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 II pt 2 > Part 15
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).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60
2
PERSONAL MEMOIRS-MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 689
main the house had faith in his recommendations and it is a matter of history that he got a $20,000,000 appropriation put through the house in just twenty minutes. His investigations into the navy department have been thorough and sincere, made with the view of increasing the useful- ness of the force, and not with any desire to gain public applause. The American navy is fast being rebuilt, and it will remain a lasting monu- ment to Col. Herbert's efforts in its behalf. His chief opponent in his work in this line has been Representative Holman of Indiana, who, as a critic remarks, "apparently sees no use for a ship of war, and will never be aroused to the necessities of the country until a foreign vessel, anchored off Sandy Hook, is able to pitch a shell into the town of Aurora, Ind." In his battle with Col. Herbert, it may be said, the Hoosier states- man has invariably been defeatd. In the literary world Col. Herbert has won distinction. He has contributed many valuable papers to the' his- torical records of the country; but his most famous production is cer- tainly his report upon the scientific bureaus of the goverment. The forty-eighth congress appointed a commission to make an inquiry into the condition of these bureaus. The commission consisted of Senators Allison, Hale and Morgan, and Representatives Lowrey, Waite and Her- bert. The report was scathingly caustic in its terms, and one official in particular was completely uncovered. So caustic, indeed, were its terms, that the members of the commission, though they concurred in it, refused, with the exception of Senator Morgan, to append their names to it. This report gained wide celebrity and engendered much bitter feeling. It was stated by a prominent paper that the report could only have been written by one well acquainted with the subject in hand, and that the only one who could have written it was Prof. Cope. In a few days that gentleman called upon the editor and stated that he had had nothing whatever to do with its producion at all, and moreover diaspproved of and was prepared to antagonize everything that was in it. Col. Herbert is of pleasing address. of good height and manly proportions. In social life he is genial and cordial to all, and as an orator he is eloquent and witty. He has a fund of anecdote, which he is ever ready to draw upon, and not irfrequently he is the butt of his own tales. The following, which has been in print more than once, serves to illustrate the charac- ter of the man, though much is lost without the charm Col. Herbert lends to it in telling it: In the winter of 1862 his regiment was in quar- ters, under Gen. Wilcox. on the Rappahannock, and the Federals were encamped on the other side of the river, not much more than a thousand yards away. A voluntary truce prevailed between the opposing forces, and "the boys" soon began to come and go across the river, exchanging newspapers, and other things. In the interest of discipline this was stopped and strict orders issued against any communication with the enemy's lines. A day or two after these orders were promulgated, Col. Herbert was inspecting his picket line when, coming suddenly from
1
690
MEMORIAL RECORD OF ALABAMA.
behind a clump of trees, he descried a big Federal soldier half way across the river with a paper in his hand. The colonel called to him to halt, and seeing that the man was about to make a bolt for liberty, drew his pistol and shouted that he would fire. The man came back. He explained that the Confederate soldiers had told him he might come and go unmo- lested, otherwise he would not have come. "I can't let you go back," said the colonel; "the orders are imperative; you have disobeyed your officers and I must make an example of you." "Let me go, colonel," the Federal replied, "or shoot me dead. If I don't get back the boys will think I deserted them, and will never be able to make them think I didn't. I'd rather die than be called a deserter." Col. Herbert saw that the man was speaking the truth, so he said: "Give me the Herald, and go on." With the paper in his hand, Col. Herbert at once repaired to Gen. Wilcox's headquarters and reported. He was admitted and sur- prised his general by saying: "General, I've come to report that I've flatly disobeyed your orders." "In what respect?" replied the general, who knew his visitor to be one of the bravest and best officers in his command. Then the story was told and Gen. Wilcox remarked, "I would have done the same myself, sir." February 25, 1893, it was announced in the papers that Col. Herbert had been selected by Mr. Cleveland as his secretary of the navy. The house of representatives was in session, and Mr. Outhwaite, of Ohio, had the floor. Col. Herbert was walking toward the democratic cloak room, when a member spied him and shouted "Herbert, Herbert." In an instant the whole house was in an uproar, and Col. Herbert was completely unmanned by this unexpected demonstration in his favor. Mr. Outhwaite speedily set things right by saying: "I yield five minutes of my time to the gentleman from Ala- bama." Then advancing a short distance toward the steps, Col. Herbert thanked the house