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 4
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was made color-bearer of the Forty-first Mississippi for gallantry on the field the day before the battle of Jonesboro. He took part in that bril- liant but fruitless campaign of Gen. John B. Hood in Tennessee, carrying the colors of his regiment in the battles of Franklin and Nashville in the winter of 1864-65. During the dreary retreat of Hood's army in mid- winter from Nashville to Tupelo, Miss., his feet were severely frostbitten from exposure. He had a horse shot under him in one of the battles that occurred while Gen. Cranby's forces were marching from Fish River to invest Spanish Fort. When the Confedearte armies surren- dered, he returned to Verona, Miss., broken in purse, but not in spirit. Reaching home about May 10th, he immediately planted a crop of corn and cotton. He attended school six months during the winter of 1865-66, and raised- another crop in 1866. In the fall of 1863, he entered the service of Norton & Co., of Tupelo, Miss., who were engaged in a gen- eral dry goods and grocery business at that place. He remained with them until February, 1871. On January 20th, 1869, he married Miss Emma Davis, daughter of Marion J. Davis, a successful and prosperous planter. In February, 1871, he removed to Texas, settlnig in Caldwell county, and engaged in the business of farming. During all these years, he had been at odd times, days and nights, reading law, so that when his crop was laid by in the fall of 1871, he passed an examination, and. was admitted to the bar, August 8th, 1871. In January, 1872, he returned to Verona, Miss., and there began the practice of his profes- sion, continuing it in that and the surrounding counties for four years, during which he attained to such a position in his profession as to com- mand the confidence of the most influential and best business men of that section of the country. In the spring of 1875, Col. William Butler Dun- can, receiver of the Mobile & Ohio railroad, desiring the services of a young, active and energetic lawyer from the state of Mississippi, made application to the late R. O. Reynolds, a distinguished lawyer of Aber- deen, Miss., for the suggestion of a suitable young man for the position, the result being that Col. Reynolds recommended Mr. Russell, and on May 1st, 1876, Mr. Duncan appointed Mr. Russell to the position of gen- eral solicitor in his service, which position he has ever since held to the satisfaction of the owners and managers of the road. During this time, he has had more litigation, perhaps, than any other attorney in this' country with state railroad commissioners and with the inter-state com- merce commission. He has also argued important cases before the United States supreme court, involving constitutional questions. The case of John M. Stone et. al. vs. the Farmers' Loan and Trust company, found in the United States court reports, was under his immediate control, and was conducted by him with conspicuous ability. Mr. Russell was elected by the state convention of Alabama as the democratic elector for the first congressional district of Alabama in 1888, and was elected elector-at -. large in 1892, and as such, lead the electoral ticket of his state. These
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were well-merited compliments to a faithful democrat, an able and elo- quent speaker, whose great ability and splendid record in every walk of life, give assurance that he will be called to yet higher positions in pub- lic affairs.
THOMAS SIDNEY SCALES, M. D., physician and surgeon of Mobile, Ala., was born in Tennessee, March 14, 1842. His father was Dr. Nathaniel Field Scales, a physician by profession, who died May 10, 1882. He was the son of John Scales, a native of North Carolina, and a planter by occupation. Dr. Scales' ancestors, on the paternal side, were English. His mother was Mildred Ann Webb, who died in 1867. Her father was Dr. William S. Webb, a native of North Carolina, and a phy- sician. When he was two years old Dr. Scales was taken by his parents from Tennessee to Mississippi, where they settled in Lowndes county, and where they spent the rest of their lives. He graduated as a bach- elor of arts from the university of North Carolina in 1862, and in 1868 received the honorary degree of master of arts. Though graduating with the class of 1862, and receiving his diploma, he did not wait for the com- mencement exercises, but left in April and enlisted in company E, Elev enth Mississippi infantry as a private soldier. A short time after the battle of Seven Pines, he was detached for hospital service, and he thus continued until after the battle of Gettysburg. He then rejoined his regiment and remained with them until the close of the war. He was promoted to be second lieuentant of his company in 1863, and served as such officer during the rest of the war. At the termination of hostilities, Dr. Scales returned home and in the fall of 1865 entered the college of physicians and surgeons of New York, where he took a full course of lectures, graduating in March 