisville, New Orleans & Texas railroad, owning all property outside the depot belongings, although Nitta Yuma has been recently laid off into town lots, a few of which have been sold. Newet Vick was married in Virginia to Miss Elizabeth Clark, a very handsome, accom- plished and amiable lady, and when they attempted the journey to Mississippi they traveled overland to the Muscle shoals of the Tennessee river, in northern Alabama, where Mr. Vick built a flatboat, on which they embarked and floated down to a point below Natchez, making their first settlement in Jefferson county. Mrs. Vick died within a few hours of her hus- band, also of that dreaded scourge, yellow fever. They left a family of twelve children, the eldest of whom, a daughter, was not more than eighteen years of age. All lived to maturity, and two members are still living: Mrs. Dr. C. K. Marshall, wife of an eminent divine of the Southern Methodist Episcopal church, lately deceased, and Mrs. E. F. Ander- son, both of Vicksburg, each of whom has now a daughter living with her, Anne and Willie. The eldest son of this family was John Wesley Vick, the father of the immediate subject of this sketch, who was born in Jefferson county. Miss., March 1, 1806. He died on the 2d of March, 1888, in extreme old age, being at the time of his death eighty-two years and one day old. The formation of an internal tumor, due to a fall, was the immediate cause of his death, while for a year or more he had been in an enfeebled condition after an attack of 058 BIOQRAPHIGAL AND HISTORICAL dengue, or "break-bone" fever, from which he never recovered his wonted vigor. He was reared in Warren county, where he spent the greater portion of his life, except while away from home at school. He received his initiatory training in the schools of Warren county, but finished his education in Transylvania college, of Lexington, Ky., and in the University of Virginia. He would have graduated in a short time at the university, well up in his classes, and while in that institution was one of the captains of the cadets. He was called home by the necessities of business. After some time he purchased land at Mount Albon, near Vicksburg, on which he resided a number of years, engaged in planting. He purchased the land comprising the Anguilla plantation about 1840, at which time but little of the land bad been cleared, but he was very successful in his business operations and rapidly devel- oped this property, so that at the opening of the Civil war he was the owner of two thou- sand four hundred acres of land in one body, nearly one-half of which he had succeeded in reducing to a line state of cultivation, eight hundred acres more being cleared and put under cultivation since 1880. This land was kept under one management until 1886, with the exception of the land now owned by Junius Parham, which was sold some few years before. Besides this land, at different times he owned several other tracts, including his home place, known as Mount Albon plantation, near Vicksburg, already referred to, on which is erected a line brick residence, the residence which he built in Vicksburg being still one of the finest in the city, and is now the home of his daughter, Mrs.*Dr. S. D. Robins, whose husband has charge of the United States and Mississippi State hospital service, besides railroad and other corporation practice. He was the owner of about two hundred slaves and was considered a very wealthy man, but, like other members of his family, he was generous and charitable, giving freely of his wealth to churches, schools and charitable and public enterprises. The lot on which the present Methodist Episcopal church of Vicksburg now stands, one-fourth of a square, was contributed by him, and many other enterprises which tended to the build- ing .up and improvement of the city found in him a most liberal patron. While the original company was organized for the building of the Memphis & Vicksburg railroad, now a part of the great Huntington system, he was its last president, and, owning a majority of the paid-up stock, he sold the franchises, which were finally bought by Northern capitalists, and by them the road was constructed in 1880 and 1881, stipulating in the sale that the road should pass through Anguilla and a depot be there maintained. In the will of Newet Vick it was stipulated that the present site of Vicksburg should be laid out in town lots and divided among his children. Thus Newet Vipk was the founder of the place, and it was left to his children to develop the city, they being the sole owners of the land on which Vicks- burg now stands. Newet Vick's will became the subject of a rather notable litigation respecting the title to certain valuable tracts in the young city of Vicksburg, which involved an interesting construction of law, and was decided by a bare majority of the supreme court of the United States, being argued by that celebrated orator, S. S. Prentiss, and other legal luminaries. Of this decision The Life and Times of Sergeant Smith Prentiss speaks as f ollov7s : The IVth day of June, 1845, was, so far as :Mr. Prentiss' pecuniary condition was concerned, the day of doom. To comprehend this we must now take up the dropped stitch in the thread of our narrative aind return to IttS?, when, the reader will remember, Prentiss had by the decision of the supreme court of Mississippi recovered the commons in front of Vicksburg, valued then at from $100,000 to 1350,000. On these he had put up large and extensive buildings, estimated to be worth $100,000. It will be remem- bered that in that case the title of Vick's daughters came into the question collaterally, and the opinion of the court was that they had no interest in the two-hundred-acre tract reserved for the city in Vick's will. It will be remembered further that the city of Vicksburg claimed the commons partly in virtue of the MEM0IR8 OF MISSISSIPPI. 959 dedication by the administrator, Mr. Lane. No sooner had the court decided that the city of Vicksburg was not entitled than a new question sprang up in the minds of the daughters of Mr. Vick. Rev. John Lane, who had married one of them, had moved into the state of Louisiana. The other sisters were resi- dents of the state of Tennessee. Being thus residents of different states they could bring suit against the parties claiming tlie commons in the United States court. Accordingly, as early as 1838, Rev. .lohn Lane and wife and some of the other daughters of Newet Vick filed their bill on the equity side of the circuit court of the United States for the Southern 'district of Mississippi, setting out the will, the administration of Lane, the payment of all the debts, the sale of the town lots, and that the commons were still left; that the complainant's were entitled to a partition of them, or a sale and division of the proceeds, etc., and pray- ing for a construction of the will. To this suit Prentiss and' others were made parties. Some of the defendants ansvifered the bill and concurred in the prayer for division; others concurred generally, and prayed that their parts might be allotted to them. But the parties made defendant as veiides, to wit, Pren- tiss, etc., demurred to the bill. The cause being set down for hearing on this state of preparation, the court, in June, 1842, sustained the demurrer and dismissed the bill. From this decree the complainants appealed to the supreme court of the United States. In law phrase, they, Prentiss, etc., demurred to the bill, or, in other words, they said, admitting all the bill alleges, it is evident from the face of tlie will that the four sons alone of Newet Vick are entitled to this two-hundred-acre tract, the daughters are not at all entitled to it or interested iii it, and that the will had been so construed by the supreme court of Jiississippi. The reader will perceive, therefore, that the question now presented before the court was \ery difEerent from the one presented in the case heretofore described, although the same elements entered into the discussion. There the question was: Did Newet Vick dedicate the commons in his life- time, or did Lane do it under proper authority? Both these questions were decided against the city. But in this case the naked, bold question was: Bid Newet Vick in his will devise this two hundred acres to his sons exclusively, or to his sons and daughters? If the latter, then the daughters were entitled to nine shares of it. The third clause, as will be seen by reference to it, gives to each of his daughters one equal proportion with his sons and wife, of all of his personal estate as they come of age or majry, and to his sons an equal portion of said personal estate as they come of age, together with all his lands, all of which lands were to be appraised, valued, and divided when Westley arrived at twenty-one years of age; the said Westley having one part, and the son William having the other part, of the tracts unclaimed by the wife Elizabeth, and the son Newitt to have, at her death, the one she had chosen to occupy. Hartwell was to keep the part he already had in possession. Had this clause stood alone the question would have been beyond doubt, but the fourth clause, after appointing the executors, etc., wishes — that is, directs — his executors to remember the town lots hereafter to be laid off on the aforementioned two hundred acres of land, should be sold to pay his debts or other engagements, in preference to any other of his property, " for the use and benefit of all his heirs " (interlined in the will). The fate of the cause hung upon the construction of these two clauses. The demurrer was sustained in the court below, and Lane appealed to the supreme court. Hon. Benjamin Hardin, of Kentucky, represented the complainants' appellants and John J. Crittenden the defendants'. The reporter says: "This is one of the cases which was argued during his unavoidable absence, and, although he is enabled to give Mr. Hardin's argument, he regrets that he could not furnish Mr. Crittenden's. Of the eight judges,Story was absent and Nelson h^ not taken his seat. Of the six who presided, four, that is, McLean, Wayne, Catron and Daniel, held that the fourth clause entitled the daughters to share equally with the sons in the two-hundred-acre land tract, while two of the judges, to wit, McKinley and Chief Justice Taney, held to the contrary. Judge McLean delivered the opinion of the court, and the critical reader will observe that the reasoning of the court is sustained in one part by the hypothetical interlineation of the little word " and " before the interlined words in the will, "for the use and benefit of all my heirs." And Justice McKinley, in his dissenting opinion, com- ments with cautious words of judicial severity against this hypothetical interlineation, " I deny the power of the court, in such a case as this, to add the word ' and.' " He held that all the lands passed to the sons under the third clause of the will, unmodified by the interlined words of the fourth clause, and that the will, having been adjudicated by the supreme court of Mississippi, was res ailjiidkatit. The above synop- sis shows upon what slight circumstances sometimes hang not only the fate of great cases in law, but also the destiny of men. Had Story and Nelson been upon the bench, the court might have stood four to four, and thus the complainant's cause might have been lost, as it requires a majority to overrule a decision of the court below. As it was, the decision of the court below was reversed and the case sent back. Joha Wesley Vick was married in the year 1827 to Miss Maria Brabston, a native of Mississippi, and a member of a well-to-do family, descendants of which are still living 960 • BIOQRAPHIOAL ANP HI8T0BJ0AL around Vicksburg. She died in 1832, havingborne three children — two sons and one daughter: Thomas Vick, the eldest, was a graduate of the Military Academy of Kentucky, and of Center college of Danville. He became a physician of considerable prominence, and for some time was employed as surgeon on board a United States steamer. He traveled quite exten- sively in Europe, and during the great Civil war of this country he first served in the capacity of captain of a volunteer company, later as colonel of a regiment, and after- ward as brigadier-geueral of the Louisiana militia. Before and after the war he turned his attention to sugar planting in Louisiana, also practicing his profession, and in 1867, after escaping the perils of battle, while making a business trip on board the steamer Carter, it blew up, and he is supposed to have been killed, as he has never since been heard from. He was last seen at about one .o'clock at night, reading a paper. Prior to the war he had so improved his inheritance as to have a large property, which, for the most part, was lost by the business calamities incident to that great conflict. He never married. He was very popular and well liked, for his many noble qualities could not fail to win him many warm friends. Hartwell O. Vick, another son, was a planter on the Sunflower river, where he resided until 1880, during which year, being overtaken by sickness on a business trip, he stopped at Vicksburg, where he died, a single man. Harriet, the daughter, a bright and beautiful child, died at the age of nine years. Mr. Vick' s second marriage was to Miss Letitia Booker, a daughter of Judge Booker, a prominent politician of Kentucky, and to this union one daughter was born, Letitia, who first married James R. Downs, of Mississippi, by whom she became the mother of two sons: Alfred and James E., both of whofn are residents of Chattanooga, Tenn. , and were educated in Kentucky, and in the law department of the University of Michigan. Alfred is a member of the law firm of Marchbanks, Taylor & Downs, and is a very promising young attorney. Both he and his brother are married, and each have two children. James R. , Jr. , is a broker, and he and his brother own large tracts of land in Washington county. Miss. After the death of their father, their mother was married to Col. John Cowan of Danville, Ky., an ex-lieutenant- colonel of a Kentucky regiment of the Union army, that participated in the siege of Vicks- burg, where he was wounded in the foot. His wife died in April, 1880. She was a most devoted wife and mother, a highly cultured and refined lady, and possessed grand and noble traits of character. After the death of his second wife, Mr. Vick was married to the mother of the immediate subject of this sketch, her maiden name being Catherine Barber. She was born and reared ia Danville, Ky., and was a sister of Lewis G. Barber, who is a professor in Central university of Kentucky, and James Barber, a prominent attorney and banker of Maysville, that state. She bore Mr. Vick six children. Kate, the eldest, is a highly accom- plished woman, and is now traveling in Europe. She owns a part of the Anguilla planta- tion, on which she has nearly one hundred acres devoted to fruit, which is being added to from time to time, fifty acres being a pecan orchard. She was the first to attempt fruit raising on Deer creek, in Sharkey county, but as her venture proved successful, others have attempted it, and now the owners of Anguilla have all large orchards, except one. Martha D. is the wife of R. Perry, a merchant of Russellville, Ky. , by whom she has two children, Wesley and Kate. Mary Ellen is the wife of 0. S. Robins, a prominent attorney and real estate agent of Vicksburg, by whom she has two daughters, Mamie and Fannie. Amanda is the wife of Dr. S. D. Robins, and lives on the old home place in Vicksburg. She has three children: Vick, Kate and Amanda. Wesley Vick died at the age of three years, and Newet J. is the youngest of the family, and is the only male member of the Vick family that is now living. The mother of these children died in 1867, at the age of forty-nine MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 961 years, a firm believer in the Presbyterian faith, although a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, by mutual consent of the Presbyterian and Methodist Episcopal churches. Mr. Vick was a leading member of the last named church, and for a great many years before the war was Sunday-school superintendent. He was a whig in politics, was a strong Union man in sentiment, and was much opposed to secession, although after the war was precipitated his sympathies, as was generally the case at the South, were naturally on the side of his neighbors and friends, although, per- sonally, he took no part in the struggle. His former slaves, having been kindly treated, came back home, as they called the plantation, and remained with him, so that being able to keep his place under cultivation his losses by the war, though great, were less than with many. He was a man with fine perceptions, was just and liberal in his views, was devoted to his home and family, and in the domestic circle was a model husband and father. He was a model host, for besides being hospitable and cordial, he was naturally kind, and had sufficient tact to at once put at their ease those who entered his presence, and to enable them to show themselves at their best. Newet J. Vick, whose name heads this sketch, was born at Vicksburg in the year 1858, and was reared in his native town, and at Anguilla plantation during the war, but was educated at Eussellville and Danville, Ky., and in the Southern university of Greensboro, Ala., graduating from the last named institution, with the degree of A. M., in 1877. The same year, and also the year succeeding, he was ofFered the position of principal of the preparatory department in his alma mater, but pre- ferred other occupation. He graduated from the law department of the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor with the degree of LL. B. in the class of 1880, which numbered about one hundred and seventy-five, and was licensed to practice in that state. He settled on his present plantation in 1881, which, together with other parts of the Anguilla planta- tion, he has been managing, until of late he has begun to devote his attention largely to the raising of fruit, about ninety acres being now given to this enterprise; and is, moreover, engaged still in planting, and is considered one of the thrifty, progressive and successful planters of this section. He has an excellent store-building under rent in Anguilla village. The village of Anguilla was laid out adjoining his plantation by his father and was named after the plantation. The word Anguilla is understood to be derived from an island of that name which was early identified with the growth of cotton, and signifies, when translated into English, an eel. Mr. Vick is a finely educated gentleman; possesses, in an eminent degree, that courtesy for which the Southern people have become famous, and better than all, is a gentleman of excellent habits and reputation. He is unmarried, and the greater portion of the time makes his home in Vicksburg, where he has hosts of acquaintances and friends. Among the other children of the founder of Vicksburg may be mentioned his eldest child, Sallie, who married Judge Lane, appointed administrator to carry out the provisions of the will, whose descendants are now living at Vicksburg and vicinity; Lucy, who married Mr. Erwin, some years speaker of the Mississippi house of representatives; Eliza, the wife of Mr. Morse, one of the first merchants of Vicksburg; Matilda, who married Dr. McCray, a leading physician in early times; and among the sons. General William Vick, a popular planter and man of affairs, and Newet Holmes Vick, somewhat noted for his fine appearance and aptitude for business, who died on his plantation in Yazoo county, Miss., at the early age of thirty-six years. 963 BIOOBAPBIGAL AND HISTORICAL (gHAPTBP^ XXIII. BRIEF NOTICES OF PROMINENT PERSONS, W. kEAE Macon, Jones county, Gra. , July 6, 1810, John C. Wade was born. He is a son of Mieajah and Sarah (McCormaek) Wade, both natives of North Carolina, the for- ;mer being born in 1777, and the latter in 1785. Mieajah Wade's parents were Benjamin and Amy (Jourdon) Wade, his father having been a son of Andrew Wade and they came from southern Virginia. Mieajah was reared near Oxford, N. C, passing his early years on a farm, and, owing to his father's early death, received only a limited education. His father left a family of nine children — three sons and six daughters — all of whom grew to maturity. The sons' names were,Memucan, Charles and Mieajah. The latter followed farm- ing all his life. He removed to Georgia in January, 1802, stopping in Hancock county, where he was married in 1803. About 1808 he removed to Jones county, Ga., and thence to Butler county, Ala., in January, 1819. Eleven children were born to him, named: James W. , Benjamin J. , Martha Ellen, John C, Benjamin D., William M., Rebecca E., Charles A., Augusta, Susan and Milton. In 1839 he removed to Holmes county, Miss., where he purchased a section of land and engaged extensively in planting. He was for a number of years a magistrate, serving in that capacity both in Georgia and Alabama. His wife was a finely educated woman, and he was thoughtful and studious, and made up for his lack of educational training by the acquisition of a wide range of general information. He was an energetic, pushing, thoroughgoing man, and at the time of his death, in 1848, left a con- siderable property. His wife died in 1844, both being members of the Methodist church, and he was a member of the Masonic fraternity. John C. Wade was reared and educated in Butler county, Ala. , the schools there afPording him a fair English education. Later he studied Latin for two years and gave considerable attention to the higher mathematics. At about the age of twenty, he began to read law in the office of James La Fayette Cottrell, with whom he remained about one year. In 1834 he was married to Miss Annie E. Tomlinson, who was a native of Mississippi, being born August 31, 1814. She was a daughter of Jacob and Eleanor (Graves) Tomlinson. Of this marriage were born the following named children: Byron L. P. (deceased), John A. (deceased), Mieajah T, (deceased), Eleanor (deceased), Annie T. (deceased), Zorada (the wife of A. L. West, of Copiah county), Benjamin (deceased), William A. (deceased), Leonora J. (deceased) and Edward T. (a dentist living at Wesson). Mrs. Wade died July 24, 1851, having been for many years a consistent member of the Methodist church. After his first marriage, Mr. Wade engaged in merchandising at Pine BlufP, Copiah county, Miss., in which he continued three years. Later he taught school in Copiah county, until his election to the office of sherifp in 1845, when he located in Gallatin. At the expira- MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 963 tion of the term for which he was elected he was again chosen to the same office, but he declined a re-election and purchased a place upon which he resided, in 1849, and engaged in farming. His original plantation contained between two and three hundred acres. He has added to it until he is now the owner of eight or nine hundred acres. Cotton and corn are the principal products. In 1849 he was elected a member of the board of supervisors, of which he was president for four years. He was married, the second time, to Miss Sarah Wright, the daughter of Elijah Wright and a native of Franklin county, Miss., and born May 10, 1818. Mr. Wade and his wife are both members of the Methodist church, of which he has been recording secretary. Mr. Wade is still vigorous, though the snows of four- score years have whitenafl his hair and beard. His step is light and elastic and his form is erect. He attributes being spared many of the ills of old age to his having led a temperate, careful life. He retains his mental vigor perfectly, his memory being phenomenal. He is of medium hight and build, and his eyes are as clear and bright as those of a boy. He has a bright, well-trained mind, and is strong in his convictions, and is a good reasoner. In his long career he has always enjoyed the esteem and respect of his fellowmen, and he has a wide acquaint- ance throughout the state. W. A. A\'ade was born near Fayetteville, Moore county, N.J3.,in 1816. His father, Mark Wade, was a native of this county, and was born May 17, 1776, and was there married to Miss Celia Wright, also a native of Moore county. When Mr. Wade was about four months old, his father moved to Clarke county, Ala., where he remained about four years and engaged in farming. From this county he removed to Copiah county, Miss., in 1821, settling about live miles north of where our subject now lives, in what was then known as the Choctaw purchase. The country was then in its natural state, the nearest settlement was ten miles distant and the nearest mill was ten miles away. The Choctaw Indians were roaming about the forests and were seen almost daily. Mr. Wade took up about one hundred and sixty acres of land, which he improved and added to its area, until at the time of his death he owned five or six hundred acres. He had hve children: Penelope, Nancy, Mary, Elizabeth, and W. A., our subject. Of these, only the youngest two are living. Mrs. Mark Wade died some time in the fifties, her husband dying in 1866. They were members of the Methodist Episcopal church for many years. AV. A. Wade was reared and educated in Copiah county, attending school whenever a teacher could be secured, at an old-fashioned, pioneer log schoolhouse. At the age of six- teen he became a clerk in a store at Gallatin, where he remained seven or eight years, when he was elected justice of peace, and served in that capacity about nine years, when he began farming. In 1843 he married Miss Elizabeth Cams, who was born in Copiah county in 1826. He began his career as a planter where he now resides, which was the homestead of his wife. He has added to his possessions here and is now the owner of a large ti-act of land, the prin- cipal productions being cotton, corn and potatoes; and stockraising, including horses, mules and cattle, also claims his attention. His plantation, four and one-half miles west of Hoylehurst and about one-half mile west of Gallatin, consists of three thousand four hundred and forty acres, about seventy-five per cent, of which is under cultivation. Mr. and Mrs. Wade have had ten children, of whom the following five are living: Mark; Nannie, the wife of J. W. Eichard- son, of Texas; Mary, the widow of Capt. A. B. Lowe; William and Walter. Mr. Wade is a sensible, matter-of-fact man, strong in intellect and of retentive memory, and noted for his stern and unflinching integrity. In person, he is tall, slender, smooth shaven and is erect and as vigorous as a young man. Daniel R. AVagner, president of the Bank of Water Valley, secretary and treasurer Qf 964 BIOORAPEICAL AND HI8T0BI0AL the Yocono mills, and member of the firm of Wagaer & Lelaud, occupies a conspicuous position in the business circles of Yalobusha county, and is more than justly entitled to a biographical sketch in this record of the leading men of the state of Mississippi. He was born in Union county, Penn., in 1840, and is a son of Andrew and Catherine Wagner, natives of Wittenberg, Germany. They were married in their native land, and soon after sailed for America, settling near Philadelphia; thence they went to Union county, Penn., and some years later returned to Philadelphia, where they died in the year 1849. Andrew Wagner, the grandfather of Daniel R. , was a native of Germany; he immigrated to the United States about the same time his son came, and located in Philadelphia, where he lived the rest of his life; his death was in 1868. He reared a family Si ten children, of whom Andrew, Jr., was the seventh. Daniel R. Wagner is one of a family of eight children, all of whom lived to be grown, and six of whom are yet living. He passed the greater por- tion of his youth in Philadelphia, and at the age of nineteen years he came to Mississippi. He first worked in the express office of the railway company, and at the breaking out of the Civil war he enlisted in company F, Fifteenth Mississippi volunteer infantry, and went to the defense of the stars and bars. Later be was with General Chalmers' escort. When General Price was retre^iiing through Water Valley with his army, Mr. Wagner was taken prisoner and was carried to Alton, 111. , where he made his escape, going thence to Port Hudson, La. ; there he rejoined the army. He was twice wounded, once at the battle of Shiloh, while his regiment was charging a battery, and on the retreat from Nashville, Tenn. After the first wound — a gunshot wound in the ankle — he was transferred to the cavalry. After the surrender he settled in Water Valley, where he embarked in the mercantile trade on a very small scale, laying the foundation, however, of his future success and prosperity. The first firm was composed of W. H. Brister, W. B. Wagner and D. R. Wagner. Mr. Brister soon withdrew from the business, and the Wagner brothers built a fine two-story brick, which the firm now occupies. After several years of business success W. B. ^V'agner died, and D. R. Wagner became sole proprietor of the business, which had grown to immense proportions. He has, however, proven fully equal to the demand upon his judgment, tact and capacity. In 1887 Mr. Wagner was elected president of the Bank of Water Valley, a state institution, chartered under the laws of the state of Mississippi, with a cash capital of 135,000. Since he was chosen to fill this responsible position the business has increased from $18,000 to 1100,000 per year. To him is also due the resuscitation of the cotton factoryj which stood idle for several years. The value of this property to the city may easily be esti- mated, when it is known that seven hundred and fifty thousand pounds are used annually, and that the gross earnings amount to nearly $40,000 yearly. Mr. Wagner was united in marriage to Miss Maria G. Young, a daughter of Dr. John Young, a native of North Caro- lina and one of the oldest physicians of Water Valley. Mrs. Wagner was born and reared in Yalobusha county. She has had born to her six children: John H. , assistant cashier of the Bank of Water Valley, is a graduate of the well-known Bingham school, of North Caro- lina; Jessie E., Corinne, Calista, George and Eugene. The parents are members of the Presbyterian church, and are among the most zealous and liberal supporters. Mr. Wagner takes no special interest in politics further than to exercise his right of franchise; he votes the democratic ticket. The family are highly esteemed throughout the community. George I. Wainwright, a well-known planter and the present treasurer of Clarke county. Miss., was born June 28, 1843, at Quitman, where he now resides. He is the third in a family of eight children of John V. and Martha (Risher) Wainwright. His father, a native of Mobile, was a son of Hastings Wainwright; his mother was a Singleton. The former MEMOIRS OF MTSSIS8IPPI. 965 passed his early life in the place ot his nativity and came to this county about 1834, locating at Quitman, where he married. His mother was a daughter of James Risher, one of the earliest settlers in Clarke county, who became a prominent planter during the early period of the county's history, dying in 1858, his wife having preceded him in 1832. His father was a life-long planter, dying in 1879, his widow surviving him and living at Quitman. The father was a member of the Baptist church; his mother was connected with the Methodist Episcopal denomination. They had five children: Mary J. (who died young), Louise E., George I., James J., Sarah A., Green M. George I. Wainwright passed his early life as a farmer's boy of all work — acquiring such an education as was afforded by the public schools of the county. B&fore the war began he enlisted in the state's service. When war was formally declared in 1861, he re-enlisted in company B, of the fourteenth Mississippi regi- ment as a private, but was soon promoted to the rank of a sergeant. He participated in the battles at luka, Corinth, Vicksburg and Franklin, Tenn. , wher« he was wounded in the right arm by a shell. He was confined in the hospital only sixteen days, and when the army left Nashville he walked from Franklin, Tenn., to Columbus, Miss. Returning to Clarke county he found employment at farming work. It was not long before he began planting for himself, and he is now the owner of quite a tract of land, located near Quitman. He is prominent as a planter; is a useful member of the Farmers' Alliance; has long been identified with the democratic party ; is a Knight of Honor and a member and trustee of the Methodist Episcopal church, of which his wife is also a member. He was elected to the office of county treasurer in 1882, and has been re-elected at each election since. In March, 1866, Mr. Wainwright took unto himself a wife in the person of Mrs. Mary E. Walker, a daughter of Robert and Margins (Ezell) Walker, who is a native of Mississippi, born in the month of October, 1844, and who has had the following children: Elyett P., Leona, John A., William H. , Arthur, Charles B. , Edwin and Katie (who were twins). P. M. B. Wait has served in the capacity of sheriff of Tate county. Miss. , since 1881, which fact speaks volumes as to his ability, efficiency and popularity. He has made a beau ideal public official, for, besides being faithful in the discharge of every duty, he possesses undoubted courage and pluck, attributes very necessary for his calling. He was born in Greenville, S. C, the third child born to John C. and Jane A. (McCollough) Wait, who were born, reared and married in the Palmetto state, from which they moved to Mississippi in 1850, locating first in Panola county and in 1860 in Tate county. The father was called from earth in February, 1867, but is still survived by his widow, who bore him seven children, five of whom are living. P. M. B. Wait spent his youthful days in Tate county, and from here he enlisted in the Confederate service in 1862, being then but fifteen years of age. He was a member of company G, Adams' regiment of cavalry, in which he served throughout the entire war, participating in the siege of Vicksburg, the battles of Jackson, Ijhampion Hill, Port Hudson, Selma, Shiloh, Guntown, Bear Creek, Port Gibson, Coleman' s Cross Roads, and Oxford, Miss., where he was wounded in the right shoulder by a minie- ball. He was mustered out of the service at Selma, Ala., May 5,1866, after which he returned to Senatobia and engaged in planting, which he followed for some time. He was elected to his present position by the democrat party, of which he has long been a member, and, as above stated, has discharged the duties of this position in a highly satisfactory manner. He was married, in 1870, to Miss Alice Day Fuqua, a daughter of W. Y. and Martha (Brown) Fuqua. He lost his wife in 1878, after she had borne him four daughters. His second union took place in December, 1880, Mrs. Mary Stowers, widow of James Stowers, becoming his wife, her maiden name having been Matthews. This union has resulted in the 966 BIOGRAPHICAL AND HISTOBIOAL birth of two sons. Mr. Wait is a member of the K. of H., the K. & L. of H., and the I. O. O. F. He and his wife belong to the Baptist church of Senatobia, and are highly esteemed in the social circles in which they move. Mr. Wait is a genial, whole-souled gentle- man and has many warm friends. Dr. James S. Walker is a gentleman who has become well known throughout the state as a practitioner of medicine and surgery, a safe and reliable banker and as a business man of sterling principles. He was born in Eichmond, Ky., on the 12th of April, 1845, being the third son born to William Jason and Sarah (Stone) Walker, natives of Kentucky. The father was a merchant, planter and banker of note, and spent his entire life in Madison county, where he died in 1879, in the sixty-ninth year of his age. He lived a life of useful- ness to his country and state, and his death was felt to be a great loss to the community in which he resided. His parents were William and Ann (Bates) Walker, who were of English descent, their ancestors coming from -England and settling in Virginia during the colonial history of this country. The maternal grandparents, James and Katie (Harris) Stone, were also among the very early residents of Kentucky. Dr. James S. Walker was educated at Center college, Danville, Ky., and the University of Missouri, and subsequently graduated in medicine from the Jefferson Medical college of Philadelphia, Penn. He began practicing in Richmond, Ky., in 1865, but at the end of two years came to Greenville, Miss., and here was a very extensive and successful practitioner, until 1890, when Jie retired from practice and became president of the Merchants and Planters' Bank of Greenville. He was elected to this position in 1888, but did not take active charge until 1890. He was chief health officer of the county for about six years, but at last resigned the position, having in the meantime interested himself in planting. In addition to being a large landowner, he is a stockholder in the Delta Insurance company, of which he is also director and ti'easurer, and is the largest stockholder in the bank of which he is president, which has a capital of 1150,- 000. Although his father was a wealthy man, he was compelled to look out for himself to a considerable extent in his youth, and it is in a great measure owing to this that while he was still young he was independent in thought and action and learned to rely upon his own resources. Although he has not united himself with any church, he is a liberal contributor of his means to worthy enterprises, and is a man of strictly moral habits. Having come to Greenville in the days of its infancy, he passed through the yellow-fever scourge of this region in 1878. His first marriage was consummated in 1870, Miss Frances E. Dye, a native of Arkansas, and a daughter of William H. Dye, of Virginia, becoming his wife. To them one child was born: Frances, who is now residing at home. He was called upon to mourn the death of his wife in 1871, and in 1878 he was married a second time, to Miss Belle O. Blanton, who also died, in 1884, a native of Washington, county, and a daughter of Dr. O. M. and Martha R. (Smith) Blanton, for a sketch of whom see Dr. Blanton' s sketch. His second union also resulted in the birth of one child, Sarah Stone, who resides with her parents. In personal appearance Dr. Walker is prepossessing, has a fine physique, and handsome and intelligent grayish eyes. His conversational powers are excellent, and although dignified, he is very easy in his manners and inspires others with ease and confi- dence. He. is highly cultured, and his naturally brilliant mind has been broadened and strengthened by mingling with the world and by contact with the business affairs of life. While a practitioner of the healing art his reputation was most enviable, and his services were in demand over a very large scope of territory. As a business man, his honor has been unassailable, for any transaction not straightforward is looked upon by him with con- tempt. Being of a modest and quiet disposition, he does not seek or desire public notoriety, MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 967 but nevertheless is deeply interested in the welfare of his county and in the wellbeing of his fellow mortals. The bank of which he is the efficient president is a prosperous one, and is situated in one of the most desirable locations in the city in a handsome building on Pop- lar street, between Washington avenue and Main street. Hon. Joel P. Walker, a prominent lawyer of Meridian, Miss., was born in Lauderdale county, of this state, October 3, 1840, a son of John R. and Martha A. (Pelton) Walker, natives of North Carolina. His father was a member of the North Carolina legislature and some of his ancestry figured quite prominently in the Revolutionary war. John R. and his brother Joel P. came to Mississippi in the year 1836 and located in Lauderdale county, where they purchased land near Lauderdale Springs. They were extensive slaveowners and everywhere noted for being mild masters. They both died in this county. John R. Wal- ker had twelve children — six sons and six daughters — of whom nine are still living. The eldest of them was the subject of thig sketch, who was reared on a farm, and received his primary education in the public schools. In 1858 he entered Chapel Hill college, in North Carolina, and was a student there at the time of the capture of Port Sumter by the Confed- erates. Being tired with a martial spirit, he immediately started for home and a few days thereafter joined the Lauderdale zouaves. He was in the fight at Leesburg, where his lieu- tenant was killed and succeeded him in that office, and later, through the influence of Colonel Barksdale and others, he was commissioned as captain, with a view to recruiting a new com- pany, but the conscription act having come into effect, this design was thwarted. He next joined the Second Mississippi cavalry and was elected second lieutenant of his company. He was captured at Oxford, Miss. , with the majority of his company, and taken to Alton, 111., and thence to Camp Chase, and thence to Baltimore, Md. , being kept a prisoner for four months, when he was exchanged at Petersburg. He rejoined his regiment at Spring Hill, Temi., and was under the command of Generals Armstrong and Forrest most of the time until the close of the war, and was himself in command of a body of men detailed to him from different brigades. After the surrender he came back to Lauderdale county, and was elected a member of the first legislature that convened after the war. He served three suc- cessive sessions and was the second youngest man in that body. While a student in college at North Carolina he had read law, and after the expiration of his legislative term he resumed his study, which he pursued diligently in connection with planting, and being duly admitted to the bar began his practice. He was district attorney under appointment by Grovernor Alcorn, and filled this office until the expiration of his term in connection with his legal practice, seeking no other official position until, in 1883, he was elected to represent his district in the state senate for a term of four years, at the expiration of which he was re-elected for another term of the same duration, and this office he accepted only at the earnest solicitation of friends. During all of his active career he figured quite prominently and had a strong influence in local and state politics, though he has followed his profession as closely as possible and devoted his attention as little as possible to public affairs, except during his terms in office, when he filled the various high positions to which he had been chosen with credit to himself and to the entire satisfaction of his constituents. His name was strongly discussed in his district at one time as an available one for a congressional canvass. He has many warm friends throughout the state. He is prominent in Masonic circles and is a mem- ber of the Knights of Honor. He was married in 1867 to Miss Mary Johnson, who lived but eleven months after their union. April 4, 1871, he married Miss Sallie, a daughter of Dr. Joseph M. Reynolds of Hinds county. Miss. By his first marriage he had one daughter, who is the wife of E. C. Williams. He has three sons and two daughters living by his sec- 968 BIOORAPHWAL AND HI8T0RI0AL ond marriage: Joseph P., Hallie C, Wallace R. , Paton E. and Sallie R. The family are communicants of the Bpiscopa] church. The law firm of Walker and Hall, of which our subject is the senior member, stand deservedly high at the Mississippi bar, and are the attor- neys for the Meridian National bank of Meridian, Miss. Hon. John A. Walker, of Walker's Bridge, Pike county, Miss., is among the substantial merchants and planters of this part of the state. He was born in Pike county, near where he now resides, May 6, 1843. His father, Hon. Elijah Walker, was a native of Georgia and was born in Lincoln county, and there he was educated and passed his early years. While yet a young man he came to Mississippi, and was married at Columbia, to Miss Hester Adams, a daughter of John Adams, one of the pioneer families. After his marriage he located in Pike county, near the present home of our subject, where he improved a plan- tation and reared a family, and passed a prosperous and commendatory life, which terminated in 1858, his widow surviving him until January, 1871, when she died at an advanced age. Ml'. Walker was a prominent member of the Baptist church, with which his wife was also long identified. They were consistent Christian people, whose lives were in accordance with their professions. Mr. AValker was for a number of years a justice of the peace, and filled other local positions creditably to himself and to the satisfaction of his fellow- citizens. John A. Walker is the youngest son of a family of two sons and three daugh- ters, the fourth child in the order of nativity, born to his parents. His brother, Andrew Walker, was a soldier in the Sixteenth Mississippi infantry, and died near Carterville in 1861, early in the Civil war. Our subject spent his youth in his native county, and received his primary education in the public schools near his home. In 1861 he enlisted in the Quitman guards of the Sixteenth Mississippi regiment, with which he served in the army of Virginia under Generals Lee and Jackson, participating in a num- ber of engagettients, among which were those at Cross Keys and Winchester, Va. , the seven days' fight around Richmond, and the second battle of Bull Run. In the last named engagement he received a gunshot wound through the leg, which disabled him from further service for six months, during which time he was in the hospital. After his recovery he returned to his regiment, and participated in the battles of Fredericksburg, Antietam, Get- tysburg, the battle of the Wilderness, Spottsylvania Courthouse, Cold Harbor, and the siege of Petersburg. He was captured by the Federals at Weldon railroad, and held a prisoner at Point Lookout, Md. , until the close of the war, when he was paroled. While a prisoner, Mr. Walker attended a private school taught in the prison by Professor Morgan, of South Carolina, who was also a prisoner of war. Mr. Walker had the advantage of this fine educational opportunity for about five months before the surrender. After the close of hostilities he returned to his home in Pike county, and engaged in planting. In 1872 Mr. Walker built a store, and engaged in merchandising at his present location. He embarked in this trade in a small way, and his progress has been such that he has since not only had to frequently increase his stock, but also to build additions to his place of business. His sales now reach $75,000 annually. As a matter of historical interest it may be stated that he was the first one engaged in merchandising at this point. A busi- ness man of superior ability and a skillful manager of affairs, Mr. Walker has acquired a tine property, and now ranks among the wealthy men of Pike county. He has ever taken an active interest in politics, and has always supported the principles and candidates of the democratic party. He has held several local offices, . having served as a magistrate and as a member of the board of supervisors for eight consecutive years and as a delegate to the county and state conventions, and to him is given the honor of having cast for Pike MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 969 county the vote for Governor Stone. At this time, August 8, 1891, Mr. Walker is a candi- date for representative of Pike county in the lov?er house of the legislature. He is a man of ability and unquestioned honor, and if elected to represent the county, vcill do so with dignity and credit. Mr. Walker was married in Pike county, in 1866, to Miss Mollie McGe- hee, daughter of S. C. McGehee, a prominent and influential man and a member of one of the leading families of Mississippi. He is an active member of the Masonic order and of the K. of P. , in both of which he has been connected officially. Benjamin J. Walker was born in Edgefield district, S. C, in 1790, and was married in Wayne county, Miss., in 1818, to Catherine Huston, who was born in the state of Kentucky in 1800. They had born to them eleven children, of whom Henry Walker, the subject of this biographical notice, is the eldest. They removed to Simpson county. Miss., in 1826, and thence, in 1834, to Newton county. Miss. , where they were among the eSirliest settlers. The father engaged in farming, in which he was more than ordinarily successful. He and his wife were members of the Baptist church, to which they contributed liberally. Henry Walker received a common-school education; he was born in 1820, and in the year 1841 he engaged in agricultural pursuits. In 1847 he was united in marriage to Miss D. Evans, a daughter of Henry Evans, a prominent farmer of the community. Eleven children were born of this marriage, eight of whom are living: Elizabeth (wife of William Pierce), Frances C (wife of Thomas Peoples), Watson F., Mary J. (wife of J. Chapman), H. B., Archie E., William E. and Jo E. In 1862 Mr. Walker responded to the call for men, and enlisted in Captain Carleton's company for six months; at the end of that time he enlisted in Cap- tain Grimes' cavalry company. Ninth Mississippi. He was captured at Savannah, Ga. , December 21, 1864, and after his release he returned home and turned his attention to farm- ing. He owns about twelve hundred acres of land, the cultivation of which he superintends, and runs a cottongin and a gristmill. He is a man of unusual business qualifications, and has been prosperous in all his undertakings. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, and the family belong to the Baptist church. Mr. Walker is a liberal supporter of all worthy enterprises, and is a highly respected member of the community in which he lives. Capt. Nelson Simmons Walker is a name that is well and favorably known through Claiborne and adjoining counties, and it may with truth be said that he inherits many of the characteristics for which the natives of the Empire state have become famous throughout the length and breadth of America — enlighted and progressive views, energy, honesty and courage. He was born in Herkimer county, N. Y., August 21, 1835, the fourth of six chil- dren whose names are as follows: Mary (deceased), became the wife of a Mr. Murray, a planter; Dwight B. was a successful business man of West Winfield, N. Y., and died at the age of forty-five years; George P. is a prosperous merchant of Melbourne, Australia (he first emigrated to that distant land in 1850; was there married and retured to America, after which he again returned to Australia, and is there now living); Edward Everett resides at Grand Eapids, Mich., where he is engaged in merchandising; Julia is the wife of Horace Kinney, of Saginaw, Mich., and Nelson Simmons. The father of these children, Ira Walker, was born in York state in 1798, and as a merchant amassed quite a fortune. His wife, Julia (Foster) Walker, was also born in that state, and both were educated in the public schools, and throughout their lives were patrons of education. Their deaths occurred March 7, 1873, and 1881, respectively. Nelson Simmons Walker received his early educational training in the common schools of New York, after which he entered the West Winfield academy of Herkimer county, and took a full English and business course of instruction, which admirably fitted him for the practical life he has led. He finished his schooling in 970 BIOORAPHWAL AND EISTORIOAL 1854, and then commenced the voyage of life for liimwelf at the age of nineteen years 118 a salesman in a general store without any capital whatever, so far as money was concerned. He, however, possessed a stout heart, willing hands and a determination to succeed, and has kept steadily to this determination until he is now one of the prosperous men of the county in which he resides. He remained in business until the opening of the Civil war, when he enlisted as a private in a Mississippi regiment, and was promoted through the various stages of third lieutenant, second lieutenant and was made captain of company B, after the second battle of Manassas, his commission coming direct from the hand of the Southerner's ideal of a chieftain, Gen. Eobert E. Lee, a man whose fame, honor, bravery, integrity and true worth will ever be perpetuated in song and story. Mr. Walker took an active part in the following battles: All the engagements around Yorktown, Williamsburg, second Manassas, Seven Pines, seven days' engagement around Richmond, Chancellorsville, Fredericksburg, Mine Run and the three days' engagement at Gettysburg. Mr. Walker was in thirty-two engagements during the war. He was wounded in the left leg at the battle of second Manas- sas, which confined him about one month in the hospital. The retreat from Pennsylvania was one (Joatinuous fight, and during this time he was in the siege of Petersburg, Burgess Mill and' the sieges of Forts Baldwin and Gregg. He surrendered with Lee at Appomattox Courthouse, and afterward went to Washington, D. C, via City Point, tjience to New York, and from there to New Orleans. While they were in Washington, on account of the intense excitement over the death of President Lincoln, the Southern troops that had sur- rendered and been paroled were arrested and placed in prison at Alexandria, where they were confined for thirty days. They were then released, owing to a letter that was sent pri- vately to General Grant, and in charge of an ofiScer came to New Orleans. Mr. Walker once more commenced at the bottom of the ladder as a salesman, but was soon after elected to the position of treasurer of Claiborne county, and held the position from 1867 until Governor Ames compelled him to evacuate the position to make room for a republican. In 1875 he was chosen clerk of the circuit court, but after he had ably filled this position for two years, J. P. Briscoe, then chancery clerk,, was killed, and he was appointed to fill the unexpired term, making him the incumbent of two important county offices at one time. In 1878, the sheriff, Dr. Charles E. Buck, was killed and he was succeeded by Mr. Heslip, who died one month later, upon which Mr. Walker was appointed to fill the vacancy by Governor Stone, a position he has filled by re election up to the present time, which fact speaks in an eloquent manner as to his efficiency, courage and popularity. November 26, 1867, he was married at Port Gibson, Miss., to Miss Frances Kennard, the ceremony being solemnized by Rev. J. A. B. Jones. Mrs. Walker was born October 3, 1844, and received her education in the Port Gibson Female academy, from which she graduated in June, 1861. She possessed great natural ability, stood remarkably high in her classes and would have been selected as valedictorian of her classes, but, on account of her youth, her parents objected. Her parents, Joseph L. Kennard and Araminta B. (Palmer) Kennard, were born January 22, 1815, and April 11, 1818, in Queen Anne and Kent counties, Md. , respectively. The latter was a very finely educated lady, and received her scholastic train ing in Baltimore, Md. Her marriage with Mr. Kennard took place at Cincinnati, Ohio, November 28, 1837, their license being obtained from William Henry Harrison (the grand- father of President Benjamin Harrison), who at that time was a justice of the peace. Their marriage resulted in the birth of seven sons and seven daughters. Mr. and Mrs. Walker have been blessed in the birth of four children: Nettie K. is the wife of W. B. Hopkins, of Columbus, Miss., is an exceptionally fine musician and is well educated; ^^ .'JF-i*., f .' ifi^ MBMOIRS OP MISSISSIPPI. 971 Fannie Belle died at the age of twenty-two months, Florence died at the age of six weeks, and Nelson, who is a bright little lad of seven years. Mrs. Walker is an ardent member of the St. James' Episcopal church at Port Gibson, and she and her husband are very charitable, contributing liberally to all worthy enterprises. Mr. Walker is a member of the A. F. & A. M. , being worshipful master of Washington lodge No. 3, having alsly tilled all the subordinate offices of his lodge. He is a member of Clinton chapter No. 2, of which he has been high priest twice, has held all the official positions of Port Gibson council No. 36, and was one of the charter members of the CcBur de Lion commandery No. 13, having been several times eminent commander of the same. He was elected grand treasurer of the grand commandery of the state of Mississippi, a position he held for several years, and in 1888 was elected grand commander of the grand commandery of the state of Mississippi foi' one year, and at present is a member of all the above named lodges. He is also a member of Franklin lodge No. 5, of the I. O. O. F. of Port Gibson, having filled all the chairs of his lodge, and at the present time is its treasurer. He belongs to the K. of H. , the K. of P. and the A. L. of H. He is an earnest worker in the Episcopal church, and since the organization of the Sunday-school in 1868, he has been its superintendent. It opened with an attendance of three, but now has on an average sixty members. He is a director of the Port Gibson bank, the Port Gibson Brick company, and in every respect is a public-spirited man, and an honored, useful and influential citizen. He is in easy circumstances, financially, and has an income sufficiently ample for all neces- sary expenses. During the negro insurrection in 1875, Mr. Walker displayed much coolness and courage in quelling the turbulent spirits of the negroes and whites, and bis delibera- tion and knowledge of human nature were instrumental in saving the lives of many. Dr. W. E. Walker, a successful dentist of Bay St. Louis, was born in New Orleans, La., in 1868, and is a son of Dr. J. R. Walker, deceased. The father was born in Tompkins county, N. Y., August 7, 1830, a descendant of ancestors distinguished for intelligence, learning and integrity. In 1834 the family removed to Michigan, where the son acquired the rudiments of a good education. His seventeenth year he spent in teaching and study in Illinois. There he also began the study of dentistry, which he continued the following year at Albion, Mich., while he was attending the academy at that place. The next year he was under Dr. Foster, of Jackson, Mich., who was one of the best dentists of that day. In order to perfect himself further in his profession, he went to the Eastern cities, where he made the acquaintance of the finest operators, and familiarized himself with their latest improvements and discoveries. He then resumed his literary studies at Antioch college, Ohio, and in the year 1854 went to Texas, where for four years he enjoyed a lucrative practice. At the out- break of the Civil war he enlisted in the Confederate cause. He served until the end of the conflict, gaining the reputation of a cool, daring and reliable scout. After the surrender of General Lee he returned to New Orleans, where he had taken up his residence in 1858. In May, 1861, he was married to Miss Camille Viavant, whose death occurred a few months later. August 7, 1865, he was united in marriage to Miss Jeanie Mort, a woman of refine- ment and education, who was born of English parents. She is a native of the state of New York, but, before the war, came South as a governess. She has made some contributions to literature that show much study and natural ability. She is the author of Captain Fry, the Cuban Martyr, and Letters from a Mother to a Mother, on the formation, growth and care of children's teeth. She has contributed to and edited departments in various newspapers and scientific and dental journals, being well and favorably known to the dental profession as Mrs. M. W. J. She is an honorary member of the Southern Dental association and of xn 972 BIOORAPHIOAL AND HISTORICAL the State Dental societies of Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi. Five children were born to the Doctor and his wife: Lizzie A., Dr. W. E., Flora G. (deceased), Katie R. and J. Mort. lu 1866 Dr. J. R. Walker was elected a fellow of the New Orleans academy of science; in 1870 he became a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and in 1875 a fellow of the same body. In 1857 he was made a member of the Mississippi Val- ley Dental association, and in 1870-71 he was vice president of the American Dental asso- ciation. In 1875 he was president of the Southern Dental association. He was one of the regents of the Maryland Dental college from the foundation of that institution. In 1876 he was elected professor of operative and dental surgery in the New Orleans Dental college. It will thus be seen that the position he held, both in scientific and professional circles, was no inconsiderable one, and that his ability and attainments were highly esteemed. In 1866 he became a member of Merchants' lodge, I. O. O. F. , and soon after joined Hobah encamp- ment, passing rapidly through the official chairs of the order to that of grand patriarch of the state of Louisiana, in 1871. Closely devoted to his profession, science and literature, he took but little interest in politics, although he was a bitter enemy to fraud and corruption. He was liberal in his religious views, courteous and genial in his manner, and a general favorite with all whom he met. Dr. Walker died June 22, 1887. Dr. W. E. Walker was educated in the various schools of New Orleans, and, while a youth, began the study of den- tistry. He entered the Baltimore college of dental surgery, and was graduated from this institution in 1889, receiving the degree of D. D. S., receiving also a handsome gold medal. He began his practice at Bay St. Louis, Miss. , and in a short time has built up a patronage almost phenomenal. He also has an office at Pass Christian, and is always closely engaged. At the annual meeting in 1891 he joined the Mississippi State Dental association, and was elected secretary of that body. He is a young man of unusual intelligence, and thoroughly understands his business. While a student in the dental college he gave-some time to the study of the science of medicine, but did not complete the course. Dr. Walker is unmarried. William Henry Wall, merchant, Sardis, Miss., was born near Lynchbiirg, Va., on the 29th of June, 1838, and was the eldest of five children born to Charles B. and Henrie A. (Davies) Wall, natives also of the Old Dominion. The father was a merchant by occupation, removed to Iowa in 1840, and there his death occurred in 1854. He was a successful busi- ness man, never failed, and never ran in debt. William Henry Wall remained in Iowa until eighteen years of age and then received an appointment to the Naval academy at Annapolis, Md., and remained there two years. During this service he made one cruise at sea, going to the Azore islands on the United States sloop of war, Preble. At the end of two years and while on leave he resigned his position, came South, and located in Sardis, Miss. , in 1859. When the war broke out Mr. Wall enlisted in the Sardis Blues and was made first lieutenant of his company. On reaching Corinth the company was formed into the Twelfth Mississippi regiment of volunteers under Colonel Griffith and started to the first battle of Manassas, but arrived too late to participate in it. Mr. Wall was then made adjutant and after serving in that capacity for twelve months was sent as adjutant of Hughes' cavalry regiment to Port Hudson, La., to fortify that point. One month later he was appointed lieu- tenant in the Confederate States navy and ordered to report at Savannah, Ga. , for diity on board the gunboat, Atlanta. One month later he was detached from the boat and ordered to report for duty at Charleston, S. C, on board the Confederate States ironclad Chicora, where he remained for two years, participating in all the bombardments of that place. He was then ordered to Richmond, Va. , to take command of the Confederate States gunboat Drewry, and participated in all the engagements there until his vessel was destroyed by the MEMOIRS OP MISSISSIPPI. 973 enemy's battery. Then he and Capt. Charles W. Bead were ordered to go to Shreveport, La. , to take charge of the Confederate States gunboat Webb, and run her down Eed river, past New Orleans to sea, to be used as a privateer. In this daring move they went twenty- seven miles below New Orleans before they were captured. They set the vessel on fire and then surrendered. In that exceedingly dangerous trip, when the enemy had complete con- trol of the jVIississippi river and their gunboats were stationed all along its banks, every ten or fifteen miles, not once were they fired upon by the enemy until they reached New Or- leans. This expedition was regarded as one of the most daring of blockade running of the war. After being captured he was taken as a prisoner of war to Fort Warren in Boston harbor, and when General Kirby Smith surrendered he took the oath of allegiance and came home. In 1869 he was united in marriage to Miss Adelle Coleman, a native of Panola county, Miss., and a daughter of Edwin and Amanda (Pope) Coleman, natives of Kentucky. The six children born to this union are named in the order of their births as follows: Adelle B. , Nettie C. , William D., Charles E., Kate G. and Pope 0. Miss Nettie is quite an artist and is now teaching art and shorthand in Lexington, Miss. Miss Adelle makes mu.sic a specialty and has taught music for some time. Mr. Wall has given all his children good educational advantages. Since the war Mr. Wall has been engaged in merchandising and was for twelve years cashier of the Bank of Sardis. He is now its vice president. At the present time he is in the hardware and furniture business in Sardis. He has a handsome residence in Sardis, is a stockholder in the Sardis bank and in the American Building and Loan Association of Memphis, in which he is also a director. Mr. Wall and family are members of the Methodist church and he is steward in the same. He is also a school director. He has repeatedly represented the state of Mississippi in the supreme lodge of the Knights of Honor. He is also a Mason, an Odd Fellow, a member of the American Legion of Honor and the Knights and Ladies of Honor. He is one of the most energetic, enterprising men in the county. Of the many prominent citizens of Leake county. Miss. , who owe their nativity to the Pal- metto state, stands the name of E. L. Wallace, circuit clerk, Carthage, Miss., who was born in Chester district on the 14th of June, 1831. His father, W. L. Wallace, was a native of the same state and district, born in 1783, and was of Scotch descent. The latter grew to manhood and was educated in Chesterville and was a soldier in the War of 1812. He was married in South Caro- lina to Miss Elizabeth Love, who was a native of that state, born in York district. After his marriage Mr. Wallace moved to Alabama, settled in Perry county in 1833 and there he resided a number of years. In 1846 he moved to Mississippi, settled in Leake county, engaged in farming and there his death occurred in 1857. His wife received her final summons in 1868. The paternal grandfather was a native of the Keystoae state, but at an early day emigrated to South Carolina. Of the six sons and one daughter born to Mr. and Mrs. Wallace only two now survive, viz. : E. L. and Thomas A. E. L. was the eldest of this family, grew to manhood and received his education in Leake county, wliere he has carried on farming ever since. In 1871 he was elected clerk of the circuit court of Leake county for four years, was re-elected at the expiration of his term, and has now served for twenty consecutive years in that capacity. He has the enviable and merited reputation of being the best circuit clerk in Mississippi, and is very popular with the people of the county. He attends strictly to the duties of his office, is courteous, social and pleasant to all, is the most accommodating of men, and has a host of warm fi-iends. He was married in this county in November, 1853, to Miss Mary Hall, a native of South Carolina, where she was reared and educated, and the fruits of this union were six children, viz.: Irene, wife of J. A. Boyd of Leake county; 974 BtOORAPBtOAL AND HlSTOBtOAL Sarah F., wife of E. C. Angling; R. H., married; N. F., also married; Minnie F., wife of L. L. Wallace, and Mary A., a young lady. Mrs. Wallace, who was a devoted and consist- ent member of the Methodist church, died in May, 1886. Mr. Wallace is a Royal Arch Mason, and has filled different positions in that organization. He owns a good farm on Pearl river, near Carthage, and has followed agricultural pursuits for some time. Erie William Wallin is one of the oldest settlers of Vicksburg, Miss., and is now retired from active business. Ho was born in Stockholm, Sweden, in 1822, and was educated in that country. He came to America in 1839, and having learned the trade of a machinist in his native land, he began working in the shops in New York city, but was afterward with the noted inventor. Captain Ericsson, and worked on some of his patents. In 1840 he enlisted in the United States navy on the ship North Carolina, but three years later came to Vicksburg. The following year he returned to Stockholm on a visit, and remained there a year and then returned to Vicksburg, and since that time has made a permanent settlement here, and has followed various occupations, in which he has been fairly successful. He has held various positions of trust and responsibility, and was elected to the honorable position of mayor of Vicksburg in the year of 1866. This was the first election held after the reconstruction of the state, and the majority he received over his competitors gave abundant proof of his great popularity. In 1866, while holding the position of mayor, he introduced the first steam fire engine in the city, which the citizens called the E. W. Wallin, out of compliment to his untir- ing energy for the success of Vicksburg. He has been most active in advancing the interests of the city, and is one of her most substantial, progressive and respected citizens. During the war he was a city officer, and was not in the army. During the siege of Vicksburg many balls passed through his residence, evidences of which are still apparent. He was married in 1848, and his wife, Mrs. Barbara Wallin, noted for her Christian charity, died on the 15th of January, 1891, at the advanced age of sixty-six years. He has a beautiful Southern, home in the northeastern part of the city called Springfield, where be resides with his daughter, Mrs. Wilhelmina M. Halpin. His other children have long since gone to the silent city of the dead. His son Robert Henry died in 1857, Maria Regina died in 1863, and his son Gustave William died in 1873. Harvey W. Walter. In all human existence there is no blending of virtues so rare and admired as those which characterize the true philanthrophist, which eliminate all idea of self from human actions, and devote an individual to the service and welfare of his fellow- creatures. Such was the character of the Savior of mankind, and one may only look for such along the path in which He trod, among those who, like the subject of this sketch, have imbibed His spirit, and followed His teachings which enjoin "that greater love than this has no man, to lay down his life for his friends." Harvey W. Walter was born in Fairfield county, Ohio, on the 21st of May, 1819, while his parents, who were natives of Virginia, were temporarily residing in that state, and at an early age removed with them to Kalamazoo, Mich., where they settled and lived to a venerable age. Both father and mother were noted and highly respected for their noble and generous qualities, and it was from this source that Mr. Walter imbibed in his earliest youth that noble spirit which adorned his character and stamped his life upon the pages of virtue and of fame. During his early years his father enjoyed the possession of wealth and afforded his son every advantage, but having sud- denly lost the greater portion of his property by an unfortunate investment he could no longer render him assistance. At the tender age of fourteen years young Walter found his fate depending upon his own resources, but buoyed up by his genius and ambition, and sup- ported by the staff of a virtuous resolution, he stepped out upon the journey of life, and MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 975 while no glittering prospects charmed his view, his destiny was hallowed with the devout benisons of a father's blessing, and the guerdon of a mother's prayers. These were his only patrimony. With them he went forth, and with his energy and determination soon cleared away the untoward circumstances that clustered along his youthful pathway. He alternately taught and attended school, and by this means obtained a collegiate education. Having com- pleted his course in college, and seeking for a propitious field for his future labors, he turned his attention toward the South, as if impelled by those warm and generous feelings which sought the accord and mutuality always vouchsafed by that people with whom his lot was destined to be cast. About 1838 he joined the throng of emigrants who were pressing into the beautiful country which had recently been acquired from the Indians in north Mississippi, and having determined upon the profession of law, he taught school two years at Salem, in Tippah county, as a means of support while preparing for the bar. In 1840 he obtained his license and located in Holly Springs, where every prospect which energy, integrity and latent will could engender in a fruitful field smiled immediately upon his career. He soon took his position in the front rank of his profession, and achieved pre-eminence at a bar which was scarcely excelled by any in the South, His remarkable talents and indomitable energy were kindled and fueled by the able competition amid which he began his forensic career, and the blaze of his eminence continued in the ascendant. His ability extended in every direction of usefulness, and his name became associated with every enterprise for the advancement of the interests of his country, and for the promotion of the honor and welfare of Mississippi. It was mainly through his exertions that the Mississippi Cantral (now Illinois Central) railroad was projected and pushed to completion, an enterprise which he foresaw to be necessary to the development of his section of the state, and to the accomplishment of which he devoted his energy and means liberally and unweariedly. Mr. Walter was an ardent friend to the interest of education. He took great pride in the prospects of the University of Mississippi, and was, at the time of his death, one of its trustees. Refined and elevated in his sentiments, temperate in his habits, lofty in his aspi- rations, he was a devoted Christian, and the patron of every moral and religious promotion. He was long a conspicuous member of the Masonic fraternity, and after having presided over its various subordinate bodies, was, in 1844, made grand master of the state lodge. He was a Mason, not only in the mere superficialities of the order, but in heart, in practice and in all the walks of life. Mr. Walter was intensely Southern in his principles, yet, as a whig, he opposed the doctrines of secession until he considered that measure an inexorable alternative to the dishonor and political degradation of his people, and then he was ready, as he was in every thing that engaged his sympathies, to sacrifice whatever its promotion might demand. No sooner had the tocsin of war sounded than he girded himself for the struggle, and as lieutenant of a company of infantry he responded to the first call of his state for troops in 1861. He was ordered to Pensaeola, and soon after reaching there was transferred to the stafP of General Bragg as judge advocate, serving in that position with distinguished efficiency until the close of the war. Colonel Walter accepted the conclusion of the conflict with the same conscientious and abiding faith with which he had drawn his sword, and returning to Holly Springs he resumed the practice of his profession, counseled a conservative and dignified policy, and devoted himself to the amelioration of the rigorous circumstances of his people. As a lawyer he was well read and profound. His comprehen- sion was ready and acute; the succession of his thoughts was logical, and his argumentative powers clear, vigorous and incisive. The versatility of his legal genius was remarkable, and he seemed to be equally qualified for eminence in either branch of the profession. His high 976 BIOGBAPHIOAL AND HI8T0BICAL sense of duty and devotion to the interests of his clients engaged at all occasions his utmost powers. The distinguished jurist, Hon. A. M. Clayton, speaking of Colonel Walter, said: "He possessed to an eminent degree the two most requisite characteristics of a lawyer, patience and perseverance. He saw his end clearly, and never grew tired in pursuing it. He never saw but one side of a case, and that was his own. He overlooked all obstacles that stood in his way, and drove on to the conclusions regardless of their presence, and if not always successful, he always presented the strongest and most favorable view of the case." His logical learning and powers of analysis are amply exhibited in his briefs in the reports of the supreme court. These are too well known to the profession to require more than a passing reference. His knowledge was ever at his command, and he was never at a loss for replication or retort. His stores of preceding were comprehensive, and which the quickness and alertness of his memory and mental operations enabled him to call to his support in every emergency. He was a clear reasoner, an eloquent speaker, and possessed a mesmeric influence over the minds of juries. As a citizen, Colonel Walter had no superior in his sphere of neighborly usefulness. While he was conspicuous in every public assembly, he was the center of the social circle and the welcomed and honored guest of every private entertainment. Generous and magnanimous in principle, he was courteous and affable to all classes, and his opinion was deemed the criterion of propriety and expediency. But the crowning gem in his chaplet of exalted virtues was the jewel of charity, which sparkled more brilliantly than that which blazed in Diomede's crest or flamed in the imagination of the alchemist. He was, at all times noted as a man of good deeds, but it was when that besom of death with its ministers of grief and pain swept over his devoted town in 1878 that this divine quality of his nature was exemplified with more than mortal radiance. When the neighboring town of Grenada had fallen into the arms of the inexorable fiend, and its shrieks reached the gates of Holly Springs, they were flung wide open to its flying, homeless people, and Colonel Walter was mainly the author of the deed. He opposed all quarantine regulations, and opened his heart, his hands and his house to the terror-stricken refugees, and when the fatal malady, lurking in the garments of the strangers, reached forth and seized upon his own people, he counseled them all to flee for their lives, but said : " As for me and my sons, we can not go; we must fight this foe; we must succor our people and administer to the sick, the dying and the dead." Col. Walter's family was a remarkably interesting one. He was married in 1849 to Miss Fredonia M. Brown, daughter of Col. James Brown, of Oxford, a lady of rare accom- plishments and of an exceedingly amiable character. From this marriage were born ten children, nine of whom lived until the visitation of the scourge. He had promptly, at the out- break of the fever, sent his family away except his three sons, who partook of the heroic spirit of their father and shared his glorious death. While in the midst of his charitable labors Colonel Walter was himself stricken down, on the 19th day of September, 1878, and his three sons followed him within the same week. The noble young men had but recently graduated .with distinction at the state university, and Frank was a law partner with his father. He and Jimmie, who was acting as postmaster, died on the same day, the latter praying that his life might be spared for the sake of his mother and little sisters. Avent, who passed away a few days before, died rejoicing at the thought of meeting his mother, his father, his brothers and sisters in heaven. The pious death of this young man would furnish a theme for a sermon that would echo against the walls of eternity. Thus perished this noble family while endeavoring to ward from others the shafts more fatal than the arrows of Apollo sent into the Grecian camps on the plains of Troy. Amid all these scenes of terror, when the eyes MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 977 of heaven seemed averted from the doomed people, Colonel Walter still bowed to the will of his Maker. On one occasion a young wife who had just lost her husband, and who now saw other members of her family dying, half crazed with grief, wandered through the streets in desperation at her calamities. Colonel Walter met her and endeavored to soothe and com- fort her agonizing distress, but in the bitterness of her grief she cried out against the justice of God. His eloquent and only reply was, "Though he slay me, yet will I trust him." No nobler martyrdom was ever recorded upon the pages of history, or hallowed the memory of mortal than that which crowned the death of this good man and his three noble and promising sons, but they have their reward. Frank C. Walter was born October 23, 1854, and died of the fever on the 26th of September, 1878. He was among the most prominent of those kind, true, noble-hearted ones who sacrificed their lives during the epidemic of Holly Springs in endeavoring to alleviate the sufferings of those who had been sti'icken down with the plague. In the fall of 1871 he entered the sophomore class at the University of Mississippi, and owing to his firmness and great decision of character, his purity of thought and his high sense of honor, his integrity and liberality of heart, he soon became the favorite of all, both professors and students, and being possessed of an extraor- dinary ability, as well as an ambitious energy, a discriminating mind and the power of con- centrating thought, he graduated in the summer of 1874 in two distinct courses, the A. B. and B. S., in the former with the third honor and in the latter with the second. Shortly after his return home he commenced the study of law, under his father, and soon after was admitted to the bar in Holly Springs, his native place. As a young attorney he managed his cases with wonderful ability, and his argument of them was not only forcible but also analytical and logical. His manners toward all, whatever may have been their station in life, were kind, polite and refined. His social nature was of a remarkable development, and he delighted in making himself pleasant to all around him. Had he lived, he was destined to be a leader among men. When refugees from the yellow fever came to Holly Springs and were taken sick by that direst of diseases, he was one of the first to offer his services to nurse them. After the fever broke out in his own city, and the people were fleeing from its poisoned atmosphere in which death had planted its destroying germ, he was asked if he was not going to leave also. His reply was: "No, let my epitaph be duty." How grand, how sublime, how noble is the sentiment! With the unswerving energy of a Titan he adhered to his motto, ministering to the unfortunate sick and afflicted, burying the dead and cheering those who were mourning for loved ones, until at last, he too, after having buried his father and brother, was seized by death and ushered into eternity. Edward Cary Walthall, United States senator from Mississippi, was born at Eichmond, Va., April 4, 1831. He received his education at Holly Springs, Miss., studied law in that city, and at the age of twenty-one years was admitted to the bar of the state. Establishing himself at Ooffeeville, his talents soon won recognition, and in 1856 he was elected attorney for the tenth judicial district of the state. Three years after he was reelected, but in less than two years resigned the office to take part in defending the property of the Southern people against the fanaticisioi of a powerful minority in the North. In 1861 he entered the Fifteenth Mississippi infantry as lieutenant, and made such a brilliant record that promo- tion followed promotion in quick succession. He was a lieutenant-colonel in 1862, and commanded the Fifteenth Mississippi infantry at Fishing Creek, Ky., January 19, that year. Immediately after he was commissioned colonel of the Twenty-ninth Mississippi infantry, and on December 13, 1862, was raised to the rank of brigadier-general. His services in the field won general recognition throughout the Confederacy, and his name was not unknown 978 BIOQHAPHICAL AND HIBTORIGAL among the legions of the North. Prompt in war as genial in peace, he won the hearts of the Southern people, and drove those of the North to admire his courage and his methods. On June 6, 1864, he was promoted major-general in the western army, and at Missionary Ridge undertook the forlorn hope of holding the divide against the Federal mass of eighty thou- sand men, until the defeated army was beyond pursuit. From this dangerous position he led his brigade in perfect order, that night of October 25, 1863, and next day was hailed as the savior of the western army. Late in the afternoon of that terrible day three divisions of General Thomas' army, ledTsy Phil. Sheridan, attacked the Confederate center and right on this ridge, broke through the Confederate lines, and would have captured or killed the defeated army of Hood had not Walthall' s brigade interposed and checked the pursuit until night brought relief. This strategic movement rescued a great army for future work in 1864, when Hood re -occupied Tennessee and fought the terrific fight at Franklin. After the defeat of Hood there, General Walthall played almost a similar part to that at Mission- ary Ridge, for, forming the rear guard of that army, he protected it against the attacks of the victors until a secure position was reached. These are only a few instances of the brilliant and valuable services rendered by him in the field. In 1868 he was delegate at large to the national democratic convention. In January, 1871, he established himself at Grenada as a member of the bar, and won high honors in the profession for the ensuing sixteen years. In 1876 he was chosen delegate at large to the democratic national convention; again in 1880 and again in 1884. On the resignation of United States Senator Lamar to accept the position of secretary of the interior, in 1885, Gen- eral Walthall was appointed to fill the vacancy in the United States senate by Governor Lowry, on petition of the people, and in January, 1886, the Mississippi legislature elected him United States senator, and in January, 1888, he was elected senator for the term ending in 1895, without a dissenting' vote. The share taken by the senator in defeating the sectional bill, commonly termed the force bill, is recorded by the Washington (D. C.) Post in the following language: The speech of Mr. Walthall, of Mississippi, against the Federal elections bill, delivered in the sen- ate on December 19, 1890, was a clear, logical and dispassionate presentation of the case from a Southern standpoint. As a citizen of a state where, perhaps, to use his own language, " the heaviest calamities would fall" in case the proposed legislation is enacted into law, his remarks commanded close attention, and the keenest partisan scrutiny will fail to detect in them, or even between their lines, a single thought or sentiment that does not bear the impress of sincere and patriotic conviction, even though it fail to agree in all respects with his conclusions. His appeal to the senate and argument to the country were characterized by no less candor than force, and an earnest conservatism, in the presence of which sec- tional prejudice must confess Itself practically disarmed. Mr. "Walthall makes no concealment of the fact that in times past illegal acts have been committed in connection with elections, nor does he claim that even now the elections in Mississippi are wholly free from " reprehensible practices and lawless methods," but he does insist, with a strenuousuess borne out by the record, that the tendency is " away from violence, and toward tolerance and j ustice." As evidence in support of this position, he produces the statement of Gov- ernor Lowry to the effect that during the past five years not a single instance is found in any of the seventy- four counties of the state, where anybody has been killed or injured on account of elections or politics. The senator's main point is that under circumstances like these, with the reasons for Federal interference fast disappearing, if they ever existed, it would be the hight of unwisdom to resort to measures altogether at war with the situation and calculated to retard instead of advancing it. Nothing, he holds, can justify an arbitrary and dangerous interruption of the relations which now exist between the whites and blacks in the Southern section of the Union, nor can the diflflculties of the race problem be worked out by iron rules. The Machiavellian proposition to enact laws which would crush out the Caucasian race in the Southern states owes its defeat largely to the reasoning powers of Senator Walthall MEM0IM8 OF MISSISSIPPI. 