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 27
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BYARS COLE, treasurer of Pickens county, and editor of the Pickens County News, was born in Fayette county, Ala., in 1851. He is a son of William K. and Martha A. (Griffin) Cole, both natives of Fayette county, Ala. The former was a farmer by occupation, and moved to near Macon, Miss., when Byars was about four years old. He died there in 1860, his widow dying at Meridian in 1890. They had children as follows: T. O., a merchant and farmer. of Noxubee county, Miss .; J. K., a salesman in a wholesale house of Memphis, Tenn. ; Fannie: E.I., deceased wife of John Lagrove, a resident of Texas; William and Kannon, twins who died in infancy. The paternal and maternal grandparents of Mr. Cole came from Georgia. Mr. Cole was married in 1877 to Miss Fannie A. Blanton, a native of Bedford county, Tenn., and a daughter of J. M. and Lucy (Willis) Blan- ton, who came from Tennessee to Alabama in 1866. To the marriage of Mr. Cole with Miss Blanton there have been born three children. viz .: Mattie Estelle, William Blanton and Edward Koger. Mr. Cole began life as a clerk in the employ of C. C. Heineman, of Memphis, Ala., where he remained two years. He then went to Noxubee county, Miss., where he engaged as a clerk for I. Q. Perry of Cliftonville, and soon afterward he returned to Memphis, and became a clerk for Smith & Co., general merch- ants. Soon afterward he began business for himself by opening a grocery store in Memphis. Ala., and remained in that business six years, when he removed to near Carrollton and there followed farm- ing from 1879 to 1891, when he took charge of the Pickens County News, a weekly journal, which he continues to edit, the paper being published by W. S. Crawford, a talented and rising young newspa- per man, late of Columbia, Miss. In August, 1892, he was elected to the office of treasurer of Pickens county, which office he now holds. He is is a member of the alliance organization, and has been county secretary of that organization for four years. He is a member of Carrollton lodge, No. 214, F. & A. M., and has held the office of senior deacon since he
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became a member in 1889. Both he and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, south, and are highly respected by the entire community.
ABIEL W. GRAY, merchant and planter living at Pickensville, was born in Monroe county, Ala., October 12, 1856. He is a son of Joshua and Sarah (Hinnington) Gray, the former of whom was born in Maine in 1812, came to Alabama when a lad and settled in Monroe county. Mrs. Sarah Gray was born in Monroe county, Ala., in 1835. They were mar- ried in 1853, and to them were born three children, viz .: Henry, a resi- dent of Texas; John, a merchant and jeweler of Eutaw, Ala,, and Abiel W. Joshua Gray, in his earlier years, followed school teaching, and later studied law and was admitted to the bar. He died in Wilcox county in 1860, and his widow still resides in that county. Abiel W. Gray was reared on a farm and educated in the local schools of Monroe and Wilcox counties. He followed farming first, for seven years, and then became a clerk for R. E. McWilliams, of Camden, Wilcox -county, remaining in his employ one year. He then went to Uniontown, Perry county, Ala., and there learned the jeweler's trade, under J. C. Welch. After complet- ing his trade he worked for the same firm for some time, and moved to Pickensville, in 1878. In 1879 he engaged in the mercantile business on his own account, on a small scale, and by strict attention to his business he has succeeded in building up a large and extensive trade, dealing in general merchandise and planters' supplies. Mr. Gray is truly a self- made man. His father died when he was a small boy, and he was left early to his own resources, and from a penniless boy he has become pos- sessed of a goodly store of wealth, and is yet a young man. He owns 900 acres of good land, about one-half of which is in a high state of cultivation. In 1880 he married Miss Fannie Basinger, a native of Pickens county, born March 20, 1859. She is a daughter of John and Harriet (Lynch) Basinger. Three children have been born to them, Mrs. Gray being the only one now living. Her mother is still living and resides in Pickensville. To the marriage of Mr. Gray and Miss Basinger there have been born five children, viz .: Stella, Anna and Maggie, liv- ing; Earnest and Ollie deceased. Mr. Gray is a member of the Christian church, while Mrs. Gray is a member of the Baptist church. Both are highly respected members of society.
ANDREW HENRY, one of the ancient landmarks of Pickens county, Ala., was born in Kings county, Ireland, November 11, 1835. He is a son of James and Mary A. Henry, both natives of the same county. James Henry came to the United States in 1844. settling in New Orleans, where he and his wife lived until their death, he dying in 1849 and she in 1857. Andrew Henry remained with his parents in New Orleans five years, when he removed to Pickens county, Ala. His early education was very much neglected, ten months' schooling being all that he ever obtained. He is a self-educated and self-made man. In 1849 he apprenticed himself as a.