14, 1867, the twenty-fifth anniversary of his birth. On July 10, of the same year, he located at Crawford, Lowndes county, Miss., and entered upon the practice of his profession. In November, 1868, he removed to Mobile, Ala., where with two or three short interruptions, he has remained ever since, engaged in the practice of his profession. In 1875 he was elected city health officer and served until 1881, when he resigned to accept the superintendency of the Ship Island refuge station, which was conducted under the auspices of the national board of health. He served in that capacity until July, 1883, at which time the station was transferred to the Marine hospital service. ' He then returned to Mobile, and resumed his practice. In March, 1884, he was re-elected city health officer, and is still serving in that capacity, having been re-elected several times since. Though a general practi- tioner, he has given his attention chiefly to surgery. He is a member of the Mobile county Medical society, and has served as its president two terms. He is also a member of the Alabama state Medical association. In 1884 he was elected professor of hygiene, medical jurisprudence, clin- ical and genito-urinary surgery at the Medical college of Alabama, and 35
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occupied the chair until the fall of 1891. He was then elected professor of surgery and clinical surgery, which chair he now holds. He is one of the surgeons to the Mobile city hospital and is president of the Quaran- tine board of Mobile bay. Dr. Scales is a democrat in politics, and was elected a member of the board of aldermen of the city of Mobile in 1875; but resigned shortly afterward to accept the position of health officer. In 1884 he was elected a commissioner of the city of Mobile; but again resigned in order to accept the position of health officer. Dr. Scales is a very successful practitioner and has a large and lucrative profession.
HON. O. J. SEMMES, judge of the city court of Mobile, was born at Norfolk, Va., August 29, 1839. His father was Raphael Semmes, an ad- miral in the Confederate States navy, and who was the commander of the Sumter and the Alabama, which destroyed many United States merchant vessels during the war. He was of Scotch-Irish parentage, and after the war became professor of moral philosophy in the state seminary at Alex- andria, La. The mother of Hon. O. J. Semmes was Anna E. Spencer, a native of Cincinnati, Ohio. She is still living, but Raphael Semmes, the father, is dead. Judge Semmes received his early education at Spring Hill college, which he left without completing the course, and entered West Point in 1858. On January 17, 1861, the state of Alabama, having passed the ordinance of secession, he resigned his position at West Point and returned home, to Alabama. He was at once appointed, by Pres. Davis, second lieutenant in the regular Confederate states troops. He was at first sent to Fort Morgan as an instructor of Alabama troops. From that place he was ordered to New Orleans in August, 1861, to take command of a company of Confederate States regulars. This company was, in December, 1861, converted into a battery of light artillery, which he commanded two years as captain. After the evacuation of New Orleans he went to Baton Rouge, and participated in the battle at that place. He then took his command to Por; Hudson, and soon afterward was transferred to the trans-Mississippi department, where he remained until December, 1864. In April, 1863, he had been appointed major of artillery, and served as such nntil December, 1864. In January, 1865, he was appointed .Gen. Taylor's chief of artillery, and served in that capacity until the close of the war. He was taken prisoner at Franklin, La., at the second battle of Camp Bisland, and was held prisoner about six weeks. At the close of the war he turned his attention to the law, and was admitted to the bar at Mobile in the spring of 1867. In the same year he was admitted to prac- tice before the supreme court of the state. In 1870 he was elected to the legislature and served one term. He remained in practice in Mobile until 1874, when he was elected judge of the city court of Mobile, which office he has held ever since, having been twice re-elected, the terms being for six years. At the last two elections he had no opposition. He is a member of the state bar association. He is a democrat in politics,
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and is a warden of St. John's Protestant Episcopal church. He is a member of the Odd Fellows order and is a Knight of Pythias. He was married December 17, 1874, to Amante Gaines, of Mobile, who died in November, 1888, leaving three children-two sons and one daughter. Judge Semmes is a man of affable and courteons manners, but is yet suf- ficiently dignified to maintain the respect due to his office. He is gentle, yet firm and not over indulgent. He presided over the city court with marked ability and impartiality, and is recognized as a just and upright judge, his decisions having been characterized by such fairness as to command universal favor.