979 and his fellow-senator from Mississippi. The friends they made, in and out of congress, aided them in the battle, and won for General Walthall, among his own people, the title, the Corinthian Column, and for Senator George, the Gothic Pillar. The same sincerity, earnestness, promptness and ability which in 1863 and 1864 distinguished General Walthall, were not wanting in this emergency; for as he saved an army then, he saved half a nation now from the horror of legalized terrorism. In October, 1891, when it was rumored that General Walthall would retire from the senate, a distinguished Mississippian, high in the official circle of the United States, paid the following tribute to him : Mississippi ought not to tolerate for a moiuent the ideii of acquiesciug iu the retirement of (senator A\'althall. Of all the splendid men that she has ever presented to the nation, General AValthall is the one beyond all competition in moral purity, strength of mind, heroism of soid, and commanding influence among men. I know that the expression of my admiration for (General Walthall has been ascribed to the cnthuBiasm of friendship. But no. My friendship is only the effect, not the cause, of my estimate of his qualities of mind and heart. I can tell j'ou in this private letter my sober opinion, that all that General "W^althall lacks of being the lirst man in America is the highest oflicial station in America. You know this is not said for political effect. I heard Gen. Josepli E. .Johnston once say, "If the Confederate war had lasted two years longer General Walthall would ha\'e risen to the command of all the Confederate armies." This remark was elicited by one of my own in his presence, when I was asked who, among all the distinguished men, I had known, excelled in strength of mind and moral force of character, I replied that, "in vigor of intellect, simplicity of character, and unwavering moral rectitude, I regarded General "Walthall as the greatest man I ever knew." General .Johnston then said, "I am not surprised to hear you say that," adding what I have quoted above. This is simply the echo of Mississippi. The same sentiment prevails wherever his record is known and it is acknowledged by his political opponents in congress. For twenty years Edwin Smith Walton, Sardis, has been engaged in the insurance busi- ness in Panola county, Miss., and his principal business at the present time is adjusting fire losses for some of the best companies of the world. His fine business acumen has peculiarly fitted him for his present occupation, and he has the reputation of being one of the best adjusters of fire losses in the South. Always cool and deliberate, he weighs all business propositions with care and discretion. He is another of the representative citizens of the county who owe their nativity to North Carolina, his birth occurring in Gates county on the Slst of March, 1833, and is the eldest of four children born to Benbury and Ann K. (Mont- gomery) Walton, natives also of the Old North state. The father removed to La Grange, Tenn., in 1835, and from there, in 1850, to Oxford, Miss., for the purpose of educating his children. In 1854 he located in Panola county. Miss., and there died in 1879, at the age of seventy-eight years. His wife had died in 1850. He was quite an extensive planter. The paternal grandparents, John B. and Esther (Koberts) Walton, were natives also of North Carolina, and the grandfather was of English descent. Edwin Smith Walton was reared in La Grange, Tenn., and Oxford, Miss., entering the university at the latter place in 1850, and graduating with the class of 1853. He remained with his father as manager of the planta- tion until the beginning of the war," when he entered the Confederate army, mustered in May, 1861, into Pettus' flying artillery, commanded by Capt. Alfred Hudson, with which he remained until the close of the war. However, after the battle of Belmont, the company was attached to Bowen's brigade and called Hudson's battery. After the battle of Shiloh, where Hudson was killed, this battery was commanded by Sweeney and Mr. Walton, alternately, until the siege of Vicksburg, where Sweeney was killed and Mr. Walton badly wounded. In the winter after this engagement Mr. Walton was paroled and ordered to report to General For- rest at Como, Miss. He then took command of the company, and it bore his name until the close 080 BIOORAPHWAL AND HISTORICAL of the war. He entered the ranks as a private, was promoted to a lieutenancy, which posi- tion he held until after the siege of Vicksburg, when his great ability as a commander was recognized and he was singled out to fill important positions, in all of which he manifested great bravery and skill. He participated in all the battles of his army in Mississippi and Tennessee, including Fort Pillow, the burning of Johnsonville and the capture of the boats there, which was mainly conducted by Mr. Walton. He was in almost constant engage- ments from the time of his enlistment until the surrender at Gainesville, Ala. He then returned home, resumed his work on the plantation which had been badly wrecked during the war, and in 1866 was married to Miss Fannie Shaw, a native of Tennessee and a daughter of Wiley and Eliza (Malone) Shaw, natives of Tennessee and North Carolina respectively. The result of this union has been one child, Lona, aged twelve years. In 1871 Mr. Walton came to Sardis, engaged in the lire insurance business, but at the same time has continued to carry on his planting interests. He is the owner of about one thousand acres of land with six hundred acres under cultivation, and he has a neat residence in Sardis, erected in 1888. He and Mrs. Walton are members of the Methodist church, and he has been steward in the same for about twenty-five years. Socially he is a member of the Masonic fraternity and the American Legion of Honor. He is cultured and refined, a zealous Christian, and is devoted to his family, sparing no pains to surround them with all the comforts in his power, but with no ostentation or show. He is generous almost to a fault, is liberal in his views and is char- itably inclined toward his fellowman. While he is ambitious to fill his mission in life and to do something and be somebody, he scorns the idea of being built on another's downfall. J. T. Walton, planter, Aeona, Miss., was born in Georgia, as were also his parents, J. B. and Mary (Moss) Walton. His birth occurred in 1831, and in 1836 his parents moved to Mississippi, settling near Lexington, where young Walton received the rudiments of an education. He subsequently entered the state university and remained there two years. On the 10th of September, 1858, he was wedded to Miss Thurman, who bore him six chil- dren: J. B. (died on the 1st of January, 1864), James D., Mattie T., H. W., L. A. and Johnnie M. Mr. Walton's occupation has always been that of a planter, and his fine farm, consisting of five hundred acres with two hundred acres under cultivation, is kept in excellent condition. He takes an active part in politics, but has never aspired for ofiBce, pre- ferring the quiet, steady life he is now following instead. In April, 1862, he enlisted in the Confederate service as a private and was taken prisoner at Lookout mountain. He was held in Rock Island prison for eighteen months and was then shipped to New Orleans, where he was released. He also took part in the battle of Murfreesboro. Returning home after the war he resumed his former occupation, which he has continued successfully up to the pres- ent time. His father was also a planter, took an active part in political affairs, but, like his son, never cared for office. The paternal grandfather, Benton Walton, was born in North Carolina but moved to Georgia and there passed the closing scenes of his life. His wife died in Mississippi. The maternal grandfather, John Moss, was a native Virginian and was a splendid specimen of manhood, standing six feet two inches and being well proportioned. His wife was a native of Georgia and in that state both passed the remainder of their days. Douglas Walworth needs no special introduction to the inhabitants of Adams county, Miss., for he was born here on the 14th of June, 1833, and is now the popular and well-known editor of the Democrat, which is an admirably conducted and ably edited journal. He was the second child born to John P. and Sarah (Wren) Walworth, the former a native of New York and the latter of Illinois. The paternal grandfather, Judge John Walworth, of Cleveland, Ohio, was born in Connecticut and was one of the first judges of the MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 981 Western reserve. He was a very prominent man of his day, and passed from life in Cleve- land. He was of English descent, his ancestors having come to America during colonial times. John P., Jr., father of the subject of this sketch, was educated in the state of New York, and in 1819 came to Mississippi, settling at Natchez, where he at once became a clerk in the post office, and after a time engaged in business for himself as a merchant. About 1833 he began planting extensively on land owned by him in Louisiana and Arkansas, but at the same time acted as president of the Planters' bank of Natchez. He was one of the active spirits of his times and was popular, public- spirited and very prominent. At the time of his death, in 1883, he was a venerated and respected resident of Natchez. He was married to Miss Wren in 1827, she being a daughter of Woodster Wren, a native of Virginia, who came to Natchez about . Mr. Walworth was active in city improvement, was a man of wide experience and extended knowledge, and through the long term of years that he resided in this region he was esteemed as one of its most valuable citizens. His widow, who still sur- vives him, is an earnest member of the Presbyterian church, and is in the enjoyment of good health. Douglas Walworth attended school in Natchez until 1851, when he entered Harvard college, where he remained two years, after which he was in Princeton college for one year. He was admitted to the bar of Jackson, Miss., in 1855, having pursued this study in the office of General Martin, of Natchez, and here he remained in the active practice of his pro fession until the opening of the war. In 1859-60 he was elected by his numerous friends to the state legislature, and while a member of this body displayed mental qualities of a high order. At the opening of the war he assisted in raising the Light Guard battalion and was elected captain of company I, of the Sixteenth Mississippi regiment, and was sent to north- ern Virginia, where he served one year in the infantry. He was then transferred to General Martin's staff as adjutant-general, and was in the battles of Thompson's Station, Knoxville, Farmington, Chickamauga, and many smaller engagements. After his return from the war he resumed the practice of his profession, but also followed planting. He was first married in the month of January, 1856, to Miss Rebecca Conner, a daughter of William Conner, a member of a prominent old family of this county, but he was called upon to mourn her death in 1868, she leaving him with one son and four daughters, all of whom are living. His sec- ond marriage took place in 1878, Miss Jeannette Haddermann, a daughter of Prof. Julius Haddermann, becoming his wife. She was reared principally in the city of Natchez, and here also received her education. She began a literary life when quite young, and her first book. Forgiven at Last, was issued in 1869, and was soon followed by Dead Men's Shoes. She has produced many other books, all of which have become popular, and her magazine articles also show power and are very meritorious. After about eight years spent in Natchez Mr. Walworth moved to New York city, and during the four years that he resided there he was engaged in legal and editorial work. Since 1888 he has been a constant resident of Natchez, and has been the able editor of the Democrat. He also edited the Natchez Courier in 1868-9. The family are members of the Presbyterian church, and Mr. Walworth is a worthy member of Harmony lodge No. 1, of the A. F. & A. M. Augustus M. Wansley, Decatur, Miss., was born in Elbert county, Ga., in 1823, and is a son of Thomas and Jemimah (Means) Wansley, natives of Albemarle county, Va., and Elbert county, Ga., respectively. He grew to maturity in the county qf his birth, and received his education in the common schools. In the days of the whig party he adhered to their principles, and cast his first vote for Henry Clay, when he was a candidate for president of the United States. Since the war, however, he has been an active democrat, energetically supporting all its measures. In 1853 he was married to Miss Theresa A. Harris, a native of 983 BIOGRAPHIOAL AND HISTOniOAL South Caroliua, and a daughter of James S. Hams. Iii 1857 he located in Newton county, Miss., near Decatur, and in 1867 he removed five miles north of Decatur. There he owns two hundred and eighty acres of land, one hundred of which he has placed in a high state of cultivation. In 1862 he enlisted in Captain Carleton's company, and served in the fight at Vicksburg, where he was captured; he was afterward paroled and came back home, but did not re-enlist. When the war closed he began planting again, and has been very prosperous. He has been prominently identified with the Masonic fraternity for thirty-five years, being a member of the lodge at Decatur. He and his wife are both members of the Methodist Episcopal Church South. Mr. Wansley's farm is considered one of the most desirable in the county; it is the product of a long period of thought and labor, aud is a satisfactory reward for all the efPort that has been expended upon it. All his interests being agricultural he is naturally a strong Farmer's Alliance man, and is giving that body a hearty support. William F. Ward, the father of Dr. Benjamin F. Ward, physician, Winona, Miss., was a native of South Carolina, and was of Irish parentage. He grew to manhood in his native state aad was there married to Miss Martha Mecklin, also of Irish ancestry, and the daughter of Hugh Mecldiu. Mr. Ward was one of the honest and successful yeomaary of his district and state, where he passed his uneventful life, dying when the Doctor was an infant. The Wards were nearly all members of the Presbyterian church, one of Mr. Ward's brothers being a minister of that denomination, but he also had a brother a minister in the Methodist church. Dr. Benjamin F. \\'ard, the youngest of five sons and two daughters, was brought by his mother to Mississippi in 1846, after the death of the father, and she settled in Cherokee county. There the Doctor spent his youthful days and received a primary education in the private schools. The Doctor, however, is principally self • educated since reaching years of maturity. He went to Carroll county when a young man, taught school, and began the study of medicine. He took his first course of lectures in the University of Louisiana and his second course at Atlanta Medical college, from which he graduated in 1859. After com- pleting this course, the Doctor located in Carroll county, where he began the practice of his profession and this continued until the breaking out of the war. In 186 1 he entered the Confederate service as a private, and soon after was promoted to the rank of surgeon and later brigade surgeon of Gen. Joseph R. Davis' brigade. He was made a member of the army medical board of health, serving his battalion all through the campaigns of Virginia, Mary- land and Pennsylvania. He was taken prisoner at Gettysburg and held five months at Fort McHenry at Baltimore. After being exchanged he rejoined his battalion. He surrendered with General Lee at Appomattox. After the war he located at Winona, and has been actively and successfully engaged in his practice since. He keeps thoroughly posted in his pro- fession, is a correspondent for a number of popular medical journals, and he often lectures, not only in medical, but other colleges in Mississippi. His reputation as a speaker, writer and lecturer is quite extended and he is often solicited to lecture in other states. An article, written by the Doctor, and published in 1886, was quite extensively copied and commented on both North and South. It was entitled the Old South, and was conceded to be a very able production. The Doctor is not only a physician and litterateur of prominence and ability, but is a man of excellent principles, and one who is held in the highest estimation by all whom he chances to meet. He is a member of the State Medical association and the state board of health. Although never an aspirant for office, he takes quite an active and promi- nent part in politics and is a strong advocate of his party. He was married on the 3d of June, 1886, to Miss Mary H. Hardeman, daughter of William Hardeman, of Tennessee, in which state Mrs. Ward first saw the light of day. She was left an orphan when but an MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 983 infant, and was reared in Mississippi by an uncle. She and the Doctor are both members of the Presbyterian church. Their union has been blessed by the birth of four interesting children. Among the professional men of prominence in Leake county, Miss. , stands the name of Dr. B. N. Ward, physician and surgeon, Carthage, Miss. , who was born in Edgeoomb district, N. C, on the 2d of February, 1829. His father, Needham Ward, who was also a native of that state, grew to manhood and was married there to Miss Sallie Beaman, a daughter of Noah Beaman, who was also a native of the Old North state. Mr. Ward removed to Mississippi about 1833, settled in Noxubee county, and there followed farming for several years. In 1856 he moved to Leake county and continued his former occupation tliere until his death in 1858. His wife survived him until 1872. Their family consisted of three children, one of whom is deceased and only one besides our subject now surviving — Mrs. Martha Susan Smythe, a widow. Dr. Ward passed the first years of his life in Noxubee county, received a good education in the University of Alabama, and then studied medicine in Noxubee county. Later he attended lectures at the Medical College of the State of South Carolina, located in Charleston, graduating in the class of 1851. After this he located at Macon, where he engaged in the practice of his profession for about a year, and then removed to Winston county, Miss., where he remained till 1854, and in 1856 settled in Carthage, Miss. His sympathies were with the South, and he enlisted in the Confederate army in 1862, fortieth Mississippi infantry, as a private. He was soon promoted to regi- mental surgeon and served in that capacity until the close of the war. He served as brigade surgeon on the staff of General Featherston during the Georgia campaign. After cessation of hostilities the Doctor returned to Leake county, where he had located in 1856, and resumed the practice of his profession, and in 1858 he took a supplemental course at Tulane Medical college, New Orleans. Since that time the Doctor has practiced in Leake county, and has met with flattering success. In connection with his practice he has been engaged in merchandising, and is one of the largest merchants of the county. He is also the owner of a fine drug store. The Doctor is the chief health officer of Leake county. He is democratic in his political views and takes quite an active part in local politics. He has served as a delegate to numerous conventions, but is not an aspirant to office. He was married on the 18th of May, 1866, to Mrs. Caroline Sharkey, a native of Tennessee, and the daughter of Dr. James Dismukes. Mrs. Ward was reared and educated in Mississippi, and died here on the 19th of June, 1884, leaving three children: Benjamin N., a graduate of the University of Alabama, who after taking one course of lectures in the medical depart- ment of the University of Virginia will eomplete his medical education in the College of Physicians apd Surgeons, New York; Sallie Agnes, wife of Dr. Frank D. Smythe, of Kosciusko, Miss., who is a young surgeon of fine promise; and Mattie C, a young lady now attending college. Dr. Ward is well read and posted on all subjects relating to the med- ical profession, and is a superior business man. Enoch J. Ward, druggist, of Ellisville, Miss. This gentleman was born in Marion county, S. C, August 14, 1860. His parents were Enoch B. and Elizabeth J. (Gaddy) Ward, natives of Robertson county, N. C. They were married in South (Carolina and sub- sequently returned to Robertson county, N. C. , where they now live. They were the parents of eight children: Elizabeth E., Susan J., Enoch J., John W., Florence L., Katie P., Homer B. and Annie B. Enoch J. was educated in the public schools of Moore county, N. C, and afterward engaged in the drug and general merchandising business with his father and brother, at Rowland, N. C. , for a number of years. In 1885 he began business for himself near 984 BIOGRAPHICAL AND HI8T0BI0AL that place, which he continued with considerable success until February, 1886, when he came to Ellisville and became a member of the drug firm of Peacock & Ward, Dr. W. M. Peacock being his partner until 1887, when Mr. Ward acquired his partner's interest and admitted J. J. Malady to a partnership in the enterprise. In November, 1888, he bought Mr. Malady's interest, and has since been sole proprietor. His drug store is the largest in the town, and he has the reputation of being the ablest and most reliable druggist in the county. Polite and accommodating, he has won the esteem of all, and his devotion to his business is such that it absorbs all of his time and energy. He was married at Meridian, Miss., January 25, 1887, to Miss Mollie V. McClain, a daughter of Col. Robert McClain (deceased), a biograph- ical sketch of whom appears elsewhere in this work. Mrs. Ward was born in Enterprise, Miss., June 13, 1861, and is a highly accomplished and most popular lady. She has borne her husband two children: Edmund J., March 29, 1889, and Laura, September 11, 1890. Mr. Ward's interest in Ellisville is great, and since his residence here he has done his full share toward its development and improvement. In 1890 he was elected a member of the board of aldermen of the town, and as such served to the entire satisfaction of his fellow- citizens until the expiration of his term of office. Mr. and Mrs. Ward are members of the Presbyterian church, and contribute liberally toward the support of its several interests, doing so with great heartiness and an earnest desire to do their share in helping to make the world better. George V. Ward is justly conceded to hold an enviable position among the successful planters of Washington county, and the admirable state of cultivation of his land has been brought about by his own earnest efforts, for although at the close of the war he was the owner of some real estate he had no means of working it, for all his slaves were freed and other help was next to an impossibility to obtain. With undaunted energy he commenced to build a home out of the wreck of his fortunes and now has a landed estate amounting to eight hundred acres, four hundred of which are under cultivation. His present residence, worth $12,000, was only saved from being swept away by the river (the land at that point caving in in an alarming manner) by razing it to the ground and moving it to another site. Mr. Ward was born in Scott county, Ky., April 25, 1832, the third of nine children born to Junius R. and Matilda (Vila) Ward, who were also born in that state. The father came to the state of Mississippi when quite a young man and located at Natchez, where he engaged in merchandising. In 1823 he purchased some land on Lake Washington, and until his demise, in 1886, followed the calling of a planter. He was for some time a member of what is now called the board of supervisors, and in other ways identified himself with every worthy interest of the county. His father, AVilliam Ward, was born in Maryland and for a number of years was Indian agent to Mississippi for the Choctaw nation. George V. Ward was reared in Kentucky and received his education in the Western Military institute at George- town, one of his instructors being Hon. James G. Blaine. After giving his attention to his father's business for a number of years he began doing for himself at the age of twenty-five years, and has since been one of the leading planters of Washington county. In 1857 he was married to Miss Maria L. Williams, a native of Kentucky and a daughter of Minor and Mary C. (Viley) Williams, who were also Kentuckians. To Mr. Ward and his wife two children have been born: James W. and Junius R., Jr. Mr. AVard is a member of an old Kentucky family, but came to Mississippi when a boy, and has ever since made his home in this state, where he is highly esteemed and respected. (For further particulars of the Vileys see sketch of Merritt Williams.) Mr. Ward is of a social temperament and is a very agree- able and pleasant gentleman to meet. MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 985 Junius R. Ward, planter, Brwin, owes his nativity to Washington county, Miss., his birth having occurred on the lake in 1844, and is the sixth child born to Junius E. and Matilda (Vila) Ward, the parents originally from the bluegrass regions of Kentucky. The father vras perhaps the earliest settler on the lake, having located there about 1825, and began farming on a very extensive scale, becoming the owner of a magnificent plantation. He passed his summers in Kentucky, but returned to Washington county, Miss. , to pass the winter months. He opened up several other places and became prominently identified with the agricultural interests of the coimty. He and wife both died in the year 1881. They were of representative families of Kentucky and were upright, honoi'able citizens. Junius E. Ward was reared in Kentiicky, educated in the schools of that state and at the breaking out of the war enlisted in company B, Second Kentucky regiment, under Captain Breckin- ridge. He was in Ihe bloody battle of Shiloh, in Morgan's command, with whom he remained for a year and a half. He then returned to his home in Mississippi and there remained until 1865, when he went to Kentucky. Shortly afterward he again returned to Mississippi and began planting for himself. In 1879 Mr. Ward bought his present plan- tation, consisting of six hundred acres, with two hundred acres under cultivation, and is one of the progressive men of the county. He is single and resides quietly at home. Zack Wardlaw is one of the progressive and leading citizens of Hinds county, Miss. , but was born in Warren county, of this state, December 22, 1844, the eldest of five children born to Zack Wardlaw, Sr., and his second wife, Falba L., who was the widow of a Mr. Wilkins, and the daughter of Thomas S. Moore, a native of Alabama. Mr. Wardlaw, Sr., was a native of Alabama, born in 1804, and devoted his life to agriculture. Although he com- menced life with no means, he was industrious, thrifty and painstaking, and prior to his death, which occurred in 1854, he had accumulated a comfortable competency. He v^as a great admirer of fine horses and always had some blooded stock about him. He was of a modest and unassuming demeanor, and at the time of his death he was an earnest member of the Baptist church, in which he had been deacon for a number of years. He was descended from an old and well-known Scotch family, his ancestor in America having come here with two brothers and settled in South Carolina, in which state some of his descendants became eminent. Among these may be mentioned Judge L. Wardlaw, who was supreme judge of South Carolina for some time. Zack Wardlaw, the subject of this sketch, was educated in Hinds county, whither his father moved from Warren county, and here he began attending the common schools, but his education was cut short by the opening of the war. With the enthusiasm of youth he espoused the cause of the Confederacy, enlisting as a private in com- pany B, Twenty-second Mississippi regiment, and served faithfully and well until the last gun was fired. At the battle of Shiloh he received quite a severe wound, which confined him to the hospital for some thirty days. He rejoined his command at Vicksburg, partici- pating in the marine siege of that place, after which he was at Eaton Eouge, La., Deer Creek, Baker's Creek, Jackson, Corinth, the Tennessee campaign and the Georgia campaign, during which time he was in almost constant service. He surrendered at Greensboro, N. C. , and, walking about eight hundred miles, reached home on the 8th of May, 1865. He soon after began teaching school, but at the end of three months he gave it up to enter a commer- cial college at New Orleans, La., graduating in 1866. For a short time thereafter he fol- lowed the calling of a bookkeeper, then went to Memphis, Tenn., and engaged in the tobacco and cigar business, and also kept a restaurant for a short time. He then returned to Hinds county, Miss., and here was married, in 1871, to Miss Laura A. Cook, a native of Missis- sippi, and a daughter of M. L. and Jenett (Scott) Cook, both natives of North Carolina. To 986 BIOORAPHIGAL AND HISTORICAL Mr. and Mrs. Wardlaw three children have been born: Falba J., Mary J. and Zack, Jr. After his marriage Mr. Wardlaw farmed exclusively for ten years, but in 1882 also engaged in general merchandising in Utiea, which calling he has continued with excellent success. He does an annual business of about $25,000, and has real estate to the amount of eight hundred acres, of which five hundred acres are under cultivation. In 1886 Mr. Wardlaw erected a handsome residence, and in this lovely and ideal Southern home he and his wife dispense a generous and free-hearted hospitality. He is a very congenial and agreeable companion, and he, as well as his wife, is highly esteemed in social circles. He has always believed that what is worth doing at all is worth doing well, and in the different enterprises in which he is engaged no department of his work has been neglected. He also owns some valuable real estate in Chattanooga, Tenn. He and his wife are members of the Baptist church, in which he is deacon, and socially he belongs to the A. F. & A. M., the Good Tem- plars, the A. L. of H. , and the K. of P. D. Cameron Warren, M. D. The profession of the physician is one which operates effectively in time of need in arresting and alleviating the most acute pains and ailments to which the human body is heir, and therefore deserves the most appreciative consideration on the part of the public. In this profession the gratitude of hundreds is due to the skill and talent of Dr. Warren, who is deservedly ranked among the leading practitioners of the heal- ing art in Jefferson county. The Doctor is a native Mississippian, and was born in the county in which he is now residing on the 6th of February, 1851, his parents being J. J. and Sarah J. (Cameron) Warren, the former being born and reared in Windham county., Vt., and the latter a native of Jefferson county. Miss. After reaching his majority, J. J. Warren determined to seek his fortune elsewhere than in his native state, and finally found himself in the state of Mississippi, and, being pleased with this section, settled in Jefferson county, where he met and married Miss Cameron, a daughter of Archibald Cameron, a pioneer planter of this county. He soon after opened up a farm in this county, and for a period of forty years was one of the honest sons of the soil of this region. He and his worthy wife, though quite aged, are still living, and make their home in Franklin county, where they are surrounded by everything to make their declining years comfortable and easy. To them a family of five sons and eight daughters were born, of whom two sons and seven daughters are living: Eugene, a farmer of Franklin county; Dr. D. Cameron; Mrs. F. M. MeNair, of Fayette; Mrs. B. D. Knapp, of Harriston; Mrs. A. L. Torrey, of Hermanville; Mrs. W. A. Newman, of McNair; Mrs. B. M. Williams, of Meadeville; E. J. ; M. L., a teacher at Harriston; and Marquis D., who grew to mature years, married, and moved to Texas, where lie died. The other children died in early childhood. Dr. D. Cameron Warren grew to manhood in Jefferson county, and spent his youth in attending the com- mon and high schools and in learning the intricacies of farm work. After attaining a suitable age, and always having had a desire for the medical profession, he began studying with Dr. McNair, of Fayette, a sketch of whom appears in this volume. In the winter of 1873-4 he took his first course of lectures at Tulane university, of Louisiana, to which institution he returned the two following winters, taking three courses of lectures, and graduating from the institution in March, 1876. He soon after took up his location where he now resides, and has since devoted his time and attention to attending to the bodily wants of his fellowman. In this calling his efforts have been blessed with success, and he now has all the practice that he can give proper attention to. He was married in the month of March, 1871, to Miss Mary I. Torrey, a daughter of R. D. Torrey, of one of the oldest and best known families of Jefferson county (see sketch of John Torrey). Dr. and MBM0IR8 OF MISSISSIPPI. 987 Mrs. Warren have four children: Mary, Lucy, Lottie and George. The Doctor, his wife, and their eldest daughter are worthy members of the' Presbyterian church, and socially he belongs to the K. & L. of H. , and is examining physician for the lodge at Union Church. Dr. Warren has a pleasant country home, a place he settled and improved, it being. situated about two miles from Union Church. Dr. N. B. Warren, Marietta, Miss., is one of Prentiss county's most trustworthy physi- cians, and as he has ever had a liberal share of public favor, it is one of the best proofs of his skill and care. He was born in Alabama on the 10th of April, 1834, and is next to the youngest of twelve children born to John S. and Sarah (llobinson) Warren, the father a native of Kentucky and the mother of South Carolina. John S. Warren was married twice; first in Kentucky to Miss Gentry, who bore him seven children — three sons and four daugh- ters. He resided in the Blue Grass state for several years, and there his first wife died. His next marriage was to Miss Robinson, their nuptials being celebrated in Tennessee. Twelve children were the fruits of this union, Mr. Warren being the father of nineteen chil- dren in all. He was a farmer by occupation, and after removing from Tennessee to Alabama engaged in the stock business for several years. From there he removed to Itawamba county. Miss. , located near Fulton, the county seat, and there bought a large tract of land. He engaged extensively in farming and stockraising, selling a great many horses and cattle, and also ran a distillery on his farm. He was one of the pioneer settlers, and was held high in the estimation of all who knew him as an honorable, high-minded citizen. He never aspired to any ofl&cial positions, and was a consistent member of the Primitive Baptist church. His death occurred in Itawamba county in 1863. His wife is still living, and is in her eighty-seventh year. There are now only six of the nineteen children living. Dr. Warren began working for himself when fifteen years of age, and engaged with the firm of Ehynic Brothers, of Fulton, Miss., to peddle dry goods and notions. He followed that part of a year, and afterward began teaching school and goiug to school at intervals until he had acquired a fair English education. He was educated mainly at the Euclid academy, in Tish- omingo county. Miss. In the fall of 1854 he began reading medicioe, and in 1855 entered the ofi&ce of Dr. Choate in Tishomingo county, with whom he remained one year. In 1856 he entered the Louisville Medical university, took only one course, and then returned home, beginning to practice near Fulton. The following year he went back, took another course, and again returned to his practice, locating at Ryanswell, in the same county, where he continued to practice for four years. In 1860 he returned to Louisville, took another course, and graduated in the spring of 1861. He again resumed his practice at Ryanswell, and remained there until April, 1891, when he removed to Marietta, Prentiss county, where he is now located. He has an extensive practice and is doing well. He was exempt from service in the army on account of being a cripple, and during that stirring period remained at home and kept up his practice, being the only physician for many miles around. He had frequently to make visits thirty and forty miles away. The Doctor has never married, but has two adopted sons, Robert J. and George B. M'arren, whom he reared from infancy. The former is twenty-four years of age, and is a farmer by occupation. He was educated at Fulton, Miss. The latter is sixteen years of age, and was educated at Oakland Normal insti- tute. Dr. Warren is one of the directors of Oakland Normal institute. He has never aspired to official positions of any kind, but devotes his entire time to his practice and his farmiiig interests. He is a large landowner, having nearly twenty thousand acres, embrac- ing several farms in Itawamba, Tishomingo and Prentiss counties. The Doctor was engaged in the drug business at luka for one year, also engaged in the same business at Fulton for JJJ 988 BIOQRAPHIGAL AND HiaTOBIOAL two yecars, and was in partnership with George B. Walker in general merchandising at Walker's Bridge for seven years. He sold that out in 1872 and bought an interest in the dry goods business at Pleasanton, continuing there for two years. He was appointed admin- istrator of his father's estate in 1863, and in 1870 he was appointed administrator of the estate of his brother. The Doctor is acknowledged by the medical profession as a physician of ability and prominence, and as a citizen he is esteemed and honored by all. He has been a member of the Masonic fraternity since June, 1857, and an able supporter of schools, churches, etc. J. \V. Waterer, Free Run, has been a lifelong resident of Yazoo county, Miss., where he first saw the light of day November 8, 1848. He is the eldest of the three children born to Needham and Louise (McCormack) Waterer. The father was a native of Twiggs county, Gra. , and there grew to manhood. At the age of twenty-one years he left kith and kin, and rode seven hundred miles through a comparatively wild country, inhabited by Indians, until he came to Yazoo county. Miss. He decided to tarry here a while and finally settled near Free Run, where he was employed as an overseer. At the breaking out of the Civil war he owned fifteen slaves and fifteen hundred acres of land. He was married in 1846 to Miss Louise McCormack, and by this union three children were born, only one of whom grew to maturity. Mrs. Waterer died in 1852, and after some time he was again married, his second wife being Miss Amanda McCormack, a sister to the first wife. Six children were born to them, live of whom lived to be grown : Needham C. , of Texas; Heibunia, wife of Henry Gorden; S. F., a planter of this county; Virginia L.; and H. Y., a farmer of Holmes county. The father died in August, 1873, at the age of fifty-six years. He was a man of many sterling qualities, and by his industry and economy made a success of life. The subject of this notice, J. W. Waterer, grew up surrounded by the industry of husbandry, and early received a bent in this direction. At the tender age of fifteen years he entered the Confederate service in Capt. Ed. Berry's company of cavalry, and gallantly lent his aid in the defense of the Southern cause. After the surrender, in 1865, he went into agriculture, which he followed until 1888. During four years of this time he was assessor of the county. His next business venture was in the mercantile trade, in partnership with the Hon. D. Bunch, of Benton. He now has the entire business in his own name, carrying a stock of |2, 500, and doing an annual business of 110,000. He owns a well-improved plantation of six hundred acres in addition to his mercantile interests. Mr. Waterer was wedded, in 1869, to Miss Ella Reed, daughter of J. H. and A. L. (Hurst) Reed, prominent early settlers of Mississippi. Four children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Waterer who lived to maturity, and four died in infancy. Those living are, Nellie L., Lizzie, Fannie and J. B. Mrs. Waterer passed from this life September 14, 1890, lamented by her family and a large circle of friends. She was an estimable Christian woman, and a devoted member of the Baptist church. Mr. Waterer is a member of the Free Run lodge No. 2994, Knights of Honor. He is one of Yazoo's enterprising, progressive citizens, and has always contributed to the support of all public movements that have been of general benefit. Dr. Benjamin D. Watkins, physician and surgeon for the state and the city Charity hospital at Natchez, and a general practitioner, was born in Natchez in 1862, and is the son of Rev. William H. Watkins, D. D. The elder Watkins was born in Jefferson county, Miss., in" 1815, was educated for the ministry (Methodist), and for a number of years was president of Centenary college at Jackson, La., a Methodist institution, and was afterward in the New Orleans conference. While in that city he met and married Mrs. Elizabeth Johnson, nee Jones, who was a native of Liverpool, England, born in 1818, where she had married her first MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 989 husband, who was a ship captain. Mrs. Watkins is still living and makes her home among her children. She is an 'excellent lady and a devout Methodist. After leaving New Orleans Mr. Watkins was placed on the Mississippi conference, and was stationed at Natchez, Wood- ville, Jackson and Vicksburg, continuing in the ministry with unabated success until his death in 1881. His father, Asa Watkins, was born in Jefferson county, Ga., in 1777, and at a very early day came to Mississippi, locating in Jefferson county, where his death occurred in 1840. He was a planter by occupation and a pronounced Baptist in his religious belief. Dr. Benjamin D. Watkins is the youngest of six sons and five daughters, six of whom are living, born to his parents. They are named as follows: Dr. William H., a successful physician and surgeon of New Orleans; Thpmas H., a planter of Louisiana; Dr. John M., a physician of New Orleans; Rev. Alex. F., a prominent divine of Jackson and agent for a college, and Olive B. Dr. Benjamin D. Watkins was educated at Centenary college. La., and then, afer a three years' course, graduated from the medical department of Tulane university at Baton Rouge, La., in the meantime spending a portion of two years in the Charity hospital, New Orleans. After finishing his course he at once located in the city of Natchez, where he already ranks among the foremost of his profession. He has an extensive and lucrative practice. He is a prominent member of Harmony lodge No. 1, A. F. & A. M., and also of Natchez lodge No. 3, of Knights of Pythias. He selected Miss Eloise Reimer, a native of Natchez, as his life companion and their nuptials were celebrated in June, 1889. She is the daughter of Daniel and Minnie Reimer, early settlers of Natchez, where Mr. Reimer died a number of years ago. He was a planter. Mrs. Watkins is an earnest and active member of the Methodist church. Dr. Watkins is a public-spirited citizen and stands high in his profession and in social circles. He was pension examiner for about two years under the Cleveland administration. Erskine Watkins, merchant, of Jackson, Miss. In giving a history of Hinds county, Miss., the name of Mr. Watkins deserves honorable mention, for he has always been industriou^s and public spirited, and has ever aided enterprises which tend to the interests of his city and section. He was born in Huntsville, Ala. , on the 8th of November, 1838, the fourth of six children born to Dr. Miles S. and Sallie D. (Shelby) Watkins, the former a native of Virginian and the latter of Tennessee. Dr. Watkins was brought up in the state of his birth, but about 1820 removed to Alabama, and, having graduated from the Jefferson Medical college, of Philadelphia, Penn. , he practiced his profession in Huntsville until 1850, when he removed to Mississippi, taking up his abode near the city of Jackson, where he engaged in planting until the opening of the war. During the great conflict between the North and South all his property was swept away, after which he lived a retired life, until his death, in 1866, at the age of seventy-five years. He lived the life of a true Christian, having for many years been a member of the Presbyterian church and an elder in the same, and although not an aspirant for political favors, he was very pirblic-spirited and a very prominent man of the county. He was very successful in business until the war swept his accumulations away, possessed decided literary tastes, being au omnivorous reader, and was a graduate of Hampton Sidney college, of Virginia. He was a model husband and father, was devoted to his children and gave them all good advantages. He was a true and tried soldier of the War of 1812, and in every respect ranked among the highest civilians. He was of Scotch descent, and a nephew of his, Benjamin Watkins Leigh, was one of the ablest men of his times. Erskine Watkins has been a resident of Mississippi since his twelfth year, but the most of his education was obtained in Huntsville, Ala. He left school at the age of sixteen years to enter a general mercantile store in Jackson, and from 1855 to 1861 he was with the firm of Fearn & Putnam. Upon the opening of the Civil 990 BIOQRAPHIOAL AND HISTOBIOAL war he enlisted in company K, Eighteenth Mississippi regiment (which was the second or third regiment organized iu the state), as lieutenant of his company and served until the last gun was fired, and made an enviable record as a brave and faithful soldier. He took part in the first battle of Bull Run, the first battle of Manassas, and was afterward transferred to company I, Thirty-ninth Mississippi, with which he remained until captured at Port Hudson. He was a participant in the bloody battles of Vicksburg, Corinth and Baton Rouge. He was severely wounded in the engagement at Corinth, and was disabled for over three months. He was captured at Port Hudson and kept as a prisoner of war until the surrender of General Lee, after which he was released and returned to his home. He soon after opened a mercantile establishment, and to this calling has industriously devoted his attention ever since. He is the sole proprietor of the house of E. Watkins, which is the largest hardware establishment of Jackson, and does an annual business of 150,000. In every respect he has shown that he is a man of discrimination and judgment, and his upright and honorable business career is a worthy example to the rising generation. He has always ■ endeavored to follow the teachings of the golden rule and his many admirable qualities of heart and bead, and his kindly, courteous and pleasing manners, make him an agreeable and desired companion, and one who holds an enviable position in the religious and social circles of Jackson. He is extremely public- spirited, and to aid in the improvement of his section and to assist and encourage worthy enterprises, he gives generously of his means. He has been a member of the board of aldermen for some years, in which position he has used his influence for justice and right, and for the good of the city. In addition to managing his hardware establishment, he also successfully conducts a fine plantation of one thousand acres, and thus finds that his time is fully and profitably occupied. Besides his fine store building he owns a beautiful residence in Jackson, which be erected in 1881, and here he and his intelligent and amiable wife dispense a generous and free-hearted hospitality. In 1875 he was united in marriage to Miss Alice Petrie, a native of Jackson, Miss., and a daughter of Lemuel W. and Rosa (Farrar) Petrie, the former a native of Maine and the latter of Virginia. To Mr. Watkins and his wife three children have been born: RosaF., Marian S. and Alice P., all of whom are at home. Mr. Watkins and his wife are worthy members of the Presbyterian church. Jesse Watkins (deceased) was originally from North Carolina, his birth occurring in Rich- mond county in 1813, and he there grew to maturity, receiving a common-school education. He was early trained to the duties of farm life, and it was but na,tural perhaps that that should be his chosen vocation when starting out for himself. He was married in 1835 to Miss Sarah A. Morgan, daughter of Richard and Annie (Ewell) Morgan, natives of Virginia and Maryland respectively. To Mr. and Mrs. Watkins were born four children, three of whom are still living: James, Mary A., (wife of M. A. Cooper, of Neshoba county. Miss. ) and Edmond (who is a prominent business man of Chattanooga, Tenn.) Mr. Watkins came with his family to Neshoba county, Miss., in 1849, located in the woods and on the exact spot where the old home now stands. He began opening up land, and in the short space of two years he had a good farm opened and was making considerable money. At the breaking out of the war he owned about two thousand acres of land and about twenty-five slaves. He thought slavery wrong, and when he had to give up those belonging to him he never lamented the loss. He opposed the ordinance of secession, but when the die was cast went with his people. He was an old-line whig in politics, but although active he never sought office and never allowed his name to come before the people. He died in 1885, after having lived a useful and Chris- tian life. His son, James Watkins, was born in Richmond county, N. C. , in 1836, and MEMOIRS OF MISSISaiPFI. 