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 54
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reconnaissance, a cannon ball struck the limb of a tree, and glancing downward passed through Col. Beck's thigh and killed his horse. He survived this wound but a few moments. Col. Beck was a man of means, cultivated mind. cordial manners and decided character. He ranked among the foremost of the lawyers at the bar of Wilcox, and was an earnest and effective advocate. He was liberal, hospitable and public spirited. and his loss was felt throughout the state.
JAMES T. BECK is a native of Alabama, born in Camden, Wilcox county, February 26, 1851. He is a son of Col. Franklin K. Beck, a sketch of whom appears in conjunction with this. James T. Beck graduated from the Virginia Military institute at Lexington, July 4, 1873, and on his return to Camden read law under Col. R. H. Dawson, and also under Jones & Jones. Being admitted to the bar in 1875, he began practice at Camden, and in 1880 was elected to the lower bench of the state legisla- ture as a democrat, and in 1882, was re-elected. While serving in this body he was placed on several important committees and was chairman of that on local legislation. He introduced the bill providing that a defendant might testify in his own. behalf, which may be considered as one of the most humane laws on the statute book. On retiring from the legislature Mr. Beck resumed his law practice at Camden, but still con- tinued to be active as a member of the democratic party, and in 1884 was elected alternate presidential elector. In 1886, he was elected judge of probate for Wilcox county, and in August, 1892, was re-elected. Besides these positions Judge Beck has filled several offices of honor and trust in the county, having been county solicitor for Wilcox county, and three terms superintendent of education. In 1876, Judge Beck was made a Mason and became the W. M. of his lodge; next, H. P. of his chapter; then thrice illuistrious master of his council; next, grand H. P. of the grand chapter of Alabama; next, thrice illustrious G. M. of the grand council of the state of Alabama, and has always been a bright, and active and an ardent member of the fraternity ever since initiation. He has also been prominent as a K. of P., ever since the organization of that body in the state. In 1867, he organized the first military company in Wilcox for the state troops after the war closed, and was commissioned its captain by Gov. George S. Houston; he is now captain of the Wilcox Mounted Rifles, First regiment Alabama state troops, which is one of the only three cavalry companies of the corps. In religion Judge Beck is a Episco- palian.
HON. SOLOMON D. BLOCH .- This gentleman is one of the most pro- gressive and enterprising natives of the state of Alabama, or. indeed, of the entire south. He was born in Camden. Ala., January 16, 1855, and in that town, and in the city of Mobile, received his schooling. His father. Daniel W. Bloch, was a native of Germany, came to the United States in 1843, and in 1844, located first at Prairie Bluff, Ala., then the largest town in Wilcox county, but, shortly after, removed to Camden,
JAMES T. BECK.
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where he was engaged in merchandising until 1883, when he went to Mobile, where he died in 1885, at the age of sixty three years. He was one of the largest dealers, and most successful merchants that ever did business in Wilcox county. He was always acknowledged to be a man of high moral character, and of unimpeachable integrity in business, and was noted both at Camden and Mobile, for his charity and hospitality. During the late war he was attached to Gen. B. Y. Ramsey's staff. At Mobile he founded the firm of Block Bros .. wholesale dealers in carriages, harness, etc., and the firm still continues to do business. He was a Mason, active in the lodge, chapter, and council, and was a consistent adherent to the Hebrew faith. He married at Claiborne. Ala., Miss Jen- nette Kahn, also a native of Germany, and to this union were born six sons and two daughters, all of whom grew to maturity. Solo- mon D. Bloch left his school-books at the age of twelve years, to enter his father's store, but he kept up a course of self-tuition that has resulted in a broad knowledge of books and general literature. He remained in his father's store at Camden until 1880, when he went to Mobile and clerked a year, then returned to Camden, and a year later, in 1882, bought out the established business of his father, which he still conducts suc- cessfully. For a while he studied law under Col. R. H. Dawson, but, notwithstanding the strenuous urgings of that gentleman to continue such study, he felt himself called upon by his many business interests, to relinquish the law, to give these interests his constant attention. He has large landed property and is extensively engaged in farming, and also has a tannery, a ginnery, and a grist mill. He has done more than anyone else toward fostering and working for the Montgomery, Hayneville & Cam- den railroad, and was, at its organization, elected president, which position he now