for the great honor conferred upon him. His voice was tremulous with emotion and it is said that this was the only occasion on which he was known to have lost his self-possession. Never in the history of the government of the United States has the selection of a cabinet officer given such wide-spread, general satisfaction as that of Col Herbert to be secretary of the navy. It is conceded by all, irrespective of party, that no man in the country understands the working of the navy department or its needs better than Col. Herbert, and his tenure of office cannot fail to redound much to America's credit on the seas. Ever since he has been in public life he has consistently contended that the United States should be suitably represented by modern ships of war, and recent international developments have proved the wisdom of his contention. A ship of war of the present day is a formidable object, and the presence of such ships in foreign ports adds prestige to the flag and secures adequate protection to the citzens or subjects of the nation rep- resented. The citizens of the United States must have protection and in foreign ports, and Secretary Herbert's policy is to supply the means of
--
-
PERSONAL MEMOIRS-MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 691
affording it in times of trouble. As an executive officer, Secretary Her- bert has proved himself to be in the front rank, and his record as chair- man or member of the committee on naval affairs of the house of repre. sentatives shows that he is untiring in bringing about reforms of all kinds. While in these positions he frequently insisted that useless clerkships be done away with, and his work of investigation was done thoroughly, patiently and untiringly. His recommendations for expenditures have always struck the happy medium between extravagance and niggardli- ness, and it is owing to this fact, that the appropriations he has advo- cated have been so acceptable to the house. The incident noted with relation to his reception by the house of representatives, after it was known that he had been selected as Mr. Cleveland's secretary of the navy, amply illustrates the esteem in which he is held by the members of that legislative body, and it is safe to say that the feeling displayed is but a reflex of the sentiments toward him of the people of the states where he is intimately known.
LUTHER L. HILL, M. D., was born in Montgomery, Ala., January 22, 1862, and was educated at Howard college, Marion, Ala., graduated in 1881 in medicine at the university of New York, and in 1882 at the Jeffer- son Medical college in Philadelphia. On, leaving the latter he went to London and studied surgery at King's college hospital under Sir Joseph Lister and Dr. John Wood for a year, and then returned to Montgomery, where he has since remained, winning golden recognition of his merits. He has served as president of the Medical and Surgical society of Mont- gomery, and is a member of the board of health of Montgomery county, is counselor of the State Medical association, and has served as surgeon of the Second Alabama regiment two years; he also served two years as county doctor. The Sigma Nu society also holds him within its fold Dr. Hill was married in 1888 to Miss Lily Lyon, daughter of Mark Lyon, of Mobile, Ala. The father of the doctor is Rev. L. L. Hill, who was born in Greensboro, Ala., in 1821. He is a Methodist Protestant preacher, but retired from the active ministry in 1872. The maiden name of the doctor's mother was Laura Croom, of western Alabama.
HENRY MARTIN HOBBIE, wholesale grocer, was born in Montgomery. Ala., January 13, 1849. He left school in June, 1868, and on January 1, 1869, entered the wholesale grocery establishment of LeGrand & Co., and remained with the firm six years as an employee, and then for four years was a partner. On January 1, 1879, together with W. F. Vandiver. he bought out LeGrand & Co., and the firm was Hobbie & Vandiver, which continued until January. 153, when Mr. Hobbie sold out to Vandiver and formed a partnership with William M. Teague, which still continues under the firm name of Hobbie & Teague. Mr. Hobbie was married .July 16, 1872, to Leonora E. Jackson, daughter of John W. A. Jackson, of Montgomery. Ala., and to them were born seven children, as follows: Rebecca Alice, John Martin, Richard Martin, Callie Elizabeth, Henry
.
1
692
MEMORIAL RECORD OF ALABAMA.
Martin, Andrew Jackson and Ame Leonora. Asbury Martin, father of H. M. Hobbie, was born in what was then Edgefield district. S. C. He came to Alabama when a young man, and farmed in Montgomery county. Ala., up to his death in 1851. `He married Alico Hedgebeth, a native of Robeson county, N. C., and to them were born two children-Zachariah M., died January 25, 1892, near Tyler, Tex. He was a soldier in the late war, and served in the Confederate service in a regiment organized in Pike county, Ala. He served through the entire war as a private. Mrs. Alice Martin died August 20, 1849. Henry M. Hobbie, having been · left an orphan at a very early age, was brought up by Mrs. Rebecca E. Hobbie, wife of Simeon Hobbie, who was an intimate friend of Mrs. Alice Martin, and at the latter's death accepted her orphan son, who, when he grew up, in accordance with his foster mother's earnest desire, added the name of Hobbie to that of his own, Mr. Hobbie is now presi- dent of the Montgomery wholesale grocers' association.