991 removed with his parents to Neshoba county, Miss., at the age of thirteen years. Here he labored on his father's farm, and was educated in what was then known as Carolina academy, near his father's home. In 1857 he was married to Miss Martha, daughter of Jones Brant- ley, a native of Georgia, but who came to Mississippi in 1855. The fruits of this union were five children, four of whom are still living. In 1861, when the war between the two sections broke out, Mr. Watkins enlisted in company K, Fifth Mississippi regiment, and served until the close. He was in the battle of Pensacola, Fla., Farmington, Miss., and Chickamauga, where he was wounded in the arm and prevented from further service. Returning home after the war Mr. Watkins followed farming and in 1867 moved to Meridian, where he opened a general merchandising store. He was burned out in 1868, after which he returned to the farm, where he has since remained. He owns immense tracts of land, between ten andfifteen thousand acres, and is the largest landowner in the county. He is a devout, religious man, and one who gives his liberal support to every worthy enterprise. He believes in educating the young, and puts this into practice by giving all his children liberal educational advantages. He has the good will and esteem of all who know him. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity. Mr. Watkins' paternal grandfather, Israel Watkins, was probably a native of the Old Dominion, but located in North Carolina when young. He was an active Revolu- tionary soldier aad served his country well. The maternal grandfather, Richard Morgan, was also a soldier in the Revolution. Among the prominent farmers of Copiah county is William A. Watkins, who resides near the eastern border of the county, on the Pearl river, on the plantation upon which he was born in 1838. He is the son of Henry and Anna Watkins. His father was born in South Carolina, May 4, 1S02, a son of William and Sarah Watkins, both natives of that state. In 1822, after the death of his father, Henry Watkins came to Mississippi with his mother. After a few years devoted to planting interests, he was appointed warden of the state penitentiary, at Jackson, Miss., which position he held for eleven years. Upon his retirement he purchased a farm in Copiah county, upon which he located and lived till his death, which occurred February, 1878. He was married in 1836 to Mrs. Anna (Carter) Young, a daughter of Burrel and Carter, of Pike county. Miss. To this couple was born one child, a son, William A., the subject of this sketch. Mr. Watkins was prominent in the Masonic order. William A. Watkins began life for himself at the age of twenty-one as a farmer, which vocation he now follows, owning the farm upon which he first started out for himself, and upon which he has lived during that whole period, except two years, when he was merchandising in Brookhaven. He was married in 1859 to Margaret Conn, a daughter of Matthew and Ada Conn, of Copiah county. They had two children, Benjamin A. and Nannie, wife of Francis Barlow. In 1861 Mr. Watkins enlisted in Gray's battalion for the Confederate service, but soon after joined company K, of the Twentieth Mississippi infantry, with which he served until the close of the war. He is a member of Charles Scott lodge No. 136, A. F. & A. M. Mr. Watkins, although well advanced in life, is well preserved, and though somewhat stout is quite active. He is rather tall, quite erect, with clear blue eyes and gray hair, and a long gray beard, presenting an appearance no less striking than pleasing. His business reputation is of the highest character, and the esteem in which he is held by his fellow-citizens would be flattering if it were not deserved. Dr. W. W. Watkins, physician and planter, is well known in Monroe county, where he was born in 1849, the son of Bryant and Susan (Whitfield) Watkins, the former of whom was born in Dublin county, and the latter in Wayne county, N. C. They came to Monroe county in 1837, where they were married and passed the remainder of their lives. Mr. Watkins 'M-i BWGRAPHIOAL AND HISTORICAL died in 1852, his wife in 1878. Tbey were members of the Methodist Episcopal Church South for mauy years, and Mr. Watkins was an Odd Fellow. The grandfather of our sub- ject was John \\'atkins, supposed to have been born in North Carolina, where he lived till he came to Monroe C(3unty, in 1837, becoming a well-to-do planter, and dying in what is now Clay county, in 1860. He was of Welsh descent, his family consisting of seven sons and six daughters, two sons and one daughter of whom are living. Several of his sons, and quite a number of his grandsons, did service for the Confederacy in the Civil war. His maternal grandfather, Hatch Whitfield, was born in North Carolina, and in 1835 also came to Mon- roe county, settling near Aberdeen. He engaged in planting with considerable success, and died in 1883. He will long be remembered as being a veteran of the War of 1812, during which he served under General Jackson, at New Orleans. He was of English descent, but thoroughly American in his ideas, and active in all matters of public impor- tance. He was twice married, and had ten children, nine of them by his first wife. Mr. Watkins' mother was married, a second time, to D. Wiley Howe, now deceased. Our subject was the third of three sons and one daughter, named as follows: Amelia, who became the wife of Mason Cummings, now deceased, dying in 1858; John H. , a planter who served during the war in Lander' s battalion of Ferguson' s brigade, and died in Lauderdale county in 1882; William W. ; Bryant Y., a planter of Monroe county, who died in 1890. Mr. Wat- kins obtained a common-school education, but became a practical planter on his own account at the age of nineteen, continuing that business till 1870, when he began studying medicine with Dr. Thomas B. Elkin, graduating in March, 1872, from the Tulane university at New Orleans. He practiced afterward in the vicinity of his birth, for seventeen years, when he relinquished the active duties of his profession and again turned his attention to planting, with which he combined the merchandise business, being a member of the firm of Mitchell & Watkins, of Aberdeen. He owns two thousand two hundred and forty acres of land in Monroe county, as well as several other valuable tracts of prairie land in Clay and Monroe counties, aggregating about six thousand acres. He was married in 1878 to Miss Anna, a daughter of Benjamin and Anna Knowles, who were born, reared and married in Rhode Island, and came from there to Monroe county about 1830, where Mr. Knowles died, in 1866, and his wife in 1869. He was a merchant, and both he and his wife were members of the Christian church. They had two daughters and one son. One of the daughters was Mrs. Watkins, who was born in Monroe county, but received her education at Wilbraham, Mass. She has five children. During the last four years the family have resided in Aber- deen. Dr. Watkins is of an old and highly respected family. He is known as a successful business man, and is perhaps the largest single planter in Monroe county, one thousand eight hundred acres of his land being cleared. It is crossed by both the main line and the Aber- deen branch of the Mobile & Ohio railroad. He gives this place his personal supervision, and under his superb management it is one of the most productive plantations in the whole of Monroe county. Maj. Augustus C. Watson. In the preparation of this brief outline of the life history of one of the most cultured and honorable men who has ever made his home in Jefferson county, facts appear which are greatly to his credit. His intelligence, enterprise and integrity, and many estimable qualities, have acquired for him a popularity not derived from any ficti- tious circumstances, but are a permanent and spontaneous tribute to his merit. In the space allotted in this sketch it is impossible to mention in detail all the services he has rendered to his much-loved South, but they are of much interest and show that he has always been ready to identify himself with what be considered justice and right. He was born in the county in MEMOIRS OF MISaiaaiPPI. 9!)3 which be is now residing, on the 14th of July, 1825, but iiis father, James H. Watson, was born in the Old North state, and, after making his home in that state until he was a young man, he determined to devote his energies to the accumulation of a competency in a diiferent state, and the year 1779 found him in what is now Jefferson county, Miss. He was a man who possessed intelligence of a high order, and upon the large and valuable plantation which he opened near Rodney, he brought all his native intelligence and knowledge of agriculture to bear, and, aa a natural result, became wealthy. He was called from life in 1841, and his wife, whose maiden name was Anna M. Cable, died a few years earlier. She was born in Jefferson county, her father, Fred Cable, being one of the pioneers of the state. Maj. A. C. Watson is the youngest of a family of five sons and four daughters that grew to mature years, he, his brother, William, a planter of Louisiaaa, and their sister, Mrs. Anna Hunt, widow of George Hunt, a sketch of whom appears in this work, being the only ones of the family who are now living. Major Watson attained man's estate in Jefferson county, and, owing to his father's excellent financial circumstances, he was privileged to devote his time to his books, and received a thorough and practical education in Oakland college. After complet- ing his studies he was married to Miss Polivia McGill, in 1850, daughter of Jeremiah McGill, but after a married life of two years he was left a widower. Soon after the celebration of his nuptials he located on a plantation in Louisiana, and for a number of years was success- fully engaged in planting in Tensas parish. Being a firm believer in state's rights, and enthusiastic in his love for the South, he immediately responded to the call of the Confeder- acy for troops at the opening of the Civil war. In 1861 he raised what was known as Wat- son's battery, and, as he was wealthy, he uniformed and equipped his men and furnished two hundred head of horses, the entire amount he spent being about $60,000. He went at once to the front, and, with his battery, took part in the battles of Belmont, Shiloh, Corinth, Baker's Creek and Port Hudson, his battery being captured in the last named engagement in 1863. Major Watson then served with different commands until the close of the war, a short time prior to which event he was commissioned by Jefferson Davis to raise and organize a new command in Louisiana, and was following out these commands when he heard of the surrender of General Lee. Although the war was at an end, and the North victorious, Major Watson returned to his home with the consciousness of having performed every duty faith- fully and well, and, although he was considerably impoverished, he did not fold his hands and uselessly repine, but set energetically to work to retrieve his fortunes by locating on a plantation in Louisiana, his attention being devoted to this calling until 1882, when he sold out and bought his present place, known as Woodlawn. This is one of the most beautiful and best places in Jefferson county, and is situated abojit half way between Fayette and Rod- ney. Besides being beautiful and well appointed in every particular, it is a home of true and unbounded hospitality, where love, kindness and unselfishness reign supreme. Major Watson was happy in his choice of a wife, and in Louisiana was rnarried, in 1865, to Miss Louisa Mason, a native of the Pelican state, but who was reared and educated in Boston, Mass., her father being a well-known physician. Dr. Josiah Mason. Major Watson became the father of two children by his first wife: A. C, a planter of Louisiana, and Frank, a business man of New Orleans. To his last union three children have been born: A. J., a merchant of Louis- iana; Lulie A., and Albert Sidney Johnston, a prosperous young business man of Louisiana. One son, James M. , died at the age of fourteen years. Major Watson has all his life appre- ciated the liberal education he received in his youth, and has given all his children excellent advantages, which they did not fail to improve, being a credit to themselves and their parents. Mrs. Watson is a member of the Episcopal church, and, socially, the Major is a Master 994 BIOOBAPHIOAL AND HI8T0BIGAL Mason. His reputation for honesty has been tried and not found wanting. His financial ability has been more than once put to the test, but never without credit to himself. His social qualities are well known and appreciated, and he has hosts of friends, whose confidence and esteem are his highest eulogium. Dr. James R. Watson, physician, Lexington, a prominent citizen of Holmes county, Miss., was born in that county on the 10th of May, 1848. His father, Joseph H. Watson, was a native of North Carolina born in Jones county, in 1818, and was there reared and educated. He came to Mississippi in 1837, when a young man, settled on a farm in Holmes county and was there married to Miss Ann Eliza James, who died when her son. Dr. James R., was but three years old. Mr. Watson served as a member of the board of police for a number of years and also as magistrate. He took quite a prominent part in politics. During the war he served in the militia for home protection, Confederate service. He was a suc- cessful and prosperous farmer and accumulated a nice estate. His death occurred on the 22d of February, 1870. He had been twice married, his last wife living at the present time. Dr. James R. Watson was one of two children, his brother, Dr. J. H. Watson, being also a physician of Holmes county. He has one half-brother and three half-sisters. Dr. Watson received his education mostly by private tutors, studied medicine in this county and took his first course of lectures at the University of Louisiana in 1868 and 1869, graduating from that institution in the spring of 1870. He subsequently located in Holmes county, twelve miles south of Lexington, practiced his profession there for thirteen years and in connection carried on farming. He moved to Lexington in 1881, bought residence property, and in connection with farming has given his attention to the raising of thoroughbred Jersey cattle, his herd now numbering about thirty head. The Doctor has been unusually successful in all his enterprises, is the owner of several plantations and has a small farm of about one hundred and seventy acres near town. He has about seven acres in strawberries and about the same number of acres devoted to orchard — peach, pear and plum trees. His political principles are purely democratic and he served as a member of the board of supervisors for several years, being president of the same most of the time. He was also a member of the city court. On the 5th of May, 1870, he married Miss Alice C. Stewart, a native of Holmes county. Miss., where she was reared and educated, and the daughter of John M. and Eliza- beth Stewart. There were six children by this union. Mrs. Watson died on the Slst of December, 1882. The Doctor took for his second wife Miss Fannie L. Dyer, who was born, reared and educated in Holmes county, and who is a daughter of Judge J. M. Dyer. Three children are the fruits of this union. Dr. Watson is a Master Mason, a member of the Knights of Honor and the Knights of Pythias. He is a member of the Methodist church, and has been steward in the same for some time. Mrs. Watson is a member of the Presby- terian church. The children by his first wife are named as follows: Anna A., John Stewart, Bettie Ford, Mattie May, Alice Lee and James Raford, and those by the second union: Julia Dyer, Eloise and Joseph D. James W. Watson has been a resident of Claiborne county. Miss., since his birth, which occurred in Port Gibson in 1824. His father, James Watson, was a Tennesseean, but became a resident of Mississippi while it was still a territory. The latter' s father, James Watson, was born in the Old North state, but at a very early day removed to Tennessee, and after- ward to Mississippi, being among its very earliest settlers. To this gentleman a large family of children was born, all of whom grew to maturity and reared families of their own, with the exception of two. One of the sons, Isaiah Watson, served in the state legislature about 1839 or 1840. The eldest sou was James Watson, the father of the immediate subject / MEMOIRS OP MISSISSIPPI. 095 of this sketch, and was one of the first and leading merchants of Port Gibson, being associ- ated with a Mr. Pope. Three months before his son James W. was born, while in New York city purchasing goods for his mercantile establishment, he was taken ill, and died soon after returning home, in the fall of 1823. After the birth of their son, their only child, Mrs. "Watson lived only two weeks. Her maiden name was Malinda Crane, the daughter of Waterman Crane, one of the county's earliest settlers and most prominent men. Mr. Ci-ane was a member of the first county court, and took an active part in the affairs of the county. He became the father of a large family, all of whom were more or less connected with the early history of the county, and are now deceased. After the death of his parents, James W. Watson, who was at that time two weeks old, was taken to raise by his mother's sister. Mrs. Clarissa (Crane) Young, wife of William Young, and with his uncle and aunt, who took the place of his father and mother, he remained until grown. William Young was a native of Scotland, and when he was about twenty-one years of age he came to America and settled at Port Gibson, where he followed the occupation of a merchant for a few years. There he was married to Mrs. Christie, a native of the county, after which he turned his- attention to'planting, at which he has been very successful, becoming wealthy. He was very highly educated, and while in his native land became a member of the Presbyterian church. He was very benevolent and open-hearted with his means, contributing freely to what he deemed deserving his support, and so sound was his judgment and so true his con- victions that he did untold good with his means. He was called from life during the war, his widow surviving him many years, being an active member of the Presbyterian church throughout her life. By a former marriage to a Mr. Christie she became the mother of one child, a daughter named Caroline, who became the wife of Rev. S. R. Bertron, by whom she became the mother of two daughters, who lived to be grown and married, Mary, the youngest, marrying William Hughes, who now resides near Bethel, Miss., and Clara, who became the wife of Charles T. Purnell, her union resulting in the birth of one son. Mrs. Purnell is a widow, and is a resident of Virginia. James W. Watson received his early training in a country school, after which he entered Oakland college, and still later that noted institution of learning, Princeton college, New Jersey, from which he graduated in 1844, several members of his class afterward becoming eminent, among whom may be men- tioned Representative Hooker and Senator Colquit. After his graduation Mr. Watson returned to Claiborne county, Miss., and commenced planting in the neighborhood of Bethel. Several years later he purchased his present home place, which at that time was unimproved, but by industry and good management he has succeeded in putting under cultivation ten hundred of his eighteen-hundred-acre plantation. On this place is a good steam cottongin, but the first gin put up by him was run by horsepower. He was a strong Union man until his state seceded, and although he was a member of the convention that passed the ordi- nance, he opposed secession with all the strength of his energetic nature, but bowed to fate when the ordinance was passed, and went with his people. He has never taken any par- ticular interest in political matters, but votes the democratic ticket, and has made speeches for his party during the campaigns. He was at one time a trustee of the Chamberlain-Hunt academy, and a director in the Grand Gulf & Port Gibson railroad. He was married in 1848 to Miss Miriam Buck, a daughter of William R. Buck, who served in one of the early wars (1812), and for the bravery he displayed in the capture of an English vessel in the Mediterranean sea he was awarded a sword. He was an early settler of Claiborne county, and was a very honest, conscientious, kind and modest gentleman. His children are: William H. , was a captain of artillery in the Civil war, and C. E., was first lieutenant of a OOfi BIOGBAPHIOAL AND HI8T0RI0AL fumpany of cavalry. The laiter was a graduate of Princeton college, N. J., and of a medical college of New Orleans, and William H. was also a graduate of Princeton. C. E. is now deceased. William is residing in Louisiana and is a well-to-do planter. Caroline resides on the old home place (where the battle of Port Gibson was fought) and is unmar- ried. Mrs. Watsoi), his eldest daughter, was born and reared in this county and was educated in the Nazareth college of Bardstown, Ky. She has borne Mr. Watson the follow- ing children: James W. was educated in the West Point Military academy, graduating in ISSO and is now at San Carlos, Arizona territory, held the rank of first lieutenant (he was recommended to the war department as captain for bravery, and for gallant and distin- guished service while in a fight with the Apache Indians near Salt river, Arizona; March 7, 1890, he was promoted to the rank of captain of the Tenth cavalry) ; Samuel D. was educated in Nashville, Tenn., and is now a successful planter of Louisiana; William Y. was educated at Port Gibson and Oxford, Miss., and is now at home; Maria F. is the wife of Capt. E. P. Briscoe, and was educated in New Orleans; Linda, who was educated at Port Gibson and the Female college of Fairmont, Tenn., is an accomplished young woman. William Y. has a plantation adjoining his father's, which he is engaged in tilling in con- nection with looking after the home place. Mr. Watson has an extensive library and is one of the best read men in the county, keeping thoroughly apace with the times. His residence, which was erected in 1848, is still in good repair and is beautifully situated on an elevated tract on the north fork of the Bayou Pierre river. Mrs. Watson is a member of the Presbyterian church. Hon. John W. C. Watson (deceased). Death brings its sorrowful pangs unfailingly to the hearts of those bound to the departed by ties of relationship and bonds of affection, but when the icy hand is laid upon a citizen of distinction and widespread influence, the result of a long and well-spent life which has clustered around it valuable and distinguished public services and cherished private virtues, this sorrow is not confined alone to those who mourn because of the tender ties of relationship, but brings sadness alike to the citizens of the entire community. Hon. John W. C. Watson was born in Albemarle county, Va., on the 27th of February, 1808, and died at his residence at Holly Springs, Miss., on the 24th of September, 1890. His early educational advantages Were only such as could be obtained in the country schools of the time, but he improved them well, and afterward graduated in the law department of the University of Virginia, then in charge of Prof. J. A. G. Davis. In 1831, soon after his admission to the bar, Mr. Watson married Miss Catherine Davis, sister of Professor Davis, a lady of lovely character who was richly endowed with personal attrac- tions. Her companionship was the chief joy of his life for nearly sixty years and her death occurred scarcely twelve months prior to his. A short time after their marriage the young couple removed to Abingdon, Va., where Mr. Watson continued in the successful practice of his profession uatil 1845, at which time he removed to Holly Springs, Miss., where a law partnership had been tendered him by J. W. iDlapp, formerly a student in his law ofQce. He here assumed, upon the very day of his arrival, the active duties of his profession, which he continued to perform with almost phenomenal assiduity and ability until well nigh the time of his death. In the resplendent galaxy of legal talent of which Mississippi can boast, his name shines with conspicuous luster. The official reports of the supreme judicial tribunals, both state and national, indicate the frequency with which he appeared as counsel in the most important cases and bear ample evidence of that untiring industry, zeal and learning as a lawyer which frequently elicited high and well-merited encomiums from the bench. In May, 187fi, Mr. Watson was appointed a judge of the circuit court of the state by MEMOIMS OF MISSISSIPPI. ',(9, the governor, an office he held for a term of six years. As a judicial officer he was inflexible in his adherence to what he believed to be right, and yet, as far as he felt he might do so, he tempered judgment and justice with mercy, and always exhibited a conscientious and considerate recognition of the rights and feelings of all. His integrity and uprightness as a judge were proverbial, and no stain ever sullied his judicial ermine, nor breath of obloquy dimmed the brightness of his official escutcheon. Among his professional brethren he was distinguished for his urbanity and sympathetic aid to the younger members of the profes- sion, as well as for an honorable bearing and appreciation of the dignity and responsibilities of the legal profession which his surviving brethren may well aspire to equal. In politics Judge Watson was a whig as long as that party had a recognized existence, and was active and earnest in his opposition to the secession of the Southern states, pre- ceding the late Civil war. But when the die was cast he adhered to the fortunes of his state, and was equally active and earnest in his efforts to promote the interests of the South. In 1863 he was elected by the legislature of Mississippi to the Confederate senate, and served in that capacity until the close of the war. He also, both Ijefore and after the war, filled various responsible positions, such as delegate to the national convention of his party, member of the state legislature and state constitutional conventions, and commissioner in behalf of the state to Washington, D. C, with a view to obtaining relief from the arbitrary and oppressive measures adopted by the Federal government toward the seceding states after the war. This lively and watchful concern in public afl'airs he continued to manifest to the close of his life, as was evinced by the interest he expressed and the suggestions he made during his last illness as to the proceedings of the constitutional convention of Mississippi, then in session. The moral and religious aspect of Judge Watson's life is a feature deserving especial comment. In his early manhood he professed his faith in Christ as his Redeemer, and became a member of the Presbyterian church, and throughout his long and useful life he was conspicuous for the fidelity with which he maintained his allegiance to his Divine Master, and for the interest and zeal which he manifested in the cause of religion and good morals. While he cherished a profound reverence and affection for the church of his choice and was an ardent supporter of its doctrines, he was tolerant toward other denominations, and ready at all times to extend the hand of fellowship to all whom he believed to be sincere Christians. Whatever cause or pursuit he espoused, whether in matters of state or church, of law or morals, he never entered into it by halves, but took hold of it with characteristic energy and ardor. Among other matters of public concern and vitally affecting the welfare of society to which he directed his attention, was that of the sale and use of intoxicating liquors. He was known as a zealous temperance worker for many years, and it was through his invitation that Miss Willard first visited Mississippi. He wrote her in 1882 and secured a hearing before the legislature, where she won over men who have ever since been stanch allies to the temperance cause. As an advocate he was persuasive and logical, not unfrequently rising to the hights of true eloquence and lofty oratory. His arguments upon legal propositions before the various courts were analyti- cal expositions and enforcements of legal principles which rarely failed to carry convic- tions. One of the most brilliant achievements of his career as a lawyer was his success before the superior courts of the United States, in what is known as the railroad commission cases, argued October, 1885. Judge Watson represented the state of Mississippi by appoint- ment of Governor Lowry. The railroad corporations were represented, respectively, by tht' ablest legal talent of the country. Chief Justice Waite pronounced the opinion of the court, reversed the decision of the United States circuit court judge, and dismissed the bills 998 BIOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORWAL of the several railroad corporations, holding, as contended by Judge Watfion, that the act of the Mississippi legislature creating the railroad commission was constitutional. So brilliant was this last great argument of Judge Watson before the august tribunal, that the chief justice, in a private conversation, attested his profound legal learning and forensic power. His unswerving fidelity to truth, his conscientious discharge of duty, from which no temp- tation could seduce him, was a characteristic which specially endeared him to all those who knew him. Socially, Judge Watson was the courteous, affable gentleman, the faithful friend, the conservative, trustworthy public-spirited citizen, and the open-handed sympa- thizer with those in distress. In domestic life, his home was the haven of repose and hap- piness, where his loving nature found full gratification in the devoted affections of wife and children. Of the latter, eight were born as the fruit of his marriage, only two of whom now survive: James H. Watson, a prominent member of the Memphis bar, and Miss E. D. Watson, principal of Maury institute, at Holly Springs. Few men have left behind them a record more stainless and enviable in all the walks of life than has Judge Watson. A friend makes this statement: "That those who knew him best loved him most." Capt. Robert H. Watson, proprietor of the Inka Springs house. luka has over a thousand inhabitants and is situated on the Memphis & Charleston railroad, one hundred and fifteen miles east of Memphis, six miles from the Alabama line, seven miles from the Tennes- see river; upon one of the most elevated sections of Mississippi, readily accessible by the Memphis & Charleston and its connections. The country around is hilly and has been termed the Switzerland of Mississippi. The corporation is one mile square. Every house is surrounded by ample grounds of orchard, park and garden. There are five churches, all with active, earnest membership, and a flourishing normal school. Cordial, hospitable, wide- awake and energetic, the inhabitants of luka are pleasant people with whom to east your lot. The Springs house is a magnificent, four-story brick structure, to which has been added, to meet the increased patronage, a large frame addition, together with a square of neat, cool, three-roomed cottages. The open court around which they are built is a beautiful grass- covered plot, shaded from the summer's sun, the place for croquet and other out door games. Balconies above and below furnish a cool, delightful place throughout the summer days for quiet thought, jolly conversation or social promenade. One steps from the train into the entrance of the hotel. In the front central part is the ofiice. On this floor are a number of choice rooms. On the second floor is an elegant ballroom, well fitted to the fancy of those who worship at the shrine of Terpsichore. Conveniently near is the parlor. The diningroom is large and airy, the tables are supplied from the city markets supplemented by the rich, fresh store of good things from the country. The management is now in the efficient hands of Capt. R. H. Watson, which of itself is assurance to every one of perfect satisfaction. Cap- tain Watson has thoroughly refitted and repaired the hotel property from top to bottom. Those who have been there before will hardly recognize the place, it has been so much im- proved from roof to foundation, new clothed with what of beauty the painter's hand can give. Captain Watson is a courteous, enterprising, successful business gentleman, and his name guarantees that no pains or expense will be spared to make luka Springs the most delightful summer resort of the South. This gentleman was born in York district, S. C, August 5, 1832, a son of Matthew and Eleanor (Love) Watson. His father was 'a native of Ireland and was born in 1778. He came to this country when about twenty-five years old and located in Tennessee, whence he removed to Mississippi, where in the early days he became prominent as an educator. He was married in South Carolina about 1820, and raised five children: Margaret, John L., Catherine, Mary J. and Robert H. His wife was born in South MEMOIRS OP MISSISSIPl'I. 999 Carolina, in 1797, a daughter of John and Drucilla Love. They were married in South Carolina, previous to the removal of Mr. Watson to Tennessee, and came together to this county in 1838. They were both members of the Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. Watson died in 1842, and his wife died in 1852. The former was politically an old-line whig. The early life of Captain Watson was spent in Tishomingo county, and at the age of twenty he went to East Port and became a clerk of R. B. Brown, where he remained for three years. He then went to Pleasant Site, Ala., where he became a merchant, planter and miller, being success- ful in each of the three occupations. There he remained until 1884, when he came to luka, where he established a mercantile business, which is now managed by his son C. L. Watson. In October, 1890, he purchased the luka Springs house and the property connected with it. In 1859 he was married to Miss Martha J. Harrison, one of the five children of John and Polly (Harrison) Harrison, who was born in Lauderdale county, Ala., in 1836. Of this marriage five children were born, the two following of whom are living: John H. , and Charles L. John H. has, since his father's retirement from the active management of the mercantile business, been in charge of that important interest. John H. married Miss Mary William, and lives at Pleasant Site, Ala. Charles L. is bookkeeper in his father' s store. Mrs. Watson died January 16, 1878, and in 1879 Captain Watson married again, this time to Morilla Cross, daughter of Dr. S. E. Cross and his wife, Margaret (Shelby) Cross, and she was born in Lauderdale county, Ala., in 1855. By this marriage he had four children: Mattie B. , William C. , Mary W. and Morella C. Mr. aad Mrs. Watson are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. Politically Captain Watson is a stanch democrat. He acquired his title as captain by gallant service for the Confederate cause during the Civil war. He was in command of company B, of the Twenty-seventh Alabama infantry, for a year. For two years thereafter he was captain of a cavalry company. He was one of the first to answer the call for troops in 1861, and he participated in battles at Fort Henry, Fort Donelson, Jackson, Miss., Port Hudson and numerous other engagements and skirmishes. He was taken prisoner at Fort Donelson, but an opportunity soon presented, and he made his escape. After taking command of his company's cavalry, he served under General For- rest, and took part in the fighting at Tupelo, Cross Roads and Selma. He was paroled at luka, in 1865. Captain Watson has an enviable record as an honorable and successful business man, and is a public-spirited and useful citizen. He is largely interested m the improvement and development of the county, and has been especially helpful to schools and churches. His political influence is recognized, and though not an officeseeker, he has taken an active part in the public history of his county, and was a delegate to the state con- vention when Stone was nominated as governor. Wheeler 'Watson is a native of Monroe county, Miss. He was born about three miles from his present residence, February 16, 1847. His father, Asa Watson, was born in Rhode Island in 1812, and was descended from colonial ancestry of sterling and sturdy character- istics. They settled, in the latter part of the seventeenth century, on a tract of land in Rhode Island, which is still owned by a member of the family. They were an energetic, industrious, highly educated, honorable family, and stood in the foremost rank of Rhode Island's best people, many of them filling the most responsible positions in the gift of the people. Wheeler Watson's grandmother, on his father's side, was Mary Peckham, a descend- ant of the noted family of Peckhams of New York, so many of whom have adorned the bench and the bar of the state. Judge Malborne Watson and Judge Rufus Peckham, both judges of the supreme court of New York, are cousins of Wheeler Watson. His father, for- merly a merchant in Albany, N. Y., came South and married a cultivated, refined Southern 1000 BIOORAPHIGAL A2fD HISTORICAL lady, a sister of Hon. John M. Taylor, of Tennessee, and niece of Hon. Christopher Will- iams, of Tennessee. His father became a planter, and identified himself thoroughly with the people of the South. His qualifications as a man of business were of the highest order, and he possessed a comprehensive intellect, boundless self-reliance, unflagging industry and energy, and withal was strongly armed with honesty and integrity — a conjunction of qualities which, employed in his orderly and exact methods, could not fail to bring him into the foremost ranks of honorable and successful planters. Wheeler Watson's boyhood was spent partly in Monroe county, Miss. , and in traveling over the North. He was educated in Columbus, Miss. , at La Grange college, in Alabama. He is a worthy descendant of a long line of honorable ancestors, and in him is a happy mingling of the best traits of the North and the South, for he has all the genial, courteous kindness and chivalry of a Southern gentleman, combining the untiring energy, industry and sterling character- istics of his Northern ancestors. He is progressive, hospitable and a good liver. In his home life he is indulgent. He enjoys the esteem of his friends, and is an altogether honest, useful citizen of whom his neighbors may well feel proud. He has been for years extensively engaged in cotton planting. He is now very much interested in planting large pecan groves and in seeding a large tract of land in grasses. He is an enterprising and progressive planter. In 1871 he married Miss Alice Clay, of Monroe county, a daughter of Thomas and Caledonia (Oliver) Clay. In the early part of 1863, when he was only sixteen years of age, he entered the army, enlisting in the Seventeenth Tennessee battalion, which consoli- dated with Stied's battalion, forming the Thirteenth Mississippi regular cavalry. His serv- ice began below Tupelo, Miss., whence he went into the north Alabama campaign. Later he served near Vicksburg, participating in the fights about there, and went thence to Jackson and Canton, whence he went to Rome, Ga. Still later he served under Johnston and Hood in Georgia. He went from there to Savannah, and later served under General Johnston, in North Carolina. After the surrender of Lee and Johnston, he returned with his regiment to Greensboro, N. C. , waiting for President Davis, with whom the regiment went as a body- guard to Washington, Ga. , where the members were paid $25 each in specie, and the regi- ment was disbanded. He was a gallant soldier and did his duty faithfully and well. Mr. Watson is of an inventive turn of mind, and has originated several useful machines. His first patent was granted September 25, 1888, on a fruit gatherer; the next, granted January 20, 1891, was for a plow; another, granted February 3, 1891, was upon a peanut picker. These are practical working machines invented as aids in carrying on the work on his home plantation. He has never made any effort to bring them into general use, being so deeply engrossed in the affairs of his plantation that he has no time to attend to outside business. He is thoroughly posted upon current events, and enjoys a