Memorial record of Alabama. A concise account of the state's political, military, professional and industrial progress, together with the personal memoirs of many of its people. Volume I, Part 131

Author: Taylor, Hannis, 1851-1922; Wheeler, Joseph, 1836-1906; Clark, Willis G; Clark, Thomas Harvey; Herbert, Hilary Abner, 1834-1919; Cochran, Jerome, 1831-1896; Screws, William Wallace; Brant & Fuller
Publication date: 1893
Publisher: Madison, Wis., Brant & Fuller
Number of Pages: 1164

USA > Alabama > Memorial record of Alabama. A concise account of the state's political, military, professional and industrial progress, together with the personal memoirs of many of its people. Volume I > Part 131

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

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the Alabama Medical association, and of the Tri-State Medical association. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, and of the Cumberland Pres- byterian church. He was married, December 5, 1883, to Miss Jennie Graham, daughter of F. J. Graham, of Jackson county, Ala., and to this marriage there have been born three children, viz .: Mary, Sarah and Jennie. Dr. Foster's father, T. Boyd Foster, was born in Virginia, and came to Alabama when yet a young man, locating in Jackson county. He was a civil engineer, and was surveyor of Jackson county about forty years. He married, for his first wife, Eleanor Cowan, of Jackson county, and by her he had eight children, viz .: William, who was killed at Peach Tree creek in the Confederate service; Samuel C., who was killed in front of Atlanta; Thomas T., who lost a leg at Peach Tree creek, and is now living in Jackson county; Andrew B., who served all through the war, and now lives in Texas; Hugh C., who was in the Confederate service from 1863 to 1865, and who now lives in Texas; Elizabeth, deceased wife of M. L. Rudder, of Jackson county ; Prudence, wife of B. J. Rudder, of Jackson county, and R. A., of Texas. Mr. Foster married, for his second wife, Sarah Mumford Mason, of Wythe county. Va., and to this marriage there were born two children, viz .: Dr. G. W. Foster, and Mary E., wife of H. Colfield of Jackson county. Mrs. Foster died in February, 1861. Mr. Foster, as well as his wife, was a native of Virginia.

R. C. GUNTER, a wealthy and prominent citizen of Bridgeport, Ala., was born in Jackson county, this state, May 8, 1846. He was reared on the farm and received his education in the common schools of his native county. Early in 1862 he entered the service of the Confederacy as a member of company H, Fourth Tennessee cavalry, and served as a pri vate soldier until May 3, 1865, when he surrendered at Charlotte, N. C. He participated in the battles of Chickamauga and Bentonville, beside numerous smaller ones and skirmishes. He served as a scout under Gen. J. E. Johnston about a year. In 1864, he was captured near La Fayette, Ga., and sent to Camp Morton, Indiana. After the surrender he returned to his home in Jackson county, Ala., where he found nothing left on the farm, not a fence rail, not .a house, not a horse, not a mule, simply nothing. That year, however, he raised a crop, and then went into busi- ness for himself in Jackson county, and remained at the same business eight years. He then became a steamboat owner, and ran three boats, the R. C. Gunter. the J. H. Johnston and the Wyeth City, between Chat- tauooga and Decatur, and continued in that business until November, 1888. Since that time he has devoted his attention to his large landed interests. He, in company with several others, was instrumental in starting the move- ment which resulted in the present growing little city of Bridgeport, in which he is a considerable property owner. He was the first president of the Bridgeport Land and Improvement company, and he is a director in the First National bank of Bridgeport. He was married in 1878 to

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Fannie M. Johnson, daughter of Dr. J. R. Johnson, of Lebanon, Ala. The father of R. C. Gunter was Augustus Gunter, who was born in Warren county, Tenn., in 1814, and came to Alabama with his parents in 1821, they settling in Jackson county. He followed farming all his life. He served as a soldier in the Florida war. He was a justice of the peace for many years, and he was for many years agent for the Nashville & Chat- tanooga railroad at Bridgeport. He married Elizabeth Hobbs, a native of Tennessee, and to this marriage there were born three children, viz .: W. M., R. C. and John H., all of Bridgeport. The mother of R. C. Gunter died in February, 1889.