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printer to R. A. Eaton, editor of the West Alabamian, a paper established in April, 1849, Mr. Henry entering the office in November of the same year. Not long afterward, Mr. Eaton sold the paper to Judge Z. L. Nabers, and shortly after this sale, Mr. Henry bought an interest in it and eventually became sole proprietor, and he has conducted it success- fully ever since. The West Alabamian is the leading paper in Pickens county. Several other papers have sprung up in the county since the establishment of the West Alabamian, flourished for a brief season and expired, but the West Alabamian is the only one that has survived through all the vicissitudes of time and still lives. Mr. Henry enlisted in 1861 in the army, was mustered into the service as first sergeant at Mobile, for twelve months under Col. W. A. Buck, of Mobile. In April of the same year the regiment was reorganized for active service; N. N. David was promoted to the colonelcy and the regiment went into field service at Corinth in 1862. He followed the fortunes of war during the rest of that year, but in August he received a wound on the head, in consequence of which he was put on detached duty. At the reorganiza- tion of the regiment at Mobile, he was elected second lieutenant, and remained in the service until the end of the war, participating in all the battles in which his company was engaged, while with it. After the war he returned to Pickens county, and resumed the newspaper business. He was married in September, 1866, to Miss Helenia P. Stinson, a native of Pickens county, Ala., and a daughter of William and Alsinda (Hunsicker) Stinson, natives of Virginia, but who came to Alabama at an early day and settled in Pickens county. To Mr. Henry and his wife have been born eight children, viz .: Mary E., Sallie J., Fannie T., Kate, Dora, Lewis S., J. C., and an infant which died without being named. Mr. Henry was elected treasurer of Pickens county in November, 1871, and re-elected in 1874 and 1877. In 1884 he was again elected, and was the nominee of his party for the position in 1892, but was defeated with the rest of the democratic ticket in the county that year. His repeated elec- ' tions to the office, however, show the estimation in which he is held by the people of the county. He has always been a straight democrat, never wavering from the principles of that party, and he has advocated them through the columns of his paper for forty-three years in Pickens county, Ala. He is a member of Carrollton lodge, No. 214, F. & A. M., and a man of good standing in society.'
DR. NEWTON HILL, the leading physician of Pickensville, was born in Greene county, Ala., December 16, 1843. He is a son of Jesse and Eliza (Carpenter) Hill, who are mentioned in the memoir of Albert C. Hill, elsewhere in this work. Dr. Newton Hill and his wife were mar- ried August 8, 1867. She was Mary W. Ross, a native of Noxubee county, Miss., born July 4, 1847, hence, her name, Mary Washington. She is a daughter of the Rev. W. C. and Sarah R. (Kirkland) Ross. Her father was a native of Winchester, Tenn., but removed to northern Alabama at
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an early day, settling near Courtland, where he lived until he arrived at manhood's estate, then removed to Noxubee county, Miss., where he now resides, at the age of eighty-two years, and is remarkably well preserved. He is active, both physically and mentally, retaining his mental faculties to an unusual degree. He was married, in 1846, and to him and his wife were born four children, viz .: M. W., wife of Dr. Newton Hill; T. J., an attorney-at-law at Florence, Ala .; S. P., deceased wife of Robert M. Pruitt; and Margaret, who died in infancy. The mother of these chil- dren died in 1855, and Mr. Ross married again in November, 1857, but by this second marriage he has no children. To the marriage of Dr. Newton Hill with Miss Mary W. Ross, there were born two daughters, viz. : Carrie, wife of H. B. Mullins, by whom she has two children; Charles H., born January 7, 1891, and Erin, a daughter born November 26, 1892. Mr. Mullins is a citizen of Pickensville, Ala. The other daughter of Dr. Newton Hill, is Sallie, living with her parents. Mrs. Hill is an edu- cated lady, having taken a literary course at the Pickensville institute, graduating in 1866. Dr. Hill received his literary education at the Pleas- ant Ridge academy, but his course of study was cut short by his enlist- ment in the Confederate army, in September, 1861, going directly from the class-room to the-battle field, as a member of company C, Twentieth Alabama infantry. Two years afterward he was transferred to the Thirty-sixth Alabama, company B, of which M. M. Carpenter was cap- tain. He participated in all the battles of the Tennessee division. He was wounded several times, but was not discharged. Just at the close of the war he received a serious wound which confined him to the hos- pital for seven weeks after the surrender at Lauderdale. After return- ing home, he farmed for several years, and then took up the study of medicine. In 1879, he entered the medical college of Mobile, attended two sessions, and graduated in 1881. He began the practice of medicine in Noxubee county, Miss., remaining there two years, and then moved to Cooksville, where he remained five years. At the end of this time he removed to Pickensville, Ala., where he has since lived and practiced medicine with success. having the greater portion of the practice of Pickensville and vicinity. He is a member in good standing of Mount Moriah lodge, No. 55, F. & A. M., and is of equally high standing in society.