HON. LESLIE B. SHELDON, attorney-at-law of Mobile, was born in that city November 27, 1855. His father was Thomas F. Sheldon, a native of Rhode Island, and a bookkeeper and accountant by occupation. He died in 1834. Leslie B. descended paternally from one of three brothers, who came from England to America before the Revolutionary war. The mother of Leslie B. was Sarak Frances Bragg, a native of North Carolina, and a descendant of the same family from which Gen. Bragg was descended. Her father was Thomas Bragg, and she is still living in Mobile. Leslie B. Sheldon received only a common school edu- cation, and began the study of the law at seventeen, in the office of Judge Alexander Mckinstry of Mobile. He was admitted to the bar, according to the statute for such cases provided, before he was twenty years of age. He at once began practice in Mobile, where he has since continued, and where he has attained an honorable position at the bar. He was admitted to practice before the supreme court of the state in 1880, and he has been admitted to practice in the Federal courts at Mobile. He is a mem- ber of the State Bar association. Politically he is a democrat, and in 1880, he was elected to the state legislature, servirg one term. In 1886 he was elected solicitor of Mobile county, which position he held for six years, his term expiring in November, 1892. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, south, and an Odd Fellow. He was married November 13, 1882, to Miss Mattie Dent Abercrombie, daughter of John Lucas Abercrombie, and grand-daughter of the Hon. James Abercrombie, a former member of congress from Alabama. Mr. and Mrs. Sheldon have three children living, all daughters.
WILLIAM HENRY SLEDGE, physician and surgeon, of Mobile, Ala., was born at Sumterville, Sumter county, Ala., December 8, 1855. His father was Dr. William Henry Sledge, a native of Clarksville, Tenn., and a physician by profession, who graduated from the medical department of the university of Louisville in 1842. He served throughout the late war upon the Confederate side as a field surgeon in Claiborne's division. He died May 13, 1877. He was a son of Joshua Sledge, a native of North Carolina, a planter by occupation, and of English extraction. Dr. Sledge's mother was Amanda Malvina Simmons, a native of Alabama, who died May 17, 1877, or just four days after the death of her husband,
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both dying of pneumonia. She was the daughter of Lewis Simmons. who in his day was one of the most substantial and influential farmers of Marengo county, Ala. He was of Irish descent. Dr. Sledge received a good early education, and in 1878 he entered upon the study of medicine under Dr. W. G. Hunter, of Glasgow, Ky. In 1877-78 and 1878-79 he attended the medical department of the university of Louisville, and in the fall of 1879 he entered the medical college of Alabama, from which he graduated in 1880. He at once began the practice of his profession at Jefferson, Marengo county, Ala., removing in January, 1885, to Living- ston, Sumter county, Ala., and in May, 1891, to Mobile, where he has since remained, and where he is in possession of a fine practice. He has taken three post-graduate degree courses at the New York Polytechnic hospital, giving especial attention to picroscopy and gynecology. He has been a member of the college of counselors of the Alabama state medical association since 1882, and at the present time he is secretary of the Mobile county Medical society. He is a Mason, a Presbyterian and a democrat, a Knight of Pythias and past chancellor in the order. Dr. Sledge was married November 15, 1882, to Miss Kate M. Harris, of Mobile, by whom he has two sons, both living. Though Dr. Sledge has been in Mobile but a short time, he has already become thoroughly estab- lished, both socially and professionally. His popularity with all classes "is assured, both within and without his profession, and is only limited by his acquaintance. He is quiet and unassuming in manners-honest, earnest and conscientious in his practice, and makes an excellent impres- sion on all with whom he comes in contact. For the confidence and patronage of the public, he relies entirely on merit. He is a hard and close student, and is willing to make any possible sacrifice to advance himself in the knowledge of his profession, and to keep himself fully abreast of the progress made in medical science. Such a course as this must necessarily be followed by success.
