BIOGRAPHICAL APPENDIX
to Goodspeed's 1887 Coffee Co.
PLEASE NOTE
This document was transcribed by Jan McFarlin in 1999. The text and grammatical construction
appears as in the original. Names appear as spelled and no effort has been made to modify the
document to fit today's accepted literacy form.
William Alwood, a prominent citizen of Manchester, Tenn., was born September 22, 1850, in Fulton County, Ohio. He is the son of Levi S. and Delilah (McQuillin) Alwod - the former of Scotch descent, born in Ohio October 9, 1826, the latter of Irish descent and born June 22, 1830, in Ohio. The elder Alwood was married in 1848; engaged in farming and he came to Tennessee in 1873, his permanent home. He is a Republican and in sympathy with the Methodist Episcopal Church, of which his wife is a member. After completing his academical studies he was employed on his father's farm. In 1873 he married Ella Higgins, born September 27, 1853, in Ashtabula County, Ohio, the daughter of Harris Higgins. Our subject immediately moved to Coffee County near Manchester and continued farming several years exclusively, but in 1886 he came to Manchester and added lumbering, also for one year the livery business with J. H. Burger. A careful man, he now owns 550 acres in Coffee County, a Manchester improved lot and a half-interest in the livery values at $3,600. He has four children and is a Republican.
Simeon Ashley, clerk of Coffee county Circuit court, and a prominent citizen of Manchester, was born March 8, 1830, near Beech Grove, Tenn. He is the son of William and Mary (Weaver) Ashley, of English and Scotch descent respectively - the former born in South Carolina, Lawrence District, February 14, 1789, and the latter, in North Carolina in 1790. Their parents came to Tennessee in early days, and the maternal father was a companion of James K. Polk's father in the then far West. After the marriage of the elder Ashley, in about 1812, they made Beech Grove their permanent home. He was a farmer, a stanch Democrat, and a Primitive Baptist in religion. The mother of our subject was a member of the Methodist episcopal Church. The dates of the father's and mother's deaths were in 1870 and 1869 respectively. One of eight children, our subject received his early education at Beech Grove Academy, and taught and farmed about eight years. With W. T. Moore he established a general store at Bradyville in 1856. In 1861 he enlisted in the Confederate service Company E, Eighteenth Tennessee Infantry. His varied experiences may be seen from the following engagements: Fort donelson, Murfreesboro, Chickamauga, Missionary Ridge, etc. After his long military life he returned and cared for his father until the latter's death. Since 1878 he has been in public service, as county clerk twice, and his present position of circuit clerk. He is a popular self-made man and property owner, having a farm in Coffee County, and Manchester lots. August 6, 1856, he married Ellender J. Roughton, born December 24, 1844, in Coffee County, and daughter of Elisha H. Roughton, Esq., of Coffee County. They have four children - three sons and a daughter. Mr. Ashley is a decided Democrat, and although not a church member he believes in the Christian religion. Mrs. Ashley belongs to the Christian Church.
John H. Ashley, high sheriff of Coffee County, and a prominent citizen of Manchester, was born in Rutherford County, June 13, 1848. He is the son of W. F. and Lidia a. (Mankin), both natives of Tennessee and of english descent; the former was born near Beech Grove in 1822 and died November 5, 1878; the latter, still living, was born in Rutherford county, in 1822. The elder Ashley was a farmer and a sound Democrat. Our subject was the oldest of seven children; received his academical education at Beech Grove Academy chiefly, and for sixteen years successfully prusued agriculture. In 1884 he was elected high sheriff of coffee County and was honored by re-election two years later by a handsome majority. He has risen, a self-made man, to his present successful position. December 18, 1868, he was married to Mattie E. Hightower, born in Murfreesboro in 1859, and a graduate from the Female Institute in her native city. Two children were born to them: Freelin H. born February 11, 1881, and Mamie, born September 7, 1883. Mr. Ashley is a stanch Democrat and a member of the Separate Baptist Church, while his wife belongs to the Methodist Episcopal Church, and is an influential lady.
James G. Aydelott, lawyer and one of the most prominent citizens of Tullahoma, Tenn., was born in Hickman, Ky., November 3, 1845, and is the son of John D. and Sarah (Grizzard) Aydelott. The father was born in Rutherford County, Tenn., in 1818, and died at Hickman, Ky., in 1852. The mother, born in Nashville, Tenn., in 1827, is the daughter of James Grizzard, the pioneer merchant of Tullahoma. When a small boy our subject removed with his mother to Tullahoma, where he has since resided. While a man of good education, his attendance at public school did not exceed three months altogether, having been taught entirely by his mother, who was a lady of fine education and more than ordinary attainments, educated as she was at the old Nashville Female Academy. In 1860 our subject entered the store of J. B. Witherby as clerk, remaining there until the occupation of Tullahoma by Gen. Bragg. He then entered the Confederate Army news depot, serving in that position until the Georgia campaign, when he went on duty at the headquarters of the Army of the Tennessee, where he remained until after the surrender in North Carolina, having been under Gens. Johnston, Bragg and Hood. At the close of the war he returned home and occupied a position as clerk in the store of Crane & Witherby, being at the same time a member of the firm of Aydelott & Stevens, manufacturers of harness, saddles, boots and shoes. In 1869 he entered into partnership with Joel Witherby in general merchandise, in which he was engaged until 1873, when the firm was dissolved by the retirement of the senior member to private life. He next became a member of the firm of Aydelott, Davidson & Co., in 1875, but retired from the same in a few months. In 1876 he formed a copartnership with John P. Bennett, and remained in the same until 1878. In 1880 he engaged in the lumber and produce business, continuing until 1883. For a year and a half he was actively engaged in developing coal mining in East Tennessee, in which he was largely interested, but in 1885 closed out the controlling interest, since when he has been devoted to his law practice and office work. Mr. Aydelott is, and has been for eighteen years a member of the county court, member of the board of aldermen, mayor of Tullahoma, twice, four and five years each time, and recorder the same number of times. He has been for the past twenty years an active member of the I. O. O. F., being elected in 1884 Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Tennessee, and in 1885 was elected Grand Representative of the Grand Lodge of the Sovereign Grand Lodge, serving in that capacity at the session of the same at boston, Mass., in 1886. His term of office will extend to and include the meeting of the Sovereign Grand Lodge in Denver, Col., in 1887. In 1886 he was elected Grand High Priest of the Grand Encampment, I. O. O. F., of Tennessee. He is also a member of the Tullahoma Lodge and Chapter, F. & A. M., and of Tullahoma Lodge, A. O. U. W., representing the latter in the Grand Lodge of Tennessee. In politics he is a Democrat and belongs to the progressive Democracy of the new South; while having never asked for office, he has always taken an active part in politics, and has been a delegate to every county, congressional and State Convention held by his party in fifteen years. He is a director of the Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis Railway, also a director of the Tullahoma National Bank and is prominently connected with various other corporations. Our subject was married March 20, 1872, to Sallie, daughter of George and Delilah (Troxler) Cortner, of Bradford County, Tenn. She was born in 1851. To them have been born three children, as follows: George Cortner, born August 5, 1873; johan Doak, December 6, 1875, and Jessie Mai, January 9, 1881. Mr. Aydelott is a member of the Episcopal, while his wife is a member of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church.
A. W. Booth, M. D., a prominent citizen and leading physician of Tullahoma, Tenn., was born in Bedford county, Tenn., in 1858, and is the son of J. B. and Elizebeth (Vannoy) Booth. Our subject was reared on the farm, and educated in the public schools. In 1879 he began the study of medicine, and graduated from Vanderbilt University in 1881. The same year he began practicing in his native county, but soon removed to Tullahoma, where he has since lived and succeeded in building up one of the best practices in the town. October 29, 1884, he was married to Ella, daughter of Capt. C. H. Bean, of Moore County, Tenn. Mrs Booth is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church South, and our subject is a member of the A. O. U. W. Lodge.
E. A. Call, farmer and miller, of Coffee County, was born in Lincoln County March 6 1825. His parents, Daniel H. and Nancy (Hinkle) Call, natives of Roan County, N.C., came to Tennessee about 1822, and began farming and distilling. He built the first steam distillery in Coffee County, continuing until about 1848 in the business. Our subject, one of nine children, entered the distillery at sixteen, and continued successfully for thirty-six years. November 9, 1850, he married Susan Timmins, of Lincoln County, by whom he had nine children. She died June 19, 1877. October 7, 1879, he married Francis E. Wildman, whose death occurred in July, 1884. He was married the third time to Lizzie, daughter of P. A. and Ellen (Rollin) Huffer. Politically he is a Republican.