JAMES P. HARRIS, probate judge of Jackson county, was born in Huntsville, Ala., April 4, 1844. He is a son of Richard B. Harris, a native of Alabama, and he was a son of Richard Harris, a native of Fredericksburg, Va., and an officer in the Revolutionary war. James P. Harris was educated at Irvine college, Tenn., leaving there in March, 1861, his course unfinished, to enter the Confederate service. He enlisted in company K, Fourth Alabama infantry, as a private soldier, and served until August, 1862, when he was discharged as being under eighteen years of age. He afterward joined the Fourth Tennessee cavalry, under Gen. Forrest, in which he served until the war was over, surrendering at Greensboro, N. C. He participated in the following battles: First Manassas; Jamestown; Seven Pines; with Jackson in his fight with Banks, Shields and McDowell; seven days' fight around Richmond; on Forrest's raid through West Tennessee, in which there was a fight every day for a month; second Fort Donelson; Thompson's Station; Rome, Ga. ; Tullahoma; Chickamauga; fifty skirmishes in east Tennessee in 1863 and 1864; Dalton, Ga .; Resaca; Tunnel Hill; Kenesaw Mountain; Peach Tree Creek; Atlanta; Franklin. He was wounded five times, but not seriously at any time. After the war he was engaged in farming in Jackson county, until 1887, and then removed to Scottsboro, where he has lived ever since. In December, 1891, he was appointed probate judge to fill an unexpired term, caused by the death of Judge John H. Norwood. He has served ten years as justice of the peace in Jackson county. He was mar- ried in October, 1867, to Miss Matilda J. Robinson, daughter of A. F. Robinson, of Larkinsville, and to this marriage there have been born four children, viz. : William E .; Anna; Mary S. and James P., Jr. Mr. Harris is a member of the order of Odd Fellows, of the Knights of Honor, and of the Methodist Episcopal church, south.

DR. J. S. HILL, dentist, of Bridgeport, Ala., was born in Courtland, Ala., May 26, 1864. He was educated at Barton academy, at Mobile, graduating there with the degree of bachelor of arts in 1879. He then took a commercial course at New Orleans, La., and in 1885 went to St. Louis, Mo., graduating the next year at the St. Louis college of physi- cians and surgeons, and graduating in medicine the next year at the same college. He remained one year in St. Louis engaged in the practice of

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dentistry. He then removed to Courtland, remained until September, 1888, and then removed to Huntsville, where he practiced his profession until March, 1892, when he was elected dean of the Alabama college of dental surgery at Bridgeport, which is sustained by more capital than any similar college in the country. Dr. Hill is a member of the order of Knights of Pythias, of the order of Odd Fellows, and of the Methodist Episcopal church, south. He was married in Courtland, December 20, 1887, to Miss Lizzie Pippen, daughter of E. A. Pippen, and to their marriage have been born two children, viz .: Ordalia and Mattie S. The father of Dr. Hill is Rev. Felix Hill, who is a native of Nashville, Tenn .. and is a son of John T. Hill, an old merchant of that city. He was educated at the university of Tennessee, and entered the ministry of the Methodist Episcopal church at the age of seventeen. He is now pastor of Trinity Methodist Episcopal church at Baltimore, Md. He served as a private soldier in the Confederate cavalry under Gen. Forrest all through the war, and was wounded severely once. He married Ordalia Mayes, daugh- ter of Drury Mayes, of Courtland, Ala., and to this marriage were born seven children, of whom five survive, as follows: Dr. J. S .; Felix R., pastor of the Methodist Episcopal church at Washington, Mo .; Dana S., of Baltimore, Md .; La Fayette B., of Baltimore, Md., and Edwin G., of Baltimore, Md.