GEN. JAMES T. HOLTZCLAW, was born in McDonough, Henry county, Ga., December 17, 1833. his father being then, however, a citizen of Ala- bama. He returned with his parents to the latter's home in Chambers county, Ala., and as he grew into boyhood was educated at the Presby- terian high school in that county. In 1853 he received an appointment to, the West Point Military academy, but owing to the death of an older brother he remained at home. In 1854 he went to Montgomery and entered upon the study of the law in the office of Elmore & Yancey. He was admitted to the bar in 1855, and except during the war has practiced law there ever since. In 1861, he volunteered with his company, the True Blues. His first service was on the coast., He joined the western army in the next year. He had already been raised to the rank of lieu- tenant colonel. He took part in the following battles: Shiloh, where he was wounded, skirmishing on Bragg's retreat, Chickamauga, commanded a brigade at Lookout Mountain and held Hooker in check from 6 P. M. until midnight. Cominanded the same brigade on the next day, Mission Ridge; was with Gen. A. P. Stewart's division in supporting Claiborne at Ringgold Gap, in all the fights from May 7, 1864, to the fall of Atlanta; with Hood in Tennessee. at Franklin and Nashville. and with Gen. Pet- tus's brigade covered Hood's retreat toward Columbia. S. C. In February, 1865, he was ordered with his brigade to Mobile, and was engaged in the fight of Spanish Fort and Blakely, giving his parole at Meridian, Miss .. May 4th, 1865. Returning to his home at Montgomery, he re-opened his law office and resumed the practice and has continued it up to the pres- ent time. Gen. Holtzelaw is a gentleman of independent fortune, and he has been able in consequence to indulge to a certain extent his strong predilection for active political discussion. There has hardly been a cam- paign since the war in which he nas not vigorously canvassed the state for his party. In 1868 he was a delegate from the Montgomery district to the national convention that nominated Seymour and Blair. He was a
-
-
& 7. Tothelaw
1
'695
PERSONAL MEMOIRS-MONTGOMERY COUNTY.
district presidential elector in 1876, and was at the head of the electoral ticket, or elector for the state at large, in 1888. In this last campaign he made seventy speeches for the ticket. In February, 1893, he was ap- pointed, by Gen. Jones, a member of the state railroad commission, to succeed Gen. Levi W. Lawler. deceased. The appointment of Gen. Holtzclaw was received with hearty approbation in every quarter of the state. Gen. Holtzelaw was married in April, 1856, to Miss Mary Cowles. His wife died, leaving two children, a daughter, Miss Carrie, now Mrs. John Kirkpatrick, and James T. Holtzclaw, Jr., who was recently graduated at the university of Alabama.
HORACE HOOD, one of the editors of the Montgomery, Ala .. Evening Journal, was born in Madisonville. Monroe county, east Tenn., July 9, 1853. Moved to Alabama at the close of the late war between the states in 1865, at the age of twelve, and engaged in planting in Lowndes county with his father, for two years. Afterward, he located in Montgomery, and entered a newspaper office, where he learned the "art preservative of all arts," but was soon promoted to a position on the editorial staff of the paper, before he had had even time to thoroughly master the art of manipulating the types. Afterward, he located in Selma and was con- nected with a daily paper there called the Echo, which he edited for about a year, or, till its publication was discontinued. He then removed to Monroe county, where he resuscitated and edited the Monroe Journal for ten years, the paper achieving quite a reputation under his management. It was growing in popularity and influence, when he was tendered the business management of the Montgomery Dispatch, which he accepted, afterward disposing of his weekly. He remained with the Dispatch for four years, part of the time having complete business and editorial control of the paper. When the Dispatch was sold out to the Montgomery Advertiser, Mr. Hood purchased the old printing outfit of the paper, and, with Mr. James B. Simpson, commenced the publication of the Mont- gomery Journal. with which paper he is now connected, and which has proven a marvelous success in the evening journalistic field of the south.