MATHEW SLOAN, chief engineer of the fire department of Mobile, was born in that city, June 16, 1848. His father was John Sloan, a native of Ireland, who died when Mathew was a mere lad. The mother of Mathew Sloan, was Br dget Sheay, also a native of Ireland. They were married in the United States, about the year 1845. She died in 1871. .Mathew Sloan received a common school education, and in his early youth he served an apprenticeship to the trade of a copper and sheet iron worker. In 1862, at the age of fourteen, he entered the naval service of the Confederacy, and served one year on the iron-clad steamer Baltic. In September, 1863, he joined the marines, and remained in that service until the close of the war. Shortly before the evacuation of Richmond the naval and marine service were formed into a naval brigade, and he served as a member of company A, of that brigade, with the rank of orderly sergeant, until he surrendered at Greensboro, N. C .; with Gen. Johnston. Returning to Mobile, he drove team for the Federal govern-
191542
Gregory LAmich
BRANT & FULLER PUBS
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ment one year, after which, for two years, he was employed on steam- boats plying upon Mobile bay. In 1867, while thus employed, he joined the volunteer fire department of Mobile, which act paved the way to his present position. In 1868 he was elected housekeeper of Phoenix fire company, No. 6. He remained in that position until 1873, when he was elected foreman of the same company, serving in this latter capacity two years. In 1875, he was elected assistant engineer of the fire department, serving in that capacity one year. After that he was a private member of the department until 1877, when he was re-elected foreman of the Phoenix company, and served in that position until 1881. He was then elected chief engineer, which position he still holds. On September 1, 1887, he organized a paid fire department, which is the present efficient department of the city. It has been chiefly through Mr. Sloan's efforts, that the department has been brought up to its present high standard. While the service it performs, and the department compares favorably with those of any other city, yet the department is maintained at a much smaller expense than in most other cities of the size of Mobile. The depart- ment has property worth $47,000; its employes, all told, number twenty- four, and the annual cost of maintaining it amounts to only $17,000. Mr. Sloan is a member of the Catholic church, and of the Catholic Knights of America, and also, of the Ancient Order of United Workmen. He has been twice married; the first time to Miss Mary Elizabeth Scott, April 11, 1873, who died September 2, 1883. He was then married August 15, 1886, to Miss Catharine E. Graham, his present wife. Mr. Sloan has three sons living, the children of his first wife.
GREGORY L. SMITH, a prominent attorney, at Mobile, was born in Baldwin county, Ala., July 7, 1853. Mobile was the home of his parents, but at the time of his birth, they had taken refuge from the yellow fever, in Baldwin county. His father was Robert Hardy Smith, a native of North Carolina, and a lawyer of distinction. He was the colonel of the Thirty-sixth Alabama during the Civil war; his regiment consisted chiefly of his clients. Prior to the conflict, he was a member of the pro- visional Confederate congress. He died March 13, 1878, at the age of sixty-four years. He was the son of Robert Hardy Smith, of North Carolina, a son of Joseph E. Smith, of England, an officer in the English navy. The mother of Gregory L. Smith, was Helen (Herndon) Smith, a native of Alabama, and the daughter of Thomas Hoard Herndon, a native of Virginia. He was a farmer, and was of English descent. Gregory L. Smith married Miss Gertrude Cresswell Moore, April 16, 1879. They have two sons and three daughters. He was educated at the university of Virginia, and took the law course there during the sessions of 1874-5. He returned to Mobile in the fall of 1875, and was immediately admitted to the bar in Mobile. Within a month after his admission in Mobile. he was also admitted to practice in the supreme court of the state. He has practiced his profession without interruption since he was admitted to
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the bar. In 1878, he was appointed chief attorney of the Mobile & Mont- gomery railway company, and continued in this position until the road passed into the hands of the Louisville & Nashville railroad company. During this period, he was, however, engaged in a large general prac- tice. He is now the attorney of the largest lumber company near Mobile, of the street railroad of the city, of the Seaboard railway com- pany, and a number of other corporations. He rose rapidly in his pro- fession, and, within four years from his admission to the bar, had obtained a large and important practice, which has steadily increased until he now has one of the leading practices in .Mobile. He has the the largest law library in Mobile, and one of the largest literary libraries. He is a hard student, and a man of great energy. He practices all branches of the law; he is a conservative adviser, an earnest advocate, is very successful in jury trials, and is considered one of the ablest and most highly accomplished lawyers in Mobile; his style is simple and plain, but aggressive, persistent, and bold. In politics, he is a democrat, but he has persistently refused to seek, or accept, office of any kind, and has always given his undivided attention to his profession. He is a sup- porter of the Episcopal church.