R. C. HUNT, a lawyer of Scottsboro, Ala., was born in Franklin county, Tenn., February 5, 1850. He is a son of William H. Hunt, who was born in the same place, in 1812. He was a farmer all his life, and served as a captain in the Florida war. He married Miss Annie Clayton, a native of Jackson county, Ala., and a daughter of R. B. Clayton, originally of North Carolina, who came to Alabama about 1820, and who was the first clerk of the circuit court of Jackson county. He died in Baldwin, Miss., in 1872, aged eighty-two. To his marriage with Miss Clayton there were born five children, of whom four survive, viz .: Sallie, wife of J. W. Bur- ress, of Baldwin, Miss .; David, who served in the Confederate army, and now lives in Texas; R. C., and George C. R. C. Hunt was educated in the common schools of Franklin county, Tenn., and in 1869 he began the study of law, with Judge Peter Turney, at Winchester. He was admitted to the bar in 1871, and went to Texas, locating in Coffman county, where he practiced three years. He then, in 1875, returned to Alabama, locating at Scottsboro, where he has since resided, and where he has built up a large successful practice. He was married in 1877 to Miss Annie Scruggs, a daughter of Frederick and Margaret (Kimbrough) Scruggs, of east Tennessee, by which marriage he has two children, viz. : Sallie and Luke P. Mr. Hunt is a democrat, and takes considerable interest in politics. He was a delegate to the state conventions of 1890 and 1892, and to the national democratic convention held in St. Louis in 1888.

REV. W. R. IVEY, late pastor of the Scottsboro Baptist church, was born in Dale county, Ala., on the 22d day of February, 1865. He was

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kept in the schools of this county until about twelve years of age, at which time his father moved to Spring Hill, near Troy, Ala., where he attended the neighborhood school for about two years. His father then moved to Orion, in the same county, and his father being a physician, W. R. did his collecting until 1882, at which time his father retired from the practice, and moved near Tuskegee, in Macon county, settling on a farm, the management of which he turned over to his son, W. R. On February 1, 1886, the latter entered Howard college, in Marion, Ala., to prepare himself for his work as a minister of the gospel. In the fall of 1887, his father moved to Montgomery, where he now resides, and W. R. Ivey moved with the college from Marion to Birmingham, where he con- tinued his work until February, 1889. He then traveled in Alabama, visiting the associations in the interest of missions and education. November 1, 1889, he was called to take charge of the Scottsboro Baptist church, where he remained as pastor until the 10th day of January, 1891, when he was asked to take charge of the Scottsboro college. An option in favor of the Baptists was granted him for five months, in which to raise $7,600 to meet the indebtedness on the property, and he succeeded in getting the amount in donations, just two days before his option expired. In order to build up a good school, he then took a lease of five years on the property, employed a strong faculty of ten teachers, bought a handsome laboratory and fitted up a school with six fine pianos, and furnished every department with maps and charts, at a considerable expense. The first year, under his management, the enrollment of students was 297. The demands upon him then forced him to build a large build- ing, called "The College Home," at an expense of about $12,000, which is now occupied by the president of the school, J. M. Bledsoe, and a fine body of students. W. R. Ivey's father, mother, four brothers and five sisters are living.

R. A. JONES, a wealthy citizen of Bridgeport, Ala., was born in Madison county, Ala., December 10, 1842, and removed to Jackson county, Ala., with his parents when an infant. Leaving school at the age of nineteen, he entered the service of the Confederacy in May, 1861, as a private sol- dier in company A, Thirty-third Alabama infantry, serving in the follow- ing battles: Liberty Gap, Bragg's retreat from Tennessee, Chickamauga, Missionary Ridge, Ringgold Gap, Resaca, Rocky Face Ridge, New Hope Church, Kenesaw Mountain, Atlanta, Jonesboro, Lovejoy, and Franklin, . at which he was slightly wounded and captured. He was taken to Camp Douglas and held until the war closed six months later. After his release he returned to Jackson county, and followed farming for a year, and then established himself in mercantile business at Bridgeport, continuing in that line until 1890, since which time he has been looking after his interests in Bridgeport, which are mainly concentrated in the Bridgeport Land and Improvement company, of which he is now a director, and of which he has been treasurer. He is a member of the Methodist Episco-