wide acquaintance with promi- nent men. Robert H. Watt belongs to that sturdy, honest and independent class, the planters of Mississippi, and is now engaged in cultivating an estate comprising about three thousand six hundred acres, of which some one thousand acres are under cultivation, on which are annually raised four hundred bales of cotton and three thousand bushels of corn. He was born in Warren county, being the second of four children born to Hugh and Nancy S. (Clark) Watt, the former of whom was a native of Ireland, and came lo America about 1829, settling in Pennsylvania, where he met and married his wife. He was a carpenter, and worked at his trade in Pennsylvania, and also after coming to Mississippi, but in 1835 opened a car- riage, wagon, plow and general repair shop, near where Dr. Naylor is now living, nine miles southeast of Vicksburg, where he conducted his business affairs with success for eight years, MMMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 1001 the three following years being spent at the same calling near the home of Ninion Klein. He then purchased the plantation of Dr. Crawford, which consisted of four hundred and eighty acres, and on this plantation resided until his death, which occurred, very suddenly, in Vicksburg. His wife was a Canadian by birth, and moved to Pennsylvania when young. She died July 3, 1870. He was a whig in politics, and was a strong Union man prior to the war. He died February 14, 1862. Robert H. Watt attended a private school until seventeen years of age, the two subsequent years being spent in college in Springville. N. Y. At the end of this time, on account of his father's enfeebled condition, he returned home to look after the interests of the plantation. In 1862 he dropped his farming imple- ments to don the weapons of warfare in defense of his home, and became a member of com- pany H., Capt. L. C. Moore's Forty- seventh Mississippi infantry, army of Virginia, and was in the battle of Seven Pines and other engagements around Richmond, in one of which he was wounded in the thigh by a shell, which produced permanent injury. After remain- ing in the hospital two weeks he was furloughed home, and although he made an effort to rejoin the Confederate army in April, 1864, at Petersburg, he was rejected, and was com- pelled to return home. He was at once captured by a Wisconsin regiment, and was incar- cerated at Vicksburg for two months, but was paroled and discharged by General Dana, and returned at once to his home, where he set himself to work to improve his mother's war- worn plantation, preparatory to an energetic era of planting. In 1868 he purchased part of the Randall Gibson place, and continued to make purchases from time to time, until he now owns the entire tract, with the exception of ten acres. In 1874 he bought the Gibson place of over three hundred and seventy acres, and has at different times purchased land from the Hilderbrands, the AA'hittingtons, Stocktons, Hulloms and Stevenses, aggregating fully three thousand six hundred acres. On this admirably conducted plantation he raises a sufficient amount of stock for his own use. He takes no active part in politics, much pre- ferring to devote his attention to his plantation. He is very highly esteemed in the section in which he resides, and is unmarried. David S. Watts, M. D., of Madison county. Miss., was born in Wilkes county, Ga., on the 29th of December, 1833, and is the only child born to the union of David S. and Martha C. (Billingslea) Watts, both natives of Georgia also. The father died one month before David S. , Jr. , was born, and the latter remained in Georgia until twelve years of age with his grandfather Billingslea. The grandfather then removed with him to the Lone Star state in 1845, and two years later came to Mississippi. David remained with his grand- father until eighteen years of age, received his education in Canton, and subsequently spent one session in a medical institution in Louisville, Ky. He then finished his course at Georgia Medical college, Augusta, and in 1856 began the practice of medicine in Madison county, where he has since, a period of about thirty-five years, carried on a successful country practice. He was married in November, 1859, to Miss Ana N. Sutherland, daughter of P. R. and Louise (Olive) Sutherland, and this union resulted in the birth of eleven living children, one having died in infancy, viz. . Mattie L., wife of C. J. Dancey, of Greenville, Miss. ; Aurelia S., wife of J. W. Brown, of Sunflower county; Anna Bell, wife of O. H. Billingslea, Sunflower county; Walter W., at home; Ollie E., wife H. T. Cassell, of Canton; David S., of Bolivar county; Charles D., at Mississippi college; Hallie M. ; Clifford P. (deceased); Bertha M. ; Johnson Olive and James Reid. In December, 1861, Dr. Watts volunteered as a private in the state service under Capt. R. B. Campbell, and was detailed to the hospital service, but on account of ill health was discharged at the end of one year. He is now the owner of about twelve hundred acres of fine land, has about six hundred 1003 BIOOBAPUIVAL AND HISTOHIVAL acres under cultivation and three hundred acres in pasture. He raises improved stock of all kinds. He takes an active interest in politics, but has never aspired to office, and just lately declined the nomination to represent Madison county in the legislature. Dr. Watts was master of Camden Eoyal Arch lodge No. 74 during the time of its greatest activ- ity, is a member of the Knights of Honor, and has held numerous offices in the Farmers' Alliance. He and Mrs. Watts are members of the Baptist church of Canton. The Doctor has seen the full development of the country, has contributed liberally to all laudable public enterprises, and is one of the county's best citizens. Capt. James Watts was born in- Wayne county, Miss., May 1, 1829, a son of John and Elizabeth (Chapman) Watts, the former of whom was a North Carolinian by birth and came to Mississippi when a boy, where he grew to manhood and married. He became a prominent and well-known citizen of Wayne county, filled the position of district attorney for a number of years and was circuit judge for twenty-five years. He was also a member of the state senate for some time and throughout his life was a warm personal friend of Judge Sharkey. He was a local preacher of the Methodist Episcopal church, of which he had long been a member, and died in full communion with that church at Newton, in Newton county. Miss., in 1875. He was a son of Josiah and Margaret (Evans) Watts. His wife was a South Carolinian by birth and a daughter of Thrashley and Catherine (Edwards) Chapman, with whom she came to Mississippi when a child of six years. Her marriage was celebrated in Wayne county in 1826, and resulted in the birth of ten children: Josiah, James (the immediate subject of this sketch), John B. . Thomas, Julia, Cornelia, Olcott S., William S., Mary and Elizabeth A. The early life of Capt. James Watts was spent in Jasper county, his education being obtained at Paulding academy, but left school in 1846 and began the study of law, being admitted to the bar of Mississippi in 1850. He com- menced practicing at De Kalb, Kemper county, but during 1866-8 he was one of the ablest lawyers of the city of Meridian. He is now a resident of Scooba, Kemper county. He was married in 1851, to Miss Eleanor Bell, adaughter of Dr. Samuel Bell, of Kemper county, of which he became a resident in 1844. Her mother, Jane Parke, was a native of England. Mrs. Watts was born in North Carolina in 1832 and has borne her husband four sons and six daughters: Elizabeth, wife of B. P. Ormond of Meridian; Ella W., wife of W. H. Ormond, of Meridian; John B., at Lauderdale; Clifford H. ; Mamie L. wife of J. W. Brooke, of Meridian; Julia B. ; James E. ; Hallie A., wife of J. P. Lipscomb; Florence C. and Samuel T. Mr. Watts and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, and although he was formerly an old line whig, he is now a member of the democrat party. Socially he belongs to the I. O. O. F., of which he has been a member since he was twenty-one years of age, and he has attained the thirty-second degree in the A. F. & A. M. fraternity. In 1862 he organized what was known as company A, of the Thirty-fifth Mississippi infantry, commanded by William S. Berry, of Moore's brigade, Maury's division. Price's command, army of the West, and one of the principal engagements in which he took part was the battle of Corinth, Miss. He afterward resigned and returned to his home on account of ill health. John B. Watts, the third child born to Captain James and Eleanor (Bell) Watts, whose sketch appears above, was born in Kemper county, Miss., in the month of April, 1856. He began life for himself at the age of sixteen years (after he had obtained a fair education), as a clerk in the store of B. F. Ormond & Bro., at Lauderdale, Miss., with whom he remained four years. At the end of this time he entered the University of Mississippi, at Oxford, and after remaining in that institution for one year he returned home and engaged in farming, which calling he followed with fair success for three years. He then went to the Lous Star MEMOim OF MISST88IPPI. 1008 state and worked for the Texas Pacific railroad company for nearly two years, returning to Lauderdale county, Miss., in 1882, and for some time thereafter kept books for J. L. Simmons, whose daughter he married in 1882. They have two sons and two daughters: Kitty B., Eleanor, John and James. Mr. Watts began the mercantile business for himself in Lauder- dale in 1887, and by honest toil, persistent endeavor, upright methods of conducting his affairs and desire to please his patrons, he has established for himself a lucrative business. In 1891 he was elected mayor of Lauderdale, but respectfully declined the position, as his business occupied his time and attention. The stock of goods that he carries amounts to about $6,000, and he does an annual business of $20,000, besides which he owns four hun- dred acres of good land near the town of Lauderdale, of which one hundred and fifty acres are improved and under cultivation, and some good and valuable residence property within the corporation. He is superintendent in the Methodist Episcopal Sunday-school, of which church he is an active member, and he is also one of the working members of the A. F. & A. M. and the K. of H. His wife is a member of the Presbyterian church, and they are highly esteemed in the social circles in which they move. They are hospitable, generous and liberal and are among the worthy, useful and substantial citizens of the county. Capt. S. B. Watts, a prominent lawyer of Lauderdale county. Miss., residing at Meridian, was born in Jasper county, Miss., April 13, 1843, a son of Samuel B. and Mary A. (Mayers) Watts, natives of Mississippi. His paternal grandfather was one of the pioneers of Wayne county. Miss. , where he became a well-known and successful planter and merchant. He died in 1848, leaving two sons, Maj. A. B. Watts and Capt. S. B. Watts, both of whom are now residents of Meridian. Captain Watts, who was but an infant at the time of his father's death, received his primary education in the private schools in Jasper county, and later attended a school at Brandon, Miss. In 1861, when but eighteen years of age, he enlisted in the Kankin rifles, with which organization he served until the reorganization of the army, when he entered the Confederate service and served until the close of the war. He entered the struggle as a private and rose to the rank of captain. At Franklin, Tenn., he was taken prisoner and surrendered his sword to Captain Knapp, of Martin, Ohio. He was confined at Johnson's island, Ohio, until June, 1865, about six months altogether. Twenty-two years after the war, while he was visiting in Ohio, his sword was returned to him by Captain Knapp' s daughter. He participated in the battles of Shiloh, Murfreesboro, Mumfordsville, Eesaca, Jonesboro, Chickamauga, Missionary Ridge and Franklin. He was three times wounded by gunshot at Mumfordsville, Chickamauga and near Marietta. After his return home he began reading law and was admitted to the bar at Brandon, Miss. He located at Meridian, Miss., in 1867, and there he has been engaged principally in the practice of his profession. He was United States commissioner for about fifteen years, and is now candidate for the ofl&ce of state senator. He has been a member of the city council of Meridian, and has otherwise taken an active interest in the growth and development of the city. He has been for many years president of the board of trustees of the East Mississippi Female college, which he was largely instrumental in founding. He is also president of the board of trustees of the state insane asylum, which is located at Meridian. Politically he is a democrat. He is a communicant of the Methodist Episcopal church, a member of the I. O. O. F. , of the Knights of Honor and of the Knights and Ladies of Honor. He was married in 1868 to Kate McLaurin, of Rankin county, Miss., by whom he has five children: A. M., Sadie Z., Kate McL., Mary I. and Louise L. Hiram B. Weatherbee is a leading merchant of the town of Greenville, and has, by his keen business foresight, built a business second to none within the limits of Washington 1004 BIOORAPHICAL AND HI8T0RIGAL county, Miss. He was born in Boone county, Ky., December 31, 1842, to Tarable W. and Sally A. (Woodberry) Weatherbee, both of whom were born in the state of New York, the former being a mechanic by trade. He moved to Kentucky in 1844, and of this state he has since been an honored, industrious and esteemed resident. The paternal grandfather, Oliver Weatherbee, and the grandmother, formerly Miss Willard, were born in some of the New England state?, the paternal great-grandparents having come from England in the pioneer days of America, taking up their abode in New England. Hiram E. Weatherbee was reared principally in Indiana and Illinois, but his schooldays were very much broken up on account of the war, which was in full progress at just the time when he should have been devoting his attention to his studies. Since that time, by close application, he has become one of the most intelligent and best informed men in the county. He began the battle of life for him- self at the age of eighteen years, but his capital consisted solely of a good constitution, pluck and a knowledge of the tinner's trade, which he followed closely for six years. He then opened an establishment of his own in Greenville, Miss., and since that time has been one of the leading hardware merchants of the place and is doing a thriving business on Wal- nut street. He is the owner of about three thousand acres of land in Washington, Sun- flower and Bolivar counties, six hundred acres of which land are under cultivation, and besides this he is the owner of a considerable amount of real estate in the city of Grreenville, including three of the best business houses in the place. He carries a stock of goods valued at about 11,200, his annual sales being large and netting him a handsome profit. He erected a handsome residence in Greenville in 1882, on Washington avenue, and in this pleas- ant and comfortable home he and his estimable wife dispense hospitality with true Southern liberality. In 1862 he enlisted in the Union army, becoming a member of company E, One hundred and Twentieth Illinois regiment, for he believed that the Southern states had no right to secede, and remained true to the stars and stripes until the war closed. The most important engagement in which he took part was the siege of Vicksburg. He was in Memphis, Tenn., when the news reached him of the surrender of Lee. Miss Dora McCoy, a native of Illinois, became his wife in 1874, she being a daughter of Job W. and Eliza (Eichey) McCoy, the former a Virginian and the latter a native of Tennessee. Mr. McCoy was a merchant. To Mr. Weatherbee' s union two children have been born: Harry L. and Edna, both of whom are at home with their parents. The town of Greenville has been Mr. Weatherbee's home since 1867. He is interested in the banks of the place, the Street Bail- way Compress company, and, in fact, all worthy enterprises have received encouragement from him. Notwithstanding the fact that he commenced life a poor boy, he has made a com- fortable fortune and is considered by all a leading and substantial citizen of Greenville. He is a man of whom it might well be said he has not lived in vain, but with a purpose ever before him, and with a full knowledge of the fact that one has a mission in life, he has not passed his days in idleness, or, like Micawber, waited for something to turn up, but has man- fully put his shoulder to the wheel, and as a reward has become possessed of an ample income and has a kindly and charitable feeling toward all men; while he has been diligent in business, and is, as are also his wife and son, a zealous member and worker of the Presbyterian church, socially he also belongs to the A. F. & A. M. , the K. of P. and the K. of H. In personal appearance he is above medium hight, is of graceful and easy address, and is an intelligent and entertaining conversationalist. He was the fourth of nine children born to his parents, all of whom attained maturity, five of whom are now living in difPerent parts of the Union. He lost two brothers during the yellow-fever epidemic of 1878. Albert G. Webb, Columbia, Marion county. Miss. John H. Webb, deceased, was born in MEMOIRS OP MISaiSSIPPI. r 1005 the state of Georgia about the year ISO], but in his youth removed to Mississippi, where he grew to manhood. He settled in Marion county, and there married Miss Elizabeth Ham- mond. They reared a family of ten children, seven of whom lived to maturity: Mary S. married Thomas Edmonson, a prominent man, and at one time sheriff of Marion county (he died and she married Thomas Allen); Walter B., the eldest son, died a few years since; Will- iam T., M. D., who became captain of company D, Seventh Mississippi infantry; Courtney A. married W. J. Sones, of Lawrence county; Henry W., who was killed in the battle of Murfreesboro; Albert G., the subject of this notice; and Louie E., who married W. J. Bass; the other three children died in infancy, and all of this family are dead except Mrs. Mary S. Allen, who is now a widow, and Albert G. Webb, the subject of this notice. ' The maternal grandparents, Benjamin and Mary (Cooper) Hammond, were both natives of Ten- nessee, and were among the early settlers of Marion county ; they reared a family of twelve sons and one daughter; Gordon and Jackson Hammond are still residents of this county. Albert G. Webb, son of John H. Webb, was born in Marion county. Miss., October 23, 1843. When the Civil war broke out, he enlisted in the first company that went from Marion county, and served until the surrender. He was in the battle of Shiloh, and went through the Kentucky campaign with General Bragg. ^Vhen the war was ended he returned to his home and embarked in the mercantile trade as bookkeeper and salesman. This he continued six years, in the employ of W. B. Webb and A. E. Foxworth, taking a course of instruction in the business college at New Orleans, from which he was graduated. In 1874 he was married to Miss Nannie H. Kegan, and taught school that year in the original Pearl county. For three years, from 1875 to 1878, he served as clerk of this county, but at this time its exist- ence as a county ceased. Captain Webb then removed to Marion county, and took charge of the clerk' s office at Columbia, as deputy. He discharged the duties of this position until 1879, when he was appointed clerk of the county to fill the unexpired term of Paul L. Gus- man. In the autumn of the same year he was elected to the office, and has held it continu- ously since that time. In the summer of 1890 he was elected a delegate to the constitu- tional convention. He is a man of excellent business ability, and has always worked for the success of his party. As a citizen he is loyal and public-spirited, and has contributed both his means and influence to those enterprises which have tended to the growth of the county and its general development. Captain and Mrs. Webb have a family of six children — five daughters and one son. He is a member of the Masonic order, and of the Knights of Honor. The family belong to the Methodist Episcopal church. W. S. Webb, president of Mississippi college, was born in Le Eoy, N. Y., on the 14th of November, 1825, the youngest of fourteen children born to Benoni and Betsey (Phil- lips) Webb, natives of Massachusetts, the father's ancestors being Welsh and the mother's German. The father, who was a blacksmith and farmer, died in 1867. After attending the common country schools until he was eighteen years of age, W. S. Webb left home to take a course of study in Kingsville academy, preparatory to a college course, after which he entered Colgate university in central New York, where he spent four years, graduating in 1849. He then went to Tennessee to engage in teaching in Stewart's Creek academy, near Murfrees- boro, and after remaining there two years was elected president of a female college in Gre- nada, Miss., taking upon himself the duties of this position in the fall of 1851, where he remained six years. While at that place the present large and commodious brick building was built under his direction and tfie attendance was built up from seventy -five to one hun- dred and eighty pupils. He left this institution in a flourishing condition, to take a position in the Starkville high school, but after two years spent in this place he removed to West 1006 BIOORAPHIOAL AND HISTORIOAL Point, where he became pastor of the Baptist church. Six years later he removed to Craw- fordsville, remaining pastor of the church at that place for fourteen years, during which time he took a prominent part in organizing the Confederate Orphans' Home, located at Lauder- dale Springs, Miss., about 1864, and was corresponding secretary of the board of trustees. On the 1st of January, 1872, he came to Clinton to act as pastor of the Baptist church and to deliver lectiires to the theological students. About one year after coming hither, Dr. Hillman, then president of the college, resigned and Mr. Webb was elected to fill his place and continued in the successful discharge of his arduous duties till July of the present year (1891), when he resigned the presidency of the college and was appointed emeritus professor of psychology and ethics. This is considered an honor and most worthily bestowed. There are, it is thought, but four such professorships held in the world and this is the only instance on record where such an honor has been bestowed by a Baptist institution of learning. ' In 1882, the title of D. D. was conferred upon him by the Mississippi State university at Oxford, and also by the Howard college, Marion, Ala. Dr. Webb's struggles to build up the college while it had no endowment, in the midst of pestilences, political revolutions and financial crises, have been nothingless than heroic, and his success has been wonderful. He has proved to be the right man in the right place, and under his able and efficient management the col- lege has come to have a national reputation. During his administration about $60,000 has been secured toward an endowment fund for the college. President Webb possesses the entire confidence of the people, for, besides being an admirable disciplinarian, he is a talented, thorough and well-posted educator. The course of instruction is thoroughness itself, and the college seems now to have entered upon an era of unusual success. The grade of scholarship is being constantly raised, requiring a higher degree of proficiency to enter the institution. The present number of students attending the institution is about two hundred and fifty, which greatly increases their need of better facilities, and this fact is coming to be recognized and work in that direction is being pushed forward. President Webb was mar- ried in Tennessee, in 1850, to Miss Adelphia Wheeler, of New York, and their union resulted in the birth of two children: C. W., and Fannie A., wife of Eev. R. A. Venable, pastor of the First Baptist church of Memphis, Tenn. Mrs. Webb died in 1855, and in 1857 Mr. Webb, married Miss Mary McMath, by whom he became the father of two children: Mrs. H. R. Granberry, whose husband is chancery clerk of Copiah county, and Mrs. S. M. Dodds, wife of Senator Dodds. The mother of these children was called from earth in West Point in 1863, and two years later President Webb's third marriage was celebrated at Marion, Ala., Miss M. J. Sherman, a sister of Professor Sherman, of Howard college, becoming his wife and the mother of his six children: Maggie, W. S., Thomas L., Myrtle, Henry D. and Nel- son G-. The eldest daughter is teaching in Kelhie college, Louisana. Sherman attended medical college in Louisville, Ky. , and upon graduating took the highest honors in his class, being now a successful practitioner in the hospital. Thomas L. is in Coleman, Tex., and Henry is captain of the Mississippi College rifles. F. M. Weed, agent for the Louisville & Nashville railroad at Ocean Springs, Miss. , is a native of New England, born in the state of Vermont in 1850. He is a son of Judge F. A. Weed, of Burlington, Vt. Believing the West afforded greater opportunities for the rising generation, our subject went to Texas in his early manhood and engaged in cattle and sheepraising. Finding the frontier life extremely severe, he determined to return to his home and re-enter school. This he did, and was graduated from the high school of Hines- burg, Vt. He then secured a situation with a railway company, and has since been devoted to this business. For fourteen years he has been in the employ of the Louisville & MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. I(i07 Nashville railroad company, stationed during this period at Ocean Springs, Jackson county, Miss. No higher tribute could be paid to him than the fact of his being kept in charge of the business at this point for so great a length of time. He has been faithful to the inter- ests of his company and has never shirked a duty. He is a master of all the details of the business, and is well vyorthy of the confidence which his employers repose in him. Polit- ically he is an uncompromising democrat. He was chairman of the last county convention, and is chairman of the present senatorial convention, comprising Hancock, Jackson and Har- rison counties. In all the deliberations of that body his counsel is sought and his opinions carry conviction. He is one of the most promising men iu political circles in Jackson county, and a bright future is predicted for him. He is a prominent member of the Knights of Pythias, in which he holds a high official position. Mr. Weed was united in marriage to Miss Alice A. Lyon, of St. Albans, Vt. Robert S. Weir, Vaiden, Miss. Among the pioneers to settle in Carroll county, Miss. , was the family of Dr. H. H. Weir. The Doctor was a native of Virginia, and was educated in his native state, graduating from the Washington college, now Washington and Lee uni- versity, and from the medical department of the University of Pennsylvania. He was married to Jane T. Steele, also a Virginian. He settled in Carroll county about the year 1834, when Indians were numerous, and wild animals roamed at will. The tavern at which he boarded was not graced with a door, and at night a barricade was made of tables and other furniture to keep out the beasts of the field. When, finally, the Doctor built a residence with the lux- uries of planed floors and doors, some of the settlers said he was stiick up and was putting on airs. The territory in which he practiced covered many miles. He was veiy successful in his practice, and won many warm friends. He was an active member of the Presbyterian church, and served as an elder in the same. He was very liberal in his support of the church, and gave generously to all charitable purposes. He died in Carroll county, Miss., in 1858. His wife survived him many years; her death occurred in 1881. Robert S. Weir, son of the above, is one of a family of five sons and one daughter. One brother died just as he reached maturity; one died at the age of fifteen years. Of the living members, one brother, William Weir, is a merchant in Texas; Rush C. is a successful drug- gist at Vaiden ; the sister, Ophelia, is the widow of Samuel T. Lockhart. The two brothers are unmarried, and they, with the widowed sister and her daughter, constitute a happy family. They have a beautiful home in Vaiden. Robert S. was educated at the University of Oxford, and was graduated from that institution in the year 1858. He entered the Confed- erate army in 1861, enlisting iu the First Mississippi cavalry as a private. After a year and a half he was transferred to the commissary department, in which he served until the close of the war. He then returned to Carroll county, and in 1865 he engaged in the drug business in Vaiden. In a few years he disposed of his interest, selling to his brother, who still con- tinues the business. He then embarked in the general mercantile trade, and carries a large and well- selected stock of goods. He is one of the solid, substantial men of Carroll county. He is generous and accommodating to his patrons, is of the highest moral character, and is justly esteemed one of the leading citizens of the county. William S. Weissinger, M. D., Hernando, Miss. In reviewing the lives of those men in the three great professions, ministry, medicine and law, none command greater respect than the members of the medical fraternity. It may well be doubted if any one enters so fully into the soul life of another as he whose care is for its vehicle, the body. William S. Weissinger, one of the most honored physicians of the state of Mississippi, was born in Car- roll county. Miss. , June 17, 1847, and is the third of a family of ten children. His parents, 1008 BIOGRAPHIOAL AND HISTORIOAL Alexander aud Cordelia (Strong) Weissinger, were born and reared in Perry county, Ala. The father came to Mississippi about the year 1846, and located at old Middleton. In the latter days of his life he engaged in planting. Before the war he was a large owner of slaves, and hired his negroes out. He enlisted in the Confederate army in 1861, being a member of the Fourth Mississippi regiment. He served until the close of the conflict, and passed from this life in 18 — . His father was a very wealthy planter, and for thirty-three years was a member of the legislature of Alabama. He and his two brothers emigrated from Ger- many to this country, landing at Charleston, S. C, near which point they settled. The maternal grandparents were George J. and Caroline (Nail) Strong, natives of Georgia and North Carolina, respectively. Theirs was a family of agriculturists, and commanded vast wealth; they were of English extraction. Dr. Weissinger was reared in Carroll county. Miss. , and there received his education. In 1863 he enlisted in the service of his country, and served until the declaration of peace. He was a member of Captain Dun's company of state troops under Gen. J. Z. George, and was afterward in the Vaiden artillery, First Mississippi regiment. He was at Meridian at the time of the surrender. When the oppor- tunity came to settle to more peaceful occupations the Doctor began teaching school, reading medicine during his leisure hours. After pursuing this plan for two years he attended a course of lectures at Louisville, Ky., and in 1869 he began the practice of his profession in De Soto county. After two years he received the degree of M. D. from the Tulane Med- ical college, of Louisiana. He has devoted his efforts to a thorough understanding of the science, and has been a close student of all advanced methods of treatment. He has built up a large and profitable practice, and takes a front rank among his brothers. Ho is the first vice president of the Tri- State Medical association of Mississippi, Arkansas and Ten- nessee, aud is now serving his second term in this office. Daring three terms he was presi- dent of the De Soto County Medical association. The Doctor was united in marriage in 1872, to Mrs. L. A. Holmes, a native of Tennessee, and a daughter of Raiford and Harriet (Boone) Whitley. Her father was from Kentucky, and the mother, a descendant of Daniel Boone, was born in North Carolina. Dr. and Mrs. Weissinger are members of the Methodist Epis- copal church. He belongs to the Knights of Honor, and is the medical examiner of the fraternity at Hernando. In addition to his professional duties he conducts a considerable amount of planting; he owns eleven hundred and eighty acres of land, eight hundred of which are in a high state of cultivation. He also owns his residence and office. The Weis- singer family is well known for the strict integrity and uprightness of its members. Many have been men of talent and ability, notably George J. Weissinger, an uncle to the Doctor, who was junior editor of the Louisville Journal with George D. Prentice, and who wrote some of the ablest articles that ever appeared in that publication. Two of the Doctor's brothers were faithful soldiers in the late war. Although Dr. Weissinger has made a great deal of money in his practice, he has been a liberal supporter of all worthy enterprises, and is exceedingly benevolent. The poor and needy and less fortunate always find in him the most generous aid and sympathy, and he is beloved both by his patrons and the citizens of his county. John K. Weissinger, one of the selfmade men and a prosperous planter of Coahoma county, Miss., was born in Carroll county. Miss., December 4, 1857, being the eighth of ten children born to Alexander and Cordelia S. (Strong) "V^pissinger, both native Alabamians. Alexander L. Weissinger became a resident of the state of Mississippi about the year 1849, and in Carroll county was engaged in planting until his death, in 1865. He was of German descent and a worthy and respected citizen. John R. Weissinger was reared in Mississippi, MEMOIRS OP MISSISSIPPI. 1009 and was educated ia the public schools of this state and at Oxford, and upon leaving school he began for himself as a planter in Montgomery county, later in Le Flore county, and then in Coahoma county. In 1889 he opened a hardware house in Clarksdale, and has since done an annual business of about $35,000, his stock of goods being valued at about $15,000. He owns his business house, which is one of the best in the city, and in addition to his mercantile establishment operates three hundred and seventy-five acres of land. Upon starting out to make his own way in the world he had no means, but through his own per- severance and industry he has been very successful, and is now wealthy. He is eminently a selfmade man^ for in addition to earning his own living and caring for his mother, he has educated himself, and is a remarkably well-informed and intelligent gentleman. His prop- erty has not been the result of speculation, but has been the result of hard and persistent endeavor, and the accumulations of many years. Notwithstanding his success as a man of business, he is modest and unassuming, but possesses sufficient confidence to at all times rely upon his own judgment and to think for himself. Socially he belongs to the K of H. and the K. of P., in both of which organizations he holds official position. He was married in 1886 to Mrs. Julia Stone, a native of Mississippi and a daughter of John J. and Matilda W. (Allen) Fort, both of whom were born in Tennessee. To Mr. and Mrs. Weissinger three children have been born: John Fort (deceased), John Robert and Julia Cordelia. Mr. Weissinger has cared for his mother for a great many years, and is a devoted son as well as a faithful and considerate husband and father. His father, with three brothers, served in the Confederate army until the close of the war; were gallant defenders of the Confederacy, the former being an officer of rank. Dr. Jacob P. Welch. The earliest member of the Welch family of whom authentic history is known, lived near the Welsh border in England over two hundred years ago. Jacob Welch, the great-great-grandfather of Dr. J. P. Welch, was born in England in 1662 in sight of the Welsh mountains. He was the first of the family to attempt a settlement in the new world, but his religious belief was very dear to him and on account of the persecution he was compelled to undergo he sought a home for himself and family in the, then, wilds of America, locating near Richmond, Va. , about 1690. He reared five sons, of whom Dempsey, the youngest, was the great-grandfather of Dr. Welch of this sketch. Dempsey Welch was born on the old homestead in Virginia and his posterity, and that of his four brothers, are residents of the Western and Southern states. He was married to Miss Priscilla Perry, a near relative of Oliver Hazzard Perry and James Lawrence of naval fame. After his marriage he moved to South Carolina and later to Georgia, where he passed the remainder of his life, his death occurring in 1792. Together with his sons he fought throughout the Revolutionary war, willingly offering his life for the country he loved. He left a family of five sons and two daughters, Jacob Welch, who was probably his eldest son, being born about 1740 and died about 1807. He was of very handsome and commanding presence, possessed elegant and courtly manners, being, in fact, a gentleman of the old school. He has three sons and five daughters. His son Warren was born in 1780 in Johnson county, N. C, and was exceptionally gifted in the use of the violin, handling the king of instruments with a skill that was the admiration of all. He was married to Miss Mary McCuUers on Christmas day, 1805, after which he settled in Burke county, Ga. When the War of 1812 came up he enlisted in the service, and after it#was over he removed to Warren county, Ga., later to Lawrence county of the same state and finally to Wilkinson county, Ga. In 1815 he removed his family on packhorses to Montgomery, Ala. (then called New Philadelphia), and after- ward floated on a barge to Monroe, Ala., where he remained a few months, afterward 1010 BIOGRAPHICAL AND BISTOMIOAL removing to Amite county, Miss. , and years later to the state of Louisiana. In January, 1821, he returned to Alabama in order to make arrangements to remove to that state. His wife was a noble woman of rare attainments, was a model wife, mother and friend, and was a devoted Christian. She died in St. Francisville, La., in 1821, only a few days aftei' the departure of her husband for Alabama. Her children soon found homes with different families throughout the neighborhood and after the death of their father, which occurred in Monroe county, Ala., in 1832, they were compelled to fight the battle of life for themselves single handed. Dr. Jacob Perry Welch, the eldest child, was born in Burke county, Ga., in 1807, and with the seven other members of his parents' family, was given the advantages of the common schools in his youth, and was reared on a farm. Dr. Welch has inherited his father's taste for music, and in early life was quite famous as a violinist. In 1836 he entered the medical department of the University of Pennsyl- vania, after first studying with Dr. Wimberly of Twiggs county, Ga. After finishing his medical studies he began practicing in Jefferson county, Ga. , and was soon after invited by Dr. Stokes, of Cool Springs, Ga. , to engage in a copartnership, which lasted one year. Dr. Welch then located in Washington county, Ga. , and during the year and a half that he remained there he built up a good practice. He next went to Saundersville, of the same county, where he also obtained a good practice and remained until 1851, since which time he has been a resident of Lauderdale county, Miss., a period of forty years, having during that entire time been a resident of his present homestead. He successfully followed his profession until age and its attendant infirmities demanded his retirement in 1870. He has been an agriculturist the most of this time also and has, at different times, owned over four thousand acres of good land. He arose to eminence in his profession, for he believed in the old saying that what was worth doing at all was worth doing well, and this seemed to have been his motto through life, for he showed sound judgment in everything in which he engaged. He was married July 14, 1840, to Miss Martha S. Whitaker of Georgia, by whom he has had twelve children: Mary C, Warren P., William Thomas, George W., Sarah C, Jacob W. , Martha S. , Samuel W., Eugenia A. and James M. Two children died in infancy. Four children are married and five are living. The Doctor is a Mason of over fifty years' standing, in which he has attained to the chapter. He has been a member of the Missionary Baptist church for thirty-seven" years, being baptized with his daughter, Mary C. Dr. Welch was at one time a candidate for legislative honors, and was defeated by only one vote, although he was prevented by sickness from making the canvass. He is benevolent, charitable, and has always been a patron of education. He is in every sense of the term a selfmade man, and throughout life has been the soul of honor, never owing a cent that he did not pay. James N. Welch was born in Covington county. Miss., and there grew to maturity. He is the only child born of the union of Caleb and Susan (Robertson) Welch. Caleb Welch was born in Covington county. Miss., near the plantation he occupied for so many years, in 1829. He received a limited education, and was trained to the vocation of farming. When the Civil war broke out he enlisted, but was soon discharged on account of disability; he re-enlisted twice afterward, but with the same result. He was then commissioned to look after the families of soldiers. This office he performed faithfully, and with the greatest consideration and kindness. In 1870 he was appointed treasurer of ^le county, as a democrat, and held the position until the impeachment of Governor Ames. After that he was elected for one term. He died in 1885. His parents, James and Martha (Hill) Welch, were natives of South Caroliaa aad Georgia, respectively. They reared a family of twelve children, and MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 1011 lived to a ripe old age. Their last days were spent in Covington county, Miss. Susan (Robertson) Welch was a daughter of Norval Robertson, a native of Georgia, born in 1797. He removed to Mississippi at an early day, and was one of the pioneer ministers of the gospel. He was a'preacher for forty-five years, and for forty-four years was pastor of one church. He died in Lawrence county, Miss., in the eighty-second year of his age. He was a man of unusual ability, and of marked force of character. He wrote a little work on parliament- ary law, and was the author of a little work, entitled The Church Member's Hand-Book of Theology. The latter had a wide circulation, and reached a second edition. James N. Welch, at the age of twenty-two years, was married to Miss Anise Rogers, a daughter of Timothy Rogers, of Covington county. Since his marriage he has devoted his time to farm- ing and milling. He owns eleven hundred acres of land. He has been a member of the Missionary Baptist church from his twenty-fourth year, and a deacon since 1880. He has four living children, and is highly in favor of progress in education, and all other progressive moves. B. R. Wells has been a resident of Hinds county. Miss. , all his life, for here he was born on the 8th of September, 1838. He is the fourth child born to William and Mary (Wade) Wells, the former of whom was born in the Old North state in 1806, and came to Mississippi about 1832, purchasing and entering land in Hinds county. He accumulated a considerable amount of real estate, which he has since divided among his children. He is residing on a good and valuable plantation, and is in the enjoyment of a comfortable competency and a hale and hearty old age. The Wells family is of English descent. B. R. Wells obtained his first knowledge of the world of books in the common schools, but at the age of sixteen years he entered Mississippi college at Clinton, in which institution he remained two years. He then engaged in planting and managing his father's affairs, continuing until he attained the age of twenty years, when he was married and began the battle of life for him- self. His father kindly gave him five hundred and eighty-seven acres of land and all the slaves on it, and his prosperity has been such that since the war, although at that time he lost a great deal of valuable property, he has added at different times about six hundred acres, and now cultivates four hundred acres, averaging about one hundred and thirty bales of cotton and twelve hundred bushels of corn yearly. He raises cattle for the market, and also sells quite a number of horses each year, in fact, he is a wideawake, progressive and enterprising man of business, and has a valuable plantation which he is constantly seeking to improve. In 1885 he took an interest in a stock of general merchandise at Bolton, which he continued to hold for three years, but the most of his attention has since been given to his plantation. In 1862 he enlisted in company I, sixty days' troop, but when this time expired he re-enlisted, and went to Virginia with company I, Eighteenth Mississippi infantry. After remaining with this command for about five months he returned to his home, and Joined the Twenty-eighth cavalry, in which he served during the remainder of the war. He was a participant in the engagements at Malvern hill. Savage station, the Atlanta campaign, and was with Hood at Franklin. He was then furloughed home for thirty days, after which he became a member of Chalmers' division at Columbus, Miss. He was paroled at Gaines- ville, Ala. , after which he returned to his home to resume the management of his plantation and to build his fortunes anew. He was married in 1859 to Miss Robertson, of South Carolina, and by her has had a family of twelve children, nine of whom are living: B. H. (a lawyer, of Raymond), Ida C, Sudie, W. S., Eva, Maggie, Cecil, Clifford and Sidney. Mr. Wells is a member of the A. F. & A. M. and the K. of H., socially, and is quite active in local politics. 