holds. In 1884, he built a telephone line to Snow Hill, thus giving Camden quick communication with other parts of the country. He is also proprietor of the Wilcox hotel, and is a strong advocate for immigra- tion. In politics, Mr. Bloch is a stanch democrat, and in 1880 was one of the five comprising the county central executive committee that wrested Wilcox county from the grasp of its radical and carpet bag rulers. In 1885, he was elected mayor of Camden, and was re-elected in 1887. In November of 1885, also, he was appointed by the governor of the state a member of the board of the county revenues for a term of six years. In 1886, he was elected a member of the democratic state committee, and in 1888, was re-elected. August, 1890, he was elected to the state senate from Wilcox county, his term to expire in 1894. In his capacity as a senator he has succeeded in having Wilcox county retained as a state senatoral district and placed in the new second congressional district. He is a member of the finance committee, and was chairman of the joint com- mittee of the legislature appointed to inaugurate Gov. Jones. On the floor he was an advocate to the new school law, and voted for the state appropriation for the world's fair; he strongly supported the bill which
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established the quarantine at Mobile bay, and the bill establishing a board for the protection of mining, and also advocated an appropriation for state troops; he voted for the bill to establish a medical college at Mobile; the bill prohibiting bucket shops: the bill for the improvement of the capitol; the bill to prevent the sending of Confederate veterans to poor-houses; the bill extending geographical and geological surveys; he introduced a bill to create a girls' industrial school; one for the reduc- tion of the rate of interest in the state to six per cent .; also advocated a reformatory for boys; supported the bill for the relief of Confederate soldiers and sailors, and one for the protection of the telephone services in the state, and a bill providing for bells at public ferries. Mr. Bloch is an able legislator and is outspoken and frank in the expression of his sentiments in the senate, and is the first Jewish member that has had a seat in that body. Mr. Bloch is a chapter Mason, a Knight of Pythias, and a member of the I. O. B. B .. as well as of the Camden Mounted Rifle company. He was editor of the Wilcox Progress from 1888 to 1890, and expects to soon add to his other business interests that of banking. Although of a radically different faith religiously, Mr. Bloch is a liberal contributor to all Christian churches of Camden, Wilcox county, and their ministers are among his warmest supporters.
DR. JOHN DANIEL CALDWELL, who, at the time of his death, on the 21st of September, 1878, had been for many years a prominent and highly respected citizen of Camden, Wilcox county, Ala., was of Scotch-Irish stock and a native of South Carolina. He was born in Sumterville, in that state, on the 27th of January, 1807. After the completion of his academic studies, he began to read medicine in the office of Dr. Warren, a physician of learning and eminence in Sumterville. He graduated at the Medical college of South Carolina, at Charleston, in March, 1830. In 1833 he married Miss Mary Anderson Bowen, and three years after moved to Linden, Marengo county, Ala. In 1838, with his family, he became a resident of Barbourville, to which newly settled place the court house of Wilcox county had been removed. When the town was incorporated in 1841, by the suggestion of Dr. Caldwell, the name was changed to that of Camden. Dr. Caldwell was elected its first intendant. and continued to hold this position for years. He was elected county treasurer of Wilcox county. in 1848, which office he held for over twenty-five years, Of him it was written, after his death, that "in all his public and official duties he displayed administrative tact, financial ability, and system, ard exactness in the clerical parts of his work. Though for years interested in mercantile business. it was chiefly as a physician that he was known. He was stead- fast in his devotion to his profession, and active in the discharge of its duties. As a practitioner, the kindness and amiability of his manper made for him firm and faithful patrons and friends. These he secured by the sound practical judgment which guided him, and by his skill in the management of cases entrusted to his care." He was a kind, charitable
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and hospitable gentleman; a sincere and active member of the Methodist church; and a public spirited citizen. Dr. Caldwell married but once losing his wife in the year 1849, and by this marriage raised to years of maturity three sons and four daughters; of these only three survived him. Venerable in years; enjoying in the latter days of his life the respect and love of the generations who had grown up around him, he was accorded the veneration due to him as one of the founders and fathers of the town of Camden. He left the legacy of a good name to his children and grand- children.