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pal church and is a steward and a trustee of his church. He was married December 9, 1869, to Eliza C. Glover, daughter of Samuel and Jane (Cope- land) Glover, and to this marriage have been born two children, viz .: Lillie, died in infancy, and Ollie May, wife of F. H. Edmunds, of Bridge- port. The father of Mr. Jones, Charles Jones, was born in Virginia, and came to Alabama when a young man, and died in Jackson county in 1850, when about fifty years old. He was a trustee of the university of Ala- bama at the time of his death. He served as a soldier in the Florida war. He married Delia Jones, by whom he had seven children, viz. : Jasper J., who served as captain of company A, Thirty-third Alabama infantry, and afterward as register in chancery, which office he held at the time of his death; Marion N., a lieutenant in the Thirty-third Alabama infan- try, now deceased; Bradley C., who served in the Fourth Alabama cav- alry, now living in Jackson county; P. P., who died in the service as a member of the Thirty-third Alabama infantry; R. A .; Mary J .; Sallie E., wife of Thomas Dickens, of South Pittsburg, Tenn. The father of Mrs R. A. Jones was Samuel Glover, a native of England. Her mother was a native of North Carolina.

WALTER F. KIRK, attorney-at-law of Bridgeport, Ala., was born in Russellville Franklin county, Ala., January 16, 1860. He was educated at Winchester Normal school, Winchester, Tenn., and graduated in law from the university of Lebanon, Tenn., in 1884. He was admitted to the bar in Franklin county the same year. He then located in Scottsboro, Ala., and practiced there with J. E. Brown until February, 1891. He then removed to Bridgeport and has been engaged in the practice of his profession at that point ever since. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, south. He was married in 1888 to Lelia Parks, daugh- ter of Mrs. Maggie Parks, and to their marriage there were born two children, James D. and Arleen. The father of Mr. Kirk was Frank Kirk, a native of Franklin county, Ala., and a farmer by occupation. He entered the Confederate service at the beginning of the war, and was killed at the battle of Shiloh in 1862. He married Miss Sue Drake, by whom he had two children, of whom only one, Walter F. Kirk, survives.

ELISHA L. LEE, M. D., physician of Bridgeport, Ala., was born near Dunlap, Tenn., January 27, 1840, and educated at the academy at Pike- ville, Tenn. Leaving school in July, 1861, he remained in Bledsoe county a few months, and then removed to Marion county, Tenn., where he taught school until 1867. He then attended medical, lectures in Nash- ville, Tenn., and in 1869 removed to Jackson county, Ala., and began the practice of medicine. In 1872 he graduated from the university of Ten- nessee, and then returned to Jackson county, Ala., where he has been engaged in the practice of his profession ever since. From 1879 to 1889, he was in partnership with Dr. Spilling, in Bridgeport, in the drug busi ness. Dr. Lee was a member of the Jackson county Medical society until its re-organization, a few years since. He is a director and vice-

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president of the First National bank of Bridgeport, and since 1882, he- has been largely interested in farming. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, and of the Methodist Episcopal church, south. He was mar- ried, in 1875, to Miss Millie A. Bean, daughter of Oen R. Bean, of Marion county, Tenn., and to this marriage there have been born six children, viz. : Fanny H. ; John R .; William R .; Samuel B .; Clara L. and Lora M. Of recent years Dr. Lee has been practically out of practice. His father, Guilford Lee, was born in Bledsoe county, Tenn., in 1812, and lived there until his death, in 1875. He followed farming most of his life. He married Alice Deakins, a native of Tennessee, and to them were born six children, viz .: Dr. E. L .; Mary J., deceased wife of Stephen Richards, of Loony's Creek, Tenn .; John, of Belton, Tex .; Louisa K .; Martha R .; Emma A. Mrs. Lee died in 1876. The father of Guilford Lee, John Lee, was born in Virginia in 1789. He removed to Tennessee with his parents when a youth. He was a farmer all his life, and died in 1852. John Lee's father was William Lee, a native of Virginia, and he himself set- tled in Tennessee, and lived there till his death. The family is related to that of the great general, Robert E. Lee.