James Carden, farmer and stock dealer in Coffee County, was born there September 28, 1831, and is the son of Lewis and Catherine (Simpson) Carden, of Scotch-Irish descent, the former born May 17, 1809, and now living, and the latter born about 1815 in North Carolina, and deceased July 16, 1869. Our subject lived with his father until twenty-four years of age, from whom he received 125 acres, living on this for nineteen years, when he came to his present place. He married Pharaba Simpson, born August 16, 1837, in Coffee County, in 1855, January 18. Twelve children were born to them, ten living: Peter R., Joseph S., Robert L., Emily P., Sarah E., Dora, John A., Mary L., Thomas F., Minnie O., William A. (died May 6, 1884), and Eva C., (died April 30, 1883). After five months in the Confederate service Mr. Carden was disabled and discharged. He owns altogether 562 acres of land and has always been in politics a Democrat.
George N. Carter, jeweler, dealer in watches and silverware, and a leading young citizen of Tullahoma, Tenn., was born in Tuscumbia, Ala., in 1859, and is the son of James Carter, a native of Virginia. He father immigrated when quite small with his parents to Bedford County, Tenn., where, in 1830, our subject's grandfather, grandmother, and five children were burned to death in their residence, the house having been set on fire from a stove. Reared in the town of his birth, he attended the public schools. In 1878 he succeeded his father in the jewelry business at Tuscumbia, continuing until 1881, when his health failed him, and he traveled for two years in the photograph business. In 1883 he entered the jewelry store of John W. Rooth, at Shelbyville, Tenn., remaining with him until January 2, 1883, when he came to Tullahoma, and opened his present establishment. Our subject is a member of the National Jeweler's League, and also of the Christian Church. In politics he is a Democrat.
John B. Carroll, proprietor of the St. James Hotel, member of the firm of Carroll Bros. & Co., and one of the energetic and prominent young citizens of Tullahoma, was born July 4, 1855, in Coffee County, Tenn. His father, H. W. Carroll, born in 1826, and his mother, Mary (Walker) Carroll, born in 1824, were both natives of Coffee County. His mother died in 1876. Both were members of the Methodist Episcopal Church South. His father is still living, and is one of the most prominent farmers of the county. Our subject was reared on his parents' farm, and received a good common-school education, and has developed into a thorough business man. He was married, December 20, 1876, to Eldora E., daughter of William and Narcissa (Taylor) Eoff, and born in Coffee County, Tenn., May 27, 1858. Her parents were natives of Tennessee also, and residents of Coffee County. To our subject and wife two children have been born: Goldie O. (October 4, 1880) and Norma E. (October 17, 1884). Mr. Carroll is a member of the R. A. M., A. O. U. W., and the K. of H. lodges and carries life policies of $2,000 in the McMinnville (Tenn.) Mutual Life Insurance Company, $2,000 in the K. of H., and $2,000 in the A. O. U. W. lodges. He is a conservative Democrat, and is considered one of the substantial and prominent young citizens of Tullahoma.
J. A. Clark, farmer in Coffee County, was born in Rutherford County, August 22, 1822. His parents, Anthony and Sallie (Dunlap) Clark, natives of North Carolina, came to Tennessee in 1800 remained until 1850 and then went to Texas. Here the father died about 1871, and the mother a year later. They were of Irish and English descent. Our subject married Millie Wilkinson in 1844. Born to them are nine children: John, November 5, 1845; Rufus, November 10, 1846; R. S., January 19, 1849; I. M., November 5, 1851; Ellen, March 3, 1854; Sallie, April 4, 1856; James, April 7, 1859; Elizabeth, August 17, 1861;, and Willie D., August 30, 1865. Mr. Clark, his wife and six children are members of the Christian Church. He has educated his children, one of whom is teacher in the Winchester Normal School, one principal of Hillsboro (Tex.), schools, and a third also teaching in Texas. Mr. Clark is a Democrat.
W. A. Clark, farmer of Coffee County, was born June 17, 1830, in Lebanon. His father, Joshua Clark, was born June 5, 1806, in Maryland, and came to Kentucky early, and finally to Lebanon in 1828, engaging at contracting and farming until 1847, since then he has been devoted to the latter. His mother, Sarah (Allen) Clark, daughter of "Billy" Allen, of Lebanon, was born February 14, 1807, in Tennessee. Our subject is of Scotch-Irish descent. Having learned the mechanic's trade, he left his father's farm when nineteen and worked at his trade until 1865, since when he has been a successful farmer. June 14, 1849, he married Elizabeth S. McGinn, a native of North Carolina. Their children are Joshua, William E., Robert H. and John D. Besides dealing in general merchandise at Bradyville, he was postmaster and collecting officer there several years; the planing mill business occupied his attention for a time also. Politically, he is a Democrat. His wife is a relative of Gen. Steele, of Saulsbury, N. C.
A. B. Conley, merchant, and a prominent citizen of Tullahoma, Tenn., was born in Rutherford County, Tenn., November 7, 1847; the son of A. W. Conley, a native of Tennessee. Our subject was reared on a farm in what is now a part of Crockett County. He acquired his education in the common schools and in 1867 began the study of medicine. He attended the Eclectic College at Cincinnati, Ohio, the medical department of the University of Louisiana at New Orleans, and graduated in 1884 from the American Eclectic Medical College of Cincinnati. From 1871 to 1880 he practiced in Louisiana and then went to Milan, Tenn. June 17, 1886, he came to Tullahoma and engaged in general merchandising, his present occupation. At the age of fourteen he ran away from home, joined the Confederate Twelfth Tennessee Cavalry. After a year's service he returned home on account of sickness. He was married in 1869 to Mattie J., daughter of Washington Mitchell of Rutherford County, Tenn. Three children were born to them - one girl and two boys; Our subject is a member of the Masonic, Odd Fellows, K. of P., K. of H., K. & L. of H. and A. O. U. W. orders.
G. R. Crane, druggist and a prominent young citizen of Tullahoma, Tenn., was born in Manchester, Tenn., November 26, 1858, the son of Dr. William and M. A. (Alexander) Crane. At the age of two years he with his parents came to Tullahoma, which has since been his home. He acquired his education in the public schools, and has added much thereto by his practical experience. He began life for himself when but fifteen years of age as a clerk. At the age of twenty-one he began in the produce business, and continued in this for one year, when he engaged in the drug trade, in which he has met with success. He was married November 3, 1881, to Mary E. Lambert, and to them one child, G. R., Jr., was born August 20, 1882. In 1884 our subject was elected recorder of Tullahoma, and in 1886 he was elected a member of the board of aldermen to serve two years. He is a member of the I. O. O. F. Lodge, is a Democrat, and himself and wife are members of the St. Barnabas Episcopal Church.
S. J. Crockett, farmer in Coffee County was born June 9, 1809, in Georgia. His father, John, a native of South Carolina and pioneer of Tennessee in 1812, was born February 29, 1780, and died March 9, 1859. He was of Irish descent. His mother, Mary (Cowan) Crockett, was born November 17, 1779, in Georgia, and died in 1857. Leaving the farm when of age, after four years in general merchandising at Hillsboro, he began his career of farming. He was collecting officer for a time. March 15, 1835, he married Amelia Austell, born February 4, 1817, in South Carolina, daughter of Amos and Lucy Austell. Seven of their eight children are living: Eliza; , Jno. G.; Bettie, wife of T. J. Brown; Sarah, wife of J. Gillam; Samuel A.; Cynthia E., wife of S. Willis of Texas, and Archia W. Of considerable wealth before the war our subject had to begin life anew after. A member of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, he is politically a Democrat.
George W. Cross, a prominent lawyer of Manchester, Tenn., was born in Anderson County August 31, 1849. He is the son of William and Jane (Black) Cross, both of English descent and natives of Anderson County. The former, born in 1810, is still living; the latter, born about 1820, died February 26, 1885. Married in 1836 the elder Cross engaged in farming. He is a Democrat, and sympathizes with the Cumberland Presbyterian Church of which his wife was a member. Our subject, the fifth of eight children, was educated chiefly at Cumberland University, at Lebanon, Tenn., and the military school of Knoxville, Tenn., from which he graduated in 1874. After three years' teaching in Decherd and Salem, Tenn., in September, 1877, he took ten months at Vanderbilt University Law Department, and the professor granted him license to practice. Since 1878, when he came to Manchester, he has become one of the most successful lawyers of Coffee County and among the ablest in this section. January 17, 1882, he married Beulah Hickerson, born in 1861, the daughter of Judge W. P. Hickerson. She was a cultured lady. Her death occurred July 24, 1885. Mr. Cross is a decided Democrat.
F. E. Cunningham, proprietor of the Tullahoma Distillery, and a prominent citizen of Tullahoma, was born in Bedford County, Tenn., September 15, 1852, and is the son of M. T. Cunningham, a native of Pennsylvania. The father died in 1874. Our subject was reared in Bedford County, and educated in the town schools. At fourteen years of age he entered the store at Flat Creek as clerk, remaining there until four years later he was appointed United States revenue store-keeper, in which he was engaged about four years. In 1876 he purchased and conducted a distillery in Coffee County, but in 1882 came into his present establishment. Our subject is a member of the K. of H. Lodge, and a Republican in politics. He was married September 3, 1884, to Bell, daughter of Elijah Couch of Bedford County. They have two children: Mamie and Vester. His wife is a member of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church.