THOMAS L. COCHRAN, register in chancery of Wilcox county, Ala., is a native of Camden, that county, and was born November 18, 1855. His early education was obtained at his native place, and when sufficiently prepared he was sent to the Military institute at Lexington, Va., where he went through four years of strict discipline and educational training, graduating in 1873. He then entered the university of Virginia, and pur- sued a course of study that lasted two years. Returning to Camden in 1875, he began the study of law, and was licensed to practice in January, 1876. His success has been flattering, and his merits have been recog- nized in a substantial manner. In 1882, he became the register in chan- cery for the county, and still ably performs the duties of that office. In 1886, Mr. Cochran was elected to the state senate from Wilcox county, but resigned his position before his term had expired, owing to pressure of his legal practice. He nevertheless continues to take an active part in the affairs of the democratic party, in which his influence is widely felt. He is also an honored member of the Knights of Pythias. In addition to attending to his professional duties, his large interests in planting claim much of his attention.
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JAMES P. FAIRLY, a prosperous merchant, was born at Camden, Wilcox county. Ala., June 29, 1840, and is still a resident of his native town. His descent may be traced as follows: In the year 1817, William Hobbs, a native of Georgia and of Welsh lineage, left his home about forty miles from Augusta, and with his family came to Alabama, and settled at what is now Buford's landing, Wilcox county. His daughter, Martha Hobbs, was married to Thomas Dunn, also a native of Georgia, who had settled at Barboursville, Wilcox county, the name of the town having been since changed to Camden. When the removal of the county seat from Canton was under discussion, it was chiefly through the influence of Mr. Dunn that the decision was arrived at, as he donated ten acres to the county for the site of the court house and town, and thus brought about its location at Camden. This gentleman, at his death, left his widow with eight children. The widow was in due time wedded by John P. Fairly, to whom she bore two children, James P. and Martha C., the latter now being Mrs. Andrews. John P. Fairly, the father, was a native of North Carolina and a son of John Fairly of the same state, and of Scotch descent. John Fairly removed to Mississippi when John P.
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was but a small boy There, the latter grew nearly to manhood, but, hardly at the age of twenty, came to Alabama and located at Canton, Wilcox county. Here he met and won the widow of Thomas Dunn, who, when living, kept the first hotel at Camden. John P. Fairly, familiarly known as Maj. Fairly, was a farmer by occupation, but for twenty years was clerk of the circuit court of Wilcox county; he was very popular, and a man of sterling honesty. He died in 1852, at the age of forty-three years, his widow surviving until 1884, when she died at seventy-seven, a member of the Presbyterian church, which her husband bad also attended, although not a member. In November, 1860, James P. Fairly, whose name opens this sketch, married Miss Martha Packer. who died in August, 1867, leaving a son, David Packer Fairly. The second wife of James P., whom he married in June, 1871, was Miss Sallie Riggs, of Dallas county, Ala. May 25, 1861, Mr. Fairly went to Pensacola as a private in Capt. Jenkins'' company of mounted rifles, as the body guard of Gen. Bragg, but six months later, on account of ill health, was honorably discharged from further military duty during the war, the close of which found him farm- ing at Camden. In 1868, after having made a trip to Mexico, he went to Mobile and acted as boot and shoe salesman for different firms until 1890, when he returned to Camden, and engaged in merchandising, at which he has met with abundant success. Mr. Fairly is a Knight Templar and a member of the Baptist church. He is a man of genial and cheerful man- ner, and has at command an inexhaustible fund of anecdotes.