1013 BIOGUAPHWAL AND HISTORICAL William M. Wentworth (deceased). This gentleman was well and favorably known to the majority of the residents of this section, for he at all times identified himself with the interests of this county, and it is but just to say that his good name was above reproach and that he won the confidence and esteem of all who knew him. He was born in Franklin county. Miss., on the 24th of April, 1816, and on a plantation on Dry bayou, in the western part of this county, he was reared to manhood. His entire schooling amounted to only about three months, but, notwithstanding this fact, he became a well-informed man and took an active part in the affairs for the progress and development of the county. He was married here to Miss Lucretia Atkins, and here followed the occupation of a planter until 1849, when he removed to Meadville, where he spent the rest of his life, seventeen years of his life being spent as sheriff of the county, with but one intermission. At the commencement of the reconstruction period he resigned this position and for a few years held the office of justice of the peace, being elected in 1876 chancery clerk and ex-officio recorder, the duties of which office he was ably discharging at the time of his death, December 20, 1889. He tilled this position in a most able manner. As a public servant he was efficient, honest, punctual and industrious, and to all with whom he came in contact he was uniformly cour- teous. He was a stanch Union man during the war, and at first worked earnestly for its preservation, strongly opposing secession, but during the latter part of the war served a short time in the Confederate army, although exempt from service. He was in every respect a self made man, and by his honesty and the moral courage which he displayed in at all times expressing his views, he became very popular throughout this region and wielded considerable influence. Although he was not identified with any religious creed, he was a liberal supporter of the church, and all measures of morality, education, etc. , received from him a hearty support. His parents were early settlers of the county, and here his mother passed from life, the father dying in the state of his birth while there on business, this being when William M. was a boy. Mrs. Wentworth was born in Franklin county. Miss., and was called from life on the 18th of May, 1888, being at the time of her death a devout member of the Methodist Episcopal church. Her father, John Atkins, came from South Carolina, and died in Franklin county many years ago a well-to-do planter. William M. Wentworth was the eldest of two sons and one daughter, the other members of the family being Rowan, who died in Lauderdale county. Miss., and Nancy (deceased). After the death of their father their mother married again, becoming the wife of Benjamin Dorsey, by whom she reared a family, all of whom are now deceased. To William M. Wentworth and his wife ten children were born, five of whom survive: Nancy (wife of E. L. Middleton, of Natchez), William J. (a planter, of Concordia parish, La.), Wiley M. , Ernest H. and Anthony D. Ernest H. was born in Meadville in 1857, was given a good education in his youth, and after becoming competent became his father's deputy, remaining so until the latter' s death. In January, 1890, he was elected to fill the unexpired term, and is making a very creditable official. He was married on the 25th of December, 1886, to Miss Lula A., daughter of Ratillias K. and Margaret Scott, from Alabama, who became residents of Franklin county since the war, Mrs. Scott dying here in April, 1890. Mr. Scott is still living. Mrs. Wentworth was born here and has borne her husband one child. They are the owners of eight hundred acres of land in different tracts, and are well calcu- lated, by temperament and inclination, to enjoy their proaperity. Mr. Wentworth is a mem- ber of Ben Franklin lodge No. 11, of the A. F. & A. M., which he joined in 1886, and is now secretary in and a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, his wife being a Presby- terian in faith. Mr. Wentworth' s long experience as his father's deputy made him very MEMOIRS OF MI88I88IPPI. 1013 familiar with the duties of that office, and to say that he has followed in his father's foot- steps is bestowing upon him the highest praise. He is courteous and genial in disposition, and by the many people whose acquaintance he has made in his public capacity he is uni- versally esteemed and admired. Gren. Absolom Madden "West was born in Alabama in 1818. His parents were natives of the Palmetto state, and his grandparents were from North Carolina. His grandsires were both Revolutiooary soldiers, one of whom fell bleeding at King's mountain and was carried from the field by a young woman, who took him home to her parents, where she nursed' him back to health. After the war they were married, and from this union General West is descended. The family, however, were Americanized about 1613, when John West, brother of the then governor of Virginia settled in the colonies, and from whom most of the name descend. It is not a little singular that of all the colonial governors Thomas West (Lord Delaware) alone impressed his name upon an American state. West Point still preserves the family name, and Delaware the title. He died at the mouth of the bay which bears his name. General West received a limited education in such schools as were pro- vided by private enterprise in a new and undeveloped state. His irregular educational advantages ended in his fourteenth year, but, impelled by a love of knowledge, he read much, and being an ardent patriot, most of his time was devoted to works bearing upon the origin and structure of our government and the waats and necessities of the people. In the year 1837 he settled on a farm in Mississippi, and has continued his identification with an interest in agriculture to the present day, and by his success has shown himself to be one of the most practical and efficient farmers of his adopted state. In 1845 he married Miss Carrie O. Glove*, of Alabama, a young lady of superior mind and rare literary attainments, who proved a helpmeet indeed in all the relations of life, and to her the General is greatl indebted for his gradual advancement in public usefulness and confidence. In politics he was a Union whig. In 1847 he was elected to the legislature by aa unprecedented majority, where he soon took rank as a thinker and debater with the leading members of the house. He was twice elected to the senate in a democratic district over a worthy and honorable opponent. After secession, and under order of the state, he was appointed a brigadier-gen- eral and ordered to organize a brigade, which he did with great alacrity. His practical usefulness rendered necessary the employment of his services by the state, and indirectly by the Confederate States, in various departments. He was appointed quartermaster-general, paymaster-general and commissary-general, holding all three offices at the same time. He was also charged with the duty of providing salt for families of Confederate soldiers and the indigent families of the state, and putting the works under a skillful manager, manu- factured salt with great rapidity. No man in the state shared so largely the confidence of the governor for practical usefulness as did General West, notwithstanding they had always been on opposite sides in politics. At the instance of General West the legislature provided for the appointment of a commission, consisting of one lawyer and two practical business men, to examine and audit the books and papers of his several officers. General West made a final settlement with the state in accordance with the report of the commissioners, squaring up his accounts with the state. His was the only final settlement made during the war by any state officer. In 1864 General West was called to the presidency of the Mississippi Central railroad com- pany. This road was used and destroyed alternately by the belligerent armies during the war, and at its close the road bed was a wreck. General West, with that will-power which has always characterized him, brought all his energies to bear to rebuild the road bed and to 1014 BIOQBAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL re-equip the same with sufficient rolling stock, etc. His success was regarded as the crown- ing glory of his life. Without his solicitation the people elected him to congress over two able lawyers, but congress refused to seat him and his colleagues, as it did all others at that time. In 1876 he was appointed by Governor Stone to deliver an address upon the growth and history of the state of Mississippi at the International exhibition at Philadelphia. The address, which was one of the ablest productions of that memorable occasion, was delivered July 10. In the same year he was an elector for the state at large on the Tilden and Hen- dricks ticket, and his speeches, founded iu the great idea of reform, were able, convincing and eloquent. After the purchase of the Mississippi Central railroad by the Illinois Central railroad company, General West retired from active life, but was soon after elected to the state senate by an unanimous vote of the people of his district. The national party in convention assembled at Indianapolis, Ind. , on May 29, 1880, unanimously nominated him for vice president of the United States and the anti-monopoly party nominated him for the same high office in 1884. It is a note- worthy fact that during his eventful life his integrity has never been questioned nor has he ever been sued. In 1876 he identified himself with the National Labor union, and has ever since held to its principles and objects with unfaltering fidelity. He has always been the friend of the poor, and a bold, fearless defender of the rights of the people. His views are broad and natural, with uo sectional animosity or race hatred. In 1837 General West set- tled in Holmes county, and at the close of the war removed to Oxford for school privileges. In 1870 he located in Holly Springs, Marshall county, and there he has since resided. Since being a resident of this county he has represented it in both branches of the state legislature and served as chairman of the committee of state and Federal relations in the house of 1890. He declined to be a candidate for the constitutional convention, continued farming from choice, and declined all professions to devote himself to planting, of which he is very fond. He has ever been the farmer's friend. The family homestead is one of the handsomest in the state; seventeen acres surround it, on which he raises fruit and flowers, a large space being devoted to the latter, of which he has many choice varieties. His chief occupation since moving to town has been of a literary character, writing on politics, and studying history and biography. He has a large plantation of twenty-five hundred acres in Holmes county, seven hundred acres cleared and occupied by his sons, Benjamin G. and Charles. Mrs. West died July, 1889; she was a member of the Methodist church. To General and Mrs. West were born four sons and two daughters living, and two died in infancy: Olivia is the wife of W. T. McCarty, lawyer of Kansas; A. M. , Jr., professor of chemistry in the Medical college at Memphis ; Edgar, a prominent citizen of Grenada, having represented that county in the legislature; Benjamin G., now stationed in Memphis as the business agent of the State Alli- ance of Mississippi; Mrs. Carrie W. Smith; Charles, on the place near Durant, and Sidney Y. , deceased. A. M. , Jr., and Edgar are both graduates of the State university and the former of the University of Virginia. He also graduated at the Philadelphia Medical college, closing his collegiate career with high honors. He is now a practicing physician of prom- inence in Memphis, Tenn. General West's father, Anderson West, removed to Tennessee early in the century and from there to Alabama in 1817, where he was engaged in planting near Marion. On the organization of Perry county he was elected its first sheriff and later held various other county offices. In connection with his planting interests he was also engaged in merchandising, and was a man of great energy and business qualifica- tions. He was quite an active politician, was a state's rights man in 1836 and later a whig. He died a well-known man. General West is a natural orator, generous to a fault, impul- sive and sanguine in temperament, a selfmade man and also self educated. He has always MilMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 1015 been prominent in all things for the good of Holly Springs or the state or nation. He has a distinguished and commanding appearance, possessing strong mental as well as physical powers. His complexion is rather dark, his eyes bright and piercing, and he has a broad, intellectual looking head. M. M. West, a native of Copiah county, Miss., was born in 1844, a son of James M. and Mary A.. (Simms) West. The father was born in Georgia December 25, 1801. He was left an orphan at an early age, and was reared partly in Georgia and partly in Mississippi. He was twice married; first to a Miss Taylor, by whom he had five children, two of whom are now living: Eleanor, wife of Clinton Atkinson, and Nancy E., wife of Bellfield Simmons. Mrs. West died in 1836, and in 1839 Mr. West again married a Miss Mary A. Simms, a native of Louisiana. This lady was born in 1826, a daughter of Jose and Sarah Simms, both of them being natives of the same state in which their daughter was born. Five children were born to Mr. and Mrs. West by this second marriage : Maud, Phillip, Matthew M. , Albert, Sarah, wife of A. B. 0. Patrick, and Jose. The father was a farmer and a prac- ticing physician of the botanical school. He was not a graduate of any college, but he was a diligent student and a firm believer in the efficacy of nature's remedies. He was a suc- cessful practitioner of more than fifty years, principally in Copiah county. He and wife were both members of the Methodist Episcopal church, of which he was for a number of years' a steward and trustee. He died February 12, 1889, his wife following him August 22, of the same year. Matthew M. West was educated in the common schools, and at the age of seventeen years enlisted in company D, of the Twelfth Mississippi volunteer infantry, in which he served until the close of the war, participating in the battles of Seven Pines, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Spottsylvania Courthouse and in the fighting before Peters- burg and just preceding the surrender at Appomattox, taking part also in many minor engagements. At the battle of Seven Pines he received a gunshot wound in the neck which disabled him for seven months. At the battle of Gettysburg he received a wound in the leg. Returning home after the war he engaged in agricultural pursuits and in milling. Locating on his present place he began with eighty acres for a farm; he has now increased his landed possessions until he has a plantation of four hundred and eighty acres. He plants corn and cotton and raises stock sufficient for all domestic use. At the time of locating here he became the owner of a steam saw and gristmill, which he still operates. In 1871 he married Mary E. Simms, a native of Louisiana, who was born in 1856. They have eight children living, and have lost two by death: Olivia, Walter, Margaret, Verner, Allsie, Pierce and Payne (twins), Mary, Martin and Dudley C. Mr. and Mrs. West are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, Mr. West being recording steward and superintendent of the Sunday- school. Mr. West is a member of the Smyrna Sub-Alliance, of the Farmers' Alliance, of which he is lecturer. He is of medium hight, strongly built and of a fine personal appear- ance. Politically he is a democrat, and has always taken an active part in all political ques- tions, and his social standing is high. Richard D. West, horticulturist, Durant, Miss., was one of nine children born to his parents, Nathaniel and M. A. (Sanders) West, his birth occurring in Pickens county, Ala. , near Bridgeville in 1837. The father was born in the Palmetto state in 1803, was reared and educated there, and was there married to Miss Sanders, also a native of that state. By occupation Mr. West was a farmer, although in connection he carried on the carpenter's trade, and at an early date he moved to Alabama, then in 1857 to Mississippi, settling in Carroll county. He there engaged in farming and died in 1889. Mrs. West had died in 1879. Their family consisted of seven sons and two daughters, all of whom grew to mature years, 1016 BIOGRAPHICAL A2fD BI8T0BI0AL and all of the sons were in the Confederate army: W. J. was first lieutenant of the Forty second Mississippi and was killed at the battle of the Wilderness; N. 0. was in the Thirtieth Mississippi, and is now a planter of Carroll county; B. F. served in the Forty- second Mississippi with his brother, was wounded at the battle of the Wilderness and died from his wounds two months later; G. W. was brigade surgeon in the trans- Mississippi department; J. D. was a private in the Fifth Alabama, and was killed at the battle of Chancellorsville; and F. B. was in the Thirtieth Mississippi and was killed in the battle of Murfreesboro in January, 1862. The two daughters are: Miss J. F. West, residing with our subject, and Mrs. W. Boon (deceased wife of John W. Boon). Eich- ard D. West passed his youthful days in Carroll county, where he received his educa- tion, and first enlisted in the Fourth Mississippi infantry in 1861, serving in that for two years. He was in the fights at Vieksburg, Forts Henry and Donelson, and was taken pris- oner at the last named place. He was held for seven months at Camp Morton, Indianapolis, and after being discharged rejoined his regiment, participating in the battles of Baker's Creek and Vieksburg. At the last mentioned place he received a flesh wound in the shoulder, which disabled him for six weeks, after which he joined the Twenty-eighth Mis- sissippi cavalry and was with that until the close of the war. He was in the fight with General Forrest at Kenesaw mountain, was also at Atlanta and received a scalp wound in that engagement, but was not disabled. He was discharged at Lexington, Ala., and retired to Carroll county. Miss. , where he followed planting for several years. He moved to Durant in 1877 and settled on his present property. He engaged in cotton planting up to 1884, opened up his place, and in that year began strawberry culture in a small way. He now has twenty acres devoted to berries and has a tine pear orchard of five hundred and fifty four-year old trees. He also has out some choice plum, apple and peach trees. He ciilti vates other small fruit and vegetables and is making a success of this business. He has eighty-seven acres, nearly all iu a fine state of cultivation, and has a good residence. He was married in Holmes county, in 1876, December 20, to Miss Mary E. Lockhart, a native of Holmes county, and the daughter of Thomas Lockhart. She died on June, 1, 1890, leaving two children: Cora Belle and Vernon R. Mr. West is a Master Mason, a member of the Knights of Honor and the Alliance. He and sister are members of the Baptist church. Judge R. R. West, Hernando, Miss., who has been closely connected with the political history of De Soto county for many years, was born in Perry county, Ala., January 16, 1818, and is the son of William and Mary (Howard) West. There were eleven children in the family, of whom he is the sixth. His father moved from Alabama to Mississippi in 1837, and located in Marshall county, where he engaged in planting, and spent the greater portion of his remaining days. He died in White county, Ark., at the residence of his son, A\'. C. West, in 1856. The paternal grandfather was William West, who was of English lineage. John Howard, the maternal grandfather, was of Irish extraction. The Judge passed his youth in Alabama, and there received his education; his advantages iu this direction were nleager enough, but a life of varied experience has developed his many qualifications. He remained with his father, assisting in the support of the family, until he was twenty-one years of age. He then started out in life for himself. He has been engaged in many different occupations, and his career has been dotted with many changes. He was first a clerk in a dry goods store for Dr. J. D. McCray for one year. He then went to eastern Texas, and worked for a company of civil engineers for two years. At the end of that period he returned to Mississippi, and was united in marriage to Miss N. J. Roberts, a native of North MEMOIRS OP MISSISSIPPI. 1017 Carolina, and a daughter of John and N. J. (Jeffress) Roberts; her father came from North Carolina, and the mother was born in Virginia. Of this nnion nine children have been born, only two of whom are living: John B. is editing the Tate County Record at Senatobia, Miss.; Mary E., is the wife of A. .M. Lauderdale, of Hernando, a teacher by profession. After his marriage Judge West dealt for a time in livestock, and then had the charge of a blacksmith shop. He had some experience in bookkeeping, and when in 1855 he was elected to the office of clerk of the probate court he discharged his duties with great efficiency for five years. He was then elected judge of the same court, and acted in this capacity for three years, and for two years he was engaged in general practice of law. He next invested in a mercantile business, but disposed of this and gave one year to agriculture. At this time he returned to Hernando, and was elected clerk of the chancery court in 1875, and is the present incumbent of that office. The Judge belongs to the Masonic order. In all the public offices which he has held he has preserved the strictest integrity of character, and no man stands higher than he in the estimation of the people of De Soto county. His first wife, Mrs. N. J. (Roberts) West, died in 1878, and in 1879 he married Miss America (Mecca) C. Clark, who is still living, and is a consistent member of the Christian church, and a superior woman. She was the daughter of Thomas C. and Sarah Clark. Her father was of English and Irish extraction, and his forefathers were Virginians in Revolutionary times, and removed thence to Tennessee, Alabama and Mississippi, in the order named. Thomas J. West, Water Valley, Miss. The gentleman whose history is here outlined is the senior member of the firm of T. J. West & Co., and has a business career older than that of any other business man in the city. He has survived the shock of Civil war, and the still greater strain of the confusion of the financial crisis that swept over the country by the famous policy of the government in resumption. He has steadily maintained a reputation for strict business habits, and deep integrity of character. Mr. AVest was born in Madison county, Tenn., in 1827, and is a son of George West, a native of Maryland, whose parents came from Scotland to America before the Revolutionary war. The father was a soldier in that conflict, and died in the service, leaving a wife and one child, George West. The mother was married, a second time, to a Mr. Hubbard, by whom she had two children. George West passed his youth in North Carolina, and received his education in the common schools. He was apprenticed to learn the tailor's trade, which he followed until his marriage. He then engaged in farming and in 1827 he removed to Tennessee, locating in Madison county. In 1841 he came to Missis- sippi, making his home in Lafayette county uatil his death, which occurred in 1860. Politically he affiliated with the whig party. He did service in the War of 1812. He was a member of the Baptist church, and a man of considerable means. He was married to Lucre- tia Childress, who was born in Georgia in 1789, and died in 1817. She was a daughter of Thomas Childress, who served in the Revolutionary war, and was one of a family of ten children. She became the mother of ten children, four of whom are still living; John M., Holman F., James H. audThomas J. (the subject of this notice.) In the beginning of his business life he was a clerk in a country store, where he remained until 1858; he then removed to Water Valley and engaged in the mercantile trade. At the present day few young men would have the courage to make the beginning which he did. His first year's salary was only |100, but he managed to save the most of that, and with this capital he embarked in business. By energy and close attention he soon gained a foothold, and is now doing a business of 140,000 a year, handling upward of twelve hundred bales of cotton. Mr. West was married in 1855 to Miss Telitha Boydston, a native of Yalobusha county, Miss. , and a daughter of the Rev. John P. Boydston. The father was a native of Ten 1018 BIOQBAPHIOAL AND HI8T0BIOAL nessee, and removed to MissisHippi at an early day, wbere be followed the ministry; be died in 187], at tbe age of seventy years. His wife's maiden name was Wilson, and to her were born four daughters and two sons. Mrs. West is the fourth child, and was reared in Yalo- busha county, and educated at tbe Oakland academy. Mr. and Mrs. West are the parents of six children: Eva S., Nellie T., Fred M., Alice M., William Thad. and Hugh J. When there was a call for men to go to the defense of their country Mr. West was found willing and ready to leave bis family and home interests. He enlisted in January, 1863, in tbe Eighteenth cavalry, under General Forrest. He had charge of the provisions and wagons; was in the battles of Fort Pillow, Harrisburg, Selma, Ala., and other smaller engagements. He and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church South, of which he has been steward since its organization at this place. He is a member of tbe Masonic oider, and has been high priest of bis chapter for a number of years. In addition to his commercial interests be finds time to give to agriculture, and he is one of the directors of the Water Valley bank. Judge Thomas Jesse Wharton. It is a fact clearly established that a man's language is a part of bis character, that bis speech is an index to his mind and heart. It opens bis character to tbe light and discloses his disposition, bis temper and modes of thought. The Greeks were correct in their teaching, that as a man lived so would be speak. Ben Jon- son has said that no glass renders a man's form and likeness so true as bis speech. His dis- course is an open window through which his soul can be seen. So it can be said of Judge Thomas J. Wharton, that distinguished citizen and eminent jurist of Mississippi, whose name stands at the bead of this sketch. No person can pass an hour in conversation with him without feeling that he is in the presence of a gentleman of deep culture, pure thoughts and noble aspirations; one who is broad in his humanity, charitable and merciful. Judge Whar- ton was born at Nashville, Tenn. , May 18, 1817, and is the son of Jesse and Elizabeth (Rice) Wharton, who were natives of Virginia, from Albemarle county. Tbe elder Wharton was a lawyer by profession, and a highly educated man. He took a prominent part in the political affairs of Tennessee, to which state he removed in 1795, locating in Nashville. In fact, he was one of her leading and most honored citizens. He was a member of both houses of the state legislature, also both houses of congress, and retired from public life at the age of forty. This was when he was in congress, and during James Madison's administration. During his active professional life he had tbe largest practice of any lawyer in Tennessee, and acciimulated a large fortune. He died in 1834, bis widow surviving him but a few months. Tbe Whartons were of Welsh descent. Judge Wharton attended tbe primary schools of Nashville and then entered the University of Nashville, wbere he was graduated with high honors in the fall of 1834. He began the study of law and was admitted to the bar of Mississippi, before the supreme court, in January, 1837, soon after opening a law office at Clinton, where he remained for six years, meeting with marked success in his pro- fession. From Clinton he removed to Raymond, wbere be continued bis practice for six years, after which be located at Jackson, his present home. His younger brother, Francis A. R. Wharton, who studied law with him, was a partner from the time be was admitted to tbe bar (1842) until 1882, when Judge Wharton was appointed to the bench. He is now in practice at Raymond, Miss. In 1857 Judge Wharton received the nomination from the dem- ocratic party to the position of attorney-general and was elected. In 1861 be was re-elected without opposition, and served until he was removed by Federal authority in the spring of 1865, under the reconstruction measures. He then resumed bis practice, which he con- tinued with distinguished success until 1882, at which time he was appointed judge of the MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 1019 circuit court, of the ninth judicial district, by Governor Lowry. Before the expiration of his term the legislature passed an act retiring three circuit judges and five chancellors. The ninth district was merged into the eighth, which retired Judge Wharton, and he returned to his private practice. He was a believer in the right of the states to secede, and supported the Confederate cause with all the earnestness of his character, but when the cause went down and the Federal authority was again established he was active in the reconstruction of his state, and recommended strongly the adoption of the reconstruction measures. He was appointed by Governor Clarke one of the commissioners to Washington in behalf of the state to accept the reconstruction measures of the government. The reconstruction government adopted by the state was rejected by the Federal government and she was put under a pro- visional government. Judge Wharton regards the assassination of President Lincoln as the greatest calamity that could possibly have happened to the South next to the defeat of its cause. He was a great admirer of President Lincoln, and believes that in his death the South lost her best friend. The Judge was married at Nashville, Tenn., June 15, 1837, to Mary T., daughter of Rev. John T. Edgar, D. D., who for thirty years was pastor of the Presbyterian church of that city. Her mother was Mary Todd, of Kentucky. The children born to the Judge's mar- riage, who are living at the present time, are: Thomas J., Jr., assistant postmaster at Jack- son; Iva, wife of J. J. Hampton; Margaret E., wife of George S. Green; Louisa E. and Sallie G. In hight Judge Wharton is about five feet eleven inches, thin and straight in form, exceptionally dignified in carriage. His well-shaped head is ornamented with a liberal growth of gray hair, and a mustache is the only adornment of his intellectual counte- nance. His eyes are blue and expressive, and although he is well along in years his mind is still vigorous and his step elastic. He is courteous and warm in his manner, especially to his acquaintances, and his generous heart is tilled with the milk of human kindness for all. To a man possessed with these qualities it is hardly necessary to add that his hospitalities have made many persons happier and better, that his domestic relations have been and are of the best order, and that he is a devoted and afPectionate husband and father. He has given much time and study to subjects outside of his profession, and often lectures to delighted audiences. His historical and biographical paper of Mississippi, from 1801 to 1890, has won for him the applause of thousands. He is a gifted orator; his language is choice, rich and full of thought, his sentences well rounded, and delivered in a clear, culti- vated voice. There are few men of to-day so well versed in the history of Mississippi, or so well qualified to discuss it as he. He has witnessed the erection of her capitol at Jackson, attended every convention held there, and has heard every speech of importance that has been delivered within its walls. He has also been a member of almost every democratic convention held there, and could have had, unquestionably, any political position within the gift of the people of his state, had he sought it. The dying advice of his distinguished father was never to aspire to or hold any political office, and this advice he has faithfully kept. It is in the legal forum that Judge Wharton is at his best, for his learning is pro- found and complete, and is greatly enhanced by a natural gift or an intuitive perception of law. He rarely, if ever, becomes entangled in any case, however intricate, but takes up the most difficult problems of law, and with his clear analysis goes to the bottom of them. The vast resources of his mind are always at his command, and in the discussion of a cause he is never at a loss for ideas or words to give force to his arguments or authorities to sustain them. He is possessed of a rich and varied elocution, and in his arguments is ever respect- ful to the court and courteous to his opponents. While he dignified the ermine of justice LLL 102(1 BIOOBAPHIOAL AND HiaTORIOAL it was thought that no just cause could fail. His integrity, ability, learning and calm equipoise of head and heart were assurances that the cause before him would be tried and adjusted upon its own merits. As a judge he combines some of the best elements that have been united in that office. Among these may be mentioned his deep learning, his knowledge of the fundamental principles of law, his calm, dispassionate mind, his ceaseless endeavor to get at the truth, and his ferveut zeal for justice, as the end and intended fruit of ^ all law. William B. Wheatley is a substantial resident of Washington county. Miss., but is especially well and favorably known in the vicinity of Areola, in which place he keeps a well patronized hotel. He was born in Wheeling, Va., in 1837, being the second of four children born to Warren Wheatley, a native of Westmoreland county, Penn. , which was once a part of the Old Domiaion. He later resided in Illinois and Missouri, and died of cholera in St. Louis in 1849. The maiden name of his wife was Johanna Cool, a daughter of George Cool, a Pennsylvaaian, aad a millwright by trade; he was in the War of 1812, under Gen. Anthony Wayne. The paternal grandfather, George Wheatley, also a soldier in 1812, was born in Virginia, was also a millwright, and was called from life in the city of St. Louis, Mo., in 1845. His wife was a Miss Leggett, of Va. , of. which state, his father, William Wheatley, was also a native shipcarpenter, a millwright by trade, and was one of four brothers who settled at Red Stone, now McKeesport, Penn. , who built the first model keelboats there, and started the first shipyard. They were Revolutionary soldiers. They came west of the Alleghany moun- tains after the v?ar and bought land with their land warrants issued by the state of Virginia to her soldiers. They built and ran flatboats and keelboats to New Orleans, when Louisiana belonged to Spain, our subject's great grandfather dying on a trip to New Orleans on one of his boats, and being buried at or near Ellis cliffs, near Natchez, Miss. Their names are as follows: Isaac, Thomas, John and George. George Wheatley, the grandfather of William B. , was one of a large family of children: George, Samuel, John, William, Elijah, Nancy, Sarah, Mary and Margaret, being the only ones remembered. The sisters of William B. Wheatley are as follows: Sophia, the wife of Thomas Griffith, resides in Monroe county, Ohio; Sarah, is the wife of McKinley Blayney, of Washington, Penn. , and Elsie R. Amos, who died in 1880, leaving four children. William B. was reared in Pennsylvania and St. Louis, Mo., and was educated at West Alexandria, Penn. In the winter of 1853 he began life for himself as a cabin boy on board a vessel called the Allegheny Clipper. He remained on the river for about twelve years steamboating, and in 1861 opened a hotel at Cape Girardeau, Mo. At a later period he engaged in the produce business in Memphis, from which place he moved to Vicks- burg, and in 1866 he took up his residence at Greenville, where he conducted a hotel until 1881, since which time he has been a resident of Areola, the most of his time being given to merchandising. He was married in 1863 to Miss Emma Holt, a native of Missouri, and a daughter of Thomas Holt, of Virginia, a successful architect. To Mr. Wheatley and his wife three children have been born: Colin, who died in 1864; Belle Lee, who died in 1868, and William W. , who now resides at home, and is the agent at the Grand Pacific depot. Mr. Wheatley has always been a democrat in politics, and socially belongs to the Masonic order. He and his wife are worthy members of the Baptist church, and in the different localities in which they have resided have won many friends. Mr. Wheatley has been quite a traveler, especially in the central and western states, and as he was of a rather restless disposition he did not settle down permanently until 1865. He has journeyed up the Mississippi river above Minneapolis, Minn., the Missouri river from its mouth to the head of navigation, the Ohio from Cairo to Pittsburgh, the Red river from its mouth to the northern part of the Indian MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. Km territory, the Ouachita river as far as Camden, Ark., the Arkansas river to Port Smith, and the White river to Batesville. He was also oa the Gulf of Mexico for six months, on the Morgan line of steamers, from New Orleans to Galveston, Tex. His anecdotes of his travels and adventures are very interesting, and are made doubly so, for Mr. Wheatly is a fine con- versationalist, and relates a story well. He has seen many sides of human life, but his .experience has not hardened his heart or made him forgetful of the wants of his fellowmen. In personal appearance he is decidedly prepossessing. He weighs one hundred and seventy- five pounds, is five feet seven inches in hight, has brown hair, and dark gray eyes full of intelligence and kindly humor. As a host he is careful of the wants and wishes of his guests, and at all times endeavors to make their stay with him comfortable and pleasant, and that he does so is testified by the many who patronize his house. He owns his home and several business houses in the town, and in all is worth about $5,500. George W. Wheeless. The history of every community is made up, so far as its more interesting features are concerned, of the events and transactions of the lives of its leading representative citizens. In any worthy history of Claiborne county. Miss., an outline of the career of Mr. Wheeless should not fail to be given. He was born in this county on Septem- ber 18, 1846, his youthful days being employed in "obtaining an education which is a decidedly practical and useful one. His parents, G. B. and Elizabeth (Davis) Wheeless, were born in Georgia February 10, 1804, and Claiborne county, Miss., in 1826, respectively, their union taking place in the mother' s native county in 1843. Mr. Wheeless followed the noble and independent calling of an agriculturist, and by his upright, manly and consistent life, did much for the elevation of that calling. Although not an active or bitter politician he favored democratic principles, and always supported the representatives of that party with his vote and influence, which was considerable. He invariably tried to do as he would be . done by, and although he expressed his mind freely when occasion so demanded, he was not in the least disputatious, but was careful of the feelings of others. His life was daily illustrated with deeds of kindness, and it may be truly said of him that he never violated a friendship or willfully wronged one of his fellowmen. He lived to an advanced age, dying July 3, 1889, and his remains now rest in the cemetery in Port Gibson. The homestead is still the abiding place of his widow, a kindly. Christian lady. The family that in time blessed their union are as follows: Henry S., a promising young business man of Port Gibson, died dur- ing the yellow-fever scourge of 1878; George W., the immediate subject of this biography, comes next in order of birth; Martha, is the wife of S. P. Patterson, a successful planter of the county; Mary died of yellow fever in 1878; Sallie is the wife of Sanford Bloomquist, who is head engineer and superintendent of the oilmills at Port Gibson; G. B. is a planter of the county and is unmarried; Joseph D. is also a resident of this county; Samuel died in 1876, at the age of fourteen years; Charles P. is unmarried and is the proprietor of the Wheeless hotel, a popular hostelry in southwest. Mississippi; Lizzie is the wife of P. L. Shaif er, a planter of Claiborne county, and John A. , the youngest of the family, makes his home in this county also, but is at present attending Mississippi college in Hinds county; Frank is deceased. In the family cemetery is erected a beautiful monument sacred to the memory of the dearly loved father, brothers and sister. George W. Wheeless, being the eldest living member of his father's family, remained with and cared for his parents until he attained his twenty-fifth year, then began making his own way in the world, and to his own well-balanced, active intelligence and unswerving perseverance he owes his present prosperity. His first work was as an agriculturist, but after some years given to this work he determined to engage in more congenial employment, and accordingly opened a mercantile establish- 1032 BIOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORIOAL ment, a calling to which he devoted his attention with undeviating attention for a period of two years. He has been one of the pushing business men of the place up to the present date, and his sterling honesty and superior capability have long been well and justly noted. In his daily walk and conversation his kindness of heart and liberality are manifested, in both of which he is eminently deserving of mention as above the average of mankind. He was married on May 23, 1888, to Miss Irene Watkins, their union being solemnized at the home of Mrs. Wheeless' parents in Jefferson county, the ceremony being performed by Eev. J. P. Hemby of the Baptist church of Fayette, Miss. Mrg. Wheeless was born in Jefferson county, being the eldest of three daughters born to her parents; Leota, wife of Fred L. Schoeber, a bookkeeper of Adjer, Ala., and Laura, aged eighteen. Their parents, B. F. and Anna (Le Gette) Watkins, were born in Mississippi in 1842, and South Carolina, respectively. Mr. Watkins is a planter, owning four hundred acres of land, and is a finely educated gentleman, being a thorough scholar in Latin and Greek, having obtained his education in Oakland college. His father was a Georgian and his mother came of old Virginia stock. J. N. Le Gette, Mrs. Wheeless' grandfather, was a native of France and she inherits much of her beauty, intelligence and vivacious manners from her Huguenot ancestors. She was educated at home by private tutors and was also for some time a student at Port Gibson Female college, where she acquired an education which has admirably fitted her for the enviable social position she is filling. She is noted for her grace and beauty, and the nobil- ity of her character and the kindly and generous impulses of her heart and mind are reflected in her face, which is of almost perfect contour and expression. Mr. and Mrs. Wheeless occupy a high social position, and in their beautiful home make an agreeable and gracious host and hostess. Mr. Wheeless is a warm democrat, and socially is a member of Franklin lodge No. 5, of the I. 0. O. F. John Whitaker (deceased) was a native of North Carolina, born in the town of Enfield, December 13, 1798, and was one of a large family of sons and daughters born to Eli B. Whitaker. The latter was the son of John Whitaker, who was born in Warwick county, Va., and who was the son of Richard Whitaker, who came from England to America about the time Cromwell was beheading a number of the leading citizens of England. Richard Whita- ker, on coming to this country, settled in Warwick county, Va. , bringing his wife and two of his cousins with him. In Warwick county they reared large families, many descend- ants of whom afterward settled in Tennessee. Richard had a small family, lived to be quite old, and died before the Revolutionary war. His son, John, when a young man, left the paternal roof, going to North Carolina, where he entered land in the vicinity of Enfield. He was the first settler in that district. He entered very large tracts of land in that vicinity, where he reared his family. One of his sons, Eli B., father of the subject, was brigadier- general of the militia of North Carolina, and served in the Revolutionary war in that capacity. His wife was a sister of Gov. John Branch, of North Carolina, who was one of its most prominent politicians and citizens. To Eli B. and wife were born nine sons and six daughters, all of whom but one lived to be grown. Several moved to Alabama, others to Florida, and still others to Louisiana, and the father to Mississippi in 1818. Only two of this family are now living: Lizzie and Martha, who live in Oswichee, Ala. Eli, the youngest son, was in the Confederate army during the war, and was captured in the battle of Gettysburg and died in some Northern prison. The others followed planting and were leading and representative citizens in the counties where they settled. The father of these children died at an advanced age in Tallahassee, Fla., and was a very earnest worker in the Methodist church. John, the subject of this sketch, attended the college of Chapel MEMOIRS OP MISSISSIPPI. 