George W. Davidson, one of the oldest and most prominent citizens of Tullahoma, and a member of the Coffee County bar, was born in Lincoln County, Tenn., June 21, 1826, and is the son of Joel and Elizebeth (Henry) Davidson. The father was born at Beon's Station, Granger County, Tenn., in July 1799 and died in August in 1848. The mother was born in Hillsboro, Orange Co., N. C., January 5, 1800, and died in November, 1883. Both were members of the Old School Presbyterian Church. Our subject was reared on a farm, and received a limited education. He learned the cabinet-maker's trade at the age of sixteen years, and followed the same for about four years. Until the breaking out of the war he was engaged at contracting and building. He then became drill master for first one and then the other army in the mountain counties of Tennessee, and in 1863 entered the Federal quartermaster's department, and served in the capacity of clerk until the close of the war. He was soon appointed postmaster at Tullahoma, and held the office until his resignation in November 1885. During his postmastership he was also United States commissioner, and holds the office at present, together with that of recorder of Tullahoma. For several years he held the following offices at one and the same time: Postmaster, United States commissioner, recorder, justice of the peace, public school director, and notary public. Mr. Davidson was married February 24, 1864, to S. W. Cleveland, who was born in Lincoln County, Tenn., in 1844. To them have been born five children: Robert H., born May 17, 1865, Joan, September 10, 1869; Abraham L., May 27, 1873; William J. September 16, 1875, and Maud, January 25, 1879. Robert H. is at present deputy postmaster at Tullahoma. In 1870 our subject was licensed as an attorney by Judges Steele and Tillman. He is a Republican, but was a Whig previous to the war. He is conservative in his political views and has warm friends in both parties. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church North, while his wife belongs to the Cumberland Presbyterian Church.
G. S. Deakins, farmer, of the Thirteenth District of Coffee County, Tenn., was born in Marion County (now Sequatchie) Tenn., in 1832, and is the son of William and Sarah (Richards) Deakins, natives of Tennessee. The father died in 1848 and the mother in 1836. Both were members of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. Reared on the farm with a common-school education, he also attended Burritt College at Spencer, Tenn., and later, Emory and Henry College of Virginia. Having entered the law school of Lebanon (Tenn.) University in 1860, the civil war caused him to enter the Confederate service, in Company H, Thirty-fifth Regiment of Infantry. After the war and a resident in his native county for some time, he went to Jasper, Tenn., where he was appointed clerk and master of the Chancery Court, holding this until his resignation four years later. In 1884 he removed to Tullahoma, and after a year's residence there began farming. In 1860 he was married to Mary, daughter of Judge Frazier of Nashville. She died in 1863. In 1874 he married Mary A., daughter of F. A. Lochmiller, a native of Tennessee. They have two children: Vernie S., born February 8, 1875, and Fredrick T., born March 26, 1886. Both our subject and wife are members of the Old School Presbyterian Church.
H. P. Dewey, lumber dealer, and a prominent citizen of Tullahoma, was born in Michigan in 1838, and is the son of Cyrus J. and Maria (Beulah) Dewey, natives of the Green Mountain State. The father was born in 1812 and died in 1864, and the mother was born in 1813 and died in 1853. Both were members of the Old School Presbyterian Church. Our subject was raised in Washington County, Mich., and educated in the public schools and at Monroe College, Mich. He farmed and attended school alternately until the fall of 1862; he became a member of Company H, Eighteenth Regiment Michigan Infantry, and served until honorably discharged in June, 1865. He then spent a year in Iowa at general merchandising. He returned to Michigan in 1867, and after a year's farming, engaged in steam saw-milling. In 1874 the firm removed their mill to Franklin County, Tenn., six miles below Winchester. In 1880 he was appointed United States guager in the revenue department and in 1881 came to Tullahoma. He engaged in his present business in the spring of 1886. Mr. Dewey was married, January 16, 1866, to Minnie E., daughter of Nathaniel Gardner, of Coldwater, Mich., she being born in 1849. Their two children are Lillie E., born October, 1867, and Eddie L., born November, 1869. He was elected alderman in 1885, receiving 328 out of 368 votes cast. He is a Conservative Republican. Our subject, wife and daughter, are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, he being a trustee and his wife class teacher of the same.
William M. Fariss, M. D., a leading citizen and physician of Tullahoma, Tenn., was born in Franklin County, Tenn., April 22, 1834, and is the son of William and Martha (Clardy) Fariss, natives of South Carolina. The father died in 1861 and the mother in 1874. Both were members of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. Our subject was brought up on the farm and attended the public schools. In 1854 he began the study of medicine at Winchester, with Dr. Wallace Estill as preceptor. Later he attended several courses of lectures, and in March, 1858 graduated from the medical department of the University of Nashville. He at once began practicing in Franklin County, Tenn., and continued until he entered the Confederate Army, joining Company D, of Turney's First Regiment of Tennessee Infantry as private. He was appointed assistant surgeon and assigned duty with the Fifth Alabama Battalion. Subsequently he was elected first lieutenant of his old company with which he continued during the war. At the battle of Gettysburg he was seriously wounded in the thigh, captured and held as prisoner for twenty-one months. After the war he returned to his old home and took care of his aged mother, practicing his profession. In 1869 he removed to Tullahoma to practice where he has resided ever since, and built up a large and lucrative practice. October 17, 1867, our subject was married to Amanda M., daughter of C. J. Taylor of Franklin County, Tenn., and to them have been born nine children, two of whom are dead. Our subject and wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church South, and he is a member of I. O. O. F., F. & A. M., and A. O. U. W. lodges. Politically he is a Democrat.
J. K. Farris, M. D., a prominent physician of Coffee County, was born in Franklin County in 1836. His parents, William C., and Mahaley, (Kennerly) Farris, were natives of Franklin County, the latter, daughter of J. P. Kennerly, of Georgia. The father was a shoe-maker, and came to Tennessee in 1811. Our subject married Mary E. Austell in 1857, whose parents were natives of North Carolina. They have had eight children; Ellen K. (deceased), born in 1858; Samuel J., in 1860; John K., in 1865; Annas A. (deceased), in 1868; William R. in 1870; Sue J. in 1873; Mary E., in 1885, and Sophia C. (deceased), in 1878. His wife died in 1885. Reared on the farm and with an academic training, he began the study of medicine under Dr. J. E. Hough, of Pleasant Hill. After practicing in Arkansas, he came to Coffee County in 1861, where he has built up his present extensive practice. A self-made man, he has given his children collegiate training.
Timothy S. Givan, editor and proprietor of the Tullahoma Messenger, one of the prominent weekly papers of Middle Tennessee, was born in Hardin County, Ky., October 8, 1845. He is the son of James M. and Mellona (Needham) Givan, both of whom were born in Kentucky, the former November 4, 1811, and the latter September 19, 1819. The parents, married October 9, 1834, had ten children born to them, six of whom were boys, and of these our subject is the youngest. The mother died April 4, 1854, and in 1856 the father married Rachael Clark. He died October 5, 1859. The childhood days of our subject were spent on the farm, and at the age of ten years he entered the office of the Cloverport (Ky.) Journal, where he served an apprenticeship of four years. Previous to the breaking out of the civil war, he taught a term of five months in his native State, and when the crisis came, enlisted in the Federal Army, joining at first, Company I, Thirty-seventh Regiment of Kentucky Mounted Infantry, and later, the Sixteenth and Second Regiments of United States Regulars. He was subsequently commissioned teacher and chaplain of the Second United States Regulars, and also post chaplain and librarian for the garrison at Mobile, Ala. At the close of the war he returned to Kentucky and re-entered the newspaper business in the position of local editor of the Kentucky Intelligencer, published by W. D. Givan, his brother, first at Munfordsville, and afterward at Caverna. In 1870 he purchased the material of the Kentucky Templar and Kentucky Presbyterian, and removed the same to Olney, Ill., where he established the Western Guardian and published it for eighteen months. His next literary work was as associate editor of the Little Bouquet and Journal, two religio-philosophical periodicals, and also superintendent of the Chicago publishing department from which they were issued. Four and a half years were spent in this capacity when he returned to Kentucky and in 1876 established the Breckenridge News at Cloverport. Two years later he came to Nashville, Tenn., and opened a printing house from which were published the Weekly Protectionist, the Weekly Tennessee Farmer, the Weekly Progress, the Semi-Weekly Standard, the Weekly Tennessee Republican, and the Weekly Southern Broadax. He was both editor and proprietor of the last two mentioned papers. The above publications were discontinued with the destruction of the office by fire in December, 1883. From Nashville he returned to Hardin County, Ky., purchased a farm, and for eighteen months engaged in farming and merchandising. December 8, 1885, our subject became business manager of the Tullahoma Republican, then owned by a stock company, and July 13, 1886, he formed a copartnership with J. A. Lewis and purchased the paper. During the same month he leased his partner's interest and became sole editor and proprietor of the publication. The following January the name of the paper was changed to that of The Messenger, while the policy became politically independent instead of Republican. Our subject is a man of recognized literary talent and attainments, and has contributed largely to the periodicals of the West and South. He is the author of the following works: "The Pearl of Great Price," "Happy at Last," My Darling," The Guardian Angel," and "Two Novel Marriages." In mentioning his connection with the Breckenridge News, the Memphis Trade Journal said: "We have received the initial number of the Breckenridge News, published at Cloverport, Ky. It is edited by T. S. Givan, who contributions to the literature of the country have stamped him as an author of no ordinary merit. Maj. Givan is one of the brightest of the many brilliant writers of the West." Mr. Givan is one of the prominent citizens of Tullahoma, and his newspaper is enjoying merited success. He was married June 6, 1876, to Ellen Sloan, a native of Warren County, Tenn., who is the daughter of Rev. John L. and Mary J. Sloan, and was born May 12, 1860. Rev. Sloan was a minister of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, and an author of considerable note. He died in 1863, and his widow is now a resident in Nashville. Four children have been born to our subject and wife as follows: Harry M., born July 24, 1877; Minnie M., born March 31, 1879; Walter T., born February 26, 1881, and James Archer, born February 25, 1883. Mr. and Mrs. Givan are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. W. D. and John F., brothers of our subject, were ministers of the Methodist Episcopal Church South, John F. died at Woodsonville, Ky., in the fall of 1866, and W. D. on New Year's night, 1883, at Nashville. The latter belonged to the Savannah District, Clifton Circuit, at the time of his death.