THOMAS GAILLARD, who died in Mobile, Ala., on the 2nd of February, 1864. was born in St. Stephen's parish, S. C., on the 25th of April, 1790. He was a son of Peter Gaillard, by his first marriage with Elizabeth Porcher. His great-grandparents, paternally and maternally, were Huguenot refugees, who left France in 1686, the year after the revocation of the edict of Nantes-that act of cruelty on the part of Louis XIV, which forced seven hundred thousands of his Protestant subjects to leave the vine-clad hills of France. in search of religious liberty in other countries. South Carolina, with other of the American colonies, profited by this exodus of the Huguenots from their native land, for they were noted for their industry, integrity, and high moral character. Peter Gaillard, the father, was closely connected by marriage with Gen. Fran- cic Marion, a brother of the latter having married a sister of the former. Though not of age when the Revolutionary war began, he became a cap- tain in that war, and served with distinction under Marion, Sumter, Moultrie, and Laurens. Capt. Peter Gaillard, Gen. Moultrie, Gen. Wade Hampton, Col. William Thomson, John Mayrant, and Kinsey Burden, were among the very first planters of South Carolina, who, immediately after the war of the Revolution, ceased to plant indigo, and began the cultivation of cotton, from which they, and those who followed their example, rapidly accumulated wealth. Thomas Gaillard, after receiving the rudiments of his education, was, in his fourteenth year, placed under
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the care and instruction of Robert Finley, D. D., a Presbyterian minis- ter, whose school at Baskenridge, N. J., was reputed one of the best in this country. There he was prepared for, and in January, 1806, entered the Freshman class of the South Carolina college, from which, in Decem- ber, 1809, he graduated with distinction. He then devoted himself for two years to the study of the law in the office of Abraham Nott, who was subsequently a judge of the court of appeals of South Carolina. In May, 1811, he abandoned the law for, as he expressed it, "the more attractive pages in the commonplace book of life," and began the pursuit of agriculture. In May, 1812, he married Marianne Palmer, a lineal descendant on her maternal side of Capt. John Gendron, the leader of the Huguenot colony, which, in 1689, settled at Jamestown on the Santee river; and of Claude Philippe Richebourg, the pastor of the colony. Thomas Gaillard was interested in agricultural pursuits to almost the close of his life, but much of his time was given to books. Standard works on the subjects of law, religion, and politics, ancient and modern history, and general literature were embraced in the list of books in his well-selected library. Through the medium of the press his views were often given to the public on such moral and political questions as engaged general attention. In 1828, the states' rights question began to agitate the public mind in South Carolina, and the doctrines of nullifica- tion and secession were, for several years, prominent before the people of that and some other southern states. Admitting the right of secession, but opposing nullification as dangerous and unconstitutional, over the signature of "One of the People," he contributed a series of articles on these questions to the Charleston Courier, some of which, with enco- miums on their merit and force, were republished in the National Intelli- gencer, at Washington city. Mr. Gaillard was a member of the South Carolina legislature from 1816 to 1820; was re-elected the latter year, but, contemplating a removal to Abbeville district at that time, he declined the position. He was again elected and served as a member from the parish of St. John's Berkeley, Charleston district, in the sessions of 1826-27. In 1830, he was supported by the Union party for the same position, but was defeated. Party spirit ran high, and political excite- ment for several years was so bitter as to alienate the feelings and ser. iously disturb the social relations of many who were connected by the closest ties. This state of feeling, together with other causes, induced Mr. Gaillard to purchase lands near the town of Claiborne, Monroe county, Ala., to which he moved in February, 1832. Here he resided until 1851, when he changed his residence to Mobile, where he lived until his death. After his removal to Alabama he was frequently. solicited to enter again into public life, but he invariably declined. until, in 1840, when, by the urgent solicitation of the democratic party of Monroe county, he consented to canvass his county for a seat in the leg- islature. He was defeated, sharing in the universal disaster which over-
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took the democracy throughout the country that year. He was never afterward a candidate for office: but, always manifesting interest in his party and its principles, he.attended political meetings and conventions, and employed his pen in upholding the claims of his party to popular favor. His style as a writer was clear and forcible; and, before the people, he spoke with great fluency. without any affectation of oratorical accomplishments; and his speeches, concise and logical, were remarkable for the fund of information they imparted. In 1836, Mr. Gaillard became a member of the Presbyterian church. thenceforth devoting much of his time to the study of theological subjects and ecclesiastical history. A thorough examination of the circumstances under which the church had advanced from a state of purity and simplicity, in the days of the Apostles, to a condition of an utter perversion of its original doctrines and forms of government and whorship, as set forth and prescribed in the sacred scriptures, led to his writing and publishing. in 1846, "The Church of Christ," a work of about 340 pages. It traces from the dawn of Christianity, through fifteen centuries, the errors and corruptions which gradually crept into the church. In 1846 he began another work, "The History of the Reformation," commencing with the political condition of Europe in the beginning of the sixteenth century. In a style remarkable for conciseness and elegant simplicity, he forcibly portrays in this book of about 550 pages, the conflict of principles which marked the struggle to release the human mind from the tyranny of the Roman hierarchy. It was published in 1847 by M. W. Dodd, New York. He wrote a "History of the Huguenots in France", which in manuscript form was presented to Mr. Daniel Ravenel, of Charleston, South Carolina. This was followed by a series of historical notices of the Huguenot refugees in England and America, which appeared, about 1848-49, in the Philadelphia Presbyterian, over the signature ol "A Huguenot". There are still other productions of his pen of a historical character, which exist in manuscript form. Mr. Gaillard was liberal and charitable by nature. The poor and needy ever found in him a friend. He was very deaf for many years previous to his death, and was consequently debarred from social intercourse with the world. He lost his wife in 1860, but several sons and daughters, and their children, survive him.