W. K. SPILLER, M. D., a practicing physician of Bridgeport, Ala., was born in Decatur, Ala .. September 1, 1850. He was educated in Chattanooga, to which city his parents moved when he was a boy. He afterward attended the Washington and Lee university at Lexington, Va., where he graduated with the degree of bachelor of arts. Hethen attended the medical college in Nashville, Tenn., graduating in 1874. Locating at Stevenson, Ala., he practiced his profession there for a year, and then removed to Bridge- port, where he has since remained. In 1879, he established a drug store, which he still carries on. Dr. E. L. Lee, was his partner for the first ten years of his practice in Bridgeport. Dr. Spiller is a member of the Jackson county Medical society and of the Alabama Medical association. He is now ( 1892 ) treasurer of the Bridgeport board of trade, and dean of the Alabama dental college. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, and of the Methodist Episcopal church, south. He was married in November, 1879, to Miss Mary Glover, daughter of W. C. Glover of Bridgeport. To this marriage there have been born four children, all of whom are deceased. The father of Dr. Spiller, C. C. Spiller, was a pioneer steamboatman on the Tennessee river. He served for some time in the Confederate army, and held the rank of colonel. His wife was Miss Sarah Crouch, now deceased. Both were natives of Virginia, and Mr. C. C. Spiller still survives. Dr. Spiller stands at the head of the medical profession in Bridgeport, and keeps abreast of the literature and improvements in his profession. He is a close student, and a man of the highest moral character.

W. L. STEPHENS, attorney-at-law of Bridgeport, Ala,, was born in Larkinsville, Ala., January 23, 1868. He was educated in the schools of his native county, and graduated in law from the Cumberland univer-

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sity at Lebanon, Tenn., in the spring of 1887. He was admitted to the bar at Lebanon, Tenn., and at Scottsboro, Ala., the same year. Locating at Scottsboro, in January, 1889, he practiced there two years, and in 1892 removed to Bridgeport, where he is now engaged in the practice of his profession. He was a candidate for circuit clerk of Jackson county in 1892, but was defeated by ninety-seven votes. He is a member of the Missionary Baptist church. His father, Absalom Stephens, was born in Bolivar, Ala., was a merchant and traveling man, and died in October, 1890. He served all through the war as quartermaster in the Confederate army. He married Priscilla Larkin, daughter of David Larkin, of Lar- kinsville. To this marriage was born one child, W. L. Stephens, the mother dying when he was three weeks old, and he was reared by his uncle, William R. Larkin, at Larkinsville. Mr. Stephens was appointed judge of the city court of Bridgeport by Gov. Thomas G. Jones, March 2, 1893. The Bridgeport News, speaking of Mr. Mr. Stephens' appoint- ment to the bench, says:

JUDGE W. L. STEPHENS .- It is no small compliment to have the unanimous endorsement of the bar of Jackson county. The occasion does not often arise when it shall be given, but it has arisen, and W. L. Stephens has received it. The occasion for this was the passage of the city court bill, which made it necessary that this court should have a presiding officer. The news of the passage of that bill was telegraphed from Montgomery on Saturday last, and on returning from that city to Scottsboro, Mr. Stephens was there tendered a petition signed by the bar recommending his appointment for that high and responsible position. * *

** The news was hailed with almost universal approval in all parts of the county, and there are but few in the county but who would have taken special pleasure in adding their names to the list requesting the appointment of Mr. Stephens. The petition of the bar has been sent on to Gov. Jones for his action, and his signature will doubtless be affixed to that end in the near future * *

* He thoroughly identified himself with Bridgeport, and soon won many friends here, as well as in different parts of the county. When the city court question was brought up, he at once drew the bill for it, and was accorded the lead in the contest. He gave it his untiring energy, and would not be suppressed by any opposition or obstacle. He worked for it here, and remained with it at Montgomery until its final passage. The compliment of the bar of the county is the best evidence of his qualifications and fitness for the posi- tion as judge of that court. Surely Bridgeport congratulates him on his success, and Jackson county congratulates him on the honors so well merited and bestowed.