W. P. Hickerson, Jr., was born in Manchester, October 20, 1850, the son of Judge William P. and Mary S. (Martin) Hickerson, both of Scotch-Irish descent. The father, born in North Carolina, November 26, 1816, went when a child to Tennessee, and began life as a dry goods clerk at Manchester, and afterward read law under Col. Charles L. Ready of Murfreesboro, and for a number of years was the leading lawyer of that section. For sixteen years he was judge of the Fifth District, and was appointed by Gov. Marks as a judge of the State Arbitration Court. As a lawyer he was among the first in Tennessee. He died in Coffee County of heart disease, April 18, 1882, and his wife just one year before. Both are buried in the old family graveyard near Manchester. He was a prominent Democrat in the State. The mother, born in Wilson County, Tenn., February 13, 1825, died April 17, 1881. Our subject, the second of five children (two living), was educated chiefly at Manchester College, and then for ten months was a contractor in building the Illinois Central Railway, through West Tennessee, then known as the M. C. Railway. Afterward with an uncle, L. D. Hickerson, he leased the McMinnville & Manchester, and the Winchester & Alabama Railways. Three years after he sold the lease to the Chattanooga Company, altogether a successful speculation. He then became conductor for the Chattanooga Company for a year, on the McMinnville & Manchester Railway. In 1879 he began the Stone Fort Paper Company's Mills, in which he has since owned a half interest, and which are the largest mills south of the Ohio River, and the only mills in the State that make the wood pulp. On October 17, 1877, he married Ella, daughter of James C. Ramsey, Esq., of McMinnville, and is a cultured lady. Their four children are William P., born July 2, 1878; Chisum R., February 23, 1880; Georgie M., January 26, 1882, and Nasion W., born March 31, 1884. His wife is a member of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church.
L. D. Hickerson, Jr., a prominent and progressive young citizen of Tullahoma, and cashier of the First National Bank of that place, was born five miles east of there January 13, 1861. He is the son of L. D. Hickerson, Sr., president of the above bank, whose father, John Hickerson, originally of North Carolina, founded one of the oldest and most respected families in this portion of the State. Our subject was reared in Tullahoma, and, after attending the public schools, took a course at Burritt College, Spencer, Tenn., and later took a complete course at Goodman's Business College at Nashville. Returning to Tullahoma he entered the saw-milling and contracting business in 1877, continuing at this until his election in 1885 as cashier of the bank. He is secretary and treasurer of the Caney Fork Coal & Iron Company, treasurer of Tullahoma, and is a member of Tullahoma Lodge, K. of H., of which he is Vice-Dictator. In local politics he is a "Mugwump," but in national affairs always supports the Republican nominees.
Wilburn Hiles, one of the substantial farmers of the Fifth District of Coffee County, Tenn., was born in Bedford County, Tenn., July 30, 1826. He is the son of Joseph Hiles, a native of North Carolina, who was born in 1796, and immigrated to Tennessee in early days. Our subject, brought up on the farm, attended the common schools. He was engaged in merchandising at Flat Creek, Bedford County, when he entered the service of the Confederacy, and was detailed to raise stock and grain for the Southern Army. Later he became a member of Norman's battalion, and at the battle of Chickamauga was wounded in the right leg, disabling him. He joined his parents, then refugees in Georgia, and after the war engaged in merchandising at Somerville, Tenn.; later he returned to Bedford County, then to Coffee County, and engaged in farming. He was married, in 1866, to Minerva Bobo, born in Bedford County in 1843. To them have been born the following nine children: Joseph E., born in 1868; W. Evan, in 1870; Mary E., in 1872; James W., in 1874 (died in 1885); Frank K., in 1876; Walter S. in 1878; Lena M., in 1880; Daisy D., in 1882, and Gracie T., in 1884. The mother is a member of the Primitive Baptist Church.
P. C. Isbell. His parents were both born in Warren County, Ky. His father was of English descent; his mother of German and a granddaughter of Frederick Stump, an early settler in Davidson County, Tenn. He was born in Warren County, Ky. His father moved to Jackson County, Mo., when he was a small boy, where he grew up in the dark backwoods and never attended school. He had a fine working education. His mother taught him to spell, read, and write and a few rules in arithmetic, what she knew. He mastered Webster's "blue back." and then engaged as a school-teacher, which he followed for several years, working his way up to a high grade in the English language. After leaving the schoolhouse, he continued his studies in all the departments useful in practical life. He came to Tennessee in 1850, read law in the office of Hon. W. P. Hickerson, in Manchester, was admitted to the bar in 1852, and has continued in the practice at that place ever since. His father was a Whig and an uncompromising supporter of Henry Clay. He was schooled in the doctrines of the Whig party, and the old Baptist Church doctrine, which his parents held sacred. He is one of the few men who have gotten away from all of their early political and religious teaching. He works up all the great questions involved in human life. He is independent in thought and action, without the slightest tinge of superstition. He is anxious to have an intelligent people, grand in purpose, noble in sentiment and just in action. He thinks it can all be accomplished by a proper administration of government; that every man's home should be sweetened with prosperity and happy with affection, that people should be educated and developed in harmony with their organic constitutions, that the organic parts of man should be treated as sciences, that ignorant sentiment always has been a dangerous element; that ignorance is not the normal state of man, but that it is consequent upon an inefficient administration of government. He is not a member of any organization or society, is strictly conservative, and is deeply interested in the general welfare of humanity. He never hesitates a moment to advocate the right, and condemn the wrong. He has the utmost contempt for time servers and policy people. He never annoys any one with complaints about anything unpleasant. He has schooled himself on the bright side of humanity, and he keeps that side before the people. He delights in trying to make every one happy. His motto is
"The world is as we make it,
And life is as we make it."
D. C. Jackson, a prominent citizen of Summitville, Tenn., was born November 16, 1821, in Monticello, Ky., and is the son of J. B. and Dorcas (Cox) Jackson. The father was born in Lewisburg, N. C., in 1798, and when quite young came to Tennessee. For eight years, before he went into the mercantile business, he was clerk of McMinn County. The mother was born about 1797 in Tennessee. Both were members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and he was a Democrat. In 1839 our subject began an extensive tour through Virginia, Missouri, Arkansas, Texas, Indian Territory and Mexico. He then returned to Coffee County and September 8, 1846, married Edna Taylor, of Granger County. She lived but a short time. After visiting California until 1851, he returned and married Mary F. Rhodes, of Coffee County, April 18, 1852. She died January 31, 1855. They had one child, John T., who died at four years of age. He visited California a second time, and April 23, 1860, married Elizabeth Chilton, of Jefferson County. They have six children. In 1861 he enlisted as Confederate captain of the Thirty-seventh Tennessee Infantry; he organized a cavalry company a year later as captain also. Under Col. Adrian and others he continued until the war's close, receiving severe wounds at Chickamauga and Steubenville. Since the war he has been at Summitville, engaged in farming, as justice of the peace, and in his present position of postmaster.
Capt. A. Jacobs, a well known planter of Coffee County, Tenn., was born August 3, 1818, near his present home. His grandfather came from England as early as 1750, and was a soldier of the Revolution, living successively in Maryland, North Carolina and Bedford County, Tenn., where he died at the unusual age of one hundred and six years. Our subject is the son of Jeremiah and Rebecca (Rudd) Jacobs, natives of Tennessee and North Carolina, and born about 1793 and 1802 respectively. The father died about 1858, and the mother about 1871, in Coffee County. Both were members of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, while politically the father was a Democrat. He was engaged in agriculture, the oldest of twelve children. Our subject has been a self-educated man and Bible student; engaged in mercantile business as Beech Grove about twenty years before and ten years after the war; in addition to his farming interests, he also dealt in live stock before the war. Losing much through the war and in securities, he has 300 acres of fine Coffee County land. He is a Democrat in political faith, while religiously the entire family are prominent workers in the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. December 1, 1842, he married Catherine, born October 27, 1822, in Coffee County, the daughter of James Dillard. Eight children were born to them.