1033 Hill, N. C, and in 1818 came overland to Mississippi, bringing about forty slaves with him. One of the negroes, Phil Branch, is still living on the home place. He claims to have been born in 1796, and is a smart old fellow, and used to be the carriage driver of the family. Mr. Whitaker, when he first arrived, camped where Mrs. Lewis now lives in Woodville, but from there he soon went to Louisiana, settling near Laurel Hill, where he purchased a plantation and remained until ]838. He then came to the present place, where he remained the rest of his life, devoted to his family and home. He was a stanch Whig, and a man of broad views and noble principles and was well posted in the public affairs of his day. He was a liberal contributor to all charitable institutions, and was an active worker and supporter of the Methodist Episcopal Church South. He was a class- leader and steward in the church, and died in 1857, a just and good man and a good neigh- bor, loved by all. He was an ardent follower of the chase, and while out so carried the respect of his associates that even the most profane would not swear in his presence. He was married to Mrs. Kodgers (nee Verbenia Stewart), a descendant of one of the oldest resi- dent families in the state. By this union was born one child, Nolans. Mr. Whitaker' s next wife was a Miss Caroline Saunders (the daughter of Augustiis Saunders, who was auditor of public accounts at Jackson, Miss., at his death), who was educated at Sharon, Miss., and at Nashville, Tenn.,a graduate of both institutions. She had a superior intellect and a finished education, was highly cultivated and refined, and died in 1881, having been a member of the Methodist Episcopal church and a devoted Christian. By this union were born seven chil- dren: one, Elizabeth, died in infancy; Anna Augusta, another, is now the wife of Dr. W. D. W^all, of Jackson, La. ; James W. , was reared on the home place and was educated in Edin- burgh, Scotland, where he remained for three years. Returning home he was married to Sallie Eobert, sister of Dr. Robert, of Centerville, Miss. By this union were born nine children: James, Robert, Joseph, Anna, Rebecca, Sally, Esther, William S. and Eloise (who is deceased). James entered the Confederate army at the age of fifteen years, and served until the close of the war; he now resides on his farm, and is engaged in planting; Martha R. (now deceased) was the wife of Dr. J. C. Robert, of Centerville; Eli B. is traveling and prospecting in the mining districts of the West; James owns the old homestead and married Miss Lizzie Fanver, and is engaged in planting; Richard is a merchant and planter at Whit- aker Station, on the New Orleans & Texas railroad, in Wilkinson county. He was born in 1854 and educated at Trenton, Ark. In 1872 he began for himself at planting on the home place, and was married in 1877 and located on this place, where he remained one year, then moved to Louisiana, where he engaged in planting and merchandising in East Feliciana par- ish. He located at the present place in 1881 and engaged in planting and merchandising, and in 1888 at Whitaker Station, of which place he is the founder. He is also engaged in sawmilling, ginning, etc. , and has about two thousand five hundred acres of land well under cultivation. He was married to Antoinette Mitchell, of Amite county, where she was born and reared, the daughter of Antoine and Henrietta J. (Dunn) Mitchell, natives of Louisiana and Mississippi, respectively. They were early settlers of Amite county. Her grandfather, Henry Dunn, was one of the very early settlers of that region, and entered the land upon which Clinton is now built, and was very prominent in social and public matters. Mrs. Whitaker was educated in Clinton, her home and birthplace. To Mr. and Mrs. Richard Whitaker were born three sons and four daughters: Antoinette, Antoine M., Anna H., Mar- tha R. and Mary (twins), John, and a baby boy, born January 20, 1891. Mr. Whitaker is a member of the K. of H. and K. of P. , and is a Democrat in politics. He devotes his time and attention to his plantation, and is one of the largest planters of this portion of the county. 1024 BIOOBAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL John J. White was iiiianiuiously elected president for the third time of the Yellow Pine Lumber association, which held its meeting at Montgomery, Ala., March 6, 1891, was born iu Anderson county, S. C, April I, 1830, a son of William Moore White. The organization which insists that he stand at its head, has for its range on membership sawmill men in the states of Georgia, Florida, Alabama and Mississippi, and represents an aggregate capital of immense proportions— that which is operating an industry now conceded to be one of the most important of what is popularly termed " the great South." Mr. White is also vice pres- ident, for the state of Mississippi, of the Southern Lumber Manufacturers' association, which embraces the principal manufacturers of lumber in the states of Missouri, Arkansas, Louisi- ana, Texas, Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia. His father, William Moore White, was born in Ireland in September, 1803, and came to America at the age of eighteen years. Locating in Charleston, S. C, he engaged in carpentering for a time, having first served an apprentice- ship at that trade in that city. He afterward went to the northern portion of the state and indentified himself with the milling business, later associating himself with his brother in the manufacture of cotton fabrics and a general line of cotton goods. There he met and married, about 1828, Miss Elizabeth J. McMurtray, of Scotch descent and a native of South Carolina. In 1838, having lost his factory by fire, Mr. White moved with his family to Mississippi, locating in Madison county and engaged in the manufacture of lumber. His mill, which was operated by water power, was a primitive affair, but his business for those days was an exten- sive industry. There he sawed the most of the lumber used in the construction of the first houses erected at Canton, Miss. He afterward turned his attention to farming, in which he was engaged until his retirement from business. He now lives near Camden, within a few miles of his original settlement in the state, and although at the advanced age of eighty- eight years, is quite active for one of his years. Mrs. White died in Madison county at the age of forty-three, in 1847. Mr. White afterward married, aad his second wife is now liv- ing. To Mr. White and Elizabeth J. McMurtray White, were born four sons and three daughters, of whom the first born is the subject of this sketch, John J. White, who was about eight years of age when his father moved from South Carolina to Mississippi. His educa- tional advantages were good, however, and he received a thorough training in the public schools of his neighborhood. He passed his boyhood days upon the plantation, growing to maturity in Madison county, and remained with his parents until after he attained his majority. A particular incident of his boyhood is the following: The school which he attend- ed was quite large and of a high grade for the -time and locality. Young White took great interest in his studies and with characteristic energy directed all his efforts toward a mastery of the highest branches, and was soon so far advanced as to be chosen his teacher's assistant, and afterward there being a vacancy, caused by the death of the former teacher, he was placed in charge of the school which he had previously attended and continued for several years as its teacher. His push and determination to make a place for himself in the world were such that he could not think of remaining for an indefinite time in such employ- ment; and in partnership with his brother, Robert E. White, he soon branched out in the saw- mill business near Summit, Pike county, Miss., where he had removed in 1859. The war came on two years later and cut him off, temporarily, from the hope of the fruition of the ambi- tious desires which were, no doubt, cherished iu the heart of the young man. During the dark days of " 61 '' when the question of secession was paramount in the minds of the people of the South, Mr. White was an earnest and consistent Union man and opposed secession in all its forms, but when his state decided to withdraw from the mother government, he felt his first allegiance due to her and he at once became her earnest sapporter. MEMOIRS OF MIBSiaSIPl'l. Iii2a Robert E. White, his brother, enlisted iii 1861 in the McNair rifles, which were mustered into the Confederate service and attached to the Thirty-eighth Mississippi regiment. He was stricken with brain fever at Murfreesboro and died in a tent on the field before he could be removed to the hospital. The withdrawal of his brother from the business caused its entire responsibility to fall upon the shoulders of John J. White, who conducted it success- fully for some time, and supplied a considerable amount of timber used in the construction of Confederate gunboats, but in 1862 he laid aside his peacefiil pursuits and enlisted in the Wilson guards, and was mustered into service as a member of company H, of the Thirty- ninth Mississippi regiment. He was soon commissioned lieutenant of his company, and par- ticipated in the fights at Corinth and elsewhere. With his regiment he was at the siege of Port Hudson after the taking of Vioksburg, and fell a captive into the hands of the enemy and was carried to Johnson's island, near Sandusky, Ohio, where he was confined as a prisoner of war until the close of hostilities. Undaunted and unflinching, he shouldered his musket and fought gallantly for the Confederate flag, taking part bravely in some of the hottest bat- tles. Mid whistling bullets and flying missiles of death, blinding smoke and horrifying scenes, he endured to the end, having risen from the ranks to the proud position of a com- missioned ofiicer. Returning to his home in Pike county, he began with redoubled energy to re-eslablish his ruined business and re-engaged vigorously in the manufacture of lumber. He began making money, and has been remarkably successful up to th^ present time, though he has had several very destructive fires, by which he has sustained losses amounting to nearly $100,000. In 1881 he was completely burned out, but rallied again, and at that time supplied himself with a new outfit throughout, consisting of improved modern machinery, dry kilns, etc. His sawmill is of the steam-feed kind, and has a capacity of fifty thousand feet per day, and his planingmill has a capacity of thirty thousand feet, and he uses four Sturtevant dry kilns. He has fourteen miles of railroad equipped with iron and steel rails, and two loco- motive engines. His present plant is located on the main line of the Illinois Central rail- road, one mile south of Macomb City, Miss. He owns about fifty thousand acres of timber land in Pike and Marion counties, and has a kind of little city under his feet, as it were, everything being under his control, which is called Whitestown, in contradistinction to Macomb City. He employs nearly two hundred operators, the inhabitants of his place num- bering between five and six hundred persons. Mr. White has taken an active interest in educa- tional matters, and at his little place near McComb City he has two public schools, one for white and one for colored children, which are maintained by him principally. He has also erected a large Union church building, in which Christians of all denominations are priv- ileged to hold meetings. Mr. White's residence sets well back in the distance, perhaps half a mile, but not so far off but that he can hear the whistles of his own locomotives of his own road, and at the same time listen to the hum and buzz of the sawmill, or to the continuous sound emanating from the planingmill (all of these, no doubt, being music in the ears of the average sawmill man), and watch the even flow of his business, as each employe goes forth attending strictly to his own duties. Thus the mind grasps the entire scene: bustling busi- ness, without which the wheels of progress can not be made to turn, and by which a liveli- hood is earned; schools and education — that which is so necessary to the upbuilding and refinement as well as success of any community of people; churches and religion— that which is indispensable in cultivating that high moral sentiment necessary to insure future safety and happiness. In 1870 Mr. White married Miss Helen E. Tyre, who has borne him seven children. Mr. White is one of those quiet, unassuming men who accomplish magnificent results without ostentation or effort. Public-spirited and generous to the last degree, he is 1026 BIOGRAPHICAL AND HiaTOBICAL conceded to be one of Pike county' s most universally respected citizens, and in his business relations he is known widely and favorably throughout the entire lumber sections of the United States. Mr. White stands pre-eminent amongst his fellowmen. Every movement tending to elevate those about him, every movement for the public good, finds in him not only au earnest advocate but a liberal supporter. Mr. White is strong and active, and though time has tinged his hair with gray, it is but the silver crown of a life well spent. Col. Thomas W. White was born in Elbert county, Ga. , January 8, 1824. He was a son of William and Concord H. (Brown) White, natives of Virginia and Georgia respectively. William White removed to Mississippi about the year 1845, and settled in De Soto county, where he resided until his death, which occurred in 1864. He was highly esteemed, and was one of the most substantial merchants of Hernando. Colonel White received his early educa- tion in Georgia, and was afterward graduated from the law school of Harvard university. He then taught for a short time, and in 1 847 he opened an office in Hernando, where he practiced his profession up to the time when the hand of death fell upon him, July 26, 1889. He was a democrat, and took deep interest in political affairs. He was a member of the legislature before the war, the only time he was induced to accept public office. His last public service was as president of the board of levee commissioners of the Yazoo (Miss.) delta. He cauie to Mississijjpi a young, modest, studious lawyer, and grew with the pass- ing years until he was long since recognized as the foremost of the community. He was a wise, prudent man, noted for the justice of his dealings and the integrity of his conduct. He was highly cultivated in his tastes, well read, and widely traveled. He was possessed of a quick and ready sympathy, which won him the allegiance of all who came within the charmed circle of his acquaintance. He loved home and family, and few men had more friends. In 1861 Colonel White built an elegant residence in Hernando, where his wife, formerly Miss Mina Meriwether, of Georgia, and family still reside, surrounded by all the comforts which his loving forethought could suggest. W. H. White, M. D., Brandon, Miss., was born at Steen's creek, Eankin county, October 17, 1848. His father, Thomas S. White, was descended from Scotch-Irish ancestry and emigrated to Alabama when it was a territory, and later to Kankin county. Miss. He was a man of local prominence, and an old line whig, who represented Rankin county in the legis- lature one term, having been elected in the memorable campaign in which H. S. Poote defeated Jefferson Davis. Although a slaveholder he doubted the righteousness of slave - holding and was opposed to the war and secesssion. Dr. W. H White received the best education the schools of his section afforded, and by dint of assiduous application, aided by a strong native talent, he acquired a wide range of practical information. In 1869 he matricu- lated in the University of Louisiana (now Tulane university), from which institution he received the degree of M. D. in 1873, after having attended four consecutive courses of lectures. Dr. White located in Brandon in 1883, where he has built up a large and devoted patronage. He is thoroughly imbued with a lo\e for his profession, is a hard student and keeps well up with the advance of medicaL science. He is an honored mem- ber of the Mississippi State Medical association, of which he has been vice president; has been a delegate to the American Medical association; has been a frequent contributor of essays which have been read to the state association, and has occasionally contributed articles for the medical press. Dr. White is at present health officer for Bankin county, having received his appointment in 1884 from the state board of health. Socially, as well as professionally, he is deservedly popular with all classes. He loves his friends and holds that, like the king, "they can do no wrong." Toward his opponents he is tolerant, and MEM0IB8 OF MISSISSIPPI. 1037 toward his enemies indifferent. His highest ambition is to merit the confidence and esteem of his patrons, to prove himself worthy of the high regard entertained for him by his friends, and to do his whole duty in the sphere of life in which his lot is cast. In religious views he is, as were his ancestors, a Methodist and a zealous worker in his church. In politics he is a modern democrat. He is a close student of political economy, and an interested observer of the current history of his country. He has been an ardent Free Mason for many years and occupied the chair of worshipful master of Evening Star lodge for several terms. Dr. White was married, in 1874, to Miss Mary E. Allen, a daughter of Col. Daniel Allen, a man of sterling character and influence, and a veteran of the War of 1812. The Doctor's home is a model of domestic happiness, and it is there that he receives inspiration and courage for the arduous duties of life. Among the most reliable and substantial merchants of Lee county, Miss. , is W. R. White- sides, Nettleton. He is a native of Mississippi, born March 8, 1852, and is a son of Thomas and Martha A. Whitesides. His father was a native of South Carolina, born March 20, 1824, and was a son of James and Sarah Whitesides. During his infancy his parents removed to Alabama, and there he received his education. When he was sixteen years of age they went to Itawamlia county, Miss., and he engaged in planting. In 1849 he was married to Martha A. Keys, a daughter of James and Susan E. Keys, born in Lawrence county, Ala., March 30, 1830. They had born to them six children, one of whom died in infancy: Susan E., deceased; James K., who married Sallie E. Simonton; Lou Ollie, wife of I. E. Sykes; and Annie M., wife of W. G. Francis. The father continued farming until the Civil war broke out, and in March, 1861, he enlisted under Capt. James Bullard in the Tenth Mississippi regiment. When his time exjsired he organized a company of state troops, went out as captain, but was soon elected colonel. He served until the surrender. He was paroled May 1, 1865, after which he settled with his family in Itawamba county. In 1869 he removed to Lee county, and located at Shannon, where he embarked in the mercantile trade in connection with his agricultural interests. In 1883 he was elected treasurer of Lee county, and held the office two terms. He was a democrat in his political opinions. In 1871 he received injuries from falling out of a wagon, and never fully recovered. He died April 7, 1891, at Shannon. He was a Mason of high degree, and a deacon in the Missionary Baptist church. W. R. Whitesides assisted his father on the farm, and attended the common schools during his youth. He was united in marriage to Miss Alice Borum, a native of Mississippi, born August 20, 1853, and a daughter of Richard M. and Emeline Borum. Three children were born of this union: Joseph B., was born October 13, 1875, and died November 3, 1875; Arthur W., was born December 12, 1887; Daisie Emma, was born May 29, 1881, died October 2, 1885. Mr. Whitesides continued farming until 1882, when he engaged as a clerk for W. B. Redus of Shannon; he was employed in this capacity until October, 1887, when he took charge of a stock of goods at Nettleton, the firm being W. B. Redus & Co. August 1, 1889, Mr. Whitesides and E. R. Wiygul bought out the business, which they have since conducted. They carry a well-selected stock of goods, and have built up a prosperous business. Mr. Whitesides is a democrat in his political opinions, and cast his first presidential vote for Samuel J. Tilden. He is a member of the town council and is also town treasurer; he is treasurer and trustee of Providence college of Lee county, and belongs to the Knights of Honor. For many years he has been a member of the Missionary Baptist church, and like his father, has been a generous contributor to all religious and educational movements. He is a man keenly alive to the public needs, and a citizen who would not disregard his duty to his fellowman. 1028 BIOORAFHIOAL AND HISTOIilOAL North Carolina has contributed mauy of her sous to dirttant states who have shed luster and honor on their adopted home. But the Old North state never contributed one more universally liked and respected than the subject of this sketch. At White Hall, Wayne county, N. C, on the 6th of June, IS22, was born Dr. N. H. Whitfield. His father, Maj. Bdmond Whitfield, was no stranger to the legislative halls of North Carolina, Imt his sturdy, inde- pendent spirit would never permit him to be an office holder, though more than once his native state endeavored to honor him with an office of high trust, the state treasurership being among the honors tendered him. Major Whitfield married Miss Penelope C. Holmes, of Clinton, Sampson county, N. C. Through the veins of Miss Holmes coursed the blue blood of aristocracy; she was a granddaughter of the distinguished General Clinton. From this union was born Dr. N. H. Whitfield. The early ancestors of Dr. Whitfield were con- spicuous cavaliers, who refused to bend their necks to Cromwelliau tyranny. They took refuge in the untrodden wilds of America, and the colonial history of New York, Virginia and North Carolina attests the valor, the energy and the intelligence they displayed in carving out the fortunes of America. Under the United States government they have always been bravely aggressive, ready to defend her liberty and advance her prosperity. As an evidence of the aid they have extended their country, William Whitfield, a great- uncle of Dr. Whit- field, contributed one hundred and twenty sons and grandsons to the American cause during the last war with England; they were conspicuous in expelling the foreign foe from the soil. The Whitfields have always been successful in the financial world, and honorable and upright in their business relations. Many of them have accumulated fortunes. William Whitfield, from whom the Doctor is a lineal descendant, came from England about the eighteenth cent- ury. He married a Miss Goodman, and settled in Nansemond county, Va, When North Carolina was still in its virgin state, and the Indian roamed unmolested through its unbroken wilds, a descendant of William Whitfield moved hither from Virginia, and settled on the Neuse river. He named his home White Hall. This spot is now designated as a flourish- ing town, and around this town have lived and flourished for two hundred years the descend- ants of this brave and progressive pioneer, who, like Boone, knew no fear and acknowledged no master. It is noteworthy to state that though five generations have come and passed over the river of death, the Whitfields still own the place settled by their honored forefather. On December 9, 1793, was born at this place Edmund Whitfield, the father of Dr. Whit- field. Edmund Whitfield, inheriting the pioneer spirit of his early ancestor, moved West in 1840, with his family, and settled at Aberdeen, Miss. At that period railroads weie an unknown factor, and transportation was effected by wagons. But Major Whitfield safely made the trip through dense forests and an unbroken wilderness until he reached the home of his adoption. Major Whitfield was a large and successful planter, and an honor and a credit to the society of Aberdeen. He lived quietly and happily in the midst of his ample possessions until September 14, 1867, when death ended his existence. He died as he had always lived, an honorable Christian gentleman. His career had never cast one blot on the escutcheon of his distinguished family. The mother followed her departed husband January 6, 1875. Six children were the result of this union, two of whom are now living, the subject of this sketch, and Mrs. Mary A. Holmes, a true wife, a loving mother and an earnest culti- vated Christian. One of the sons, O. H. Whitfield, achieved distinction in the legal world, not only carving his way to the top of his profession, but was appointed chancellor judge of his district, which office he filled with distinguished ability and with honor and credit to him- self and family. Dr. N. H. Whitfield was educated in North Carolina. He is a fluent and interesting conversationalist, and his striking and well-rounded periods clearly show the care- MEMOIRS OF MiaSiaaiPPI. 1029 ful and classical training he received. At the age of twenty-one he developed a taste for materia medica, and began the study under a private tutor, Dr. B. L. Hatch, an able prac- titioner of Aberdeen. Untiringly and with energy did he pursue his profession as a science for two years. He here laid a foundation on vphich he built his eminent success in future years as a surgeon. Being carefully prepared he entered the University of Pennsylvania, where he graduated with the first honors of his class in 1846-7. He began the practice of medicine near Aberdeen, and his ability being (quickly recognized he rapidly built up a lucra- tive practice. His devotion to his profession soon caused his health to fail, find he reluct- antly turned his attention to agriculture, being compelled to give up medicine. In this new field his natural ability and common sense soon asserted itself, and he rapidly made money for seven years; but longing for the social amenities of town life, he sold out his farming interest, moved to Aljerdeen and embarked in the mercantile business. His genius of success did not desert him here, for until the war broke out he was known as a successful merchant. When the South, in 1860, was convulsed with excitement over the war soon to burst forth. Dr. Whitfield, with heroic courage and with prescient knowledge, fought the dismemberment of the Union. " It will bring," said he, "nothing but ruin and destruction in its wake, and inevitable calamity will be the portion of the South.'' How truthful and prophetic were his words! He said slrivery was doomed, that our so-called free government was the laughingstock of all Europe; why not abolish slavery, and why shall we plunge this beautiful Southland of ours in a destruct- ive war? But like his native state he fought manfully the war issue until the ordinance of secession was declared, when he offered his services and his talents for the protection of his people. He first entered the Confederate service as a quartermaster, with the rank of major. This position being distasteful to him he resigned and was immediately appointed surgeon, and was ordered to take charge of a large number of hospitals at Grenada, Miss. This duty was ably and efficiently discharged by him. When General Grant made his first attack on Vicksburg, the Confederate service recog- nizing the eminent fitness of Dr. N. H. Whitfield as a surgeon, ordered him to report thither immediately, when he was appointed chief surgeon on Gen. M. L. Smith's staff. This posi- tion was filled with perfect satisfaction to the Confederate service, and with distinguished credit to himself. As an evidence of the importance and magnitude of the post held by Dr. Whitfield it is only necessary to state that it was connected with the second largest division in Lieutenaut-General Pemberton's army, which embraced eight thousand privates, besides the various commanding officers, twenty-seven surgeons and a large number of hospitals filled with the sick and wounded. In the thickest of the fray, when death and destruction stared every one in the face, and when the tenure of life was slight to both friend and foe, we find this heroic surgeon ever at his post of duty. No danger was too great for him, no duty too severe. After a destructive siege of forty-sii days, Vicksburg was forced to sur- render to an overpowering force, and the enemy were in possession of the city. Dr. Whit- field was invited by a friend to call on General Grant, at his headquarters. " As soon as we arrived we sent in our cards by the servant, who immediately invited us into General Grant's sittingroom, who met us and gave us a cordial w elcome. \Ye soon engaged in a pleasant conversation. During this time we conferred freely aliout the war. He regarded it as a great calamity, and manifested a strong desire to see it terminated and peace and harmony restored to the country. I could not fully realize that I was con\ ersing with General Grant. He was so very j^lain in conversation and in his manners. He did not seem to be aware of his own power, or the influence he would have or exert in controlling and shaping the future destinies of this country, either for good or evil, if he lived. The more I saw of him and 1080 BIOORAPHIOAL AND HISTOSWAL became acquainted with-liim, tbe more I became thoroughly impressed with the very extra- ordinary combination of rare elements of character which he exhibited. He manifested a istrong sympathy for the South, and thought the South had made a very great mistake in withdrawing from the Union.'" After conversing for some time the Doctor thought he had trespassed too long upon General Grant's time; he arose and bade the General good-bye, at which time the General handed him the following order, written and signed by himself: ilKADCil'AKTBUS DbPAHTMBN'I', VkJKKBUXG, MiSH. To THE Cll.MMANLIlNG OV'FICKKS OF THE UNITED S'i'ATES (lOVEHNMENT XNU AKMY: Please allow Dr. N. H. Whitfield to pass in and out and through our lines at the various posts; to travel ini all government railroads and steamers; to visit my headquarters at discretion, free of charge. Very respectfully, IJ. S. Ukant, General Commanding. Dr. Whitfield carefully and deliberately read the order. He calmly looked at the Gen- eral and said: "General Grant do you mean to attack my loyalty, or do you give me this simply as a matter of courtesy and kind feeling, and to protect me against the casualties of this war? If the latter I accept it with pleasure." Such acts of kindness endeared General Grant to all who met and knew him. ''A more noble, generous foe I never met. It was cer- tainly very fortunate the South had such an adversary. I regarded him as a true, sincere patriot, and I believe that whatever he did was for the good of his country." After the sur- render of Vicksburg he reported to General Pemberton, at Demopolis, Ala., for hospital work, but was soon transferred to Enterprise, Miss., where he was assigned to conscript duty, which office he held until the death of the Confederacy. Having been paroled at Gaines- ville, Ala., with General Forrest and others, he returned to Aberdeen, Miss. At the close of the war the Doctor found himself a financial wreck, without a home to retire to, but still in possession of his untiring and dauntless energy. By close economy and judicious manage- ment he rapidly recovered from his financial embarrassments, and is to-day in possession of a handsome income and a beautiful home. The rapid recovery of his wealth the Doctor attrib- utes to the faithful and loving assistance of his cultured and amiable wife, to whom he was married in 1849. She was at all times faithful and true, and she followed his pathway through life knowing no higher duty than to administer to the wants of him who was her guide and helpmeet. Her death, which was a sad blow to the Doctor, took place in 1867. She was a Miss Anna Hill, and was descended from a family prominent in politics, social posi- tion and wealth. Dr. Whitfield is a brilliant, aggressive writer, and the journalistic world, both North and South, has felt the effect of his cold, persuasive logic. During the political struggle of Mississippi, when negroism and carpetbagism were grinding the existence out of his beloved state, he came boldly to the front a second time, and defended her rights and liberties with his pen. He is a prominent member of the Presbyterian church, and a Mason. Dr. Whitfield has a very social disposition, and nothing delights him more than to entertain his numerous friends. He dispenses his hospitality in a brave and liberal manner. From the quiet haven of rest in his beautiful home at Aberdeen, he looks back over his eventful life and quietly awaits the time when his Creator shall call him to partake of the joys of an eternal happiness. Hon. J. J. Whitney, attorney, of Fayette, Miss. Prom his early manhood Mr. Whitney has given to Jefferson county the very best energies of his life and in his career at the bar he has achieved an excellent reputation. He is a native of Jefferson county. Miss., where he has resided all his life. His father, John M. Whitney, was born in South Carolina, and when a stripling of sixteen years old came to Mississippi, in the year 1808, and located at Green- MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 1031 ville, or what is now called Old Greenville. After his marriage, in 1815, he engaged in farm- ing and became one of the most successful and prosperous planters of the comity. His strong intellect and excellent judgment soon became known and he was elected to the posi- tion of probate judge, in which capacity he served ten years, and through his whole life enjoyed the highest confidence and esteem of the people. He was married in JefEerson county to Miss Clarissa Montgomery, a native of this county and a daughter of Alexander Montgomery, a pioneer of the county, and on his fine plantation near Fayette he resided until his death in 1867, his widow surviving him until 1871, when she, too, passed away. Six sons and three daughters were born to them, three sons and one daughter being now deceased. The eldest son, Rev. Alexander Whitney, was a minister in the Methodist Epis- copal church and died in Louisiana. John was a lawyer and died in Decatur, 111. F. S. was a planter and died in Claiborne county, Miss. Of the living sons Dr. P. K. Whitney is a suc- cessful practitioner of Fayette; C. W. is a merchant and planter of Louisiana, and Capt. J. J. is an attorney and planter of Fayette. The latter attained manhood in his native state and county, and as his father was in good circumstances he had plenty of time to devote to the acquirement of an education and graduated from Oakland college, Miss., in the class of 1853. He then began following in his father's footsteps, that is, he engaged in planting, and this calling received his attention till 1862, when his love for the South and his sympathy with the cause of secession caused him to enlist in the Confederate army. He became a mem- ber of the Fourth Mississippi cavalry and was elected lieutenant of company H, after which he was promoted to the rank of captain, in which capacity he served until the close of the war. He participated in numerous battles and skirmishes and surrendered at Gainesville, Ala., after which he returned home, changed his sword into a plowshare and once more engaged in agricultural pursuits. In 1874 he was elected treasurer of JefEerson county, and with the efficiency, faithfulness and honor which have ever marked his career he discharged the duties incumbent upon this office. In 1882 he was honored by an election to the state legislature, and at the end of two years was chosen state senator and held the office four years. Later he was once more elected to the legislature, serving in all eight consecutive years, and having always the confidence of the people. In 1873 he was admitted to the bar and has been one of the leading attorneys of the Jefferson county bar. In the month of February, 1858, he was married to Miss Josephine Darden, daughter of John P. Darden. She was born and reared in this county, liberally educated and in all respects is eminentlj- worthy of the old and honored family of which she is a descendant. Her eldest brother, Capt. Put Darden, was a brave and distinguished Confederate soldier, being commander dur- ing the whole war of the Jefferson artillery battery from this county. After the war he engaged in farming, and at an early day enlisted in the order of Patrons of Husbandry. With untiring energy and great ability he devoted his life to the cause, soon rose to eminent distinction, and at his untimely death, July, 1888, was master both of the state and of the national grange. Her surviving brother, Hon. T. L. Darden, is treasurer of the Mississippi State Alliance and represents his county in the state legislature. Mr. and Mrs. Whitney have five children: Annie; C. C, a railroad agent at Leland, Miss.; Lena, Delia and Eula. The family move in the best social circles and are attendants and members of the Christian church. William H. Whittle, a prominent physician and surgeon of Clarke county, Miss., was born in Kemper county, February 12, 1860, a son of William J. and Mahala (Flora) Whit- tle. His father was a native of Mississippi and son of Richard Whittle, who was an early settler of Kemper county. He had a family of three children: Winnie J., James and Will- iam J. The paternal grandfather died in Smith county. Miss., and the motlier in Kemper 1033 BIOGRAPHICAL AND HISTOBIOAL county, near De Kalb. His fiither removed from Kumpir ccamfcy to Smith county, where he died in March, ISfin. He served ns ii soldier in the Confederate army during the v?ar. He was w prominent Mason and was a member of the grand lodge of Mississippi. He was an active, selfeducated and selfmade business man and prominent farmer, who was also inter- ested in other important enterprises. His wrife, mother of our subject, was born in South Carolina, about 1830, a daughter of E. Flora, who moved to Kemjjer county probably about 1836. She was one of seven children, of whom Lavvson N., is a planter of Kemper county; Richard A. , also is a planter in the same county ; Minnie T. is now Mrs. Coolidge, of Noxubee county; William H. is next in order of birth; James J. is a dentist in Gholson, Noxubee county; Winnie J. is living in the old home in Kemper county; John N. is a teacher of this county. Mrs. Whittle, mother of the above, is living in Scooba, Kemper county. She is a devout member of the Primitive Baptist church. Our subject passed his youth in Kemper county. He was educated at Cooper institute at Daleville, Lauderdale county, and gradu- ated in medicine at Baltimore, Md., in 1882, and entered upon the practice of his profession at Coffadeliah, Neosha county, where he remained two years, removing to Peden, Kemper county, where he practiced successfully until 1890, when he came to De Soto, where he con- tinued his medical practice in connection with the mercantile business, starting a general store in the year just mentioned. He is also half owner in a mill and turpentine distillery, the output of the last-mentioned establishment being about five hundred barrels per year. He was married November 16, 1886, to Miss Anna B. Wright, of Lake Burnside, Neshoba coimty, a daughter of Col. A. E. Wright and Mary L. (White) Wright, natives of Georgia, in which state Mrs. Whittle was born in 1864. They have two children, Clara H. and Mary L, The Doctor is a member of the State Medical association and is very prominent in the County Medical association. Politically, he sides with the democratic party. He is a mem- ))er of Chickasaw lodge, A. F. & A. M. Besides his other interests above mentioned, he has a fine farm in Clarke county and other interests in the town of De Soto. His partner in the milling business is Joseph McGee, and Lee Ethridge is his partner in the turpentine enter- prise. The Doctor is a young man of much public spirit and he has made his own way in the world with marked success, not only professionally but socially and commercially. He and his wife are both members of the Episcopal church and contribute largely to its various interests. Whittingtoii Brothers. Among the pioneer families to come to Amite county. Miss., and engage in planting were the Whittingtons, who were led by Moses Whittington, a Georgian, who took up his abode here in the early part of the present century. His son, William J. Whittington, was born in this state and county March 16, 1818, and was here united in the bonds of matrimony to Miss Permelia Evelyn Bolin, a native of this county, and a daughter of William Bolin, who was a Jefferson county Mississippian, born in 1793. He was a soldier in the War of 1812, and was in the engagement at New Orleans with General Jackson. He removed from Jefferson to Amite county in an early day, became well known here, and here spent his declining years. After his marriage, William J. Whittington was engaged in planting near Liberty for a number of years, and there lost his wife, in Franklin county, May 4, 1887, after which he moved to Gloster, where he now resides. Notwithstanding the fact that he is now seventy-three years of age, he is in the enjoyment of fairly good health his mental vigor being also unimpaired. To himself and wife a family of six sons and two daughters were born, all of whom are living at the present time. N. C. Whittington, his son, is a member of the firm of Whittington Brothers, and was born near Liberty September 8, 1841. He was given the advantages of the schools of this county, but finished his educa- MEMOIRS OF MiaSISBIPPI. 