E. W. WHIPS, real estate dealer of Bridgeport, Ala., was born in Saline, county, Mo., October 8, 1858. He was educated at Montgomery college, in Montgomery county, Mo., leaving college in 1881 and engag. ing in mercantile business in Montgomery city, Mo. He remained in business there six years, and then came to Alabama, locating at Decatur, and engaging there in the real estate business, being a member of the Decatur Real Estate company, and remaining there until 1890, when he removed to Bridgeport, and was the first real estate dealer to locate in

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that place. He sold a large number of lots the first thirty days, and together with his partner made about $10,000 in that time. He then pur- chased 20 acres at Bridgeport, and platted it as the "Whip Addition," of which he has sold the larger portion. He is a director in the Bridge- port Investment company, is president of the Bridgeport Real Estate company, is a member of the town board, and mayor, pro tem., of the city of Bridgeport. In politics he is a democrat, is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, south, and of the order of Odd Fellows. He is steward of his church at Bridgeport. The father of E. W. Whips, J. N. Whips, was born in Jefferson county, Ky., and went to Missouri in 1857 loca- ting in Saline county, and residing there until his death, in 1883. He followed farming and trading all his life. He married Elizabeth Rudy, a native of Kentucky, and to them were born five children, viz .: Cora, wife of J. W. Bingham, and after his death, of J. W. Blakeley, and afterward of T. C. Horn, now living in Vernon county, Mo .; Gertrude, wife of J. W. Lewis, of Montgomery county, Mo .; Ida, wife of J. W. Boatwright, of Vernon county, Mo .; Niran, of Victoria, Tex., and E. W. Whips. The mother of Mr. Whips died in 1882. His parents were Kentuckians, as far back as it. is possible to trace the family.

SAMUEL LUTZ ZURMEHLY, M. D., physician of Bridgeport, Ala., was born in Ross county, Ohio, February 16, 1861. He was educated at the! district schools in his native county, and afterward at the Ohio Wes- leyan university at Delaware, Ohio, graduating there in 1887. In the fall of 1887 he entered the Miami Medical college at Cincinnati, Ohio, and graduated there in March, 1890. He then spent four months in Chattanooga, Tenn .. and in July, 1890, removed to Bridgeport, Ala., where he has since been engaged in the practice of medicine. In Decem- ber, 1890, he bought an interest in the practice and drug business of Dr. W. K. Spiller, which partnership still continues. Dr. Zurmehly is a member of the Jackson county Medical society, and also of the Ala- bama Medical association, He is a member of the Jackson county board of pension examiners, and is professor of anatomy and physiology in the Alabama College of Dental Surgery at Bridgeport. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, He was married in 1892 to Nona Glover, daughter of T. G. Glover, of Bridgeport. The father of Dr. Zurmehly was Robert Zurmehly, who was born in Pennsylvania, and removed to Ohio in early youth, locating in Ross county. He was a farmer by occupation. He married Harriet Lutz, a native of Ohio. Her father, Samuel Lutz, was a member of the legislature, and was one of the earli- est settlers of Ohio.

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Memorial record of Alabama. A concise account of the state's political, military, professional and industrial progress, together with the personal memoirs of many of its people. Volume I, Part 131

Author: Taylor, Hannis, 1851-1922; Wheeler, Joseph, 1836-1906; Clark, Willis G; Clark, Thomas Harvey; Herbert, Hilary Abner, 1834-1919; Cochran, Jerome, 1831-1896; Screws, William Wallace; Brant & Fuller Publication date: 1893 Publisher: Madison, Wis., Brant & Fuller Number of Pages: 1164

Author: Taylor, Hannis, 1851-1922; Wheeler, Joseph, 1836-1906; Clark, Willis G; Clark, Thomas Harvey; Herbert, Hilary Abner, 1834-1919; Cochran, Jerome, 1831-1896; Screws, William Wallace; Brant & Fuller
Publication date: 1893
Publisher: Madison, Wis., Brant & Fuller
Number of Pages: 1164