RICHEBOURG GAILLARD, one of the older and better known advocates at the bar in Wilcox county, Ala., and a gentleman of high scholarship and culture, was born . within three miles of the Eutaw battle field in South Carolina, July 14, 1821. His father, Thomas Gaillard, was also a South Carolinian, and of French origin. Of his father, mention is made above. When a boy of ten years his parents removed from South Caro- lina to Alabama, locating at Claiborne. He spent eighteen months in the university of Alabama, and in the fall of 1842 entered Yale college, where, in the law department, he graduated in 1844. Later he was prepared for the civil law, under a private instructor at New Orleans, whence he went
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to California, during the gold craze of 1849. He spent three years in that state, and a part of this time he was an assistant editor of the Pacific News, a daily paper, long since discontinued. During the California leg- islative session of 1851, Mr. Gaillard was assistant clerk in the lower house. In 1832, he returned to Alabama, and in the following year located at Camden, where he has continued to reside to this date, and where he edited the Camden Republic for three years. In 1855, he was elected solicitor for the eleventh judicial ciecuit, and for five years thereafter he filled that office with credit and honor to himself and the responsible position. With the coming of the war between the states he became a , private in the First Alabama regiment. In 1862; he was commissioned a first lieutenant in this regiment, and in the same year he was captured at Island No. 10, on the Mississippi river, and held as a prisoner of war for four months when, being exchanged, he re-entered in the army and , was again captured, in 1863, at the surrender of Port Hudson, Lousiana, and was until the close of the war, retained as a prisoner of war in Camp Chase and on Johnson's Island. Returning to Camden, when the war was over, he began the practice of the law, at which he has continued, with commendable success. He has taken no little part through life in advo- . cating the principles of states' rights democracy, both as a speaker and writer for the press. In 1875, he was one of the nominees of his party, in Wilcox county, for a seat in the constitutional convention of that year, but was defeated by a combination of republicans and independents. As a speaker Col. Gaillard (for he is well known as colonel) is possessed of power and eloquence, of classical language and fertile resources, and is a word-painter of no little ability. He writes with grace, ease and scholar- ship, and has throughout his time been a liberal and interesting contri- butor to the newspapers. He is a Mason of long standing. He has been twice married. His first wife was a Miss M. A. Caldwell, daughter of Dr. John D. Caldwell, of Camden, where she was born. Five children she bore him, and in 1874 occurred her death. In 1876, Col. Gaillard married Miss A. F. Caldwell, a sister of his first wife.
COL W. B. H. HOWARD was born in Columbia, S. C., August 15, 1816. He was a son of Brutus Howard, a native of Maryland, who moved from that state to South Corolina,'whence he came to Alabama in 1818, making settlement in Monroe county, where he passed the remainder of his life. He was a descendant of the ancient Howard family of England, a branch of which settled in Maryland in 1700. Brutus coming in a direct line from the latter. Col. W. B. H. as will be saen, was but two years of age when he was brought to Alabama. He was first placed in the old-field schools of his neighborhood, in which he studied until about nineteen years of age, when he was transferred to a preparatory school in New Jersey, passing through which he entered and graduated from Princeton college in 1839. He next studied law at Claiborne, Monroe county, Ala., and in due time was admitted to the bar, where he immediately made his
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