RT. REV. DR. HENRY MELVILLE JACKSON was born in Leesburg, Va., July 28,1849. He was educated at the Virginia Military institute and at the Virginia Theological seminary. He finished his course of study at the seminary in 1×73, and almost immediately took charge of his first parish, which was in Montgomery county, Va. He was ordained deacon in that year and priest the next year, 1874. He remained with this Montgomery county charge until October, 1875. His next parish was that of Greenville, S. C., where he remained until October, 1876, going thence to Grace church, Richmond, where he remained until 1>91. In that year he was elected and ordained assistant bishop of Alabama, and he removed at once to · Alabama, making Montgomery his home. In the short time he has been at work in his new home and in the discharge of his new duties. he has established himself securely in the affection and admiration of the com-
696
MEMORIAL RECORD OF ALABAMA.
municants of his'church throughout the state. Bishop Jackson is an earnest and devoted worker, an eloquent preacher, and altogether an admirable man. He was married in 1874 to Miss Lloyd, daughter of John J. Lloyd, of Mt. Ida, Va. On the death of this wife, he later married Miss Pace, daughter of James B. Pace of Richmond, Va. His father was Dr. Samuel K. Jackson, who was born in Winchester, Va., and who is practicing medicine in Norfolk, Va .. at this time. His grandfather was Rev J. E. Jackson, rector of the Episcopal church in Winchester, Va. This grandfather was born in England. Bishop Jackson's mother's maid- en name was Anna Calvert, daughter of George Calvert, of Fauquier county, Va.
JAMES KIRKMAN JACKSON was born at Florence, Ala., April 7, 1862. He was educated at the state Normal college, located in his native place. He began his business life in a large railroad office, and learned there much of the admirable dispatch and method that has made him possibly the finest private secretary to a governor in the country. In March, 1883, he was elected clerk of the state railroad commission and might have con- tinued indefinitely in the place, such were his qualifications, but in December, 1886, he was solicited by Gov. Seay, the newly elected gov- ernor of the state, to take the position of private secretary. The Mont- gomery Advertiser had to say, on the accession of this appointment, something that expressed a common opinion at the time. It said: "When Gov. Seay came into office last December, he immediately began to cast about for a private secretary. This is a high and responsible office. The incumbent is the confidant of the governor and must be trustworthy. The duties are confidential and require fidelity. They are complicated and difficult, and require intelligence. The incumbent must meet and receive at the capitol of the state the people of the state, and his address and manners must uphold the dignity of the state. He must also be a democrat. The governor found Mr. Jackson up to the full measure of every require- ment and appointed him to this responsible office, never before filled by so young a man. It is only necessary to add that the governor has found his private secretary all that he hoped, a priceless acquisition." Mr. Jackson fully deserved these cordial words of commendation, and when Gov. Jones succeeded Gov. Seay in 1890, he retained Mr. Jackson as his private secretary, a place he still holds. Mr. Jackson comes of a family of sterling qualities in every respect, and is himself a general favorite wherever he is known.
DR. JOHN FOOTE JOHNSTON, a prominent practitioner of Montgomery, was born in Newbury. S. C .. May 10. 1821. and was educated there, and at Willington academy, and then went to the high school at Greenville, N. C., and also at Greenville, S. C., where he finished his education, and then, in 1841, moved to Alabama, settling in Macon county, where he farmed until 1846, when he commenced to study medicine, and gradu- ated from the medical college at Charleston, S. C., in 1848; he returned
-
697
PERSONAL MEMOIRS --- MONTGOMERY COUNTY.
to Alabama and practiced one year in Macon county, and then moved to Montgomery, Ala, where he has since practiced. During the war he rendered hospital service at Montgomery. The doctor joined the American Medical association in 1870, and is a member of the Mont- gomery county Medical association, and the state Medical association. He was, for a while, surgeon of the Second regiment state troups. He was married, in February, 1852, to Maria Louisa Wyman, daugh- ter of Justus Wyman, of Massachusetts. The doctor's father was Dr. Burr Johnston, who was born in 1793, in Granby, Lancaster county, S. C. He was a graduate of the university of Pennsylvania, and in 1841 located in Alabama, having practiced twenty-five years in South Carolina, and died in Macon county in 1862. He married Harriet R. Foote, daugh- ter of John Foote, a native of Virginia, but who settled in Fairfield dis- trict, S. C.' Samuel Johnston, the doctor's grandfather, was born in.Ire- land, and came to America when a young man, and settled in South Carolina. He died in 1855, aged about ninety years.