1088 tion in the New Orleans Commercial college. In the early histoiy of the Civil war he responded to the call for troops, and was a member of the Seventh Mississippi infantry, Con- federate States army, and took part in a number of important engagements, among which may be mentioned Shiloh, where his clothing was riddled with bullets; Murfreesboro, where he was wounded in the leg by a gunshot ; Chickamauga, where he was seriously wounded in the shoulder and hand and permanently disabled, and one or two other engagements of less importance. Soon after this he returned to his home, and was here married in 1869 to Miss Anna M. Eobertsou, a daughter of Joseph Robertson. Mrs. Whittington was born and reared in Jackson, Miss., and upon her marriage to Mr. Whittington removed with him to Natchez. The latter was engaged in merchandising at this point for about one year, then moved his goods and established a country store in Jefferson county, four years being spent here. At the end of this time his establishment was destroyed by fire, and he then turned his attention to farming, near Mount Zion, in Franklin county. Since 1885 he has been a resident of Gloster, and has been associated in the mercantile business with his brother, their house being one of the first to be established in the place. Mr. and Mrs. Whittington are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. J. Monroe Whittington, the other member of the firm, was born in Amite county, August 29, 1846. His youth was spent in obtaining an education and assisting on his father's plantation, where he learned lessons of industry, patience and economy, which have since stood him in good stead. He was first married in Jefferson county, in 1874, to Miss Ollie A. Fowler, a daughter of Col. Gabriel Fowler. His wife was born, reared and educated in Jefferson county, and was an intelligent, accomplished and amiable lady. She died August 23, 1878, leaving three children: Lucien N., Gortie M. and Anna C. Mr. Whittington married his present wife in Eodney in 1881, she being Mrs. Sallie Haley, a daughter of Dr. B. R. Manuels. Mrs. Whittington was brought up and educated in Fayette, Miss., and has borne her husband two children: Melenium Eloise and James Monroe. Mr. Whittington has followed merchandising since quite a young man, and from Fayette removed to Franklin county, locating near Meadville, where he sold goods and also carried on a farm, continuing for about nine years. In 1 885 he moved to Gloster, and here has since been associated with his brother in the mercantile business. Their stock of goods is well chosen, is extensive, and as they dispose of the same at reasonable rates, are honest, and endeavor at all times to please their patrons, they now command a very large trade. They are public-spirited, enterprising gentlemen, and are very social, cordial and agreeable, qualities that are very essential for success in any calling. The latter named member of the firm erected one of the finest residences in the town, but sold out recently and purchased other property. He and his wife are members of the Baptist church. They have a brother. Rev. J. R. Whittington, who is a minister of the Methodist Episcopal church. He is a man of superior intelligence and education, and in addition to attending to the spiritual wants of his fel- lowmen, he has, in times past, looked after their physical welfare also, being a graduate and a practitioner of medicine. Another brother, Walter W., is a farmer of Franklin county; Alex- ander is a merchant of Roxie, Miss. ; Thomas L. is a farmer of Jefferson county; Indiana is the wife of Alexander Thomas, of Franklin county, and M. E. is the wife of L. J. Imes, an agriculturist, of Jefferson county. John Lawrence Wiggins, attorney, of Rosedale, Miss., was born in Ashley county. Ark., in 1859, and was the third son born to the union of Samuel B. and Mary G. (Wade) Wig- gins, the father a native of South Carolina, and the mother of Tennessee. The father moved to Mississippi in 1836, followed farming and speculating, and later became a prominent planter and slaveowner in Louisiana. He subsequently moved to Arkansas and there fol- 1034 BIOGRAPHICAL AMD HiaTOBIOAL lowed the same occupation sucocssfiilly. The (own of Hamburg, Ark., was built VlY> on his place, and his old residence, tlie Wii^gins Ijonic, is historic in Hamburg at the present time. His death occurred in iS71. His wife had died in 1802. Both were church members, he of the Baptist and slie of tlii^ Methodist persuasion. The paternal grandfather was a native of North Carolina, and tU(< grandmotlier, whose maiden name was Ricks, was a native of the Palmetto state. The niateiiial grandfather was a native of Tennessee and of an old and prom- inent family. John Lawrence Wiggins is practically self educated, having clerked and worked at other occupations to obtain the means to educate himself. He came to Mississippi in lS7'.i and first clerked for Nance Bros. , of Bolivar, for a few months. He followed this business at other places for a number of years, and in 1879-80 attended the University of Oxford. After this he engaged as clerk and bookkeeper, and also carried on planting until 1886, when he entered the Louisville Law school. Finishing the study of law in 1887, he at once entered upon the practice of his profession at Eosedale. On the 1st day of January, 1891, he formed a partnership with W. B. Roberts. In the spring and sum- mer of that year the state witnessed a very warm political fight in the democratic party, the alliance of Bolivar county indorsing Mr. Roberts for the state senate on the sub-treasury platform in opposition to the views of his partner, Mr. Wiggins, who favored the renomina- tion of George and Walthall for the United States senate, in opposition to the sub-treasury and the alliance candidates, and in consequence thereof, Mr. Wiggins ran for the state legis- lature and was successfully nominated by the county democracy, the result of which was a defeat for Mr. Roberts and a final dissolution of their partnership in July. Mr. Wiggins enjoys a good practice and is keenly alive to the interests of his clients. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and is also a member in good standing in the Knights of Pythias organization. He is alive to progress and improvement. George M. Wilburn, Pickens, was born in Yazoo county, Miss., May 14, 1856, and is the third of a family of six children. His parents, William W. and Elizabeth (Crutcher) Wil - burn were natives of Virginia. The father emigrated from his birthplace to Yazoo county. Miss., in 1832, and was engaged in planting there until the time of his death in 1885. He was a son of James and Sallie (Wyche) Wilburn, also natives of Virginia. The mater- nal grandfather of George M. was Reuben Crutcher. Young Wilburn was reared in the state of his birth, and attended both the public and private schools. After leaving school he gave his energies to planting, and now owns six hundred and forty acres, three hundred being under cultivation. Later on he embarked in the mercantile trade, and carried a stock of $1,200. He has been very successful in his business, and has given generously of the means he has accumulated for the aid of public works and the needs of the less fortunate. Polit- ically he affiliates with the democratic party. He is a member of the board of supervisors of Yazoo county, having been elected in 1889. He has proved a very efficient and able mem- Ijer, and has given entire satisfaction to his constituency. Mr. Wilburn was married in 1878 to Miss Alice Pepper, a native of Mississippi and a daughter of A. G. and Amanda (Stuhle- field) Pepper. They have had three children born to them: William W., Carrie and Gwin Pep- per. They are worthy and consistent members of the Missionary Baptist church, in which they are zealons workers. The Wilburn family is of Irish and English origin, and is among the older settlers of Mississippi. R. H. Wildberger, banker, Clarksdale, Miss., the efficient cashier of the Clarksdale Bank and Trust company and an energetic and reliable gentleman, was originally from Tennessee, his birth occurring in Memphis in 1852. His parents, John and Caroline (Cheek) Wildberger, were natives of Switzerland and Virgini-a respectively. The father came to the United States MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 1085 in 1830 andthree years later made a permanent settlement at Memphis, where he was engaged in the clothing business, which he carried on until the outbreak of the war. He then enlisted in the Confederate army and served as lieutenant of an artillery regiment for two years, after which he was discharged on account of poor eyesight. He died in 1866. The mother is still living and makes her home in the Blue Grass state. R. H. Wildberger was reared to mature years in Memphis, educated at the Kentucky Military institute near Frankfort, and was for two years steamboat clerk on the Mississippi river. After this for eight years he was professor of natural sciences and commandant of cadets at the Kentucky Military institute, lu 1S82 he was engaged in planting near Memphis, continued this for two years and in 1884 moved to Clarksdale, where he became secretary of Sunflower Oil company for four years. In 1888 he was one of the organizers of the Clarksdale Bank and Trust company and was elected to his present responsible position as cashier. He is president of the Yazoo Delta Investment «ompany, director of the Clarksdale Brick and Manufacturing company, and is also a director in the Clarksdale Compress company. He is a member of both the Masonic and Odd Fellow fraternities. He is notary public and insurance agent for fifteen companies, being the only agent in this part- of the country. Insurance has of late years assumed such a degree of importance as to now constitute an important factor in commercial pursuits, and Mr. Wildberger adds efficiency in this line to his many other business accomplishments. He is a leading spirit in every enterprise looking to Clarksdale's future greatness. He is an unusually busy man and one of the shrewdest business men in Mississippi. He has been the life and spirit of eveiy enterprise of Clarksdale and is an officer or a stockholder in every corporation of the town. He is tall and dark and is gentlemanly and courteous in his manner. One of the most efficient members of the board of supervisors of Adams county and its present president is Capt. Oliver N. Wilds, who comes of one of the oldest families of the state. He was born in Natchez on the 18th of August, 1839, the youngest of a family of four children born to Richard and Mary (Myers) Wilds, the former of whom was born near Manchester, England, and the latter in West Virginia. About 1834 the father came to the United States, and after a short time spent in New Jersey he came to Natchez, and here in 1836 he started a foundry, the first in the city. The works stood near the site of the old, or first, cottonpress under the hill, where he did a good business. He died in 1866. His wife died in 1839, soon-after the birth of the subject of his sketch, after which Mr. Wilds married a Mrs. Gipser. Oliver N. Wilds was reared in Natchez, at which place he attended the public schools and the institute, the latter being under the management of Messrs. Gaines and Cornish, under whom he graduated. He learned the trade of a machinist and engi- neer, serving an apprenticeship of four years, after which he worked at the same for the same length of time. He finished his trade in Cincinnati, after which he studied draughting for some time, and was there at the opening of the war. He returned to Natchez early in 1861; for sixty days was a member of a company, after which he Joined the Natchez Southrons under Capt. Richard Inge, and was at the battle of Shiloh, where he was badly wounded, and was afterward discharged from the service, being unable to enter the service again. In 1862 he was married to Miss Barbara Koerber, a native of Natchez, and a dauo-hter of Lewis Koerber, an early pioneer of that city. After his return from the army Captain Wilds began planting in Adams county on a small scale, and although he only raised six bales of cotton the first year he rapidly extended his business until he became one of the most extensive planters in the county, his crop of cotton amounting to three thousand five hundred bales one year. He is now the owner of foiu: plantations in Louisiana and one >IMM 1086 BtOORAPBIOAL AND HISTORIGAL in Adams county, of which one thousand nine hundred acres are under cnltivatioii. In 1876 he bought his fine residence in the suburbs of Natchez, a beautiful place of some twenty- five acres in extent. The residence is beautifully situated and surrounded by majestic oaks, making it one of the loveliest places of the city. In 1876, in partnership with A. G. Ober, he purchased a number of fine plantations, and was very extensively engaged in farming until 1887, when he sold out to Mr. Ober. In 1870 he was elected a member of the board of. supervisors, and upon the death of Mr. Pollock was made its president, and has been the presiding officer of that body ever since. He has been instrumental in making many improve- ments in the way of roads and bridges in the county, as well as reducing the tax rate and advancing the county's credit. To Captain Wild's union ten children have been born: Lena Marcella, who died in infancy; Mary Virginia, the wife of Dan Reagan, now residing in Terre Haute, Ind. ; Richard S. is now the manager of his father's plantation; Stella is an accomplished and popular young lady, and was educated in the convent near Mobile, Ala. (the Mississippi river steamer, Stella Wilds, was named in her honor); Oliver K. is attend- ing a college of Bay St. Louis; Aurella; Louisa, who died in infancy; Albert J. ; Edna, who died in infancy, and Eva Hillary. Mrs. Wilds and all of her eldest children are members of the Catholic church. Mr. Wilds is one of the wideawake business men of Natchez and has always been an active citizen and an enthusiastic supporter of all things for the good of Adams county. He is popular and well liked wherever known, and in the bosom of his family is a model husband and father. L. and N. Wilczinski, wholesale dealers in dry goods, groceries, etc., and cotton com- mission merchants at Greenville, carry a stock of goods valued at 1100,000 and do an annual business of $500,000. This business was started in Greenville in 1868, under the firm title of L. Wilczinski & Co., general merchants, and their annual business was very large from the very start. Since then this has steadily increased, and the firm is now the largest in the Yazoo delta. They began exclusively in the wholesale business in 1887. Leopold Wilczinski, senior member of the above mentioned firm, was born in Germany and came to America when a boy. He resided for sometime in Tennessee and Louisiana, where he mainly followed planting and merchandising, but in 1868 he came to Greenville and at once formed the present business. In 1885 the firm erected their storehouse, a large two-story brick, and in 1889 they erected the finest block in Greenville, at a cost of $50,000. This firm is the only one on the delta that own their cotton yard and fireproof cotton warehouse, the lat- ter having a capacity of ten thousand bales, and they also own several plantatioijs, consist- ing of ten thousand acres with four hundred acres under cultivation. Leopold was married in 1876 to Miss Levenson, a native of the Blue Grass state, of a very prominent family, and three children have been born to this union: Joseph, Junius and Louis. Mr. Wilczinski is a member of the Masonic fraternity. In 1 872 and 1876 he was mayor of Greenville, and started the first improvements ever instituted. During the time he was in ofiice the first railroad (the Georgia Pacific) was commenced and Mr. Wilczinski did all in his power to promote that and to attract foreign capital to Greenville, besides taking a leading part in all other enterprises of a laudable nature. His partner and brother, Nathan Wilczinski, was married in 1880 or 1881 to Miss Levenson, of Kentucky, a sister of Leopold's wife, and the fruits of this union were two children : Fred and Hortense. There were five brothers of the Wilczinski family who came to Washington county. Miss., about the same time. One resides on a plan- tation in the country and the others are living in Greenville. When they first located in this town it was a hamlet of perhaps five hundred people, and no one has done more in various ways to advance and develop her resources than the members of this family. Their new ' MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. 1037 building, Wilczinski block, is a most tasty editice, and their large two- story office building, consisting of offices and storerooms, with its highly ornamental and artistic tower, adds much to the looks of the town. A few years ago they laid out part of Green way plantation, which was one of the finest in the state, and which adjoins the town of Greenville, into five hun- dred city lots, and this they called Wilczinski's addition to the city of Greenville. A number of tasty residences have already been erected, and from present indications many more will undoubtedly soon be built. A line of street cars passes through this addition and terminates in a beautiful park on which there is a large, handsome grove, the only one in the county. Streets are being laid out and graded and it has been only a year or so since it was a pro- ductive cotton field: its prospects for building up and improving from now on are very great indeed. Col. Drury D. AVilkins, planter and merchant, Duck Hill, Miss. The Wilkins family is of English descent, and among the earlier settlers of North Carolina was the Colonel's grand- father, who was an officer in the Revolutionary wai. The Colonel's father, A. S. "Wilkins, was born in the Old North state on the 18th of March, 1812, and was the youngest of a family of nine sons. He attained his growth in his native state, and was married in Lincoln county of the same to Miss Levina Warlick, who was born in the Palmetto state in 1814, and who was of German parentage. In 1838 Mr. Wilkins moved to Tennessee, settled in Ham- ilton county, near Chattanooga, where in connection with planting he followed the blacksmith trade, conducting a general wagon and repair shop. He left there during the war, but returned after peace was declared and continued his former business there until his death in May, 1 889. His wife survived him only a few months and died in 1 890. They were the parents of seven children — four sons and three daughters — all of whom lived to be men and women ; one son, W. W. , was a soldier in the Confederate army and held a commission, dying in the service of his counti^ in 1863. Another son, L. B. Wilkins, was also a soldier and held a commission; he was killed at Fort Donelson. The other two sons, Dave A. and Drury D., are in partnership in the mercantile business at Duck Hill. The latter, the youngest in order of birth of the above mentioned family, was born in Cleveland county, N. C, on the 18th of March, 1884. He secured a fair common-school education and remained with his father until nearly grown, when he engaged in railroading with Gray, Dent & Co., con- tractors. Mr. Wilkins was their manager of construction until 1 860, working on the Illinois Central road, and the following year he enlisted in the Confederate army. Brand's battalion. He was under Colonel Dent the first year and in 1 S6'2 he was detailed to the quartermaster depart- ment, where he was engaged in the manufacture of salt for the army in the Tennessee Salt works until the close of the war. After returning from the war, Colonel Wilkins took his family to Tennessee in a wagon while his wife went the entire distance, two hundred miles, onhorse- l)ack. In the fall of 1865 Mr. Wilkins returned to the West and located in Montgomery county. Miss., where he has since been extensively engaged in planting. He is the owner of several plantations and is one of thf largest landowners in the county, having about twelve thou- sand acres of land in Montgomery,Carroll and Grenada counties. Inl867 Mr. Wilkins embarked in merchandising in connection with his planting interests, and he carried on a large mercantile establishment at Winona for a few years. He now has a large brick store at Duck Hill, and is doing a general mercantile business. He resides on one of his plantations, about four miles from Duck Hill, and devotes his time to the management of the same. He is an excellent business manager, has accumulated a large t'state and is one of the wealthiest men in Mont- gomery county. He is well known and respected for his many excellent qualities as a busi- ness man, citizen and member of society. The Colonel was married in Montgomery county 1038 BIOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORIOAL ou the 9tb of April, ISIil, to Miss Mary E. Bskridge, a native of Montgomery county, Miss., and daughter of Tolive and Sophia (Butler) Eskridge, who were formerly from South Carolina, and who were of an old and prominent family. Mr. Wilkins' marriage resulted in the birth of seven children: Lula, wife of D. E. Branch; Waddie, wife of Thomas A. Will- iams; William, Emma, attending school; Belle, also attending school at Winchester, Tenn. ; Drew and Erne E. The Colonel, his wife and most of the children are members of the Baptist church. Colonel Wilkins is a Knight Templar in the Masonic fraternity and is also a member of the Knights of Honor. Charles Williams, proprietor of the Pearl river foundry in Jackson, Miss., was born in England in 1827, the youngest of three sons born to Paul and Elizabeth (Norham) Williams, the former of whom was a machinist by trade. He came with his family to America in 1829, and settled at Philadelphia, where he built the first worsted machinery in the United States. He continued in business in the city of Brotherly Love until his death, in 1834, his widow surviving him until 1862. Charles Willi«ms was educated at Manayunk, near Philadelphia, and learned the machinist's trade at Reading, Penn. At the age of twenty-one years he had completed his trade, and became an engineer on the Philadelphia & Reading railroad, and the next year (1849) was engaged as master mechanic of the Illinois Central railroad, the construction of which was then begun, and six months later he was made superintendent. After serving in this capacity for one year he returned to Reading on account of sickness, and again became engineer on the Reading railroad, running a locomotive for a few months. At the end of this time he was engaged by the Pennsylvania railroad to take charge of the railroad shops at Miflin, Penn., remaining in their employ until 1853, when he was engaged by the Mississippi Southern railroad to come to Jackson and become superintendent of the road. Three years later he became general superintendent of the combined line from Vicks- burg to Meridian, and was the youngest general superintendent of a railway in the United States. In that capacity he served irntil he resigned of his own accord, in 1859, to enter other business. During the war he ran a gristmill for the Confederate government, five miles east of Jackson, and at the close of hostilities be at once started the Pearl river foundry on the west bank of the beautiful Pearl, which he christened with the name which its pel- lucid waters suggested. He and his enterprise were among the pioneers in an undeveloped forest, and although obstacles which invariably beset the pioneer and explorer strewed his pathway, they were courageously met and successfully overcome. This enterprise, in every respect, breathes the spirit of energy and intelligence that animated the veteran proprietor, Mr. Williams, which attributes have characterized his course throughout an honorable and successful business career of over a quarter of a century. The following article was pub- lished in the Jackson Clarion on December 12, 1867, and was written by the now Hon. Ethel Barksdale: This establishment deserves a more than passing notice. Its founder and proprietor, 3Ir. Charles Williams, belongs to that class of men who are destined to become famous as the architects of the future material prosperity of the South, if it be recorded In the book of fate that she is ever to arise from the dust and ashes of her defeat in her struggle for independence. This class embraces the stanch, solid, laboring men of the conntry wlio ha\-e apprehended tlie requirements of the times, and consequently addressed themselves to Hie task of supplying what is needed. No man deserves more credit than the agriculturist who, nothing daunted l)y the destruction of the labor system of the country, gathered courage from adversity, and entered upon the hard task of wresting from the bosom of mother earth her fruits with the poor materials that were lelt, him. For it is from her undeveloped resources, at least, that the elements of a restored prosperitj' must be secured. But not less deserving of reward is the manufacturer, who, amid tlie wrecks which surround him, essays to build up such enterprises as the one over which Mr. Williams presides. MEMOIRH OF MlSalsaiPPI. 1089 The farmer will toil iu \'aiu to restore the prosperity oi' the couutry if he is wholly at the merey of foreign interests and dependent upon them for the implements with whieh he works. The great object of our people should be to make what they need at home, and the money which is expended to supply their wants will circulate among themsehes. Last season tens of thousands of dollars Avere sent outside of the state for agricultural tools. It went to enrich Ihe people of Louisville, Pittsburgh and other com- munities, and hundreds of thousands were expended in the Western markets for provisions. In meet- ing these expenditures the cotton crop of the state has been almost wholly absorbed. The Pearl River foundry is a complete establishment. By reference to his advertisement it will be sceu that the proprietor has determined to lea\'e no pretext for purchasers to seek other markets in order to supply themselves with the various descriptions of articles whicli are manufactured there. They are \-ery numerous and ai-e afforded at lower rates than iisual. A thoroughly practical man, he has accumu- lated all the latest labor-saving imin-ovemejits by which work can be done expeditiously and at the lowest cost, and has gathered around him a corps of experienced and skillful craftsmen. The best evidence of his success is found, in the fact that at tlie recent exhibition at Kosciusko his plow I wliich he offers at from if!.') to $7) took the prize from six other nianufacturj^rs, and his ornamental work has been purchased by some of the most imposing buildings that have been erected in Vicksburg, as well as this city, since the close of the war. AV^hen the superior facilities of \'icEsburg for cheap river transportation from the largest establishments of Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and other Xorthern cities are considered, it will be imagined what a triumph Mr. Williams has achieved by his success o\"er other competitors in that cit}-. "We need not doubt the success of this enterprising and thoroughgoing citizen. It is an assured result, if our beautifiil and glorious land is not forever lost in gloom and darkness, and this sad fate will not overtake her if other classes of our comitrymen will display Init one-half of his energy, skill and courage in useful undertakings. Ill 1878 he erected his present building, occupying some four acres on South State street, and from this establishment turns out annually a large number of plows. His plow, called the Pearl River, has taken the premium wherever exhibited. He makes all kinds of cigricidtural machinery, at which he is an adept, and in his establishment, which is the largest of the kind in the state, he does all kinds of repairing, and also makes machinery to order. He has been very successful financially, and is the owner of a fine tract of land in Jackson, on which are erected seven houses, and he also owns a farm of eighty acres near the city. He is very courteous and kind to his employes, and is very thoughtful of their comfort, his factory being supplied with everything for their convenience. When run- ning full force he employs about forty men, the majority of whom are skillful and prac- tical mechanics. Mr. Williams is very tasteful and methodical in all his ways, and is a very desirable gentleman with whom to have business dealings, for he believes in and prac- tices the teachings of the golden rule. He is a stanch democrat of the Jacksonian type, but has never been an aspirant for public office, although he was a member of the city council for a number of years. He was at one time appointed mayor of Jackson by Governor Ames, but respectfully declined the office. In 1857 he was married to Miss Rosa Spang- ler, a daughter of Joseph Spangler and a native of Vicksburg. She died in 188R, without issue, an earnest and worthy member of the Catholic church. C. C. Williams, president of the Meridian Sash, Door and Blind factory, one of the lead- ing manufacturing concerns of the city and the largest of its kind in the South, was born in Hawkins county, Tenn., February VI, 182fi, a son of George Williams, who was a native of the same county, having been born at Red Bridge, Tenn. He was reared, educated and died in his native county, and was regarded as one of the best planters in that part of the state. His wife was Sarah Moore, who bore him eight sons and three daughters, who grew to maturity, four sons and two daughters surviving until the present time. Of this large family of children the subject of this sketch was the fifth in the order of nativity. He was reared and educated in Hawkins county, Tenn., completing his studies at the Emory and Henry college. He came to Mississippi in 1^149, and located at Okolona,- Chickasaw 1040 BIOORAPHIOAL AND HISTORIC AL county, and there engaged in ])lauting. In 1862 he enlisted in company C, of the Twelfth Mississippi cavalry, and served until the close of the war. He came to Meridian, Miss., in 1871, and bought an interest in a small sash, door and blind factory. This con- cern, largely through Mr. Williams' management, has developed into the present great Merid- ian sash, door and blind plant. It has always been recognized as the leading manufactory of this class of goods in the South. This being a distributing point, the products of this con- cern reach all of the surrounding states, and they have been sent as far as Cairo, 111., on the north, and to Texas, on the southwest. The gentlemen composing the company which owns this large plant are thoroughly conversant with their business, and keep constantly in stock the very best material in the country, their ample capital enabling tliem to carry a large sup- ply of lumber which is not manufactured until it is thoroughly seasoned, and for this reason gives the very best of satisfaction. Their main factory building is 112x210 feet, being two and three stories high, while their brick warehouse is over two hundred feet long, with over forty thousand feet of floor space. Their*planing department has a capacity of about fifty thousand feet of dressed lumber daily, and the concern carries over two million feet of lumber in stock, and is prepared to execute unlimited orders. Its work can not be surpassed for beauty, style and finish, and is made from designs which are models of taste and elegance. The company manufactures and keeps in stock sash, doors, blinds, moldings, newels, balus- trades, brackets, stairs, and all kinds of inside finish, as well as office and bank furniture of the most tasteful character; in fact everything that the building trade demands which can be manufactured out of wood. One hundred and twenty-five men are employed, and about sev- enty-five machines are in operation. Mr. Williams, besides being the president of this con- cern, owns stock in nearly every enterprise in the town. He was married in 1861 to Miss Ardenia Pullen, of Giles county, Tenn., and they have four children living: F. W., E. C, Mrs. Lillie Smith and Mrs. Daisy Weems. Mr. Williams is a deacon in the Meridian Bap- tist church. Charles D. Williams, one of the most substantial and progressive citizens of Hinds county, Miss., was born near Auburn, Ala., May 18, 1848. His father, the late Samuel Moore Williams (born 1805, died 1889), was a native of South Carolina, an architect; he planned and erected many of the courthouses of his own state and in Georgia. In the latter state he married Bmeline, daughter of Dr. Pleasant Philips, whose ancestors were English. The subject of this sketch is the eldest of their seven children, and until he was thirteen years old he attended school, but on the outbreak of the Civil war the school was closed and his education was practically finished. Shortly before his eighteenth birthday, he enlisted in the Georgia cavalry as a member of Cheatham's staff. Three days later a severe scalp wound disabled him, and before he was again able to be in the saddle. General Lee had surrendered. His parents, who had been wealthy at the beginning of the struggle, now found themselves poor, and with their family they came to Mississippi where they engaged in farming. This they pursued until 1868, when they removed to Texas. Charles, having obtained a situation as clerk in Eaymond, remained behind. F©r his first year's services he was paid his board and 16.25 per month. But he had made himself the trusted friend of his employer, who raised his salary a few dollars the ensuing year. This he divided with his mother. Four years thereafter, he was engaged by Messrs. Harrison & Lewis, of Edwards, where he was joined by his younger brother, Philips, who was employed by the same firm. Together they saved sufficient money to buy a farm in Texas, which they presented to their parents, who were thereby rendered independent. They remained in Edwards until 1878, when with a capital of 1450 each they formed a copartnership with C, L. Robinson, of Bolton, to conduct a MEMOim OF MiaSISSIFPI. 1041 general furnishing business. Here they prospered, and at the expiration of two years they dissolved the partnership with Mr. Robinson and carried on the business in their own name and according to their own ideas. In 18S5 J. M. Black was admitted as a partner. The following summer, the interest of P. P. Williams (who removed to Vicksburg) was purchased by his brother. In December, 1889, he also bought the stock owned by Mr. Black, and now conducts the business under the firm name of C. D. Williams & Co. (the company is nominal). He carries a stock of general merchandise, the inventory of which is $6,000; with this he does annually a business of $125,000. During thirteen years his business has grown from $450 the first year to 1150,000 at the present writing (1891), and from handling fifty bales of cottou in 1878 to three thousand five hundred in 1890. He owns stock in two of the best banks in Jackson and one in Vicksburg, besides a liberal share of life insurance. Bach year he retires from 11,000 to 15,000 for outside investments, and expends a great deal in charity. His landed estates to the amount of fifty-five hundred acres are under his personal super- vision and are growing in beauty and value. His plantations are furnished with the latest and best farming implements and are excellently stocked. He expects soon to retire from mercantile life and devote his attention to the management of his plantations. He belongs to several fraternities, the Masons and the Knights of Honor among them. He is also a member of the Methodist church. In 1890 he married Miss Lula Bates, whose father, F; A. Bates, was one of the first physicians of Alabama. Hon. C. W. Williams, a prominent citizen of Alcorn county, and one of the oldest settlers of northeast Mississippi, was born in Marshall county, Tenn, in 1813. His father, William Williams, was a native of the Old North state, and came to Tennessee in 1798, settling on Mill creek, near Nashville. Prom there he moved out on an old Indian trail, about fifty miles south, near the Nashville & Huntsville road. He had been previously married in Granville county, N. C, to Miss Elizabeth Allison, a native of that state and the daughter of Robert and (Oglesby) Allison, also of North Carolina, the father of Scotch descent. Mr. and Mrs. Allison lived to be old people, he dying at the age of ninety-six years, and she at the age of ninety. They were the parents of nine children, the youngest one living to be sixty years of age before a death occurred in the family. The father of our subject fol- lowed farming after coming to Tennessee, although in his early life he had followed mer- chandising. He started with a small stock of goods early in the present century, and grad- ually increased his business until he became a very successful merchant. He also engaged in the same business at what is now known as Belfast, in about 1831 ; was succeeded by his son, Robert Williams, who in turn was succeeded by his son-in-law, Joseph Orr, who was succeeded by his widow, Mrs. Orr, the latter now carrying on the business. Thus the busi- ness has been conducted by some member of the family since its foundation. Mr. Williams died where he settled in Tennessee in 1842 or 1843, at the age of sixty-eight years, and was a consistent member of the Methodist church. His father was of Welsh descent, and prob- ablj a native of Wales. His wife died in Marshall county, Tenn., at an advanced age and was also a member of that church. Their family consisted of ten children, seven of whom lived to be grown, but only C. W. Williams now living. They were named in the order of their births as follows: Mrs. Nancy McCrory, the mother of Mrs. Dr. Price and Mrs. Dr. Taylor, of Booneville; Benjamin, died in Mississippi; Robert, died at Belfast, Tenn.; Will- iam, died in Mississippi; C. W., subject; John, died at Louisburg, Tenn.; Mrs. Sarah Now- lin, died in Mississippi; and Alfred O., died in Tennessee. The others died young. C. W. Williams was reared in his native state, educated in the common schools, mostly in log cabins, and received a civil engineering education from a Scotchman by the name of James R. 1043 BIOORAPHIOAL AND HISTORICAL Brown, a man of education. Mr. Williams was an inveterate reader, and was devoted to his books. In 1834 he commenced for himself, and came to Pontotoc, Miss., where he sold goods for some time. He then sold out, and liavinj^ a knowledge of surveying, was engaged in looking after land for some time. In June, 1837, he married Miss Mary L. Boone, the only daughter of Col. R. H. Boone, and sister of Judge Boone, of Booneville, Miss., and afterward settled on his present property, where he has resided since. He purchased his land from a Mr. J. N. Nilea, and this was all unimproved, there being only a small cabin on it. Mr. Williams constructed a log house and continued to live in that after additions were added. Until the war Mr. Williams was engaged in farming and selling goods, and founded a manufacturing establishment that was burned before it was nell under way. He was a heavy contractor in the building of the Mobile & Ohio railroad, by which he lost a large amount of money, and followed merchandising until 1889. He was elected to the legislat- iire in 1861, but is not an officeseeker, and takes only a fair amount of interest in political matters. He was elected county surveyor of Tishomingo county at the first general election after 1837, and was the second surveyor of that county. He held that office many times, but since the division of Tishomingo county he has not held any office. However, he has been engaged as surveyor in the several counties, and has surveyed many of the towns in northeast Mississippi, including Corinth, luka and Booneville. Mr. Williams' wife died in December, 1859, leaving four children, three of whom are living: William L., county sur- veyor of Alcorn county; Charles W., Jr., and Walter, who resides in Rienzi, Miss. Reuben B. was in the Twenty-sixth Mississippi regiment, afterward attached to another Mississippi regiment, and was killed at Petersburg, near Richmond, Va. , on the 22d of April, 1865, while on a retreat, not being able to hold the fortifications. Mr. Williams' second marriage was with Mrs. Fannie R. Martin, nee Moores, the widow of Dr. Martin, who was a native of Williamson county, Tenn., and who died with cholera in Lincoln county, Tenn. One child was born to Dr. and Mrs. Martin, C. B. Martin, who is now residing near Rienzi, Miss. To Mr. and Mrs. Williams were born five children, three now living: James H. , married and resides at Memphis; Julia A., and Hetty, now attending school at Staunton, Va. Those deceased were: M. P., who died at the age of seventeen years, and Robert, who died at the age of one year. Mr. and Mrs. Williams are members of the Methodist church, and in politics he is a stanch democrat. He was the first postmaster at Rienzi, while Hon. Amos Kendle was postmaster-general. John R. Williams, planter and stockraiser, Williamsville, Miss. Mr. Williams belongs to one of the earliest and best known families of Grenada county and is now one of the largest planters of the same. He was born in Yalobusha county, Miss., in 1885, and is the son of Major John and Lurana (Lowry) Williams, the father born in the Palmetto state in 1800 and the mother in Georgia in 1809. The parents were married in the last named state and about 1833 moved to what is now Grenada county, where the father farmed as a tenant for a number of years. They then moved to Yalobusha county and about 1838 or 1889 removed to the farm on which their son John R. now resides. There the father died in 1 842. He was, in his younger days, a successful merchant in South Carolina and Mississippi, but he finally engaged in planting and became quite rich. He was major of the militia in the Palmetto state and was a member of the Masonic fraternity. When he first settled in Grenada county the country was a vast canebrake teeming with bears, panthers, deer and wolves, and he and family experienced all the hardships incident to pioneer life. Mrs. Williams was left a widow in 1 842 and all the care and responsibility of this family fell on her shoulders. She was equal to the task, and, although difficulties and privations MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI. lfM3 beset her way, she reared her little family iu the wilderness and was honored and highly esteemed by all. She was a member of the Baptist church for many years and died in 1873. The paternal grandfather, Robert Williams, was of Scotch-Irish parentage and was born in North Carolina. He was a planter and died in South Carolina. The maternal grand- father, Eev. James Lowry, was a native of Georgia, where he spent his entire life and was a minister in the Methodist church. He reared a large family. The six children born to the above mentioned union are named in the order of their Ijirth as follows : James died in youth, Ann Eliza also died when a child, Tobitha F. is the wife of J. J. Andrews, John R., Mary (deceased), and Elizabeth (deceased) was the wife of O. H. Perry. John E. Williams received his primary education in the common schools and at Grenada and finished at the University of Mississippi. In 1861 he assisted in organizing a company of which he was made lieutenant, but he was not called into service. The company was disbanded and Mr. Williams went to Knoxville, Tenn. , where he served as an independent in the Fifteenth Mississippi infantry. He was wounded at Fishing Creek in January, 186!^, and then returned home, where he raised company G, Twenty-ninth Mississippi, and served as lieu- tenant in General Bragg's raid until December of the same year, when he was compelled to resign on account of the effects of his old wound. From that time he acted as scout for General Forrest in Mississippi, Tennessee and northern Alabama. He had many thrilling adventures and hair-breadth escapes and was wounded once while serving as a scout. He was paroled near Vicksburg, and at once returned to the old farm, consisting of about four thousand acres, all, with the exception of about two hundred and forty acres, the result of his own exertions. From the eight hundred acres cleared he raises from one hundred to one hundred and twenty bales of cotton annually and corn and hay to supply the place. He is also quite extensively engaged in stockraising. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, a charter member of Graysport lodge No. 289 (now defunct). Mr. Williams is well known all over the county and has many associates and friends. He frequently engages in the chase, of which he is very fond. John Williams, merchant, Philadelphia, Miss. , son of Samuel and Jane (Slaughter) Williams, was born in Kemper county. Miss., in 1836. The same year his parents removed to Neshoba county, Miss., located near Philadelphia, and there John passed his youthful days. He received a common-school education and then read medicine with Dr. J. S Smythe, of Gholson, after which, in the winter of 1859-60, he attended medical college at New Orleans. He selected as his- companion in life Miss Lavinia Lewis, daughter of James and Katie Lewis, and their nuptials were celebrated in January, 1861. The same year Mr. Williams enlisted in company K, Fifth Mississippi, under General Bragg, but immediately after the battle of Shiloh he was discharged on account of disability. When he first entered the army he was made lieutenant, in which capacity he served until the close of his service. He subsequently went to High Hill, Leake county, engaged in mer- chandising, and there remained until 1879, when he sold out and went to Meridian. There he embarked iu business and continued for eight years, when he came to Phila- delphia, where he has since been engaged in merchandising. He carries a good stock of general merchandise, and low prices and superior goods have assured him one of the largest trades in the city. He has a family of three living children : Louie V. , who has recently graduated at the University of Tennessee; Katie and Gertrude. Mr. Williams is an affiliating member of the Masonic fraternity and American Legion of Honor. He is a member of the Methodist Church South, as are all his family. His father, Samuel Williams, was a native of Pendleton district, S. C, born in 181