THOMAS H. SMITH, attorney-at-law of Mobile, Ala., was born in Seville, Spain, May 19, 1856. His parents, Hon. John Little Smith and Vir- ginia A. (Herndon) Smith, were both natives of Alabama. Their home was in Mobile, at the time of their son's birth; but they were tempor- 'arily abroad to enable the Hon. Mr. Smith to pursue his studies in Paris. The father practiced his profession in Mobile for a period of thirty years, and had a very extensive connection. His father was Robert Hardy Smith, a native of Scotland, and a man who occupied high posi- tions in the Masonic fraternity. On coming to the United States, he set- tled at Eden, N. C., and was one of the founders of the place. Hon. John Smith's wife was Miss Herndon, daughter of Thomas H. Herndon, a Vir- ginian by birth, and a planter by occupation. He was of English ances- try. Thomas H. Smith graduated from the university of the South at Sewanee, Tenn., in 1875. For about five years after this he acted in the capacity of bookkeeper at Mobile, and New Orleans. He then turned his attention to the law, and in 1882 he graduated from the law depart- ment of the university of Alabama, at Tuscaloosa. He at once began the practice in Mobile, where he has been ever since. By strict attention to his profession he has risen to a high place at the bar, and he is now one of the principal attorneys in Mobile. He is attonrey for the trust- ees of the bondholders of the city of Mobile. He was married Octo- ber 16, 1890, to Miss Lilly Witherspoon Goldthwaite, of Mobile, a niece of the Hon. John A. Campbell, associate justice of the supreme court of the United States from 1853 to 1861.
CHARLES WALDREN STANTON, proprietor of the Alabama corn mills, and one of Mobile's best known citizens, was born in Mobile, February 7,
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1861. He is a son of William Stanton, who was born in Ireland, and who came to the United States, locating in Mobile, when about eighteen years of age. The mother of C. W. Stanton, was Sarah L. Newbold, a native of Mobile, and a daughter of Thomas Newbold, an old and well known citizen of Mobile. William Stanton was one of the leading wholesale clothing dealers in the early days of the city, engaging in that line of business when quite young. He died in Mobile about 1868. His widow still lives in Mobile. Charles Waldren Stanton was reared in Mobile, and educated at her public schools. At an early age he began life for himself by accepting a position in the office of Williams & Glen- non, real estate and insurance agents. He remained about a year with this firm, and then took a clerkship with Ober, Anderson & Co., grain and mill men. When this firm retired, it was succeeded by F. P. Andrews & Co., and Mr. Stanton remained with the new firm until they went out of business, in 1885, and then succeeded to the business him- self. Mr. Stanton set to work to build it up and enlarge it, and in the winter of 1891-92, erected the present plant, which is one of the largest in the south. Mr. Stanton was married in December, 1885, to Miss Ella Weems, daughter of B. A. Weems, deceased, of Mobile. By this marriage he has two children.
SARDINE GRAHAM STONE, treasurer of Mobile county, Ala., was born at Bladen Springs, Ala., February 4, 1841. His father was Capt. Sardine Graham Stone, a native of the territory of Mississippi, and a river steam- boat captain, who died March 1, 1864. He was a son of Columbus C. Stone, a native of Ohio, having been born at Marietta, then called the Ohio plantation. The Stone family has descended from Gregory Stone, who came from England to America in 1634, settling in Massachusetts. The mother of Sardine Graham Stone was Mary Ann Richard- son, a native of Kentucky. She died in 1848. Her father was William Richardson, also a native of Kentucky. S. G. Stone, whose name heads this sketch, was educated in the public schools of Mobile, to which place his parents removed from Bladen Springs in 1846, and he subsequently completed the studies of the freshman year in the univer- sity of Tennessee. In 1857 he was appointed a cadet to the United States Naval academy by Percy Walker, then a member of congress, from the First Alabama district. He remained in this academy from September 24, 1857, to January 13, 1861, when he resigned on account of the secession of the satte of Alabama a few months before the time when he would have graduated. Returning home he was on February 11, 1861, appointed lieutenant of artillery of the state of Alabama by Gov. Andrew B. Moore, and he was upon the same day appointed first lieutenant in the revenue service of the state of Alabama. by Thaddeus Sanford, the collector of customs at that port. He performed the duties of revenue officer until the Confederate States government was established. Shortly afterward he was appointed midshipman in the Confederate navy by President
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