AMOS JONES, treasurer of Montgomery county, and one of the county's leading planters, was born in Cumberland county, N. C., in 1835. He is . a son of Joshua and Elizabeth (Jones) Jones, both natives of Cumberland county, N. C., the former having been born in 1791, the_latter in 1808. They were married in 1828, lived in their native county until 1842, and then came to Alabama, settling in Montgomery county, and there spend- ing the rest of their lives. Mr. Jones died in October, 1866, and Mrs. Jones in 1868. Both of them were members of the Missionary Baptist church for many years. Mr. Jones never attended school in his life, except about three months, but being a great reader he became a well informed man on most subjects of general interest. He was a self-made man, and a prosperous farmer. He was conservative in politics, and an active church worker. He was universally esteemed for his honesty and his general good character. He was married twice and had one son by his first wife. He had no brother and but one sister, and his father died when he was a mere boy. Lewis Jones, the father of Mrs. Elizabeth Jones, was a native of North Carolina, but came to Alabama about 1832, settling in the woods in Montgomery county, upon the farm upon which Amos Jones now lives. They both died when he was a small boy. Joshua Jones reared a large family of his own, and numerous orphans beside. His home was a place of refuge for the friendless. Amos was the fourth in a family of nine sons and three daughters, viz. : David George, of Bullock connty, who served in Clanton's cavalry, and later in the Virginia army; William, who was in Gov. Watts's regiment, and was killed at Shiloh; Lewis, who served all through the war and was wounded at Drewry's Bluff; Amos; John C., of Montgomery, who served in the First Alabama cavalry; James, of Bullock county, who enlisted in the Sixtieth Alabama infantry when but sixteen years old, and was wounded at Drewry's Bluff; Joshua, died when young; Owen Gregory, died when
698
MEMORIAL RECORD OF ALABAMA.
young; Henry B. ; Mary E., died in North Carolina when young; Zara, widow of Nicholas Barnett, and Mary Ellen, widow of J. B. Gay. Amos was reared on the farm, and began life for himself at the age of twenty- one on his father's farm. Early in 1862 he joined Capt. Peter H. McChau's company of Hilliard's legion, which later became the Sixtieth Alabama, was with Bragg on his raid through Kentucky, fought at Chickamauga, and then on to Knoxville with Longstreet and into Vir- ginia. He was in all the battles around Petersburg and Richmond on the retreat to Appomattox, and was captured three days before Lee's surrender. He was then imprisoned at Newport News until July 3, 1865. when he was discharged. He was slightly wounded at Dean's Station in Tennessee, but was never sick nor home on furlough during the war. After the war he resumed farming, and in 1868 he was married to Miss Carrie Campbell, daughter of John D. and Charlotte Campbell, both natives of South Carolina, who married in their native state, and came to Alabama ahout 1837, locating first in Macon county, and later in Mont- gomery county, Mr. Campbell dying at Childersburg in 1875, and Mrs. Campbell in Shelby county in 1882. Mrs. Jones was reared and educated in Tuskegee, Macon county, and is now the mother of three children. Mr. Jones has lived on his present farm, which was the home of his grandfather, for fifty years. He and his brother, Henry, own together 1,307 acres of fine farming land. Mr. Jones has been a farmer all his life, and has never done anything else until he was elected treasurer of Montgomery county. He has always been an uncompromising democrat, and though not a politician, liberally supports his party. Both he and his wife are both members of the Missionary Baptist church. They belong to the best known families of the county, are well known, highly cultured, and widely esteemed.
CHARLES P. JONES, attorney-at-law, was born in Montgomery, Ala., June 13, 1858, the son of Col. Samuel and Martha (Goode) Jones. He was educated in Montgomery, at the Agricultural and Mechanical. college at Auburn, completing his studies at the university of the south, in Sewanee, Tenn., where he was graduated in 1878. He studied law, in Montgomery, under Capt. J. M. Falkner, and was admitted to the bar in 1880. In 1882, he was made tax agent of the Louisville & Nashville rail- road. and held that office until December 1. 1890, when he was made assistant district attorney in Alabama, for that system, a position he still holds. In January, 1882, he was commissioned second lieutenant of the Montgomery Greys, and in March. 1888, was elected captain. In May, 1889, he was appointed adjutant-general of the state, by Gov. Seay, and as adjutant general at present. On February 10, 1891, Col. Jones was married to Miss Bettie M. Murphy, daughter of Patrick Murphy and Laura (McKnight) Murphy. He has one child, a little girl. Col. Jones is a member of the Knights of Pythias, the Benevolent order of Elks and is also a member of the Protestant Episcopal church.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.