DR. SAMUEL H. HILL, a prominent physician and druggist, of Carroll- ton, Ala., was born in Pickens county, Ala., May 1, 1847. He is a son of Dr. Samuel F. Hill, a retired and well-known physician, of Carrollton, who was born in Iredell county, N. C., in 1813. The wife of Dr. Samuel F. Hill was Miss Sarah J. Boggs, who was born in New Jersey, in 1819, but who was reared, principally, in Virginia. Dr. Samuel F. Hill emi- grated to Pickens county. Ala., about 1844. His early training, which was quite limited, was received in North Carolina. His first occupation was that of an apprenticed tailor. He began the study of medicine under
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Dr. Verner, of Spartanburg, S. C., and he entered the medical college at Augusta, Ga., in 1842. He then took a medical course at Charleston, S. C., medical college, graduating in 1852. In the meantime, he began the practice of medicine at Cedar Bluff, Cherokee county. Ala., practicing under license, until his graduation in 1852. Dr. Samuel F. Hill and wife were the parents of nine children, viz .: Mary A., widow of Joel H. Puckett, now a resident of Texas, living near Cold Hill, Hopkins county; John B., James H. and Joseph A., all three died in infancy; Miriam F., widow of J M. Davis, now living at Dallas, Tex .; Dr. S. H .; Emma J , deceased wife of Dr. Samuel L. Bonner; A. E., who married Julia Wilson, by whom he has six children, and who, with his family, are living in Texas; Carrie A., who married Dr. Samuel L. Bonner, former husband of her deceased sister, Emma J., by whom she has three children, and who. with her husband and children, now reside in Pueblo, Col. Mrs. Dr. Samuel F. Hill is now dead. The paternal great-grandparents of Dr. Samuel H. Hill were natives of Ireland, as also were his paternal and maternal grandparents. His grandfather, and two of his brothers, mar- ried three Logan sisters, near Belfast, Ireland. This grandfather was. the father of seven children, Dr. Samuel F. Hill being the eldest of the seven. Clarissa C., died when young; James D., is now living at Maroa, Macon county, Ill., at the age of seventy-six; Margaret, who married a Mr. Stevenson, now living in Macon county, Ill .; Hugh Wilson, the inventor of the "hog rooting ring," living at Decatur, Ill .; John Newton, who died, leaving no children; Joseph A., died in infancy. The maternal grandfather of Dr. Samuel H. Hill was Rev. John Boggs, a Presbyterian minister. Dr. Samuel H. Hill was married, in 1873, to Miss Virginia. Kerr, by whom he has five children, viz. : William K., Velma, Samuel H., Hugh W., and Virginia. The mother of these children died December 20, 1884, and in 1886, the doctor married Miss Lucy L. Stewart, daughter of William and Elizabeth (Harris) Stewart, natives of Pickens county, Ala. To this marriage two children have been born, viz. : Stewart F.
and Bessie. Dr. Hill received the rudiments of his education in the local schools of Carrollton, and in 1864-65 he took a course of study at the university of Alabama, the institution being burned down in 1865. He then took two courses of medical lectures at the Louisville Medical col- lege, during 1868-69, graduating in 1870. He began the practice of med-
icine in partnership with his father, who has since retired, leaving the field open to his son, who has since continued the practice at Carrollton. Dr. Samuel H. Hill is a member of Carrollton lodge, No. 214, F. & A. M., and he and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, south. From remote ancestry the Hill family have been distinguished for their moral and religious respectability, heing descendants of pious and conservative people. The father of Dr. Samuel H. Hill has been a mem- ber of the Methodist Episcopal church for sixty-one years. He - lives with his son, and is now eighty years of age, three score years of which
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he has lived an exemplary Christian life, honored and revered by all who know him. For his age he is a remarkably well preserved man, retain - ing his mental faculties to a most unusual degree.