Stokely Jacobs, a well known planter of Coffee County, Tenn., was born there February 26, 1840 (ancestors mentioned in biography of A. Jacobs). Our subject, after completing his education, was engaged in agriculture chiefly. In 1861 he enlisted in the Confederate Company G, Seventeenth Regiment Tennessee Infantry. He occupied various positions in Hardee's corps, and took part in the battles of Rock Castle, Perryville, Murfreesboro and Petersburg, where he was captured and sent as prisoner to Point Lookout and Elmira, N. Y. Paroled in 1865, he returned home, and after the close of the war began farming. Entering the store of his brother at Beech Grove, in 1868, he became a partner in 1880, but on the death of his brother in 1883, he again returned to his present occupation of farming. He is now the owner of 300 acres of land. February 1, 1866, he married Laura, daughter of William Blanton, born April 1, 1848, in Bedford County. They have nine children. He, his wife and three children are members and supporters of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church.
J. M. Jernigan, a prominent farmer of Coffee County, was born there March 27, 1843. He is the son of Alexander and Louisa (Shake) Jernigan, natives of Tennessee, the latter of whom died in 1863. His father then married Martha Ford, of Coffee County. Reared on the farm, our subject has clung to agriculture. In 1864 he married Mary Todd, but was divorced in 1867. He then married Elizabeth Fulton, and they have reared the following adopted children: W. E. Parker, E. R. Rosco, and Henrietta B. Daniel. He and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, while his political faith is strictly Democratic.
W. T. Lawrence, deputy sheriff of Coffee County, and a prominent citizen living near Beech Grove, Tenn., was born October 22, 1847, in Coffee County. He is the son of John H. and Tabitha H. (Blankenship) the former born in 1812 (died in 1858) in Tennessee, and the latter born in 1810 in Virginia, and living in Coffee County. The father was a farmer, politically a Democrat, and belonging to the Methodist Episcopal Church. Our subject, one of nine children, received his education chiefly at Beech Hill Academy, when soon after his father's death the care of the estate was thrown on to him, soon after his eleventh year. After the settlement of the estate, through the good management of the mother and sons, he received his share about 1870, since which he has been devoted to the cultivation of his land. He at present owns over 210 acres of valuable land, he lives on a late purchase as mentioned above. August 26, 1869, he married Leona, born January 10, 1850, in Rutherford county, daughter of W. F. Astlay. They have had eight children - four sons and four daughters. Mr. Lawrence has been deputy sheriff three years, and justice of the peace for six years. Both he and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, while politically he is a Democrat.
Mrs. C. J. Lyon, wife of the late T. B. Lyon of Coffee County, was born February 10, 1829, and daughter of James and Jane Mason, the former born August 3, 1789, in North Carolina, and the latter July 2, 1800, in South Carolina. The father's father came to Tennessee in 1780, living on Stone River, and in Bedford County. He died May 26, 1863. Jane Mason's parents came to Bedford County, in 1800; one was of Dutch and the other of Irish descent. Our subject, one of seven children, married Joseph Tillman, September 17, 1850. He was born February 4, 1826, in North Carolina, and receiving a wound at Shiloh, died in Holly Spring Hospital, April 25, 1862. He enlisted in the Forty-fourth Tennessee Infantry five months before his death. Six children were born to them: Mary A., Martha J., Eliza N., Flurina C., Joseph P. and Elizabeth. They were married in Bedford County, moved to Coffee County, and located at her present home. April 23, 1879, she married T. B. Lyon, who was born December 31, 1812, and died February 3, 1885. Mrs. Lyon was educated, and is a member of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church.
W. A. Marshall, furniture dealer, and present mayor of Tullahoma, Tenn., was born in Lincoln County, Tenn., in 1842, and is the son of J. W. and Nancy T. (Neal) Marshall, natives of Prince Edwards County, Va. Reared on the farm of his parents, our subject received his education at the neighboring schools. At the age of thirteen he came with his parents to Tullahoma, and entered his father's store, remaining until the opening of the late war. He then enlisted in Company B (Confederate), of Turney's First Regiment of Tennessee Infantry. After the war he returned home, working at different occupations until 1876, when he opened a stove and furniture store. Selling his stock of stoves in 1885, he has since carried furniture only, the only establishment of the kind in the city. For several years Mr. Marshall served on the police force of Tullahoma, and for seven years was a member of the board of aldermen. February 4, 1886, he was elected mayor for a term of two years, the first man elected to that position by the people of that city. He is a member of the Odd Fellow's Lodge, and the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, and is a Democrat. In 1865 our subject was married to Lucinda C., daughter of Robert Darwin, deceased, of Tullahoma. They have had twelve children, four of whom are dead: Mary L., born January 3, 1867; Emma C., Mrch 14, 1871; William R., April 15, 1874, Lottie L., November 29, 1875; Harry L., March 12, 1877; Daisy L., May 20, 1879; Josiah M., May 18, 1881, and Minnie V., born June 22, 1883. The mother died in April, 1885.
H. P. Maynard, a progressive young citizen of Tullahoma, and member of the firm of Maynard & Sons, wholesale and retail dealers in general merchandise, was born in Wisconsin in 1864, and is the son of I. F. Maynard, a native of Vermont, and born in 1815. With his parents at the close of the war, our subject came to Tullahoma, where he has since resided. He acquired a good education in the city schools, and has added much thorough practical experience. For a number of years he was employed by his father as clerk, but in 1884 was admitted as partner, his father and brother Charles being the other members. For the last three years our subject has also engaged in manufacturing rubber stamps. Politically he is a Republican.
P. H. McBride, M. D., a well known physician of Coffee County, was born in that county, December 27, 1825. He is the son of William S. and Milly (Conwell) McBride, the former born at Lynchburg, Va., and the latter born at Abbeyville, S. C. in 1801. They died in 1879 and 1877 respectively in Coffee County, where he was a farmer. Our subject, one of ten children, after his school life ended, was for two years a blacksmith. Serving in the Mexican war for over a year, he fought at Vera Cruz and Cerro Gordo. Returning to Coffee County he worked at blacksmithing and mechanics until 1861, when he enlisted in the Sixteenth Regiment Tennessee Infantry (Confederate), and was for one year its flag-bearer. In 1862 he organized a company of cavalry, and was their captain at Richmond (Ky.), Fort Donelson, Murfreesboro, Chickamauga, and with seventeen men, August 24, 1862, fought a regiment for fifty-five minutes. On account of ill health he was discharged in 1863. After blacksmithing at Beech Grove until 1869, he studied medicine and began his successful practice in 1871. August 27, 1848, he married Elizabeth A. Emerson, a cultured lady, born July 26, 1826, in Kentucky. Their children are William H., Thomas M., Pleasant H., Burr H., Mollie C., and Demillion E., who died in 1862. A decided Democrat, he was State senator in the XLIV Assembly. He has been several times justice of the peace and superintendent of weights and measures in Coffee County. In 1848 he was elected colonel of the Forty-eighth Tennessee Militia.
S. J. McLemore, a pioneer of Tullahoma, was born in Lincoln County, Tenn., December 29, 1822, and is the son of S. J. and Martha (Whitaker) McLemore, natives of North Carolina. The father died in 1825 and the mother in 1880. Our subject reared on the farm, remained there until his marriage to Margaret J. Ward in 1841, when he removed to Nashville and entered the produce business. In 1851 he came to Tullahoma. He sold goods until the civil war and after the close of the same entered the livery business. In 1876 he began merchandising, continuing at that until January, 1886. His wife died in 1881. In 1883 he married Ruthea J. Gross, a native of McMinnville. By his first wife our subject has six children: William H., John C., S. J., Lamyra, Henrietta and Laura. Our subject is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church South, and his wife of the Christian Church. He is a member of Tullahoma Lodge, No. 101, I. O. O. F., of which he is the only surviving charter member. He has served several times as mayor and alderman of Tullahoma. He is a Democrat.
D. E. Mead, merchant of Hillsboro, was born September 7, 1839, at Greenville, N. Y. His father, W. R. Mead, was born about 1798 and died in 1879, in Vermont. His grandfather, Adolphus, was in the Revolution. Liddie (Colwell) Mead, his mother, was born about 1800 in Virginia, and died in 1882 in New York. Living on his father's farm until twenty-two years of age, he began business at Logansport, Inc., but was soon commissioned sutler under Gen. Rosecrans. After the war he engaged in merchandising at Tullahoma until 1866, when he began his present occupation. He has served almost three terms as magistrate at Tullahoma and Hillsboro. Justice of the peace, secretary and president of the county fair, are offices with which he has been honored, and also served as postmaster from 1870 to 1886. October 27, 1864, he married Mary A. C., daughter of Rev. R. P. Gannaway, of Montgomery County. They have six children: Carlton E., Cora L., Ethea L., Lydia, David E. and James W. He is a Democrat politically.