JOHN A. HORTON, a planter residing near Carrollton, Pickens county, Ala., was born February 22, 1852. He is a son of John D. and Julia (Holly) Horton, and a grandson of Jesse Horton, a native of North Caro- linia, who was a planter. John D. Horton was a native of North Caro- lina, born in Wake county, in 1814, and when he was five years old his parents brought him to Alabama and settled in Blount county. This was in 1819. In 1822 they removed to Greene county and settled near Pleas- ant Ridge, where they both died. John D. Horton was reared on a farm and educated at the common schools of the day. He was twice married, John A. Horton being a son of the second wife. By his first wife, he had five children, viz. : Hollis, a farmer residing near Pickensville, Pickens county, Ala. ; Alonzo, Coleman, and Leonard, deceased; Eliza, widow of W. R. Bunting, who died May, 1892, and resided near Pickensville. By his second wife Mr. Horton had eight children, six of whom are living, viz. : Laura, widow of W. H. Eatman, residing at Clinton, Ala .; Ophelia, wife of T. C. Bunting, a farmer of Pickens county; Anna, wife of W. F. Eatman, farmer of Pickens county; George, a farmer residing near Clin- "ton; Robert L., a resident of Mississippi, and John A. Those deceased were named Mary and Lillie. The father of this family died near Pleas- ant Ridge, Greene county, Ala., October 8, 1882, the mother having died in June, 1857. He was a practical and prominent farmer, never aspiring to political honors, retiring in his disposition, and, like all the Hortons, principally devoted to and largely engaged in agriculture. John A. Horton was reared on a farm and received his education at the academy at Pleasant Ridge. He was married to Miss Minnie M. Puckett, a native of Pickens county, Ala., who was born November 18, 1855. She is a daughter of William W. and Frances (McCafferty) Puckett, the former of whom was a native of Alabama, born in Greene county, October 20, 1827, and the latter a native of South Carolina, born in Union district, November 17, 1833. They came with their parents to Pickens county in 1834. Mr. and Mrs. Puckett have had born to them six children, three of whom are living, viz. : Minnie M., wife of J. A. Horton; Ellen, wife of William Kilpatrick, resident of Columbus, Miss .; and Joel, single and living at home; those deceased were William D .; Donna, wife of William Dunlap, and Mattie. Mr. and Mrs. Puckett were married in 1853, and they now live on the farm settled upon by Mr. Puckett's father in 1836, the house then erected by him being one of the first frame houses built in Pick- ens county. The timbers of this house were cut by hand, and the lumber sawed by a small water-power mill, some five miles from Carrollton, the only mill then in Pickens county. The house is still in a good stage of preservation. Mr. Puckett's father was a native of Pennsylvania, but removed to Virginia, remaining there a short time and then going on to
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South Carolina, and located at Abbeville district, whence he removed, in 1812, to Greene county, Ala. He was one of the first settlers in that county. Here he remained till 1836. He then removed to Pickens county, where he died in 1845, his widow surviving him till 1804. Mrs. Horton's maternal grandfather was William McCafferty, and his wife was Ann Gregory. They were both natives of South Carolina, and came to Pick- ens county, Ala., in 1834. He died in 1867. and she in 1879. John A. Horton and wife are the parents of two children, one of whom is living, Mattie O., born November 4, 1882. The other child died in infancy. Mr. Horton is a prominent and successful planter, owning about 350 acres of land in Pickens county. He is one of a family, the ancestry of which is presented in detail in connection with the memoir of Amos Horton, elsewhere in this work.
JOHN R. LONG, a merchant of Pickensville, Ala., was born in Pickens county, August 25. 1835. He is a son of Richard and Mary H. (Coleman) Long, natives of Virginia, who in an early day removed first to South Carolina, and a little later, in 1828, to Alabama, settling in Pickens county on a plantation, five miles south of Pickensville, where they lived until Mr. Long's death in 1858, Mrs. Long surviving him until 1874. They were the parents of nine children, viz .: Wesley, a farmer who died near Pickensville, when but twenty-nine years old; Sarah D., widow of Andrew B. Hughes, a merchant of Bridgeville, Ala., up to the time of his death, and where Mrs. Hughes now resides; Pattie and Eugenia, died when children; Julia, widow of Drury Miller, a former planter and financier, who died leaving a large estate; Annie, widow of Dr. A. M. Wilkins, a prominent physician, of Pickens county, practicing at Pick- ensville some forty years and dying in 1878, leaving his family in affluent circumstances. Mrs. Wilkins is now living in Pickensville with her son John E., who has the management of her large estates; R. C., a farmer living four miles south of Pickensville, and John R. The paternal grand- father of Mr. Long was from Ireland, and the paternal grandmother from England. John R. Long was married in 1869 to Dora Stinson, a native of Pickens county, Ala., and a daughter of James and Nancy (Cotton) Stinson, by whom he has had five children, viz. : Walter, born in Janu- ary, 1871, a graduate, in 1892, of Marion Military institute, where he took a literary course: Julia, born in March, 1873, a student for two years at Judson college; Lillie, born in December, 1875, who has also been a student for two years at Judson college; John R., Jr., born in January, 1877, a student at Pickensville institute, and Drury, the youngest, born in July, 1881. Mrs. Long died in December, 1882, and in November, 1886, Mr. Long married Miss Mary Archibald, a native of Pleasant Ridge, Greene county, Ala. To this marriage one child has been born- Annie, born in January, 1889. Mr. Long served in the late war in com- pany C, Forty-first Alabama infantry, enlisting in 1861. He was exempt from active service, as he had a pulmonary affection, but went out as a .