F. N. Miller, editor of the Manchester Times and a prominent citizen of Manchester, was born at Port Hudson, La., December 5, 1853, the son of Albert and Delilah (Saunders) Miller, the former born October 18, 1822, in Indiana, and the latter May 1, 1832, in Kentucky, and still living in Port Hudson, La. The parents were married about 1846. In 1861 the elder Miller enlisted in the Confederate Company E. Twenty-first Mississippi Regiment Infantry, and was killed in the battle of Chickamauga in 1863. He was a successful brick-mason. Our subject is the third of five children, and after a good academical education he served an apprenticeship as printer at Woodville, Miss, for four years. In 1869 he made a nine years' tour of western cities, working in Texas, Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, Iowa, Kentucky and Nebraska. Returning to Tennessee in 1879 he spent a year in Union City, and then bought a half interest in a journal called Our Country in Dresden. A year later he went to Nashville and entered the Banner office, and in 1881 came to Manchester and established the Times, which, through his constant attention and ability, has become recognized as one of the leading Democratic journals of this section of the country. Published at $1 per year, it has a circulation of 600. December 14, 1880, our subject was married to Alice J. Castleman, born March 16, 1856, in Weakley County, Tenn. She is a lady of intelligence and culture. The two children who were born to them (both daughters) died in infancy. Mr. Miller is a stanch Democrat and the columns of the Times are made to mirror his political faith. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, while his wife is a Missionary Baptist. He is United States commissioner of the middle district of Tennessee.
J. S. Moore, chancery court clerk and master in Coffee County, was born August 24, 1837, in Wilson County. He is the oldest son of Alfred and Elizabeth P. Moore, the former born in 1802, in Tennessee, and died in Manchester in May, 1862. The father of Alfred M. was a native of North Carolina. Our subject, living on the farm until twenty years of age, engaged then in merchandising until the war. Soon after enlisting in Company K, Twenty-fourth Tennessee Infantry, he was attacked by fever, but on his recovery entered Douglass' battalion, with which he served until near the surrender. In 1870 he left merchandising to take the office of county trustee, serving six years. In February, 1877, he received his present appointment from Chancellor Marks. December 21, 1865, he married Nannie, daughter of Henry and Effie Powers. Nine children were born to them, seven of whom are living. He is a member of the Christian Church, and believes in prohibition and Democracy.
Lewis B. Morgan, lawyer and chairman of the county court, was born in Lincoln County, Tenn., in 1834. He is the son of Smith and Abigail (Alexander) Morgan, natives of Tennessee. The former was born in 1806, and the latter in 1809. They are now residents of Fayetteville, Tenn., and are members of the Baptist Church. Until his seventeenth year our subject lived with his parents on the farm, and then learned the blacksmithing trade, following that, together with farming for a number of years. In 1856 he went to Kansas with a company of 365 men, joining them at Montgomery, Ala., for the purpose of pre-empting lands, and while there joined the pro-slavery party, and took up arms against John Brown and his supporters. In the fall of 1856 he returned to Fayetteville, and worked at his trade until the breaking out of the war, when he enlisted in Company F., of the Fourth Tennessee Regulars, Infantry, commanded by Baxter Smith. He was afterward transferred to Company I, Fourth Tennessee Infantry. He served throughout the war, the latter part of which he was a member of Jefferson Davis' escort. At the close of the war he returned to Fayetteville, and for two years engaged in cotton raising. At the end of this time he came to Tullahoma and engaged in farming until 1880, when he opened a blacksmith shop and for four years worked at his old trade. He was licensed to practice law in 1879, by Judges Williams and Quarles, and in January, 1886, was elected chairman of the Coffee County Court, followed by re-election in January, 1887. In politics he is a Democrat. Mr. Morgan was married in 1861, to Hannah, daughter of Dr. Thomas and Hannah B. (Moore) Anderson, of Coffee County, Tenn., and born in 1838. They have had born to them the following children: Cassandria V., born April 28, 1862; Calladonia D. (deceased), born April 28, 1866; Percy A., born December 30, 1868; Lewis B., August 12, 1872; Barclay in 1874; Frank A., in 1879, and Grace M., born in 1882. Mrs. Morgan is a member of the Old School Presbyterian Church.
William L. Norton, postmaster and a prominent citizen of Tullahoma, Tenn., was born in Bedford County, Tenn., November 27, 1839, and is the son of Dr. William Norton, a native of North Carolina, who was born March 2, 1801, and is the oldest physician with a radius of a hundred miles of Tullahoma. He came to Tennessee, and at an early date, a pioneer of Bedford County. He makes his home with his son, our subject. Mr. Norton was reared in Bedford County and acquired his education in the common schools. He worked on the farm until his twenty-eighth year, and then began merchandising at Normandy, Bedford County. In 1876 he removed to Tullahoma and continued his business for six years, when he retired and entered a dry goods house as salesman. He entered the Confederate service, joining Company E, First Tennessee Infantry (Turney's), and served throughout the war, receiving several wounds, at the second battle of Manassas, and at Gettysburg, the first necessitating the use of crutches for six months. October 12, 1881, our subject was married to Allie, daughter of Leonard Marbry, of Shelbyville, Tenn. They have two children: Earl L., born September 3, 1882, and Glyndon Pearl, born January 14, 1885. The mother is a member of the Christian Church. Our subject is a member of the A. O. U. W. and K. of H. fraternities. He was appointed postmaster under President Cleveland and assumed the duties of his office November 16, 1885.
E. W. Pearson, an enterprising farmer of Coffee County, was born in Bedford County, November 23, 1856. He is the son of Charles and Mary J. (Wells) Pearson, natives of Tennessee. The elder Pearson was a manufacturer in Bedford County until 1871, when he was a farmer and millwright in Coffee County, and finally at Sparta, Tenn., where he is still milling. Our subject, the oldest of seven children, after an academic training attended Eastman Business College, Poughkeepsie, N. Y. Returning home he began the lumber business for I. W. Whitman, of Boston, and in August 1878, was employed by the Stone Fort Paper Company. In 1879 he became contractor for Hicks & Pearson, Flat Creek, then began mercantile business at Gallatin. Returning to Coffee County he erected a lumber dressing and bending factory near Manchester, soon moved it to Tullahoma. After a year in saw milling he built at Normandy a spoke and handle factory. After a time as drummer for Smith, Gifford & Co., of Nashville, he settled on his present farm. He married Fanny Price, of Manchester, October 28, 1880. Born to them were Charles L., December 29, 1882, and James P., February 20, 1885. Mr. Pearson is a decided Democrat, and is school director and road commissioner. He and his wife are members of the Christian Church.
W. Ramsey, a farmer of Coffee County, was born April 3, 1823, in Warren County. Samuel and Pollie (Strowd) Ramsey, his parents, lived in Warren County. The elder, Mrs. Ramsey's father, was one of the first settlers of that county. Our subject is of English and Irish descent. November 30, 1852, he married Rachel Parker, by whom he had four children. She was a member of the Christian Church and died March 15, 1862. August 5, 1865, he married Ellen Norton, daughter of J. M. and Mary (Wilkinson) Norton of Coffee County. They have one child. Our subject taught school, having been educated at the school which was the predecessor of Franklin College, also at Irwin College in Warren County. He, his wife and three children are members of the Christian Church.
R. H. Richardson, merchant and a prominent citizen of Tullahoma, was born in Bradford County, Tenn., in November, 1846, the son of Thomas E. Richardson, whose death occurred in Coffee County in 1850. When our subject was about six months old his parents moved to Coffee County, settling near Duck River in the Fourteenth District, where he was reared and attended the free schools. He finished his education at Manchester College. January 1, 1868, he came to Tullahoma and entered a store as clerk, and in 1878 began business for himself, and has since conducted a successful general store. He was married in November, 1868, to D. D. Zell, daughter of F. M. Zell of Bedford County. To them three children have been born as follows: Linda M., born November 8, 1880; Warren W., December 31, 1882; Thomas E., born October 30, 1885. Mr. Richardson is a member of the Masonic order and he and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church South. In 1881 he served as recorder of Tullahoma, and in 1882 and 1884 served on the board of aldermen of the same place. In politics he is a Republican.
Emmett Russell, one of the young business men of Tullahoma, was born in Bedford County, Tenn., November 26, 1866, and is the son of W. F. Russell. He was reared in his native county, near Shelbyville, and attended the common schools. In 1881 he came to Tullahoma and entered the store of Carroll Bros, as clerk, and remained with them for three years, when he accepted a similar position with R. Wilson. October 1, 1886, he engaged in business for himself, opening a fancy and family grocery store, is meeting with success, and has built up a splendid trade. In politics he is a Democrat.
James H. Rutledge, merchant, and a prominent young citizen of Tullahoma, Tenn., was born in Lincoln County, Tenn., November 13, 1855, and is the son of Samuel Rutledge, a native of North Carolina. Our subject was reared on the farm, receiving his education in the public schools. In 1876 he began farming in his native county, and continued until 1882, when he came to Tullahoma, and with his brother, R. F. Rutledge, engaged in the grocery business; they have since added clothing, furnishing goods, and a boot and shoe stock. Mr. Rutledge was married in 1876 to Ida Roughton, a daughter of J. M. Roughton of Moore County. To them have been born four children. He and his wife are members of the Primitive Baptist Church. He carries a policy of $2,000 in the New York Mutual Insurance Company. Politically he is a Democrat.
Col. H. S. Sheid, farmer in Coffee County, was born January 27, 1827, in this county. His father, James Sheid, born May 22, 1776, in South Carolina, was a pioneer of Tennessee, in 1803 settling on the present farm of our subject, where he died April, 18, 1856. The grandfather of Col. Sheid served with distinction in the Revolution, while other ancestors were the first settlers in Maryland. His mother, Sibyl (Robertson) Sheid, was born November 26, 1779, and died in 1868; she was of Irish, and her husband of Scotch descent. At seventeen our subject left the farm, and after four years as salesman at Pelham, he began his career of farming and trading uninterruptedly, excepting a short service for the Louisville & Nashville Railway. As captain of his recruited company, he entered Confederate service in November, 1861; he was soon elected lieutenant-colonel of the Forty-fourth Tennessee Infantry. After a disabling wound at Shiloh, he was honorary member of Gen Hardee's staff for a while. He was State senator for two years. In 1848 he married Mary E., daughter of Gen. R. E. Patton of Grundy County. Their children are Mary C., Cara C., Ella C., Jessie L., Will F., James H. and Kittie W. A self-made man, Col. Sheid is a member of the Baptist Church and the Masonic order at Pelham, and politically is a Democrat and advocate of the "Temperance Alliance". His brother, Col. James M., of Alabama, was a prominent politician in Tennessee before the war.
Joel B. Smith, a pioneer of Tullahoma, was born in Nashville, Tenn., September 12, 1829, and is the son of Joel M. and Charlotte (Bateman) Smith. The father was a native of North Carolina, born in 1797, and died in 1861. He was treasurer of Nashville, and United States pension agent, appointed to that office by President Van Buren. He was also proprietor of the Nashville Union, the pioneer newspaper of the capital city. The mother was also born in Nashville in 1805, the daughter of Henry Bateman, an early settler of Nashville. She died in 1876. Both were members of McKendree Methodist Episcopal Church, of Nashville. Our subject was reared in Nashville, and educated by Prof. Alfred Hume. When twenty-one years of age our subject entered the pension office of his father, buying and selling land warrants. In 1852 he was sent to Tullahoma as agent for the Nashville & Chattanooga Railway Company. After two years here he began speculating in wheat, and became proprietor of the Lincoln House and Tullahoma Hotel. During the war he was special aid-de-camp on Gov. Harris' staff, and for a while occupied a similar position on the staff of Gen. Bragg. After the war he continued the hotel business until 1872, when he engaged in business with James G. Aydelott for eight years. At present he is bookkeeper and financial agent of the Tullahoma planing and saw mills. Our subject was married to Bettie Yell, daughter of Gov. Archibald Yell, the first governor of Arkansas, who was killed at the battle of Buena vista, Mexico. She was born in Fayetteville, Tenn., in July, 1832. They have had eight children: William H., Archibald Y., Joel M., Frank K., Clinton, Lawson M., Lotta R. and Anna v. Our subject was the last mayor of Tullahoma before the war, and the first elected after the conflict, and has served several terms as alderman. He is a member of the Masonic order, and he and his wife are members of the Episcopal Church. His son, Archibald J. Smith, is agent of the Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis Railway at Tullahoma, a director of the First National Bank of the city, and is one of the progressive and enterprising young citizens.
I. C. Stone, is of English, Irish and Scotch descent. His ancestors settled in the colony of North Carolina. Their descendants mainly kept pace with the tide of immigration to the new States and Territories. The paternal grandfather, Thomas Stone, probably of English, and Scotch origin, married Miss Sally Corder,of Scotch family, about 1789 in North Carolina on the waters of the Yadkins River, and not long after settled in Tennessee, where the father, C. H. Stone, was born December 22, 1796. The maternal grandfather, Joseph Allison, supposed to be partly of English and known to be partly of Irish origin, married Jane Donaldson, a native of Ireland, and settled in Orange County, N. C., about twelve miles northwest of Hillsboro. Here the mother, the youngest child of her parents, was born about 1793. Here she lived until maturity and obtained an ordinary education. The grandfather Allison had settled in White County and grandfather Stone had settled in Jackson County, Tenn., before 1818. At the home of the former in White County, the father and mother were married in October, 1818. They had five children of whom our subject was the fourth and the only son. In 1826 our subject was taken to Smith County, two miles from the mouth of Hickman Creek, and there reared, and received a county school education. The father was an independent farmer of ordinary education for frontier life. In June, 1846, our subject was a volunteer in the Tennessee Mounted Rifles in the Mexican war. After marching from Memphis, by Little Rock, Ark., Washington and Victoria, Tex., he arrived at Matamoras late in the fall. He was attacked by a severe case of measles at Washington but kept up with the regiment. In Mexico, although not recovered, he was given night duty by J. F. Gardner, and in a severe norther, after standing his time, convinced that he would die if he staid on duty, he told the officer his condition, returning to camp in the face of the officer's threats, but the next morning he was so sick he was sent to the hospital and afterward discharged. Reaching home almost dead, April 19, 1847, he has never fully recovered. Having earned his money he entered Irving College, March 11, 1848, and graduated in June, but remained until September 19, 1851. Returning home he taught ten consecutive months there, then the same at Granville Academy in Jackson County almost immediately after. Three days after the close of this he entered the Lebanon Law School, Tennessee, and thus paid his way, and after fifteen months graduated. Soon after he began to practice law at Smithville, Tenn. In 1861 he entered the Southern Army, and served as a private mostly. He was one of Jefferson Davis' escorts from Greensboro, N. C., to Washington, Ga. He heard the statesman speak and saw much of him, and says he appeared as the great man and statesman only. November 7, 1864, he married, in Merriwether County, Ga., the beautiful and accomplished Sarah E. Faulkner, at her grandmother, Mrs. Martha Allison's residence, and returned to his command in seven days, and saw her no more until after he was paroled in 1865. She died May 19, 1866, at Manchester, Tenn. February 28, 1876, he married Mrs. Dora Huggins a native of Hanover, Germany, and whose maiden name was Shroder. Their five children are Ada Flora, Ella Jane, Iraby Clairborn, Sally and Albert Marks. Late in the fall of 1865, he located at Manchester. January 19, 1866, at their instance, he formed a partnership at Winchester to practice law in Coffee County, with Cols. A. S. Colyer and A. S. Marks, continuing with the latter until he was elected chancellor, and resuming with him when his governorship expired. Treated kindly by these gentlemen, he expresses gratitude to them. His practice with them has been a fair proportion of Coffee County business, while before it was moderate. He is a member of the Disciples of Christ, and a Democrat.
B. S. Stroud, a prominent citizen of Manchester, and register of Coffee County, was born in Warren County, Tenn, February 14, 1854. He is the son of B. S. and Nancy (Winton) Stroud, the former born in 1825 in Warren County, and the latter February 2, 1826, in Coffee County. Their deaths occurred October 12, 1853, and June 4, 1869, respectively. After their marriage, about 1844, the elder Stroud was farming and shipping and trading in live stock. He was politically a Whig. Our subject, one of four children, was educated at Manchester College, under Rev. W. D. Carnes. After four years' prospecting in Texas and Arkansas, he returned to Manchester and engaged in the printing business, and soon bought a half interest in the Manchester Guardians. In the fall of 1878 he was made deputy clerk of chancery court, Coffee County. A year later, finishing an unexpired term of register, he was afterward elected to the office, serving two terms. December 17, 1879, he was married to Fannie Powers, born September 13, 1860, in Manchester, and educated at the college there. Their son, Horace, was born March 20, 1881. Mr. Stroud is a Democrat.
F. M. Taylor, farmer in Coffee County, was born January 16, 1845, in Tennessee. He is the son of Daniel and Mary (Angel) Taylor, the former born about 1813, in Tennessee, and the latter about 1811, and is still living, while her husband died in 1846. His grandmother, also Mary Angel by name, a native of Virginia, died in 1885, about one hundred years old. Leaving the farm, our subject served a year in Company A, First Tennessee Infantry. Not yet eighteen, he was discharged on account of his years, and after two years' teaching, he began his life of farming, uninterrupted except from January 1, 1883, to October 1, 1885, in general merchandising at Manchester. Blowing Spring, a natural curiosity, is located near his land. December 17, 1863, he married Lucinda J., daughter of Anderson and Rebecca Lambert. Their nine children are Andrew J., William T., Robert E. L., Sarah E. (died September 1878), Albert S., Eliza J., Roger S., Lulu F. and Josephus Z. Mr. Taylor served two terms as magistrate, is justice of the peace, a member of the Masonic order and of the Separate Baptist Church. He is a Democrat. Mill Cove is a remarkably finely watered land and well situated.