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volunteer and served in the commissary department, issuing rations under requisitions. He remained in the service through 1861, 1862, 1863 and a part of 1864, when he was discharged on account of his disability for service. He had been discharged at different times before, but he preferred to remain and do what he could for the southern cause. He began life for himself as a clerk for Drury Miller, of Bridgeville, his brother-in-law, who was then a merchant, and remained with him for three years. Upon the death of his father, he returned home and took charge of the plantation, at the same time operating a farm of his own in Noxubee county, Miss. In 1866 he formed a partnership with Dr. A. M. Wilkins at Pickensville, and at the same time formed a partner- ship with S. W. Hood at Franconia, which latter partnership he main- tained until 1869, when he sold his interest in the business at Franconia, and gave his entire attention to his store at Pickensville, where he has been in business ever since. In 1869 Dr. Wilkins turned over his inter- est in the store to his son, John E. Wilkins, and in 1887 Mr. Long pur- chased the interest of John E. Wilkins and assumed full control. He has a general stock of merchandise and transacts a large business. He has been township trustee for twenty years, and is a member of Mount Moriah lodge, No. 55, F. & A. M., of which he was treasurer for twenty years. He is one of the leading ard most prominent citizens of Pick- ensville.
JUDGE O. L. MCKINSTRY, probate judge of Pickens county, and resident of Carrollton, was born in Pickens county, Ala., March 19, 1842. He is a son of Thomas W. and Perilla .A. (Mobley) Mckinstry, the former of whom was a native of South Carolina, and a farmer, the latter being a native of Troup county, Ga. Thomas W. Mckinstry was born in 1812, emigrated from South Carolina to Alabama in 1836, and lived in this state until his death in 1869, amassing during his career a considerable fortune. His wife died in 1851. They were the parents of five children, viz. : O. L., James A., a resident of Mobile engaged in merchandising; Perilla C., widow of J. C. Gibson, and living in Hopkinsville, Ky. ; Eliza J., deceased; and Thomas S., who died in Pickens county at the age of twenty-one years. The father of Thomas W. Mckinstry was a native of Ireland, and emigrated from that country to South Carolina in early days and followed farming in this country during his life. He married a Miss Allston, who was closely related to the distinguished Gov. Allston of South Carolina, and a native of Scotland. Judge O. L. Mckinstry was married in 1868 to Hester Mayhew, a daughter of Joseph H. and Susanna (Collier) Mayhew, both natives of South Carolina, who emigrated in primitive days to Alabama, where Mrs. Mckinstry was born. To this marriage of Judge Mckinstry with Miss Mayhew there have been born three children, viz .: Thomas H., born October, 1869; he is a medical student at Mobile Medical college, attending the sessions of 1890 and 1891, and graduating in 1892; O. L., Jr., born in April, 1874, entered state Agricul-
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tura! and Mechanical college in 1892, with the intention of taking a full course; Hester M., born in November. 1880. Judge Mckinstry enlisted in 1861 in company D, Second Alabama infantry, for one year, at the end of which time he re-enlisted in the Forty-second Alabama infantry, and served in this regiment the rest of the war, three years and three months, the last three months in prison. He was born March 19, enlisted in the Second Alabama, March 19, and four years later, on March 19, he was taken prisoner at Bentonville, N. C. He was in the battles of Corinth, siege of Vicksburg, Lookout Mountain, Missionary Ridge, Resaca, Kene- saw Mountain, New Hope Church, Peach Tree Creek, Bentonville, and numerous smaller engagements and skirmishes. After the war he returned to his home and engaged in agriculture, and in 1876-77 he represented Pickens county in the legislature. In 1890 he was appointed to his present office to fill a vacancy caused by the death of Judge T. G. Williams, and in 1892 he was elected to the same position, that of probate . judge, which office he has filled and is filling with credit to himself and general satisfaction to the public. Though the judge is unpretentious and retiring in his disposition, yet his true worth is known and appre- ciated by his fellow-citizens, and he is highly honored and respected by them.
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