Hon. John F. Thomas, real estate agent and a prominent citizen of Tullahoma, Tenn., was born in Lincoln County, Tenn., April 17, 1828. His father, Joshua Thomas, a native of North Carolina, died while our subject was a small boy. At the age of eleven years our subject was bound out to Joshua Gore, but ran away and returned to his mother. His advantages were limited, but through his own efforts he acquired a good education, and when twenty-three years of age began teaching school. In 1851 he removed to Coffee County and taught a school on Duck River, with his residence in Tullahoma. In 1859 he became a member of the firm of Holland & Thomas, general merchants, Tullahoma, continuing until the war, when he went to Shelbyville, Tenn. On the Federal occupation of Tullahoma he returned home to again engage in business. In 1862 he was appointed postmaster at Tullahoma and held his commission until he was elected to represent Coffee County in the lower house of the Legislature in 1865. He was one of the twenty-one members who resigned their seats rather than vote for the "Disfranchise Bill." His constituency endorsed his course by re-election to the same position, but he was denied his seat. He was the first constable of Tullahoma and served several times as alderman. In 1867 he was appointed assistant United States revenue assessor, and later deputy United States revenue collector. He served as superintendent of public instruction of Coffee County, and was next appointed as United States store-keeper, and soon after gauger, holding these until 1883. Elected magistrate in 1883 he holds that office, together with notary public at present. Mr.Thomas was married in 1854 to Mary J., daughter of Thomas Blanton, of Coffee County. Both are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church North. Politically he has been a Republican since the breaking out of the war.
J. W. Waggoner, Esq., of Coffee County, born October 8, 1836, is the son of J. A. and Rebecca Waggoner, the former, born in 1806, died in 1848, and the latter born in 1806, died in 1883. Our subject is of German and Scotch descent. After continuing on the farm to care for his mother, he entered the Confederate service in 1862. After six months in camp with Captain McCutchen's company, he was made steward and bookkeeper of the hospital at Chattanooga, afterward farming and teaching; in 1869 he took his present office of magistrate. He began the successful practice of law in Manchester in 1878. November 5, 1875, he married Eliza, daughter of Alford B. and Nancy Cook. Their six children are James H., William H., Nannie R., Addie M., Alice G. and James N. Mr. Waggoner is worth about $2,000, is a member of I. O. O. F. Lodge, and is at present chairman of the Democratic executive committee of the county. In 1887 he was appointed county clerk.
James F. Ward, member of the livery firm of Ward Bros., of Tullahoma, was born in Moore County, Tenn., in 1859, and is the son of Noah Ward, a native of Moore County. Reared on the farm of his parents, near Lynchburg, Tenn., our subject attended the public schools of the neighborhood. At the age of eighteen he began for himself, and came to Tullahoma in 1880, where he worked at different occupations until 1885, when, with his brother, R. H. Ward, he purchased the livery stable which they are now conducting. Politically he is a Democrat, and is regarded as one of the progressive young citizens of his adopted city.
E. M. Whitworth, a farmer of Coffee County, was born August 3, 1840, in Bedford County. His father, Benjamin F., was born in Marshall County January 8, 1814, and died October 12, 1876. In the fourth generation back were three brothers who were among the famous Jamestown, Va., settlers, and the next generation came to Tennessee. His mother, Minerva L. (Morton) Whitworth, was born in 1820, in Tennessee, daughter of Jacob and Annie (Fisher) Morton; the former was in the war of 1812 under Gen. Jackson. Reared on his father's farm until of age he then began his present successful career as farmer. From 1862 until the surrender he was a Confederate soldier. He married Hattie Johnson, of Rutherford County, February 1, 1860. Six children - four living - were born to them. His wife died November 8, 1874. June 25, 1876, he married Virginia Thompson, daughter of George Thompson, of English blood and a descendant of Pocahontas, through his grandparents, Burwell and Nancy (Wafford) Thompson. A Democrat in political faith, he has been elder in the Cumberland Presbyterian Church for twenty-five years, a member of the Masonic order, and served as superintendent of public instruction for two terms.
J. C. Winton, a well known citizen of Manchester, was born in Coffee County, Tenn., July 16, 1856. He is the son of John and Martha (Layne) Winton, both natives of Tennessee, the latter born about 1830. Engaged in mercantile trade at Hillstore before marriage, the elder Winton then became a successful farmer. He was a Democrat. Our subject, after receiving a good education, was engaged in farming, when in 1880 he entered the firm of Wooton & Hickerson, Manchester, which two years later became Wooton & Winton, our subject owning a third interest. They do a business of about $45,000 annually. March 17, 1883, he married Blanche, born in 1863, in Coffee County, daughter of Mayor P. C.Isabell of Manchester. Their children, Clark, Wooton and Edwin, are four, three, and one year old respectively. Politically he is a Democrat, and his wife is a member of the Christian Church.
S. H. Wood, M. D., a physician of Hillsboro, was born in Rutherford County, Tenn., November 13, 1824. His parents, Thomas and Susan (Baldridge) Wood, are natives of Orange County, N. C., immigrating to Tennessee about 1806. A blacksmith by trade the elder Wood moved to Hickman County, Ky., in 1827, remaining there to the close of his life in 1837. Reared on the farm, our subject began the study of medicine in 1844, and before beginning to practice in Bradyville, Tenn., attended Louisville University. Since 1866 he has had successful practice at his present home. He married Elizabeth Lyon, of Rutherford county, in 1849. Born to them were John, May 14, 1850, and Mary F., June 10, 1852. His wife died July 10, 1853. He next married Mary J. Lyon, by whom he had seven children. Her death occurred May 2, 1872, at Hillsboro. In 1874 he married Sarah C. Huffar. They have six children. He is a member of the Christian Church. In 1861 he was State representative, and is now justice of the peace. Politically he is a Democrat.
J. D. Wooton, M. D., a leading physician of Manchester, was born in Warren County, Tenn., April 5, 1840. He is the son of Jonathan and Nancy (Hampton) Wooton, the former born in 1792, in North Carolina, and died in Warren County, in 1877; the latter born in 1802, in Kentucky, and died in February, 1886. The elder Wooton was a farmer, a soldier of the Revolution, and a consistent member of the Christian Church, while in political faith he was a Whig. His wife, a near relative of Gen. Wade Hampton, was a member of the Baptist Church. Our subject, the youngest of six children, received, besides his early education, a course at Burritt College. He soon after sold goods for his brother-in-law, Dr. A. B. Davis, at what is now Viola. In 1859 he entered the medical department of the University of Nashville, and graduated before he reached his majority. He soon enlisted as second lieutenant in Company D, Thirty-fifth Tennessee Regiment Infantry, Confederate Army. He served as assistant surgeon, and acted as chief surgeon at various times. He acquired considerable reputation for skill in his long service, surrendering with Johnston at Greensboro, N. C. A hip-joint amputation of the leg of a comrade might be mentioned as an example of his skill and the confidence of his fellows. He located at Viola, and for fifteen years was one of the leading physicians of the county. Since 1880 he has been equally successful in Manchester, engaging also in merchandising with a stock of $10,000, the care of his two plantations of 1,500 and 450 acres in Coffee and Warren Counties, the latter of which feeds a stock of about 100 young mules. He owns a half interest in the Duck River Paper Mills, the largest south of the Ohio River, and the only ones in Tennessee, that make wood pulp. He is a self-made man. July 20, 1865, he married Fannie Hickerson, a cultured lady, daughter of Judge W. P. Hickerson. They have two children: Wade H., aged seventeen, and Lillie, aged twenty. Mr. Wooton is a believer in the Christian religion, though not a member of any church, while in political faith he is Democratic. Mrs. Wooton is a member of the Christian Church.
J. W. Yates, merchant and a prominent young citizen of Tullahoma, Tenn., was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, August 24, 1855, and is the son of James and Mary A. (Walters) Yates, natives of England. The parents came to America in 1855, and our subject was born three days after their arrival in Cincinnati. The parents are members of the Episcopal Church, and are citizens of Coffee County, Tenn. Our subject received a good education in the public schools, and followed it with several courses in bookkeeping. In 1882 he came to Tullahoma and engaged in business, and is at present carrying a stock of about $18,000, and meeting with success. In 1882 he married Ida, daughter of Cooper Grandberry, a native of South Carolina. They have two children: Wilton Earl (born in 1884) and Lillie May (born in 1886). Politically he is a Democrat. His wife is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church South.
Transcribed by Jan McFarlin 1999
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